#AND NOW SHES TRAPPED IN A GIANT SNOWBALL

[agentrouka-blog]

I've been thinking a lot about the savage giant slain in a castle of snow.

I think, at this point, there are 4 big possibilities

1) it's Robin's doll (I really don't believe that)

2) it's Petyr, whom Sansa throws a snowball at in her snowcastle

3) it's Petyr being executed in Winterfell

4) Petyr dies in the Vale and the giant metaphorically "slain" in Winterfell is Tyrion

I keep going back and forth. I was convinced it would be number 3 (even though I want him to die ASAP) but now I reread Arya's ASOS chapter where she hears the "prophecy" and all the other prophecies she heats before that don't seem don't happen much later? Why would the last one be the one that wont happen until somewhere in TWOW? And it's not like 1 and 2 are super literal interpretations, which we know none of the prophecies really are.

What do you reckon is the most likely one to be realised? I also realise I'm falling into the prophecy trap George set (how targaryen of me).

My money is on 3).

Importantly, we never see anyone try and interpret these prophecies by the Ghost of High Heart, or deliberate act in response to them. They exist for the reader and they provide a template for how the vague details provided in them often reflect distortions or metaphors. They tell us about things that will happen. They are not instructions, the way Melisandre or Quaithe or even Mother Mole use them.

I dreamt of a maid at a feast with purple serpents in her hair, venom dripping from their fangs. And later I dreamt that maid again, slaying a savage giant in a castle built of snow." (ASOS, Arya VIII)

There's clearly a time skip implied between the feast and the snow castle, but the idea that she has a prophecy about the snow castle scene itself is laughable. So. The only credible options are 3 and 4.

But Petyr randomly being killed in the Vale by Sansa doesn't comply with the prophecy NOR the foreshsdowing provided in the snow castle scene. The only other castle described as "made of snow" is the Eyrie, which is inaccessible for the foreseeable future. It's closed for winter, empty.

So after a scene where Sansa rebuilds Winterfell and feels stronger within its walls, attacking Littlefinger for his lies with a snowball, even beheading a "giant" and putting its head on the walls of that castle, we are meant to infer that the man who is directly responsible for her father's downfall and death (among many other crimes) will be killed by Sansa (how??) in some random castle in the Vale, instead of executed according to the law for crimes against the North in Winterfell when she has gained agency and power in her own home? Unlikely.

Tyrion also has "giant" imagery and is an enemy of House Stark BUT his relationship to the Starks is more complex and involves Jon and Bran. His current trajectory is far less focused on the Starks, and if he does aid in bringing Dany to Westeros, his culpability will center on the South too. An execution in Winterfell by the Starks seems improbable in that context. I suspect much like Dany, his ultimate end will reflect his own inner torment. We've seen him on trial already, unjustly so, twice. A third trial might work, but... holding himself accountable to his own failings and cruelties seems like a more important character development.

[deusvervewrites]

Yakuza Princess Eri Au Snippet Ask

A snowball smacks into the back of Izuku’s head, shattering into powder. He glares halfheartedly over his shoulder at Uraraka, who whistles innocently while pointing at Eri.

Eri looks up from her snowman and pouts.

“Kai,” she says in the way only children can when they’re trying to sound serious.

“Yes ma’am?” says Chisaki from where he’s watching from the porch.

“Ochaco’s betrayed me, and the family. I need you to take her out.”

“It will be done ma’am.”

“Wait, no, I’m sorry!” Uraraka laughs as she runs backwards away from Chisaki.

“It’s too late for that now. No one turns on the family and lives.” Chisaki leans down, brushing his fingers against the snow. A plume of white erupts around Uraraka and she shrieks.

“Excellent work, Kai,” Eri says, turning her back on the snow explosion.

Izuku jogs over, waving the mist away to find a laughing Uraraka trapped inside a giant snowball.

 “Wow, these are insulated,” she says.

[nineinchnailpolish]

Madmartigan x GN Reader

Warnings: kissing, brief sexual conversation

Pairing: Madmartigan x Gn reader

Word Count: 1044

A/N: I barely see any Madmartigan fanfiction, so obviously I had to make some myself!

You didn’t expect yourself to be helping a nelwyn and another dikinis save a princess baby, but here you are. Willow and Madmartigan. You’ve grown quite fond of them, especially Madmartigan. But you’d never admit that.

Going on this adventure has had some risks, like right now. You three and Raziel are trapped in a cage, trying to get out to save Elora.

As Willow tries to transform Raziel in her human form, Rool and Franjean come to the rescue. “Hello everybody, we have arrived!” They said, applauding themselves.

“Oh thank the gods you two found us!” you exclaimed. They both smiled at you and started picking the lock.

“Ugh, let me do that,” Madmartigan said, trying to take over and break us free.

Rool wasn’t too happy, “Don’t touch that! Leave it alone, you stupid, fat, dikinis!” he hit Madmartigan with his bag of dusk, and smiled.

“Ow!” Madmartigan yelled, holding his nose.

“Ha! dust of broken heart,” The two brownies both started laughing hysterically.

“You okay, Madmartigan?” you asked worriedly.

His tone suddenly changed and he smiled brightly at you, “Yeah…I’m great even!” You giggled at his response.

The cage was then unlocked and you all got out to find Elora.

You guys creeped outside of Sorsha’s tent and peaked inside. “Look there she is!” Willow said, trying to walk inside.

Madmartigan put his hand on Willow to stop him “Hey man, only two of us should go in there. Y/n and I are experienced with this stuff, we know what we are doing,” He smiled. It was odd to see him express such happiness after being grumpy and cocky this whole time.

You two walked inside and just as Madmartigan was about to grab Elora, he looked at you extremely differently, with so much love in his eyes. He rushed over to you as you stood tense.

“Oh y/n…” he said, putting his hands on his chest.

“What’s going on?” You were confused, but the two brownies were laughing and yelling something about a broken heart.

“You are my sun! My moon! My starlit sky. Without you I dwell in darkness. I love you! Your power has exchanted me, I stand helpless against it.” He walked closer to you and you felt your face rushing red.

Willow and the two brownies facepalm and Willow walked into the tent to grab the baby.

“Madmartigan what has got into you?” He stood just a few inches away from you, his face above yours, while you looked up at him.

“What has got into me?” He laughed. “Love! That’s what! I love you!” He exclaimed again.

“wh-what? St…stop saying that!” You tried to hide the happiness you felt from his words.

“It’s true, Come to me now! Tonight, let me worship you in my arms. I love you!” He grabbed your waist and pulled you in. Your bodies were practically touching. His face moved down to yours. Your lips were so close from touching.

Just as he was about to kiss you, Sorsha came in. “What are you doing here? Where’s the baby?” She yelled and other guards came in.

He quickly pulled you, so your bodies were touching and kissed your tender lips. Then, he pushed you away from him and grabbed a sword. “Run away my love! For I shall see you after this battle.

You ran out of the tent and Madmartigan started fighting the guards. You touched your lips, still tasting him.

You made it to a town nearby and saw Willow running to you. Then, you saw a giant snowball tumbling down the hill. It was Madmartigan. He slammed into the wall and the ice fell off of him. You helped him up and he started brushing himself off.

“What the hell was that?!” Willow yelled, walking over to Madmartigan.

“What was what?” He asked. Now you are confused. Was he making that stuff up?

“Your stupid poetry to y/n almost got us killed! “I Love you” “You’re my moon, my starlit sky” What was that stupidity!” Willow kicked the snow at Madmartigan.

“I…said that? To you?” He asked and you nodded, feeling sad.

*Time Skip*

You guys were now riding to the castle, you were on the back of Madmartigan’s horse.

“Hey y/n…did I? Did I really say those things last night?” He asked you.

“Yes you did and I thought you were being serious. I was stupid to believe that…” You sighed.

“Well uh, what if it was true?” He stopped the horse and turned around to look at you. You stared at him confused. “Maybe I do fancy you” He smirked.

“Maybe I fancy you too,” You winked. He scooted you closer to him, putting one hand on your lower back, and the other on your face. “Well, go on, do it” You laughed, placing your hand on his face and in his hair. He pulled you into him, kissing you again with the same passion.

“Will you two stop being all kissy and lovey! We need to go now” Willow yelled, glaring at you two.

“Sorry Willow!” You apologized, but were still smiling. “Yeah, sorry Willow!” Madmartigan said too.

Madmartigan kissed you once more, smirking. “After all this craziness, we are going to continue this thing between us” He put his lips to your ear and said “I’m going to make sure you won’t be able to walk my dear,” He winked and turned around, riding the horse again.

You slapped his back, but then put your hands around his waist and your head on his back.

“Mmhm, can’t get enough of my touch can ya?” He chuckled.

“Oh shush! I’ll kick you off this horse if I have too” you said rolling your eyes.

“Well if you were the one to kick me, I wouldn’t complain. After all, you are my sun! My moon, my starlit sk--“ You put a finger over his lips and he chucked.

“Let’s just help this baby and I’ll ‘talk’ with you later tonight,” you smiled.

You all rode to the castle, defeated the queen, and just as you hoped, saved the baby. Even later that day, you shared a special night with Madmartigan and he wasn’t kidding. You couldn’t walk normally for a week.

[toribookworm22]

Hello and happy blorbo blursday!! I was thinking about writing a snowball fight scene earlier so!! Your OCs are now having a snowball fight!! Who can't aim for the life of them? Who builds an impenetrable fortress and a giant pile of ammo? Who doesn't even know how a snowball fight is supposed to work?

Hey, Serena! Thanks for the ask!

Oooh, snowball fight. Let's use my queer superheroes for this one!

Camille: it's a little silly. But okay. She'll build a nice a little fort. Can she bring hot chocolate?

Nia: she has a plan; a battle plan. Keep with the strategy and we'll all be fine. Also, she already rigged a trap for Roldan.

Roldan: on his own team of one. His first move is to shove snow down Nia's coat when they agree to a fair game. Takes this very seriously and yet, also not at all.

Anny: has no idea what's going on. You want her to throw what?

[lexa-griffins]

Here's a fluffy Christmas story Clarke drags out Lexa to the Polis forest so she can help her find and chop down the perfect Christmas tree 🎄

Even though it's snowing heavily and Lexa is already warm and toasty in her bed with a very naked Clarke, she can't say no to Clarke's request when she sticks her lower lip out, flutters her lashes, and begs with her blue eyes. She's so whipped for Clarke

Lexa grumbles and pulls her heda sash even tighter around her head when she's hit with the cold winter air as they walk to the forest. Meanwhile, Clarke is frolicking in the snow, catching snowflakes on her tongue, and humming an old catchy holiday tune. Lexa starts humming too just so she can distract herself from the cold chilling her bones

Lexa leads them to a patch of trees that match Clarke's description of the perfect Christmas tree. Clarke jets off and starts inspecting all of the trees looking for the one. Lexa trudges over and leans against the side of a tree and starts blowing hot air into her hands trying to keep herself warm.

Suddenly, a cold snowball slams across Lexa's red cheeks. She yelps in surprise and turns her head to scour at her attacker, the blonde angel dying of laughter from catching Lexa off guard. Lexa wipes the snow off her face before she bolts towards Clarke who tries to turn and flee but gets her foot stuck in the snow and plops to the ground as Lexa tackles her

Lexa straddles Clarke to trap her and takes a giant pile of snow, raising it above Clarke's head and letting it all fall down. Clarke whines and screams as the cold snow falls on her face.

Not willing to give up, she manages to flip them over so Lexa is now on her back. However, Lexa is stubborn and rolls them over again. They end up just tumbling across the snowy floor together until they both give up and separate, cheeks flush and panting out

Clarke squeals when she looks up because she found the perfect Christmas tree after their fun tussle in the snow. She tells Lexa to quit playing around, get her cute ass up, grab the axe, and chop down the tree for her. Lexa grumbles and smiles at Clarke's quick demeanor change and hustles to grab the axe.

Thanks to her years of training, the tree is chopped down in no time at all. To her surprise, Clarke doesn't complain about helping her carry the tree back. Clarke retorts because she doesn't want Lexa to drag the tree back and ruin all the needles.

They set up the tree in their Lexa's room and decorate it with trinkets and ornaments that Clarke found perusing through the market stalls in Polis. It's finally finished when Clarke puts her handmade star on top.

Clarke then rests her head against Lexa's shoulders, wraps her arms tight around her waist, and steps back to take a moment to appreciate everything. Clarke pecks Lexa's cheek and thanks her for going through all this trouble and making their first Christmas together memorable and special

Now, she wants to show her appreciation for all that Lexa has done for her today. There's another Christmas tradition that Clarke wants to show her. She really wants to stuff Lexa's stocking and now is the perfect time. She pushes Lexa to her bed and straddles her hips before leaning down and whispering, "Do you know what you and our tree have in common babe? You're both getting topped tonight!"

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Clarke Griffin kom Skaikru and Lexa Griffin kom Trikru!

🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

Theyre so cute and dorky my good gay god 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Clarke said: I'm the star on top

[ween-kitchens]

idk if this is a good basis for a fic but I headcanon that Grian loves to perch on Scar (and either he doesn't weigh too much or Scar is strong so he can handle it) and Scar just thinks "oh it's a Grian/avian thing" only to later find out Grian exclusively perches on him and nobody else and it makes him feel all mushy and soft (but also proud)

okay it’s not exactly the prompt but its based off it

(also I am very sorry at how long this took to do lmao-)

“so, let me get this straight. your plan is to lure everyone down to the deep dark and throw snowballs at them until the warden kills them for us.”

“yes!”

“..how have we lasted this long.”

the two of them are nestled in the end of their dirt cave. scar leant against a giant jellie in one corner, grian — who is absolutely determined not to like the cats — sat pointedly in the other.

they’re- ah. attempting to come up with a good plan for a trap, now they’re on red. unfortunately, neither of them can think of anything that wouldn’t be immediately found out. no one’s going to investigate suspicious piles of tnt after their death.

“why, my endless charm and charisma, of course.” scar grins. “no one can resist it.”

grian giggles, then presses his hand against his mouth.

“what?” scar asks, blushing slightly.

grian shakes his head. the smile still evident in his eyes. it should be illegal how sweet that is. 

“what is it?” scar persists, wanting to know if he gets credit for making grian laugh.

“just how many people have you won over with your ‘endless charm and charisma’?” grian grins.

“well, it seems i’ve won you over.” scar smirks. it might be the light (or lack of),  but he’s pretty sure he sees grian’s cheeks turn pink.

