#lesson? never underestimate the lengths these two will go for each other

[botanicallyinclinednerd]

This scene is actually killing me. Ray is understandably incredibly panicked and urgent, because the demon controlling him is hellbent (heh) on murdering Nate, and Nate refuses to leave, because he believes in Ray. Believes he is stronger than Neron, that he can overpower him.

But he's being possessed by a very powerful demon. And he beats the shit out of Nate. And so Ray does the only thing he can do to save Nate's life: he gives in, with the promise that Neron won't hurt Nate. And Neron takes that deal. And it's what fucks him

[kkusuka]

Anatomy lessons <3 

ushijima wakatoshi x reader 

genre: smut 

synopsis: ushijima is helplessly devoted to volleyball, and his grades reflect that. 

cw: anatomically fem reader, vaginal fingering, blowjob (i think that’s it, if anything seems left out let me know!)

a/n: all i could think about is that ushiwaka is canonically stupid and i love that. 

based o this request: Studying anatomy and using your body as a physical map- Ushijima ((smut)) I’ve had this imagine suck in my head about Ushijima but like just picture this, Ushijima and Y/N studying together and they both like each other but Ushi doesn’t know how to act on his emotions and Y/N can’t tell if he likes them so they are just running around in circles pinning for each other, but anyways Ushi is studying for anatomy but he just can’t get the female anatomy to stick into his head and he’s getting a bit frustrated and so Y/N is like well I’m a female, you can practice on me and he’s like well shit. Y/N lays down Ushi is gliding his hands over their body as he names the muscles and whatnot, they both get a bit hot and bothered and when Ushi finishes “studying”he’s got an awkward boner and Y/N is like “now it’s my turn to study your anatomy” and they push ushi down and 🤪🤪🤪 please give this to me I’ve been thinking about it ALL DAY!!! -✨Puppy🤩

Shiratorizawa’s reputation was built upon intelligence and elegance.

The students are of the highest degree in not only book-smarts but also athletics. Only the most talented and were persons were allowed in the walls of the academy. Hell, the entrance exam resembled an AP college exam.

“I do not understand.”

Of course, there are always loopholes.

The first being an athletic scholarship. One of the more annoying ways to make it into the school, according to the students. You don't mean to sound mean but, it was blatantly obvious when someone is on athletic help.

But that wasn't what you were dealing with right now. No, it was something the students found way worse.  

A recommendation.

Actually, it was an athletic recommendation.

Ushijima Wakatoshi was known before he had even appeared.

You had been the lucky one to sit next to him first, and second, and somehow third year. And through that, you’ve learned more than a few things about him.

Firstly, he was the most amazing volleyball player you have ever seen. He also had so much passion for the sport that it had seemed to rub off on you. By the end of first-year gym class, you knew how to receive a light spike of his.

Second, he was extremely easy to fall in love with. For being constantly aloof and oblivious, he had this pull to him that just roped you in. at first you weren't sure what you felt for the bot, then he had helped you with a project ending the night with a smile and you were done for.

He was also incredibly easy to stay in love with. Once he had your attention he was almost the only person you thought of. Plaguing your mind with fluffy fake dates and worries that he would never like you back.

But he hasn’t said anything for you to believe either of those situations so you sit at a constant stalemate.

And thirdly, he was not only dense but utterly stupid. How was someone so sought after so completely unaware of admiration? Not only his social unawareness, but he was also not the smartest when it came to school.

Then you swooped in, raised his grades a few points, and became his official homework helper. You thought it was a blessing, more time with the man who had your heart, but you underestimated just how much help he needed.

You had no idea how many times you would have to explain the Pythagorean theorem to someone before they understood. (you're sure now that he didn't really understand and he just didn't want to hear it again.)

And anatomy was no exception.

“That’s alright Toshi, do you want to try looking at a different diagram? That might help!”

Opening a new book, you spent another ten minutes staring at the page just looking at it, before staring back up at you. And that's your cue. No more diagrams, he was never going to learn like that.

This was what you called plan visual. somethings, namely science, were better learned but seeing and not memorization.

Letting out a sigh, you closed all of the books and told him to do the same.

“Ok, here’s what’s going to happen.” placing yourself directly in front of the cross-legged man, garnering his full attention, “I'm going to give you an arm and a leg  and, let's start with the skeletal system, so just tell me all the bones you can remember.”

Lending your hand you took it in his and gave you a nod. Going up the length of your arm finishing at your shoulder blade, he moved to run a hand along your un-bending leg. Starting at your ankle he kept a constant hand on the back of your knee, keeping your leg hanging in the air.

A few mixed up bones later you finally moved on to muscles. Not only did it take far longer but you could tell he was getting frustrated, if the hand gripping your thigh as he tried to name all the muscles there was any telling.

On his fifth try, you gave him some help and just decided to move on, seeing that it wasn't needed for him to know blood vessels just yet, there was only one other thing he had to do.

Male and female anatomy.

You had tried to avoid the topic but that seemed almost impossible at the moment.

“Is something wrong Y/n?” As he spoke you became all too aware of his hand still on your thigh and how he was staring right at you like he could tell exactly what you were thinking, “the next topic is the reproductive system correct?”

“Erm, ye-yeah, but we don’t have to-”

“Don't be silly, we have to get through all the material that will be on the test. May I have the textbook to reference from?” he spoke as if he was ordering food, completely nonchalant. As if his hand wasn't reaching into your skirt and sliding your panties to the side.

“This unit does not require the breasts so you can keep your shirt on.” he continued to slide your underwear from your legs flipping your skirt, pushing you onto your back. Maneuvering you to how he wanted, you holding your legs spread open and close to your chest, he got to work.

“The outer lips, formally known as the labia majora,” he spoke as he ran a finger down, spreading them open to e your hole clench around nothing.  He let out a breath and intently stared at your core.

“Labia minora, inner lips.” running another finger along your lips he collected the wetness that had collected on them, bringing it to his mouth, maintaining eye contact as he licked it clean. “A woman creates a natural lubrication to aid in intercourse.”

Deliberately avoiding your clit, he moved to the urethral opening, passing it quickly. Moving to run a hand along your stomach placing where he thought your cervix and womb lay.

“The clitoris, an organ that is completely dedicated to pleasure.” his thumb rubbing small circles around your bud was the final opus for you to let out all the soft whimpers you had so desperately wanted to let out.

Eye’s shooting to meet yours his thumb moved quicker, drawing more pants and wanton moans from your throat.

“Please Toshi, I wanna-”

Your beg must've ripped him away from whatever daydream he lost himself in, roping his thumb away from your clit, a whine escaping you, he moved to his final destination.

“The vaginal hole, where a man enters a woman and makes her his own. It leads straight through the cervix into the womb.” right as he finished two fingers shoved their way into your pussy.

Reattaching his thumb to your clit, he coaxed moan after moan out of you.

Hitting a spot somewhere deep in you, cunt spasming as he rode out you high with slow strokes, “the g-spot, a small area that aids with the female orgasm.”

Taking his fingers to his mouth once more, he watched you let your legs down and close your eyes to help calm your roaring heart. In your bliss, you felt two lips connect to yours, a soft dance between new lovers.

A forehead rested on your hands and ran up and down your sides placing you back into a sitting position.

“y/n?”

“Hmm?”

“We still have one more thing to do.”

Oh right, this lesson was a two-way street.

Crawling to kneel between his crossed legs you palmed his bulge as he leaned back on the chair, bringing his hands behind his head. He watched you take his cock out of its restraints, wrapping your lips around the tip leaning his pre-cum.

He let you pace yourself, don't complain when you came up to explain what you were doing to what.

On the contrary, you could tell all he wanted to do was push your head down and keep it there until his load stuffed your throat. Realizing this was probably the last time you would have control over the boy.

But all seems worth it when he shows you the A+ on the anatomy test.

Maybe Ushijima Wakatoshi is a good student after all.

[linkspooky]

Yuta vs Yuji

(They are both Good Boys ™ and that’s the Problem ™ )

As this week the boys are still fighting, I thought it would be interesting to take a more in depth look at both of their characters and how they compare and contrast with each other. Yuta and Yuji are both protagonists who have protagonistic motivations. Their central conflict, Itadori’s struggle to find a good death surrounded by people he loves, and Yuta’s struggle to be surrounded by people he loves and protects them, relates to protecting the people they love and the world around them. However, that’s also what drives them into conflict with each other. They both view themselves as “the hero” even in conflicts such as the fight against each other, where there is really no good guy. 

1. I want to live / I want to die

Yuta and Yuji are opposites in their stated motivation. Yuta’s goal is to find a way to live a happy life, surrounded by the people he loves. Yuji’s goal is to find a way to die surrounded by people he’s helped in life. 

Not only are their stated motivations opposites however, on the outside they are both the opposite in several ways. Yuji is someone who is known for his strength whereas Yuta is immediately remarked upon as the type to get bullied.  Yuji is immediately remarked upon for his cheerful disposition, whereas everyone who knows Yuta picks on him at first and notices how gloomy he is. 

Yuji is someone who seems to make friends and connect with people almost immediately, whereas Yuta is someone who it probably took him a long time to start getting along with Maki and Inumaki based on what we see in the prequel. Maki challenges him at first, and Yuta doesn’t understand Inumaki at first. 

Yuta is passive, and Yuji is active. Yuji is known for running after people to save them. Yuta’s actually not as motivated to save random strangers as Yuji is, he’s simply going along with becoming a Jujutsu Sorcerer because that will help his goals, 1) to make new friends and find a reason to live 2) to release Rika.

The difference between them even manifests in the way they became cursed. Yuji actively chose to swallow a curse, because he wanted to help Megumi and needed the power to do so. It was a decision he made. Yuta was the one who cursed Rika yes, but not only was it a jujutsu technique he used unconsciously, he also forgot about it and blamed Rika for cursing him instead.  

Which is also something that reflects in the central flaws of both characters. Yuta is someone with a victim complex. He tends to avoid taking direct responsibility for his actions and blaming it on someone else. He acts passive in almost every situation, and doesn’t accept that it may be his fault. Which is why he misremembered what happened to Rika. Yuta could not accept the idea that he was to blame for cursing Rika, so he blamed Rika in his memories instead for cursing him.

It’s been outlined by Maki before Yuta’s victim complex, but basically he reads as a nice person on the surface by pretending to be innocent when he’s not. Which is why she says his goodness feels fake, and he himself feels gross. Yuta kind of just, represses and ignores the bad parts of his personality, to seem like a hapless victim. Of course Yuta is not good or bad, he’s just a dude. But, Maki even goes further to point out Yuta himself doesn’t even seem to know who he wants to be. 

Yuta’s central character flaw is that he never accepts responsibility for his own actions. He has no self confidence and because of that he has a really tough time standing up as an individual. 

When he can learn to control his power, and stand on his own two feet rather than just avoiding responsibility and acting like a victim with no control over his situation. Yuta begins to change, but I think he also elevates his friends far beyond himself. 

He aspires to be like his friends, but he also feels like they’re already better than him and he’s unworthy. Which is why he’s constantly insecure about the relationship and needs to protect them. Yuta believes himself to be weak, he sees himself as a weak person, and so in every situation he tends to assume he’s the weak one or a weak victim which makes it hard for him to see what he’s responsible in those situation. 

On the other hand Yuji takes almost too much repsonsibility. Rather than trying to depend on others, Yuji is always, running ahead on his own and that’s where he makes his mistakes.

He thought he was strong enough to take down Choso on his own. He wasn’t. He thought he was strong enough mentally to prevent Sukuna from rampaging, he wasn’t. Yuji’s mistakes always come from taking on more responsibility than he can handle, and then letting things fall out of his control. 

Yuta’s irresponsible because he sees himself as a victim and doesn’t understand how strong he is, Yuji’s irresponsible because he constantly overestimates what he himself can handle.

If you take the scene after Yuji dies the first time into account. Sukuna outlines several facts. One, that Yuji is not actually strong enough to suppress him. Two, that he rampaged against Megumi specifically because Yuji got cocky and tried to use his power without using a binding vow and think it through. Three, that Yuji overestimates himself and his capability to keep Sukuna down and because of it, he agrees to a simple terms of “If I defeat you inside my own body you revive me with no conditions” and then just immediately dies. 

All of this of course being foreshadowing for what happens after the Choso fight. Once again, Yuji overestimates himself and how he can win the fight fighting alone. Halfway through Yuji gets overwhelmed and Sukuna surfaces. When Sukuna surfaces he rampages, because Yuji did not even think of the possibility that Sukuna might rampage if he died or lost consciousness, and therefore there was no binding vow in place to stop him. It’s not because Yuji is a bad kid, but because he is a kid, and doesn’t know better. He acts like any fifteen year old would dealing with a 1000 year old spirit that’s much smarter than him. But it’s also a case of Yuji thinking everything comes down to strength and he can beat Sukuna just by being stronger, when Yuji actually solves none of his problems by fighting alone, and all of his major victories come from fighting together with others. 

Yuji and Yuta are even opposites in regards to their curses. Rika loves Yuta and wants to protect him. He loses control of her because he’s too scared to face her, and has no idea how to begin controlling his power, which is once again this flaw that Yuta’s fear is a fear of taking responsibility. Yuji on the other hand his curse Sukuna loathes his guts, and is constantly trying to undermine him. Yuji’s problem is again and again he’s proven to underestimate Sukuna, he’s not afraid enough of Sukuna because Yuji himself considers himself a strong person and overestimates what he can be responsible for. Rika is an ally outside of Yuta, and Sukuna is an enemy within Yuji. 

However, after going to such length to establish them as opposites they have one central similiarity. Both of them are incredibly lonely people. They can’t really make friends or connections normally. 

Yuta has this fear of living alone, and Yuji this fear of dying alone. 

They both only form relationships on the basis that they’re needed. Which is why Yuta goes so insane about protecting his friends. Which is why Yuji keeps focusing on death above all else, because that’s their true “purpose” that underlies their stated motivations. They’re both doing this because they are afraid of being alone.

However, they both need to prove that they are “worthy” of love. In order to do that, they need to be good, useful people. Thus they are heroes, thus they are good guys, thus they are protagonists. 

Yuji becomes so insanely motivated to fight after Sukuna’s rampage, because if he doesn’t help someone, if he doesn’t justify his decision to keep on living somehow they’re just a murderer. Both Yuta and Yuji don’t really care about the world or circumstances around them, they just want to be validated by the people around them.

Yuta is a deeply selfish person, because he just wants other people around him to tell him it’s okay to live. However, he’s also just a suicidal fifteen year old kid in the first place, any kid his age would feel that way, would need that support and he shouldn’t need to earn it. That’s what he misunderstands. However, Yuji and Yuta keep trying to seek external validation. They keep trying to earn love rather than having it given to them.

It’s what Yuta completely fails to internalize after his fight with Geto. The lesson he needed to learn was that there was more to the world around him than just protecting the people he loved, but it seems coming back to both of those people he loved being hurt has caused him to double down on “protecting the ones he loved” vs “thinking about what is justice”.Yuta’s still stuck in this mode where he has to earn love, and that becomes his first priority in everything.

The problem with making the decision to ignore justice is that you can end up at the wrong side of the equation. Yuji is Yuta. He’s another victim who allowed a curse to rampage because he was cursed as a teenager and could not control his own power and people ended up dying for it. 

However, because Yuta only understands that his friends have been hurt, and refuses to understand Yuji as both a victim and a person outside of himself he accepts his role of executioner.

Yuta was the person who was going to be executed a year ago. The only reason he didn’t was because Gojo gave him a chance and extended a helping hand. However we’re now seeing Yuta take the opposite path. he’s made the decision to become executioner, to not save when he himself was saved. Which is just sad because Yuta and Yuji are character foils.

 A conflict against Yuji, the other main character, is really just Yuta fighting himself. Yuta cannot forgive himself for the crime of being weak, and therefore he blames Yuji for being like he was a year ago. Yuta still doesn’t know how to stand strong on his own, to accept that his friends love him for who he is, so he’s still trying to earn love by avenging them and acting overprotective against Yuji, when we know Inumaki was friends with Yuji and probably would not want him to be hunted down and killed. 

Yuta and Yuji are both seemingly completely selfless people who can come off as rather self centered when you examine their deeper motivations (they do what they do, because they want to be loved and needed) but it doesn’t come from a place of ego, it’s just that they’re lonely. They can’t feel accepted for who they are so they both try to be heroes instead. 

[celestialnocturnes]

a message to my youth (reply 1988 thought dump)

warning: this isn't meant to be a coherent review or commentary on reply 1988. i literally just finished the kdrama a few moments ago and i want to preserve what i'm feeling through this entry. this is only a cathartic attempt to show how the kdrama had impacted me in so many ways. also, spoilers!

