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sithsecrets · 3 years

Text

rumors | din djarin x reader

A bit of gossip gets under your skin, but Din shows you that it's all a bunch of lies.

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4k words

mentions: VERY EXPLICIT SMUT, fem!reader, a bit of harassment at the beginning, self-doubt, establishing a relationship, discussions about relationship dynamics, din tells reader his name

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You know you’re in for trouble the minute two Guild Members sidle up next to you at the bar, shit-eating grins plastered on both of their faces.

They greet you and the baby with a kind of fake friendliness that makes your skin crawl, and not for the first time do you wonder what’s taking Mando and Greef so fucking long. The two men usually do business in under ten minutes, five if Mando can manage it, but of course today is the one day they decide to shoot the shit and pal around like old friends.

“So you’re Mando’s crew member, huh?” asks one of the bounty hunters, light eyes glinting mischievously as he leans in. “What’s he paying you these days anyway? Because I’d be happy to double his rate if it meant getting to have something as pretty as you around me all the time.”

“Ten percent,” you answer, choosing to ignore that last little comment, “and I’m perfectly okay with that.”

“That’s not bad,” Blue Eyes’ friend answers, brushing back a lock of his greasy hair with a smirk. “But what does that fee cover? You just a nanny for whatever the fuck that is,” he gestures to the Child in your lap, “or do you provide Mando with other services as well?”

On your left, Blue Eyes lets out a snicker, and Stringy Hair seems pleased with himself. You huff and roll your eyes, not at all in the mood for this shit.

“I take care of the baby and the ship, and I pilot the Crest from time to time.”

“You hear that, man? She’s a pilot and a maid!”

“Three guesses as to what she gives a good spit shine every night,” and then the two of them are absolutely cracking up, snickering behind their glasses as they toss back a round. They’re just mocking you now, so desperately trying to get a reaction, and you’re horrified by how it’s almost working. You don’t want to give them the satisfaction, but if they so much as—

“Everything alright over here?”

Mando’s voice is like a bucket of cold water down your back, startling you so badly that you almost fall off your barstool. The baby lets out a shriek of surprise, and you rush to make sure he’s secure in your arms before you turn around.

“Just fine,” you lie, rushing to get up. “We were just talking about your latest bounty.”

Stringy Hair and Blue Eyes don’t move to correct you, much more subdued now that Mando’s arrived on the scene. They greet him with respect, but he hardly gives the two dickheads a passing glance.

“We need to get back,” Mando tells you, and you’ve never been so glad to hear those words.

You nod, and then the three of you are trekking back to the Crest in silence. Mando goes up the cockpit immediately once you arrive, off to punch in the coordinates for his next quarry. Apparently Greef’s given him some kind of special assignment, so they journey to the next planet will be a long one.

The Crest lurches into hyperspace within minutes of takeoff, and you try to settle in for the evening, putting the baby down for the night, getting ready for bed yourself. The Child sleeps like a rock, but you aren’t so fortunate, tossing and turning in your little bed. It’s the conversation with those two assholes from earlier that’s got you so restless, their words playing over and over again in your head on loop. You don’t know why what they said bothers you, but it does. It bothers you a lot, in fact, mostly because they weren’t entirely wrong.

Everything you told Blue Eyes and Stringy Hair is true— Mando cuts you in ten percent on his bounties, and in exchange, you take care of the baby, maintain the ship (its living spaces and its mechanics, thank you very much), and you pilot the Crest from time to time when asked. But… But you’ve also fucked Mando before. Twice. Three times if you count the blowjob you gave him last week, but you’re not entirely sure that fits under the definition of “fucking.” Regardless of the details, you’ve had sexual contact with the Mandalorian— this is a fact. Mando’s never directly offered you money in return for sex, but it’s not like he didn’t just pay you your cut of his bounty less than an hour ago. And if those two pigs from the cantina could peg you at fifty yards, Maker knows what everybody else is thinking. Greef, Cara, even Peli on Tatooine— all of them must think you’re just Mando’s whore, right along with the rest of the Guild.

The idea of this weighs heavy on your mind, two parts of you waging an internal war. Your rational side says that you shouldn’t care what other people think of you— you’re a grown woman approaching thirty, and what you do with your body and your time is no one’s business but your own. The side of you that yearns to be accepted, however, worries that everyone’s secretly laughing at your behind your back, that they all think very little of you because of what you’ve done. And how could you blame them? You’ve let your employer fuck you twice, and all without him showing you an ounce of affection otherwise. Just thinking about it makes you feel remorseful, anxiety twisting in your stomach as you toss and turn in bed. And to make things worse, a third voice emerges in your mind, one that’s small and timid and raw. This little part of you wonders what Mando thinks of all this— it wonders what Mando thinks of you. You feel sick the minute it occurs to you, the notion that Mando could think nothing of you as well. Everyone else can say whatever they want, you suppose, if Mando still respects you at the end of the day. If he still cares for you at the end of the day…

After a whole hour, you decide that you won’t be sleeping until you get all of this sorted out. You’re almost shaking with anxiety as you approach the ladder, but you climb up to the cockpit anyway, calling out Mando’s name with a wavering voice. He says you can come in, and so you do, padding into the little space on socked feet.

“Everything okay?” Mando asks, vaguely distracted as he looks through holoimages on the display before him. You catch snatches of the same alien being in each one— Mando’s next quarry, no doubt.

“Yeah,” you say softly. “The baby’s asleep. He went down well tonight.”

Mando hums. “Good.”

“I, um. I’m having trouble sleeping, though, and I was hoping we could talk.”

Mando doesn’t look away from the holoimages as he speaks to you. “What about?”

You balk for a moment, gathering courage. “Us.”

Finally, it would seem you have Mando’s full attention. He shuts off the display and turns his chair until it faces you, the blue light of hyperspace reflecting off his armor and helmet. You grow shy under Mando’s gaze as you so often do, but you force yourself to be brave anyway. You can’t go on like this— you have to know.

“Us?” Mando echoes, titling his helmet just the slightest bit forward. You nod, and he straightens up again, regarding you. “What about us?”

“The sex,” you say slowly, “or, more specifically, why we had sex in the first place.”

“We had sex because we wanted to,” Mando says at once, and you just want to scream. He won’t make this easy on you, will he?

“Right, of course, but… but what made you want to come at me like that? Do you just like my body and how I look, or is it because you pay me—?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Mando cuts, losing all semblance of cool indifference in one fell swoop, “you don’t— Please don’t tell me that you think having sex with me is part of your job.”

“I don’t, I don’t!” you declare, rushing to prevent a miscommunication before it happens. “I just— I just wasn’t sure why you wanted me of all people, and I met some people today that thought you hired me just so you could fuck me or whatever. They—”

“Was it those two fuckheads from the cantina?” Mando asks, tone absolutely murderous, and all you can do is nod. “What exactly did they say?”

“They asked me about my pay and about what’s ‘included in my fee,’” you reply, face burning at the thought of what Stringy Hair and Blue Eyes said at the bar. “They said you were probably paying me for sex the way you pay me to take care of the ship and the baby. It just… It made me self-conscious because we have had sex, and I wasn’t sure what that meant. I know they’re just assholes, but now I’m afraid everybody thinks that of me, especially Cara and Greef and your other friends.”

Mando lets out a long, heavy sigh. “Come here,” he says, beckoning you over with an outstretched hand. You hesitate to move, shocked by the gesture, and the Mandalorian repeats himself. “Come here, cyar’ika, please.”

The beskar is cold against the back of your thighs, but you settle in Mando’s lap anyway, sure you must be dreaming at this point. He fingers the hem of your long, baggy sleepshirt, one arm holding you securely.

“None of my friends think you’re fucking me for money,” Mando begins, “I promise. Those guys from the Guild you met today, they’re assholes just like you said. They might treat their women that way, but that’s not me. It never will be. Understand?”

You nod shyly, relishing in the way Mando begins drawing little circles at the base of your spine.

“Good. Now to answer your question… I had sex with you because I wanted to, yes, but it wasn’t just to get off. The baby likes you, and you do a good job taking care of the ship. People like you wherever we go… Ilike being around you.”

You’re smart enough to know that that’s a big statement coming from a man like Mando, and you reward him for this display of vulnerability with a soft smile.

“I like being around you too, Mando.”

The helmet tilts just the slightest bit, and you wonder what his expression looks like under the beskar.

“I like being around you,” Mando repeats, speaking slowly, “and… and I’m sorry. For starting like that, I mean.”

Your brows draw together. “What are you talking about?”

Mando readjusts his grip on your, and the way his hand settles over the curve of your thigh is enough to make you shiver. “I should have taken my time with you. Fucking you against the wall, bending you over those crates in the back— that’s fine sometimes, but you deserve more.”

“If that’s how you like it, I don’t—”

He cuts you off then, a gloved thumb brushing against your bottom lip.

“I don’t care about me right now,” Mando says evenly, the tone of his voice picking at something deep in your stomach. “What do you want?”

It dawns on you then that this is foreplay— Mando’s decided he wants to fuck you again— and that makes your face hotter than fire itself. You know he’s waiting for an answer, so you decide to speak freely, the consequences of your words be damned.

“I want you to fuck me in bed,” you say slowly, whispering more than you’re talking. “With your gloves off. That’s not against the rules, right? You took them off the other day in front of me and Cara—”

“It’s not, mesh’la,” Mando affirms, the strange word dripping off his tongue like honey. You wonder what it means, though you don’t have the nerve to ask. “Go down to the hull and make us a space on the floor. I’ll be there in a minute.”

---

The darkness is disorienting, the blackness so black that you couldn’t see your own hand if it was two inches in front of your face. That’s by design, though, because none of this would be okay if you couldsee.

You had exactly two conditions earlier in the cockpit: in bed, no gloves. But it would seem that Mando had so much more in mind when he told you to come down here, and it’s anything beyond what you could have ever dreamed of. You’ve imagined this situation before, thought about what it might be like to know Mando this way, but to have it happen…

The beskar clangs softly as Mando lays it down, the sound letting you know that he’s somewhere off to your right. You’re sure he’s having no trouble seeing in the dark, given how many settings there on in his visor, but you can’t see a fucking thing. Not him, not his discarded armor, not even your own hand in front of you face. Under any other circumstance, you’d be afraid of the dark, but not now. No, now you simply tremble with anxiety, naked skin prickling with chills as you wait for Mando to undress himself. He stripped you first, of course, when the lights were still on, took his time and peeled your clothes off of you almost with reverence. You wish you could do the same to him, but something about that would be wrong you think— it would be crossing a line.

“Are you sure this is allowed?” you ask, almost whispering. The baby’s upstairs in the cockpit, dead to the world and tucked safely in his pram, and yet you still feel like you’re being too loud. Hyperspace is always so quiet, and the silence sets your teeth on edge even after all this time.

“Can you see me?” Mando asks, voice still filtered and staticky.

“I can’t even see myself,” you counter.

“Then it’s allowed.”

No more words pass between either of you for a moment, the space filled with the sound of clothes rustling. You hear a belt buckle and a zipper, can trace out the sounds of pants being kicked to the floor… Three short, bare footsteps, and then you aren’t alone on your little pallet anymore, Mando presence warm and undeniable close on the other side of the cushions.

“Cyar’ika.”

You aren’t sure if it’s the circumstances, or the fact that Mando speaks to you with a raw, unfiltered voice, but this one word picks at something inside you, gets you hot and needy where it counts. How many people has he laid down with like this? How many of them have heard Mando’s voice, his real voice, if any at all? You don’t know the answer to either of those questions, but you also don’t care, not right now.

“Can I touch you?” you ask softly, mustering all your strength and bravery. Mando doesn’t response, doesn’t so much as let out a breath, and so you jump when you feel his hand on your own. He guides you across the blankets, pulling you in closer, laying your palm on the warm, solid expanse of his forearm. Your fingers curl around it, squeezing the muscle, admiring the way Mando simply feels under your hands. He’s had so much of you— practically your whole body— and yet all you’ve been blessed with until tonight is the warmth of his hands, the feeling of his cock in you and on you. To feel his bare skin like this is strange, the fact that Mando is really and truly human coming into sharp focus as your fingers run along a scar, the hair on his arms…

“You’re handsome,” you declare, awed by feeling of Mando under your palms. He shudders when you lay your hand on the side of his face, the movement almost flinch-like in nature, but you’re quick to soothe his nerves with a gentle stroke of your thumb. You can’t imagine what this is like for Mando, can’t fathom what it must feel like to be touched when you hide yourself from everyone all the time. It’s in this moment that you realize he knows nothing of the sun or the wind, and your heart breaks for him.

“You wouldn’t say that if the lights were on.”

Mando sounds vaguely nervous now himself, voice more subdued than it was before. You have so much you want to say, want to shout out that you love everything about him and his body and your life together, but you that would be too much. No, doing something like that could ruin all of this in one fell swoop, and so you swallow those words down, replacing them with something else instead.

“If I ever get to see you one day,” you tell him, “I know for a fact that I’ll say the same thing. I promise.”

There’s a strange weight in that, a certain trust and understanding that you can’t put your finger on, but the pressure isn’t uncomfortable as it settles in the atmosphere, pressing you and Mando even closer. He pulls you under him without a word, holding you, twining your arms and legs and hands together until you aren’t sure where yours end and his begin. His kisses are tentative and unpracticed, but you feel the passion regardless, sighing as the press of Mando’s mouth tells you all the things he can’t say out loud. You don’t know how you ever got things twisted, aren’t sure how you could have possibly thought that Mando didn’t care for you because these aren’t the kisses and caresses of a man who sees you as little more than something to fuck. No, this is something else entirely, something better than you ever could have hoped for, and the rush of endorphins as your head swimming.

Your entire body arches when Mando begins to crawl down your body, his lips trailing over your neck and chest, your stomach and even the curve of your hip. “Mesh’la,” he says to you, murmuring into the spaces between your fingers. Mando’s paying particular attention to your hands now, kissing them delicately. “Listen to me, please.”

“Yes?” you say, half moaning as he drops your hand in favor of propping your legs open. The anticipation has you dizzy, brain fogged over completely as you wait, as you feel him line up your bodies—

Mando doesn’t say anything, not for several seconds, too distracted by the feel of you to speak. You’re fine with that, already too far gone to care after what, two, three thrusts? You couldn’t keep count if you wanted to, the haze in your brain too thick for any tedious mental activity to penetrate. Still, you try to listen like he asked, try to understand the words coming out of his mouth.

Mando’s voice is strained and low, but you catch everything regardless. “My name is Din,” he says to you, groaning shortly when you wind your fingers in his hair. “You can’t— You can’t say that in front of anyone, only to me and the baby. But that’s my name. I want you to call me by my name.”

“Anything you want, Din,” you say at once, and Maker does that have him swearing. Din does something with your body— opens your legs or lifts up your hips, something— and you see stars, whining brokenly. Not for the first time do you wish you could see his face or the plane of his back as he fucks you, but you have to admit that you’re glad that Din’s blind in all of this as well. You don’t even want to think about what you look like, how ruined and desperate your face must be. The pace is relentless now, and you find yourself struggling to keep up, keening and moaning and taking it until Din’s talking to you again.

“I’m sorry,” he breathes, and you don’t understand.

“What?” you ask, breathless yourself. He hasn’t let up once since the two of you began, and even though you haven’t cum once, you already feel like you’re on another plane of existence.

“I’m sorry I never—” Din groans, adjusting his grip on your body. “I’m sorry I’m so bad at all of this shit. Talking and letting go and all the other stuff normal people do. I shouldn’t— You deserve more than that. I’m so sorry, cyar’ika.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” you tell him, holding fast to his shoulders, his arms, anything you can get your hands on. You don’t know how to tell him that all this is more than enough to make up for everything, that there’s hardly anything to make up for as it is.

“Yes, there is,” Din presses, and you know he wants to say more, but you cut him off before he can continue.

“Make me cum and kiss me while you do it,” you say to him, “and we’ll call it even.”

And Din seems more than happy to accept the deal, his fingers on your clit not three seconds after you’re done talking. You cum almost too fast, blindsided by your orgasm despite the fact that it’s been building for what feels like years now. Din’s not far behind you, asking whether or not he can cum inside you, and you tell him no, not this time. You have a long-term implant, but you it hasn’t been looked at by a medic in well over a year. It’s probably fine, but you’d rather be safe than sorry. And anyway, it’s not like the feeling of Din’s cum painting your stomach and chest isn’t incredibly hot, so you’re by no means complaining as you lie there and listen to him jerk himself off, your name falling from his lips.

“Stay here,” Din tells you, speaking gently even as he works to catch his breath. You miss him the second he’s gone, your ears straining to track his movements in the dark. Careful footsteps, the shuffling of blankets, the click of the light in the ‘fresher— you can’t see Din, not from this angle, but the idea that he even trusts you enough to cut a light on at a time like this has your heart pounding. He’s completely exposed in there, helmet still sitting next to his armor across the hull, and you almost close your eyes on reflex as you listen to the water run. But it’s all for nothing because Din tells you to do it anyway, turning off the faucet and stepping out into the hull again after you say that you’ve done as he asked.

The washcloth Din cleans you with is warm, a fact that’s not lost on you as you lie there in the semi-darkness. He’s quiet, but the delicate, precise nature of Din’s work speaks volumes. You want to ask him if this is something he does for everyone he sleeps with, but you keep your mouth shut, thinking a question like that might ruin the mood. He goes away from you again once your stomach’s clean, cutting off the light in the ‘fresher and discarding the rag all while you keep your eyes closed. It’s not until Din’s back in bed beside you that you dare to so much as crack them open, afraid you might glimpse too much if you move any sooner.

“Thank you,” you murmur. You’re not sure if you’re thanking Din for the sex or for cleaning you up, but it’s probably a bit of both.

“You’re welcome, cyar’ika,” he replies, pulling you in close. “Are you tired?”

You don’t speak for a moment, thinking of how hard it is to keep your eyes open now, how your thighs ache and your body yearns for rest. “Yeah.”

“Sleep, then,” Din tells you, and you almost feel pathetic for clinging to him like a child. Almost.

“Will you be here when I wake up?”

You aren’t sure why you’re asking— it’s not like Din has anywhere else to go— but his answer is important to you regardless.

“Right here, mesh’la,” he tells you, sounding tired now himself. “I promise.”

#my writing #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #din djarin fanfiction

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apocalypseornaw · 3 years

Text

One Condition

For the square "Friends to lovers" on @girl-next-door-writes make me feel bingo

Side note Bobby is alive in this cause screw canon

No real warnings besides cursing and lots of fluff

First meeting

You had just thrown your bags into the trunk of your nova when your cell phone started ringing. You cursed under your breath and ran to the front seat to grab it. You barely glanced at the screen but recognized the number instantly.

You answered with a smile on your face “Bobby! How are you doing?” You could hear other voices in the background but that wasn’t exactly an uncommon occurrence.

Bobby was pretty much one of the few people that tried to coordinate the efforts of hunters and offered a place to crash and or get patched up to those he was close with. “As good as I ever am sweetheart. Look I got some boys here that are hunting a witch and since you’re a bit more attuned with that type of thing from everything your uncle taught you I was wondering if you could lend them a hand” You didn’t even think about it before you said “Of course. I’m about three hours from you but I’ll head that way” if Bobby was asking you to work with them they could be trusted. You heard him call someone in the background an idjit before he told you to drive safe and hung up.

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“You think this chick can handle a witch better than me and Sam Bobby?” Dean was a bit skeptical about Bobby calling in another hunter to back them up. “Son, her uncle raised her and he was a witch. She didn’t pick up a lot from him but she knows enough to spot the signs and had a few defensive maneuvers up her sleeve. Give her a chance, I’ve known her for years and she’s just as good a hunter as either of you”

The sound of an engine pulling up drew their attention. Sam stepped around the corner from the kitchen with a bottle of water in his hand and motioned to the door “That her?” Bobby tilted his head slightly and listened for a moment before nodding “Yeah that’s her nova”

Dean and Sam both followed Bobby out to the porch. You parked just behind the impala and killed your engine before climbing out your car. Bobby walked down the steps to greet you and a smile slipped onto your face the moment you saw him “Bobby!” you hugged him and he did his usual checklist to ensure your last hunt was successful and you hadn’t had no recent injuries before finally turning his attention back to the two standing on the porch watching the two of you greet each other “These the boys I told you about” he started so Sam of course stepped up first and extended his hand “I’m Sam. That’s my older brother Dean” you shook Sam’s hand with a smile “Name’s Y/N”

Dean nodded at you but you could see how skeptic he was about working with you. “Hold on..Sam and Dean? John’s sons” Dean nodded again so you turned back to Bobby not meaning to talk about the Winchesters in front of them but needing to ask “I thought they didn’t really work with other hunters? Did they change their policy since their dad died?”

