#this looks...intense. but gonna need to see the first two episode first to decide.

[aprilblossomgirl]

[Official Trailer] WEDNESDAY CLUB คนกลางแล้วไง

[midnightdjarin]

din having the time of his life teasing you because you get jealous (din djarin x female reader)

i’ve been thinking a LOT about the episode in s1 called “the prisoner” where din meets up with that group and it’s hinted at that he (most likely) had a romantic relationship with xi’an… like imagine if you were with him at that moment…

you’ve been super irritated and crabby ever since it let slip that din had a past with xi’an. it was ridiculous and you would NEVER admit it to din, but wow, were you jealous.

you were convinced that the ex-imperial sharpshooter, mayfield was his name, was trying to instigate a fight, because man was he not helping things.

the two of you were looking at din and xi’an from across the room. she decided that it was a good idea to get real close and touchy. when her hand landed on his chest plate, you thought were about to tussle with a stranger.

“you’re just gonna let them do that?”, is what came out of mayfields mouth.

you cut a nasty glance at him, “i don’t need you as an instigator, imp.”

he just laughed, amused at how riled up you are, “no need for the attitude, princess.”

you didn’t even look at him as you deadpanned, “i’ll kill you.”

you had just about enough of this situation when you heard xi’an laugh, so you got up and walked towards them.

“are we ready for the mission, or do i need to set up a dinner table and candles for the two of you?”

you regretted saying it almost immediately. the internal cringe you were experiencing was intense. you were so incredibly jealous.

everyone got on the ship except for you and din. he hasn’t said a word to you. he had just stared silently at his surroundings until the two of you were alone.

you awkwardly nodded and looked at the ground, “so, xi’an huh?”

you thought for sure that he would be angry or embarrassed at your little tantrum moment, seeing as how he still hasn’t said a word. after a few seconds you see- his shoulders shaking? is he- is he laughing?

your suspicions are confirmed as soon as his laugh can be audibly heard, and you were puzzled to say the least.

“are you seriously laughing?”

he puts his hands on his hips and levels his visor at you, nodding his head, “yes.”

you thought for second to perhaps throttle him, but he was needed for this mission after all.

you grew frustrated, “I’m so glad that you think this is funny, din.”

his hands didn’t leave his hips, “cyare, listen to yourself. are you serious?”

you look at him, no amusement in your expression whatsoever.

he sighs, “look, mesh’la, yes, we have a past together, but not a good one. she was not and never will be right for me. you are right for me. you. only you.”

it’s your turn to sigh, “i’m sorry-“

dins hand goes to your chin, “don’t apologize. you getting all jealous and worked up over her was very entertaining. i love that little scrunch that your nose gets-“

you slap his hand away and roll your eyes but he keeps talking, “every woman in this galaxy could be standing in front of me, and i would spot you first, cyare, every time.”

you put on a small smile, “because of my huge forehead?”

“the biggest and prettiest forehead in the galaxy, really.”

“very funny.”

he lets out a soft chuckle then puts a hand on your shoulder, “i will love you and your big forehead even through death. now, let’s get this mission over with, and try not to kill xi’an, no matter how tempting.”

you chuckle as well, “okay, just make sure not to kill mayfield. he did refer to me as a princess earlier-“

his head whips in your direction, and you put on an innocent smile, “what? are you jealous?”

[theflyindutchwoman]

I have 3 things to talk about…

1. How nice it was to see Tim talk to the guys about his fight with Lucy. I’m literally shocked that he was so open with them! I love that he’s growing, opening up and confiding people that aren’t just Lucy and Angela (And Genny to an extent) he was so many friends now!

2. I am unable to move past how married™️ and sweet and domestic it is that Lucy calls tim to get the bugs at home 🥹 and how she suspected that he was just killing them but didn’t say anything and Tim was like pretending to set them outside even tho he wasn’t because he appreciates how empathic she is to even bugs 😭 I just can’t get over the idea that badass Lucy Chen is scared of bugs, well maybe not scared but whatevs, and makes her grumpy boyfriend take care of them but still insists he doesn’t just kill the scary bugs — do we think post Jackson death, pre-Chris she would call Tim over to handle the super big ones? Omg can you imagine? I’m dead

3. Can we talk about how the dance was like the biggest indicator we’ve ever had that these two are so FREAKIN TACTILE WITH EACH OTHER! Like it was kinda obvious before that their shared love language is touch, but I feel like you really, very clearly see that in the dance. And I just 😭 they love each other so much and just want to touch and snuggle and be with the other so much.

I am still very unwell. And I haven’t even processed the ILY’s fully yet so we’re not gonna go there 😂😂😂

Just when I thought I had recovered enough, you decide to send me this. This is a live footage of me right now :

. The 'bug scene' Listen, after the dance, this might be my favorite part of the episode. This scene was the cutest thing ever… and yes, it was peak married energy. Let's be real here : what is the point of having a boyfriend if it's not to have him take out the trash and deal with the bugs? (just kidding!). Seriously though… Lucy once said that she used to treat the coackroaches in her first apartment as pets (3.11 I think), so it's not like she is fundamentally scared of bugs. Neither is Tamara for that matter. She just wanted Tim to take care of them, in a very Lucy way. But the fact that she knew he was killing them all along but pretended not to know is perfect. Again, that is so her. And then, add the other layer to that scene. Out of all the questions she could have asked, she chose this one. I feel like it was her way of diffusing the tension, of making Tim more comfortable by asking such an innocent question, with no stake at all, before bringing up the real issue between them.

. Tim at the bachelor's party scene You have no idea how much I wish that part had been a little bit longer, so we could see more of the reactions. Still, I love how this scene was cut, with the back and forth between the two parties. How both of them needing to confide their frustrations to other people. And you're right, this is huge for Tim. At best, he would open up to Lucy (obv not an option here) or Angela. Maybe Genny. But certainly not someone like Randy who he barely knows and who can't keep a secret. Or even Aaron… His former aide. That's how much this relationship is important to him. It may have started as a way for him to vent but he also wanted to hear some advices. And he did listen to Randy's suggestion - of all people.

. The dance On the one hand, did anyone still have any doubt that these two are so tactile with one another? The undercover mission was all the confirmation we needed, really. But on the other hand… I didn't think it was possible for them to be even more tactile. It's somehow more intense, more intimate… It just shows how much they craved reassurance. They needed that touch to ground themselves. Lucy needed to play with his lapel and he needed to pull her in closer to him. And don't get me started on how she was playing with his hair or caressing his face. IN PUBLIC. There was no room for Jesus in that dance. She was looking at him the same way she did before 'naked times'… And where did they sneak off after that dance? 👀

[queen-of-writing-bad-things]

Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 1

Episode 13: Spoiler Alert

~Henry's house~

Henry, Jasper and Charlotte had all gathered at Henry's house to watch their favourite show. They stared intensely at the TV screen as sirens and shouts blared out from the speakers. A gunshot fired, making them all jump back in fright. A scene where a car crashed and a machine gun fired made them wince for the characters that were onscreen. However, they all giggled when a guy was killed.

"AHHH!" A man growled on the monitor suddenly, giving them all a huge scare. Jasper jumped on Charlotte as they all screamed.

"Get off." She deadpanned, not thinking that it was that scary. Jasper decided that Henry would be a better person to hold onto as the zombies groaned on the TV.

"Piper, please keep it down in there!" Henry managed to say on Jasper's head whenPiper began rattling around in the kitchen.

"Don't tell me how to live my life." She sassed him, so Henry shrugged Jasper off and continued to watch the TV show.

"That show is intense." Henry looked at the other two teens, his adrenaline still high. He had switched off the programme once it had finished.

"My heart's all cramped up," Charlotte said, massaging the part of her chest over the organ. 

"I'm sweating...more than usual," Jasper told them as he rubbed his fingers together. 

"Use your rag." Henry reminded him.

"Oh yeah, my rag." The curly-haired boy pulled a cloth from his pocket and began to wipe his hands dry.

"Seriously, you guys, that was, like, the best episode ever," Henry told them, and they both agreed. After all, who doesn't like an adrenaline-inducing, zombie-filled thriller?

"Oh yeah."

"Totally. But I'm so sad." Jasper said as he tucked his rag back into his pocket.

"Why?" Charlotte asked him.

"Only one more episode left of Walking Orange. And...I don't want it to end." The boy answered emotionally.

"Are you crying?" The girl next to him asked, not believing that he was crying over a TV show.

"No, my eyes are just sweating." Jasper quickly lied, walking away from the couch so they wouldn't see him cry.

"Rag." Henry reminded him again.

"Oh yeah, my rag." He took the material out and used it to dry his eyes.

"Hey, I read online that next week's episode is going to--" Charlotte began to say, but the boys shouted over her, not wanting to hear any spoilers. They each picked a cushion and pushed her into the couch to shut her up.

Please, don't tell us anything about the series finale." 

"Don't spoil it!"They pleaded and released her from the soft prison.

"I was just gonna say that after the series finale, they're gonna rerun the first episode." Charlotte held her hands up to shield herself from the cushions.

"Ohhhh..." The boys said together.

"So you can put the pillows down." Charlotte hissed at them and made them drop the pillows to the floor.

"Hey! I need one of you to be my cameraman." Piper shouted at them from the kitchen bar, so the teens walked to the kitchen to see what she was up to.

"What kind of video are you making?" Charlotte asked the little girl as she analysed all the junk she had on the island.

"The kind that gets me into the Man Fans," Piper replied excitedly. She had been wanting to get into the number one fan club of Captain Man for ages, and now she had her chance.

"The Man Fans?" Henry asked her. It seemed that despite his status as Captain Man's sidekick, he had never heard of the club.

"It's a club. A bunch of fans of Captain Man." Jasper told him.

"And Kid Danger," Charlotte added, inflating Henry's ego.

"It's really hard to get in. I tried to join and they wouldn't even take me." Jasper said, making Charlotte raise her eyebrows.

"Hey, everyone who's surprised by that, raise your hand. Ooo, look, no one." Piper retorted sarcastically.

"Just be careful." The dark-haired teen walked over to the little girl as she set up her video.

"Why?" Piper asked, not seeing what could go wrong.

"Because that girl who's president of the Man Fans, uh, Paula Macchiato, she's mean," Charlotte warned her, having heard of the things the child president had done.

"Well, she said I could join the Man Fans if I pass my initiation," Piper explained.

"Which is?" Henry asked as he and Jasper munched on grapes.

"I gotta make a video of me eating hair soup." Piper moved a bowl of dark, thick sludge into their view, and the look of the slimy hair made them all gag.

"What kind of soup?" Jasper exclaimed, thinking he had heard her wrong.

"Hair! I got this big bag of it fresh from a barbershop floor." Piper lifted a sack of different shades of hair.

"You can't eat soup with a bunch of hair in it," Henry told his sister. As annoying as she was, he didn't want her to get sick from eating hair and messing up her intestines.

"Okay, first, the things you say don't matter. And second, I am going to eat the hair soup so I can join the Man Fans." His sister stood firm. She wasn't going to pass up the chance to join her favourite club.

"Hold my phone." She passed the device to her hesitant brother, who began to record the setup.

"Hi, Paula Macchiato. I want to join the Man Fans so much, I'm going to eat a bowl of...hair soup." Piper said to the camera and lifted up a spoon full of hair. She looked disgusted but put the spoonful in her mouth as Henry, Charlotte and Jasper started to wretch.

Piper gave a thumbs up to them as she struggled to swallow the hair, her expression miserable. 

"Can I have some?" Jasper asked, curious to see what it tasted like, which made Henry and Charlotte looked at him in bewilderment.

~The Man Cave~

Schwoz was setting up the TV for viewing, as Ray, (y/n), Henry and Charlotte grabbed loads of snacks from the auto-snacker. It was finally time for the series finale of Walking Orange and they were so ready to see how the show ended.

"Yeah, baby! Series finale of "Walking Orange." Henry exclaimed in excitement as they brought the food to the couch.

"I can't believe we're about to watch the last episode ever." Ray shared his eagerness as they all climbed over the back and settled down. Henry passed the sodas out as (y/n) put a large pizza in her lap. Ray sat down on the floor between her legs after taking a slice and she rested her arms around his neck. The TV began to play some random Awards show and they all began to panic as they realised they were on the wrong channel. 

(y/n) put the pizza behind her as Schwoz scrambled to find the remote. 

"I put it on the wrong channel." Schwoz cried as he jammed the station button with his thumb. 

"There, there, I fix it, I FIX IT!" He yelled at the shouting group and sat back down once the show came on, just in time for them to watch it.

"Previously, on Walking Orange..." The man on the TV recounted the story. They all squirmed in excitement at the prospect of seeing what was going to happen.

"I'm so excited!" (y/n) squealed in Ray's ear.

"I know!" He said, just as all their phones dinged from receiving messages. They all pulled their cells out and checked the message, but what they read freaked them out.

"Ohhhh, nooooo" Henry screamed at his phone and they all got up from their seats in anger and frustration. Ray beat a pillow against the ground, as Henry and Charlotte threw the skeezits and pizza in their hands. (y/n) ripped her popcorn box in half, the contents spilling over her lap, but she didn't care. Schwoz watched them all in confusion as they threw their tantrums.

"Just turn it off," Ray said in a strained voice. Schwoz switched off the TV in confusion.

"What happened? Why do we not watch Walking Orange? Why you heave your pizza and your poopcorn?" He asked the all, as (y/n) hugged herself into Ray's back in sadness. The evening had been ruined.

"Because The Spoiler ruined Walking Orange," Henry told him in anger.

"Stupid The Spoiler," Charlotte said in a sulk.

"Who is The Spoiler?" Schwoz wanted to know.

"He's this jerky teenager here in Swellview. He finds out what's gonna happen on TV shows and movies..." Ray stood up swiftly, his hair messed up from beating the pillow around.

"And then he tells people the ending." (y/n) ended for him, lying back on the couch and speaking in a whiny voice.

"He ruins it for everyone." Charlotte pitched in.

"Not for me. I am smart. I turn my phone off." Schwoz bragged to them, annoying his friends.

"Well, yip-dee-doo for you, Schwoz." Henry shouted at him in annoyance, and the alarm started to sound. Letting out a groan, (y/n) and Charlotte walked to the computer and opened the camera link.

"Wat, Gooch?" Ray asked the man up in Junk-N-Stuff.

"Do you know what The Spoiler did?" The Indian man asked them, and Schwoz covered his ears against the spoilers.

"Yeah, he texted all three of us," Henry replied.

"No, he texted everyone in Swellview and told them the ending of Walking Orange," Gooch revealed, as Schwoz pressed his hands even harder against his ears.

"No, don't tell me!" The little genius cried. 

"He said that Rodriguez killed Mallory," Gooch told the story, torturing Schwoz.

"Tell him, let him suffer like us!" (y/n) smirked in her seat at the computer.

"And that he's really a cop!" The storekeeper spilt the biggest secret and Schwoz fell to the floor dramatically, feeling the same anger that the others had felt. 

"Thanks for the info, Gooch," Ray said and closed the link. 

"Okay, how'd The Spoiler figure out how to send a message to everyone in Swellview?" Charlotte asked as she picked up the little man on the floor.

"Oh, I don't know." Ray sighed.

"How smart does someone have to be to pull something off like this, Schwoz?" (y/n) spun around to look at the two.

"Anyone with level five computer knowledge could figure out how to do it." He explained.

Well, somebody's got to stop The Spoiler." Charlotte said, and the young woman nodded and stood up to Ray.

"Good thing we know a certain superhero and his sidekick." She hinted.

"Right, that person is us." He said huskily.

"You mean...those people...are us. You used bad grammar." Henry corrected him, but it didn't sound as cool. Feeling miffed, Ray shot a quick laser at his shoulder.

"Okay, do I have to confiscate that?" (y/n) looked up at him with a frown and a stern voice, similar to a teacher's.

"No, mom." Ray groaned.

"Don't call me that, you're so much older than me." She teased him, wanting to ruffle his feathers.

"Hey!" 

~The next day~

(y/n) was sat with Ray and Henry as the two males played cards and ate chips. She wasn't particularly interested in the game, she was just there to eat their food and scroll through her phone.

However, to Henry and Ray, this wasn't a game, this was a battle to see who could come out on top. They stared each other down as they crunched on the chips in their mouths.

"Only one chip left," Henry mentioned, eyeing the lone snack at the bottom of the bowl.

"Race you for it," Ray said, determined to get that damn chip.

"Okay, I'll try," Henry said, putting his hands down. (y/n) looked up from her phone and saw that they were taking it way too seriously.

"Hands on the table, On three," Ray said, and Henry tapped his fingers in preparation.

"One--" Ray started to count, but (y/n) reached across the table and ate the chip for herself, smirking in her victory over them.

"Come on!" Henry yelled."

"You. Little. Chip-snatcher." Ray spoke slowly at her, but she didn't care. 

"Sorry, the testosterone levels between you two were pissing me off." She said as an incoming alert sounded. The three of them scrambled to the supercomputer. The woman slammed her hand against the panel to open up the Gooch camera.

"Hey, Gooch, what's up?" Ray asked as he stood next to her.

"Spoiler alert," Gooch said, and Henry put his hands on his ears.

"Wait! Don't say anything about The Good Wife, I'm not caught up yet!" He pleaded with the shopkeeper.

"Er, I think he means The Spoiler." (y/n) said, but the boy couldn't hear her, so Ray forced Henry's hands off his head, and pointed to the screen.

"What do you know about The Spoiler?" Ray asked.

"We received a tip that's he's planning to show up at the Swellview Monoplex tomorrow at midnight," Gooch explained.

"Hmm, I wonder why," Ray muttered himself, as they all thought about what The Spoiler would be interested in ruining.

"Tomorrow night is the worldwide premiere of Galaxy Wars 9," Henry remembered that the geeky movie was one of the biggest releases of the year.

"Oh god, yeah. I'm taking Charlotte, I'm so excited and that damn Spoiler guy better not ruin it." (y/n) told them.

"Oh my god. Thanks, Gooch." Ray breathed out and ended the call. He stood up and walked to the middle of the Man Cave.

"The Spoiler must have had inside information about what happens in the movie." The superhero theorised.

"He's going to ruin it for everyone." Henry agreed, knowing they had to stop him. 

"Not if you two stop him." (y/n) encouraged them. 

"Yeah, you and me." Ray nodded at his sidekick.

"You and I." Henry corrected him, annoying Ray.

"That's what I said." The large man said back.

"You said "you and me"." The teen liked to be correct with his grammar, but it really wasn't the time for an English lesson.

"Okay, who cares?" (y/n) butted in, being the referee for them as usual.

"Okay, we have grammar rules for a reason." Henry protested at her.

"Okay, guess what?" Ray said reaching into his jean pocket.

"What?" Henry asked, as Ray pulled out his laser remote and fired at his chest, the child inside him coming out to play.

"Yeah, there you go." He said with a proud smirk on his face, as (y/n) growled at the males in frustration.

"Raymond!" She barked, reaching for the remote, but Henry joined in too.

"You know, I got one, too." He said and used his whiz watch to fire a green laser at the man. They started to engage in a laser fight, (y/n) stepping back to avoid getting hit.

"AH! Not the face!" Henry yelled as Ray got him in the eye, so he began to rapidly fire his laser back at his boss.

"AHHH! Not the butt!" Ray ran around the Man Cave to avoid getting hit. (y/n) was crouching next to the couch, and stood between them when the fight began to get serious.

"OKAY! THAT'S ENOU---OW!" Her loud voice was interrupted as one of the lasers hit her, but she couldn't tell who fired it. The pair of superheroes ceased their fire as she rubbed her arm and glared at them.

"Oops." Henry laughed nervously.

"Sorry, (y/n/n)." Ray tried to give her a hug, but she just snatched the remote from his hands.

"I accept your apology." She smiled at him sweetly, making them think that she wasn't angry. Oh boy, they were wrong.

"Now, I'm going to kill you both!" She raised Ray's remote and shot lasers at them both, chasing them around the Man Cave.

~The next day, Henry's house~

"But I tried to get a selfie with Captain Man! I had a great plan, but it didn't work." Henry walked into the kitchen and heard his little sister talking to someone on her PearBook. She sounded really upset, and at the mention of his boss, Henry was more than intrigued.

"If you want to join my club, then get a selfie with Captain Man!" A rude, little girl said from the speakers, causing Piper's face to crumple with sadness. Whoever this girl was, Henry did not like her.

"But, I don't know where he is. How do I find him?" Piper asked her in distress.

"Wahh. 'How do I find him?" Wahhh. That's how you sound!" The girl snapped at Piper and mocked her. Henry normally didn't care about what Piper did, but he didn't like it when brats bullied her.

"Sorry, I didn't realise." The youngest Hart apologised, not wanting to upset the president. 

"You see this? That's how much time you have to get a selfie with Captain Man, or else you'll never join the Man Fans." The mean girl raged at her and ended the call. Piper slammed her PearBook shut and ran to the sofa to cry. She jumped face down onto the cushions and Henry decided he should talk to her.

"Hey, Pipes. Everything okay?" He asked, acting like he hadn't just heard everything.

"Yes, I'm not upset. Now, shut up." Piper wiped her eyes and tried to appear fine. But Henry could see she was anything but okay.

"Uh, I overheard you talking to that girl from the Man Fans." He told her, switching to his caring big brother mode.

"So?" Piper asked in an uncharacteristically sad and quiet voice.

"Why do you join that club so bad?" Henry questioned, sitting down on the couch arm.

"Well, I just think Kid Danger's really cute," Piper told him, not realising she was saying these things about her brother.

"Ughhh, kill me." Henry gagged at the thought but carried on listening.

"And every week, the Man Fans get together and talk about stuff that Captain Man and Kid Danger are doing, and I just wanna be a part of it. But how am I going to get a stupid selfie with Captain Man?" Piper said rhetorically. She'd never find the superhero in time.

"All right, listen." Henry probably shouldn't have told her this, but he could see how much this meant to his little sister, so he rationalised that a little hint wouldn't hurt. He sat down next to her and leaned in close.

"I read a rumour online that Captain Man might be going to the Galaxy Wars premiere tonight," Henry said as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Really? Where online?" Piper asked, grabbing her phone to search for the information.

"Oh, uh...they took it down, but I saw it and it said he was going to be there." He lied, but it was enough to get her to stop typing.

"Wait. Where am I gonna get a ticket?" Piper said sadly, knowing that they'd all sold out months ago.

Uh. My boss, (y/n) is taking Charlotte, and she has a spare ticket. I could ask her to take you too." Henry smiled at her, knowing that the woman wouldn't mind taking Piper along too.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Piper asked her brother since he didn't usually help her out. Normally, they were always at each other's throats.

"Because...you're my little sister and I...I don't know, shut up!" Henry said, getting up quickly and walking away from all the mushy, sentimental stuff. He walked to the kitchen and saw Jasper through the kitchen window. He was dangling upside down and waving a sock around.

"Henry, look! I got your sock!" Henry looked at Piper, who just shrugged her shoulders in fake innocence.

~The Man Cave~

Charlotte and (y/n) were waiting for Ray and Henry to get ready for the movie premiere. They were sat checking the criminal records on the computer as they waited. The door next to the computer opened and the two males came out chattering to each other. 

"Hey," Henry said through his costume's mask. It was a red, futuristic set of armour that appeared in the movie and at a geeky premiere, he'd fit in.

"You find anything?" Ray asked her, also dressed up. His costume looked more medieval, but it was still in line with the film's lore. Even dressed as a nerd, he looked hot.

"Yeah, we found a great pic---" The girls turned around and burst out laughing at how they looked. It was pretty funny to see them fully geeked out.

"What's funny?" Henry asked Ray, he thought their costumes were good.

"All right," Ray said with a bored tone.

"Seriously? You're gonna make fun of us?" Henry looked at the two girls, who were holding their stomachs from laughing so hard.

"Knock it off. Come on. Enough." Ray said to them, feeling uncomfortable that his crush found him hilarious in the dork costume.

"Ok, ok." The woman and the younger girl breathed in deeply to calm themselves down.

"So, you're a skynaught?" Charlotte asked Henry, having seen every Galaxy Wars movie, she knew every character.

"A red skynaught." Henry lifted his mask so he could speak clearly.

"And I'm Duke Starjacker." Ray said and (y/n) admired how accurate the costume was.

"I can't believe you chose my favourite character. You even got the gold necklace right." She smiled at him and suddenly, the costume didn't seem so bad to him. Charlotte, though, found their lack of knowledge of the film amusing.

"Yeah, yeah. You won't be laughing when we catch The Spoiler." Henry snarked at her.

"Oh, right, about The Spoiler. Here's a new pic of him from a month ago." Charlotte brought up an image on the monitor and showed a cocky-looking teen's mugshot. Ray and (y/n) took a photo of the boy's face so they knew who they were looking for.

"Got it." He said.

"Hey, and you're going to take Piper to the movie tonight?" Henry asked (y/n) as she looked up from her phone.

"Yeah, I got an extra ticket from one of my nerd friends. I'll even buy her popcorn." She smiled at the boy and checked her watch.

"Oh, it's nearly eleven, we should go pick her up, Char." She said to the girl, and they both grabbed their purses.

"Okay. We'll see you at the monoplex." Henry said to them.

"Yep," Charlotte replied and they walked to the elevator.

"Bye!" (y/n) waved as the doors slid shut and Ray turned to look at her from the auto-snacker.

"Stay safe!" He shouted. He ordered some popcorn from the machine and poured it into the satchel on his costume. 

"Uh...what you doing with that popcorn?" Henry asked him in confusion.

"Putting it in my adventure sack," Ray told him and closed the bag.

"Y'know they sell popcorn at the movie theatre." His sidekick said to him, wondering why wouldn't just buy it when they got there.

"Yeah, for like a billion dollars," Ray replied, thinking he was a genius. 

"Okay, let's go, corn smuggler," Henry said as they walked to the tubes together. Ray tucked his gold cloaked behind his back as the tube came down and Henry brought his mask back down.

