#one of those thumb dudes from spy kids?????

[rosicheeks]

😂

#really wanna start a TikTok where I review products or whatever #but I get super duper high before I make the video 😂😂😂😂😂😂 #I bought this idk face slimmer thing #and I decided to put it on while I was getting ready for bed #once I looked in the mirror I put my face back to like force myself to have a double chin #and idk what I even looked like #a fucking thumb? #one of those thumb dudes from spy kids????? #closest thing I could think of #and bro I BURSTED out laughing #probably woke my parents up lmaoooooo #just got home from a little smoke sesh with a friend and I’m a little toasted 😇 #hope you guys are having a lovely day/night 🥰🥰🥰 #shut up rosie

[avaelangel]

So. I watched 1899 again. I have thoughts. Spoilers!

I think, Daniel is a stowaway. We see him wear the same suit everybody has in the end. But he also says ''I'm not going to leave you again''. Did he leave in the very beginning, seeing his wife getting absolutely consumed by her desire to avoid the pain? There is also an open capsule on the spaceship. I thought it was Maura's, but hers is between Eyk and Krester, and the second one is beside Jerome. I might be wrong, but could Ciaran move Daniel out of spite? Out of the way? We don't know how death actually works there, but I'm assuming that the turning off works only in one cycle of the simulation. But what about the outer body? I don't want to think about Daniel ending up as a brain in a jar or a core of a massive computer. Because the spaceship is just not real. He does say ''I'll always be there''. It could have been an oath to his maddened wife or a consolation oath of a person who might not be alive for long.

Every memory ends with Maura's ''Wake up'' and a pyramid-pupil in a person's eye. The show ends with a zoom into Maura's eye with a pyramid-pupil. The spaceship might be closer to Ciaran, but still not enough. It might be an actual bridge between the simulations of a greater scale. Maura's monologue (poem?) in the very first scene actually shows us the entire scope of that particular branch of the simulation. How long ago Ciaran took over? Two years or four months?

These are two dates we here about the most. Two years ago Eyk's family died, two years ago Maura miscarried. Four months ago Ciaran reached out and four months ago Prometheus vanished. So, did Maura's project start two years ago? Did Ciaran hijack it when Elliot died, four months ago? Henry does say to Elliot that ''his body remembers''. Could the project start before Elliot's supposed diagnosis?

Maura and Daniel created ''home away from home'', so Elliot's playroom, of course, wasn't a grave from the start. They lived in that landscape that Maura must have took from her memories. But we do see a homely inside of a grim pyramid, with no toys or a trace of Elliot beside the pictures. Was the playroom a basement of the pyramid that is seemingly in a different place?

I feel so sorry for Elliot. I am conflicted on how much of the real him there is actually left. Like Maura, he has the same attire exept for the Mental Hospital (I'll do a post on clothes). In his memory he says things and behaves in a way that a child, who wasn't exposed to the weird and dark false-reality of things, would. But he also says things that Maura would probably want him to say and think. Elliot also seems older in the Mental Hospital scene. Yeah, kids grow fast, but was this scene filmed later on purpose? Or was it just the magic of cinema, not the timing?

That mark on his neck. Could mark a simulated person? Could mark him as core of the whole thing? You know, sometimes in games there are simple cubes that hold a part or a whole location. Those cubes are out of sight, under the whole thing. Did Elliot hold the entire simulation above him? Is it why he can't die, be turned off and was important in Henry's part of getting out? Of course, he held the pyramid, but maybe that's why he did? Because he takes part in loading the simulation and in the turning it off. Maura wanted him close in the whole process.

Henry does have some control, I think. Would Maura put him at the imaginary high step of an imaginary food chain, only to feed her ilusion of being his victim? I doubt it. He probably has some control, enough control to torture people, but not enough to get out or do more. He has orderlies. They kick in whn he needs them. His own thumb-dudes like in Spy Kids. The ship is his experiment inside someone else's. Probably, Ciaran's. Henry is aware of his older son's doing, probably. I don't really thing they are aligned, though. Maybe, Ciaran used him to take over. They teamed up to take Maura's discovery away and in the midst of it Henry got betrayed.

Daniel says ''all will be lost'' if Maura doesn't stop Ciaran. Is he the only voice of reason or the tool to steer her in the right direction? I absolutely believe in Daniel, by the way. I think Maura remembers his touch, she instantly cares for Elliot. He is the only link to the 21st century, I think, we have. Dated and era-not appropriate vibes are there for the same reason too, probably. Also, Maura swears only in the end, when Henry has got her. I am SURE ''fuck'' & ''fucking'' existed in the 18th century, but the way Maura and Daniel use it seems so much more modern.

Yes, this is The Solace House. Why Solace though? Solace in Denial seems to be too easy. Maybe, it always was his name. Like Maura is the Star Of The Sea, Daniel was meant to mellow out her comet-like genius, to keep her away from the storms. From falling. But he loved her too much to overpower her high-reaching desire to alter the grimness of their actual reality. What also proves their connection to me, that his ''I love you. Never forger'' has a responce from Maura. ''Never ever''. She says it in the moments that would mean most, maybe, thinking that saying it to much might devalue the answer. To overthink this even more, she doesn't say I love you back. But they also might have switched places in that exchange, so there is no need at times. The important thing is that the one knows that he\she is loved. And will never ever forget.

Maura says that as kids her and Ciaran didn't get along much. But she still looks for him. Is there a trauma link? They seemingly expierenced the same treatment from their father, maybe Maura had it tougher because of Henry's preference. She still wanted to know what happened to him. Could the real reason for her search be coded under a desperate attempt to find her sibling? Whoever coded it, just tweaked a few things, making it out to be a selfless journey to defeat her monstrous father.

Also...isn't Maura a bit too much of the protagonist? British lady with knowledge that (at that time) is expected of men. She isn't taken seriously by most of people, but she is more helpful and more caring than anyone, really. She is smart, she is stubborn and has a dark secret. I feel like I have met her before. Was it a script for 18th century expierence created for Elliot? A family of travelers looking for adventures.

I've been going for long and haven't even touched on anybody else. I will. The last two things I want to talk about here: Albert and relationships inside Maura's family.

Albert is a bug, also the bug in the program. Daniel and Elliot clearly mastered bugs to their advantage, but I also thing the first appearance of Albert might have been a sign of the last calm moments, before the experiment with the ship started. The first loop, if you will.

At their core, Henry and Daniel are similar. They both would do or did everything to help their wives, forgeting their children in the end. But Henry's children were alive. Daniel's child was dying, while his wife tried not to let him die completely. Preventing him from moving on. Daniel does love Elliot, but in the storm of Maura's grief, his own was lost and could loose Maura also.

Could Ciaran hate Daniel? Did Ciaran try to use Maura's intelligence to his benefit and Daniel intervened? If Daniel was meant to be in the second empty capsule, does he include his life in ''All will be lost''? At the simplest twist, his time might be running out faster than everybody else's.

I will continue. I have more notes. Thank you for reading, if you did.

#1899 #save 1899 #i need a reson to be insane and a hug #maura franklin #daniel solace #elliott 1899 #elliot 1899 #henry singleton #1899 netflix #i will return #god help me #ciaran singleton #ciaran means little dark one #it also irish was their mother irish #weird pupils are prominent in celtic myths just saying

[dreamwritesimagines]

Burn The Witch 17 - Bad Habit [Bucky Barnes x Reader]

A.N: Thank you so much for your wonderful support and feedback my loves ! ❤ Here’s the next chapter, I hope you like it as well and please let me know what you think! ❤ Thank you! ❤❤❤

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Warnings: Enemies to lovers, fake dating, mentions of blood, sex, violence, death, manipulation, language, guns, knives.

Summary: Everyone needs help sometimes.

Series Masterlist

It wasn’t that there weren’t any spies who didn’t lie to their superiors.

There just weren’t any spies who lied to their superiors and lived to tell the tale, especially on high stakes missions like these.

You tried to convince yourself that the General would never find out, but that wasn’t the only reason why you were freaking out. Putting false information on your report was bad, yes, but the worst part was that you were beginning to find it harder and harder to report whatever information you found out about your fake boyfriend.

For some reason, you had a feeling it wouldn’t just stop at one lie.

Your eyes opened as you snapped out of your sleep all of a sudden and you took a look at the window, but it was still dark outside. That wasn’t the problem, the problem was that you had gone to sleep with Bucky by your side but now you were in an empty bed.

“Bucky?” you whispered into the darkness and sat up in the bed. After kicking off the covers, you made your way to the living room but as soon as you got there, he opened his eyes and turned his head to look at you.

“Hey,” you whispered, “Are you okay? Are the bandages too tight?”

He pressed a hand over his side to check the bandage, then shook his head.

“No, no…” he said, “Did I wake you up?”

“Nope,” you said, “Is the bed too uncomfortable?”

“The opposite.”

You tilted your head “The bed is too…comfortable?”

He let out a small bitter chuckle and ran a hand over his face as you stepped into the room, then sat down on the floor as well.

“I’m not really used to…” he waved a hand to motion around you, “It’s not familiar to be comfortable.”

Ah.

Of course. You should’ve seen it coming, he was a soldier and coming back home was always so hard for soldiers, especially in Bucky’s situation.

You had so many nightmares after bad missions, you had no idea how you would sleep if you had anything close to what he had been through.

“Do you want to talk about it?” you asked and he shook his head again.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I was hoping this wouldn’t happen.”

“Don’t be,” you murmured, “Do you want to be alone?”

“No,” he paused for a moment, “Please stay.”

Your heart skipped a beat and you pushed your hair behind you ear, taking a look at the pillow and the throw on the couch, then grabbed them and put them on the floor.

“Y/N, you’re not sleeping on the floor.”

You rushed to the bedroom to grab your pillows and the blanket off the bed, then went back to the living room.

“What are you doing?”

“It’ll be fun,” you said, putting the pillows and blanket on the floor. “Like we’re outside, only not with…annoying bugs.”

“You’re not serious.”

You plopped down the floor and gave him a bright smile. “I am!”

“Darling….” He started but shook his head with a sigh as you lay on your side, pulling the blanket over your shoulders.

“I’m very stubborn, you’re wasting your time if you’re trying to change my mind,” you informed him and he shot you a small smile, then lay down as well. You entwined your fingers with his, then looked up at the ceiling.

“My virtue is so screwed,” you pointed out, making him huff out a laughter.

“Oh absolutely.”

“I mean, there goes my hopes of…” you trailed off, “White picket fence house and puffy skirts and homemade pies.”

“What, you don’t want them with me?” he asked and your heart skipped a beat, then you stole a look at him.

“Can you even imagine that?”

“Yes I can.”

“I think I picture a movie,” you said, “There’s this….big yard, and white picket fences and we painted the house white but the door is red.  And there’s a dog and— feel free to stop me anytime, Bucky.”

“Don’t,” he smiled as if picturing what you were describing made him happy, “Just keep going.”

“We have a rescue dog,” you said, “We got him from a shelter and named him… um, we named him something funny.”

“Is it a big dog?”

“Yeah and you take him on a run every night. Mornings with me, nights with you.”

“That’s a good schedule.”

“He likes me better.”

“Ouch,” his smile widened, “I don’t blame him.”

You hummed, “And you have a mustache I think.”

He shot you a look, “If you say a Clark Gable mustache…”

“I’m just putting it out there—”

“Nope. Not gonna happen.”

“Fine,” you let out a laugh, “And we have an apple tree in the garden. Wait no— we have an apple tree and a peach tree.”

“How big is the garden?”

“Not so big,” you said, “Like in those movies.”

He paused for a moment and you stole a look at him.

“You wanted a big garden?”

“Well,” he said, “We need a big garden for the treehouse.”

“We have a treehouse?”

“Depends,” he said slowly, as if he was intimidated, “Kids love treehouses.”

Your heart skipped a beat at the thought of having kids with him, for the hundredth time the image of a happier future where you weren’t a spy flashing in front of your eyes. You tried to stop the smile pulling at your lips.

“Yeah,” you said, “I think our kids would love them too.”

You could see the ghost of a smile on his face as he rubbed his thumb over your hand.

“Yeah?”

“Mm hm,” you yawned, “And in summer we would put a bouncy house thing in the garden and we would put a hammock between the peach tree and the apple tree and we would relax there while the kids are wreaking havoc in the bouncy house.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Yeah,” you murmured, sleep luring you as you closed your eyes, taking in his scent, “Sounds like a good plan.”

                                                           ***

You really didn’t have time to second guess yourself today. Yes you had lied to the General and spent the whole night with Bucky imagining an impossible future but now, you had to keep your head in the game.

You would figure out what you would do. Eventually.

This was a mission. You had to start acting like it.

“I don’t think I like this one,” you called out from the dressing room and in a second, the door opened to reveal Chloe who raised her brows.

“Wow.”

You tilted your head and stepped outside to look at yourself better. The gold body chain wrapped around the lingerie gleamed under the shop’s bright lights and you fixed the suspenders, clicking your tongue.

“Nah. I don’t think so.”

“Wow,” she said again, “I hate you so much, why do you look so hot in lingerie?”

“Chloe, every woman looks hot in lingerie,” you said as you walked back to the dressing room to try the next lingerie set. It was a red lace bodysuit and after a moment of struggle, you got into it, and opened the door again.

“Not this one either.”

“I can’t believe you’re going to sleep with him!” Chloe squealed, “Are you excited?”

You cleared your throat, “It’s just a mission.”

“Yeah but you want to sleep with him?”

“The dude is hot.”

“Y/N.”

“What?” you fixed your hair and frowned at your reflection, “Nope. I don’t like this. It’s too….meh.”

“I doubt Barnes would say meh if he saw you in this,” she said, “He’d probably pass out. You look like you’re about to grab your whip or something. Oh— Y/N, you should like tie him up or something! If we’re not going full on vintage, show him the modern fun times!”

You shot her a look, “Something tells me he doesn’t like to be tied up Chloe.”

“Why not?”

“Uh, because HYDRA scumbags tied him up a lot and he still has nightmares about it?”

“Ah,” she said, “I forgot about that. Hey, maybe he could tie you up!”

“I’ll tell you the same thing I said to Julian when he suggested I called him sir in bed,” you stated, “No thank you, I don’t do that sub thing.”

“Now I kind of wish we specified your cover’s kinks,” she heaved a sigh, “It’d make things so much easier.”

“My cover likes to be in control.”

“No, real you likes to be in control,” she corrected you, “Nothing about your cover says control.”

“Chloe—“ you started but stopped talking when the shop assistant approached you.

“Do you find it to your liking?”

“Um, not exactly,” you said, “I mean I like the color but overall—“

“Do you have bridal sets?” Chloe cut you off and your eyes widened.

“Easy there.”

“Like maybe soft pastel tones…. The whole thing though, garter belt and stockings and everything.”

“Of course!” she said, “We have some new arrivals, let me bring them here.”

“Chloe!” you whispered as the shop assistant walked away, “What the fuck?”

“Think about the dresses we picked for your cover,” she said, “Soft pastels. It makes sense that your cover would pick those shades in lingerie too.”

“Bridal? Really?”

“I mean, Barnes will want to propose you right there when he sees you in them so…” she grinned at you while you narrowed your eyes at her, “Come on! I’m very curious about how he is in bed.”

You tilted your head, “Is there anything you’d like to tell me?” you asked, “Because love triangles are so early 2000s.”

“Hilarious,” she deadpanned, “And no. My type is more—relaxed. Less serious.”

You scoffed and leaned back on the wall, crossing your arms, “You could just say Keith.”

She shifted her weight, biting on her lip. “I mean…” she trailed off, “He still doesn’t make a move though.”

“Why don’t you make a move?”

“I could never!” she gasped, “Nope. Ever. Besides, I thought you were against me dating spies.”

“I am,” you admitted, “But it’s your love life. If you want to date a guy who has an extremely dangerous job and worry about whether or not he will come back to you alive….”

“You’re very romantic, Y/N,” she said as the assistant came closer, holding the set. Even you had to admit, it looked very sexy and beautiful at the same time, with soft pastel lace adorning the fabric, and you took a look at the basque, then walked inside.

“Besides, you’re the one to talk.” Chloe called out as you got into the lingerie, then ran your fingers over the garter belt.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Your boyfriend does dangerous stuff too.”

“Fake boyfriend,” you corrected her, fixing the basque, and as soon as your reflection caught your eye, you raised your brows.

“Okay, maybe you had a point,” you admitted and opened the door, and Chloe grinned at you.

“See,” she said, “This is what I was talking about.”

You smirked at her and leaned on your hip, still looking in the mirror.

“Fine, I like this one.”

“Told you,” she sang and you crossed your arms.

“What dangerous stuff has he been doing lately?”

“He was texting with Wilson about some HYDRA person,” Chloe said, “Apparently they want to go after him. Tonight.”

“What HYDRA person?”

“No clue. And we can’t send a team because then it’ll be obvious— Y/N, I know that look,” she shook her head fervently, “No.”

You tried to look as innocent as possible, “I didn’t say anything.”

“You want to go after the same HYDRA person as them, but you have specific orders and we still haven’t got the okay from the top of the chain of command to go after that scum.”

“Chloe.”

“No. I’m not going to give you the address.”

“Well if Barnes ends up dead, I won’t have a mission will I?”

“He’s going to be fine, he fights better than you.”

You gasped, “How dare you?”

“He fights better than everyone in the division!” she insisted, “He can take care of himself.”

You pouted, “Fine,” you said, “I guess I won’t give Keith the idea of taking you out on a date then.”

She paused for a moment, “That’s bribery.”

“Uh huh.”

“You have no shame, do you?”

You motioned at the lingerie set you were in, “Does it look like it?”

She rubbed at her eye and let out a small whine.

“If my dad asks—“

“He’s not going to know.”

“Do you promise to behave?”

“I always behave,” you stated, making her snort.

“I don’t believe that for a second.”

“Please?” you asked, “I promise I’ll be safe. I’ll just make sure he’s alive, that’s it. I won’t get involved in anything.”

“You promise?”

“Cross my heart.”

Chloe pursed her lips. “For your information, I think picnics are romantic.”

“Dully noted,” you said, “Trust me, he will take you on a picnic. So, do we have a deal?”

She rolled her eyes, then nodded, making you let out a laugh and walk back to the changing room.

“I want candles on that picnic too!”

“Send me the list of your demands,” you called out, “I’ll make sure they’re all covered.”

                                                      ***

In all honesty, Chloe was terrible at saying no to people, especially the people she loved.

You fixed your ski mask as you took a look at the text Bucky had sent you after you asked him what he was doing;

Nothing much, going home soon. You?  

“Liar liar….” You sang as you typed your reply.

Soup Kitchen was so tiring, I think I’ll go to bed early tonight.

Fine. Maybe he wasn’t the only liar in this relationship.

You took a look at the building’s window through your binoculars, then lowered them to check your phone when it vibrated.

Good idea. Sweet dreams darling.

You tried to ignore the smile on your lips but as soon as you heard gunshots coming from the building, your head shot up.

“Shit,” you murmured and tried to see what was happening, but it was impossible. Whoever they were, they were definitely staying away from windows.

“Not gonna get involved,” you muttered, “Not gonna get involved, it’s stupid and puts the mission in danger. I’ll stay right here, he can take care of himself.”

For about five seconds, it worked.

“I’m being stupid,” you mumbled to yourself as you grabbed the gear around your waist, then checked whether it would actually carry you, “I’m being so fucking stupid, I haven’t even slept with the dude yet….”

You went over to the edge of the rooftop, then took a deep breath, grabbed the cables and jumped to crash through the window of the building the gunshots were coming from. You pulled your gun to shoot the person who looked like he was about to shoot Bucky, sending him to the ground and Bucky pushed the guy he was fighting with through the wall, then turned around to point the gun at you but as soon as he did, he frowned.

“….Shrike?”

“Hi handsome.” You unbuckled the rope from the harness, sending it up to the rooftop again as he lowered his gun. “Need a hand?”

Chapter 18

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #tfatws #the falcon and the winter soldier #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes imagine

[fanartfunart]

Fly Away

Episode 3: Despair Bear

Ao3 - First - 2

(Féline Sombre & Paon Lilas designs)

Summery: An AU where Adrien never went to in-person school, not getting the cat miraculous, and found the peacock miraculous. -Chloé, determined to be allowed back to visit Adrien’s house, and discovering Adrien is visiting Marinette, sets up a party to showcase just how nice she can be. (posted in full for tumblr while I have power/internet on my computer :P)

-

Duusu was sitting on top of Adrien’s shoulder when he pressed play on the virtual hello from the class he was almost able to join. Adrien handed him a dried mango chip and he happily munched on it.

 Chloé, of course, was the first person to show up on the video, “Adrikins Hiii! I miss you already~”

 The camera turned around to show Sabrina, who must’ve been recording. She waved “Hi!”

 “Sabrinaaa, camera focused on me. Meee.”

 “Oh, right!”

 Chloé spent at least a third of the video showing him the building as if she owned it. ...Adrien was surprised it didn’t last longer.

 It shifted from the single-take style into more professionally edited together clips of various classmates. Adrien assumed this was where the boy interested in filmmaking had taken over.

 “Yo, I’m Nino, hope you get to hang out outside of school one of these days dude. If you ever need a DJ I’m your man! See you around someday!”

 “Hi, I’m Alya, investigative journalist-”

 Chloé scoffed offscreen, “You wish.”

 “Chloé I will-” the video cut out whatever happened after that. Alya stood a bit prouder, “I run the Ladyblog and am the head of the school blog! If you ever have any curiosity about the school news or superhero news, just check those out! Leave some comments if you want and I’ll get back to you asap! Keep it classy."

 The rest of the class’s videos went about the same, until the very last one. The girl from the bakery frowned at someone off to the side out of sight from the camera.

 “Come on girl, before Chloé comes back.”

 “Hi, I’m er, Marinette. I’m uh, an aspiring fashion designer and my parents own Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. I suggest trying out the macaroons! I brought some on the first day, uh, but I tripped so there weren't many left anyway so you probably didn’t miss anything!” She giggled awkwardly. She trailed off, giving a pleading look towards someone behind the camera. “Alya, I don’t know what else to say.”

 “Whatever you’d say to a new kid!”

 “Uhg, get better friends than Chloé?” She covered her mouth as Alya and Nino laughed from behind the camera. “I- mean whatttt Chloé's er, Chloé. Great evil-er friend… to er, to be setting up this videooo….ohmygosh. Can you edit that out?”

 “I would’ve, but now I’m keeping it.” Nino said. Marinette gasped in offence while Alya and Nino giggled more.

 “What are you all giggling over?” Chloé complained off-screen. Marinette gave a pointed look to the camera, and the video faded into a written message.

 “Sorry I couldn’t properly finish my message. I wish you a wonderful year, and hope you can build great friendships, even without going to school. At least you don’t have to worry about being late! Good luck Adrien -Signed, Marinette.”

 “Awwwwwwww, that’s sweet,” Duusu cried.

 “Yeah, it was.” He got out his phone to text Chloé a thank you. He sighed as he looked at her many, many, many messages of upset about no longer being allowed over anymore. He was just glad she didn’t get akumatized over it….

 He got up, glancing at Duusu. "How about we go visit the bakery and see if Marinette is open to hanging out. My father can't ban me from bakeries, right?"

 Duusu giggled, "Sounds like fun!" He frowned, "Are you only choosing to visit Marinette because she has a good place to tell your father you're going to?"

 "...No… She's just the only person in that video who mentioned a place I can visit at all."

 Duusu just giggled like he knew something Adrien didn't. He shook his head with a smile and grabbed his bag. "Come on, let's go."

-

"Marinette," Sabine called, opening the trap door to Marinette's room. She waved to the group of girls doing a miniature fashion show there. "Your friend's here."

 Marinette looked up from the blog post Alya was showing her, as the other girls continued to put on various jewelry pieces. "Who? I didn't ask anyone else to come over?"

 "A boy named Adrien. I can tell him you're busy if you want me to."

 "Adrien… Agreste?" Marinette tilted her head. He was Chloé's friend. The one that visited the bakery and fell/she pushed. Wait… he was also the guy who she made a feathered hat for who had a feather allergy wasn't he?! Why on earth would he want to visit her? Did he have some sort of ulterior motive? Was he Chloé's spy? Did he want revenge for the feathers?! "Er."

 Alya, Rose, Juleka, and Myléne all oooh-ed at the same time.

 "Oh hush. What uh, do you all think?"

 Alya grinned "Good with me, girl. I wanna see how this plays out."

 Rose nodded enthusiastically and Juleka gave a thumbs up.

 Myléne smiled, adjusting her hat, "He's a professional model right? He probably could give us some tips!"

 Marinette rolled her eyes, lowering her voice to a harsh stage-whisper, "He's Chloé’s friend."

 "The one we made the video for, yep," Alya nodded, "Exactly my point. You said it yourself, he needs better friends than her." ….On the other hand, instead of a revenge-seeking spy, he could simply be that lonely sounding boy they made a video for, trying to escape the clutches of the evil Chloé. Marinette could be the only non-Chloé & minions person he knows! Marinette sighed heavily.

 Sabine sighed softly, "Marinette… he's waiting downstairs. Yes or no."

 "Okay! Okay. I'll go down and bring him up, I guess." Marinette trudged down, ignoring the giggling girls.

-

 Adrien was wandering curiously around the bakery, hands politely behind his back. He noticed the door open and waved enthusiastically to Marinette. She squeaked and closed the door. Sabine raised a brow.

 "You can always tell him you're busy."

 "Nooo, it's fine." Marinette sighed and entered the room. Adrien’s confused head tilt turned into a smile. Like a… puppy. An incredibly patient puppy waiting for someone to play with him.

 "Hi Marinette. I watched that video today! Thank you, it was really sweet of you guys to do that. I hope you don't mind me kinda just… showing up."

 "Oh er… you're welcome. I was actually hanging out with some of the girls who helped make that."

 "Oh! If you're busy-" He gestured awkwardly to the door.

 "No, no, uh, we were just hanging out, you can join us."

 He immediately perked up, "Cool! That sounds like fun!"

 Marinette stared at him in his enthusiasm and nodded. "Come on up."

 Adrien climbed up into the room, Marinette shortly after him. The group of girls all immediately hushed their conversation upon noticing them and dissolved into giggles.

 He chuckled and waved, "Well hello. You all are wearing some lovely hats, is this a fashion show?"

 "We're helping Marinette take photos for her Instagram." Myléne said.

 "And future blog!" Alya added.

 "They've been great models for me," Marinette smiled.

 "Oh really? May I see some of the photos?" Alya handed him a phone immediately. He scrolled through some of the photos, nodding."These are great," he smiled and glanced at Marinette, "You made all these hats?"

 Marinette nodded, giggling. Rose bounced over to Adrien, showcasing a necklace. "She makes jewelry too!"

 "Those are lovely! You're really talented!" He gave Marinette a dazzling smile. She giggled and stuttered something, which was almost a thanks?

 "Hey, you're like, a pro model, right?" Alya asked, "Do you mind helping us? Got some insider tips?"

 "Oh, uh, sure!" Adrien smiled. It would be fun to help them. Probably more so than a regular photo shoot.

-

 Chloé gasped at her phone. Her Adrien in a picture on Marinette's Instagram post? All squished in a group photo with her little squad?! Why is he hanging out with her!?

 She called Adrien, anxiously tapping her nails against the back of the phone.

 Adrien picked up and Chloé did not waste a precious minute. "Why are you at Dupain-Chang's?"

 "Hello to you too, Chloé. I'm just hanging out. Marinette and her friends wanted some help with modeling her fashions."

 "Humph, that ugly stuff? Far too kind of you to do that for her."

 He sighed, "Maybe you could benefit from being a bit kinder, Chloé. It's not that hard."

 She heard a few hushed whispers in the background over the line. She balked. "I- But why would your father let you visit her and not let me, your oldest friend, over!"

 "Marinette didn't steal a book from my father's safe and get him upset enough to get akumatized." Adrien's voice was level. Gentle even. Chloé felt that was probably worse than any direct anger.

 Marinette's voice in the background squeaked out "Chloé’s book belonged to your dad?!"

 "Oh." Chloé muttered. "But actually Sabrina-"

 "I don't care if you got Sabrina to do it or not. I care if you learn from this kind of stuff and become a bit more considerate," Adrien sighed, "Maybe if you showcase some better behavior my father might let you come back over more again. But until then, I can't do anything about it. Sorry."

 "I…" Any defences or retorts died on her tongue.

 Adrien waited a moment, "I gotta go Chloé. Talk to you later, okay? Goodbye."

 "Goodbye...Adrien."

 Adrien hung up and she plopped onto the couch, staring at the earlier text messages between her and Adrien.

 Chloé blinked away tears.

-

 Adrien sighed, turning towards the group of girls, "Sorry. My father kinda banned Chloé from coming over to my house and she's still… very upset about it…"

 "She…" Marinette coughed, "Um. What was that about a book?"

 "Chloé and Sabrina came over and uh, Sabrina got caught taking my father's book. It was important to him. Apparently they lost it… I was hoping they could find and return it and they'd be allowed back but…" He glanced at the floor and shrugged.

 "Right. Right. And where did your dad get this book? Er… Maybe we can get a replacement?" She giggled awkwardly.

 "I don't know. He didn't explain much about it." He waved a hand dismissively, "Anyway, you were uh, suggesting food?"

 "Right!" Marinette cheered, "Shall we raid the kitchen? Maybe dad can teach us a good recipe and we can bake something like we were supposed to at school today." She opened the door and gestured for the group to file out downstairs.

 "Yeah, before the fire alarm interfered," Alya said, walking down.

 Rose took Julika's hand and they made their way down, Meline and Adrien not far behind.

 Marinette waited for them to get out of earshot before whispering for Tiki to come out. She zipped out as Marinette grabbed her purse. "If Chloé got the book from Adrien's house, why did Adrien's father have the spellbook? He was akumatized so he can't be Hawkmoth right?"

 Tiki shrugged helplessly, "You'll have to go over and ask him."

