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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “Dark”

Welcome back, everyone! Can you believe it's been six weeks already? I can't. Something something the uncomfortable passage of time during a pandemic as emphasized by a web-series.

But we're here to talk about RWBY the fictional story, not RWBY the cultural icon. At least, we will in a moment. First, I'd like to acknowledge that shaky line between the two, growing blurrier with every volume. A sort of good news, bad news situation.

The bad news — to get that out of the way — is that we cannot easily separate RWBY from its authors and those authors have, sadly, been drawing a lot of negative attention as of late. This isn't anything new, not at all, but I think the unexpectedly long hiatus gave a lot of fans (myself included) the chance to think about Rooster Teeth's failings without getting distracted by their biggest and brightest production. There's a laundry list of problems here — everything from the behavior of voice actors to the quality of their merch — but as a sort of summary issue, I'd like to highlight the reviews that continue to pop up on websites like Glassdoor, detailing the toxic, sexist, crunch-obsessed environment that RT employees are forced to work in. A lot of these websites requires a login to read more than a page of reviews, but you can check out a Twitter thread about it here.

Now, I want to be clear: I'm not bringing this up as a way to shame anyone enjoying RWBY. This isn't a simplistic claim of, "The authors are Problematic™ and therefore you can't like the stuff they produce." Nor is this meant to be a catch-all excuse for RWBY's problems. If it were, I'd have dropped these recaps years ago. I'm of the belief that audiences maintain the right to both praise and criticize the work they're given, regardless of the context in which that work was produced. At the end of the day, RT has presented RWBY as a finished product and, more than that, presents it as an excellent product, one worth both our emotional investment and our money (whether in the form of paying for a First account, or encouraging us to buy merch, attend cons, etc.) I'll continue to critique RWBY as needed, but I a) wanted fans to be at least peripherally aware of these issues and b) clarify that my use of "RT" in statements like, "I can't believe RT is screwing up this badly" is meant to be a broad, nebulas acknowledgement that someone in the company is screwing up, either creatively (doesn't have the skill to write a good scene) or morally (hasn't created an environment in which other creators are capable of crafting a good scene). The real, inner workings of such companies are mostly a secret to their audiences and thus it's near impossible for someone like me — random fan writing these for fun as a casual side hobby — to accurately point fingers. Hence, broad "RT." I just wanted to clarify that when I use this it's as a necessary placeholder for whoever is actually responsible, not a damnation of the overworked animator breaking down in a bathroom. Heavy stuff, but I thought it was necessary (or at least worthwhile) to acknowledge this issue as we head into the second half of the volume.

Now for the good news: RWBY has reached 100 episodes! For any who may not know, 100 is a pretty significant number in the TV world because, when talking about prime time programming, it guarantees syndicated reruns. Basically, networks don't want audiences to get burned out with a show — changing the channel when it comes on because ugh, I've seen this already, recently too — and 100 episodes allows for a roughly five month run without any repeats, making it very profitable. RWBY is obviously not a television show and doesn't benefit from any of this (hell, modern television doesn't benefit from this as much as it used to, not in the age of streaming), but the 100 episode threshold is still ingrained in American culture. Beyond just being a nice, rounded number, it is historically a measure of huge success and I can't imagine that RT isn't aware of that. Regardless of what we think of RWBY's current quality, this is one hell of a milestone and should be applauded.

All that being said... RWBY's quality is definitely still lacking lol.

Our 100th episode is titled "Dark" — keeping with the one word titles, then — and I'd like to emphasize that, as a 100th episode, it definitely delivers in terms of plot. There's plenty of action, important character beats, and at least one major reveal, everything we'd expect from a milestone and a Part II premiere. The animation also continues to be noteworthy for its beauty, as I found myself admiring many of the screenshots I took for this recap. There are certainly things to praise. The only problem (one we're all familiar with by now) is that these small successes are situated within a narrative that's otherwise falling apart. It's all good stuff... provided you ignore literally everything else surrounding it.

But let's dive into some examples. We open on Qrow starting, awoken by the thunder outside. Robyn has been watching him and makes a peppy comment about how none of them will be sleeping tonight, followed by a more serious, "Sounds bad out there." Yeah, it does sound bad, especially when they all know — thanks to Ruby's message back in Volume 7 — that this is due to Salem's arrival. I think a lot of the fandom has forgotten that little detail because people often discuss Qrow as if he is entirely ignorant of what is going on outside his cell. Even if we were to assume that he's forgotten all about the pesky Salem issue (the horror of Clover's death overriding everything else, perhaps) he still knows that Tyrian is running loose in a heat-less city with a creepy storm going on and, from his perspective, the Very Evil Ironwood is still running the show. So it's bad, which begs the question of why Qrow (and Robyn, for that matter) hasn't displayed an ounce of legitimate worry for everyone he knows out there. Thus far, their interactions have centered entirely around Qrow's misplaced blame and Robyn's terrible attempts to lighten the mood, despite the fact that a war is raging right beyond that wall. It's another example of RWBY's inability to manage tone properly, to say nothing of balancing the multiple concerns any one character should be trying to juggle. Just as it rankles that Ruby and Yang don't seem to care about what has happened to their uncle, Qrow likewise doesn't seem to care about what might be happening to his nieces. When did we reach a point where these relationships are so broken that someone can be arrested/chucked into a deadly battle and the others just... ignore that?

So Robyn's otherwise innocuous comment immediately reminds me of how badly the narrative has treated these conflicts and, sadly, things don't improve much from here. We are thankfully spared more of Robyn's jokes when Qrow realizes that what he's hearing can't be thunder. A second later, Cinder blasts through the wall — called it! — and Qrow instinctively transforms.

The only downside to this moment is that the whole ceiling falls down on Qrow and the others because APPARENTLY these cells don't have tops on them. Seriously. As far as I can recall we don't see the stone breaking through the forcefield somehow and this looks pretty open to me.

If it is... you're telling me these crazy powerful fighters who practice landing strategies and leap tall buildings in a single bound —

— can't just hop over this mildly high electric fence to get out? Qrow can't just fly away?

We're, like, two minutes in, folks.

We transfer to Nora's perspective as she wakes up, seeing Klein giving her the IV. He tells her not to worry, that "you and your friend are going to be just fine." What friend? Penny? Klein went upstairs prior to Weiss hugging Whitley or Penny crash landing outside. I had thought them bursting through the door with another unconscious friend was the first time he learned what the big bang outside was, but apparently not.

Penny is, obviously, a mess. While I now understand the choice to make her blood such an eye-catching color when that's crucial to the Hound's hunt, I still think it looks strange visually. Like someone has taken a copy of RWBY and painted over it. It doesn't look like it fits the art style. More than that, it implies some rather complicated things about Penny's humanity, especially in a volume focused around her being a "real girl." Real enough for Maiden powers, but with obviously inhuman blood that isn't even referred to as "bleeding." Penny "leaks" instead.

Toss in the fact that she's literally an android who is made up of tech — recall the running gags about her being heavy, or it hurts to fist-bump her, to say nothing of keeping things like multiple blades inside her body — yet Klein says that her "basic anatomy" is the same and he can "stitch up that wound."

I'm sorry, what? Whatever Penny looks like on the inside, it's not going to resemble a human woman's anatomy, and Klein might be able to stitch the outer layer of skin she's got, but that won't do anything to fix whatever metal bits have been broken underneath. Penny isn't a human-robot hybrid, she's a robot with an aura. Penny has knives in her back, rockets in her feet, and a super computer behind her eyes. When our clip introduced that Klein would be the one to help Penny, my initial reaction was, "Seriously? He's a butler and a doctor and an engineer?" But RWBY didn't even try to get away with a Super Klein explanation, they just waved away Penny's very obvious, inhuman anatomy. Yeah, I'm sure "stitching up" an android wound is just like giving Nora her IV. I hope the surgical sutures he used are extra strong!

In an effort to not entirely drag this episode, I do appreciate that Whitley is allowed an "ugh" moment about the non-blood covering his shirt without anyone calling him out on it. That felt like the sort of thing the show would usually try to make a character feel guilty about and I'm glad that, for once, he was just allowed to be frustrated without comment.

Then the power goes out and May calls, which raises questions about what state the CCTS is in and when scrolls are available to our protagonists vs. when they're not. But whatever. She's checking in because she just "saw another bombing run light up the Kingdom" and —

Wait. Bombing? Salem is bombing the city? I know we've seen explosions in the sky, but I'd always just attributed that to evil aesthetic. Why does this dialogue sound like it's from a World War II film and not a fantasy sci-fi show about literal monsters launching a ground attack?

May looks pretty against the sky though. I like her hair color against that purple.

I'm admittedly grasping at positives here because we finally return to her "You have to choose" ultimatum and — surprise! — May has pulled back completely. Ruby says that once they've helped Penny, "We'll...we'll do something!" which is once again her avoiding making a decision. Ruby still refuses to choose, instead falling back on generic, optimistic pep talks. They'll figure out how to stop Salem later. They'll think about the impact of telling the world later. They'll choose who to help later. Ruby keeps pushing these problems into the future where, she hopes, a perfect, magical solution will have appeared for her to latch onto. When that continues to not happen, others pressuring her to actually do something and stop waiting for perfection — Ironwood, Yang, May — she panics and continues stalling for time. Wait an episode and the narrative supports her in this.

Because initially May was forcing Ruby to decide. Now, May enables her desire to keep putting things off. "Don't beat yourself up, kid. At this point, I don't know how much is left to be done." That's the exact opposite of what May believed last episode, that there was still so much work and good to do for the people of Mantle. This is precisely what the show did with Yang and Ren's scenes too, having people call Ruby out... but then return to a message of, 'Don't worry, you're actually doing just fine' before Ruby is forced to actually change.

None of which even touches on May calling her "kid" in this moment. That continues to be a convenient way of absolving Ruby of any responsibility. When she wants to steal airships or Amity Tower, she's an adult everyone should listen to, the leader of this war. When the story wants to absolve her of previously mentioned flaws, she becomes a kid who shouldn't "beat herself up." I said years ago that RWBY couldn't continue to let the group be both children and adults simultaneously, yet here we are.

So that was a thoroughly disappointing scene. Ruby gets her moment to look sad and defeated, listing "the grimm, the crater, Nora, Penny" as problems she doesn't know how to solve. Note that 'Immortal witch attacking the city I've helped trap here' isn't included in that list. Ruby is still ignoring Salem herself and no one in the group is picking up where May left off, challenging her to do more than wring her hands over things others are already trying to take care of: Ironwood is fighting the grimm, May has gone off to help the crater, Klein is patching up Nora and Penny. Ruby, as one flawed individual, should not be expected to come up with a solution to everything, but she does need to stop acting like she can come up with a solution to everything when it matters most (office scene) and rejecting others' solutions when they ask for her help (Ironwood, May).

If it feels like I'm dragging the flawed, traumatized teenager too much, it's not in an effort to ignore those aspects of her identity. Rather, it's because she's also the licensed huntress who wrested control from a world leader and violently demanded she be put in charge of this battle. Ruby, by her own actions, is now responsible for dealing with these problems, or admitting she was wrong and letting others take the lead, without purposefully derailing their plans. She doesn't get to suddenly go, "I don't know," cry a little, and get sympathetic pats.

But of course that's precisely what happens, courtesy of Weiss.

During this whole scene I kept wondering why no one was celebrating Nora waking up, especially when Ruby outright mentions her. Have they just not noticed given all the Penny drama? Because Nora absolutely woke up.

Aaaand went back to sleep, I guess. What was the point of that POV shot? No worries though, she'll wake up again in a minute.

Willow arrives and announces that they can fix the power (and Penny) using the generator at the edge of the property. I'm convinced RT doesn't actually know what a generator is because the characters are acting like it's some super special device that only richy-rich could possibly have. Whitley says that it's the SDC executives who have their "own power supply" and that it's "extremely unfair." Now, don't get me wrong, a good generator powering large portions of your house can run you 30k+, but you can also get one that plugs into your extension cord and powers your fridge for a couple hundred. There's absolutely a class issue here, just not the one Whitley and Weiss seem to be commenting on. They make a generator sound like the sort of device that only a politician-CEO could possible have and it's weird.

Likely, it sounds weird because it's a choppy way of getting Whitley to bring up the wealth disparity so he can then go, 'That's right! We're crazy rich with a company housing tons of ships! We can use those to evacuate Mantle.' Awkwardness aside, I do like that the Schnee wealth is being used for good purposes, but... evacuate where? To the city currently under attack by a giant whale? In a RWBY that wasn't determined to demonize Ironwood, this would have been a great plot point during the office scene instead, with Weiss offering her services to Ironwood, even if the group decides that a continued evacuation still isn't possible.

Instead, we get it here from Whitley. Do I need to point out the obvious? That Whitley is the MVP of this episode? He's done more good in an HOUR than the group has managed in a year. Give this kid some training and make him a huntsmen instead.

We're given a (very pretty!) shot of the shattered moon because it wouldn't be RWBY if we weren't continually reminded that gods once wiped out humanity before destroying part of a celestial body... and absolutely no one talks about that lol.

Blake's coat might not make any sense for her color scheme, but it does make her easy to spot as she and Ruby run across the grounds. Oh my god, they're actually doing something together! It only took eight years. They even get a lovely talk where Blake admits how much she looks up to Ruby, despite her being younger, and once again I'm struck at how much more I would have loved this scene if it had appeared elsewhere in the series. It is, indeed, as sweet and emotional as all the RWBY GIF-ers are claiming... provided you overlook that this is the exact opposite of what Ruby needs to hear right now. She doesn't need to hear that she's more mature and reliable than her elders when she's functioning under a "We don't need adults" mentality. She doesn't need to hear that not knowing what to do is totally fine, not when that led to her turning on Ironwood, despite not knowing how to stop Salem. She doesn't need to hear that "doing something" — doing anything — is a strength, because Ruby keeps avoiding the big problems for smaller ones she's comfortable with, like standing by Penny's bedside instead of deciding between Mantle and Atlas. Blake's speech is heartfelt, but it's a speech that suits a Beacon days Ruby who is having some doubts about her leadership skills, not the girl whose impulsive — and now lack of — actions is having world-wide repercussions. Everyone is babying Ruby to a staggering degree. It's like if we had a med show where the doctor is standing by the bedside of a coding patient, fretting between two treatments. 'Don't worry,' their colleague says, patting their shoulder. 'I've always looked up to you. You'll do something when you're ready' and then they continue to watch the patient, you know, die.

Also: who does Ruby look up to? Everyone talks about how much they depend on and trust Ruby, but who does Ruby look to for guidance? A number of her problems stem from the fact that she has rejected the advice of everyone who has tried to help her improve: Qrow, Ozpin, Ironwood, even Yang. Ruby is presented as the pinnacle of what to strive for in a leader, rather than a leader who has only been doing this for two years and still has a great deal to learn.

Anyway, they get the generator on and the Hound shows up.

I am begging RT to just make RWBY a horror story. All their best scenes the last three years have been horror I am bEGGING —

Anyway, while Ruby waits to be eaten we cut to Willow and Klein, the former of which is reaching for her bottle, pulling back, reaching again, all while her hand shakes. This is good. This is what we should have gotten with Qrow. Which isn't to say that their (or anyone's) addiction should be identical, but rather that this is a far more engaging and complex look at addiction than what our birb got. Willow tells us that she doesn't drink in the dark despite bringing the bottle with her; tries to resist drinking when she's scared and ultimately fails. Qrow just decided to stop drinking after decades of addiction, seemingly for no reason, and that was that. Why is a side character we only met this volume written better than one of the main cast?

Blake manages to call Weiss about the Hound and she asks if Whitley can handle the airships without her. I mean, I assume so given that Weiss is looking at the bookshelves while Whitley does all the work lol. He makes a teasing comment about how he can if she can handle that grimm and she comments that they still need to work on his "attitude."

No they don't. Weiss stuck a weapon in her kid brother's face. Whitley made a joke. Even if Weiss' comment is likewise meant to be read as teasing, it's clear that we've bypassed any meaningful conversation between them. That hug was supposed to be a Fix Everything moment even though, as I've laid out elsewhere, it didn't even come close.

We cut back to Ruby getting thrown through a wall into the backyard and the Hound creepily coming after her. She's freaked out by this clearly abnormal grimm and Blake is weirdly... not? "It's just a grimm. Just focus!" Uh, it's obviously not. Have we reached the traumatized, sleep-deprived point where the group is sinking into full-blown denial? I wouldn't be surprised. They've been awake for like... 40+ hours.

Because the Hound knocks Ruby out with a single hit. Just, bam, she's down. "Focusing" is not the solution here.

Weiss calls to warn the others about the grimm, telling them to stick together. Willow (understandably) starts freaking out and flees the room (classic horror trope!). Klein is left alone when Penny wakes up with red eyes. Oh no!

Don't worry. You know nothing meaningful happens.

She shoves Klein before (somehow?) resisting the hack, her Maiden powers going wild in the process. Just when it looks as if Penny might cause some serious damage, Nora wakes up, takes her hand, and says, I kid you not:

"Hey... no one is going to make you do anything you don't want to do... It's just a part of you. Don't forget about the rest."

Okay. I want to re-emphasize that I love hopeful, uplifting, victory-won-through-the-power-of-love stories. Istg I'm not dead inside, it's just that RWBY does this so badly. I mean, what is this? It has similarities to the character shouting, 'No! Resist!' to their mind-controlled ally, but this is not presented as a desperate, last-ditch effort by Nora. She just speaks like this is the most obvious truth in the world. If you don't want to have your mind taken over... just don't! It's that simple. The problem definitely isn't that Watts has changed her coding and has implemented a command she can't override, it's that Penny has forgotten about the "rest" of her personhood.

And this works. Granted, not for long, but we leave Nora having successfully calmed Penny down and until her eyes unexpectedly go red again scenes later, we're left assuming that this is a permanent solution. That, imo anyway, is taking the Power of Love too far, overriding the basic reality of Penny being hacked. It’s not a personal failing she must overcome, it’s an external attack. I would have rather had Nora react to the scars she saw on her arm, or have a moment with Klein, or get some love from the group. Not a wakes up, falls asleep, wakes up again to save Penny with a Ruby level 'Just ignore reality' pep-talk, then back to sleep again.