“i’m on your team, I don’t count.” grian says. that’s not a no. “how many people who want to kill us have you won over?”

scar pauses. “okay, well none yet.” he admits as grian laughs. “yet!” he repeats, indignant.

“okay, do you have a better plan than snowballs?” grian asks.

“.. reputation points?” scar suggests.

“scar, I love you, but there’s no way in hell i’m doing that again.” grian deadpans. 

scar’s heart leaps. “aw, you don’t trust my plans?” he grins. “what do you suggest?”

“I suggest that we sell something that people actually want.” grian says. “like-“

“like rides on the giant jellies!” scar jumps to his feet, stumbles a little and picks up his cane from the ground. “that’s a good idea!”

“scar, it really-“ grian starts, but scar is already walking out the door, the jellie following him.

“oh, we can have two people on at once at a discount price!” scar continues. grian scrambles to his feet and chases after him. “people love a discount.”

“scar-“ grian sounds exasperated.

“how much should we charge for each ride? I think two diamonds per person, but if two people are riding one then it should be- oh!” scar jumps. grian has flown up and landed on his shoulders, his wings fanned in front of scar’s face so he can’t see.

“scar, we’re not selling rides on your jellie cats.” grian tells him. 

“well why not?” scar hopes grian can’t see how much he’s blushing. “people love cats!”

“they blew up your cats.” grian points out. 

“people change.” scar says. “and i’m sure they’d love to ride on giant fluffy cats!”

“maybe in a different context.” grian says. “but right now I think they’re not gonna be too focused on giant cats.”

“well, don’t knock it ‘till you try it!” scar pushes grian’s wings out of the way and climbs onto the jellie’s back.

“scar, what are you- woah!” grian exclaims as scar picks him up and plops him on the back of the jellie, just behind him. “what are you doing?!”

“we’re going for a test drive!” scar announces. “c’mon, jellie!” he taps the side of the cat and it bounds off.

“scar!” grian yells, throwing his arms around scar’s waist.

“it’s okay.” scar says, butterflies erupting in his stomach. “we’ll be fine!”

“I- am- going- to- kill you.” grian says, sounding terrified.

“you fly, how is this worse?” scar asks. “she’s fluffy!”

“this is nothing like flying!” grian’s voice is starting to pitch up. the jellie jumps down a hill and grian lets out a squeak of fear and buries his face in scar’s back. “this is just prolonged falling!”

“jellie’s a natural at prolonged falling!” scar says. “we’re fine!”

“I am not!” grian says, voice slightly muffled. “get me off this thing!”

“woah there.” scar pats the jellie again, and it slows to a stop. grian, however, stays attached to scar, frozen.

“she’s stopped.” scar says gently. grian just squeezes him tighter. “songbird.” he murmurs, and grian relaxes slightly; enough for scar to turn around and hug grian back. 

“no one is buying rides if this is how dangerous they are.” grian mumbles, nuzzling into scar’s shirt.

scar laughs softly. “i’m sorry.”

“i forgive you.” grian says. “you are unbelievably reckless, how are you still alive?”

scar grins. “if I said charisma-“

“don’t even.” grian looks up at him, smiling and that might be the best thing scar has seen all day. 

“okay, so not jellie rides then.” scar says sheepishly.

grian bonks his forehead against scar’s chest. “not unless you’re planning to be sued by everyone.”

scar strokes his hair. “ah, what could they do? i’m the best salesman on this whole server.”

grian leans into the touch, making a quiet chirping noise. it’s absolutely adorable and it make scar’s stomach fill with butterflies. 

“you’re very pretty.” scar blurts. he said it so quietly, he hopes grian hasn’t noticed. 

“you’re very handsome.” grian says in response. scar’s face goes red.

“aren’t you kind.” scar smiles.

“mm. i’m right.” grian’s eyes are droopy. “you’re gorgeous.”

scar suddenly realises why grian is acting like this and quickly takes his hand away. grian makes a noise of complaint.

“it’s nice.” he protests.

“you’re doing the bird thing.” scar tells him. “last time you didn’t speak to me for a day ‘cause you were so embarrassed.”

scar nudges him, which seems to bring him back, if his face flushing is anything to go by.

“I- ah. really need to do a better job at stopping that happening.” grian says, avoiding scar’s eyes.

scar grins. “it’s kinda funny. you just go a little loopy for a bit, say nice things to me, then avoid me for ages.”

“I dont avoid you.” grian says. “last time I was just busy.”

“mhm, and are you too busy to look at me right now?” scar leans down, smirking. “you’re shy. it’s adorable.”

“i’m not shy, just embarrassed.” grian frowns, still not looking at scar. 

“you look pretty shy right now.” scar says. it’s nice, for once, not to be the incredibly flustered one. “and, just so you know, you’re gorgeous too, songbird.”

grian buried his face in his hands. “I hate you.”

“sure didn’t sound like it.” scar grins. “but anyway, we need to get back to base. I assume you’re going to walk.”

“absolutely.”

-

for a couple days, they’re far too busy for scar to say anything. heck, he barely has time to think of the conversation he had with mumbo. 

but then, they find themselves in their cave with time to spare. this time, grian has begrudgingly sat with scar and the jellie in the corner.

“so, do we have a plan?” scar asks. grian is leant against scar, eyes half closed. 

“what, other than snowballs?” grian smiles sleepily. “well, right now we’re relaxing. these last few days have been hectic.”

“I can tell you need it. you’re sat with me and my jellie.” scar chuckles.

“you’re comfier than you look.” grian says. “you and the cat.” 

“wow, can’t believe i’m just a pillow to you.” scar jokes.

“don’t pretend i’m not just a blanket.” grian says.

“no, you’re not a blanket, you’re a teddy bear.” scar says, putting an arm around him. “you’re always cuddling me.” 

grian gives a huff of embarrassed laughter. “i’m not always cuddling you.”

“hmm, and what are you doing right now?” scar grins. “you’re disproving your point here.” 

“I said ‘always’, not ‘ever’.” grian says. 

“oh, now I see.” scar says. “so, by ‘not always’ do you mean ‘almost always’?”

grian’s face goes a little red. “yes.”

“thought so.” scar smiles.

“well, alright, I won’t if you don’t want me to.” grian starts to move but scar just pulls him closer.

“now when did I say that?” scar says, his voice low.

grian’s face is turned from him, but still very close. close enough for scar to get butterflies.

“you’re infuriating.” grian says.

“not so infuriating for you not to hug me, it seems.” scar says. “you’re a very touchy person.” he says thoughtfully.

“not really.” grian says.

scar laughs. “not really? what would you consider touchy then, if not this?”

grian’s ears go red. “well. I mean, i’m not touchy in general.”

“you’ve confused me.” scar says.

“it’s- it’s different. with you.” grian says haltingly. his head is bent, but the small amount of his face that scar can see is bright pink. 

“different? what do you mean?” scar asks, chest starting to ache, hopeful. 

“you- oh, you really don’t know?” grian looks up, and there’s something in his eyes. it’s fond, even affectionate. “do i have to say it out loud?” 

scar can’t seem to use his vocal cords properly.

grian shakes his head, then twists around and kisses scar’s cheek.

“you’re.. i don’t feel like this about anyone else.” grian says. “i just. i’m bad at saying it, I didn’t-“

scar bends his head and kisses grian’s cheek in return, cutting whatever he was about to say off.

“I love you.” he says. his heart is expanding, filling up his chest with an aching warmth. 

grian looks like he could burst. “I- I love you too.” he says, voice almost a whisper.

scar runs a hand through grian’s hair. “songbird.” he smiles.

grian gives a little huff, exasperated but fond. “you’re impossible.”

“you want me to stop?” scar suggests.

“you know I don’t.” grian says, leaning into the touch. he turns back around, so he’s facing away from scar.

scar kisses the top of his head. “I really love you.” he murmurs. 

grian chirps quietly in response, melting into scar’s arms. he tilts his head upwards and kisses scars chin, smiling. 

“you’re adorable.” scar tells him, blushing.

grian huffs. “shut up.”

[star-archer]

No Exit [Chapter One]

Summary: Bucky hates snow, but a snowstorm on the way to his sister's memorial keeps him overnight at a mountain lookout rest area with a motley crew of strangers: a trucker, a businessman, some roadtrippers, and You, an apparent runaway full of secrets. When strange things start happening, a light-hearted lock-in turns dark and dangerous. (Loosely based on the 2022 film of the same title.)

Pairing: Post FatWS!Bucky x amnesiac!Reader

Chapter Word Count: 3303

Warnings: violence and gore, memory loss, angst, brief mentions of drug abuse, weapons, torture, sexual content.

A/N: I started this in February and have been dying to get it out! Thanks, as always, for reading xo

Series Masterlist | star-archer masterlist

★★★

Bucky hated snow. It came down in flurries like ash after an explosion, and the cold triggered just about every post traumatic button in his body. Until this point, he’d managed to avoid it, arranging his travels down south for the winter and those two years in Wakanda. The only slip up had been an unfortunate encounter with Tony Stark in a holding station in Siberia. 

But now, now he drove into it. It was part of his past he couldn’t avoid, wouldn’t. His sister’s memorial service in the mountains. Why Becca spent her adulthood in the mountains was beyond him, but he wasn’t about to argue to an invitation from his only living relatives. Sure, it could have been a trap, he considered that, and Sam offered to go with, but maybe after 107 years, it was finally time for Bucky to grow up and face his own fear of rejection. So he gave Sam a detailed itinerary and coordinates and hopped in that old green pick up and made his way up the pass.

It wasn’t supposed to snow. Bucky couldn’t remember what the damn Groundhog had declared, but he hadn’t felt this storm in his bones like he had the others. It came out of nowhere, a gust from the tropics, something about the repopulation of the Earth sent the icecaps all out of whack. Torres had called about three hours in to warn him, but Bucky was too far to turn back and had never really been one to turn down a challenge.

Only, the challenge grew a little harder to face the deeper the snow and the more covered the roads, and he felt that familiar panic start to sink in like an old friend blanketing him in an icy hug. His knuckles were white, and he tried to focus his restraint on his vibranium side to prevent from snapping the steering wheel. 

He hadn’t seen another car for hours, not since the sun had set over the west side, and everything was illuminated in a thickening layer of white. The snow coming at his headlights reminded him of that movie his neighbor forced him to watch, the one about space and daddy issues. Phone service had cut out too, so he swung beneath the seat to pull out the comms and first aid kit, taking a little solace in knowing someone was reachable should this endless drive take a turn for the worse. 

He couldn’t help but feel he was making a mistake though. Sweat beaded his forehead, soaked into the collar of his shirt beneath his jacket, so he flicked off the heater. That made the windows fog. Cursing, he flicked the defrost back on and continued the climb, trying to push out images of a freight train on the Alps, of a sheer drop to a rocky fate below. His flesh hand shook against the wheel. 

Deep breaths, Buck. He could hear Steve in his head. Fucking Steve. Steve would have gone with him to this damn memorial. Hell, he went because he knew Steve would be disappointed if he didn’t. 

He remembered Becca’s first snowman, out in the yard in Indiana. Her blue eyes sparkled as he propped her on his hip to place the button nose. She giggled and adjusted their father’s pipe right side up in the giant snowball that made its head. 

He remembered catching Becca and Steve in a snowball fight near the river. He scolded them both, pulling Rogers by the ear up the steps to their house to warm up. Steve laughed his way through an asthma attack, and Becca’s blue eyes were apologetic as she helped Bucky cover the boy in quilts and hand-knits. Deep breaths, Stevie.

Flashing red and blue against the snowy skies snapped Bucky from his memories, and he leaned forward to peer through fogged glass at a parked Sheriff’s vehicle. Slowing to a stop himself, he cranked down the driver’s side window, and the officer approached with a blinding flashlight to his eyes. Bucky held both hands up, to shield his eyes and to present his innocence, though the adrenaline had been pumping for hours now. 

“Oh, shit. Sergeant Barnes?” 

Bucky sighed, shoulders slumped. “Evening,” he glanced at the badge on the man’s chest. “Deputy Sterling.” 

The Deputy was young, alert, fairly capable, but he looked like he might shit himself with glee or terror at the sight of someone Avengers adjacent. Bucky had seen it before, managed to hold back an eye roll through a clenched jaw. He wondered if he’d ever get used to it. “Sorry, sir, road’s closed up ahead due to the weather.” 

Bucky glanced around the bend and his head spun a little at the idea of swerving a little too hard around the corner. He nodded. 

“Can I help you get where you’re going though? There’s a visitor’s center up the road. We could drop your truck there, and I could take you back down the mountain for the night.” 

Bucky took a deep breath. Back down the mountain meant coming back up. The memorial was tomorrow. He chewed the inside of his cheek. “Visitor’s center?” 

“Yes, sir,” the deputy waved ahead. “There’s a restroom and a few cots. I just set up a few travelers for the night who weren’t interested in turning back.” 

Bucky nodded. “I’ll stay too.” 

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, do me a favor. You have cell service?” 

The deputy shook his head. “Not this far up. It’s patchy until you reach the top. You’d think with wizards and alien technology, we’d be able to figure out signal, huh?” He chuckled, hand shoved into the pocket of a kevlar vest. 

Bucky blanched a fake smile and nodded. “Yeah well, when you get closer to town, phone my buddy Sam Wilson, let him know exactly where I am. If I don’t notify him when I’ve met my destination, he’s coming after all law enforcement in this area.” He didn’t mean for it to sound as threatening as it did. 

The deputy let out a nervous chuckle and saluted the soldier in the truck. “Yes, sir, will do. You sure you don’t want to catch a ride with me.” 

“I’m sure.” Bucky sighed, and he put the truck back into gear and slowly inched his way around the corner. 

—

The Timber Crest Lookout and Visitor’s Center wasn’t exactly a prime destination for a young woman such as yourself to campout for the night, but as the snow packed itself to your tires and your teeth began to chatter from the broken heater in the dash of your car, you figured it was better than hypothermia.

You were the first there, hoping to be the only until they started rolling in, one-by-one lining trucks and beaters up beside your own piece-of-shit car. Karla and Dorian were first, and having another woman, middle aged and seemingly middle classed, eased a bit of your worry. By the time they got there, you’d already scoped out your exits anyway, made notes of all the lightswitches and potential improvised weapons. You would get out of this snowstorm alive, and warm, and well-rested. 

