#flaskback time!

[rakiah]

Comic update! ✨

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[nataliaromanovasworld]

Through the Fire, Into Your Arms - Part 2

Through the Fire, Into Your Arms Masterlist

Through the Fire, Into Your Arms Backstory

Part 1

Summary: The avengers have taken you, saving you from Hydra but you are struggling with coming back to reality, believing what is real. Are you ever going to be normal again?

Warnings: mentions of past trauma, panic attack, sorta hydra flaskbacks.

w/c - 5.5k

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A couple of hours later, the room was still and quiet. The only sound was the distant hum of machines, a constant reminder of where you were but nothing more. You sat on the edge of the cot, knees pulled to your chest, staring at the pristine white wall in front of you. The storm of emotions had calmed, but what was left felt… empty. The raw confusion and fear that had once consumed you now sat like a heavy weight in your chest.

Wanda had left earlier, giving you the space you desperately needed, but it didn’t stop the unease that lingered in the back of your mind. The room, with its unfamiliar smells and sterile quiet, felt foreign, but not hostile. A stark contrast to the dark, metallic spaces of Hydra.

Hydra.

The thought made your hands tighten into fists as your mind tried to reconcile the pieces. Flashes of memory came in fits and starts: the cold cell, the faceless scientists, the missions that blurred together. But now, here? It didn’t make sense.

Why would anyone take me from Hydra? Why would anyone want to help?

The thoughts spiralled, the questions stacking on top of one another, threatening to drag you under again. A soft knock on the door interrupted your focus, pulling you back into the present.

You didn’t react, but your body tensed. The door opened quietly, and Wanda stepped in again. She moved carefully, her footsteps light as if not wanting to disturb the fragile calm you had found. You didn’t look at her directly, just stared at the floor, but you could feel her presence fill the room.

She didn’t speak immediately, sensing your hesitation, but her energy felt different this time – more personal, like she had something she needed to say.

“I know you don’t trust us yet,” Wanda began softly, keeping her voice low and non-threatening. “And it’s okay. I understand. Hydra… they do things to your mind that make it hard to see anything clearly.”

You didn’t respond, but your attention shifted to her, curious despite the lingering wariness.

“I know it’s hard because I’ve been where you are,” she continued, her voice even softer now. “I was with Hydra too, once.”

That caught your attention fully. Your eyes flicked up to meet hers, a mix of confusion and disbelief on your face. Her? She seemed so calm, so sure of herself. Hydra didn’t leave room for that.

Wanda must’ve noticed the shift in your expression because she stepped a little closer but kept a respectful distance. “My brother and I… we made the wrong decision and went to Hydra when we were young. They experimented on us, changed us. Madeus believe they were the only ones who could help us.” She paused, her eyes distant as if recalling painful memories. “They told us we had no other choice. That the world outside was cruel, and that we were safer with them. We didn’t know any better.”

You blinked, the words settling in slowly. Something about her tone, the weight of the truth in her voice, resonated with you. She really does understand.

“Just like they did with you,” Wanda continued, her gaze soft but steady. “They used you, made you think that was all there was. But it wasn’t. There’s so much more beyond them. I didn’t know that at first either.”

Your throat tightened, and you looked away, the confusion bubbling up again. “I don’t… I don’t understand,” you whispered, the words barely audible. “Everything they taught me… everything I was told… it doesn’t make sense.”

Wanda moved closer, her presence warm, but she didn’t push. “That’s what they do. They warp everything – your reality, your memories. It takes time to unravel that. But I promise you, you’re not with them anymore. You’re safe here.”

You shook your head, your voice cracking as you spoke. “But I don’t even know who I am anymore. I don’t know anything outside of… them.”

Wanda knelt down slowly, keeping her voice calm but firm. “You do know who you are. Hydra tried to take that from you, but they didn’t succeed. You survived, and that means something. You’re still here, still fighting. That’s who you are.”

The words hit you harder than you expected, stirring something deep inside. Part of you wanted to believe her, wanted to cling to the idea that you could be more than just what Hydra made you into. But the weight of everything you’d been through, everything you’d done, crushed that hope before it could take root.

“They used me… as a weapon,” you whispered, almost to yourself, the shame and guilt creeping into your voice. “I hurt people. How can I ever be… anything else?”

Wanda’s expression softened, a flicker of sadness passing through her eyes. “Hydra made you do those things. But they don’t define who you are. You didn’t choose this life, they forced it on you. And trust me, I know how that feels.”

You glanced at her, the raw emotion in her voice drawing you in. For the first time, you felt a connection – a thread of understanding between the two of you.

Wanda sighed, her eyes reflecting her own painful past. “I had to learn to forgive myself for the things Hydra made me do. It wasn’t easy. Sometimes it still isn’t. But you don’t have to do it alone. You have people here who will help you, who will stand by you.”

The weight of her words pressed down on you, making your breath hitch. Your mind swirled with fragments of memories, Hydra’s twisted lessons clashing with the gentleness of Wanda’s voice. It was too much – too many emotions at once. You couldn’t process it.

You tensed, feeling the familiar surge of panic clawing its way to the surface. Your breathing quickened, and the edges of the room began to blur again. Wanda noticed, her eyes widening with concern as she moved closer, but not too close.

“I’m here,” she whispered, her voice steady, almost like an anchor. “I won’t let them hurt you anymore. You’re safe. Just breathe.”

But the panic kept rising, and you couldn’t stop it. The fear, the anger, the confusion – it all blurred together until you felt like you were drowning.

Wanda hesitated for a moment, then gently reached out, her hand hovering near your shoulder, waiting for your response. You flinched at the touch, but she didn’t pull away. “It’s okay,” she said softly. “I’ve been there. Just breathe.”

Something in her voice, the calm certainty of it, cut through the panic, and you found yourself grounding in the sound. Slowly, reluctantly, you allowed her to guide you back, the tightness in your chest easing a little. You blinked, the fog in your mind lifting enough for you to catch your breath.

“Do you want to stay?” she asked gently.

You hesitated, your eyes flicking to the floor again. Part of you wanted to say no, to retreat back into the safety of isolation. But a bigger part, the part of you that longed for connection after all these years, didn’t want to be alone anymore.

Finally, you nodded, a small, barely noticeable movement, but enough for Wanda to understand.

She smiled softly and sat down a few feet away, giving you space but staying close enough for you to feel her presence. You didn’t speak after that, but the silence between you felt… different. Not threatening, not heavy with expectation. Just… peaceful.

The room had fallen into a comfortable silence between you and Wanda, the tension that had once been so overwhelming now a faint memory in the back of your mind. You were still sitting on the edges of the cot, knees pulled to your chest, but the knot in your stomach had loosened. Wanda remained close but gave you space, her presence calm, almost protective.

Just as the stillness began to feel natural, the door opened again with a soft creak. The sudden noise made your body jolt, the reflexive tension flooding back before you could stop it. Wanda immediately turned, her eyes narrowing in irritation as Tony and Natasha entered the room. Tony was his usual self, a mix of confidence and concern etched on his face, while Natasha’s approach was quieter, more deliberate.

Wanda’s glare could’ve cut through steel as she shot both of them a warning look. “I told you to give her space,” she hissed under her breath, her protective stance clear.

Tony opened his mouth to respond, but Natasha raised a hand, stopping him. “We just wanted to check in,” Natasha said softly, her voice low and careful, but you hardly registered the words.

The moment your eyes landed on her, the world around you seemed to blur at the edges. Her presence, her aura, drew you in almost instantly. Natasha moved with grace that you hadn’t seen before, her steps measured and confident. Your gaze traced the contours of her features – sharp but softened by an unexpected gentleness. Her fiery red hair framed her face, and her eyes… those piercing green eyes. There was something in them, something that made your heart stutter.

You couldn’t tear your eyes away from her.

The others in the room faded into the background as your focus narrowed, admiring the strength in her posture, the way her eyes seemed to hold a mixture of empathy and fire. It was safe. Her beauty was undeniable, but it was more than that. It was the way she carried herself, the silent strength in her every moment, and the calm in her gaze.

Wanda, noticing the shift in your demeanour, followed your gaze and glanced back at Natasha, her frustration softening slightly. She gave Tony a look that said, don’t ruin this.

Tony caught on quickly, his eyebrows raising slightly as he glanced between you and Natasha. He stepped back with a subtle nod, letting Natasha take the lead.

Natasha’s eyes flickered toward you, her expression softening as she took in your state. She didn’t move too quickly, just enough to let you know she wasn’t a threat. She stopped a few feet away, offering you the space to process without overwhelming you.

“Hey,” she greeted softly, her voice smooth and soothing in a way that settled something deep inside you. “I’m Natasha.”

Your heart pounded as you stared at her, unsure of what to say or even how to respond. There was a strange pull, an unfamiliar warmth that made you want to say something, anything, but the words won’t form. You stayed quiet, still lost in the way her eyes seemed to see through every layer of your confusion, but without judgement.

Wanda stayed silent beside you, her presence grounding, but you could feel her subtle encouragement for you to engage. Slowly, almost hesitantly, you nodded in response to Natasha’s greeting, your gaze never leaving hers.

Natasha took a careful step closer, her voice still soft. “You don’t have to talk if you’re not ready. I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

You swallowed hard, trying to find something to say, but your mind was a jumble of tangled thoughts. The panic from earlier had subsided, replaced by an unfamiliar fluttering in your chest. You had spent so long disconnected from everything, locked away from any semblance of normal interaction, and yet here she was – a presence so striking it made your head spin.

Natasha’s eyes softened even more as she studied you, her expression open and patient. “It’s okay,” she reassured you, her voice like a balm to your frayed nerves. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

You weren’t sure if you could believe that yet, but for the first time, the fear didn’t feel so consuming. Not with her here.

The silence that fell upon the room was short-lived. Tony, always the one to take control of a situation, stepped forward, a tablet in his hand and a stream of questions already forming on his lips.

“Okay, so let’s cut to the chase,” Tony started, his voice louder than it should’ve been in the fragile quiet. “We need to know some things. What do you remember about Hydra? How long were you with them? What’s the last mission you recall? What kind of programming did they use on you?”

The barrage of questions hit you like a wave, each one piling on top of the last before you could even think of an answer. Your breath hitched, and the world started closing in. The room felt too small, too bright, and the walls seemed to shift and press in closer.

You couldn’t focus. The words Tony spoke blurred together, overlapping, growing louder in your mind. Hydra. Mission. Programming. It all swirled in your head like a storm, bringing back flashes of memories you couldn’t control – dark corridors, harsh voices, orders you couldn’t disobey.

Your heart raced. Your breaths became shorter, sharper. Panic started clawing its way up your throat.

Wanda immediately noticed the change in your breathing, her gaze shifting to you in concern. “Tony, stop,” she said, her voice firm but calm. “She’s not ready for this.”

Tony paused, blinking at Wanda as if just realising the effect his questions were having. “I’m just trying to-“

“She’s overwhelmed,” Wanda cut him off, stepping toward you, her hands raised in a calming gesture as if to ease the tension she could feel rising in you. “You’re pushing too hard.”

But before Wanda could reach you, Natasha was already moving. She knelt in front of you, placing herself directly in your line of sight. Her calm green eyes locked onto yours, and suddenly, everything else – the questions, the panic, the noise – faded into the background.

“Hey, look at me,” Natasha’s voice cut through the chaos in your mind. Her hands gently cupped yours, grounding you in the moment. “You’re okay. I’m right here.”

Your breath hitched again, but you couldn’t look away from her. Her eyes held you, steady and unyielding, like an anchor in the middle of a storm. You focused on her voice, on the gentle strength of her touch. Slowly, the panic that had threatened to drown you began to subside.

“Just breathe,” Natasha instructed quietly. “In and out. Focus on me, not anything else.”

You nodded shakily, trying to follow her instructions. You took a breath, then another, and gradually, your erratic heartbeat started to slow. Natasha didn’t let go of your hands, didn’t move or speak more than necessary. She just stayed with you, her presence solid and unwavering.

Wanda watched, her eyes wide with both surprise and relief as she saw how quickly Natasha was able to ground you. Even Tony, who had been ready to continue with his questions, fell silent, watching the scene unfold with a mixture of awe and guilt.

After a few minutes, when your breathing had evened out and the tight grip of panic had loosened its hold on you, Natasha gave you a small, reassuring smile.

“You’re safe here,” she reminded you again, her voice never wavering. “No one’s going to hurt you. Not Hydra, not anyone.”

You blinked, still feeling the lingering edge of anxiety, but with Natasha so close, so steady, you felt… safer. Safer than you had in a long, long time.

Tony finally cleared his throat, guilt written across his face as he stepped back. “Right. Sorry about that. I, uh… didn’t mean to- “

Wanda shot him a look that could freeze lava before turning back to you. “We’ll take this slow. No more overwhelming questions.”

Natasha gave you another soft look before she stood up, her hand brushing your arm gently. “We’re here to help you, no matter how long it takes.”

Natasha and Wanda exchanged a quick glance, sensing that Tony’s approach had been too much too fast. Stepping forward, they positioned themselves closer to you, their presence gentler, less overwhelming.

Wanda spoke first, her voice soft and calming. “Let’s start simple, okay? We’re not going to rush anything. Can you tell us… do you know your name?”

You blinked, your mind sifting through fragments of information, pieces of your identity lost in the haze Hydra had left behind. For a moment, you stared at the floor, uncertain, as if searching for something that had been buried deep inside you for too long.

Natasha’s eyes never left yours, a flicker of concern passing over her features as you hesitated. The silence stretched on, and Wanda glanced at Natasha, unsure if they should push further. But then, you finally whispered.

“Y/n… Barnes.”

The air in the room changed instantly. Natasha’s eyes widened ever so slightly, and Tony, who had been standing off to the side, immediately straightened, his usual flippant demeanour vanishing as alarm bells started ringing in his mind.

“Barnes?” Natasha repeated softly, as if testing the name on her tongue. She shared a look with Wanda, both realising the weight of your words.

Tony, caught off guard, exchanged a quick glance with Natasha and Wanda. “Wait… Barnes? As in…” He stopped mid-sentence, suddenly connecting the dots. He hesitated for a beat before pressing further. “When were you born?”

You paused again, uncertainty clouding your expression. The memories were faint, like smoke slipping through your fingers. But the answer came to you – one of the few things Hydra hadn’t erased.

“1920,” you murmured, your voice so quiet it was almost drowned out by the hum of the machines.

Natasha’s brows furrowed, but she remained calm, her face carefully neutral as she absorbed your words. Wanda’s hand twitched, and even she couldn’t hide the shock completely.

Tony, however, wasn’t as composed. “1920? That would make you…” He trailed off, his eyes widening. “Your Bucky’s sister?”

A heavy silence fell over the room. They all exchanged looks – disbelief, confusion, realisation – and suddenly, it all clicked into place. Bucky’s little sister, the one Steve had mentioned in passing long ago, the one who had disappeared and announced dead without any records.

Natasha’s eyes softened as she crouched down in front of you, her tone gentle but urgent. “Y/n, listen to me. Your brother – Bucky – he’s alive. He’s here. And he’s been trying to figure out what happened to you.” Her voice was calm, but her words carried the weight of something far more significant.

Your mind reeled, the name, the memories, the truth too much to process. Bucky – alive?

Wanda knelt beside Natasha, her presence warm and reassuring. “We’re going to help you Y/n. We’ll help you find your way back,” she promised, her voice soothing.

But all you could do was stare at them, the revelation crashing over you in waves, each more overwhelming than the last.

Bucky. The brother you had lost. The brother you had thought was dead.

Alive.

And now they were telling you that you had been missing all these years – that somehow, your past had been taken from you.

Natasha kept her gaze locked on yours, her touch steady and grounding as she softly whispered, “You’re safe here Y/n. Breathe, okay? Just stay with me.” Her presence was calm, reassuring, but you could feel the storm of emotions swirling inside again, threatening to overwhelm you. Your mind couldn’t reconcile what she had just told you – Bucky was alive.

Wanda, sensing the tension building, stood up from where she knelt beside you and turned toward Tony. Her expression was firm but laced with urgency. “Tony,” she said, her voice low and commanding, “go get Bucky.”

Tony blinked, also still processing the revelation. “Wanda, are you sure that’s a good-“

“Yes,” she cut him off, her voice sharp, but she kept her tone steady, glancing between Natasha and you, seeing how fragile the situation was becoming. “She needs him. If anyone can help her, it’s Bucky.”

Tony hesitated for only a moment, glancing at Natasha, who nodded subtly in agreement. “Alright,” he muttered under his breath, before heading quickly out of the room.

As the door clicked shut behind him, Wanda crouched back down beside you, her expression softening once more. “Y/n, we’re going to bring Bucky here. I know it’s a lot, but I promise, you’re not alone anymore.”

Your breath hitched at the thought of seeing him again – your brother, the one you had thought you’d lost so long ago. But everything was still a blur, confusion tightening its grip on your chest. Natasha’s hand on yours kept you grounded, but the thoughts in your head continued to spiral.

“What if…” Your voice cracked, barely above a whisper, “What if I don’t remember him?”

Natasha’s thumb gently brushed over your knuckles. “It doesn’t matter if you remember everything right now or not. He’s your brother. He’ll help you. We all will.”

You wanted to believe her, but fear gnawed at the edges of your mind. The years you had spent in Hydra’s control had left deep scars, not just on your body but on your soul. Would Bucky even recognise you after all this time? Would you recognise him?

Wanda’s hand gently rested on your shoulder, her touch warm and calming. “It’s going to be okay Y/n,” she said softly. “He’s been looking for you for a long time. He never gave up on you.”

The weight of her words hung in the air, heavy but comforting. The idea that Bucky has been searching for you all this time, through everything, made your chest tighten with emotion. You swallowed hard, trying to keep the tears from spilling over.

Natasha leaned in a little closer, her voice barely above a whisper now. “We’ll be right here with you, okay? You’re not facing this alone.”

You nodded slowly, trying to steady your breathing, though your mind was still racing with questions, with memories – fragments of a life you had almost forgotten.

As the room fell into an uneasy silence, your mind drifted. The white walls blurred into a haze as memories, too many to handle, began creeping up. You tried to hold onto something real, but the images of your past, of Hydra, started taking over – filling the empty spaces in your head with noise. You could feel yourself slipping, slowly being pulled back into the dark place you thought you’d left behind.

But Natasha’s touch on your hand kept you anchored. The gentle rhythm of her thumb stroking your knuckles was the only thing tethering you to the present, keeping you from drowning in your memories. It was a lifeline, subtle but steady, like a pulse reminding you that you were here. Not with Hydra. Not trapped.

Wanda, sensing the storm brewing inside you, felt every surge of panic and fear coursing through your veins. She could feel how close you were to losing yourself in the past again. Without saying a word, she sent a thought to Natasha, her mind brushing against the assassin’s carefully guarded one.

“She’s slipping away, Nat. I can feel it. You have to keep her here.”

Natasha didn’t flinch, her expression unchanging, but her grip on your hand tightened just slightly. “I know. I’ve got her. Just make sure Bucky’s ready. This is going to be hard on her.”

Wanda glanced at the door, knowing Tony was bringing Bucky in any moment. “We need to be careful. Her mind’s fragile right now. The smallest thing could trigger her…”

Before Natasha could respond, the door slid open quietly, and Bucky stepped in, looking confused, uncertain – his brow furrowed as his gaze swept the room. He looked tired, like he hadn’t slept in days, and his eyes landed on you. His heart seemed to stop for a second, his breath catching in his throat. It was you. After all these years. You were really here. How didn’t he recognise you earlier?

Your eyes snapped up at the sound of his footsteps, locking onto him with a sudden intensity. The moment you saw his face, something inside you shattered. Tears filled your eyes, and for a brief, fleeting moment, you felt the familiar bond – the brother you had lost, the only family you had left.

But then the doubt came crashing in.

He’s not real.

He’s a Hydra trick.

Hydra had twisted your mind, trained you to question everything, even the things you held most dear. Even Bucky, especially Bucky.

Wanda felt the panic spike before you even reacted. She quickly moved to Bucky, pulling him to the side before he could approach you further. “Bucky, wait,” she whispered urgently. “You need to be careful. Hydra did things to her mind, to her memories… Worse than you experienced. She doesn’t know what’s real right now.”

Bucky’s eyes widened, a deep pain settling in his chest. “What… what do you mean? She doesn’t recognise me?”

“She does,” Wanda said softly, her gaze flicking to you. “But she’s afraid you’re not real. Hydra made her believe in illusions, made her question everything.”

Meanwhile, Natasha could feel you slipping further into your panic. She moved closer, keeping her voice low, soothing, as she spoke directly into your ear. “Y/n, breathe. Stay with me. Look at me.” Her hand remained on yours, grounding you, while the other gently brushed some hair away from your face. “Bucky’s real. You’re safe. No one’s going to hurt you.”

But your breathing hitched, panic rising as your thoughts spiralled out of control. He’s fake. He’s a Hydra trick. They’re trying to use him against me.

Bucky, his heart breaking at the sight of you struggling to breathe, looked to Natasha with desperate eyes. “What do I do?” he asked, his voice barely holding back tears.

Wanda placed a hand on his arm. “She needs time. She’s been through to much. Just… approach her slowly. Don’t overwhelm her.”

Bucky nodded, his throat tight with emotion. He took a deep breath, trying to keep himself steady, and slowly approached, each step careful. His eyes never left yours, soft and full of love, even though his heart was breaking inside.

But the closer he got, the more you panicked. You shook your head, tears streaming down your face, your chest heaving as the air seemed to leave your lungs.

“No… no, you’re not real. You’re not real,” you whispered, your voice trembling with fear. “This is a trick. Hydra’s playing a trick.”

Natasha leaned in closer. “Y/n, listen to me. It’s not a trick. This is real. He’s real. You have to trust us.”

But you couldn’t. You couldn’t make sense of it, the fear Hydra had planted too deep, too strong. Bucky too another step closer, his own tears shining in his eyes, but he didn’t try to touch you yet. “Y/n,” he whispered, his voice cracking. “It’s me. It’s really me. I’ve been looking for you for so long…”

Your mind screamed at you that this wasn’t real. That Hydra had made this up, just like they had so many times before. Your breath came in ragged gasps, your body trembling with the effort of keeping it all together.

Nataha moved her hand to your cheek, gently turning your face to hers. “Look at me Y/n,” she said, her voice steady and sure. “You can do this. You’re stronger than this. Just breathe with me. In… and out.”

You struggled, fighting the panic clawing at your chest, but slowly, with Natasha’s calm presence grounding you, you managed to take a shaky breath. Then another.

Bucky watched, his heart still breaking for you, but he stayed where he was, waiting, not pushing.

Natasha’s voice was soft but firm as she guided your breathing, her hand still on your cheek, keeping you anchored to the present. You tried to match her rhythm, each breath shaky but slowly becoming more even. The storm inside your mind, though still raging, began to quiet just enough to let some clarity break through.

“That’s it,” Natasha murmured, her green eyes steady as they held yours. “You’re okay. Just stay with me. Focus on my voice. In… and out.”

You clung to her words like a lifeline, trying to block out everything else – Bucky’s presence, the overwhelming flood of memories threatening to drown you, the constant fear that this was all some elaborate trick by Hydra. But the softness in Natasha’s tone, the way her hand brushed so gently against your skin – it was real. She was real. For now, that was enough.

Tears welled in your eyes as the tension in your body began to release, the weight of everything too much to bear. You shook your head, trying to push away the confusion, the fear, the disbelief that any of this could be true. But it was too much. Your body trembled, the dam holding back years of pain and fear and hopelessness finally breaking.

Natasha didn’t say anything more, sensing the floodgates had opened. She simply pulled you closer, her arms wrapping around you in a gentle but secure embrace, holding you as if she could shield you from the world.

That was all it took.

You collapsed into her arms, sobbing uncontrollably, your body shaking with the force of it. The years of isolation, the torture, the mind control, the constant feeling of being lost – it all poured out of you in that moment. Natasha didn’t let go, didn’t pull away, even as your tears soaked into her shirt. She just held you tighter, murmuring quiet reassurances into your hair, grounding you with her presence.