"Up the tube." His filtered voice said, and they shot up the tube. Sadly though, the suction caused all of Ray's popcorn to fall out of his sack.

"No, my popcorn!" He cried.

"Ha! Your sack has a hole in it." Henry laughed at him. Looks like he'd have to buy some at the cinema after all.

~Swellview Monoplex~

(y/n) led Charlotte and Piper into the movie theatre and stopped at a food kiosk.

"Hey, Piper, do you want some popcorn?" She smiled at the little girl and pulled her credit card out. Even if she didn't, the young woman definitely wanted some of the sweet, corn snack.

"Yes, please. Can I have a soda too?" Piper asked her in a polite voice. She was too excited to see if Captain Man was here to be her usual rude self.

"Sure. Char, do you want anything?" The woman joined the queue and looked at the teen.

"Just a soda for me please." (y/n) nodded and ordered two large popcorns and three large sodas, quickly paying for them so they could get to the movie room. She spotted Ray and Henry walking through the doors and nudged Charlotte, who also saw them giving their tickets to the man at the entrance. 

"Can I go to the bathroom?" Piper tugged her sleeve, not realising that the two other girls wanted to meet up with Henry and Ray.

"Sure, sweetie. Take your popcorn and drink. Do you mind going with her, Charlotte?" The woman jerked her head and winked at the two males to give the dark-haired girl a hint. Luckily, she picked it up.

"Yeah, sure. You go get some seats." Charlotte gave her the chance to get away and walked off to the toilets with Piper. Once they had disappeared into the crowd, (y/n) made her way over to the two disguised superheroes.

"Hey! You made it!" She greeted them and they smiled when they saw her.

"Where are Piper and Charlotte?" Henry asked some concern in his voice for his little sister. 

"Bathroom, I told them I'd meet them in there." The woman pointed to the room where the movie was being shown.

"Let's go then," Ray said, guiding her in with a hand in the small of her back.

The viewing room was filled with animated chatter from countless Galaxy Wars fans, some dressed as their favourite characters.

"You see The Spoiler?" Ray asked them both, all three pairs of eyes scanning the rows.

"No, not yet," Henry said, as an overenthusiastic dork came down the steps and spoke to them, 

"Red Skynaught. You are the sworn enemy of Mento." The teenager spoke, confusing the two males, but since she'd watched all the movies with Charlotte, (y/n) got his references.

"Sorry. We don't speak nerd." Henry said to the boy.

"He's talking about the war between the warriors of Mento and the Red Skynaughts in the Years of the Ethereal Light." (y/n) explained and the nerdy boy smiled at her knowledge. Her friends, however, just looked at her with confusion.

"Tranya! You have insulted my tribe and the fair maiden in your company! Now taste the Tassel of Tinklon and I shall claim her for my people!" The dork slapped Henry across the face with his 'tassel', as Ray put (y/n)'s hand into his. No nerd was 'claiming' her on his watch. The fake weapon in his hand didn't really hurt Henry, it just really annoyed him.

Henry grabbed the boy's glow bat and broke it over his knee. He handed the two pieces back to the teary-eyed boy.

"Why'd you do that? Mom! A kid just broke my glow bat!" The teenager ran back to his mother on one of the back rows.

"How about those two seats right there?" Ray said to Henry, pointing to the seats.

"Cool." Henry agreed and (y/n) let go of Ray's hand to wait by the doors.

"I need to wait for Charlotte and Piper, you two go ahead." She smiled at them, but Ray didn't want to leave her. Henry shoved him up the stairs.

"Dude, she's a grown woman and we can see her from our seats." He hissed into the older man's ear.

"Ugh!" Ray groaned but carried on walking until Henry spotted the mean girl who had been bullying Piper.

"Hey, hey. See that girl over there?" Henry subtly pointed at the girl in the pink shirt.

"Mm-hmm, the one wearing the me button?" Ray asked when he saw the girl's page with his face on it.

"Yeah. That's the president of our fan club, the Man Fans. She's the one who's being really mean to my sister." The boy explained the backstory to his boss.

"Wow." Ray breathed out.

"What?" Henry looked at him in confusion.

"Her button. That's a fantastic picture of me--" Ray said, his ego showing.

"Oh, let's just sit down." Henry pushed him into their seats.

Charlotte and Piper walked in and met up with the woman who was looking after her.

"Hey, everything okay?" (y/n) smiled at them. Charlotte saw where Ray and Henry were sat and nodded, both at her words and at them.

"Um, where do you wanna sit?" Charlotte asked Piper, wanting to keep the temperamental girl happy, but she just gasped and started to jump in excitement when she saw the girl on the back row.

"What?" (y/n) asked, wondering what had gotten her so excited.

"That's Paula Macchiato." Piper cried, and ran up the stairs to where the girl was sat.

"Hi, Paula." She said happily, thinking that the president of the Man Fans would also be happy to see her. However, Paula lolled her head into the headrest and rolled her eyes.

"'Sup, Paula?" Piper reiterated her greeting when the girl ignored her.

"Until you get a selfie with Captain Man, don't talk to me, don't look at me, and don't even think about sitting with us." She yelled at Piper who looked like she was gonna cry. Henry, Charlotte and (y/n) looked on in sympathy and anger at how horrible the girl was. Not even Piper deserved to be spoken to like that. 

"Okay, sorry." Piper sadly plodded back down the steps to where the two girls were waiting for her.

"Hold my popcorn, Charlotte, I'm gonna go say something to that brat." (y/n) said and rolled up her sleeves with a huff.

"Shhh. Don't upset her, please. I need her to like me." Piper stopped her from going anywhere.

"Okay, but if she looks at me, I'm gonna give her one of these," Charlotte said to Piper and pulled an angry face at the girl at the back.

"And I'm going to give her this." (y/n) went to stick up her middle finger, but Charlotte held her hand down before Paula could notice or Piper could tell what she was doing. She let out a sigh and took the younger girls to some free seats before she could swear in front of more children.

"Hey, I want popcorn," Ray whined to Henry as he watched (y/n) and Charlotte sat down with his sidekick's sister.

"There's none left in your adventure sack?" Henry asked him, still looking through the crowd.

"You know there's not! Be right back." The large man snapped, knowing that Henry was teasing him. He stood up to go to the foyer and grab a box.

"Keep an eye out for The Spoiler." The boy reminded him.

"You too." Ray left him and walked down the steps next to their seats. He had only been gone a minute when a man emerged from the crowd and started to speak.

"Uhhhh. Excuse me! Hey, people, listen up!" He shouted to everyone, and everyone fell silent. Henry looked at him in suspicion as he knew The Spoiler had made himself known.

"It's The Spoiler!" Charlotte cried and pointed to him, sending the room into a panic.

"He's going to ruin everything!" The dorky boy from before shouted from the back. 

"I got some information about the movie!" The Spoiler addressed the crowd.

"Ray?" Henry needed his friend with him at a time like this. If only he hadn't been thinking of his stomach. He got up from his seat and ran to go find him at the popcorn kiosk.

"So, get this..."The Spoiler started, but (y/n) was quicker than him.

"Quick, everyone do this! La, la, la, la, la." She told everyone with her fingers in her ears to block out what he was saying. Everyone copied her actions, and the noise they made together meant they couldn't hear what the cocky teenager was saying.

"No, don't do that! Hear me! Hear me!" The Spoiler shouted, agitated that the crowd had some power over him. 

Henry walked back into the room as Kid Danger, ready to fight the guy who was a menace to everyone in Swellview. 

"Hey, you!" He shouted.

"What?" The Spoiler wasn't scared of some sidekick.

"Shut up!" Henry told him, as Piper noticed the new presence in the room.

"It's Kid Danger!" She yelled in happiness, as Charlotte and (y/n) breathed a sigh of relief that The Spoiler was about to meet his match.

"Oh my god, we love you, Kid Danger!" She yelled and grabbed onto her companions' arms as Henry stalked towards The Spoiler.

"Spoiler alert, I'm about to spoil you." Henry sassed the dude.

"Yes! That was the perfect quip!" Piper said fangirling over the boy she didn't know was her brother. 

"Get outta here!" The Spoiler hissed at Henry and shoved him back onto the floor. The crowd 'oooh'd at the attack. Kid Danger got back to his feet and tackled the other teen to the floor. The crowd cheered and clapped as the two brawled and Henry got a few punches to the guy's stomach. However, the older teen was stronger and he managed to twist Henry's arm until he was pinned on the floor. The audience was in horror as the sidekick struggled against the criminal. 

"Maybe I'll just break your arm and ruin the movie for everyone." The Spoiler said as he held Kid Danger's arm over his knee and gripped his throat harshly. Sensing the gravity of the situation, Piper ran from her seat, stealing a glow bat on her way down the stairs.

"Get your hands off Kid Danger!" She yelled at the thug and began whacking as hard as she could on the man's back. He fell to the floor in pain, letting go of Henry, but she carried on her attack. The crowd applauded her brave actions, especially Charlotte and (y/n). It seemed that courage and selflessness ran in the family, even if Piper rarely showed it.

Ray ran in as Captain Man to see his sidekick on the floor, wide-eyed at how viciously his sister was hitting The Spoiler. 

"It's Captain Man!" The nerd boy said, and the crowd cheered even louder. Ray helped Henry up and lifted Piper away from The Spoiler. 

"Calm down." He told her, but she went back to hitting the teen on the floor, making him pick her up again.

"Go, Piper!" Charlotte yelled as she clapped.

"Hit the crap outta him!" (y/n) joined in, loving the way the child was taking down a criminal for Captain Man. Having gotten Piper to calm down, Ray picked the teenager up by the scruff of his neck.

"Well, The Spoiler...I'm about to spoil..." Ray lifted his fist to punch the guy.

"I already quipped that." Henry chipped in, so Ray just chucked the guy to the awaiting cops instead.

"Kid Danger, can I have a hug?" Piper asked, but Henry freaked out at the idea. He couldn't get close enough to his sister that she recognised him.

"Uhhh, not right now, I need to go stand over there." He excused himself in a fake voice, so Piper turned to Captain Man instead. However, Paula Macchiato wasn't about to be outshone by her rival.

"Move!" The president ran down the steps and pushed Piper into the free seats at the front. (y/n) and Charlotte frowned and crossed their arms at the girl's spiteful actions.

"Captain Man, I'm Paula Macchiato, the president of your fan club, the Man Fans. I'm awesome." She said, which made Ray briefly look up at (y/n) who was pointing at her and mouthing the word 'bitch'. 

"Yeah, I heard about you." He said, whilst also looking at Henry who shook his head at the girl.

"What's your name, little girl?" Ray asked Piper, knowing he had to be nice to her and not Paula.

"Piper Hart. Remember? One time you shot an alien off my face with Exterminator Phalange?" Piper said to jog his memory.

"Oh yeah. Well, Piper Hart, you showed extreme bravery by using this glow bat to beat The Spoiler nearly half to death." The superhero praised her.

"Thanks. I loved it!" She said in jubilation, as Paula Macchiato frowned next to her.

"And you...you just sat there, like a pile of nothing." He said to the brat.

"But, I was going to do something." Paula whinged. 

"Wahh. But I was gonna do something. Wahh. That's how you sound." Piper spat the words the girl had said to her earlier on back at Paula. The crowd laughed at her joke and Henry looked on proudly.

"And now, I, Captain Man, declare you, Piper Hart, the new president of the Man Fans." He told Piper, which the Man Fan members in the crowd loved to hear. Paula, however, did not. Walking forward in front of Ray, she punched him as hard as she could in his stomach, however, the girl's measly strength meant that it was more of a tickle. (y/n) snorted at her pathetic attempt.

"I'm okay," Ray said his catchphrase sarcastically, and Paula just stormed off in anger. 

"Now, what do you say we all watch Galaxy Wars 9?" Captain Man shouted at the cheering crowd, as Piper ran back to where Charlotte and (y/n) were waiting for her.

"Wait, wait!" The geek said, quieting everyone down.

"As guardian of the Throne of Krandor, I challenge both Captain Man and Kid Danger to the duel--" The two superheroes didn't want to hear anymore nerd-talk from the boy, so they just stunned him with their lasers. They began to walk back to their seats when Ray spotted that a woman had a carton of popcorn.

"Hey, what's that?" He pointed at something on the wall and took her box when she wasn't looking and rushed to join Henry, where they could enjoy the movie together. 

~After the movie~

"Oh man, that was so good!" (y/n) said to Ray, Henry and Charlotte as they drove home from the movie. Piper was asleep on the back seat, so they were driving her home as quickly as they could.

"I know! Especially when Duke Starjacker blew up the space station!" Charlotte quietly geeked out with her. Ray and Henry liked the movie, it was good enough to satisfy their love for them, but for two fans of Galaxy Wars like the girls, it was out of this world.

"Aren't you glad you chose to be the best character now?" (y/n) poked Ray's cheek in her teasing. He smiled at her quickly but looked back to the road again.

"Yeah, yeah. It was a good costume." He said to keep her happy. They pulled up to the sidewalk outside Henry's house and Henry and Charlotte gently picked up Piper, him holding her head, and her taking her legs. The boy had transformed out of his super-suit after they left the movie theatre, meaning he could sneak back into his house and if his parents were awake, he wouldn't have to answer any hard questions. 

"Ok, I can walk back to my house from here guys," Charlotte whispered to them through the Man Van's open window.

"Okay Char, have a good night," Ray said, and (y/n) waved to her as he pressed down on the gas and they drove off. The woman leaned back into her seat, the long and exciting night making her feel sleepy. The heater made her feel even drowsier, so she closed her eyes and leaned her cheek against the window.

"You getting tired on me?" Ray spoke up, noticing down she had fallen silent. 

"Mm-hmm." She gave a small nod, and the man smiled at her. She was adorable when she got tired, as she clung to him and instinctively sort out his warm body. He knew that they were about fifteen minutes away from the Man Cave, enough time for her to doze.

"Sleep tight, princess. I'll be here when we get home." He put a hand on her knee and she fell into her dreams, imagining Ray as Duke Starjacker and her as a warrior of Mento fighting the galaxy side by side, her love for him burning as bright as the twin suns of Krandor.

[queen-of-deans-booty]

Slumber Party: Part Two

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~1.9k

Warnings: canon angst and violence

Summary: Dorothy and the Wicked Witch of the West making an appearance, Charlie coming to visit, and Castiel getting used to being human, oh my! Ding Dong, the witch is dead!

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Supernatural. All credit goes to their respective owners. Any and all comments on these are appreciated.

x

It's not long until Charlie shows up, and she walks inside the Bunker with a wide smile on her face. Maryann has been put down for a nap, and Joanna is content with playing with Zeus in her room.

"Hey, I'm having a birthday party for Joanna tonight. You're coming, right?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she beams.

"Thank you for coming," Sam says.

"Not a problem, especially since I got fired last week."

"What happened?"

"It turns out the company I work for was outsourcing to child labor, so I took a big Wikileak all over that. It's cool, though. It's given me more time to focus on my hobbies like LARPing, macrame, and hunting."

"Excuse me?" Sam and Dean say at the same time.

"You didn't know? I thought Y/N would have told you."

"You knew about this?" Dean asks you.

"I might have," you wince. "I knew how you'd react, but she's been really good about it. She's being safe."

"Yeah. Plus, it was just a couple of little cases. I took down a teenage vampire and a ghost, which sounds like a Y.A. novel if you say it out loud."

"How did it go?" Sam asks, still concerned.

"It was... intense. I wish hunting was more magical, you know?" Sam and Dean look confused, and she moves on. "Never mind. So, where is this Commodore 64 of yours?"

Sam escorts her back to the command center with the big computer, and she gasps in amazement. She rushes over to the computer and begins messing with it to see if she can try and figure it out.

"Sweet Ada Lovelace. This thing belongs in a museum. I mean, it's got encryption software. It seems to be powered by something magical. It's kind of an alarm system. Maybe for global badness? This computer is what locked this place down."

"Can we use it to track angels?"

"Let me see what I can do." Charlie is a master at technology, so she hooks up all kinds of wires and switches that are hooked up to her laptop. "Alright. It took some doing, but now we can download it. This beast has all the Men of Letters files."

"It's a start. Thank you, Charlie. This is great."

Sam and Dean look at each other, and it's clear they want to ask her something.

"So, you've been hunting... alone?"

"I know," she sighs. "Not a good idea, according to the 'Supernatural' books."

"You really can't delete those from the Internet?" Sam asks, annoyed.

"Not even I can do that."

"Where do you even find them?"

"A top-secret place I call Amazon," she says with a cheeky grin. "Someone uploaded all the unpublished works. I thought it was fanfic at first, but it was clearly Edlund's work."

"Who uploaded it?"

"I don't know. Their screen name was beckywinchester176. Ring a bell?"

You can't help but let out a loud cackle. Sam gives you the biggest bitch face, but you can't help but continue to laugh.

"Remember when you got married to her?" you giggle.

"Keep it up, Y/N," Sam nods in annoyance.

Charlie types on her laptop only to huff out in frustration

"Ugh, these files are encrypted. This is gonna take a while. So, takeout, sleepover, and braid each other's hair?"

"I have an idea," Sam smiles.

Since Dean got Game of Thrones for Sam, Dean thought it would be best to watch some of that with Charlie since she is an avid watcher. Sam grabs some books and files regarding what might be on that computer and sits next to the bed to read while Dean and Charlie watch their show. You're sitting at the head of the bed on your own laptop, looking at decorations for Joanna's birthday party. You need to grab stuff with same-day shipping so it'll be here before the end of the day.

Dean and Charlie watch three episodes before deciding that it's a good time for a break.

"Wow. That Joffrey's a dick," Dean scoffs.

"Oh, you have no idea. Wait until he--"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Sam stutters. "Spoilers! I haven't read all the books yet."

"You're reading the books?"

"Yes, Dean, I like to read books. You know, the one without pictures?"

Dean rolls his eyes, and Charlie shifts on the bed a few times to get a feel of the mattress.

"Man, this bed is about as comfortable as a brick. Any plans on moving in anytime soon?"

"I am moved in. This is just my style."

"Yeah, this is his style," Dean rolls his eyes.

"I'm sorry I haven't hung up the 'Hang in there, kitty' poster yet, Dean. Feel free to redecorate."

"So, what, our home's not good enough for the 'Hang in there, kitty' poster?"

"This isn't our home. This is where we work."

"You bet your ass this is our home," you snap at him. "This is the place where we're going to raise our kids. There is nowhere I'd rather be, so you better get used to living here. This is your home because we're going to make it our home. Am I making myself clear?"

"Okay," Charlie clears her throat and stands up. "We should all take a breather."

"I'm gonna go get us some more beers. How about that?" Dean says and leaves the room immediately.

"So, Charlie, what was that about how hunting isn't magical?" Sam asks.

"Saving people, hunting things, the family business, right? I am down, but I was raised on Tolkien, man. I mean, where is all this?" She holds up the Game of Thrones disc. "Where are my White Walkers and my volcano and magic ring to throw in the damn thing? Where's my quest?"

"Magic quests suck. Trust me," Sam sighs.

"I'm pretty magical myself," you say. "I can give you magical quests if you want."

"The download should be done by now."

You three meet Dean in the kitchen, and the four of you head down to the command center to check on the computer. As soon as you enter, you notice the shelving units have moved, and no one was down here to do that.

"What the hell?" you say.

You walk close and see some sort of gray stuff on the wall behind the shelving units. Sam and Dean move them out of the way to reveal two gray pods on the wall. Sam pulls his gun out while Dean pulls out his knife. He cuts part of the way through one pod, and an arm falls out. Charlie yelps out and you put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Dean cuts the rest of the way, and a woman falls out of it and onto the ground.

You're not sure what to make of this. Who the hell is this woman? She's only out for ten minutes, and when she comes to, everything starts to make sense. Her name is Dorothy, like from The Wizard of Oz. Sam found her file pretty easily, and as he was reading it, Dorothy started to explain why she was there and what was going on.

The Wicked Witch of the West was destroying Oz so badly that she was sent to your world as punishment. In turn, that also sent Dorothy here to kill her, but they both ended up being stuck in "cryosleep", which is what those gray pods are. The other pod is sliced open, so the witch is somewhere in the Bunker looking for whatever she needs to return home.

You conjure up a big ball of magic and shoot it out of the room knowing it will be sent to your kids' rooms. Their rooms will be spelled so that the witch won't be able to get in and harm them. When Dorothy sees you using magic, she becomes very afraid of you.

"Whoa, calm down. I'm not a bad witch," you quickly say. "Think of me as Glinda, the good witch."

That seems to ease her fear.

"Holy shit!" Charlie gasps as she reads her file. "The first case investigated in this bunker involved Dorothy. She and the witch came into this room, and they never came out. This will never stop blowing my mind!"

"Okay, pace yourself, Toto," Dean rolls his eyes.

"Oz is real. It's part of the fairy world," Dorothy says. "We have to find her."

"No, we have to talk before anyone does anything, okay?"

"Talk? Typical Men of Letters, standing around, and having a nice, little chat with your noses buried in your books while your little secretary takes notes," she scoffs and stands up.

"We're hunters."

"Who are you calling a secretary?" Charlie scoffs.

"You're not a secretary? You're a Woman of Letters? How long have I been out?"

"That's why we need to talk. You've been 'out' for over seventy-five years. Now, according to our files, you came here to kill the wicked witch and then disappeared. What happened?"

"We couldn't find a way to kill her, so I did the only thing that I could. A binding spell that came at a price--her soul with mine. I've been frozen with the witch all this time. She can't be killed, and if I'm awake, then so is she."

"Wait, if she's here, why didn't she kill you?" Sam wonders.

"She can't."

"You're protected by the Witch of the North's kiss. It's from the books," Charlie says.

"Forget the books," Dorothy rolls her eyes. "They're not important. I'm protected. You four aren't, and neither are the kids you're trying to protect. Now, the witch came here looking for something. I have no idea what it is, but we have to find her before she finds it."

"Don't worry about my kids. Let me worry about them," you say and cross your arms.

You're not worried about your kids getting hurt because you've spelled the room. Not even the strongest magic can penetrate because you will it so. The only thing that can overpower it is you, and that's a fact.

"Alright," Dean raises his hands, "Charlie, dig into the files. See if you can find anything that puts a dent in a witch. Sam, Y/N, and I will have a look-see."

"I'll stay with Charlie. She might need some help," you offer, and Dean nods.

"I'm helping you," Dorothy demands.

"I don't doubt it. For right now, why don't you rest up and help the smartest person in the room?" Sam says and points to Charlie.

The brothers leave you three alone, and Charlie looks at Dorothy with a shy smile.

"So... big fan. Ozma of Oz--"

"Is a total ass," Dorothy cuts her off.

"You were much nicer in the books," Charlie pouts.

"Those books are the ravings of a sad, old man who is also my father."

"Wait, your dad was L. Frank Baum?" you ask in interest.

"A Man of Letters. Another glorified librarian if you ask me."

"Hey, these guys may have been sexist, but like all librarians, they were wicked smart, too. The dude who was here when you first came in, Haggerty, kept your case file open and worked it every day until he retired. Obviously, he never found you, but if you took five seconds to read, he did find a way to fight the Wicked Witch. Do you remember the poppy fields in the first book?"

"That's not actually how it happened. It was much bloodier."

"Stop ruining my childhood," Charlie groans. "Do you remember the poppies?" Dorothy nods twice. "Haggerty made a deal with a fairy and got some poppy extract. I'm gonna get some bullets from the gun range and make some poppy bullets. So, are you coming or what?"

Charlie leaves without waiting for an answer, and you and Dorothy follow her to the gun range. When you get there, you three work hard in making the bullets. Charlie finishes with one gun and hands it to you, but you push her hand away with a chuckle.

"Sweetheart, I am the gun. You need it more than me."

"Right," she chuckles.

There are four guns with poppy bullets made, and three bullets for each gun since there weren't a lot of poppies, to begin with. Once you have all four guns, you set out to find the brothers.

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[dia-souls]

🥀 Subayui fanfic 🥀

Pairing: Subaru🗡️ and Yui 🌸

Author: Admin Ava

Genre: Sweet themes, Funny, Happy ending

Chapter: 4

🥀 Gothic Soirée 🥀

Subaru yawned as he woke up from his nap. As he was rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes, he begin to see everyone starting to pile out and heading toward the lunch room. He had no use for food and didn’t need to when a cup would be enough to save him. Even if it only was for a little while. Speaking of blood, Subaru’s mind once again gravitated towards a certain blonde that has been encompassing his thoughts since this morning.

Honestly, it was like she lived rent-free in his head. She’d been on his mind since he’d left the rooftop and headed to class. Even while he got shut-eye during class, his dream was centered around her as well. It was a simple dream, the both of them were sitting under a tree near the water; it was windy and kinda cold. He opened his eye and took a peek at her. She had her arms wrapped tightly around her cold body. Her small nose had turned a rosy tint along with her cheeks and fringes. He held out his hand to her and she took it, slowly engulfing her body in his. He wrapped his larger body against her much smaller one and the two cuddled closely until it no longer felt frigid.

Subaru's heart started to thump softly in his chest as he reminisced about the pleasant dream. It was one he didn’t mind waking up from. Especially after thinking about her for the majority of the day. Even with the annoying buzzes of people around him continually talk up the dance. Seriously was that the only important thing going on in their lives that they had to keep talking on and on and on about? Maybe Subaru couldn’t understand because most of his early life was surrounded by going to uncomfortable parleys with his mentally unstable mother.

Those nights would normally end with her having a manic episode which he would try, and miserably fail, to calm her down. He remember the stares of all the participants who silently looked at them. Their faces always pissed him off. “Couldn’t they mind their own damn business?” He would think while trying not to lash out at them as he simultaneously tried to calm down his wailing mother. Those types of parties always left a bad taste in his mouth. Even after all that time that had passed, he still hates those parties with a passion that burns so intensely that even he couldn’t control it sometimes. But, this was different. This time he wasn’t too apprehensive about this event. He had a reason for wanting to willingly this time. He wanted to go with her.

