#sorry about the text colour it wasn't my choice

[dragonpropaganda]

Rain World Lore Iceberg

Verified by a team of insane lore scholars and one low level, peripheral DLC developer

[auras-moonstone]

hiiiii!!! there aren’t enough jack imagines, so could you do and actress!reader x jack? just a cute fluff bc jack is suck a lover boy 💗 thanks!!!

happy birthday — jack champion

word count: 1,216

pairing: jack champion x fem!reader

summary: y/n surprises her boyfriend, jack, on his 19th birthday party.

warnings: none, just fluff!

author's note: i meant to post this yesterday bc of jack's bd, but i wasn't able to finish it :( by the way, hope we get the mandatory pic with the 19 balloons.

JACK HAD ALWAYS LOVED CELEBRATING HIS BIRTHDAY, but this year his excitement had been on another level because there was a special someone he was looking forward to celebrate it with--his girlfriend of almost a year, Y/N. So, imagine how disappointed he was when she informed him she wasn't going to make it.

"Are you sure you can't do anything about it?" Jack asked hopeful as he facetimed his girlfriend, who was away in another country filming a movie.

"I'm sorry, love. I wish I could go, but you know how shootings are, I can't just bail." she pursed her lips at the disappointed expression painted on Jack's face.

Jack tried to put on his most convincing smile and nodded. "Yeah, I know. It's not your fault, I just miss you."

"Me, too, J. So much." she swallowed the lump that began forming on her throat. Seeing his puppy brown eyes turn glossy was heartbreaking, and the weight of the guilt was crushing her. "Maybe we can facetime when you blow the candles?"

"Of course, babe." he smiled weakly. "I'm sorry for being like this. I know you don't have a choice, and I hate seeing how the guilt is eating you. I promise I'm not mad, and I know that if you could, you would be taking the first flight back home to me. I love you."

"You're allowed to feel sad, J. Don't apologize." Y/N checked the time and let out a curse. It was almost 1AM, and she was going to be late. "Sorry, babe, I've got to go. Have fun, okay? I love you. Happy birthday."

When they hung up, Y/N grabbed her suitcase and left the place she had been staying at while she filmed the movie. Once she arrived to the airport and did the check-in, she texted Jack's mom.

hii, i'm about to board the plane! how's jack?

not going to lie, he's crushed but he'll love the surprise, don't worry❤️

i hate lying to him :( but you're right. i'll see you in a couple of hours!

JACK’S FRIENDS DRAGGED HIM OUT OF THE HOUSE FOR A WALK AS HIS FAMILY SET EVERYTHING FOR THE BIRTHDAY PARTY. For someone who loved his birthday, he was looking gloomy and not thrilled at all to go on with the party. His friends were tempted to spoil the surprise, just to get the sad frown off Jack’s face, but they knew that his blue mood was going to go away in a couple of minutes.

“Man, you’re going to spend so much birthdays together. And even though Y/N’s not here physically, she’s still going to make sure she’ll be there celebrating with you, even if it's through a phone.” one of his friend bumped him in the shoulder.

“No, I know. It’s not just because it’s my birthday, it’s because I haven’t seen her in a while and I was hoping this could be the excuse we needed to see each other.” his gaze was focused on the broken cobblestones.

“We get it, we do. But you know better than any of us how the industry works.”

He did. He really understood that the situation was beyond Y/N’s hands. She couldn’t abandon set just because her boyfriend was celebrating his birthday. But still, it didn’t make him miss her any less.

When Jack and his friends entered his house again, his mood lifted up a little. Even though his special girl wasn't there, his family and friends came to spend his day with him and that warmed his heart.

“This looks amazing! Thank you.” he said in a cheerful voice as he looked around. The living room was decorated with colourful balloons and confetti thrown on ground. Glued to the wall, there were garlands that read ‘Happy Birthday’ and golden balloons with the number 1 and 9. “I’m going to take a picture for Y/N/N.”

“There’s one more surprise.” his mother exclaimed excited.

Jack frowned but before he could say anything, two hands were covering his eyes from behind him. The tall boy stiffened, he couldn’t see the person but their scent was one he knew all too well. His heart threatened to leap out of his chest as the voice whispered in his ear, “Surprise, birthday boy”

He turned around and quickly lifted her up in his arms, crushing her into a tight hug. “You’re here!” he exclaimed in shock. Y/N gave him a 'I'm right here' smile and then laughed.

“Of course I’m here! I was never going to miss my boyfriend’s birthday.” she said against his neck.

“It never even crossed my mind that you might have been lying.” he laughed in disbelief.

“Well, I hope not. I act for a living, remember?” Y/N said teasingly. Her heart almost exploded at the way Jack was looking at her—sparkling eyes clouded by adoration.

“I’m so happy you’re here.” Jack showed her the smile she adored and had missed so much. He didn't care that his family's eyes were on them, he grabbed the sides of her face and pulled her into a kiss. “Did you always know you were coming or was it recent?”

“Babe, I would’ve never missed your birthday. I told the directors I was coming here weeks ago. We made sure to film the majority of my scenes so that these days they could focus on the ones I wasn’t in.” she explained.

“That’s why you have been so exhausted the past days, you were working your ass off so that you would be able to come and see me?” Jack swore he was about to cry at the revelation.

“And I would do it again.” she said in a confident tone. The way Jack’s face lit up when he saw her? She would do anything to keep him looking at her that way. “Anyways, enough about my very romantic gesture.” she joked. “Let’s celebrate your birthday.”

IT WAS ALMOST ELEVEN WHEN Y/N AND JACK WERE FINALLY SETTLED INTO THE BED. The girl was trying her best not to fall asleep, while the boy had energy to spare. He was just too happy that tiredness didn’t creep into his body. He was still on cloud nine from his amazing day.

“Thank you for being here. I had the best birthday ever.” Jack smiled widely, resting his head on her shoulder.

“I’m glad, love.” she said with eyes closed as she started playing with his hair, making him sigh contently. “By the way, I’m sorry for making you feel sad when I told you I wouldn’t make it. I hate lying to you and seeing you disappointed was heart wrenching, and I’m truly sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, babe. Your intentions were good. Besides, it was totally worth it.” Jack assured her. “I get to end my day with you, and tomorrow I’ll wake up next to you. I’m living my best life.”

Y/N smiled at his sweet words and bent her head down to press a kiss to his nose. “I love you so much.”

He raised his head and press a kiss to her soft lips. “But I love you more."

"Mmm no, this month I win the battle." she laughed.

Jack grinned like a love-sick puppy, still not believing what she had done for him. "True."

[mac-ann-cheese]

Who has a choice like Smarty does?

(tumblr sucks for restrictions with image sizings. the quality is fucked up)

July, 2024

Another addition to my portraits of Alfred.

Um... I don't really know. This time for real. Something hit me on the head, and I got the idea to create whatever this pink abomination is.

I have a habit of making things that make my eyes sore, though.

Confession: I love Alfred's Cold War era uniform (well, it's actually a variation of the WWII uniform). I depicted him wearing an Airborne one 'cause of the eagle patch on official artwork—the trademark of division. I've seen the other creators playing a guessing game with uniforms, so there really isn't a "canon" tradition to follow.

And also it's cunty-- I mean, the Ike jacket, the boots, the silly cap. Giving fierce.

I'm sorry... (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠)

Personally, I always try to make clothing historically accurate. Then I should explain a few details. The long shoulder thingies—fourragères, left one—Belgian (it correlates with the red ropes that most artists drew on Alfred's uniform. It's the closest I could find that would be time-appropriate, and I saw that it could also have arm loops. More strings. So, a tricky fact: it should be worn on the left, but I read that it could be worn and was usually worn by soldiers on the right if there is a French Croix de Guerre 39/45 on the left, which is... the same-looking fourragère as Belgian. No braided strings staking!), the right one—Dutch lanyard (it's orange, close call to red! But, one big but, don't take my words seriously, 'cause I read too many different opinions on some 2007 forum discussion that I became confused with placement. I don't really know what is actually right, please don't come for me, I tried my best and it's only a drawing) and the French one, I've mentioned earlier.

Other accessories: on the left pocket—the presidential unit citation award; on the right, above the ribbon bar set (um, I won't specify what ribbons I could've depicted, as this post will become twice as long)—jump wings; and also the M1916 holster (colt is included!) on the leg. Did you know that little strap was used to secure the holster on the thigh? I didn't before diving into the hunt for references. The strap also could be tied in some peculiar knots, but Alfred is a messy bitch/j, and it means messy wrapping on the muzzle.

The autism in me powers the fuel of a research engine for a Hetalia fanart. Yikes.

One thing that I didn't want to change was the neck scarf. Sadly, there isn't one for real uniform, but I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it. It's just too iconic, even for my historical accuracy quirk. And the hat should be larger, however, I wasn't bothered about the right size. It's a mini-cap.

Okay, I need to address the elephant in the room. Yes, mouths. Different emotions (or I tried to make them different). Am I insane for this? Absolutely. They're reminding me of the first colour TV or ibm computers with Warhol's style.

The second ver is just text, which I thought suited him (tbh, Alfred would make great friends with Maxine, iykyk). I had great fun with distortion filters.

Last thing, the expression is supposed to be somewhat confused laughing like someone accused of something very controversial ("me kissing men??? oh nonono, haha... ',:D") and Alfred just laughs it off, like he usually does. At the same time, looking down on us, the viewer. Though you can freely interpret the expression however you want, it's up to you! (⁠~⁠￣▽￣⁠)⁠~

[v3nusxsky]

can i request an emily prentiss x fem reader? where r is very feminine and still is, before emily and r started dating, r wore like long acrylics but stopped. so whenever r is being a brat and not getting what she wants from emily, she would get acrylics again. tthen emily notices that she’s wearing acrylics and she just ducks her stupid xx

(i’m so sorry, dear. i’m so out of it hehe)

Acrylics wont save you 18+

*Authors note~I can completely imagine daddy Emily being unhappy with her girl trying to act out in ways like this so I had to run to write it*

Trigger warnings~ daddy Emily/sub & brat reader dumbification cumstrap (r receiving) praise kink overstimulation

Prompt~ see ask ^^^^

You'd always loved taking care of your appearance. To say you had a feminine side was a massive understatement. You'd always been mistaken for being straight due to how feminine you were and the clothing you wore. Truly it was a pain when in the dating pool. Most women by passed you not catching on to how truly sapphic you are, after all you had absolutely no interest in dating a man at all. So when you met Emily in the coffee shop you worked at, you were surprised she immediately began to flirt with you. A competition between her and her team mate Derek over who would get your number, of course Emily won. That's what lead you to being in a relationship with a bad ass FBI agent.

Very early on you realised Emily liked to take the protective role over you, something you enjoyed. It was no surprise the woman was dominant in the bedroom which suited you down to the ground as a submissive. You often brought Emily coffee or a treat from work when you got off early. A nice surprise for her, you soon learned doughnuts and coffee were a good choice with all the BAU members when you visited.

Garcia always particularly loved your visits, she loved to see if you had your nails done, what colours and styles they were and even suggested some pretty cool designs. One particular visit to the BAU inspired a beautiful idea. Emily had been working a lot recently. You craved her attention but it seemed she was never around to provide that. If she wasn't working she was sleeping. Even her popping into the shop to get coffee didn't happen anymore. So you decided to treat yourself. If Emily wasn't around you had no reason to keep your nails limited to gel and just a tiny bit of length, so you booked an appointment for later in the afternoon thanks to a cancellation and some of Garcias ideas.

After they had been done, you couldn't help but feel more you. Truly, you'd missed the feeling of long nails, taking back to dealing with them like a duck to water. You'd have to remember to thank Garcia for the design idea because it was simply stunning. You headed home for what you thought was the usual routine, dinner alone where Emily would text saying she'll be home soon and to eat some dinner she'll reheat hers when she's home. You'd then binge some tv with some wine before going to bed alone. But how wrong you were.

When you arrived home you failed to see your girlfriends car in the drive, there she was sat at the kitchen table, holding a glass of red wine appearing to be deep in thought. "Hi baby" you chirped up a hand on your chest, unintentionally showing off the new long nails. "Here I was thinking I was going to surprise a good girl tonight, it seems I have a brat on my hands. Isn't that right sweetheart" she purred using her work voice.

You decided to take innocence while continuing to show your nails off, "baby? I have no idea what you are on about. I got my nails done. Do you like them?"  You handed her your right hand so she could examine them. "Sweetheart, what's daddy's one rule about nails?" It was a rhetorical question, you knew that but your inner brat couldn't help herself, "rules? I didn't think you cared too much" you murmured knowing damn well she was very particular about your nails. It was okay having them done, but for her, long nails meant limited options in the bedroom and that wasn't something she wanted. You knew that. You'd both agreed on the rule so she knew this was a ply for attention.

