#i think the full extent of emotion is yet 2 hit me. not looking forward to it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hoe-doroki · 4 years

Text

hollow victory ch2

A part of the ‘A Spare Heart’ series.

pairing: none–eventual Shouto x Reader later in the series.

wc: 3.9k

genre: gen

summary: You transferred to U.A. from America two weeks ago. You’ve trained, studied, and observed alongside your classmates, but no one has found out your quirk yet. Today, they’re going be meeting it head on. You don’t have as much combat experience as any of them, but you have the advantage: surprise. Because none of them are prepared for what you have coming for them.

a/n: 2nd of 2 chapters! Make sure to read chapter 1 first! American!fem!Reader.

As you watched Todoroki retreat slowly to the stands, rejoining Midoriya, Iida, and Uraraka, you remembered all the things people used to say about your quirk back in America. You looked at everyone back together on one set of cement bleachers while you remained on the ground, and saw in their faces that they now knew.

You fell to the ground, groaning, “God” in English, only partially because of the fresh pain. You’d been hit just about everywhere and, despite all the work you’d been doing to build muscle for the past few months, you’d definitely pushed past your limit. You were drenched in sweat and probably in need of a lot more water, despite all you’d gulped down from Aizawa. Still, that wasn’t what hurt the most.

What was coming next would be.

“Alright,” Aizawa said as he handed you another water and Cementoss formed a chair for you to sit in, facing the rest of your peers. “Does everyone have a good idea of what Y/N’s quirk is?”

There were nods and murmurs among the group and more than a few faces were looking at you warily. Your heart sank at the familiarity of it. Yaoyorozu’s hand shot up and Aizawa called on her.

“She has the ability to manipulate emotions in others. She doesn’t appear to need any eye or physical contact, although it’s unknown if any other information is needed. She has fine-honed the kinds of emotions she can use and has some mastery over nuance. Endurance seems to be a moderate factor.”

Aizawa nodded, looking at you for approval that Yaoyorozu had gotten it right, although you knew she had. “Anything to add?” he asked.

You sighed heavily, but began the old spiel anyway, talking slowly as you tried to fit everything into Japanese. “There is some range factored into it, so it only works if I’m close by a person, and the connection gets faint before severing the farther away someone is. I have some control over how long the emotions last, but they’ll naturally fade without my intervention. Um, I can’t read minds or anything like that, so I just have to intuit how people are feeling. The emotion sticks better if it’s something that someone is already feeling in some way, like if someone is feeling a little lazy, it’s easy for me to strengthen that, but it won’t really work if I try to put an emotion on someone that they’re already strongly feeling. Like making someone who’s already angry more angry. If that all makes sense. Yaoyorozu is right that the first emotion I hit someone with is the strongest and subsequent ones don’t hit as well, because then they start to blur a little.”

You were surprised you’d managed to get all of that out. Your Japanese must have gotten a lot better in your last two weeks here. You almost smiled, but then you remembered what you were talking about and you stopped. Truthfully, you weren’t even sure you’d described the extent of it, since there were still things you didn’t know. This was the most varied use of your quirk that you’d ever pulled off, which should have felt momentous. And it did, a little, but that feeling was shadowed by the way some of your peers had looked at you. Todoroki, Bakugou, Kaminari. You couldn’t enjoy what you’d done to them.

“What’s your quirk called?” Midoriya asked as he frantically scribbled in his notebook.

For a moment, you didn’t answer. But there was no point in hiding it, so you said, “Legally, it’s called gaslighting. I think that gives the wrong idea, though.” You mumbled the last part under your breath, but it seemed your peers heard you anyway. Sound really did travel well with all the cement.

“Why’s that?” Tsu asked.

“Because gaslighting is a way people abuse others by telling lies in order to distort their sense of reality,” you spat out. “And, yeah, okay, my quirk distorts someone’s sense of reality so they’re feeling an emotion that they wouldn’t otherwise, but it’s not the same. It’s more like projecting or, I don’t know, just creating emotion, but the quirk was already on the books, so that’s the name I was stuck with.”

“But you were able to totally freeze some people like Bakugou and Todoroki,” Hagakure said. “How was your quirk able to do that?”

Todoroki hadn’t had the chance to share his experience with your quirk with the group yet and you were willing to bet that Bakugou hadn’t been in the mood to tell anyone his. So it was no wonder she was confused about how you’d taken down two of the strongest fighters in your class so easily.

“I came up with strategies for everyone, based on what I’ve observed of you for the past couple weeks and what was available online,” you explained. “Then I discussed the strategies with Aizawa-sensei to see if they made sense and alter them a bit. I’m sure you know by now that most of you got a different emotion based on what I thought would slow you down or make you give up. Since I can’t defeat most of you physically, especially with quirks at play, that’s what I have to do.”

“So…what did you use on everyone?” Ashido asked, looking almost giddy as she eyed her fellow classmates.

You’d known that there would be a lot of questions for you after your quirk was revealed, as had Aizawa. But still, he took a step forward and put his hand up. “Y/N is exhausted. She just fought twenty of you with only very short breaks in between. And yet she only lost four times and Midoriya is the only one who managed to guess her quirk before the battle. She’s going to Recovery Girl and you can all go see her at lunch. For now, Todoroki, Bakugou, melt the ice and everyone else can spar, quirks included.”

Everyone looked excited at the prospect of being able to spar freely with quirks, something they hadn’t been able to do in class since your arrival. Of course, it wasn’t lost on you that you were going to miss it, but at least you’d be able to take part next time.

If anyone would be willing to partner with you.

Cementoss walked you to the nurse’s office and stayed as you endured your first kiss from Recovery Girl. She didn’t give you a hard time as you knew she did for students sometimes, since all you had were minor injuries. A lot of them—your body was covered with bruises not to mention a few small scratches and muscles that would soon be wound as a rubber band ball regardless of what she did. It all added up and, despite the fact that she put you just short of ‘good as new’ you were exhausted at the end. Although, you’d been exhausted to begin with.

“Why don’t you take a nap on the cot until the end of your class and I’ll wake you when it’s time to head to lunch?”

You’d resigned yourself to missing the rest of class as soon as you’d left Gym Gamma, and you were hardly in a position to argue. You were out as soon as you closed your eyes.

It seemed hardly a minute had passed when Recovery Girl was in your ear, Cementoss having left the room sometime during your nap. Which, apparently, had been about a half an hour.

You pushed yourself up and found that a lot of the aches and pains you’d walked into the room with were nothing but phantoms now, although the stiffness you’d expected tomorrow morning was already beginning to hit. Your quads and hamstrings were so tight you couldn’t walk without limping.

“Take these with lunch,” Recovery Girl said as she handed you a couple muscle-relaxing pain relievers.

Usually you didn’t like to take those and preferred to know where you were feeling more tender, but you grabbed them gratefully this time. You’d have to take a truck full of painkillers for your pain to go away that easily.

You walked by yourself to the Lunch Rush cafeteria, keeping an eye on landmarks as you did so. After two weeks, you generally knew how to get from place to place—especially somewhere as vital as the cafeteria—but the reminders reassured you since you couldn’t read any of the classroom signs pointing the way.

When you made it to the cafeteria, the rest of your class was already there, and some of them were waving you over. For the past two weeks, only the likes of Iida, Midoriya, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Ashido had done so, quickly representing themselves as the most welcoming members of class 2-A, even if Iida was doing it mostly out of duty.

Everyone, save Aoyama, was sitting together taking up two whole tables, minus one seat between Ashido and Yaoyorazu. There was a simple noodle dish in that spot and you pointed to it and asked, “Is that for me?”

“Sure is!” Ashido said, patting the seat. “Hope it’s okay. We didn’t weren’t sure what you like, with your American tastes and everything.”

“Honestly, anything looks good right now,” you said as you sat down. All of the food smells were making you ravenous.

“How are you feeling?” Yaoyorazu asked as you took your first bit of noodles. Someone had set you up with a fork instead of chopsticks, and you were grateful for that. You could manage with chopsticks, but there was nothing quite like a fork for shoveling food down your gullet.

You nodded as you chewed, swallowing the big bite as you said, “Much better, thanks. Pretty sore, but no bad injuries.”

“That’s a relief,” Midoriya said. He’d hit you the hardest out of everyone except for maybe Shouji, so it made sense that he’d be the most concerned about you. You smiled at him through another bite of food.

“So…” Ashido drawled, looking at you expectantly. You just raised your eyebrows up at her, bowl up to your chin as you kept eating. “Are you gonna tell us what you did to everyone?”

You looked around at the group to see if everyone had the same enthusiasm that Ashido did. There were a few looks of casual curiosity and more than a few who seemed to be purposefully looking away. But only Tsu, Yaoyorozu, and Sero looked equally intrigued about the emotions you had used against them and their friends.

“Well,” you started, taking gulp of water, “Ashido, I tried all kinds of things against you. But it seems you roll with the punches pretty well, because even though I could see you taking on all the emotions, none of them actually slowed you down. Happy, sad, angry, whatever. Your intention was strong regardless. That’s really good.”

“Oh, that explains the emotional roller coaster!” Ashido said. “I thought I was just having funky endorphins or something.”

You shrugged. “Maybe that’s part of how my quirk works. I don’t really know.”

“Wait, you said intention,” Midoriya said, looking up from where he was scribbling in his notebook. “Is that how you fight back against it? Intention?”

“Is that what you felt?” you asked back.

You’d never seen someone overpower your quirk before, although you hadn’t used it offensively very much in your life thus far either. The most you’d used it had been on people who were accepting your quirk voluntarily, so naturally they wouldn’t be fighting back.

“Hmm,” Midoriya paused, looking up at the ceiling. “I…well, the feeling that I think you used on me was something like total disinterest. I was coming at you and suddenly I was asking myself, ‘why bother?’ ‘Why even do this?’ And that made me give up a little bit. But I was still in control of my thoughts and was able to tell myself that we were fighting and was able to come back to myself, only to start feeling indifferent again.”

“Yeah, so I was thinking ‘boredom’ for you,” you explained, finally beginning to slow down on the noodles. “You clearly have so much passion and ambition, that going in the opposite direction of that seemed like something that would inhibit you. But since that’s probably something that you never feel, especially in combat, your mind was able to fight against it easier than emotion that’s more normal for you.”

“Okay,” Midoriya said, writing frantically. “That still doesn’t explain how someone would fight back. Especially if it is a feeling that would stick better.”

You shrugged. “I’m not a hundred percent sure, to be honest. I’ve never had this quirk used on me before, so there’s no way for me to know.”

“That makes sense…” Midoriya mumbled to himself as he continued scribbling.

“What did you use on me?” Jirou asked. She was barely making eye contact with you and you saw a bit of the distrust you’d seen on her, amongst others, after you’d revealed your quirk. She probably felt like her psyche had been invaded. Which, after all, it had.

“Embarrassment,” you admitted. “A bit of shame and anxiety and stress and you started to lose confidence in yourself. But you’re good at using your quirk, so you should have better confidence then that.”

Your cheeks felt hot as you said the words, already knowing that they probably wouldn’t be received well. There you were, having only been with these people for a couple weeks and the first way you were making yourself known was by diagnosing their emotional issues. Jirou gave a little huff and a nod, saying “Okay,” before turning back to her food.

“Ah, I see, so this is also an opportunity for us to learn how someone who knows us a little bit perceives us,” Iida said, putting a hand forward. “Not to mention a bit of insight as to what Aizawa-sensei thinks our shortcomings still are. This is an excellent lesson.”

“Well, your shortcoming is obviously that you’re too polite,” Tsu said.

Iida turned to Tsu, full of offense. “I don’t see how that’s a shortcoming,” he defended.

“Well, Tsu’s kind of right,” you said. “I did take advantage of your chivalry. But I’m not sure that kind of thing would have worked on you against a real villain, and without the heightened emotion.”

Iida shook his head. “I don’t want the technicalities of a training exercise in my favor. This is something I must work on to be a pro hero. So, tell me, what emotion did you use on me?”

“Shame,” you answered. “Different from Jirou, though. For you, obviously you pride honor so much that I was able to give you that emotion whilst acting as though you’d injured me so that the emotion would stick better. I did similar things to Ojiro and Satou and used regret just to slow them down a bit.”

“Ah, so acting out the scenario helps…” Midoriya muttered.

“Those are strong emotions,” Yaoyorozu commented. “Stronger than boredom, like you used on Midoriya. Does that have something to do with the power of your quirk as well?”

“Definitely,” you said. “I forgot to mention that before. It’s a bit of a person to person thing but, generally, yeah. An emotion like anger is always going to be stronger than, say, calmness or peacefulness.”

“A tragedy of the human condition,” Tokoyami said to himself.

You ended up going through everyone else one by one as they asked, sometimes struggling for the exact nuance of the word you were intending, occasionally reverting to English. You told them how you’d used anger against Tsu’s even-keeled nature, something she’d been able to guess, doubt against Yaoyorozu, which seemed to hit hard, and fear against Kouda.

“Okay, I don’t understand what she might have used against me,” Kaminari bemoaned. “All I could think once the match started was that she was really pretty and I didn’t want to hurt her.”

“Dude, you were horny,” Kirishima exclaimed, patting his friend on the back. “Y/N, tell me I’m wrong. You made him horny, right?”

“Um…” you started awkwardly and both Kirishima and Mineta gave hoots of laughter. “Well, lust, really. But hey, the good news is that means you’re not a sadist?”

There were more laughs from some of the boys and you might have joined in for the good humor, but it was still embarrassing. You could see a slight blush on Kaminari’s face and your cheeks were warm as well. And when Mineta’s leering eyes turned to you, you couldn’t help but tug up your uniform’s zipper a bit.

“Wow, she could be just like a Viagra,” Mineta murmured.

“I don’t need that,” Kaminari insisted. “I don’t need any of that.”

He looked at you as he said it, and you couldn’t help but hear, “I don’t need any of you,” instead. It shouldn’t matter, but it did. It always did.

Soon, your bowl was empty of noodles and Bakugou and Todoroki were the only ones who hadn’t asked how you’d manipulated them. And it didn’t seem as though either of them were going to. Of course, Bakugou’s friends couldn’t let that lie, so Kirishima came forward and asked. “So what did you do to poor Bakugou to make him fall to his knees?”

“I have an idea,” Mineta said, but everyone ignored him.

You looked at Bakugou, not wanting to say unless he was okay with it. He was glaring powerfully at you, but he didn’t tell you or Kirishima to shut up, as you’d so often heard him growl in your time at U.A. already. That must have meant that he was at least a little curious too.

“His was a bit harder to form in my mind,” you admitted, “but one of the simpler ones to plan. I was going for a sense of defeat. Some sadness, some hopelessness, despair, shame. He seems to run so much on anger—anger and a need to win, really—that if those aren’t at the forefront, he’s toast.”

That brought a growl out of Bakugou, but you continued.

“I’m sure that he could have broken through it like Midoriya did, since those emotions probably aren’t common for you,” you said, turning your gaze to Bakugou’s despite how it made you feel like he was going to pounce and tear you limb from limb at any moment. “But I think that that also made them really surprising for you to feel, especially since you were first, and that gave me just enough time to end the match quickly. But if something more time consuming than capture tape had been involved…I don’t know.”

Some people might have heard a compliment somewhere in your words, but as soon as you’d said Midoriya’s name, he’d snarled, closing him off from hearing anything good in your words. From what you’d observed so far, you weren’t surprised.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the newest member of class 2-A,” a blond boy said from behind you. He was looking down his nose at you, a wicked grin on his lips. “I hear you’ve got a freaky quirk that messes with people’s minds. Just what 2-A needed to round them out, since we have a new one too.”

You were frozen, unable to respond. How had word already gotten out? Only the class, Cementoss, and Aizawa had been in Gym Gamma and you’d assumed that they hadn’t blabbed to anyone else on the way to the cafeteria. Although, there wasn’t anything stopping them if that’s what they wanted to do. But maybe other students had just overheard the nature of the discussion you all had been having and had been able to put the pieces together based on the questions and answers you’d given.

“So, tell me? Can you force people to like you? Force everyone in this pathetic, little class to enjoy spending time around you until you turn around and convince them to give up in battles so you can rise to the top of the famous 2-A class? Pretty smart strategy if you ask—”

“Nobody did ask you, Monoma,” a girl with orange hair said as her fist ballooned and closed around the boy. “Sorry he’s your introduction to us. He’s barely house trained.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” you assured her. It wasn’t the worst you’d ever heard.

“Still,” she continued. “On behalf of class 2-B, I wish you luck. Enjoy your lunch.”

The girl carried the blond away, seemingly unbothered by the weight of an entire human person that she was now carrying. Once they were gone, you turned to your empty tray and picked it up.

“I’m still pretty tired from Recovery Girl,” you said, forcing a bit of cheer into your voice as you stared at the thin sauce coating the bottom of your bowl. “I’m going to rest a bit and see you all back in class.”

You only made it a few steps toward the dish station when you felt someone coming up behind you. You glanced back to see Todoroki, following you with his own empty tray.

“Can I ask you what emotion you used on me?” he asked quietly, coming up to your side.

You take a breath, seeing the defeated look he’d had on his face, even after you’d pulled the influence of your quirk back from him again. “Sadness. Maybe a bit of regret. No anger.”

“I see,” Todoroki said.

With that, he brushed past you and placed his dishes on the rack, then returned to his friends. You did the same with your dishes, and then went to the exit. When you pushed open the doors, there was someone standing with his arms crossed, looking at you as though he’d been waiting. You didn’t think you’d ever had so many people who wanted to speak to you before.

This boy had indigo hair and looked as tired as you felt. Actually, probably as tired as you looked too. He surprised you when he gave a small, uncertain smile. “Hi, I’m Shinsou. What’s your name?”

“I’m Y/N. It’s my given name, but I’m more comfortable if you call me that.” It was what you said every time you introduced yourself here in Japan. Another thing keeping you just a little bit othered.

“Okay, Y/N,” Shinsou said. “It’s nice to meet you. I…I heard that you have a quirk that lets you influence people’s emotions?”

You sighed. You could already hear it. This guy was going to ask you to make him feel happier or, judging by his face, more energetic or something like that. Sometimes you hated these guys even more than people like that Monoma fellow.

“No, I—” Shinsou started, seeming to catch onto the way your face fell, “I just wanted to say that my quirk lets me control other people in a way too, and sometimes—often, actually—people make assumptions about me that hurt. So I don’t know if you feel like that, but if so,” he shrugged, “I understand.”

You didn’t smile. You couldn’t say you felt happy, but as a breath whooshed out of you and your whole body sagged, despite the stiffness fisting every muscle, you could only think of one emotion.

Relief.

#bnha x reader #bnha fanfiction #mha x reader #mha fanfiction #bnha insert #mha insert #todoroki x reader #shouto x reader #shoto x reader #shouto todoroki x reader #shoto todoroki x reader #a spare heart

63 notes · View notes

iamtheempress · 3 years

Text

Highly Motivated~

Lets Talk: part 2

A week is all it took, alot faster than Dabi expected.

The league took her in as one of their own and it was comforting to say the least, just as comforting as any detached homicidal family could be to someone who was nothing but sweet and a change of pace… almost innocent in a twisted sort of way.

Toga had taken a liking for her almost instantly, Chiaki's charming and womanly disposition really stood out to her and grit drew her in quickly; gossiping and having another woman around made Chiaki feel a sense of camaraderie, a sisterhood almost, made her heartache to see her little sister again.

While still under the watchful eye of the men of the group, the same men she fought against with the other UA students and under the same monicor of being labeled a pro hero… so the wary behavior was quite understandable. Kurogiri had made it very clear she was to stay within the hideout until further notice to figure out what the hell to do with her, to quell Shigaraki's nerves and to act as the designated healer and if god forbid anything happened.

Chiaki obliged respectfully, head low and a sweet little smile on her face-unlike Himiko’s whose toothy grin was unmistakable and sinister to everyone- granting her a bit of positive attention from the men of the group after she displayed the extent of her quirk and its versatility.

That notice went up about 2 days into her stay in the hideout, this being exactly what Dabi had wanted from the beginning, he knew just the tip of the iceberg of what this girl could bring to the group.

Her assistance was needed in the worst way possible, upon receiving contact from Compress she was notified that Spinner and Twice were injured the day after she had shown up.

Twice being worse for wear than Spinner. She ordered him to lay down in the living room of the hide out, after complying to do as she says he lain back and watched her, his vision shifting in and out, with gentle hands and a deep breath placed a hand directly on an open wound that punctured his lung, which in all reality should have killed him.

By some miracle it didn't- and she spent 50 minutes concentrating on making sure he was healed up, relaxing him with a hot towel and the most comforting tone of voice she can muster, within what felt like several hours, she healed the puncture wound and had made sure he had the ability to breathe, even keeping a conversation with him talking about anything and everything, sometimes talking about her family and sibling.

Impressed with her quirk he commended her and thanked her profusely, calling her an 'angel' of all things, making the ex pro brim with relief and exuding pride from every orifice, Dabi remaining close to her to see her in action. Also because she had a natural radiant pull to him he couldnt put his finger on, he chalked it up to her being so sweet and generous to a bunch of nightmarish degenerates like the league.

Shigaraki, on the other hand, kept his distance, eyes trained on her like a Tiger to prey who knew of his whereabouts, skeptical and wary of her in general, a hero turned villain in such a short time is jarring, he couldn't trust it- to say the least, but she had to fit into work with them.. when she was around his dialogue with her was short and curt, staring too long at her made her feel nervous, he liked that, knew her place with them in the league and where she stood as a villain.

