#I know I can make a hotspot with my phone but that’s so many extra steps when they could just I dunno GIVE ME FUCKING DECENT INTERNET

[floral-hex]

Moved into this apartment and only had 1mbps internet, which is… bad. good luck watching anything.

Called yesterday and they said they could only pump it up to 7.5mbps due to the building’s wiring, which is a tiny bit better and I suppose I’ll take what I can get for now just so I can actually use the internet.

A few hours later, I’m now sitting on a whopping 768kbps plan at $40 a month, which is absolute bullshit! WHAT!? I didn’t even know you could get internet that slow! What happened?? I might as well go back to dial-up. And $40! Is that my idiot tax for trusting them?

Just give me decent internet, please, I beg you 😫

[hoodharlow]

I Know Where Tonight is Going

AN: Ya seeee it’s been forever since I written on Cal and Claudia. But hopefully it was worth the wait. Big thank you to @d-oaks​ for beta reading and editing.

Requested?: Yesss by my bby @myloverboyash​:  You dont show up on my dash anymore so I didnt see this til now but 44 with Calum! 💜🥰 [”Sorry, did that hurt?” “No, I’m just a little sore from last night.”]

Warnings: shmooooot and a hospital scene

Word Count: 4.6k words

Claudia refreshed twitter as she made her way up the steps to Calum's house. It's been over a month, yet Twitter is still in a frenzy over pictures of Calum and Claudia leaving Bad Bunny's YHLQMDLG release party. The pictures were similar to the ones from the G'Day USA Gala.

They were caught leaving the hotel where the gala was held. They left right after Calum cut the cake Mitchy ordered because Claudia had an assignment due before midnight and couldn't connect her laptop to the hotel's wifi, and her hotspot was being wonky. They were walking hand in hand to his car. They were being playful in the rain. Claudia hiked up her dress and splashed in a few puddles with her trusty Doc Martens. Calum approached her and pulled her close to him. They kissed briefly before he hoisted her over his shoulder and helped her into his car.

Somehow a paparazzo was able to sneak into the hotel's parking lot and managed to record a video of the whole thing. They were even able to zoom in when they were kissing. Her face was hidden because she wore Calum's hoodie.

A lot of fans were making up theories of who the 'hooded girl' was. Some were able to connect the dots that she was the same girl Calum left with at Taylor Swift's birthday party. Some were investigating all the pictures of the hotel 'party', but they came up empty because Claudia always knew when to get out of frame like when he was on tour while Andy recorded.

When the Miami pictures were released, Calum's fans got annoyed once more because the paps only managed to get Claudia's backside. Claudia and Calum found it funny that they didn’t notice it was Claudia. She had posted a video of herself and Gaby, Bad Bunny's girlfriend, singing along to Becky G on her Instagram story. Then Gaby posted a video of Claudia dancing on her lap, showing off the same backside the paps got. 

She locked her phone and knocked on Calum's door. She heard Calum shush Duke before he opened the door. Claudia was going to greet him, but she saw that he was on the phone. So she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. When she walked past him, he gave her ass a rough smack. 

“Ashton, Claudia’s here. We’ll see you later.” He said. He hung up without waiting for Ashton to respond. 

Claudia immediately wrapped her arms around him. "I missed you." She said softly. 

For the past two weeks Calum had been in Europe for  promo for the album that was coming out in a few hours. He was so jetlagged that didn't even remember that the album was going to drop in a few hours until Ashton reminded him of the album release party that management planned. He flew in last night, but Claudia was studying for midterms and finishing an important paper for her research methods class. He decided not to pay her a visit. 

"Missed you too." He mumbled on her lips, "How was your midterm?"

"Good, I'm mostly done with the others too. I didn't finish editing my paper last morning— more like this morning," she giggled. "So I'm going to finish it later. What time do we have to be at the venue?"

"Around eight." 

"Oh, that gives me time to nap before finishing my paper." She said to herself. She looked up at him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Nap with me?"

"Of course." Calum nodded. He leaned forward and kissed her. 

He helped carry her things to his room. 

Calum subconsciously made room for her at his place. In January, he emptied a drawer for her to put some leggings or jeans for when she slept over, so she can change into something there instead of driving to her place to get ready. His argument that she could sleep an extra ten minutes before leaving. 

Now he made room in the closet for her. He cleared a shelf in there for her to store her things like her overnight bag and backpack. He hung the black bag that held her dress next to his suit. He looked back and made sure she was in bed before he tried getting a peek of her dress. All he knew was that Soni had altered the prom dress Claudia wore her senior year. 

"Cal, get in bed. You'll see the dress later." Claudia yelled from his bed.

She was in one of his shirts and a pair of bright red Calvins. He took off his shirt and tossed them to the end of bed. He climbed in and laid next to her on his side.  

Claudia laid her head on his arm,  earning a groan from him.

“Sorry, did that hurt?” She asked, lifting her head off his arm. 

“No, I’m just a little sore from last night.”

"What were you doing?"

"What I always do when I can't see you." He shrugged. It took him a second to realize how that sounded. He quickly added, "I worked out."

"Ah ha," she agreed skeptically. 

She pushed him on his back and attached herself to his side. Her head on his chest while her arm hugged his stomach and one of her legs was wedged between his. She grabbed his hand and placed it on her head, so he could play with her hair until she fell asleep. 

Calum woke up an hour into their nap. Claudia was still fast asleep at his side, so he decided to order lunch for them. Without much movement, because the slightest shift would wake her, he grabbed his phone to order their go-to orders from Sam Miguel's. 

Claudia stirred, adjusting her grip on Calum. Her hips moving ever so slightly against his thigh. She let out a breathless moan. Her face scrunched up, her mouth slightly opened as another moan escaped her lips. Calum felt a wet spot forming where she was rubbing herself against his thigh.

Unsure what she was dreaming about, Calum decided to wake her. 

"Claudia?" he gently shook her shoulder. 

"Hi," she said into his chest. She kissed the tattoo on his stomach before she sat up and stretched. "Why'd you wake me?"

"You pulled a Petunia and dry humped my leg." 

"I did no such thing."

"I'm sure your panties say otherwise." He smirked.

Claudia dropped her shoulders in defeat. "I thought it was just in my dream."

"What do you mean?" Calum asked her. He pulled her over so she straddled him.

"This is so embarrassing," she giggled to herself. She hid her face into his chest.

"Claudia, this is a judgment free place."

"I know," she sat herself back up and met his eyes. She toyed with his necklace before speaking again. "When you were playing with my hair, Ithoughtaboutridingyourfacethatresultedinasexydream."

"What? I didn't hear the last part." He had; he just wasn't sure she said what she said.

"I said I thought about riding your face that resulted in a sexy dream." 

"How?"

"Since you're sore, I was gonna ask you if I could… you know… ride you. But it got me thinking how much I missed your mouth and stuff." 

"Let's do it." Calum said too enthusiastically.

"Now?" 

He nodded eagerly. 

"I'm down to try it, but I wanna wear something sexy. I'm literally in your shirt and some boring panties." 

"As much as I love all your lingerie, nothing gets me more turned on than seeing you in my clothes. You have so many options, and you choose one of my ratty t-shirts. I don't know, it makes me feel special."

"You really want me to ride your face, huh." She giggled. "Fine."

Claudia leaned down and captured his lips. They kissed until Calum got restless. She pulled away and made her way forward.

Claudia settled above his face, holding onto the headboard as he looked up at her from between your legs with the most loving eyes.  He leaned upward, his tongue ghosting over her clothed core as he tapped the growing wet spot. She dipped her hips closer to his face, pressing her dripping core against him.

She didn't notice his fingers moved her panties out of the way, until he dipped his tongue into her.

Claudia moaned loudly, resting her head on her arm as she held onto the headboard. He brought one of his hands to her core and slipped his ring and middle finger in her. His other hand made her way to her breasts to play with her nipples.

Claudia threw her head back and moaned his name. 

“That's my pretty girl,” he groaned lowly. 

“Fuck, don’t stop, right there,” Claudia panted. She wiggled her hips on his face, riding his tongue as she came.  He sucked her clit through her high, something he's never done before, making her a moaning mess.

 “Holy shit, Cal,” she sighed breathlessly. She crab crawled back to straddle his lap.

“Told you Tumblr was right when they said I was the oral king.” He grinned proudly. 

“Don't ruin Tumblr for me."

Calum ignored her comment and pulled her down for another kiss. In a matter of seconds, Claudia wanted him again. 

“Someone’s ready for me,” he smirked as his thumb toyed with her clit.

"Shut up," she murmured against his lips. 

Having enough of his teasing touches, she sat up and slipped off her shirt and panties. Calum pushed down his sweats. Claudia climbed back to his lap and stroked him. She missed having him on her hand, feeling how hard and heavy she was able to get him. 

“Ready?” she asked. 

He nodded eagerly.

She lined herself up and coated him with her arousal. She took a deep breath and slid down his length. 

Calum moaned out, enjoying how tight she felt around him. His fingers digging into her hips. “Fuck,” he breathed, pressing his head back against the pillows as he tried to control his breathing. “You feel so fuckin’ good.”

"I know." Claudia smirked at him, placing her hands on his chest. She slowly rode him, until she found a comfortable pace for them.

“Fuck, Calum,” She moaned, rolling her hips against his as he began to meet her thrustsl. His hands went to her ass as he controlled the pace Claudia rode him.

“Fuck,” he groaned, “You’re beautiful.”

“Fuck, Calum, you feel so good,” she whimpered, resting herself on his chest as she lazily rode him. He pulled her lips in a rough kiss, halting his movements as he pulled away.

"Are you tired?" He asked.

"A little, but I wanna get us off." She said, trying her best not to yawn.

“Claudia, you’re practically falling asleep on my cock.” He said, twisting her soft curls. “We can do this another time.”

“But you didn’t cum.”

“It’s okay, you need your rest.” 

He tried lifting her off him, but Claudia whined. “I wanna stay like this. I like you inside me, makes me feel complete.”

Calum pulled the bed’s duvet over them. He continued playing with Claudia's hair, until she dozed off. Soon after Calum matched her breathing and fell into a deep slumber, forgetting about the lunch he ordered for them. 

***

They were running late. Mostly because of Claudia. She knew she was going to get it when she decided to wear only her lace teddy as she got ready and casually dropping her makeup brushes where Calum just happened to be looking. Neither were surprised when Claudia ended up on her knees with Calum in her mouth.

"Claudia fuck," Calum sighed, hearing her make choking sounds around his cock. 

She pulled him out of her mouth and laid her tongue flat on the tip. Then she slowly swirled her tongue around it. Her nails dug into his thighs once she slipped him back in her mouth, taking him inch by inch. 

"Claudia!" Calum moaned out as he came. Neither expecting him to cum so soon. Claudia kept going. She bobbed her head, swallowing every last drop of his release. 

Claudia pushed back and smiled at Calum. "Crossing that off the list."

"What?" Calum asked. He was still hazy from getting his soul sucked.

"I always wanted to suck your dick while you're wearing a suit." She shrugged. She got up from where she was kneeling and tossed the pillow she used for her knees back on the bed. 

"And you thought now of all times to do that."

"I felt bad that you didn't cum earlier, so I decided to make it up to you." She said as she touched up her lipstick.

"By first torturing me with lingerie?"

"Your dick got sucked, no?" she giggled. She straddled his lap and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "How was it?"

"Best head I've ever had." He said truthfully.

"Really?" she asked shyly.

Before Calum could answer his phone rang. 

"'Llo?" he answered.

"Where the fuck are you two?" Ashton yelled on the other side. 

"We're on our way." Calum said, laying back in bed. 

"You have fifteen minutes to get here or we're getting a new bass player." 

***

Calum leaned against the railing of the VIP area and overlooked the main dance floor. Claudia had her arms around her cousin as they danced with Gaby and Claudia Sulewski. He chuckled to himself, remembering how his Claudia and Claudia Sulewski made him and Fineas take a picture of them recreating the meme of the two Spider-Men pointing at each other.

He finished off his drink and drummed the railing before going back to the bar to get a refill. He ordered another beer and a water bottle for Claudia. As he waited for the drinks two men approached the bar.

"Did you see how the dress hugged her ass? You just know she likes it from behind." One of them said to the other.

"Yeah, but the skinny one next to her was hot too. The one you said seems high maintenance."

Calum immediately felt disgusted hearing them talk. He looked over to the bartender that was supposedly fixing his drink; they were leaning against the bar talking with one of the servers  that held an empty tray of food. 

"There she comes," one of them said. 

Calum looked forward to the giant mirror behind the alcohol shelves. The only person making their way to the bar was Claudia. He got up from his seat and went to her. 

"Hey!" She said linking her arm around his elbow. She looked up at him and her smile dropped. "What's wrong?"

"Those fucking shitheads were talking about you." He mumbled. 

"Oh them?" she subtly gestured to men at the bar that ogled her in plain sight. "Yeah they went up to me and la Güera when we were dancing, but we shooed them away. They're so creepy. Before they approached us, they just stared. Like what do they get out of that?"

"I can get security. They don't have the passes from management or the other executives. They're probably just influencers." He suggested. 

"Nah," She waved him off. 

Hand in hand they went back to the VIP area. Claudia went over to her cousin and the other girls. Vanessa, Claudia's cousin la Güera, is a YouTuber. Her and her best friend, Paulina, mostly run a makeup and beauty channel. 

Claudia doesn't watch her channel mainly because of Paulina. Since their freshman year of high school, they have had an underlying rivalry. They were in the same group. Paulina was even there at the baby shower a few weeks ago when Claudia dropped the bomb that Paco cheated on her. Actually she was the one that he hooked up with when he cheated, but that was a topic for another day. 

The pair of cousins weren't expecting to see each other at tonight's party. Vanessa wasn't at the baby shower, so she didn't know that Claudia was dating Calum Hood. When she showed up thanks to one of her sponsors that invited her to the party, she was pleasantly surprised to see her there. 

When Vanessa told Claudia that Paulina wasn't with her, Claudia nearly did a backflip out of excitement. She even asked Calum if she could bring her to the VIP area where they were. 

The evening wore on. Calum was ushered away to greet important people from the band's label. Every so often he would look over to Claudia making sure the creepy men didn’t get near her. As he made way back to the VIP area he got a text from Danny asking if he was with Claudia. He turned on his heel and went to the lobby where the music wasn't too loud to call him. 

"Hey," Danny answered after the second ring.

"What's up?" Calum said. He didn't know how he should talk to Danny since he and Claudia aren't on speaking terms after their fallout at his baby shower. The last thing he wanted to get in the middle of a fight with Danny and Claudia. From what Junior said, it was a place he would rather not be.

"Mede is in labor." He said frantically.

"Wha— how? Claudia said she's not due until late April."

"Her parents came over. Shit happened and now we're at the hospital."

"Fuck." Calum scratched his head. "Which hospital are you at?" 

"UCLA Medical Center."

"We'll be there in a bit."

"No, it's fine. It’s your album party. I just wanted you to tell Claudia.”

“No, we’ll be there." Calum said. By the tone, there was no way for Danny to disagree with him.

Calum hung up and seconds later he spotted Claudia coming from the entrance of the venue. Her ever present smile grew ten times more upon meeting Calum's gaze. She linked her elbow with his and pulled him back to the party.

"Hey, la Güera just left. You won't believe what she told me. Like I kinda expected it, but still I'm surprised. Of all people, she's—"

"Mede is in labor." Calum said, cutting her off. 

"What!"

***

Claudia was slipping on her Vans when Calum pulled up to the hospital. She was pretty sure she left them there a few weeks ago when Calum took her to an outdoor movie that resulted in them having sex in the backseat. 

She ran to Danny once they went to the maternity ward. With him still sitting, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"How are they?" She asked him.

Immediately Danny broke into a sob. He clung to her as he cried into her stomach. 

"I'm so fucking sorry, Claudia." He whispered. "I'm sorry for not protecting you, for being a shitty brother and for everything Paco said.

Claudia gently pushed him away, so she could sit next to him. She held his hands in hers, gently rubbing his knuckles with her thumbs like their mom would when they would cry. "Danny, I don't care about that. It's in the past. Right now we have to focus on Mede and the baby." She said softly. "How are they?"

"I don't know. When Deacon Pepe and Marcela showed up at our place, Mede almost had an anxiety attack." Danny took a deep breath before continuing. "We ordered take out and Marcela made a comment about Mede's eating habits and how spicy food isn't good for the baby. She got mad and then they argued. Mede fainted causing her water to break. Right now they're trying to stabilize her, so they can induce labor."

"Fuck," Calum mumbled. The twins looked up at him, earning a look from Claudia. He leaned over to Claudia. "Sorry. I'm gonna get a hoodie from the car." She nodded and pulled him for a quick peck. 

"Have you called mom and dad?" She asked him. 

"Yeah," he nodded. "They're on their way. Junior and Marlene too."

"¿Y Paco?" 

"What about him?"

"Have you called him?"

"No. We haven't talked in weeks." He confessed. "A few days after the baby shower we got into an argument. He said he didn't cheat."

"He didn't." Claudia said. Danny looked at her like she grew three heads. She dropped her shoulders. "Him y la Güera are talking. I ran into her earlier at the party. Anyways she told me everything. Paulina lied. She said that she tried a few times to get at him, but she never succeeded."

"You believe it?" He asked her quietly.

"Weirdly enough, I do." 

They stayed quiet. Danny curled up on the small couch and rested his head on her lap. She noticed his eyes get heavy when she started to play with his hair. She took off Calum's jacket and draped it over him like a blanket. 