So Penny isn't attacking her allies, or mistakenly hurting her allies with wild Maiden powers. Not that the group doesn't have enough to deal with, but still. Weiss arrives to help with the Hound and attempts a new summon, only to fail when two minor grimm burrow up into her glyphs. I really enjoyed that moment, both for the wing visual and the knowledge that Weiss' glyphs can fail if you break them somehow (which makes sense). Also, I just like that she failed in general? Weiss is, as per usual now, about to demonstrate just how OP she is compared to the rest of the team, so it was nice to see her faltering here.

The Hound tries to make off with Ruby and Blake does an excellent job of keeping it tethered. Ruby finally wakes, only to realize that the grimm is actually after Penny since it's staring at her power up through the window, no longer trying to escape. Moments like this remind me that there's someone on RT's writing team that knows what they're doing, at least some of the time. The assumption that the Hound is after Ruby as a SEW, the surprise that it's actually Penny, realizing it holds up because Ruby is covered in Penny's blood and Blake is not... that's all nice, tight plotting. More of that please!

The Hound drops her and Ruby's aura shatters when she hits the ground. I want everyone to remember this moment as an example of how strong the Hound is. The group may be tired, but unlike YJR they've been sitting around in the Schnee manor for a number of hours, regaining strength. We saw the Hound hit Ruby twice — once through the wall and once to knock her out — and then she falls from a not very high distance for a huntress, yet her aura is toast. That's the level of power and skill the Hound possesses. Decimating YJR, knocking Oscar out, same for Ruby, avoiding Blake and Weiss' hits, soon to treat Penny like a ragdoll. Just remember all this for the episode's end.

Blake tells Weiss she'll take care of Ruby, you go help the others. Yay breaking up the duos more! Bad timing though as the new acid-spitting grimm pops out of the ground and Blake is now left alone to face it.

Weiss re-enters the mansion, knowing the Hound is somewhere nearby, but not where. Suddenly, Willow's voice sounds through her scroll with an, "Above you!" which... doesn't keep Weiss from getting hit lol. But it's the thought that counts! Willow has accessed the cameras she's set up throughout the manor, watching the Hound's movements, and I have to say, that is a WAY better use of her separation from Klein than I thought we were getting. I legit thought they'd have Willow run away in a panic, meet the Hound, die, and then Weiss could be sad about losing her mom.

It does say something about RWBY's writing that this was my knee-jerk theory, as well as my surprise when we got something way better.

The Hound runs off, uninterested in Weiss, and she asks Willow to keep tabs on it. It heads for Whitley next (also covered in Penny's blood) and very creepily stalks him in the office with a, "I know you're here." Whitley is seconds away from being Hound chow before one of Weiss' boars pin it against the wall. He runs, then runs BACK to finish deploying the airships, before finally escaping assumed death. Goddamn this boy is pulling his weight.

I assume all these ships are automated then? I hope someone takes a moment to call May. Otherwise it's going to be super weird for the Mantle citizens if a fleet of SDC ships just show up and hover there...

I don't entirely understand how Weiss saved him though. She's nowhere to be seen when Whitley leaves and he runs a fair distance before he and Willow encounter Weiss again. We know her summons don't have to keep right next to her, but are they capable of rudimentary thought, attacking an enemy — and an enemy only — despite Weiss being a couple corridors down and unable to see the current battlefield? I don't know. In another series I'd theorize that this was a deliberate hint, a way to clue us into the fact that Willow, someone who we currently know almost nothing about, had training in the past and summoned the boar herself. Weiss and Winter certainly didn't get that hereditary skill from Jacques. Hell, we might still get that, Weiss reacting with confusion next episode when Whitley thanks her for the boar, but I doubt it. That scene with Ruby and the Hound aside, the show isn't this good at laying groundwork and then following up on it.

Case in point: Weiss says, "I didn't forget you" to Whitley after he gets away from the Hound, the moment trying to harken back to her promise to Willow. Key word is "trying." Because she absolutely forgot him! Weiss threatened and ignored Whitley until he proved his usefulness. I also shouldn't need to point out that, "Don't forget your brother" does not mean, "Don't let your brother die a horrible death by abnormal grimm." Weiss acts like her saving him is a fulfillment of her promise, rather than just the most basic of human decency. And also, you know, her job.

So that part is frustrating. The entire Schnee dynamic is a mess, from Weiss making a joke of her father's arrest, to Willow (presumably) fixing their relationship by putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. Okay.

Then Weiss cuts off the Hound by summoning a giant wall of ice. My brain, every time this happens:

YOU COULD HAVE FIXED THE HOLE IN MANTLE'S WALL.

Moving on, Blake's fight against the acid... thing has some great choreography, including Blake using her semblance which we haven't seen in AGES.

I really like the fight itself, just not what Blake is shouting the whole time. "I need you, Ruby! We all need you!" This has really gotten ridiculous. Ruby is presented as everyone's sole savior despite failing time and time again. It's not that I don't think Blake as a character should have faith in her leader, it's that I don't think the writers should be crafting a story where everyone puts their unshakable hopes in an untrained, disloyal, impulsive 17 year old. I mean, Ruby is currently unconscious, yet Blake is acting like if she doesn't wake up — she, as an individual, if Ruby Rose does not re-join this fight — then all is lost. If Ruby doesn't save them, no one can. Which is, of course, absurd on numerous levels. Blake doesn't need the passed out, aura-less Ruby right now, she needs the still very healthy Weiss pulling out multiple summons and an ice wall! Use your scroll and call for backup again.

But of course, Ruby wakes up and kills the new, terrifying grimm with a single hit. It's a preview of what's to come with the Hound and it's just as ridiculous here as it will be there.

Speaking of the Hound, am I the only one who thought this was... cute?

I can't possibly be the only one. That head-tilt is exactly what my dogs do and my brain instinctively went, "Aww, puppy!"

Murderous puppy.

The Hound realizes none of the Schnees are who it's looking for and runs off. Penny, meanwhile, has been fully taken over because, well, that's just what's convenient now. She resists long enough keep Amity up, then succumbs, then resists to apologize to Ruby, then succumbs, then resists because Nora asked her to, then succumbs once it's time to knock her out. If RWBY was willing to commit to consequences, Penny would have been taken over and that was that. The characters would need to deal with whatever outcome happens as a result. Instead, the show very carefully avoids any of those pesky consequences by having Penny successfully resisting at key moments, despite no explanation of how she's managing that.

She shoves Klein again (Klein is having a Bad Time) and starts walking down the main steps. When Whitley wants to know where the hell she's going, Penny mechanically responds that she must "Open the vault, then self-destruct." I suppose the change Watts made was the self-destruct order? Ironwood obviously wants the vault open, though not necessarily Penny's death. Think what you will of his moral compass, she's a damn powerful ally — a research project, perhaps — and a Maiden to boot. At the very least, her death may give the powers to someone even worse.

God, please don't let them have brought Penny back and made her a Maiden just to kill her again.

The Hound arrives though and, as said, knocks Penny out. We're back to square one with her, then. Note though that this attack is near instantaneous. She grabs its hands one second, is hanging limply the next. Wow, the Hound sure is a terrifying antagonist!

Not for long.

"That's enough," Ruby says and one-shots it with her eyes.

Now, I want to talk for a moment about the implications of that line. "That's enough." Obviously Ruby is #done with this situation and emotionally unwilling to let the Hound kidnap Penny (congratulations, Nuts and Dolts shippers), but there's a meta reading here as well. Not intentional, but glaring to me nonetheless. Basically, the idea that the Hound has, from a plot perspective, done enough. It has served its singular purpose. It kidnapped Oscar and now it dies. Never-mind how insanely powerful we've established the Hound to be, never-mind how Ruby's eyes also work or don't work according to whether anything of actual import is on the line. From a plot perspective "that's enough" and the Hound can be disposed of instantly. It got Oscar and gave us an episode of filler creepiness. Move along now.

The idea behind Ruby's eyes isn't bad, but the execution absolutely is. RT has undermined a huge portion of the stakes by giving their protagonist an instant kill-shot that always works precisely when she needs it to. Starting with the Apathy, we have yet to get a moment where Ruby's eyes fail to save the day when she really needs them to, no matter how incredible the challenge. The Hound was very intentionally written to be a grimm outside of the group's current power level. It thinks, it talks, they literally can't touch it. This creates the expectation that the group will need to grow stronger — or at least become smarter — in order to surmount this new obstacle, yet Ruby's eyes undermine all of that. The group hasn't grown in years, the show just makes enemies weaker as needed (Ace Ops), or has Ruby pull out her eyes as a trump card. It wouldn't be that bad if we'd at least gotten a good battle out of it, one where the group gets close to defeating the Hound on their own, but needs Ruby's eyes to finish it off. Instead, she literally walks up without any aura, announces to the audience that this antagonist's time is up, and blasts it out a window.

Granted, Ruby's eyes don't completely finish it. The Hound pulls itself to its feet and we see this.

Yup, that's a guy and yup, those are silver eyes.

I would like to issue a formal apology to the "It's secretly Summer!" theorists in the fandom. I mean, I still think it would be ridiculous (and at this point highly improbable) that Ruby's dead mother has actually been a grimm mutant this whole time, just hanging out in Salem's realm while she waits for the plot to start before attacking the world, and then sends some no-name faunus dude after the group instead of their leader's mother for extra, emotional torture... but you all were definitely right about the “It's a person” part! I... don't know how I feel about this. Admittedly, it seems to be a logical continuation of the other grimm-human hybrids we've seen — namely Cinder and Salem herself — and it finally explains why Salem wants Ruby alive (even though it actually doesn't because WHY did she want more SEWs for Hound grimm when she wasn't even attacking back then? And already has all these other insanely powerful tools??), but at the same time, it feels like it's complicating a story that doesn't need further complications. The group fights monsters and has an immortal enemy. You don't need to add 'Some of those monsters are secretly human' to the mix.

It doesn't hurt that this twist is giving me Attack on Titan vibes, which, ew. A dark time in my fandom life, folks.

The Hound staggers a few steps before Whitley and Willow dump a suit of armor on it. That's all it takes to kill the most dangerous grimm we've ever seen: a single flash of silver eyes and some heavy metal. This also wreaks havoc with the implication that Salem wants SEWs alive because they create such powerful grimm. Obviously not. I mean yeah, normal huntsmen are going to have serious problems, we’ve seen that this volume, but any other SEWs nearby will take a Hound out instantaneously. For a villain with so many other powerful abilities — immortality, magic, endless normal grimm, her nifty soup — Salem would be much better served just killing SEWs straight out. Clearly, creating Hounds isn't worth the effort.

The Hound leaves some bones behind and Ruby collapses to her knees, overcome with the knowledge that this was once a person. Again, uncomfortable Attack on Titan parallels.

We finish our premiere with Cinder clearing away rubble to reveal Watts. Honestly, I like that we ended on this because her rescue is hilarious. She just slings him over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes and blasts off with her magic fire feet. Fantastic.

Note though that with this scene we've seen almost everything from the clip and the trailer. What's to come in the rest of Volume 8? No idea. Outside of Winter leading the charge with the bomb, we got it all here.

Time to update the bingo board!

I'm crossing off "Introducing new grimm that are quickly abandoned." Between the Hound and acid-dude both falling to a single blast/cut from Ruby, we've more than earned this square.

It doesn't look as if we'll get another Watts-Jacques team-up now that he's left, but you never know.

Maria's got me worried. I feel like her Yoda fight against Neo is the one thing she'll be allowed to do this volume, but given that we didn't see anyone except Ruby's group this episode, we don't yet know whether the story is now ignoring her and Pietro, or if they'll re-appear in another episode like YJR.

Qrow is free. Will he get a drink before trying to murder Ironwood? Perhaps.

Still no bingo :(

All in all, the episode was by no means horrible. I think there were lots of horrible parts, but also some legitimately well executed moments, fun action, and scenes that I can easily imagine as squee worthy if you lean back and squint. Everything is comparative and in the growing collection of bad RWBY episodes, this one isn't securing a top slot. Which doesn't mean I think it's good, just... not as bad as it could have been and primarily only bad due to long-running problems, not things this specific episode has done. That's my bar then, so low it has officially entered the underworld.

Still, RWBY is back and a part of me is eager to see where this volume takes us, for better or for worse.

Until next week! 💜

[Ko-Fi]

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #mymetas #rwby recaps #rwby dark

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wiypt-writes · 3 years

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Stark Spangled Banner

One Shot: We’re Going For A Ride, Doll...

Summary: Steve’s been away for a few weeks running a mission, and whilst he’s been away Katie hasn’t exactly had a relaxing time. What better way to relieve a tension than a little night time bike ride… Warning: Language! Smut (NSFW, 18)

Pairings: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark.

A/N: Biker Steve smut…yeah..it’s a kink and this was written purely for my own self-gratification reasons.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

March 2014

Katie let the scorching hot water cascade down her body, loosening her muscles and washing away the last of the tension from her meeting earlier that day. It had been frustrating, middle aged men in trousers trying to prove who had the longest dicks as per usual until her temper had snapped and she’d called time on the finance review, and told them to come back in a few days when they had finished trying to see who could piss up the walls the highest.

Pepper had smirked when she had stormed out of the meeting and declared she was flying back to DC and then her smirk had turned to a frown when she’d seen the look on Katie’s face, instead asking the youngest Stark if she was okay. Truth was she was far from it. She was exhausted having not slept properly for the best part of two weeks now. And the reason for the lack of sleep was that for the first time since she’d started dating Steve, they’d been snapped out on a date and the offending photos splashed all over the internet.

Her flight in from DC had been smooth and, feeling rather refreshed actually all things considered, Katie clutched her coffee as she walked down the corridor, her Louboutins clicking on the tiles as she pressed her palm to the door and strode into the publishing office. She glanced around, nodding to a few people as she made her way to her office, frowning as she felt eyes following her. She turned her head over her shoulder and saw one of the junior admin assistants hastily avert their gaze. She paused for a moment before she shook her head, walking into her office and dropping her purse on her desk. No sooner had she done that, than JARVIS spoke.

“Miss Stark.” “Morning J.” “Mr Stark has asked you pop up to see him.” “Tell him to come here. I’m busy.”

“He said you would say that. He told me to tell you it’s important and he doesn’t want people listening in. He’s waiting in his office.” With a groan she grabbed her coffee and walked back the way she had come, ignoring the glances that were coming her way before heading to the elevator and selecting the floor that housed Tony’s office.

“What do you want?” She demanded as she walked into his office, to see Tony and Happy both looking at something on the screen.

“Good morning to you too, Sunshine!” Tony quipped and Katie let out an angry noise.

“Tony, I’ve got meetings all day. I have a potential author coming in at twelve so…” Tony waved his hand and the screen he was looking at projected the image onto the holodisplay in front of her and her eyes widened. It was a photo of her and Steve sat in her car in the middle of a deep kiss. Steve’s hand was cupping her cheek as hers was tangled in his hair, and she knew exactly when it had been taken, the previous night when they’d been out on a date. Steve had been called right in the middle of their evening for an urgent mission so their meal had been cut short and she’d dropped him home and he was kissing her goodbye.

“Shit.” She groaned, and looked at Tony who grinned and shrugged.

“Yeah, you got papped.” He explained before he paused. “Actually papped isn’t the right word seeing as it wasn’t a professional photographer, they know now to not even bother. This was some member of the public. First we saw was when our daily Social Media monitoring reports picked it up.”

“Are there anymore?”

“A few.” He said, flicking through the photos which basically were snapped in succession. There was one of them breaking from the kiss, Steve pressing his head to hers, then pecking her lips again, before climbing out of the car.

“Can we get rid of them?”

“Oh yeah.” Tony waved a hand. “We already deployed the algorithm, usual stuff…and I tracked down the person who took the original shot and offered him an obscene amount of money to hand over the rights. At first he wasn’t going to do it, but then I told him it was that or I fired a virus straight down the line to blow up his phone.” Katie rolled her eyes “And he believed you could actually do that?” Happy shrugged “Well, we can in a way. Maybe not the blowing up bit but…” “Thing is we don’t know how far this has gone.” Tony shrugged “We can keep the photo off the net but, well, it was already trending when we saw it.” “Under what?”

Tony grinned and waved his hand, revealing the hashtag.

“Stark Spangled Man?” Katie groaned “Jesus Christ.”

“Yeah, I was tempted to leave it just for that tag.” Tony mused and Katie rubbed at her temple.

“If the guys at SHIELD have seen this…”

“Already had the Goth Pirate on the phone.” Tony shrugged “Told him I’d deal with it. It’s not like the public didn’t know you two are…you know.”

“Has Steve seen it?”

“How the fuck should I know?” Tony looked at her “He’s your boyfriend. You ask him.”

“I can’t, he’s on a mission and it’s radio silence.” She bit her lip and ran her hand through her hair. “I can’t see him being particularly pleased about it.” “Maybe he shouldn’t have been eating your face in the front of your car then.” Tony shrugged.

“Oh piss off.” Katie snapped at her brother, who simply raised his eyebrow, smirking slightly.

“Kiddo, we can stop the photos.” Happy looked at her, “But the comments and tweets, it’s a huge job and…” “Yeah I know just…” She shrugged “Oh whatever, they’ll get bored eventually. Just make sure no fucking trashy tabloids get hold of it.” Thankfully they hadn’t. But the comments on social media had continued for a week. Most of them were actually pretty nice, saying it was cute and they made a nice couple. Some of them not so nice, commenting on Katie’s appearance and the like, not that she gave a fuck. She’d dealt with comments like that before, knowing full well it came from a place of jealousy most of the time, what she was struggling with, however, was the fact she hadn’t managed to speak to Steve about it at all.

How he was going to react was worrying her a little. A general interest in their relationship was a risk they knew they were running, having gone public in December at the New Years’ Eve gala, but up until that point they had been lucky. They were also careful in that when they were out, they kept to quiet places as much as possible and, as Steve wasn’t huge on public displays of affection in general (holding hands and the odd quick kiss being as far as he went), there wasn’t really anything of interest to pap. Until that night. And it wasn’t just the social media side of things. The gossip at the tower had also pissed her off. It was like some huge secret had been revealed which wasn’t the case. The fact they were dating was public knowledge, but it was more the fact that people had seen the photo in the way they had and she felt like it was undermining her authority at work, which is what had contributed to her lack of sleep and her outburst earlier that day.

With a heavy sigh, she turned around and let her face soak in the stream one last time, then she turned off the water, stepped out and grabbed a towel before she headed back into her room.

