#me and an old friend of mine used to have a running joke during a-levels that im just one of those people where shit Works Out

[hella1975]

ive got an essay due at 3pm tomorrow and ive not even looked at it i am so so unserious about my degree and by the grace of some higher being i somehow keep managing to crawl through it's actually getting a bit funny

[triplexdoublex]

Promise

Pairing: (Virgin) Chase Hudson x (Virgin) Reader

Warnings/tags : virginity, loosing virginity, mild blood, Sharing past memories of them being just friends as children. brief mention of underage drinking (Chase and reader DO NOT par take), brief off page mention of them kissing and getting to 2nd base( kiss/touch breasts) in the past prior to them turning 18. , NO SEX including ORAL happens before they are 18 only after!!!

“Pinky Promise,” you and Chase said in unison, hooking your little twelve year old pinkies together. “And I promise to never break a promise… EVER!” You both followed, in tradition with your usual promise making ritual the two of you had developed over your lifetime of being neighbors and best friends.

********

And you never did break a promise to each other, not once… and you certainly weren’t going to start now.

“Ugh, if I could go back in time and punch twelve year old me in the face right now I would!” Chase grumbles in sexual frustration, pausing his steamy make out session with you, and moving to sit at the end of his bed before things go any further. This is the closest the two of you have ever been to breaking the promise you made to eachother that fateful day after watching a video on STDs and teen pregnancy in sixth grade health class.

“I’d punch twelve year old me too, if I could,” you match his level of frustration. You grab your bra and fasten it back on before joining him at the end of the bed. “I should have known coming over here when your parents aren’t home was gonna make it nearly impossible to stick to our stupid ‘no sex until after highschool graduation’ pact.”

“If we’re being honest you should probably punch yourself twice,” he elbows you playfully.

“Oh yeah, and why’s that?”

“Because you’re the one who decided we should add ‘no oral sex or touching below the waist’ to the pact.” He runs his painted fingertips through his deep brown hair.

“It sounded gross at the time!” You exclaim in playful defense. “Plus neither of us knew we’d end up together.” You add. “It wasn’t until we were fifteen when you kissed me during our weekly Friday movie night that I even knew you liked me like that. I still remember the surge of electricity that went through me the second your lips touched mine, and how it made me lose my grip on the bowl of popcorn— what a mess!” You smile at him.

“Yeah,” he smiles back at you, reminiscing. “We kissed until the credits rolled. I still don’t know how ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ actually ends.” He laughs.

“It ended with your tongue down my throat,” you giggle. “But it’s three years later — we’re eighteen now — and that’s still all we’ve really done, besides you kissing and touching my breasts. There’s gotta be something we can do to get some release without breaking our promise. The overwhelming desire to make eachother cum, is absolutely killing me lately.”

“It’s killing me too—Fuck, especially hearing you talk like that— you’re not helping you know,” he jokes, adjusting himself in his pants.

“Sorry,” you blush. “But ummm, I think I might know something we could try though,” you say softly, hesitant to admit what you’re about to.

“Please, What? Anything!” Chase practically begs.

“Ok, I’m kinda embarrassed to say this, and you’re probably gonna think I’m weird but umm…so obviously, sometimes I masturbate thinking about you, and I’m sure you do it thinking about me too—” you pause to take a deep breath. “—but sometimes it’s not enough so i’ll like hump my pillow and pretend it’s you and- and, I can get off like that,” you hide your face in your hands.

“Hey, you don’t need to be embarrassed,” he peels your hands away from your face. “I actually think that’s hott as fuck. I’m honored. He smiles, blushing. “I’m not sure how that helps us now though?”

“Y-you can be like my pillow — we’ll both keep our clothes on of course, well the necessary ones anyway.

“Ok, I’m totally down to try that,” he says with a flirtatious smile as he scoots himself back on the bed and lays down. “I’m all yours,” he smirks, gripping his erection through his tight jeans.

The depths of your abdomen are already warm with desire as you straddle him. As luck would have it, you’re wearing a skirt; the thin fabric of your panties are the only thing separating your plump and eager clit from the hard bulge of denim beneath you, as you begin the slow roll of your hips.

“Mmmhahamm,” Chase moans out a satisfied, smug, little laugh as he slides his hands up your thighs and under your skirt to grip your hips. “This just might be the best idea you’ve ever had,” he smirks, using his grip to push and pull you against him, intensifying the friction for you both.

The feeling is far more intense than the soft cushion of your pillow and you relish in it, appreciating the way his twitching cock excites your sensitive bud.

“Goddd, I wish you were inside me right now!” you whine out, adding a slight bounce to your movements so you can pretend.

“Trust me, I know, I wish I was too,” he bucks his pelvis up to play into the fantasy of it all.

The only thing missing is a fullness inside of you and a tight warmth around Chase, but this will do for now. You can feel how slick you're getting and wonder if Chase can feel the dampness through his denim. And as if he can read your mind he slides his hands back down your thighs to the hem of your skirt, lifting it up to take a peek underneath.

“Mm-Fuck that’s so hott! You’re soaking through your panties babe,” he exclaims, watching in awe as wet spot blooms.

“That’s because this feels s-sooo fucking good, baby! Mmmhhm.” You moan, looking directly into his gorgeous blue eyes.

“Yeah?” He asks rhetorically and bites his lip, as his body moves in unison with yours. “Let’s get this back off you, huh?” He sits up slightly supporting himself with one hand as he expertly unhooks your bra with the other . It’s one of the only things he’s been allowed to take off of you for the last three years, so of course he’s mastered it by now. “Fuck, you’re so gorgeous,” he sits up fully now, gently cupping your face with partial sweater paws —his painted finger tips resting gently on the apples of your cheeks. He pulls you in and begins kissing you, your tongues embracing each others in sensual rhythm.

You grab the hem of his oversized sweater and begin to pull it up, only parting your mouths long enough to tug it over his head. The second it’s discarded, you’re at it again; desperate, hungry kisses moaning into eachothers mouth.

“C-can I try be-being on top now,?” he breaks the kiss to ask, panting and out of breath.

“Of course,” you roll off him and lay on your back, letting him climb on top.

Somehow this position makes everything feel more real; the weight of him between your legs; the skin to skin contact of your bare, sweat-slicked chests gliding against each other with every roll of Chase’s hips.

“Mmmhm— Fuck, baby! Can’t wait to do this for real,” he kisses the words into the flesh right below your ear; he knows it’s your favorite spot. As usual it sends a wave of pleasure straight to your core.

“Fuck, I’m so close, Chase! Don’t stop!”you cry out. But your words excite him too much…

“Shit! No no no no NO! Not yet!” He pleads with himself, shortly following with a defeated “I’m cumming.” With a heavy sigh he rolls off of you. “Fuck, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, Chase, don’t worry about it, besides I can take care of myself,” you reassure him, giving him a peck on the lips, and shift to get out of bed to head to the bathroom.

“Wait!” He reaches out grabbing you by the wrist. “I wanna watch …if that’s ok with you of course.”

“Umm.. yeah, okay,” you reply timidly, knowing you're about to star in a private show of one of your most intimate moments; all eyes on you, even if they are just Chase’s.

You position yourself back on the bed—legs spread and skirt lifted for Chase’s viewing pleasure— and slip your hand into your panties. It was never an official part of the original promise you made, but at some point in your relationship it became like an unspoken rule that seeing those parts of each other were off limits until after graduation as well. Your fingers move in circles over your clit, shielded only by the thin, delicate, wet fabric of your panties. It doesn’t take long before Chase is hard again; his own hand tucked into his boxer briefs, as he watches you.

“So sexy, playing with yourself for me,” he stares in awe. “Thinking about this dick inside you baby?” He says, as he strokes himself, his jeans now unzipped to allow him more range of motion.

“Mmmhm, you know it, Cha—“ your orgasm cuts off your words as it surges through you. Chase can’t take his eyes off you as your legs tremble and thighs clamp close around your hand— he’s never seen anything so arousing in his life.

“Baby, give me your hand,” he requests, when your body stops seizing in pleasure. You give him a quizzical look. “Trust me,” he elaborates. And you do—you trust him, you trust him with every cell in your body —so you extend your free hand out to him , the other still resting lazily in your panties. “No, the other one,” he specifies. In confused silence you pull out your hand—fingers still sleek with your essence—and give it to Chase who brings it to his lips. “Wanna taste you,” he takes two of your fingers into his mouth, his tongue swirling over, around and between them.

His dick twitches at his first taste of your flavor. You feel the buzz of his moans briefly around your fingers before they fall from his slack jaw as he cums hard in his pants, again.

“Can I?” You ask, nodding down to the mess seeping through his boxers.

He knows exactly what you’re asking and thumbs a drop of cum from his tip, and brings it to your lips. You open your mouth and he pushes his thumb in allowing you a taste of his salty release.

“Do I taste good, baby?” He asks. With his thumb still in your mouth you coyly nod yes. “You do too,” he smirks before slipping out his thumb. “God, I can’t wait until graduation.”

************************

By the time graduation rolls around the two of you have practically worn a hole in the crotch of every pair of pants and underwear you own.

After diplomas are received and caps thrown you sneak off to a hotel party with Chase, telling your mom you’re at sleepover with your friend, because even though you’re eighteen your moms one of those ‘you live under my roof, you live under my rules’ kind of mom. Technically you’re not really lying since your friend is here at the party too, but you doubt anyone’s gonna be sleeping, unless they just blackout; Another friend's older brother is stupidly supplying alcohol. You and Chase will not be partaking — another sixth grade health class promise to each other— no drinking until the legal age of 21.

Chase has been acting slightly off all night, he seems distracted, like his mind is completely somewhere else right now. It’s so unlike him and you're a little concerned.

“Earth to Chase,” you call out, grabbing his attention. “You okay? What’s going on in that head of yours?”

He takes a big breath before answering “Sorry it was supposed to be a surprise after the party but I can’t get it off my mind …..I got us our own room,” he says handing you a key card.

“Oh..OHH!” It suddenly hits you as to why he’s been acting so odd. “I’m gonna go tell my friends I’m not feeling well, so we’re leaving early.”

***********

Once alone inside the room with Chase, your nerves start to kick in but you try not to show it. You and Chase are on the bed— still fully clothed sans socks and shoes— kissing softly when he pauses to ask…

“So how do you wanna do this?”

“Umm, however you want to I guess.” You respond sounding unsure.

“Are you okay? We don’t have to do this tonight if you’re not ready yet,” he says sensing your nerves. “I’ll be just as happy sleeping next to you as I’ll be sleeping with you. No pressure.”

“Yeah, I’m okay. Everyone makes such a huge deal out of virginity , I think I’m just psyching myself out even though I know it's just a social construct. I’m mostly just worried about it hurting,” you admit.

“Promise I’ll be as gentle as possible, and we can stop anytime you want or need too,” he reassures you. Just let me know—I’m your best friend before anything else, before being your boyfriend, and certainly before my own pleasure— the last thing I wanna do is hurt you in any way shape or form.

“Thank you, I really appreciate that. You make me feel so safe, I couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone but you,” you give him a slow, sensual kiss, before pausing to speak again, “I really appreciate you going to the gyno with me to get birth control last month too,”

“Of course, birth control is just as much my responsibility as it is yours—which reminds me, I wasn't sure if you still wanted to use condoms or not, but I brought some,” he reaches into his small cross body bag on the floor by the bed and pulls out a three pack. “Completely up to you, I’m fine either way.”

“I’m okay doing it without one. I mean, I’m on birth control and we’re both virgins.”

“ That’s what I was thinking too, but I wanted to bring them just in case you didn’t feel the same way,”

“You’re the best,” you smile at him. “So umm I was thinking like, missionary— at least to start.”

“Whatever you want, baby.”

“And umm, if you don’t mind, can we like skip the other stuff for now? I’m just really anxious to finally have sex with you,” you blush.

“Same,” he smiles. “I’m completely fine with that,”

Slowly, you begin undressing each other: first tugging Chase’s form fitting black T-shirt up and over his head, followed by him pulling you to your feet so he can unzip the back of your dress. He stands behind you, kissing the base of your neck before taking his time lowering the zipper, and continuing to kiss down your vertebrae as he goes. Once fully unzipped you shrug the garment from your shoulders, letting it cascade down your body and pool at your feet. Chase lends you a hand, helping you step out of the swirl of fabric and then gently lays you down on the bed. You’re only in your panties; your graduation dress not requiring a bra. Chase stands at the foot of the bed and begins to unbuckle the belt of his dress pants. It’s by far one of the hottest sights you’ve ever seen, reminiscent of the cover of one of your guilty pleasure steamy romance novels. After he’s fully removed his pants, he climbs onto the bed, the both of you in just your underwear.

“Can I take these off you?” He hooks his thumbs under the skinny strap of fabric at your hips. You respond with a nod and your bottom lip tucked tightly between your teeth. You lift your hips for him as Chase makes quick work of tugging them down and off. He marvels at the sight before him; you completely nude for the very first time in his presence. “God, you’re so fucking beautiful,” he lightly traces a single finger over your slit, just barely parting your lips. “Ready for me?” He strokes himself through the confines of his boxers and then quickly removes them when you respond with another nod. He spreads your legs then positions himself between them. “Try to relax for me, okay.”

He attempts to run his tip through your folds to lubricate himself before pushing in but it seems your arousal isn’t quite as plentiful as the times that the two of you have simulated sex. You can feel the friction from the lack of wetness as Chase tries to navigate his way through your folds, and embarrassingly, you know he can feel it too.

“I’m sorry,” you cover your face in shame. “I want this. I’m in the mood and everything, I swear. I’m turned on, you turn me on—-” you ramble in a panic, thinking Chase is going to be offended.

“Shhh, baby, it’s okay. I know it’s probably just because you’re nervous. Don’t worry about it, I brought some lube, just in case,” Chase reaches down to his bag once again, and pulls out a small colorful bottle. “Is it okay if I rub some on you?”

“Of course,.………Chase,—I love you, seriously, you’re the best.” You’ve heard some of your other friends' first time stories and you know how lucky you are to have someone who cares as much about your level of pleasure and comfort as their own.

“I love you, too,” he smiles, giving you a kiss on the forehead. “I know you said you wanted to skip the other stuff for now, but I think it might be a good idea if I get you warmed up with my fingers a little first. Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah, go ahead,” you involuntarily squirm with anticipation.

Chase cracks open the bottle of lube, and squeezes out a moderate amount onto his fingertips. He warms the clear, cool, jelly between his thumb and forefingers before gently applying it to your opening.

“Ready?” He waits for your nod of approval before sliding a slicked finger inside of you. The sensation causes you to softly breathe out his name. “You okay?” He asks, sounding concerned.

“Yeah,” you whisper. “Keep going.” And he does, working them in a ‘come hither’ motion and adding a second finger when you say it’s okay. You wouldn’t say it hurts by any means, but you can definitely feel the pressure and stretch of his long, slender fingers working inside you. But the pleasure is there as well; that special spot you also learned about in health class—Chase has undeniably found it. “Mmmm, Chase—fuck…so good — kiss me.”

“Anything you want, baby,” Chase leans over your body— his fingers still getting you ready for him— and connects his mouth to yours, devouring your moans. Every kiss fills you with the same electric surge as it did during that Friday movie night, three years ago. That’s how it always is with you and Chase; every kiss feels like the first time —everytime.

“Want you…now,” you whimper as he moves the kisses to your neck.

“I’m right here, baby. I’m all yours,” he breathes against your flesh.

“Inside me,” you clarify, grabbing his hard dick.

“Yeah?” He perks his head up smiling at you. “Think you can take me now?”

“Yeah, go slow though,”

“I will, baby,” he slips out his fingers and uses the mixture of lube and arousal to coat himself before lining up between your legs again. “Let me know if I’m hurting you or you need me to stop, okay.”

“Okay,” you take a deep breath and slowly release it, trying to calm your nerves, while he lines himself up again.

This time he’s able penetrate you, and delicately begins sinking further in. He places his hands down on the mattress near your shoulders to support himself and you instantly grip his arms, slightly digging in your fingernails.

“You alright?” He pauses pushing in.

“I’m ok… k-keep going.”

“You sure ?”

“I’m sure.”

He continues to caringly inch his way inside you until his pelvis is flush with your body.

“Mhmm—fuck!.. i-it’s, it’s all the way in, baby. Feels so good…too good. Mmmmh, shit, gimme a minute.” He closes his eyes and sinks his teeth into his lip.

“It’s okay, I need one too.” You distract yourself from the twinge of pain between your legs by fiddling with one of his necklaces. “I still can’t believe you’ve kept this all these years,” you say, holding the dog tag that hovers above your body like a pendulum at rest; Chase’s name engraved on the front.

“Of course I do. You gave it to me,” he strokes the side of your cheek with the back of his hand.

“Yeah, for your tenth birthday!” You giggle.

“I loved you then—even if I didn’t know it yet—and I love you now,” he leans down, kissing you softly. The cold metal of the tag now touching your breasts excites you, and you let out a small moan that buzzes against Chase's lips. “I should be good now, are you?”

You silently nod and Chase—paying close attention to where your bodies are joined — slowly draws his hips back and gently pushes in again, but this time when he pulls back his hips he notices a bright red streak down his length.

“Shit, you're bleeding!” he sounds panicked.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry!” You go to cover your face again, but Chases intercepts, instead, interlocking your fingers together

“Baby, it’s okay. I know it’s common the first time. I don’t care about the blood, I’m worried I’m hurting you.”

“I mean yeah, it hurts a little, but it's gonna hurt whether we do this now, later, or another year from now; It just comes with the territory. I trust you and I know you're being as gentle as you possibly can. I’ll be okay, I promise.” You reassure him. Besides, from what your friends have told you it should begin hurting less and start to feel good soon.

“Soo continue?” He asks, to be sure.

“Yes, make love to me, Chase!

With his hands still interlaced with yours, he resumes the slow and careful roll of his hips and gently pins them to the mattress just slightly above your head. It’s not a dominance thing though , it’s not like the movies, or the spicy romance novels you read — it’s an assurance thing, a silent way of letting you know he’s got you, you’re in good hands and he’s gonna take good care of you. He dips his head, planting a garden of kisses along your throat as he delicately pivots his hips. It takes a bit to adjust to the intense stretch but Chase coaches you through it—reminding you to breathe, and distracting you with sensual praise and eye contact— until the ache eventually fades away. The sensation that replaces it is akin to the feeling of the way your heart skipped a beat the first time Chase said ‘I love you.” The memory of it playing on repeat inside of you everytime he glides over your g-spot.

“Ohh… Chase!” You pant breathily.

“You alrig—?“

“ You feel so fucking good,” you cry out, cutting off his question of concern.

“Mmmghh, he grunts at the pleasure your words bring him. “Happy you… mmhm finally get to enjoy this as mmmuch as I am,” he speaks through broken moans. “Don't know how mmmuch longer I can last though”

“Ss’okay, babe. It’s your first time too, I-I understand.”

T he next few minutes are filled with mutual pleasure, love-laden moans and passionate kisses. And even though a part of him is literally inside you, and your bodies are pressed together, you desire him impossibly closer still; your hands gripping and grabbing at his slender body as if you could just crawl into his chest and stay there for all of eternity. You call out his name as a familiar feeling begins to brew within you. But before you can reach your climax …

“Can I… in you?” Chase asks through heavy breathing. And with your nod of consent, he begins to pulse inside you, a warm sensation filling you up. “Ughhm, Holy Fuck!” Chase calls out, a shiver of ecstasy running through his body. He collapses on top of you, boneless as a jellyfish while he comes down from his high and catches his breath. “That was the best orgasm of my fucking life!” He manages to lift himself up to speak, making eye contact with you. “Wanna make you feel good too, Can I finish you off?” He sensually runs his tongue over his top lip.

“I’d like that,” you squirm, on the brink of orgasm already.

With no prior experience with oral sex you silently wonder to yourself if he’ll be able to make you cum, but the second his tongue traces a counter-clockwise half circle around your clit, you know he will—and soon! He continues licking a stripe down the side of your sensitive bud, then halfway back up, over and down. When he circles your clit next, you realize what he’s doing before he even finishes the letter.

“Chase!” You blurt out as if you were supposed to guess the word his tongue is spelling out in calligraphy.

Your hand rides atop his head as he softly zigzags the letter ‘S’ over your clit. Somewhere in the middle of the final letter your body starts convulsing in pleasure and Chase proudly wears your thighs as earmuffs as he makes you cum.

“God, I fucking love you,” he kisses his way back up your body, when your thighs finally release their hold on him. He gives you one last kiss on your mouth before he settles down on his back besides you. He takes your hand in his and brings it up to his lips placing a gentle peck on the backside. “That was amazing,” he says with his head turned, looking in your eyes as he softly strokes your hair. “Finally getting to be with you like that after so long was….was everything!” He struggles to find a word special enough to encompass the way he’s feeling. “I swear the wait just intensified the experience as a whole; so many new and exciting sensations we got to explore together for the first time ,” he kisses you lightly on your forehead.

“I agree, and I’m so lucky to have a man so deserving of sharing my body with. I felt so safe, respected and loved the entire time; so thank you for that.”

“Of course,” he gives you another forehead kiss and starts to get up.

“Mmghh,” you grumble playfully “Where you going? Stay with me.”

“I’m gonna draw you a nice cool bath, it should help with any remaining soreness…and here take two of these,” he pulls out a travel size bottle of Tylenol from his bag.

“Thanks,” you smile, getting up from the bed and grabbing a water from the mini fridge. You wash the pills down your throat with a sip of water, and make your way into the bathroom.

“Oh, and don’t forget to pee!” He calls out as you close the bathroom door.

“Okay, you reply, laughing to yourself. You think it’s adorable how he obviously did his research; from the lube, to spelling his name between your thighs, the Tylenol, the cool bath, and reminding you to empty your bladder. You wouldn’t dare call him out on it though.

**************

After your bath, you wrap yourself in the white robe provided by the hotel and open the bathroom door only to find Chase sitting on the bed in his boxers, a bleach pen in hand, scrubbing at the small— mostly gone— crimson patch on the sheets.

“ You can sleep on that side. I’ll sleep on the wet spot… think I got it out though.” Chase says, tucking the stain remover back into his little ‘first time’ kit.

“Oh, Chase, you say playfully. You’re such a dork sometimes, but I totally love you for it,” you pick up one of his balled up socks off the floor, and throw it at him.

“Hey, what was that for!” He smiles at you, tossing it back.

“Nothing,” you say, not wanting to embarrass him. “I just appreciate everything that went into tonight,” you leave it at that, and take a seat on the bed.

“Wait, hold that thought,” he sounds both elated and nervous all of a sudden. “I have one more surprise for tonight.” He pulls a small wrapped box out of his bag and hands it to you. You look at him quizzically. “Go ahead, open it!” He’s so excited that if he were a dog, his tail would be wagging. You removed the wrapping paper to find a black velvet ring box.

“Chase,” you let out in a barely audible breath, your eyes already welling with happy tears. With unsteady hands you pry open the hinged box to reveal a conservative sized diamond ring. You drop the box into your lap and throw your arms around Chase. “Yes, yes— a million times yes, baby!”

“Sorry, I couldn’t get you anything bigger right now, it’s just a promise ring but I didn’t wanna wait any longer trying to save up, I figured tonight would be the perfect night to ask you.”

“ It’s beautiful, Chase, I love it!” You retrieve the box from your lap to admire the dainty melee diamonds that surround a slightly larger Marquise cut diamond in the center.

“Here, let me put it on you,” he gently takes the box from your hand, removes the ring and begins sliding it on the ring finger of your left hand. “A promise solidifies the bond between two people and with this promise ring, I vow to honor that bond forever. This ring is a symbol of my love for you and my promise to marry you… after College graduation,” he adds with a laugh.

“Oh we’re playing that game again?” You return his laughter.

“It will be worth the wait, just like it was this time, promise.”

[be-ready-when-i-say-go]

Whatever Words Exist

StudentTeacher!Cal x Reader (Gender Neutral). Like mostly fluff. 

Reader and Calum have only met briefly. But when the connection is this magnetic, you don’t press fate. 

Masterlist (semi-hiatus) 

_____________________

Calum readjusts the strap on his backpack, getting the bag hitched back right on his shoulder. Just up the hill he can see a gathering of people, a general human mass but still too far away for him to make out any one person in particular. He knows he’s in the right place for sure. So he continues on and a few folks wave as he approaches. Derrick, former officemate, spots Calum first and waves him closer. 

“Meet Calum--old officemate of mine,” Derrick tells the group surrounding him. First years, Calum assumes and gives them a tiny smile and wave to the group. 

“Yeah, because this jerk decided to apply for a full time instructor position. And then got upgraded,” Calum laughs. 

“Look, gotta pay the bills how I can,” Derrick returns and then goes around the semi circle introducing everyone. 

Calum looks at each one in return and then his gaze lands on yours. As a first year to the program and student teaching, you ran into Calum during the intense two week training. Well, you two didn’t really run into each other. Calum ran a few sessions during the training and you might have purposefully lingered behind on the free range Q&A that he was a part of with a few other experienced student teachers. He seemed to be calm and level headed about all the teaching and you were quite the opposite, so listening to him answer questions gave you a small amount of peace. 

The second reason you lingered until everyone else was gone and asked their questions is because you thought he was attractive. The baggy t-shirt but nice fitting jeans and the way he titled in when he was listening to someone. He seemed to really care and take his time to answer any questions--even when he had other things he needed to attend to as well. “Hey,” he says as his smile brightens around your name. 

“Hi Calum,” you return. “Slumming it with us first years.”

“I would never call it slumming, not in the slightest,” he laughs in return. The conversation steers away from that, talking about the summer and general shared interests. But every so often you and Calum lock eyes, gazes lingering for way longer than you’d like to admit. Mostly because you don’t want to be this into someone so early into the semester. And truth be told, the semester hadn’t even truly started. 

About ten minutes pass before professors start to approach, a couple of them holding boxes of pizza. And while you definitely weren’t sure how to juggle all the responsibilities of teaching, classes, paying rent on time, you were grateful for the lunch of pizza. It also meant that you’d be taking some home if enough people didn’t go in for seconds. And getting a free meal plus an easy dinner was always worth it. 

