#The most productive city on earth okay

[violent138]

Companies that hire Gotham grads: "What do you mean you finished all your work? Didn't I just give it to you?"

Gothamite: "Oh it was easy, it's all in the report. If you have any more questions, I'll be in the break room, testing out the new explosive I made while I was waiting."

Manager: "Yeah sure, you've earned a brea-- wait what?"

[mrsbarnesblog]

personal pillow

masterlist ko-fi ao3

Avenger! Bucky Barnes x Avenger! Reader

Summary: You confront avengers when they start teasing Bucky about being too soft.

Word count: 1.6k

Warnings: established relationship, avengers tease bucky, he's a grumpy old man, fluff

Author’s note: soft bucky is my everything, and I literally cannot imagine him acting another way.

Bucky Barnes wasn't the most affectionate and nice person on earth. Always grumpy and with an attitude, didn’t like physical touch, and hated being vulnerable and soft. However, when you were alone in your room, he was a completely different man. 

The only thing that he loved more than you, food, and old music was sleep. He hated it right after the Winter Soldier program was removed because of the violent and dark nightmares, but you were the solution to all of his problems. 

He loved sleeping with you. On you, to be exact. 

He accidentally discovered it once when he just threw himself onto your bed and somehow laid with his head on your stomach. 

You didn't know why your boyfriend liked it so much, but since that day he always ended up on your stomach, your boobs, or between your thighs with hands wrapped around your body, and it was almost impossible to drag him away. You always ran your fingers through his fluffy hair in soothing motions to ease the tension in his body, and it worked every single time. Bucky slept like a baby in your arms. 

Today he left early in the morning for training with Sam, but then he had a lot of paper work and something that needed to be done in the city, so you didn’t really talk to or see him. He only left a kiss on your forehead while you were still in bed and sent you a few messages throughout the day. 

It was your day off, and you didn’t feel like doing anything special or being productive. So you brought a fluffy comforter from your bed, a cup of hot chocolate, and sat in the common room to watch a movie on a big ass screen that Tony bought to show off.

When the film almost ended and you were already kind of sleepy, you heard firm footsteps from the hall. The tall and big body was standing in the doorframe, but you didn’t see your boyfriend’s face yet; it was pretty dark in the room.

“Hey, baby, how was your day?” You paused your movie and squinted to see Bucky. 

“Fucking amazing. A bunch of assholes and tons of reports that they sent me last minute.” He grumbled, coming closer to you. “Let’s go, I need my personal pillow or I won’t fall asleep.” 

You tried to hold back a laugh when you finally saw his face. Tired and frowned with pouty lips like a child. Bucky was painfully cute when he was a little bit mad and annoyed, and you didn’t want to do anything more than pinch his cheeks and kiss all of his face.

“You look so cute, gosh.” You smiled, biting your lip. “But I have only... fifteen minutes of my movie left, and I really want to finish it today. Do you want to lay on me here for now?” You opened the covers and pointed at your belly. 

Bucky stood there silently for a few seconds, still with a frown on his face.

“I don’t want these douchebags to see us here.”

“They won’t; Steve is on the mission, Natasha is already in her room, and Sam went on a date. C’mon, I’ll massage your head.” That was everything you needed to convince your boyfriend to give up. He took off his shoes and laid on top of you with his head on your stomach and hands around your waist. 

You covered your bodies with a duvet and stroked his hair, brushing it over and over again with your fingers. You felt that Bucky pulled up your shirt a little bit, and as soon as his cheek met with your warm skin, he heavily sighted, finally feeling safe and calm.

“That's okay, baby.” You cooed, massaging his scalp. “Do you want to talk about your day? What made you upset?” 

“No, just want to feel you, doll. Missed you so much.” He mumbled against your stomach and closed his eyes as your soft touches made his body almost melt into yours. 

“I missed you too. I’ll just finish my film and we’ll go to sleep, ‘kay?” Bucky just slightly nodded, already feeling too sleepy to actually say something. 

It didn’t take him too much time to fall asleep completely. Your gentle scratches and the way you rolled his hair around your finger, along with the muffled sound of the TV and soft cover on top of him, did their work, and Bucky was peacefully snoring on you in a span of a few seconds. 

You weren’t much better than him; your eyes started closing as soon as the credit scene began, and you didn’t have enough power in you to resist it, especially when a giant, hot human pillow was sleeping on top of you. 

So you just gave up. 

The first thing that you heard when you woke up was mumbled talk and laughter. Your eyes snapped open because your brain completely forgot that you, in fact, weren’t in your room or bed.

The common room was filled with almost everyone. For fuck’s sake, when was the last time you saw that many Avengers together in one room? And now all of them were sitting on the other couches and armchairs, looking at you and laughing. Well, they weren’t looking at you; they were looking at Bucky, who was still glued to your body. 

You quickly sat straight, now completely awake. The movements disturbed Bucky’s peaceful sleep, making him grumble and try to get you back under him.

“I didn’t know that Cyborgs could be so clingy.” The most annoying voice Bucky could’ve possibly heard in the morning filled his ears, and he lost every last piece of sleep in his body, sitting up on the couch. 

“What the fuck are you doing here, Willson? All of you, in fact.” Bucky looked around the room, seeing Sam, Nat, Wanda, Tony, and Clint with shit-eating smirks on their faces; Thor, who looked just happy to be involved; and Steve and Bruce, who actually felt uncomfortable to be there.

“Sorry, Buck, they just...” Steve wanted to apologize but was disturbed by Tony.

“Sam just told all of us to come here a few minutes ago because he had something hilarious. And look! The strong and scary Winter Soldier is being a softie for his girlfriend.” Tony laughed, almost dropping his cup of coffee. You didn’t even expect that, but you felt a sudden wave of anger going through your body because you were already sick of everyone pushing Bucky’s buttons. 

“Or maybe all of you should just mind your own business? You both would actually know something about Bucky if you tried anything besides making fun of him or trying to get him angry. You don’t even understand how fucking hard it is for him to communicate after everything that happened, and all of you are getting on my nerves. Just a bunch of children, I swear.” You growled, standing up and grabbing Bucky’s hand to drag him away. 

Everyone was surprised by your words, and even Bucky looked at you with a weird expression on his face but still stood up, holding your hand. 

“Sweets, it’s just a joke—” Natasha started.

“No, it’s not. I love you, Nat, I really do, but it’s not funny.” You looked around the room. “Y’all probably don’t understand the effect that your words  have, but I see in private what none of you can. And when I tell you that your mockery and jokes make everything worse, I really mean it.” Bucky awkwardly shifted near you under all of the eyes that were glued to him. He felt exposed by the way everyone saw how he showed his affection to you and that he, in fact, was a really touchy and sensitive person. “C’mon, Buck, everything’s okay.” You looked back at him with your usual soft eyes, and his whole attention was now focused completely on you. 

Everyone saw how Bucky’s body language changed when you talked to him, and even if someone like Tony or Sam couldn’t admit it out loud, the thought of being too harsh on Bucky appeared in their heads. 

Without any further words, you lead your boyfriend out of the common room, leaving the Avengers in an awkward silence. 

The comfort of your and Bucky’s shared room made you deeply inhale as soon as the door was closed behind you two. Before you could even say something, two strong hands wrapped around you from the back, and Bucky buried his face into your neck.

“Thank you, doll.” Your hand reached behind you to gently stroke Bucky's hair. “You didn’t have to do it, really. I got used to their words.” He squeezed you tighter, pressing his chest into your back.

“That’s not okay, baby. I’m sick of that. You may not say it to me or even admit it to yourself, but I see that it hurts you.” You turned around in his hands, placing your own on both sides of his face. “But that’s okay that you want to cuddle, to sleep on me, to be held. Really. There is nothing wrong with it. I’m really honored to be the person who is allowed to see your soft side.”

“I love you. Fuck, I love you so much, doll, you can’t even fucking imagine,” Bucky whispered before leaning forward to kiss you.

“I love you, James.”

“Can we stay here today? I don’t really want to talk with anyone besides my sweet and protective girl.” You couldn’t hold back your laughter at his teasing tone. 

“Of course we can, Buck.” That was your last word before Bucky lifted you off the ground, put you on the soft blankets of your bed, and climbed on top of you, happily wrapping around your body and falling asleep. 

[inmyicyworld]

Personal pillow

Avenger! Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: You confront avengers when they start teasing Bucky about being too soft.

Words count: 1.7K

Warnings: none

Author's note: idk how I feel about it, but i've been thinking about clingy/soft Bucky for way too long, so here you go🫡

masterlist my ao3 ko-fi

Bucky Barnes wasn't the most affectionate and nice person on earth. Always grumpy and with an attitude, didn’t like physical touch, and hated being vulnerable and soft. However, when you were alone in your room, he was a completely different man. 

The only thing that he loved more than you, food, and old music was sleep. He hated it right after the Winter Soldier program was removed because of the violent and dark nightmares, but you were the solution to all of his problems. 

He loved sleeping with you. On you, to be exact.

He accidentally discovered it once when he just threw himself onto your bed and somehow laid with his head on your stomach. 

You didn't know why your boyfriend liked it so much, but since that day he always ended up on your stomach, your boobs, or between your thighs with hands wrapped around your body, and it was almost impossible to drag him away. You always ran your fingers through his fluffy hair in soothing motions to ease the tension in his body, and it worked every single time. Bucky slept like a baby in your arms. 

Today he left early in the morning for training with Sam, but then he had a lot of paper work and something that needed to be done in the city, so you didn’t really talk to or see him. He only left a kiss on your forehead while you were still in bed and sent you a few messages throughout the day. 

It was your day off, and you didn’t feel like doing anything special or being productive. So you brought a fluffy comforter from your bed, a cup of hot chocolate, and sat in the common room to watch a movie on a big ass screen that Tony bought to show off.

When the film almost ended and you were already kind of sleepy, you heard firm footsteps from the hall. The tall and big body was standing in the doorframe, but you didn’t see your boyfriend’s face yet; it was pretty dark in the room.

“Hey, baby, how was your day?” You paused your movie and squinted to see Bucky. 

“Fucking amazing. A bunch of assholes and tons of reports that they sent me last minute.” He grumbled, coming closer to you. “Let’s go, I need my personal pillow or I won’t fall asleep.” 

You tried to hold back a laugh when you finally saw his face. Tired and frowned with pouty lips like a child. Bucky was painfully cute when he was a little bit mad and annoyed, and you didn’t want to do anything more than pinch his cheeks and kiss all of his face.

“You look so cute, gosh.” You smiled, biting your lip. “But I have only... fifteen minutes of my movie left, and I really want to finish it today. Do you want to lay on me here for now?” You opened the covers and pointed at your belly. 

Bucky stood there silently for a few seconds, still with a frown on his face.

“I don’t want these douchebags to see us here.”

“They won’t; Steve is on the mission, Natasha is already in her room, and Sam went on a date. C’mon, I’ll massage your head.” That was everything you needed to convince your boyfriend to give up. He took off his shoes and laid on top of you with his head on your stomach and hands around your waist. 

You covered your bodies with a duvet and stroked his hair, brushing it over and over again with your fingers. You felt that Bucky pulled up your shirt a little bit, and as soon as his cheek met with your warm skin, he heavily sighted, finally feeling safe and calm.

“That's okay, baby.” You cooed, massaging his scalp. “Do you want to talk about your day? What made you upset?” 

“No, just want to feel you, doll. Missed you so much.” He mumbled against your stomach and closed his eyes as your soft touches made his body almost melt into yours. 

“I missed you too. I’ll just finish my film and we’ll go to sleep, ‘kay?” Bucky just slightly nodded, already feeling too sleepy to actually say something. 

It didn’t take him too much time to fall asleep completely. Your gentle scratches and the way you rolled his hair around your finger, along with the muffled sound of the TV and soft cover on top of him, did their work, and Bucky was peacefully snoring on you in a span of a few seconds. 

You weren’t much better than him; your eyes started closing as soon as the credit scene began, and you didn’t have enough power in you to resist it, especially when a giant, hot human pillow was sleeping on top of you. 

So you just gave up. 

The first thing that you heard when you woke up was mumbled talk and laughter. Your eyes snapped open because your brain completely forgot that you, in fact, weren’t in your room or bed.

The common room was filled with almost everyone. For fuck’s sake, when was the last time you saw that many Avengers together in one room? And now all of them were sitting on the other couches and armchairs, looking at you and laughing. Well, they weren’t looking at you; they were looking at Bucky, who was still glued to your body. 

You quickly sat straight, now completely awake. The movements disturbed Bucky’s peaceful sleep, making him grumble and try to get you back under him.

“I didn’t know that Cyborgs could be so clingy.” The most annoying voice Bucky could’ve possibly heard in the morning filled his ears, and he lost every last piece of sleep in his body, sitting up on the couch. 

“What the fuck are you doing here, Willson? All of you, in fact.” Bucky looked around the room, seeing Sam, Nat, Wanda, Tony, and Clint with shit-eating smirks on their faces; Thor, who looked just happy to be involved; and Steve and Bruce, who actually felt uncomfortable to be there.

“Sorry, Buck, they just...” Steve wanted to apologize but was disturbed by Tony.

“Sam just told all of us to come here a few minutes ago because he had something hilarious. And look! The strong and scary Winter Soldier is being a softie for his girlfriend.” Tony laughed, almost dropping his cup of coffee. You didn’t even expect that, but you felt a sudden wave of anger going through your body because you were already sick of everyone pushing Bucky’s buttons. 

“Or maybe all of you should just mind your own business? You both would actually know something about Bucky if you tried anything besides making fun of him or trying to get him angry. You don’t even understand how fucking hard it is for him to communicate after everything that happened, and all of you are getting on my nerves. Just a bunch of children, I swear.” You growled, standing up and grabbing Bucky’s hand to drag him away. 

Everyone was surprised by your words, and even Bucky looked at you with a weird expression on his face but still stood up, holding your hand. 

“Sweets, it’s just a joke—” Natasha started.

“No, it’s not. I love you, Nat, I really do, but it’s not funny.” You looked around the room. “Y’all probably don’t understand the effect that your words  have, but I see in private what none of you can. And when I tell you that your mockery and jokes make everything worse, I really mean it.” Bucky awkwardly shifted near you under all of the eyes that were glued to him. He felt exposed by the way everyone saw how he showed his affection to you and that he, in fact, was a really touchy and sensitive person. “C’mon, Buck, everything’s okay.” You looked back at him with your usual soft eyes, and his whole attention was now focused completely on you. 

Everyone saw how Bucky’s body language changed when you talked to him, and even if someone like Tony or Sam couldn’t admit it out loud, the thought of being too harsh on Bucky appeared in their heads. 

Without any further words, you lead your boyfriend out of the common room, leaving the Avengers in an awkward silence. 

The comfort of your and Bucky’s shared room made you deeply inhale as soon as the door was closed behind you two. Before you could even say something, two strong hands wrapped around you from the back, and Bucky buried his face into your neck.

“Thank you, doll.” Your hand reached behind you to gently stroke Bucky's hair. “You didn’t have to do it, really. I got used to their words.” He squeezed you tighter, pressing his chest into your back.

“That’s not okay, baby. I’m sick of that. You may not say it to me or even admit it to yourself, but I see that it hurts you.” You turned around in his hands, placing your own on both sides of his face. “But that’s okay that you want to cuddle, to sleep on me, to be held. Really. There is nothing wrong with it. I’m really honored to be the person who is allowed to see your soft side.”

“I love you. Fuck, I love you so much, doll, you can’t even fucking imagine,” Bucky whispered before leaning forward to kiss you.

“I love you, James.”

“Can we stay here today? I don’t really want to talk with anyone besides my sweet and protective girl.” You couldn’t hold back your laughter at his teasing tone. 