"Daniel Santos?" A doctor announced minutes later.

Danny sat up when he heard his name. "That's me." 

He was shrugging off Calum's jacket as Medelyn's mom went up to the doctor, bombarding them with questions. 

"I'm sorry, I need to speak with the baby's father." the doctor told her.

"That's my daughter!" She yelled at the doctor. 

"Doña Marcela, estamos en un hospital no en un pinche mercado donde puede andar con su gritadera." Claudia snapped at her. 

Medelyn's mom gave her once over and went back to her husband. Medelyn's mom angrily watched Danny talk to the doctor.

"Who's the lady glaring at Danny?" Calum asked, walking to Claudia and handing her a pink tie dye hoodie. 

"Mede's mom, you missed the scene she tried to cause." She said slipping on the hoodie. She pulled up to her nose and smiled at him. "Smells like you."

"I practically doused it in my cologne and slept with it every night while I was in the UK." He said, pulling her close. 

Claudia draped her legs over his thighs and curled up at his chest. She watched Danny talk to Medelyn's parents. She assumed he was just repeating what the doctor told him. Then he made his way to Claudia and Calum.

"What happened?" Claudia asked him.

"They stabilized her and the baby and are getting her ready for a c-section." He told her. He pulled out his phone and checked the time. "I have to go in now. In two hours tops you're going to have another nephew."

"Can't wait. Hopefully the baby isn't ugly like you." Claudia teased. 

"Just wait until you two have kids. I just hope they get Cal's looks." 

"You think I'm attractive?" Calum smiled proudly.

"I mean you're not bad looking." 

***

Claudia dozed off while her and Calum waited for her parents. Remembering that he had to post something about the album he posted a series of pictures that were taken during the time the album was recorded. In the middle of the pictures he slipped one of him and Claudia FaceTiming while he was in the UK but tagged her podcast account. The last slide of the post was a video of him, Mali and Claudia's brothers taking shots on Thanksgiving. He captioned the post saying that he was very excited for CALM to be out. 

Almost an hour later Danny came out from the delivery room. Calum sat up straighter and nudged Claudia awake. He caught her when she rolled off the seats before face planting on the ground. He turned around and saw Medelyn's mom approach them. 

"They're both okay. The procedure went well. They're just checking Sebastian since he was born three weeks early, but they're good."

"Can we go see Medelyn?" asked Medelyn's mom.

"Yeah, two people at a time." Danny said. He turned to Claudia and Calum. "I'll take them then you two."

"Yeah, we'll wait." Claudia said. 

They went back to their seats. About half an hour later, Calum heard Diego and Soni's voices echo through the hallway. Seconds later they emerged with Junior tailing behind them. 

"¿Ya nació?" Soni asked them. 

"Yeah, Mede's parents are with them." Claudia nodded. 

"Mi'ja, baja los pies." Soni scolded, pushing Claudia's feet off the seats and sitting next to her. She looked over to her. "Es el vestido?"

"Yes." She nodded excitedly. She stood up, slipping off the hoodie she showed off the dress."Mira."

Ever since Claudia was little, Soni always altered her and hemmed her clothes. Mostly her jeans since she was tall for the 'regular' length but shorter than the 'long' length. Occasionally she'd make Claudia a dress for Christmas, but nothing like her prom dress.

When her and Calum went down to San Diego for the baby shower, she was going to dress shopping at some thrift shops in HillCrest for a dress for the album party. She told her mom that she wanted to wear the same color as her prom dress, and Soni convinced her not to because she was going to fix her prom dress. Claudia still didn’t know how she did it, but she loved her dress. It used to be a strapless trumpet dress with a lace cover around the shoulders. Soni added thin straps, managed to remove all the lace and the back part of the dress, therefore making it backless. What really was the cherry on top for Claudia was that Soni added a slit to the down mid thigh.

"Yo supe que se te iba ver bonito." Soni said, admiring how it looked on her daughter.

While Claudia showed her mom pictures of the party, Calum joined Diego and Junior. 

"I'm gonna go check in at the hotel, so Marlene and the kids can rest." Junior told his dad. 

"You guys can stay with me. I have a few guest rooms at my house." Calum offered. "There's enough for everyone."

"Are you sure?" 

"Yeah, there's a room for you and Marlene then one for the kids." Calum nodded. He turned to Diego. "Even one for you and Soni."

"And one room for Claudia, right?"

***

Calum opened and closed the refrigerator, still not believing it was fully stocked. When he left for Europe it was empty, save for some frozen foods and drinks. He knew it was Claudia's doing. It would explain what she was doing when she came over the day before. Other than sending Calum to an early grave, by sending him pictures of herself in lingerie and videos touching herself on his bed.

He turned on his heel and went back to his room. He found Claudia staring at her phone. Her face was unreadable.

"Everything alright?" He asked when he sat next to her.

"Yeah, I just got an email from UCLA and I'm too scared to see if I got rejected from their graduate program." She handed him her phone. "Read it for me?"

"Yeah."

Claudia crawled onto his lap and watched as her phone loaded the email. 

"Your wifi sucks." Claudia mumbled as two minutes went by.

"Shut up." He mumbled.

Then the email loaded. Claudia hid herself into his chest and waited for Calum to read the email. She felt his hand wrap around his waist as he gently rubbed her back. 

He stopped rubbing and pulled her away from his chest. He had the biggest grin on his face. 

"I'm so fucking proud of you." He simply said. 

"I got in? Are you sure? Maybe you—"

"Nope," he cut her off. "You got in."

"Oh my god!" She squealed, wrapping her arms around him. 

After applying three separate times, her senior year, when she transferred and now for grad school, Claudia finally got accepted to her dream school.

Claudia pulled Calum into a kiss. In  a matter of minutes, they got needy for each other. Without breaking their kiss, Calum gently pushed Claudia on the mattress and with his cock, he showed her how proud he was that she got into her dream school, three times over.

Taglist: @another-lonely-heart​​​ @sunshinebabycal​​   @calumscalm​ ​@karajaynetoday​​ @cherryxwildflower​​​ @myloverboyash​​​  @idontneedanyone​​​ @findingliam-o​​​ @5-secondsofcolor​​​ @spicycal​​​ @sexgodashton​​​ @fckingpernico​

[halloweennut]

Break Up Blues

this has been sitting on my drive since August and I only just finished it. Oops. Anyway, post finale, Jitterbug leaving the Hotel and Big Mama. 

Breaking up with Big Mama and leaving the Nexxus Hotel had been one of the hardest things in Jitterbug’s life. But she had been done with the lies, the manipulation, the disregard for life...the fact that Big Mama was still in love with Lou Jitsu and the fact she was so alright with endangering so many lives. Jitterbug sang her last song and left, glaring at Big Mama as she did. It wasn’t until she was halfway downtown did she see the hotel crash. Her gut sank...but she knew everyone she was friends with would be okay. At least...Jitterbug hoped. Repo fortunately hadn’t been caught in the orb, being out of the city on a job, and was there when she knocked on the door to his trailer.  

“Have any room for a fly?” she asked. It was then and only then that tears sprung to her eyes, and Repo was quick to pull her in. 

“Aw fancywings, what happened?” he asked, carefully pushing her down onto a chair. “Who do I have to repo?” 

She told him everything, and made Repo promise not to do anything yet, not unless Big Mama tried anything. 

“At the very least,” Repo said. “You’re staying here until you’re back on your wings, got it? Once you’re all better, you can look into getting a job in the Hidden City or something.”

Jitterbug roughly wiped her cheek and faintly smiled. “Thank you, Repo.”

“Don’t mention. And don’t worry about rent, fancywings,” Repo said, reaching over for the phone receiver. “I own the place and I’m running off grid. City ain’t getting my money. You good with Italian? I don’t have enough groceries for two.”

“That’s perfect.” 

-

Two weeks later, there was another knock at Repo’s door. Repo rolled his eyes, and placed the shop paperwork down and walked over, opening the door. “This is private property and the shop’s closed. Beat it.”

“Rude!” Hypno said. The rest of their little league was with him. 

“Oh shit, sorry guys,” Repo said. “Uh, come in I guess?”

“Thanks mate,” Meatsweats replied, entering with the others. “I suppose you’re wondering why we’re here.”

“Well, yeah,” Repo shrugged. “You guys don’t exactly come over for tea and crumpets.”

“Considering the events a few weeks ago, we all decided that perhaps we should all get together more often,” Hypno explained. “You know, brotherly companionship, not knowing when we may be forced to fight death sports, that all.”

“Exactly!” Warren said. Repo hadn’t even noticed him, despite him being on Hypno’s shoulder. “Hypno almost died!”

“So did I!” 

“So did my brother!” 

Warren only shrugged. “I’m more concerned with him.”

“So what? You guys just came over to hang out in my house?” Repo asked. “If you haven’t noticed, it's a little cramped. And where’s Todd?”

“Todd wasn’t available,” Hypno replied. “And no, we actually were thinking something along the lines of-”

“Guys night!” Ben and Carl exclaimed, snapping their claws for emphasis. 

“And by guys night, we go out, raise some cain,” Meatsweats continued. “Eat, drink, be merry, steal and maim!”

“Come’on, Repo! What do you say?” Hypno asked. Repo shook his head.

“I don’t normally do that brand of skullduggery,” he replied. “Besides, I have a guest over, and I ain’t about to leave her alone.”

“Her?” Meatsweats raised a brow. “I hope we weren’t interrupting anything.”

“What?!” Repo sputtered. “No! She’s in a rough spot right now, and I’m doing her a solid.”

“Who are you even friends with besides us?” Warren asked incredulously. The answer came in the form of Jitterbug appearing, wordlessly walking by them to the fridge. She looked like hell in oversized pajamas and a pair of large headphones as she grabbed a carton of ice cream from the freezer, and high kicked the door closed before disappearing again. “Was that-”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t she in a relationship with the spider woman who kidnapped my Hypno and the rest of these people?”

“Was,” Repo explained. “Broke up with Big Mama because of everything and quit the Hotel. Y’know, before it got demolished.”

“Damn. At least she has good taste in ice cream,” Meatsweats nodded, much to the glare of everyone in the room. “What? It is sad about the situation, but she has taste that I can respect.” 

“She’s barely left the trailer save for that, other than job hunting in the mystic city,” Repo replied. “But the whole thing was a personal blow.” 

“Poor bug,” Ben said. 

“Why don’t we take her along with us?” Hypno said. “Gives all of us a night on the town, avoids the skullduggery you don’t usually do, and gets her to have some fun.” 

Repo considered it. It would be nice to take a break, and Jitterbug definitely needed a night out. “Sure, why not. But only minor, minor crime. ‘Ey Jitters!”

Jitterbug peeked out from the bedroom she had gone into, eyes going wide at the sight of everyone she had just avoided. “Oh! Yes?”

“Come’on fancywings, we’re all going for a night on the town,” Repo said. 

“I don’t know, Repo,” she looked unsure of herself. “I’m not sure-”

Jitterbug yelped as her hands were grabbed, pulling her out into the main room. “Hey! Don’t tug a girl around!”

“Sorry love, but we insist you join us all,” Meatsweats said. “Besides, you’ll class this little party up.” 

“It’ll be fun! We’ll paint the town red and all that,” Hypno encouraged, pulling a ring from his jacket and extending it. He held it over her head and dropped it. As it fell to the floor, Jitterbug found herself dolled up in one of her nicer dresses for going out, hair neat and make-up in order.  “What do you say? You’re already dressed for it.”

“No pressure, Jitterbug,” Repo said. “But it might be more fun than eating ice cream and calling romantic leads liars.” 

“Well...I am dressed for it. Hell, why not!” Jitterbug smiled. There was a group cheer as the group walked in the night, ready to take on the town. 

“So where first? High speed chase downtown? Breaking and entering? Maybe getting into that glitzy place uptown?” The Shell Brothers listed in tandem.

“Le Chateau Mure?” Meatsweats said. “Impossible. It takes months in advance to get in, and we don’t all have cloaking brooches.” 

“Oh, they’re mutant and yokai friendly,” Jitterbug said nonchalantly. “Big Mama and I...we used to go a lot.” 

“Then maybe we should-” Repo started, but Jitterbug continued.

“But they do know my face, and I doubt they would know about the breakup…,” Jitterbug said with a smirk. “This can be my severance package from the Hotel.”

“Oh that’s devilish,” Hypno said. “Let’s do it.” 

Jitterbug was right of course - the maitre d’ recognized her and showed the group to one of the nicest tables amongst the high standing yokai. It was by far the swankiest place Repo had been in besides the former Hotel Nexxus. A waiter dropped off a complimentary bottle of champagne, and Meatsweats took over pouring glasses for them. “Cheers everyone!”

“Cheers!”

Jitterbug sipped her glass, leaning back into the plush velvet of her seat, laughing along as her cohort for the night told stories and caught up on everything they’d miss since they all had last been together. It felt...normal after a few weeks of absolute chaos, and Jitterbug loved it. The champagne was refilled and an extra bottle - or two, or three - were stolen from the bar on their way out, heading towards another hotspot for the group. They walked or drove through New York, passing their pilfered bottles around save for the Meatsweats - alcohol didn’t have much effect on him anymore, and he was the one driving. With each new stop and block driven, Jitterbug felt herself grow lighter. 

“Are all your nights out like this?” she laughed at one point after a run-in with the turtles. They narrowly avoided a brawl with a promise to do something lowkey for a bit. 

“This is the first one,” Warren said. “So I think it’s a pretty good idea of how the rest will be, especially if you can get us into the Mur.”

“I think that might be the last time,” Jitterbug replied. “They’ll all find out soon enough about me and...her, so unless they hire me, I don’t think I’ll be able to get us back in.”

“There are worse places to work,” Hypno said, taking the last champagne bottle from the Shell Brothers. “Besides, that place has ambiance, and far better suited for your talents than the Hotel!”

“You’ve seen my shows?”

“A few, but Repo told us about them,” he replied. “Said you have a very nice voice and are good at dancing. You were being wasted working for that spider.”

“I suppose…,” Jitterbug said softly. 

“Speaking of singing, and since we have to be lowkey,” Ben started to say.

“Why not karaoke? They have a few joints around here and Long Island!” Carl finished. 

“We’re sticking to Manhattan,” Meatsweats said. “I am not wasting my time on the L.I.E.. And I agree to that!”

“You, karaoke?” Repo said. “That sounds a bit wild.”

“I’ll have you know I can sing! Back in my culinary school days, I was in an underground punk band and I was lead!” the former chef bragged. “Now we definitely must go, if only to show you all up!” 

The cashier at the karaoke bar barely batted an eye at them, only taking their payment and handing them the room key. “Bar and kitchen menu are next to the door, bathrooms down the hall.”

“Ah, New York, what a town,” Repo shrugged as they settled in their room. “No one really gives a shit, huh?”

“I cried in Port Authority once,” Carl said. “Literally no one looked at me.” 

“I stepped over a dead rat without blinking,” Warren added. “You know, back when I had legs.”

“I’m a giant pig who runs a food truck,” Meatsweats added, scrolling through the song list. “No doubt, most people in the city have seen weirder.”

“I know I have,” Jitterbug replied. “So Meatsweats, what song are you singing for us this evening?”

“Just wait and see,” he said, pressing a number into the keypad and hitting enter. A loud guitar riff began blaring from the monitor. “Watch and learn.” 

-

By the end of the night, not only had they all learned that Meatsweats could sing, but Jitterbug felt the lightest she had in a very long time. 

           "We have to do this again," Jitterbug happily proclaimed. "I haven't had this much fun in forever!"

           "Agreed," Hypno replied. "Next month sound good everyone?"

            There was a cheer around the van in agreement, even from Repo. Truthfully, he had only been part way into the festivities. He was more concerned about Jitterbug and how she fared. She wasn't a villain like they were, and leaving the Hotel had hurt her more than she let on. But yet, this was the most he had seen her be herself in weeks. A little night of mischief and minor crime and karaoke. 

"And you were worried they would be too much," Jitterbug laughed once they got home. "That was nice."

"Eh, they're an okay lot," Repo smirked. "I don't know about you, but I'm hitting the sack, fancywings. See ya' in the morning."

"Heh, night Bugboy." 

The next morning, Jitterbug was surprised to see two messages on her phone. One from Warren about doing brunch at some point as “us bug mutants have to stick together and all that” which she happily responded with a “yes.” The other was a voicemail from Le Chateau Mure: they had recently, as in the past twelve hours, discovered her real situation with the Hotel Nexxus and Big Mama. But instead of forcing the bill at her, there was instead a job offer for their lounge. 

She had never been so quick to say yes. Her first night singing a few days later had her little mutated cohort in the front row seats on a legitimate claim. She felt her brightest under their lights, happily singing and dancing with a few band members, some of which had followed her once they heard the news. Jitterbug felt herself for the first time in a long time. Not Anais, not the Jitterbug of the Hotel Nexxus on Big Mama’s arm and payroll, just Jitterbug. And she was happy. 

It didn’t take long for Big Mama to hear about Jitterbug’s new venue, and once she had healed enough to walk in on her own feet, secured her reservation. Not her usual table at Mur, no, but one in the back, out of sight from the stage and other patrons. No one was to serve her or offer her anything at the table until Jitterbug had finished her set. As soon as she bowed, all glitter, gold and song, Big Mama slipped away from the table. The bouncers parted from her with a glare, and she wove her way backstage until she came to Jitterbug’s dressing room. 