After thinking about it for a bit he knew that she would be excited about this type of thing. He knew her well enough to know that she had been listening to all the gossip by the other students about the event. He also knew that she must be losing her marbles in excitement and was probably daydreaming about it. He couldn’t help but let a chuckle pass through his lips as he thought about her at her desk with her hand on her cheek, drool on her face, and a dorky smile plaster on her cute face. But, suddenly he stops laughing. You see, in his blissful ignorance, he had forgotten an annoying factor or factors that could prohibit him from asking her. His brothers.

He had a feeling that at least one of those fuckers would try to get the drop on him. Especially those damn triples. He also knew that the Mukami’s would most likely be a hindrance as well. “Tch, knowing those bastards…they’ll try to swoop her up before I even get the chance. She’s probably eating lunch right now so I can use this opportunity to ask her before anyone of those jackasses get the chance to!” Subaru mind was made up. Not thinking about how he was gonna ask her, he rushed to the second-year hall in search of the little human. He first went to her classroom, but the teacher said she wasn’t there. He next headed towards the lunch room, but as it may be, she wasn’t there either.

He had decided to check the library since he knows she enjoys going there to relax until lunch is over. But as he turned to the corner to the library, in a very horsed voice, someone had called out to him. “SUBARU!” Subaru immediately looked up to see where the voice was coming from. In his shock, he saw Yui bolting towards him in a fast-paced, stumbling, barely able to hold herself up. Subaru rushed to her and pulled her into his arms.

He couldn’t even get a word out when she said in her horsed voice, “ hide… we must hide…” “Hide? Hide from what?! What happened?! Who the hell did this to you?! Yui grabbed him by the shirt and looked up at him with pleading eyes full of tears. “Subaru please!….we need… to…hide.” Every word that came out of her mouth was worst than the last. And even though he had questions, now was not the time for them. Subaru instantly picked her up and clutch her tightly to his chest. “Hang on as tight as you can!”

Subaru teleported them to a secluded area. An empty classroom that looked like it hadn’t been used for a while. He carefully set down the shaken-up girl. Now that she was settled, it gave him time to see just how disheveled she looked; her neck and legs were covered in purple-blackish bruises, her hair was tangled, covered in dust and drops of blood, her eyes tired but still tense with fear, and her teeth stained with what looked to bee blood. She lay limp as she tried to suck in as much air as she could. Subaru held her steady while she did so. Afterward, when she finally calmed down, Subaru decided he would ask what had happened.

“Oi, You ok now? “ "Yes,… I think so at least." He laid her in his while softly stroking her tangled locks. “What happened to you back there? When I saw you running towards me, looking like this, I was ready to kill someone. Especially when you said we needed to hide. Just who were you hiding from? I bet it was one of my brothers. When I find that miserable bastards I’ll tear him in shreds!”

Yui stayed quiet. Her eyes were still wet with tears, emotion wasn’t even visible. Subaru look at her gloomy expression, he compared it to a child that had done something wrong but was too afraid to tell anyone. It was clear that Yui hadn’t calmed down yet. Her face was racked with guilt. But why should she be guilty? After all, it was Kou who almost killed her. Why should she be the one racked with guilt?

If anything, she should just tell Subaru about what he did. Let him find the sadistic vampire and teach him a lesson for what he did to her! But, while it seems like the best thing to do in this situation. It’s not something that she would do. Was she mad? Yes of course she was angry with Kou and the deranged way he acted. Was she in horrible physical condition? Yes, her body was bruised and windpipes were swollen. Was she still sacred? A little, after Subaru got them to a safer location, she felt a bit safer.

Lastly, did she want to cause animosity between Subaru and his only friend? No, she didn’t, of course, she didn’t want there to be any hatred between the two. She was happy that Subaru had a friend that wasn’t scared of him or treated him differently like his classmates did on a daily bases. But after what Kou did to just a while ago, she wasn’t just going to let that happen! It didn’t matter if she wanted to keep the peace between them. He’s the one who’s started and she is the one who told the truth to Subaru.

Even if it might stint their growing friendship. At this point that wasn’t the problem, The problem was that she almost died because he wouldn’t let go of her throat just she rejected his disgusting, abominable, cruel, and unjust affections. If you can even call them that. So with a conflicted but firm understanding of everything, she looked at Subaru and told him what had transpired 20 minutes ago. “I was in the library, I’d wanted to get some pace before class started a while later. Not even a few minutes, Kou suddenly appeared before me which kind of caught me off, guard.” The mention of his name had Subaru's eyes narrowing with annoyance, but he let her continue.

“I asked him why he was here. He asked me if anyone had asked me to the dance, and I said no. He suggested that I go with him, and his request shocked me so much that I fell out of my chair. After he began to laugh at me I just decided to leave but then he cornered me at the entrance. Told me I was rude for not giving him an answer and that I shouldn’t have walked away. I told him that if he had nothing else better to do than make fun of me after I fell I wasn’t just going to sit there and let him do it. I also told him that my answer was no. However, he didn’t take that rejection too well….He grabbed me by the throat and choked me while hurtling insults in my face over and over again for not saying yes to him. He had his hands wrapped so tightly around my neck that I thought I was going to die. With the last bit of strength, I had I bit his hand and fell to the ground. That’s why my teeth are strained. But before I could even get a breath in he was already walking towards me to make me pay for what I did. Luckily I had a pen in my pocket and stabbed him in his injured hand, which gave me time to escape. I ran down the hall and saw you. That’s why I wanted to get away so Kou wouldn’t have found me. That’s what happened.”

Subaru stayed quiet for a bit. His eyes were covered by his hair, however, Yui notice just how sharp his fangs looked. How his fist clenched, and how silent he was. Yui walked closer to him to get a better look at his face. But when she saw the look in his eyes, it was the first time in a long time that she’d been scared of him. His eyes were deprived of all emotion. His pupils had turned into slits. He looked as if he was barely keeping himself together.

And then, in a deep, dark, cold voice he said,” When I find that jackass…I’ll end his miserable existence piece by FUCKING PIECE! THAT ASSHOLE! WHO THE HELL DOES HE THINK IS HURTING YOU BECAUSE YOU REJECTED HIM?! THERE ARE MILLIONS OF BITCHES WHO WOULD OVE HIS ATTENTION! WHY THE HELL IS HE BOTHERING YOU?!” Subaru was furious! How dare that wanna-be idol to touch her! He wanted to kill him. Mangle up that money-maker face of his until nobody recognized him. And that’s exactly what he was going to do.

Subaru headed towards the door, ready to give the half-breed a piece of his mind. Then, he felt a familiar pair of arms wrap tightly around his waist. It was the arms of the girl who right now he desperately wanted to protect. “Subaru please…don’t go. I understand that you’re furious right now, I am too. But anger won't solve anything and you know that….so please just for now. Please stay with me. I’m still scared of him finding me...I know that he’s probably still angry. So don’t go.” Subaru's narrow eyes looked down at the small girl. Even though he was angry and was inching to make Kou bleed out. He already knew that he couldn’t leave her by herself. It wouldn’t be fair.

He sighed. After calming down a bit, Subaru turned around and grabbed her hand. He took her back to one of the chairs in the old classrooms, sat her down, and hugged her. Yui was taken aback by the 180 mood change but didn't mind it. It felt nice to be near him after the eventful morning she had. The two of them stayed like that for some time. Not one of them said a word, they just hugged each other quietly. After a while, the silence was broken by Subaru. Knowing that this might not be the best time to ask, but also knowing that he may not get a better opportunity than this. With rose tint cheeks, Subaru asked.

”Hey...I know that I sound like an idiot for asking this after what you’ve just been through but…w-would you like to go to the dance with me?”

She stayed quiet. Great, now he knew he fuck up. Why did he even ask her after what just happened 2 hours ago? He was such a-.

“Sure. I’d love to go with you Subaru-kun.” She smiled.

Chapter 4 ended.

To be continued…

[eddydreaming]

Death's Game - Review

Hey there! Today I want to talk about my first kdrama of the year… Death’s Game. It is divided into two parts, but I will discuss it as if it’s only one. In my opinion, it was ridiculous to divide it into two parts, if they wanted to release the first 4 episodes first and a couple of weeks later the rest, then fine, but no need to make it have two parts. Enough complaining, let's get into it.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Episodes: 8

Release dates: December 15 2023 and January 5 2024

Main Cast:

Plot:

“He's perennially unemployed, his ex-girlfriend has moved on, and he's just lost all his life savings to a Bitcoin scam. Burdened by societal pressures, Choi Yi Jae decides to take his own life. Insulted by his flippant attitude towards dying, Death comes to punish him with her game: he must experience death over and over again through 13 other lives. But if he can find a way to survive the imminent death coming for these lives, he gets to live out their lifetime. His life was a bust, but what about the lives of others?”

(Source: mydramalist)

REVIEW - NO SPOILERS

The main reason I started watching this drama was the crazy cast it has. Like, how can it have so many famous actors? Again, it’s crazy. I mean, look at this:

Then, I decided to watch the trailer to know what I was getting myself into, and I thought, once again, that it was crazy.

My first impression of the drama, without even having watched a single episode, was huge, so the second it came out there I was. I wasn’t prepared enough though. 

The first few episodes of the show were hilarious and entertaining. However, as the story progressed, it became more intense, and before I knew it, I had already finished the first 4 episodes. Okay, it’s alright, now I only have to wait a week to watch the other 4, right? Nope, I had to wait until the 5th of January, because someone decided to torture us watchers by making us wait all that time.

The second part of the drama was even better than the first, particularly the last episode. It was the most thought-provoking thing I've watched in a while.

This drama is not for everyone: its main theme is s**cide and d**th. Of course, it can be hard to watch for many people, but the meaning of life that it tries to convey is worth everything. 

REVIEW - SPOILERS

I recommend not to read this part if you haven’t watched the drama yet. I know some people like reading spoilers and that it makes them want to watch something more, but I am gonna give huge spoilers, including the end, that will for sure affect your experience. 

Now, can we talk a little bit more about a specific character? The ML’s mother. She made me suffer A LOT. Her thinking that her son had committed s**cide because of her hurt me greatly. Because of that, the last episode was… wow. I swear I cried for a whole 30 minutes. 

I truly liked how they got to merge all the stories into one, making all the lives Yi Jae had lived linked. It was thrilling, infuriating and sad, those would be the three words that describe it the best.

One of the most shocking parts was the painter assassin’s death, a death planned by Yi Jae himself. It was horrid, and remembering while writing about it right now gives me the chills. I thought it was unplanned, but he had intended to die in such a way just as a plan for his vengeance. That is outstanding from the ML, so anguished when at the beginning seemed like such a fragile and weak person. That part is when we see the most massive change in the ML, a fundamental character development. 

The ending couldn’t have been more perfect, I couldn’t have asked for more really. He decided to live his mother's life, who had planned to s**cide. That way, he survived Death's challenge, and so she gave him another opportunity, an opportunity to get back to his life. He achieved it.

Yi Jae wanted desperately to go back to his life because he could see that the people he had left behind cared for him deeply, and they deserved him to stay alive. The end is with the ML talking with his mother, who had called him right before he jumped from that roof.

¿DO I RECOMMEND WATCHING IT?

Yes, yes and yes once more. It was shocking and I cried a lot, but it was all worth it. It’s been a while since I watched it, but I still recall the intense emotions it evoked.

The content may be too intense for some viewers. However, if you are hesitant and my review has not been enough to persuade you, go and watch the trailer or give the first episode a chance. If it doesn't capture your interest by the end of the first episode, then it may not be to your liking.

[soft-persephone]

Same Page Pt 2

- Again, thank you again to the lovely gif makers and keeping this fandom alive in some type of way and fueling my insanity over this show.

Imagine my surprise when they show up in season two dressed like this!

I mean, Tina has a few specks of navy blue on her dress and he’s wearing like a baby or cerulean blue but that’s too much of a stretch for me…..

My subconscious was screaming and crying, but at this point I didn’t know why.

But then Tina makes this face after he says something about loving her forever and how they are in it together.

This look is unreassuring as fuck!

Doug is stronger than me because if someone made this face at me after I proclaimed my love to them, I would have cried or ate my own shirt.

He’s either really strong or super dense, after season two I am in favor of dense. He gets so rapped up in his own shit, that he starts taking Tina for granted.

I’m not gonna lie, I was so wrapped up in this idea of them always matching. That in this episode I took her wearing yellow and him this pinkish color as them dressed up in sunset colors.

I wanted them to match so bad, I forced commections that were not there at all. I can see that now.

But I believe this is a sign! It is a subtle sign about where they are in their relationship.

The more different their clothes got, the more scared I became and the more each fight started to hurt. Because it was building up to something. It was building up to how the writers wanted to end it, but my brain was ignoring all the signs and compared to season 1, their wardrobe was the first sign.

Another instance of yellow and him wearing some other color.

My heart of hearts wants to believe it’s them dressed like a sunset. Because that’s very cozy and sunsets make everything romantic and sweet just like this little moment.

And the hair kinda matches too!

This scene gave me so much hope.

And the writers then decided to crush what little hope I had left in episode 7&8.

In this scene she’s wearing this deep red/wine color and he’s wearing a long brown coat with a fur color.

- how different could that be! And then there was a fight on top of that!

My little heart couldn’t handle it.

I had to physically not think about this fight or I’d get emotional. It was too sudden and too much to fast. Tina just found out about the ring and all of that and then getting this right after just makes me so sad!

And then the end of episode 8 made me so physically sick. I wanted to throw up!

I can barely think about it now.

Tina is strong and she’s over it! Even though they had that final conversation and she almost cried. She ended up with he rest of the “Minx Family” as they took their final stand and said their last Fuck You!

Me?

I don’t call myself softie for no reason.

I was such a mess! I’m literally just now over it! It’s the only reason I was able to make this post and not get over ally emotional.

Did that one joke about Doug Letting Constance take him away if she was three years older make me laugh? Did it make me in a joking way think about it?

Yeah….

I really thought, if Tina didn’t exist, him and Constance would be kinda fun. They had a fun dynamic.

But seeing it made me want to rip my own heart out.

My soul left my body and I was feeling that weird emotion where you don’t wanna cry but your just feeling so intensely disturbed.

It’s like a morbid bastardization of grief and fear.

Anyway……..if you made it this far, your just as insane as I am and we are in this together!

We gotta have each others back. Because if season three happens I know Tina and Doug can not get back together.

But if this show does that funny subverting expectation thing it does? I might be okay, but they wouldn’t be able to just get back together like nothing happened.

But for some reason, I don’t think that’s happening.

I think the show wants to break them up for good.

I will need emotional support and for someone to hold my hand the entire time because I think this hypothetical season three plot that only exists in my head right now, will break me.

I could barely handle this break up in season 2, but if it gets worse then this I might sob….

[roxiefandoggo]

Alright. Amphibia’s ending. Time to vent.

Today, this wild tale of friendship, adventure, mystery and growth...is coming to a close. I've summed up my general feelings about the whole show here. It's lengthy, but it was really helpful for me to write this down and just reflect. 

From day one, this lil' frog show caught my interest. I remember the first thing I ever saw related to it was this promotional poster, of a little pink frog running a teenage schoolgirl through a sparkling forest by the hand, and I found it adorable.

I remember watching the Disney Fan Fest event one morning on Disney Channel, where Matt Braly and Brenda Song came up and revealed concept art, gave a little frog trivia quiz, and showed a sneak peek of the first episode. I was intrigued. This idea was cute and unique, and I was excited to see it.

That summer, season one came along. Not gonna lie, I found some of it a little weird at first (and I don't like super dark humor like it had on occasion), but I absolutely LOVED what I saw. It was funny. It was charming. It was smart. The creativity in the character designs and worldbuilding and story was INSANE. The score done by TJ Hill was drop-dead gorgeous. 

I loved how they started off with no context, stirring up new questions for me to ponder with every new detail revealed: "Who are these other girls in the picture?" "Who's that old salamander woman with the glowy eyes?" "Why's the music box so dangerous?" "Did Anne's eyes just flash blue in this frame...?"

Ah, everything was so simple back in that season...

Then season TWO came along, and then MORE mystery, more characters, and more development came into play, and I think this was my favorite season. Anne's relationship with the Plantars grew, we got more lore with the Core and the music box and Newtopia, we got to meet Yunan and Andrias and Olivia---and of COURSE the show was nearly STOLEN by beloved M A R C Y  W U (whom I believe most of us adopted into our hearts the MOMENT we heard her speak). 

And then True Colors...OH BOY...

That's when things started getting REAL.

Never---NEVER---have I found a Disney Channel show before that could give me such intense emotions as Amphibia can, ESPECIALLY with True Colors. With TJ Hill's music, the stellar directing, the stunning animation, and the shock of what all happened in the episode combined, I was an emotional wreck. The cast and crew already did a great job with the ordinary episodes that weren't specials, but they did NOT hold back in their performance for the season two finale. 

And THEN we got All In, and now I can't decide whether that or True Colors was the bigger emotional rollercoaster, but for real---these people are so good at what they do and I applaud them wholeheartedly. 

I don't have all that much to say about Season Three, but it is no less enjoyable than the last two seasons. The look at Anne's life in her own world was just what I needed to connect with her even more. I loved seeing Matt put some of his own life into this show as well (Anne's mom is voiced by Matt's mom and that makes me sob). 

Of course, we GOTTA talk about the most prominent message of Amphibia, which is friendship!

First off, Anne and Sprig, guys. Back in season one when I barely even KNEW them, their friendship made me cry like a baby, and it was beautiful to see it develop over time. It just warms my heart to see how close they've gotten and how strong their bond is.

Second, The Calamity Trio's little friend triangle is so, so complex! It's just a few teens vibing like teen friends do, but if you look closely you can see some toxicity that needs to be healed. I love the way Amphibia observes friendships---how they can make you stronger, how they can come from anywhere or from anyone, what can can make or break a healthy bond, e.t.c. It doesn't just portray friendship as "happiness and rainbows and sunshine" like so many other shows do---no, it actually takes the topic SERIOUSLY, and the way it's handled is amazing.

Man, I could go on and on and ON about the genius writing that Amphibia has to offer, and what I love about each of my favorite characters and everything...but that would bog me down and I'd never finish this post. 

By the end of the finale, everything in the story will have fulfilled its purpose, but it still feels so soon for it to end. Amphibia was a crazy, exciting and wonderful ride, and I'm gonna miss it. I'm gonna miss all these characters I've fallen in love with. I'm gonna miss asking questions, watching as new discoveries unfold and puzzle pieces get put together. I'm gonna miss "travelling" with Anne through this new world, watching as she grew stronger both physically and mentally (BTW Anne is a true example of not just a good female lead, but an awesome protagonist in general).

But the end of the day, the last thing I want is for a show to keep going after it's run out of its juice, and you know what? I'm satisfied. I'm satisfied with what I've been given, and I will continue to enjoy this show long after it's over.

He's not reading this but I'll say it anyway: 

Thank you, Matt Braly, for making an impact on my heart with your brilliant storytelling and worldbuilding, your iconic characters, and the inspiration in your life that lead you to create one of the best cartoons I've ever seen. You are extremely talented, and I can't wait to see what you make in the future.

[wikiangela]

https://www.tumblr.com/wikiangela/746311146632511488/am-i-the-only-one-who-didnt-get-any-sort-of-vibe

No not at all. I honestly felt like I was insane last night because everyone seemed to suddenly be omg it’s true love or omg did you see that look or wow the way Buck was eye f’ing tommy! And I was just like……where? Sure the camera framing was there for possibilities going forward if they want. But that one interaction we got between the two I was genuinely just what am I missing?? I’m all for bi Buck. And all for Buddie. Hell I’m even open to seeing something with Buck and Tommy if they decide bi Buck for some reason needs to not happen with just Eddie at first. As a member of the queer community I’m all for as much representation as possible in all medias. But I just… genuinely saw that scene last night as Buck wordlessly saying “Hey man thanks for the help saving some of the most important people in my life” to Tommy and then immediately running after Eddie. Maybe it’ll change next week when we’re actually supposed to see them interacting (and maybe even actually saying words to each other) but just based one the one scene, I too do not understand the degree people are reaching to make it into something bigger. Nor do I get the new narrative of some of them calling people phobic just because people don’t see anything in that scene or if they don’t want Buck and Tommy and would rather just keep it Eddie and Buck.

ngl I never got the whole Tommy thing people have been freaking out over ever since finding out he's coming back (not to mention I have no memory of him from the begins episodes and I had to look him up like three times to remember 🤣) I thought it was a joke at first but I see people being way too intense about this 🤣

like, all this theorizing is getting out of control

imo we don't need him for Buck's realization, and tbh I feel like we don't need Buck to have a realization at all, it would make so much sense if he already knew he's bi 🤣

but if that's what they're gonna do, I'd be fine with that, but like, that 2 second smile was not leading to anything like that 😂

like, fr, that little moment in the episode was literally Buck smiling at him like "thanks for helping us save those people we love so much", there was definitely no vibe 🤣

I saw a gifset of that moment and went into the notes and omg either I'm blind or people are pulling this out of their asses about the tension and Buck being flirty??? where??? are we watching the same show 😂

like, we'll see where they go with Tommy, but so far people are reaching, and arguing, and it's kinda ridiculous 🤣 like, have any theories you want but there's no reason to call people phobic or attacking them bc they disagree jfc 😂

[rax-writes]

More

Fandom:  MCU Pairing:  Baron Helmut Zemo x Reader Warnings:  Sexual intercourse with a female-identifying person with a vagina + a bit of sugar daddy Zemo vibes at the end Notes:  Y’all... don’t judge me. I have a power kink, and Marvel did me dirty by randomly deciding that Zemo is fifthly rich royalty. And my girl @henrysmorgan​ did me even dirtier by actively encouraging my attraction to this fucker. So, blame Marvel, and blame her. // This is kind of really fucking long, and I didn’t edit it much, because I wanted to get it posted before episode 4, in case that episode flips the script. So, potentially some editing issues, and slightly rushed writing. Hopefully it’s alright, but please let me know if I screwed up anywhere. // Lots and lots of TFAWS ep. 3 spoilers

When Bucky texted you to ask that you meet him in some dusty, old, abandoned-looking car garage, you certainly didn’t know what to expect. All you knew was that an old friend needed your help, so you intended to be there.

It had been a few months since you’d last seen him, and even longer since you’d participated in any sort of mission, but you suspected that was what you were walking into. Being exposed to the Mind Stone had granted you the power of telepathy, which meant that SHIELD was quite keen on persuading you to work for them. They trained you in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat, and you went on miscellaneous missions a handful of times. They put in a lot of effort to convince you that it was your moral obligation as an “enhanced individual” to help them with these missions, but you ultimately decided that that simply wasn’t the kind of life you wanted. Instead, after the Blip, you began working a desk job for SHIELD, which is when you crossed paths with Bucky, helping him with paperwork associated with his pardon, and the two of you formed a friendship. But SHIELD kept trying to coerce you to get back into the field, constantly badgering you about it and making it clear that you weren’t wanted if all you were doing was paperwork.

The truth is, you weren’t cut out to be a superhero, and you had no desire to be. It didn’t help that your entire country had been reduced to rubble several years prior, leaving you with a bottomless pit of homelessness in your heart. So, you left SHIELD, and started a life in Berlin, where you were content to live out your days as the owner of a small bakery, residing in the small apartment above your shop.

That is, until Bucky Barnes dragged you into a particularly sticky situation, with a certain Baron Helmut Zemo.

You knew that helping Bucky and Sam would throw a colossal wrench in the life you’d created for yourself in Berlin, but after they explained the situation with the super soldiers, coupled with Bucky’s puppy dog eyes, you found yourself refraining from storming out of the building the second you saw Helmut fucking Zemo.

“We need you to keep an eye on him. You don’t have to tap into his mind 24/7, we just want a heads up if he’s going to screw us over,” Bucky explained.

"Look, we really need him. We’re obviously scraping the bottom of the barrel here, otherwise he'd still be in that cell. And neither of us want to be packing a criminal around like a rich bitch's chihuahua, so we need you here to make sure we're not gonna get bit," Sam explained.

"Fine. But you both owe me," you relented, and they both took sighs of relief. You glanced at Zemo, locking eyes with him for several tense moments. He gave you a polite smile, giving off the impression that he had nothing to hide – which he didn't, as his thoughts showed his intentions were pure at the moment. "We're good for now. He just genuinely wants the opportunity to take down these new super soldiers."

Sam and Bucky nodded, visibly releasing tension from their shoulders as they moved to head out, now reassured that Zemo was truly on their side. Meanwhile, Zemo eyed you with curiosity and awe, murmuring, "Fascinating."

The four of you walked on the landing strip toward a private jet, owned by Zemo.

"So all this time you've been rich?"

"I was a Baron, Sam. My family was royalty before your friends destroyed my country," Zemo explained, before glancing at you with a small smile. "But you knew that already."

"Wait, how did she know that?" Sam asked, then turned to you. "How did you know that?"

"I am Sokovian myself. I was certainly not royalty, but I lived there for my entire life, until it was destroyed," you explained, stopping outside the jet as Zemo greeted the elderly butler, Oeznik, in your native language. It made you smile to yourself; it had been years since you'd heard it spoken. Zemo shot you a grin when he noticed, and when you took a peek into his mind, you saw that he understood exactly how you felt.

As the butler handed Zemo a flute of champagne after you all boarded the jet, the Baron smiled politely as Oeznik stated, “Apologies if that's a little warm. The fridge is out, but I will see if there is some good food in the galley.”

Zemo glanced as you sat across from him, then in Sokovian, Zemo told Oeznik, "Another flute for the lady, please. And if the food does not pass the smell test, give it to the gentlemen."

"It's good to have you back, sir!"