“Of course we can, Buck.” That was your last word before Bucky lifted you off the ground, put you on the soft blankets of your bed, and climbed on top of you, happily wrapping around your body and falling asleep. 

[elbiotipo]

isnt op's post also criticizing the idea that we must adhere to colonialism's real life history in fantasy settings? why did you respond with the assumption they didn't (asking genuinely because i read the original post as a condemnation of the very attitude you are condemning op for)

I don't quite understand what you mean by that part in parentheses

But I don't think OP meant anything else than "you don't need elaborate worldbuilding in your story", which, understandably, I oppose. But at the end of it, that's just writing conventions. I'm a worldbuilding fanatic and love to read entire fictional encyclopedias without plot, other people don't care about that. They are completely and utterly wrong, but that's fine, I can live with that.

However, this part (which as far as I know you asked yourself) "the idea that we must adhere to colonialism's real life history in fantasy settings"

Here's the thing: if you're writing fantasy aimed at adults, I don't think you should shy away from depicting colonialism and its consequences.

Because when you write a *typical* popular fantasy work with those lavish feasts with goods from tropical climates or shining metal armors or silk dresses or big urbanized cities with libraries full of books (all more features of the early modern era than medieval Europe) it implies all that wealth comes from somewhere. Those goods come from somewhere. Someone makes all those things. That society is built on pillars; social pillars, economic pillars, ideological pillars. And it's worth question who, and how, and why. Even if some answers might seem distateful, ESPECIALLY if some answers might seem distateful. I simply do not care for works that refuse to engage or think about them, or at least hint about them. Because otherwise it becomes a story of "there's a Bad king and we need to replace it with a Good king" Don't we have 85489 of those already? Why not question something else about your society? The nature of the god(s), the power of the church, how should we organize society, colonialism and imperialism, cultural interactions of the "age of discovery", the scientific method, those were all issues in the early modern Europe where most fantasy draws the generic Pseudo-Medieval European Fantasy setting from, that I think are worth exploring, and authors who do show it well.

The question I'm asking, is basically: okay, your world is made up. Why is it made up exactly like Medieval Early Modern Europe, but without any of the dynamics that made that Europe?

(and since everybody forgets about the stupid space captain: "why, in your sci-fi world far away from modern Earth, all your space captains act like they are Usamerican?")

Some others have also told me "but in my fantasy world there's no colonialism, plants grow through magic/they're traded in fair exchanges" that's great too! I loved some of the explanations, but the point in my opinion also isn't to sanitize fantasy and get rid of all the bad stuff or inaccurate crops, the point is to think about those things and create a story about it. And yes, plants can tell an interesting story. Coffee, sugar, potatoes, tomatoes, and such also got spread by trade, nobody has a "copyright" on plants. But later, the dynamics of the production of those foods took a turn and it often involved the dynamics of trade, colonization and imperialism. Like I said in another post, tea becoming the preferred drink of the English but having to import it from Asia, coffee with all its traditions from its original point in the Middle East as it spread across the continents, potatoes becoming so integral crop to cold Europe that people actually forget their origin in the Andes...

All those things are worth exploring in my opinion, and personally for me, they can even make a better story that just a hero against the evil dark lord.

It's not just about potatoes, but it's always a good first question to ask.

[sycamorelibrary754]

Guardian Angel

Chapter 9: When in Rome

Summary: I have no idea how to summarize this chapter besides saying buckle up. 🫣

Warnings: Danger, angst, claustrophobia.

Word Count: 6.3k

A/N: My apologies for how long it took to get this chapter posted. I wanted to take my time on it because it’s essential to the rest of the story. I hope you enjoy it!

Guardian Angel Masterlist

You walked into your room, anxiously shutting the door behind you. Your mind races as you pace back and forth. Running your fingers through your hair, you struggle to comprehend why Onyx Petroleum would be interested in Sokovian land. Your mental spiral is interrupted by a knock on your door, followed by Tony's voice asking if you're okay. You open the door, and the billionaire walks in, quickly shutting the door behind him.

"I can't believe I didn't clock it before," Tony said, holding up the newspaper. "Those con artists from Onyx Petroleum are your parents - sorry."

You force a smile and respond, "It's okay. They deserve the title, trust me."

"I know firsthand," Tony muttered.

“You know my parents?” 

“Your father was a regular visitor of the Stark Expo in the old days.” You're taken aback, wondering how you never knew that. “Dear old dad rarely spoke to me growing up, but I remember he once said that Y/F/N Y/L/N was the only person who made him believe that humanity was doomed to extinction.”

“Sounds about right,” you said.

“Oh, and then," he recounted, "A few years ago at a September Foundation grant presentation at Cal Tech. Your mother, as usual, was doing her thing - schmoozing with everyone. She cornered Pepper and started rambling about how a partnership between Onyx Petroleum and Stark Industries could transform the global oil exploration and production industry. Pepper kindly reminded her that Stark Industries no longer partners with companies or individuals that harm the environment or the population. So your mother called Pepper a fraud and threw her drink in her face! Can you believe that?"

You sigh as you sit down on the edge of the bed, “Unfortunately, yes.”

"Any idea what this is about?" Tony asked, holding up the paper again.

You shake your head, saying, "No clue. They've never shown any interest in foreign oil.”

"Do you have access to anything that would give us insights into their business dealings?" Tony inquired.

You shake your head again, feeling helpless. "Not anymore. My parents removed me from all of their bank accounts and company mainframes when they kicked me out," you say with a huff, throwing yourself back onto the bed. “I don’t get it. Sokovia was destroyed. What’s left for them to find.”

“Vibranium.”

“What?” You said as you sat up. “That doesn't make sense. Sokovia was a war zone.”

“What do you think they were fighting over?” The billionaire asked rhetorically. 

“How do you know this, Tony?” 

“After Ultron's attack on Sokovia and the subsequent sinking of Navi Grad, FRIDAY performed an extensive deep-sea mapping of the ocean—every square centimeter. Seven hundred thousand images were captured at a depth of almost 4,000 meters,” Tony explained, tapping the screen on his watch. “The mapping exercise was aimed at locating the submerged remnants of the destroyed city and ensuring the safety of any underwater vehicles or divers exploring the area. Doing so would provide insights into the underwater topography of the region and assist in the reconstruction efforts.” 

You rise to your feet as a hologram of the 3D map materializes before your eyes.

“Instead, FRIDAY found something else,” Tony explained, shifting pieces back and forth through the air. “Outside of Wakanda, Sokovia has the largest natural vein of Vibranium anywhere in the world, but no one has been able to mine it yet because…,” zooming in on the composite. “It’s underwater.”

You studied the 3D image carefully, trying to comprehend how Onyx Petroleum would go about mining the most potent substance on Earth. 

“This much Vibranium in anyone’s hands is frightening,” Tony said. “In the hands of a company notorious for unethical business practices, it’s perilous.” 

“Does Wanda know?” Your mind was racing with concern for your girlfriend.

“No, and I don’t think we should tell her,” closing the hologram. 

“What? Why not? She has a right to know! It was her home. We can’t just—“

"Easy, Willy Wonka," Tony said. "I know she needs to know, but we need more information before we can act. I need to do some more research and figure out the next steps. In the meantime, tell the rest of the team what we know. Wanda is running point on a full-team, large-scale mission the day after tomorrow, and it benefits no one for her to be distracted, right?" 

You nod hesitantly in agreement, still processing everything. "Trust me, Y/N. If we take our eyes off the ball, bad things happen. We need to be strategic and focused if we're going to keep everyone safe." 

After a moment of silence, you let out a heavy sigh. "Okay, you're right," you concede, looking down at your hands. "I just don't feel good about keeping this from Wanda. We've always been honest with each other, and I don't want to ruin that." 

Tony places a reassuring hand on your back. "You're not lying to her. You're just postponing the truth to protect her," he explains calmly. 

You slowly nod, taking in his words. It made sense, in a way. But the guilt still lingered in your mind, gnawing at you. You knew that, eventually, you'd have to come clean.

*^~^*

You stirred from your sleep two days later, but the uneasy feeling in your stomach lingered. Your conversation with Tony was still vivid in your mind. You peered outside and saw SHIELD agents hustling and bustling around the grounds. You felt lost, unsure of what to do or where to be, so you did your best to keep a low profile and stay out of everyone's way. This was your first time seeing a mission play out before you. Sure, team members had come and gone before in the three months you had been living at the Avengers Compound, but being so focused on your recovery, you hadn’t paid that close attention. 

FRIDAY interrupted your train of thought as you stood by the window. “Ms. Y/L/N,” she said, “Ms. Maximoff requests your presence in The Overwatch.”

You were confused. “The Overwatch? Where’s that, FRIDAY?”

“I’ll escort you there, Ms. Y/L/N,” FRIDAY said, opening the elevator doors.

As you stepped into the elevator, you noticed it was going down. The compartment sprang to life, and you counted at least three floors before it finally stopped. The door opened, revealing a futuristic virtual command center. Wanda stood with her back to you, looking up at a wall of monitors.

You couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow!"

Wanda turned at the sound of your voice, and her smile was enough to melt you into a puddle. "Impressive, isn't it?" she said.

You nodded, still in awe of the sight. "What is this place?"

"This is The Overwatch," Wanda explained. "It's a command center that allows Fury or other Avengers who aren't on a mission to provide support in real-time."

You walked over to where Wanda was standing. "It's only used when everyone gets called away or on big-scale operations," she added.

You looked up at the bank of monitors, each displaying a name in the corner. Your eyes quickly found Natasha's, labeled N. Romanoff. Next to her, you spotted T. Stark, S. Rogers, B. Banner, T. Odinson, C. Barton, B. Barnes, S. Wilson, K. Bishop, Y. Belova, P. Parker, and C. Danvers. 

"Am I even allowed to be in here?” You asked.

"Technically, no," Wanda replied with a smirk, "but this is my first time running point on a mission, and I could use the company."

Curiosity getting the better of you, you asked, "Who are they after?"

"Unfortunately, that information is classified," Wanda replied, typing away on the keyboard and pulling up a map, "but I can tell you they are in Europe."

"Well, that narrows it down," you joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Wanda sighed and sat before the command module, motioning for you to join her. "I wish I could tell you more," she said, "it's so much more stressful sitting in here than being out in the field with the team."

You tried encouraging her, saying, "Hey, at least you're safe here."

“Yes, but I feel so helpless," Wanda admitted while monitoring the team's vital signs. "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to Fury for agreeing to let me ease back into the swing of things, but the loss of control scares me.” 

The tense atmosphere was palpable in the comms as Steve's voice cut through, "Wanda, we're on our final approach. ETA, 30 seconds."

Natasha's raspy voice chimed in, "How are we looking?"

"The approach is clear—five guards in the courtyard outside the building.

"I got it," Tony interjected. You heard muffled groans on the other end of the comms as Tony dismantled the threat in a matter of seconds. "We're clear outside."

Everyone, turn on your body cameras," Wanda commanded as the monitors rose to life, giving you a first-person point of view of what everyone on the team was seeing.

"Nat, the security office is two doors down on your left," Wanda directed.

"Noted, I'm on my way," Natasha confirmed.

"When do I go in?" Peter's voice sounded eager on the comms.

"Hold your position, Spider-Boy," Yelena said. "Patience is key."

"Yeah, Peter. You're too eager. Just slow your roll and wait for the signal," Kate Bishop said.

"So is being quiet, Kate Bishop." Yelena cut in again.

I can't believe this is happening," you said involuntarily.

"Shh," Wanda whispers.

"Who is that?" Thor asks as he catches his hammer flying towards his monitor screen.

"Is that Y/N?" Carol asked between shots.

"No, it's not," Wanda lied to protect you.

"It is Y/N! What are you doing in The Overwatch, Willy Wonka?" Tony asked.

“Aww, they’re having a date night,” Clint joked sarcastically as you watched an arrow fly away from his camera and out of sight.

"Everyone, please be quiet. You're clogging the comms," Bucky demands irritably.

"Let's all be civil," Sam adds.

“I concur,” Bruce agreed.

"How are we doing, Nat?" Steve asked as he knocked out another security guard.

"I'm bypassing the firewall, Natahsa replied, typing away on the keyboard. “There. The Iris Detectors are down.”

"On my signal," Wanda spoke calmly. "Disabling the dome cameras in 3, 2, 1. Go.”

Sitting in front of the bank of monitors, you found yourself momentarily bewildered. You weren't sure which of the screens to focus on as the team moved in unison. Each one displayed a different angle of the action, and you didn't want to miss a single moment of what was unfolding before you. You watched with bated breath as they efficiently made their way through the building, their movements purposeful and precise. It was a sight to behold - you had never seen such determination and skill in your entire life. 

Despite seeing footage of the Avengers on the news over the years, watching them firsthand was an entirely different experience. You felt incredibly fortunate to be able to call them your friends. As they worked towards the second level, you couldn't help but feel a sense of awe wash over you. These were some of the most powerful beings on the planet, and yet they were risking their lives to protect others. It was a humbling and inspiring sight to behold.

As the team entered the building, you watched Bucky effortlessly kick in a door. "I'm in the lab," he announced, his voice calm and collected.

Tony's voice crackled through the comms, "Do you see the mainframe?"

"There's two, which one is it?" Bucky replied, scanning the room.

"Open the silver panel," Tony instructed.

With a few hard pulls, Bucky managed to pry off the front of the mainframe. Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass filled the air as Carol crashed through a nearby window with a guard's arms wrapped tightly around her neck.

Without hesitation, Bucky turned to assist her. "Keep going! I got this," Carol shouted, her voice slightly strained.

Tony's voice cut through the chaos, "You should see the mainframe HiperSockets that provide high-speed TCP/IP connectivity within the central processor complex."

"For fuck's sake, in English, Tony!" Bucky shouted, his frustration palpable.

"Language,” Steve reprimanded.

An alarm began to blare as red lights flashed, signaling the imminent arrival of more guards.

"Bucky and Carol, eight more guards are heading your way," Wanda's voice sounded over the comms. "Thor, you're the closest."

"I'll be right there," Thor answered.

You watched as The God of Thunder bounded down the stairs and into the lab. In a thunderous flash, he took out all eight guards, leaving the room eerily silent.

"Cut the blue cable!" Tony finally shouted.

Bucky pulled out a pocket knife and quickly sliced through the blue cable.

The rest of the team arrived on the scene, and the lights inside the mainframe went out, plunging the room into darkness.

"How do we know for sure it's down?" Kate asked, her voice laced with concern.

Natasha fired three gunshots into the mainframe, causing the container to smoke.

"That ought to do it," she said, lowering her gun.

"Well done, everyone," Wanda praised. "I'm no longer seeing a heat signature from your location, which means the building is offline."

"Thanks, Wanda. Nice job on the point," Steve said. "We'll reconvene at 1800 hours to go over Phase Two."

Wanda looked exhausted as she removed her earpiece. The monitors had gone dark again; she leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath to calm herself down. After a few moments, she opened her eyes and looked at you.

"Wow, sweetheart. That was amazing! I've never seen anything like that in my life. You were great,” you said, touching her shoulder. 

Wanda smiled weakly, feeling a sense of satisfaction mixed with exhaustion. "Thanks," she said, "it was touch and go. But I'm glad they were able to get the job done."

You nodded in agreement. "Are all the missions that intense?"

Wanda thought for a moment before answering. "Not all of them," she said, "but this is one of the most challenging ones we've had in a while. But that's what we're trained for, right?"

“Do you miss it? Being out there, I mean,” you asked hesitantly. 