That's how you ended up tied to your bed, your girlfriend eating you out, making you cum multiple times. All you could do is lay there and take everything she was giving you. Your girlfriend never did anything by halves so it was unsurprising that you were going to endure multiple orgasms until you were begging her to stop.

"Daddy please more, need you inside" you whined thrashing against the restraints. "You wanted my attention sweetheart, now you have it you're complaining? Here I thought you were daddy's good girl" she murmured, your juices dripping down her chin. "I'm good! I'll be good! Please!" You whined watching as she came to untie you and search the room for her chosen toy for the night. One that was both of your favourite. You watched her strap up and fill the strap with lube.

"Now sweetheart you're gonna take daddy's cock right? You're needy cunt suffocating it as daddy pounds into you. Gonna be good for me right? My good girl" she murmured teasing your leaking hole with her cocks head. "Oh please daddy. Please I'll be so good. Your good girl" you whimpered. 

The moment you felt her enter your core you were truly blissed out. Incredibly sensitive but also incredibly needy. Torn between more and stopping. Her pace was fast and rough, her only goal to get you off once again. All you could do is whimper and mewl as you took her.  "Daddy!" You squealed as you came for her once again. Only she didn't stop, all she did was slip your leg over her shoulder to hit deeper in your core. "No daddy no more. No please I'm sorry stop" you whimpered only for her to continue due to you not safe wording. "Come on sweetheart one more okay? You're such a good girl for me baby" was all it took for you to fall over that edge once more. Legs shaking and mind fuzzy as you felt her shoot her cum into your cunt before slipping out of you and immediately starting your aftercare routine.

Making sure you were all cleaned up, she padded her way to the kitchen to grab some water and chocolate as a snack to boost your sugar. Even grabbing a can of soda for you knowing you won't want water but you need it. You were in sub space still by the time Emily returned. "Hey sweetheart, I have your snacks baby. Can you sit for me gorgeous?" She murmured to you watching as your brain tried to comprehend her words. "Mmmm?"

She helped you sit up against the bed's headboard, "come on baby let's get some water and food in you darling" she helped you sip some water and munch on some chocolate. She continued to speak to you even though you couldn't really comprehend the words, knowing her voice would help bring you back in your own time. "You're such a good girl for me sweetheart, those are very pretty nails baby, maybe we can do them shorter next time okay?" She murmured coming to kiss you sweetly. "Mmm I do short" you whimpered shuffling to snuggle into the woman. "Thank you baby, you're such a good girl" and with that simple phrase you were smothered I kisses held in her arms as you fell asleep with your girlfriend. Plan successfully completed.

Word count 1322

[user-rui]

Dragon Shifter!Seme!Male!Reader x Human!Uke!Male!Insert

(U/n) = Uke name (Y/n) = Your name

Whoops, got busy, hehe. I hope you have a lovely day :).

This is a text that has you inserting yourself and another male of your choice. Put anyone you want maybe it'll work out (though I've written it with male x male in mind). I just like refering to my uke's as smaller, so sorry if your uke in mind is larger. Also cross posted on Ao3 right here.

-Narrator's POV-

In a land where both humans and mythical creatures co-exist, there lives a dragon, or more specifically, a dragon shifter. He can change from full dragon, to half dragon and half human, all the way to full human, or anything in between. He's quite powerful, which is why this dragon is being worshipped by the inhabitants of the lonely village. Everyone would think that a scary, fire breathing dragon would scare the crap out of everyone, but it turns out, that they were completely incorrect. Dragons are still scary and respected creatures just like the myths say, but unless something provokes it, they are calm enough to just ignore whatever's going on. Of course, it doesn't stop the inhabitants of the small village from worshipping the dragon.

Now, how did an all mighty dragon find it's way to this in the middle of nowhere village? All because of someone named (U/n) (Uke last name). This male apparently had gotten lost while going out for firewood. He had managed to wander from the forest all the way to the top of the mountain without getting severely hurt the entire way. The dragon had kindly brought the lost male back home, and had decided to stay in the village. The dragon, who's name is (Y/n), began to protect the village from the dark monsters that were living in the forest.

Ever since the dragon laid eyes on the small human male that had wandered into his territory, he had taken a liking towards him, and it was only a matter of time before the dragon had confessed. Not soon after they had begun to do some more things couples would do, like hugging, cuddling, going on flights, hunting, occasionally kissing, you know, stuff couples will do, another activity the couple enjoyed to do is mating. Which is exactly what the two are about to do. 

"(U/n).. Come on.. Let's do it.." The dragon shifter pleaded as he began to rub himself all over his lover. He was currently in his human form, as having out his dragon features could cut or scratch the smaller male unintentionally. 

"(Y/n), is it time for mating?" the (uke hair colour) haired male asked, using his hands to try and push the taller male away, but it wasn't really working. "Mmm.. Please.." He whined in a needy tone, pushing himself onto (U/n). As the two stumbled across the small room, they somehow ended up on the bed, with (Y/n) on top of his lover. (U/n) squealed as he fumbled to push off the taller male, but as you could assume, it wasn't working.

"(U/n).. I love you," (Y/n) whispered before connecting their lips together in a passionate kiss. The smaller male was humming sounds of protests into the kiss, pushing uselessly against the taller male's buff figure. Soon, the noises of protest had changed into noises of pleasure, as (U/n) moved his hands around the dragon shifter's neck, pulling the taller male closer to himself as he returned the kiss. "Clothes.." (Y/n) panted through the kiss.

His hands were already wandering all over the smaller male's body, roughly ripping away the articles of clothing around him. (U/n) whimpered as he felt his clothes disappear, and he was soon left naked underneath his lover. "(U/n).. How about now? Can we.. mate?" The smaller male looked so aroused, with his flushed pink cheeks and fidgeting body. "Mm.. Alright" he mumbled with flushed cheeks, successfully earning a happy noise from his lover. With lightning speed, he stripped himself, tossing his clothes to the side.

He looked at (U/n) hungrily, before leaning down to leave a large dark hickey on the side of (U/n)'s neck, where everyone would be able to see. (Y/n) hummed happily, leaving more hickey's all over, marking the smaller male as his territory. He could feel himself get more and more lustful as he began to rub his hand over his lover's stomach, soon going down to the other's semi hard member.

(U/n) let out a groan as he grinded his hips against (Y/n)'s hand, wanting to get more friction and pleasure. The smaller male whined loudly when he felt the hand get lifted. "(Y-y/n).. Hurry.. I want you.. now..." He said, rubbing himself all over the bed sheets and staring with lustful (uke eye colour) eyes. (Y/n) smirked and flipped his lover over, putting the smaller male on all fours. Without a warning, the taller male shoved an oiled finger into (U/n)'s ass, keeping it in there for a moment before wiggling it all around. The smaller male was rubbing his cock over the sheets, getting his sticky pre-cum all over it.

"More.. Faster.." (U/n) mumbled, shaking his hips to try and get the finger deeper. "So needy, want me to fuck your brains out?" (Y/n) asked with a sly tone as he thrusted another finger into his lover. The other male let out a shriek and jerked a little, before squeezing his ass tight. Soon another finger was added, leaving the smaller male panting and moaning. "J-just fuck me already.." (U/n) whispered, his face bright red as he held onto the sheets. "Hm~ So straightforward. Tell me," (Y/n) said, leaning over to talk into his lover's ear.

"Between gentle and rough, which do you prefer~?"

"..R-rough."

The dragon shifter complied, getting behind his lover and pulling his wet hole towards him, making the tip of his large member poke the entrance. (U/n) let out a surprised gasp, but didn't do anything to stop him. Instead, the smaller male encouraged his lover by leaning backwards and trying to get his large dick inside of his hole. He let out lots of needy sounds, gritting his teeth as he could feel the other's member slide past his entrance, but never enter. (Y/n) chuckled before helping out, shoving his member into (U/n) ass in one swift motion, immediately pushing into the deepest parts of his lover and making him scream. 

"The neighbours are going to hear if you don't lower it down," (Y/n) purred, slowly pulling his cock out to the tip before smashing it back in with a loud slapping sound. He did it a couple times, making the smaller male underneath him scream every single time. "I'm going to fuck you properly now.." the dragon shifter informed, grabbing onto (U/n)'s arms and holding him up. (Y/n) began to thrust now, hard and rough, just like his lover had asked.

"Ah! Ah~ Mmm~ (Y-y/n)..~ Harder!!" The smaller male was drooling all over himself, his hard on swinging from the force (Y/n) was using to fuck him. "T-there~ Right there~!" (U/n) suddenly cried, tossing his head up and tightening like crazy. The dragon shifter made a happy noise and groaned happily as he thrusted harder for his love. (Y/n) was huffing loudly every time he pounded in, his cock touching the deepest parts of (U/n) every time. 

"Shit~ Gonna cum~" The taller male groaned a he pounded even harder, feeling his orgasm come near. "M-me too~" (U/n) moaned, leaning backwards and cocking his head to the side. "K-kiss~" the smaller male mumbled as he opened his mouth. The dragon shifter complied and connected their mouths in a sloppy kiss, getting faster and faster as he could feel a knot form in his stomach. He began to purr into the kiss from feel over pleasure.

Soon, both (Y/n) and (U/n) couldn't hold back anymore, both of them cumming at the same time, with (Y/n) filling his lover up with all his thick semen and (U/n) spilling all over the covers. The taller male panted as he rode out his orgasm, his cum overflowing out of the smaller male. Both of them huffed as they collapsed onto the bed. "I love you.." (U/n) muttered, right before falling unconscious. The dragon shifter smiled softly and gently pecked his lover's cheek.

"I love you too, my mate."

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

on a very random note (and hope you don't mind me talking about it ^^;), I do think Studio Bones is doing a great job at adapting Season 4 and I'm really enjoying it!

Though sometimes, I wish that they didn't omit some manga panels because it makes me a little sad that the weight of certain moments is taken away:

Exhibit A: Dazai laughing at Chuuya's impression

Exhibit B: Chuuya talking about Dazai leaving the mafia

Exhibit C: Dazai getting arrested

Exhibit D: Ango visiting Odasaku's grave

and the last one because this moment destroyed me when I read the manga and cause he's my personal favorite:

Exhibit E: Rampo facing Mushitarou on his own

genuinely, I'm really enjoying the adaptation right now and it's not that I don't appreciate the effort put into this <33

And it's true, these are minor manga panels so it wouldn't be too much to change or discard it and yet in taking away such minor panels, it also takes away the grand depth and complexity of what the characters are thinking and feeling in those moments.

It takes away the weight of the scene.

And that's the thing, bsd is a series that has so many complex characters with intricate dynamics, thoughts and moralities that it's a little bittersweet to know that the anime falls short sometimes when capturing certain moments and deprives us of the struggles, humanity and genuineness that these characters have and are going through.

again, nothing against Studio Bones but I often think of the things that could have been :<<

@langdahling

Hey you two! First off, I want to apologize for the huge delay. I was trying to think of what to say in response and I think I always make responding to asks way more work than they ought to be...

But anyways. Here are my general thoughts on the BSD anime, which I'm probably only going to elaborate on here once, and then drop it.

I enjoy the anime, really I do. But it's strange to think how drastic the difference is in the way the characters are interpreted between those who have only seen the anime and those who have also read the manga (and perhaps also the light novels).

First off, let's go over what the anime does well, since I want to ensure we're appreciating what is still a lot of effort from everyone in that studio. Animation, and all the things that need to happen to get a show off the ground, is not easy. Here are some things that stand out to me:

Those backgrounds: you know what I'm talking about. The stained glass, the sunsets, the city shots, the imagery. Beautiful, stunning work honestly.

Use of imagery and clever animation choices: there are some things that are going to change by necessity when adapting from page to screen. The clever animation teams will use this to their advantage - I don't think Bones always does this effectively, but when they do... oh man, is it ever good. I, for one, really liked the kind of projector effect over Dazai's farewell to Chuuya in s5.

Use of colour and light: go back through any scene and pay attention to who has what colours and the way the lighting is positioned. Again, these are those smart animation choices I was talking about.

The music: Score's really good. I wish the music was used a little more consistently (there's some weird choices made... why Wake Up Call for the Tachihara fight???) but the music itself is catchy and sets a good tone.

The voice acting: It's so good. See, even when I wasn't convinced about how the scenes were going to be framed, I never doubted the voice actors would carry it. (I'm talking about the Japanese actors here specifically, but the English dub is pretty good too... sorry I can't speak on any other dubs though...) I really love Kyouka's seiyuu (Morohoshi Sumire) and the way her voice takes on more inflection through the series as Kyouka comes into her own especially.

