#Willow got her updated look

[minecraft-illagers]

Thoughts on endermen?

[strqyr]

there's only one thing i'll say about the movie part 2 and it's that i find it funny how they obviously aged them up by who knows how much y'all moms don't even look like that lmao

[princessaxoxo]

‧͙⁺˚･༓☾ 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝒸ℴ𝓃𝒻𝓇ℴ𝓃𝓉𝒶𝓉𝒾ℴ𝓃 ☾･˚⁺‧͙

dbf!august walker x fem!reader

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚

𝘨𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦.

𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺: a much-needed night out turns into a confrontation with august.

𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴: 18+, a lot of angst

𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵: 2k+

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚

“Slow down!”

In your backless gold dress, you were dragged by the hand into the most popular nightclub in the city by your best friend Willow. The place was jam-packed, people squeezing into every possible space as the lights flashed, everyone grinding against one another.

When August hadn't gotten back to you since the morning after Thanksgiving, you initially assumed he was simply busy running his company like usual. However, after a month had passed, you were mistaken—it was clear that he had no regard for you.

So to get your mind off of him, you agreed to go out with Willow instead of staying at home with your thoughts.

“Shots!” your friend shouted over the blaring music. After licking the salt off the glass's rim, you quickly drank the tequila and chased it with a lime. A burn in your throat followed. Before you knew it, the bartender had poured you numerous rounds of shots, and you were texting an inebriated text message to August.

"I'm over you; don't expect to go see or hear frlm me abain bue augyst.”

A drunken smile took over your face as you pressed send and turned off your phone. The music around you intensified as you made your way to the dance floor with Willow. She took hold of your hips, and the two of you began to rub and sway against one another in tune with the music.

Everything around you blended into a blissful, intoxicated blur.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

August realized after Thanksgiving that perhaps being with you wasn't the best choice. He was having an affair with his closest friend's daughter. He might not have seen you grow up, but he's been told stories of you from your father over the years, which makes it safe to say that he never imagined the two of you would start dating secretly. However, you were his favorite forbidden fruit from the moment he saw you.

When he saw you again, he was unable to control himself. Though he was aware that it was foolish, he didn't give a damn. He assured himself that he only needed to be with you once, but after tasting you, he realized he was in trouble and needed more.

The way your eyes looked at him was always so needy, innocent, and full of life.

In addition, he knew that he wouldn't be able to control himself if he saw you again and you gazed at him with those stunning doe eyes; you would have him totally wrapped around your finger.

When his phone buzzed in his coat pocket and your name flashed, immense guilt filled him. Though the last thing he wanted was to hurt you, he realized he should have gotten in touch with you and had a mature conversation instead of ignoring you.

August stopped walking as he read your text. His face took on an angry, worried expression as his eyebrows furrowed. Saying you were over him in a drunken text message to him? That was not something he was willing to accept.

All he got when he tried to call you was your voicemail. August texted you multiple times after you didn't return his calls, and each message failed to send. As he glanced at your often updated Twitter account—which you hadn't posted on—his jaw hardened.

However, he saw that your friend Willow had tagged you in some of her pictures. August enlarged the background of one of the pictures to reveal the name of the club you were at. He jumped in his car and drove quickly to the club without thinking.

Adrenaline ran through him as he entered and pushed through the bodies in the club. His eyes searched in all directions, looking for you. August called you again, but he was still only able to reach your voicemail. He muttered to himself, "Fuck's sake, where are you?"

This was the last place he wanted to be, and it was evident from the disdain on his face. However, he was unable to shake the image of you. Even if he had to throw you over his shoulder, he would not leave this club without you.

It seemed like hours until he finally saw you dancing near bystanders. Though he didn't know the man behind you, he did identify your friend Willow, who was dancing next to you. The man's hands were on your hips, and his body was pressing against your back. What irritated August even more? As the stranger spoke in your ear, you grinned and laughed.

August cursed his way among the clusters of people surrounding him until he was directly in front of you.

Shock was the first feeling that went through you when you saw August in front of you, but that quickly transformed into you clumsily approaching him. "What are you doing here?" You spoke incoherently to him.

"What are you doing here? is the question that needs to be answered, not what am I doing here? And why did you turn off your phone?” August was enraged. His jaw was tightening, and his nostrils were flaring.

Pressing your finger into his firm chest, you gave him a shrug and said, "Because I didn't want to speak to you."

He hauled you to the closest restroom by the arm.

"It doesn't matter if you choose not to talk to me." He advanced on you with a stalk. "You're endangering yourself by acting like a drunken idiot. Rubbing your ass like a slut on a stranger," steam was nearly emanating from his body, and his chest was heaving.

You could feel the tears welling up at the way he spoke to you.

"Slut? A drunken idiot? That's how you actually see me?" you asked.

Venom dripped from his response as his eyes poured into yours. "Yes."

"Screw you! You're not allowed to call me a slut. I am free to do as I choose; you have made it very apparent that I am not yours. I don't need to justify myself to you. There is absolutely nothing you could do to stop me from going back out there, taking that guy home, and fucking him." The buzz you had was long gone.

August could see by the expression in your eyes that you were serious. Though he knew immediately after speaking the words that he shouldn't have spoken them, his anger prevented him from stopping.

He inhaled deeply.

One moment you were standing on your feet arguing with August, then suddenly he flung you over his shoulder and stormed out of the bathroom. “Put me down!” you yelled over the blaring music.

Giving you a slap on your ass, he replied, “Be quiet before I have to teach you a lesson.”

After that, you stayed silent, both you and August.

All you got out of August after leaving the club and returning to his house was silence. Which, you thought, was absurd given what he had said to you; he needed to be saying sorry.

He got out of his car to open the door on your side as soon as it pulled into his driveway. "Let's head inside; come on." With your arms folded, you sat there motionless, gazing out of his front windshield. "No." His gaze was burning holes in you, and you could feel it.

Once more, August hoisted you over his shoulder while yelling, "Dammit!" After entering his home, he went to his room, sat you on his bed, and knelt down. August gripped your left foot. "What are you doing?" you asked him, casting him a strange glance. His gaze locked with yours. "Helping you get comfortable so you can sleep off your buzz." Despite the rolling of your eyes, he could tell you were grateful when you glanced at him.

"If you were going to be disrespectful, you didn't have to show up tonight," you added. He gave a head nod, then carried on. "Go to sleep, and we'll talk in the morning," before helping you into his bed and heading out to sleep in the guest bedroom for the evening.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Slowly opening your eyes, you saw rays of sunshine peeking in through the window, yawning and rubbing your eyes as the creaky door opened. Rolling over, you saw an exhausted August enter with some medicine and drink. "Take this ibuprofen for your headache, and wash it down with a bit of this water."

Without even looking at him, you swallowed the pills and then the water.

"Last night, words just can't—" You raised your finger. "I'm going to cut you off there. You referred to me as a drunken idiot and a slut. I never would have imagined you saying that to me, of all people." An expression of regret filled his face.

“I was scared for you; you weren’t answering my texts or my calls. And then I see you dancing with some guy? It made me angry, and while I was worried about you, it seemed you didn’t care at all.” August was trying his best not to raise his voice.

"So, even though you were afraid and concerned for me, you became jealous and decided it was alright to label me a slut? A normal person wouldn't do what you did; instead, they would be relieved that the person they care about is okay. You know what, too? If you hadn't ignored me for the previous month, I wouldn't have gone out and danced with a guy last night."

“I know. I thought-” August paused for a second, painfully staring at you, then carried on. "I didn't think it would be smart for us to keep seeing each other. I have known your father for a long time; we have developed a business together, and in certain aspects, I even think of him as family. I don't want to betray his trust. I also didn't want to lose you or cause you any harm. I couldn't." You just listened to him without saying anything. "Jesus, when he discovers that I'm in love with his daughter, he's going to kick my ass.”

You put your hands over your eyes and then turned to face him again. "August, you can't just say things like that. Not after what happened last night; that's not fair to me. Prior to last night, everything was great and perfect while we were together, but I would never want to go through what I did last night again. So, we should end this now if that's how you plan to respond when I decide to go out. Another advantage is that you won't have to decide between my father and myself."

"You want us to stop seeing each other?" August asked, shaking his head. "Everyone makes mistakes. Nobody is perfect. I feel bad for last night. I regret the way I spoke to you. But what if something did happen to you? Mmm? If I let you stay there and something terrible happened, I would never be able to forgive myself."

You glanced down at the glass you were holding instead of looking at him. "At least for the time being, I believe it's best if we see other people."

With a puff of laughter, he went on. "No, that is not something that is going to happen; you can forget about that." Before getting up and heading to his closet, August took the glass from your hands and set it on the bedside table. With a pair of boxers and a white t-shirt, August came back. "Go take a shower; my bathroom has everything you need. After that, come to the kitchen. I'll be waiting for you with breakfast ready."

Startled by his answer and his behavior, you blinked incessantly. He was beginning to give you whiplash. However, you ultimately knew what you were going to do. After you got up, showered, got dressed in his clothes, and brushed your teeth, you went downstairs to have breakfast with him.

"Tomorrow, 8 p.m., I'm taking you out for dinner," August said, setting a plate of pancakes with a whipped smiley face in front of you. “And if I say no?” August smirked while pouring you some orange juice. “Funny joke, now eat.”

˚₊⭑‧꒰ა [Tag list] ໒꒱ ‧₊⭑˚

@shellyshellshell @ellethespaceunicorn @beck07990 @ktficworld @chloe92 @kingliam2019 @juliaorpll78 @armystay89 @nighttimestan @angelcavill66 @luxeydior @kittymiaow @plaidcat4815 @identity2212

[someonetooksendnoodles]

Where to watch willow?

hi questies!

I’m not sure if anyone else has posted this, but I wanted to hop on and ask for people to share the ways they plan on watching remembering willow once it’s been pulled. if anyone is willing to share safe links please feel free to do so! I know they can’t be shared super widely at risk of being taken down, but if you feel comfy sharing please message me!

UPDATE

the absolutely lovely and incredible @ksfreckles created a google drive for us to access!! you have to request access but i got in quite quickly after requesting!

here is the link to her og post and be sure to check out her awesome fic too!!

final update(ish)

there are so many people willing to share links in the notes of this post (esp if you’re looking for the show with captions or the behind the magic special)! i’ll update this post again if there’s anything i deem dire to share, but thank you to all the questies helping other questies!!!

i lied…i got one more

silly me thought mentioned this sooner BUT if you’re looking for other resources (links) to use, message me!! i have gotten permission to share other links that we can use!

[lucidlivi]

Chosen For Pleasure (XII)

Series Masterlist/Warnings

Tag List: @ladysparkles78 @suckitands33 @little-x-wolf @stoneyggirl2 @creative-writing92 @jc-winchester @mrsjenniferwinchester @lessons-of-red @jamerlynn @deans-spinster-witch @kazsrm67 @deans-baby-momma @willow-sages @ritz-hell-hotel @perpetualabsurdity @mhessellund @itzabbyxx @chriszgirl92 @abbybarnesstuff @larrem88 @commonsenseishard @impalaspixie @notsogoofyjelly @hzllxhoundxx @taylortots-world @k-slla @heavenlyackles @spnfamily-j2 @buckybarnes-1917 @foxyjwls007 @spnbaby-67 @readingsins @lauraashley93 @antisocialcorrupt @anixiiee @jackles010378 @alternativeprincess @rosecentury (I love that half the battle of writing my updates is writing the tag list! I'm so grateful for all the love you guys have shown me and this fiction! If you would like to be added please send me a message or an ask so I can easily look back on them, there are too many names for me to keep track of!)

a emotional roller coaster of a chapter, you ain't ready..

"is that.."

"Elle."

oh you've got to be kidding.

"Jensen?" I questioned trying to get his attention.

He has yet to take his eyes off the blonde, as she clung to an older gentleman talking to another couple.

I instantly felt jealousy burning through my entire body.

"Jensen." I snapped.

He finally tore his eyes away, meeting my own.

"are you okay?" I asked hesitantly.

He took a deep breath before plastering a smile on his face. I could tell it was fake.

"yeah, I won't let this ruin our night." He said.

Why didn't I believe him?

Jared once again gave him an apologetic look. Jensen took my hand, walking in the opposite direction of Elle.

Jensen gripped my hand tightly pulling me through the crowds of people.

"J hang on." I said stopping us.

He turned to me hesitantly.

"you're not okay, I can see it." I spoke.

"I'm fine." He was quick to defend.

"why don't I believe you?"

Jensen ran a hand over his jaw letting out a frustrated sigh.

"I let that girl ruin my life for a long time, I don't want her to ruin tonight too. I'm here with you, I want to enjoy tonight with you." Jensen said emphasizing the word you.

I felt like we were just sweeping the issue under the rug, but I would be lying if I said I didn't want to enjoy the night with him too.

"okay." I breathed reluctantly.

Jensen offered me a smile as he snagged two champagne glasses off a serving tray being passed around. I sipped it hesitantly as my eyes traveled around the room, looking for the blonde girl. Jensen led me over to a table where Jared and Genevieve sat with other members of the cast. I offered Gen a smile as we took the spot next to them. Jensen conversed with Jared and Misha as if he wasn't bothered by the situation at all.

So why was I?

I felt like we were just pretending, something I'd never been good at.

I tried my best too though, I chatted with cast, sipped champagne and even picked at the fancy dinner. I felt myself start to loosen up, even if just a little bit.

"may I have this dance?" Jensen asked extending a hand out to me.

"of course." I smiled placing my hand in his.

Jensen led us over to the dance floor, a slow song coming from the band on stage. He wrapped one arm around my waist, his other hand held mine as we swayed back and forth to the music.

"you really do look beautiful tonight." Jensen smiled.

"you clean up well too." I laughed.

It was silent for a moment until I spoke up.

"I apologize if I freaked you out earlier with my confession." I whispered before biting my lip.

"I'm not freaked out, flattered actually." he quickly spoke.

"flattered?"

"a sweet girl like you being in love with a fuck up like me, I don't know what I did to make that happen." he spoke quietly.

"Jensen you don't seriously think you're a fuck up do you?" I asked grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at me.

"oh I think I'm completely fucked up." He said with a painful laugh.

"I think we're all a little fucked up." I said.

"I'm just thankful you put up with me."

"yeah well I've always liked a bit of a challenge." I smirked.

He laughed as he pulled me closer, wrapping both arms around me. I felt completely at peace slow dancing with him. It was as if we were the only two people around. It just felt so right being with him. For once I forgot about everything wrong about us and just focused on the right here right now. I held on to him tightly as if as soon as I let him go he'd float away.

I was completely and irrevocably in love with this man.

I sighed as the song ended, longing for the moment to last. Jensen leaned down, placing his lips to my forehead in a gentle kiss.

"I'm happy you're here with me tonight." Jensen spoke.

We walked back towards the group. I wore a real smile for once tonight.

"I need to use the restroom, I'll be right back." I said kissing Jensen's cheek gently.

I was thankful there was no wait in the bathroom. I quickly did what I came there to do before going to the sink to wash my hands. I wiped off some excess lip gloss and glanced at myself one last time in the mirror.

I could suddenly feel someone come up beside me. I saw blonde locks out of the corner of my eye. I didn't need to look at her to know who it was.

Elle.

I took a deep breath mentally cursing the world.

"with the billionaire Jensen Ackles, lucky girl." she spoke uncapping lipstick and swiping it on her over lined lips.

I hesitantly turned my body to face the last person in the world I wanted to see.

"Elle, but I have a feeling you already knew that." she introduced.

"no, you know what I don't think your name has come up." I said crossing my arms.

"If only I believed that, I just had to meet the girl that Jensen was so smitten with."

"well now you have, and now I'll be going." I growled turning to leave.

I didn't want to be in her presence another second.

"he looks amazing tonight, maybe I'll have to go say hi."

I stopped in my tracks at her words. I clenched my hands into fists at my sides. I really wanted to knock this girl out right now.

"as if he would even talk to you." I growled turning my body back towards her.

"I think you underestimate the power I have over him. If I wanted him to, he'd come running back to me in a heartbeat."

I felt my heart shatter at her words. I knew she was just trying to get under my skin, but part of me wondered if she was right.

"yeah well he's not a toy you can play with and drop when you get bored." I growled.

"of course not, I did love to play with him though, you know he is the best kisser."

I could feel the rage building inside of me with each word she spoke.

"oh wait I forgot, you wouldn't know, my bad."

"are you trying to intimidate me, cause it isn't working."

"intimidate you? oh no, I just want to know who my competition is." Elle said before departing from the restroom.

Competition? What the hell was she talking about?

I quickly escaped the bathroom making my way through the crowds of people. I could feel my chest tightening as my breathing became sporadic. I needed some fresh air. Jensen immediately noticed my departure as he pushed through the crowd after me.

I kept walking, even as the night air hit my face. I had to get out of there.

"wait, (y/n) please stop." Jensen called running to catch up with me.

I kept walking, ignoring his protests. He finally caught me, making me turn to face him.

"I want to go home." I said choking back the tears that threatened to spill out any moment.

"what did Elle say to you?"

"nothing just drop it." I growled.

"no I'm not going to drop it, what did she say?"

"Jensen please."

"I thought we weren't keeping secrets from each other? I thought we'd moved past all this?"

"don't you get it, we can't move past all of this until you move past her!" I yelled throwing my hands in the air.

"what the hell are you talking about?"

"do you still love her?" I asked, letting a few tears slip.

"what no of course I don't love her." Jensen scoffed.

"is that why you won't kiss me?"

Jensen looked as if I had just slapped him in the face.

"no that's not why, I thought you understood." Jensen growled

"I thought I did too, but now I'm not so sure." I whispered turning my body away from him.

"don't do this please." Jensen begged coming to stand in front of me.

I let another tear slide down my cheek as I stared at him.

"please just take me home." I whispered.

Jensen looked hurt as he opened the door to the limo allowing me to slide in. It was silent as Cole drove us back to Jensen's, a van that contained the extra security guards led the way.

I don't know why I let her have this power over me.

Actually I did.

It was because I was terrified that she was right. I was terrified that if she called, he'd go running. Jensen said it himself, he was prepared to spend his life with her. Elle had manipulated him once, something told me if she really wanted she could do it again.

"you know we're going to have to talk about this at some point." Jensen said, lifting a wine bottle to his lips taking a swig.

I didn't respond, just continued to stare out the window.

"I don't care about Elle anymore, not since I met you. God you're all I think about. Why can't you see that? You're everything to me." Jensen spoke.

I let the tears fall freely from my eyes. I hesitantly glanced at him, but he was already staring at me.

"I don't kiss you because I'm afraid that once I do, you'll realize how much better off you are without me, and I can't stand to lose you. (y/n) I'm so in love with you." Jensen whispered, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

I cried as I wrapped my arms around him. He squeezed me tightly, as if he were afraid of letting me go. It was everything I had ever wanted to hear from him. He loved me.

"Jensen, I could never be better off without you. No one has ever made me feel even a fraction of what you make me feel." I said placing a hand on his cheek.

Jensen leaned his forehead down on mine, looking at my lips. I could tell how nervous he was.

"if we do this, no going back." Jensen whispered, his lips dangerously close to mine.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Jensen's lips brushed mine slowly. I felt my pulse increase. I had waited for this moment, dreamt of it.

"Mr. Ackles, you should come look at this." Cole spoke up from the front seat sounding worried.

Jensen pulled away quickly. I let out the breath I didn't know I had been holding.

"stay here." He ordered.

I watched as Jensen and Cole got out of the limo, the security guards dispersed around the property. I could see them looking at something but I couldn't see what. Jensen looked distressed. I disobeyed him, getting out of the limo.

"oh my god." I gasped.

Jensen and Cole stood in front of my car. It had been destroyed. I saw the tires had been slashed, and the windshield smashed in. I could see key marks on the hood as well as various dents. I didn't even recognize it as my car with all the damage done to it.

However the most haunting thing was the words He's Mine spray painted in white along the side.

Riley.

"I'm getting (y/n) out of here, find her Cole." Jensen growled.

Jensen grabbed my hand pulling me to one of his cars. He quickly opened the door, so I could get in before running around to get in as well. He started up the car, speeding out of his garage and down the road.

"where are we going?" I asked fearful.

"somewhere nobody else knows about." He spoke.

He pressed down on the accelerator speeding up even more. I looked at him as he gripped the steering wheel so hard, his knuckles turned white.

"Jensen slow down, you're scaring me." I said gripping the door handle and slinking back in to the seat.

"I told you to stay in the car." He growled.

"Jensen please." I begged.

He glanced over at me, seeing I was incredibly scared. He quickly took his foot off the accelerator, slowing down.

"I don't know how she got in, she shouldn't have been able to get in the garage, I'm so sorry." Jensen apologized taking one of his hands off the wheel and grabbing my own.

I took a deep breath squeezing his hand.

He kept driving, not letting go of my hand. I looked out the window to see we were getting far away from the city, and heading up a mountain. It was at least another hour before Jensen finally stopped the car. I saw we were way in the woods at what appeared to be a cabin.

"it used to belong to my aunt and uncle." Jensen whispered.

"she won't find us here?" I asked worried.

"no, I promise." Jensen said getting out of the car, coming to open the door for me.

I got out, falling straight in to his arms.

"I'm scared Jensen." I admitted.

"I know baby, I'm so sorry." Jensen said running a hand through my hair.

I stood in his embrace for awhile before looking and meeting his eyes.

"I'm supposed to be protecting you, if anything ever happened to you because of me, I'd never be able to forgive myself." Jensen whispered.

I saw in his eyes that he was scared too. Not so much of Riley, but scared that she could have gotten to me.

"Jensen I love you." I said leaning my forehead against his.

"then kiss me."

Author Note:

AHHHHHHH IT'S HAPPENING! I REPEAT IT'S HAPPENING! I'm done playing with your feelings tonight, but make sure you come back so I can play with them some more cause we just getting started.... please show some love in the form of a heart, comment, reblog, and a follow! I appreciate all the love!

xoxo

Liv

Part (XIII)

[hangmansgbaby]

Always Darling | 0.5 | J.Seresin

T H E E A R L Y Y E A R S

Summary: The prequel to “Always Darling” and the events leading up to the Uranium Mission

Pairings: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC!Willow "Vixen" Seresin, brief mentions of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell x OC Daughter!Willow "Vixen" Seresin and Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x OC God Sister!Willow "Vixen" Seresin

Warnings: fluff, its fucking cute in here

Note: the overwhelming love for this series 😍😍 I love you all! THERE WILL BE A PART 3!

Apr 2024 note: I did end up updating this into an OC as I dont write my series as a reader insert anymore.

Word count: 6.1k words (my brain couldn’t stop! I’m sorry for the length!”

Masterlist | Always Darling Masterlist

2001, Boarding School, Connecticut

“Miss Mitchell?”

“Yes, headmistress?”

“My office, please.”

18 year old Willow Mitchell was a staple in the Headmistress’s office since her first day at the all girls boarding school her father had dropped her off at freshman year. The headmistress had taken the 14 year old “troubled student” under her wing the minute the young girl entered campus, even bringing the young girl home for the holidays.

“Miss Mitchell-“

“Please, just Willow. We aren’t strangers.” She laughs.

“Willow, how’s the college search going?” Headmistress Stacy Sutherland questions.

“Fantastic. I got an acceptance to UT Austin, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, UCLA, USC, and NYU but I’m not going to any of them.” Willow answers.

“Oh? Not going to college?”

“Actually,”Willow pulls a folder out of her backpack and sets it on the desk.

“You’re interested in the Naval Academy?”

“Accepted. Stacy, I got into the Naval Academy!” She smiles brightly.

“That’s amazing! I bet your father is so proud!”

Willow sighs. She hadn’t told her dad, not like he’d pick up the phone anyways. “Yea. I bet.”

“Will he be here for graduation?”

“I don’t know, I sent the invite but-“ she shrugs.

He didn’t show. Willow expected nothing less from the man who up and dropped her off 4 years ago, never coming back. It really surprised her though to see all of her dad’s Top Gun buddies present. Ice, Slider, Wolfman, and Hollywood. She hadn’t noticed their presence until the middle of the Ceremony. With only 40 graduates in her class, it wasn’t long until her name was called

“Miss Willow Mitchell. Valedictorian. United States Naval Academy.” If the sheer magnitude of cheers just for her wasn’t clear enough, the four grown men who jumped from their seats definitely showed Willow that someone out there still cared besides the headmistress.

“Hi!” Willow smiles as Slider runs up to her. He wraps his arms around her, lifting her into a bear hug.

“Hey Uncle Slider.” She laughs as he sets her down.