As the pizzas are lined up, you linger back, not wanting to be the first person to get food, but close enough to the first brave souls. “So, have you done any exploring around town?” Calum asks from behind you. 

You spin to half face him to talk to him. “Not a lot. By the time we get done with training I’m too tired to do anything else. But I need to get my bike looked at, so I probably should get downtown at the very least.”

“What’s up with your bike? You said it was your main mode of transportation.”

“Just double checking tire pressure--nothing major. One of them feels like it’s not as high as the other. But rather be safe than sorry since the semester starts.”

Calum nods and shuffles up as the line moves. “If you need a ride to the shop, I have my car.”

You’re not sure if Calum’s offering just to be nice or if it means more. So you default to telling him he doesn’t have to, but he insists. And even as you’re grabbing a slice of pizza and Calum’s right behind you, you try to tell him that he shouldn’t completely disturb his whole day just for you. 

“I cannot have you blowing a tire on the side of the road. Do you have your bike with you today? We could go after this.”

If there were any way to die right in this moment, you’re wishing for it. “I do,” you answer cautiously, walking towards the metal picnic tables. “But really, I can do by myself. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Oh, c’mon, this town’s not necessarily the nicest to cyclists and if you got stranded I’d feel like an ass.” Calum settles across from you on the bench, slipping his backpack off his shoulder. You do the same, setting your backpack next you and pulling your water bottle from the side pocket. 

“I don’t know what your plans are. I don’t want to intrude,” you counter, unscrewing the top to your water bottle to take a sip. 

“My plans were to sit in my office and pretend like I was lesson planning.”

“Where’s your office again?”

Calum rattles off the name of the building, before taking his first bite of pizza. And you swear for a moment the universe is fucking with you. It has it out for you. “I’m in the same building,” you state. 

“I’m in room 138.”

Oh, how cruel is the universe. How fucking cruel could it be. “Same,” you state after finishing your bite of pizza. “Haven’t been inside to see it yet though.”

“Oh, it sounds like I’m your personal tour guide today.” And it’s not that he’s being adamant about it. Because you know if you were in the reverse positions, you’d do something similar. But a glint crosses his eyes, his smile is a slight curl of his lips and he’s looking up at you from underneath his lashes. 

Your stomach flutters, and suddenly pizza looks and feels like lead, but you take another bite to do something other than let panic settle. A quiet settles between the two of you as you eat. Though more people are turning up and settling in around you to make up for the silence. A few more minutes pass, even with you tossing away your plate and saying hi to some other people who are also teaching for the first time this year before you hear the professors calling for the group’s attention.

As the group quiets down, you return back to the spot where your bag is and Calum’s still there, laughing at something Derrick is saying. You catch his gaze and you really only think that you should look away. But you do. He’s too fucking handsome not to keep your gaze lingering for a moment longer. The humorous smile changes, becomes more subtle as the two of you continue to gaze at each other. 

You can feel your cheeks getting hot but slowly feel your own smile over taking your face before you cast your gaze down and then flick it back up to who’s speaking. It’s good information to get, as you listen to each professor in turn talk about the program more. You get a good sense of who each person is, and it’s not too much longer before each of the new and old cohort introduces themself. 

It’s a natural break as everyone starts to talk again with the business now out of the way. You mingle with some of the instructors but gravitate towards the snacks that are available. Just as you get a good grasp on one of the oreos, your name is called out. You spin, making sure to keep the Oreos in a tight hold. Calum waves you over to the group he’s in and you walk over. You know you shouldn’t. You know you’re playing with fire. But you do so anyway and he introduces you to some other people in the same year as him. They weren’t at the student teacher training. 

You’re thankful for the introduction but slowly the conversation drifts to the group joking about something that you seem to be missing and you know almost without thinking that Calum’s going to seize this opportunity. You turn to him first. “I like the vibe of this program,” you start. 

He smiles. “I’m glad. It’s all pretty tight knit.” You nod, agreeing with this point, but also not sure if you’re reading the air between you and him correctly either. “Do you wanna duck out now?” he asks quietly. “Get that bike fixed up for the first day of classes.”

“Ye-yeah, that’s cool.”

He nods over to where your belongings are with a smile. And the two of you gather your things. As you lead Calum over to where you locked up your bike you pause. “Wait,” you start, “do you even have a place to strap a bike down?”

“My friends and I bike the trails a lot during the year. My SUV can handle it, I promise,” he returns with a laugh. The two of you walk side by side down the parking lot. “Where do you call home?” he asks. 

You rattle off the answer and in return ask him the same. “Well home home is Australia. But I came to the states with some mates and we’ve sort of always called California a second home.”

“You beat me the longest distance from home,” you laugh. 

“Well, only on a technicality.”

“So like your mom, dad, and siblings--if you have any--are like clear across the world?”

“Mum and Dad are. Sister’s in London.”

“Is she studying too?”

“Singer--she’s over there doing that.”

You hum. “Is singing a family trait?”

Calum laughs and you watch some lights blink from a car and you spy the keys in his hand. “I wouldn’t call it a family trait. But yeah, we all sing. In our own ways. Originally made some moves for music. Career paths changed just a tiny bit.”

“So you and the friends you moved with were in a band?”

“Of sorts. Went well for a while. Then we just needed rest.”

“So your idea of rest is going to school and teaching?” You laugh. Calum opens the trunk first for your bags. And when he closes it, you finally spot the rack to set your bike on. 

“Like I said, career paths took a turn. Rest or new experience--I’ve yet to decide on the name yet.”

With the bike settled and secure, you walk around to the passenger side door. Calum’s quick to turn the air on in the car once he’s inside. His radio starts up immediately and he scrambles to turn it down. “Sorry, don’t wanna blast you out of the car,” he states. 

“No, no worries.”

“Any requests? You can plug your phone in too, if you want.”

“Oh God, I take over the aux and you’re going to get some anime theme song and I’d rather save myself the embarrassment.”

Calum’s chuckle is quick and clear of the click of the seatbelts. He switches over the radio and hands you the white cord. “Now you have to embarrass yourself.”

“That’s what I get for opening my big mouth.” Plugging the cord in, you shuffle for a decent opening song as the truck starts backwards out of the parking spot. 

“So what about you? How did the universe drop you here?”

“Pure determination and spite,” you laugh as the song starts over the speakers. “I finished my undergrad, worked for a couple years and then promptly said this is not what I want to do forever and started looking to go back to school.”

“Pure determination and spite,” Calum repeats. He keeps his attention heavily on the road as he’s driving out of the park and through the neighborhoods. But once he hits a stretch of main road he can glance over to you. And you’re staring out of the front windshield, head slightly tilted. “You look lost in thought?”

“Just admiring the view.”

And Calum hums, a sound of agreement, but the view he’s enjoying isn’t the sight of campus and the surrounding area. The two of you continue on, weaving around some traffic and soon you’re turning down a side street. One that reminds you almost of home. And maybe that’s just the universality of it all. Almost anything could be home if you wanted it to be, because there was always going to be a piece of a place that you could connect too. 

“The guys here are nice and really quick about anything that’s a simple fix,” Calum offers. “Also, your music isn’t that bad.”

Your jaw drops just a little and a small squawk of indignation falls from your lips. “What’s that supposed to mean?” you ask, jumping out of the car. Calum’s already at the back, pulling your bike from the secure rack. 

“It means that having an anime theme song play would’ve made it ten times better.”

You huff, but follow behind him into the shop. The two of you greeted almost immediately and when the guy working on the floor spies the bike, he’s quick to walk over and see what the issue is. You explain that you’ve noticed a difference in tire pressure. In your move your gauge got misplaced and you hadn’t quite yet had time to get someone to look at it until now. 

“Yeah, we can check that for you. No problem. So any other plans for today?” he asks, making small talk. You talk briefly about the weather, though there’s not quite a lot to talk about it. Not too long later, the guy’s able to confirm that one of tires did have something puncturing it and letting out some air. But he’s quick to let you know that they can fix it in just a few minutes if the two of you have it. 

“I’d greatly appreciate it,” you start and then look at Calum, who just shrugs. “Yeah, can you fix it?”

“Sure can. Just give me a few minutes.”

“Thank you.”

You watch Calum browse, trying not to linger on the way his back moves underneath the t-shirt as he reaches up for something along the walls. And it’s like asking to get into trouble. Though there’s nothing wrong with instructors dating. You just had a plan, that's all.The first semester you’d get settled, figure out what this whole student teaching life was all about. And the more you watched Calum, the more you were sure that plan was going to fall apart. 

“Here she is, all fixed up.” You look up from your spot, in the store, having migrated to the opposite end of the door and walk over to the man with your bike. “Just a little puncture. Nothing too bad.” He rattles off the costs and it’s more than you anticipated, but not so much more that you have complaints.

Calum’s quick to take over the bike and walk it back outside, smiling as you hold the door open for him. “Thanks.”

“No, thanks to you. For chauffeuring me around.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” he returns, getting the bike back onto the rack. “Did you want to explore some nearby shops?”

“Oh, hmm. Maybe later. I haven’t an ounce of lesson plans just yet. So I think I should maybe get my week 2 planned.”

“Well it sounds like you have something of week one planned,” Calum counters. 

“We were forced. Thanks to orientation.”

He laughs. “Yeah, they wanted you to have that down at least.”

In the brief glance around, as you try to tell yourself, you shouldn’t explore, you spy a little coffee shop. It looks intriguing. And you point out the sign. “Have you ever tried them?”

“Yeah--it’s a really good shop.”

You take a small step towards the building, careful though because you’re still in the parking lot and about to head into the street. “Can I tack on just a tiny bit of exploring and grab a cup?”

“Of course.”

“Recommend anything?”

Calum holds the door open as he speaks. “Chai Latte, but you can’t tell anyone that it was me that recommended it.”

“Your secret it safe with me.”

In line, you try not to think about how close Calum is, as he stands behind you. But you can feel him, or maybe you want to feel it, you’re aware of him that it’s like all you’d have to do is fake a clumsy step back to be resting into his chest. You imagine it to be firm, but somehow cozy. And maybe that’s just the worn t-shirt he’s adorned in and the beanie on his head. But his presence feels soft to you. 

Your daydream doesn’t last long as the line shuffles forward and you take the step forward rather than the step backward. The coffee shop is quaint, the wide windows letting in plenty of sunlight. But the tables are dark brown and look worn from your place in line. It feels lived in and you enjoy that even though the outside was painted a hunter green, the inside is a pretty beige accented by the chocolate wood of the tables. 

“It’s like a dream,” you state in a whisper, taking in the lights in the ceiling and the scattered bodies of students with backpacks at their feet and others whom you assume live in town and are most likely trying to enjoy the last bits of quiet before the rest of the students descend onto the campus and town. 

In all your sight exploration, your order is called up and Calum has to get it for you. He smiles though, watching the wonder that fills your eyes. “The offer’s still on the table,” he states, handing over the correct cup t you. “We can explore.”

“Can we raincheck? What does next weekend look like for you?”

He still hadn’t responded to Ashton about the hike. So he doesn’t really have plans. “Free as a bird.”

“Would it be okay? To wait till then?”

“Of course,” he exhales. “I’m not the one still learning with training wheels of teaching. I can do this in my sleep.”

“Oh, so big and tough,” you joke, but head back to the front door. The two of you break back out into the bright sun and it’s warm on your skin. “Just give me a semester. I’ll be able to knock you down a peg.”

And Calum doesn’t doubt that for a second. Not with the way you talked about getting into the program. Inside the truck, you’re handed the aux yet again and this time don’t think twice about plugging it in. “To our office?” he asks. 

“You’re not even going to be doing anything for real.”

“I like the sense of productivity.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” you laugh. The drive back to the campus isn’t as long as you thought it would be. But somehow it comes all too quickly. You’re still not sure what’s happening between you and Calum. It’s easy, natural between the two of you. But your plan--you know it’s all going down the drain. All his jokes make you laugh, and you know one or two shouldn’t. And when you do laugh, Calum turns sheepish. He goes quiet, a tiny smile quivering at his lips. 

Calum parks in the employee parking lot in front of the building with your office. Both of you climb out at the same time. And with backpacks, coffee, keys and phones all in place you two trek up to the door. “I think it’s only three of us in the office this year,” Calum talks, fishing out the right key on the hook. 

“Only three?”

“This used to be an old dorm building. So they can usually stick four of us into the room. But the email we got about office assignments only had three names. There was a fourth, but I don’t know what happened to them. They were in a different English program than us. And I don’t know if they graduated or not.”

“Ah,” you return, stepping through the door behind him. And it doesn’t remind you too much of a dorm, not in the always at least. But when Calum unlocks the door, you can see where it definitely once was an older dorm building thanks to the sink in the corner. “You weren’t kidding, huh?’

“About it being an old dorm? Not in the slightest.” He drops his backpack into the desk on the left side of the room but closest to the window. A couple pictures decorate the desktop. The desk next to him as a blanket and the whiteboard above it, has something written on it. So you assume it’s the third person. The desk on the right, closest to the door has nothing on it. The one closest to the window, across from Calum is also empty. 

You walk into the room some more and Calum pulls out his laptop from his bag and then steps around you. “As a heads up, the door stays locked. So you’ll need your key if you go out and close the door. I got locked out once or maybe twice. And it’s definitely not fun.”

You nod. “Thanks for the heads up.”

He smiles and then slips out of the door and you study the empty desk. It’s stupid, trivial to take the one across from Calum, but you drop your backpack into the office chair. The next time you come, you’ll bring desk decorations. To claim which one is yours. Because right now in the depths of your backpack you don’t have much. Well you do have a book that you don’t really need to keep up with too much. Maybe you can leave that. 

Exhaling, you get mostly settled and just before you can get your laptop out of the sleeve the door opens to Calum walking through again. The beanie’s now in his hands as he strides across the room and you can’t help but stare at the curls falling from his head. You want to curse him for looking so good. But you force yourself to go back to your screen. 

Calum settles back into his chair and watches you, sitting up straighter than he’s ever seen a person sit. And he wishes he wasn’t so chicken shit about it. You fucking asked him to hang out next weekend. But still, it’s like toying the line. Trying to make sure he’s reading the cues right. Maybe not right now, maybe next weekend he can get a better read, make a move. He turns back to his own laptop and finds the syllabus he made from the last semester. He can still use most of it. Though in the spring they had a break and in the fall, now they don’t. So he can delete that week as no class and actually have time for the group project in class that the department requires for them to teach. 

A couple hours go by, silence between the two of you, but the clacking of keys makes a chorus around the room. Calum pauses every so often to look over his shoulder. Sometimes you’re deep into work, pushed up into the seat. And once or twice, he found you slouched, staring out at the window next to both of you. 

Another hour passes and shuffling ensues behind Calum. He looks over and finds you packing up. “Headed home?”

You nod. “Managed to get the first unit mostly planned. We’ll see how it goes.”

He smiles. “I’m sure it’ll go well.” He goes to turn around and then remembers your bike is still attached to the back of his car. “Oh, let me go with you to get your bike,” he says ,shooting up from his chair. It rolls backwards for a split second but then makes a sudden stop. 

“Oof,” you let out, rubbing at your stomach. 

“Oh my god,” he rushes out, stepping in closer. “I’m so sorry. Had no clue you were that close. You okay?”

“Yeah,” you laugh and then look up. And Calum’s eyes are a deeper brown that you initially thought. Now that he's closer to you. “Yeah, I’m okay,” you exhale in a breath. 

“You sure? I think the Campus Health Services is open. Or you know, urgent care?”

“I don’t think you caused internal bleeding. Just caught me off guard.”

He finally brings his gaze up from where you’ve stopped holding your stomach to your eyes. And he shouldn’t. He shouldn’t let his gaze drop below your eyes, because truth be told he already stared too much at your lips during the entirety of orientation. And he already knows just how plump they are. 

It’s silent--almost uncomfortably so. “Can I--I should get your bike,” Calum says, saving himself from sure embarrassment. 

He steps around you and you stretch out, capturing his wrist in your hand. “No, what were you going to ask?” you ask. The question leaves you without much thought and you know you shouldn’t ask. But you just can’t help it. Because you almost stretched up to kiss him. 

“It’s nothing,” he returns. But he doesn’t pull his wrist away. 

“Is it really nothing?”

Calum feels you step in closer. He inhales and lets it slowly. He shouldn’t. He absolutely should not let the question cross his lips. But he turn, and sees you illuminated by the sun from the windows and god, how can he deny an angel standing in front of him. “I was going to ask if I could ask you a question.” And it’s not really what he was going to ask. But it buys him some time. 

“You can ask me.”

“Do you--is this--,” he exhales, for a moment hating that the words are getting caught in his throat. “I don’t know if you’re feeling the same thing I am. But I-I’ve been interested in you, like from the second I saw you at the orientation. And I really, really don’t want to make a fool of myself. But I was hoping, are you interested? In me?”

There it goes--the plan--down the drain in just a few sentences. “If you’re asking if I thought you were attractive, yes. And if you’re asking if I care to see where this goes, the answer is also yes. But it really wasn’t supposed to go down like this.”

The elation covers his face and makes his cheeks push up as he smiles--so much so that the skin around his eyes crinkles. “I’ll gladly interrupt all your plans.”

You scoff at the sentiment, but feel your body heating up. Calum steps in even closer to you. His fingers find yours and thread them together. “So the real question I had was if I could kiss you? But I wasn’t sure if that was too forward.”

“Too forward a minute ago. But not too forward for right now,” you state, already moving in to kiss him. It’s short, longer than a peck, but not quite long enough. Because as you pull away, Calum’s other hand is cupping the back of your head and keeping you closer. His hold is firm but his lips are soft and you melt, knees buckling just for a moment. Thankfully, you manage to recover quickly. It doesn’t stop Calum from chuckling. 

“Are you telling me that I have that kind of effect on you?”

“Shut the fuck up, and kiss me again,” you state breathlessly. He doesn’t need to be asked twice. His lips capture yours again, happy to finally get a small taste of you. And you’re acutely aware that it must look ridiculous--you with your backpack full to the nines pressed up against Calum’s chest, chasing down his lips because his touch is mixing in with the scent of his cologne and all you know for sure is that it’s an intoxicating mixture that you want to be trapped in forever. 

You pull away, needing just a moment to catch your breath and Calum rests his forehead against yours. “Are you sure you want to leave me now?” he teases. 

“I--I’ll be honest. The reason why I was leaving was because I knew this was going to happen.”

“Oh? You knew?”

You laugh, cupping his jaw. “Calum, I know one thing for sure. You’re a dangerous man to be around.”

“Oh you’ve just met me. I should be offended.”

“Should be?” you question. 

“You’re--I don’t know what. But I knew that I wanted to know you. So whatever words that exist for that--that’s what you are.”

“I’m flattered,” you state softly. 

“If you give me 5, I can pack up my stuff and drop you off back at home. Now I’d be an asshole not to drop you off.”

You watch him, pulling back from the closeness. “I can make it home now that my bike’s fixed. Thanks to your insistence.”

“Well, let me insist one more time that I make sure you get home safely.” 

“Fine,” you resign. And he’s quick to pack up. Out in the hallway, he takes your hand, threading your fingers again. And it’s natural, easy between the two of you. You bump shoulders, laughing as you step out in the daylight. 

Inside his car, you slip back into the passenger seat. But when Calum settles into the driver seat and gets buckled in, he rests one hand on your thigh. Not too high up, nothing too suggestive, but not directly on your knee. You try not to let it fluster you, the ease at which he establishes touch, but your heart races just a little. 

You curl your fingers around his palm--it’s something to do with your hands, but also allows you a bit of control. You direct him easily back to your apartment. It’s nearly a straight shot, minus the one left turn needed and when he pulls up into a parking space in front of your building, he squeezes at your fingers just a little. 

You face him with a smile. “Thanks, for everything.”

“Yeah of course,” he returns. “So, next weekend? More exploring?”

“I’d like that.”

“I’ll text you about the date and time for sure. Unless we meet again in the office.”

Unbuckling your seatbelt, you laugh gently stretching across the console. “I have a suspicion we shall meet again in the office.”

“Lovely,” he breathes and you meet his lips, capturing them gently before pulling away and grabbing all your things. Your bike is easy to get down and then you lock it back up on the rack outside, even though Calum does help. He leans up against the door and you spy him watching. 

“Enjoying the show?” you tease shaking your butt at him at the outside door of the building.  

His laughter rings out. “Making sure you get inside safely, actually. But a show is always welcomed.”

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Remade AU List for BNHA. Whoa boy.

I decided ONLY to do ones I would love to work on myself for fun because like… dude, WE MADE SO MANY HOLY SHIT.

Relative AUS

These are AUs where Izuku’s related to *inster character*. Mostly parents.

Izuku Many Dads: AU where Izuku’s mom goes to a sperm bank as she is AroAce and wants kids. The sperm bank is a front for a shady buisness where a branch of the HPSC is trying to breed new heroes by using sperm collected from heroes who are worried about injuries making them unable to have kids in the future. Sperm is collected during teenage years so we have choices. Would be a Series thing with multiple possibilities and choices.

Aizawa Izuku AU: Aizawa is Izuku’s dad. Pairing is ShinDeku

Izuku has Fire Wings: AU Where Hawks and Dabi had a baby, time travel happens and Izuku is their baby. Pairing Undecided.

Uncle Might: Inko’s long lost brother is none other than All Might. Pairing is ShinDeku and also Inko ends up with Nighteye. All Might is Aro/Ace and loves his sister and nephew

Inko has a Hero SO AU

AUs where Inko gets with a Hero of Some sorts

Kitty Midoriyas: Izuku and Inko have cat Quirks and Aizawa falls for Inko. Pairing is undecided really. Maybe traffic light trio, maybe not.

YamaDad: Inko and Present Mic get together. Izuku remains Quirkless and wants to be the first Quirkless Hero. Shinsou is adopted by Mic and Inko. IidDeku is the pairing I tentatively want but that might change.

Quirk AU

AUS where Izuku has a Quirk

Omega Quirk: Izuku’s Quirk basically has him be like an omega from fanfics. Sorta. Is currently a fanfic as well. Pairing so far undecided. Best friends with Shinsou

Let’s Start a Riot: Izuku has a Quirk that when he screams, he starts riots. Side effects has those affected unable to use their Quirks at all. Uncle Aizawa. Inko is part of a support group for parents of kids with ‘villain’ Quirks. Good Toga, Pairing is MonoShinDeku

Workout Music Enhancement: Izuku’s Quirk is when he listens to music he is able to preform above average. Not to superhuman levels, but when he is like seven he can run as fast as an average 10-year-old. Best friends with Jirou, Pairing is ShinDeku with Side EraserMic

Gender/Sex Swap Quirk: Izuku is able to swap between male and female. Is genderfluid and stills gets OFA. Pairing: AoyDeku

Nothing Unique: AU where a scout for hero schools goes to Aldera as a punishment duty and discovers that Izuku is highly intelligent. The basis of the AU is that Quirks aren’t Unique and most schools prefer things like brains not related to Quirks. Also, a person with a Quirk similar to AFO is around and works with the Thailand Government and Izuku gains a Quirk publicly. 

Magic Baby AU: Izuku has a Quirk that lets him have kids. Full explanation Here

Selkie AU: Magic made Quirks and Izuku’s dad was a Selkie. Has Izuku discovering this, Inko going to jail and Izuku being taken in by vampire Aizawa and his husband Mic.

Support Izuku AU (title pending): Izuku is able to boost people’s Quirks and gains strength from those he is bonded with.

Fake Quirk AUs

Izuku Fakes a Quirk AUs

Glitter Izuku: Izuku ends up covered in Glitter one day and says it’s his Quirk Sarcastically. People believe it. He rolls with it and then claims that he produces it every night while sleeping. Showers with glitter to make it look realistic. Becomes a Hero. No Pairing Yet

Analysis Izuku: A new doctor after the toe joint is proven fake helps Inko fake that Izuku has an analyst Quirk to protect him. Izuku’s mentor ends up Nezu and he becomes a Hero. Pairings undecided, keep changing mind.

Mimic Izuku: Thanks to his observation abilities and focus, Izuku is able to mimic people fairly well. Ends up claiming it’s his Quirk after a while. He gains amazing acting skills and fools a lot of people. Pairing: ShinDeku

Fem!Izuku AUs

Aus where Izuku’s a girl.

Lesbian Izuku: A series where F!Izuku is gay and has a variety of girlfriends. Usuaully I get to cause pain to other characters with One Sided Feelings

Betrothal Verse: AU Where F!Izuku is able to have a powerful child and ends up in an arranged marriage. Is a series. Pairings are: Iideku, TodoDeku, TokoDeku, ShinDeku and HawksDeku.

Quirkless AUs

AUs where Izuku remains Quirkless

Izuku Mode: AU where Izuku is aged up and went to UA with Aizawa and them. Is a fashion designer who also does hero costumes thanks to All Might choosing him. Has AiDeku and ToshInko. Follows Canon, just with Izuku coming in.

Another Idol: During an international hero fighting competition, Izuku discovers that there are Quirkless heroes in other countries thanks to one of the finalists being Quirkless. Izuku gains another idol fast here.

Pastel Izuku: TodoDeku AU where Izuku is a soft pastel boy whose stepdad is Tsukauchi and Shouto was taken by Dabi when he left. Tsukauchi picks up Shouto, and the famous: Is he cute joke happens. Izuku does meet Shouto and ends up with him. Izuku is Quirkless and ends up in UA. Shouto and Dabi aren’t villain villains here but are criminals.

Izuku’s Boyfriends: Uhhh, older Izuku where he ends up with Dabi/Shiggy/Overhaul. It’s more of a rambling idea of mine where he is older, is trans and has a kid and like… okay I dunno. It’s just me having fun. Series

Raising Kacchan: Izuku is older and is raising Bakugou. He ends up at UA where he teaches the hero course kids. Shinsou, Hawks and Tensei all like him and are interested (Shinsou aged up). Dabi also has an interest due to Izuku being behind Endeavor losing his hero license.

Babies

AUs where someone has a kid

Stone Cold Sober AU: Izuku is an Omega and the doctor who declared him Quirkless discovers he has OFA as he works with AFO. OFA users who carried kids have like super powerful children so the doctor takes the chance to experiment by using sperm stolen from a hero sperm bank to try and impregnate Izuku. Would be a series with multiple possible parents of the kid.