There was no pause in her hand as she knocked, once again hearing the bug’s voice ring out an allowance for entry. Big Mama opened the door as Jitterbug turned with a grin, and time paused for a moment. Jitterbug stood, her arms crossing over her middle. “I see you’re better now.”

“I see you have a new stagelly,” Big Mama replied. “You certainly owned it.” 

“That’s my job.” 

Silence fell. 

“Why are you here, Big Mama? Going to buy the place and start terrorizing New York for money?”

“Pfft, please. We both saw how that turned out,” Big Mama scoffed. “I lost my hotel and was hospitalized. Not to mention-”

“Not to mention Lou Jitsu almost got killed because of it,” 

“Bugaboo-”

Jitterbug held up a hand to stop her. “I’m not your bugaboo anymore. I can deal with you still having feelings for Lou. Hell, if you had spoken to me about it, I would have been fine with it. It’s Lou Jitsu. I had a crush on him and I barely swing that way. But it was the fact that you hid that from me. Hid how you treated him. How we never officially made anything...official, for us. And then everything that you did to the city…”

She pressed a hand to her forehead. “I can’t do that. Not anymore. I prefer this life now. Don’t get me wrong. I had fun. You gave me a start fresh out of my mutation. But that’s over now.”

“Then I suppose I have really nothing to discuss,” Big Mama replied. 

“I suppose not,” Jitterbug agreed. “I’m...I’m glad you’re better. I hope you enjoyed the show.”

She received no response. Big Mama had left as quickly as she came. Jitterbug decided that it was for the best not to draw anything out further. And yet, she still wore the silver dress she had received, all that time ago after her first show, glittering and proud, for the next set of the night.

[fanaticfangirl001]

Like Real People Do Ch 3: Ex- Best Friends

Author's note: Oof don't hate me guys.

@kissofvenom922

@p3nny4urth0ught5

Winnie carries her laptop to the kitchen and sets it down on the bar. Grabbing the eggs for her omelet, she resumes the footage captured from a small drone nicknamed “Red Wing”. She cracks an egg one handed into the bowl then another. For an Avenger Falcon doesn’t really have the best cyber-security on his drone. Maybe she would get the chance to fix that if she ever did meet him. She dices onions and bits of ham when Redwing spots a warehouse just outside of a heavily wooded area. Satisfied with the few screenshots of the area and a geotag, Winnie mixes the eggs and toppings for her omelet together. As she cooks the eggs, Winnie sprinkles in generous amounts of cheese. She sighs and dials the new number on her phone.

As she waits for the recipient to pick up Winnie sits at her dining room table and starts eating her breakfast.

“Hi, Is this Joaquin Torres, don’t panic. I’m the security breach. I work with a formerly avenger adjacent super powered individual. “Winnie greets.

“Uh yes,who are you and who is your super powered individual?” Joaquin asks, trying to keep her on the phone to track her location.

“Call me W, and um Bucky Barnes.” Winnie answers carefully stabbing a piece of egg.

“The Winter Soldier? Joaquin zero ins on the IP address, placing her in Sweden.

“He’s not that person anymore.”Winnie adds.

“Your IP address puts you in Sweden, something tells me you're not Swedish. “Joaquin smirks.

“I like Swedish soap operas, I can’t very well get them here.” Winnie laughs.

“VPN, that’s smart. Joaquin says.

“Thank you.” Winnie can’t help but be a little charmed by this man. There’s something about his voice.

“ I’m almost a little impressed. “ Joaquin admits.

“ Would you be impressed if I said I’m watching Red Wing.” Winnie gloats

“ You hacked into Sam’s tech. He’s not gonna like that. “ Joaquin warns.

“Not maliciously, I just need a few questions answered.” Winnie defends herself.

“ Shoot. “ Joaquin replies.

“What are the flag smashers after?”Winnie asks.

“They think the world was better during the blip.” Joaquin answers with the few bits of information he has.

“But why? I’m also trying to figure out why they pin their location, after a few hours it disappears but I’ve saved a few on my map. No real pattern, just places where people need help. Could be anywhere after returning.” Winnie questions.

“That’s the million dollar question. I’m meeting with Sam on Friday.” Joaquin adds, “ Red Wing as you can see found something in Munich.

“Hotspot of activity.” Winnie muses.

“Bingo.” Joaquin snaps his fingers.

“ It’ll be hard to convince Buck,” Winnie pauses then adds,” But if worst comes to worst I’ll go by myself. Ex-shield after all. “

“You were with S.H.I.E.L.D Like Peggy Carter, S.H.I.E.L.D. ?” Joaquin asks, shocked.

“Or Clint Barton, Or Natasha Romanoff.” Winnie names a few more.

“Woah.” Joaquin says.

“See you Friday.” Winnie ends the call.

Winnie sighs and puts the plate in the sink to wash later. If she’s going to Munich on Friday, she’ll need her old gear. She walks to her room and digs through the closet until she pulls out a large waterproof rubber bin. It’s everything she took when she left S.H.I.E.L.D. Winnie pulls off the tote’s lid and takes out the top most piece of clothing. The tactical overalls, a pair of black bullet proof overalls with several pockets along the front and back, including two gun holsters on each side, a place to hold a lightweight enforced steel whip: another invention of her’s.

She sets the overalls aside, and opens a small box. Inside is a tactical ring. The ring itself has a sharp side to be used in a fight, it contains a small piece of flint for fire starting, a compass, and a vial of poison. The buzzing and vibrating of her phone pulls her out of the going through the box. Another text from Sharon, Winnie deletes it without reading. She puts on the ring and remembers her first mission with Sharon. It was a simple gun smuggler recovery. The two worked together perfectly. Sisters from different misters, was constantly used to describe the two. After a few years of missions, Winnie noticed the acknowledgement and accomplishments were awarded to Sharon. Sharon is the niece of the afamed Peggy Carter, it made sense that she would be praised but it slowly began to chip away at her. The worst had to be after the medal of honor ceremony only a few years ago.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Flash back)

“The Secretary of Defense would like to bestow the medal of honor to Sharon Carter, for the retrieval and restoration of several Hydra communications. Without these SHIELD and Captain America would not be able to capture the rogue hydra base in the warehouse in Rhode Island.” Director Fury states.

The Secretary of Defense pins the medal on Sharon’s lapel as the room abrupts into thunderous applause. Winnie watches from the sideline with a polite glass of champagne, she doesn’t drink but will certainly toast a friend, even if the saving the file and decoding was all her. Sharon just served as her cover during the mission. She takes a deep breath and pushes those thoughts down. She’s here to celebrate her friend’s accomplishment. Winnie looks around to find Sharon at the after party being held for her.

“Winnie,” Sharon hugs her, “ Do you want to get some drinks with us and some of the guys from research?”

“I don’t drink, you know that.” Winnie lets go of her.

“Lighten up, you’ve been burning the candle at both ends. “Sharon insists.

“I like the work.” Winnie shrugs.

“Fine, you’ll get out of drinks this time, but get some sleep tonight.” Sharon says before being dragged off by a group of guys.

“I will. I promise.” Winnie shouts to her before leaving for the apartment.

(End flash back)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the ceremony Winnie put in a request to change divisions. Director Fury accepted the change to Research and Development. The next thing she pulls out of her box are the rocket boots. Many of Winnie’s inventions became the punchline of all the research and Development department’s jokes. The Rocket Boots, were the most egregious. As the Avengers developed, because of the hostile working environment they’re gear stayed relatively the same. No innovations made with the gear from Winnie’s perspective. She did try to design weapons for Sharon but that didn’t go well either.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Flash back)

“Sharon, you have to see this.” Winnie insists dragging Sharon to the training room.

“ Winnie, this is the first time you’ve been excited about something, what is it?” Sharon asks letting herself be dragged.

“This.” Winnie pulls out from her back, a light weight steel whip.

“A whip?” Sharon’s eyebrows narrow.

“Yeah, it’s lightweight steel and with a little extra training.” Winnie starts rambling about the implications.

“Winnie. Focus. I need practical weapons...like guns.”

“Okay practical. I got you. What about this?” Winnie holds a small metal sphere.

“What is it?”

“I call it a black out bomb, it short circuits and fries electrical systems in a surrounding area.” Winnie explains then adds “ This could help take down so many Hydra bases quicker.”

“There’s not a problem with our speed.” Sharon says.

“Well no, I just thought this would be safer.” Winnie shrugs starting to shut down.

“Anything else?” Sharon asks.

“Taser grenade.” Winnie suggests.

“No.” Sharon says.

“Dagger boomerangs.” Winnie suggests, this time almost hopeful.

“No.” Sharon’s voice is flat and annoyed.

“Rocket boots.” Winnie holds up the boots.

“No.”

“But the boots, “ Winnie shakes the boots.

(End of Flashback)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Winnie gently puts down all her personalized weapons in their respective pockets in the overalls. She puts the boots by the door, knowing they will be the most useful. She’ll show the world just how great her own inventions can be. Winnie looks down at her phone, another text from Sharon sits unanswered. She sighs and deletes it once again, still hurt from the ending of their friendship.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Flash Back)

Winnie looks over her shoulder in the Research lab and relaxes when she realizes everyone else is out to lunch and or working out. She sets up her laptop and begins a bit of light reading on a newly created file that was just out of her clearance level. She squints reading the money transactions and leadership positions. Is this some sort of bribery or hush money. Winnie dives deeper and downloads the files. There’s no way this is possible. Hydra has infiltrated Shield.

Winnie quickly types out a letter of resignation and emails it to the office of Director Fury. She takes her flash drive and laptop to the apartment to show Sharon.

“ I have something to tell you, but you can’t ask how i know.” Winnie runs in the apartment and locks the door behind her.

“Woah, calm down! That’s an awful way of introducing something.” Sharon raises a hand in front of her.

“ Yeah well it’s bad news.” Winnie takes a few breaths.

“ Shoot.” Sharon says sitting down.

“Hydra is in SHIELD.” Winnie blurts out.

“How do you know this?” Sharon asks in shock.

“ I can’t tell you. You’ll be in danger if you know. Hell, I’m probably in danger right now.” Winnie rambles getting more anxious.

“I need some proof. Give me your laptop.” Sharon insists on trying to take the laptop.

“No! They’ll kill me and you. I can’t show you, just trust me.” Winnie holds her laptop closer to her.

“You sound paranoid and on edge.

“Sharon, just trust me. I’m not making it up. I saw contracts and money transactions.”

“Winnie, when’s the last time you’ve gotten a full eight hours.

“That’s not important. I know what I saw.

“Winnie, what do you want me to do?

“I want you to believe me so we can save the damn Sharon Show.

“ The what?

“I-I didn’t mean that, I meant SHIELD.”

“Is that really what you think about SHIELD?

“You can’t say I’m wrong. I’m just as good an agent as you are, and whenever we get back it’s like I don’t exist.”

“Is this about the medal of honor?”

“No it’s not but you told me to get the files and you covered my back. I got the files, and restored them. You got the credit for saving and restoring the files. Your manicured hands never touched a laptop. It took me a week straight of decoding.”

“ Winnie, you’re overreacting. SHIELD is safe.

“I put in my resignation. I’m not staying to get killed and watch this ship sink.

“Okay here’s my theory, I can’t tell you why but maybe you’re the Hydra traitor.”

“Fuck you!” Winnie screams at her while packing quickly. “I spent five years working alongside you, and you think I’d do that! I’m leaving. Call me when you’re not a bitch!”

In Winnie’s fast paced packing she left her flash drive with the evidence with Sharon. Everyday after Sharon found out Winnie was right, she carried around that flash drive just for the off chance that she could return it to her ex-friend.

[alj4890]

And Then I Left You

(Thomas Hunt x OC*Amanda) in a what if series to And Then I Met You

@krsnlove @my-heart-beats-for-ya @aworldoffandoms @flyawayboo  @trappedinfanfiction @everythingmarvelsherlockspn @soph-withersx-deactivated202102 @kate-mckenzie​@i-bloody-love-drake-walker. @twinkleallnight​ 

Masterlist. 

 Chapter 2 Girls' Night Out

11 weeks after arriving in Hollywood...

"Something happened." Addison whispered.

Holly looked over her shoulder to make certain no one was near enough to overhear them. "What do you mean?"

"Look at them!" Addison hissed.

The pair she was gesturing to were sitting in director's chairs while debating different actresses that had auditioned for them.

"What do you mean?" Holly whispered.

"They're different." Addison insisted. "Something happened on that trip to Tahoe."

"Yeah." Holly muttered. "Nothing happened to make them get together."

"We have to do something." Addison decided. "She plans on leaving soon! We can't let them lose their spark without acknowledging it in the first place."

"Addy." Holly placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "You know I have been one hundred percent behind you in this, but--"

"No!" Addison slapped her hand to Holly's mouth. "Don't you dare finish that sentence! Just keep backing me up. Got it?"

Holly sighed before nodding.

"Good." Addison dropped her hand. "Now follow my lead."

"If we are to go by appearance, then Jessica is the clear choice." Amanda explained. "I had Maxwell send some photos of Elizabeth's portraits so you could see what I am talking about."

Thomas leaned closer to her as he studied the images on her phone. "Their coloring is the same." He stroked his chin while glancing at the headshots of those that had been narrowed down as possibilities. "And I was impressed with with her Tender Nothings performance."

"I was too." Amanda wrinkled her nose at another actress's photo. "This one seemed unable to sound light hearted. Even her tears seemed more angry than sad."

He chuckled softly. "Then that's a definite no on Ms. Frasier. What about Lauren Benefield? What do you think of her for Elizabeth?"

Amanda hesitated. "She is the regency queen of cinema." She picked up the actress's headshot. "Something though was off for me when she read the lines."

"Can you be more specific?" Thomas lifted his gaze to Amanda's face.

She grimaced while trying to find the words. "Her innocence seemed forced."

He slowly nodded. "True. But she has chemistry with Ryan."

"Jessica does too." She countered.

He sat back in his chair. "It seems that only one has stood out to you."

"I'm sorry." Amanda quickly apologized. "Perhaps I shouldn't be part of the casting process. I--"

He took her hand in his and gently squeezed. "I'm glad you are taking such an interest." He smiled at the blush forming on her cheeks. "You having a definite opinion helps me in making a decision."

She lowered her eyes. "If you're sure I'm not making this harder, then I hope Jessica Clark is chosen."

"Then I will have Holly tell her agent." He released her hand while turning around. "Holly? Will you call Chazz and tell him that Jessica got the part."

"Will do." Holly was jerked back by Addison.

"Since it is Friday, I was wondering if we could borrow Amanda." Addison said.

Thomas narrowed his eyes slightly. "Borrow Amanda?"

"Yeah," Addison nudged Holly, "for a girls' night out. I figured she could use a fun night now that the screenplay is finished."

Holly winced at the elbow jarring her ribs again. "We need to do it before she leaves us."

"You're right!" Addison beamed at her partner in crime. "And we need to plan a party!"

"You don't have to do that." Amanda smiled at them. "It isn't as if I will never return. I still have a premiere to attend."

As Addison began to make suggestions for the going away party, Amanda's thoughts became a bit more depressed.

The party would mean she was leaving Thomas.

It didn't matter that he intended to go to Cordonia in six to eight weeks to film on location. She felt like as soon as she stepped on the plane that it would end any chance she might have to be with him.

Who knew how he would react or what he might think once he found out that she had to participate in such an archaic tradition?

Why couldn't I have been born a nobody?

She rubbed her aching head. If she had been born a nobody then she wouldn't have been inspired by her ancestor's story and thus not be sitting next to, in her opinion, the most attractive man she had ever met.

Either way, I wouldn't end up with him.

"Amanda?"

She sat up with a start. "Sorry. Did you say something?"

Addison repeated her invitation. "Please say you'll go. We really want to show you the fun side of Hollywood."

Thomas narrowed his eyes once more. "Are you insinuating that I haven't given her an enjoyable visit?"

"Yep."

Amanda couldn't help but laugh at his incredulous facial expression.

"Don't worry." She said to Thomas, patting his hand. "I've had a wonderful time with you."

His expression softened as he gazed upon her face. "Good. Perhaps tomorrow night we could go see a movie. Maybe dinner?"

Though she knew it was dangerous to go out on a date with him, she decided to accept. It was only her heart she was risking after all. The man could have anyone he wanted. He would never fall--

"I have the perfect outfit for you!" Addison broke into her torturous thoughts. "I'll bring it by when we pick you up!"

"Can't wait." Amanda replied.

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

That evening...

Thomas eyed the stairs as he sat in his living room. His curiosity had piqued when Addison mentioned an outfit.

He also was a little uneasy at the thought of Amanda going clubbing.

His frown firmed at the thought.

What if she meets someone and falls for him? She is already too lovely to be set loose in Hollywood's den of single--

He abruptly stood up when they came downstairs. His eyes widened at what Addison had done to the woman he was already highly attracted to.

She had turned her into a veritable sex symbol.

One that seemed to have stepped right out of my fantasies.

"Well?" Addison smiled at him. "Doesn't she look great?"

His eyes traveled the curves so blatantly displayed.

He audibly swallowed. He thought his surreptitious study of her figure the past few weeks had been thorough. Now he doubted all he had observed before.

Amanda nervously tucked one of her stray curls behind her ear that Addison swore needed to hang down from the messy bun she had fashioned.

"I know this isn't something like I normally wear." She looked down at her body in the royal blue dress that barely met her thighs. "But when in Rome..." She smiled shyly at them all. "Or rather Hollywood."