The abilities and the use of writing: Love the way the abilities are animated. And the use of text to emphasize character intros and key scenes was always good, but I legitimately freaked out when they used it for the Page's narration over Nikolai's speech in Season 4 - good! artistic! choices!

And we're lucky enough to have an adaptation that follows the major plot beats pretty much to the letter! ...so. Why does it tend to disappoint fans of the manga so often?

Well I know a lot of people have their opinions on it. owlyflufff I agree with you - the exclusion of certain panels make for very odd characterization choices - as in, it totally changes the context of the scene and what the character might be thinking. See Exhibits A through C for the best examples. For Exhibits D and E, I personally feel that we got enough in the scene to draw the same conclusions about motive and intent, but that Ango panel... oof it hurts so much. I'm ok with the Dark Era flashbacks personally though: same character motive, just with different artistic interpretation.

langdahling, you're also right though. Pivotal emotional moments aside, I feel a lot of shows (not just BSD) don't know how to let their characters breathe. Pacing is a huge issue in a lot of things I find. You have to let us know who these characters are. Let the characters breathe, and give us, the audience, time to breathe with the characters. It's important. It's really important. It's something the manga does well - it's endearing. Every character gets a little endearing, silly moment. This is necessary for a series that is fundamentally about humanizing its cast.

As for my own opinion on what the adaptation lacks... well, I have a bit of an interesting view because both my mom and I actually watch this show. I, as you all know, am a deranged little weirdo about it who has literally gone through everything BSD I could find and inserted it directly into my brain cells. My mom, on the other hand, has only seen the anime, but is privy to other information about the series um. Because I talk about it non-stop (sorry mom). I happened to be visiting her when season 4 started airing and we watched the first little bit together - the Untold Origins adaptation. To be clear - this adaptation was good. I think it was probably the best after Dark Era. But. My mom turns and looks at me at the scene where Ranpo breaks down shortly before Fukuzawa lies about him having an ability (because I've told her the rough summary of it before) and says "I don't think Ranpo's desperation came across". She said it felt like a breakdown, sure, but it's not the same as the pent-up frustration and fear that was made so incredibly clear in the novel. She said if I hadn't explained that Fukuzawa realized it was kind of his last chance to reach Ranpo, that he had to do something to save this kid, that she would've been left completely bewildered as to why Fukuzawa would tell him such a massive lie. (Never mind the exclusion of his parents, which was why nothing but a lie would work but I digress...) This happened later in the series too. Kunikida was given a prolonged fish-eye closeup through Jouno's entire speech about his ideals instead of the balloon symbolism used in the manga (literally one of the most baffling changes to me - I don't really feel any which way about the fish eyes in general, but imo doing any kind of prolonged like 20 second close up of one character's face during what is a pivotal moment for them is uh... a weird, if not outright poor, animation choice). Poor Akutagawa's death scene being... like that. He dies with grace! He DIES WITH GRACE! That's important!!! He made a choice and was satisfied!!! For all of the Bones and Asagiri Dazai favouritism, he's probably one of the worst examples of watered down emotion - it's no wonder so many people mischaracterize him. Why is he smiling when Jouno arrests him? Why does he look unbothered when he realizes Chuuya's been vampirized? Where is the scene after Q attacks where he conflictedly realizes he'll have to resort to underhanded tactics to win??? Thank god for Miyano Mamoru and his voice acting because otherwise. Geez. And then Sigma. Oh my god. You need that scene where he helps the casino guest. That's his first scene. They condensed his backstory. Sigma's entire character was watered down. And I knew it was going to be before I even watched Sky Casino arc, because this is the core problem I have with the anime in general -

There is a lack of desperation. And it comes, primarily, from the watering down of intense, pivotal moments, and then, the removal of some of the more lighthearted or kind scenes in favour of getting quickly to the action.

I feel that contrast is what's necessary to give these emotional beats weight. And often... it just doesn't hit. It's odd to me, as imo one of the core themes of BSD is desperation. Every character has this desperation at their core - a desperation to succeed, a desperation to live, not having a reason to live and being desperate to find it. It's all desperation - and this really, really does not come across well in the anime. Not consistently. I think the most egregious example is the Sky Casino arc. Both Sigma and Teruko are just as desperate as each other. Teruko stopping the plane was not a guarantee but a play on her part that could very well have resulted in her death. There's heavy implication the bones in her arms shattered in the manga. Her and Tachihara had to take a quick breather after it. That's not in the anime. Sigma's backstory being condensed does a great disservice to explaining why he is so desperate to save the casino - I felt we were primarily told rather than shown. And so the Sky Casino arc, with desperation at its core... was underwhelming. As I figured it would be before it even came out, as the anime already had a history of cutting details out, rushing through the build up, and making odd artistic choices that dampen the emotion of said pivotal scenes. It sucks, really.

And while it's fun to get two seasons in one year, I find myself very, very worried on behalf of the animators and the workers in that studio. I would've been happy to have two in one year... if I thought they were at all prepared for it. But I don't think they were. Season 5 feels very rushed and I know I'm not the only one who's said this. Makes me worried for the pressure everyone's under to churn this out so quickly.

In the end, I rationalize most adaptations of anything as having two (or multiple!) cakes. The BSD anime is enjoyable! And fun! I love seeing my little guys walk and talk and use their cool powers. It's a completely different experience to the manga. Unfortunately, for anyone who's read the manga, it's... a bit of an underwhelming experience, but still. It's a fun watch - even if it's not really what I was hoping for.

[iwonderwh0]

@my-name-is-markus-with-a-k YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID

The following text is entirely your fault

"What's in this room?"

"Oh, this one is my studio. I keep my paintings here and-"

"You can draw?" Connor's eyebrows rise, "Can I see?"

"Sure," Markus says before he manages to stop himself. Realisation catches up with him the next instant, and he almost reaches to stop Connor from entering the room to go first and at least try to hide the evidence, but Connor has already stepped inside and is now coaching down carefully examining dried paintings set on top of each-other along the wall. Good. That'll win Markus some time. He quietly steps around him, grabs a towel from one of the tables and moves to the corner of the room, closer to the window and consequently the easel with yet unfinished piece. Connor shouldn't see this one. Markus drapes the cloth over the canvas just in time for Connor to start standing up to take a closer look at those paintings hanging on the wall.

"They're so colourful, and yet your choice of colours confuses me."

"How so?" Markus steps closer, trying to make his voice sound as casual as possible, but it comes out slightly higher pitched than he intends it anyway. Maybe he'll be able to talk Connor into getting bored and deciding to leave on his own before exploring the rest of the room more throughout.

"It looks intentional, like it symbolises or references something specific. But I'm not sure what it is," he turns his head and looks genuinely curious. Given the situation Markus shouldn't be excited about this fact. No, this is bad. He won't get bored that easily, is he?

"Or am I overthinking it?" Connor adds sheepishly as Markus remains silent for way too long.

"Yes." Markus says suddenly, surprising himself with how determined this false claim came out.

Shit. That's not what he meant, he just needs Connor to leave. Now. He is dying to say something else to refute what he just said, but Connor steps aside from the painting startled by the coldness of Markus's voice.

"Oh. I'm sorry," he says.

Markus struggles to stay quiet.

It's working, don't say anything and he'll leave.

Except he doesn't. He turns around and walks to the other wall.

"Oh, you draw people too," he says as he looks at the portrait of an old man holding a chess piece – white bishop.

"Do you draw them from imagination or are there real-life models?"

"It depends," Markus gets closer, "This one is a portrait of someone I knew in real life – he actually even posed for this. But I have portraits of people that aren't really based on anyone. I can show you, if you want."

Why again is he suggesting something that'll extend Connor's time spent in a studio?

"Or we can do something else?" Markus adds quickly, in an attempt to fix his mistake.

"No, no! Now that you mentioned it, I am curious. Show me."

Great job, Markus.

He gets to the corner of the room where a few old portraits are lying stacked on top of each other and quickly sorts through the stack of them, turning the canvases to the light, searching for the ones not based on real people.

"Why is there two different dates?" Connor asks, and Markus stops to look at the back of the canvas.

"It usually takes me more than a day to finish a piece, so I mark the day I first start it, and then the day It's completely finished. You see, it takes time for this type of paint to dry, and it's important to let every layer dry completely before starting with the next one. It takes a lot of time and patience, so I often work on a couple different paintings at once...Huh, wait, I think it's not here," Markus stands up and looks around the room, thinking where else could he find the portraits he was looking for, then crosses the room to look through the paintings lying along the wall there. Maybe he should just pick one and lie about it – it's not like Connor will now the difference anyway.

"Oh, here!" Markus picks one of the first portraits he's able to find in the stack, "This one wasn't based on anyone," he takes the canvas out of the stack and turns around expecting to see Connor still standing behind him. He could swear he was standing behind him all this time, but now that he turned around Connor wasn't there. Instead, he is standing next to the window, looking at the portrait displayed on the easel.

"How about this one?"

Markus feels as if all the air in the room suddenly disappears, leaving him no oxygen to breathe in. He takes a few steps closer to the window, desperately trying to think of a response. He looks at the towel in human's hand and wonders if there was a single chance for Connor Not to look under it.

"This..erm..," He trails off under the stare of narrowed brown eyes, "It's a little bit of both worlds, I believe."

Connor glances from a portrait back to Markus.

"You 'believe'," he echoes. Markus wishes he could understand what emotion his face is showing, but perhaps Connor himself wouldn't be able to name it if asked.

"Um, I... It's not finished," Markus says, as if this fact drastically changes everything.

"Oh," Connor says, pretending as if it actually does.

He turns the canvas around and stares at the date. He frowns, glances back at Markus, then back at the date. From the expression on his face Markus realises, that he's doing math. Another realisation hits Markus when Connor's eyes widen in silent shock. The date on the back of the canvas precedes what Connor knows to be the first time they've met. What would even be the right time to mention it anyway?

"I can explain," Markus says.

[abundantchewtoys]

HSBC re: p626-637

That Dirk called his ship Theseus may say something on how he views his mission. Then again, he declared himself the villain of the story.

page 4: he called authors alliterative, I wouldn't really call 'AH' that, nor his full name.

Rose really goes hard on the 'being a robot' thing. I guess between Aradiabot, Jadebot, and AR, it was time for someone to unequivocally enjoy the state.

p5 : Cool to see his 'omniscience' is only pseudo, like Doc Scratch' was. He didn't know about the missing landing gear.

Hah, and Rose still sees Dirk as heroic. Pretty blind for a Seer of Light.

p6 : OOh, I still had dark mode on, I realize. Let's change that 'n return to the old format, it influences the feel of the story, especially Dirk' bright text.

p9 : You know, it feels like a missed opportunity not to command him to shit his desk.

p12 : Okay, pretty sure I didn't spot Jade's mug on the well, flower mug on my initial read. I own that mug, actually.

And oh yeah, it was a three-year journey to the new planet, nice parallel to the travel time between Universe B1 and B2.

p13 : So, uh, Bro had a relationship with Barack Obama, I'm reading this right, right?

p15 : Dirk claims to have researched his trollsona extensively, yet doesn't display their blood colour on his shirt, smh.

p17: Riiiight, Terezi was aware of Dirk's narration, as a Mind player, right?

And hah, as a troll, with Alternia's awkward synonyms, her roasting Dirk for his verbose prose? Gold.

Pff, and I forgot Dirk was tired of Rose's psychoanalysis, too.

p33: Right, both paths were distinguished by the arrows.

p34: It's heartwarming to see Jake actually having mastered the supposedly basic (yet oft neglected) skill of housekeeping.

p38: We never really saw Jake have Skaian dreams, did we? His Prospit self never woke up on account of a peanut allergy. I wonder if the dreams of a non-awoken dreamself could have ever been prophetic… And anyway, he's his ascended self now. Hmm, but right, his dreambubbleself did have a rather prescient twist to it, in the form of Brain Ghost Dirk…

p41: Speak of the devil, I forgot about this part here, heheh.

Soooo, wait, we're getting back in muddy waters. Jake is from the post-retcon timeline, where Vriska was on the meteor. But the ghosts in the Furthest Ring weren't duplicated by the retcon. If we assume they only met the post-retcon kids chronologically (for them) afterwards, there were a bunch of conversations that happened twice. And Aranea's ghost 'survived' the Game Over timeline aka got thrown back to the Furthest Ring.

