#okay but i honestly don't think she'd be very different

[penny-anna]

how different Owl House characters might fare in a time travel AU (let's say back from 5 years post canon, dropped into their own body, classic scenario):

Luz: pretty good I think? i feel like she'd be able to convince Eda & King that she's telling the truth pretty easily. other characters would be tougher. post-canon Luz gives off the impression of being pretty smart and savvy plus she'd have the benefit of Glyph Mastery. most likely danger is that she'd end up over-planning and everything would just fall apart. Also the question of whether she'd manage to re-win Amity's heart.

Eda: my gut feeling was 'nothing would change' but that's not fair. would have no issue getting Luz to believe her bcos like Luz just wandered into a fantasy world someone there being like 'hi I'm your friend from the future' would be like aight let's chat. would probably hook up w Raine & their rebellion very early and get a lot of shit done.

Amity: would have a tough time getting anyone to believe her i think. also a much tougher time winning over Luz & her other friends as I don't think she'd be great at handling that situation. I could see her trying to just go it alone.

Willow: hmm i feel like she'd handle this pretty well? i think she'd do a good job of getting other people on side. similar to Luz might over plan it and end up completely losing her mind. would probably be there like 'okay now everyone's together, step one, we go rescue the Golden Guard'.

Gus: I feel like Gus & Willow mutually would trust each other unreservedly in this situation so he'd defo have at least 1 ally. significantly hampered by being 12 years old again. honestly i could see him leaping immediately to 'let's just kill Belos right now'.

Hunter: worst & yet also best option. no natural allies. extremely aware that if Belos suspects anything he is gonna be super dead. saving flapjack would be a very high priority. if we're sending him back to the beginning of s1 tho good chance of him just showing up at the Owl House and successfully winning Luz over for reasons of s1 Luz is down for anything; if we're sending him back to early s2 he's having a much rougher time.

Lilith: oh she would go insane I think

King: nobody would take King seriously

Hooty: nothing would change & i am not convinced he would even tell anyone

[moonferry]

okay next up on are they/arent they, we have:

the marriage candidates and if they're a big spoon or little spoon. (or if they don't have a preference/prefer a different form of cuddling)

this isn't by favoritism btw im just writing these down as i think of the people

* shane: little spoon. something about him makes me wanna wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his neck, yk? maybe draw circles on his stomach with your finger.

* sam: despite his massive height, hes a little spoon. he absolutely loves being held. can & will sit in your lap. it's like those really huge dogs who sit on their person's lap because they think they're a small little puppy and obviously you let them because it's adorable.

* sebastian: BIG SPOON. he's short but that doesn't stop him. if you're taller than him, he will cling like a backpack. LOVE to bury his face in your shoulder blades . also loves it when people lay on his chest.

* alex: i think he doesn't really like spooning, he likes to lay his head on your shoulder or lap. if you start playing with his hair or massaging his back? it's over for him. literal puddle.

* elliott: i think he's open to both. doesn't really matter - it's up to you. he'll happily do whatever you like, you want to be spooned? got it. you want to spoon him? got it. also likes to lay his head on your stomach - thinks the gurgles sound like the ocean and it's calming to him.

* harvey: tough. i think he's very shy about physical affection - even if you two have been together for x number of years - and he often prefers to sit side by side, his arm around your waist or shoulders. he loves back hugs tho. like you come in from the farm and go into the kitchen, harvey is gonna walk in and wrap his arms around you. if he's taller than you, he'd definitely rest his chin on your head & ask you about your day.

* abigail: oh, big spoon for sure. she's so self assured & powerful. when she spoons you, she feels like she's protecting you & it's honestly very sweet. also she's a big kisser. when you two cuddle, you will be covered in little smooch marks.

* leah: i honestly think she'd be a little spoon. *i saw someone say that leah's ex partner always forced her to be the big spoon and that's why she'd hate it. i'll try to link their post if i find it* she would also enjoy it if you laid on her lap, however.

* penny: both. she'd be more likely to be the little spoon though. i also feel like she loves to face you & bury her face in the crook of your neck, maybe run her fingers through your hair as she listens to you talk about your day.

* maru: little spoon. she just loves to lay in your arms and fidget with your fingers. bonus points if you let her ramble about her newest inventions. oh and gently kiss her shoulders. she would love that.

* haley: Big Spoon. i think - after you get to know her - haley is very affectionate. not pda, just private affection between the two of you. she absolutely loves when you lay in her arms. if you face her, she'll smile softly and run her fingers through your hair, telling you how beautiful/handsome/gorgeous you are. lots of forehead kisses are in bound.

* emily: honestly? i think emily would be either. she absolutely loves cuddling, but can sometimes be overwhelmed by physical affection. i also think she'd like it if you laid directly on top of her while you cuddled - kind of like a living weighted blanket. if she gets overwhelmed, she will wrap herself in a blanket and lightly lean against you

i tried my best to keep these the same length but Some people *glaring* wouldn't stop making ideas come into my head.

also i see why people usually do these in 2 parts there's so many tag options oh my god

[portagas-chan]

Yours Forever and Ever : Part 2

Yandere Katakuri x Isekai Reader

Things to note: Angst, Manipulative Behavior - where Katakuri gaslights [Y/n] and guilt-trips her.

Part 3: https://www.tumblr.com/portagas-chan/750092733174169600/yours-forever-and-ever-part-3

Much to her surprise, Katakuri has been very nice to her. His behavior towards her was like a slap to her face when she compared it to the possible worst-case scenarios she had of him. It's not like she was complaining though.

"Are you bored?"

Katakuri's voice snapped her out of her daze. She was sitting on the edge of his bed and was daydreaming. Katakuri sat on what seemed like his working desk, writing something. It probably has something to do with the wedding preparations.

"Kind of?" [Y/n] tilted her head.

Katakuri looked at her before dropping his quill pen and walking towards her. The bed shifted a little when he sat beside her.

"I've been wanting to ask you something," Katakuri started. [Y/n] stared at him silently, waiting for him to continue. "How do you feel about this whole thing?"

"Which one? Being kidnapped and held as a hostage or my friend's wedding with your sister?"

"Everything," Katakuri answered.

"Sure, this whole thing was unexpected but I'm not bothered at all," She shrugged.

"And why is that?"

"Well, when you have someone like Luffy as your captain, crazy things always happen which is normal. Plus, I have faith in Luffy. I know we will always find a way out of difficult situations," Katakuri noticed how her lips curled up into a soft smile, how her eyes looked innocent and overall, a gentle expression she has on her face.

Katakuri was jealous of Luffy. He didn't like how she was so devoted to Luffy. How much she trusted him and her loyalty towards him. What does that damn straw hat has that he doesn't? What should he do to make her act the same towards him? He didn't know but one thing for sure, no matter what, he would never let go of her.

Katakuri hesitated to ask but did it anyway, "Does that mean... you will leave me?"

[Y/n] paused not knowing what to say. Katakuri had been sweet to her. He was kind and she felt grateful towards him but staying here forever? She couldn't see that happening. She didn't mind visiting him occasionally but being stuck in a place forever? Joining a crew as worse as the Big Mom pirates? Yeah, no.

Katakuri was such a sweetheart and a good friend of hers. He'd probably be happy if she accepted his offer to join his crew but that was only him and maybe Brulee too but the others? She'd probably spend the rest of her life being bullied by them whenever Katakuri wasn't around.

"[Y/n]?" Katakuri called her. She looked at him in the eyes and sighed, "Katakuri, you're a very nice person and I'm thankful for that. I honestly don't know what would have happened to me if your siblings were the ones I'd be held hostage by."

Katakuri smiled under his scarf, "It's not a problem at all."

"But I don't think I can abandon my crew for something like that," [Y/n] didn't dare to look at him in the eyes. She knew Katakuri would be upset.

"Am I not important to you?" His voice was cold and there was a hint of sadness behind it.

"You are!" She quickly denied him. "It's just.. you know, I don't know how to explain it but I will come by and visit you often," She tried to reassure him but it didn't help. Katakuri was still gloomy.

[Y/n] was met with silence. Katakuri didn't even look at her. He just stared into space not saying anything which worried her. She placed her hand on his and squeezed it lightly, "Katakuri? I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay? I wish we met under different circumstances."

"I don't want that," Katakuri mumbled but [Y/n] couldn't make out what he said.

"Come again?"

Katakuri slowly took off his scarf, dropping it on the floor. He finally faced [Y/n] but this time his whole face was exposed, allowing her to see his expression.

When she saw her face, it shocked her. His mouth turned downwards, frowning. His eyebrows knitted together and his eyes reflected desperation, frustration, and sadness. [Y/n] had never seen Katakuri like this. The only time she had seen him with this kind of expression was when he was younger and Brulee got hurt.

"I don't want that, [Y/n]!" He hugged her. "Please don't leave me."

[Y/n] didn't know what to say. Why was Katakuri acting like this? She couldn't think of any other reason but one. He liked her but why? They haven't known each other for long. Was it love at first sight? No, that was absurd and out of character for him.

[Y/n] remembered something and wanted to make sure what she thought was right. She pushed Katakuri away and looked at him.

"Why did you take off your scarf?"

Katakuri was taken aback by her sudden question.

"You never took it off so I assume that it's your biggest insecurity," She continued. "So, why?"

Katakuri sighed, "Because I trusted you. I had a feeling you wouldn't judge me." Well, he wasn't wrong but he literally killed people if they saw him like this even if it was unintentional, and yet here he was, taking it off and showing his weakness to her willingly.

So, she was right. Katakuri liked her but what about her? She didn't know how to feel about this. She knew about Katakuri but never got to know him personally.

"Or am I wrong? Do you hate me now because I look like this?" Katakuri said which made her stare at him in disbelief. "What? No! Are you kidding me?"

Katakuri smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear, "Then, I don't see the problem here."