Addison beamed at her. "Exactly! This dress is a must for the places we are taking you." She cut her eyes to Thomas still stunned speechless. "What do you think, Professor?"

Holly nudged him when he remained silent.

He blinked. "That--it certainly--you..." He closed his eyes to get his jumbled thoughts in order.

"I think that proves how perfect this dress is." Addison pushed Amanda toward the front door. "Let's go ladies. We have much to do and too little time to do it in."

"What time should I expect you home?" Thomas grimaced at sounding like a parent.

"Late." Holly yelled over her shoulder.

Amanda waved goodbye to him before sliding into the limo Addison had rented.

Deciding she hadn't caused Thomas to truly think about what he might be missing out on, Addison hurried back toward the front door giving the excuse she left her phone upstairs.

Thomas stepped back inside with her.

"Found it!" She said while coming back down. "Sorry you can't come with us."

He grunted while shrugging his shoulders.

"But if I am to matchmake Amanda with one of the guys we meet tonight then I can't have you there being grumpy--"

"What?!" His eyes narrowed. "You're going to set Amanda up with someone after pushing me to be with her for the past three months?"

Addison sighed softly. "You clearly don't feel anything for her." She watched his expression darken in angry frustration. "I figured it was time to find her someone who does."

"I-- of course I feel-- can't--" he sputtered. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he gestured toward the front door. "You shouldn't keep them waiting."

Smiling brightly over flustering him, she wished him a good night. She peeked one last time at him as she shut the door.

Thomas had never looked so miserable.

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

Sayers Club...

"First stop of the night!" Addison smiled at the bouncer who winked at her as he held the door for her.

"She always brings the bouncers gifts." Holly explained. "Just about every hotspot in Hollywood has security guards adoring her."

"It was the only way to get my name out there once I graduated." Addison added. "Then I didn't feel right stopping it just because I finally received some recognition. It's been going on for years now."

Amanda commended her for her idea.

"Drinks first, I think." Holly announced.

"Something fruity." Addison yelled out over the music.

Amanda nodded. "Fruity sounds good."

Addison and Holly shared a conspiratorial glance before the latter gave their orders to a bartender.

The two had planned on the way to Thomas's home to use this evening to get the truth out of Amanda.

And what better way than to get her just a touch inebriated?

The three made their way through the crowd, pausing here and there to greet those they knew.

Amanda was introduced to many famous celebrities that she had yet to meet during her other ventures with Thomas.

"Let's sit here." Addison gestured to a curved booth directly in the middle of the action.

After a few more cocktails that the nosy pair were making certain had an extra shot of vodka for the duchess, Addison began the interrogation.

"Are you really leaving in a week or two?"

Amanda twirled her straw in her third empty glass. "Yes."

Holly motioned for refills. "So soon?"

"I have to." Amanda mumbled. "I really don't want to." She took the new glass and took a long sip. "But I must."

"Why?" Addison tilted her head. "What's making you leave?"

Amanda hiccupped. "I have stuff to do."

"With your duchy?" Holly prodded.

"No." Amanda hiccupped again.

"Stuff to do with that social season you told us about?" Addison asked.

"Yes." She surprised them by downing the rest of her drink. She shuddered while pressing the back of her hand to her lips. "I really don't want to."

"We'll miss you." Addison told her. She leaned forward to see Amanda's face. "Especially Thomas."

Amanda slumped back in her chair. She began to swirl the ice cubes in her glass with a straw. A bitter smile formed on her lips. "I'll miss all of you."

"Thomas wishes you could stay." Holly added. "He will be a nightmare to work with until we go to Cordonia."

"Why?" Amanda mumbled. "He has everything." Her brow furrowed. "The script. The actors. Costumes."

Addison passed her another cocktail. "He won't have you." She smiled at the surprise on Amanda's face. "You have done wonders for his typical moods, which were mostly grumpy."

The duchess's cheeks turned a bright red, either from shyness or alcohol.

"What do you really think of Thomas?" Holly asked. "Even though we have known him for years, we--"

"Addison. Holly." A handsome actor greeted before looking expectantly at Amanda. "How are we this evening?"

"We're great Vince." Holly rolled her eyes. "How about yourself?"

"Great." He held his hand out. "Vince Carter."

Amanda shook it. "'Manda Brighton." She slurred slightly. "Sorry. 'Manda Bridgerton."

He smiled and sat down at their table.

"She's the author Thomas has been working with." Addison reluctantly explained.

"And leaving town soon." Holly stressed.

"Really?" He leaned toward Amanda. "Any chance there is a character that I am made for?"

Amanda tilted her head while studying him. "Hmm." She shrugged and returned her attention to her drink. "Dunno."

His lips parted at her lack of interest.

"Don't let us keep you." Holly pushed him out of their booth.

"We'll see you around." Addison added, dismissing him with a brief wave.

"Anyway." Holly huffed. "What were talking about?"

"Thomas." Amanda set her elbow on the table and rested her cheek on her hand.

Addison winked at Holly. "That's right! We were wondering your thoughts on him."

"My thoughts?" A wistful smile formed on Amanda's lips. "Have a bunch of those."

"Really?" Holly eagerly leaned forward. "Like what?"

"Everything." Amanda mumbled after thanking the waiter for her refill. "He's temptation."

"He's what now?" Addison's brow furrowed.

"Temptation." She repeated before focusing on her drink. "He makes me want to forget my promises."

"Promises? Who have you promised stuff to?" Holly asked.

"Liam." Amanda blinked. "Doesn't matter. He doesn't feel the same."

"Liam doesn't feel the same about what?" Addison tried to make sense out of what was being revealed.

"Not Liam. Thomas."

"You made Thomas promises?" Holly attempt to clear it up only ended in frustration.

"Not Thomas. Promised Liam." Amanda insisted.

A song came on that caught her attention.

"Oh! Dance! Let's dance!"

"Wait. What does Liam have to do with Thomas?!" Addison yelled out as the bass dropped.

"Timing!" Amanda replied, sliding out of the booth. She disappeared in the crowd before Holly or Addison could stop her.

"What do you think she meant?" Holly yelled.

"I don't know!" Addison's eyes narrowed in concern. "But it certainly made her sad."

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

Many hours later...

Thomas tried to distract himself.

He made an outline for how he wanted filming to go.

And noticed that most of it would require having Amanda on hand.

He decided to watch a movie or two.

And missed having Amanda beside him, sharing bits of movie trivia.

He made dinner.

And found out that cooking for one had definitely lost the appeal it once had.

He took a shower to try and unwind.

And had to make it cold as he thought about her in that dress. Dancing. Smiling. Simply breathing.

He gave up on everything and watched the time go by.

It's ridiculous that I have allowed her to have such an effect on me. No one else can keep my attention, especially when they are not physically here. How will I be when she leaves for Cordonia?

He jumped to his feet when he heard the doorbell ring over and over again.

Opening the door, he found a swaying Amanda and a frustrated Addison.

"What happened?" He demanded.

"Thomas!" Amanda stumbled forward into his arms.

"Is she drunk?" He asked, completely baffled by her condition.

"The drinks were stronger than usual." Addison huffed. "I can't stay to explain. Holly is in the same shape."

Thomas looked over her head to see Holly hanging upside down out of the limo's window.

"Wooooohooooo!" Holly waved. "You're gonna fall in the sky."

Addison rolled her eyes as she stomped back to the car.

"Buh-bye!" Amanda called out.

Addison grunted as she lifted Holly back through the window. Once the limo door shut, the two friends burst into laughter.

"That was an award winning performance." Addison complimented.

"Thank you. If not for your brilliant idea for one of us to pretend to be drunk too so that Thomas couldn't make us help get Amanda to her bedroom, this performance would have never happened."

Addison giggled again. "Hopefully she will let something slip out in front of him about her feelings."

Holly poured them each a glass of champagne. "To drunken confessions."

They tapped glasses and relaxed.

Once the limo disappeared down the driveway, Amanda leaned back in Thomas's arms, nearly falling backwards and dragging him down with her.

"I danced." She proudly told him.

"Did you?" He tried to keep his irritation from showing. He doubted it was her fault for ending up like this. He knew his two friends a little too well. "Why don't you tell me all about it inside?"

"Kay." She slipped out of his arms and hit the wall.

Cursing softly, he held her arm to guide her into his house.

She fell on the couch, laughing as she kicked her feet up in the air, watching her shoes fly off.

Thomas ran his hands over his face. "Have you eaten?"

"Yes." She smiled at him. "I ate ice."

"I'm going to fix you something to help your condition." He grumbled. "Stay here."

"Kay."

Once he left the room she struggled to sit up.

"So hot in here." She tried to reach the zipper of her dress, causing herself to roll off the couch.

"Ouch." She mumbled.

She finally found the zipper and got it to go down after four tries. Standing up to let the dress fall off. She searched for something to fan herself.

Then her attention was caught by the pool outside.

Swaying as she walked she managed to open up the patio door and step outside.

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

Thomas returned to the living room and saw that Amanda had not only disappeared, she was somewhere in his house without clothing.

He heard a splash and dashed out the back door.

"Amanda!" He shouted, waiting for her to come up for air.

He quickly pulled his shirt off followed by his pajama pants, then jumped in after her.

She breached the surface right when he went under.

He grabbed her waist when his head appeared before her.

"AAAAHHHH!" She tried to push him away. "Water demon!"

He gave her a slight shake. "It's me."

She moved closer, then grinned. "It's you!"

"What are you doing in the pool?" He demanded.

"Got hot." She slurred, draping her arms around his neck.

"We need to--" he sucked in his breath when her body pressed against his.

Her skin was warm in the cool water.

And there was so much of it.

He briefly closed his eyes. "Did you...did you take off all your clothing."

"Nope." She mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder. "Panties were too hard to get off."

He softly groaned at what he now faced. "Amanda, we need to get you out and dressed."

"Kay." She nuzzled against his neck. "You smell good."

He stilled at her touch, feeling her lips brush his ear as she whispered.

"I danced a lot."

"Did you?" He swallowed. "I hope you enjoyed yourself."

"Wish you were there." She yawned, settling her head once more on his shoulder.

His arms tightened around her.

"I do too." Thomas whispered.

She tried to kiss his cheek, but missed and landed on the spot where his pulse leaped.

He knew he couldn't kiss her in the current state she was in. When they kissed, he wanted her completely coherent and fully participating.

Thomas tried to conjure every image of things that disgusted him as he got them out of the pool. Keeping his eyes averted, he helped her wrap a towel around herself.

She plopped down on a chaise lounge, sighing in contentment.

"Wait here," he commanded. "I'm going to find you some clothes." He wrapped a towel around his waist as he padded his way inside.

She looked around and spotted his t-shirt. Scrambling to her feet she let the towel fall off while pulling his shirt on. She lifted the soft material to her nose and breathed in the scent of his soap and aftershave.

Deciding she was ready for bed, she went inside and laid down on the couch.

Thomas didn't notice she was on the couch and panicked when he stepped back outside. After searching the pool and the rest of his backyard, he hurried back inside, praying she was somewhere in there.

In the midst of yelling her name, he saw her fast asleep in his shirt.

He didn’t bother to temper his groan at what she had put him through this night as he tried to pick her up.

Her eyes popped open and she looped her arms around him.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

He grunted and let her drop back to the couch. "To bed."

Her eyes widened. "Yours?"

"What?" Heat went up the back of his neck at the notion. "No. I'm placing you in your bed then going to mine."

The pout that formed on her lips drew his attention.

"Doesn't sound fun." Her fingers drifted through his damp hair.

"I agree but it is necessary." He focused on her eyes. "Help me get you upstairs."

With a nod, she let him pull her to her feet and half carry her toward the stairs.

"I'm tired." She sagged against him once they reached the top.

"We're almost there."

He nearly cheered when they crossed the threshold of her bedroom.

Jerking back the covers, he gently set her in bed.

She still held onto him, pulling him down with her.

"Much too tempting." She yawned.

"Amanda, I--" Thomas found himself trapped, with her resting her head on his chest and her arm curving around his waist. Her leg lifted and rested across his.

Unable to easily wake her, he gave up this unexpected battle and closed his eyes.

Planning not only an explanation for how she ended up in his shirt but also on leaving before she awakened so as not to cause any embarrassment for her, he decided to allow himself this moment of enjoying the pleasure of having her in his arms while he slept instead of simply dreaming about her.

[athingthatwantsvirginia]

Bowie Didn’t!

PART EIGHT OF THE DO YOU SEE HER FACE? SERIES

Pairing: Jess Mariano x Original Character (Ella Stevens)

Warnings: mentions of death, plentiful pop culture references

Word Count: 3.7K

Summary: On the night of Sookie’s wedding, Ella visits the diner and encounters a surprise. 

Though the sign on the door read Closed, Ella gave only one knock and rushed in. She could see Luke closing up, wiping down the main counter. Upon looking up to see her, Luke groaned and hung his head. Ella only smiled, a slightly wicked look. The lights were turned down low and it was shadowy, adding to her fatigue. Sookie’s wedding, out under the early summer sun, had been a fun, all-day affair, and it had taken the wind out of her. But she only had a night left before she shipped off to New Britain for the rest of June, and she had to get one dose of Luke’s food in before the three-week excursion.

“Ella, how many times-”

“I’ll help you clean up whatever mess I make, alright? I know the procedure,” she insisted, her grin growing.

He sighed. “Fine.”

“Thank you, Luke. I am eternally grateful,” she said with mock severity. “I just had to get another look at the place before I depart forever.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “You’re only gonna be gone for a few weeks.”

She scoffed. “To a youth like me, that’s practically a lifetime.”

“What can I get ya?” he snapped, over her theatrics, but in his usual gruff, lovable way.

“Fries, please. And a water?” she asked. Luke nodded and disappeared into the back.

Smiling still, she shrugged off her jean jacket, left in only the army green dress she’d worn to the wedding. The air was clear and full of promise. She would miss the diner, of course, but it would be a welcome escape from her family. Not that her father was entirely behind the idea, but she’d wheedled enough to get him to agree to not send the police looking for her while she was gone. It was odd, considering he usually gave less than one percent of a shit on a daily basis about where she was or what she was up to. Suddenly, feet thumped down the stairs to the apartment and Jess emerged from behind the checkered curtain. He was rubbing his big brown eyes with the heel of his hand. When he looked up and saw her sitting there, he staggered back in slight surprise.

“Hi,” he said, nodding a little.

She raised her eyebrows at seeing him back in his old haunt. “Hi.”

“So,” Jess began with a sigh, raising his hands and gesturing to himself standing in the diner.

Ella nodded, pursing her lips. “Yep. Guess you didn’t think to mention this on the phone two nights ago?”

He chuckled. “Of course I didn’t. Gotta keep things exciting.”

A crooked smirk on his face, Jess ambled over and leaned his forearms on the counter in front of her. Before she could ask him any questions, he shifted toward her and produced a shiny silver quarter from behind her ear. She furrowed her brows at the action but smiled. Holding out the coin to her, he smiled back. He heard Luke puttering around in the kitchen behind him. The deep fryer sizzled lowly. She took the quarter and rolled the cool metal between her fingers before shoving it in the pocket of her jacket.

“How was the wedding?” he asked, his chin propped up on his hand.

She shrugged. “It was a wedding.”

“Hence the name.”

Luke came back around with a basket of fries and a glass of water, eyeing Jess suspiciously, and said nothing as he set them down in front of Ella. She shot him a pointed look. “Thanks for keeping me in the know, boss.”

Sighing, Luke rolled his eyes. “Seems like you figured it out on your own. You’re gonna be gone all month anyway.”

“Gone all month?” Jess echoed.

She nodded. “The New Britain aunt. She just asked me yesterday if I could help her out for a while. She's getting married next week, and they already have a couple kids. I’m babysitting while they’re on their honeymoon.”

“Thrilling,” Jess quipped.

“Should be.”

“Guess I’ll just have to call you here for a while then. You’ll be waiting at the phone, desperate just to hear my voice,” she said in a breathy, dramatic voice, reminiscent of 1940s screen queens.

“Keep dreaming.”

“I always am.”

“Well, it’s not too far. Maybe I’ll return the favor. I’ll show up and you can take me on a tour of all the New Britain hotspots,” he said dryly, though there was a joking tone.

She scoffed. “No such places exist, Mariano.”

“What’s he talkin’ about?” Luke asked, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at her.

Pausing for a moment, Ella shrugged, feigning nonchalance as she stared down at her fries. “I went and saw Jess in the city a couple weeks ago.”

“What?” he asked, throwing an accusatory glare to a smirking Jess. “When?”

“Mother’s day,” she said shortly, finally meeting Luke’s eyes again.

A knowing expression passed across Luke’s face. “Oh.”

“Mm-hmm,” she hummed in response, aware he wouldn’t say another word about it. Lost in her mind for a moment, she cast her gaze over to the door of the stock room, memories rolling over her like waves.

.   .   .

one year and three weeks earlier

It was summer when she died, almost a full year before. The warming weather brought with it unpleasant, familiar stirrings in the pit of her stomach. She could hear the keys of her mother’s piano, smell her perfume, feel her mother’s hands brushing her hair when she was a child. Order after order, she brought pancakes to happy families. There were mothers with bouquets of flowers in their arms milling around out on the street. And she was happy for them. But it was so hard to maintain the facade when she had nauseating clouds of grief washing her in gloomy rain. She hadn’t even known it was Mother’s Day until she left the house, her father and brother not having yet awoken. But the looks people were giving her told her something was wrong. The chalkboard outside the bookstore announcing the holiday sale solved the mystery for her.