“Hey little bird.” Only Iceman called her that, claiming she was Maverick’s mini me as a child.

“Hey Uncle Ice.” She gives him a side hug before acknowledging the other two aviators present.

“Where’s your dad?”

“Not here. As per usual.” She sighs. “Can we not talk about how shitty my dad is? I’m thinking lunch and then you guys can take me wherever and then do drop off day at the academy?”

“You don’t wanna see him?”

Willow shakes her head, leading the aviators towards the parking lot. “Y’all coming or what?”

2005, Naval Academy, Maryland

Willow was speed walking through campus, her last class was late releasing so she was already late for her next class. And as if her day couldn’t get any worse she had to literally run into someone, knocking both too the ground and the other person’s coffee all down the front of her.

“Dammit.” Willow mutters, assessing the damage done to her outfit.

“I’m so sorry darlin. You alright?” Willow looks up to the guy she collided with, the voice certainly matching the face and those strikingly green eye- “Darlin?”

“What?” She snaps out of her gaze, looking around to recollect where she was. “Oh, yea. I’m fine. Can’t say the same for my hoodie.” She replies, looking down at the coffee stain.

“I’m so sorry. I should’ve been watching where I was going. I can get you a new one, or pay for dry cleaning or whatever you need.” He rambles, pulling her up from the ground.

“It’s all good, I’m just gonna head back to my room and change. Apparently I really wasn’t destined to make it to class today.” She chuckles. “Sorry about your coffee.”

“Make it up by going to lunch with me? I know this little place downtown that has really good sandwiches.”

“Sure, I’ll meet you out front of the school in say, 30 minutes?”

“Perfect. I’m Jake by the way.” He juts his hand out. It was only then that Willow truly realized she was making plans with a complete stranger.

“Willow.” She takes his hand, shaking it lightly. They stand there for another few seconds. Willow was completely lost in his eyes, the color so different from the green she grew up looking at. She liked them, definitely ones she could get lost in forever.

Jake cleared his throat, pulling his hand back. “I’ll see you in 30?”

“Y-yea.” She smiles before quickly running off back to her dorm.

“Hey, did class get canceled?” Her roommate, Natasha Trace, questions from her bed.

“Nope.” She answers, stripping her outfit and immediately pulling on another pair of jeans. “I have a date now.”

“Oh? Tell me everything!” Nat slides across her bed to sit on the edge, now interested in what her roommate and best friend had to say.

“When I get back. We’re going to lunch.” Willow walks over to the bathroom, pulling out her make up bag.

“At least tell me who it is!”

“His name is Jake.” Willow chuckles, applying light makeup.

“Blonde, green eyes?”

“Yea, how’d you know?”

“Willow! That’s Jake Seresin! He’s the school playboy!”

“He doesn't seem that bad.” Willow sighs.

“Do you want me to name all the girls he’s slept with? Cause it’s not a pretty number.”

“I’ll be fine Nat. I gotta go. Don’t wait up!” She calls, running out of the room.

“Hey there darlin. Ready to go?” Jake smiles as Willow jogs up to him.

“Yep.” She smiles. He holds his arm out and she loops hers into his. “So where are you taking me?”

“You’ll see.” He leads her towards a truck parked at the front of the parking lot, opening the passenger door for her.

Jake wasn’t kidding when he said they had the best sandwiches. They had to have spent at least 5 hours at that table, laughing, talking, and just enjoying each other’s company.

“So he just left you at a boarding school?” Jake questions.

“Yea. I haven’t seen him since then.” Willow answers, taking a sip of her coffee.

“You think he’s gonna show up to graduation next month?”

“Unless my uncle has said something, I doubt he knows I’m here. I bet he’ll find out when I’m a better aviator than him.” Willow chuckles.

“I think you’re gonna be a great pilot, but you're gonna have to fight me for top spot though.”

“You’re going for aviation too?” Willow questions. “It’s only ever been me and my roommate! That’s crazy!”

It was over from there. Jake and Willow spent every possible moment together over the next month. After 2 weeks of hanging out, Jake had officially asked Willow to be his girlfriend over dinner at a romantic waterfront restaurant. 2 weeks later graduation had officially arrived.

The ceremony was long and boring, Willow and Jake were eager to hit the road to his hometown where they would spend their month-long leave before they were to report to flight school.

“Ensign Mitchell!” Willow turns to spot Iceman and Slider walking towards her.

“Admiral Kazansky.” She salutes him.

“Congratulations little bird.” He smiles, pulling her into a hug.

“Thank you Uncle Ice.” She smiles into the hug.

“Alright let me in!” Slider pulls Willow away from Ice into his own hug.

“We are so proud of you, Willow!”

“Thank you, Slider.”

Jake clears his throat walking towards the group.

“Hey, Jake! This is Admiral Kazansky and Rear Admiral Kerner. Guys this is my boyfriend, Ensign Jake Seresin.” Willow smiles as Jake shakes hands with her uncles.

“It's a pleasure to meet you both. Willow talks highly of both of you.” Jake greets.

“So what are your plans now that you’re officially out of the Academy?” Ice questions.

“We have a month leave before we both report to flight school so we were planning to go to Texas where his family is.”

“You’re both going into aviation?”

“Yes sir.” Jake answers.

“I look forward to seeing both of you at Top Gun one day then.” Ice smiles, pride beaming in his eyes.

“As much as I love seeing you guys, we gotta get on the road soon. But I’ll see you soon okay?” Willow smiles, grabbing Jake’s hand.

“Of course. Good luck.” Ice nods as Willow and Jake start walking off but he quickly calls out to them. “Ensign Seresin!” Jake turns back to see Ice calling him over. Jake releases Willow’s hand, returning to stand before him. “Willow is like a daughter to me. You take good care of her.”

“Yes sir.” Jake nods before Ice dismisses him, running back over to Willow and leading her to his car.

2005, Seresin Ranch, Texas

“Uncle Jake!” Jake drops to his knee as 2 little twin girls come running towards him, throwing all of their weight into him.

“Hey! Theres my 2 favorite nieces!” He laughs picking both of them up. Willow laughs watching the interaction as she pulls their duffels from the back seat. “Darlin you put those bags down, I’ll come back and get them.” Jake turns to see her lifting both bags to her shoulders.

“I’m capable of carrying our bags, Jake. Besides, it looks like those 2 got your hands full.” Willow walks both of the bags towards the house right behind Jake.

“Maddelyn and Gracelyn! I told you two not to run outside!” An almost perfect copy of Jake runs up to the door, her long blond hair pulled up into a ponytail, bright green eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses.

“I got them, Nanc. They’re just excited to see their favorite uncle.” Jake teases, walking past his sister.

“You’re their only uncle, smartass.” His sister turns around to see Willow still standing on the porch, laughing at their sibling banter. “Oh you must be Jake's girlfriend! I’m Nancy, Jake’s older sister. Mama and Daddy are in the kitchen if you wanna come in and say hi.”

Willow nods and follows Nancy through the living room. She drops the bags by the stairs as Nancy directs and follows her through the house.

“Oh Jakey look at you!”

“Jakey?” Willow giggles softly at the nickname.

“Hey only Mama calls me that.” Jake turns to Willow pointing at her as serious as can be..

“Oh you must be Willow! You’re even prettier than Jake described!”

“Hi. It’s lovely to meet you Mrs. Seresin.” Willow smiles, holding out her hand to shake his mothers.

“Oh please! You can call me Mama. Everyone does.” Mama pulls Willow into a hug instead of shaking her hand.

“Mama, we talked about this. Don’t smother the poor girl.” Jake chuckles at Willow’s face, laced with shock of how quickly she was welcomed.

“Oh of course. Why don’t you two head upstairs and get cleaned up for dinner? Maybe even take a nap. I’m sure that drive was horrible.”

“Thanks Mama.” Jake presses a kiss to his mom’s cheek before turning to Willow. “After you darlin.” Willow tried to pick up her duffel when Jake smacked her hand. “I’m carrying these. Upstairs, 3 doors on the left.”

Sighing, Willow walks up ahead of Jake, admiring the hundreds of photos of the Seresin family that line the walls. Opening the door, Willow stares in awe of Jake’s childhood bedroom.

“Welcome to my sanctuary.” Jake laughs, sliding past Willow.

“This is not what I imagined your bedroom would look like.” She walks over to the bookshelf in the far corner, gazing over the books, photographs and awards that littered the shelves.

“What? Expected it to look more like my dorm room?” Jake questions, sitting at the foot of the bed.

“Something like that.” Willow moves to stand between his legs, arms wrapping around his neck while Jake’s wrap around her waist. “Your family seems nice.”

“You haven’t even met half of them. Amy and Megan are heading back from college right now and Jess will be here for dinner.”

“4 sisters? No wonder you completely understand all of the shit me and Nat say.” Willow laughs.

“Yea.” Jake smiles. “So… nap?”

“Or maybe, a little fun?” Willow flirts, leaning further into Jake.

“Oh really?” Jake smiles, pulling Willow in for a kiss. “And what kind of fun would you be interested in?”

“Oh you know exactly what I’m interested in.” Willow straddles his waist, pushing Jake backwards on the bed.

“Oh I have a few ideas.” His signature smirk plays on his lips as he pulls her onto the bed, flipping to pin her.

2007, NAS Pensacola, Florida

“Please be sure to let us know if there is any family attending Saturday’s Ceremony.”

Willow sighed, grabbing the paperwork from before her.

“Hey darlin. Ready to go?” Jake meets her outside at their car.

“Yea.” Willow sighs, walking past Jake and immediately climbing in.

“Are you okay?” Jake questions, starting up the car.

“Yea, long day.” Willow sighs, leaning back in the passenger seat.

The drive to their off base home was silent, Jake already knew what was up. The pinning ceremony is a big deal. After they receive their wings, they’ll choose their specialty aircrafts and before long, they’re in the running for a Top Gun session. Jake’s family was already packing to head down for his pinning ceremony and he knew Iceman and Slider weren't able to make it for Willow. So with her father not in her life anymore and her uncles unavailable. That left their Captain to pin her while everyone else had family to do it.

As soon as they pulled up, Willow immediately went inside and jumped in the shower. Jake sighed watching the retreating figure of his girlfriend. Pulling out his phone, he quickly dialed Ice’s number hoping to get through to him.

“Kazansky residence.” The female voice rang through.

“Hey, it's Jake. Is Iceman around?”

“Mom! Willow’s boyfriend is calling for Dad!” Jake chuckles at Ice’s daughter’s unwillingness to talk on the phone.

“Give me that.” Sarah says, most likely pulling the phone from her daughter. “Hey Jake, sorry Tom is on a carrier, left yesterday. Something I can do for you?”

“It’s alright Mrs. Kazansky. Ice said he might be able to clear his schedule for this weekend. Just wanted to check in with him.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. You and Willow are getting your wings this weekend huh?”

“Yes ma’am. Willow’s feeling a little down cause my family will be there to pin me and she doesn’t have anyone. Was just hoping something would come through at the last minute.” Jake sighs.

“I’m sorry honey. You know I’d be there in a heartbeat if the kids didn't have school.”

“It’s alright. Thanks for letting me know Mrs. Kazansky.”

“Of course dear. I’ll see you both at Thanksgiving alright?”

“Yes ma’am.” Jake ends the call as soon as he hears the shower shut off. He immediately runs to the room, stripping down to his boxers and jumping on the bed before Willow comes out in shorts and a t-shirt.”Well hello beautiful.” Jake’s signature smirk plays out on his face, eyes following Willow as she walks around to her side of the bed. “Darlin?” Willow doesn’t say a word, only laying down and turning off the lamp by her. “Willow, I know you’re upset over the pinning ceremony. If you want, I’m sure my mom will gladly pin you.”

“Just forget it Jake. I’m fine with the Captain pinning me.” Willow sighs, still facing away from Jake. “I’m going to bed.”

Jake sighs, facing the back of her head. “I’m sorry, Willow. I wish I could do something about this.” Willow sighed before rolling over.

“It’s not your fault my only family is an asshole. Or that my uncles have responsibilities to the Navy.” She places a hand on his cheek. “It’s always going to suck and there’s nothing we can do. No matter who pins me, so long as I get pinned I could care less.” Willow smiles softly as she looks into Jake’s eyes. “You have such a big heart, Jake. And I appreciated you wanting to make this special for me.”

“I love you.”

“What?” Willow sits up, eyes still never leaving Jake’s. In the 2 years they had been together, neither one had ever said those 3 words, choosing to go slow in their relationship, despite already living together.

“I… I love you, Willow.” Jake says, sitting up with her. “I have since that day we ran into each other.”

“I-I…” Willow stutters, still in shock from Jake saying it.

“You don’t have to say it back, darlin. But I will always love you.”

“I love you too.” Willow smiles, Jake’s eyes light up. “I love you so much!” She shouts, tackling Jake to the bed.

2011, NAS North Island, California

“Hey Vixen! You coming out with us?”

“I don’t know guys. We have a big day tomorrow.” Willow sighs.

“Come on! You never go out with us anymore.” One of the other girls chimed in.

“That’s because you all go out to get laid and I get left alone at the bar.” Willow points out, sitting down on the couch in the pilot lounge.

“So then we will find you a guy to go home with before we ever try for hours.”

Willow is about to protest when another voice interrupts. “I don’t know about you but I’m pretty sure her boyfriend wouldn’t appreciate that.”

“Jake!” Willow jumps up, pushing past her fellow pilots and WSOs to reach her boyfriend who stands in the doorway. “What are you doing here!?” She questions, wrapping herself around her boyfriend.

“Can’t surprise my best girl?” Jake mutters into the crook of her neck, holding her tightly.

The couple had seen each other a total of 6 months in the last 3 years because of deployments and detachments. When Willow got the call from Top Gun, she immediately called Jake to share news. Though her excitement faded when she found out that not only had Jake not gotten called as well, but he was shipping out 2 days before she was to arrive in California for the Indian Ocean.

“I will always take a surprise but you weren’t supposed to be back until after my session. What happened? Is everything okay?” Willow pulls back immediately, worry lacing her voice.

“Everything is okay, we finished the mission early so they sent us home. Not happy to see me?”

“Of course I’m happy to see you.” Willow smiles, kissing her boyfriend of 5 years.

“Plus, I would never miss my gorgeous girlfriend graduating top of her class at Top Gun.”

“I'm not gonna be top of the class.” Willow laughs as Jake leads her away from the other pilots.

“Bullshit! I know you hate it but Darlin you are Pete Mitchell’s daughter. It’s in your genetics. And you’ve had Iceman coaching you the whole way. You’ll be top of the class. I know it.”

And Jake certainly was right, and a year later, Jake was top of his class. Ice looked on proudly as Willow and Jake took pictures with the Top Gun trophy at Jake’s graduation. The bright smile on Willow’s face as Jake held her close, pressing random kisses to her cheek as Phoenix and Coyote took pictures of them, made Iceman smile to himself. He always wanted Willow to find her own family after everything and she did.

“Congratulations Lieutenant Seresin.” Ice smiles, walking up to the group.

“Thank you Admiral Kazansky.”

“I’m hosting a celebratory dinner at my house. Phoenix, Coyote, you are both welcome to join us.”

“We’d be honored sir.” Phoenix nods. “I’ll send these to you, Vix. I got a couple errands to run.” Phoenix gives Willow a quick hug. “Congrats again, Hangman.”

“Thanks Phoenix.” Jake nods. “I have a surprise for you.” Jake whispers to Willow. “Wanna sneak out of here?”

“Hell yeah. Lead the way.” Willow smiles.

Jake pulls up to a secluded part of the beach, quickly climbing out and running around to Willow’s door and opening it for her. “Darlin.” Jake bows, holding a hand out for Willow. She laughs as she lets him guide her away from the truck.

“The beach? Jake, I’ve been to the beach before.” Willow laughs.

“Oh trust me. I know darlin.” Jake winks. “No, that's not your surprise.” Jake lead’s Willow across the sand towards the waterfront. “Willow, darlin, you know I love you, right.”

“Of course. You know I love you?”

“Always Darlin.” Jake smiles. “I want to promise you something.” Jake says, pulling a small box out of his pocket.

“Jake-“ Willow tries to stop him but Jake quickly cuts her off.

“It’s not a proposal darlin. I know you aren’t ready for it.”

“It's not that I’m not ready. We're just getting started in our careers.”

“I know, Darlin. Which is why this is a promise ring.” Jake opens the box to show the dainty ring. The helix design completes the circle. “A promise that you are it for me. That one day and we are both good and ready. I will trade this out for an engagement ring and I’ll marry you and only you.”

“Jake-“ Willow smiles, tears in her eyes as she stares at the ring. Jake slowly slips the ring onto her ring finger, kissing on top of it as it settles.

“I love you, Willow.”

“I love you too, Jake.”

“I have some not so good news though.” Jake says, fiddling with the ring.

“What?”

“I got pulled onto a mission. We leave tomorrow and won't be back for 6 months.”

“Oh.” Willow looks towards her hand as Jake continues to fiddle with the ring. “It’s a dangerous one isn’t it?” She questions, still not meeting his eyes.

“Yea, darlin. It’s not the safest.” Jake lifts her chin to look her in the eyes. “But I promise, I will do everything to come home to you.”

“You better. Cause if this,” she holds up her hand, “don't get upgraded one day, I’m gonna hurt you.” Willow laughs as Jake starts laughing with her.

“I will always come home to you.”

2012, USS Rosevelt, Atlantic Ocean

Jake had yet to meet his bunkmate since arriving on the carrier. His biggest hope was that it wasn’t someone who would constantly bring a lover in every night but he also just wanted someone bearable for the next half a year.

“Hey man, it’s good to meet you.”

Jake turns from his desk and his blood runs cold. He recognizes the pictures from Ice’s house. He is staring into the same eyes that were pictured next to Willow for years. “Yea, Lieutenant Jake Seresin. Callsign Hangman.” Jake nods, shaking the outstretched hand of the man before him.

“Lieutenant Bradley Bradshaw. Rooster.”

The next 6 months was going to be nothing but torture to Jake. In an attempt to keep the peace, he never let Rooster see the photos of Willow, nor did he talk about her around him. He also never mentioned his bunkmate when he got the opportunity to call Willow. But that didn’t stop either of them from questioning Jake about the other.

“So do you like your bunkmate?” Willow questions, her laptop set up on the desk before her.

“He’s not bad. Little annoying, terribly slow flier.”

Willow chuckles at his complaint. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too, darlin. 4 more months.”

“4 more months.” She sighs. “Can you give me any updates on the mission?”

“You know I can’t. But I can tell you that it’s gonna be awhile before we can talk again.”

“Oh-“

“Hey Hangman! We’re going to Target’s room for a couple of beers, you comin?”

“Is that Bradley?” Willow questions.

“Uh, not tonight Rooster. I’m on a call.” Jake shouts back.

“Oh is it the mysterious Vixen?” Bradley’s face pops up onto the screen and Willow hides her face.

“Jake I gotta go.”

“Okay Darlin. I love-“ the call ended before he could say anything.

“Damn, you must’ve really pissed her off.”

“Yea, that wasn’t me.” Jake sighs, closing the laptop and making his way towards his room.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rooster questions, following him.

“It’s not my place, Rooster.”

“Not your place? Who the fuck is your girlfriend man?”

“You know her a lot better than you think.” Jake mumbles, grabbing his shower gear from the bottom of the closet.

“Willow? Little Willow? You’re dating my little sister?”

“God sister. And I seem to remember you haven’t talked to her since ‘97.” Jake nearly growls at Bradley. “So don’t act all high and mighty. She doesn’t claim you so don’t claim her.”

“Lieutenants. Suit up, we’re heading out.”

“The mission’s not for another week.” Bradley protests.

“Change of plans.”

2012, NAS North Island, California

Willow groans leaning against the chair of the office. She sits in the silence of her office before Ice enters.

“Hey little bird. Everything alright?”

“Yea, I just haven’t heard anything from Jake.” She pauses. “You know Bradley’s there.” Willow sighs, her hand coming up to rub her face.

“I do.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“You said you didn’t give two shits about what Bradley and your father were doing. I was just doing what you asked.” Ice retorts.

Suddenly Willow’s phone rings, she stands moving across her office as she answers. “Hello?” She immediately met with the constant rambling from the other side. “Woah, slow down. Nancy, what happened?” She questions, walking around her rooms again.

“Mama just got a call from a restricted number and now she won’t stop crying!”

“Shit, gimme a second.” Willow mutes herself and sets the phone down on her desk.“What happened?” She questions Ice.

“What do you mean?”

“Nancy.” Willow points to her phone. “Jake’s mom won’t stop crying after getting a call from a restricted number. What happened to Jake?”

“He’s MIA, Willow. I’m sorry.”

“No.” Willow gasps. “No, no, no. This cannot be happening.” Willow drops into the chair beside her.

“Willow, I’m so sorry.” Ice moves around the desk to pull Willow into a hug.

“They gotta find him.” She cries. “They need to find him.”

“On my orders, they aren’t going to stop looking for him.” Ice comforts.

“Please, dad. I don’t wanna lose him.” Ice froze. He’d always considered Willow like a daughter but she had never called him dad before.

“I promise little bird. They’re gonna find him.”

“Willow?! What’s going on?”

“Shit. Nancy.” Willow scrambles over to her phone. She quickly wipes her tears and takes a deep breath. “Hey, uhm, Jake’s MIA.”

“Holy shit. Are they looking for him?”

“Yea. Yea it’s a non-stop search right now. I'll transfer any updates to me and I’ll let you know. So that way Mama doesn’t have to go through it over and over.”

“Okay. Keep me posted. I’m gonna get Mama to bed. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Yea, Talk later.”

“Hey, Willow?”

“Yea?”

“Take care of yourself. It’s not just you anymore.”

“Of course.” Willow ends the call, tossing her phone back onto the desk, she leans back into Ice’s hold, the tears returning.

“It’s okay, let it out.” Ice mutters, holding Willow close.

“I’m pregnant.” Willow cries.

“What?”

“I’m pregnant, dad. I can’t lose him. We can’t lose him.” She rests a hand on her stomach. She had just found out about two weeks ago, 6 weeks after Jake had left. She didn’t have the will to tell Jake, while he was gone.

2013, USS Rosevelt, Atlantic Ocean

3 months. It had been 3 months since Jake disappeared and despite every rule in the Navy, Willow was pacing Ice’s office on the carrier, 21 weeks pregnant. As soon as word came in that they might’ve found him, Ice immediately took off to the carrier and despite his protests Willow was right behind him.

“What do we have on his location?” Ice questions.

“They raided an enemy bunker. There’s signs that he was there recently. He can’t be far but they’re still looking.”

“Keep looking. Do not stop until there is physical proof he’s dead.”

“Yes sir.” Ice dismisses the Commander and turns to Willow.

“Sit d-“

“Don’t.”

“Willow, stressing is not good for the baby.” He sighs.

“Jake being dead isn't good for the baby. Or me.” Willow snaps back.

“He’s not dead.”

“It's been 3 months!”

“And there is no proof he’s gone.”

“But there’s no proof he’s alive.” Willow sighs, her pacing continuing.

“Willow, I am already allowing you to break rules. Sit down, please.”

“Fine, only if you take it easy too.” Willow protests.

“I’m fine, Willow.”

Willow shoots him a knowing look. “You’re missing treatments for this.”

“Willow, I’m fine, trust me.” Suddenly a Lieutenant barges into the office.

“Admiral Kazansky, Lieutenant Mitchell. We found him.”

“Jake!” Willow runs up to the stretcher as they wheeled him away from the helicopter.

“Ma’am we need you to step back.”

“She’s his next of kin. She goes with him.” Ice shouts, following behind them.

“Oh god baby. Oh my god.”

“He’s malnourished and dehydrated but other than that he’s going to be just fine, physically.” One of the medics rattle off.

“Physically?” Willow questions.

“He’s been through hell and back, Lieutenant. There’s no telling what that did to him mentally.”

“Oh god, Jake.”

Willow sat up from the makeshift bed she had made on the chair in the hospital room. She was already majorly uncomfortable because of the pregnancy but the chair was definitely not helping. 3 days in the chair definitely didn’t help her back either.

“Lieutenant Mitchell?”

“Yes?” She turns to spot the doctor in the doorway.

“How are you this afternoon?”

“As well as I can be.”

“You know we can still move a cot in here, we’d much prefer it, including Admiral Kazansky.” The doctor insists as she checks Jake’s vitals.

“I’m alright. How is he?” She asks, stepping up to the bedside, reaching to hold Jake’s hand.

“Better. We started weaning him off the medication keeping him under last night. He should be waking up soon. If he does wake, let us know if there is anything wrong. Otherwise a nurse will come in on her rounds.”