[Y/n] avoided his eyes and sighed, "No, you are not getting it, Katakuri. I can't just abandon my crew. I have friends out there and I can't leave them like-"

Katakuri cut her off with a groan, "It's always about your crew. What about me? Do you not care about me? Then all those words you said were just words that meant nothing. You're lying to me, [Y/n]."

"No, Katakuri, that's not what I meant," But she was cut off by the knocks from a servant.

"Katakuri-sama? Mama would like to see you," He said before leaving.

"It's okay, you can stop pretending to care. It hurts more if you act like you care. I would prefer if you didn't and just be honest with me," Katakuri said as he got up from the bed and put on his scarf.

He started to walk away but [Y/n] immediately followed him.

"Wait, no! You've got it all wrong!" She grabbed his arm to stop him but Katakuri shook it off. With his strength, [Y/n] fell onto the ground and yelped in pain.

Katakuri looked at her and for a moment, he felt bad for hurting her. It wasn't his intention to hurt her and never will he hurt her. He walked back to her and crouched down.

He took her wrists in his hand and destroyed those cuffs. [Y/n] closed her eyes waiting for the explosion but it never came. She opened her eyes and was met with Katakuri's cold ones.

"It was just a fake to scare you off."

[Y/n] looked at her now free hands and looked back at Katakuri.

"You're free now. You can run back to your crew that you love so much and leave me behind," Katakuri said making her feel a pang of guilt.

[Y/n] didn't move an inch. She stayed in the same position.

"What's stopping you, [Y/n]? I don't matter to you and nothing is holding you back so what's stopping you?" Katakuri repeated before standing up and turning around to leave.

"Katakuri! There's been a misunderstanding. Please, hear me out!" [Y/n] pleaded but Katakuri ignored her pleas slamming the door in her face.

"Katakuri..." [Y/n] whispered sadly.

[Y/n] felt guilty. Had she gone too far with rejecting him? But it was all too sudden for her and she didn't know what to do. She didn't know Katakuri was feeling like that.

She felt like crap. She felt like a horrible person. She didn't want to leave her crew. She had stayed with them for a long time and grew fond of them but she didn't want to leave Katakuri too. Especially, now that she knows he felt hurt and betrayed by her.

[Y/n] didn't know what was the right decision to make.

Should she stay?

[mythicmanuscripts]

I have another preference type idea! While most of the boys don’t act up often (except daemon ofc), what happens on the rare occasion that they misbehave? How are they punished and how do they react? Would be neat to have poly!daemon and Rhaenyra…

Hi hello! Okay so since I pretty much just wrote about punishments with Aegon and also with Aemond and I honestly don't think there'd ever be punishments with Jace (when he makes mistakes it's more about comforting him because he will punish himself enough). So I hope it's alright if I just discuss this with poly!daemon and rhaenyra, because I think that makes the most sense and because I really really want to discuss them more. Please do let me know if you want to discus other aspects of punishments with the others.

Anyway, NSFW poly!daemon and Rhaenyra below!!

It should come as a surprise to absolutely no one that Daemon is a massive brat while Rhaenyra is the goodest good girl to ever good girl. When your relationship with them first starts to get romantic you honestly have no idea how they've managed to stay together. But somehow they both work together so well, and when you join them it's the missing piece.

Having said that, I think that Daemon and Rhaenyra tend to behave differently when it's just you and one of them versus when it's all three of you . Make no mistake, you love them both equally and want to spend as much time as you can with both of them, but it's more than the dynamic is just different when it's just one of them.

In a lot of ways, the worst of Daemon tends to come out when he's alone with you, and this is mostly because he knows that you can handle him and he needs someone to handle him. He'll talk back constantly when it's just the two of you, disobeying you often and rolling his eyes and performing every command with an attitude.

He does this because he knows you will punish him and make sure he behaves. He needs to be taken apart every now and then or else he will become utterly insufferable.

(In fact sometimes Rhaenyra will get so fed up with him being a pain in everyone's side that she'll go spend the night in your old quarters and tell you to go fix Daemon so the entire castle can finally have some peace)

Meanwhile, you never punish Rhaenyra. When it's just the two of you, she tends to just let her guard down and want to be cared for? She has so much pressure on her and it's such a privilege to give her a space where she can finally relax.

Anyway, so no punishment for Rhaenyra meanwhile it sometimes feel like Daemon is in a continuous state of being punished for something or other.

Often you'll start a punishment with him and at some point Rhaenyra will arrive. At first she'd leave when she realises what's going on but now she just walks right in and she doesn't even ask what Daemon did to deserve this, she just chuckles.

Very often she'll come into your shared quarters to find Daemon kneeling facing the wall or kneeling and holding out something heavy or kneeling on the cold floor. You'll motion her over and then the two of you cuddle in bed, laying together and talking like Daemon is not kneeling on the hard floor right next to you and watching you. He doesn't get to come join you until his punishment is finished, and Rhaenyra doesn't even acknowledge him until then.

Oddly enough, he doesn't tend to act up too much when it's the three of you. I think this is mostly because he wants to be useful? He sees you caring for Rhaenyra and he doesn't want to be relegated to the sidelines because he misbehaved and then not be allowed to help you with Rhaenyra.

[eddiezpaghetti]

Okay, Part 2! Time to get into that tasty, tasty Steve/Nancy comparison. For that, I don't think I'm really getting into any new ground, I feel like people have said this before, but it's worth stating again.

Steve having unrequited feelings for Nancy is a bad choice to compare to Will having unrequited feelings for Mike because he's a little busy basically being a perfect El parallel.

Look, okay, Nancy and Mike were automatically attracted (whether you think it was real romantic attraction or just attraction to the idea of being with them) to Steve and El respectively because they were impressive. El, of course, was "Superman landing on Mike's doorstep" and Steve had all the "King Steve" shit going on.

But Nancy and Mike both had preexisting history with a Byers boy. Mike and Will have been best friends since kindergarten, and Nancy knew Jonathan through them.

Shit happens, Nancy and Mike both lose their best friend, a lot of drama happens that basically leads to a rift between our respective pairs, but Steve and El both face down a Demogorgon to save a Wheeler (and some other people) aaaand a relationship still manages to happen despite all the shit going down. Kind of hard to ignore getting saved from a monster by a pretty person, right?

But there's still something...unspoken, between the Wheelers and the Byerses, even when the Wheelers are dating their superheroes. And when push comes to shove, when it really comes down to it...Mike and Nancy can't even honestly say "I love you", and this causes the two pairs to split up.

And...while they're split up...Steve and El both sort of...rise from the ashes of their former selves. Form new identities. But also...sort of their old ones.

Steve had lost his superpower, the thing that attracted Nancy to him in the first place. He was no longer King Steve.

For fuck's sake, he was being bullied. By some loser with blond hair. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

And on top of all that, the girl he loved most couldn't even love him back.

They parted, on terrible terms, and while they were apart, Nancy found her comfort, comfort Steve could never provide, in Jonathan.

But, while he was alone, he reclaimed his old superpower. He was king again, and he'd found something new to fight for.

He didn't ever really need Nancy to fulfill him. He just needed to be his own hero.

And El?

El had lost her superpower, the thing that attracted Mike to her in the first place. She was no longer Superman.

And for fuck's sake, she was being bullied. By some loser with blond hair. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

On top of all that, the boy she loved most couldn't even love her back.

They parted, on terrible terms, and while they were apart, Mike found his comfort, comfort El could never provide, in Will.

But, while she was alone, she reclaimed her old superpower. She was Superman again, and she'd found something new to fight for.

She didn't ever really need Mike to fulfill her. She just needed to be her own hero.

Steve and El both ended Season 4 with their relationships with Wheelers still sort of up in the air, but Nancy still ran to Jonathan while Robin comforted Steve, and El and Mike weren't talking while Mike and Will are.

And both Steve and El--in very different contexts--end the season mostly focused on, not their romantic prospects, but their best friends.

And I really think that's where their focus is going to stay.

Oh, and one last assurance--something that's been said SO many times before but bears repeating again--is this:

It's kind of hard to miss what' the story is saying's going on when the writers are saying "This is what constitutes romance," and then having Will and Mike follow the exact trail they set out, step by step by step. Not just Will, Will and Mike. It's not one-sided.

[hauntingofhouses]

Blue Eye Samurai characters as animals

First of all, let me just reassert my dog Taigen agenda.

Like I keep talking about it but this man really growls and barks like a dog, and yaps and follows Mizu around like a puppy.

I don't know much about dog breeds but my first thought was German Shepherd for Taigen. Typical guard dog you know? Fierce, aggressive, loyal, and very disciplined when trained.

Or maybe he'd be an Akita? Since that's a Japanese dog breed, and they're also large and powerful. They're quite similar to German Shepherds, not only in appearance, but they're also good as guard dogs and hunting dogs, though they're less predictable and not as family-friendly.

Also in Japanese folklore, dogs tend to be seen as auspicious guides and protectors that have the power to resist evil spirits and demons. Dog statues are often placed at city gates to ward off thieves and robbers. Ties back to guard dog behaviour lmao, and brings to mind how the Shogun praised Taigen's loyalty and specifically requested that Taigen be one of the people guarding him at his side.

Okay next, moving on, let's talk about cat Mizu, which I've also talked about before, but okay. Just look at this.

Neko Mizu my beloved.....!!! Scrunkly and scrungy. Graceful predators, introverted and mysterious, but feisty, unassuming little creatures of chaos. WILL scratch you without hesitation.

Also I think she'd specifically be a black cat, because of the prejudice towards black cats as "unlucky." Similar to how Mizu is discriminated against as people believe she's a "monster."

