#Like the true meaning behind “Evil Mode” and “God Mode” and shit like that | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fairyaali · 3 years

Note

hi bestie.. 😃

so um , i saw this prompt somewhere and i wanted to send it to my favorite blog ! ( you ) so here it is!!

adrien with a s/o who’s from america ( new york specifically ) and she has a very veronica lodge type past. meaning she’s very proper and rich and silvertounged but very kindhearted and sweet and extremely loyal.

but she has a past where she used to be a bully in new york and bullied people if they didn’t fit in , and was practically the it girl from a movie? does that make sense?

however shes changed , yet one day during a akuma attack , her whole past gets revealed and videos of her being a complete BITCH and it being played off as hot by her classmates gets shown to the entire of paris?

what’s adrien doing? is she going to comfort her or leave her?

👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩

I had so much fun writing this, but fair warning that it’s kind of angsty oops! thank u for the request nonetheless <333

Ship: Adrien Agreste X reader

Warnings: Swearing.

Tags: Angst oops

What should you do when your father is out on a business trip?

Throw a party.

And that’s exactly what you did. At least that’s what you used to do back in New York. It’s something you were known for. Now since you’ve got the chance to start fresh with a new life in Paris you decided to bring an old tradition back with you and invite some friends over from the school you’re attending, and your boyfriend of course.

Adrien Agreste. You had no idea what you did to get such an angel in your life. You’ve been dating him for a few moths now and you could already see yourself becoming a better person around him. You came to Paris with the intention of leaving your past behind, starting new and fresh without the bullshit from your past. This was it. Nothing could fuck this up.

“Hey,let me help you.” You hear your Adrien say while you try to adjust the lights near the DJ stand.

“I got it.” You say and get on your tip toes to hang the last light. “There.” You say, a successful smile on your face.

“You really out did yourself huh?” You feel his arms wrapping around you from the back and you hum.

“Oh please Agreste, this is nothing compared to what I used to do in New York.” You say and turn around, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I hope everyone likes it.” You say, more to yourself than to him.

“Of course they will, Ma belle.” He says and kisses your forehead.

You loved it when he called you nicknames, they just made butterflies burst around your stomach.

His soft hand reaches up to touch your cheek and he caresses it gently. You look into his green eyes which were soft and welcoming. He is so gorgeous.

Your noses touch and you sigh, touching his hand and smiling softly. “I hate to ruin the moment, my love but I have to go make a few minor changes before your friends come.”

He pouts at you. “But everything’s already perfect, can’t we spend some alone time together before everyone comes?”

You shake your head. “I promise you’ll have me all to yourself tonight , Agreste.” You smirk and watch as his cheeks glow red. You quickly kiss his cheek and giggle, walking away to the kitchen to make sure that everything is in place.

It didn’t take long before people started arriving.

“Claudia, start offering the drinks around to people.” You whisper to your maid before going to greet everyone.

A familiar bluenette appears, with an amazed look on her face while she looks around. You grin and walk towards her.

“Marinette! You look stunning!” You say and give each other a friendly kiss on the cheek. She really did look stunning. You’ve never seen her hair like this before, let down and slightly curled. She’s wearing a dress which perfectly hugged her body and the colour was gorgeous on her - A deep vermilion shade which complemented her fair skin.

“Likewise.” She grins and looks at your dress. “Oh my god who are you wearing? This dress is gorgeous.” She gasps, eyes wide while she moved around to see the dress from the back and front. You knew that she would comment on it, she had an eye for fashion after all.

“My father got this for me as a gift from South Korea. The designer is a family friend of ours.” You smile proudly. You didn’t want to brag about it but in all honesty you loved this dress too much not to show it off.

You look to her side and see a blue haired boy standing kind of awkwardly next to her. “And you must be…?” You trail off, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“Luka, Marinette’s date.” He says nonchalantly and Marinette stops looking at your dress, straightening up with her face glowing red.

“Ah, I see. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Im-“

“I already know who you are.” He states and you furrow your eyebrows. You’re more than sure you’ve never met this guy before.

Marinette nudges him and you see him stiffen up.

“I mean, it was kind of a big deal when you came to Paris and everyone was talking about you so-“

Marinette sighs and grabs Lukas arm. “We’re going to get a drink, It was nice seeing you! Au revoir !” She says and walks away with Luka. You could hear her cussing at him from where you were standing.

Ah, of course. You knew that everyone was talking about you. The new rich bitch from New York who’s mother is in jail. That’s what everyone saw at first. Maybe they do still see it now. But maybe that’s why you fell for Adrien, because he never judged you in the first place despite all those rumors.

You turn around and see him, talking to Nino. He’s wearing the outfit you picked out for him. Black shirt slightly unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled up, tan pants with a black belt around them and black converse. His hair was messy but it looked so good on him and his cheeks were tinted a little pink, probably because of the few drinks that he’s had already. Your eyes meet and he smiles at you. Right as he was about to come next to you, you feel someone tap your shoulder.

“Hi, Nadja Chamack. Did you move to paris because your mother is imprisoned for drug trafficking? Was your father denied bail?” The woman rushes to say while shoving a microphone to your face. You stare at her wide eyed. You didn’t know what to say.

“Hey, leave now before I call security, you shouldn’t be up here.” You hear Adrien say sternly while putting a hand on your shoulder.

“But was that the reason you came to Paris or was it because of the video that was spread of you-“

“Security!” Adrien shouts and two body guards grab Nadja and her camera man.

You stand there, dumbfounded as the body guards drag them away, the two cussing and struggling to get out of their grasp.

“Mon ange, are you okay?” Adrien asks, cupping your face with his hands, snapping you out of your thoughts.

You look at him and clear your throat.

“I’m fine, I need a drink.” You say and remove his hands from your face and start walking away.

He grabs your hand and looks at you, concern filling your eyes.

“No you’re not okay.” He says, kissing your hand and holding it gently. “What did they mean by video?” He asks.

Your body goes into full fight or flight mode.

“God Adrien! It’s nothing.” You snap at him. “just let it go, I don’t want to deal with this right now.” You remove yourself from his grasp and quickly walk away to the open bar.

You didn’t mean to snap at him but that conversation needed to wait until you two got more serious. You weren’t ready for it.

You grab a glass of champagne and down it, your face contorting because of the after taste.

You were about to get another one until you hear a scream.

“We want to know all your secrets! Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news!” A distorted voice says and you drop your glass on the floor when you see a dark purple monstrous figure coming your way.

“Shit.” You cuss and run away from the bar.

Everyone was screaming and trying to rush to the exit but everywhere was closed off with a purple like shield around.

You frantically look around to find a place to hide until you see a familiar blond with cat ears motioning to you.

Chat Noir. Thank god.

You were about to run to him until you started floating in the air, a purple bubble surrounding you.

You screamed and frantically hit it to try to escape but it was no use.

“I got you now!” You hear the distorted voice say and let out an evil laugh.

You watch your phone float out of your hand and out of the bubble.

Fuck, fuck fuck fuck.

You were fucked.

The bubble that surrounded you explodes and you fell from it, right into the arms of Chat Noir.

“Hey I got you it’s okay” He says smiling at you and for some reason you were slightly comforted by him.

Your eyes fill with tears and your throat begins to feel like it’s closing.

“She has my phone.” You croak out and your body starts shaking.

You see Ladybug swinging from the roof, throwing her Yo-Yo to try and grasp the villain but it was too late.

A screen appeared out of thin air and a video started playing - you were in it, in your classroom in your school in New York. You knew exactly what this video was.

Your jaw clenched when it started playing.

“Awh look she’s crying guys.” You say in a condescending tone in the video. The girl, Sarah, was balling her eyes out in front of you while you smirk and stand in front of her, your arms crossed.

“H-How could you!” She sobs out.

“How could I what? Your boyfriend was the one with his hands all over me, I just gave him what he really wanted.” You say and chuckle.

“That’s not true he would never-“

“Cheat?” You cut her off, lean closer to her and put your hands on the desk in front of her. “hate to break it to you honey but he did.” You tell her and she sobs even harder.

“Maybe this will help you put you back in your place.” You say, grabbing her face, making her look at you. “You’re a nobody, a loser and you had the audacity to talk shit behind my back?”

Her lips quiver in fear and she was visibly shaking in the video.

“You think you could ever stand a chance against me? Think again bitch.” You say and let her face go, turning around and arranging your skirt.

“By the way, he’s a really good kisser. Such a shame.” And with that you walk away from her while people wolf whistle at you and mumble things under their breath.

You were still in Chat’s arms, he was looking at the screen, eyes wide and lips parted. It was like he was frozen. Tears were streaming down your face, you couldn’t move.

Everyone around you was mumbling and whispering things.

“She’s such a bitch.”

“I knew the rumors about her were true! She’s horrible!”

“This wasn’t the video I wanted! Where’s the proof where’s the-“ The villain gets cut off by Ladybug grabbing her microphone with the akuma in it and slamming against her knee. A purple butterfly emerges from it and she grabs it with her yoyo, turning it white.

“Miraculous ladybug!” She chants and the place starts magically getting back to normal.

Chat clears his throat. “I need to go.” He mumbles and removes his hands from you. You nod and stare down at your shoes.

“Thank you for saving me.” You say, forcing yourself to smile.

He didn’t even look at you, he didn’t even say anything as he left.

Did he think you were horrible too?

Oh my god.

Adrien.

After the villains were taken away everyone left without even saying goodbye to you.

You sat down on the platform near the DJ stand and hugged your knees closer to your chest.

You hear footsteps walk towards you and you look up. His green eyes meet yours but they instantly avert to the side.

“You know, when we first started dating, everyone was telling me about these stupid rumors about you and I never wanted to hear them because I never believed you could be capable of that.” He says, a frown on his lips. “I never wanted to be so fucking right in my life but I guess I was wrong.”

You were trying so hard not to cry in front of him. You knew that this would happen when he found out, it was like a gut feeling. Adrien Agreste is a good person. He likes to be surrounded by good people and that video just showed that you might not be the good person he really thought you were. Your heart ached.

“I’ve c-changed Adrien.” You stutter in a small voice, scared that you would break down if you spoke too loudly.

“Have you really?” he questions, looking directly at you. He was disappointed in you. “God, why didn’t you tell me this before!” He rubs his face in frustration. You’ve never seen Adrien so worked up like this.

“Because I knew You’d react like this!” You say, louder this time as you get up. “For fucks sake Adrien! I told you my past wasn’t perfect and I know I was a bitch but I was young and stupid and I know it doesn’t excuse my actions but I’ve grown from my mistakes. I came to Paris with the mindset of becoming better, finding out who I really am and starting fresh!”

You watch him part his lips to say something but You cut him off.

“Look me right in the eye and tell me you’ve never done a mistake in your life, Adrien.”

His lips close and he averts his gaze away from you again.

“I know I should’ve told you sooner but I was too scared of losing you. Y-you made Paris feel like my home, you’re the reason why I make better choices, you helped me find myself.” Tears start falling down your cheeks and you look down. “And if I haven’t changed then I wouldn’t be looking stupid and crying over you and explaining myself to you because im genuinely terrified at the thought of losing the first person in my life who I’ve genuinely fallen in love with.” You sob out.

There was silence, apart from the sniffles and sobs coming from you.

“What did you say?” Adrien asks you and you hear his footsteps come closer.

“What?” You sniffle, looking up at him, furrowing your eyebrows. Your eyes were puffy and red and so was your nose. You haven’t cried like this in ages.

“The last part.”

“I’ve genuinely fallen in love with you? “ You mumble and widen your eyes. Oh shit, you’ve fucked up again.

“I know it’s sudden and I don’t expect you to return it back and I don’t know why I just said that but-“ He cuts you off with his lips smashing against yours.

It was euphoric. Probably the most genuine kiss you’ve ever felt in your life.

He breaks away, your foreheads touching and both of you breathless.

His pretty pink lips curl into a small smile and his face cups yours, wiping your tears away with his thumb.

“I love you too.” He whispers and kisses your forehead. “I’m sorry I overreacted, I just didn’t want to be wrong about you but I believe that you’ve changed, I know you’re heart is pure.”

And that’s when you realized that yes, your heart was pure again. Clean from all the sins you’ve did in the past. You didn’t know if it was his green eyes, soft skin, perfect lips or maybe the way he looked at you that has cleansed you but maybe it took pure love to find a pure heart.

#adrien agreste #mirculous ladybug #adrien x reader #adrien agreste x reader #mlb #chat noir #cat noir #chat noir x reader

420 notes · View notes

sepublic · 3 years

Text

True Colors

…You know.

When Sprig mentioned a content warning at the end of the episode, I figured it couldn’t be THAT bad, right? Like whatever happened… Even if someone DIED, it’d be an antagonist. An adult, at least.

…But…

Marcy…

…What the fuck… What THE FUCKING FUCK…?!?!?!?

Oh fuck it’s like… It’s like Agony of a Witch again… Where I feel like vomiting and I’m shaking and everything but it’s WORSE because… At least Eda… Eda didn’t DIE, there was still a chance she could come back!

And Marcy… She could come back! Magic… Necromancy, thanks to her meeting with Maddie… But this is…

THIS IS A KID.

THIS IS A FUCKING KID.

AND SHE FUCKING DIED!!!!

AND NOT JUST ANY FUCKING KID BUT MARCY. MARCY A MAJOR CHARACTER WHOM WE LOVE AND GOT TO SEE HER BACKSTORY, who we saw mess up, but for a REASON, she was going to lose her friends, and now…

Oh… OHHH MY GOD that’s fucking evil! That’s so damn evil I’m honestly hyperventilating. What the fuck. What the fucking fuck my hands are feeling numb. I thought… I thought we’d get a cut of Andrias being stabbed from behind by Marcy, not…

Go to hell you fuckward. Go to hell Andrias, I’ll be glad to claw you to death there myself!

Marcy! Mar-Mar! Oh no… Oh fucking NO, and Andrias… Andrias you son of a bitch, with your whole “I got betrayed by my friends” Oh SHUT UP your friends were right and YOU were the one who was wrong! You’re not Anne you ass, you’re SASHA, and I think having Sasha right in front of you should’ve clued you in on that! Yeah, methinks that Andrias is NOT getting a redemption at all… Because honestly, how do you come back from stabbing a CHILD?!? LETHALLY!!??? If not outright killing her!?

THEY CAN’T FUCKING DO THIS TO ME THEY CAN’T LEAVE IT ON A CLIFFHANGER LIKE THAT!!!! This is… THE WORST… Cliffhanger I’ve ever dealt with, PERIOD, ever! Not just because it’s an actual death, but also… CHILD death. CHILD murder! I thought the content warning would be about the… About those toads getting Alderaan’d! HOLY SHIT no wonder this got pulled! I mean I’m glad it got released unedited but…

FUCK YOU ANDRIAS!!!!!

GOD and his master is right there, beneath the castle, and nobody has a clue?! Are they some sort of AI or superweapon, an all-powerful Frobo designed to head the invasion!? Sasha… Oh, SASHA, you realized, and you began to make up for it, you and Grime… And MARCY, GOD that flashback HURT, how her voice was cracking and she was so DESPERATE, and that line!!! That line of “I GAVE YOU” this! And how I’ve thought about that! She said it! Marcy fucking said it! That surely Anne doesn’t regret meeting the Plantars, is she really saying she wished she’d NEVER met them… That kind of lowkey guilt-tripping but for a reason and it’s a genuine dilemma?!