 "Ugh, why is tracing down who had this book like a game of evil telephone?" Marinette groaned.

 "Marinette, are you coming?" Myléne called.

 "Oop! Be right there!" She opened her purse for Tiki to zip into it. She raced down the steps to catch up to her friends.

-

 Jean-Claude arrived with chocolates and Chloé tearfully popped them into her mouth. He lingered despite his job being complete. "May I ask what has upset Mademoiselle?"

 "Adrien doesn't wanna be my friend anymoreeee," She whined, "He's making new friends with other girls. How can he do this to me, Jean-Michel?"

 "Uh, my name is- nevermind. Perhaps Mademoiselle can see comfort with Mr. Cuddly?" He offered the stuffed bear with a light flourish.

 She gasped and grabbed the teddy bear, cuddling it close.

 "If you don't mind my asking Mademoiselle, did he say why?"

 "Something, something kindness and consideration." She waved a hand. She pouted. "What do I do Jean-Yves?"

 "Perhaps Mademoiselle remembers Mr. Cuddly when she was a little girl and how he was always nice to Mademoiselle when she was a child?"

 Chloé pursed her lips, eyes shiny, and nodded.

 "Mr. Cuddly is always kind, even when it doesn't directly benefit him. But that has made him a very good friend. Perhaps, Mademoiselle can follow Mr. Cuddly's example and Adrien  will see how good a friend Mademoiselle can be."

 "Oh you're right Jean-Jacque, Adrien wanted me to show his dad I'm considerate, so I'll show him! Then I'll get my Adrikins back and he'll stop hanging out with Dupain-Chang! Er…. How...should I do that?" She giggled awkwardly.

 Jean-Pierre sighed heavily, looking exhausted already.

-

 Adrien was covered in flour and giggling about it. Juleka wasn't even halfway through a mumbled apology before he was forgiving her. Marinette wasn't sure how he was supposedly friends with Chloé in the first place. Was he mind controlled or something by her?

 Alya slid next to Marinette and grinned "So, are we thinking friendly boy or boyfriend here?"

 Marinette rolled her eyes and shook her head "I am not competing with Chloé over her infamous 'Adrikins'. Blegh."

 "That wasn't a 'ew no' though~ You can't deny he's cute."

 Marinette huffed, "Like, in a cute puppy way."

 Alya snorted and nodded, "Fair enough."

 The group's phones all pinged with the exception of Marinette's.

 They each got out their phones. Adrien raised a brow. "Chloé's hosting a party?"

 "Did you all get one?" Juleka asked, looking around at them.

 Myléne nodded, "It looks like it. Maybe she's taking Adrien's advice and is gonna try to be nicer."

 Marinette scoffed, "Please, it's probably some sort of joke or prank."

 "Did you get an invite?"

 Marinette looked at her phone and shook her head, "No…"

 Alya chuckled, "Well that means it's real and not a joke, doesn't it, hm?

 Marinette made a disgruntled face. Then her phone pinged, "Eeew! I got invited!" She threw her phone, then stumbled to catch it before it landed in the batter. Adrien stumbled and caught it for her. They crashed into each other, pinning Adrien between the counter and Marinette. She immediately backpedaled. He giggled awkwardly and handed the phone to her, stepping back out of her space.

 "This is gonna be so much fun! There's gonna be dancing!" Rose looked up, smiling at Juleka.

 "Wait, you guys aren't seriously considering going, are you?" Marinette squeaked.

 "Why not?" Myléne muttered, shrugging, "Maybe she's really trying to be nice."

 "Chloé? Nice?" She shook her head, "Eugh, whatever, you guys can go but count me out."

 Adrien shrugged, idly fiddling with the dough. "I've known Chloé for a long time. She can be cool, sometimes, really." He looked up. ...Wait, did he have baby-doll eyes like Manon or something?! What is this sorcery? He smiled softly. "Maybe give her a chance, Marinette."

 Marinette pursed her lips and sighed "Yeah, yeah, fine, I guess." Alya’s teasing smirk didn't help at all though.

-

 Chloé had it all planned. She had set up a section for adults as well, having sent invites for some of the teens' parents. Namely, she needed Adrien’s father to see how great of a person she could be. Unfortunately the main person she wanted there...was not. But hey maybe this could work with word-of-mouth…. Parents talk to other parents about how nice random kids are, right?

 So while the adults mostly stayed around the tables talking, the teens danced and played in the ball pit. Jean-Paul had been practically following her around with Mr. Cuddly, reminding her what Mr. Cuddly would do. But, Adrien was there! And! Adrien smiled at her! Every time she was nice! So the plan seemed to be working.

Until he left the dance floor to talk to Marinette and her friends. She barely contained her rage. Actually, she didn't contain it at all. Chloé abandoned her dance with Kim and started marching toward them.

 "Oh, I do need to get some of your guys' phone numbers or something so I don't have to make surprise visits all the time," Adrien said, giggling awkwardly.

 Alya nodded, "Yeah for sure, I'll give you Nino's number too, he's DJing-"

 Chloé was so close to pulling Adrien away until Jean-George blocked her path.

 "Mademoiselle if you-"

 "Move, Jean-Marc!"

 He pulled out Mr Cuddly, and spoke in a squeaky voice, "Oh, Chloé dear, Mr Cuddly is very proud of you-" Chloé gasped and tried to bat the teddy bear away.

 "Is that your teddy bear Chloé?" Kim laughed, leading the traitorous group of teens.

 Chloé gasped and pulled Jean-Louis into the kitchens.

 "I've had it with you and your stupid advice! Ive had it with you, Jean-whatever your stupid name is!"

 "Mademoiselle I was only trying to help."

 "No more Mademoiselle, no more help, no more anything! You're fired!" She marched out, leaving Jean-??? clutching the teddy bear. Somewhere, a very patient Hawkmoth (who purposefully declined an invitation in a subtle attempt to make a teenage girl more frustrated and anxious and make a villain at her party eventually) grinned to himself.

-

 Sabrina was just chilling, really. She'd helped set up the entire thing and now they'd much rather just sit and drink her juice. Just as content as Plagg with an extra piece of cheese.

 Until a teddy bear clamped onto her leg.

-

 Chloé utilized her excess frustration to pull Adrien away from Marinette. "Come on, we should dance."

 "Right now? But, I was talking to-" Adrien half heartedly protested, already stumbling along.

 "He doesn't have to go with you if he doesn't want to, you can't just drag him around," Marinette interrupted, grabbing Adrien's other arm.

 "Chloeee," Sabrina called, brandishing a hair brush like a weapon, "Come here. Let me brush your hair. It won't hurt I promise."

 "Don't you see I'm busy?" Chloé huffed. She tugged on Adrien's arm, except this time she got resistance. Adrien pulled his arm away, frowning at Sabrina.

 "Uh, something's… wrong with Sabrina," he said.

 Sabrina smiled, and leapt toward Chloé.

 Marinette intercepted Sabrina, brows furrowed in determination and flipped her onto the ground. Adrien stared at her.

 "Oh. Wow," He breathed out.

 Sabrina blinked and sat up, "Huh? Why am I on the floor?"

 Marinette frowned, looking around the room, "Er… you were… trying to attack Chloé."

 Sabrina gasped and scrambled to a stand. "Ohno, I… I uh, I need to go." Sabrina anxiously smiled and then ran off.

 "Me too actually… I, uh ...too much orange juice." Marinette ran off, leaving Adrien with- ….Where did Chloé go?

 He glanced around, and found her swatting away… some kid Adrien didn't know. He was pretty sure they were in the video somewhere.

 He frowned and glanced around, before running off to the stairwell.

-

 Marinette shook her head as she hid in the bathroom stall, "Looks like Chloé upset someone. Guess it was only a matter of time. Tiki, Spots on!"

-

 Sabrina raced into the kitchen, "Oh I can't believe I was just mind controlled by an Akuma. Poor Chloé!"

 Plagg cackled in laughter, "You have the power of destruction and you were about to chase Chloé with a hair brush. I can't believe it."

 They rolled their eyes, "That's definitely a good thing. Plagg, Claws out!"

-

 Adrien closed the door to the stairwell, checking that no one was there. Duusu zipped out with a cheer, "You love Marinette!"

 "I- what? I er-" He blushed and glanced to the side, "No I don't," his voice came out squeaky.

 "Yes you do, I know it!" Duusu giggled, gesturing to himself, "      Emotion     Kwami." Duusu tilted his head, "Do you intend to tell her? How? Maybe a cute letter or something? Oh you two would be just so cute together! And we could have more fresh pastries!"

 He sputtered and shook his head. "Focus Duusu. We need to help Chloé," Adrien said, fixing the brooch to the front of his shirt.

 Duusu giggled more.

 Adrien took in a deep breath, trying to calm his own blush. "Duusu, Spread my feathers!"

-

 Ladybug and Féline Sombre were already there… Well that was fast.

 "You finally showed up! What took so long!?" Chloé cried towards the two superheros, as she peered from her hiding spot behind a pillar. ...Or maybe it wasn't fast? Did Chloé call them or something? She has mentioned being their friend. Often. By the annoyance from Ladybug, he guessed she wasn't a very good friend if that was the case.

 "What, not excited to see me?" Paon Lilas asked with a grin.

 "Oh yeah you too." Chloé waved a hand, apparently having just noticed him. ...Paon really needed to work on some dramatic entrances.

 Nino threw a CD disc towards Chloé and she shrieked.

 Ladybug wrapped her yoyo around Chloé's leg, pulling her back and into the ball pit. Féline Sombre leaped up to restrain Nino.

 Nino blinked in confusion, "Huh?"

 "Oh, sorry," Féline Sombre let him go, looking for the teddy bear controlling people.

 Another boy threw a chair towards Ladybug. "How about a game of flying chairs?" He taunted.

 "Love to but," Paon kicked the chair away, landing in a wall, "shouldn't music be involved?"

 Ladybug was grabbed from behind and she pushed Alya off, spinning around to find the teen reporter blinking in confusion.

 A boy raised a table above his head, and Féline Sombre extended her staff to knock it out of his hands. Paon grabbed the table before it flew into any civilians and dropped it on the floor. "Careful kitty."

 "Whoops... But, where'd he go?" Féline asked, turning around.

 Ladybug looked around frantically, trying to find someone who was acting off. Paon Lilas grabbed her hand.

 "What are you doing?" Ladybug tugged away. Paon pulled back, making her stumble forward. "Oh no."

 "Ooo, pretty earrings." He made a swipe towards her earrings and she shoved him back, making him stumble.

 "Knock it off, bird brain!" She exclaimed.

 He growled and tried again with a punch. Féline Sombre vaulted in on her staff and kicked him back into a table.

 Paon Lilas plucked a feather and grabbed a plastic spoon from the table.

 A floating marionette rod was summoned. The strings wrapped Féline Sombre's arms and legs. They gasped as they were dragged forward towards Ladybug.

 "Hey!" Ladybug cried, "What are you doing?"

 "I'm not doing this!" Féline shrieked. She threw a punch towards Ladybug, "Sorry!"

 "Paws off kitty cat!" Chloé called, pushing Féline over.

 "Thanks!" Ladybug called, "Lucky Charm!" And… got an over large crochet hook.

 Paon Lilas growled and motioned his head, the senti-marrionetted Féline being flung back towards Chloé. He charged toward Ladybug.

 Ladybug glanced between the marionette rod and the teddy bear. She grabbed a marionette string with the crochet hook Féline passed her and twirling the hook to properly tangle the string, threw it into a wall. The string snapped, giving Féline control of one of her hands.

 "Féline," Ladybug called. Paon kicked her and she jumped back, "I need you to cut some strings soon!" Ladybug and Paon Lilas fought. She shielded, he swept her legs. He went in for a strike, she blocked.

 "Sure thing, Bug," Féline raised a hand, summoning her destructive power, "Cataclysm!"

 "Now, Chloé if you could be so kind-” She gestured to the captured marionette strings.

 Chloé nodded, taking up the hook and diving for the teddy bear, catching a loop on its back. She tugged and threw it back to Féline Sombre. They touched the Akuma string with their Cataclysm.

 Paon blinked as the Akuma was destroyed, halting a punch. He took in heavy breaths, stumbling back as a wave of fear hit him over the receding fog of mind control. "Ladybug? What are you doing?"

 Fear was quickly replaced with relief and pride. Ladybug grinned, "Just saving your feathery hide with our new sidekick." She looked at Chloé.

 "You haven't defeated me yet!" A small voice squeaked and kicked Paon Lilas in the chin.

 "Watch your step!" Ladybug readied her yoyo to capture and purify the butterfly that was fluttering away.

 "Can someone help me out here!?" Féline Sombre yelled. Paon glanced at the senti-monster strings attached to her feet and hand and then at the spoon he was carrying. His miraculous beeped. He snapped his fingers, pulling the amok from the spoon and dropping it.

 Ladybug threw her crochet hook into the air, "Miraculous Ladybug!" The swarm of ladybugs returned everything in the room to normal. Ladybug and Féline Sombe high fived. Paon Lilas ran. Before either of them turned to look his way.

 Ladybug turned, finding the other miraculous wielder missing. She sighed, "He flew off again."

 Chloé cleared her throat.

 Ladybug blinked and looked at her. "Oh. Er, thanks for helping me back there…. It was very nice of you."

 Chloé smiled, dusting off her jacket, "It was, wasn't it? Did you hear that, Jean-Pascal?! If Ladybug says I'm nice then Adrien and his dad have to believe it!"

 "...Mademoiselle I must admit I have no memory of what just happened."

 "Basically you turned evil and I saved you. Without me the superheros probably never would have succeeded." Chloé explained.

 Both Ladybug's and Féline Sombre's miraculous' beeped.

 "Gotta go," Ladybug said, running up the stairwell to the roof.

 "Same here," Féline said, giving a polite nod to Chloé and Jean-Something. She ran out the doors.

 "Hm. Maybe some of this nice-stuff of yours makes some sense….. Jean-Baptiste, I've decided to keep you on. Don't let the guests all run away, they don't wanna miss what's next!"

 Jean-Pierre nodded "Thank you, Mademoiselle, I will Mademoiselle."

-

 Adrien sighed as he watched Marinette finish her macaroons. He was too tired to make his own. He sat in a chair to avoid any sudden dizzy spells, resting his head on the table.

 Chloé slid next to him, looping her arms around his shoulders. "Sooo Adrikins, I'm really nice now, did you notice? I even let Marinette's dad finish teaching everyone how to make those messy macaroons."

 He pulled his attention from Marinette and nodded. "Yes, it's very nice of you." He smiled a little. She frowned…. Usually smiling causes the opposite response.

 "Ugh, what's wrong? You're not like, super happy. I did everythingggg."

 "Oh uh," he glanced at Marinette again, before looking back at Chloé, "It's nothing."

 Chloé followed his glance and pouted, "Did she say mean things to you? Do I need to tell her her macaroons are appalling or something?"

 "No! No. Please no. We just talked about being nice."

 "Oops! Right…. Wait. You don't like her do you?"

 He blushed and looked away, shrugging.

 Chloé gasped, "Nooo! Ughhh, why couldn't you fall in love with someone unattainable? Like Ladybug or somebody."

 "Huh?" Adrien crinkled his nose, "What?"

 "Nothing~ Fine, fine. We're still best friends forever right though?"

 He huffed a smile and nodded, "Yeah, Chloé, best friends forever."

 "Pinky swear?" She held out her pinky in front of him and he linked their fingers.

 "Pinky swear."

 She let out an exhale of relief, "Okay, make sure to tell your dad I'm the best influence ever now."

 Adrien giggled and nodded, "Sure. I'll try."

 "Perfect. You promised," She grinned and waltzed over to the bakers and began listing off what was wrong with their goods. Pausing at Marinette, she glanced at Adrien and simply passed her by without a word…. Marinette seemed offended anyway.

 Adrien shook his head. Oh, that didn't cause spots in his vision. Good. Satisfied with the conclusion the worst of the battle weariness had passed, he got up to see if Marinette might share some of those cookies. Then, if he had the energy, repair some of Chloé’s emotional damage.

#fanfic #ml fanfiction #miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette dupen chang #Chloé Bourgeois #sabrina raincomprix #black cat!sabrina #peacock!adrien #miraculous swap #fly away fic #fanart's fanfic #apparently I cant help myself but post the entire thing #lol

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Well, I’m done rewatching season 2 of south park and I’ve taken plenty of notes and screenshots to document all the facts and tidbits I thought were interesting or just funny. Under the cut is a collection of notes where I progressively start caring more and more about fake children

Kenny’s house is full of empty bottles, his family eats frozen waffles for dinner, and his dad is drinking at the dinner table

Kenny’s and Kyle’s dads have some history. They were best friends as teenagers

Kenny’s dad is kind of anti-Semitic, he says Kyle’s dad was successful because he’s Jewish

Cartman kind of expresses agreement with Stuart’s anti-Semitism, which I think is the first time Cartman’s been clearly anti-Semitic

Kenny’s house has rats, but his room has lights that shut off when you clap twice

WOW KYLE wtf he says “Kenny's not really my friend, Ma. I don't give a rat's ass about him.” FUCKING RUDE

Kyle and Kenny have a fun little sleepover where they play “ookie mouth”, a game where they take turn spitting in each other’s mouths. This episode (S02E10 Chickenpox) is great for fans of K2 despite how absolutely disgusting ookie mouth is

The McCormick house was something Stuart and Gerald built as teenagers. A fort in Stuart’s mom’s backyard

Gerald went to community college

Gerald and Stuart have a fun fist fight by a pond

Kyle makes a haiku: Fatass Cartman was / not on the school bus today. / What a big, fat turd.

Kenny makes a haiku: When you rub your dick, / you might find a discharge that / winds up on the floor.

Kyle makes another: Ass full of pork fat / jiggles like a Jello mold. / Mouth is flapping, too.

And another by Kyle: I bet you don't win. / They don't let big fat asses / perform on TV.

Cartman responds: Shut your God-damned mouth / or else I'm... gonna... kick you / square in the balls... asshole

I spy with my desperate eye the beginnings of Craig’s gang, featuring Kenny with wonky eyes

Bebe thinks Kyle has a hot ass and she’s not shy about saying it

Bebe writes a note to Kyle, and Stan tries to pass it on but Mr. Garrison thinks it’s Stan’s note for Kyle and makes him read it out loud. So he reads: “Dear Kyle. You have got such a great ass. I could sleep for days on those perked cheeks, let me tell you. I'd like to live with you and wear your ass as a hat for all eternity.” (If that happened to me I’d be embarrassed forever)

POV: You’re Stan and you just said you love Kyle’s juicy ass in front of the whole 3rd grade class

The first time Stan’s mom and dad get a divorce is in S02E12, way sooner than I remembered

Bebe kisses Kyle when they’re playing truth or dare in their clubhouse, probably Kyle’s first kiss. Kyle thinks it’s disgusting (despite having played ookie mouth with Kenny which is arguably more disgusting)

Bebe breaks up with Kyle and goes off with Clyde, who says “Bitchin’ 😎”. Later Clyde is with Bebe, Stan, and Wendy at the club house

Cartman and Kyle have a fist fight once again. Kyle hated Cartman way more than Stan did very early on, kind of all along really, they truly were destined to be arch enemies

Kenny has food stamps

Oh, and Cartman’s made poor jokes about Kenny and twice (I think) Kenny has punched him in retaliation in the past 2 seasons. Kenny’s family is probably a bad and violent example for him

By the way, if you’ve ever wondered what Kenny says in the theme song but never looked it up, in seasons 1-2 he sings “I like girls with big fat titties, I like girls with deep vaginas” but in the remastered versions of seasons 1-2 (which is the version I’m watching) they changed it to the season 3-5 lyrics: “I have got a ten-inch penis, use you mouth if you wanna clean it”.

When an evil twin version of Cartman says nice things, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny stare at him in horror. Stan says, “Dude, this is creepy.”

Also, the boys say dude a lot. At least Stan, Kyle, and Kenny do, Cartman not as much

Kenny’s mom hits him when he’s hogging the blanket from his brother. Kenny makes a sad face and it made me feel bad :(

When evil twin Cartman comes to give the McCormicks some supplies, Kenny’s dad asks if that was his “fat, racist, foul-mouthed friend” so Cartman clearly has a reputation

When Stan gets scared of his evil fish, he wakes Shelly up and she slaps him. Their mom sees it and says nothing

But on the other hand his mom buries a body that Stan’s fish killed because she thinks he killed it so I guess she’s not entirely a bad mom

Kenny was supposed to buy a pumpkin for Halloween but he could only afford a squash and his friends are really mean about it. The more I watch the more I feel bad for Kenny (and Stan)

Cartman kind of has a shitty friendship with Kenny. He says “I hate you Kenny” because of the squash

Kyle is really annoyed by Cartman saying “hella” all the time, nobody else is as annoyed

Evil Cartman sings a cute little song while wielding a knife: You guys / are my best friends, / through thick and thin, / we've always been together! / We're four of a kind, / having fun all day, / palling around and laughing away. / Just best friends, / best friends are we!

Stan still has his dog, Sparky, in season 2

After Stan’s fish kills Kenny, Kenny’s mom comes over to ask about her son and she’s drunk and upset. Honestly seeing Kenny die all the time makes me kind of sad

Stan says Kenny’s squash isn’t a bad little squash. Very heartwarming. The squash gets first prize at the pumpkin carving contest :)

Cartman’s grandma and extended family live in Nebraska

When the boys go to Cartman’s family to have Christmas dinner, Kenny’s dad tells him to take any leftovers and bring them back home (he does it very gently and Kenny just says “okay” and why do I care that this fake child dies all the time and barely has food at home, like why the fuck do I care so much???)

Cartman’s mom is wearing glasses when she drives. She doesn’t do it in the later seasons but maybe she has contacts

Cartman and his mom sing a road trip song for 4 hours. Kyle says “please stop” but when they ignore him, he kicks Cartman’s seat and makes Cartman hit his head

Stan has a complicated relationship with his family, he says they’re dead to him because they didn’t want him to go on a road trip to Nebraska so Stan went without telling them

Kenny doesn’t eat at the dinner table with Cartman’s family, he just shoves the food in a bag :( I feel so bad for him

Stan, Kyle, and Kenny all hit Cartman after they wake in the night to make sure they’re not dreaming

Under his coat, Cartman wears a pink tank top that says BEEFCAKE. He wore it in S1E02 Weight Gain 2000

Charles Manson invites Kenny to go to a more secluded location and Kenny just says okay and goes, but honestly he should know better since he’s aware that he keeps dying

Cartman bonks his cousin Elvin on the head and gives him brain damage. Elvin gets better though

THE NEXT EPISODE IS GNOMES!!! TWEEEEEK!!!!

Token gets named when he’s put in a group with Wendy, Bebe, Clyde, and Pip. Craig’s gang is getting closer to becoming a thing!!

IT’S OUR FUCKING BOY TWEEK TWEAK BITCH YEEEEAAAH

Tweek says he’s awake at 3:30am because he can’t sleep, ever

Jesus, Tweek’s dad kind of sucks immediately. He says he might have to sell Tweek to slavery if his coffee shop goes out of business

Cartman says Kenny’s family is happy being poor and on welfare, “right, Kenny?” and Kenny says “fuck you” which is completely justified

When the underpants gnomes don’t appear, Tweek is worried he’s going insane and pulls on his hair

His parents say Tweek is jittery and anxious just because he has ADD (but the kind of severe jitteriness and anxiety Tweek has isn’t a symptom of primarily inattentive ADHD, even though people with ADHD do experience restlessness and can even have some tics and are more likely to have anxiety as a comorbid disorder than a neurotypical person is, but I mean come on, we all know Tweek’s slurping way too much coffee so even if he has ADHD beneath all that, his parents should stop giving him coffee and they definitely should not start lacing it with meth. Basically what I’m saying is that Tweek’s parents are full of shit)

Actually Tweek’s mom is kind of okay. She tells Tweek’s dad that he’s being shitty for using kids to advance his agenda. But… the agenda is against big corporations and I hate to say it but Tweek’s dad kind of has a point

Ew, the boys are giving a pro big corporations speech. That aged really poorly considering how shitty billionaires are

Aww, look at Kenny! He got scared of a crocodile that Steve Irwin is about to bother by jamming his thumb up its butthole

The boys are really excited about Steve Irwin jamming his thumb up a crocodile’s butthole

Oh my God, Kyle calls Cartman a fatass penis

Kenny is a mediator between Stan and Kyle. They ask him which one found this ice man in a cave first, but Kenny just deflects and agrees with Kyle’s name suggestion (Steve) for the ice man

I kind of like Dr. Mephesto. I’m glad he came back for Fractured But Whole

Stan and Kyle are having a terrible fight about who found the ice man. Kyle says they’re not best friends anymore and that Cartman is his new best friend and Cartman says “Sweet!”, then Stan claims Cartman as his new best friend and Cartman says “Killer!”

This prehistoric ice man episode is actually funny, I love it

Stan and Kyle are having a fight to the death

They reconcile and become best friends again. They both agree that Cartman’s a sucky best friend

Well, that was the last episode of the season. This was fun. South Park is actually a fun show

Kenny deaths:

S02E10 Kenny is in the hospital because of chicken pox. He laughs at Cartman’s joke so hard that his heart flatlines like beeeeeeeeeeeeeep

S02E11 Kenny’s head explodes after Stan and Kyle make him watch planetarium lights at a high intensity

S02E12 Kenny gets trampled in a mosh pit

S02E13 A cow impales Kenny’s head with its horn

S02E14 Ozzy Osbourne bites Kenny’s head off

S02E15 Kenny is killed by Stan’s evil fish, he gets spun in the fish tank until the water’s red

S02E16 The police shoot Kenny who came outside with a white flag during a hostage situation, then the police hit his dead body with a baton and handcuff him

S02E17 Kenny gets crushed by the underpants gnomes’ mine cart. The gnomes are horrified but Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Tweek are kinda like whatever

S02E18 Kenny gets squished underneath a conveyer belt

Onto the next season I go. I’ll watch the movie too since it was released around halfway through season 3

#south park #sp rewatch #this was supposed to be a quick little thing but i'm taking it too seriously #i feel like i'm screaming into a void

[skellebonez]

Smoke, Flasks, And Unfinished Tasks: Chapter 3

AO3 Link!

Chapter 1 Link!

Chapter 2 Link!

Summary: MK starts to realize things are a bit too familiar right now, an unspoken event is revealed, and someone else realizes other things. There is a lot to unpack.

Warnings: Mild violence and smoking at the tail end.

Chapter 3: Big Words Traveler, But Can You Back Them Up

Something felt... off. That's the only way MK could describe it. Off.

It reminded him of the Calabash when he thought about it, but was it even possible? When Jin and Yin had trapped him in that weird mechanical gourd thing they had tried to make everything perfect, barring those odd earthquakes and the glitches that his mind made excuses for ignoring at the time. Really, they were actually pretty bad at their scheme and he should have picked up on it a lot sooner. This time nothing felt perfect, however, everything felt... mostly normal.

The Monkey King kicked his butt in scheduled training and then lost matches in Monkey Mech and refused to stop until he had best out of 15. Mei and Red Son seemed to be acting like normal. No earthquakes. No glitches.

But his time in the Calabash had made him more observant of his surroundings and his mistake with Macaque had made him less trusting. The fact the weather station called for rain and it had not rained? That was just odd enough to catch his attention when the weather station hadn't messed up a forecast without someone attacking it or really messing something up, something that always got local news alerts sent to their phones and would have had Mei making fun of the poor sap who messed up by now, in the entire time he had a phone.

Something didn’t just feel off. Something was off. And just in case he was right he needed to play his cards carefully. Do something that wouldn’t raise suspicion.

“Hey, Monkey King?” He smiled, knowing that his expression was just fake enough that if the other were real he would call it in an instant. He would raise his eyebrow or ask him what was up or ask him what the look was for. “We have any snacks?”

“Yeah, bud, coming right up!” He just... smiled. Stood. Walked into the kitchen.

This was not The Great Sage Equal To Heaven.

This was not his mentor.

Well... Shit.

----------

“Wait, back up,” Mei turned from where she sat at the boat wheel. “What does that even mean?”

MK had gotten her to stop before they were nearly back to the City, feeling bad they stopped in such a poor spot for Red Son but determined to talk when they were seemingly alone. He’d played along and only grown more certain in his deduction that the person they were with was not the Monkey King. The more he paid attention the more certain he was that they weren’t on Flower Fruit Mountain either.

The mountain always smelled of four things. Flowers, peaches, dirt, and the slightest undertone of molten rock and ash from close by the Flaming Mountains. The more he tried to pick up the normal scents that would hit him they just seemed... muted, somehow. Like smelling them through a mask or like they were artificial. The rock and ash was nowhere to be found at all.

And there was more. He tried so hard to remember how he got to the mountain. Logically he knew they took a boat, they had to do that. There was a boat on the shore. But that was the first thing he remembered seeing. He could not remember the boat ride over, could not remember the walk to where they docked the boat at all, could barely remember anything past leaving Pigsy’s Noodles at all. Gaps in his memory were not an every day occurrence for him (despite Pigsy teasing him about forgetting to do his job, that was not the same thing).

The only things he knew for certain were real were Mei and Red Son. He’d almost let his anxiety get the better of him, memories of summoning monster trees with his stress being the thing that made him focus long enough to test the waters.

He knew that burying his face in their hair and smelling them was weird as hell, even given their close relationship that was pushing it way too far in comfort, but given scent was the most telling sense giving him pause he had to try once Monkey King was distracted. If it had been any other situation Mei and Red Son’s disturbed and confused faces (and the muffled “what the fuck dude” from Mei) would have been hilarious, but when he could clearly smell Mei’s tea tree shampoo mixed in with the ever present scent her bike’s motor oil he was certain she was real. He was almost certain when Red tensed up and flushed when he repeated the action, but the scent of slight burning and his overly expensive coconut oil and jasmine shampoo cemented the fact he was real as well.

He’d make up for making them uncomfortable after all this was over.