Karla and Dorian were married. They arrived in an RV. Both of them had been Blipped and figured life was too short to waste, so they retired from blue collar jobs and took to the open road. Their destination was never ending, apparently, and they took pride in all of the friends they’ve made along the way. Or some other bullshit that made you sigh in relief the moment visitor number four arrived through those heavy glass doors. 

Kenneth was young, much younger than you, and his eyes were sunken beneath dark circles. His shoulders hunched, and his dark hair was pulled back into a long ponytail. He wasn’t much of a talker. Got here via truck, apparently on his way down the mountain. He was hoping for a truck stop on the way up, but must have missed his exit. It was one of his first trips and lost some chains along the way. 

Murphy was next, a businessman, dressed too sharp to be on the road. He cursed his way inside, stomping ruined leather loafers against the industrial floor mats, holding his cell phone way above his head to search for service. 

“No bars here, honey,” Karla tutted, shooting you an eye roll that was supposed to signify how stupid men could be. You nodded in solidarity, resisting an eye roll of your own. 

Murphy was on a business trip, if that wasn’t obvious. He’d flown out from England to meet a very important client. He dropped a name you all pretend to know. Seemingly satisfied, he graciously asked where he could find the pisser, and you all pointed to the extensive row of toilets to the left of the concourse.

You all made about your stations, adjusting cots to far corners where you could stash your backpacks and plug in your phones. You gathered loose change earlier from the center console of your car, and you pooled it into your hand to make for the three vending machines illuminating the darkness to the right of the concourse. Just beyond the machines, you could make out massive glass windows, a menagerie that looked out into the ravine below.

“Oh how rude of us,” Karla crowed, startling you from behind. “Where was it you were off to tonight?” 

You took a deep breath and shoved a few quarters into the slots. You heard the satisfying roll of mechanisms within and eyed the assortment of undoubtedly expired goods beyond. “Up. Visiting family.” 

You watched as the black coil curved around bright orange packaging to release a candy bar that thunked to the bottom of the machine. 

“Oh well that’s just lovely! So you’re familiar with this area?” 

You shrugged, plonked a few coins into the soda machine. “It’s been a while.” The soda banged its way to the bottom, and you procured ice cold dented aluminum. Satisfied with your purchase, you handed Karla your change and sauntered back to the lobby. Hopefully your phone would charge and you could plug in your headphones and tune out the rest of them the next few hours until they fell asleep. You knew you wouldn’t be able to really rest until then anyway. 

“Got another live one!” Dorian called cheerfully from his perch near the front windows, and you followed his gaze to headlights pulling into the parking lot. An old green truck situated itself at the edge of the lot, closer to the exit than the rest of you. The driver turned off the ignition and lights and you watched a silhouette pull a duffle bag over their shoulder before trudging through the falling snow toward the wide double doors. 

“Perfect!” Karla cheered. “Now we have an even number if want to play any board games with teams! Oh, Dorian, we should get some from the RV.” 

You bit back another eye roll and stared at the approaching figure. She wasn’t wrong though, lucky number six. 

— 

The Timber Crest Lookout and Visitor’s Center had five vehicles in its parking lot. An eighteen-wheeler with Virginia plates, BMW from Jersey, a Winnebago from the 80s, Florida plates, and a the rustiest blue Pontiac Bucky had ever seen, Indiana plates. He parked his truck at the east entrance, easy getaway if need be, and he hauled his duffle over his shoulder toward the warm lights inside. 

The whole building was surrounded in glass, reminded him of Stark architecture if Stark were a cabin in the woods type. Although, Bucky supposed he was at the end. The doors, twice Bucky’s height and about four times his width, had weight to them, and they creaked open over black, industrial floor mats that squeaked and squelched under his boots. 

The linoleum just beyond opened on both sides with a large sign indicating restrooms to the left of the vestibule and the information center and lookout to the right. He peered down the left hallway first, seemingly empty save rows of restroom entrances on either side, and a handful of poster-sized flyers about the surrounding area. When he rounded the corner to the right, the room opened up to a wide array of dioramas and travel information. All of it was haphazardly surrounded with tables and chairs and cots and the things of the people staring at him expectantly. 

He stopped short, raised a hand in surrender, and gave them all a once over before he allowed his duffle to slump from his shoulder and his lips to mutter a hello. 

A middle aged couple were first to stand and greet him. Dorian was a large black man, kind hands and a broad smile, strong, sturdy, like he’d spent years working on his feet, durable. His wife, Karla, was sweet, too friendly, and round as though she fed him all of his meals after long days at work. Neither seemed particularly threatening, albeit a little grating. 

Another gentlemen harrumphed a hello from behind his laptop across the room, cursing under his breath, jamming fingers into the keys, and a third man, no, boy, was huddled into a corner. His eyes were wide when he made eye contact with the Winter Soldier, and Bucky sighed as recognition crossed the boy’s face. Karla introduced him as Kenneth. 

And finally, a young woman sat crossed legged on a cot near the entrance. She had a candy bar half-wrapped in one hand, and was sipping the bubbles from the rim of a soda can with the other, but she managed a half-hearted wave his direction. She was tucked under a knit cap and wrapped into a hooded sweatshirt that wasn’t fit for the weather outside. Out of everyone here, even including Murphy in his suit and tie, she looked the most lost, the most out of place. 

“What’s your name, handsome?” Karla cooed, hands clasped at her chest. 

Bucky blanched a half-hearted smile, though his gaze hadn’t shifted from the girl on her cot. She eyed him as well, pulling a headphone from her ear to hear his response. He wondered if she recognized him too. “James,” he offered. 

“Well, James, do you like board games? I was just telling the gang that you make an even number!” 

Bucky sucked his cheeks between his teeth and suddenly rethought the snowstorm raging outside. Maybe he preferred the panic. Instead, he thumbed behind him and mumbled something about needing the restroom. 

His boots squeaked against linoleum, and he pulled his comms unit from his pocket to shove into his ear, hearing the satisfying beep of it turning on. “Hey, Sam, it’s Bucky. Do you read me?” 

But he heard nothing in response, not even the white noise of connection. With a sigh, he stepped into one of the many doorways to the maze of a tiled men’s room. This was going to be a long fucking night. 

—

You’d relaxed at Karla and Dorian, at Kenneth’s meek stature, at Murphy’s indifference to the rest of you. You felt confident in yourself, in your abilities, in self-preservation. You felt your biggest hurdle from the night was whopping Karla’s ass at spoons. You had taken a bite of your chocolate at ease, and then that James guy came in and ruffled all of your feathers. 

It wasn’t just his hulking stature, the sheer girth of him in all black leather with combat boots and a duffle to top it off, but it was the way he looked at you. All clenched jaw, stubbled cheeks and hard stare, like he got you, like he could see right into your soul. It prickled the hair at the back of your neck, it churned your stomach.

He mumbled something about the restroom, and immediately your gaze fell to the bag he’d dumped beneath a chair near you. That was something else you’d noticed, he had just arrived and he was steps ahead of you. You’d watched his gaze flick about the room as yours had, searching for ways out, for improvised weapons, for the light switches. This guy had seen some shit, and you suddenly felt wildly unprepared. You wondered if Deputy Dipshit would come back and save you. Maybe you wouldn’t sleep tonight after all. 

“Holy shit,” Kenneth squeaked from the corner, and your head snapped to see his pale skin impossibly paler. You pulled your feet out from under you to sit more upright, more alert. 

“What?” You hissed. 

“That was the Winter freaking Soldier!” The boy practically shit himself. His eyes were bulging from his head, and his skinny arms flailed in the direction of the new stranger. 

“The who?” Karla asked.

“I’m sorry?” 

Murphy finally reacted to the group. “Was it really?” 

Your mind raced at the significance. The Winter Soldier? Where had you heard that name before? You racked your mind for any pre-Blip memories, anything that would allow themselves to surface. 

“You know, Captain America’s best friend?!” Kenneth leapt off his cot and began to pace. “A mother freaking Avenger. Holy shit, this is so cool. Tommy is going to flip out!” 

“An Avenger, really? How exciting!” Karla had begun to cheer, but your brain had slipped into the subspace and all noise was drowned out by the whirring of panic in your head and the pounding of your heart. Your eyes darted back down the hall, and you glanced back at the duffle at your feet. An Avenger was here? Up this mountain? Why did the Winter Soldier sound so familiar? All that came back to you were visions of newspaper stands, photos of Captain America with too wide of a smile and a giant disc strapped to his arm. Everything else was blank, a warped net of black whirring around in your skull. 

“Oh my God, sweetheart, you’re bleeding!” Karla called out, and it took a moment for you to realize she was gawking in your direction. 

You felt the trickle of damp warmth on your upper lip and licked away the coppery taste. Reaching for it, your fingertips became coated in the steady rush, and you stared at it as it slipped between your knuckles and dripped into your palm. 

Karla had already jumped into action, a clear mother hen. She found one of those travel tissues in her purse and was wading them up. A warm hand to the back of your neck tilted your head back, and she pressed the sterile smelling paper to your face. “Apply pressure here,” she offered, showing you how to hold it with your clean hand. You stared blankly at the ceiling a dozen feet above. 

“You poor dear,” she rambled on. “Must be the elevation. I remember when we first came up the mountains. Dorian, do you remember that? Oh my God, the nosebleeds I got!” 

“Is she okay?” The stranger snuck in, and you tilted your head to face him. His blue eyes looked from your face to your bloody hand and wrist, his robust chest rising and falling with each breath. 

“Elevation,” you managed. Your voice betrayed you, a croak of terror you desperately hoped he hadn’t picked up on, but your heart sank at the tilt of his head your direction. 

“Mr. Barnes, sir, this is probably going to sound so stupid, but can I get a selfie with you? Maybe a video? It’s cool if not, but like, my friend Tommy is going to shit himself when he finds out I’m with you.” Kenneth’s voice cracked, and you relaxed at the thankful distraction. 

The Winter Soldier gave you one more worried glance before turning to the kid, and you released a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding as you heard Karla pull more Kleenex from her pouch. 

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Sole Crusher

Well... It's finally here... the episode introducing the new bee hero. And what do you know? It looks like I was right about how the new character would be portrayed.

It's kind of funny how I made predictions exaggerating what could happen, and they were surprisingly accurate. Isn't that funny?

Let's just get into the seventh (chronologically the seventh and the seventh episode in the season to air after “Mr. Pigeon 72”) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season: Sole Crusher. Damn, I hate that a pun this clever was used for the title.

We get to the point pretty quickly with the first scene being Zoe arriving in Paris and getting a tour of the city. She asks to stop at the Dupain-Cheng bakery, where she meets Marinette through some brief Unfunny Marinette Slapstick. The two quickly strike up a conversation.

I mean, it's not like Zoe is the sister of the absolute worst human being in existence, right?

Marinette compliments Zoe's shoes, and she points out that she designed them herself, and wrote every good thing anyone has ever said to her on them. But because she only has one friend, there's only a standard “I <3 U” on the left shoe.

So Zoe leaves the bakery and heads to Le Grand Paris where she meets her mother, Audrey. Unlike how she talked with Marinette, Zoe pretends to be just as snobby as Audrey in order to fit in. She then meets up with Chloe, who criticizes her for having poor person things like a phone without any diamonds embedded in it. And then she sees Zoe's shoes.

Look, that meme was already dated when it was referenced in Black Panther three years ago. Please don't try to reference memes in 2021, Miraculous Ladybug.

Chloe offers some golden heels while saying that those kind of shoes are for winners to wear and crush the losers underneath. This is the only episode to mention this kind of ideology, and believe me, it gets worse when Chloe decides to teach Zoe how to be like her.

Get used to this. This episode is all about demolishing any semblance of likability in Chloe's character. Now that Astruc doesn't have to bother with writing Chloe with decency since she's not Queen Bee, watch as he turns her into an absolute caricature of her former self.

Yes, Chloe has ordered her father to give her a lot of frivolous things in the past, but she has been shown to care about him, like immediately rushing to hug him after she was safe in “Origins” and showing concern for when he was akumatized into Malediktator while apologizing for causing it. For the love of God, one of the first things she did when she allied with Hawkmoth at the end of Season 3 was to have him unto her parents' akumatization. I guess she only cared about her rich parents for their status and not because she actually loved them right?

Next up on the list of Chloe's positive qualities to ruin is her friendship with Sabrina.

🎶It's seven o'clock in the morning🎶 🎶I can't believe they made this scene🎶 🎶With the writing Astruc's enforcing🎶 🎶It's like he's trying to piss off me🎶

Yep, Chloe doesn't view Sabrina in a twisted view of friendship anymore. Now she's a slave. I'm not exaggerating by the way, he actually said that in a tweet.

THIS IS WHAT THOMAS ASTRUC ACTUALLY BELIEVES

Okay, so I guess all those times we saw Chloe playing superheroes with Sabrina in “Antibug” and “Miraculer” were just a slave driver playing with their property. Actually apologizing to Sabrina for getting her akumatized in those episodes? Protecting her from the Scarlet Akumas in “Ladybug”? She was just interested in keeping her slave around. I think Astruc may have slept through the slavery unit in his history class. Yes, Sabrina was mostly used as a joke to show how controlling Chloe could be, but there were still semblances of an actual friendship between the two.

Chloe arrives at school and introduces Zoe as her half-sister, despite being the same age and having the same mother. Because I guess we can add basic biology to the list of things the writers don't understand. Now that we're at school, Chloe's friendship with Adrien is next up on the chopping block.

Yep, despite being Adrien's only friend and making a big deal about valuing his friendship to the point where she threw a big party just to make sure he wouldn't leave her and risked cooperating with an Akuma to save him, now Chloe just sees Adrien as a rich meal ticket. Two of the earliest episodes to show Chloe had a more compassionate side to her, and they just undid them. Even as much as I hated the episode, “Felix” showed Chloe was willing to cooperate with Marinette and her friends just to find a way to cheer Adrien up on the anniversary of his mother's not-death.

For the love of God, Astruc, 1984 was supposed to warn people about what could happen if they rewrote the past, not encourage people to rewrite the past. He probably finished Animal Farm thinking Snowball really did work alongside the humans, didn't he?

Marinette comes up and Zoe pretends to hate her, leading Marinette to wonder why she did that. She texts Zoe (she gave her number to her earlier) and invites her to a concert on the Liberty, but Chloe finds out. Zoe thinks fast and pretends it's just so she can torment her more. Chloe then takes out a book listing all the ways she can torture Marinette. I wonder if this is a metaphor for the writing process behind most of the episodes last season.