Dean cleared his throat so you looked back at him. He gave you a smile that was much more sarcasm than friendly “Sweetheart we can answer questions for ourselves.” You laughed sharply before replying “My name isn’t sweetheart darling and I was just making sure the two of you had worked up to the point of playing well with others. I see your brother has manners but from where I’m standing I ain’t too impressed with yours”

You brushed past Dean into the house so he begrudgingly followed you. Bobby whispered to Sam “Either they’ll work well together or the witch will be distracted enough by their fighting you should be able to kill her easy enough”

Friends?

“Can I ask you one thing sweetheart” Dean spoke from the other side of the motel room and you cut your eyes up with a raised eyebrow “What?” He motioned to where you were currently painting your nails “I mean what I’m about to say in the least offensive way possible”

“Not a good way to start a conversation with a woman who is armed and can kick your ass but do please continue” you replied and he laughed before holding his hands up defensively “It’s just..you’re a hunter and one of the best I know. You’re pretty badass in my opinion but you always have your nails painted and yeah it’s normally a dark color but I was just curious as to why”

You let a sly grin slip onto your face as you closed the nail polish and placed it back into your bag “It comes in handy” “How so?” he asked so you shot him a wink “You’ll see”

------

Later that night you and the boys headed back to the motel to catch a little sleep before parting ways the next morning. Dean stopped you just outside your room door “C’mon Y/N tell me how you knew who the shifter was” you stopped and leaned back against the doorframe glancing over where Sam was watching you and his older brother with an amused smile.

You held up one hand and wiggled your fingers. Dean looked confused for a moment then realization flashed across his face “Does your nail polish have silver in it?” You grinned “Silver infused basecoat and that my dear is why my nails are always painted”

He nodded approvingly “Smart and yet again proves my point of why you’re one of the best hunters I know” you touched the tender spot on your side when the shifter had thrown you into a wall and probably would’ve went for a killing blow had Dean not been there “You’re not so bad yourself Dean, in fact I would say you’ve finally learned how to play well with others” Sam laughed but Dean simply grinned “Only took a few years of knowing you huh?”

“What can I say? I’m a miracle worker even with seemingly lost causes” he shook his head with a light laugh “Goodnight Y/N” “Night Dean,Night Sam” after Sam wished you a goodnight you walked into your room and shut the door behind yourself. Who would’ve thought all those years before when you first met the brothers that they’d end up being your two closest friends?

Maybe more?

Dean stopped in his tracks when he walked into Bobby’s living room and saw you curled up on the couch fast asleep. You had grabbed his discarded jacket from the arm of the couch and was using it as a pillow. A small smile slipped onto his face at seeing you were finally resting so he grabbed one of the blankets Bobby kept in the hall closet to spread across your legs. You moved slightly in your sleep and for just a moment he worried he may have woken you up but you were simply burrowing further into his jacket and the blanket.

He walked quietly back into the kitchen and sat down at the table across from Bobby “She doing ok?” Bobby asked, nodding back towards you. “Yeah she’s finally asleep. I’ve been worried about her these last few days” in truth you had done something incredibly stupid while also simultaneously brave.

You, him and Sam had gone up against a coven and you’d taken the brunt of a spell protecting him without even knowing what the spell could do. He had felt an ice cold jolt of fear when you’d gone down. He was afraid when he made it to your side that you’d be gone. Thankfully you were stronger than given credit by the witches. They’d gotten you into the impala and Dean hadn’t come under ninety getting you to Bobby’s.

Bobby being well Bobby had an antidote waiting but apparently it’d take a few days to get your system back right after the shock of the spell. The last week and a half you’d gone through shivering spells hard enough you’d cracked a tooth only to spike a fever the next moment.

You hadn’t kept much to eat down and sleep had been out of the question completely. You’d been in and out of it and Dean hadn’t left your side for a second even refusing to go into town if anything was needed. That’s where Sam currently was.

“You care about her don’t you?” Bobby asked, forcing Dean out of his thoughts about you. “What? Of course I do, she’s my friend” Bobby sighed in frustration with the younger man who was like a son to him and just as stubborn “Dean that’s not what I meant” that made Dean really stop to consider what Bobby was saying. Did he have romantic feelings for you?

When was the last time he’d sought another woman? It just seemed natural to spend time with you after a hunt or just crash. When he needed to talk to someone he’d call you if the two of you weren’t around each other. He always looked forward to seeing a smile on your face and when it was because of him? There wasn’t a better feeling. You’d become such an important part of his life over the years he hadn’t even realized it.

When you’d gotten hurt this time and he faced the very real possibility of losing you it had just confirmed what he’d already known deep down. You were who he wanted in his life. You were the most amazing woman he’d ever met, you kept him on his toes and made him strive to be a better man every day although you never missed an opportunity to tell him just how good of a man he already was. “Bobby..” he started but was silenced with a look “Don’t tell me son. Save it for when Y/N wakes up then you two need to have a talk”

------

When you slowly started to wake up you felt like you’d been hit by a bus. Christ what had happened? Everything was a little foggy. You caught a whiff of gunpowder,leather and cinnamon and memories started flooding back. Dean. That damn witch had thrown a spell at him!

You sat up quickly only for a wave of dizziness to push you back down. You then realized your pillow had in fact been Dean’s jacket. Where was he? Was he ok? “Dean?” you called weakly calming slighty when you recognized your surroundings as Bobby’s living room.

You heard footsteps and looked up to see him walking into the room with a worried smile “You’re awake” you nodded slowly being careful to not cause another wave to push you back under and started to sit up much more carefully this time. He stepped forward to help you then sat down next to you so you leaned your head over on his shoulder with your legs curled up under you while you turned to face him on the couch.

“Are you ok?” you asked, voice slightly muffled due to the fact that your face was buried in his shirt. He laughed slightly which caused you to pull back enough to look at him “Why are you laughing at me?” he raised one hand to gently cup the side of your face “You’re asking if I’m ok while you’ve spent the last week and a half going through everything this side of torture because you decided it was best to shove me out the way and take that blast for yourself” you grimaced slightly “Well at least we’re both alive”

You realized he was still holding your face and probably would’ve been embarrassed had you not been fighting the urge to curl up against his chest and go back to sleep. “Why?” he asked and you were confused for a moment before you realized he was asking why you’d saved him. “Because whether you believe it or not Dean you’re worth saving time and again” he smiled slightly and opened his mouth to talk but you raised a hand before he could “Wait let me get this out while you feel bad and may not make fun of me later if it backfires I can blame it on the after effects”

You might as well confess your feelings now considering you’d nearly died for him. When he nodded you took a deep breath then said “Dean I’ve had feelings for you for a while. I couldn’t very well just let you die. It was worth the risk” “Can I speak now?” he asked with a slight smile so you nodded. He leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to your forehead before saying “I feel the same way about you. When you’re better I want to take you on an actual date, ya know actually romance you but for now thank you and please don’t ever scare me like that again”

You smiled slightly then said “On one condition” “Which is?” he asked so you motioned to his chest “Can I go back to sleep on you?” He laughed and pulled you into his lap “For as long as you want”

@girl-next-door-writes

#spn fanfiction #supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester x female!reader #girl next doors make me feel bingo

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ellestra · 3 years

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Superpowered life

I really liked how this episode took time to humanise both John Walker and the Flag Smashers.

I like how it gives us those moments from Flag Smasher’s point of view. Showing the small moments like Karli taking time to make sure the guy Walker shot is OK. And then her clear heartbreak for the friend who sacrifices himself. This is so different from the opening of last episode when Sam was killing LAF men left and right and Batroc didn’t care his people died. They were treated as disposable but Flag Smashers aren’t. They think themselves the heroes who fight for those who lived through Blip.

Last episode we saw the hurdles the returned have to go through but we also got a taste of the way those extra five years changed those left (from Hayward to Sarah). This episode we see the Walker and his group created as enforcers of the Global Repatriation Council so the returned at least have a body that takes care of their needs (even, as we see with Sam imperfectly) but it just makes those who grew up in the world without them more resentful (this movement seems to attract a lot of young people for whom the world without half of humanity became norm).

They had to give up a lot and their needs got swept under the rug when billions of people came back wanting the world to be just like when they left. It’s a misplaced anger (it’s not like those people had a choice and they are refugees often with even less than FS) but it is understandable and it’s no wonder there are so many people willing to hide them. And it’s hard for them not to feel vindicated when GRC sends men to “pacify” them. Making the Flag Smashers so diverse and throwing a guy dressed in American paraphernalia to fight them somewhere in Europe just drives home how not completely wrong they are.

But it looks like neither Walker nor our heroes are really the Flag Smashers big problem. It looks like they stole the serum that makes them super soldiers form Power Broker and that’s what was in those creates not vaccines. I wonder if they want to make so many more super strong followers or d the powers wear off with time and they need to keep taking it.

In many ways John Walker is a lot like Steve. He wants to help people and make the world better. He believes in the ideas of America and wants people to believe in them too. He wants to be the hope Steve was. He jumped on top of grenades. And he got really good at throwing that Shield fast (the way he saved Hoskins was pretty cool). He’s the best man for the job, isn’t he?

He’s even appropriately bashful about being lauded for his accomplishments. Feels weird about being trotted for shows in public. And have doubts he can live up to being Captain America. He’s also a little cocky and likes to use his influence (the government line, releasing Bucky) but that’s not that different than Tony. Or Thor. And he even has the same Big Three idea as Sam. He’s just like our heroes.

He’s just like those guys before they learnt their lessons about humility and blind trust. So isn’t us, or Sam and Bucky, not wanting to have to deal with that journey again just unwillingness to give him a chance?

But then the uncomfortable parts hit you. From the fact that he took the job over a black man. Sam isn’t completely wrong about becoming his own symbol and not just using Steve’s clout. The fact that John took it like it was something he deserved is already telling something about his confidence and show points us to the “white men confidence” on that by making it uncomfortable. From the way they have people of colour telling him he can do it. To the black best friend/sidekick. That last one really hit hard.

This is, however, not fully on John really. It’s on people who created him. In universe, the men who lauded Sam for giving up the Shield only to give it to a white dude. In real world on all those who keep creating protagonists like these.

This hit differently when the character of Captain America was created almost century ago and we were already so accustomed with him it’s easy to ignore the dissenting voices for the comfort of it’s always been like this. But there is still to many media that repeat this pattern over and over again with new characters.

The patterns so ingrained it has to be pointed out again and again how skewed that is and the show rammed it home with Walker calling both Sam and Bucky Steve’s wingmen. He was implying he wants them to be his now and they both went clearly “sorry, man, we are the protagonists now”. And that made him resort to threats and that is on him.

The thing about Steve was that there was plenty of brave, smart, decorated men with him in that camp. He wasn’t chosen because he was better then them at fighting but because of his heart and willingness to stand up for what is right no matter what. And when he jumped on the grandee he didn’t know he would survive. Walker has special helmet. And he clearly enjoys the privileges and power that comes with the position.

It’s all fun when he is the main character in this story - saving the Avengers and getting them out of trouble - but when they refuse to be appropriately grateful and fall in line his generosity turns to anger. And that really drives home that white man entitlement, doesn’t it? (I hope it does.)

And the show doesn’t stop there. There is still the way US government treated Isaiah Bradley. Bucky got pardoned for everything with just Steve’s backing but the man who protected Americans from him got nothing but abuse. All Bradley can have is being left alone while Bucky is recognised as an Avenger. At least Steve was always a hero but Bucky used to be a villain and he still is better off. It reminds us how long this has been and issue. (The kid is Eli, though, isn’t he?)

And then there is the way police treat Sam. The tone they use when they ask Bucky if “this man is bothering you”. And then complete change when Bucky says “do you know who that is” and the celebrity status hits and suddenly Sam isn’t jut a black guy but Mr. Wilson, the Avenger. But it really hits when it turns out Bucky is to be arrested because he missed his therapy session for a trip to Europe. The policeman is still polite and all “Mr. Barnes” and “sorry about this”.

We see Bucky’s super soldier serum powers in work (with jumping and running) and Walker I think just has the suit and good coordination but it’s clear their greatest superpower is being white men.

I liked this episode take on racism better as it was better at showing it as a background didn’t involve Sam ignoring his sister’s agency and her knowledge. And because it showed the status his celebrity grants him better, especially when contrasted with the life of Isaiah Bradley who has powers but not fame so none of the perks and all the burdens of being experimented on.

And I like the way it shows it also gets to those who are discriminated. After all the kid who calls Sam Black Falcon is black too. It’s just Falcon. No qualifiers necessary. But then Sam calls Bucky White Panther. The colour coding gets to all of us. (In Polish pantera = lampart and both mean leopard so we actually say żółta pantera = yellow panther along with black but I’m glad no one uses that for people.)

I also liked that Sam thought Bradley meant white people when he said Bucky’s people. I mean he wasn’t wrong since Hydra was pretty much white supremacist but still funny.

The only thing that bothered me was Bucky’s therapist forcing Sam into the session. The excuse was flimsy, the was no real indication she knows they fight all the time and the whole thing seemed to be only for that one line when Bucky admits he’s afraid Steve was wrong about him. But the execution of this was clunky and the moment with Bradley worked much better.

#the falcon and the winter soldier #sam wilson #bucky barnes #isaiah bradley #john walker #lemar hoskins #karli morgenthau #flag smashers #falcon #winter soldier #james bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes #doctor raynor #tfatws #christina raynor

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commaless-a · 5 years

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i’m rewatching eps 48 and 49 and... veth collecting wax stamps and papers and buttons and fabrics............

#*. COO! COO! / ISOLDE #( god just !!!!!! collecting those things !!!! and her whole thing of #wanting to be part of something !!!! and she wanted to be smart and pretty and coordinated and brave !!!!!#and !!!!!! )

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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “Worthy”

Happy Saturday, everyone! I mean that seriously for once. Regardless of what I have to say about this episode — and as always, there's a lot — I want it on the record that "Worthy" was leagues ahead of... pretty much everything else we've gotten lately. For all of RWBY's continuing problems, there's a level of effort here that I really do appreciate. Especially for the penultimate episode.

Our title, "Worthy," immediately conjures thoughts of Watts' speech about Cinder needing to be "worthy" of the power she craves and, what do you know, our villains work hard to prove their worth this episode. Hallelujah! We start with the heroes though and do you recall how last week I said that our opening may as well be a summary of the whole series since Volume 6, what with the grimm conveniently avoiding the team's airship and them just looking vaguely sad that the people around them are perishing? Well, same here. Or rather, same problems, different flavor. Oscar opens with the question, "What do we do now?" and no sooner has he asked that then the magic portal appears to give him the answer. Useful!

More seriously though, I've been intensely side-eyeing the group's wish since last week. Not (just) because of the awful decision to turn Penny human, but simply because the story emphasized how "smart" the group was, heavily insisting that their portal plan is a masterpiece of well thought out strategy... and I really don't think it is. There was a lot of confusion last episode about how exactly the group was using the vault, with my own interpretation — that they were funneling everyone to Vacuo's vault — proven wrong today, but one of the problems brought up was how Ambrosius could possibly create portals across a kingdom precisely where the group needs them. Yang asks him,

"Can you make a bunch of doorways in Atlas that open at a single spot in Vacuo?"

To which, simply, Ambrosius says no. He'd need, among other things, "coordinates and specs for each door" and "an explanation for bending space and time."

This is why, prior to the very end of "Creation" where we saw portals appearing everywhere, I thought using both vaults was the solution. Ambrosius knows (or can easily receive) the coordinates for his own vault and the one in Vacuo. As weird, alternate dimensions, they're potentially capable of bending space and time as necessary. If you put the portal in Atlas' vault and open it up in Vacuo's vault, you're golden. The only challenge now is getting everyone in the kingdom to the Winter Maiden's vault.

But then... that didn't happen. Apparently the vault just becomes the in-between place for everyone to pass through and the portals appear all over the kingdom, even though the group didn't provide those "coordinates and specs." What they did was show Ambrosius a schematic of the cities. That's not the same thing as telling him precisely where each portal needs to appear — which is what he asked for. I bring this long-winded explanation up not merely to emphasize "RWBY's wish isn't as smart as the story wants you to believe it is" but because this wreaks havoc on who is getting a portal. How did the group tell Ambrosius precisely where to put a portal for Jaune's group? Why didn't they try to make one appear for Qrow and Robyn? Or Winter? Or Pietro and Maria? They had to have been somewhat specific in terms of saying where these portals appeared because if they just wished for everyone to get one, Jacques and Ironwood would have gotten one too. Basically, the portals do appear for characters whose “Worthy” plot now takes place in this in-between space and the portals do not appear for those whose plot is still taking place in Atlas. That's a mess. To say nothing of how it implies that our heroes just don't give a damn about all their other allies — including an uncle (Ruby, Yang) and a father (Penny) — and that, ultimately, Ambrosius did the very thing he initially said wouldn't work. He put a bunch of doors around Atlas that opened on a single point in Vacuo without making the group meet these requirements first. The rest is just a bunch of mumbo jumbo to distract the viewer from the fact that none of this actually makes sense.

But that's a tangent. To get back on track, Jaune's group decides to "spread the word on foot" since they can't contact anyone via their scrolls anymore. What this translates to is Jaune going to one spot and Nora doing the rest of the work because she can suddenly ride her hammer like a broomstick.

You know what? I'm fine with it. Have we ever seen Nora do this before? Not that I recall. Is it a cute image that feeds my witch-loving brain? Yeeeeeaah.

They're not sure if the portals are safe though and everyone turns to Jaune as the joke test subject. Except everyone else is right behind him when the go through? Even the jokes in this show aren't consistent.

What I do like though is that we get another interesting team split: Oscar, Emerald, and Ren heading to Vacuo while Jaune and Nora help with the evacuation — even though Nora and Jaune aren't actually doing anything together. Still, I can see that (for this volume at least) RT has taken the duo criticisms to heart. It would have been incredibly easy to attach Nora and Ren at the hip again, despite her desire for space, so I'm glad that they're still striving to mix things up a bit.

Nora says that Shade is "armed to the teeth with huntsmen and huntresses." It is? I mean sure, it has its school, but so did Vale. So did Atlas. In fact, we've spent the last two volumes emphasizing that Atlas is really the only armed kingdom remaining. Remember the plan for them to protect the world after knowledge of Salem's existence threw everything into disarray? Well, the people know about Salem now. And Salem herself is attacking. And they're about to slam an entire kingdom into another one. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Nora ends her observations with the assertation that Vacuo will need as much help as they can get, but that worry feels far, far too late. Where were these concerns when Ruby made her announcement to the world in the first place? The fact that the group never went, "Hey, is it really worth telling people about Salem now when we can no longer provide the protection against the grimm that this announcement will necessitate? Yeah, we need backup, but can they even get here in time? I don't think so. Maybe we should hold off and try to find a way to solve this ourselves. Or, at the very least, just tell them Atlas is facing a massive grimm attack. That won't create quite the same panic as 'Magic immortal lady eager to kill you all' will."

Our heroes only acknowledge these problems when they're already neck deep in them. Forethought is not their strong suit.

For our obligatory humor, the people of Atlas are hiding behind the staircase after the evil portal appeared (weren't there, like, twenty of them in the last episode?) and a brave dude trying to toss a rock through accidentally hits Jaune. He — I kid you not — uses the Atlas huntsmen license gifted to him by Ironwood to gain authority over the group.

Talk about the story being tone deaf.