“Thank you.” She turns back to Jake, who for once in the last 3 days looked peaceful. She sighs, reaching up to brush loose hair back.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t realize anyone would be in here.” Willow turns and quickly turns back around, electing to not saying anything to the figure that just walked in. “How are you?”

“You’ll have to go, only one person is allowed in here.” She responds.

“Willow…”

“Leave me alone.”

“Come on, we haven’t seen each other in years. Why don't we go up to the mess hall? Catch up.” Bradley continues, walking further into the room.

“I said leave me alone, Lieutenant Bradshaw. Or do I need to call an Admiral?” Willow seeths, still not turning towards the door.

“Fine. Don't say I never tried.” She rolls her eyes as she hears the door close behind him. Sighing, she turns away from to bed to pour herself a glass of water when she suddenly hears a groan. She quickly turns to see Jake trying to sit up. “Hey, hey, hey. It's okay, don’t get up.”

“What? Willow?” Jake questions, voice hoarse from the lack of use.

“Hi baby. It's me.”

“I thought I’d never see you again.” He cries, pulling Willow into a tight hug, or as tight as his weakened body could muster.

“Neither did we.” She says softly, holding Jake close.

“We?” He pulls back for the hug, looking for a correction but only gets a worried smile.

“We.” She softly moves his hand to rest on her small bump.

“Holy shit.” Jake says, barely above a whisper, eyes wide. “I’m gonna be a dad?”

“Yea, yea Jake.”

“Oh my god!” He pulls her back into a hug, practically dragging her on top of him. “Holy shit! We're gonna be parents.”

2013, NAS North Island, California

“So you’re telling me, you have no idea the gender nor what you’re going to name them?” Phoenix asks, taking a sip of her drink.

“We’ve been so busy, between paperwork and Jake’s test flights, it's been a nightmare to have a calm moment between us.

“Vixen! You’re due any day now!”

“I have ideas! Just nothing settled.”

“Let me hear them.”

“For a boy, Beau.”

“Absolutely not, you wanna name your child after Rear Admiral Simpson?”

“Oh I knew there was no way I truly liked that name. How about Easton?”

“Could be good, Easton Seresin…” Phoenix trails off.

“Nevermind I hate it. Tyler? Tyler Seresin.”

“I think that sounds perfect, darlin.” Jake’s voice comes from the now open front door.

“Hey! How was work?” Willow struggles to stand for the couch but manages, walking over to greet him at the door.

“You know exactly how work was.” He sighs, kissing her gently before heading to the master of their on base house. “Hey Phoenix.”

“Hey Bagman.” Phoenix says. “How about a girl?”

“Only one on my list. Ellorie.”

“That is beautiful. I love it.” Phoenix smiles.

“It is uh?” Willow beams to herself as she walks into the kitchen. “I honestly hope it’s a gi-“

“Willow? You okay?”

“Oh!”

“Willow?” Phoenix jumps up and runs into the kitchen to see Willow standing over a puddle.

“Oh my god.”

“What is it? Is everything okay?”

“Get. Jake. Now.” She says between breaths.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Phoenix curses. “Bagman!”

“What?”

“It’s time!”

“What do you mean it’s time?!”

“Jacob Grant if you don’t get out here right now and get me in the car I am having this baby without you!” Willow shouts as another contraction rolls through.

“I’m coming!” Jake barrels through the hallway, their hospital bag slung over his shoulders. He immediately guides Willow out to his truck, helping her up into the seat while Phoenix drops their bag into the backseat.

“Be safe! Call me when they’re here!” Phoenix shouts as Jake pulls out of the driveway.

“Okay just hold on, darlin.” Jake repeats as Willow grips tightly to the armrest, another contraction ripping through her. “It’s okay Darlin.”

“Stop, you’re not helping.” Willow groans in pain.

“I’m trying to help, but I don’t know what to do.” Jake says, rubbing circles into her hand.

“You can not tell me it’s okay when I’m about to push a baby that most definitely got your big head out of my vagina!” Willow shouts.

“Hey, you like my big head. And we’re going to love theirs. Almost there.”

10 excruciating hours later and Jake and Willow sat in the comfort of their hospital room with their bundle of joy wrapped in their arms.

“Knock knock.”

“Hey! Ice!”

“There’s my two favorite pilots.”

“Hey dad.” Willow smiles. “You wanna meet your honorary granddaughter?”

“It’s a girl?” Ice gasps, walking over to the bedside.

“Ellorie Serena Seresin.” Jake smiles as Ice takes Ellorie from Willow.

“She’s beautiful, Willow. Looks just like you.” Sarah smiles, pulling Willow into a hug.

“I think she looks more like Jake.” Willow laughs.

“Absolutely not, darlin. She definitely looks more like you.” Jake presses a kiss to her head as Ice and Sarah coo over the baby. “You did good, mama.”

“Mama? No more darlin no that the baby is here?” Willow questions.

“Absolutely not. You will always be my darlin but you're also mama now.” Jake’s smiles. “You know I love you?”

“Absolutely. You know I love you too?”

“Always Darlin.”

[sporesgalaxy]

[link]

EDIT: smirks evilly yet again. updated with some For The Future quotes n images

Anyways: BEHOLD. Short little annotations with pictures for each song! Enjoyable even if you don’t listen to the playlist!

rises the moon - introduction

Days fade into a watercolour blur Memories swim and haunt you But look into the lake, shimmering like smoke Rises the moon

The Lesson - "Caleb did his best to take care of his younger brother.”

It's best to not breathe in at all Your teachers say The toxins in the air will take your life away

But don't believe a word from them You'll be okay For I will breathe with you

The Ocean - “They tried to fit in with this town...and its unsavory practices. They became witch hunters.”

No one complains, ‘cause it’s got to be fed And they’re just glad that it didn’t see them.

And they shouldn’t blame themselves for that ‘Cause it’s really, really hard to break even.

Overgrown Garden - "...the brothers Wittebane met a real witch...and the older brother was spirited away.”  (“...I already let you go. Many times.”)

I wonder when you left me behind that day Asleep beneath the willow withering away If you were okay Because I would do anything for you I would do anything

Have You Seen My Sister Evelyn? - "Philip set off to save his brother, and bring the witch to justice.” (”Sounds like big bro got a hot witch girlfriend and little bro got upset”)

Did that ho-bag quit her job and run off With that dick-head Mike To Indio, Guantanamo Or Panama or Disneyland?

Heroes and Villains - "...neither were ever seen again!”

I've been in this town so long that back in the city I've been taken for lost and gone And unknown for a long long time

Sweet Bird - "I was trying to save your soul. It’s your fault this all happened!”

I can't recognize you Oh sweet bird of my youth Where have you flown to?

Now let's make one thing clear as crystal The blood is on your hands And the blood will stain your hands

Nightengale, Pt. 2 - A lament for Caleb

“Homer evokes the nightingale in the Odyssey, suggesting the myth of Philomela and Procne (one of whom, depending on the myth’s version, is turned into a nightingale).”

“Because of the violence of the myth, the nightingale’s song was long interpreted as a lament.”

(Wikipedia page for the Common Nightingale, “Cultural connotations” section)

Angel - “I’ll do anything to save humanity from evil.”

I believe that you believe that you're an angel Nowhere to rise, everywhere to fall I believe that you believe that there's a heaven Where you belong, where you belong

Neighborhood #2 (Laika) - “It does feel good to hear another human say that name. I had to change it when Philip was run out of too many towns.”

Alexander, our older brother Set out for a great adventure He tore our images out of his pictures He scratched our names out of all his letters

Hymn for a Scarecrow - “’Why,’ says [the bird catcher, laying his net], ‘I am laying the foundations of a city.’” (The Bird-Catcher and the Blackbird)

You hang around for a living Somewhere between all the land and the sky Being by never forgiving Nobody knows you and neither do I

Poison Tree - "All these weepy Palisman souls...their voices constantly nagging me...vile. But without them, I wouldn’t be able to do this.”

Make me feel like something powerful Is growing deep inside of me Turn me into a poison tree 

The Nowhere King - “Betrayed, beguiled, alone, decieved! We’ll have our revenge on-- ugh! ‘Unity’ is so hard to rhyme...”

Silent, secretive feeling Of fearsome hatred that reaches the skies

Open Hands - “A better version of an old friend.”

Here is what I lost forever Open hands, a certain laugh Here is what I thought I wanted Some lost smile in a photograph

Crocodile Tears -  “It hurts every time he chooses to betray me.”

Crocodile tears marching down your cheek Ooh, a small sob for the thing you did last week I look in your hands and there it is again You don't regret a single thing, friend

Pyre - Creating a Utopia, free from Wild Magic.

We're wresting now from our own hands a future Regret the flower of watered seed Are we the ghosts that swarm about us? We can begin We can begin again

Dancing in the Moonlight - "Collector. You’re free! Just as promised.”

We like our fun and we never fight You can't dance and stay uptight It's a supernatural delight Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Christmas Kids - “I thought this one was another lost cause. Because of you, we can finish our work as witch hunters...”

You'll change your name, or change your mind And leave this fucked up place behind

But I'll know

Home - “I just have to live long enough to see this through.”

No, no, you can’t go home, she says, the world, where do you think you’re going? We’re not done with you. The world is never done with you.

Love Love Love - “...maybe he’s still chasing his brother...”

Raskolnikov felt sick, but he couldn't say why When he saw his face reflected in his victim's twinkling eye

Some things you'll do for money and some you'll do for fun But the things you do for love are going to come back to you one by one

(cw: suicide mention in the full song)

[aerodaltonimperial]

FRIENDS, ARE YOU READY? let's talk about.... julia and skye!

there is a TON of lore we've gotten with the house of black/mist in the past few months, and now we've seen what marks a fairly pivotal turn in all of this, but it all makes sense if you trace back what's been laid out so far. and while i will always moan about how much of the women's stories ends up shuffled into short backstage segments and social media updates, we're still getting it, and it's still here, and I JUST WANT TO SCREAM ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT'S SO GOOD? and it actually doesn't even start here: to trace this back, we've got to wind the year back to when julia misted anna jay, because that was our first piece of the puzzle. READY?

we don't have, really, a ton of hard data on the mist and what it does, aside from the very obvious thing of what it did to julia, but what we do have is the fact that julia is the primary person using it, which, for me, is a spectacularly fun nugget considering that her entire trajectory was so violently changed by it. (also i just love her holding the reins within the hob) so earlier in 2023, julia mists anna jay. it seemed, at the time, like an act of aggression, but if you look back at it now... it isn't.

julia and anna went back as friends. their promos (which were fucking fire) all drew on the fact that they used to be friends and now they hate what the other person became, and that's essentially what the feud boiled down to. we saw bits and pieces of the mist sticking to anna: the dark tear streaks, and her yelling in her promos about how it was "all julia's fault." but it didn't stick, and the feud ended where it did, with their match.

then you get to october, where julia mists both willow and skye. this one drew on the same dark streaky tear bits that the earlier attempt had, but we finally got to see how the mist reacted differently based on who the target was AND we finally got some solid descriptions about it. in one promo, willow specifically references the mist and talks about how she hates the feeling of it inside her, and this is telling on a lot of levels. first, willow was ALWAYS fighting it: she only ever had the one eye with the streaks, and her instinctive response was pretty much "i don't want this." but skye? skye's was different.

skye's went to both eyes. skye got meaner and edgier, but she was always very clear that she was there for willow. she was, essentially, fighting it for willow. but at the same time, her demeanor very quickly changed into something else, while willow's bounced back pretty fast. and skye was also clear about how she didn't intend to join up with julia at all. (blue mist in julia's face!)

then julia gave the promo where she said that willow and skye had rejected her "gift." and this is where it all starts to make sense. not because of the oh julia is so evil she thinks this is a gift, thing. julia isn't looking to be on the offensive with the mist: that's never been the way she's used it. julia has been looking for a partner.

this was why she started with anna! they were friends from before, and the target made sense. julia tried it, and it didn't work: anna wouldn't accept her, and in rejecting the mist, she rejected julia. so julia went wider with it. she hit willow, she hit skye, and she tried to hit kris during their first TBS title match. she's looking for the person who won't reject the mist - i.e. won't reject her. and for awhile, it looked like she was still going to come out empty.

until willow and kris became fairly solid, fairly consistent tag partners. and the dark streaks that skye had been sporting under her eyes for months - the sign that she was still fighting the mist - disappeared. she had them in the TBS three-way match; she has not had them in the past week and a half. now! this can go one of two ways: either she gave in and stopped fighting because the person she was trying to stay for (willow) found another tag partner, or she's faking that she stopped fighting in order to get close to julia and get a shot at the TBS title.

skye has done some fucking KILLER work with this, and so has julia. julia tweeted on her HONEYMOON the "she's in the clouds, heavy and dark" with a little picture that looked a lot like skye. skye took some AMAZING photos with julia's photographer friend where she's covered in black goo that are, quite frankly, fantastic. it seemed like skye was going to completely reject the mist - and julia - until she went after abadon and the team-up happened.

tonight? they went full THRALL with this thing. skye was wearing LEATHER. she looked up at julia like julia HUNG THE MOON. this is such a stark reversal of what we had seen up to this point, that coincidentally comes on the heels of willow and kris having a big tag match together. but i can't tell you which way the actual story is going to go, and honestly, i love that. did skye finally give in and embrace the mist... and julia? or is she faking this to get closer to julia, figure her out, and try to take her belt? THIS IS SOME FUCKING SOLID-ASS STORY WORK THAT'S ONE OF THE MEATIEST STORIES THE WOMEN'S DIVISION HAS SEEN FOR MONTHS.

i watch both skye and julia's social media pretty closely to see what they post, and i'm keeping a weather eye out after this. i expect skye will be ringside for julia's PPV match against abadon, though i suppose i could be wrong. but julia went right after skye after that loss tonight and pulled her up to drag her up the ramp with her, and that's huge! she went to skye before the belt. for julia, this is finally having the partner that she's been searching for. for skye? i'm not sure yet.

but they've put a lot of work and a lot of time into this story, and i hope they drag this out for awhile longer because i'm really invested in it. they were pretty much the only thing i watched tonight's episode for. just my girls!! i love the lore we're getting. i love how much they've obviously put their efforts into this, into making this a really solid, long-arching story line. julia, on her own, consistently does some of the best character work and has a real eye for the long game - and taking risks.

anyway!! i wanted to scream about them a little bit. i talk about my boys a lot, but my girls are doing such a fucking KILLER job with this, and i'm just so jazzed that it's come to such an already satisfying peak!!! and also, they are so sexy. it is so difficult for me. i am a weak-willed woman. i cannot be expected to behave normally with this. we need more fic immediately.

[itisbop]

And now... the moment you've all been waiting for (or not, which is fine)! Let's talk Brawl Talk because OH BOY am I excited.

This is gonna be a pretty long post, so bear with me! I'll go over one section at a time and go over what I liked and disliked. Spoilers ahead! If you haven't watched the latest Brawl Talk, go do so! One more reminder, these are just my thoughts! You don't have to agree with me!

Without further to do... let's talk!

New Brawlers (Angelo and Melodie)

Now, when I first saw Angelo, I immediately went, "HE'S UGLY LMAO." After getting used to him, though, he's actually not that bad. His design is really good and is somewhat of an anti-cupid (perfect for a gal like Willow). Also, his voice actor did such a good job so much energy was put into him.

He doesn't seem like he's gonna be incredibly busted, but he is gonna be good in the right hands (while I'm at it pay your respects to Mortis Mains ya'll, they just took a major l with this guy). Sorry Larry and Lawrie, but you two are gonna have to step aside, I NEED this man as much as I need the next brawler.

I. LOVE. MELODIE!!! I did think she was a League of Legends character at first, lol.

Apparently, I've heard people say she is the first female assassin, which is very interesting! Out of the two, I feel she poses more of a threat. She might be broken, though her main attack is WEAK.

I've been through the Reddit and have seen so many people talk about how she looks like Janet, and I'd like to take the time to bring up a little theory... what if she was Janet and Bonnie's mom? I would go into this further, but we have to keep going!

Overall, I really like these two! Their designs are really good, and the character designers did a great job! Their pins and profile pictures show SO much personality! Expect some art of these two soon! However, if I may say something, I wish their skins were cooler. Why couldn't Angelo have a Sands of Time skin too? 😭

Speaking of Sands of Time...

Sands of Time and Ragnorok + Skins

Out of both seasons, I'm very hyped for Sands of Time. The "Sands of Time" is a very interesting concept that can be used very creatively. Can't wait to see what the animation brings! Though I think we all know why I'm hyped...

My best guest was that this skin was gonna be a Epic/Mythic skin, but a LEGENDARY?????? WHAT?????? Chuck fans we just fucking WON. I've seen the sneak peaks and heard his voice lines, Nicolai did an INCREDIBLE job as always. I'm am SO READY to go broke for this skin, but first, I must purchase some seasonal skins since they've been on my agenda for a while.

Loki Chester has to be the one I'm looking forward to getting the most for the Ragnorok seasons/skins. Plus, it's free! (If you have good luck).

Side note and honorable mention, Thor Bibi was just the icing on the cake for Bibi Mains this update. While I feel like a few more details could be added for this skin to make in truly "legendary," everything else about it great, including the voice acting! Poor Bull, he's the only one in his yet to get a Legendary Skin.

Ranked and The Report System

Okay, not related, but I love how they disses on the community a bit in this section, LOL. They know what, at least Reddit and Twitter are doing (and let's keep it that way, they don't need to know what's going on over here lol).

Anyways, while I'm excited (and scared) for Ranked with modifiers I wanna take this time to talk about a concern... the report system...

Now, I know there's a reason why we have 10 reports; but what's gonna stop so angry guy from reporting me if I didn't do anything? I feel like there's a chance this could backfire, that's all.

Hypercharges and Balance Changes

No Mortis or Poco hypercharge :(

Cordelius was definitely unexpected and very scary. Getting slowed in the shadow realm is a death sentence.

I wish Belle got a little more this update, but I'll take the hypercharge.

Move over Charlie, there's a new spider person in town, and he's a DINOSAUR.

Onto to balance changes. 84???? GOD DAMN. Adrien wasn't fucking around this update. Edgar is dead (and rightfully so FUCK HIM) and Doug might actually stand a chance in this Meta. I'll miss the days when Hypercharges were game breaking just for the community's rage, but it's probably for the greater good.

Whatever the Fuck the Random Skins Were

Now Primo Shark, I can take (though I'm definitely not gonna be able to take Baby Shark as a in game theme, I'm muting music for that entire time period). Pitcher Fang is a good skin too. Squeaky note is very... meh, but it's a rare skin so you can't expect much.

BUT POOP SPIKE.

POOP SPIKE.

What

the

FUCK?

It was tolerable until I saw the losing animation, and to that, I say EWWWWWWWWWW 🤮🤮🤮. WHYYYYY!?!?!? THAT'S SO NASTY!!!

I get that this is an April Fool's skin, but WHYYY THAT??? Thank GOD this skin is expensive. If I catch any of you with this skin, I'm gonna need to ask if you're okay. I don't wanna show a picture of this skin to you all, or else I'm pretty sure Tumblr would kick me to the curve. This is easily what I was least excited for for this update.

Overall Rating and Final Thoughts

Now, it's time to throw the final ratings on screen and say anything else that's on my mind.

New Brawlers - 9.5/10, definitely getting both! Let's hope they get some cool skins soon!

Sands of Time - 7/10, the concept and Chuck carry this season don't fight me on this. /j

Ragnorok - 6.5/10, I'm not as hyped, but I will grind for that Chester skin!

Ranked - 8/10, now I have a reason to actually play this mode. Hopefully, the report system is fair enough...

Hypercharges - 6.5/10, again not as hype, but I will be snatching that Belle Hypercharge since she's the only one out of the 6 I maxed out. She deserved more, though. :(

Balance Changes - 10/10, bye Edgar begone. F for the twins, however; I liked them.

Random Stuff - 3/10, not even Pitched Fang can save us from whatever the devs were on.

Overall Season 24/25 is...

8/10! (Poop Spike ruined it >:( )

And that's it. For those who have read to the end, thank you so much for heating me ramble it means so much. Expect some headcanons and more little theories soon (as in some time this week). Until then, ciao!

[icegirl2772]

My Intro and Fics

Note: This will be edited as I continue working on my stories.

I've been lurking on Tumblr on and off for years now. But I've been getting more active on here that I've really gotten back into writing fanfiction. So, it may seem silly, but I felt an intro was in order.

I'm IceGirl2772. You can call me Ice or Icey. I've been writing fanfiction since I was 10 or 11. If you look at my FFN stuff... be prepared for the cringe. But nowadays, I am much more active on AO3.

Here is my profile link (AO3). Since the post is gonna be lengthy, as I provide a bit of background for the fandoms I write for and the stories I have, I'm adding a Read More. But in short, I write for the following fandoms (in alphabetical order): Big Time Rush (TV Series), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Criminal Case (video game), Harry Potter, Loonatics Unleashed, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 series), Thunderbirds (1965 series) and Transformers: Prime. Everything is fandom blind friendly.

Just a fair warning: I list a lot of the tags my fics have, and a few of them are NSFW. I'm also gonna be updating this as I go, so it's subject to constant change.

I'm gonna do my fandoms in alphabetical order for simplicity's sake.

Big Time Rush

I only have one fic in this fandom to date:

Take a Shot in the Dark | Teen and Up | No Archive Warnings Apply | James Diamond/Original Female Character, Background Kendall Knight/Jo Taylor, Background Logan Mitchell/Camille Roberts, Brief Original Male Character/Original Female Character | Kendall Knight, Kaelyn Knight (OC), James Diamond, Logan Mitchell, Carlos Garcia, Katie Knight, Gustavo Rocque, Kelly Wainwright, Palm Woods Kids, Jennifer Knight | Kendall Has a Twin Sister, Songwriting, Childhood Friends, Male-Female Friendship, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Chaos, Other Additional Tags to Be Added | 13 Chapters | 103k Words | WIP

She was always along for the ride. The twin sister. The best friend. But now, Kaelyn Knight was about to become the heart and soul of Big Time Rush as Gustavo takes her under his wing.

Going to Hollywood is certain to change the boys. But how will it change Kaelyn?

This fic holds a special place in my heart because I went back and forth on this idea for years, and it was actually through some of the friends I met here on Tumblr that I got the courage to post it. So... thanks.

Planned Fics in This Fandom:

First Sequel to Take a Shot in the Dark - takes place during Season 2 of Big Time Rush

Second Sequel to Take a Shot in the Dark - takes place during Seasons 3 and 4 of Big Time Rush

Odd one-shots

An AU of my fic - one where James and Kaelyn's relationship takes a completely different direction (basically an Explicit Friends with Benefits Situation combined with Idiots in Love).

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

I only have one fic in this fandom to date:

Butterfly | Teen and Up | Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings | Past Nick Stokes/Original Female Character | Nick Stokes, Kadelyn 'Kady' Stokes (OC), Original Characters, Warrick Brown, Gil Grissom, Catherine Willows, Sara Side, Greg Sanders, Jim Brass | Nick Stokes Whump, Nick Stokes as a Single Father, Father-Daughter Relationship, Family Feels, Family Bonding, Season/Series 01, Past Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added | 4/24 Chapters | 5k Words | WIP

There was no denying the life of a CSI is a hard one. Different horrors every night shift. Different monsters emerging from the shadows. Always a new crime - some more horrific than others. Nick Stokes has always been one of the most empathetic CSIs, so he was often one of the most affected on the night shift.

But then, he thinks of a little girl waiting for him at home, and remembers his determination to make the world a better place for her. For his daughter. For Kadelyn. And the weight of the world is instantly lifted off his shoulders when he says two words: 'Hey, butterfly.'

This fic is a rewrite of a very old, very cringey fic I had up on my FFN. All of the chapters are very short and focus on a moment between Nick and his young daughter before, during or after an episode.

Planned Fics for This Fandom:

Stories of a similar vain to this one - all focusing on each season of the show. All named after butterfly in different languages.

Criminal Case (video game)

(There's literally no GIF for the fandom)

I only have one fic in this fandom to date:

The Adventures of Avery Samuels: Welcome to Grimsborough | Mature | Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death | David Jones/Player Character | Avery Samuels (Player Character substitute), David Jones, Samuel King, Nathan Pandit, Grace Delaney, Alex Turner, Eduardo Ramirez | Season 1: Grimsborough, Police Procedural, POV First Person, Co-Workers to Lovers, Male-Female Friendship, Friends to Lovers, Minor Character Death, Canon-Typical Violence, Miscarriage, Implied Sexual Content, Innuendo, Suicide, Bombs, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Heteroromantic Bisexual Character, Implied/Referenced Cannibalism, Implied/Referenced Torture, Racism, Past Character Death, Death of a Child (referenced), Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Sad Ending, Other Additional Tags to Be Added | 67/122 Chapters | 545k Words | WIP

After completing her education at the police academy, Avery Samuels is ready for her career as a police officer in the Grimsborough Police Department to begin. She is assigned to work with David Jones, her older brother's childhood best friend. How will things unfold between the two of them as Avery navigates her new job and her new life?