--

to the things that are already gone. to a time that has already passed, i want to say a belated farewell. goodbye, my youth.

watching a kdrama wasn't in my top priorities this year, but things that used to be a part of you would demand to be revisited sometimes. i'm glad that i did, and i'm thankful that it was reply 1988.

taking a nostalgic look at the year 1988, this kdrama tells about the story of five families in a humble block in ssangmun, seoul. for someone born 12 years after the setting, the plot is something strange, a history lesson in the lens of simple households. for someone in the limbo between careless youth and adulting, and someone born in an asian family, this kdrama will feel like home.

culturally speaking, reply 1988 was a beautiful exposition of how asian households run. what got me hooked to continue the drama was the endless saga of giving dishes to neighbors in the first episode. funnily enough, all families ended up having a feast of each house's dinner on their tables.

from a mouthwatering display of korean side dishes, to the trends of 1988 korea (back when jyp himself was a hit lolz jk), to the endless neighborhood gossips, to the flawed and conservative views on politics, and to the tight-knitted family dynamics — one would find this hilarious and relatable, informative even.

reply 1988 was a lot of things, but its casts hold a special place in my heart. the gang had so much love between them and it was so beautiful to see a pure friendship evolve through the years. i wish i could still have loud dinners and drunken nights with my friends when we get into our careers. I would love that.

sung deok sun, the optimistic figure in the group, was a ray of sunshine to me even as a viewer. i love deok sun because her spirits were never faltered by her failures and her status in life. my personality is sooo far from deok sun's, but she was relatable to me when she said she didn't know what to do in her life. she doesn't have a dream, i have a lot of them. even so, the uncertainty is there. i guess we all figure things out in the end. deok sun became a flight crew and was able to earn money for the family. i can't wait to figure out my own path, too.

dong ryong, being deoksun's self-proclaimed soulmate faced the same journey. despite not getting into a prestigious university, it's amazing how he was able to establish his own restaurant and even expand branches! makes you really think that not everything in life can be solved by good grades. honestly, i wish i have his street smarts and wisdom. what a powerful person i would be, then.

jung hwan was the man of few words in the group. he showed his affections not through words, but through his actions (and teases for deok sun). his love language would definitely be acts of service! i love jung hwan. he was a good son, brother, and friend. i aspire to have the kindness that he has. but oh dear heavens i would kill just to see how his love life would unfold had he faced the courage to confess to deok sun. i mean, come on! just be straightforward! they would honestly make a good pair, the ray of sunshine girl and the cold guy.

choi taek, the professional go-gamer, was the baby of the group. like jung hwan, he was a man of few words, except that taek was actually shy. his growth through the series was perhaps the most apparent. his innocent image was eventually changed by the way he picked up curse words from the gang, to his smoking, and to his openness of affection for his family and later on, deok sun. also, his character made me fall in love with park bo gum and his smile!

before i go to the next two characters that i associate myself with, i would also like to comment on the household parents of the block. the fathers here have different personalities, but their identities as providers of the house defined the way they act. they keep a tough act and may be distant to their children, but the love is there even though they don't really know much about the household.

and the mothers, oh dear, the mothers. my mom is not a working entity, but i've seen her struggle through the years. i think her burdens are even heavier than that of my dad's. the way this kdrama portrayed the stories of the mothers touched my heart so much that i couldn't stop my tears. never underestimate a woman's strength, i tell you.

from these figures, i learned so much about adulting and marriage. our parents miss their parents, too. our parents would always worry about us, no matter how old we are. our parents are trying to keep everything together, so they put up a tough front. our parents' wishes are devoted to their children. our parents just want the best life for us. not only us are growing old, but our parents, too. our parents want our attention, too. our parents do not have the perfect marriage, but they would do anything for their children. our parents love us deeply.

okay, here goes my reflection in the kdrama — sun woo and sung bora. initially, i was planning to write an entry only about bora, but i realized that i am in many ways alike to sun woo as well. both characters are the eldest children of the family and they face a lot of pressure in their respective families. both characters sacrificed their dreams because they are limited to what their families can afford. sung bora took math education despite her dreams as a prosecutor. sun woo took medicine because that was what his mom wanted. as for me, i chose a course that would promise a stable salary. i dreamed to work in the field of science or writing, but both paths have unstable pays in this country. i do not come from a well-off family, so i have to set my dreams aside.

bora and i do not share the same personality. hers was aggressive and frank, mine was the opposite. even so, i found a piece of my soul in her character because she was steadfast in her goals and was very understanding of her family's situation. she was the cream of the crop in the siblings, the only one who became a student in the premier university, the talk of the neighborhood. she had strong political stances that made her own parents almost disown her, but she was never sorry for it. when it comes to little things, bora had so much privacy over her things that she would get mad at the slightest unauthorized touch of it. oh dear, if that wasn't me.

sun woo, on the other hand, was nearing my male counterpart. he cares so much about his mom and his sister that he hated the thought of the former working. he was the model student, the one with the straight a's, and the one who acts professionally even with the internal turmoil of emotions. he never opposed his mother's wishes and he loved his sister dearly. he would always hold his feelings in, but gets weak in the arms of a loved one. based on his upbringing and firm values, you would also see how he respects women. i love it.

these two never worked out at first because they prioritized their dreams above romance, but i'm so, so happy that they got together in the end.

reply 1988 was perhaps one of the best slice of life shows that i've ever seen. i wish i had watched this when i was younger, because it would teach you so much about family, love, dreams, friendship, and growing up. the pacing would feel kind of slow because of its movie-length episodes, but i swear it was worth it.

to the youth that i was, thank you for building the youth that i am.

to the youth that i am, enjoy the uncertainty and strive to be a better version of yourself.

to the youth that will be, may you never lose the spark inside your heart no matter how old you are.

i will hear your reply in time.

most ardently,

grace

[ahsokadrabbles]

𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 [obi-wan kenobi x skywalker!reader

obi-wan and his padawan spend a day with the younglings. 

word count: 2k

warnings: teeth rotting fluff. enjoy! 

the soul purpose of this drabble is that it was soft for obi hours, but i think i’m going to turn this into a series so stay tuned! 

You had come to a crossroads in your training as a padawan. You were no longer a youngling, but still a student beneath your master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You were one of the eldest padawans which you never minded, you liked putting on the role of big sister, but it was hard to still be a padawan when in your head you felt much more grown. If it hadn't been for you older brother Anakin being the star of the show when the two of you arrived at the temple many years ago, maybe you would've been a Jedi Knight by now. You loved your brother dearly, but you had always lived in his shadow. His grand title of "Chosen One" loomed above you like dark cloud while he wore it on his head like a crown. It wasn't until three years ago that he outgrew his Master and earned a padawan of his own. It soon became your time to be Master Kenobi's student. Now, every day you woke up with the sun and trained, just as you had watched your big brother do when you were young. It was rewarding, but it soon became old news. You had begun to feel like a grown woman trying to sleep in her childhood bed. You had the mind of a Knight, but your skills just weren't there yet. If you were your brother, you'd throw a fit about not being good enough, but you were patient and devoted to learning. Your Master admired this trait in you. You and your brother were like night and day to him. Anakin was the sun, firey and opinionated, while you were the moon, quiet and wise beyond your years.

You awoke to your friend and your brother's padawan, Ahsoka Tano, shaking you awake. The younger Togruta hung above you in bed, her striped montrals and padawan beads brushing against your groggy face. "I'm awake, I'm awake" You laughed, sitting up in bed. Ahsoka plopped down at the foot of your bed, watching you with cat-like curiousity. "Are you going to get out of bed?" She asked. You stretched your arms up over your head and glanced at the flickering analog clock that sat on your nightstand. The time was nearly obscured by all the things you had crowded on the table. Copies of Jedi texts, spare saber parts, jewelry, and pictures of you and your friends and family. "I have a few minuets to spare." You shrugged, falling back against your sea of pillows with a quiet thud. "You weren't up all night fantasizing about your Master again were you?" The younger teased, which earned her a swat on the leg from you. "Ahsoka!" You gasped, now blushing furiously. She was the first person to catch onto your little crush on your master, and now she teased you relentlessly for it. "You know I'd never tell, I'm just playing with you." A tender look swam in her blue eyes, she always meant any word she said. Ahsoka was the most loyal friend you could ever ask for. "I was actually up all night studying." You replied, finally forcing yourself out of bed. "I wanted to make sure I had all my information straight for the presentation for the younglings today." You caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror as you walked past and wrinkled your nose. Your hair stuck up in ever single direction and your eyes remained puffy from sleep. Perhaps you had underestimated the amount of time you'd need to get ready this morning. "I'm sure you'll do just fine, you have me after all." Ahsoka sang, batting her eyes in your direction. "I just really need to prove myself. I'm getting old you know." You said as you retrieved a fresh pair of clothes from the closet. "You're only eighteen, Y/N." The togruta folded her legs beneath herself on the corner of your mattress. "Your starting to sound more and more like Master Kenobi every day. I think you're around him too much." You let out an airy chuckle as you changed out of your pajamas. "Yes, but Anakin was so much farther ahead of me when he was my age. I'm afraid Obi-Wan will start to lose faith in me." "Don't be silly, Y/N." Ahsoka sighed, now stood behind you. In the mirror before you two she could be seen, barely, considering she was a head shorter than you, with her hands placed tenderly on your shoulders. "Can I do your hair?" You watched the clock tick by as your friend separated out your strands of hair and twisted them into an intricate up-do. For someone with no hair, she was quite good at doing it. "Done with three minuets to spare. We better go find our masters."

The pair of you met your masters just in time as they appeared in the lift the moment you hit the button to summon it up. "There you are, Y/N." Master Kenobi said, Anakin stood smugly by his side. "You were almost late." Anakin added before Obi-Wan gave him a swift kick in the ankle. Your brother let out a hiss as you and his padawan enter into the now cramped lift. You were stood in front of your master, your back nearly press flush against his chest, and you could feel Ahsoka's knowing stare burning into the left side of your head. "Did you do something different with your hair?" Master Kenobi asked, his Couscanti drawl lingering in your chest and making your face burn red. "Ahsoka did it for me." You replied. The girl could be seen beaming from out of the corner of your eye as the doors of the lift slid open. Your quickly stepped out and filled your lungs with air, you could hardly breathe in there. "Would you relax?" Ahsoka laughed once the two of you got ahead of your masters. "Sorry," You stuttered, rubbing your hands up and down the length of your arms in attempt to rub away the goosebumps the mere sound of his voice had given you. "You are so head over heels." "Wrong way you two," You heard Anakin call out. You turned around on your heel to see that you had missed your turn toward the nursery. While you blushed with embarrassment Ahsoka dragged your frozen form down the right hallway. "He probably thinks I'm such a fool-" "Please for the love of Stars get out of your head." The togruta muttered as she set you down in front of the nursery door. "There you are," Master Kenobi said, poking his head out of the door. You let out a yelp, his appearance had caught you by surprise. "Are you feeling well, Y/N?" His blue eyes shifted towards Ahsoka with his brow furrowed in worry. "I just turned the wrong way coming here." You answered for yourself. "Silly girl," Obi-Wan sighed, ushering you and your friend into the dimly lit classroom. The children were sat in a circle, immersed in the blue glow of the hologram in the center of the room. A map of Coruscant and the planets that surrounded it flickered before their small and intrigued faces. "Master Kenobi!" One of the younglings babbled excitedly. Obi-Wan pressed his finger to his lips with a soft smile. "Listen carefully to Master Yoda, young one." "You're kind of a celebrity, aren't you?" Ahsoka teased, gently nudging Master Kenobi's shoulder. "Oh, he's always a big hit with the younglings." You quietly laughed. "Do you remember the other day at the library?" You asked your master. He smiled fondly at the memory and your heart fluttered at the way his eyes crinkled at the sides when he grinned "We were trying to find texts on the Coruscant system for today's lesson and some younglings also happened to be there learning how to use the data pads. Needless to say it ended in them all hanging onto Master Kenobi's cloak." Ahsoka and Anakin laughed while your master just shook his head and grinned. "Master Kenobi, would you like to introduce the padawans?" Master Yoda said, summoning Obi-Wan in front of the group of students. You admired him bathed in hologram stars and surrounded by planets. Just like you, they orbited around him. Without him there they'd be lost, he was their beacon, their guiding force.

You and Ahsoka's presentation on the Coruscant system was well received by the younglings. At the end of it you were bombarded with all sorts of questions and excited remarks. Now you were sat in a chair, not made for someone your size, watching the children intently color and label a map of the system they had just learned about. Your master soon pulled up a chair beside you, it looked even smaller beneath him. "Is something funny?" He playfully asked, watching as you snickered at the seat dwarfed under him. "Oh, nothing at all!" "Do you want a coloring page?" You teased, gesturing toward the stack in the middle of the table. "Not for me, but it seems Ahsoka and Anakin have already helped themselves." You looked across the room to see your brother and Ahsoka both hunched over a shared coloring page shading in all the various planets. "Does mine look alright, Master Kenobi?" One of the younglings, a small green Twi'Lek girl, asked. "It looks very nice! What do you think, Y/N?" Your master said. "That is lovely, Amida!" You gushed. "Everyone's looks so wonderful. I'm very proud of all of you."

Master Yoda had given you and Ahsoka free reign over his lesson so it was up to the two of you to plan all of the activities. Next was a game of what you had named Planet Tag. Each youngling was assigned a planet and if they were tagged by another student, they'd have to say a fact about that planet. There were two other extra planets left, so Ashoka and Anakin took it up to themselves to also play, but after a while they grew tired. "Want to switch out?" Anakin panted, slyly nudging Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Why don't Ahsoka and Y/N play?" He suggested, stroking his beard. "I'm beat, Master Kenobi." The togruta huffed. "Come on! It will be fun!" You said, tugging him towards the center of the room by his wrist. "I don't know, Padawan-" "Did you not listen to my presentation?" You gasped. "Do you not know your planets, Master Kenobi?" He sighed and stood up from his too small chair. "Well, now I must since you've challenged me." He said before teasingly narrowing his eyes at you. The two of you joined the children in their game and Obi-Wan kept getting tagged. He was tagged so many times that he started to run out of facts to say. "You've already said that one, Master Kenobi!" The younglings giggled. "Well then I guess the game is done." You announced, looking out at the small crowd of worn out children in front of you.

You ended the class by reading a story. All the younglings gathered in front of you on the carpet, all surrounding your Master who was sat in the center of them. It didn't take long until the younglings grew sleepy, some fell asleep with their heads in Obi-Wan's lap, other's leaned up against him while they snored softly. In the very back row even Anakin and Ahsoka could be seen nodding off, leaned up against each other's backs for support. "I think that's enough of that." You said, watching as Obi-Wan smiled fondly down at the youngling asleep in his lap. "Very good job, Y/N." Master Kenobi quietly congratulated as he stroked the head of the sleeping wookie in his lap. "Thank you, Master." You replied. After a long moment of quiet, Obi-Wan spoke again. "I remember when you and your brother were younglings." He said with a fond laugh. "You've grown up a lot since then. I'm very proud of you, Y/N." Yet again your master had you blushing, you were thankful that the lights of the classroom had since dimmed. "Get some rest, young one." "I can't fall asleep in here." You laughed with a shake of your head. Obi-Wan stealthily stood up and tip toed his way over the sleeping children curled up on the floor until he finally made his way to you and sat down on the floor again beside you. "Sleep," He repeated, patting his shoulder. You hesitantly rested your head against him, letting the warm smell of his skin and his robes lull you to sleep.

let me know if you’d like to be added to my obi taglist! also feel free to send in requests my ask box is open and in need of some lovin’. thanks for reading! <3

[mymostimaginaryfriend]

between a heart & a hard place

♛ 5x05: Teresa and James plan the heist (1.9k words; rating T; tags: missing scene, weaponized jazz music, angsty dancing)

➢ read on ao3 or below the cut:

The Van Gogh was beautiful. It was a shame they’d have to cut it from the frame, yet Teresa knew better than most that no beauty survived long in this world without collecting a few scars. So while it was a shame, it wasn't enough to stop her. Indeed, it’d be one of the only decisions she’d been forced to make lately that she wouldn’t lose any sleep over tonight.

Losing Kostya wasn’t an option. The pain of lost beauty was nothing compared to the pain of lost power.

They gathered in the hotel lobby, using the private concert by a semi-famous jazz pianist as cover for some recon. Kelly Anne gamely chatted up the hotel owner while Pote stifled a yawn and nursed his beer. James leaned casually against the bar, seemingly entranced by the music. It was only because she knew him so well that she could see the relaxed demeanor hid a man at work, busy formulating a plan. He hadn’t said much about his time away, but it was hard to believe any of it had involved art heists.

She felt a frisson of worry about putting him in unfamiliar, possibly dangerous territory but she knew better than to underestimate him. It was a lesson she’d learned the first day they’d met.

She followed his gaze to the piano, wondering what he was studying there. Teresa had never thought herself a jazz fan before moving to New Orleans, but it had become the soundtrack of her triumphs and heartaches over the past year. She found herself drawn to the melancholy of it, the soaring heights of a trombone, the plaintive pleas of a piano. Rising, falling, rising again. Even now, each soulful note plucked at her heartstrings with the simple strike of a key.

The song was beautiful, perhaps James was merely getting lost for a moment in the music. He’d said she’d changed and she had, but she wasn’t the only one. When he’d left, there’d been sharp edges, edges that should have been honed to lethal blades by his work with Devon and yet the James who had returned had a softness she was unprepared for. A sort of fragile vulnerability that made her want to shelter it from the wind like a flickering candle flame, to nurture and feed it until it was strong enough to warm her too. Her throat ached at the knowledge of how easily it could be snuffed out.

She’d almost done it herself this past week. It’d hurt to see the light in his eyes dim when he looked at her but that had been what she wanted, hadn't it? This distance between them. If it wasn’t easy, it was necessary. She’d rather let the sun set between them than watch the light in his eyes permanently go out because of her.

Emotional attachments equaled vulnerability. Romantic attachments could get you killed. She had needed someone once and his loss had nearly destroyed her. She felt in her bones she wouldn't be able to survive losing James. If she let him into her heart, his death would take that vital organ with him. For as much as she thought about the future these days, there was a part of her relentlessly certain in the knowledge that they’d never get there. Not in one piece.

That didn’t stop her from wanting to reach out to him though—for comfort, maybe, or reassurance.  Perhaps it was the thought he no longer understood her that hurt the most, that made her want to seek communion with him skin to skin if not soul to soul. But that wouldn’t be fair to him, to push him away then pull him close just because she desperately needed someone—him—to tell her it’d be okay. That it was all worth it. She suspected his silence these last few days was answer enough.

It was for the best. The higher the climb, the longer the fall. She couldn’t afford weakness and neither could he. If he was no longer able to be as ruthless, then she would have to be ruthless enough for the both of them.

The song ended and she turned back to James to find that he wasn’t studying the room anymore. He was studying her, his expression inscrutable.

His gaze, like the silence between them, was heavy with unsaid words, words that might never be spoken at all but most certainly not here in public. Best to get back to business.

“You have a plan?” she asked, grateful that her voice remained steady.

He nodded.

“Walk me through it,” she murmured, eyes drawn back to the painting in question.

“Dance with me.”

Her attention snapped back to his face at his surprise counter offer. She’d expected a cool recitation of information—sight lines, security cameras, escape routes—not a softly uttered invitation to be close to him, to touch him for the first time since that night in New York.

“James,” she began, not sure if she meant it as the prelude to a warning or an apology.

A flash of emotion was quickly smoothed away by his normal mask of professionalism. “Relax,” he said, pushing off the bar. “I just need a reason to be in the northwest quadrant of the room.”

She shot him a questioning look and the corner of his mouth ticked up in muted amusement. “The dance floor,” he clarified, holding out a hand.

Right. Of course. The plan. Just business, just how she wanted it. She ignored Kelly Anne’s double take and took James’ hand, letting him lead her to the far side of the small dance floor.

Once it would have been a simple thing to step into his arms, but as the first few notes of the next song began, she hesitated. He might not recognize the tune, but after being a bar owner in New Orleans for over a year, she sure did.