Steve had been gone for three weeks now, on an undercover mission. Something to do with some guy planning to flood the US with dirty drugs. She didn’t know much, no longer being at SHIELD she wasn’t party to the secrets and, despite the fact Fury was actually pretty good at keeping her as updated as he could, she always felt stressed and anxious when he was away, not knowing if he was okay. It had been easier when she had been an Agent herself, something which made her sometimes question her decision to quit.

Especially on days like today, with meetings like that one.

Having dried off, she pulled on a pair of leggings before tossing one of Steve’s hoodies on which still vaguely smelt of him and quickly blasted her hair with the hair-drier, letting the waves naturally set before she wandered into the living room. It was nearing dinner time, and she couldn’t be bothered to cook, intending instead to indulge herself in a bottle of wine and a pizza from Seconds.

The pizza arrived when she was halfway through the bottle of wine and by the time she’d had her fill, she’d finished said bottle. She was just on her way to grab another when her phone rang, the familiar sounds of “Only One In Colour” hitting her ears, which was the tone she attributed to just one person.

She hastily ran back to the living and grabbed her phone which was on the sofa cushion, smiling as she saw the photo of her and Steve filling the screen.

“Hey!” she said a little breathlessly and she heard a chuckle on the other side.

“Am I glad to hear your voice” Her soldier spoke and she felt herself tearing up.

“Me too.” She sighed, taking a deep breath “I take it the mission is done?”

“Yeah, took a little longer than we thought. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to call,Doll.”

“It’s okay” She smiled, “When are you home?”

“Yeah, about that.” He said softly, and she took a deep breath, bracing herself for bad news before he spoke again, a playful quality to his soothing voice. “Look out the window, Baby girl.”

Katie felt a huge grin cross her face as that could only mean one thing. In a flash she yanked open the doors that led to her balcony and ran out, peering over the edge. And there he was, in all his glory, waving up at her from where he sat on his bike.

“What you down there for?” She teased as she looked down.

“We’re going for a ride, Doll.” He replied simply and she grinned.

“I’ll be right down.”

“Three minutes. Captains Orders.” He shot back and she turned and headed back into her penthouse.

“I love it when you get all masterful”

“I know.” He gave a little laugh. “Now hurry up.”

She cut the call and headed quickly into her bedroom, pulling off the hoody and exchanging it instead for a long cashmere sweater that finished mid-thigh. It had been a gift from Steve not long before he had left and she knew he loved it on her. It was a deep green colour- “It matches your eyes, Doll”- The fabric was soft, and the turtle neck line scooped slightly so that you could see a flash of her collar bone at either side of her neck. She cinched the waist in with a tan belt and shoved her feet into a pair of matching ankle boots. Grabbing her biker jacket and her helmet, she grabbed her keys and ran to the elevator.

She emerged onto the street and stopped as Steve turned to face her. She gave herself a second to take him in, scanning his dark jeans, white t-shirt and open jacket all set off with a distressed leather belt and matching boots, before she gave a squeal and ran towards him. Steve stood up off his bike and strode towards her, meeting her halfway as she threw herself into his arms.

“Hey.” He whispered softly, his face pressing into her hair as her legs circled his waist. “God I missed you.” “Missed you too.” She mumbled, before she pulled back and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Like, really missed you.”

And then she suddenly became conscious they were in the street. She threw a glance around, looking for any sly public amateur photographers and Steve frowned, spotting her change in demeanour.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She looked at him as he set her on her feet, his hands on her waist. “Let’s get out of here.”

He didn’t press her further, simply led her back to the bike and she swung her legs over the back, clipping the straps of her helmet into place. He settled in front of her and she laced her arms around his waist, under his jacket as he fired up the bike with a roar. Steve took another glance over his shoulder, her eyes visible through the visor of her helmet and they were shining with excitement. Flashing her a smile he turned round and set the bike off, heading up the street.

He drove the familiar route to Rock Creek and after half an hour or so pulled the bike to a halt in the spot he always parked at, a hidden little clearing just off the main parking lot. It was deserted due to the hour, which suited him fine. Cutting the engine he felt Katie shift behind him and he set the stand on the bike before he turned to see his girl taking her helmet off. She fluffed her hair out slightly and then grinned at him as he patted the space between his legs. She jumped off the bike, hung her helmet over the handlebars before she climbed back up, this time facing Steve, her back to the handlebars of the bike.

The little wooded area was dark, bar the moon shining through the lattice of leaves above them and Katie took a deep breath, inhaling the rich scent of pine needles, fresh air and the slight smell of the early spring flowers. The babbling of the brook was loud in the quiet of night providing them with a little background noise as Steve reached out, his hands cupping her face as he drew her to him. Katie closed her eyes, allowing him to take the lead as his tongue slid across her bottom lip and she opened her mouth slightly, his movements smooth and graceful as he kissed her passionately before he pulled away, her bottom lip caught between both of his. He released it gently, pressing his forehead to hers, their noses bumping together slightly.

“What’s on your mind?” He asked her quietly. Katie sighed, and looked down at his long legs which were stretched towards her. Leaning her own legs forward, she hooked her calves around his, the denim of his jeans rustling as it bushed against her leggings. Her hands dropped to his knees and she ran them up the outside of his thighs, her fingers skating the strong muscles as they stretched the fabric of his dark blue Levi’s slightly. “Katie?” he asked again and she took a deep breath before she reached for her phone in the pocket of her jacket.

“Someone papped us, well I say papped, it was more some nosey bastard member of the public…” she sighed, scrolling through to the photo. She handed it to him and he took it from her, fingers brushing hers gently. He glanced down at it and after a second he screwed up his face and let out a breath from his nose.

“Crap.” He muttered before he handed her phone back and looked at her, rolling his eyes.

“Tony managed to get rid of it from the net but…” She shrugged “It’s been a pain in the ass, Steve. All the fucking mumbled little comments in the office and…” She rubbed her neck slightly “Not being able to warn you either.”

“Warn me?” He cocked his head to one side. “About what?”

“The fact you were all over the internet eating my face.” She shrugged and he gave a snort of laughter “Didn’t want you walking back into base and being blindsided. I know you’re not big into PDAs and I figured if the guys from STRIKE got hold of it, hell, if Nat got hold of it…”

“Doll, I couldn’t care less.”

Katie looked at him, blinking “You don’t?”

“No, well, I mean it’s not great but, well, I’m more pissed that you got a hard time in the office about it.”

“Nothing I can’t handle.” She shrugged, before she grinned. “If they carry on I can just fire them all.” Steve chuckled, his hands dropping to hers as he laced their fingers together. “Bet Tony had a field day.” “Yeah, he thought it was pretty funny, especially the hashtag it was all trending under.” “Which was?”

“Stark Spangled Man.” She raised an eyebrow. Steve paused for a second before he tipped his head back, his broad chest and shoulders shaking with the force of his laughter before he shook his head and peeked up at her slightly. “Ten outta Ten for imagination, huh?”

“Well, they’re not wrong.” He said simply, his hands leaving hers and they slid under her ass as he pulled her forward so she was straddling his lap. “I am completely and utterly Stark Spangled…”

“I never wanna hear you say that ever again.” Katie narrowed her eyes as her hands slid up his arms coming to rest on the firm planes of his chest just below his collar bone.

“No?” He asked gently, his hands splaying on her back gently underneath her jacket.

“Not unless you want me to start singing an amended version of your chorus song.” She grinned.

“Shut up.” “Make me.” She retorted, a childish tone to her voice and arched an eyebrow as he looked up at her.

“Brat.” He mumbled, his hand sliding up to her neck, pulling her face to his. The kiss was fierce, his lips warm on hers, the familiar tingle spreading up her spine making her shiver slightly and a soft moan escaped her mouth to his and she felt his lips curl into a smirk against hers before they moved gently from her mouth to her jaw line. He peppered soft, warm and wet pecks down her neck before he gently moved her sweater to the side a little more, exposing more of her shoulder.

The feel of his mouth on her skin was electric, and Katie let her head fall back, eyes closing as Steve’s hands splayed on her back, holding her in position as he kissed every inch of her skin he could find. Her breath caught in her throat and she swallowed, thickly as he paused his fingers digging into her back.

“You’re not wearing a bra.” He mumbled.

“Not wearing any panties either.” She said softly and he pulled back to look at her, a groan escaping his mouth.

“You’re killing me, Doll.” “Well I was in my comfy stuff and you gave me three minutes to get ready.” She shrugged “Captain’s orders, remember?”

“Because you always do exactly what I tell you.” He said sarcastically, looking at her with those baby blues which were now a dark midnight shade through desire.

“When it counts I do.” She smirked, rolling her hips, pushing down on his crotch. He hissed slightly, his hands gripping her tighter as he bit his lip. Steve took a look round the deserted clearing and his attention turned back to her, his eyes challenging.

“Don’t start something you’re not gonna finish, Sweetheart.” He warned her sternly, his voice low and the tone he spoke with had her twitching even more. She wasn’t one to back down to a challenge, and he knew that, but despite the fact she knew he was playing games, she simply smirked and her hands slid down his chest to his belt, fingers making short work of the buckle before she moved her attentions to the button on his jeans, popping them easily before she slid down the zipper.

“Who says I wasn’t gonna finish it?” She shrugged, as her hand worked into his boxers and wrapped her palm around his warm cock and he gave a low moan, his head falling back as she began to work him.

Katie simply watched his face, his soft lips parting slightly, eyes fluttering shut. Long lashes lay against his rosy cheeks, his Adam’s apple bobbed and he gulped slightly when her movements and grip grew stronger. His eyes opened and locked onto hers, his pupils completely lust blown, speckles of moonlight reflecting in them gave her the impression she was looking at the starry sky and he leaned up and pressed his lips to hers in another hungry kiss, their teeth clashing slightly. She felt the heat pooling between her legs as his hands slid under the side of her long sweater, fingers gripping her skin tightly as he squirmed underneath her.

Katie moved her hand more rapidly, loving the effect she had on him. The fact she could undo the stoic, taciturn Captain in matter of minutes was a fucking turn on and she grinned as he buried his face into her neck as she alternated between fast and hard, long and slow strokes. She felt him attempt to thrust desperately into her palm as he let out a low sigh of her name and she tilted his face back to hers with her spare hand and captured his mouth in a hard kiss as she gave him another slow stroke. At that, clearly done with the teasing, he growled into her mouth, standing up suddenly, spinning her round so her back was pressed to his chest. Katie let out a squeak of surprise as one hand kept her supported easily as it hooked over the front of her chest, the other pulling down one side of her leggings then the other. He sat back down, pulling her over him and in a single thrust upwards had buried himself inside her.

The sudden intrusion made Katie cry out as she felt him fill her, and once he was fully seated and she was stuffed as full as possible, he began to thrust upwards, controlling the speed completely. Her thighs were tight around him, and she was powerless to spread her legs apart much as they were clamped together thanks to the fact her leggings were bunched round her ankles, restricting her movement. Instead, she leaned back, arching her back, head falling to his shoulder, shifting the angle slightly which allowed him to drive up into her even deeper. His hands moved, sliding up her sweater to cup her breasts and as he gently tugged on her nipples she gave a loud wail as the sensation speared through her and she pushed down as hard as she could, rotating her hips slightly. Steve’s breath was hot on her ear as he pulled her down with every thrust up that he made, grinding right up against her spot.

“Such a needy little thing, aint you…” he said, his voice low and punctuated by his heavy breathing and she gave a low keen as he nipped at her neck, his fingers tugging her nipples harder.

“3 weeks Steve…” she panted, and he gave a dirty chuckle, pushing up again, bottoming out completely. It was a movement he repeated again and again, his mouth chaining kisses to her neck. One hand moved down from her chest, calloused fingers brushing lightly against her skin, over her stomach, and she shivered at his touch as he gently reached the spot between her legs. As he pushed up again he gently rubbed against her clit and she cried out, her head falling forwards slightly before his other hand moved upwards, gently wrapping around her neck as he pulled her back, his hand turning her face to his where he caught her mouth in a sloppy kiss.

The feeling of being manhandled like that, in the open air, one hand between her legs, the other round her neck, his cock thrusting slowly against her spot was almost too much, and she groaned, writhing on his lap, her mouth falling open, and when she finally found her voice it was raspy as she struggled to form her words.

“Please, Steve…I need…” her hand grasped the wrist which was between her legs, trying to speed him up. He looked down at her, his face contorted in a mix of pleasure and concentration, sweat beading on his brow.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” she nodded, and his fingers picked up their pace as did his hips. Her legs shuddered slightly as she felt the white, hot heat rising in her belly and she let out a low cry of his name.

“Come on, Doll.” he murmured, “Cum for me, Sweetheart.” And she did, with a force so intense she couldn’t stop herself letting out a loud “Fuck” as she shuddered, the world fading to dark around her, as the waves of pleasure racked her entire body.

“Shit, Katie.” Steve stuttered, his thrusts growing erratic as be bit down gently on her shoulder and he came with a groan, his hips slowing to an eventual stop as he sagged forward a little, forehead buried against her shoulder.

They stayed still for a while, the silence of their surroundings bar the trickle of the stream providing a soothing background as they both recovered themselves. Katie tilted her head round to look at him. His expression was dazed, mouth open in supplication and she loved seeing him so utterly wrecked. A fresh fucked Steve was the most beautiful thing in the world to her. All golden haired, slack jawed, kiss swollen lips and long eyelashes framing that stunningly handsome face. Taking a deep breath, Steve pressed a soft kiss to her neck before he cracked his eyes open and gave her that beautiful smile she lived for.

“For the record,” she hummed into his mouth as she captured his lips in a small kiss. “I’m well aware you totally just played me.”

He gave a soft chuckle and looked up at her, his blue eyes sparkling “Guilty as charged.” His hands ran up her sides underneath her sweater, fingers gently trailing down her ribs. “But I did tell you we were going for a ride.”

**Original Posting**

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #steve rogers smut #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #Katie Stark #mcu #mcu fanfic #captain america #chris evans #chris evans characters

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purplesurveys · 3 years

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1074

survey by voicedance16

answer these questions using the first letter of your name!

Ok, to start off with, what's your name? Robyn. Hmm I don’t tend to see R much when it comes to being the first letter of different things, so it’ll be fun to see where this goes.

Now, name something for each question starting with that letter.

A girl's name: Rhiannon. I first encountered this name reading Everyday by David Levithan and I’ll always remember how well-written the character was. The name sounded a little too foreign to me at first, but I ended up loving it.

A boy's name: Rocky, because I have an uncle with that nickname. His first name also starts with an R - Robert, if I remember correctly.

A fruit: Rambutan. Such a strange-looking fruit too.

A vegetable: Radish.

A country: Romania.

A city: Reykjavik in Iceland. Also a place I would love to visit.

An animal: Raccoon.

Something people do outside: Ride public transport. You’re inside modes of transport when doing so, but still.

An actor/actress: Rooney Mara. Sigh, reminds me of the film Carol and all the memories associated with it. Now that I think about it, I should give that a watch again for a more refreshed take on it.

Something you keep in the kitchen: The refrigerator, obviously.

Something you keep in the bathroom: Razor.

Something you'd bring on a trip: Also a razor. But erm, my mom likes bringing reusable bags on our longer trips so that we have somewhere to put our dirty clothes in for the next few days.

Something people do in the summer: Ride amusement/theme park attractions. Can’t relate though, as I hate theme park rides and I’m usually only the guardian of my friends’ stuff as they tick off all the rides hahaha.

A song title: Renegade, by Paramore.

A book title: Revolutionary Road, though I’m only aware of it because I’ve seen the movie based on that exact book. I saw a copy of it - with the film poster as the main cover - in a used book store around a year ago, but I was saving at the time so I couldn’t buy it. I wish I did, because that will probably be the only time I would have ever seen the book.

A movie title: Room, which was also based on the Emma Donoghue book. It’s one of my favorite films too, along with Requiem for a Dream and Revolutionary Road.

A Broadway musical title: Rent. I had to watch the movie adaptation for a film class. It absolutely sucked.

A clothing or shoe brand: Roberto Cavalli.

A reason for being late: Rode the wrong train/bus.

A band/music group/artist: Let’s go with Rhye. Reminds me of happier and simpler times.

A musical instrument: Recorder.

Something that's hot: Ramen broth that’s freshly made.

A type of bird: Robin! :)

A pizza topping: Ricotta? I’m just guessing though. I’ve never tried putting it on my pizza.

A fictional character: Rachel Green from Friends or Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead.

A breakfast food: I’m completely out on this one.

A school subject: Religion - I went to Catholic school so we definitely devoted 45 minutes of each day to learning more about Christianity.

A holiday: Rizal Day.

A relative: My uncle Rocky, who I mentioned at the beginning of this survey.

An article of clothing: Romper.

A school supply: Ruler. I never owned one of them for long, and whenever I did buy one if I needed it for class, I’d lose it within a day or two lol.

A color: Red.

A state: I’m guessing in the US? Rhode Island.

An ice cream flavor: Rocky Road.

Something found in the ocean: I dunno...rust from old shipwrecks? Haha I don’t really go snorkeling a lot.

A drink: Red wine.

A part of the body: Ribs.

A stone/gem: Ruby.

Something found in a park: Rocks. Can’t say I know a lot about parks though, given we don’t have any public spaces in this country other than malls.

A college/university: Rutgers. I specifically remember that school because they made the news at one point for having a course on Beyoncé, lmao.

A type of fish: Rays.

A historical figure: Rosa Parks.

Something in the room you're in: We have a rug here in the living room.

Something you save up to buy: Rings, especially if it’s an engagement or wedding ring.

A kind of candy: Razzles. The Razzles scene from 13 Going on 30 always makes me feel giddy.

A reptile/amphibian: I got nothing. Reptile? HAHAHA

A spice/herb: Rosemary.

A type of car: Racecar, if it counts. I don’t exactly know car terminology.

A hobby/leisure activity: Rock climbing, which I reeeeeally would like to try out soon.

A restaurant: Ramen Nagi, my second favorite ramen spot after Mendokoro Ramenba. There’s also Racks, though I’ve never tried eating there before.

A household chore: Is raking a chore in other countries? We don’t really do that here but maybe people do in other places?

A body of water: River.

A weapon: Rocket launcher.

An ethnic food: Rellenong bangus, which is stuffed milkfish.

A mode of transportation: A rickshaw, though in the Philippines we call them tricycles.