It was a particularly long Saturday night, the rain coming down like a monsoon, some members of LOV had just returned with their spoils after robbing a convenience store of all their food and necessities, Toga had taken advantage of her quirk to go 'shopping' as a nobody student from UA for new clothes, disguises, and snacks for her new friend.

Toga was cryptic about this surprise since the moment Chiaki woke up that morning, she had insisted on hanging out with Chiaki to take her attention from the tall dark and handsome man who had yet to return since Twice was still gone with him.. Toga stood outside of the bathroom, keeping her ear pressed flush against it listening to her try on clothes.

"Chiiiiaaaaki-chan? Put your new threads on yet, beautiful?" Toga called to her getting changed in the bathroom, she had taken the liberty of 'borrowing' a couple hundreds of dollars worth of clothes for her to wear so she's not wearing only the hoodie she came in.

"Almost.. did you have to get me a pushup bra?" She chirps behind the door pulling the tube-topped romper up her body and snapping on her chest, a simple but… really expensive looking purple, white, and yellow flannel shirt she pulled on, followed by kitted out combat boots with metal plating on the toe and heel, some shiny steel running up the sides as well whether for aesthetics or for actual combat she didn't know yet.

"Well ya know Dabi and I need something nice to look at too, hun. Who knows maybe if you put out more maybe you'll get lucky"

Chiaki snorts loudly, while Chaiki and him were not that serious yet...she shares his bed and even goes out of her way to make sure he's healed and ok when he returns which was twice this week alone, it was a welcomed sort of comfort he never knew he needed, a sense of being and safety, that sort of life is very fleeting. Especially for criminals like him and he knew this, he didn't have any plans of making her anything more than his accomplice, a partner in crime for when the day comes where he leaves the League.

Chiaki exits the bathroom in the outfit that fit her too well, her long two-toned hair down, she actually killed the look pretty nice.

Toga’s eyes widened and a giddy look on her face sprawled from ear to ear, the girl bounced over to her and took her by the hand.

"oooo! You're such a looker! I think the girls here could be showier but I can tell you want to leave a little to the imagination, I think Dabi would like to see more skin~" she winks and gives a little tug to the front of the suit, the new little pieces of Jewelry that were given to her hung just shy of the swell of her chest tinkled at the movements

"I mean like i guess. I can’t just parade around with them on full display, how much of a spectacle do you want me to be?"

Chiaki says as she notices Himiko staring right over her shoulder and up Chiaki gulps and whips her head around to see Dabi, dripping in water looming behind her like a shadow, his thumbs thrusted into his front pockets, arching forward as the shirt clung to his front from the rain as well as his spiky inky black hair to his forehead, all while grinning like a Cheshire cat down at the woman he shares his room with.

"I wouldn't mind that, little mouse." His sweet velvety voice humors her and chuckles to himself moving to loom above the woman, examining her pretty face for any sign of protest as his hand slid into his pocket and one into his wet hair.

Chiaki blushes brightly as well as Himiko thoroughly enjoying the little trap she set up, Himiko's hand finding her own cheek and winking devilishly.

"Hehe oops! Mighta saw him the whole time behind ya, Chiaki-chan~ my bad! Seeing you flustered is super cute anyway.. Ill see you two later." the little homicidal girl turns on her heel and trots away "you suck Toga."

She calls out tucking platinum-blonde hair behind her ear and crossing her arms over her chest, foolishly avoiding the bright blue eyes that bore holes through her head.

"So...Toga went 'shopping' for you? That's sweet.. I’ll remember to look for things in your size when I’m out again." Chiaki lifts her head and cocks a brow at him and gently pokes a finger into his chest, the white tee he sported always looked as if it was about to fall off him from how low the cut is.

"Oh c'mon now, you wouldn't know what i'd like to wear if it hit you in the head, your clothes look like they'll turn to cinders at any moment" she pulls the loose tee from him and lets it stick back to his belly. “Pff.. when they're not soaking wet like i went for a swim, maybe.” He chuckles “How the heck could men even walk around like this and not feel uncomfortable.. I get even a little water on me and I feel like I need to change." He stands back and wrings some water from his shirt out onto the floor, listening to her words and keeping mind of how her voice dips when she questions him like a mother worried for her child's health.

“Unlike women i don't have a reason to cover my chest all the time, not that i'm saying i've looked or anything but that sweatshirt you came in didnt do you much justice.” His voice remained flat and his lips lined straight as if he didn't just make a jab at the fact she's physically ‘gifted’.

“It was raining that day and i wasn't about to take a whole wardrobe with me, and I can't tell if your being charming or an ass” Dabi’s eyes remained trained on the woman before him, pretty sapphire eyes that made her nervous, they were occasionally void of emotion but when he looked at her she saw some little twinkle in his eye, like he had plans for her he just didnt know what for yet; another reason why she's so sweet and chummy with him.

“Could be both could be neither, got a problem with that, mouse? I could just go around shirtless all the time” She rolls her eyes and leans all the way back and her brain flashes back to the first and only time she's seen him shirtless, the first night they met and she stayed in his bed.

The rest of the nights she would go to sleep without him to accompany her, his little solo missions going without her knowing where he was or when he would return; he did however return and when he did he would watch her sleep with the tv on and watch whatever movie she had on.

Getting to know her interests while she slept was easy to do, sitting up late and having a cigarette, making fun of the way she snores and mumbles in her sleep. Down to looking at the 8 gold earrings in her ears, little gold hoops that hugged her lobes from the top of her ear to the bottom. This sort of thing was a part of his plan to get to know her alittle bit more, his future accomplice.

The strange young ex-hero raised hundreds of questions for him.

"But of course I think you would have a problem with that,” He commented, startling her from her thoughts, he shook remaining water from his choppy black hair and glowerered down at her with a heady look in his eye, whether it was actually him becoming flirtatious or joking around is left up to debate, maybe ti was just to mess with her and make her flustered. “I wouldn't want to.. 'be a spectacle'... a man has to leave at least 'a little to the imagination'." He chuckled darkly, his smile returning to his face to make her more flustered then she already is.

Chiaki’s face became more flushed pink, Dabi closed the gap, and left only about a foot or so between them both, the gesture purely meant to make her nervous and give him all her attention, since she seemed momentarily distracted.

Despite the height difference she had an impact on him he couldn’t overlook, both with her quirk and her charm. Chiaki had an appeal to her that was new and one he wasn't even close to becoming bored of.

He didn't know much of her yet but he desperately wanted to break down those walls and get to know her at her most raw, have some control over something in his life, something consistent.

"I dont think wet clothes… constitutes as little to the imagination, Dabi.." she feels her heart get momentarily caught in her throat.

Dabi looked her up and down, his hands anchored on either side of her head making Chiaki's eyes widen and a blush creep up her neck, his face dipping down abit closer to fluster the woman before him

“Hm.. so you’re saying you’d prefer to see me shirtless more, eh?" His head dips down just slightly, his intense blue eyes never wavering from her own. "Th-Thats not what i meant! I mean I have looked but… cant blame a girl for looking, Dabi..." She rises to her tippy toes finally working up enough courage to kiss him, Dabie remained unmoving but parting his lips with his eyes half lidded, before the moment is cut short by Kurogiri placing a hand on her shoulder and pulling her attention from Dabi in a snap.

“Huh?” She jumps and looks the second in command in the face with a blush. “Our leader has returned and has some injuries that needed to be tended to. See him immediately.” He commanded and left her shell shocked for a moment, eyes flickering from Kurogiri back to Dabi, embarrassment coursing through her veins and she wished for a split second she could fade away and vanish like her mom's quirk allows her. Dabi rose back up and sneered, peering down the hallway to where Kurogiri left. “it's about damn time he asks to see you.. Talk about timing huh?” He rasps and backs away from her.

“I-I'm sorry we can-” He shakes his head, with a light chuckle. “Not now, little mouse, besides…” He pinches her soft cheek between his thumb and index finger, she closes her eye and his hand flattens gently against her face, long fingers with calloused pads graze over her skin and the cold staples touch her cheek.

“I dont think your ready for me yet… dont need you making a mistake and ruining this little companionship we have going on so far,” He holds her chin when he sees the look of sadness wash over her eyes. “Hey.. im not rejecting you, silly little mouse. We sleep in the same bed for fucks sake.. Besides.. We have alot to talk about after your done with...the flaky motherfucker upstairs…” His thumb swipes her bottom lip and he pulls away. “Pretty lips like yours need to be savored, appreciated in time…now.. go to him before he bitches and moans…” He growls and uses the heel of his hand to bump out a cigarette and light it with his fingers.

She turns on her heel red in the face and trots to the opposite side of the building to the door with the most… dust on the floor.

Chiaki contemplates how she holds her fist to knock and raps on the door, her sweet voice calling to the evil hidden behind it. “Shigaraki? It’s Chiaki… Kurogiri sent me to take care of your wounds.” She goes to open the door only to be met with resistance to the doorknob and it being opened quickly, a leering face hovering inches away from him, followed by white and blue toned hair. He was a lot less intimidating than he presented himself to be. She couldn’t describe it properly..

“Oh. It’s you…” He turned his back to her, the blood seeping through his shirt as he staggered back into the half-darkened room a hunch to him. “I told Kurogiri I’m fine but if he��s going to.. Make a big fucking deal about it...get in here and shut the door, Ikeru...” He commands and she follows him.

The tall gangly man striding right in and sitting on the edge of his bed moving his controller to the side, he had a tv on with a video game paused awaiting him with heavy metal coming from the tv itself.

She looks around and furrows her brows when his shirt is lifted above his head, a loud hiss comes from his chapped lips.

“God.. dammit… shit stings.. Augh you better be worth the trouble…” He groans, moving and wincing, she kneels on the bed behind him and within seconds he’s got the controller back in hand. “Just relax. I know what i'm doing, Tomura..” she cracks her fingers and a soft glow emits from her palm as she looks over the wounds in his back.. They were fatal at best.

Deep gunshot wounds and even some exit wounds from his front. “How the hell are you not dead..” She says placing a hand on top of the open wounds earning a snarl and a loud expletive.

“FUCK! Warn me when you do that!” She recoils her hand as he whips his head around. His high pitch grating voice startling her and shaking the room almost, the look of fear in her eyed as he flexed his hand open and close. She looks down and nods her head apologetically. “I wont do it again ill let you know, Tomu-” she starts and lifts her head to look at him and he interjects. “Its boss to you.. Got it?” His voice becomes grave, she takes in a breath and offers a weirdly out-of-place smile.. “Yessir.”

His whole body cringes at the very sight of her being so calm about the situation.. His attention is redirected to the tv screen and hes back to playing his game. “Im gonna touch that spot again, boss.” He groans annoyed already, she warns and places that hand on his back and he flinches instinctually from the contact. She watches over his shoulder, him playing a violent video game, his character decked out in the most overpowered armor and weapon he can find. She lets out a breathy chuckle watching him struggle with a boss and get killed, he cracks his jaw and shakes his head. His free hand going to his neck to scratch in frustration.

“I used to play that game a lot. Still do actually. You do know there’s a dual axe weapon on top of the spire to face that boss right. Greatswords don’t do shit to him.” She boasts behind him, concentrating all her energy straight into his back. Shigaraki’s eyes grew wide and he turned his head slowly to look at her.

“You play videogames?” He stared wide eyed at her, Chiaki shrugs and smirks.

“Yea, played alot while i was in UA.” She chuckles and it only makes him narrow his eyes and slowly turn his head back around, his tongue sucking his teeth and paying attention to the screen as he went in the direction she mentioned. “Other hands going for your back.” She states, Shigaraki grunts and furrows his brows as her other hand meets his hard back, his musculature was strange; skinny but dense muscles.

He claims the dual axes and checks their stats and he nods and leans a bit back into her hands. “Thanks…” He mutters and goes to face the boss he was struggling with, succeeding after the first round and he snickers awkwardly and goes back to complete silence. “Y'know probably would have dusted this controller had you not told me that.” The ex-pro beamed and her very essence radiated from her to the point Shigaraki shook and raised his shoulders in a weird feeling of discomfort. The positive energy was all too unfamiliar to him, he noted this being a part of her quirk, making him cringe.

“Thank you, boss, happy to help.” He scoffs and feels her wipe the dried blood away. “Heh. Shut your mouth, don't be an ass kiss, bitch.” he growled and when she pulled her hands away from his back she shot back at him with a laugh “Not so much an ass kiss more of which just bein genuine.” “GENuine...that’s new,” He laughed, his high pitch voice dropping an octave as he puts his controller in his lap as a cutscene starts up for the next level.

“If you couldn’t tell already, I'm not so much...used to people being nice or…*genuine*. Mostly used to people being conniving and doing for themselves.. The amount of people who joined us to try and do something idiotic is at best impressive and fucking stupid… coming in trying to call shots to people who already know what they want and know where there going.” She listened sitting beside him on the bed, his voice straining when he spoke of people doing things for themselves, his fingers flexed and curled when he looked at her, she knew what disaster those very hands can bring.

It made her wary and extremely aware of her own mortality.

“When Dabi mentioned you about a couple months ago, we couldn’t find a damn thing about you… why is that?” He sits back and his voice wavers in the sentence emphasizing words to make her wary. She did her best to not bend or falter.

“You're not like AllMight or any of the other pros so why couldn’t we find a damn thing on you...You're out in the public eye every time we looked up news coverage of you. Everything seems surface level, your name, age.. hero name..hell we’ve even fought you on numerous occasions, almost had all 5 fingers around that neck of yours.” His eyes were staring at her beyond the long hair.

As if analyzing her face for any sign of any irregularities, she caught his eye and almost jumped out of her skin.

"Well, Im 19 and i was like.. Not even a year into the whole pro hero thing, I worked for the heroes society as something fresh and new.” She rubbed her palms together nervously, Shigaraki nodded his head looking forward.

“i guess you could say, since i am kind of young to be a pro I had this demeanor of being easy to manipulate so they sought me out for big trafficking rings and elaborate mafia rings, find escape convicts to bring back to Tartarus or other Quirk Prisons. I was roped in to be the ‘beacon’ for the agency or me to round them up on my own and bring em in, and with my dad… being a fuckin awful person and a vigilante and my mom being one of the retired pros from America, they wanted to ‘make a new face for heroes’ or whatever..” His entire back was arched forward, hunched to the point where the vertebrae in his back shown through the dense scars that litter his flesh, Chiaki bared her truth and admitted while she put up her hands, showing herself to be vulnerable in the situation, Shigaraki is the most wanted criminal out there anyway, and most volatile as far as lethality goes.

“I came at my own volition and I hope that.. You find my presence positive in your league, and you find me more than just a ‘private nurse’ and send me out every once in a while, I mean hell I don't even know where we are!” Shigaraki absolutely preened externally, his chest puffing up.. If she was an asskiss-or as good of an accomplice as she entails, he keeps that thought on the forefront of his mind.

“Don't press your luck. We will find a place for you and you will see plenty of bloodshed, and as far as our whereabouts right now stands,” He turned his head and lifted it back as he directed his focus to the television once again, his red eyes blank and face deadpan, he let out a rumbling breath his chest rising and a wolf line grin spreads across his face, his lips splitting as his teeth ground back and forth. “Before you get to chummy with your boss... “Let's keep it that way, Ikeru Chiaki…” He cracks his fingers long fingers.

It’s within an hour that Dabi has become antsier, waiting for the woman he's been bunking with to exit Shigaraki’s room, he was seated in the main area where the fully stocked bar was, peering up the stair case for the little woman, no such luck yet.

He tapped his cigarette and took a long drag of it and turned back forward to look at his reflection in the bars mirror behind the bottles, contemplating if she found solace with Shigaraki over him. It actually made his blood boil as he closed his eyes and put his forehead in his hand, pushing the emotion he was desperately trying to drown out.

Puffing the smoke from his nose he opened his eyes to see Toga standing close to him in the reflection of the bar mirror, it made him jump.

“Did you see what's been on the news on repeat?” Toga asked him, grabbing his arm and lightly shaking him.

His eyes were bored and flat.

“No.. more about us I assume.” He put it between his two tone lips and took a shallow inhale, “No its about Chiaki-chan!” Dabi raised an eyebrow and snuffed out the cigarette, he grabbed the remote and turned on the television hanging up in the bar, the 32 inch tv clicked to life to show the news anchor man with a picture of the hero in her normal gear, In bold text beneath the anchor “PRO HERO WITCH GONE MISSING: DAY #7”

“The search for the pro hero is still ongoing! She was reported missing in the middle of the night from her friends who came to talk to her, after the fight that morning with the villain known as ‘BlueFlame’ where they were seen to be on common ground, before the building collapsed killing 5 people,” Dabi focused on the tv screen as Spinner, Compress, and Twice entered the room watching the screen of that day. “ the new infiltration specialist is of much importance to the hero society and has a hefty reward for her return alive, her father Negate, offers no word on her return besides the statement ‘she won't be happy to see me’-” Dabi tuned everything else out and stood up from his chair.

“Infiltration Specialist… you think perhaps she'd be working against us?” Compress asks Dabi who continued to stare at the staircase. “I don’t think she would betray us like that… she has no idea where we are anyway..” After a moment of agonizing silence, he had one thought in mind, and then a foolproof plan, his face remained stoic and unwavering.

Infiltration specialist. His interest in her is only blossoming.. Beautiful, fresh faced, and new to him, his intentions may be malicious in the long run none of those malicious plans ever involved going against her… in fact he saw her at his side...made his heartthrob in his chest, making him stumble briefly.

He makes it to the door and before he could even knock he heard a familiar female voice curse from behind the door, followed by the bed creaking. His eye twitched and he leaned his head against the door.

“Goddammit did you have to have the biggest one…” She questioned Dabi's imagination going into a tailspin, he brought his head from the door with his brow furrowed, his head moves closer to the door to confirm if what he heard was actually what he thinks is going on beyond the door. “Bitch, you know i wouldn’t be the best without it...now hold still and this will end quickly.”

Shigaraki chuckles followed by the bed creaking and him cursing. “Fuck you!” She whines and Dabi pulls his head away from the door his vision going red and his fists clenched as he swung the door wide open only for his heart race to slow down and his hands stopped burning blue as he focused on a shirtless Shigaraki leaning his elbow on Chiaki’s shoulder as they played that goddamned video game.

“Oh hey Dabi! Sorry, i didn’t come out sooner, Tomura gave me another controller-god fuckign damn you and your stupid ultimate!” She cusses as she loses against Shigaraki, miserably at that… Shigaraki groaned loudly as he pinched his brow, grabbing a shirt that she gave him that he neglected to put on. Shigaraki puts his controller down and turns to look at him. “What do you want.. Better be good for barging in like that, Dabi…” He glowers teeth clenched tightly in his jaw, punctuating his name.

“So that wasn't…- anyway, so when you were a hero… you were an Infiltration specialist… That's why we couldn't find anything on you. Right?” she nods and tilts her head confused

"y-yeah how'd you know that? I only just told Shigaraki." She questioned, Shigaraki's eyes flickering over to her, knowing this already.

"Your secret is all over the news." Her eyes widened and she blunk quickly watching Shigaraki turn on the other tv and flick to the news shown her face and the news caster. "Ill tell ya.. if you were still a hero id say your cover was blown by whatever shitty agency revealed to the world that your a covert type'a hero, sucks honestly." He tsks and returns his attention to Shigaraki, a knowing grin spread slowly across his face.

"What the hell are ya lookin at me like that for, eh?" Shigarakis eyes narrowed and his voice became raspy and on edge.

"I have a plan… and this little ‘pro’ is at the core of that very plan." Shigaraki tilts his head and looks to her his jaw tightening once again. "Can you two plan… not in here… if you're thinking how I think your… thinking… i'd like to dwell on it.." Chiaki moves from near Shigaraki to Dabi’s side, his eyes following her, a little glimmer of pride rose in his chest when she stood mere several inches from his side, her presence really is something, and damn sure didn't want her positive energy anywhere near Shigaraki of all people.

"You almost said think again, did you?" he bit his tongue and scratched at his neck. "Grr… Get the hell out." He points to the door.

Within seconds Dabi was back at the door and holding it open for her,. Shigaraki sat back down and spoke up, his high pitch voice catching her attention and annoying Dabi.

"Chiaki."

She turned to look at his head half turned, as he starts up again. "Ill need another player two sometime so don't be a stranger, bitch.” He let out a noise something close to a chuckle as Dabi closed the door back on him. Shutting the Leader away in the other room.

“You have a plan involving me, you say?” She bumps his arm and follows him down the hall, side by side, who tucked his hands again in his pockets, his eyes trained ahead and unblinking like hes analyzing his plan in front of him. “Mhmmmmm, but you have to keep it between you and me for now, got it.” He says beneath his breath, slowing down to keep pace with her, he notes how much smaller he is compared to her.

”Yessir! As long as i can actually do something ill be happy with it.” She chirps, almost excited, excited to be a part of something then just being a nurse. Dabi hums at her exuberance and pushes the door open for her, getting a good look at her back as she walks right in; her flannel fluttering behind her.

“Hm, don't get used to saying that, i might like it.” Dabi turns on the light and points her to the rolling desk chair where his computer was set up. “Step into my office, Witch, I have some questions for you.” She rolls her eyes at the mention of her hero name and plops down into the rolling chair of his desk, her legs cross in a very womanly fashion as he starts to pace infront of his bed. “Alright you have my attention what the hell do you need me for.” She asks moving the seat back and forth rotating her waist and facing forward to occupy her brain as she stared straight ahead at him.

"First." He stops and extends his pointer finger up, not meeting her eyes just yet, his voice still remaining flat and unreadable.