This is something I originally wrote on Wattpad, and I wanted to save it when I deactivated my Wattpad account. So, I transferred it to AO3 and kept it going. It is certainly going to be a wild ride.

Planned Fics for This Fandom:

The Adventures of Avery Samuels: Welcome to Pacific Bay - Title subject to change. Sequel to Welcome to Grimsborough. Follows Avery in Pacific Bay.

The Adventures of Avery Samuels: Save the World - Title subject to change. Sequel to Grimsborough and Pacific Bay. Follows Avery during her tenure in the Bureau.

Mysteries of the Past: The Adventures of Emily Campbell - Spin-off focusing on Avery's ancestor Emily Campbell as she moves from England to Concordia. Based on Season 4 of Criminal Case.

The Adventures of Avery Samuels: A Final Conspiracy - Follows Avery as she returns to Grimsborough. Will be the final story in the series. (I'm not doing Seasons 6-8.)

Some one-shots of varying ratings.

A retelling of the main story from Jones' POV.

Harry Potter

I have two works in this fandom:

Just a Man | Teen and Up | Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings | No Romantic Relationships | Unnamed Hufflepuff Student, Background & Cameo Characters, Various Characters Mentioned But Not Seen | Voldemort Dies, Past Character Death, Second Wizarding War with Voldemort, Battle of Hogwarts Aftermath, More Book Than Film Based, POV First Person | 575 Words | Complete

The thoughts of an unidentified Hufflepuff student in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts.

This is my very first work in the Harry Potter fandom. I'm a Hufflepuff, so this was born out of me wanting to shine a bit more of a spotlight on the house.

Even If | Teen and Up | Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings | No Romantic Relationships | Neville Longbottom, Background & Cameo Characters, Original Character | Gryffindor, Gryffindors Being Gryffindors, Introspection, Based on Film Adaptations | 1.8k Words | Complete

It was a question that many Hogwarts students asked, regardless of whether they were planed in Gryffindor or another house. It was certainly asked as the dark days loomed. When certain events brought that question to the forefront more than ever.

What did it mean to be brave?

I wrote this thinking of a message by a local antibullying organisation: Speak - even if your voice shakes.

Planned Fics for This Fandom:

My plans are very fluid. I am hoping to write more one-shots. I don't see myself writing a mutli-chaptered story in this fandom.

Loonatics Unleashed

I only have one fic in this fandom so far:

A Million Things | Teen and Up | Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings | No Romantic Relationships | Ace Bunny, Brylee Bunny (OC), Lexi Bunny, Danger Duck, Slam Tasmanian, Tech E. Coyote, Rev Runner, Zadavia, Various Character(s) | Childbirth, Character Adopted at Birth, Interspecies Family, Found Family, Ace Bunny as a Big Brother, Diabetes, Menstruation, Coming-of-Age, Canon-Typical Violence, Bullying, Other Additional Tags to Be Added | 17/27 Chapters | 93k Words | WIP

Brylee Bunny is a million things. An orphan. A teenage girl. An aspiring photographer. A diabetic. An outcast. A... superhero? Brylee is thrust into her new life: a life where she has superpowers and she, along with her adoptive brother Ace and five other individuals, save the world from evil on a daily basis. How will she adapt to her new life as a superhero? Especially when it brings up even more questions about the family who abandoned her at birth?

I started writing this on FFN several years ago and decided to bring it over to AO3 when I decided to make AO3 my main fanfic site.

Planned Fics for This Fandom:

A Million and One Things - Sequel to A Million Things. Follows Brylee during the events of season two.

A Million More Things - Sequel to A Million Things and A Million and One Things. The final story in the Brylee Bunny trilogy.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 series)

I only have one fic in this fandom so far:

In the Darkness | Teen and Up | Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings | Leonardo/Original Female Character | Leonardo, Alina Herber (OC), Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, Hamato Yoshi / Splinter, April O'Neil | Canon-Typical Violence, Interspecies Relationship, Interspecies Romance, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Other Additional Tags to Be Added | 15 Chapters | 62k Words | WIP

They introduced her to their world, now she can introduce them to hers.

What can possibly go wrong?

Something I started writing eight years ago and originally got abandoned, but renewed interest thanks to review exchanges on Reddit (along with rewatching the show) got me back into this.

Planned Fics in This Fandom:

First In the Darkness Sequel - follows season 2 of TMNT 2012

Second In the Darkness Sequel - follows season 3 of TMNT 2012

Third In the Darkness Sequel - follows first half of season 4 of TMNT 2012

Fourth In the Darkness Sequel - follows second half of season 4 of TMNT 2012

Fifth In the Darkness Sequel - follows some of season 5 of TMNT

Potential for various one-shots focusing on Leo and Alina

Thunderbirds (1965 series)

I have six stories in this fandom. It's by far my most active:

The Thunderbird and the Doctor | Mature | Graphic Descriptions of Violence | Scott Tracy/Original Female Character, Background Alan Tracy/Tin-Tin Kyrano, Background Virgil Tracy/Original Female Character | Scott Tracy, Tracy Family, Indiana Evans (OC) | Based on Original Series, Scott Needs Some Loving, They Need a Doctor, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Narcissism, Angst and Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Murder, Kidnapping, Birth Control (one chapter), Pregnancy, Brief Descriptions of Labour | 50/50 Chapters | 292k Words | Complete

There was a missing component to International Rescue, Jeff Tracy felt. They needed a doctor. So, he found one. Dr. Indiana Evans was one of the best-known trauma surgeons. She wants to make a difference. Little did she know how much her life would change along the way.

This baby was what got me back into fanfiction writing full time. So, seeing this complete felt very bittersweet. In many ways, it's my first baby.

The Thunderbird and the Doctor After Dark | Explicit | No Archive Warnings Apply | Scott Tracy/Original Female Character | Scott Tracy, Indiana Evans (OC) | Porn, Porn with Feelings, Some Plot, Blow Jobs, Oral Sex, One Shot Collection, Additional Warnings in Author's Note, Unprotected Sex, Masturbation, Multiple Sex Positions, Hand Jobs, No Dialogue (some chapters), Cunnilingus, Mutual Masturbation, Medical Kink, Sexual Roleplay, 5+1 Things, Cockblocking, This Author Sucks at Dirty Talk, Temperature Play, Restraints, Blindfolds, Aftercare, Bathtub Sex, Light BDSM, Couch Sex, Birthday Sex | 19 Chapters | 46k Words | WIP

The missing scenes from The Thunderbird and the Doctor. What exactly do Scott and Indiana get up to behind closed doors?

This is my smut collection. It's the missing sex scenes from the main story, but you can read it without reading the main story. Especially if you're just looking for some smut.

The Thunderbird and the Geologist | Teen and Up | Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings | Virgil Tracy/Original Female Character, Background Scott Tracy/Original Female Character, Background Alan Tracy/Tin-Tin Kyrano | Virgil Tracy, Arizona Adams (OC), Tracy Family | Sequel, References to Previous Story, Past Character Death, Falling in Love, Happy Ending, Might Contain Inaccuracies, Child of Death Adults (CODA), American Sign Language, Other Additional Tags to Be Added | 4 Chapters | 11k Words | WIP

Sequel to 'The Thunderbird and the Doctor'.

We saw Scott find his missing piece. How about Virgil? It was pure fate that saw Virgil meeting Dr. Arizona Adams, a world-renowned geologist who also happens to be Indiana's childhood best friend. Will their road to happily ever after be smooth sailing?

This is the second story in a series I'm planning focusing on each Tracy brother and their love story. It's early days, but I'm happy with it so far.

The Solution Was Simple | General Audiences | No Archive Warnings Apply | Jeff Tracy | Pre-Canon, Pre-IR, Reflection, Written on my iPad | 2k Words | Complete

Jeff reflects on the sacrifices he's asking his sons to make for his dreams, and is resolved to do what he can to rectify that.

I wrote this one-shot on a plane trip actually (personal note: never write on an iPad again). I actually posted it on the anniversary I started posting The Thunderbird and the Doctor, which made it even more special.

A Tropical White Christmas | General Audiences | No Archive Warnings Apply | Tracy Family, Original Characters, Penelope Creighton-Ward, Tin-Tin Kyrano, Background & Cameo Characters | Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Snowball Fight, Snow on a Tropical Island, References to Canon, Pregnant Character | 1.5k Words | Complete

Brains had given the Tracy family a great gift this Christmas. One they were determined to make use of.

This is written in reference to the Thunderbirds episode Give or Take a Million, where Brains made it snow on Tracy Island. So, the boys enjoy it the old-fashioned way. This was written as part of the Winter Fest on the FanfictionExchange subreddit and gifted to @kristylime, a good friend of mine and co-mod who gave me the idea. Thanks, mate.

Down and Up | General Audiences | No Archive Warnings Apply | Jeff Tracy/Lucille Tracy | Jeff Tracy, Lucille Tracy | First Meetings, Love at First Sight, No Dialogue | 1.9k Words | Complete

Two people experiencing an unlucky day meet at a train station, and their day looks up.

I wrote this in response to the Fate and Luck Fest on the FanfictionExchange subreddit.

Planned Fics in This Fandom:

The Thunderbird and the Photographer - Gordon's love story with photographer Mirabel Marks.

The Thunderbird and the Author - John's love story with author Adalyn Rowe.

The Thunderbird and His Sweetheart - Alan's love story with Tin-Tin

Odd one-shots

Not in this fandom, but I am thinking of doing a fic based on the reboot with a new OC, but similar to The Thunderbird and the Doctor

Transformers: Prime

I have two fics in this fandom:

Save You | Explicit | Graphic Descriptions of Violence | Jack Darby/Original Female Character, Optimus Prime/Arcee | Talida Prime, Jack Darby, Optimus Prime, Arcee, Ratchet, Cliffjumper, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, William Fowler, Starscream, Decepticons | Kidnapping, Torture, Teen Romance, Rewrite, Amputation, Aftermath of Torture, Psychological Torture, Implied Sexual Content, Pre-Canon, Might Contain Medical Inaccuracies, Angst with a Happy Ending, Is This a Dead Dove Fic? | 23/23 Chapters | 64k Words | Complete

What if Jack somehow discovered the existence of the Autobots earlier than planned? His best friend has disappeared and he soon discovers that there is more to her disappearance than meets the eye.

This is a rewrite of a story I brought over from FFN, which is in turn a rewrite of my original Talida Prime series. I wasn't happy with what I was doing and had done, so it led to this.

Zombie | Explicit | Graphic Descriptions of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage | Jack Darby/Original Female Character, Optimus Prime/Arcee | Jack Darby, Talida Prime, Original Characters, Optimus Prime, Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Cliffjumper, Miko Nakadai, Rafael "Raf" Esquivel, William Fowler, June Darby, Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Other Character Tags to Be Added | Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Past Torture, Past Abuse, Flashbacks, Season/Series 01, Amputee Character, Teen Romance, Eventual Smut, Characters Are 16 Years Old, Is This a Dead Dove?, Slight Alteration to Canon, Other Additional Tags to Be Added | 5 Chapters | 19k Words | WIP

Sequel to 'Save You'.

It's been two years. The Decepticons have retreated into the shadows. Talida is haunted by her experiences, but is slowly moving forward with the help of her loved ones. But the tranquility is disrupted when the Decepticons make a dramatic return to the scene, causing a significant blow to the Autobot forces and marking the resumption of a war that has haunted Talida since birth. The Autobots gear up for another fight alongside old and new allies, but will they all emerge unscathed?

As mentioned, this is a sequel to Save You. This follows season one of the show, but some changes will have to be made because, in this series, Jack knew about the Autobots before the show's canon.

Planned Fics in This Fandom:

Sequels to Save You and Zombie. Unknown titles. Unknown if any other fics will crop up.

[avatarmerida]

Meeting the parents ✌️ read on AO3 or under the cut. I know it’s been a month since I updated don’t mention it I’m sensitive

It was so odd how a simple word can change everything and nothing at the same time?

When they saw each other at school, she still greeted him the same way. She’d either rush into his arms, laughing as he spun her around or she’d wrap him in a tight hug to spin him around (it all depended on who got to the other’s locker first). Hunter was surprised at first, he had assumed that them dating would change everything, but somehow it hadn’t. He realized that it meant that the way she felt about him hadn’t changed, that she really had liked him for awhile. It still made him blush like an idiot.

But now he didn’t mind if she noticed the blushing, because he was her blushing boyfriend.

When his hand would brush hers when they walked, she took it. She’d link their pinkies or laced their fingers and he didn’t have to make an excuse or it in his mind like she didn’t want him to get lost or something. She did it because he was her boyfriend and she wanted to be close to him, and she wanted everyone to know it. Because he was something to her that no one else was.

Nothing in his world had drastically changed. He still went to school, went to flyer derby practice, helped Dell with the palismen, but now everything he did he did as Willow Park’s boyfriend. He roamed the realm as someone Willow Park publicly liked as more than a friend. He knew he was someone, but now he was someone to her . He’d endure 100,000 “That’s Hunter, the old Golden Guard” for one “Hunter? Oh, you mean Willow’s boyfriend” identifier. It was the first title that did not make his heart feel tied down, but bursting and free. A title he hoped to never pass on, only to rank up.

He hadn’t changed; he looked the same, talked the same, dressed the same. And yet, he was totally different. Because he was Willow’s. He was Willow’s boyfriend.

And he did not get tired of saying it.

“Sorry, I can’t talk right now, I’m waiting for my girlfriend Willow. Since I’m her boyfriend, I wanted to walk her to class, ya know? Since we’re advanced friends. Just wanna make sure my girlfriend doesn’t need help carrying her books. And if she does, I can help. Since that’s a boyfriend job and I’m her boyfriend after all.”

“Okay… I literally didn’t say anything but I’m glad you two are happy,” said Viney, who was literally just walking by. “Tell Willow I said hi, okay?”

“As her boyfriend, I will be sure to let my girlfriend know,” he said proudly as Viney picked up the pace.

Willow’s hair had never been more full of flowers. The sight of Hunter waiting for her made her absolutely giddy and that unbridled joy manifested itself in flowers so vibrant and colorful she looked like a walking topiary. She was too enamored to be sly and her inability to hide her joy made his wide, toothy, dopey grin even dopier. Which made more flowers and it was just a never ending cycle. It was like every day was the first day.

The way he looked at her hadn’t changed but now the look lingered and he didn’t turn away when she caught him. He still got nervous around her but now it was a nerve he was confident about. Willow couldn’t describe it with words but she felt the subtle change between them. It was a new kind of uncertainty, a different brand of scary, it was more exciting and less heavy. She had been worried for awhile that it was all in her head, that she was misreading his blushes when she complimented him or misinterpreting the soft way he said her name, like it was something precious to him.

Willow made it clear that she was a fan of affection and Hunter made it clear that he loved receiving that affection. But as much as Hunter absolutely loved letting Willow know how much she meant to him, he sometimes still had trouble being a “just because” person. He was used to everything having a reason, a bigger purpose. So when Willow would lean over the table to quickly peck his cheek as he was sketching “just because he looked cute,” well he didn’t know how to adjust. He felt he hadn’t earned it. Granted, he was not complaining, but he was unsure how to return the gesture. If he went to kiss Willow every time he thought she looked amazing or was on his mind well… he may never stop.

But Willow was always ready and willing to validate him. Whenever he made a move, no matter how small, she made sure to show her approval. If he placed his hand on hers, she’d lace her fingers through his as though to say “I’m keeping you.” If he put his arm around her shoulders she would grab his waist as though to say “this is where you belong.” And when he embraced her, she would wrap her arms tightly around him and lift him off the ground to say “you are the best thing that’s ever been mine.”

So every morning when they eventually needed to part for class, Willow would quickly kiss his cheek and it was like a shot of caffeine. She had just kissed it to say hello minutes ago and just when he was shaking off the daze that brought, she lured him into another. He practically floated to class after that. She loved the effect it had and she loved that he was helpless to hide it. She wished she could dedicate her mornings to covering his whole face in kisses, but Gus was threatening to start charging them a snail for everytime their goo goo eyes distracted them from a group conversation. Willow knew he was kidding, but noticed the next day Hunter had brought some in a pouch, just in case.

They were insufferable to everyone around them and Willow absolutely loved it.

“So, what did Willow’s dads say when you told them?” asked Luz as she sat on the basement coach reading as Hunter worked on yet another gift for Willow at his sewing machine. He was adding pockets to a dress she had found at the thrift store ( Willow, my girlfriend, loves having pockets to keep things in , he had said proudly to the lady at the craft store who did not ask). Then on top of the pockets he was adding patches and stitches so there was no mistaking who the dress was for and who it was from.

“Told them what?”

“That you and Willow are dating,” said Luz like it was obvious. “They can be pretty strict, so you must’ve been pretty nervous when you asked for their blessing.”

Hunter stopped what he was doing and when Luz heard the sewing machine stop she looked up and saw Hunter staring at his hands in a panic.

“I was supposed to… ask them?” he said, beginning to sweat.

“Woah, uh hey! It’s okay!” assured Luz, jumping up from the coach to make sure he didn’t accidentally stab his hand with the needle while he was distracted. “You technically don’t have to ask them, that’s just something people sometimes do! But I mean as long as you told them that you…” the panicked look on Hunter’s face did not let up. “You haven’t told them, have you?”

“I… don’t think so.”

“I mean, you’ve told everyone else on the Isles,” laughed Luz. “Plus everyone in line at the supermarket.”

“I know I just… I mean, I wasn’t hiding it or anything but I’m weirdly scared of them?” said Hunter. It still baffled him, he had no reason to be but he knew that if he even suspected they disliked something about him he would throw himself into the boiling sea. But that was normal, right?

“Well, I’m sure Willow has told them,” said Luz, hoping to undo the stress she had summoned.

“But what if she hasn’t?” Hunter was beginning to spiral. “W-what if she just assumed I did that part right and they already know? I mean, I didn’t do anything else right but I would’ve if I had known-.”

“Hey hey hey, chill out hermano,” said Luz. “The Parks totally love you, out of all of Willow’s friends you’ve definitely gotten her in the least amount of trouble.”

“But… I kidnapped her when we first met.”

“Has she told them that?”

“Um…” Hunter knew she had told her dads about him, she had mentioned it here and there in the human realm but she never went into much detail. The subject hadn’t come up when they first met, he could recall the day in perfect detail. He had just helped Willow find her dads and was catching up with Darius…

“... and they’re pack animals which means they create families and they’re always-,” Hunter looked up and saw Darius’ eyes were elsewhere. “Sorry, I’m probably boring you, huh?”

“Hmm? Oh, no no little prince of course not,” Darius chuckled fondly. “I just think there’s a certain someone trying to get your attention.”

He followed Darius’ gaze and saw Willow talking excitedly with her dads, who looked over at him to suggest he was a topic of discussion. Willow’s eyes found Hunter’s and gave him a quick smile before turning away, her cheeks flushed.

“Something tells me she doesn’t need to try all that hard,” said Darius, giving Eberwolf a knowing glance. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

“Huh? What? Why?” said Hunter nervously. “Y-you know Willow, you’ve seen her before.”

“Hmm, that’s not who I meant,” smirked Darius, looking across the room somehow knowing that the flyer derby girl was having the same conversion with her fathers. He walked over as Hunter trailed nervously behind him, unable to help but smile at the way Willow’s fathers whispered more intensely the closer he got. Darius extended his hand to them and smiled.

“Hello, I’m Darius,” he said, the two men looking up at him as though starstruck before Gilbert took his hand and mumbled ‘pleased to meet you’. “It’s a pleasure to meet you sirs, I’m a big fan of your daughter. Though, I have to admit I think Hunter here will fight for the status of her biggest fan.”

“Oh, so this is Hunter,” said Harvey in a tone that suggested he had come up in conversation long before this. Suddenly all eyes were on him and all the grimwalker could go was offer a shy wave as he gulped. He knew how important Willow’s dads were to her and he suddenly wished he had more time to prepare. He wished he smelled better and his clothes weren’t so disheveled so they didn’t think he looked like this all the time.

But before he had the chance to say something embarrassing, he was pulled forward and was suddenly wrapped in a tight hug with the entire Park clan. Willow was right beside him as her fathers towered over them, and there was no room to be nervous here. This was just warmth and love and safety and gratitude.

Hunter chuckled nervously as the embrace only tightened, as Darius chuckled endearingly to the side.

“Thank you,” whispered Harvey and somehow Hunter knew he was talking to him.

“Uh, y-you’re welcome,” said Hunter as they did not loosen their grip around him and Willow buried her head in his chest. He fought the urge to let the tears fall again, somehow hopefully he had wordlessly made a good first impression. It felt undeserved. “What ah, what did you tell them about me?” he whispered to Willow.

“I just told them you mean alot to me,” she whispered to him as she gave him a smile.

Unlike most people, the Parks had liked him from the moment they met him. He was certain that no matter what they learned about him, they would still like him because Willow liked him and he made her happy.

But that just meant he had so much to live up to. It meant he had to do everything he could not to sully their opinion of him.

“You could do what Amity and I did for mom,” suggested Luz, sensing his mind was fabricating a mission.

“You mean make a video?”

“Yeah! Willow has tons of pictures of you two together, it’ll be easy,” said Luz. “Plus, they’ll see how happy you make each other.”

“And the video convinced Camila to give Amity her blessing?”

“Well, I guess so,” said Luz, jumping up to get the photo album Willow kept there. “It was actually more of just a cute way to officially tell her that I’m bi.”

“Oh,” said Hunter, getting up to help her select photos to start. “Good idea then, I didn’t know I had to officially tell them.”

-

Hunter arrived nearly an hour early. He was so paranoid about being late that he hadn’t considered being too early. But he hid the bushes and rehearsed what he’d say and how he’d say it. He wanted to show them he was a confident, capable boyfriend. He needed them to know he was worthy of the title.

When the time finally became appropriate for Hunter to knock on the door, the door flew open almost immediately as though Willow had been equally anxiously waiting for him on the other side.

“Hiya,” she said sweetly, beaming at the sight of him as though she hadn’t just seen him at derby practice a few hours ago.

“Hi,” he said, the sight of her looking so happy to see him easing him a little. He was worried he had overdressed, a light green dress shirt and bright, floral tie had been carefully selected to show how much he belonged in Willow’s world. But as she stood in the doorway in a golden sundress that matched her glasses, he felt validated in assuming the evening's importance. “Y-you look beautiful.”

She smiled and he could tell by her smile she was about to lean up and kiss his check, an action that never failed to make his ears flutter, when suddenly they were joined by two taller figures on either side of Willow.

“Well, that’s exactly what we said,” laughed Harvey as he put his hand proudly on Willow’s shoulder.

“Hello sirs! Pleased to meet you- see you! Haha, we have met before,” he said nervously as Willow tried to hide her smile, unable to help but to find the whole scene endearing. He held out his arm as he turned between the two men as though trying to calculate how to shake two hands at once while still concealing the bouquet he hid behind his back. Whenever he brought flowers, he tried to have Willow guess what they were, he’d give a fun fact about their land of origin or what they signified as a hint. It was a silly little game that allowed them both an opportunity to impress the other but for some reason it felt too silly to do in front of her dads.

After the managed to help Hunter pick an order to shake their hands, they welcomed him inside and Willow leapt up and whispered in his ear

“Primroses, iris, and zinnias,” she said softly.

“Correct,” he replied with a smile, revealing her prize to which she happily took. She smelled them, knowing he had spent a great deal of time selecting the perfect shades to balance the collection.

“And what’s this?” she said, noticing the laptop bag hanging from his shoulder for the first time. “Are you gonna have them watch the Cosmic Frontier movie? Because I think you should probably-.”

“Oh, no no,” said Hunter as his nerves caught back up with him. “I wanted to tell them we’re advanced friends in a special way, so they know I’m a good choice.”

“Awh Hunter, that’s so sweet but I promise-.”

“I know I was supposed to do this sooner, but you mean so much to me that I wanted to make sure I didn’t skip any steps,” Hunter said sincerely, and Willow knew he was determined to see it through. When Hunter liked something, he gave all of himself to it. Whether it was sewing or palisman or Cosmic Frontier or derby, being something he cared about meant you were something he did not give up on. And at the top of that list written in the most precious handwriting was her, and she could not deny the lengths he went to in order to remind her.