And Anne… ANNE, your super saiyan mode! How you thought Sprig died, and for a moment I thought, OH SHIT are they killing off Sprig?! Surely not… SURELY NOT they wouldn’t kill a kid like that, and ON-SCREEN, full shot of the wound and everything!

…What the fuck.

Yunnan… And Olivia, those who ship them, you got your content at least! That gag about her being interrupted for the one person who asked, who is of course Hop Pop… It seems she might be against Andrias, but who knows, she might side with him, just so her and Olivia could stay safe!

And Sasha! SASHA, don’t imagine Sasha watching Marcy die… CRADLING her best friend in her arms! Marcy just wanted to be with her friends, she didn’t want to be ALONE and how she almost cried, I FULLY UNDERSTOOD! And GOD that fucking dread as she realized Andrias was explaining it… And how she just NEEDED SOMEONE to understand, and Andrias, the bastard, took advantage of that! While she confessed over a game of Flipwart YOU FUCKING BASTARD I’LL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!!!

Marcy… No, that can’t be it! And Grime and his Toad allies! They NEED to reband and recuperate, will they escape or not!? Beatrix, Aldo, Bufo, HELP!!!

Anne and the others back home! Polly’s legs… Oh god, imagine the dilemma! We’ll see what happened and… OH FUCK MARCY’S PARENTS ARE GOING TO HEAR SHE DIED BECAUSE OF THEM!!! Anne is going to say Marcy ran, went to Amphibia, and got MURDERED because of them, and god… It’s already one thing for a kid to think they got their child lost, but to have outright confirmation that they contributed to their demise WHAT THE FUCK ANNNNDDDRRRIIIIIAAAASSSS!!!!!

I’m going to KILL a newt. I’ll never look at giant salamanders the same, EVER again… Holy shit I once joked about him and Belos being feral but Andrias got to KILL a kid, holy fucking shit! Holy fucking GOD shit! Mother fucking… Fuck! We’ll see Anne’s parents, Sasha’s parents… Marcy’s parents, HOLY SHIT they’re gonna instantly go mad with grief. They might genuinely become suicidal from hearing this, I know I would… And god imagine if they did die before they found out Marcy came back, if she ever does!

…MATT BRALY YOU KNEW THIS WAS COMING YOU SMUG LITTLE-

I JOKED ABOUT IT BEING BAD BUT I DIDN’T THINK… Never would I have THOUGHT… I can’t imagine Disney EVER doing this before, holy fucking shit! I might vomit a bit… I feel sick. I’m sh-shivering, I’m in a cold sweat y’all.

I gotta… I gotta take a moment you guys.

I’m… I’m done for now. And why do I feel The Owl House Season 2 is just going to be even worse, or at least AS bad… Or at least, it DEFINITELY WON’T HELP!!! Just like Infinity Train Book 3 when I wanted levity and a protagonist ALSO died! And then another major character, two weeks later! What the FUCK is up with cartoons I like this more mature angle but also HOLY FUCKING SHIT.

…I feel like Simon Laurent during THAT scene, but this is somehow even worse. And I’m gonna shove Andrias’ flaming sword right up his ass, let him see how it feels, hmm?

And lastly; FUCK those end credits for rubbing it in my damn face how happy they were.

…WHO THE FUCK WOULD BE PREPARED FOR THAT?!??!

#amphibia #amphibia spoilers #spoilers #true colors #amphibia marcy #marcy wu #amphibia anne #anne boonchuy #amphibia sasha #sasha waybright #amphibia andrias #king andrias

114 notes · View notes

uwuwriting · 4 years

Text

Momo, Mina, Jirou and Uraraka with a soft, affectionate girlfriend

So there wasn’t only one request for my girls here, there were like five so imma just improvise with the summary here, Basically how the girls would be like with an affectionate and cute/soft girlfriend. Ya know my bi ass has had a crush on Mina since day 1 and Momo can like step on me. I haven’t written anything for our girl squad like ever and that should be a crime. Love ya. 💖💖💖

rules

masterlist

warnings: fluff

Momo Yaoyorozu

-Soft girl herself.

-Although she is a straight up dom, her soft girly and flustered side comes out while you two spend time together.

-She loves your clothes, will literally have a stroke if she sees you in a soft baby pink outfits.

-You look extra cute and soft and fluffy and oh so kissable.

-Your bubbly personality scares her insecurities away.

-Like if she starts doubting herself while you’re around you mind go into killer mode and roundhouse her ass for talking bad about herself.

-She is really impressed by your emotional switch.

-I mean she physically sees you being all lovey dovey with her and your friends, the sweetest brightest ray of sunshine that has ever graced this earth and the moment Mineta opens his mouth to say some shit your aura changes.

-You can almost see the darkness that surrounds you while the grape talks.

-A savage.

-Although you are a really feminine individual no one should dare underestimate you.

-She becomes an extra proud girlfriend when she sees you kick some Bakugou ass because he called you a girly extra.

-Low key scared of your berserk mode but she loves you.

-Soft dates.

-She knows you love colorful flowers and you are generally really closely connected with nature so dates to the park or to the cherry blossoms during spring are necessary.

-Her family loves you.

-They welcomed you with open arms the very first time you stepped in their home as Momo’s friend.

-Her mom could see how much her daughter liked you and she shipped it.

-Her and Mina are your number 1 stans.

-Expect to be spoiled to death.

-You glance at a dress while you two are out on a date?

-Its in your closet the very next day.

-You bake for her and she falls even deeper in love with you.

-She’s weak for your cakes and more often than not she will sneak some into her room.

-Your cuddling powers are out of this world.

-She will come to your dorm after a long day and just lose herself in your embrace.

-She only sleeps in your room if you ask her to stay the night.

-Despite how tired she may be she will pick herself up and drag her feet to her room.

-All in all a wholesome relationship.

-Soft babiesss

Mina Ashido

-Ah yes my wife.

-I’m a freaking simp for her.

-Crack heads.

-Periodt.

-She loves your soft girly aesthetic and even tries to copy your style so you could be matching girlfriends.

-The pink becomes too much though so she settles for different colors.

-You propose white and pale green.

-She takes your advice and goes out the very same day for shopping.

-Dragging you, Jirou, Sero and Denki along.

-Your friend group is fed up with how clingy she could be.

-Like legit she will hang from your arm constantly and will whine if you have to leave her behind because reasons.

-Bakugou is this close ( -><-) to blasting her into the next dimension.

-She is a scaredy cat and jumps at the smallest sound.

-You take that in your advantage and take up the rule as the knight in shining armor.

-Movie nights are usually horror nights for the two of you and you always puff up your chest in an attempt to appear tough.

-The pink accessories kinda ruin it though.

-She finds it funny how you talk about beating someone’s ass while you are wearing a unicorn onesie.

-She has a matching one though so sh isn’t one to talk.

-Just like Momo she is scarred of your berserk mode.

-Not scarred for her life but for the rest of the class.

-And god forbid Mineta says something about her.

-She can see the raging flames growing around you as he continues to go on about how hot it must be to be sandwiched between you two.

-She has to hold you back from bashing his face in.

-Although if he pushes it too much she lets you go and mayhem ensues.

-She really enjoys your cooking.

-Always present when you are baking for two reasons.

- A) to eat some of the batter because its delicious.

- B) to tease you and make a mess.

-She tried cooking along side you once but it was a disaster.

-Her excuse was that you were too pretty so you distracted her.

-She used salt instead of sugar.

- “They’re both white baby!!”

- “So is cocaine you dummy.”

- “We have cocaine?”

-Face palm.

-She won’t leave your room if you begin to cuddle.

-Begin is a strong word considering she won’t allow you to let her go.

-So continue suits this situation more.

-She doesn’t care how you two cuddle as long as she has you in her arms or vice versa.

-Wrapping her arms around your waist while you study, placing you in her lap while she games with Sero, laying you on top of her so you can fall asleep after a long day or simply holding your hand.

-She just wants to feel close to you.

-The closer the better.

-Says I love you at least three times a day.

-I want my Mina!!!!

Jirou Kyouka

-Music girlfriends.

-She has a whole song dedicated to you.

-She even sang it during the UA festival.

-You are really into lofi music and really soft, fluffy songs so she makes you a playlist with her favorite lofi songs.

-She loves when you hum along with her.

-She knows you have a good voice but since you don’t feel comfortable singing she doesn’t push it.

-Stands there and sways along with the rhythm.

-Swears that when you do sing you become an angel on earth.

-Blinding brightness.

-Finds it funny how your aesthetics collide.

-There you are the softy pink fairy full of flowers and sunshine.

-And next to you stands Jirou, her dark clothes making a big contrast to your baby pink skirt.

-You adore the difference and make it your mission to dress as brightly as possible making the difference stand out even more.

-You make her bentos like daily.

-Really appreciates it.

-She doesn’t have to wait for lunch.

-Plus your cooking is wow.

-She doesn’t really like shopping but will come with you if you want her to.

-Any time spent with you is enough for her.

-She spends most of her time at the guitar store lol.

-You bought her a new guitar for her birthday and you made her cry.

-It had her initials on it too.

-You walk to class together every morning and go back to the dorms holding hands.

-Says a sweet little I love you when you part ways for your training.

-Scared for her life when you get mad.

-That sinister smile that spreads across your face when you hear Mineta say something about her boobs is the scariest sight in the whole world.

-Screw Shigaraki.

-You can be the new master of evil with that smile.

-You are not violent though so she doesn’t have to hold you back... physically.

-Your words can be true venom.

-She has to clam you down before you make Mineta cry.

-Could kill for your cuddles.

-Doesn’t like to admit it but she really loves being the little spoon and would just nudge you without speaking.

-You of course get the message and hug your girl.

-She is surprised by how strong you are.

-You can lift her while she clinges to your front or back like she weighs nothing.

-Walks around with Jirou wrapped around your torso like a koala.

-She loves it, you love it everyone else finds it kinda weird when they spot you but who cares?

-Spends the night in your dorm regularly.

-She doesn’t even ask she just falls asleep in your bed, taking all the space and making you squeeze between the wall and her.

-Lovely little sweethearts.

Uraraka Ochako

-Um you are being soft together.

-Soft girlfriends™.

-You share clothes all the time since your aesthetics kinda match.

-You two can be demons if provoked.

-A third party has to intervene if someone insults you and you go into protective mode.

-You both get that dark look in your eyes as you stare down at Mineta.

-Really she’ll just through him up into the sky and you’ll use your quirk to send him to America.

-Deku and Iida protect the class from you.

-In general though, when you aren’t being feral beasts sworn to protect the innocent, you are two little angels.

-Your soft aesthetic completes her perfectly and your caring nature goes hand in hand with her mom-friend tendencies.

-Caring girlfriends.

-You babysit Deku together and take care of him when he starts breaking...everything.

-She really likes training with you.

-She finds it fun and oh so attractive when you are coming at her.

-May have a small kink right there.

-Power play maybe......

-Cooking.Dates!!!!!

-She likes to cook so when she found out that you are amazing in the kitchen she was hooked.

-You might spend hours and hours just baking sweets and then passing them around the dorms.

-Like Momo she only stays the night if you ask her or mention having a sleepover.

-Otherwise she will gather her stuff and go back to her room.

-Cuddles cuddles cuddles.

-You are obsessed.

-She is so soft to the touch and you fall asleep instantly.

-She loves it when you fall asleep on her.

-You’re like her wittle baby.

-Holding hands is a must wherever you are.

-Walking to class? linked pinkies.

-Out on a date? Intertwined fingers.

-Hanging out in the common room watching a movie with the rest of the class? Linked elbows.

-Chilling in your dorm? An arm around her shoulder.

-Really touchy in general.

-Not too touchy though because she respects the others around you.

-Plus you are friends with Iida.

-He will push you apart if he sees you remotely kissing her cheek.

-Class 1-A’s favorite couple.

-So freaking cute omggggg.

TAG TEAM AY:

@iwaqchan @the-arcana-fan-fic @angelwritings @axerrri @reinyrei @dnarez

539 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 3 years

Text

10 Injustice Characters the DC Animated Movie Needs to Get Right

https://ift.tt/3fCncB7

As we wait an announcement pertaining to the existence of NetherRealm Studios’ Injustice 3, we at least know that Warner Bros. is set to adapt the games into a DC animated movie.

Ever since its release in 2013, the Injustice franchise has not only become a staple of NetherRealm’s roster, but the comic spinoffs have made it a beloved part of the DC multiverse. The plot revolves around a reality where the Joker was able to mess with Superman so badly that the Man of Steel gradually became a mass-murdering dictator, with the support of several members of the Justice League. Left without any other option, Batman brought in counterparts of the Justice League from the “mainstream” universe to help him fight a civil war against his former friend. It was a story that merged the Justice Lords two-parter from the Justice League cartoon with Marvel’s original Squadron Supreme comic series.

A popular prequel series was released, mostly written by Tom Taylor, that explained the five years in-between Superman killing the Joker in cold blood and Batman’s last stand. Sometime later, the game’s story was adapted into the comic Injustice: Ground Zero. And the Injustice universe has only continued to grow since then.

As snazzy as NetherRealm’s story modes are, they are going to have to make some changes to the narrative for the animated movie. It’s not like every character is going to stumble into exactly four best-two-out-of-three fights in a row before someone else is the focus. Knowing that there will be alterations, some characters are really going to need some tender love and care.

Superman (Both of Them)

Injustice: Gods Among Us didn’t invent the idea of an evil Superman, but things are a bit over-saturated these days. Face it, “Dark Superman” has been done to death, what with Brightburn, The Boys, Invincible, and everything Zack Snyder intended with his Justice League movies.

It’s important that the animated movie really get into the WHY of what turned Superman evil instead of the Joker just getting a tragic win over him. The Injustice comic nudged him over and over again with multiple betrayals and manipulations before he finally snapped and angrily broke every bone in Green Arrow’s body. Hit all that, or at least enough of it.

More importantly, Injustice is a story of two different Supermen. The mainstream Superman has to ring true. He has to be the beacon of hope and positivity that pop culture has been missing for the past decade.

Ultimately, as long as they don’t do that minigame where Superman blows up cars and the people in them with his eye-lasers, we’re cool.

Batman

In this DC take of Marvel’s Civil War, Batman is by default the better person when compared to Superman. He has a line he won’t cross and that means no murder and no tyranny. That said, he still needs to be portrayed as a flawed hero. He may be competent, but he still behaves like a total douche at times and deserves to take one to the chin every now and then.

Being a paranoid futurist who buries himself in contingency plans means alienating allies, friends, and even family members. There’s a great moment in the Injustice comic where he reveals that he infected Cyborg with a virus within a week of meeting (you know, just in case), which Killer Croc says is outright sinister. It’s this kind of behavior that led to Superman’s fall to darkness, because even if Bruce wasn’t behind any of the horrors, he still chose coldness and paranoia over being there for a friend who was going through some serious shit.