"I need abit more information about your, specialty here…” His eyes flicker over to her, his hands facing upward and looking to the calluses on his fingertips. “How in the hell have we not heard of this infiltration unit. Is it that covert that there's actual heroes in the agency dont know about it.” He questions facing her entirely, he leans against the desk, absentmindedly rubbing his fingers together as if they were covered in dust.. “As far as I know.. I'm the first one they indicted into the program. Again, due to my age and my quirk its kinda easy to give people a good idea about me but most of the time i dealt with kind of simple minded characters.” She states, her eyes looking at his hands, mildly distracted by how much larger he is in comparison to her.

Dabi openly flexes his hand allowing her to see the way the staples pull at his textured flayed flesh to his normal hand, hes much closer in fact she has to look almost fully up at him. His entire body silhouettes the white light behind his head, making him look more sinister to the untrained eye, his face however read genuine curiosity, not a sign of threat anywhere on his face.

“Mind telling me why you haven't turned tail and ran when you met them all.. Any sane person would have split the second they saw any of us.. No less Shigaraki.. you know what they have done, you saw the very day that we met what all of them can do… and you stayed and spoke to them on common ground… even fuckin introduced yourself.” He broadly gestures the same hand up into the air and lets it fall back down to his hip with a thump. She listened to him speak.. His voice soothed her in the strangest way imaginable, that and Dabi kind of liked to hear himself talk. “A pretty face mixing in with abunch of grimy villains.. Most of us driven by Stains ideology like some cultish fanclub gone awol..heh.. Hell you even got mixed up with the zombie man of all things.. Like a beauty and the beast type bullshit…” Dabi leans his head back and she watches his adam's apple bob in his throat as he clears it, his chin lolling back down to make eye contact with her, again making her feel small..

“I had thought it would take months for them to accept you as their own but… you fit in like a missing link, your gonna make this plan act quickly and i can feel it!" he grinned widely to the point where the staples on his mouth strained and it pulled at the flesh of his face.

“I do however would like to know: You are being real with me are you? I can trust you with everything I am about to ask of you..” She took a shallow breath and nodded, "O-of course! I haven't done anything to prove otherwise! I dropped all communication and everything with everyone i knew hell even my old friends from UA to be here.. And you already heard my whole thing with why I wanted to join." He pointed right at her and nodded his head, almost solemnly.

Dabi's eyes shut and he took a deep dramatic breath, "Y'see, this whole thing still makes me hesitant and i don't want to be hesitant with you.” He dragged her and the chair away from the desk and to the center of the room to draw her attention to him as he sauntered around her hypnotically. “Do you, my lil mouse have a single bad bone in your body..” He spins the chair with her in it as he circled her like a shark in blood infested water, she would sometimes look to his gnarled and scarred arm.

“Answer me.” She snapped his fingers in front of her face, she shuddered and her attention was once again drawn to sapphire blue eyes as she gulped her dry tongue. “Not as much as i would like to admit… no..” She looks down away from him, feeling like a fraud in the face of professionals. “That doesn't change how you see me right?” He halts fully and grabs her shoulder a large hand engulfing her hard musculature.. Her eyes floating back to his face as if magnetically. “Just a bit, not negatively of course, mouse, hell i wasn't born bad.”

His fingers gently entwined in her light locks, letting his fingers thread through her thick hair slowly each wave going through his fingers slowly as he noted the cold shiver when he allowed it to flutter back down to her shoulder.

“I need you to understand: when I send you on this mission you will come back to *me* with a motivation, a purpose, while it may not be like everyone else here, where most of us are natural born psychopaths and dregs of society, failures, monsters... You will be our little eye into the hero society, to throw a wrench in their plans in the worst way… our wildcard.” He promised her a week ago HE will bring out her potential.. Is this truly where it began? A moment of happenstance where her position as a former Pro can benefit her.. She barely registered the fact hes encircling her again.

“So.. what exactly is this idea..” She finally questioned him.

“Getting to that, mouse, getting to that...We have a person in the top 5 who is actually a part of us..A silent partner if you will, You might know him actually from working in your field.” He states bluntly, her eyes widened at the notion.. Top 5… who the hell.

Before she could even ask, she was cut off. “He has no idea you are even here, he has no idea you're even a blossoming little villain… for all he knows you're a scared little hero who went missing for a long time…He doesn't even come to the base if that says anything about him.. He needs to prove his worth before hes able to join us.. As the number 2 pro hero he needs to stay at arms length.. For our sake and the bases sake..”

Hawks.

“Winged hero.. Hawks?” She gawps and goes wide eyed. “The very same..” he sparks up a cigarette and places it betwixt his lips, he dragged her chair to the edge of the bed and sitting down as his knees framed her legs as he spreads his long legs out, he flicks her forehead, in a teasing fashion, making her pout cutely.

“We have our reasons as to WHY he can't come to the base.. Being number 2 hero publicly being that reason and we can't risk everything to bring bird brain here or our goose is cooked, so to speak.” He chuckles and takes a drag of the cigarette, blowing the cloud out of his nose like a dragon.

Dabi leans forward flicking ash on the floor, maintaining eye contact with her as he drops a bombshell on her.

“My plan is to return you to the Heroes.”

He says flatly and it makes her head jolt back, her eyes widening and her heart clamoring to her throat.

“Really?” her voice raises a pitch as she cocks a brow, a cute little nervous gleam in her yellow eyes made him almost lose it laughing. "Yup. I'm going to hand you off to Hawks in 2 days and make it look like you were kidnapped, fucked up that big brain of yours, and on the plus side your little friends will be very excited to see you again i'm sure… the big shots will be asking you questions.. Getting intel from you..”

She looks him over confused. “Isn't that bad though?” “No because you don't know where the hell you are… and.. You have been in the confines of these walls all this week.. Just answer them.. Just don't mention your wanting to become a villain.. Youll look crazy and they will stop questioning you..” He grins knowing exactly what could come from this.. His eyes hungry for the moment she realizes the heroes are nothing but scum of the Earth..

“Are you my mouse?” He tilts his head and raises his eyebrows feigning innocence. “I'm your girl…” He grins widely and takes her hand “Hmph, i knew you were.. Thats my lil mouse…”

The following day came and went, bringing about the evening and Dabi fleshing out his plan to Shigaraki who welcomed it but internally, he fucking loathed it now that hisnew found friend will be missing in action, however if its to get what they desired and to pinpoint locations on where the heroes reside, privately...It was underhanded. Conniving, and mostly her idea.. She knew where to go and how to get there.

After rejecting smokes for about an hour between the villains who sat around and listened to the new recruit eagerly mention how this was her specialty and she wont let any of them down, the mischievous gleam in her eye really captivated Dabi and drew him closer to her.

At some point early in the evening, hard alcohol was busted out and drank at the bar and Shigaraki was piss drunk passed out on his bed, his shoe stuck in the door frame and what looked like his shirt lain on the floor, the only one looking to be untouched from the obscene amount of booze being Compress and Kurogiri..and for the most part Dabi, whether it be high alcohol tolerance or being ‘designated villain wrangler’ they will never admit what it was.

Chiaki was buzzed.. More then buzzed, three sheets to the wind... Never touching alcohol or hard liquor in her life, it felt freeing, except for the fact the entire building was moving around like a ship at sea and she never got her sea legs.. Dabi on the other hand had a much higher alcohol tolerance then her, practically providing the young woman bottle after bottle of Fireball.

The first shot she described as the hottest thing she ever drank, only for Himiko to make some snide comment about something *Else that could be hot that she can drink*, then another about how sweet and warm her blood will run after some liquid courage in her veins, all while twirling her knife between her digits.

Dabi quickly shut her up with a glare and a menacing threat. Soon she killed the entire bottle with Dabi, leaving it forgotten on the bar as she stays clung to his hip, and for the most part his jacket. He didn't mind, he dragged her up the stairs and scooped her up bridal style when she tripped at the second stair, avoiding her googly eyes that lolled back and forth in her head, he kept her head against his chest with ease, his destination his bedroom, to keep her at ease and keep her under his control.

While walking to the bedroom he stepped over 3 passed out versions of Twice, one piled on top of the other and one folded down the staircase upside down; that being the actual Twice..Compress nodded to Dabi. “Still not fully knocked out?” He chuckled and dragged Spinner by the ankles into his room. “She was like me when I got plastered the first time… except she kept her clothes on… and didnt barbeque the bar.. Or fucked the barmaid.” Dabi jokes, making the pie-eyed young woman slur something that sounded like a laugh, it made him smile.

He pushed open the bedroom door only to see the little woman look up at him and giggle in a slur. “Heh.. heheheh! Dah-Dahhbiii..” She reaches up to his face and misses entirely, her arm plapping the side of his warm face, his eye blinks and he raises his brow comically . “May i help you, you shitfaced lil mouse.” He lowers her to the bed, her eyes blinking slowly and her eyes going drowsily going back and forth in the room.

"Why aintchu fucked up.. you drank almost wha I had" she inquires her voice fumbling to make it passed red raw lips. Hereyes trained on Dabis knees as he stood point blank infront of her, her googly eyes focused on the White belt under his white shirt.

"Self control, mouse.. and you kinda lost it after your second shot." She was shrouded in darkness for a split second before her head popped out of a black hoodie hole that smelled like burnt fabric, she moved her arms into the sleeves and noticed it wasn't like the one she came in.

She sniffed it and fell backward to the bed, as Dabi stepped away to disrobe his clothing in a room with an open door. "Mmm.. smells like you.." she murmurs, loud enough for him to hear and make his eyes widen, blood surged through his veins getting a wicked lil idea.. "oh it does?" He calls out leaving that room shirtless and now dressed in sweatpants only. "Y'smell like sulphur and-" she takes another whif staring up at the ceiling. Hugging this oversized hoodie to her, he dimmed the lights with a flick of the switch beside him. Leaving one other light on. "Pork? Like.. musk too" he laughed loudly at this causing her to jump. "Thats burnt flesh. Humans smell like pork when fire is strong enough to cook it." Her eyes narrowed at the statement. "Huh.." was all she could muster from her lips. "Dabi.. yknow how easy it is to make people feel good when your me.. super easy.. my quirk i guess is kinda like wiiiiiiildfire." She mocked his voice and flattened her legs out to the end of the bed; he paid mind to where he sat as he sunk down on the other side of the bed facing away from her as he turned on the tv for a movie.. some white noise wouldn't hurt. "Do ya care if i take this suit off." She mumbles as in her drunken state she fumbles to pry off the body suit from under the sweater. He paid no mind to her thinking she was just mumbling to herself.

Dabi chose a movie and flattened his hair back for a moment with his free hand, cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders from side to side. He saw the suit hit the arm of the couch and blunk just realizing what that was. Then another article followed it. Her bra.

Dabi amusedly chuckled and turned back to see the doe eyed drunken young woman sipping from a sake bottle she found in his room, sith her legs concealed beneath the blankets.

He tsked and took it from her hands "dammit.. had to find my stache did you, mouse.." he scolded her and capped it, a scowl when he found it only about 2 shot glasses worth missing from the bottle.

"whaat! I cant have more?" He turns his head to her half expecting her to have food in his bed and only meeting the sweet drunken face of the ex pro, hair all disheveled and some strands of hair in between her pretty pursed lips. This attraction and want was still fresh to him. He assumed it was part of her quirk that made him feel like this, all warm and fuzzy inside.. another weird feeling that made his stomach feel queasy, couldn't say he didnt like it though.

"Would much rather not have someone die from alcohol poisoning again in my bed *again*, please…" he tosses it between his hands and stows it under the bed again. "No more."

He states firmly when he brings his head up she's in the center of the mattress and looking at his skin "take a picture, mouse, it lasts longer." She shuffles closer to him and touches his back making him jolt, his brows furrow, absolutely not expecting not even her to touch him where he couldn't see, his very body getting warmer to the touch, at the very point she's touching.

Almost like in self defence. "D'sit hurt?" Her voice is blunt and almost not even close to a full sentence but he understands drunk speak clearly, he looks at the back of his hands "no. Some spots are more sensitive than others." His voice lowered, almost solemnly, old scars that have long healed on lean dense muscle.

She pulls her hand away when the heat becomes too much, he hears her squeak. "Don't touch open flames.. might get burnt lil mouse.. i get too much in me and I could lose control of my quirk." He laughs and moves back to be with her, as she shuffles back beneath the sheets.

"Don burn me like that puleaase" she pouts and flops into the pillows. "Pfff. Wouldnt imagine wanting to unless you have a thing for that." He winks down at her and pushes bright blonde locks from her face and pulls some strands from her lips.

A wet pink muscle darting out to wet her alcohol dried lips, he watched almost transfixed on the pretty woman in his bed. "Your eyes are prrretty" she draws out the word pretty and a blush creeps across her face, dreamy eyed staring at him. Dabi rolls his eyes and throws an old shirt at the light switch to turn off the light, shrouding them both in semi darkness. "Shuttup." He grumbles, keeping the distance between them reasonable.

"M'serious, when we first met i thought you were really my type, very sweet and charmin’." He humors her and props his head up on his hand, looking into her pretty yellow eyes, only visible by the light from the tv.

"Tsk..Stop butterin me up.. Makin me feel like less of a villain and more of a softy.” He scowls and the light from the tv illuminates her once again, she pulls the blanket further up her body making the sweatshirt hike up her thighs abit out of Dabis sight. “Y’kinda were though hehehhe!” She giggled, Dabi humored her to hopefully shut her up. “Its the rugged handsome look or is it the monster look?" She looks away from his face for a moment. "Would you believe its bofadem." He scowls and his eyes narrow again, a growl in his throat, not satisfied with the answer, he doesn't know if he likes an honest drunk all that much..but her flirty behavior was not going to be left alone not by a longshot. "I's an added bonus too. Also your not too bad lookin shirtless." she reaches out to touch his flesh where his collar bone is burnt, with a breath and an irritated growl he snatches her hand, all her attention then turning to his massive hand that caught her small one.

She looks abit hurt when he rejects her advances to touch him, but calms down thinking she's going too fast.

He sighed and allowed her to look his hand over, unbothered by the fact she's several inches away from him, he analyzed her eyes for any discretion that she could be bullshitting him about his looks.

It's why hes the most antsy and guarded.

She turned his hand over and dragged her fingertips and nails slowly down the lean forearm, his eyes twitch and his hand splayed open at her touch, graceful fingers moving independently in a dance for her eyes only; all the while, surrendering control of his arm unto her to see what she will do. "Y'know..I cant heal.. ol scars.. can only heal fresh ones.. wish i could help ya out with these..." Her voice is tepid and gentle, only for his ears to hear, it wasnt feigning innocence, it was innocent. "I know what you can do mouse-" He makes an attempt to sooth her. “Im multitalented..i only use my talents on the people i like.. And i like you alot..”

Chiaki slides her hand up to press their palms together. A giant hand dwarfing her own by how simply long his fingers were. Callused and hot like the rest of him, he controlled himself enough to not produce too much heat where she will pull away. He truly didn't want that..

He can feel her pulse hammering in her fingers as he gently curled his fingers bending hers backward slightly and looking back down to her. God the way she looked at him drove his mind in circles, not like a monster, a killer or anything negative.. But someone she adored..

Eyes glazed over in bewilderment. "Hmm.." she hums sweetly, like honey upon his ears.. "what?" He asks "yer hands are be yoo tiful.." he puffs hot air out of his nose. "I feel like your perceptions of beauty are skewed from your binge, mouse…" he teases and she laces their fingers together in a sweet gesture that stuns the Villain in his place, her lips found the juncture of the knuckles of his hands and kissed them lazily, the intimacy and sweetness of the moment lost on him.. He slept with plenty of women, used them and kicked them to the curb.. This one was different.. It sparked something in him..and didn't go out. Like a trick candle on a cake.

"Hey, hey.. don't start something mouse.. not in the state you're in.." he grumbles and stares down at her, not making any attempt to stop her.

"Why cantchu let me dote on you.." she pouts keeping the back of his hand to her face. His face grew closer to hers the smell of straight alcohol still lived rent free on her breath, "i want you to be conscious to what you and i do… hear me? Its below me to take advantage of you in a state where you can't remember and run.." his voice is grave and serious, it almost makes her frightened if not for the fact hes holding her hand so tightly.

She nods and shifts her body weight closer to him, he hears her yawn, she releases his hand after another kiss to the scarred flesh. He clears his throat and brings himself over her with just his torso and looks down at her, the covers only covering his back, but from here she can see the extent of the scarification to his neck and chest and just how extensive it was.

“See. don't look comfortable when you're in that position.. you dont want to be shit faced and being taken advantage of..” She shakes her head and opens her glassy eyes. “Not r'lly...” He nods and lays back down beside her, "thought so.." he pokes her cheek and pries his eyes from her.

“Sleep. We're going tomorrow.” He yawns and before he could say another word or even look her in the eye, she was asleep. 100 percent zonked out and asleep. He sighed and smirked warmly, he moved to the center of the bed beside her and touched her leg with the pads of his finger tips.. They gently dragged across the smooth flesh of the outside of her thigh to her knee, he became more brave and repeated the motion with his whole hand, slower.. gently digging his fingers into the meat of her leg for a moment. "What the hell did you do to me, Chiaki.." he mumbles, his hand taking in her warmth and radioactive positivity from her quirk ripple into his hand like electricity.

“Fuck..” He cursed and leaned forward to press a gentle smooch to her forehead..pulling her body close to his, falling asleep with her in his arms.

The morning came and with that.. so did Chiaki's unbelievable hangover, Dabi heard the girl shuffle to the small bathroom he had, he could tell she was crawling, unable to even stand and threw up violently the door to the toilet cracked as she emptied the contents of her stomach. With that he knew his day had just begun as he swung his legs out of bed and stood up, following the sounds of an esophageal exorcism taking place, and laughing at her expense. "Too much booze, hon?" He asked as he held her hair up, collecting pretty long locks in his fists as she got sick, it was almost too sweet for him to do this. He loomed above her.

"Yup… fuck that sucked.. head hurts.." he chuckled and helped her to her feet. “Don't remember a damn thing of what happened last night do ya.” He raised a brow and turned on the sink letting her wash her face off abit. Cold water replenishing the color to her cheeks. “Not a damn thing...wanna remind me please?” She asked gargling water from a bottle he handed her and spitting some out in the sink to clear her breath abit. “Well if you havent noticed you kinda took off your pants and uh.. Your bra is on my couch.” He tugged the sweat shirt that almost showed off her perky asscheeks to him.

Her hands darting to the end of the sweat shirt and her eyes going wide. “Did we-” She asks red in the face, her eyes darting to him in the mirror. “Nooo.. I said it last night, its below me to take advantage of someone like you.” She sighed and nodded her head turning back to him. “Thanks…” Dabi rolls his eyes and turns on his heels quickly.

"No gettin soft on me today, alright mouse? Cmon get dressed. We got things to do today.." he ordered, his tone changing quickly.

The rain was pouring. Just as hard as she met Dabi, thunder roared over head as he summarized the plan over with her, provided her with an implant in her ear to record everything, down to the whereabouts and specific names and places.. Fool proof was an understatement, with her status it was the perfect storm.

“How long will I be gone from you all..” She asked as he bound her wrists to her back tightly, making sure to make it look uncomfortable, as much as it pained him to see her wince in pain. “As long as we get the information we need.. And we'll come get you, mouse, why.. Sounding a bit nervous.” He asks leaning over her shoulder, guiding her into a cellar and securing a blindfold over her eyes, allowing Dabi to guide her wherever the hell he needs her to go.

“Kinda. I know this is precautionary but is this necessary?” She asked, hearing a loud wrought iron gate opening and then followed by a vault door, entering a sewer system with water running down the center of the drainage system.

“If they break you and get where we're at, there's no coming back, mouse. I should be asking you how the heroes interrogate their capture shouldn't i..” He jokes and holds her arms making sure shes walking forward, every so often his hand touches her back, keeping her warm using his quirk effectively in the cold, she moved closer to his side and found his arm hooked over her shoulder, his face still emotionless.

After about what felt like 15 minutes of silent walking they found themselves at a busted out hole in the wall, big enough for bodys to worm their way through.

“Easy does it..” he mutters, pushing her through the hole to the outside world.

The only thing indicating to her it's the outside world is the telltale sound of wind whipping around followed by fresh rain on her face. “Cmere, we're here..” SHe followed the sound of his voice and allowed him to guide her into a building. The creaks and moans of the old establishment made her wary and nervous, He stopped her directly inside of an old gas tank, hollowed out from neglect and time passed. “Can I take this off now.” She whispered so her voice wouldn't carry. “Hmhm.. of course.” he undid her blindfold and was greeted with his face again. “Happy to see me?” She shrugged. “Perhaps.. When is he coming..” She asked as he looked to the old burner phone he kept on hand. “10 minutes.. I always show up early, hes more than punctual.. It's borderline annoying.``

He states stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Well when you're called the fastest hero you kinda have to live up to those expectations.” He rolls his eyes and waits patiently.

“Gonna miss me?” He scoffs and replies deadpan at first. “Like the flu, nah im joking.. I will. Your company changed the group significantly. Quirk or not your...different.” He winks at her, she shuffles to him to rest her head on his chest, making it a mock hug, he puts his palm on her head and ruffles her pretty dark brown tresses up top.. “Heh.. god your always affectionate huh.. First you get me to appreciate you then you get Twice, Compress, Fuck even Spinner.. Shigaraki was a bit of a shock to the system.. Thus why we got all fucked up that night.”

He laughed enough to where she saw the staples separate from his mouth for a moment. “Anyway.. In a couple of days… I'll give you your burner back.. And we can chat if ya miss me that much..heh, might even go ‘shopping’ like i promised ya, getcha somethin nice to wear when you get back.” He half pulls the burner phone she used earlier a week ago from his pocket.