“It’s okay. Let it out. I’ve got you.”

Your fingers gripped onto her shirt as if letting go would mean being swept away by the tide of emotions threatening to pull you under again. But in her arms, for the first time in so long, you felt… safe. Safe to let yourself feel, safe to break down.

Wanda, standing nearby, watched with a mixture of sadness and empathy. She could feel the pain radiating off you in waves, every ounce of anguish you’d been holding onto finally surfacing. Her own memories of Hydra stirred within her, but she pushed them aside, focusing on you.

As Bucky stood frozen, watching his little sister break down in front of him, Wanda gently placed a hand on his arm, stopping him from moving forward. “Give her time,” she whispered softly. “She’s been through too much… right now, Natasha’s the only thing keeping her grounded.”

Bucky nodded, his jaw clenched tight as he fought the urge to run to you, to pull you into his arms like he used to when you were both kids. But this wasn’t the past. The sister he knew had been twisted by Hydra, her memories fractured, her trust shattered. It would take time to rebuild that bond.

Natasha continued to hold you, her hands rubbing soothing circles on your back as your sobs slowly began to subside. Your body, exhausted from the flood of emotion, sagged against her, and you buried your face in her shoulder, your breathing still uneven but quieter now.

“Shh… you’re okay,” Natasha whispered, her voice as calm as ever, though you could hear the underlying warmth in her tone. She didn’t push you to speak, didn’t ask you to explain what was going on inside your head. She just let you cry, let you feel everything you had been holding in for years.

Minutes passed in silence, the only sound in the room, the quiet hum of machines and your ragged breathing as you tried to collect yourself. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, your tears slowed, and you pulled back slightly, just enough to meet Natasha’s gaze.

Her eyes were soft, full of understanding and something else – something warm and safe that made you feel like maybe, just maybe, things could be okay again. She reached up and gently brushed a tear from your cheek with her thumb.

“You did good,” she said softly. “You’re stronger than you think.”

You swallowed hard, still feeling raw and exposed from the emotional release, but something about her words made you feel lighter. You didn’t have to be strong all the time. Not here. Not with her.

As you tried to catch your breath, Natasha continued to rub gentle circles on your back, her touch steady and reassuring. “You’re safe now,” she whispered. “You’re not alone anymore.”

Your heart clenched at those words. Not alone. You’d been alone for so long – trapped, manipulated, isolated. But here, in Natasha’s arms, it didn’t feel so lonely anymore.

Wanda gave Natasha a silent nod of approval before stepping back, giving the two of you space. She could sense that, for now, Natasha was the one who could reach you, the one who could keep you from slipping back into the darkness.

Bucky, standing near the door, wiped away a tear of his own as he watched the scene unfold. His heart ached, but seeing you in Natasha’s arms, finding even a small amount of comfort, gave him hope.

You weren’t fully back yet, not by a long shot. But in that moment, with Natasha’s steady presence beside you, it felt like the beginning of something – something fragile, but real.

And for the first time in a long time, you allowed yourself to believe that maybe, just maybe, you weren’t lost forever.

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Taglist: @alexawynters

[nonhumanhottie]

Rebel season 4 rewatch

Wolves and a door

I'm already so close to the end what

Zeb is so cute and silly around the wovles lmao

the sound chopper makes when the wolve grabs him oh my gOD

The flaskbacks mess me up man

Sneaky thrawn holo

I like how at this time the Andor show is dealing with what an indivual can do in an uprise and Rebels is about magic and time travel

PALPATINE

he's so mad that he doesn't know what's going on with Lothal

Hera can't even see Kanan but she knows he's there literally i'm gonna die

there they are!! the father the son the daughter!

the music is so old school star wars

the troopers fucking bouncing off the walls

Ezra you a big storm coming baby

bitch this is peak star wars

[hauntedheroines]

James & Sarah ♫

(ಥ◡ಥ)

Anon, you are my favorite type of person. I've a playlist for Flawed, but I'm taking only my four most fitting examples:

Mr. Brightside - The Killers

Jealousy Turning saints into the sea Swimming through sick lullabies Choking on your alibis But it's just the price I pay Destiny is calling me Open up my eager eyes 'Cause I'm Mr. Brightside

"Coming out of my cage and I've been doing just fine" - I do have a sense that James was good at pretending he was normal around his friends and wished for that kind of normality. He was out there hanging out, working, even finding a girlfriend before Sarah was, so you'd think that he was emancipating too. I think he was trying to and believe he could add things like friends and a girlfriend to his life so that his entire world wouldn't revolve around Sarah and their house and his mind wouldn't be so fucked up.

But the interesting thing is that, even while James was putting himself out there, he did not allow Sarah the same privilege and, as soon as she forces her own emancipation, his mental state starts to gradually decline. It becomes too real: yeah, one day you and your sister will split up.

Now to other lines of the song: literally, everything started going downhill after James kissed Sarah.

It was just a kiss, Sarah. It's no big deal.

The once soothing childhood lullaby now a sick reminder of their codependency. James hearing Sarah's lies while she was seeing Sam.

The fact that James, more than Sarah, had to bear the consequences of growing up in an abusive environment - that the siblings tried to escape the cycle, but replicated their parent's toxic behavior to an extent. That James' ending was nothing more than what was destined to happen since the day his parents unknowingly designated him as his sister's protector. Sarah was outgrowing the past and becoming her own person - James could not.

How James endured with the thought that one day it would be just his sister and him, that his idea of happiness as a young adult was the same as when he was a boy. He was still that eager boy, waiting for the moment when the pain would go away, always hoping.

Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper

Sometimes you picture me I'm walking too far ahead You're calling to me I can't hear what you've said Then you said: Go slow, I fall behind

"Promise to never leave me."

I'm always taken aback by the fact that although James romantic interest was unrequited, their love was mutual. Accordingly, their imminent separation causes hurt and confusion for Sarah as much as it does for James. Both believed, all their lives, that it would be them against the world until Sam stepped in.

"That's your whole problem - you and James don't know where he ends and you begin."

I think this song skips between James and Sarah's POV about the present, past and the unknown future. I imagine Sarah looking through the window of Sam's bedroom, worried about her brother, as James is laying awake in his bed streets away, imagining his sister as she slips away to somewhere he can't follow, both flaskbacking through memories.

Yes, time after time. But times have changed.

Hoax - Taylor Swift

My only one My smoking gun My eclipsed Sun This has broken me down My twisted knife My sleepless night My winless fight This has frozen my ground

My enclipsed sun -- please don't take my sunshine away. They have hold on to a plan to escape the hell they lived in. Sarah changed that and, just with a sleight of hand, nothing made sense anymore.

"I don't know who I am without you. I don't want to. I need you more than Sam does, but you don't need me. God, it hurts." "Tell me you're not with him. Tell me and I'll believe it."

My winless fight, my barren land - fighting to keep Sarah by his side was pointless, even if she did chose to stay by the end. Neither should act out on anything other than fraternal love. Keeping her was farming a barren land: the fruits he wished for would not grow. Which is the reason why she is "the only shade of blue" Jaime's wishes for. He would rather have half-a-Sarah than no Sarah at all.

I'm Your Puppet- Gregory and the Hawk

I'm your puppet I'll learn to love it And I'll undress If you need it But please don't need it If you need it I'll scream out

The last stanza is James. The first two stanzas are Sarah. I cant' find the words to describe this song right now. It hurts so bad.

"Why can't I be enough? I wanna be enough so fucking bad."

I had to make a full hands on analysis because I can never talk enough about this book. It breaks my heart everytime.

Send me a ♫ with the name of a ship and I’ll tell you a song that fits them perfectly

[garebearandnan]

A Ballerina's Last Dance

Throughout this Love Island S2 fanfiction story there will be an occassional flaskback memory. As the story continues each flashback will disclose it's relationship to the storyline and the character(s) development.

From the tender age of five, Grace Adamson dreamed of being a prima ballerina for The Royal Ballet. But today, Grace couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that something more important than turning 14 and her ballet performance was going to happen. Her life was about to change course.

Sittingbourne, Kent (2011)

Bedroom

Grace said she didn't really want or need her grandparents to do anything extravagant for her birthday. Even so, they wanted to do something special for her. They woke up much earlier than her and immediately went to the kitchen to prepare her favourite breakfast: pancakes, crepes, a veggie omelette, and cantaloupe, along with freshly squeezed OJ. The last thing they prepared was a cuppa tea. There was maybe a little too much food, but it was her birthday, and her mum was not here in Sittingbourne this weekend. James, her grandad, grabbed the tray, following behind her nan, Isabelle, as they proceeded upstairs to the bedroom.

"We're going on three..." Isabelle murmured as she came to a halt in front of the door to Grace’s bedroom.

James sighed. "Do we really need to?"

Isabelle just smiled and said, "One, two, three!" She held the door open for James to step into the room with the tray of food.

She tapped Grace’s shoulder and said, Gracie, love, it’s morning."

Grace smelled something delicious and gently sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Ugh, what time is it?" She asked, yawning and stretching, "Did my alarm go off?"

"Oh, it hasn't gone off yet; don't worry. But..." Isabelle helped James settle the breakfast tray onto the bed, smiling lovingly at their granddaughter. "Happy fourteenth birthday!"

"Oh, you didn’t have to do so much!" Her eyes lit up at all the food on the tray. "Wow, thank you; this is amazing." She smiled, drinking some of the tea and then eating a few bites of cantaloupe. "I love you two."

"We love you too, Gracie." Her grandmother placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Well, your grandmother insisted." As he perched on the edge of the bed beside her, James grinned and ran his fingers through Grace’s untidy, wavy hair. "Wishing you a happy birthday, sweet pea."

Her nan smiled as she said, "Everything here your grandad helped make too! With the exception of the fruits and tea, of course."

Grace gave them a loving smile. She squealed after taking a taste of the omelette. "It's all fantastic! You ought to have some! I doubt I'll be able to finish everything on my own. And I have to dance later." She stabbed the omelette with her fork. "Here." Grace knew that if she wanted to be a professional ballerina, she'd have to eat well and stick to a rigorous fitness plan in order to do the demanding routines. The majority of the professional ballerinas she met have the most beautiful bodies in the world. But it was her special day, so she decided to splurge a little.

Isabelle only smiled and leaned in close, opening her mouth as her granddaughter fed her a bite of eggs. "Mmm... that is good."

"You, too, Grandad." She took up another chunk with her fork and offered it to him this time.

"Ah, don’t worry about me. I’m not hun-" James was interrupted by his own stomach’s growling. Snacking on a few strawberries and nothing else as they prepared everything else had hardly filled him enough.

"Please, grandad, there is way too much food."

He sighed and opened his mouth just like his wife did, letting her feed him.

"So?" asked Isabelle.

James looked at his wife of 43 years. "Your food is always good, you know that." Isabelle huffs and rolls her eyes playfully at her husband. 

"You're so adorable." Grace pinched his cheek.

"I think you’re cuter." James kissed his granddaughter's forehead. "You're getting prettier every day. You look just like your nan when she was your age. The first time I laid eyes on your Nana, my heart was hers. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen." James gave his wife a cheeky wink.

Isabelle giggled and smiled fondly at her husband,saying, "James, you charmer. I can never stay annoyed at you."

Grace didn’t know how much her family had planned for that day, besides her afternoon dance performance. But it didn’t matter if it was a lot or just a little. Because waking up in her loving grandparents' home was enough to make it possibly one of the best birthdays.

Bathroom

Grace moved to the full-length mirror in her bathroom to see if her appearance had changed. Nothing has changed. Same round face. Same wild wavy, brown hair. Boobs are still small. Maybe I'm asking for too much! I'm only fourteen! She turned to look at her bum. Her green eyes widened. Has it gotten more round? She turns to the side. Am I more attractive now? Oh my days, Grace. Such a weirdo I am!

She made her way to the shower, hoping the hot water would soothe her worries. For a few minutes, the hot shower does. She knew she was nervous, as always before a performance. When she performs on stage, all eyes are on her, and it can be nerve-racking. Grace was a natural at ballet and was very passionate about it, training at least 2 hours a day, four to five days a week. Oh, no, what if I stumble and freeze? She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself by inhaling and exhaling slowly.

London Children’s Ballet (spring performance)

Back stage

Grace got to the theatre early, taking a spot at the lip of the stage in her tights, leotard, and a pair of long leg warmers pulled all the way up her thighs. She started her warmup routine to stretch all the areas she was going to use while dancing today. As she continued doing stretches to loosen up, the other dancers arrived in the theatre auditorium. Leaning down and putting her right foot on the edge of the stage, she stretched her right hamstring as she bent her upper body forward to lean into her leg. She then bent to the side over her leg and stretched her arm overhead. She took the arch of her foot in her hand and extended her leg in front of and to the side of her body. She let her leg down, swinging her leg forward and back to loosen up her hip, and switched to the other side.

After Grace finished her warm-up exercises, she went backstage to the dressing area. She squinted her eyes as she looked at herself in the dressing room mirror. The bags were still prominent underneath her eyes up close. She sighed heavily, lowering her head. She was nervous. It definitely wasn't her first time, as she began ballet lessons when she was around four, but she couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that something important was happening today other than her turning fourteen and this ballet performance.

With her stage makeup complete and dressed in a beautiful ballerina costume, she looked at herself in the full-length mirror. She turned to the side to make sure her white beaded tiara headpiece was secure in her tight ballet bun. She ran her hand down the white bodice and twirled to admire her costume (tutu). She felt like a beautiful swan; the white bodice was embellished with beads and sequin applique, and the romantic length tutu was made out of several layers of white tulle, embellished with sequins and beads, and a wing-shaped piece of lace.

Grace quickly untied her pointe shoes, removing her feet so they could cool down and she could massage her sore foot. She used a foot roller and her hands to roll out the muscles in her left foot. After a few moments, she put her pointes back on and re-tied her ribbons to make her feet feel tighter and more secure. 

A Ballerina Performs

The view from the stage is breathtaking—sparkling crystals adorn the balconies and ceiling. Grace had butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she awaited her turn. She turns to the stage to watch as eight girls in two rows stand in fifth position, with the heel and toes of one foot directly in front of and adjacent to the toe and heel of the other. Grace sighed at the exquisite sight of the girls dressed in white against a sky-blue backdrop. She smiled brightly and flashed a little wave to the girls. A number of them smiled back, and her bestie Kate gave her a thumbs up.

The lights dim, and the midnight blue curtain rises. They all rise up onto pointe, their arms forming halos above their heads, still in fifth position. Then each steps out and bends into a plié. The dancers take off on the first note of the music with basic ballet moves. The choreography includes a variety of movements. They continue dancing outward from the centre, travelling sideways as they do their first ballet jump, a small pas de chat.

This was not how the 15-year-old teen boy had planned to spend his Saturday afternoon, but his grandmother insisted that he attend his cousin Millie's ballet performance. He had complained to his nan, that he didn’t understand why he had to see his cousin's ballet performance! His nan told him to stop complaining and 'that a little culture was good for the soul’. He just rolled his eyes. He'd rather be playing video games with his best mate, or fiddling around in the garage. Anything but this. She also made him wear a white button-down and black trousers. She laid out a tie, but he purposefully forgot it at home.

The music changes, and the performance begins with a solo violinist. On stage, the spotlight shone down on a lone ballerina. His eyes widened in astonishment as he looked up from his phone. At first, the melody was slow, and the ballerina gracefully lifted her hands over her head and glided in lengthy, delicate steps while keeping her toes pointed. The teenage boy sat up straighter to get a better look. Wow, she’s a fit bird. The ballerina, wearing a costume of pure white, danced with such grace and elegance that she reminded him of a white swan. She was a vision of perfection. His mouth went dry, and his heart picked up tempo.

Grace swiftly moved her legs forward, backward, and to the side without losing her balance. She took a deep breath. Her movements were slow and steady. She smiled internally as she completed the grand adage.

He was mesmerized by the way the young, beautiful dancer's muscles moved as she went from one move to the next and by how her arms and legs showed both grace and incredible strength. The music picked up the tempo as other instruments joined the violinist. The ballerina's movements became quicker and shorter, but she remained graceful and stunning.

Grace had to really concentrate now as it was a faster, more difficult sequence: relevés (rising up to pointe without pliéing), cambré (bends backward), penché (forward bends), and arabesques three times in a row.

During the climax, two violins begin playing at different speeds. With every fluid bend and twist of her lean frame, Grace executed perfect turns, bends, and jumps, landing softly and quietly. She paused briefly before beginning her final movement. She had spent hours executing it and knew it required a lot of balance and control to pull off. She was overjoyed as she glided gracefully across the stage floor, pirouetting perfectly. 

At the conclusion of the ballet, the music stopped while the curtains were drawn back, and the lights returned to the main theatre. The whole ballet school was lined up backstage for the curtain call, the littlest dancers first. As each class paraded onto the stage to a louder and louder ovation, the beautiful ballerina returned to the stage to take a bow. Even her bows were graceful. The teenage boy was on his feet, joined by the rest of the audience in a standing ovation.

He suddenly felt silly for having such an emotional reaction, but then he noticed his aunt wiping tears from her face. "That was beautiful," she said.

"Indeed. That ballerina wasn’t half bad," his grandmother agreed.

The grandson scowled. She was better than ‘not half bad’. The bird was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

Backstage

After a quick cooldown, the dancers disperse. Grace's dance instructor, Nathalia, was extremely proud of her performance. She knew Grace was a very talented young dancer, so graceful and competent on the dance floor. "Wow, hun, that was brilliant!"

Grace beams with delight, her blush settling gently on her cheeks in response to the compliment. "Miss Nathalia, you say that every time you see me perform."

"Well, Grace, it's simply that you're... so," the ballet teacher muses.

The girl interrupts and says with a cheeky grin, "Graceful?"

"Nice one, darling," Miss Nathalia said, smirking. "Seriously now, Grace, your pirouette and grand jeté were flawless. You have so much talent and potential. It’s up to you now what you want to do with your talent."

Grace beamed at her. "Oh wow, thank you. Without your support and instruction, I would not be where I am. When I grow up, I want to be just like you."

Nathalia gave her a warm embrace. For the past two years of ballet competitions and stage performances, Grace has remained very modest and sweet. "Grace, don’t you have places to be and people to see?" Grace gives her another quick hug and leaves in search of her family.

Vestibule

At the end of the performance, the guests gathered either in the main auditorium or in the vestibule to greet and congratulate the performers. 

"Tonight was a lot better than I expected," one of the cousins confessed to the group. as they waited for Millie to join them. The hair on his arms suddenly stood on end. The vision he had seen on stage walked past him as gracefully as she had on stage. His eyes followed her every movement.

Grace looked around the vestibule for any of her family. Maybe they were using the loo or getting a refreshment. She continues searching for her family. Where are they? She is bumped from behind, and her bouquet slips out of her hand and onto the floor. "Dad gum it," she snips loudly.

He picks up the bouquet before it touches the floor. He chuckled and remarked, in a cheeky Cockney accent, "Well, that ain't one I've heard before." He's chuffed to bits to run into the pretty ballerina. Her lilt is hard to distinguish, but it is very alluring. She turned around to see a lean boy her age holding her bouquet with a cheeky, lopsided grin on his face.

"Oh, I—" she says, embarrassed, flushing the cutest shade of pink he has ever seen. She looks up, staring into the loveliest blue eyes she has ever seen behind thick optical frames. He was tall, well, taller than her, maybe 5'10. She glanced down to see his white button-down was half untucked from his trousers, and his tie was loose.

He couldn't take his gaze away from her lovely face. He had never seen a more beautiful girl before. Her green eyes were mesmerising. She had beautiful, flawless skin, a perfect nose, and plush red lips. His gaze lingers on her luscious lips, wondering what they would be like to taste. He feels a strange fluttery feeling in his stomach. When he looks up, he sees a mischievous gleam in her eyes. His heart raced when she bit her lower lip. He was becoming a melt over a bird whose name he didn’t even know.

As he handed her back the flowers, he allowed his fingertips to lightly brush against hers. Her eyes widened as she gasped and parted her lips as goosebumps trailed up her arm. He couldn’t help but zone out for a moment, and then she graced him with a dazzling smile that knocked him sideways before he remembered to breathe.

His face lit up, and his pulse picked up. "Alri-"

One of the boy's younger cousins cuts him off by pulling on his sleeve. "Stop chirpsing on the pretty bird. Nan says we have to leave now." His cousin giggles. His mouth fell open, and he flushed a deep pink colour.

Grace’s eyes widened, and she blushed again. He met her beautiful green eyes one more time before he shifted uncomfortably and suddenly looked bashful. He follows his cousin, letting out a long, deep sigh. He disappeared into the crowd before she could thank him.

Thank you, Blue Eyes.

'A Bit of Me' Full story on https://archiveofourown.org/works/37544638/chapters/96524280

Flashack 2 coming soon.

[seikkoh]

Welcome everyone to: my haikyuu phase is back (it was never a phase)

ALRIGHT SO NO SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE RN

The movie should've been a whole season fr BUT it was still amazing.

I LOVED IT AHHHHHH I WANT TO WATCH IT AGAIN

The animation doesn't disappoint and god I swear it felt like only an episode, it went by so fast 😭 it was kinda rushed though but that's what I expected. Still, I was at the edge of my seats many times, the rallies were so good it felt like a real match. And ngl I got emotional at the end LMAO I felt the tears and I was wearing makeup so it got ruined but whatever, it was worth it.

I do wish it was more emotional, I mean I know we joke a lot about the monologues and the amount of flashbacks there are but I kind of missed them lol. Idk, the movie should've taken it easy and relax sometimes, gives us time to at least feel Hinata's and Kenma's feelings (especially Hinata's, he's the mc after all), but that's honestly my only complaint, and even so, I seriously enjoyed it. Hopefully the next movie lasts longer

It was sad the there weren't any freebies, or cardboards or posters though :(

BUT ANYWAY I NEED TO TALK ABOUT EACH SCENE SO SPOILERS INCOMING (ONLY FOR THE ANIME I DONT REMEMBER MUCH OF THE MANGA SO IM NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT)

The rallies were amazing. Those in which the ball went from one side of court to the other non-stop??? Like, Nekoma was amazing with their saves and so was Karasuno.

And the Kenma and Kuroo flashbacks 😭😭😭 I LOVE THEM SO MUCH I wish I have a childhood friendship like them.

AND BOKUTO MY BOY He was amazing like always, cheering on Hinata and Tsuki. It was funny to see Bokuto, Tsuki and Kuroo "together" again, really missed their friendship/rivalry. AND THAT SCENE WHEN BOKUTO AND KUROO CHANGED THEIR HAIRSTYLES HAHAHBAHAHAHAH I LOVE THEM SM.

THE TSUKI AND YAMAGUCHI SCENE AAAAHHHHHHH YES YAMAGUCHI YOU GOT THIS‼️‼️‼️ Me and Tsuki are his cheer squad.

I wanted to hug Hinata so bad when Nekoma was going against him and were trying to stop his crazy jumps. He looked so frustrated and tired. That set from Kageyama mirrored the "take it easy" recieve from season 4 and it was what Hinata needed. A high set that gives you time to breathe, time to relax, time to think. And his "bam" jump was INCREDIBLE, and the way his eyes sparkled when he saw the set???? Ugh I love him so much. Loved all the Hinata and Kageyama scenes, their banter is always fun to see.

AND THE KENMA POV HOLY SHIT PLS MAKE MORE OF THOSE. That whole sequence had me at the edge of my sit, the way you could see Lev (or I think it was him? Idk) blocking, how Kenma clashed with him, then running after the ball, the receives, the other players, IT WAS BREATHETAKING I need one of these scenes but from Hinata's or Kageyama's pov. Both if possible 🙏🙏🙏

The way Kenma and Hinata were like "I don't want this to end" I DIDN'T WANT IT TO END EITHER THAT MOVIE SHOULD'VE BEEN ETERNAL.