A type of flower: Rose.

Something found on/in a desk: Reminders? Hahaha if it counts. I put reminders written on sticky notes on my desk.

A word associated with money: Revenue.

An item you'd buy from a vending machine: A pack of Reese’s.

A game (any type): Ridge Racer, which was a PSP game I loved playing as a kid. There was also Rock Band, which was a game I had on the PSP as well.

Something at a circus: Ring toss games/stalls.

Something you throw away: Results of an exam or a particular application that I failed. Like you know how schools will sometimes send you a physical letter just to say you didn’t make the cut? I’d rather not own those for longer than 10 minutes, and to crumple them up and throw them out immediately instead.

A store name: Rustan’s. It’s a whole-ass department store chain, but whatever.

A type of tree: I’m not familiar with a lot of trees, so I’m unable to think of any.

Something that uses a remote: Racecar toys.

A website: Reddit.

Something in a grocery store: Red onions.

A tourist attraction: I can’t think of any particular tourist spots, but Rio de Janeiro is somewhere I’d love to be able to travel to.

A weekend activity: Resting, heh.

A Christmas/holiday song: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

A type of seafood: OMG my specialty. I can only think of roe and rellenong bangus for R, though.

An acronym: RT, which just means retweet on Twitter.

Something you'd see at the zoo: Rabbits, maybe? I’ve never been to a zoo.

A kind of soup: I’m not sure I know of any; I’m not a big soup person.

Something you'd find in NYC: Erm, restaurants? Hahahaha. And lots of them.

Something you'd get tickets for: I wouldn’t know; I’ve never been handed one before.

An animal noise: Ruff, for dogs.

A word associated with winter: I have no clue. We don’t even have winter here, so I wouldn’t know the things people prepare for it.

A historic event: The Rape of Nanjing.

Something you get in the mail: Nothing’s coming to mind.

Something you sit on: A rocking chair.

A reason to make a phone call: Resolving a fight? Idk.

A type of weather: Rainy.

Something that has buttons: Rompers, at least some kinds.

Something that makes you smile: Reminiscing.

#survey #surveys

3 notes · View notes

pinktwingirl · 3 years

Text

I rewrote Endgame (AKA Endgame but with Squirrel Girl and Loki)

Hey everyone, so since I think we can all agree Endgame could have used more Loki (and more Stucky!), I wrote some scenes that I think should have been added in. I included Doreen Green (aka Squirrel Girl) because she’s an amazing character and I would love to see her in the MCU! Also, in the comics, she’s a really good friend of Loki’s (and I think we can all agree MCU Loki could use a friend.) For a bit of context, I have a headcanon that the girls Thor got a picture with in Ragnarok were Doreen and her best friend/roommate Nancy, and Doreen was actually plotting to get close to Loki so her pet squirrel Tippy-Toe could plant a tracking device on him and make sure he didn’t get into any trouble while he was on Earth. Some of the scenes during the final battle are meant to be interspersed throughout the sequence, and aren’t really in any particular order. They’re just events that I thought would be cool if they actually happened. Since Endgame didn’t have a post-credits scene, I also added one for good measure! :)

(Also, I didn’t write a scene for it, but let’s just all agree that Steve and Bucky get married and retire to raise goats in Wakanda!)

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - DAY

Natasha, Bruce, Steve, Scott, and Rhodey are in a meeting room. Natasha paces back and forth.

NATASHA

We still have a lot we need to get done before we try anything else. Rhodey, have those robbers on 22nd street been identified?

RHODEY

Yeah, just a couple of cheap scumbags. I'm sure the cops can handle them.

NATASHA

Okay... And the subway hijackers?

STEVE

Nat, calm down. Okoye's got it covered.

NATASHA

Well, there's still that attack on Times Square. I don't know about you guys, but I'm not about to let some asshole terrorists try to blackmail the entire district into giving them money or whatever the hell they want-

Bruce flips on a monitor that projects an image on the wall.

BRUCE

Actually... it looks like someone got there before you.

Everyone turns to look at the screen. Natasha and Steve give each other an impressed and amused look, while Rhodey and Scott look at each other in confusion. On the screen, we see a group of men in black armor knocked unconscious and tied together. Next to them is a sign that reads "We got our butts kicked by the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl!!! :)"

EXT. NEW YORK CITY STREETS - DAY

We see a pair of boots walking down the street. Behind them trails a gray squirrel with a pink ribbon tied around her neck. The squirrel hops onto the shoulder of her companion, Doreen, who gives her a smile. We cut to her crouching in an abandoned building and typing on a computer screen, which shows surveillance footage of robbers sneaking around. We see the robbers loading their guns and tying up hostages in an alleyway. One of the robbers suddenly notices that his partner is staring at something. He pushes his partner on the shoulder.

ROBBER

Hey, what-

The robbers turn to see what the man is staring at. In the corner are a group of squirrels poised to strike. They slowly turn around and see Squirrel Girl, dressed in full gear and high-tech goggles standing with her arms folded. She smirks.

We then cut to Squirrel Girl attacking the robbers. Despite her small stature, she easily overpowers them. One of the men points a rifle at her, but she grabs it and points it upwards as it fires and kicks him aside. Another man throws a knife at her, but she grabs it with her tail and tosses it away. She then unleashes her knuckle spikes to cut through the mans armor.

We then cut to Doreen untying the victims, with the robbers knocked out beside them. She takes a purse out of one of the robbers' hands and hands it to one of the hostages.

DOREEN

Here ya go!

She walks off with her squirrel army as the hostages look on in awe.

INT. PUBLIC RESTROOM - DAY

Doreen steps out of a stall, where she has changed into a waitress's outfit. She stuffs her gear and clothing into a bag and tidies herself up a little in the mirror. Just as she's about to leave, she notices her tail is sticking out of her dress a little, so she tucks it in.

INT. SUBWAY STATION - DAY

Doreen is waiting for a train. She looks around solemnly. There is hardly anyone at the station even though it's midday. Sighing, pulls her purse strap tighter on her shoulder.

INT. DINER - DAY

Doreen rushes through the diner kitchen where her boss is waiting for her.

DOREEN

Hey.

BOSS

Hey, right on time. How you doin', kid?

DOREEN

Oh, I'm fine. Still no luck on the roommate search, though.

BOSS

Oh, that's a bummer.

DOREEN

How's the dining room looking? Did we make it to half-capacity this time?

BOSS

Eh, not exactly, but...

(He chuckles as he opens the door to the dining room.)

You've got a hell of a first customer.

Doreen's eyes widen when she sees Steve, wearing a baseball cap, sitting at a table by the window. He gives her a friendly wave.

We cut to Doreen sitting across from Steve at the table.

DOREEN

Can I just say, I... I am such a huge fan! Like, even before you came out of the ice, I literally had posters of you all over my wall!

(Beat)

Oh, wait, that's creepy, isn't it?

Steve shrugs.

STEVE

Kinda.

DOREEN

Anyway, I... I never thought you guys would find me. I-I mean, I hoped you would, 'cause you guys are awesome and all, but I just didn't think it would be this soon and... okay, I'll shut up now.

STEVE

So, how exactly does one get squirrel powers, anyway?

DOREEN

Honestly? I have no idea. I was born like this. My DNA is just... different. The doctors told my parents they have a name for people like me. They call us mutants.

STEVE

Mutants? So there are more people with altered DNA?

DOREEN

Supposedly. I mean, I've never met one before.

STEVE

They could be hiding it. You do.

DOREEN

That's true. My parents always told me I had to keep my mutation hidden. They didn't want people to be afraid of me. I didn't want to feel different but... I was always afraid to get close to people.

STEVE

So no one else knows?

DOREEN

My best friend Nancy did, but she... you know... the snap.

STEVE

How many did you lose?

(Beat)

DOREEN

Everyone. My parents. My family. Nancy. Even Mr. Lieberman...

STEVE

Who's Mr. Lieberman?

DOREEN

My pet squirrel.

STEVE

Oh.

DOREEN

But after Thanos, when things started getting bad... I don't know. I couldn't just sit back and do nothing, you know?

(Beat)

Why did you come looking for me?

Steve takes a deep breath.

STEVE

We think we may have found a way to bring them back.

DOREEN

All of them?

STEVE

There's no guarantees, but... we have to at least give this a shot. There's a lot we'll have to fill you in on, though.

(Beat)

DOREEN

I'm not sure how much help I can be. I mean, I doubt most people would be proud to say they were saved by a giant squirrel.

STEVE

I think, when it comes down to it, most people in trouble would be grateful to have anyone.

Doreen smiles and shrugs.

STEVE

Look, I don't know what your folks told you about your abilities. I'm sure they were just trying to protect you. But what you can do? That's a gift. And it's nothing to be ashamed of. And with this plan we have... well, we're gonna need all the help we can get. So, what do you say? Are you in?

Doreen pauses for a moment, then smiles.

DOREEN

Okay.

Steve grins. Suddenly, the boss enters the dining room again.

BOSS

Hey, Doreen, I'm not paying you to fangirl!

DOREEN

Uh, I... sorry...

(She abruptly stands up and takes out her notepad.)

Um... Can I... get you anything?

STEVE

You know, my buddy and I used to eat at this diner when we were kids. I was surprised it's still open.

DOREEN

Really?

STEVE

Yeah. Do you guys still have the best burgers in New York?

DOREEN

I'll let you be the judge of that.

She gives him a wink and heads into the kitchen.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - DAY

Steve leads Tony into the compound, where Doreen is working on a holographic screen.

STEVE

Tony, meet Ms. Doreen Green. Mutant and computer science student at Empire State University.

DOREEN

Uh, former student, actually. I kind of left after the whole world... went to shit.

(She shakes Tony's hand.)

Hi, it's such an honor to meet you! I hope you don't mind, some of your computers systems were a bit outdated so I took the liberty of fixing them for you. Also, I recalibrated the data retrieval and processing systems, so those should be up to speed now.

TONY

(to Steve)

I thought you said she just talked to squirrels.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - DAY

Doreen is showing the photo of her and Nancy with Thor on her phone to Thor.

THOR

Yes, I... I do remember this photo, Lady Doreen. I'm very sorry about your friend.

DOREEN

Well, that's why we're here, isn't it? I really hope Nancy can meet you again when this is all over. She's a huge fan! She named her cat "Mewnir" after your old hammer and even wrote these fan-fiction comics where you were a cat! It was called "Cat Thor"!

Thor raises an eyebrow and smiles.

SCOTT (O.S.)

Thor, clean up your beer cans! This place reeks!

Thor rolls his eyes and leaves. Doreen catches Tony walking around and rushes up to him.

DOREEN

Hey, Tony, could I ask you something?

TONY

You already did.

Doreen rolls her eyes.

DOREEN

I was thinking of bringing your Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing device with us when we go to 2012 New York.

TONY

You mean BARF?

DOREEN

You seriously need to get a better name for that.

TONY

Eh, it sticks in the head better. Why do you want to bring it?

DOREEN

I was thinking of using it on Loki. I didn't want to bring it up in front of Thor, since I figured it's kind of a sore subject for him, but if his brother knows anything about the infinity stones, it could tell us how to use them-

TONY

Absolutely not.

DOREEN

What? Why? Come on, Loki was sent by Thanos to come here, he must know something that could help us!

TONY

Our job is to get the stones and get out. That's it. We're not taking unnecessary risks by messing with people in the past.

DOREEN

I can handle it! Just give me the device! I'll be in and out like that!

TONY

I'm sorry, kid, my answer is no.

(Beat)

Doreen sighs.

DOREEN

Fine.

(She holds up her pet squirrel, Tippy-Toe.)

But can we at least make a time travel suit for Tippy?

INT. 2012 STARK TOWER - DAY

Doreen is snooping around the tower while the Avengers keep an eye on their past selves. She notices Hydra agents disguised as SHIELD agents walking around.

SCOTT (O.S.)

How did you not know those guys were Hydra? I mean, they just look evil!

DOREEN

Wait, those guys are Nazis? Can I punch them?!

TONY (O.S.)

No! Stay focused!

Suddenly, a robotic voice is heard from inside Doreen's utility belt.

VOICE

Binarily augmented retro-framing system activated.

DOREEN

Oh shit.

She frantically reaches in her pocket to try and shut it off.

SCOTT (O.S.)

What was that?

DOREEN

Uh, nothing.

BRUCE (O.S.)

That sounded like your BARF-tech, Tony.

TONY (O.S.)

Uh, I'm sorry, did you steal my BARF-tech?

DOREEN

No, I borrowed it.

STEVE (O.S.)

I'm pretty sure "borrowing" implies that you asked.

DOREEN

I'm gonna give it back!

TONY (O.S.)

You better. You break it, you bought it, fuzzy.

INT. 2012 STARK TOWER - DAY

Loki collapses to the ground from the impact of the Hulk's rampage. Doreen rushes to the scene and freezes when she sees the tesseract lying near him.

DOREEN

Oh no...

She dives on the ground to grab it at the same time as Loki. They look up and face each other, mystified when they realized they are both holding onto the tesseract. With a flash of blue, they disappear together.

EXT. DESERTED PLANET - NIGHT

Doreen slowly opens her eyes, groaning in pain. She lifts herself up and takes in her surroundings. The ground appears to be covered in a deep violet soil and the night sky is pitch black. Aside from a few bare trees in the distance, the place seems empty. Doreen clutches her time device on her wrists and speaks into it.

DOREEN

Hello? Is anyone there? Tony? Steve? Can anyone hear me?

She waits a moment. There is silence on the other end.

DOREEN

Ugh, great.

Suddenly, we see Tippy-Toe in a small time-travel suit rushing towards her and jumping in her arms. Doreen gives her a few gentle strokes on the back.

DOREEN

Hey, buddy.

Tippy-Toe gives a few squeaks.

DOREEN

No, I have no idea where we are.

She stands up and looks around, freezing when she notices what appears to be a crater in the distance. She runs up to it and sees Loki lying in a large hole in the ground, with the tesseract beside him. His body is bleeding and covered in bruises.

DOREEN

Holy shit...

She rushes down the crater to Loki's body and checks him for a pulse.

DOREEN

He's still breathing...

(She takes a bandage out of her utility belt and tosses it to Tippy-Toe.)

Tippy, stop the bleeding while I get the machine set up.

Tippy-Toe squeaks in protest.

DOREEN

Because I said so, now help me out here a little!

Tippy-Toe begrudgingly takes the bandage in her mouth and begins bandaging Loki's head.

DOREEN

Thank you.

(She starts setting up Tony's device.)

Actually... It's a good thing he's unconscious. It'll make this a lot easier.

She turns to look at the tesseract lying on the ground and hesitantly picks it up.

DOREEN

Um... I'll just... take that.

She puts it in a pocket in her utility belt.

We cut to Doreen scrolling through a holographic screen. The device has been set up, with the necessary parts attached to Loki's head.

DOREEN

Here we go...

She presses a button and a flash of blue transforms the area into a spaceship dungeon. Behind her, Doreen hears someone gasping in pain. She turns around to see 2011 Loki being held up by what appears to be an electrical current. His face is pale and sweaty, and his eyes are sunken. Doreen slowly approaches him.

DOREEN

Loki...?

As if momentarily forgetting she is in a simulation, she starts to reach out to touch his face. Suddenly, we hear a door open behind her. Nebula, Gamora, and Thanos enter. Startled, Doreen backs away as they approach Loki.

GAMORA

We found him in the void. He was just floating listlessly.

THANOS

The fallen king of Asgard...

He presses a button on the wall that shuts off the electric current, causing Loki to collapse to the floor. He lets out a weak wail of pain. Thanos and his daughters step closer to him as he slowly lifts up his head to look at them.

LOKI

K-kill me... P-please...

Nebula clicks her knife open, unleashing a large blade.

NEBULA

Shall we oblige him, father?

THANOS

Wait.

(He lifts Loki up.)

Perhaps there is some merit in keeping him alive. He is a boy... Lost... afraid... But I sense ambition in him... A lust for power... He may serve us well if he sees what we can offer him in return.

LOKI

N-no... I... Th-there is nothing... you can offer me... Wh-whatever this is... I want no part of it.

After a pause, Thanos slowly unveils the mind stone scepter with magic in his hand. Wide-eyed, Doreen slowly starts to back away as she looks on.

THANOS

Then again... A little persuasion can't hurt from time to time...

He presses the scepter to Loki's head, causing the mind stone to glow. Loki screams in agony as its power overwhelms him. Doreen gasps and covers her mouth in horror. With a sinister grin, Thanos presses the scepter harder, causing Loki's screams to grow louder. Mortified, Doreen frantically slams the off button on the device, causing the simulation to disappear. As she takes deep breaths, trying to collect herself, we see Loki's body disappear in a flash of green, as the real Loki appears behind her, untouched and unscarred. He was never really injured.

LOKI

I don't know if anyone's ever told you this...

Doreen gasps and whirls around.

LOKI

...but it's quite rude to look into someone else's mind without their permission.

DOREEN

I... I-I'm sorry, I just thought maybe Thanos told you something about the stones-

LOKI

Unfortunately, he did not. Thanos only ever told me what he felt I needed to know.

Doreen slowly backs away as he stalks towards her.

LOKI

I know you have the tesseract in your possession.

Doreen's hand instinctively goes to the pocket in her utility belt.

LOKI

I'm afraid I can't let you leave with that.

As Tippy-Toe jumps on her shoulder, Doreen grabs her time device.

DOREEN

Sorry to disappoint you.

She tries pressing a button on the device to send her back to the present, but nothing happens. As she repeatedly tries pressing the button, she sees a shimmer of green surrounding the device. Suddenly, Loki strikes her from behind. They fight, with Doreen struggling to overpower him. A dagger emerges in Loki's hand and he stabs her shoulder. Doreen screams and grabs his hand before he can strike again. Before Loki's strength can overwhelm her, Doreen unleashes her knuckle spikes and cuts his face, making a gash on his cheek. Loki recoils and raises his hand to the cut in shock. Eyes wide, Doreen backs away and tries to run, but Loki knocks her onto the ground, sending the tesseract flying.

DOREEN

No!

Doreen and Loki continue to fight. At one point, Tippy-Toe jumps onto Loki's face, blocking his vision. As Loki fumbles with the squirrel, Doreen rushes for the tesseract. She dives on the ground, but when she tries to grab it, her hand goes right through it in a green shimmer. Her face falls. It was just another illusion. As she lies on the ground, Loki approaches her, towering over her with a triumphant grin. He has the tesseract in his hand, chuckling darkly.