It's also interesting to note that cats have several different forms within Japanese folklore, from the deadly and malevolent nekomata, to shapeshifting bakeneko, to the waving figurine of the maneki-neko placed in shops to bring in prosperity. Some theorise that the diverse range of folklore stories regarding cats is related to how the species is not indigenous to Japan, which is also interesting when you recall that Mizu is mixed race.

I feel that she could honestly be any domestic black cat, but if I had to choose a specific breed, then I think she'd suit a Bombay. Very glossy black coats. Muscular but lean. Very panther-like. Only thing is that Bombays are known for their special copper eyes, but the fact that eye colour is a notable thing about their breed is also a very interesting parallel.

And I know I said in my previous post (linked above) that Ringo is the exhausted but loving caretaker of the two of them, but Ringo has an animal form too! He's a tanuki, also known as Japanese raccoon dogs! In folklore, they're silly little guys, happy and mischievous, a little absent-minded and goofy, but they're shapeshifting masters of disguise.

Also, in canon, Ringo literally lived with a family of tanuki during winter at some point in his life! He talks about this when he meets Mizu in the first episode. Image below is a concept of a deleted scene, courtesy of Brian Kesinger, the show's head of story.

Next, Akemi. Now, I know she has all that bird symbolism going on, but Mizu also had horse symbolism (due to her connection with her horse Kai). So, personality and design-wise, I don't think the symbolism has to necessarily match up. And with that said, I would like to propose another idea: I think Akemi is more like a fox!

Like I'm convinced she is in fact a beautiful kitsune in disguise. Because kitsunes in Japanese folklore are known to shapeshift into beautiful women, and are very elegant, cunning and intelligent, which seems a lot like Akemi to me!

So yeah that's it. They're a bunch of cute animals. The end.

[dronebiscuitbat]

Oil is Thicker Then Blood (Part 15)

“Here you are Mr. Elliot.” Mrs. Rayn said while dropping the giggling infant in his arms, along with a bag of bottles and a short recharge cable. Uzi was at his side with a hand on his lower back, trying to steady his already fraying nerves.

Never in a million years did he ever think he'd be called Mr. Elliot…

“Please keep calling me N, Mrs. Rayn…” He laughed nervously. Tera was looking up at him inquisitively, like even she could tell he was one bad step away from a mental break.

“But it sounds so proper!”

Yeah that's kinda the point…

“Thank you for the supplies!” He heard Uzi next to him carry the rest of the conversation as it filtered out around him, he was too… everywhere to be anywhere right now, and it was taking everything in his power to not vibrate out of his shell, or scream like a lunatic because he felt like doing both.

At least her hand was still on his back, otherwise, he wasn't sure he could keep from loosing his mind if she wasn't there. He was concentrating on her and how steady her hand was, telling him wordlessly that if he didn't have it, she did.

“You tw- three. Stay safe now, try not to stress too much.”

Oh way too late for that…

“We'll try.” Uzi's voice was deadpan but N could hear the touches of nervousness in it just as well. It almost made him fell better, that Uzi was just as nervous as him if that thought didn't also terrify him. She was way more experienced at this than him, what did it mean if she was nervous?

Rayn began to walk away, back into the nursery, leaving him and Uzi alone with a child in his arms. He felt himself start to tremble. OhmyrobogodwhattheheckdidIgetmyselfintoholy-

“You Good?” Now she was in front of him, holding his arm, looking at him with such concern he would've blushed had he been anywhere close to that state of mind.

“I don't know what I'm doing…” He near whispered, his panic leaking into his voice despite him trying to keep it internal.

“It'll be okay. You… We got this.” She squeezed his arm and displayed a cheerful cat face as an emoticon on her screen. He smiled through the panic, feeling eased through her joke and her confidence.

Even if Uzi's confidence was mostly faked, and she felt her legs becoming noodles as she forced them not to shake under the pressure that was placed on her shoulders. She still tried to be stable for N, who looked way worse than she did. Which made sense considering it was him that just actually adopted a baby.

The walk back from N's apartment was… awkward to say the very least. They garnered stares and looks that ranged between fear, shock, and disgust, but honestly, it was mostly shock.

No one believing the first sight of Khan’s outcast of a daughter having a baby with a murder drone, hell they could barely believe in her having a baby with anyone.

She gulped, ignoring the stares and walking just a little faster. She didn't care what people thought of her, no. She didn't. She didn't.

When they reached his apartment she look a breath before opening it, N right behind her, as they both breached the entrance, the door closed behind them and they looked at each other, sweat appeared in both of their visors.

“Okay. Uh… were here.” Uzi tried to remain confident, she had taken care of many babies when she was younger, this was going to be no different. Although this one had her name attached to it, the adoption certificate clearly read; Tera Elliot-Doorman. A fact she didn't want to show N just yet, or anyone for that matter.

She'd signed the paperwork impulsively, and while N was still Technically the one who adopted her, she was now permanently tied to Tera as well. And it was both fueling butterflies and straining her already strained nerves.

“Yeah. We're… here.” There was a moment of silence that passed between the two as they observed the looks on each other's faces.

And then, blessedly, they both laughed, the tension breaking.

Tera began to giggle along with them, rolling a bit in N's arms out of excitement. They both looked down at her, smiling before Uzi physically shook off her nerves

No matter how scared. They had to deal with it.

“Come on, let's sit down. I have a lot to go over.” She waved him over to the couch like he wouldn't just follow her instinctually. The couch was squishy, slightly absorbing her frame, even more so his when he joined her.

“First, calm down. Panic isn't going to do anything to help you.”

“How do I calm down? I-I don't know how to do anything! And what if I hurt her?!” His voice rose an octave as he tried to explain all the ways he was freaking put right now, but Uzi put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.

“You would never hurt her N, just like you'd never hurt me. And I'm here to walk you through it, we've been feeding her and playing with her for weeks, it's not that different.”

“Right. Okay…” He took a few deep breaths, feeling her hand on his shoulder, he tried to quiet the dozens of paniked voices in his head, he closed his eyes focusing on the pressure on his shoulder.

“En!” Tera squealed up at him, interrupting him but even still he felt his panic waning, Tera was here, safe, and happy in his arms. As of yet, he hadn't screwed up.

“Even she's telling you to chill dude.” Uzi laughed softly, and that did the trick of calming him the rest of the way down. They were both here, and safe, and right now everything was blessedly normal and not gross and freaky.

“I'm chilling! I'm chilling!” He laughed, feeling the artificial tightness in his shoulders loosen slightly.

He looked over at his best freind, who was still laughing lightly at his comment, she was so so pretty. He could feel his core lighting up in butterflies and extra warmth come to his face.

He wanted to kiss her…

He jumped at that thought before ripping his head away to stop looking at her, that was definitely new, it just had awful timing as right now she was trying to teach him. Bad N! Pay Attention!

“Good. Now you already know how to feed her, but I'm going to go over it again anyway.”

“All you do is open this panel on your side, she pointed to herself and the side in question, and there's a little charge port and a place you can siphon oil from, you've seen me do it a bunch now.”

He had, and it always seemed to sting a little bit, as she winced every time, was it supposed to hurt like that? That would be kinda asshole design if it was.

“Charge port?” Was his first question he actually asked one that was quickly answered by Uzi, who seemed to be much more confident now that she had a task; teaching him.

“Yeah, until you get a charge crib, she'll be getting all her charge from you along with her oil. Speaking of.”

She pulled out a very large container of oil from her bag, and set it on the otherwise empty coffee table.

“I did the math, with how fast you go through oil, this should last you exactly a week while you're giving her some of yours.” She gestured to it, looking a little proud of herself, he smiled back, Uzi was always prepared for anything. And the container looked hand welded, perfect for him to drink out of whenever he needed.

It was so sweet, that she'd thought of him this way.

“Sweet! At least I don't have to worry about that. Thank you Zi.” If Tera wasn't currently trying to roll out of his arms and out onto the floor he would of hugged her, instead he held Tera closer to his chest so she wouldn't roll away.

“You're welcome. Now, let's just make sure you've got the same hardware. Open up your side panel.” She pointed to his side lazily, while looking at Tera who was determined to get out of his grip, squirming as much as a being without limbs could.

He suddenly felt his next breath leave him. Yeah… that was going to be somewhat of a problem.

“Uh…” His words were hesitant, like he speaking to J and wanted to avoid saying anything that would set her off.

“What?”

“I don't have one.” He finished, head looking to the side but eyes trained on her. Tera finally succeeded in breaking out of his grip, and was now rolling over and into Uzi's lap, where she stayed after Uzi picked her up and into her arms.

She blinked at him, confusion swirling in her eyelights before words came out of her mouth again, like she had been hit with a brick.

“Everyone has one.” She began, less confused and more incredulous, he was joking right? He was based on a worker drone model, she'd expected many she'd need to modify the charger for him, make it compatible for whatever size his was, or do the same for the bottle. She didn't expect for him to just… not have anything.

“I don't.”

More silence, before Uzi leaned back so far into the couch it looked like it was eating her. Tera laughed up at her, Uzi sighed, looking down at her.

“Because why would a disassembly drone ever need to charge a baby….” She sounded endlessly dissapointed, like she was personally offended by whoever re-designed him and their choices.

N felt the nerves come back in full force. He couldn't feed or even charge Tera by himself! His stupid murder biology (or engineering) didn't even give him the ability to. How was this going to work?

“Okay. It's fine, I can continue to feed her.” Uzi began again, her eyes scrunched up in thought and her finger hovering over Tera's visor, making the baby follow it with her eyes before she squealed when it made contact with her squishy silcone.

“Once you get a charge crib that won't be a problem either, you can just plug her in there.” N nodded, thankful once again that Uzi was able to think so quickly despite how nervous they both were.

“In the meantime… She'll have to charge off me.” She said slowly, a blush aggressively attacking her face, she turned to him after a moment, managing to push it away, leaving only the smallest blush left. But it was still something he noticed.

“I guess I'm staying here for awhile. Heh.”