We segue to a shot of Penny who flies herself through the portal using the Maiden powers, precisely as she would have with her boots. Okay, I try not to pull many "I told you so"s because that's rude, petty, and all around just shit behavior... but boy is it tempting at times. Because RWBY's fandom is so staunchly against criticism that even the most polite pushbacks boil down to an equally rude "Just wait" mentality. Readers of these recaps know we were told to "just wait" for the group to talk to Ozpin. Or "just wait" for them to be punished for their crimes. "Just wait" for the complex forgiveness arc the group is sure to undergo with Emerald. "Just wait" is the go-to response when someone doesn't entirely disagree with our problems with the show, but still believes we're not giving RT enough credit. Most recently, I was told to "just wait" in regards to Penny. We don't actually know that her body is human. We don't actually know that her Maiden powers will still be the same. We don't actually know that this won't be the start of a long journey wherein she has to figure out how to use this new body, both on the battlefield and off. And the issue of RWBY failing to answer any of these questions isn’t valid criticism either because the only point being made here is that we’re not patient and supportive enough. Just wait. RT will prove you wrong.

Well... Penny's body still appears entirely human, her Maiden powers still work just fine, and now they've given her the ability to create all her old weapons out of aura, meaning she fights exactly the same as she did before.

The only thing making Penny human did was force her to fight barefoot. Oh, and erase her journey of accepting herself as an android.

Again, I don't want to be that asshole, especially when so many people want the show to be better — just like I do. By all means, hold out hope with me. But before slamming into someone's inbox to explain why they're being too negative because things are bound to be taken seriously down the road, keep in mind the staggering number of times we've decided to "just wait" and nothing ever came of it. Keep in mind that RWBY should be tackling these questions and expectations from the start. Now here we are, disappointed again. We're not pessimistic because we want to be, we're pessimistic because there's a clearly established pattern at play.

So Penny's change is, at this point, meaningless for her development and, at this point, we've lost the chance to introduce challenges later. If RT does, we're forever going to wonder why Penny didn't express any doubts upon waking up in a human body, or why she didn't face any problems while fighting another Maiden. Like Emerald getting the group to laugh and immediately being trusted with important duties, it's too late to suddenly backtrack and insist that there's still work to be done here. RT missed their chance.

That fight is a few minutes off though. For now, Oscar and the others arrive in Vacuo to discover that there's a sandstorm going on. Who could have ever expected that?

Seriously though, this is just one of the many reasons why our heroes come across as stupid. They deliberately chose to send everyone "outside the city limits of Vacuo," in a desert kingdom, after Ruby got the entire world panicked about Salem, and they somehow didn't think that a) weather might be a problem or b) grimm were going to show up? These characters have been though enough shit that they should be planning for the worst and hoping for the best, not planning for the best and assuming the worst just won't happen to them. Why wouldn't they have everyone appear inside the kingdom if they (against Ambrosius' rules) got to choose where everyone ended up? Why in the world would they rely on communications being up when CCT has been spotty since Volume 3 and Watts just took out Atlas’ entire system? Our characters don't think anything through — despite Ambrosius’ claims otherwise — and it makes for some pretty awful characterization. Because RWBY isn't trying to be a story about teenagers seriously messing up their attempts at heroics, it's trying to be a story about True Heroes... and we're just supposed to ignore the endless number of times the group doesn't think the most basic problems through. So now, Oscar and the other stand there doing nothing for the rest of the episode because a sandstorm in the desert threw a wrench in their plans.

The only reason I didn’t bring this up last week is because I had no idea they had chosen to dump everyone outside of the city. I thought they were going to the vault, or at the very least appearing inside the border. Why wouldn’t you send everyone to the city??

It’s so stupid, but then Cinder arrives and blows a whole bunch of people off the edge of the pathways. HELL YEAH.

I mean, obviously not hell yeah for the poor civilians who just took a tumble, but yay the villain causing some damage. It's small potatoes compared to what we were promised at the end of last volume — Salem decimating a whole kingdom in The Fall of Atlas — but at least it's more than we were getting last week.

So Cinder is having her evil fun when the entire group leaves Penny to go after her. Again, stupid. You're going to leave the girl who (at this point) may not have been in a position to fight with her new body and stands vulnerable with a Relic? Not a single member stays behind to guard her? It would have served Team RWBY right if Neo had shown up and just clocked Penny, taking a second Relic for herself.

Cinder taunts the group with information she shouldn't have: “Your little friend Oscar was right, but the easy part ends here" then mimics them with the question "How’d you know about that?” at their shocked looks. This starts a flashback where we return to Cinder, Neo, and Watts in the alleyway.

Again Cinder is given more development than a supposed hero like Emerald, apologizing to Neo for not upholding her end of their bargain. In fact, Cinder displays more growth here than our entire title characters combined, it's just that her growth turns her into a better villain. She apologizes to Neo, compliments Watts as a means of acknowledging the work he's accomplished — “You tore this kingdom apart with nothing but your intellect. How about we finish what you started?” — and tells the heroes that she did learn something from them: “Sometimes, if you want to win, you simply can’t do it alone.”

I quite like all of this. Again, not that Cinder should be our biggest threat with Salem on the scene, but if you remove that context this is a great moment for her. She's actually learned something, but instead of following in the rather abrupt and, in Hazel's case, nonsensical footsteps of her peers, what she's learned has made her more dangerous, not a sudden, convenient ally. Since Volume 7 RWBY has hammered home the idea that only friends can truly be a good team and now, well, Cinder is kind of making friends. She's apologizing to Neo. She seems glad that Watts is happy. RWBY took the concept of working together and applied it to our villains with devastating effect. Team RWBY has been skating by on the idea that power comes from friendship, so what happens if your enemies become weird friends too?

To be clear, this doesn't erase the staggering number of other problems with Cinder's character, or the villains as a unit, or the volume as a whole... but it is an interesting step in the right direction. Props for that.

Granted, outside of the fight itself, the villains don't really win because they're smart, the heroes are just — again — staggeringly stupid. Cinder promises to get Ruby for Neo if she can ask Jinn a question... which she does!

This moment could have been avoided if our heroes had just put the Lamp in the vault. Or not had Oscar carrying it around. Or used up the wish after they'd already summoned Jinn. Cinder's victory here rests entirely on her own enemies' ineptitude. At least she has the smarts to exploit it. She asks Jinn what the group's plan is and our three villains are shown the revelation outside after saving Penny and the discussions that took place in the dining room. They learn everything they need to inflict maximum chaos.

And it’s great.

Three other details of note:

Cinder spots Emerald with the heroes during Jinn's vision, but doesn't have much of a reaction beyond her expression tightening.

Jinn looks sad when she reveals the group's plan, reinforcing the idea that she's biased towards our heroes. I'd be more on board with that characterization if a) she weren't created by Light whose own Good Guy persona is dubious at best, and b) she wasn't so cruel towards Ozpin. Again, it's just this strange insistence that everyone adore Ruby Rose.

Neo reveals the Relic by pulling it out of Roman's hat. Uh... is that how hats work? They contain objects twice their height? While resting on someone's head? This wasn't one of Neo's illusions, she literally just pulled it out like a real world magician. That's weird. Showy, but weird.

Anyway, the flashback continues as the villains infiltration the Atlas military headquarters. I really enjoyed the music and cinematography here. It's a strangely uplifting tune — rather Cinderella-esque — which doesn't appear to work until you remember that these moments are through Cinder's perspective. Of course this is a Happy Ending for her — even if it's not for the audience. The quick cut between her summoning some fire and the whole room alight, bodies everywhere, was an excellent touch.

The happiness of this moment is then emphasized by Neo skipping as she beats people and Watts admitting that this is "everything I’ve ever wanted." I'm really digging the contrast between this scene's celebratory nature and the knowledge that the story is celebrating the wrong characters. It creates an enjoyably uncomfortable feeling for us and helps flesh out the villains more. From their perspective, life is good.

There's even a shot of that #1 Dad mug. Sometimes, RWBY gets it right.

Watts in particular is enjoying himself. He snags a discarded apple — no fairy tale symbolism there, I'm sure — and casually rubs the blood off it before taking a bite. This guy has style!

Watts watches Jaune try to send out his message to the kingdom and cuts communication at the worst possible moment. But then, we knew that already.

Elsewhere in the facility, Robyn and Qrow are trying to round up the Ace Ops. They all feel Atlas shake, realizing that the group has used the Relic, and Elm is appropriately horrified. "They'll destroy the kingdom!" Robyn says some self-righteous words about how a kingdom is made up of its people, not the land it exists on, which, while ignoring the importance of land to so many cultures, completely ignores that right now the majority of people are still on Atlas, or below it, including them. "They set the house alight!" someone cries. "Who cares about a stupid house," Robyn says, uncaring that the entire family still resides inside and she's starting to inhale smoke.

As Robyn tries to paint herself as a hero, Watts hacks one of the droids and sets it to self-destruct, telling it to run full-tilt at the group. Their weapons don't stop it and at the last second Marrow throws himself in front to take the blast, shattering his aura. Uh... after everything we've seen in this show, a single, small explosion wipes out his aura? I don't care about that so much here, but I absolutely care about it for an upcoming scene. Keep this in mind.

Also, I'm not going to get into the potential problems of trying to execute Marrow, beating up Marrow, and then blowing up Marrow. Others can tackle that leviathan of a subject.

At least he survived? But only RT knows if Robyn and Qrow bothered to put him on their ship.

Because as Atlas begins to fall Harriet, free of Marrow's semblance, races for an airship going off the edge of the open parking garage. Idk what else to call that space. I'm sure there's something appropriately military-esque, but we're going with parking garage for now lol. This is the one — one — moment where I felt like the Ace Ops were actually written like they weren't friends, what with Harriet's willingness to race off and leave them behind. Again though, it's too late and there are, frankly, other aspects to consider. Like the fact that Marrow just betrayed her. I don't think she's in the right mind for trusting the rest of her team, especially when there are only seconds to save herself.

Vine uses his stretchy arms to grab hold of her ship though and heaves himself on board.

Cutting to the jail, Ironwood wakes up and is greeted with a despondent Jacques. As Ironwood realizes that the group has the Staff, Jacques goes, "That's right, you lose! … we both lose." Before there can be any interesting discussion though, Ironwood's cell... goes out???

I suppose the explanation for this is things falling apart as Atlas descends, but man is that another moment of head-scratching convenience. What's even worse is that Winter apparently just left his weapons beside the cell. "Hey, what should we do with Ironwood's giant gun?" "Idk, leave it for him on the off chance us removing the city's power source wreaks havoc with the electrical bars?" I mean seriously. At least Qrow had to go find his weapon in a locker.

For a second Jacques is thrilled, sure that Ironwood will open his cell too... right?

He does open the cell, by blasting the whole thing to smithereens, Jacques included.

You all know I'm horribly disappointed with how they've written Ironwood, but I can't bring myself to dredge up any fury over this murder. It's Jacques. You know, the abuser and slave owner who has never shown a single shred of decency? Can't say I'm sorry to see him gone, especially since one of the Schnee girls were never going to kill him. The only other thing they could have done was have Jacques die an accidental death.

So villain!Ironwood can have another murder, as a treat.

Meme jokes aside, it's interesting that Ironwood's never-seen-before-last-episode gun produces a green blast and fire. It looks incredibly similar to what Penny created as an android and the fire around her Maiden eyes. Unlike Watts' apple though, I don't think this is a parallel RT intentionally included. Not unless we want to dig deep for more “Metal bodies = evil” symbolism, but there’s already plenty more persuasive examples of that.

Returning to Team RWBY, we finally come to the highlight of the episode: Yang falling off the edge.

Okay, I want to praise RWBY for having the guts to kill off a main character... but we all know they haven't killed off a named character. If next episode — or perhaps even next volume — it's revealed that Yang is really dead, I'll happily eat these words. For now though, this is not the consequence that RWBY critics have asked for. This is, in fact, quite a mess.

Let's count up all the ways this scene has failed spectacularly.

No one believes that Yang is actually dead. Not just because she's a title character, not just because Ambrosius never confirmed that the void was deadly or even dangerous — "Don't fall," however ominous, doesn't actually tell us what happens to someone who falls — but also because we have been here before. Three volumes ago. Remember how it looked like Weiss would die only for Jaune to unlock his semblance and save her? Yeah. The audience is both genre and RWBY savey. This cliffhanger feels cheap because absolutely no one is fooled.

Feel familiar?

Worse, Yang falls because of another round of stupidity. Nothing about this moment is convincing.

First, she notices Neo sneaking up on Ruby. What's her reaction? To flare her semblance, charge her in fury, and be horribly injured. Oh wow, where have we seen this before?

This is the exact same series of events from Volume 3. A loved one of Yang's is about to be harmed, she gets mad, charges without thinking, and takes the brunt of the attack herself, resulting in a far more serious injury than likely would have otherwise occurred. Emotionally understandable, but stupid. More importantly, it's the exact thing Tai tried to warn her about. The fandom praised Yang's arc because she got a moment of calm with Mercury, but since then we’ve ignored that development, reverting Yang to the same, impulsive fighter as before. Volume 6 showed us this problem in a non-combat setting and this moment solidifies it. Yang has learned absolutely nothing since Beacon. She's the same protective, reckless fighter she was back then, getting herself grievously injured because she can't think before she acts. What was the point of sending her on that journey if she was never going to improve?

Neo cuts through Yang's aura in a single hit. A single hit. These characters have long, drawn out fights filled with crazy attacks and you're telling me a single slice of Neo's weapon is enough to shatter Yang's aura? Really, aura has been an absurd plot device for a while, but this volume has been particularly bad. Ren's aura breaks so the group is spotted by Salem's grimm, but then is back just a few minutes later so he can see purple petals around Emerald. Jaune's aura is said to be running just as low, but then is totally fine to boost Penny for the next hour until she reaches the vault. Now, Yang has had just as much time to rest as they do, but she’s instantly taken out?

This is a problem not because the loss of aura itself sends her over, but because the hit was apparently so powerful Yang passes out. She's groggy at least, blearily looking at everyone as she falls, but not reacting to them and, importantly, not trying to save herself.

Yang could have reached for Blake's throw. She has a landing strategy. She could have blasted herself up, or towards any of the three paths she falls past. Instead she just... plummets. In a show where our characters are introduced through their ability to survive being launched off a cliff. Neo's attack needs to be miraculously incapacitating to justify — "justify" — Yang doing nothing to get out of this situation, in an episode where, minutes later, Ren's aura will also go out (again) but he's standing up and ready to fight a horde of grimm. But losing her aura through one hit somehow incapacities Yang?

Also, to ward off the expected claims: she didn't hit her head. Yang's back hit the path and her eyes were closed before she ever made contact. Neo's hit just... knocked her out.

That's absurd.

Worse than her not helping herself, no one else on her team helps either. Except Blake. Ruby, who this volume has learned that she is basically able to teleport and negate the mass of carrying someone else, doesn't fly towards her sister. Weiss, who can summon flying grimm and create platforms for someone to land on, just reaches out a hand. They all had time to do something, Blake's action is proof of that, but neither of them did. Why? Because the show wants this to be a bees moment. I say that not as someone who hates the ship, but as someone who loves it. Or at least, I've always loved its potential, but if you need to prove their devotion by erasing the devotion of others... that's incredibly bad writing. And that's what this is. The choice to have Blake the only one capable of acting sends the message that she loves Yang enough to overcome the shock of her falling. That love powers her to act. But Yang is Weiss’ teammates too! Yang is Ruby's sister.

You’re telling me neither of them had the drive to push past shock and save her?

I find it particularly insulting that Weiss comforts Blake rather than crumbling in grief herself. I find it doubly insulting that Blake cries and screams, but Ruby stoically continues her fight with Neo. In trying to show Blake's love for Yang — and hers in turn — the show has unintentionally pulled back on the love everyone else has, even between siblings. This is a far more harmful repetition of Yang's moment in the outpost: she cares more about the imagined disagreement with Blake than she does the actual fight she had with Ruby. Blake shows more emotion for Yang's assumed death than her sister has. You can't prove love by diminishing it elsewhere. The scene 100% needed all three girls doing everything in their power to save Yang, failing, and then continuing the fight while expressing the appropriate emotion for such a massive loss. Ruby can fly towards Yang and be pinned by Cinder. Weiss can start to summon and have an attack disrupts it. Ruby can scream and cry while she fights Neo. Again: that's her sister.

There's nothing about this scene that works for me and honestly? After Yang returns they better kiss. Or there better be an "I love you." Something canonical. There will never be a better, more obvious time for a confession than after Blake thinks she's lost Yang for good and if we don't get one... the ship has well and truly sunk. We're living in a post-Supernatural finale world. You can no longer take your one, implied to be queer main couple, toss one into this fantasy's version of super hell, give them a second chance together... and then leave things dangling. RWBY has to make them canon when Yang returns if they have any hope of maintaining a large portion of their queer fanbase.

As a final note on this scene, I don't like what it implies about both Blake and our lost civilians. Like Yang, (and like Penny last episode) this attack undermines the growth our characters have undergone. Yang learns not to attack out of emotion with her semblance... and then does just that. Penny learns that she's a person with an android body... and then gets a human body to make her perfect. Blake realizes that she isn't willing to kill people in this war anymore... and then goes after Neo with an intensity that implies she's ready to kill her. It's a detail that might have been meaningful if Blake's struggle had existed in more than a single line in a single scene. As it is, it just feels like they've forgotten — or are ignoring — another character beat they introduced.

As for our civilians, will the show bring them back too? Look, I'm pleased Cinder blew them off the edge. I'm glad there were finally consequences for the kingdom-wide attack, even if none of have to come about from our main antagonist. But that impact was erased the second they threw Yang off the edge too. If they bring only her back, Team RWBY look like assholes who only care about their friends, not all the people they were charged with protecting (a recurring theme in this series). If they do bring the civilians back, we've lost that consequence. RWBY never should have tossed a title character into that void especially when, as said, everyone watching knows it's not a real consequence of this fight.

This was a terribly crafted scene, imo. If the only purpose here is to push the bees to confess, we could have gotten that after the whale. Yang was captured by Salem. That's more than enough danger to justify coming clean about feelings and the volume could have easily been reworked to make Blake aware of that danger, forcing her to stew in it until Yang returned, unharmed.

Instead we get this.

Also, I don't even want to get into the implications of having Yang disappear in a cloud of glittering gold dust like Pyrrha did. That's a world building rabbit hole RWBY really doesn't need.

So Yang is gone but obviously not gone. Blake is the only one impacted by this enough to react emotionally. Penny hears her scream and comes running, showing the viewer that absolutely nothing had changed despite getting an entirely new body.

Cinder weirdly throws her voice — has she done that before? — to distract Penny and the fight continues, with Neo going after Ruby and Blake going after Neo. There's a moment where Blake realizes that Weiss is in trouble too, looking between her two teammates, unsure of who to help.

I'm calling it now: Blake will be the third semblance upgrade, splitting herself into multiple fighters capable of functioning independently, rather than just shadow clones to take hits.

It would make as much sense as anything else.

Cinder at least is fighting smart, attacking the civilians rather than Weiss directly, then blowing her glass up in Weiss' face. She then manages to catch herself in the air, but, you know, couldn't do the same for Yang.

At the very least don't have Weiss using these abilities seconds later, c'mon.

We thankfully leave this nonsense for, well... more nonsense. Vine and Harriet get into a fight about what Clover would have wanted, which means nothing to the viewer because we didn't know Clover long enough to develop that sense for ourselves. I'm sorry, but following an order to peacefully bring Qrow in for questioning is not proof that he would have seen things through in the sense of blowing up Mantle, yet that's what we're supposed to believe based on Harriet's assertions and Vine's take that "perhaps Clover was wrong." I really hate that RWBY has taken to bashing the guy before he had the chance to actually do anything. Everyone is criticizing Clover based on lies or assumptions about what he might have done if, you know, he hadn't been murdered. Qrow blames Clover for defending himself, not his own choice to team up with Tyrian. Robyn asserts that Qrow is a better huntsmen than Clover, even though the one scene they had together was Robyn deciding to attack Clover because she didn't like him doing his job. Now Vine is like, "Yeah, Clover might have tried to blow up a kingdom needlessly, but maybe he was wrong and a bad person, you know?" I don't even like Clover that much, but the story has really gone out of its way to criticize him when he's obviously not around to prove, disprove, or otherwise defend himself. That’s messed up.