They’re writing songs of love, but not for me. A lucky star’s above, but not for me.

If he noticed any significance, he hid it well, guiding one of her hands to his shoulder and holding the other against his chest. His other hand found her waist and turned her smoothly in the direction he needed to surveil.

She didn’t speak, letting him work in silence. She tried to concentrate on the people around them, the sound of the piano, the lights of the city beyond the windows, anything but the warmth of his body, not under the usual leather jacket, but the expensive fabric of his suit, his scent of new cologne and old cigarettes as foreign as it was familiar.

After a moment, he pulled her closer, leaning down to murmur near her ear. “We’ll do a smoke bomb, smash and grab. Extract the painting, ditch the van. Travel by motorcycle to the drop-off.”

“We?” Teresa asked, a little breathless. Some not small part of her wished she could watch him in action, especially in the kind of situation when no one was shooting back at them.

“Me,” James corrected. “You’ll be at the rendezvous point with Pote. I’ll use a two-man team—”

“One of the men?” Teresa asked. She trusted the crew that had accompanied her to Berlin to handle security but wasn’t sure who she’d recommend for a job that required the finesse of art theft.

“I know a guy nearby,” James told her and she let out a breath of laughter. Of course he did.

“You know everyone.” She turned to smile up at him but was taken aback by the seriousness of his expression.

“Not everyone.”

His words, or maybe the weight behind them, had her wondering if he was thinking of her.

She had done her best to hide her inner turmoil over the events of the last week. Suppressing her guilt and remorse over turning in Marcel. Hiding any misgivings she had about ordering the hit on the crooked cop with defensiveness or dismissal. She was la Jefa, it would do no good for anyone to see her doubts. So she'd put on strong front but hadn’t realized until now how much she’d depended on James seeing through it.  He always had before.

“You think we made a mistake,” she ventured, allowing space for his answer to clarify what was specifically bothering him the most. Perhaps it was vindictive of her to use “we” but distance or not they were still in this together.

James looked away. “It’s over now.”

“That’s not an answer,” she pressed.

He frowned, hesitating. “I did. I don’t know. You were right, the feds were ready to raid us. Bringing in Gamble would have been their next step.”

It was almost shameful, the intensity of the relief that washed over her at his words. But by James' grim expression, it seemed he grew even more troubled by the admission. 

“But?”

He glanced at her, eyes bleak. “His wife was home. She found him while I was still there.”

Teresa’s heart dropped in her chest. She knew from the news reports that there’d only been one victim that night but looking into James’ eyes she saw that it haunted him. The future that might have been. He’d have killed the wife too if she’d caught him. He’d have killed her for them.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, letting her hand find the tender skin of his neck and the staccato rhythm of his heart beat. “I’m sorry. But…”

His eyes briefly fluttered shut. “I know.”

If she couldn’t help herself from holding onto him a little tighter, it seemed he welcomed her momentary lapse. His hand sliding to the small of her back to draw her nearer until they were touching the entire lengths of their bodies, their only attempt at dancing a slight swaying from side to side.

“I just want to keep you safe,” he said, resting his cheek against her temple. She felt the old familiar panic at the implied even from yourself, but this wasn’t like Phoenix. He wasn’t trying to make decisions for her.  

Couldn’t he see that she wished the same safety for him? That everything she did was in pursuit of this shared goal?

“I didn’t think I’d be back here,” he continued, slowing their sway until he was just holding her. “And now...hope is a dangerous thing. It draws your attention to the horizon instead of keeping it on the danger right in front of you.”

She wondered if he was feeling it too: the walls closing in from every angle, the same echoing dread that haunted her midnight hours.  The ever narrowing window of daylight to that future someday.

But as the final notes of the song were played, even as the distance between them didn’t seem as vast anymore, even if for a moment she entertained the idea of not letting go, of leading him back up to the suite to finish repairing with their bodies what she’d bruised with her words, she knew that if they had any hope at all of that other life, they had work to do now.

James, as always, understood that better than anyone. He released her and smiled, eyes once again lit from within.

Many, many hours later while she waited in a safe location as he once again risked life and limb and freedom at her request, Teresa tried not to give too much credence to the sickening feeling in her stomach that the danger he’d mentioned earlier, the danger right in front of him that threatened their much dreamed about future…

....might end up being her.

(ao3)

[appples]

Oh, Cats (6/10)

pairing: Aizawa x Reader (OC)

genre/warning: 18+

words: 3,296

summary: An average girl with a cat quirk starting over in a new city, as typical as usual. Until it’s not. You drop into someone’s life unannounced and not necessarily wanted.

The fall cultural festival was fast approaching. Meetings began being held for the classes to decide how they were going to participate. For the most part, the students made up the bulk of the festival, but some teachers have also enjoyed participating in recent years. Midnight was running the teacher's festival meeting during their lunch break.

“I was put in charge of entertainment, but they turned my first idea down. Something about it being inappropriate for school or something. Anyways!” Midnight’s eyes began to sparkle, this wasn’t a good sign. “I’ve signed all the female teacher up for an idol show!” snapping your head around, you took count of all the teacher in the room. Midnight and you were the other female teachers. Everyone turned and stared at you.

“That’s not even the best part! We have a surprise theme planned for the show!” she was clapping with excitement. On the other hand, you were not. I have no idea how to dance, especially not like an idol. Do I have to sing? Oh, please, no. Please, no. Staring at the floor was the only thing you could do. Some more chatter happening, but it was all noise to you. A hand on your shoulder startled you out of your downward spiral. It was Midnight.

“Don’t look so worried, this is going to be great! I have some amazing costumes for us.” She smiled with more information than she was explaining. You feigned a smile, not even attempting to make it convincing.

“You’re going to love it, I promise. But I think right now you might want to get going, classes are about to start.”  She was right. You did have somewhere to be. Today was the demo you promise to help Aizawa do. You wanted to help the students more but were starting to question your intentions walking towards the gym. How was it that the leaves were already beginning to drop, weren’t the trees just budding?

You were desperately trying to distract yourself while Aizawa began to explain today’s lesson and demo.

“Nurikabe-sensei has expressed interest in being more hands-on during classes. Our demo will feature her and center around the idea of finite precision control: knowing when and how to hold back when engaged with a lower villain or vigilante.

You hated how you felt when Aizawa stared you down, the way your body reacts. The heat between your legs growing, breasts aching. Now was not the time for any of this, especially with the students watching so intently.

Aizawa made the first move, sending his capture weapon towards you. The garment was traveling in a straight line. You jumped up before it made its way around you, landing on the weapon before running the length of it to Aizawa. He turned, retracting then redeploying in search to bind you. Again, you jump, leaping forward towards your opponent's face. Claws bared, you slash at him, grazing his cheek and drawing blood. The captured weapon came back around from two sides, trapping you in its tightening grasp.

Unaware, the students were cheering you on as you continued to hold back their teacher. After your last trip off-campus, you buckled down and took a more serious attitude towards strengthening your quirk. Never again did you want to be the one who needed to be saved or someone who was more of a liability when they were there.

A hiss slipped out; fangs bared. It felt satisfying to sync with your quick, allowing it to assume control.  Aizawa smirked, pulling you in. You let your quick take over for the first time, unsure of what comes next. Your pupils begin to mutate, morphing into a cat’s eye. Hissing with more ferocity, you pull your body into itself and slink out from the capture weapon. No one saw that coming. With lightning speed, you darted from left to right, making your way closer to Aizawa. His cloth narrowly missing you each time, your speed increasing. Claws grew and sharpened, fangs bared. You leaped towards his face, stretching your body to the limits as you reach out. Ultimately you weren’t fast enough. The weapon was able to make up the difference as you jumped, ensnaring your leg. Before going down, you make one last swipe at Aizawa’s face. There he looked into your eyes and saw who you really were. Hitting the ground with a thud, you snarled and growled, slashing at the binding coming for your hand. Quickly both hands were bound together as Aizawa stood before you, smirking with that sassy smile again. The pounding of your heart pushed your quirk back down, giving you control again.

“Better than I was expecting,” he said and released you. Launching into his lesson from there, he explained the finer points of what has just happened and why.

“I think the biggest take away from this is to never underestimate an opponent you think you have figured out.” You tried not to look embarrassed. Next demonstration-Next demonstration? What does he mean by the next demonstration? We were only ever doing one. He turned to look at you,

“Did you get any of that?” You shook your head no, he sighed. “Stand up first of all. The only thing they saw was using a weapon. Not everyone has a weapon or long-range attack. We need to go over close-range combat.” Being close to him isn’t as simple as it should be. The closer you were to him physically, the more difficult it was because he became farther away emotionally. Was he trying to push you away? He won’t tell you anything about what’s happening to him or what he’s thinking, but then he shows up in the middle of the night? I don��t understand what he’s trying to say. Maybe, he doesn’t either.

“Are you ready?” standing up, you were in position.

“Ready.” Aizawa ran directly towards you, pulling out his knife as he closed in.

“Excuse me, Aizawa sensei, but I thought this was about restraint.” A student shouted from the sidelines. You dove forward meeting Aizawa, hoping to take the upper hand on impact. Ears pressed back, tail twitching, growling at your opponent, you eased into a high-pitched yowl. As you slash at Aizawa’s face, he brings up his blade to defend, deflecting your blow. Hitting the ground, you bounce back up, snarling again.  Things start to look blurry as your control starts to fade, quirk pushing you out. Again, demoted to the copilot, you watched your body turn into something else.

Aizawa came at you again, holding his weapon defensively. Your body jumped over twenty feet high. As you made the decent to your opponent, claws extend again, now coming in at twelve inches long and deadly sharp. Crossing your arms in front of your face, you slashed in an ex pattern with your growing power and the weight of gravity bearing down. The knife was knocked out of his hands as he was knocked back. Again, you slash your now weaponless opponent, tearing into his forearm, which he rose in defense. His goggles were on now. He was getting serious. Yowling he pushes you off and back.  Immediately you jump towards him, something he was counting on. He had found a flaw while you were fighting. Even with your increased speed, strength, and stamina, you were inexperienced and lacked knowledge in tactics and execution. Before you jump, he discovered you briefly pause before taking off. It wasn’t a fluid movement, leaving you vulnerable to attack. Predictably you took your pause allowing Aizawa to make his way towards you. Unable to notice as you were concentrated on leaping towards him. The jump closed the distance. Without time to react, and Aizawa delt you a finishing blow to your abdomen, forcing the air from your lungs. From there he was able to get behind you and bind your wrists.

“Don’t be afraid to take superficial damage if you can see an immediate advantage.” Aizawa faced a silent class. He was still bleeding. Looking down he saw you weren’t changing back. He had never seen you use your quirk to this extent.

“Nurikabe-sensei and I are going to see Recovery Girl. We’ll be back shortly. Class rep, you’re in charge until we get back. Put everyone into groups and review what the demos covered until we are back.”

“Yes, sensei!” The class rep proudly stood forward and got straight to work. Aizawa escorted you out of the gym.

“What's going on with you?” He continued to walk behind you while he spoke.

“It’s my quirk, something is happening to it.  I’ve been training a lot since my incident off-campus, but nothing like this has happened before. I don’t know what’s happening.” Your voice was starting to sound frantic.

“I think it should be fine.” His voice always felt so calming. “What might be happening is you can’t control your increased abilities, and they’re beginning overwhelming you.” You thought about it.

“That would make sense, but why am I not changing back?”

“I don’t have an answer for that, but Recovery Girl might be able to help there. Are you hurt at all?”

“No, I’m fine. I’m sorry about your arm and your face.”

“Don’t be sorry. I think the students took a lot from that today. I don’t remember the last time they were that quiet.” You could feel the hum in his chest from talking, your tail finding its way around his leg, gently caressing. For a brief moment, you swore, you caught a smile sneak out.

Recovery Girl was perplexed about your quirk as well but was able to reverse the lingering effects. Obviously, you still had a long way to go before you had a proper handle on your quirk. Nonetheless, you were happy to see progress.

[iwrite4obx]

It's a Date Pt. 2 | JJ x fem!Reader | Topper x fem!Reader

Read Part 1 | Read Part 3 | Part 4

A/N: So sorry for the delay. I took a short break due to life but I am back and ready to write! This is part 2 to my 4 part story requested by @sweetestdolan Please keep an eye out for part 3, which will be the date with her Topper! Requests are still temporarily closed. I will reopen them when this story is complete. Edit: nope I changed my mind, they're open!

T/W: Swearing and fluff. I think that's it.

Summary: Can I request a topper xx reader or Jj x reader where reader is Sarah and rafe’s cousin that’s staying with them for the summer and Sarah and John B wanna set her up with Jj while rafe (not a dick for once) sees her being with Topper and well she kinda has this thing where she says “make a date where it shows off your personality” and she goes on both and yea sorry if it’s confusing. This part is the date with JJ

Word count: 2k

You stood in front of Sarah's full length mirror, admiring the yellow gingham sundress you were trying on. It looked beautifuk on you. You loved the way it accentuated your curves.

“Nope, too formal,” Sarah decided, motioning for you to take it off and throw it on the pile with the dozen other outfits she'd already deemed too fancy or pretentious. You sighed, but obeyed, slipping the straps off your shoulders and letting the dress fall to the ground.

"How do you know it's too formal?" You questioned. "You don't even know what the date is."

"Because trust me, I know JJ. I've got a pretty good idea," she contended with a knowing smile.

You still didn't know quite how you'd gotten yourself into this mess. While your cousin Sarah and her boyfriend had been attempting to set you up with their friend JJ, your other cousin, Rafe, had interjected and tried to get you to go out with his friend Tooper. To stop your cousins from going at each other, you have promised to go on dates with both of them. It had seemed like an exciting idea at the time. You thought it would be a bit like the Bachelorette. Now however, you were starting to regret offering.

"Oh wait, I've got it!" Sarah announced after a moment. She pulled a rose-colored high waisted skater skirt from her drawer and went digging through the clothes pile for a white cropped tank top they had already discarded. "Try this on."

You put on the outfit and turned to look at yourself in the mirror. You liked it. It was cute, casual, and so you. But you were sure Sarah would find some issue with it.

"It's perfect!" Sarah squealed. "Just wear your swimsuit under it. I'd go with the coral one."

"We spent all this time finding an outfit, and I'm just gonna be swimming?"

Sarah just shrugged, making a motion that said her lips were sealed.

------------------------------------------------------

John B came to pick you up in his van. During the entire ride, you pestered both he and Sarah about where you were going and why JJ couldn’t come pick you up himself, but they shared very little information with you.

You had managed to find JJ on Instagram, so at least you knew what he looked like. And when you saw his pictures, you were almost surprised. He was incredibly good-looking, there was no denying it. His untamed blond hair and crystal blue eyes, combined with his tendency to wear cut-off shirts or simply no shirt at all, made it hard to look away from him. Still, you were unsure about how this date would go. From what little you'd managed to gather about his personality, he was a comedic reckless bad-boy, and it wasn't a type you usually went for.

"We're here," John B announced, switching his car into park and hoping out.

You looked around at your surroundings, confused. "This is your house, isn't it?" you asked John B.

Before he could respond, you heard a voice behind you. “Hey, there's the infamous y/n." You turned around to see JJ emerging from John B's house with a wide grin on his face.

You were surprised to find that he was even more attractive in person.

"And you must be JJ." You reached out your hand to shake his, but he pulled you into a hug instead. You could feel the muscles in his arms and chest and you'd be lying if you said you didn't enjoy it.

"Hey sorry about sending JB to pick you up. I had to do we last minute maintenance on the Pogue. I'm sure you're docking me points as we speak," he said with a cheeky grin.

You nodded even though you had absolutely zero clue what he was talking about. “Just a few,” you jokingly replied.

“Then we should get going before I can lose anymore. Hey Sarah, take care of John B for me, okay? I know he gets lonely when we’re apart.” John B flipped him off. You all said your goodbyes and Sarah and her boyfriend climbed back in his van and left, leaving you and JJ alone.

He turned to you with a smile. “Welcome to the Outer Banks, sweetheart. You’re gonna love it here.

------------------------------------------------------

Only when you got down to the docks did what JJ had said make any sense. There was a small fishing boat docked there with the letters HMS POGUE painted on the side. You knew about the island rivalry between the rich Kooks and the poor Pogues, but none of it meant anything to you. You knew that even though the Cameron's were significantly wealthier than your side of the family, you would be considered a Kook. But in your opinion, the class-based bias was stupid and pointless.

When you saw the boat, you were instantly excited. You loved the sea and there were few things you enjoyed more than being on the My Druthers with you Uncle and cousins. Somehow, you knew the adventure in this small fishing boat with JJ would be even more exciting.

"Are we going out on the water? I love boating!" You exclaimed.

"Oh yeah? It's not beneath a Kook princess like you?"

It honestly made you angry to be stereotyped like that, but rather than calling him out on it, you calmly responded, "Not at all." You suddenly understood exactly what kind of girl he expected you to be, and you were determined to prove him wrong.

He helped you into the boat and thanked him. He untied the boat and pushed off from the dock before starting the engine. ”So tell me a little bit about yourself. Like, where're you from? How are you related to the Camerons?”

“Uncle Ward is my mom’s brother. We live about six hours away in Virginia, west of Roanoke. I love coming here any chance I get. This is the first time I've come by myself and I'm spending the entire summer."

"I can't imagine not living by a beach," he commented. He was lounging in the seat by the wheel, attempting and failing to steer the boat with his feet. You stifled a laugh. "Well really, I can't imagine living anywhere but here."

“My mom grew up here, with her brother. She left to go to school and never came back.”

“Wait, Sarah said her dad grew up on the cut. So your mom did too?”

“Yeah. When he earned all his money, he gave some to my mom." You didn't like talking about the origin of your wealth, but you felt comfortable with JJ. "They’re really close.”

You and JJ continued talking. You learned that he was an only child, but he didn't say much else about his family. Mostly he told you about his friends and what he liked to do. He told you that he was a good surfer, and you made him promise, even if you two were a terrible match, that he would give you lessons. He agreed with a laugh. Eventually, when you were far enough out, he cut the engine.

"Wanna go for a dip?" he offered.

You raised an eyebrow at him. "Is this your secret plan to get me to take my clothes off on the first date? Because if so, it's working."

He laughed. "I did not expect you to be funny."

You tilted your head and smiled at him. "Well now that you've met me, I hope you've learned not to underestimate me."