Harley Quinn

A hype trailer for Harley painted her as a major protagonist in the first game but the game’s story mode just didn’t measure up. The comics did a better job and the Ground Zero volume was specifically about telling the game’s story from Harley’s perspective. I’m not saying that she should be joined by her team of BFF henchmen from Ground Zero, but she should definitely be a prominent hero.

Similar to the Mark Waid comic series Irredeemable and Incorruptible (also about an evil take on Superman), Harley’s turn to heroism is the universe’s response to Superman’s actions. She’s done some horrible things and may never make up for her actions under the Joker’s thumb, but she’ll keep fighting to stop Superman’s atrocities.

Wonder Woman

While Batman did a bad job trying to pull Superman from the darkness, Wonder Woman succeeded in pushing him in. It’s noted here and there, but this Wonder Woman was also altered by tragedy. In this timeline, Steve Trevor turned out to be a Nazi traitor. His betrayal left Diana feeling much less optimistic and hopeful than her mainstream self.

Wonder Woman’s villainy isn’t as pronounced as Superman’s, but she’s definitely the friendly face who eggs him on and wants him to stand over all mankind. As Superman uses her to fill the void left from Lois Lane’s death, the power couple become very good at bringing out the worst in each other.

Damian Wayne

The Injustice game did Damian a little dirty, revealing deep into the story that the Nightwing fighting on Superman’s side was not Dick Grayson, but Damian. According to Batman, Damian murdered Dick. The comics dove deeper into that and made it more of a freak accident brought on by Damian being an impulsive and angry child. Still, Bruce and his son were unable to make amends due to their shared lack of warmth.

Later stories, and even Injustice 2, added more depth to Damian. It always made sense that he’d join Superman’s Regime, but there was a soul in there who would eventually see that this wasn’t the right path. In the comic Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe, which was treated as a sequel to Injustice 2’s dark ending, Damian took up the mantle of Batman to oppose Superman and even grew a long-missing sense of humor in the process.

Lex Luthor

The great tragedy of the DC multiverse is that Superman and Lex Luthor just can’t get along. They will always be at odds no matter what Earth they come from. The Injustice universe was the one exception, as Luthor was portrayed as fairly warm and altruistic. Much like Batman, he has contingency plans up the wazoo, but they don’t come off as creepy.

Seeing him there as Superman’s longtime friend who sadly has to stab him in the back brings back that multiversal truth about the duo. Just because this is a world where Superman kills and things get very bleak doesn’t mean it’s the worst world and that it isn’t worth saving. The mainstream Cyborg is reluctant to come to terms with this heroic Luthor, but he ultimately accepts the miracle that this universe created a Luthor worth befriending and even looking up to.

Hal Jordan

Maybe it’s just me, but I was never a fan of how Geoff Johns retconned Hal’s past and gave him deniability for everything he did as Parallax. I liked that a boring hero dude like Hal snapped, did some bad stuff, and then had to accept his failures in an attempt to be better. With Injustice, they gave us that exact Hal.

Games

Injustice Beat Zack Snyder’s Justice League to the Punch

By Matthew Byrd

Comics

Injustice: Year Zero Brings the Justice Society to DC Alternate Universe

By Jim Dandy

Overflowing with willpower and being an otherwise competent space cop, Hal is still something of a dunce at times, and he’s susceptible to manipulation in the right situation. He’s already following Superman’s lead, but having Sinestro pop in to indoctrinate him into the Sinestro Corps makes him actually interesting. Let Hal be the worst version of himself here so he can double back on it in the sequel and beg Guy Gardner’s ghost for forgiveness.

Shazam

Injustice may be the B-side to Mortal Kombat, but the game itself is fairly tame on the violence. Joker’s death isn’t actually shown on screen, Luthor’s end is fairly clean, and Grodd taking a trident to the torso is relatively tame.

But what we absolutely, positively have to see in the animated movie is Shazam’s death scene to really give an idea of how far gone Superman is. It’s bloodless from our point of view, but it’s grisly as hell and made worse when you remember that Shazam is a literal child under all the mystical power.

Batgirl

The Barbara Gordon version of Batgirl was one of the first DLC characters added to Injustice, but it’s unfortunate that she’s not in the main story mode — something the animated movie could fix by giving her a more prominent role in the fight against the Regime. Her ending gives her a kickass backstory where she returns to the cowl after her father dies at Superman’s hands. The comics go deeper into this, even making it so that Superman doesn’t directly kill Commissioner Gordon.

In this continuity, she was already wheelchair-bound as Oracle. She had to go under a very dangerous procedure under Luthor’s care in order to walk again. This is one of the storylines that could make for a captivating arc in the movie.

Alfred Pennyworth

Alfred isn’t in either Injustice game. He’s already dead by the start of the first game. But I don’t care. Alfred needs to be in the animated movie because he is the heart and soul of the Injustice comics. While others bow to Superman, follow him, or even try to reason with him, Alfred Pennyworth doesn’t play those games. He will straight-up verbally clown Superman for his actions without flinching. He is not afraid of the Kryptonian, no matter how red his glowing eyes get.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

This comes to a head in the comics when Alfred takes a pill that gives him Kryptonian strength and he kicks the absolute shit out of Superman for ruining his family. I know I’m asking for a lot, but I simply need to see Alfred stomp a mudhole in Superman so hard that his own shoe explodes from the impact.

The post 10 Injustice Characters the DC Animated Movie Needs to Get Right appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3hIQH7h

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

2 notes · View notes

xxgoblin-dumplingxx · 4 years

Text

Sick Little Games: Twenty- One

Clint ultimately had had a rather enjoyable morning. It had started with sweet kisses and slow snuggly lovemaking and culminated in creating a minor PR disaster for SHIELD.

But he’d enjoyed his little counter-protest. Aided and abetted by Thor, Bruce, Sam, Tony, Nat, and several other SHIELD agents that were tired of out of tune hymns and their Witchling not going outside. It had created enough negative attention for the church that Stirling Cole, your stepfather had called for a parlay of sorts.

Clint looked from the bed where you lay, sound asleep, and back in the mirror. At the black eye, he’d gotten when he’d tried to grab you before you could pull Stirling’s throat out in front of the TV cameras. “Worth it,” he said, satisfied.

“Really worth it,” he amended, looking down at your feet. Cut and still bleeding, though they were healing. Not, perhaps, as rapidly as Bucky or Steve, but even faster than Clint would recover after walking barefoot across hellfire.

Which, contrary to what Clint had thought, hadn’t burnt you but had left the present gnarly cuts.

It was all a bit of a blur, really. They’d started by drowning out the protestors by very, very loudly playing the national anthem. That had pissed the protestors off quite a bit. The cacophony had brought you outside, which had riled the protestors up. Rocks started flying. They threw fucking stones at you.

Clint had been furious but nothing. Nothing. Compared to when you slowly turned, blood running down the side of your face and started walking forward. Traffic in front of the tower had ground to a halt due to all the spectators. It had happened in slow motion. Rocks flew, but none of them seemed to land, and you smiled. Or at least. You showed your teeth. And Clint knew, damn well that the face you were making was one countless HYDRA goons had seen before they died. “Oh shit,” he muttered, starting to follow you.

But out of nowhere, fire. The fucking green light created a separation between you and the protestors. Clint looked up to see Strange standing on a balcony out of sight trying to summon something to stop your inevitable progress forward. “Bless him,” Natasha said, “He thinks that’s going to stop her.”

Kill mode was unstoppable. At least. Mostly. You wouldn’t care about Damage to yourself. And that much was clear as you clawed your way through the green flames, unphased by the cuts they left.

“She’s gonna kill him,” Clint said, “Fuck- Thor-”

But the demigod needed no more prompting. He might agree with you that the man SHOULD be killed, but he knew you couldn’t be SEEN to do it. He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around you quickly, thankful for his sturdy boots. And grateful that “kill mode” as Stark had dubbed it, was only dangerous to your immediate target. He’d once thought it berserker like rage but, Bruce was quick to dissuade him of that. Bruce pegged it as a response to trauma. And Thor agreed. Mostly.

“Witchling,” he rumbled, grunting as you attempted to squirm out of his arms, “Be still.” You radiate pain. Pain and Fear, and Anger. A thousand different memories rush through you, and you just... can’t. You can’t manage it all. Stories about what should happen to anyone who doesn’t obey their god. The sting of a belt against your ass and thighs for whatever infraction. Your elation at the warm sand in California turning to panic as the sunset, and it started to get cold. Foster care. Going hungry. Stealing packs of ramen to eat while you were running. Peggy Carter. A job offer. And then a van. And searing fucking pain. Endless fucking pain as these “SHIELD” ass holes played around with your genetic code. But you didn’t care because you were fed. And warm. And someone finally showed you how to control your powers. You were never enough. Never. It didn’t matter what you did. How obedient you were or how many people you saved. You were nothing. Evil. Dirty. As if you had asked for any of this.

Clint could hear you screaming. There weren’t even words. Just screams. And he blinked back tears. It sounded like Thor was killing you, but. Anyone that had seen you wake up in medical knew that wasn’t this sound. He rushed forward and reached up carefully, trying to remind you that you were okay. And help Thor keep a hold of you. You’d worked an arm free, and the Asgardian was struggling. Even if you weren’t trying to hurt him, you could still be dangerous.

When your elbow caught his eye, Clint took the opportunity to grab your hand. “Y/N,” he said softly, “Baby. Please. Let us help. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I was trying to make it stop.”

You reached for him, and he held his arms out tenderly, “It’s okay,” he murmured, ignoring the pain in his head. He held you against him. His heartbreaking with every stuttering breath. Your fingers curled in the soft fabric of his jacket. “It hurts,” you pant.

“I know, sweetheart,” he said softly, picking you up when he noticed you standing in a pool of blood from the cuts on your feet. “I’m sorry.”

He knew you didn’t want him to apologize but, he didn’t know what else to say. “Thor,” Clint muttered, “Help me get her inside. No one can see what’s happening now, but she can’t walk back over all this.” Thor grunted and nodded, bashing Mjolnir against the flames to get them out of the way so the archer could carry you.

Clint shifts your weight gently and follows after, pressing soft kisses against your hair when you whimper. “I know,” he soothes, “Shhh. We’ll get you inside, okay?”

“Your eye,” you murmur.

“I’m okay,” he reassures gently, “I know you didn’t mean to. You’d never hurt me on purpose.”

“I love you,” you murmur, swallowing hard.

“I know,” he says gently, “You love me so much. You didn’t want to hurt anyone... Except for Stirling. And he deserves it. But we can’t let you tear his throat out on live TV baby. We can’t.”

Thor growled next to him, and Clint half smiled, “See, Thor can get away with it. Because he’s big. And not human. But it’s a bad look if we let the sweetest Avenger go around killing preachers on TV.”

“I’m a monster,” you whisper. Clint stops walking, and Thor stops mid-swing, stopping to look at you.

“My lady,” he said quietly, aware that his voice could carry, “I have fought monsters. You are not a monster, Witchling. You’re not what they all did to you to try and tear you asunder. You are kind. And Just. Powerful and sometimes rightfully very scary, but you are not a monster, my darling.”

“All I took away from that is that Thor is scared of you,” Clint teased, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when you huffed a laugh.

Thor smirked a little and brushed his fingers against your hair affectionately. “Maybe a little,” he teased, “Her knowledge of song lyrics is prodigious and not of this Earth.”

_______

Clint leaned on the door frame, thankful that Lucky was curled between your knees and your belly, and Jinx had taken up her spot behind your knees. You were warm and stuck. Unable to move without disturbing your snoozing fur babies.

Satisfied you’d be okay for a few minutes, he slipped downstairs. You needed water. And food. And he was hungry.

He was halfway through putting together some food. Lots of spicy, salty snacks for you and some sweet stuff for him. A couple sodas. Sandwiches. And some frozen fruit. Anything he thought you might want when Natasha leaned over and inspected his eye.

“How you feel?” she asked. The implication, Clint knew, was her asking if you’d meant to do that.

“Fine,” Clint said placatingly, “I caught an elbow trying to help Thor keep hold of her.”

“Kill mode?”

“Yeah,” he sighed.

Natasha winced, “I heard her screaming. It made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. I hate it.”

“I know,” Clint said, rubbing his neck, “But... she’s- she’s okay. Mostly. Freaking out because she hurt us. But she’s healing.”

The spy quirks an eyebrow, “Us?”

“She bit Thor trying to get loose. Didn’t break the skin, but there was a real pretty bruise.”

“Damn.”

Clint smirked, “You should have seen my shoulder when she got done with me last week.”

Natasha rolled her eyes but smiled a little. “Only you, Barton,” she huffed.

“You love me,” he says.

“I do,” she admitted, “I’m just glad everything’s okay because... they wanna see her.”

“Who does?” Clint asked cautiously.

“Her mom. And stepdad... Tony threatened charges for property damage. And assault since they hit her with a rock,” she explained.

“And they want her to stop it?”

The spy nodded, and Clint shrugged, “Tough shit,” he said, “She’s asleep. And she’s had enough. She’s gonna stay that way until she’s ready to be up and about.”

Natasha nodded, “I’ll go tell Tony that their Parlay will have to wait.” She wasn’t going to argue. Clint had a point. Putting you back in front of them when you felt raw like this was only gonna make a bigger mess.

_________

Peggy slid a cup of tea across the table to Steve and he smiled his thanks, “Peg, I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” he said, “Bucky just will not let this go.”

She gave him a sympathetic smile and sighed, “Since when does he let anything go?”

“This is different though. It’s vindictive. And all Y/N did was quietly harbor a crush none of us even knew about.”

“That is an accomplishment, given how many spies are in that building,” she said, impressed.

“Y/N is a good girl,” Steve said, “But Peg, if he keeps pushing on her and she snaps, there’s no one in that building that could save him- Maybe Barton but. Let’s be honest, he’d not stop her.”

She smirked, “No. I don’t think he would. Not if he’s the Clint I remember.”

“He’s worse where she’s concerned,” Steve said rolling his eyes, “No common sense.”

“Well,” she said shrugging, “When someone feels like home, you don’t really want to let them go.”

“That’s true,” he sighed, “But still.”

“But nothing,” she laughed, “What’s the betting pool up to on the proposal?”

Steve smirked, “Sam and I stand to split a pretty chunk of change if he does it on Christmas... Natasha is gonna take it if he does it for Halloween. Bruce swears he’s gonna do it next time they’re on a mission together before he even has a ring.”

Peggy grinned, “I’d say Bruce has the right idea. If he plans anything he won’t go through with it.”

Steve shook his head and gave her an apologetic smile picking up his ringing phone, “Roger- They did what?” he barked.

Peggy sat up a little straighter, eager for some gossip.

“Was anyone hurt?” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “No. No. Just- yeah. Alright.”

He hung up the phone and groaned, “Clint lobbed a counter-protest,” he explained, “Kill mode happened and now Y/N feet are cut up and CLint has a black eye from trying to help Thor grab hold of her.”