There's a gust of wind and feet tamping on the metal beams above their heads. Dabi raises his finger to his lips and leaves the confines of the empty tankard and looks right up at the hero.. The two exchanging a look before hawks can swoop on down, the longest feather in hand and eyes narrowed.

“Took ya long enough.” Dabi spoke up his hands leaving his pockets. “It's been hell the past week and a half, I don't want to hear it.. You have been avoiding my calls and everything. What gives.” Hawks questions annoyance and exhaustion plaguing his speech. “I don't have a clue what this problem would be, but in regards to your calls, let's just say we've been busy.. Couldn't really speak amicably with the rest of the League up my ass.” He chuckled much to the hero's chagrin, the tired look on his face said it all.

It was perfect. “If you must know.. Since that one little dust up in the business district with that Nomu and you.. We haven't seen Witch..” Dabi rocks back on his heels upon the mention of the ex-pro.

“Ah… Witch.. That pretty lil piece of work.” He chuckled sinisterly, as the feather rose to his neck,an intense scowl splashed across the pros face, Dabi outturned his hand, threateningly. “Ah ah, Hostile already?” Hawks eyes narrowed, like he was at his wits end with people as of late. “Shes been gone since then.. My allegiance with you and the league still stands but the fact shes gone without a fuckin trace since she last saw you makes no sense, where the hell does a PRO go without a trace and all signs lead back to.” Dabi interjected, raising his brow and tilting his head back psychotically. “Back to us huh? Awfully presumptuous of you heroes..”

Dabi let his head drop forward and he raised his brow and cocked his head, confused on why the normally level headed hero would be so high strung. He ‘poked the bear’ and asked. “You mentored her, I assume? Were you two love birds.” Hawks scowled. “No. she was my partner for a bit if you must know so the workload wasnt as hectic as it has been lately. But now with crime rate so high the damn commission wont get off MY ass.”

Dabi boredly pushes the feather blade away. “Tsk.. seems were in the same boat… but in regards to your lady friend i may know something” He turned on his heel and grabbed her from the tank, exchanging one last look between them before Dabi turned her out to see Hawks. The pro took a step back and his face went white, like he saw a ghost.