“Exactly what I said, that wasn’t Monkey King,” MK repeated, looking over the horizon at the city-scape. Still no rain. No clouds. It was half an hour until sundown. “I don’t... this is going to sound crazy... but I don’t think this is real.”

His companions looked at each other in clear concern and MK knew he would finally have to come clean. “MK, wh-”

“There’s something I never told any of you. Not even Monkey King. Just... promise you’ll listen to me?”

----------

When he finished recounting the long ago misadventure he had in Jin and Yin’s Calabash he couldn’t look Mei and Red Son in their eyes. Despite knowing he probably shouldn’t he felt guilty for keeping something that important a secret.

“Oh MK... That’s why you were so preoccupied with us not being perfect,” Mei said softly, standing to envelop her friend in a sudden hug that barely shook the boat. “I’m sorry for losing my cool with you back then.I should have known something was weird when you said that.”

A shaky breathe MK didn’t know he was holding escaped, grateful that they seemed to believe him immediately.

“No, I’m the one who should be sorry,” MK pulled away, giving Mei an awkward smile. Red Son had moved closer, and he shot him a smile as well when he placed a hand on his shoulder. “I should have told everyone when it happened, I just... I felt..” He trailed off, looking at the rainless city again. “We can unpack that later, right now we need to see if we’re really in another Calabash or if it’s something similar. If it is Jin and Yin again they’ve really stepped up their game.”

“I don’t think so...” Red Son said thoughtfully. He bit the end of his thumb nail, pacing the boat slowly in thought. “They seemed more preoccupied with just... having fun almost, last time. They didn’t seem to have an endgame past ‘capture the Monkie Kid’. What’s the end game? Why capture all three of us?”

“Yeah...” MK sighed, looking around carefully. “I dunno.. come to think of it, it all just feels different. This time it’s a lot closer and that is really scary if I’m being honest,” MK shuddered, not comfortable with how much better it was if he was really correct. “But it isn’t 100% accurate. Everything smells dull and Monkey King wasn’t picking up on things he normally would have.”

“Is that why you smelled o-”

“Unpacking later!”

“Why don’t we do what you did to get out last time?” Red Son interrupted, looking hopeful that he had solved the problem already. “We just have to find your staff.”

“Yeah that... that’s another problem...” MK bit his lip and held his hand up to his ear. The glow that lit from it illuminated the dawning horror on his friend’s faces as the staff materialized in his hand. They both seemed to regret not watching MK train that day when they realized what this meant. “That... may not work this time.”

----------

“You’re bleedin’ delusional!” The demon couldn’t help but groan out, pacing wildly in growing frustration. Before them both was a set of screens, watching the display of the trio’s conversation. The entire room looked like something right out of one of those American spy thrillers they’d seen, computers and monitors hooked up and showing a multitude of views. “I told you, you can’t just throw that many people in at once! It doesn’t matter how improved it is, it messes up, confuses the simulation! And-and you let ‘im keep the bloody staff! He’s-”

“Not getting out any time soon,” the other demon, seated comfortably in the only chair in the room, soothed. Their words were like poisoned honey and the first demon grimaced. How they let themselves be taken in by these words... they would never forgive themselves now, not after all of this. Not after what happened to- “Patience is what you and your brother lacked the first time. They don’t need to believe it, they just need to stay in it. Come now, you need to... relax.”

The first demon, the smaller demon, backed a step away as the seated one sat up straighter. They weren’t fast enough to get away from the clawed hand that gripped their throat, cutting off their air supply and pulling them far too close to the other’s face. No fight was given, they knew what would happen if they tried, and watched anxiously as the seated demon raised their forearm long smoking pipe to their lips to take a long drag on whatever foul concoction they had in it.

“Just rest Yin.” Their open mouth revealed colored smoke, sickeningly sweet and fruity smelling, swirling around inside before they loosened the grip on his throat to blow it directly into his face as he took a hasty breath of oxygen. "Perhaps you'll be more patient after a nice long nap."

The blue demon coughed when the other finally let him go, breathing deeply in the hopes he didn’t inhale as much smoke as he feared he did. As he tipped backward onto the ground he knew that was a fruitless thought. Now he laid on the ground with his head fuzzy and gaze filled with the equally unconscious visage of his elder brother.

The Gold and Silver demons... had really messed up...

#some of you guessed the where #can you guess the who now? #well the other who anyway #smoking is bad kids don't do it #mk #Qi Xiaotian #mei #long xiaojiao #red son #mystery character #monkie kid #lego monkie kid #jin and yin #fanfic #fanfiction #smoke flasks and unfinished tasks #sfaut #side note: mei 100% should not be driving that boat

[radramblog]

Can we talk about Robert Rodriguez?

Don’t ask me how I got on this idea. Yet.

This motherfucker is such an utterly bizarre filmmaker. He starts off making violent action films, with his fifth movie being written by Tarantino, and has a whole Thing where he likes being the Director, Writer, and Producer of as many of his movies as he can manage. And like, we’re aware of how that often tends to go, we know what The Room is, but unlike Wiseau it doesn’t seem to be an ego thing, dude just loves being super involved with filmmaking. Also, I think not starring in the movies helps.

And then he goes and makes fucking Spy Kids. Which…if you haven’t seen the Spy Kids movies, I don’t have any idea how to explain them to you. Like…they’re somewhere between so-bad-its-good and actually just bangers. You could write them off between the extremely early 00’s CGI being heavily relied upon and being, well “family friendly” adventure films, but the creativity on display is incredible and its clear that the whole thing isn’t being taken too seriously. There’s cringe, but there’s also legitimately good writing. There’s some awkward child actors, and there’s also fucking Antonio Banderas and Danny Trejo.

At least, the first couple are. I think the less said about 3 the better, though they really did get Sylvester Stallone in, huh. And also Elijah Wood for like 5 seconds. And a foruth one sure does exist, but I definitely haven’t touched it with a stick. It doesn’t look good. Apparently the idea for this series came from hearing about someone’s kid being a fan of one of Rodriguez’s more murder-y films, and him going like “dang dude you really shouldn’t let kids watch that, also maybe I should make some movies that kids can watch, like the ones I saw as a kid”, which I can’t help but respect. From all I’ve seen, the bloke does seem to be a class act.

And it’s good to have stuff for your kids, but maybe don’t take it to the level Rodriguez did. Because that’s how you get Sharkboy and Lavagirl. I feel like most people’s modern awareness of this film is via memes, which is probably a result of people who watched it as a kid getting old enough now to actually get nostalgic for it? And like, I watched it again a couple years ago, nothing about that film aged well, especially when you’re aging with it. It takes a lot of balls to have your literal child write a film that has a 50 million dollar budget, but as cool as that would be for…Racer Rodriguez, it doesn’t seem like the greatest choice.

I had figured that RR had largely disappeared after that point, but no, dude has had a shitload of movies since 2005. Because as it turns out that year he co-directed and wrote and produced Sin City. And wrote/EPed a third movie. I cannot imagine how much effort that would have been in a single year. But there’s a whole list of movies since then he’s been involved with, and some of them I’ve even heard of. He directed the somewhat maligned Alita: Battle Angel movie, did the Sin City sequel, and apparently produced the 2010 Predator movie. Dude just kinda kept going in those two modes he had- violent action movie and weirdo kids flick.

You know that feeling you get when you miss a step on the staircase? That’s the feeling that inspired this post. And it was caused by finding out that the Machete movies didn’t come out until 2010 and 2013. So Robert had the idea of a violent action film starring Danny Trejo (who as it turns out is his second cousin), wrote a screenplay in 1993, couldn’t get the movie together yet, and decided to just. Slap this character into a kids movie. And then its two sequels. And then let it simmer for another few years before making the film.

Can you imagine having a whole movie planned 17 years before it releases? And having a splatter film about drug cartels canon in the universe of a family adventure film about child spies fighting Willy Wonka and his army of thumb-people? If nothing else, that’s a fucking weird one.

I sure hope he’s not secretly an asshole, though, because I definitely respect treating Hollywood like the clown show it is.

#ramble #film #spy kids #machete #robert rodriguez #inb4 i post this and someone tells me hes a nazi or something and i have to be sad

[ive-lost-my-effervescent-mind]

So I watched Interview with the Vampire for the first time

I watched Interview with a Vampire for the first time just now and here are my thoughts, in the order I thought them. The movie is like two hours long and I had a LOT of thoughts but the movie’s on hulu so if you watch it, maybe read along idk

Christian Slater looks like Logan Lerman send tweet

Brad Pitt isn't that hot ngl

What's with Vampires and the confederacy?

I mean really. Twilight, Vampire Dairies, Beautiful Creatures and now this

Ngl, flying while drinking someone's blood is pretty gay

This whole movie so far is pretty gay

They're boyfriends, I've decided it

Okay maybe Brad Pitt was kinda hot

Tom Crusie is still creepy tho

All this seems pretty tame so far, idk why it's rated R

"Now look with your vampire eyes." Stephenie Meyer wishes she wrote this line

"I'll be waiting for you." G A Y

Are they in France?

Oh no he has a conscience 

Tom Cruise being the best vampire boyfriend and killing the victim for his vampire boyfriend 

It's important to note that i have no idea what these characters' names are

Literally, I don't think they've been said

Did he just- is he eating a rat?

Oh, they're in Louisiana

Lestat, what a funny name

I need some blood, Lestat

Read her mind? really? The more pre-twilight vampire stuff I see the less impressed I become with Stephenie Meyer’s concepts

What's that thing on his thumb?

You may be old enough to be his grandmother, murderous old lady, but his vampire boyfriend is more than old enough to be yours

"Life without me would be even more unbearable" I said it before and I’ll say it again: GAY

Brad Pitt really said let's go to KFC

Wow they're really trying to convince us that Vampire Brad Pitt was nice to his slaves and really cared about them. Disgusting

Oh, his name is Louis

Maybe Tom Cruise is cute

Still creepy tho

Okay, NOW they're in France

Is he-is he eating her boob!?

Yes! He drank her blood from her boob!

I get why it's R now

"So I'm sitting there with blood on my titties"

I love Louis's hair, such volume

The coffee table is a coffin, how smart

There is a lot of drinking of rats in this movie

Oh, the plague, how relatable 

Awww, Baby Kirsten Dunst

More rats, yay

He made her a vampire?

She's like 9. Imagine never aging past nine

Oh, it's a knife ring. How cool

Wow Claudia really likes the test of vamp blood. It's not like Lestat doesn't deserve it

Wow, she becomes a vampire and her hair is instantly curled

How nice, he's poking a hole in the nanny-juice box for her

"Our little daughter." G A Y

I appreciate this gay vampire dad content

I love how she kills every man who pisses her off. Good for her

"I want to be her." Poor baby

Claudia is fighting back. So much rage in such a small body

Oh my god her hair. It just grows back. Dear god

She cut him. Good for her

Oh no

"Louis my love" oh no oh no oh no

If this movie is going where i think it is imma turn it off

Oh wait nvm

She just wants to leave

Thank god

"Is that supposed to scare me?" This kid is I C O N I C

Lestat is a Le-Jerk

Did she kill him?

She did, she did kill him. He deserved it tho

"He belongs with those reptiles." Claudia is a savage

This is such a violent and brutal break up

Also: this movie is L O N G

Oh no, the plague, again

At least Claudia gets to go to a ball, and the opera

I don't know who this other vampire is but i sense that he's an asshole

He's so odd. But i guess you do what you gotta do to say entertained

You could say his eternal life literally drove him up the wall

Oh! The dad from spy kids

He has a card, how classy

I love how no one questions that Louis takes a kid out in high society 

"A vampire pretending to be a human pretending to be a vampire." " How avant garde" this kid!

Oh my god that isn't an actress. Its an actual victum

There he is! The dad from spy kids!

They really killed her in front of all those people. Theatre these days, amirite?

How cute, they have little coffin cubbies

See Louis, every vampire has a kid

Oh wait no

He's not a vampire kid, he's an actual child that they just feed on

Vampire dad-from-spy-kids really said fuck your morality

Why does Claudia call Louis beloved. It creeps me out

It's illegal to kill another vampire. Damn

It's illegal to make a young vampire, as it should be

That being said, Lestat told them none of this!

Ofc, Louis has made yet another vampire fall in love with him. Good for him

"You...are...beautiful, my friend." G A Y

Lestat was really everyone's asshole ex, wasn't he?

Oh no! Claudia wants a friend

She's guilt tripping him. Good for her

Oh wow, he actually did it

Oh wait he didn't 

Oh no, he lost his humanity 

Why is she gonna kiss him

Oh good the vampire police are here to stop it

I mean: oh no! Not the vampire kid!

Armand! Do something! Save your vampire love interest!

More coffins, great

Louis's punishment is giving me "Cask of armillio” vibes 

Oh shit, the dungeons has no ceiling to the sky, she's gonna burn

Poor Claudia

Oh, and also Madeline i guess

Yes Armond! Free him!

Louis for vampire dad of the year

Oh no...they're ash

Poor Louis

"So vampires can cry" See Smeyer! See!

Is that...oil?

Oh yes, yes it is. And he's covering everything with it

LOUIS REALLY SAID ALL YOU KILLED MY DAUGHTER, PREPARE TO DIE

wheres armund tho

Oh no the sun

There he is! There's Armund!

And the blood boy

Oh shit, Louis is maaddd

"But the world was a tomb to me." Damn

More rats. Great.

"The scent of death...an old death." Lestat? Is that you?

It is Lestat!

He looks like shit

Has he been sitting there since the late 1700s?

"But all my passion went with her golden hair." Still unclear if he loves her as a daughter or as something else...very creepy

Proof that this movie is gay: the framing device takes place in SF

Oh shit. It's Lestat

He's gonna kill the interviewer 

Damn Lestat is salty

Oh wait, he's gonna turn him

In conclusion

All vampire content is, on some level, gay, whether intentional or not. This movie is definitely not the exception.

This movie is L O N G

the plot is kinda unclear. It’s very character driven (?)

Edward should have made Bella watch this movie in order to convince her not to be a vampire

Even though Jane is originally a brunette in the books, she’s esentially just Claudia

I started watching this movie thinking Tom Crusie and Brad Pitt are just kinda creepy middle aged dudes. It’s nice to know they were kinda cute back in the day. Still creepy tho

For some reason, I thought this was the movie where the little girl says “I see dead people”

It isn’t, in case anyone is wondering

#this movie was a trip #Claudia is an honorary member of gen Z fight me #honestly tho I wrote down alot #i just had a lot of commentary #i do suggest watching the movie tho #I gor no ads on it on hulu for some reason #the costumes were nice #i wish they kinda left the ending tho #instead of forcing lestat into the framing device #interview with the vampire

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 19

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 9,165

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

Neverland, as I was currently discovering, was a huge indoor playground at the Dusk Town Center mall. A place where children never had to grow up, or so its big overhead sign boasted. Its vast range of diversions for the little ones included such attractions as a jungle gym in the shape of a large comical skull, a huge green plastic alligator that had a slide built into its long back, and monkey bars supported at either end by large, spooky prop trees. Off in one corner, there were even synthetic, cute yet culturally problematic teepees for the tiny tots to crawl around and hide in. But its crowning jewel seemed to be the kiddie train that ran along the tracks circling the entire play area. Each of its carts were actually little pirate ships that could fit one child in it, maybe two if they were really little.

Since the playground was in the middle of a wide open mall walkway, many stores surrounded it, such as an antique shop by the name of Cave of Wonders. Beyond the rusty brass lamps in its window and past an old, tacky purple carpet draping off a shelf, a friendly young woman with long black hair tied back into a two-sectioned ponytail and wearing a turquoise crop top could be seen running the counter.

Next door to that was Game-A-Saurus Rex, a video game store sporting a green t-rex mascot as part of its logo. An absolute giant of an employee with messy brown hair was currently setting up a display pyramid but his meaty, clumsy hands accidentally knocked it over, wrecking it. I got the feeling this wasn't the first time from the look of being one hundred percent done he was receiving from his silver haired coworker with mismatched eyes.

Neighboring them, I was a bit surprised to discover there was even an Esmerelda's Secrets here as well, a… ahem, lingerie store, to use a more PG term. I found its location so near to the play area to be a bit of a questionable mall layout choice.

I sighed, paper bag lunch crinkling in my grip as I glanced around.

Where was he?

"Are you sure this is where he told you he wanted to meet up?" Kristoff asked beside me, his eyes scanning about as well. Thankfully, he'd forgiven me by now for the minor phone-hurling fiasco and we were back on speaking terms again.

"Positive," I fished my mobile out of my pocket with my free hand, rereading Lea's text asking me to head to Neverland once my lunch break had started.

Since I'd never heard of it before, I'd asked Kristoff (him being the closest person at hand since he'd been working the Ice Palace registers with me) if he'd known what it was. I figured he could at least point me in the right direction, which would be faster than looking at a mall directory. Instead, since he was getting off shift the same time I was going on lunch, he'd offered to walk me there, saying it was on his way anyway.

But now here we were and a certain redhead was nowhere to be seen.

"Bah, I'm sure he'll turn up any second now," Kristoff shrugged off with a laugh. I said nothing, just continued to frown down at my phone before raising my eyes to take another look around. Shoving one of his hands into his pocket while he used the other to ruffle the hair at the back of his head, Kristoff said, "So… your sister…"

"Anna? What about her?" I muttered distractedly, gaze still jumping from face to unfamiliar face. Come on, Lea was a friggin' mountain with hair like a beacon that could light a path home for even the most wayward of lost ships. The guy should have been sticking out like a sore thumb.

He pursed his lips to one side, slightly widened eyes darting about now. "She's… well, she's really… neat." I blinked, slowly looking over at him now. He stiffened, then gave a weak chuckle, "Did I say neat? Not neat, I meant, ah… pretty!" His face blanched. "Pretty… pretty, pretty swell, that is! Yeah, a real bangarang," insert his wince here, "gal that, uh... that's really, er…"

Annnnnd now he was blushing. What was with him, anyway? It was so unlike him to be getting all tongue-tied and-

Oh.

Oh dear. I knew what this was.

Someone had a crush.

Ugh, why did I have to be the one to break his heart by telling him my sister was already in a relationship?

"...anyway," his voice cracked and he coughed, beating a fist to his chest before trying again. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say, or… rather ask is... would you know if, ah… is... is she seeing any-" his idly wandering gaze landed on something past me and he froze, words dying on his tongue. Then his eyelids drooped. "...I think I found your boyfriend."

My brow furrowed at the face he was making before I turned on my heel, following his gaze.

I heard them before I saw them. Cheerful whoops and hollers echoing from the plastic tunnel over the railroad tracks, heralding the emerging train of pirate ships. Then there they were: Lea and Roxas, taking up a full boat each as the locomotive chugged along, their hands thrown up high over their heads as they cackled in almost maniac glee. The two kids in the cart behind them - a carrot top boy in a green cap embroidered with a red feather logo and a little blonde girl wearing toy fairy wings - were giving them funny looks.

I spluttered, my fingers shooting up to smother and hide the grin I was fighting. This was behavior I did not want to encourage.

There he was, ladies and gentlemen. My bad-boy boyfriend in all his glory.

I hope the Duke's spy wasn't here to witness this.

Scratch that, I'd rather no one were here to witness this.

"Those goddamn morons have been at this for over ten minutes now," I heard a grumble from a familiar voice close by. I looked to my right to discover Xion standing there, watching them with a scowl and one eye twitching. As the train drew near, she called out flatly, "Oh yeah, looking real classy there, guys!"

"We're posh as fuck!" Lea replied smugly with a pinky raised, heedless of what nearby young and impressionable ears might overhear. Then his eyes drifted past her to notice me for the first time. His already beaming face did the impossible and brightened even further. As his little pirate ship choo-chooed its way past us, he cried out, "There you are, El! 'Bout time! We're celebrating!"

"El? Who's El? No, you must have me mistaken for someone else. I don't know you," I shook my head, taking a step back. "Quick, let's get out of here," I hissed to Kristoff, snatching his arm with one hand and using the other to hide my face as I tried to make a hasty retreat.

"Oh-ho, no ya don't! You're not getting away that easily!" I heard Lea laugh behind me. I hazarded a quick glance over my shoulder to see him struggling to get out of the cart - he was wedged in there pretty good, seeing as how those boats were never meant to withstand a man of his considerable stature. However, he finally managed to wiggle himself free and jump off the moving kiddie train, stumbling over the railing surrounding it and leaving poor Roxas behind looking quite distraught at having been abandoned.

Then he was charging towards me and I spun around to face him, defensively throwing my hands up in front of me. "Got ya!" he declared triumphantly, snagging me by the waist, my arms instinctively going to hug his neck as he lifted me up and spun me around a couple times.

What was even happening?

"Right," Kristoff said. Don't ask me how, but I could distinctly hear the eyeroll in his voice. "I think I'm gonna go now."

He walked off and I frowned after him as Lea put me back down, though his arms still kept me trapped against him. Then I shrugged. Kristoff's wee crush would have to be a problem for another day. Looking up at Lea, I shook my head with a barely suppressed smile, "What has you so giddy?"

"I got my test grade back today," he chirped, nuzzling his nose to mine for all the crowded mall to see.

"Your test?" I cocked my head at him. Then it clicked. "Oh, the one I helped you study for? You passed?"

"Passed nothing, I aced that sucker! Made it my bitch and it was all thanks to you!" And with that, he was hoisting me up for another twirl.

"Dude, what the hell?!" a shout suddenly rang out across the mall before Roxas came bursting out of the press of shoppers, sneakers screeching to a halt in front of us as he glared at Lea. "Can't believe you just ditched me like that! I looked like a total dumbass riding that thing all by myself!"

"Oh sure," Xion deadpanned at his side, "cuz you looked like a regular Einstein before as a grown-ass man riding around in the widdle choo-choo train with another grown-ass man."

Roxas crossed his arms and stuck his nose up in the air with a harrumph. "You're just jelly cuz we didn't invite you."

She scoffed, "You didn't invite me cuz I turned you guys down the last ten times you tried to drag me onto that dumb thing because I didn't want to look stupid."

"Your face looks stupid!"

Xion lunged at him, but Lea had already put me down and was snagging them both by the scruff of their shirt collars, dragging them apart from each other. He sighed, "Kiddos, please, would you start acting like the grown-ups that you are?"

Said the adult man who'd just been joyriding in the kiddie train.

Seriously, how were these three even college students? They all acted like a bunch of preschoolers.

"Ha, fat chance with this dope," Xion snerked, reaching across to flick Roxas in the forehead.

"Why you-" he broke free of Lea's grasp. Xion gasped and managed to squirm loose herself, bolting and squealing with laughter as she disappeared into the crowd, Roxas hot on her heels.

"Oi, kids these days. I give up," Lea grumbled, shaking his head and tossing his hands up in defeat. "Now where were we?" Looking back at me, his eyes lit up. "Ah yes," he bent forward, bringing us nose to nose with a tiny smirk, "my reward."

Both eyebrows shot up my forehead and I staggered back a bit. "Your… reward?"

"Mm-hm!" he nodded, grin twitching wider. "For kicking that test's ass, I get a reward! It's standard girlfriend protocol."

I blinked, "...it is?"

"Didn't ya read your dating handbook?"

...there's a handbook?!

Wait. No. That was just a joke.

And wishful thinking on my part.

Because I mean, seriously, how much easier would my life be right now if I could consult a handbook?

That aside, I had to get back to the matter at hand: some kind of reward for Lea. Which was my duty as the girlfriend. Apparently. What did that even entail? What was it supposed to be? What was I supposed to do? My face paled and my hands clenched. This was too much responsibility to be thrust onto me all of a sudden! What, was I supposed to buy him something? Or… maybe this was this another PDA situation? I mean, I hadn't made a move in that department since the roller rink a couple days ago. If tripping and crashing into him even counted. Which, personally, I was still chalking up as one for the win column. Had to take my small victories wherever I could! That said… perhaps it was high time I gave it another go?

Yes. Okay. I was going to do this. This… I was going to do.

My gaze hardened and my nostrils flared slightly as I started taking deep, sharp breaths, psyching myself up.

I got this. No more putting it off. Be strong! Be brave! Carpe diem! Seize the day! Grab the bull by the horns! Strike while the iron's hot!

Lea snerked, straightening up, "Woah, El, your face! Relax! I'm kidding! Just teasing ya like I always-"

YOLO!

I dropped my lunch bag, grabbed his head in both hands, yanked him down and kissed him.

...on the nose.

Way to bury the lead there, I know.

But hey, it still counted! Let me have this!

I held it for the space of a few thundering heartbeats before I pulled back, releasing his face and doing my best to ignore the slight jitters I felt from the adrenaline surge.

Lea was stock-still and just giving me a blank, wide-eyed stare.

Huh… not the reaction I was expecting.

A few long seconds ticked by where nothing happened. My eyes darted about nervously. Then I slowly, awkwardly picked my lunch sack back up off the floor. And still nothing from him. Nada. Not one peep.

Should… should I say something?

That's when he jolted upright (startling me half to death, I might add) and brought both his hands up to cup his nose, spinning around so his back was to me now.

Okay, really, really not the reaction I was expecting. At all. Just what-

Then it hit me.

I hadn't asked his permission first! And after he'd been so careful with me all this time too! Apparently I couldn't even return the favor! Fudge, this was like the Kissident all over again. Except worse! At least then, it'd been an accident. This time I'd done it on purpose! This was premeditated! Not to mention this now made me a repeat offender! A… a serial kisser! Would my reign of smooching terror never cease?

Anxiety eating up at me now like a swarm of angry ants in the pit of my stomach, I bit down on my bottom lip and took a hesitant step forward. "Lea?" I asked, my voice small. "Did I do something wrong or-"

"Nope! No, it was good. Really, really good," he said quickly, voice tight and muffled still by his hands. Then I heard him puff out a slow breath, watched his arms fall to his sides and he whipped around towards me once more, huge smile splitting his face in two. "So good, in fact, it's high-five worthy. Whaddya say, wanna high-five? Let's high-five." He held his palm up in front of me. I wordlessly stared back at him, arching an eyebrow. He was being weird, even for him. And why was he talking so fast? He hastily dropped his hand, "Not high-five. Forget that. That's stupid. We should, uh… we should go. Wanna go? Let's go."

As he snagged my free hand in his and tugged me into a walk beside him, I tipped my head to the left and uncertainly gave him some side-eye. "...where are we going?"

Seemingly already recovered, his grip shifted to instead hook our pinkies together as he shot me a wink. "Where all couples sneak off to whenever they have a lil free time. Somewhere dark, secret and secluded so," here he raised his voice for all to hear over the mall hub-bub, "we can make out!"

My feet faltered and I stumbled, barely catching myself as my face spontaneously broke out into its best impersonation of a tomato. "M-make out?!"

He snorted, bending close to my ear and whispering, "Calm down, only said it for show. We'll just find some place to lay low until your lunch is over and let the gossip mill churn." Straightening back up to his full height, he beamed, "Sound good, my knuddelbärchen?" A crease formed between my eyebrows and he chuckled. "Go on, ask. Ya know ya want to."

I sighed, "And knuddelbärchen is…?"

"German for cuddle bear," he pinched my cheek.

"No."

"You can sleep on it, then get back to me."

I rolled my eyes but held my tongue as I continued to let him lead the way to wherever it was we were going. It wasn't long before we entered a part of the mall I was more familiar with and he turned us down the deserted wing that was under construction. Ah, back to the clocktower then, was it? So be it.

Once the locked door was picked and we were inside, I started to head for the stairs but he stopped me with a hand on my elbow. At my questioning look, he said, "Dunno where the kiddos disappeared off to. They may have beat us to the punch and could be up there already, which'll totally bust our whole fake make-out sesh. Better to just hide out down here instead."

"Alright," I nodded as he released my arm.

And there it was again. That strangeness that seemed to hang in the air whenever we were alone together now. Whenever we didn't have to put on the act of being in a relationship. I was now so used to him lacing our fingers together every chance he got that when he didn't this time, instead opting to stuff his hands into his pockets with a grin and a soft "heh," my own hand almost felt… slighted? Bereft? Sad? Could hands even feel sad? Well, whatever the hand equivalent of sadness was, it felt that.

There were a couple large, dusty crates stored in here with us at the bottom of the clocktower. I stepped over to one, gingerly dusting off the surface before setting my paper bag down on top of it. Then I cleared my throat and looked to him with a small, timid smile. "This whole rent-a-boyfriend thing is really becoming a full time job now, isn't it? Sorry… to be wasting your time like this. I'm sure there are better ways you'd be preferring to spend it rather than stuck here with me."

Lea blinked at me, then huffed out a breath of a laugh. "Hey, you already forgetting whose idea it was for us to steal away on our own like this? Ya got nothing to be sorry for. I like this, it's fun! 'Sides," he moved to stand in front of me, leaning one shoulder against the wooden support beam there that was holding up the decrepit old staircase above us, "it's not a waste. I'm a big fan of my El time. Love having any excuse to hang out with ya and have you all to myself."

Cue heart spasm.

Dropping my gaze and tugging my Ice Palace cap down to hide my warming cheeks, I zeroed in on opening my lunch bag with far more acute focus than was absolutely necessary. Let's see what Mama Rayne had packed for me today, inquiring minds were simply dying to know. To him, I just mumbled, "To each their own, I guess."

"So…" he reached a hand out, index finger flicking the bill of my hat back up so he could meet my eyes when he smirked, "...you kissed me."

All color drained from my face.

Crud. Was hoping this wouldn't come up.

"I'm sorry!" came bursting out of me.

His head rocked back before he snorted and sighed, "You apologize too much, ya know that? Fine, I'll bite. What're you sorry for now?"

"I should've asked if that was okay before I did it!" I took off my cap, wringing it between my hands. "I overstepped, I shouldn't have just assumed! I hope I didn't freak you out or make things awkward or uncomfortable or, or weird or-"

"Woah, woah, slow down," he chuckled, holding up his hands. "Ya got nothing to worry about. I was totally, one hundred and ten percent cool with it!"