“Okay,” she said with a smile. “I’ll go help you set up.”

“Thanks,” he said, taking a deep breath. “I want to make sure I leave plenty of room after for questions before game night officially starts.”

“So what’s this all about, kids?” asked Harvey as they sat on the couch, watching Hunter set up the laptop as Willow adjusted the lights. “Showing off your human realm items? What’s this one do?”

“Oh! Is this the one that toasts things?” asked Gilbert. “Or the one with all the dancing?”

“Not exactly, Mr. Park,” said Hunter as he finally remembered Luz's Lessons on how to queue the video, as he turned to face them standing beside the laptop. “I um, want to thank you for having me over tonight because there’s something important I wanted to tell you, about how I feel about Willow.”

The flowers in Willow’s hands seemed to poof, as though literally elated by Hunter’s words. He locked eyes with her and became stuck there for a moment, finding another reason to hopelessly admire her every time he did, but he managed to return to the mission at hand.

“But uh then I thought, why just tell you when I can show you!” he said, his voice unable to shake the obvious memorization in his delivery as he pressed the spacebar to play the slideshow. He smiled nervously, hoping it would be to their liking, but when the song he had carefully chosen from Luz’s online music gallery did not begin to play he grew worried.

Because instead he heard his own voice.

“Are you recording?”

Which was not the plan.

“Yes, ” came Luz’s voice on the video. “ But don’t worry, I’ll edit this out.”

“That’s uh, haha t- the wrong video,” announced Hunter as he tried to make the computer go back. But Luz had preset it for him, unaware the wrong video file had been pulled up.

“Okay, now you just need to record a voice over,” came Luz’s voice, the screen black and trying to come into focus.

“Well what do I say?” asked Hunter’s voice on the screen.

The little button had disappeared from the screen and he didn’t know how to get it back. Oh, why hadn’t he watched the video all the way through before bringing it here?

“I dunno, say something cool?”

“Like about Willow?”

“Well, I’m sure they know Willow is cool but show them that you’re cool too!”

“They’re not stupid! They’re gonna know Willow is cooler than me!” said Hunter on the recording. “What if they think I’m too weird or sweaty to go out with her?”

“Awh, she makes you weird and sweaty?” Luz gushed sweetly on the recording.

Meanwhile, Hunter was frantically pushed every button he could but the torture did not stop.

“They’re not gonna believe she’s my girlfriend. I can’t even believe she's my girlfriend.”

“What if they don’t believe you? Are you gonna kiss in front of them to prove it?”

Hunter felt as though he was melting into the earth and in a moment of panic unmatched by anything else he had ever experienced, he threw the laptop across the room. Not so hard that it broke or became unusable but enough to render it silent.

Hunter’s eyes widened as the Parks’ eyes darted from the broken human technology back to him, trying to process what had just happened and why. Hunter was positive they’d recede any blessing they had been ready to give. Hunter was too embarrassed to speak or move or blink and the room was silent until Willow broke it with a sigh.

“Okay,” Willow said softly as though in defeat. “You guys can show him.”

Her fathers gasped at the same time. “Really?” asked Gilbert. “Are you sure, petal?”

“Yeah,” Willow said as though bracing herself. “Go ahead.”

“What are you talking about? Show me what?” asked Hunter, confused as her fathers ran into the next room, giggling like school boys. They were obviously excited about something. The uncertainty made Hunter nervous. Was this some kind of punishment for failing the advanced friendship announcement?

“Here,” said Willow, patting the seat beside her. “You’re gonna wanna sit down for this.”

Hunter confusingly obliged as he sat beside Willow, unable to read her expression. Her fathers rushed back in and sat on either side of the pair, as Harvey’s scroll floated in front of the group and a video waiting to be played.

“What is this?” Hunter whispered to his girlfriend.

“You’ll see,” she sighed. “They’ve been dying to show you this for months.”

“Okay, okay, shhh!” said Gilbert as though they were in a theater as he managed to press play, despite his giggling nearly overtaking his body.

“ The healer said we need to monitor her symptoms,” said Harvey on the recording, the camera failing to focus but Hunter could tell they were looking at Willow laying on the couch with a blanket and an army of pillows around her.

“Papaaaaa I’m fiiiine,” Willow groaned in a tone that suggested otherwise, congested and strained. “I need my scroll back please!”

“Sweetie no, you need to rest,” said Gilbert lightheartedly, suggesting she had made the request many times.

“Daaaaad, I need to message him back!”

“I’m sure Gus will understand if you take awhile to-.”

Willow in the recording started to giggle. “It’s not Gusss,” she smiled as she began to fiddle with her braid.

“Oh?” asked Harvey, trying to recall another ‘he’ in her friend group. “Wait, is this the boy from flyer derby?” Harvey set his scroll on the table, unaware that it was still recording, as he adjusted the quilt on Willow.

“Maaaaybe,” said the slightly delirious Willow, out of frame but still able to be heard.

“And does this boy have a name?” asked Gilbert’s voice with a smile that was audible.

“Maaaaybe,” Willow giggled once more. “He has a face though, and it’s veeeery cute.”

On the couch, the current Willow hid her face in her hands as Hunter’s face turned a matching shade of red.

“Oh, so he’s cute and he plays flyer derby?” teased Gilbert. “Sounds like you and I have the same type.” Hunter knew the Parks well enough to know through hearing it alone that he playfully nudged his husband’s ribs. “So when can we meet him?”

“Daaaaad stop!” Willow said, her voice too giddy to be convincingly irritated.

“I didn’t say anything, petal,” he laughed in response. “You know we like meeting all your friends.”

“ Something tells me he’s a little bit more than a friend,” teased Harvey.

“Papa!” Willow gasped as though the suggestion was utterly scandalous. “That’s so… I mean, why would you think…”

But Willow could not finish her accusation as she dissolved into a fit of giggles. She could not convincingly deny it, but it was still a new realization for her. The common mold did not offer her clarity, just the chance for her mind to entertain the notion unfiltered. Her fathers joined in her laughter, delighted to see her so delighted. It had been a while since their Willow had been so happy, so if there mere mention of this mystery boy caused such a reaction, well then how could they not approve?

“Why did you show me this?” asked Hunter delicately.

“I think it’s really sweet that you made a video to tell my dads we’re dating,” started Willow. “And I think it’s even sweeter that you were so worried about getting their approval, but I wanted to show you that you don’t have anything to worry about.”

“Really?”

“Basically every day since they took that video they’d ask about you,” laughed Willow. “If I had talked to you, how you were and then when we got back from the human realm it was always ‘have you asked him yet?’ or ‘has he asked you yet?’”

“Oh petal, it’s not like it’s the first thing we asked you when you come home from school,” said Gilbert as he got up to go to the kitchen.

“Yeah,” agreed his husband, following him to fetch the games from the cabinet . “It was the second.”

“I’m sorry, just to be clear,” said Hunter. “The boy you were talking about in the video was me, right?”

Willow just smiled and looked over her shoulder to make sure her dads weren’t close before darting up to kiss his cheek. “Of course, who else?”

“So your dads… approve of me?”

“Hunter, every time you come over they have to hold themselves back from making every single one of your favorite foods,” she said with a laugh. “I promise you don’t have to try so hard, they want you to like them just as much as you want them to like them.”

“Well, that’s easy for you to say,” he joked, taking her hand in his. “You already know everyone here likes you.”

She squeezed his hand. “And isn’t that the most important thing?” She teased with a grin. “It’s also really important to them that you’re comfortable.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” she said as she heard her dads return, one carrying a tray of Hunter’s favorite snacks and the other a pile of board games almost blocking his vision.

“Plus they don’t want you to hold back when we divide into teams,” she finished quickly with a smile, too excited to be embarrassed as the coffee table became covered in boxes and plates. There was no question that Willow’s competitive nature was hereditary.

Hunter chuckled to himself as he watched the scene unfold, as Willow and her fathers debated about the order to play and who would be what piece and the rules they would follow (theirs or the ones that came with the box). It was loud and vibrant and warm and chaotic.

But one thing was not up for debate: Willow would always be on Hunter’s team

[booasaur]

Any new upcoming series with w/w?

Lol, I had a whole answer typed up and almost completed last night, I could only remember a few upcoming shows but added a bunch of ongoing and recent with descriptions and then the post editor hiccuped and removed most of it so I angrily went to sleep instead.

But maybe that was for the best, because this morning a video of upcoming f/f shows in April came out so now I can add a few more.

There's Dead Ringers, that show with Rachel Weisz playing twin gynecologists and since it's a genderbent adaptation of an existing movie we already know it's gonna be super messy. It would be pretty wild for Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies to not have some wlw and luckily it does, the trailer itself reveals a couple. Tiny Beautiful Things, with Kathryn Hahn and Sarah Pidgeon (Leah in The Wilds) playing her younger self, apparently Kathryn Hahn's character's daughter is queer. Slip is a kinda scifi, where a bored wife cheats on her husband and realizes every time she has sex with someone, she wakes up married to them. The show's about her trying to get back to her original life, and there are a series of different husbands, but also a few wives (also, the first "replacement" husband is played by Boorman's actor from Willow!). There are also the upcoming Thai dramas Be Mine, Reverse 4 You, and 23.5, as previously mentioned.

In terms of returning series coming back, there's the Disney cartoon The Owl House, getting its final ep. Single Drunk Female's second season is returning soon. It has a bi lead, and she did have a female love interest but it was pretty temporary compared to the will they/won't she has with the main character male love interest. Her Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor, also a very main character, is a lesbian, and she's married but her wife's actress is a regular on another show now so I dunno if she'll be back.

Welcome to Eden, a Spanish thriller about people trapped on an island with a cult, ended the first season on a major cliffhanger so it'll be exciting to see what happens now, though it feels like anyone could die so that's a bit nerve-wracking. It has a lot of different kinds of rep, f/f, m/m, trans, one of the gay guys is deaf too and it's a plot point that his boyfriend won't learn sign even though his friends have.

The Epix series From is a pretty well done horror series about people trapped in a town and who get hunted at night, it's more ominous and suspenseful than outright gory. It actually has three wlw, though one is mostly with one guy, the one who's engaged to a woman outside the town seems to be about to start a romance with another guy, and one is a teen who's crushing on the first woman, feels unrequited. I didn't know about any of them when I started, so they're a bonus, the show itself is rather compelling.

As for current shows, The Power (lol, get it, current) started last night on Prime, it's nice that after the misreading of Class of '07, this new show about girls does immediately have a wlw. Gap's already finished but it made such a splash, if you haven't watched, I'll mention it again. The other Thai drama, Show Me Love, is still airing. Fantasy Island is honestly kind of sweet, it feels like one of those '90s shows, episodic, bright colors and optimism, and great guest stars. One of the two leads, I'd say, or at least the second billed main, is queer.

We got our three firefighter shows, 9-1-1 with a solid (now) established relationship, Fire Country, a lesbian character but not much screentime, and of course Station 19, which is honestly winning me back in a huge way with their current storyline (if they land it).

Cop wlw update (why are there so many of them!): NCIS Hawai'i remains super cute, especially when Lucy is on, looks like Ayanna on Law & Order: Organized Crime got herself a new gf with a super hot voice, The Rookie: Feds still has Niecy Nash playing a super likable and bi lead. I couldn't stand the egregious copaganda in FBI: Most Wanted, and like, imagine how bad it'd have to be, when I can still watch all the rest of these shows, but Sheryll's still there, so. Sin Huellas (No Traces) has already finished but gets another mention for being as funny as it was, with a cute, hot couple at the center. Rabbit Hole's just started, but the initial antagonist/probable grudging ally's an FBI lady who within the first 10 minutes of the first ep dropped that she had a wife. Van der Valk has started its third season and though I'm gonna keep hoping Lucienne's INCREDIBLY hot ex from 2x03 returns, Lucienne, second billed, is plenty hot by herself. Ariana Guerra, who played the novitiate in Helstrom, has joined the second season of CSI: Vegas. Her character's bi and has a main character boyfriend but he seems like he'll most likely end up with a different character.

I'm not really going through these in any particular order, except combining the above two types, but let me just blow through the rest of the ongoing shows: the Canadian family comedy Run the Burbs has been quite sweet in how it's written the teen daughter, How I Met Your Father comes across as an old fashioned sitcom, except one of the characters is a lesbian. It's kind of fun in its familiarity and low stakes. I didn't expect to be as drawn into The Watchful Eye as I did, the trailer felt quite soapy and it was, at times, but all the nannies were great, and I ended up quite liking the f/f side couple. It's amazing what actual personalities can do. :o A Million Little Things is winding down its final season and Grace Park's character is engaged to Cameron Esposito's character so it feels pretty endgame at this point.

If you didn't watch or stopped watching Carnival Row because the main m/f relationship seemed so especially trite, you maaaay want to give it another look. I'm not nearly caught up with Bel-Air, but in the first season they wrote Ashley's sexuality really well, especially since she's so young. I'm sure you can't have missed my Perry Mason gifsets by now, but I can only reiterate what a great character Della Street is. One of the kids in Gotham Knights is bi (and her brother is trans!) but I'm not sure it's worth getting invested before cancellation. Unless the CW is only going to keep projects involving the Supernatural trio?

At this point, hoping everyone who's into wlw has at least tried Yellowjackets or is aware enough of it to know they don't want to try it. Las Pelotaris 1926 is a Spanish language historical drama about female athletes playing--well, the sport is basque pelota but if you need a reference point, it's like squash or racquetball. If you haven't yet caught up with RWBY, now would be an okay time. Lastly, I've still never watched any of Riverdale or even Choni clips, but its final season has just started and you know, I gotta respect the longevity of whatever they've been doing with them, however up and down they seem to have been, and perhaps this final season will be an up. From what I've seen on SM, they seem to get endgame soulmatey treatment more than any of the other ships and I can respect that.

Aside from the Thai dramas that might air after April and a few of the other shows that ended their seasons in March (or February in Gap's case), all of these have eps airing this month. After this year of cancellations, I think it's worth enjoying what we can, even as we acknowledge how much lead/main character rep and longevity we're losing. :o

[hangmansgbaby]

Always Darling | 3 | J.Seresin

B E F O R E T H E S T O R M

Summary: Training for the Uranium Mission begins and while they try their hardest to keep everything under wraps. Not all secrets are meant to be kept.

Pairings: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC!Willow "Vixen" Seresin, brief mentions of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell x OC Daughter!Willow "Vixen" Seresin and Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x OC God Sister!Willow "Vixen" Seresin

Warnings: none? Cute Seresin family moments, Ellorie being the best kid every, funeral

Note: you all are the absolute best! 😍😍 ENJOY!

Apr 2024 note: I did end up updating this into an OC as I dont write my series as a reader insert anymore.

Word count: 8.8k words (I'M SORRY! MY BRAIN WOULDN'T STOP!)

Masterlist | Always Darling Masterlist

“So where is my goddaughter?” Phoenix questions as Willow and her sit down in the hanger.

“She’s with her grandparents.” Willow answers, standing next to the table by Phoenix.

“Which ones?! I miss the little nugget!” Phoenix practically whines.

“Well that little nugget is now 7 and a pain in our ass.” Jake groans, plopping down at the table diagonally from Phoenix.

“She is not! She’s just upset that all of her classmates get to see both of their parents everyday. Some days it's one, others it's grandma putting her to bed.” Willow slaps his shoulder, sitting in the seat beside him. “She’s with Sarah and Ice.”

“Life of a double pilot child. Must suck ass.” One after another, the other pilots and WSOs file into the Hanger, taking their seats throughout the room. Rooster is one of the last to enter with Fanboy and Payback. Willow glares at him as he sits behind her and Jake, Bradley returns to glare as Jake turns Willow’s chair to face forward.

“Attention on deck!”

All of the pilots rise, standing at attention. Admiral Bates stops at the front of the room. "Good morning. Welcome to your special training detachment. Be seated. I'm Admiral Bates, NAWDC commander. You're all Top Gun graduates. The elite. The best of the best." Everyone looks around at each other, all noting Hangman's smug look. "That was yesterday. The enemy's new fifth generation fighter has leveled the playing field. Details are few, but you can be sure we no longer possess the technological advantage. Success, now more than ever, comes down to the man or woman in the box."

Hangman looks at Willow and Phoenix, winking at them. Both girls scoff and role their eyes. Phoenix uses her middle finger to rub her temple, effectively flipping off Jake without drawing attention to herself.

"Half of you will make the cut. One of you will be named mission leader." Warlock says. "The other half will remain in reserve." Bates explains. "Your instructor is a Top Gun graduate with real-world experience in every mission aspect you will be expected to master. His exploits are legendary. And he's considered to be one of the finest pilots this program has ever produced. What he will teach you may very well mean the difference between life and death."

Everyone glances behind them and Willow immediately sinks into her seat. “Fuck.” She mutters under her breath. Jake reaches over to rest a hand on her thigh, providing all the comfort she needed from him. 

"I give you Captain Pete Mitchell. Callsign, Maverick."

Pete nods to Admiral Bates before turning to the pilots. "Good morning." Everyone gives him a tight lipped smile, mostly Jake and Phoenix. Willow holds nothing but resentment in her glare and unbeknownst to her, so does Bradley. Pete holds up the F-18 flight book. "The F-18 NATOPS. It contains everything they want you to know about your aircraft. I'm assuming you know the book inside and out."

"Damn straight." Hangman shouts, a couple other pilots agreeing.

"Damn right."

"You got it." 

“Obviously,” Willow mumbles, as Pete drops the booklet into the garbage can at his feet. He immediately catches the attention of everyone in the room who didn’t know of him. Willow and Bradley scoff almost simultaneously at the action.

"So does your enemy. But what the enemy doesn't know is your limits. I intend to find them, test them, push beyond. Today we'll start with what you only think you know. You show me what you're made of." Maverick dismisses the pilot to get into their flight suits.

As they all walk onto the tarmac, Pete calls out to Bradley. "Rooster." Bradley doesn't turn around. "Bradley." Still nothing. "Lieutenant Bradshaw." Bradley turns around and Willow glances over from her jet, rolling her eyes at their interaction. 

“Typical.” She scoffs, finishing her final round of preflight checks. It wasn’t long before she could hear her name being called.

“Lieutenant Commander Mitchell.” She turns, glaring at him. “Look, I just wanted to say that I think we should put everything behind us. For the sake of this mission.”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” Willow scoffs, turning away from him.

“Look Willow, I know what I did was messed up, but if you just–”

“What? Give you a chance to explain? I did. Every single time I called you over a school break, or when I had something important to me come up. You were never there. That’s all the explanation I need.” She seeths. “Am I dismissed, Captain?”

“Yea.” Pete sighs, making his way to his own jet. 

Fanboy, Payback, and Rooster are the first in the air. In the lounge, Jake and Willow sit together on one couch with Phoenix and Coyote across from them. The other aviators fill the room, either by the radio, which Bob currently occupies, or messing with the foosball table.

"Good morning aviators. This is your captain speaking." Maverick calls out over comms. "Welcome to basic fighting maneuvers. As briefed, today's exercise is dogfighting. Guns only, no missiles. We do not go below the hard deck of 5,000 feet. Working as a team, you shoot me down, or else."

"Or else what, sir?" Payback questions.

"Or else I shoot back. If I shoot either one of you down, you both lose." 

“This guy needs an ego check.” Hangman mutters.

“Oh we can do that.” Willow leans forward high fiving Phoenix.

"What say we put some skin in the game?" Payback suggests.

"What do you have in mind?" Maverick asks.

"Whoever gets shot first does 200 pushups?"

“Guys.” Rooster’s voice comes through the speaker.

"That's a lot of push ups." 

"They don't call it exercise for nothing, sir." Fanboy calls.

"You got yourself a deal, gentlemen. Let's turn and burn."

“So, any new pictures of my favorite niece?” Coyote asks, leaning forward a bit.

“There’s always new pictures.” Willow laughs, pulling her phone out. “Sarah sent me these this morning.” She passes it over and both Coyote and Phoenix look. “First day of school pics. Not like we don’t have a million.”

“Also, we don’t mention her, at all.” Jake whispers to their friends.

“They still don’t know?!” Phoenix whisper-shouts.

“Still don’t talk to them.” Willow answers.

“Vixen. Phoenix, Bob. You’re up next.” Hondo shouts into the room.

“Go get ‘em darlin!” Willow turns and blows a kiss at Jake who catches it.

“I can’t believe you two have been together for 15 years now.” Coyote sighs, moving to sit next to Jake. “Still not ready for a wedding?”

“Okay, Javy. I’m telling you this because you are my best friend but you can’t tell anyone.”

“Scouts honor.” Jake pulls his dog tags out from his flight suit to reveal the wedding band sitting between his dog tags. “Holy shit dude! When did this happen?”

“A year after Elle was born. It's all official with the Navy, but as far as anyone is concerned, we're still dating. Except for those who have to know.”

"See him anywhere?" Willow calls out after 5 minutes of being in the air.

“Nothing on the radar.” Bob calls out.

“You think it's gonna work?” Phoenix questions.

“He’s too cocky for it to not work.” Willow answers. They turn slightly to the right and Willow looks up just in time to see another jet heading their way. “3 o'clock, we got incoming.” Willow calls out.

“Breaking left.” Phoenix calls, turning to break off from Willow.

“Come and get me, old man.” Willow shouts, taking off to distract him. With every twist turn and loop, she narrowly avoids Maverick’s lock.

“You’re good, Vixen. I’ll give you that. But you made one mistake.” Maverick calls.

“And what was that?” Willow smirks. She already knows what he’s about to say.

“You lost your wingman.” Suddenly the lock tone rings through Maverick’s cockpit. 

“What was that again?” Phoenix asks, right behind Mav with a lock on him. 

“I think that’s a kill, sir.” Bob speaks up.

“Nice try, old man.” Willow and Phoenix return to the ground with Maverick not far behind. Once on the ground, Pete goes to do his push-ups while Willow, Phoenix, and Bob make their way to the lounge.

“That’s my girl!” Jake shouts, immediately lifting Willow as she walks inside.

“Okay okay, Jake put me down.” She laughs as he immediately does so.

“You, darlin, are one hell of a badass.” Jake smirks, kissing her.

“Keep it in your pants, Lieutenant Seresin.” Willow giggles as he moves to her neck.

“I’d rather be in yours, Lieutenant Commander Seresin.” He whispers in her ear.

“Hangman, Phoenix, Bob. You’re after Harvard, Yale, and Fritz.”

Jake groans as he pulls from Willow. “I can’t wait to get you home.”

“Too bad, hotshot. We have dinner at the Kazansky’s tonight so we can pick up Elle.” Willow pushes Jake back and walks away.

“Damn tease.” Jake mutters, smirking as he watches her walk away. Willow intentionally swinging her hips more than normal. “Shit.”

Willow sat listening to their flight, sighing as her husband’s cockiness showed through. She knew Phoenix would have a few choice words about him when they landed. And sure enough, she was right.

“I don't understand how you like that man.” Phoenix groans walking into the locker room, Willow not far behind.

“He’s quite charming.” Willow laughs.

“It’s Hangman, Vix!”

“It’s the father of my child, Phoenix! And my husband.” Willow says softly.

“NO!” Willow shows Phoenix her rings, hanging from her dog tags. “When?!”

“Year after Elle was born. We got tired of waiting but always decided to keep it under wraps.”

“I understand why you deal with him now.” Willow laughs at her best friend. “I’m still pissed at him.”

“I expect nothing less.”

“Hey, what the hell is up with Maverick and Rooster?” Hangman questions, running into Willow on his way in from his flight with Rooster.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, they both almost took a nosedive into a mountain because there is something going on between them.” Hangman tells her, Phoenix runs towards the tarmac.

“I’ll see you outside. Shower.” She kisses Jake before following Phoenix.

"Breaking the hard deck, insubordination. Are you trying to get kicked out?" She hears Phoenix's question, walking up behind her.

"Don't worry about it." Bradley mutters.  

"Look, I'm going on this mission. But if you get kicked, you leave us flying with Hangman. Talk to me. What the hell was that?" Phoenix asks, squatting down next to him. 

"He pulled my papers."

"What? Who?" 

"Maverick. He pulled my application to the Naval Academy. Set me back four years." Bradley answers.

“Glad you finally got some tough love.” Willow scoffs.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bradley retorts, turning to see Willow behind him.

“My whole life! Bradley this, Bradley that. At least you got some tough shit from him too.”

“I think I had enough tough shit from your father with how my dad died.”