He went wide eyed, . “Holy shit, kid.”

~~~~~~

Authors note: Ive decided unanimously im making a fucking series and im gonna have fun with it. Enjoy Chiaki shes my gal uwu

#dabi #league of villains #dabi x oc #shigaraki x oc #toga x oc #twice #spinner #mha fic #im fucking VIBING #it was supposed to be a fucking drabble #but i decided to make it a series k.

11 notes · View notes

mellifluoushood · 4 years

Text

Into The Dark - C.H. AU [Chapter 4]

A/N: So, in a day, I have written two fics and had a ‘talk to me about calum’ session.... At first, I couldn’t tell why I was so motivated to write, and then I realised it was me procrastinating doing my college work. So, here you go. Procrastination fuelled fanfic. Those always make the best if I do say so myself. Synopsis: Full-time college student, Seraphina Sallow, works as a receptionist for world-famous tattoo artist, Calum Hood. Their friendship blossomed when she wrote an article about his tattoo parlour, Fallen Angel Tattoos, for a journalism project at school. Since then, she’s been working as a receptionist at his parlour to put herself through school. As college tuition increases and her social security checks get smaller, she’s beginning to struggle to keep up with her payments. And then, a fallen angel shows up in the parlour, offering her the solution to all of her problems. But, at what cost? (TEASER) (CHAP. 1) (CHAP. 2) (CHAP. 3) Genre (this chapter is): angst / fluff / smut / normal Warning: heavy mentions of drug use and selling, strong language, weapons (firearms), violence, blood Taglist: @calumscalm @gigglyirwin @ammwritings @loveroflrh @dukehoods @toofadedtofight @babylon-corgis @talkfastromance4 @thesubtweeter @vipclifford @spicycal @cals-wildflower

He was silent in the car ride home. He didn’t know why she called him, or why she thought it was okay to call him, but he still picked her up anyway. The last they had spoken was the screaming match in the tattoo parlour. They sat silently in his car, watching the dark streets pass them by. Calum’s tattooed knuckles wrapped around the steering wheel, turning white at the pressure he was applying, trying to relieve some of the tension in his chest. He hadn’t even looked at her when she had shuffled into his car. He didn’t notice the limp in her left leg, the small bit of blood trickling down her split lower lip and the black and blue bruise flowering on her left eye. He had kept his face forward, thumb tapping on the steering wheel, and skidding out of his parking spot the second she shut the door.

She hadn’t spoken to him either when she had gotten in the car. She hadn’t opened her mouth for two hours now. She had said just a few words several hours ago, but not since then. She deserved it, she knew. She should’ve just kept her mouth shut, that’s what everyone does in this business, but in her cocaine-induced high, she had let her lips spill Calum’s name. Calum had always been a touchy subject with her boss before she had ever been around. Roy could’ve warned her that. But, when she had mentioned Calum asking about her whereabouts, her boss dropped the blade he had been using to make small lines of coke on the mirror and walked over, landing a direct hit to her temple and eye. He didn’t even wait to find out if she had told him. She remembers the feeling of her neck snapping backwards at the force, feet fumbling to find their balance.

She didn’t even ask why he started hitting her over and over, she took it. She learned not to question her boss. Just like Calum had learned not to question her. And the one time he did question her, it cost her a beating. One that Calum hadn’t even known about yet. So, she had left the abandoned building, leaving the car out front and walked several blocks away. At first, walking didn’t hurt. The adrenaline scorching through her system kept her moving. And when the adrenaline started to wear off, so did her pain tolerance. Every move of her left leg made it feel like she had just been shot, every tug of air into her lungs felt like another blow to her ribcage. But, she kept walking as far away as she could.

With her gun still in her pocket, she sat on the edge of the street, a single streetlight hanging overhead. The only sound in her ears was the rushing of her blood and the occasional car peeling along the wet streets a few blocks over. Her teeth began to chatter, her shoulders bare in a tank-top. The rips in her jeans did little to protect her legs and her old Converse didn’t do much to keep body heat surrounding her feet. She hugged her arms to her chest for a few moments before grabbing for the pack of cigarettes in her pocket. She flicked open the top, grabbing a cigarette, popping it into her mouth and lighting it. Then, she decided to call Calum. He picked up on the second ring.

Calum began chewing on his newest piercing, a lip ring, since the moment he saw her name pop up on his phone. Michael had said a ring straight away could cause problems, but Calum had given him the same look he had given him in the bar a week ago and Michael went ahead and slotted the ring through his lip. It became his newest addition when Seraphina had left the shop after their last argument. The tenderness of the piercing had him wincing, but biting down harder, trying to use the pain to inflict some sort of feeling other than anger. His temper was short-fused, waiting to light at the slightest issue.

When he pulled up to her house, he reached over her, pushing the door open for her, hurrying her out. She turned to look at him for the first time that night. Her face was blank, void of emotion. She was numb. At first, Calum avoided her gaze, but caved and looked up at her. Underneath the moonlight, he could barely make out her features. But he saw the trail of fresh blood seeping from her lip and the ruptured blood vessels around her eye. His brows, that had furrowed the second he hung up the phone, rising into a position of shock.

“Thanks, Cal,” she sighs, turning to exit out the door he pushed open. He quickly grabbed onto the back of her shirt, pulling her to stay in her seat. Her back hit the leather behind her, causing her to cry out in pain.

“Shit,” Calum mutters, getting out of the car, slamming the door and jogging over to her side. She’s clutching her right side, hands covering her ribs. Her breaths are shaky, “What happened to you?” He whispers, hand meeting her cheek gently, holding her chin between his pointer finger and thumb.

“Nothing,” she replies, avoiding his eyes and gently pushing Calum back so she can stand up. He doesn’t miss the whimper that falls from her lips at her movement. He shakes his head, chewing at his lip ring again,

“Seraphina,” his voice is a warning and she won’t put up with it,

“Listen, you asked questions, this is what happened to me,” she snaps at him, “So if you know what’s good for me, you’ll stop asking.” She shuffles around him, not even bothering to look at him, struggling to climb up the stairs of her front porch. Calum swears to himself, looking up at the sky and cursing her parents for making her so fucking stubborn. He shuts the door and locks the car, following her up the steps.

“If you actually answer the questions, I can help you.” She scoffs, body jolting at the movement against her ribcage. She opens her front door, moving to close it behind her and to lock Calum out. But, he sticks the foot of his boot in between the door frame and the door, keeping her from shutting it. She doesn’t even bother to stop him, shuffling through her kitchen and to her bathroom. Calum shuts the front door behind him, making sure the deadbolt is in place before following her slow movements down the hallway.

“I asked for a ride home. Not for help,” she mutters, attempting to lift the bottom of her t-shirt over her head, but the pain in her ribs only lets her expose her lower stomach. She sucks in a breath through her teeth, pulling the fabric over her head, not caring about Calum standing behind her. She holds in a screech at the pain, crackling like a firework along her right side.

“Well, by the looks of it, you could use some help,” Calum retorts and she shakes her head. She lets out a sigh from her nose, hanging her head and looking at her floor. The white tips of her beaten up Converse were splattered with her blood, drops drying against the silicone.

“Listen, Calum,” she uses his full name, taking a moment to turn around and look at him. In the light, he notices the full extent of her black eye. Her flesh is fully bruised, the blood vessels staining underneath her eye like she has rosacea. Her brown eyes are tired, bags shadowing the bruise. Her bottom lip is split clean open, a ring of her own on the left side of her lip. The bruise from her eye spreads to her cheekbone, the yellow undertone sticking out against the usual olive tone of her skin, “I made a decision. I have to live with it.”

“Why did you make the decision, though?” She sighs, her gaze accidentally flashing to the dining room table, thinking about the piles of bills that had been sitting on the surface, unopened, with ‘URGENT’ stamped across the top of her tuition payments. She was curious to see if her social security would come this month. It hadn’t last month, or the month before that, even though she turned 21 in a month. She hadn’t been receiving payments for three months now, which she was sure was illegal, but who was she to sue the US Federal government?

“It’s a long story,” she shakes her head, turning and heading into the bathroom. Calum didn’t miss the fleeting glance, his eyes trailing to what she had looked at moments earlier. His feet carry him into the dining room table, looking at the neatly organised stacks of envelopes. He takes one off the top of the pile, the only pile with ‘URGENT’ stamped on top of it, ripping open the seal and pulling out the letter.

Dear Ms Seraphina Sallows,

The college is contacting you based on some issues regarding your college tuition. For the past three months, you have not made any payments toward your outstanding balance of $18,309.47. If you intend to continue your education here with us, we ask you to pay the remaining balance in full, as our leniency with monthly payments to reduce the balance can no longer go forward.

Your stellar grades from last semester led us to be inclined to support you with a scholarship, but your recent attendance has caused us to rethink our decision.

If you would be interested in receiving a scholarship, we ask that you bring your attendance back to above 80% and continue to maintain a 4.0 GPA. With these requirements met, we will provide a full scholarship for your last year of college. After you have paid the outstanding balance on your account and meet our requirements, please schedule a meeting with the Board to discuss the logistics of this offer.

If you choose not to pay your remaining balance, we ask that you withdraw from our college.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours truly,

Dean Mathers

Calum’s eyebrows furrow as he fumbles for the next pile of letters, ripping open one from the US Social Security Office. His fingers press open the paper, his eyes scanning the paper:

Dear Miss Seraphina Sallows,

This letter is to inform you about your remaining payments. A month after you turn 21, your Social Security payments will cease in regards to:

the death of Anita Sallows,

the death of Benjamin Sallows.

You have two months remaining of Social Security checks. Please alert the Social Security office if you believe you qualify for payments after the ending date. Qualifications for payments after your 21st birthday must be:

- musculoskeletal problems, such as back injuries - cardiovascular conditions, such as heart failure or coronary artery disease - senses and speech issues, such as vision and hearing loss - respiratory illnesses, such as COPD or asthma - neurological disorders, such as MS, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, or epilepsy...

Calum looks back at the bathroom and to the letter in his shaking hands. She had never once let on any sort of financial issues. But then again, he had never really questioned where she got her money from. He didn’t know the nature of their death until Michael had let it slip to him in the bar a week ago while they waited for her to return his texts. The only reason Michael knew was that he remembered reading about their murder in the paper. When Michael learned Seraphina’s last name, he made the connection that she was the daughter the paper left nameless because she was under the age of 18 when they were killed.

His lips draw into a line, tears beginning to sting at the corner of his eyes. He looks at the piles of the same letters, stacked perfectly in her dining room. There had to be a dozen, at least, in each pile. She had been paying her electricity and water bills. Calum hadn’t noticed a letter from any of her utilities. The only bill that sat on her table was her college tuition and no one in her position could ever afford those kinds of payments. She kept the letters from the US Federal Government as if to remind herself that she wouldn’t have those payments in two months.

Her house was bright, just like she appeared to be. The dining room walls are a glistening white, the table a light grey. It didn’t seem like the house always used to look this way. She reupholstered each and every piece of fabric in each and every room, she changed the floorboards herself, she painted all the walls herself. To remain in her house, she had to make it feel like it wasn’t their house.

She rented a dumpster and got rid of everything in her house that didn’t serve a purpose. She donated her mother and father’s clothing, scrapping the drug paraphernalia decorating the surfaces of her home. She replaced the bongs and pipes with house plants, pictures of her and her best friends. That was the darkest part - there were very few pieces of herself throughout the house. She only had one picture of her parents hung on her living room wall: the single and only day they were sober in her lifetime. The day of her birth.

He drops the letter on the dining room table, walking down the hallway to the shut bathroom door. He knocks on it. She doesn’t answer, but he can hear the tub running.

“I’m not looking,” he says, placing his hands over his eyes and opening the bathroom door. He can hear her exhale and move about the bathtub.

“Okay,” she sighs. He enters the bathroom, only looking at the floor and holding his hands to shield his vision directly in front of him. When he shuts the door behind him, he sits down on the floor, looking at the cabinetry of her bathroom. It’s painted white as well.

They’re quiet for a long time. Seraphina doesn’t wish to say anything to him and Calum doesn’t know how to address his recent discovery in her dining room.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Calum risks a glance at the bathtub, where the only thing he can see is her head tilted against the wall behind her. She sighs again, head turning to look at him. The blood below her lip has been wiped away, the flesh swelling, burning red underneath the light of the bathroom. Her brown hair is tied up in a bun on top of her head, her eyes dark.

“There’s nothing to tell you, Cal,” her voice is weak. Her resolve is breaking. Calum wracks his brain, trying to find a way to get her to tell him what’s happening.

“What if this entire situation you’re in, is hypothetical?” He says slowly, trying to get her to just talk to him.

“What are you talking about?” She sighs, turning her head to look at the wall of her shower in front of her. The hot water boils her skin red but soothes the muscles that throb and ache with every movement she had made earlier. The only pain that doesn’t go away is the sharp sting in her left ribs.

“You can’t get in trouble for hypothesising things,” he explains, chewing on his lip ring. He winces at the sensation, quickly releasing the metal from his teeth. She sighs, shaking her head,

“I don’t even think my brain could keep up with hypothesising. I would say something I shouldn’t and end up dead.”

Her words hang in the air. Calum’s eyes never leave her figure.

He turns away when she’s finished with her bath. She wraps herself in a towel, hair dripping onto the bath mat underneath her feet. She mumbles ‘okay’, letting Calum turn around to look at her. He gives her a sad smile, opening the bathroom door and letting the steam of the hot water float into the outside air. He stands in the doorway, looking at the tips of his boots while she moves around her room, dressing and brushing her hair. When she slips into bed, she looks at Calum. He debates giving in to the look she’s giving him, whether she’s intentionally doing it or not. He has to resist the urge to crawl into her bed as he did a week ago and hold her. To shield her from the man who beat her to a bloody pulp. To protect her from the $18,000 bill sitting on her dining room table. To keep her from everything that has ever gone wrong in her life. And lord knows Calum hasn’t even scratched the surface of that barrel of worms. But, the look in her eyes, whether it’s fear or the need for Calum, he sighs and kicks off his boots, crawling into the empty side of the bed. His heart picks up speed when she immediately turns over, crawling into his side. She tries to ignore the heat of her blushing cheeks because she just needs to be held. He’s careful with where he puts his hands, avoiding her ribs and her cheeks.

He stays with her until she falls asleep, clutching onto Calum for dear life. It takes him some time to unwrap her from him before he gets out of bed. He looks down at her face, fast asleep and relaxed, even with the swelling of her lip increasing and the darkening of the bruise under her eye. He turns away, gently walking to her nightstand and carefully opening the drawer he heard her stuff the gun in earlier. The gun lies across some journals before he picks it up and stuffs it into his pocket. He recognises the heaviness of the barrel, the grip tugging at the fabric of his jeans.

He looks around her room in the dark, checking surfaces and changes in dust patterns for abnormalities that would point to where she hid her stash. He remembered back to when he was hiding his stash, always wary of any traces he may have left behind. It isn’t until he begins to walk out of the room that something catches the hallway light underneath a loose floorboard. He sighs, tiptoeing along the wooden surface and removing the plank of wood. He notices about a dozen different drugs, ranging from weed to heroin. He slowly collects the bags, occasionally checking to see if Seraphina was still asleep. The large baggy of cocaine rests at the bottom of the floorboard. He stares at it for a moment, thinking back to that night when he watched that line disappear up Ashton’s nose. He remembers the seizures, the muscle spasms, his body collapsing to the ground. He remembers falling to his knees, screaming his name, yelling for someone to call an ambulance. He remembers slapping Ashton’s face over and over again, trying to get him to wake up. He didn’t leave his side in the ambulance. He stood in the waiting room for only a few minutes before a doctor emerged from the ER, asking Calum to follow him.

Calum takes a deep breath, picking up the baggy and replacing the floorboard. He begins to walk out of Seraphina’s bedroom, opening the door and allowing the hall light to illuminate her room for a second. He looks at her sleeping frame, sighing before shutting the door behind him. He walks into the dining room, dropping the bags and gun onto the surface. He searches her living room, looking for her rucksack. He empties the books onto the coffee table when he finds her school bag, using it to hold the bags of narcotics. He zips it up, tossing it over his shoulder and picks up the gun. He ejects the magazine, checking to see if there were any bullets in the gun. A full magazine. He checks the bottom of the grip, making sure the serial number had been filed off. Once he’s sure the gun is ready to be used, he injects the magazine again, cocking the gun and loading a bullet. He pulls on the safety and sticks the gun back in his pocket.

He leaves the hall light on, in case she wakes up in the middle of the night and shuts the front door behind him. He uses the spare key hidden under one of the potted plants on her doorstep to secure her deadbolt. He tucks the key in his pocket before crossing the sidewalk and opening the passenger side of his car. He tosses the rucksack onto the seat before shutting the door and opening the driver’s side. His jaw clenches, fingers gripping the steering wheel for a whole new reason as he turns the engine and pulls out of his driving spot.

He could do this drive with his eyes shut.

71 notes · View notes

nerdypanda3126 · 4 years

Text

It’s Complicated - Ch. 4

Read on Ao3 Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch.3 Ch. 5

Chapter 4: Pattern Clashing

He did it! He had slipped his bodyguard and now he’s free. True, it had taken ducking into an alley and transforming and running as fast as he could across the rooftops to put as much distance as he could between him and the Gorilla, and then detransforming at a subway station, but it’ll all be worth it. Marinette is going to be so surprised to see him. His stomach does a little flip at the thought.

He meets Kagami by the Ponts des Arts and takes her hand before he starts to run along the riverbank, just for the fun of it. For the freedom of it. He can hear her laughing behind him. It turns into a race between them, each trying to gain a lead on the other while still keeping their hands linked. Adrien falls back purposefully, letting her go to the full extent of their combined reach before he puts on a burst of speed, turning his head as he passes her to catch a glimpse of her face. Her eyes narrow at him and she smiles, accepting his challenge. The only thing missing is her fencing mask.

The race begins in earnest then, as she matches him almost step for step. The houseboat is coming into view, the last stretch. He sneaks a glance at her and she’s intensely focused on the goal, her eyes fixed to the destination. It startles him how quickly his game had become serious for her. He realizes he had been thinking of his races along the rooftops with Ladybug. The ones where there is no point really, no destination in mind, just a give and take between them, challenging each other while they played, declaring a "winner" only when they were tired.

With his head out of the game, he falls behind her by a few steps as they come up on the houseboat. They come to a stop together, both out of breath. He can feel the thin sheen of sweat that had broken out on his forehead. Maybe running here wasn’t the best idea. Kagami’s smiling at him, her eyes alight. She squeezes his hand lightly. The race had been fun for her, of course, mostly because she won.

Marinette’s voice floats down to him from the deck.

“Hey, Luka. I, uh… I brought you something.”

Without thinking about it, his hand tightens around Kagami’s. Marinette sounds so nervous. She finished it, then. He wonders what the final product will look like. Marinette is so talented, it’s bound to be something unexpected and perfect for Luka. She probably signed it somewhere hidden, like she did for his derby hat. When did he start clenching his teeth? He makes an effort to relax his jaw.

He catches Kagami’s eyes and smirks at her.

“Catch your breath yet?” She blinks back at him. Had he said something wrong? No, not wrong, just not Adrien. He had defaulted to his Chat mannerisms. He fixes his expression into something softer.

“Ready whenever you are.” She answers him evenly. For some reason he gets the sense, like he usually does with her, that there’s something else behind her words. Something that he’s supposed to understand. He leads the way up the steps.

And Luka is shrugging on the jacket. It stops him in his tracks. Luka’s showing the design off for Marinette, twisting and stretching out his arms. She must’ve hit some sort of inspiration after Chat left her the other night. It’s a piece of art. He can see Luka’s stage character in the coloring of it, and the studs on his shoulders, but in the subtlety of the design he can also just see Luka. She had found the balance she was looking for.

Marinette circles around Luka then, and Adrien can see her face. She’s grinning. She’s lit up. She pulls something out of Luka’s hood, his stage mask, and Luka looks back at her. It feels like Adrien is witnessing something private, something personal, as Marinette’s cheeks turn pink. He’s clenching his jaw again. When Luka lays his hand on Marinette’s, something flares inside him, some ugly fire that works its way up from the pit of his stomach to squeeze around his heart. His feet finish the steps by themselves.

“Hey, guys, mind if we come aboard?” His voice sounds wrong somehow, and he realizes it’s because his throat feels like it’s constricting. He feels a small satisfaction when Marinette pulls away from Luka. She does look surprised, that’s for sure. But she doesn’t look happy to see him.

Then she squeaks and steps back behind Luka, hiding her face into his back. Luka tucks one arm back behind himself and around her, almost like he’s shielding her, before he waves at them. The fact that Marinette would need comforting after just seeing Adrien claws at him. He bites the inside of his cheek and turns back to Kagami. Her expression is carefully neutral. She steps up next to him and threads her arm through his, curling her hand around his bicep.

He nearly chokes on whatever mix of emotions he’s sorting through. Kagami’s intention is crystal clear; she’s claiming him. He sets aside the discomfort he feels at that. But why would she feel a need to?

He can feel the tension on the Liberty. Everyone is glancing between him and Kagami and Marinette and Luka, and they seem to be holding their breath, waiting for something to happen. Nino takes a few steps off the ladder he’s on, and Alya moves closer to Marinette. They are protecting her, all of them. He feels like he’s intruded, somehow. Maybe he should just go.

Marinette steps out from behind Luka, then, and her shock seems to have settled. She smiles and waves, the same restrained smile she gives him in class, and starts to walk towards them. But as she does, she trips on something and tumbles face first, flailing her arms wildly to try to catch herself. Adrien steps forward automatically, breaking Kagami's grip, to catch Marinette before she falls.

"Are you okay?"

She looks up at him, stunned, before pushing off his chest to right herself. He catches a glimpse of her bright red cheeks before she looks away to hide her face. He’s seen that look before. The other night when he was teasing her about the hearts on her sketch. Is she embarrassed that she fell into him? That would make sense. But then why does he still feel the warmth from where her hands were on his chest, spreading through him and calming his nerves?

His hand is still on her elbow. He should probably move, pull away, give her space, something.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She meets his eyes, finally, and her blush has cleared. She smiles at him. Her real, Marinette smile. The one he’s missed. He could float away, buoyed by her happiness. Marinette isn’t mad at him. The relief washes over him and he can breathe again.

“Dude! You made it!” Nino has made it over to them, and he pulls Adrien into a quick hug. Marinette rushes forward to take Kagami’s hand and pulls her over to the stage, and the girls are quickly laughing together. Whatever tension had been there when he arrived, whatever that was, had dissipated. Adrien nods along as Nino talks him through the plan for the concert, his mind tumbling. He doesn’t notice when Nino shakes his head and walks away.

The keyboard is set up for him already. He runs his fingers over the keys lightly.

“Glad you could join the band again.” Luka’s soft voice startles him. When Adrien looks up, Luka is offering him a hand. Adrien takes it, and forces himself to smile. Luka is infuriatingly impassive. He hasn’t taken the jacket off, and it doesn’t look like he plans to.

“Thanks for having me,” Adrien hears himself say. The appropriate response, he knows, the polite response. Luka retreats from the handshake first, tucking his hands into the pockets of his new jacket. Adrien nods to it.

“Is that one of Marinette’s?” Why is he making conversation about this? And can someone please come to get him out of it?

Luka smiles, and Adrien would almost call it wistful. Like Luka knows something Adrien doesn’t. Had Marinette confessed about the hearts to him? Or maybe Luka knows, like Adrien knows, how much it means that Marinette made him something special like that. Maybe he likes that Marinette had been thinking about him. For days, Adrien notes, eyeing the details he can see up close now. That jacket was definitely not a one night project. Marinette had lost sleep over it. He makes a fist by his side and squeezes as tight as he can before he lets it relax. It doesn’t escape Luka’s notice.

“Yeah, it is,” Luka meets Adrien’s eyes calmly, but it feels more like a challenge. “She’s incredibly talented, isn’t she?”

Adrien swallows past the lump in his throat. “You know, she signs her designs.” Damn his burning curiosity. He just has to know. Luka nods, opening the left side of the jacket for Adrien to see. There it is, the curled script of Marinette’s unmistakable signature. She had embroidered it on the inside breast pocket. A good hiding spot. Also right next to Luka’s heart. Adrien feels sick.

He turns to look over to the group of girls, taking selfies. Marinette has her arm around Kagami, her other arm holding the phone out to take the picture. Kagami has relaxed, as much as Kagami relaxes, and she’s smiling. Marinette has that ability with people, to bring them out of their shells, to make them shine. Adrien wonders if he lights up like that around her, too. If any of Marinette’s spark has rubbed off on him, just by being her friend.

When he turns back, Luka has slipped away as quietly as he came. He’s sitting off the edge of the stage now, idly strumming on his guitar, his back turned to everything.

Adrien realizes when he sees the Kitty Section logo that this isn’t something he can do all night long. He can’t keep noticing the care that Marinette put into her work. He can’t play the keyboard with Luka in front of him, not flaunting exactly, but definitely basking in Marinette’s attention. Who wouldn’t bask in her attention?

But he can’t just leave. He came here with Kagami. She wanted to see him play. And if he stays and performs, even if Marinette does have her eyes on Luka, she might happen to glance over to Adrien. She might wave to him. She might dance to the band’s music. He pulls his eyes back to the keyboard in front of him. He had offered to play with the band. That’s why he was here.

He senses movement out of the corner of his eye. When he turns his head again, Kagami is waving to him from across the stage. He waves back automatically. She nods her head back towards the group, a silent invitation to come sit next to her. But his feet just feel glued to the stage. Marinette follows Kagami’s gaze until her eyes land on him. He can feel his cheeks heat up and his hand goes to the nape of his neck. His heart is pounding.

The only one he’s ever felt this giddy around has always been Ladybug. But he’s always needed the mask with her. He’s always needed to put up his front with Ladybug and keep his civilian life closed off from her. And he would have to, if he wanted to keep being Chat Noir. Not that anything with anyone else would be any easier, having to hide his superhero activities.

It hits him then that all he wants to do is transform and run. He needs to think. He needs to sort himself out. Maybe if he just goes for a quick run in the suit, it’ll give him the strength to do the second set with the band. Maybe he could ask Ladybug to meet him. If his feelings have changed, he’ll know as soon as he sees her. She’s his best friend, the one he trusts with his life. She would show up for him, he knows.

He taps Nino on the shoulder to get his attention.

“I’m not feeling well, can you cover for me for a minute?”