My eyebrows knit together. "Really?" I frowned, absently setting the hat down on the box. "But you seemed so… I thought I might've upset you or-"

"Upset? Nah, not even a lil bit! Surprised, maybe, cuz I never in a million years expected you to, ah… heh…" he paused, pursing his lips to the right as he dragged his hand along the nape of his neck. Then he closed his eyes in a grin, "How 'bout this? This, right here, right now, is me giving you the okay to do whatever you want to me from now on in order to maintain your girlfriend cover. Anything goes, got it?"

Eyes growing round, I stammered, "A-anything?"

He couldn't be serious! Anything was a lot. Anything was… well, anything.

"Yup, anything! Don't hold back. Just feel free to go to town on me."

This was too much power. Do not want. Take it back.

"I, uh…" What does one even say to that? "O-okay… thanks?" Was this something I should be thanking him for? Seemed like a weird thing to thank him for. This whole discussion just seemed weird, period. Concentrating on my packed lunch once more, I pulled out a ziplock of baby carrots. "...I don't think I'll be, er… going to town on you any time soon though, but the offer is, ah…" Is what? "...appreciated?" Sure, let's go with that.

"Shame," Lea tsked under his breath, then snerked as his hand shot up to block the carrot I threw at him. "Kidding, kidding! Still, just know that door's always open, in case ya ever wanna put on a bit of a show for any audience we might have. I won't be bothered. Promise."

"I'll keep that in mind," I muttered, taking out a second carrot to nibble on as I averted my gaze. Was ready to talk about something else now.

"Still, fact of the matter remains," one corner of his lips curled up, "you kissed me."

Gah! Would he stop saying that already!

A soft harrumph. "Only on the nose."

"One lucky nose!" He hunched forward slightly, pointing at it, "I'll have you know I'm never gonna wash this puppy ever again."

I snorted, setting the ziplock down on the box and reaching back into the paper sack to see what other goodies it contained. "Be serious."

"I am! Wouldn't wanna lose the divine blessing you've bestowed upon it on this fine day!"

Biting back a smile now as I continued to root around in the bag, I shook my head. "Does this mean that you also haven't washed your lips since the-" I abruptly froze, eyes widening and mouth clamping shut.

There was a pause, then I could see out of my peripheral the slow cheshire grin spreading across Lea's face. "Go on, since the…?"

Since the Kissident, was what I'd been about to say.

I knew it.

He knew it.

But did I have the guts to actually power through and finish that sentence?

Frantic fingers grabbing the first thing they could out of the lunch sack, I shoved it into his face with a weak laugh, "Chocolate pudding cup?"

Nope. I sure as heck most certainly did not.

Elsa, Queen of the Skillful and Seamless Subject Change.

"Oo!" he chirped in delight, taking it. Well, he was easily distracted. That, or he was just being nice and letting me off the hook. Probably the latter. "A nose kiss and pudding? Big day!"

With a soft, relieved sigh through my nostrils, I fished out a plastic spoon to hand him as well. "Don't forget about the train ride too. Big day indeed… do you and Roxas do that often?"

Having already torn into it and taken a spoonful into his mouth, he swallowed. "Not really. Only for special occasions. Wouldn't wanna cheapen the experience."

My eyes crinkled. "Because it's already so sophisticated and highbrow to begin with," I said, forgoing the PB and J sandwich at the bottom of the bag for now and instead opting to pull out some string cheese. Removing the wrapper, I asked, "Passing an exam counts as a special occasion?"

"Only the hard as balls ones that can make or break my overall grade for the course," he shrugged, scooping out some more pudding and offering it to me, to which I just shook my head.

"Ah," I rested one hip against the crate, peeling off a thin strip of mozzarella and slipping it into my mouth. "How many years do you have left on your degree anyway?"

"Couple more. Though I hear if I'm a model student, they'll let me graduate early for good behavior."

"Don't think that's how it works," I hummed a low laugh. "Then after that… what was it again? ...a nice little ice cream shanty by the seashore, I believe?"

Lea grinned around his spoon, "Something like that."

Pulling off another strand, I hesitated with a slight frown. "...but why ice cream?" At his cocked head and raised eyebrows, I worried my lower lip between my teeth. How to phrase this? "...it's just been something I've been wondering about actually. What with your mother dropping you off at an ice cream shop before she, ah... split when you were so little, I would have thought it would just be a… a source of bad memories, is all."

He snorted, looking down at his spoon as he swirled it around in the chocolate goop. "S'not the ice cream's fault my deadbeat mom abandoned Saïx and me when we were kids. She's taken a lot from me, I won't let her take that too. 'Sides, also got a lotta good memories tied to ice cream. Fun times with friends and whatnot. It's nice that something so simple can bring a smile to people's faces and I just like the idea of being a part of that. Sounds silly, I know, but what can I say?" He thrust the now heavily pudding-laden utensil up high in the air, "I have a calling! And answer it I must!"

I brought a curled finger to my lips, hiding the tiny smile. "Some calling. You still haven't even guessed which one's my favorite yet."

"Told ya, it's a process," he stuck the spoon into his mouth, holding it there as he squinted thoughtfully. "Speaking of… lessee, what other flavors haven't come up yet… ah! Three Wishes?" he asked, pointing the plastic implement at me. Then he scoffed, "Yeah right. Way too gimmicky with all that blue cotton candy. It's trying too hard. Classy and effortless is more your speed."

My smile ticked wider as my fingers plucked further at the string cheese. "Are we still even talking about ice cream anymore?"

"Course! Trust me, I've got this down to a science. I know my shit."

"If you say so," I gave a soft snort. "You really have me at the edge of my seat here. I can't wait to see which one you finally land on."

"Me neither. I'm just as much on this journey as you are," he chuckled, tossing the now empty cup onto the crate alongside the paper bag. Propping one shoulder against the post again, he looked down and scratched his cheek. "...hey, so, ya free in a couple nights? Saïx's been wanting to meet my new lady friend and suggested we have you over for dinner."

Finishing the last of my own snack, I quirked an eyebrow at him. "He knows you have a lady friend?"

"Wasn't hard for him to guess since I've been out all night a lot recently, what with your couch being my new home away from home."

"Oh." My fingers reached for a tendril of my ponytail to twist as I mulled for a second. "Yeah, I suppose… I don't have any closing shifts coming up for a while, so I'm free for the next few nights. Just let me know when."

"Sweet! We can see this as a test run of sorts. Practice for the big weekend with your folks and-" he suddenly fell silent, head jerking to his right. I blinked, confused. Then I heard it too. This soft rattling coming from the doorknob - the telltale sounds of a lock being picked. "Crap! The kiddos! Hide," Lea hissed, grabbing my shoulders and shoving us both beneath the staircase, my back hitting the wall behind me.

The door burst open. I didn't so much see it since the stairs were now between me and it, blocking my line of sight, but I heard it along with the echoing laughter of two very familiar voices. As it slammed shut again and the staircase began to quake from feet running up it hard, I heard Xion ask, "Think we'll find them up there?"

"Probably." That was Roxas. I turned my head to the left, watching through the slats between the steps as his sneakers blurred past. "Giving each other tonsillectomies, no doubt."

My face heated as I realized they were talking about Lea and me.

But good news! Lea's plan was working. People thought we were off somewhere, er... shall we say, necking.

Or at the very least, those two thought so anyway.

I heard a snigger from Xion as her boots rushed past the gap not too far behind him. "Perfect. Let's scare them shitless."

They both cackled and tried to shush each other at the same time as I heard their thudding footsteps fade further and further away above us. Once I was certain they were gone, I puffed out the breath I'd been holding.

That's when I became aware of several things. Very, very aware.

Aware of the familiar feeling of Lea's eyes on me. Aware of how close we were. Of his grip still on my shoulders. Of my hands on his chest. Of the gentle thud of his heartbeat beneath my fingertips. Of his warm, spicy boy scent. Of his body pressed to mine, pinning me to the wall still from his rush just seconds ago to get us both out of sight. Of the fact that I could still sense his gaze on me.

Oh gosh, was there something on my face?

I slowly turned my head to look up at him and meet his eyes. He had that look in them again that I'd seen once or twice before. The one that made my insides twist and flip-flop.

Emergency! This is not a drill, people! Fetch the conceal-don't-feel armor and suit up, stat! I repeat, this is not a drill!

The slightest hint of a grin tugged at the corner of his lips and when he spoke, his voice was low. Barely above a whisper. "You know what would… really sell this make-out sesh? ...if right along here..." he ran the tip of his index finger along the side of my neck down to where it met my shoulder, so lightly I hardly felt it, his eyes following its trail the whole time, "...there was a hickey. Maybe two or three. Ya know… just for appearances, of course..."

I just stared at him for a second. Then two. Then I smiled, "That's a great idea!"

He looked taken aback, his gaze widening. "Wait, really?!"

"Of course! Did you bring any makeup with you?" I asked. He just gave me a blank look. "You know, like your guyliner. Do you have anything else? Something that could make the fake marks look convincing?"

He blinked a couple times. "Makeup… right… that's what I meant… heh..." his eyes darted to the left. "But shoot, you know what? Didn't bring any with me." A slow smirk stretching across his face now, he bent down to press his forehead to mine as his eyes hooded, "But hey... we could also always make 'em the old fashioned way."

Once more I stared, expression neutral.

Processing… processing…

Then my eyelids drooped. "...you're messing with me again, aren't you?"

Lea stiffened. Then he relaxed, straightening back up and bracing an elbow against the wall above my head, resting his brow to his forearm as his whole body shook with a soft chuckle. "Yup! Yup, you uh… you caught me alright! Totes was."

Conceal-don't-feel armor saves the day once again! If it hadn't been for that, my heart might have exploded in that situation.

Man, was I getting good at deflecting these little jokes of his now or what?

He shifted over and away from me, giving us both some breathing room now. "Do you think maybe we should go somewhere else?" I asked, my gaze drifting up the clocktower as I returned to the crate, repacking my lunch back into its bag and picking up my hat. Thank goodness the "kiddos" hadn't noticed this stuff before dashing upstairs. "Just so Xion and Roxas don't catch us down here?"

"Sure, good call. I gotta few other secret spots 'round this place we can hole up in until your lunch is over." He went to the door, pushing it open a crack so he could peek out.

"Okay," I nodded while waiting for him to make sure the coast was clear. Then I grinned. "You know, you almost had me going back there with the hickies."

"If only," he muttered so softly, I wasn't sure I'd heard correctly.

"Hm?"

His shoulders tensed, then he breathed a feeble laugh as he glanced back at me, "If only… I'd, er... remembered to bring some makeup! Ah well, maybe next time, huh? C'mon, let's go." His hand reached for mine.

I took it and suddenly my hand didn't feel so sad anymore as I let him lead me back out into the mall.

I couldn't sleep.

I rolled over onto my left side, pulling the sheets up to my chin and curling in on myself a bit. Then over to my right. A few seconds ticked by. Then I rested my back to the mattress and frowned up at my bedroom ceiling, at the long thin patch of frail moonlight slashing across it from between the curtains of my window. Sighing, I tossed over onto my side again and tried putting my head beneath the pillow this time, hoping the added darkness and some light hypoxia would do the trick to knock me out.

No such luck.

With another heavy sigh, I sat up, letting the pillow fall back down behind me. I brought a hand up towards one of my earplugs, stopping just short of reaching it as I frowned over at the wall I shared with my roommates. Then I tentatively pulled it out, already preemptively grimacing as the noises I might hear.

Instead my ears were greeted with a very different sound and from a different direction no less. Coming through my closed door from the living room was a faint, hollow murmur of voices. I squinted towards it, tipping my head to one side. Was that… the TV? Tugging the other earplug out, I set both down onto my nightstand as I listened for another minute, my fingers fiddling with my braid. Then folding my sheets away from me, I got out of bed, smoothed my nightgown and crept over to the door to open it.

Lea was sitting on his couch out here, the glow of the television screen the only thing illuminating him in the otherwise dark living room. Since him couch-surfing here was becoming a bit of a habit now, he'd started bringing an overnight bag with him for things like toiletries and the pyjamas he was currently wearing - a black tank top and PJ pants patterned with tiny fireballs sporting evil smiley faces. In fact I think it may have been the same design on the frisbees I'd seen back at his apartment. Some kind of brand logo, perhaps?

His elbows were braced up on the backrest behind him, temple propped against one fist as he watched the screen. He glanced over at me as I stepped out, quirking an eyebrow and lifting his head off his knuckles. "El?"

I gave my braid a tiny tug before dropping my hands and clasping them together, forcing them to be still as I gave him a small smile. "You're up late."

He grinned back. "Yeah. Never really could pass out to total silence," he nodded towards where his own earplugs laid discarded on the coffee table. Then he wrinkled his nose, shooting a sideways glance towards Rayne's and Riku's room. "But shit, you weren't kidding 'bout those two going at it like jackrabbits in there. Had to do something to tune 'em out, so turned on the ol' tube and guess what I found?"

I moved to stand beside him for a better view of the TV. The scene was currently zoomed in on a couple riding in the back row seat of a trolley. The girl was distracted, lost in whatever she was talking about while the guy was reaching his hand over to tuck her hair back, only to awkwardly snatch it away when she suddenly turned to look at him, completely oblivious to the gesture as she continued to enthusiastically ramble on. My smile grew as I took a seat next to Lea. "It's Before Dawn. Imagine that."

"I know. What timing, right?" he hummed a small laugh. We were both quiet for a few seconds, simply watching the movie. Then he nudged my knee with his, "And what brings ya out here in the middle of the night? Other than the pleasure of my charming company, of course."

That earned him a soft snort as I slouched more comfortably into the sofa and picked up one of the small throw pillows, hugging it in my arms. "Trouble sleeping."

"Oh?" he looked over at me, relaxing his hand along the top of the cushions behind my head. "Something on your mind?"

I gnawed on my bottom lip, not taking my eyes off the television even though I wasn't really paying attention to it anymore. "...it's just coming up so fast."

Brow furrowing, he squinted up at the ceiling in thought for a second. "You mean our visit to the parental units?"

My insides churned as I gave a small nod. "It's only a week away now. It doesn't feel like enough time. I don't know if I'll be able to go through with this… if we… if I will be prepared in time… if I'll be able to face them."

"Hey, don't worry 'bout it," he flashed a warm grin. "You and me? We got this. I like to think we've become quite the awesome dynamic duo. Gotten pretty good at this whole girlfriend-boyfriend thing. Got the entire mall buying into our story and if we can fool them, we can fool anyone."

"But it's not anyone," I muttered, squeezing the pillow more tightly to me. "It's Father. And Mother. And..." my face scrunched up, "...the Duke too? ...for some reason? Anyway, tricking Father for a grand total of five minutes was one thing, but now? Now it's my whole family. For a whole weekend. What if they find out?" Oh dear, I could already feel a panic attack coming on just thinking about it. I turned my head, frowning at him. "...what if I can't do this?"

The hand behind me lifted, hesitantly hovering and shifting about for a second before settling on a quick, reassuring pat to my head. "Just say the word and you can pull the plug on this whole op anytime ya want. Don't force yourself to do anything you don't wanna do. But just know you're a lot stronger than you think. And chances are? It won't be as bad as you fear." He poked himself in the side of the head, just above his left ear, "Our brains like to mess with us, tell us things will be a lot worse than they actually turn out to be. And 'sides, you won't be doing this alone. I'll be right there with you the whole weekend. Your sister too. We got your back. You got a support system. Consider us your safety net. We'll be there to pick up the slack and catch you if you fall."

I bowed my head, nose perched on top of the edge of the pillow now. "...thank you. That helps," I muffled into it, my tiny smile hidden. And I meant it. I could already feel some of my unease starting to slip away. Straightening back up and tossing my head back onto the couch, I inhaled deeply before loudly exhaling. "I should just stop thinking about it. Stressing out over it now does me no good. I need to be talking about something else."

"Something else, huh?" he mumbled, eyes returning to the movie as he scratched the tip of his nose. "...so I had a thought. Remember the other day when you said you'd be looking for a new place in a few months when lil Baby Hewley arrived?" His knee started jiggling up and down while out of the corner of my eye, I could see his fingers fidgeting with the seam of the backrest cushions. "Well, what if… and ya know, this would only be if you weren't able to find somewhere on your own and if, like… you had no place else to go and were up shit's creek and whatnot, but… what if you moved in with…" he glanced back my way, "...me?"

I blinked at him. "...you?"

His face brightened. "Yeah, whaddya think? We got plenty of space for ya! It'll be a total blast! And hey, we could even get ya a puppy."

Fighting a grin, I quirked an eyebrow. "A puppy? But what about Saïx?"

"Psh," he brushed off, one hand batting the air. "Saïx can fight me. You want a dog? You're getting a dog, end of story."

I snerked and looked down. Lips pursing to one side, I did a mental replay of what I could remember of when Lea had given me the grand tour of his apartment. "...am I forgetting a third bedroom you guys have?"

"Nah," he shook his head, "just the two. But you can have mine and I'll just… I dunno, sleep on the couch."

"You can't sleep on the couch in your own home," I scoffed.

"Sure I can! I'm actually growing quite accustomed to catching some Z's on 'em. These bad boys are surprisingly comfy," he pat the armrest next to him and beamed. "In fact, dunno if I can ever go back to a lame ol' bed again!"

Rolling my eyes, I said, "I meant because Saïx will see you. Won't he have questions about you sleeping on the sofa every night?"

"Oh. Right," he laughed, fingers ruffling his hair. "Well then I can just… sleep in the room with you. On the floor," he hastily amended. "Yeah, it'll be fun! Like a slumber party every night!"

One side of my lips twitched up as I toyed with the corner of the throw pillow I was still holding snug. "You're sweet, but… no, that'd just be crazy."

"...yeah. Crazy," he averted his gaze with a tiny chuckle. Then he frowned, plucking the short hairs at the nape of his neck. "...is it though? I mean, think about it. It'd be like the next stage of our dating evolution. That's what all couples do sooner or later, right? Move in together?"

"But the baby will be here in, what…" both my eyebrows rose as I stared off into space, "...four more months? Five? I figure we'll have probably staged a breakup by then."

"Breakup?!" he jerked forward in his seat, eyes widening slightly.

I knit my eyebrows together. "Well yeah. You… didn't think we were going to be fake dating forever, right?"

"Well, I…" he hunched forward, propping his elbows on his knees and folding his hands together beneath his nose as he narrowed his gaze on the floor. "...no, I guess not."

I tilted my head at him. Then opened my mouth. Then closed it. I focused on the TV instead. "...I figured… it'd be some time after we visited my parents. Depending on how it goes, of course. Once I was…" I shrugged, gripping the pillow more tightly, "...sure they weren't going to try to interfere with my life anymore. After that… maybe a few more weeks? A month, perhaps? Just so it wouldn't look too quick, too… suspicious or raise questions…"

Why was this so hard? Why did it make my heart squeeze, just a bit? Come on, it's not like it was a real breakup! Besides, this could maybe, possibly, eventually open up the door to actually start something more real with him in the future. If I ever got the guts up to even pursue something like that… whenever he started dating again… which would be when he no longer had to focus on his schoolwork… aka when he graduated...

...in two years…

Why did that suddenly seem like an eternity?

"...yeah," he sighed and slumped back again, his arm returning to its position behind me as he stretched them both out along the backrest once more, "that all makes sense, I guess." His lips were a flat line for a few seconds, but then he grinned over at me. "Tell ya one thing, though. Fake getting over you ain't gonna be easy. Might have to try and fake win you back."

"Oh no," I stifled a soft laugh into my fingers. "Hang on, let me guess… You. In a trenchcoat. Standing in the middle of the bustling food court. Boombox held high over your head and blasting out some old, cheesy love song. That about sum it up?"

He smirked, "Ah, fan of the classics like me, I see. Good guess, but I was actually thinking less John Cusack in Say Anything and more Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You. Me. With a mic hacked into the food court's overhead speakers. Singing and dancing around on table tops while mall security chases me all over the place."

This big dork really was a sap. That is, if his taste in movies had anything to say about it.

Shaking my head in amusement, I said, "Who's to say you'd even fake want me back? Maybe it's you who ends up fake dumping me."

He huffed out a derisive snort, "Not a chance. I'd never be dumb enough to let someone like you go." I looked away, grateful the light from the TV wasn't bright enough to reveal the gentle warmth spreading into my cheeks. Lea shrugged as he went on, "Now, dumb enough to do something stupid and royally fuck it up so you'd kick my ass to the curb however? Yeah, now that sounds like it'd be pretty on brand for me."

"No, I don't think so," I smiled, resting my chin atop the seam of the throw pillow. "...thanks, Lea. I feel a lot better now. You're a… a really good friend."

Lea was quick to return the smile, "It's what I'm here for!" His gaze went back to the screen and there was a brief pause where the only sound was the low drone from the movie. "So… was that your roundabout way of wishing me a good night?"

"Hmm..." A beat before I shook my head, "Not yet. I think I'd like to stay and watch for a little while longer, if that's alright."

"It's more than alright," the corners of his eyes crinkled as he settled into his seat more comfortably. "It's alright times two."

I'm not sure exactly when it was I nodded off. Last scene I clearly remembered was our leading couple sitting at a restaurant together, their hands miming phones to their ears as they made imaginary calls to one another, so it must have been not too long after that. Next thing I knew I was blinking blearily at the television as it showed the girl now sitting on a bed in a small apartment, serenading the guy with her guitar. They both looked maybe a few years older. Must have been one of the sequels to the first movie. I was less familiar with those. It seemed Lea had stumbled upon some sort of late night marathon.

As consciousness returned to me piece by tiny piece, it slowly came to my attention that there was something... off about the pillow my cheek was resting against. Like the fact that it was oddly firm. And warm. And…

...breathing?

Eyes fully snapping open now, they darted about to realize I'd fallen asleep on Lea. Against his chest, to be exact. Embarrassed and panicking maybe just a smidge, I immediately tried to straighten up and away from him, only to be held firmly in place by the arm - his arm - that was draped heavily around my shoulders. I furrowed my brow over at it. Wha-?

Then he made a noise and I tensed.

Took me several heart-pounding seconds to register that noise for what it was.

A snore.

Puffing out a hushed breath and forcing my muscles to relax, I tentatively, cautiously turned my head to try and look up at him. Didn't work, and it only took me another second to realize why. There was a weight pressing down on the top of my hair that I hadn't really noticed until just now.

He was using my head as a pillow.

Welp. This was quite the predicament I found myself in.

Oh gosh, I just hope we'd fallen asleep roughly around the same time and had just, I don't know... naturally gravitated toward one another in our slumber? If I'd been snuggling up to him like this while he was awake the whole time, I'd never live it down.

Next thing my brain decided to alert me to was the fact that I'd misplaced my throw pillow. I must have dropped it when I'd dozed off for I was pretty sure I could feel it on the floor brushing against my bare feet. But that wasn't the important part. No, the important part was what my hands had decided to do in the wake of its disappearance. Left hand? It was good. Just laying there in my lap, all well behaved and polite-like. The right one, however? Had found its way over to rest atop Lea's knee. The little trollop. Especially considering that one of his hands was currently covering it. Had it no decency? No shame?

I considered my situation for another minute. Then taking a deep breath, I decided to commence with the extraction. Should be easier now that I was fully awake and aware of my circumstances so I could approach it all with a cooler, more level head.

First I used my free hand to gently lift his arm from my shoulder and gingerly set it back down on the couch backrest. Another snore from him and I froze. After a few seconds where nothing else happened however and I was sure I hadn't disturbed him, I then proceeded to bring my hand back up, this time to delicately press my fingertips to his chin.

Careful now, careful… wouldn't want to wake him…

I slowly pushed his head off mine and kept going until it lolled back onto the cushions behind him instead. With nothing left weighing me down now, I crept up onto my feet and peeked back at him to make sure he still snoozed. I was rewarded with yet another soft snore. That was all the confirmation I needed. I turned to make a break for my room.

Victory! Success! Elsa, Queen of The Daring Escape and-

Ack!

...okay, so something had just happened. More precisely, two somethings, both occurring at the exact same time. The first? Was my arm being pulled taut and bouncing me back like a rubber band stretched too tight. I stumbled but caught myself, the carpet muffling any sound I might have made. The second? Now that was just a word. One single, solitary word:

"Stay."

That one word sent my heart catapulting up into my throat as I whipped around to discover Lea had pulled his head up and was now looking straight at me.

Fudge, fudge, fudge, fudge!

...but actually… wait… his eyelids were sagging heavily. Half closed and groggy. His expression slack. And now that I thought about, when he'd spoken, it had come out sounding a little… sluggish? One might even say… drowsy?

...was he still half asleep?

I haltingly raised a hand to wave in front of his face. No reaction. As my shallow breaths began to slow and my heart rate calmed, I next looked down at my other hand to see what the snag had been there. This was the one that had been on his knee with his hand on top of it. Was still on top of it and, in fact, had tightened his grip around my fingers. This was what had snared me and brought my getaway to a screeching halt.

Yeesh, what a clingy sleeper he must be.

I brought my gaze back up to his face. He was still giving me that droopy, zombie-eyed stare. I tucked in my lower lip, studying him for a moment. Then I took a tiny step closer and bent over him slightly. My free hand came up, reaching for him. I froze midway, fingers curling towards my palm, hesitating. But only for a heartbeat before I was pushing forward again.

"Shh… go back to sleep," I whispered, gently stroking his hair just above his ear.

His really, really soft, silky smooth hair.

Which I'd not been expecting. Not at all.

Crud, I shouldn't be blushing this much.

However, it seemed to have the desired effect. His eyelids drifted all the way closed now as his head sank back down into the couch cushion. His hold on my hand relaxed enough for me to slip it free. I straightened back up, rubbing my rescued hand with the other as I watched him sleep for a few more seconds, my head tipping to one side. Then I retrieved the throw pillow from the floor and put it back on the sofa next to him before picking up the comforter to drape over him. It was only now I realized that it was too small for him for if I brought it up to cover his shoulders, it left his feet exposed.

The friggin' behemoth. Why hadn't he said anything? I'd have to see about finding a bigger one for him tomorrow.

I briefly considered turning off the TV but decided against it on the off chance the sudden lack of noise would wake him. Turning, I tiptoed back towards my bedroom, stopping in the doorway for one last backwards glance at him. Still out like a light. A grin pulled at one side of my mouth as I murmured, "Sweet dreams, sleeping beauty."

The only answer I got was a snore.

Author's Note: Our awkward penguin did it! She intentionally "made a move" for the first time, I'm so proud T_T Looks like our fire boi tried to make a bit of a move himself under the clocktower staircase there… with far less successful results xD One step forward, two steps back, huh? *Siiiiigh* ah well, these two will get there eventually :P And this is yet another chapter I lament not writing anything from Lea's POV… so many scenes in my head going on for him off camera that will never see the light of day xD Fun fact: The ice cream this chapter, Three Wishes, is named after (you guessed it) Agrabah's keyblade and I imagine its description on the menu would look something like: "This blueberry flavored soft serve will have you wishing for more! Comes in a blue cone wrapped in a ring of matching blue cotton candy, with lamp-shaped sugar cubes and a sprinkling of extra sugar to top it all off."

Next chapter, with that "make a move" hurdle finally overcome, what's next in our couple's fake dating adventures? Looks like there's a certain dinner with a certain Moon Boy on the horizon, how will this lil "test run" go? Will it be a resounding success or could it spell utter defeat for our pair? Not to mention the weekend with the folks is fast approaching, will our couple be ready in time? And just how DOES Lea fit his behemoth self into those itty-bitty pirate ship train carts? Some things will forever remain a mystery, but for the rest, stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

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#kingdom hearts #frozen #elsa #axel #fanfiction #lea #fanfic #kingdom hearts fanfiction #frozen fanfiction #kh fanfiction #kh fanfic #frozen fanfic #kingdom hearts fanfic #axelsa #fluff #romcom #slow burn #kh3 #my writing #ice cream and fire oven pizza #rare pair #crossover pairing #humor #snark

[pappydaddy]

Part Two: Mr. Brightside

A/N: Here’s Part Two! I don’t know when Part Three will be out, but I’m sure it’ll be out soon, I’m almost done the part and the songs for it! Check out the playlist!! If anyone wants to make an Apple Music version, just DM me!

PLEASE TAKE A SECOND TO LOOK AT MY PINNED POST, SIGN THE PETITION AND REBLOG IT IF YOU CAN!!

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Fem!Henderson!OC 

Fandom: Stranger Things

Warnings: Guns, violence, life-threatening situation, aggressive talk about Russians (evil Russians, not all Russians), belittlement, feelings of inferiority, feelings of weakness, deprecation images of oneself, SPOILERS!!!

I Wanna Be Yours Playlist (Spotify)

This part’s songs: Red - Taylor Swift | Mr. Brightside - The Killers | Iris - The Goo Goo Dolls | To Wonder - Aqualung (feat. Kina Grannis) | Lost Cause - Beck | Towards The Light - Jacoo | Blood // Water (King Kavalier Remix) - grandson, King Kavalier |  Oh No!!! - grandson (explicit) | 1 SIDED LOVE - blackbear | Take What You Want - ONE OK ROCK (feat. 5SOS) | Get You The Moon - Kina, Snøw (Shifts into Part Three)

Part One | Part Two | Part Three - Coming Soon

masterlist | taglist | wips | navigation

- not my gif -

  Steve hid behind the plastic plant in the middle of the food court, the binoculars pressed around his eyes, surely leaving a noticeable red ring around his eyes. He was supposed to be looking for the evil Russians that the boy crouched beside him keeps rattling off about, but he couldn’t stop watching them. He really did try to pull his focus away from the two teens standing way too close, but his eyes just pulled towards them like a magnet. “See anything?” Dustin asked, poking his head up over the plant. The two stood out like sore thumbs, proving that they were shit at stake-outs. 

  “Uh, I guess I don’t totally know what I’m looking for.” Steve admitted, pulling his eyes away from the couple to scan over the other people occupying the mall. His mouth hung open, his eyes drifting back up to the second floor where Ophelia and Brett stood, leaning against the railing. 

  “Evil Russians.” Dustin told him as if it were simple. 