As the man retreated to the cockpit, also in Sokovian, you noted, "You are a mischievous man, even more so than in your infamously criminal ways."

"You will find that there is more to me than meets the eye, angel," he responded coolly, the Sokovian language rolling off his tongue like honey. Before you could respond, admittedly enjoying speaking Sokovian, Sam grew tired of everyone speaking a language he couldn't understand.

"Why don't you tell us about where we're going?"

After a tense exchange between Bucky and Zemo, followed by a discussion about Marvin Gaye, Zemo finally got to the point: Madripoor. You exhaled slowly, resting your forehead in your palm in exasperation.

“You couldn’t have invited me on a mission to Cancun? Or Paris? Why must it be Madripoor?” you asked Bucky, who shot you a tight-lipped, pitying smile, silently apologizing for what he was dragging you into.

“What’s up with Madripoor? You guys talk about it like it’s Skull Island.”

“It’s an island nation in the Indonesian archipelago. It was a pirate sanctuary back in the 1800s,” Bucky explained.

“And upon seeing it, you would see that times there haven’t changed one bit since then,” you added.

“It’s kept its lawless ways. But we cannot exactly walk in as ourselves. James, you will have to become someone you claim is gone,” Zemo said.

You frowned as you caught a glimpse of Bucky’s thoughts as he went silent. Fear. Anxiety. Disdain. Apprehension. You reached across to rest your hand on his shoulder and give it a reassuring squeeze. He shot you a small smile, then looked out the window.

Upon landing in Madripoor, one of Zemo’s contacts met you on the landing strip with a new wardrobe for you, Bucky, and Sam, and Zemo explained that each outfit was per his instruction, carefully chosen to fit the role each of you would be playing in Madripoor. One by one, you took the covered clothes hanger to the bathroom of the jet and changed. Bucky was first, stepping out in some sort of leather number, looking eerily similar to the Winter Soldier you’d seen in photos. Sam was next, donning a three-piece suit of burgundy and gold. He looked sharp, although he was immediately complaining about how ostentatious it was. And finally, you stepped into the room and closed the door behind you, unzipping the covering on the hanger and revealing your “carefully chosen” outfit.

“Ich werde dir im Schlaf die Eier abreißen, Zemo!”

Bucky choked on his water and Zemo chuckled under his breath, while Sam looked between the two in confusion.

“I don’t know what she said, but she sounded pissed,” he observed, eyeing Zemo suspiciously.

“She informed me that she intends to remove my testicles in my sleep.”

“And why is that?”

“Perhaps because he’s chosen to parade me around Madripoor like a cheap whore,” you said angrily, stepping out of the bathroom with your hands on your hips, glaring at Zemo.

“That dress is by Armani Prive, and your shoes are Louboutins – far from ‘cheap.’ And you do not look like a whore, the dress is merely more revealing than what you are used to,” Zemo argued, standing and walking over to survey your outfit. He seemed to be enjoying what he saw, judging from the way his eyes raked up and down your body, but you didn’t dare check his thoughts to confirm or deny it.

If you were honest with yourself, he was right. It was a very nice dress; plum purple, matching the color of Zemo’s turtleneck, with long, fitted sleeves, all of it made of the softest silk you had ever touched. It was fitted at the top but flowy from the hips down, with a low balconette-style neckline, showing more of your chest than you were accustomed to, although you pulled it off quite nicely. It ended just above your knees, which was fine, as you sometimes wore skirts of that length. Overall, the luxury of it and the low-cut neckline ensured that you were out of your comfort zone, but you looked stunning – and expensive, despite your spite-fueled initial claim.

“I thought the color would look nice on you, and I was right. And I knew that the flow of the fabric at the bottom would allow for this,” Zemo said, his hand gingerly trailing from your waist to your thigh, where he pulled up the hem of your dress slightly to reveal the edge of the Glock strapped into your thigh holster. He smirked as his suspicion was confirmed. He knew you’d find a way to arm yourself, regardless of what you wore.

In hindsight, the way Zemo touched your side and lifted your skirt was all far more intimate than you should have allowed, and yet… you couldn’t deny the way your breath caught in your throat when he touched you, or how his close proximity made your body temperature rise, as he gazed down at you with those intense brown eyes.

Christ, you needed to get laid. Soon. Before you further entertained the idea of jumping the bones of a highly wanted criminal.

“Touch me like that again, and I will kill you where you stand,” you informed him sternly, and Zemo immediately took a step backwards, looking apologetic. From the corner of your eye, you saw both Sam and Bucky visibly relax, tension leaving their shoulders. You had read their thoughts briefly, and they were both wondering why the hell you were so calm about getting cozy with Zemo. The absolute last thing you wanted was for them to know that you were, in fact, inexplicably drawn to being that close to the Baron.

As the four of you walked along a bridge in Madripoor, Sam was quick to resume his complaining.

“We have to do something about this. I’m the only one who looks like a pimp.”

“Only an American would assume a fashion-forward Black man looks like a pimp. You look exactly like the man you’re supposed to be playing. The sophisticated, charming African rake named Conrad Mack, aka the Smiling Tiger.”

“He even has a bad nickname,” Sam grumbled, then looked at the phone Zemo handed him. “Hell, he does look like me, though.”

“And who am I supposed to be?” you inquired, glancing down at your clothing to see if you could guess who you were meant to be portraying. An heiress or socialite, perhaps.

“My fiancée,” Zemo answered simply, the faintest smile on his lips.

You barked out a crude laugh, “Oh, I think not.”

“There is no one involved with Madripoor who looks like you. And it is rare that there are newcomers to the island, especially not in the place we’re going. Pretending you are someone random would raise concerns about the intentions of your presence; you would be perceived as a potential threat, which would jeopardize our mission. It is far easier to simply pretend we are engaged, I assure you.”

You hesitated a moment, before arguing, “No one will believe that we are engaged.”

Zemo pulled something from the inside pocket of his jacket, took your left hand, and slipped it onto your ring finger. It was a solitaire diamond ring; not large enough to be gaudy, but enough to catch anyone’s eye.

“They will if you play your part well,” he told you, then addressed the rest of your party when he added, “No matter what happens, we have to stay in character. Our lives depend on it. There is no margin for error.”

The four of you reached a sleek black car, and climbed in, you in the back between Sam and Bucky. The ride to Low Town was tense and silent, as each of you mentally prepared for what lay ahead. When you arrived, Zemo offered you his hand as you exited the car, and the pointed look in his eyes told you that it was time to begin playing your part. You took his hand, and as you began walking into the heart of Low Town, he laced his fingers with yours. As the crowd drew near, Zemo wrapped his arm around your shoulders, gloved fingers brushing against the exposed skin of your shoulder. After reading his mind, you realized that it was both for the sake of protecting you, and showing possessiveness to make it believable that you were his girl – and because he simply enjoyed having your body close, although you suspected that he’d rather you have not known that.

Despite the fact that you had been on a few missions for SHIELD, you were not exactly incapable of fear; you did not possess nerves of steel. All of the missions you’d been on were low-profile, and you were mostly just there for the sake of gathering information from those reluctant to share it. Sure, you’d been in danger before, you’d had to fight your way out of several sticky situations, but this… this was different. You were in the crime capital of the world, a lawless place filled to the brim with crooks, thieves, and murderers. More than likely, any given person around could slit your throat and never bat an eye or give you a second thought. Swallowing your own pride in the face of fear prompted you to return Zemo’s gesture, wrapping your arm around his waist and sticking close to him, which earned a smile from the man.

When you arrived at your destination, Zemo approached the bar and leaned against it confidently on one arm, the other still wrapped firmly around your shoulders.

“Hello, gentleman,” the bartender greeted, before his eyes fell on you. “Who’s your new lady friend, Baron?”

“My fiancée,” Zemo answered, then turned to you and ran his finger along your jawline, as you looked at him in adoration. “Isn’t she lovely?”

“Very,” the bartender acknowledged, then turned to Sam. “Wasn’t expecting you, Smiling Tiger.”

“His plans changed. We have business to do with Selby,” Zemo responded.

The bartender made ‘Smiling Tiger’ his usual drink, which apparently consisted of… something he cut out of a snake, and dropped in a shot glass with a bit of liquor. You shared a look with Bucky before he turned away to survey the room, and when you read his thoughts, you found that you both desperately wanted to laugh out loud at Sam’s ‘short end of the stick’ situation, but didn’t want to risk everyone’s lives for the sake of a chuckle. You returned your attention to Zemo, opting to sell the whole “fiancée” thing a bit more by turning into him and tracing patterns on his chest as you gazed at him affectionately, while the bartender handed you and Zemo each a shot glass of your own – sans snake organs, thankfully. You both downed yours, while Sam understandably struggled a bit more with his, but still managed it.

A random man approached Zemo then, and as Zemo turned to face him, he protectively moved you behind him a bit.

“I got word from on high. You ain’t welcome here.”

“I have no business with the Power Broker, but if he insists, he can either come and talk to me…” Zemo countered, gesturing toward Bucky, who looked menacing as he pretended to be the Winter Soldier. “Or bring Selby for a chat.”

After a weary look in Bucky’s direction, the man walked away, and Zemo turned back around to face the bar, this time keeping you in between him in the bar, in case someone were to come up behind him – which they did a few moments later.

“Winter Soldier… attack,” Zemo commanded in Russian, as a different man came up and laid a hand on Zemo’s shoulder. With a pained look in his eye that quickly shifted to cold determination, Bucky grabbed the man’s hand with his vibranium arm, twisting it as he removed it from Zemo’s shoulder. Zemo took a step away from the bar to allow you room to turn and observe as Bucky beat the absolute shit out of various challengers. Zemo wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you close to him as he noted, “Didn’t take much for him to fall back into form.”

The unmistakable sound of numerous guns cocking drew your attention away from the altercation, and Zemo gently pushed you behind him as he surveyed the room to note all the weapons drawn. Sam grabbed Bucky’s bionic arm to stop him, but Zemo whispered, “Stay in character or the whole bar turns on us.”

“Well done, soldier,” Zemo then said to Bucky in Russian, signaling for the ‘Winter Soldier’ to stop.

“Selby will see you now,” the bartender interjected, and Bucky released his grip on the random man’s throat.

“Thank you,” Zemo responded, walking off to find Selby, grabbing your hand to guide you, but not before you spared a sorrowful glance at Bucky as your friends followed closely behind.

As Zemo took a seat on a couch across from Selby, you sat close to him, crossing your legs gracefully as you leaned into him, your arm wrapped around his as he clasped his hands in his lap authoritatively. You watched his exchange with Selby in silence, as did Sam – and Bucky, of course, considering he was pretending to be the Winter Soldier.

“By the way, I thought you were rotting away in a German prison,” Selby told Zemo, then smiled as she looked you up and down, before her eyes found the diamond ring. “And not engaged – to a woman far out of your league, I might add.”

“People like us always find a way, don’t we?” Zemo answered calmly, then looked over at you, staring into your eyes with warmth and adoration, and you smiled lovingly at him. “My beautiful fiancée was a guard at the prison. We fell in love over the years, and she helped me escape. Anyway, I’m sure you have already figured out what I’m here for.”

The conversation went relatively smoothly after that, until Sam’s goddamn phone rang and screwed the entire operation. In the blink of an eye, Selby was shot dead, you had shot two of the guards with the gun strapped to your thigh, and Sam and Bucky had each knocked out one, before Zemo suggested sneaking out of the bar as best you could, without any weapons. You secured your gun back in its holster, not missing the way Zemo watched as you hiked your dress up to do so, before making a break for it with the three of them.

Once you were on the streets of Madripoor, bounty hunters began to come out of the woodwork, and when they began shooting at you, Zemo abruptly grabbed your hand and ran down a nearby alleyway. As you were running, the heel of your stiletto caught on a grate, and you’d have fallen flat on your face if Zemo hadn’t caught you.

“Are you alright?” he asked hurriedly, his arms wrapped tightly around your waist as he supported you, before standing you back onto your feet. You nodded, and he glanced over your shoulder as he noticed a few men looking down the alley. “Forgive me.”

You were about to ask what he was talking about, but then Zemo abruptly grabbed you by the backs of your thighs and lifted you up, pinned you against the wall behind you, and kissed you.

The men at the end of the alleyway muttered something about “freaks who do it in public,” then their footsteps faded as they walked off, clearly thinking the two of you were some overly horny couple, not two of the people with an insane bounty on their heads. But you were barely paying them any attention, a bit preoccupied with the fact that Zemo was fucking kissing you, and much to your chagrin, you really fucking liked it.

Once there were no more voices and no more footsteps, Zemo broke the kiss and sat you down. The two of you stared at each other for a moment, before you heard more gunshots, and you broke into a run in the direction Bucky and Sam had gone, desperate to find your friends, and no time to process what the hell just happened.

As soon as you caught up with them, the two bounty hunters nearby were shot dead, and the four of you turned to see Sharon Carter emerging from the shadows.

An hour later, you found yourself in her swanky home in High Town, in a change of clothes, since the brick wall Zemo had held you up against ripped the back of your silk dress. You lied to Sam and Bucky, saying that it happened because you fell while running in your heels, and thankfully, they believed you. Sharon commanded the four of you to lay low and enjoy the party, which Sam and Bucky left her living room to go do, entrusting you with ‘Zemo watch.’

It seemed as though he was merely nursing his brandy in lieu of abandoning it for the party prior to finishing it off, but his eyes were on you most of the time. You didn't necessarily believe he could be plotting to overpower you and run off, but there is always that possibility, so you delved into his mind to check.

Expecting to find thoughts of strategy about how to defeat the super soldiers or travel plans, or even plots to escape you, Bucky, and Sam, you were astounded to find nothing but thoughts of you.

The way it felt to kiss you in that alleyway, and how he had monetarily debated just staying there, having his way with you against the brick wall before Sam and Bucky could locate you. The dress from the bar, and how it rested on your thighs, revealing just enough to have his mouth watering without being revealing to the point of immodesty. The way your necklace currently rested against your bare collarbone, and how desperately he craved to litter the area with love bites. The delicate skin of your throat, thinking of how it would look with his hand wrapped around it, just enough to cut off a bit of air but not enough harm you. How alluring your voice is, and how much he'd like to know what it would sound like to hear you scream his name. The softness and warmness of your skin when he had his arm around you in the bar, and when he held your hand as you fled the scene, and he wondered how soft and warm you were elsewhere.

"Your thoughts are filthy."

He bristled immediately, sitting straighter in his seat and eyes going slightly wide, either forgetting you can read minds or not realizing you'd be doing it right then. It only took a moment for him to regain his composure, before he took one long, last drink of his brandy and set the glass on the table in front of him. He turned his whole body to the side to face you, as you sat on the opposite end of the couch, wearing a small, somewhat mischievous smile.

"I suppose there is no sense in denying it, is there?"

"What game are you playing, Zemo?" you snapped. He was rattling you. As much as you hated to admit it, he was. For the entirety of the time you'd been around him, this wanted criminal had been flustering you, and goddammit it, you wanted to know if it was accidental, or for nefarious purposes. He could be using it as a tactic to throw you off your game, so that he could get away when it was just the two of you – like right now.

"There is no game, Liebling," he stated softly and sincerely, sensing your discomfort. Slowly, he scooted closer to you on the couch, so that the arm he had laid across the back of it was now behind you, as he stared intently into your eyes. "Merely the natural response of a man who has been widowed and then locked in a prison cell, and therefore has not known the touch of a woman in many years, sitting next to a woman of absolute ethereal beauty."

You said nothing, merely stared at him, sizing him up to see if he was toying with you or telling the truth. Zemo sensed your lack of belief in his words.

"If you doubt my true intentions, you are welcome to delve as deep into my mind as you'd like to find the truth."

In all honesty, you'd have done that already if you weren't trying to avoid being even more flustered by his thoughts about you – but you couldn't tell him that. So, you did as he bade you, and searched his mind to find any shred of malevolence towards you, but you came out empty-handed. Zemo genuinely just wanted you, craved you, like a starved man sitting in front of an endless buffet. He watched you carefully as you came to this conclusion, and although you said nothing further, he knew that you had found what you needed to know.

"Just say the word, and I will never approach the topic again, as well as attempt to quiet my thoughts about you. But if there is any part of you... deep inside you," Zemo paused, eyes grazing you up and down purposefully, before continuing, "that has any interest in being with me... I will do anything to bring that to fruition."

The ball was in your court now. You could tell him to get bent and never speak to you like this again… or you could get your rocks off, and maybe even get something more in return.

"Such as?"

"Name it, Schätzchen. Anything you want. A car, a mansion, jewels – say it and it's yours, if you will be mine," Zemo proposed earnestly, licking his lips quickly as he looked at you, visibly thrilled that he was getting somewhere with you.

You weren't the type to accept gifts from men you barely know, but… this was Zemo. A man who had done a great many terrible things, which soothed your guilty conscience. So, you said the first thing that came to mind.

"A car," you blurted out, then explained, "Mine broke down a week ago, and it's beyond repair, so… a car."

"Tell me the make and model of your preference and I'll have it delivered to your home within a week's time," Zemo said calmly, then brushed a lock of hair away from your face, before allowing his fingers to trail delicately along your cheek and jawline. "Is that all, Kätzchen?"

"No. One more thing," you replied, then looked at him sternly. "You must agree to never speak of this to Bucky or Sam."

"You have my word," he assured you, smiling in amusement.

"Then I'm yours."

Zemo's smile faded slowly, and he merely stared at you for a split second, before cupping your face in his hands and pulled you into a searing kiss, full of ferocity and sheer desperation. It shouldn't have been this easy, to kiss a man who's done such terrible things – yet here you were, melting into his embrace, allowing him to pull you into his lap and straddle him, your hands resting on his shoulders and gripping the black fabric of his turtleneck. His hands laid flat against your back as he kissed you in this new position, slowly gliding down, down your sides and to your hips. He kissed you in a way that was feverish and fast and hungry, as his fingers dug into your skin, holding you firmly against him as if he were fearful that this was all a dream and you'd disappear at any moment. Upon taking a peek into his mind, you realized that was actually exactly what he was thinking. Additionally, he mentally spoke to you directly, somehow knowing you were reading his thoughts at that moment.

"Tell me if I do anything that you do not like, and know that you have absolute freedom to end this at any given moment."

You pulled away slightly to nod in confirmation that you received his message, before resuming the kiss. Mind hazy and instincts taking over, you found yourself tugging his bottom lip between your teeth, earning a low groan from Zemo. One of his hands darted upwards to grab a fistful of your hair, right against your scalp at the base of your neck, and he pulled on it harshly, causing you to let out a wonton moan. He then laid that hand flat against the back of your neck, holding your lips firmly against his as he kissed you with even more fervor, and the other vacated its position on your hip to slide slowly up your torso, until he began palming your beast through your shirt. You moaned softly against his lips, but not as loudly as a moment ago.

Zemo wanted more, needed more; he longed to hear you loud and desperate. So he delved that hand at your neck back into your hair, gripping it tightly once more, and used it to pull your head backwards a bit, so that he could have better access to your neck. The action itself, and the tightness of his grip, earned an embarrassingly loud moan to escape your lips, and you felt him smile against your skin. He moved his hand to the middle of your back, supporting you as you leaned back a bit to grant him better access. As he littered your neck and décolletage with kisses, you felt him pull the neckline of your blouse down a little, then felt the sharp pain of a bite on your chest, above your breast. When you looked at him with narrowed eyes, he wore a cocky little grin.

"You should not be surprised, Liebling. I know you saw that I've been wanting to do that all day when you read my mind," he noted. "Wear a high neckline tomorrow, it will be fine."

Before you could respond, Zemo pulled you flush against his chest with that hand behind your back, and into another heated kiss. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders, and without thinking, you ground your hips down on the bulge resting against your core beneath your skirt. He groaned, both hands flying to your hips to push them down again, guiding them as you repeated the action. It only took a minute or two of this before Zemo had enough, abruptly grabbing you by the throat and throwing you down onto the couch beside him. He then loomed over you, one hand propping himself up and the other applying slight pressure to your throat, gazing at you with admiration in those searing eyes, pupils blown wide from lust. You looked right back at him, pupils undoubtedly dilated as well, eyes half-lidded, panting a little, and hair a bit of a mess.

"You are an absolute vision," Zemo praised softly, to which you smiled, then he released his grip on your neck to lean down and kiss you again. That only lasted a moment, before he broke the kiss to pull your blouse up and over your head, tossing it carelessly to the side. Your bra joined it shortly after, then he moved to your skirt, fussing with the zipper for a moment, but it seemed to be caught on something, as it wouldn't budge. Before you could interject and state that you'd get the zipper yourself, Zemo ripped the seam apart with his hands, before tearing the article from your body and tossing it like he had with the blouse. A gasp escaped you, but you had no time to think much about his actions, before he was pulling off your panties and bra as well, dropping them somewhere beside the couch.

He was then looming over you again, kissing you breathless as he rested on one elbow while the other hand toyed with your nipple, his knee coming up to rest between your legs as he laid between your body and the back of the couch. You tangled your fingers in Zemo's hair, moaning against his lips as you sought friction against his leg. He smiled softly against your lips, before your hands wandered, finding the hem of his shirt and tugging it off of him. You had just managed to get his belt off before his hand left your breast, trailing downwards across your torso as he moved his knee further away from you, before delving between your hips and expertly locating your clit.

No longer capable of focusing on ridding Zemo of his clothes, your hands gripped his shoulders, and he hissed deliciously as your nails dug into his skin when he began rubbing small, methodical circles on your clit. Small moans fell from your lips as he watched the way your mouth hung open slightly, face relaxed and eyes closed as you enjoyed his work. But again, he wanted more, needed more. Still observing you, he delved his middle and ring fingers into your core, causing you to let out a loud gasp that faded into a long, low moan. Zemo smiled to himself. That was the reaction he was dying for.

He kissed you senseless, drinking in your moans and gasps of pleasure like wine, his free hand cradling the back of your head as your arms wrapped around his neck. It didn't take Zemo long to find that sweet spot, deep inside you – as he'd subtly alluded to earlier – that longed for his attention the most.

You couldn't help but moan loudly and cry out, "Fuck! Baron!" Zemo growled low in your ear, clearly a fan of your usage of his title as he picked up the pace, fucking you with his fingers with expert precision and speed, sending you hurtling over the edge with a string of curses in both Sokovian and English. By the time he removed his fingers from you and stood, you were seeing stars, breathing heavily as you laid flat against the couch. When your dazed gaze found him, he was naked from the waist down, and was just finishing rolling a condom over his length. You had no idea where he got it from, but you were way beyond giving a shit at this point. Zemo then rejoined you on the couch, roughly spreading your legs apart as he kneeled between them, looking at you with a primal, deep hunger in his eyes.

"You are certain that you want this?"

"Yes, please – fuck," you cut yourself off as he began rubbing your clit again.

"Yes please, what?" His voice was low, teasing, as he continued his work below. "I want to hear you say it again, Kätzchen."

"Yes, please, Baron."

"Good girl."

Zemo took your leg and rested your calf on his shoulder, before easing himself into you, agonizingly slow. You watched through half-lidded eyes as his brows furrowed together, his jaw went slack, and his eyes squeezed shut as he bottomed out. He was silent, but you very much preferred it when he was a bit vocal. So, you flexed your muscles down there, and he groaned, letting his forehead fall against your shoulder.

"Do not do that if you want this to last long," Zemo suggested through clenched teeth. You smiled to yourself, then said the magic word that you knew would get him going.

"Yes, Baron."

He growled again, right in your ear, then sat more upright to begin a harsh, quick pace of thrusting. His hips collided with your body each time, causing a delicious sort of pain, and he leaned down to lock you in a messy, deep kiss.

A few minutes later, Zemo moved your other calf to his shoulder as well, and the new position enabled him to get delectably deep inside you. You raked your nails down his chest, watching as a shudder ran down his spine, all the while releasing small, breathless moans and whimpers. When he opened his eyes again to gaze down at you, he licked his lips before delving both hands under your head and into your hair, and forcefully gripped two fitfuls of it at the base of your skull. The moan that tore its way from your throat was animalistic, as your nails dug into his forearms as you desperately gripped them from their positions on either side of your head. Just then, he hit a spot deep inside of you, and that familiar, tight coil in your lower belly began to form.

"Fuck! Right there, Baron, please, right there!"

"As you wish, Schätzchen."

Zemo began to thrust even faster, careful to maintain the same angle as he released his grip on your hair and leaned up a bit, so that he could resume rubbing your clit. Moans began to fall from your lips practically endlessly, and somehow, you still needed more. More, more, more. You took his free hand and laid it on your neck, and he instinctively wrapped his fingers around your throat, careful to apply pressure on the sides but not the front, as to avoid harming you. When he opened his eyes once again and looked down at you, he couldn't stop the moan that escaped him.

"You will be the death of me, mein Engel," Zemo whispered, seemingly more to himself. All you could do was moan in response.

"Baron, I'm going to – fuck – I'm —"

"Yes, come for me, Kätzchen. I want to feel you."

That was all the encouragement it took. Well, that plus how perfectly he was rubbing your bundle of nerves, and how his pace nor angle had faltered once since you had requested exactly that. You came undone again, legs shaking as your nails clawed at his shoulder blades, earning a series of groans from him. As you came down from your high, Zemo's hips began to falter, enthralled by the waterfall you had become, soaking the base of his cock as your walls squeezed around him. His hand at your wet heat abruptly moved to grip your hip, at the same moment his hand around your throat clutched at your hair again, and he met his end with a loud, gruff moan as he spoke a mantra of nonsensical praises and your name.

Zemo rested on his arms on either side of your head, and he let your legs fall to the sides of him, breathing hard against your neck as he occasionally peppered kisses there. He remained inside you for a few moments, savoring the feeling, before you chose to have a bit of extra fun by flexing your lower muscles and squeezing yourself around him again. With a sharp intake of breath, he pulled out of you, shooting you a glare.