THE POST CREDIT SCENE ‼️‼️‼️ HOSHIUMI IS HERE EVERYONE AAAAAAA AND THAT ALSO MEANS MY BOY SACHIRO IS NEXT IM SO READY FOR THE KAMOMEDAI MATCH

10/10 movie I wish it was longer and I may be biased but I don't care, I had a blast watching it.

Now, time to read the manga. I want to see the match in its full glory and see the monologues and flaskbacks.

I CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT MOVIE

[romenthenoodle]

a ton of things in the job episode are also not very normal for them given the time period. in one spot aziraphale even calls crowley by crowley (at least in the subtitles) which doesnt make sense given that crowley changes his name in 34BC or smth. aziraphale seems to have way more trust in crowley that what you would expect from the bracketing flaskbacks, as well as glasses which you dont see in the flood or jesus’s crucifixion. his hair also changes dramatically and it seems far more like you grabbed modern day aziraphale and crowley and chucked them into 2500BC. that combined with the lack of narration and overall problems with memory (gabriels memory, crowley forgetting furfur, etc) and certain continuity issues (the angel cakes, aziraphales gun, the great war) makes it seem like someones messing with the timeline, which we know is possible with the book of life

I LOVE your meta where you say that there's more of the flood and that's when you think they kissed. We got another part of 1941 so we could get more of another scene but do you really think they will? I want it to be a long time ago so much.

Yes. I mean, obviously I don't know because I'm neither involved with GO nor psychic lol but if you asked me to put money (or, worse, my book collection) on one predictive thing I've said on here, I'd put all of it on the ancient times vavoom. At minimum, I'd say it was a bonkers amount of time ago but I'm pretty sure for a few reasons that there's more of The Flood coming in S3 and that it was then. A kiss isn't even the only thing we could see from that part of the timeline, actually, which S2 suggests with the Job minisode, and is another reason to think we might revisit The Flood... we're missing the first time that Crowley called Aziraphale "angel."

We all know Crowley's been calling Aziraphale "angel" for awhile and we know that Aziraphale knows it doesn't just refer to his occupation/species but most of the instances we've heard it are in our modern era. If you're looking at how long this has all been going on for though, S2 already knocked the floor out from under us a bit by backdating the romantic "angel" to 2500 B.C. during the Job minisode. So, now, look again at what we've seen of The Flood in S1:

The Flood: "Hello, Aziraphale."

Crowley barely ever calls Aziraphale "Aziraphale" in GO. He refers to him by his name in front of angels and demons constantly. That is the one time he doesn't call Aziraphale "angel". Probably because he is absolute rubbish at not making it sound affectionate lol. In theory, "angel" is a perfect coded way to be loving towards Aziraphale when they could be overheard and, sometimes, Crowley can make it sound like he's just referring to Aziraphale in the less familiar, despised term and not his name, like it's supposed to sound like. Sometimes lol. (See: "you sound jealous, angel" in the Job courtyard. It's *almost* there lol.) It's supposed to sound mildly dismissive but that demon is mush for that angel so he struggles not to make it just sound like "sweetheart" everytime he says it because that's how he means it. When they're in riskier situations around angels and demons, Crowley doesn't even go there because he knows he can't pull it off and so he just uses Aziraphale's actual name.

The only other times he refers to Aziraphale by his first name is something like when he learns about The Book of Life in S2 and grumbles to himself while alone "Aziraphale, what have you gotten yourself into?" Other than that, there's basically the bit when he's drunk in S1 and isn't actually sure he's seeing Discorporated!Aziraphale or not and whispers "Aziraphale" and there's the above bit from Mesopotamia in The Flood scene, when he shows up and greets Aziraphale by using his name. That's it. Every other damn time, it's "angel", right?

So when he shows up and greets Aziraphale with "hello, Aziraphale" during The Flood scene, that hints that "angel" is not yet a thing in Mesopotamia, right?

So, if it comes later than that, when did it start and... well... what prompted it? Generally speaking, you might have a nickname for a friend you've known for a long time or you might use terms of endearment in a general way with people but neither of those things are the way that Crowley calls Aziraphale "angel." I call my closest friend a shortened version of her first name and I call you all on here things like "my loves" and "babe (platonic)" and you know that I don't know you personally and that we aren't in a relationship lol. It's not tonally the same thing as calling your partner a term of endearment with a more intimate meaning and that's what "angel" is in Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship. By making it so that "angel" wasn't something Crowley was saying in an "angel (dismissive or attempted dismissive way)" that evolved into "angel (romantic)", they're coming out and saying that "angel (romantic)" is all that's really ever been there, with some attempts at making it sound more dismissive if they could be overheard. If it's all that's ever been there, then it had to start at some point and if it's always been "angel (romantic)", then we could assume that some bit of romance might have prompted it.

So, we're saying you can probably track how long their relationship has had a romantic element to it that they've acknowledged by tracking how long Crowley has been calling Aziraphale "angel" and if you start doing that, well...

It wouldn't make sense for it to be when they both were angels so anything pre-Eden is out (plus, Crowley might not really remember it anyway). While Crowley calls Aziraphale "an angel" on the wall in Eden-- "you're an angel, I don't think you can do the wrong thing"-- it's not the same as the affectionate "angel" he has basically made a substitute for Aziraphale's name in the future. So, it's not in Eden and it's not the next bit that we've seen chronologically, which is what we've seen of The Flood since, as we know, Crowley showed up and said "hello, Aziraphale", indicating that "angel" still isn't a thing by what we've seen of Mesopotamia... but then, the next part we see on the timeline is the Job minisode in S2 and, well...

Job: Four. separate. different. instances. of "angel"...

The first is "you sound jealous, angel" in the courtyard when Aziraphale says that demons can do whatever they want. To date, this is technically the first time we've heard this, chronologically-speaking. Only, it's not the first time Crowley's said it as it's familiar to both of them.

This same scene also results in the birth of "Crowley" in the future. It's why Crowley chose to call himself "Crowley" when he changed his name and what makes "Crowley" the same thing as "angel", just in reverse. What's of note there is that S1 gave us the scene at the crucification of Jesus wherein we see Crowley tell Aziraphale that he changed his name to "Crowley" and we don't really fully understand it in S1. We're happy for him. Seems a healthy thing to change his name when he's been through a lot of things. We're happy to refer to him as "Crowley" from here on out, right, but we don't really know what the meaning of his new name is to him or why it seems to have significance to Aziraphale. They don't tell us that until S2, when they give us the Job minisode and are all 'here is the origin story of what Aziraphale has called Crowley for thousands of years' and what does it do? It makes that scene between them in Golgotha kinda smolder, doesn't it? Because now, that scene you didn't have all the information to understand fully at the time is now something you understand as Crowley telling Aziraphale that he changed his name to something only the two of them will ever really understand. That's some passion at The Passion of the Christ, eh? lol

Following the courtyard instance of "angel" in the Job minisode, there's "are you sure, angel?" when Crowley is lighting everything on fire. This one is playful. This one is a little knowing, like he absolutely knows for sure that Aziraphale gets what he's saying and they're both bemused by it. Aziraphale responds that he's "quite sure" and he isn't disappointed. The "angel" here is coded. It's "sweetheart" in the middle of playacting at being demonic and Crowley knows that Aziraphale gets the joke but also for Aziraphale to get it-- for him to hear Crowley saying it here and in the courtyard prior and for him to get the tone of it... to be that sure, he'd have had to hear it before. The first time Crowley said it in the courtyard, it did not sound like it was new to either of them. This started before Job.

Later, there's "Blasphemy, angel? That doesn't sound like you" after Aziraphale says "oh my God" when they run into God talking to Job. This is the first instance of Crowley using "angel" when they're alone and unlikely to be overheard. It's not even an isolated one because then we have the last scene in the minisode and "I'm not taking you to Hell, angel." The Job story establishes that Crowley's just been calling Aziraphale "angel" in every instance where he can make it work since some time prior to 2500 B.C. and we still haven't seen when that began. We've seen the origin story of "Crowley" but they haven't shown us the first time Crowley called Aziraphale "angel" in that way he does... but they *have* told us via the same minisode in which they also explained the "Crowley" origin story that it first began an absolutely ridiculous amount of time ago lol. They've slapped it right down immediately after what we've seen of Mesopotamia on the timeline. They even make Aziraphale and Crowley establish that timeline for us at the start with Aziraphale saying "haven't seen you since... The Flood?" (with the most 'he knows damn right well when the last time he saw Crowley was' tone ever lol) and Crowley agreeing. This means we're missing more of The Flood, which is also hinted at in the plot of Job, which hinges on the idea that Aziraphale doesn't think that Crowley is murderous, which seems like it needs more than just Crowley being like "wow, this is pretty horrible" in his reaction to God's plan to drown everyone in the scene in The Flood that we've already seen.

So, if it's "hello Aziraphale" in what we've seen of The Flood already but then it's "angel" every other word in the Job minisode that follows it, the origin story for "angel" that we're missing is set between those two stories and if they haven't seen each other in Job since The Flood, then there's a The Flood, Part 2... so, if the first kiss was Mesopotamia and it's also the first "angel"... then we're talking about Aziraphale reacting to that first romantic "angel" in the same part of the story as this whole vavoom-y kiss. Every. single. "angel". in the series. is going to be tied to that kiss if they put them in the same scene. What are we all going to do when the secret language, sleight-of-hand show reveals the vavoom they've been stealthily referencing in every other fucking scene for the entire series? lol

[knight-dwx-09]

RWBY : Silent Knight Island

The sound of the campfire hissing can be heard through the cold night.

Jaune was sitting in front of a campfire while Neo was sleeping beside him with her head on his shoulder.

Jaune wasn't wearing his armor anymore. Now he just wear his high collar black shirt exposing a little bit of his chest, a red sash around his waist, dark navy jeans, and dark brown boots.

While Neo lose her jacket. She still wear her white vest-style top that was strapless and cropped exposing her midriff, gray scarf, Roman's hat, white pant, and black and white spat-style ankle boots.

They had stuck on this island for 9 months and still didn't find a way out.

Jaune stirred the fire with a stick to make sure the fire didn't burn out. He grab more stick from his side and throw them into the fire as he watched the embers swirling in the air. He wonder how all of this was happening.

It's funny when he think about his dream, he always thought he would just enroll at Beacon where skilled huntsman and huntress train, trained for 4 years and graduated, make friends and maybe try to find a girlfriend in those time. After that, maybe he will go on a mission with his girlfriend and save the innocent like his ancestor, and finally settled down somewhere with his wife and have four kids or more.

What he didn't thought was, get thrown into a forest, get bullied, the fall of Beacon happen, his partner push him away and died, fighting in a war against the queen of Grimm who is immortal and has a family issue, meet a centuries-old wizard who was married to the queen of Grimm and has a ability to hop from one body to another when he died and has the same family issue with her, losing his friends, have a trauma and working together with an assassin girl (girlfriend) who had tried to kill his friends before.

His eyes wander to the sleeping girl beside him and back to the fire. He wondered how the last one came to be.

Flaskback

When he reached the beach, he see a girl with pink and brown hair found kneeling on the beach. He then realized that the girl was Neo, the girl who tries to kill his friends and steal the relic of knowledge. Her clothes are still the same as when he fight her except the hat and her weapon was missing.

At first, he was on guard and cautious, ready to fight at any time. But the sound someone sniffles stop him right in his track, surprising him slightly. He squinted his eyes to try see the girl better, to see what's going on. He watched as her body somewhat trembling and hand on her face. It causes some confusion inside the boy mind, feeling complicated about what he will do next.

Then against his logic side telling him to fight the assassin girl, he decided to try to sneakily walk forwards to observe up close without his weapon ready. As he advanced forward slowly, he accidentally step on a stick, alerted her and turning around to face him, and what he found make him loss for words. Her eyes filled to the brim with tears, they were hollow and full of grief, like his eyes when Pyrrha dies and right now.

He can't see an evil girl who wanted to kill his friends anymore, now he see a girl who had lost someone important and now grieving.

That didn't last for long as she suddenly fractured like glass in thin air. He looked around to find where she went but he can't find her. In a instant, she appeared again in front of him, startling him, and swung her fist wildly at him. He was too surprised to block the punches, hitting him right in the stomach, and it doesn't hurt much. He mean it's still hurt but it was nothing when she kick his ass at atlas. She continue to hitting his chest and legs... like an emotional girl who was angry about the world and want to let out her anger... just like him. So he let her hit him as much as she want, he still block the punches and kicks that aim at his face and private part though.

After a few minutes of standing there and taking the hits, he noticed her punches and kicks had become considered slower and weaker than before. He guessed she was getting tired from everything, so he reach out to grab her wrist and pull her to a hug. At first, she stiffened at the sudden hug and then she struggled in his arm.

"Is okay to let it out, you have lost something important to you and you are in pain... So is okay for you to let it out." His hug get tightened but wasn't enough to hurt her. He began to rub her back in a conforming manner

She gradually stopped struggling and just trembling in place. Slowly, tears emerged from her eyes again. She didn't want to cry in front of her enemy nor she want to show weakness. But... she can't handle it anymore. From losing her partner, getting betrayed, and losing one thing that reminds her of Roman. It was just too much for her.

She cried like a normal girl, even if he can't hear her crying, he can feel her sadness, her pain. She hugged him back and hide her face in his chest, he just stand there and stay with her until she felt better.

After he let her wept into his clothes, she some what calm down and just sniffing a little bit. He let go of her and stared at her puffy, pink and brown eyes, her cheeks were flushed from crying. He didn't want to admit it but she look kinda cute.

"So why are you crying?" He asked.

She looked up and glared at him suspiciously, her eyes were pink and brown like her hair. Despite knowing she can beat his ass with ease, her puffy eyes make her look like a little girl.

"Look, I won't try to attack you now. I just want to help you." He said softly, trying to make her to open herself.

Her glared slightly drop but she still hold distrust.

He sighed and stared directly at her. "I won't lie to you, I too still don't trust you. You tried to kill my friends, took the relic of knowledge, one of the reasons for the fall of Atlas, and probably kill a lot of people too, in spite of that, you also look like had gone through something bad and I don't know why, I just want to help You."

Her eyes flicker down at the ground, seemingly to contemplate either tell him or not. She sighed and make a hand sign, eyes didn't move to meet his.

'I lost my hat.'

She thought he won't understand at all but to her surprise, he understood her.

"So you want to find your hat?" He asked.

She looked up at him and blinked suddenly at the response, he let out a small chuckles.

"Welp, when you have seven sister, you sometimes will learn a weird skill." He suddenly gain a nonchalantly smile.

He remember when he learned to speak in sign while he was a kid. He use this skill to do secret mission like grab some snacks and drinks with his sister look out for their parents. They would gestured him if their parent are close or not. He smiled slightly at that moment.

She become even more surprised when she hear he has 7 sister.

He would laugh at her surprise but he didn't want to get stabbed. "Anyway, come on we need to find your hat before it get dark." He wave his hand for her to follow him.

At first, she hesitated but in the end she followed him closely behind.

It took the whole morning and evening to find her hat. They first search around the beach and below the giant seashell. After there wasn't anything there, both girl and boy went into the forest and hunt it. Neo was so happy when he found it stuck in one of the tree, so happy that she stole the hat from his hands immediately and hugged it, she snuggled it to her chest.

He let out a chuckle when he see her action. She look like a small girl that got a present that they want. It seem like she had heard his laugh base how she out of the blue shoot out a death glare, making him stop. He still didn't want to get stab.

As she put on the hat, she turned around and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" He called out.

Turning around, she pointed at him and herself and both fingers get farther and farther away. Understanding what she meant, he asked a different question.

"Why?" Thought he already know the reason, they were an enemy and now that he no longer have any used, it make sense to leave.

She just pointed the hat on her head for the answer.

"So do you have already found a place to rest?" He asked with an eyebrow raise.

Her hand didn't move to tell him and looked away, not having the boldness to tell him. Surmising that she didn't found any place to rest.

"Follow me, I had found a place where we can camp for now." He gestured her to follow him again.

She stared suspiciously at him once again, reading to attack or run away.

He sighed. "I already told you I won't attack you."

She the produced a perfect copy of Ruby, scaring him as he tensed slightly and his breath halt for a moment. Fortunately, she didn't notice as she glanced over the surroundings with guard somewhat up, expecting the red hood girl to appear from the bushes. He gathered his strength to speak up and ignored the image in his head.

"So you know, I haven't see any of my friends yet so I am alone now." He stated, it may be a dumb decision, telling her that information and making him look like a easy target. However, he still need something to gain her trust.

And he was right, she was surprised to hear it and thought he was stupid or something. Looking at the ground, her mind went through every benefit and drawback if she tag along, she then gives him an answer by nodding her head.

Jaune smiled happily. "Great. And while you follow, if you see any white rabbit with horn please kill it and grab it with us."

She tilted her head, giving a look that question him why and what.

"Because they taste good and easily to kill. They have this horn on their head and cover in white fur... wait a second. What did you eat yesterday?" He looked at Neo wide eyes.

She pointed the red and purple berries in the bush

"You eat the berries?" His eyes widen even bigger.

She nodded.

"And you didn't feel anything bad or feeling sick after you eat it?" Jaune let his eyes to roam at her body, to see if anything was out of ordinary.

She nodded again.

He doesn't know if she brave or just plain stupid. The latter one is unlikely because she smart enough to stole the relic and escape with it. Maybe she was too emotional to think and she was feeling hungry too. Yeah, that was probably the answer, she did attack him sloppily and let him hugged her.

He still make an another note in his mind that the red and purple berries are safe to eat, the others? Further research was needed.

Jaune's head shook up and down slightly as he walked away. "Alright, we can grab the berries with us and we can also try to use it as bait but we still need to eat some meat."

She nodded once again for the final time, agreeing what he had said and walking together into the woods.

Along the journey, they did found quite a lot of rabbits using the berries as the bait. And with the help of Neo the hunt become much easier. Jaune will become the distraction while she kill them from behind with a stick that she found. In the end, they got 10 rabbits to eat and safe it for later.

He needed to turn some leftover meat into jerky he had learn when he was younger.

Jaune was embarrassed to say this but he get a little lost while searching for a rabbit. Thank Oum he get lucky to find the right track to his base before Neo find out.

At the camp, he relight the campfire straight away and set up 4 rabbits on a stick near it. Soon after it's ready, both finish the meal with satisfied burps.

As the both of them sat a few feet away, the light of the world began to dimmer away and the world darkening.

"Is better if you go to sleep first." Jaune told Neo.

She frowned at his suggestion.

'So you can take advantages of me while I asleep?' Her hands began to roam around, searching for something to defend herself.

He put his hand up in surrender.

"Calm down, I won't do anything while you are asleep"

'How can I trust you?'

"I promised on my name that I won't do anything to you while you are asleep and An Arc never goes back on their word."

Not believing his word, she scowled like a cat.

Geez she is really paranoid like a mister fluffy huh?

He closed his eyes and shrugged. "It's up to you if you want to sleep or not, but you look so tired that you can drop anytime soon. I just suggest it and if you don't want to listen to me is your funeral. I will stay awake for a few hours."

Neo huffed and looked away. Jaune just rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders again. After a few minutes just sitting there and did nothing, he could see her slowly dozing off, her head began to wobble up and down slowly with half-lidded eyes.

Despite not wanting to sleep, her body was too tired to stay awake. He watched as she closed her eyes and goes to sleep quietly. After he was sure she was asleep and there weren't any monsters nearby, he get up and walked away.

He's already get used to only sleep for a few hours before when Ruby was still in the RNJR team, so this wasn't too much for his body to handle.

For the time being, he'll train his hand-to-hand combat and use his shield as a weapon. He can't really use his sword anymore because it's broken. Furthermore, every times he tries to use it, the image of Penny's dead body flash in his mind, stopping him.

Even though he's not at the Yang level skill, at least he was much better than Ruby. And he need to improve it even further.

He stopped in the middle of nowhere, the place was a good place without any obstacles to hinder him and monsters nearby. Taking a deep breath, he punched the air.

—————————

"Hey." Jaune walked up as Neo was waking up. The sun can be seen floating in the sky, illuminating everything around them.

She didn't respond, not recognizing him or everything. She blinked lazily, head go round and round until her vision adapt. She slammed her feet down and scrambles, and get into a fight mode when her eyes stop at him. It appears she had forgotten.

Jaune show a blank look, not afraid or bother explain it again as he put his ass down. It took a second for her to recollect her sense, flopping back where she slept.

It became silent, so silent that small winds sounded like a hurricane. Neo grabbed her stick to draw something on the dirt, it look like a stick version of him, with a banana for the head.

Frowning a little at the art, Jaune looked around to find something, maybe to ease the situation.

"So how did you get here?" Maybe she fall down by accident or one of the RWBY accidentally knock her down.

Neo's eyes flickered up to him and back down. 'Cinder betrayed me'

"Oh..."

That explains why she is really paranoid.

Now, the atmosphere was even more dense than ever thank to his stupid topic. Thinking of another subject, he stumbled on a question that could possibly help him to be aware about her goal and character.

"Why did you want to kill Ruby?" He suddenly asked.

Neo was surprised at the question and his boldness, though does it even matter if he know the reason? It's not something she changed him or benefits him at all.

'Because she killed Roman.'

He looked at her, confusion clear in his eyes. Ruby kill a person, there's no way that happen. It's like convincing Yang to cut her hair, it mean it's literally impossible for it to happen. He then remember the story Ruby told him about how Roman died.

"Ruby didn't kill Roman! the Grimm did it!"

'So what? She was the one who sent me away from him and get him killed. Beside, I can't technically take revenge against Grimm.' She sarcastically rolled her eyes.

"What about Cinder?"

She gave him a questionable stare as he continued.

"Cinder is the one that bring the Grimm to Vale! She is the reason why Roman die! She also betrayed you if you forgot about that."

'No, I didn't forget about the fact I got used like a tool and get thrown away similar to it. Beside, I already tried to kill her but she was too strong for me to kill.' She scowled.

"So... you just resorted to killing Ruby because she was much easier to kill!?" Jaune asked, almost feeling shocked by the sheer absurdity of her logic. "Even if you killed Ruby, what would you do after that? Will you just run away and become a master thief in other kingdoms? But, would you feel satisfied?"

'What do you mean?' Her eyes narrowed.

"Because you know, deep down in your heart, you too want to kill Cinder badly just like me. You yearn for her death, and your heart wouldn't feel content at just killing Ruby...No... this wasn't about Ruby at all. You just want something, a goal, a reason to keep living. And after your original goal was out of reach, you tried to find another one, am I right?"

If stares can kill a person, he would die a few time as he hit a landmine. She throws the stick with so much force that it breaks at the impact, giving a death stare. She stand up in a swift motion and walk forwards, stopping right in front of him, eyes filled with anger.

The sheer difference make her stared up to him while he stared down on her.

'Why should I work together with you?' He could see vein pooping on her hands, like she was holding back her rage to kill him. And yet, he didn't halt.

"Either you stay here and probably died in here alone, even if you somehow get out from here, you don’t have a place to stay, Cinder betrayed you and my friends will attack you on sight. In the end, you have nowhere to go to." He said without any fear in his voice, wondering where all that confidence come from, he pushed forward. "Or you can take my hand and work together with me to get of here and take revenge against Cinder?" His hand stretched out for her, waiting for her response. By the look at it, she wasn't convinced with his effort as she didn't move at all.

"Look, you don't need to trust me or become a good guy, you just need to work together with me for now so we can take revenge against her. Beside, like some book I read a long time ago "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". You hate Cinder and so am I. At least I can trust that. After that, you can leave like nothing had happened."

Thusly, he can see her fingers twitch, slowly getting into the bait. He know that she hate Cinder, even more now after the accident. So he will used that to gain a new help. And with that, she took his hand.

'Fine I will work together with you... for now.’ She then glared murderously at him, gripping his hand with enormous strength. ‘But if I see anything that show any betrayal I will cut your neck.'

Jaune know that isn't a threat but a oath.

"I promise."

—————————

"Ruby?" Jaune called out at the red reaper, who was in front of them.

"Jaune?" Ruby didn't believe her eyes, her first friend in Beacon was here. How did he get here? Did he come back? Did he also fall? She thought she would never see him or the rest of the team JNPR since 4 days ago of entering this place

Before they can hug, Jaune felt something dangerous beside him as Neo glared at Ruby.