Nino nods, barely looking up from the sound system. “Yeah, dude, I’ll let the others know. Think you’ll be back by showtime?”

“I think I can make the second set.”

Nino nods again, and Adrien scurries off the deck as fast as he can without looking like he’s running. Why does he always seem to be running away from Marinette?

He calls for his transformation as soon as he’s ducked into a quiet alley. He pings Ladybug and takes a deep breath before he extends his baton to start his run over the rooftops towards the Eiffel Tower.

***

@celestethegoddess

#miraculous ladybug #adrigami #lukanette #adrien agreste #kagami tsurugi #marinette dupain cheng #luka couffaine #angst with a happy ending #mlb fic #ml fic #it's complicated fic

28 notes · View notes

ramblingguy54 · 5 years

Text

Amphibia’s Season 1 Finale: An Emotionally Charged Climax Of Brilliance

For those who haven’t watched Amphibia yet, or are only halfway through the series, I’d highly recommend not reading this post on the events of Season 1′s finale. This is an episode that should be experienced blind, rather than having it spoiled for yourself, unless you really don’t mind at all whatsoever.

No matter how many times I’ve re-watched Amphibia Season 1 on Disney+, I gotta say its finale was easily up on my list of top moments from animation back in the 2010′s. Amphibia starts off with some pretty simple straightforward slice of life stuff throwing in a nice mix of drama and comedy. Although, as the series has progressed, Amphibia’s storytelling makes it clear we’re in for a bigger shift with dramatic writing once Season 2 rolls around in the future. This last episode of Season 1, Reunion, gives me the impression it could very likely be transitioning into heavier stuff, like Gravity Falls did, when it’s second outing steps up to the plate eventually. Season 1′s finale has seriously impressed me with what it managed to accomplish in its themes that were set up as early as its first episode. We finally get more insight into what Anne’s daily routine with Sasha must’ve been like before she was suddenly dropped into this crazy lovable world of anthropomorphic frogs. What I really appreciate about this backstory is it reels us in just enough with seeing Anne and Sasha’s chemistry. It doesn’t do a big exposition dump about what good friends they are, rather Amphibia just simply shows us first hand. From the get go it’s made crystal clear that Anne and Sasha are very close, seeing how Sasha stands up for Anne when someone tries to steal her food on a special day no less.

Or else you can forget about coming to my awesome house party next week.

Happy Birthday, girl!

Like, extremely close given how happy these two are to see each other. Anne & Sasha’s interaction here is safe to say they go way back before their current school year. Almost as if, they’ve known each other since they were younger.

“Sasha’s been my friend since Kindergarten. If she says it’s fine. It’s fine.”

Anne’s piece of dialogue here makes it evident how much she cares/trusts about Sasha as an individual. Even enough to allow her in doing morally questionable stuff highlighted with this brief montage spotlighting Anne’s passive behavior towards Sasha’s dangerously impulsive attitude. Time and time again Anne willingly goes along with Sasha’s mentality of, “Do whatever we want.”, because in her eyes that’s what being best friends is all about. Giving the other what they want regardless of the moral implications around whatever their actions are. Not to mention, when you take that into account that Anne has been around Sasha since preschool, it’s equivalent to putting your foot down on a family member. Anne doesn’t want to hurt Sasha, considering she’s like the sister Anne never had, being an only child and all. That further establishes emotional weight for something Anne fears to lose out on, which Sasha takes advantage of greatly.

Anne, this isn’t cute anymore. We’re meeting up with Marcy right now! End of discussion...

“Heh! She’s persuasive, right?”

Look, if a friend likes a pencil case, you get it for them. If your friend likes your new shoes, you give them to her. And if her friend wants you to steal a crazy music box from a thrift store, even if you really don’t want to, you do it okay? Because if you don’t, they might not want to be your friend anymore...

Sasha’s serious verbal abuse has made Anne completely twist around the very concept of what a healthy friendship basically is, overall. For whatever the reason at some point, be it the very school environment they both grew up in or personal family issues, Sasha has become an extremely toxic influence on Anne’s important decision making and it painfully shows here in her self-esteem. This kid has made it second nature for herself to never be honest when a friend is doing something that she internally deems highly questionable in moral terms, since she’s so afraid of permanently losing those who claim to care about her own well being. Anne believes it to be a “golden rule” that if you’re openly honest with your close friends, it will only lead to failure in a nutshell. This is honestly one of the strongest elements of Amphibia’s storytelling on how it explores the human condition of real friendship. It’s not sunshine and rainbows, but an honest reflection of who you are as a person. Those you choose to let into your life for better influencing yourself, also reveal your true nature as an individual. These particular lines from the episode, Flood, Sweat, and Tears, sets the mood into motion that vital theme its story centers itself around.

Sharing a room doesn’t make you best friends. Being honest with each other does!

In fact, if you ask me, you’re better friends now than you were before.

Seeing how greatly Amphibia explored this statement means a lot to me, since I myself have struggled with passive aggressive behavior plenty with my own friends. There were social experiences I went through in my childhood that made me bottle up how I genuinely feel a lot, so being honest with my own circle of close friends was a serious challenge for me. While I have come a long way in the improvements of being more honest with my pals whenever something is bothering me, it’s still a never ending struggle I deal with on a daily basis, considering it’s much like second nature to me. This significant moment hit all the right chords for me in showing that beauty of human connections, by taking the good and bad people can experience in dealing with their own differences. Anne’s journey to better understand what real friends are and stand up for herself is a very empowering one to see occur, as she continues to come out of her shell, while putting her foot down when more immoral shit starts to hit the fan. Another giant step forward for her own independence comes to light in the tenth episode, Toad Tax, when Anne wanted nothing more than to be respected by the towns folk, instead of being openly called a monster and getting severely alienated for it, too. Which, again, it really shows just how much Sasha’s manipulation has had a grip on Anne, given she first thought that by joining the Toad force that she’d garner their respect. However, that idea was nothing more than a deeply shallow belief, which would’ve made the town more afraid of her rather than love and accept her.

All I wanted was this town’s respect, but just because these people treated me crumby, doesn’t mean I’m gonna do the same to them. I’m done with this. I don’t care if they’ve broken the law, you can’t treat people like this!

In a very jarring contrast to Anne, Sasha is a more two faced individual with her own motive for getting herself, Anne, and Marcy back home by any means necessary. To put it bluntly and harshly, Sasha is a real bitch hilariously to the point where she is the sole reason why Grimes minions become more competent, due to throwing out fake compliments to help their lack of motivation, since his intensity as their ruthless leader was backfiring greatly. It’s priceless to see a villain’s cold blooded behavior ironically be a big detriment to their rule of power, as other works of fiction have shown it to a “positive” influence on their minions, where a teenage cheerleader blonde archetype has to patch things up.

You lot are without a doubt the most useless group of toads I have ever seen!

Just try saying nice things for a change. Get them to love you and they’ll do anything for you.

That actually works?

Ooooh, it works alright. Trust me.

Sasha’s already cold and calculating manipulation is influenced in return by Grimes heartless nature. Sasha & Grimes combined make for a deadly combination for one Hell of antagonistic duo, but that’s not to say this series doesn’t add layers to this complicated girl. While she is a very toxic verbally abusive person, Sasha isn’t without her own humanity either. Besides lying about being the only human in the world of Amphibia, Sasha genuinely is concerned about reuniting with each of her friends and not just for keeping them underneath her thumb in a controlling fashion. The voice acting here from Sasha’s VA really helps elevate that idea there’s more to her than how she acts.

Hold on for a little longer girls. I’m coming for you and when I find you we’re gonna get home, but first I think we’re gonna have some fun with this place.

By the time Anne and Sasha reunite by the finale, both have changed. Anne for the better and Sasha for much worse. Anne has become more selfless and free to make her own choices that she feels morally comfortable with doing, while Sasha is out to kill Hop Pop, due to his vital actions in earlier episodes, for encouraging more Frogs to rebel against the Toad’s rule of power through fear and violence. Sasha doesn’t view Hop Pop as as an equal living thing, but another obstacle that’s keeping herself, Anne, and Marcy from their one way ticket home. She strongly believes that killing Hop Pop, to keep the other Frogs back in line from having a voice of their own, will allow them a better chance to get back home with help from Grimes. Sasha knows to an extent the terrible thing she’s trying to help Grimes commit, however she still only views Hop Pop as not an equivalent human being, but an already figurative dead frog for them to dissect in their biology class.

So you’ve probably already noticed the Toads in this valley have one job. To rule over the Frogs. And lately those Frogs have been stepping out of line.

Sasha is a serious fucking jerk, but a well intent extremist on wanting to get everyone back home, who doesn’t fully grasp the full context of what horrible atrocities she’s helping Grimes commit through doing this attempted murder.

Anne, what are you doing? Are you really gonna risk your life for these...talking frogs? We don’t even belong here. Don’t you wanna get back home? See your family?

Yeah, but...

Then put your sword down, now!

END OF DISCUSSION...

There we go, that’s my girl.

There that wasn’t so hard was i-

WHAT THE HECK!?

For someone who’s Anne’s best friend, you sure don’t know her very well! She brave, she’s smart, and most of all she’s not gonna be pushed around by a bully like you!

I think I’ve had enough of you, squeaky toy.

Anne, what are you doing!?

Something I should’ve done a long time ago. Standing up to you!

Thanks for believing in me, Sprig.

Can I just say that I love how they don’t try to pin blame on Anne for being consistently manipulated by Sasha? While Anne most certainly needs to stand up and not allow Sasha to abuse her like this anymore, Sasha is the sole person responsible for making Anne feel so insecure, who needed to be put in her place. It was very important for them to make that clear who is at fault here in this situation more than anyone and Sprig was perfect for telling off Anne’s abusive friend. Can’t begin to describe how cathartic it was for seeing that bitch get hit in the face for trying to once again pull on Anne’s emotional baggage. That highly noteworthy moment aside, there is a really interesting exchange between Sasha and Grimes showing how warped Sasha’s definition of friendship has become over the years she’s grown up with Anne in school.

You’ve given me plenty of advice, now let me give you some. Stamp this out. Make her yield. Fail and nothing will ever be the same.

Not gonna happen...

So, taking into account everything that I’ve covered at this point, this makes for a wonderful climatic finale to a slow burn where previous episodes have emotionally prepared Anne for facing down the very person who’s been hurting her most of all. One of her closest friends, who’s been like a symbolic sister in the past to Anne, but has turned into this very hurtful person with a seriously warped idea of an “affectionate” friendship based on similar ideas of control as seen with Grimes. While Amphibia has plenty of comedic shenanigans in its storytelling, there’s always been this dramatic undertone centered around Anne and Sasha’s views of what relationships are all about for what each one has based their ideals on. This Disney series is centered around gaining new bonds, while looking at old ones in a much different perspective, as seen with Anne and Sasha’s falling out.

Anne, you don’t have to do this.

Yes I do...

Anne vs Sasha is an important key moment that the finale nails on every possible level, given each side here has something lose, if the other one wins this duel. These are old friends, or rather family in a sense, standing up for what they think is the right moral thing to do and you can feel this high stakes tension every second as its building up to their swords finally clashing again against one another. Reminds me a lot of the Star Wars battles where it’s not necessarily remembered so much for the fights themselves, but the emotional weight that is carried in every moment which is happening between its characters and I applaud Amphibia for taking inspiration in utilizing that trope of writing.

Much like how DuckTales (2017) handled its amazing Season 1 finale, Amphibia’s writers know the most crucial element to focus more than anything are the characters themselves and what they’re feeling, rather than making it a big flashy battle of epic proportions. Granted, that’s a nice icing on the cake and all, but the real meat should always be in how you’re executing the important themes you’ve introduced from the start. In Amphibia’s case, it’s the tragedy of friendship turning into something nasty with Sasha treating Anne poorly and breaking apart their once stable lives, due to that very nature which dropped them into this world where they have to now fend for themselves.

There’s so much powerful heartbreak emitting from this one pic here and hoo boi we haven’t even gotten to best part, yet. It’s delightfully angsty and shocked the Hell outta me when first watching this episode. Fuck, it still does quite frankly knowing the people behind this show had the guts to go that far dramatically.

They’re just slimy little frogs, Anne.

They don’t matter!

They’re not just Frogs. They’re my friends!

After Anne finally beats Sasha the entire castle starts exploding, due to Wally misinterpreting her on not blowing up Grimes base. Here’s where the most heart wrenching scene comes in as the cherry on top of this intense finale to Amphibia’s first season. As the castle is falling to pieces, Sasha almost falls to her death but Anne catches her in time, despite just fighting her tooth and nail seconds ago to save the family she was trying to kill for her selfish reasons. There’s a crap ton of symbolism here in this poignant moment of characterization for Anne & Sasha’s current state of friendship now. All of this is topped off by the music piece, Lean On Me, being poetically woven into it.

The Plantar family is doing everything in their power to hold Anne up equivalent to how they’ve made her into a better individual than she ever was around Sasha. While Sasha is putting all of them in danger as a figurative ball and chain that, besides holding them back from staying alive, is also keeping Anne from becoming the best version of herself she can be. In these last moments, I’d like to believe Sasha finally put it together in her mind just how much she’s royally screwed everything up. Not just what she attempted to do with Hop Pop and most likely the rest of his family, but how seriously disrespectful she was to Anne for who knows how many years of their friendship when Sasha started abusing her. Sasha was most likely feeling a ton of self-loathing and terrible guilt before making this shocking pivotal decision next in saving Anne and the Plantars’.

Hey Anne...

Maybe you’re better off without me...

Like, on one hand it can be simply viewed as Sasha simply saving these people from dying, too. However, I’d prefer to make it darker for the sake of heavy angst and say she was committing suicide, as well. Sasha realized in these last moments, before thinking that she was going to die a painful death, how shitty she was to Anne. Sasha’s abusive behavior is what started this whole story in the first place. If it wasn’t for Sasha, none of them would of ended up in the world Amphibia to begin with, but it needed to happen for Anne to become better about who her real friends are and maybe this rough experience would even help Sasha, too. We’ll just have to see what awaits for Sasha’s character arc in Season 2′s future. As it stands now, Anne may have a lost a dear friend, who was basically like a sister to her years back, but gained something even better.

A family and terrific friends who care deeply for her.

Hop Pop, you three are my family. I’d never let anyone hurt you.

Thanks for taking the time read this very lengthy post of me gushing about this powerfully bittersweet finale. Can’t wait for Season 2!

#amphibia #anne boonchuy #sprig plantar #sasha #amphibia season 1 #this finale hurt me REAL good #amphibia spoilers #amphibia season 1 finale #ampihiba reunion #amphibia episode 20 #polly plantar #hop pop plantar

39 notes · View notes

amnonrodan-blog · 5 years

Text

How i successfully stay clean off Cocaine

I started taking methamphetamine in my mid 20s. I was living in a remote nation, with no family to look out for me. I wound up destitute. Needed to move away to some place where meth was difficult to get. I at that point got everything in order, I started buying marijuana online and began an extremely, fruitful business, sold it, and there I was, in my mid 20s and essentially resigned. Learn to expect the unexpected. By then, it didn't make a difference where I lived - I could stand to have meth an other drugs flown in.

I moved once more. In the long run, my meth misuse spiraled into out and out psychosis.

I quit everything. Jumped on antidepressants (SSRIs) - that didn't function admirably for me - I still slept late, felt like I was in a haze, and so forth.

Got into the wellness thing. That despite everything didn't help. I kept my downturn avoided my numerous companions, yet it was continually approaching over me. Intellectual social treatment distinguished the examples of unfortunate use, however what remained was as yet an interest for substantial stims - the science, pharmacokinetics, feeling of thoughtlessness, vitality, and other common sexual debasement (we should be genuine) that they brought.

Presenting Crack Cocaine

I messed around with grunted cocaine socially while out drinking to a great extent, however because of my past smoking meth, it was unremarkable, best case scenario. One evening, a planned arrangement dropped, and I had nothing to do, yet I had about a chunk of cocaine in my carport.

I found that I could freebase it to make it smokeable. I recall my first hit. I hadn't cooked it completely or appropriately, I was utilizing foil, the high was jumpy, and the primary hit drove me directly to pornhub and into an enthusiastic wanking off meeting that finished with loathsome uneasiness.

However, I realized that with appropriate measurements, stuff and planning of the base, that was the ideal medication for me. It had all that I needed in a stim - a subculture, a science DIY viewpoint permitting me to "procure" my item by playing out a concoction response, a serious surge of elation, a reducing rewards bend of around 4 days, channels and customs, and a short half life - which implied that the defeat just kept going an hour or so before rest set in (with meth, I was unable to stop, in such a case that you don't have the foggiest idea about, the reversal can keep going for 24h or more)

Shockingly, the underlying disclosure stage turned out poorly and I immediately began utilizing day by day. This continued for a while until my companions made sense of what was up.

I made some life changes, yet I'd at present be utilizing each opportunity I got, and the remainder of the time, I'd be worn out, lazy, and with extraordinary yearnings. By then I'd built up a "wellbeing routine" that remembered saving beta-blockers and xanax for hand. It wasn't perfect however - I lost a great deal of my well deserved muscle increases, missed some significant cutoff times, and was gaining no ground throughout everyday life. I was likewise playing with death consistently, and gradually letting my kinships decay from absence of support.

Quick forward to about a year prior, when I found R-Modafinil.

What is Modafinil?

Modafinil is a nootropic. Basically, Nootropics (otherwise called "Savvy Drugs") will be drugs that improve intellectual capacity, yet have insignificant dependence potential and barely any symptoms.

In the wake of messing around with the racemate, I chose the (R) Enantiomer.

Modafinil's component of activity is indistinct, nonetheless, it is thought to chip away at the dopaminergic framework, as a mellow dopamine reuptake inhibitor - much like cocaine.

My Experience with Modafinil

My emotional involvement in it, following a year, is this: it keeps me wakeful, permits me to concentrate better, yet in particular, it expels cocaine withdrawals and yearnings.

The extraordinary part about it versus, state, adderall, is that there is no brutal defeat, no huge increment in circulatory strain, no tachycardia, no longing to redose, I despite everything eat typically while on it. On the off chance that anything, it's helping me stay tore. That is to say, it's so non-addictive that occasionally, I neglect to take it for up to seven days - until I understand that cocaine desires and dreams are back, or that I'm drained/somewhat discouraged again - until, fundamentally, I feel like my typical discouraged self nearly a genuine backslide.

Around Christmas a year ago, because of a lost shipment and poor coordinations on my part, I wound up being out of modafinil for a month. This prompted a multi week gorge that in the end spiraled into infusing and an excursion to the emergency clinic following a seizure.

I currently keep enough Modafinil to keep going for a while and never let my inventory get lower than a month ahead of time. I don't take it consistently. I can work fine when I don't take it, however by and large, it improves my personal satisfaction to such a degree, that I generally keep it by my bed.

I got a portion of my companions into it too - a few normies, and a few companions who likewise have a cocaine issue (albeit almost not as terrible as mine) - presently this is anything but a clinical report, however the outcomes have been astounding for everybody and we as a whole concur that it is a device that everybody ought to have available.

Do I despite everything find a workable pace?

Indeed! These days, I find a good pace ordinary life, with a decent work/life/fun parity. I go to infant showers, weddings, and do all ordinary stuff. I have a consistent rest plan, I work out, do family stuff, look after companionships, and invest energy helping other people IRL and being of administration.

My emotional wellness is, abstractly, truly damn great.

One undesirable interest remains - the "some split now and then" leisure activity - yet how about we be genuine, in case you're right now, most likely managing this as well. The custom, the taste, the smell, the cooking... it's hard not to build up a deep rooted interest for cocaine.

My day by day life isn't hindered by extraordinary yearnings any longer. I don't have insane dreams that include rocks.

Once in a while, my schedule has ends of the week or 3 to 4-day holes where I have no duties. I find a workable pace split gorge over a month ahead of time, clear duties, and think of a main story.

3 days before the beginning of the gorge, I quit taking Modafinil.

I despite everything keep NAC, Xanax, and beta-blockers available.

Gorging on Crack Now

After the end of the week/3/multi day gorge, I tidy everything up, discard the entirety of the gear, toss the channels in a ziplock and pulverize them up, discard the lighters, pop a xanax, and head to sleep.

The following morning, I wake up, take some NAC, Magnesium, nutrients, a full tablet of R-Modafinil, and drink as a lot of water as I can for the duration of the day. This permits me to remain wakeful, field calls, and present as a typical, yet worn out individual.

Where it sparkles the most is on the third day after the gorge, when ordinarily yearnings would be the most extraordinary. At the point when I consider smoking rocks while Modafinil is in me, it doesn't feel as engaging, and I don't get that extreme nervousness/expectation/needing feeling.

End

R-Modafinil, for me, is the thing that permitted me to go from amazingly reckless, indiscreet, day by day split use, to having the option to carry on with a typical life while still periodically yielding. My gorges are enjoyment as they don't keep going excessively long. They likewise wind up costing less, as at the stature of my dependence, I would be experiencing right around 2 balls per day as resilience developed. Presently, when I go on a split outing, my resilience has generally reset. Albeit gluttonous adjustment and knowing ahead of time what's in store brings down the energy, it likewise brings a feeling that all is well with the world and security to this medication use.

I am not saying that it is protected to smoke rocks. I don't prescribe it. It will interfere with you throughout everyday life, and as should be obvious, I currently need to pay some dues to in any case have the option to appreciate it. It despite everything conveys a great deal of hazard - cardiovascular particularly. Medication actuated psychosis and neurosis are not relieved by Modafinil use are as yet a hazard.

All things considered, on the off chance that you have clinical protection, converse with your PCP about it. In the event that you don't, I believe that you realize where to acquire the stuff. On the off chance that anything - it helps A LOT with the blow and withdrawals.

#cocaine #crack cocaine #research chemicals #xanax

2 notes · View notes

serendipitous-magic · 5 years

Note

His eyes widen and he abandons the jar on the hall table immediately, striding forward until he reaches his boyfriend. Reaching up to ever-so-gently take Mike’s face in his hands, scanning him, those hazel eyes flicking over him in a flurry of anxious examination. “What the hell?” is his opening line. “Mike - what the hell ? What happened, are you okay? Did somebody hurt you? Talk to me, tell me.”

(For the fanfic DVD commentary ask thingy)

(P.S. this is from Ch 10 of The Unmarked Mixtape)

I’m assuming you mean the 500-ish words around that chunk, so I’ll start with…

The music in Will’s room stops and his door opens. A beat later he emerges, wearing gray boxers and a battered, faded-red Enjoy Coke tee. His hair is rumpled, his face a little shiny with oil that he hasn’t washed away yet, and his fingers are smudged with a cool palette of color - he’s been painting. There’s a smudge of gray-blue on his forearm, a streak of peach just beside his nose. He’s carrying a jar of cloudy gray water, a paintbrush sticking out of it, on his way to the bathroom sink with a far-off, absorbed expression, like he’s still deep in his artistic process. And Mike is so overwhelmingly glad to see him. He almost bolts forward and scoops Will up then and there, remembering just in time that they have an audience.

So one of my favorite (more lighthearted) moments of this chapter is this one ^, mostly because of Will’s general Aesthetic ™ right here. If I was artistically talented, I’d probably draw this moment. I just love the idea of Will chilling in boxers and an old battered tee (for some reason I really like the idea of it being one of those Enjoy Coke tees), at the end of the day, painting, with paint smeared over his hands and maybe a little bit on his face or arms. And after everything that Mike just went through, this sight is probably like the best thing Mike has ever seen, so I wanted to intentionally make Will look kind of rumpled and domestic - a kind of comforting change from the harrowing confrontation and journey that Mike just went through.

And then Will catches sight of Mike. Soaking wet and bloody, muddying up the living room floor with his dirty shoes, fending off Joyce’s well-meaning toweling attempts.

Again: Mike just went through hell. I sent him to the Byers’ in a great big storm (and had him nearly get hit by a car and crash his bike and scrape the skin off his knees and hands, etc.) because I wanted the outside to match the inside. It could have been just lightly drizzling, and Mike could have biked to the Byers with minimal drama and arrived upset but unharmed - but where’s the fun in that? I wanted to make him suffer. Partly because, like I said, then there’s physical, outward reflection of all the pain he just went through, but also partly because it’s more emotionally engaging. This was one of the main climaxes of the story; it would have felt cheap or underwhelming to me if he didn’t really have to struggle.

His eyes widen and he abandons the jar on the hall table immediately, striding forward until he reaches his boyfriend. Reaching up to ever-so-gently take Mike’s face in his hands, scanning him, those hazel eyes flicking over him in a flurry of anxious examination. “What the hell?” is his opening line. “Mike - what the hell? What happened, are you okay? Did somebody hurt you? Talk to me, tell me.”

Another one of my favorite parts of this whole chapter is the fact that Will takes one look at Mike and goes into full “boyfriend mode.” Will doesn’t care that his mother and brother are like two feet away, watching this all happen. He just sees his boyfriend bleeding, soaking wet and obviously crying, and nothing else matters in that moment. But Will doesn’t know what happened, yet, so when he sees Mike muddy and bloody, his first thought is that somebody hurt him. He thinks maybe Mike got mugged, or that somebody (maybe multiple somebodies) beat him up - and Will is probably afraid that it was because of their relationship, somehow. Because that was a very real concern in the 80s (and it still is today, but, thankfully, to a lesser extent). So that’s why one of his first questions is, Did somebody hurt you?

Will is in full boyfriend-mode, audience be damned, and Mike doesn’t even bother to send him a frown of reprimand. He can’t muster up the energy to care anymore. He just leans into Will’s touch, his eyes fluttering closed for a moment as he breathes. Will’s voice has tilted up an octave higher than usual in concern, and he thumbs lightly at the scrape on Mike’s temple. He picks up Mike’s hands and turns them over, hissing when he sees the gouges on his knuckles, calling to Jonathan to hand over the first aid kit. Mike stops him before he can crack the white plastic case open. If he doesn’t say it now, he doesn’t know if he ever will.

So here we’re seeing a shift in Mike. Before he’s always done his best to hide their relationship from everyone (El being the only real exception). He often wouldn’t let Will hold his hand or make any suggestive comments or be too affectionate around other people. They only held hands under the table a couple times because it was out of sight and the other people around them were distracted. So now, when Will is cupping his face and being very gentle and tender with him and practically nuzzling against him, and Mike (for the first time) doesn’t make any move to stop him, that’s an important shift. That’s Mike saying, fine. It’s fine if your mom and brother see us like this. Everything already came crashing down around me, so who cares? So this is most likely the first time that either Joyce or Jonathan have really seen byeler being A Couple without hiding it or toning it down.