In Sokovian, he murmured, "You are a naughty little thing."

"You adore it."

"That I do," Zemo conceded, then stood and walked off to the restroom. You heard the tap run, and a few moments later, he returned with a glass of water for you, sitting beside your feet on the couch and resting his heels on the coffee table. He was exceptionally handsome like this; still catching his breath, sweat glistening on his forehead and chest, a content look upon his face. You spent a minute or two admiring him, before he looked over to you, and a smile blossomed on his lips.

"I cannot thank you enough for that. I must admit, I spent countless nights alone in my cell, dreaming about getting to touch a woman like that again. Especially considering the fall of our country, I never could have imagined I would be lucky enough to lay with a stunning, intelligent Sokovian woman."

"In the spirit of confessions, it's been a while for me, too. My last boyfriend was about two years ago. And I'm not the one-night-stand type. So, do with that what you will," you stated, earning a small chuckle from Zemo. You sat up so that you were sitting beside him, instead of laying down, as you continued. "I fantasized about it a lot myself, but I never even dared to think my next time would be as good as this was."

Zemo smiled, a mix of pride and joy, then his smile softened as he leaned toward you, brushing a lock of hair away from your face. "This doesn't have to be our last time, you know. I would be honored to have you as often as you'd allow me to. And I assure you, I would make it worth your while. I will give you whichever vehicles your heart desires, more jewelry than you know what to do with, take you to the most beautiful places in the world, dine at only the finest restaurants – and above all, treat you like my queen. Take care of me, and I will take care of you, Liebling."

You allowed your curiosity to get the better of you, as usual when you feared that someone was lying to you. You searched his mind for any fraction of false pretenses, but there were none. The man simply found you intoxicating, and would do whatever it takes to keep drinking you in.

The arrangement wouldn't exactly be an easy one, nor would it be all that wise – nor morally correct, in all honesty. But he was undeniably sexy, and the danger and reprehensibility of it all made it that much more alluring. And besides all that – the way his power and wealth turned you on, how good he was capable of making you feel – most Sokovians were dead, and you missed home. Getting to speak your native tongue with him, chat about your country – it made you feel at home with him.

But you wouldn't give Zemo the satisfaction of agreeing to him that quickly.

“We'll see.”

—————

Part Two

[jackhughesismyhusband]

Michigan Move pt. 2

This series is going to be more like a TV series than a movie. It’ll have different episodes with different scenarios while the characters develop, but allowing for lots of content. Feel free to send in requests/ideas for this on going series!

~

You raise out of bed abruptly to the sound of a door slamming.

“Luke, shut up! You’re gonna wake her. She’s still sleeping.” An intense whisper muffled outside of your door. After realization of your surroundings, you recognized the voice belonging to Jack. Glancing over at your phone, the clock read 6:58 am. After debate of whether you should get up or not, you decide against and stick with the original plan to wake at 9:15.

Your start to fall back asleep when the sound of a car door closing causes you to shift your attention the window against your bed, looking out the front of the house. You catch Jack and Luke pulling off to school and place your head back on the pillow.

Two hours later, your annoying as ever phone alarm went off. You couldn’t complain with 8 hours of sleep, usually getting much less when working in the industry. You make your way to the connecting bathroom to start your day. You throw on leggings and an active wear top for dance. A crew neck was thrown over for easy ability to take it off when you start dancing.

After your morning routine, you head downstairs with your backpack and phone in hand. Coffee changed the smell of the house as you followed the smell to the kitchen.

Ellen was sitting at the kitchen counter in comfortable clothes, looking at something on her computer.

“Good morning, y/n! Did you sleep okay? I hope the boys didn’t wake you this morning.”

“Good morning, Ellen! I slept great, thank you. It felt like a cloud after sleeping on a couch for the last 3 months.” You smiled and added, “The boys were no trouble.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I made some coffee. Help yourself.”

You direct yourself over to the pot of coffee calling your name on the corner of the counter. You notice donuts with quick handwriting reading “y/n” in sharpie laying next to the pot.

Ellen notices your curiosity and explains,

“The boys noticed you liked Tim Horton’s yesterday and insisted on getting you donuts this morning before they got to school. There’s one right down the road.”

You slightly blushed at the kind act. They had been so good to you.

“Luke wanted to make sure you knew they were for you and wrote your name as Jack was dragging him out the door,” Ellen added as she laughed to herself.

“That was so sweet of them. You guys have made me feel so welcomed, thank you, Ellen.” You walk over to where she was sitting and give her a side hug with a smile.

“It’s our pleasure, sweetheart. You’re not only family to us, but to everyone in the hockey community. Anything you ever need, you come to one of the boys or I.”

“Thank you,” you looked at the generous woman with the most sincere look of gratitude.

Plating up the strawberry frosted donut, you grabbed a glazed and set it next to the motherly figure. You smiled at the first sight of the pink donut, knowing it was Jack’s doing after your conversation last night about your favorite pastry from every donut place you’ve been - on both the east and west coast.

“Are you excited for your first day?”

“Very. I’m a little nervous since this is new to everyone and I don’t exactly fit in a hockey arena, but I think it’ll be a fun new adventure.”

“They’re all going to love you. The coaches are great, but learning everyday from someone 40 years older than you can’t be as effective as working with someone your age. It’ll be really good for the boys. Especially the ones who don’t know how to talk to girls.”

She added the last part with a wink and you laughed a little.

“Yeah, I just hope they don’t hate they’re doing something that isn’t necessarily hockey related. I know it’ll help them with hockey, but it’s probably hard to see the big picture when you’re doing a grand jete in leggings.”

Ellen smiled.

“Don’t worry, honey. They all practically live here with how much they’re hanging out in the basement. They haven’t stopped talking about their excitement since they found out at the beginning of the summer.”

Her words comfort you. You finish conversing and the delicious donut and grab your backpack with your car keys, now with the addition of a house key Jim had given you before you went up to bed. Your car shipped in late last night. With some of your savings from all the gigs you’ve done and a little help from your parents, you were able to buy a white Lexus when you got your permit. You got your license in July.

“Are you going to do school work while you’re there?”

Ellen questioned looking at the black North Face on your back.

“Yeah. In case I have any free time, it’ll be nice to get some things done. Maybe when they’re studying, I can, too.”

“Great idea! Have an amazing day, sweetheart! You have my number if you need anything at all. I mean anything.” The blonde pulled you into a final hug before sending you off with an extra strawberry donut included in the lunch she had kindly packed you.

She waved at the door while you pulled out of the driveway with directions to the rink and your favorite playlist at the moment playing through the car speakers.

About 7 minutes later, you pulled into a slightly busy parking lot. You added your lunch into your backpack and headed towards the entrance.

Immediately, you were greeted by USA honorable decor and a friendly receptionist.

“Hello, can I help you with anything?” The cheery woman asked.

“Hi, yes. My name is y/n. I’m the director of the new Grace and Agility program?”

“Oh, yes! Come right this way.” You followed the stout woman with spunk into the hallway. “I’m Martha. You ever need anything, honey, you let me know.” She looked back at you with a wink and a smile. “Those boys can be rowdy, don’t be afraid to give ‘em some sass back or send ‘em to me. I’ll out sass them real quick.”

You laughed at her suggestion of “out sass”ing the boys you have mostly yet to meet. She stopped outside an office with a plaque labeled, “Y/N L/N USA NTDP HEAD DIRECTOR OF GRACE AND AGILITY”

“Here you are. The room next to you on the left is the dance studio we just installed. Feel free to make it all your own.” She smiled at you and continued, “The boys will be here in about an hour and will start with your stretch class. They’ll warm up under your control then hit the shooting room and film before they head to the ice. After the ice, they’ll study and end the day with dance. I left the full schedule for the day in your office.”

“Thank you so much, Martha. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course, sweetheart. Let me know if you need anything.” She started to walk back, but not before handing you a bundle of keys. One for the dance studio, one for your office, and one emergency key to the entire facility.

You head into your office and quickly notice the red, white, and blue basket sitting on your desk. Your desk was facing the door with two chairs on the other side and a comfortable couch perpendicular to the desk, on the right side of the door as you enter. A large window looking out at the woods on the side of the facility is behind your desk.

You notice a plaque on your desk identical to the one outside of your office. You peer into the welcome basket and notice a note.

“Dear y/n, we’re so grateful to have you on the USA Hockey team! Please accept these gifts as a small act of our joy and gratitude to have you. Feel free to reach out if you ever need help!

USA Hockey”

You smiled at the hand written note and the little heart drawn next to the end of the message. You set the note aside and sat in the plush rolling chair behind your desk. Inside the basket were three USA themed leotards, four leggings colored a solid red, white, blue, and black, four dance shirts, three USA themed sports bras, a keychain - of course it’s USA themed, a yoga mat with y/n and NTDP written on it, a NTDP sweatshirt with your l/n on the side, and an NTDP water bottle.

The clothing were custom made from Lulu. You smiled at the gifts and made a mental note to send a thank you note to Martha for the entire staff.

You placed your bag down after noticing a bulletin board on the wall to the left of the desk, looking from the door. The note was pinned on the board and you headed into the hallway with the keys.

The moment you entered the dance studio, the lights turned on. The facility was brand new and built with plenty of your input - at the NTDP’s request. A sleek, untouched floor, two ballet bars on either side, and three walls of mirrors capturing you. The entrance wall had built in cubbies for the boys’ water and shoes and above it had a long observation window out into the hallway. The NTDP had mentioned a remote controlled tinting system on the window, so you could make it a series of tints from completely transparent to unable for the outside to look in. A compartment clearly for you separate from the others, labeled “Coach Y/n” had the remote for the window and the colored lights they’d installed at the top and bottom of the mirrors. The NTDP made sure to install the best sound system and paid for your Spotify Premium, even though you were already on a family plan.

You decided to spend the 45 minutes you had until the boys arrived to check the roster again, even though you had plenty times to try to familiarize yourself with the team. The U-17s were the guinea pigs. The program decided to start the department with the U-17s since they don’t know much of what the NTDP is like without it. If it was successful, the U-18s would be added into the conversation.

After settling in a little and getting some school work done, you decided to head back to the studio with 15 minutes until the boys were set to arrive. You decided to stretch a little because even though you’d be stretching with the guys, you were sure you’d have to walk around to help. You play your playlist and get carried away into the music, starting to do some leaps, jumps, and turns to the beat of the song. You planned to keep the crew neck on until the afternoon class where you’d actually break a sweat.

As you were mid-turn, you heard muffled voices outside the studio. You turned to look and saw the boys all huddled around the window watching you in awe. You smiled and waved them in.

They had their matching USA Hockey navy blue puffer jackets on with NTDP backpacks. Some were wearing NTDP hats as well.

“You guys can leave your stuff in your compartment, along with your shoes please,” you tell them as you walk over to your station to turn down the music to become background buzz.

After everyone was ready to go, you had them all sit cris-cross in a circle. You made the mistake of calling it “cris-cross applesauce”, which Jack would later tease you about.

“Hi boys! My name is Y/n L/n. You can just call me y/n. I’m so excited for this program and to be working with y’all!” ‘Y’all’ would become another point of attack from Jack and Alex at a later date. “I’m going to start you off with a stretch and then we can go around and say our names.”

You got the boys into a butterfly pose. You let Case McCarthy start, who was to the right of you. As the boys went around and introduced themselves, you corrected some back posture while they stretched. Alex Turcotte was having a bit of trouble, but you realized it was because he was trying to twist his feet in opposite directions and stretch in the butterfly pose at the same time. Jack wasn’t having any trouble, but you took the opportunity to be by someone you know and gently moved his back down more, so he was further into a stretch. Since you already knew their names from studying the roster, you took a moment to whisper in his ear while you stretched him.

“Thank you for the donuts this morning. Come to my office during lunch if you can. I saved one for you.”

His face lit up at your offer, but quickly changed as you slowly pushed him further into the stretch. He clearly wasn’t at the flexibility level yet for it to be easy.

When names were done, you switched them to stretching out to one leg and then eventually swapping sides.

“Trevor, did I hear you’re from New York?” Some of the boys had added where they were from in their introduction.

“Yeah! Are you?”

“I was born in Hartford, Connecticut, but I’ve lived mostly in New York.”

“I’m from Connecticut, too!” Spencer Knight lit up at the mention of his home.

You continued to chat and get to know the boys until you decided to have them warm up through cardio. You had them put their shoes back on.

“Alright, follow me.”

“Yay! Field trip!” You heard Trevor cheer behind you which caused you to smile.

You stopped at the entrance of the rink.

“I wouldn’t get too excited yet, Trevor.” You paused and looked around for dramatic effect as they patiently waited for you to continue. “We’re running today, boys.”

Groans and heads tilted back in disappointment ensued. You evilly laughed to yourself at their despair.

“Alright, up and down the stairs 20 times to start.” They unhappily started their trek up the arena stairs. “Please don’t fall!” You called after them. Your comment made them smile at your motherly-like care for their well being, despite forcing them to do something displeasing.

“Aw, try not to look so happy Caufield!” You teased as he was the first to make his way down. He poked his tongue out at you before he turned around to go back up.

You connected to the sound system and started playing a hype playlist to help them out. Once the music started playing, you got some cheers out of them. You knew it wouldn’t be so bad if “Party Rock Anthem” was keeping them going.

Jack called from the top of the stairs, “Thank you, y/n!” When he heard the music start. You later would find out most coaches don’t let them listen to music because they think it would distract them, so this felt like a treat. It was the least you could do after forcing them do go up and down the steep stairs so many times. Little did they know, this was just the warm up.

About 15 minutes later, the last of the group finished up. Before you was a group of panting, red teenagers crouching over themselves. You felt a little bad, but had to remind yourself they had to have good endurance for their games and they were likely put through worse from other coaches with no mercy or sympathy.

“Good job, boys. Take a breather, it’s alright. You all did great.” Your praise caused a few to look up at you from their tiredness and smile. You believed in bringing them up, rather than pushing them down. Especially as impressionable, and though they wouldn’t admit it, insecure teenage boys. Ballet training was rarely kind to its students and you knew first hand the negative repercussions of having to hear mean things aimed at you each day.

“Don’t hate me, but we’re not done.”

That earned a playful glare from Marshall Warren. You laughed.

“It’s okay because I promise to do it with you. I can’t just sit here and expect you to do it all yourself.”

You took lots of pauses to give them as much time as you could to catch their breath.

“We’re going to run some laps around the rink.”

“More running?!“ An out of breath Henry Thrun questioned. You chuckled to yourself.

“Yes, but it’ll be fun, I promise.”

That earned a lot of skeptical looks. Martha was right, they are sassy. You liked it, it meant they were comfortable with you already.

“Just follow what I do and try not to think about it too much.”

They shrugged their shoulders and followed as you started running around the bottom of the arena. Of course, not before starting up the music again.

After the first lap, you started skipping. Some confused noises were heard behind you, but after a few seconds, the boys got the idea and started skipping, too. You smiled at the boyish giggles you heard behind you.

Next lap, you galloped with your right leg and then the left on the next one.

The lap after, you ran five steps, then spun in a circle. That was harder for the laughing boys. At one point, you caught Cam York spin himself in the boards. The crash was so loud, everyone stopped and toppled over in laughter.

For the last lap, you changed the music to your favorite song and yelled out, “Dance!” You grooved to the beat and saw a bunch of silly improv including the Macarena and disco that almost caused Trevor to poke Alex Vlasic in the eye.

You stopped at the entrance as you waited for the happy boys to meet you. You reminded yourself to check the security cameras later to get the footage of the dancing and Cam crashing into the boards. It was really sweet how they all genuinely tried for you and enjoyed it in the process.

“Alright, boys. Unfortunately, my time with you is done for now.” Whines followed the statement. You felt honored they wanted to stay with you. “If you guys need anything, my office is right across from the studio. Don’t hesitate to come visit. I’ll see you later today!”

You were surprised by the chorus of “thank you”s they gave you as they left the arena with laughs echoing down the hallway.

You decided to head back to your office for a bit to plan out the first dance lesson later today some more. You grabbed a bar Ellen had packed you and got lost in your choreography. When you finally looked up at the clock, it was 1pm. The boys should be heading off the ice around now. You paused the music you had playing through the speakers built into your office and headed out to the ice. You caught the boys picking up pucks. Jack saw you and waved happily while he skated to the exit on the opposite end of you. You smiled and waved back with warmth in your heart at the welcome everyone in Michigan had given you.

You knew they were going to have lunch and study. You decided to do the same, but walked outside for a second to get some fresh air. It was pretty nice out and you were excited to spend some more time outside when you were done.

You went back to your office to find Jack sprawled out, waiting patiently on the couch. He smiled and sat up a little at the sight of you.

“Hey, y/n/n!”

“Y/n/n?”

“Yeah, I just thought of it. Do you like it?”

You laughed and nodded your head.

“How’s your first day so far?” He asked as you sat in a lounge chair in the corner by the door, next to the couch.

“It’s actually been really nice. I’m definitely not nervous anymore and everyone has been so nice. I really appreciate you guys bearing with me and not thinking things are too stupid to do. I’ve taught teens that older than me at the time and pre-teens and the trend was to act ‘too cool’ for anything I had them do.”

“Yeah, I mean we don’t get to do fun stuff like that all the time. We’re just a bunch of kids excited to be here like you, so I don’t think you’ll run into many participation problems. We all want to be here.”

You found yourself smiling at his clear passion for what’s he’s doing and the comfort his statement gave you.

“Before I forget,” you got up and headed over to your desk. “Here is a donut, kind sir.” You handed him the strawberry frosted donut and bowed down in medieval character.

He accepted and played along, “Why thank you, my lady.” You attempted a British accent that definitely needed work. You laughed at his attempts of an accent from over the pond. You watched him split it in half at reached one half out to you.

“No, no. I want you to have it. You’ve been very kind to me. It’s the least I can do. Even though you bought it.”

“I insist. I got it for you. I know it’s your favorite.” He raised his eyebrows. You gave in. He cheered when you finally accepted. You decided to “cheers” with the donut and tapped yours to his.

After the conversation lead into school work and a realization of you having to help Jack with English while he helps you with Math, Alex Turcotte walked in.

“There you are! I was just about to start French and was wondering where my partner was.” Alex looked at Jack then over to you. “Hey, y/n!”

“Hey, Alex! What are you guys doing in French.”

“Conjugations,” Jack answered while licking his fingers of the pink frosting and rolling his eyes.

“As much as I’d love to help, I speak Spanish, not French. But I’d love to learn sometime if you guys wanted to teach me.”

“We’d love to, but Jack and I probably aren’t the best French tutors. Dom Fensore and Cam Rowe would be your guys. TZ and Cole are trying to get to their level, but a safer bet would be Fensore and Rowe. I’m sure they’d be happy to help. They’re the only reason why Jack and I are passing.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Does the NTDP require French? I guess it’s smart since you could go to Canada, but I figured since Spanish is more popular here, you guys would take it.”

“Yeah. Spanish is offered, but French is encouraged for that reason. All of the guys take French, but some also take Spanish to have both under their belt.” Alex answered.

“Hm, that’s cool.” You looked over to see Jack playing with a kinetic sand box on your desk like a child waiting for his mom and her friend to stop talking at the grocery store. “Well, I’ll let you get to it! See you after studying and lunch.”

“See you!”

“Bye, y/n!”

~

I hope you enjoyed! Please know my inbox is open for any conversation or any requests for this series or another fic! I love getting asks from y’all! (Yes I occasionally say “y’all” like our wonderful y/n.) Thank you so so so much for your support and patience <3

[itsallyscorner]

Bring Me Back

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Summary: Filming “Cherry” had its ups and downs for Tom. When filming finally takes its toll on him, you’re there to instantly bring him back from the world of Cherry.

Warnings: Mentions of drug abuse, PTSD, murder. A smidge of smut.

A/n: In honor of the Cherry🍒 trailer dropping, I decided to write this!

(GIF creds: @atealiers )

Any kind of project was a blessing to Tom. He loved being an actor. He was fond of telling stories through the big screen and got a kick from portraying many different characters. Acting was something he felt passionate about, it was his craft and he was very dedicated when it came to becoming his roles. Cherry was quite different from the other movies he’s been in. It was dark and contained many subjects like drug addiction, PTSD, and crime. The world of Cherry was something Tom was not used to; it was twisted. He hasn’t been exposed to things like drugs or the events that Nico Walker had been through. Which was why he was hesitant to take on the role of Cherry.

When the Russo Brothers approached him with the idea, he was excited. He was getting the opportunity to tell another story and would explore the world of a new character. Though the more he looked into it, he realized that maybe he wasn’t up for the role. Was he really ready to dive into the dark and traumatizing life of Nico Walker? As an actor, he was willing to take the job, it would give him an opportunity to expand his career and would possibly be one of his best work. As Tom, he wasn’t sure if he could handle learning or re-enacting the events that occurred in Cherry. But Tom did like a challenge, which was why he ended up agreeing to become Cherry.

He prepared himself mentally and physically pre- production. For research, he interviewed army veterans and former drug addicts to get an idea of what it was like to be in those positions. To get the look of Cherry, he did a variety of things. For example, going on a diet and losing weight, then gaining said weight again once they had to shoot the army scenes. Another thing he did was shave off the gorgeous brown curls that adorned his head. At first you weren’t too happy with his change in hairstyle, but later on you found yourself running your hands along the short strands of hair, loving the fuzzy feeling it gave your palms.

After the interviews and hearing others’ experience, Tom felt a level of responsibility to tell the story of millions of people around the world. Not only was it telling the story of Nico, but of other army veterans who suffered from PTSD and people who’ve had drug addictions. He was fully on board now and there was no looking back. He was going to push himself to the limit and to places he’s never been before.

Filming was tough. There were scenes he had to do that were so unlike him, that felt wrong, and sometimes he just had to take a step back. They didn’t feel right, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. This was his job, if he wanted this movie to be the best that it can, he was going to commit. Thankfully, he was working with the Russos, who he’s known for a while now. He was familiar with the two and they were patient with him, giving him the time to regain himself before shooting an intense scene. The cast and crew were very understanding as well, creating a safe space for him on set. Having Harry along with him helped as well, the familiarity of his brother kept him grounded and avoided him from falling into the void of Cherry. Though he had all these supportive people around him, there was only one person who could calm him down when things got suffocating on set. The only person he wanted to be in Cleveland with him but wasn’t. You. Since you had your own life and job, you were unable to fly out to Cleveland with him. Instead you stayed at your shared home with Tessa as company. All he needed was you when he felt the affects of Cherry caging in on him. Just the sound of your comforting voice over the phone could clear his head and make him breath again.

He had his bad days on set, where he would have to take a moment and hide in his trailer for a few minutes. During those few minutes he liked to be alone as he waited for you to answer your phone. The line would ring, it’d stop, then the sound of your sweet voice would be the only thing he’d hear. Sometimes you didn’t answer the first time, but nonetheless you answered eventually. It wasn’t the same as having you with him in person, you had your responsibilities, and he understood that. He just wished that one day you’d come to Cleveland. He wanted to be in your arms, stuff his face into your neck, breath in your familiar scent, he just wanted to feel you. You were his home. His safe haven. And it was all he wanted right now.

•

Glancing at your phone, you wondered why Tom hasn’t texted you yet. Not that you were itching for him to text you, but because around this time he would be blowing up your phone telling you things that happened during filming or how his day was going. You decided that filming probably went into overtime making him busy during his break. You shrug to yourself and continue working on your laptop.

You hear the sound of Tessa’s nails clicking against the floors as she enters the office of your home. You greet her with a smile as she settles herself beside your legs.

“Is it dinner time already, Tess?” You scratch her head as you glance at the time on your screen. It was currently nine at night, a bit late for dinner, but you haven’t noticed.

“Just give me five more minutes and I’ll get us dinner. How does that sound, love?” A somewhat sound of approval emits from Tessa. You get back to work, fingers typing away as you finish off the last of your work.

You finish in four minutes, finally satisfied with your work. You let out a content sigh and turn your laptop off. When you get up you stretch and let your bones crack after being in the same position for hours. Tessa joins you, stretching out her front paws then shaking her body out. You chuckle as you lead the way to the kitchen. Taking the scoop for Tessa’s kibble, you fill her bowl up, causing the dog to look up in curiosity. Once you placed the bowl down, her tail wagged wildly as she stuffed her face into her food.

You decided on going for something simple, ramen noodles. You were too tired too cook anything and ramen noodles were the quickest thing to cook in your pantry. While you waited for the noodles to heat up you checked your phone. You went through your notifications, but there were still no texts from Tom. Though you were concerned, you assumed that they had a long shooting day, making him too busy to text. 

Hi love! I hope you’re doing well in Cleveland. I know you’re probably busy, but hopefully filming isn’t tiring you out too much. Have an amazing day! Don’t forget to drink some water from time to time and eat :) Tess and I miss you and love you so much! Talk soon xxx

You send the text with a smile. He won’t read it till he was free or done with filming, but you knew he’d see the message while you were asleep.

The microwave beeps, letting you know that your food was done. You end your night catching up on episodes of New Girl and eating soup. When you were done you did your nightly routine and settled in bed. You turn the lights off and snuggled under the warm sheets.

“Night Tessa.” You whisper to her. A huff comes out of her as she makes herself comfortable on the foot of your bed. When the both of you were settled, you slowly drifted off to sleep.

Buzz

Buzz

The harsh vibrations of your phone shook you awake. Desperate for sleep, you blindly grab your phone and turn it off. Silence fills the room again as you turn around to stuff your face into Tom’s pillow. You were slowly drifting back to sleep when your phone began to vibrate again. With a groan you stretch back and snatch for phone off the night stand. You don’t bother looking at the caller id.

“Hello?” Your voice rasps out.

“Thank God you answered.” The person on the other line said. “I know you’re busy, but how soon can you visit Cleveland?” The deep voice was belonged to Harry.