Older Sister AU: Izuku has an older half-sister who comes to Japan when their dad dies. Both are Quirkless. Has Bad Inko who leaves and sister is now in charge of Izuku. Sister is a stripper who becomes an informant for underground heroes. Izuku is trans and has a kid due to a shitty boyfriend. Still gets OFA, I… I don’t think I gave it a pairing. DOes have OC/Aizawa

Dad Izuku: Izuku is a single dad. Mother died in childbirth. Has Inko be a terrible mother who wanted to sell Izuku to Overhaul. Overhaul leans about OFA, Izuku is taken in by All Might. Izuku is raising his kid and is happy, thank you.

[all-my-love-for-harry]

The first meeting.

summary: y/n and artemis met a handsome (to y/n) and intimidating (to artemis) man.

word count: 1.5k

a/n: hope you’re enjoying this ‘series’ as much as i am enjoying writing them! (also, i’m sorry if there’s any mistakes regarding y/n’s job. i’m not from the uk so i got the information from the internet)

you can find more of my shy little boy here

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January, 2018.

If there was something Y/N enjoyed, was playdates. Ever since she got pregnant with she looked forward taking her little baby with their friends, have a conversation with other parents while they watch the kids interact. However Artemis’ number of playdates are limited, due to his struggle to make friends and talk with other kids.

But he did have one good friend, his name was Spike. The way the two boys became friends was still an unanswered question to Y/N, but she couldn’t have been happier when her little one had told her he had made a friend.

The Prendergast were a very chill, very fun family to spend time with, and it didn’t took long for Y/N to become close friends with Emi and Adam. They had started a little tradition to get together every other Friday night at each other’s places, and this particular Friday wasn’t Y/N’s turn to host the dinner.

The Y/L/N’s arrived on time, Artemis being excited to see his friend even though he just saw him at daycare earlier that day. He pulled from Y/N’s hand, making her walk faster.

“C’mon mummy!”

“Wait, we don’t want to drop the cookies we made!”

They made it to the doorway just before Emi pulled the door open and greeted them. “There you are, Spike was starting to wonder were his best friend was”

“Hi, we bought cookies” Y/N said as they stepped into the house, Artemis disappearing into the hallway as he ran towards the living room.

“You look tired, long week?”

“Sort of, collage students can take a tool on you” Y/N replied, sighing.

Y/N had recently taken a job as a collage teacher and while it has been a wonderful change in her family’s economy, it was indeed tiring and sometimes intimidating. But it allowed her to provide better for her little one, so she wasn’t going to complain.

“Well, tonight you can forget about work” Emi said, walking to the kitchen to place the cookies in the microwave to keep them warm. “Oh, I forgot to tell you but someone else is joining us for dinner”

“Oh?” Y/N raised her eyebrows. “Who?”

“His name’s Harry, you’ll love him. He recently came back to London and Adam invited him over”

“I want you to meet him, he’s a nice guy” Emi’s husband, Adam, came into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Y/N’s shoulders. “I bet Artemis will love him too”

“Yeah, right” she chuckled. “As if you didn’t know my son”

“Worth the try” he smirked.

As if it was a sign, the doorbell was heard inside of the house, indicating someone new had just arrived. Y/N walked over the living room to see what the kids were up to, and she found Silver, Spike’s older sister, teaching the two boys how to drink tea properly. She smiled at the sight as she took a seat on one of the couches.

She heard voices coming closer to where she was, but it wasn’t until she heard the stranger laugh that she turned over to see. A handsome man stood beside Adam, he had chocolate curls adorning the very top of his head, along with beautiful emerald eyes joined by little crinkles at the side as he smiled at Emi.

He was beautiful.

Y/N saw as the three adults approached her, Adam smirking at her reaction in a way of telling her I told you so.

“Y/N, this is Harry. Harry, this is our friend Y/N” Harry offered his hand for her to shake and she noticed the rings adorning his fingers.

“It’s nice to meet you, love. I’ve heard wonderful things about you” he said as the shook hands.

“Pleasure’s mine” she smiled. She was gonna talk again but a little body crashed into her legs from behind, clearly hiding. “This is Artemis. Say hi, baba”

The little boy said nothing as he pushed himself further into his mum’s legs, clearly feeling intimidated of seeing a very tall stranger standing in front of his mummy.

“Hi Artemis, I’m Harry” he offered the boy the most friendly smile he could provide but he still wasn’t responding.

“I’m sorry, he’s… uh, very shy” Y/N blushed. “Darling, remember we’re polite to people” she said to her son.

Artemis let go of Y/N’s legs and took another peek to Harry, who was now crunched down to his level to make him feel more comfortable.

“Hello, Sir” he finally said, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink as he spoke.

Harry chuckled. “You can call me Harry, mate. I’m not that old”

Artemis nodded again. Silver and Spike came running to hug Harry, chanting Uncle Harry over and over again.

After the greetings, the kids went back playing and Y/N went to sit back on the couch, knowing how her son always wanted her close whenever he was feeling shy.

“Did I scare him?” Harry came with two glasses of wine. He sat beside her once she took it, mumbling a thank you.

“You didn’t. He’s just not so good with strangers”

“Missing his dad perhaps?” he inquired.

“You can miss someone you’ve never met” she chuckled before taking a long sip of wine.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s okay, I’m joking. I mean, he hasn’t met that piece of shit indeed but its fine”

“If it matters, I bet he’s an idiot” he leaned down to her, as if he was telling her a secret. Y/N snorted. “Anyway, I still hope I didn’t scare him”

Y/N shook her head. “Usually he’s like this, especially with other men, he doesn’t know many”

Harry turned to look at Y/N’s son. He was no older than four, he guessed. He had blonde, curly hair and hazel eyes. Harry thought his facial features were all from his mum, and he was so damn adorable.

“You have a very adorable one, looks just like his mum” Harry said, smirking at her.

“I know, right? Worth every back pain I had during nine months”

The two talked a little longer and Harry moved closer to her as their glasses became emptier. Harry thought she was very beautiful and charming, just like Adam had described her before.

He learned Y/N was 25 and a professor at UCL and she teaches at the UCL Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. He also learned Artemis was indeed four years old and had a passion for my neighbor totoro even though he has never seen the movie before.

“He just really likes the character” Y/N would say.

It was refreshing to see someone so put together at 25, he would admit. Everything that came out of her mouth was interesting for him, as he wanted to learn as much as possible from her.

The entire group had dinner outside, enjoying the beautiful night with light conversations and some more wine. Harry tried to talk to Artemis, but he still refused to answer him something else aside from ‘no’, ‘yes’ and ‘thank you’ for the time Harry complimented his shirt.

Every time, Y/N would send him an apologetic smile but he dismissed it offering her one of his own. He’s met shy children before, but usually none of them would be so closed off to him. He was good with children, heck, he loved them. But the one time he actually needed his charms with them to work, mostly to impress the pretty woman who happened to be the mum of said child, of course they didn’t.

In the other hand, Y/N was not surprised by her son’s reactions and felt bad for Harry every time he would try to talk with Artemis. She knew he didn’t do it to be impolite or rude, he just genuinely got that nervous around strangers. He even yelled stranger danger one time when a man asked him his favorite ice cream flavor, that man was an employee serving them the ice cream.

At the end of the night, everyone said their goodbye’s and Y/N went out of the door with a half sleep four year old laying on her shoulder as she carried him to the car.

Emi pushed Harry’s shoulder, silently telling him to go help her. And that’s what he did.

“Thank you” she said when Harry opened the backseat door for her.

“You’re welcome” he smiled. He observed how Y/N put Artemis on his car seat and buckled his seatbelt across his little chest. He also opened the door for her as the gentleman he was. “I… had a great time tonight”

“Me too. It was nice meeting you”

“Perhaps… we could go out some time?” he asked nervously. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to”

“I’d like that actually” They exchanged numbers quickly and Harry noticed how her lockscreen was a picture of Artemis in a Mickey Mouse costume.

“I’ll call you” he assured her.

“I’ll wait for your call” she smiled at him one more time before closing the door and starting her car and driving away.

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[multific]

The Article

Jaskier x Reader

1960s!AU

Request: Hi!! May I request an AU set in the 1960s with Jaskier x reader..where Jaskier is a singer, Geralt is a biker, and the reader is a magazine reporter for a teen magazine who meets up with Jaskier to do an article on him, and it’s a slow burn romantic relationship between Jaskier and the reader where they both slowly fall in love with each other, please? thank you so much!

A/N: Sorry for the long wait on this one! Hope you like it! Enjoy ☘︎

 You loved and hated your job at the same time.

While it was amazing to meet so many famous people, getting to interview them and see them in person, it was also a very exhausting job. 

The constant travelling and critiques you received. People were extremely picky, nothing was ever good enough for them. Even if you put your heart and soul into the article, some always found faults in it. 

Of course, you were extremely thankful for the supportive, kind and nice people out there who liked your work.

Your next job however would be a big one.

One of the biggest names were in your city and your magazine got the opportunity to do an article about the singer, Jaskier. You were to follow him for five days, not only to get to know his day to day life more but also to make the fans understand this side of him. 

Of course, you were extremely excited that you got this job, and so, the first day out of the five came.

You arrived at their studio in time, the man at the reception was expecting you, so you had no problems getting in.

After getting your pass, you head inside.

When you first saw Jaskier he was with his manager, talking about upcoming concerts and projects. Then you got the opportunity to introduce yourself.

"Hi, my name is Y/N Y/L/N. I'll be the one writing the article, really nice to meet you."

At the time you didn't know, but you took his breath away the second his eyes landed on you. 

"H-Hi. My name is Jaskier pleasure's all mine."

---

Once you got used to the backstage area, they even offered you a room so you can write your articles peacefully.

Then, you headed back to Jaskier's room to explain everything.

"So, I will be following you around for two weeks, I can write more accurately once I'm more used to your habits. Fans would also be interested in your likings, favourites, really anything from food to clothing brands and more."

"Alright, no problem, I don't have anything to hide, really. I do have a friend though, he likes to come to my concerts so if you run into a big, white-haired man, that will be Geralt."

You offered him a smile and he smiled back just as much. "Thank you, I'll keep that in mind."

You knew this is going to be an interesting one.

---

You met Geralt a few days later, someone should have warned you of the tall, muscular and handsome man, you thought he was a body guard at first. Geralt was a biker as you found out, he loved his Harley, he even named it, Roach. Tattoos littered his arms and his presence was always very intense. Geralt was a man of few words but your main focus was on Jaskier.

Going from one concert to another, you learned a lot about his music and the lyrics he wrote.

He loved music.

And it clearly showed.

You would be lying if you said his voice and songs didn't touch you on a spiritual level. 

There was something about him, something more than a singer.

Music was blaring in the bar, yet another night with Jaskier as he sings the night away.

"I have known him for a long time, but I have never seen him as happy as the past week." Geralt said as he finally answered your question for your article, which was coming along very nicely.

"Really? And what do you think changed?" you asked with your pen in hand to write down every information.

"You." was all he said, you looked up at Geralt trying to make it out if he was lying or not. "Ever since you came around, he is happier. He always was a very happy person, but this is different. You know he didn't like the idea of someone following him around for an article, but here he is now, singing all his songs directly to you."

"You're joking, Geralt. Why would he care about me? I'm just a writer."

"I noticed the way you watch him when he performs and the way he watches you while he is singing."Geralt leaned back, took a look at Jaskier then looked back at you. "He got burnt once- maybe you shouldn't mention this in your article- but he was in love once. Madly. But she just used him and dumped his ass when she found someone richer." 

You were confused, why was Geralt telling you about this? You definitely will not write about this, but now his earlier songs made more sense. 

"That's awful."

"Yeah, she was a real bitch. But my point is, it's not easy for someone who has been hurt once to love again." 

You felt that this wasn't only about Jaskier, no, Geralt was the same.

"What's her name?"

"Yennefer." Geralt knew what you meant. "I just wish the two of you wouldn't be so blind. He deserves happiness, you deserve happiness. Don't mess it up like I did." as if you understood, you gave Geralt a nod before turning your head and looking at Jaskier who was now on the last song.

You didn't believe it, could it be true? Were you two in love? It's only been a week though. You didn't want to rush these things.

"Hi Y/N." you looked up at the person entering the room.

"Hi, you did really good out there." 

"Thanks." Jaskier smiled as he sat down opposite of you, sipping his water.

"Who's Yennefer?" you asked suddenly and Jaskier started to choke on the water. A few seconds and he gathered his composure. "Geralt mentioned her." you tried to explain.

"She was...Geralt's girlfriend. They really loved each other but after some time, everything changed. Yennefer started saying things to Geralt like they are only together because of some... I don't even know. They were on and off a lot and I do mean a lot. Now, Yennefer has moved and Geralt's here."

"I see." you bit the inside of your cheek. 

Jaskier moved his hand on the table and placed it on yours, you both looked at each other.

"Look Y-" Jaskier started but he couldn't finish, the unmistakable sound of a bike came from outside and Jaskier moved back in his chair.  Jaskier gave you an apologetic smile. "Speaking of the devil," he said as he stood up and left to greet his friend.

---

"Alright, it's been two weeks, now's time for the interview, are you ready?" you and Jaskier were sitting in his backstage room, today is your last day.

"Yes. Let's do this." Jaskier leaned back in his chair as you sat down across the table from him.

"I don't have many questions, during my time with your band, I managed to get many answers, so I mainly collected some that fan's asked."

"Sounds good."

"Perfect, so, what was your reason for getting into music?"

"I always liked to sing, then my mother bought me a guitar for Christmas and I think that was my breaking point. After that, all I wanted to do was to play and sing. I learned more instruments, but the guitar is what is still the closest to my heart." you wrote down his answer.

"Thank you, the next one is... Your most well-known song is 'Her Sweet Kiss'. Who did you have in mind when writing it?... This might be a bit too forward, let's just maybe you could tell more about the song."

Jaskier smiled. 

"Of course, the song was inspired by an old experience, but I'm over that now. The song is not written with a bad memory in mind."

"Hmm. This one is also a bit forward but, are you dating anyone right now?"

"No, I'm single." you wrote it down, but he continued. "But I do have my eyes on someone." you looked up at him and he was watching you. "I know we didn't talk many times during your time here, but I noticed things about you just as you did about me, I hope I speak for both of us when I say that I would like to go on a date with you."

You froze for a second. The more you thought about it, the more you knew you needed to say yes.

"I-I would love to."

As you watched the smile grow on his face, he quickly stood up and started running around the whole building, yelling out how happy and lucky he was.

Interview and article long forgotten.

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[hopetofantasy]

‘HUMO’s big youth survey - Sex, love and relationships’ - With Nathan Bouts

- TW: explicit content and mentions of sexual assault, intimidation, getting drugged, (internalized) homophobia, slutshaming, dubious consent, sexualization -

‘How does youth look at love? Do they go all out or keep it safe with a round of virtual sex? An experienced trio may reveal it all: Billie Leyers (25) is the third child from the well-known family Leyers and singer-song writer. Marie Van Uytvanck (21) recently kicked it off with her band Kids With Buns all the way to the semi-finals of ‘Humo’s Rock Rally’. For the testosterone at this table we’ve got Nathan Bouts (22), actor in the youth series ‘wtFOCK’. ‘I long for some spontaneity again. May I squeeze your butt?’

- Note from hopetofantasy: Marie is the same person who made the LGBT+ podcast, where Yara Veyt talked about her sexuality. -

The first number: 6 out of 10 youngsters think a serious relationship is important. Do you guys dream about that? Billie Leyers: “A lot of my girl friends are really looking for steady relationships. I’m not that type of person, I’d like to see what crosses my path. But for some kind of reason I still end up in one. Since I’ve been sexually active - soon it’ll be 10 years ago: huray! - I’ve had three long relationships. Now I’ve been together with Jasper (Maekelberg, from ‘Faces on TV’) for two and a half years. Coincidentally, it’s the man I wish to grow old with.” Nathan Bouts: “I think a serious relationship is a nice idea, but at the moment I don’t have one.” What kind of boxes should a potential partner tick on your list? Nathan Bouts: “Sounds pretentious, but I want someone with a certain intellectual level, someone I can talk to. She must be sure of herself.” Billie Leyers: “It’s the same for me. It doesn’t matter if someone is a good plumber, an actor or a musician, he should come home and talk about his day with passion. The biggest turn-off is someone who just smokes joints on a couch and doesn’t know how to handle his life.” Marie Van Uytvanck: “I might have a really weird box to tick: if I get to know someone, I want to see her Spotify-playlist. I can be really attracted to someone with the right playlist.”

Has Spotify provided you with a relationship yet? Marie Van Uytvanck: “Not yet. The fact that I was stuck in the closet for a long time, sure has something to do with that. I think a lot of people might have wondered for a long time if I was asexual. So, no. It just took me seven years before I was completely ready to share it with everyone.” You made a podcast about it: the ‘Uit De PodKast’. There, you talk about how you’ve told your parents. Marie Van Uytvanck: “Friends knew it already, but I waited a long time to come out at home. Actually, my parents just know about it recently: I’ve told them during lockdown, with a letter. Their reaction was really sweet. They mostly felt shitty for me, because I felt unhappy about it for years on end - I’ve known I liked girls since I was 14. I’ve never had a serious relationship, but I’ve dated someone for a long time. Even that was very complicated, because I was still in the closet. So we saw each other in secret at a café across the country (*laughs*). Ridiculous: two girls could sit next to one another perfectly, without people thinking they’d be on a date.” How is your relationship with your parents? I’m wondering, because there doesn’t seem to be a conflict between generations with the current one: four out of ten would even like to live in the same area as their parents.  Marie Van Uytvanck: “Since I came out to them, our bond has strengthened. Right before my coming out, it was a bit weird. During that time we went on vacation together. I’ve never longed for my own dorm more than on that trip. But now, I like to hug my mom all the time. The big secret isn’t a road block between us anymore.” Billie Leyers: “I live with my partner, but I get a long with my parents very well. Sometimes too much, I guess. If I didn’t call them or one of my sisters by noon, then Jasper asks me what’s wrong. Why should we even rebel to our parents? I’ve got the impression that their generation was far more rock-and-roll than ours. My dad gets annoyed at the festivals nowadays: opening bags and searching people, what’s rock-and-roll about that? Back in his days, everything was far more relaxed. They were the generation of the orgies. I wouldn’t mind to go back to that. It’s all too goody-goody now.” RETWEET! Out of all the serious relationships between young people, one out of five people met online. Five years ago, that number was only 15 percent.  Marie Van Uytvanck: “I’ve done it a few times, but I don’t think Tinder dating is pleasant. The idea that you meet someone and have to approve them, doesn’t feel right to me. Spontaneously meeting someone in-person with whom it clicks, seems way more fun. Even when it’s not that easy, since I fall for people of the same sex.” Billie Leyers: “I’ve got zero experience with Tinder. My relationships always started at school.” Like 1 out of 3 youngsters.  Billie Leyers: “I’ve met Jasper at school too: he was the mentor for my thesis. So yeah, I’ve run off with the teacher (*laughs*). I’ve seen it in my environment though, online dating. They’d be chatting for weeks or months, eventually meet up and then find out that there is no spark between them. It’s a shame, three months of your life in the thrash.” Marie Van Uytvanck: “Of course: you’ve been idolizing them for a while. Also, in a chat conversation you can still think before you send something, so no mistakes either.” Corona has been an obstacle in the life of the single: 73 percent of them hasn’t had new dates since March.  Nathan Bouts: “I didn’t experience the lockdown as dramatic. I just completely focussed on my music. With results, since my first single will be released soon.” Marie Van Uytvanck: “So you didn’t do anything the whole time? Not that I’ve done illegal dates during lockdown, but afterwards I’ve had some new dates. And no, it wasn’t always with social distance or face masks. Dating like that, seems a bit weird, no? (*Speaks to Billie*) Wasn’t it hard for you guys, as a couple?” Billie Leyers: “With a lot of couples it was the one or the other: they fell in love more than ever or it was over. It went surprisingly well with us: we’re perfectly in tune with each other. We give each other the much needed space.” Nathan Bouts: “That’s a great relationship you have! It seems fun to have something similar during the next lockdown, even though I’m kinda attached to my own independence. I’ve had a relationship of three years. If we were together for a week, I needed a few days to myself afterwards. Also, I think it’s terrible to sleep next to someone.” Marie Van Uytvanck: “Retweet! I’ve got the exact same. During the day, I’m already all over the place: I’ve got ADHD and talk too much. So when I get home, I’d like to go to bed, lay in my own smell.”