  “Yeah, exactly,” Steve exclaimed, not even trying to pull his eyes from Ophelia as she laughed. “I don’t know what an evil Russian looks like.” Steve muttered, his binoculars following Ophelia and Brett as they walked along the second floor. 

  “Tall? Blond? Not smiling,” Dustin listed off suggestively. Steve only hummed, squinting into the binoculars, watching as Ophelia bent down to grab a drink of water from the water fountain, paying attention to how Brett snuck a look at her butt, her dress riding up dangerously. His blood started to boil at the sight of him shamelessly eyeing her like a piece of meat. “Also, look for earpieces, camo, duffle bags, that sort of thing.” Dustin looked over at him as he hummed along, not paying attention. 

  “Right, okay, duffle bags,” Steve repeated, following the pair as they walked again. If looks could kill, Brett’s arm (which was wound around Ophelia’s waist) would have been killed brutally. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.” Steve muttered in disbelief when Brett leaned down to whisper something in Ophelia’s ear making her pull away, a blush darkening her cheeks as she giggled and hit his chest playfully. The smirk Brett wore made Steve want to knock his lights out. It was a smirk that told Steve his true intentions. He just wanted to get in her pants and he thinks he’s almost there. 

  “What?” Dustin asked, trying to follow the line of the binoculars to see what Steve saw, thinking he saw a Russian. 

  “Your sister,” Steve told him as if it was obvious. “I have no idea why she would even think about going out with a guy like Brett Morris. She can do so much better than that weasel, god-” He ranted, his top lip curling into a snarl at the sight of him pressing a kiss to her cheek, the blush coating her delicate cheeks deepening. “He’s a sleaze.” Steve grunted, looking at the tall hockey player in disgust. Dustin’s eyes snapped towards his sister, watching Brett interact with her. 

  “I don’t know, I don’t see anything wrong with it, they’re on a first date and he’s being nice?” Dustin shrugged, not seeing what Steve was all worked up about. Steve pulled his eyes from the binoculars, keeping them in place so he didn’t lose the couple. 

  “Nice? You see nothing wrong with it,” Steve asked, bewildered. “Dude! That’s your sister and he’s smirking like he’s about to bang her!” Steve nearly cried out. Dustin’s lips turned down in a disgusted frown as he fought back a gag before turning his attention back to his sister and her date who made their way down the escalators, still in each other’s arms. 

  Dustin watched Brett smile down at Ophelia as she gazed at all the sights, seeing what was going on. He shrugged, looking back at Steve who watched the same scene with a snarl. “Dude, he’s smiling like he likes her,” He shook his head at the older boy. “Why do you care anyway? Do you like her?” Steve pulled away from the binoculars again, furrowing his brow at the younger Henderson. Dustin twitched an eyebrow at Steve, waiting for an answer. 

  “I don’t like her,” He denied, his voice filtering almost like it knew something he didn’t. Of course he didn’t like Ophelia. Those were old feelings. She’s his best friend’s sister. The girl who fought demogorgons, demodogs and Billy Hargrove alongside him. The girl who always comes in and brightens his day with her smile and laugh. The girl with bright eyes that seemed to swirl with stars. She was the girl who he felt a strong need to protect, to shield away from the world that was hell-bent to destroy such a beautiful creature. The girl who kissed him in grade nine during a game of spin the bottle. Steve certainly did not like Ophelia Henderson and her certainly didn’t find himself thinking back to that quick little peck of the lips at Hannah Hanson’s party. He scoffed, looking back through the binoculars and letting panic settle into him. “Shit! Where’d they go-” He was cut off by someone snatching the binoculars away. 

  Both Dustin and Steve jumped, looking up at a fuming Ophelia; the binoculars grasped in her hand. Her body nearly shook with the anger coursing through her. “What are you two mouthbreathers doing? Spying on my date?” She asked, her fingers wrapped around the binoculars turning white from her grasp. Steve’s lips parted, his brown eyes looking up at her. It wasn’t like he set off to spy on her date, it just kinda happened. Dustin grabbed the binoculars back from his sister, making the angry girl shift her eyes to him. 

  “No-” Dustin snapped, holding the binoculars to his chest. “We were looking for evil Russians, Steve is just a horrible spy.” He told her, bringing the binoculars up to his eyes. Steve whined at the younger boy’s comment, but otherwise remained silent. 

  “Evil Russians? Why would you be looking for evil Russians in the food court?” Ophelia turned her nose up, looking at her brother as if he were crazy. Dustin sighed, pulling the binoculars from his eyes to give her a look. Steve furrowed his brow at her until he remembered that she had left them last night before they discovered the Russian transmission came from the mall. Heat bubbled in his chest, remembering why she had left them. His jaw clenched, his brown eyes hardening on the wall across from him, hoping that his stare could make it crumble. 

  “The Russians aren’t in Russia, music from the Indiana Flyer was heard in the background of the recording, blah blah blah, there you’re all caught up-” Dustin grumbled, peering through the binoculars again, leaning forward as he looked at each person mulling around suspiciously. Ophelia opened her mouth to retort, but Dustin cut her off. “Now go back to your date so that I can actually spy - unlike somebody.” Dustin shot the last part towards the older boy who sat there, stewing in his anger. 

  With a groan and a roll of her eyes, Ophelia turned on her heels and strutted back towards Brett who now held a pretzel and a drink in his hands. Steve watched as he greeted her with a smile, handing her the drink. His now free hand slipped along the small of her back as he guided her towards one of the empty seats. “Ugh, he doesn’t need to be so handsy.” Steve grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest, his lips pouting. 

  “Oh my god, I don’t get why you can’t just see it, are you really that blind?” Dustin asked Steve, not taking his eyes from the binoculars. Steve looked over at the busy-haired pre-teen. 

  “See what?” Steve snapped, trying his hardest not to look over at Ophelia again, just knowing he would be greeted by the sickening sight of her giggling for another guy. Just the thought of another guy making her laugh like Steve does made his stomach churn. He felt like he was standing out in a field as the world around him turned cold, the blue skies swirling into a dark gray - just seconds before the cold rain poured down on top of him. 

  “See how you actually feel about Leah, you Dipshit,” Dustin exclaimed, growing tired of Steve’s blindness. “Everything you’re seeing with Brett being an ass is all in your thick head, fueled by your jealousy!” Dustin told him. Sure, Dustin hadn’t noticed the crush that his friend harboured for his sister, but the second that Ophelia told them about her date, Steve had changed. It had become obvious to Dustin. All the time Steve just suddenly dropped by the Henderson household with Ophelia’s favourite movies in his hands, the fact that Steve was always parked by their curb in the mornings to drive them to school. 

  “I feel like she’s a friend, you Dipshit,” Steve argued back, his top lip rolling up into a sneer at Dustin's suggestion. The fact that everything in his life had suddenly become a downcast blue since Brett had asked Ophelia on a date didn’t mean he liked her. Just because he felt like his heart had been struck with a hammer does not mean he liked her. “And I am not jealous, I am quite positive if I do say so myself.” Steve liked to view himself as Mr. Sunshine. Full of positive light and energy. Though, he couldn’t shake the images of them after their date. Brett’s fingers trailing along the curve of Ophelia’s side as their lips mashed together. The hockey player’s fingers slipping under her skirt, running along her thighs. The mental image hurt him so much he could have punched a wall.  

  “Come on Steve! You like her, why else would you be so obsessed over her going on a date with Brett?” Dustin pointed out. Steve scoffed, rolling his eyes. Why was he even fighting with Dustin on this? Dustin was a kid, he doesn’t understand the complicated world of love. He doesn’t know the arch of a heart, he doesn’t know the pining and the angst. He has no idea what he was talking about. 

  “Because Brett Morris is a dirty sleezeball and Ophelia shouldn’t be on a date with him!” Steve told him, his arms moving frantically even though he knew Dustin wasn’t going to pull his eyes away from the binoculars to watch him. 

  “Sure,” Dustin hummed, finally pulling away from the binoculars far enough to turn his head to look at Steve. “And the fact that you can only refer to Brett as Brett Morris has nothing to do with jealousy?” Dustin posed the question. Robin and Dustin all refer to him as just Brett in a nice, casual tone, but Steve always spat his first and last name as if it was venom he had just ingested, his face always screwing up as if he had just referenced his arch nemesis. 

  “I just don’t like him, I know his type.” Steve avoided, his head swirling from Dustin’s interrogation. Why did he not like Brett? Steve never really talked to him. Sure they were both popular, but Steve hung close to the basketball crowd while Brett spread out a little more within the high school groups. Brett and Ophelia ran in the same crowd, being involved with multiple organizations in school. Without an explanation, Steve had developed a hatred for the tall hockey player from the first time he saw him and Ophelia talking in the school hallway as they stood at her locker, why back when Nancy was in the picture. 

  “You like her and if you don’t figure that you soon, you’re going to have to figure out how to forget her because she’s not going to wait around for you.” Dustin shrugged, telling him how it is. Of course he knew how his sister felt, he figured out how to pick the lock on her journal two years ago. He knew everything about her, and some of it, he didn’t want to know. 

  “I don’t like your sister dude!” Steve gave up trying to make excuses, knowing that Dustin will just mess with his head someway, making him question if he actually did like Ophelia. 

  “Yes, you do.” Dustin stated pointblank. 

  “No.” Steve denied again. Dustin shook his head, peering through the binoculars once again. 

  “Yes-” Dustin sang back, pleased with knowing that he was right once again. 

  “No-”

  “You do!” Dustin shot back. Steve glared at the younger boy. 

  “She’s not my type, okay? She’s too nice, too sweet, too pretty - too perfect.” Steve trailed off towards the end, not being able to find the correct reason why she wasn’t his type. When he was King Steve, he was positive that Carol and Tommy wouldn’t have any problem listing reasons why she wasn’t his type, but now he wasn’t sure. She was gorgeous, funny, insanely smart and caring. She was everyone’s type. 

  “What’s your type again? Girls who don’t like you?” Dustin perked an eyebrow at him when he pulled away from the binoculars once again. Steve shot him a sharp glare for the comment. Steve wasn’t sure what his type was in all honesty, but he was sure that Ophelia wasn’t it. 

  “Thank you,” Steve forced the corner of his lips up in a sarcastic smile before they dropped back down into a straight line. “For your information, Ophelia is still in school and that’ll be weird for me to date someone who is still in high school and she-she is nice to the weird-o’s like Robin. She’s on the prom committee and homecoming committee, and she likes hockey players apparently - hockey players are the bottom of the sports food chain.” Steve ranted, searching his mind for his next point. 

  Dustin looked at him once again, rolling his eyes at his reasons. “Now that you’re out of high school, which means that you’re technically an adult, don’t you think it’s time to move on from primitive constructs such as popularity - which Ophelia is popular.” Dustin suggested, trying to get Steve to see the world that’s outside of all the worrying about fitting in. 

  “Oh, primitive constructs? That some stupid shit you learned at Camp Know-” He paused, shaking his head, trying to come up with the name of the camp Dustin had went to this summer. “Nothing?” He settled for an insult, his defence mechanism starting up. 

  “Camp Know Where, actually. And no, it’s shit I learned from life,” Dustin told him. Nerds, with all that they have to put up with from the popular people, have learned things. They’ve learned that you shouldn’t focus on making other people see you as cool, instead you should focus on making yourself happy. Steve hummed, looking away from Dustin to scan over the people walking around. “Instead of dating somebody you think’s gonna make you cooler, why not date someone you actually enjoy being around,” Dustin suggested. Steve blinked, thinking about it. He did like being around Ophelia. She made his day brighter and just the thought of her made a smile stretch onto his face. “Like me and Suzie.” 

  “Oh, Suzie-” He mocked, bouncing his head. Dustin gave him a look, pulling the binoculars back to his eyes. “Yeah, you mean ‘hotter than Phoebe Cates”, yeah that Suzie, and, uh,” Steve paused. “Let’s actually think about it, how exactly did you score that beautiful girlfriend,” He posed the question, scratching the side of his face in faux question. “Oh yeah! With my advice,” He reminded him. “Because that’s how this works, Henderson. I give you advice and you follow through - not the other way around, all right, pea-brain?” Steve shot at him. Dustin gave him a look before resuming his search. 

***

  Ophelia walked towards Scoops, a dazed look on her face. The feeling of Brett’s lips on hers was still fresh. The odd feeling she felt in the bottom of her stomach returning at the memory. His lips felt odd on hers, they didn’t feel as pillowy as she imagined them to be, instead they were chapped against hers. His lips had touched her so gently, almost as if he was scared that she’d shattered under him any second. Normally, she would have found his gentleness romantic and endearing, but the kiss was almost just his lips hovering over hers, just barely brushing together like he didn’t even want to touch her. It was like that for the entire date, his fingertips just brushing against the small of her back or his arm barely touching her shoulders. 

  She found her mind wandering off to Steve and if he would have done the same thing. Would he have barely touched her, would his lips just skim over her’s in a short kiss? Would his fingertips ever so slightly touch her body? Maybe Brett just didn’t want to touch her? He hadn’t even mentioned a second date before he scampered off for his shift with blushing cheeks. She sighed, her heels scraping against the floor sluggishly. “Does he even like me?” She whispered to herself. She heard thudding feet running towards her, making her lift her head to see Steve and Dustin rushing out of Scoops in search of someone.

  They ran towards her, Steve’s hand reaching out to grasp her small wrist in his, yanking her along with them. She let out a squeak of surprise as she was spun on her heel and pulled towards the center of the mall. She tried to ignore the tingling and the heat that crawled up her arm, spreading throughout her body at his grasp. Steve came to an abrupt stop when they arrived at Robin who stood on the bench wrapping around the center planter’s box that held an assortment of fake plants and a tree, a wide eyed look on her face as she looked down at the three of them. “Robin, what are you doing?” He asked, walking closer to the blonde, his hand still wrapped around Ophelia’s wrist. 

  “I cracked it.” She said, a hint of excitement in her usually monotone drawl. Ophelia furrowed her brows, glancing at Steve’s hand still on her wrist. His grip, it wasn’t just hovering over her like Brett’s was. His touch felt different from Brett’s. His touch was just something brushing against her body while Steve’s ignited warmth in her that spread throughout her body, like a fire burning under her skin.   

  “Cracked what?” Steve asked, prompting Robin to jump from the bench - Steve and Dustin’s eyes following her. The sound of her sneakers slapping the tiled floor made Ophelia look at her.  

  “I cracked the code,” She couldn’t help the smile that consumed her face. Ophelia smiled, proud of Robin for cracking the seemingly impossible code. Robin brushed past the group, glancing down at Steve’s hand encircling Ophelia’s wrist. “Oh, um, Steve?” She turned around, walking backwards with a smirk on her face. 

  “Yeah?” Steve asked, his eyebrows jumping up as he turned his body to look at Robin, waiting for her to ask him something. Her eyes jumped from between Ophelia and him with sparkles of amusement dancing in her vibrant blue eyes. 

  “I think you can let go of Ophelia’s hand now.” She beamed at the older boy. Instantly, Dustin and Steve’s eyes dropped down to see that Steve’s hand still held Ophelia’s wrist, making Dustin snort and slap his hand over his mouth to stop his chuckles while Steve nearly choked on his own spit - a blush covering his cheeks. His hand dropped Ophelia’s wrist, the warmth she felt from his fingers grasping her wrist still burning throughout her body. 

  “Thanks.” Ophelia smiled, walking towards Robin, leaving Steve and Dustin behind. Slipping his hand from his mouth, Dustin looked at Steve who stared at his hand, clenching it in a fist before stretching it out, feeling a weird tingling that felt like he just grabbed an electric fence. Steve’s brown eyes looked up at Ophelia who talked to Robin about how she managed to figure out the code. Her hair bounced behind her as she tried to keep up with the slightly taller girl, her heels clicking against the clean tile. 

  “Yeah, you definitely don’t like her.” Dustin mused, giving Steve a look as he shook his head. Steve looked over at him, still fisting and unfisting his hand. 

  “I don’t like her!” Steve denied making Dustin hum and walk away, joining Ophelia and Robin. Steve rolled his eyes, trudging after the group. 

  “So, Leah,” Dustin cut into the girl’s conversation, earning pointed glares from both of them. “How was the date, from what I saw, it went pretty good.” Dustin inquired, stealing a glance at Steve who glared at him as well. Ophelia glanced at her brother, before glancing at Steve who dropped the glare and gave her a smile instead. 

  “Yeah, Leah, how’d the big date with Brett go? You were so excited yesterday.” Robin easily changed the subject, knowing that she had the rest of the day to explain her thought process and the plan she was cooking up in her mind. Ophelia shrugged, glancing down at her feet. 

  “Uh, it was okay. We just kind of walked around after the movie, we shared a pretzel and sat by the fountain, that’s about it.” Ophelia waved them off, her tone less excited. The date was good, he made her laugh, paid for everything before Ophelia could even think about it, but she couldn’t help but let the kiss and lack of talk about a second date put her off. Steve sensed her downcast mood, his heart itching to cheer her up. He couldn’t stand to see her so down, but he also couldn’t help but to feel delighted at the thought that her date didn’t go well. 

  “Did he kiss you? Is there a second date?” Robin pressed, glancing at Steve from the corner of her eyes as he waited for her answer with baited breath. Ophelia shook her head, a heaving sigh leaving her lips. 

  “He did kiss me, but it was weird and I have no idea if there is a second date, he didn’t even talk about a second date,” Ophelia admitted, looking at Robin. Robin simply looked at her with wide, confused eyes. She was shocked, Brett seemed to actually like Ophelia. “I’m fine, really. Brett’s cute and nice, but I think we might just be better as friends.” She brushed off Robin’s sympathetic eyes. 

  “Still, that must suck, Leah. I know how important this date was for you.” Robin rested her hand on Ophelia’s shoulder softly, offering her support. In a private moment with Robin last night when Steve was scooping ice cream and Dustin had been in the bathroom, Robin had made Ophelia crack, admitting her feelings for Steve along with her hopes that this date would help her get over the goofy dingus. Hoping that Brett would be the antidote to the poison that was her crush flooding her veins. 

  “It’s no biggie, he has my number. Maybe he’ll call me, maybe he won’t - who knows,” She continued to deflect Robin’s support. They all walked into Scoops, seeing barely anyone in the store. Robin opened her mouth to talk to her, but she cut her off. “I’m just going to change into sneakers, I want out of these shoes.” The words were heavy with a lack of emotion, a huge contrast to her normally sweet voice and cheery disposition. Steve watched her as she walked sluggishly into the back room, his heart hurting. He didn’t want to see her so sad. He wanted to see her bright smile, to hear her laughter bouncing off the blue and white striped walls of the overly cheery parlor. He was snapped out of his trance by both Robin and Dustin whacking the back of his head. 

  “Ow! What the hell was that for?” Steve grumbled, looking at Robin and Dustin who glared back at him.

  “For being an idiot.” Dustin retorted, walking around the counter, grabbing a sample spoon and skimming the top of one of the ice creams. 

  “I did it because I’m tired of this,” Robin threw her hands in the air, also walking behind the counter, closing the screen, but not before peeking in at Ophelia who sat at the table slowly putting her shoes on. “She is upset because she’s trying to move on.” She shook her head, speaking mostly to herself, but she wasn’t aware of Steve standing on the other side of the counter, hearing the words. 

  “Move on from what? She broke up with her last boyfriend back in September, she’s not still caught up on that asshole, is she?” Steve asked, making Robin whirl around in surprise, not wanting Steve to hear that. Dustin and Robin shared a look before glancing at Steve. A mix of emotions flurried around Steve’s mind like a blizzard, making him mad. Why would she still be hooked on the asshole who barely paid attention to her? Couldn’t she see that she deserved more. 

  “Why would that matter to you, Steve, you don’t like her.” Dustin sneered, reminding him. Steve jolted back at Dustin’s sudden aggression. Dustin felt protective over his sister. She was obviously crushed that her date didn’t go well and from what Robin just said, it wasn’t because she liked Brett. 

  “I care because she’s my friend. I don’t need to like her romantically to care for her,” Steve bit back making Robin groan, stomping her foot against the floor in frustration. Steve was just as thick as the layer of product in his precious hair. “What? I shouldn’t care about her?” Steve asked, his eyes wide as he tried to pinpoint their emotions based on their reactions. 

  “Let me ask you a question Steve,” Robin paused, placing her hands on the counter by the cash, her hard blue eyes looking up at him. “Were you upset about Ophelia going on a date with Brett?” Robin threw the question up in the air, already knowing the answer. 

  “I wouldn’t say upset-” Steve was cut off by Robin raising her hand at him. 

  “How did you feel about her going on a date with Brett?” Robin rephrased the question, her hand slapping back to the blue counter, waiting for Steve to answer. Steve blinked, thinking. 

  “I guess I was a little upset, I mean, Brett Morris is not good for her. She can do so much better than him.” Steve answered, growing upset at the thought of her not realizing how great she was and underestimating what she deserved. 

  “Okay, so what type of guy is good for her?” Robin bounced back instantly with another question, trying to get him to figure out that he liked her. 

  “I don’t know,” Steve muttered, thinking. With a sigh, he placed his hands on his hips. “I honestly can’t think of any guy who is good enough. They’re all shit,” Steve confessed. Robin raised her eyebrows, giving him a look. “Alright! I was upset that she was going on a date with Brett Morris, happy?” Steve exclaimed, admitting defeat. 

  “You hated it so much that you couldn’t stop spying on them, Steve. You were ready to kill the poor guy.” Dustin chimed in, trying to bring Robin’s point home. 

  “Yes, I spied on them and I might have made some comments about how much I don’t like the guy, what’s your point?” Steve asked them, kicking his leg out to the side, his tongue flicking over his bottom lip. Dustin groaned, his forehead hitting the top of the cooler. 

  “My point is you like her Steve and you have the power to make her feel better. I know it’s killing you to see her so upset so could you just take a second, try to let the realization penetrate that thick skull of yours and figure out that you are head over heels for her?” Robin pressed, gesturing towards the backroom where Ophelia still hid. Steve scoffed, shaking his head at their antics. 

  “I don’t like her, okay? I’m not even looking for a serious relationship - not after what happened with Nancy.” Steve denied. Robin and Dustin grew even more frustrated by his denial. Robin rested her elbows on the counter, leaning down as she clasped her hands together in front of her. She licked her lips, glancing down at the counter before back up at Steve. 

  “You’re just going to stand there and tell us that not even a tiny little part of you realizes that you like Ophelia?” Robin asked him point blank. Steve blinked at her. He thought about it. Did he really like Ophelia? The way Robin had phrased it and the way she said it made him question how he really felt. Had he been denying how he felt about Ophelia because he was scared of being hurt again? His heart did practically leap out of his chest at the sight of her. Seeing guys shamelessly flirt with her day in and day out made him feel like he was continuously running into a solid brick wall with his heart tapped to his face. Oftentimes, he would find himself imagining her smile to calm him down when he’s sad.

  “I-I don’t really know,” Steve stuttered, unsure of himself. He shook his head, righting his posture. “Even if I did like her, she probably doesn’t like me. I am the furthest thing from what she deserves.” Steve argued back. 

  “You won’t know if she likes you if you don’t ask Steve, I know you know how you feel about her,” Robin’s tone was soft and comforting. “We know how she feels about you, but it’s not our place to tell you that. If you want to know how she feels before you realize your feelings, you’re going to miss her - she’s not going to wait around if she likes you.” She told him. Steve looked at her in confusion. 

  “What?” Steve blinked, not understanding what she was saying.

  “I’m saying that if you don’t just figure out your feelings for her, you’re going to miss your chance with her,” Robin was handing him the answer of Ophelia’s feelings for him on a silver platter and it was up to him to figure it out. “And if you don’t figure them out fast, you’re going to mess up.” She warned. 

***

   Rain poured down on them as they laid on their stomachs, watching a storage room being loaded up. Ophelia rested her chin on her hands that laid on top of the concrete parapet in front of them. “Look for Imperial Panda and Kaufman Shoes!” Robin instructed Dustin from beside Ophelia. She pulled her hood up over her hair, her bare legs that her dress didn’t cover becoming cold as they got soaked with rain. She could hear one of the delivery guys whistling over the pounding rain, but because of the distance, she couldn’t see anything through the pouring rain. 

   “They’re with that whistling guy, ten O’Clock!” Dustin exclaimed from the other-side of Steve, his binoculars once again pressed to his face. Lazily, Ophelia let her eyes move towards the direction Dustin told them, seeing a man with a yellow raincoat pushing a trolley with three boxes on it into the storage unit. She also couldn’t help but notice the two large guys dressed in black, both holding rather large guns. 

  “What do you think’s in there?” Steve asked, his eyes squinting as rain fell on his head. He was the only one without a proper raincoat, but that didn’t surprise Ophelia, he wouldn’t be one to own a rain jacket. 

  “Guns, bombs.” Dustin suggested. 

  “Chemical Weapons.” Robin also suggested. Steve’s eyebrows jumped as he licked his lips. He wasn’t pleased to have Ophelia with them, not wanting her mixed up with this. It was starting to get dangerous.

  “Whatever it is, they’re armed to the teeth.” Dustin announced, his eyes dropping to one of the stern faced guards. Thunder clapped overhead as Steve rubbed his eyes that were irritated from the rain. 

  “Great,” He commented, nodding his head as he pulled his hand away. His eyes were screwed shut in hopes not to get any more water in them. “That’s great.” He grumbled, opening his eyes. Ophelia reached up to his shoulder, patting it twice before letting it rest on the concrete once again. Her eyes squinted when one of the guards started to move, trying to see what he was doing. She was so focused on what the man was doing, she jolted back in fright when the storage room doors suddenly opened. 

  “Hey, what’s in there?” Robin perked up, also noticing the doors opening. 

  “It’s just more boxes.” Dustin told them. Ophelia nodded, watching as the delivery man pushed the trolley into the now open room. 

  “Let me check it out.” Steve told Dustin, reaching his arm up to grab the binoculars blindly. Dustin pulled the binoculars from his eyes, his grip tightening around them. 

  “No! I’m still looking!” Dustin pulled back on the binoculars, trying to get Steve to let go of them. Steve simply slapped his other hand on them, trying to wrestle them away from the younger boy. 

  “Lemme see it.” Steve pressed, pulling harder. Ophelia scooted closer to Robin, not wanting to be hit by Steve’s flailing elbow. A flash of lightning temporarily blinded them as Dustin and Steve continued to tug on the binoculars. 

  “Hold on!” Dustin argued, giving a sharp tug to the binoculars just as Steve let his hands go - making Dustin hit one of the metal pipes, a loud bang sounding over the pounding rain. Ophelia and Robin jumped at the sound, their eyes jumping from Dustin before looking down at the guards. 

  “Shit!” Ophelia cursed when she saw the guards glancing towards their direction, their hands reaching for their large semi-automatic guns. All four gasped, fear making their blood run cold in their veins. Ophelia was almost positive that her heart had stopped beating for a second. 

  “Duck!” Dustin cried as they all dropped to lay down. Ophelia flopped on her back, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her head rested against the slope of the parapet uncomfortably, a dull ache already making itself present in her neck. She had barely noticed that Steve had grabbed her hand tightly in the middle of the mess until she felt the same heat crawling under her skin that she felt when he grabbed her wrist earlier. It was a welcomed contrast from the cold rain pelting her like bullets, but she couldn’t let the sensation distract her from the fact that they could very well die right then and there. 

  “We gotta go,” Steve whispered harshly. His mind raced, trying to figure out how they were going to get themselves out of this situation. “We can hide along that.” He pointed towards the larger structure attached to the roof entrance. He didn’t even wait for them to argue before he started to move, tugging Ophelia along with him. He hadn’t even noticed his hand in hers, he was too occupied with trying not to die. They all awkwardly ran, pressing themselves up against the tin siding of the structure.  

  “I hope this plan works because we don’t have a plan b.” Ophelia panted, letting her head fall back against the wall, her eyes closing. Her chest stung from the panic and running, her lungs burning as they continued to grow greedy for air. She could feel herself shaking, but she wasn’t sure if it was mostly from the cold or her pending death which was rapidly approaching. 

  Nobody said anything as they all tried to calm their wildly beating hearts in hopes to control their loud breathing. The faint but rapid clang of heavy boots hitting the stairs was muffled to their ears, but detectable none-the-less. The heavy door slammed against the tin making them jump. Ophelia pressed the palm of her free hand to her mouth, her heart rate picking right back up. She found herself trying to plead with every higher power there was to just let them make it out of this situation alive, even wishing on the stars she knew were hidden behind the thick black rain clouds. She hoped that the planets and stars were aligned just the right way so that they all could live another day. 

  Thunder clapped, overhead making Ophelia suddenly start praying to Zeus of all people, hoping her name was a good enough reason for the mythical god to help the four of them. Steve squeezed her hand tight, nearly cutting off the blood flow to her fingers, but she didn’t care, she just squeezed his hand back equally as hard. They listened carefully, trying to hear any sign of movement over the rain splattering against the concrete of the roof. 

  It felt like an eternity before they heard the door swing open and slam shut, followed by the sweet sound of heavy boots hitting the metal of the stairs. “We should wait here until we know for sure he’s gone.” Dustin whispered, anxiety filling him, making his mind race. For all he knew, the guard could be waiting to catch them at any second, successfully catching them in his masterplan.

  “Good idea.” Steve nodded. Robin and Ophelia looked at them with hard eyes. 

  “Well then how do we know when to leave? It’s not like he’s standing out in the pouring rain, he can wait there for hours!” Ophelia pointed out a flaw in Dustin’s wait-it-out plan. Just as she said that, they heard the guards loudly talking to each other in Russian, their voices booming over the rain. Dustin smiled at his sister. 