“Bullshit, you don’t blame him for that. You were always the favorite because of that.” Willow groans. “Always playing the orphan card, even before Aunt Carole died.”

“You’re one to talk. At least you still had someone. You just chose not to reach out for years.”

“Cause he chose you, and sent me away because I was upset! He will always choose you.” Willow sighs. “It's just how he is with you.” Willow sighs, walking past them to the parking lot.

“Hey! How was it today?” Sarah asks, opening the door for Jake and Willow.

“Where’s dad?” Willow questions and Sarah can read the frustration on her face.

“He’s in his office.”

“Mama! Daddy!”

“Hi baby girl.” Every ill feeling on Willow’s mind immediately disappeared at the sight of her daughter running towards her. “Did you have fun with Grandma and Papa today?” Willow asks, kneeling to catch her.

“Yea! We went to the park and then I got a new toy and then Papa got us ice cream!” Elle rambles on about her day as Jake kneels down next to them.

“Did he now? What if Daddy wanted to take you to ice cream after dinner?”

“It's okay Daddy! We can always go again.” Elle smiles, moving into her father’s arms as he lifts her up.

“I don’t know. Two ice cream trips in one day? That's a lot.”

“Please Daddy.” The puppy dog eyes. Jake was always a sucker to the puppy dog eyes, especially to his daughter. His nieces, Maddy and Grace, had taught Elle how to do it and Jake was a goner when his 11 year old nieces and 3 year old daughter brought them out on Christmas eve in 2016, all three getting early christmas presents which Nancy and Willow were not happy about. 

“Oh all right.” Jake sighs before tickling Elle.

“No! Daddy put me down!” She slides from Jake's grip and runs back outside. Willow laughs as Jake follows her.

“He’s so good with her.” Sarah smiles.

“He’s an amazing father.” Willow smiles softly, “How’d she do at school today?”

“You know how first day jitters go. But she was brave and had a fun day. Her teacher said she was very helpful, and talkative.”

“She is her father’s daughter.” Willow smiles, seeing Jake catch Elle who immediately sticks her arms out like wings on a plane and Jake flys her around the backyard. “I’m gonna go have a chat with dad.” Willow smiles softly.

“Don’t be long, dinner will be ready in a few.”

Willow nods, walking towards the hallway leading to Tom Kazansky’s office. Knocking, she slowly enters and calls out. “Hey old man.” Tom turns around, smiling, waving her inside. “How are you feeling?”

You know exactly how I’m feeling.

He wasn’t wrong. She was one of the first people Sarah and Ice had called when they found out his cancer had come back. She herself had cried for hours after the call. “I know but I’m still asking.”

I’m fine. Ice begrudgingly writes.

“Did you know?” Willow questions. “About Maverick and Rooster being here?” Ice nods. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Would you have shown up if you had known?

“Obviously not. You know how they are.”

That’s why I didn’t say anything.

“Dad–”

“Do it for me.”

Willow sighs. “You’re not supposed to be talking.” Willow retorts

“I don’t have long.” Ice struggles to say.

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s true, little bird. You need this. They need you.”

“He’s not going to pick me, he’s going to choose Bradley like he always does.” Willow sighs.

Ice reaches up to cup Willow’s face, keeping her gaze on him. 

“Prove him wrong.”

“How do you always have a response?”

“Old age.” Ice chuckles. “Willow, I have always seen you like a daughter.”

“No, we're not talking like you’re dying.”

“Willow–”

“No. I can’t do that.”

“Remember when you first called me dad?”

“Yea, It was when I told you I was pregnant.” Willow chuckles.

“No, it was when you were begging for me to find Jake.”

“Right. Still that same day.” Willow chuckles softly.

“I have never been happier than the day my children were born. But the day you called me dad? It topped every moment in my life.” Ice smiled softly. “You are an amazing pilot and an even better daughter. I’m so happy to have been a part of your life and I am so proud of you.”

“No. Dad… you’re going to be okay. Please don’t leave me. I still need you.” Willow cries, falling into Ice’s hold. He says nothing but holds her close, stroking her hair as she cries. “I love you, dad.”

“I love you too.”

“Alright pumpkin, time for bed.” Jake carried Elle through the apartment to the small room setup for her.

“Where’s Mama?”

“Mama isn’t feeling well so it's just daddy for bedtime. Is that okay?” Jake sets the little girl down on her bed.

“Can you read me a story?”

“What’ll it be tonight? Cinderella? Rapunzel?” Jake asks, moving over to the stack of books on top of the dresser.

“Can you tell me about when you and Mama met?”

Jake chuckles. “You know I ruined Mama’s favorite hoodie? Ran right into her and my drink exploded onto her and that stain never came out.”

“Did you apologize?” Elle questions.

“About a million times. Your Mama is so beautiful that the minute I saw her I knew I wanted to marry her. But I was so nervous that she’d never talk to me again.” Jake sits on the edge of her bed. 

“But Mama loves you.” Elle says, climbing into Jake’s lap. 

“Not as much as she loves you. Mama is the most loving and caring person I ever met. And I will spend every day earning that love.”

“I love you Daddy.”

“I love you too, pumpkin.” Jake kisses her head, laying her back onto the bed. “Sleep tight, you have school tomorrow.”

“Good night.”

Tucking her in, Jake shuts the lights out and closes her bedroom door. “Little miss is asleep, we officially have a later start time. I think it's time for a little us time.” Jake says, walking over to the bed only to find Willow fast asleep, the streaks from her tears freshly dried on her cheeks. Jake smiles softly, pressing a kiss to her temple before crawling into bed beside her. Willow shifts as Jake pulls her back into his chest, his arm wrapped around her torso. “Good night darlin.”

“Time is your greatest enemy.” Maverick says from his position at the front of the room. "Phase one of the mission will be a low level attack with two teams." The aviator’s eyes follow the pattern on the screen, watching the swerving flight pattern. "You'll fly along this narrow canyon to your target. Radar guided surface to air missiles defend the sky area. These SAMs are lethal, but they were designed to protect the skies above, not the canyon below."

“That's because the enemy knows no one is insane enough to attempt to fly through it.” Rooster replies. He knows better. He knows there are at least 2 people in the room that are that insane and they’re related.

"That's exactly what I'm going to train you to do.”

Willow’s eyes widened, looking over to Jake. They knew the dangers of their job and they signed up anyway. Jake looked at her and knew exactly what was going through her mind. 

"Today, your altitude will be 100 feet, maximum. If you exceed this altitude, radar will spot you and you're dead. Your air speed will be 660 knots, minimum. Time to target is two and a half minutes." Willow and Phoenix lock eyes. "The time is two and half minutes because fifth generation fighters wait at an enemy air base nearby. In a head to head with these planes in your F-18s, you're dead. That's why you need to get in, hit your target, and be gone before these planes have a chance of catching you. This makes time your greatest enemy." The pilots are silent, the mission being completely different than they thought. "Today, we'll go easy on you. Max ceiling will be 300 feet, time to target will be three minutes. Suit up."

“Hey Phoenix!” Willow calls, running onto the Tarmac.

“What's up Vix?”

“Would you be able to pick Elle up from school during our lunch? She’s out at noon and Ice has another treatment today.”

“Absolutely! Am I bringing her on base or…?”

“Yea. Jake and I have a meeting with Cyclone to set up daycare for her so we’ll meet you in the parking lot when it's set up.”

“Gotcha. Yea it's not a problem. But I’m gonna spoil the shit outta her.” Phoenix laughs, leading Willow out to the jets. 

Willow is first in the air with Fanboy and Payback. 

“One minute and 30 seconds to target, we’re 10 seconds behind Vixen.” Fanboy calls out. 

“Alright, increasing speed to 490 knots.” Willow calls, increasing her speed. “Come on, come on.” Willow follows the curves almost perfectly.

“30 seconds to target, 2 seconds behind.” 

“Increasing to 500 knots.” As her speed increases she miscalculates a turn and suddenly flies off course and above their max altitude. She punches the side of her canopy. “Fuck.” She failed.

“Why did you fail?” Pete asks when they return to the classroom.

“I miss calculated a turn after increasing my speed because we were behind.” Willow answers.

“No, why is she dead?” Pete asks, looking at Fanboy and Payback. 

“We didn’t warn her about the sharp turns ahead when requesting an increase of speed.” Fanboy answers.

“What excuse do you think her family will take at the funeral?” Pete asks. “What are you gonna say when you have to look me dead in the face and tell me my daughter is dead?”

Fanboy and Payback’s eyes drop, mutters are heard about Willow being Pete’s daughter. Choosing to ignore them, she stops Pete.

“Maverick.” Willow calls out but Pete’s glare remains firm. “Captain Mitchell!” Pete looks at her. “That's enough.” She says. Pete finally moves on to Rooster’s group.

“Rooster, why are you dead?" He asks but Rooster doesn’t look up from the table. 

"Sir with all due respect, he was the only one to make it to the target." Phoenix jumps in, defending Rooster.

"A minute late. He gave the enemy aircraft time to shoot him down. He is dead." Maverick starts but Rooster speaks up.

“You don’t know that.” Rooster retorts

“You’re not flying fast enough. You don't have a second to waste.” Hangman groans.

“We made it to the target.” Rooster stands firm.

“And superior enemy aircraft intercepted you on your way out.”

"Then it's a dog fight," He says.

"Against 5th generation fighters?" Maverick questions, heating up.

“We still have a chance.”

“In an F-18?”

"It's not the plane, sir, it's the pilot." Rooster defends.

"Exactly!" Maverick shouts. Willow has to withhold her laughter. She had never heard Pete raise his voice to Bradley so she was thoroughly enjoying this. 

"There is more than one way to fly this mission." Rooster retorts.

"You really don't get it," Hangman says. "On this mission, a man flies like Maverick here or a man doesn't come back. No offense intended.” Hangman says to Phoenix. Willow elbows his side and Phoenix goes to say something but Bob pipes up.

“And yet somehow you always manage.”

“Look, I don’t mean to criticize. You’re conservative, that's all.”

“Lieutenant.” Pete tries to interrupt but Jake continues 

“We’re going into combat, son, on a level no living pilot’s ever seen. Not even him.” Hangman directs to Maverick at the last sentence before turning back to Rooster. “That’s no time to be thinking about the past.” Hangman smirks, looking over at Rooster.

"What's that support to mean?" Rooster asks, tearing his glare away from Maverick. 

“Rooster.” Pete warns.

“Jake.” Willow warns her husband.

"I can't be the only one that knew Maverick flew with his old man.” Hangman answers. 

“That's enough.” Pete interrupts but Jake continues.

“Or that Maverick was flying when his old man—” 

“Lieutenant, that's enough.”

“Jake, quit it.”

Hangman doesn’t finish the sentence before Rooster is shoving him out of his chair.

"You son of a bitch." Rooster growls. Everyone jumps up to stop them from attacking each other. Willow is standing beside Jake, a tight grip on his arm. 

“Hey, I’m cool. I’m cool.” Jake shakes off the other aviators but Willow’s grip stays firm.

Rooster tries to jump at him again but Bob, Phoenix, and Pete hold a tight grip on him. “That’s enough.” Pete repeats.

“He’s not cut out for this mission. You know it.” Hangman grins as Willow drags him out of the room. “You know I’m right.”

“You’re all dismissed,” is the last thing the couple hears before they are away from everyone.

“What the fuck was that?” Willow sneers.

“What?”

“Why the hell are you airing out dirty laundry? Let alone at work?” Willow questions

“You know I’m right, Willow. He’s not ready. He holds too many grudges.”

“So then I’m not ready either, right? I hold so many grudges against them both. Am I not ready for this mission too?”

“Willow. There's a difference between you and Rooster. You don't let your grudges affect your flying.” Jake says softly. “You are always my top choice for any mission.”

“You’re an ass, Jake Seresin.” Willow chuckles.

“You love me Willow Seresin.” Willow smiles, pulling Jake into a hug. 

“I absolutely do. I’m still mad at you.”

“Mama! Look what Auntie Nat got me!” Elle comes running from Phoenix’s car when she sees her mom.

“Look at that. Is that an F-18?” Willow questions, admiring the joy in her daughter’s eyes. 

“Just like what you and Daddy and Auntie Nat and Uncle Yote fly!” Phoenix laughs walking up to meet them

“That's right, baby girl.”

“I wanna fly like you! I wanna be cool like you and Daddy.” 

“I hope you always think you’re dad and I are cool.” Willow hugs her daughter before grabbing her hand. “Do you wanna see an actual F-18?” Elle nods quickly, jumping up and down as Willow leads the way.

“Are you sure that's a good idea? What if Mav or Rooster are around?”

“It's been 2 hours since we were dismissed, I doubt it.”

“Let's go Mama!” Elle starts pulling on Willow, her giggles echoing through the hallways.

“Ellorie! Stay with us please!” Willow shouts as the little girl takes off running.

“Oh, hey there little one.” Willow catches a glimpse of who Elle had just bumped into and groans. 

“Fantastic.” She mumbles under her breath. “Ellorie! I told you not to run off like that.”

“Sorry Mav. She’s a little ball of energy today.” Phoenix says.

“Let's go, Daddy’s waiting for us.” Willow leads Elle around Mav and out the door. “Look over there.” Willow points and Elle gets excited. 

“Daddy!”

“Hey, pumpkin! How was school?” Jake asks, lifting her up.

“Fun! We got to draw pictures of our family today!” 

“That's so fun! Did you have fun with Auntie Nat?” Jake questions walking towards the jets with Nat. Willow stays behind because she cant feel Mav behind her.

“You have a daughter?”

“Yea. You would know if you didn’t abandon me.” Willow scoffs.

“Willow please. You’re really gonna keep that little girl away from her grandfather?”

“She has grandfathers, Mav. And fortunately for her, neither of them would ever dream of abandoning her the way you did me.” Willow retorts.

“I’m sorry Willow. I don’t know what else you want me to say.” Pete apologizes.

“I want you to stay away from me and my family. I think you’ve done enough damage.” Willow says before walking away, interacting with her daughter who asks a million questions about the jets.

“Ellie bellie!”

“Uncle Yote!” 

Maverick watches how Jake and Willow interact, especially with each other and their daughter. As much as he thinks they are exactly what's needed for the mission, he can’t orphan his granddaughter. Or send his daughter to her possible death. If he sends both of them, it’ll be another generation resenting him. If he sends Jake, Willow will never forgive him if he doesn’t come back. And if he send Willow, well, he’s pretty sure Jake will murder him for sending the mother of his child to her death. But he still doesn’t think Rooster is ready. He’s at an impasse and doesn’t know what to do.

“School called. Campus is shut down due to a power outage.” Jake says, walking into the kitchen early Monday morning.

“Dammit. Mav is having us meet at the beach and there’s no one to watch Elle. Daycare is shut down for the week because all the workers caught the flu and Ice has appointments all day.”

“What about Penny?”

“She’s got the bar to run.”

“Hard Deck doesn’t open until 5, I’m gonna call Penny.”

Willow sighs. Working full time and having a 7 year old was not an easy feat. She knew that all too well now but balancing this life and keeping it away from her work life is becoming more difficult day by day.

“Penny said she’d be happy to watch her.”

“You okay Mama?” Elle asks, mouth full of her breakfast.

“I’m okay. Just a little stressed out.” Willow ruffles Elle’s hair as she walks by. “Finish eating.”

“Dress comfy! No uniforms!” Jake shouts, cleaning up the kitchen before he takes Elle to get ready. It's not long before they’re loaded up in Jake’s truck. 

“Alright, Elle. You need to behave for Ms Penny, okay?”

“You’re not gonna play with me?” Elle pouts and Jake quickly drops to her level.

“Mama and Daddy have some work stuff we gotta do first but we promise, as soon as we're done, it's gonna be a Seresin family beach day okay?” 

“Okay Daddy.” Jake and Willow packed up everything and got Ellorie into the car before heading straight to the Hard Deck.

“Hey! Why’s Elle here?” Phoenix questions, seeing the trio walk up.

“School canceled, daycare closed, and Ice and Sarah are busy. Penny said she’ll watch her while we do whatever and then we promise her a beach day after.” Willow explains.

“Auntie Nat! Are you gonna hang out at the beach with us?”

“Oh course I am! I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” 

“Oh my gosh! Ellorie! You’ve gotten so big!” Penny squeals walking over to the group.

“Hi Ms. Penny.” Elle smiles shyly. 

“Go on pumpkin. We’ll be back in a bit.” Elle waves to her parents as they walk towards the rest of the group.

Dogfight football was complicated to say the least even halfway through the game Willow did not understand a single rule about the game but everyone was having fun, cheering, getting along. Even her and Rooster had yet to butt heads all day. But Willow’s favorite part was her shirtless husband running forward to make a touchdown. Occasionally Willow and Jake would catch glimpses of Elle who would be cheering from the deck next to Penny. Everytime Jake or Willow scored a touchdown, Elle’s little cheers could be heard. 

When Penny had heard Mav dismiss everyone she sent Elle running across the beach.

“Mama! Daddy! Beach time?” Elle questions, running into Jake’s arms.

“Absolutely. In fact...” Jake trails off before taking off running towards the water, Elle screaming in his arms. Willow, Nat, and Coyote laugh as Jake plays with his daughter. Willow runs over and as soon as Elle is out of Jake’s arms Willow pushes him into the water. “Oh! I see how it is!” Jake grabs Willow’s ankle and trips her, catching her as she lands in the water with him. All three of them laugh as they play in the water.

“Did that kid call Hangman daddy?”

“Is that even Hangman?”

“He’s so relaxed.”

“Hangman and Vixen are a cute couple though.” Omaha says.

Halo gasps. “Do you think that's their kid?”

“Holy shit I totally see it.” Yale says to his friends. “Look at her. Spitting image of Hangman with Vixen’s nose. That's definitely a Vixman love child.”

“Vixman?” Phoenix asks, walking over to them. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Hangman and Vixen’s love child.”

“Hey Willow!” Phoenix calls and Willow comes walking up, Jake and Elle behind her.

“What's up?” Phoenix gestures to every who stares in awe of Elle.

“Okay.” Willow clears her throat. “Everyone, this is Jake’s and I’s daughter Ellorie. Elle, these are Mama and Daddy’s friends.” Elle waves softly, holding tight to her father.

“Holy shit dude! She’s like 10!”

“7 and watch your language.”

“Who knew Jake Hangman Seresin would settle down.”

“Oh and we got married 6 years ago.” Jake says. Immediately everyone is asking questions. Willow pulls Elle from the sand into her arms.

“So..” Bradley says, loitering around Willow.

“So…?” Willow replies, waiting for Bradley to continue. 

“You were pregnant through all that? When Hangman was MIA?”

“Yea.”

“And you two got married?”

“A year after she was born.” Willow says.

“Just didn’t want to tell anyone? I know your dad wasn’t there.”

“Papa was there.” Elle chimes in.

“Papa?” Rooster questions.

“Ice.” Bradley nods. 

“Look–”

“We don’t have to do this, Bradley.” 

“Do what?”

“Play catch up. You are still part of the reason my childhood was hell and I don't talk to Mav anymore. We can be civil when it comes to the mission but outside of that? Don’t bother.”  Willow walks away from him with Elle still in her arms. “Hey Jake. I’m gonna take Elle to the parlor down the beach.”

“Alright darlin, I’ll meet you down there okay?” Willow nods. “I’ll see you in a bit, pumpkin.”

“Bye Daddy.”

“Nat, tagging along?”

“I’m coming!”

"Good morning. The uranium enrichment plant that is your target will be operational earlier than expected. Raw uranium will be delivered to the plant in ten days time. As a result, your mission has been moved up one week in order to avoid contaminating the target valley with radiation." Willow's eyes widened, her lrft hand tightened its grip on her flight suit, knuckles turning white.

"Sir, no one here has successfully flown a low level course," Coyote is the first to speak up.

"Nevertheless, you've been ordered to move on." Admiral Bates steps aside to allow Maverick to go over the mission parameters.

Willow taps profusely on the desk before her. To anyone it would just look as if she was thinking but Jake knew better. It was an anxious tick he had noticed during flight school that seemed to pop up everywhere they went. Jake rests a hand on hers, attempting to settle her nerves.

"We have one week left to focus on phase two. It's the most difficult stage of the mission. It's a pop up strike with a steep dive, requiring nothing less than two consecutive miracles." He turned to the board behind him, the screen showing what their planes would do as he spoke. "Two pairs of  F-18s will fly in a welded wing formation. Teamwork. Precise coordination of these aircraft is essential to both the mission's success and your survival," Maverick says. "As you know, the plant rests between two mountains. On final approach you'll invert directly into a steep dive. This allows you to maintain the lowest possible altitude at the only possible attack angle. Your target is an impact point less than three meters wide. The two seated aircraft will paint the target with a laser bullseye. The first pair will breach the reactor by dropping a laser-guided bomb on an exposed ventilation hatch. This will create an opening for the second pair. That's miracle number one."

Willow's breathing halts at the thought, everything that could go wrong running through her mind. But most is the possible orphaning of her daughter.

"The second team will deliver the kill shot and destroy the target. That's miracle number two," Maverick continued. "If either team misses the target, the mission is a failure. Egress is a steep, high G climb out to avoid hitting this mountain."

"A steep climb at this speed, you're pulling at least eight G's," Jake thinks aloud.

"Nine, minimum," Maverick corrected.

"The stress limit of the F-18's airframe is seven point five," Rooster tells them.

"That's the accepted limit. To survive this mission, you'll pull beyond that. Even if it means bending your airframe. You'll be pulling so hard you'll weigh close to 2000 pounds. Your skull crushing your spine, your lungs imploding like an elephant sitting on your chest," Maverick described. "Fighting with everything you have just to keep from blacking out. This is where you'll be at your most vulnerable. This is coffin corner. Assuming you avoid crashing into this mountain, you'll climb straight up into the enemy radar, while losing your air speed. Within seconds you'll be fired upon by enemy SAMs. You've all faced sustained G's before, but this is going to take you and your aircraft to the breaking point."

"Sir, is this even achievable?" Phoenix asks.

"The answer to the question will come down to the pilot in the box."

Willow exits the room. She can feel the shudders from her heavy breathing as she exits the room.

“Willow.” She keeps walking, trying to find an empty room before she breaks down. “Darlin please, slow down.”

She opens the door to an empty classroom and leans against the closest desk.

“Darlin?” Jake questions, entering mere seconds after her. “Darlin, you gotta breathe.” Slowly Willow’s breathing calms, the tears subside and sits in the closest chair, no longer trusting her legs to keep her up. “What's wrong?”

“I don't think I can do this mission.” Willow sighs.

“Are you kidding? Willow you are the best pilot in that room. If anyone can do it, it's you.”

“I’m sure Jake but,” Willow sighs. “I can’t go on this mission and risk Elle growing up without her mother. Or both of us going on this mission and her becoming an orphan. I can’t do that Jake. I can’t subject her to what I had.”

“No one would ever let that happen. I can promise you that.” Jake comforts. “When we go on this mission, because I know we will, we are both coming home to our little girl. I would never dare let anything happen to her.”

“That's a miss. Bring it back in, Vixen.”

“Dammit.”

“Hey don’t sweat it, Vix. We’ll get it.” Fanboy tries to encourage.

Willow sighs, heading back to base. She lays on the couch in the middle of the lounge, her head resting on Jake’s thigh. Jake runs his fingers through her hair, pulling the Navy regulated bun out so he can ease the tension he knows she has in her head. They listen in on Phoenix, Bob, and Coyote’s trial. Willow lays on her side facing the radio they had moved to the coffee table. Jaka softly massages her scalp when they suddenly hear Mav calling for Coyote but no response.

“Holy shit.” Willow sits up quickly, her gaze burning into the radio.

“Come on Coyote.” Jake mutters leaning forward. Everyone holds their breath as they wait for the sign that Coyote was okay. Once they get the all clear they settle down, thankful that what they thought was the worst was over. That was until the bird strike and then they heard Phoenix and Bob eject.

Willow refused to move from the couch. They had been dismissed over an hour ago but Willow refused to leave until she got an update on her best friend and WSO.

“I’m gonna go pick up Elle, darlin. I’ll be back, alright?” Willow nods, fiddling with the zipper of her flight suit that is now tied around her waist, flight gear abandoned on the floor.

It wasn’t even 30 minutes later that Mav had walked in, giving the update to her before leaving the room. With the knowledge that both Phoenix and Bob were okay, she gathered her gear and began the walk to the locker room. She deposits everything into her locker, changing into her civilian clothes and exits the locker room, heading for the parking lot to meet Jake and Elle. She is almost there when she hears Warlock call for her.