“Will,” he says, and Will pauses, brows scrunched up in worry.

Mike swallows. He won’t cry again, not now, he won’t, he won’t - he’s stronger than that, damnit. He’s not a baby. He’s not going to cry. He clenches his jaw so hard that his teeth ache and looks up at the lumpy popcorn ceiling. When he looks down again, Will is watching him, waiting.

Toxic Masculinity, everyone! Mike is, throughout this chapter, disgusted at himself for crying and being “weak” and “emotional,” and he keeps trying to stop. Plus his dad didn’t help either by saying that Mike was “blubbering” and “being a baby,” which just reinforced Mike being ashamed of himself for breaking down.

He says it under his breath, low enough that maybe the others won’t hear. “My parents know.” Will goes stiff, and Mike spits out the worst part before he can lose his nerve. “They kicked me out.”

Will blinks, lips parting in a small inhale - but it’s Joyce that speaks first.

“They what?” Her voice is tight with anger. When Mike looks at her she’s already moving towards the phone. “They - oh, I’m gonna -”

Mike grasps at her sleeve, pulling her back from the phone before she can lift it. “No, no - no, don’t - they don’t know I’m here, they -”

So Mike was hoping that maybe if he said it quietly, Joyce and Jonathan wouldn’t quite hear him. That doesn’t work, obviously, and Joyce’s first reaction is basically “AW HELL NO” and she kind of instinctively reaches for the phone so she can tear Karen a new one (because she WARNED Karen not to do this, goddamnit), but Mike snuck out specifically so his parents wouldn’t know he was already gone until the next morning - thus hopefully gaining him some time to recover and prepare before whatever comes next. And if Joyce calls and rips them a new one, they’ll know Mike is at the Byers. So he kind of panics and grabs at her and is like “nO WAIT DON’T DO THAT.”

Aaaand that’s that! Honestly chapters 9 and 10 took so much mental and emotional energy to write - partly because really, structurally, they’re just one HUMUNGO chapter (thus “part 1″ and “part 2″), and also because they’re both so emotionally charged and intense.

That being said, I am working on Ch 11 - though I won’t give an update estimate because I’m not sure how fast it’s gonna get done lol.

#asks #ask game #fanfic dvd commentary #the unmarked mixtape #fanfiction

10 notes · View notes

hiddlesgirl · 6 years

Text

SH 311: Lost Souls

After a torturously long 9 month hiatus, Shadowhunters is finally back! I am so excited. This was a great mid-season premiere: packed with action, heartbreak and tender moments. Now it was slightly choppy, jumping from scene to scene and almost ending certain scenes too abruptly, but that’s understandable because we have eight main characters to catch up with in a short amount of time. That being said it was still an amazing episode that made me cry, laugh and smile.

The episode opens with Alec, Izzy and Jace on a mission together; even though it was a short scene I really liked it because I love seeing these three siblings on missions together, and it’s a little reminiscent of Season 1. Plus, they haven’t really been on a routine mission together (that hasn’t involved life threatening situations for at least one of them) for quite a while.

It is abundantly clear that Jace is spoiling for a fight; his moves are more aggressive and uncoordinated than usual; even though he is up against what appears to be a Seelie Knight he is bested much faster and easier than usual. His emotions are getting in the way and interfering with his concentration.

With no hesitation he runs head on into the Seelie’s spear with the clear intention to injure himself even despite Alec and Izzy’s presence, he is in complete self destruct mode. Before walking away he tells Izzy that if it wasn’t for him Clary would still be alive. We all knew that he was going to take her ‘death’ extremely hard, especially with the actions of the Owl hanging over his head. He feels that her death is his fault and is determined to punish himself for it in whatever way he deems fit right now.

I would like to touch on the fact that we seemed to have completely glossed over Alec’s injury at the end of 310, for it being such a big emotional thing in the last half of the episode it is slightly disappointing that we didn’t get to see the direct aftermath. I understand a small time jump but I also don’t like Alec being hurt simply for the sake of an emotional scene and then not seeing the moments after. But it seems like whenever a Shadowhunters gets injured lately an Iratze completely erases it a moment later (e.g Clary landing on the car and now Jace getting run through with a spear).

Also, it also bugs me a little the inconsistency with the Parabatai bond; such as in Season 2 Alec felt Jace cut his hand but in this scene Alec doesn’t even flinch at Jace being stabbed. It just is a bit annoying that they keep placing this huge emotional weight in the bond (especially from Alec’s side) and then being inconsistent with the details of it. At the end of the day it’s something I can put to one side to enjoy the show, but it’s still a little annoying.

The next scene is an absolutely heartbreakingly beautiful montage of Simon, Magnus and Jace thinking about Clary. It’s so beautifully put together from the editing of the flashbacks, to the amazing acting, to the breathtaking song that they use (Lost Without You by Freya Ridings). It hasn’t failed to make me cry yet and I’ve already watched it five times.

Firstly, Simon’s absolutely devastated and swimming in guilt; he believes that he killed Clary, that the mark on his head killed her. You can clearly see how much it is weighing on him and his desperation to be rid of it is clear when he takes a carpenters knife to his forehead. I also think the music was timed brilliantly because as the mark glows the lyrics ‘to have no control’ are sung and that completely encapsulates how Simon is feeling right now.

It completely breaks me to see Simon like this; he is in so much pain with losing Clary and his mother within hours of each other. Once again I am in awe of Alberto, he is so amazing at emotionally charged scenes and whenever Simon cries I cry too.

Magnus has covered his balcony in candles in tribute to Clary, all lit by hand, and his pain at losing her is clear. She was like a little sister to him, he watched her grow from child into the woman she became. We all know that Clary is one of those that he took under his wing (like Raphael, Simon and so many others). I hope that we get some Magnus and Simon interaction in the upcoming episode because I love their dynamic plus I think that they would be a really great support for each other right now.

Seeing Jace cry really hits me because he presents himself a such a stoic character that anytime he breaks down I break down a little too. You can see how much he loves Clary and how much he misses her, plus he feels like he can’t properly grieve because of his guilt. Again, the song timing is brilliant because during his scene the lyrics ‘I’ve been strong for so long I never thought how much I needed you’ are sung, and that is so true for Jace.

Clary is alive! (But we knew that already). She is definitely not happy that Lilith’s plan to resurrect Jonathan has succeeded, he may be her brother but after everything he has done and all the hurt he has caused she is not welcoming him with open arms. Jonathan on the other hand seems to be very eager to please, with multiple offers of breakfast; referring to her as his little sister, his family, more than once. He is trying to endear himself to her by using words that evoke positive feelings in her, he knows how strongly she feels about people she calls family so he is hoping that by driving home their blood connection she will come around to seeing him as such.

When Clary returns his sentiment of them being the only family they each have left you can see the micro-expression of hope of his face, Luke Baines is definitely very good at expressing without much facial movement and I am looking forward to his portrayal of Jonathan. I also noticed that Clary and Jonathan have the Iratze rune in the same place, the right side of the neck, just flipped; I think that this is a very interesting little detail, I wonder if it is something from the books or was a choice made with the makeup team? If anyone knows please let me know.

First Malec scene of 3B! Who else is screaming? Just me ... okay. Although it is only a few seconds long it is a beautiful little moment, we are getting our first look at how much Magnus life has changed now that he is without his magic. Alec reassuring him that he doesn’t need to go to the trouble of applying makeup because he is beautiful the way he is, is everything I needed; I love that Alec is reaffirming that he finds Magnus beautiful. Also that cheek kiss is adorable and long overdue in my opinion (we have waited so long for a sweet cheek kiss).

I also like that when Magnus explains, in a roundabout way, that having eyeliner makes him feel more like himself Alec accepts that. He knows that with everything that has happened Magnus needs some semblance of normalcy, even if that means taking an eternity to apply eyeliner.

It is clear that Simon is absolutely drowning in his guilt over Clary and believes that her death is his fault, Maia is trying to reassure and help him but it seems that she may be struggling with knowing how to help him best. She has never seen him in the state before, and didn’t live through these events with him, so is a little lost about how to help. For Simon, while he understands why she left and need space, really needed support and the person he was dating wasn’t there; he isn’t accusing her or trying to make her feel guilty, just expressing his feelings of needing her.

For Maia, she definitely needed that time to process and I don’t blame her for that at all, the situation with Jordan is messed up and she needed to do what was best for her at that time. But I think that she also understand that she wasn’t there when Simon needed her which has caused a bit of a rift. While they are sitting near each other the scene lacks intimacy and there definitely feels like there’s a slight disconnect.

This is a difficult situation because Maia did what she needed to do and in that time Simon went through some terrible things during which he need support from those he cares about. There is no one to blame, life just happened and it’s no one’s fault.

We know that the escaped prisoners play a big part in 3B especially for Izzy and I think that this is going to be a very interesting storyline; Izzy has always rebelled against the Clave’s view of Downworlders and is very steadfast in her beliefs about justice. I am looking forward to her investigating these allegations of torture at the Gard, it will be great to see her get a complex and important storyline that will impact the Shadow World greatly.

I feel a lot of sympathy for Jace because not only is he grieving for his grandmother (who he only knew for a few short weeks) and the woman he is in love with but he is also trying to process all the memories from the Owl. He knows that they weren’t his actions but he has to deal with the memories inside his head and the knowledge that his body was used to hurt people. He is a whirlwind of pain, anger, grief, guilt and is at a loss at how to deal with it all; especially because in the past he has repressed emotions.

I love his moment with Izzy, she misses Clary too; she was her friend, her sister. She knows that Jace needs comfort and someone to share his grief with, but she also knows that she can’t understand the full extent of his grief. I think that her expressing these emotions with help Jace a lot, that someone is acknowledging his pain and effectively saying that everything he’s feeling is okay. The little kiss Jace bestows on her hand is so adorable, and I love seeing their bond more because we have had some wonderful moments between Alec and Jace or Izzy and Alec, but not so much between Izzy and Jace; so I really look forward to seeing more scenes between them and their sibling bond.

I absolutely love the scene between Magnus, Alec and Madzie; it is so cute, Alec reading to her and Magnus watching fondly. I also love that Madzie has come so far out of her shell since we first met her in 205, she has become much more outgoing with the support of Catarina, Magnus and Alec.

I feel for Magnus when he cannot create a nightlight, you can feel not only his sense of loss for not being able to perform magic but also at not being able to do it for Madzie. But he is so proud of her when she creates her own, you can see his love for her and their goodnight exchange is so sweet. My whole heart is bursting at the adorableness of this scene.

Alec is once again expressing his support for Magnus adjusting to his new reality, validating his feelings and making sure Magnus knows that he is there to support him. I giggled so much at Alec’s expression when Magnus refuses to kiss him because of Madzie, he is so put out at not being able to kiss his boyfriend. It really shows how far he has come in that he feels so comfortable using the word boyfriend and that he hates being denied kisses; when in Season 1 he couldn’t comfortably occupy the same space or the same sofa with Magnus.

Then I outright laughed at Magnus’ line ‘Oh, you know how we get.’ Implying that they easily get carried away when kissing, it’s so funny (as is Alec’s reaction) but also hints at the passion they have for each other which I love.

Unfortunately, Iris interrupts their cosy night in plans by trying to take Madzie; what I really like is that despite the fact that Iris had raised Madzie she does not want to leave with her, telling her ‘Nana, no’. This shows that Madzie is happy with Catarina (plus Magnus and Alec) and that given the choice she would choose her new guardian; she has this new support system of people who love and support her whereas before she really only had Iris.

My heart clenches when Magnus throws out his hand and nothing happens, you can see the confusion change into disbelief, realisation and then defeat at not being able to defend Madzie. She runs straight to him, clearly feeling safe with him powers or no powers, but Magnus is clearly devastated at feeling helpless and failing in protecting her.

In planning to find Iris Alec wants Magnus to stay behind, he has just seen the reality of Magnus losing his powers; him not being able to defend himself. Alec is afraid of Magnus getting hurt, especially because they know how ruthless Iris is and that she will do anything to get Madzie back. But Magnus refuses to stay behind; he is not willing to stay on the sidelines and is prepared to do whatever it takes to protect Madzie. Alec relents because he knows that if he was in Magnus’ position he wouldn’t stay behind either, they are so similar in that respect; when it comes to protecting the people they love they will do whatever it takes no matter the risk to themselves.

I like that Alec makes the point of telling Jace that he is acting irresponsibly; so many people made sacrifices to save him from Lilith, Magnus lost his magic, Luke and Simon risked their lives (not to mention Izzy and Alec risking their lives, and Alec the Parabatai bond, in 308). It would be disrespectful to them to throw away his life after everything; plus Clary would not want him to do this to himself and using his grief for as an excuse to hurt himself is a disgrace to her memory.

I know that some people didn’t like how Alec handled this scene and that he should have been easier on him; but I think that Alec handled it perfectly. Jace needed someone to tell him the truth, not to sugar coat it, he needed a firm hand to snap him out of his rut. In addition, Alec cannot just act as a brother but also as a leader, as the Head of the Institute, he cannot allow an emotional and reckless person into the field especially when they are showing self harming tendencies. He knows that for his health Jace needs to take a break to process.

Plus, Izzy has already reached out with comfort and I don’t think Jace would have responded to it from Alec at that point. I like that the two scenes also sort of reflect Izzy and Alec’s relationships with Clary. For Izzy, she was always there to comfort, support and love Clary; they had a very close friendship. But with Alec, his relationship with Clary was more reluctant siblings; but their bond was always based on honesty, even if it was brutal.

Izzy tells Maia about what happened with Heidi, it is understandable that Maia didn’t know about this because it’s not something Simon would have felt comfortable talking about, especially so soon after. Again, this was a scene that divided opinions for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, I don’t think Izzy was accusing her when she commented on Maia not being here; I think that she was simply stating that she could not have known the entire situation because she wasn’t there to witness and live through it. This situation was always going to be difficult and awkward because I think that they understand that Maia needed space to be by herself and process her own things but she didn’t live through what happened.

Secondly, the slight contradiction of Izzy saying she has needed to be alone but that she is the sort of person who needs to be around other people, like Simon. I know that some people felt that it was more about further pushing Simon and Izzy together by giving them things in common rather than it being true for Izzy. However, while it is a little contradicting I think that Izzy does and has felt both.

When she was going through her addiction she needed that space for herself in the beginning but she began dealing with her recovery with Alec, she was able to recover better when she was surrounded by people she loved. Just because she has felt the need to be alone, and has sometimes acted on those feelings, doesn’t mean that when things get difficult she deals with it best when surrounded by people she cares about.

I need more Izzy, Alec and Magnus going on missions together; I just need more Izzy and Magnus scenes full stop. They always have such wonderful little interactions that I really want them to have a more in depth scene together. I love Magnus with a sword, and the holster he is wearing is gorgeous; I love how he deflected Iris’ attacks with it.

Jonathan and Clary have a conversation about how being raised influences who you become; Clary, raised by Jocelyn, has a strong moral compass and is generally a well balanced person; Jace, raised by Valentine, is a good person but he has some difficulty with emotion and the prejudices he was raised with (those Valentine instilled about Downworlders, I’m referring to Season 2 when under trail of the Soul Sword he said ‘yes and no’ when asked about believing in Valentine’s quest to eradicate the Downworld); Jonathan, raised by Valentine and Lilith, is emotionally stunted and has a very skewed moral compass.

When you look at how he was raised and what he has been through you can understand why he has difficultly showing emotion appropriately, issues with anger and a desperate yearning for love but not really knowing how to get it. I read that Luke actually worked with a profiler to help construct a profile for a real person who would have experienced the kind of traumas Jonathan went though. I think that this is brilliant because it helps you get a better understanding of a person and gives real world context; it also shows his dedication to portraying him authentically.

Luke is breaking my heart, his desperation and hope is clear in his wall of clues, his demeanour and his stuttering when rushing around to show Jace his work. He seems to be in complete denial over Clary’s death, has been working for three days straight to put together all these little clues on the small hope that his daughter is still alive. He loves her so entirely and he is not ready to let her go easily especially so soon after losing Jocelyn.

I’m a little sad to learn that we won’t be seeing Ollie and Sam again as they have been relocated, but it is understandable character wise. But Luke being so separate from the pack, and later leaving to find Clary, is going to cause a real strain on his relationship with the pack and is going to put his status as Alpha under threat.

We get a small glimpse into Magnus’ past when Iris infiltrates his memories; there is so much pain in them that it breaks your heart, moments from his childhood with blood on his hands are interesting because did they happen while he was with Asmodeus? I love that when he thinks of Alec and the Omamori charm it effectively kicks Iris out of his head, Alec said it would protect him and it did. I really hope that we continue to explore Magnus past.

Alec feels guilty about Magnus being taken because he didn’t insist on Magnus staying behind, what he feared has happened. He is scared because he knows how ruthless Iris is and that she is probably hurting Magnus right now but there is nothing he can do.

We find out that Raphael has taken up residence in Detroit and he seems to be genuinely remorseful for not only his direct actions but Heidi’s actions too; he feels responsible for all the hurt she has caused because he is the one was made sure she turned. I in no way excuse what he did, it was terrible and cruel, but he does appear to want to make any amends that he can to start to repair all the hurt he has caused. I would really like to see him apologise to Magnus for lying to him because we know that have an extremely close bond and we all felt betrayed when he lied to him, especially involving his sister.

Is it just me that finds it a little hilarious that the oldest vampire in New York, possibly the world, lives in the sewers? I get the need to hide away from other but surely there’s a more comfortable place? I guess we’ll find out in 312.

The second round of Magnus’ memories really hurts because they are all about his losing people he loved; the necklace he gave Camille, George, Alec in 2B and his mother. I also find the order of the memories interesting, are they in the order that hurt the most? I wonder if this was intentional or if they were just randomly put together.

This time he uses the memory of defeating Iris in 208 to kick her out of his head; I admire him so much in this scene because despite how much pain he is in he refuses to give up and is determined to keep Madzie safe. When Iris gets the note from Catarina he does appear genuinely worried but I think that he doesn’t completely realise it’s a trap because he is confused and in pain from what Iris was doing to him; if he was thinking straight I think that he would have know right away, but you can’t blame him for being disorientated. Plus being faced with the possibility of Madzie going back to Iris, which he has endured so much pain to prevent, would feel devastating.

Of course it’s a trap, Izzy being a complete badass rescuing her brother in law. While I did find it a little out of character for Magnus to seem to go after Iris after she’s been restrained I think that it was because he was in pain, angry and feeling humiliated; all that emotion was directed at Iris and he wanted to lash out.

Alec holds him back and they have a sweet little reunion moment; Magnus’ desperation to make Alec understand that he did everything he could to protect Madzie is heart breaking because he feels the need stress that he tried to protect her. Alec is just relieved he is back and knows that Magnus would have done everything in his power to prevent Iris finding Madzie, that was never in question.

Iris is taken back to the Gard, now I do feel that this storyline was a little rushed but I also understand why. There is going to be a lot happening in the coming episodes so they really needed to get this out of the way beforehand; if they hadn’t have gotten Iris out of the way now we would have questioned where she was and why she hadn’t come for Madzie in later episodes.

I am so happy that Consul Penhallow pardons Clary of her crimes and you can see the relief from Alec, it is going to mean so much to everyone that her memory isn’t burdened by those charges. However, she is not a fan of Alec’s which is slightly understandable but not justified; which is clearly felt in Alicante. When Izzy brings up the torture of prisoners the Consul denies it, but there is a hesitation and definitely something off about her demeanour; this storyline is definitely going to be very interesting.

We see the Seelie that they captured being restrained by unknown individuals, he remarks that it isn’t the Gard; it makes you wonder if they have taken him somewhere separate because of what he told Izzy and they are worried. But what the fuck are they doing to him? I have no idea what they are injecting him with but the way his body reacts reminds me of Luke from the Freeform trailer, he also had glowing veins and eyes which makes me extremely scared.

The speculations of Luke becoming a Shadowhunters again did make me wonder if the Clave are testing way of purifying demon blood as a way of getting rid of Downworlders? Instead of killing them, they turn them into mundanes? This may be completely wrong but it was just a thought that I had when connecting the Seelie with Luke and those rumours.

Alec is so proud of Magnus for being able to withstand Iris and keep Madzie safe; he knows that it must have been so difficult for Magnus to partially relive those memories (parallel to 212 anyone? Ouch). But Magnus feels ashamed that he wasn’t able to stop her directly and got injured because he wasn’t able to defend himself against her attack. He isn’t used to being physically vulnerable; it is frustrating and makes him feel more vulnerable than he has in long time.

Alec doesn’t allow Magnus to avoid the conversation and follows him around the room, he won’t let Magnus shut him out or believe that he is useless; he knows that Magnus is so full of inner strength and power, he needs to make Magnus understands and sees that as Alec does. You can see that Magnus is grateful and touched that Alec sees him that way and that kiss is wonderful, plus we finally get to see it in a wide shot; we see them embracing each other, Magnus’ hand on Alec’s waist and them moving into each other. It’s such wonderful soft intimacy that I just wish they had better lighting, it is very annoying that time and again their kisses are ruined because we can’t see them properly. Get an extra lamp in there for angels’ sake.

When Magnus pulls away you can see Alec’s face fall, he wants to be able to comfort Magnus and is trying everything he can; from verbal comfort to physical comfort. He keeps questioning Magnus to get to the route of Magnus’ emotions, he wants him to open up and stop bottling up his emotions. He knows that getting them out in the open will make him feel better, plus Alec may be able to understand better and even help.

Magnus feels humiliated because he is so used to being the caretaker that it is a complete reversal to have people take care of him; he has always been so self sufficient that it is an alien feeling to rely on others so heavily. He doesn’t want to feel like a burden to anyone. I adore Alec, ‘You’ve been taking care of others your whole life. Sometimes it’s okay to let others take care of you’. He understands that feeling because he also used to refuse to let people help him but he knows that it’s better to take help when you need it and to let people be there for you. Again, this shows how much Alec has grown that not only does he allow other people to help him and rely on them, but he is advising Magnus to do the same and wants to be the one he leans on.

Magnus is determined to hone his fighting skills so that he can protect himself better because while he can fight he is so used to relying on his magic that he needs to retrain his body to defend himself without it. Alec, of course, offers and I love the flirty way he says it and the flirty vibe they both move into; plus I love Alec’s little accent slip ‘So, what d’ya say I help ya out’, definitely more New York than his usual voice. I am so excited for the training scene next week, we’re not going to survive.

While Simon and Izzy try to find the vampire in the sewers Maia is going to check in with the pack; she knows that Luke is going to be struggling right now and after being away for about a week she wants to see how they are. The whole scene feels a little awkward and stilted, like they don’t know how to be around each other. Even though they reassure each other they will always be there for the other there definitely seems to be a disconnect. Apart from their initial hug they haven’t really touched each other, even casually; you can see that a rift has definitely formed in their romantic relationship.

Clary, in a bid to escape, stabs Jonathan in the jaw; unfortunately she inherits the wound. This is the absolutely confirmation that when Jonathan is injured Clary will get the same injury, it is yet to be seen if the reverse is true; if Clary is injured will Jonathan inherit it? You can see the horror on her face when realising that they are so intrinsically connected, that it is not going to be as easy to get rid of him this time around.

I have a lot of questions about steles though, when I first saw the scene I presumed he was using Clary’s stele but it actually looks like Alec’s. Is that the generic stele style? Are there a few different styles and all Shadowhunters just have one of the few designs? Because Alec, Izzy, Clary and Jace’s stele’s all look different.

Plus, where did he get it? Did Lilith acquire it? Did the Owl steal it? Where is Clary’s stele? Does Jonathan have it (I presume he does)?

So, to sum up, yes the episode was a little rushed but that it completely understandable with the amount of characters we had to catch up with in such a short amount of time. I think it was a great episode, with emotional scenes but also some very sweet moments. Definitely a fantastic start to 3B.

In 312, Morgenstern siblings in Paris, Clace reunite (hopefully Luke and Clary too), Sizzy on a mission and the long awaited (a whole freaking year) Malec training scene. I am screaming!

#SH 311 Review #Shadowhunters #Lost Souls #SH 311 #Shadowhunters Review #SH 3x11 #This was longer than I expected #oops #and I'm posting a few days later than planned #double oops #SH311 #SH3x11 #Shadowhunters 311 #Shadowhunters 3x11

4 notes · View notes

sebbies · 6 years

Text

youngblood

summary: boxer!bucky au word count: 2.103 a/n: sorry if the formatting is messed up at first, tumblr needs to get its shit together masterlist

“Where is he?” You growled at your boyfriend’s bodyguard, Happy, who was standing tall in front of the locker room door refusing you entry. He looked down at you and smirked before staring resuming his position of staring straightforward over your head and ignoring your presence.

“I mean it.Where. Is. He?” Bucky chuckled, only to take a sharp breath at the pain is caused on his face. Bruce rushed towards Bucky’s side and gave him an ice pack.

“Let her in, will ya Stevie? Don’t want her chewing Happy’s ear off,” Bucky mumbled, letting Bruce secure a bandage around his wrist. A lot of people that were in the room laughed at your outburst, only because they were so used to you always getting worried and causing a commotion.

“Happy, I swear to god, if you don’t let me in-“ The door swung open and you sighed a breath of relief when you saw it was Steve.

“Our champ wants to see his girl,” Steve said to Happy, patting him on the shoulder to which Happy easily moved to the side to let you pass through.

“Thank you,” you grumbled with narrow eyes at the bodyguard. The short walk from the front end of the locker room to where Bucky sat was quiet. Steve knew that’s how you were whenever you visited Bucky at the end of a match. You were constantly thinking and worrying about his injuries and hoping the punches Bucky received weren’t as bad as they looked.

“Don’t worry, babe,” Steve whispered and slung an arm over your shoulders, pulling you close to him.

“Did-did you see that- that punch, Steve?” Steve sighed and held you tighter, “I outta punch him in the face.”