Zoe decides to go outside for some fresh air, and Andre comforts her. Funny how Andre bends over backwards to give Chloe whatever she wants, yet he's willing to actually talk to Zoe like an actual parent. Andre tries to cheer Zoe up, but she talks about her past where she had to put on an act so she would be liked, but (bet you've never heard this before) she just wants to be accepted for who she truly is. The surge of emotions is enough for Shadowmoth to akumatize her into Sole Crusher.

In addition to having one of the most clever puns for an Akuma name, I actually like Sole Crusher's design. Not only is it a good excuse to reuse Chloe's character design, it makes sense thematically, as Chloe was trying to mold Zoe into a copy of herself. The gold and diamonds also make sense given Chloe's love for shiny things. Her powers tie into the bizarre belief Chloe has about stepping on the winners. Whenever Sole Crusher kicks or steps on someone, she absorbs them and gets progressively bigger, making it easier to do so. While it's not cracking my top ten anytime soon, it's still an interesting character design.

Sole Crusher heads to the hotel to get Chloe, and she manages to get away pretty quickly. Maybe in an alternate universe, she's a track star? For some reason, she runs to the Dupain-Cheng bakery and then... Oh my God... pushes Marinette's parents so they get absorbed by Sole Crusher, before trying to do the same with Marinette.

When has Chloe ever done something like that? Whenever she endangered someone during an Akuma attack, it was unintentional or a result of her naivety. She was only trapped in Pixelator's dimension because Adrien tried diving to save her, she only alerted Rogercop to Ladybug's presence because she eagerly called out for her, and during “Zombizou” she only tried to throw Sabrina towards the horde of kissing zombies once, and that was meant to highlight her growth. The only person to actually do stuff like this consistently is Lila, but I guess she got vaporized by Big Brother offscreen.

This episode is determined to make the audience hate Chloe by retconning everything about her character while portraying her as a complete monster. As bad as Chloe could get, she was never selfish enough to use anyone as a human shield. This kind of behavior honestly could be explained by saying Chloe was lashing out as a result of losing the Bee Miraculous permanently, but the events of the Season 3 finale aren't mentioned ONCE, not even in the next episode that introduces Queen Bee's replacement! How the hell can you set up the next Bee hero without explaining why the original needs to be replaced in the first place?! And trust me, I'm going to talk about Zoe replacing Chloe later.

Sole Crusher grabs Marinette in her hand, so the Horse Kwami, Kaalki, uses her power to teleport over to Adrien's house and inform him Ladybug needs help, meaning once again Adrien did nothing in this episode before becoming Cat Noir.

At the Liberty, Chloe offers more victims to Sole Crusher in the form of the band Kitty Section (consisting of Luka, Juleka, Rose, Ivan, and Mylene) and theatens the giant golden supervillain she can send her back to Paris, even though she's really not in a position to bargain right now. And she STILL continues to insult her. Do you hate Chloe yet? Come on, do you? The writers won't stop until you do.

After we see Sole Crusher's conflicted emotions, Marinette is set free by Cat Noir and transforms into Ladybug, immediately summoning her Lucky Charm, a shoehorn. They only learn Zoe's sneakers were where she were akumatized thanks to Chloe's ranting, so the episode unintentionally made Chloe save the day. Ladybug breaks into Le Grand Paris and breaks the sneakers where Zoe hid them, using the shoehorn to open a door. So Sole Crusher is de-evilized, Ladybug fixes the damage, and gives yet another charm to Zoe.

Afterwards, Zoe goes to the Liberty, apologizes for the act she put on, all while divulging to the audience her “tragic backstory”.

Of course, everyone welcomes her with open arms.

And right here is where the biggest problem I have with Zoe as a character. I normally hesitate to use this term given how often it gets thrown around when criticizing characters these days, but I really can't say anything else.

Zoe... is a Mary Sue.

For those who don't know, the term Mary Sue originated in a Star Trek fanfiction from 1973 satirizing several self-insert stories at the time. Most of these stories showed a beautiful young woman joining the crew of the Enterprise and immediately gaining the attention of the crew. Mary Sue parodied this character archetype by showing how much she was appreciated by Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, the latter being driven to tears at her funeral despite his species being emotionless normally.

What does this have to do with Zoe? She has the exact same storyline as Mary Sue in the parody fanfiction. Her mere presence is enough to make Chloe act extremely out of character in an attempt to make her look better, and as soon as she apologizes while giving a frankly vague backstory, everyone just accepts her as their friend, and I mean everyone in the entire class. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't feel earned. Why was she bullied at her old school? What did her bullies have against her? What caused her to stop going along with her peers, and why did everyone turn against her? How the hell did the bullies who put cockroaches in another student's locker get no punishment while the victim was forced to transfer schools? It's an intentionally unclear backstory designed to make the audience feel sympathetic towards Zoe without actually doing anything else.

I want to ask anyone reading this who watched the episode a question: Outside of her backstory, what do we actually know about Zoe?

What is her personality like? She's nice? Socially awkward? We've never had a character like that in Miraculous Ladybug before! Sorry Marinette, Adrien, Juleka, Nathaniel, Mylene, and Marc, there's a new character with more personality than all of you combined!

What are her goals? She wants to be an actress? Great, but why? Even though there's no clear answer for why Marinette loves fashion, or why Alya loves journalism, or why Nino loves DJing, you can still see the passion in their lives when they do something related to their goals. Zoe only says she wants to be an actress, connecting it to her people pleaser backstory (and given how it ended, she must be a terrible actress), and in the next episode, she immediately gets the lead role in a student film.

When Mylene got the starring role in the movie in “Horrificator”, we at least got snippets of her acting skills in the same episode that established her desire to be an actress, which is also implied to be because she was inspired by her father in “The Mime”. She didn't just say she wanted to be an actress and got the leading role. She still had problems to overcome like her cowardice, which threw her own self-confidence into doubt. Here, Zoe just says she wants to be an actress, and is rewarded for no reason the very next episode.

Zoe basically exists only to be a foil to Chloe, and the writers had no idea what to do in terms of a personality, so they just dumped a bunch of extremely likable character traits onto her without thinking of how her character could come off. And like I said, she's a Mary Sue.

I'm not the only one who thinks this. I've seen a handful of posts on this very site calling Zoe a Mary Sue. In fact, I even asked another Tumblr user @anxresi​ to quote their take on Zoe being a Mary Sue, which I couldn't even top in terms of accuracy. They basically listed off five things that made Zoe a Mary Sue.

She has to have a ‘tragic backstory’ so all the other characters will fall in love with her. Usually within minutes, in the very first episode they’re introduced.

She has to have a supercute design so that the audience at home will fall in love with her. And if they don’t, they’re automatically dismissed as ‘haterz’ even if their objections are purely from a writing POV.

Her only flaw will be thinking too little of herself. “What, lil ol’ me as the Bee Miraculous holder? With my shyness, colorful shoes, chic beret and personalized pink strip in my hair? Gosh, who’d have thought it?”

The contrast to her half-sister will be a constant plot point, with Chloe always getting dumped on. “You see, kids? Bad things happen to bad people. But you see this super-sweet girl over here? She gets a free DAD. Instant FRIENDS. To star in her own MOVIE. The chance to be a SUPERHERO, even though she only arrived last week. Who cares if she has no depth, no personality and barely any reason for being in the show, apart from being a massive ‘Up Yours’ to all the Chloe fans out there?”

What about character development, Mr Generic Zag Guy? “Development? What’s that?! Zoe is already perfect as she is. The only ‘development’ she’ll receive is having her hair done in the first episode she’s introduced. Besides, That‘d’ word is banned here at Zag studios. Why do you think we abandoned Chloe’s stillborn arc so quickly? This is a KIDS show, why bother trying to create a complex character with more than one dimension?”

This is essentially who Zoe is. She's perfect, has no character flaws, has a cute design so the audience will love her already, and was designed only to replace Chloe as Queen Bee. That's all she is.

So the episode ends with Zoe feeling happy at all the new friends she made while we get one of the most blatant attempts of symbolism in the ending card I've ever seen.

See, look. While Marinette is happily talking with Zoe with the image of Ladybug next to them, Chloe is to the far left with an EVIL purple aura, showing how bad she is compared to how great Zoe is. Only a braindead moron would actually like Chloe over the super awesome and pretty Zoe!

I'll give my final thoughts on the episode in the next part where I analyze this plotline as a whole.

LINK TO “QUEEN BANANA” REVIEW

[bokettochild]

Perils of a Pumpkin Patch

Blame the lovely folks over at @ordonianhero‘s blog for this! This is on them and @mayonakaotsumami for creating this idea!

 Time sighs.

 He loved his pup, by some days, Twilight could be a real idiot.

 “Explain to me what the problem is again?” The eldest hero shakes his head, pinching the bridge of his nose as Legend continues to cackle breathlessly, the veteran hero wheezing for breath that was only stolen with continued laughter, bent over and holding his ribs as he attempted to wheeze out words that continued to make no sense. “Deep breaths, kit.” He reminds, a small smile pulling at his face at the pure joy and mischief on the usually stoic teen’s face.

 “I’m trying!” Legend’s breath whistles between his teeth, giggles continuing to spill out for a few minutes as breath after deep breath was pulled into heaving lungs.

 “Now,” Time motions towards the vet, leaving the word hanging, it’s intent clear as Legend coughs lightly.

 The vet’s face was still flushed pink, eyes sparkling with mischief that makes him look far closer to his actual age, the teen practically bouncing on his toes. “Twilight got stuck.” Legend chuckles, smirk setting in with an almost feral hint to it. “In a pumpkin!”

 The old man blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice.

 “I’m not sure why I’m surprised.” He finally forces out, shaking his head again as Legend all but dances in place.

 “He needs our help.” Legend continues. “He’s in wolf form and if Wars sees he’s gonna lose it!” The vet cackled softly. “Honestly, I’m half tempted to tell him, but Twi says I owe him, and-” The vet shrugs easily. “He’s not wrong.”

 “Alright, kit.” Time isn’t dumb, he saw the pink bunny hiding in the bushes, and he knows a shifter when he sees one. Legend’s aura is full of diverse twists and turns, but there’s the dark strain of a shifter that weaves in with the other unique abilities and powers, and he’d known the instant that Legend walked back into camp weeks ago with pink hair, aura flaring and still settling down again, exactly what had happened.

 Callused hands reach over to ruffle the vet’s locks. The blue cap had been lost while they work the ranch, and it offers free access to fluffy pink hair, making the vet’s nose twitch as he darts away from the touch.  

 “Come on. We’d best get him loose.”

 Wolfie’s head is indeed trapped inside of a pumpkin.

 Time has to pause to hold back a laugh for a minute when he sees it, lifting a hand to his mouth to hide a smile that Twilight can’t see anyway from within the pumpkin prison. Harsh barks and whines echo from within the gourd as Legend saunters over, tone light and feet lighter as he moves towards the wolf, who’s paws push desperately at the orange walls around his head.

 “Twi, I got the old man. Hold still so we can get that thing off of you.” The vet giggles slightly as he speaks, and a strained whine meets the words. Time can almost see his protégé's face, unamused and nearly a pout, and the thought makes his laugh lightly as he steps over, inspecting his trapped pup.

 “Hylia, pup, you really got yourself stuck, huh?”

 “I would have expected this of the Champion.” Legend teases. “Not you ranch-hand.”

 Another strained whine sounds from the pumpkin headed wolf.

 “Alright, kiddo, we’ll get you out.” Time is already rolling up his sleeves, inspecting the pumpkin and dog combo with a calculating eye as Legend stands aside expectantly. “Kit, grab the pumpkin, I’ll get the pup, when I say pull, dig those pegasus boots-” He cuts off as his eyes dart down to see that Legend is...barefoot.

 One brow cocks, unimpressed, at the vet, who only shrugs off his stare. “They hurt my feet when I wear them too long.”

 “Get new ones?” He blinks slowly.

 “Doesn’t work.” Legend huffs, already moving in front of Twilight, hands working to find a grip on the giant orange gourd that traps Twilight’s head. “Flat feet don’t fit right in any shoe.”

 “Right.” He’ll need to talk to Four about fixing tat problem later. “Well, get a good grip on the ground and pull, I’ll hold him back.”

 “You act like he’s gonna charge me.” The vet snickers, and Wolfie’s whine joins the teen’s voice, nearly insulted.

 “Alright, on three. One. Two. Three!”

 Time’s arms lock around the giant wolf, but as Legend pulls at the lareg pumpkin the dirt underneath his skids and slips, and the vet’s feet fly out from under him, landing him firmly on his ass as Time snorts out a short bout of laughter.

 “Switch.” Legend grumbles, but doing so yields the same results, Time’s hearty pull on the pumpkin only dragging Wolfie out of Legend’s arms and sending the vet face first into the dirt.

 “New plan.” Legend groans, rubbing his sore backside as Time crouches to wipe mud off of the teen’s face.

 “I could try and cut it off, but-”

 Wolfie’s bark is desperate, and Legend frowns. “Might be our only option, pops.”

 The vet is sent to run back to the house, faster than Time and needing to loosen up his limbs again after being thrown to the ground like a discarded toy, and Time is left with his protégé, a pumpkin clad head resting in hs lap as he runs his hands through the canine’s long fur, stifling chuckles each time he glances down at the orange mess in his lap.

 “You really did it this time, eh Pup? What on earth could have prompted you to stick your head in there?”

 Twilight’s wolf form prevents him from understanding the whine that echoes from the pumpkin, and the reminded of his protégé's plight only has Time stifling laughter again, shaking lightly when Malon and Legend make their way to the garden gate, Malon with a sharp kitchen knife in hand as she weaves around the entrance, light laughter floating on the air as she watches Legend climb the gate rather than walk through, the vet darting back over with a sheepish smile as he meets Time’s eyes.  

 “Mamalon wouldn’t let me grab any weapons.”

 He wonders if Legend hears his slip, but there's no doubt Malon heard it if the way she smiles, pink tinging her cheeks as her eyes twinkle brightly while she crouches at his side.

 “Good heavens, how’d he come by this pickle?”  

 “Only Nayru knows.” Time shrugs, and Wolfie’s despairing whine only adds to the canine’s shame as Malon gently pats his shoulder.  

 “Don’t you fuss, love. We’ll get you out of there in a sec.” Green eyes dart up to meet Time’s own. “I brought a blunter one. It should cut through alright, but at the most will poke him a bit if it hits him. I haven’t sharpened it in ages, so he should be fine.”