The bloodlust was leaking out of her, it's so much he can practically hear and feel what she was thinking.

Jaune grabbed her hand and pull her closer to him, holding her stomach with both of his hands as she struggled in his hold. He even amp himself to make sure she couldn't do anything.

"Remember our promise." With that one sentence, she stopped her attempt and grumbled away, not like she can say anything to let them know but her body language sold her out.

Positive she won't do anything, he let go of her. The grumpy assassin girl just walk off and sits near a tree, frowning as she stares at both teens.

"Jaune..." Ruby called out.

Jaune looked at her to see a confused red reaper and it made sense for her. He, a huntsman who protect Remnant from the angry Grimm and their queen, was with an assassin girl that kill people. It would be a little weird sight.

"Why are you with her?" Ruby stared at Neo confusedly.

"Don't worry about her, she is with me." He explained, stunning her for a moment before give her thoughts on the situation.

"She is an enemy! She tried to kill me! She help in the destruction of Altas and Vale! She even tried to kill you, everyone, and Yang!" She argued. "How can you trust her after everything has happened?"

She make a good point, a lot of life had been lost in those two kingdoms. Even more, Pyrrha and Penny are one of those lives that had been taken. He has every right to kill her right now or when she's asleep...

"She was betrayed by Cinder and she's out for her now so we aren't enemies anymore, more like business partners. And we need all the helping hands now, we can't be too picky with our choices right now." He reasoned with her.

She may be a criminal that had help the queen of Grimm, she also has grudges against Cinder and she went through a lot too. He doesn't know if she deserves it, but he will give her a second chance.

Ruby was speechless, her eyes slipped down the ground, puzzles. "You're right." She grudgingly admits it, some part of her didn't want to but what he'd said was true, they do need all the allies they can get.

After that, both awkwardly stood there silently, neither of them try to start up a conversation, not knowing what to say anymore.

"So how are you?" Ruby asked, trying to turn the conversation so they can speak more easily.

"Good... what's with the mouse there?"Jaune awkwardly rubbed his neck as he pointed the tiny mouse in her hood.

"Oh... its name is little."

"Really? That's its name?"

"Ruby was the one that give that name!" Little yelled proudly.

It took a second for Jaune to register that the mouse just talk and chuckled. It didn't surprise him, well a little but he already prepared to face something weird in this island.

"You and your nickname."

"Hey!" Ruby punched lightly at his shoulder, but giggling soon after.

Both teen feel less uncomfortable than before, smiling at each other. Ruby was glad Jaune was safe and she meet him again. Walking alone and not knowing how her friends were really concerning.

The thought of her partner and friends flashed in her mind, wondering about their well being. She didn't want asked or make the whole situation more Grimm, she just want to know.

"Hey Jaune?" Ruby called out.

"Yeah?" Jaune looked back happily.

"Are Penny and Weiss okay?"

His body stiffened up at that one question, he can feel his heartbeat skipped a beat and breath hitched which Ruby noticed and started to look anxiously too.

He had thought of lying to her but that didn't go well for Ozpin, creating cracks in their trust in him, like he had any. He chose to tell her, even if that mean making her hate him cause she deserved the truth and not a lie.

"Ruby..."

"What is it?"

"There's something you need to know about Penny." A dread entered her, heart drop when she heard Penny's name. A furry of red rose flutter the area as Ruby slam into Jaune and hold his hands tightly.

"What happened to her!? Did Cinder killed her!?" She was practically yelled at him, demanding for the answer.

"... I killed her..."

...

"What?" She whispered, not understanding what he just said. Or maybe, it's her heart, refusing to acknowledge the truth.

"When I got there, I didn't see you, Blake, or Yang. Weiss, Penny, and I fought Cinder and Penny got badly injured. I tried to heal her, I really did... But... there wasn't enough time. Cinder had already grabbed the relic and the place could be destroyed at any time and... Penny... she asked me to do it..." Jaune trailed off, not having the strength to continue.

But Ruby understood, eyes wide open, uneven breathing, body slightly shaken. She feel the world had become quiet, replaying those words like a broken record, then something fractured in her mind.

Something whispers in her ears, it feels wrong, evil, even malicious, she can't grasp what they were saying but her body starts to move by itself.

"Why..."

"Ruby?..." Jaune looked up wryly, fearing what she would say.

"We just got her back! And you killed her just like that!?" Her eyes began to let out silver light as she screamed, even the surrounding and the sky changed into a slightly darker tone which only Neo noticed it.

Jaune staggered back like Ruby just hit him with her words like a sword, feeling shame, he looked away with nothing to say back.

"Penny just achieved her dream, to become a real girl. And she can't enjoy it because of you! We can't even bring her back anymore since she is a human! Would you kill your friends if they asked you to do it? No! You help them and save them no matter what!..." She glanced up to him, hatred filled her eyes with something dark in it. "You said you don't have talent? Well, it seems like you have a talent to get everyone close to you killed!"

It hurt.

"You're not a friend, you're just a murderer like her!" She shouted as she pointed at Neo who was glaring at her.

Jaune tried to say something, do something, anything. However, all the sound stuck in his mouth and his body can't even move a single inch.

Everything she had said hurt him, his heart breaking into tiny pieces. However, was she telling the truth? Everyone he had met before now was hurting or died. He hadn't talked to Penny before and she was alive again, but after they talked, she was killed soon after... and never come back ever again... Was he really cursed? His heart did its best to reject everything, telling himself that it wasn't his fault as Ruby delivered one final nail into the coffin.

"Just go away from my sight and don't come near me ever again!!!" She yelled angrily at him, breathing heavily and glaring as she finished. Her eyes start to shine brightly before it stop abruptly, a dart mist clouding those once innocent silver eyes, unnoticed by everyone.

The room was dead silent, not a single word from any of them like everyone had become mute as it began to rain faintly.

"Come on Neo..." He called out quietly as he walked away with Neo following behind. Before she left Ruby Alone completely, she glanced back once more. She watched as Ruby fell to her knees, crying in her palms as the tiny mouse tried to comfort her.

She would be lying if she said that the defeat and suffering look on her face wasn't satisfied and fill her with some twisted enjoyment.

As they get further and further away from Ruby, Neo noticed that Jaune wasn't stopping at all nor slowing down.

She snatched him by hand, putting an end to his pace. Neo recoiled slightly, almost letting his hand go when he stared back.

"... I'm fine." He smiled, removing her hand. "Let's go back and hunt more food for now, we will explore the place some time later." His legs move forward for the second time and leave Neo with her thoughts.

She noticed something different, his smile were almost like a mask and the eyes were different too. Those once dark blue eyes like the sea that fill with a small amount of light in them now were dull and flat, like a murky water that was lifeless. There wasn't any hate or regret, just empty.

She just watched as he went deeper into the forest before following closely behind.

—————————

It has been 1 and a half month since they last saw Ruby.

Everything was okay, they got a stable food and water source, a few base built in a different section they can stay depending on which they were in, and they even killed some of the mythical beast that had tried to eat them in the forest. Most of it resembled an insect which can be found in Remmant. From the smallest one like a bee as big as a human child and the biggest one they fought was a spider as big as a house.

Most of it were easy as pie thank to their combine efforts and semblance. He would distract and tank their strikes. She then attack them in their weak spot. If the situation call for it, he will amp her and make a lot of clone of her to attack them or just straight up rain down a freaking giant sword through them.

Although, they only do it in a desperate moment. Both didn't want for their combat skill to become more rustier thank to the combo attack. Despite having an overpower semblance, they're still just a semblance that need Aura to fuel, which protect them from any attack and heal their wounds. It's best if they can fight without relying to it too much.

He also tried to cook some of them with Neo looked in disgust as he did so. There were a lot of it that were poisonous, the poor bunny didn't survive, and some were downright taste horrible, like someone vomit on it and drenched it with toilet water. And of course, it's his idea to eat it so he was the one that tried it first. Let's just say, his taste buds wasn't the same for weeks.

At least, a few of it were okay to eat and didn't taste like shit. Another thing to add into the beast they can eat category.

"Neo! Get back here!" Jaune screamed at the ice cream theme girl as he used everything he got to chase her. Neo just let out her tongue and run away again.

You may wonder why they are playing cat and mouse game. Well... let's just said Neo had found the candy land which Jaune found before and started to eat everything like there's no tomorrow.

"You need to stop eat everything! It's bad for your health and tooth!" He shouted with every he got, running after her like she just stoled something important from him.

Neo turned around and face him with a giant sign which she had created from her semblance.

'NEVER!!!' It's the only thing written on it before breaking apart like glass along with it.

Jaune skidded across the cream and scanned the area. Without any luck, he let out tired sigh and opt to stand by until she finished her cravings.

She can be really annoying and troublesome, did whatever she want and whenever. Though, she still help him in some difficulty and carry her side of the bargain.

And that's enough for him.

Neo suddenly sprint across his vision and back where they come from and seem to be in panic. Confused, he turned towards the opposite direction she was running to and he met with hordes of monsters made of sweet? Grabbing a page from his temporary partner, he book it.

"WHY THERE IS AN ARMY OF GIANT CANDY MONSTER CHASING YOU?!?"

—————————

"Ouch!" Jaune yelped out as something sharp poke his butt.

He twisted his whole body to face with the culprit who was smirking and holding a weapon in hands, Neo and her favorite umbrella, Hush.

At last, the weapon she had been using in the past for killing now it's back to the master.

It was in the middle of a group of wolf's home, where around 20 wolves stay and live. The first moment Neo recognized her stuff, she dragged him down in the middle of it and fought the whole tribe.

And now, she was so thrill about it that she'd been using it on him, for 30 minutes.

"You really need to stop poking my butt." He rubbed his poor ass from the abuse it had taken.

Neo pouted cutely, holding the weapon as if it was her baby and stomping the ground.

*Sigh* "I know you are happy that you got your weapon back and want to used it as soon as possible, but you don't have to use it on my ass either." He stated in annoyance, he may have Aura to stop it but it's still a pain in the ass, figuratively and literally. "Just wait alright, you can use it when we fight or see a monster."

And just like that, the bushes abruptly rustled as monsters from different types and race, appearing one by one and surrounding them like a hungry beast. Jaune and Neo's eyes met for a second and back at the monsters, first have dead eyes while the latter have excitement look.

"Look at that, it seem like you're gonna use it now." He stretched his body and get into a position. "Let's wipe them out Neo."

She grinned insanely with hush swipe to the left, ready for the massacre. She seem really excited about all of this.

—————————

"What do you want to do after killing Cinder?" Jaune suddenly speak up, standing above one of the dead monster and clothes covered in different colours of blood to some degree.

Neo gives a side glance as she stab one of the monster's head.

"I mean, your goal right now is to end her right?" He questioned which she nodded. "And after that what? Do you have an end goal or something?"

At first, a money bag materialised in her hand which he had understood, she then slashed at the poor wolf's head, cleaving it cleanly and smiling softly toward Jaune.

"K-killing and robbing?" He stuttered in shock.

She gives a quick happy nod before continuing stabbing others and freeing them from their suffering. He's really worried about her future now.

"Huh... beside becoming a murderer and a thief, you must have any other habits, right...?" He begged slightly, feeling uncomfortable with her saying that easily.

She cheekily press her palm against her cheek and tilts her head, like she was thinking about it.

She then found it.

She created an ice cream in her hand and showed it to Jaune with a smile.

"You love ice cream?" He examined the food in her hand to see if it had any other meaning as she nodded cheerfully.

Now that he thinks about it, she does like sweet treats, especially those cold and sweet food. After they have become a little stronger to fight the monster in there, both of them would come back time and time to have a sweet snack together.

"How about opening up an Ice cream shop then?" He proposed.

She pointed at herself, flabbergasted at his idea as she make "me?" Expression. Everyone too will react the same way, she's a well know criminal in the whole Remmant. If they saw her into an Ice cream shop, the cops will be coming in the store like there's a sale was going on.

"You can open one in a village or somewhere that wasn't too populated. So that way, nobody knows where or who you are. You can sell and eat ice cream peacefully." He explained.

She suddenly became quite, eyes swerved away and into the distance like she was deep in thought.

She suddenly gained a glint in her eyes like a little kid found a new toy to play with as she smiled with her teeth. It cause Jaune to shiver in fear, feeling that he just made a big mistake.

What did she just think of?

—————————

"Look out!" Jaune yelled out with urgency in his voice.

Neo listened to his warning without any hesitation and jumped to the left, barely dodging in time as a giant red and white cobra emerged from the trees and tries to take a bite of her whole body. She landed beside him as both examine their opponents with cautious as the snake spiraled up.

The giant snake was bigger than anything they had ever face, it was as long as the tower Beacon with scars filled its body and one over its eyes. Red scales covering its entire body with no gaps to speak of.

"I will grab his attention while you wait and strike!" He exclaimed, staring the beast to examine it even further.

Neo nodded in acknowledgement before disappearing into thin air as glass shards. The snake suddenly surveyed between the tree as if there was someone there, but a rock hit its head, causing it to look at Jaune with its slit eyes and hissed, throwing more rock at its head as he pointed at himself.

"Hey ugly! you are fighting with me!" He taunted.

The provocation works, it whip its tail in an instant at Jaune which he block it with his shield and both of his hands. The shock travel through his hand and the rest of his body, skidding a few feet away.

It was more powerful than he thought. but it's not something he wasn't expecting from the monster on the island as he continued with the taunt. Neo watched on from behind the tree and at the back of their enemy as it tried to tear her partner into pieces. At one moment, it smashed itself deep into the ground when it try to eat him alive, thinking it's an opening, she darted forward silently and leapt toward the head, aiming her sword down to stab it straight through for the brain.

Without warning, the beast twisted its head at her and let out a purple smoke out of its mouth, shocking her as she covered herself with Hush, engulfing her entire form without any trace left behind.

"Neo!" Jaune screamed in panic, realizing his partner was near the snake and she has been found.

A sound of glass breaking come from behind him, snapping back around, he see Neo on the ground, slightly coughing the smoke but alright nevertheless to his relief. He hurriedly goes to her side and onto his knees, patting her back and examining her body to see if it's poison or not.

"Are you alright? Are you in pain?" He asked worriedly.

She opened one of her eyes and raised a hand shakily.

'I'm mostly fine but my body is hard to move. Seem like not only those gas is poisonous but it paralyzed me too.' She finished before her hand drop down, almost unmoving.

He turned around at the giant snake approaching them and back to her, deciding a choice he would take next. He slip his arms under her leg and back, pulling her up into a princess hold and running away with her.

He jump and weave through terrain with the monster behind them, slithering closer and closer to them, destroying everything in its path. He aware they were too slow from the sound get lauder and lauder, if it catches up, they were dead, so he Amplified his own aura and Neo's to escalate his speed significantly.

The snake had noticed its prey was getting smaller and smaller from its view, not wanting them to escape, it once again discharged its poison breath attack.

The miasma was gaining on them rapidly, it may be even faster than Ruby while using her semblance. Hearing the smoke, he looked back to see the gas was right behind him and any second he too would get poison. Jaune stopped out of the blue, burying his feet into the ground, and hurled Neo as far away as he can from him as the gas covered him in seconds just like it did to her.

She looked in horror at the smoke growing thicker. A feeling of dread entered her, creating a pit in her stomach while an image of a dead Jaune, laying on the ground, unmoving and lifeless emerged into her mind. She gritted her teeth as she tried to crawl her way back with her right arm, disregarding her own safety or the danger it can pose to her body. Until her own body had stopped moving anymore, laying helplessly and powerless on the ground.

She doesn't know why she was feeling despair for the Arc boy but the thought of him dying scared her. She just prayed, hoping that he would come out alive.

The snake coiled high above into the air, miasma slowly coming out, gazing down at its prey. Before it can get closer, something move from the corner of its eyes. Jaune appeared from the gas, running towards him at high speed, cheeks slightly puff as he swung his shield forward.

It turned its body to the side to let the shield miss the target and smash its tail to his side, sending him rolling on the ground a few feet away. He use his hand and feet to stop himself by sinking his finger into the dirt and charging back.

He did everything he could, dodge, strike, analyze, and amp, but those were useless against the monster. It easily tank his attack, strike him, and gradually killing him. It was just playing with him like a toy, not seeing him as a threat. And what he can get from those fail attempts was that he can't hurt it with his fist or shield, as every time he hit it, there's not a scratch left behind.

All the air had leave his lungs at this moment, suffocating him into unconsciousness. In instinct, he opened his mouth, taking a deep breath to desperately fill his lung with the air he needed and coughing when the poison entered his body.

He felt nauseous and in pain instantly, his strength soon gradually left him like there's a hole inside his body. It took everything he had to just stay upright. He needed something to help him, running away wasn't an option anymore, he must kill it now or never and he required something to help him. In search for a weapon, his eyes landed on the family heirloom.

He began to tense at the sight of it, images of Penny's dead body and all of his friends Look at him in hatred, haunting him like a ghost... He shut his eyes tight, he can't do it, he can't use it, he wasn't worthy to wield anymore. But if he doesn't, both he and Neo will be kill and he doesn't want that to happen. He need to do something, looking on the broken sword once again and slowly approaches to it with hesitation and tremble.

For the last time, please help me one more time.

His hand grips around the handle and pulls it out from his hand, the sheath unfolds, the sharp edge extending out into a longsword. Holding it with both hands beside him, he looked on with determination.

With the mythical beast, feeling to end the game, decides to propel itself, opening its mouth monstrously possible to eat him whole. With the last bit of strength, Jaune ducked down, allowing it to pass him without any harm. He then took the momentum of his enemy to his advantage by bringing out his sword and swing it, slicing into its scales.

The pain of sword cutting its way into the body made know, looking at the fresh wounds on the lower half and back on Jaune, anger by the fact this weakling had injured the king.

Jaune felt his strike was too shallow, the weight was really off and the empty space inside it throw him off. Losing most of the blade really make it awkward to use it, like he was using a new weapon that's broken. However, it can cut through the armor and that's the only thing he need now.

It lunged at him and Jaune jumped back, striking its side and wounding it. It turn swiftly and keep going for the attack, charging and letting out a quick slash with its body as Jaune tanked or dodged it and slicing back at it.

They stopped after a few minutes fighting as they have a staredown contest with each other. Both were wounded but Jaune had it worse than the snake who have minor injuries and cuts. Aura almost gone, chest plate was missing, legs were trembling like leaf, hands was beginning to refuse to listen anymore, everything look blurry, and every beat of the heart hurt even more. He knew that he was at the last leg, if he couldn't end it now, he would die, Neo too would die and he couldn't allow it. He mustered every bit of his strength he had left, pushing his body and aura even more as he get into a stance for one more strike.

Sensing danger for the first time in this battle, it faltered back slightly before noticing something, it just feel fear at the lowly being, afraid enough to make the king of snakes fall back, it angered the snake greatly as it lashed out. Jaune was startled for a second before raising his sword to block the assault, the movements were too unpredictable and wild to escape as its body struck him and destroyed everything nearby, trees, mushrooms, rocks, and the ground were demolished as dirt cloud began to form around. After minutes of rampage, it stopped when it couldn't feel the boy anymore, confused, it looked back where he was a second ago.

The small human was gone and there're footprints on the dirt. Alarm by the answer, it scanned the surrounding for the knight instantly before sensing something above. It looked up and see a silhouette of man from the mix clouds of dirt and poison, growing bigger and bigger.

Jaune come out flying in the air at high speed with his sword in his right hand, shocking the beast as he crashed onto its head and staggering it. He grabbed it by the scales and immediately went for the brain while the beast was still disorients from the collision. The sword was hurled down with every he got left and collided, only for it to get rebounded off the scales which horrified him.

Slamming the sword down over and over again in persistent to meet with the same result. While the snake just watch on the futile and meaningless struggle after it regained focus and trashed around to get him off.

Soon, he can feel his body losing its strength and pain spreading through, eyesight becomes hazy, eyelids heavy, grip become loosen even more on the scales and the sword was almost out of his clutch.

He was tired and hurt, he has been fighting monsters for months and carrying trauma that weight him down for years. He just want to go back home to take rest and let the pain and suffering to melt away. Maybe, he can stop trying and let others to deal with everything, he's pretty much useless in a fight so what's the point? Closing his eyes for minutes won't hurt anyone anyway... He suddenly gripped harder on the handle and the beast's scale.

The snake suddenly felt a cold and dark presence, putting an end to its movement as a sudden urge to run away creeps its way into the snake, to escape immediately from this weird being, the bloodlust emitted from this prey like something in the abyss stared quietly at it, ready to kill at anytime. However, its pride of the king won't allowed it to do so.

The poison miasma being poured out even further, submerging the area and him into deadly smoke. Blood vessel bulging out on Jaune's body as blood arising out of his eyes, nose, and mouth. He feel the agony increased, stabbing his body like a hot knife and lava flowing into his vein. It then smashed its head to the ground and tree, hurting him even further as his aura tried to protect as best as it can. And yet, he gritted his teeth, enduring through the suffering and forced himself to fight on.

He wasn't a fighter and he know this. He's the weakest of weak among the group and always sit on the sidelines while his friends deal with most the problem. It becomes even more clearly after he unlocked his semblance, a semblance to heal and buff others. At first, he was glad to have that power, a power that can protect his friends and people around him.

However, he was completely wrong. Even with it, he couldn't save them from Cinder or Salem not matter what he did. He then realized, nothing had change, he was still the weak Jaune Arc when he got into Beacon, sitting on the sidelines while his friends risking their life in the war.

And he doesn't want that to keep going. He want to change, to become someone who can protect them. Can he stop? Of course not, he need to keep moving on.

He was a support and he know this, however this time he won't stay by and let his friends die, he will become a fighter and grow stronger to save them not matter what the obstacle was, even if that means fighting the gods and that's a promise.

A sudden but a similar feeling crawl into his soul, it's parallel to the one he feel at his first meet with Grimm. Without warning, his body light up in white Aura, blinding the creature momentarily as a white gauntlet engulfed both of his hands. The sharp-edge of its tips pierced through the tough scales and breaking it like it was nothing.

The snake felt a sharp pain on the head, snapping its attention back towards the attacker. The presence it once felt come back with a more sinister feeling in it when the sight of the prey come into view. His eyes had become completely white with slight red tint tainted them, vein covered his face, mouth wide open and teeth showing like a savage animal.

A heavy pressure weighted on the beast, trembling at the presence of the beings, no... a monster who was on top of its head. It didn't do anything or more like couldn't as if every part of its body had stopped listening, leaving the king of snakes as a helpless prey like Neo and Jaune once before.

Jaune raised the broken heirloom up high to the side and with a shine, a white aura construct overlay the blade like a coat. Without missing a beat, he swings the sword to the snake head, slicing the head of the rest of the body cleanly and cutting into the dirt slightly just from the force of his strength as blue blood spatter out, overlaying the dirt and himself.

Both of the snake's body part and Jaune plummeted down and crashed onto the ground, creating a loud thump noise. The snake lay there, unmoving and lifeless.

While Jaune, who was barely on his last leg and at his knees from the fall, still holding on the handle with his trembling hand for a moment longer, not sure what he should do next before letting it go and pushed down with both hand and staggered to his feet, breathing raggedly and coughing at the same time.

As the smoke diminishes, Neo caught the vision of the bloody blonde, standing on the giant snake's corpse. His clothes had soaked the blood and hug tightly to his muscles, his long yellow hair swept back and mix with blood as the blue liquid running down on his face, eyes halfway closed because of exhaustion.

Her chest suddenly burned in warmth, her heartbeat rose a bit, butterflies fluttering in her stomach at the sight of him. Looking down at her chest and place a shaky palm over, she wondered why she was suddenly feeling like this, was she sick? Did the poison cause this emotions? She doesn't know. Her eyes wander back to the boy, heat in her cheeks as she found herself staring at him with the warmth and butterflies increasing ever so slightly, knowing that he was alright.

However, not everything were alright.