LOKI

This is who the mighty Avengers sent to stop me? Pathetic.

He kicks Doreen in the face and turns to leave.

DOREEN

If you bring that to Thanos, you're dead. He'll kill you.

Loki pauses and turns around, visibly amused by her comment.

LOKI

Is that so? And pray tell, why would he do that?

DOREEN

Why wouldn't he? You're just a pawn to him. You really think Thanos gives a damn about you? About what you want? He's using you! And you know it!

Loki's smile fades and his jaw tightens.

LOKI

You don't know the first thing about it. It's merely a transaction. I give Thanos the tesseract, he gives me my throne. That's all there is to it.

Doreen picks herself up and tries to approach him, but he blocks her with a green magic shield.

DOREEN

Loki, listen to me, please! The tesseract is one of the infinity stones. If Thanos gets all six, he's going to wipe out half of all life in the universe! Trillions would die, including people on Asgard, and you'd barely even have a kingdom left to rule! Is that what you want?!

Loki freezes in shock.

LOKI

How would you know that?

DOREEN

Because I was there when it happened.

EXT. DESERTED PLANET - NIGHT

Doreen is trying to make a fire with a few bundles of wood she gathered as Loki paces around, visibly troubled.

LOKI

So, Asgard is destroyed... and half the people are dead... Assuming, of course, I am to believe this story of yours.

DOREEN

Oh, I'm sorry, who's the god of lies here?

She gives a little cheer as the wood pile lights up in flames. Loki stops his pacing to look at her.

LOKI

You don't know anything about this planet, do you?

DOREEN

Gee, how could you tell?

LOKI

Well, for one thing, you're burning netmook wood, which emits a toxic fume when set ablaze...

DOREEN

Oh, God!

She frantically kicks dirt onto the fire, extinguishing it.

DOREEN

Why did you even come here, anyway?

LOKI

It's one of the most remote places in the galaxy. It won't stop Thanos' army from finding me... but it'll at least buy me some time.

(He grins.)

And, actually, I was joking about the netmook wood... It's completely harmless.

Doreen scowls at him.

DOREEN

Asshole.

With a wave of Loki's hand, a green fire appears on the wood pile. Doreen sits down to warm her hands. A green shimmer appears on her face, and she touches her cheek, where a cut has disappeared.

DOREEN

Thanks.

Loki sits down beside her.

LOKI

How is Thor?

(Beat)

DOREEN

Miserable. He's changed... a lot.

(Beat)

He really misses you. You were the only family he had left.

Loki looks down solemnly for a moment, then glances at Doreen.

LOKI

You know, I don't recall most mortals having a tail.

Doreen lets out a light laugh.

DOREEN

They don't. I was born different. I've had to hide it my whole life... well, at least until now.

LOKI

I... suppose I understand what that's like. I'm actually not Asgardian. I was born a Frost Giant. But I didn't know until I was much older. Of course, then I knew everyone would fear me for what I was...

(Beat)

DOREEN

I thought that if I could be an Avenger, I could at least make the most out of being different. I looked up to them for years... I thought if I could prove myself to them, maybe I wouldn't have to be afraid anymore. But I was so stupid! I should've known I wasn't cut out for this... I stole Tony's tech for nothing and now I've messed up their entire plan... I couldn't even face you without getting my ass kicked!

Loki clears his throat awkwardly.

LOKI

Well, um... you were quite an impressive fighter... for a mortal, that is. I-I didn't really mean what I said earlier, I was just trying to intimidate you... Of course, your stance could use work, and your techniques are a bit sloppy-

DOREEN

Wait, are you trying to make me feel better?

LOKI

What? Well, I-

DOREEN

Because that's... actually really sweet. I mean, you completely suck at it, but...

Loki rolls his eyes and stands up to leave.

DOREEN

No, no, no, I'm just kidding! Sorry, I... It was just a joke. Thanks, really.

Loki smiles a little and sits back down.

LOKI

In all seriousness, you are stronger than you believe. Having faith in yourself is the most powerful weapon you can possess.

Doreen smiles and nods.

DOREEN

Loki, I... about what Thanos... what he did to you... I had no idea. I'm so sorry you had to go through that.

Loki turns away, his expression solemn.

DOREEN

Why didn't you tell anyone?

Loki lets out a bitter laugh.

LOKI

You honestly think anyone would believe me if I had?

Doreen's face falls. Suddenly, Tippy-Toe starts angrily squeaking at him.

DOREEN

Oh, uh, this is Tippy-Toe. Sorry, she kind of hates you 'cause she said your Chitauri army blew up her stash of acorns back in New York...

LOKI

I know. She's expressing her anger with rather foul language.

DOREEN

You speak squirrelese?

LOKI

I have the power of all-speak. It allows me to understand all languages in the universe.

Doreen looks impressed.

LOKI

Does it... feel better to be open with your identity now?

DOREEN

I don't know. It's... weird, definitely, but... I think in a good way. I'm just not used to it. My dad was always so strict about keeping it a secret. I love him and I miss him, but he could be really hard on me sometimes. I guess... he just wanted to keep me safe.

(Beat)

LOKI

My birth father abandoned me and left me to die because he thought I was too small.

(Beat)

DOREEN

Wow. What a dick.

(After a pause, she stands up.)

Loki, I know this is a lot to process, but I really can't leave here without the tesseract.

Loki stands up as well.

LOKI

Doreen, I am sorry, truly I am, but I can't give it to you. I know your future is in peril, but I have my own future to think about. The tesseract is the only bargaining chip I have against Thanos. If he truly is as ruthless as you say, giving it to him might be the only way to convince him to spare my life.

DOREEN

I could bring it back! After we're done with it in the future, I could bring it here to this exact spot in time. It would be like it never left!

Loki scoffs and starts to object, but Doreen interrupts him.

DOREEN

And because I know you think I'm going to double-cross you... Tippy?

Tippy-Toe's ears perk up.

DOREEN

You stay here with Loki until I come back, okay?

Tippy-Toe lets out a few squeaks in protest, but reluctantly hops to Loki's side.

DOREEN

Now I have to keep my promise!

LOKI

Even so, this is beyond risky. What if you don't make it back?

DOREEN

You told me to have faith in myself. Now I'm asking you to have a little faith in me.

Loki looks down and shakes his head.

LOKI

I would be the biggest fool in the nine realms to leave my fate in the hands of a mortal...

Doreen's face falls. After a moment, Loki extends his hand, where the tesseract appears. He places it in Doreen's hands.

LOKI

Then again... I've been a fool for so long now... One more time couldn't hurt.

Doreen looks down at the tesseract in her hands in disbelief. When she meets Loki's eyes again, he gives her a small nod. Ecstatic, she grins and gives him a kiss on the cheek. Shocked, he recoils back slightly.

DOREEN

Oh, Loki, thank you! I won't let you down, I promise!

Suddenly, Loki freezes. He makes a strangled, choking sound as his face contorts in terror.

DOREEN

Loki...?

Loki collapses on the ground and starts convulsing, gasping for air.

DOREEN

Loki?! What's happening?!

She grabs him and turns his face towards hers.

LOKI

(in a strangled voice)

Go!

Horrified, Doreen looks up to see THE OTHER materializing onto the planet.

We cut to The Other stalking toward Loki, clenching his fist, making Loki's choke harder. Doreen is nowhere to be seen. Loki lets out an agonized groan.

THE OTHER

You fool... You really thought you could run from us? I told you there would be no escape.

(He glances at the tesseract, which is lying beside Loki.)

Now, you will give Him what is rightfully His...

The Other reaches to collect the tesseract, only to have it disappear in a green shimmer. It was just an illusion. Furious, The Other looks up to see Loki giving him a weak grin.

THE OTHER

You knave! Where is the tesseract?!

We cut to Doreen and Tippy-Toe running away. Doreen crouches behind a purple rock and starts to set the time-travel device for the present. As she is about to press the button to go home, she glances back at Loki, who is screaming in agony as The Other shocks him with his scepter. She bites her lip in contemplation.

We cut to The Other brutally torturing Loki with his scepter.

THE OTHER

Tell me where it is!

LOKI

(Weakly)

I would rather die.

THE OTHER

As you wish...

The Other strengthens his choke on Loki, watching as the life starts to drain out of his eyes. Suddenly, a surge of blue power blasts The Other out of the way. Gasping for air, Loki rolls over to see what happened. His eyes widen. Doreen is holding the tesseract, her body glowing with a blue haze. She is wielding its power. As The Other moves to attack, she strikes again. Loki and Doreen begin fighting him together, Loki with his magic, and Doreen with her powers and the tesseract. Eventually, Doreen is caught in a standoff with The Other. They are both grasping the tesseract, trying to take it from the other. A few cracks start to form on the cube. Doreen's eyes widen. Suddenly, the cube bursts, sending Doreen and The Other flying. Loki rushes over to Doreen, helping her up.

LOKI

Are you alright?

Doreen looks up, her face falling at what she sees. The Other is lying dead on the ground, with smoke rising from his body. Beside him, the tesseract has shattered into hundreds of pieces.

DOREEN

No, no, no, no...

She desperately tries to scramble up as many pieces as she can, but it is no use. Defeated, she collapses back onto the ground.

LOKI

What were you thinking?! I told you to go!

DOREEN

I couldn't!

LOKI

Why?! Your world was at stake, you should've left when you had the chance-

DOREEN

I wasn't just gonna let you die!

Loki freezes. After a pause, he slowly sinks to kneel beside her as she cries.

DOREEN

What have I done...? This is all my fault... The Avengers... Everything they've done, I've just wasted... I'm a failure...

LOKI

Doreen, look at me.

Doreen glances at him with teary eyes.

LOKI

You are no failure. What you did... I've never seen anyone wield the tesseract like that. You unlocked its power. It chose you.

DOREEN

Why? I... I don't understand...

LOKI

You don't have to.

Doreen sniffles and wipes her eyes.

DOREEN

At least... with the tesseract destroyed... your future is safe. Thanos can never collect all of the stones now.

Loki looks down with guilt.

LOKI

What about your future?

Doreen looks down.

DOREEN

We'll... we'll be okay. I guess... we'll just have to move on.

They both stand.

DOREEN

I... I'd... better go.

(Tippy-Toe hops on her shoulder again.)

What will you do?

LOKI

I suppose I'll have to stay here until the bifrost is rebuilt. After that... well, my father will most likely imprison me for my crimes.

DOREEN

Please tell them the truth about what happened to you. Even if your father doesn't believe you... I'm sure Thor will. Someone has to.

Loki nods slowly.

LOKI

Alright.

Doreen adjusts her time travel device on her wrist and glances at Loki one last time. They exchange a sad look. Suddenly, Doreen hugs him.

DOREEN

Goodbye, Loki.

She and Tippy-Toe disappear. Loki is left looking over the area where they were for a moment. As he starts to walk away, he suddenly notices the tesseract shards beginning to rise...

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - DAY

The Avengers all return from their time travel journeys... all except for Natasha. Doreen immediately rushes towards Tony.

DOREEN

(Rapidly)

Tony, I'm so sorry, I couldn't get the tesseract back, I really tried-

TONY

Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down, kid. We got the tesseract.

Doreen freezes.

DOREEN

You did?!

Tony nods and taps his briefcase.

DOREEN

Oh, thank God...

Everyone freezes when they notice Clint standing without Nat.

BRUCE

Clint? Where's Nat?

Clint collapses to his knees.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - DAY

As Tony is working on the gauntlet, a hand suddenly places the BARF-tech device on his desk. Tony raises an eyebrow to see Doreen standing there with her head down. He picks up the device to examine it.

DOREEN

I'm sorry I stole your tech. I was just trying to prove that I could do something useful. I know that's really stupid and immature, and I totally get it if you want me to leave. I can pack my stuff up now-

TONY

Do you know how long it took my guys to program this thing to work on an unconscious brain?

DOREEN

Huh?

TONY

Two months. It took them two months to do what you did in two minutes.

Doreen freezes.

DOREEN

I...

TONY

You know, I took a look at your records from Empire State. You were one impressive student. Top of your class. Why'd you leave?

DOREEN

I... I don't know. I guess... after Thanos, I just didn't really see the point anymore.

Tony thinks for a moment.

TONY

I actually had to put the augmented reality department on hold for a little bit. We had some issues with the guy that was running it a couple years back, and higher-ups were complaining about costs, but since I don't have to worry about that anymore... I want you to hang onto this.

(Beat)

DOREEN

Are you serious?

TONY

Totally serious. Tinker around with it a little, see what you can do. We could use a new face handling the department.

He extends his hand for Doreen to take it.

DOREEN

I... oh my God, I-

He pulls his hand away before she can take it.

TONY

On one condition: Whatever happens today, whether we win or lose, you go back to school. Get your degree. Get your shit together. Because you've got a brilliant mind and I don't want to see that go to waste, you understand me?

Doreen grins.

DOREEN

Okay.

TONY

You sure?

DOREEN

Yeah.

TONY

You promise?

DOREEN

Uh huh.

TONY

Okay.

He hands her the device and heads out.

TONY (O.S.)

And next time you steal one of my gadgets, be sure to return it on time or I'm gonna start charging late fees!

Doreen grins.

INT. UNDERGROUND RUINS - DAY

After the explosion that destroyed the Avengers Compound, Doreen wakes up underground, surrounded by a pile of rubble. She sits up and sees her high-tech goggles have been crushed.

DOREEN

Shit...

She tosses them and tries to stand up, letting out a cry of pain. Her leg has a huge gash in it. Working quickly, she takes out a bandage roll from her utility belt and patches up her leg. Suddenly, she sees something glowing from underneath a pile of rubble. She stands up and cleans the object off. It is Tony's gauntlet.

DOREEN

Oh my God...

She scoops it in her arms, trying to make her way out of the maze of ruins. She suddenly bumps into Clint.

DOREEN

Oof! Oh... hey, are you okay?

Clint dusts himself off.

CLINT

Yeah, I'm fine. What the hell happened?

DOREEN

I think someone followed us from the past.

Clint glances at the gauntlet in Doreen's arms.

CLINT

Well, whoever they are, we need to make sure they don't get their hands on that. Did you see where-

They suddenly hear a low growling sound in the distance. Clint readies his bow, aiming at the sound. Through the dim emergency light of the tunnels, they can see the outlines of Thanos' monsters creeping towards them. Doreen whistles and hands him the gauntlet.

DOREEN

Here. Take this. We'll deal with them.

CLINT

"We"?

DOREEN

Yeah! I called for backup!

Suddenly, a giant group of squirrels squeezes through the cracks in the rubble, ready to fight. Clint takes the gauntlet and flees. Doreen and her army rush towards the monsters and begin fighting.

We cut to another part of the ruins, where Rocket is scrambling to make his way out. Water is pooling into the area, threatening to drown him.

ROCKET

Hey! Can anyone hear me?! I need help! Get me out of here!

We see Scott, in his microscopic form, in another area.

SCOTT

I hear you! Just give me a second!

ROCKET

I don't have a second!

Scott starts running.

SCOTT

I'm trying to get to you, buddy, but I don't know how long it's going to take! I don't think it's safe to expand here...

DOREEN

Ooh! I can help with that! Hey, Monkey Joe, could you give the nice man a lift?

SCOTT

Monkey who?!

He sees a squirrel barreling towards him.

SCOTT

WHAT THE-?!

Monkey Joe tosses Scott onto his back and starts running towards Rocket. Once he reaches him, Scott is able to get them both to safety.

We cut to Doreen and the squirrels fighting the monsters. Tippy-Toe tries to attack one, but it rips it off its face and tosses it aside.

DOREEN

HEY!

She pounces on it and begins beating it with her fists, emphasizing each word with a punch.

DOREEN

NOBODY! TOUCHES! MY! PET! SQUIRREL!

We cut to Rocket holding a grenade.

ROCKET

I got it. This'll blast those creepy suckers outta the sky.

He presses a button, activating the grenade, and drops it down into the ruins.

SCOTT

Isn't Doreen still down there?

(Beat.)

ROCKET

Oops...

We cut to Doreen fighting the monsters. Suddenly, she notices all of the squirrels are disappearing into the cracks.

DOREEN

Huh? Hey, where are you guys all going?

(She freezes when she sees the grenade by her feet.)

Gah!

As the explosion rocks the tunnels, Scott and Rocket wince. They suddenly see Doreen crawling out of the ruins. She is panting and covered in soot.

DOREEN

Would you guys mind giving me a heads-up before you send in the grenade next time?

Rocket and Scott give her a sheepish grin.

EXT. BATTLEFIELD - DAY

Everyone who was dusted is emerging from the portals. Dr. Strange looks around at all of the people gathered.

STEPHEN

Is that everyone?

WONG

What, you wanted more?

STEPHEN

Wait, hang on.

He forms another portal where present-day Loki falls onto the ground. Loki dusts himself off and scowls at Stephen.

LOKI

Do you have to do that every time?!

Stephen shrugs. Thor freezes when he sees his brother standing before him. Loki's face falls as Thor begins to walk toward him slowly, his expression dark and unreadable. Loki starts to back away.

LOKI

(Quickly)

Look, I realize this is becoming something of a tradition between us, but I swear it was all for the best. If you would just give me a moment to explain, I'm sure you would understand that my death was in Asgard's best interest and I had no other alternative but to-

He freezes when he see's Thor's new physique... or lack thereof.

LOKI

What... the hell... happened to YOOOOUUU-

Thor squeezes him with a bone-crushing hug. When he lets go, there are tears in his eyes.

THOR

It's good to have you back, Loki.

Loki smiles, his own eyes beginning to well up.

LOKI

It's good to see you too, brother.

THOR

How have you come back?

LOKI

Well... I was resting in the afterlife, when I received a visit from my past self. He told me of a very special mortal who saved his life and granted him the tesseract, which allowed him to travel through time. It also gave me the power to restore my body and return my soul to the land of the living.

He winks at Doreen, who blushes and grins.

LOKI

Still... it was a shame to leave. It was wonderful to see mother again. Valhalla is also quite lovely this time of year...

DOREEN

Wait... I thought the tesseract was destroyed!

Loki smirks and conjures up the tesseract in his hand. Doreen's jaw drops.

DOREEN

Wh-?

(She laughs.)