"Yes ma'am," he agreed.

You both stripped down to your swimsuits. JJ, quickly dove in, but you were a bit hesitant.

"Come on. I'll catch you. Promise," JJ persuaded as soon as he broke the surface. He held out his arms to prove it to you.

You closed your eyes and jumped. True to his word, JJ caught you. The force from your jump caused both of you to go under, but he held you the entire time.

“You okay?” He asked when you both resurfaced. He didn’t truly sound concerned though, he was too busy laughing.

“I’m fine, but you won’t be when I get my revenge.”

“Revenge? Why, I caught you?” He protested.

“Revenge for laughing at me, obviously.”

He laughed again, seemingly not affected by your threat. You seemed to both simultaneously realize he was still holding on to you, and he gently released you, glancing away as if he was embarrassed.

JJ cleared his throat and broke the silence. “Okay, so I get Sarah, she’s a pretty cool chick, but how is a great girl like you related to a dickhead like Rafe Cameron?”

"Hey! That's my cousin you're talking about."

"Okay fine, sore subject."

You sighed. "Honestly, he's different around me. Different even than he is around Sarah and Wheezie. We’re pretty close. Not as close as me and Sarah, but still.”

“So that’s why you agreed to go on a date with Topper?”

“I guess.” You shrugged. Honestly, you hadn’t expected to connect this well with JJ. You already found yourself staring at him shamelessly, his lips specifically. The date with Topper was beginning to seem stupid. You could already imagine yourself spending your summer with JJ. Surfing, hanging out with his friends on the HMS Pogue, cuddling on the beach under the night sky. You shook your head to bring yourself back to reality. You'd only just met JJ, and you had no way of knowing if he even liked you.

“What should I know about Topper?” You asked JJ, curious.

JJ snorted. “I have nothing good to say about him. He’s a first-rate stuck-up kook.”

“Okay, sorry. Bad date topic anyway.”

“You know what’s a good date topic?” JJ began with a mischievous smile on his face. He swam up to you so that your faces were inches apart. You could sense his lips getting closer to yours. Your eyes fluttered shut. All of the sudden, he grabbed you by the waist and tossed you into the water, dunking you.

You gasped when your head emerged. “You are so dead,” you shouted.

You jumped onto his back, trying to force his head under, but he was stronger than you and easily threw you off. You chased after him, trying fruitlessly to get your payback. Only after ten minutes of chasing him were you finally able to dunk him, and even then, you had a feeling that he let you.

You were still both laughing when you climbed back on the deck on the Pogue. It was nearing nightfall, and you decided to head back. JJ had offered to let you steer, but he kept leaning over your shoulder and correcting your movements, so somehow you end up on his lap as you head back towards land. You were both silent, but it was a comfortable silence and you didn’t mind it in the slightest. When you pulled up to the dock, he turned off the engine and you both climbed off.

JJ led you to John B's yard where you reclined together on a hammock and looked up at the sky. It was slightly chilly outside, but JJ had his arm wrapped around your shoulder, and wherever his bare skin touched yours, you felt warm.

"This is one of my favorite places in the world," he explained."I love to sit here with my friends, roll a joint, just look up at the sky. I don't care if it's in total silence. It's the only time I shut up," he joked. You can't help but laugh

"It feels just as natural with you here beside me. I guess what I'm trying to say is I can see you as one of us. You should hang out with us. With me."

He rolled on to his side to face you and you did the same. He reached up a hand to cup your cheek and pulls you closer until your lips are touching. It's the perfect kiss. Slow and gentle, but electrifying.

"Think about it," he whispered. You nodded, a silent promise.

You didn't know how it was possible, but as you laid there next to JJ, you could already feel yourself falling for him.

[enigmainvestigations]

Character list

This is going to be a brief breakdown of Ed’s relationships with the other characters in Gotham mostly from his Riddler days. This is from his perspective, theirs are mostly still open (besides the ones that I explain here). Also, these relations can change over time which many of them will. Please note- This list is for those who are curious, and for writers who might need some inspiration in the case a character comes up in their writing and they get stuck. You don’t have to reference this, these are just my current ideas on these character relations.   

Heroes: 

Batman- HATE. I’ve gone over this already in his bio, but I’ll use this to explain some things from Batman’s perspective. At first Batman saw Ed as someone unable to control their compulsive behavior, and thought Eddie just needed some intervention. However, as the years went by and he began to be the focus of Ed’s schemes he started to see him as a cunning, intelligent, and very dangerous criminal. Especially when it became clear to him that Ed had no regard for others, and Ed’s plans regularly put other’s lives and well being at risk. He knows that Ed’s intelligence and his ability to process and retain knowledge is extremely high, and he worries that Ed’s intellect might surpass his at some point. Ed’s motives were always rather simplistic even if his methods weren’t, but Batman saw his potential and believed if Ed truly applied himself he could become much too dangerous. Because of this he handled Eddie very specifically. He would normally take on the Riddler on his own in hopes of controlling their interactions, and keep himself as the main focus of Ed’s ire. Nightwing- Greatly dislikes. From his time as Robin being a bratty teen with a smart mouth, Ed sees him as an annoyance despite only having brief encounters with him through the years. Oracle- Ed has no idea Oracle is the previous Batgirl, but he REALLY dislikes her. Since Batman doesn’t really control Batgirl he’s had more interactions with her than the Robins. He’s been on the receiving end of too many of her beastmode attacks to have anything but negative feelings toward her. Jason Todd- **I haven’t decided if this is post, pre, or if the Red Hood arc is going to play out like the canon* Robin (Tim)- Ed doesn’t like any of the Robins, but he does have a very slight respect for Tim. He’s had much more interactions with him than the previous two, and he knows that he’s smart and capable. He certainly keeps his guard up around him, and chooses his words wisely so not to divulge too information. Batgirl (Steph)- Dislikes, but doesn’t take her too seriously. 

Batgirl (Cass)- Dislikes. Only in his brief interactions with her, he really doesn’t like her. The reasons should be obvious.

Alfred Pennyworth- None

Jim Gordon- This one is a bit complicated. When Ed worked for the GCPD he had very few interactions with Jim, but the two were cordial. When Ed became The Riddler Jim felt betrayed since he used a lot of information he’d complied while working at the department. Over the years though Jim began to see Ed as someone who couldn’t control himself and was suffering with mental issues. He took the stance of treating Ed the way he treated him, but tries not to get him too riled up. He figured out that if he treated Ed with respect then Ed tended to behave and not get too excitable. On the other hand, Eddie actually likes interacting with Jim. He finds him quite entertaining, and likes watching Jim try to hold his tongue in his presence. 

Renee Montoya- Complicated as well. When Ed worked for the GCPD Renee found him to be very odd, and he gave her the creeps though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why. When Ed became The Riddler she also felt betrayed, but she was much more confrontational with her anger toward him than Jim. Through time she also began to see Eddie the same way as Gordon, but she finds it hard to control her distaste toward him. The fact that he can escape handcuffs, and any cell they put him in makes her very nervous around him whenever he’s in custody. Eddie tends to find her outbursts rather funny, and usually would try to get on her nerves whenever he was bored when around her. Renee was rarely the main focus of his attention, but when she was he would be quite rude to her in hopes of getting her riled up. Harvey Bullock- Also complicated. Same situation as the other two, but Harvey actually liked Ed a bit when he worked at the department. He found his snide comments to be very humorous, as long as they were directed toward someone else. He also felt betrayed, but Harvey personally suffered more from Ed’s betrayal. Since then he has a deep disdain toward Ed, and feels zero sympathy or understanding for him. He’s very open about his anger with Eddie, and would often berate him whenever he was in custody. Eddie however loves interacting with Bullock. He finds Harvey’s anger very entertaining, and typically focuses on baiting him into an outburst. He’s used these situations multiple times as a distraction to escape custody.

Villains:

Bane- They haven’t had much interaction, but anyone who breaks the Bat Ed is going to like at least a little bit. Black Mask- Good. Ignoring Roman’s trigger happy temper, Ed tends to find him easy to work with since Roman’s motives are relatively simple. Clayface- Good. He’s hired Basil on a few occasions and found him pretty easy to work with. Catwoman- Dislikes, despite the two not having any real confrontations. The two are respectful to each other, but Selina thinks outside the box too much for Ed’s liking. She’s also better at certain skills than he is, which really messes with his ego since he doesn’t trust her. Long and short of it is- Selina makes Ed feel inadequate so he avoids her, but he’s not stupid so he doesn’t piss her off. Harley Quinn- As The Riddler Ed found Harley to be an annoyance, and couldn’t understand why Joker wouldn’t just kill her. He viewed her as unintelligent, and a waste of time. He generally treated her like he would a child, which sometimes worked and other times Harley found patronizing. *By the time Ed quits his criminal career however, him and Harley have an odd relationship. They’ve survived some very close calls, and even though he still finds her annoying he seems to accept her presence around him even though he tends to ignore most of what she says. Their chumminess is odd, and quite suspicious to everyone else in the city.  Hush-**I haven’t decided if this is post Hush, pre Hush, or if Hush plays out like the canon or not**

The Joker- Ed is one of the few people who can be around Joker repeatedly without getting killed. He made the mistake of teaming up with Joker once, and quickly learned his lesson never to do it again. After that he figured out how to deal with Joker, and kept him at arms length. He has The Joker mostly figured out, and doesn’t find interactions with him to be as unpredictable as others do. He also likes that whenever Joker comes to him needing something silly for one of his plans, he can charge him ridiculously high prices and Joker will pay without a second thought. His reputation of dealing with Joker is a bit of an ego boost for him, thinking he’s learned how to manipulate him. The reality is though, Joker doesn’t kill him simply because he finds Ed’s sensitive ego and his self destructive behavior hilarious. Killer Croc- Eddie thinks they’re alright, but they’re really not. 

Mad Hatter- They’re alright. Ed can’t be around Jervis for too long because his fantastical ramblings get on his nerves, but he tends to play along with Jervis’ delusions enough that Jervis thinks he understands. Because of this Ed finds him easy to influence. He has little interest in Jervis, but his mind control tech is something Ed’s always been trying to get his hands on. Unfortunately for him, currently Jervis is unwilling to fully share it.

Mr. Freeze- Its really 50/50 with these two. Even though Ed sees Victor as an easy way to make some money, or someone to have do some dirty work for him if need be, he also finds Victor’s anger to be exhausting to deal with. He knows Victor doesn’t like him and only really uses him for his own objectives, but Victor also makes their interactions quiet rocky. Ed will work with him if the opportunity arises, but he’ll keep their business brief. The Penguin- Good. The two of them have very similar skills at persuasion, manipulation, and deception. They practically do a constant dance of give and take with each other, to the point that now they both see the other as a valuable resource. Since they both dabble in similar assets the two have found its easier to work together than to be competition, which has really made them both more successful in the long run. From Ed’s perspective this is a battle of intelligence, but he has recognized that Os is aware of it and surprisingly isn’t put off by it like others are. He respects Os’s boundaries, and finds business with him to be smooth sailing. Os has a good level of respect for Ed. Not only because of his intelligence, and reliability, but also that Ed is smart enough to never fully trust Os. He’s used to being underestimated by people, and Ed’s unwillingness to divulge too much is a level of cunning he admires. *Os is not happy about Ed’s “career” change. He doesn’t believe Ed has turned over a new leaf, but his sudden switch makes him very uneasy. He has people watching Eddie very closely.  Poison Ivy- Not at all good. Ed made the mistake of underestimating Ivy early on, giving her the opportunity to see him as the manipulative jerk he really was. She hasn’t trusted him since, and he usually has to avoid her in order to not get crushed by her plants.  Ra’s al Ghul- None. **I currently really want to keep the Gotham criminals in the dark about the League** Scarecrow- Dislike. Considering that Crane is an actual intellectual and a genius, Ed does not like interacting with him. He isn’t outwardly hostile toward Crane, but he definitely avoids him whenever he can. Crane’s intelligence really messes with Ed’s ego. Mix that with Crane’s creepy nature, and his constant psychological analyzing, he usually makes Ed feel like an inferior child. He’s also a bit scared of him and that fear toxin. Two-Face- Also 50/50 with them (I didn’t do that on purpose). Having to interact with two people in one body with two separate motivations can be quite stressful for Ed, but at the same time he enjoys the game. Harvey isn’t as easy for him to manipulate as he can with others, and he’s had a few close calls with Harvey where he pushed things too far. This seems to have fueled his interest in the game more, rather than deter him.

[crue-sixx]

Taken (John Wick Imagine)

Summary: You’re taken by a group seeking revenge on John Wick, but they don’t realize the lengths Baba Yaga will go to keep you safe.

Warning: Kidnapping and some violence.

As you woke up in an unfamiliar room, you wondered why your head was hurting you so much. One second you were at home alone while you’re boyfriend, John Wick, took his dog out for a walk then the next you were waking up in a cold room that was very unfamiliar to you. All you could remember was feeling this intense pain in your head before you blacked out. You were about to rub your head, but found that you couldn’t. You looked down to find your hands tied to the arms of a chair. Your legs were also tied to the chair, making you swear under your breath.

What the hell was going on?

You didn’t have to wonder too long because soon enough the door to the room was being opened and in walked a burly man with two others trailing right behind him. You blinked your eyes a few times to adjust to the light of the room before you looked at the men properly.

“John Wick’s girl,” the burly guy spoke with an accent you couldn’t quite place. Russian maybe? It had to be. “What a nice surprise.”

“Who the hell are you?” You asked not too pleasantly. It isn’t like this guy deserved any manners from you. You were hit in the head and tied down to a chair for crying out loud.

“That is not important,” the guy replied as the two others stood on each side of him with their arms crossed. They looked like they were trying to be intimidating, which was working. You were freaked out and wondering how you were going to get yourself out of this mess. “I suppose you know that your boyfriend is a bad man.”

“Bad man?” You asked and snorted as you shook your head. “If you think he’s bad now then you should see him when he comes looking for me and finds you assholes holding me hostage. You haven’t begun to see bad yet.”

You probably shouldn’t have been running your mouth so much, but you were trying to buy some time to keep the guy talking. You didn’t know what he had planned for you and you were afraid to find out.

The guy chuckled and shook his head. “What makes you think he will find you in time?”

You gulped at that statement, but tried to keep a straight face. He was just trying to scare you and you knew that, but they obviously had something planned for you that you knew you wouldn’t like.

“Because he’s good at what he does,” you replied. “Finding assholes like you and putting them in their place. He can smell a shithead miles away.”

The guy raised a brow at that and stepped up closer to you. You looked up at him as he looked down at you. It happened so fast, but his right fist flew out and connected right with your left eye. Your head flew back with the force as you cried out in pain. That would definitely leave a mark.

“I can see John Wick hasn’t taught his bitch any manners,” he said as he grabbed you by your chin and stared you down.

You tried to move your chin from his hand, but he had too tight of a grip on it. Not only were you scared, but you were pissed off. This guy was a douche bag. You were already a pretty outspoken person and this guy was really testing you.

“Fuck you,” you replied and spit in his face for good measure.

He let go of your chin and stood up straight again as he grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket. He wiped his face off before he glared at you.

“Teach this bitch some manners,” the guy said as he turned his back on you and walked out of the room.

The other two guys started approaching you and you gulped again. Well, this is where your smart mouth got you. He was going to do this anyways so you might as well give him a piece of your mind.

“You know, you don’t have to take orders from that guy,” you told the two guys as they popped their knuckles. “Think this over. John’s going to find me and he is not going to be happy. If you do this then you might as well just sign your own death certificates.”

You’d barely finished talking before one of the men backhanded you hard across the cheek. You groaned out in pain as your head jerked to the side from the force. It seemed these guys weren’t up for reasoning.

Punches and hits were thrown at you. You cried out in pain with each hit. They weren’t none too gentle. They eventually let up and left you alone, spitting up blood and groaning in pain. There was no telling what else you’d be in store for if John didn’t find you soon enough. You wouldn’t doubt if these guys planned to kill you. They were just having some fun before they did. They were obviously getting back at John for something. They underestimated his abilities though. You knew John would find them. The question was when.

It seemed like hours went by before the door to the room opened again and the asshole from earlier walked in with the other goons. You groaned in annoyance at the presence of them. What were they here for this time?

“Seems my guys have taught you a proper lesson,” the guy said with a smile. “You look like absolute shit, dear.”

“I don’t remember asking,” you told him as your head was leaned down. “John’s not going to be happy about this.”

“You keep speaking of John, but tell me...where is the Baba Yaga?” He asked you with a smirk. “I haven’t seen him yet. Is he really as good as you make him out to be?”

“No,” you breathed out and finally lifted your head up to look at the guy. “He’s even better.”

“Whatever makes you feel better, sweetheart,” he said as he shrugged.

“Don’t call me that, asshole,” you spoke out through clenched teeth. John was the only one allowed to call you that. This guy didn’t deserve that right.

He stepped up closer to you and grabbed you by the collar of your shirt as he got up in your face. “I demand respect from you, you little bitch! That mouth of yours has gotten you in more trouble than-”

The guy ended his sentence right there because suddenly the sound of gun fire was heard. He let go of you and looked up with a curious face. You smiled because you already knew what was going on.

Baba Yaga has found you.

The guy spoke out in Russian to the other two. One left while the other stayed behind and drew his gun. He went to the door and looked out as the main guy stepped behind you. You looked back at him as you heard shouting and more gun fire.

“I told you he would find me,” you told the guy with a triumphant smile.

“Shut up, bitch,” he replied back to you through clenched teeth.

The gun fire kept getting closer and closer with each passing moment. How many guys were out there? It didn’t matter. You had complete confidence that John would take them all down. He never let anything stand in his way.

It was maybe a minute later when the guy keeping lookout at the door was shot. You jumped slightly and watched his body hit the floor. John soon appeared in the doorway with a gun drawn.

“John!” You called out as the guy grabbed you by your hair and pulled your head back. You soon felt something pressed into your neck. A glance down let you know that the guy had drawn a knife and was holding it against your neck.

“Come any closer, John, and I will slit her pretty little throat right in front of you,” he told John.

“Okay, lets just calm down here,” John said as he stayed put in his spot.

“Drop the gun and kick it away,” he instructed him, gripping you hair tighter when John didn’t comply fast enough. You hissed out in pain. John held his hands up and bent down to drop the gun before he kicked it away. “It’s nice to finally see you again, John Wick. It’s been too long.”