SQUIRREL IN BED Only 5 percent of serious teen relationship have met each other at a café. Do you guys walk up to someone at the bar? Billie Leyers: “Only the creepy types still do that. ‘You seem nice. Can I have your number?’ Then you leap back immediately, if you’re a woman.” Nathan Bouts: “Really? I think a guy could still do that though. I don’t - I hate flirting - but I see a lot of friends of mine do the same. They even use me. Then they pull me along at my arm, until the girl - they like to hit on - sees me: “Look, it’s my friend, Jens from ‘wtFOCK’. My character is a somewhat chill dude without any complexes, who’s seriously confident, so that resonates with the ladies. I don’t want to use that to impress them, but my friends don’t get it: ‘Why don’t you use that attention to sleep around?’.” That would be the 14 percent who fits the statement: if you’re young, you have to try as many sex partners as you like. Billie Leyers: “I’m not a guy, but the time you could dance with a girl and suddenly kiss her on the mouth, is completely behind us, I guess. If you’re not careful, they could accuse you of sexual assault afterwards. I long for a time we could do that again. Not that I’m pro-sexual assault, but a little bit of spontaneity is allowed, right? Everything has a question mark now: may I kiss you? May I squeeze your butt? Life has gotten less romantic.” Marie Van Uytvanck: “At parties, I still see - excuse me: saw - that happening, though: squeezing the butt. All my girl friends are bothered by it.” Nathan Bouts: “(*nods*) Some of my friends can’t go out for an evening of dancing without some dude grinding against them.” Billie Leyers: “But those are the creepy types. Only them still dare to try. Although: a while ago, I was walking over the Groenplaats with my bike in hand. Suddenly some guy asked me timidly if he could walk along. First I thought it was weird, but it was kinda cute too. He walked with me and said goodbye in a polite way. He probably noticed that my ‘I’m taken’-light was on. If I was single, I might have given him my number. That would be a nice story, right?” Do you think, just like almost one out of three young people, that #metoo is being greatly exaggerated? When asked the guys, it’s even 38 percent. Billie Leyers: “Difficult topic. I’m not that into hashtag MeToo, I guess.” Marie Van Uytvanck: “You have to be careful with statements like that. I do think people abuse the #metoo to get attention. It’s a small amount of people, but like that, they ensure that serious issues get cast into the shadow and that people even use the hashtag as a joke.” Something is happening though: 1 out of 4 girls say they’ve experienced sexual assault and intimidation. Billie Leyers: “Are those also the girls who get squeezed in the butt? For me, sexual intimidation resonates more with skewed balances of power at work. It’s still disgusting of course, but different than someone who puts his hand on your arm at the bar. I think we’ve gone too far in that issue. We’re all human and fumble about.” Marie Van Uytvanck: “You’re right in that. One time, there was a guy a few meters away, starting at a girl on the dance floor. Okay, that wasn’t nice, but it was the ‘Gentse Feesten’ (= a 10-day music and theatre festival in Ghent, known for its partying until the late hours) and everyone was drunk. Suddenly that girl said: ‘I’m gonna fix this.’ She went to get security and they tossed the guy out, while everyone was looking at him as if he was the biggest pervert, who assaulted her. On the other hand, I heard a lot of complaints of girls that they’ve been drugged at parties too.” Nathan Bouts: “Not only girls experience that. I was at a party once and a girl put a bottle of water in my hand, while asking: ‘You thirsty?’. I don’t know if that water was meant for me, but I’m sure they put something in it: I felt weird and dizzy afterwards, I barely made it home with my bike. At home, I sat on the toilet for three hours, not knowing where I was.” Of the girls who had sex, a third did experience it (once) against their wishes. 16 percent of guys state the same. Marie Van Uytvanck: “Last year I was on a trip to Berlin with my class. In the club a woman drugged one of the boys and got him off. If that’s not assault, I don’t know it anymore... But the weird thing was: the boy acted as if nothing was wrong. He even seemed proud of it.” Billie Leyers: “For men, the cliché still stands: every guy likes to get a blowjob. If the guy was proud for real, though, there shouldn’t be a problem.” Did you experience sex against your will, Nathan? Nathan Bouts: “Not really against my will, but it happens that I lose the desire halfway through. It’s my own issue: I get distracted really easily. I could be having sex and suddenly think: why did Nelson Mandela die? Or which color should I paint my wall?” Marie Van Uytvanck: “So relatable. Do you have ADHD too?” Nathan Bouts: “Could be: I’ve got the attention span of a squirrel. Sometimes I can get distracted by the abstract aspect of ‘sex’ itself: what in god’s name is my body actually doing? Then it suddenly gets too graphic.” Now I’m very curious of your first time. Nathan Bouts: “Terrible! When I was 14, I was going to, but then she changed her mind. I didn’t mind that it eventually took a few years: I was 17. What can I say about it? The expectations were high, but not a lot happened.” Billie Leyers: “Isn’t the first time clumsy for everyone? (*to HUMO*) Don’t you have any statistics about that?” Not about that, but I do have numbers about the age of young people when they first have sex. Guess. Nathan Bouts: “Pretty young, I guess. 14? 15? That’s what I hear around me.” 16,7. That’s barely a difference with 2015 (16,6) or even 2010 (16,8). And everyone keeps thinking that young people do it at a younger age. Billie Leyers: “I’ve had a false start, like Nathan: when I was 14, it almost happened. But as soon it was clear that he was going for more, I thought: ‘ho, we’re not going to do that!’ After that experience, it took me two more years before I went all the way. (*to Marie*) So, question: have you ever felt something for a guy?” Marie Van Uytvanck: “Yes. I can feel sexually attracted to a boy, but not romantically. I don’t get butterflies in my stomach for boys.” Five years ago 70 percent of girls thought love and sex should always go together, now only half thinks that way - just like the guys. Do girls have more meaningless one night stands too? Marie Van Uytvanck: “Just with someone random? I don’t like that at all.” Billie Leyers: “I think it might be something. I told before that I usually have long relationships, but in that period between two relationships my inner Samantha from ‘Sex and the city’ emerges and then I could go for a one night stand. When I’m single, I’m a different version of myself, more animal than human, and totally focussed on the physical.” Never had a bad experience? Billie Leyers: “Oh, I did. Once I thought, even before it ended: oops, I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t stay the night, but I left at 6 o’clock in the morning. The regret already appeared. With a good one night stand, both parties are on the same wavelength: you both know it’s noncommittal, almost for sport.” Don’t you get looks for that, as a woman? Billie Leyers: “I’m not the last drunk girl on the dance floor and someone who sits on some other guys’ lap a half an hour later. If you go to your place with a one night stand in a discreet way, nobody will point fingers.” Nathan Bouts: “I wish I could do that, cut sex from love, but I’m too self-conscious for one night stands. Before I can be completely vulnerable, I have to know the other person through and through. Once, I’ve tried it, but as soon as we were laying in bed, I didn’t felt the spark anymore and I just wanted to leave. I couldn’t even get him up. I did went down on the girl and apologized: ‘Sorry, I don’t think more than this will happen’.” Marie Van Uytvanck: “Crazy that I heard that from a guy’s mouth, for once.” The young people who did have sex, have done it with an average of five different people. In 2015 it still was 3,3. With guys, the number is even higher than girls: seven compared to three. Nathan Bouts: “I’m far below that: I’ve only been with two girls in total.” Billie Leyers: “(*shocked*) Really? I’ve got more. That’s probably my Samantha that has something to do with that.” Marie Van Uytvanck: “I didn’t have that many sex partners either, especially with the whole closet-thing. If you have sex with a woman, then the question remains: what’s sex and what’s foreplay? Do you count going down as sex or foreplay? Even among us, dykes, we’ve got that kind of conversations. Everyone sees that differently.” Should you, as a girl, better name a lower number every time when it comes to sexual partners? Billie Leyers: “I guess you better not say a number higher than the average.” Marie Van Uytvanck: “I don’t have that impression. Don’t boys experience the same, nowadays? ‘He fucks everyone’.” Nathan Bouts: “Actually, yes. Men can be sluts too.” TRIO WITH A LOG From the survey we can conclude that girls go for partners of the same sex far more than boys.  Billie Leyers: “Between my almost-first time and my real first time, I’ve been with a girl for a year. She was my best friend. Our first kiss was a joke, but soon enough it turned into something serious. We were in love, although you should take that with a grain of salt: we were in love like 15-year-olds could be in love. They didn’t know that at home: I only stayed over at her place for a suspicious amount. I can still feel attracted to girls, but I couldn’t be with a girl anymore. Emotionally, it’s too much and physical it’s too less.” Nathan Bouts: “Boys won’t admit quickly that they would like to try something with a boy. We still live in a macho culture.” The statistics are worrying: 1 out of 6 boys think it’s a problem if there’s a gay friend within their group. A quarter doesn’t think having a transgender between their mates is okay. Nathan Bouts: “I’ve kissed a dude before. I don’t think it’s disgusting at all. I can still look at a man and think: that’s a handsome man. Not that I have the desire to give him a blowjob, far from it, but objectively, I can still find a man beautiful. I think a lot of men think like that, but won’t dare to admit it. For me, that seems like bottled up macho frustrations. I’m not bothered by it.” Marie Van Uytvanck: “When I was prepubescent, I had a weird phase where I didn’t notice that I might be gay, even though it was as obvious as it could be. Not that I participated in gay bashing or made homophobic comments, but I pretended that I thought it was disgusting. I was probably scared of how people would look at me if they knew. (*to Nathan*) Did you know you’re in my podcast? I’m using a scene from wtFOCK where your voice can be heard. It’s such an amazing tv series for young people who are gay, because you guys treat it as a normal thing. As a teen, I missed characters or storylines where I could recognize myself in.” Nathan Bouts: “We’ve often received reactions from young people who are grateful for what we did. Because of us, they took that step to come out.” For the first time, we asked young people to define themselves. 9 percent checked the ‘bisexual’ box, 4 percent call themselves ‘gay’ or ‘lesbian’. How do you guys define yourself? Marie Van Uytvanck: “I’m homo-romantic and bisexual, but you can call me gay. Rather that than ‘lesbian’, because that sounds ugly.” Billie Leyers: “I think all those labels are a bit tiring.” Nathan Bouts: “Me too. If I have to, I’ll define myself as heterosexual, but at the same time I think it’s difficult to label myself. Who knows if in one year, I’ll meet a man whom I could fall in love with.” Marie Van Uytvanck: “Nice that you can admit that, as a man.” Something seems wrong with the tolerance of boys: two girls who walk hand-in-hand, is a problem for 7 percent of them and 28 percent still thinks it’s weird. Marie Van Uytvanck: “I never walk hand-in-hand on the street, but I wouldn’t do that with a boy either. I simply don’t like it. From the girls who do, I hear that they keep getting sexualized: then they’ll get horny comments directed at them.” Nathan Bouts: “It’s because of porn: lesbian porn is the most viewed category - I read that somewhere.” Are you part of the 30 percent that has seen porn with their partner? Nathan Bouts: “With a partner, I wouldn’t do that. You still have each other?” Billie Leyers: “Nowadays everyone can admit that they watch porn. Watching it together has a certain thrill to it. You’re getting horny by watching the same thing, without touching each other. That’s part of the fun.” Nathan Bouts: “Hm, maybe I should try it.” Something else you could try: sex with multiple partners at once. 6 percent of the sexual active youth has done it. Nathan Bouts: “I don’t know if that’s my ambition, a threesome. It would make me even more self-conscious. And I would think of the practical stuff: how do I organize that? What’s my role? Do I have enough hands to pleasure everyone?” Billie Leyers: “(*laughs*) You’ll need a log!” Marie Van Uytvanck: “Nowadays you see that question pass by a lot on Tinder: couples seeking a third party.” Billie Leyers: “In that concept, I would only like to be the guest star. It’s probably terrible to be the girl in that couple. Immediately, the next day, you’ll think: ‘Will my partner think she was more pretty or better?’ I would only get more insecure.” RACY MATERIALS And what about virtual sex? Of the experienced youngster, a third has done it. In 2015, it was only a quarter of them.  Marie Van Uytvanck: “I wouldn’t dare. I already think that people spy on me through my camera. I would be scared to end up like those three famous people.” (= Two months ago, the nudes from three famous Belgian people were leaked and shared without consent on the internet, causing a storm in their personal lives as well as their fanbase and the Belgian people.)  Billie Leyers: “Every time the conversation comes up, I think: I’m so happy I didn’t have to go through that.” Nathan Bouts: “Absolutely. (*makes a cross for good luck*) I’ve send a nude pic once too, but never with my face on it. Even if that gets leaked, nobody will know that it’s me.” Marie Van Uytvanck: “Will we ever know what happened with those people? Who knows, it might’ve been a hacker.” Who of you have seen the images? Marie Van Uytvanck: “Someone pushed them in my face, but I’m kinda blind - my sight is 3 out of 10 - so I didn’t see a lot (*laughs*).” Billie Leyers: “I’m teaching at an art school and I’ve heard 13-year-old girls scream to each other: ‘I’ve got Peter de Veire!’ As if it’s about Pokémon cards you could collect. I corrected her: ‘It’s Peter VAN de Veire and don’t you have something better to do?’.” Do you still dare to do it, sexting? Billie Leyers: “Yes. If my partner is on tour for three weeks, then it might derail to sending each other racy materials. But our bond of trust is strong. Plus: it feels comfortable to know that you have as much incriminating evidence of the other on your cell phone as he has of you.” In ‘De Morgen’, there was an article about the sexting-scandal, with the headline: ‘The spread position between prudish and voyeurism.’ Which side is the youth leaning into? Billie Leyers: “I wouldn’t know. On the one hand, you’ve got Cardi B who’s rapping about wet ass pussy and that sex is the most normal thing in the world, but if you click on a clip of one of those famous people, you’re suddenly a criminal. A weird position, yes.” Marie Van Uytvanck: “Nowadays with every topic, you’ve got two groups. Is Cardi B now the ultimate feminist or is her song just vulgar? It’s the first one for me. I think it’s cool if women can sing about their pussy too, whilst men can rap ‘suck my dick’ for years and nobody bats an eye.” Nathan Bouts: “I’m not a fan of the song, but it’s good that they talk about it. Except: if I open TikTok and see 9-year-old grind on that song, then I think: what image are they growing up with? Two females with fake breasts and a collagen butt who roll over the floor: soon they’ll think that every women needs to look like that.” Let’s end with romance: do you see yourself ever getting married? Almost 1 out of 4 think marriage is outdated.  Nathan Bouts: “I don’t think so. Too expensive and too much effort.” Billie Leyers: “It doesn’t have to be expensive? I see the principle of marriage starting a revival soon. I would like to get married.” And then get two children? An average of two, like most young people? Billie Leyers: “I used to say ‘when I grow up, I want to have 12 children’. That’s because I’m from a big family myself, as were my parents. When the Leyers-clan organizes a family day, we need our own venue.” Marie Van Uytvanck: “I want to have kids, I just don’t want to push them out myself. The idea that a child grows inside you, I don’t like that.” Nathan Bouts: “I want kids too. Two to start, and then we’ll see. Some time ago, I saw a kid on the tram and thought tenderly: ‘A child of my own...’ A slight surge of nesting instinct, I guess.”

[buffyversefanfiction]

Slayer of Slayers

Warnings:I do not own, nor do I claim to own any of the copyright or characters within the Buffyverse which includes but not limited to the television shows Buffy and Angel, as well as the Darkhorse comics series’ continuation.

15+ Strong to moderate violence, Graphic to mild descriptions of gore, and torture, sexually charged scenes, sexual innuendos, mild to strong language, and practices of witchcraft.

M/M, F/F, M/F, GEN, OTHER +

PART SIX LINK HERE

Part Seven - Rogues

1928

Spike found himself running through woods in the middle of the night in search of his beloved Drusilla only to find his sire dancing on a field, which had been scorched by fire, as the raven-haired vampire continued swaying from side to side, laughing away at herself in the process making Spike curious to what she was up to now. “Dru, what are you doing out here?” Spike asked the woman he loved as he walked towards her, pulled her body into his arms, and began dancing with Drusilla. “Here on these very grounds lies a future of torment, torture, and agonizing pain…it’s so delicious it makes me giddy!” Drusilla replied as she continued to slow dance with her immortal lover. “One day I’m going to raise a family right here, and will almost be worth all that I’ll have to lose before then…” “I was worried you got yourself killed babe; you know you’re not at your full strength,” Spike confessed admitting his fears for her. “Oh, my dear William, I will be the only one who will not die, not once, even at times when I’m so lonely I wish I would die…” Drusilla sighed with a profound sense of sadness, wanting to stay in that moment but knowing the future was coming. “You’ll always have me!” Spike protested, meaning what he said with all his heart but not knowing what the future would hold for him and the woman he loved more than he could ever imagine loving someone…at the time.

1977

Following Angelus leaving her after regaining his soul and Darla returning to The Master, Drusilla knew her time with Spike was nearing an end, that the quest for her to become strong again would be the beginning of the end for them both and despite how much sadness the thought of losing her beloved Spike one day, she knew her and Spike’s trip to New York would bring some happiness to them both as Spike set out to kill his second vampire slayer, Nikki Wood, while Drusilla set her sights on siring a new vampire, the first child of her new family. Drusilla had spent most of the night watching Tobias from a distance, she followed him as he walked home from his work at a diner nearby to his rundown studio apartment, watched him as he got strung up on drugs, and noticed that this man was far from the one she had seen in her visions. At first glance, this man was no more than a depressed junkie who without her input would die a nobody within a matter of years, but as she watched him further, she began to see the potential hidden deep within him and decided to make her move. “How sad a life you must live to need to block it out with every toxin available to you.” Drusilla greeted Tobias after he opened his apartment door to her, the vampire waiting in the hallway, ready to claim him as her own. “I can feel your pain as if it was my own and I know you are so lost you think you cannot find a way out of your despair, but mummy can make everything all better.” “Did Mick send you? He always did like his girls crazy as hell, just hand me the drugs already and tell Mick I’ll pay him when I get my wages from the diner.” Tobias replied to her, having no clue who she really was nor what she had planned for him. “I do not know this Mick, but I do know you, Tobias, I know who you are now, but I also know who you can be. I can give you meaning in this world, a purpose, and a love that will consume you…you will never be alone!” Drusilla said in a rather convincing tone, acting if she was the answer to his many troubles. “Whatever you are on lady…I want some.” Tobias responded in a mocking tone, confused by who this woman was and what she wanted from him. “I can you make you stronger than you ever imagined, give to you a family you have always longed for, make you part of something truly incredible and even lead you to the love of your life…once I make you worthy of him of course,” Drusilla promised the young man, knowing this time that her words were somewhat resonating with him, tempting him to give her a chance to prove she was telling him the truth, a chance which she would use to turn him into a vampire-like her…

The 2000s

Drusilla stood in the same field she had once stood in the late 20s, but what was now standing there was the abandoned building of an insane asylum, a building which had been built, used, and abandoned within the years since she had last visited this field. and the vampire could not prepare her eyes, for the place was even more beautiful, to her at least, than she found it in her many visions, and now that she had lost her beloved Spike, she could at least find some salvage in claiming the home she had dreamed off for many decades now. “It’s been a long time my darling boy, mummy would be so mad at you if you were not the only family, I had left…for now,” Drusilla told Tobias as he began walking up towards his sire until he was stood next to her. “I really did love that man just like I loved Angelus and grandmother, but they are all gone now…” “I still do not understand why you wasted so much time on that peroxide prick but then I’ve never been in love, if it were not for you, I’d have found it impossible for any vampire,” Tobias replied to the vampire who had created him. “You’ve certainly had your fair share of conquests though; you’ve been a very naughty boy but the time for you to settle down with your forever love is coming soon and mummy could not be more excited,” Drusilla revealed to him, knowing she was going closer to forming a new family, one she believed would be even better than the ones that came before.

Modern Day…

Buffy and Spike’s on/off relationship had reached its inevitable end almost two years ago, when their last split led to Buffy’s one night stand with Angel resulting in a baby which led to Buffy going M.I.A. after losing that baby, and in her absence, Spike had taken over the duties of protecting the city of San Francisco, a city which included Buffy’s sister Dawn Summers, Dawn’s daughter Joyce Harris, and Spike’s on/off roommate Xander Harris in its population. And it was during his patrolling duties within a local cemetery in the city of San Francisco that he was reunited with an old friend, one who would lead him into joining a mission to kill the first woman he ever loved… “Sneaking up on a vampire is a rather foolish move considering the heightened bloody hearing and everything,” Spike shouted into the dark night as he turned around looking for a face to come out of the shadows. “Calm down Spike I was merely trying to surprise an old friend.” Ruby Moon stated as she appeared from out of the shadows. “Someone who I owe my life to and yet have the audacity to ask another favor of.” “Well, if it isn’t the little witch, I helped break free from my ex-Dru’s crazy cult,” Spike said with a smile on his face, happy to see the witch in question. “I heard you were all suburban wife again living the normal life or as close to it as one can get married to one of Riley Finn’s G.I. blows.” “It’s good to see you again too!” Ruby responded with a chuckle as she walked towards the vampire, whom she considered being a good friend, one who she knew she could rely on. “So, go on and tell me what you need saving from this time? Please do not tell me your back being the ex’s magical minion again because you only get one save from that, the second time is on you!” Spike told her with a level of sarcasm, knowing he was about to help her again no matter what situation she had now found herself in. “Remember the friend we left behind? The one crazy enough to consider Drusilla as family. Well, he’s forming a team to kill that ex of yours, and something tells me you will want to be part of that team.” Ruby revealed to the vampire. “I’ve put Dru in my past and if you are smart you would too, let this friend of yours go it alone if he’s so determined serves him right for not getting out when you gave him the option anyway.” Spike rejected her offer, not loving Drusilla anymore but not wanting to be part of her death either. “This friend of mine is Theo Frey, and it just so turns out his mother happens to be your latest ex Buffy Summers’ son, I figured telling you that would help change your mind and everything considering you do not want to be the one telling the slayer that you had a chance to save her son and said no.” Ruby continued with her revelations, shocking Spike by the latest, knowing with certainty he would not reject her offer a second time.

Elsewhere, back in the city of Los Angeles, Theo Frey was once again stood behind his now run-down dive bar, the one he shared with his now-dead again lover Tobias, frozen in thought, with tears in his eyes, as he began to wonder whether Tobias was as guilty as Drusilla for killing his parents, wondering if his entire relationship with Tobias was just a lie and he had been nothing more than a fool to both him and his sire Drusilla. Suddenly, the very place he returned to for comfort, the place he lived with Tobias, and the place they have both called home, had become nothing more than a place of ruins holding memories of a past that the vampire/slayer hybrid could no longer believe to be true after Ruby’s recent revelations. “I did not think I would be seeing you again especially in the place you almost burned to the ground.” Theo declared after drying his eyes, as Faith Lehane, the vampire slayer determined on pestering him forever, walked into what remained of his demonic little dive bar. “Well, it’s not like you can be picky with your customers considering you only have half a bar these days.” Faith joked with the vampire as she walked over to the counter cautiously. “Your little friend Ruby left me this really sketchy video about you and her going to take out Drusilla and now Spike seems to be in on this little mission so I threw my hat in the ring considering you could do with another super strength in the ring, and something tells me you’re not exactly going to be hitting up B or Angel anytime soon…” “Ruby said something of getting some vamp help, but she never said anything about Spike and as for you no thanks, the last time I played with you, you turned my lover into ashes, well your blue-haired pet did anyway.” Theo snapped at the slayer, refusing to team up with her after their complicated history. “I get that you do not trust me, and I do not trust you but here’s the thing Dru’s a big player and she’s made an enemy of everyone not just you so, swallow your pride dude, and take the help I mean it’s better taking too much firepower to the vengeance party than winding up losing her…she’s survived this long for a reason kiddo.” Faith advised the slayer of slayers, trying to convince him to accept her help. “If B hears I’m not going you know she’s going to get herself involved, I mean it was hard enough telling her to sit this one out like it and I will not even get you started on Angel…” “Killing Drusilla…it does not mean I’m suddenly team slayer or anything, it just means, for now, she’s number one on my hitlist…” Theo explained to her. “I will not protect you; I will not save you, and I most certainly will not thank you.” “Well, that sure as hell seems like a yes to me.” Faith smirked, knowing Theo would rather chance to trust her, than giving Drusilla too much of an opportunity to escape his vengeance. Once Theo reluctantly agreed to work alongside Faith, and Ruby returned to Los Angeles with Spike in tow, the team consisting of a vampire slayer turned vampire, a rogue slayer turned good, a vampire with a soul, and a powerful witch began planning to strike Drusilla where she’s least expected to be attacked, at the one place she called home…

Faith, Theo, Ruby, and Spike found themselves deep within the woods, the same woods that Spike had once visited many years ago, and the same woods Theo and Ruby knew all too well thanks to their time with Drusilla, and before long the group of rogues had found themselves standing outside of the abandoned insane asylum, boarded up with planks of wood that themselves had been broken, with smashed windows, and a general sense of abandonment, abandoned in the middle of nowhere, the road to it long gone, hidden in shame of its own secrets A truly horrifying, and haunted place filled with misery from its past, and the perfect home for an insane vampire-like Drusilla. “I get you’re on mission vengeance and everything here Theo but what are the chances you are going to turn us all and lead us into some kind of slaughter?” Faith asked Theo, as the four remained hidden within the trees, beginning to question Theo’s loyalty towards this team of rogues. “The only person I hate more than you and the blue haired bitch is Drusilla so as long as she is alive you are safe but the minute, she’s dead we’re back to being enemies,” Theo answered honestly, making it clear he had no intention of seeking redemption. “He looks like Angel speaks like Angelus and smells like Buffy,” Spike stated, referring to Theo’s similarities with his biological parents. “Got to say it’s as hot as it is annoying!” “Listen up do not let your past get in the way of dusting Drusilla once and for all or else you’ll be joining your ex in the afterlife!” Theo quickly threatened Spike, proving he distrusted them as much as they distrusted him. “You were her minion just days ago I was her equal, if we have to worry about anyone getting second thoughts then it's you, not me!” Spike responded, making it clear he was down to do what needed to be done. “She killed my parents, there’s no going back for me even if it kills me, you better know it's going to kill her too!” Theo declared defiantly as he prepared for the fight of his undead life.

Instead of just charging into the abandoned asylum, Theo decided to get his poker face on, going in first and playing nice with his former mentor Drusilla, as he got a layout of where her minions had placed themselves, knowing the vampire was always ready for an attack, ready to strike before anyone else, as her asylum had become her armed kingdom. Despite the disgust over having to pretend not to entirely loathe the woman that had killed the parents who had raised him since birth, Theo knew it would be worth the cost once he ended the night plunging a wooden stake into Drusilla’s chest if he could convince her that he was still an ally of hers, the problem, of course, being Drusilla was always one step ahead. “My first family was taken by Angelus before he decided to take me too…” Drusilla told Theo as they walked down one of the many hallways found within the abandoned asylum that Drusilla used as her headquarters. “But then I found a new one with him and Darla, then my Spike but your mother took that all from me which is why I found it so fitting that I was the one to take you from her…but you were never really mine were you?” “What are you talking about? I believed your every word, did every demand and loved you like a son, I have been loyal to you since the first time I met you and I continue to be.” Theo argued with her, fearing she already knew of his intentions to kill her. “I took you into my home and loved you like a son, I even loved you when you took Tobias from me because I knew that was the way things had to be but now you’re too far gone for me to save…” Drusilla said with a great sense of sadness as the two stopped walking, and Theo noticed vampires appearing from both ends of the hallway, as he realized she was the one ambushing him. “The only thing I can do for you now is killing you and hope you are reunited with Tobias in whatever hellish dimension you are sent to.” “You really do see everything coming, don’t you?” Theo asked as he pulled out a wooden stake from his jacket pocket. “You killed my parents, pretended to save me, and had me fooled to think you as my savior all this time! I trusted you…I fought for you…I loved you!” “Everything I did I did to make you who you are today, the slayer of slayers, the world’s first self-sired vampire and you repay me with siding with the very same people who abandoned you without a second thought,” Drusilla replied, as she pulled out a wooden stake of her own from out of the side of her dress, as her minions cautiously walked closer to them both, ready to help their master if Theo got the upper hand. “I don’t give a shit about them! I gave a shit about my parents, the ones who raised me, who loved me, and you took them from me!” Theo shouted at her furiously. “My whole life has been one big lie and you’re the one telling the twisted tale.” “I loved you as much as someone like me could ever love anybody…you were more my son than perhaps even Tobias, I had such high hopes for you and now you’re letting something as mortal as dead humans affect your emotions making you dumb, dumb, dumb,” Drusilla responded before going on to reveal. “My vision had two endings you know…one where you were her ending and another where she was yours, I guess we both know now what ending you have chosen.” Suddenly, the two vampires who had once considered themselves to be like mother and son were now ready to fight to the death against each other, both feeling equal as betrayed as the other, Theo having perfectly reasonable reasons to feel betrayed by her, and Drusilla in her mind only having reasons of her own.

Meanwhile, just outside of the abandoned insane asylum, where Drusilla and Theo were beginning to battle each other, Faith, Spike, and Ruby remained to hide behind the same trees where Theo had left the three of them as they awaited a signal from the vampire slayer/vampire hybrid to know when to come into the fight, not realizing that Drusilla already had the upper hand on them all. “I know he’s Buffy’s kid, Angel’s too, but at what point do we just bail on this and let the two vamps fight it out between themselves?” Spike asked the vampire slayer, and witch, who he was stood next to. “I mean this guy is just as evil as everything else we tend to kill so why don’t we leave it to Drusilla to kill him instead of one of us killing the kid?” “I am not going anywhere!” Ruby said defiantly, refusing to give up on her former best friend. “I have known Theo my whole life, you two only know the evil side to him but I’ve seen the best and worst of him and I was there when he lost everything…despite that there’s still good in him.” “Well, I do not bloody see it,” Spike replied to the brown-haired witch. “But I am not leaving you to die out here!” “I saw it…in the way he loved that vamp Toby or whatever, they loved each other as I’ve never seen anyone love each other, except maybe Buffy and Angel.” Faith confessed, once again standing up for the slayer of slayers, feeling now more than ever before that his redemption was drawing nearer. Suddenly, the sound of a window-smashing grabbed their attention, as they turned to see a vampire falling from the top floor window before hitting the ground with force, before getting back onto his feet and running back into the asylum via a side door, and although this was not the signal they agreed on, it was clear to Faith, Spike, and Ruby that Theo was in trouble and now was the time to act.

Theo’s fight against Drusilla was unfair in every way as each time he gained the upper hand against his former undead mentor, her vampire army would attack him, and before long he was down on the floor, bloody, bruised, and beaten, while being pinned down by several vampires as Drusilla stood above him, ready to plunge the wooden stake she held into his chest and end him once and for all. “You have been such a naughty boy Theodore,” Drusilla stated with a look of struggle in her eyes as she kneeled over Theo’s body, clearly finding great difficulty with the fact she was about to kill someone she once loved like a son. “All I ever wanted was to be your mother…but she gets her claws into everyone I love.” “Get it over with already!” Theo shouted at her, ready to admit his defeat, accept his fate, and let his miserable life come to an end. And Drusilla did just what she was told, as tears formed in her eyes, she plunged the stake into Theo’s death while letting out a frantic scream at the same time, before falling backward and beginning to sob manically for a moment, only to be left just as stunned as Theo himself as he did not turn to dust, but instead, pulled the stake out of his chest, and rose back onto his feet. Before Theo or Drusilla could even usher a single word to display their joined shock at the fact that Theo was somehow still alive, the surrounding vampires, very recently loyal to Drusilla, began to kneel for Theo, displaying the change in loyalty, now towards the slayer of slayers, as Drusilla quickly rose to her feet and made her way out of the exit located nearest to her, as a shocked Theo continued to look at the vampires kneeling before him, still in shock, as the stake he was holding, which was just plunged into his chest, fell to the ground. “You are our new master now!” One of the vampires declared as Theo continued to just stand there in shock. “A vampire that cannot die, the true immortal, the true heir to the undead kingdom!” Another declared, followed by cheers from fellow vampires, just as Faith, Spike, and Ruby rushed into the hallway from the exit farthest away from them all, only to stop in their tracks by the shocking sight in front of them. “Theo…” Ruby shouted towards her former friend, having no idea what all this meant, or what would follow, as the slayer of slayers was declared king among the vampires…

[lilydalexf]

Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with Vickie Moseley

Vickie Moseley has 252 stories at Gossamer, some of which have also made their way to AO3. She has obviously contributed a ton to the fandom over the years! I’ve recced some of my favorites of her stories here before, including Giving Thanks, Stunned, and a bunch of post-eps for particular episodes, including “Firewalker” and “Pine Bluff Variant.” Big thanks to Vickie for doing this interview.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

Not really. Well, actually, it has always surprised me that anyone would read my stories even during the heyday of the series, but that’s my self-consciousness talking. That people are discovering The X-Files is not at all surprising and that they are stumbling on fan fic is a natural extension and I find that wonderful. My husband and I never watched Grimm when it was on network TV and we’re currently going through that series, so it’s the streaming-on-demand-there-isn’t-anything-new-on-TV times we find ourselves.