The one good part about this scene is Harriet losing it, all her firm beliefs crumbling to reveal just an aching grief for losing Clover. Hark, is this humanity for the other Ace Ops I see? Some development and characterization? Vine reaching out sympathetically to comfort her because they've always been a team, no matter what Ruby might say about it?

Oh wait, no. They're interrupted by Robyn screaming as she slams her ship into theirs.

I think Robyn is, officially, my least favorite character in the series. Which isn't to say there aren't objectively worse characters than her — we saw one get blown up this episode — but no one has this particular combination of horrible acts, self-righteous attitude, and an absolute dearth of other positive qualities to distract from that. Robyn has brought nothing to the last two volumes except frustration and I can only hope she goes off to do her own thing when our finale is done.

Qrow goes feral, turning into a bird and changing at the last second to slam through Harriet's window. He taunts her about getting the fight she wanted and we see Watts hacking her ship while they're distracted.

Watts, I'm really loving the evil schemes, but don't you want to, uh... leave? Atlas is falling and you're one of maybe three people left on it. Best get a move on, chop, chop.

Those other two people are Winter and Ironwood, both of whom have come to the vault looking for Team RWBY. Ironwood lands a hit with his new gun, giving a short speech about how though he was always on the lookout for betrayal, he never expected it from her. He tells Winter to stand aside as his final order, to which she replies, “I’ve never wavered in fighting the enemies of this kingdom," preparing to fight.

I've explained the problems with Ironwood's downfall ad nauseam. I don't think that's needed again here. However, there are two final points I'd like to make.

Winter's characterization took a hit along with Ironwood's. Why didn't he think she'd ever betray him? Because they clearly cared for one another. The fact that Winter so quickly and easily gave up on Ironwood is a disservice to both of them. Even in the throes of being an emotionless killer, we still understand Ironwood's devastation at this betrayal: his shock when Winter attacked, his request that she step aside now, the single tear.

There's nothing like that on her end. No denial that the man she faithfully followed would do this. No insistence that the man who helped her escape her abusive upbringing be reasoned with. Nothing. Winter dismisses Ironwood with the same callousness the narrative has.

Which brings me to my second point: this isn't hopeful. I know the Emerald lovers don't want me making comparisons, but the story has already done that for us. You can't give us an all out villain — someone responsible for countless deaths across the series, attacks on kingdoms, lying to our heroes, willingly working for the enemy — and say that it's good to forgive her instantly, but it's not acceptable to even consider forgiving the man who has also killed, also threatened to attack a kingdom, was honest with our heroes, and always fought against the enemy. You can't give us an entire story about hope and forgiveness — Ruby reaching out to Raven, Weiss wanting to rescue Jacques, Oscar putting all his trust in Hazel — while saying that this character isn't worth compromising with. This character needs to be denounced to the whole world so there's no possibility of forgiveness. This character will commit horrific acts and his allies will immediately jump ship, but others? Their horrific acts are forgiven the moment you give them a way out. I'm supposed to believe that Yang, who knew Emerald only as the woman who attacked her school and has helped make their lives a living hell since then, will laugh with her within an hour, but Qrow, after years of being an ally and friend to Ironwood, is suddenly ready to murder him over an arrest he had no context for? That Ruby will try to make peace with every enemy she comes across, but not the guy who was the ally she betrayed? That Winter would extend more compassion to her abusive father than the man who helped her escape that? Ironwood's downfall isn't just horribly written, it messes with RWBY's core themes. Everyone deserves a second chance, is worth crying over, is worth reaching out to no matter how many horrible things they've done... except this guy here.

And when that guy is the PTSD riddled military vet who crumpled in large part because the heroes continually lied to, betrayed, and took extreme action rather than working to find a compromise... that's a really bad take. That shows a lot of bias on the part of RT. They're trying to write a story about the evils of the institution, but think they can reduce that to the evils of a single man driven to the brink. That doesn't send a teachable message to the audience and it certainly doesn't send a hopeful one. All it does is reiterate that if you rip away someone's support network when they're already falling they will, shockingly, fall harder.

Which brings us back to characters like Emerald. Because no, no one has to help Ironwood. When someone is hurting you and committing the crimes he has this volume, no one is required to extend a hand at their own, personal peril. But when the narrative is so heavily pushing forgiveness for other mass-murderers? When child torturers are extended a hand during the torture? That reframes everyone abandoning Ironwood into something unpalatable. Having Ironwood’s allies, friends, and really, family, so quickly toss him aside while other, equally bad people are welcomed in says that everyone struggling like him isn’t worth the effort. From a genre perspective, this isn’t a tragedy because the characters don’t care. No one is striving to bring Ironwood back from the brink. No one is crying over the man they lost. Hazel gets a moment of silence as Emerald kneels, stricken in the aftermath of his death, but one of the heroes since Volume 2 gets nothing but hateful looks from his second.

But we all knew we'd end up here. My current theory? The portal should still be open at the vault. Winter will fight Ironwood, escape through it, and it will close right before he escapes too. He'll fall with Atlas and everyone will act as if it's some beautiful, poetic justice for him to perish with the city.

Here’s hoping I’m very wrong!

Finishing with Oscar's group, Ren's aura breaks after trying to mask everyone coming through the portal. Oscar realizes that Penny should have come through by now and runs back to find her, only to discover that the portal is closed on this side. Why? Because Weiss wished for a "one way trip to Vacuo." Not only is this another example of our heroes being stupid — they come up with this complicated wish that doesn't actually makes sense, but don't bother to be careful with their words like Ruby was when helping Penny? — but it also just... doesn't add up? How does Oscar know what Weiss wished for? How does Ozpin? (His one line in the episode.) They recall this together, the flashback acting like a memory, but neither of them were there. Neither was Ren. Neither was Emerald. They haven't spoken to the Relic group since separating.

It looks like RT still needs to edit their scripts.

As Oscar realizes they're trapped, the emotions of the group summons a huge number of grimm to the area. At this point, my only thought was why none of them had used the time Ren was buying them to try and find Vacuo. I mean, they're not the only fighters with semblances here. They have the Happy Huntresses too and, I would think, the Atlas students (unless the army was abandoned like Pietro and Maria were. Where are Neon and Flynt?) There's no one in this huge crowed with an ability that might make scouting ahead a little safer? No one is even going to try and figure some plan out? Everyone on these teams is too passive. They encounter a problem — where's the city? — and instead of trying to solve it while they can, while they’re in a good position to, they wait around until the situation becomes unimaginably worse and they have to figure something out or risk dying. Now, the people are being carried off by grimm, they know something has gone wrong on the pathways, and Ren is about to enter another fight without his aura. Let's hope he doesn't take a hit like Yang.

Summary of "Worthy"? Excellent villains, terrible heroes. It's better than what we've gotten in a while, but choices like Yang's fall ensures it's still not good. Given the trajectory of the volume, it was inevitable that we would end up here: moments that look significant at first glance, but are (quite likely) no more than window dressing in the long run.

Finally, bingo is rather boring this week. Unsurprising, considering we're almost out of space. I'm keeping our "Army of grimm conveniently doesn't kill any civilians" square checked because the point there was for Salem to kill people, not for the group to lead the refuges into a grimm infested desert. We'll have to see how many people they lose though and whether Atlas "somehow survives." Here, like Robyn, I'm talking about the citizens, not the now clearly doomed hunk of land. At this point, Oscar doesn’t seem to at all care about his near death experience, but I'll hold off on that square until we're truly done, and there's still a near certain possibility that Ironwood will die, with a likely possibility that Qrow grabs a bottle when first given the chance. What RWBY has avoided though is a Jacques-Watts team up 2.0. Considering, you know, Jacques is dead.

Gold star for not doing the expected, iffy thing, RWBY.

That's the square I would have least minded seeing though 😬

Anyway, finale next Saturday, folks! What insanity will the end bring? Only time will tell. But I can't wait to see what state the fandom will be left in for hiatus!

Until then 💜

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #mymetas #rwby recaps #rwby worthy

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lyranova · 3 years

Text

Children of the Future:

Chapter 10: Finding Maelie

Hi guys! Sorry i haven’t been active here lately, I’m hoping that’ll change soon and i’ll be able to post more for you guys this weekend 🥰! Here’s chapter 10 and I hope you all enjoy! Also if I forgot to tag anyone please let me know!

Taglist: @eme-eleff @crazyclownthanos @jovialnoise @talpup @simpingforthisonedeer @melissa-novachrono @thoughtfullyrainynightmare @bowandcurtsey (i couldn’t remember if you wanted to be tagged or not Aine 😅) @ckjwnnbc

Word Count: 3,216

Warnings: None

———

“ Where was the last place you saw your sister?” Gauche asked as he, Grey, Yami, and Aloys stood outside of the Castle. They had all agreed to help him look for his sister and, of course, it had to be now that he wanted to look for her. The dark haired boy frowned in thought as he tried to remember.

“ Back home. Right as we entered the Time Gate, she was right next to me, but when I woke up she was gone.” He muttered the last part softly as he looked away. Grey walked over and placed a gentle hand onto his shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

“ It’s ok, we’ll find her I promise!” She told the boy confidently, Gauche tilted his head slightly, Grey was much more confident and comfortable around Aloy’s then anyone else. Maybe because he was a little timid like her? Or was it because he was her, no, their son?

“ Ok, that gives us almost nothing to go on.” Gauche said with a sigh and the boy glared icily at him.

“ ‘Almost nothing’ is better than completely nothing, y'know.” He grumbled, Yami quickly cut between the two before Gauche could retort.

“ Look, if you two are gonna squabble and bicker I’m going to send you both home. Together. Where you have no option but to speak and spend time together, understand?” Yami threatened, the two nodded but continued to glare at each other. He turned to Aloys.

“ Where did you wake up?” He asked, the boy looked around for a moment.

“ Somewhere deep in the woods. I came through the east side of the Capitol so I’m assuming the East Woods.” He said with a shrug, he wasn’t the best at directions so he easily could have been mistaken, but it was his best guess at the moment.

“ Alright then, let’s start there.” Yami said as he stepped onto his broom. Gauche and Grey did the same and Aloys sat behind Grey on her broom. The four quickly took off into the air and headed towards the East Woods.

“ Captain,” Gauche called as he flew up next to him. “ You know it’s a long shot we’re going to find anything there right? Even if we happen to find the exact spot where the kid woke up.” Gauche pointed out, Yami looked over at him and nodded.

“ I know, but it’s the only lead we’ve got.” Yami countered. Gauche looked away, he knew the Captain was right, even though he didn’t want to admit it. He fell back a few feet and flew a little behind him. Yami shook his head and let a small sigh escape his lips.

So much for getting back home early.

——-

Charlotte looked around the house with a confused frown; where was everyone? She seemed to be the only Captain to have arrived so far, and the kids were nowhere to be seen. She looked down the halls before placing a hand on her hip, where could they be? She looked up as she saw a flash of pink outside the kitchen window. She tilted her head before walking out the side door and heading to what one would consider a backyard. She quickly dodged as a spell went flying past her head.

“ Be careful Josslyn you could’ve gotten someone killed if you don’t learn to watch where you’re aiming!” Hikari shouted, Charlotte frowned as she approached the two girls, were they training?

“ Geez, tone it down Hikari, it’s not like anyone got hurt. Oh hi Captain Suke-, I mean, Captain Roselei.” Josslyn said as she suddenly noticed the blonde Captain approaching them, Hikari turned around and smiled at her ‘mother’.

“ Josslyn, Hikari,” Charlotte nodded at the two before standing in front of them with her arms crossed.” What are you two doing?”

“ Training.” They answered in unison, both girls looked at each other before laughing a bit, they did have the tendency to answer at the same time. Charlotte smiled softly before nodding.

“ I saw, you’re both pretty good. But,” she turned to Josslyn. “ Hikari’s right, you have to make sure your spells are perfectly aimed and well timef, otherwise an innocent might get caught in the crossfire.” Charlotte lightly reprimanded the pink haired girl, who looked away and muttered under her breath before walking away.

“ I’m gonna train on my own for a while.” She threw over her shoulder to the mother and daughter, Hikari went to open her mouth but Josslyn cut her off. “ I’ll be right over there so you can see me, I promise I won’t run off.” She added, Hikari closed her mouth and nodded before turning to Charlotte.

“ Where are the boys?” The blonde asked, Hikari looked around for a moment before her eyes landed on them.

“ They’re over there, by the looks of it Alistar is teaching Ace about what kind of plant that is.” She chuckled and Charlotte laughed a bit as well.

“ He really loves plants doesn’t he?” She asked, she had only known him for less then a day but considering he told her about what all plants the spices in the kitchen had come from and their origins, that was the little information she was able to gather from the white haired boy. Hikari nodded.

“ He does, it’s one of his many quirks. But he doesn’t go on and on about plants all the time, only when he sees one that he feels like telling you a bit about.” She chuckled again, Charlotte tilted her head a bit.

“ He seems like a very nice young man.” She tried to sound casual, but she was digging for information on the two, but only just a little. She quickly shook her head, ‘What are you doing Charlotte?! Their love life isn’t any of your business! You’re starting to sound like one of your girls!’ She scolded herself but she saw the dark haired girl nod in agreement.

“ He is. He’s probably one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, but there’s a little more to him than just that. He’s smart, brave, kind of quiet, and despite all the challenges life has dealt him, he always tries to smile.” She told Charlotte fondly before shrugging a bit. “ He has the second biggest fanclub in the Golden Dawn, right behind his dad, and I tried to get him to go out on a date with a couple of girls from his fan club. But he wouldn’t do it.” She added with a small sigh and shake of her head, Charlotte looked from Hikari to Alistar curiously.

“ Is there someone who has his heart already?” Hikari frowned in thought for a moment before shaking her head.

“ I don’t think so, I’m his best friend, so I would think he would tell me if there’s someone he likes already.” Hikari said, he would tell her right? I mean, after all they’ve been through and all the things they knew about each other, he was bound to tell her if he had a crush on someone? Right? Hikari shook her head quickly before changing the subject.

“ Why aren’t you and my dad together already?” She watched her ‘mother’s’ face turn a bright shade of read and she began to stammer nervously, apparently she wasn’t expecting the question.

“ B-Because,” Charlotte looked away. “ Because I’m not strong enough yet, Yami deserve’s to have a strong capable woman by his side. One that can protect him just like he protects everyone, one that can stand on her own and be his equal in every way. I’m not there yet I’m afraid. But,” she smiled softly before looking at her ‘daughter’. “ I think I’ll get there eventually, it’s just going to take some time and, as Yami put’s it, I’ll need to surpass my limits.”

Hikari smiled, she was proof her mother was right that she would eventually get there. But there was also worry in her smile. She was worried about how her, and her friends, appearance here would affect the timeline. Would her parents still get together like how they did originally? Or would she somehow influence it? She didn’t know, and that made her nervous.

———

Gauche couldn’t help but wonder why him, why did he have to get stuck with Aloys?! The boy seemed to be closer to Grey so why didn’t the Captain send him with her? He couldn’t help but glare as the Captain divided the four of them up when they had arrived at the East Woods, if he didn’t put Grey and Aloys together because they had the same magic type then why didn’t he send Grey to go looking for the girl with Gauche? There was only one logical answer:

He was being punished for earlier, he had to be.

But now that the two were alone he could actually look at the boy. He seemed to be 16, his hair was a dark brown-ish blue shade, he had a similar body type to Gauche but shorter, if Aloy’s was anything like him he’d probably hit his growth spurt soon, he also seemed to be much more quiet now then he was earlier. From what he had seen back at the Castle, Aloys seemed to be nearly identical to Gauche, but now that he had settled down, he seemed to be more like Grey.

“ Stop staring at me old man, you’re making me nervous.” Aloys muttered as he glanced at his ‘father’, Gauche rolled his eyes and looked away.

“ Stop calling me an old man! I’m only 4 years older than you!” Gauche argued, Aloys smirked.

“ Still older.” Gauche growled.

“ The Captain should’ve sent you with Grey, she’s better at dealing with you.” He told Aloys, who nodded.

“ I wish he would have too, that way I wouldn’t have to deal with you old man.” Gauche quickly whipped around to glare at his ‘son’.

“ Momma’s boy!” Aloys turned to look at his ‘dad’.

“ Sister lover!”

“ What did you just-?” Gauche growled dangerously low when Aloys suddenly gasped and took off running past him. “ Hey kid, wait!” He quickly followed after him.

“ This was it!” Aloys shouted as he stood in a small circle of trees, he looked around wildly. “ This is where I woke up! Maelie! Maelie are you here?” He shouted as he walked into the center of the circle. Gauche pulled out the communication device and quickly gave Yami their coordinates.

———

“ You’re sure this was it?” Yami asked as he looked around, they were almost dead center in the East Woods, why had he been dropped here of all places? Hell, how did the kid not get lost in these woods? He watched as the umber haired boy continued to look around the area.

“ Yeah I’m sure, because I thought it was strange that all these trees were in a circle. It’s kind of ominous.” Aloys said with a shrug, suddenly a flock of birds came flying out one of the tree’s and Grey let out a shriek before hiding behind Gauche, who sighed and shook his head.

“ It’s just bird's Grey, and will you please stop clinging to my shirt?” He asked, honestly he didn’t actually mind her clinging to him, but he wasn’t about to let anyone know that. Grey only seemed to cling tighter to his shirt.

“ I-I’m sorry Gauche, b-but this place is just so t-terrifying!” Grey stammered, her eyes shut tightly and her face as red as a tomato. She wanted to go home. This place was much too scary and she didn’t like it at all, but she was somewhat comforted by Gauche’s presence. He always seemed to make her feel safer, even braver at times. Aloys tilted his head slightly as he watched his ‘parents’ but he didn’t comment.

“ It doesn’t look like anyone else was dropped here except you,” Yami said as he crouched down at the ground. “ are you sure you two walked through this ‘time gate’ together?” Aloys snorted.

“ Of course I am, I was holding her hand the entire time.” He explained, the other three frowned, if he was holding her hand, then how did they get seperated? Yami looked at the sky for a moment; it was beginning to get dark, they either had to find the girl quickly or call it a day.

“ It’s getting dark,” Gauche said as he also looked at the sky. “ we’ll have to call it a day for now and search again tomorrow.” Aloys began to quickly shake his head at his ‘father’s’ words.

“ No, No way! We have to find her! She’s only 9 years old, in a new and unfamiliar place! She could be hungry and scared or someone could grab her and take off with her!” Aloys shouted.

“ Yeah, she could be all those things. But she could also be anywhere in this city, or even anywhere in this country! How are you going to be able to find and look for your sister if you can’t see where you’re going because it’s too dark?!” Gauche shouted back, Aloys clenched his teeth and looked away; he knew Gauche was right, they wouldn’t be able to see much of anything in the dark, but she was his little sister, he had to find her. He promised.

“ W-What if it was Marie?” Grey asked softly as she opened her eyes and looked up at the brown haired man, he turned a small shade of pink and looked away. “ If it were her that were missing, wouldn’t you keep searching all the way until morning and beyond if you had to?” She heard him make a small noise in the back of his throat, he knew she was right, if Marie were missing there would be no stopping him until he found her.

Gauche looked at Aloys and saw a familiar, determined look. One he had on his face many times, especially when it came to something, or someone, important to him. He sighed and scratched the back of his head.

“ Fine, we’ll keep looking for the girl. But if we don’t find her by morning then we’ll stop and regroup. Got it?” He asked Aloys, who smiled and nodded in agreement. Gauche looked at Yami. “ Captain, if you need to, you can head back. We can handle this.”

Yami stared at Gauche and Grey for a moment before a smirk made its way across his face. He walked past them and towards where his broom was leaning on a tree.

“ Alright, if you need me you still have the communication device I gave you. So use it if you’re in trouble.” Yami instructed before he stepped onto his broom and lifted himself into the air and flew off into the direction of the shared house.

Though, he had a feeling they wouldn’t need to call for help.

———

Yami landed outside the house with a soft ‘thud’, it was already dark out, a small piece of him hoped that they found the girl and were on their way back. But considering she could be anywhere made him doubt they would be able to find her in one day. He opened the door and, just like this morning, everyone was seated around the dining table getting ready to eat.