“There were other ways of seeing me,” John told him as he glared at him. He looked at you and his face softened. You looked back at him nervously. You didn’t know what was about to happen. “No need to bring her into this. She had nothing to do with it.”

“That doesn’t matter,” the guy said as he dug the knife into your neck more. You winced and gripped onto the arms of the chair. “She’s the person who means the most to you so that makes her a part of this. You took something away from me.”

“Your father was a bad man, Alexander,” John said as he stared him down, watching every little move he made. “He did some bad things to people. I was ordered to take him out and that’s what I did. Doesn’t mean you have to turn out like him and end up with the same fate he did.”

“Don’t you talk about him like that!” The guy, Alexander, yelled out as he gripped your hair even tighter. You winced and yelped in pain.

He started talking in Russian then. You didn’t understand a word of it, but John did because he began speaking in Russian back to him. You didn’t know what was going on or what was about to happen.

“Say your goodbyes to her, Baba Yaga,” Alexander spoke in English again. “I’m giving you more than what you gave me.”

“If you hurt her anymore, I swear-” John began to say, but was cut off.

“You had your chance!” Alexander yelled and began cutting into your neck.

You screamed out, thinking this was the end for you. The guy barely made a proper cut into your skin, however, when there was a loud gun shot heard right next to you. The knife slid from your throat, cutting into your skin slightly, before the guy fell back. Your eyes popped open. You glanced behind you and found Alexander laying on the ground, a gun shot wound in the middle of his head. You let out the breath you had been holding and turned to John. He was bent down on one knee with his gun still drawn. He must’ve hidden a gun he could get to fast.

“John,” you breathed out and leaned back in the chair you were still sat in. You could feel tears in your eyes. You didn’t know if it was from relief or from the situation you were so close to being in.

John quickly stood back up and holstered his gun before he came over to you. He gently cupped your face in his hands and looked you over, looking sorrowful at the injuries he found.

“Y/N, sweetheart, are you hurt anywhere else?” He asked as he looked you over. “Did they hurt you in any other way?”

You shook your head quickly as the tears started to fall. He looked relieved to hear that. He quickly set to work on untying you from the chair. Once you were finally free, you wrapped your arms around John. He held you close to him and kissed your head before he picked you up, carrying you bridal style.

“Baby, don’t look,” he warned you.

You nodded and nuzzled your face in John’s neck with your eyes closed. You kept them closed till John sat you down. You opened your eyes and found yourself sitting in his beloved 1969 Ford Mustang. He bent down to your level outside the car and looked you over better.

“This is all my fault,” John sighed out and shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Y/N.”

“John, this isn’t your fault,” you told him quickly. “You didn’t make them do this. Besides, it probably looks worse than it is.” You checked yourself in the mirror to see. It did look pretty bad, but it wasn’t hurting as much as before. Your eye was swelling and your cheek was bruising. Blood was coming from your nose and lip.

“This is my fault,” he said. “I should’ve found you sooner. You shouldn’t have even been in this situation to begin with.”

“John, I don’t blame you for this,” you told him in a stern voice so that he would listen to you. “Besides, you saved me just like I knew you would. There was no doubt in my mind that you would find me.”

John sighed again and cupped your uninjured cheek, pulling you down so that he could rest his forehead against your own. He kissed you as gently as he could since your lip was injured. It hurt a bit, but you didn’t care. You were glad to be kissing him again. He pulled away and put some stray hair behind your ear.

“Let’s get you home,” he whispered softly. “Get you cleaned up. I’ll take care of you now, sweetheart. I’ll always take care of you. I love you.”

You smiled at John and nodded. “I know and I love you too, John.”

[xenoredux]

The Legend of Silver Fang - Episode 2: The Invasion

If you haven’t read episode 1 yet, you can do so here.

As mentioned before, the major story beats and overarching plot are the same. This is written under the supposition that, in fantasy land, this is a mini series with episodes that run about 2 hours in length each.

Some things to be aware of going in:

This story is violent as shit!!! CONTENT WARNING FOR: Animal and human injuries, firearms, other weapons, animal death, and just a whole lotta spilled blood. Basically if any form of violence upsets you, it’d be a good idea not to read ahead

I was trying to achieve a decent adaptation that combines the strongest elements of the anime and manga. It will not be precisely like either and will occasionally totally deviate from both

This isn’t meant to be “better” then the canon. It’s just the way I’d go about rewriting the Akakabuto arc if I had that level of ungodly power lol

Character designs made to represent several mentioned characters can be found here and here. Others will be left up to the reader’s interpretation. A link to the next episode will also be provided at the end. If a link isn’t available, the next episode just hasn’t been posted yet!

HAVE FUN READING OR ELSE!!!

Everyone has just recovered from Daisuke's nasty fall when Gohei has a fall of his own. The old man's antics (and his drinking too lbr) have finally caught up to him, and he collapses in the snow. Before he slips away, Gohei's mind is filled not with the hurried voices of those around him but with images of Gin.

He imagines Gin fully grown, a silver clone of his father. Imaginary Gin is leaping across a gorge like he did while bird hunting, and once again he falls. Except this time as he falls he morphs into Riki, and a trail of blood follows him during his descent into the void below.

Gohei's eyes snap open, and he's greeted with the electric hum of hospital overhead lights. He's greeted by not just the harsh white walls and flurescent lighting, but by Daisuke and Gin, who Gohei realizes has grown substantially. Daisuke explains that the old timer bit shit and has been in a short coma, but he's under the care of Dr. Hidetoshi now. As if summoned, Hidetoshi enters the room, reassured Gohei that he'll be overseeing his care for the next few months, and allows the three the privacy he'd initially interrupted.

Gohei pouts in the way only elderly men can at the knowledge that he won't be able to haul ass outta here while flipping off the doctors again. He's too weak to get out of bed now. Daisuke promises him that he'll be taking Gin's training into his own hands.

Oldie McGee appreciatively places his hand on Daisuke's shoulder, then on Gin's head. He looks down at the dog, relieved to see he's still got silver brindle fur instead of the red from his dream. Gin licks his hand affectionately.

Daisuke is just about to leave and take Gin home when he notices something out of the corner of his eye. He turns a corner to find Hidetoshi's indoor archery range, cementing just how much disposable income the good doctor has. Hidetoshi fires an arrow right in the middle of the target across the room. The customized red, purple, and blue tail of the arrow bobs rapidly as it strikes the back wall.

Daisuke gapes in amazement. Hidetoshi laughs and tells the kid not to underestimate how powerful a bow can be. Daisuke enthusiastically grabs for the bow, and Hidetoshi allows him to, but soon the child finds he doesn't have enough arm strength to so much as pull the arrow back.

Daisuke is disheartened, but to make up for his abysmal performance, Hidetoshi says he'd like to show him something. He allows Daisuke and Gin into his office, which contains a multitude of taxidermied animals, photos of the man's hunting trips across the Western world, and a couple of dog beds. One of those beds contains John, and he smugly rises to meet everyone. John smirks as Gin stares at the photos of John adorning the walls, all of which showcase the dog sitting or lying beside a dead animal twice his size.

Hidetoshi elaborates on the adventures he's had with John, many of which he used a bow during. His face then falls as he explains something a lot less riveting: Gohei's meatsuit is too fucked for him to return to his old life. He'll never hunt again. He wouldn't be able to handle the physical strain. He will never get to kill Akakabuto.

Daisuke and Gin leave the hospital. Daisuke is struck with an existential crisis about what meaning Gohei's life will have now and how he'll never get to avenge Riki's death. Gin whines supportively, watching as Hidetoshi and John enter their car and leave. As soon as they're out of sight, Gin runs back into the archery range and snags up Hidetoshi's bow. His intention may have been to play fetch, or it may have been to stop the kid from crying, but Daisuke takes this as a sign that Gin and he will simply have to kill Akakabastard themselves.

For the next few months, Daisuke and Gin both work hella hard to improve their physical prowess. Daisuke jumps rope, goes for runs, lifts weights, and probably punches rocks or whatever it is body builders do. Meanwhile, Gin joins him on runs and, in his own time, makes an honest effort to leap across the rooftops of houses as if they were his mortal enemy: cliffs. The two boys do everything to get ripped shy of frequenting body builder forums and subreddits, and that's just because the internet isn't a thing yet.

The two have made amazing strides since they began their regimens. Daisuke has arms freaky large for a kid his age, and Gin, now just over a year old, has the most profound dog pecs anyone who hasn't experienced Ginga has ever seen. It's a good thing, too, because they'll need the strength. Though Akakabuto never truly rests, he's not the only thing frequenting the forests now. Winter will soon be over, which means that hibernation for the other bears will be over too.

One day Diasuke comes to Hidetoshi requesting to use his bow. Amused, Hidetoshi allows it. Daisuke finally manages to pull the arrow back and let 'er rip, hitting the target dead on. Hidetoshi is stunned. He knew Daisuke was tryna get beefed up, but he didn't expect the boy's self discipline to get him this far. He praises the boy for his achievement, and so does Gin. Gin and Daisuke have become inseparable outside of their individual training regimines, cementing their brohood more then ever before.

As Daisuke and Gin are walking home, they're met with a surprise. It's Gohei! The stubborn cuss has once again decided he's tired of waiting around inactive, and he commands Gin to come with him and hunt bears. But the ancient dude can barely chuff out the last few words before he collapses to his knees both real and artificial. He topples over, out cold.

Daisuke rushes to his side and tells Gin to retrieve Hidetoshi. Gin  understands because frankly he was gonna do that anyway, and he takes off like a rocket (or should I say a shooting star?) to find Doc. As Gin books it, Daisuke does the weirdest flex of all by lifting the old man unassisted.

Daisuke manages to carry Gohei halfway to the hospital when Gin arrives back with Hidetoshi. After some running around in a fuss, Doctor x Hunter has Gohei settled back into his own bed. The old man is murmuring something to himself about Akakabuto, but nobody pays it much mind. Hidetoshi thanks Daisuke for his help and allows him to go home - he'll stay beside the wacky ole spitfire tonight to make sure he doesn't get up to his old tricks again.

As Daisuke and Gin leave, Daisuke decides he's had enough. Tomorrow he and Gin are going into the forest and they're not coming back out until Akakabuto is Akakadead, Bro. Gin appreciates the conviction in the young man's voice, but shit dude, you sure?

Tomorrow arrives, as it usually does. Gin and Daisuke depart super early in the morning so the parentals don't notice. They only stop to borrow Hidetoshi's bow, taking care not to attract any attention. They've just entered the woods when their first roadblock presents itself.

The bridge across the river has been busted up. The heavy snow has begun melting into the now overflowing river beneath it, and the raging current finally did the shitty wooden walkway in. Now the two will have to go upstream to cross. Before they do, Gin pauses and snarls at something across the way. Daisuke notices several dark masses moving through the underbrush.

It's a mother bear and her two cubs, and it's instantly clear who their father is. Each twin bearbabe has a streak of dark, shiny red fur running from the top of its head to the tip of its tail. Daisuke is certain the family is taking a field trip to Daddy Bear's territory, so he and Gin follow the bears alongside the stream as they make their way to the pass.

Having risen only a little later then Daisuke, Hidetoshi is having a lark of his own. He, John, and a few of his friends are all packed into his Jeep and heading into the forest. This trip isn't for pleasure, though. It seems as if some of Hidetoshi's friends' livestock has been mauled to death and stolen, and nobody wants to stand by and let that happen.

The men come across the same thing the two kiddos did, the busted up bridge, and groan in frustration. However, just before they can start heading to the other pass, Hidetoshi pulls out a rope and passes it to John.

He begins giving John commands in English, commands which I wish I could understand, and John jumps over the stream and secures the rope around a tree. Hidetoshi also uses this show-offy moment to teach us all a valuable lesson in being overprepared by producing a pulley from out his Jeep. The other men are having a hard time knowing what to do with this information, but at least they don't have to hike up a different trail.

A ways away, Daisuke and Gin have finally located Akakabuto's territory. They know this to be true because they've found a freshly plopped pile of bear poop. Daisuke has never been more afraid of a pile of shit before, his knees quaking and his breath quickening at the sight.

He decides now is the time to take a breather, so he and Gin settle beside a tree to have breakfast. But Daisuke's anxiety has given him a gut ache, so he just passes the dog his food. Gin tries to enjoy the rice when a torrent of noisy crows descends upon the trees. The birds caw incessently, their calls blaring in Daisuke's overwhelmed noggin. Some of them even begin to land and try to steal from a snarling Gin.

Daisuke's overstimulation has reached its peak, and in an effort to get the flying vagrants to fuck off, he takes out the bow and fires a warning shot at one of the birds. Only it's less a warning shot and more a bullseye.

The arrow plows right through the bird's greedy guts, and though it does scatter the other bothersome thieves, it wasn't what Daisuke had in mind. He's never killed before, and he gets a hard hitting rush of guilt, shame, and astonishment in the pit of his gut. He comes to realize he'll have to make peace with this feeling if he's to slay Akakabuto, so he swallows his emotions and tells Gin to hurry up. They've got a bear to kill.

The two trod through the forest before a drop of moisture hits Gin's nose. Then one hits Daisuke right in the eye (he totally wasn't crying you guys). Daisuke looks up. Just their luck - it's started to rain. Perturbed, Daisuke says he and Gin should find some shelter. Gin begins looking for a cave to hide in, and he has the good fortune of finding one. Psych, did I say good fortune? I meant THERE IS A BEAR IN THE CAVE.

Daisuke almost pees his pants at the sight of the thing. It's not nearly as big as Akakabuto, but it IS massive, and it looks pretty peeved. Gin's prey drive kicks into high gear and he starts wailing on the bear, snapping at its face and leaping around its body to land a few good bites. He's actually managing very well for himself despite his lack of hands-on experience.

Daisuke, on the other hand, ain't doing so hot, having collapsed into a hyperventilating mess beside a fallen tree. Who knew life and death situations would be so scary?!

Elsewhere, Hidetoshi's squad have found one of the missing horses. They're surprised to find it alive... kinda, sorta, for a moment. When they get a better peek at it through the foliage, they see it's barely breathing, mostly because its neck is being chomped on by a bear.

This bear is not Akakabuto, but unlike Daisuke's find, it's almost his size. It takes one look at the men before turning tail and galloping away, leaving the corpse of the horse behind. The men ready their guns while Hidetoshi commands John to tail behind the animal, which the dog does without a moment's hesitation.

The battle between Gin and the bear rages on. In between his blows, Gin repeatedly looks over his shoulder at Daisuke, urging him to join the fray. Daisuke is too busy going into panic induced shock to help, so Gin is forced to keep up the brawl alone. He throws himself into the bear repeatedly, snapping and snarling and trying to draw blood, but the animal is too much for him to handle alone.

With a well placed swipe of a gargantuan paw, Gin is sent whimpering to the forest floor. A rivulet of blood follows him in his descent, the sight of which finally snaps Daisuke out of his stupor. Lightening strikes somewhere nearby. The bear's roars are indistinguishable from the thunder above. Gin stumbles weakly to his feet, blood dribbling down his face as it mixes with the falling rain. Four deep, long gashes span the length of Gin's forehead.

Daisuke stops wallowing in his own fear long enough to begin thinking of how to save the dog from the fiend that just performed minor surgery on his scalp. Through tears and sobs, Daisuke tries to remember what Gohei once told him about bear hunting. The center line. He needs to hit the center line.

While Daisuke is having a callback/bruh moment, Gin is still getting his ass handed to him. The bear sweeps all four of his legs and sends him flying once more, the poor poochie yelping miserably. Gin crumples to the ground, the blood from his mauled forehead running into his eyes. The landscape goes red as Gin sees Daisuke finally take some goddamn initiative and aim the bow at the bear's face. Daisuke doesn't manage to hit the illusive center line, but he does take out the animal's right eye.

The bear reels back in pain, even more furious then its default state of being. It swipes at Daisuke instead of Gin for a change, but Gin recovers from his bloody stupor and drags Daisuke out of harm's way. When the two are a safe distance from the bear, Daisuke realizes that he'd dropped the bow, and now it's too close to the pissed off wildlife to retrieve.

Gin doesn't take notice to this because all his brainpower is focused on getting back to ass kicking. The dog returns to baiting the bear just long enough for Daisuke to snatch up the bow and let loose one, then another, then another arrow into the animal's face.

One arrow pierces a nearby tree. Another enters the bear's left nostril, drawing more blood. The last lodges itself dead center in the animal's throat. The bear topples backwards, scratching wildly at the projectiles stuck in its skin, which causes the arrow in its throat to shoot sideward and pierce its jugular vein. As the two youngsters watch, the bear collapses to the ground and bleeds to death.

Daisuke practically passes out beside the fallen tree, and Gin howls victoriously into the rainy night sky. At that moment, the clouds depart and the rain ceases.

Gin licks Daisuke's face to rouse him. Daisuke hugs Gin, crying out happily at their amazing victory. An unfamiliar sound joins in with Daisuke's whoops of jubilation, and the two lads turn to the forgotten cave. Within it they see two sets of shining eyes gazing back at them. Two small shadows rush from the cave's entrance and half run, half waddle to the fallen bear's side. It's the two red-backed cubs they'd seen earlier. Daisuke and Gin have just killed their mother.

Elsewhere in the forest, Hidetoshi and Company have just managed to down the bear that was chomping on the horse. Hidetoshi praises John for his involvement in the hunt before going to reload his rifle. John seems almost dismissive of the compliment. Of course he did a good job, has he ever failed before?

Despite it's magnificent size, the dog's ego isn't large enough to blot out the smell of something else in the area. Something that smells awfully familiar. While the men are distracted, John heads deeper into the woods.

Back at the new monument to matricide, the bear cubs are trying to awaken their mother and scare off Daisuke and Gin with pitifully small snarls. Gin stands and stares slack jawed at the orphaned twins while Daisuke sobs an apology to them. He can't help but connect what he's done to the cubs to what Akakabuto did first to Riki, then to Gin. Maybe this hunting thing isn't all it's cracked up to be.

The sound of a dog barking fills the air, and the two turn to see who's making all the racket. It's John, snarling and running towards them. It takes them a moment to realize that John isn't actually running at them, but at the cubs huddled by the dead bear.

As Daisuke tries fruitlessly to scare the cubs away, Gin yells demands at John to stop in the name of all that is good and wholesome. John doesn't know the meaning of the words, but he is familiar with snapping animals' necks, which he now does to one of the cubs.