  “That’s how we know.” He remarked, darting towards the door. She rolled her eyes as the rest of them moved after him, their hearts still racing a mile a minute. They filed into the stairwell, their panting breaths echoing off the wall along with the squishes and squeaks of their sneakers against the clean floors. They were all drenched from head to toe, their clothes a soaking mess that clung to their skin uncomfortably. Ophelia’s hair hung in clumps around her head, a few clumps sticking to the back of her neck and allowing water to trail down her dry back. For the most part, Ophelia, Dustin and Robin’s clothes were somewhat dry thanks to their raincoats protecting them; the protection of the rubber coats stopped the second the Russian guards discovered their presence, their hoods sliding off their heads, their unbuttoned jackets flopping open to expose them to the cold rain. 

  “Well, I think we found your Russians.” Robin declared the second they reached the back corridors that connected all the stores to the loading dock. She glanced between Steve and Dustin as they all rushed back to Scoops, wanting to be safe once again. Steve continued to hold Ophelia’s hand, tugging her along behind him as he sped walked to Scoops. Robin glanced at their intertwined hands, sharing a look with Dustin who also noticed. 

***

   Robin was long gone, having biked home so that she could sleep off the memory of nearly dying, something the other three had unfortunately faced twice before. Dustin retreated to Ophelia’s car, but forced her and Steve to get his Camp Know Where hat that he accidentally left behind in the backroom of Scoops. Ophelia and Steve walked in silence, Steve’s mind wrapped up in trying to figure out if he actually liked her. “So, that was kinda scary earlier, huh?” Steve asked, his voice coming out squeakier than he wanted, as he pulled the door to the outside open, the sound of raindrops hitting the wet pavement meeting their ears. 

  “Yeah, just a little,” Ophelia nodded. She had sensed his rigidity around her. It was like he was constantly on edge, overthinking everything he did. She felt fear settle into her chest at the thought that he had figured her feelings for her. He was probably trying to figure out how to let her down gently or how she could have possibly misread his signs of friendship for something more. “We’ve almost died a lot of times, but this is the first time we’ve almost died from guns.” She tried to carry on the conversation as if her heart wasn’t threatening to rip itself in half. 

  Stepping into the pouring rain, their barely dry clothes were instantly wet again, weighing down on them along with the crushing silence beating between them like a pulse. Even with the cold rain drops pelting them and thunder rolling over their heads, they still took their time walking to their respective cars. Despite the suffocating silence that bathed them, they still wanted to spend time together. “I don’t think this is a good idea - not after what happened on the roof.” Steve suddenly stopped, turning to face her. Ophelia dug her heels into the ground, whirling around to face him with furrowed brows. He didn’t know what prompted him to say that, the thought of not wanting her to get hurt pressing itself to the forefront of his brain - begging for attention.  

  They both ignored the raindrops rolling down their faces at high speeds and the rain beating at their faces, their eyes blinking rapidly. “What do you mean? You don’t want to figure out what they’re doing anymore?” She asked, confused. Steve was stubborn, he never gave up on anything. It wasn’t like him to back out of something. 

  Steve shook his head, water spraying from his hair at the action like a dog. “No, no,” He breathed out so softly Ophelia almost didn’t hear it over the rain. “No, I don’t want you to be involved in this anymore.” He told her, gesturing his hands in the small space between them. They stood so close, you could barely fit another person between them. Ophelia blinked at him, her mouth opening and closing as she processed what he had just said. 

  “Why not? If you haven’t noticed, I’ve dealt with things a lot scarier than Russians.” She shot back, her hands flying through the air. They had been through so much the past two years, they had been through hell and back and there was no way she was going to bow out at Russians. Last time she checked, they weren’t some unknown force from another dimension.

  “Did you not see the giant semi-automatics they were holding Ophelia? That’s a lot harder to avoid than a monster,” Steve’s voice boomed, his blood pressure building. He didn’t want her to get hurt; he didn’t want her to end up with a bullet in her. He wanted her safe, far away from this. Monsters were one thing, but these monsters had guns and a ruthless urge to kill. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.” He admitted, his voice quieter, but scratchy - realization hitting him. He felt like he had been hit by a tonne of bricks. The world was spinning around him like he was standing on a spinning top that was spinning out of control. His stomach churned, making him want to throw up, but the dizziness made him feel like he was going to pass out. He liked her. Here he stood, in a deserted parking lot with rain pounding down on him, starting a fight with her because he liked her. 

  Steve watched her face, a mixture of sadness, hurt and anger perfectly blended to match the storm swirling overhead. She chuckled dryly, shaking her head as she folded her arms over her chest. Licking her lips, she set her watery, but hard eyes on Steve who seemed to be caught up in his own thoughts. “You don’t want me to get hurt,” She echoed like she couldn’t believe the words he spoke. “Do you not remember who saved you from being killed from demodogs and Billy Hargrove last year? Oh, yeah! That’s right,” Her tone picked up to fake enthusiasm. “It was me.” Her tone dropped dangerously. 

  “Billy was different and you ended up right next to me on that floor, Ophelia,” He reminded her, his voice raising as well, his voice strained. “I can’t do that again, I can’t see you laying there barely hanging on to consciousness again!” His body shook as he screamed into the night. He was screaming out silently, hoping that she could hear what he was trying to tell her. 

  “And you think I want to see you being beaten to a pulp again? No, but I’m not going to try and stop you from potentially saving the world again and you shouldn’t try to stop me!” She screamed back. She was trying to get him to hear her, to hear her true meaning in the words that she spoke. 

  “I can take care of myself, you-” He cut himself off, his mind stopping his mouth from talking before he put his foot in his mouth. “You-” He tried to come up with something else quickly, knowing that what he wanted to say was a complete lie. She could take care of herself. She had proven that multiple times. “You-” He tried again, but she cut him off with a stressed cry. 

  “I- What, Steve,” She asked, her eyes dancing with fire despite the water that pooled in them, trying desperately to smother the fire. “I can’t defend myself? I can’t take care of myself, huh,” She asked, choking back a little sob as her heart pulled itself apart slowly. She had always been undermined, nobody letting her do anything because she wasn’t strong enough, because she was just a little fragile thing that would break if the wind blew too hard. She listened to his silence, his eyes darting to the wet pavement guiltily. “God Steve! I thought that you of all people wouldn’t look at me like that, but I guess you’re just like everyone else.” She spat, tears finally breaking through the wall, sliding down her cheeks along with the rain. 

  Steve noticed instantly, his heart feeling like it was being held together by a single thin string that was seconds away from snapping at the sight of the tears. “No, Ophelia, that wasn’t what I wanted to say-” She cut him off once again. 

  “Then tell me,” She stated, sniffling slightly. “Tell me what you don’t think of me like a porcelain doll that will crack at the softest touch,” She prompted him. Silence banged like the thunder over their heads. Steve’s mouth hung open, wanting to say something, but he couldn’t, his mind blank. He really didn’t see why she couldn’t continue this with them other than the fact that he likes her and will go insane if something happened to her, but he couldn’t say that. Not yet at least. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” She muttered bitterly, wiping at her face. “Think what you want, Harrington-” She spat his name as if it were a bad taste in her mouth, sending a dagger into his heart - severing the string holding it together. “I’m doing this whether you like it or not.” She told him, turning on her heel and speed walking towards her car where Dustin sat.

  Steve stood there, hair hanging in his face as he watched her. The warning Robin gave him earlier echoing through his head. “If you don’t figure them out fast, you’re going to mess up.” Steve sighed, kicking the ground and walking to his dark car. His thoughts were consumed by Ophelia, wondering how he was going to fix this and his new found feelings for her. He had always felt it, he just finally realized it. Ophelia Henderson could take anything she wanted from him, even his beating heart from his chest, and leave and Steve would just be happy to see her smile. 

 She was always there for him. She gave him shelter when his dad and him were fighting about College and he didn’t feel safe to be home for weeks. She held him, gave him food, cared for him when his parents wouldn’t. When he felt like he was losing everything, like he was drowning, she was the one keeping him afloat, keeping his head above water. She was the reason his head was still above the rising water levels of his life. She was the reason he was still hanging onto hope that his life will get better. It didn’t matter if she wasn’t able to protect herself (which he knew full well that she could), he’d still rather give his life for her because she’s saved his life more than once and he knows that she’d do it all over again, even if it meant giving her life for him. She was the reason he was still there, being able to be there for Dustin. She pulled him out of his darkest time, of the period of his life where he honestly couldn’t picture himself in five years because he thought he’d be dead. He didn’t understand how he couldn’t have realized his feelings sooner, how he so clearly liked her that even Dustin noticed it before him. He could have avoided doing the one thing he never wanted to do: hurt Ophelia.

#steve harrington #steve harrington x original character #steve harrington x oc #steve harrington series #stranger things 3 #stranger things 2 #stranger things #stranger things series #stranger things imagines #henderson!oc #henderson #dustin henderson #robin buckley #will byers #mike wheeler #el hopper #eleven #jane hopper #el #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #netflix

[miraimisu]

33 with lonashipping? <3

[part 1] | [part 2] | [part 3] | [part 4] | [part 5]

—

Hau is sure something is going on with Gladion and Moon.

He can't quite say what it is, but there's an itch under his nose. He knows it's probably nothing, but they're together more often than ever, and while these two weeks of vacation had been spent mostly in togetherness, Hau has spent most of these two days with Lillie alone while Gladion and Moon 'trained' for 'something very important'.

Gladion is known for being lackluster with words, but Moon is just suspiciously dismissive. Something is off.

"What the hell do I know? Those two have always been close. Is this why you called me? I'm painting my nails right now."

Plumeria sounds irritated on the phone, but Hau doesn't let that deter him. Lillie fiddles with her sundress, seated right beside him on her bed. "You spend lots of time with Moon at the Battle Tree, right? I bet she's told you somethin'."

"I don't know a darn thing, kid. I bet she's got better things to do than fuss over some boy." Plumeria snickers. "Do you really think something's going on with those two?"

Hau trades looks with Lillie, who sighs. "They have been awfully busy with each other, and I'm certain Moon had a hickey on her neck yesterday."

"Yeeeeah, after the disco night. That was a weird night."

"Why? What happened?"

Hau wags his eyebrows, teasing. "Aw, so you are interested!"

"If Moon's gonna start losing battles because she's smitten, I might as well know why." Something slams shut at the other end of the line. "Fine. Tell me the details."

Hau puts her on loudspeaker. "Can you hear me?"

"Clear as day."

Lillie bites her lip. "So… they usually spend lots of time together, but it's unusual for them to go out on their own without us. I don't think they're avoiding spending time with us, right?"

Hau rubs her shoulder reassuringly. "Told ya' it wasn't that."

"Make it quick, you two. No lovey-dovey stuff allowed."

Hau gulps, laughing nervously. "Right. So we think they might have a thing going on. Lillie's right about the hickey– she had a pretty bad bruise, and when I asked, she just said she made out with some guy at the disco, but that's bullshit. She's not into that kind of stuff."

"So you think it's Gladion who's givin' her the hickeys?"

"Kinda weird to think about– no, kinda gross to think about, those two makin' out, but it's what makes the most sense."Hau grins. "Something's going on with them, and we gotta figure out what it is. They're not gonna tell us, so we should find out on our own."

Lillie fiddles with her thumbs. "But… why are we so sure they have feelings for each other, to begin with? I always thought they were just, um, very good friends."

"I mean, I'm surprised you didn't know, but the kid's always liked Moon. Like, even before she became the Champion."

Lillie gasps scandalously as Hau erupts into laughter. "I knew it!"

The blonde pulls the phone from Hau, shaking. "Really? How do you know such a thing!?"

"It was kinda obvious when you saw them together, and it's not like Gladion's that hard to read, considering he's a rock. The moment he gets soft and feelsy, it's very obvious." Plumeria laughs, half knowing, half happy. "It's weird that you didn't notice, Lillie. It's not like Moon makes herself hard to read either."

"I– I always had a hunch, but she always said he was just a friend, nothing else," Lillie says. "And Gladion… I can't say I didn't notice, but I also thought he was simply fond of her."

"Guess hickeys are his way of giving hugs now." Hau can hear the smirk in her voice. "All that aside, I doubt they'd be that dumb to get touchy with each other in a vacation. Or go on dates, having you two around. They're not that inconsiderate."

"What's up with them, then?" Hau asks, taking the phone back from Lillie. "I don't wanna be nosy, but they're hiding something from us. It's getting annoying."

Lillie hums in thought. "They might be genuinely busy with battles, even if we went on vacation so Moon would take her mind off that. Clair and Lance didn't help last week, and Gladion likes battling her a bit too much."

"You can always ask them right away, y'know– that way you wouldn't have to call me while I do my nails."

Hau ignores her in favor of an idea. "We can always, um, follow them around a bit? And keep an eye on' em. If they see us, we can say we're walkin' around."

At the other end of the line, Plumeria sighs. "That's an awful idea, kid."

But Lillie disagrees, "It might not be. I'm also curious, and come to think of it, we have done very little sight-seeing this week. We can make up for that."

Hau and Lillie exchange pleased sly grins, giggling to themselves. Plumeria groans. "Now that you two are scheming, can I hang up? My battery's running low."

"Sure, but…" Lillie fishes the phone from Hau's hand. "One last thing… can I see your nails, please? I want to buy some nail polish and I need ideas."

"Sure."

—

Hau and Lillie decide to bide their time and wait patiently.

He's tasked with looking out for Gladion, whereas Lillie does the same for Moon. They're not exactly meddling, but they're trying to wiggle their way into the situation as subtly as possible.

As much as they're trying, it doesn't seem like they're doing much. They talk and act as they always have– sans the few moments Hau notices Glaidon's touch lingers more on Moon than usual, that he looks at her very often and always does so with a little smile.

Plumeria already confirmed he's probably head over heels for her, but Hau is only noticing it now, so he does what he does best: tease him about it.

As they walk to their bedrooms after a day out at the beach, having left the girls at the bar, Hau grins. "So… what's up with you and Moon?"

Gladion jolts. Barely. But he does. "What do you mean?"

"You two are looking very cute lately. Like, really cute." He doesn't miss how Gladion's key nearly falls off his shaky fist, and his cheeks grow rosy. "Woah. I knew you had a thing for her, but not that badly."

The blond grunts and spins towards Hau, frowning as menacingly as Hau knows he can muster. "Absolutely nothing is going on between us. Nothing. I'm just helping her build a new team before she goes back to the League."

Hau arches an eyebrow. Moon has never asked anyone for help with training her Pokémon. Sounds like bullshit. "Uh-huh. Why, though?"

"Um, she's been out of it for more than a week and she's feeling a little antsy about it. She doesn't want to get rusty."

"Dude, Moon's been out of the League for weeks before. Remember Unova? She's never wanted any help with-"

Gladion squares his jaw and jams his key into the lock, opening it with force. "That– That's none of my business. Ask her if you're so curious, damn it!"

And the door swings shut again.

So that was something.

—

The following day, Moon explains that she'd be out with Glaidon training in a new Kanto-style gym that's opened in Heahea City. Hau and Lillie take that as their cue to follow them, so clad in pamelas and sunglasses they went, trailing after the pair.

They don't immediately head to the gym, and that rings alarms in Hau's head. As they spy on the two from a corner to the street, he gasps. "He wants to hold her hand. He's moving it a lot."

Lillie sighs. "The port is crowded. I'm losing sight of them. Where are they going, really?"

Hau grins. "Only one way to find out!"

With wide grins, they tiptoe across the street and further into the crowd. Hau can still see Gladion's baseball cap and Moon's oversized pamela, walking into an ice cream parlor that Hau loves with all his heart.

A few minutes later, they happily walk out of the parlor. Moon is laughing at something Gladion just said, and he looks as bothered as ever. Nothing is out of the ordinary here, making Hau question why they'd go out on their own if they're not on a date or battling.

They sit down on a bench near the sandline. Gladion looks upset. Genuinely so.

"Do you think they had an argument and are trying to make up?"

Hau turns to Lillie. "Did they look angry at each other this morning? Because they didn't to me."

The duo watch Moon and Gladion for a few minutes. Nothing happens, and after a while, Hau gets bored and distracted. They should have tagged along– it would surely be more fun than watching them have fun.

Lillie gasps. She points forward and leans closer to Hau. "Look, they're very close! Are they going to kiss?"

"No way," Hau squints as Moon scoots closer, and he can see a smirk, he thinks, but-

Someone crashes with Hau and makes him fall to the ground face first. The man runs past him and Lillie, shouting an apology. Lillie hurries to help Hau off the ground with a concerned frown. "Goodness, are you okay?"

Hau groans, rubbing his arm. "Just a scratch. People are always in a hurry here."

Lillie offers him a hand and helps him get up. Her touch lingers a second more than necessary, rubbing his knuckles with her thumb before letting go.

He rolls his shoulder and turns back to the bench, only to find it's absolutely empty.

He gets up from his hiding spot, gaping in indignation. "Dude, they're gone! Where did those two run off to?"

Lillie gasps and rushes past Hau to the bench, looking all around the port. They're nowhere to be seen– not at the juice bar, the shops at the other side of the road or anywhere nearby. She sighs, playing with the hems of her shirt. "Do you think they saw us and ran off somewhere?"

Hau shakes his head. "I doubt they saw us, but where did they even go? I can't see them anywhere."

The blonde turns to Hau, shaking her head. "Let's forget about this. I think we lost them, and it's been enough stalking for today."

Hau is still irritated, though. Where had those two ran off to? They looked like they were about to kiss. Had that been just his imagination?

He turns to Lillie, who is just as confused as he is, and grabs her wrist, leading her across the road. "C'mon, let's get ice cream. My treat."

—

The next day, the four of them have breakfast. They plan their day, which they'll spend together for once. Moon offers heading to Lush Jungle to watch the Pikipek and maybe play with the Comfey, an idea that Lillie finds cute– so much so they start gushing about it.

Only Hau notices how fondly Gladion is watching Moon, sitting very close to her. He clears his throat.

"Oh, forgot to tell you two!" Hau grins, one corner higher than the other. "We saw you the other day."

Moon chokes with her lemonade and Gladion tenses up. Lillie's eyes widen, just as troubled, and the Kahuna is sure he's hit a juicy spot. Gladion grabs Moon's lemonade and takes a generous chug while Moon laughs. "Oh, you did?"

"We were takin' a walk around the port zone and we saw you there. Did you like that gym you went to? You gotta take us there sometime!"

Hau expects Moon to panic, because she sucks at lying and he doesn't expect them to have gone to the gym. Moon and Gladion trade looks, and she smiles sweetly. "It was lots of fun. A few trainers there nearly beat me, and Gladion-"

He slaps a hand on her mouth with a shaky smirk. "No need to tell them about how I did to brag about your victories, Champion."

Moon removes his hand and they start bickering like they always do, and the only thing Hau finds suspicious in the situation is that everything is as normal as can be. They're arguing about the smallest of things at the loudest of voices, and he's sure a battle will ensue within the next 5 minutes.

Lillie scoots closer, whispering, "I suppose it was nothing, then? Could we have assumed wrong?"

Hau hums. He hasn't seen much suspicious activity he can prove, and the image of them almost kissing at that bench could have been a mirage. Maybe they're just on very friendly and affectionate terms now, and that hickey on Moon's neck that day might have come from some other dude.

He doesn't want to think Moon is hooking up with other dudes when Gladion is head over heels for her, though– but it's her life.

Hau takes a sip of his Tapu Cocoa. "We might have, yeah."

—

The following day is the day they go back to their usual busy lives. Moon is due at the League, Hau has Kahuna duties to look after, Gladion as a company to run and Lillie has a thousand things to do at the Aether Conservation area.

They must catch their ferry back to Melemele at ten o'clock, they've agreed to meet at the lobby in five minutes and Gladion and Moon are nowhere to be seen.

Lillie looks at her watch with a grimace. "They're usually the first ones to be here. What could be holding them up?"

Hau sighs. "Moon texted me saying her shower wasn't working properly so she's using Glaidon's while he packs his stuff."

The blonde smiles nervously. "They're taking a little too long, though. Silvally must be chewing on Glaidon's clothes again."

Hau groans. "Man, I woke up early to be here on time and I bet they're gonna be late. Let's go check on them. I got Gladion's key with me."

They leave their suitcases at the lobby and head to Gladion's bedroom. They speculate on the ways they'll have to peel Silvally off Gladion's suitcase, how Moon might have her own clothes destroyed by the beast and how irritated Gladion will be about going shopping with Moon in compensation for the damage.

Hau slides the key and the door clicks open.

And their hearts leap out their throats as Moon and Gladion gasp, stopping their activities to look at the intruders with blatant shame.

Moon is lying under Gladion, hair wet and shirt ridden up her stomach. Gladion's hands are in her hair and waist, and Moon is bunching the front of Gladion's half-undone button up dress shirt.

Lillie gasps.

Moon laughs nervously as Gladion groans in defeat and buries his face in Moon's neck. "Um, I can explain. We were, um…"

Words fail her. Gladion mumbles a curse against Moon's shoulder and Hau's mind finally catches up with what's going on.

"Dude, what in the world did we miss here?"

#ask #lonashipping #gladmoon #pokemon #by far the one I like the least because it's not lona-centric #also sorry it took me so long goomz #been having a hard time writing bgfjkdñsla #hope you like it #finally things come clear and the 'series' is over LMAO

[very-grownup]

THE YEAR IS 2020 AND I WATCHED NEON GENESIS EVANGELION FOR THE FIRST TIME, PART 5

Episode 16.

So last week I didn't give a very detailed report because the grief stuff affected me pretty deeply, but I figured this week would give me ample opportunity to catch up on what happened because weekly anime series, right? INCORRECT. NORMAL BREAKFAST TIME.

So: Misato and Kaji dated as students she dumped him they reconnect at a wedding she gets drunk they kiss she pukes in an alley Kaji is a spy she follows him to a NERV subbasement puts a gun to his head there's a massive life supported original angel with torsos growing out of it.

Episode 16 actually behind the cut.

In the EVA tests, the monitors show Shinji's numbers in the green which is the most good. Misato gives Shinji positive feedback and a thumbs up and this has the poor kid over the moon. Even though this is literally the first time where Shinji has been anything other than mediocre, Asuka gets angry and hostile because even though she bullies Shinji about how he needs to man up, the status quo where she is clearly better than him is good for her self-esteem.

Later in the episode, Asuka's complaining about Shinji reaches a point that Rei Speaks Words and asks Asuka point blank if she needs other people to applaud her to feel like she has purpose. I think the '90s weebs did Rei dirty with the robotic waifu thing. She's disconnected, from her peers and her body and what she does in the EVA, but her points of connection seem really powerful, blunt and intense for their rarity. Asuka doesn't think she needs the praise of others, but she needs to continue succeeding and achieving so she can feel justified in praising /herself/. I think I see the difference, but I'm not sure Asuka's explanation is any less sad than what Rei suggests.

When an Angel attacks (Shinji's dad isn't around AGAIN has this dude just stopped showing up to work?) it's a really cool one I name Eschersphere that's just a floating sphere with black and white stripes. No face, just ball. It casts a shadow hole that absorbs shit. The kids are there, Rei with her giant robot sniper rifle, Asuka with her giant robot axe, and Shinji with his giant robot none weapons. Asuka, still stung about Shinji briefly Doing Well and Feeling Okay, goads him through his fragile sense of success to do something Dumb. Shinji lets himself get goaded because he's /14/ and he's so hungry for another dopamine hit of 'feeling like he matters and is good' and he goes I GOT THIS and rushes Eschersphere and then gets swallowed by the void shadow and disappears. It turns out Eschersphere isn't the Angel but the shadow of the Angel and the actual Angel is the shadow of Eschersphere so the Angel isn't Eschersphere but a shadow sea pancake that can expand and retract and it's a bunch of words for Shinji got eaten by a math hole. Everyone decides this is Misato's fault for letting Shinji think he isn't terrible, briefly.

The robot umbilical cord for Shinji's giant robot is severed and it's running on battery life support and Ritsuko's taking over the situation because she's never made a mistake like giving a teen positive reinforcement. Ritsuko, of course, is prioritizing getting the robot back.

Meanwhile in the Angel shadow dimensional void, Shinji is just counting down the time to his death. He has no expectations of rescue. He basically has a near death experience and his life flashes before his eyes and hey, turns out? It sucks! Everything smells of blood and he has increasing difficulty breathing and his inner Shinji talks to him about his fears and worries and while inner Shinji is very insightful about how each person Shinji knows holds a different Shinji in their heart based on their perceptions of him, inner Shinji also talks to Shinji with as much harshness as everyone else has when they talk to Shinji. Which makes sense. If you've got that guy with you, you know they will talk harsher trash about you than your worst enemy and fighting them is exhausting, cyclical yelling. How's Shinji supposed to be kind to himself?

Even inner Shinji recognizes how pathetic his clutching at the one moment of praise from his father is, how foolish it is to hang his entire life and sense of self on that single instant.

There are a lot of little flashbacks to people talking to Shinji and it's clear in those moments that they're recognizing that part of the problem is Shinji perceives himself as possessing all the negative qualities he believes they project on him ... it's very honest and sad.

Also, some flashes of newspaper stuff about his father being accused of killing his mother? What? What?

ALSO also, Shinji does have memories of his mother. For some reason I thought she was a died when he was a baby because I didn't really bother doing the math at her grave last week due to ALL THE CRYING.

As Shinji's life support systems finally run out and he's simultaneously drowning in blood piss and asphyxiating and probably also carbon monoxide poisoning he thinks his mother's naked ghost is with him which seems reasonable for a near death experience aside from the naked.

Ritsuko's preparing to do ... whatever her plan is to rescue the EVA and also Shinji maybe but before she can, the shadow-that-isn't-a-shadow begins erupting with jagged red spikes and shrinks and disappears and then the Eschersphere begins cracking and bleeding. And bleeding and bleeding and then Shinji's EVA pushes it's way out of the Eschersphere and there's blood everywhere and chunks and blood and the EVA is screaming screaming screaming. Everyone but Rei is upset, even Asuka who's like wtf I pilot something like that? Fuck.

FUCK INDEED, ASUKA.

Blood blood blood and bits of angel guts just staggering in this messy line across the remains of this city.

Shinji comes to with Misato hugging him and crying and honestly? I'm glad this poor kid has someone who'll shed tears over him. I'm sure everyone will take the wrong lessons away from this incident, but I'm glad Shinji got a hug. SOMEONE cares.

Later, as I guess techs hose the Angel blood and guts off the Eva, Commander Ikari and Ritsuko talk about how maybe Misato knows Something but she probably doesn't and the important thing is that Shinji and Rei can never know the Thing. Asuka? I guess German kids don't count.

Shinji's in a hospital room again but the shadows and colours are softer and muted, less cold blue, and Rei is checking on him (Asuka is there not-checking on him because engaging honestly with her emotions would lead to guilt over pushing Shinji to recklessness). Rei expresses Feelings of having been worried about Shinji and now being glad he is safe. Smiles happen. Laughter happens. The kids are all right! It's a good episode! Cool visuals, good use of shadow. Shinji got a hug: I'm glad. This concludes my report on Episode 16 of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

#neon genesis evangelion report #blood blood blood and bits of sick

[angelofthequeers]

Hold Me By Both Hands: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

Summary: “I know he said never to take you back,” Plagg mutters. “But he’d change his tune if he knew.” He looks Adrien straight in the eye and, more serious than Adrien’s ever seen him before, says, “There’s someone you gotta meet. He’s been looking for that book for ages.”

How differently might the events of season 2 have gone if Adrien had also known of Master Fu from the start?

Chapter 2 | AO3 link

“Hawkmoth?” Adrien’s eyes bulge at the sight of the supervillain in the book right before him, sketched on the ancient page with the utmost of care. “What’s this monster doing in a book about superheroes?”

“About…what?” Plagg abandons his Camembert hunt to zip back out of Gabriel’s safe, which he and Adrien had just broken into after spying Gabriel hiding something behind a portrait of Emilie in his atelier. And that something is this book that’s got Plagg looking like he’s been hit over the head by a baseball bat.

“You said a second ago that you’ve seen this book before,” Adrien says. “Is it important?”

“Is it – is it important?” Plagg facepalms. “You know what you’re holding, kid? Pure gold! Something that’s been lost for over a century!” He squints down at the book, as though he’s wrestling with himself.

Okay, what the hell is going on right now?

“I know he said never to take you back,” Plagg mutters. “But he’d change his tune if he knew.” He looks Adrien straight in the eye and, more serious than Adrien’s ever seen him before, says, “There’s someone you gotta meet. He’s been looking for that book for ages.”

Adrien blinks and flips the page to reveal a new hero clad in deep blue, holding a large fan spread wide like a peacock’s tail. “What’s so special about this book? It’s just got pictures of Miraculous heroes. Is there more information or something?”

“You don’t even know, kid,” Plagg says. “That book’s got all the secrets about us. In the wrong hands – wait.” He looks from the peacock hero back at the safe, then back at the book, then darts to the safe and pokes a little brooch in the shape of a peacock’s tail. “Adrien, you gotta take this too.”

“The brooch? But why –”

“Just take it, alright?” Plagg shouts. “But don’t touch it!”

Adrien jumps and, on autopilot, does as he’s told, grabbing a tissue out of his pocket to scoop the brooch into his bag. “Sorry –”

“No, no, I’m sorry.” Plagg slumps in mid-air. “This is just – this is huge, Adrien. That’s the Peacock Miraculous and it was lost when the Butterfly was. And there’s something weird about it. Something damaged. Can’t tell if Duusu’s off too, so just don’t summon her.”

Like some sort of terrible jigsaw puzzle, the pieces start to click together in Adrien’s mind. “Are you saying that –”

The sound of footsteps causes his heart to leap into his throat. With a gasp, he shoves the book into his bag too and closes the safe and painting of Emilie. And not a moment too soon; as soon as he’s darted away from the painting, Nathalie and his bodyguard enter the room.

“Adrien? You’re going to be late,” Nathalie says. Adrien laughs, fumbles out an excuse about looking for his homework, then follows them outside, with the bag slung over his shoulder practically scorching a hole in his side.

.

Lila. Lila. Lila, Lila, Lila.