“ Oh, welcome back Captain Sukehiro!” Alistar greeted warmly and with a cheerful smile, Yami nodded at the white haired boy before walking towards the other. Hikari turned to face her ‘father’ and she also smiled, Yami blinked a bit, he almost forgot her smile was the exact same as Charlotte’s. He gave her a small smile before he sat next to her.

“ Rough day?” Hikari asked before putting a piece of food into her mouth, Yami looked around the table and noticed everyone was either eating or had just finished and were cleaning up the kitchen. He shrugged.

“ Not too bad I guess. I had to inform everyone about being on the lookout for other kids, and lo and behold, I was called to Julius’s office again for another kid.” He muttered as he poured himself a small glass of wine and took a sip.

“ Zora already told us that,” Charlotte said as she walked in from the kitchen. “ Who was it this time?”

“ Grey and Gauche, their son Aloys attacked the Magic Knights guarding the Castle and of course Julius had to step in. He’s a chip off the old block when he’s pissed.” Yami said with a small smirk, it was amusing that when the boy was angry he acted just like Gauche, but otherwise he was more like Grey. He silently wondered if their daughter was the same way, or if she was the opposite? Hikari quickly put down her fork and looked at him.

“ Aloys is here? Is Maelie here too?” She asked as she turned in her seat, Yami let out a small sigh before shaking his head.

“ She’s lost apparently, Gauche, Grey, and Aloys are still out searching for her.” Yami explained before she suddenly got up and headed straight for the door, with Alistar right behind her. “ Where are you going?”

“ To help them look for her! I can’t believe you left them out there to search on their own!” She said angrily, her father was never this way, he never abandoned someone who needed help!

“ Now wait a minute-.” Charlotte started but was cut off.

“ No I won’t! Why did you leave them to look for her on their own, why didn’t you stay and help them?!” She asked Yami, he stood up and looked at her.

“ Because I trust them.” He answered simply. “ I know they’ll find her and they won’t stop until they do, I gave them a communication device in case they needed me. But I don’t think they’ll need to use it.” Hikari glared at him before turning around and grabbed the door knob.

“ Trusting them isn’t a good enough reason.” She muttered before pulling the door open and being greeted with a purple shirt, one she recognized.

“ Gauche?”

As the dark haired girl’s gaze traveled higher she noticed Gauche was carrying a small girl in his arms, one with dark blue-ish brown hair and wearing a blue and white dress.

He was holding Maelie.

“ See? I told you.” Yami smirked, even from a distance he could see Hikari’s cheeks tinted with pink. Alistar chuckled slightly before patting her on the shoulder.

“ It’s ok, everyones wrong sometimes.” He tried to comfort, but in a teasing way since it was very rare for Hikari to be wrong. She quickly muttered something under her breath as she moved to allow the Adlai family inside. Grey closed the door softly behind them before following after Gauche and Aloys.

“ Where can we put her?” He asked the Captain’s, Yami jerked his thumb to the left.

“ There’s a room where the girls are staying, she can sleep in there for now.” He said with a shrug, Josslyn sighed and stood up from the table.

“ C’mon I’ll show you.” The pink haired girl quickly led them down the hall, Aloys turned around to face everyone.

“ We’ll explain later.” He laughed, he seemed to be much more relaxed and at ease now that they had found his little sister. He turned back around and followed the others down the hall.

———

Sorry the ending isn’t the best, I couldn’t think of how to end it 😅. I might have a small scene where they find maelie in the next chapter but i’m not sure yet 😅. Anyway thanks for reading and I hope you all have a good day~!

#children of the future #black clover fanfiction #yami sukehiro #charlotte roselei #gauche adlai #black clover grey #oc; hikari #hikari is not my oc #oc; josslyn #josslyn is not my oc #oc; alistar #oc; aloys #oc; maelie #chapter 10

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night-filled-mountain · 4 years

Text

Out of nowhere and apropos of nothing, a rambling incoherent list of things about Nott and Nott-and-Caleb that give me Feelings.

On Veth Brenatto/Nott the Brave:

Nott’s entire life is all about seeing/presenting herself as less than she is.

She was bullied as a child, by her brothers and the neighborhood boys.

Then she was a contented housewife and mother, but always saw herself as second to Yeza--a support figure, depending on him, learning from him, not even necessarily deserving of his love.

“Not pretty and not brave and not coordinated and not smart and just...not.”

“He didn’t mind my strangeness...He was a brilliant chemist. I helped him and he took care of me.”

(When she reunites with Yeza, she undermines her ‘dabblings’ in alchemy in comparison to his apparent brilliance.) (Yeza himself disagrees.)

When she does acknowledge her strengths, she also acknowledges their origins, and they are either very sad (“I’ve been chased a lot in my life by boys making fun of me. I’m pretty fast.”) or serve to highlight someone else’s assistance and forethought (“a vial of acid that Yeza handed me”).

The transformation she was forced to undergo was a curse straight out of a fairy tale. It made her what she thought she was, and forced her to appreciate what she had been, but it was too late. (“But you’re so pretty!” / “I was.”)

But her whole life is about other people turning her into things, isn’t it? The bullies made her a victim, Yeza made her a wife/mother/alchemist’s assistant, and the goblins and their mystery woman made her a monster.

She was someone beautiful who could not see her beauty, someone wildly unique and “strange” who could not embrace her strangeness and flaunt it without apology...

...Until she was turned into a goblin.

Being a goblin has been so weirdly freeing for Nott. She felt that she had hit rock bottom, and in many ways, she just...let go. No more struggling to fit into social norms. No more squeezing into boxes of other people’s making. The Nott we know has always fought and shrieked, drunk to excess, stolen anything she admired, openly shared all her most outrageous suggestions, shown off her weird collections without shame.

I’m not saying all of this is healthy! Some of it is clearly coping mechanisms, and dangerous ones at that. And Sam has stated that he sees some of her excesses as being related to her goblin physiology, which emphasizes once again that this role, like all of Nott/Veth’s previous roles, is one that was forced on her. But. But.

So much of it (I would even say that “all of it” is a valid interpretation) is really just...Veth. Just Veth dialed up to eleven, without the constraints. Is she embodying a stereotypical view of goblins, or is she just letting herself be angry, messy, hedonistic, and weird for the first time in a short, sad life in which other people made her smaller than she was until she learned to do the same thing to herself?

Nott wants her true body back. She wants to be a halfling again. But she is not at all sure she wants to “go back.” To Felderwin. To her old life with the husband and son she loves. Of course she isn’t sure.

Because she’s grown so much bigger than that. Bigger and stronger and louder and messier than anything she used to be. Bigger than all the boxes she used to occupy. Bigger than anything Yeza or Luc can quite understand, because they weren’t there by her side, watching it happen.

On Nott and Caleb:

Nott defines herself by the people around her. She always has.

She met Caleb in that jail cell, saw him as small and weak and needy, and jumped at the chance to occupy a familiar role again: mother.

...Except that it was never that simple. That’s the piece that, for me, was missing from their relationship for so long. The piece that fell into place when Nott’s (former?) crush on Caleb was revealed, and made it all fit together. It was never that simple.

She wanted something from him. Veth never seems to have dared to want things from the people around her--she lived to serve her loved ones, to help and protect them. But Caleb? She wanted his magic. She wanted him to help her. And she didn’t tell him, not for the longest time. Call it ruthless, call it manipulative, or just call it a very understandable cocktail of hope and panic and shame--but it was her goal, her desire, and it meant that no matter how much she cared for Caleb and protected him, their relationship was never All About Him. She was playing her own angle the whole time. And also...

She was attracted to him. This was a fact that she absolutely could not acknowledge, because it was transgressive in so many ways. Extramarital attraction. A hideous, monstrous goblin attracted to a “handsome” human. A lifelong sidekick/helpmate/bit player in her own life daring to want a “great wizard” not only for his magic (that, at least, was permissible, because it could return her to her proper place, to her home and family; it could restore the status quo), but for his body, mind, and soul. She looked at him in that cell, in the moonlight streaming through the bars, and she wanted. And gods know it wasn’t because he ever invited her to.

(Though he didn’t scorn the idea either. I keep thinking about the scene with Keg in Shadycreek Run where she mistook them for a romantic couple and Caleb defiantly rolled with it. I even think about that early episode where Liam inadvertently used a German term of endearment for her that had romantic connotations. And the way they always slept cuddled together, and she rode on his shoulders, and they have always, always celebrated every aspect of each other--body, mind, and soul.)

But the point is that Nott’s relationship with Caleb is not one that he defined. She was always the stronger of the two; she called the shots. It was she who chose to be his “mother,” and the twin secret desires that burned deep down in her heart were entirely her own.)

On Nott and character development (ok, I just wanted to break up the bullet points a little, because goodness, this has gotten long):

...And she fundamentally did not know how to handle that. So she kept those desires buried, kept them secret. She tried to move back into her comfort zone, letting others define her and her relationships, going along with their assumptions without protest.

It is fascinating to me that the other players and characters and the viewers spent much of the campaign assuming Nott was a child. And she just...let it happen.

“I’m of child-bearing age,” she said when Jester asked, but even then, some of us (myself included, I confess!) just mentally aged her up to a rebellious teen.

To a man who she regarded simultaneously as a son, a love interest, and a tool for her own redemption, she was seen as a daughter or a little sister...and she went along with it in so many ways. It’s the lie she embodied from the first moment Sam introduced her, and referred to her as “a little goblin girl.”

Nott has always made herself lesser than she is...or let other people do so. She is so used to being diminished and self-diminishing, so leery of her own messy desires, that she would not even insist on her own adulthood until...until.

Nott’s heroic moments--the moments when she fully unleashes her own courage and strength and anger--are always the moments when her loved ones are in danger. She is the classic self-sacrificing wife/mother figure, whose self-dimmed light only shines out when others need it to.

Like when she fought the goblins and helped Yeza and Luc escape.

Like when Fjord threatened Caleb, and the others were all turning on him, and she needed to assert her own right and ability to protect him. (“But I am the parent, you do realize that, don’t you?”)

Like when she led the lizardfolk away from the others on Urukaxl. Like all the times she dove into the water for Fjord. Like when she didn’t disengage from the dragon.

“Nott the Brave” has so many layers--an ironic, self-mocking epithet, a badge of honor, and a promise to be brave for others. Only for others.

Because then it’s not really her bravery, is it? It’s borrowed from her loved ones. She is a coward who is occasionally made into something else by the brighter, stronger, worthier people she surrounds herself with.

“Self-diminishing” and “being defined by others” are the absolute fundamental cornerstones of Nott’s character. And this is both reinforced and very much complicated by her recent status as a goblin and her relationship with Caleb. (...You know how sometimes you don’t figure out your thesis statement until halfway through the essay?)

On Nott and Caleb, part 2:

The M9′s trip to Felderwin changed everything--everything--for her and for him and for the two of them. It was one of the most staggering turning points of the entire campaign.

I’ve written about this before. How one of the central “Will they or won’t they?”s of the campaign was about Caleb and Nott deciding to trust the group, and that was the point where it was resolved...

...and how, in trusting the group, they sacrificed their codependence to a large degree. How Nott’s infamous “Fuck him!” was less about anger, in the long run, than about taking her best friend off the pedestal she’d put him on, about acknowledging his fallibility, and being comfortable openly disagreeing with him.

It was about Nott becoming her own person, and Caleb learning to see her as her own person, and not just his “little friend” or protector.

But. But. It still followed the pattern.

It was about Yeza and Luc. It was about her family. It was the greatest disaster that had befallen her loved ones since the goblin abduction, and her reaction was correspondingly big.

Of course she could be brave. Of course she could be angry and assertive. Of course she could, for once, discount the feelings of her beloved wizard. Because her husband and son were in danger.

When will Nott get to be brave on her own behalf? To be angry on her own behalf? To want, want, want something, something ever so much bigger than a button, openly, unashamedly, on her own behalf?

And I think I might know the answer to that question: When she openly acknowledges something that she has already hinted at, danced around, in conversations with Caleb here and there.

“I ditched my husband in a den of monsters to go adventuring with you.”

She said this to Caleb while they were riding a moorbounder together in Xhorhas, and something about it has resonated hard with me ever since.

That conversation--and the other couple of conversations Nott has had with Caleb that deal with her own conflicting desires--felt strangely like a failure. Like Caleb was sincerely doing his best to help her, but wasn’t quite getting what she was putting down.

He doesn’t know how to stop her drinking, her constant anxiety. How to soothe her fears about the future. He doesn’t know what she needs.

Is it reassurance of her family’s love? That’s been offered to her repeatedly, by Yeza, by Luc, by Caleb himself, but it’s never had much of an effect on her darker moods.

Is it her own body back? That would help a lot, for sure. Like every other member of the Mighty Nein, she’s on a journey to find herself. She thought, initially, that it was purely a journey to find something she’d lost. Caleb and the rest of the M9 think so too, I think. But there’s more to it than that.

What Nott Really Needs:

“I think you have to find those answers,” Caleb said to Nott as she expressed her ambivalence about returning home and resuming her housewife role. “Can’t you just tell me?” she pleaded.

That’s it right there, that’s the crux of her journey. And it isn’t just a journey back to a body or a family or a life she lost--it’s a journey to something entirely new. Nott craves the familiar, the safe, the known; she keeps trying to make herself small and unimportant again, to convince others to define her. But they can’t. She is too much, too big, too weird and messy and wonderful, for anyone else to squeeze her into a box anymore (she always was; she just didn’t realize it). And Caleb is the one to tell her that.

“I ditched my husband in a den of monsters to go adventuring with you.”

“I love you,” she told him on the beach of Nicodranas, and sure, she meant it platonically (probably) (mostly), but it was more than friendship, more even than romance. She loves what he represents. And--the one thing she can never, ever, ever acknowledge, because it is completely antithetical to her journey as she currently sees it--a part of her loves who she has become while traveling and fighting by his side.

“These days I’ve spent with you are the most exciting of my entire life.” That’s something Fjord said to Caleb once. And I’ve posted before about how eerily similar Fjord and Nott’s journeys are.

They both had rocky childhoods marred by bullying and badly bruised self-confidence, then embarked on simple, well-defined lives/careers in which they felt utterly content...and then they both literally drowned, both lost their friends/family/life roles in the process, and both got transformed into something “dark” and “ugly” that they couldn’t come back from.

And the clincher? The thing Fjord was able to admit to himself and others, but that Nott carried around like a deep, dark secret and is still struggling hard with to this day?

They both fell in love with their new lives and roles in spite of themselves.

Yes, Fjord renounced Uk’otoa in favor of the Wildmother...but he still retains his warlock powers. Yes, Nott wants to, can, and probably will be turned back into a halfling--but she will never again be a person who was not a goblin.

She does not want to be a person who was not a goblin.

She wants Caleb, and all he represents. She wants adventure and excitement. She wants to be strong and brave and important, not only to protect her loved ones, but because those things bring her fulfillment. Because they have shaped her self-image in new ways that she cannot discard.

The duality of her names reflects this perfectly. She always uses “Veth” around Yeza and Luc, and wants them to use it for her, but with the M9, she’s still “Nott the Brave”-- or is it “Nott, the Brave”?

Caleb uses both names for her.

Caleb. Uses. Both. Names. For her.

Nott needs to be herself. It’s what all the members of the Mighty Nein need, really--this is a campaign about identity, as Matt has said--but I think it’s coming harder to Nott than any of the others, and that’s why I’ve had such a hell of a time pinning her down as a character...because she has had a hell of a time doing that, too!

Because she can’t acknowledge what may be the greatest possible shame for a stereotypical girl, wife, mother, or monster...

Wanting to be herself. Wanting things simply because she wants them. Wanting to be someone you can’t pin down, either literally (in a cozy little cottage in Felderwin) or figuratively (in any of the aforementioned roles).

Nott wants to define herself. But she doesn’t quite know she wants it. And she doesn’t know how to do it. But part of her definitely sees that getting her body back, while essential, is not enough.

And so she panics and drinks and goes into existential tailspins because no one else will give her the answers. Caleb has come closest, in telling her to seek them for herself...but Caleb has his own baggage, and can’t quite let go of his great ideal of Family, of Going Home Again. Of turning back the clock and erasing the dark corners of one’s past.

So he sees Nott’s happy ending as husband and son, hearth and home. And it isn’t enough. It’s as tidy and false and messy and comfortless as his time-travel fantasies. And that’s where their stories ultimately intertwine...their desires at cross-purposes, their solutions at odds. Nott longing for something that Caleb is giving her (adventure, excitement, a purpose, the privilege to bear both her names and faces and diminish neither, to be fully herself for the first time in her life). Caleb wants something that was taken from both of them. Neither of them yet fully understands that you can’t go back, that the only direction is forward. Into greater messiness, greater complexity, greater understanding of themselves and the things they can accomplish, alone and together.

But they’re getting there. They’re both getting there. And I absolutely cannot wait to see where their stories lead.

#critical role #nott the brave #veth brenatto #caleb widogast #fjord #widobrave #in another world maybe #nott #veth #caleb #long post #incredibly unbelievably long post #what have i done

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startanewdream · 3 years

Text

Mistletoe

Summary: Genderbend Jily! When Liam Evans and Jamie Potter are trapped under the mistletoe, there is only one way of getting out.

Excerpt: ‘This won't do, Potter’, Liam noted, and she turned to him, upset.

‘So what do you propose? Staying here forever?’

‘Someone is going to pass by eventually’, he told her calmly. ‘But, no, I just thought about us being smart. The purpose of this spell cannot be just to leave us standing here, it wouldn't be fun enough for Zonko's’.

There was a guarded expression on Jamie's face that Liam could not comprehend.

‘What are you thinking about, Evans?’, she asked warily.

‘It’s a mistletoe’, Liam pointed out, but Jamie did not react. ‘What do you know about mistletoe?’

Even before he got trapped in the third-floor corridor, Liam Evans was having an eventful day.

It was supposed to be a quiet day, the last one of class before the beginning of the Christmas holidays. He’d planned for wrapping up some reports before finishing the day with eggnog with his friends in the Common Room. Instead, he was faced with breaking two snowball fights inside the castle, one family fight – Christmas for the McKinnon would be tense this year - and a discussion between the prefects of Slytherin and Ravenclaw who were refusing to work together after ending their relationship, and applying one detention for that silly first-year who had exploded a dungbomb in the Great Hall – to be held after the return of the classes, Liam wasn’t so mean.

Still, he wished the Christmas spirit was higher that year.

The only good thing about that day was that Liam hadn’t need to face these problems all by himself. The Head Girl had helped him sort everything out, but then they had split in the afternoon. Liam wasn’t particularly thrilled by that, but they had agreed ever since the beginning that Jamie Potter needed a couple of days off every month, and she was usually so committed to her job as Head Girl that Liam had no reason to complain about their arrangement; he could handle things alone twice a month.

Sure, Jamie happened to ask the same nights off that Remy Lupin needed, but Liam tried not to think much about it. He had an inkling feeling about Remy’s condition, and he was sure that Jamie did not share it, but Liam wasn’t going to question if Jamie felt she needed to support her friend in any way she could. There were many things people could say about Jamie Potter, but no one could deny she really cared for her friends.

So instead of double partnering, as usual, Jamie had left him after lunch to patrol the corridors and Liam would replace her by evening. While he was solving issues and finishing the next-semester chronograms, Liam really wished Jamie was there with him; she was so high-spirited and amusing that he felt anything became better when she was around.

That was a newly arrived thought on Liam’s mind, but also one he was quite used to by now. Whatever feelings Liam may have had at the beginning about Dumbledore’s choice of Head Girl – and he had hoped so much it would be Remy -, there was no denying that Jamie had proven herself a good choice. She was a good leader, which, in hindsight, should’ve been obvious for Liam – he always saw how Jamie was the mastermind of her group of friends – and, when Jamie had a goal, she really put her heart into it. It’d been like that with all the pranks she had pulled over the years; it should be the same with being a Head Girl.

All events they had coordinated that semester had been perfect. The two visits to Hogsmeade had happened without any problem and the Halloween feast had been a success. They had even been able to organize the patrols and duties of the prefects in a way that seemed fair while keeping the less patient or nastier prefects away from younger students.