 The eager and desperate wiggle of the wolf’s hindquarters and the thumping of his tail draws smiles to their faces, and Time nods firmly. “Give us your orders, ma’am.”

 It falls to Legend to hold the pumpkin still while Time keeps the wolf inside still, and it’s Malon who carefully slices through the orange gourd, handing off pieces to the vet, who carefully places them in a clean pail to prevent spoiling them in the dirt. When Wolfie’s head emerges, it’s covered in pumpkin guts and seeds, and the mutts nose it dripping orange as he sneezes and huffs.  

   Black swirls around them as dog transforms back to Hylian, and then the ranch hand sit there, head, shoulders and hair covered in seeds while laughter rings loud and boisterous in his ears from the family around him.

 “Right then.” Malon wipes some seed from her boy’s cheeks, laughter making her voice shake as he tries shaking off the rest of it, only succeeding in shaking gunk all over them. “Guess he’s free now.”

 “This is utterly disgusting.” Legend grins, shaking orange off of his hands and back into Twilight’s hair, prompting a very wolfie growl from the rancher, and then Twilight’s launching himself out of Time’s lap and at Legend, pinning the smaller boy to the ground and shaking orange gunk and seeds all over the loudly protesting vet.

 “I’ll run baths.” Time chuckles as he watches the two, helping Malon collect the last of the pumpkin’s flesh and the knife into her pail.

 “You do that.” A chaste kiss is pressed to his lips as green eyes wink at him. “I’ll get back to the kitchen, we might as well have pie for dinner after all this bother.”

 Her hsvand’s eyes light up, and Legend kciks at the larger boy on top of him, violet twinkling as he tries to meet their eyes. “Pie?”

 “No! Please! No more pumpkins!” Twilight pleads, shooting around to stare pleadingly at the two adults, giving Legend the perfect opportunity to break free, the vet knocking over his brother and darting behind Malon’s skirts with a cheeky grin when Twilight’s midnight eyes turn to him with a scowl.

 “You ruin a pumpkin with pay, I'm gonna make the best of the leftovers.” Malon scolds.

 “There was a keese.” Twilight protests, almost whimpers, red tinging his cheeks.

 Green, royal blue and violet stare at him, each blinking slowly as laughter breaks out again over the garden, Twilight’s protests and excuses snowballing as he tries, fruitlessly, to make the stop.

 “Right.” Malon, scoops up one of the pails of pumpkin. “Link, I trust you’ll help our pup clean up?”

 “Yes ma’am.”

 “Good.” Sharp eyes, rupee green, turn to the vet. “I hear you bake rather well; would you like to help?”

 “He’s covered in pumpkin too!” Twilight protests.

 Legend pokes his tongue out at his brother before turning an absolutely radiant smile on Malon, one that easily rival’s Warriors’ flirtatious one. “Lead the way, ma’am!”

[codenamed-queenie]

#BatsInQuarantine

I am going insane. So I poured my restlessness into one long and very detailed post and got super into it. Please enjoy this hot mess.

The Justice League, being the well-meaning virus-proof Super Friends that they are, took one good look at the news, one good look at their non-powered friends Ollie, Bruce, and their families, and collectively decided that these normal humans must be Protected At All Costs.

Now, keep in mind, Bruce is never one to roll over when it comes to being benched. 

However, he understands the importance of social distancing. He knows he needs to set a good example for his kids, and keep up appearances as Gotham’s Most Responsible Multi-Billionaire. 

So. Quarantine it is. 

But how are his kids handling it?

Dick - 

100% on board in the beginning. Gotta do the Responsible Thing. Gotta set a Good Example. Besides, guys, this is gonna be Fun. Quality Family Time is always a Must.

He lasted 2 days. 

Then he started to get twitchy. 

And as everyone knows? A Trapped Dick Grayson is a Feral Dick Grayson.

He bounces off the walls.

Literally.

“I have to climb.” 

“Dick, no.”  

“I have to climb everything.”

Has scaled the manor 16 times already. Has climbed the chandelier. The banister. Bruce. The roof. The Cave. Anything in the house that’s been bolted down and especially anything that hasn’t. 

Duke found him clinging to the wall 10 ft off the ground like Spiderman and screamed so loud it shattered glass. 

Desperate for news of the outside. 

He thrives off of it like a starving man. 

Was the one to suggest he and Barbara take a break to Social Distance from each other (”Sorry, babe, kissing spreads germs”) and experienced Instant Regret(TM) approximately 5 minutes after. 

The Family has labelled him a Flight Risk Level 1 (Most likely to say f**k it and make a break for the outside world)

Jason - 

Accidentally got trapped inside the manor with the others when Bruce called Shutdown. If he had his way, he’d be chilling in his favorite safe-house right now, binging The Witcher with Roy and Artemis, and not worrying about finding a stray brother in his sock drawer.

But he’s nothing if not an opportunist. 

The way he sees it, Jason has 3 options:

Self Improvement

Self Isolation (See Duke, Cass, and Damian)

Descension Into Madness (See Dick and Steph)

And, well, he always wanted to try a few things. Now he’s got the free time to do it.

So he settles on baking. 

Alfred’s got enough food and raw ingredients stored up to feed an army. (Not because he’s a Panic-Buying-Hoarder in times like these. But because he’s a Panic-Buying-Hoarder all the time. Just try feeding 11+ teenagers sometime.)

Uses recipes he finds off Google.

His first few attempts are, in a word, ‘tragic’.

Alfred slips him a few of his recipe cards, and Jason suddenly starts seeing Results. 

Turns out he’s pretty good at this baking thing once he gets the hang of it. 

Hope everyone’s okay eating nothing but pie, macaroons, biscuits, and whatever else Jason whips up. 

Cause that’s gonna be the only food left by the time he’s done. 

Barbara - 

Self-quarantined with her dad. 

They’ve been binge-watching classic black and white movies together.

It’s a fun time, but she’s started to get a little antsy. Loving her dad and wanting to be around him 24/7 are, understandably, mutually exclusive. 

Calls the manor to video-chat every day.

For her sanity just as much as theirs. 

Gives everyone little challenges to film on their phones and send in. She makes compilations of everyone’s submissions so they can all watch and laugh together. 

Bonus points for Creativity

One comp shows the family trying to drop Mentos into coke bottles. 

Dick did a handstand, and dropped his Mento from the second story balcony. 

Tim did it wearing the Batman cowl. The soda exploded into his face, and the rest of the video is just Bruce’s Shrieking.

Stephanie tried it, but the bottle tipped. Everyone on camera screamed as the bottle rocketed through the front window. 

She spends most of her calls having one-on-one convos with Dick.

They’ve come up with little code phrases so they can be Cheesy even with family members lurking in the background. 

She thinks the way he clings to the monitor is cute. 

Almost like he’s giving her a hug through the screen. 

(It’s easier than letting herself worry about his mental state, at least)

Tim -

Oh this boy.

Freaked out for the first five minutes before he decided ‘hey wait, Bruce is letting me stay in my pajamas all day? Noice.’ 

Now he’s just vibing.

The rest of his family is Low-Key shielding him.

He Has No Spleen, you see.

Steph: “Someone could cough on him and he could die!”

He just goes about his day, playing Animal Crossing like there’s no tomorrow, tinkering on projects, taking naps, etc. Living his best life.

Meanwhile there’s always someone lurking behind him, keeping watch, keeping him safe. 

Dick sneezed within 5 feet of Tim once (the fact that he was on top of the dusty bookshelf Tim was perusing is irrelevant)

Jason still full-body tackled him the second Tim’s back was turned. 

No one with any symptoms--

Like, any symptoms. They don’t even have to be Corona-related.

--is allowed within 10 feet of Tim. 

Tim has been wandering the manor for weeks, now, without seeing another human being. 

(He sees Dick on the ceiling sometimes, but that doesn’t really count)

He’s been trying increasingly drastic pranks and shenanigans to draw someone, anyone, out. 

But it doesn’t matter how many times he steals Damian’s sword, or sets fire to Jason’s brownie bites.

Nobody wants to risk it. 

Cass - 

No one has seen her since quarantine started.

Everyone is approximately 87% sure she’s somewhere in the manor though

Because she does eat the meals Alfred leaves out for her.

Or at least someone does, at any rate. 

(Jason and Santa top the running suspects list)

Santa was Steph’s suggestion. For some reason it snowballed. 

It’s assumed that Cass misunderstood the meaning of ‘social distancing’ and took it too far. 

But no one knows for sure. 

She is Tim’s Guardian Angel. 

People who so much as clear their throats a little too loudly anywhere near him suddenly wake up on a different floor of the house four hours later. 

Duke came closest to spotting her while he was up in the attic. 

Either that, or there’s another Creepy Sister everyone forgot to tell him about living up there.

She is silent, and watchful, sticking to the shadows, but she does leave the occasional note out to brighten her siblings’ day. 

Things like ‘helo i love u’ and ‘hop u ar ok’  mostly. 

She is bound and determined to protect her family from this invisible threat, no matter the cost. 

Steph - 

Like Dick, she was Super Pumped at first. 

(Just kind of showed up at Wayne Manor before quarantine was enacted. The original purpose of her visit is unclear, but regardless, she’s Trapped.)

Also Like Dick, her descent into madness was swift.

She is impossible to pin down. 

Not like Cass or Damian, who’ve stayed off the grid, and are therefore Untraceable. 

No. She’s impossible to pin down, because she never stops moving. 

Switches seamlessly between Zumba on top of the Giant Dinosaur in the Batcave, and furiously knitting Alfred (the Cat) a sweater with a pair of Tim’s used chopsticks. 

Braided everyone’s hair while they were asleep.

Even Bruce’s. 

She tried to do Tim’s, but somehow blacked out and regained consciousness in the attic. 

When she woke up with a scream and a furiously twitching eye, she startled Duke out of his Makeshift Fort he built out of old cardboard boxes and antique furniture. He’s had to resort to finding a new hiding place. 

Sometimes, on the rare occasions she does sit still, staring off into the distance, she’ll suddenly start laughing hysterically. This may last between thirty seconds and thirty minutes, depending entirely on how long it’s been since she’s knitted a cat sweater or done cartwheels through every room in the house.

Blew up the greenhouse out back, somehow.

Everyone has agreed not to talk about it.

Some people were built to handle prolonged time inside their homes.

Stephanie Brown is not that way.

Damian - 

Damian Wayne Cannot Be Contained.

At least not inside the house. 

He took off thirty-six hours into quarantine. 

Thanks to the security equipment around the borders of the Wayne Estate, he can’t escape the grounds. 

(He’s tried and failed multiple times. Jason and Bruce have a running bet on how many times the perimeter alarms will go off per day.)

(Jason is winning.)

He wanders the grounds with Titus as his only companion. 

The two of them run laps, practice drills, and find ways to occupy their time. 

No one’s entirely sure what those ways are. 

In fact, nobody knows exactly where Damian is at any given time. 

Only that he is Out There. 

And he’s the best security system Wayne Manor’s ever had. 

So far, he’s stopped five groups of civilians scaling the perimeter walls before the lasers and electric nets even have a chance to deploy.

They were trying to break in and steal supplies. 

(Even ones they already had in surplus. Like Toilet Paper.)

He’s also stopped Dick from escaping twelve (12) times.

Drags him back by his shirt collar and deposits him on the welcome mat. 

Usually with a note for Alfred/Jason, requesting more fruit tarts. 

Duke - 

Did not leave the attic for two weeks. 

Then Steph discovered his hiding spot (read: was dumped there by Cassandra) which forced him to relocate to the basement. 

Yes, it turns out Wayne Manor does have a basement. 

This was a surprise to Duke, who always thought that the Batcave was Bruce Wayne’s basement. 

Alfred keeps him supplied with all the necessities:

i.e. food, magazines, assorted pastries from Jason’s latest batch, usually straight out of the oven.

Duke also snagged the Manor’s Alexa. 

She has become a sort of ‘Wilson’ to Duke’s ‘Chuck Noland’.

She is his only comfort. His only ally. 

He’s determined to wait out this quarantine, doing his best to avoid the others. 

Duke has seen these people under pressure. 

He knows exactly what he’s dealing with. 

Duke: “Alexa is the only motherf****r in this madhouse I ever respected.”

*offended butler noises from the other room*

Duke: “And also Alfred.”

[slyther-bi]

Y'all remember the Snapemas challenge that was made by @deepperplexity right, well one of the days was titled "Snow" and I wrote about how much Snape loves the snow.

Now all I can think about is Severus falling face first into the snow in just his pajamas and basically just covering himself in snow till he's no longer visible. The real kicker is that no matter how much Severus stays out in the snow he never gets sick but everyone else does and then ends up getting salty about it, like

Severus: What do you mean you got sick? What do you mean it's because you spent hours digging through snow just to find me? Well Minerva if you don't wanna hang out just say so

Minerva, laying in bed looking like death: *flips off Severus*

Like eventually they make a chart on who has to go and accompany Severus out into the snow.

Mondays - Albus

They make a bunch of snowman's and snow angels. They even built forts and have to be dragged back in by Minerva. Albus gets sick but if he still sick by next Monday he'll insist that he's fine cause he doesn't want to disappoint Severus

Tuesdays - Sinistra

Severus talks her into ice skating on the black lake and She has more then once tried to convince him that

"No Severus you can not break the ice and swim in the bloody lake!"

"Watch me!"

Wensdays - Minerva

Severus practically burries himself into the snow and it takes Minerva hours to find him. He's like a gopher and Minerva has eventually bought a kids leash to put on him. Severus hates it but atleast now he can bury himself in the snow without getting yelled at.

Thursdays - Whoever happens to be the DADA teacher

Quirrell - After having lost him so many times he wasn't allowed to accompany him anymore. He was replaced by Hagrid and it makes Severus happy cause then they can build giant snowman's.

Lockhart - Severus buries him in the snow or builds him into a snowman and then leaves to go have hot chocolate at the Three broomsticks or just pummels him with snowballs

Lupin - Just like Albus they make snowman's and snow angels then drink hot chocolate afterwards. Sometimes Lupin agrees to go ice skating but has to talk Severus from breaking the ice and diving into the water.

Crouch as Moody: Same as Minerva, he has to deal with Severus burying himself in the snow, but not only that he has to watch out with Severus throwing snowballs at him

Umbridge: He's buried her in the snow many times, after being told he isn't allowed to do that anymore, Severus has resorted to purposely making her sick cause he rather miss a day of snow then spend time with that woman.