Wanda’s expression was pensive as she spoke, her gaze fixed on the ground. "It's a complicated situation," she began slowly. "On the one hand, I don't want to leave my boys. After we lost their father, I made a promise to Billy and Tommy that I would always be there for them, no matter what." She paused for a moment as if lost in thought. "But on the other hand," she continued, her voice growing softer, "sometimes I feel like I'm denying who I am. Like my magic knows, I’m turning away from that part of myself.”

As you sat beside Wanda, you suddenly realized something that had never occurred to you before – you had never seen her use her powers. You searched your memory for any instance where you had witnessed her abilities in action, but you drew a blank. The only thing you could recall was being in her arms after the accident before you passed out, but even then, you couldn't remember if she had used her magic to keep you safe.

You took a deep breath and reached out to hold her hand. "I know we've never talked about this, but is there a reason you've never used your magic in front of me?" you asked, your voice gentle and curious. You hoped she wouldn't take offense to your question, but you couldn't help feeling a little curious about this aspect of her life that she had kept hidden from you.

"I was wondering when you would finally ask me about this,” Wanda sighed softly. “Since Westview, I have had difficulty trusting myself to use my powers safely. I lost control in a way that I never have before, Y/N, and the thought of putting anyone through that again is unbearable." Her voice was tinged with remorse and sadness as she continued, "I don't want to be a danger to those around me or myself. I’m afraid to use my magic again, and I don't know how to overcome that fear."

As you stroked her hand, you spoke reassuringly to Wanda. "I know you're feeling guilty about what happened in Westview, but that was only one aspect of your powers. You've done so much more good in the world than bad, and the magic that courses through you is a testament to that. Remember all the times you used your abilities to save lives, protect innocent people, and bring hope to those in need. That is the true measure of who you are, Wanda. Don't let a single mistake define you or your legacy."

Wanda nodded as she looked at you. “Thank you, Y/N,” wiping the tears away that threatened to fall. “I know I can’t avoid using them forever,” she looked around the room, “I also know I can’t hide down here for the rest of my life.” 

“Why don’t you show me?” 

“What?”

“Show me your powers. Come on, let’s see what you got, sweetheart. It’s just us, and we’re three floors underground. Nothing can go wrong, I promise.”

She looked at you hesitantly before she finally agreed, “Okay.”

Wanda rose from her seat and walked to the middle of the room. She took a deep, cleansing breath, held out her left palm, and began slowly circling it with her right hand. You watched as an orb of red energy materialized in her palm. Pointing her hand in your direction, you felt the chair you were sitting in move underneath you as you quickly rolled across the room and stopped on a dime in front of the redhead.

“Woah,” you said in amazement.

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” she smirked.

Slowly but surely, she rose above you, her body glowing with a vibrant, otherworldly red magic that seemed to envelop you completely. Despite your shock, you felt a sense of calm wash over you as you basked in the warmth and comfort of the magic surrounding you. It was as if Wanda had wrapped you in a cocoon of pure energy, and you felt safe and protected in her presence. Her eyes were fixed on you, glowing like twin stars in the night sky. For the first time, you knew without a doubt that you were in the presence of a powerful being beyond your understanding. Yet, despite her immense power, she was your Wanda—gentle and kind.

The redhead reached down and gently touched your cheek. For a moment, you closed your eyes and basked in the warmth of her touch. You couldn't help but wonder if she felt the same sense of warmth and safety with you that you felt with her.

I do, Y/N," Wanda said with nothing but adoration in her eyes.

You were confused and asked, "Do what?"

"Feel the same warmth and safety you feel with me," she replied.

You wondered, "I, did I - I don't think I said that out loud, did I?"

"I heard your thoughts, love," she answered.

You repeated, "You heard me - you can hear my thoughts? Oh, God."

Wanda reassured you, "Oh no, no, Y/N. It's okay. This was the first time I've ever listened to your thoughts. Outside of work, I never invade anyone's privacy that way and never would with you without your permission or unless it was an emergency."

The redhead reached for you as she floated down. The red magic swirling around your joined hands.

"That was incredible, sweetheart. I know it will take some time, but don't hide this part of yourself away. It's wonderful.”

The sudden sound of the elevator whirring through the walls startled Wanda, breaking her concentration and causing her to dismiss her red magic hastily. "Shit! Quick, hide in that storage cabinet," she urgently whispered, pushing you towards the stainless steel structure.

"What?! Why?" You asked, confused and alarmed.

"I told you, you're not technically supposed to be here. The security clearance is off the charts," Wanda explained as she urged you towards the cabinet.

You sprinted towards the cabinet and quickly shut the door just as Maria exited the elevator. "Hey, Wanda. Great job on Phase One. Everything looks good on our end," she said, scrolling through her tablet.

“Thanks,” Wanda said, nervously tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear as Maria continued.

"I'm going to go brief Fury, but I'll be back for the check-in call at 6 pm to discuss Phase Two."

"Okay, see you in a bit," Wanda replied, relieved she hadn't noticed you.

As Maria stepped back into the elevator, she teasingly called, "Oh, and Wanda? If Y/N is going to be down here with you, at least give her a key card."

Wanda blushed at being caught. "I don't know what you're talking about," she fibbed.

"Of course, you don't," The Deputy Director chuckled. "Ask her to bring some Candy Bar chocolate for us later when she comes out from the storage cabinet," she added with a giggle as the doors closed.

You cautiously opened the door to the cabinet and stepped out, your cheeks reddening as you met Wanda's embarrassed gaze. She fished a blank white key card out of her pocket and handed it to you. "Here, now you can legally be down here with me."

You took the card and turned it over in your hands. 

"Thanks," you said softly. “Tell Maria I'll bring some chocolate truffles later," you winked.

"Hmm, sounds good," Wanda smiled, leaning in to give you a gentle peck on the lips.

*^~^*

You arrived back at The Overwatch a few hours later, your white key card and a bag of truffles in hand. Maria was sitting next to Wanda in front of the wall of monitors. You sat down next to the redhead, passing the bag of chocolates to Maria. 

"Aww, Y/N. How did you know? This is exactly what I wanted."

"Shut up,” you smirked. “So, what's happening here?" As you pointed toward the dark screens.

"We had the check-in call about forty-five minutes ago, and Steve should be reporting in any minute to confirm they've reached the target,” Wanda explained.

As if on cue, Steve's camera turned on, followed by the rest of the team. "Speak of the devil!” Maria exclaimed. 

You could tell immediately that the team was in an underground passage, evidenced by the rough stone masonry surrounding them. Their footsteps echoed through the tunnel, adding an eerie quality to the tense atmosphere.

"Hey, Cap, you ready to go?" Maria asked, glancing up at the screen.

"Affirmative," Steve replied. “Although some of us are feeling a bit claustrophobic."

"Speak for yourself,” Clint chimed in.

"Tony, you want to take that one?" Wanda asked, typing away on her keyboard.

"Sure thing, Red," Tony replied. "Everyone, reach inside your suit pockets. You should find an object the size of one of Morgan's Legos."

Yelena, ever the skeptic, held up the miniature object Tony had referred to. "What the fuck is this?" she asked, her voice laced with annoyance.

"Language," Steve admonished.

"Oh, tell it to someone who cares," Yelena retorted, rolling her eyes.

"Sestra," Nat scolded, her voice echoing through the tunnels.

"It's a bit of technology I borrowed from our friendly neighborhood ant, and subsequently made even better,” Tony smirked. "Press the button on the top."

As one, the team pressed the button, and a small oxygen mask grew to fit in their hands.

"And we couldn't have worn these on the walk down here because?" Sam asked, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Because they only have a 24-hour oxygen supply," Tony explained. "We need to conserve as much as possible."

"Do I have to wear this?" Carol asked. "I can breathe in space. I'm pretty sure I'm fine down here."

"The vacuum of space is very different from underground," Maria said. "We don't want to take any chances. Put it on, please, Danvers."

“Why doesn’t the billionaire genius have to wear an oxygen mask?” She asked. 

“There’s an oxygen supply built into the suit,” Tony smirked.

With a resigned sigh, Carol donned the mask, and the rest of the team followed suit. Wanda went over the topography of the catacomb, identifying key landmarks and intricacies that could help them navigate the maze-like structure safely.

In a hushed tone, you turned to Maria and asked, "Have they ever had an underground mission before?" 

Maria shook her head and replied, "No, not like this. This is completely uncharted territory for them.”

"Okay, as we discussed," Steve said, pointing to the left. "Group one with me down the left tunnel; group two with Tony down the right tunnel."

As you observed intently, you saw each group setting off towards their designated directions, down the ancient corridors. The walls were adorned with intricate archways, illuminated by sporadic pockets of light that added to the mystique of the surroundings.

“Mr. Stark, this is amazing! Have you looked at these carvings and art? Easily third century—” Peter started. 

“This isn’t a history field trip,” Natasha interrupted. “Pay attention to your surroundings.”

The group had been walking through a tunnel for some time when, without warning, felt the ground beneath their feet shake. A low and ominous grumbling noise echoed through the air, and everyone was thrown into the tunnel walls. 

"FRIDAY, what's happening?" Tony asked urgently.

"Accessing the wave radar and enhancing the thermogenic signature," FRIDAY responded.

“Do you feel that too, Steve?” Wanda asked

Steve grunted as he struggled to regain his balance. "Yeah, is it an earthquake?" he asked.

"It's an energy surge, Boss," FRIDAY replied to Tony. "A core reactor holds together the primary stabilization of the tunnel structure."

"That's not first-century tech," Peter mumbled, face down on the ground.

Kate helped him up. "Yeah, no kidding, Sherlock."

Just as the group was getting back on their feet, Sam's voice cut through the tense silence.

"Hey! Hold it!" he shouted.

"What is it, Wilson?" Tony asked.

"Someone is watching us at the end of this tunnel," Sam exclaimed as he ran ahead of the group.

"Sam, wait!” Steve shouted.

"Lock onto Wilson," Maria said, standing up.

Wanda quickly shifted to Sam's primary camera and enlarged the visual. The mystery figure took two quick turns to the left as if they knew exactly where they were going. A third turn to the right, and Sam lost sight of the man for a split second. Looking around quickly, but to no avail, he said, "I lost them."

"How will he get back to the rest of the group?" You asked.

"Good question, Y/N," Sam replied.

Maria glared over at you. "Sorry, I keep forgetting they can hear me too."

"Sam, you're closer to Tony than Steve," Wanda said. "I'm pinging his tracker right now. Two lefts and a right should do it. And Steve and company, follow your tunnel about a half a mile down and then take a right, and you should meet up with everyone else."

The team wandered through the catacomb tunnel in silence, only the sound of their breathing and the stone under their feet breaking the stillness. When they were finally reunited, Tony broke the silence, "Okay, new plan. We're staying together." 

Peter quickly agreed, "I'm with Tony on this one." 

Yelena, standing nearby, murmured to Kate, "Color me surprised." 

“Oxygen masks stay on, Nat,” Maria said pointedly. 

"Yes, detka,” Natasha replied.

Yelena couldn't resist mocking her sister, "Yes, detka," she repeated sarcastically. But before she could carry on, Natasha pinched her arm, causing her to yelp in pain. 

Thor shouted, "Knock it off, Lady Widows!" 

Wanda added, "Thor is right. The catacomb can be disorienting, but you need to keep moving. Tony, I'm reviewing the National Geophysical Data Center records to assess your declination value and sending them to FRIDAY. Keep true north." 

You turned to Maria, puzzled, "What did she say?" Having no clue what your girlfriend was talking about. 

"They should turn right," Maria whispered. 

You watched as everyone walked in a single-file line to the right, trying their best to keep their footing on the uneven stone. Suddenly, a second energy surge echoed loudly through the comms, causing everyone to turn their cameras downwards. Your heart raced as you gasped at the sight of cracks quickly forming between everyone's legs. Before anyone could react, the ground gave way beneath them, accompanied by screams and the sound of broken gravel. 

Maria gasped, and Wanda put her hands over her mouth in shock. 

"Oh my God!" You exclaimed. "What the hell just happened?" 

Wanda asked urgently, "Steve? Tony? Can you hear me?" 

Maria followed with a shaky voice, "Natasha? Come in! Anyone?" 

"Shit," she said anxiously, picking up the phone in front of her. "All SHIELD agents, Romeo, Echo, Delta." 

"FRIDAY, Code Red. Initiate Emergency Protocol 3000," Wanda ordered, running back towards the elevator and flipping a red switch under a glass cover. 

"Compound shutdown initiated. Director Fury and Mrs. Stark have been notified and are en route to The Overwatch," FRIDAY responded.

You stood there, frozen, not knowing what to do with yourself. The shock of what you had just witnessed was so intense that your vision started to blur, and you felt as though you were about to pass out. Suddenly, you felt someone's arms on your shoulders, and you jumped slightly. 

"Y/N? Y/N, love, stay with me, okay?" Wanda said, her voice soothing.

You looked up at her and then back at the monitors, pointing at them with a shaking hand. "They... it..." you stammered, struggling to form coherent sentences.

Wanda nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. "I know," she said, rubbing her hands up and down your arms in a gesture of comfort.

She slowly led you back to your seat, still holding onto your shoulders, and conjured a glass of water out of thin air. Taking it in your hand, you felt the coolness of the glass against your skin, which helped ground you and bring you back to the present moment.

*^~^*

Fury furrowed his brows and asked Maria, "When was your last point of contact?"

"Five minutes ago."

"Maximoff was running point?"

You didn't appreciate the way Director Fury was speaking about Wanda as if she wasn't in the room, but as an outsider, you chose to hold your tongue.

Wanda stepped forward before Maria could respond, "Yes, sir."

"What happened?"

“Two energy surges of unknown origin, but we didn’t have time to assess the cause before-." Wanda’s voice trailed off as she struggled to continue.

“Before you lost them,” Fury finished the sentence for her. Wanda nodded silently, unable to look the Director in the eyes.

“She didn’t lose them! It was an accident,” You suddenly heard yourself shout.

Pepper placed a hand on your shoulder as Fury’s gaze shifted over to you. 

“Who is this?” Fury asked, pointing at you.

“I'm Y/N Y/L/N, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you,” you said, slowly reaching out your hand to shake his, but the gesture went unreciprocated.

"The car accident victim," looking you up and down. "She looks fine, why is she still here?"

You wondered why you were still here yourself, but Maria jumped in before you could respond, "She’s still recovering, Sir."

"Do you have clearance to be down here?"

You fumbled in your pocket for the white card Wanda had given you earlier. Fury looked at the card but gave you no response before turning back to Wanda.

“Are we still picking up pings from their trackers?”

“Yes, faintly,” Wanda said.

"Do we know how deep the catacomb goes?" He continued.

“Roughly 65 feet, but the fall could have taken them another 50 feet at least," Wanda stated.

“They were wearing oxygen masks?” Fury asked.

“Yes, but they only have a 24-hour oxygen supply if they haven’t been damaged,” Wanda explained.

Fury turned back to Maria, “How fast can we have a team of agents on the ground in Rome?”

Your ears perked up at finally knowing where everyone was.

“Four hours,” Maria responded.

“Make it three,” The Director said.

“Yes, sir,” Maria replied as she started to walk away.

Wanda interrupted calmly, "No. I’m going."

“Out of the question, Maximoff. You haven’t been back in the field since your return, save for her accident," Fury pointed at you. "I’m not sending you out there by yourself in the most dire moment in the history of SHIELD. You don’t know what you’ll find down there, and you’re still too unreliable."

“Unreliable,” Wanda repeated. “With all due respect, Director Fury, no one is more reliable than me. There is no one more powerful than me, and you and I both know that it will take someone who can move heaven and Earth, literally, to bring everyone home!”

Fury looked over at Pepper, who had yet to say a word—doing her best to keep her calm.