Blowing strands of hair away from her rosy face, Ella felt the throbbing of her sore feet and wanted nothing more than to be listening to her Stevie Nicks tunes on a low volume in her bedroom. She wanted to be reading Dickinson and wallowing in the misery she had no idea would befall her. There seemed to be nothing on the Earth which would cheer her up until the bell over the door jingled and she saw the faces of Lorelai and Rory.

“If it isn’t my favorite mother-daughter detective team!” Ella smiled as they sat down at the counter in front of her.

Luke came over to greet them as well, a cheery expression on his stubbly face. “What can I get ya?”

“Pancakes with chocolate chips that spell out ‘Mother of the Year,’” Lorelai said immediately, batting her eyelashes.

Sighing, Luke looked up from his writing. “Is that a serious request?”

“Am I one to joke about pancakes?” Lorelai countered.

Grunting out an affirmative monosyllabic response, Luke went back into the kitchen. Ella shook her head. Her boss would do anything for that woman.

“We’re gonna have to wolf those pancakes down if we’re gonna get through all the movies today,” Rory reminded Lorelai, a sweet smile on her lips.

“Oooo, what kind of marathon is it?” Ella asked.

“Audrey Hepburn,” Lorelai answered through a grin. “Funny Face, Sabrina, the whole nine. Maybe we’ll add some Katherine, too. All the Hepburns.”

Feeling her heart drop into her stomach, Ella hid the crestfallen look which threatened to cross her face. “That sounds great. I um...I gotta go get some extra chocolate chips from the back if Luke’s gonna fit all those words on the pancakes.”

Rory furrowed her brows in confusion, but Lorelai realized their mistake almost as soon as the words left her lips. However, Ella was in the stock room before either of them could say anything to correct themselves.

Ten minutes passed before Luke noticed his waitress was nowhere to be seen. Admittedly, he had to search his mind to remember if she’d told him he was taking a break or not. When he decided there was no such memory, he returned to the counter where Rory and Lorelai were finishing up their candied pancakes.

“Did you guys see where Ella went?” he asked.

The two women looked between themselves with hesitant looks. Lorelai sighed and shook her head, a conspiratory whisper to her voice. “She’s back in the stock room, but I would just give her a minute.”

“Why? What’s goin’ on?” Luke was immediately concerned, and Lorelai’s face softened at his worry.

Rory chimed in, looking guilty. “We told her we’re doing a Hepburns marathon for Mother’s Day. And her mom also loved Katherine Hepburn and it just slipped out and it’s Mother’s Day and-”

“She’s probably just gonna need a few minutes,” Lorelai cut in, finishing for her daughter.

Luke’s face dropped and he blew out a long breath. “Oh. I...I should go talk to her.”

“Should you?” Lorelai asked doubtfully, but Luke was already walking away. “Luke?”

Back in the stock room, Luke found Ella on the floor near a rack of canned goods. The room smelled of tomatoes and dirt, but it was homey in an odd way. She rested her head on her crossed arms, elbows on her knees. Luke hadn’t seen her so small since she was a toddler, sitting there crumpled up into herself. Her shoulders were shaking slightly, though her cries were silent. Wiping his hands on his jeans, Luke almost returned to the diner but Ella’s muffled voice stopped him before he could leave.

“I know you’re there, Luke,” she said, though she didn’t raise her head to look at him. “I’m sorry, I’ll be back out in a second.”

He sighed guiltily, then shuffled on his booted feet a moment before taking a seat next to her. Though she could feel his presence at her side, she still didn’t look up. There were dark smudges around her eyes, she knew, and tears steadily streaming down her cheeks. Even at the funeral, she didn’t cry. No one had seen her cry since she was a small child. It was only nights alone in her room when she finally let her heart open up and bleed. In a million lifetimes she never would have imagined a simple mention of Katherine Hepburn would break her down in public, or that Luke would be the one to see it. But in the last year, she had learned how grief would come and go like a flash flood. The thought of the loneliness, the pure isolation she’d brought upon herself while coping with the loss, sent another shuddering sob up her spine. She swallowed it back and sniffled, her face still buried in her jeans. Suddenly, she felt Luke’s arm around her shoulder, and she flinched at the touch. Her muscles were tense.

“I’m sorry, Ella,” he said solemnly.

Before she could stop herself, she blurted out a tearful whisper: “Everyone else gets to have a mom.”

Luke nodded, and he wrapped his arms around her as she brought her head to his shoulder and cried into the flannel of his shirt. “I know, I know.”

“I don’t have a mom anymore. I’ll never have a mom again,” she murmured through her tears.

“Yes, you do. She’s still with you. It’s gonna be okay,” he spoke softly, feeling his heart break for her. He knew exactly what it was like to lose a mother at a young age.

And there they sat for the next half hour, until Ella’s breathing finally slowed to a near-normal pace and her hands had calmed their shaking. Luke let her go early, and promised her Mother’s Day off for the rest of eternity, or however long she might work there.

.   .   .

Her high heels fell rhythmically on the sidewalk as she and Jess left the diner and strolled through the balmy night. There was a warm breeze, and somewhere far off an owl hooted, a loon called. After she had washed up the dishes from the fries and the water, Jess had suggested they go out and do something since she’d be missing in action for three whole weeks. The flowers were blooming all around town, and the gazebo was adorned with hydrangeas of pink, blue, purple.

“Hey, you gotta see this,” she said, grabbing him by the sleeve and marching the both of them up the steps.

“Jeez, relax,” he grumbled at her insistence.

She only grinned, her eyes travelling up when they reached the gazebo’s center. They sat down next to each other on the small wooden bench. A fragrant floral sheet cloaked them. Jess followed her gaze to the sky, and immediately understood. There was a hole in the gazebo ceiling, small but enough. There was a beautiful view of the stars, through a cloudy lattice of flowers.

“Huh,” he chirped, nodding slightly.

“Wow, don’t act so impressed,” she scoffed, annoyed at his ambivalence.

He smirked at her, looking over at her profile in the moonlight. “No, really, it’s cool. Something you should paint.”

“Maybe,” Ella agreed, finally meeting his eyes with a tiny smile.

“How’d this happen, anyway?” he asked, gesturing up to the hole.

She shrugged, scrunching up her nose. “Something about Kirk and a batting machine a few nights ago. I just tune most of it out at this point.”

“A wise choice.”

“I think so. Anyway, it'll definitely be fixed in the next few days. Figured you should see it before it was gone.”

“Well, I’m so honored you thought of me,” he teased.

Ella rolled her eyes and flushed, staring ahead at the square glowing silently around them. “Don’t flatter yourself, Mariano.” She paused and spoke again, losing her wistful air. “So, come on, don’t keep me in suspense any longer.”

“What?” He furrowed his brows.

“Well, what are you doing here? And are you visiting or are you...here?” she asked hesitantly, avoiding his eyes.

“I’m here. I came back. I just...wanted to.”

“Why?”

Jess shrugged, running a hand over his mouth. “World bites you, you bite back, right?”

A full smile crossed her lips, and she nudged him with a joking elbow. “That’s right. Took my advice, huh?”

“Just this once. Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Too late.”

“Yeah, I figured,” he said. “Besides, it wasn’t like my mom was suddenly gonna want me back there.”

She hummed and nodded, appraising him. His arms were crossed over the chest of his Clash t-shirt, his hair mussed and his eyes tired. Again, she thought of Jess wandering out in the city alone in the middle of school hours. A pit of guilt settled in her stomach at the thought of leaving the next day, just as he had returned. But she thought better of it. He didn’t need her, and she instantly felt more than a little presumptuous. Without thinking, she chewed at the nails of her right hand.

“You need to quit that, honey,” he scolded with good nature in his voice.

Ella rolled her eyes and scoffed, casting him no more than a momentary glance. “Yeah, I’ll quit biting when you quit smoking.”

“Touché.”

“I’m just nervous.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell,” he quipped.

She snickered and shook her head. “Shut up. My dad doesn’t want me to go, and there’s probably gonna be hell to pay. But I have to take my escapes where I can get them.”

“Don’t I know it,” he agreed. Her makeup was smudged around her eyes, her lipstick faded. There was a stoic look across her features, guarding her thoughts. Jess found himself frustrated at her unreadable expression.

“Hey, just for the record?” she began, breaking the silence.

“Hm?”

“I think I might hate your mom,” she admitted.

Jess laughed bitterly. “I don’t know. You two do share the inclination toward Stevie Nicks.”

She scoffed. “The one commonality. She doesn’t think you’ll go to college, right?”

“More like I’ll never amount to anything, but close enough.”

“That’s bullshit, Jess,” she said with earnest.

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger,” he snapped defensively.

Before she could stop herself, she shifted to face him and raised her eyebrows doubtfully. “The messenger? Like you don’t walk around acting like someone you’re not.”

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” Jess exclaimed, brows furrowed.

“Just…” she sighed, trailing off. Then, she doubled down and took a big breath before beginning again. “This whole Holden Caulfield thing, acting like you’re too cool to want anything!”

“Like you know what I want,” he countered. “And college isn’t the end-all be-all of existence!”

“I didn’t say that! Who gives a fuck if you go to college? Bowie didn’t!” she agreed, voice still raised.

“Exactly!”

“But, that’s not the point! Jess, what do you want?!” she asked. “You go through like five books a day and you almost failed eleventh grade! I mean, Jesus, you could do anything you wanted if you tried!”

“Like it’s so simple,” he grumbled.

“I didn’t say it was simple,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You’re just too fucking smart for your own good, Mariano. You can’t waste it.”

He shook his head, biting his lip.

Ella sighed, running a hand through her curled hair. “Fine, don’t listen to me.” Again, she bit at her thumb nail, gazing over the town. Luke was finally finished closing up, and she saw him shut off the lights.

“I’m listening,” he muttered, his voice not without frustration.

“Whatever you say, jackass.”

Before he could respond, Ella stood up and smoothed her hands over her skirt. Her hair fell down her back in golden curls, and the silver chain around her neck glinted. Jess could hear the gentle buzz of insects beneath the thick blanket of night. Upstairs in the apartment, there was a Hemingway novel awaiting him. But he had an inkling he would have a harder time concentrating on it than normal. He thought she was going to leave without uttering another word, but instead she turned and stood back against the rail of the gazebo. She leaned down and unclasped the strappy black shoes she wore, gathering them up by the heels in one hand.

“You’ll get an infection walking around without shoes,” he warned lightly, hoping to drop the subject of his ambiguous future.

She smirked, and Jess felt himself relax. “Maybe in New York. Not so much in Stars Hollow.”

“Oh, was Manhattan not up to your small town standards?”

Her smile grew into something more genuine and she crossed her arms against the summer breeze. The night was quickly cooling, and she had only her jan jacket to shield her. “No, actually, it exceeded them. It was so...dynamic. Just like you described. But there was no five-dollar street corner sex!”

Jess laughed, though his heart fluttered inside his chest at the look in her eyes. The one of glittering wonder she’d had while they watched the Hudson. “Yeah, well, can’t win ‘em all.”

“Next time?” she teased expectantly.

“Next time,” Jess assured her, nodding.

“Well, I gotta get home,” she said, glancing behind her in the direction of her street. “I have to finish packing.”

“Right,” he sighed, glancing down at his boots, then back up. “Guess I’ll have to keep that place in business until July, huh?”

“I suppose,” she said, descending the stairs of the gazebo and calling back over her shoulder. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“I’ll try my best,” he shot back. “But no promises.”

She rolled her eyes and threw him a glance. “I would expect nothing less of you, Mariano.”

And with one final wave and a shouted goodnight, she turned away and continued on the short walk back to her little blue house. Jess smiled after her, watching her glide barefoot over the grass of town square and down the main street until she took a left and disappeared. And he felt a tug at his heart at her absence, but shook his head to himself before trudging back over to Luke’s.

.   .   .

The mid-morning bloomed warm and sunny, a break from the showers which had recently hung over Stars Hollow, and much of the north East. Pebbles crunched beneath the tires of Ella’s big blue Station Wagon, loaded with her duffel and her suitcase, various books in a grocery bag on the passenger seat. After the morning she’d had, she was biting her nails down to the quick. If she hadn’t admonished Jess the night before, she might have even smoked a cigarette or two. She had smoked for only a short period, the few weeks following her mother’s death. And every now and then when she incurred her father’s wrath. Watching her load up her car had made her father’s ears steam, and he’d broken one of the kitchen chairs. Being hungover certainly hadn’t helped him keep his temper under control.

As she rolled past Luke’s Diner, the radio blasted a sharp Liz Phair tune. Ella sang along at the top of her lungs, but quieted as she slowed down and let her gaze wander to the diner. For a moment, she debated stopping in for a final cup of tea, but she had to blink twice to make sure what she saw was accurate. Jess, with his black hair spiked up and dressed in his familiar camo shirt, had his hands in a girl’s back pockets. They sucked face as they leaned against the diner, right on the sidewalk. Ella scrunched up her nose at sight and scoffed as she turned her eyes back to the road. Apparently it didn’t take Jess very long. Had he even been back for twenty-four hours yet? She ignored the way her palms began to sweat. As she sped away from Stars Hollow, she turned the speakers up until she felt the music’s vibrations in her chest.

[evien-stark]

✧I Need You✧ Chapter 150

It was difficult to tell what time it was when you woke up. Sometime well past morning, that was for sure. As awareness seeped back in, you became first vaguely and then very knowingly aware of Tony still dreaming away next to you. Turning on your side, as gently as possible, it became a very tough call whether to stay there and fall back asleep with him or… 

Well. You stayed. For a few moments. Admiring the peacefulness just rolling off of him. Moments like these were so rare. Maybe, if you were lucky, you’d be able to just return to it. But in your overt carefulness in not waking him up, sliding off to the side in small increments so as to not shift the weight of the bed, and then… sticking one leg out onto the floor and… then the other… 

Almost in the clear. Until very quickly you were reminded you’d had sex (...more extremely passionate love making than anything, for sure) all night in heels, fallen asleep in heels- still were in heels, and your underwear still wrapped around one of those long points caught up your other foot as you tried to move. After that it was all over. You went down in a weak-kneed mess (maybe last night a little to blame, as well) with a very undignified yelp. 

From your spot on the floor you saw Tony shoot up, suddenly very awake and very nervous. He looked the other way first, and you had a real chance to make your position a little less terrible. But… as he turned the other way and spotted you in your heap on the floor, his sleepy grin turned sunny and he crawled to the other side closest to you, lying flat with his arm dangling over the edge. “You alright there, honey?” A genuine question while also being somewhat amused. 

“Nothing hurt but my pride.” Having to sweep up said feelings as you made extra sure of all your limbs and then stood again, stretching out the new kinks in your muscles. 

His sudden stare was felt. “An easy fix.” A warm intimate air hit the room rather quickly, and when you stopped limbering up, you caught his gaze. “You know… that’s a very good look on you. I think you should wear it more often.” No shame as he fully admired the sight in front of him.

Just you in heels. Hm. You could only imagine. Both the thought and the way he was looking at you pooled a slight heat to your cheeks- if there hadn’t already been one after being caught in your fall. A different sort of heat, though. “Knock it off.” Waving a dismissive hand at him and then turning around. 

“Do you really want me to?” A great question.

And the obvious answer was no, of course not. But instead of giving in to him, you turned that little wave into more of a hook. “What I’d really like for you to do is follow me into the shower. Please.” Half turning to look at him over your shoulder. 

“Gladly.” Eager as ever, as he shifted the covers aside and got out of bed with much more ease than you had. “...are you gonna wear the heels in there?” 

“I’m gonna roll up a newspaper and smack you, is what I’m gonna do.” 

“Okay, but I’d like you to answer the question, too.” 

The two of you were left in a battle of smiles before making haste off to a steamy shower. 

                                                             ---

On your fourth day in Paris, you and Tony got up early. Walked along the Seine river just as the sun was coming up. Around nine AM, the two of you got back to the hotel. The breeze on the balcony as you sat was warm. At nine-thirty, Tony emerged from the penthouse kitchen with two perfectly brewed and prepared cups of coffee. He sat beside you, watching the passers-by on the streets below. 

And then. At nine-forty-three, everything stopped. Or rather, perhaps everything started again. 

His phone vibrated in his pocket, which was a huge vacation no-no, but the pattern of the vibration was telling. And when he pretended to ignore it, sorry look on his face, JARVIS spoke anyway. “Sir, ma’am. I am sorry. I know you are both on a do-not-disturb protocol.” 

Tony picked his phone up out of his pocket and held it up with a very dissatisfied look on his face. “Then continue do-not-disturbing, JARVIS.” 

Ignoring him completely, JARVIS continued. “I have received an Avengers Priority One signal from Ms. Romanoff. Shall I put her through?” 

You and Tony looked at each other for perhaps too long a time. But eventually you put your cup of coffee down, and let your gaze drift lower, too. Disappointed. Deeply. He sighed. “You already know the answer to that, seeing as you broke protocol.” 

“My hierarchy orders are very clear-” 

“JARVIS. Just put her through.”

Tony was annoyed. You were upset. JARVIS had been trying to defend himself, or maybe protest that he wasn’t the one at fault here. He was just a program. It wasn’t his fault. No. It was that your personal life took a backseat to superheroing. And that was just the way it was. Whether you liked it or not. And you very much didn’t. 

Though a video screen went up on hologram, only Nat’s voice came through. “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t bother you if it wasn’t important. I already called the others. But the both of you are closer.” 