Still, it's gold to have Brain Ghost Dirk be his own self, distinct from ascended Dirk.

p47: "DIRK: You’ve spent years feeling sorry for yourself, totally convinced you made the wrong choices and that it’s all over. And it’s easier that way, isn’t it? If you’re a lost cause you don’t have to try to be better." That's the challenge for the Candy timeline people isn't it? Continuing to try even if it feels like nothing matters.

Brain Ghost Dirk stopped correcting Jake there that he didn't actually was Jane's running mate, since he wasn't that Dirk. Well, 'I' and 'you' could be seen as located between air-quotes, of course…

P54: Jake being hopeful again probably triggered the return of Brain Ghost Dirk

P59, 60: The new kids’ quirks are something to get used to again

P64: Almost seems like a Hope glow, around the car

P70 : By shedding his purple sweater, we now see Tavros is dressed in layers similarly to Calliope & Caliborn.

P90 : Note how she doesn't even really counted Jake as part of her family, there.

P95 : Gotta love cross-culture influences on Earth C, like the carapace derp face.

P96 : Introducing the world's most pollutive missile.

P97 : You'd think once it reached critical speed it wouldn't need the propulsion anymore. Maybe the sails actually serve as (stellar) wind breakers, hahah, and the giant pipe is a countermeasure.

p101 : Showing Karkat has started living at human hours since he's asleep at 5 AM, n'aww.

p105 : Meat timeline folks just keep on being couped up in small spaces for extended periods, don't they? Meat timeline just really focuses on the cabin fever side of things.

p108 : I swear I forgot Dave pointing this out :p101

p109 : In the story people & the appearance of them in other's minds is important. It's the same for the old Homestuck kids. Who they are and who they were to us are two separate things. At the same time, in story, who they are to each other is also very important. Brain Ghost Dirk's a culmination of that.

p114 : Dave really just drew the short stick there w/r his best friends' fates, didn't he. And Bro still casts a long shadow. At least it's good to see Dave is in a somewhat good place. Just a little sad he has to basically be a hermit apart from some close friends to achieve it.

p115 : So Karkat never really was close with Rose, interesting.

p130 : I wonder if Dirk started discarding things "pointlessly difficult and irritating" as a way to cope with his isolation growing up. Roxy had the carapaces around, he only had seagulls…

And eesh, being your ascended self, as in, knowing full well what you'd do in any situation… Really kind of sucks, doesn't it? Not seeing room for growth for yourself.

p131 : So, recap: A2 was coded blue and had a purple game design. A1 probably had the reverse. B1 was coded red and had a lime green game design, B2 was the reverse. The C universe is coded white (see: the door they went through) and the game design will be cyan.

Meanwhile, Dirk and Rose's species might be associated with the color purple & orange. Kind of makes you think of Prospit & Derse, doesn't it?

Makes you wonder if the trolls in A1 were also guided by their universe's gods, or not.

p133 : 10:25 hours ago

p135 : "ROSE: It's amazing what pieces of inconsequential information your mind can recall at a moment's notice, a whole decade after they were last relevant or interesting to anyone. ROSE: … ROSE: I think I missed this." Appropriate, given that it's been so long since Homestuck ended.

p141 : Basically, Dirk's DNA was used to animate the result of the alchemization. Not ecto-alchemologization, but more like… alchemogenesis?

p144 : Trial 'n error creation of species, with of course, Dirk focusing on the equine & Rose on the cephaloid. (Is that the right Latin word for tentacle-y?)

Right, Rosebot was only a projection of Rose's consciousness.

Weird to think stories about the Psionic survived two squashed rebellions. Then again, he was )(IC's Helmsman for the remainder of Alternian history.

"ROSE: Now [Earth] is protected, in the steady hands of a duly-elected ruler, sure to have a boring and uneventful perpetual term in office." Ah, if only Rose could see into the bonus stories :P Guess they don't count as part of her domain. ;)

"ROSE: What value is a marriage, temporary domestic bliss, if all is lost? ROSE: You understand this bargain. ROSE: At least, you should. It's one that was made to leave you alone. ROSE: Is your resentment towards my choice about Kanaya, or about V–" Not sure I understand this fully. Does Rose feel like she had to leave Kanaya because Terezi didn't give up on Vriska?

====

It was great to see Karkat and Meenah interacting in earnest. It's really something to see them hit it off so well. I suppose the fact that Karkat is now older and a bit grittier has done worlds to Meenah's willingness to let him lead.

Also, as an aside: it's funny that Meenah's Jake handler in the resistance. She gets to boss an English around as cosmic retribution.

Great to get a better look at Karkat's inner turmoil too. Just to get confirmation he's still the same guy at heart. Leaving his mic open during heartfelt confessions is so on brand. It's fitting that that's what endears him to his followers. Seems close to how some of his most embarassing moments as leader of his session were easily forgiven by the other trolls + what ultimately served to help win the session.

I can't shake the feeling that all of the population of Earth C is just a wee bit too eager to follow their pantheon in everything unthinkingly. Devotion on par with carapaces unflinchingly following their royalty into war in the Medium, with a few notable exceptions.

Loving the Metal Gear Solid meets Suicide Squad asthetic that Karkat and his elite squad has going on there. I'm assuming of the trolls in the LOBsTERs, there's one highblood and one lowblood.

Sollux is, funnily enough, the best for Earth C in behaviour. Just minding his own, most of the time. His latest disability wouldn't be at all stopping him from being worshipped, if he at all wished it.

If it weren't for James' newspost, I would have figured the next page could already be a flash, but seems it might have to wait until Jane's army's arrived at the Meteor.

Still not sure what the effect of the Plot Point will be. We've got a few things up in the air.

It's going to make the Candy timeline relevant to the overal plot - which could mean a connection, portal or transportation effect to the Meat timeline. It might be connected to the machine underneath the curtain that Dirk's transporting.

If it's a Sburb game disc set, can you imagine the brawl that could play out over who gets to play? Then again, the way the Candy kids are a set of four, them connecting to Dirk & Rose's players might result in an eight-player session to mirror the B2 merged session.

Wild theory I came up with: what if it's Aradia's version of the Beat Mesa, an other version of the music crystals that Damara used to scratch the A1 session? Aka what if the Candy timeline has to be scratched to validate the Meat timeline as the 'true' timeline? In that case, there's probably a portal for the Candy kids to escape through, too. Assuming the Candy timeline would be erased by a scratch, it's not a session, after all. The only reason B1 Earth got evacuated by the carapacians were the imminent Red Miles - even though he was only out there to send them because he escaped the B1 session as it was being scratched, so, ehhhh.

Also, assuming Candy Universe C gets scratched, would that mean that in their version of Deltritus had Sburb portals opening up across the planet already, too, or not, you think? Probably not due to the effects of the black hole, but it’s fun to think about.

In any case, whatever's there, the implication is that the seed for it got carried over from the A2 session. Meaning Sburb/Sgrub has had this planned for a long, LONG time already.

====

Wow. Just. Wow.

This update did so much for us.

It canonized the non-credit snaps, meaning those Halloween snaps are also canon. And the fact that Jack Noir and Ms. Paint are in Universe C, on the moon.

Heheh, the rebellion shot a piece out of the moon and now it's perpetually crescent, like every moon symbol in Homestuck. And it's what the B2 session's Derse, Prospit & LOTAK ended up looking, I think?

But mainly. Jake grew up! In one conversation, he finally had enough of Jane's egotripping and spoke up!

Man, Tavros' childhood is like a mirror to Dave's, only his trauma is immediately apparent to us, since we read about it in the Epilogues. He ended up all softspoken and twitchy, Tavros like.

And that reference to Hiveswap! Yup, Jake's parenting skills leave something to be desired. At least he was there for Tavros more than Jude and Joey. And he used his Page powers to cure Tavros' allergy! The curse has been lifted!

Meanwhile, the first time is occuring where all Earth C kids are in the same room together. But it's the backdrop to this, the long overdue Jane & Jake heart-to-heart. In the spirit of Homestuck history, it occurs while they're not even in the same room nor even facetiming!

At least Jane acknowledges, finally, she did Tavros wrong. In fact, she sounded more like the old Jane than ever before.

But I think Jake might be on the right track. She might have internalized too much of the Condescension's megalomany.

Where Tavros was formed by his childhood into a personality close to Alternian Tavros… Jane internalized (consciously and subconsciously) so much of the Condescension's bullshit that she might have fit in as a fuschiablood!

I'm actually kind of relieved the faceless mooks she employs are all clones and not real Earth C humans. Maybe her actual support by the general populace is a lot more fragile than we've thought!

She went full Star Wars though. A clone army, a death laser on the moon?

I think Jake would benefit a bit from a talk with Nannasprite, especially since he's an adult now.

And boy, last appearance of Brain Ghost Dirk??? I'm kind of surprised to see that he might in fact have been disconnected from (Ultimate) Dirk all along! He seemed to know more than he should have, but it appears that was all related to the power of Hope!

The reveal that his eyes are as green as Jake's was definitely a nice touch.

It's shaping up to be a major face-off!

[attorneys-against-court-violence]

Bonjour ma chêr et chêrie, hello!

Realising I had too many thoughts about the funny lawyer people, I made this side-page to contain my fixation. Feel free to throw your Attorney-isms my way here if you like! Anything AA is welcome, though you shouldn't have to guess who gets preferential treatment! (^ - ^)

Asks are open! Non-AA inquiries can be directed to @butter-helgi.

(a brief explanation of my coloured text is below, if you're confused and somehow care)

In case anyone here is new/unfamiliar with AA5-6 and is confused about why I randomly colour my text like so, it's based on the Mood Matrix from said games - essentially, it's just a convenient shorthand for emotional signposting + a bit of fan indulgence on my part.

This is purely a thematic choice, so if it gets obtrusive or if being earnest is more important I'll tend to drop it. The @athena-appreciation-page is a fan-page first, but I am a halfway sensible person sooner - this is the only place where this applies and not at all how I communicate in general! This is just for fun!

To summarise:

Blue - Generic emphasis. I just want to call attention to something. Also what I colour this little dude if I can't think of any better fitting colours: ( '-' )

Green - Joy or Affection. I like this thing or am happy about something and want to express as much!

Red - Anger or Fired Up, depends on the context. I want to highlight this as annoying or that I am passionate about this point in particular. (never targeted towards a person, that would be daft on my part)

Purple - Sadness or Concern. I want to show that this aspect of a thing makes me glum somehow. (I know the colour closer to lilac or something, but you know. Limits.)

Orange - Surprise or Shock. Alas, I have been caught off-guard! You'll know I wasn't expecting something when this colour pops up. Mostly to get around the fact the mobile app doesn't let you use yellow-

-ahem. Sorry 'bout the noise, just find that a bit odd.

Thank you for reading my emotive text guide, if that's the right turn of phrase for it. Now go do something fun for a change! (^-^)

EDIT: "Surprised" text will be rendered exclusively in orange going forward. Turns out yellow isn't the best choice for posts that are going to be seen on a white background 70% of the time... (- -);

[nightsidewrestling]

D.U.D.E Part 8 - Hospital Stays and Fears (Set in 2020)

Note: This is set in a universe where Men VS Women / Intergender matches can happen.

Chapter 1: here Chapter 2: here Chapter 3: here Chapter 4: here Chapter 5: here Chapter 6: here Chapter 7: here

Tags: @piratewithvigor @tantamount-treason @thedollmaker16 @janetreader

Around 2000 Words. 18+ in places (those chapters will be marked as 'Mature / sexual content' just to be safe). Please inform me if you wish to be tagged or untagged from posts. If the text is in italics and orange it's Kirby's inner monologue. If the text is coloured but not in italics, it's either dialogue or a P.O.V change (P.O.V changes will be in bold and translated dialogue will appear in square [ ] brackets), Key below. Quick note on Geia's text colour: Yes I do know that as Greed she should be in yellow but I decided to colour the men's dialogue yellow so Geia was changed to be pink like the other women in the story outside of the main 8.

The Main 8: Damo - Bio. Vi - Bio. Billie - Bio. Geia - Bio. Kirby - Bio. Honey - Bio. Eli - Bio. Sara - Bio.

Gluttony's P.O.V:

When Kirby 'comes around' she's in a hospital bed, Eddie whispering a prayer by her side, holding her right hand tight, and her parents rushing into the room.

"Eddie... Edward... why are my parents here?" She asks, her voice weak, but just loud enough to hear.

"Kirby? Sweetheart, you're awake?!" Eddie beams, leaning over the hospital bed to kiss her deeply, then realising that she wasn't kidding when she asked the question.

Her father clears his throat, before walking up to his daughter's opposite side, followed by Kirby's mother, who scoots past her husband to check on her only baby.