"Wanda can do it," Pepper declared, fidgeting with her wedding ring. "I have faith in her." 

"You leave in 20 minutes,” Fury said, turning to Wanda. “But you're not going alone.”

“I’ll get changed right away, sir,” Maria assumed.

“No, you’re staying here, Hill. You’re too close to the situation with Romanoff.”

“Nick, I-“

“No, you’ll run co-point from here. That is final."

“Co-point? Who is-“

“I need to make a couple of phone calls. In the meantime, Maximoff, you get suited up. We’ll meet you in the hangar,” Fury ordered.

“Yes, sir,” Wanda acknowledged.

You followed Wanda out of the elevator and into the locker room, feeling nervous and determined. Wanda suited up with a look of solemn determination on her face. You didn't want to show your nervousness; Wanda had enough on her plate. She took out her phone, frowned at the screen, and then turned to you with a serious look.

“I need you to do something for me,” the redhead said.

“Of course, anything,” you replied, trying to sound as reassuring as possible.

“I need you to pick up Billy and Tommy and stay with them at my house. I know you have only met them once, but they liked you,” she started to ramble, her voice tinged with anxiety. “Pepper offered to take them, but I just can’t let her do that while Tony is…” she paused, her voice breaking with sadness.

You nodded understandingly, realizing the gravity of the situation. “I’ll do it,” you said, grabbing both sides of her face. “The boys will be okay, I promise. You bring everyone home.”

“Thank you so much, Y/N. I I already called the school to let them know you’ll be picking them up. I know I can trust you,” she said, her voice shaking with emotion. Your lips met in a kiss—one of comfort and reassurance.

The word trust was all it took for Onyx Petroleum and Sokovia to rush back to the front of your mind. But then you remembered Tony’s words. “If we take our eyes off the ball, bad things happen.” Wanda needed to focus. But God, it was killing you to keep this from her, even under the most dire circumstances.

You walked with Wanda to the hangar, an area of the compound you had yet to visit. The mood was a stark contrast from this morning. SHIELD Agents moved about the space with the same purpose and direction, but the energy differed. It was anxious.

You caught sight of Director Fury standing next to one of the Quinjets with two women you didn’t recognize, but it was clear Wanda knew both of them. She ran a few steps ahead of you and wrapped her arms around both of them in an emotional embrace.

“Y/N, this is Dr. Darcy Lewis and Captain Monica Rambeau,” Wanda said, motioning to each woman. “This Y/N Y/L/N, she said, touching your back.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you both,” you said as you shook their hands, trying to keep your composure.

“Hi, nice to meet you too, Y/N,” Darcy replied warmly.

“It’s a pleasure,” Monica said, giving you a small smile.

"Captain Rambeau will be accompanying Ms. Maximoff to Rome, and Dr. Lewis will be running point with Deputy Director Hill from The Overwatch," Fury explained before glancing at his watch. "It's time to go."

Wanda looked at you with a mixture of anxiety and determination in her eyes. You tried to hide your nervousness, not wanting to add to her stress.

After a deep breath, Wanda spoke, "Billy and Tommy will be off from school in a couple of hours," she said, handing you her house keys. "Let them know that I'm working with the rest of the team, but don't give them any details. I’ll try to check in if I can.”

"Okay, sweetheart," you replied, taking the keys and putting them in your pocket. "Just make sure everyone comes home safe."

"I will," Wanda said with a nod, her eyes shining with determination.

As you leaned in to kiss the beautiful redhead, you felt a rush of emotion wash over you. Her soft lips met yours, and for a moment, everything else seemed to fade away. When you pulled away, you wrapped her in a tight embrace, holding her close to your chest. You watched as she walked towards the Quinjet, accompanied by Monica. Darcy and Fury were waiting by the side of the hangar, their faces solemn. You couldn't help but feel a sense of dread as the jet's engines came to life and slowly lifted off the ground. You stood there, watching as it climbed higher and higher into the sky until it was nothing more than a speck in the distance. As it disappeared from view, you felt a pang in your chest, as if a piece of your heart was flying away with it.

[felixisourayofsunshine]

I realised that I had this in my drafts for quite some time. Appearantly I forgot to post it. I am gonna modify it and post it now cuz we NEED to talk about this...

Okay so i just watched the interview of the miraculous ladybug writers about the end of season 5............. and my god I am so annoyed right now....

what do you mean that Gabriel was a hero??? as much as i know about a hero, heroes donot go around destroying cities,fighing teenagers,taking advantage of people's vulnerability. That man physically and mentally tortured his own son for years, Yeeted him across Paris, forced his girlfriend to break up with him by emotionally blackmailing her, seperated his son from the girl he loves, and what not. I understand that he was in grief and sorrow due to his wife's death , ok you can turn into villain due to that but that doesn't give to the right to treat your son like this. So what? By sacrificing himself for the wish HE wanted to make he became a hero? What logic is that? Imagine making a statue of a fucking villain which is taller than the heroes'. And the lady in end of the episode was not Emilie but Amelie wtf huh? You are telling me that all those years of being an insignificant character she still remains insignificant? You want me to believe that the terrorist who destroyed not only Paris but traumatized them of life, destroyed teenagers' lives, enslaved his own son for years is a hero? NOT HAPPENING!!

Also they had planned from the beginning that Chat was not gonna be in the final fight with Hawkmoth... Great you proved that to you his character was useless from the start. You guys have been neglecting the poor boy since the very begging , y'all are just too biased towards ladybug. Why name the show Miraculous: Tales of ladybug and Chat Noir just remove his name from the title at his point. Believe me or not Adrien has much more potential as a main character than Mari. I am not hating on her or anything but my girl just doesn't know how to deal with pressure well, and again it's just the product of poor writing done on her. I just hate how biased they are towards Mari that they tend to turn a blind eye at Adrien at times.but you don't even give him enough screen time even though he is supposed to be the main character along with ladybug.

And about their poorly written character.... let's just take Chloe for example, my girl is the most inconsistent character in the show. Till this day they can't decide whether to make her good or bad. She starts as a bad person, then tries to become good, then turns bad again, also team up with Lila (and just WHY would you do that ) and in the end becomes bad again. Choose between good or bad, she is swinging between being good or bad, settle with one thing for goodness' sake.

Also while we are at it let's talk about the poor writing of the show. They just don't know how to execute ideas. Now they mostly rely on timelines all the time.They just think "Oh this idea seems nice but we don't wanna change the show much, ohh don't worry we'll just make it an alternate timeline!! Problem Solved!!!". This is not the right thing to do . They hype us up by showing us something and then in the end they just reverse the timeline.

And how on earth was it Mari's win? In what sense is it the hero's win if the villain reaches his goal? And let's just not talk about the trauma this all gave Mari. She just carries too much burden on her shoulders... Only she knows that the person they are now calling a hero is actually a villain.

And finally, 8 damn years, it's almost been a decade since the show started and we still ain't got no reveal? C'mon if you can't even let the reveal happen in five season then how much longer it will take to reveal themselves? are you even planning to let the damn reveal happen or will just end the show after I don't know how many more seasons without letting them reveal themselves?

#justiceforourcatboy

[solarpunkpresentspodcast]

Links Roundup

Here are some recent links from the interwebs that Ariel has been chewing over.

Rethinking Masculinity: Teaching Men How to Love and Be Loved

I have the softest soft spot for this sort of content, I’m not going to lie. As a girl who was taught to fear men (not just from being raised in Toronto during the height of the Stranger-Danger zeitgeist, or having my primary bullies throughout my life being boys, or having to be a teenager in the grossly regressive early 2000s, or attending youth group during the rise of Evangelical-style purity culture in my denomination), I kind of love the idea of not having to run through an internal safety checklist each time I meet or interact with a man and decide whether or not it’s worth the risk to engage. This is warped thinking! But it’s what I was taught to do to survive, and old habits are hard to shake, but knowing that there are men out there who are actively rethinking masculinity in an inherently feminist, decolonial way gives me hope that can change, and that future generations of little girls won’t have to dodge quite so much structural shittiness, and that future generations of little boys will feel much more comfortable with who they are.

Degrowth as a Concept and Practice: Introduction

I admit I’m actually not really knowledgeable about degrowth - like, sure, I know it’s a philosophy/proposed economic policy/theoretical concept / thing, and I like to think it’s pretty obvious in its aims from its very moniker, but I’ve never actually sat down and read up on the details of degrowth and what it would entail. Or talked to anyone knowledgeable about it, for that matter. So this article series is very nice as a primer.

Degrowth advocates argue that we need to transform our everyday practices to respect and work with the fragile, limited, yet bountiful Earth on which we rely to exist.

Sounds pretty solarpunk to me. But just because something sounds good doesn’t mean it’s actually good, so this series really helps dig into the details, especially if you’re not a policy wonk (and are more of a yes-okay-there-is-a-forest-but-let’s-pay-attention-to-the-tree-species person) like me. I think, however, that a lot of smaller projects that solarpunks are working on (such as makerspaces, community resiliency, and local production of goods/food) fits pretty well under the umbrella concept of “degrowth” even if that label hasn’t been applied to them.

The Animal Feed Industry’s Impact on the Planet

This is a fascinating article on the ramifications of the land-use needed for “making animals the caloric middlemen” in the human food chain. This is an aspect of meat-eating that I’m a little embarrassed to admit didn’t actually occur to me until university (when I learned about it from fellow students). City girl, what can I say? We all have blind spots.

Which is why I like that this article exists, because while I think it’s easy, knowing what I do now, to roll my eyes and go “pfft, coulda told you that for a nickel,” there are people out there, many of them I’m very sure, who probably haven’t encountered this as a concept before. CW, though, for the middle bit of the article. This isn’t a happy topic.

Population can’t be ignored. It has to be part of the policy solution to our world’s problems

I was ready to tear this article apart just on principle, as I am so used to encountering this type of thinking in the green movement as a signal for eco-fascism. “There are too many people” translates, in most cases, to “there are too many poor brown people”. This is repugnant ideology as it lays the groundwork for racism at least, if not outright violent massacres. However, this article is written by an Australian professor who makes it very clear that in so-called developed (aka white settler) nations, there is simply an amount of people that puts undue pressure on the natural environment, and our ability to feed ourselves. I wish there was more discussion of this in general, to combat the insidious eco-fascist narrative that overpopulation is an issue because of “those people over there”. That’s really not it at all.

Paradigm Shift: Part 4 - What Might a Sustainable Lifestyle Look Like?

This is part four of a series talking about living sustainably - and this particular article uses the author’s life as an example. I sort of love this kind of media - even though since she lives in the Pacific NorthWest in America, a lot of what she talks about is really not applicable to me - because it helps me to develop my imaginative tools. When faced with an issue in my life where a necessity clashes with a solarpunk value of mine (eg, getting around on my own vs not buying into automobility), I’m better able to think of alternatives (carsharing, transiting, using an electric or non- bike, etc) because I have a “rolodex” of examples in my imagination that I can shuffle through.

Plus it’s very hopeful and inspiring to read these sorts of stories. Yes, “carbon footprint” is a problematic concept and etc but there’s something to be said for carefully considering your lifestyle and deciding to do the difficult things in order to be a better neighbour to the flora and fauna around you. Which is nice.

[autumn-likes-her-stuff]

a space for the unbound made me cry so hard my arms went numb.

i got this game a couple months after it came out. i only just recently got around to playing it. made by mojiken studio n published by toge productions, it takes place in '90s rural indonesia with lots of colorful characters to meet n a living city to explore. u play as atma, a boy with a magical red book that can dive into the spaces of the hearts of people who are spiritually lost, and need re-guidance to who they truly are.

this game, at first, was good but didnt truly win me over till the scene with a cake. after that point, i kept playing. then it was the music, the scenery, the writing, the characters, nearly everything about this game began to enchant me with the story it was telling to me. this game barely tells u anything, yet so much happens within its 10 hour length. its depressing, but in a way that instills u with hope and faith, maybe everything is gonna be okay if i just make the right choices.

raya is one of the first characters we're introduced to, yet throughout the game, she's the most mysterious. she's confusing, she has more layers than a jawbreaker, and i think she's one of the best written characters in any game ive ever played.

the only thing i can really complain about this game is the gameplay, at times there are hella easy puzzles n others that require u to have a pen n paper to do some algebra problems. other times, youll be doin the same dang thing over n over for like 20 mins, n it feels like its trying to pad out for time when it really doesnt. otherwise, u explore loka town, talk to people, spacedive into their hearts, and fill out a bucket list (which isnt super important to do cuz all u get for completing it is a 2 min cutscene right at the end [a rly good cutscene that continued my sobbing session but still]).

im the kinda person who doesnt necessarily get that sad or cries at stuff, but something about the message this game sent or how i was left feeling with lots of realizations at the end, something about them struck such a chord in the strings of my heart that the afterimage of my emotions will be imprinted in my soul until the day im no longer roaming this earth. ive been left with thoughts and feelings that ill remember for years to come. during the final 30-40 minutes of this game, i was ugly crying, sobbing loudly like a big baby.

i have never played a game, never seen a movie or tv series, n never listened to a song that has made me feel what i felt while playing a space for the unbound. it was a game 6+ years in the making n i think it paid the hell off. i shoulda played this game when it was first added to my steam library.

[gosecretscribbles]

Rise August 2024 Day 3: Todd

“Guess who’s heee-eeere!” Muninn sang, flying into Draxum’s lab.

The lab had only recently been rebuilt and still had bits of rubble swept into the corners. The skylight that took up most of the roof was cracked and filmed with rubble dust. The light filtered grudgingly down to the counters lining the walls, all laden with glass beakers, notebooks, and grimoires. A long-haired teenager in battle armor sat on one of the counters, casually swinging his legs. Baron hunched next to him, carefully pouring a bubbling pink liquid into an empty beaker.

Baron glanced over his shoulder, scowling. “Do you mind?”

“Oh we absolutely don’t,” Huginn assured him. “Anyway, since you won’t guess – it’s Todd!”

“Lemonade!” Todd announced, stepping through the doorway with a platter full of very full glasses.

CJ’s eyes lit up. “Todd! I haven’t had your lemonade in ages!”

“Oh? Are you one of the folks from Alaska who needed a little citrus sunshine?”

“Alaska?” CJ repeated, taking a glass. “No, um – I’m from the future, actually. An apocalypse where the Krang wiped out all life on earth. You ran out of ingredients for your lemonade when I was five or six.”

Huginn hissed through his teeth. “Riiiight, sorry, Todd. We didn’t know CJ would be here or we would’ve told you his Tragic Backstory TM.”

“Um, okay?”

“He’s been useful,” Barry said shortly. “He told me quite a bit about my experiments in mystic energy and life force manipulation. It’s advanced my research by several years.”

He finished pouring. The air in the apparently-empty beaker suddenly turned bright pink, then condensed into a bright pink cloud. The cloud rained tiny droplets and a little vine grew from the base of the beaker. The vine crackled with tiny lines of lightning, flexing its leaves in an unmistakable threat to its creator.

“Aw, it’s cute!” Todd cooed. “Like a…little angry bonsai. So! Lemonade?”

“You really should take a break,” CJ told Barry.

Barry rolled his eyes and straightened. Or rather, tried to straighten. His back popped several times in the attempt. He glared at CJ, who very pointedly hid his grin in a glass of lemonade.

“What did I do to deserve this,” Barry grumbled.

“You completed your sticker chart!” Huginn said proudly. Beside him, Muninn whipped out a wrinkled Bingo sheet with squares that read ‘Hug My Son’ and ‘Exist In the Same Room as Lou Jitsu Without Violence for Two Minutes.’ The stickers were all tiny glittery stars.