John then flings himself headlong at the remaining little bear only to be intercepted by a flash of silver. Gin knocks John on his ass and away from the fleeing cub. He scolds John for the cruelly and proudly killing infants, but John doesn't seem to care. All he does is snort, gaze silently at the new scars on Gin's head, and then lunge at the Akita. He introduces Gin's cheek to his hind foot and sends him flying. Gin almost swears he hears John utter "Ha, gottem" before he tears the throat out of the remaining cub. The baby had been too slow to outrun him.

This starts a scuffle between the two dogs with, to John's amazement, Gin gaining the upper hand. He flings John ass-side up, asserting his dominance via animu protag posturing, and the two have a staredown. While they toss schoolyard insults at each other in their hackles-raising contest, Daisuke has other things on his mind.

If John is here, Hidetoshi is sure to be nearby. Daisuke begins yanking arrows out of the dead bear, then calls for Gin to join him in escaping the scene of the crime. The two pound pavement (or the forest equivilent of) as John barks for his master's attention.

Hidetoshi's crew come to find John and are taken aback by the sight of a dead bear and its two cubs. At first they believe that John somehow managed to slay them all, but Hidetoshi notices something that changes their minds. He draws attention to the arrow sticking out of the tree trunk nearby. It's impossible to miss the arrow among the desaturated greens and browns of the forest because of its red, purple, and blue tail.

Hidetoshi and friends begin their own trek home. Both the men and the boys share a similar experience while leaving the woods. While leaving, both Gin and John notice a peculiar smell coming from the surrounding mountains. Both are too distracted to pay the faint whiffs much mind, but without their knowing, they are being watched by at least 100 sets of eyes, all gazing down at them from the mountain cliffs. Tens of four-legged shadows disappear from the clifftops just as swiftly and soundlessly as they'd appeared.

Daisuke and Gin make it back to civilization first. Daisuke tells Gin to make believe they've been here in Hidetoshi's shooting range the whole time. Gin doesn't understand how he's supposed to aid the illusion, so he just sits and chews on himself. Shortly after, Hidetoshi and John pull up in their Jeep. John leaves the car and settles down beside it to rest. Hidetoshi enters the hospital to inform Gohei of what has just transpired in the woods.

Daisuke is pretending to practice when Hidetoshi enters the room. Daisuke greets him nonchalantly without meeting his eyes. Hidetoshi greets Daisuke by telling him he forgot something as he produces the abandoned arrow. Daisuke just about shits.

Hidetoshi scolds Daisuke for his recklessness, tells him he's too irresponsible to use weapons, and bans him from using his bow and arrows ever again. Daisuke responds like any mature young man would by throwing a temper tantrum and storming off with his dog to run through the streets and holler about how nobody understands them. We've all been there, kid.

Later that night, Gin stands atop Daisuke's house, gazing off into the abyss of space. His head is throbbing from where the bear got him, and Daisuke's parents had angrily let their son know that each mark would forever be a scar carved into his loyal friend's head.

Gin wasn't afraid of having scars. At anything, he decided that from now on he'd consider them a trophy from his first real victory over The Enemy. Before he climbs down for the night, he watches as a shooting star crosses the speckled black sky.

The next day, spring really starts gettin' sprung. While this would normally be a relief to the village people (not the band, the phenomenon) no snowfall means no more hibernation for the wildlife, which means all of Akakabuto's allies are sure to be around. Daisuke and Gin are especially aware of this, and Daisuke's feeling the pressure to do something about it.

That said, Gin's mind has been wandering elsewhere. A strange smell from the mountains has been wafting through the village. Gin can't quite put his finger on what it is, but it's neither bears nor God lettin' one rip. Something strange is occupying the woods.

Daisuke and Gin go to visit Hidetoshi. Daisuke plans on begging Doc to let him borrow his bow so he can help stop the ever growing Winnie The Pooh Lookalike Competition sweeping the forest. When the two arrive, they find Hidetoshi and his friends loading back up into the Jeep. They plan on going back to the forest and bringing back both the bear they killed and the one Daisuke killed. Hidetoshi greets Daisuke with a disapproving glare, and John matches Gin's annoyed expression.

Before Daisuke has a chance to ask, Hidetoshi reads his mind and tells him no, he can't have the bow, but yes, he can instead fuck off. Daisuke has proven he shouldn't be allowed to have it, and Hidetoshi, being a doctor, doesn't feel comfortable purposefully setting someone up to get hurt.

As the men depart, Daisuke regresses to 5 years old again. He stomps his feet and screams every obscenity he's ever learned. From his hospital room window, Gohei is looking down at the kinder, his face unreadable. All he thinks is that the little shit sure is serious about this bear killing thing.

Meanwhile, The Master Blaster Squad has reentered the forest. John leads the men back to the bear he helped slaughter, but his reaction is unexpected. His hackles raise and he utters vaguelly panicked sounding barks, two things he's usually too full of himself to do.

The men instantly see why - the bear's carcass has been stripped clean of fur and flesh! All that's left of the animal is a few scraps of muscle on its skull and a slimy pile of white bones. John continues snarling and barking as he gazes at something on the nearby cliff's edge. The men look up.

It's dogs. Dogs of all different breeds are lining the cliff as if in military formation. Everyone becomes more then a little anxious, concerned about being surrounded on all sides by feral animals. The dogs gaze down at the men for a moment (one of them totally does that "I'll be watching you" gesture with a forepaw) before departing, swiftly disappearing from sight. A strong feeling of What The Fuck lingers in the air.

Back in town, Daisuke has stopped screeching long enough to come to an obvious conclusion: couldn't he just, like, ask his dad to buy him a bow? He and Gin head home to ask pops if he's willing to drop a few yen on a deadly weapon for his 12 year old when Momma Daisuke makes them aware of the fact that Dad is outski. He's at a town meeting that's been organized to sort out the whole Man-Eating Bear business. Daisuke, overcome with a need to be involved again, invites himself and his dog to participate.

The meeting is more enlightening then most town meetings are. Akakabuto is obviously mentioned, as are the sightings regarding his children, but so are two newer threats.

Another bear named Madara ("mottled" or "spotted", guess what she looks like) who was originally being hunted in neighboring Miyagi has made her way to Akakabuto's territory. She's not known for picnicking on people, but she is aggressive and willing to attack anything in her way. She's powerful, too, refusing to die even after getting several bullets stuck in her gut.

The other bear is named Mosa. He's traveled here from Iwata, and the easiest way to recognize him is by his missing right foreleg. He's infamous for having killed several lumberjacks and woodsmen on his trek over. It's believed that both bears are making the effort to move into Futago Pass, aka Redhead Central, for good.

Daisuke and Gin have been watching the meeting from a window. Daisuke is seething with hatred at all the beary big invaders while Gin is trying to image the heinous power of three giant killing machines tearing through the mountains. All the men in the meeting are too chickenshit to wanna confront the bears, so they just sorta shrug and say "What can ya do?" This pisses Daisuke off enough to get him to yell at the men from outside, calling them out for not wanting to die in bear maulings.

The dude leading the meeting opens the window and begins scolding Daisuke for rudely interrupting when another rude interruption barges in and tells everyone to shut the fuck up. A rude interruption by any other name is Gohei Takeda, and he's hobbled here from the hospital, getting up the moment the words "bear" and "meeting" were used in the same sentence.

Exhausted from the walk there, Gohei pants to everyone in the room that Akakabuto and his ilk will not stop until they ruin everyone's lives forever. Then he tumbles into the meeting room table, swearing. Several men get up to help him as he tells them, and especially Diasuke, that no matter what, Akakabuto MUST die.

Unbeknownst to the human populace, Futago Pass's Fight Club has just opened, and it's first participants are Akakabuto and Madara. The bears have the arm wrestling match of the century to prove if Madara's allowed to walk around wherever she wants.

Akakabuto defeats her, but he allows her to hang around under one condition: she and any bear she either recruits or births must fall in line as Akakabuto's body guards. She figures that's not a bad deal for free room and board, so she agrees to be his right hand bear. With any luck, they'll all be enjoying human hamburger very soon.

Gohei has been taken back to the hospital, much to his dismay. Hidetoshi is trying to comfort him, saying that he'll get revenge enough for both of them. Gohei doesn't seem pleased at the idea of being left out, but he's actually less concerned about the ego bruising and more worried about Daisuke.

That damn kid has got it in his head that he can kill a 10 foot tall bear with a bow he barely knows how to use and a dog who's not fully grown yet. Hidetoshi says that Daisuke's lost his bow privileges, but Gohei doesn't care. He doesn't believe being disallowed the doc's toys will stop the stubborn child.

He's right to think so, because Diasuke and Gin are hauling ass AND their snowmobile into town. Diasuke barges into the weapons shop and strikes up a trade with the man behind the counter: the snowmobile in exchange for the most bitchin' bow and arrow set he's got.

The man can barely stop himself from laughing, taking Daisuke for an overzealous kid who can't tell the difference between a toy and a deadly weapon. Daisuke strikes up another deal almost instantly: for the bitchin' bow, he'll give the dude the snowmobile AND prove he can fire an arrow himself.

The Weapons Seller is about to protest that the traveler cannot handle his strongest weapons when he schanges his mind and takes Daisuke up on the offer. If Daisuke can hit the tree out back from the other side of the yard, he can have the bow. As expected by everyone who's reading this, Daisuke strikes the tree without breaking a sweat, and so he and Gin hop, skip, and jump home with a new, genuine bow and arrow set of their own. It's time to prepare.

Daisuke and Gin head into the forest in the same fashion they log into Disney.com - without their parents' permission. Daisuke is so overjoyed at having his own flying spears that he's firing off into tree trunks like it's no one's business, making believe each one is a monster bear.

Gin's not paying any mind, though. Not because he's seen Daisuke do this before, but because that strong, unfamiliar scent is even stronger here. His hackles raise and he begins growling involuntarily. There's a power to the strength of the scent that he can't ignore.

In an instant, Gin takes off after the weird smell. Daisuke is confused before scrambling to his feet and following. The sound of snarling and... is that barking? fills their ears as Gin follows the scent. Along the way, they find the battered body of a dog who's clearly picked a fight with a bear.

The dog is white with brown spots, and its head has been crushed as if stomped on. Gin gazes sadly at the corpse for a moment before continuing after the smell. The dead dog isn't the only unusual thing out here.

At the end of the scent trail, the two come to a small hollow in the woods. In a little sand embankment is a young Japanese black bear snarling at a large pack of domestic dogs. The dogs are standing over the body of a freshly killed deer, no doubt telling Tubby Teddy to back off 'cause they ain't sharing. The bear doesn't take the hint, so the dogs begin their attack.

A particular dog, a dark fawn great dane with a collar of red beads around his neck, barks commands at the others. Team 1, attack the legs! Team 2, go for the arms! Team 3, see if you can reach the eyes!

Gin and Daisuke watch spellbound as the dogs organize into units to slay the bear, downing it in mere minutes. Daisuke can't understand what the Great Dane is saying, but he gets the idea of how clever the dogs are. Gin watches spellbound, amazed at the pack's organization and power.

Unable to contain himself any longer, Gin slides down into the hollow to meet the canine coterie. The Dane's gaze meets his first, and every other dog turns and snarls at the Akita. Gin utters a weak "Hi" before the entire pack starts growling at him in warning.

Daisuke's understandably scared, but he knows there's not much he can do against a pack of this many animals. Luckily, the dogs' attention is torn away from Gin by a howl in the distance. Everyone turns to look.

Standing atop a nearby hill is the silhouette of another dog, a dark splotch against the setting sun. His howl is powerful and visceral, and it instantly draws the attention and command of the pack.

Gin is especially taken with the sound. He can't pinpoint why, but the voice stirs up something primal and powerful inside him. He wants to follow it. He wants to follow the pack.

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End of episode 2, wherein we finally see where this story is going. More mysterious dog antics are yet to come, which is what I know all you dog weebs are actually here for.

Episode 3: The Soldiers

[lovebitesimagines]

Dangerous Love-Business Proposition.

The second chapter of Dangerous Love. Thank you guys for supporting this story, I did not expect the response that I have had! Hope you enjoy! My ask box is open, if you have any requests.

Masterlist

Chapters: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Tags: @namelesslosers

Warnings: Swearing, Implications of violence.

Alfie Solomons has a business proposition for the Shelby family. Will it be purely to do with pleasure, or has he got other ideas? 

TOMMYS’ POV

It had been a couple of days since Tommys’ sister (Y/N), had charged into his office, her anger dangerously erupting like a volcano, her violent outburst directly targeted towards him. He had calmly kept his cool in front of Alfie Solomons, but the moment the door had closed behind the mans’ back Tommy had walked into the house in search of his sister. The man who he had entrusted to guard her, had been angrily thrust from the house and onto the street by Arthur and John, never to be employed with a role of significant importance again. Tommy had intended to verbally discipline his sister, once he found her. She had not only disregarded his orders, but she had also embarrassed him in front of an important potential partner. This kind of behaviour, Tommy believed, could simply not be overlooked. His plans where soon quickly forgotten, once he had found her crouched inside an upstairs cupboard. She was hugging her knees, her cheeks red and stained with tears. Her (Y/C/E) eyes had accusingly glared back at him, before she had whispered for him to ‘piss off’.

This wasn’t the first time that Tommy had witnessed his sister sat in this particular cupboard. Growing up, their father Arthur Shelby Jr., had been nothing but viciously violent towards her. Tommy had lost count of how many times he had to watch his father use his fists, or an object which he deemed suitable to strike against her skin. Not once did (Y/N) ever flinch during these outbursts. She would never, ever show her father that his actions had a negative impact upon her. Tommy would often find himself feeling overwhelmingly proud of her at this.

‘A woman had no worth in this world, apart from satisfying their husbands and baring children.’ Arthur Jr. used to poisonously repeat this to his children. He hated how (Y/N) had a mind, how she was inquisitive and desperate to learn about life outside of Small Heath. He also hated how she was able to outsmart him, something which would only earn her a more violent beating. Tommy would often find (Y/N) sat in the cupboard after these attacks, the only place in Small Heath she would feel safe, the only place she would feel able too  He would often coax her out, with promises of safety and revenge. Hushed, frightened whispers would often fall out of her mouth, begging Tommy to never tell a soul that he had seen her like this. He hated how broken she would become. He knew from these moments, that he would forever need to protect her.

After the birth of Finn, and their mothers untimely death, Arthur Jr. had abandoned his small family, leaving the responsibility on the shoulders of his two eldest sons- Arthur and Tommy. Luckily, their Aunt Polly- their fathers sister- had raised the Shelby siblings them as if they were her own.

Tommy had watched (Y/N) blossom into a beautiful and smart young woman, something which did not go amiss to the male population of Small Heath. He had lost count of how many times he had sent the Peaky Blinders around to sort them out. Threats were made, fists where thrown and guns were fired, until everyone seemed to grasp the message. (Y/N) was absolutely out of bounds. Tommy knew that this upset his sister, especially since she was never included in the family meetings. He wanted to keep her as far away from violence as he possibly could. He never wanted her to view him in the same light as she did with their father.

After the past weeks revelations, Tommy was starting to believe that this was not necessarily the right thing to do. News had reached him about what had happened at the Garrison. Despite his angriness at her leaving without any protection, he knew deep down that it was a matter of time before she began to rebel. She was a Shelby after all. Of course, Tommy was aware of the lessons in self-defence Arthur had been giving her, after all he was the one who had secretly suggested it to Arthur. Business was only getting increasingly more dangerous, especially since the Peaky Blinders attack on the Eden Club. Although the boys had deemed it appropriate and necessary, it seemed that Darby Sabini disagreed. Attacks on Tommys’ men had seemed to rise, and he feared it was only a matter of time before they turned upon his family.

Due to this, Tommy had felt it almost vital to join forces with Alfie Solomons, a feared Camden gangster. He had proved difficult to persuade, with Alfie being distrusting towards Tommy. Tommy had soon won him around, after a number of trips up to London, which had been returned by Alfie visiting Small Heath to finalise the details of their plan. The entire family had been involved in the discussions and decisions leading up to this. Everyone bar (Y/N). Tommy had underestimated just how much this had wounded his sister, especially since Finn was now accepted into the group. He had no idea, until her palm came crashing down onto his cheek. And of course, Alfie had to witness the whole thing.

“I like er”. Alfies chuckle had sent shivers down Tommys’ spine, worry beginning to bubble in the pit of his stomach.

“Tell ya’ what Shelby. I know exactly how you can fuckin’ help me out and all, yeah. Seein’ as I’ve already done ya’ a world full of fuckin’ favours”.

Alfie had requested that (Y/N) accompany him to dinner at a local club opening that evening. As he was in the area, he was curious as to what Birmingham had to offer in the way of entertainment. Due to the nature of the event, it required Alfie to have a pretty woman accompany him. In return, Alfie had promised The Peaky Blinders his protection when they were in London. Tommy had reluctantly agreed, knowing there was no way he could refuse Alfies proposition due to the increasing threat from the Italians. The worry only began to bubble more violently, at the prospect of his younger sister being taken out to dinner with none other than Alfie fucking Solomons. He didn’t fully trust the man, but they needed protection. He knew that (Y/N) would agree and put their family first in this situation.

That’s where he found himself now, a couple of days later, having just put down the phone after a brief phone call from Alfie, confirming the details for tomorrow evening. He uncomfortably rubbed his temples, clicking his neck before pushing himself up off his desk chair. His mind was already whirling with ways he could sell the idea of a date with Alfie Solomons, to his sister. Tommy hoped that she would agree. There would be too much riding on this. He pulled apart the curtains that separated the shop, from the rest of Aunt Pols house. Aunt Pol was stood at the oven, beginning to carve the meat. There was (Y/N), sat peeling potatoes on the kitchen table, her eyes barely looking up to acknowledge Tommys entry. This hadn’t come as a surprise. She had not spoken to him since the incident, something which had secretly dismayed him. They used to speak at length every day, as the two of them where incredibly close. The current situation was such a contrast from how things where a few days ago. The room was completely silent as he entered.

“I’m calling a family meeting at 8. (Y/N), I expect to see you there too.” He announced to the room, his voice disturbing the calm, before turning back to his office.

She was going to accept. A Shelby never lets down their family.