Feeling something had dripped out his nose, Jaune looked down to find red liquid, his blood, slowly leaking out. More blood began to expel extremely fast from the mouth.

His vision falling closer and closer to the ground as his head landed to the side, his body felt cold and without any energy. The last thing he saw was Neo's horrified expression as darkness take over.

Not yet...

—————————

A crackling of fire and heat of it can be felt, awoken Jaune and slowly opened his eyes to see a giant light in front of him which change to a normal campfire as his eyes adjust to the surroundings. He was back at one of their base, the world around him were dark with the only light source was the fire. He tried his best to move but fail as his body still refused to listen, deciding to just move his neck and scanned the area, he found Neo, sitting on a tree, face down with distress paint over her face

"Hey..." He said weakly.

The word's effect was immediately, gaining Neo attention as she became shock at his awakening. She didn't do anything, just a moment with a pause before began her sign language.

'How are you?' She looked worriedly.

"Still can't move too much but a lot better." Looking at his hand as he tried to move it, only met with a twitching finger. Still, at least he wasn't in pain anymore. "How long have I been out for?" He brings his head up to gaze her.

She brings 8 of her fingers up, indicating he had been in a coma for 8 hours. He nodded as he just laid back against the tree, reflecting about the last battle they had encountered so he can improved their battle strategy if they engaged with another monster. It was especially at the last moment, about the gauntlet and sword made of aura he had produced. He wondered if he can recreated it again to help him in a fight and lack of offense, though It used a ton of aura, he felt his aura just went to drain just like that when he did it.

He then took notice of the gaze he was getting from the girl, turning his head and face with her trouble look.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

She looked away in doubt for a second and back to him.

'Why are you doing all of this?'

"Do what?" He raised an eyebrow.

'Try to help me and make me work together with you. Even go as far to protect me with your life.' She questioned.

"I mean, you save me a whole lot more before. I just want to even the score you know." He said jokily.

'Just answer my question... please.' She said instantly without room for any joke.

He stared without saying anything before answering it. "To make sure you won't kill my friends." He said easily with a shrug.

She narrowed her eyes and construct a medium size note in her hands. There was a lot of time she need to speak with him about their plan for the future and killing Cinder, and most of it would take quite a long time if she did her sign language to tell him. She usually use her scroll to speak by using the voice function before but they didn't have those in there. To deal with that problem, he gives her idea to create some book or paper and just make the word manifest so he can see it much easier and faster, and it worked.

'Don't lie to me... If you really want to protect your friends, it's better for you to just kill me to make sure I won't be a danger to them anymore but you didn't do that. You also didn't have to help me or risk your life for me but you did, and not only that you told me to stay with you, help me found my weapon for me, and let me sleep without you doing anything to me.' She stand up.

'I help the destruction of Beacon, I stole from people, I kill people and torture them, I not a good person.' She take one step closer and another with each word. At this point, she was in front of him. She looked down on him as he looked up to her.

'So tell me why... why did you save me?' She asked, almost desperately.

His eyes glanced up at her before dropping to the red sash around his waist.

"Because like you... I lost someone who was important to me, Someone who believe in me and tries to help me. But that person is gone, it hurt my heart to know the person isn't alive because I'm too weak to prevent it." His trembling hand petted the sash slowly with a sad look.

The memories of him and Pyrrha train together came into his mind, a memory of her that still stung him even after he had accepted the reality.

He focused on her eyes again with a melancholy smile. "So believe me when I say I understand your pain."

She was shocked by his answer, but also furious. Squeezing her hands until it becomes white and aura protected it from hurting itself. He dare to compare his life to her own, who did he think he was, he doesn't know about her life or what she've had been through. She grabbed by his collar and kneeling down to his eye level, startling him.

'So it's because you pity me?' The words began to manifested on the note in his right hand.

'So what if you know my pain? Do you think I will just become your friend because you lost your little friend and protecting me? Welp, screw you! I had known Roman longer than your red hair partner! We went through a lot! Save each other!... You will never understand how I feel.' She finished as she put her index finger on his chest.

He didn't reply or let out a word, staring to her eyes with hurt fill in his eyes. Her chest suddenly ached out of nowhere but still keeping her firm expression, she erased the note and spin around to take rest or do something else, at least to keep her busy from this talk.

"You are right." Jaune finally answered back.

Neo looked back in disbelief, not expecting that answer from the blond idiot that care so much about his partner.

"I have only know Pyrrha for 10 months and that hurt me a lot. I can't phantom how much it pained you... losing someone that care about you and you care about them for a long time..." He gazed back with a sad look. "But I want to help you and carry some of your pain."

Neo just glared at him for moments without saying anything. The atmosphere was so intense that a knife can cut it through like jelly. And yet, he didn't backdown or wilt under her gaze. She turn around all of a sudden and walk away with a huff.

Jaune watched her, grabbing her weapon and disappearing into the woods. He assumed she will go out and kill more weaker beast or rabbit, to let out some steam. He didn't follow her because he trust her despite that sound really dumb. Leaning his back against the tree and gazing the skies, his mind wondered back to the conversation with one thought lingering inside.

Did I do the right thing?

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A few days later after the talk, they just have small conversations with small answers or while they were hunting for food. He tried to start a conversation but she didn't even bat an eyes at him or tell anything about herself. Maybe she was still angry at him about his "I know how you feel" comment earlier.

"Neo..." He called out for her.

She didn't answer or look back at him, walking along the road as if she was alone in the world. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, not knowing what or how to close the diverge between them.

Running his mind to some past memories with his sister, he tried to find something that could help him now. Even though she was a killer or an assassin who help the destruction of two kingdoms, she still a girl after all.

And he got 2 ways which may aid him in this mission. First, it's give her sweets or some kind of gift she would appreciate. But, they were in a island where there weren't any shop to buy a present. He could go back to the candy-land and let her eat it... even so, it was on the other side of the island which they need to travel back through the mushroom section where they fought the giant snake. Not only was it dangerous, the journey would take days before they can arrived.

The second one, was to distract her from the memories that make her infuriated by doing something fun. Then, he need to say sorry and fix everything in that time. This one was much easier and quicker to do so he chose this one. Still, the question stands even now, how will he divert it from her mind.

Wondering the method in order to do that, a glimpse of white stuff made of water caught his eyes as an idea struck him. And it was a very, very bad idea which may cost him his life and make it even worse. Despite his mind telling him to not do it, he proceeds with the plan, hoping he would succeed and survive.

As Neo strolling the place, her mind replayed at that moment. That goodie two shoes hero, who try to replace Roman. They may have partnered up to kill Cinder and work together for now, he just a business partner and no more than that. After they killed Cinder, they will go to separate way and never met again... Although that's what she was telling herself.

To be honest, her chest aches when she yelled at him, even on her hunting spree and the present. She couldn't get his pained expression out of her mind not matter what she did, the pain was always there, lurking her everywhere she go.

A small part of her didn't want to see him go and leave her alone again, in the dark and cold world, the thought of him slowly get farther and farther because of her made her chest tighten until it hurt. It infuriated her so much, she just wanted to know why she was feeling like this.

Something soft and cold suddenly hit right beside her head, knocking the thought away. She stood there, froze and try register what just had happen. She slowly turned her head at the victim that will get stabbed for throwing something at her.

Neo then faces against the blonde fool, standing on snow with his hand outstretch like he just had thrown something. A nervous smile invade his features as she give him the dirty look.

He raised his hand in surrender and smiled awkwardly.

"I am sorry..." He responded as he brings his shoulder up slightly.

Neo was completely silent, not just because she was mute, she didn't do anything for a brief moment. Making him more scared than before, a quiet girl who was angry was more dangerous and scary than a loud girl who was angry. Well, technically she always quiet but that doesn't change it.

A mischievous smile take hold of her face, sending a cold shiver run down his spine as she break like glass. He turned his head around and keep his guard up for anything come at him.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he looked back at lightning speed. A pale black hair woman standing behind him. A right eye was hanging around with blood coming of it like tears and empty in the other one, despite there weren't any eyes in any of it, there were red irises on both of the eye sockets, gazing at his very soul. Her cheeks were ripped open like she was smiling creepily 24 hours and showing the inside of her mouth. Her left arm was missing, gut coming out and through her white sundress.

She open her mouth and mouthed one word.

'Boo.'

A weird looking blue birds flew away from the surrounding area as a girl screamed loudly through out the island.

Jaune placed one of his hand on top on his heart and the other against the tree. His heart was beating like crazy, taking a small and fast breath to calm himself and his mind. The image of the scary woman still remain in his mind.

"Neo! don't do that ever again." He exclaimed with his hand that was on the tree pointed at her, she smirked teasingly for the reply. Well, it's what he wanted for and he paid the price for doing so.

Feeling something land on his shoulder, his head turned to the side and stared at the snow resting on his shoulder. He looked up and see the snow on the tree gradually falling down. More and more of it become loose as he can only said one thing.

"Oh poop..." After he open his mouth, the snow immediately buried him and gobble his form up, like Ruby eats her cookies.

Neo was stunned to do anything, she get into a crouch position, hands over her mouth, trying to hold the laugh but failed. She was too distracted to notice that Jaune had dig himself out of the pile of snow, giving her some threatening but harmless look.

As she keep giggling, another snow hit her on her back. Stopping her laughter and looked back at him. He was out of his prison white snow, standing there with a smirk on his face that look like he's ready to do something.

"Let's have a snowball fight, not aura or semblance. Just the two of us and the snow around here." He exclaimed, snowballs ready in his hand.

She stands there quietly briefly before smirked back for a response.

Jaune and Neo started their snowball fight, throwing snow at each other. Or more like the beat down of him. Her small frame and flexibility allow her to dodge everything he throw, her aim were also very sharp, hitting the target almost all the time. However, his stamina and endurance allowed him to take it and throw twice as much of snow.

Some enjoyment and happiness spread through them, smiling as they did so.

After hours of playing.

They're on the ground, breathing heavily with a delight smiled on their face. Not a word from either of them, just laying there and taking some rest.

Neo was fine of doing that, it was the first in a long time she have fun, and her chest wasn't aching, like the pain wasn't there anymore and was replaced by a calm and warm feeling. Though, the blonde knight cut the stillness between them and speak something

"I'm sorry..." Jaune began, making her looked in confusion.

"I'm not Roman, your partner in crime, I can't replace him in your heart. I also haven't done anything to gain your trust, I'm aware about that fact..." He looked to the side and their eyes met. "But I want to let you know, you can talk to me and share your pain with me if you want." He smiled softly.

They stared at each other for a moment, with Jaune's heartbeat increasing ever so slightly. Even though it was only a couple of seconds for her. For him, it was like hours, waiting nervously for her answer like everything, his survival and Remmant was depend on this one answer. She let out a tired sigh and smiled a bit at him.

'Sure... not like I have any other choice. You would still try and befriend me even if I say no, am I right?' She signed and grinned like she already know the answer.

Jaune just smiled happily.

—————————

As time goes since their talk, they become more and more closer than before.

She even began to open herself to him. They talk to each other about past and family. Neo even tell him about her old family, with how they abused her and only using her for their own benefits. It make his blood boil in rage, well until she told him that Roman had save her from that hell and give her something to live. She then begin to tell some adventures she had with Roman

It make him realize that Roman isn't a really bad guy, well he's still a bad guy, stealing a lot of money and kill some people. However, he only do it because he need the money to live with Neo, and some for his selfish greed too of course. And the people he kill were bad people, a really, really bad people that took pleasure from hurting other people in worst possible ways. He was against killing people of course but if he must do it to protect himself or Neo, he will do it immediately. His respect for Roman skyrocketed to the point he feel like he can be a great friend.

He also tell her about his own family and life. If Neo can speak, she would laughed like a hyena at the part where he tell that his sister dressed him up like a girl on many occasion. Well, her body was shaking and she was holding her stomach. Indicating that she did find it hilarious, and he was glad that he can make her laugh like that, it fills him with warmth feeling.

She love to mess with him. Either by poking him in the butt with her umbrella or using her semblance to scare him, making him scream like a little girl. She would always give him a mischievous smile at the end of the prank. He doesn't know why but in the past, every time she smiled like that, his heart skip a beat with a slightest tinge of red on his cheek as he looked away in embarrassment. Now, he just feel happy every moment of it and burst out laughing along with her.

Although, as much as she cause him trouble almost everyday and didn't want to admit it, she still care about him. When they're facing a tough opponent, she could've just left when the situation in dire but she didn't. She stay throughout the fight and save him on numerous occasions, and scold him for doing something really dangerous and stupid. He was happy to see this side of her.

He soon got attached to her kind and sassy attitude, laughing together when he got prank or telling an embarrassing story of each other, feeling worry when she got hurt, feeling anger towards the beast that did it, and feeling relief when she was alright. Everything about her made his heart calm and safe, filling it with some happiness he never thought of receiving after Penny's death, wanting to stay by her side even more.

But... does he deserve it? Deserve this happiness and a great partner like Neo?

All he has ever done was hurting his friends and killing them because of his incompetent. Will it happen to Neo too? Will his clumsiness harm her in any shape or way? Will she fade away from his life, leaving him alone again because of his weakness? The question hurt his soul and leaves a hollowness in his heart.

Despite that, he still keep going forward and fight. He can't stop or give up yet cause he made a promise to himself. Even if that mean jumping into hell itself.

At least he still have Neo with him.

—————————

On a cold and windy night.

Jaune sat on watch, keeping an eye out for any danger. With no clear danger present, he glanced at Neo's prone form as she slept with her back to him. Certain it was safe, and Neo was deep in her sleep, he stood up and left to begin his nightly training. Unaware that the girl was slowly get up and look at his direction with an uncertain look on her face.

After reaching his destination, he stretched his joints before bringing up his hand and clenched it to a fist with a serious look on his face. He send a quick right and left jab into the air, uppercut and left hook, and roundhouse kick. Every punches and kicks let out wind currents as the grass get slightly blown away. He would sometimes jump to the side or ducked down like he was dodging an attack.

He did this without any break or rest for a moment. He just keep punching, kicking, and dodging to build and train his body, pushing well over its limit.

Using his semblance to energize himself to stay awake and keep going. He found out after 1 week that aura can make the user less tired, and with the help of his semblance, he effectively can work for almost 24 hours without any sleep. Well, He still need around 1-2 hours of rest per a day or two to function normally.

He didn't do it just because for their safety or to grow stronger. It's for keeping out the nightmares he have been keep experienced in his sleep after he killed Penny. He still can't look Croceo Mors without seeing Penny's dead body and her lifeless eyes.

He kept doing this for 7 and a half month and maybe even longer if not for that one day that made the destructive lifestyle come to a stop.

As Jaune fighting some imaginary opponents, the sound of bush rustling send a signal to him. Turning around to face the danger with his hand covered with white armor of aura, ready to strike whatever that thing was. However, he calm down once he saw it's Neo coming out of the forest, the aura on his hands disappeared and letting out a sigh of relief. That relief immediately turn into worry when he see the trouble look on her face.

"What's wrong Neo? Another nightmares? can't sleep?" He asked with concern clear in his voice as he got in front of her.

She shake her head, making Jaune a bit confused.

"So why are you awake?" He run his eyes through their surrounding, to make sure there weren't any danger he just miss.

'This isn't healthy.' She signed.

"What do you mean?" He was more confused as he looked back at the assassin.

'All of this.' She gestured around them. 'Train every night and push your body without rest.'

Jaune sighed, remembering the argument he once had with someone in the Atlas, telling him that his training routine was harmful to his body.

"I need to get stronger." He argued back.

'But it will cause the opposite, it will cause more harm to your body than good.' She tried to reason with him, but it's futile.

"I have my semblance to heal everything so you don't need to worry about it." He waved it off.

She gritted her teeth but still continue on. 'You also need to stop doing something dangerous like take the enemies head on or take a dangerous hit for me.' She can feel her frustration slowly rising.

"I have big aura reserve and my semblance, I will be fine if I a take few hit." Once again, he shrugged her worried again.

'Why couldn't you just listen to me?!' She clutched her hand tightly, her frustrate was now reached at the limit by how stubborn he was, she just went him to listen.

"I need to protect you." He answered.

'Protect me? What about your life?' She isn't some kid that need to be take care of or to be protect, she can do it by herself like she always does when she's alone, but the answer from him shook her very being.

"My life isn't worth for anything." He simply tell her.

Neo was frozen in place with shock expression. She was shock not because of the fact he just said that or how easily he said. But the way he said it was like someone when people see Grimm as a monster or huntsman and huntress as a protector, acceptance. Like it's a normal thing and already accepted it as the truth.

*SLAP*

Suddenly, a sound of flesh hitting another flesh run through the air. He now was facing to his right, his left cheek was burning red with pain but his aura immediately heal the bruises, for how small Neo it's, she can hit really hard. Jaune turn back to Neo slowly with his hollow eyes. Her whole face was red and teeth clenched together to the point her mouth was twitching with her right hand stretch out. She look like she was about to explode.

She then did something that left him dumbfounded. She suddenly grab him by the collar to pull him down, and grasp the back of his head and pull him closer to her face. Soon his eyes widened in shock as she pressed her lips against his, closing her eyes as she did so.

He was surprised at first but slowly melt into the kiss as he closed his eyes too. He instinctively hold her waist and pull her closer to his body. He felt her breast press against his chest, they were soft even beneath the fabric.

Her tongue tried to enter his mouth, pushing it against his lips, so he let her in. Their tongues wrestle hungrily against each other with Neo winning the fight. She gently brushes his hair with her delicate small fingertips while he hold her waist to feel her body. They wanted air to breathe but not at the cost of stopping.

Finally, they broke the kiss, leaving a trail of saliva. They were breathing heavily as they stared to each other eyes with pure love and affection in their eyes before looking away from each other with a blush. The beating of his heart resonated loudly in his ears as he can taste ice cream from her lips, not knowing Neo was also in the same condition. But there was one thing in his mind that he want to ask her.

Jaune swallowed a lump in his throat and gathered his courage. He turn back to her and began to speak.

"D-do you l-love me Neo?" He flustered the words horribly.

He winced at his stutter.

Damn my awkwardness for striking me now of all the time, why now?

She was fidgeting around like a teenager girl that had a crush and was speaking in front of him, this was so weird to look at because she was Neo, a girl that will kick everyone's ass or kill them if they call her a midget or small. He never see her like this when they work together or sleep. She begin to create some notebook from her semblance and words begin to appear. He stayed silent as he looked at what she wanted to say to him.

'When I first see you in Beacon... I thought you are just a weak and useless kid who can't do anything and will probably die in the real world...' She looked away nervously when the word was written, there's a hint of shame on her face. But Jaune can't argue with that fact, he was the weakest in the whole Beacon because unlike everyone else, he had no prior huntsman training. Hell, he doesn't know what aura was until he got into Beacon and his late partner unlocked it. A memory still stung him till this very day, wonder if he didn't go to Beacon, would Pyrrha get a good partner and survive?

She take a deep breath before looking back to him with a small smile. 'But when I see you now, I see a kind, strong, and brave man that will do anything for their friends, who would change fate itself to make sure his friends were okay.' As each word appeared on the note, the smile slowly turn into a sad one.

'Slowly, I feel something for you, is it love? Lust? Or other emotions? I don't know what's the feeling that I felt for you... But I told myself that you hate me... that you didn't want anything to do with me... because of me your life become miserable... because of me a lot of people around you get hurt... because of me your best friend hate you... because of me you had to kill your friend... hell, because of me your partner was taken away from you...' Her hand began to tremble. 'I tried to bury it... hoping this felling just went away already... because I don't deserve your love... however, it just won't go away'

'Every time you hug me when I had a nightmares, smiled at me, make me laugh, the feelings just keep growing stronger and stronger to the point I can't ignored it anymore...' She look up to him with tears staining her face, trying her best to smiled.

'Every time you hug me, I feel safe and warm inside... every time you smile at me, I feel a butterfly flutter in my stomach... every time you make me laugh, I feel like I was at home... call me selfish... but I want to be always be your side in the future forever.' She smiled lovingly at him, despite the tears on her face.

But the smile abruptly vanished from her face, eyes wandering to the ground in pain. He reached out his hand in concern and was slapped away, soon more words appeared on the note.

'After Roman death... I was so lost and fill with rage, I wanted to kill the person that kill him even it cost my life. I was so blind with rage that I was easily lied, betrayed, get used like a tool, like my parent did once before... After everything had happen, I was ready to give up and die right there and then... But you save me, giving me hope and another reason to live.' The words stop appearing for a second before they continue.

'It pain my heart when I hear you say... you don't care about your own life. Do you have the slightest idea how I feel when I see you always push yourself to your limit without caring about your health, takes every attack to just protect me. Or the times when you ignored your wounds or got seriously hurt and almost died.' Neo whole body began to tremble as she gripped the note tightly, crack appears on it.

'I can't lose another person that I care about, not after Roman...'She looked up to him, a new tears forming in her eyes and began to fall and land to the dirt with a quavering mouth. 'If I lose you too... it will break my soul forever...'

Her left hand tugged at his shirt slightly, making his whole body tensed like a rock. 'Don't you remember... what you had said to me on that snowfield... that I can talk to you and share my pain with you if I want?... You can also do it with me...'Her gripped firmly, looking down with her hair cover her eyes as the sound of Sniffle can be heard.

'So please... Don't push me away...'

Jaune just stood there, emotionless and words lost in his throat as Neo silently cried and wiping the tears away. He tried to comprehend what she just said. surprised by the fact how much he meant to her and she was also in love with him and he didn't know it all this time. He's really a dense person huh? He glanced over at Neo again, she had already let go of him as she's wiping the tears from her face with her arms.

The look of her sorrowful and in pain tuck on his heartstring. He doesn't know why it hurt his heart but he doesn't want to see that emotions on her face ever again. Soon, his eyes regain some of its light back.

On instinct, he take 1 step forward and envelope her into a big hug. Neo tensed at the sudden hug and her breath was caught for a second. It become silent for a moment, not knowing what to do or say but Jaune began to speak.

"I'm sorry for making you worried and hurting you... But I just can't let anyone else dies because of me... I am so afraid... that if I just take a rest or stop for a second... I can't get up anymore and cause more pain and death around me... This feeling won't disappear so that's why I can't stop yet." Neo was about to slap him again, thinking that he was too stubborn to see how much he meant to her, but his next statement stop her from doing it.

"However, I will stop this nightly training and train less for now on, I will also try to take care of myself better if that is what you want... But, I will still protect you and train together. Is that okay?" Feeling it's was enough, she nodded as she hugged back, still looking at the ground. They didn't say anything for a moment and let the noise from nature fill their ears, Jaune then began to speak again.

"And Neo... about your feeling for me..." He tried to bring up the confession, Neo's cheeks began to flushed as she jump a little in his arms, if she has her voice she would let out a surprise but cute "Kyaa!!!". She was too emotional that she accidentally let that out. She promptly bury her face into his chest in embarrassment... still slightly gazing up at him, waiting for his answer. His heart melted a little at the sight, she look just like a small kitten.

Knowing there's no way out, he shared his thoughts.

"At first, I saw you on Cinder side... I thought of you as someone that's only after power... A girl who will do anything just to get what they want, even sacrifice other... and your partner... So I hold no trust in you, hating your very existence because I thought you are just like her" every word that came out from his mouth was breaking her heart pieces to pieces, she can only grip tightly and press her face against his chest as he can feel his shirts become a little bit moist.

Jaune gently caressed her right cheek and make her looked up to him. A tender pink and white eyes stared back in anguish and sadness with tears raining down from them and quivering mouth. He can feel his soul get pierced by a imaginary javelin and his heart tighten to the point it's starting to hurt.

He takes a deep breath and stare deep into her beautiful and captivating eyes before continue. "But when I saw you at the beach, I realize that you are nothing like Cinder. You're just a girl who had lost someone important and consumed by grief and regret. The more I interact with you, see your smile, your kind and soft side. I saw a fun and caring girl who loves messing with me, and will always look out for my sake and won't betray me, not matter what." He said with a smile as her eyes widen in shock and slight hope in them while Jaune was still in dilemma.