“Fucking hell,” she groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Tags:

@lancsnerd, @thorfanficwriter @blameitonthecauseway @etherealwaifgoddess, @stevieang, @beautybyfire, @sunmoonandbucky @mrsfox79, @bbmommy0902, @mendes-fan, @iheartsebastianstan, @wtfcas @pinknerdpanda, @process-pending, @ladifreakingda, @leasly, @coldbookworm, @hv-chw3, @past-perfect-future-tense, @starkrobb @beardburnsupersoldiers, @petlaufeyson, @queenoftheunderdark, @potatoheadthewise, @thehyperactiveteen, @thefridgeismybestie, @boyett514, @an-awkward-human-1, @sunshine-and-riverwater

#clint barton #Clint x reader #Bucky Barnes #Bucky x reader #Steve rogers #Tony Stark #Thor #natasha romanoff #Peggy carter #angst #fluff

140 notes · View notes

somekindoftuber · 5 years

Text

vld youtuber AU (klance, part 5)

(I apologize if the tense changes all over the place, I’m writing this as a sort of stream-of-consciousness thing because I care more about getting the idea out than writing something that’s grammatically perfect. I’ll probably clean this up and make it an actual fic once it’s all done. Thanks for reading!! :D)

part one | part two | part three | part four

There is a definite shift in Keith’s demeanor after Lance’s last visit.

They play Overwatch a few times a week, and while Keith goes into stern-leader-battle-mode when the game is going, between matches he’s loose, candid. He laughs at Lance’s jokes and makes casual conversation about his job, the garage, tells funny stories about Kosmo. Lance tells Keith stories about the customers he has at the cafe. It’s nice to hear a softness in Keith’s voice that Lance hadn’t heard before.

Keith shows up in nearly all of Lance’s Overwatch videos, even if his mic isn’t recorded. They sort of fall into a rhythm, meeting online every Tuesday and Thursday night to search for servers.

“Y’know,” Keith says one night while they’re in queue. “I wouldn’t have figured you for a sniper type.”

“Eh?” Lance is in his Widowmaker menu at that moment, flipping between two skins to see which one he likes more. “What d’you mean?”

“I don’t mean it in a bad way,” Keith clarifies, and it sounds like he’s smiling. “You just seem like more of a Mercy or a support or something. You’re really…” he pauses. “Generous. Always helping people. Then you get in here and you turn into a cold blooded assassin.”

Lance laughs. “I’ve always played a sniper, though. Gotta have balance somewhere, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

They text a lot. It’s all small stuff, like pet photos or memes (which Keith doesn’t understand 90% of the time and Lance finds that kind of adorable). But it’s nice. Occasionally they’ll both have an early shift, and Lance will text Keith photos of the ancient espresso grinder, captioned “this thing wants me dead” surrounded with skull emojis. Keith’s sense of humor, Lance learns, is dry as cracker juice. He gets a photo of a broken rubber floor mat with the question, “what sound does a floor mat make when it splits right before a fitness class?” Before Lance can answer, he gets another photo of the same mat, this time with Keith’s middle finger pointing soundly at it. “That sound,” says the caption. Lance laughs so hard that his boss yells at him for being on his phone during a shift.

August comes to an end, and Pidge prepares for her final term. Lance helps by assisting in an apartment clean out, getting rid of literal clutter to ease Pidge’s impending mental clutter. Lance tries not to think about how this might be their last few months in this apartment together. He’s really enjoyed living with Pidge - he wasn’t exaggerating when he said she was like a sister. Pidge is an extension of his family, ever since they met at space camp all those years ago. She’d been a tiny, fluffy, indomitable ball of pure snark and Lance loved her immediately. Since then, they’d stuck together, seeing each other through some of the hardest times. Lance had cheered his lungs out when Pidge was handed her high school diploma, and in a few months, he’d see her walk across another stage in a cap and gown to receive her bachelor’s degree in Robotic Engineering.

It made him a little misty-eyed to think about it.

Pidge is playing Stardew Valley one afternoon (how the hell did she manage to make such an insanely profitable farm before the end of year one?) when she casually brings up one of Lance’s favorite fall events.

“You gonna go to the Founder’s Fair this year?”

Lance doesn’t even look up from his phone. “Uh, is the Pope catholic?”

“Good.” On the screen, Pidge’s character gives a bouquet to Penny. Dating everyone but marrying no one: the Pidge method. “Hunk is coming in for it.”

“Sweet.”

The Harborville Founder’s Fair was the highlight of every autumn. Right as the summer was fading away and the air was showing a hint of a chill, Oceanside Park would explode into three days of carnival rides, food trucks, fireworks, and everything in between. It was also the best time of year to surf - they didn’t get much in the way of waves here, but there would always be just enough in late September to rent a board. Lance had put in his time off request a month ago, buttering up his boss with the ‘this might be my last September in Harborville’ sob story. Which was sort of true, even if he wasn’t quite ready to face that reality yet.

Lance felt like he was getting closer to Keith. He wasn’t entirely sure if that was the case, but if nothing else, Keith seemed to finally be relaxing around him. There were one or two times when Lance could almost swear Keith was flirting, but he quickly shoved the thought aside. Nope, don’t go there. That’s assuming things. Assuming is dangerous.

The fair is in a week and to make up for missing work on what will be one of the busiest weekends of the year, Lance is working at the cafe nearly every day. He has more steam burns on his hands and wrists from making lattes than ever, and he thinks if he hears the word “pumpkin spice” one more time he might lose it. He hasn’t played Overwatch all week, too tired from extra shifts to do anything other than zone out to Netflix when he gets home.

He’s got two hours left in his Thursday morning shift, then he’s free for the whole weekend. He can practically taste the funnel cakes now - and the Rancho Alegre food truck, the only decent source of Cuban food in the entire state, will be there. God, he’s going to eat until he can’t move.

The morning rush has come and gone and the afternoon crowd isn’t here yet, so Lance is cleaning up the mess of coffee grounds and cinnamon around his work station when the bell on the cafe door sounds. He doesn’t look up as his coworker/supervisor Romelle greets whoever walks through, too preoccupied with wondering how the hell almond milk ended up underneath the grinder.

“Hello,” says the customer and Lance totally knows that voice. He stops wiping sour milk and looks up.

It’s Shiro. And right behind him is Allura and - oh shit. It’s Keith. He’s here, he’s here in the cafe and Lance had no idea he was coming and he probably looks like shit, overworked with bags under his eyes and his face breaking out from stress and he didn’t even shampoo his hair this morning because he was running late --

But then Keith smiles at him and wow. His hair is down and he’s wearing this black and red leather jacket and it should be illegal to look that good. Especially when Lance is such a mess.

“Hi,” Lance says, hating how his voice cracks. “What are you guys doing in town?”

Shiro is pulling out his wallet with his left hand. “We came for the fair. It was always one of my favorite things about going to school here.”

“Oh,” Lance squeaks.

They’re here for the fair. Lance might get to spend time at the fair with Keith. He forces himself to focus on the present before a dozen fantasies of ferris wheel rides and sharing cotton candy can take over his brain.

They all order drinks and Lance claims them before Romelle can even finish ringing them up. Shiro gets a hazelnut americano, Allura orders a tuxedo mocha, and Keith shyly asks for a latte. Lance can tell he doesn’t go to coffee shops often and makes the drinks carefully. He can’t embellish Shiro’s americano, but he uses chocolate sauce and extra foam to draw a bow tie in Allura’s mug. For Keith’s latte, he sends a prayer to the coffee gods to grant him latte art prowess. It works, and Lance is rounding out rings of coffee and foam, pulling through to form a perfect heart.

He slides the mug across the counter to Keith, who’s eyebrow shoot into his hair. He breaths a little “wow” and blushes, taking the mug and smiling. He’s wearing fingerless leather gloves. Lance’s heart flip-flops in his chest.

The three of them find a table near the window and sit, chatting and drinking their coffee. They’re too far away for Lance to hear what they’re saying, and even if he could, he’s on the clock, and the lunchtime regulars are starting to trickle in.

Would it be gauche to text his evening shift coworker and bribe him to come in early so Lance can leave?

Lance thinks Romelle can tell he’s pouting by the way she sides up to him.

“Hey,” she whispers. “Is that the guy?”

He follows her gaze and sees that it lands firmly on the table where Keith is sitting with Shiro and Allura. Keith looks up at Lance, and smiles a little before turning back to his brother.

“Yeah,” Lance whispers back, feeling his face heat up. “The one with the long hair.”

Romelle lets out a low whistle. “Quite the catch,” she says, waggling her eyebrows. “What about the girl they’re with?”

“Allura?” Lance thinks. “I don’t know her very well, but she’s nice.”

“She single?”

Lance rolls his eyes and starts on the next drink. “No idea, you should ask her.”

It’s slower today and Lance is thankful for it. With Keith in the room, he can’t focus on anything - it’s a miracle he doesn’t catastrophically screw up the drinks he’s making. There’s a break in customers and Romelle comes over to Lance where he loading a portafilter with espresso and waves her phone.

“I’ll make you a deal,” she says, and he does not like that voice. That’s her Supervisor Voice. “I’ll call Ryan in an hour early if you get me Cute Girl’s number.”

Lance puts the tamp down. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

He looks over at the table where Keith is sitting. They’ve all finished their drinks and will probably be leaving soon.

“Romelle,” Lance states. “You are an evil super villain and I love you. Consider that number yours.”

Fifteen minutes later, Ryan Kinkade is walking in and he doesn’t look particularly thrilled about it. Lance takes off his apron and motions at the jar of cash by the register.

“Ryan, you’re a lifesaver and my tips are yours. Thank you!” Lance clocks out before anyone can argue and walks over to where Keith and Co are sitting. He’s very much aware of how he probably reeks of coffee and looks like garbage but does his best to smile anyway.

“My shift is over, did you guys have any plans?”

Shiro smiles and stands. “I think we were going to head to our Air B&B and check in, actually. We could use a breather after that drive. We can meet up for dinner later, if you want.”

Inwardly, Lance lets out a sigh of relief because this means he’ll have time to take a shower and make himself presentable. “That sounds good! Any place you want to go?”

Shiro shrugs. “Is Vinnie’s still open?”

Lance lights up. “Oh yeah, still as good as ever, too! Want to meet there at, uh - “ He checks his phone, it’s barely 3pm. “Around five? We should beat most of the dinner rush that way.”

They all nod and the plans are made. They walk outside together and Lance watches the three of them get into a very nice Chrysler sedan - maybe Allura’s, given how she goes for the driver’s seat. Once they’re gone, Lance heads for his car and books it home. He immediately washes and exfoliates his face, then applies an anti-inflammatory mask and works at cleaning up the apartment. It was already fairly clean since Hunk will be crashing on the pull-out sofa bed for the weekend, and he has no idea of Keith will ever even see this place, but Lance doesn’t want to take any risks.

He shoots Pidge a text to tell her about their plans in case she wants to join. Hunk isn’t due until tomorrow morning.

Apartment clean(er) and his face mask dry and itchy, Lance hops in the shower and scrubs himself sore. Keith is here and will be spending the weekend here and Lance is equal parts ecstatic and terrified. He meticulously goes through his whole grooming routine, moisturizes, swabs, trims his eyebrows, even files his nails. He checks his reflection once he’s done and thankfully his face is less red, the stress acne barely noticeable.

There’s still about 45 minutes until he needs to be at Vinnie’s so Lance takes his time picking out clothes. He settles for a low cut tank top that shows off his collarbones and a beige button down over it with the sleeves rolled up, finishing it off with a pendant necklace and grey skinny jeans. He examines himself in the mirror and frowns a little. Does it look too much like date clothes?

He doesn’t have time to change because then his phone pings and it’s Shiro, saying they’re heading to Vinnie’s a little early. Lance all but throws himself out the door.

Vinnie’s is starting to get crowded, Lance can already see the line forming when he parks. He spots Shiro and Allura easily, their white hair making them stand out. They’d managed to claim a patio table - no small feat - and were chatting happily.

Lance joins them and it’s amazing how welcome he feels in this group, the way Shiro half-pulls a chair out for Lance. Keith is sitting to his right, his jacket draped over the back of his chair, the black t-shirt he wore stretching nicely over his chest. And if he didn’t know any better, Lance could swear he saw Keith’s eyes sweep down his neck and linger.

They ate and laughed and ate more, drinking fancy gourmet sodas. They make loose plans for the weekend - beach tomorrow, then the fair on Saturday, and maybe brunch before they leave on Sunday. Lance educates Keith in the ways of the garlic knot, the most sacred food item on earth. And when Keith shrugs and says they’re “alright,” Lance feigns offense, gasping and clutching his chest.

Pidge joins them later, looking utterly spent from a long day of classes. Lance gives up his seat so she can collapse into it. He kneels beside the table instead, passing Pidge the last of their pizza and appetizers. Keith gives him a look, then scoots over to one side of his chair, patting the other with his hand.

Lance short circuits, looking from the empty side of the chair to Keith’s face several times.

Keith rolls his eyes. “Get up here. That,” he points to where Lance is kneeling, “Is super bad for your knees.”

“Oh?” Lance slides into place, and it’s sort of uncomfortable with half of his ass hanging off the chair, but he can feel heat pouring off Keith’s body with how close he is. “You care much about my knees?”

Keith goes super red. “I’m a physical trainer,” He said, suddenly very interested in his soda. “It’s my job to care. Doing stuff like that will ruin them.”

“Right.”

Lance glances over at Pidge, who had a garlic knot halfway to her mouth and giving Lance the most predatory grin. He glares at her to shut down whatever evil plans she might be formulating.

They finally finish the food and decide to stop taking up a table, bussing it themselves to save the staff some work. Instead of a bar, they decide to head over to Lance and Pidge’s apartment to chill - half because Pidge isn’t 21 yet and wouldn’t be able to join them at most of the bars in town, and half because Vinnie’s was so loud that they’re all craving some quiet.

Lance is so thankful that his past self had the sense to clean a little more. They all sprawl out over the living room, Lance going to pull a chair from the kitchen to sit on so the guests can have the nice couch and Pidge can curl up in the easy chair. Lance offers up the ice cream sandwiches from the freezer and everyone takes one; Allura seems to be examining hers with great interest, like she’s never had one before.

Shiro talks a lot, mostly about what Harborville was like when he and Matt were in college. About their first apartment that should probably have been condemned, the dogs he’d walk between classes for extra cash. Eventually Lance’s cats come out of hiding to investigate, and Keith goes starry-eyed at Batou’s big green eyes and plush grey coat.

Pidge falls asleep in her chair just after nine. Everyone takes a second to coo at how cute she is before Lance bends down to scoop her up.

“Lemme put sleeping beauty here to bed. If she stays there she’ll be sore and cranky when she wakes up.”

He takes Pidge to her room and sets her on her bed, then wrestles her sneakers off her feet, setting her glasses on the bedside table and draping a sheet over her. When he goes back into the living room and sits in the chair he’d removed Pidge from, Allura gives him a fond look.

“You’re very sweet to her.”

Lance shrugs. “She’s pretty much family. Also, I have to do that all the time. I’ve found her face down on her homework out here more times than I want to count.”