It was easy working with Jamie and, more than that, it was pleasant. When Liam had been appointed Head Boy – one of the few academic joys he could share with his parents –, he’d worried that the Head Girl was someone that would clash with him or even worse, one the Pure-blood supremacists. But Jamie Potter had surpassed any expectation he might have; she had made things amusing.

Two years ago, Liam would not think that working – or even being near – Jamie Potter would be good, but that had been during their Fifth Year and back then things were different. Sometimes he was surprised by how much Jamie had grown up – not just physically, but how she became more mature, more responsible, and less… self-centered.

Sometimes she seemed like another person altogether, but Liam knew that wasn’t a fair thought. Jamie could have changed, just as Liam had changed over the years, but her main traits were still there: she was still as brave and daring and faithful to her friends as she always had been. The only things that had changed were that she had stopped hexing people just for the fun of it and, if she was talking about Quidditch, it was not just to show herself out.

In fact, Jamie had started to teach others about flying. There were some days she could be found helping other teams or teaching better flying technics for first years. Liam had seen her even talking with the Ravenclaw prefect, who was also a chaser, both sitting together in one of the couches of the Prefect’s Room, discussing flying moves; they looked strangely friendly together, until Liam felt it was his duty to remind Jamie that they needed to start the prefect meeting. Jamie had dutifully came to his side and Liam had felt satisfied with it, until he realized it was a strange feeling; later, he told himself that it was only because the first Quidditch game of the season was coming and his competitive spirit had arisen.

It was a reasonable feeling. Whatever amount of showing off Jamie had done in the past, even when Liam thought her head should be bigger to fit her ego, he could not deny that she flew well. There was something beautiful in the way she seemed to dance in the air, deflecting bludgers and darting across the field to score a goal; her untidy black hair would wave around her as she flew and the smile she had while playing was always blazing.

Not that Liam had appreciated that smile; her blazing Quidditch smile was the same that Jamie had thrown at him all along Fifth Year, whenever she would sit by his side in the Common Room and tried to talk to him, her face flushed and her eyes shining behind her glasses. It had taken Liam some time to figure out what her endgame was, but even after Jamie lost her temper and declared out loud that she wanted to go out with him, he hadn't been interested.

The problem was that Jamie seemed to think she would grant him the greatest honour of going out with her, and even though Liam knew she was pretty - he had eyes, after all - he couldn't ignore how arrogant and immature she was - and there was the fact that Jamie couldn’t leave Severa Snape alone. So he had denied going out with her, not once but twice – the second invitation had come during that incident - and after that, Jamie had never mentioned going out with him again.

That was good, Liam supposed. His Sixth Year had been difficult enough - without Sev – for him worrying about Jamie's attempt at seduction. And for all he knew, her Sixth Year had been stressful as well: he noticed how she was soberer, how suddenly protective she was of Sirina Black for whatever happened during the summer holiday (someone said something about Black running away from home), and how even the pranks she was involved seemed to be less aggressive and just more entertaining.

And now Jamie had probably turned her seduction attempts on to someone else, Liam thought grumpily. He was in the Prefect’s Room, glancing at his watch and wondering what had happened to delay Jamie – she was usually careful on those days of Full Moon – when his gaze fell to that very couch where he had seen Jamie and the Ravenclaw monitor chatting excitedly a few days ago. Corner was also on duty patrol that afternoon; he was scheduled to patrol near the Astronomy Tower, while Jamie was supposed to be patrolling the halls on the other side of the castle, but maybe they had met in a desert corridor somewhere.

And then they had resumed their discussion about chasing strategies, or whatever metaphor Quidditch players used to snog in the corridors.

At that point, Liam had sprung to his feet, annoyed. He told himself that Jamie could do whatever she fancied, of course, but she shouldn't keep him waiting; there were reports to be filled out, and if, afterwards, she wanted to enjoy her night off with Corner, that was fine.

Only it didn't feel fine, Liam thought, while walking around the second-floor corridor that Jamie was supposed to be patrolling – it was empty, as no one wanted to be in that cold outside of their own Common Room. Liam knew it wasn’t his business, not really, but Jamie had asked for those nights off because of Lupin, and if she was using them for date nights –

‘It's just because it's not fair’, Liam murmured to himself, even though he didn't know exactly what sounded so unfair to him.

But when he found Jamie on the third-floor, she was alone. Even more, she looked angry. Liam took a moment to study her, unnoticed under the shadow of a statue, trying to figure out what was wrong. Jamie seemed to punch her fists in the air, cursing the apparent emptiness; after a few seconds, she sat on the floor, and her rich dark hair covered her face.

Liam advanced, confused, not understanding why she would be sitting on that cold floor. When he was a few steps away, Jamie suddenly raised her head and Liam found himself staring at that pair of hazel eyes that had puzzled him for a few months now, ever since they had first faced each other as Head Boy and Girl; he had never been able to decide whether they were brown with green spots, or green with brown spots.

‘Evans!’, Jamie cried, smiling hopefully and getting up. ‘I’m so glad you are here, I need...’, and then she opened her eyes wide and stretched out her hands. ‘No, no, stop now!’

But Jamie became suddenly quiet when Liam took another step closer, and an expression of utter terror appeared on her face.

‘Oh, great, really great’, she said bitterly and went back to sit on the floor, hugging her legs.

‘Potter?’, Liam asked, frowning, as he kneeled in front of her. ‘Is everything all right?’

‘No, of course it’s not. You are the first person to walk this corridor in hours and I couldn’t stop you in time and now we are both trapped in this forsaken spot’.

‘Trapped?’

She lifted her head to look at him; in the candlelight, Liam thought her eyes were more brown than green.

‘Try to get out’, Jamie suggested tiredly, and for a moment, lost in the mysteries of the colours of her eyes, Liam had forgotten what they were talking about. Then he shook his head and got up, trying to take a step back. To his surprise, there seemed to be a wall behind him, but when he turned around, there was nothing. ‘It’s charmed’, she explained, pointing up, and Liam saw that there was a clump of white berries hanging from the ceiling directly above them. ‘You just needed to take it off and then I was free’.

He sat on the floor beside her.

‘Couldn’t we - I don't know - burn it? Maybe repel the charm?’

‘I've been trying here for hours, Evans, but please be my guest’, she replied with a grimace, running a hand through her dark hair and leaning against the invisible wall to watch him.

Liam felt self-conscious, but he took out his wand and started casting spells towards the berries on the ceiling. Nothing seemed to hit it, as if there was an invisible barrier protecting it.

‘I told you’, Jamie said dryly. When he turned to her, Liam saw that she had taken off her glasses, and was pinching the bridge of her nose. ‘We are stuck here until someone removes this stupid mistletoe’.

‘Who put it here?’

‘I don't know’. When she noticed Liam's questioning look, Jamie held up her hands in defence. ‘It wasn't any of us! We never would – I mean, someone must have had too much fun in their Christmas shopping at Zonko's and forgot to remove the mistletoe’. Jamie took a deep breath and looked at Liam intently. ‘If it were one of us, do you think I would be stupid enough to go under the mistletoe without having a way to remove it?’

No one could accuse Jamie Potter and her group of Marauders of being stupid, so Liam nodded. Jamie closed her eyes again; there was such a desperate expression on Jamie's face that Liam felt compelled to comfort her. He imagined that for someone who felt so comfortable flying in the sky, Jamie must really hate confined spaces.

‘Won't your friends come looking for you? You are always together’, he reminded her gently. She frowned.

‘They have no way of knowing where we are. Remy must be in the infirmary by now’. Jamie suddenly hesitated. ‘Ah – she – she is not feeling well, something she ate, I think’, she added, looking away, and Liam didn't want to confess he knew she was lying. ‘Petra was late in presenting that extra Transfiguration essay, she must still be in the library, and Sirina is in detention, isn't she?’

And now Jamie gave Liam a critical look, but he didn't back off, just crossing his arms.

‘You know Sirina deserved that detention’.

‘For hexing those Slytherins?’, Jamie asked, inflamed, and Liam thought it was much better to see her like that than in despair. The passion with which Jamie defended her friends was endearing; it had always been one of her best traits. ‘You know they were annoying those Second Years, calling them names, and if she hadn't hex them –’

‘I didn’t have an issue with what she did’, Liam replied calmly, making Jamie raise her eyebrows in surprise. ‘She didn't get a detention for hexing them, but for being caught’. He grinned. ‘It was a good charm, those birds were pecking them, they went screaming down the hall’.

‘It was great, wasn't it?’, Jamie said, with a look of pride on her face as if she had done the charm herself. ‘Sirina has always been good at transfiguration of animals’.

And now there was an enigmatic smile on her lips, and Liam found himself staring at it, trying to understand what secret she was hiding beneath that smile. She had beautiful lips, he thought, pink and shining; sometimes, when she was thoughtful, Liam saw her biting her lips, and there was something strangely alluring in the way her teeth pressed gently her lips and he wondered if they were soft as they looked like –

Liam shook his head and looked away from that smile. He told himself that the two of them were friends now, and if Jamie had her secrets, he shouldn't try to decipher them.

‘I thought you girls had your way of communication’, he noted, thinking it was a safe topic. The Marauders always mentioned this, pride of themselves.

‘We do, but –‘, Jamie sighed unhappily. ‘I don’t have my stuff here and we lost our map last month, so -‘

‘Map?’

She gave him one of her most mischievous smiles, the one that always made something flutter in Liam's chest, wanting to share it; there had always been something pleasant and inviting about Jamie Potter's smiles.

‘We had an exceptionally good map that showed where people were, but the new caretaker, Filch, confiscated it last month’.

Liam raised his eyebrows.

‘As if that would stop you from getting it back’.

‘You know, Evans, you stun me like that’, Jamie replied teasingly. ‘Shouldn't the Head Boy be against invading the caretaker’s office?’

As usually happened in her presence, Liam felt a smile appear on his face that he could not control.

‘I already told you, my problem usually is not with what you are up to, I am only against you being caught’.

She laughed and that sound also made something flutter in Liam's chest. It was so easy to be in Jamie's company.

‘Fair enough. I supposed we might not get caught, although that cat of his makes it very difficult. I swear she can see through – through everything’, she added hastily, and again Jamie looked away; Liam thought it was funny how she couldn't seem to face him when she wasn't telling the truth. ‘But Sirina is not in the mood. She said it would be unfair of me to use it now that I became a Head Girl’.

Jamie shook her head absently, making her hair dance around her; for a moment Liam lost himself in the way her hair curled and how that movement reflected the candlelight in the hall. It was almost hypnotic.

‘She'll never forgive me, you know’.

‘What?’

‘For being Head Girl. She thinks Dumbledore must have lost his mind’. Jamie sighed heavily, leaning against the invisible barrier, and closed her eyes. ‘Well, she is probably right’.

‘I don't think Dumbledore has lost anything’, Liam replied slowly, ignoring the fact that he had thought the same thing in the beginning, when he saw Jamie Potter appearing in the prefect’s carriage. ‘You are an excellent Head Girl’.

A blush appeared on her face and Jamie turned, hiding her face with her hair. Liam remembered how there had been a time, between Fourth and Fifth Year, when Jamie Potter always seemed to be flustered in his presence, which made her friends laugh at her and tease her with japes that were not meant to be heard by anyone out of their group.

Afterwards he had a good idea of what was behind that teasing, but at the time Liam didn't really care except to complain about something that she and her friends were involved with.

She couldn’t be blushing for the same reason now, Liam considered. Since the end of their Fifth Year, Jamie had shown no particular interest in him. She was just probably confused that he had praised her as Head Girl – and now that he stopped to think about it, Liam realized that he had never mentioned it to Jamie before.

‘I'm serious, Potter’, he said softly. ‘You are a good leader, tenacious, even responsible’.

She let out a sparkling laugh, one that was so full of joy that it seemed to make the day brighter.

‘That’s how I know you're joking, Evans’, she replied, and when she raised her head to look at him again, her face was no longer flushed. It was a pity, Liam thought suddenly; there was something charming in the way she blushed.

‘I'm not. There is really no one else that could be a better Head Girl than you’.

There was a gleam in her eyes that Liam couldn't identify; if he had to describe it, he would say it was a warm glow as if her eyes – which now seemed more green than brown – could radiate a heat stronger than any fire.

‘Watch it, Evans’, she said lightly, though she didn't seem to be jesting. ‘Keep like that and I will think you don't hate me’.

Liam frowned.

‘But I don’t hate you’, he replied, perplexed. When she raised her eyebrows in disbelief, he felt compelled to explain. ‘I didn’t like the things you did or how you behaved, but –‘

‘I’m feeling so unhated, Evans –‘

‘I never hated you’, Liam insisted. ‘I just thought that you – that you could be better. That maybe you should spend your talents on more useful things, without – you know – without bullying others’.

And now Liam looked away, feeling uncomfortable as it always happened when he thought of Severa Snape.

‘I –‘, Jamie hesitated, sounding uncomfortable too. ‘I never said anything, but I'm really sorry about it. Hexing other people, I mean’.

Liam turned to her, trying to understand all the trouble that was on her face. It wasn't as if Jamie and her friends had stopped hexing people altogether, but the reports he had heard at least hinted that they had been provoked – or, as had happened with Sirina the day before, they were defending someone.

He could still hear the derision in the voice of those Slytherins, as they called those poor girls Mudblood, and if Liam was almost immune to that slur after seven years, it still made his blood boil; Sirina Black had meddled before Liam could do anything, and honestly, if it weren't for the mess it had caused, attracting attention from the professors, Liam wasn't sure he would have even reprimanded her for it. As it was, he made sure to give her a light detention – copying lines, of all things –, but Sirina did not seem to appreciate his effort.

‘Sometimes people deserve it’, Liam heard himself saying.

‘And sometimes they don’t’, Jamie added quietly. ‘For these times I am really sorry’.

There was something apprehensive in Jamie's face now, and Liam wondered if she too was thinking about that incident at the end of their Fifth Year – the one that had caused Liam and Severa Snape to stop being friends.

‘We just wanted to make people laugh’, Jamie continued. ‘But we got carried away and…', she bit her lip nervously and Liam felt a sudden urge to touch her mouth, so she wouldn't hurt herself. ‘I'm sorry for you and Snape’.

That drove Liam's gaze away from Jamie's lips and he looked back into her eyes – brown with tones of green, he thought. She looked sincere.

‘You never liked Severa’.

‘I am not sorry for her’, Jamie said. ‘But for you. I know you were – you were friends’.

The way Jamie sounded when she mentioned the word “friends” was as if she didn't believe in that definition – or as if she wanted to imply something else, but Liam knew that would be rubbish. There had never been anything between him and Severa, they had only been friends since childhood. And whatever Jamie had done that day, it wasn't because of her that Liam had cut his relationship with Snape.

‘It wasn't your fault’, he said in a low voice, making her raise her eyebrows. ‘I mean, what happened to me and Severa – it wasn’t – you didn't force her to call me anything, did you?’

‘I don't know’. Jamie looked awkward. ‘Maybe if I hadn’t hexed –‘

‘No’, Liam interrupted, firmly. ‘She said what she said because it is what she believes in, in all those supremacists, in You-Know-Who’s ideals. She always believed that muggles and wizards like me are inferior, I just never wanted to see it before’.

Jamie frowned as if she wasn’t quite sure about what Liam was saying, but she didn't say anything. Liam thought that reaction was funny because it almost looked like Jamie Potter was defending Severa Snape as if they hadn't hated each other since the first moment they met years ago.

Sometimes Liam presumed that the reason for the animosity was because Jamie had always been everything Severa wanted to be: she was popular, she was good at Quidditch, she attracted everyone's attention since... since always, if Liam thought about it.

At first, it was because of the noise; Jamie Potter was deafening, unable to stay or remain in silence, and she had found a perfect company in Sirina Black and then Remy Lupin and Petra Pettigrew. Before the end of the First Year, everyone seemed to know them at Hogwarts, that group of Gryffindor girls who were always together, always involved in some turmoil, who called themselves Marauders.

Then it was because of Quidditch when Jamie had joined the Gryffindor team in her Second Year. She was the youngest girl on the team, but her talent became evident when, despite the size disadvantage, she had dribbled all opponents to become the top scorer that year.

And then, between Fourth and Fifth Year, it was because of her looks. Jamie would never be as intimidating as Sirina Black in beauty, but the fact that Sirina really didn't seem to care about dates had made her less appealing.

Liam might not have cared much for Jamie Potter at the time, but he couldn't deny that she was pretty, with that athletic body and a face that looked carefully drawn: a small upturned nose, pink lips that were made to smile, bright hazel eyes that shone behind her glasses, and an untamed dark hair, framing it all.

But it was strange for Liam to think of Jamie Potter's beauty because it was not something he had allowed himself to seriously consider before; her beauty had always seemed just a detail, one that did not matter when he was busy being annoyed with her. And if he would think about it now, when Jamie didn't annoy him anymore, when he felt he really enjoyed her company –

Now it would be very different, and Liam didn't know how to deal with it.

‘Do you know what time it is?’, Jamie asked, sounding tired again.

‘Almost nine, I think, it was past eight when I started patrolling’.

‘Nine?’, Jamie cried, seeming more nervous than before. ‘We need to get out of here soon, otherwise...’, she stopped and looked through the window at the starred night. ‘The moon will rise soon’.

Liam frowned. He understood why Remy Lupin would be concerned about this, but he didn’t think Jamie had the same issues.

‘I really need to go’, Jamie murmured to herself, and she raised suddenly, full of determination. Liam had a brief look at her bare legs before deciding it was best to get up too.

Jamie pointed to the ceiling, casting spell after spell, but nothing seemed to hit the mistletoe – as far as Liam could understand, it was as if nothing crossed that cylinder of magic they were in because another spell was dismissed in thin air when she tried to destroy one of the statues in the hallway to call attention.

Liam looked again at the ceiling, then sighed.

‘This won't do, Potter’, he noted, and she turned to him, upset.

‘So what do you propose? Staying here forever?’

There was a guarded expression on Jamie's face that Liam could not comprehend.

‘What are you thinking about, Evans?’, she asked warily.

‘It’s a mistletoe’, Liam pointed out, but Jamie did not react. ‘What do you know about mistletoe?’

‘First year of Herbology. The mistletoe is a kind of a parasitic plant, commonly used in love potions and fertility potions’, she said, blushing slightly.

‘Exactly’, he agreed, ignoring the fact that his neck also seemed suddenly warm. ‘Well, in Norse mythology, the berries of the mistletoe came from the tears of the goddess Frigg when she wept for her son, who was killed by an arrow made of the mistletoe. Since then it is associated with love, which is why there is the tradition of people kissing under the mistletoe at Christmas’.

It was much easier for Liam to focus on what he knew about the origins of the myth than to think about the implications of what he was saying, especially because all Jamie seemed to do in response was to open her eyes more and more – the same ones Liam had spent so much time in the last months studying, trying to understand its colours.

After a minute of silence, Jamie asked quietly: ‘How do you know so much about Norse mythology?’

This was not what Liam expected to hear. He blinked.

‘I like to understand the mythology behind the ingredients in potions’, he replied, disconcerted. When Jamie just nodded, as if that answer was all she wanted to know about the topic, he said, ‘Aren't you going to say anything?’

‘About what?’

‘Ah – about what I just told you? The history of the mistletoe?’

‘It's just a myth. And it doesn’t even make sense, the Nordics didn't celebrate Christmas’.

‘No, but Christians are known to adapting different aspects of other religions. Yes, I like to study mythology’, he added, when Jamie opened her mouth.

‘You are so dork, Evans’.

‘I am curious’, he corrected, grinning, and for a moment Jamie smiled back, as if unable to resist his smile; then she looked away. ‘But you still haven't said anything’.

‘There's nothing to say, Evans’, Jamie murmured, looking extremely interested in the view outside the window, even though it was too dark to see anything. ‘It seems you are suggesting we kiss under the mistletoe to end the spell and that does not make any sense’.

‘Of course it does’, Liam disagreed as reasonably as he could, although his heart had raced when he heard her talking casually about them kissing. ‘It's a mistletoe, isn't it? It would be the kind of joke they’d sell at Zonko's, to make sure that people beneath it have to kiss to get out’.

‘It's a terrible joke’, she noted, still whispering.

‘You understand better than me the humour in Zonko’s. But still, that seems to be the answer’.