What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?

Friendships. I have a group of women that I’ve been friends with for over 20 years. Until this year we gathered in person every year. We are in contact on Facebook messenger all the time and a conversation will start up just out of thin air when we haven’t conversed for months! It’s been wonderful knowing these women from all parts of the country (and the world for that matter).

And strangely enough, medical research. My writing tended to focus on ‘injured Mulder’ (or Mulder Torture as we termed it) and I also liked reading that in fan fic. Two years ago this managed to help me in real life. My husband experienced a bilateral pneumothorax (both lungs collapsed spontaneously). One of my favorite stories that I have read and reread is “Short of Breath” by the incomparable dee_ayy. She did some serious research while writing that story and it’s all in that fan fiction. I’m not saying it’s the same as a medical degree, but I knew what was happening, why the doctors where performing certain procedures and it really eased my mind as we went through the whole experience. I never would have known what was going on if I hadn’t read that story so many times.

Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?

Email was the ‘social media’ for the day. That, and newsfeeds. There were two newsfeeds in the beginning: the official FOX website had a message board, and there was one on ‘alt.tv’ which was an internet newsfeed where fans posted spoilers and discussed episodes. The alt.tv newsfeed got tired of the fan fic writers posting stories so a separate newsfeed was formed just for fan fic. EMXC, which was an AOL mailing list, was invite only and somewhat exclusive at first, but opened up to everyone. When the old OSU (Ohio State University) mailing list turned into Gossamer and Ephemeral, the fandom, and fan fic just skyrocketed.

But what you lived for the most, as a writer, was actual feedback. Emails from people all over who read your story. It was nice to get a quick ‘Hey, read this and really like it!’ but the wonderful emails, the ones you kept in folders on your inbox, were the ones that went into detail, sometimes critical, sometimes grammar related, but always showing where you could improve, or where you touched someone. Every friend I have from the fandom started as feedback, either to me or from me. I’m on AO3 and I appreciate ‘kudos’ but I really love getting comments.

What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?

Confidence in my writing. I learned a lot from other writers. Constructive feedback was a gift! I may never write the great American novel but I don’t think I’m afraid to give it a shot after all my years in fan fic.

What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?

They had me at ‘aliens’. I’m a sucker for UFO shows. Was front row center at Close Encounters of the Third Kind, read many of the UFO standards, still watch Ancient Aliens on History Channel. I was waiting for The X-Files based on the tiny blurb in the 1993 Fall Preview Guide from TV Guide.

What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?

I kinda got fired from a job I loved and couldn’t go back into that arena for a long time. I was so depressed I was cleaning out my kitchen cabinets. My husband ‘gave’ me the internet for my birthday just to get me out of the dumps. I went straight to ‘yahoo’ and typed in X Files. After reading all the character bios I saw a ‘hyperlink’ (yes, that’s what we called them in 1995) to something called ‘fan fiction’. It was the OSU tree directory of about 100 fan fiction stories. I was instantly hooked.

What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?

I still love the show and all the fans I run across. I was not happy with S8 or S9 but I did watch The Truth. I was on Haven for a while during the reboots (S10 and S11) but it wasn’t the same. I’ve got all the seasons on DVD or blu ray and both movies. When I hear from fans, I’m so happy to connect but I don’t go out and look for new stories anymore.

Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

None. My heart belongs to Mulder ;)

Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why?

Captain Kirk, Spock, Captain Picard, Will Riker, Luke, Han, Leia, Poe, Rae, Kylo at the end. I like strong characters but it’s OK if they have flaws. I’d like to see more strong female leads in science fiction (Gammora and Nebula are favs of mine, too). I love Brea Larson’s portrayal of Captain Marvel!  

Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully?

Sure. When the Pandemic hit we started going through the series for maybe the 20th time. It’s nice to watch them on a larger TV screen. Kim Manners was a genius with lighting and showing just enough of the ‘monster’. I suspect he will be better appreciated in the future than he was at the time he was alive.

Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?

I still go back and read my favorites from XF. I read Blood Ties by Dawn about once a year, the whole series. I go back and read the Virtual Season X seasons. We had some really good stories in those years.

Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors?

Too many to list! Dawn, of course. Susan Proto (I co-wrote with her), Sally Bahnsen, dee_ayy, Suzanne Bickerstaff’s Magician Series was the first (and only) fantasy I ever truly liked! I loved all my co-writers and there are plenty of writers that I wish we’d gotten around to collaborating.

What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?

I’m proud of Out of the Cold because it’s Mulder before Scully. I’m partial to the Flight Into Egypt series because I like ‘righting’ what I thought Carter got wrong in the end.

Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?

I keep trying! I’m working (have been working for almost a decade now) on a Flight Into Egypt story set at Christmas. Each fall I drag it out of mothballs, write a paragraph or two and get busy doing Christmas stuff. Funny, but it was easier to find time to write when I was a working mom of 6 than as a retired grandma of 3.

Do you still write fic now? Or other creative work?

I’m putting together a cookbook for my kids and grandkids of all our family recipes. It’s not just the recipes, but the stories behind them. It’s a WIP (work in progress).

Where do you get ideas for stories?

I had a book, just a cheap paperback of unexplained events—all true stories, supposedly—that I got a lot of ideas from. Or, like Carter, I would see something in the news and it would turn into a story. One time I had a dream about our Pur water filter and it turned into a fan fic.

What's the story behind your pen name?

My older sister named me because my Mom and Dad let her. I never used a pen name. That’s my real name, you can google me and find out all about me. I used to have a wiki page or so my kids told me.

Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?

My kids used to tell their friends that ‘Mom is famous on the internet’ as a joke. Most of my friends know. My other life is in politics and the two lives usually don’t cross but once on a campaign I was asked by a reporter if I was the ‘same’ Vickie Moseley who writes fan fiction. If I had lied, that would have been the story—that I lied about this hobby of mine. Like it was something to be ashamed of or I was ashamed of my writing. So instead of ducking the question I said ‘yeah, have you read any of my stuff?’ Fan fiction was not mentioned in the finished article.

Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?

I’m on AO3 but only a partial list. My website is still up thanks to Mimic.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with fans of X-Files fic?

Back when I started writing (1995) it was a sort of commune. We all loved reading fan fiction, we didn’t want the story to end with the credits. So if you wanted to read, you were encouraged to write, too, so that others had stories to read and share. It was a cooperative arrangement very much like the old Literary Societies back in the 19th Century.  I really miss that, so I hope that on some level that is still going on.

(Posted by Lilydale on November 10, 2020)

[ibringyouasong89]

Self-Awareness Time, Part One:

So I’m reading this article one day, (see article here: https://psych2go.net/6-signs-youll-be-single-forever/), and realize how some of this is true, but also some of it is bullshit. Spoiler Alert: I haven’t had a boyfriend since I was 18.  Is it because I haven’t wanted to be with someone, or be in a relationship, since that one ended? Quite the contrary, actually. I have dreamed, since I was a small child, of a perfect soulmate for me, and that it would be a Disney-movie-ending come true for the rest of my life. Having my first (and since then, only) boyfriend break up with me (so he could go out with my ex-best friend, who in turn, dumped her boyfriend of three years - who was my childhood friend from elementary school - in order to be with him; it was dramatic, stupid, and messy, i.e. we were teenagers who thought they knew themselves but didn’t have a clue) did not, in fact, deter those dreams at all. The problem is that I didn’t learn to love myself. I learned to move on, which is always wonderful, but I didn’t hold myself in any higher esteem than I had before, and while I was with him. It wasn’t a reflection on being with him, but more or less, a reflection of myself and how I saw myself, based on my childhood and certain experiences. Fast forward a couple of years later: my parents are divorced, my father is dead, my childhood friends have disappeared out of my life for the most part, I live with my mother and grandfather (who was close to dying himself), and I am now living in a different state, faraway from everything I know and love and hate everything about this new place. I hated (and still do, for many of these points) the polluted environment, I hated the lack of nature (I moved to a metropolitan-region within the realm of a major city), I hated how crowded it is, I hated how everyone lives on top of one another; I hate the noise, the traffic, and most of all, I hated how alien and out of place I feel. I knew I didn’t belong, but because of finances, and having an ineffective bachelor’s degree (that didn’t come with a lifetime guarantee of having a career, as promised by my parents and elder generations. Though it did come with the nice guarantee of student loans), I was unable to move anywhere else. I was unable to be independent, financially or otherwise, and could do nothing to make my dreams a reality or to improve my life. In short, I was stuck. And hating every minute of it, along with myself. To be fair, I wasn’t an emotionally healthy person to start off with - but I mean, who is by the time they’re 23, 24 years old, and a culminating reflection of time, pressure, past abuse, parental issues, trust issues, abandonment issues, lack of socializing/being ostracized for being different, and self-worth and self-love issues? No one, and I mean, NO ONE, is taught how to love themselves, completely, as a child. I don’t care who raised you or where you grew up. This is a fundamental truth and fact. But I met someone. Lo and behold, there came this divine gift, one day, of someone who was just like me! He didn’t have the same issues as I, but he understood in a general sense (as any individual who has a certain degree of sympathy and empathy can do), and made me feel seen (even if I hated it at times). Someone who, in all honesty, has fundamentally changed me forever. And to think I met him at my job! (i.e. retail). This person...well, I thought he might’ve been THE ONE. I was really, REALLY in love with him. More so than I ever thought I could be with someone.  Our connection was real and based on emotional, mental, and spiritual intimacy (there was none of the physical, which was probably for the best, in the end), and I had never loved anybody before, in the entire history of being connected to family and friends, the way I had loved him. I thought he was truly something special - a gift from the universe that not only allowed to experience this once-in-a-lifetime kind of love, but also because of how OBVIOUS it was that we were meant for each other. (I was so arrogant back then and admit it heartily now). Well, suffice to say, it didn’t end in rainbows-and-sunshine-for-years-to-come. He had already been entering a relationship when I met him, while also having his heart broken by another girl. As the saying goes: wrong place and time. While I was busy pining over him and fantasizing about us being together romantically (after building this incredible connection and deep friendship), he was happily living his life and enjoying his relationship...even though, for a time, he went out of his way to spend time with me and deepen our emotional intimacy further. He told me things about himself, and his life, that he swore he had never told another human being before in his life. But it all came to a grinding halt one day - out of the blue - when he severed our connection with all of the swiftness and severity of a well-placed swing from a sharpened blade. Later he would confess that it wasn’t intentional - it was because he was busy cutting other people out of his life and I got caught up in the “crossfires” of it all via social media and the like *insert eyeroll here* - but that he had also been conscious of my burgeoning feelings for him, and felt “flattered” that I had come to regard him so greatly. He promised to re-open the lines of communication between us again and to be a better friend. Spoiler Alert Part Two: None of these promises were fulfilled. Now, some of you (or whoever reads this long-ass personal post) might say “Well, maybe in knowing about your feelings, THAT was why he didn’t bother talking to you anymore. It made him uncomfortable, especially since he was in a relationship with someone else. He just wanted to make a clean break.” To be completely honest, I was aware of that possibility from the get-go. The problem is that he claimed (during this period of seeking me out and spending quality time with me) his relationship with his girlfriend was “casual.” That he was more than aware that he was her first boyfriend, but that he knew it wouldn’t last. In knowing that, he still pursued a relationship with that girl (though his self-prophecy did come to pass...three years later). Now, there were never any promises made about entering a relationship with ME, as some of you may point out as well. I agree. There are, and never will be, any guarantees when it comes to the heart. Someone who learns to love another is quite capable of also learning how to un-love that same individual, at any time. And hatred, as many know, is not the opposite of love; apathy is its true counterpart.

No, what was truly hurtful was that he knew that truth, honesty, compassion, consideration, and genuineness were core values of mine. Values that I thought he shared...but turned out to be lies when he revealed his regard, or lack-there-of, for me in the end. When he did not confront me over my feelings for him and instead played ignorant for the sake of his own happiness. When he promised that this did not interfere with his ability to be my friend, even after confessing said romantic intentions to him, and probably lying about it all the same. He knew of my past, my issues, and had probably guessed at my level of loneliness and knew about my lack of friends since moving away from my hometown...and didn’t think twice of ditching me, nor of how his sudden “ignorance” about our bond would effect my feelings. That being “one of the guys” was my true status - despite the fact that I have breasts, a vagina, lack a penis, and had never acted in a “masculine way” around him (aside from being intelligent, having common sense, being interested in comic books, music, and movies, having a deep appreciation for classic muscle cars, and a biting sense of sarcasm); i.e. no hanging out in bars with him and his male friends, no doing stupid shit for giggles, no running around in the middle of the night to each other’s houses to smoke pot and drink in the basement, not being into sports and wrestling, recalling the same stupid stories from high school and retelling them, over and over again, along with the same stupid jokes, etc...And I’m not judging any female (or person) who does DO this, or enjoy these things! I’m just simply describing how he, and his friends, acted and what their similar interests are. I was “friend-zoned” (which is a ridiculous phrase, but I can’t think of anything else to describe it as), but was NOT treated like a friend any longer. I was treated like a stranger or an acquaintance that you remember vaguely seeing in the hallways and cafeteria when you attend your high school reunion (that guy who makes you go “Oh, *Insert Name Here*! Omg! How are you?! Wow, it’s been a while! Great to see you lost all that weight! So uh...how’s things?”). In short: I was being gas-lit. For anyone who has experienced this, you have my deepest sympathies and my ear and shoulder, whenever you would like. Of course part of the blame falls on me too: for treating romantic love like a drug I couldn’t live without, for depending on someone too much for my happiness, and for allowing myself to be treated as someone who is less than worthy of real love, respect, consideration, kindness, compassion, and honest, open communication.

So, not only did this guy break my heart, but he also threw me, and our friendship, away like it all meant nothing. It became obvious then that I, and our bond, had never mattered to him at all.  The worst part is that he continued to flirt with me, stringing me along (unknowingly or not), while also maintaining this enforced distance! (Which is also COMPLETELY WRONG TO DO TO ANYONE!) In truth, I think he’s an unaware narcissist who doesn’t realize, on an unconscious level, how manipulative he can really be. It’s sad. But I know, without wishing for it or egging the universe on, that there is a lesson waiting for him in the wings of the cosmos that will enable him to truly understand the lows, and highs, of true personal awareness (if it should come to pass - anything is possible, in any way, shape, or form). But back to the point: In conclusion, my soul was shattered. My heart was a destroyed. I fell into a depression based, not only on this heartbreak, but also my heart being broken by ME. I was so unhappy with everything going on, and not, in my life and it all felt so hopeless and pointless. I could see no path forward, no future for myself, that didn’t result either in me being unhappy or being unstuck. (Hell, even writing about all of this is allowing the phantom pains to rise from their graves in my heart, which makes me realize how much healing, and self-love, I still have to gain). This, however, was the beginning of my awakening for me.

It dawned on me like the rising sun within me that I really SHOULDN’T put stock into having people depended upon so much to MAKE me happy. I should be making MYSELF happy. But then the deepest question, out of the pit of darkness within my soul, arose: Why WASN’T I happy with myself?

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I love about Spider-Man Homecoming

Why is this my favorite Spider-Man movie? Let me count the ways.

#1: It's a small scale story. I know people prefer Spider-Man to have epic adventures, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't like those types of stories too. But Spider-Man is well known to have his smaller stories from time to time, and it's nice to see. It also shows us the world of the MCU on a street level point of view through this small story, and reveals the more positive ways that the world reacts to having superheroes all over the place.

#2: The fact that Spider-Man is in the suit, mask, and all, throughout most of the movie. Most superhero movies have the actor out of their costume. Either because it's hard to maneuver in or because it's hard to emote with the mask on. And while the suit was still uncomfortable for Tom Holland, the movie avoids the inability to emote by having the eyes act expressive. What's the functional purpose of that in the universe of this movie? Don't know. But it still feels great to see a Spider-Man movie where the actor actually looks like Spider-Man throughout most of it.

#3: While the fight scenes are lacking, there are still some unique and exciting set pieces. Such as seeing Spider-Man chase a van in a suburban neighborhood or watching him try to save his friends in the Washington Monument. It's that last one that I loved the most, especially since you hear the panic in Peter's voice throughout the whole situation. It might not be as exciting as a fight with Thanos, but because it matters to Peter, it matters to me.

#4: There are little details in Spider-Man: Homecoming that I hadn't noticed until many rewatches. Such as:

Peter lost his backpack, so as he walks to school the next day, he ends up carrying his books.

While distracted during his talk with Ned, Peter is doing well at his situps than he usually does. It isn't until his gym teacher points out the improved work that Peter forces himself to seem like he's struggling.

Every time we see Peter's phone screen, it gets more and more cracked. Thus showing the damage both Peter and his phone go through.

How MJ is observant of Peter, setting up her more prominent role in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Details such as this, and many more, help make the movie even more fun, as they show how much care was put into this film. And while we're on the subject of subtlety--

#5: This movie is all about how great power comes with great responsibility, without anybody having to say the words, "With great power comes great responsibility." There are several moments when Peter acts recklessly, and because of it, consequences happen, and he suffers from them. But he still learns from his mistakes and you see him grow into a more well-tuned superhero from each of his failings. Which I love. It’s neat seeing a hero who actively improves himself instead of just starting off as perfect

#6: It's funny. Like, really funny. I'll admit that there are better jokes in other MCU movies, such as Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: Ragnarok, but that doesn't stop Spider-Man: Homecoming from being hilarious at times. Case in point: This movie has what might possibly be the funniest end-credit scene in the franchise.

#7: It's a movie in high school, and the teenagers talk like actual teenagers. I should know. I was seventeen when this movie came out. And half the time, I look at a character and say, "I know someone who acts exactly like that." And seeing how most thirty-year-olds try so hard to figure out how teens talk through using "hip lingo," it is refreshing seeing teenagers act like teenagers.

#8: Big spoilers here, but I love the reveal that Vulture is Liz's dad. From the get go, the reveal gives some fantastic dramatic irony. We, the audience, know precisely why Peter is nervous about interacting with the man who's been trying to kill him. But for Tomes and his family? They can just pass it off as Pete being nervous about going out with a girl like Liz. Things get better during that famous car scene, where Vulture slowly figures out Peter is Spider-Man through context clues, and Peter can't come up with a good alibi with Liz sitting next to him, ruining any lie Pete spits out. It's an incredibly written moment that comes from a wonderfully written villain.

#9: Speaking of, let's give a round of applause to Micheal Keaton as The Vulture. His motivations are easy to understand and identify with, due to most people going through what he's going through. Plus, it's really intriguing to see a supervillain who's a somewhat ordinary guy. A guy who flies around in a mechanical bird suit, sure, but let's go back to that big reveal. Adrien talks and acts like most normal dads do, and you would not have believed he was a criminal mastermind unless this was your introduction to him. It's a scary and semi-believable portrayal of how the most dangerous people are the ones hidden in plain sight, and it amazes me that we got this from a character who was once a b-list Spider-Man villain.

#10: By far, my most favorite thing about this movie is Spider-Man himself. Because Tom Holland's portrayal of the character is by far the best one. Or, at least, from how I see the hero. With Spider-Man, someone who has been redone and rebooted on several occasions, everybody has their own interpretations of how they judge on what makes the best version. And here's how this movie nails mine:

He's insanely smart. Sure, he doesn't build the suit and web-shooters he wears throughout most of the movie, but that doesn't discredit how this film shows his intelligence. Peter learned to be bilingual, he solved an equation just by glancing at it, and he hacked a state-of-the-art security system by using a calculator. Oh, and he also does build his own suit and web-shooters. You see him wear them in the final battle, symbolizing how he doesn't need a high-tech costume to stop crime. Get it? The Stark suit was just a metaphor...that also clearly went over a lot of heads.

Spider-Man is the right mix of a badass superhero and an awkward nerd. He can mess with criminals all day while saying witty one-liners, but going to a party hosted by his crush? That terrifies him. And the fact that terrifies him is how this movie nails Peter's personality.

Being Spider-Man sacrifices Peter's social life. Don't get me wrong, Spider-Man 2 does a better job at showing this struggle, but I still like the effort that Spider-Man: Homecoming has. There are several times where it would be so easy for Peter to just say, "screw it," and let someone else take care of the danger. But every time, he always runs headfirst into saving the day. Which is who this character is to me. A guy, sometimes a kid, who does everything in his power to save the day, no matter the cost.

He also never shuts up. Whether it's talking to himself or talking someone's ear off, this movie nails how much of a motor mouth Spider-Man is.

These are the reasons why I love this movie. Does it have its problems? Sure. The casting of Aunt May is way off, Liz Allen is more of a plot device than a character, and the CGI sticks out like a sore thumb throughout most of these scenes. Still, these issues are minor compared to how much this movie gets right, and is why, to me, it's easily a solid A for amazing.

[mylovelyfandoms]

Wonwoo’s Backstory

The symbol of the Lightning Bolt

Basic information

A/N: Wonwoo is most definitely my bias wrecker omg. Also if anyone just wants to say hi or anything at all, I’m happy to get messages! When I’m done writing all the backstories, I’ll post request rules and start writing imagines

Warnings: socially awkward bean, kind of bullying (?), torture, really bad descriptions of herbal medicine 

(GIF not mine but jeON WONWOO PUT THAT TONGUE AWAY)

- Wonwoo was the oldest when he was taken to the facility

- He was one of the few healers that was born as a brain

- So he was brilliant from a young age

- Because of this, he was aware of what happened to people like him. To people who were different

- So he kept to himself, trying his best not to reveal that he was just a little smarter than everyone

- He even managed to fool his parents, who were incredibly anti-affected

- Luckily for him, as he grew older, his intelligence leveled out with all of the kids his age and he thought that he just went back to normal

- One day, that was all proven wrong

- He was still a kid who kept to himself

- He was just a shy kid who wanted to be liked but never had the courage to go and make friends

- So he stayed at the school’s garden

- He didn’t know what it was, but he just loved plants and nature

- It calmed him

- Whenever he felt different from everyone else or just got upset in any way, he would go out into the garden in his backyard or at the park

- There was just something about nature that soothed him

- So when he was crouching down to look  at a dead flower, he barely bat an eye when it came back to life

- He didn’t feel out of place like he did before

- This time, he felt like it was right. He understood himself

- But he still knew that he had to keep it to himself

- Wonwoo, despite growing out of his hyper intelligence, was brilliant

- He always managed different excuses as to why he suddenly had a bunch of plants in his room or why the garden that he was just in came to life

- No one ever suspected him

- But he was still fascinated by himself

- Whenever he was alone, which was a lot he would try to figure out his powers

- Around the time he turned thirteen, he had basically mastered his healing hands and was still working on healing potions

- He read books on the different uses of different plants and made different types of herbal medicines

- But at that age, that was also when boys were starting to notice girls

- And Wonwoo was no exception

- There was a girl in his class

- She was gorgeous, he thought. Everything about her was amazing

- And she was the only one who would talk to him

- There were always rumors about him being ‘emo’ or a ‘loner’ or a ‘bookworm’

- Well the last one’s true

- So he never really had any friends

- But this girl...

- This girl was known as one of the more ‘popular’ girls

- She was kind to everyone and incredibly smart and beautiful

- So Wonwoo never expected her to talk to him

- He was at the garden during lunch, as he usually was

- And she took  a seat next to him, having him look up from his book of botany

- “Hi, you’re Wonwoo, right?”

- Wonwoo was too shocked to reply, so instead, he just nodded his head and pushed his glasses up

- “I just wanted to give you this. It’s one of my favorite books and I know you like reading, so here.”

- After that, she stood up and walked back to her group of friends that were waiting for her with strange looks on their faces

- Wonwoo was smitten

- He didn’t even want to mention that he had already read the book the next time that he saw her

- She ended up being his bestest and only friend

- So one weekend, he invited her over to show her his garden

- She was glad to, loving the different colors and flowers there were

- And since they were friends, she decided to kick some dirt on him and run

- As friends do

- Wonwoo started to run after her, making her laugh and try to avoid him

- Unfortunately she tripped over the hose and fell, banging her knee on the concrete decor that surrounded the garden

- She sat down, holding onto her bleeding knee and hissing in pain

- Worriedly, Wonwoo ran over and inspected it as she started to whine

- “I was supposed to go to the beach with a couple of friends tomorrow! The salt water is going to make this sting so much!”

- Wonwoo stared at her for a second, contemplating his options

- He trusted this girl, she was his only friend. He could tell her anything...right?

- Wonwoo took a breath, “Can you keep a secret?”

- The girl looked at him with furrowed eyebrows 

- “Of course”

- Wonwoo pushed up his glasses and looked around, making sure his parents weren’t around

- He closed his eyes and brought his focus to his hands, bringing them over her knee 

- The energy pulsed in his hands and he could feel the injury, even if he wasn’t physically touching it

- When Wonwoo felt that it was gone, he opened his eyes again and the glowing in his palms went away along with the injury

- Wonwoo looked up at his friend and his heart broke at the look of absolute horror on her face

- “I-”

- She cut him off by scrambling to her feet and running out of the gate of his backyard

- With a heavy heart, Wonwoo walked back into his house, shutting himself in his room for the rest of the weekend

- It didn’t even cross his mind who she would tell

- Until the next morning, he woke up to the slamming of his door

- His mother was standing in the doorway with the same horrified look that the girl had the day before

- And that was when Wonwoo realized what was happening

- He didn’t even complain when the soldiers took him away

- When Wonwoo got to the facility, he was taken into the testing room

- “You’re pretty old for a newcomer”

- The soldier’s tone was different than the others

- It was kinder, softer, and actually humane

- “Yeah, well I was good at hiding for a while.”