They talk for another two hours. Lance feels a little lonely with Keith sitting on the side of the couch furthest from him, but then again, if he was closer, Lance isn’t sure his brain would work. Allura yawns wide.

“I think it’s time we turned in,” she states. “I’d like to get some rest before the weekend starts.”

Shiro agrees. Lance ends up seeing them off in the parking lot, waving as they drive away.

Hunk arrives just after 10am the next morning, armed with bags of groceries to pack a picnic for the beach. He puts Lance and Pidge on an assembly line in the kitchen, making pork sandwiches, vegetable rolls, hummus wraps, crab and radish tartines, potato salad, and chocolate-dipped clementine slices. He’d picked up a package of Lance’s favorite lemon cream cookies and Lance could almost kiss him for it.

With their precious picnic food carefully packed in an ice chest along with plenty of drinks, Lance shot a group text to Keith, Shiro, and Allura to ask if they were ready for the beach. He got confirmation quickly, and they agreed to hit the north shore near the lighthouse, where the sand was rougher but the tourists tended to be a little thinner.

Parking is a bitch but they find a spot, then wait by the trunk for Keith and Co to arrive. About ten minutes later Lance sees Allura’s Chrysler pull in to a spot. They walk over to meet them and Lance is practically bouncing, because 1) he gets to go to the beach, 2) he gets to go surfing with Hunk, 3) he gets to spend time with new friends, and 4) Keith is here. Everyone is in shorts and light shirts, Allura has this big floppy sun hat that is absolutely precious on her, and Keith’s face is shiny with sunscreen. Lance bets that fair skin of his will still be red by the end of the day.

They find a spot that’s decently clear and set up. Hunk, Keith, and Lance tackle the portable canopy that will hopefully keep them all from becoming completely sunburned while Allura and Pidge set out the sand blanket and arrange their stuff to keep the wind from blowing it away. Once they’re settled, the ice chest is opened and sodas and juice are passed around. The wind is strong today but not enough to be a problem for their canopy, and the waves are large and plentiful. Lance eyes the surfboard rental shack a quarter mile down the beach.

Once they’ve had enough of snacking and chatting, Lance gives Hunk fingerguns and they almost take off down the beach together, making a beeline for the surfboards. Rolo is working it as usual and after some searching they find the perfect boards and duck into the changing tent to get into their springsuits. Lance has the white and blue suit up over his hips and was about to pull it the rest of the way on when he remembers that Keith is sitting out there. Ever since Lance learned he was a Crossfit trainer, he’d started running and working out again. He wasn’t in as good a shape as he was when he’d been swimming competitively, but thanks to months of regular exercise, he at least sort of looked the part again. And maybe he wanted to show off a little. So Lance left the top of his springsuit open and hanging from his hips as they went back to the group with their boards.

“Showoff,” Hunk accused while they were still out of earshot of everyone else.

Lance subtly flexed his chest. “So? I worked hard for this.”

When they got back to the canopy, Lance did his best to act nonchalant as he set his board aside and started pulling his springsuit up over his chest. Keith was definitely looking at him. Mission accomplished.

His flirty nature satisfied, it was time to surf. Lance missed this so much, the first step into the ocean water was like heaven. He and Hunk paddled out until the water was smooth, then sat on their boards and waited. They didn’t have to wait long, Hunk caught the first good wave that came their way, riding it out and away. Lance caught the next one, and it was a crazy high. It just felt so good, cutting through the water with his board, turning, riding through tunnels of blue-green. The waves tossed him, wrecked him, dragged his body against the sand below. But every time, Lance would surface, shake it off, and paddle out for another go.

His legs finally started to shake, so Lance hauled his board back to the shore. Hunk was already sitting under the canopy again, changed out of his springsuit and sipping on a juice box.

“I was gonna give you ten more minutes before I dragged you out of the water,” Hunk said.

Lance didn’t reply, chest heaving as he caught his breath. His board hits the sand and he all but collapses onto the sand sheet, his ears ringing.

A water bottle appeared in his periphery. Lance looked up enough to trace the hand that held it back to Keith, who was wearing this cute little smile. Lance smiled back and took the bottle, downing half of it in one gulp.

Pidge starts pulling out food and Lance blindly eats whatever is handed to him, too exhausted to care what it is. It’s all delicious but with how many calories he burned surfing, he could probably be eating stale saltines and they’d taste like a delicacy. He leans back on the sand sheet and basks in the post-surf euphoria.

Lance notices everyone starting to get up. Allura is holding several frisbees with a gleam in her eye, and most of the group is rising to join her. Keith stands and, after fiddling with the collar of his shirt for a second, reaches back and pulls it over his head, letting it drop to the ground.

Lance is instantly awake because holy shit. Keith is ripped. He’s all tight skin and perfect muscles and - oh.

He’d been wrong when he’d assumed Keith’s tattoo was a wolf. It’s actually a lion, roaring fiercely, emblazoned in dark red ink over his left hip.

Keith takes a hair tie off his wrist and uses it to pull his hair up high on the back of his head. He shoots Lance a loaded glance before walking out into the sun to join everyone else for a game of frisbee tag. Lance memorizes the muscles of his back as he goes.

“Good god, you’re so loud.”

Lance sits up and turns to see Pidge, sitting in the center of the sand sheet in her shorts and green rash guard, with her phone in one hand and a cookie in the other.

“I didn’t say anything!” Lance protests. Pidge just cocks an eyebrow at him.

“Not with words, anyway.”

Lance frowns, then dares to look back out at his friends, finding Keith and tracking his movements across the beach.

They empty the ice chest of food and drink and, after several more hours of beach fun, they decide to pack it in and head out. Lance is going to remember this day for the rest of his life - the image of Keith glistening wet as he walked out of the ocean had finally taught Lance the meaning of the phrase “looks good enough to eat.”

Lance is so, so tired. Surfing wore him out but he still played a round of beach volleyball after that, and then swam some more. He’s going to be so sore tomorrow. He drives himself, Hunk, and Pidge back to their apartments to shower and change before they head over to the Air B&B where Shiro, Keith, and Allura are staying. Lance decides on a regular shirt and his favorite jeans, only bothering to put a single layer of moisturizer on his face.

The Air B&B turns out to be a whole house, with a yard and a little deck where they all gather around faded patio furniture as Shiro hands out beers. He gives Pidge a look as she takes one for herself.

“What?” She says as she twists off the top of the bottle. “I’m gonna be 21 in a few months, I’m in safe company, and I’m not driving.”

Shiro just sighs and sits down.

They talk and laugh for hours. Pidge only has one beer before switching to sweet tea, and Lance is a little relieved. He has no idea what drunk Pidge would be like and he’d rather not find out this weekend - he would be cash money that she’d be ornery as hell. Hunk orders some delivery from their favorite noodle place when Lance isn’t paying attention. Keith looks happy as a kid on Christmas with a giant bowl of pho in front of him, and Lance learns that Vietnamese food is his favorite.

They move inside once the sun goes down to keep from bothering the neighbors. Lance settles into a corner of the faded couch, and is too tired to panic when Keith sits next to him. Hunk launches into a story about his last term at school when he almost blew the breaker for the entire engineering building and Lance tries to pay attention, but he’s worn out and Keith is radiating heat like a furnace. Combine that with his full stomach and a couple of beers and he’s so, so sleepy.

Someone is calling his name and Lance inhales sharply, eyes fluttering open. It was Hunk, who’s smiling at him from across the coffee table. Lance is leaning on something warm and solid. He rubs his eyes and looks up.

He was leaning on Keith.

Lance’s eyes bug out but Keith just looks down at him with this tiny smile and a blush on his cheeks. Lance suddenly feels like the room is a million degrees as he carefully sits up.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to pass out.”

Keith laughs softly. “It’s fine.”

They all start to wrap up their stories and conversations. Lance doesn’t know what time it is but it feels late, and since they want to hit the fair tomorrow, they should all get some sleep. Hunk offers to drive home and Lance hands him the keys as Keith, Shiro, and Allura wave goodbye from the front porch.

He almost falls asleep again in the ten minutes it takes Hunk to drive them back to their apartment. Lance helps set up the pull-out sofa, then goes to brush his teeth. He’s practically nodding off at the bathroom sink when Pidge comes up to him and pulls out her phone.

“Thought you should see this,” she says, holding it up.

On the screen is a photo of Keith, and, with his head resting on Keith’s shoulder dead asleep, Lance. Keith is looking down at him and definitely blushing.

The toothbrush stills in Lance’s mouth as he swipes the phone from Pidge’s hand, using his thumbs to pull and zoom. Keith was smiling.

“Please send this to me immediately,” Lance tells her, words muffled from the toothbrush still hanging from between his teeth.

He’s in bed setting his alarm when he gets the text from Pidge with the photo attached. And if Lance hugs a pillow and kicks his feet a little at the sight, who could blame him?

Continued in part 6!

#youtuber au #text #klance

3K notes · View notes

carrollstreetstation · 4 years

Text

WW2GI and the saving private ryan TC for duke nukem 3D: a level-by-level breakdown

EPISODE 1: D-DAY

the first half of the game starts off with a bang as you're dropped right into it with the omaha beach landings; from there you'll go on through the hedgerows and villages of normandy, killing nazis left and right and dying... again... and again... and again. according to the credits, we can thank tuoma "tuco" korva and lado "icebreaker" crnologar for the level design, but i've no way of telling you who did which.

E1L1: d-day what's more iconic in united states military history during WW2 than omaha beach? this recreation of the bloody battle might not be as lethal as the real thing, but it sure is nearly as nightmarish. the game throws you in deep real fast and you're forced to learn, through trial and error, the basics of the game, all the while random explosions and bullets out of nowhere will cut your gameplay short. you'd think they'd at least give us some basic training... even medal of honor frontline was more forgiving.

E1L2: atlantic wall omaha beach, part 2. you're alone for this one, you and several dozen enemy troops as you work your way through a complex of shattered bunkers and rail lines. not much sense to the layout on this one, though cool carnage as a row of parked trucks are annihilated in an artillery explosion -- along with all the nazi goons hiding behind them.

E1L3: defend you meet up with some friendlies just in time for a panicked radio message -- a squad is pinned down under enemy fire and need help. working your way through a flooded village and a forest infested with nazis, you eventually come upon the squad, hiding in some foxholes as a couple dozen enemy mysteriously teleport in by a hedgerow on the far end of the field. aside from some extra ammo, you also get access to an artillery strike via radio and a mortar launcher. hold out long enough and a gate will open with reinforcements behind, and the exit beyond.

E1L4: hunt for the 88s jesus christ. if you managed to get through the d-day map without getting too frustrated you may wind up throwing in the towel on this one, an extremely dark night mission in the woods where the enemy can see you but you can't see them, and they always have insanely good aim. the one thing it has going for it is a pretty cool scripted sequence where you and a squad of guys traverse a bit of forest, exchanging some bad banter -- very cool for the build engine! and then they all die in an ambush, leaving you to play audie murphy -- again.

E1L5: finding private mccurkee first of all, lol. second of all, this mission is actually almost fun. a ruined little town teeming with enemy, you'll have an opportunity to use a rifle to pop enemies from a distance, which will be useful as there's plenty of snipers. a mortar team will make your life hell near the end. it's fun working your way through the ruined buildings and finding ways to climb up into otherwise inaccessible rooms.

E1L6: saving private mccurkee did you like e1l5? how would you like to do it again, only this time in reverse, in the dark, and with an NPC in tow that you have to babysit -- assuming he doesn't get his dumb ass stuck in the foxhole right at the beginning of the level and then you don't notice he's done it so you save your game like a dumbass and now you have to noclip through the gate at the end because the idiot doesn't know how to climb?

yeah. i didn't like e1l6.

E1L7: mop up the final mission of the d-day episode is a mercifully daytime shootout across a semi-detatched military complex in which you shoot a bunch of nazis, blow up some tanks, dodge some artillery fire and, in the end, lay waste to a small, fenced-in compound guarded by SS, who distinguish themselves from regular grunts by their distinctive black uniforms and red nazi armbands. just hanging around them lowers your morale; ignoring the fact that the morale system makes no sense, this does amusingly give rise to the idea that the SS are so evil that they can sap you on a psychic level.

i mean, that's true of nazis today.

final thoughts: not a good first half. maybe three or four of the levels are salvageable; the rest are unmitigated shit, especially e1l4. while this is very likely the first-ever WW2 FPS to feature the omaha beach landings and the normandy invasion at large, it's a novelty at best, an exercise in frustration that shows the limits both of the engine and the designers' talents.

EPISODE 2: FRANCE

not sure what exactly distinguishes this episode from the previous, except that it's perhaps a continuation of the battle of normandy? who knows. regardless, it's another 7 levels of this shit, because they couldn't see what they did in episode 1 and think "we've done enough damage."

E2L1: hell from above a much more sensible first level, this is essentially a sweep-and-clear mission as you work your way (alone, of course) through a cute little village along a river. lots of wide open space means little cover for you, but it also makes combat a bit of a turkey shoot (especially with auto-aim on.) oddly you get tons of MP40 ammo -- even maxing it out -- before you ever actually get the MP40.

E2L2: seaside sweep a quick jaunt through a seaport. lots of nazis, and lots of BAR ammo to perforate them with. would actually be a decent level if not for an issue i ran into -- i don't know if it's endemic to the game or if it's a bug introduced by eduke32 -- that placed two very large wall texture sprites in the map that blocked my view of the final building, forcing me to god mode just to be able to approach the place.

E2L3: under fire similar to "defend" from the first episode, the first half of this mission involves you facing off against endlessly respawning waves of germans until such time that you're called to retreat through the village, which is swarming with germans. clear your way through it and you're treated to a grisly scene of SS troops forming a firing squad to execute captured allied prisoners. definitely feels like a precursor to the early call of duty levels. it's not *too* bad a level i guess.

E2L4: paperwork it's time to attack an SS-occupied chateau in this quick little mission. it starts off surprisingly easy with a short, linear path that takes you through some countryside. a heavily fortified bridge serves as the main defense of the chateau and every window bristles with guns. get inside the chateau walls and it's wall-to-wall SS, draining your morale with every burst of their MP40s and having the infuriating tendency to have your shots (especially your BAR) go right through them.

E2L5: railroad typhoon you've been tasked with rescuing a bunch of captured allied troops who've been put on a train, which means storming a trainyard. it's mostly wide open spaces here, though there is a cool part in a connecting tunnel where you're checking train cars. the trainyard itself is comparatively vast, and enemy fire comes from all directions. relatively fun map.

E2L6: a game of bridge like the name suggests, the key feature of this level is a bridge, currently occupied by a tank and a large contingent of nazis. to get there you'll have to fight your way through the town; across the river are rows of windows from which the enemy shoots at you (a common feature in this episode that i'm starting to suspect may be a favorite feature of one of the mappers.)