He doesn't know if it's alright for him to do this, to start something with Neo. This will affect their relationship forever, if things don't work out or something had happen to one of them, it will cause divergence and scar over them. And Pyrrha also love him but she had died because of him, and her death has forever burn into his soul like a ghost haunted him, reminding his failure. For a long time, he thought he was still in love with his late partner, that no one can fill that hole. However...

"I also feel strongly for you." Jaune said, her heart skip a beat at that word.

He now know that he wasn't in love with Pyrrha like her. When they kissed, there wasn't any spark or anything, it just made him slightly uncomfortable. She loved him like a lover but he saw her as a family, he loved her like a big sister who always there to help and protect him. No... he has always knows this from the beginning, he just tried to love her. The reason why he tried to lie to himself was because he felts he would betray her, because he didn't give her his answers. But he can't keep up with the lies anymore.

He liked Neo, there's not denying it anymore. Unlike his kiss with his old partner, he felt something from it, like it just click in his mind, feeling that she was more than just a friend.

"I don't know what I feel about you... is it love? Is it lust? Or other feeling... I also don't know... and I'm afraid with all of this, afraid to know that you love me, afraid to know that there's a chance that I have a romantic feeling for you, afraid to start something with you... afraid of losing you..." her hands began to grip tighter on his back.

"But I do know something that I want..." He began, tightening the hug but not to the point of hurting or causing discomfort, closing his eyes and resting his chin on her head as he let out the words. "I want to stand by your side until the end of time." He finished, she didn't reply or write anything, dropping the note and letting it shatter as the sound of cold wind swaying the trees fill the air. Neo slowly melts into the hug, wrapping her arms around him. They stay there for a while, still hugging and enjoying each other presences to their heart's content under the moonlight.

Present

He can't help but let a small smile tugged at his lips, their first encounter properly, their talk, their fight, and their confession. He remembers it all.

If someone had said that they will go out with each other when they first meet, both will look at that person like there's something wrong with them.

But now, she had become one if not the most important things that happened in his life, she was the shining sun in his darkest moments, she save him and he wouldn't trade her for the world.

Petting her head slowly in a comforting manner. She smiled at the touch, snuggling closer and wrapping her tiny hands around him.

He then kissed her temple, causing her to giggle silently. He didn't realize that a smile also had invaded his face as he pulled her closer.

Gazing to the dark sky as more of the embers from the fire twist and swirl in the air and stars shining in the sky, wondering about the future will hold for them.

"But no matter what the future hold for us, we will face it together." Gazing onward the dark and beautiful night.

[lokiswife13]

“Finish the sentence”.

Summary: Y/N is Steve’s best friend, like for YEARS, they known each other since kids and even in high school they were pretty close, close being in the same class, studying together and accept that Steve was very popular and sometimes a moron. This didn’t stop each other for developing feelings for one another.

Warnings: smut, not explicit but is there. The characters are 18. Again some quotes of songs of Taylor and Harry.

🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

“You went out with him?” Steve looked at y/n. “It was just a date, Steve. Plus, he is not that bad”. She reply.

She dated Billy last night, they went to the cinema and it was pretty good, he was an idiot but treated her nice.

“Are you jealous?”. She said teasing Steve.

“Of course not, I just know he is not good news”. She smile.

“You look hot being jealous in that marine suit”. Steve was bright red.

“Oh my god, the king Steve blush at my comment”. Steve roll his eyes.

“Anyway, I’m leaving”. She smile at him.

“Don’t go out with him again, y/n. I’m looking out for you”. Now she rolled her eyes.

“I said the same thing about Wheeler and you got a pretty long relationship so just stop”.

She finally left, realized that the last words maybe sounded like she was jealous and she was, well used to be jealous. She had to stay with her arms cross while she saw Steve falling head over heels for someone that didn’t love him.

That shit hurt her, not only because it was her friend and every time they fought Steve went straight to her house to get some sort of reassurance about the way his relationship work out, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything about how broken that relationship was, she saw Nancy looking at Jonathan with that face you have when you are falling in love.

And maybe that was the same face she had when she saw Steve, but they were friends, so close, and she felt bad about falling for him, like her bones crashed into the ground, there’s no anticipation for this kind of things, it just happend, slowly and almost like everything around her was moving in slow motion.

Y/n could remember the time she saw him and knew that the jealousy and her heart racing where actually little symptoms of love, of her falling for him. It was at the party, the famous party where Nancy got way too drunk, he looked like out of a movie, the type on guy she always looked for.

[flaskback]

“Hey, gorgeous”. Steve said while hugging her.

“Hey, handsome”. She said softly.

“You look amazing, y/n”. She smile and she knew her face was red.

“Oh, it’s nothing, just make up and a skirt”. Steve looked stunned.

“Beautiful”. Were his last words before Nancy drag him to the dance floor.

The party was amazing, friends here and there, but y/n and her social battery had been turn off. Just drinking beer.

“Let’s dance”. He said.

“Oh, no. Your girlfriend already hates me and I don’t want her to feel bad”. Steve give her a half smile.

“She’s acting weird”.

Y/n felt her stomach drop, she would love to dance with him but she couldn’t hurt Nancy, no way.

“Go with her, she probably needs you”. Steve looked at her for a while, smile and walked closer to her.

“Don’t to this, Steve. Please. She doesn’t deserve this and I don’t deserve to be treated like crumbs, disposable”.

“You are not disposable to me, I just wanted to say that maybe…”. Nancy walk out of the bathroom.

“Maybe, is always a maybe. Steve we are too drunk to have this conversation”.

He nodded and walk away. She stood there watching Steve comfort Nancy and that was it, she left the party.

[end of flashback]

Minimal, she thought that, just that made her almost dizzy, thinking about him, every fucking day and that make her sick to her stomach, to depend so much of a person, she didn’t like that.

She was always independent, not in the bad way, but her dad was never home and her mom left when she was a kid, so she grow up with herself and nothing more.

She loved her dad and knew that being a dad and a mom was not easy, at least he tried to be present, but he was a pilot so he was gone pretty much all the time.

“You fight with your father again?”. Steve nodded.

“Can I stay here tonight, please? I can’t even think of going home to listen to him and listen to my mom saying things about me getting back with Nancy or finding a better job”.

Y/n smile, he looked tired and she knew that the Nancy talk made him sad and the work talk made him angry because he worked hard to get it in the first place. She move a bit to let him in.

“I was making dinner, you want some?”. Steve smile.

“Of course, let me help you”.

Steve walked into the kitchen and saw her making some sort of chicken with veggies.

“That smells soo good”. She smile agreeing with him.

“I know. I’m such a good chef”.

Steve help her make some pasta and that was it, they ate together and talked about their day. He was still angry about her going out with Billy after what happened but she said that was only a one time thing for him to leave Max alone.

“That bastard. He threatened you with Max?”. She nodded.

“It’s okay, Steve. It was just a date and he never treated me badly. I will do anything for those kids, you know that”. Steve looked really angry.

“I can’t believe this. Such a moron. You deserve someone so much better”. He assured.

“Yeah, well I don’t think that but it’s ok”. Steve looked at her with worry.

“What do mean?”.

“I mean, looked at my family. I’m messed up, Steve. Who will want me when I’m so broken inside? The reality is that I can’t picture anything about my life past twenty five”. Steve looked hurt.

A few minutes went by.

“You are not broken, y/n”. She half smiled. “We are so much more than our families and the decision they made, you’re definitely so much more than what you mother did. I know it leaves a mark, a scar you can’t never cover up totally. I’m your friend and I’m here to help you. I’m here for you, always”.

Y/n stopped eating and looked at him.

“Thank you, Steve. I’m here for you too. Always, no matter what. I know your relationship with your parents isn’t that good, but you can always be better. Don’t feel sorry for doing it on your own”.

Steve just smiled at her, his eyes bright, he looked at her eyes and saw the whole story of both, maybe it was time to tell her, to be brave enough to risk everything just for love.

They finished eating and washed the dishes, after that they went straight to the living room to watch something in the tv and finally decided to watch a horror movie. Evil dead was one of y/n favorite movies so they pick that one, both in the largest couch and watching.

“We never talked again about that night, at the party”. Steve almost whispered.

“I though there’s was nothing to talk about, it was like a secret, we were drunk so there’s that”.

“I wasn’t that drunk to be honest”. He responded.

Maybe they got lost in translation and the fear creeping inside of them, maybe it was a shoot in the dark, maybe the both will ended up hurt or maybe not.

“After that night we never mentioned anything again, I though you forgot and I wanted to forget too”. Steve stay silent while she talk.

“You reminded me of something I couldn’t reach, something way above me in the good way, and to be honest Nancy was the type of girl you always wanted”.

Steve didn’t waste a second, he grabbed her hand and pull her into his chest, for a moment it was just the two of them in a long hug, but when they looked at each other the spark fly and Steve finally broke the space between them and kissed her, deeply, needy.

He never needed someone so much like he needed her, putting himself under her so she could rest on his lap while the both were exploring for the first time each other’s body’s, each of her leg’s rested side to his tights, she never taste something so sweet and he had never tested something like her, sweet and sour at the same time.

“I…l”. She moaned in his lips witch made him moan in return, his hands on her hips.

“Finish the sentence, y/n”. He said smiling and kissing her neck.

“Just between us, I have feelings for you”.

Steve smile and looked at her, atonement and completely wonderstruck by her beauty, her brown eyes and her cheeks, her lips with a subtle red tone. His hand reach her cheek and passed his thumb on her bottom lip, admiring her, she smile softly at him.

It wasn’t a lie that they’re life was a bit of a struggle, for both, when they found each other they where too young to know about anything, specially about love when never saw it in their parents, but this was it, when you are young you just try to prove something to yourself or others, but this moment was about them, about the feeling that was hidden because of fear. When you are young you just run but you come back to what you need.

“Let’s try”. Steve said.

“Please, I know this can work. Is always been you, all along. I thought I wanted something else but I always wanted you, all the problems we have at home, we can let it go, we can throw a party full of everyone we know, we don’t have to be sorry for leaving and growing up, y/n. You always saw the best in me”.

This time he kissed her slowly, intimate, almost like her lips where glass, delicate. He didn’t want anyone else, just her. At the end is was only her and him.

“In this world is just us, Steve”.

Steve smile and hugged her for a while, impregnated her essence in his brain, the smell of cinnamon of her body wash and the coconut on her hair, he wondered how long he will love that essence, little did he know that probably he will love that smell for the rest of his life.

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Thank you so much for the support. I’m taking requests so if you want a short story with Steve you are free to dm me, it will be my pleasure, I just love writing. And also, if you had any comments and maybe some advice I will love to read them.

Love, Lokis Wife. 🌻

[quinntamsin]

Kalevala lay in ruins, the Banners of House Kryze and the memories of Satine were erased. Standing there, her body heavy with exhaustion and expended rage, Qwynn removed her helmet. The free air struck her as the harsh brine of the sea filted into the wind.

"Where is Lady Bo-Katan?" she asked.

"We are unsure, " said one of her guards, the black and silver of her armor relaying their direct allegiance. Only the closest vassals could claim direct membership to wear the Clan's colors.

"By the greenglass of Sundari's ruins," Qwynn growled, "We will find our Manda'lor!"

---

The Mandalorian S3E4 | Chapter 20 - The Foundling

*Sighs as her HUD connects to the holonet* We open Chapter 19 with the Creed be reciting by a foundling. With the memries of the Mythosaur and the acceptance of the Scion of a Fallen House.

The massive rugged planet the folk of the Tribe have built is filled with dozens of training warriors. Why do the warriors train so hard, when they aren't building their clans nor are they preparing for war. This makes me wonder if the Tribe has become a sort of ascetic last vestige. As everyone fights Grogu pulls up a little crustacean with a rock.

He then sets down the baby in front of a fucking tween. And the kid decides he's going to get a lesson from Baby Yoda. yup, as the training darts are taken, the small little blaster and Bo decides she's now mom. I like that they aren't judging him for his species, but his size. The bigger kid nails the kid twice in the chest, and decides its time for the force.

Heh.

is this the future of the Mandalorians, a multispecies people. Like they are in the legends.

A massive pterosaur like thing pops out from a cliff and snags the foundling. The older Mando'ade give chase and we get this seriously awesome chase scene. The jumpacks have limited range, and thus they have likely lost many kids to that thing. The Vizla even says "It always gets away."

Luckily, Bo's warship can easily keep pace with the monster so she definitely is changing things up for the tribe. Paz Vizla seems likely he's not really grown up or experienced the Homeworld. I say this because we see that even he heistates on the height of the mountains. Bo counters that she trained in such things, so I think this is another good example of differing backgrounds.

Our Armorer takes Grogu into the forge and shows him as she pours a new ingot of beskar. She explains the cult's viewpoint that through adversity they improve. As the metal she works for a ship pounds we see Grogu frown and scared. He is remembering the attack of the Temple. The clones coming in to execute order 66. Knights and Guardians fall around him as we are pulled further into this PTSD flaskback.

He exits the lift and a jedi greets him and defends against several troopers. As more blaster fire flies our guard jumps on a swoopbike to flee. As we watched the enemy hawk creature fleet and is chased by the Mando'ade the Jedi flies through the canyons of Coruscant's skyways. It seems that season 3 is going to focus a lot of Dichotomy.

We see Pershing and Elia, and now we are learning more and more about Grogu as a person. His fears, and how he has dealt with the trauma of the fall of the Jedi Order. Hell we even get the Jedi swiping pass tht one mountain that Pershing touched in Chapter 18.

"Hold on it's going to be a bumpy landing."

The Jedi hits a floating starport hard, just as he passes a Naboo cruiser. The silvery exterior screams Nabo, and the brave Soldiers defend him further as the Empire's fist approaches. The pounding the harm snaps little Grogu back from the flashback as it's just the Armorer working the metal. He smalls after frowning, has he found a sense of easy.

Turns out that Grogu was getting a present, and he get's a round chest piece with the Mudhorn clan embelm. Fuck that was a great little subplot.

Now, back to Bo and her determination to save the foundling. Momm Bo is ready, she leads her strike-team like any longtime leader. A quick glance at the part reeals another woman with similar armor design and markings. Perhaps a former Nite Owl? The massive mesas and karst that make up this plant definitely portrays something akin to the wild west. Paz being our resident Vizla is here to be a challenger.

"You are the leader of the war-party."

She is left alone as they all recede into the darkness and we see her face clear of the helmet. Her face is riddled with indecision and disquiet. And yes, I like disquiet as a word, so sue me.

They smother their fire and Bo gives out the attack plan. Scaling the cliffface they use their grapples and their own strength to do the rest. I can see how the covert has trained these Mandalorians, but they haven't had Bo's conditioning. She is definitely higher up in the challenge. Well, there is also Din and Paz who are holding both her flanks.

They find the nest and slowly veer off in an inverse v-formation. Paz is the first it seems to reach the top, he is struggling, his heavy gun and armor likely holding himdown. Wht we see is a massive nest filled with Mandalorian helmets. And even more so stolen beskar. Paz rushes in to save the kid who turns out to be his son, as he calls out Ragnar's name the heat signature proves to be hatchlings.

Paz watches in horror as his son is coughed up by our annoying raptor. He saves his kid by literally flying into the creatures mout and wedging it open with his chest piece. The Mando'ade give chase and Paz falls, this leaves the other members of the war-party to take out the beast. So quick words on this thing.

These monsters are not stupid enough I think to understand that the Mando'ade are harmful targets, and ye he keeps eating them. So if you feel bad for the monster and its babys, remember it's been eating Mando kids for a while now. Enough that there were more than one or two helmets there.

They return, the creature dead, and Ragnar in two with his father. Clan Vizla has a new scion and Grogu watches as they all greet the party home. She brings in the hatclings which fits. The Mandlorians use to be beasttamers, and it's good to see the covert accepting her. She gets a new pauldron and she asks for it to be marked by the Mythosaur.

Yes, she will be Mand'alor, and she will revive the Clans! I love that the Armorer greets her and then seemingly tells her that the Mythosaur we all saw was in her head, or was a religious vision.

OKAY!

Gay Canon

Seriously, I am now shipping the Armorer as opposing forces. Yeah, so fucking sue me!

Or maybe Bo, Ahsoka and Barris.

Hottake:

Grogu trying to eat another poor animal reminds us that Grogu is a predator species. Remember those eggs?

Bo got a great arc this story, I like how we are getting more and more hints of how she's likely a form of cultural folk hero.

Paz Vizla being nice to both Din after saving his kid and his respect.

Holy fuck Grogu's escape was definitely a high octane thrill-ride of a nightmare. That kid has some serious PTSD. I am so happy he got a chest piece.

Glad to see that the Mandlorian's are accepting of multi-species Clans.

The Armorer said, "your House", makes me think that there are still elements of House Kryze out there.

Where is Clan Wren though, where IS Sabine?

Ths Mythosaur is going to be a big deal in the finale isn't it.

[raamitsu]

I can't believe that some people still believe the shin theory because "mikey has not the same clothes than in Baji's memories of the events, so his memories are not exacts" :/ Like maybe it's Baji's memories who are not exacts? Also they say "it's strange to see a page with Shinichiro in Mikey's flaskback/pov" like really? :/

I wonder what’s so strange with seeing Shinichiro in Mikey’s flashback/pov though, like ?? First of all:

Shin is a Sano.

He’s Mikey’s biological elder brother.

Mikey cherishes him a lot (and afaik he looks up to him too) along with Sakurako, Grandpa Sano and Emma.

In conclusion, Shin ain’t a nobody to Mikey.

You know… It’s funny how we were shown in the previous chapter(s) where Mikey tried to stop his tears from falling on both of his beloved family members’ funerals, but what does that tell you exactly? That, if from the beginning, he was told “it’s okay to cry” or “crying doesn’t indicate you’re weak” he would have definitely cried without hesitation and THAT would’ve hurt that person’s narratives a lot. This whole “strange to see a page with Shin in Mikey’s flashback/pov” is so out of place ?? I hope somebody tells me what’s so “strange” about remembering our family members, especially when we look up to them. I get that not everyone favors their family but this has nothing to do with Mikey cuz he had a wonderful, caring family AND friends from the start. Why would Mikey wanted to remember a person that is claimed to hurt or abused him and even went out to tell Takemichi that he reminded him of his elder brother? Was their intention to tell us that Mikey doesn’t actually know his elder brother well enough that he would do as far as faking his memories? Even when he has been living under the same roof as Shin for years? You gotta give us a break.

I wonder how long it will take for them to realize that Shin will always be Mikey’s beloved elder brother and if he wants to remember him, that’s his right to do so. In fact, it just proved that there has nothing malicious ever happened between them. Trying to twist canon will not only confuse people, but it will spread even more false narratives toward a character that was clearly lacking of plots, especially Shin, so it’s better to stay on board with the things that Wakui has shown us.

Tbh, I was actually contemplating with the “his memories are not exact” statement because why would it be when the whole three chapters were told from Mikey’s POV ?? Why would Mikey - who went through all those shit hell - wanted to lie about them? If anything, yes, it might be Baji’s memories that’s unreliable since he was caught committing a crime together with Kazutora. It caught his friend’s elder brother’s live and I bet he can’t set his mind straight at the moment cuz he was filled with guilt and fright, not to mention he was just a young boy. Besides, when Mikey found him and Kazutora, they were cuffed and were on their way to be brought to the police station after the incident occurred, so did Baji get the time to stand there and memorize everything around him, including Mikey’s outfit? Definitely not. He was heavily crying while looking at him and said “I’m sorry, Mikey” when Mikey asked him what happened.

Or, maybe Wakui has made a little mistakes on Mikey’s outfit. We don’t know for sure but these are the only possibilities that make sense to me. You can tell me that someone time leaped on that timeline and changed a few things and it may have effected his outfits as well and I would believe that idk lol

[ask-the-becile-boys]

Has The Jon seen/met with The Jack since he was struck by lightning?

Previous | Next

[ID: 6 digitally sketched panels, the first four in black lines on white, the last two white lines on black.]

[Panel 1: A flaskback of The Jon, back turned to the viewer with his head turned in profile, happily pointing out something offpanel. The Jack narrates, "I see him."]

[Panel 2: The Jon turns to the viewer in cheerful greeting. The Jack continues, "I've seen him so many times. But..."]

[Panel 3: The Jon stops, expression dropping in concern, hurt, confusion. The Jack says, "He does not see me."]

[Panel 4: Hare and The Skull loosely sketched in black, both standing in front of The Jack so he's only visible between their shoulders. The Jack has two images-- black lines on top showing him grinning in his straitjacket, and grey underneath showing him as a frowning stick figure. The Jack says, "Nobody sees me."

[Panel 5: Jump back to the present, with The Jack sitting in the dark closet. He is sketched in grey lines filled with white. He says, "So, I must not be here. Isn't that funny? To be a nowhere person? Ha ha ha ha..."]

[Panel 6: The Jack turns to look at the door, eyes visible, expression worried, with a question mark next to him. From outside, Locksmith exclaims, "So our interloper shows his face! Your brand of troublesome 'assistance' is unwelcome, Scratch." End ID.]

[randomfandomimagine]

Love’s Worth Running To. Chapter 3: The Accident

Pairing: Barry Allen x Stephanie Williams (OC)

Fandom: Justice League / DCEU

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⬅ PREVIOUS CHAPTER • CHAPTER INDEX • NEXT CHAPTER ➡

AO3

A/N: This is when things start to get serious! I hope you enjoy chapter 3! As always, remember to give this some love, please reblog and leave feedback! It would make my week! 🙏💜

The next day the lab feels the same as ever, though it appears even brighter than the other day as Stephanie walks inside, coffee in hand. She beams and smiles at Ben as she approaches him. He stares at her, cutting her off before she can greet him with a cheerful ‘good morning’.

“Good morning to you too, Stephanie” He gladly takes the coffee that she offers him.

“It’s rude to interrupt people, you know?” She playfully wrinkles her nose at him.

“Just when I thought you couldn’t be any nicer and more of a ray of sunshine” Ben jokes. “Does this have to do with your mysterious childhood friend?”

“Kind of” She purses her lips to suppress her big smile. “It suddenly feels like a missing part of me has returned”

“Oh, no…” He playfully dreads. “You’re not going to get sappy, are you?”

Stephanie rolls her eyes a little and softly slaps him in the arm. He laughs.

For a moment she questions whether to tell him about yesterday. The conversation with Barry, the awkwardness turned to warmth as they reconnected again, and even the near death experience that was the strange culmination to an otherwise lovely soiree. However, while she stares at Ben tangling with the computer, she decides against it.

As close as she is with Ben, it feels slightly out of place to talk about it. Too personal. Ben would surely intently listen to her, smiling politely as he always does. Nonetheless, even if a part of her wants to share that euphoria with the only person she’s close to, the other part prefers to keep it to herself. Silently treasure it.

“Is the computer behaving?” Stephanie asks instead, sliding on her white lab coat.

“For now” Ben absently replies, focused on entering commands on it. “Let’s hope it doesn’t glitch today”

“I’m feeling lucky” She happily replies, earning a curious look from him.

Like every other day, Stephanie automatically puts her hair behind her ear to get it away from her eyes. Then she leans down on the microscope, looking through it and analyzing the samples after Ben has done the small adjustments to the force field they had been exposed to.

The usual dullness overcomes her once again as a force of habit, but one thing’s different. After so many hours of hard work and perseverance, there’s finally something. Understanding what the change can mean, Stephanie gasps.

“Ben!” She shrieks with such urgency that he jolts up in startle.

“What is it?” He rushes to her side, planting a comforting hand on her back.

“T-The samples!” She announces, wildly gesticulating. “It’s starting to work!”

On an instinct, Ben goes to look at the samples through the microscope just like Stephanie was doing a moment ago. With a light chuckle, he backs away.

“You’re the biology expert, I... don’t know what’s happening”

“The molecules are being altered, but the reaction is positive” Stephanie’s heart races with intensity at the thought of what it could imply. “And if we arrange the force field in just the right way and the molecules have a flawless positive reaction…”

She feels out of breath with excitement. Finally, her long awaited goal would come to fruition. Finally, they will have a force for good on their hands, a technology that could help and protect countless of people.