- The soldier chuckled

- “Don’t worry, you’re a healer so they’ll be kinder to you here.”

- “So I don’t poison them?”

- Wonwoo’s tone was joking

- “Yeah, actually.”

- He went quiet and pushed up his glasses

- “Trust me, you’re going to get the best treatment from them. There won’t be any cruel remarks or beatings just for the fun of it or anything.”

- “You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”

- The soldier sighed and put down the clipboard that she was writing in

- “I’m a senser. That’s what the affected call the ones with enhanced senses. The ones with the cloud symbols and the letters ‘ES’.”

- Wonwoo was bewildered. There was so much about this place that he didn’t know

- “I didn’t know that people like us can become guards.”

- Oh, we definitely can’t,” The soldier leaned in a little closer. “I’m not a real soldier.”

- She explained to Wonwoo that she was just trying to look after her son until he turned twenty, then she would help him escape the underground and eventually, the facility

- Wonwoo was glad that she entrusted her secret in him and decided to try to make friends with her for the remaining time they had in the testing room

- He told her about the land of the unaffected as she started to tattoo his shoulder with the lightning bolt and the letter ‘p’ 

- Wonwoo finally felt like he had made a real friend

- When he was out of the testing room, a couple of other soldiers showed him to his room

- It also happened to be the infirmary

- There were multiple offices in the infirmary for the other healers

- Wonwoo’s room had four gurneys with curtains to separate them along with cabinets filled with medical supplies, an area near the windows for planting, and a desk 

- At first, Wonwoo thought that he would be able to make friends with people around his age or were like him, but quickly learned that he would only be treating soldiers

- And they weren’t the best people to talk to when you were a part of the affected

- He tried to make friends with the other ones of the affected during meal times, but he either came across as awkward or just didn’t have enough courage to speak

- As time went by, Wonwoo had basically given up on making friends

- Until the door in his office that led outside to the bigger garden swung open

- No one had ever used that door, so Wonwoo immediately sprung up from the gurney he was laying in and set his book down

- Wonwoo saw the senser soldier walking in with a larger guy’s arm swung around her shoulders

- “Star?”

- “Hey, Wonwoo, this is Mingyu, a water elemental. Would you mind checking him out? He slipped on a puddle of water and cut his calf on the floor and the other soldiers were about to throw him into the south wing for that.”

- Wonwoo blinked at her for a second

- He hadn’t seen her since he first got to the facility and he wondered why she went to him of all people

- “None of the other healers want to go against the soldiers’ words so I thought maybe you could help out.”

- Wonwoo stared at the taller boy, Mingyu and looked down at the blood dripping from his leg

- “Bring him here.”

- Star let out a breath of relief and helped the boy limp over to the gurney that Wonwoo was previously laying in

- “Wonwoo, right?”

- “That’s me.”

- “Thank you for taking care of me.”

- Wonwoo was speechless, staring at the boy as he climbed onto the gurney, laying on his stomach

- None of the people he treated had ever thanked him before

- As Wonwoo looked at the large laceration on Mingyu’s calf, he started to use his healing hands as much as he could

- When he realized that it was too big a cut to get healed just by his hands, he went over to the garden in his room to gather all of the plants he needed

- “So, Wonwoo, how long have you been here? I don’t remember seeing you at meal time.”

- “I haven’t been here long. A little less than a year.”

- Wonwoo fully expected a silence to come over them, but Mingyu kept talking

- “Wow, were you brought in from another facility? I have a couple of friends that were. They’re elementals like me.”

- Wonwoo found the plants that he needed and grabbed the mortar and pestle to crush them up

- Mortar and pestles are those thingies you use to crush things when you’re cooking, I never knew that they were called I just searched up ‘crushing bowl cooking thingy’ 

- “Something like that.”

- “Well where do you eat? I can try to sneak you in some extra bread as a thank you. One of my fire elemental friends sneaks us extra all the time.”

- Wonwoo knew that it was probably just one of those empty promises that people made like ‘We should totally talk soon!’ or ‘Yeah, I keep promises!’ so he didn’t respond

- But Mingyu kept talking

- Wonwoo eventually found himself enjoying the conversation that they were having as he spread the paste onto Mingyu’s leg

- “Okay, lay there for,” Wonwoo looked at the watch that the soldiers gave him. “ten minutes and you should be good to go. You can just brush the paste off.”

- “Alright.”

- There was a small silence for a while until Mingyu spoke up

- “So which facility did you come?”

- Wonwoo opened his mouth, but before any words could come out, the door to the hallway swung open

- Wonwoo quickly closed the curtains to Mingyu’s gurney, getting a suspicious look from the soldier that was walking in

- “Uh, it’s just a soldier who...got burned on his butt from a f-fire elemental.” 

- Wonwoo hoped that he used the term right

- The soldier just let out a snort and sat down on the gurney, pointing to the cut on his arm

- “One of the ‘I stars’ thought they could fight back. You should see her though, this is nothing. You can barely recognize her.”

- Wonwoo gave the soldier a tight and polite smile

- He had gotten used to this kind of talk from the soldiers. Whenever they came in, they would have some sort of story about how they were all tough and powerful and made sure the affected knew what happened when they fought back

- Wonwoo grabbed a damp towel and wiped the cut down before using his healing hands to close it

- “Well I’ll be,” The soldier said, looking at his fully healed arm, “When the other soldiers told me to go to one of you people to get my arm fixed, I told them they were crazy. No wonder they keep you in here instead of out there.”

- The soldier let out a rough chuckle before he walked out of the door

- Once the door shut, Mingyu swung the curtains open and stared at Wonwoo with wide eyes

- “I didn’t know they could be so nice!”

- Eventually, it was time for Mingyu to go back to work and Wonwoo went on with his schedule as usual

- The next day at mealtime, Wonwoo was surprised when a piece of bread was placed on his tray

- Wonwoo looked up from the book that he was reading and saw Mingyu sitting in front of him with a bright smile

- “I found you!”

- Wonwoo gave him an amused smile

- “Yes you did.”

- That day, Wonwoo talked at mealtime for the first time

- Mingyu was just that type of person who knew how to talk to people and keep a conversation going

- And that was exactly the type of person that Wonwoo wanted as his friend

- So as time went by, Wonwoo always sat at the same place every mealtime, waiting to see if Mingyu would sit with him

- On most days he did, on others, Wonwoo could see him sitting with his group of elementals. And on some days, he was just gone, so Wonwoo assumed that he was probably getting punished for something

- Though, the dining hall wasn’t the only place that Wonwoo saw Mingyu

- Of all of the soldiers that came in, Mingyu was his most frequent customer

- He was quite the clumsy elemental, so he would always trip and injure himself

- How he managed to sneak away from the soldiers to go to the infirmary, Wonwoo had no clue

- Eventually, Mingyu started to introduce Wonwoo to his other elemental friends

- He hung out with them during meal times, getting excused for sitting at another symbol’s table since he was a healer

- With a new group of friends, he slowly started to become more social and less awkward around people

- So, when Star started to bring in more affected that got injured, Wonwoo was happy to treat them 

- He became known among the affected as the only healer that would actually help them

- Some would come in on their own, but Star would mostly be the ones to bring them in

- Star brought in hard copies of all of the affected’s files, letting Wonwoo know of their allergies or any sort of condition that they had

- Everyday was different than the last

- Some days were slow and Wonwoo would just have a couple of soldiers come on

- Other days were more busy and he would have to turn soldiers to other rooms because his beds were filled by some of the affected 

- On one particularly busy day, Wonwoo had five soldiers come in with injuries from getting in a fight with each other

- They were a handful enough and took up most of his day, so he was just looking forward to reading for the rest of the day

- Until there was a rhythmic knock sounding at the door that led to the garden

- Wonwoo groaned and stood up from his chair, knowing from the knock that it was Star with another affected

- (Him and Star made up secret knocks so he could let her know when it was a good time or not)

- Wonwoo opened the door and saw Star holding up a boy with a muzzle around his face and blood all over his side

- “Can you take another one, Wonwoo?”

- Wonwoo looked at the boy and pushed up his glasses

- There was something about the boy’s muzzle that didn’t sit quite right with him

- Wonwoo had heard of the screamers who wore muzzles many times from the soldiers that came in and cut themselves on it as they tried to punch the screamers in the face

- But seeing it was something completely different

- Wonwoo looked at the boy and then back down at the injury on his side

- It was then that he kissed all his plans of reading aside

- With a small and tired sigh, Wonwoo opened the door wider for the two to walk in

- When they stepped in, Wonwoo decided to speak up

- “Do you have the keys for his muzzle? That’s just inhumane.”

- Wonwoo noticed the screamer turn to Star with hope in his eyes, but she just shook his head

- Wonwoo let out another sigh and led the screamer to one of the gurneys, helping him sit down

- He gently laid his hand on top of the screamer’s and guided it off of his side, inspecting the injury through the shirt

- “What happened?”

- “His friend swung a saw around and nicked him on the side.”

- Wonwoo stared at the injury for a second before raising his eyebrow

- “Looks like more than a nick.”

- Wonwoo had the screamer lean back on his hands and lifted his shirt to get a better look at the injury

- “Alright, I know what he needs.”

- Wonwoo walked to the plants in his room and started to look for the certain one that he needed

- “Have him write his birth name, I need to look through my files.”

- Star grabbed a random paper and pen from Wonwoo’s desk before handing it to the screamer

- Wonwoo found the flower that he needed and plucked it from its spot

- He grabbed a bowl and dropped the petals in it before turning back to the screamer who was holding out the paper and pen

- Wonwoo grabbed the items and read the paper

- The screamer’s name was ‘Lee Seokmin’ but he had written ‘Dokyeom’ in parenthesis

- Wonwoo couldn’t help but smile at the boy, trying to offer him as much kindness as he could

-  “Alright Dokyeom, I’m Wonwoo, nice to meet you. I’ll just heal this wound and you can stay here for a little while until another soldier comes in. Just relax”

- Wonwoo noticed Dokyeom’s apprehensiveness and pulled back his lab coat and tugged the sleeve of his shirt up to reveal his tattoo

- “I’m a healer in case you didn’t know. So I’m one of you.”

- Wonwoo smiled when Dokyeom relaxed and he moved to his desk to look for Dokyeom’s file 

- He read through it to find out if Dokyeom had any allergies and tried his best not to react when he saw the notes on his background

- Wonwoo closed the file and gave Dokyeom another kind smile as he started to gather ingredients for his mixture

- When he was finally done making it, Wonwoo walked over to Dokyeom and looked him in the eye

- “This is going to sting a little bit, but it should start to feel cool afterwards.”

- Dokyeom nodded and Wonwoo started to spread the mixture along his injury, making Dokyeom wince and sharply inhale through his nose

- “I’m going to start healing it now.”

- Wonwoo put his hands above Dokyeom’s side and closed his eyes, focusing his energy on the cuts and feeling them close back up

- He felt he was done and opened his eyes, meeting Dokyeom’s shocked and amazed gaze

- “You’re all good now, but I want you to stay here for a little while in case anything happens.”

- In reality, Wonwoo just wanted to keep him away from the soldiers for a little while longer

- He just hated the fact that the screamers had to wear muzzles

- It was as if they were savages and not any bit human

- Wonwoo wanted to help them in any way that he could

- So if that meant protecting Dokyeom for just a little while longer, then he would do so

- When another soldier came into Wonwoo’s office, he managed to distract her while Dokyeom snuck out

- Unfortunately for Wonwoo, the soldier caught a glimpse of Dokyeom running out and decided to punish him after he finished healing her

- Wonwoo was only punished a couple of times for accidentally hurting a guard or accidentally making a poison when he was having a bad day

- He was only ever brought into the south wing for a beating of some sort

- But this time, Wonwoo was brought into the west wing.

- They stripped his shirt off of him and made him kneel with his back facing towards them

- As they chained his hands to the side of the wall, Wonwoo couldn’t help but feel frustrated

- He was just trying to help people, how is that possible something he could be punished for?

- He was lost in thought for a moment until he heard the crack of the whip as they swung it against the floor, making his whole body tense up

- Wonwoo started to pull at his hands, trying desperately to get away

- But then he felt a burning sensation on his back, making him yell out in pain

- The soldiers were laughing at him, loving that they were finally able to give him what he deserved

- Wonwoo tried to focus on something else, anything else, but the pain was too much

- He ended up counting how many times they whipped him

- In the end, it was 32. 

- As the days passed, Wonwoo struggled to move

- Every time his clothes brushed the marks that were embedded in his back, it stung and he let out a sharp hiss

- He had tried many times to heal his back himself, but he wasn’t flexible enough to reach all the way back

- And none of the other healers would touch him in risk of getting in trouble

- So Wonwoo just smiled through the pain, doing his best to not let anyone know what had happened to him

- Star was suspicious, but all of the times she asked, he just brushed her off and claimed that her ‘motherly instincts were going into overdrive’

- Even Mingyu was starting to get worried, noticing the way that Wonwoo let out a wince or grunt when he patted him on the back

- But Wonwoo just assured him that he was fine

- Months went by and just as things were going back to normal, they had a lockdown

- A tree had caught on fire in the courtyard and the soldiers started talking about how someone from the facility escaped

- But Wonwoo scoffed at that

- No one can escape this wretched place

- And he wholeheartedly believed that

- Until one day, he was reading on one of the gurneys when he heard the rhythmic knock sound from the door to the garden

- The knock was fast and hard, unlike all of the other times Star had done it

- So, Wonwoo jumped to his feet and rushed over, opening the door 

- Star ran in with the biggest smile on her face, pacing around the room in a distressed manor

- Wonwoo didn’t know how someone could look so happy yet stressed at the same time

- “Wonwoo, it was Hoshi! Hoshi was the one that got out! I thought it was weird when I couldn’t sense him anymore, but that’s because he’s out. He actually got out! I can leave this place now! I don’t have to be here anymore, I can leave and look for him and get my family back!”

- Wonwoo blinked at the woman for a moment, trying to comprehend her words

- When he finally started to realize what she was saying, his face started to fall.

- “So you’re...you’re leaving?”

- Wonwoo wanted to help people, and the only way he could do so was with Star

- So if she left, he didn’t know if there would be any way that he could help the affected

- And not only that, but Star was his friend

- She was the first one at the facility and in his life to ever show genuine kindness to him 

- “Well...yeah. It’s always been the plan to stay for my son. But now that he’s gone, I can leave.”

- “But...”

- Wonwoo started to feel helpless

- He knew that this was her plan, but he couldn’t help but feel that she was abandoning him and their people

- “But what about me? What about all of us? You’re just going to leave us here?”

- Star sighed and sat down on the gurney

- “I’m going to come back, kiddo. I’m leaving so I can go to the land of the unaffected and show them exactly what the government is doing to these kids. I’m going to find a way to get all of you out of here. But first, I want to find my son, and I want to make sure that we’re okay before I go.”

- Wonwoo sat next to her on the gurney and leaned his head against her arm

- “But you’re one of my closest friends.”

- Star chuckled and pat the top of his head, remembering the ways that Hoshi would do the same thing. 

- “You’ll be fine without me, Wonwoo. I’m sure you’ll find a way to help everyone without me.”

- That was the last time Wonwoo saw Star for a long time

- He had heard from a couple of soldiers that she left to go back to the land of the unaffected, but Wonwoo knew the truth

- Months passed and lockdown was over

- The facility had heavier security to make sure no one else would escape

- Wonwoo even had two guards covering his office, making it difficult for him to see any of the affected 

- Though with them standing there, he was able to hear the stories of how more and more people were getting broken out of the facility

- He heard the soldiers say the name ‘Seventeen’ a couple of times, but he wasn’t exactly sure what it meant

- Everyday started to become like the other

- The only people he talked to were the soldiers that came in and demanded he healed them, and even then it was barely a conversation

- Due to the new rules, Wonwoo wasn’t allowed to sit with the elementals anymore, so he was just stuck surrounded by people that wanted to avoid him like the plague

- He was known as a rulebreaker, and the healers didn’t like the rulebreakers

- Most of them never even got punished

- Wonwoo thought that his life would stay like that, he had no hopes or dreams of getting out

- Until one day, an ear shattering scream filled the halls

- It was a high frequency, but not high enough to hurt Wonwoo

- But he saw the soldiers fall to the floor as they clutched onto their ears and scrambled to take off the earpieces that the scream’s frequency messed with

- Wonwoo stared at them with confusion as the door to the garden was kicked on

- “Wonwoo, right?” 

- Wonwoo turned to look at the guy standing in the doorway and pushed up his glasses, wordlessly nodding

- “Gather whatever you can and come with me. Hurry, they’re not going to be down forever.”

- Wonwoo rushed to his cabinets and started to fill a satchel he had with a bunch of bottles of powers and herbs that he had collected

- He packed his mortar and pestles and all of his favorite books

- Wonwoo heard a couple of footsteps from the hallway and snapped his head up in fear

- When he saw who was standing there, Wonwoo started to smile

- “Hey, Wonwoo. I never got to apologize for getting you in trouble.”

- Dokyeom was standing in the doorway with a bright smile

- Wonwoo felt a sense of warmth when he saw the boy standing there without his muzzle

- “Consider yourself forgiven.”

- “Enough of the chit chat, come on!”

- As the soldiers started to stand up, Dokyeom jumped over them and ran towards the door to the garden

- The guy at the door ran after them with Wonwoo following close behind

- “Seungkwan and Joshua and Jeonghan are taking out the soldiers at the exit, we just have to make it there,” The guy exclaimed.

- As they ran through the courtyards, soldiers spotted them and started to chase them

- “Cover your ears!” 

- Wonwoo did as Dokyeom said and saw him touch his hearing aids before turning to the soldiers and screaming at the same frequency he had used before

- The soldiers that had their earpieces on fell to the floor, but the others just covered their ears and kept chasing the three

- The guy that Wonwoo still didn’t know the name of turned around and started to run backwards

- “Make sure you both get out of here!”

- Dokyeom’s eyes widened

- “No, there’s too many of them!”

- “I’ve done this before, just go into that crowd of elementals and get to the exit.”

- The guy stopped running and Wonwoo turned back as he ran

- The guy held out his hands and Wonwoo saw the soldiers abruptly stop and arched back

- They were all lowered to their knees and before Wonwoo could see anything else, he bumped into Dokyeom’s back

- “Stay cool, the soldiers don’t know which ones we are so blend in with the crowd.”

- Wonwoo nodded and started to walk through the crowd of elementals, trying to get to the exit as fast as they could

- Wonwoo was barely paying attention to what the crowds were doing until he heard his name getting called

- Dokyeom and Wonwoo both snapped their heads in the direction of the voice and Wonwoo saw Mingyu running towards him with a bright smile

- “Wonwoo! What’re you going here?”

- Mingyu’s calling of Wonwoo’s name alerted the soldiers and they started to zero in on where Dokyeom and Wonwoo were

- “We gotta go!” 

- Before Wonwoo could say anything to Mingyu, Dokyeom grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him through the crowd

- Wonwoo sent one look back as they exited the crowd and he couldn’t help but feel guilty at Mingyu’s hurt face

- But that all disappeared as they were in view of the exit

- As they were getting closer and closer to the exit, Wonwoo couldn’t think of anything other than his freedom

- At that time, he was being completely selfish

- At that time, he only wanted to help himself

- At that time, he was sure he was high on adrenaline because he saw a jaguar and bear fighting the soldiers along with someone that was screaming at them

-  “Is that...that can’t be...” 

- Wonwoo was too out of breath to form a full sentence

- “The bear is Joshua and the Jaguar is Jeonghan. Don’t worry, you’ll meet them soon.”

- There was a part of him that thought this was all just a wild dream

- But he knew from the way that his feet and lungs ached that it was reality

- When they got to the exit, Wonwoo saw that it was already open but there were soldiers standing in the way

- Dokyeom immediately ran forward to help, but more and more kept coming 

- Wonwoo saw the way that they were all fighting for his freedom, so he started to feel the itching urge to help out

- Taking a couple of breaths, he lifted his hands and closed his eyes, focusing on the roots of the trees that were all around them

- He had only used his plant manipulation powers to make them grow and only practiced moving them around on smaller ones, never any as big as he planned

- “Don’t fail me now,” He mumbled to himself

- He lifted to roots from below the concrete and heard them busting through

- His eyes opened and he manipulated the roots to whip around at all of the soldiers, only accidentally pushing or brushing against the ones that were on his side

- When Wonwoo was sure that the soldiers were out of the way, he brought his hands down and the plants stopped moving

- As his focus and energy was brought back to reality, his entire body felt drained and his knees started to buckle from under him

- Before Wonwoo could hit the floor, two arms caught him 

- Dokyeom swung Wonwoo’s arms around his shoulders and started walking him out

- “I didn’t know you could do that.”

- Wonwoo let out a small chuckle.

- “Neither did I.”

- Dokyeom led him over to the jaguar who groaned as if it knew what Dokyeom was about to do.

- “Come on Jeonghan, he just saved all of us.”

- The jaguar let out a low growl before crouching lower for Wonwoo to climb on

- “Hold on tight, we have a little more running to do and I don’t think Jeonghan’s going to stop if you fall off.”

- Wonwoo nodded and wrapped his arms firmly around the jaguar as it moved

- “Wait, where’s S. Coups?” The one that they called Seungkwan questioned

- “I’m right here, they’re right behind me, let’s go!” 

- The other guy, S. Coups, shouted as he coincidentally ran by 

- The jaguar, Jeonghan, took off after him and Wonwoo started to tighten his grip, burying his face in the fur as they ran

- After a long time of running, the jaguar stopped

- Wonwoo looked up from the jaguar’s back and was met with a campsite

- There were tents all around and a couple of people scurrying about

- “Where...what is this?”

- Dokyeom helped Wonwoo off of the jaguar’s back

- “This is our clan, Seventeen.”

- Wonwoo looked around in shock

- “Where’d you get the tents from?”

- “Wha...”

- Wonwoo turned around and saw S. Coups pulling his gloves back on as he looked Wonwoo in shock

- “That’s your first question? No ‘who are you’ ‘how did you get out’ ‘how did you get me out’?”

- Wonwoo looked at him and gave a weak and sheepish shrug

- “We raided a couple of malls a while ago,” A new voice explained, having Wonwoo turn to see two more people walking towards him

- “Welcome to our clan, that’s S. Coups, the sun and our top leader,” The man pointed to S. Coups behind Wonwoo. “This is Woozi, the brain and mastermind behind all of our moves and rescue missions.” He pointed to the shorter boy next to him. “And I’m Hoshi, a senser. I’m in charge of who comes in and out of here.”

- Wonwoo was so tired that he didn’t even think of Star

- He was just glad to be away from that place

- “Let me show you to your tent. We really needed a healer so you’ll be able to help a lot of people here.”

- Wonwoo followed S. Coups to one of the tent and he let out a breath that he didn’t even know he was holding

- He could actually help people now

[twoidiotwriters1]

Pure Blood 17 (Sirius Black x F!Oc)

Words: 2,239

Masterlist:

Chapter 16 / Chapter 18

"What?" I look at him in horror and he nods.

"I thought I had mistaken her for someone else, but I swear it's her!” He shivers.

"You got to be kidding me…”

"Believe me, I wish it was just a joke,” He peeks a little out of the window frame where he can see undiscovered. In a quick movement he hides again. "Here it comes…”

I don't move and I think we both hold our breath. The others act normally, several students pass and I turn in my place and carefully peek through the frame.

"I think she's gone," Sirius checks. We both get up.

"Okay, that was kind of weird, but I really have to go, tell me later, Padfoot," James says, then leaves.

Remus, Peter and Lily approach us. I look at Sirius.

"Are you sure it was her?"

"I swear, if I was kidding, I wouldn't bother doing all this!”

Oh no. This is bad.

"Are you going to explain or not?" Remus says, totally confused.

I sigh and turn to them.

"Trixie is... a bad person."

“She's the devil," adds Sirius.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad.”

"Yes it is,” Sirius and I say at the same time. I feel a shiver as I remember the moments with Trixie.

"Okay Remus this must be important if Persephone and Sirius agree on something that isn’t part of the plan," says Lily.

“Well, we met Trixie when we were kids, I think we were about nine or ten years old, she’s a pureblood, so her parents and ours were… friends. The thing with that girl is that- "

“She's the devil" Sirius interrupts again.

"Black, if you keep saying that, they won't believe us!” He rolls his eyes.

"No one will do it anyway, they didn't believe us back then!"

"Nobody believes children,” I shake my head and continue. "Anyway, at first we thought she was a good girl, always helping everyone, she was laughing at our jokes and she even helping in some mischief, but it was all a hoax.”

"She has this ability that… I don't know, she plays with your mind, then she starts acting strange and does something horrible, but it makes it seem like it was you!”

We were silent waiting for some reaction from the others. Remus's laugh surprised us.

“Wow, that was incredible, it almost made me think that all of this is true. Did you used to do this when you were children?”

"Remus, it's not part of a game, it's the truth!”

"Even I find it hard to believe it too," starts Lily. "If all that were true. You’re no longer children, perhaps the girl has changed. It was just that, some children are mischievous."

"Oh no… We were naughty, she was another level.”

"Stop laughing, Moony!" Sirius complains looking at Remus.

“I can't help it, your face is priceless. It reminded me of the time James accidentally shaved your eyebrow,” Remus lets out another laugh and Sirius growls.

"You don't believe us, right?" I say looking at Lily while Sirius fights with Remus.

"Let's say I believe a 50%"

I grimace

"Anyway, I have to go, if it's really Trixie, I want to get away as much as I can,” I say goodbye to them and leave the two boys fighting.

I get into the Slytherin the common room, but before I can continue to my bedroom, I hear giggles as I pass by some girls. I stop and see them, as soon as they realize it, they laugh. I frown, but I don't care.