This wasn’t Natasha’s fault, either. Everyone seemed to feel like they were putting you out. But it was just the world you lived in. You shook your head, even though she couldn’t see it. “It’s fine, Nat.” It wasn’t. But that was neither here nor there anymore. “What’s going on?” She must have had something serious happen. Most anything she could take on by herself. So if she was calling you...

“I hijacked some Hydra higher-up’s personal jet. I’m headed into Port Sudan to meet up with one of their top scientists and her three-hundred or so Hydra army. Armed to the teeth with powered Chitauri-Hydra hybrid weaponry. She was supposed to be demoing a new big weapon today. I thought we’d drop in.” 

Tony sat back a little, resting one leg up on the other, putting a hand on his knee. “This the base we’ve been looking for?” You felt like you already knew the answer to this. But if it had been a yes, at least that would have made the bothering worth it. 

But of course… “No. No gamma outputs in that sector. Bruce has something promising, he said. But we can deal with it after this. I’ll drop you coordinates and we can gather. Have a little fun before the rest of the cavalry finds their way here.” 

She wasn’t asking permission. She wasn’t asking if you wanted to do this. This was a mission, and you’d do it whether you liked it or not. You’d only had four days- barely- alone with Tony. And already… You tried not to let the tone of your voice slip in a way that would take it out on her. “We’ll see you soon, Nat.” 

“Copy that.” 

Reaching up, Tony flicked the screen out of the air, ending the call. The coordinates dropped in another chirp literal seconds later, but neither of you looked at them. You were busy looking at each other. He looked just as unhappy. “We go, clean up, and come back. Don’t even have to check out.” A little too optimistic about this. 

This. This right here was the life you knew the two of you were destined to live. Forever. Scraping for teeny-tiny moments in time with each other before duty called the both of you to the battlefield again. There was a pit in your stomach, and a sure knowledge in your heart. “Let’s check out anyway. Just in case.” 

She had said Bruce had some information. Since she’d called all Avengers, he and Tony would link up. And that would be it. Much as Tony seemed sad about these developments, and as much as you did believe he wanted to do the superhero thing as quickly as possible and return to pretending the two of you could have a life… it wasn’t what was really going to happen. You knew that. 

And making him accept it… that was tougher. Because he really just turned this terrible shade of blue. He’d been trying to make all these promises to you, maybe even to himself. About some grand life where this wouldn’t happen. It hadn’t even been a week before reality had crept back in and made him an unwitting liar. 

“Sure, honey. Just in case.” 

                                                            ---

You had LUNA put the suit into auto-pilot once the coordinates were loaded in. The rest of your immediate attention was put into reading the mission briefing that Natasha had sent. The Avengers were a couple hours behind the both of you, and with the suits, you and Tony would make it there relatively quickly- at least a lot quicker than the rest of the team currently over the ocean in the quinjet. 

It was the whole reason she’d called. Maybe if you’d vacationed somewhere further away than the team…

A useless, petulant thought. One that annoyed you more than anything. This was your duty. You had to see it through. Not the least of which because Natasha could be in trouble. She was facing what sounded like a literal army all on her own. She needed backup. You were Avengers. This was your job. 

Dr. Delora Jensen. An angry looking woman with a tight lipped smile and even tighter drawn back black hair in her profile picture. One of the rats that had escaped the so-called sinking ship. And the more of them you dug up, the more you started to feel like the whole exposing of both teams hadn’t been worth it in the end. There just seemed to be so many of them. Endlessly. When would they all be caught? When would they all die out? 

She’d been transported to several hotspots. It may have very well been that the Avengers had been on her tail the whole time. She was one of the brilliant minds capable of salvaging the Chitauri weaponry left over from the war and making it into formidable weapons. ...well, not was anymore, seeing as Nat knew she was doing a weapons demonstration later today. One of your favorite things. There was no telling how dangerous she was. Or her army. 

Natasha had apprehended two Hydra higher-ups who were scheduled to see what she’d made a breakthrough on. So that was two less to worry about. Two out of a whole army and one mad scientist… and you could have been ignorant to the whole thing on a sunny balcony in Paris. 

“You still going over the notes?” Tony asked this already knowing, for sure, that you’d finished some time ago. Really, what he was asking, was what you were thinking about now. And if you wanted to talk. 

“No.” Your clipped response got a wince from you. This was in absolutely no way Tony’s fault. It just was. “I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay.” 

“It’s not okay.” You didn’t want to become another Jessica Jones. Weary of the world and its ills. Pushing everyone away. Tony didn’t deserve that. You didn’t want to be that person. “I just… I wanted more time. To pretend we were normal.” It wasn’t like you needed to tell him. 

He felt the same way. A soft pang knocked at your heart. Light sadness. Yes. The both of you desperately wanted a life. ...you also desperately didn’t want to have that conversation again so soon. Even if you had more evidence to your cause now. You didn’t want to be right. You wanted him to be right. To prove you wrong. 

Yet there the both of you were. In your Iron armors. Flying to take out a Hydra nest while you were supposed to be on vacation. You’d murdered a mind-controlling villain not even a week ago. Tony had been shot in the crossfire maybe a week ago. Yet there the both of you were. Charging into battle again, so soon. 

How did it end up like this? 

“Yeah. Me, too.” His resignation probably hurt the most. 

                                                            ---

Natasha had commandeered an abandoned watchtower a mile out from the base. From what it looked like, they’d removed whatever operation had been hiding out there and moved in fairly quickly. Their perimeters were tight. Soldiers were patrolling the compound- several large warehouses with about five tanks spaced out between buildings. It was a little after 11AM when you and Tony marked her location and dropped in on a slow descent. JARVIS and LUNA did their jobs watching the blind spots so the both of you could get in undetected. 

“LUNA get me a headcount.” “Yes, ma’am.” 

Deactivating the helmet, you came over to Nat’s side as she was half leaned on the edge of the open wall frame. “You guys made good time.” 

Tony took up her other side. “That’s why you called us, if I remember correctly.” 

LUNA got back to you, “There are three-hundred-and-twenty bodies on the property, ma’am.” 

Natasha gave a little shrug with half a grin. “I was pretty close.” 

You couldn’t help your annoyance. “Where are they all coming from?” 

Crossing her arms she gave you one of those coy looks. “Well, you know what they say… chop off one head and… blahblahblah…” 

“Blahblahblah is right.” Tony was a little more than miffed. “You figure a plan of attack yet or do you need us to find a soft spot? We need to get moving.” 

She moved out of her stance, placing a hand on her hip. “You don’t wanna wait for everyone else?” 

You just gave her a look. “If you wanted to wait for them, you wouldn’t have called us.” Though you did manage a light smile. This wasn’t her fault, either. There was no need to get rude with her. 

“You’re right. I like this a lot better. No need for a discussion. Just right down to business.” Turning back towards the open wall, she put her hands on it and then perched herself up on the ledge. “Shall we?” 

Although you also were extremely keen to start and finish this as soon as possible, it wasn’t really too smart to just charge into battle without a formation plan. “Tony and I will start with the tanks and draw fire.” There was no way the two of you could head in unseen any closer than this. “It’s unlikely they have commanders sitting inside them. While we draw their fire, you charge on the rush-up and we’ll meet somewhere in the middle.” 

Tony made a little clucking noise. “Any read on this big Chitauri weapon the doc’s got cooking up?” Oh. Right. That. That probably was a problem to consider. 

Natasha grinned. “We came for a show, didn’t we? Let’s see it up close for ourselves. I’m sure you’ll have a few pointers for her.” And with that she backflipped off the edge and then caught herself on the railing and made her way down to the ground. 

As the two of you looked after her, Tony turned to you with a raise of his hand. “You know, I’m beginning to think everyone on this team has a diva streak.” 

At this you couldn’t help the little snort, the fond roll of your eyes while you reached up to re-engage your helmet. You then put your hand on his shoulder. “Oh, honey. You’re not allowed to make that comment.” 

You jumped into action, taking flight on heavy thrusters, with Tony right behind you. Easily the both of you spread fast over Natasha’s location as she was still rushing up to the compound. There was no hiding the sound of two Iron suits heading Hydra’s way, and within moments the warning sirens started blaring and bodies started pouring out of the warehouses. 

Your HUD went into full combat display, ticking up body-counts and signatures, listing off all your energy outputs, keeping up with your two allies- and of course, a small window of Tony’s on the lower display. He was quick to pull out in front of you. “I’ve got the two on the right if you wanna take left. We can co-sign the center.” The tanks, he meant, and he quickly rolled off from his straight line to veer. 

“I’m on it!” Fully engaged now. Whether or not you wanted to be here (and you didn’t) was no longer a consideration. You were here. Guns were firing. People were trying to kill you. The battle was on. That was all that mattered. 

Tony had fired three times on the first tank he’d locked on to, with nothing much to show for it. “Shell’s are pretty tough on these things.” 

While you were busy dodging and weaving heavy gunfire, the lightbulb went off. “Let’s make like turtles then.” In a quick drop, you rolled out of the air and came to a landing hard on your feet. With both hands up, you fired a blast underneath one of the tanks, knocking it completely upside down. The explosion drew extra benefit when the radius knocked a few soldiers out of the way. With the underbelly exposed, you fired off a heavier concentrated shot. 

On your side, Tony mirrored your movements. “PETA would like to have a word.” 

Natasha’s voice perked up just as you flipped your second tank. “I’m closing in- and I really hope you don’t go around flipping turtles in your spare time.” The sound of her taking out a few combatants paired very nicely with your groan. 

“Let’s not spread rumors. Or PETA really will call me.” You’d just cleared your second tank. Tony was just starting in on his- and that’s when you noticed the turret on your shared middle turning towards him. “Tony you’ve got incoming!” Not quite enough of a warning, as it fired a weirdly colored energy blast at him. 

His grunt cut clear across the channel as his head knocked around while his suit spun out of control for a few seconds before he regained control. He was just starting to speak as you took off in a boosted sprint for the middle tank. “Watch those shots- they sap energy- JARVIS I know- think this is what the doctor had for show and tell?” 

“She’ll have to bring something else.” Hands poised you detonated an explosive right underneath the tank as it had just turned to fire on you, but you won out the quicker victor. However once it was knocked on its side, instead of delivering the finishing blow, you decided to let yourself get a little personal. With a vault up and over and then another landing just on the side you banged on the top. Probably glad he wasn’t about to die in a fiery explosion, the soldier inside threw open the lid with his hands up. One of which you promptly grabbed, yanking him clear out and tossing him several yards away into the desert. His screams faded into the distance. 

Honestly, how dare he. 

“Now, honey, that’s not very nice.” Tony was teasing. But you were a little beyond that. 

Holding your arm out to trigger your wrist projectiles you sent a few whistling into the cabin and slammed the lid shut again. Quickly you jumped into flight up and away as the entire thing blew from the inside. “I’ll try to go a little easier on them.” A saccharine lie with a smile to match aimed at his display window. 

JARVIS spoke across the network. “The quinjet is approaching. Fifty miles out.” 

Natasha sounded only slightly out of breath. “So the cavalry arrives finally.” 

“More like backup. We’re pretty much finished here.” Tony’s tone was very dry. 

And maybe at this point all of you should have learned not to tempt the universe. Because just as the three of you had laid out half the army and the quinjet finally breached the vicinity, Dr. Jensen herself burst out of the leftmost compound, holding what looked like… well… some sort of backpack with a wide muzzled hose attached to both her arms. She aimed it up at the all too obvious target. And even more obvious than that was her war cry. “HAIL HYDRA!” 

The shot went off in a quick focused burst, hitting the bottom of the jet, sending it into a tailspin. This felt vaguely familiar. So much so that you broke formation from your teammates to- well- go get the rest of your teammates. Trying to zip underneath and dig your hands into the machinery to stop its fall, you struggled. “Who’s driving?!” 

Clint was the one that answered. “Well if that’s your welcome, we’ll just turn around.” 

The landing was rough but a lot less rough than a crash. It might also not have helped that you sort of shoved the jet off of you. Very suddenly it felt like you were choking. The air was thick. And familiar. 

And… 

Angry. 

Steve’s voice came first- “We’re in code green- I repeat- we’re in code-” 

About all he had time to say as Hulk ripped open the side door with a roar and jumped out overhead. Natasha sounded only marginally worried. “Guys, is that gonna be a problem?” 

Hulk was already dead center of the compound, ripping people apart. Thor stuck his head out of the hole in the jet. “We were called into battle. It seems more a solution than a problem.” 

Tony made a circle flyby, probably checking on you and the team without saying as much, and then zipped straight back after his rounds. “Let’s cut the chatter and get to work. Eyes on the doctor dual-wielding the vacuum cleaner.” 

Clint scoffed. “You’re one to talk.” 

Once the rest of the team had climbed out, you all gave each other a brief nod and rushed back into battle. Putting down the soldiers with the lesser weaponry wasn’t too much of a problem. Jensen became the main issue. The gun was much like the tanks, draining energy as much as it fired it back in quick, dangerous bursts. Which was a problem when she aimed it at both you and Tony- grounding the both of you in heaps while LUNA and JARVIS gave out several warnings. 

The team tried to converge on your location as she stood just over, and then fired on them, too. Frustration took up hot residence in your heart. “We have to circle around. You’ll never get her from the front!” The problem was her line of defense backing her. Willing to die just to keep her protected. 

She raised her weapons to fire on Steve. “Hydra now wields weapons of the gods! You’re no match for us!” 

Tony’s sarcasm projected out. “What is it with everyone thinking aliens are gods? When did this start? Thor? Got any ideas about this one, buddy?” 

He raised his hammer. “Just one!” And then brought it down, summoning a lightning strike at her. When she threw up her own hands to fire back, the energy that clashed caused a shockwave that threw everyone back. 

As Jensen stood, she aimed the weapon at Natasha next. “Like I said you fools- you’re no match for me.” 

The whiz of an arrow caught your audio feed. Almost imperceptible. Clint spoke just in time with her backpack imploding. “You know. I really doubt that.” 

She was thrown to the ground face first, shrieking- some parts terror but mostly just terrible pain. The team edged in on her in a tight circle. You were tired, more than anything. Though you did catch Natasha bumping Clint’s hip with hers. “Is that an I-owe-you? Or was that a repaid debt?” 

He shrugged. “I’ve lost count.” 

Looking up, Jensen started growling, fist beating on the concrete. “How… I had greater power than all of you…!” 

Tony held up his hand, repulsor charging. Only in warning, you were sure. Just in case she was thinking of trying anything else. “I think your math’s a little off on that one, doc. I’d be happy to double check your work. If you ask nicely.” 

Steve was panting as he laid a hand on his hip. The sound of metal screeching hit the air just as you put the good doctor in a nice pair of handcuffs. He made a vague gesture at Hulk, who was busy ripping up one of the warehouses. Literally. “Is someone gonna deal with that?” 

You let your shoulders lower. Really just tired. “He’s a person, you know. Not a that. And if you’re asking me-” 

Natasha cut you off. “I’ll go.” The team all turned towards her. A little… puzzled, to say the least. “We’ve been working together. I came up with code green, in case anyone cares to remember.” Said with such sureness yet flippant at the same time. Not waiting around for a chorus of questions or naysayers as she took off in his direction. 

...something strange was going on there. She used to be utterly terrified of Hulk. You remembered those feelings, in the helicarrier, a long time ago. And now… she was going to meet him head on. No backup. ...strange indeed.

Tony’s helmet slid back, so you removed your own, next. He laid a hand on your shoulder. “What’s the next move?” Asking you because… well… 

A deep sigh escaped you. “Bruce is gonna need to take some time to even out. I’ll get us some lodging. I know you and he have to talk about the next hit. I’ll call DC while I’m at it. Have them start carting this stuff off.” Work. Work came first. It always would. 

He nodded. Solemn. “Sounds like a plan.” 

It would have been easy to just tell the team to clean up. It would have been easy to run away again. 

But that wasn’t how this worked. It never would be.  At least you had the solace of winning a battle. It was just unfortunate it was never the war.

[lovemesomesurveys]

Are you still in quarantine/under stay at home order? (if you're taking this during Covid-19, that is) The state isn’t, but I am. 

Has stuff been opening back up where you are? Yeah. Although, now dining in isn’t an option again in my area. 

What have you missed most that you haven't been able to do due to Covid-19? I didn’t do much even before all this, but I did like going grocery shopping with my mom and going to the movies, which we did quite often. And now with it being summer I’m really sad I can’t go to the beach. Beach days were the only thing I liked about summer. I could still go shopping with my mom and go to the beach, but I just don’t feel safe or comfortable going out in public and being around people right now when the number of cases are still so high and continue to rise. It makes me extremely anxious and scared. It doesn’t help that my state is a hotspot.

What state do you live in?  California.

Do you personally know anyone who has had Covid-19? Yes. She actually ended up recovering from that, testing negative later on, but she died recently from complications caused by it. She was on dialysis and after she got sick, even though she got better, it affected her kidneys and she had to stop dialysis. Once that happens, it’s not long after that you pass away. She was my grandma’s best friend, thus a very close family friend. :( She was the sweetest, caring, kindhearted person. 

Have you had it? (or think you might have?) No, not so far. Although, whenever I feel crappy or cough for any reason my mind automatically goes there. It’s not unusual for me not to feel well and have days where I’m feeling extra crappy, but nowadays I have to play the game: is it my normally crappiness or something else? :/ I also have dry mouth and my throat tends to get dry in the summer anyway and ugh again it’s something normal for me but I have to wonder about that, too.