He looked away to settle the score with his own misbehaving visor, both incredibly happy to be able to spend more time with her and incredibly nervous all at the same time.

Next ->

[golvio]

Tried the Damsel route today.

This shot and the sequence leading up to it is probably one of the most disturbing things in the whole game. It's to existential horror what the Prisoner sawing her own head off was to physical horror. If anything, the Prisoner's autodecapatation is now less horrifying, in retrospect, because at least she got to keep her personality and free will throughout the process.

But, also...even in the routes where we don't mean to hurt her, where we do everything in our power to avoid physically hurting her...we still hurt her.

Even if we came in here with the very best of intentions and tried to "do the right thing," we still hurt her by our thoughts and desires hollowing her out until she was reduced to...this.

Going through the "happy" version of the ending didn't feel so triumphant, after that. Not just because the ending wasn't quite as satisfying from a narrative standpoint without any sort of conflict to struggle against, but because the whole time it felt like she was following a script. Apart from the vague impulse to leave that all Princesses possessed, she'd been hollowed out of everything that had made her...well, her, before Chapter II. She didn't panic when the door shut, she didn't stop smiling when we suggested she might end the world or have to cut off her arm a second time. The only thing we noticed about her in Chapter I was her lack of response to pain and her sweet smiles, and our fantasies hollowed her out until she became nothing but that.

Can we say she was "happy" if she lacked the capacity to be anything but "happy" with our choices for her? Can you call that love? Or is it something that's even lonelier than outright being alone?

Honestly, it was a relief when the Shifting Mound took her. Seeing her made so shallow felt incredibly cruel, given who she was before she was flattened, and what she would've been capable of if we had done literally anything else. At that point, "You molded her to love you" and "She has served her purpose" felt like both an observation and an accusation.

But, given that my time with the Damsel was paired with Shifty's third vessel dialogue...it got me thinking about what She wants.

She says She doesn't want anything, that She's governed by the whims of whatever force is shaping Her at the moment, but...is She really happy, having who She is be subject to the whims of who's perceiving Her? Is She okay with not being able to hold a shape She's discovered she likes as soon as someone else perceives Her to be something different? Would She ever want to take a break from...all that? After all, She's drawn to us. The Long Quiet. The god of eternity and order. On a certain level, She craves stability.

Is her "gift" to us what She's secretly wanted all along? The power to choose Her own fate, Her own identity, and the power to change it if She doesn't like the path She's on? And what does that say about our gifts? Do we yearn for the completion we offer her through the vessels, given that we keep shattering to pieces every time we go back into the breach and start the loop again? Is this some kind of wacky flipped-upside-down Gift of the Magi situation where each of us gives the other what they yearn for but lack due to our being permanently separated into two beings against our will?

[saintbleeding]

Hii~

So i saw this on a tumblr post but is very jonmartin

"Jon and Martin are planning their wedding, they want to have their cat as ring bearer (is this how it's called?) But Martin doesn't know the name of the cat because they always call it different nicknames and jon just doesn't tell him and he don't want to admit that after all that years don't know.

Because jon didn't know either! he thinks that the cat is Martin's and he also is trying to figure out the name."

Martin’s not a cat person.

Honestly, he’s just not really an animal person. Like, in general.

The same isn’t true for Jon, of course. On, like, their second date, Jon—who, up until that point, had been all leather elbow patches on his stupid tweed jackets and “hmm, perhaps” and thoughtful squinting—got approached by a cat in the street, and pretty much melted on the spot.

Martin melted, too, but for slightly different reasons.

So it wasn't really a surprise when Jon moved in and Cat started turning up. Sure, it felt a little bit out of character for Jon not to excitedly announce that, one, he'd gotten a pet cat really recently, and, two, he was bringing it into Martin's place, which is a relatively humble little cottage, but Cat seems to free-roam most of the time, so it's not like she's encroaching on much of the space. And, anyway, it's not like Martin hates cats, so he doesn't mind. He just sort of thought Jon would have said something. But he didn't.

So.

You know.

There's a cat.

She's grown on Martin over time. In fact, it's usually him that wakes up with her purring and headbutting him at fuck-off o'clock in the morning, and Jon's not a heavy sleeper, so if she'd attacked him first, Martin would know.

But she's nice. Lovely little tufts of fur between her toes, and quite a deep meow for such a pretty lady. He'll call her Lady Catherine sometimes, and Jon's got the gall to pretend he doesn't think it's hilarious. Mind you, Jon's terms of endearment for her skew a bit more—pejorative, for lack of a better term? Like, Cat will take the opportunity when Jon is hunched over a stack of student essays at the dining table, and she'll leap onto his shoulders, and do that loaf thing, and Jon always says "unhand me, you infernal creature", or the few times she has bothered Jon in the middle of the night for pre-dawn breakfast service, he's grumbled "vile beast" even as he gets up to feed her.

Martin's tried telling him he shouldn't be encouraging her. But Jon just turns around and says "yes, I know, that's why I chastise her".

Martin stays impressed that someone so smart can be so stupid. Which he means affectionately, obviously. If he didn't, they wouldn't be getting married.

Which is great, by the way. It's great.

Does present some—unique problems, though.

Martin's got absolutely no bloody clue what her actual name is.

Which, you know, it's not like he's filling out adoption papers or anything, but at some point after some late-night banter it became part of the plan that Cat should be the ring-bearer at the wedding.

And he can't not know the name of a member of the party at his own wedding.

So he starts sleuthing.

"Hey," he says one evening, when GBBO is over and they're just sitting there with the telly on mute.

Jon looks up from his thorough inspection of Cat's beans, her paw gently clasped between his thumb and forefinger, and goes "Mm?"

"Been thinking."

Jon lifts one eyebrow. "Mm?"

"We could get her a proper little collar and everything."

Jon blinks a couple of times, then smiles. "Oh, for the wedding, you mean?" Martin nods. "Oh, yes, it could match your tie."

Okay, that's adorable, but also, unfortunately, not the point.

"Ooh, yeah," he says, then: "Oh! And, like, a little engraved name-tag. Really fancy."

Jon's eyes narrow almost imperceptibly.

"Yes," he says, tone completely unreadable. "Silver or gold, do you think?"

Martin's suddenly wondering if it's a trap.

"Dunno," he says, turning his eyes back to the brightly-coloured advert on the screen. "What's her vibe, you think?"

In the corner of his eye he sees Jon's jaw working silently as he searches for something to say.

"I think your input should be taken into consideration," he says, lifting his chin as Cat stands, stretches, and headbutts him. "Since... you know."

Martin considers whether or not Jon's messing with him, because frankly, he very much does not know.

"Mmm. Well! Uh- I- I like gold. Would match our bands."

"True enough," Jon says. Cat leaps onto the back of the sofa, and they're both silent till she curls up there and falls back asleep.

Jon doesn't seem very eager to say anything else.

Bugger.

"So..." Martin says, lifting his glasses to rub his eyes. "Um... what's the spelling, again?"

Jon's blurry form sits up straighter, and when Martin puts his glasses back on he sees his mouth open in shock.

"Might I ask why you're asking me?" Jon says, which doesn't make any sense.

"W- um. Y- you know, you're the English teacher."

Jon inclines his head to the side, frowning. "Hmm," he goes. "W- I- I- yes, I—mm." He lowers himself back against the sofa again. "The usual way."

Martin sighs.

"Right," he says. "Okay."

The silence gets a bit fraught, then. When Martin stands up to take their mugs to the kitchen, he might be a tiny bit huffy. It's possible.

Jon follows him, and he stays huffy, because it's easier to keep up than neutrality when he's trying to hide that he's a bit annoyed and a bit embarrassed.

"Everything alright?" Jon says, leaning casually against the fridge as Martin puts way too much effort into scrubbing both mugs clean.

"Mm."

Several seconds pass.

"Could I say something?" Jon asks, a bit hesitantly.

If Martin had to guess, he'd put money on "you're a negligent idiot for not paying enough attention to know my cat's name and I hate you".

"Yeah."

Jon exhales audibly behind him, as though amused.

"With all due respect and affection, darling—" He pauses till Martin is finished aggressively rinsing the mugs. Martin still doesn't turn to face him, though, because he's a tiny bit scared of where this is going, honestly. "If you've forgotten how to spell your own cat's name, that's not, strictly speaking, my fault, is it?"

Martin turns around.

Several things occur to him at once.

First, Cat's a dirty freeloader who owes Martin like fourteen months of rent.

Second, it might, legitimately, have been a coincidence that she and Jon moved in around the same time.

Third, he can't remember a time he's heard Jon use any method of address on her except for creature, or beast, or the ones Martin uses himself.

Which means, fourth, Jon doesn't know her bloody name either.

Because she's not his cat.

Well.

"Okay," Martin says. "Let's assume I have forgotten. Couldn't you just—help me out—and spell it?"

"Martin," Jon says disparagingly with a frown.

"Jon," Martin says, trying really hard not to smirk.

Jon does that thing where his mouth starts in a flat line, but as his irritation grows, his nose scrunches up, and the line of his mouth slowly rises up his face until he exclaims inarticulately and throws his hands in the air in defeat.

"Fine!" he says. "Fine, okay, alright, fine. I—I don't—I don't know. I don't know! I meant to ask, but I felt negligent not having known when I moved in, and then, after a month or seven I couldn't very well come out and ask, could I? And then—good heavens, it's been more than a year, there was no subtle way to recover!"

Martin's not laughing at him.

But he is laughing.

Breathlessly, uncontrollably, doubling over—to the point where Jon actually crosses the few steps separating them in the tiny kitchen to place a hand on his shoulder, gently guiding him upright with a concerned look on his face.

"Sorry," Martin manages eventually, wiping tears from his eyes. "Christ, sorry, I'm just—"

He takes a deep, measured breath.