E2L7: urban rush the finale of WW2GI involves fighting your way through a massive urban area to rescue a captured general. this is probably the largest level in the episode; with an enemy around every corner. while it's otherwise an interesting, intense level (a small legion of semi-invincible SS notwithstanding) there's a frustrating bit where you must go through a no-man's-land of sorts that's constantly being bombarded by artillery.

final thoughts: a significantly better second half, but the problem is, that's not saying much. it still suffers from issues endemic to the game, like the insane reaction times of the enemy, the massive damage they do to you, and so on. however, the gameplay is much more straightforward for the most part, with no NPCs to babysit, no weird trial-and-error "wtf do i do next" issues, just pure nazi slaughter. now if only the game didn't suck.

PLATOON LEADER

platoon leader is a free expansion for WW2GI that adds three more levels to the game and several additional features. two of these, inexplicably, are set during the vietnam war, a throwback to TNT team's earlier outing NAM (which itself was a sequel to their earlier free mod for duke nukem 3D 'platoon,' based on the movie of the same name.) the remaining level, however, is set in the pacific theater of world war 2. the result is that the armory is a mix of WW2 and vietnam war-era weaponry, with the level design such that you won't receive weapons that don't belong in the era you're playing. speaking of level design, no clue who did this one, but i want to punch them.

PLT_E1L1: hill 41 eeeuuugh. you start at the base of a hill. while you have a radio that can call in both a tank assault as well as an air strike, your main strategy is going to be charging up a hill swarming with IJA troops. while the hill is actually rather realistically constructed, with varying slopes and flat planes, this is about the only interesting facet of the level design as the entire hill is covered in invisible land mines and enemy shooting at you. making matters worse is that the game seemingly arbitrarily will declare the mission a failure and cover the screen with a failure notice, forcing you to restart. i even god-moded my way up to the top, killed everything i could, blew up the tunnel entrance, and still failed. this level sucks.

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN TC* FOR DUKE NUKEM 3D

"saving private ryan" is a landmark war film that changed how war movies were made and inflamed the imaginations of game designers everywhere. imagine storming omaha beach from the comfort of your own home; imagine fighting through the hedgerows. while the commercial game "WW2GI" was the very first world war II-themed FPS that wasn't wolfenstein with its abstract mazes and mad science, "saving private ryan TC," released a few months after WW2GI (and using some stolen assets from it), was an attempt by a small group of duke 3d fans to recreate their favorite war movie. in this mod for duke nukem 3D are five levels, each one representing a key scene from the film. an archived version of the mod's website lists two people as level designers: jeff (using the name eXtreme-Rush) and jody (using the name kissle.) i couldn't tell you who did which maps, not that it terribly matters.

* note: TC stands for total conversion, an older term for what we'd now simply call a mod

SPRL1: ohmaha beach yes, that's how it's spelled. basically a worse version of ww2gi's d-day map, it can be done in a matter of seconds. once you blow the shingle and get up onto the ridge it's just nazi city in the trenches beyond, and ammo is scarce -- you're better off just running towards the crater with the movie poster in it.

SPRL2: vierville very short little jaunt through a war-torn village, with a squad of useless soldiers following you. the ruined applecart from the movie is here, as is the half-blown out house; a lone enemy up in a tower is easily dispatched, but figuring out how to get past the invisible wall blocking your further progress is tougher.

SPRL3: bunker another short level, a charge up a hill with the enemy already firing at you. the bunker itself with the radar is cool-looking, at least.

SPRL4: the fields basically "bunker" but with tall, semi-transparent grass sprites everywhere. kill all the nazis and then go talk to the US soldiers hiding near the burning halftrack, and you're on to the finale.

SPRL5: last battle probably the closest this thing gets to a real level, and it sucks ass. you'll not hurt for ammo, and health items actually show up here, but the place is teeming with enemy and cover is light. get across the bridge and you're done.

final thoughts: whoof. while it's true they recreated the setpieces, it comes at the expense of gameplay. the levels are, in a word, ugly and simple, with little in the way of anything distinctive. the whole thing can be gotten through in about 10-15 minutes; wouldn't it have been more fun to simply mix the movie's story beats into a broader game that more closely resembles WW2GI? sometimes i wonder what happened to the mod team; it's clear they were young when they made this (weren't we all, back then...) i guess in the end i admire what they were trying to do, and i appreciate that they were young and didn't really think this through. but it just doesn't work.

#ww2 fps #ww2 #saving private ryan #ww2gi #duke nukem 3d #game modding #shovelware #classic gaming #classic fps

32 notes · View notes

killscreencinema · 3 years

Text

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP)

youtube

I must admit, as annoying as it is that so many Kingdom Hearts games exist that seem to do nothing but muddle an already needlessly convoluted mythology, most of the little spin offs I’ve played, I actually quite enjoyed. I loved Chain of Memories card-based battle system, even while I somewhat loathed the incredibly redundant story. With Birth by Sleep, it also adds an interesting twist to the combat, while introducing a new feature to the KH series: the option to play as three separate characters, whose respective stories cross-over and intertwine with each other.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, released for the PSP in 2010, before being remade for the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix for the Playstations 3 & 4. The game is set 10 years before the first Kingdom Hearts game and centers around three hopeful Keyblade wielder candidates named Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. Incidentally their names correspond to the elements they specialize in, such as earth for Terra, water for Aqua, and large overpriced coffee for Ventus! Rimshot!

Anyway, the game begins during their final trials, which Terra fails spectacularly when he is unable to control the powers of darkness in his heart. This sets off a chain of events that send the three traveling separately to different worlds, while the evil Xehanort (in his original form before he becomes a Heartless and voiced by the late, great Leonard Nimoy) manipulates events from behind the scenes. As Terra continues to spiral into the dark side, his pal Ventus goes rogue and follows his friend around the universe to help pull him back into the light, while Aqua (who passed the trial with flying colors) discreetly keeps tabs on them both on behalf of their master Eraqus (voiced by Mark Hamill!).

Well, it wouldn’t be a Kingdom Hearts game without a ridiculously complicated plot! I won’t even go into Ventus being the “key” (rimshot again) to forging something called a “Xi-Blade” or the mysterious masked boy named Vanitas who stalks all three characters during their respective campaigns like Protoman in Megaman 3. All complaints about the story aside, I did enjoy certain aspects, such as how certain incidents from the perspective of the other characters make it seem like Terra is giving in to the darkness, but when you play as Terra you realize it’s all a misunderstanding and that Terra is being used. So the mild “Rashomon” like elements of the story are interesting, albeit not quite developed enough. Also, that these characters are basically carbon copies of Sora, Rikku, and Kairi is kind of lame and unoriginal.

Whatever flaws the story may have, at least the gameplay is solid, and that’s all that matters to me. Birth by Sleep plays like every other KH game, with the exception that you don’t have party members for support. I’m going to be honest - the metric fuck ton of options and nuances to the combat mechanice was overwhelming at first. First you have the “Command Deck”, which works similarly to the card system from Chain of Memories, where you can rotate through a collection of Keyblade techniques, spells, and items that you load up via the menu before entering combat. Also these spells and techniques can be “melded” in the main menu to create new, more powerful spells and techs, which if melded with a particular type of gem, can also grant you a permanent “ability”, such as “treasure magnet”, “air combo plus”, “Once Again”, etc.

Confused? I’m not done yet!

You can also shift to other “Command Decks” during battles depending on what types of spells or techniques that you use. For example, if you use a fire spell, you’ll shift to a fire-based attack style that will eventually end with a fire finisher attack. That not enough for you? Well, you also have available something called D-Links (not THAT “D”, ya filthy animals), which are command decks based on characters you meet along the way. Say you run into Micky Mouse during the story campaign - you’ll forge a D-Link with him and, provided the D-Link meter is full, you can shift into “Micky Mouse” mode, which contains a different move set and finisher.

Personally, I never found these D-links to be particularly useful except as a way to quickly refill my HP. Otherwise, they are actually quite bothersome, because many of them don’t have cure spells, so if you get low on HP while in D-link mode, ya better revert back to your command deck or you’re screwed, and many of the more difficult battles later in the game are way, WAY too fast paced for that kind of shit.

Got a bunch of spells and techniques that you need to upgrade to their maximum level pronto without level grinding? You have the option of playing something called the “Command Board”, which is Kingdom Hearts version of Mario Party but without those pesky minigames that make Mario Party fun. I rolled my eyes at using the Command Board at first, but I won’t lie - i actually grew to rather enjoy it and it is a nice way to upgrade a ton of abilities without the monotony of grinding.

Speaking of monotony, though, I would say Birth by Sleep’s biggest flaw is how repetitive it feels essentially playing through the game three times as each character. They all visit the same worlds, albeit with access to different points of each world’s map. Each character plays very differently, with Terra being the slow-moving, lumbering oaf but with great strength and stamina; Ventus being the best of both worlds, as he his fairly quick and moderately strong; and Aqua being the weaker of the two, but fast as hell and with incredibly strong magic. As a matter of fact, once you get Aqua all buffed up with her abilities, and a decent keyblade, she becomes quite the ass kicker over the two boys in my humble opinion. Thankfully, each character’s story campaign is fairly short, which takes the edge off the repetitiveness a bit. After playing through each character, there is a “Final Episode” that unlocks, provided you preserved each character’s post-game file, that wraps up the story... or wraps it up as best as one can expect any Kingdom Hearts game to wrap up.

As a console game, Birth by Sleep is decent, but lets remember this was meant to be on a portable system! So in that context, especially on a console like the PSP, Birth by Sleep goes from “decent” to “excellent”, as it provides just enough RPG action to occupy one’s time while on the go, but without being so much of a time sink that you’re rooted in one spot forever and miss your flight or doctor’s appointment or whatever it is you’ve brought the PSP to kill time at back in 2010. I will forewarn completionists out there though: this game is a goddamn nightmare to 100%. Because of the way it is set up, you have to basically one hundred percent the game THREE TIMES, and beat the game at least once on “Critical Mode” if you didn’t already do so in one of those three slots. That means playing through every mini-game, every arena battle, and beating every optional boss (who are insanely difficult, true to KH tradition) THREE TIMES. It’s very tedious and it sucks. As of this writing, I have 100-percented Aqua, and am currently working on finishing up with Ven and Terra. May God have mercy on my soul.

#kingdom hearts #birth by sleep #disney #sony #square enix #ventus #terra #aqua #keyblade #mickey mouse #rpg #action #role playing game #psp #playstation

4 notes · View notes

the-devil-herself · 4 years

Text

Never Enough - Chapter 21

CHAPTER: 21

DESCRIPTION: Certain mates of Jotuns receive soulmate marks on their bodies. What happens when Loki’s mark is found on a girl with immense power?

RATING: M

NOTES/WARNINGS: SOOO one more chapter to post then i start working on the updates. For those who have finished the story on AO3 and were waiting on new chapters, it is coming soon!

TAGGED: @kneel-before-queen-loki @lokis-girl-in-mischief @tarithenurse @fangirls94 @hellofeysandarling @lokis-high-priestess @god-of-mischief-here-tada @marvelschriss

“What happened to her?!” Someone was shouting, clearly very angry.

“I don’t know! She told me she was getting groceries.”

“Obviously, that was a damn lie!”

“Yeah, no shit Nat.”

The voices faded away again as I slipped back into darkness. My mind wouldn’t fully wake up from its dream, and my body could barely handle it. At times I could hear my heart beat out of control, and I wondered if it was going to burst.

The screaming was back, but I had gotten used to it. No longer did I feel the need to shield myself from it, and maybe that should’ve concerned me. But I was more focused on the burning inside of myself. Not only was everything else on fire, but it felt like my body was burning in flames. I wanted to scratch the flesh off of me and run to shelter.

The worst part of it wasn’t the chaos and death, though. It was that I wasn’t afraid. I had never felt so powerful in my life, and nothing could touch me. I had the power of life or death in my hands, millions of people counting on me. I had never experienced this kind of power before.

And the purple man… well the purple giant. He just smiled at me as I destroyed the world around me. I wasn’t afraid of him either; I knew he couldn’t hurt me no matter how strong and powerful he was.

I was free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn’t until hours later that I could finally open my eyes. When I did, I saw the whole team standing in my hospital room back at the compound. Thor and Tony looked exhausted, discussing something quietly. But my eyes immediately went for Loki.

He was slumped in the seat near my bed, not too near and not too far. His skin was pale, and his eyes were bloodshot.

I must’ve been out for days then.

He was the first to notice me awake, never having looked away from me in the first place. Jumping to my side alerted the others to my state.

“Dana!”

“Are you okay?”

“What the hell happened?”

After hours of feeling like I was being devoured by flames, I needed a minute. And water.

“Water… please?’ I cracked, feeling my chapped lips.

Loki immediately shushed the team and sent Thor to grab me a cup of water. His eyes were focused on me, searching for any signs of bodily harm. However, my wounds were not present to the eye. Not yet.

After gratefully taking the cup from Thor and downing it in one go, I finally sat up on the bed. I was grateful to realize I wasn’t in the hospital room but my own bedroom. Once they realized I was healthy and physically okay, they must have decided I would be more comfortable in my room.

Tony sat on my bed beside me. From his ruffled hair and defeated look, I could tell he was extremely concerned. “Kid, I know you don’t have much energy right now, but you need to tell us if you’re okay.”

I nodded. “I’m fine, I promise.”

Steve patted Tony on the shoulder trying to calm himself down as much as Tony. “Why did you leave the compound? Where did you go?”

All eyes on me again. “I went to the store.”

Tony scoffed at my feeble attempt at lying. “Try again, Dana.”

What could I tell them? There was no way I was going to explain how a purple maniac showed up at our doorstep, or that I ran into the woods to see a future of death with me at the center of it. No, I couldn’t.

That’s how the lie slipped so easily between my teeth. “I thought I saw a figure with red hair, maybe Lorelei, so I chased her into the woods, but it wasn’t anything. I got lost, and it wasn’t until a little while later that I finally got myself out.”

“Why would you chase her?!” Thor boomed.

I had never seen the god angry before, certainly not at me. I was almost scared. “Because I can take her,” I mumbled.

Tony shook his head. “You’re not ready for this. I'm not letting you fight with us.”

Wrath ran through me. I shot up out of the bed instantly, yet not before another pounding headache almost overtook me. But I kept myself up straight. “You have no idea what I am ready for,” I growled, surprised at the voice that came out of my mouth. It wasn’t mine. “I am more powerful than any of you. You keep me locked away out of fear, but I cannot be stopped.”

And in that moment, it was my like my body had been taken over by a force older than time.

“What the hell,” Clint whispered.

“Dana…”

I felt myself slip to the floor as if the breath had been knocked out of me. Grabbing the edge of my bed, I found myself back in control. But I was still shaking.

“What the fuck!” I exclaimed, frantically looking at the team. None of them had any clue to what just happened. I searched for answers in Loki, but he was frozen in place. He was afraid.

He’s not the only one.

Nat was the first to speak up. “What is going on here?”

“It looks like something may be inside her,” Bruce chimed in. He knelt in front of me, inspecting my face and body, in doctor mode. “Like an infection.”

“What the hell does that mean, doc?” Tony shouted. He was definitely concerned now. “Is she okay?”

“I don’t know! All I know is that, it’s evolving.”

“Evolving?’ Thor asked.

All Bruce did was nod. He continued to look into my eyes with sympathy and understanding. He knew what it felt like to not be in control, to have something inside of you.