Barry glared daggers at them. “You have ten seconds to remove that from my sight.”

Muninn giggled. “It’s okay, boss! We know you’re the tsundere type!”

“Yeah,” Huginn added. “If you really meant it, you’d have – hey!”

A vine dropped from the ceiling, grew fangs, and swallowed the sheet in one bite.

“Does the vine want lemonade, too?” Todd asked cheerfully.

Baron grumbled under his breath and CJ just shrugged, so Todd offered it a glass. The vine ate the whole thing, burped, then drifted slowly towards the jar, as if contemplating dessert. The monster bonsai grew a mouth and hissed at it.

“So, an apocalypse, huh?” Todd asked, setting the platter down. Huginn and Muninn descended on the remaining glasses. “Does that have anything to do with the alien invasion?”

CJ grimaced. “Yeah. I’m…still getting used to things here. I know people lived separately Before, with humans and youkai completely separate, but it’s weird to see it in action. I like walking around the Hidden City more than New York. It feels a lot like one of our bases on a busy day.”

“Maybe you could show me around! I haven’t really visited it beyond a few restaurants. It would be neat to learn more about youkai customs!”

CJ frowned. “But…you…are a youkai?”

“Nope!” Todd said cheerfully. “Born human!”

“He’s a product of my oozequitoes,” Barry said. He swatted at the big vine, which had been creeping closer and closer to the jar. The bonsai blew a raspberry at it.

“Huh,” CJ said thoughtfully. “You never said. I mean, there were a few mutant rebel leaders, but they usually made a lot of noise about being human. Why didn’t you?”

Todd shrugged. “I can’t speak for Future Me, but mutating was never really that upsetting. People change all the time. Experiences, memories, friendships, even just the passing of time can shape who you are. This is just a change you can see on the outside.”

“I guess,” CJ said dubiously. “Except you seem exactly the same as the last time I saw you, minus the scars.”

“Oh, rugged Todd!” Muninn exclaimed. “Just like that time he tried to break into Barry’s stronghold!”

Todd sighed. “Ambush strategies are not my strong suit.”

“Cheer up, Todd!” Huginn landed on his shoulder. “You still can still infiltrate any stronghold with the power of kindness and lemonade!”

Muninn landed on his other shoulder. “Does lemonade count as bribery? Is Todd actually secretly manipulative?”

Huginn gasped. “That was a twist I did not see coming!”

Barry rolled his eyes. “Don’t you two have anything better to do than annoy me?”

Huginn shook his head. “Nah, we cleared our calendars to celebrate your sticker chart. It’s important to celebrate personal milestones!”

“You would know that if you read the parenting book we got you,” Muninn added.

“I do not need to know six ways to get a child to eat their vegetables! And I highly doubt that the number of hugs per day affects physiological development, or everyone within a five-mile radius of Michelangelo would be twice the size of Raphael! That book is absurd!”

“Then why did you highlight those pages?” Huginn asked innocently.

Barry twitched. The bonsai leaped out of the jar and smacked Huginn in the face. Huginn fell off Todd’s shoulder with a squeal, clawing at the plant as it lit up with numerous tiny shocks.

“Ow! Ow! It’s like a really angry sock! Get it off!”

“Oops,” Barry said flatly.

CJ chuckled. “I guess some things never change.”

A/N: I had so much trouble thinking of what to write, but now that I did I'm just picturing Todd bringing everybody lemonade in the middle of the apocalypse. Where does he keep getting it? Does he have secret stashes buried everywhere? Does he keep the ingredients hidden in his enormous mustache?? (That's why it's so big, it's full of secrets.)

@sariphantom

[somestardeww]

I NEED TO DUMP THINGS ABOUT MY WRITING PROJECT FOR MY CLASSES FROM HIGH SCHOOL OKAY. I FOUND MY OLD NOTES ABOUT THE PROJECT AND OMG-

IT WAS FUCKING AMAZING.

it was a project about creating a history, and I created a short book (that I had to write only in two weeks so it's not properly finished SUE ME) calle MoonSide or MoonFloor idk something with Moon and it was about a rivalry between several powerful/bourgeois families who, in a dystopian scenario, had the fate of the world in their hands (because of all the climate problems and basically the privileged bourgeoisie fucking the earth right in the ass. raw.)

well, the protagonist was the son/descendant of one of these families...

in a tragedy that I absolutely loved writing, a rival family set up a whole scenario to kill the family of the protagonist, stealing their ideas on how to save the planet - basically, it was putting an old space colonization project into practice, by sending (the most privileged) humans to a lunar base that they had designed, something with some fancy oxygen production technology from whatever, I didn't delve much into the possibilities in the two weeks I had, while another healthy fauna and flora recovery project started on earth, restoring oceans and forests and all that utopian shit that I wanted, at least this last part, to be true. professionals and volunteer labor would stay on the planet to help and regulate everything, and it would be a truly perfect plan like our protagonist's family planned...

but they didn't have that chance because, obviously, everyone died... except the protagonist!!! (please pretend to be shocked) who ended up going to the moon after the death of his relatives, in an attempt to make the murderous family less suspicious. The thing is, he wasn't exactly sane after all this experience, and he dedicated his entire life to putting an end to the family that murdered his relatives - and who now dominated that lunar city through a government very suspiciously, almost handed for them.

Is now a good time to say that this story involves powers? lmao. space apparently, at least in this universe, has some pretty sinister electrical storms that happen from years to years, and since they started sending ships to the moon they started to be attracted to the trajectory that the maves usually occupied, almost like a for lightning. the things is that they have a very strange effect on human beings, giving them extraordinary abilities (fantastic quartet style. that's right. I had just seen the film in the time, I think it influenced my creative process), and our protagonist gained one! he disintegrates anything with a touch, he has questionable control over the ability, and can also project it if he wants, like waves of pure destruction rushing through the air in whatever direction he leads it.

After that there is nerdy planning on computers, hacker stuff, invasion of a government building, attack on the oppressive forces that lead the country and things like that :)

ALL THIS WORK BELONGS TO ME, somestardeww, AND I DO NOT ALLOW COPYING, TRANSLATION OR THEFT OF MY WORK.

plus, you can create your own universe, let your imagination fly! <3

[relativelydimensional]

A List of BL for Connie (P2)

we're back baybeyyyy @ceieon has watched most of her first list so the time has come again for me and @bansheeeeeeeeeee to rec some stuff. As always you can watch these in (almost) any order connie so enjoy <3

After the introductory list we're going for a more specific criteria:

shows for the post-Bad Buddy blues

more mature pairings, found family vibes, acts of service, and pouty rich boys

and shows for your interview with a vampire comedown (aka messy and possibly supernatural shows).

1. A Tale of 1000 Stars (2021 , Thailand)

Okay so you loved bad buddy which means you NEED to watch 1000 stars because it's made my the same guy, P'Aof, who we love and cherish. This show is about Tian, a spoilt rich boy who lives life on the edge until he learns he has heart disease and gets a heart transplant. His donor is a lovely volunteer teacher called Torfun, who is a literal angel and died in a car accident (rip torfun). Overcome with survivors guilt, Tian moves out to the rural village Torfun was working in to continue her work. The village is on the border of Thailand and thus is vulnerable to danger from militia/criminals/arms traders/generally not nice people, and is under the care of the forest guard headed by Chief Phupha, who is ridiculously hot for no reason. This is all very hallmark movie tbh, with Tian escaping the pressure of the city to find himself in the countryside and also he and the chief are the only two hot people so obviously they have to get together. Their dynamic starts out as very antagonistic and banter-y, but it quickly shifts into soft territory. It's just a really lovely story about two people who have gone through a lot, and find a home in each other. The pairing, phutian, is more mature than patpran, and the chemistry between Earth and Mix is sooooo palpable it kinda hurts to witness it. FUCK ME this show is JUST SO GOOD. Also drake is here <3

If you want: rural escapism, hot men in uniform, the MOST steadfast and romantic love story ever told, love at first fight, mature MCs who like each other and are assured and confident in their relationship, shirtless product placement, the perfect amount of angst, knightley and emma vibes, and there was only one mosquito net, this is the show for you.

Number of Episodes: 10. Length of Episodes: 1 hour. Watch on YouTube or Viki (but it's less fun :(((( ) .

2. Where Your Eyes Linger (2020, Korea)

(Imagine me in an alleyway with a long trench coat beckoning you towards me). Hey kid,,,, i heard you like bodyguard AUs and power dynamics,,,,maybe a little codependency on the side? I've got a few for you but how about this one to start? Its short, its korean and goddamn does it hit.

Tae-Joo is a pouty rich boy with a knack for getting into trouble, Kang Gook is his stoic and repressed bodyguard who protects him from everything. They're codependant; they go to the same school, both do judo together, hell they sleep in the same bed! Don't question it, the tropes are truely tropeing in this show and thats all we care about. This show is truely a BL speedrun. All together the runtime is less than 90 minutes, we know hardly anything about these central characters but who cares they're compelling. Small warning for ear stuff.

If you want: repression, power dynamics, forced proximity, INSANE chemistry, codependency at its finest, jealousy, and a nice low commitment watch, this is the show for you.

Number of Episodes: 8. Episode Length: 10-15 min. Watch on Viki

3. Moonlight chicken (2023, Thailand)

Note: please watch 1000 stars before this (and give yourself a good amount of time/shows between them).

Moonlight Chicken was P'Aof's next show after bad buddy and BOY was it a good one. Departing from adapting pre-existing novels, this is an original story written specifically for the actors Earth and Mix (as well as for specific side actors too!). Set in post-covid tourist town Pataya, Moonlight Chicken is about Jim, the owner of a struggling diner which is famous for selling hainanese chicken rice. One night he meets Wen and they spend the night together. I know you're not a prude like me but just a warning these two fuck in part 1 of ep 1 and after 1000 stars it can be a shock to the system (also more ear stuff so a warning for that). As their relationship progresses we learn more about both of their messy past relationships and how those relationships have shaped them. It's predominantly character driven so it makes for really interesting drama and nuanced critiques of queer identity in thailand.

ALSO there's a lovely side love story between Li Ming (Jim's nephew) and Heart, a lonely kid who has recently become hard of hearing and isn't supported by his rich/able-bodied parents. These two are honestly the highlight for me, it's a really sweet and understated friendship turned romance. It's also quite nuanced in its exploration of disability and the lack of services for disabled people. I was so suprised by the actors Fourth and Gemini who are so young but literally carry this whole show on their backs?? Sensational. I also wanna give a special mention of First and Khaotung who both look so pretty when they cry <3 Also mark pakin is here.

If you want: sexy one night stand which turns into something more, a more mature couple who work through their past relationship baggage, found family, a MC who is the guardian (but not parent) of an angsty teen, a VERY WHOLESOME and soft side couple, good disability representation, yummy commentary on the experiences of queer people in Thailand, and the single most hysterical line in BL history "isn't it difficult enough being poor? and now you're gay?", this is the show for you.

Number of eps: 8. Episode length: 1 hour. Watch on YouTube

4. We Best Love: No. 1 For You (2021, Taiwan)

TAIWAN IS IN THE HOUSE BABY! I can't believe we haven't recced you a Taiwanese show yet....although no I can believe it because these guys don't mess around and their shows can be kinda full on. This is a nice starter though, nice and short with only 6 episodes, great tropes and chemistry that'll knock your socks off. The premise is simple – Zhao Shu Yi is another pouty rich boy who has been in a hearted one-sided rivalry with Gao Shi De who he HATES because he's always ranking second to him in school/sports. Gao Shi De on the other hand is in a one-sided unrequited situation with Shu Yi, and is only #1 in anything so his crush will notice him. When Shu Yi is heartbroken bc his two besties just got together and he had a crush on the girl, Shi De uses it as a prime opportunity to get closer with him....by blackmailing him into being his little servant around uni..... Because this show is Taiwanese it goes kinda hard with the manipulation and toxicity hahahah but trust its way less toxic than a lot of other BLs. Delicious tropes are everywhere in this one, and the rivalry aspect will certainly help heal the wounds left by bad buddy. Small warning for someone singing in ep 4.

If you want: academic rivals to lovers, power dynamics, forced proximity, jealousy, there was only one bed (actually it was two singles but they pushed them together), acts of service, a tsundere MC and a pining but confident love interest, silly fun times with a side order of toxicity, and a second season I deleted from my mind bc i hated it so much, this is the show for you.

Number of Episodes: 6. Length of Episodes: 23 min. Watch on kisskh

5. Our Dining Table (2023, Japan)

There has been a distinct lack of cosy japanese shows on this list so far and for that I am sorry. But let me offer you this soft domestic treat as a reward for your patience. Yutaka is a lonely introvert who has some family trauma. One day he's minding his own business eating his lunch in the park when a ridiculously cute child accosts him and eats his lunch. The kid's older brother/guardian is very apologetic but asks Yutaka to come back to teach him how to cook rice balls. Truely this concept could only happen in Japan where its apparently not dangerous to invite random dudes who give your kids rice balls in public parks over for dinner. Anyway this show is found family at its finest, soft and low stakes with cute characters and a nice slow burn. It's very reminiscent of other japanese shows, specifically cherry magic, where the introverted MC connects with his love interest but is also forced to connect with the lovely other people around him. Also idk where they found the little kid playing Tane because he just so chaotic and cute it makes me wanna scream.

If you want: found family, acts of service, domesticity, a shy MC coming out of their shell to their partner, a rough around the edges but fond love interest who is the guardian of a young child, youngest child trauma rep, a hot older dad, and the universal japanese BL love language of rice porridge, scarves, and tamagoyaki (japanese omelettes) this is the show for you.

Number of episodes: 10 + a special. Length of episodes: 23 min. Watch on KissKH or Billibilli.

6. Midnight Museum shut up its BL (2023, Thailand)

Between March and April of 2023 I was INSANE about this show, it was all i thought about, it was all i talked about, it was all i read about. It OWNED ME. The show is about Khatha, an immortal loser who literally can't use facetime bc he's such a grandpa, who runs a museum for cursed artefacts. He meets Dome, who mysteriously looks like Khatha's "brother"/lover/little bud from many centuries ago. Also every ep we're looking at a new artefact and also there's an evil cult that may or may not be related to Dome's lookalike. GOD, how do I even explain the plot to you? Half of this show is set in the eponymous museum but the other half is set on an asteroid??? Some of it is a period romance, and some of it is a detective show. THE christian god figures as a semi-major character? Everyone is hot but absolutely NOBODY is fucking its insane.

I'm going to be clear with you, this show is not good. Does the plot make sense? no. Is it well paced/written? Debatable. Is it acted out by some of gmmtv's best to such a sensational level you can't look away? YES. Give this one four eps and i promise you'll be as crazy as me, as soon as the monster of the week format dies down gmmtv pulls out all the stops. Nanon and Tay are personal faves throughout but Tor and Gun are also sensational in their acting and commitment to the queerbait. I think this could be a good one for the IWAV comedown because it's steeped in gothic homoeroticism and its supernatural too.

If you want: hot people, queerbait at its finest, supernatural lore that barely makes any sense, monster of the week turned conspiracy theory, proof that god himself wants to fuck Gun Attaphan, all your problematic faves, and evil Nanon Korapat tag teaming it with Gun in the olympic sport that is serving cunt, this is the show for you.