Do you know anyone who is a healthcare worker? No. Well, apart from my doctors obviously.

Have you still been working these past few months or not? I don’t have a job. I wasn’t working prior to this either.

If you weren't working, are you still in school? No, thankfully. I graduated UC 5 years ago, so I’ve been done way before this started. What is/was your major in college?  I majored in psych.

Or if you're not in college yet, what do you want to study?

If your school closed due to Covid-19, do you miss it?

What are you most excited about when life goes (somewhat) back to normal? It’s hard for me to even see that point right now. I know people think I sound like a Negative Nancy, but I think I’m just being real. It’s goings to be a long time before we get to a point where we don’t have to have this virus looming over our heads everyday. It’s been kicking our ass. It’s never going to go away, it will likely be like the flu in that we have a covid season, but I pray we get to the point where we can get under control and managed. A point where there’s a vaccine and effective medication. But like I said, that’s going to take time. Masks may be the new way of life for many of us.

Did Covid-19 impact any major plans you had for this spring/summer?  No beach trips or birthday vacay. :( That’s not important, I know, but I am still sad about it.

Do you collect anything? Key chains and giraffe stuffed animals and knicknacks.

What's the name of your favorite restaurant? (chain or local) Wingstop. 

What is your favorite thing to order when you eat there? I get takeout, but anyway I love their boneless garlic parm and lemon pepper wings with their ranch. 

Have you still been able to get food from there during Covid-19? Yes. I always got takeout anyway, so that hasn’t been any different for me.

Are you planning on eating there anytime soon when they reopen? I’ll say it a 3rd time haha I just get it to go and eat at home.

Have you discovered any good new music during quarantine?  Yeah, but not because I’m in quarantine. That implies I’ve done so because I’ve been home and had more time to do so or only did so because I didn’t have anything to do. I’ve spent most of my time at home the past few years, not just this year.

What's a new song you've been loving lately? (not necessarily newly released, just something you've recently discovered) Lately I’ve been getting new music from TikToks. A couple recent ones are Dream Girl by Ir Sais and Summer Days by Martin Garrix ft. Macklemore and Patrick Stump.

Have you been able to keep in touch with friends during this time? I don’t have any friends, so that hasn’t been an issue. 

What is your favorite Starbucks drink? White chocolate mocha, caramel macchiato, and their fall and winter seasonal drinks. 

Do you prefer Starbucks or a local coffee shop? Just give me coffeeee.

What was your favorite TV show when you were a kid? do you still ever watch it? I had a lot of favorites. Some I still watch like Boy Meets World, Full House, Family Matters, Disney Channel shows like That’s So Raven, Lizzie McGuire, The Proud Family, Hannah Montana, etc (thanks to Disney+) and old Nick shows like Rugrats, Doug, and Hey Arnold. I recently found out Hulu has Step by Step, so I’ll be watching that again at some point.

Have you been watching a lot of movies during quarantine? >> No more than I would be usually, since my daily life didn’t change as dramatically as most people’s did. But yeah. <<< Yeah, I’ve gotten into a few new shows and binge watched a few old ones during this time, but again I wouldn’t contribute that to quarantine cause I would have been home majority of the time still anyway.

What is your favorite Disney movie? Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, and Toy Story are among the top

Do you have Disney plus? Yep. That’s how I watch those old Disney shows I mentioned before.

Are you a fan of Hamilton? I’ve never seen it.

Are you planning to watch Hamilton on Disney plus? I have thought about checking it out, so we’ll see.

Have you seen Hamilton live? (Broadway or elsewhere) Like I said, I’ve never seen it.

What is your favorite musical? Sweeney Todd.

Have you watched any musicals online recently? No. Or ever.

What was the last live performance you went to before quarantine? I saw Phantom of the Opera 3 years ago.

What was the best concert you've ever been to? All the concerts I went to were awesome. Man, it’s been over 10 years now since my last concert I really miss ‘em.

Do you volunteer anywhere? No. I’ve volunteered at a few places in the past, though.

What is your favorite movie on Netflix? >> ??? There are... so many movies on Netflix. <<<

Did you relocate due to Covid-19? No.

What is one positive thing about the past few months for you? Uhhh.

Do you prefer streaming music or buying it? I stream it.

Do you use Spotify? Yep.

What was the last book you read? I recently started The Girl and the Deadly End by AJ Rivers. It’s the final book in a 7 book series. 

Have you been baking during quarantine? Nope.

What is your favorite thing to bake? It’s been a few years since I’ve done any baking. I used to love it during the holidays.

Do you enjoy doing crafts? I think they can be fun, but they’re not something I do very often at all. I lack the artistic ability, creativity, inspiration, motivation, and energy. 

Have you ever done crafts for money? No. 

Do you shop on Etsy? Yes. I love Etsy.

Have you ever sold anything on Etsy? Nope.

What song are you listening to right now?  I’m not listening to music, I’m listening to an ASMR video.

What genre of music is your favorite? I like a variety of music.

Can you speak any foreign languages? Not fluently, but I know some Spanish.

What is/was your favorite class in school? I always enjoyed English and then later on in college I enjoyed most of my psych classes as well. 

Who was your favorite teacher most recently? I’ve been done with school for 5 years now.

What is the lock screen and home screen on your phone? The lock screen is a photo of the ocean with a Bible verse on it and my home screen is a rose gold background.

Do you play Animal Crossing? Yeppp. 

Do you have any pets? What kind? What is/are your pet(s) name(s)? I have a 3 year old German Shepherd/Lab mix named Princess Leia. <3

what is a song lyric you love? >> Right, I’m definitely not going to think of that off the top of my head right now. <<< Haha, right. Not to mention, I have a ton of favorite lyrics.

Have you done anything recently to support Black Lives Matter? I’ve signed petitions.

Are there any songs you feel transport you to a world that doesn't exist? Jason Mraz songs were kinda like that. Haha. It seemed like he lived in some whimsical fantasyland.

What songs do that for you? “but my breath fogged up glass, and so I drew a new face and I laughed” lol okay Jason Mraz. Haha that’s the only thing coming to mind right now. It’s almost 7AM okay I can’t think.

What is your favorite ethnicity/cuisine of food? Italian.

What are some popular things that you don't like/aren't interested in? Hmm. What’s even popular right now? I’m out of the loop.

When was the last time you got a haircut? Back in February.

What was the last movie (or musical) you watched? Ferris Bueller’s Day Off the other day.

What was the last movie you saw in the theatre? The Invisible Man.

How soon are you planning on going back to work? (If you've been off) I don’t have a job, remember?

What is an item you own that means a lot to you? I’ll always cherish my giraffe stuffed animals and knickknacks.

Do you have a favorite t-shirt? All of my graphic tees.

What other proshot musicals would you love to see streaming online? You sure love musicals. I like a few musicals, sure, but I’m not super into them like you seem to be. There aren’t any right now that I want to see that I can think of. Well, apart from maybe checking out Hamilton. What is something you're looking forward to? Summer being over.

How do you plan on celebrating Covid-19 being over, whenever that is? >> The problem with this idea is that... it’s not that simple? From what I understand, it’s not like one day we’re all gonna say “that’s it! we’ve officially eradicated this virus from the earth and we will never have to worry about it again!” I’m guessing it’s going to be a slow process of reopening with a lot of false starts and rollbacks (as new waves crest and protective measures have to be re-implemented). Even that first day that I go out to a restaurant is probably going to feel really weird and even a little “wrong”. I’m not sure how much celebrating is really going to be happening. <<< All of this. Like I said earlier, it’s not ever going completely go away or be over. We’ll hopefully get it under control at some point and find an effective vaccine and medications and not have the fear of it constantly looming over us, but we got a long way to go.  And when that does happen, I’ll still be cautious. It’s sure going to feel weird when I do feel comfortable to go out again, though. It felt so weird just going outside for a bit recently one night cause it was the first time I had been out of the house at all since my doctor appointment back in May. That was really weird and scary for me. Prior to that I hadn’t gone anywhere since early March. Sooo yeah. I clearly won’t be rushing out anywhere anytime soon.

[sosa-sketch]

Fright or Flight: Chapter 1

Parings: Prinxiety // Logicality // Platonic LAMP

Summary: Virgil and Patton investigate the New Prince Castle, when a brutal accident kills Patton. Patton wakes as a ghost and meets friendly ghoul Roman, who has been haunting the castle for 20 years. Virgil is determined to bring Patton back to life and brings Logan, the ghost expert, to help him out. Time is quickly running out, and the four must work together to undo death. If only it was as simple as Logan made it sound. 

Unknown to them, a secret entitity in the castle does not plan on letting them succeed.

Next Chapter

Virgil would not call him and Patton “Ghostbusters”. He wasn’t obsessed with ghosts, he didn’t have the technology utilized in movies or ghost hunting shows. Virgil was merely intrigued by the dead and afterlife. He took ghost hunting as a personal thing, something to reassure him that not everyone simply disappeared after they died. It was a hobby for Virgil, a simple reassurance. Ghost hunting was not his life.

Unfortunately, Virgil’s best friend did not seem to understand that.

“You want me to do what for my yearbook quote?”

“A ghost hunting themed quote!” Patton beamed. “Something like: ‘An emotional roller ghoster.’ Or ‘I’m here for the boos.’”

Virgil spluttered and shook his head. He could practically see Patton’s wink on the other end of the phone. “Patton, I’m not letting the last four torturous years of my life be commemorated by some stupid hobby of mine. And I’m gay!”

“Boys can be boos too. And it’s not stupid.” Patton, ever the father-like figure, scorned. “Is it not angsty enough? I can fix that. How about, ‘A ghost of my former self.’?”

Virgil snickered. It was on brand. “Not a ghost of a chance.”

Patton squealed in surprise at Virgil’s pun. “Wouldn’t it be symbolic or something if you did make it your yearbook quote, though? Ghost hunting is how we got close, how you keep yourself busy.  It helps calm the questions about life and death that freak you out so much.”

Virgil tensed up at being read so clearly, even if it was from Pat. “What’s your point?”

“I just think it’s a good way for you to capture high school.”

Virgil quickly dismissed the idea. “Pat, you’re looking way too much into this ghost-hunting thing.” Patton hummed, unconvinced. “Being up all this hour is making you extra sappy. I can’t take it. I’ll let you go to bed.”

An hour after the phone line went dead, Patton’s words were still drifting about in Virgil’s head. Did Patton really think ghost hunting was that much of a deal to Virgil? Did he seem like some supernatural obsessed freak? Maybe that’s it was so challenging for Virgil to make friends.

Ghost hunting really wasn’t all that to Virgil! It was a hobby, maybe even a sense of comfort. But, he wasn’t consumed by it. He wasn’t going to let it stand as a representation of his high school years.

Virgil Storme was not obsessed with ghosts.

The next morning Virgil woke with the sunrise and hastily slapped on eyeshadow and threw on a hoodie, his signature look in Florida’s November eighty degree weather. Questions had been crawling in his head all night and the more he tried to ignore them, the more he craved answers.

Virgil found himself on his neighbor, Remy’s, porch, impatiently rapping at his door. Virgil had known Remy since he was a little boy, and Remy was accustomed to finding Virgil outside his door at wacky, sleepless hours. It didn’t mean Remy had become fond of it as the years passed.

On Virgil’s fifth series of wild knocks, Remy exasperatedly swung the door open, hips jutted and arms crossed. “Hun, what are you doing knocking at my door at five in the morning?”

“Am I obsessed with ghosts?” Virgil blurted.

Remy was taken back. “Excuse me?”

“Do I seem like a supernatural obsessed freak? Like the type of person who has watched every ghost show in existence, claims there are certain ‘energies’ in rooms, blames unsolved murdered on the dead?”

“Um…no? But now that you mention it…”

“Remy!”

Remy laughed. “Who told you that you gave off ghost boy vibes?”

Virgil ran a hand over his face. Adrenaline was still pumping, but he could feel this morning’s overlooked exhaustion begin to seep in. “Patton.”

Remy was dumbfounded. “That sweet puffball called you a supernatural obsessed freak?”

“No, no!” Virgil speedily backtracked. “He was saying that I should make my senior quote something ghost-themed. The thing is, senior quotes are supposed to define you! What if my best friend thinks that the undead define my existence? My grandchildren are going to ask me to show them my high school yearbook and I’m going to have to explain, ‘Virgil Storme: Ghoul Boy’ to them.”

Remy chuckled, shaking his head. “Gurl, I think he was just trying to get you to pick a quote. Don’t you have like a week until the deadline?”

Virgil scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah. But, still. I don’t know.”

“Well nobody knows you better than yourself! If you feel a Ghostbuster calling inside for you, then you should embrace it! See how far it can take you!”

“Shut up Remy. There is no Ghostbuster calling inside of me.” Virgil snickered, stepping into Remy’s home. “You’re so freaking weird without coffee.”

“Stop showing up at my house at unholy hours and I won’t be.”

Monday afternoon, Virgil’s paranoia about being known as Ghost Boy had worn off, leaving raw mortification. Had he really banged on Remy’s door at five in the morning to ask if he was the next Ghostbuster? Where had his dignity gone? Virgil was keen to take his mind off his actions and find a new location for his next investigation. Patton had met him in the library, during lunch, where Virgil believed to have found the winning contender.

“New Prince Castle?” Patton slowly read from the computer screen.

“Yeah, it’s not too far from here. Should only take about an hour to get there.”

“You think you’re going to be allowed to explore an actual castle?” Patton questioned, wide-eyed.

Virgil scrolled down the web page to a photograph of the castle. “It’s not an authentic castle. It was a place for kids.” He clarified. “Kids would go and get assigned a role: royalty, jest, servant, whatever. They would go to their character’s chamber and learn about their lifestyle. Like, the kid would explore the throne room if he were assigned king.”

Patton seemed enthralled. “It must have been a hotspot for elementary field trips.”

Virgil bobbed his head in agreement. “It was. It wasn’t all educational. On weekends there were scavenger hunts and games. They had actual banquets in the dining hall. Workers were dressed up to play the part and put on skits. The goal was to bring the castle to life.” Virgil then switched to another tab: a news report from the Jacksonville Times.

“Then, one day, after hours, someone must have snuck in. Not many details have been released to the public, but the family was murdered.”

Patton appeared distressed. “A family was murdered? It was after hours. What family could have been there?”

“It was a family business. Ran by the Princes.” Virgil explained. “They closed it down after the whole murder thing.”

“Which of the Princes were killed?” Patton asked, sounding uneasy. Virgil felt a twinge of guilt-Patton didn’t stomach tragedy easy. Yet, he was always intent on learning about Virgil’s newest project. Virgil did his best to leave out the gory details.

“Elizabeth Prince and Henry Prince-the two parents. Along with their  sons, Declan and Roman Prince, and Roman's husband, Thomas. Elizabeth and Henry had another son, but I guess he escaped or wasn’t working that night. It doesn’t mention him. The New Prince Castle has been closed for twenty years now.”

Patton was speechless. Virgil understood. Learning about haunted locations’ past was ghastly and often sickening. In a bizarre fashion, it fascinated Virgil.

“Is there any way I could help with your investigation?” Patton implored timidly.

Virgil involuntarily gaped at Patton. Patton always endorsed Virgil and his interest, but actually participating in the act was not his style. “Are you sure, Pat? Ghost hunting’s not really your thing.”

“Maybe not ghost hunting? Instead, I could help you prepare for the ghost hunt? Isn’t that something you usually do?” Patton explained, stumbling over his words.

“Um, sure, Pat. You could go visit Logan, see if he has anything to advise or give me.”

It was routine for Patton to get anxious when Virgil investigated a place haunted due to malevolent, purposeful deeds. It was not routine for Patton to insert himself in the investigation, in any way, shape, or form.  

However, Virgil understood Patton's anxiety. Places haunted by a dark past  had an evil in the atmosphere that sent Virgil’s heart hammering and stood the hairs on his neck. Still, it was all in the past. It hadn't-and he was pretty sure it couldn't-harm Virgil while he was there.

Given a task, Patton relaxed. “You’ll be careful at this place, right?”

“Patton, literally nothing has happened to me on these trips except one too many inhaled dust bunnies.”

“How do I know you’re not trying to hide something from me? I think I’m going to have to go on an investigation with you to see if you’re telling the truth, Mister.”

Virgil sniggered. “Okay dad, whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“I’ll go one day, just wait and see!”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “The day you come hunting ghosts with me is the day I come to school with face painted rainbow on my cheeks.”

[cy-fi-theansweris42]

The Good, the Bad, and the IDK How To Feel About That of: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016) (Part 2)

(Continuing from where we left off)

Good: THE ENTIRE BIT WITH CASEY V. SPLINTER! How you see Raph and Mikey look at each other with mischief in their eyes before trying to look serious, how Leo laughs for just a moment before trying to be the serious leader again and trying to get them to stop, and then how they all just look on in amusement when Casey charges Splinter, it’s all wonderful! Plus with Splinter’s “giant rat one, new guy zero” YOU KNOW he heard them and played along. I love it all.

Bad: Casey only ever saw the truck from the front, so how would he recognize the Tartaruga Brothers logo?

Good: Just give me an entire movie of Donnie doing science stuff, it’s all I need in life.