“Am I going to be okay?” I pleaded with him through my eyes to give me a positive answer. I did not want that vision to come true. I was NOT evil.

Bruce gave me a small smile before standing up and stepping back. “I think it’s her powers; I think they’re expanding. I can do some testing to get more answers, but for now, she needs rest more than anything.”

Tony accepted his recommendation. “Okay, you heard him. Everyone out!”

As the team started spilling out of my room, I felt a hand help me up. I turned to see Loki, who was pale with worry. “I’m not leaving your side,” he whispered to me.

“You have to find Lorelei-“

“She is not my first priority when it comes to your health. Besides, she may have a part in this.”

I shook my head, looking away from him. “No… this is all me.”

He opened his mouth to question me further, but Tony ushered him out behind Thor. “You need to sleep kid. I’ll have Pepper bring you some food in a little bit. Don’t move or you’re grounded.”

I laughed at that. “Good luck trying.”

I saw a small smirk make its way onto his face before he closed the door behind him. With all of them finally gone, I began to feel even more constricted. A huge pressure was on my lungs, and I couldn’t breathe.

It’s okay, this is a panic attack.

I stood up and made my way to the full-length mirror by my closet. I crouched down and got my face right up against it, searching for any sign of the “infection.” My eyes were still brown, though, so that was a good sign. I didn’t feel like I was burning alive either.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to relieve the anxiety dwelling within me. After trying to inspect my eyes, my hand slid down to my neck to wipe away the sweat that accumulated. I wanted this all to stop. I wanted to help, not to hurt. This wasn’t me; it couldn’t be.

Then I noticed the veins in my neck… they were moving. Blackness engulfed them slowly, ascending up to my face. I felt it all inside me, surrounding me.

I was infected.

30 notes · View notes

encyclopika · 4 years

Text

Missing Out Chapter 5 - No Conditions Sneak Peak

It’s 2am but I was on a roll, so please have a sneak peak cuz I’m so excited with how this is turning out.

Read Missing Out on AO3 ...

On the last day of the semester before summer break, Ai ran up to me, her grades in hand with the cutest fucking smile I've ever seen in my life. Again, another thing I didn't deserve.

“Guess who aced her English exam!” Ai said, almost in song.

It was the end of the day and I was already on my way out. I'd have normally flown away but I'd gotten into the habit of waiting for Ai at the gate on days when she skipped after school cramming. I figured she would that day, the last day of classes for a while. Summer was in full swing and the heat made it apparent. Even with short sleeves and skirt, the heat made Ai reconsider the long socks she normally wore; they were rolled down all the way to her shoes to expose her legs. She fanned herself with some papers but none of these things really worked.

“Was it the chick who sits in front of you?” I asked, a grin just waiting for her to get annoyed.

She deflated, her smile turning into a knowing pout. “No, stupid, it's me. I aced the exam.”

“Really? You're sure you didn't get your test mixed up with her's?”

“Yes, I'm sure,” her smile returned, but now it was more playful. She knew better than to get upset with me. By now, she welcomed me under her skin and I couldn't resist. “And I have you to thank!” She passed through the school gates, turning left, no doubt on her way to my tree. I did say she returned often and in fact, she was there everyday she wasn't at cram school. That also meant she stopped seeing me at lunch and spent that time studying or with other friends. Yes, Ai did in fact have lots of friends; she was very popular. I wonder what she told them when they undoubtedly asked what in the hell she was doing hanging around me. I wondered if she was the same person as I knew her with them, too, or if that was the farce. Or maybe who she was with me was the farce? I couldn't lie to myself that I trusted her, no doubt an effect of being enamored. “I couldn't have done it without you,” she went on, and I hazarded a glance down at her, the evil grin slicing her face open. The payback was swift. “Don't say it,” I warned. “Don't you fuckin' say it.” “You're my hero,” she let it slip. “Ugh, fuck, I can't believe you've done this,” I whined, rolling my eyes hard.

She didn't laugh, but the smirk remained at her triumph. “That's what you get for being a jackass.” She stopped at the crosswalk and pushed the button for the signal at the other side. It was weird for me to walk – walking was a seldom-used mode of travel for me unless I was inside a building or my destination was only a few paces. Ever since Tadashi decided to show his true, cruel colors, I walked with Ai almost everywhere. I didn't want to be possessive but I sure as shit didn't want what happened that day to happen again. We'd gotten lucky the first time; I wasn't placing bets on another go. Tadashi wasn't coming to school again and that made it even harder to figure out when he'd strike, if it ever happened. Ai wasn't any wiser – if we were going to hang out in the park after school, it only made sense we went together. It'd be stupid for me to fly and wait when we could rag on each other the whole way there instead. The light at the opposite corner switched from red hand to white guy walking, and we crossed. I groaned. “Ya really gotta stop saying that. I helped you cuz you make five star lunches, not because I gave a shit.” “And now?” Ai asked. Her question struck me hard. The truth? Now I gave a shit. I gave the biggest shit. “Still don't,” I argued. She knew I was full of it. The extent to which I was full of it? That she didn't know and at the time, I was glad for it. “But you know heroics is an occupation, right? Heroes get paid,” she started again, letting her previous question go largely unanswered. “Sure they do, and then you get the real shitty ones that are in it for the cash and not, ya know, to save people. How do you put a price on an action that should be altruistic?” I was being facetious. I didn't mean to get into a brainiac debate. At the time, I didn't really believe in heroes. Yeah, yeah, I was a villain myself, so you probably think that natural, but even before I turned to join in the darkness, there wasn't much respect. Some people fall through the cracks; it's hard to believe someone will come save the day when no one does. The kinds of crimes committed against me weren't big enough or important enough for a hero to notice, swoop in, and save the day. I had to save myself, but by the time I could come save the day, the damage was already done. Paying people to be heroes seemed to void the whole concept of it for me. Then again, back then, I saw the world in black and white. I saw it more like Pyromancer – if I learned that a hero had ever saved my mother, I think I would have taken the shit into my own hands, too. Not everyone is worth saving – some people are monsters. As a hero, I get now how that can't fall into the equation. A victim is a victim only. Villains though...I sure did like the idea of 'accidents'. “That's true,” Ai said thoughtfully. “But it's really a job like any other. Heroes have agencies, bosses, and the Hero Commission to answer to, and there are protocols to follow. It's not like they can just go out and do that job like you see in old movies. There are rules...” She had walked ahead of me a bit, absentmindedly, her hands having found each other behind her back, her face angled to the sky. I'd already learned she did this when she was thinking about something intently, or if it was something she truly cared about. It wasn't always with the same expression: when she spoke about some of her favorite things, like animals, flowers, and stationary, she wore the biggest smile, her cheeks rosy, like she was embarrassed to gush, but couldn't stop herself. God, I remember this one conversation – if I could call it that – where she didn't shut up about gel pens for a straight fifteen minutes. I stayed quiet and listened, because at the back of my mind, I couldn't help but feel like she didn't get to do it very often. It was like I was the only person who wasn't going to tell her to shut up about it or groan. And after that fifteen minutes, she noticed herself and covered her mouth, like it shouldn't have been open that long and how dare she love anything. Before she could apologize, I would ask her a follow-up question about the topic, and she'd light up and continue again. It was like putting quarters into the sweetest jukebox. On that day, her face had been thoughtful as we delved into the ethics of what society had deemed necessary in terms of heroes and villains years before either of us were born. Her blue eyes were stern, as if it were important to convince a villain of the validity of paying heroes and paying them out the ass, in my opinion. “Besides, heroes are expected to spend just as many hours out there patrolling and risking their lives as police officers do everyday. They need to be compensated,” she continued on. “And it sounds like you've done research on this, why?” I prompted her. “Oh!” she stopped short, her stern demeanor traded for a bashful one. “Well, I...want to be a hero!” I scoffed. Of course she did. Most kids did, but unlike most kids, Ai seemed to be much more aware of what the job entailed and thought about it more practically, beyond the capes and punching baddies. “And why would you want to do that?” I wasn't challenging her, although maybe it sounded that way. Heroes were pointless to me, but they were everything to her. That meant, one day, no matter how we felt about each other, we'd find ourselves at odds. A hero and a villain...it's fucking blasphemy. She went serious, her pride and dream unscathed. “I want to be a hero because...even with the best intentions, people still get really hurt and die in villain attacks and disasters. I'm sick of all the death and not being able to do anything about it.” Spoken like a true hero, one that saw her quirk as a gift she could give others. Did it sound familiar?

#OC: Krow #bnha hero oc #bnha #fanfiction #sneak peaks #Missing Out #everyone's favorite bird boy gets his own story

6 notes · View notes

imagine-loki · 5 years

Text

Never Enough

TITLE: Never Enough CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 21 AUTHOR: the-devil-herself ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine finding out that your soulmate is Loki and your very first kiss is interrupted by Thor shouting “Yeeessss” RATING: M NOTES/WARNINGS: You can find this story on AO3 as well!

“What happened to her?!” Someone was shouting, clearly angry.

“I don’t know! She told me she was getting groceries.”

“Obviously, that was a damn lie!”

“Yeah, no shit Nat.”

I was free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was slumped in the seat near my bed, not too near and not too far. His skin was pale, and his eyes were bloodshot.

I must’ve been out for days then.

He was the first to notice me awake, never having looked away from me in the first place. Jumping to my side alerted the others to my state.

“Dana!”

“Are you okay?”

“What the hell happened?”

I shook my head as their line of questioning was fired at me. My pounding head was not ready to deal with this much noise at once, and I found that I didn’t have much energy to respond to them either. After hours of feeling like I was being devoured by flames, I needed a minute. And water.

“Water… please?’ I cracked, feeling my chapped lips.

I nodded. “I’m fine, I promise.”

Steve patted Tony on the shoulder trying to calm himself down as much as Tony. “Why did you leave the compound? Where did you go?”

All eyes on me again. “I went to the store.”

Tony scoffed at my feeble attempt at lying. “Try again, Dana.”

“Why would you chase her?!” Thor boomed.

I had never seen the god angry before, certainly not at me. I was almost scared. “Because I can take her,” I mumbled.

Tony shook his head. “You’re not ready for this.”

I shot up out of the bed instantly. Not before another pounding headache almost overtook me, though. But I kept myself up straight. “You have no idea what I am ready for,” I growled, surprised at the voice that came out of my mouth. It wasn’t mine. “I am more powerful than any of you. You keep me locked away out of fear, but I cannot be stopped. I am not a hero or a monster. I am who I am.”

And in that moment, it was my like my body had been taken over by a force older than time. I almost didn’t recognize the biblical quote that came from me.

“What the hell,” Clint whispered.

“Dana…”

I felt myself slip to the floor as if the breath had been knocked out of me. Grabbing the edge of my bed, I found myself back in control. But I was still shaking.

“What the fuck!” I exclaimed, frantically looking at the team. None of them had any clue to what just happened. I searched for answers in Loki, but he was frozen in place. He was afraid.

He’s not the only one.

Nat was the first to speak up. “What is going on here?”

“It looks like something may be inside her,” Bruce chimed in. He kneeled in front of me, inspecting my face and body, in doctor mode. “Like an infection.”

“What the hell does that mean, doc?” Tony shouted. He was definitely concerned now. “Is she okay?”

“I don’t know! All I know is that, it’s evolving.”

“Evolving?’ Thor asked.

All Bruce did was nod. He continued to look into my eyes with sympathy and understanding. He knew what it felt like to not be in control, to have something inside of you.

“Am I going to be okay?” I pleaded with him through my eyes to give me a positive answer. I did not want that vision to come true. I was NOT evil.

Tony accepted his recommendation. “Okay, you heard him. Everyone out!”

As the team started spilling out of my room, I felt a hand help me up. I turned to see Loki, who was pale with worry. “I’m not leaving your side,” he whispered to me.

“You have to find Lorelei-“

“She is not my first priority when it comes to your health. Besides, she may have a part in this.”

I shook my head, looking away from him. “No… this is all me.”

I laughed at that. “Good luck trying.”

It’s okay, this is a panic attack.

Then I noticed the veins in my neck… they were moving. Blackness engulfed them slowly, ascending up to my face. I felt it all inside me, surrounding me.

I was infected.

#Loki #Lover #Angst #God of Mischief #Others #Imagine #Submitted fic #submission #the-devil-herself #chapter 21 #never enough

51 notes · View notes

calpalirwin · 4 years

Text

Evil Author Day #5

My parts of the (really long) brain child with @baldcalum. Maybe one day we’ll finish it. Who knows.

~Shay

March 2020~

“Hey, Raz, turn on the radio station that’s downstairs,” I said, peeking my head in her office at 8:55 on the dot, just like I did every morning.

“Why?” my business partner, roommate, and best friend asked me. I knew she had gotten here at 8 am on the dot, liking having the office to herself before the day started. I kept telling her to start coming in with me- New York was full of creeps and weirdos- but she was stubborn. And I couldn’t exactly argue with her, as I too, traveled to and from work by myself. No, we could handle ourselves just fine, thanks.

“5SOS interview today,” I told her simply as I shrugged off my jacket and draped it over my arm

“Oh, that’s today?” she asked, her eyes going wide in excitement.

“Yep,” I grinned, before heading to my own office. We had been hoping to snag 5SOS as a client when we started our business 2 years ago. We had our- less than pleasant- opinions about their current management and thought we could be the change they needed in order for their band to go from punk kids out of Sydney to the talented rock band of grown men they actually were. After all, who better to understand the struggle to be taken seriously than 2 women with their own management company in the Big Apple?