"Helo [Hi] Mam." Kirby whispers, smiling softly, when her mother kisses her on the head.

Eddie seems to back off slightly, letting Kirby's mother hug her close.

"O fy maban bach tlawd, wyt ti'n iawn fy nhywysoges? Fe gawson ni'r awyrwen gyntaf allan, methu â mentro peidio â gweld ein merch fach pan mae hi wedi brifo. [Oh my poor little baby, are you alright my princess? We got the first flight out, couldn't risk not seeing our baby girl when she's hurt.]" Kirby's mother whispers.

"Byddaf yn iawn, mae'n debyg mai dim ond anaemia neu rywbeth sy'n dod yn ôl o fy arddegau. Dw i'n dy garu di hefyd, mam. [I'll be okay, it's probably just anaemia or something coming back from my teenage years. I love you too, mum.]" Kirby replies weakly, looking over at her parents and then at Eddie.

Eddie turns his cap backwards and smoothes his tank-top out, hiding his rosaries between his two tank-tops, clearly trying to present the best version of himself in his mind.

"Eddie, my parents. Mam and Da, this is Eddie, the guy I lost to and the man I am in love with."

"You better be nice to my little girl, or else I'll-" Kirby's dad growls protectively.

"Hywel Críostóir Taran Donndubán Rhydderch, you apologise to that young man right now." Kirby's mother orders.

"Oda, I'm just-" Hywel attempts to argue his case, before looking at the anger in his tiny, Scottish fireball, wife, "I'm sorry, Eddie. Obviously, I need to trust my little princesses' choices more."

"It's fine, I get it, ya daughter starts datin' a guy, you don't know him, ya get worried because what if she's in a bad situation. My brother went through it with his wife. Her folks thought that this kid, from New York, was a little too 'street' for their angel, ended up telling him to be extra careful."

"Yeah, but you, my handsome warrior, Kingy, are Irish-American on your father's side, hence those beautiful green eyes of yours." Kirby mumbles, stroking Eddie's arm as she talks.

Hywel's eyes light up, "An Irish boy, I really should trust my daughter more... Also, 'Kingy', princess, are you forgetting that we are already considered royalty by our surname? After all, 'Rhydderch' means 'Exalted King'." He states proudly.

"So, you're Half-Irish?" Oda asks gently, "What about the other half?"

"Puerto Rican, though my mother still raised me Catholic. Kirby knows all about my Catholic guilt, and how bad I wanna beat Damien's head in." Eddie grunts, clearing his throat and standing up, getting pulled into a 'manly' hug by Hywel.

Kirby's parents soon leave her and Eddie alone together, Eddie still slightly shaken by the hug from Kirby's dad. Kirby distracts him from his thoughts, pulling him into a kiss by the front of his tank-top.

"You just said the one thing my Da's been waiting to hear someone, anyone actually, say since Damien got involved in my career." She whispers, her eyes locking with his.

"Your father's fuckin' scary for a guy shorter than me." Eddie murmurs, holding Kirby close.

"You smell like cigarettes, it's strangely calming to me."

"I've been here all night, Moxie had to drag me away so I would eat somethin'."

Eddie kisses Kirby's forehead, holding her close and breathing deeply. Kirby grips onto Eddie's shoulders when the lights shut off in the room, the emergency power sustaining the machines in the room and deep red 'emergency' lights.

"The fuck is goin' on? Was there a power outage or somethin'?" Eddie grumbles, about to go and see what's going on, Kirby tightens her grip on his shoulders, "You scared of the dark, babe?"

"Please don't tell anyone, but yes, I'm terrified of the dark." She whispers, her voice trembling.

Eddie raises an eyebrow, holding Kirby tighter, kissing her forehead and neck to keep her calm. Kirby moves her hands to Eddie's face, cupping his head in her hands. He climbs into the hospital bed next to her, holding her close as they fall asleep. When they wake up, entangled in each other's embrace, Eddie kisses Kirby lazily, breathing a sigh of relief when she opens her eyes.

"What's the time, Kingy?" Kirby murmurs, still half-asleep.

Eddie checks his phone, "It's eight in the mornin', babe-alicious."

"The feck did you just call me?"

"Babe-alicious." He shrugs, kissing her before getting up.

It takes around an hour for Kirby to be released, with a new prescription, her parents joining her and Eddie as they head to the drug store. Eddie never once lets go of her right hand, clinging to it like a lifeline. Kirby gets her iron supplements and Xanax, picking up enough to last her a month. Her father then drives them to a café, they get a small table in a quieter area, making sure Eddie sits next to him.

"So, you plan on kicking Damien's ass?" Hywel asks Eddie, keeping an eye on Kirby.

"Yea, I plan on makin' him pay, for all the shit he put my lady through. I will pound him into Hell, where he says he's from, so it'll be a warm welcome home. I am gonna show him how much pain he put Kirby through, and more, much fuckin' more."

Hywel nods in agreement, holding his hand out to Eddie, "Well, I feel secure in this," He looks over at Oda, she nods in agreement, Kirby raises an eyebrow in confusion, "Welcome to the family, son."

Eddie accepts the handshake, "You mean that... sir?"

"Absolutely, but I will still destroy you if you break her heart, after all she's still my little princess." Hywel growls in Eddie's ear.

Eddie looks nervously over at Kirby, he's already backed into the corner of the building, a look of fear in his eyes.

"Da, stop threatening my boyfriend, this is why no one dated me before. They met you and it was, 'I'll destroy you, you hurt her, I'll hurt you, I know every weak spot, I own an axe, I can chop you up'." Kirby murmurs, doing a rather spot-on of her father.

"Hywel, stop it. Do you ever want grandchildren? Because this is not how you get grandchildren." Oda grumbles, smacking his arm.

"I think that could be arranged," Eddie smirks, "you keep me alive, I give you and Oda grandchildren."

"Eddie, no." Kirby whines, not quite ready for children.

"Deal." Hywel grins

"Dad!" Kirby squeaks in shock.

"Hywel!" Oda groans, shaking her head, at her husband's habit of talking without thinking.

"But ya gotta keep me alive, I ain't being a deadbeat dad, or a dead dad." Eddie explains, smiling when Kirby's father nods in agreement.

Kirby stares at Eddie, a look of total confusion on her face. It takes her a while to even close her mouth, let alone recognise that Ethan, Eli and Moxley have come to check up on the couple. Her parents leave them to order and get their meal.

"Everything okay Kirby?" Eli asks, gently checking on her tall friend.

"I'm fine, this motherfucker though, ain't getting any sex, for a year, if he says anything else to my Da." She grumbles.

"What did you do, Eddie?" Mox chuckles, sitting next to him as Ethen tries his hardest not to laugh.

"I made a deal. Her dad keeps me alive, I give him grandchildren. He could've said no. It's her father's fault she's mad. All I gotta do is try to get her pregnant, He's gotta make sure Damien doesn't kill me."

"You did what?" Ethan giggles, "You made a deal? That's not a deal, Eddie."

"Technically it is a deal, If Eddie were to just say 'we're trying for a baby' every time we fuck, my Da would have no choice, but to keep up his end of the deal, providing Eddie with the protection of my entire family." Kirby explains.

Eddie's eyes go wide, "Ya entire family, that's a fuck ton of people, all I gotta do is say that... and I get, like a hundred or more, trained wrestlers as protection? Kirby, baby, sweetheart... I know what I said was dumb, but that's crazy."

"But it's true, except for maybe my uncles, they would have to meet you... all of them would have to meet you, then they'd decide. Either you charm my whole family, and get a literal wrestling family as protection, or you fail at that and get your ass kicked."

"You only have, what, seven uncles?" Eddie shrugs.

"No, Eddie, my entire family... ugh, just forget it, I'm gonna grab my coffee from my Da before he drinks it." Kirby huffs, getting up as Eddie does the same.

Eddie pulls her into a heated kiss, stopping her from leaving his sight, he traps her in his arms and refuses to let go.

"Eddie, my Da will actually drink my coffee, Edward, you gotta let me move."

"I'm not lettin' you outta my sight, I thought I lost ya yesterday." He whispers in her ear.

"Then come with me, you oaf." She groans, still grumpy with him.

"The fuck does that mean?" He raises an eyebrow.

"It means you're being a jackass, you know, like making a deal to get me pregnant... We aren't even married, and I've never met your parents... and you're Catholic, which makes that deal sinful."

"Shit," Eddie murmurs, "ya right, I really should have thought about it. A'ight, I'll see if my parents can get down here before your folks leave. I'm sure they'll love ya, but I gotta make sure ya dad won't kill mine. Can I still kiss ya, babygirl?"

Kirby kisses Eddie softly before leaving to get her coffee, returning and sitting on Eddie's lap. He pushes Ethan's phone away as Kirby's parents come back, making 'All Ego' move to stand behind Eli as he films.

"Hywel, Oda, this is Ethan Page, Eli Lucifarian and, my best friend, Jon Moxley," Eddie introduces Kirby's parents to the trio.

"Lucifarian, as in you represent a sin. Envy, I'm guessing." Oda says, shaking hands with Eli.

"Your best friend? So I can tell you to stop my future son-in-law hiding his rosaries. I was raised an Irish Catholic too." Hywel chuckles, shaking hands with Moxley and Ethan.

"Are we still on for the gaming stream later, Me, you and Geia?" Eli asks Kirby.

"Yeah, I'll text you when I'm outside your hotel room. Two hours, right, six 'till eight?"

"Wait, you didn't tell me 'bout that, and should ya really be doin' that after yesterday?"

"I'll be fine, Eddie, don't worry."

"Kirby, you fuckin' fainted. I ain't lettin' you outta my sight, for anythin', especially not for two hours."

"Then come with me, Eddie. I'm sure the fans will love seeing big, strong, Eddie Kingston, taking care of his girlfriend." Kirby teases, kissing his temple.

"That's fine with me, I'll see you two later." Eli smiles softly, leaving the group and heading off.

Eventually Eddie and Kirby leave, Her parents get a room next to the couple. Eddie calls his parents, and keeps Kirby in his grasp for the majority of the day.

"Ma says she'll grab dad and fly out tomorrow, how long are ya parents stayin'?"

"According to my Da, they'll be here for a month. Judging from the look Mam gave him, they'll be here at least two."

"You wanna get started on my end of the deal now, or?" He smirks, winks and raises an eyebrow.

Kirby glares at Eddie, hitting him in the arm and changing her clothes (finally) into something fresh.

[izzy-b-hands]

TW for mention of moths and accidental moth death. Funny enough, I'm extremely phobic and grossed out by moths and butterflies (tho i think they're cool and pretty) and sort of grossed myself out writing this, but the idea wouldn't leave me alone!

Lil domestic moment/mini argument in a modern AU for the lads and the poor moth involved. That turns into a mini rescue mission of sorts. also Jack is there. And there will be pizza.

I kept writing and things kept happening idk.

---

"Really?" Stede scoffs. "Over a mild disagreement-"

The crop top, clearly handmade, reads 'I fucked Stede Bonnet and all I got was this stupid shirt.'

"Mary suggested color of fabric paint," Ed says icily, eyes never moving from the horror movie he's watching on the living room TV. "But Doug thought up the crop top bit. Much more comfortable this way, and I can reuse the leftover bit of fabric."

"Ed," Stede sits on the other side of the couch. "Darling."

"Don't even start."

"Look, I understand why you're upset with me. But I need you to see my side-"

"Stede, if you bring this up during one of my favourite movies, I..." Ed hesitates. "I don't know exactly what I'll do yet, but I'll be pissed."

"Can I stay and watch with you?"

"Of course."

He motions for Ed to stretch out his legs, and scoots slightly closer so Ed's knees rest on his lap.

"If you think you're getting back in my good graces with a knee massage alone-"

"No," Stede interrupts. "I saw you limp earlier, and I know massages help that bad knee of yours. Purely coincidence."

He works gently on Ed's knee, and looks up to the screen. "Us, right?"

"Yup."

They watch in silence for a bit, until he can bear it no longer.

"Ed, I know you don't like moths. I know you're scared of them. But I wasn't going to kill it-"

"I didn't want you to kill it, but you didn't listen to me! I was trying to tell you to wait so I could be in another room while you got it!"

"Oh," Stede blinks. "Ohhh. 'Babe, wait and just-' was going to end in 'just let me leave first.' Wasn't it?"

Ed nods. "Instead, you smashed into me, and I know you didn't mean to, but I got moth and gross moth dust all over my ch-"

He gags. "Yeah. I can't think about it or say it. Sorry."

"I'm sorry. But you knew I would try and move it and get it outside, and that would mean needing to get by you and out the bedroom door."