“Lieutenant Commander Seresin!’ Willow turns at the call, face dropping when she sees the sorrowful look on Admiral Bates’s face.

“What happened?” She questions.

“It's Admiral Kazansky. He’s passed. I’m sorry for your loss.” Willow froze in the statement. She tries to process the information but all she manages to do is drop to her knees and cry. Jake comes running through the door with Elle in his arms.

“Hey darlin, it's okay. I’m here.” Jake kneels next to his wife, both him and Elle wrapping Willow a group hug.

“It’s okay, Mama.” Elle whispers. “Papa isn’t hurting anymore.”

Willow pulls back and places a hand on Elle’s cheek. “When did my little girl get so smart?” Elle giggles at the act, wrapping her arms around Willow’s neck and holding her mom close. Willow cried softly as she held her daughter, Jake still knelt beside them, holding both close.

Despite how upset Willow was, she couldn’t deny that the service was perfect. Willow, Jake, and Elle had been asked to stand with Sarah and her and Ice’s 2 children, Jackson and Elizabeth. And despite her protests, that's exactly where Willow found herself.

Jake and Willow were in their service dress blues. Ellorie stood between them in a simple black dress, clutched tightly to her father’s leg.

Cyclone walked up to Sarah with the folded flag and attempted to hand it to her. It shocked Willow when she refused and directed him down the line. 

Jack and Lizzie who had been the best aunt and uncle to Ellorie had gone to their mother the day before suggesting that they don’t receive the flag. They both knew that their father loved them unconditionally but he always held a soft spot for his honorary first granddaughter. 

Everyone who previously knew about Ellorie and heard story after story from Ice over the years. So when Sarah gave Cyclone a look. He knew exactly where the flag was going. Jack and Lizzie smile through their tears as the admiral walks past them, knowing their father was smiling down on them.

Cyclone kneels before Ellorie, who was still wrapped around Jake’s leg, and holds the flag out to the little girl. Willow tries to fight back her sobs at the action. Elle gently takes the flag from him as he speaks.

“On behalf of the President of the United States, the United States Navy and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one’s honorable and faithful service.” Cyclone stands and salutes the flag before returning to his post. 

Willow watches as Maverick punches Iceman’s wings into the casket. As they set up for the 21 gun salute, Willow reaches down to pick up Elle. Jake takes the flag from his daughter so Willow could hold her, muffling the shots fired.

Before long the service was over and everyone started heading back to their cars. As Sarah goes to leave, Willow catches her.

“We can’t take this, Sarah. It goes to the family.”

“You are family, sweetheart. He would’ve wanted you to have it.” Sarah smiles. Elle reaches out to her grandma, Sarah pulls her over and hugs her, kissing her head before setting her down. “Besides, the kids wanted Elle to have it. They got a lifetime of love from him, they figured Elle deserved a piece of her papa as much as they do.”

Tears well in her eyes at the information before being pulled into a hug. “I love you, Sarah.”

“I love you too sweetheart.” 

Sarah walks towards the car where Jack and Lizzie already wait.

Jake leads his family to the car, Willow stumbles still lost in her emotions and Elle rests her head on her father’s shoulder as he carries her, already fast asleep.

“Let's get you both home.” Jake smiles softly after everyone is buckled into the car. He rubs small circles into Willow’s hand for the entirety of the drive. 

This past week was taking its toll of Willow. Between the mission and losing the man she saw as a father, Jake knew she wasn’t okay. But Willow still played it off. When they got home, Jake carried Elle to her bedroom while Willow sat on the couch, pulling out every copy she had of the flight plans and mission details she had, burying herself into the mission.

Jake did their nightly cleaning and made sure everything was locked up and away before he spoke.

“Darlin, let's go to bed.” He says softly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders over the back of the couch.

“Just a few more minutes.”

“You’ve been staring at these papers for over an hour.” Jake sighs, massaging her shoulders to make her see she needs to rest. “We have an early morning.”

“I’ll be up in a bit Jake. You go on ahead.” Reluctantly, Jake made his way to their bedroom. He tried to stay up until she came in but he fell asleep waiting. And when he woke the next morning to Willow’s side of the bed was still neatly made, he knew she never came in. Walking out, he finds Willow asleep on the couch, papers strewn left and right.

He drapes the throw blanket from the back of the couch over her before heading to wake up Elle and get her ready for the day. They didn’t have to be at work until 9 so Jake lets her sleep. Once Elle was ready he took her out for a Daddy daughter breakfast.

“Is Mama okay?” Elle questions.

“She’ll be okay, pumpkin. She just misses Papa a lot.” Jake answers the little girl. Elle had become more observant the older she got. 

“I miss him too.” Elle says softly, picking up a piece of fruit from her plate.

“Me too. Finish your breakfast. We're gonna be late for school.”

When Jake arrived back home to pick up Willow, she was barreling through the house trying to get ready.

“Where were you?” Willow asks, buttoning her khaki shirt.

“Took Elle to breakfast before school. Are you ready?”

“Yea, lemme grab my phone.” 

“Vixen! A word.” Willow turns to see Maverick walking up to her. Jake goes to stand in front of her but she stops him.

“It's fine, I’ll see you in there.” Jake nods walking inside.

“I need a favor.”

“Mav—“

“I need you to run the course by yourself.”

“I haven’t even completed it as a team. What makes you think I wanna run it by myself?” Willow questions.

“They canned me Willow. You are the only person in there that I know can do this mission and should lead it.”

“I can’t—“

“Please, Willow.” She looks through the windows of the doors leading into the classroom just as Admiral Simpson begins speaking.

"Captain Mitchell is no longer your instructor. As of today there are new mission parameters," Admiral Simpson tells everyone as they lean forward paying more attention. Phoenix leans over to Jake.

“Where’s Willow?”

“Maverick pulled her outside.”

"Time to target is now four minutes." Everyone looks around to each other, shocked. There was no way anyone was coming back alive if the time to target was four minutes, and they all knew it. "You'll be entering the valley level at reduced speed, not to exceed 420 knots."

"Sir, won't we be giving enemy aircraft a chance to catch up to us?" Phoenix questioned.

"You have a better fighting chance against enemy aircraft than you do surviving a head-on collision with a mountain," the admiral answered. "You will be attacking the target from a higher altitude, level with the north wall." Just as Admiral Bates continued, everyone’s eyes were drawn to the screen, a beeping came through as two single F-18s fly towards the course.

"Vixen to range control, entering point alpha, confirm green range.”

“Oh fuck.” Bradley mutters leaning forward.

"Range control to Vixen. Uhh, green range is confirmed, but I don't see an event scheduled for you.”

"I’m still going.” Willow calls out.

"Nice," Phoenix mumbled.

"Setting time to target to two minutes and fifteen seconds," Willow said. The previously set time changed and everyone grew more anxious.

"That's impossible," Fanboy calls out just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Vixen is inbound," she says, crossing the starting point.

The time starts and everyone watches on the edge of their seats as the Willow swerved through the course, on her own. “One minute and 35 seconds, coming up on pop up.” Willow calls out.

She immediately began the incline before performing the inverted dive. 

"Bombs away," Willow says, begining her climb out. “Bullseye!” She cheers as she sees impact. Inside the hanger everyone is cheering

By the time she reached the top she was already pulling 9.5 Gs and slowly leveling out, pulling Willow back in as she was close to G-lock. Once she was level the timer stopped. 16 seconds left on the clock. 

“That's my girl.” Jake smiles at the screens that document everything about the trial.

Dressed in their whites, Jake and Willow walk into the Hard Deck with Elle beside them. Normally they would never bring her into a bar but with Penny taking Elle during the mission and this being the last night with their friends beforehand.

“Hey there's my favorite niece!” Coyote meets them at the door, lifting Elle from the ground and walking her towards the pool tables.

“I’m going to get some beers.” Willow tells Jake before walking to where the team was. She had been reprimanded for her stunt that previous day but Cyclone saw exactly what Maverick wanted him to see. Willow was the right choice to lead this mission and actually agreed.

“Hey, 2 beers?” Penny asks as Willow walks up to the bar.

“Yes.” Penny reaches down to grab Willow’s and Jake’s regular, opening them up. “Hey, thanks for watching Elle for us. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

“It takes a village to raise a child in the military. Fortunately for you, you have a whole armada.” Penny points to the group and Willow looks over to see Coyote helping Elle play pool against Jake, everyone cheering when she sinks the 8-ball. Willow smiles watching how excited Elle is as Jake throws her into the air, catching her, celebrating her win.

“Yea. Listen, if tomorrow doesn’t go as planned–”

“You can’t talk like that Willow.”

“If it happens, make sure she goes to Jake’s family. I don’t need Mav doing to her what he did to me.” Willow finishes.

“Your father has grown a great deal since 1997.” Penny informs.

“My father has not proven that to me. I trust you with my life Pen, but I can’t trust him.”

“I understand. But I will be seeing you tomorrow after this mission.”

“Thanks Pen.” Willow carries the beers over, passing one to her husband.

“Hey darlin, Elle just beat at her first game of pool.” Jake tells her.

“Of course she did. Just like her mama. She will never lose to daddy.” She says to Elle, winking at Jake before walking over to where Phoenix and Bob sat.

“So team leader, you got an idea of who your team is?” Phoenix asks.

“If I did I couldn’t tell you. But I wouldn’t go anywhere without my wingman.” Willow smiles at her best friend.

“So who’s gonna be your second?” Jake asks, Elle now playing pool with Coyote.

“Jake–”

“I get it, someone’s gotta come home to Elle.” Jake replies. “I’d do the same thing in your position.”

“If we didn’t have her, I would choose you in a heartbeat. I trust no one more. You are back up though”

“I’ll take it.” Jake smiles.

“Hangman being okay as back up? Never thought I’d live to see the day.” Phoenix laughs.

“Hey, you already know I would do anything for my girls.” Jake kisses Willow’s temple before walking over to play darts.

“Any idea who your second is?” Bob asks.

“No. I think I’m going to decide on the boat tomorrow.”

“Think hard, Vixen. Lives are on the line.”

The Dagger squad stayed until the late hours of the night. Elle had fallen asleep hours ago and slept peacefully in a booth Penny had set up as a bed. Around 1 am, Penny had closed all tabs and cleaned up before meeting Willow and Jake at her car. They had already gotten Elle buckled in and back to sleep after saying their goodbyes to the sleepy girl.

“We can’t ever thank you enough Penny.”

“You guys coming home safely will be thank you enough. Good luck.”

“Thanks Pen.” The couple retreats to their own vehicle, climbing in and heading home.

They held each other a little closer that night as they slept, mentally preparing themselves for the next day.

[plushee-cant-draw]

As I've started doing for. every update now, here are all of the new quotes for the update beta, "Terror Below" :3

I. am very normal about it so far.

(Spoilers under the cut, of course. Also it is incredibly long.)

Firstly, though, I'm kinda sad that the ancient fuelweaver doesn't react at all to the portal being repaired. I tried summoning him after getting it fixed, but nothing changes, and I checked his quotes to be sure, but nothing new was added. Hopefully Kiel will give him something to say TwT.

Secondly, I'd go check the update out first if possible or see if a guide for the new things added is out, as even after playing it for a little bit...

I still haven't seen everything new added and don't know what some of the new quotes added are even for.

Anyways

Wilson:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "That drop looks like it goes on forever.", SHADOW_FORGE = "What dark designs will it bring to life?", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "It would be unscientific of me not to at least do some experiments.", FUSED_SHADELING = "I liked you better when you were smaller, and bothering someone else.", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "Bombastic!", VOIDCLOTH = "Those shadows are all cut from the same cloth.", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "It makes me feel dark and mysterious.", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "Oh drat, there's a tear across the front!", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "I always hate when my hair gets melted by acid.", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "It makes harvesting so easy, it's scary!", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "Hands off!", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "It looks hungry for a fight.", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "The wings seem to be just for show.", CHARLIE_NPC = "Wait, is that...?", CHARLIE_HAND = "It wants something dreadful.", NITRE_FORMATION = "It's definitely some kind of rock.", DREADSTONE_STACK = "It's coming from deep down in those chasms...", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "Someone else out there likes to scrapbook.", }, ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "Something sinister's on the horizon.", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "I already have all these.",

Willow:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "Nope. Not going near that.", SHADOW_FORGE = "Alright, let's get weird!", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "I have to put it together myself?", FUSED_SHADELING = "Eww, it's so creepy!", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "They sure go out with a bang.", VOIDCLOTH = "Finders keepers!", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "You never know who might really be hiding under that hood.", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "I think I look good in red.", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "At least it keeps the rain off.", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "Farming just got a bit less boring.", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "What has two hands and no feet? Whatever that thing is.", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "Go snack on somebody else!", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "You don't scare me! Okay, maybe a little.", CHARLIE_NPC = "Have I seen her before...?", CHARLIE_HAND = "You want something from me?", NITRE_FORMATION = "I don't know how anything could grow in that weird rain.", DREADSTONE_STACK = "It's growing from way down below.", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "Another page for the emergency kindling supply- I mean scrapbook.", },

ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "Did anyone else see that weird glow?", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "Looks like stuff I already know.",

Wolfgang:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "Wolfgang will be very careful not to fall into that.", SHADOW_FORGE = "Creepy hands make things for Wolfgang.", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "Is almost done!", FUSED_SHADELING = "Is creepy and crawly!", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "Boom bug!", VOIDCLOTH = "Scary little rags.", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "Eep! Is too dark in there!", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "Creepy shirt is happy to be worn by Wolfgang.", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "Wolfgang would like less spooky umbrella, please.", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "Wolfgang will cut with one mighty swipe!", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "Creepy shadow wants to arm wrestle?", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "Eep! Wolfgang's muscles are too tough for chewing!", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "Scary flapper!", CHARLIE_NPC = "Wolfgang has seen that face in the dark...", CHARLIE_HAND = "Is needing something, yes?", NITRE_FORMATION = "It grew from burny rain?", DREADSTONE_STACK = "Scary rock comes from scary place...", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "Is page of funny scribbles.", },

ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "Maybe is best to not go toward creepy light, yes?", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "Wolfgang's scrapbook will fit no more!",

Wendy:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "Endless, swirling nothingness... how serene.", SHADOW_FORGE = "What terrible things will I create?", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "I suppose if I tried I could piece it together.", FUSED_SHADELING = "It knows nothing but pain and hunger.", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "They lead such short, explosive lives.", VOIDCLOTH = "Tattered remains.", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "I can disappear into the darkness within.", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "This ragged cloak will either protect me, or be my shroud.", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "I will stay under its shadow.", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "One swift motion, and the work is done.", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "Another nightmare to torment me.", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "Will the darkness consume me at last?", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "There is no face beneath that hood.", CHARLIE_NPC = "Are you the true face of the darkness?", CHARLIE_HAND = "Do I dare approach?", NITRE_FORMATION = "It thrives while the rest of us burn.", DREADSTONE_STACK = "Do I dare imagine what kind of darkness it grew from?", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "A lost and lonely page.", },

ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "That glow... does it lead to my doom?", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "Nothing more will fit in my scrapbook.",

WX-78:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "PLANAR ANOMALY DETECTED", SHADOW_FORGE = "IT DOES MY BIDDING", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "ASSEMBLY REQUIRED", FUSED_SHADELING = "HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF EVIL DETECTED", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "WARNING: CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE", VOIDCLOTH = "ALL THAT IS LEFT OF MY ENEMIES", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "IT WOULD BE A SHAME TO HIDE MY PERFECT MECHANICAL FACE", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "THE IRON CHAINS ARE A NICE TOUCH", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "MY NEW FAVORITE MOISTURE BARRIER", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "LET'S CUT DOWN SOME ORGANICS", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "SUBMIT TO MY AUTHORITY!", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "YOUR EFFORTS ARE ILLOGICAL, I HOLD NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "COME CLOSER SO I CAN PUNCH YOU", CHARLIE_NPC = "ALL THAT POWER AND SHE STILL CLINGS TO THAT ORGANIC FORM", CHARLIE_HAND = "OFFERING REQUIRED", NITRE_FORMATION = "IT GREW, BUT NOT IN A GROSS ORGANIC WAY", DREADSTONE_STACK = "IF I COULD JUST GET TO THE SOURCE!", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "I WILL ADD THIS INFORMATION TO MY PAPER DATA RECEPTACLE", },

ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "SOMETHING EVIL IS HAPPENING WITHOUT ME!", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "PAPER DATA RECEPTACLE STATUS: 100% COMPLETE",

Wickerbottom:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "Intriguing and deeply worrying in equal measures.", SHADOW_FORGE = "I do not care for this type of magic.", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "It cannot be utilized until its been assembled.", FUSED_SHADELING = "It is reminiscent of the parasitic shadows we encountered before.", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "Its body is highly volatile.", VOIDCLOTH = "This unusual fabric may be quite useful.", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "Prolonged use will surely have detrimental effects on the mind.", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "Armor against metaphysical damage.", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "It provides a useful barrier against acid droplets.", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "A common harvesting implement, with an admittedly unsettling appearance.", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "I would advise against challenging it in hand-to-hand combat.", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "A ravenous shadow beast.", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "Its wings seem to be utilized for propulsion, not to remain airborne.", CHARLIE_NPC = "I'd like to give that young lady a stern talking to!", CHARLIE_HAND = "It requires materials.", NITRE_FORMATION = "The acidic rain seems to have caused a chemical reaction, producing these formations.", DREADSTONE_STACK = "Its source must lie even deeper underground.", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "What a hideous sight! A page torn from its book!", },

ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "As nonsensical as it sounds, there is something dark about that \"light\"...", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "My scrapbook has already been completed.",

Woodie:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "Watch where ya step.", SHADOW_FORGE = "Was this really a good idea?", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "It won't do much good sitting there like that.", FUSED_SHADELING = "Yeesh, this place is overrun with shadow critters!", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "That can't be good...", VOIDCLOTH = "It ain't flannel, but I can work with it.", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "A dark hood, full of secrets.", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "Quite the getup, eh?", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "As long as it works, I won't complain aboot how it looks.", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "Luce says she doesn't like him.", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "You'd better keep yer hands clear of my axe!", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "Better not get too close to that big fella.", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "You're not some kinda bird hiding under that hood, are ya?", CHARLIE_NPC = "Her face looks familiar, I think I've seen it in my nightmares.", CHARLIE_HAND = "Not exactly a helping hand, eh?", NITRE_FORMATION = "Guess that rain wasn't all bad, eh?", DREADSTONE_STACK = "I don't like where this is going, and I really don't like where it's comin' from.", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "Huh. Wonder where it came from?", },

ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "I don't like the look of that light.", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "Looks like stuff I already know aboot.",

Wes:

Maxwell:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "Mind the gap.", SHADOW_FORGE = "What shall I fashion from the shadows?", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "There is work to be done.", FUSED_SHADELING = "They grow up so fast.", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "That is one persistent tail.", VOIDCLOTH = "It would be a shame to let this material go to waste.", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "Darkness is an often underrated accessory.", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "The fabric really breathes.", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "It's just my style.", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "If menial tasks must be done, they should be done in style.", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "You think you're the master of sleight of hand?", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "I'll leave a bitter taste in your mouth, pal.", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "You think you can look down on me?", CHARLIE_NPC = "Charlie...", CHARLIE_HAND = "I'll... see to it.", NITRE_FORMATION = "A large growth of nitre.", DREADSTONE_STACK = "It comes from the depths below.", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "Curious. It may yield some useful information.", },

ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "Something's stirring...", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "I know all I need to already.",

Wigfrid:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "A chasm to Hel itself.", SHADOW_FORGE = "It doth conjure powerful, accursed things...", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "Dare I toy with such a thing?", FUSED_SHADELING = "'Tis naught but a pest to be crushed beneath my boot!", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "'Tis small, but lively!", VOIDCLOTH = "Remnants of a fallen foe.", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "I despise the thought of hiding one's face in combat.", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "This garb invites madness...", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "A shield against the elements.", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "A formidable weapon against non-meats.", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "To arms, fiend!", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "All thou shall taste is the bite of my spear!", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "Thou art swift, but not swift enough!", CHARLIE_NPC = "At last, you reveal yourself!", CHARLIE_HAND = "It seeks an offering.", NITRE_FORMATION = "A boon from the burning rain.", DREADSTONE_STACK = "It hails from a place deeper and darker than even here.", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "From whence hath you come, mysterious page?", },

ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "Hark! 'Tis a most unnatural light!", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "I hath already completed my tome.",

Webber:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "W-we don't think we want to look down there...", SHADOW_FORGE = "We'd rather do crafts with paper and glue...", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "Where should we put it?", FUSED_SHADELING = "Ouchie! It bites!", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "You're not one of our spider friends!", VOIDCLOTH = "It's definitely not spider silk.", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "It makes us look pretty spooky.", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "It makes it look like our tummy's smiling!", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "It keeps us dry, and gives us lots of shade!", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "He never used anything like this back on the farm.", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "We wonder if they get dizzy walking like that...", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "We don't want to get gobbled up again!", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "Aww, no fair, we wish we had wings!", CHARLIE_NPC = "Are you the lady from the dark?", CHARLIE_HAND = "We think it wants something!", NITRE_FORMATION = "It's a big stack of rock stuff!", DREADSTONE_STACK = "More of that scary rock...", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "Oooh, we found a page!", },

ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "What was that creepy light?", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "We already filled up our scrapbook.",

Winona:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "This place is falling apart at the seams.", SHADOW_FORGE = "Might as well put the shadows to work.", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "Just needs a bit of elbow grease.", FUSED_SHADELING = "I don't like the look of those chompers.", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "Watch out, it's gonna blow!", VOIDCLOTH = "I can work with any material.", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "Some folks think it's safer to be kept in the dark.", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "Looks pretty tattered, will it really protect me from anything?", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "It sure provides plenty of shade.", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "It gives me the creeps, but it sure works like a charm.", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "What? Mad I left ya hanging?", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "It's gonna chew me up and spit me back out! Literally!", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "Must be one of the higher-ups. Ha...", CHARLIE_NPC = "Charlie, wait!!", CHARLIE_HAND = "You want something, huh?", NITRE_FORMATION = "Oh, I've got big plans for that!", DREADSTONE_STACK = "Must be a lot of the stuff growing down there.", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "Let's see if there's anything interesting written on it.", },

ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "I've got a bad feelin'...", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "I can't squeeze any more pages in my scrapbook.",

Warly:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "The ground is crumbling!", SHADOW_FORGE = "A place for dark concoctions.", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "I'll just put these pieces together, and voila!", FUSED_SHADELING = "It does not look friendly!", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "It's about to pop!", VOIDCLOTH = "Leftovers from those nightmares.", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "To protect my head while unraveling my mind.", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "Will it really keep me safe?", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "I fear it will bring bad luck whether it's opened indoors or not.", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "Did I just see it twitch?", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "I don't want to end up in its clutches.", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "Oh my, it looks hungry... and I'm probably delicious!", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "My fears have taken flight!", CHARLIE_NPC = "Mon dieu... Is that the face I've seen peering from the shadows?", CHARLIE_HAND = "It needs an important ingredient.", NITRE_FORMATION = "Adding a dash of acid to the mix created these formations.", DREADSTONE_STACK = "More of that curious stone.", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "Ah! Someone has left a page here.", },

ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "What was that eerie glow?", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "My scrapbook is already filled to the brim.",

Wortox:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "Hyuyu, watch your step!", SHADOW_FORGE = "Those idle hands should be put to work, hyuyu!", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "All work and no play makes for an irritable imp.", FUSED_SHADELING = "The stuff of nightmares!", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "Keep away, I don't want to play!", VOIDCLOTH = "Bits of tattered reality. And it comes in my color!", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "A hood of night, that blocks out all light.", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "It broke the chains of its previous plane.", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "The rain of pain falls mainly on this plane.", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "Alas, it reaps no souls, just grass.", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "This one's all topsy-turvy, hyuyu!", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "You wouldn't want to eat a sweet little imp like me!", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "A fright, taken flight!", CHARLIE_NPC = "The Shadow Queen is finally seen!", CHARLIE_HAND = "It seeks a stone of dread.", NITRE_FORMATION = "After a while it formed a pile.", DREADSTONE_STACK = "Who knows where it grows from?", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "Where is it from? Not knowing is half the fun!", },

ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "Calling that \"light\" wouldn't be quite right.", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "I already know everything there is to know, hyuyu!",