“Uh—I’m not too sure, I’ll need to check in with my boss.” You reply. When you start feeling more awake you become curious as to why Harry can be calling you. “Why? Is everything ok? How’s Tom? I haven’t heard from him all day.”

The younger Holland sighs. He takes a moment to answer your questions making you suffer in silence, wondering what could have happened to your boyfriend. “Um, they’ve been shooting some intense scenes lately. Tom’s been trying his best but everyone’s noticed that he’s been a bit different.”

You sit up in bed feeling more awake. “What do you mean by different, Haz?”

“Well he’s snapped at the Russos quite a few times. There was this one scene, that they shot multiple times, and Tom would just break down after every one. (Y/n), I’m concerned for my brother, I don’t know what else to do. He’s locked himself in his room after every shoot. A—and I don’t know. I’ve tried to tell him that he can talk to me but he wouldn’t.” Harry explained, his voice croaked. You heart felt heavy for him. Harry was always there for his older brother, so to see him feel so helpless made you feel sorry.

“Haz, calm down, you know how your brother can get. How long has this been happening?”

Harry sniffed over the phone, “About a few weeks now. It’s only started becoming worse last week and now.”

The concern you felt for Tom grew. From what he’s been texting you, filming had been going great. He appeared happy on your FaceTime calls and sounded like his usual self. But maybe he actually wasn’t.

“Harry everything’s gonna be fine, alright?” You assure him. “I’ll call my boss first thing in the morning and when I get the ‘ok’ to leave I’ll get the first flight out to Cleveland. How’s that sound?”

“It sounds good. Can you tell me if you can make it? I’ll have someone come with me to pick you up at the airport.” His voice is quiet, almost muffled.

“Yeah I will, don’t worry.”

“Ok, thank you (y/n).” A small smile forms on your lips. You rub the sleep out your eyes as you glance at your closet. “Alright Haz, I’m gonna go now. But if there’s anything else, just text me or call.”

“I know, stay safe (y/n).” You bid him goodbye and place your phone on the empty space beside your side of the bed. Tom’s side of the bed. You bite your lip in thought as you worry about your boyfriend. You knew he was doing almost everything he can to make sure the movie came out perfect. If that meant shredding himself emotionally and physically, he was going to do it. Tom was dedicated to his work, but he’s never done anything close to Cherry, making you worried about the thoughts that could possibly be going through your lover’s head.

Tessa, who’s now woken up, waddles closer to you, sensing your uneasiness. You appreciate the dog’s gesture and pull her into your side, resting your chin on her head. You were basically sleepless the whole night. Although you haven’t emailed your boss yet, you already had a suitcase packed of your clothes. Your passport and other important belongings were already in a bag, ready to leave London.

The morning had been hectic. You’ve managed to get two hours of sleep, waking up at six in the morning. Still in bed, you sent your boss an email about a family emergency and how you needed to be out of the country for at least a week. As if the gods above knew of your situation, your boss willingly let you go, no questions asked and gave you well wishes. With that out the way, you scowered the Internet for flights to Cleveland. Luck was on your side that morning because you’ve booked a flight that took off in the afternoon. With your bags packed, you drove to Nikki and Dom’s to drop off Tessa.

Now all checked in, you were at Heathrow Airport waiting to be called for your flight. You were sat at your gate, with an iced coffee and a croissant from Starbucks, texting Harry. The two of you were discussing the time you’d arrive and how he’d pick you up. When you were both in agreement, you two decided to catch up. He had been in Tom’s trailer eating his breakfast. An hour passes and you were being called to board the plane.

You settle in your seat, but your leg bounced in anticipation. After the things Harry told you, you just wanted to have your boyfriend in your arms. You knew everything was probably getting to his head, all you wanted to do was hold him and tell him that he was going to be ok. As the plane began to take off, your lack of sleep caught up on you. Throughout the whole flight, you slept soundly, the worries of Tom subsiding for the time being.

~🛬~

The plane lands in Cleveland safely. It was night when you arrived. With your bags, you looked around the airport for a familiar curly haired boy. Harry waves wildly at you before running and pulling you into a tight hug. You laugh wrapping your arms around the slender boy.

“How’s your day been, Haz?” You ruffle his hair as he rolls your suitcase to the parking lot. He shrugs, “The usual. Was on set with Tom, ran around and got things for him, nothing much happened honestly. But you’re here now, so this is the highlight of my night.”

The two of you approach a black car with a driver inside, Harry motions for him to unlock the trunk. He lifts your case in before the two of you get into the backseat.

“How was your flight?” Harry asks you. The car began to move, exiting the airport and entering the highway.

“I slept through all of it, I don’t remember a thing about the flight besides getting on and off it.” You chuckle, leaning your head back against the headrest.

Harry nudges your shoulder, “Thanks for coming out with such short notice.” You wave him off. “It’s no worries, anything for my boys.”

The car is quiet, the only sounds that could be heard is the car’s wheels against the pavement. You turn to Harry, “How was he today?”

“He was pretty good in the morning.” Harry started. “Then filming started and he would grow frustrated after a few scenes. His temper’s been short. He snapped at me during lunch, which is normal, but I just asked him if he wanted some water. He broke down after a certain scene today, I tried talking to him but he still wouldn’t open up about it.” Tom wasn’t too open about his feelings sometimes. He struggled to voice them at times making all his frustrations and feelings bottled up in his head.

Half an hour later and you guys arrive at Tom’s rented home in Atlanta. As soon as you opened the door, you felt the heavy atmosphere. It was somber and tense, the chilliness of the weather also felt inside the house. Harry gestures up the stairs, “Don’t worry, go see him. His room is the first door on the left.”

You quietly thank him and climb up the stairs. You find his door, taking a deep breath before knocking. You hear some shuffling behind the door, “Harry I’m fine! Leave me alone!” His voice was deep, a bit scratchy. You frown at the door.

“Tom?” The room falls quiet. Suddenly you hear fumbling and the sound of heavy footsteps behind the door. The door opens and you finally see him. He was dressed in a large shirt with sweatpants. He looked tired, dark circles under his eyes, eyes glassy, and chapped lips.

“(Y/n)? You’re here?” He asks you in disbelief. A tight lipped grin forms on your lips.

“Yeah, Har—“ You were going to explain how you got there but he immediately threw himself at you. His arms wrap tightly around your figure, his head dipped into your neck, pulling your closer into him. One of your arms go around his neck while the other rubs his back soothingly. A whimper bubbles out of him, his shoulders beginning to shake. You managed to shuffle the both of you back into his room, closing the door behind you.

“You’re ok.” You whisper into his ear, pressing a kiss to the side of his neck. His grip around you never falters. Though he was much taller than you, he seemed so small at the moment. His body drowned in the shirt he wore, making him look thinner. You feel tears soaking into your shirt, making your heart clench in pain. You rest your forehead against his shoulder, holding and whispering sweet nothings into his ear until he was ready to speak.

A few minutes pass until his removes his head from your neck. You frown at his tear stained face, his eyes and cheeks red from quietly sobbing into your shoulder. Your hands cup his face, wiping the trails of tears on his cheeks. Tom leans closer to your touch, his eyes shut while his lips kiss your palm.

“I’m sorry, you’re probably tired from the flight.” He apologizes but you shake your head. You lead him to his bed and sit against the headboard. Tom follows in suit, desperately trying to get closer to you. His arms wrap around your torso, his head rests on your chest, while your legs tangle themselves together.

“I’ve had plenty of sleep on the flight, how are you?” Your lips are against his short hair from holding him so close. You nails scratch softly at his hair, calming him down.

“I don’t know if I could finish it.” He quietly admits. He shakes his head at himself.

“Why’s that, Tom?” Your boyfriend takes a deep breath as he sits up, removing himself from your touch. He sits across from you with legs crossed as he holds his head in his hands.

“I—I, it’s too much. There’s so much fucked up things he’s done. And all the things he’s seen. I just—sometimes I feel like it’s me who’s committed all of those things. When we shoot the scenes in the war and when I had to do drugs and rob banks, I felt like I lost myself—“ He cries interrupting himself to take a breath in. Compared to your fingers that ran gently through his hair, his clawed at his head. His palms rub harshly at his face, turning his skin a bright tint of red. To see Tom in such pain made you sad. You hated seeing him like this.

You gently remove his hands from scratching at his face and hold them in his lap. He stares down at your hands, clinging onto them as if his life depended on it. “I get lost in the character sometimes and I have to pull myself out of it to bring me back. But it keeps on happening over and over again. Then the Russos kept telling me to reshoot the scene more like Cherry, and I lost it and yelled at them.” You feel his tears fall to your your hands, making tears well up in your own eyes. You shuffle closer to him and kiss his forehead before pulling him into you. You stay quiet, letting him get whatever he wanted to get out.

Tom’s face is against your shoulder again. He sniffs before continuing, “It’s like everyday I find something he and I have in common. Then I think that maybe I’m turning into him. I don’t want him to be part of me. (Y/n), I don’t want to be him, I don’t want to do the things he’s done.” He sobs into your shoulder. Your heart breaks at how broken he sounded. His shoulders shook again, his back burning up with tension. A few tears made it’s way down your cheeks as you pulled his face away from you.

“Look at me.” You urged him. His jaw clenched, still looking down at his lap. He shook his head in response. “Tom, please. Look at me.” Your voice cracks. He slowly tilts his head up, your eyes connecting. He didn’t have that twinkle in his eyes, it’s like they’ve lost the light in them. Instead they were dark, like there was no life behind them. There was a mix of sadness, confusion, and even fear in his eyes.

You sadly smiled at him, cupping his face with your hands. “You’re not going to be him. You never will. You’re Tom. You are nothing close to Nico or Cherry. You are the sweetest man I have known in the world, you wouldn’t even hurt a damn fly. You’re not him. I know you aren’t. You wouldn’t do the things he’s ever done even if you were forced to. I know you Tom, I assure you, you’re nothing like him.” Tom hiccups, gripping onto your wrists.

“When this is all over and you’re done filming, we can forget about him. We won’t even mention him.” You assure him, stroking his cheeks.

“What if—,” You cut him off.

“No, there’s no what if’s. You’re going to be fine Tom. You’re surrounded by people who love you and will make you realize that you’re nothing even near him. You are the kindest man ever, you love your family, you care about your fans, and your brothers. You’re busy always taking care of everyone else, I think it’s time you take care of yourself, love.” You tell him. A small smile is on your face but it falters, “You don’t have to go through this alone, Tom.”

Tom takes a shaky breath in. “You’ll be there right?” He asks like a child making sure his mother will be there when he wakes up. “You’ll be there with me to bring me back?”

Your thumb smooths the crinkle between his brows, “I always will. I promise.” He nods and pulls you into him. You climb onto his lap and settle on his legs. He stares up at you, one of his his hands supporting your back, the other pressed against your cheek. “Thank you. I missed you so much. I’m sorry for not texting, everything’s just been so taxing mentally and physically.”

“No, don’t worry I get it.” You turn your face to press a light kiss on his palm. For the first time since you’ve seen him, Tom managed to crack a smile on his lips. He moves some strands of hair away from your face before resting his large hand on the back of your head. “I love you. I love you so much, (y/n).”

“I love you too, Tom.” You whisper against his lips. He takes that as a sign to finally crash your lips together. After months being apart, the feeling of his lips against yours felt like coming home. The kiss was desperate, like it was the air you both breathed. Tom had been longing for your touch, he craved you every second of the day, whether it be sexually or just missing you. The kiss grew rough, your teeth clashing, tongues poking and gliding against each other.

Tom lays you down on the bed, hovering over you. His hands grab and stroke at your body, trying to pull off your clothes to get close to your skin. He suddenly pulls away from your lips. “I need you. Please, I need you.” He almost begs you. Panting, you nod and push him to lay on his back. “Ok, let me take care of you, Tommy.”

He yanks his shirt off, throwing it to the side. You do the same, leaning down to meet his lips again. You kiss your way along his jaw and down to his neck. When you find that certain spot, he lets out a throaty groan, head falling back against the pillows. You run your nails along his chiseled abs and slightly roll your hips against his growing length. Tom grunts, hands instantly connecting to your ass and gripping onto your cheeks. He helps you roll your hips more, deeper with more friction against you two.

“Mm, Tom. I missed you.” You moan against his neck. You bite down and soothe the spot with your tongue after.

Tom looks down at you, lifting his hips to meet your clothes pussy. “Fucking miss you so much. You have no idea how much I’ve been dreaming of being buried in you again.” You kiss your way down his chest, but Tom stops you. His hands grab onto your leggings and slide them off.

“N-no foreplay. I need to feel you.” He stutters out, mouth agape. You nod in agreement and take his sweatpants off along with his boxers. You spit in your hand, running your hand along his dick to give it some wetness. Tom helps you lift yourself over him and guides your hips down his erected cock. You let out a combination of a sigh and moan as your walls envelop and stretch around him. Tom slightly sits up against the headboard, your tightness wrapping around him. He lets out a cry of relief, your walls around him feeding his cravings. You use his shoulders as leverage to pull yourself up but Tom stops you.

“What’s wrong?” You eye him cautiously. Tom shakes his head, “Nothing’s wrong. I just—can we stay like this for a while? I just want to feel you, please?”

“Yeah, we can do that.” You send him a reassuring smile as you settle back down on him. His hands make themselves comfortable around your waist. You maneuver your arms under his and wrap them around his back. Tom smiles at you, rubbing your back and guiding you into his chest. Before you can nuzzle your face into his neck, he presses a kiss to your temple and lets his fingers get tangled in your hair.

With his eyes closed in bliss, he whispers, “Thank you for bringing me back. I love you.”

You kiss his collarbone basking in the feeling him being so close to you. “I’ll always be here. I love you too.”

[captnjacksparrow]

SNS Dynamics - Sasuke's Perspective

Lengthy post ahead

On completing my rewatch of Naruto part I and part II, many things which never made sense started to make sense. One among them is the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke. I used to ask why Naruto is going so far for Sasuke. And why Sasuke is helping out Naruto even though he wants to kill him. And I used to think that Episode 478 was retconned to make the final battle ends in a draw and Sasuke somehow made to reconcile with the titular character. Yet, I instinctively felt, ‘Something is very different about them’. But on careful rewatch, all the clues which consolidate their relationship was there. The way they love each other is totally on a different level and the creator very carefully planned this from the beginning of the Manga.

Though I really don’t like the ending for making every characters into a child rearing machine at an age of 20 to make way for an abomination called ‘Boruto’, I still loved everything till Episode 479.

I wanted to discuss about both Naruto and Sasuke's perspective. But that cannot be accommodated in a single post. So, I decided to start with Sasuke. Since Naruto's side of SNS is very open and vocal, we clearly knew what is going on in his mind. But Sasuke's side is usually very subtle but much more intense than Naruto which makes it worth analyzing.

Before getting to that, for most of the characters in the Naruto universe (I mean 99%), Sasuke is a person who looks cool, aloof, rude, overbearing, blunt, genius and emotionless. And that’s the truth. Except for Itachi and Naruto. So when I say he is rude or arrogant, it is from the people’s POV.  And since I always see myself in Itachi, I see Sasuke as that adorable innocent child who is very honest but forgiving.

I strongly feel that Sasuke has some innocent enchantment towards Naruto ever since he lost his family which later transcended into a bond which cannot be put under Friendship or Bromance. Enchantment, here I meant by, is not in a sexual way but more like the unconscious need to be in the presence of other person. Like walking beside each other eternally. Or even warming up next to a campfire near a chilly beach. You don’t want to fall into the fire but just enjoy the warmth. It maybe totally a platonic love like many claims to be. But his absolute disinterest in any other characters (even just as a friend) and the following traits he shows only to Naruto are clearly not just distinctive of platonic love either. It’s completely beyond platonic.

The following are the traits which Sasuke shows only towards Naruto, could have been avoided or delegated to other characters if the creator really wanted to assert their relationship as just friendship. There are lot of subtexts and emotions which I cannot accept it under the guise of bromance or friendship. It’s just not possible. If someone you like shows all these traits to another person, you should stop thinking about that person and move on.

The traits are :

Preferential Treatment

Attentive

Protective

My body moved on its own

One and Only

Powerful Eyes

Unconscious Closeness

Preferential Treatment

This is the very basic and first thing you show to someone whom you love. Meaning, I will treat this person much different from everyone else. When I was exploring this trait, I couldn’t stop laughing in many places. Because Sasuke is such a trolling machine who mercilessly trolls people who are in his way. He also inspire certain amount of fear which makes him even more unapproachable.

He has this cold bearing where people find it extremely difficult to manage or approach him. It comes off as very rude most of the times. One such example is Sai told Sasuke that he will get along better with him than Naruto. Sasuke put a Genjutsu on him for comparing himself with Naruto. LOL.

What's more funny is most people (Sakura, Orochimaru, Kabuto, Sai, Hinata) usually talk to him politely with honorifics like 'Sasuke-kun'. But he didn't give two shits about them and shitted them all mercilessly.

Here is the infamous proposal from Sakura in part 1.

Well she deserved this one to be honest. Throughout the entire conversation Sasuke never saw her face and responded very bluntly even though she was pouring her heart out crying. There was no visible distress or sadness from Sasuke’s side.

Whereas with Naruto, in the final Valley of The End, we saw him turning towards Naruto and answer him properly when Naruto asked the same question of what Sakura asked. There were so many emotions throughout the battle and Sasuke’s pain of leaving Naruto was clearly shown. Which explains the difference of where Sasuke keeps Naruto in his heart.

The following is the one from Chunin Exams prelims where Sakura is begging for him to quit with tears. The response is an usual 'Stay out of my business'.

Me: Sasuke!!!! Even I don't know how to approach you!!!! I understand you don't like to talk unnecessarily so you just shitted on Sai. But Sakura is your teammate, isn't it?

And then there is this little orange blonde who literally trolls Sasuke.

I really thot Sasuke was going to trash Naruto too, like he could have easily said, 'Naruto, you should also stay out of my business'.

But then

These words are something precious for Naruto. He wished for these words to come from Sasuke someday in his lifetime. But not at that time. And he was truly shocked and very excited. Believe me, when watching that scene, it was really great. But while making analysis like this, it’s absolutely hilarious.

This dynamics is similar to

Sakura: *cries unbearably* Sasuke-kun, I am worried about you. Don’t act so strong.

Sasuke: Shut up. Mind your own business.

Naruto: Bastard! She is worried about you.

Sasuke: Alright, I love you. Now shut up.

ROOOFFFFL :-D

I thought all these childhood bickers were over by part 1 and we will never see it in part 2.

Nope. I was wrong. Kakashi and Sakura were the scapegoats here.

Here's another round of applause from Naruto.

And I honestly cannot comprehend what was going on in Sasuke's mind and why he is really rude to Sakura and Kakashi. It seems he was really irritated by their presence or he maybe thinking they were useless or both.

When Naruto asks him something, he responds without any insults. What baffles me most is that during Infinite Tsukuyomi, Sasuke wanted to kill Naruto for his Revolution and awaiting his fated battle. And yet he answers him properly.

Can you see the pattern here?

He shits on people asking some question even with an utmost polite attitude but when Naruto asks the same question he was like "Alright Sweetie, Am gonna answer anything you want and say anything you like".

The following is the beginning of everything where Naruto can't even swear properly but still Sasuke couldn't even bother.

In short, the way he treats Naruto is quite different and hilarious when compared to the others. With his cold bearing, he absolutely has no need to put up with Naruto's outburst but he still accepts without a care every time. RIP to those souls who got the short end of the stick.

He must have an extreme tolerance towards Naruto's tirades to the point where he can never insult him back. And I also believe 100% that, nobody dares to make such frequent insults on Sasuke to his face except Naruto.

I know SK shippers jump in here to say Naruto is not the only one. But still the dynamics between Karin and Sasuke is simply a mirror image of Naruto and Sasuke, probably she reminded him of Naruto and hence made some exceptions for her because Sasuke never gives a damn about any other clan other than his own, but when Kabuto tells him Karin belongs to Uzumaki clan, he was shocked. I am pretty sure the only other Uzumaki member he knew is none other than Naruto.

Now, does this means he is in super love with Naruto? No.

But the way he treats every other characters and how he treats Naruto exclusively speaks volumes and this trope shouldn’t have existed in the first place. The creator should have made Sasuke treat both of his teammates equally which could’ve deflected the shipping angle. 

Attentive

Am not talking about how attentively he analyzes his enemies in the battles. Of course, in that department, Sasuke flies high. This is about how attentive he is to Naruto to the point where he can deduce what Naruto thinks and how Naruto looks without the need to communicate with him.

I know Sasuke suspected Sakura was acting strange before Chunin Exams when she said 'Good Morning' with some hesitation. But the difference here is that Sasuke can identify Naruto without even talking to him.

Funny thing here is that Sasuke was sitting somewhere far behind from Naruto and yet he could pick up Naruto getting freaked out without seeing his face.

Who could forget about the famous ‘Where’s real Naruto?’ episode during Chunin Exams?. It would’ve been fine if this happened once. But the creator went ahead and made this thing happen twice under entirely different situations. And everytime Sasuke can find fake Naruto without fail. This scene conveys Sasuke is very observant towards Naruto’s appearance & fighting skills (the way he evades an attack).

Now, being attentive to someone is not a special thing which attributes to love. But considering Sasuke’s personality who is aloof and focused on his own world, knowing Naruto like the back of his hand  is way too descriptive. Only someone who really understands the other person or constantly paying attention can find out such subtle changes. It doesn’t end here.

This is the battle between Gaara and Naruto. Where Naruto was literally confused about how to save his friends from Gaara who is much more powerful. And yet Sasuke can find Naruto’s mood just by seeing him.

Me: Yes, Sasuke!!! Gaara happened to pass by Naruto and forgot to kill him on a whim!!! So, Naruto is scared to the shit!!

Also Me: You guys always bicker with each other and are not best of friends. Sasuke!!! How could you analyze his mood just by looking at Naruto????

In Shippuden, There’s no inner monologue like the above, but whenever Naruto appears before him (Orochimaru’s hideout, Bridge, War arc), Sasuke gives his undivided attention to him. He even went so far as to advice him to pay attention to the battle. And I was like “Wait!!! you wanted to kill him... why pay attention to him at all? Geez”.

As much as you want to think that Sasuke doesn’t care about anyone, he does care about Naruto to the point where he doesn’t want him to be worried. How thoughtful just for a ‘teammate’.

How did Sasuke knew that Naruto would worry about him?, I wonder.

But all these things started from this

This boy has been noticing Naruto from way back when he was around 7 when he lost his family. Of course he would know every little things about Naruto because for some undefinable reason he couldn’t stop paying his attention to Naruto. A lineup of girls vying for his attention because of his cool appearance, whereas Sasuke simply loved Naruto without any reservations but because of his childish and warm personality which reminded him of his family.

‘I couldn’t stop paying attention to you’  and in some translations the words were ‘I couldn’t take my eyes off you’. Either way, these words are not for someone you see just as a friend let alone a brother.

Protectiveness

I can go on and on about how protective Sasuke is towards Naruto. I can write a separate post about it. This is the most important aspects of this ship which makes it sail higher than any other ships.

Of course, this is the Ninja world where people wants to protect each other and at the same time kill each other too. Sasuke protecting Naruto and Naruto protecting Sasuke is not too special. In fact, one of the weak and pathetic character like Sakura was saved once in every three episodes by Naruto or Kakashi or even by Sasuke sometimes.

And yet here I am mentioning protectiveness as the most important aspect of this ship. So what differentiates?

The way Sasuke protects Naruto is one of the intense thing I’ve ever seen. When I watch this series, I gained this immense ability to put myself in other characters mind just like Naruto. When I put myself in Sasuke’s mind whenever he tried to protect Naruto under different conditions, I simply cannot put their relationship under Friendship.

Here, Naruto is fighting Gaara in part 1 and Naruto was repelled by his own attack from the paper bomb. Sasuke being already battered by his curse mark bruise and he couldn’t move an inch. And yet he is shielding Naruto even though it is completely unnecessary because Naruto bumping into a tree log is completely normal. The creator even went under a lot of pain to draw that panel which took 40% of the page.

Now you may question, many characters even died protecting someone. What’s so special with just shielding?

Like Hinata jumping in for suicide before Pain, Iruka blocking Mizuki’s attack, Tsunade blocking Orochimaru, Neji dying as a ‘Love Cupid’ for hinata and Naruto.... I can cite many things here. What’s common among them all is that they were all perfectly capable of moving around and yet decided to save Naruto.

But that’s not the only point. 

Is there any need for him to save Naruto? No.

Will Naruto die if he didn’t shield him? No.

Then why? He could have spent that energy trying to do something for Sakura rather than do a pointless shielding. 

And then there is Kushina.

Naruto’s mom was already on the verge of dying as she had Kurama extracted from her body and Jinchuriki without a Tailed Beast will die. Because of Uzumaki clan’s strong life force, she could hold off for a bit longer. When kurama attacked Naruto, she shielded him with her body and saved her son from an imminent death.

Even though Sasuke didn’t die shielding him, but there is a semblance.

Both protected Naruto even when their body condition is worse. That is, Protect at all cost attitude.

I intended to put Land of the Waves arc here as it is very similar to what happens with Kushina. But that’s for an upcoming section.

Now, as a Mother her instinct to protect Naruto is very strong.

But who is Naruto for Sasuke? What makes his instinct so strong to protect someone who is not even related by his blood? Until and unless you love that person dearly you won’t do it.

That brings me to the next thing.

Yeah, it kind of looks ‘very friendly’ to give a 3 layered protection to someone who is already powered up like you and most importantly you want to kill him.(Can I say that looks really romantic?). Anyways my point is different.

What really happens here is this

It is a well established fact that Minato, the Yellow Flash is the fastest shinobi in Narutoverse. It wasn’t surpassed yet. He uses the Hiraishin No Jutsu to teleport at the speed of light. It was invented by none other than Tobirama Senju who is the fastest shinobi of his time.