That’s the only name on everyone’s lips when Marinette enters the school with Alya that morning, half an hour early for once in her life. Seriously, are they being visited by royalty? Lila knows Prince Ali, Jagged Stone, Steven Spielberg…

“And Ladybug!” Alya thrusts her phone at Marinette to reveal a video on the Ladyblog with this new girl in the thumbnail. “She’s besties with Ladybug and she gave me an exclusive interview!”

“Uh…Alya, I don’t think that’s true…” Marinette says slowly. How is she going to point this out without incriminating herself as Ladybug? She can’t exactly just up and say that she’s never met this Lila Rossi before.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Alya says. “She’s got the most amazing life!”

“But she’s new, right?” Marinette says. “How could she be best friends with Ladybug if she’s new?”

“Ladybug saved her life once.” Alya nudges Marinette with a smirk. “You’d know that if you watched more than two videos on my blog.”

“Ladybug’s saved half of Paris,” Marinette points out. “Lila’s not the only person she’s saved.” She hasn’t even saved Lila before. “If anyone was going to be her best friend, I’d think it’d be someone like you, right? You’re the one she gave that interview to. She wouldn’t even think of agreeing to that interview when I asked until I mentioned that you’d be the one interviewing her. She’s only saved Lila once, but she’s talked to you loads of times.”

“Oh – well, I mean, you’ve got a point there.” Alya practically swells before Marinette’s eyes.

“And even if Lila was Ladybug’s best friend, don’t you think it’s a little irresponsible that she’s bragging about it?” When Marinette’s on a roll, she’s on a damn roll. “What if Hawkmoth sees that interview? If Lila’s telling the truth, he could totally use her against Ladybug!”

The blood drains from Alya’s face. “Shit. Shit. I didn’t even think – shit, I gotta take it down!” She fumbles to unlock her phone and navigate to the Ladyblog, where she swiftly deletes the video with a sigh. “All those views…”

“I’d say the life of a civilian is more important than views, right?” Marinette silently vows to drop by Alya’s place sometime and give her the best damn interview ever to make up for this.

“True…” Alya frowns over at the brunette who’s surrounded by people who are hanging off her every word. Ah. Lila Rossi in the flesh. “You know…it is kinda unbelievable that she knows all those people. Jagged Stone, sure. Prince Ali…well, her mother is a diplomat. But all the Hollywood directors? Do diplomats even talk to directors?”

“Who knows?” Marinette says. She frowns and looks over her shoulder. “Where’s Adrien? He’s usually here way before now.”

“Someone’s a stalker!” Alya sings teasingly, linking arms with Marinette as they walk straight past Lila and her captive audience. On their way, she snags Nino’s arm and hauls him away from Lila.

“Who? Me? Stalker! No way! I’m just concerned! For a friend!” Marinette babbles through flaming cheeks. Can the ground just, like, swallow her right now?

“Dude!” Nino complains. “Lila was just about to tell me about the time she met –”

“Use your brain, you big lug,” Alya says, lacing their fingers together. “You really think one person knows every single director? Especially a diplomat’s kid?”

“If she was the daughter of an actress or director then sure.” Marinette gratefully seizes the change of subject with both hands. “And she also said she was Ladybug’s best friend, but she’s the new kid. Ladybug doesn’t go around being besties with everyone she saves, does she? Otherwise, she’d be besties with Alya or –” She shudders. “Chloé.”

“Aww.” Nino’s shoulders slump. “I thought I was finally gonna meet Spielberg…”

Something black flashes out of the corner of Marinette’s eye. When she whips her head around to get a better look, her eyes widen at the sight of a familiar dark superhero leaping across the rooftops away from the school. Why is Chat Noir out? Is there an akuma somewhere? What kind of akuma could be so insidious that no one else knows about it yet?

“I – uh – bathroom!” Marinette blurts out, yanking her arm away from Alya’s. “That hot chocolate I had for breakfast went right through me!” She bolts before Alya or Nino can call her out on her bullshit excuse and ducks into the first empty classroom she stumbles across.

“Akuma?” Tikki says as soon as she zooms out of Marinette’s purse.

“Why else would Chat Noir be out?” Marinette says. “I have to go and see what’s wrong. Tikki, spots on!”

As soon as she’s outside the school and out on the rooftops, she opens her yo-yo and calls Chat Noir. He picks up on the third ring, greeting her with his usual flirtatious grin.

“Well, milady, I wasn’t expecting someone so stunning to call an alley cat like me,” he says.

“You’re just lucky that I take pity on mangy alley cats,” Ladybug shoots back with an answering smile. “Is everything alright, kitty? Is there an akuma or something?”

“No, there’s no akuma. Actually…” Chat Noir’s grin vanishes. “There’s something important I have to show you. Like, my-kwami-freaked-out important. Can we meet on the school roof?”

“Lucky for you, I’m nearby.” Ladybug angles her yo-yo screen to show him the school behind her. “What exactly do you have to show me?”

“You’ll find out in a few minutes,” Chat Noir says. He pastes his flirty grin back on his face and blows her a kiss. “It’s a date, bugaboo!”

“That cat,” Ladybug sighs when he hangs up. Shaking her head, she jumps back to the school rooftop and sits down to wait for Chat Noir, crossing her legs neatly. Man, what she wouldn’t give to be able to install apps on her yo-yo for times like this. Thankfully, it doesn’t take too long before she spots him bounding towards her with something rectangular tucked under his arm.

“Please, please, no need to stand on occasion,” Chat Noir says when he lands on the rooftop and Ladybug jumps to her feet.

“Silly kitty,” Ladybug says. “What’s so important that your kwami freaked out?”

In response, Chat Noir holds out the rectangular thing he’d been carrying. It’s…a book. An extremely old-looking book, sure, but still a book. When she flips it open to a picture of a Chinese woman in ladybug-patterned clothing, however, she immediately understands just why Chat Noir’s kwami might have freaked out.

“Plagg said that it’s full of secrets about us,” Chat Noir says as an open-mouthed Ladybug thumbs through the pages of strange writing and animal-themed superheroes. Is that a dragon? “And he said there’s someone who needs to see it. I was on my way there when you called.”

“This is incredible!” Ladybug says in a hushed voice. She gasps when she turns the page and is greeted with a man dressed in purple, with a silvery mask covering his head. “Hawkmoth?”

“That’s what I said!” Chat Noir’s literally bouncing on the balls of his feet. “That’s why akumas are butterflies. Hawkmoth’s using the Butterfly Miraculous for evil!”

“I would’ve thought that was obvious, silly kitty.”

“But there’s more. Give me a second.” Chat Noir ducks behind one of the massive metal HVAC fans, so Ladybug dutifully turns her back to allow him to detransform. When he emerges as Chat Noir once more, he’s holding something small in his hands, resting on a little white tissue.

“A peacock brooch?” Ladybug frowns down at the little blue and green peacock tail. But then she gasps and flips through the book until she comes across a hero dressed in deep, vivid blue. “Is that a Miraculous?”

“A damaged one,” Chat Noir says. “Plagg sensed that there was something wrong with it. He told me not to touch it in case there was something wrong with the kwami too. But yeah! It was lost when the Butterfly one was as well!”

“Where on earth did you find this?” Ladybug closes the book and hands it back to Chat Noir. “Do you know what this means? If the Peacock was lost with the Butterfly –”

“– then whoever had it could be Hawkmoth?” Chat Noir grimaces. “Yeah. I know.”

“Who had these? Where did you get them?”

“Adrien Agreste.”

Adrien? Ladybug’s heart screeches to a halt in her chest. No! Adrien can’t be Hawkmoth! He’s such a sweet, amazing person – but he’s never around when akumas attack – but he can’t be –

“No way can Adrien be Hawkmoth!” she snaps. Chat Noir blinks at her.

“I didn’t think that,” he says in an odd voice. He grins. “But I’m sure he appreciates your defence, milady. No, Adrien went snooping in his father’s office and found these in a safe. He gave them to me when he looked through the book and realised what it was about.”

Phew. Thank god. Ladybug’s heart resumes its normal rhythm. “Does that mean that Adrien’s father could be Hawkmoth?” she says.

“That’s what I’m thinking. I don’t want it to be true, for his sake, but…” Chat Noir shrugs. “I’ve gotta get these to whoever Plagg was talking about before school starts. Care to join me for a morning stroll, milady?”

Ladybug smirks when Chat Noir bows and holds his hand out. She takes it, then twists his wrist gently when he tries to kiss the back of her hand.

“The only reason you’ll be taking the lead on this one is because your kwami told you where to go, kitty,” she teases, taking the Peacock Miraculous and tucking it into her yo-yo for safekeeping. “Otherwise, you’d be joining me.”

“I’d follow you anywhere, bugaboo,” Chat Noir sighs. Ladybug just smiles and flicks the side of his head.

“Focus, Chat. Where did Plagg say to go?”

With a destination now in mind, Ladybug bounds through Paris after Chat Noir, towards an arrondissement that looks to be full of small, old shops. When they land in front of a familiar building, Ladybug can't help but gasp at the words “Fu’s Massage Parlour” written in fading letters above the door.

 “Milady?” Chat Noir says.

“I’ve been here before!” Ladybug says. “My kwami brought me here when – wait…no way…”

“Ladybug?” Chat Noir says. But Ladybug’s already pushing the door open, so he just shrugs and follows her. She’ll explain in due time. She always does. There’s another door inside, a little further down, and Ladybug knocks on that one and waits a moment before pushing it open.

“Hello, Ladybug and Chat Noir,” says an old man with a ring of grey hair and a grey moustache and goatee, along with a bright red Hawaiian shirt and brown pants, who’s sitting cross-legged on the floor inside the room. Judging by the acupuncture poster above a large phonograph, along with the letters that are on the small tapestries on the wall and the elegant screen in the corner – which Chat Noir can just understand if he stops and focuses – this man is most likely Chinese. He’s familiar – so familiar – why can’t Chat Noir figure out where he’s seen this man before?

“You’re the healer that cured Tikki when she was sick!” Ladybug gasps. “Back when Rose was akumatised!”

“Wait, so that’s why you were late to the battle?” Chat Noir says. Ladybug nods.

“I’m guessing you’re not really a vet, then?” she says to the man.

“Wait.” Chat Noir grins at Ladybug teasingly. “You brought a tiny flying ladybug thing to someone she said could heal her and you didn’t stop and think –”

“If you finish that sentence, I’ll throw you out that window,” Ladybug threatens, but the corner of her mouth twitches faintly. Chat Noir wisely shuts up and raises his hands in surrender.

“And your first day of school wasn’t a chance meeting either,” the old man says, watching their banter with an amused sparkle in his eyes. “For either of you.”

Ladybug and Chat Noir gasp at the same time.

“You’re the man I helped when you fell over!” Chat Noir exclaims.

“And the man I helped across the road!” Ladybug adds. “Those were tests?”

The man smiles and nods. “Ladybug, you’re always ready to help others, even if you are inconvenienced in return. And Chat Noir, you’re always willing to put others before yourself. Though I do wish I could have further tested you to be absolutely certain, I knew that day that you would make a fantastic team.”

“Okay, but who are you?” Ladybug says.

“What Ladybug said,” Chat Noir says. In response, the man stands up and leads the two of them over to the massive phonograph on a chest of drawers at the back of the room, where he opens the tiny plate engraved with Chinese letters by pressing the eyes of the two dragons on either side of it and then punching a code in with the buttons that are revealed. Before their eyes, the top of the phonograph rotates and springs open to reveal a large octagonal box made of dark wood, with scarlet patterns on the top exactly like the ones on the box that had come with Chat Noir’s ring.

“Master Fu is the last known member of the Order of the Guardians!” says a small green flying thing that’s darted out of the horn of the phonograph. Ladybug and Chat Noir instinctively jump back. “They’ve cared for the Miraculouses for millennia!”

It’s a turtle. A flying turtle. The small green thing is a turtle kwami! His yellow eyes are piercing, like they can see straight through the mask on Chat Noir’s face, not that Chat Noir would be surprised if this kwami knew their identities as Master Fu does.

“I’m Wayzz, Master Fu’s kwami,” the turtle kwami continues. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

“Uh…you too!” Ladybug says with a nervous little laugh. Purely by instinct, Chat Noir offers her his hand, but although she smiles and rolls her eyes and bats it away, she does step closer to him. Hey, he’ll call it a win either way.

“We Guardians are responsible for protecting and distributing the Miraculouses, for the good of all humanity,” Master Fu says, opening the box to reveal a rainbow ring of five slots from orange to purple around a yin and yang symbol. The orange slot contains a necklace with a fox tail, while the yellow slot holds a golden hair comb with a bee on it; every other slot is empty. “We are chosen in childhood and trained for many years especially for this mission. When we were much, much younger, we –” He sighs. “I made a mistake. The Guardians’ Temple was destroyed, all because of me! Two Miraculouses were lost that day: the Butterfly and the Peacock. Also gone forever was the ancient spellbook.”

“You mean this thing?” Chat Noir holds out the book under his arm, and Master Fu takes it and starts to page through it. “You can read it? All it’s got are a bunch of weird symbols and pictures of superheroes.”

“They’re not weird to a Guardian,” Master Fu says, closing the Miraculous Box and returning it to the phonograph. “Back in the day, I was never given the opportunity to even have a look at it. But I’ve been taught enough to be able to partially decipher the code. These pages are the only source of information about the Miraculouses in the world. Obviously, this book is invaluable.”

“Chat Noir also found this.” Ladybug retrieves the Peacock Miraculous from her yo-yo and holds it out. Master Fu’s touch is light, almost reverent, as he accepts the brooch and cradles it in its protective tissue bed.

“Plagg said it’s damaged, but I don’t know how,” Chat Noir says. “All he said was that I shouldn’t touch it in case the kwami was damaged as well.”

“Not much can damage a Miraculous. A rogue Cataclysm, perhaps,” Master Fu sighs, gently resting the brooch on the chest of drawers. “Not easily fixed, but certainly doable. I would need the help of Tikki to reverse the damage.”

Chat Noir swallows and rests his free hand over his active ring. Master Fu notices the gesture, of course.

“So long as you’re careful, there shouldn’t be a problem,” he says. “I’m confident that I chose well for the holders of the Ladybug and Black Cat.”

“Why us?” Ladybug says. “Why not a pair of adults? We’re just teenagers…”

“Which means that you aren’t as set in your ways as adults are,” Master Fu says. “I wanted a pair who were flexible and still learning about the world. A pair who still possessed the idealism needed to step up and become heroes. Adults are capable, yes, but many are cynical and focused on their own lives.” He sighs. “The trade-off, of course, is that Hawkmoth possesses greater raw power. We don’t know why, but adults aren’t held to the same limitations when wielding a Miraculous as a child or teenager. But with the bond that you two possess, I know you can defeat Hawkmoth.”

“Of course we can!” Chat Noir nudges Ladybug. “Bugaboo and I are just too ameowzing to let a grumpy old butterfly man beat us.”

“Chat!” Ladybug complains, though she does let a giggle slip. But Master Fu pops the atmosphere with his next words.

“I've always believed that whoever possessed this spellbook must also have the Peacock…and the Butterfly.”

“So, you were right.” Ladybug gives Chat Noir a sad little pout that makes his heart jitter in his chest, and what he wouldn’t do to wipe that look off her face so that she could smile forever. “Adrien’s dad could be Hawkmoth!”

“Adrien’s father?” Master Fu says.

“Adrien Agreste.” Chat Noir’s mouth curves in a bitter line. “He’s the one who gave me the spellbook and Peacock Miraculous. Said he found them in his father’s hidden safe.”

Master Fu gives him a piercing look that, just like Wayzz’s gaze, bypasses the mask entirely. “I see. We could very well be close to Hawkmoth’s identity…”

“We should investigate,” Ladybug says. “You know, to make sure we’re not accusing someone without proof. We wouldn’t want to put Adrien through that if it turns out his father’s innocent.”

She’s so considerate! So caring! Is it any wonder that Chat Noir loves her? “And of course, I’ll be right there with you, bugaboo,” he says, and she smiles at him in response with that breathtaking smile of hers.

“You must be very careful,” Master Fu warns. “Both of you. If you succeed, you may well find yourselves face to face with Hawkmoth.”

“We promise we’ll be super careful,” Ladybug says. She gasps and starts scrambling for the door. “Oh, no! I’m gonna be late to school! And I was early today!”

“Allow me to escort you back, milady,” Chat Noir says when she trips over and faceplants. With a groan, she accepts his helping hand up, and they say their goodbyes to Master Fu and Wayzz before heading back to school.

But when they get there, they discover that no one’s out looking for them after all. They may be late but since there’s a tall man with lilac skin in the courtyard, surrounded by screaming students, no one really seems to have a single thought to spare for two tardy students.

#miraculous ladybug #ml fic #aotq fic #aotq: hold me #adrien agreste #marinette dupain-cheng #plagg #alya cesaire #master fu #the collector #plagg actually recognises the book #anti-lila #ugh

[cleaduvalls]

i watched “spy kids” 4 times in 1 week and here are my thoughts

carmen your nightgown is like 200 years old, get a new one

you clearly know this story by heart, you’re saying parts of it. why are you questioning what “take him out” means

a double wig should be more obvious than that

we can see that that’s a glass elevator. people can see you changing, ingrid

nice hat

why did you kill the swan

is that paul rudd???????

how are jets ripping pages out of a book

heart shaped parachutes shouldn’t be working that well

why is there a guitar on your bed. how do you sleep

i think the kids would have seen the track in the floor at SOME point

why is there a jungle gym in their house. i know they’re spies but who has a jungle gym.... in their HOUSE

carmen you’re a frog

i think juni just legitimately try to kill carmen

why are both parents going to school. is that like, a Thing????

juni how do you do that

who puts a video screen in the front seat

hey look its floop. love that guy

they’re not picking on you for the bandages, it’s cuz you brought the toys OUTSIDE your backpack. always put them inside. trust me

did his mirror just.... zoom in?????

h*ck yeah beat him up greg

do all the other kids hate him too??????

dang that hurt

“chief” that’s so white

stupid kid. his dads a spy

that floop doll isn’t even close to accurate

hey look its floop again. love that dude

Big Willy Wonka Energy

oooh skipping numbers i see. love that

why do the subtitles have “mr. floop” as his name. its just floop, yall

“sometimes in order to think big you have to think small” pretty inspirational tbh

oh hes fidgeting!!!!!! love that

woah what are you doing this is rated pg ingrid

i wish my uncles would tell me im shrinking. they just make small talk abt school 😔

this gradenko lady looks like jan from the office

hey its floop again!!!!! love that dude

yes juni. its a fire drill in your own home

these dudes have a jungle gym AND a pool. what the h*ck

why did you pull off your mustache to prove you’re not related. if anything that makes you more related. greg does that too

why did he put the mustache back ON

where did those boats come from

carmen says manual weird. man-yull

right, cuz adrenaline causes warts

“don’t touch anything” *immediately touches everything*

basic boat ettiquette: don’t shit in the boat. those toilets can’t handle anything

is that globe..... punched in???????

floop!!!!!!! love that dude

feet on the desk????? i dunno seems pretty gay

since when did carmen get keys to that

i might be wrong but i dont think thats every country

what does pressure have to do with positioning a laser

this floor is the best mechanic in the whole movie. reminds me of a richie rich comic i had as a kids

why did they not run into the wall. i wanted to see that

is the slide there when floop films his show????

HEY ITS FLOOP!!!! love that dude

theres a bunch of normal food like.... sour worms. why did they pick the slime from charlie and the chocolate factory when johnny depp finds the oompa loompas

thats a sick coat. best one in the movie

that was a good snap. nice acoustics

God what a power move. something thanos would say

listen floop i love you but thats not how you say research

fELIX NO

and hes gone. cool

did she kick the camera?????

haha author unknown. cuz hes a spy

why did you take that one specifically????? plot convenience????

he can still be a spy, just not a good one. learn to read

is that supposed to be a question?????

FUN FACT if you listen closely when carmen says “like felix said” you can hear a weird cut in “said”, almost like its a new clip

theres no keyhole

i think juni can read. why are you spelling it

did you have the floop toys in your pocket????

OKAY THIS SCENE WHERE THEY PLAY IT BACKWARDS?????? THAT MESSED ME UP AS A KID 

what do those things do?????

i can feel the pain from the fan blades

how did that break the chain????

why would you annouce that. they can hear you. just because they’re thumbs doesn’t mean they’re deaf

that’s a thing, not a place

FLOOP!!!!! ON A BILLBOARD!!!! love that dude

how are you slipping. shes holding YOU

YOU DROPPED HIM GENIUS

how do people not notice the jetpack dudes

DOES NO ONE CARE THAT CLOTHES WERE STOLEN

that’s a cute coat

why is the lady cool with carmen just... doing that

HEY I LOVE THIS SONG!!!!!!!!! AND THAT DUDE!!!!!

ofc you can’t think “straight enough” you’re gay

why is mexico sepia tone

when do you think juni had time to change and learn a new language

IF IT HURTS TO HIT HIM, S T O P

i wanna be on that merry-go-round

HOW DO YOU K N O W THAT HIS CODE NAME. WHY “MUST” IT BE HOMBRE

i love how junis just like “we already got a fake uncle”

LOOK AT HOW FLOOP IS SITTING!!!!!!!! THATS GAY!!!!!!! HE IS A HOMOSEXUAL!!!!!!!!

ALSO MORE FLOOP!!!! say it with me, LOVE THAT DUDE!!!!!!!!!!

minion looks like barry from friends

wait i lied this coat is better

we DO have uncles like that!!!!!

if your inventions are so good why is your font so BORING

hey wait carmen said that. hmmmmmmmm 🤔🤔🤔

glowsticks dont help you see like at all

the map looks like gallifreyan but its not. spy kids is older than the doctor who reboot

they go ZOOM

THATS NOT HOW YOU SAY MANUAL!!!!!!!

great job carmen YOU wrecked the plane

WHATS A REGULATOR

oh its just a breathing thing

haha pee joke. funney

where are the brains coming from???? that factory is Not Correct

if i were juni i would look back over all the floop’s fooglies tapes and see what the agents were saying backwards. once the mission was done, ofc

it took me like 5 minutes to figure out what sknaht meant the first time

SEE THIS MECHANIC IS GOOD BC NOW THERES NO PLEXIGLASS

WHY DOES NO ONE RUN INTO THE WALL

F L O O P  I S  G O D

love that dude

you discussed with the spy parents that juni watched the show. he just told you that you took his parents. you KNOW this is juni, why are you surprised that he watches it????? you already know!!!!!!

tbh i kinda want some of those colorful chains. they’d look cool somewhere

haha voice crack

no wonder your shows not doing well. those are awful times

why is there a sexy thumb nurse. why did floop make the thumb nurse sexy

use her first name?????? you’re clearly dating

!!!!!! THEY USED THE SAME TOOL MULTIPLE TIMES!!!!!! UNHEARD OF!!!!!!!

he cares so much about this show!!!!!! its so sweet!!!! love that dude

YEP THIS COAT IS BETTER, LOOKS A M A Z I N G IN A RUNNING SCENE

haha you killed carmen

ok this scene with the acid crayon is like my absolute favorite. something about using a crayon to escape and then floop (love that dude) opening the door a second later and then doing a double take. FAVE

wheres belize

ok so apparently its a country by mexico

no you CANT tell her you need to ESCAPE

we finally got a clean outside shot of the castle.... that place is wack

haha minion can’t sit in the hand chair correctly because hes STRAIGHT what a loser

hey juni HOW DO YOU DO THAT

minion you know what the robot costumes look like AND what juni looks like. dont be stupid

what..... what do you want carmen for, exactly, minion??????

floop is supportive of others’ art!!!!!!!!!!! love that dude

HE SAID “WHERE’S MOM AND DAD” LIKE THEY’RE HIS OWN PARENTS THAT’S SO C U T E

ALSO ANOTHER SCENE WITH THE GREAT RUNNING COAT

he says doppelganger beautifully

“its too late” that timing was BEAUTIFUL

you COULD take 500 brains out if you just TRIED HARDER. still love that dude

his control panel has buttons that spell “floop”

WHY CAN MINION TALK NORMAL

if its reversible why do you have it in later movies

carmen fights fake juni and juni fights fake carmen because they didnt have the fancy clone (?) technology

THREE TIMES!!!!!! THEY USED THE SAME TOOL T H R E E  T I M E S THIS HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!!!!!!!!!!!

nice censorship

HOW DID MACHETE SMASH ONLY THE CLEAR WINDOWS AND A L L THE CLEAR WINDOWS THERE ARE NO MORE CLEAR WINDOWS!!!!!! ANYWHERE!!!!!

wow nice 3 buttons thats totally how you hack

oh look they have all died

oh. guess not :((

machete you better rip off your mustache

HES GOING TO JUNIS LEVEL TO TALK TO HIM!!!!!!! HE RUFFLED HIS HAIR!!!!!!!!! HES GONNA MAKE A GREAT DAD!!!!!!!

wow no shit ingrid

did he leave his wart bandaid on the kitchen counter?????

ALAN CUMMING!!!! ON A CEREAL BOX!!!!

ok CLEARLY other people watch floop’s show, he’s rated number 2. kids at the school are gonna recognize juni and carmen. they better get popular

is that george clooney

well that’s not how it works in spy kids 2. or 3. or 4. or the tv show

#this took like 2 hours #spy kids #spy kids spoilers #spoilers #juni cortez #carmen cortez #ingrid cortez #gregorio cortez #minion #fegan floop #floops fooglies #sk1 #robert rodriguez

[fleetingfigures]

Superhero/villain :3

(This is mostly a spin off of a near future Yakuza AU I was imagining with a few friends, and as such I’ll use the picrew I used for that for this as well!)

“PENTAKILL!” 

“Ace!”

The incessant sound of a mechanical keyboard fills the small studio apartment, as the flashing displays from a multi-monitor setup illuminate a singular hunched figure in front of it all. A Miqo’te, no older than his mid twenties sits, or rather perches upon an elaborate office chair, typing away at inhuman speeds as his eyes dart to and fro, focused on the game at hand. He reaches over, grabbing hold of a now room temperature crêpe and takes furtive bite out of it, his eyes still glued on the monitors before him. And this is how most nights proceeded for this Miqo’te -  wherein he sits for hours, stuffing his face with all manner of snacks, plays a few games, then heads to bed. Though, tonight is not his usual night as, before the match he’s in can reach its natural end, his whole desk vibrates as his phone lights up. The man is tempted to just shut off the phone, and go back to his game, but, seeing the caller ID, he supposes he has to pick up. Typing a “brb” in chat, the Miqo’te grabs the phone, and flips it around in his hand before pressing the accept call button. 

“Yello?” The Miqo’te answers lazily, going to wedge the phone between his shoulder and ear to free up his hands. 

Loud breathing is the only thing that greets his question, accompanied soon after by the keen sound of gunshots and the dull thud of distant, yet hurried footsteps. Things seem to die down for just a bit as a gruff voice breaks the silence. “Sae. You have some Fucking explaining to do. You told me no one was going to be at the Garlean Warehouse by Pier 5, and yet what do I found except an armed squadron of their best guards!”

The Keeper rolls his eyes, moving the phone away from his mouth as he abandons his game mid-match. After closing its tab, he pulls up a non-descript program, displaying its two main windows upon the monitors before him. There he can see the man on call with him currently, a Midlander who, besides the wild mop of hair upon his head, which is probably due to the mad sprint he had to perform to not get shot, seems rather pedestrian. On the other window, he can spy the Garlean guards he had mentioned, armed to the teeth in their finest magitek assault rifles as they fanned out to scan the area. He takes another bite of his crêpe before he finally addresses his caller. “Well, seems someone didn’t ask for enough details.”

“Gods… Is now really the time to reprimand me on such a thing, Sae?!”

“Well, yes, considering we’re only bound by the cash you paid me, and the limited info I gave you was well worth the pitiful sum you provided.”

“Just, ok look… I’ll double your payment, alright? Just divert their attention somehow, you’re the fanciful hacker here.”

“Finneeeee, just give me a minute, alright? I’ve gotta get around a few of their security systems, kay?” 

“Make it quick.”

Sae begins to type quickly again, as he pulls up a third tab, and types into the minimalist chat box that greets him. 

Sae: “> Hey, saw a strange thing on watch. Seems someone’s lurking around your warehouse. Told ya that hiring a squad tonight was gonna be a good idea.”

Soon after hitting send, the Miqo’te gets a response back.

R.V.H “> Seems you aren’t insane after all, Sae. I assume the squad is handling the intruder as we speak, yes?”

Sae: “> Not quite. Seems the dude’s pretty good at evading them, and he’s got your canister in his hands. I could try my hand at stopping him directly, but that’d require me to gain full access into your systems, and maybe a little extra cash too.”

R.V.H “> Damnit. Are you sure they can’t restrain him without your aid?”

Sae: “> Yup. Pretty certain. The dude’s holed up in a room and is gonna slink away into the night if I don’t lock that grate above his head.”

R.V.H: “Fine. I’ll send the system’s master code, as well as an extra sum of cash.”

Sae: “> Thnx. And how much is that extra sum?”

R.V.H “500k gil, in addition to the 2 mil I’ve already given to you.”

Saerno begins to type even faster as he brings the phone back to his ear. 

“Hey bud, still there? You didn’t get shot yet, right? I’ve just gotten through the secruity’s, well, security. Seems you’re at a dead end, but that grate right above you might prove useful.”

The Hyur on the other end breathes a sigh of relief. “Oh thank fuck. Seems you’re not as useless as I thought you were, Sae.”

“Hey, I’m the reason why you even knew about this whole place anyways. No need to be so aggro, jeez…”

The Keeper reclines back in his chair, placing his phone down upon his desk as he finishes the last of his crêpe. Of course tonight of all night’s he had to deal with the stuff he’s been preparing for weeks. Couldn’t they have at least waited till after his match was done? God... He’s gonna have to grind again to get back into his ranked promos. But, he supposes, in some way, that this is a tad better than that cesspool of a ‘fun time’. It’s always so fun setting up two sides and letting things pan out from there; that is, of course, with a little of his tinkering sprinkled here and there. It’s one of the last things that brings him true enjoyment in this shitshow of a world anyways. With everything so orderly under the thumb of Garlean reign, and the Resistance trying to swoop in like knights in shining armor, it’s as if Saerno’s living in one of those stupid fantasy novels he used to like as a kid. It’s all so trite, so predictable, and he’s not going to let the world continue to lose what little flavor it has left. However, Saerno is soon broken out of his reverie as two notifications ping to life upon his phone, both banners indicating payments he’s just received. Smiling to himself, he stretches, and reaches for his phone once again and begins to lazily imitate static noises. 