“We need to keep working” His ever undisturbed polite facade breaks slightly as he fidgets in the spot, patting her and glancing around as though he doesn’t know what to do. “But we’re making progress?”

“We’re making progress!” To celebrate the success that has taken them months to achieve, they hold on to each other’s hands. Their restless energy surges through them, only spreading further to each other.

“There you are!” An outside voice cuts through the moment as someone walks inside the lab. “It took me forever to find-”

When the two turn, they find themselves with the unexpected presence of a tall thin boy with dark hair. He’s very familiar to her, but a complete stranger for Ben.

“Barry...” Stephanie mutters, suddenly very aware of the rare touch of Ben’s hands.

“You must be the friend” The latter says, breaking away from her.

“The friend?” Barry’s previous gawk changes into a grin. “Have you been talking about me, Steph?”

“Oh, um… sorry...” Stephanie chuckles to hide her embarrassment. “Ben, that’s Barry… you know, my friend. Barry this is Ben, he’s kind of… my boss. Well, not exactly…”

“I’m just in charge of the project” Ben corrects her, witnessing her struggling. “But we work together as equals”

“Yeah…” The young woman suddenly feels overwhelmed as her present and her past collide in the form of the two men.

“Nice to meet you, Barry” Ben holds his hand out for him to shake.

“You too, Ben” The boy smiles, tapping his hand before letting go of the handshake.

“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but…” Stephanie tugs on Barry’s sleeve. Ben stares at the two, and his gaze flusters her. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I just came by to say hi” Barry simply says, shrugging a little. “I just… I just missed you, okay?”

Stephanie must have given him a look of utter endearment, because he bashfully averts his gaze and begins to walk around the lab.

“Can I… hang around for a bit?” He asks Stephanie, but she looks at Ben.

“I guess” He kindly replies, politely smiling. “It’s not top secret or anything”

“Cool!” Barry continues to carelessly wander around the lab. “The tech looks fancy”

“Thank you” Ben takes the compliment upon himself, as he is the one in charge of that.

“What are you working on?” To Barry’s question, Stephanie glances at Ben once again. He only nods his head for confirmation. Only then does she talk about the project.

“A force field” She motions over to the small machine that projects the energy towards the molecules vibrating in the air. “We’re currently making sure that the molecules react correctly in order to-”

“Ensure the force field could be projected on people?” He ventures, and Stephanie quickly nods her head, smiling. “That would be awesome! It could be used in such amazing ways!”

“I’m the techno-scientist in charge of the force field” Ben explains, even though Barry and Stephanie are peering at each other and barely paying attention. “Stephanie is the biology expert we hired to control how the molecules react when they’re exposed to it”

“What?” She chuckles, flustered under Barry’s smitten stare.

“You’re still trying to save the world, huh?” He nudges her a little.

“So she’s always been like this” Ben meddles in, looking from one to the other.

“You have no idea, buddy” Barry glances at him, even if his permanent smile is directed at the girl.

“I…” Ben clears his throat, taking a step back. “I better leave you two for a bit. I’ll get ourselves a snack”

“Thank you” Stephanie tells him as he moves further away. Her gratitude isn’t only in response to his kind offer to grab something to eat, but also for allowing them a moment alone. He understands how important Barry is to her.

After Ben leaves, the two are alone in the room. It fills with silence. Barry continues to wander, pretending to look at the equipment littered around the lab. In reality, a question bubbles in his chest, growing bigger by the second and threatening to become unbearable until he finally lets it out.

“So…” He begins, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning on a table. “Steph”

“Yeah?”

“Are you free today?”

“Yeah, after work. Why?”

Barry casually shrugs, pouting his bottom lip in a carefree gesture. He picks up an unused flask and fiddles with it, even if his eyes are fixed on her face.

“I dunno… I thought we could go out again. I mean... if you want” He gulps, looking away before she can even react to his suggestion. Barry hurriedly continues speaking, not letting her say anything yet. “We could go take a walk or go to the cinema or…”

“So soon?” Stephanie’s tone is playful. “You should take me to dinner first, Allen”

“Huh?” Barry gawks at her, completely oblivious to her teasing and panicking in fear of her response.

“I’m joking, silly” She giggles, closing the distance that separates them to rub his arm. “I would love to meet with you again later”

Barry grins, heaving a breath of relief. He nods to himself, putting the flaskback on its place. He pushes himself off the table and opens his mouth to say something. However, something interrupts him. Stephanie might have not noticed the noise, being so used to it, but Barry freezes at the sirens outside the window.

“Okay, so what time do you get out?” He begins, slowly walking back to the door.

“At… three” Stephanie half-questions, watching him in confusion.

“Okay, cool” He carelessly says, staring at the street. “I’ll pick you up then”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I gotta run”

“Barry...”

“See you later!”

Before she can even say goodbye to him, he has already run off. The glass door closes with a soft sound that still echoes in her ears. She sighs. With that, Stephanie resigns herself to go back to work. Her thoughts wander nonetheless.

She has to get used to being around him again, is all. They haven’t seen each other in so long, and things have changed. It’s strange to think that they’re both adults now, with jobs and responsibilities, but it’s the reality. One she must accept.

Just as she finds herself staring at the display of the experiment yet not seeing it, it happens. The force field crackles and vanishes, undoing hours of progress. For a moment, she freezes, not knowing how to react.

“No…” Stephanie whines, sulkily walking over to the computer.

She still doesn’t really understand how such an advanced model works, but she takes a look nonetheless. The screen is glitching like it has been for days, so she waits for several seconds. Nothing happens. Stephanie taps the screen, and it seems to return to normal. It asks to press any letter to restart the projection of the force field.

Breathing in relief, Stephanie does as asked. She makes a mental note to tell Ben about it anyway. The machine comes to life with the press of a button. She waits. A crackling sound begins to her right. She looks with the corner of her eye and turns slowly. The force field, once small and contained, is now growing at an alarming rate with a static sound. If it weren’t impossible, she would think it has developed a mind of its own.

“Oh, no…” She gasps, realizing what is about to happen. Her gut knows it before her brain does. A sinking feeling grows in her stomach. Her mind can only focus on one thought. One emotion. Fear.

Time stops. She makes to move out of the way, but it’s too late. She can almost feel the invisible electricity in the air before it hits her. Stephanie closes her eyes tight and puts her arms before her, trying to protect herself from the inevitable. In vain.

Her entire life seems to flash before her eyes as the whimsical time slowly speeds up again. She sees Barry in her mind. Despite her discontent, despite her nostalgia and despite everything, there isn’t a single thing she regrets. Not anymore. As she resigns herself to her doom, she feels satisfied with her life. If he’s to be her last thought, it will be a beautiful one.

An immense blast of energy then shoots her way, being so powerful that it throws her across the room. She screams. The wind is knocked out of her when her back violently hits the furthest wall, claiming a guttural grunt from within her. She falls on the ground like rag doll, barely capable of remaining conscious. Pain is the only thing her brain can conceive. Her lungs have seemed to stop working. Stephanie struggles to catch her breath again, but her attempts are futile. Before she can breathe again, she has succumbed to a pitch black darkness.

_

Barry comes to a halt once he returns to S.T.A.R. Labs. He takes a deep breath, recovering from the unplanned rescue mission, and heads to Stephanie’s lab once more. The remnant of the ashes from the fire still linger on his clothes. He can’t linger on the people he saved for long, however. Something else claims his attention.

He walks slowly, overcome with a strange feeling of dread. It forcefully settles in his stomach. Everything is quiet in that floor. Too quiet... He just left her not that long ago. Barry checks his watch, seeing that only twenty minutes have gone by. There are no voices, but even if Ben hadn’t returned… Something feels wrong.

“Steph?” The boy calls as he approaches her lab, still anguished by the silence. A strange atmosphere lives in the air. “Stephanie?”

Just as he arrives, he places the hand on the doorknob. An unexpected noise makes him freeze. A buzzing light. He sees it flash through the glass door. Still no signs of her.

“Stephanie...?” He tries again, tentatively opening the door. The sight he is received with makes his heart skip a beat. Time has never moved so slowly for him.

The entire lab has been destroyed, like a bomb or a hurricane passed through. An explosion definitely seems to have blasted through the entire room. There is broken glass and papers scattered around the floor, crunching under his sneakers. Every piece of technology that he had admired before, including the computer, are broken to pieces.

The buzzing light blinks on and off, projecting its yellowish light in small intervals to illuminate the darkness that otherwise drowns everything. There is another thing, far more alarming than the others. A figure lying on the ground. Completely still.

“STEPH!” Barry speeds through the room, instantly moving to that corner. “Oh god...”

Stephanie lies face down. The wall behind her is dented, and a nasty feeling assures Barry that her body caused that. What happened there?!

Swallowing hard, he reaches out to touch her. She isn’t moving. Is she breathing? Is she hurt? Is she... alive? Please, let her be alive...

“S-Steph?” He sobs, gingerly gathering her form in his arms and leaning her against his chest. A tuft of hair limply glides off her forehead to reveal her eyes. They are closed. He shakes her slightly, but she limply lies against him. “No, no… I just found you… d-don’t leave me again…”

Stephanie still doesn’t move. Shaking from head to toe, Barry leans closer to her. He can’t hear a heartbeat when he presses his ear against her chest. Moving up slightly, he can’t hear her breath from her parted lips either.

He can’t breathe. It feels like a train has run him over. Only that it would hurt less than this.

“No, no, no, no, no…” He gulps, his vision growing blurry when tears inundate his eyes. “Please, Steph...”

He observes her, heartbroken by the pained expression in her face. It is stuck like that. If only he could do something, if he could save her… A crazy idea suddenly reaches him. Lifting one shaking hand, Barry snaps his fingers. The electricity curses through, crackling in his hands and illuminating her pale skin. He hesitates, but the thought that he’s running out of time convinces him to try it. He has to.

“Please work…. Please, please… please work…” Closing his eyes tight and mentally praying to any and all deities he can think of, he puts his hand over her heart. The electricity passes over to her, and Stephanie lightly spasms with it.

He holds. His heart continues to race as he watches her expectantly.

Boom, boom. Boom, boom.

Although she remains still, Barry can hear a faint strangled inhale coming from her.

“Stephanie?” He quickly asks, so much so that he runs over the syllables.

Her eyelashes flutter. Barry holds his breath. She frowns, letting out a pained yet weak groan. Still, he almost starts crying in relief.

“S-Steph...” He calls her again, gingerly cradling her face in his palm.

Stephanie opens her eyes. A blinking light stabs them. A person is very close to her as his face comes into focus. All she can see is a pair of gentle dark eyes she is very familiar with. Her fuzzy brain is having trouble recognizing them. Now they’re also flooded in fear and concern. He’s moving his lips, but she can’t hear the sounds he’s uttering. A loud whistling in her ears makes it impossible to focus.

Stephanie tiredly stares at him. She wants to move, to speak, to do something, but she can’t. Everything hurts. Her brain burns with a fog that quickly eats up her thoughts. She needs to lift her arm and touch him, make sure he’s really there and not just a dream.

Barry...

She can’t.

Her sore body and mind take over her. Stephanie’s eyes roll into her skull. Despite it all, she smiles. Because he’s here with her. She can feel his warmth. As long as he’s there, she groggily thinks, everything will be alright.

Stephanie gives in to exhaustion and forsakes herself to darkness once again. He hears him screaming her name, so loud that it overpowers the loud whistling in her ears.

“Steph!!” Barry’s heart skips a beat. The tears that had frozen in his eyelashes freely travel down his cheeks when he notices she has grown completely still again. “S-Steph?”

He continues to sob, desperately clinging her body against his chest as a harrowing void fills his chest.

_

An unexpected knock makes little Stephanie freeze. She leaves her homework and waits, fearing who might be at the door. The knock comes again, this time accompanied by a kind voice.

“Tephie!” Barry insists. “Open up!”

Hurrying to her feet, Stephanie runs to the door in astonishment and opens it to let him in. With a mildly mischievous smile, Barry rushes in as soon as he is able to. She follows him with her gaze as he goes to the table and puts the homework away.

“Barry!” She whispers at first, but then she realizes she doesn’t have to. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to cheer you up” He drags something out of his pocket. “I know you argued with your mom and dad again. They aren’t home, right?”

“No, they’re still working” Stephanie goes after him as Barry goes to the TV. He introduces the mysterious object he carried and hid in his hands into the VHS player. “Barry, what…?”

“I found this really cool movie” He looks at her with a grin. “I know you’re gonna love it, we can do a sleepover!”

“Those never end well” She smiles a little in spite of herself. “Remember that time you chased me around the house and knocked down my mom’s favorite vase?”

“I only wanted to tickle you…” He defended himself as he set the movie up.

Stephanie laughs, shaking her head at him. Barry only shows him an innocent grin.

“What movie is this?” She asks as they both sit in the ground as they always do.

“The Breakfast Club”

“Haven’t heard of it”

“Shame on you!”

“What’s it about?”

“Just watch the movie!”

She giggles, trying to hold the laughter in and focus on the movie. Still, she looks at Barry. His presence has cheered her up already, and the arguments with her parents don’t seem as important anymore.

The boy turns to her as well, sweetly smiling in return. It is an expression that has etched in her memory. Even after all this time.

As her senses return, reality and dream mix as the latter slowly dissolves. A boy is sitting close to her. The same one from her dream.

Barry stares at her with those warm dark brown eyes. A happy twinkle shines in them.

There are dark circles under his eyes, seeming gloom and inundated in tears. She can tell even as he averts his gaze, absently staring at the window. But not seeing it.

His smile is wide and bright, glad that the plan works and she finds the movie entertaining.

There is no sight of that smile, only a preoccupied gesture that has his lips tightly pursed. When they’re not, they shake with the meek sobs that wreck his torso.

What’s wrong? Why is Barry crying?

Disoriented, she glances around. A bright white hospital bed surrounds her. The walls are made of tiles and make the whole room cold. She is resting in a soft bed, with a thin sheet covering her body. When she looks to the side she focuses on him.

“B… B…” She tries to call out, but speech has left her. Nonetheless, his sobbing halts.

“Steph?” He gasps, hurriedly wiping his tears and leaning forward in the chair he’s sitting in. “Are you awake?”

“Ba… Barry…” She opens her mouth, trying to reply.

“No, no, no, don’t speak. Save… save your energies!”

Stephanie only groans, overwhelmed with discomfort and pain as the veil of sleep completely fades. It had been safe and comfortable, but consciousness feels like a torture. All the unpleasant sensations that plague her multiply when a sudden pressure engulfs her as Barry throws himself to hug her.

“Oh, Steph...” He dissolves in feeble sobs as he gingerly squeezes her in his arms. “You’re okay… For a moment there, I… I thought I lost you...”

“B-Barry…” The word gets stuck in her raspy throat and dry mouth. The effort causes a violent coughing fit that shakes her entire body.

“I’m so sorry!” Barry immediately pulls away, giving her some room to breathe.

Stephanie continues to cough, wincing as the strain only brings more pain that layers on top of the existing one. Barry dissolves in apologies as he hurries to pick up the water bottle that he kept ready in the table beside him and hands it to her.

The coughing fit lessens enough to let her drink, but she can’t reach out to take the bottle from him. Stephanie’s arms feel heavy as though they’re made out of lead. Every single muscle hurts and she can only manage a pathetic attempt at reaching out. The arm heavily falls down onto the bed again. She huffs in resigned frustration.

“Hey, it’s okay, I got you” Barry opens the bottle for her and brings it up to her lips.

As much as she appreciates the help, Stephanie can’t help but to scowl a little. She feels completely useless, being unable to even hold up a plastic water bottle.

“I’m sorry about that…” Barry tells her. “You’re still weak, I need to… you need to…”

Not really listening to him, Stephanie lightly nods her head. Understanding the gesture, he puts the water away and returns the bottle to its place on the table. She hadn’t realized how dry her throat was until she drank.

“What…?” Stephanie finally manages to croak out, her voice still hoarse and raspy.

“What happened?” He completes for her, earning a nod so mild that he barely sees it. “You had an accident at the lab… I… the… the force field exploded”

Stephanie closes her eyes as the memories come to her. On top of all the unwell, a nasty feeling grows in the pit of her stomach. She vividly remembers it now. The iron claw of fear returns to her, even if as a shadow of its former self. The force field went out of control. That explains why every fiber of her body hurts in a way it never had before. It’s like the aftermath of a thousand workouts put together, only that even worse.

“You’re okay, though” Barry tries to reassure her. “You broke a few bones, but you’ll heal and… you’ll recover in no time, right?”

Unable to participate in Barry’s optimism, she continues frowning. Having the haunting suspicion that she broke some ribs, Stephanie cautiously breathes in. Indeed, a sharp pang reaches her side when she does. Watching her grimace, Barry can only wince in empathy, wishing there was something he could do to help.

“Do you... need anything?” He kindly offers, fighting the urge to fidget. “Water, food? Are you cold?”

Stephanie whines, reaching out her hand. He doesn’t hesitate to take it.

“Me?” He questions, earning a soft nod from her. “I’m here, Steph, not going anywhere”

To further demonstrate, Barry plops back down on the chair, squeezing her hand. She seems to at least be a little more at ease now. He breathes out in relief as well, trying not to make it too obvious.

Just when everything was starting to settle down, the door to the room urgently swings open. They both turn their heads in startle. A blond mop of hair sticks out, and familiar blue eyes sweep the room.

“Stephanie…” Ben utters, barely glancing at Barry before he settles on her.

“Hey, man…” Barry warns him, getting back up. “Take it easy with her, okay?”

“Of course” The other gravely nods. “Thanks for looking after her, I got here as fast as I could”

“Ben…” She croaks, letting go of Barry’s hand and reaching out for him.

“Hello” The aforesaid does his best to smile, even if wrinkles of concern form on his face. “How are you feeling?”

Stephanie only moves around in the bed, feeble. She wishes she could just get up and give him a hug. Give them both a hug. But her body is screaming for her to lie still and rest. Defeated, she only sighs and tiredly leans her head on the pillow.

“Is she okay?” Ben asks, bearing the physical manifestation of utter heartbreak in his voice.

“Yeah, she’s just…” Barry sighs in exhaustion. “A little weak right now”

The two share a preoccupied glance. They murmur as Barry puts him up to date on what the doctors told him. She should be okay. The accident was bad, but the important thing is she survived it. She’s out of danger now. All she needs is rest.

“Don’t… mutter…” Stephanie weakly begs them, only feeling worse about it.

“Sorry” Ben turns to her once more, forcing out another smile and holding up something that he had been clinging in his hands. “I brought you these”

Stephanie manages to genuinely smile for the first time as she watches Ben. The beautiful bouquet of flowers is gingerly put over the table. Roses. They brighten up the room with a touch of color. From there, Stephanie can also smell their pleasant scent.

“I… actually wanted to apologize, Stephanie” Ben admits then. He uses his professional voice, the one Stephanie has heard many times when they talk about work. “It was my fault that such a horrible thing happened”

“What?” Barry pipes up, watching the scene develop. “How could it be your fault?”

“I was in charge of the technology” The other tells him, then turning back to her. “I should have avoided it, I should have kept the computer from glitching like that”

Barry averts his gaze. For the first time, he sees the situation from a very different perspective. Glitch… His gut twists in a nasty manner when realization hits. The technology glitched. It isn’t the first he hears of it, even if they don’t know . Something tells him it wasn’t an accident. One thing is for certain, though, it wasn’t Ben’s doing.

“I-I’m sure it wasn’t your fault, man” Barry pats his shoulder, but Ben shakes his head.

“It was my responsibility” He insists. “I still can’t understand what happened but… I should have known… I should know”

“Stop…” Stephanie pleads, hating that the situation only worsens.

“I should at least have been there with you, to...” Ben’s bright blue eyes become watery with tears. “To protect you when it happened”

“That’s true” Barry agrees, but corrects himself when he realizes how it sounds. “I mean me! I shouldn’t have left you alone, Steph, I feel terrible”

The two of them softly talk over each other, taking the blame as they reassure the other.

“Guys…” She breathes in slowly, successfully catching their attention. And, relieved that it doesn’t develop in another coughing fit or a wave of pain. “If you were there… you would have… just… gotten hurt too…”

That small effort has rid her from any of her remaining energies, but it was hopefully worth it. The silence heavily falls on them. It reigns. The boys look down to their feet, filled with remorse and anguish. Both of them care deeply about Stephanie, they realize as they look up at each other, it’s the one thing they have in common.

“Well, I…” Ben gulps, giving a third attempt at a smile. “I should get back to work, there’s a lot to do right now”

“Don’t... worry” Is all Stephanie manages to tell him to assuage his fear. “I’ll be... okay”

“Hey, Barry?” When the boy peers at him, surprised, Ben continues. “Look after her?”

“I will” They shake hands, like they did less than a day ago. “I promise”

Showing his best effort yet, Ben smiles once again. Then, as he waves goodbye at Stephanie, he quietly leaves the room. After closing the door behind him, Ben exchanges a glance with Barry. The boy nods his head, assuring him he will keep his promise. He doesn’t need to tell him twice.

“He’s so… sweet…” Stephanie languidly says, although her ability to speak is returning little by little.

“Yeah…” Barry bites his lip, watching the spot Ben used to be in. “Ben’s a nice guy”

He feels stupid for being jealous of him at that very moment. Of course, he wishes he could have spent all those years with Stephanie like he has. Years that she spent with Ben instead of with him. Perhaps it’s because Barry was so close to losing her that every single second away from her, past or future, suddenly feels unbearable.

Gathering himself, he takes a deep breath. There is still the present. He can be with Steph now. So he will be there, because she needs him. Because he wants to be there.

“Anyway” Barry grins at her, hoping the gesture is uplifting. “What do you need, Steph?”

Once again, she holds her hand out. He laughs a little as he delicately wraps his fingers around hers. Suddenly, the pang of jealousy in his chest dissipates.

“That’s right” A bright and more genuine grin grows on his lips. “That’s where we left of”

Just when he’s about to sit, however, Stephanie tugs at his hand. He looks up at her, frozen mid—movement. Their eyes meet. An unspoken need glows in hers while his are a reflection of the softness he currently feels. Because of her.

“Closer” She just asks him, and he doesn’t have the heart to complain. A part of him is afraid that he will hurt her in that fragile state, but his need to comfort her overcomes it.

“Okay” Barry sweetly smiles, pausing for a moment as he stands up straight again.

Stephanie makes an effort to scoot while he glances around. His hoodie rests over the back of the chair, so he takes it and gingerly places it over her. Stephanie smiles and gladly shrinks under the warm garment. Barry looks around again, making sure there’s nothing else she might need before he lies down with her and settles there.

“Barry?”

“Stop talking, Steph!” He nervously hisses, but when he hears how hard that sounded even in his worry, he corrects his tone to a more playful one. “Gosh, I’m the one that rambles around here, okay? You have no right taking my place like that”

She smiles, and the beautiful sight warms Barry’s heart. It replaces the lonely coldness that had harbored inside his chest for so many hours. Of uncertainty and fear.

“What if I…?” She still says, even if she obliges and quiets nonetheless.

“Need something?” He completes for her again. “Let me think…”

Barry carefully goes to lie down in the bed with her. He moves slowly, slower than he ever has. As he lightly sinks down into the bed, Stephanie immediately accommodates. She snuggles closer to him, sighing in content when their sides are pressed together.

“Okay, here’s what we’ll do” Barry can’t help but to smile as she comfortably leans her head on his shoulder. “You can squeeze my hand”

“Mm-hm” Is all she says as she closes her eyes, finally feeling at ease.

He exudes a soothing warmth that envelops her and makes her feel at home. Although he is fidgety and restless, he tries to stay still. Not move an inch. As small as the gesture is, Stephanie treasures it fondly. While she is wondering in the cozy state he helped her achieve, Barry is being true to his word by rambling on.

“One squeeze if you need comfort, two if you need water or food...”

“Mm-hm…”

“Oh, and three if you need me to get the doctor or something”

“Mm-hm”

“Did I miss anything? What else?”