"That..." Ed sighs. "That's true. I should say sorry too. I could have just moved right away, and then come back to you as soon as it was outside. I panicked. Sorry, love."

"That's fair. You didn't want it on or near you."

Ed gently, carefully, strips off his shirt and lays it on the floor. "This needs to finish drying anyway. I was wearing it right away to be...well. Yeah."

"It's well done," Stede smiles. "And I like the violet."

"Right? I loved it but wasn't sure about using it until Mary mentioned it. I was texting both of them with pictures of all the paint colours; it was probably silly-"

"Sometimes a second opinion is all it takes to know if a choice is right or not. Nothing silly about that."

Eventually, Ed winds up in his lap, as the movie plays on and the winter sun dips below the horizon.

There's a buzz as the credits roll, and they both jump.

"Fucking piece of shit," Ed fusses as he yanks his vibrating phone off the end table. "Hello?"

"Hi, weird question," Olu's voice comes through the speaker just as Ed switches it to speakerphone. "Is Stede's phone not by him?"

"I left it charging in our room," Stede replies. "Why?"

"I told you we should have texted Ed first!" Jim's voice joins in on Olu's end. "He always has his phone near him!"

"What's going on?" Ed asks.

"This is stupid and you'll laugh, but we...nope, I'm not saying it. This is embarrassing!" Olu mutters.

"We're two grown adults that got scared watching Us," Jim's voice joins in again. "There's some people walking around here and I know, I know they're just like. Taking a late walk. But they sort of look similar in shape to both of us and I mean. It's fake, because if it wasn't Jordan Peele would have to be in on it, and surely he wouldn't-"

"Funny, we just finished that movie, but we're doing alright. Would you maybe like us to come over?" Ed smiles and nudges Stede. "Aaand maybe bring a late night snack, some pizza?"

"There should be some by our front door," Olu replies. "We ordered just as the movie started and then by the time it got here..."

"Oh no," Stede chuckles. "We'll be right ov-ED!"

The shadow in the hall turns, and the light at the end of it flicks on. "Did you two forget I was here?"

Jack. Who was in town and staying in their guest room, and who had been sleeping off his jet lag.

"I'm so glad to see you," Stede gasps.

"It's okay," Ed says as he stands. "We'll be over in a bit. We'll bring Jack too since he's with us."

"Why is he here?" Olu asks.

"Dunno. He called us last night asking for a ride from the airport and a place to stay."

"...sure. That sounds great."

"And we'll get some new pizza on the way there, because I guarantee a raccoon has already found the one outside your door."

"Pizza, you two, those two kids, and a raccoon," Jack smiles. "I woke up to a party!"

"The raccoon is not coming inside," Stede chuckles. "We had enough issues with the moth earlier!"

Jack frowns. "Speaking of, I woke up with that little bit of fuss and...hey, Ed?"

Ed, planning away about breadsticks and dessert options with Olu, seems not to notice.

Jack motions Stede over to him. "Look. When I went downstairs to get those extra pajamas you mentioned, I found the source of that flying friend. Y'all got a fuckin' infestation in the extra storage room down there. I shoved some towels under the door crack but..."

"Oh god."

"Yeah. So...tomorrow morning what say I call up Iz and Buttons, and the three of us take Ed out to the zoo and aquarium? While we do that, which should take most of the day, you and anyone else not afraid of moths-"

"Will go and clean things up," Stede nods gravely. "Jack. I cannot believe I'm saying this, but, thank you."

"Just don't make me watch that movie with y'all tonight. Don't know why you'd want to rewatch it right away, but just-I can't stand that one, too scary. The new alien one though-"

"Nope?"

"Damn, we can't even try it? Or did it scare you that bad?"

Stede sighs. "Nope?!"

"Why are you...what's with the tone?" Jack scoffs. "I'm-wait. Wait. Oh no, you meant-"

"The movie is titled, yes," Stede shakes his head. "I think you're still jet lagged."

"I think-"

"Jack, put on pants and trousers and lets get moving," Ed interjects. "They are absolutely terrified, Mr. Peele should be very proud. However, I think their neighbour is trying to give them their pizza, and he's walking all around outside their house freaking them the fuck out and it's a whole thing."

Stede peers down, then back up. "I really wish I'd realised you were-"

"Sleeping Winnie-the-Pooh style?" Jack grins. "I can't believe you didn't notice."

"Are you wearing that shirt out?" Stede asks as Ed yanks the crop top back on.

"Yeah, but hang on, I'll get you yours and Jack's," Ed jogs into the kitchen. "So we match, all three of us."

They head out ten minutes later, Ed ahead of them.

"You fucked Ed Teach and all you got was that stupid shirt?" Jack snorts.

"You fucked us both and only got the one shirt," Stede paraphrases off of Jack's shirt. "I'm starting to think he was going to make these even if the moth thing had never happened."

"You don't fuckin' say."

There's the honk of the car horn, and they rush to get in before Ed drives off without them.

[batgurl1989]

A Hike To Remember

Summary: You are hiking when you come across Henry and Kal

Word Count: 1700

Warning: fluff

A/N: this was a suggestion from @henrynerdfan about a hiker meeting Kal and Henry while on the trails in the Pacific Northwest. If you want to be added to my taglist, let me know

Taglist: @rmtndew @princesssterek @cynic-spirit

My breath fogged out in front of me as I walked the trails, trying to keep a brisk pace. It was a crisp fall morning, and the trails were empty for now, so I was enjoying the sound of the early rising birds as I made my way down the dirt path. The leaves were changing colours, painting a beautiful picture of nature around me. I had been on the trail for maybe an hour, and still hadn't seen another human. Animals, however, were abundant as long as I didn't make too much noise.

I was just reaching the crest of another hill when I saw a black and white blur to my side. I looked, trying to figure out what animal would be black and white in the Pacific Northwest. But the blur was gone. Maybe I was imagining things.

Or maybe I wasn't.

When I crested the hill, I could see further down the path where a man was bent over, patting a black and white dog. The dog looked at me, and I felt like I should recognize him. It wasn't until the man turned in my direction to see what had caught his dog's interest that it clicked into place.

"Kal?" I scrunched up my nose in disbelief. That meant that Henry Cavill was hiking the same trails as you. In Washington. When he was supposed to be in the UK for some down time.

Henry's laugh reached my ears, snapping me out of my thoughts. My eyes snapped to his, going wide as I realized that I had acknowledged his dog before him. I'm sure I looked like a fish as I wracked my brain for an apology that seemed suitable.

"I'm a dog person." I ended up blurting out instead, instantly turning red as I realized I had practically shouted that.

"It's okay. It happens more often than you think." Henry was still chuckling as he walked back up the path toward me. Kal followed happily beside him.

"Do you mind if I pet him? If he will let me, of course." I couldn't help my eyes drifting to the fluffy dog. He was wagging his tail and it looked like he was smiling.

"I'm sure he would love a good ear scratch." Henry nodded, a huge smile plastered on his face.

I squatted down, and waited to see if Kal would come over to me. I didn't want to encroach on his space if he didn't want me there. My heart sang when the American Akita came trotting over, wagging his tail happily. He snuffled my hand that I offered him to sniff and then threw his weight into me for snuggles.

I would have fallen over had Henry not been there to grab my hand as I flailed it out for balance. Even through his glove, I could feel how warm his hand was. I looked up at him to say thank you, but Kal chose that moment to stuff his face in mine.

"Kal, come on. You are being invasive." Henry good-naturedly chastised his dog, trying to shove Kal off of me to give me space to get my balance.

What happened instead was that Kal pushed into me again, and toppled both Henry and I over. Kal lounged across us, nuzzling Henry for treats I assumed.

If you had told me when I started out on my hike that I would end up in a pile with Henry Cavill and Kal, I would have laughed at the fantasy you were trying to feed me. I was mortified as I tried to disentangle myself from Henry. His laughter was a balm on my soul and blushing, however, making me feel a little better.

Henry finally managed to shove Kal off of us, and helped me sit up. I brushed dirt off my arms, suddenly self-conscious. I froze in place when Henry reached over to brush my hair out of my face. His hand paused as he went to tuck the hair on the other side of my face behind my ear. A light blush dusted his cheeks, and he dropped his hand.

"Sorry about that. Here I am getting after Kal for being in your space, and then I go and do it." Henry cleared his throat. Once he was standing, he offered me his hand and helped me up when I took it.

"It's okay. It's not exactly like Kal gave us a choice about being in each other's bubbles." I dusted my pants off, trying to sound casual, but inside my stomach was filled with butterflies and my heart was beating hard against my ribs.

Images of him being flocked by fans had me stepping back, respecting his and Kal's space once again. I hadn't been expecting to come across another person out here, and I certainly didn't think it would Henry. Scooping up my backpack from where it fell during the ordeal, I adjusted the straps.

"I'm sorry I interrupted your hike. I'm sure you wanted to be alone when you came out here." I tucked my hair behind my ears, catching Henry in the acting of watching my every move. "I can go down a different path."

I took another step back, but bumped into Kal. The Akita had decided it was a good idea to stand behind me, blocking my escape route. Henry stepped forward to steady me, once again coming to my rescue.

"I swear, I am not normally this clumsy." You laughed, unable to keep calm now that his hand was gripping yours again.

"Kal has a tendency to get in the way when he wants attention." Henry assured you, letting go of your hand slowly. "And Kal seems to be really taken with you, so why don't you join us for the rest of the hike?"

The request blindsided me. Never in a million years would I have expected him to suggest that. He didn't even know my name, and he wanted me to join him on his walk. Was I off base in thinking that Kal's approval meant a great deal to Henry?

I realized as these thoughts ran through my head that I still hadn't answered him. When I met his eyes, his intensely blue eyes, I found myself floundering again for what to say.

"Y/N. That's my name." I blurted out, once again mortified that I was acting so off from my normal self. Taking a deep breath in a weak attempt to calm myself, I scratched Kal's ears absentmindedly. "And if Kal really wants me to join you two, then I guess I can't say no."

"You just made his day." Henry said with a twinkle in his eye.

We walked along the path, no longer trying to keep a certain pace. Kal romped around us, bringing sticks for us to throw, or pulling on Henry's arm to get him to examine a tree that had some squirrels chattering in the branches. We talked about nothing in particular, just enjoyed each other's company. I did find out that he was in Washington on vacation. A little trip to get away is how he described it.

When we got back to the parking lot, there were lots of cars, and people milling about. Henry had clipped Kal's leash on before we reached it, and they walked me to my car. I was glad I parked under the shade of a tree. Now that the sun had risen, it was getting quite warm.

"Look, I am in town for a few more days." Henry leaned on my car, watching as I settled my bag in the trunk. He opened the drivers side door for me, ever the gentleman. He reached for my hand when I made to get in the car, getting my full attention. He had taken his gloves off, and I could feel the callouses on his warm hand as it engulfed mine. "I want to see you again."

"Are you sure you don't mean Kal wants to see me again?" I teased as Kal gave out a little whine. I patted his head, but didn't take my eyes off Henry. I couldn't decide what I was seeing, but it made my stomach do flips. "But if that's the case, I would love to see you both again."

I reached into the car for a gum wrapper and a pen. I quickly but neatly wrote out my cell number, but paused before handing it over. There was something very surreal about giving a celebrity your phone number because they wanted it. Smiling, I handed it to Henry, who looked at, a line showing up between his eyebrows as he concentrated on the digits, as though he was committing them to memory in case her lost the gum wrapper.

I squatted down, petting Kal vigorously as I said goodbye to him. The Akita lapped up the attention, shoving himself into me again. Luckily this time I was ready, and leaned against the car door.

"I guess I will be seeing you then." I stood up to face Henry again. He smiled down at me, not hesitating this time as he tucked my hair behind my ear.

"You definitely will." Henry's voice was barely more than whisper as his eyes searched you face.

There was a brief moment--an insane moment--when I thought he would kiss me. But I snapped out of that fantasy, and cleared my throat. That seemed to snap him out his thoughts too, and he straightened. We quickly said goodbyes and I got in my car.

As I was leaving the parking lot, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I hit play on the steering wheel, expecting a text from my sister or mom asking where I was. I normally didn't hike that long, and cell service on the trails was spotty. I was pleasantly surprised when the automated voice of my car started reading the text.

"I hope this is your real number. It was so nice meeting you today, Y/N. And I can't wait to see you again, and possibly take you out on a real date. -HC"

[thedepthsoffandomminds]

FLIES THE HAWK Pt 20

Master list

Robby came home that night but he wasn't as warm as he normally was. You could tell there was something eating at him.