"I've got to tell you something," he says sheepishly. Jon puts his hands on Martin's shoulders and looks into his face with the earnest sobriety that, even now, gives Martin butterflies.

"Anything," he says, still frowning intensely.

Martin averts his eyes. "She's not my cat either."

When Jon stops laughing, he spends the rest of the evening lecturing Cat in his Not Mad Just Disappointed voice ("identity fraud is an extremely serious matter, young lady, and you are terribly lucky you have such sweet little eyes, or I might be compelled to take legal action against you, please let go of my nose").

Oh, but they do end up getting her an engraved gold name-tag for the ceremony.

It says 'Lady Catherine (Beast)'.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Wibta if I asked my friend's girlfriend to stop making LGBTQ+ specific jokes with me?

Okay I know that title sounds bad but I don't know what the right path to take in this situation is.

I (21f) am GNC, but I am straight and cis. Because I'm GNC I have been told I don't give cishet "vibes". I have been frequently told that I have "bisexual energy" and like I don't know how to respond to that. Like is that a compliment? What does that mean? Bisexuals are all very different people idk what about me you're referring to. Thanking them sounds weird, but replying like "well, I'm not bi" sounds rude/biphobic. Idk. But I get it a lot.

My roommate/friend (20f) recently started going out with a new girl (21f). She's lovely and they're really happy. The only thing is that I'm pretty sure that the girlfriend has assumed I'm in some way LGBTQ, because she's been making a lot of community in-jokes with me that I really don't think I, as someone who isn't in the community, really should be privy to. It's been a lot of "useless lesbian" jokes and similar, and honestly I don't think she'd be making the same jokes if she knew I was straight. Like me joining in with the jokes feels homophobic, I guess? But also I don't know how to just casually inform her I'm straight without her getting the wrong idea?

What are these acronyms?

[cream0fwheat1998]

Girl from the Band 2 (Dark!Jason Carverxreader)

Dark! Jason Carver, Non-con, isolation, sexism/misogyny, manipulation, fear, I prefer soft!Dark! so thats more of the direction im going in.

Y/n waited at the abandoned lunch table in the woods. It seemed like an an unsafe place but it wasnt. This is where her DnD club would me every so often to talk about their new campaign, schedules and other stuff. Sometimes Eddie would trade weed for money; not to be a pearl clutcher but Y/n denied that stuff everytime it was offered to her. She wasn't interested in any of that.

The crowd eventually gathered; everyone laughed and cherished these fleeting moments. Y/n somewhat regretted the thought she hadn't joined sooner but back then she was too scared.

Some voices from the direction of the school caused the group to look away from their plans. There stood some of the basketball team, always in their jersey's even when the season had ended.

"What are you freaks doing?" Jason asked, eyeing Eddie.

"Bro we're just playing our game. Just like you played yours'. It's no different now run along." Eddie said, his pals backing him up in unison.

While y/d knew she'd be on Hellfires side if it came to a fight, she couldn't help but feel the red-hot heat on her cheeks with Jasons boldness. He stood tall and it made him seem dominate.

Y/d cringed at her thought and put it away in the back of her mind. Embarrassed that her mind even wondered in that direction.

"Well pack it up, the boys and I are using this spot for now on." Jason said, high-fiving one of his minions.

Everyone looked to Eddie, to Jason then back to Eddie. The tension was palpable.

Eddie sighed. "Alright, we can use one of the classrooms. Maybe the utility room in the schools basement." Everyone gathered their books and bags, not in defeat but rather in a 'for now' way.

Y/n was the last one to leave and Jason seemed surprised to see the girl he was determined to make his next 'woman'. He shook his and stopped her by a light grab of her shoulder.

He swallowed nothing. "You shouldn't hang out with them. They're freaks. They're into weird shit and they could hurt you." He said, for some reason not looking her in the eye.

The physical contact is what paused Y/n completely. She wasn't use to touching me. nor men touching her. But she knew overall, this wasn't okay because he was trying to stop her from something that wasn't his business.

Y/n put her hand ontop of Jasons' and put it off of her shoulder. "I think i'll be fine, Jason. You don't even know them. You dont know me." She said, a loose smile following.

Before Y/n could leave, Jason grabbed her arm with an iron grasp. His lackies busied themselves; not concerned about his behavior towards an innocent girl.

"It's not a suggestion. I don't want to you with Eddie Munson again. Do you hear me?" Jason told y/n, getting very close to her face.

Y/n looked side to side but her attempt to see any escape or call for help was fruitless. "Okay, just let me go." She whispered.

Jason looked her firmly in the eye, trying to decide if she was lying or not. With a quick, harsh squeeze, he let go of Y/n's arm and watched her scurry away. He couldn't have his future girlfriend hanging out with the scum of Hawkins. She'd need to learn her place (with him) soon.

Jason genuinely felt entitled to the attention of a woman now that the one woman who broke his heart had moved on; with a pal of his no less.

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

The next day, y/n contemplated the ways she could get out of going to school. She could fake a fever or a cold but with a nurse mother, she figured any faking she'd do would be seen through immediately.

She also didn't know about skipping class; no she wasn't a goody-two shoes but there was no reason to break rules if it isn't necessary. Being scared of Jason Carver wasn't necessary. Y/n did think about going to Eddie but that seemed, pathetic, honestly.

She and Eddie weren't great friends; she only hung out with him through Hellfire but he appeared to be a good guy. Y/n also got to thinking what could Jason Carver do?

Yeah his family had some money but no tremendous pull in the town. She straightened herself out and decided to endure the day as normal. There was no reason to be afraid.

It happened at lunch. Eddie was riled up for the campaign we'd been planning for a month. He was so excited that he jumped onto the lunch table and made a fool of himself infront of everyone. But he didn't care; he never did.

Y/n couldn't help but cover her mouth as she laughed at the long-haired man bouncing around. She admired his attitude even during intense times.

But Eddie got too loud and Jason had yelled at him to stop acting out; like a parent scolding a child.

After some childish exchange of words, Eddie simmered down and laughing at Jason. They were all giggling but y/n stopped when Jason zoned in on her. He looked.....angry at her for laughing at the silliness of her friend. Unknown to her, he assumed she was laughing at him. While hanging out with the exact people he told her not to.

He'd show her where and to whom she belongs to later.

By the time last period rolled by, Y/n felt confident. Regardless of lunch, the day wasn't bad. She felt foolish really. Thinking that Jason Carver had been serious about her not hanging with her friends anymore.

Tonight there was no Hellfire meeting and her parents had a business dinner with coworkers so the house was hers alone.

*Ding Dong *

Almost alone....

Y/n opened the door to Jason Carver. With a large smile plastered on his face. "Hey, Y/n right? I know this is sudden but can I come in?"

The only sound between them was wind blowing outside and a car or two driving by. The siren were blaring in Y/n's head to not let him in.

"Oh, well I don't think so, Jason. My parents aren't home so I shouldnt have anyone here." She said but regretted it a second later. WHY WOULD YOU TELL HIM THAT???!!? The girl yelled at herself.

Jason put his foot in the door before Y/n closed it. His smile was gone but his eyes held a confident light.

"Listen. This can go two ways. Way one, you let me in and we can go about what I have planned, peacefully or.....I'll force my way in, in every meaning of the word." Jason explained in a low, raspy voice.

Y/n finally took a complete look at Jason. His once finely combed hair was disheveled. His usually neat clothes were wrinkled. He had bags under his once bright blue eyes.

Y/n tried to shut the door with force but she was no match for a guys strength. Y/n ran to the kitchen with a plan to escape through the back door.

Jason slammed the front door shut and smirked. He felt content with option 2; this is going to be fun, he thought to himself.

Y/n reached the door knob what was grabbed by the waist and thrown back to the ground. Jason stood above her, unwavering and ready.

"I expect you to listen to my words for now on; like an obedient girlfriend should." Jason said lifting Y/n back up by the arm and dragged her to the stairs.

"Where's your room?" Jason asked, his lips in a thin line.

Y/n shook her head, "Jason please. We don't know each other, don't do this." Y/n cried while trying to free herself from Jasons grip.

He shook his, "No. I've decided you're my next girlfriend. Don't pretend to be shocked; i've seen how you look at me. You should be grateful you get to live out your school girl crush."

Jason dragged the girl upstairs, "Now tell me which room is yours. You're already getting punished for hanging out with those freaks after I told you not to; don't make me add more."

Not wanting to make him angrier, she said, "That one." while hanging her head low.

Jason led her to her bedroom; he threw her in there and locked the door behind himself.

"Take off your clothes."

[two-braincells-in-total]

I saw that some people here are worried that glorious rivals might be NA, because of the deleted scene of tgg and I wanted to explain why I highly doubt it.

First off, there are different levels of YA. A book which has target audience 12 yo will be different than one with target audience 18 yo. I'm pretty sure that the tig saga in general is something in between.

This means that there are different 'spice' levels in YA (tho I wouldn't call them spice, since it's still YA). It's a wide age range, from 12-18 (correct me if I'm wrong), therefore it has different intensity levels. For example, the Shatter me series is also YA and I think we can say that it was more explicit than the deleted tgg scene of Rohan and Savannah. Even then, there are still 13 year olds reading it and it's not a problem, because it still isn't NA, the scenes don't describe the actions after make out and undressing, which is exactly what YA means. Just because the make out session is a little bit more intense and is suggesting further action, it doesn't mean it's NA unless the further action is described explicitly.

Secondly, even if she wanted to separate the two trilogies (which would be a very bad idea on her part, because she'd lose most of her audience, so I doubt it), the first book of the second trilogy (aka tgg) is still YA, she can't say "oh, you read the cliffhanger from book 1 but can't read book 2 because you're underage, even tho I said that you can read the series". Authors don't just change the age rating of the books mid series. Between series of the same saga, possibly, even if it risky (the whole losing audience thing), but definitely not in the middle of a series.