Wormwood:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "Anybody down there?", SHADOW_FORGE = "Scary hands helping?", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "Not done yet", FUSED_SHADELING = "Scary Biter!", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "Look out!", VOIDCLOTH = "Leaves? No...", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "Dark inside", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "Smiling?", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "Burny Rain Taker", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "No... wants to hurt friends!", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "Not friend...", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "Big Biter!", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "Scary Flier", CHARLIE_NPC = "Hello lady!", CHARLIE_HAND = "Want something?", NITRE_FORMATION = "Bunch of Pow Rocks", DREADSTONE_STACK = "Growing up, up, up!", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "Book leaf?", },

ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "Glowy!", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "Book filled up!",

Wurt:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "Glorp! Ground broken!", SHADOW_FORGE = "Make me things! Now!", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "It not ready yet.", FUSED_SHADELING = "Something stuck to its tail?", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "It gonna 'splode!", VOIDCLOTH = "All torn up.", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "It dark inside!", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "Scary shirt...", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "Huh? Th-there a storm in it!", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "Swish swish, bye-bye plants! Hee-hee!", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "G-go away!!", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "Hey! No eating!!", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "N-not scared of you, florp!", CHARLIE_NPC = "It the scary night lady!!", CHARLIE_HAND = "What you want, florp?", NITRE_FORMATION = "Big bunch of funny rocks.", DREADSTONE_STACK = "Oooh, big shiny rock!", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "Found page for scrappy book!", },

ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "N-not scared of weird light, florp!", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "No more room in scrappy book.",

Walter:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "I wish I could get a better look inside...", SHADOW_FORGE = "It's really handy! Get it? Because it has hands?", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "Don't worry, I'm great at setting things up!", FUSED_SHADELING = "Woby, look! It has a ball on its tail!", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "Woah! The ball's alive!", VOIDCLOTH = "All that's left of that poor shadow monster.", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "Woby doesn't like it when I wear that.", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "It almost looks like it has a face, doesn't it?", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "An umbrella that comes with its own lightning!", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "I think it just blinked!", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "They seem fun!", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "I bet they're friendly!", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "Oooh, neat! That one can fly!", CHARLIE_NPC = "Excuse me, ma'am! It's dangerous here, do you need any assistance?", CHARLIE_HAND = "We should give it a hand! Heh. Good one, Walter.", NITRE_FORMATION = "Huh. Looks like a big clump of rocks.", DREADSTONE_STACK = "I bet there's more buried deep underground!", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "I should add it to my scrapbook!", },

ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "What was that weird light? We should check it out, Woby!", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "I've already filled out my scrapbook.",

Wonkey:

Wanda:

-- Rifts 2 SHADOWRIFT_PORTAL = "This isn't good...", SHADOW_FORGE = "Quite a nice change of pace to have shadows working for me.", SHADOW_FORGE_KIT = "I'll have it up and running in just a tick.", FUSED_SHADELING = "You stay away from me!", FUSED_SHADELING_BOMB = "What a nasty little thing!", VOIDCLOTH = "Tatters of spacetime.", VOIDCLOTHHAT = "Oooh, it makes one look rather mysterious, doesn't it?", ARMOR_VOIDCLOTH = "I prefer chains that have a pocket watch at the end of them.", VOIDCLOTH_UMBRELLA = "At least it will keep me dry.", VOIDCLOTH_SCYTHE = "Did I just hear a whisper? No, I must have imagined it.", SHADOWTHRALL_HANDS = "Try all you might, you'll never catch me!", SHADOWTHRALL_HORNS = "I will not be your dinner!", SHADOWTHRALL_WINGS = "Shoo! Shoo!!", CHARLIE_NPC = "She looks happy... that doesn't bode well.", CHARLIE_HAND = "Me? Help YOU?!", NITRE_FORMATION = "How exciting, more rocks!", DREADSTONE_STACK = "It's coming from deep below the surface.", SCRAPBOOK_PAGE = "Did I leave this here?", },

ANNOUNCE_SHADOW_RIFT_MAX = "Something has shifted...", ANNOUNCE_SCRAPBOOK_FULL = "Didn't I already fill out my scrapbook?",

annnddd that's all of them. have fun with them

[buckyscrystalqueen]

Winter Wolf: Part 15

Pairings: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: Swearing, fluff, angst

Word Count: 4,421

A/N: Finally got the muse to finish this story! YAY!

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13 / Part 14

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

“I want it to look like a plantation house.” You said as you stood in front of what was left of your house between a general contractor, and Bucky as you bounced Ana on your hip, while you looked at another contractor that dealt with historic homes, specifically, and Tony, who was paying for the reconstruction. It had taken him a month of cutting red tape, but on the afternoon of your one year anniversary, he handed you the updated deed and a photo of the new metal arch across your driveway with the real name of your plantation and the real year it was established displayed proudly beneath it.

“I want the same wide wrap around porch, and the balcony on the second floor with all glass French doors. I want the white columns, and my stone fireplace in the parlor, and wood floors throughout. Oh, and I want to see my willow through my bedroom windows. Everything else, you can ask Bucky for. But the kitchen has to be in the back, left corner, and it has to have six bedrooms. Four up, and two down- one on either side of the first floor. Classic.” You finished as you switched Ana on your hip and turned to let her play in the willow tree. “Oh, and bathrooms. Lots of bathrooms. And air conditioning. And a swing in that oak tree over there.”

“Did you want to knock down that old workers house still, doll?” Bucky asked as you put your daughter down, and held on to her hands so she could stretch her legs.

“Yep! Get rid of it.” You called out with a nod. “That’s what we’ll do, Anastasia. When Daddy’s done, we’ll walk back and go look at the little river where you can sit and play in the water. You’d like that, huh? Better than being raised in a tower.” You sighed and sat down in the short grass with a small smile. “We’ve really come full circle here, baby girl.” You said as you shifted her grip on your fingers. “I really hope your mom would like us moving you here. I think she would. You’re gunna have a huge yard to play in, and your own room. And we can start a garden again, and we can plant some more apple and peach trees in the back. And I think I remember how to fish, but maybe Daddy does so he can teach us both. And maybe we can get you a little pool to play in on hot days…” You paused for a moment as you looked over at the distant sound of tires turning into your driveway. “James…”

“Yea…”

“That’s a government car.” You called out as you picked up your daughter, and walked out from under the willow tree to look over at the drive. You stopped half way to the small group as not one, but three black SUV’s with tinted windows and a massive armored car pulled up to stop in the parking lot area. “Shit… take her.”

“Babe…” Bucky said as you took the last few steps over to him and practically shoved your daughter into his arms.

“Take her.” You said as you stepped back away from him as men started to pour out of the vehicles and head toward you quickly.

“Doctor (Y/N) (Y/M/N) Barnes, AKA (Y/N) Scott, née (Y/L/N)…”

“Ross!” Tony yelled as you mentally battled the decision to run for your life or accept your fate.

“You are under arrest for the murders of Howard and Maria Stark, John F. Kennedy, Jasper Sitwell…”

“No, no!” Bucky shouted as you were nearly tackled to the ground by four guys nearly twice your size that were trying to get you into cuffs and shackles as quickly as possible even though you were not resisting what so ever in front of your child.

“Ross, you are making a huge mistake.” Tony said as Ana started to scream for you as some of the men kept your husband and daughter back at gun point.

“Babe, don’t you fucking listen to her!” Bucky roared over everyone as he watched your whole being shift into something he barely recognized when he saw you register the face of the man that had a gun pointing at your innocent one year old. “Don’t give in to her! Stay with Anastasia and me! Stay with us!” You met his eyes for a moment with a look he had only seen in old HYDRA photographs as you were lifted off the ground and unceremoniously thrown into a cube shaped jail cell.

“You’re all gunna fucking pay for that.” You said evenly with an evil smirk as you let them chain you to the chair before they all stepped out of the truck and shut you in with a single pair of heavily armed guards. A dark laugh you normally hated to hear, but that you absolutely welcomed in that moment started to echo in your head as you looked directly at the man who had no idea what was coming to him. “You have no fucking idea how much you’re gunna pay for pointing a gun at my daughter.”

——

You were locked in a room, a half mile below ground at least, in a bulletproof glass and metal box similar to the one you were held in the last time the American government had captured you, and left completely alone in a small room with multiple armed guards keeping watch outside the only door. For an entire month, you were given barely a meal twice a day, and allowed to use the “restroom”, which was really just a bed pan shoved under your ass after two guards held your hips up and yanked your pants down for you, twice daily as well, but you were given no other privileges other than those. You didn’t get to shower or get clean clothes; it was “too risky” to uncuff more than the lower part of your right arm for you to eat and wipe yourself. 

But you couldn’t complain. You didn’t say a word or move a muscle unless you were told to, because every time you did, they shocked you. Everyday for that entire month, you lost just a little more hope that this would one day come to an end, and the Wolf developed her plan of escape just a little bit louder in your head for when the part of you that made you ‘you’ finally gave up. But on the very last day of the month, the entire wall in front of you lifted up and a large group of armed men filed in ten bodies wide, and at least six bodies deep.

“Let’s move her!” The man in charge called out, which made the guards split down the center so a fork lift could be brought in to pick up the cage. You wanted to ask where you were going so badly, but you didn’t dare say a word as you were carted out of the room, on to a massive platform, and brought out of the pit of your own personal hell.

‘You can break out now!’ The Wolf said as you were transported to an armored truck. ‘It’d be easy. You know I can do it. We can go far, far away from here where no one will ever find us again…’

‘I’m not leaving my family.’ You told her as you slowly and carefully closed your eyes and leaned your head back on your chair, despite every other ounce of your being being poised and ready to attack at a moments notice like it had been for weeks. ‘I won’t leave my daughter or my husband.’

‘Weak.’ You mentally agreed with her as the truck stopped, and the back doors were opened so that the cage could be removed. You opened your eyes again and looked up at an impressive federal courthouse in Washington DC. Your guard led you inside and through the halls, and some how, it took you until were just outside the court room to realize what was happening. (Which was probably from lack of sleep, but you weren’t quite sure of that or anything anymore.)

“Oh, my God!” Bucky and Wanda screamed simultaneously as the pair of them, the rest of the Avengers, and a man you assumed had to be your lawyer jumped to their feet the second you were carted into the room.

“What are you doing to her?!” Tony screeched as he looked over at General Ross, who was sitting front and center behind the prosecution with a smug yet straight look on his face.

“Have you even let her change her clothes or shower at all?!” Bucky chimed in as tears welled in his eyes as he searched the dead look in yours.

“Is this the reason you’ve refused to let me see my client?!” A man said as he turned toward the other side and pointed back at you.

“This is inhumane!”

“She’s a mutant.” The prosecutor said with a shake of his head. “And she’s dangerous…”

“Get my wife out of that box…!”

“Alright, order! Order!!” The judge said as she slammed her gavel down and looked over at you. “OK, everybody hold on!” She yelled over your lawyer, and your large family as they all screamed at the government officials responsible for your mistreatment. “Has this been her living conditions since she was arrested?” She asked as she looked over at you, and the Wolf responded before you could stop her.

“I haven’t even used a toothbrush…” You shrieked and seized when the box shocked you once again, and Wanda and Steve instantly leapt over the partition.

“Get her out of that box!” The judge and your lawyer roared as Wanda ripped the front and the side of the box away so Steve could get your restraints off. Everyone in a thirty foot radius recoiled from the smell as Bucky pushed past Steve to pick you up out of the chair as gently as he could.

“She needs a medic!” Steve yelled as your lawyer told the other that he would be filing law suits against every single person responsible for your mistreatment as the judge scrambled to get the jury out of the room.

“I got the jet on the roof ready…” Tony said as he came over with a shake of his head. “Jesus, I didn’t know it was possible for her to be so thin.”

“Court officers…”

“If you so much as think of taking her out of my fucking arms right now, you will see what the Avengers are capable of for one of our own.” Bucky said evenly as he looked up at the woman on the stand.

“Can you please bring in a monitoring bracelet for Dr. Barnes so she can be confined to Sibley Memorial…”

“Can you make that the Four Seasons here in DC?” Tony asked as he tapped the ear piece in his ear to hang up his phone call while Steve ripped your dirty jeans away from your ankle so the monitor could be attached. “My personal physician is already on the way.”

���Fine.” The judge said with a nod as she sat up in her spot. “Dr. Barnes, you are not, under any circumstances, allowed to leave your hotel room once it has been established unless it is to come to court, do you understand what I am saying?”

“Yes ma’am.” You nearly whispered as you looked up at her.

“OK then. We will reconvene in one week for trial.” The prosecutor and General Ross both shouted ‘what’ as Bucky hiked you up in his arms to carry you out, which made the judge whip toward them. “As for you? You should be ashamed of yourselves. Mutant or not, you just violated every single one of her civil liberties…”

“Bucky?” You breathed as you reached up with your metal hand and brushed your fingertips across the scruff on his cheek. “Anastasia?”

“She’s at the hotel with Pepper. We’re gunna go see her right now.”

“OK.” You said as you laid your head down on his shoulder where the Wolf finally let you fell asleep in the safety of his arms.

——

“Mama!” Ana screeched when you got out of the shower in your much nicer jail cell after your extensive check up with a doctor that worked for Stark Industries. You stumbled the slightest bit and looked over at your daughter, who toddled toward you all by herself on her impossibly more chunky legs. You stopped in the doorway and Bucky nearly ran over you from behind when you teared up and sat down on the carpet since you had missed her first steps.

“Oh, my baby girl!” You cried as tears filled your eyes when your little angel threw herself into your chest and hugged your throat tightly.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you two were showering.” Pepper said softly, but Bucky shook his head as he held his towel tightly around his waist and stepped past you.

“No, it’s OK.” He said with a glance back at the two halves of his heart. “We all just a little out of sorts right now.”

“I know what you mean.” Pepper said with a nod. “I’m gunna tell Tony to have Michael come and speak with her the day after tomorrow about the case. She needs you and Ana and she needs to eat something first.”

“And we all need some real rest.” He said as he turned a bit to watch you lay down right on the floor to play with the toys Bucky had brought with him to entertain Ana while he was in court. He could see the sheer exhaustion in your eyes as you watched Ana lay down just like you to put her hand on your cheek, and he startled the slightest when Pepper touched his shoulder.

“She’s gunna make it through this.” She said softly with a nod. “You both are. We’re all in this together, OK? And we will make it through this trial…”

“She won’t make it if she gets convicted…”

“She won’t.” Pepper reassured. “Especially after today. The jury saw her get shocked in that box, we can use that to our advantage…”

“Bucky?” You called out softly, which made him whip around toward you. You sighed heavily and looked up at him with a small shake of your head. “If I get convicted, I’m letting the Wolf out, and going to Wakanda. I won’t spend another minute of my life in a box like that again. Just get Anastasia there before I’m sentenced…”

“OK, we’ll worry about that later, doll.” He said as he walked away from Pepper and carefully laid down on Ana’s other side facing you. “Let’s just talk to the lawyer first. He has a pretty good plan for us. We’re all pretty confident anyways, OK?” You nodded your head against your arm and reached out to hold his hand as Pepper left your room for the night.

“I love you, Bucky. You and Ana are the only reasons I didn’t break out already.”

“Well you’re here now.” He said with a small smile. “I love you, (Y/N), and I will never stop doing so. No matter what happens.”

——

“Well you look much, much better than the last time I saw you, Dr. Barnes.” The judge, Stacy Benson said as she took a seat in her chair. “How are you feeling?” You glanced over at your lawyer, Michael Young, almost seeking permission to speak, before looking up at the judge with a small nod.

“Cleaner. But I’m a mother so I think I’ll forever be tired.”

“As the mother of three kids myself, I can tell you that never goes away.” She said with a small laugh as she organized the paperwork for your case. “Now, I assume you’ve had a chance to meet with your lawyer this past week?”

“Yes ma’am, I have. Thank you.”

“And you come to court today understanding all of the charges against you and are prepared for the trial against you to begin?”

“Yes ma’am, I am.” She looked up for the papers for a moment and nodded her head before glancing over at the bailiff.

“Let’s bring in the finalized jury.” You nodded your head, took a deep breath, and glanced back at Pepper, who was one of the only Avengers that wasn’t testifying which meant she was the only one allowed to hear the trial from beginning to end. She gave you a reassuring nod and reminded you to breathe and to sit up a bit more as the jury all took their seats. You turned back around and folded your hands in your lap the way your lawyer had told you so that your metal hand was ‘out of sight and out of mind’ until the ‘perfect moment’. You sat almost perfectly still and started singing the ‘Good Night Moon’ song on repeat in your head the way Bucky had suggested to try to drown out the Wolf as both lawyers started the trial with their opening arguments. 

The prosecution’s was almost stereotypical. Mr. Everett Ross kept his voice raised and his tone angry as he used big hand gestures to make his argument feel much larger than it was. But unfortunately, he was so convincing, hell, you yourself even believed for a moment that you- the normal, pre-brainwashing you was the one who committed the sixteen murders they had proof for out of the ninety-seven actual murders the Winter Wolf had done. When he was finished, even the Wolf sat back in your mind with an agitated huff.

‘Well we’re fucked.’

But then Mike stood up for his turn.

“Ladies and gentleman of the jury, this case is going to be one for the books. I have been practicing law for almost thirty years and I have never in my life seen one like this. Especially because what I am about to say is going to contradict itself completely. My client did commit these murders. She doesn’t deny it, there is plenty of evidence to support it, some of which, I’ll even be bringing up myself. But at the exact same time, my client is completely innocent. And I can prove it.

Over the next few days, you are going to hear plenty of eye witness testimony from witnesses that saw first hand what the Winter Wolf is capable of. You will see videos, and photographs the prosecution as procured to support the fact that the Wolf, which is what I will call the murderer from here on out, is the one that committed these crimes. But then it will be my turn to show you why Dr. Barnes, the woman sitting directly to my left here, is not the same person.

Please know in advance that the images, and testimony will be brutally graphic as we reveal the torture and agony Dr. Barnes went through at the hands of HYDRA from 1939 to 2014 when she was able to escape their control. And yes, my dates are correct because Dr. Barnes is a mutant, and one of her mutations is that she is not capable of dying. Which is also something else I will be able to prove as well. So while you sit here, and listen to the facts, I beg of you to keep an open mind through it all. Look at all of the facts and really see that the Winter Wolf and Dr. (Y/N) Barnes are two different entities in the same body. And prepare yourself now; like I said, this is not going to be pretty.” You looked up at him in awe as he nodded at the jury and came back around the table to sit down as Everett stood up and called his first witness. “Just remember what I said.” Mike said softly as he reached over and pat your back as an elderly man came in and sat down at the witness stand to be sworn in.

“Mr. Jones, how are you today?” Everett started with a smile.

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“Now Mr. Jones, can you tell me where you were on November 22nd, 1963?” Your mind instantly flashed to that day, and you knew exactly where this man was on that date.

“I was in Dallas, Texas at Dealey Plaza with my late wife to see President John F. Kennedy.”

“And where were you exactly, Mr. Jones?”

“We were sitting on the grassy knoll. I remember it like it was yesterday.”

“Now, refresh my memory.” Everett said almost sarcastically. “You were there, what happened, and what did you see?” You couldn’t stop your mind from following the man’s description as he led up to the moment the shots were fired, but from your point of view. You remembered getting off the way to advanced for its time jet, and heading through the packed streets to get to your mark. You remembered slipping into the shadows of a giant tree behind a picket fence and you could even feel the weight of your gun in your hand as you held it up and pulled the trigger. The faint hum of your daughter’s bed time song caught your attention though as it wasn’t part of the memory, and you shook your head and glanced behind you at Pepper, who simply smiled and nodded as she hummed a few more notes and stopped.

“So you saw the shooter?” Everett asked with a slight tilt of his head. “What can you tell me about her... or him.” He clarified, quickly before Mike could object.

“It was a woman.” Mr. Jones said with a small nod. “Caucasian, roughly five foot five like my wife, dark hair, wearing all black.”

“Anything else?” He asked as he oh so subtly adjusted his watch on his wrist, but Mike immediately jumped on it at the same moment you realized exactly why Tony and Bucky had insisted you wear the shirt you had on under your suit jacket.

“Objection! Leading!”

“Councilor, I will only warn you once.” Judge Benson said as she looked down at him as he raised his hands in innocence.

“Wasn’t leading...”

“She had a metal arm!” Mr. Jones said over him as if he had just remembered the award winning answer on a television game show.

“Your Honor, can you ask council to instruct his client to remove her jacket and roll up her sleeves.”

“Against my better judgement...” She started, but you had already stood up to take off your jacket anyways. The black metal stood out spectacularly against the light pink, sleeveless, backless, collared halter top button down you had on, and nearly the entire room gasped at the sight. You purposely turned around to hang your jacket on the back of your chair so that every single member of the jury could see your scars, and you went out of your way to use both hands to collect your loose hair to pull it over your right soldier so that the jury had no choice but to see what HYDRA did to you.

“A metal arm like that?” Everett asked as he turned back to the witness with a victorious smile, not realizing that every single thing he was doing was just setting himself up for failure.

“Yes, just like that.”

“No further questions.” He said with a nod as he walked back over to his table.

“Mr. Jones, you said you remember that day as if it was yesterday, correct?” Mike asked with a smile as he stood up from his spot.

“Yes, sir. I do.”

“Wonderful. So you can remember if the shooters metal arm was black or silver, correct?” You could see the subtle hesitation in Mr. Jones’ eyes as he glanced at you for a moment before looking back up at your attorney. 

“It was black. Matched her outfit.”

“And, how was the killer wearing her hair?” He continued as he leaned back against the table. “Down like it is now? Up in a pony tail? Do you recall?”

“It was...” He started as he glanced over at his lawyer, who no longer had a smile on his face. “It was pulled back. I’m not sure what the style was called back then.”

“And her outfit. I know you said it was all black, but could you describe it further?” You could see the slight panic in the witnesses eyes, before he jumped to the defensive.

“Are you calling me a liar, sir?!”

“Not at all, sir.” Mike said with a shake of his head as he turned around to grab something from the file he had sitting on the table. “Merely asking for more details. Defense exhibit one, your honor.” He said as he pulled out a stack of paper to give to the judge, to the jury, and to the witness since the prosecution had already been given the photographs. “Now Mr. Jones, would it surprise you in any way to know that up until 2018, Dr. Barnes had a silver metal arm with a giant red star on the shoulder as seen in photographs recovered from leaked HYDRA files from 1932, and 1967, photos from government files from 1974, ‘81, ‘91, ‘96... all the way to personal photos of her in Stark tower up until 2018 when it was exchanged for the current arm she has now?” He paused for a moment so that Mr. Jones had a chance to look through at least some of the photos, before continuing. “And would it also surprise you to know that the uniform she has on in those HYDRA and government photos was the official quote ‘uniform’ for the Winter Wolf, and that it never deviated?”

“Objection!” Everett snapped as he finally got to his feet. “How is he supposed to know that?”

“Just simple questions, that’s all.” Mike said as he took the photos back from the witness and walked back to the table. “No further questions.” As he sat back down at the table beside you, he put the photos back in their file before glancing over at you with a smile. “Don’t worry. I’m just getting started.” A smile pulled at the corners of your lips as Everett got up and called his second of fifteen witnesses, realizing at that moment that your lawyer was going to win this case.

Part 16

[thelegendofstella]

you have to wake up.

how?

you turn on the light.

(click/tap for better quality. closeups, notes, etc. under cut)

EDIT 4/9/2023: Image alts updated with IDs as per asking/request! I was way too tired to even think about doing them when I first posted this, lol, my bad

Closeups:

I CAN'T BELIEVE I MANAGED TO FINISH THIS IN TIME FOR THE FINALE. OH MY GOD

I've been working on this for ages (read: procrastinated until the last few days) and I can't believe how good this turned out in the end. For my standards, anyway. I just had to get this out somehow before the finale aired and I actually made it,,, Yay ;u; (1:30 AM on the day of is close enough, man fgyusdgshfsddsf)

This is basically kind of a redraw of one of the scenes in the WaD trailer we got a couple of weeks back that implied Amity and co. were attacking Luz because they thought she was Belos, because wow that was sure something. But I really have to give credit to this post for being my main inspiration and reference—that combined with the analysis posts of the trailer that have come out since then just really got my drive going.

I surprisingly don't have much to say about the process of this other than oh my god it was so hard to get all of their base colors??? Especially Willow's eye color, can you believe they've never shown her open eyes without glasses in natural light. I can, I looked. Besides that I am woefully unpracticed in shading so I just kinda winged it as best as I could here fdhjsdf.

(Please appreciate Belos' hands here, it took me fucking ages to get them right in the sketch. Perspective hands SUCK)

This came out to 3000px width by 1200px height, the largest canvas I've ever done so far. The .kra file of this has 981 layers, including folders (of which there were a lot because I am stupidly organized like that), and more filter layers than I know what to do with lol.