"Do you think I like Sam still?" He asked leaning against the kitchen island. The question took you off guard.

"I don't know, she broke your heart so I guess you'll still have some feelings for her." You said.

"Tory thinks I do."

"Tory thinks a lot of things." You say leaving the kitchen. Robby followed you.

"I'm going to take part in the All valley as Cobra Kai."

"Good for you." You say.

"I think I should leave." He says.

"Me two. I like you Robby, you made me feel safe but I can't be with someone in Cobra Kai anymore. Its too stressful." You say. He nods grabbing his things.

"I wish things could have been different." He kissed the top of your head before walking out of the door.

You knew it was coming and it hadn't been a long relationship yet it still hurt. You shut the door behind him and slid down crying into your hands. Around an hour later there was a knock at the door. You knew it would be Eli so you lifted your hand to the handle and turned it. The door opened enough for him to pop his head through. Seeing you on the floor he panicked and dropped down next to you.

"Y/n?" He put his hand on your arm.

"He left, Robby left me." Your voice was low. Eli said nothing, simply lifted you from the floor, walked to the sofa, set you down and wrapped his arm around you. You sobbed into his chest for a while until your tears dried up. You stayed in his embrace for a while. It was warm and he smelt fresh. He must have showered before coming to you.

"Eli?" You look up at him, "what did you want to talk to me about?" You ask.

"It doesn't matter. I just wanna make sure you're okay before anything else." He used the back of his hand to stroke your face.

"No please, It'll take my mind off it." You sit back just a bit too see him better but staying in his arms.

"Okay, I was gunna ask you if you think I'm making the right choice joining Eagle fang? I mean can I be good enough to be anything but cobra kai?" You could see the vulnerability in his eyes. For a moment you saw the shy boy you had kissed almost two years ago.

"I think you were never a cobra kai, you were always a sensie Lawrence student. You were taken advantage of by Kreese. That doesn't make you a bad person just a misguided one."

"Then you forgive me?" He pleaded.

"I, I think you're doing your best to be better, to be the real Eli."

"Thanks. I needed to hear you say that."

You stayed next to him for a few more minutes before you felt tiredness creeping up on you.

"I'm sorry but I really need to sleep." You say. Eli jumps up.

"Sure, sure. If you need me just text me okay."

You nod and he lets himself out as you walk up stiars.

Sleep came pretty quick and you spent the following day alone in your house. You didn't mind, you liked the quiet. Around 3 you got a text.

Eli: hi, would you come to miyagi-do with me and Demetri tomorrow?

Y/n: sure, I'm not doing karate though.

Eli: no way, I like you the way you are, princess. 😘

He told you the time to be ready for.

Y/n: do you want to come here for dinner?

Eli: oh man, normally I'd be there but I'm hanging with Demetri tonight. I'll come over before bed though yeah?

Y/n: okay.

You put your phone down and went to your bathroom, you had grabbed some new hair dye planning on making the ends of it a dark purple. It was along process with bleaching it first. Black was a hard colour to get out. Luckily you didn't need it to be massively blonde for the dark purple, so the odd ginger, brass colour was fine.

As you finished putting the purple dye on and touching up your roots with black you walked over to the ipad and started flipping through your spotify playlists. There was a noise downstairs, as if something had been knocked over. You figured it was the old cat from next door. He often wondered in when you left the door open. You put on your favourite classic rock playlist and danced around the bathroom for the allotted dying time.

You decided to jump in the shower and have a full body and hair wash aswell as finishing the dye process. The hot water felt good against your skin. You didn't notice the bathroom door open and close.

@peppamultifanimagines @shaybot12 @it-was-never-meant-to-be-boys @caelum-the-part-time-nihilist @filmfvckers @morganaah @lulubutton34 @carliim @buckysdemonsimp @space-helicopter @slytherinroyalty16 @shotosgirl @hannyhoe @torynichcls @hurricanerex666 @sabrinablack1 @haruuww @sarcastically-defensive17 @1-fuzzy-squirrels

[witch-hazels-musings]

So it happened again and I cant sleep so I wrote a thing with Zhongli based on the song 'so it goes' by Marianas trench. the lyrics will be used as thoughts (except one part where it is said) and the coloured text. the colour is who is *thinking*/saying what, Zhongli as yellow and reader as red. *In every heart, there is a room, a sanctuary is safe and strong. To heal the wounds from lovers past, until a new one comes along* Zhongli thought as stood on the balcony looking in at you asleep in the rising sun. it had been 2000 years and this was the first time it felt like his heart had felt this deeply for someone. He slowly made his way back over to the bed and tucked some strands of hair away from your eyes. You smiled in your sleep and it made his heart beat faster, he smiled and chuckled softly to himself. You started to stir from your peaceful slumber and was greeted by his warm voice. "Good morning, did you sleep well?" he said as he placed a small kiss on your forehead. "I slept well my love, I know you have been up a while are you okay?" you say voice barely a whisper. You knew he had nightmares of the war, his past and more. he stayed quite and stood up from the bed walking back out to the balcony. *I spoke to you in cautious tones* *You answered me with no pretense* *And still I feel I said too much* *My silence is my self-defense* Your heart called out for him and forced you to get out of bed even though your body wasn't fully ready to get up. as you slightly stumbled over to the balcony you could feel the tears prick at your eyes as the thought that you upset him. when you got to him you held onto the back of his shirt crying softly "Im sorry Zhongli" you said repeatedly. He slowly turned around eyes closed as he pulled you into a tight hug and stroked your hair. you could tell from his grip he too was fighting back tears. you had only ever seen him cry one other time, The night he had the nightmare about his lost lover from the war; Guizhong. You and him had been together now for a while and yet you felt like you would never be what he truly wanted. "Please dont cry" you heard him whisper "I dont want you to cry" he added. *And this is why my eyes are close It's just as well for all I've seen And so it goes and so it goes And you're the only one who knows* He opened his eyes finally to look deep into yours as he wiped away your tears. He kissed your forehead again before he spoke. "I would chose to be with you, as if the choice were mine to make. But you can make decisions too and you can have this heart to break" He said softly his eyes just showing you how much he loved you and how he was ready to start a new chapter in his love story. you kissed him passionately and held him tight. he smiled as he pulled away and lead you back into the room. "we should get dressed and head out for the day" he said smiling at you "we have a lot to get sorted for the announcement ceremony we need to perform for out friends" he added as he handed you a little box with two rings made of the finest cor lapis. *And so it goes and so it goes And you're the only one who knows* that is the most I have written in a long time hope you enjoy - 🧜‍♀️

AAH LOVE! <3 <3 - this was so sweeeet! (another lovely thing :D!) 

[boop-le-snoot]

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previously on...

We meet Lucy, we meet Samantha and her twins & Mother Nature gets a little bit mad. But on the upside - she loves Tony :)

Kind reminder that this story will have horror/thriller elements & graphic descriptions of blood, gore and all the nasty stuff associated with superhero battles described in some detail. This chapter contains some of that.

Honestly, this story is getting- uhh- 8-12 notes on Tumblr. It's got a decent following on AO3 which brings me joy because I truly do enjoy the worldbuilding to a, perhaps, guilty amount. So if you like it too - please reblog :)

The fabric of my skirt was suddenly yanked and I jumped, dropping my phone and startling out of my daze. Two big, blue eyes stared up at me, curiousity mixed with impatience in them. I crouched down to pick up my device, coming face to face with a tiny blonde girl about nine or ten years of age.

"Lucy, hi!" I squeezed out a smile at the child. She looked pale, as if she'd never seen the slightest bit of sunlight, chubby cheeks contrasted by an overall spindliness of her body. Her dress was a puffy, long-sleeved, red and white polka dotted monstrosity with at least two petticoats that made her seem bigger than she actually was. "Sorry, didn't see you there. Long day at work," despite there being a worm of anxiety crawling deeply in my chest, I heeded the warnings on the list of rules and swallowed any unease I had.

Which was a hard feat. The stairs had gotten confused and I lost ten minutes of time going back, over and over, after encountering floors "5", "8" and "19" instead of my third floor, in a five story building. The building providing extra floors shouldn't have surprised me that much but the worst was fighting with the desire to explore them, my rational brain unhelpfully supplying that if this building was truly dangerous, nobody would be living in it.

The pull was almost unnatural in its strength yet my protection charms remained unaffected. Too tired from returning to work, I decided to distract myself with my phone - and nearly ran poor little Lucy off her feet.

"You are new," she signed to me slowly, carefully observing my reaction to her using ASL.

I had been truly unsettled by the rule list, perhaps more than I wanted to admit to myself, so I spent a night wide awake brushing up my meager sign language skills. "Yes, my name is Star," I replied, not quite sure if I wanted to shake her hand or simply make myself scarce as soon as possible.

Lucy gave me a closed-lipped grin, swooshing her puffy skirts in what I perceived to be a calculated amount of shyness. "Can I play with you, please?" Her hands moved a little more rapidly as she side-eyed my apartment door.

I briefly ran a mental checklist of the contents of my fridge. "Sure," I figured that two leftover steaks in it would be more than enough for the little girl. I'd splurged and gotten four prime pieces of meat to treat myself after a hectic moving process, cooking only half of them on the first day. "Come on it. You hungry?"

The door swung open as I led Lucy in, her bright dress and pale skin standing out in the twilight of my apartment. She nodded her head seriously, looking at me from head to toe as shivers ran up and down my spine. My bag was unceremoniously dumped on the couch, my socked feet shuffling into the kitchen and beelining for the fridge.

Lucy followed me quietly, taking a seat at the dinner table and folding her thin arms atop it, expectant blue eyes following my every move. As I plated the meat and reached for the roll of paper towels, I felt like I was being examined under a microscope. Somewhere in the distance, a quiet hissing noise was beginning to rise.

Lucy politely declined the fork and knife I attempted to give her so I just set down the plate in front of her, leaving the kitchen to change out of my dusty, sweaty clothes, too tired to really worry about the loud, sloppy and wet chewing noises and low growling coming from the dining area. I decided as long as she wasn't attempting to have me for dinner, I was going to be just fine.

I found Lucy on the carpet of my living room, flipping through a fashion magazine she'd found somewhere after I was done with scavenging some sweatpants from my mostly-unpacked closet. Her blonde curls bounced as she looked up at me with another tight smile, this time looking calmer, friendlier somehow. "I like those dresses," she signed, pointing at a few pictures with models wearing ballroom gowns in all kinds of colours. "And these..." She pointed out a tiara, probably not knowing how to sign the words.

"This is a tiara," I spoke slowly, signing the last word with my hands carefully as she observed. And then a few more times, until she repeated her last sentence perfectly. "Good job, Lucy," I praised her as she beamed at me. The river of quiet, scratchy giggles never stopped as she pointed out various things and I tried to sign them to the best of my ability, Lucy not showing any signs of upset whatsoever if I couldn't get the name for something right.

After some time, it was beginning to get very dark outside and a couple of pointed glances at the clock was all it took for her to stand up and carefully dust off her skirts. "Thank you for playing with me, Star," Lucy signed excitedly. "I like you. Do you want to know a secret?" She leaned in conspirationally, bursting into my space bubble with a lack of care only a child could posess.

I nodded, not trusting my mouth whatsoever. The closer she leaned in, the more overwhelming her smell became. Her pretty dress reeked of mildew and stale water, her breath - of dried blood and something earthen, like moist soil and cold cobblestone.

Lucy's eyes widened dramatically. "If you need answers, go on to the seventh floor. Bring some warm milk and cookies, they won't bother you too much, but be careful and don't stay for too long. You look tasty," I struggled to keep up with her rapid signing, my eyes firmly trained on her. Lucy's hand carefully patted my cheek and in my frozen state, I could only wave back as she skipped to the door and unlocked it, giving me one of her closed-lipped smiles before disappearing behind it without a noise.

The lock slid shut on it's own after the girl's departure. My heart briefly jumped up into my throat, trapping my jerky inhale in-between my throat and my esophagus. Coughing, I went on to double check the door lock before scrambling for the TV remote to add some background noise to the suddenly eerily quiet apartment.

The sit-com that popped up wasn't any of the ones I knew so I sat helplessly watching unfamiliar people get themselves into more and more absurd situations as the grating noise of pre-recorded audience laughter mocked the characters actions. A sudden shriek pierced the late night stillness, followed by a sound of breaking dishes and a woman's voice tiredly chastising the miscreants.

Samantha.

I'd seen her a few times as she smoked her strong cigarettes in front of the entrance, her twins running in circles around the large pothole in the middle of the driveway. She'd been friendly enough, the dark circles under her eyes and the unkempt state of her clothes telling me more than her words, "I love them, I really do. But I just want some sleep," she rasped as she sighed and attempted to gather her two kids.