"Look who came. The lioness pretending to be a snake,” says a blond boy. Thorfinn Rowle. I look at him raising an eyebrow.

"What are you implying, Rowle?"

"Oh, nothing, Singh,” The other students in the common room laugh. "Look at her, she's confused!” He says, then laughs like a sick seal, causing more laughter.

"If you're not going to say something smart, I'll go…” I fake a smile and return to my path, but the boy intervenes.

"Where were you now, Singh? With Lupin? Evans' dirty blood? Or did you have bigger plans with Black? ”

"Surely she was with Black!" Someone says in the distance, everyone laughs again.

"Do I have to tell you all my moves, Rowle?" All I want is to go to my bed.

"Not necessarily, we all know what you’re doing,” He crosses his arms and smiles as if he had said something interesting.

"Then why do you ask?" I say fed up. His smile disappears for a second, but he pulls himself together. "Is this your biggest attempt to make fun of me? really?"

"You are a traitor, traitors don't deserve to be in Slytherin.”

"Oh yeah?" I smile. "And why do they think I'm a traitor? because I don't make fun of others anymore? Because I’m not mad at losing Quidditch matches? Because anyone else is more interesting than an entire Slytherin room?”

Nobody responds.

"It's because you turned your back on your blood, on your family," says a male voice behind me. I turn to meet Snape. I laugh.

"You must know the importance of blood, right, Snivellus? Right, halfblood?”

“A halfblood who knows his place. You’re the one who wants to be part of something that is not,” I approach him.

"I don't think you know what you're saying, Snape. Do you know what your place is? I don't think so, right now you're aiming way above it,”

I smile. “If you knew your place, you wouldn't be facing me. Better go back to your potions and play for a while in some corner.”

I take a few steps back and look around me, all eyes fixed on me.

“Does anyone else have a problem with me? Because believe me, I don't care in the least, if I didn't care before, now less. Get into your own affairs, make a life and leave mine alone.”

Everyone is silent. I clasp my hands and bow to Snape, finally going to my bedroom.

I have to admit that I’m quite proud of myself for what just happened. Although my life has hit me hard, I must admit that my confidence was reeling, I didn’t feel completely comfortable with the attention of so many people, something I was used to before, but now… it seems like a great step.

I have to tell Jenna this, and then Remus.

—————————————————

"Is it my imagination or did I just see Trixie Jones?" Regulus says sitting down across from me at the Slytherin table.

"Where!?" I squeal as I duck under the table, revealing only part of my head and eyes. Reg laughs at my reaction.

"Don't tell me you’re still afraid of that girl.”

I look everywhere and little by little I sit again, but I'm still attentive.

"It is not fear... it’s- agh, it doesn’t matter. You won’t believe me, you didn’t do it back then…”

"Well, forgive me for not believing that a 10-year-old girl was guilty of my house catching on fire," I cross my arms and pout.

"I'm sure it was her, but, anyway, where did you see her?" He turns a little and points to the Ravenclaw table. I nod. "It makes sense.”

"Haven't you said hi?” He says in a mocking question.

"Very funny.”

"You know you're not 10 years old anymore, right? Could you talk to her?”

"Sure and suddenly I cut off my head,” I say. ”No thanks, I want to live.”

He rolls his eyes.

"I remember she was good to me, and she gave me sweets," He says, smiling.

“That's part of her plan, Reggie. First she has to win you, then she makes her malicious work.”

“You’re impossible. Can we go to class?"

I growl and nod.

—————————————————

The rest of the day was pretty calm... until it was time for potions class.

“Very well, welcome to a new school year, my students. As you know, the most important exams are this year, so I will do the buddy assignment from now on.”

The teacher began to say names and each one sat down with his partner, Jenna had Lily, that's fine. I feel déjà vu, but this time it is much worse.

"Remus Lupin with... Trixie Jones"

I feel a strong pain in the chest. Damn, me worrying about protecting Remus from my family, I didn't see this coming.

The brunette is a few places ahead of Remus, so she turns to find her new partner. Remus, as he is a damn good person, raises his hand to meet her. She smiles and sits down next to him.

"Sirius Black with, well, this is no surprise to anyone, but since last year, I have found my best students," He laughs as he touches his belly, but seeing that no one else is laughing, clears his throat. "Sirius Black and Persephone Singh.”

It doesn't take long for Sirius to run to my place, he practically throws his books on the table and sits down.

"Am I the only one who heard the tragedy?" He asks agitated

“Trixie's with Remus. He’s going to die, Black,” We both look at the couple, but suddenly the brunette turns and sees us. Neither can react, Trixie smiles and waves at us and then returns to Remus.

"Oh, he's so dead," adds Sirius.

The class continues and during all the time I couldn’t concentrate on what Slughorn says, my gaze always returned to Trixie.

Who sometimes giggles and gets very close to Remus, while he just blushes and laughs too. I clench my teeth every time I hear them. Sirius is also tense with this situation, and he growls as he sees them.

Potions ends and everyone begins to leave. Sirius and I are waiting for the others outside the room and as soon as I see Remus, I run to him and hug him. The brown-haired man seems surprised, but accepts it.

"Everything okay, Percy?"

“Are you injured? Did she do something to you?”

"Oh, don't tell me that this Trisha was in class," says James coming to our side along with Peter, then Lily and Jenna arrive.

"Her name is Trixie and yes, she is... Remus' new partner" I say when I separate from my friend, who scratches the back of his neck, a little nervous.

"Guys, I know what you think, but it doesn't seem like such a bad person. It was actually fun talking to her,” I look at him take a few steps back.

"That is her move, Moony,” Sirius points out. "First she’s a good person, when she’s confident and have some secrets from you she’s going to wait for the right moment to attack."

"Isn't that the snake's move?" says James.

I roll my eyes and ignore it.

"Don't you think you’re exaggerating a bit?" Lily adds.

"Wow, wait," says Jenna, stepping forward and looking at me. "Trixie Jones?" It seems the memories come to her. "You've already mentioned her before, P... Are you telling me that that sweet girl is the same monster that you told me about?"

"Sweet?"

“Yes, I’ve also spoken to her. She was just transferred from Beauxbatons, she looks like a pretty charming girl. ”

"Nobody listens to us?" Sirius complains.

"I can't believe it," Says a different voice. We all turn to see her. Trixie Jones. "Sirius Black and Persephone Singh!” The girl smiles, then jumps in place and claps her hands with joy.

Oh, this is my end.

The girl approaches until we’re in front of her and analyzes us from top to bottom, she stops at Sirius.

“Wow, time has been an ally for you. You were cute when we were younger, Sirius, but now,” She approaches him. “You’re handsome. Look at those eyes! Surely many girls are behind you. Well, that's what they told me and I was not surprised,” Now she observes me. “And you, my dear Persephone, as beautiful as ever, knew that you were going to become a charming woman.” Those comments are usually made by our aunts.

She stays in the middle of both and then she raises her arms and wraps us in a big hug. Touching part of her skin, I can't help but feel a chill. The hug did not last long and sets us free.

"H-hi Trixie," I say with a fake smile. "I thought I would never see you again."

She laughs, seems not to notice that my comment was not friendly at all.

"I know, since I moved to France we haven't been able to communicate, but don't worry, princess!"

I groan at the stupid nickname she always used with me. I never liked it.

"I'm back, I’ll continue my studies at Hogwarts.”

Neither responds, it seems that we were frozen in our places, so the others decide to interrupt.

"Trix, let me introduce you to the others,” Jenna begins. Wait a second, Trix!? "This is Lily Evans, this is Peter Petitgrew, James Potter, and I guess you already know Remus,” Remus blushes a little.

"Yes, I already know him,” she says looking at him with a shy smile. “It's a pleasure to meet you, I hope we can be friends," Some Ravenclaw girls come up and say something I don’t hear. "Oh, I have to go, I guess I'll see you later" She turns back to us. "It's good to see you guys again.”

Taglist:

@treestarrrrrrrr @siriuslysirius1107   @thagreenmoon   @madmaiden2890 @bloodorangemoonlight   @ren-ela  @avipshamitra  @lizlil @siriusmuch   @may-rapp @chloe-geoghegan1 @reverse-hxlland  @auroraawrites​  @findzelda  @littledeadgirlwalking​

[tisfan]

The Works

Title: The Works Written by: @tisfan (3023) Square: R2 - Hydra Won (swapped square) Rating: Mature (for horror) Triggers/warnings: Tags: Hydra Won, ambiguous ending, incomplete Created for: @tonystarkbingo Word count: 2346 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23753566/chapters/59696779 Summary: It had been his last act, getting the sleep-pods onto the ship and launching it, the whole time, holding Hydra at bay, keeping her here, keeping her distracted. And then she’d struck, casting some evil magic over him, over--He couldn’t remember.

__________

¬░▒╛┐z░¬ date ┴╗╣⌐g__d morning soldier ▒¬º╖ç

The old AI wasn’t working. 

Which had been the plan, Barnes, get it together. 

The man above him -- well next to him now that Bucky had sat up -- was something like a vision. They exchanged names, greetings. The man. Tony. Had asked some questions.

Bucky’s lips were warm. Tingling. 

Tony had kissed him. To wake him up. To break the spell.

“Hydra won,” Bucky said. He wasn’t even sure he was speaking out loud, but he must have, because Tony was responding.

“That’s long since over,” Tony said. “There’s no Hydra anywhere in this sector.”

“She’s sleeping, because I was sleeping,” Bucky said. “I shut her down by shutting myself down. She might be back.”

“I didn’t see anyone else on this ship, except you and an awful lot of rabbits.”

“Rabbits?” Kobik had had some pet rabbits; a whole hutch of them. Part of the experiment. Could a space station become truly self-sufficient? The answer still looked like no, but some hutch and farm animals did function pretty well. There’d been goats at one time, too, but in the last days of the war, Bucky thought they’d all been eaten.

“They’re all over the place. My AI tells me they’re rabbits. I’ve never seen one, honestly.”

“Where th’ hell’d you grow up you ain’t never seen a rabbit,” Bucky wondered.

“I did mention the part about three hundred years, right?”

“Right, yeah,” Bucky said. “Uh, is there anything to eat?”

“There’s some mealpacks back at my ship,” Tony offered. “But unless your stuff is in permastore, I don’t think anything from here will be safe.”

“Water?”

Tony pulled out a canteen. That, at least, hadn’t changed much in form or function for centuries. Spout to put liquids in or to drink from, a standard filtration system, and a strap to carry it with. Why improve on something that was already perfect? Filters would, of course, adapt over time to whatever contaminants were in the water. “Human physiology hasn’t changed all that much,” Tony said. “I don’t think my filters will hurt you. But you have to be careful. Don’t drink from a Centurian’s canteen. They add in a lot of stims and endorphins to their water. Warrior race, but it gives the rest of us a twitchy stomach.”

“Good to know,” Bucky said. “How will I know who they are?”

“Don’t worry, they’ll usually tell you,” Tony joked. “They’re blue-skinned marsupials, with a red crown of-- head spikes, for lack of a better word.”

“Marsupials?”

“They carry their young around in a stomach pouch until they’re old enough to walk around. It’s a convenient arrangement,” Tony said. 

“Okay, then,” Bucky said. He took a few sips of Tony’s water and then returned it to him. The nanites in his system would filter anything harmful out, and if he could eat soon enough, would get him back to fighting fit. Otherwise, he might possibly go into a cyber coma. He didn’t see the need to alarm Tony just yet. It wasn’t urgent. “We can check the mess, see if there’s any supplements left. They won’t go bad.”

Worst case, he could probably chase down one of the rabbits and skin it for food. 

The whole station was both dead and alive at the same time. The hydroponics bay had escaped containment; there were vines and plants everywhere.

They’d probably grown, at least somewhat, in the remains of the dead. Bucky shuddered. 

The rabbit colony hopped in and out of the dense plant growth. Unafraid, and why would they be? A rabbit only lived nine or ten years. There had been generations of them, since they last saw humans.

“Did, uh, did the colony ship get away?” Bucky asked. 

It had been his last act, getting the sleep-pods onto the ship and launching it, the whole time, holding Hydra at bay, keeping her here, keeping her distracted.

And then she’d struck, casting some evil magic over him, over--

He couldn’t remember.

»£┼¬░▒-▒¿╟┼longing▒░┼╝º

“We never came across any ships from the Ring,” Tony said, as if apologizing, “but if you can give us mass and trajectory, I might be able to track it down for you.”

Sleep pods would last. If Bucky’s lasted, theirs would last.

He shook his head, wondering. Maybe they’d gotten out, maybe they’d gotten away. Away from Hydra, locked in her cold sleep with Bucky.

He wondered where she was.

She might still be on the station. He turned his gaze on Tony. That would be a strange form for her to take; Tony seemed sincere. But then, witches always seemed sincere, didn’t they?

“Sir, I’m reading some strange energy spikes in the station,” a voice said, coming from-- from Tony.

“My AI,” Tony said, as if apologizing. “Anything hazardous, Jay?”

“Not as yet, but you might want to consider retreating in the next few hours. Radiation levels are rising.”

“What’s the plan with the bunnies?” Tony asked. “Can we evacuate them to a planet?”

“I’ve already sent out a beacon pod, locating the station. Hopefully it will be able to float through the Ring, and broadcast from there.”

“Good job.”

“Of course, sir.”

“You’re worried about the wildlife?” Bucky asked, incredulous. Definitely not the witch, then. She wouldn’t have cared about the life of a bug, beast, or boy.

“They’re alive,” Tony said. “There’s no point in killing them. We’ve got biologists back on the various Initiative ships that can relocate them somewhere that they won’t be an invasive species. Well, technically, they’ll be invasive, but a careful selection will make sure they will fit in with the local ecosystem. Worst comes to worst, we can sell them as pets and novelties on Knowhere Station.”

“We do have cargo space in the lower deck,” JARVIS pointed out, “if you’re not planning to salvage much.”

“Salvage, right,” Tony said, snapping his fingers. “I got so carried away by Sleeping Beauty here that I forgot I was looking for valuables. What say you, hot stuff? You got anything worth selling on this floating coffin? Split it with you, 50/50.”[]

¥ƒ▀¥▒╜┼┼pжавыйÉ»¥┼╟╞─rusted▒╗▓

Bucky shook his head. “I think it’s all salvage now, rules of the drift,” he said. “Do you have policy in place for survivors?”

Back in his day, anyone found on the drift in space -- hypersleep accidents happened often enough that people could outlive their assets, their grandkids, their governments -- that some effort was made to track down any remaining property, they got a six month high intensity sleep-learning degree, and sent off into the world with a small stipend.

Bucky’d known a couple of them. Steve Rogers had done a Big Sleep, seventy years or more. Gone to sleep as a Private, cook’s assistant during the war and woke up as a Captain through time in rank.

Strange thing, really. 

“You might be considered the longest standing prisoner of war,” Tony said. “Not that it matters, there’s a fortune to be had on this station. Split it with me, you won’t have to worry about it. This is all approved salvage. I have a license.”

He knew his way around the station, even with the plants and the rabbits. The rabbits were freaking him out a little; they kept following-- sticking their curious noses out of the underbrush. He wondered how they’d lived so long. Usually life support shut down when no one was breathing it.

Which meant Hydra had to be on the station somewhere.

“Why split it with me, then?” Bucky wondered. “License for salvage, you don’t need to--”

“Because I may be an asshole a lot of the time,” Tony said, “but I am not one hundred percent a dick.”

╜£Éëδ╗»╟┼╞─┬┴seventeen╜╝╗▒»▒┼

“If you want,” Bucky said. They finally made it to the messhall, and the sub-freeze was still reading green, so Bucky used his thumb print to open it. “I can recon some of these food packs.”

“You call this stuff food,” Tony said, incredulously. “You, my friend, you have been suffering. Recon has come so far since your day. Jay, can you dish up a four course for us?”

“Of course, sir,” JARVIS said. 

“What’s considered a high value item?” Bucky wondered, picking out a few recon packs. He added water to the cooker, stuffed the packet in the slot and watched as the not-particularly interesting, but high calorie, high vitamin cereal poured itself into a reusable cup. The spoons were a little iffy, so Bucky added more water, and then drank it as a gruel. Yuck, but it would keep his systems intact for a while longer. Just a little while longer.

He just needed to know what happened to Hydra.

Where was she?

Not in the messhall, that was for sure.

Tony was still running down a list of items -- elements that could be repurposed. Titanium, protactinium, thorium. They’d had those in ample supply at one point. Potable water, preferably in ice form, which was easier to tow. 

“Wait, what was that last thing?”

“Etherium gas,” Tony said. “Might as well as for unobtainium, or wishalloy.”

“What, why?”

“As far as we know, stable etherium is a fantasy,” Tony said. “We’ve got plausible theories, but no one’s ever gotten a hold of the stuff before. I was spinning castles in space.”

“Um.”

╟S│ªS▒»░▒O1█┼daybreak▒»╟╗╣╕ë

“We have a tankful, at least,” Bucky said, “if nothing’s changed. That’s what we were mining, here--”

Tony was staring at him as if he’d said the moon really was made from green cheese.

“A-- let me get this straight. A tank. How much is in a tank?”

“It’s not really my department,” Bucky said, “but last I checked, about twenty thousand gallons of liquid etherium.”

Tony stopped moving, he seemed to stop breathing.

“I think we just became the richest men in the galaxy,” he said, finally. “Show me where this tank of yours is. Can we detach it for hauling?”

Bucky nodded. It was the gas, he thought. That attracted Hydra. She’d come because of the gas, and they’d fought her over the gas.

Witch.

Monster.

╟╗▒░ªÜfurnace▒»½▒╟┼╣

“Tony--” Bucky said, reaching out his hand. He caught hold of the other man’s wrist. “The gas--”

“Perfectly safe, cupcake,” Tony said. “We’ll make sure there’s no leaks, then we can just haul it away. Easy peasy, nice and cheesy.”

Bucky was pretty sure the phrase didn’t go that way.

And it wasn’t safe.

If Hydra was still on the station, that would be where she was.

Hibernating, maybe.

Or just waiting. Lurking. 

He wanted to speak, it was like he’d forgotten the words, and so instead of saying anything, he just turned and led Tony deeper into the station. Down into the Works, the mag-engines and the hydropods, the storage and the plumbing, the fuel cells. It was dark there, wet and heavy somehow. The plant life stopped, which wasn’t surprising, and while there were a few rabbits down this deep, they didn’t seem… normal.

Mutations, perhaps.

Bucky shuddered the thought away.

Tony had said he’d sent out a beacon.

Help-- someone could help them.

Maybe someone would come.

I don’t have to run faster than Hydra, I just have to run faster than you.

Not true, and everyone knew it. Hydra was so fast. She was there before you even knew it. She wasn’t a sight, or something to touch. A witch, some sort of presence.

“Here,” Bucky said. “This is the shut off station. We’ll need to disconnect, and run diagnostics. That can take a few hours--”

“Don’t worry, Jarvis is already in the works, he’s a lot faster than your old systems,” Tony said. “We’ll be on our way back to civilization before you’re even sleepy.”

╟»▒░½Ü¢Ö▒»╟┼nine┼»Q▒»░▒╟┼

“Do you hear something,” Bucky said. He took a few steps down toward-- he didn’t even know. Something was down there. Calling him. Like a magnet that he was too pinlike to resist. A flame, to draw away a moth. It would burn him up, and he knew it, but he could not--

“Hey!” Tony’s hand was hard on his wrist, the fingernails biting lightly into his skin. “Hey, Bucky. You okay?”

“No, I don’t think I am,” Bucky said.

“Jay, how’s it look?”

“You may come back to the ship at any time, sir,” JARVIS said. “I can handle the disconnect from here.”

“Gotta be sleep-shock,” Tony was saying, “I’m so sorry, you seemed okay, let me just--”

Tony was leading him away. 

Away from answers.

Away from--

▒┼╟╗╦Ñ▒»╟benign▒┼╫D░▒½¬

“It’s all right, you don’t have to do anything else, I’ve got you,” Tony said.

And he did. Somehow, this man was… carrying Bucky. Like he was a sleepy child. Bucky blinked.

“Nanites,” Tony said. “They’re pretty amazing. I know you had ‘em back in your day, my scans show you’ve got some yourself. I think there’s something interfering with yours, though. Maybe they’re just old. We can do a filter, get you fixed up. It’s all right, just let me take care of you.”

That was nice, somehow. The idea of just letting go. Of letting Tony take care of things. Letting him take care…

Of Hydra.

Would it even be possible? That the witch could be defeated by something as simple and small as human technology?

“Jay, get me a stretcher, would you, buddy?” 

Bucky couldn’t see anything; everything was getting cold, frozen. His eyelids were frozen shut. Winter--

Winter was coming.

The winter. 

He remembered climbing into the sleeppod, knowing she was right behind him, knowing--

He’d known something, once. 

What was it--

▒┼╟»ª╣╝»homecoming▒»╣¥╝¡☺”

Static in his head, like snow. Freezing. He was so cold. Tony’s hands were on him, but he couldn’t see, and if Tony was talking, he couldn’t hear it.

She was coming.

Hydra was coming. 

They’d woken her up, somehow, and she was on her way to claim him.

“You need to run,” Bucky said, hoping Tony could hear him. That he could do something. Anything.

Live.

Run.

Run.

▒»╟┼┴▒½¡╝one▒ªñªú┼╝│

“Tony, run--”

“Freight car.”

Bucky closed his eyes and went away.

The Winter Soldier was here.

“Hail Hydra.”

A/n - @27dragons wouldn’t let me post this until everything was resolved, so, I have written 2 more chapters and I will post them in the next 2 weeks or so.

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: “Pomp and Circumstance”

Welcome back, welcome back. I managed to miss last week’s title/summary leak, which for any other show would have been a blessing. With RWBY though I find myself not minding---even hoping for---spoilers, just so I won’t be quite so blindsided by things when I actually watch them. It’s a topsy-turvy world.

We’ll get to that in a bit though. For now, we open on the new Amity Arena immediately flying over the Schnee dust mine. I’m talking the group has barely made it back out into the sun before Ironwood’s men are arriving and setting up base. That’s some real eagerness to get the ball rolling. Funny how Ironwood’s entire plan is doomed to failure and eight of the people helping him to complete it haven’t mentioned that yet...

We get a shot of the Ace Ops triumphantly emerging with Qrow and RWBYJNR positively geeking out over how fantastic their take-down of the geist was. It was admittedly a great battle. The best scene I think we’ve had in a while. Sadly, that charm didn’t carry over into this episode. 

As the gang gushes over how fantastic they were Clover explains that it all comes down to the makeup of their team. They were specifically chosen to compliment one another and make up for any liabilities they might bring. Forethought like this brings back the age-old question of whether Ozpin’s own teams are as random as they appear. Does he really leave it to chance, who you first run into and what relic you happen to pick? Or was he subtly pulling the strings in order to ensure that complimentary teammates ended up together? Even if they don’t realize they’re complimentary at first. Ruby and Weiss are a perfect example of that. 

It’s a question we may never have answered. Especially as the Ozpin hate just keeps piling on and on. Before that though we’re given a ton of humor. Nora, continuing her role as comic relief, slides up to Elm and asks if she needs a new best friend. Their team name could be

I’d watch it.

More pressingly though, talk of team compositions and pairing up leads to a comment from Harriet that we need to unpack. Bear with me for a moment though because there’s something else I want to tackle first. It’ll connect back in a moment. Basically, I want to address my frustration last recap that Oscar was left behind with no explanation and the assertion by others that this was a ‘show don’t tell’ moment. It wasn’t. Providing your audience with no reasoning behind a decision is not the same thing as providing a visual explanation as opposed to a verbal one. On some level the choice to leave Oscar behind functions like an argument and I see this a lot in paper writing:

Student: This ad is really sexist

Me: And...? Why?

Student: I mean it’s obvious? All the women are wearing skimpy clothes and that one guy calls her a ‘bitch.’

Me: Perhaps obvious to you, but we can’t rely on the reader picking up on the same details and interpreting them in the same way. So you need to include that as evidence. In addition, you need to consider potential counter claims. What if I said some women choose to wear skimpy clothing because they feel empowered by it and that my friends often call me a ‘bitch’ as a silly endearment? How do we undermine those arguments in the context of your ad so you can more solidly prove that it’s still sexist? 

Student: Hmm

vs. 

Yang: We didn’t bring Oscar with us

Me: And...? Why?

Yang: I mean it’s obvious? He’s not ready for this fight yet.

Me: Perhaps obvious to you, but you can’t just bank on the viewer coming to that same conclusion. You also need to consider potential counter arguments. What if I pointed out that Oscar fought just as well as you during the premiere battle and that there’s now a history of you excluding him from every event you possibly can? How do you then undermine those points to prove that a) he really isn’t ready yet and b) that you actually left him behind because of his skill and not because you’re all still pissed at Ozpin?

Yang: Hmm

That was not a ‘show don’t tell’ moment. That was no tell combined with no show. A ‘show don’t tell’ would have been Yang going, “I don’t feel so bad now that we left Oscar behind” and then cutting to Oscar training with Ironwood, showing us that he needs to improve his skills as opposed to Yang just telling us, ‘He’s not ready yet.’ But we got neither. 

I bring this up a full episode later because here, in “Pomp and Circumstance” we’re given another shining example of precisely how bad RT’s ‘show don’t tell’ skills are. The Ace Ops. What are we shown? A group that is incredibly close with one another. They’re capable of anticipating each other’s moves and are able to follow directions with little to no prompting. They’re constantly joking, teasing, goofing off in a way that implies real intimacy. Clover proclaims, “What would you do without me?” demonstrating a familiarity that allows him to exude both confidence and playfulness. They’re close enough that he needn’t maintain the persona of their boss; close enough that he can play the part of their hero without anyone taking offense. In short, they act precisely like Team RWBYJNR.

Now, what are we told by Harriet?

“We’re not friends... that’s the job. We don’t confuse the two.”

Excuse me?