Number of episodes: 10. Episode Length: 46 min. Watch on YouTube

7. Only Friends (2023, Thailand)

You were there when we were watching this so I know you remember how insane we were when it was on. This show also covers the interview with a vampire comedown criteria in that it's full of sad and toxic gay people. This show is truely just a big old slutty mess and i enjoyed every second of it. plenty of yummy pairings, hot people and depending on what order you watch this list in some familiar faces too. Plot? It barely has one. But why is this some of the best written character focused tv ive watched?? Everyone has a fatal flaw and acts according to that. Mew is a virgin. Top is a manwhore. Boston is a sociopath. Nick is a literal criminal. Ray is a slutty alcoholic. Sand is into indie music. They may make bad choices but we understand why so it's not annoying. It's sensational and you simply cannot look away but for the love of god you will need to wear earphones. There's also some delightfully racy Drake based sex scenes and also a lesbian side couple who are the least problematic people here.

If you want: MESS, that one friend group where everyone's fucking, a demi MC that makes me feel so seen, a slutty sociopath manipulating everyone, the most wet and pathetic mark pakin you'll ever witness, more mess, serious breeches of privacy laws, ships that are so toxic you feel you shouldn't be rooting for them but the chemistry is too good, and lesbians that don't get indie films, this is the show for you.

Number of episodes: 12. Episode Length: 40 min. Watch on Youtube.

Bonus: Our Skyy 2: Bad Buddy x 1000 stars (2023)

If you're considering watching this rn I am assuming you watched 1000 stars (and loved it). I know you're gonna watch this anyway so I just want to make sure you're going in with enough context. So this is the second season of Our Skyy (the first of which came out in 2018). Our Skyy is an anthology series which is a collection of specials for preexisting GMMTV shows. It's essentially pure fanfic.....except it's made by the same people who made the original shows. It's fanfic-y because it never makes any sense, it routinely features silly plot points like body swaps, time travel, curses, magic babies, etc. The great thing about ourskyy is we get to see more of our faves, the other great thing is because it has such crack fanfic energy you can take it or leave it canon wise. Anyway you're in for a damn treat with this one because it's a crossover ep between patpran and phutian and i am FERAL.

If you want: pure fanfiction of our two fave p'aof pairings hanging out, fanservice upon fanservice, more secret dating and chaotic horniness from patpran, domestic disputes and petty banter from phutian, fix-it fic levels of CLOSURE for both couples, heaps of recreations of different scenes, fanboy patpran having gay crisises about meeting both Tian and Phu, and another rooftop scene which makes me SOB this is the show for you!

Number of Episodes: 4. Length of Episodes: 1 hour. Watch on YouTube.

[empressofthesunwriter]

Yin and Yang: Book 1.05

Balance is a key aspect in the world, so why shouldn’t the Avatar have an opposite?

In a world where Raava and Vaatu merge with humans, the Avatar and the Daimon try to keep the peace between the four nations.

Aang and Hua are the current incarnations, but wake up 100 years in the future.

How will these two learn all four elements in one year and defeat the Fire Lord?

Book 1.05: The King of Omashu

Water. 

Earth. 

Fire. 

Air. 

Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. 

Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar and Daimon, masters of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed them most, they vanished. 

A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar and Daimon, an airbender named Aang and an earthbender named Hua. 

And although his airbending and her earthbending skills are great they have a lot to learn before they’re ready to save anyone. 

But I believe Aang and Hua can save the world.

Hua felt her heart fill with joy, as she saw the familiar pyramide-like city of Omashu!

Oh, how she had longed to visit it again and see Bumi!

Sadly, she was 100 years too late.

Who knows what had happened to her, and Aang's, dear friend?

Of course, Jaiyi noted the solemn aura around her girl, so the nine-tailed fox snuggled against her legs, like a cat.

Thankful Hua reached down to give her trusty kyuubi a good rub between her ears.

Meanwhile, Aang presented the other Omashu in all her glory.

The Watertribe siblings were in awe since they had nothing similar in the South Pole.

"Wait, Aang!", calls Katara out to him, who was ready to just run into the city. "It could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar."

"You need a disguise.", added Sokka seriously.

"Why does Hua not need one?", the Avatar wondered.

"Maybe because I'm clearly Earth Kingdom and not an air nomad?", said Hua with a raised eyebrow. "No one would look at me and go: Aah, it's the legendary Daimon!"

Aang raised his finger as if he wanted to argue, then he frowned and put it down.

"Okay I see your point, but what I'm supposed to do? Grow a moustache?"

Oh, this gives Sokka an idea!

A few moments later Aang stands before them, wearing a wig and a large moustache made out of Appa fur.

Irretaited the last airbender scratches his head under the wig.

"Ugh. This is so itchy. How do you live in this stuff?", asked Aang his flying bison.

Appa slowly turns his head toward Aang and snorts at him as if he were scoffing.

"Great! Now you look just like my grandfather.", praises Sokka, happy how his idea worked.

"Technically, Aang is 112 years old.", reminds Katara.

"Just like me.", nods Hua in agreement and fixes her low-side ponytail. "I'm just glad I still look young. Would be really traumatic to wake up one day and be turned into an old lady."

Nimbly Aang kicks up his staff and spins it rapidly around before placing it upright on the ground to be used as a walking stick. 

He hunches his back and leans heavily on his staff like an old person.

"Now let's get to skippin', young whipper-snappers.", he says to them in his best grandfather voice. "The big city awaits!"

The Avatar shuffles towards Omashu, while the others stare at him.

At least he played his role.

So they followed behind him.

Appa and Jaiyi stayed behind. 

Since kyuubi’s seemed to be extinct and people know the Daimon had one, it was for now better to leave her with Appa.

As they are nearly at the gates of Omashu Aang tells the new visitors: "You guys are going to love Omashu. The people here are the friendliest in the world."

It's like the universe wants to prove him wrong because a guard doesn't let a cabbage saler into the city, telling the poor man, how his products are rotten and earthbends the cart off the bridge.

Team Avatar-Daimon just looks on in shock.

Exspecially Aang and Hua.

They didn't remember Omashu being so strict!

"Just keep smiling.", advises Aang his friends nervously.

"Smile and wave, guys, smile and wave!", mubles Hua, as they walk towards the entrance.

The earthbender guard steps to the front and raises a boulder out of the ground before Aang and levitates it above his head.

"State your business!", he growls aggressively.

Quickly the disguised Avatar runs from underneath the boulder and toward the guard; he halts right in front of the surprised man.

"My business is my business, young man!", scolds Aang the earthbender in his grandfather voice, poking his chest. "And none of yours!"

This surprises the guard so much, that he lets the boulder drop beside the water tribe siblings and Hua, who just look on in total disbelief at what Aang is doing.

He is either really brave or utterly stupid!

"I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!", continues Aang his spiel.

Strangely it works on the guard, who pleads the fake old man to calm down and just tell him who he is.

"Name's Bonzu Pippinpaddleopsicopolis, the Third, and these are my grandkids."

Smiling and waving, Katara and Hua step beside their "grandfather".

"Hi. June Pippinpaddleopsicopolis.", introduces Katara herself.

"And I'm April Pippinpaddleopsicopolis.", says Hua.

"Nice to meet you.", choruse the girls together.

Pensively rubbing his beard, the guard eyed the two children and one old man before him, before he pointed at Katara and Hua.

Or June and April apparently.

"You seem like responsible young ladies. See that your grandfather stays out of trouble. Enjoy Omashu!"

The guard steps aside and motions at the city's entrance.

"We will!", promises Katara, while Hua nods.

"Of course, sir."

Team Avatar-Daimon starts to pass the gate to Omashu, before nearly having a heart attack because the guard seems mistrusting of Sokka, only to reveal that he thinks Sokka should show his "grandfather" some respect and carry his bag.

Bonzu aka. Aang doesn't waste a moment and throws his bag at Sokka. The bag bounces off his head to drop into his arms. 

Sokka shoots Aang an annoyed glare over his shoulder.

The quartet stands before a big Earth Kingdom emblem on the wall before them. 

Then the giant earthen wall splits open in the middle of the emblem, opening up to let any passengers through. 

The guard opens up the gate walls. 

As the first wall slides open, a second and third are bent aside as well. 

Katara and Sokka watch in awe at the spectacle while Aang and Hua are smiling behind them. 

They walk through as the walls already start to move again to close right after them. 

100 years may have passed, but Omashu was still as beautiful as Hua remembers.

It was comforting.

"This is the Omashu delivery system.", explains Aang in his normal voice to Sokka and Katara the intricate system of chutes. "Miles and miles of tubes and chutes."

They watch as four earthbenders stand beside a platform where one earthen cart slides out and another one filled with vegetables comes into view. 

As the cart passes one earthbender, he uses his bending to change the cart's direction and pushes it to the front, where another earthbender bends it up a tube to two other earthbenders standing at the ready to receive it. 

One earthbender quickly bends stone lintels underneath the cart so it would not fall down again, while the other one thrusts it off the platform, where it slides down a chute at high speed.

"Earthbending brings the packages up, and gravity brings them down."

Unimpressed Sokka states: "Great, so they get their mail on time."

"They do get their mail on time, but my friend Bumi found a better use for these chutes.", tells them Aang with mischief in his eyes.

Hua can't help but laugh as she remembers.

"Oh, this was an adventure."

***

Hua was so glad that the monks allowed them to leave the Southern Air Temple for a while to visit Aang's friend Bumi in Omashu.

It was her first time in Omashu and the Daimon was enthralled by the beauty of the city.

She loved Ba Sing Se, it was her home, but Omashu had something special about her.

So while Monk Gyatsu enjoyed some tea with Bumi's parents, the three kids were walking around the city.

Since it was Hua's first time here, Bumi wanted to give her a sightseeing tour.

The young girl had to admit, that even if Bumi had a crazy look in his eyes, he was super nice to her and threatened her like she was an old friend.

Their friendly earthbending spare had helped also. 

Bumi had shown her some new cool bending moves, which she was thankful for.

Currently, they were on one of the many panoramic views points of Omashu, looking down at the city and her mail system.

"Look around you! What do you see?", asked Bumi with excitement in his voice.

"Um ... The mail system?", answered Aang unsure.

"Instead of seeing what they want you to see, you got to open your brain to the possibilities.", lectured the redhead.

 "A package-sending system?", tried Hua her luck.

What was Bumi getting at?

"The world's greatest superslide!", revealed Bumi cheerfully.

For a few seconds, Hua and Aang stared at their friend, before realizing, he was indeed right!

"Bumi, you're a mad genius!", declared Aang.

Bumi made his odd snort-laugh and the three friends rode the mail system like a crazy rollercoaster.

It was one of the funniest afternoons Hua had in her entire life!

***

Now, 100 years back in the present, find Aang and Hua with the water tribe siblings sitting in a mail cart, ready to again enjoy the wild ride the mail system has to offer.

The Avatar and Daimon are full-out excited, while the siblings look around them, unsure and slightly frightened.

"One ride. Then we're off to the North Pole. Airbender's honor."

"And earthbender's honour.", adds Hua.

Katara is telling them their second thoughts about all this, but it's already too late as Aang and Hua lean forward, making the mailcart race down the slope at a tremendous speed!

Momo, who has been hiding in Aang's wig the entire time, hold on tight to his master's head, chittering away.

Aang and Hua shout happily, Hua even raises her arms up in the air!

Sokka and Katara just pray that this ride is over soon, both are seeing their life pass before their eyes!

The chute they are riding pulls up next to a parallel one, where a cart with a rack of six spears is racing down. 

They pull up next to the cart with the spears and they all stare at it, no one making a sound. 

They race past it and both tracks join together. 

Sokka and Katara scream as the two chutes merge into one chute with the spear-cart behind them, but quickly gaining. 

Sokka hears it coming and turns around. He gasps and ducks just in time to avoid being skewered by the spears. 

Katara turns around and screams in fear as she sees the weapons so close. 

Aang, smiling excitedly, and Hua turns as well to see what the commotion is all about.

"I'm on it!", yells Aang.

The Avatar begins to rock the cart. 

Hitting each side once, the cart flies out of the chute and onto a roof, where it continues its descent.

They smash into what seems to be the middle of soldiers and warriors going off to war, which shocked the Omashu forces before they descended down further.

The cart with the quartet and one lemure breaks through the railing closing off the other chute and crosses the track, knocking over one of the supply carts, spilling a load of pumpkins all over the ground. 

The knocked-over cart lies on the track, where another incoming cart crashes into it.

The waterbender yells at Aang to use his airbending to avoid a crash, however, he thinks it's about to make the cart faster.

Whatever, he uses his airbending and they pass by a restaurant, where a couple is eating together. 

The couple looks up in surprise at the kids flashing by while the waiter dashes over to see what is going on. 

An earthbender soldier is waiting for the arrival of the next cart. As a cart of scrolls stops in front of him, the cart with the Team Avatar-Daimon flies down an incredibly steep slope. 

As the slope flattens out, the kids cry out in alarm as they are moments from colliding with the motionless cart in front of the bender. 

The earthbender on duty at that station sends it on its way, briefly relieving the quartet of the speeding cart. 

Much to the riders' horror, another cart instantly pops up from the tube below the bender. 

Before it can be moved, the kids' cart crashes into it, catapulting them and their cart into the air, high above a lower level of the city. 

Aang airbends the cart in front of them as they fall, making them drop back into the cart. 

The kids ride down several roofs, leaving damaged tiles in their wake. The cart flies through one window, ricochets off of the floor where a big vase is, smashing it and making the riders grunt, and flying out the window opposite. 

The craftsman peers out the ruined window as a dust cloud emerges, revealing that the cart has crashed against something else.

They land on a balcony and slide through another house. 

Emerging on the other side, a bearded cat chases Momo around Aang's wig until the lemur pushes it off. 

The cart smashes through a parapet and drops vertically out of sight. 

Their ride ends drastically as they smash against a cabbage cart.

Aang, Hua, Katara, and Sokka are in a tangled heap by the remains, while Momo elegantly floats down.

"My cabbages!", screams the cabbage merchant in outrage. "You're gonna pay for this!"

Guards walk up, surrounding the still-dazed kids. 

Aang is the first to sit up, his disguise pretty much gone, revealing his youthful face and airbending arrow.

"Two cabbages please.", says Aang sheepish, to make light of the situation.

Yeah, it doesn't help at all.

They get dragged to the ruler/king of Omashu, to be the judge about their property destruction.

The cabbage merchant demands that they get beheaded for his precious cabbages!

If Hua did not try her hardest to look apologetic and sweet to the king, she would ask the cabbage merchant if he was right in the head.

No cabbages destruction justifies a beheading.

The king of Omashu stares at them, he has a kind of crazy aura around him before he declares that they should throw a feast for Team Avatar-Daimon.

Not only are the kids shocked, but everyone from the guard to the cabbage merchant is.

This is how Team Avatar-Daimon finds themselves sitting on a rich table, filled with a lot of tasty food and the king of Omashu as their host.

It was so crazy, that Hua thought, she hit her head during their impro rollercoaster ride and was dreaming this all up.

But pinching herself didn't wake her up, so it was all real.

"The people in my city have gotten fat from too many feasts.", tells the King, leaning over Aang's chair, grabbing the chicken leg that is on his plate, holding it in front of him. "So I hope you like your chicken with no skin."

"Thanks, but I don't eat meat.", explains Aang.

 "How about you? I bet you like meat.", asks the king, who stuffs the chicken into Sokka's mouth, who eats it appreciatively and walks over to his own seat.

"Is it just me, or is this guy's crown a little crooked?", whisper-shouts Katara to Hua and Aang.

"No I'm with you.", agrees Hua. "I noted it too."

"So tell me, young bald one, where are you from?", wants the king to know.

"I'm from ... Kangaroo Island!"

"Oh, Kangaroo Island, eh? I hear that place is really hopping!"

A moment of silence occurs, and someone coughs. 

The four children looked straight at the king with blank faces.

Suddenly Sokka bursts out laughing. 

Katara, Hua and Aang look at him, still with a blank expression.

"What? It was pretty funny.", mumbles Sokka defensively.