It's okay if you're uncomfortable with higher levels of YA (which, honestly, it's looking like we'll get there in the next book, that I can't deny), but you can't say it's not appropriately rated, because she's just changing the intensity, not skipping to the next rating.

So, yeah, I don't think glorious rivals or any future book from the saga will be NA, I don't think she'd risk losing most of her audience. Even if she's targeting older audiences on purpose by potentially switching to NA, it wouldn't be in this saga, because people who read NA probably wouldn't read 5 books of YA before they get to the NA book. It would be a lose-lose for jlb to do that, so I don't think we have any reason to freak out about the age ratings.

She's just changing the intensity. Again, it's understandable if you're uncomfortable with higher levels, but it still counts as YA. YA doesn't mean only having a 1 paragraph long kiss every once in a while, for some books it means sexual tension without action, or the characters doing it, but only having their emotions described instead of the action itself (again, I'm giving Shatter me as an example of such YA book).

[romanoffs-widow]

Sorry for everything

Sum: Nat takes out her anger on you after a stressful couple of weeks.

Warnings ⚠️ : Shouting, arguing, and split up?

A/N: Thank you very much to @bobisek96 for requesting this fic, I hope it's okay 😭 and tysm to everyone for all the love on my (not actually first) first fic! I appreciate you all sm ❤️

(I promise there is eventual fluff 😅)

Happy reading! 😊

NATASHA POV:

Everyone thinks being an Avenger is so easy. All you gotta do is a couple of fights and interviews, and that's it, right? Wrong. These last couple of weeks have had me exhausted and honestly drained.

Steve and Tony keep arguing about useless crap, Lena accidentally stained the couch with red wine and didn't even tell me, so I sat in it and stained my favourite sweatpants and I've had to do 6 different interviews because Tony had a cold and couldn't do them, and on top of all that, Morgan has clung to me like a magnet since her dad has been sick. I love kids, and I really do, but not when I'm exhausted and keep having nightmares, leaving me sleepless almost every other night.

"Hey Natty," she says with that smile I love so much. I don't know what it is, but even y/n/n can't cheer me up today. Too tired to respond, I just give her a nod. Hopefully, she can see I don't want to talk right now.

I went to change into comfier clothes. I feel a pair of hands wrap around my waist. I shrug her off, getting annoyed. "Are you okay, baby?" I roll my eyes as I put my top over my head. "I'm fine." Maybe now she'll get it? "You know if you don't want to talk to me, just say." She says it with a tone that tips me ove rather edge.

"You know what? Maybe I don't want to talk to you. Maybe all I want to do is lay down in our bed and try my very best to relax! I have had such a hard couple weeks, and all you do is bug me because you're a pathetic childish wench that wants my attention all the time! If you knew what I go through every single day as an Avenger, maybe you'd at least try to understand how hard my job is! So please just shut your whiny mouth up and get out. I don't want to see your face EVER AGAIN!"

Y/N POV:

My vision is beyond blurry as I feel the endless stream of tears rolling down my cheeks. My hands are shaking, and anxiety is sitting heavy on top of my chest. "Alright. O-okay." I get up, and without saying anymore, I grab my backpack and start shoving a bunch of clothing into it. I go into the bathroom and grab my toothbrush, as well as the other necessities that belonged to me.

With my bag and arms full with items, I give the redhead one last look. Her face is still red from all the shouting she did as she stared at the floor, in the same spot she'd been in for a couple of minutes. I give her a small nod, sniffling as I close the door. I am fully aware the whole compound heard all of that, and honestly, they should. I don't deserve to be treated like that.

I'm going to miss this place. The past 9 years of my life have been spent living here, getting to know all of the amazing people within. I had so many memories here, one of the first being when Morgan was born. She had a head full of hair and a smile that looked just like her fathers'.

As I walked out of the tower, I went to the first person I could think of. Wanda Maximoff, my best friend of 5 years. She does live in the compound, but she also owns an apartment on the other side of the city for emergencies. She gave me a spare key when she got it. Thankfully, I'd never used it before, so I'd never seen the interior of the four walls.

Memories, good and bad swirls around in my head, as I twist the bronze key into the lock. It took me an hour to get here, with the bus and all. I get settled in, as I know I'll be staying here for a while. I started getting myself a snack when I heard the door swing open. I look at it to see the red magic I'd come to know very well.

"Y/n/n honey? Are you in here?" As soon as I hear her voice, I run over to her, the flow of tears starting up again. "Oh my god, are you okay? She didn't hurt you, did she?" I shake my head, unable to speak. "Oh, my poor baby. I'm so sorry I didn't find you sooner. Everyone is out looking for you. I'd better call Pietro and tell him to tell everyone you're safe."

I just hug her tighter. "E-e-even...?" She looks at me with guilt in her eyes. "We all heard what she said to you, and F.R.I.D.A.Y said that you'd left, so we all went looking for you. None of us have heard from her since." By now, I've soaked her hoodie with my never-ending tears.

"Shhhh, it's okay, you're okay." Wanda whispers as she rubs my back to calm me down.

1 MONTH LATER...

I hear a knock at the door. Wanda only left, and she had her own key, so it definitely wasn't her, and i haven't ordered any packages. Deciding i dont care, I go to open it. I see nothing but a white teddy bear holding an envelope sitting on the welcome mat. There is no sign of anyone being here, as the halls are silent. I pick up the toy and bring it inside, closing the door. I go and put it on the counter, taking the red letter from its paws. It had my first initial on the front.

Our place, 2 pm?

- N xx

I roll my eyes. Even if I was very upset with her, she always knew how to make me smile. I check the clock, seeing it's already 1pm, so I decide to start getting ready.

I step into the shop and immediately see Natasha. As I get closer, I can see that she has bags under her eyes, and I see that her knuckles are all red and sore. She's probably been training to get her mind off us. "Hey," She goes to hug me, and I let her. "Hi." She ordered both our favourite drinks.

"How have you been?" I scoff. "What kind of a question is that? My girlfriend of 9 years kicked me out because she was having a rough couple of weeks and hasn't even bothered talking to me for a whole month, and you think I'm okay?" She looks down with guilt filled eyes. "...no. Sorry."

I sip from my cup. "Are you gonna give me some pathetic excuse as for why you made me leave like that, or what?" She nods her head, and takes a Depp breath.

"What I said was really messed up. I shouldn't have called you any of those rude names or said any of that to you. I was having a hard couple of weeks, and I just wanted some quiet. Which I got. But by all means, that's no excuse to take my anger out on you. I don't know if you even want to talk to me anymore after what I did, and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness or anything remotely close but I really am sorry y/n/n. These past 9 years have meant so much to me, and I don't want them to go down the drain because of my stupid actions."

She pauses for a while. Waiting for me to give her some sort of response. "Thank you. I'm sorry for bothering you so much, but it would be very helpful if you communicated how you feel to me, so I know when you need space. I haven't forgiven you. That's going to take a long time, but if you're willing to work on this, so am I. Okay?" She puts her hand on top of mine. "Okay."

6 MONTHS LATER...

Everything had been going actually quite well with y/n, and I. I've been working on my communication, and she's been helping me to recognise when I feel like I need space. She's moved back into the compound, and as of recently, she's started staying in our room again.

"Hey baby." I forgot how much I love her voice. "Hi malysh. Cuddles?" She nods her head and wraps herself around me on the couch. We quickly get sucked into our newfound favourite show, Greys Anatomy. "Meredith really is gorgeous, but not as gorgeous as you!" I say as I give her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm nothing compared to McDreamy." I laugh, knowing she loves Derek too much.

"Sorry...for everything." She turns to look at me with her eyebrows furrowed, abandoning our show. "I know. It's okay." She adjusts herself so she can kiss my lips. "I love you." She snuggled back onto me, sucking back into the show.

[shippingmyworld]

Hi there!

I read that one and really liked your headcanon about Danny and his relationships with his exs and wondered if you had any for JimmyTimmy? I know you're more a tigerghost blog so it's okay if you don't!

It's so funny that I have that reputation since I've only been active in the fandom for like a few months.

But actually I do have a few! I was playing with the idea of expanding this into an actual fic at some point, but if you're curious I included the main points below the cut.

I like to hc that Jimmy's never actually been in a relationship or even kissed anyone before. I know his implied love interest in canon is Cindy (I don't recall if they actually get together in canon or if there was anyone else he showed interest in), but I always saw them more as rivals that end up begrudgingly becoming friends over the years. I also believe that Jimmy would know he's demi-sexual and homo-romantic from a very early age. It just never comes up in conversation because he simply shuts down any conversation about romance by saying he doesn't find the person his friends are talking about attractive (Cindy starts a betting pool with the others because she's picked up on the fact that Jimmy is basically gay but everyone else thinks he's ace).

While Jimmy's love life is rather drama-free for most of his adolescence and early teen years, Timmy on the other hand experiences the equivalent of seven different disney channel tween rom-com movies. He's caught up in the fantasy he's created of Trixie, and his affection will bounce between her and Cindy depending on which girl has shown more attention in the last few days. He'll often annoy Jimmy with his elaborate plans on how he intends to ask one of them out. Occasionally he'll also spend an entire afternoon on an inter-dimensional video call about how annoying Tootie has been lately and what her latest scheme had been to win Timmy's affection.

Jimmy meanwhile has realized he has feeling for Timmy, but locks them away because he believes Timmy is straight. He's honestly just content that Timmy reaches out to him as often as he does and that they're able to still spend time together. He also never points out that what Tootie is doing to Timmy is the exact same thing that Timmy is doing to Trixie and Cindy.