We basically have two fastest shinobi in the battlefield here. And Minato being the fastest among them, definitely don’t want to blow up near his son for whom he died protecting him once. He wanted to teleport somewhere away and before he could do it, Tobirama teleported the bomb back to Obito.

What many fails to notice here is that all these things are happening in mere seconds. But Sasuke realized it real quick as usual and protects Naruto in an instant. How fast his instinct you may ask? Quicker than the two fastest shinobi on the battlefield and one among them is Naruto’s dad.

What I want to say is Sasuke’s protective instinct is quicker than Naruto’s father and similar to Naruto’s mother.

And you know, I questioned myself during the Chunin Exams arc “I think in the Zabuza arc, Naruto conveniently happened to be near Sasuke, So he protected him at the cost of his life. What if Sakura happens to be there? Would he have done the same? Maybe he would’ve died protecting her too.”

But all of my questions were thrown into drain by Sasuke as if he was able to read my mind. The answer is “Hell! I don’t care if she died. That’s her loss. I will not die for her sake.”

This is really confusing, hilarious and romantic at the same time.

Me: Sasuke!!! I understand why you want to save Jugo... Even though you abandoned him in the Land of Iron. LOL. What are you going to do with Naruto anyway when the whole world is blasted off?

He proved this again in the Kaguya’s Lava dimension too. Before you tell me that he saved Naruto because he needs him to seal off Kaguya, the previous scenario nullifies your argument.

And SS wankers shamelessly defending that Sasuke don’t want Sakura to die by Kaguya’s hands, that’s why he left her to die. Geez!!! Who the hell is Sakura to Kaguya anyway? Even if she were to die by Kaguya’s hands, it would almost look like how Obito died. It’s not bad at all. But falling into the lava pit, burning, screaming.... sssshhhh. Wake the f**k up!!!

Now how can you convince me that this is just Friendship? What’s more funny is Sasuke wanted to kill Naruto later at some point. Throughout the War Arc I was always confused as to why Sasuke even care about Naruto at all? He didn’t care about him ever since he left him 3 or 4 years ago and he doesn’t have to. After all everyone have their own paths to walk on.

Even if I put myself in Sasuke’s mind and see Naruto just as a friend whom I want to kill, I wouldn’t go under so much pain to save him. I would feel like it’s better for him to die by something else rather than me. Because I can’t bring myself to kill someone I know well.

These scenes are not just put there by chance.

Such a strong reflex to protect someone is only possible when you consider that person’s life more than yours.

Does any other ship has such things to show? I’ll wait.

Yeah Sasuke protected Sakura from Orochimaru and Gaara. But he also went so far to wait for Karin and awakened a new power to protect her. So does this means he love those girls?? No. He was just showing a team camaraderie. But it’s funny that later, he tried to kill those girls knowing full well they are unprepared to fight him. While with Naruto, it always comes with a warning. Try to understand this difference. Which is exactly why I didn’t put Sasuke saving Naruto during his Chakra training, or falling from the waterfall and many more. Because they are just a team camaraderie.

I don’t even have to compare with other ships, did Sasuke ever protected anyone like this in the whole series?. These are the things which could’ve been avoided or handled in a different way, like there was no need to emphasize on saving Naruto alone while ignoring others.

My body moved on its own

I don’t need to explain this any deeper. There are many people who says Sasuke is incapable of showing his true feelings. He is cold, rude, aloof and stoic so he always hides his feelings for everyone (mostly this line was used by Sakura wankers who wanted to portray that Sasuke always loved Sakura deeply but never shows). But they fail to understand the irony that one of the most beautiful line in this entire series was told by none other than ‘Sasuke Uchiha’, “My body moved on its own”.

Yet I find Sasuke shows his honest and heartful emotions before the people he loves. If he can show that to Itachi and Naruto, why not with Sakura?

I know those wankers try to say Sasuke repressed all his feelings until Chapter 698, so he has some romantic feelings for Sakura too. Bullshit!!!

Even though he repressed those feelings in his mind, his body always betrays him in the end and his feelings pours out from time to time. That is what this section explores about.

Man, this is the most painful GIF I have ever made.

In his battle with Itachi, he was completely consumed by the feeling of revenge and hatred for his brother. But when Itachi approached him in his final moments with an intention (seemingly) to snatch his eyes, he still couldn't push Itachi away though he could have. Sasuke just looked into his eyes and let him do whatever he was about to do.

Why?, Because he loved his brother so much once that he don't know what to do but simply embrace that moment. These are the moments your mind says to close your eyes or even run away (he totally could have) but his body will not allow him to.

This is what I meant by your body betrays yourself. Even in your darkest moments, you cannot fake. You always show your true emotions towards the person you love. The more you suppress, the more it will burst out.

Here Sasuke’s hatred is glaring through his eyes because Sakura is persuading him to not do something he wants to (as always). His only motivation is to kill that man. His resolve is a real deal.

But in a matter of minutes after giving that long hateful speech with some heavy determination, when he saw that hungry blonde boy who was tied up for trying to steal food, Sasuke just acted on his own and served him food even though he was told not to which could jeopardize his career.

This bipolar dance is something to notice throughout the series and is always interesting to explore. When Sakura tries to dissuade Sasuke from something, he always retorts to insults or an angry stare. But when Naruto accidentally stands in Sasuke’s way, he always involuntarily helps him out.

In short, towards Sakura he was like “Even you cannot take that path away from me” but when turning towards Naruto, he was like “Well, I can risk everything for you at the cost of my path”.

This seals the real deal for SNS ship.

At this point, for us viewers, Naruto is just an orphan who has no friends but always carries his life with a positive spirit hoping that someday he will be accepted by everyone.

Unbeknownst the fact that he already has one person who was willing to die for him and putting all his dreams into fire.

Important thing to notice, It’s entirely at Naruto’s fault for them being in this situation. If Naruto had used a bit of brain to attack from outside the mirror, they wouldn’t have been in this situation. But still Sasuke plunged into the trap without any regrets. That’s the beauty of this scene.

What’s more thrilling is that the creator told us Sasuke loved Naruto in the very next chapter itself. 

How?

By making Haku jump before Zabuza knowing full well that he is going to die which is not very different from how Sasuke shielded Naruto.

And not only that, but by making Naruto say “He really loved you”. I got to say the creator may sucks at writing Sakura and Hinata for God only knows for whatever twisted reasons. But when it comes to male characters like Naruto, Sasuke, Itachi, Obito... he was just amazing and on another level.

How?

By indirectly drawing parallels between Sasuke and Haku in a matter of successive chapters.

By dropping indirect hints and crumbs like these to tell us, the audience, the motivations of the characters.

I always had the thought why did he risked his life for a boy who always fights with him? This became more emotional when we get to know the real reason for why Sasuke risked his life much later in chapter 698.

Having faced all the turbulent things in his life, somehow seeing Naruto doing all those childish stuffs made him feel relieved. That warmth was what he needed at that time. He wanted to escape from it but couldn’t. That’s why he embraced his warmth unknowingly in his Team 7 days by constantly reaching out to him starting from asking tips, concerned about having breakfast and training with him to climb the tree.

Sasuke even come to like Naruto more than himself and that’s why he was willing to die for him.

This feeling is definitely not a bromance or friendship. It’s an innocent enchantment you hope to last forever. Which again explains why he tolerated Naruto’s insults and hostility all those times. Because Sasuke knew those childish things were the ones he got attracted to him ever since his childhood. Rather than saying tolerated, I should use the term enjoyed. He really enjoyed those moments being bugged by Naruto for no reason.

Because just like Itachi said to Sasuke once, ‘If you are excellent you become alienated and arrogant even though you were sought after at the beginning’ . But Naruto pestering him means he is very curious about Sasuke which no one else tried. He was adored by those girls for his coolness and revered by those boys for his excellence but nobody really tried to befriend him. But Naruto tried to befriend him through Rivalry. That’s why Sasuke unconsciously started to like him. This also explains why he roasted Sakura for badmouthing him even though Naruto attacked him and tied him up earlier.

If Sasuke can show all these feelings even though he was trying to suppress it towards Naruto and Itachi, Why can’t he show a single normal feeling towards Sakura??? Because there isn’t one. Except for an old Team 7 camaraderie where he saw her as an acquaintance and nothing more.

Many NH shippers claims, but Hinata loved her ‘Naruto-Kun’. She jumped in front of Naruto to save him from Pain, when in reality she just acted selfishly and couldn’t pull out the Chakra rods. Meaning she failed whatever she was about to do.

Another interesting thing to cite for NH shippers, they claim for Naruto, Hinata is the most important person his life. Since when? With that shitty movie called ‘The Last’ with shitty retconned stuff? In all the 699 chapters he always claimed Iruka Sensei and Sasuke were the important people in his life. And you know what? For Hinata to like Naruto, he has to jump in to save her from the bullies. But for Sasuke he just saved Naruto without any validation. He saw Naruto and liked his presence and just did it. 

When you could accept that failed attempt as a love, why not accept Sasuke loves Naruto when in fact he succeeded in saving him and that too unconditionally?

This is one of the tropes which should have been avoided if the creator wanted Sasuke and Naruto to be just friends.

One and Only

This is something very special that is offered to that one person in his life. That is Naruto. Even Itachi knew it. That is the Power to influence Sasuke’s heart. This is the fact even Sasuke himself knew it and that’s why he wanted to kill him.

Now don’t compare this with the manipulation shit which Orochimaru and Obito were doing. It’s not that. Many Sasuke fanatics always blame Naruto that he is also manipulating Sasuke just like everyone. That’s totally wrong.

Manipulation is something you do by talking about some twisted facts and make the other person to do what you want to.

Naruto never did that. Ever. Whenever Naruto and Sasuke meet, they always talk about themselves and how they feel. Not the world, not Team 7 or anything. Which is exactly why Sasuke himself willingly left that space in his heart for Naruto when he left him in the Valley of the End which he badly wanted to destroy. Sasuke, of all people, know Naruto is also very honest.

Sasuke lost all his rationality when he went into darkness by stabbing Karin who was helping him in his battle with Danzo. She even replenished his chakra many times. He not only just stabbed her, after when he found her still alive, he decided to finish her off with his Chidori.

And then the pink haired bitch appears before him and started to concoct lies with malicious intent to kill him. This provoked Sasuke more and more to reach this point.

Believe me, when you are lost in darkness, all you need is a small light which can show you a path. Someone who can extend helping hands to lift you up with honesty.

Sakura, being a crass woman, riled up Sasuke further with full of nonsense.

If you want to picture the darkness,

This is exactly how Sasuke feels. He is in so much pain and don’t know how to face it or deal with it. So he started to destroy everything he sees. For him Karin, Sakura, Kakashi are all just some pebbles in his way and want to trample them as he goes. His entire life has become farce after knowing his beloved brother’s real pain and miseries. Now he has no one left from his family.

Until Naruto appears.

He may not be his family, but he is the only person left for him in this world. Which is established in many Naruto endings and even Sasuke himself accepts this with Sage of Six Paths. 

But my Cherry Blossom queen really loved Sasuke, she only wanted the good of him. My question is ‘Then why the fuck she tried to kill him? She looked at Sasuke and find that he changed. She didn’t even bothered to find out what’s going on from his side.’ Then how is this considered as wanting only good for him? 

Surprisingly Sasuke calmed down a bit, the moment Naruto appears and even started to respond to him which he didn’t before with Kakashi and Sakura. Deep down Sasuke himself knew in his heart that the path he is going through is Self-destructive. Just like Kurama tells Naruto ‘Destroy everything you see’ in the Pain arc when he sprouted upto Eighth Tail, Sasuke’s traumatic mind tells him to ‘Destroy Konoha’.

All he needed was someone to extend an helping hand to tell him what to do without any malice. Naruto did that. Just like what Minato did for Naruto in Pain arc.

After clashing Rasengan with Chidori ,they meet inside the White bubble space and Naruto talks to Sasuke which evoked all his past memories which he never wanted to awaken.

That’s why Sasuke was visibly shaken with Naruto’s words. Because those were the words which mirrors exactly how Sasuke feels too. He was surprised and shocked that Naruto also felt the same way without him ever openly confessing those feelings.

When everyone tried to kill him for his monstrosity, Naruto is the only person standing there seeing him as his friend. Just like how Iruka saw Naruto way back in 1st chapter.

Believe me, even at the depth of darkness, when you see the person you love so much, you will stop and rationalize.

That is exactly why Itachi left Sasuke in Naruto’s hands. He even admitted to Sasuke that his words will not reach him no matter what.

Sasuke may not have abandoned his ambitions at that point. But Naruto gave him a clear path. That is ‘Show all your hatred on me’ and then do whatever you want.

I know SS shippers will claim that back hug from Sakura changed his murderous behaviour during the Chunin Exams. Yes. That’s true. But right after that, when Sasuke was fighting Yoroi in a one-on-one combat, his Cursed Seal flares up again. He retracted that seal out of his sheer will and thought about both Sakura and Naruto who was freaking out without even knowing about the seal. So, it’s not only a Sakura exclusive moment. The creator even went ahead and drawn a panel asking Sakura to not say anything about the Curse Mark to Naruto. Why do that?

As far as I understand, Sasuke saw Naruto and felt the warmth of his family. He singled that out in chapter 698. When Naruto was placed in the same team as him, he started to extend his good side to his other team members as well. But the moment he decided to leave the village, he severed the ties with Sakura (was there ever one apart from considering her as a teammate?) by saying Thank You. Meaning, you helped me many times so thanks for all of that. What’s more pitiful is, he didn’t even look at her face for the entire conversation except for saying ‘You are really annoying’. There is nowhere in the manga where Sasuke singled out Sakura for making him feel anything and did something for her exclusively. It’s all in the context of Team 7.

If Sakura is the most important person in Sasuke’s life, he should have stopped the rampage the moment he saw her but instead he got riled up more and more. Which explains where Sasuke kept her in his heart. Literally nowhere. He threw her into the trash. LOL.

If Hulk can calm down after seeing Betty Ross and you call that love, why not accept Sasuke loves Naruto??

Powerful Eyes

You know, Even in real life, Our eyes always reflects our true feelings, just like how your body betrays your mind , your eyes even betray your body.

Just like how Itachi could never fake his evil brother act in his final moments.

Just like how Sasuke couldn’t turn away from Itachi when he was approaching him to seemingly snatch his eyes.

Uchiha boys being a romantic bunch, always expose their awakening/ reawakening/ evolving their Sharingan in a most distressed situation. Just like Madara and Sasuke exposed their brimming eyes for Hashirama and Naruto. But in this department, Madara is wildly romantic as always. LOL. Despite losing 3 brothers, he awakened his Sharingan only when he was breaking up with his ‘friend’. And Sasuke, he reawakened / evolved Sharingan when trying to save / breaking up with his ‘friend’. Such a Biological defect!!!!

Poor Sakura pathetically fails in this department.

Anyways this part is not about Sharingan anyway. It’s about how such a powerful eyes becomes powerless before those Blue Eyes.

Eye Symbolism is something I really enjoy exploring in this ship.

Like I mentioned earlier, Sasuke has never shown his emotions atleast starting from Part II. He usually never shows any positive emotions like happiness, laughing, pouting, love, excitement (although he has shown all these towards Itachi and Naruto) and is known for negative emotions like anger, annoyance, hatred.

Look at how Sasuke is glaring with hatred for her insensitive words. She deserved this to be honest.

Now, is there any need to show your fury towards Kabuto?

Since the beginning of the Shippuden, some facts have been established strongly:

1. Sasuke has changed by leaps and bounds in terms of his attitude and hatred.

2. Sharingan is pretty dangerous. Many characters including kurama acknowledges it. Sasuke is very adept at using his Sharingan.

Orochimaru maybe right. But he doesn’t know the weakness. LOL

His hatred has reached to a point where he couldn’t think anything rationally and started to kill everyone, just like how Naruto kicked Sakura in his 4 Tailed Kyuubi Mode engulfed with the hatred of Kurama. Meaning, to reach his goal, Sasuke will kill anyone in his path without any hesitation. This shot is the representation of this.

And yet when he saw those particular Blue eyes, he stops his rampage immediately and visibly shocked even.  That’s the look of ‘why is that blue eyes here?’

You have every right to accuse me that I am over exaggerating this scene. I am not. Even I wanted to think that way too that I am deluding myself. The creator has only consolidated my view pretty strongly.

There’s no need to emphasize on eyes at all. The anime team has went under so much pain to animate this scene in a satisfying and compelling way.

What’s more? The creator even went under further extent to draw a whole page in the manga focusing on their eye contact after the Rasengan vs Chidori clash. Meaning, Sasuke has calmed down visibly and became very easy to reason with.

Trust me, even in your darker / vulnerable moments, your eyes will reflect your true feelings to the person you love. You cannot be stubborn. 

Now did it stop here?? Nope, it happened again in the Final Valley of the End battle too.

Sasuke is usually confident of his Sharingan (rightfully so) and likes to flaunt his eyes just like Madara. He was very sure that he was going to win.

While Sasuke had a clear resolve to kill Naruto when he was showing his back, but the moment he comes close with those Blue Eyes, his heart even pounded strongly (in the anime), and lost the resolve completely which made his Sharingan retract itself unconsciously. Meaning, his eyes betrayed him.

It’s funny that not even a minute ago he was very proud of his Visual Prowess as an Uchiha and his victory is inevitable but the moment he saw those Blue eyes, he just lost. You think I am again exaggerating?. Nope!!!

Oh Dear!!! This doesn’t get more romantic than this. An inescapable gaze from those blue eyes he loved all along.

Sasuke!! What happened to your proud Uchiha eyes?. You just stole Chakra from Naruto, isn’t it? Hints like these are really heartwarming, to be honest.

My entire point is, every character from every arc hypes up Sharingan starting from Zabuza, Haku, Rock Lee, Orochimaru, Kabuto, Kurama and many more, but why put a weakness for Naruto’s eyes? 

What I really loved exploring is the way Sasuke totally expressed everything through his eyes in Episode 478.

Sasuke shows his vulnerability towards Naruto with just his eyes. These are not something you show to everyone. Even when Itachi departed finally after releasing Edo Tensei, Sasuke looked sad, shocked and pained but didn’t cry. He accepted the reality of it. The last time when we saw him crying, it was after knowing the truth of Itachi, facing towards the beach and was weeping unbearably because there was no one else for him in this world. But this time, he is next to the person whom he feels truly loved and he doesn’t mind showing it with his eyes.

Well, on multiple rewatches, the clues for their love was already dropped in the 1st Valley of the End fight itself. Sasuke already lost his resolve to kill by balling his chidori fist rather than ramming through his chest. So the feelings inside the bubble are their honest emotions like always.

The pain on the verge of their separation inside the white bubble is clearly evident from their eyes even in their monstrous form. Even in the manga it was mentioned that ‘I can’t turn my back  Vs  I am not letting you go’

But what they really wanted to be from their childhood was this.

Look at Sasuke, how entranced he was on looking at that innocent boy. Now put yourself at Sasuke’s mind. Will you ever look at your friend like that??? Now, they are probably just 7 here, am not romanticizing. But Sasuke looks enthralled innocently.

But somehow, their paths separated them for who knows how long. But the pain in both their eyes is unbearable. Even the databook, mentioned that separating from Naruto is like ripping half of his body. Well, this proves it.

Now, if they really wanted to portray this as friendship, they never should have given Eye symbolism at all. They should have gone with ‘I was always jealous of you’ thing, like they portrayed in that filler episode 450.I would’ve gladly accepted it as friendship. Because that’s how friends behave when they are jealous and I wasn’t feeling any romance at all. There’s no need of that lengthy monologue on how he was always looking at Naruto and felt pain.

I am telling you, I won’t be looking at my friend like this. 

Unconscious closeness

Remember, I’ve written in the beginning of the post that Sasuke enjoys the warmth from Naruto. Meaning, he likes that person’s presence unconsciously and want to be near him. Sasuke proved this many times.

This is the most intense and confusing section I have to dissect for this post. But it’s the most entertaining nonetheless, atleast for me.

Starting from the Land of the Waves arc, here Sasuke is speed walking to match up with Naruto.

Initially I thought, he is trying to be competitive. But instead of walking ahead of Naruto to show who is faster, he just walks beside him. I find this really hilarious and adorable. This just shows Sasuke likes Naruto’s presence so much so that he wants to walk beside him.

Now many SS shippers tries to make this scene for themselves, when it is clearly not.

If you notice Sasuke in the Bell Training, he compares his strength difference with Kakashi and determines to get stronger. Same with Might Guy, he compares Might Guy’s speed with his own Sensei. Meaning, he respects people with strength. Naturally, he should’ve asked her and Sakura would have given him tips wholeheartedly. Because she really succeeded in that training.

Why bother to ask a deadlast?

The only reason I could find is that he wants to befriend him in his own stubborn way. But Poor Soul!!! He didn’t get the tips anyway. LOL. But despite getting the short end of the stick, he never hold it against him. Just like he never held anything against Naruto when he tied him up in Episode 3. All he did was just flaunt how he escaped.

Pretty cool for a 12 year old kid. Because If I were Sasuke, I would hold it for sure.

Once again Sasuke proves how he can care Naruto in his own adorable way.

He could’ve said ‘I am going to train too” if he really intended to train. There is no need to say ‘Going for a Walk’ and ask Naruto about breakfast. This explains that Sasuke simply missed the boy’s prolonged absence and reached out to him in his own cute way.

Now all these doesn’t mean he was in love with him. It’s just a childish attraction which makes him act like that involuntarily.

I just added this GIF to compare with the next scene.

Now Shikamaru falling on Naruto in an unconventional way doesn’t look anywhere romantic. Instead it’s the opposite. They are pretty friendly here.

But Sasuke’s approach to Naruto does looks undeniably sensual and I couldn’t deny the sexual tension that brings with it. (Even when I watched it for the first time having no idea of shipping anyone, I lowkey got creeped and thought, ‘Sasuke!! What have you become? ’)

This scene is something even I can’t dissect. Because honestly I don’t know. Sasuke is a person who never appreciates physical touches nor does he initiates either.

I get this crazy femme fatale vibe when seeing Sasuke with his sexy costume landing at a speed of lightning with his hands wrapped around Naruto and taunting near his ear about what was he doing there? The only reason I could think of is that maybe he missed him for 3 years which made him go unconsciously so close near Naruto. It’s also funny that he could’ve shoved his sword into Naruto’s heart before landing and no one could’ve batted an eyelid.

Damn you, Kishimoto!!! Is this scene absolutely necessary??? What are you trying to convey? Why do you give Sasuke, a sexualized aura?? I understand you love this character so much and you want this character to be desirable among women. Yeah, you succeeded by making Karin behave like a woman in heat, the moment they met. But instead of letting her get close to him, you made Sasuke to say ‘You... Don’t get so close’ whereas with Naruto, you made Sasuke to go willingly touch him in a half hugging stance. Geez!!!

Here comes the most interesting part in this section.

It may seem irrelevant at the beginning but trust me, it will make sense later.

Before that, I would like to appreciate the creator and especially the anime team to bring the battle sequence so lively and different in its own way. If you notice the purpose of every battle that happened in Naruto series, each carries it own meaning and deliberately distinguished. How you ask?

The fight between Deidara vs Sasuke.

Logically Deidara should be dead in the Gaara retrieval arc itself. There is no point for him to chase Sasuke who killed Orochimaru to whom Deidara had nothing to do with. It didn’t impact the story in any way. But the purpose of that battle is to show how far Sasuke has grown up in those 3 years. The way he can use his Sharingan to analyze his enemies abilities and weakness so quickly and take multiple steps ahead, the way he can use Genjutsu and other incredible jutsus in his arsenal were a visual treat.

Now, let’s analyze Sasuke’s arsenal of Jutsus. He can do Teleportation Jutsu, a decent Genjutsu, Chidori Senbon (needles), Raikiri (Chidori sword which ranges to 5 metres), Chidori Nagash (Chidori from his whole body), Transformation Jutsu, Substitution Jutsu Shuriken Jutsu with wire works, Kirin, Gokakyu No jutsu, Sword fighting, basic Hand-to-Hand fighting (I’ve never seen him do it ever since the Chunin Exams with Orochimaru), Archery fighting, Susanoo, Amaterasu and all the Rinnegan abilities.

Based on the jutsus he learned so far and how he applies in every battle, it all confirms two things:

Sasuke is a Medium-Long Range Shinobi

Sasuke’s battles are usually based on his Cleverness

Let’s go for Naruto. He can do Teleportation Jutsu, Sexy Jutsu, Harem no jutsu, Rasengan, Rasen Shuriken, Oodama Rasengan, Biju Dama, Tailed Beast Mode, Kage Bunshin No jutsu, Sage mode jutsu, Frog Kumite, Better Hand-to-Hand combat skills (better than Sasuke), Transformation Jutsu, Substitution Jutsu and all his Six path abilities.

Compared to Sasuke, Naruto’s jutsu variety is very less. But for every 4 punches from Sasuke equals 1 powerful punch from Naruto. Analyzing all of them,

Naruto is a Close-Range Shinobi except for his Rasen Shuriken

Naruto’s battles are usually based on his Jutsu Timing and Unpredictability

Now, Let’s rewind back to 3 years and look at the 1st Valley of the End battle. That battle was cleverly choreographed which carried very intense emotional baggage. Things we never knew about those boys until then were openly admitted and acknowledged. That is, for Sasuke, Naruto became his closest friend. For Naruto, he always wanted to be Sasuke’s friend way back when he was 6 or 7. For both, they already have some unexplainable bond by just looking at each other and smiling secretly.

The theme of that battle started as Am going on my own path vs I can’t allow you to tread on that dangerous path and ended up with I want to break our bond vs I don’t want to.

Now, this posture represents, Naruto is the one who pursues Sasuke to stop him from whatever he was about to do. Meaning, Naruto is the one who is constantly reaching out and Sasuke as usual kicks him out violently, that is he is pushing him away. That’s the essence of the whole battle.