Snape: he disappears at the beginning of the day and doesn't return till midnight and no one knows where he went but he's happy and alive.

Carrow: Severus just pummels him with Snowballs and has trapped him in the black lake. After doing so he proceeds to ice skate while Carrow bangs against the ice wanting to be let out. Later the other Professors have to go retrieve him since Severus has left him behind.

Fridays - Flitwick

Severus just likes to takes walks out in the snow with him while drinking hot chocolate or eating sweets and talking. He's one of the professor's that Severus doesn't cause trouble for.

Saturdays - Sprout

They ice skate on the black lake and then take a small stroll.

Sundays - Trelawney

They both sit up on the astronomy tower and watch the snow fall together. They don't speak but they do eat some sweets together.

Whenever someone isn't available - Filch

They build snowman's, snow angels, snow forts, and have hot chocolate. They also ice skate on the black lake, sometimes Severus buries himself in the snow and then falls asleep. Filch doesn't mind cause he knows Severus won't get sick. When it gets dark they watch the snow fall. Filch has more then once carried Severus back to his room, he weighs practically nothing.

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Motion Sickness Chapter 34

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I was a part of something bigger, made of something bigger. When I opened my eyes, Ruby was there. All of RWBY was there in fact, JNPR too. And CRDL even. Everyone I had ever met and, you know what, everyone I had ever not met was stuck too. Not just humans but faunus too. All Cetra in one giant groaning mass.

It was everybody. It was everything and at the center of it all was a mad god and the distant sound of flute playing. Out of tune. Out of beat. It was a horrific whistling sound like if somebody tortured the wind and made it shriek wildly in the abysmal mass.

And we were made out of it. And we were trapped in it.

We were all there and made and trapped in this stuff. I tried to move but I was stuck in it. Like I’d been cemented into place in this wall. But the stuff wasn’t cement, it was flesh. It was both human and Grimm flesh and I was stuck inside of it. When I looked out beyond there was only one thing that wasn’t stuck in the goo, only one person.

A woman.

I knew her. Her straw-blonde hair and pale skin stood out to me. Her sharp facial features were a match for my own. I had her nose and eyes a few shades darker than hers.

“Mother!” I called out. “Mother save me!” With pale eyes, she turned towards me.

She walked towards me and cupped my chin with ghost white hands. “Of course, my child. I will save you. Hush now.”

With one gentle pull she ripped me free of the wall into her ghostly white arms. I shuddered as she cradled me.

This isn’t what I wanted. This wasn’t what I had in mind. I was a tentacle. I was merging in my flesh with my mother and becoming one with her. I wasn’t saved here. I was just as trapped.

When I woke up, Ruby’s arms were tight around me. Her face held the exact same soft expression it had when she was stuck in the wall. I couldn’t look at her. Especially as she sighed softly and nuzzled her face into my shoulder.

There had been cries for help. People sobbed in the wall. But I knew that no one made it out of the four and a half billion year deep corpse pile. I screamed and something had looked at me. I called out in pure instinct for my mother and something had answered. It was alien, foreign. It was not like us.

My mouth opened in a silent scream in the real world, I’d drooled all over my pillow and sheets. I flipped the pillow over and laid my head back but I knew I’d never get any sleep now.

All I could think was that she wasn’t my mother.

Ruby hushed me and rubbed my chest softly. Harsh red and orange scars stood out across it. She mumbled softly in her sleep. I watched her adjust her position across my chest, her hands taking mine in hers as she did.

I relaxed but only slightly. The sight of the woman’s eyes were burned into my mind.

I checked my scroll. It was three thirty in the morning. Way too early to go about waking Ruby or any such nonsense. I slid out of bed carefully, avoiding any movement which might wake Ruby and slid my pillow into my place. She adorably wrapped her arms around it and I couldn’t help but brush her hair back and kiss her forehead.

I made my way over to the minifridge and helped myself to some of the icecream Ruby had bought and binged to make herself feel better. Strawberry sherbet. Fitting. And for breakfast no less. I sighed and wiped my forehead.

“Jaune…” A quiet whisper. I’d failed and been caught. Ruby came up behind me and wrapped her arms around me. There was a mirror which ran across our wall in which I’d failed to notice her creeping up behind me within. Her tight pjs pressed against my back and her fingers traced about the scars on my chest.

“It’s nothing, just a bad dream.”

“You’ve been having a lot of those.” She almost scolded me. But if it was a scold I wanted to be scolded again, it was so gentle.

“They’re nothing,” I tried.

“Not nothing," she denied easily. "Tell me about them,” she murmured. Her voice like a shallow creek. “Are they about Tyrian?”

“Who? The scorpion?”

I felt her roll her eyes against my back. “His name was Tyrian.”

“He doesn’t deserve so much as a name. Calling him ‘The Scorpion’ is already too good for him.”

“Tell me about your nightmares, Jaune.” She was impossible to distract, it would seem. That’s why I loved her; I think. Not only was she a sweetheart, she was unrelenting. It was unbelievably attractive.

I told her about the mound of human and faunus flesh. But I didn’t mention my mother pulling me out of it and into her arms. I didn’t mention how I became one with her instead. I told her about how I saw her sleeping in the massive wall. Just another person shaped tentacle.

I shuddered as she ran her hands through my scars, the warmth of her fingers rocked me to my bones. The feeling spread across my ribs as I turned around and wrapped her in my arms. Her arms stayed tight within mine and she leaned her head against my chest again.

“Jaune...”

“I’ll be okay Rubes. Pinky promise.”

She wrapped her hands around my neck and kissed me.

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Ruby went back to bed. I could not. I was awake and out and about. And if I had another dream like that one I never wanted to sleep again.

Weiss was the first one up. It was early too when she joined me in the living spaces. As in, it was like five in AM. She must be an early riser. Maddening.

“Jaune…” she murmured my name sleepily. “What’s got you out of bed so early.”

“Bad dreams. Family problems probably. Couldn’t get back to sleep. Why are you up so fucking early?”

“I’m always up this early.”

“Why?”

“I like the mornings. If you’re up early you can get a lot done. Coffee?”

“I made a pot already. Help yourself.”

“What a gentleman.”

“I guess.”

“So, family problems,” she muttered. “I know a thing or two about that.”

“Ruby mentioned you did. Not any of the specifics,” I said hurriedly when she turned swiftly in my direction. “Just that your parents were mean to you.”

“Well. ‘Mean.’” She managed. She thought for a moment. “My father was physically and emotionally abusive. My mother was a drinker and was totally absent in any way that matters.”

“Mean,” I leveraged. “My parents were… I don’t know how to describe it. They didn’t believe in me. For one thing. My father especially didn’t. He thought I didn’t have a prayer. Especially at being a huntsman.”

“But you showed them. You’re quite the huntsman now.”

“Yeah. I guess. Wait until my sisters find out. That will mean something.”

“How many sisters did you have again?”

“Seven.”

“Seven?!” She asked as she sat down on the couch opposite me.

“Seven. I’m the oldest. They matter to me. Are you close with your siblings if not with your parents?” I asked.

“Maybe with Winter. So maybe one. But she’s distant. It’s a part of who she is. It’s also a survival trait in a family like mine. My brother on the other hand…” she trailed off but I just waited. “My brother is like my father,” she decided.

“Bad, then.”

“Bad,” she agreed.

“I was the oldest by quite a bit. And I was the only guy. So… I was excluded from stuff. But not intentionally. You know? It’s just how that goes.”

“Mmhmm,” she hummed. It was a pleasant sound in her throat. I stared at her neck for a moment. Her early morning clothes were a soft grey and blue gown that showed off all the way down her collar. I glanced away as my eyes trailed a little lower than her collar.

Girl’s in their pajamas, man. Something about it… What was I to do?

“But I’ve got Ruby now. She believes in me,” I continued. “I mean you and I both do?”

She choked a little on her coffee. I stared. “I’m sorry?” She wondered. “What do you mean?”

“She’s your partner. You two are like, besties or whatever. I’ve never really had that either.”

“Oh. That’s… that’s what you meant. Yes, I suppose. We’re good friends. I… I never really had that before Ruby. A best friend.”

“Me neither. I’m none of my best-friends’ best friends. It’s a bit of an insecurity of mine. Yeah I’m dating Ruby but…”

“But that’s different,” Weiss whispered. “What you and Ruby have is different from what Ruby and I can have…”

“Yeah. I mean, I guess. What is friendship anyways? I was close to Pyrrha but I wouldn’t say we were best friends like you and Ruby are. We also were never a couple. And Ren has Nora so while he’s definitely my bro, he’s not really my best friend.”

“When did you find out that Pyrrha liked you?” Weiss murmured.

“She… she kissed me before she went to fight Cinder. So… she had to be pretty obvious. With Ruby, too. It was that way. Or I never would have found out. I’m… for someone who is… I don’t know… I’m kinda smart. Right?”

“Yes, you’re smart. You fight in a way that’s about the mental battle as much as the physical. Like your empty hops. You’re always trying to psych your opponent out. You’re pretty smart. We pretty much all go to you for plans.”

“Right,” I agreed. “But holy fuck am I dumb. You get what I mean?”

“Well…”

“I mean I went after you instead of Pyrrha who was right there in front of me. I didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell with you. But my dumbass just kept tryin’.”

“ Well …”

“So man, am I dumb. You feel me? I’m too fuckin’ dumb to be this smart.”

“A little , but what makes you say you didn’t have a chance with me?” Weiss rubbed her coffee cup and stared into the liquid distantly.

“Did I have a chance with you? You can answer that.”

“Not when you were putting on that act, no.”

“There you go then. Not a prayer. And Pyrrha was right in front of me. Am I blind? What’s the matter with me?”

“Well, yes. Okay. So you don’t have experience with girls…”

“No experience with girls-I have seven sisters! What the hell are you talking about?” I demanded. “Seriously what’s my excuse? I’d like one.”

“I… I have nothing for you. You’re pumping in a dry well.”

“Yeah. So that’s what’s wrong with me.”

“Oh is that all?”

“Probably not but let’s say it is. So what’s eating you?”

“Nothing. Why would you say something’s eating me?”

“Okay. Nothing’s bothering you.”

“No seriously was it something I said?”

“Well a little. Something seems up with you. You’re actually talking to me.”

“You’re actually talking to me,” she pointed out. “None of the fake stuff.”

“The fake stuff got me nowhere fast anyway. Good riddance to that sweet trash.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

“Things aren’t looking good, Oz.” I overheard Qrow from the kitchen beside Ruby.

“Ever the optimist. Even with the strides in progress we’ve made with you recently.” Ozpin was in control so I suppose it was he who I heard take a sip of coffee rather than Oscar. “While I would not say our current predicament is ideal I think we can both agree the situation could be much worse. Humanity is a resilient force.”

“Oz. Pro-huntsmen don’t just bite it like that all at once. Salem’s powerful and it seems like her reach is growing by the day. What does that say about humanity?” I shuddered. I thought of my mother and sisters who were out there somewhere right now. Ruby set her arm on the small of my back and I gave her a firm nod. She sighed and turned around and paced away from me.

I hated to see her leave but I loved to watch her go.

“That there are indeed a misguided few who have filled their hearts with malice. It doesn’t take a great number of people to cause harm but I believe there are far more people in this world willing to prevent it.”

Ruby paced over to join her uncle and Ozpin for their discussion. I loomed in the doorway, against the garden glass. “Um excuse me?” She was still a tad shy where her own leadership was concerned when things weren’t in the heat of battle.

“Ah Ms. Rose and Mr Arc, join us.” I snorted and stayed standing. Ruby took the red love seat next to her uncle. “We were just about to gather everyone to discuss our next steps.”

“Oh, uh, great.”

“Something on your mind kido?” Qrow asked.

“Well if it’s okay to ask…” Ruby trailed.

“Of course,” Qrow encouraged.

“Well we’ve been talking about the relics, Jaune and I that is, and if they have the fall maiden…”

“Cinder,” Ozpin clarified.

“Doesn’t that mean that they already have the Beacon relic?”

"Very astute Ms. Rose. I was wondering who would be the first to ask. It's true that the Haven relic, the relic of knowledge, is very much at risk, and for now that should remain our primary objective. Let's just say I made finding the relic at Beacon a bit more challenging than at the other schools."

"Ah, that's good to hear."

"It is. But let's not forget the challenges that still lie before us."

"Oh well I did have one more question."

"No my cane is not a relic."

"I have no more questions."

They shared a polite laugh and I snorted again at my girlfriend's antics from my spot in the corner. Arms folded I still eyed Ozpin warily.

"Yes while this cane is indeed very precious to me it is only that, precious to me. And while it still has a few tricks up its sleeve, I can firmly say being a relic is not one of them."

"Now why don't you run and get the other students."

Ruby gave me an indecipherable glance as she walked past me to gather our friends.

"Now something we can help you with, Mr Arc?"

"You let me into your school." It wasn't a question. "I have to know why. Why you took that risk over other applicants. I can't trust you otherwise."

"Yes. You did stand out to me at Beacon. Glynda, too. Your records indicated someone with shall we say more skill than you displayed."

"That charade should have lasted all of five minutes into initiation. I didn't even have aura."

"I took a calculated risk."

"You thought I was Salem's. My records didn't fool you."

They shared a glance. "Now is this the source of your hostility towards me. I thought it had its origin in my selection of Pyrrha as the new fall maiden."

"That too. Her blood is on your hands." I looked to where I wore Pyrrha's banner on my bicep. "How many others have you gotten killed that I don't know about? How many people have you had die? How old are you really? And why did you let me get past you?"

"Very well, if you'll allow me to tackle the questions in order?" He seemed to be actually waiting for me to answer so I nodded. "Many. Too many to count for the first two. I suspect you know something about that. It has escaped me." I shuddered again and nodded. The exact number of people I have killed has run from me, after all. "I am very old. I predate modern Remnant by a few thousand years. And yes I thought you were an agent of Salem's. I'm glad to see that you aren't given the alarming competence you've shown me these last few weeks. I took a gamble and I'm happy to see it paid off."

"So you didn't know what I would become? This… this thing?"

"I saw potential in you, if that's what you're asking. I was hardly the only one. You were willing to put in the work to catch up to your peers. And you're hardly a monster, Mr. Arc." He gave a little laugh.