“Oh-okay,” he giggled, “you- you short stack want to punch a six foot four wall made of a hundred pounds of muscle. Yeah I don’t think Bucky will be too happy.” You smiled at image of you trying to fight someone twice your body size.

The closer you got to where your boyfriend would be, the louder the voices of everyone else got and the more nervous you became. Suddenly Bucky comes into view, sitting on the wooden bench in the middle of the room with his medic by his side. You instantly rushed to his side, stumbling onto the bench only inches away from falling onto Bucky’s lap. Bucky had to bite the inside of his cheek from laughing, but everyone around him had beat him to it, “you alright, doll?”

“Am-am I alright?” You stuttered in shock, gently taking hold of Bucky’s face, mindful of the bruises and pulling him closer to you, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine baby girl,” Bucky chuckled, letting his hands wrap around your wrists and bringing your hands down from his face. With a hum you looked over at Bruce, who gave you curt nod, confirming that Bucky’s injuries were relatively minor.

“Don’t ever do that again!” Bucky smiled brightly and intertwined his fingers with yours.

“’S kinda my thing baby girl.” He couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh when you pouted in defeat.

Bucky swung his leg over the bench and winced, your hands immediately untangling themselves from his and resting on his shoulders to keep him from falling off. By now most of Bucky’s crew had walked out to celebrate but you and Bruce were still there fussing over Bucky, checking and rechecking to make sure he was alright and that he didn’t have any life threatening injuries. Bruce assured you after the third check that he was fine and he only had a little bruising and-

“A little?” You glared at Bruce.

“Yes, just a little. I wrapped everything that needed extra support. Your boy is fine.” You looked back at Bucky and grumbled under your breath about how Bruce didn’t know what he was talking about despite holding several medical degrees.

“You did win, so I’m still proud of you.”

“Only ‘cause I won?” Bucky asked, furrowing his brow, “so if I had lost you would’ve been disappointed in me?”

“You scoffed, “Of course. I don’t date losers.” Smiles were threatening to break on both of your faces and before Bucky could get another snarky comment in, you said, “Let’s go champ. Let’s get you home.”

Steve and Bruce who were now the only ones left in the room groaned and mumbled a few ‘get a room’, and it caused Bucky to beam even though the pain was still evident on his face as you burst into a short fit of laughter. Bucky continued to smile before you could go off about how much you hated seeing him hurt.

The two men helped Bucky to the elevator as you trailed behind. Your eyes began to water at the sight of watching your bruised boyfriend practically limp a head of you. You quickly wiped the tears away with your sleeve once you’ve reached the elevator and the boys lean Bucky against the back wall, hoping no one heard your soft cries.

Except Bucky did. He always knew when something was wrong with you and tonight after a fight like that, he would have been surprised if you hadn’t gotten a tad bit emotional.

“I think I can manage from here, boys,” Bucky said. Bruce and Steve looked at each other with skepticism but eventually left you and Bucky to your own devices.

“Baby-“ Bucky whispered after the doors closed.

“Shut up,” you covered your face with your hands.

“I know what I’m doing, so please, baby girl, please stop crying,” Bucky pleaded, placing his hands on your waist. The feeling of Bucky’s hands on your body brought you comfort, a reminder of reality that he was there, in front of you and okay. You dropped your hands and let them rest on his forearms.

“I-I have to rebandage you and give you some medicine.” Bucky opened his mouth before shutting it, knowing that the best course of action would be to let you do what you wanted.

You stepped into the bathroom where Bucky was sitting on the toilet cover, fresh from a shower with only a towel wrapped around his waist. It’s now that you can fully see the extent to his injuries. Bucky looked like he was beat to hell and back, dark splotches on his chest and abdomen, and a huge ugly bruise on the side of his face. Not to mention his knuckles were all sorts of darkened colours.

Bucky grunted as you touched the part of his face that was badly bruised, “okay, doll, I think you’re done.” He wheezed when he tried to move off his seat, “it’s better.”

“Oh what? The big bad boxer can’t take a simple touch?” You teased but lowered your hand with the ointment on. You lean forward from the edge of the bath and pressed a small kiss on Bucky’s lips and then his unbruised cheek, “you sure you’re okay?”

“I told ya, baby girl, I’m fine.” You wanted to believe him but the his body was telling a different story and yet you let it rest. Though you didn’t know how he could fight another match in a matter of days when he could barely stand up without assistance.

Red was the only thing you saw. It was a mixture between Bucky’s and Brock’s, bu that didn’t settle the uneasy feeling in your stomach as you watched your boyfriend take on of the greatest fighters.

“Jesus fuck,” Steve flinched as Bucky took another hit to his side, “this guys is better than expected.”

“I better get a damn raise,” Bruce muttered, wincing at another punch.

The bell rung causing you to jump in your seat. You moved towards the ring along with Bruce as Bucky stumbled to his corner.

“You good Barnes?” You asked watching Bruce hand Bucky some water.

“All good princess,” Bucky smirked and winked. A small weight was lifted off your shoulders when you saw that no blood was oozing out of his mouth, “you good baby girl?”

“Why do you always ask me that like I’m the one out there fighting?” Bucky shrugged but you both knew his answer was far too long for the small amount of time the pause allowed.

“Maybe you can show me how good you are, if I win,” Bucky flirted.

“Only if you win. I don’t date losers.”

“Aw shit, Brock over there told me before the match that he would be taking you out on a date when this is over.” Your face turned into one of disgust after hearing Bucky speak. You looked towards Brock’s corner and saw him already looking back at you and having the audacity to wink at you.

“Please by all means, kick his ass.”

“Only for you baby doll, only for you.” Bucky leaned over the rope and pressed a kiss to your lips. The bell rung again causing Bucky to pull away, “gotta kick some ass, baby girl.”

Bruce guided you back to your seat and just as you sat down, Steve jumped up and ran to the corner.

“He’s gonna do the move!” He yelled loud enough for Bucky to hear in-between the punches. Bucky was able to dodge Brock’s signature move, a move that he already had done multiple times during the match.

“That’s all you got, Barnes?” Brock sneered as he landed another punch on Bucky’s body, “guess you’re gonna have to watch me take your pretty little girlfriend out on a date.”

Bucky laughed as he stood up straighter to his full height, “she said she doesn’t date losers, so, I’m sorry that you’ll have to cancel that 2 for 1 special tonight.”

The fight continued with insults thrown back and forth, Brock’s mostly contained crude comments about you and that spurred Bucky on even more. No one talks about his girl like that and gets away.

Brock lifted his leg to kick Bucky, but Bucky was able to push it out of the way and punch Brock in the jaw, sending the man backwards a few steps. Bucky didn’t stop throwing more punches and dodging the ones that Brock managed to throw at him.

One of the hits to Brock caused him to lose his footing causing him to fall backwards and crash loudly on the ring floor. Bucky stopped moving, inching backwards towards his corner yet ready to fight if Brock got back up. Brock’s team came running over to the man on his back, shouting all sorts of questions at the same time.

Bruce pulled Bucky completely into the corner once he was close enough, handing him water and patting his face dry.

The sound of a mic turning off echoed through the stadium and silenced the crowd, all eager and on their toes to what the referee had to say.

“Due to injury, Rumlow is unable to fight. Winner, Barnes by default.”

The crowd erupted in cheers and you felt like you could relax.

In a flash, you and Bucky’s team were back in the locker room. Bucky sat on a table for Bruce to do his routine check-up, making sure Bucky leaves just as he came in, or as close as possible.

“So, I guess I’m showing you how good I am?” You teased, watching Bruce scurrying around Bucky, trying to finish his job fully knowing all you wanted was to have him in your arms.

“Don’t-don’t look at me like that baby girl.” Bucky’s voice dropped a few octaves.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you replied as innocently as possible, peering through your fluttering eyelashes.

“That look,” Bucky stood up with Bruce’s help, “that I give you all the time, like you’re some kind of rare artwork.”

“I’m not looking at you like that,” you said, trying to fight the heat rising to your cheeks. Bucky hummed a quiet ‘okay’ before wrapping his arms around your body and pulling you close.

“I love you,” he whispered and you could hear some of Bucky’s crew make kiss-y faces at you.

“They’re picking on me, can you beat them up?” Bucky sighed and looked at his friends with a playful glare.

“Sorry baby girl. Promised ma the only fighting I’d do would be in the ring.” “Wouldn’t want to mess with mama Barnes,” you smirked and snaked your arms around his neck.

“Alright, boys, I’m leaving! Gotta show my princess how much she means to me!” Bucky yelled. A chorus of ‘leave!’ fill the room causing you to bury your face into Bucky’s chest.

tags: @captainpunk @4theluvofall @whyisbuckyso @buchonians @samingtonwilson @sebashtiansatan @hymnofthevalkyrie @mojean13 @goldenkillmonger @irunintospace @forever-aimless @violentlybarnes @official-tiddy @kjs-s @beau-andthebeast @evgvillanueva @lastfallenstar @ladylizzieofdarbyshire @shieldgirl95 @feelmyroarrrr @socialheartbreak @quakson-stan-jr @theassetseyeliner @coal000 @getbuckylucky @wvntersoldierr @girl-next-door-writes @findingyouagain @eshia16 @castiel-kenobi @sassycanoodler @rosebstan @sweetlytenacious25 @superwholockian5ever @saharzek @alohabucky @wonderless-screwup

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes one shot #bucky barnes fluff #boxer!bucky #mywords

795 notes · View notes

theparaminds · 6 years

Photo

A new face in music, Binki is exactly what many have been looking for but have been unable to find. His style contrasts a stark relaxation in sonics with an introspective understanding of lyrics and emotion.

An theatre student, Binki truly understands what it takes to connect with an audience, what it takes to express emotion honestly and how to be a truthful soul within sound itself. His first song, Marco, does so perfectly, reminding us of youthful innocence and the troubles that come with it.

In his first interview ever, Binki tells us of his baggings and what it took to make the jump into music, as well as has upcoming move to New York set to put a lot into focus.

PM: First question as always, how’s your day going and how have you been?

It’s been pretty uneventful. I had to go to court earlier for this speeding ticket, but other than that I've just been cooling. Later I’m gonna go jam with my buddy though.

PM: For those who don’t know, who is Binki? What does he represent and what is his vision?

Yeah I'm pretty sure nobody knows me! Binki was actually my nickname growing up, not really sure how it came to be, but it stuck. I recently decided to release music as Binki to remind myself to not be too self-serious with my music. I definitely care about what I'm doing but if it's not fun then what's the point? Overall though, I want to make music that connects and makes people days easier.

PM: What was the spurring moment that really told you to start releasing music as opposed some odd demos here and there?

A few things, but my brother played a big part in it all. He would always gas me up when I showed him a song he thought was good. I always had desire to go full tilt with the music but I always held myself back. I was in school studying theatre and acting for the past 4 years; and I had it in my head that I couldn't do both for some reason. I thought people wouldn't take my acting seriously if I had this music career on the side. But life's really too short to not do the things you love. There's also plenty of people who have done both successfully. It was really just fear.

PM: Were there others around you inspiring you to push into musical ventures?

Yeah, there's definitely a "house show" scene at the school I went to. I was definitely inspired because I wanted to be a part of it and perform. I also really enjoy live music. I didn't have a band though, and it's really hard to get people excited to hear some random dude perform over an instrumental.

PM: To move a little back to the past, what did your environment and location look like growing up and how did it manifest into your sound and style?

Suburbs as fuck. I spent my early years in Hershey, Pennsylvania. A lot of white people and not a ton of culture. I wasn't miserable though, I had a lot of friends and I was outside playing most of the time. My brother put me onto a lot of stuff growing up, but in highschool I kinda veered off into my own lane. I remember this girl I had a crush on showed me Pink Floyd, which spiraled into me listening to a lot of classic rock. Then in college, I watched this Jimi Hendrix documentary, which is no longer on Netflix unfortunately. But after that, I started learning how to play guitar. I don't know though, the internet kinda changed the way everyone consumes music and other people's culture. I feel like it's super valuable for artists who might feel like they're in a bubble geographically. I'm moving to NYC in like 2 weeks though so we'll see how that changes things.

PM: What’re some of your fears and aspirations with living in new york? What is it you hope to find in the city you wouldn’t find anywhere else?

It's actually just starting to hit me that I'm moving to NYC. It's something I've always wanted, feels a bit surreal. I guess a fear would be that the city will just expose me as a talentless hack and I'll have you move back to the burbs. Or that it'll take me 20+ years to make it. I'm really not afraid of much at the moment. I feel like a big part of being successful in any field, especially creative endeavors, is just being bold enough or naive enough to think you have something to add. So many people give up before they even try. My goals are pretty nebulous at the moment. I really just wanna connect and collaborate with talented artists. I'd love to perform my music in some capacity, that's been the mission for awhile. NYC represents opportunity in my mind. There's an energy. If you live there, you might inherently have it. If you move there you're looking for something, and you gotta be driven to survive there. I'm looking for that energy.

PM: On the topic of the music itself, how have you come to develop your sound over time? What changes are you working on and improvements as time goes?

Most definitely still developing my sound. I think the best thing has been working with different people. The same way you communicate with other artists if you're having a jam. I think my writing changes when I'm exposed to different sounds. I never understood when artists say they only listen to their own music when they are creating, I can respect it, but I feel like I'd lose my mind if I tried that. I take pieces from all of my favorite artists, but it's all filtered through me so it's always gonna sound like me. Going forward I just want to keep taking risks and remain ambitious. I'll always want my music to be enjoyable. Not commercial necessarily, but I don't want my music to live in a bubble where only a select few enjoy it. That said I really want to do a concept album at some point, something along the lines of My Beautiful Dark Fantasy.

PM: What is about the concept album that you love and why is the idea of making one appealing to you as an artist?

When it's done well, it adds another layer to the music. Also albums are just in a strange place right now. I really hate this trend of artists releasing 30+ songs and calling it an album. Something really cold about it. I think concept albums, and more ambitious video projects, show a different level of passion. Even when done poorly, I'm like: “okay there's intention behind this.”

PM: What’re some of your personal ambitions and goals going forward? Do any include live shows?

The biggest one is to just put out music that I'm proud of. There will be live shows in 2019. I'm kinda just speaking that into existence but it can't be that hard right? Even if it's just like 20 people, that'd be tight. I'd love to go on tour eventually. Also more videos! My brother and I made the video for "Marco" in like 48 hours with no plan. So we just want to keep getting better and stay consistent.

PM: Tell me more about that Marco shoot, how did come together and how did it conceptualize through the day?

So I called off work and drove down to Atlanta, we started just shooting random bits around my brother's apartment complex. Then we just bounced around the city starting at a museum, then a park, and we ended at dance party. It was a super fun day, it felt like we really had something. The next day I said we should get a shot of me falling in a pool. Totally inspired by the 'Untitled' video by Rex Orange County. I didn't think we'd get any shots of me underwater though because we were shooting on an iPhone. My brother was like "I'm pretty sure this is water proof." I was like, I don't know man but we ended up just going for it. We got the shots and then his phone died. He plugged it up to charge and then the screen started glitching and shit. I was so hurt man, I thought we lost all the footage, but like thirty minutes later it started working again and we transferred everything to his laptop. It was wild, I'd never seen a phone come back to life after something like that. After that shoot, everything kinda shifted for me. I was like "oh, I can really just do this shit." Been riding that wave ever since.

youtube

PM: That’s an amazing story. Do you have a best memory of the last year, if it’s possible for you to pinpoint?

When I went to NYC in March. That was pretty dope, but to be honest, I feel like releasing Marco might be the highlight. The response has been wild. This Russian YouTuber put it on his playlist and now there's a bunch of people in Russia playing my music. Crazy. It's one thing for your friends and family to support you but getting support from strangers, people with no stake in my well-being, is the best feeling. I don't know if I've ever felt that to this extent.

PM: And as a final question, if you could recommend one movie to everyone reading currently, what would it be and why?

Well my favorite movie is "Superbad," but I feel like everyone's seen that right? So I'll go with "Rushmore." The main character in that movie is full of contradictions and on the surface he's pretty shitty. But you root for him, and you understand why he is the way he is by the end of the film. I feel like the world is lacking empathy right now. It also has Bill Murray in it so that's a plus

PM: Do you have anyone to shoutout or anything to promote? The floor is yours!

Yeah! shouts out to Chasen, Justin, and Sam for helping me make this shit. Also big shoutout to Raymond & Jerry! And check out "Marco" if you haven't yet!

Follow Binki On instagram

Listen on Soundcloud and Spotify

1 note · View note

dani-ellie03 · 7 years

Text

Fic: Wednesday’s Child (23/23)

Title: Wednesday’s Child Summary: The next time Emma Swan wanted magical help, she was on her own. Because now they were stuck with a pint-sized savior who clearly had an attitude problem and a terrified but pretending not to be pre-pirate. Spoilers: If you’re current, we’re good. Rating/Warning: PG-13, mostly for safety. Family angst/fluff, as per usual. Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time and its characters were created by Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and are owned by ABC. I’m just borrowing them but I’ll put them back when I’m finished! Author’s Note: So, um, this ended up a lot longer than I anticipated. Little Emma and Little Killian were just too much fun! Oops! Thank you to everyone who’s read, commented on, liked, and reblogged this little tale of mine! You all are amazing. :)

-----

{1} {2} {3} {4} {5} {6} {7} {8} {9} {10} {11} {12} {13} {14} {15} {16} {17} {18} {19} {20} {21} {22}

At ff.net and below.

Tagging @shealivedarnit

—–

All Emma Swan had wanted to do was give her parents a simple little anniversary gift.

Okay, so maybe her home movie idea hadn't exactly been simple – more like next to impossible, as it turned out – but honestly, in all her imaginings of worst case scenarios, some minor bouts of irritation between here and Regina were the extent of it. The years of magic and magical research alongside Regina had taught her that the two of them had a rather tenuous working relationship. Frustrations easily built between them but they could just as easily let said frustrations go enough to push forward with the project.

Never in a million years had Emma thought that a potion could go so horribly wrong. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined the potion blowing up in her face, accidentally transforming her husband and herself into small children. One wrong ingredient and a simple memory extraction had become their own personal magical DeLorean.

Emma was mortified.

Neither she nor Killian remembered the potion going poof. As far as they were concerned, one minute they were adults and the next they were rugrats. Which was all well and good but that also meant Emma had no idea what they'd done wrong. Hopefully Regina knew because spending two days as a ten-year-old was not a mistake Emma intended on repeating any time soon, thank you very much.

"And Regina never said specifically what the wrong ingredient was?" Killian was asking her parents.

"No, she didn't," Snow replied.

"And we didn't ask because we kind of had bigger things going on," David added, a teasing lilt in his voice. "Well, littler things. You know what I mean."

Emma gave him a sheepish smile. Yeah, she did know what he meant. She couldn't even imagine how they must have felt to be presented with a couple of ten-year-olds in place of two grown adults.

Before anyone could say anything further, what sounded like a herd of elephants bounded down the stairs. Said herd revealed itself a moment later to be Henry, holding a freshly changed baby Neal, and Wilby, who trotted along at the kid's side. The second Henry's gaze landed on Emma and Killian, a grin broke out on his face and he ran at them full force.

In less than a second, savior and pirate found themselves crushed in a hug with a teenager, baby, and dog. "Oh, I'm so glad you're back!" Henry exclaimed, his voice choked with emotion. "I mean, don't get me wrong. You guys were really fun when you were little but I missed you so much."

"We missed you, too, lad," Killian murmured into his hair. "Thank you for being such a wonderful playmate."

Even the squirt was happy to see them. Neal babbled at a frantic pace, waving his fingers through Emma's hair and giving little squeals of delight. The memory playing with him and making him laugh the day before hit Emma square in the chest. Her tiny baby brother had loved her in her kid form and he loved her now, recognizing his big sister in any incarnation. "And we missed you, too, squirt," Emma said around the lump in her throat as she lifted her brother from her kid's arms.

Her parents got a loving chuckle out of that one.

But it was Wilby – sweet, loyal Wilby who'd clung to her side the entire time she was little – happily pawing at her legs that made her lose it.

The tears seemed to arise from every emotion. Joy that she'd finally found people who would stick by her. Anger at those in her life who hadn't. Pure, unadulterated love for her family. Sorrow for the lonely little girl she'd once been. Happiness that the lonely little girl had finally gotten a taste of what she should have had. Sympathy for the frightened little boy Killian was. Delight that he now had some happy childhood memories, too. Pride for the way her entire family had come together to include him.

And Killian … the memories came back to her now, the way the two of them were drawn to each other even as children. The way she protected him and the way he took care of her. The way they comforted each other and encouraged each other.

Even as children, they shared True Love.

The emotions were far too much for someone who'd been ten years old a minute ago.

"Oh, sweetheart," Snow murmured as she and David joined the group hug. Another memory pushed its way to the surface: Emma telling her parents that she liked their pet names for her. Kiddo from David and sweetheart from Mary Margaret were the first pet names ten-year-old Emma could remember being called and she'd adored the idea that these two people cared about her enough to have special names for her.

The six of them plus Wilby stayed in the hug, sharing love and comfort, until Emma's tears stopped falling. "I'm sorry," she said sheepishly when everyone separated, sniffling back the last of their tears. "I've got kid emotion and adult emotion running through me at the same time and I guess I'm still a little all over the place."

"You don't have to apologize, kiddo," David said around an emotional tremor in his own voice. He smiled gently, drying Emma's cheeks with the sides of his thumbs. "It's perfectly all right."

Emotions settled, Henry asked, "So you do remember everything, right? How do the memories feel to you?"

Sensing that Emma wasn't quite up to answering just yet, Killian took up the gauntlet. "Sometimes they feel like they were only yesterday – because, well, they were – but other times they feel like they were ages ago."

Emma nodded in agreement. "It's weird. They're vivid because they just happened but they also have a faded edge to them as if they'd happened when I was really ten."

"Aye. So yes, lad, we do remember and we can't thank you all enough for taking such good care of us."

"It was our pleasure," Snow assured them. "Thank you for giving us such a wonderful opportunity."

Emotion threatened to overtake Emma again so she did what she did best: deflected it with a joke. "So what you're saying is we need to make magical screw-ups more often."

Just as she'd hoped, everyone laughed. "If more magical oopses mean we get more Mario Kart time, then yeah, you do," a cheeky Henry replied.

Though the mood in the room had been lightened, Emma still felt the need to go splash some cool water on her face. She excused herself to do just that and headed upstairs to the bathroom. On her way down the hall, she passed the room she and Killian had stayed in, the one that still looked like the loft in the tiny apartment she'd shared with her family.

She stood at the door a moment, taking in the detritus of life with children. A pair of socks lay on the floor next to Emma's bed and books covered Killian's nightstand. The mini planetarium Henry had given them still sat on the bed where Killian had slept. The dresser drawers were filled with tiny clothes.

It amazed her how quickly her ten-year-old self had felt comfortable in this room. She couldn't possibly have recognized the furniture but on some level, had she known that she'd belonged here?

"Emma? Are you all right?"

Emma jumped at the sound of her mother's voice. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, turning around to face Snow.

Snow gave her such a knowing, motherly look that Emma's heart caught in her chest. "No, you're not. What's going on?"

"No, I really am. I was just thinking … this room, well, the apartment with you, it's the first home I ever had." The touched sparkle in her mother's eye gave her the courage to continue. "And now it's the first home little me remembers, too."

Yep, that totally did it. Tears welled in Snow's eyes as she wrapped her arms around her little girl in a hug. "I'm so glad we got the chance to know you."

"I'm glad I got the chance to know you," Emma murmured. "And I'm sorry you had to let me go."

Snow pulled out of the hug and held Emma at arm's length. Her love was etched on her face and her voice was strong and sure. "I'm not. You, Emma Swan, are my baby. You always will be, no matter how old you are."

At that, Emma felt another rush of emotion: pride and comfort and joy at being somebody's baby.

Once their emotions were back under control, Snow and Emma headed back downstairs. Emma met Killian's gaze across the living room and he instantly gravitated towards her. "You all right, love?" he murmured, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah," she replied as she leaned into him and rested her head against his shoulder. "Are you?"

"Aye. Your family gave me the chance to know what being in a family felt like. Those are memories I will treasure for the rest of my days."

That they were.

"And I would just like to point out," Killian continued, shifting his voice to reflect a gentle teasing, "that even though we didn't know each other at all, we still made quite the team."

"Yeah, we did, didn't we?" Emma mused. "We must have felt it even then, our True Love. We were just too young to recognize it for what it was."

Killian beamed at her before pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

The kitchen was finally clean and David emerged into the living room. "I don't know about anyone else but we've got all day and I don't feel like going anywhere. Who's up for another day of hanging out?"

"Does that mean more Mario Kart?" Henry asked, making everyone chuckle.

"I'm up for it if you are, kid," Emma shrugged.

Everyone was cool with that. After all the togetherness of the past couple of days, it seemed none of them wanted to give it up.

Emma did think, though, that she probably should thank Regina and Zelena for their hard work in fixing her little screw-up. Regina had dropped off the stuff Emma and Killian had left in the vault when she'd dropped off the books to Henry so while Henry set up the video game, Emma went off in search of her phone.

Her unread messages were plentiful but one in particular from Zelena stood out: it was a picture of her and Killian, ten years old and curled up practically on top of each other, sound asleep in a pile of blankets. "All right, what the hell is this?" she asked, holding her phone out for everyone to see.

Snow, David, and Henry all giggled. "Zelena did say she sent it to you," David said. "Guess she wasn't kidding."

"Aww, we look adorable," Killian murmured. While he was mostly teasing his wife, the tenderness of his tone indicated the truth of his words.

"Okay, but really?" Emma huffed. "Did we really need pictorial evidence of my magical oops?"

"Then I suppose I shouldn't tell you about the pictures I managed to take on my phone, either," Snow laughed.

"Ooh, you have more?" Henry asked, oblivious to the furious blush coloring his mother's cheeks. "I want to see!"

Of course, Snow couldn't help but grab her phone and show off said pictures.

Though she was thoroughly mortified, Emma crowded in with everyone to flick through her mother's pictures. And as candid photo after candid photo of video games and art projects and children playing together went by, she was struck by how relaxed and happy she and Killian seemed. The overwhelming love the family shared was evident in every frame.

So, okay, maybe she did have to make magical screw-ups more often. In trying to give her parents a gift, it turned out that Emma and Killian had given everyone a gift. Her parents had gotten to know the little girl they should have known while the lost little boy and the lost little girl finally had what every child should have: the love of a family.

#ouat ff #charming family ff #cs ff #cs fic #emma swan #mama snow #daddy charming #killian jones #henry mills #my fic

39 notes · View notes