You really are an asshole, you know that?

They hear someone clear their throat behind them. Tony, Steve, Bruce, and Clint look at them with a stern, distrustful glance.

BRUCE

What is he doing here?

LOKI

I've come here to aid you in your fight against Thanos.

TONY

Yeah, last time you were here, you were working for Thanos.

DOREEN

That wasn't his choice. Tony, I saw what happened to him. Thanos tortured him. He forced him into it.

LOKI

I know I am far from blameless for what has happened. But I have a score to settle with Thanos too. And I want to help my people, same as all of you.

STEVE

Why should we trust you now?

(Beat)

LOKI

I've got red in my ledger... I'd like to wipe it out.

Clint's eyes widen. After a moment, a hint of a smile grows on his face.

We cut to Thor lifting Doreen up with a crushing hug.

THOR

Thank you for bringing my brother back, Lady Doreen!

DOREEN

Oof!

(She awkwardly pats him on the back.)

Yep, I love you too, big guy...

An assortment of scenes during the battle (in no particular order)

During the scene where all of the female Avengers team up, Loki starts to join them, but Doreen stops him.

DOREEN

Hey! Um, excuse me? Ladies first!

Loki shifts into LADY LOKI.

LADY LOKI

Is this better?

Doreen smirks.

DOREEN

You're hilarious.

We cut to Loki and Doreen fighting together. A monster sends a rock tumbling towards them and appears to crush them. Suddenly, a hand taps the monster on the shoulder from behind. The monster turns around and a green shimmer reveals the real Loki and Doreen. Doreen punches the monster, sending him flying. Doreen and Loki smirk and share a fist bump.

We cut to Thor and Loki fighting together.

THOR

We should do get help-

LOKI

Don't even think about it.

We cut to Clint, who is fighting off some of the monsters. As they begin to gang up on him, they start to overwhelm him. He collapses to the ground, trying to push them off of him. Just as one is about to slit his throat, it is stabbed from behind. The rest are magicked away. The stabbed monster collapses and we see Loki standing behind it. Clint stares at him in awe.

CLINT

Thanks...

LOKI

Don't mention it.

We cut to Dr. Strange, Wanda, and Loki standing together. The camera pans around the trio as they charge up their magic.

STEPHEN

God, these things are everywhere...

LOKI

What, you've never fought a demonic horde before? Thor and I used to do it every week. It's a been our favorite past time since we were children!

STEPHEN

Good for you. You don't need to brag.

WANDA

Will both of you shut up?

As she flies off, Stephen and Loki raise an eyebrow at each other.

We cut to Wanda as she uses her magic to lift Thanos up, along with several rocks. Doreen jumps onto the rocks to leap onto Thanos’ shoulder, unleashing her knuckle spikes and digging them into his face. Thanos screams, overwhelmed by the two women attacking him. Using the stones, he eventually manages to send Doreen and Wanda flying. As he turns away, we see that Doreen has gouged his eye out. Wanda uses her magic to clear a pile of rocks off of Doreen.

DOREEN

Oof! Thanks

(She extends her hand to Wanda.)

Oh! Hi! I’m Doreen!

Wanda smiles.

After Tony's death, all the Avengers begin to kneel. Loki is standing by Doreen and Thor's side, both of whom are crying. After hesitating, Loki kneels beside them, looking at Tony's body solemnly.

EXT. LAKE HOUSE - DAY

At Tony's funeral, we see Nancy hugging Doreen, who is crying. Later, Doreen approaches Loki, who is standing alone on the porch.

DOREEN

Loki...

He turns around at the sound of her voice.

DOREEN

I... wanted to say thank you.

LOKI

Whatever for?

DOREEN

For believing in me. When I didn't believe in myself.

(Beat)

Well, I guess that wasn't you, you, it was the past you, but... whatever, it still counts.

Loki smiles.

LOKI

No, my dear, it is I who should be thanking you. You showed me unconditional kindness when no one else did.

(He gives a small bow.)

My most sincere gratitude, Lady Doreen. I owe you my life. I don't know how I could ever repay you.

Tippy-Toe crawls on his shoulder and squeaks at him.

DOREEN

You could start by giving Tippy those acorns you owe her. You know... whenever you get the chance.

LOKI

I will... certainly make a note of that.

He gives Tippy-Toe a few awkward pets.

DOREEN

So, now what? Are you gonna try and take over New Asgard?

Loki laughs.

LOKI

I think Asgard has had enough of my rule. No, I believe I'll accompany my brother on whatever ridiculous journeys he has planned. We do have a lot of catching up to do, after all. Also...

(He conjures the tesseract in his hand.)

I believe this will allow me to travel to some... entertaining places in time. I trust you won't tell anyone?

DOREEN

Well, I don't know, that depends. Are you gonna kill anybody?

Loki laughs.

LOKI

I will try to avoid it.

Doreen shrugs.

DOREEN

Eh, good enough for me.

LOKI

What about you? What will you do?

DOREEN

Well, I made a promise to Tony that I'd go back to school, so that's what I'm gonna do. Besides, I couldn't let Nancy finish her senior year of college alone.

They turn to Nancy, who is enthusiastically showing Thor her "Cat Thor" comics in the distance.

NANCY

And this is Cat Thor's mighty hammer, Mewnir, which he uses to defeat the evil Laufur, leader of the bad dogs!

DOREEN

She's a big fan.

Loki chuckles.

DOREEN

How did the past you know to find you in Valhalla?

LOKI

He didn't. He had a little help... with this.

(He tosses the tracking device she placed on him to her.)

A word of advice: Next time you want to track someone, do tell Tippy-Toe to be more subtle about it.

Doreen grins sheepishly.

LOKI

Of course, I expected all of you to enact your little time-travel experiment three days earlier, but better late than never, I suppose...

Doreen freezes.

DOREEN

You knew what was going to happen...

LOKI

But of course! Why do you think I got myself killed by Thanos in the first place? My plan was risky, but at least if I died, Thanos wouldn't be able to stop me.

DOREEN

(Slowly understanding)

Thanos couldn't kill you if you were already dead... But... but how did you know I would get my hands on the tesseract? And use its power and everything? And...

LOKI

My gift of foresight may not be as strong as my mother's, but...

(He winks at her.)

I know a special mortal when I see one.

Doreen blushes.

DOREEN

Oh! I almost forgot!

She hands him a golden locket with an imprint of his helmet.

DOREEN

I made this for you. I wanted to apologize for, you know... stalking you without your permission. This locket lets me see where you are if you're ever in trouble. If you need me at all, I'll be there.

(Beat)

I know it's not much, but... I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate everything you've done for me.

LOKI

So... your way of apologizing to me for tracking my location is... tracking my location again?

DOREEN

I can only see it if you want me to!

(She pulls out a matching locket.)

I have one too, see? Just press this button here, and I can see where you are, anywhere in the galaxy.

She presses the button and a holographic screen of their location appears on both of their lockets.

DOREEN

I also put your little horns on it, 'cause I thought it'd be cute!

Loki smiles as she shuts the lockets off.

LOKI

I'll keep it with me. I promise.

DOREEN

Well... I guess I'll see you around. Bye, Loki.

LOKI

Goodbye, Doreen.

She heads off, leaving Loki to admire his new gift. Suddenly, she runs back and hugs him, catching him off-guard. After a moment of confusion, he smiles and returns the hug.

INT. STARK HOUSEHOLD - DAY

Post-Credits Scene

Doreen and Morgan are sitting in Morgan's room, where they are talking to Thor, Loki, and the Guardians of the Galaxy through a holographic screen. Thor is swigging a glass of whiskey as they talk.

DOREEN

See, this is why I'm the best nanny. Like, who else is gonna let you facetime with people thousands of light years away?

DRAX

Enough stalling. We must resume our game.

DOREEN

Right. Whose turn is it?

MANTIS

I believe it is Loki's turn!

DOREEN

Okay, Loki, truth or dare?

LOKI

Hmm... Truth.

THOR

Oh, please, you're incapable of telling the truth.

LOKI

I am not!

DOREEN

Okay... is it true that you did it with a horse?

LOKI

What?

DOREEN

Because I read in a Norse mythology book that you did it with a horse and then gave birth to a horse with eight legs, and... I don't know, that just seems super weird, like even for you.

Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy snicker.

MORGAN

What did he do with a horse?

DOREEN

Uh... I'll tell you when you're older.

Drax turns to Loki.

DRAX

I am impressed, my friend. I did not know that equestrian women were your type.

LOKI

They're not! Those rubbish Midgardian books are full of lies!

THOR

I don't know, brother, you always seemed fond of the horses in the royal stables growing up...

ROCKET

Is that why you did it with a horse?

LOKI

I didn't do anything with a horse!

DOREEN

Okay, okay, guys, let him be. I'm just teasing. Whose turn is it next?

QUILL

I think it's your turn, Doreen. Truth or dare?

DOREEN

Hmm... I'll do a dare. Let's let Morgan decide! Morgan, what should I do?

Morgan whispers in her ear, and Doreen grins devilishly.

DOREEN

Ooh, yes! Okay, hang on a second.

She disappears into the next room. Suddenly, we see a flash of blue from the other room.

EXT. 2011 ASGARD - NIGHT

Doreen time travels to 2011 Asgard, where Thor is confronting Loki at the bifrost.

THOR

Why have you done this?!

LOKI

To prove to father that I am a worthy son! When he wakes, I will have saved his life. I will have destroyed that race of monsters, and I will be true heir to the throne-

Suddenly, they are both hit with Valkyrie's obedience disks, which electrocute them both and cause them to collapse on the ground. Doreen, in her time-travel suit, steps over them.

DOREEN

Hey, uh, sorry to interrupt your little, uh, family drama over here. Do you mind if I borrow that really quick?

She scoops Loki's helmet off his head as he and Thor give her confused, exasperated looks as they convulse on the ground. She fumbles with the helmet, trying to place it on her head.

DOREEN

Oh my God, how do you wear this thing?

She manages to clumsily place it lopsided on her head.

DOREEN

Well, uh, thanks for that. I hope you can both resolve your issues in a peaceful, non-violent manner.

(She looks at Thor.)

Nice look, by the way. Really rocking the, uh, blonde eyebrows. Anyways, I got places to be, so I'll see ya!

(She starts to press her time-travel device on her wrist, but freezes.)

Ooh! I almost forgot!

INT. STARK HOUSEHOLD - DAY

With a flash of blue, Doreen rushes back into Morgan's room wearing Loki's helmet and holding Mjolnir. Everyone stares at her, jaws dropped and eyes widened.

DOREEN

Okay, I did it!

(She swings the hammer around.)

You know, this bad boy actually isn't as heavy as I thought it would be. I do have to return this stuff soon, though. I kind of left 2011 Thor and Loki electrocuted on the ground, and they'll probably be mad about that.

(Beat)

Anyway, whose turn is it next?

Frozen stock still, everyone continues to stare at her. Thor drops his whiskey glass on the ground.

6 notes · View notes

orangeseoks · 4 years

Text

low-life // k.sj

[ disclaimer! ]

this is of pure fiction and is NOT to be taken seriously! this was literally written for fun,, i might make it a series btw let me know what you think! :))

- i also write using ‘ i ‘ rather than ‘ you ‘ ,, fanfic writing habit xD -

buckle up and enjoy the ride,, love you all!

[ unedited ]

Chatter, constant chatter, that’s all that’s heard and probably all that my poor ears ever will hear.

With a frown, I kick my legs back and forth in an effort to occupy myself as I listen to the conversation between my dad and one of the staff members at the loaners. Or in other words, the only place we get money from.

Sure there’s the bank but they pay piss all and is we come to a loaner, at least we can enough to pay for rent etc.

Scoffing, I look up and watch as a tall man with broad shoulders walks past me, tossing me sly side glance. Gulping, I sit up and adjust my simple black shirt giving him a small smile to be polite.

The man merely chuckles and tips his head toward me before he’s greeted by a staff member. My senses gradually calm as the man has his back facing me- sure, he’s handsome and all, but am I going to be like fifteen year old me and check him out as often as possible?

I bloody hope not.

“Oh fuck me,” I mutter oh-so quietly to myself as my eyes somehow find my way over to his broad figure. I hate myself for doing but I can’t stop.

Something- Something about him just attracts me, and its killing me.

“-Lets go.” My dad says as he shoves the new green card into his pocket and waits for me to gather myself. I give him a blunt ‘yeah’ and grab my bag whilst the two of us exit the large building.

Me being me, I turn my head almost every step of the way just to look at him; that man. And hopefully- hopefully have him staring back at me just the same.

Like one of those romance movies where the two mains find their soulmates.

Stupid, I think as I face forward to push the heavy glass door open. Once stepping outside I take one last glance before crossing the street, and to my utter shock there he is; the man. His lips parted and his eyes right on me, the staff member in front of him growing annoyed at this.

Smiling shyly, I tip my head and run across the road in a hurry as my father is already much ahead of me.

_________________________________________

Upon our arrival home I can’t help but think of that man and who is, if he’s some sort of idol. Or maybe a restaurant owner, or maybe even some sort of business man!

“Ahhh!” I cry out, throwing my bag across my room, not caring about what’s knocked over by it and toss myself onto my bed face first. “Stop thinking about him you frickn loser.” I tell myself angrily, pissed at the fact that I haven’t gotten over some gorgeous stranger I saw when getting a loan.

Pouting, I face my ugly ceiling and contemplate on my life, if its all really worth it.

Sighing loudly, I face palm myself, my body automatically sitting up so I can change out of my current fit.

I stare at myself in the mirror and I tie my hair into a tiny-ass ponytail, but because its been cut so short its harder than usual. Twirling just a little I watch as my loosely fitted shirt puffs with the air flowing through my room.

Rolling my eyes, I stomp out of my room to pig out on the fruit we have stored at the bottom of the fridge, tucked nicely into a drawer beneath the lower shelf is.

Grabbing a plum along with a nice red apple, I march back into my room and check my notifications that continue to fill the screen of my laptop, sighing I clear the ones that aren’t that important.

“Oh-” I start as an unexpected notification comes up from Twitter, chuckling I open the app and respond to the message sent by my close friend.

@/taco_desu

- i’ve been banned from my phone again,, so i had to come back to twitter

and that concerns me how exactly? -

@/taco_desu

- oh cut the attitude you piece of shit

- i sent you a message to ask if you wanted to go out tonight

hmm, sure,,,,,,, where exactly are we going btw -

@/taco_desu

- dunno yet :))

Clicking my tongue I push my laptop away from me as I find myself looking for another set of clothes to change into.

_________________________________________

With a sigh, I ruffle my hair as I follow behind the awfully large group of people my friend has decided to bring along with us, I knew there’d be quite a few, but I didn’t expect a whole class worth.

“Oi, Jess,” I speak out of the blue tapping the preoccupied girl on the shoulder. She growls at his and turns to face me with an annoyed look on her caked face, “what is it?” She questions bluntly.

“Oh, I dunno..” I start pausing for a moment so I can glare at her, “maybe its just the fact that there’s a mix of strangers and our actual friends here.”

“So what?” She snaps back with an eye roll following after, “so what?” I repeat, trying my hardest not to lose my temper with her.

“I don’t know these people, man, at least tell me before hand.”

Jess sighs and places her arm onto my shoulder and continues to walk forward along with the rest of us, “you need to socialise. Being all cooped up in your room isn’t healthy.”

“Besides, you might enjoy tonight,” Jess finishes with a mere raise of the eyebrow. My jaw dropping I stare at her in shock, “no. You wouldn’t dare-”

“-Don’t under mind me missy, I did pass mathematics after all.”

Scoffing, I playfully shove her away from me with a low chuckle erupting from the depths of my chest. Jess laughs at this and decides to run off towards the front of the group, shaking my head I grin and shove my hands into the pockets of my hoodie.

Maybe things won’t go badly, a bit of banter won’t hurt.

Kicking a stone, I watch as it hops along the concrete and onto the road getting hit immediately by a passing car. Scrunching up my nose I let out a frustrated huff and find something else to pass some time, our large group not seeming to stop anytime soon on our walk.

_________________________________________

My eyes wide and my mouth gaping, I stare in complete shock at what is before me, “your kidding!” I yell, turning to face everyone. “We’re not going there!?”

“Don’t worry about it!” One girl shouts from the back of the crowd, tossing me a reassuring smile. “Yeah, its not like your going to sing anyways.” Jess adds with a cheeky smirk.

Poking my tongue out at her I follow behind and embrace the incredible design of the room we’ve rented for karaoke.

Nodding my head, I settle with whats to come and just enjoy the many snacks and beverages on the coffee table. “They even have cup ramen!” Jess chimes in amazement.

Holding back a smile, I take a can Pepsi and sip at the refreshing drink. “Hey,” I start taking another quick gulp of my drink, “isn’t this your uncles workplace?”

Clearing her throat, Jess scratches her neck and stuffs her cheeks with sweets. “That explains all the extras.” I finish, leaning back and kicking my feet up on the coffee table.

Jess rolls her eyes at me, harshly switching on the large t.v, along with the speaker and mics.

And the singing begins.

Screaming on the top of our lungs, we sing loud enough to cause an earthquake, our bodies jumping to the beat of the music and coming up with our own dance moves.

Myself and Jess both share a mic, our voices combining with one-another as we practically own the rap. Occasionally stopping for a random laugh or just to catch our breaths.

Breaking into a fit of laugher, I drop to my knees and hold my gut as I can feel it tightening with each small breath I draw in between laughs.

“You guys suck!” A girl screeches as she teasingly hits someone, a giggle escaping her lips, I smile at this and crawl over to a clear spot on the floor and lay down in an attempt to calm myself down since I have the sudden urge to go full crackhead.

I let out a low breath, closing my eyes as the hot room temperature finally hits me and the slight sweat that coats my face now annoying me. Patting my covered hand along my face, I get rid of any sweat that I can feel and push my bangs out of my face so my forehead can breathe.

“Aish! Where’s the air con!” I yell from the the floor, completely frustrated but not enough to make me stop laughing. Chuckling, I sigh and fan myself. My body gradually growing limp and tired, my eyes eventually close and I fall into a blissful current of angelic sleep.

_________________________________________

Groaning, I rub at the corners of my eyes and sit up, tired and in a lot of pain I look around the room to find no-one. Not a single soul, only the mess left behind and a mic torn from its wire, along with snack wrappers stuffed into vent spaces.