She looked back at him, her eyes drifting between shock and unhappiness.

‘I'm not going to kiss you, Evans’, she said finally.

‘Look, I'm just as happy as you are to be stuck here under a mistletoe’, Liam replied, crossing his arms. ‘But you have an appointment, right? And we can stay here waiting for who knows how long or we can try to break this spell’.

Liam could easily read the conflict in Jamie's eyes; she was probably tired, bored, and hungry after being there for hours, and whatever she had to do, it seemed important to her. But at the same time, there was a strange hesitation, which gave him the feeling that the last thing Jamie wanted to do was kiss him.

He thought of all the times she had smiled at him during the Fifth Year when she would find any excuse to touch him almost as if she wasn’t noticing it, or when she would wink at him, and even when she finally asked him out. None of that had happened in the last couple years and for the first time, Liam considered what it meant: the crush that Jamie Potter had had for him was gone, which explained why she seemed so against kissing him.

Liam felt suddenly disappointed with that realization and he struggled for a moment to understand. Then he thought of a perfectly reasonable explanation: it was natural that he felt disappointed because if she wanted to kiss him, they might have already solved their current situation.

‘I didn't do it’, Jamie said suddenly and forcefully. ‘I didn't put that mistletoe there’.

‘I know’, Liam replied, baffled, because he had believed her when she had denied having anything to do with the mistletoe. He didn’t think Jamie would lie to him about something like that. Then he grinned, looking at her petite figure. ‘I don’t think you could reach the ceiling’.

‘Moron’, she complained, but she seemed to relax a little after his joke. ‘Do you really think it will work?’

There was a warm feeling spreading in Liam’s chest now that he noticed she didn’t seem to reject the idea so much. He accounted for the satisfaction of knowing they were close to lifting that charm.

‘I think so and it's worth the try, isn't it? What do we have to lose?’

From the expression on Jamie's face, it looked like there were several things that could be lost, but she just nodded.

‘Okay. I –‘, Jamie took a deep breath, as if to calm herself, but Liam didn't think it helped much. Her lips were trembling. ‘I think just one touch will be enough, nobody would force two people to really – you know –‘

‘It makes sense’, he agreed, smiling at her practicality. For some reason, his smile seemed to fluster her. ‘Are you alright?’

‘Sure’, she replied, although she didn't look remotely alright. ‘Super excited. All I wanted to do was spend the holiday’s eve snogging a guy who doesn't even find me attractive’.

‘Oh’, he blinked, feeling as flustered as she looked. ‘Who said I don't find you attractive?’

‘You?’ Jamie bit her lips uneasily. ‘You know, when –‘, she blushed and refused to look at him. ‘When I was - well, during Fifth Year’.

‘Oh’, he repeated, feeling that he was blushing too. ‘It had nothing to do with that, I mean, that was never the problem’.

Liam hesitated, knowing that what had made him uninterested in dating Jamie Potter had never been a lack of physical attraction. He wished he could explain it, but for some reason, staring at her, the words became tangled in his mouth. ‘You are kind of attractive, Potter’.

She blinked and looked at him again.

‘“Kind of attractive”?’, she repeated. ‘Wow, you know how to make a girl feel special, Evans’.

Liam swallowed hard; Jamie had crossed her arms, looking like any kind of physical contact was out of limits, and this time, Liam couldn't blame her.

‘No, that came out wrong, that's not what I meant’, he said, and when she continued to look bothered, he took a step closer to her. She quivered and raised her head, looking at him with a challenging expression.

Liam allowed himself to look at Jamie Potter, to really lost himself in every detail of her pretty face, leaving those hazel eyes for last (brown with sparkles of green in the center, he was sure now). ‘You are beautiful, Jamie’.

There was a sharp, shocked intake of breath, and suddenly the challenge disappeared from her eyes, replaced by that warmth that made him want to get closer to her, like an insect unable to resist the attraction of the light. Jamie smiled, but before he could interpret that smile, she blinked and looked away.

‘Okay, okay, Evans’, she said lightly. ‘You get points for trying. So, how do you want to do it?’

She sounded objective, which didn’t surprise Liam. He knew that Jamie Potter was drawn to solving challenges.

‘We kiss?’

‘Okay, but –‘, she paused and took a deep breath one last time. ‘Okay, close your eyes’.

‘What?’

‘I will not kiss you with our eyes open, it would be awkward. Well, more awkward’, she said. When Liam just kept looking at her, Jamie rolled her eyes. ‘We would look like two fishes out of the water, we don't need to make this weirder than it already is’.

‘Okay’, he agreed, smiling with the exasperation in her voice. ‘And why do I have to close my eyes?’

‘Oh, no’, she said forcefully, shaking her head and making her dark curls swing around her. ‘I will not be the girl who waits patiently for a kiss, I refuse to play that role’.

‘And I can be the guy who waits?’

‘It was your idea, Evans’, Jamie replied, grinning mischievously, looking more like herself.

‘Okay, Potter, whatever makes you happy’.

Liam sighed and closed his eyes.

‘Just lower your head a little, Evans’, Jamie asked him in a whisper. ‘You are too tall’.

He laughed at the tone of complaint in her voice and lowered his head, although it occurred to him that if she would just wrap her hands around his neck, they would be closer enough that the height wouldn’t matter much. He could imagine how, despite having rough hands - always with callus because of Quidditch - Jamie would be delicate, how he would feel the tip of her fingers in the hair at the back of his neck and how that touch would make him shiver –

Liam did shiver, but he supposed it was because of the cold that came in through the window; then it occurred to him that he shouldn't feel cold, not when Jamie should be close enough to kiss him.

‘Potter?’, he called uncertainly, and for a moment he thought she had left until he realized there was no way of leaving.

‘Sorry, I – I…’, Jamie sounded nervous again. ‘I was just gathering courage’.

He laughed softly.

‘You're a Gryffindor, Potter’, he reminded her. ‘If there is someone who has more than enough courage, it is –‘

But he never finished his sentence, because Jamie had finally taken a step towards him and had touched his lips with hers. They were really as soft and smooth as Liam had wondered in those hours of reflection in the Prefect’s Room.

She was mindful of what they had agreed on - had they agreed on something? Liam wasn’t sure anymore - and although her body was close to his – he could feel how warm she was –, Jamie was not touching him more than strictly necessary; her hands were not around his neck, her body was not embracing him and that kiss was not really a kiss - it was barely a brush.

If Liam was able to think logically, really think, he would know that what they were supposed to do now was to break apart and see if that kiss had broken the spell; he didn’t even need to think because Jamie was dutifully getting away from him. But as she stepped back, not even an inch away, her lips parted naturally and, in that fraction of a second, Liam could feel her breath. It was refreshing, like cherry berries, and then all thoughts were gone from his head, replaced by a single need: to actually kiss Jamie Potter.

His hands came to life and while one hand wrapped around her waist, the other buried itself in her hair, approaching them, while his head tilted, touching her lips again and asking silently for better access. If Jamie was confused by this sudden change, she didn't show: her lips parted more, allowing their tongues to touch, and Liam suddenly wished they had done that before, many times before. It was good to kiss her, it was good to find out what the best angle was, it was good to feel the touch of her hands when she finally raised her arms to put them around his neck - and the feeling of her hands, the way she played with his hair and seemed to put him on fire, was even better than he had imagined.

He needed to be even closer. He pulled her towards him, and Jamie accepted easily that he led her on as they moved down the corridor, without breaking the kiss until he felt the stonewall behind him. Then he turned them around, to press her against the wall, feeling her body against his and kissing her more urgently than before; a cry escaped her throat, and Liam felt that sound reverberate in every part of his body. He had thought her laughter was his favourite Jamie Potter sound - it was always so lively, so mischievous – but that was before that moan. He definitely wanted to reproduce that.

It was only this sudden urge that made him break their kiss; the sound that came out of Jamie now was of mutiny, but Liam kissed her lightly on the lips, as a promise that he would return - there was no way he would not return -, before lowering his head to kiss her neck, planting soft kisses there that made her tremble; but she remained quiet until his lips found a particular spot just below her earlobe - and then she moaned again and, satisfied, he sought her lips, wanting to feel her taste again, determined to kiss her forever.

To his surprise, however, Jamie turned her face away from him and his lips just brushed her cheek. Her face was hot, but then everything seemed as warm as a summer day.

‘Evans’, Jamie called, in a voice that was strangely unsteady. ‘It worked’.

‘Huh?’, Liam asked, confused, opening his eyes.

Jamie wasn’t looking at him; she was breathing heavily and there was uncertainty written all over her face. Her glasses were crooked, and her lips were swollen; that combination was strangely one of the most attractive things Liam had ever contemplated in his life.

‘The mistletoe. Our – the kiss worked. We can stop now’.

For a second, Liam remained confused, as if he had been awakened violently from a dream in the middle of the night and was not sure what was going on. Then he remembered the mistletoe and their plan and realized where he was: six feet away from the place where those white berries hung innocently from the ceiling, with his body pressing Jamie Potter against the wall in such a way that he could feel every curve of her body, its heat and the intoxicating perfume she wore. And if he felt her like this, then she would also feel exactly how he was reacting to that proximity –

He took a step back, feeling the heat in his body now concentrating on his neck, which had always been a sign of anxiety.

‘Yeah, well, it was a – a good idea, you were right after all’, Jamie mumbled, walking around him. ‘Now, can - can you take it out? Carefully?’

Liam nodded quietly; he didn't feel he could elaborate a full sentence, not with the way his lips still tingled from that kiss.

He raised his feet as much as he could and tore the mistletoe off the ceiling.

‘Here’, Jamie asked, still not looking at him, extending her hand. He gave her the mistletoe, almost throwing it, not trusting himself to touch her again; he could still feel the way her hands had buried themselves in his hair and caressed the back of his neck, while their lips moved together, and every part of him suddenly screamed to restart that kiss. ‘Thanks, now –‘.

She burned the mistletoe with her wand. For a moment they just stared in silence ato the flames consuming the plant.

‘Nobody else is going to get trapped now’, Jamie said, at least.

Liam nodded in silence, still dizzy.

‘I have to go’, she murmured. He cleared his throat, forcing his voice out.

‘I will continue my patrol’, he replied, also in a whisper; his voice was coarse.

‘Sure, good patrol, Evans’. Jamie breathed heavily before smiling, although it didn't look like her usual easy smile. ‘Watch out there, you don't want to be stuck under another mistletoe’.

The only thought that occurred to Liam was that if he were to be stuck with Jamie, it wouldn't be so bad. In fact, it seemed even a good idea, because then he could fulfil his promise to kiss her again and he really wanted to do it again.

‘See you, Evans’. Jamie added and Liam blinked, surprised. She had walked away from him without him noticing.

Liam took a deep breath, trying to put a little sense into his thoughts.

‘See you, Potter. Happy... Happy Holidays’.

She turned to him and now, finally, she let her gaze met his. There was a vulnerable expression on her face that Liam had never seen before and it occurred to him that he would like to hold her, to ask what was going on behind those hazel eyes that had puzzled him since the beginning of the semester, and mostly he wanted to snog her again until she looked at him with nothing but warmth and confidence.

He took a step closer to her and, for a moment, Liam thought she would also walk back to him, and they would continue where they left off and he swore he could already feel the taste of her lips; but Jamie just gave him a brave smile.

‘Happy holidays, Evans’, she said quietly, and then she disappeared down the corridor.

#jily #Genderbend #Genderbend Jily #James Potter #Lily Evans #CHristmas fic #Fluffy without plot #t: fanfiction

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schrijverr · 4 years

Text

Behind the Curtain

Ashes finds out about a play back on Cyberia about the glorious revolution of the people against the Tsar. They convice the others to go and get to see a theater piece about very familiar events for Jonny and Nastya.

On AO3.