Right before they enter high school, Timmy will read the signals wrong and ask Cindy to go steady with him, but Cindy will politely turn him down and say she'd rather they just be friends. Completely crushed, he'll double down in his attempt to woo Trixie and pull out all the stops, putting on this extremely cringey and embarrassing performance to ask her to be his girlfriend (he got the idea from Cosmo). She'll just straight up laughs in his face and will stomp on his heart, leaving him to be the laughing stock of the school. When Tootie comes and tries to comfort him, Timmy will snap and yell at her, saying all sorts of hurtful things to her face and making her cry.

High school starts, and Timmy finds himself a complete social outcast. No one want to be associated with him after the stunt he pulled to ask out Trixie (even Chester and AJ don't want to spend time with him). Timmy then starts spending more time in Jimmy's universe, annoying Jimmy by randomly showing up inside his lab. Jimmy's annoyed at first, but realizes that Timmy's just lonely and lets him stick around. Timmy eventually makes himself at home (he sets up base in a small corner of the lab that is basically his area that Jimmy doesn't interfere with), and will say something to Jimmy along the lines of "I'm really glad you're apart of my life." Which just kills Jimmy a little bit because he knows that Timmy means it platonically.

After a few months of teen melodrama and some advice from Jimmy, Timmy will approach Tootie with the intent of apologizing to her. He finds her is eating alone in the lunch room at school and just spits out the apology point blank. It will take some time, but the two will reconcile and become friendly with each other, but Tootie will still harbor feelings for Timmy.

Meanwhile, for plot reasons, Remy will transfer to Timmy's school. Timmy expects that Remy is going to make his life hell, but a few weeks pass and Remy seems to actually be avoiding Timmy. It's messing with Timmy's head. He can't have his guard up the entire time at school, Remy was always more of a threat than Mr. Crocker ever was. So during one of the school's pep rally's, Timmy will pull Remy under the bleachers and confront him. Remy promises that he's done with trying to expose Cosmo and Wanda, and Timmy wants to know how he can trust Remy's words. Remy will then kiss him, confusing the hell out of Timmy. He says he has feeling for Timmy, and would never do anything that would hurt Timmy and ruin his chances. Timmy is hung up on the fact that they're both guys and Remy just kissed him??? So he says nothing and just walks away.

The next day he'll be sitting with Chester & AJ in class and tells them about it (they never apologized for ditching Timmy at the start of high school but he doesn't really have any other friends and they're forced to talk with him since they all sit next to each other). AJ asks if Timmy knows what homosexuality and bisexuality is, and Timmy has honestly never heard of those terms before. After all, his parents never let him watch TV or give him money to go out, and still force him to have a babysitter at his age. When AJ explains it all (he has graphs and examples of non-heterosexual relationships observed in other mammals) something just clicks for Timmy. When school is done with, he runs home (ignoring Remy and Tootie who are both planning to confess their feeling again) and poofs over to Jimmy's lab.

Jimmy's surprised to see him. But he's even more surprised when Timmy just grabs him by both shoulders and pulls him in for a kiss without another word. Jimmy's brain literally crashes (he wonders if he's having a stroke or some sort of stress-dream), and when Timmy pulls aways he's a blushing mess. Timmy will apologize and start rambling on about how he just found out that this was a possibility and that it makes sense. He always feels comfortable around Jimmy and once he realized two guys could be together, kissing Jimmy was the first thing that popped into his head. Timmy keeps talking for several minutes as Jimmy attempts to process everything, but Timmy will end up taking Jimmy's silence as a bad sign and try to leave. Jimmy's forced to grab Timmy's hand to make him stay and they then just sit in silence for several hours as Jimmy rearranges his thoughts (Timmy will eventually fall asleep on him as they just sit on the floor of the lab).

After that they start dating. Tootie and Remy have no idea until Jimmy shows up one day to pick up Timmy from school for a hang-out/date. Timmy is casually chatting with Tootie and Remy (as both of them continue to interrupt each others attempts to ask Timmy on a date), when Timmy suddenly breaks away from them and charges at a boy they'd never seen before (Jimmy) who just showed up at the school gate. Timmy tackle's Jimmy at top speed, nearly barreling him over as they hug and plants a big kiss on Jimmy's cheek. He waves goodbye to Tootie and Remy, who are just watching slack-jawed as Timmy walks away hand-in-hand with Jimmy. Tootie and Remy then form an alliance to take down Jimmy so they can go back to fighting for Timmy's affection.

[maximotts]

rereading ph and i was wondering…what would happen if like one of them went too far? like they actually scared/hurt the reader like very seriously?

Interesting that you ask such a thing! I have draft currently where someone asked something similar and it's got a scenario where Nat goes too far with Wanda, but I have yet to approach the subject with reader involved.

I apologize, this is going to be a bit long, but I guess it's more of a set of headcanons than a fic so uh.. bon apetit, hurt/comfort situation lovers

private hire au masterlist.

Honestly, it would depend on a lot of things: how close Wanda and Natasha are to reader when it happens, where they are (i.e. is it a public scolding that's more emotional or is it something in private/the bedroom), and who it is that actually hurts them.

Assuming they're in the current place ( game night ) when reader gets hurt, Wanda and Natasha would care a lot and want to right it as best they know how. Which.. is still not always the healthiest.

If it were Wanda...

Say she was tearing into you so harshly in front of other people that maybe you break down and cry or even just run away depending on the setting because really, who wants to cry in front of strangers, she would feel terrible.

Devastated honestly, Wanda's much more afraid of you pulling away than Natasha is; she needs you to see her as a constant safe space for anything and always wants to be the one you run towards, never from.

If it was during a meeting she couldn't immediately leave, Wanda would handle everything as quickly as possible, but in the meantime she's getting someone to check on you. Preferably Nat, but if she's too far, most likely it'd be Bucky or Sam. Anyone who she knows would keep you out of harm's way, but continue to keep an eye on you for her.

Because you never really have a chance to slip away.

As soon as possible, Wanda'd get to wherever you fled, putting on her gentlest demeanor, hoping you're not upset enough with her that she has to apologize.

But when she sees you're shying away from her, Wanda's heart breaks.

Again, we've seen it before a bit in forgive and (don't) forget, but Wanda hates thinking she's upset you enough to push you away.

She'd get you the world if you asked, anything to coax you into talking to her and helping her understand where she went wrong because she needs to fix it. It'll eat away at her if you don't at least start to forgive her by the end of the day.

But then if you get hurt during sex with her...

She's apologetic instantly, but much more in tune to your physical and mental state than if it was just verbal like above.

Wanda's such a touchy person she'd want to hold you so bad, but understands if you need time to come back to reality.

There's tons of reassurance though, especially while she's cleaning you up and getting you into a cozy space, "You did so well, dove. I should've checked in earlier."

And there's not a second where she lets you try to take the blame; she won't hear of it.

Speaking of blame, even if it were a pure accident Wanda would take on so much guilt. She struggles a lot with knowing whether or not she's making the right decisions (as best you can as a mob boss) and tries very hard not to hurt anyone.

Seeing you hurt by her own hands makes her lose so much trust in herself. So much so that she might not trust being around you without someone else around.

Wanda would only get close with Natasha around and even if both of you try assuring her you'll be okay in time, she's terrified that she hurt someone she cares so deeply about.

For Natasha, it's a bit of a different story...

Nat says hurtful shit all the time, it's just a part of dealing with her.

If she's the one who notices you upset, she'll ignore your reactions easily, knowing you're not brave enough to outright leave. Even if you did, she's tracked down much worse targets than a young girl with nowhere to go.

She'll wait it out as long as she can, hoping you'll give up and leave your room once you calm down so you can both move past it.

But god forbid, Wanda talks to you while you're still upset because then Nat knows she's in for it and now not only does she have to apologize, she has to deal with her angry wife.

Part of her apology entails her awkwardly telling you to brush it off because you know she didn't mean it and even though what she said still hurts, you've got to nod and say okay. Nat's not going to give you a better apology than what she's already offered.

Natasha sees you shying away from her just as quickly as Wanda does, but it doesn't bother her and she'd rather wait until you judge her as harmless yourself instead of coaxing you back to her like Wanda does.

If it's a physical incident...

Natasha tends to be notoriously terrible with words, but when it comes to actions, she'll make sure to right her wrongs.

Not much horrifies her besides hurting someone helpless and removed as she can be with you at times, Nat cares for you a lot and she's well aware of how much power she wields over you.

Consequently, when you get hurt on her watch, by her own misjudgment, she's the most protective you've ever seen her.

She'll bandage any wounds, even ice bruises you shyly insist you don't mind, shushing you each time you even try to diminish the pain you're in.

Because you fully expect her to tell you to brush it off like she does when she says something mean, even speaking up to tell her you're hurt is a struggle, having been scared she'd advise you to suck it up.

And Natasha hates that. So much.

After that, she tries her hardest to be gentler to you. Helping you along as you recover, fetching you whatever you happen to mention you need even faster than Wanda can... the whole nine yards.

Anything to show you she never relishes in causing you real harm.

This doesn't really mention how much it'd affect Wanda to see you hurt, but she'd be livid with Natasha, her own possessive nature wanting to huddle you away from her wife while she nursed to back to health.

But after some persistence, you convince Wanda to let Natasha help which does honestly surprise Natasha given how attached she knows you are to the brunette.

Even just that little bit of reassurance renews Natasha's confidence that she hasn't completely fucked up her relationship with you which yes, is something she worries about whenever accidents happen.

[wexhappyxfew]

crash landings and all

(a/n): to my annie x brady girlies, here is the piece i’ve since promised and since fallen in love with!!! featuring annie, brady, coffee cups and the rising sun + some heartfelt talks about reality. and of course all those emotions annie doesn’t really need but feels instead. enjoy!

It was 0600 and she couldn't sleep.

But this had been happening far too many times in the past few weeks for her to ignore it and call it nerves, or worry, or any other bothersome symptom that would have one of the girls nudging her and asking her if she was okay.