"I could have been one of Salem's agents and you still let me in. I could have killed someone. I could have been anything. You made the wrong choice."

"Even with the benefit of hindsight?"

"I could have been anything. You took too serious a risk where my friends are concerned. I think you have a bad habit of playing fast and loose with other people's lives, given that immortal perspective and all."

"Perhaps I did.” He confessed, maybe conceding the point. “What would you have me do?"

"Be more careful. We're counting on you."

"You don't seem pleased by it."

"I don't have any other choice."

Qrow's scroll buzzed. He'd been watching our exchange with a sort of jealous attention. I had the feeling I'd asked questions he himself wanted answers to, like I had said things he wanted to be said. He looked at the device.

"It's Leo, hang on." He opened the communication. "Yeah? Okay. Yeah, we'll be there."

"And?" I pressed.

"He says he had a break-through with the council. Said he might just be able to put that raiding party together and that we should join him tomorrow evening to talk about it."

"Perhaps time was all Leo really needed." Ozpin sounded like he didn't believe it.

"But you doubt it," I said.

"I do. Leonardo disobeyed direct commands I had given him. You yourself are suspicious of him, rightfully so. As am I, as you were suspicious of me."

"Are,” I corrected. “I am suspicious of you. Do you really think you’ve won me over. I know you have designs for my friends as pieces in your game.”

“And what about your role in the games I play?”

“I can eat shit, and die. And I totally fucking will. My friends. They actually matter. Their lives have real value.”

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

-WG

[let-it-show]

Ssshh It’s Playtime

I am tired as heck and it was a struggle, but I did manage to do writing again for tonight’s prompt of Whispers/Kisses. Now, why is Elsa hiding??

"Why are you behind this curtain?"

Elsa startled at the sound of Olaf's voice and whipped around to face him, her finger to her lips. "Sshh! Olaf ssshh..." She checked the thick red curtain and drew it around herself and the little snowman. Once again she was concealed, even if it might look funny on the other side. She hoped not.

Olaf blinked and moved closer to the window. "Why are you behind this curtain?" he asked again in a whisper. It still seemed too loud. "And...why is there a pile of snowballs?"

Elsa looked at the pile and wished for a moment she was wearing something other than her old sky blue nightgown. If she had a cape to throw over the snowballs, Olaf wouldn't be in there asking questions. "Oh. You see...I have to get Anna back for making me freeze myself to the door earlier so I was going to throw these at her when she goes by." Her cheeks  warmed. It felt silly to tell anyone what she was up to.

"Oh!" Olaf grinned. "That sounds fun! Can I help?" he asked, chuckling.

"Yes but- you have to be quiet," she whispered. "Like me. These old walls echo, after all." Anna may hear if she walked in alone. If she came in chatting, it would be easy, though she would be careful not to catch anyone else in the crossfire.

Olaf smiled and nodded. "Okay. I'll be quiet. They aren't hard packed are they?"

"Of course not! I'm going to mess with her, that's all. It'll be like being hit with fluff."

"Fluff," Olaf repeated in a whisper that was finally low enough. "Elsa...you know how I'm getting a little older and more mature?"

"Sure. Why?"

"I'm confused. The kids in town always play and sometimes I still join. But everyone else who is prehistoric - isn't that a cool word? - like you and Anna, doesn't do these things. Snowball fights and chasing each other around. You said your pillow fights aren't for me to join but I assume they're a game too. Is playing normal to do for your whole life?"

It was such an honest and surprising question that Elsa just stared for a moment. She hadn't expected Olaf to be the one to ask her something like that because he was always so carefree, but he was also trying to understand more. Elsa found herself unsure how to answer him, because her own answer would be biased, and rooted in the childhood she didn't have.

But then...she also didn't know what other families were like at home. Maybe some adults acted like her and Anna.

"Well Olaf, that's hard for me to answer. When I was younger I wanted to play with Anna every day, and she wanted to play with me. She had so much energy, and I was lonely, but we couldn't have fun with each other after the incident." She had wanted to ride the bike around the hall. She wanted to play with dolls in a giant dollhouse. It didn't matter that Anna made everything including the chaos causing dragons fall in love. Playing with her little sister had been fun and imaginative.

She was almost lost in thought, but Olaf tugged at her gown. "Elsa?"

"Oh!" She yelped and covered her mouth. "Oh, sorry," she said quieter. "Well...we never really got to play anymore. For years. And even though its been a few years since we were reunited, there's....there's so, so much to make up for. There's fun we never had, and fun to be had. Once Anna and I started to have fun and play all the games we never got to, I found I didn't want to stop. I hope we never stop. Maybe some grow out of it Olaf, but I'm not sure we ever will. And why should we, anyway?" she asked, looking at him for an answer.

"I thought...it's the responsible thing to do? But that doesn't make sense..." he answered her question with a question. "Gee, I guess there's no good answer for that, is there?"

Elsa shook her head, a smile on her lips. "Nope. I asked myself that when I began to settle in my new life, open about my powers. But then I was making ice rinks every week, creating stories and toys with my magic and even Anna was there being wowed." Anna's eyes had sparkled with wonder and Elsa was never tired of seeing that. That was another element she kept private - she loved how happy Anna was when she played. She was cute, she was bouncy, she made Elsa's heart beat stronger. "Anna and I started with throwing snowballs at each other and it just kept going. We get to prank each other and kid around like we couldn't before."

"It never ever seems weird no matter how much older you get?"

"No. When have our lives been anything other than weird anyway? I have a son that's a snowman," she said, fondly patting Olaf's cheek with a grin. "I wouldn't trade this odd life for anything."

Olaf chuckled and gazed up at her with fondness. "That's good, being traded would be a little strange."

"It would-oh!" Elsa heard a door open and she moved her hand over Olaf's mouth even though he wasn't talking. "I-oops, sorry," she hissed, pulling her hand back while he just shook her head. She listened carefully, to be sure it was Anna.

"And then- and then he just looked at me! Like that! With that one tooth half out of his mouth! I asked him if it hurt and he didn't answer that, but he did try to sell me his cow, which of course,  I don't need." Anna's voice, talking to someone.

"Wow. I guess you'll think twice before you stop by that shop again." It was Kristoff's voice.

Kristoff! Oh, Elsa didn't even have to worry about crossfire. She reached behind her for one of her snowballs, rolling it in her hand as she shot Olaf a mischievous look. He reached a hand out and she gave him the snowball she held, picking up a fresh one.

"I don't know if it's even an actual shop. Nothing was priced, except for some dirty clothes which-HEY!" Anna shouted as a snowball clobbered her in the head, making her trip forward. She didn't go down, which was impressive in her royal green robes.

Elsa was susprised she was still in them, but she didn't stop. Her arm pulled back and another ball smacked Anna in the shoulder as she turned to look for the source of the attack. Olaf plucked off the arm with the snowball and held it in his other hand, swinging wildly to whip it at the two. Kristoff turned around just in time for it to hit him in the nose.

"Hey!" he shouted, wiping it off his face.

"Elsa!" Anna yelled, coming for the curtain. Elsa was half out of it with a smug look on her face. "Elsa I am coming for you and you won't like what happens!" Her face looked funny, as if she was trying to be angry and completely failing.

"Sounds serious!" Olaf said as he whipped another snowball at Anna's stomach.

"Olaf, you too?" she asked, picking up the pace.

"Yup!" he answered cheerfully.

Elsa giggled and threw another ball right at Anna's chest. "This is for earlier!" she said and then shrieked when Anna dove for her, hands out amd threatening. Elsa tried to escape but realized quickly that there was the wall, curtain, and Olaf and she had actually trapped herself.

Olaf darted away as soon as Elsa started to bump into him, another snowball armed and ready for Kristoff. It was too late for Elsa as Anna trapped her against the wall. Elsa tried to wiggle away but Anna had pressed herself against her giggling sister.

"You really think you could get away with this?" she asked, face close to Elsa's.

Elsa couldn't help herself, setting her hands on Anna's hips and then moving them around to her back. "I think yes. Yes I can," she told her as Anna's wet and mock-pissed face loomed closer. "I'm getting away with it right now," she told her, lips maybe an inch from Anna's.

In the background Elsa heard wild laughter and the sound of Kristoff getting hit with snow. Kristoff laughed too and Elsa could see out of the corner of her eye Kristoff chasing Olaf's rolling body parts down the hall.

"You're in your nightgown," Anna noted, hands on Elsa's waist.

"Mmm hmm. You know, if I really need to make this up to you, I can be in less than this..."

"I think you will be. Definitely," Anna said softly. Her lips closed the distance and she kissed Elsa ever so sweetly.

Elsa's eyes shut with contentment, kissing Anna back. She loved how she felt, loved her warmth. Then she noticed...they started so slowly, but she noticed...

A second later she was screaming with laughter as Anna's tickling fingers dug into her sides - and there was no escape.

[stabyouth]

𓊔﹒𓌹 𓂃 𓌺    “𝙷𝙴𝚈, 𝙿𝚄𝚂𝚂𝚈! 𝚂𝙲𝙰𝚁𝙴𝙳 𝚃𝙾 𝙶𝙴𝚃 𝙲𝙻𝙾𝚂𝙴?” it’s rare of frank to regret his actions, but when he does, it’s usually an immediate response. this time it’d been a slow burn. frank can see him in the distance, looming, as he does. frank grips the infamous captain kirk mask tighter in his fist, feeling his nose and mouth twist into a poignant sneer. michael is holding … something. something pink, so pink it shines through the ubiquitous mist of frost. the killer himself is but a vignetted blur from their perch on a snow drift. as if to retaliate silently, michael finally prowls forward. he seems far too fast for his pace, though that’s a given considering how hulking the man is. it’s then that the fear is asphyxia, & the cutting malice emanating from the mammoth form of myers is a beast peering out through the pits of matter that make up his skull [ & his skin, milk-white, like … hospital lightbulbs & sterile things as opposed to the pureness of the snow  ]. the frost brutally assails their cheeks— his, joey’s and and julie’s, their paper mâché masks presently hiked atop their heads — clouds of white stream from their mouths, smoke from three stationary chimneys collecting stray hail and frost. they’re still, anticipatory & hunched like they’re waiting for the ball to drop on new years eve.

and, finally, it does, & the chaos erupts around him in turn. michael myers releases what he’s clutching with an elastic thunk, and the flash of pink spins forward like a snowball, collecting flakes and twigs in its mass as it rolls. finally, it stills about a meter from their soggy sneakers. it’s only then that they, as a collective, finally accept what they’d all been dreading, like a sudden sob clawing at the back of an aching throat; it’s susie’s head, severed cleanly, lain out on the snow like a gash in the skin of some great white giant, drooling red from the wet end. she’s still masked, as if her murderer had intended not to preserve her dignity but had killed her regardless of it. 

"𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙩." his head spins, and a dismal wailing rises— a roar, as if an army of voices had groaned in his ears. he capitulates to the horror. he falls into it like a booby trap, suddenly, surprising himself enough to gasp back the cry in his throat. of all the brash midnight promises made between their little legion, there had always been one that was universally agreed; never let susie out of your sight. she’s just a kid.  a sister, purine and occasionally annoying, but in the end, a treasure. come their missions of mayhem back home, she was the legion’s unspoken glass cannon; deft and easy to conceal, easy to blend despite her bright pink hair, just another sweet-faced kid. she’s always had that rapt tenderness. good fucking god. he’s going to throw his guts up onto the ground if julie doesn’t beat him to the punch. 

she’s screaming her head off, tears running down her cheeks, ugly and snotty and red, and he wants to hold her like a child, but now the only thought in his head is to run. he grips his knife tight and shoves julie backward toward the end of the drift as to make her give chase before him [ as if he’ll be anything but plywood, crumbling / but at least she’ll have a chance ] . julie thankfully gets the message, dashing off in a frenzy with her sneakers skittering through the snow, joey on her tail, albeit not without a cry of, "𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐅𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐑!" and the hurling of a snowball directly at the bare face of michael myers. frank is, of course, exceedingly proud. @haddonfled​

[alfredosauce50]

What makes me human [Cyberpunk! America x reader] 01

Wordcount: 1, 624 Rating: T for strong language Synopsis:  As the heir of the greatest cybernetic corporate giant of Twilight city, all you wanted was to abandon your familial responsibilities and live a normal life free from the public eye and unbeknownst to you, mercenaries. Your chance appears when a stoic cyborg rips you away from your ivory tower, holds you hostage, and demands your full compliance to his every wish-- all to help him steal a biochip rumored to be able to make the user immortal. It would cost him his humanity, but he would sacrifice anything to dismantle the sinister corporations that have turned the world into lawless wastelands and decayed capitalist hellholes. If he succeeds, so should you. Of course, that was assuming you two will remain as accomplices, that is. "For such a valuable prize you have pretty shit security." The reader is referred to as she/her.

01 - Home alone

Everything that could have gone wrong in history went wrong.

All of those events snowballed into the inevitable dark future. A new era of corruption, conflict, and the greatest perversion of humanity yet. Common species of fauna in the past became spectacles in museums, mere ghosts of biodiversity of the old ages.

Hell, the most “biodiverse” anybody could be now depended on how many bioware upgrades they could afford. But that wasn't the mania the world was obsessed with. Or rather, it was cyberware; cybernetic enhancements that replaced body parts and functions with technological counterparts.

It only used to be veterans with missing limbs that sought after robotic replacements. But now, enhancements were the new rage--to make fashion statements, or for self-defense as crime rates shot up. Corporations made a monopoly of it until their power and influence gave the government a run for their money.

You happened to have access to these technological spoils as the heir of Mizumoto optics, a corporate giant richer than God and pretty much the law itself. Of course, the mere thought of having to take responsibility for that one day was daunting. The science was easy. But business? It wasn't your thing, let alone an office job.

Not that you would tell your father, but even after completing numerous degrees for it, you wouldn't hesitate to take on another career. It could have been anything.

Even flipping burgers sounded more appealing at this point.

Unfortunately, the last thing you wanted was to disappoint him, and you had no plans for the meantime, so you decided to play along. For now. Putting on a façade of compliance, you would prepare yourself for another grueling day of secretary work for your old man. If you were lucky, some time in the labs. But he never liked having you in them, not as much as being his personal assistant, anyway.

It was good practice, he’d always say. Because one day, rather than keeping a diary of all his commitments and meetings, you would be attending to them personally. Whatever it was that he occupied himself with at night, it was none of your business. All he told you to focus on was everything done in the day. Especially when everybody could be watching. Whatever the hell that meant.