"Well, all these good jokes are making me tired. Guess it's time to hit the hay.", yawns the king tired.

The king eyes them with a weird expression as he leans to the left on his chair. 

Out of nowhere, he hurls a chicken leg at them. 

The meat flies through the air as Aang nearly tumbles off his chair in reflex of catching the chicken leg in a small airball. 

The guards gasped in surprise. 

Uh-Oh!

"There's an airbender in our presence, and not just any airbender. The Avatar! And the Earth Kingdom girl is surely the Daimon!", announced the King in triumph.

Oh spirits!

"Now, what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. and Miss Pippinpaddleopsicopolis?"

What should they do now?

Aang and Hua looked at each other, hoping the other had an idea of what to do.

The Avatar mouthed: Follow my lead, before he stood up from his chair, raising his hands into the air.

Hua mimics him.

She hoped he knew what to do.

"Okay, you caught me.", said Aang. " I'm the Avatar and she is the Daimon."

If they had discussed this spiel before Hau continued: "Yeah, you know Doing our Daimon/Avatar thing, keeping the world safe. Everything checks out."

"No firebenders here."

"None there."

"So, good work, everybody!", chorused the Avatar-Daimon due together.

Each wrapped an arm around one of the water tribe siblings, Aang with Sokka and Hue with Katara.

Slowly they all walked backwards, in hopes they could just leave.

"Love each other.", told Hua.

"Respect all life.", advised Aang.

"And don't run with your spears. We'll see you next time!", they said as one again.

As they near the guards at the exit door, the two men cross their spears, effectively blocking their paths.

Of course, it wouldn't be that easy!

Damn it!

"You can't keep us here!", shouted Katara. "Let us leave!"

Unimpressed the king waved around with a lettuce leaf.

"Lettuce leaf?"

Then he took a bite out of it.

"We're in serious trouble. This guy is nuts.", whisper-shouted Sokka to the others.

"Tomorrow, the Avatar and Daimon will each face a deadly challenge and then together a final one.", decided the king for them. "But for now, the guards will show you to your chamber."

One of his guards leaned towards the mad king and asked him in which chamber they should put Team Avatar-Daimon.

They got a bit back in forth because the bad chamber was newly renovated before it was made clear that the king wanted them there.

Not having a choice the kids followed the guards and were brought into the chapter.

It was a nice room, with four comfy-looking beds, only no windows and doors.

"This is a prison cell? But it's so nice.", said Katara astonished.

Momo was the first to jump in one of the beds before the others each chose one to sit down.

"He did say it was newly refurbished.", reminds Aang.

"Nice or not, we're prisoners!", pointed Sokka out.

"I wonder what these challenges are going to be.", though Hua out loud worried. "That guy is so crooked, it could be anything."

Katara stated that they shouldn't stay put to wait it out. 

She asked Hua if she just could earthbend them out of the room, but the Daimon was pretty sure there were guards around them. Even if they got out, they would sure get apprehended.

Aang had then the idea of using the air vents, showing Momo into it and asking him to get Appa and Jaiyi.

Sokka wondered what this should bring them, as Aang explained how Appa was ten-ton flying bison and Jaiyi could turn into a big, fighting Kyuubi, they surely would break them out somehow.

Sadly Momo seems stuck.

Well, so much for that.

The waterbender advises all to go to sleep, especially Aang and Hua since they have to face these challenges of the king.

It's not like they had another choice.

So all called it a night and got to sleep.

***

The next morning Hua gets woken up, by Aang who is shaking her awake.

"Huh, what? What's up?", mumbles the Daimon sleepy, rubbing her eyes.

"Hua, wake up! Katara and Sokka are gone!", shouts Aang worried.

This wakes Hua up fully.

Frantically she scans the room.

Indeed!

Their friends are gone!

"What's going on?", she aks Aang.

He shrugs his shoulder, being lost too.

"I don't know."

"If you two are ready now.", calls a guard over from a created passage. "The king will free your friends if you complete your challenges."

Together Aang and Hua face the guard.

Rightfully Aang ask what happens if they fail. The guard has no idea and asks in turn for Aang staff.

Reluctantly the Avatar hands it over.

With a tiny escort of guards Hua and Aang are brought into the throne room, where the mad king is already waiting for them.

"First, Avatar and Daimon, what do you think of my new outfit? I want your honest opinions.", this is the first thing the kings say to them.

Erm, what?

Hua blinks blankly, while Aang just stares blankly.

Someone coughs again.

"I'm waiting."

"I ... guess it's fine.", tells him Aang, scratching his head.

"It's a nice colour.", adds Hua, crossing her arms.

"Excellent! You passed your first tests."

"Really?", choruse the Avatar and Daimon together.

"Well, not one of the deadly tests.", the mad king waves his finger from side to side, emphasizing his words. "The real challenges are much more, uh, challenging."

Having enough of this crazy king's mind games Aang and Hua run up to him, demanding that he hand over Katara and Sokka since they are leaving.

To the misfortune of Team Avatar-Daimon, the king is much more cunning. He expected that they wouldn't cooperate, so he "gifted" the water tribe siblings each with a jennamite ring, also known as creeping crystal. 

It's a crystal that grows remarkably fast.

By nightfall, their friends will be completely covered in it.

The king could stop it, but would only do so if Aang and Hua played his games.

Left with no choice, they agreed.

All to save their friends.

So they followed the king to Aang's first task, a cave filled with stalagmites and stalactites and a waterfall.

A key hangs from the ceiling and a ladder is also there.

Aang's task seems simple, fetch the king the key to his lunchbox, however, the waterfall is so strong that he doesn't have a chance to grab it just.

After he cut with his airbending a stalactite and used it as a spear to fetch the key, he can give it to the king.

Now it's Hua's turn.

They are now a large sunken enclosure in a new room.

The kings ask Hua to fetch him his pet Flopsie.

So Hua looks around and finds a cute lop-eared bunny.

"I found him.", she calls over to the king.

"Bring him to me. Daddy wants a kiss from Flopsie!"

Slowly to not startle the bunny Hua walks towards him, when suddenly something lands behind her, scaring the bunny away.

"Flopsie, wait!", she calls to the bunny, as she hears the loud huff of an animal.

She turns around and sees a huge goat gorilla.

"Oh spirits!"

Goat Gorilla chases now her, while she tries to get Flopsie.

After a few minutes of running around, the Daimon notes, how the goat gorilla seems always to stop when she calls for Flopsie.

Could it be...?

Testing her theory she turns to the goat gorilla addressing him with Flopsie.

It seems she was indeed right.

Flopsie turns out to be the goat gorilla, who picks her up and licks her cheek, before running to the mad king, getting a belly rub.

So she passed her test also and now it's the final one, Aang and her have to take it together.

They are now in an earthbending arena on a balcony, while the nearly fully enclosed water tribe siblings are on another with a guard.

"Your final test is a duel. You fight together as a team. And as a special treat, you may choose your opponent.", explains the mad king.

Two tough-looking men come out, standing next to the king. Aang and Hua look at them uncertainly.

"Point and choose."

"So ... you're saying whoever we point to, that's the person we get to fight?", wants Aang to make sure.

"Choose wisely!"

Hua and Aang look for a second and each other before they point at the mad king.

"We choose you!"

This makes the mad king cackel.

"Wrong choice!"

The king straightens up and removes his outer robe, proving himself to be a powerfully built old man!

Oh no, this was just their luck!

He earthbends Aang and Hua off of the balcony, making them fly into the arena. 

The king jumps down right in front of them and still laughing.

"You thought I was a frail old man, but I'm the most powerful earthbender you'll ever see."

"Can we fight the guy with the axe instead?", pleads Aang with Hua rapidly nodding in agreement.

"There are no take-backsies in my kingdom.", makes the king clear, before telling the guard, who has Aang staff, to throw it to the Avatar.

The fight is on!

Hua bends a stone wall before her, while Aang avoids the rocks the king launches at them.

"Typical airbender tactic: avoid and evade. And typical earthbender: endure and not back down.", musses the king. "I hoped the Avatar and Daimon would be less predictable."

He keeps attacking them with flying rocks, as the two young benders stay with their tactics.

It was going nowhere like this.

"Aang!", calls Hua over. "Let's try to attack together, we can't just avoid."

"Finally trying something new, he?", musses the mad king, still happily throwing big boulders at them.

Hua bends a huge earth avalanche and surfs on top of it towards Aang.

"What is your idea?", shouts Aang, jumping away from a boulder, that would have knocked him down.

"I will attack with my earthbending when you see an opening strike!"

"At least you kids seem to work together.", chuckles the king.

He sends a huge earth plate towards Hua, who counters with her own, then she twirls around like she had Katara see with water and sends a stream of rocks towards him.

A bit surprised the king stops the rocks, while Aang jumps over Hua and his head to be behind him.

The Avatar raises his staff and air blasts him towards Hua.

She sends a huge boulder towards the king.

He can break it, but now is surrendered by Hua and Aang. 

The avatar holding his staff against the back of the neck, while the Daimon is ready to smack his face in with a boulder.

This makes the king chuckle again, but this time it's quite friendly.

"Nice teamwork, like an Avatar and Daimon should have."

He bends up to the balcony where the two water tribe siblings are almost completely encased. 

Aang and Hua join him.

"You've passed all my tests. Now, you must answer one question.", says the king.

The Avatar and Daimon protest, reminding him that he promised to release Katara and Sokka when they passed their test.

He just tells them what are tests if they don't learn anything.

So he asks them a simple question.

What is his name?

Leaving the Avatar and Daimon with their friends, the mad king would wait for them in the throne room, when they had the answer.

Frantically Team Avatar-Daimon brainstorms his name.

Sokka bets his name is Rocky, because earthbender=rocks.

Katara says they will keep it in mind and ask Aang and Hua what they learned during their task.

The answer was there.

Both admin how it wasn't what it seemed at first and they had to think differently than normal.

Like lightning struck them, they have the answer!

***

They are all back in the Throne Room, as Hua begins: "We solved the question the same way we solved the challenges."

"As you said a long time ago, we had to open our brains to the possibilities.", continues Aang.

The king lets out a familiar weird snort-laugh, which brings happy tears to Aang and Hua's eyes.

"Bumi, you're a mad genius.", choruse the Avatar and Daimon together.

With tears and happy shouts, they ran up to their old dear friend, who was now an old man.

The three hug each other tightly.

Happy to be finally reunited.

"Oh Aang, Hua, it's good to see you two. You haven't changed a bit. Literally.", states Bumi and you hear the emotions in his voice.

He had thought long ago, that he had lost both his dearest friends at the same time.

Never in his long life, he guessed he would see them again.

Their happy reunion has to stop because Katara and Sokka are nearly engulfed by the crystal. Bumi breaks the crystals using earthbending, making pieces fly everywhere. 

He catches one of them.

"Jennamite is made of rock candy. Delicious!"

"So this crazy king is your old friend Bumi?", ask Katara to be sure.

This guy had a weird way to welcome back his old friends in his life.

"Who are you calling old?", grumbles Bumi. All just stare at him. "Okay, I'm old."

"Why did you do all of this instead of just telling Aang and Hua who you were?", wonders Sokka.

"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people.", snorts Bumi before he turns serious to Aang and Hua. "But I do have a reason. Aang and Hua, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years that you've been gone. It's the Avatar and Daimon's duty to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord. And when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius. And it looks like you're in good hands. You'll need your friends to help you defeat the Fire Nation."

Momo joins them, by climbing Aang's shoulder.

Bumi laughs.

"And you'll need Momo, too."

"Thank you for your wisdom.", exclaim Aang and Hua together.

"But before we leave, I have a challenge for you."

"I think, I know what Aang is getting at and I'm fully supporting it."

The king blinks.

Sometime later the habitats of Omashu see their beloved and crazy king Bumi ride the mail system with the Avatar and Daimon.

The three having fun, just like old times.

Time may have passed, but the three would always be friends.

They knew it in their hearts.

Previous

Next

[lunar-years]

Re: that ask about Jamie being a team player under Pep and your answer - it's actually not that new, referencing Pep, which is the weird part. The team notes from season 1, the stuff the writers gave Arlo White to make his "cheat sheets" for the season 1 finale match where Jamie makes that extra pass? They list Pep as the manager, and Ted and Jamie both mention him in their interviews in the episode as well. So when giving Jamie that extra pass moment, they did it with full concurrent awareness, in writing the season 1 finale, that Pep was Jamie's manager. Creating a fictional manager was never going to happen- Sudeikis is a big Pep fan, and obviously the show's production had to have struck up a good deal with Man City to feature them so much before they had rights to other teams, so they tend to show the team in a positive light even if they're Richmond's adversary. Anyway my point is, Pep as Jamie's coach isn't retrofitted or retroactive, rather, they knew Pep was Jamie's coach even when they had Jamie make that extra pass. So it IS a weird hole they've dug, because they're never going to claim Ted is a better coach than Pep (not only tactic wise but personally/how he treats players, he is beloved) but the implications of that about Jamie's career are very weird in that regard! But they've known it all along, and I can't imagine they don't consider the impact of it on Jamie given the way Sudeikis has talked about Pep before and also given how much backstory they've been said to have imagined, like how much Sudeikis apparently thinks about what informs all these characters. Theyve painted themselves into a corner where the text of the show confirms that Pep informs Jamie massively. Which I personally enjoy, but does detract from Ted's alleged influence on Jamie which I frankly have never massively cared about anyway. I much prefer Pep 😂. I do think they absolutely know Jamie was a small fish in a big pond at City and things changed for him at Richmond - he was top dog for the first time ever there, is what I think they were going for. But maybe we will learn more when they play City away.

Okay I know this was so not the point of your ask so sorry for the pivot lol but how on earth did the show convince the irl West Ham to agree to having their club portrayed on the show as the evil Rupert Mannion run Star Wars Death Star club ??? how do the West Ham fans feel about this? lmao.

To address your actual ask I just feel like they included Pep without thinking it through, because the narratives of what they're trying to do with Ted and what can be reasonably inferred about Jamie's backstory with Man City just are not adding up for me, lol. Definitely agree they're not going for "Ted is better than actual irl coaches," but they're certainly trying to portray that Ted was the exact right person for this particular group of guys at the particular time he landed in their lives. I do think they want us to believe there's something special about Ted that cultivated the team's success in a way other coaches couldn't have done in those particular circumstances of what Richmond was at that time. (And yeah it doesn't necessarily make much sense, but I just suspend my belief on that bit, because what about a goofy Kansas man with no prior knowledge of football and seemingly little desire to dig into it further leading a professional football team to victory does? )

wait edited to add: I also think you're 100% right about Jamie being a small fish in a big pond at City and things changing for him at Richmond in that it was the first time he was really in the position of being the best. Definitely!!! And that is such a good point. There were really excellent tags on a reblog of that last ask that were basically paralleling Jamie to Nate in that it's how you treat people who are powerless when you're in a position above them (whether that be actual authority or, like Jamie, just being the best player on the team) that is most telling.

[mcsquared789]

Iron Man: War Machine (fic preview)

The end of the cargo hold slowly began to open into the bright, starless night sky. Stark slowly walked forward until he reached the edge, buffeted by a heavy wind… and looked down onto Queens.

And the large expanse below him, Flushing Meadows — home of the new Stark Expo. Fireworks were already going off from below, lighting up the entire carnival like it was a sideshow from Vegas. Every light illuminated the beautiful Unisphere, the stainless steel Earth at the center that once hosted a world fair, and now would host another. And ringing it were the towns, trees and national parks and complexes of his neighboring home, all bathed in a patchwork of lights that speckled the eye.

This large and beautiful megapolis was filled with other businesses and corporations far bigger than his own… but for one month only, the center of this city belonged only to Stark Industries.