“Hey -kshh- I think I’m -stssss- Breaking up on you.”

“W-wait what?! What do you mean, Augh goddamnit, it must be th-”

“Call Ended.”

With that, Sae tosses his phone on his bed, and leans forward to inspect his screens once again. Inputting the master code he had just received, the Keeper begins to toy with whatever catches his fancy at the moment. 

“Hmmm, Water boiler? Why not? Gas pipes? Let’s loosen em’ up just a tad, and- Oh! There it is, the canister’s main control panel. How about we just disable all safety protocols and…”

Saerno stands up for a brief moment, wheeling his chair over to the large window of his apartment and sits squarely on it. Reaching downwards, he grabs a bag of chips, honey barbecue of course, and begins to slightly part the curtains. Just then, a brilliant cerulean flame erupts on the horizon, as the shockwave produced by it shakes the very foundation of Saerno’s building. In the darkness of his abode, Saerno claps silently to himself, stopping to much on a few chips every once in awhile.

In this world, there’ll be heroes in capes, and villains in suits, but none of that really strikes too well, you feel? No matter what side they’re on, the life these super-whatevers lead is oh so boring and drab. And that’s why I’m here, to spread a little chaos, and to remind everyone that life isn’t like a picture book, or some trashy romance novel. This life we lead is called reality because it can never be predicted, never be truly under control. Though, I guess you could say that these words I’m spouting are absolute horseshit and I just want to see the world bounce between extremes for my own sick pleasure which, well, isn’t wrong, but can’t a guy enjoy some of the finer things in life? After all, sitting here and eating these chips would be way less interesting if there wasn’t a fireworks display going on in the background.

#Supervillain Sae? #More like shitposter who took things way too far #This is so OOC for him even in the other AU I mentioned #but hey #I love giving characters questionable morals and motivations #Reading over this #I basically just made Sae into a less insane version of Junko Enoshima #Just shoot me now #entry-1258

[ain-t-bovvered]

Epiphany 12

read first ACT 1

EDIT:  @waywardbaby​

Summary: Less than two years later, you finally passed the men of letters’ initiation and, finally, you now set foot in America eager to be reunited with the Winchesters. But if Dean thought that you spent your days only with your nose in books and hands in monster’s guts, he was dead wrong. Your mission? Something that the British branch tried and failed miserably,  or at least that’s what they told you anyway.

Pairing: Dean X Reader

Characters: Dean, Sam, Castiel and Jack

Warnings: slow burn guys…slow burn. Also, some fluff, humor, feels and angst.

Letting your bags fall on the bunker’s floor, you stretched happily, enjoying the coolness that being underground provided while Dean had already disappeared into the kitchen.

“We’re back! “ you called out as Cass entered the war room.

“Hello Y/N,” he said. You sighed happily and leaned against him tiredly. “ …are you okay?” he asked worriedly as you hugged him.

“It’s good to be home…” you said smiling into his crisp white shirt as he returned the hug awkwardly. “Can't wait for a good, water pressure shower!”

“Hey, hey! Hands off my wom-friend… my friend!” Dean said, opening a can of beer and sitting in the chair, legs propped up the table, as usual.

Both Sam and Jack entered together, “Welcome back, Y/N!” Jack said, coming closer nervously. You nodded and pulled him into the hug too.

“Room for me too?” Sam asked, joking and you pulled him in too by his shirt.

“What is that? A hug fest?”

“Guys…that grumpy old man there is now my…boyfriend…” you said, voice muffled by the hugs. And you were suddenly freed.

“About damn time!”  

“ Really?!”  

“Congratulations!” were their respective reactions. 

Dean choked on his beer, spluttering it all over. “A little warning next time?”

“Well… I don’t want to sneak out of your room every morning like a teenager!”

“Why would you have to sneak out of Dean’s ro-OH…!” Jack blushed.

“Great! See what you did there? The kid’s corrupted now!” Dean snorted amused. Groaning he stood up, slowly. “I’m beat. I’m gonna take a nap.” he walked to you and you looked at him, confused.

“Wha- WOAH!” Dean disentangled you from the hugs and scooped you up on his shoulder.

“You are tired too. Let’s go!” 

You shot an apologetic look to the others as you dangled on Dean’s shoulder. Sam just shook his head, smiling.

The room was dark, but not that much. There was a thin line of light coming from the slit beneath the door, just enough to let you make out details. You caressed Dean’s cheek while he was asleep. Your fingers lightly traced every centimeter of his face. From is hairline, his delicate brow, down his temple, to his freckled cheekbone and nose. His mouth was slightly parted and his warm, regular breath tickled your thumb as you grazed his lips. The bedding was cool and crisp on your skin and smelled like washed laundry mixed with Dean. You cuddled yourself closer, sneaking under his arm. Unconsciously he put it around your waist, pulling you close. 

Tired, you tried to close your eyes but your head just wouldn’t let you fall asleep. You felt restless, fidgety like your mind and body were two separate things. Watching the pulse of Dean’s heart on his neck, you found comfort in it. Sliding your hand over it, you could now feel the steady beating under your fingers. Closing your eyes again you tried to match your own heart to his.

As you started to drift off, you noticed that Dean was now the one who was restless. His pulse was quicker. He suddenly tensed, locking you in his arms, almost painfully. You tried to sooth him gently, hugging him back, but to no use. He was still agitated and now his arms squeezed you, too tight. It was then when he let out a whimper, almost a sob. 

“Dean ...Dean, wake up,” you whispered softly, but it didn’t seem to reach him. He rolled on his back, pulling you over him. Holding his head in your hands, using your thumbs to stroke his cheeks, his face relaxed a bit. You heard some mumbling and you clearly made out the word ‘mom’. Of course, he was having a nightmare about her. 

You kissed him but he didn’t respond at first. His lips were tight and unmoving against yours as you straddled him. You kept kissing him and he started to slowly wake up, his lips starting to respond to yours before being fully awake. You knew he was conscious when you felt his hand sliding up to your head, pressing you to him as he deepened the kiss. You barely had time to remove your t-shirt before he rolled you on your back. His movements were hurried, desperate, rushed and you didn’t care. Right now, you wanted to give him your very own soul and this was the only way you could do that.

He tensed in your arm as he came and you held onto him as tight as you could, your muscles tired and burning. His head hidden in the crook of your neck, you could feel his quick breaths, hot on your skin, his lips brushing and soothing where he had marked you with his teeth. He rolled his body, taking you with him. The air felt cold on your damp skin, and your cheek stuck to his naked chest. Nothing in the world could make you move to cover yourself. You sensed hesitation in Dean as he probably was thinking about what to say and before he could do that you placed your hand tiredly on his mouth, missing it by inches.

“Don’t…” you said warmly, patting his face. He grasped and kissed your hand.  Without saying anything more, you both fell asleep.

The next weeks at the bunker passed between routine and research. You almost finished all your trips so you could help the guys with the search of dream walkers powerful enough that could help them. Those blackouts and missing hours kept recurring and you seriously considered having a check up but you were expecting Toni to arrive in the next few days, so now was not the right time. It could wait. 

“Who keeps texting you?” Dean asked, badly hiding his annoyance as the phone vibration shook the wooden table for the tenth time. You brought down your feet from the table as you started to search for the damn thing under stacks of papers and books.

“Where the fuck is that fuckin- ha ah, there you are!”

“Love it when you forget English!” he said smugly tilting his chin, trying to take a peek and you pushed his face away.

“Winchester, are you trying to spy on my phone?”

“Yes, absolutely!”

Rolling your eyes, you threw him a bone. “It’s just Toni, Dean. He’s letting me know where he will be landing so I can go and pick him up. Now that I think about it, I haven't even thought  about where we’ll be staying ...” Dean made a disapproving sound in the back of his throat.

“Y/N’s right, Dean. As much as I don’t like the idea of her staying somewhere else with someone we don’t know, you have to admit that we can’t bring him in the bunker. Man of Letters or not, you know we can’t trust most of them.”

“And remember that they don’t know she’s with you two.” Cass added, “I can see how that could cause her some problems.”

Dean’s what-the-hell-dude gesture to Cass made you laugh.

“Where’s Jack, by the way?”

“Dean sent him to pick up dinner…by car!”Cass said, smiling pleased. You and Sam slowly looked at Dean, amazed.

“What? I’m hungry and I had to finish this book … why - why are you looking at me like that?” 

You giggled looking at Sam who mirrorred you.

“Stop it you two!”

You both raised your hands in apology. 

“Ugh, I hate when you look like twins. It’s freaky and gross.”

A couple of days later you threw the last of your bags into the backseat of your new, rented pick-up.

“….and remember to-”

“... call you, text you and triple text you. Sam and Cass, yes I know.” You rolled your eyes and turned around, leaning on the car. You propped an eyebrow and crossed your arms, looking at Dean like a spoiled brat. He read your stance and straightened his posture, closing in on you, your eyes traveling up to his.

“... and you, Dean, rememb-”

“No yelling at Jack, no playing with your toys and eating a vegetable that is not ketchup. Yes, I know!” he mocked you. Smiling you slid a hand up his chest, gripping the fabric and pulling him to you.

“…aaand?” you asked, lips grazing his.

“..a...and?” his brow furrowed, looking confused.

You brushed your lips to his, letting the tip of your tongue skim in between, inviting. He hummed as he opened his mouth for you. You pressed your entire body to him so he could feel every curve and exposed flesh. Changing angle, you pulled him to you. Your back hit the car door again and his leg pushed yours apart until you were straddling it and a little gasp escaped your lips at the friction of his jeans. You felt him smiling in the kiss.

‘This little shit!’ you thought. ‘Since he wants to play this way I’m gonna have fun and enjoy it!’

Smiling back you began to roll your hips until your breaths quickened and you couldn’t stop the needy sounds that spilled out of your mouth and into his. He groaned and moaned as you continued to ride him, taking all the pleasure for yourself.  He kissed your neck while his hands gripped your hips, guiding your movements. You hadn't planned it but you were actually getting off just by that. When during a particularly slow and long stroke your hips came in contact with his, you felt him through his jeans, stiff, throbbing and hot. 

You mentally high fived yourself. 

Dean’s grip on your hips tightened and pushed his leg up a little more. The fucker could read your body better than yourself. That and him nibbling at your ear pushed you right off the edge. Leaning your weight on him still panting you looked up at him.

“If this is your way to make sure I don’t elope with hot men from my country, you're stuck with me now, boy.” 

Smiling hazily, you patted his chest. 

“…and this…” you said, your hand sliding down, stopping at his belt, looking down as you felt hip hips twitching against yours, “... this is me, making sure you’ll think of me!” 

You kissed him and pushed him away, as you quickly sat in the car, closing the door.

“W-what?!” he babbled, blinking.

“Bye, Dean! See you in a couple of days!” 

Blowing a kiss, you got out of the garage as fast as you could. After a few minutes of driving, you heard the pings of several texts coming in. Giggling you asked Siri to read them for you.

‘What the hell was that?’

‘Son of a bitch!’

‘Y/N, I swear to God’

‘You gonna regret this, you know that, right?’

A big laugh bubbled up inside of you.

‘You will beg, it’s a promise’

That laugh died in your throat. You squeezed your legs and asked yourself in how much trouble you really were.

Waiting in the front of the arrivals, bored as hell as you scanned every face in the tired crowd, you started to feel like you were watching a tennis match. You rubbed your eyes and sighed, pacing impatiently back and forth, scanning the crowd again. 

Toni did not have an ordinary face after all. Tall and well built, with dark, expressive, brown eyes, a jaw that could cut diamonds, olive skin, jet black hair probably pushed back and the usual short but well kept dark beard. Why was he taking so much? The plane landed ages ago. Suddenly, your vision was obstructed and you tensed. Quickly, sizing the unknown arm you turned around, twisting it painfully.

“Well ...I'd say your reflexes have majorly improved!”

“Toni!?” 

You let go, startled and gaped at you partner turning around, rubbing his shoulder.

“Hello, Smurf!” he smiled one of his killer smiles, engulfing you in a hug, and kissing your cheeks. You almost didn’t reciprocate. Snapping out your little stupor, you kissed him back feeling a bit uneasy doing so, but still. That’s how you always greeted people close to you.

“Don’t call me that!” you said, smacking his chest and smiling. “I was waiting for you.  Where did you materialize from? I didn’t see you coming out from there.”

“Oh, you didn’t know?” 

You went to grab his trolley but he circled you and passed an arm around your shoulders. Bending down your ear he whispered while walking to the exit, “They flew me in, privately.”

“Excuse me??!! I had to sit with peasants and three newborn babies for hours and they flew you in on a private jet? Whose ass did you kiss? “

“Mine!” he smirked.

Only that minute realizing what he had actually meant, you gaped at him. 

“Oh, shut your face!” 

He exploded in his classic, booming, loud laughter that made several people turn around.

“That’s not the way to talk to your new boss!” he winked, looking down at you.

“Ah, fuc -..err...I mean…” you pinched his upper arm. “Sorry boss!”

“Ugh … nope! Use my name when we are alone please, so I can still remember it.”

You walked him to the pick-up you had rented and he raised an eyebrow, eyes widening.

“Since when do you drive the kind of car where you need a ladder to climb in?”

“Oh, please! You know I always liked big cars and here there’s enough space to use these puppies.” you patted the hood. “Come on! I want to look at your face when you see the dump I found for us. It even has an empty pool. It’s amazing!”

“Uh...about that…”

It seems that being boss meant that you decided the budget and transportation and Toni made sure to splurge on it, happily. So, the motel you had found was replaced by-

“Eerr…Toni…. the fuck is this?” you asked, your dusty duffel bag dropping from your shoulder.

“…a loft suite?” he said while tipping the concierge that walked you from the lobby to the elevator, pressing buttons and opening doors for you. Said concierge, fucking, bowed and closed the double door.

“I can see that…” you said looking around the hotel room and the stairs leading to a second floor. 

“Don’t you think this is all…”  a fucking second floor?  “... a bit too much?”

“Relax!” he said, opening the curtains. You gasped looking at the wall of windows, floor to ceiling high. “I’m the boss. I approved of this.”

“…Ok…but I can’t afford to book a room here!” you dragged the bag to the windows and looked down, touching the glass with your hand.

“What?...No, no! you’re staying here!” he said bouncing on the sofa. 

You turned around.

“I can’t stay here! We are not gonna share a bed, mister!”

He stayed silent for a moment staring at you. Then letting out a frustrated sigh, he walked to you and gently grabbed your shoulders.

“This is a suite ...there's a guest room, right that way,” he said, pointing at a door at the end of the lounge space.

“I’m too under dressed to be here. I’m dusting the whole place up!”

Without saying anything, he took a shiny, new credit card out of his jacket, sliding it in your jeans’ pocket.

“Call it a bonus for your hard work until now.” 

You started to refuse and he blocked you raising a hand, “ Y/N …it’s an order from your boss. You, literally, can’t refuse.  You know?”

“Dammit! I’m gonna buy so many stupid, useless things to fuck with you just so you know!” you pouted, turning back to look out the window.

He laughed, amused. “I expect no less. But just so you know, we are gonna meet some important people and executives from other branches, so you might wanna buy something nice to wear.”

“Oh …I should warn my contacts here, or they’ll be wor- they won’t know where to find me if they need some supplies,” you said, patting your pockets in search of the phone.

Before you could dial the number, he tried to slip the phone from your hand. You looked at his reflection in the window, utterly confused, as he bent down staring into your eyes, his lips near your ear.

“There is no need for that,” he said. Your head started to hurt. You tried to blink but you couldn’t.

“…But - but I -”

“Y/N…There is no need for that,” he repeated slowly. Every word spoken clearly, slowly piercing through you. Your grip softened and Toni easily slipped the phone from your hand. 

“Understood?” he whispered, gently but firmly. Something cold slipped in place somewhere in your head, and suddenly you didn’t feel any more pain. Your expression blanked.

“There is no need for that,” you repeated, your tone cold and distant.

“Good girl.”

He patted your head and with his hands still on your shoulders, he walked you to the bathroom. 

“Now, wash all this dust away,” he said, helping you out of Dean’s plaid shirt that you had stolen from him that morning.

“Yes.” 

You handed the shirt to him at the same time struggling to let it go as he tugged.

He started to walk out of the bathroom when he looked down at said shirt. Rubbing the material between his fingers, he walked back and tossed it in the working fireplace above the bathtub. Your hands faltered at the jean’s zipper as you eyed the shirt burning. You felt your heart skip a beat. He walked up to you and knelt down, helping you out your boots.

“I’m gonna book you a styling and grooming session. Let’s rub the plaid off of you, yeah?” he said looking at you, his hands sliding up your legs and his fingers gripped your jeans, slowly dragging them down.

“Yes.”

Stepping out the pooled garment on the floor, you reached for the tank top. Removing it, your hands went to unhook your bra too. He kept staring at you until your hands trembled once they reached your underwear. He covered your hands with his, stopping you.

“Here, let me help.” 

He tried to move your hands away but your muscles tensed and you felt uneasy. Why would you tense, though? That was Toni. He tried again and a whimper escaped you. What? Wait…this feels wrong…wh… 

“I said ...let me help!” he repeated, demandingly.

“Yes.” your hands fell beside your hips without a second thought.

You watched as he smirked pleased. He slowly slid down the fabric, letting his hands caress your skin. You used his shoulders to help yourself out of that last garment and he, still kneeling, embraced your naked body and nuzzled his face against your tummy. He grunted when you stayed stiff and guided your hands in his hair. You automatically started to stroke his head.

“The spell still needs a bit of a push, but a couple of days and there will be no problems.” 

He kissed your skin, inhaling deeply. 

You felt sick. 

“Mmmm, oh how I missed you!” he slowly got up, hands around your hips as he pressed himself against you. You gasped, sensing his arousal. His head bent down, lips hovering on yours. 

“Tell me you missed me too.”

“I missed you too.” you complied and he kissed you. 

He was forceful, aggressive and you didn’t like that at all. You weakly pushed him away but he only pressed you to him more. You felt his stubble scratch your lips as he deepened the kiss and when you felt his tongue slide in, you realized how wrong it actually was.

Green eyes and freckles flashed before your closed eyes.

SLAP 

You opened your eyes to see Toni’s head turned to the side, eyes wide and an angry, red mark was starting to appear on his cheek. He smiled viciously turning to you. His hand curled around your neck dangerously, twisting your head to the side. Your eyes were blank and expressionless staring into nothing, as his traveled down and he eased his grip around your neck. His hand moved back your hair but he froze, his eyes widening.

“What is this, Y/N?” he said, tracing the little bruise you had under your ear with his finger. 

His face transformed then, eyes blown open and burning with anger. He wrapped your hair around his hand and pulled back, sharply. You cried out at the sudden pain as he forced you to look at him.

“…Tsk, tsk...it seems I’ll have to wash away the stink of the Winchesters, too.”

That name hit you, punching out the air from your lungs without knowing why.

“Now, be a good girl. I have to make some calls.”

With that, he left you alone in the middle of the bathroom, the hot water of the shower still going having fogged up the mirrors. You walked to the sink, feeling your throat dry. You took two careful breaths and rising a trembling hand you wiped the moisture from the mirror. The person looking back felt like a stranger. Your eyes wandered down to your neck, moving your hair out of the way and you angled your head to the side. With your finger, you traced the same spot Toni had as a tear you didn’t feel, slid down your cheek.

“Dean, calm down!” Sam said, running behind his brother as they made their way to the poor bastard at the lobby desk.

“How can I calm down Sam? She said she’d call ….it’s been 3 fucking days!!”

Sam didn’t argue. He was just as worried, Cass and Jack were already working on finding new information on this so-called Toni.

“You! I need information on a customer, room 45.”

“Eer ...I can’t let pers-” 

Dean grabbed the barely out of his teenager years boy by his t-shirt, almost lifting him off the floor.

“I don’t have time for this! You better tell me right here, right now!” Dean’s voice was dangerous and low.

“S - sir…please! I could g-get fired!”he cried.

“Dean…” Sam took out his badge.

The full in hunter mood Dean let the boy go and inhaled sharply. He reached in his breast pocket and threw the badge down on the counter.

“Let me try again…” 

Sam started through gritted teeth, trying to sound calm, but Dean wasn’t having it.

“FBI man! Talk! NOW!” 

Scared for dear life the boy typed something on the computer “That room is e-empty…”

Dean reached for the monitor, turning it around to read.

“It says that the reservation was ... canceled?” his tone now more panicked than angry and faltering as he said the last word.

“Yes. A couple came in. The woman said she had a reservation but she needed to cancel it. She said she was sorry and paid the cancellation fine plus a tip.”

“She wasn’t alone?” Sam asked.

“No. There was this other tall dude. A Mediterranean, looking guy.”

“Did she say or leave anything? A message, a note, a phone number, anything?”

“No…they were in a hurry. She had a slight accent and a strange satanic tattoo on her inner forearm. That’s all I know, I swear!”

Dean pushed himself from the lobby counter and nervously walked back and forth, rubbing his face, tiredly. Sam kept an eye on him while turning to the boy again.

“Adam…?  Right?” the boy nodded. “Listen, Adam. I need you to think very carefully about that moment. Do you remember anything ...anything at all? Did she look anxious, scared, nervous?”

“No…not at all. She was nice and smiled a lot.”

“And…and the man with her?”

“Didn’t say a word ...but-”

Dean gripped the counter again, “But…?”

“…I - I don’t know. He gave me a strange vibe. He was looking at her like …strangely ...it creeped me out a bit.”

“Son of a bitch!” Dean whispered.

“They left together, yeah?”

“Yep! In a big, dusty, beige pick up.”

“CCTV.” Dean’s hard tone made the boy flinch.

“W - what?”

“We need to look at the security tapes. Do you still have them?” Sam explained.

“ Y - yes we still have them. I’ll go make you a copy.” Adam disappeared, quickly.

“Sam, I have a bad feeling.”

“L- let’s not jump ahead of ourselves. I mean, you said this Toni and Y/N were close in the past?” 

Dean's head snapped up.

“What are you implying?”

“I’m not implying anything, Dean. I’m just saying that there’s a big chance she’s not in danger. That’s all.” Sam squeezed his brother shoulder, reassuringly.

Dean’s response was to silently clench his jaw.

“Guys, have you found anything?” Cass’ gravelly worried voice asked over the speaker.

“We should be asking you that!”

“…I still can’t sense her. She must be guarded or she’s somewhere guarded against angels and I also suspect demons.”

“She definitely left with her partner,” Sam said, re-watching the moment you left the motel smiling like always and you were also the one who drove away, so no kidnapping. “Fortunately I can run the plate”

Sam watched as his brother’s eyes were following your every movement as if to find something strange or out of the ordinary. But they had been looking at the same ten minutes of film over and over again and nothing seemed wrong.

“How’s Jack?” Sam asked.

“I managed to calm him down, but I’m not sure how long I can keep him from flying around Kansas, searching for Y/N.”

They all fell silent. It was Dean who broke it.

“Something’s wrong man. I just feel it.” 

“I know Dean. I find it unlikely for Y/N to have left like that.”

“…I don’t know Cass. She doesn’t seem to be in danger here and it’s been three days…I…”

“I’m fairly certain that something doesn't feel right.”

“How can you be sure-”

“She loves you, Dean.”

At those words, Dean looked out the window, knuckles whitening on the steering wheel. 

“Dean, I’m an angel I can feel things from people. You both love each other, I can feel it. So stop doubting it, snap out of it and focus.” The angel’s tone was heated and firm and the two hunters looked at each other, surprised.

The older hunter smiled sadly, “damn Cass! who died and made you boss..?”

“I can assure you that if something has really happened to Y/N, I’ll find the person responsible and personally escort their soul to hell.”

The call ended.

The brothers were silent while Sam ran the plate number, trying to find the last place this car was seen.

“Found her!” Sam exclaimed and then looked confused at the screen on his lap as Dean continued to drive, trying to watch the road ahead.

“What?”

“…She’s…at the Ambassador hotel…50 miles from us. At least the car is registered there as a guest’s”

“…What the hell?”

“I’ll let Cass and Jack know our position so they won’t materialize in some poor bastard’s suite.”

“Stop fidgeting!” Toni hissed in your ear as you pulled the fabric to cover your naked thigh peeking out the high slit. Your hand fell down, following the skirt, revealing your crossed legs again. You were sitting on the stool at the hotel bar beside him while he was entertaining some old dude whose name you already didn’t remember. Squirming slightly you tried to hide your legs under the bar counter but it was all in vein. The dress was as uncomfortable as it was gorgeous. White as marble, ankle length, it was tight around your hips and wrapped loosely around the rest of your body. It had a long slit that crept up, crossing to the waist, where a gold belt kept it all from falling down. Thank God the dress had a halter top necklin so at least your boobs were covered.

‘So uncomfortable’ had been your main thought since dressing up like that hours before.

Someone was braiding your hair in a low chignon, leaving some strands framing your face as you reached for your usual crystal pendant. “I think I’ll keep this.” Toni had said, grabbing it before you could. “How about the ones they prepared you?”

“Okay “

You had looked at yourself blankly in the elevator’s mirror, while he embraced you from behind.

“Beautiful. You look like the statue of a Roman goddess.” he had murmured behind you, kissing your neck as he pushed your head to the side to give himself more access.

“Thank you.” you had responded, not feeling the compliment nor gratitude.

Even your own face looked different. All that makeup felt heavy and gross on your skin, your cheekbones were like, glowing, your nose looked smaller, and let’s not even start with the eyebrows, square and darker. Thank God, your lips were spared.

You clutched the useless little empty bag you were given just for show and took the expectant arm waiting for you out of the elevator, letting it guide you to the spot where you were now seated.

“Order something to drink sweetheart. I have to go and talk to that gentleman, there.” you flinched at the pet name.

Your eyes slowly scanned the bartender in front of you “…Beer” you croaked, hoarsely.

“Sorry ma’am but at this hour we only serve cocktails or liquor.”

“ …Whiskey then…neat.”

“Sure. Would you like to see our selection?”

“…It’s fine, you choose.” 

The bartender bowed politely with his head and passed the order to the girl behind him as he took the other drinks and walked out the counter to serve at the tables.

The lounge bar was dark except for the soft gold lights from the bar counter and the candles on the tables. There were lush sofas and high puffed stools awaiting the rich hotel’s clientele. In the corner, someone was playing the piano and that has been the only thing keeping you company all evening. Your head swayed at the soft jazz music. People talked in hushed tones, couples exchanged heated touches or kisses in the corner tables, some old businessman eyed you like a piece of meat giving you the creeps. Thank God the bar counter was the least dark space in that room.

“Good evening ma’am. I hope this is to your liking...” the girl’s voice snapped out of your thoughts. Turning your head to her and your eyes down to where she placed the glass you nodded. Picking up the glass, you gulped down the whole thing. The waitress’s eyes widened. 

W - would…would you like another, ma’am?”

“Yes …please,” you whispered.

“Is everything okay?...ma’am?” she asked, placing you another glass in front of you. Your hands closed around it, your knuckles going white. A bright smile that didn’t reach your eyes, blossomed on your face.

“Of course. I’m just…lost in the music.”

“I don’t like this Dean.”

“Neither do I Cass, but we have to. The whole place is guarded. You and Jack can’t enter. We’ll search for the symbols too, but Y/N is priority. And please… ” he added, lowering his voice, “...keep an eye on the kid. Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

Dean straightened his suit jacket, feeling uncomfortable out of his usual clothes but the place had a dress code and he and Sam needed to blend in. Ergo ...penguin suit.

“Ready, Dean?” Sam asked while smoothing out a little crease on the pants and combing his hair back with his hand.

Dean sighed. “Yeah…yeah let’s go,” he said, checking the gun under his jacket.

Leaving the car keys to the valet, the Winchesters made their way to hotel lobby. Before going in, Sam grabbed Dean’s arm.

“Dean…remember we are here to search for Y/N and nothing more…”

“For now.” 

“For now.” Sam agreed with Dean’s icy tone.

Calmly walking to the front desk, Sam pumped up his charm charade.  

“Good evening miss…” he flashed his FBI badge discreetly to her while bringing his finger to his lips winking. “I’d appreciate it, greatly, if you could point us to the whereabouts of a certain Miss Y/S.N. We know for sure she’s staying here, at the moment. She is a key witness in an ongoing investigation and we are keeping her here for safety.”

“The hotel’s policy bans me from disclosing her room number but… ” she bent towards Sam, whispering “….I can tell you that I saw her walking to the hotel bar…if that’s enough.”

“Yes. That’s great. Thank you very much.”

Sam turned around but Dean was already walking away, his pace nervous and hasty and disappearing behind what should be the lounge bar door.

You were at your third glass now and what remained of the amber liquid, swirled around. Toni occasionally checked on you, making sure you had your glass full or just to get what he wanted. It was annoying and frankly, you felt repulsion every time he touched you. That was confusing, though. You were a couple. Shying away from his touch wasn’t right so you complied.

The music changed half an hour ago into soft covers of random classic songs and you enjoyed trying to guess what songs they were playing.

Suddenly, you felt a faint commotion at your back but you didn’t care for it anyway. This song was one of your favorites and you had recognized it from the first couple of notes.

“Tangerine, Led Zeppelin.” you murmured into your glass, smirking before taking a sip and closing your eyes as the liquid burned.

“Correct.”

A husky voice said from behind. You felt a shiver running down your spine, not an unpleasant one. “I thought you didn’t care for classic rock ...Y/N.”

Your eyes widened hearing your name from a stranger and you turned around quickly.

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