There has been nothing---NOTHING---in the last two episodes to imply that this team functions solely as a work group. Based on what we’ve been shown the idea that they’re not friends is laughable. What the audience sees and what the audience is told by a character do not match up. Kind of like how we’re told throughout the entirety of Volume Six that the group is heroic when we’re shown them repeating the actions of the villains. Kind of like how Qrow tells us that Ruby is different from Ozpin even as we’re shown her making the exact same choices. Here, we’re told that the Ace Ops aren’t friends yet shown that they clearly are and this disconnect functions solely as a means of---again---highlighting how special RWBYJNR supposedly is. Because we get a long shot of how devastated that mindset makes them

and then Ruby immediately rejecting the idea that you need to maintain a purely professional relationship in order to be a good team, begging the girls to go out sightseeing with her. Later Weiss proclaims to her father that they’re not merely friends, they’re family. As nice as the sentiment is, this is just another example of how RT is trying to paint RWBYJNR, RWBY in particular, as intrinsically better than all the other fighters around them. The takeaway is that the Ace Ops might be powerful, but without friendship they’ll never be as strong as our heroes... except the Ace Ops are clearly friends. Harriet’s cold and judgmental tone---You consider yourself friends with them?---makes no sense here. This would be an entirely different situation if we were actually shown an Ace Ops team that acted indifferent towards one another and if, later on, that professionalism and lack of knowledge about each other’s temperament, skills, etc. led to a problem. Ruby comes in with a, “See? I never would have made that mistake with my team because I’ve gotten to know them both on and off the battlefield. Being friends is an asset.” But we don’t get that, so all we’re left with is a message of, ‘RWBYJNR is super special even though they’re doing nothing different from the Atlas specialists. But trust us, they’re intrinsically better.’

That message got old, oh, two volumes ago.

In addition, can we please talk about the messy pacing? The group doesn’t want to go sightseeing with Ruby because they’re exhausted. Weiss and Yang act like their traveling and near death experiences happened last night, and later Qrow’s “the finally getting to Atlas part” comment reads as recent too, but as I mentioned in the previous recap, Pietro’s comment tells us that at least a few days have passed. Realistically a few weeks. So which is it? Has enough time passed to justify Pietro creating seven distinct upgrades and apologizing for having their weapons “so long”? Or has so little time passed to justify the group talking about their trip like they still haven’t had the chance to sleep after Penny’s tour? Yes, this stuff actually matters when you’ve got a laundry list of internal conflicts and the audience wants to know how much time the group has had to grapple with them. Has it only been a few days since the Ozpin drama, or a few weeks? Did Yang and Blake murder a guy the other day or last month? We’re simply not told. 

While consistency unravels Ironwood tells Clover that he needs the Ace Ops “on the ground” being “subtle” in their investigations... so maybe don’t bring Marrow. This moment, right down to the humor, is pretty identical to Blake deciding to leave Yang behind when she went to dismantle the CTV tower. Because “Stealth’s not really your... um...” Thing. If only the writing acknowledged these failings in a non-comedy context and encouraged the characters to learn from their mistakes. Marrow might have to listen to his boss and Yang will do anything Blake asks of her, but the rest of the time? ‘You’re really bad at missions that require subtly’ is just going to piss the group off. Even though it’s true.

As the Ace Ops take off Ironwood calls over the team leaders. Which is a bit of a weird choice considering he’s not asking Jaune and Ruby to keep secrets from their teams or anything. They’re literally just going to turn around and relay that info immediately  to YWBNR. So why not just tell them all at once? Chalk it up to not wanting to animate nine characters. Basically though we learn at least part of Tyrian’s motivations here. He’s been killing off prominent figures who oppose Ironwood, including Forest, trying to make it look like Ironwood himself is killing to keep them quiet. And it’s working. More points to Ironwood for throwing out, “I’m not really concerned about my public image” when Qrow accuses him of only caring about publicity. If Ironwood is secretly a horrible dictator who really doesn’t care about his people... he’s doing a very good job of hiding it. 

He’s also super chill about Jaune talking back to him about the embargo, a sharp contrast to Jacques’ “How dare you speak to me that way!” when Weiss takes a similar tone. Like the party way back in Volume Four, Ironwood is presented as the clear hero to Jacques’ villain. He lets subordinates point out difficulties and potential mistakes he’s makings. Instead of just, you know, abusing them. 

So yeah, Jacques is a thing. He shows up pissed that Ironwood commandeered his abandoned mine, but also he’s happy because he thinks Ironwood has screwed himself now. Jacques is gunning for a seat on the council and he hopes the military taking possession of private property, not matter how grimm-infested, will help. He accuses Ironwood of roping Weiss into all this, Weiss reasserts that it was her own decision to help, and we get a lovely moment of the team supporting her. 

I’d just like to point out though, this is all proof that Weiss would have been just fine if they’d sent her to Atlas. The fandom was up in arms over that suggestion, making wild claims about how Jacques would kidnap her or something, but this scene canonically undermines all of that. Turns out Jacques didn’t have spies everywhere, waiting to scoop Weiss up the moment she landed. However long the group has been hanging out in Atlas, he had no idea she was here until she was standing right in front of him (and even then it took him a long minute to realize...) Turns out Jacques can’t just do whatever he pleases with another human being just because he’s her father. In Ironwood’s presence, which Weiss would have ended up in if she’d flown with Cordovin’s blessing, Jacques can’t touch her. Hell, he can’t do anything even if Weiss was alone.  If Weiss is willing to dump racists in the trash with her semblance I think she’s gained enough confidence to do the same to Jacques if he dares try to hit her again. The moment the fandom went, ‘They clearly HAVE to steal military property/disable a CTV tower and risk this tenuous peace because poor Weiss would be done for if they just sent her to Atlas with an armed guard and a transformed Qrow and possibly Maria in a suitcase’ I was just, ‘... What?’ That was never a good justification and this scene just reinforces that.

The one (metaphorical) blow that Jacques manages to land is by telling Weiss how distraught her mother was when she left. I wonder if there’s any truth in that or if it’s pure manipulation. 

As he leaves Winter flies in, clearly avoiding her father. Weiss gets partway through calling her out on that before Penny lands in their midst. 

From here the episode really unravels. With the surprise half ruined, Ironwood takes the group up into the arena and presents them with their huntsmen licenses. Now, full disclosure. I said I wanted this back in the premiere. In fact, my exact words were,

“I don’t think the show would ever go for my suggestion of another school arc so they could finish their training, but at the very least we should provide some sort of loop-hole for these characters. Have Ironwood provide special licenses based on their heroics at the Fall of Beacon and their work since. Because right now we have a world that’s continually emphasizing being a huntsmen as a job, something you earn the right to call yourself, yet 95% of our group doesn’t have that right in the eyes of their society.”

And I still stand by that. In as much as I’m acknowledging that so long as the writing refuses to treat the group like the students they are, taking away that status is the next best thing. However, that was written before the story decided to re-emphasize precisely how not huntsmen-like the group is. Everyone remember that? It was a week ago, wherein the group was characterized like kids playing dress up, following the adults around, acknowledging that it feels like they’re real huntresses even though they’re not, and then they witnessed a fight that put their skills and maturity to shame. A part of me honestly is glad we’re not dealing with this as a moral issue anymore. The other part of me is going, “Really? You set up how the group is still a bunch of students and then turn around and give them licenses an episode later? Can we at least be consistent?”

It’s fine though. It’s done. Yay. They all have licenses. Even though they technically didn’t do the work required to obtain them. And they’re also still at least a year, probably two years, too young to have them. Considering that schools are a four year program. It’s fine. 

The group doesn’t even seem happy to have them though. In fact, they trivialize the moment. That word exactly: “It almost feels trivial now.” I don’t think RT intends for the characterization to come across this way but man does the group sound arrogant. Wow. We’ve been given a huge amount of power and privilege when we technically haven’t earned it, have actually done quite a lot lately that should have resulted in punishments over rewards, this is entirely out of the blue, something we’ve all wanted for most of our lives... so thanks, I guess? We’re feeling kind of iffy. Ruby at least makes some sort of comment about how Ironwood doesn’t need to do this, which just lets him re-assert that they all totally deserve it. Besides, he needs all the help he can get. Remember, we’re about to tell everyone about Salem!

Obviously no one pipes up during this speech. There aren’t even shared guilty looks. They’re just... letting their lie become a part of their ascent into full-fledged huntsmen. Oh boy.

Overall this party just feels depressing as hell to me. Yes, let’s celebrate in an empty, creepy arena that’s a traumatic space for literally everyone here. Made worse by the fact that no one acknowledges this. Once again Penny functions purely as comic relief. I thought that finally, finally we would get a conversation between her and Ruby. Hey, Penny! We’re taking selfies and eating cake in the very place where you were horrifically murdered! Maybe we should talk about that? 

Nope.

Instead we get a train wreck of a conversation between Qrow and Ruby. She brings up the fact that they’re all keeping secrets... and Qrow laughs.

The hypocrisy is really astounding here. Ozpin keeps a secret and gets punched into a tree, along with Oscar. Ruby keeps a secret and Qrow looks like he wants to ruffle her hair. She asks him if she’s just like Ozpin and he responds with, “Oz only trusted himself with the whole truth. You’re trusting others, just making sure they prove themselves first. I think that’s a pretty big difference.”

Okay. That’s one hell of a messy statement, but let’s take it at face value for a moment. So tell me, Ruby. Precisely what does Ironwood have to do to “prove himself” to you? How long do you feel you need to wait? One more mission? A dozen? A few weeks? Months? ...Years? There’s no surefire way for someone to prove that they’re trustworthy and if, after that person has already shared their own secret plan with you and continually treats you as an equal---please help me in this fight, feel free to talk back to me, here’s licenses so you’re legally a part of this team---you’re still iffy about their motivations... what more can they do? You might just keep waiting and waiting for some sort of sign, putting things off because telling them is so risky and you just want to be sure. You might even reach a point where you’ve known Ironwood for ages and you still haven’t told him because, well, you haven’t gotten that proof you were looking for yet. Especially if you were, say, in a time of peace where telling him only feels like a cruelty. Especially when you’ve been betrayed so many times before and are always fighting against those memories. Your little, ‘I’m just waiting until I know I can trust him’ could theoretically go on for decades because we can never absolutely know a person. Lionheart is proof of that. Ironwood might one day look to you and say, “How can you not trust me yet?” and you might respond with, “What have you done to prove to me, without a doubt, that I should?”

I’m reusing this: 

Ruby is in precisely the same position Ozpin was with his inner circle. Including Qrow. If Ruby is unsure that a military-minded, incredibly stressed man should have this information now, despite how trustworthy he might seem, why would Ozpin have been sure of that a year earlier? Ironwood was the same military-minded, stressed, seemingly trustful guy. If Ruby felt like she couldn’t rely on Qrow mere weeks (or even days) ago because he kept refusing to stay in contact (something that was established way back at Beacon. That’s not new) and falling into drunk, pessimistic stupors, why would Ozpin feel like he could rely on him in other ways? Especially when those “other ways,” telling them about Salem’s immortality, would lead to absolutely nothing good. Seriously. Has the group suddenly come up with a plan to defeat her, proving that Ozpin was wrong not to bring more creative minds into the fray? No. Has the group fallen apart for a long stretch and has only now made noises about moving forward for the sake of moving forward, something they’d already agreed to do as huntsmen fighting immortal grimm? Yes. All telling them about Salem did was make them more depressed and stressed, the two things that draw literal monsters to their door. That’s it. Their goals and motivations are precisely the same as when they started: keep fighting. Ironwood, on the other hand, has to know about Salem because his plan hinges on her mortality. Ozpin risked nothing by keeping this secret from the group. He arguably saved them a lot of grief. Ruby, on the other hand, risks countless lives and chaos across Remnant because she’s letting Ironwood inch closer and closer to telling the whole world, all in an effort to muster up an army that will accomplish nothing. 

Ruby is Ozpin in this scenario, but her secrets carry more weight than his ever did. This isn’t a group of teens feeling morally outraged that their leader told a lie; how dare you not tell us everything when we’re risking our lives... even though we’re always risking our lives and would continue to risk our lives whether you told us or not!  This is an incredibly powerful general about to change the shape of the entire world if he doesn’t learn the truth. The stakes are nowhere near comparable. Combine that with the fact that Ruby and her friends just finished taking the high road. That’s the kicker here. That Ruby doesn’t just admit, ‘Yeah... I’m like Oz. Because he was right. You do sometimes need to keep secrets and it is hard to trust people.’ No, no, no, they have to keep demonizing him. Ruby needs reassurance that she’s nothing like that evil secret keeper... even though we can all see she 100% is. She’s arguably worse now that she wants to play the victim to Ozpin’s secret keeping while simultaneously doing the exact same thing to Ironwood. She’s arguably worse since her secrets risks far more lives than Ozpin’s ever did. Where’s the fandom’s outrage over Ruby’s manipulation? Who’s punching her? When they bring up Summer, Ruby needs to characterize her death as “another Oz secret” wherein, like the fandom, she assumes he holds responsibility before there’s any proof of that. Even when Qrow admits that Ozpin has no more idea how Summer died than he and Tai do, he rescinds it! “But who knows what he may have hidden from us over the years.” Excuse me, but you all need to stop gearing up to assign blame without evidence, especially when you all are currently committing the exact same sins Ozpin did. We’ve been doing this since Volume 5:

Yang: I just learned that my uncle is the one who kept his semblance and bird transformations secret from me, but I’m going to blame Ozpin for it and demand “no more” lies. Even though up until now he’s never lied to us.

Qrow: I just admitted that your mother’s death is her own secret, but I’m going to subtly blame Ozpin for it anyway and remind you, as well as the audience, that he could be keeping an untold number of secrets from us. Truly a horrific thing when we, too, are keeping a bunch of secrets.

It’s also just a complete OOC moment that Qrow would be laughing about Ruby keeping secrets and hugging her as he tells her to press on while likewise maintaining his suspicion of Ozpin. Because Qrow’s whole beef with Ozpin is that he’s supposedly “wasted” his life while serving him. Everything he does is worthless because of Salem’s immortality. So if he’s now (randomly?) on team, ‘Do things because they’re right even if we can’t win in the end’... why is he still upset? If he can admit now that all this work---building new CTV towers and taking up everyday missions---is still super important, then why isn’t he thanking Ozpin? ‘Oh wow. I realize now how worthwhile this work is, regardless of whether Salem can be defeated. I guess I do owe you that gratitude for allowing me to do it all in the first place.’ Is no one ever going to acknowledge that Ozpin was right? About their work and about the need to keep secrets? You all are literally adopting his views, his mindset, and his choices. But nope. Nothing. It’s just an illogical mix of ‘Everything we believe is what Ozpin taught us’ with ‘But oh yeah screw that guy.’

The only reason Qrow is all buddy-buddy with Ruby’s secret keeping is because he’s in on the secret. Objectively speaking, if Qrow had a right to know about Salem’s immortality than so does Ironwood. They were both inner circle members. They both served Ozpin for (presumably) the same amount of time. With the exception of maybe hearing about the brother gods---and even then Qrow didn’t take that story literally---they seemed to have the same level of clearance. Ironwood has done just as much to “prove” his loyalty as Qrow ever did, but he doesn’t want to admit that telling someone this kind of horrific info is just plain hard. So Qrow, like the entirety of RWBYJNR, makes it about their own status as heroes, adopting a ‘we’re totally different’ mindset. I get to know about Salem’s immortality. Ironwood though? No, no, we’re justified in keeping it from him. People just aren’t allowed to keep things from us.

It started off with Yang’s ‘How dare you keep secrets only I’m allowed to do that’ nonsense and has now spread to the entire group. We had an entire volume of people verbally and physically assaulting Ozpin in the name of his lies. Now Ruby does the exact same thing and gets hugs and praise for it. I spoke too soon last episode. The hypocrisy is unreal.

I honestly didn’t think RWBY was still capable of frustrating me to this extent, but here we are.

Oh, and so long as we’re riding this frustration train... where is Oscar? 

He was not acknowledged once in this episode, let alone invited to the party. You know, the one that he could have really easily been flown in for now that the danger is gone. The one that Winter, Penny, Marrow, Elm and Vine all make an appearance at, but not the guy they’ve been traveling with and who is way more invested in his ‘friends’ getting their licenses than some random Ace Ops members. From here on out I’m officially calling BS on anyone who tries to justify the group/the writing excluding Oscar. There was no reason not to invite him to a planned celebration specifically designed to give this team, a team he’s a part of, a bit of downtime. Sorry you didn’t get an armor upgrade, or get to go on the mission, or get to attend the after party. Everyone just kind of forgot you exist or couldn’t be bothered to explain why you’re missing. RWBY really just doesn’t like him or Ozpin and boy, does it show. 

The remaining plot is minimal. The group pulls up a mission board and Jaune gets roped into escorting school children, a mission with absolutely “no danger” in it. So if we actually get to see him completing this, you know they’ll be danger. As they continue choosing their first jobs as huntsmen we return to Jacques, brooding in his office. Whitley makes a brief appearance to announce that Watts has barged his way into the manor. We learn that everyone apparently thinks Watts is dead---that helps explain why they’re still using his code. A dead guy  isn’t much of a threat---and Watts tells Jacques that he can help him regain his lost wealth, get a seat on the council, and screw over Ironwood. Through the pretty silly line of “Have your cake and eat it too.” I like that expression, but it’s hard to make it sound sufficiently threatening...

And that’s where we end! A rough ride this week, folks. Can’t complain about the break...

Until next time. 

Minor Things of Note

Watts’ comment about how Whitley is the spitting image of Jacques makes me think of cloning. Like, I don’t think the writing would actually go there, but it’s a potentially cool option. Evil billionaire with access to fantasy technology has two rebellious daughters before finally just cloning himself a ‘son’...

Where is Maria? What is she doing? Can we please stop abandoning important characters and then having the cast acting like they ceased to exist?

[lucidtobio]

fluffy dreams x

ashton irwin x fem!oc fluff

warnings: literally none other than bad writing

[word count: 1.9k]

this is legit based off a dream i had last night, but i added a bunch of stuff so it makes sense lmaooo.. pls don’t bully me this is my first time writing :)

(also, this is during the youngblood era, so like 2018-ish)

I was sitting in a crowd surrounding a circular table. Seated at the table were the four members of 5 Seconds of Summer; Michael, Luke, Calum, and Ashton. They were doing an interview where fans could come watch live. The interviewer was seated on a tall chair in the middle of the crowd. Everyone was listening eagerly to their responses.

"Okay, so now we're going to give the audience a chance to speak with the band! Does that sound good to you guys?" The interviewer exclaimed before pointing to 5SOS. They did a little cheer and clapped their hands.

"What about y'all?!" She gestured to us. Everybody screamed, desperate to finally meet our idols. The interviewer looked worried for a second. Honestly, I would be too if I was in the middle of a bunch of crazy fangirls.

"So we're going to have the guys pick the first person that gets to talk to them. Michael, do you want to pick first?" The interviewer put him on the spot. I felt slightly guilty for him, all of that pressure must be stressful.

Michael looked at his bandmates for help, but they just shrugged at him. "Go on, Mikey. Pick someone," Calum teased, leaning forward on his knees. "Fuck you," Michael mumbled under his breath, barely audible.

The guitarist craned his neck to search the crowd, and everybody in the audience held their breath. I was watching his calculated eyes as they landed on me. "You. The one with the white top and plaid pants," Michael called out. I looked down at my outfit and around at the people around me. Nobody else was wearing that... I don't think. I was about to ask if he meant me when the girl next to me nudged my arm. "He's talking to you! Go up there!" She whispered.

I stood up and made my way to their table. I tried to seem more confident than I was on the inside, because I was secretly fangirling. I think it worked because I didn't receive any sympathetic looks from the guys, only smiles.

I took a seat next to Michael and gave them all a little wave. "Why don't you introduce yourself? In the meantime, let's give them some privacy," The interviewer said before a screen came up around the table. (idfk bc in my dream the other people just dissapeared & then came back so)

"Woah, what the f-" Luke started before Ashton elbowed him in his side. I laughed before I realised nobody else found that funny and bit my lip. I looked at Ashton who had a light smile playing on his face.

"So, um, my name is Hazel and I'm 19 years old. I came all the way from Australia to see you guys," I introduced.

"Oh, we're from Australia, too!" Michael blurted out. I looked over to him with incredulous eyes and said, "No, really? I didn't know that," before giggling.

"What part of Australia?" Ashton asked, leaning back and uncrossing his legs.

"Sydney. I'm basic, I know," I answered while cracking a smile. Luke and Calum chuckled at my lame joke.

We continued chatting for a while, and I felt very close to Michael. He seemed like a funny and genuine person. Our conversation was cut short when the interviewer suddenly removed the screen. "Sorry, guys. You're time is up," She said not so apologetically. "Luke, do you want to pick the next person?" I took this as her way of telling me, Get out, you're time is over sweetie.

I rose to my feet and plopped back in my seat. Luke had picked the next girl- who looked like she was about to faint- and the girl next to me nudged my arm again. I looked over to her with a questioning look. "Yeah?"

"What was it like?" She eagerly asked, her eyes wide and slightly crazed.

"Um, it was good. They were really nice to me and easy to talk to," I explained, a smile forming on my lips.

"What did they smell like?" The girl asked next. I had to do a double take at that question. That's some next level fangirl shit.

"I don't know! I wasn't sitting there and smelling them." I exclaimed exasperatedly. She rolled her eyes and turned away from me, signalling that the conversation was over.

I sighed and pulled out my phone. Mindlessly texting some of my friends back home while waiting for the other girl to emerge. I snapped one of my closest friends, Ruel, telling him that I finally got to meet 5SOS. I only had to wait a couple seconds before he responded with, "omg yasss you go girl". I smiled and shook my head at his sarcasm. A few minutes later, the girl came out of the screen-shield with a starstruck expression. Was that what I looked like?!

The process repeated, but this time Calum picked the person to go in. This time, it was a tall guy with blonde hair. I looked back to my phone before realising how familiar that person was. I caught a glimpse of his face and it was... Ruel? What the-

I angrily texted him so he could see my messages when he came out. How could he not tell me he was coming? He could've at least came with me.

When his time was up, he glanced over at me and sent a lazy grin my way. I rolled my eyes but couldn't stop the smile creeping onto my face. Ruel went to sit down where he was originally and I huffed.

(okay this next part is unrealistic- well this whole story is tbh- but this is what happened in my dream)

"Last up we have Ashton! Ashton, are you ready to pick the last person?" The interviewer stated dramatically. He raised his eyebrows at her tone and exhaled. "Let's hope so," He mumbled.

Ashton scanned the crowd yet again, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. His eyes locked on mine and I gave him a comforting smile; I assumed he would just return the gesture and move on. But his eyes never left mine. Ashton sent me a lopsided grin before exclaiming, "Hazel! Come on up here."

My jaw dropped to say the least. There were mumbles from the people surrounding me, as well as multiple dirty looks being thrown at me. The interviewer glanced around and looked back at the crew mouthing, "Is this allowed?" The camera crew in turn shrugged at her.

I scrambled to my feet and picked my way through the audience. This time I sat down next to Ashton. I figured I would sit next to him because he was the one that invited me. "Why did you pick me again?" I whisper-shouted at him. Ashton just let out a little giggle while looking at Calum and threw an arm behind me.

I shook my head playfully at their stupidity and leaned back. They asked me questions about my life back in Australia, and I asked about random things. I didn't want to be basic and just ask about music.

"Ashton, are you ever going to dye your hair like Michael?" I inquired.

"Nah, he's too pussy," Luke jabbed, making everyone laugh.

"Says you, Mr. I've-never-done-anything-to-my-hair," Michael crowed as everyone laughed again.

I reached my hand up to run it through Ashton's dark brown locks. "I think if you dyed it a red type color, it would look really good," I suggested. He peeped up at me through his eyelashes and I held his gaze. My cheeks tinted pink as I realised our close proximity.

I moved away from him only for Ashton to wrap an arm around my waist. I glanced at him but he was already talking to Calum. I felt slightly awkward in the position, so to free my arm I placed a hand on his knee. Ashton slightly stiffened before relaxing. A grin played on my lips as we all engaged in conversation.

The screen lowered again and the interviewer was talking to the audience. "So that's all the time we have for today! I hope everyone enjoyed themselves, and we'll hopefully see you boys in the future," She winked. "We're going to let 5SOS exit first, so please stay seated until we give you the word."

I made to go back into the crowd when Ashton grabbed my hand and pulled me with them. "We want you to come with us to the back room," Michael giddily told me. "I heard there was a movie theater back there." I sucked in a short breath before following. I relished in the feeling of Ashton's warm hand against mine.

I could practically feel all the people behind me glaring daggers into my skull. Their whispers washed over my head and I felt a wave of anxiety. Ashton must have sensed this as he brushed his thumb over my knuckles. I gratefully smiled at him before looking at the ground.

We reached the 'back room' which was basically a movie theater but with long couches instead of individual seats. I gasped as I took in the lush couches. I dropped Ashton's hand and bee-lined towards one in the center. I settled into the comfortable cushions and reveled in the coziness.

Michael sat down on my left and Ashton on my right. I snatched Michael's beanie off his head, letting out a soft "teehee." He opened his mouth to protest but stopped when he saw me tugging the cap onto my brown hair. "You're so annoying," Michael chuckled.

"You know you love me," I retorted, sticking out my tongue at him.

"Real mature," He rolled his eyes sarcastically, still smiling.

"Hazel," Ashton murmured from beside me. I twisted my head to look up at him. "Yeah?"

He tapped the end of my nose, saying, "Boop." I burst out laughing- even though it wasn't that funny- and they all looked at me like I was crazy.

"Shhh, the movie is starting!" Luke harshly whispered. "Oops," I giggled, mimicking a shush gesture to Luke. The beginning of Back to the Future started playing on the large screen in front of us.

I felt a familiar arm snake around my waist yet again, pulling me into Ashton's side. I leaned up so my mouth was next to his ear. "Very bold and cuddly, I see," I whispered, running my nose along the shell of his ear. The man below me tensed only slightly before rubbing his hand along the side of my torso.

The theater was dark, only the faint glow from the screen providing light. I rested my hand on his knee, but gauged no reaction from Ashton. I lightly ran my middle finger along the inseam of his jeans, moving slowly up towards his crotch area. I heard an intake of breath above me and smirked to myself.

I laid my hand on his upper thigh, making myself comfortable. My head settled against Ashton's firm chest and I let out a content sigh. Our closeness satisfied my craving for human touch. I want to stay like this forever.

...

okay so that's over lmao

peep the ruel shoutout (stream free time) lmk what you thought! :)