After your bodyguard dropped you off in your neighborhood, a luxurious and attractive district at the outer rim of the city, you hid your head in a hood to make your usual rounds to a local supermarket. This place wasn't completely shrouded in light pollution and smog.

If it weren’t for the fact it was run by an old friend of your dad’s, he wouldn’t have let you live alone.

Alone in a spacious, gated villa protected by the most advanced security system in the market and rigged with boobie traps. And it looked like all those precautions you took to prevent yourself from being shot in your living room paid off– you had been safe and sound in your home for at least two years now.

Who would’ve thought that streak would end so soon.

And when you could finally have some time off too.

Stepping inside the hallway that was pitch-black save for the silvery moonlight pouring in through the kitchen windows, you caught sight of a shadow in the living room. Strange. The lights usually turned on automatically whenever the house sensed your return.

But this time, it failed to do so. Narrowing your eyes at the silhouette that looked eerily human, you set your things down on the ground in a slow, hesitant thump. Before your heart could sink at the possibility of a break-in, you boiled it down to decorative furniture you stupidly left out.

But that was with the assumption you were somehow strong enough to move them around, as large as they were.

Your blood ran cold. What a wonderful time to realize you had no cyber enhancements at all. Just flesh and blood like God intended. You never gave in to your father insisting on upgrades for safety reasons, but at this very moment in time, you wished you listened. Especially when the shadow disappeared in the short time you took your eyes off of it.

The adrenaline finally set in, coursing through your veins as you took off to the nearest light switch. Flicking it open with heavy breaths, you glanced around where the silhouette was last seen. Of course, it was quick enough to move elsewhere, likely to pounce on you when you least expected it. It was like playing a game of cat and mouse.

���Not today.” You hissed under your breath, making a beeline to the kitchen. You shot your hand out to the bottom drawer. Pulling open the compartment to cause everything to slide in your direction, you grabbed the gun inside. There, you crouched behind the kitchen island and cocked the firearm. Then, you reached into your cell to call your bodyguard.

He couldn’t have gone far–-not when he was supposed to stay within one hundred meters of you at all times. It took a few failed attempts to reach him before you noticed there was no service. Not a single bar. In what dystopian society could you pay relative immortality, and yet, struggle to make a measly phone call in your own home?

Stuffing your phone back into your pocket with a frustrated huff, you bit your lip and opted to stay put. Rolling your head back to suck in a few sharp breaths, you gathered the courage to find the intruder.

Whoever it was, they were clearly enjoying this.

Turning to the side, your forehead came in contact with the barrel of a gun.

“For such a valuable prize, you have pretty shit security.” A voice remarked over you.

Your ears rang as panic took hold of you. The fear was so overwhelming you couldn't even look up to see who it was. So for the longest three seconds of your life, there was a stalemate as they held you hostage at the moment before death. When they sensed your compliance, they lowered the gun. It was a big mistake on their part.

Once the barrel was out of sight and pointed at the ground, you raised your hands and shot him.

Tilting his head to miss the bullet by the skin of his teeth, a fleshy line formed on his cheek. But there was no blood. Only a look of annoyance.

“Don’t bother resisting. You can’t win with a body like that.” He bent down to your level and grabbed ahold of your wrists before you could even attempt to run. While you thrashed like mad, he caught you in an intent stare to study your face.

A mere glimpse was enough to know what he was, a high-class cyborg. If not, an android. Someone you stood no chance against.

In fact, he looked more like metal than skin.

Whatever skin he had was flawless like porcelain, free from any scars or blemishes and discoloration. Was it even real? His charcoal pants were stained with blotches of black and brown. While his khaki military jacket was just as worn out, there was peculiar energy in those cerulean eyes of his. Unlike his clothes, the gaze he held on you was electric and unwavering. Restless, even.

“So you’re really her, aren’t you? I was surprised I was able to get to you so easily.”

You attempted to pull away again, but it was to no avail. So you shot him a dark glare.

“I figured. How the hell did you get in here anyway? You should’ve been blown apart the second you snuck in here.”

A smug smile cracked at his lips.

“Trade secret. But you should get the gist. You can do anything nowadays.” He spoke in a hum, tapping his temple with a finger. “Just as long as you buy the upgrade, that is.”

You couldn’t say his response caught you off guard. Or rather, you were disappointed in yourself that karma caught on so quickly.

“… I guess that’s why you caught me so easily. You’re cheating the game of evolution.”

Now that he loosened his grip around you, you could rip yourself away and stand up. That action only solidified your concerns. Whoever this man was, he was skilled. Arrogant. If not, why was he acting relaxed around you when you had a loaded gun in your hands?

He breathed out a dry chuckle.

“Don’t know about cheating. Maybe if I stole everything, but this is a result of intelligence and self-indulgence. Typical human things.”

You folded your arms and gave him a hard stare.

“Whatever. What are you doing here, anyway? What do you want from me? Are you gonna kidnap me and ask for a ransom?” In all honesty, it was nothing but a façade. Everything in your life was. Behind that strong face you were mustering was nothing but pure terror.

He turned his back on you with his hands on his hips.

“No, but you’re giving me ideas.” Freezing up at that, he swiveled back to you with a grin. “Relax. I was just kidding. As much as I’d like to do that, I have more important things to do.” You let out a small sigh of relief, but even that was cut short by what he then added.

Walking up to you with an unreadable expression, he leaned into your ear. Immediately, the feeling of his hot breath against the side of your face triggered your flight or fight response. Pressing your hands against his rock-hard chest, you gave him a light shove. He didn't budge.

“No, please-”

“I’ll kidnap you without the ransom part. Sound cool?”

[lucky-peoqle]

dating steve and being dustin's sister would include...

OKAY HI THIS IS MY FIRST ONE OF THESE EVER SO IF YOU LIKED IT AND WANT MORE PLS TELL ME

season 1

you and steve aren't dating yet, y'all are kinda enimes in a way

you being friends with the party

og babysitter for them

besties with jonathan

helping to boys find will the night they find eleven

you go over to the wheelers to make sure mike gets to he's safe

you see steve trying to sneak into nancy's room

you roll your eyes

he waves and acts like he's doing nothing

you go back to the two boys with mike

people think you and jon are dating

when steve has jon's camera you run up to them telling him to knock it off

"knock it off steve, give it back."

"or what, henderson? or what?"

when he drops jon's camera you slap him across the face.

he lowkey fell in love with you a bit

you tell the party you slapped steve across the face and they treat you like a queen

walking into the allyway with jon and nance when 'nancy the slut wheeler' was written on the movie theater

"oh look, it's nancy the slut wheeler and the creepy couple."

you get all up in his face

"what. the. fuck. harrington."

you try to punch him but jon and nancy pull you back.

cheering jonathan on when him and steve fight

the night the demogorgan attack you go with jon and nance to the byers.

opening the door when steve comes over

"hey y/n, is uh, is nancy here?"

"steve, go home it's not safe."

him walking in anyway.

when the demogorgan attacks you almost get eaten but steve wacks the damn thing before it can

"thanks harrington."

"no problem henderson."

when you find out will had been found you cry. hard.

when you meet up with dustin and the party again you hug them all so tight, but dustin tighter

before steve leaves the hospital you stop him

"uh, thanks for saving my ass back there at the byers."

"yeah, don't worry about it."

y'all smile at each other

then he leaves

season 2

you and steve haven't talked since that night

but you do share glances

the first time he talked to you that year was:

billy's arms around your waist

you're uncomfortable telling him to stop

he asks you to tina's party

you say no

you asks you on a date

"hey asshole! she said leave her alone."

steve.

"whatever." billy shakes his head and leaves

"thanks harrington."

"yeah, don't wention it."

walks away lol awkward.

going as a female ghostbuster with the party!!

max instantly loves you tbh

you leave a bit early then the rest of the group

when dustin gets home he bursts into you room

"what the fuck dusty?"

"shut up i found a world changing discovery!"

shows you dart.

"wHAT THE FUCK IS THAT"

"SHHHH mom with hear you!"

"what's going on in there?"

"nothing mom!!"

when dart eats mews you cry

"it ate my cat?"

"please dont cry..."

going to the wheelers with dustin and see steve.

"hey harrington, what are you doing?"

"uh, going to apologize to nancy."

"she's not here."

"oh."

"STEVE DO YOU STILL HAVE THAT BAT?"

explains the plan to him

going back to your house in steve car.

you can see in the corner of your eye he keeps glancing at you.

when y'all are in the basement/cellar you see dart and scream when he runs at you

steve bashes his bat at it and runs over to you

"hey, are you okay?"

you laugh, "this is like the 3rd time you've saved me."

"yeah, yeah whatever. im a superhero i get it."

"shut up harrington."

"steve stop flirting with my sister."

you two went red oops

listening to steve's stupid advice on girls to dustin.

"don't listen to him dusty, his advice sucks ass."

"it doesn't!"

"if it doesn't then where is nancy right now huh? she's off somewhere with jon."

"can you shut it, no one asked you to butt into our conversation."

"yeah whatever harrington."

going to the junkyard with max, lucas and the two idiots.

max and you basically doing all the work

dusin and lucas are talking while steve is doing some of the work but he's also staring at you most of the time.

"steve please do something."

"yeah, uh, sorry."

you and steve going out to fight the demodogs.

"shit shit shit shit shit."

"sTEVE BEHIND YOU"

"HENDERSON LOOK OUT"

chaotic energy pls

going back onto the bus

"you called me steve."

"fuck off steve."

"say it again."

he loves the way you say his name awe

"steve."

he almost has a heart attack

"stop. flirting. with. my. sister."

"sorry."

going back to the byers and talking to steve.

when eleven comes back you hug her so tight

"who's that?"

steve whispered in you're ear.

it sent shivers down your spine i-

when billy comes into the house he corners you.

"hey princess, you didn't come to that date last week."

"i was busy."

"i doubt that."

"hey jackass, what did i tell you about leaving my girlfriend alone?"

steve punches billy.

you went super red omg.

"steve just called you his girlfriend.."

dustin grinning super wide.

"shut it dusty."

when max was driving you and mike were in the back with steve.

steve's head on your lap.

"dustin...?"

"no steve it's y/n."

calming him down when he freaks out about the car.

when y'all get to the weird hole thing you talk steve into going down with them.

"come on steve, we have to protect the kids."

"alright, fine."

you smile at him and he falls in love with you even more.

the kids thank you for talking him into it.

when y'all are in the hole and y'all run into dart.

"it's dart. dusty do something."

"yeah i got this."

when they escape and the demodogs come charging you and steve stand in fear.

"this is it, im going to die here."

steve grabs you hand.

the demodogs run past you and to the meat.

steve wraps you in the tightest hug and you're crying.

he kisses you on the top of your head.

getting out of the hole and talking tl him about billy

"steve you called me your girlfriend."

"yeah sorry, i just didn't want to see you get hurt."

"awe, you care about me harrington?"

"of course i do, idiot."

the night of the snowball you see dustin in the hallway walking to the front door.

"steve's here."

you and steve have gotten very close the past month.

"okay, i wanted to tell you you look good before you left."

"and did steve tell you his hair secrets?"

"maybe.." dustin chuckles.

its been about 30 minutes since steve took dustin and you hear a knock at the door.

you open it and see steve.

"hey y/n."

"hi steve."

"i was wondering if you wanted to hang out?"

"sure."

that night consisted of watching christmas movies and cuddling after a bit.

steve pauses the movie.

"what are you doing?"

"uh.. y/n i need to tell you something."

"oh okay.." you heart is pounding.

"you know what, fuck it."

you open your mouth to say something but before you can steve is kissing you.

it's soft and full of care and love.

you pull away needing air.

"i've loved you since you slapped him for breaking jonathan's camera."

you chuckle.

"i love you too steve, since you kinda saved my ass from the demogorgan."

falling asleep on the couch in each others arms.

dustin comes home and see you two and smiles.

"sTEVE WAKE UP"

both of you wake up.

"you forgot to pick me up."

season 3

you two are dating now yay!!

mom and dad of the party.

making fun of steve in his scoops ahoy uniform.

he rolls his eyes.

"you know you love it."

"yeah, you do look hot."

he loves to kiss you omg.

"steve don't kiss my sister in front of me."

does it anyway.

"what the fuck dude."

one night during the first nights of summer you and steve where having a prettt steamy make out session in your room.

his shirt was off and so was yours ;))

dustin walked in

" hey y/n csn i borrow- OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK."

you yell at him

"DUSTIN OUT NOW"

he zooms outta there.

back to making out lol

you are a year younger then steve so you're going into senior year.

steve reassuring you it's easy but ur not sure.

this boy loves to spoil you with ice cream.

when his parents aren't homd you come over and late night swim and cuddle on the roof looking at stars a lot.

he's so cheesy omg

when dustin comes back you giggle at there silly handshake.

"and hi babe."

kiss

"stEVE NO KISSING IN FRONT OF ME"

"let me love my girlfriend pls."

when you find out about suzie you get all protective.

"are you sure she's right for you?"

"i swear she is omf."

you and jon have been so busy you kinda stop hanging out but like you're too busy with the kids anyway.

best friends with robin omg.

when dustin and steve say that russian spies are in hawkins you laugh

then you hear the recording and you believe them oop

part of the scoops troop!!

when you get trapped in the elavator you cry.

"please don't cry babe, we're gonna be okay."

steve hugs u tight.

getting separated from steve and robin and you cry again.

"if he gets hurt i swear to god ill blow this place up."

"jesus calm down henderson."

you smile at dustin and wipe your tears.

after you got out of the vents for what felt like hours you find what looks to be a giant red block you can ride in.

"hell yeah!"

"dustin there's no key."

"shiiit."

finding a key and sitting in the back of the car thing with the deadly weapon.

"okay ready?"

"yep."

running and zapping the commies with the thing and erica is too.

after getting into the room you run up to steve and gasp.

"hi baby."

"oh hey y/n..." steve slurs.

you look at his swollen shut eye.

"jesus you're beat."

dustin getting them out and you help steve out of them room while erica and dustin help robin.

sitting in the back with robin and steve.

steve keeps putting his hand on your thigh and you hit it off.

"steve, i love you bur stop."

he stops.

getting back into the elavator and sigh at robin and steve.

steve falls of the cart and you kneel down next to him.

"he's drugged." dustin says.

"no im not dad."

you laugh.

going into the movie theaters and loosing the two idiots was no treat.

PT 2 IS OUT