Barry waits, assuming Stephanie is thinking about it too. After a few seconds of silence, and a very telling sound, he glances down at her. She is softly breathing. Barry feels a fluttering in his stomach while he watches her sleep in his shoulder.

“Sleep well, Tephie…” He whispers to himself, smiling fondly.

The overwhelming worry that had haunted him for so many hours grows smaller. It still shimmers in the surface, but leaves room for something different. Like the wave of affection that reaches him.

Barry takes a breath, gently wrapping his hand around hers. He holds it. If she wakes and needs something, he’ll be ready for when she squeezes it. For now, he will rest with her.

Not moving from that position, Barry closes his eyes. He feels the inviting and well-deserved slumber catch up to him. He falls asleep delicately squeezing her hand and hoping to infuse her with all his energy for a speedy recovery.

Tag list: @scared-to-be-lonely345 // Ask to be added to be notified when I post for this series!!

[dailudannos]

Imma write a pitch episode where Technus has feelings

-When fighting Danny something goes horribly wrong and danny thinks he fucked up big time and made technus mad enough to try and make Danny's undead life more miserable

-Instead Technus flys away, back to the GZ, leaving behind his glasses

Edit

-And then the ghosts have to complain cause they haven't seen Technus and they want Danny to investigate cause dealing with Technus means being mauled by his inventions and technological creations

-Danny goes to Technus's lair, finds him, and is really surprised when he sees him sitting alone, quiet from his normal persona

Danny: uh Technus,-

Technus: Hm, oh, it's just you ghost child.

*Goes back to working at his desk*

Danny: Uh, the other ghosts asked me to check up on you. Are you okay?

Technus: Oh no... I'm... I'm not exactly sure

-AND THEN IT MOVES ON FROM THERE

-Each and every day, danny tries to help technus experience emotion each part of the week

-Sam and Tucker are completely mortified by the sight of Technus, AND WITHOUT HIS GLASSES, WHAT A MAD MAN :O

-It's all gushy after and then Skulker comes along, only to find danny and technus having ice-cream, to help technus cope more

Skulker: What are you doing here with the ghost child?

Technus: ...

Danny: I'm trying to help him since I messed him up last time

Technus: Ghost child, I have a question.

Danny and Skulker: Now?

-After long reconsideration of Technus and how he feels, he likes what he feels when around Skulker, and makes that very clear to the gang

*FLASKBACKS TO TUE*

Danny: That's great Technus. How are you gonna tell him?

Sam: Didn't Ember and him break up?

This is all I have so far, but I just like the idea of Technus actually experiencing emotions and having feelings and such

Small little tiny edit:

You can bet that Technus has never had a smidge of physical interaction and is COMPLETELY TOUCH STARVED

[snkpolls]

SnK Episode 63 Poll (for Manga Readers)

The poll closed with 253 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Manga Readers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll, click here.

---

RATE THE CHAPTER 244 Responses

In contrast to episode 62, this episode got a lot more of a positive response, with no one rating it a one, and well over ¾ rating it as a 4 or better. The anticipation for the upcoming events surely has a part to play in this!

I love it! Wholesome and thrilling all in one!

LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I think they did an amazing job. The animation was even better than before too.

Pacing was great! The best so far.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING MOMENTS WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 247 Responses

As expected of the fandom, Falco leading Reiner to the basement to meet Eren got the largest chunk of the pie as what was probably one of the most anticipated moments from the episode. In second was the daytime festival with Reiner spoiling the kids to some good food, with the third place going to Eren meeting his grandfather at the hospital. 

They animated Dr Jaeger’s breakdown incredibly well, I felt extra bad for the guy.

WOULD YOU SHAMELESSLY EXPLOIT REINER FINANCIALLY IF YOU HAD SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY? 242 Responses

The majority of respondents say they would definitely exploit Reiner financially, with 31% saying they would feel bad about it, and 26.4% truly being shameless about it. 17.8%, on the other hand, would never even entertain the thought.

WHICH FOOD WOULD YOU WANT REINER TO BUY YOU? 246 Responses

Naturally, pizza gets the majority with nearly 60% of the vote (c’mon, who doesn’t love a good pizza?). Behind that was dessert at 22.8%, followed by those who prefer a good sandwich at 17.1%. A couple of commenters were just plain thirsty for other characters. 

All of the above ;)

Ereh abs 

1 drink with 2 straws so we can share while romantically staring into each other's eyes

EVERYTHING

erwin's t*ts

All. We make reiner broke

WHICH KID HAD THE CUTEST “BEGGING” EXPRESSION? 244 Responses

Gabi says she’s cute, and the fandom agrees! With 67.2% of the vote, Gabi takes the number 1 spot as the most adorable beggar. This is followed up distantly by Falco, who took in 25.8% of the vote. Zofia and Udo got a small amount of love as well.

WHAT DO YOU THINK - DID MAPPA DO WILLY TYBUR JUSTICE? 245 Responses

Overall, respondents are very happy with MAPPA’s rendition of Willy Tybur, with nearly 50% simply appreciating his design and seiyuu, while 38.8% find him quite dashing. A small amount think MAPPA got his design down just right, but not so much of a hit with the seiyuu. 

As expected of MAPPA! That's exactly Willy!

His shoulders look so small its weird

They did a good job casting and drawing him but I don't personally think he's attractive at all

I couldn't take him seriously since his voice is the same as kakashi's

He is fine and MAPPA animated him well. I don't look at him from sexual way. 

They really nailed Willy and I appreciate his character way more than in the manga

MAPPA MANAGED TO FIT IN THE STAIRWELL SCENE WITH PORCO AND PIECK. WAS IT EVERYTHING YOU HOPED IT WOULD BE? 247 Responses

MAPPA gave some of us a good surprise by repurposing the stairwell scene with Porco and Pieck (and I think most of us agree they’d have been fools to omit it completely). 38.1% were very grateful for it’s inclusion. 37.2% think they executed it well and had a nice chuckle from it. 9.7% were disappointed in the adaptation of Pieck’s ass, and 10.9% actually didn’t care about this scene anyway. 

Everyone's making too much of a fuss over it. Nice scene though

I wish they had actually animated her scurrying around

My bisexual ass simps for Porco AND Pieck 

It was everything I hoped for and more. Thank you Mappa

I always knew MAPPA wouldn't dare cut the scene where Pieck scares the crap outta Porco 😂. Poor guy could have fallen down the stairs.

That was a cute and fun scene. Pieck is really sweet and Porco was more friendly and open hearted than his manga counterpart. I really loved it!

YES! YES! YES! YES! Y E S!

Pieck Ass

MAPPA INCLUDED AN ANIME-ONLY SCENE OF A DRUNK TOWNSMAN PRAISING ZOFIA (MISTAKING HER FOR GABI), WHICH INCLUDES SOME SYMBOLISM ABOUT BAD LUCK. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE ADDITION? 244 Responses

Anime-only scenes are always hit-or-miss with manga readers, and this one seems to have been no exception. Overall, 32% of respondents thought it added a nice layer to the life of Eldians on the mainland. 18.4% were appreciative of a little more Zofia content. 16.4% liked the scene well enough, but didn’t feel it was necessary. 12.7% feel that it will serve as more fodder for Gabi’s characterization. Smaller amounts either didn’t care about it, or felt that it was completely unneeded and pointless. 

I don't remember it not being part of manga, but this scene was good.

They skipped so many scenes from the manga and then add this... really not necessary

I've appreciated every little addition they've added so far, but I wish we could all quit associating black cats with bad luck. It's a major reason why they have a hard time getting adopted in real life. :(

Yet another bitter reminder of why I despise Gabi so much

OOF

I really liked the additions they made, they’re really making us like all these characters more and it’s going to hit even harder when things go down.

UDO’S SARCASM IN THE ANIME IS MUCH MORE PLAYFUL THAN HIS GLOOMY CYNICISM IN THE MANGA. DO YOU THINK THIS MAKES HIM MORE LIKEABLE? 243 Responses

Udo shows a lot of distaste for the way that Eldians are treated both in the manga and in the anime, although it seems to have gone a bit more overlooked when we initially met his character. The anime team upped the sarcasm in Udo’s fatalistic views and the fandom seems to be very receptive to it! 44.9% of respondents feel that it makes him stand out a lot more than it did in the manga, and 34.2% are simply enjoying this more lively rendition of his character. A handful of others prefer his demeanor better in the manga, while others really don’t care about Udo at all.

I adore him in the anime. It’s gonna hurt seeing him squashed.

The answer is: Yes! 

It hurts more 'cause he'll die

To me it kind of felt like anger disguised as playful sarcasm, which actually made it scarier to me because you never know when he's gonna snap like he did last time.

MAPPA OMITTED THE SCENE SHOWING ZEKE AND COLT PLAYING BASEBALL. AS MANGA READERS, THIS ONCE SPARKED A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT WHETHER EREN AND ZEKE WERE WORKING TOGETHER. DO YOU THINK ITS REMOVAL WAS A GOOD MOVE? 243 Responses

Overall, there doesn’t seem to be much panic in the omission of Zeke and Colt playing baseball, although some write-in responses indicated that they were more saddened by the lack of development between Zeke and Colt, rather than the foreshadowing of the Yeager brothers working together. 39.5% feel that since we already know Zeke has an affinity for baseball, the foreshadowing works well enough without this extra scene. 28.8% feel that we should simply wait and see if MAPPA rearranged this like it has other scenes. 13.6% think that this will make things even more of a shock for anime-only viewers, while a smaller handful feel that it ruins all ability to even speculate about it.

It would be too obvious if it was in the same episode and I think Eren's scene is enough for people to make a conection between baseball and Zeke

I missed it because it fleshed out Zeke and Colt’s relationship. Specifically the thing Zeke says about being a big brother. 

I'm more sad because it was cute than for the potential foreshadowing. The foreshadowing is at least partly still there without it.

It's looking like a "show it later in a flaskback" angle.

It would probably be too obvious in an anime format

I'm more disappointed about the content of the conversation between Zeke and Colt

Since it was obvious last episode that the injured soldier was Eren, it’s good to actually hold another plot twist in the air that nobody will see coming as a replacement

WITH KIYOMI NOW INTRODUCED, HOW DO YOU THINK MIKASA WILL ACKNOWLEDGE THE AZUMABITO SYMBOL? 240 Responses

The symbol on Kiyomi’s kimono is the same one that is branded on Mikasa’s wrist in the manga. But the anime team retconned this detail and Mikasa’s mother showed her the symbol through embroidery instead. So it begs the question of how this will be acknowledged in the anime, given Mikasa doesn’t (knowingly) walk around with an embroidered Azumabito symbol on her clothing. 41.7% feel that she will verbally acknowledge the symbol as something her mother showed her when she was little. 25% are anticipating MAPPA retconning things back to having the symbol branded on Mikasa’s wrist again instead. 15.8% think she will have the symbol embroidered on a piece of clothing she is wearing, and others feel it will be acknowledged in a different way, or the scene will be omitted altogether.

Either canned entirely so they can focus more on adapting the more labor intensive parts or acknowledged in another way

Anyone who thinks they’ll retcon to a tattoo is super wrong. Japan has a huge taboo on tattoos because of the Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) so they’re 100% keeping with the embroidery 

I don’t even remember where Mikasa first saw the symbol…

I think it would be fine if they use the embroidery but they could just change where the tattoo is located

WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE INCLUSION OF PIECK AND PORCO DURING THE DAYTIME FESTIVAL? 245 Responses

With Pieck being a fan favorite and Porco lacking in as much screen time in comparison, we asked how you all felt about the inclusion of them in the short festival scene. Most responses were positive, with 38.8% getting a kick out of the implication that they, too, were mooching off of Reiner for free food, 35.1% just loving that they’re getting more screen time altogether, and 17.1% feeling that it was a huge improvement over Reiner being solo in the manga. A small chunk of respondents felt it was better the way it was depicted in the manga. 

Doesn't matter, Falco is really the only one who deserves to live

I preferred it in the manga when Reiner was alone with the kids, but it's a nice addition to give them more screentime. Especially to Porco

Their moments together show the close-hearted bonds they have.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE ADAPTATION OF CHAPTERS 99 AND 100 WILL GO? 100 IS ONE THE COMMUNITY’S ALL-TIME FAVORITE CHAPTERS. 244 Responses

The Declaration of War has been one of the most anticipated animated episodes since its chapter’s publication. With MAPPA at the helm, we asked how confident you guys were in how it will be adapted. Nearly 70% of respondents are wholly confident in MAPPA’s ability to pull this off, regardless of whether they’ll have to cut some lines or are able to keep everything in. 25% remain cautiously optimistic. 

I'm really scared, but hope that they can make it justice 

No idea how they adapt that much dialogue in one episode

I hope the declaration of war gets the best adaptation possible.

IN A RECENT INTERVIEW, WE GOT A GLIMPSE OF SOME NEW MUSIC THAT HASN’T YET BEEN IN THE ANIME. COMPOSER SAMUEL KIM MADE A WONDERFUL FAN COMPOSITION BASED OFF OF THE SNIPPET IN THE INTERVIEW.... DO YOU THINK THAT HIS MUSIC IS WHAT WILL BE PLAYED DURING THE BUILDUP TO THE DECLARATION OF WAR? 228 Responses

For those of us who are OST nerds, we wait in anticipation of which track will be used for the iconic Declaration of War scene and how it will impact the overall execution. 37.3% who listened to the fan composition of a new song feel that no other song would suit the scene and are hopeful this is, indeed, what will play. 22.4% are hanging on for YouSeeBigGirl/T:T (or at the very least a rendition of it) due to the significance it has between Eren and Reiner. 19.3% feel it will play during Willy’s play, but not the Big Moment itself, and 11.4% simply aren’t invested. Some write-ins indicated they don’t want to be spoiled on any of the new music until it’s paired with the appropriate scenes. 

I hope that it will be Vogel im Kafig but this track fits great too, and I think that this track is more likely to play during the buildup scene

Not gonna listen. If this is indeed the DoW music, I want to hear it first during the scene itself.

It'll be edited around for the play but the climax at the end could very well match the trailer they used it in for DoW

Whatever MAPPA decides to play, I'll be content with I'm sure. 

I prefer to wait and be suprised by the ost than listen to it before and it feeling like deja-vu

YouSeeBigGirl would be great for some nostalgia but this new soundtrack seems intriguing, maybe MAPPA has more surprises for us

Im thinking the ost might be completely different but i am open to it being played because it does sound nice

No ost spoilers for me

WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT EPISODE? 243 Responses

The top three most anticipated clips from the preview include Eren starting to transform, Willy declaring war and Eren and Reiner’s conversation in the basement. Of course, these are all more or less interconnected, so the vast majority of respondents are looking forward to the buildup toward and the climax of the DoW (as expected). A small number are looking forward to smaller scenes such as Falco realizing he’s been used and Willy’s play in general. 

I'm hyped for the declaration play!

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

I LOVED IT MAPPA IS DOING A GOOD JOB!!!!

I loved the humanization of all the characters

The perfect calm before the storm. Everything from here on out will be an unstoppable train

I'm just so happy to see the story animated! 

It was a mandatory filler episode for the declaration of war, important stuff happening but pretty boring overall.

This episode seemed shorter and kinda empty, but considering what's coming, I totally forgive and understand it. 

Its just a really great episode The pacing was perfect I was actually more invested with Magath's and Willy's interaction in the anime rather than the manga The visuals for the scene when Eren and Dr. Jaeger were talking were beautiful Udo's character was fleshed out more I'm still waiting for Armin It just presented things differently from how i read into those scence, and i liked that. Overall just really exited for the next episode and for chapter 136 to come out

The ending got me so HYPED for the next episode!! It was really well done.

the eyeshots of Eren's grandpa were epic

The episode was trully wonderful and I enjoyed every part of it. MAPPA is doing great job and I get a feeling that with the new soundtrack the episodes feel more serious than the ones created by WiT. I love Pieck. I never understood what was so ""cute"" about her in the manga. I saw her only as intelligent, skilled, tough warrior woman. Now I finally see her cuteness. I love how sweet and calm she is. Pieck reminds me of Tsuyu from MHA. They share similar energy. I'm grateful to MAPPA for making the bonds between the warriors stronger. This way the anime onlines will feel more sympathy to them. Pieck and Porco won't be just cold warriors, but nice folks.

Watching Falco and Gabi together is so satisfying to watch after knowing he confesses his love before inheriting the jaw Titan oooof love them so much

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 232 Responses

Thank you again to everyone who participated! We’ll see you again next episode!

[kortsitron]

Prom King

Relationship: Peter Parker × TransMale! Reader { Platonic }

Location: Mention of it in oneshot

Time: Around 6-7 pm (I never was at the prom, don't know the time)

AU: None

Warnings: Dysphoria, transphobia, angst, swearing

👑 Reader is pre-T 👑

[A/N]

My big inspiration to make this oneshot was "Prom Dress by Mxmtoon". If you don't feel comfortable reading this oneshot, that's ok. You don't have to read it, it's fine. But if you want to read this, I hope you enjoy this! 💝

【 Flaskback 】

"You want me to what...?" (Y/N) muttered looking at his parents. He was standing right in front of them in the living room, talking, actually arguing about the prom.

"You are going to a prom in a dress." His father said once again. Teenager's face drew dark, he couldn't believe what he just heard.

"I told both of you that I want to wear a suit. I am not going to wear a dress." He snapped. His blood was boiling inside of him. His parents could see this too clearly.

"Don't talk to us like that. You are a girl and--"

"I told that I am not!" He had cut this father's sentence. "I told you way too many times that I'm a boy. Why can't you just accept it and let me be me?"

Tears came to his eyes.

"We had let you cut your hair and wear what you want. But prom is a different thing, my dear. You need to look like a woman." His mother interrupted. "I already got a dress for you. It was way too expensive, but you will look like a princess." She smiled, hoping her son will smile back, but he didn't. His hands became fists, but he knew that he need to calm down.

"Alright." He finally spoke. "If you want to play like that, I am not going to this fucking prom." His voice was confident. (Y/N) didn't care what his parents will say about him using this word.

"Girls don't use words like that!" Mother yelled a little. (Y/N) rolled his eyes.

"Girls maybe don't, it doesn't apply to me." He murmured and smirked a little, proud of what he said.

"You are going to this prom and this the end of a discussion!" His father yelled. "I don't want to see you! Go to your room and think about what you have said."

"Blah, blah, blah." He giggled and got out of the house. He didn't knew where is going to, but he knew that he is not going to say with his parents.

【 Now 】

(Y/N) was standing in the bathroom, starting at the mirror. He was forced by his parents to wear a light pink dress, which indeed looked like a dress for a princess. His father gave him a silver necklace and his mother gave him ballerina shoes and small white bag were he had his phone.

He felt awful. His shoulders were showed, even his chest and waist were more visible. He wanted to cry so badly. Dysphoria was killing him at the moment. He wanted to change into clothes that he would wear everyday and destroy all the things he was wearing.

"Why did they done that to me?" He whispered to himself, feeling his voice breaking with every word he spoke.

"Come on, darling. We have to go." His mother yelled. Her voice was cheerful.

(Y/N) got out of the bathroom and stood in front of his mother.

"Please, I don't want to go. I feel like shit. Let me stay." He prayed, tears coming to his eyes. "I never felt that bad in my life. Please, have mercy!"

"When people will start complementing you, you will feel better." He smiled and grabbed his hand. They went the car and started getting to the prom.

Young male was screaming inside. He had no idea what he should do. He need to think of a plan. Being like this on a prom, at least for him, won't end good. The ride took around 20 minutes.

"Where finally here. Have a great night." She said as (Y/N) got out of the car, closing the door loudly.

"This night is going to be nightmare." He whispered to himself and went to school.

He got a few glances from students, but they quickly looked away seeing how angry and anxious he was.

"(Y/N)?!" A familiar voice asked. Young male turned to see a person who said that. Of course it was his best friend, Peter Parker. "Is it really you?" He was extremely surprised and couldn't believe his eyes.

"Of course not. I would never wear something like that. My parents forced me." His voice was dead, no emotions in it.

"I am so sorry." Peter sighed and put hand on (Y/N)'s shoulder. Male quickly got hand out of his skin, feeling even worst. "I-I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable with that."

"It's fine." He lied and tried to fake a smile, failed it.

"Did someone finally got that she is a girl?" Flash laughed, making (Y/N) wating to cry again. Male didn't turned to see him, he didn't wanted anyone to him like this.

"Fuck off." His voice broke and left as quickly as he got there. Hot tears coming from his eyes. He had heard someone yelling his name, wanting him to come back, but he was still running.

He came to the bathroom and looked into the mirror. "I can't look like that." He cried. Makeup was running down, making male look ugly.

He started washing his face with cold water, getting rid of the disgusting makeup that he had. Then he simply used toilet paper to dry his face. He looked like himself more.

In his mind were a great plan how to get out of this situation. The got out of the bathroom only to got to his locker. In the locker, male had one of his binders and p.e. t-shirt, shorts (male ones of course), hoodie and sneakers. He got all of the things with him to the bathroom and changed into it. He put his phone to his pocket in hoodie. Before going out, he checked if anyone was there. Everyone was enjoying the prom, so he could go peacefully to the back door. Luckily, it wasn't closed so he could go and get rid of the everything that cause him dysphoria.

(Y/N) probably was judged by every person who saw him. Not everyday people see a guy with a dress, ballerina shoes, white bag and necklace. It was looking suspicious, but no one cared too much.

He was going to park and his plan was to throw all the things to lake and watching them drifting away. It didn't took male too long to get to lake. He was standing, staring at the water.

"I hope I will never see you again." He yelled and threw all the things. Then he sat down, watching everything drifting away with a smile.

The quiet music started to play from (Y/N)'s phone. It was Peter of course. Male answered the call.

"You called me in a perfect moment." He giggled. "What's up?" Male asked before relaxing his body.

"Where are you? I was looking everywhere, but I couldn't find you. Is everything ok?" Peter asked, his voice was showing how worried tennager was at the moment.

"Everything is fine. I'm at the park now, sitting right next to the lake. Gonna come?"

"Lake?" He was confused. After (Y/N) left the prom, everything seemed to happen so fact to tennager. "How did you get here?"

"Back door, Pete." He smirked. "But seriously, are you coming here or you're going to stay at this stupid prom?"

"Alright, I will be here in a few minutes. See you."

"See you too." And then he hung up. Not knowing what to do, (Y/N) laid on the grass, looking at the stars.

After about 10 minutes, Peter arrived and stood next to (Y/N) and staring at him with a grin. He sat next to him on the grass, looking at the night sky, before looking again at male next to him.

"Where are the dress and the rest?" He questioned and raised his brow. He didn't got a answer, but (Y/N) pointed at the lake. "Did you really threw it here?" He laughed, shaking his head. Male nodded and laughed as well.

"I did and I had never felt more free than now. You look very handsome in this suit." He pointed out. Peter blushed a little.

"Thank you. I'm sure you would look handsome as well in a suit."

"Thanks." He sat up and looked at Peter. "How was a prom? Had fun?"

"It wasn't nice. Especially when you left. This place is better." He spoke, he didn't smiled while talking about it. "But I'm glad we are here and you're okay."

"I'm not okay. I feel fucking awesome!" Tennager yelled.

"Are you drunk?" He joked, trying not laugh. "What got you so high?"

"Freedom, Peter." (Y/N) laid again, teenager next to him did the same.

"Do you think your parents going to be mad?" Peter wasn't sure if it was a good idea to ask about it, but he wanted to know anyway.

"Of course they will be."

"Wanna stay in my house tonight?"

"If that's not a problem." (Y/N) didn't wanted to go to his own house, being scared what can happen.

"Of course it's not a problem." Peter's voice tensed at some kind. "Aunt May likes you and I don't want you to be stressed." He was worried. "I can call her now if you want to."

"Why do you care that much?" He giggled.

"Because you're my best friend and you do not deserve to be misgendered, especially by your parents." He said confidently as he took out his phone.

(Y/N) blushed and smiled.

"Thanks Peter."

"For what?"

"For everything."