Which she was, alright?

Or she was at least trying to tell herself that.

When there were mornings without missions, that's usually when she would come and sit out, just outside of the mess hall, and stare out towards where the B-17s sat, silhouetted against the purple and pink skyline as the sun began to appear. She'd usually sit there for about an hour, before she started seeing people moving about, and then she'd disappear inside, grab herself a coffee, avoid one of Major Egan's horrible jokes in the morning, and then be on her way to her crew, or to Silver Bullets, or to anything really - to distract herself, get her mind active, get her brain focused on something other than the worry.

This morning was no different - beautiful as the early dawn was, it was also incredibly reflective. She'd sit in the silence, the only noise the breeze in the trees and past her ears, the birds beginning to wake up and sing. It was usually a lot of her convincing herself things were fine and that everything was okay. That she was okay. But usually that didn't last very long and she was off worrying about one of the girls, or that one damn engine on Silver Bullets, or better yet if Lemmons had screwed that one bolt in enough. It kind of ate her alive at the worst of times.

"Hey." Annie looked up and found, stepping down onto the step, and nestling in beside her was Brady, an outstretched hand with a steaming mug of coffee opposite her, and a tired smile on his face.

"Hey," Annie said, trying to hide her surprise and current spiral that she thought was normally drawn across her face, "you're up early. Thanks." She took the coffee and watched as he settled beside her with a sigh, sipping at his own cup of coffee and glanced her way.

"I could say the same about you." he said back, his voice still waking up it seemed from sleep, knocking her shoulder gently. Annie watched him, the first rays of the morning son painting his face a beautiful golden with his eyes and she nodded.

"Couldn't sleep." she told him honestly, "Haven't been sleeping too well anyway, so. What's not to lose with a sunrise, you know?" Brady watched her for a moment, his lanky knees bent up to his chest, the mug resting on his kneecap and his expression quiet.

"Something worrying you?" he asked her, seemingly the first assumption of many on this base - was something worrying her? The sun would shine and she'd be worried, she'd be sat at a table and someone would cough and she'd think she'd have to get the doctor, someone would come in with a headache and she'd assume the worst. So, yeah, maybe there was something wrong, but she wasn't about to spill that to Brady at 0600 in the morning.

"I just worry about the girls, you know how it is. Making sure people are sleeping, eating, feeling okay, not feeling too homesick they're bedridden. That their letters get sent, get read, they get comforted, listened to." Annie said, "Just making sure they're keeping what smiles they can on their faces." Brady caught her gaze as she glanced his way and she found a small smile lingering on her lips.

"It's just what I have to do. Make sure things work like a well-oiled machine." she told him honestly, sipping at the coffee, "I must say, you know how to make a coffee taste good." Brady smirked slightly, a bit of a laugh escaping his mouth, before he looked at her.

"I'm glad you like it," he told her, his voice tender, "but don't try to worry yourself over your crew. They're a good group of ladies flying a B-17. And they've got a great pilot to lead 'em."

"Thanks, John."

"Just make sure you keep an eye on yourself, alright," Brady said, leaning into her side a bit, causing her to glance his way, "you're a part of that crew and just as important." He spoke with a gentle ease of tone, but equally just as serious, like he was coaxing someone to calm down.

"John Brady, you are full of compliments this morning." Annie said quietly, sipping her coffee and peering at him over the edge of coffee cup, just in time to watch his ears flame red a bit and he gulped and smiled at her.

"I don't lie." he told her and Annie grinned and held his gaze for a moment.

"Humor me then," Annie said and a brief moment of reflection passed over Brady's face, "Croz sort of let it out, about those 'mechanical failures' when he mistook France for England…..what was that about…..?" Annie watched him expectantly and Brady's ears flamed a deeper red to the point it spread to his cheeks.

"Supposedly you covered for Croz, real gentlemanly, too, I must admit." Annie said, "Lying to Major Egan of all people, John Brady, I wouldn't suspect such a thing." Brady chuckled at her words and shook his head.

"I was putting it how it was," Brady said, "God, it was embarrassing though. In front of both Buck and Bucky. Land the plane on its belly, Croz vomiting just below, the thing about to blow up but it doesn't, our first introduction to the base. You do what you gotta do for the crew. I was a bit of a shithead to Croz, but to be flying over France -Nazi-occupied France - it wasn't the most pleasant." Annie smiled, watching him as he spoke.

Knowing how he cared how he flew, how he coped. He was so fluent in what he thought and believed, right and truthful. Caring, gentle, but firm and purposeful in his speech.

"The worst was that belly-landing though," Brady said, shaking his head as he sipped his coffee, "that was horrible." Annie watched as Brady seemed to relive it for a moment. She bit back her lip and then reached a hand forward and placed it on the sleeve of his wrist, the touch warm and welcoming and causing their eyes to meet.

"I crashed an AT-6 when I was doing hours for my license." Annie said - she had never dared to tell a soul such a thing, she wanted to take that to the grave, bury it, hide the humiliation. She'd jumped out of it like she was losing her mind, a lunatic sprinting across the base, with her hair ends crispy and black, her blonde hair suffering from the smoldering smoke, looking more monster than woman in that moment. Not her finest, but it had taught her a whole lot of lessons. Brady watched her for a moment, surprised.

"You?" Brady said with a nod, "Crashed not only a plane, but an AT-6? No, I don't believe you." Annie could get his joking tone pretty solid by this point and instead laughed at his words, leaning back to wrap her slightly cold fingertips around the mug and nodded.

"I did in fact crash-land it. Crazed eyes, hair-on-fire and all." Annie said and Brady watched her as if amazed.

"I must admit, it's hard for me to picture that because you're one of the best pilots I've ever met." Brady said and if she were honest, they both looked surprised as that came out of his mouth, but he was quickly talking next and she took a moment to relive those words.

"I mean, you look so calm and collected….what…what happened to warrant that?" he said, leaning a bit closer, evidently interested in the tale that had her losing her mind for weeks after.

"Truth be told, me learning to fly was like telling a fish to live in a tree," Annie said watching as Brady chuckled, "I wasn't always….this." She pointed to her face and Brady smirked.

"Oh c'mon, you're a goddamn good pilot, Annie, really." Brady said, and then smiled, "Go on though." Annie sent him a look with a playful smirk.

"You, asshole." she said and nudged his shoulder, "Don't try to get back at me with that or something in the future."

"Never, my lips are sealed." Brady said, sending her a wink - why would he do that at six am when she's somewhat still fogged with sleep and brain exhaustion.

"Anyway," Annie said, catching his smile again, "all the engines crapped out on me as I was coming in for the landing, the tower was telling me to eject, ejector was jammed, and the wheels were stuck at 45 degrees. So, I did what I could, braced myself and the thing slid across about hundreds of feet of sand before tilting to the side, me pouring out like Ma's soup for dinner. It was so bad, and horrifically embarrassing. God."

"Hey," Brady said, leaning into her peripheral, "'least you can say you know how it's done." Annie let out a laugh at his words then and there, her heart feeling warm for one of the first mornings sat out here; usually alone and now in good company.

"I mean, it wasn't the first time I even crashed landed." Brady offered with a shoulder shrug. Annie stared at him, trying to keep the smile from her lips.

"You're joking."

"Wish I was, Annie," Brady said, "back in training, went down, Croz could tell you all about it. Became pretty well-known among the base and the training groups." He smiled.

"But," he said, "'least I can say I did it." Annie let out a laugh, clasping a hand over her mouth as she glanced at him and watched him chuckle, his eyes glowing in the morning sun that was slowly peaking its way over the horizon line.

"You should join me for mornings like this more often," Annie said quietly, looking out towards the sunlight, "get some things off your chest. It's why I do well….usually alone, but it helps me think. Through things like that." She looked over and met his gaze and smiled. His expressions in the early morning were so much gentler than at dinner, and it almost made her wish he could stay like that forever in some selfish way. All of them, truth be told.

"I think I will," Brady said, "I'm glad you like the coffee. I wasn't sure what you went for, but….you seemed like a cream type of person."

"You either are really good as guessing or someone snitched." Annie said, catching Brady smirking.

"Nah, Bessie was in there the other day getting coffee for you two. I know she drinks straight black and was wondering who the hell she'd be getting a coffee full of creamer for so…." Brady admitted, glancing her way, "I hope you enjoy it." Annie looked to the cup of coffee and took another lingering sip. She wanted to stay like this for a while, freeze time maybe. But that would never be such a thing in their lives.

"We should take a spin together some time," Annie said looking towards him, a smile growing on her lips, "if you ever wanted to be in Silver Bullets when she gets going in the air. You could be my co-pilot." Brady watched her, his face still for a moment, held in a graceful balance of seriousness and surprise and then the corner of his lips ticked upwards.

"I think Francis would drop-kick me from the cockpit." Brady whispered quietly to her and Annie chuckled.

"She'd be fine with it, I swear to you," Annie said, "maybe not anytime soon, as long as we're going up, dropping bombs and all. But maybe when this whole thing ends. And we just get to be. When we get to go home." Looking over, she found Brady already watching her. Home, seemed to echo in her mind the longer she held his gaze.

"Hey! That you Brady?" Annie watched Brady turn away from her face and glance behind her, her own gaze following to find Crank coming towards them, waving an arm, "Buck's been trying to get a-hold of you!" Brady nodded and then looked back at her, a sudden shift in whatever it was that existed between them. He slowly got to his feet, brushed off his pants and then stopped to lean down towards her ear.

"I'd love to be your co-pilot," Brady whispered, sending chills up her neck, "ma'am." Then, he was up and off, sending her cheeks flaming red, her eyes going over her shoulder, as he went and caught up to Crank, shaking his hand and nodding to him, exchanging all the pleasantries. Annie caught his eyes one final time as he glanced back at her. He winked.