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

YOUR POV

“(Y/N). Peel the potatoes for me, will ya?” Aunt Pol asked, throwing the knife onto the table near where you sat, before turning back to attend to the pans on the oven. You nodded wordlessly in agreement, taking the blade before beginning to slowly peel the potatoes.

“Aunt Pol. (Y/N)” Tommys greeted you both, moving his way around the room towards the curtains that separated The Home from The Business. Your jaw clenched at the sound of his voice, focusing your attention on the potatoes. It had been a couple of days since the incident with Tommy, and you had refused to speak to him since. He had made a few pathetic attempts to apologise since, each time you had turned away and made a show of ignoring him.

“Don’t be late for dinner again Tommy” Aunt Pol warned, turning to face him. “And make sure those brothers of yours are on time too”. Tommy chuckled lightly in response, slightly shaking his head as he disappeared into the back.

“When are you going to start talking to your brother again (Y/N)?” Aunt Pol asked with a sigh, bending down to put the meat in to the oven.

“When he apologizes and starts treating me like I’m part of the family” you replied, a small, frustrated crease beginning to appear in between your eyebrows.

“He does treat you like you are part of the family. He always has”

“Then how come he never fucking lets me in? How come I’m never allowed to take part in any of the family business? How come I’m never allowed to go and do half the stuff they allow Finn to do?” you asked in annoyance, digging the knife in sharper to the potato.

“He is just protect-“

“Enough. I don’t want to hear the same excuses from you too. It’s getting boring” you snapped, cutting Aunt Pol off. The room fell into an uncomfortable silence, both of you placing all your attention onto your tasks. You hated how your family members seemed to pressure you into speaking to Tommy again. If it wasn’t Aunt Pol, it was Arthur. If it wasn’t John, it was Finn. You had swiftly cut down each attempt, making it clear that you had no interest in repairing yours and Tommy’s relationship until he apologised, and until things changed.

You both stayed silent for a few minutes concentrating on preparing dinner, before you heard the curtains draw open, signalling Tommys’ return.

“I’m calling a family meeting at 8. (Y/N), I expect to see you there too.”

You froze, the potato that you had been holding slipping out of your grasp and thudding duly onto the wooden table. Tommys’ words rung repeatedly in your ears, your throat tightening with nervous anticipation. You had been invited to a family meeting, something which you had longed for all your life. You had been desperate to sit across the table from your siblings and aunt, to discuss the business and uncover all the little secrets your brothers had been hiding. Despite Finn feeding you titbits of the meetings, you believed that the information he had been telling you was always selective and not the full story.

Being able to participate in family life, to call yourself a Peaky Blinder, to call yourself a fucking Shelby, was something that you had only ever dreamed about. Now it was slowly becoming reality, and dread was gradually beginning to take a hold of you. This wasn’t how you should be feeling, you should be delighted that you were finally permitted to be involved in the selective Shelby secrets. A smile should be positioned upon your face, you should be running to tell Finn. But instead, your expression was one of fear and anxiety. You knew Tommy far too well, and where concerned that he was up to one of his no-good schemes. Glancing at Aunt Pol, you knew she felt the same too.  

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You had spent the rest of the day in a fearful silence, speaking only when it was required. Your mind was spinning rapidly, anxious thoughts continuing to dominate. Finn had consistently been an animated show of excitement since you had told him. You couldn’t help but feel guilty at your contrasting feelings- this had been a childhood dream of you both, you should be feeling the same way as him. John and Arthur had been far more reserved in their response to the news. John had clapped you on the back, jokingly congratulating you in finally joining The Peaky Blinders. Arthur had made teased you with the threat of having to participate in an initiation. Odd words had been exchanged between you all, but their eyes never met yours for more than a split second. This only boosted your worry, that something more was going on.

It was now five minutes before the meeting was due to start. You sat on a hard-wooden chair, the splinters gently digging into the backs of your thighs. Arthur sat opposite you, slouching back into his seat as he swigged at his bottle of whiskey. John sat beside him, a toothpick twirling between his teeth. Aunt Pol sat near the back of the room with her arms folded, her forehead creased into a frown. Finn had opted to sit beside you, excitedly looking around the room as he took in the scene before him. You chewed nervously on the skin around your fingernails, the apprehension continuing to swirl threateningly within your stomach. You noticed how your family maintained their lack of eye contact.

Tommy made his entrance into the room, his cocky and confident presence causing the atmosphere in the room to change. You noticed how Finn adjusted the fabric of his waistcoat, ensuring the clothing looked smarter than it previously had. You saw Arthur straightening his posture, placing the bottle of whiskey down on the table in front of him.

“I’m sure that most of you are aware, that this Sabini bloke is causing us more trouble than it’s worth” Tommy began to talk, his statement causing ripples within the room.

John grunted in agreement, folding his arms across his chest as he shifted his weight in the chair. “He better fucking start watching his back, that’s all”.

“Since the attack on Eden club, his men have started to repay the favour” Tommy pointedly looked at Arthur as he spoke, whose face warped into a frown. Arthur leaned forward, snatching his whiskey from the table.

“Weren’t my fault” he growled, tipping the whiskey bottle back towards his lips as he took a large gulp. He wiped his mouth before he continued talking. “Fucking Italians need to learn their place, that’s all”.

“As you can imagine, this has made our business efforts in London increasingly more difficult”. Tommy took a pause, as he dug into the pocket of his suit jacket, pulling a cigarette out of a tin container. He placed it in between his lips, lighting it with a match before continuing to talk. “This has led us to make ties with those we normally wouldn’t have. Alfie Solomons is one of them”. Your stomach flipped nervously at the mere mention of his name.

“I don’t fucking trust that man. There’s something about him Tommy, I have a bad feeling” Aunt Pol stated, walking over to Arthur and taking the whiskey bottle from his hands, taking a large swig.

“We were in the process of finalising the details of our agreement, before a slight disturbance briefly interrupted the discussions” Tommy took a slow drag of his cigarette.

Your stomach gave a nervous twinge at his casual reference to your intrusion. You could feel your cheeks begin to turn a light shade of scarlet, your body heating up in discomfort. “Maybe if you weren’t such an over-bearing bastard, then I wouldn’t have walked in on your precious little date” you retorted, clenching your fists slightly under the table. Your remark earned a drunken snigger from Arthur, who had his precious whiskey returned to his hands.

Tommy looked coolly at you, exhaling the smoke out from his mouth.

“Well your little moment, has caused me a lot of headaches (Y/N). Alfie has realised that he can use this to his advantage”. Each syllable was over pronounced, punching into your chest. You noticed his anger beginning to present itself. You knew that this had annoyed him more than you first thought. “Because of your dramatic fucking outburst, Alfie Solomons thinks he can make bargains with us”.

“Hey now Tommy, I don’t think that’s fair like” Finn began to talk but was quickly silenced by Tommys darkening glare and Aunt Pols hand upon his shoulder. She glanced down at you as she stood by your brother, a sympathetic flash developing in her brown eyes.

“Before Alfie fucking Solomons can provide us with the protection that our family fucking needs, he thinks he can negotiate the finer details of our arrangement” Tommy spat, taking another drag of his cigarette. “He needs someone to accompany him to a club opening tomorrow night. You are too join him, in return for protection for us in London”.

You angrily pushed yourself up from the chair, hearing it crash against the concrete slabs upon the floor. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me” you breathed, your hands grasping the edge of the table, digging your fingernails into the wood.

“No. We’ve discussed this as a family and have agreed that this is what is to be done” Tommy replied, calmly taking another drag of his cigarette, ignoring your increasingly evident distress.

“Discussed? As a family?” your voice raised as your spoke. You felt sick to the stomach, as your eyes looked around the room at your siblings and aunt. Guilt painted a masterpiece upon their faces. It had now become evident to you, why none of them met your eyes throughout the day. You wondered when this act of betrayal had taken place. Releasing your grip upon the table, you began to turn to move away from the room. Finn reached out to grasp your arm, but you quickly flinched away. “I expected this from him” you spat, glancing at Tommy. “But you where the last person I expected to betray me like this. I’m not fucking taking part in your hateful plan. You can all go fuck yourselves”.

You pushed aside the curtains, beginning to make your way out of the room before you paused, hearing Tommy speak. His words sent a shudder down your spine, tears beginning to sting at your eyes.

“You will do as you are fucking told. You brought this upon yourself”.

[jaggedheartstrings]

I Miss the Sun (that we once felt)

Words: 1.8k

Warnings: Anxiety and panic attacks (referenced), implied/referenced child abuse

Read on AO3!

Summary:

Tony Stark, the glasses wearing, sweater loving boy, had loved Bucky Barnes from a far for years.

Bucky Barnes had watched Tony from the shadows that followed him everywhere, shadows that would never let him leave.

Inspired by Aaron Carpenter’s song Chase.

-

Tony tugged the sweater tighter around himself as he watched Bucky smoke a cigarette while leaning against the school wall.

His trademark black leather jacket was slung across his arm, the weather being way too hot for jackets. Yet here Tony was in all his sweater wearing glory as he rushed inside the school, Rhodey trailing behind him.

He kept sneaking looks at Bucky from the corner of his eye. Next to his long-time crush was Steve Rogers, a massive football player and best friend of Bucky’s. Tony envied how everyone seemed to love the blond. He was easily likeable with his easygoing attitude and his ability to see the good in everyone.

Well, everyone except Tony. Tony was the devil rich boy in Steve’s book. Rhodey called it him seeing only the image Tony seemed to ooze, despite being a small teen that was deathly afraid of everyone. But apparently no one outside Tony’s friend circle could see it.

He startled from his thoughts as Rhodey wrapped an arm around his shoulders, jumping slightly at the sudden touch. All Tony’s friends knew his situation at home and made sure to announce their arrival when they were about to touch the small brunet.

“Sorry, you were speeding ahead looking ready to cry, so I thought I’d get you out of your head,” Rhodey opened the glass doors. “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” Tony muttered, hunching in on himself. Rhodey frowned as he watched his best friend rub his wrists together, hands hidden inside the large sweater. The taller boy could barely stand to be in a t-shirt, much less a sweater.

“Ignore them,” Rhodey nudged Tony’s shoulder as he steered him towards their friends.

Clint noticed them first, excitedly running towards them. He grabbed Tony’s hand and pulled him along, a startled look on the brunet’s face. “C’mon! C’mon! Bruce returned from his India trip.”

The news seemed to make Tony’s day as the old gloom disappeared, replaced by joy at the return of his “science bro”. “Really?”

“Yeah, he’s with the principle right now but he’ll come back soon!” Clint pushed the smaller boy into Nat’s arms, the red head wrapping her arms possessively around Tony’s shoulders. It was their signature greeting. Tony would slump against her, tension draining from his body.

“Hi, krolik.” Natasha greeted him. She turned Tony around by his shoulders, searching his eyes. The boy tugged his sweater tighter around himself as Natasha asked, “Rogers?”

Tony wondered again how well Nat could read anyone. Nobody really knew where she had come from, but one day she had sat next to Tony at lunch. And where Nat went, Clint did, too. Recently Nat and Tony’s other red head friend, Pepper, had started exploring if they could possibly have a relationship. So far it was going great, but Pepper always needs stable statistics. Tony truly believed she’d take over the world one day.

Nat’s eyes flashed dangerously as Tony, unaware he did it, rubbed his wrists together. Tony could only dream what torture Nat would one day unleash on the blond athlete.

“Don’t maim him too bad, yeah? Our school still needs their Football Captain,” Tony laughed nervously.

“Not too badly,” Nat smiled at him, all sharp teeth. Anyone who underestimated the red head would be in a world of surprise. “I’ve been needing a reason to knock some sense into his stubborn head.”

“You know, people are saying he’s dating Sharon Carter right now. They’re like third cousins.” Clint butted in. When the three of them turned towards the blond, he shrugged all false innocence.

“Yes, who cares. Carter is that annoying head cheerleader that only got into this school because her aunt is an important woman.” Nat scoffed. “She pretends like she’s better than everyone else. Now that I think about it, they’re perfect for each other.”

“Hey, c’mon guys.” They all turned towards the small brunet. “Let’s- just don’t talk about them like that when they’re not present.”

“We all know you’re in love with Barnes-” Nat ignored the spluttering, “but you don’t have to like everybody that Barnes interacts with. They’re most likely assholes like he himself is.”

Tony glared at one of his best friends, “he’s not an asshole.”

“He kind of is.” Rhodey unapologetically informed him. “C’mon, we gotta go to class.”

“He isn’t an asshole, guys!” Tony insisted, a small fire burning in his whiskey eyes. “You guys don’t even know him! So, you shouldn’t say anything like that.”

“So, what gives Rogers the right to talk shit and hate you when he doesn’t know you?” Nat argued.

“He doesn’t even want to know anything about me, so it doesn’t matter.” Tony muttered under his breath. “Come on, class starts in a few minutes.”

Rhodey wrapped his arm back around Tony’s shoulders, tugging the smaller boy towards their classroom, Nat and Clint trailing behind.

  By lunch Tony wanted to just pile more clothes on his body. His anxiety had gone through the roof, in just a few hours. He was scratching his arms and legs so much that they’d probably turned red, if not started to bleed.

He was thankful for Rhodey not noticing his scratching. The other boy had been focused on the lessons, having missed three days last week and almost falling behind. If he had noticed, Tony would’ve got the lecture about hurting himself, accidentally or not.

He loved Rhodey with all his heart, but sometimes he wished to just be left alone. Every time he wished like that though, he would get an immediate feeling of sickening guilt. Rhodey had gone through so much just to stay Tony’s friend.

Now though, Rhodey would focus mostly on his wellbeing, as would Natasha and Clint. They would surely see how close Tony was to a full-blown panic attack. He just wanted to crawl into a hole and not get up.

Tony sat at their signature table as Rhodey headed for the line. It showed how lost in his head the other boy was, as he noticed Tony hadn’t gotten food only when he sat down.

“Tony,” Rhodey looked at him sternly. “Where is your food?”

Tony looked down at the table, fiddling with his sleeves. He didn’t have any money that he could buy food with. He could feel Rhodey’s heavy gaze on the side of his face. Tony was never more grateful for his hair, it’s length just covering his eyes behind a curtain when his head was downwards.

He could hear the held back anger in Rhodey’s harsh inhale. “Here.”

Tony glanced up as Rhodey split the food on the plate in two equal piles. The larger boy held a second fork to his best friend. He gingerly took the fork. After only a second Tony attacked the plate. Rhodey’s mouth moved up to a sad smile. Only he would know this was Tony’s first bit of food since yesterday’s lunch break.

“Hey, Stark! You so cheap now that you have to steal your friend’s food?” Rogers’ voice boomed a few feet from their table. Tony closed his eyes as the fork started shake in his hand. Rhodey wrapped his fingers around his shaking hand, the other grabbing the one in his lap.

“Hey, Rogers! You think that shit is any of your business?” Tony heard Nat yell from the other direction, her steps audible as she ran towards them. Tony opens his eyes just to see the red head throw a punch at Rogers. A harsh crack rang through the silent cafeteria as Rogers nose broke.

“What the fuck!” The blond held his nose, red sweeping from between his fingers.

“Maybe mind your own fucking business in the future so you won’t get beaten up.” Rhodey said as he rose from the bench. Tony jumped up, ready to hold his best friend back, as Clint grabbed his shoulders, effectively holding him in place. Tony was shaking like a leaf.

Tony saw Bucky turn around the corner, just as Rhodey punched Rogers in his eye. Tony closed his eyes in horror and defeat. This was the last time he’d ever be able to look at Bucky without getting glared to death. The other boy would hate for letting his friends do this to Rogers.

“Hey!” Bucky yelled, “What the fuck’s goin’ on here?”

“This Сукин сын, is putting his nose where it doesn’t belong.” Nat snarled. “He has no reason to attack Tony yet does it constantly.”

“Come on, Stevie. Again?” Bucky threw his arms in the air. Tony couldn’t believe what was happening. Bucky wasn’t mad? “Didn’t I tell you to stop bullyin’ Stark?”

“It’s fine!” Tony yelled out suddenly, startling everyone. Bucky’s icy eyes turned to him, the ice melting to the pure softness in his eyes. It made Tony swallow, hard.

“Doll, it’s not fine. This stubborn ass doesn’t understand that rich kids usually have problems too, sometimes more than poor people.” Bucky smiled softly at him. Tony felt like he couldn’t breathe.

“What game are you playing at, Barnes?” Nat hissed out, her Russian accent peeking through.

Bucky held his arms up, “ain’t playing a game. Just giving insight to why he’s an idiot.”

Rogers’ “hey!” went unnoticed.

“Excuses. You are giving him excuses.” Clint piped from behind Tony. Bucky lazily lifted his eyes from Tony’s to Clint’s.

“Maybe,” Bucky shrugged. “Does it matter? You’ll still think he’s a bully.”

Nat stared right through him, then turned back to Rogers, kicking him in the stomach before returning to Tony’s side. “You okay, krolik?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Tony shakily informed the fierce red head. Clint rubbed his arms, providing wordless comfort.

Under Rhodey’s watchful gaze, Bucky collected his bleeding best friend from the floor. Rogers groaned through the whole thing. Tony couldn’t help the guilt that burned his conscience.

“No need to feel guilty, doll.” Bucky smiled softly at him, causing that hurried beating of his heart to start back up. “I’ve been getting his ass out of fights since he was a skinny little kid. Back then it was easier to think he was right, fighting bullies and all.”

Bucky glanced at the half-lucid blond hanging off his shoulder, “These days, I don’t think even he knows what he’s fighting.”

The brunet threw the group one sad smile before dragging his best friend off to recover.

  Maybe in some other universe they would’ve gotten together in the end, but in this one they both were too afraid of what the other thought, missing their chance.

Years later, when they were both in a better spot, they would bump into each other in the busy streets of New York.

[kali-tmblr]

The Sisters: Parallels in the Relationships Between Yang, Ruby, Weiss, and Winter in RWBY

It's tempting just to run "Sister Stuff" on this space and be done with it, but the subject needs a bit more attention than that. Ruby x Yang and Weiss x Winter are not exact parallels. Winter isn't a straight-up Yang counterpart for Weiss. Yang and Ruby are two years apart. Winter and Weiss are six to eight years apart. Because of age and distance, the relationship Weiss has with Winter seems halfway between the relationship Ruby has with Yang and Qrow. Weiss relates to Winter more like the way Ruby relates to Qrow in Volumes 1-3 than the way Ruby relates to Yang. Weiss adores and idealizes Winter, but she really isn't that close to her in daily life. So while they are alike in some ways, in other ways they are very different.