Good: Leo’s head shake and smile when Donnie’s rambling about science stuff (I’m ignoring the initial eye roll)

Good: AUGH, HOW DONNIE INSTANTLY STOPS BEING EXCITED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF BECOMING HUMAN, COMING UP WITH REASONS WHY WHAT LEO’S SAYING MAKES SENSE, IT HURTS MY HEART SO GOOD JOB MESSING WITH MY EMOTIONS

Good: Leo’s sword training is AWESOME (I’m jealous, high-key jealous)

IDK: You guys haven’t finished that Christmas album yet? It’s been a year, lol

Good: I really like how instead of just charging in, yelling about how Leo didn’t tell them about the ooze, Raph leads up to it, talking about honor which he knows is important to all of them.

Good: THE LOOK ON RAPH’S FACE, LOOKING AT LEO LIKE “Did you really think we wouldn’t find out”

Good: YOU CAN SEE THE EXACT MOMENT LEO REALIZED WHAT RAPH IS TALKING ABOUT AND IT JUST SCREAMS “oh shit” THIS BOY KNOWS HE DONE MESSED UP

Bad: You tell people about this stuff Leo

Bad: You did not consult with Donnie, you told him what to do

Bad: “There’s only one vote that counts in this family, mine.” LEO NO

Good: Donnie nerding out about the museum, same

Good: Donnie rambling on about science, his mind whirling at a mile a minute while he figures out what’s going on, freaking heck they did so well with Donnie in this movie

Good: Knowing that portals work both ways (it’s like Hawkeye from Avengers all over again)

Good: April knowing something is up with Raph and Mikey doing stuff without Leo and Donnie, but rolling with it

** “Who you calling chicken, turtle?” Oooooh, sick comeback Jones (not)

Good: I feel like all the comments about Casey not being buff or anything is them joking about Amell’s role in Arrow, because at this point the shows been going on for like…4 years, and he’s freaking jacked in that show, plus I’ve seen this guy run through an American Ninja Warrior obstacle course like it’s nothing. If this is them making jabs at that, then that’s hilarious.

Good: I love Raph and Mikey trying to get through police headquarters by themselves, like A for effort you guys, you’re doing so well.

Good: ‘Heroes in a half-shell’ jingle again and Donnie sounding happy that Mikey’s calling him and then instantly going into big brother mode and telling Mikey that they’re on their way.

IDK: THEY’RE NOT MONSTERS AND I KNOW THIS IS JUST HAMMERING HOME THE WHOLE ‘they wouldn’t be accepted’ THING WHICH IS WHY I’M NOT MARKING THIS AS BAD BUT HOLY FREAKING HECK AM I PISSED AT THAT COP!!!

Good: Mikey’s soft “we’re not monsters” SOMEONE GIVE THIS RAY OF SUNSHINE A HUG, HE DOESN’T DESERVE THIS

IDK: I really don’t know how to feel about Leo’s reaction to Mikey feeling hurt by what the cop said. I really don’t.

Good: Mikey sounding genuinely happy for Bebop and Rocksteady “achieving the power of flight”, lol, pure bean.

IDK: Is Raph only afraid of jumping because of the lack of things to grab on to or something, he jumps around New York and off of buildings no problem.

Good: DONNIE JUST CASUALLY WALKING OUT OF THE PLANE

Good: All of their reactions to Donnie just jumping, lol

Good: “Prepare for the ouch!” AND THEN THEY ACTUALLY SAY OUCH WHEN THEY HIT THE PLANE, LOL XD

Good: Mikey’s reaction to seeing a giant warthog and rhinoceros that he knows they’re going to have to fight is just the single “HEH” awkward laugh, I love it

Good: Donnie just holding onto the part of the Arc Capacitor and telling everyone who’s fighting around him to watch it, lol

Good: IF YOU LOOK IN THE BACKGROUND AFTER ROCKSTEADY FIRES THE TANK, YOU CAN SEE LEO JUST GIVING HIM THIS LOOK AND THEN HE JUST RAISES HIS ARMS LIKE “are you serious right now”

Good: Donnie’s “I’m doing awesome”, yeets the control stick away, lol

**Bebop, don’t tell me you’re thinking you can outswim a turtle, please

Bad: I hate how much wire was used to run the camera feed to the box, it’s so inefficient and an absolute waste of wire.

Good: Once again ‘heroes in a half-shell’ jingle being used because the job was successful, I love how much Donnie uses this little ring tone for things.

Good: I hate conflict but it’s very well done right here and I just want them to stop fighting, so bravo making me feel emotions again.

Good: Donnie instantly jumping to Mikey’s defense with a “how could you!”

Good: The Chief just says “well-played” in response to Casey having picked her pocket to steal her phone, big mood

IDK: I want to know how Donnie hacked the Technodrome, like is it just one giant Wi-Fi hotspot, how did he even connect to it?

IDK: How does he know the atmosphere is toxic, just give me a little explanation, please

**I want to know how that ooze works, full injection causes full permanent mutation, drops of slightly re-engineered version causes very temporary changes lasting only a few seconds, and apparently one sip changes external appearance but not internal systems. Does it have to physically enter the body via injection or ingestion in order to make permanent changes? (assuming it would permanently change their appearance, that could also be temporary, but if it was then wouldn’t Donnie say that?) Why would it start externally and work inwards when it would first make contact with internal systems? (so many questions, I just want to know how it works, I love science stuff)

IDK: And Raph just made the decision for everyone without asking…just like Leo did

Bad: PUT DOWN THOSE GUNS I SWEAR

Bad: EVEN AFTER SHE SAYS TO HOLD THEIR FIRE THERE’S STILL COPS POINTING THEIR GUNS, STOP IT

Good: I LOVE THEIR LITTLE TEAM UP THING ACKNOWLEDING EACH OF THEIR DIFFERENCES!

**A footnote in the history of the Foot clan, ba-dum tss

Good: “When something bad happens, you want to be with the turtles!” Lol, Vern’s got it figured out

Bad: Why is Shredder surprised about being betrayed by Krang when he just betrayed Stockman?

Good: I’m pretty sure in the area where Krang puts Shredder, you can see a Triceraton and I love the reference.

Good: I love Casey’s “well do you wanna switch?”, he sounds so done

Good: “chewed up piece of gum with a face” is the best description of Krang that I’ve ever heard

Bad: The way Vern jumps down on that Foot ninja, like come on, the dude saw him and still didn’t do anything!

Good: “He is literally re-arming” Lol, very true

Good: Excellent use of momentum when Leo nearly gets thrown off the Technodrome and just swings back around, I love it

Good: When Donnie finds the beacon, just slowly realizing that it’s way out of reach, lol

**I’m so sorry, more science rambling: Would removing the beacon from its spot instantly start messing with the construction of the Technodrome, like are each of the pieces set to assemble in a certain order at certain distances from the beacon, meaning that once assembly has begun and the beacon gets moved, the pieces would suddenly try to readjust? Or is it a more general signal and the pieces know where they’re supposed to connect with room for error, which is why the signal needs to be outside the Technodrome in order for assembly to stop? (I just want to know how it works 😭)

Good: I LOVE how instantly they’re all each going after Krang the moment he has Mikey, saying how nobody messes with Mikey, and I swear, there’s a little bit of extra sass with how they move their weapons after taking Krang down, like a “that’s what you freaking get”. Like, at the end of the day, they’re protective of their baby brother and heaven help anyone that tries to hurt him.

Good: THEY GET KEYS TO THE CITY

Bad: “I think you should give people more credit, they’ll accept you now.” SAYS THE PERSON THAT WAS INITIALLY CALLING THEM MONSTERS WHILE HER OFFICERS POINTED GUNS AT THEM. “You could live a normal life, like the rest of us.” YOU KNOW HOW PEOPLE ARE, STOP GIVING THEM FALSE HOPE!  

Alright, that’s the entire movie. Honestly, I love it a lot more than the first, there’s so much good stuff in this movie, you can see how they’re teenagers, so much more Donnie (after a severe lack in the first one…I’m also very biased since he’s my favorite, lol), and the sibling relationships between the turtles is great. Time for a tally.

Good: 69.90% (72 goods) Bad: 20.39% (21 bads) IDK: 9.71% (10 IDKs)

(I hear there’s plans for another one…I can’t wait to see how that turns out, lol)

[droneseco]

AGM M7: The Unsmashable Anti-Smartphone

AGM M7

7.50 / 10

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The AGM M7 is a budget semi-smartphone that is almost unbreakable and looks like something from the pre-smartphone era but offers much more. Those looking for a smartphone experience will be disappointed, but those looking for something unique will find this hybrid beast compelling.

Specifications

Brand: AGM

Storage: 8GB

CPU: MediaTek MT6739

Memory: 1GB

Operating System: Android 8.1 (Custom)

Battery: 2500mAh (TYP), removable

Ports: USB2.0 Type-C

Camera (Rear, Front): 2M/0.3M

Display (Size, Resolution): 2.4inch QVGA Touch Panel

Pros

Almost unbreakable

Battery lasts 4 days and is replaceable

Incredibly loud speaker

Dual-SIM and expandible with SD card

Cons

No Play Store or Google Account integration

Typing is clunky

Facebook, Tiktok and Browser apps poorly implemented

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AGM M7 other

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Smartphones complement modern living. Their bright touch input displays bring endless media sources from hundreds of apps right into our pockets. If smartphones are less robust and have shorter battery lives than the mobile phones that preceded them, the trade-offs seem worth it.

The AGM M7 begs to differ. At first glance, it seems like the anti-smartphone. A rugged brick that harks back to the pre-smartphone era with big touch buttons, a replaceable battery that lasts 4 days, and an IP 69k rating all for just shy of $100.

However, this phone isn't a complete throwback, as it features a modified version of Android 8.1, and its color display is also a small touchscreen. Oh, and it also has a massive 3.5-watt speaker on the back.

The AGM M7 is a strange but wonderful, loud and unbreakable, semi-smart phone, but is it right for you?

AGM M7: First Impressions

The defining feature of AGM phones is their rugged, almost unbreakable design, and the M7 is no different. For its form factor, it is large. At 14 cm tall it's a hair shorter than a Google Pixel 4a, but it's almost 2cm thick. It's chunky.

This size accommodates big, tactile buttons and a textured, easy-to-grip exterior. You also get a user-definable button on the left side along with a top-mounted LED torch - which makes it a much more practical prospect than regular smartphone flashlights.

Glass screens can still be a point of failure for rugged phones, so a smaller area of glass overall is probably an advantage for the M7. It does have cameras, but we'll come back to those later, as the defining feature is the 3.5-watt rear speaker. I've never seen anything like this on a phone before, but the prospect of a super loud ringer that can be heard even over machinery or foul weather will be a draw to many.

The battery compartment is well designed. After removing the cover, you are presented with another composite plastic seal protecting the battery, which is removable.

Removable batteries in a rugged phone are something to get excited about, but it does also come with a problem that we'll cover later in the review.

It's Android, but Not as You Know It

The paired down version of Andoird 8.1 that comes with the M7 supports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and use as a hotspot for other devices. It also features versions of WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok, Skype, and Zello, along with some stock apps for calendar, clock, sound recording, and an FM radio. There is no play store, so what comes on the phone is what you get, and some things work a little better than others.

Unusually for an Android device, you can't sign in to your Google account, making it hard to bring contacts with you and sync the calendar without using a USB connection or storing data on your SIM card.

This is likely a product of the simplified Android build, but outside of that things like connectivity and setup feel identical to standard android.

How Rugged Is Now?

The AGM is IP69k rated, which means it is completely sealed from dust ingress, waterproof up to 2 meters underwater, and capable of taking drops of up to 2m. It's also functional from -20C to 60C.

In drop tests the M7 was solid. It took a few scrapes and a small dent to the speaker grate, but the phone never flinched or restarted when dropped. The battery cover would fly off sometimes, but the second cover kept the battery safe and in place.

The phone also survived being "forgotten" in a lake, used as a mud shovel, and being thrown around by a rampaging toddler for the best part of a day.

The phone also claims the MIL-STD-810H standard, which sounds fancy but doesn't actually have anything to do with the military directly, and is so unregulated that it's a meaningless metric of toughness.

However, it's not really an issue, as AGM takes ruggedness seriously. It's the hallmark of their phones and once again it seems like they've nailed it. This phone would survive things that I would not.

What's Good About the AGM M7?

On the surface, the AGM M7 is a simple phone designed to have a good battery life, take an absolute beating, and make a lot of noise. It does all of these things perfectly, and a phone that feels like a pre-smartphone era handset with WhatsApp, Skype and the Zello push-to-talk app (with the side button as transmit by default) is a good fit.

The top-mounted LED is bright and its position makes it an actually useful torch compared to other phones. Even when locked, a long press of the zero key toggles the torch, and the keypad is useable even with thick gloves.

The speaker is very loud, doesn't distort even at high volumes, and gives as close to a rounded sound as is possible for something this size.

The charging dock is a useful addition, though it is an optional extra available for a further $9.90 from AGM, and my M7 came with a fairly decent set of budget waterproof Bluetooth headphones made by JBL and AGM in tandem. I'm not sure if these come with every purchase, but it was a nice touch.

What's Bad About the AGM M7?

The Camera. In general. Low-quality cameras paired with low-fidelity color screens were little more than a gimmick when they emerged over a decade ago, and this is no different. It could be functional as a way of taking quick notes in good lighting, but nothing more.

The removable battery is a great idea and I applaud AGM for making it work in an IP69k rated phone. The only problem is that there doesn't appear to be any way to get spare batteries from AGM. They aren't listed on their website, and their EU aftersales website gives a 404 error. I'm sure that AGM will be able to provide them but at the time of recording this review, I haven't received a reply to the email I sent to the service team - though it has only been a few days.

No Play Store or Google account integration might seem a bad thing to you, but in fairness, the M7 does advertise this fact on the purchase page. The M7's failings don't come from what it lacks. Instead, they are the product of poorly integrating what is there. I'm not fully convinced that the smarter elements of this phone went through much development at all.

You Can Browse, But You Won't Enjoy It

When mobile phones initially began adding basic browsers to their firmware, they were a nice idea in principle, but functionally near unusable. Fifteen years on, the M7 falls into this trap for different reasons.

The browser works for basic searches, and you can even log in to your email services, watch YouTube, and enable desktop mode for logging into various services. The issue here is the screen. It's just too small and low resolution to really work. Pair with that the fact that the browser requires frequent use of the touch screen to access some buttons and selections, and it quickly becomes something you'd only use in a real pinch.

The same is true of the TikTok and Facebook apps: fine ideas in principle but not much fun to use with the small screen and keypad combination.

Demon Texters of the 90s Will Be Disappointed

Typing, in general, is painful on this phone. Now I'm sure some of you are thinking "of course it is, it's a keypad." That's fair.

But, to people of a certain age, keypad typing was the norm. When I was a teenager a seemingly revolutionary technology called T9 predictive texting made writing messages much faster. Instead of picking each letter individually, you could tap each letter key once, and the phone would predict words from the possible letter combinations and put them in place, allowing you to change it after the fact when it got it wrong.

The M7 does have word suggestions, but they pop up after the fact and it doesn't have any single keypad pressing input. I'm aware that this may not be an issue to some folks - T9 was popular for a relatively small slice of time, some older folks never adopted it, and some younger folks won't have even heard of it.

I can only assume this was the case in the AGM team, as when comparing the typing user experience with phones released 20 years ago, it is a massive step backward and a missed opportunity. T9 emulation for Android already exists, I don't know why it's missing here.

If there is one general flaw to this phone, it is the implementation of Android it uses. It is clearly still biased towards the touch screen and the keypad suffers as a result. This is no problem when using the M7 like an old-school mobile phone, it just makes the smart elements feel a little clunky overall. The thing is, once you've settled your expectations, even these seemingly glaring flaws don't matter much.

Criticizing elements of the M7 doesn't change the overall experience - one I did not expect to enjoy but thoroughly did, and still do.

AGM M7: The Verdict

It became clear while making this review that a phone with one foot in the mobile phone era and one in the smartphone era is never going to be able to stand up to either one individually, especially sitting at the $100 price point.

After a couple of days, the flaws were mostly forgotten, and this hybrid monster of a phone began to make sense. It's not going to replace a smartphone, and I'm not even convinced it would make a good phone for non-tech savvy folks or the elderly, but I'm still using it, and I think it comes down to what the M7 offers.

For some folks, limitations are liberating. We've grown accustomed to always having the digital world in our grasp, and it can be especially difficult to drag yourself from it when you are a freelancer with no concept of a healthy workday!

For the 9 days I reviewed this phone, I carried my smartphone turned off as well just in case I needed it. It turns out I didn't, and after day 3 I didn't even miss it. The AGM M7 takes away everything, then adds back a few things you need. Yes the Tiktok and Facebook integrations are clunky and yes the browser and text input is a mess, but it's functional enough to use in a pinch.

I've loaded albums onto into the memory that I meant to get round to listening to years ago, actually selectively downloaded podcasts rather than just listen to whatever is just there. I have relatively quickly let go of the feeling that I need to document every interesting aspect of life with photos I'll likely never even look at again.

It's nice to not worry about battery life, it's nice to know I can just throw it in my pack and head out riding, running, or even wild swimming, and know that not only will the phone be ok, but that checking emails, Slack or wasting time on Reddit aren't even viable options despite having a fully connected Android phone with me.

It's not a retro throwback, but it's not quite a smartphone either. The AGM M7 is unique, and for some people, it represents the balance they desire. I've no idea if AGM had this in mind when they threw this insane combination of features into a phone - but it works for me.

AGM M7: The Unsmashable Anti-Smartphone published first on http://droneseco.tumblr.com/