“Of course,” I sigh, scratching my cheek. “They ditched me and left all the mess.”

Slowly, I stand up, “oh-” a voice speaks from behind me. Surprised, I jump almost a mile high, clutching my chest as I turn to face them.

“You scared.. me-” My sentence trails off as I find myself face-to-face with the man from earlier today. Swallowing hard, I grow somewhat awkward around him and clear my throat.

“I saw you earlier, you were waiting for someone, right?”

“I, um.. Yeah.” I respond shyly, pulling the cuffs of my oversized sweatshirt over my hands in a way to distract myself. The man snickers at this, following a nod.

“It- It was my dad actually,” adding onto my sentence I mentally face palm myself for stuttering, how embarrassing.

The man smiles and brushes past me, “you were out for awhile.”

“I what?”

“You’ve been knocked out over there for almost four hours, I’m surprised you haven’t noticed the time.”

Time. Oh my god-

The time!

My eyes suddenly grow wide as I eagerly search through my pockets to find my phone, holding it up I check the time and to my complete shock I see that its pretty much 11PM.

And I arrived at around four.

“I need to go home, holy shit.” Mumbling under my breath, I hurriedly pick up some of the rubbish that’s laying around and toss it into a nearby bin. My legs instantly picking up their pace and racing toward the door.

“Where a-bouts do you live, I could drop you off?”

Halting my steps, I turn to face the man- giving him a soft smile. “Thank you, but I can get home on my own.”

Humming, the man stops what he’s doing and walks over to me. Gulping, I take a hesitant step back and stare up at this tree of a man.

A handsome tree of a man.

“Jess gave me your address so I can drop you off, its not like I’m some weird creep anyways-”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I raise a brow and nod, “sure thing.” I reply dryly earning a tsk from the man in front of me. “Jin, I’m Jin, you know that cousin she’s always talking about?”

I nod, “yeah well that’s me. Do you still think I’m a creep now, huh?”

“I dunno..” My response is far from polite, I give the man a cheeky grin and raise both my eyebrows in a way to annoy him. He laughs at this and takes out his car keys.

“Hurry up before I change my mind.”

“I-” My mouth hangs open as Jin brushes past me with the most gorgeous smile I’ve ever seen, his round cheeks standing proud and his lips plump as ever.

I think I’m in love.

I quickly hit myself in the head, breaking into a jog to catch up with Jin, “snail!” Is all he says as the two of us enter the parking lot, the lights of a clean black car shining in the distance.

With a huff, I walk beside him with my hands buried in my pockets.

Jin laughs, opening the passenger door for me, I scoff and seat myself in the comfortable car that smelt of sweet vanilla, a hint of cologne also wandering the inside of the car.

“You seemed nicer in the stories I was told,” is all I say whilst pulling my seat belt over me. Jin hums at this and drives out of the large parking lot, his side profile catching me off guard.

“You shouldn’t stare a people, its rude.”

_________________________________________

The two of us walk over to me doorstep, being sure not to trip over anything in the process. With a sigh I place my onto the doorknob, turning to face Jin.

“Thanks.. I guess.”

Jin smiles and looks down shyly before looking back up at me, his eyes bright and sparkly despite the ever growing darkness of night.

“Anytime,” and with that he tips his head just as he did in the loaners and walks off and away from me. His figure never leaving my sight.

“Drive safely!” I call out to him, raising my hand into the air, watching as he waves out to me. “I will! Goodnight!”

A soft smile graces my lips as he pulls out of my driveway, the back lights of his car just visible from the road.

And then.. He’s gone.

#bts fic #bts jin #oneshot #jin one shot #jin fanfic #fluf #bts ff #jin fluff #bts scenarios #bts love story #ff #fanfic #bts romance #romance #orangeseoks

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silver-wields-a-pen · 4 years

Note

⭐ and 👻 for the writer asks

Sorry for the late reply, I couldn't find the post with the questions

Thanks for the ask

Writer asks

👻- 2 or 3 sentences from something you haven’t posted yet

Here's a bit from an illthdar fan fiction I wrote this last week 😁

“Do I look that stupid?” Hui-fa leant against the parapit wall and shook his head. At twenty-four, and the spitting image of his father at that age, he was the eldest of the uv dra C'Deney siblings, and part of the Jasper Order.

His friend and teammate, Yasamine, wore a teasing grin that said she was about to ruin him. With curly lavender hair, amethyst eyes and a figure that drew many an eye, she was a deceptive looking badass, regularly beating down foes who thought she lacked substance. “If you need to ask...” She laughed and ducked his playful arm swing.

“Great friend you are.” He chuckled. They'd grown up as playmates and chaotic cohorts, getting into more trouble than both their fathers combined. “Dad has to lose the fight, so anyone betting on him is asking for their money to get taken.” Most of their discussions revolved around who could beat who in a fight, with each coming up with more outlandish rules and restrictions so their favourite could win. With the upcoming Winter vs Spring King fight, Yasamine questioned whether Tundra could beat Avari.

“Okay, in the context of the story he has to lose, but would he if he didn't have to?” She tilted her head and raised both eyebrows.

Hui shrugged. “No idea.”

⭐️- how do you get your inspiration?

I get inspired by all sorts of things. Current events are usually good for background into political corruption and how bad society can be. Stuff like girls getting sent to prison for killing their rapists I'll include as conversations between characters to show their moral views. Jokes and dialogue banter I'll look up funny phrases and see what sparks my own ideas.

Like this piece from my recent illthdar fan fiction. The line about satnav sprang from the old cliche about fumbling to find buttons and such on women's clothing.

“I'm glad we get to rub our sexy bits together,” Salem joked, as he tried to find the opening on Imogen's bodysuit. “Or I would if I could locate them.”

“Oh, baby, you wanna turn on the satnav?” she teased, wiggling and making him groan. In a faux robotic voice she said, “You are two inches to the left of your destination.”

Salem dropped his head against Imogen's shoulder as laughter overtook him. “I love you, you sexy wench.”

“The wenchiest wench,” she replied, slipping buttons on his shirt free.

“Sexiest sex.”

Imogen paused. “Is wenchiest a word?”

“You mean sauciest?”

“Sauciest sauce?” She pulled his shirt off and tossed it over his head. “Sounds like something an ad company would use to sell condiments.”

“You are delicious,” he replied, finally locating the fastening and peeling the bodysuit off.

“And I go well with everything?” she asked, shoving him back onto the bed. “Especially you.”

“I am pretty tasty.” Salem linked both arms behind his head and grinned. “I mean, look at me.”

“An all you can eat buffet.” Imogen slinked her way up him and indulged in a long kiss. “Good thing I brought my appetite.”

#Writeblr #writeblr community #Asks #Writer asks #Illthdar

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otome-cinnamonrolls · 6 years

Text

Why I hated Kiyohito’s route

Hello my friends,

It’s been a long time since I’d posted anything about voltage games. With the new Love 365 app and transferring games and some new routes and everything I was kinda waiting for them to settle down.

But I decided to make this post now because as a human, an adult, a 24 year-old-girl who wasted her money and time on a game only to find it insulting and infuriating, I feel responsible to warn other players before you waste your money and time.

I was originally gonna roast them in this post but because bunch of you genuinely asked me for reasons, I will tone it down as much as my rage allows but I may give out some spoilers, apologies in advance >_<;

I honestly never thought a day would come where Voltage would be capable of outdoing themselves in releasing the most hatable, pathetic, and wrong-in-every-way route in their games.

I only wish I could find the writer who inflicted this joke of a story upon us and ask them: “Really?”

So here are some of the reasons why this route is now my least fave voltage game EVER:

1. Makeover

So imagine as the MC you have found your husband has been cheating on you, you get a divorce, you have no money, no job, no skills, and no place to stay. You would think even as a fictional character this MC is going through hell.

So then how can this MC heal?

Apparently, this writer thinks she need to be forced into a makeover project and be constantly humiliated.😊

The MC is literally forced into getting a makeover by this dude and he gets to publish the results (aka her transformation photos over the months) in a magazine and gets credit for!! For the entire country to see!

Now, I am all for a makeover! I personally love fashion and I think taking care of yourself and your skin and your health in general is important for everyone!

But not like this for the love of God!

Not by constantly telling the person how unattractive and “mediocre” they are!!! (And I mean until the very last chapters he humiliates her!!)

That’s not a makeover! That’s called bullying!<_<

2. His method

He forces the MC to follow his ridiculous beauty regimen. He forces her to swim 20-30 laps a day to get in shape (even though the MC almost drowns in the the prologue cuz she doesn’t even know how to swim!) He tells her how to wash her face, put on makeup, what to eat etc etc etc. He keeps talking about being confident but to me it seems like he is the one with confidence issues (I mean the dude he has a freaking gym in his room!)

AGIAN, I am all for a makeover but this means nothing if he constantly talks to her in a condescending tone and keeps reminding her she was cheated on to make his point!!!!

Even when the mc tells him she doesn’t want to do the makeover project this is his reaction:

................................

**cough manipulative son of a bitch cough**

3. Name-calling

There are so many instances in the story where he literally insults her!

I don’t know about you guys but for me even in a fictional game this is unacceptable!

4.The MC

Last but not least, our forever problem with Voltage games , the MC!

I’m not gonna get too much into her but to sum it up: I hate her! 😊

She is a pushover

She has no individuality

She let’s them toss her around and play with her all the want

She gives into their demands and obeys them like a dog (sorry dogs)

She gets insulted by her husband in few occasions but her reactions are so unrealistic!!!! (no one is that dumb!)

I personally feel she is very sexually frustrated

Bonus:

Yesterday when I played the game this was on the main page:

This wouldn’t have sounded so bad if the guy didn’t actually force the mc into getting an appearance makeover from him...

So yeah, these were my main reasons I hated his route. Yesterday I was so mad after reading this story that I almost deleted the app.

What really upsets me is that these games are targeted towards young girls.

I’m 24 years old.

I am old enough to know for example, by shouting at someone’s face “DON’T BE ANXIOUS” their anxiety disorder is not gonna magically disappear!

That by telling a person to “throw away your baggage” you are not helping them, you are undermining their feelings and their experiences.

That by portraying all this stuff as if it’s normal and acceptable we are teaching young girls that abuse is a form of love.

I blame the Japanese culture for most of the mess in this game.

As a bonus here are 2 very disturbing videos Asian Boss made a while ago about how “Being Dumb” is considered pleasant for woman in Japan and “smart girls” are “intimidating”.

Link: https://youtu.be/wTdKoigdjwQ

Link: https://youtu.be/M9yCe_Fj3X8

#kings of paradise #kiyohito #Voltage #voltage inc #voltage games #voltage otome

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xfirespritex · 7 years

Text

Wildfire

Pairing: Trent Seven X Reader Story Summary: A year after their breakup Trent Seven comes to the reader, hoping for a reconciliation. Still friends but still feeling burned she has her doubts. Will she let him redeem himself? Warning: Cursing. Smut.

Tag List:

@wwesmutdonedirtcheap @hiitsmecharlie @thedeboniardevistation @xxnobodyshero13xx @speedilyghostlycloud @fan-fiction-galore @amaranthine-reign @lordoftheringsmyass @justtheaverageblog1 @alpha-american @aineslight @reigns420 @deajm2116 @redroseblackwolfpack96 @blondekel77 @shieldgirl95 @vebner37 @banrioncethlenn @moxtiel @caramara3 @fmlallthewayup @breezy14fan @secretagentfangirl @crowleysqueenofhell @abominablestrowman279 @laochbaineann @gelinas22 @logandemico

-----

"How much for this shirt?" A girl with breasts as big as my head asked, holding up a tiny size small of one of Pete's shirts.

I told her the price and she joyfully handed the money over and, right there in the open, stripped her tank top off and pulled the purchased shirt on. Guys catcalled her and she giggled coyly before walking off. I rolled my eyes and put her money in the box.

"Well that was quite a show," a deep voice said from behind me. I didn't need to turn to know it was Trent.

I laughed, short and quick, hoping it was enough to cover up the sudden flame of jealousy in my chest. Trent wanted that girl. The small, cruel voice on my head said.

I turned to a box on the floor, Trent's shirts, and began laying a few out on the table. I arranged the mercy neatly and adjusted my own Moustache Mountain shirt, tugging it down as it has begun to ride up as I worked.

"Aw, don't cover up love," came Pete's teasing voice as he slid a hand over my bare lower back before wrapping his arm around my side to my stomach and pulling me back against him.

I laughed despite myself as Pete nibbled playfully at my shoulder. He chuckled and placed an obnoxiously loud kiss on my cheek before releasing me.

"Animal," Tyler joked as he tugged my shirt down for me, his hands sliding over my hips before winking at me.

I winked back and returned to my work. Pete and Trent went to greet a few guys who walked in and Tyler stood next to me and watched me work.

"You know Trent doesn't actually want that girl from before, yeah?"

I rolled my eyes. "It doesn't matter, Tyler. Trent and I haven't been together for over a year, he can do what he wants."

"He wants you back," Tyler said.

I stopped folding the shirt in my hands and turned to look at him. "Stop fucking around," I said, shaking my head and going back to my work.

"Would I fuck around about this?"

I kept working, keeping my eyes on the merchandise as people began filing in. Tyler gripped my hand and turned me to face him.

He spoke low and quick, his eyes tracking Trent and Pete as they began working their way back over.

"He knows he fucked up. He doesn't want to hurt you again. The man loves you but he's too much of an ass to say something. He's afraid to fuck it up again."

I sighed. "Can we drop it, Tyler?"

"No, Y/N, we can't. Two of my best friends love each other and aren't together. It's stupid."

"It was Trent's choice. Not mine," I said before turning to face customers. They bought shirts and took pictures with the guys, Trent and Pete returning just in time.

---

When we got to the hotel that night I tried my best not to scream at Tyler as he tossed his bag on the bed with Pete. Normally Tyler or Pete and I slept in the same bed with the other on a couch bed and Trent in a bed to himself.

This sleeping arrangement he'd just created was the one from when Trent and I had been together. Trent noticed too and looked at me questioningly.

I shrugged like it didn't bother me and flipped open my bag. I dug through it for my toiletries and pajamas, going to shower before bed.

I heard the guys joking and talking as I turned the shower on and stripped before getting in under the spray.

My mind wandered to Trent, wondering how I'd get any sleep next to him tonight. Resigning myself to the fact that I wouldn't sleep I showered quickly before getting out. Putting my hair in a quick wet braid I pulled in my pajama shorts and a tank top and gathered my dirty clothes before walking out of the bathroom.

"Shower is free," I called to the room as I rounded the corner. Only there was no one there. Except Trent.

"Where'd those two run off to?" I asked, setting my stuff down on the bed. I carefully folded my items and out then in the part of my bag where I kept my dirty clothes.

"They went to grab a drink," he said from the edge of our bed as he flipped through the channels.

"You didn't want to join?"

"Trying to get rid of me?" He said, his voice teasing but it was off somehow. Sadder. I zipped up my bag and hauled it to the space by the closet before collapsing on the bed next to him.

"What's bugging you?" I asked. Trent laughed lightly and settled on Die Hard, putting the remote down.

"Nothing, why?" He said, standing and going to his bag, looking for something inside. My mind went back to the conversation with Tyler earlier.

"Those assholes didn't really go for a beer, did they?"

Trent stopped rummaging through his bag and turned to look at me. "Tyler ran his mouth tonight, huh?"

I shrugged one shoulder and remained silent. Trent's eyes blazed with anger for a moment but it disappeared quickly.

He dropped his hands to his sides and sat on the opposite bed, his eyes in his hands as they hung below his knees.

"You must think I'm a real asshole," he said.

I shrugged again. "Are we really going to talk about this?" I asked, hearing the nervousness in my own voice.

"Not if you don't want to," he said, his voice soft, lifting his head to meet my eyes.

"I think we need to clear the air so that Tyler drops it. Pete too since he seems to have been in on it."

Trent nodded. "Yeah, probably best."

"Before we do, can you promise me two things?" I asked.

"Anything," he said.

"We are both honest, 100 percent. And no matter how this goes we stay friends, keep working together."

His lips twitched into an almost smile and he nodded. "Promise."

I nodded then I didn't know what to say. So I waited. Trent, realizing he was going to have to start ran his hands through his hair.

"Okay so, not sure how to start this...at least without sounding like an idiot."

I reached over the small gap and took his larger hand in my two much smaller ones. "Just say it, Trent."

He turned his hand over and gripped mine. He took a breath and looked at me, his eyes showing an emotion I had never seen from him, ever. Fear.

"I miss you. And I know you don't care and I know I don't have a right to miss you when I did the leaving but..." he shrugged, his voice drifting off at the end.

I bit my lip. Realizing that he didn't know what to expect, he didn't know what to tell me.

"Why did you? Leave, I mean."

"I thought that, as much as I liked you, cared for you, I didn't need you. Not in terms of a relationship anyway. I didn't think I wanted to settle down. I wanted to go out and party and meet people."

"And sleep around?" I asked, trying to keep all hurt from my face. The look on his told me that I hadn't succeeded.

Trent swallowed once and, looking ashamed, nodded.

"Did you cheat on me?"

"What? No, fuck no." He looked shocked that I had even considered the scenario.

"I had to know."

"I'm an idiot but I'm not that much of an idiot or that much of an asshole."

I shrugged. "It was hard to tell, I mean you started up with, I don't remember her name. The blonde, pretty quickly after we split. She was around a lot."

Trent frowned. "I didn't realize how bad that must have looked."

I laughed, short harsh. "Clearly."

He sighed and I dropped his hand, sitting back, resting on my hands behind me. Trent watched me for a minute.

"Okay, so I'm a fucking asshole and I didn't think. Clearly I didn't since I lost you. And for what? A couple flings and to be miserable. I don't know what the fuck is wrong with me sometimes."

I said nothing as he stood and began pacing. "Do you know how much it kills me to see you around other guys?"

I quirked an eyebrow at him and waited. He laughed. "Not making it easy on me, yeah? And seriously, why should you?"

He kept pacing and I watched his body movements. "At the events when the guys are all changing a few weeks ago someone made a comment about you. About wanting to fuck you. Pete and Tyler had to drag me out of there, I wanted to rip his head off."

"When was this?"

"The night I busted that guy open."

I thought back to a few weeks ago and remembered the guy. A disgusted shiver ran through me. "He's the one who made the comment? What did he say?"