Let's talk about the similarities first. We have two pairs of sisters. They come from families that have suffered trauma. All four girls want to be Huntresses, with the Big Sisters being further along with that goal, Yang by two years and Winter having gradated from Atlas Academy (a requisite for becoming a Specialist). Both Big Sisters are helping their Little Sister with her training, and are proud of her progress. Both Little Sisters show high levels of talent and dedication. Both Little Sisters adore their Big Sisters, but don't copy them completely. This is fortunate because both Big Sisters are emotionally damaged. Yang has PTSD from the Fall of Beacon, and Winter appears to be still traumatized from her childhood experiences. Having been in a similar situation I would not be surprised if she has PTSD as well.

There's a final set of similarities between Yang and Winter. Both women have tempers that have caused them grief in combat. Winter's signature move in Amity Arena, the one she opened her duel with Qrow by performing, is essentially the same one Yang was performing when Adam cut off her arm. Both women also start out with a tendency in battle to concentrate too much on their goal to the exclusion of their surroundings. This tendency cost Yang her arm at the Fall of Beacon, and Winter her duel with Qrow when she didn't realize Ironwood was right behind her. According to the information on her Amity Arena card, Winter had this tendency even before she enrolled at Atlas Academy, and has it to a greater extent than anyone else we've met except for Ironwood. Yang was able to overcome this tendency with the help of her mentor, Tai. Unfortunately Winter's mentor is Ironwood, who could use some help in this department himself.

But there's more contrast than there is parallel with these young women. Both families have suffered trauma, but the Xiou Long household has recovered and is healthier, in spite of the fact that it's the Schnee family that is "intact". Yang is an optimist, Winter seems to be a pessimist. Due to the difference in their ages, the way both Big Sisters relate to their Little Sisters is different. For Yang growing up with Ruby only two years younger than her, Ruby was her world. According to the Amity Arena card, for Winter growing up with Weiss born around the time she started school, Weiss was an afterthought. These two minor deviations combine to result in a significant difference in how the Big Sisters treat their Little Sisters. Yang is very protective of Ruby, whereas Winter vacillates between "tough love" and abuse, with an emphasis on teaching Weiss that she shouldn't expect anyone to ever protect her. I couldn't help thinking, at the end of Winter's introductory scene in Volume 3 that Winter's treatment of Weiss is not going to go down well with Yang. Honestly, I'm looking forward to that meeting as much as I'm looking forward to Winter meeting Weiss or Qrow.

(I understand that Winter is still reacting from her own abusive upbringing and that she is trying to do better, but she needs to work on it more.)

These differences are underscored in the Yang and Weiss character shorts from Volume 5. Both of these shorts have the same basic plot -- Big Sister gives Little Sister a training session just outside their house back before Volume 1 again. In the case of Yang and Ruby, this appears to be a clearing in the woods near their house. In the case of Winter and Weiss, this appears to be the courtyard of their house. Both Big Sisters state that they are giving Little Sister this lesson because Big Sister won't be around to protect them all the time. And that's about where the similarity ends.

Weiss' short opens with "Path to Isolation", the bleakest of all the Weiss songs. Weiss is practicing with her sword, killing wave after wave of Winter's summoned Beowolves, each preceded by a wave of very specific snow flurries on a cloudless night (a sign, perhaps, that Winter is the Winter Maiden?) while Winter watches from somewhere unseen. (Coincidentally, killing Beowolves is the same thing we see Ruby doing in the first trailer.) Weiss takes out about a dozen before losing her sword and going down. We learn that Weiss didn't perform well enough, but what we don't learn is what the target was. How many Beowolves did she have to kill to pass? How close did she get? Or was it a timed test, did she have to keep going for a certain length of time? You need to give that kind of information when you are coaching, otherwise the coach isn't doing her job. Expressing disappointment with no objective feedback can actually make the student worse. Curiously, Winter never touches Weiss, not even to hand her back her sword. Instead she sticks Myrtenaster in the ground and walks away.

Back on Patch, Yang's short opens with "Ignite", the cockiest of her songs. She is giving a very reluctant Ruby a lesson in weaponless combat. Hand to hand is Ruby's weakness, and while she she's content with that fact, Yang isn't going to let it rest there. Their sparring amounts to Yang attacking and Ruby dodging, until Ruby can't dodge a blow and uses her Semblance to run away. Yang looks for Ruby and finds an Ursa instead. Ruby comes back to find her sister locked in a tough battle with the Grimm that Yang eventually wins. Ruby is relieved that Yang won and distressed that she couldn't help Yang without a weapon. Yang hugs Ruby and, assures her that Yang will always have her back.

Both shorts begin and end with similar framing scenes revolving around runaways. Weiss is running away to Mistral hoping to catch up to Winter (who previously in a time-honored tradition among abused children, ran away from an abusive home by joining the military). Unlike the audience she is unaware that Winter has been recalled to Atlas, and her quest is in vain. Even so, her mood is more melancholy than hopeful.

Meanwhile, Yang is in Anima searching for Ruby, who has run away from home seeking answers in Mistral. Yang was too broken to say anything when Ruby left, but now she is well enough to follow. Her mood is hopeful and somewhat amused.

The major difference between the two stories comes down to expectations. Winter and Weiss have been taught not to expect people to help them unless they "earn" it by virtue of their rank and/or effort. The interesting thing about this assumed privilege is how Weiss uses it. We never see her try to use her status to get something after Blake shoots her down in their first scene. And while she does claim to have earned certain things by virtue of her hard work, the favors in question are all fairly ordinary things that anyone should be able to ask for by virtue of being a person. The most extreme example is when she questions Ruby's leadership position in "The Badge and the Burden Part 2". The question itself is legitimate, but premature, however Weiss is a teenager and "jumping the gun" is a common trait in teens. So it's interesting that in the first two volumes she thinks she has to earn the right through hard work to ask legitimate perfectly questions.

Winter emphasizes that she won't be around to save Weiss and that Weiss has to be able to save herself. This is true, but there's a big difference between being able to look after yourself and expecting that you will always have to look after yourself because no one will ever freely help you.

Ruby and Yang have a different expectation. As Ruby explains to Ozpin in their first meeting, she and her sister were taught to help people. This leads them to have two expectations. They expect that they will need to be able to look after themselves so they will be available to help others, and they also expect that other people will be willing to help them. This leads them to ask other people for help more often. Sometimes the people they ask to help them don't, with Raven being the most prominent example. But more often than not, they do. These different expectations are thrown into stark contrast when Weiss and Ruby run away from home. When Weiss runs away, she's on her own. When Ruby runs away, she takes Team RJNR with her.

(I'm not underestimating how difficult life is for abuse survivors trying to escape, just pointing out how it messes with your head over the long term. I'm over 50, and I still have trouble asking for help.)

Expectations lead to promises. It's interesting how Yang and Ruby approach promises. Yang promises Ruby that Yang will always have Ruby's back, and she keeps that promise to the best of her ability. This knowledge gives Ruby the confidence to push herself further. Does Yang always keep that promise? No, but it takes being maimed to stop her, and as soon as she can she is back to keeping it. In the meantime the confidence Ruby has gained from all the times Yang has kept her word has gotten her almost to Haven by then.

Ruby has promised Weiss that Team RWBY will be by her side every second in Atlas, and has acted to keep that promise at every step along the way. It's not a promise that can be kept forever. Eventually it's going to be broken. But by then the strength and confidence Weiss has gained from all the times it has been kept should help her go much further than she could have gotten on her own.

On a final note, the Winter we saw in Volume 3 might not be the Winter we meet again. As much time has passed for her as for the rest of the characters, and they have all changed. Weiss'disappearance may have shaken her, and she may either scream at her, or smother her with attention, or both. We shall see.

[headoverjojo]

Hi, sorry for spamming your ask box! I've already send a request a couple of days ago, but I've got one more. You may be familiar with the headcanon about Ghiaccio being a former top level athlete, yes? I'd like a scenario where he is at a ski resort after a mission and an olympic champion happens to be training there. He recognizes Ghiaccio and starts making fun of him, so Ghia is super pissed and challenges him to a competition. Ghia might be with some of his teammates if you feel like it.

Hello there, darling! You’re not absolutely spamming and I’m so sorry for the delay!! Gomen ç.ç I hope I could make amend with this scenario!

(Shoutout to all Italian readers: I’m just saying Alberto Tomba in Alex l’Ariete. Y’all know)

Ghiaccio gets hot-headed at a ski resort 

(Under the cut for length!)

It was unusual to be sent so far from South Italy, even if, sometimes, it happened, since now Passione was expanding also to the North. Still, since he left his homeland years ago, Ghiaccio never had the chance to return here, on the mountains that saw him grow up, that had been his first ski run, where he learned how to skate and ski. Those mountains, the ones which, one day, would have been the Olympic Mountains, saw him train and train until he reached the top, winning a competition after another, tireless. They saw him becoming a professional athlete and then losing everything.

“Aaah, Ghiaccio, so you grow up here! What a nice place!” Melone’s voice made him blink, tearing him out of the vortex of memories. He sighed, grabbing his friend from his scarf, not to lose him around. Sestriere wasn’t as big as the chief town, but still, it was easy to get lost.

“Yeah, yeah, it was. Now let’s go to the ski runs, I have some steam to blow off.” he grumbled, tugging him to the resort. They have still a couple of days, before having to go back to the HQ, so why not taking advantage of it? A little vacation, two days skiing. Just that. Skiing always helped him to relax… and, after the last mission, he needed it. He was all ready to beat the target in a pulp, but Melone’s babyface took initiative and, instead of just tracking and blocking the target, it killed him, leaving Ghiaccio without anything. He was pissed.

Melone knew just the basic of skiing, but like hell he would have asked Ghiaccio to teach him. Better killing himself than that. So, they rented two pairs of ski skates and headed out. Or, well, they were almost out when a voice froze Ghiaccio on spot.

“Ghiaccio?!” Ghiaccio’s azure head slowly turned around, distress already evident in his icy eyes, and his fears were confirmed: a man in a ski suit, bright dark eyes and brown curls was coming towards him, almost marching.

Melone’s breath almost stopped when the stranger enveloped Ghiaccio in a bear hug, not returned, giving him loud “amicable” smacks on the back, making his glasses hopping a little at every hit. Oh god he was going to kill him, Melone thought, covering his face -just not to have it splotched with blood- and waiting for White Album’s user’s strike. Just… it didn’t happen.

Melone peeked from his fingers, shocked: Ghiaccio was enduring that. Yes, he seemed on the verge of an aneurysm, but still hadn’t killed the other. It was amazing.

“Ghiaccio, my god, it’s been years…! How are you? Last time I checked you were about to be closed in prison!” he said, making Ghiaccio even more pissed. How much he hated that period…

“I’m doing fine.” he grumbled, earning another smack on his shoulders. Melone winced and that attired the stranger’s attention.

“Ah, are you one of Ghiaccio’s friends? God, it sounds crazy to know he may have friends… I’m G/N. I and Ghiaccio trained together, years ago! He was about to become an olympic athlete as well, but, you know… his temper got in the way. Too hot-headed for the ski runs!” he said, laughing, shaking Melone’s hand. Ah, it was so…?

He smirked at the thought of what Illuso would have done -and given- to be at his place and grasping so many information.

“Ah, it’s a pleasure! I’m Melone. So you knew each other since long time, uh? Ghiaccio, you never told me you knew an olympic champion!” he said, adding fuel to the fire. Ghiaccio grumbled again, obviously unhappy, darting a warning look to Melone.

“Really? Ghiacciolino, I’m offended!” the other complained, keeping the assassin, smaller than him by a good head, under his arm.

“Have he ever told you why we called him Ghiaccio?” - he laughed at Melone’s negation. - “Because he was always with his ass on the ice, during skating lessons! And so here Ghiaccio came out!” he said, while Ghiaccio’s ears were growing red in embarrassment. Melone glanced at the other stand user, considering how much was wise to provoke him.

“Ooh, I see! And he was talented, I’ve heard.” he said, while the other nodded, shaking Ghiaccio’s form in an apparently affectionate gesture. Ghiaccio was almost trembling in rage.

“Yeah, he was! Still, not enough to reach top tier levels, obviously. He was a bit slow on the runs!” he exclaimed and Melone had to stifle a laugh. Oh, if only he had known how fast Ghiaccio was now…!”

“Ah, so he was slow?” he repeated, teasingly, immensely enjoying Ghiaccio’s face. He was definitely having an aneurysm right now.

“Enough!” he almost screamed, startling the athlete, while Melone just smirked. The breaking point had been reached.

“What about a little race, G/N? Like old times?” the assassin proposed, smoking of rage but trying to keep a cool tone. Risotto would have ripped his skin off if he would have risen even the slightest suspicion. They were la Squadra di Esecuzione, ghosts who brought death. They couldn’t be noticed.

“Why not! It’ll be fun. Like old times, eh? Then be ready to eat snow, Ghiacciolino!” G/N said, laughing and heading out. Ghiaccio stayed a bit behind, teeth grinding. Melone neared him, with the faintest smirk.

“Are you going to cheat, eh?” he murmured, walking with him. Ghiaccio scoffed, almost marching.

“I don’t need White Album to win over that fucker.” he grumbled, hopping on the cableway. Melone snickered, sitting near him, while the cableway slowly made its way to the runs’ start. Oh, this was something he didn’t want to lose…

Once arrived, Ghiaccio put himself near the former friend, his hands well tight around the ski battens. He glanced over the man, putting on the goggles, determined. He wasn’t going to lose to an asshole like him.

Melone gave them the start and they sprinted down the run, fast as bullets. Ghiaccio glanced to the rival, how smoothly he was moving, of course result of infinite trainings, while he, well… he was a bit rusty on it. Still… he wanted to win. He had to demonstrate that he could do it. He was a mafia man, a feared assassin!! He was an elite member of an elite squad. He couldn’t lose. It was personal.

And so he pushed and pushed, as he never did before, just to smack on his shitty face his victory. He had to do it, he wanted to do it. For all the years of humiliation, for every joke he made about him, his shortness, his glasses…

Ghiaccio was so enclosed in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice how much he was pushing and that he had surpassed G/N. He almost didn’t notice even the finish line and had to abruptly stop before ending on the safety cords. Melone was watching in amazement, from the cableway, as the two catched their breath. What a run…! He smirked, seeing the dismay on G/N’s face. Never underestimate a stubborn asshole like Ghiaccio…

“So, it seems that Ghiaccio got faster, in those years!” Melone cheerfully exclaimed, hopping down the cableway. The “champion” was still astonished by Ghiaccio’s performance, while the latter was removing the goggles, a small smirk on his lips.

“It seems so. Well, it was fun, G/N… maybe next time you’ll be luckier.” Ghiaccio said, smirking, giving him his back and heading back to the mountain retrait, with Melone near him.

“Do you have recorded everything, don’t you?” he asked, making Melone chuckle and hiding his mouth behind his fingers, in a false gesture of regret.

“Oops. Well, it’s not like I’ve filmed something bad, in the end, eh?” he replied, making Ghiaccio smirk even more.

“You’re right. Make sure that Illuso see it, I love when he’s all grumpy.” he added, making Melone laugh again.

It had been really a good idea stopping at his old hometown, all in all.

[isaksbestpillow]

3, 6, 9, 10, 24 and not on the list but do you like salmiak?

i fell asleep yesterday, i’m sorry!

3: How old are you and how old do you get mistaken for?i’m 32 and i don’t know how old people think i am. i’m tiny so sometimes people underestimate my age. when i was still a teacher, my mum said i should tell people my age just so they don’t think a child is teaching them lmao. i have a face tag, decide for yourself haha.

6: Your opinion about your body and how comfortable you are with itnot a hardcore fan because i have a skeletal disorder that causes my body to develop bone tumors that hinder on my daily life a bit. :( like please calm down body, no one ordered this menu put the cartilage down!! my legs are also of different length which is why i struggle with walking and my back is in constant pain. i’ve had ten surgeries so far and now i’ve managed to develop yet another tumor on the foot that i just got surgery on two years ago so it’s not ideal as far as bodies go. but other than that it’s ok, does its job! maybe this disorder has in fact saved me from further body image issues. when you have forearm lengthening surgery at twelve years old, that stuff is just not at the forefront of your mind. 

9: What are you really bad at?so many things!! but for one, taking criticism without having a mental breakdown about my worth as a person.

10: What talent do you wish you had?pretty handwriting!! i envy people who can write pretty letters. especially here in japan where handwriting is seen as a reflection of your personality skjaskdkj. my handwriting is terrible. i couldn’t move my wrist until i had surgery on it in elementary school so for the longest time my handwriting was worse than bad. i had to use a pen grip that i got from the hospital until i was like fifteen. even now my wrist isn’t 100% working like it should and i have finger problems so i can’t hold a pen properly and i struggle with eye hand coordination haha. i also can’t draw for shit. my dad is really good at drawing and both of my brothers went to art school, meanwhile i cannot draw a fucking shape. so that’s a bit sad for me.

24: Opinion on relationship age differencesto each their own! as long as one party isn’t like sixteen??? i do think that men who look for a girlfriend half their age need to face their choices and their own mortality, but other than that it’s not really my place though i personally could never date anyone old enough to be my parent. when i was 18-21-ish, i mostly went for people who were 5-10 years older. i was really into the older brother/sister type haha, maybe because i’m an eldest child. at 19 i dated a 25-year-old who had just broken up with their high school sweetheart and my 19-year-old brain was shocked that it didn’t work out, but it was a good lesson for me haha. so i did that age gap thing for a while until i met my spouse who is two years younger than me. now my preference has changed because i like it that we are around the same age! that way we’ll be old around the same time haha. people who say age is just a number are lying to themselves a bit i feel like but that doesn’t make age an obstacle necessarily since people want different things. i like a sibling-like relationship so to me an age gap larger than ten years would be a deal breaker.

as for salmiakki, if it’s there, i will eat it! the only salmiakki i buy for myself are salmiakkipääkallo, but i do eat all salmiakki if offered. i also eat tar candy and sisu and have taken shots of salmiakki vodka. i never have a salmiakki craving but neither will i say no to it so i guess that means i like it haha. i don’t like salmiakki ice cream though, or salmiakki chocolate. i’m not disgusted by them but i don’t really want them.

unusual asks