Ships: none

Wanrings: The mechs kills everyone in the theater at the end. Tell me if I missed anything or if you want me to tag something.

~~~~~~~~~

Ashes came striding into the room and slapped something down on the table, before exclaiming: “We have to go to Cyberia.”

“No we fucking don’t.” Nastya dropped out of a vent where she had been patching up some bullet holes from an earlier argument.

“Yeah, you know how Nastya feels about that, Ashes. Why would you suggest that?” asked Jonny, from he couch where he was cheating Tim out of a very nice rifle.

“Well, my dear Captain, we need to see this.” Ashes said as they gestured to what they’d put down on the table and waited until they’d all seen.

Jonny eyed them suspiciously, Ashes only used the title he wanted when they wanted something from him.

On the table was a pamphlet of a Cyberian theater, who was apparently putting on a play about the revolution that had freed their county from the Tsar. He looked up and asked: “And why would we want to see this?”

Ashes grinned and opened the pamphlet, pointing at a bit of text that read: Anastasia Nikolaevna Rasputina played by Nastasja Samboerskaja

When he’d read it Jonny matched Ashes grin and stood up while exclaiming: “I’ll tell Brian about the new coordinates.”

“Jonny.” Nastya said sternly.

“Oh, come on, Nastya.” Jonny pouted, “It’ll be fun. You’ll get to make fun of the people that killed you, we get to make fun of you. If it’s terrible, we’ll kill everyone there and be on out merry way. It’ll be fun and it’ll be fine. Just some entertainment.”

“Yes and teasing material for the next few centuries, I think not.” Nastya huffed.

“No, of course not.” Jonny said obviously lying, when he saw he wasn’t believed he pulled out his last ace up his sleeve and said: “Pleaasee, I’ll even get you those parts for an upgrade for Aurora after.”

Squinting suspiciously Nastya asked: “Even if we have to go through a boring sector to get them?”

Jonny nodded hastily and Nastya agreed after which Jonny practically sprinted away to tell Brian, afraid that if he stayed Nastya would retract her agreement.

Soon, too soon for Nastyas liking, they arrived on Cyberia, where they’d forced Nastya into a ridiculous disguise just in case someone would recognize her from a history book.

Sadly, The Toy Soldier had been in charge of the disguise, so it consisted of an obviously fake mustache and a pair of big sunglasses.

Still they managed to get in without more weird looks than usual and had taken place on the balcony all grinning and preparing for the show.

From the start it was clear that this was propaganda at it’s finest. People of the Revolutionary Movement were put down as brave heroes and the Tsar was cruel to the point of caricature, not that the Mechs cared about that, they were waiting for someone special.

When “Nastya” first entered the stage Jonny almost fell of his chair with laughter as he wheezed: “I’d forgotten the ridiculous dresses you wore when you got in.”

He choked when Nastya elbowed him and hissed: “And if you don’t stop, I’ll behead you and you also won’t be able to remember this.”

Jonny tried to shut up, but small chuckles still left his mouth every time he looked at Nastya in her big coat and easy to move in clothes, very different from the portrayal of her on stage.

As the actress said her lines it became apparent that they’d gone for a ditsy version of her, who only helped because she didn’t know any better and was being masterfully manipulated by her tutor, one of the heroes of the story.

Most of the crew was having the time of their lives, laughing as if this serious war play was a comedy much to the chagrin of their fellow audience members. Only Brian seemed to take pity on Nastya slightly and just smiled at her sadly whenever a new roar of laughter came.

They watched how “Nastya” tumbled about the stage while smiling: “Oh, no! Father, please don’t hurt these nice people, I’m sure they’re only screaming because they think it’s fun. You cheer at a sports game, don’t you?”

The actor, who played the Tsar looked stern for a moment, before softening and saying: “You are quite right, my smart dear daughter. I shall let them chant my name in glory.”

“That’s not what happened.” the real Nastya grumbled, slightly annoyed.

She was ignored by Jonny, who gleefully exclaimed: “You’re getting killed soon.”

And as Jonny predicted (and, of course, because although it might be historically inaccurate for the most part, the glorious death of the old regime was kept in), “Nastya” died, killed by her own tutor, who was hailed the hero he was remembered as.

What Jonny hadn’t predicted and what no one had seen coming was the fact that an extra, not important enough to be listed, came in dressed in strange clothes and yelled: “I am from Carmillas crew and I’m going steal her in order to help revive the dead princess.”

From the audience Jonny shouted: “Hey that’s not what happened!”

Giving him a vindicated grin Nastya told him: “What happened to we’ll make fun of them now, Jonny? Come on, it’ll be fun remember? As I recall this is pretty accurate.”

“First of, no you don’t, you were bleeding out at the time. Second of, I was way drunker, I could definitely not stand up that straight.” Jonny argued.

“I’ll give you that, but overall it seems quite realistic.” Nastya smirked.

Meanwhile the Jonny on stage was carrying a bleeding Nastya, although the blood was very fake and they obviously hadn’t had a good budget for special effects. The effects got worse when the Jonny on stage got shot through his head and collapsed with Nastya in his arms.

Jonny in the audience said: “Oh, I vaguely remember this, I think I got up and murdered that guy, before we got picked up.”

That was not what happened, the Jonny on stage stayed down and the man who had shot him grinned victoriously, getting a lot of applause from the audience.

With that Jonny rolled up his sleeves and said: “Okay now that’s going to far, we’re killing everyone and burning this joint to the ground.”

“Finally.” Nastya exclaimed.

“Did you say burning this joint to the ground?” Ashes piped up, suddenly all attention away from the play.

“Yes, Ashes, yes, I did.” Jonny grinned.

Ashes grinned back and got out a lighter while they said: “Well that sounds like much more fun. I think the fun part of the play is over anyway.”

And with that the Mechs got up and opened fire. It was brutal and it was violent and they were having the time of their lives. This would go down as a great massacre in the history of Cyberia, but it was just a normal Friday for the Mechs.

Back on the Aurora, Jonny sighed: “That was some nice violence. Where to now?”

“Now we go get my parts for Auroras upgrade.” Nastya demanded.

“But that’ll be boring.” Jonny whined.

“You promised, Jonny.” Nastya said in a warning tone.

Jonny gave her shit eating look and said: “When do I ever keep my promises.”

Nastya glared at him, before turning away and saying: “Brian, we’re going to the planet in the Mirny system and we’re getting the parts like Jonny promised.”

“Brian, no. Listen to your Captain.” Jonny tried to look stern, but petulant anger at Nastya was more prominent on his face.

“Uhhh.” Brian hesitated looking between the two.

Both said his name in a tone that promised a lot of pain from whoever he didn’t listen to, but in the end he decided he was less scared of Jonny and it was the right thing to do, so he said: “It’s wrong to break your promises.”

Then he hurried away while behind him sounds of a new argument rang. He ducked for a stray bullet and mentally sighed: jup, just another Friday.

#RR writing #the mechanisms #the mechs #nastya rasputina #jonny d'ville #drumbot brian #ashes o'reilly

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vethbrenatto · 3 years

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yo autistic kid here who did get bullied for collecting things funnily enough 😅 i think it's more about the fact that she was a Weird Kid and she had this compulsive habit. ppl can have collections and it not be Weird if they do it in a way that's neurotypical enough in my experience. veth has struggled with anxiety and an abysmal charisma score her whole life, which is what will have caused the bullying at its root. people probably just picked out specific things (like compulsive collecting) that are a bit Odd to bully her about. they'd also just completely make stuff up too, i mean we know she got picked on for being "uncoordinated" and "stupid", two things we know are objectively untrue. it was really just her general air Weirdness (aka being anxious and not socially skilled) that was the "problem" in the end. i don't really know where i'm going with this lmao those are just some thoughts on veth i guess

totally agree! i have severe social anxiety myself, so like i said in that post, i’m aware the root of veth’s bullying is not buttons, but rather her low charisma, mannerisms, the way she presents herself to society and often is unabashedly herself. the root of the problem is much deeper than buttons, as i’ve mentioned and so have you- the “not” monalogue is one of my favorite from the show. not pretty, not coordinated, not brave, not smart- that’s some of the stuff she was told growing up. i just always found sam’s emphasis on the buttons in the same or a very close in time scene about the buttons very funny because it was phrased very “i’m weird” “well, what’s weird about you?” “....buttons?” obviously, it’s all much deeper than that, but in that one particular scene, it’s definitely a bit comical, mostly because of the phrasing. i’ve never really considered veth having anxiety just because she has a stupid amount of confidence, but those things don’t necessarily cancel each other out, so that’s an interesting new take for me. edit: also, my fast-reading skipped over the first part and i’m very sorry you had those experiences with your collections! that’s some bullshit.

#ask #veth brenatto #Anonymous

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babygirlkiki1016 · 4 years

Text

Wendigo

As we pulled up the next morning I spotted a man who is talking to Haley, Ben, is checking a shotgun. They're all carrying full backpacks.

"I'll tell you again, I don't think Ben should come. You're paying me good money to keep everybody safe. I think Ben's safest at home." I hear man say as I get out, Haley shakes her head as Sam and Dean get out of the car. Sam opens the back door of the Impala and pulls out the duffel bag.

"You guys got room for three more?" Dean asks.

"Wait, you want to come with us?" Haley asks.

"Who are these guys?" The old man asks.

"Apparently this is all the park service could muster up for the search and rescue." Haley gestures to the man next to her as Sam heads past everyone.

"You're rangers?" The old man asks.

"That's right." Dean answers.

"And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans? While your hiking in that." Haley points to me, signaling at (whatever you decide to wear.)

Dean looks down at himself, then at me. "Well, sweetheart, I don't do shorts." Dean heads past Haley, I walk up to her.

"And I'm more of 'I don't care what I wear type'."

"What, y'all think this is funny? It's dangerous back country out there. Her brother might be hurt." The old man says as Sam turns back to us.

"Believe me, I know how dangerous this could get. We just wanna help her find her brother, that's all." Dean says as he head past Sam. Our little group hikes through the forest, with 'Roy' in the lead, then Dean, me, Haley, Ben, and Sam bringing up the rear.

"Roy, you said you did a little hunting." Dean says, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, more than a little." Roy huffs.

"Uh-huh. What kind of furry critters do you hunt?"

"Mostly buck, sometimes bear." Dean passes Roy, uh oh, I can see where this is going.

"Tell me, uh, Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?" Roy grabs Dean as Sam looks on, I quickly step between them before it escalated.

"Both of you cut it out." I say.

"Whatcha doing, Roy?" Dean asks. Roy grabs a stick and pokes the bear trap Dean had almost stepped in. Haley looks annoyed.

"You should watch where you're stepping. Ranger." Roy drops the stick and retakes the lead.

"It's a bear trap." Dean yells to us and we hike on. Haley catches up to us.

"You didn't pack any provisions. You guys are carrying a duffel bag. You're not rangers." She grabs Dean's arm. "So who the hell are you?" Ben and I goes past her, who stopped to talk to Dean while Sam looks at Dean, who indicates with his expression that Sam's to go on by. Sam obeys and he catches up to me.

"Hey." He says.

"Hey..."

"So how did you sleep?"

"Pretty good, the bed was comfy."

"Did my brother try anything?" He asked worried.

"No he didn't..it was more of me who..."

"You kissed him?!" He whispers the last part.

"No I wanted to, but I turned away before I did anything stupid."

"That's surprising,mostly Dean is the one always trying to get laid." He say, I could tell he's some what pissed.

"Sam...do you think that he could..that we could?"

"No at least not now, your still a kid. Wait a little bit longer before you try anything." He smiles and pats me on the back. Roy continues to lead the way, followed by Sam, me, Ben, Haley, and Dean.

"This is it. Blackwater Ridge." Roy says as Sam heads past.

"What coordinates are we at?" Sam asks. Roy pulls out a GPS, which reads N 35o 45.383, W 111o 00.55.

"Thirty-five and minus one-eleven." Dean comes up to Sam and the three of us listen.

"You hear that?" Dean ask.

"Yeah." Sam replies.

"Wow...Not even crickets." I say.

"I'm gonna go take a look around." Roy tells us.

"You shouldn't go off by yourself." I warn.

"That's sweet. Don't worry about me."

"Fine if you wanna be the idiot be my guest." I joke, Roy just waves his gun and pushes between us to retake the lead. Dean turns back to the others as the other two catch up.

"All right, everybody stays together. Let's go." About ten minutes later the five of us are looking around, near a large rock.

"Haley! Over here!" Roy yells and Haley runs towards his voice, followed closely by the others and we come to a halt.

"Oh my God..." Haley gasps. The tents are torn open and bloody and all the supplies are scattered.

"Looks like a grizzly." Dean and Haley look around.

"Tommy?" She takes off her backpack and goes through the campsite.

"Tommy!" Sam moves to catch up with her.

"Shh." Sam says.

"Tommy!"

"Shh-hh-hh!"

"Why?"

"Something might still be out there."

"Sam, Y/n!" Dean yells, me and Sam goes over to him, Sam crouches down.

"The bodies were dragged from the campsite. But here, the tracks just vanish. That's weird." Sam says.

"I'll tell you what, that's no skinwalker or black dog."

"So then it's a Wendigo, it's the only explanation." I point out.

"We still don't know for sure Y/n."

"Dean think about it, it's fast it doesn't leave a trail and there's claw marks everywhere. It's a Wendigo."

"Y/n it can't be."

"Fine, if I'm right you have to do whatever I ask without complaining."

"Don't do it Dean." Sam intervened, with a smirk on his face but Dean completely ignored him.

"And if I'm right then you have to do whatever I say without complaining for a day."

"Alright deal." I hold out my hand and he shakes it. "Prepare to lose Winchester."

"In your dreams." Dean chuckles and we go back to the campsite as Sam follows. Haley picks up Tom's cell phone it's bloody and she cries. She turns the phone over and the back is open, Dean crouches next to her.

"Hey, he could still be alive." She gives Dean a look.

"Someone Help! Help!" A voice yells and Roy leads the way as everyone except me runs to the aid of the shouter.

"Don't run towards it you idiots!" My words were mostly towards Dean and Sam. They still did it anyway, there figures disappearing was the last thing I saw before I was thrown back against the tree. My vision went black, but before I was unconscious I could see the Wendigo walking towards me.

Dean's Pov-

"Don't run towards it you idiots!" I heard Y/n shout but no one listened.

"Help! Somebody!" It shouts again but we find no one.

"It seemed like it was coming from around here, didn't it?" Haley wonders, we listen, nothing.

"Everybody back to camp." Sam says and back at the campsite, all the supplies are missing, including Y/n.

"Y/n?!" I yelled, no response. "Y/n?!" Now I was getting nervous, she was right behind me...wasn't she?

"Our packs!" Haley exclaims, not even caring that one of our own was gone.

"So much for my GPS and my satellite phone." Roy complains

"What the hell is going on?"

"It's smart. It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help." Sam says, that's when we both realized Y/n was right. "Y/n, where is she?"

"Oh you finally notice!" I say sarcastically and kick a rock. "Damnit!"

"You mean someone, some nutjob out there just stole all our gear and kidnapped that pretty girl?" Roy says, making me even more angry. Sam tugs on my sleeve, catching my attention.

"I need to speak with you. In private." We head a little ways away from the group. "Good. Let me see Dad's journal." Sam says, I hand it over. Sam opens it and flips through until he finds a particular page.

"All right, check that out." Sam points to a First Nations-style drawing of a figure.

"Oh come on, wendigos are in the Minnesota woods or, or northern Michigan. I've never even heard of one this far west."

"Think about it, Dean, the claws, the way it can mimic a human voice. Y/n was right and we new it but you didn't listen. You just wanted to prove her wrong!"

"You think I don't know that!" I try to hold it in, damn it why am I getting emotional? I only met her a week ago! "Well isn't that great." I takes out my pistol. "Since we're hunting a Wendigo, then this is useless." Sam gives me back the journal then heads back to camp but only stopping for a moment.

"One of us should've stayed with her...we need to get these people to safety."

"Sam we can't just leave Y/n-"

"She's probably already dead Dean!....Her father was right...people we know die sooner or later." He leaves and I follow, we get back at the campsite, and Sam addresses the group.

"All right, listen up, it's time to go. Things have gotten...more complicated."

"What?" Haley exclaims.

"Kid, don't worry. Whatever's out there, I think I can handle it." Roy says.

"It's not me I'm worried about. If you shoot this thing, you're just gonna make it mad. You have to leave. Now."

"One, you're talking nonsense. Two, you're in no position to give anybody orders."

"Relax." I huff. "Sam will get you to safety, I'll stay and try to find Y/n."

"Look we never should have let you come out here in the first place, all right? I'm trying to protect you." Sam says but Roy steps right into Sam's space.

"You protect me? I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you good night."

"Yeah? It's a damn near perfect hunter. It's smarter than you, and it's gonna hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid sorry ass out of here." Roy laughs.

"You know you're crazy, right?"

"Yeah? You ever hunt a wen-" I push Sam, desperately trying to make him calm down.

"Chill out."

"Stop. Stop it. Everybody just stop. Look. Tommy might still be alive. And I'm not leaving here without him."

"Wow well aren't you brave." I comment.

"It's getting late. This thing is a good hunter in the day, but an unbelievable hunter at night. We'll never beat it, not in the dark. We need to settle in and protect ourselves."

"How?" Hayley questions.

We built a campfire, and I begin to draw something in the dirt around the campsite while Haley pokes at the fire.

"One more time, that's-" Hayley asks but J interrupt.

"Anasazi symbols. It's for protection. The wendigo can't cross over them." Roy laughs, gun over his shoulder.

"Nobody likes a skeptic, Roy."

When I was fine with the drawing I head over to sit next to Sam.

"You wanna tell me what's going on in those freaky heads of yours?...Sammy."

"Dean-"

"No, you're not fine. You're like a powder keg, man, it's not like you. I'm supposed to be the belligerent one, remember?"

"Why don't you focus on your own feelings, I'm sure your feeling pretty guilty."

"Bout what?"

"Dad's not here and if we left then Y/n would still be with us. I mean, that much we know for sure, right? He would have left us a message, a sign, right?"

"Yeah, you're probably right. Tell you the truth, I don't think Dad's ever been to Lost Creek."

"Then I'll get these people back to town and we'll go find Y/n. Then we leave I mean, why are we still even here?"

"This is why." I come around to Sam's front and held up the journal. "This book. This is Dad's single most valuable possession-everything he knows about every evil thing is in here. And he's passed it on to us. I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people, hunting things. The family business." Sam shakes his head.

"That makes no sense. Why doesn't he just-call us? Why doesn't he-tell us what he wants, tell us where he is?"

"I dunno. But the way I see it, Dad's giving us a job to do, and I intend to do it."

"Dean...no. I gotta find Dad. I gotta find Jessica's killer. It's the only thing I can think about."

"Okay, all right, Sam, we'll find them, I promise. Listen to me. You've gotta prepare yourself. I mean, this search could take a while, and all that anger, you can't keep it burning over the long haul. It's gonna kill you. You gotta have patience, man." Sam looks down, then up.

"How do you do it? How does Dad do it?" Dean looks over at the others.

"Well for one, them." Sam looks over at Haley and Ben. "I mean, I figure our family's so screwed to hell, maybe we can help some others. Makes things a little bit more bearable....I'll tell you what else helps." Sam looks back at Dean.

"Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can, starting with the one that took Y/n." Sam smiles, but a twig snaps, someone presumably the wendigo yells "Help me! Please!" I stand and readied my gun.

"Help!" Sam shines a flashlight about.

"He's trying to draw us out. Just stay cool, stay put." I warn.

"Inside the magic circle?" Roy jokes.

"Better than ending up dead."

"Help! Help me!" Growling, Roy points his gun at the sound.

"Okay, that's no grizzly." Ben starts to freak out a little but Haley talks him through it.

"It's okay. You'll be all right, I promise." Something rushes past and she shrieks. I just smile, scardey cat.

"It's here." Sam says. Roy shoots at the rustling, then again.

"I hit it!" He yells happily and being the idiot that he is, goes to see what he hit.

"Roy, no! Roy!" I yell after him, I turn to Hayley and Ben. "Don't move." She's holding a stick, burning at one end, as a weapon. Me and Sam run after Roy, but no luck.

Sam is sitting against a hollow tree stump, holding dad's journal and playing with a lanyard. Me and the other two are among the tents.

"I don't...I mean, these types of things, they aren't supposed to be real."

"I wish I could tell you different." I sigh.

"How do we know it's not out there watching us?"

"We don't. But we're safe for now."

"How do you know about this stuff" Carefully, I think of what to say.

"Kind of runs in the family." Sam comes over.

"So we've got half a chance in the daylight. And I for one want to kill this evil son of a bitch."

"Well, hell, you know I'm in." I say, I had to, I needed to. That son if a bitch took her, and I was gonna get her back. Sam shows the wendigo page of dad's journal to the siblings.

"'Wendigo' is a Cree Indian word. It means 'evil that devours'."

"They're hundreds of years old. Each one was once a man. Sometimes an Indian, or other times a frontiersman or a miner or hunter." I contribute.

"How's a man turn into one of those things?" Haley wonders.

"Well, it's always the same. During some harsh winter a guy finds himself starving, cut off from supplies or help. Becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members of his tribe or camp."

"Like the Donner Party." Ben says.

"Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities. Speed, strength, immortality." Sam intervenes.

"If you eat enough of it, over years, you become this less than human thing. You're always hungry." I sigh, I knew the feeling...and Y/n probably does to.

"So if that's true, how can Tommy still be alive?" Haley asked.

"You're not gonna like it." I glance at Sam, then back to her.

"Tell me."

"More than anything, a wendigo knows how to last long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time, but when it's awake it keeps its victims alive. It, uh, it stores them, so it can feed whenever it wants. If your brother's alive, it's keeping him somewhere dark, hidden, and safe. We gotta track it back there, and hurry cause he might it's next meal."

"And then how do we stop it?"

"Well, guns are useless, so are knives. Basically-" I grab the can of lighter fluid, the beer bottle, and the white cloth that was in the ground. "We gotta torch the sucker."

Once we gave them hints about what there headed into, I lead the way through the woods, Molotov cocktail in hand. We pass trees with claw marks and blood. Sam is leading the group now, with me right behind him.

"Dean." He calls out, and I catch up.

"What is it?" We look around at the trees, there are bloody claw marks and broken branches everywhere.

"You know, I was thinking, those claw prints, so clear and distinct. They were almost too easy to follow." Growling was heard and the three of us whip around. Trees rustle as Haley is standing under a tree. Blood drips on her shirt.

"Sam..." I say point towards Haley. She notices to what I'm pointing to and looks up, then leaps out of the way. Roy's corpse lands where she'd stood. I examine Roy as Sam goes over to Haley.

"You okay? You got it?" He asks.

"His neck's broken." I comment. Sam helps Haley up and more growling is heard. "Okay, run, run, run, run, go, go, go!" I yell. Everybody takes off and Ben falls, Sam hurries back to help him up, dividing the group two and three.

"Come on, I gotcha, I gotcha." Sam tells Ben, I listen for any movement. I heard a noise, then Haley screams, it was the Wendigo.

Y/n's Pov-

I woke up to shouting, it was Sam and Ben trying to talk to Haley. She was hanging by her wrists from the ceiling while Dean was trying to wake me up.

"C'mon darling, focus, focus." He unties me, making me fall forward but he catches me. "It's ok I got you, I got you. Can you walk?"

"Yeah...." I say groggily. Haley divests herself of rope as she stands up she spots Tom still hanging and starts crying.

"Y/n hey focus on me!" Dean caresses my cheek, tears were falling down his cheeks. "I thought I lost you..."

"It's gonna take a lot more than that to kill me." I smile, he returns it and hugs me. I spot the stolen supplies that are piled in the corner.

"Dean." I say and point to the bags, Dean picks up flare guns.

"Flare guns. Those'll work." Sam grins and Dean laughs while twirling the guns. We decide to make our escape and head down a tunnel, Me, Dean and Sam in the lead with the flare guns and the two siblings supporting Tom, who is limping. Growling is heard once more.

"Looks like someone's home for supper." I say.

"We'll never outrun it." Dean says and looks back at the others, then at me. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah, I think so." Sam answers.

"Good, I'll distract it, the four of you get out of here."

"That is not what I was thinking!"

"Oh I'll be fine." I stare at him in disbelief.

"If you think your gonna go up against it alone your dead wrong. We'll distract it while y'all get out of here." Dean knew he didn't have the time to argue, so he agreed.

"All right, listen to me. Stay with Sam. He's gonna get you out of here."

"What are you gonna do?" Haley intervenes. Dean winks and starts walking and yelling.

"Chow time, you freaky bastard! Yeah, that's right, bring it on, baby, I'm feeling good." The rest of Dean's words are indistinct. I follow Dean before he could get himself killed.

"Hey! Hey, you want some white meat, bitch! I'm right here!"

"I think it heard you Dean."

"Well if it heard me then why isn't it here?" I shake my head and listen, at first I couldn't hear anything but then I heard growling far of into the distance, then Sam yelling.

"Dean it's by Sam."

"Son of a bitch." He yells and we run down the tunnel towards where Sam is.

Eventually we spot the Wendigo and we come up behind it.

"Hey!" I yelled. The Wendigo turns and before Dean could shoot it, it slices his neck. Blood began pouring out, Dean eyes me and falls to the ground.

"No!" I yelled and ran to his side, it slowly came towards me but Sam yelled to distract it. However Sam wasn't having any luck either, Sam's flare gun was thrown to the side and he was cornered. I look back to Dean who was bleeding out badly, he wouldn't last much longer.

"Hold on ok? Hold on.." I cried, tears ran down my cheeks faster then me running a marathon. Although it was like I knew what to do. I place my hand on Deans neck to try to stop the bleeding, he grabs my hand roughly, I could see the fear in his eyes as he gasped from breath.

"Breath just breath ok? Hold on, please!" I focused and like an instinct the words came to me. "Heli tius naman" I muttered over and over, my hands began to glow as his skin begins to form back together. His eyes showed amazement as he watched my form changed, my hair turned white as snow. I looked towards the Wendigo who was about to kill Sam, and hold out my hand as I begin enchanting.

"Sini tuis montir ot leh!" The Wendigo turns but is trapped in place growling at me.

"Sam now!" I yelled and Sam grabs the flare gun then lights the evil son of a bitch. As the Wendigo burned I turn my focus back to Dean, who was staring at me. Sam runs over, with fear in his eyes.

"....Not bad, huh?" Dean jokes as he stands up and he pulls me up along with him. Sam sighs I'm relief, then hugs me.

"Thank you...I don't know what you did but I don't know what I would've done if he..." Sam let's go and Dean slowly approaches me.

"Your nose.." He reaches over and rubs the blood from my skin with his sleeve. After we exit the woods, an ambulance loads up Tom. Two Police officers interviews Ben as Sam stands behind him.

"And the bear came back again after you yelled at it?" Asked the officer.

"That's when it circled the campsite. I mean, this grizzly must have weighed eight hundred, nine hundred pounds." Ben agreed and Sam nods in approval.

"All right, we'll go after it first thing." I watched as Haley talked to Dean, both have already been patched up. A weird feeling set in my heart, what is this? Am I...jealous? Haley attempts to kiss Dean on the cheek, but he slowly stepped back. They exchange a few words, then he turns to look at me. Sam sits on the Impala's hood with me as Dean walks over.

"Man, I hate camping." Dean complains.

"Me too." Sam agrees.

"It's not so bad." I say.

"So I guess...you win the bet." Dean admits. "I'm sorry for not being there when it came after you."

"It's ok....it's not your fault your a dum dum sometimes." I giggle, noises of the ambulance caught our gaze. "Think they'll be ok?"

"Yeah they'll make it." Dean smirks, I grab his chin and kiss the corner of his mouth, however he didn't stop me, he slightly kissed back but then realized it wasn't an actual kiss.

"What was that for?" He said blushing.

"For coming to save me...and for wiping my nose and ruining your jacket." He smiles and looks over at his little brother who's smirking at us.

"Sam, you know we're gonna find Dad, right?"

"Yeah, I know. But in the meantime? I'm driving." Dean smirks and tosses Sam the keys. The three of us get in the impala, slamming the doors almost in sync. What I can't get out of my head however, is why did Dean refuse Haley but not me?.....

The New Hunter Masterlist

@samsgirl93 @nani-gram @eliwinchester99

#dean supernatural #dean winchester #dean winchester imagines #sam winchester #sam winchester imagines #dean winchester smut #dean x reader #dean x y/n #sam x you #sam fanfiction #sammy #sam winchester smut #sam and dean #supernatural

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