Trent let out a sound like an angry snarl before answering me. "Yeah. He said any woman who saw fit to travel with three guys had to be easy. That he'd take you off our hands for the night but give you back the next morning...when he was finished with you."

"That's why you wailed on him like that?"

"Of course. Unlucky for him he was my opponent that night."

I laughed once, bitterly. "Good. I've seen him at shows. He always tries to get with different girls...thanks for keeping him back."

Trent laughed once and stopped pacing to look at me. "But that's not what kills me. Guys talk, he just pushed his luck with what he said. But do you know how insane it is that I'm jealous of Pete and Tyler?"

I laughed, truly laughed at that. Trent laughed a bit too, the sound bitter still. "I know it's not the same, I know you've never black balled me completely but I see them next to you, touching you, kissing your cheek and all that and I fucking hate them for it. Cause I want to be them."

I frowned. "Trent, you know it's nothing..."

"I know that but still I hate it. I hate that they fall asleep next to you and I just get to lay one bed over from the woman I love and can't even fucking do anything about it."

He stopped, his entire body freezing then. I sat up straight and stared at him, his back slightly to me as he’d been pacing towards the far wall.

He didn’t move, hell he looked like he was barely breathing. I stood and walked over to him, slowly reaching out to place my small hands on his large shoulders. He hung his head as my hands made contact with him and I pushed gently. When he faced me he kept his head down but, given how much shorter I was than him we were still looking in each other’s eyes.

“Can we…forget that part?” he asked.

“That depends. Are you saying it because you mean it or because you hate being alone?”

His eyebrows knit together in confusion at my question. “How could you even think that? That I’d say that just go get you back in my bed?” His voice rose slightly, not quite yelling but indignant.

“I thought that because it’s hard to believe the guy that broke my heart a year ago, that I’ve watched and hated watching with other girls, is finally coming back to me. It’s the second time today someone said you love me and I didn’t want to let myself believe it earlier because it just makes moving on harder.”

“Fucking Tyler…” Trent grumbled slightly.

“So, which is it Trent?”

He stared at me, his eyes searching my face as he weighed his options. Slowly, as if he was afraid to scare me, his right hand came up and cupped the side of my face. His hand, so large and warm, felt comforting against my skin.

“I was in love with you when I had you. I just didn’t know it.”

I stared up at him, feeling my heart begin to race as he pulled me closer to him, letting our foreheads rest against each other. I could feel my body shaking as the adrenaline started to pump through me but I didn’t move, I waited.

“Is it okay? That I love you?” Trent asked, his voice soft, barely a whisper. His eyes locked on mine and I remembered all the hours I’d spent staring into them, how he’d look at me in the morning when we woke up together, how he’d look at me, hungrily when we were out in public, promising more when we were alone. I shivered and bit my lip.

“Trent…” I started. He released me quickly, stepping back, all color gone from his face.

It was strange, to be so small compared to him and see the fear that the hesitation in my voice brought out in him. I could see his eyes begin to change, sadness taking over them and I frowned, quickly stepping back into his space, reaching my tiny hands to his face and running my fingers into his hair.

“I need to know this is it. If we start again, I need to know you won’t be gone again when you get bored or scared of commitment. If you burn me again I don’t know how I’d handle that.”

“I won’t,” Trent said, his hand covering mine. “I swear to you, on everything, I’m not going anywhere.”

I bit my lip and stared up at him. “Trent…”

“Yeah?”

“Are you going to kiss me or not?”

The smile that broke over his face made my heart swell and he pulled me to him slowly, gently and his lips hovered over mine for a moment, giving me a chance to back out. When I didn’t he brushed his lips over mine, gently at first before claiming my mouth fully.

I didn’t expect the moan that escaped me as he pulled me against him, lifting me slightly as he deepened the kiss. The sound seemed to turn him on more and he slid his hands down my body to my ass and lifted me easily into his arms.

I gasped as our hips came into contact and broke the kiss, looking at him, now at eye level as I wrapped my legs around him.

“I forgot how easy it was for you to do that,” I gasped.

He laughed and walked towards our bed. Our bed. It sounded good. I’d missed that. When he laid me down gently I noticed how slow, how careful he was still being.

“Trent, I didn’t break before. I’m not going to break now.”

“I don’t want you to think that we have to…”

“I want to,” I said, cutting him off.

A growl broke through Trent and he leaned down over me, his weight even and comforting as his lips attacked my jaw line and neck. His hands found my breasts and teased them through the tank top and I was glad that I hadn’t worn anything underneath the tank top.

“Fuck,” Trent gasped. “Y/N, woman, you’ll be the death of me. Do you know how many nights I didn’t sleep knowing you were in a bed with one of those fuckers, dressed like this?”

I laughed. “Did you ever think I continued dressing like this on purpose just to get some small payback on you?”

“Oh really?” Trent said, laughing slightly as he took my tank top in his hands and yanked it off of me. The second the fabric was gone Trent’s mouth and tongue were on me, making me gasp and moan. I could feel the wetness between my legs growing and ground my hips up against him and he grumbled back against my skin.

“Oh no, not so fast, love,” he said, sliding down my body, placing kisses as he went. I grabbed at the fabric of his t-shirt and tugged as he went, removing it from him. He chuckled and continued his slow torture between teeth, lips, tongue and fingers across my skin and I moaned as my head fell back against the pillows.

When he reached my shorts he wasted no time tugging them off, my underwear quickly joining them. I was about to say something when he spread my legs and I heard him moan and felt the bed shift. His facial hair brushed my thighs, making me shiver and I all but screamed as his mouth found my core.

Reaching down I grabbed at his hair with one hand, the other fisting into the sheets as he worked me. It was less than a minute later when I felt myself approaching orgasm and I gasped out a warning to him, begging him to stop.

“Why stop, love?” Trent asked, his breath gliding over my wet sex as he waited for an answer.

“Need you inside me. Need you,” I gasped, tugging slightly at him. He complied, standing and removing his pants and boxers quickly, sliding his body over mine until we were face to face again.

“You sure?” he whispered. I whimpered and reached up, stealing a kiss and tasting myself there.

He groaned and a thrill went through me. I remembered that he always loved that, me tasting myself on his lips and tongue. I could feel his length pressing against my thigh and could tell from how he held himself he was resisting sliding in.

I reached down and grasped his length, shuddering as I remembered and relearned just how much of Trent there was. He groaned and buried his face into my neck, kissing and biting there.

Positioning him at my entrance with on hand I wrapped the other around his shoulders, my nails digging in slightly.

“Please Trent,” I gasped in his ear.

“Don’t need to tell me twice love,” He said, bracing his weight on his arms as he began to slide into me. I whimpered at the feeling and he let out a groan as the tightness engulfed him inch by inch.

“Fuck, love,” he groaned, his eyes turned down to look at where we were joined. “So fucking tight.” I could only whimper as my orgasm raced against my self-control.

“Trent, just fucking move,” I begged, a whine in my voice. He knew the sound well, he knew I was close, waiting for him.

His hips began to move slowly, settling all of him inside me for only a moment before pulling out and snapping into me hard. I gasped and a small laugh of joy escaped me at the feeling, fireworks exploding under my skin as I wrapped my legs around him as best I could.

Soon the room was all sounds and gasps, skin on skin as he thrust into me. Sweet whispered left his lips as they brushed every inch of skin he could reach and I was doing my best to not claw up his back, my teeth finding temporary homes along his shoulder and upper arms. He groaned with each bite and continued to pound into me and I gasped as he hit the spot inside me.

“There it is,” he chuckled, thrusting at the same angle over and over. “Cum for me, love. Right behind you,” he gasped, his hips snapping into mine.

When I came I was grateful that Trent covered my mouth with his hands because the scream that left me probably would’ve drawn the police to our room. He came a moment after me, a low groan as his body shook and shuddered against mine.

As soon as he collapsed next to me I curled into his side, tossing a leg over his body as well.

Trent chuckled and held me close and I looked up at him as his eyes focused on the ceiling.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

He took a few breaths before looking at me, his eyes sparkling again. “I just missed you, us. Sex yeah but goddamn I missed just laying with you. All I want to do now is make sure I don’t lose you again.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I promised, exhaustion slowly seeping into me.

“I am, but for just one minute,” he said, standing and getting a wash cloth to wipe us down and helping ease me into my pajamas again, pulling on his own sweats.

“Don’t need those assholes seeing you naked,” he said pulling me into his side once more.

I laughed and we laid in silence, stealing kisses and running our fingers over each other’s skin. I was nearly asleep when I heard the room door open tentatively.

Pete and Tyler came in and, in hushed voices celebrated.

“Yeah, you fuckers were right. Now shut the fuck up and let my girl sleep,” Trent said. Something told me, even though my eyes were closed, that Trent hadn’t opened his either to make his statement.

Tyler and Pete laughed before settling who slept where, turning off the lights and collapsing on their own beds.

“Hey guys?” I said, clearing my throat.

“Yeah?” they said in unison.

“Thanks for disappearing for beers.”

Tyler and Pete laughed. “Don’t thank them, love. I know they put it on my card,” Trent said. Pete and Tyler laughed louder and I giggled into Trent’s chest before sleep took over.

#WWE #wwe fanfiction #trent seven #trent seven x reader #romance #angst #fanfic #fanfiction

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cathygeha · 6 years

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A woman with garden magic finds out the builder in charge of remodeling her florist shop is the same man who broke her heart over a decade ago. In spite of best laid plans, they find themselves falling head over hearts in this whimsical romantic comedy where opposites attract, sparks fly, and magical mayhem ensues.

Available September 25th – DON’T TOUCH MY PETUNIA, a new book in the Holloway Girls series by Tara Sheets.

Follow the tour and #enter to #win a signed paperback set of the first two books in the Holloway Girls series

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Title: Don’t Touch My Petunia

Author: Tara Sheets

Series: The Holloway Girls

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: September 25, 2018

Publisher: Kensington Zebra Shout

Print Length: 304 Pages

Formats: Print and Digital

Print ISBN: 978-1420146288

ASIN: B078QSSQMC

Pine Cove Island is the kind of enchanting place where anything is possible . . .

The Holloway women each have a special gift, passed down through generations, each one a little different. Juliette possesses a magical green thumb, which makes her job managing the local florist shop a dream. She may be a bit wild, but she knows what she wants: to save enough money to buy the shop from her boss. Then in marches Logan O’Connor, more annoyingly handsome than ever, turning all her plans upside down.

Logan hasn’t been back on Pine Cove Island since he was eighteen and broke Juliette’s teenage heart. Now it turns out he’s her boss’s nephew—and will be spending his days remodeling the shop and barking orders. At her.

For the sake of the business, Juliette will have to ignore their simmering attraction and work with Logan. But that doesn’t mean she has to make things easy for him. Because no one knows better than she that one tiny, perfectly planted bit of garden magic could uproot Logan’s own plans and keep him out of her way. And nothing would make her happier. At least that’s what she thinks . . .

Excerpt #1:

It was ten o’clock in the morning by the time Logan strolled in to work. Juliette tried to tell herself it didn’t matter; his job was his business. But that wasn’t entirely true. As the standing manager of Romeo’s Florist Shop, it was her responsibility to oversee everything that went on, which included the business of Romeo’s slow-moving, swaggering nephew.

“Nice of you to finally make it in,” she said when he came through the back door. She’d spent the morning swamped with customers and orders, and in the middle of it she’d had to deal with Logan’s lumberyard delivery all by herself.

He walked over to the coffeepot and poured himself a cup from the new machine. His face looked drawn, and there were dark shadows under his eyes.

Juliette crossed her arms and opened her mouth to speak, but Logan held up a hand.

“Before you start,” he said, “you should know that my answer to everything for the next five minutes is going to be ‘coffee.’”

“You should know that you’re late,” she tossed back. “We open at eight o’clock here.”

He raised his mug in salute and took a sip.

“The lumber company stopped by this morning at eight-thirty,” she continued, “and since you weren’t here, they started dumping all the supplies by the front walkway. And this time, the store was filled with customers.”

Logan leaned against the counter and regarded her with bloodshot eyes. He took another slow sip.

“What is wrong with you this morning?” she blurted. “You look like you drank one too many shots of tequila last night and had to crawl home on your lips.”

His mouth lifted at one corner as if he found her amusing.

“It’s not funny,” she said with growing annoyance. “You’re supposed to be here on time so you can handle all the remodel stuff.”

He closed his eyes and rubbed his face with one hand. “A friend kept me up all night.”

An image of the pretty blonde from the bonfire flashed across Juliette’s mind. She’d been wrapped around him like a human pretzel, and it hadn’t seemed to bother him.

Juliette bristled. “Look, if you want to party all night long with Suzy Sunshine, go right ahead. But you’re still expected to show up on time and get some actual work done here. The rest of us have to do our jobs. I’m sure Romeo wouldn’t be thrilled to know you were dragging in two hours late on your second day of work.”

Logan stopped with his cup halfway to his mouth. “Suzy Sunshine?”

“That girl from the barbeque.”

He frowned. “You mean Bella?”

“Whatever.” She wouldn’t know. Because she didn’t care.

“We weren’t partying,” he said casually. “Not all night, anyway. I wasn’t up for it.”

She had the sudden urge to throw something at him. Instead, she smiled sweetly. “Stamina problems, huh? Not a shocker. It’s your second day on the job and you can’t even keep up.”

Logan set his cup on the counter with a thud, an unspoken challenge in his eyes.

All Juliette’s nerve endings went on high alert. She suddenly felt like a rabbit in plain sight of a wolf.

His gaze slid lazily down her body in a sensual caress, then back up to linger on her mouth before meeting her eyes. “I have no problems keeping up, Juliette.” He drew her name out on his tongue like he could taste it. “I’d be happy to prove it to you, if you don’t believe me.”

Excerpt #2:

If a guy was going to fondle her petunias, the least he could do was act like he cared. Pawing at them with a big meaty ham fist while he stared absently out of her shop window was not cool.

Juliette Holloway frowned, swiping a lock of dark hair behind her ear. It was going to be a long day at Romeo’s Florist Shop, and she still had two more flower arrangements to put together before the morning rush.

She leaned over the counter and called across the room. “Excuse me.”

The guy messing with her petunia plant didn’t move or turn around. He had broad shoulders, and his head almost reached the top of the door frame. In jeans, a gray T-shirt, and a baseball cap, he looked like one of those NFL athletes—completely out of place surrounded by the delicate summer blooms and hanging fuchsia baskets.

She called again, louder. “Hello?”

Nothing. He just kept running a giant hand over the fragile purple flowers.

Juliette bristled. The plant was her newest project. Normally, she could make anything grow and thrive. Like all Holloway women before her, she was born with a special gift. Hers was garden magic. A customer had given her the potted petunia after rescuing it from an office cubicle. The poor thing had been halfway to the grave, but she’d nurtured it back to life. And now some linebacker was mauling it.

She marched across the room and tapped the man firmly on his back. It was a rock-hard, muscular back. He was probably one of those gym guys who spent all day pumping iron. “Can you please not touch that?”

He swung around and pulled an earbud out of his ear. Loud, thumping music spewed from his headset. Even with a baseball cap and mirrored sunglasses, he looked vaguely familiar. Strong jaw with a light stubble, high cheekbones, full lips. A tiny prickle of recognition tiptoed down her spine.

She gestured to the pot of flowers. “Please don’t touch my plant.”

He frowned and pulled the other earbud out. “What’s that?”

Juliette sighed. Gym rats. Brains in their biceps. She enunciated each word carefully. “Don’t. Touch. My petunia.”

His lips twitched. “I . . .”

She closed her eyes, ignoring the flush of embarrassment creeping up her cheeks. Way to set yourself up, genius. Maybe he didn’t notice.

“I’m not usually so forward.” His deep voice hovered on the edge of laughter.

Okay, so he noticed. Big whoop. Whoever he was, he was immature, and she didn’t have time for this. She grabbed the plant and turned away. The hem of her flowy skirt caught on the edge of a low shelf, and she yanked it free before escaping to the back counter.

“Have we met before?” he called.

She threw him a glance.

He gave her a slow smile that sent a jolt of physical awareness from the top of her head to the tips of her blue painted toenails. “I feel like I know you.”

For a pickup line, it was pretty bad. But he had a million-dollar smile and knew how to use it. The face. The superhero physique. All he needed was a cape or a giant hammer, or something. He probably didn’t have much practice with pickup lines because he didn’t need any.

He sauntered toward her.

There was something familiar about the way he walked—like he owned the world—but she couldn’t place him. When he reached the counter, she was glad to be on the other side. It wasn’t that she felt threatened. At five feet nine inches, she was comfortable with tall people. But this guy towered over her, and when he looked at her like that, it was . . . unsettling.

He took off the baseball cap and mussed his tawny hair.

Juliette sucked in a breath.

Then he removed the sunglasses and fixed her with a gaze as deep and dark as the earth after a rainstorm.

Something inside her cracked open, and a trickle of long-forgotten feelings threatened to bubble to the surface.

Logan.

She took an involuntary step back, trying to hide her surprise by leaning casually against the wall. Supercool. She was an iceberg of cool. Except she misjudged the distance to the wall and stumbled.

“That bad, huh?” His mouth kicked up at one corner.

More from the Holloway Girls series Don’t Call Me Cupcake Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | iTunes | Books-A-Million

About Tara Sheets:

TARA SHEETS is an award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Her work has earned first place recognition in literary contests nationwide and her debut novel, Don’t Call Me Cupcake, won the 2016 Golden Heart® award sponsored by Romance Writers of America®. Tara began her career as an author in the Pacific Northwest, inspired by the rain and the misty mountains and the rivers of Starbucks coffee. She now lives in the warm, wonderful South where she can stand outside with no coat on, and she finds that pretty inspiring too. When not writing, Tara enjoys life with her book-loving family and a book-eating dog named Merlin. She is represented by Sarah Phair at Trident Media Group.

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adambstingus · 6 years

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Cracked’s Holiday Gift Guide For Your Pals And Pets!

“The Holidays” Round One is over and now you’re slumped back at your desk, picking marshmallows off a glob of leftover yam casserole.

This is a time to reflect and appreciate the ones who really matter: the human and animal companions who somehow tolerate your nonsense and make your wretched time on this crumbling planet marginally bearable. You owe these fantastic creatures. Blow some quality cash on them this season. May we suggest:

FOR YOUR PALS

The Star Wars Freak