Considering all the battles in the Naruto universe, I categorize them as follows:

Best Calculated (and emotional) battle - Itachi vs Sasuke

Best Hand-to-Hand combat - Kakashi vs Obito (what a fight it was!!!)

Best Mega Powered Up battle - Hashirama vs Madara

Best Emotional battle - Naruto vs Sasuke (1st valley of the end)

Best Unpredictable/Entertaining battle - Naruto vs Pain

Despite having all the potential to fulfill the above categories, The Final Valley of the End Battle never bested in any of them.

As analyzed before, the boys have grown up to greater heights. I expected a battle between Cleverness of Sasuke Vs Unpredictability of Naruto

But what I observed was something so intense. That is Unintentional closeness.

This battle symbolizes one thing: I am going to kill you to get lonely vs I won’t let you kill me because you will be alone.

Being a long range fighter, I expected Sasuke to go for this.

If you have to kill someone you love, it is best to keep your distance. Sasuke knows this full well when he battled with Itachi. Except for some Sword fighting, he maintained a certain distance to fight Itachi throughout, until the very end.

But when fighting Naruto, all I got was this.

That’s when I finally understood that this posture means, the fight is very personal. Which means, Sasuke or Naruto won’t be fighting by sitting on top of each other with their enemies or anyone else. That’s just between them alone.  

There was no analysis or cleverness from Sasuke’s side or any Unpredictability from Naruto. It was very bland and Sasuke looked clueless throughout the fight.

It started with some boxing style combat, including stealing hand seals and then some power punches. Very quickly it propels to Susanoo vs Tailed Beast mode. I expected some Hashirama vs Madara level power battle.

But all we saw there was this.

I mean, Come on!!! Man. Even the most Crazy and openly Romantic Uchiha, Madara himself never fought like this in Susanoo with Hashirama (Though Madara must be thinking ‘Damn Hashirama! I should’ve tried this with you’. LOL). Those mega battles carried variety of tactics.

Another thing I noticed was, Sasuke is the one who does lots of talking and constantly pursuing Naruto. Whereas Naruto is uncharacteristically quiet for the most part. 

And finally it leads to this.

Sasuke was unconsciously getting closer and closer to Naruto which is the opposite of what he wants to do. Because of that very closeness, he couldn’t look at his eyes with his Sharingan and eventually got an uppercut. It’s like Sasuke was screaming, ‘Hate me’ and Naruto was like ‘Keep talking’.

Every jutsu he had for attacking from a long-range were forgotten. He didn’t even try to put Naruto under Genjutsu. I mean with his Rinnegan, he was capable of putting all the 9 Tailed Beasts into a powerful Genjutsu. Why didn’t he try that with Naruto? There was no Chidori Stream or Lightning Blade.

I can imagine Naruto doing close range fights with someone or even sitting on top of the enemy. Example, part I, Naruto head bumped Gaara. He was literally fighting with his Shadow Clones against a Monster so he had to get closer. Naruto monstrously punching Deidara not knowing the fact that it was a clay clone.

But Sasuke??? Can you imagine Sasuke sitting on top of the enemy and punching to pulp??? No way. Not a chance.!!!

In one way or other way, Sasuke was always in the close proximity with Naruto throughout the battle and touching each other which is totally uncharacteristic of him when compared to his other battles.

Every battle he ever fought was always at a distance which is the clear representation of his own character. He is calculative, analytical, precise and moves fluidly with a flair like a true Ninja unlike Naruto who is always reckless, noisy, powerful and clumsy. 

Sasuke is someone who never lets his emotions get ahead in the battle, unlike Naruto. This is evident from the War when he was yelling at Naruto to stop worrying about Hokage as they were Edo Tensei who can regenerate. Even when fighting with Itachi, he calculated every move and attacked Itachi without any emotions except at the very end. Sasuke in this final battle forgot who he was and telling us viewers “Am just gonna get closer to Naruto and punch him hard”.

In short, Sasuke completely forgot all his battle tactics he had with Itachi and let his emotions get ahead of his cleverness and got himself closer to Naruto which eventually ended up weakening his resolve to kill him. This is what I meant by Unintentional Closeness.

Anyways, what I understood was, the creator didn’t put all this by without any meaning. It’s all very deliberate and drawn carefully.

Moving onto the final and the most defining moments of SNS.

When I watched this scene for the first time, I can’t comprehend the exact meaning. And I forgot about this later because of my excitement to know what happens next. But what I understood on my rewatch is that, the feelings exchanged here is very pure and innocent but distressing.

Sasuke already lost his resolve to kill by not ramming Naruto with Chidori instead balled up his fist. So he is not contemplating whether or not to kill Naruto.

Sasuke made every effort to leave Naruto and succeeded in it too. But somehow, accidentally, when faced with a person whom he considers so precious in such a close proximity, despite have a stinging pain in his arm, he is feeling the warmth he once felt. He just wants that warmth to prolong for some more time and he can’t able to evade it. So he totally gave in to that desire and feeling it unconsciously. Sasuke always watched Naruto (unbeknownst to him) and felt warmth, relief and weakness. This scene is the symbolic and innocent representation of all those feelings when he saw Naruto and he is exeriencing it for the final time. 

Does this means, does Sasuke wants to kiss him? No.

But every symbolism of that being happening is there. It’s just all open to interpretations. The creator could show us how Sasuke fell on his knees and staring at Naruto intently but never intended to show when he got up and left. I don’t understand this twisted mind of the creator.

Added to that, Sasuke was about to say ‘Naruto, I....’ God only knows what he was about to say. But every possibility of Sasuke confessing and kissing is there.

I know the creator cannot approach this directly considering the situations he worked under. But is there any necessity for such an intense scene? Even the anime creators loved this scene and made their own version of making Naruto’s eyes wide open and even more closer.

I wont be watching my friend or sister like that. 

That explains all the way back to this fated accidental scene.

There is nothing special about this scene. It’s all very clear that the kiss was accidental. It was really funny. But my point is why Sasuke never beat him to pulp or even push Naruto away like he did with Sakura and Karin? Why did he stood up for Naruto before Sakura? Why did he let go off Naruto even though he tied him up? Too many leeway for a single person in a single episode. And the most important part is, Sasuke thought it was intentional and remembers the taste. LOL.

Does this means he enjoyed the kiss? Not at all.

Most probably he was shocked to see Naruto in such a close proximity after seeing him from a distance for all those years. And he enjoys this as just another prank from Naruto in his own innocent way. But he won’t mind getting another one from Naruto either.

So, to conclude

I believe I made this post from an objective standpoint without making crazy theories and I don’t have to..... since canonical resources were plenty. Obviously my own bias will also be there which is unavoidable. But I tried to question the creative choices of why this scene even exist in the first place many times. Because those are the scenes which made the most impact inside me.

My first watch of Naruto gave me the benefit of doubt that ‘Are they in love? Nah... They are friends. Maybe I am just overthinking...  but why does it feel different??’ and that too only after finishing episode 478. After rewatching it again and again, it only consolidated my view.

For Sasuke, his worldly ties are pretty thin and runny. He was always a loner from the beginning even when he had his family. He never bothered to make any friends nor did anyone tried to befriend him. He was pretty close to his family especially Itachi. When he lost everything, somehow he got attracted innocently to Naruto and started to like him. But beyond Naruto he never bothered to add anyone in his heart. He considered Kakashi and Sakura were like his acquaintances who helped him a lot and that’s all.

Then after using Orochimaru, he gathered some high skilled shinobi for killing Itachi. But he made it clear that there don’t need to be any understanding but just co-operation would be enough. But along his way, he just abandoned Jugo, Suigetsu somewhere. He openly said to Karin that she is nothing but a burden to him. When his hatred reached upto a maximum boiling point, he didn’t even hesitate to kill Karin, Kakashi or Sakura. But the moment Naruto appears he calmed down. The proof? He was shocked to see Naruto at first. Then Naruto calls, ‘Sasuke!!!’, to which Sasuke responds with, ‘What?’. Despite becoming a maniac, he could find it in his heart to listen to Naruto.

It took an Edo Tenseified Itachi to bring him some rationality to question his beliefs about destroying Konoha. When Jugo and Suigetsu appear again, he casually asked them, ‘What do you want with me at this point?’, I mean, Come On, Man. LOL.  Even during the war arc, when things were about to blast off he only cared about Jugo (who helped him many times, so understandable) and Naruto (Geez!!! LOL).

Even after their final battle, the anime went so far as to create a scene where they were alone in a bright Konoha. But Sasuke looked very peaceful and listening to Naruto intently. When Naruto freaks out about Infinite Tsukuyomi, he casually laughs off and says ‘you still care about the world’. Meaning, he is happy there spending time alone with the person he loves. Doesn’t give a rat’s ass about missing anyone else. (How romantic!!!). Honestly, Sasuke wouldn’t mind if they were to stay that way forever. He would gladly listen to Naruto all day.  But when Naruto disappears he freaks out and starting to make up his mind about joining his brother.

It’s very clear that the people he adores are Itachi and Naruto. Towards Itachi, it’s super understandable, because he is his own brother. But Naruto??? Why should the creator go so far as to make Sasuke adores Naruto even after breaking up with him?

And why make Sasuke possessive about Naruto’s life? When Obito was about to kill Naruto with that Black Orbs, Sasuke blocked him and said ‘You are not the One to sever the past, I am’. I understand the logic behind Sasuke’s possessiveness on Itachi’s life because he destroyed his family, childhood and even Itachi wants Sasuke to be the one to kill him. But why possessive on Naruto? He is not related to him by blood. Naruto never did anything wrong to Sasuke to warrant any hate either. You will become possessive on something only when you truly hate it or wholeheartedly love it. There is no middle ground. My point is why put Naruto here at all in the first place?? Believe me, If Sasuke never paid attention to Naruto in the War arc, I would be the first person to jump out of this ship. 

Just to give you a basic example, Imagine you are living in a place far away from your family, friends and that loveable person. When Corona hits everywhere and forced Lockdown to travel outside the city, and the situation is getting worse day by day. Whom would you desperately reach out first? You would reach the person whom you are connected well in your family and that loved one. You will prioritize your friends only later. This is the Universal truth. Sasuke was seen showing that same instinct in the War arc towards Naruto whom he was not related by blood. And you all just want me to believe Sasuke sees him as just a friend?? Give me a break!!!

If all those traits I’ve mentioned above have been avoided to a greater extent, I would be happy to believe that they are friends. If not all, at the very least delegate some of the tropes to other people or share some of the tropes with other people along with Naruto. But dumping it all on Naruto alone makes me only curious and incredibly romantic too. 

It’s no wonder, Naruto would go so far as to reach out Sasuke even at the expense of his life.

Oh, Did I forget about the cutest and most exclusive trope to SNS?

U-SU-RA-TON-KA-CHI, the most personal word which carries its own meaning and is only for Naruto. So funny that Sasuke has to spend a certain amount of energy to call Naruto using a 6 syllabic word rather than NA-RU-TO, a 3 syllabic word which is much easier.

Disclaimer: This post constituted everything from from Chapter 1 to 699 or Episode 1 to 135 (part 1) + Episode 1 to 479 (Shippuden) excluding fillers. Though Sasuke shinden novel was made into anime, I don’t want to consider that here. As much as I loved the prologue in that novel, I still don’t want to cite that here, as I consider everything after 699 is $$$$ making bullshit.

FUN FACT:

If you put yourself in any character in the Naruto Universe except for Naruto, and ask them, ‘What do you think about Sasuke?’. You know the answer from Sakura, she will say ‘Sasuke-Kun looks very cool and acts aloof, that’s why I love him’. Kakashi will say ‘My favorite student’. And all the other people will say somewhat similar, ‘He is an excellent Shinobi who belongs to the proud Uchiha clan and Naruto’s rival’

But Naruto will be the only person to say this.

“Lot of fun to be around” ....... LOLLLLL.

Me: No, Naruto!!! Clearly not. No one in your universe can have fun with him except you. Go and Ask Sai, Team Taka or your own Team 7. They adore him for being Cool and Talented. But Fun is not the word that equates with Sasuke unless there is no You, Naruto.

Thanks for reading :-D

[queersturbate]

ryōhei arisu is autistic

usually, since im autistic myself, all I would have to say is dude trust me but ive gathered some evidence anyway

major alice in borderland spoilers

1. we can see him have meltdowns in episode 1 and 4. In episode one, the meltdown is brief and stopped pretty quickly, as everything is happening very fast. karube decides to put all the pressure on Arisu to save them. Karube is leaning over Arisu who has back himself up against a wall when he starts to feel overwhelmed, he gets up and thrashes to get out all the baddness~ (similar to stimming)

in episode four when he had just lost karube and chota in a very traumatic way he gets picked up by Usagi and when he wakes up and he works himself up into a very bad meltdown, he keeps repeating that he has to apologize to them and he's repeatedly banging his head on the ground. keep in mind that everyones meltdowns look different- autistic people with abusive family, like arisu, often have small, quick meltdowns so they won't get abused for having an intense meltdown (my meltdowns are 100% unnoticeable)

2. Arisu happy/focus stims in a lot of unnoticeable ways, i think he probably has learned to subdue his stims because of his family, he probably even has tried to stop stimming completely but it's almost impossible to do so. Here's one point where he happy stims (pushes his knees up and rocks, i stim like that so it was cool to see)

3. Arisu exclusively wears comfortable clothing, he wears plain (maybe with a little writing or a simple pattern) t-shirts most of the time he has a thin jacket over, he wears capris pants or shorts. at the end of the season he wears a button up shirt but it looks soft and with a nice texture. He never wears anything with a rough or uncomfortable texture- like jeans- and never wears anything constricting they're always loose fitting

4. his special interest is video games. this doesn't need much of an explanation I mean it's just what it is, he spends every chance he gets playing video games, like when he's walking and no one is answering him so he starts playing a game- he also gets excited when Usagi asks what an online game is- he wants to info dump and is about to but quickly stops as she looks uninterested

5. he also has a tough time in social situations and cannot always read social cues and doesn't know social norms- when he is with karube and chota- people he has known since he was a lot younger- he is much more relaxed and himself. When in a new group of people or around a new person he often goes temporarily nonverbal- shaking his no and nodding yes primarily. Like when he is with Hatter- he rarely responds to him only saying 2 very quick sentences while the rest of it is him staring and shaking his head (there are actually a lot of instances where he does this im not gonna name everyone of them)

and when he goes to talk to the two girls he is very blunt and doesn't read social cues- yelling out "i wasn't trying to hit on you!!" very loudly as they ran away from him- he can also be very blunt about a lot of things and it often gets him berated or the shit beat out of him. He means no harm with this bluntness, seeing nothing wrong with saying these things. Of course- if it's chota or karube, they dont mind his bluntness- like when Chota has a burned leg and they were theorizing the possibility of the universe they were in was VR. arisu says that VR cant make such a bad injury, chuckling to himself, seeing it as a joke he made. No one else laughed. Also a social norm that he doesn't seem to think about- when Usagi gave him her water bottle to drink he immediately offers it to the two strangers theyre with without asking her first (also an example of his hyper empathy which he shows a lot of throughout the season). he also has "odd" reactions to things in general. Compare his reactions to everyones reactions to everything in the season- you'll see what I mean

6. he can also go into hyperfocused mode (a side note: I believe he has a eidetic memory- as you can see in episode one where he is in hyperfocus mode and he remembers the evacuation map perfectly- which I know eidetic memories haven't been proven to be a thing per se but as they study it- it is commonly found in autistic people) which you can see during the games or when someone is telling him important information- for example episode one:

7. this one is short but it stuck out to me a lot- he is extremely touchy with karube and chota. he is always hugging them and reaching out to grab them, stuff like that but he looks extremely uncomfortable when someone else touches him and he doesn't touch anyone unless he absolutely needs to like life or death situations

in conclusion <3 arisu is autistic (and nonbinary) and you cant say he isn't because i literally gave you evidence and im autistic and nonbinary

[ibis-gt]

ok ok i got the writing bug again. cam drives luther to the hospital to figure out why he's got Shrinks When Gay Disorder. 2k words.

~~~

“Well, Mr. Algers, from what I can tell you’ve got a very rare, very difficult autoimmune disease. We call it Gulliver’s Hanahaki.”

Luther sits glumly on the examining table, clad in a paper gown. He resists the urge to pick at the edges of it, instead keeping a tight grip on the table. Doctor’s offices always make him fidgety.

“Basically,” Dr. Townsend continues, “when your body encounters a specific form of stress, it will react in an attempt to defend itself, resulting in the reduction of size you’ve been experiencing.”

“So is there… any kind of cure?” Luther asks.

“Well, no. It’s not the kind of disease you cure.”

“Treatment of any kind? Pills I can take, shots, anything to stop it?” An edge of desperation creeps into his voice, the paper covering the table crinkling as his fingers dug into it.

“Nothing I can give you, I’m sorry to say,” Dr. Townsend sighs. “Unfortunately, its rarity means that it’s difficult to study. Any medication is still in the early trial stages and it wouldn’t be ethical for me to prescribe. There are two forms of preventative measures you can take to avoid further episodes, however.”

Luther straightens up from his slump. Thank god, something to get this nightmare to finally end!

“The first is very effective. Since the episodes are triggered by attraction to another individual and the anxiety resulting from that attraction, if you are able to avoid interactions with that individual altogether, no further anxiety will be triggered.”

Luther deflates, shoulders sagging. “That won’t work,” he mumbles. “We live in the same building.”

Dr. Townsend nods sympathetically. “I thought it might be something like that,” he sighs. “Your other option is to confess.”

Luther reels back like he’s been slapped. “Confess?”

“Yes. These episodes are made worse by bottling up your attraction or attempting to deny it. This causes the stress to compound and become more intense. If you admit your feelings to the individual you’re attracted to, then you will remove some of that stress and your episodes will be less frequent and less severe.”

“But- but that would only stress me out more!” Luther says, throwing his arms out to the sides. “I mean, I mean what if he says no? What if he says yes? What if he -”

Dr. Townsend puts a hand on Luther’s shoulder, cutting him off. His hand is… very large. Too large. Dr. Townsend and Luther are about the same height, after all, but his hand barely fits on Luther’s shoulder. Luther realizes suddenly that he’d been shrinking, and takes a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. I see your point. I just gotta tell him how I feel. Easy peasy.”

“Hm.” the doctor says. He lets his hand drop and a tinge of sympathy colors his serious expression. “Good luck, Luther. This is a very difficult disease to live with, even once you’ve mitigated your stress as much as possible. If there’s anything else I can do to support you, please let me know. Otherwise, our consultation is at an end for today. I’ll start reaching out and seeing what options there are for you - maybe a support group would help?”

“Thank you, doctor. That would be nice, actually. Um. Quick question - how… small can I get? Could I just… entirely disappear?”

Dr. Townsend lets out a huge sigh. “Well… on record, the smallest a person with Gulliver’s Hanahaki has been reliably measured at is about one and a quarter inch. There are rumors of people getting down to five centimeters, but frankly, that’s just ridiculous.”

Luther stares at the doctor for a long moment. “Right. Ridiculous.”

~~~

When he gets out to the waiting room, Luther is surprised to see Cam sitting there.

“I thought you left? You didn’t have to stick around.”

“Figured you might need a ride back. Wouldn’t want you shrinking on the way over.” Cam stands and stretches, rolling his neck. “Ugh. Little stiff,” he mutters.

Luther tries to get his racing heart back under control. He’s a little shorter than usual, and having Cam loom over him like this… it’s not doing him any favors in the height department. But he manages to keep a handle on himself as they walk out to the parking lot. Cam’s quiet for a bit, but once the car starts up, the questions begin.

“So, what’d the doctor say?” Cam asks, glancing over his shoulder as he backs out of the parking spot. A little ball of panic starts to form in Luther’s gut. Oh, nothing much, just that I’m going to shrink every time I’m awkward around my crush. Which is you, by the way.

“Uh, it’s… an autoimmune disorder,” Luther mumbles. “Rare one. They don’t know a lot about it yet.”

“Okay, makes sense,” Cam says. Luckily his eyes are on the road, so he doesn’t notice Luther losing an inch. “What’s it called?”

“G - “ Luther starts, then catches himself. What if Cam looks it up later and figures it out? He shrinks a little bit more and swallows, trying to clear his throat. “I… the name was… it was very long and I didn’t really, uh, catch it.”

Cam chuckles quietly. The sound reverberates around the inside of Luther’s skull. It’s so musical and sweet. He clutches the seatbelt and shrinks some more.

“Yeah, some of them have weird names. What kinda treatment are you lookin’ at?”

“Uh… this was just like, a consultation, to identify it? So we’re gonna do treatment next time.” Luther doesn’t even sound convincing to his own ears. Cam glances sideways at him and his heart skips a beat.

“We don’t have to talk about it,” Cam says, looking the other way as he makes a turn. “It’s medical stuff, it’s personal. I’m sorry for prying.”

“No, no, it’s not that! It’s… just a lot to take in, and I’m still - there’s a couple things it could be actually and they don’t know for sure so they took blood samples, and there’s tests that are gonna come back later, and um, uh…” Luther trails off. He’s shrunk so much now that the seat belt presses uncomfortably across his chest and neck, and the tension on it makes it difficult to adjust. He’d been staring out the windshield as he rambled, but now he’s too short to see much more than the sky. He feels Cam pull the car over and turn off the engine. Luther slowly turns to his left and looks up at Cam, who stares down at him in turn. Luther, maybe two feet high now, offers a shaky smile.

“There’s, um. No cure. Or treatment,” he says in a soft, wavering voice. “I just… live like this now.”

Cam tilts his head to one side like he’s trying to decide on something. He shifts in his seat, turns his body a little to face Luther, and props up one arm on the headrest. Then he sighs.

“You’re too short to sit in the front now,” he says. He glances to the backseat. Luther follows his gaze and stares in horror at the car seat sitting neatly behind the driver’s side.

“Oh, no,” Luther whispers. He raises his voice as Cam shifts again and undoes his seat belt. “No, no, no, no, I am not going in that! Cam!” But it’s too late. Cam opens the car door and gets out, then shuts it behind him. Luther slams down on the release button for his own seat belt with both hands, keeping his eyes on Cam through the windshield as he walks around the front of the car. The belt retracts with such force that it knocks him sideways, and it takes him a moment to right himself and get his bearings again. Before he can try to run or hide, the door opens, and Cam reaches in for him.

“No, please, come on,” Luther pleads. He backs up as far as he can, but Cam easily gets his hand around Luther’s middle and lifts him up. “I’m an adult, a full grown man, I can’t go in a baby seat! Please, Cam, don’t put me in that thing, why do you even have it? It’s so humiliating, you can’t do this!”

“Number one,” Cam says, opening the back door. “I can put you in it, I have plenty of practice wrangling my niece in there.” He sets Luther down and gets to work on the straps, easily subduing Luther’s halfhearted attempts to squirm free. “Number two, this is about traffic laws. If I’m driving around with someone under four feet in my front seat, I’m gonna get pulled over, and if you wanna explain to the officer that you’re a full grown adult and pay the ticket, be my guest. And number three,” he says, clicking the last buckle into place, “this is about your safety. We get in an accident, that seat belt up front is gonna do you more harm than good.” He straightens up again and shuts the door. Luther puts his head in his hands, trying not to break down in tears. That would only make it worse. The words ‘this is about your safety’ echo around his head in his father’s voice. He hears the driver’s side door open and close, hears Cam settle himself in, and manages to speak up.

“Just… please don’t laugh. Or take pictures, or anything.” He risks a glance between his fingers. Cam is looking at him in the rearview mirror, no amusement or pity visible in his eyes.

“I won’t.” The sincerity in his voice takes Luther by surprise. “This isn’t funny. This is really serious, and I’m sorry I had to do that.” He turns the key in the ignition and pulls the car back onto the road. “We’re nearly home. You won’t have to be there for long.”

Luther stares miserably out the window at the sky above. True to Cam’s word, it’s only another ten minutes before they’re pulling into the apartment complex’s lot. As soon as the car’s turned off, Luther starts pulling at the straps, trying to figure out how to get himself free. Cam comes around to his side again and opens the door.

“I got it, I got it,” Luther assures him. “It’s just this one, right? No… wait, this one? Or is it… um…”

“Let me,” Cam says softly. He reaches in and has the whole contraption undone in an instant. Then, to Luther’s surprise, Cam scoops him up and holds him against his chest like he’s a toddler. Luther’s arms hang over Cam’s shoulder as he blinks in shock. Cam whistles as he approaches the door to their building, fishing his keys out of his pocket. He opens the door one-handed and starts the climb up the stairs to their floor. Luther should say something, this is horribly demeaning, but… it’s also undeniably very nice. He feels supported and safe, and he’s so close to Cam but the usual stab of anxiety is totally absent. He could almost drift off like this.

Cam reaches his door and unlocks it, then stops suddenly and looks at Luther.

“Oh! Shit! I’m so sorry, it was kind of like muscle memory, I guess? God, I’m sorry.” He lowers Luther to the floor and looks away, rubbing the back of his neck.

“That’s… that’s okay. The stairs would’ve sucked to climb right now anyway.” Luther should leave, Cam’s still got the door open for him, but… “Do you mind if I stay for a bit? Just until I get a little bigger? Um, I can’t really reach my door handle right now, so…”

Cam smiles, and that familiar pang of anxiety flutters up inside Luther again. “Yeah, you can hang out here. You’re always welcome.” He turns and trudges towards the kitchen, his footsteps shaking the floor as he passes Luther. “It’s pot roast tonight, anyway. Even if you get your height back in the next five minutes, I’d insist you stay for dinner.”

Luther thinks about the doctor’s advice. Confess your feelings, and all of this gets easier. But when he goes to open his mouth, he loses another three inches all in one go. Luther digs his nails into his palms and sets his jaw. Not just yet, then. But soon. Eventually.

One of these days.