I didn't examine them too closely but on first moment's notice their eyes and teeth appeared... Wrong. Samantha had taken them inside after that, clutching a coffee thermos of a size truly impressive, and I went on my merry way, trying not to think too much of the poor, single mother and her two mutant kids. I felt a little proud, even, as she didn't just abandon them like many other people did after discovering their children had an active X-gene.

It didn't take me long to cave in and offer my help with watching the twins, Anya and Arman; one noisy weekend bled into the next and I began to genuinely feel bad for the overtired woman. Inviting the two terrors into my apartment was a choice I had made mindfully: having asked Odette about advice on hyperactive children, she had proposed a puzzle or two.

The thrifted, wooden items weren't able to hold the twins' attention for long, and Anya was the first one to begin gnawing at the hard blocks, covering the area around her in splinters. Arman was a quiet boy compared to his sister: he'd stare at the TV or at the walls, avoiding eye contact and conversation at great lengths.

My couch was jumped on, my dishes were taken out and my houseplants rearranged chaotically; it was almost as if they purposefully tried to get a rise out of me without doing any actual damage. I spent the remaining few hours of my Sunday putting things back in their places - all that pent up frustration had done wonders for the state of my apartment; it sparkled, looking cleaner than the day I moved in.

The babysitting became a somewhat regular occurrence, more often than not with me popping in for a couple of hours so Samantha could run some errands and the odd weekend when the twins came over to me so Sam could get some much-needed sleep.

She was a kind, gentle if chronically overworked woman. We clicked pretty quickly over our shared desire for comfortable stability and some fucking peace; neither I nor she had it in sights for the foreseeable future. Sam's reaction to me being a witch was a shrug and a top up to her wine glass as she pointedly looked at her daughter who was busy chewing on a door handle, leaving small, jagged marks all over the dull metal.

I just had gotten sorted with a bunch of complicated orders when the radio interrupted Eric Clapton with an emergency message and instructions to steer clear of the next few blocks over. Something had hit NYC again and Avengers had been called but nobody knew exactly what it was or when it was going to be dealt with.

As soon as I shot a text to Sam, explaining the situation, I immediately retreated to the back rooms, setting up my healing station over the noise of Odette preparing her office for visitors. For some time, I waited with baited breath, jumping at every little noise coming from the outside. The people tickled in slowly, mostly one by one and all were covered in foul-smelling sludge that evaporated with a loud hiss when the concentrated light of the UV lamp in my office touched it.

"Some kind of aliens, I think," a man with a face somewhere between a human and a hedgehog told me, wincing as he retracted his spikes back into his skin. "There's a hole- a portal, right on a crossroads and there's these things coming out. They kinda look like dragons, or flying snakes maybe," the more light breached the surface of his skin, the more relaxed he became. "The Sorcerer and the Witch are trying to close the portal, unsuccessfully might I add, and the muscle is just," he paused, scratching his chin. "Just killin' 'em, I guess."

I nodded enthusiastically, prompting him to continue to rely the state of the affairs as I applied the thick, viscous ointment on a gash on his leg. "It's hammer and Frisbee time," I mumbled to myself sarcastically.

"Yep," the man popped the 'p'. "Most of us are trying to keep the creatures contained to that one block. I saw Iron Man blasting off some of the creatures off of some of my friends," the last sentence contained a great deal of puzzlement. "Though you won't be seeing much of us this time. These things... They're vicious. They've got claws the size of my foot. A lot of us are going to die where they gut us," the sentence was spoken so matter-of-factly, my hands paused on the man's leg, bringing my eyes to his unblinking dots of black.

"What do you mean?" I swallowed in an attempt to chase away the dry, rough feeling in my throat.

"Those beasts... They're smart. One of my friends - she's a... Telepath of sorts... Says they're an intelligent hivemind," the man's broad, warm palm closed over mine. "The beasts leave only the ones that won't get help in time. They can smell death from a mile away. That's how they hunt," his voice was gentle, soothing over the sudden ringing of my ears.

"I..." My mind stuttered, a sticky ball of anxiety, fear and sorrow gathering up in my chest. "I'm so sorry. I..."

"We know what we're doing, out there, we know the risks," his smile was tight and full of grief. "You're doing your part here, makin' sure our babies have parents. We're out there makin' sure our streets are safe. Such is life," the grin acceptance in his pitch-black, small eyes set fire to the tension in my chest.

I exploded, inside out. The sudden burst of decisive, clear-headed energy made the objects around me vibrate, metal resonated my sorrow and my determination, the wood heated up with the force of Mother Nature itself responding to an act of cruelty bestowed upon her creations.

As soon as the man's bandage was finished and he headed out, I grabbed my old, ratty backpack, hastily shoving things into it in a semi-organized fashion. Clean linen strips, bandages, some premade elixirs and draughts, a few jars of salves, carefully tucked in-between the cloth. As I knocked on the door of Odette's office to retrieve the last few items I would need for my reckless journey, the door handle turned on its own, letting me observe her tending a woman who's skin was peeled off most of her back.

"Can't you see I'm..." Odette exclaimed, throwing her free hand towards the door, which did not budge. She turned on her heel, eyes widening when she observed my wide, solid stance in the doorway, lips immediately curling into a small grin. "I understand. Take what you need. It's not wise to resist Her call," the words were spoken carefully, as if not to spook me, before Odette resumed her delicate work of putting the injured woman back together.

Without a word, I finished packing and left through the front door, not needing more than my scarf and my light sweater to keep me from the freezing gusts of wind. My very core was the centrefold of an active volcano, bursting with white-hot bursts of energy as I approached the injured people on my way towards the terrible screeching noise.

This far out, most of the injured were able to make it to Odette's or to the other healer, who's name I had found out only then, but they were thankful for the water I offered them. Not once did they question me: my star-patterned scarf, out of all things, had become somewhat of a symbol for me among the different folk. Mutants approached me fearlessly, giving generous updates on the direction of the battle and the hotspots I probably should have avoided.

The louder the screeching noises grew, the more people needed my help. The stops took longer, my painkillers were becoming a short supply, the main relief provided by a couple of mid-range, mid-strength energy manipulating mutants that began to tail me after I offered to patch them up in exchange for help with the injured.

It was as if I instinctually knew where I was most needed, my decisions were seldom my own. Me and the two mutants bid a haste goodbye after loading up their truck with the injured, although deep inside, I knew that the amount of corpses, bloody and messy, littering the streets had begun to get to them. In a normal state of mind, I would not have been able to look at them either: then, each mangled, broken body only added fuel to the fire within me.

As I stepped foot in an intersection where someone had piled up bent and broken cars, the shadow flying over my head shrieked, taking a fluid nose dive towards another, smaller flying figure. I dropped flat on the ground, the contents of my backpack clattering, watching the small figure in the sky blast the beast with an off-blue ray of concentrated energy. As soon as the creature began it's graceless drop, Tony turned around and flew off, looking none worse for wear.

At the very centre of my chest, a faint feeling of fondness and hope blossomed into tiny little flowers that soothed the aching sorrow for the dead. Each warcry of the beasts from another world fed the anger, the anguish Gaia seemed to exhibit at their intrusion; the revolt I felt upon laying my eyes on one of them made me sweat, hands clenching into fists until my skin crawled under my nails.

The last part of me that wanted to pretend I was in control was gone; my soft, untrained body a mere vessel for a force stronger than me, stronger than anything. Noise around me grew in pitch, some of the creatures circling around my hiding spot cluelessly, aimlessly, as if they could not find what they were looking for.

I moved spots in a daring series of runs, bringing me almost to the portal itself, and the hellish lizards dived into my previous sanctuary, shattering the concrete and the wood of the house under the amused black stares of glassless windows.

The realization set it - they could not see me. Or perceive me properly, I deduced, inspecting the creatures for any sort of orifice except for their mouths and finding them to lack eyes and ears.

My own stare fell onto Sorcerer Supreme, floating amongst a variety of moving golden circles; I was close enough to hear him talking in a language I did not know. Wanda was hovering nearby, holding up a wall of red energy, protecting the chanting sorcerer.

A united screech invoked a shiver from every living being within it's reach, the creatures circling the portal for the last time before flying off in haphazard directions as the portal slowly began to close. I was prepared to cheer, yet, something stopped me; not a second later, the circles surrounding Stephen dimmed as the man himself jumped up onto his feet in alarm, screaming something unintelligible at the Scarlet Witch.

The overturned food cart I was hiding behind slowly began to creep towards the portal. A couple of rats, a pigeon - the animals flew in front of my eyes, rapidly, as they struggled against the unseen force. My hands grasped the handlebars of the cart in vain, I struggled against the force, seeing a moment of confusion on Wanda's face as I floated- no, rocketed past her as Stephen's golden magic forcefully pushed her out of the portal's reach.

It's size no bigger than a doorway, the vile thing blew cold, dry air under my sweater, muffling Stephen's cursing as we briefly collided during our violent expulsion into another world.

And then, there was darkness.

Taglist! @couldntbedamned @mikariell95 @letsby @sleep-i-ness @toomanyrobins2 @mostly-marvel-musings @persephonehemingway @schemefrenzy @lillsxd @bluecrazedandbeautiful @slothspaghettiwrites @xoxabs88xox

[ducknotinarow]

“I’ve missed you so much Steve…” [From Peggy uwu not sure what colour text she’ll have yet so just default black for now]

| Muse interactions

Out of all the things Steve regretted not doing in his life there would always be one thing on the top of that list. As a hero he had to say it was beyond frustrating to know he can't save everyone, there would simply be times when Captain America couldn't shield all from harm coming their way. Never meant he would stop trying of course. When it came to being a dad, it was that he couldn't be there sooner for Nina and Brooklyn. Sure, he knows he had no way of knowing what was going on with them. Till the days he met the two of them Steve had no clue they even existed. Yet he always regrets not being able to be with them the very second, they need him. There were just a lot of regrets to look back on but one big one never left his mind. Red lipstick, curled brown hair, dry wit, and serious. These were just some of the things that came to Steve's mind when he thought about her. Peggy wowed him the moment they met, he'd been stuck on a few before but it was hard to ever say one came close to Peggy. Sure the woman could be serious and reserved but that just made Steve like her even more. Not to mention how that smile hit him every time she let him see it. Even if he was The Captain America, to him Peggy was out of his league. So far he couldn't even see he stood a chance. So when she agreed to dance with him and he ended up never making it? Nothing was quite as big a hit as that.

When you are told you missed most of your life trapped in ice and find the world you know to be gone in what felt like a blink. Yet now looking at Peggy in the flesh before him it felt like he was in a vivid dream. And given the chance he might not want to wake from it. Watching how she smiled at him as if he never got lost and trapped in the ice how he did. It was like he was yanked back through time, she looked the same. Part of him knew why that was the case of course, she came to the future. They somehow were reunited again deep down he thought he would never see her again but there she stands perfect as he always saw her be. Stunned and speechless what do you say in this moment though? Did he tell her sorry for being so late for thier date? Or sorry for what he did? Nah she knew as well as he did there was no other choice. They both knew that what Steve did was all he could to make sure no one got hurt. No room for sorry then, Steve wasn't sure she would take one from him, anyone. Knowing her she might tell him outright it was ridiculous of him to think he owed her one after all this time.

Saying hello? in theory yeah that was maybe the right thing to start off with but at the same time, Steve hated the idea of that being what he said as if this was just some casual meet-up. This was beyond that he never thought he might see her again after all! so how could a simple hello be enough? Well, he had to say something for crying out loud he began to think how long had he just been standing here staring at her like he was. Peggy on the other hand, well she didn't miss a beat as she seemed to have the right words.

“I’ve missed you so much Steve…”

It was her, it truly was her.

"Took the words right out of my mouth pegs" he slightly breathed out as he smiled at her "I've missed you too, I never in my wildest dream thought I live to see this happen I just" He began to ramble a bit but he couldn't hold back his excitement "I just it's you, it's really you. I can't believe it there is so much I want to say! Too much!" he exclaimed but let it settle down as he steps closer to her, letting his hand move to rest on to her arms. Feeling her warmth as he gently held her like that, trying to do all he could to not just pull her his way. Because he wouldn't be able to let her go again if he did "But first let me just enjoy this moment of meeting in the middle." His heart lept with joy he just couldn't believe it, losing her was just too hard. He felt like at any moment this would be ripped away from him so he wanted to burn every last bit of it into his memory. But Peggy was no longer going to simply be a favored memory. "I always had hoped we would meet up again? I thought even for me I was being unrealistic but I'm glad I let myself do that."