And strangely, now that Stark was clear-headed… he felt a burst of confidence, the breeze reinvigorating him, refilling the wind in his sails. Thousands were looking for him down below in the wings of the central stage. He couldn't keep them waiting; it was opening night. What better way to make an entrance, than from above?

Flying high. Burning out. Coming in hot.

Pepper came up from behind and walked up next to him, daunted at the height and sheer scale of what they had created — together. She grabbed his helmet with both hands nervously, as her hair freely flowed in the wind.

Stark turned to her, looking for words to say. "I'm — I'm sorry, Pepper." He had to speak over the noise of the jet engine.

"It's okay," Pepper raised her voice. "Just —"

"I know I can be selfish sometimes," Stark interrupted. "And I know I don't say it enough, but, uh…" he faltered, as Pepper squinted at him. "How's my hair?"

"You've said that before."

"Er…" Stark grinned. He didn't remember that. "Yes, but I mean it this time. Is it piece-y enough, or do I need more product?" He shrugged. "Or do you like the wind-blown look?"

Pepper's face betrayed the hint of a smile. She bit her lip. "You definitely look better than you did a few minutes ago."

"Good," Stark nodded. "Now, please give me a smooch for good luck. I might not make it back, this is… some heavy stuff."

"You just puked," Pepper wrinkled her nose. "Couldn't you have asked me that at any other time?"

"Okay, then how about on the cheek?"

Pepper seemed to think about it. Then, she took the helmet… and kissed it on the small crack that looked like a mouth. She then tossed it out of the plane.

"Go get them, boss," She winked at Stark.

He just snorted. "You complete me." And with a deep breath, he threw himself from the plane.

Diving out headfirst — taking a swan dive into the city.

Immediately, Stark wished he had gotten some protective goggles. The wind was blowing him at mach speed. Oh well.

Trying to ignore the lights, he fell with his arms and legs spread wide. Coming right up at him was the helmet, which he extended his hands for to grab from the air, missing once, twice —

And he snatched it, before shoving it onto his head and connecting the single cable from it into a small outlet in the neck of his suit. He had practiced it hundreds of times before when he had tried falling in previous tests, as well as learning the training protocol for what to do when you didn't have one. The bells and whistles he had integrated had all been crucial to help Stark fight against his foes in terrorist regions… but his helmet was by far the most essential.

And, he thought happily as his HUD activated, blocking out the noise. It also has my most important asset. "JARVIS?"

"Yes, sir?"

Stark had missed his AI's sweet dulcet tones. He grinned. "Good to hear from you, buddy. Activate boots now — and play me AC/DC. Shoot to Thrill."

"Of course, sir."

Stark swore he heard amusement in the JARVIS's tone —but then again, JARVIS had inadvertently become his closest confidant over the last month. After weeks of listening to almost nothing but it, he had just kind of learned to accept him that way.

An electric guitar started to serenade his ears, as the repulsors kicked in. Soon, Brian Johnson was screaming his way into his heart at max volume, as he blasted down towards ground zero — the fireworks trailing off past him, leaving a cloud trail in the sky. Stark whooped as he soared, spinning like a bottle rocket.

Soon — right on time, he saw blank missiles coming straight at him. A little loan from Rhodey. An excellent chance for him to flex his training from above… but of course, they were not explosive. On the contrary, relatively safe and harmless — he expertly dodged one of them just by adjusting his left repulsor and careening off, and it burst into a smoke cloud.

Hell, yeah. Flying high.

Stark attempt to focus on the music, bopping his head to the guitar. "Shoot to thrill, play to kill," he mumbled under his breath. "Too many women with too many pills…" And he trailed off there. He was just going to ignore that last line… instead he soared off from the right, dodging another missile.

His hands shook a little, trying to control the repulsors as he dodged another. And another. And another.

BOOM, BOOM, POOF! They all went off in his wake. It was not particularly impressive from up here, but no doubt the people in the building were noticing something. And if he was lucky, the hole in the roof would be opening up now.

Burning out.

WHOOSH! He swooped past another missile, and started to accelerate towards the finish line. The roof was just below him — he only had to hit the bullseye.

"Shoot to thrill, play to kill," his voice grew louder. "I got my gun ready, gonna fire at will… Thanks for helping, JARVIS."

"My pleasure, sir."

Coming in hot, he told himself. Get ready for the superhero landing!

He dove in through the hole — through sheets of rafters and stagecraft machinery.

CLANG. He struck the podium, fully crouched. His suit absorbed the blow, vibrating him a little — little cracks under the boots as the repulsors cut off. And he got to his feet and opened his arms for the crowd.

And everyone cheered for him — hundreds of people littering the stadium and the stage he stood on. All the spotlights turned to him, as hot jets of fire erupted from behind, heating up the back of his suit. FOOSH! Golden confetti rained from above, littering the crowd as they raised their arms to catch it — a crowd, of which Stark could see many wearing high-quality Iron Man brand masks and related apparel. His marketing team had truly come in clutch.

He turned behind him, expecting — and there they were, coming from the side of the stage. A chorus line of beautiful backup dancers, reminiscent of those from the Captain America days. They hurriedly came into a row, interlinked their hands and started kicking their legs out at the audience: wearing only the skimpiest of suits that resembled his armor, glowing white torchlights on their chest to resemble the arc reactor Then, Stark laughed mirthlessly to himself as he saw them break into a conjoined dance — and on the projector screen behind him, an image of the waving American flag.

He had come up with this idea many moons ago. Coincidentally, not long after the Army had started filing lawsuits against him for not disclosing his Iron Man suit patent. He figured since he was doing their job for him, he might as well have had some fun with it… so the only other pointers he had given his team was to make sure the women maintained their shit-eating grins.

He considered this a wild success. Was it petty? Yes. Would it also make them look stupider than they already were? Also yes. To that end, he was definitely later going to give everyone in marketing a bonus salary.

"Alright," he muttered as he turned back to the crowd. "Get me out of this thing, why don't you?"

"Of course." The circular stage started to turn, as robot arms started to come up out of the ground and disassemble his suit — unscrewing and taking each repulsor off safely, followed by the legs, the chest and torso pieces — and his helmet, allowing him blink out at his audience. He was visually assaulted by the camera flashes, the LED billboards, and the screaming of both women and men who had a… uh, unnatural obsession with him.

Ignoring these people, he stepped to the side of the stage in his proper and prim suit. The robot arms sunk back below the podium with the pieces it had taken, and closed — allowing him to step back to where he had stood. It was there that he looked out from the stage, while the chorus line spun and twirled in the back.

He let out a bow… and he noticed his lapel. There was a speck of blood on it.

He just rubbed it off, and tucked it in as he rose. Trying to keep a great smile for the audience, as he was preferable to no one seeing that. Everyone was having a great time already, and… he wanted it to stay that way.

People can talk about it after I'm gone. Otherwise, it's too depressing.

Clearing his throat, he extended his arms again — and looked out to the world.

"Welcome… to the Stark Expo!"

[imbiowaresbitch]

Sounds Like Forever

Hello! Welcome to another Destiel fic ‘cause I’m never going to escape these idjits, and I don’t want to. Rating: Explicit

Words: 13088

Author’s Notes:  What started as a hilarious meme of a mug making an accidental announcement turned into something kinda angsty, a little violent, very fluff, and just a bit horny (okay, more than a bit). That said, please mind the tags about domestic violence and abuse. If you're not in the right headspace to read this one, pass it by. Above all, be kind to yourselves.

~~

Summary:

Cas started dating April Kelly to try to get over his feelings for his best friend, Dean. But she is both volatile and violent, and after five months, he's had enough. When an apology gift she forces on him makes an unexpected, unwanted announcement, Cas panics. Her reaction to being dumped is explosive, and Cas calls the person he trusts most for help.

~~

Excerpt:

Cas wasn't ordinarily the type to bring his work home with him. In his previous jobs, he'd always believed in a strong sense of work-life balance. Once he went into business for himself though, well, he couldn't help it.

Rescuing plants and trees that would otherwise die was gratifying. Hardly the same as bringing home paperwork as an accountant.

He set his new plants on the counter and collected a shallow tray, filling it with water. He set it on the rolling rack he had near the window, then put his new plants in to soak up some water on their own. He looked at the cracked earth and frowned.

The supplier's quality had fallen off, and he'd bought these three plants himself and brought them home to coax them back to health rather than try to sell them to anyone. Glancing around his dining room, he sighed happily. There was green everywhere. Spider plants and ivy, jade, as well as two temperamental African violets under glass bells to keep them warmer and hold in moisture better, a sickly orchid a little apart from the others while he figured out why the petals were spotted brown. There was a variegated philodendron draping its healthy, shiny leaves from a hanging basket in splashes of green and white, and a royal princess philodendron sat on the floor in its enormous pot, the huge leaves a mix of green and pink.

Sitting on the window sill were a trio of cacti, a few other succulents, and a giant aloe vera plant he'd coaxed from a small, damaged thing to this monstrosity over the years. Further over was a collection of herbs, and he eyed the flourishing basil hungrily, wondering if he had the ingredients in his pantry to make pesto.

Grinning at his new additions, Cas adjusted them in their tray to make sure they were getting the sun they needed and snapped a picture. He posted it on Instagram, then went back to the kitchen to clean up the bit of dirt that had spilled when he re-potted his new arrivals.

He felt his phone vibrate and pulled it from his pocket again, grinning as he saw the notification was a text from Dean. His best friend followed him on Instagram but didn't really use it. And yet he was always one of the first to react to Cas’ posts.

Dean: nice new babies! You're gonna nurse them back to health in no time.

Cas grinned and started to type a response when a second text popped up.

Dean: you might need to get permission from the city to rezone your house as a protected green space though.

"Assbutt," Cas muttered with a grin, his heart pitter-pattering in his chest.

Cas: they'll be fine. But I have to find a new supplier. I can't keep bringing home plants because the product has fallen off since Roman took over.

Dean: yeah, you said that guy was a real Dick.

Cas snorted.

Cas: hilarious. Don't give up your day job. 😜

Dean: yeah, yeah. You just want me for my hands.

Cas' face reddened, and he was glad he wasn't face-to-face with his best friend. He cleared his throat and shoved away the longing with the ease of long practice.

Cas: speaking of, we still on for tomorrow to get those planters built for the deck?

Dean: way to prove my point, buddy. Lol. Yeah.

Cas sighed and set his phone on the counter, pouring himself a glass of lemonade, then rifling through his fridge for a handful of berries. He washed them carefully and dropped them into his glass. Snipping a couple of mint leaves from his planter over the sink, he rinsed them lightly then pinched them, bruising the leaves before adding them to his drink. Taking a sip, he smiled contentedly.

His phone vibrated again, and he picked it up, flicking the screen awake with a grin to see what Dean had said.

His smile faded into a frown, and he groaned, leaning against the counter in exhaustion.

April: I'm on my way over.

~~

read the rest on AO3.

thanks much to @hectatess for the beta!

[asset35-maya]

REUNION

Dear friends, followers. 

It’s me, Maya.

I’ve not been writing for a very long time because of work and other priorities in life, but I seriously plan to get back to it. I began writing fanfic two years ago as practice for creating concepts, narratives and character arcs without the pressure of original worldbuilding.

My secret dream is to write for film someday and run my own production company. I have some very strong ideas and hope to make them come alive in the next few years. For now, I will most likely juggle my IRL responsibilities and get some more practice/wordcount under my belt.

I might not always be successful, but I will try my level best to: A)finish my WIPs in the DBH and MCYT RPF fandoms and B)practice screenwriting and pieces required for film/television production.

Thank you to those who’ve supported me in the past. I hope you’ll stick around as I continue my writing journey, and give me notes if you can. (By notes, I mean feedback.. but tumblr notes would be awesome too!!)

To kick things off, here is a Treatment I’ve written for a spinoff from a popular but cancelled Netflix series called Altered Carbon:

//

A CTAC soldier named Maya is spun up over 200 years after her organic death. The last memory she has is coming home from an offworld mission and getting her stack blown through her throat intact before she could even set her keys down. 

She finds her hometown on Earth largely unchanged. Cars fly, acid pours from the sky and nature is well and truly dead. The same Meths run everything, vapid and uncaring as ever. The quirky AI love hotels aren’t thriving like they used to but they’re definitely still around.

Her husband still lives in their apartment in midtown Bay City. David is CTAC Special Forces and incredibly valuable to the Protectorate. After two centuries of elite operations and resleeving on demand, the rank he bears is astronomically higher than Maya remembers. Mild surprise is all he expresses when she storms back into the tiny kitchen she died in.

He greets her like an acquaintance and informs her, almost as an afterthought, that their little boy is dead. RD-ed in conflict about twenty years after her attack. Top of his military cohort and as talented as his mother. They never found his stack. Likely destroyed by the Envoys he was fighting. Maya is overcome with grief for the toddler she never saw grow up. Her husband asks if she’ll stay for dinner.

She doesn’t have much time to dwell on the past. Maya soon finds herself in the employ of a powerful Meth who carried her stack along with several others on a key ring. The Meth is oddly kind, but ignores all her questions. The only clues come from the Meth’s wayward daughter, Ariel. A raging alcoholic who gets a new liver 3D-printed every week. It’s easy to hate the girl, but Maya’s irritation quickly disappears when she recognizes the tarnished wedding ring on Ariel’s finger. It is her own. And the wretched woman is her son’s widow.

Maya tries in vain to sit her monosyllabic husband down for a talk. His evasive responses frustrate her to no end and one evening, she slaps him across the face in a burst of rage. The tears in his eyes immediately tell her who’s been wearing her husband’s sleeve all this time... and Maya can’t believe it took her that long to recognize her own child. 

It’s extremely odd and she’s doubly thankful she made no attempt to rekindle any romance since her return. She wipes his tears and cups his jaw like she used to when he was nervous to board the school bus. They smile shakily at each other, both hyperaware of the irony of the situation. Between his father’s sleeve and his own stack, she’s coddling the most lethal fighter in the entire Protectorate.

“Robin... you need to tell me now. It’s okay. You’ve been very brave but I’m here now. You can tell me. Where is your father?”

“Somewhere safe.”

“Robin…”

“I promise, Ma. He’s as safe as you were all this time.”

The Meth’s key ring jingles in the back of Maya’s mind. She drops his jaw and steps back in shock. It would be so, so easy to burst back into her boss’s office and rip the ring of stacks out of his hand. But she knows better than that.

“Why?”

“Dad wanted to hide us all. So I helped him.”

“And your wife helped you?” 

“Ariel didn’t really know that she did but... yes.” 

“How did you-”

“I put on Dad’s sleeve and handed her two stacks. Yours. Dad’s.”

Maya closes her eyes as her worst suspicion is confirmed. It was David who’d pulled the gun on her all those lifetimes ago. It was David who’d scooped her stack up from the bloodied floor with utmost love and care. It was David who’d turned their son into their saviour.

“Told her it was the Envoys who killed her husband, and when the time came, we would spin them back up to make things right.”

“She’s been waiting 200 years for you to make good on that promise?”

“Her family would never doubt a word to come out of a CTAC officer’s mouth.”

“Okay. So why am I here now, Robin?”

“Laurens Bancroft just pulled Takeshi Kovacs out of prison.”

The second name rings a bell, and Maya claps a hand over her eyes as yet another suspicion is confirmed. David had always been a little too intrigued by the literature of Quellcrist Falconer. It was an interest that went above and beyond knowing one’s enemy. She’d warned him about it plenty of times. Robin probably remembered the dinner table arguments too. But here they were, 200 years hence. A family of three with their heads in the lion’s mouth, banking on the last Envoy to do something crazy and finally set them all free.