As I leaned back in my desk chair, I let my mind take me back in time to when I had first met the woman in the office next door to mine.

~~~

~June 2015~

“Alright, so your big project for this class is a business plan. You will work in pairs of 2. There is a rubric online for you to follow, but the better thought out the plan, the better the grade. Any questions?”

I rolled my eyes and put up my hand. There was no way I wasn’t going to at least try and see if I could do this project myself. Anything to get out of dreaded partner/group work. “Yes?” The professor asked, and I couldn’t tell if she was looking at me or the girl next me to me, who also had her hand up.

“Can we work alone?” we both asked at the same time.

The professor looked at us both and smiled one of those smiles that made me curl my hand into a fist. I knew what was coming. “If you’re both so inclined to work alone, maybe you should partner up.”

I suppressed the sigh and accompanying eye roll as I turned in my seat to get a better look at my partner. If I had to guess I would’ve pegged her as a bright-eyed freshman straight out of high school, probably a fashion major from the way she was dressed. I suppressed yet another eye roll. Could you die from rolling your eyes too much? Eh, whatever. A business plan was child’s play to my own plans. If little fashionista wanted to prove herself with yet another clothing line, I’m sure I had some old shit lying around we could tweak up.

“Raz,” the girl whispered, a terra-cotta hand reaching out to shake my tawny one.

“Shay,” I whispered back, shaking the offered hand, before turning back to pay attention to the same old first day lecture I’ve heard a thousand times before.

“Hey, wait up!”

“What?” I said, my hand pushing my way out of the building, my foot sticking out to hold the door open for the voice behind me.

“We should probably arrange something so we can meet and do this project,” Raz demanded, hands going to her hips.

I made a face before gesturing at the building behind us. “It’s not like I’m hard to find.” Seriously, a 3 hour class that met 4 days a week? Why was I doing this to myself again? Because you broke up with your boyfriend and have nothing better to do? Shut up!

“Still though. I want a good grade on this assignment.”

“You and me both, kid. Relax, it’ll get done.”

“Kid?”

“Yeah. You’re like what? 12?”

“I’m 18, asshole.”

“My point exactly. Look, this isn’t my first business plan, alright? I know what they’re looking for on these assignments. Just tell me what you want so I can show you what I have next class, alright? Enjoy your day, kid,” I smirked before walking off.

“Hey, where are you going?!”

I stopped in my tracks, wheeling to face the younger girl once more. “Work. God damn…” Then, I started walking again, calling out to her as I did so, “walk and talk, kid, walk and talk.”

“You work?” She fell into pace with me.

“Yeah cuz that’s what adults do!” I said in an obnoxiously cheery voice.

“Would you cut the crap, already? We’re like the same age.”

“False,” I corrected. “I’m a 21 year old with a minor in business. You’re an 18 year old freshman who’s about to get your world rocked when you finally realize that you're not special. You’re just a regular fish in the same boring ass pond as the rest of us.”

“So, what are you doing taking a business course if you already graduated?”

“Killing time until law school,” I shrugged.

“Oh, that’s cool. What do you do for work?”

“I’m an assistant at a law firm downtown. They offered me a job after my internship with them. Pays well and they work around my schooling.”

“And they let you dress like that?” she asked, eyeing my outfit of sneakers, jeans, a t-shirt, and a hat covering up my short hair.

“No, I’m going home to change first.”

“Oh, cool, I’m going to the dorms, too.”

“I don’t live in the dorms. I have an apartment. Law student, remember?”

“Oh, cool we can work there instead.”

This kid would not quit! I liked it. “Alright,” I said, pulling out my phone. “Put in your number. I’ll text you when I’m off work. And please, just put your name. No weird shit with emojis.”

“You better text me,” she muttered, putting in her number and handing me back my phone.

“I will, relax,” I told her, allowing myself to smile at her.

~~~

“Yeah, you know, we’re in our twenties now. Mike’s getting married. We’re growing up and we want our music to show that,” Ashton’s voice said through the radio. “We just want to be true to who we are both individually and as a band.”

I shut off my radio. This was it. My moment. “I’m going down there,” I said, poking my head in Raz’s office.

“Relax, Shay. At least wait for the interview to be done.”

“Are you coming or not?” I asked, already making my way out of the office.

“Alright, alright,” she said, getting up from her own desk and following me. “Shit, business cards!” she said, once we were in the elevator, a hand clapping around her pockets.

“I got it,” I said, pulling a few out of my own pocket.

“What would I do without you?” she smiled.

“Playing ��What If’ is a fool’s game,” I smiled back as the elevator doors opened.

“You ladies going down?” Luke Hemmings asked with a heavy accent.

I shared a look with Raz before thanking whatever forces were behind this perfect timing.

“Yeah,” I answered, keeping my voice steady as I stuck out my arm to hold the elevator. “C’mon,” I said as the 4 members of 5SOS crowded in around us. Small, one syllable words. Don’t fuck this up.

“Lobby or parking garage?” Raz asked them, a small squeak in her voice that was undetectable to the untrained ear. She was nervous. I was nervous. This was crazy! But we had learned to keep our wits about us long ago. Our nerves were undetectable to anybody but each other.

“Parking garage,” Calum Hood said, reaching a tanned and tattooed arm across her shoulder to hit the button. “Thanks, loves.”

“How was the interview?” I asked, trying not to freak out that I was in an elevator with my favorite band and that my arm was touching the arm of my favorite drummer from my favorite band.

“Good,” Calum, Luke, and Mike all answered.

“God, it sucked!” Ashton said, giving voice to what I imagined was closer to the truth than his bandmates polite response..

“What do you mean?” Raz pressed, while the men sucked their air through their teeth at their friend’s admission of the truth.

“It’s the same old shit every time. We’re in our twenties. We’re not those high school dropouts anymore, and I wish they’d realize that.”

“You alluded to that,” I commented, glancing up at him.

“Yeah, and they blew past it to talk with Mike about his engagement.”

“Oh. Congrats, by the way,” I said over my shoulder to the shorter of the two tall blondes.

“Thank you!” Mike smiled as the elevator dinged and opened.

They all stepped out, and I followed on instinct. This was my chance. I was going to take it. “So, you’re tired of not being taken seriously?” I asked.

“So tired,” Ashton said, his hazel-eyed gaze locking with my brown-eyed one.

“Well, here,” I said, pulling out the business cards and handing them each one. “If you’re serious about being taken seriously, give us a call,” I said, giving his arm a quick pat before stepping back on the elevator. “Enjoy New York!” I waved as the elevators closed.

“That was your plan?!” Raz rounded on me. “Give us a call?! Shay!”

I tsked, holding up a finger. “Do you trust me?”

“Always, but Shay, we really should’ve planned this better.”

“Then trust me. When have I ever let you down?”

“Never.”

“Exactly. Trust the process, kid.”

We were stepping back into the office when the phone rang.

The receptionist, a cute young thing named Maya, moved to answer, but I waved her off, moving to answer it myself. I picked up on the third ring. “C. S. Management, this is Shay.”

“Hey, I think we were just in the elevator together. You gave us your card?” Ashton’s voice said over the line.

“May I ask who’s calling?” I asked, playing coy and professional as I switched the phone to speaker mode so Raz could listen in.

“Uh, it’s Ash. Look, we’re gonna go talk this over, but we wanna hear what you and your company has to say. Can we arrange something?”

I looked at Raz, raising an eyebrow.

She raised 2 fingers at me.

“We have an opening at 2 if that works for you gentlemen,” I said, putting power behind the word “gentlemen” purposefully.

“2… 2 sounds perfect. We’ll be there.”

“We’ll be here,” I told him back.

~Ashton

March 2020~

~Before the meeting~

I looked at the business card in my hand the woman with shining brown eyes behind large glasses had given me, watching her slink off back into the elevator, her heels clicking with purpose. I swear I saw her wink at me as she waved and called out “Enjoy New York!”

“Ash? Ash! ASHTON!”

“What?”

“What the fuck are we gonna do with this?” Calum asked, looking at the business card in his own hand.

I shrugged. “I dunno. We’re still in a contract. But…” But, what? But the way her voice had sounded when she said the word “serious”, almost like she knew we were sick of being jerked around, like she was offering us a way out, not a way to promote her own business.

“He’s gonna call her. Oh, God, he’s gonna call her!” Calum said, his hands going to his head as he spun in a circle.

“Hey!” I snapped. “Are you happy with our management still trying to pass us off as the teenage boy band? Cuz I’m not. That wasn’t the image we wanted.”

“Mate, maybe slow down?” Luke said.

“Luke, you hate this band more than anybody,” Mike laughed. “I’m with Ash. We can at least see what they gotta say, right?”

“Thanks, Mike,” I grinned at him, pulling out my phone and dialing the number on the card.

It rang once, twice, three times. “C.S Management, this is Shay,” her voice chirped professionally over the line. Oh, I bet she was feeling pretty damn proud of herself right about now.

“Hey, I think we were just in the elevator together. You gave us your card?” I answered.

“May I ask who’s calling?” she asked.

I held back a giggle. Damn, she was good. “Uh, it’s Ash. Look, we’re gonna go talk this over, but we wanna hear what you and your company has to say. Can we arrange something?”

There was a short pause, then “We have an opening at 2 if that works for you gentlemen.”

I smirked at the way she said “gentlemen” rather than “boys” like everyone else usually referred to us as. “2…” I looked around at the other 3 who all shrugged, “2 sounds perfect. We’ll be there.”

“We’ll be here,” she chirped back before hanging up the line.

~After the meeting~

I twirled the business card between my fingers. Back and forth and back again, I twirled the card, their logo spinning with my movements. “Oh, just call her!” Luke said, giving me a shove.

“What?” I asked, snapping to attention.

“Shay! Just call her, mate.”

“No. That’s unprofessional, Luke. Her company just offered us a new start. She might be our boss. I can’t just call her.”

“I’m with Ash. Don’t call her. Just drop the whole thing, please?” Calum put in. “Don’t let this stupid crush fuck this up for us.”

“Hey, Ash, can I see your phone?” Mike asked suddenly.

“Why?” I asked skeptically.

“Mine’s dead. Gotta call Crystal.”

“Oh. Yeah, sure.” I dug my phone out, unlocking it for him before handing it over.

“Sweet, thanks,” he said before typing something. “And send. Thanks, mate!” he said again, tossing me my phone.

“Mike, what did you just do?” I asked.

“What you were too scared to do yourself.”

“Michael!” my voice thundered as I got up to get in his face. “That was unprofessional on so many levels!”

“No, you said calling would be unprofessional. I texted. Big difference.”

“That’s not any better!”

My phone pinged in my hand.

“A ‘thank you’ would be fine, mate,” Mike winked as he put a hand on my shoulder.

“How about you’re lucky I don’t kick your ass?” I muttered, looking down at the notification. I clicked it open as I walked to my bedroom in our suite.

Hey, it’s Ash. Coffee?

Little late for coffee isn’t it?

Ha-ha, sorry. That was Mike.

Oh… so that’s a no on coffee then?

Didn’t you just say it was too late for coffee?

Oh, I meant for me. But… if you’re getting coffee… I can keep you company? NY's a dangerous place for a man to be out by himself.

I laughed as my phone pinged again with an address and the simple instruction of: Meet me here in 30 minutes.

I’ll be there.

~~~

I did a double-take when I walked in the small cafe and saw Shay. She was dressed completely different from her black slacks, black heels, and white blouse she had been wearing at our meeting. In their place were blue jeans, a plain navy blue t-shirt underneath a thin cardigan, sneakers, and a hat- that she was wearing backwards- covered up her short and chic half bob. Professional woman to 90s skater chick in the blink of an eye. Damn, was there anything she couldn’t do?

“Hey,” she greeted, patting the empty seat next to her.

“Hey,” I greeted back, taking the offered seat. “You look… comfy.”

She laughed. It was both light and full of life, much like the owner. “Gotta blend in, y’know?” she laughed again. “Should we?” she asked, her gaze shifting.

I followed her gaze to the counter. Right. Coffee. Focus, Ash. “Yeah,” I smiled.

We approached the counter. “Hey, Ty,” she said to the barista.

“Shay, finally gonna order?” he teased her.

“I was waiting for a friend,” she joked back with him.

The man eyed me before giving her a look. “Hot or cold today, babes?”

She brought a finger to her lips in thought, her gaze flickering out the window. “Let’s do cold today.”

“And for your friend?” he asked with a pointed glance at me.

“Uh, I’ll have a medium iced caramel macchiato, please,” I said.

“Coming right up,” he said before giving us the total.

Both of us reached for our wallets. “Oh, I got it,” Shay told me, waving her hand at me.

“Nah, I asked. My treat,” I told her, inserting my card into the chip reader before she could protest.

“Technically Mike asked,” she giggled. “But, thank you.”

“Here ya go, Shay,” a different barista said, placing two identical drinks on the counter.

“Thanks, Maddie,” she smiled, grabbing the cups and handing me one. She gave her cup a swirl before taking a sip, eyes closing in a state of bliss.

“I thought you said it was too late for coffee,” I teased her as we made our way back to our seats.

“Feeling a little wild today,” she responded.

Good. I was too. She gave her drink another swirl, and I caught a glimpse of the tattoo on her wrist I had noticed earlier on at the meeting. I hadn’t wanted to ask her about it then, but now seemed like a good time to ask. “What’s that on your wrist?”

“Oh, it’s a dreamcatcher,” she told me, offering me her arm so I could take a better look.

It was simple line work etched into her slightly sun-kissed skin. “Wow, that’s nice. Is it your only one?”

She gave a shake of her head. “Nope, I got some birds on my shoulder. Another simple linework piece. I like the minimalistic look of it.” She tapped her shoulder to show where the other tattoo was hiding. “Then I have another tattoo on my ankle,” she added with a giggle.

My hand went up to rub at my own bird tattoo on my neck. “That’s cool,” I smiled at her. “Do they mean anything, or are they just because?”

“Bit of both. They were both graduation presents to myself. The dreamcatcher’s a heritage piece. The birds are just symbolic in a way.”

“Shannon’s an Irish name though, isn’t it?”

“It is. I’m only half-Irish, though. Then part Native American, hence the dreamcatcher. And a bunch of other things thrown in for good measure.”

Half-Irish girl meets half-Irish boy, both with bird tattoos and a liking for caramel macchiatos. What were the odds? “And the one on your ankle?” I pressed, curious about the giggle she had associated with it.

“A newer piece,” she giggled with a blush. “It’s… uh… well, let’s just say I’ve been a fan of your band for a while,” she concluded, reaching out to tap my tally tattoo on my wrist.

My teeth bit into my lower lip. Bird tattoos and actual matching tally tattoos? Damn… “A fan, huh?”

“I’m into drummers,” she shrugged with a playful smirk. “But yeah. Been a fan for a while. Still a little starstruck if I’m being totally honest.”

I would have never guessed that I made her nervous. She was so… level-headed. “You saying that I make you nervous?” I asked, a flirting edge in my voice.

She gave a small chuckle. “Nobody makes me nervous. But yes. A little. You’re well-spoken. You’re talented. You’re cute…” her voice trailed off as she ticked away my traits on her fingers.

“Cute, huh?” I asked, leaning forward and biting my lip again.

“Just an observation,” she shrugged. Then, “So, did you have questions about the meeting? I know it was a lot thrown at you all at once. I always think of my questions after the fact, too.”

“What?” I asked, blinking slowly and sitting back in my seat, wondering how she had switched from flirty to professional so quick. “Oh! No, I just… wanted to take you out for coffee.”

“Oh?” Her eyebrows quirked up as she took a sip of her drink.

“Yeah, as a thank you.”

“Sure…” she said.

“Alright,” I giggled. “So, I might also think you’re cute. And I might like you a little bit.”

“I might like you a little bit, back.”

I leaned forward towards her. “Oh, do you?”

She leaned forward herself, the light bouncing off her glasses, making her brown eyes shine a billion different shades of melted chocolate. “It’s unprofessional,” she whispered, leaning back and crossing her arms, closing herself off to the idea.

“It is,” I agreed with a huff.

“I mean, you might be my client. I might be your boss.”

“But, I’m not your client yet. We haven’t agreed to anything,” I countered.

“Are you saying you won’t be taking us on our more than generous offer?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Shouldn’t you talk with your bandmates about this? I should really be consulting with Raz… This is…”

“Unprofessional. I know.”

“Very,” she agreed with a nod.

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“Start dating me before I become your client.”

“What? Fletch, I can’t just… people will… I hardly know you!”

“Bullshit!” I giggled, my head reeling at her calling me “Fletch” as no one had ever called me that before. I liked the way it sounded coming off her lips, the way her front teeth nipped at her lower lip and her tongue poked out of her mouth. “You’re gonna sit there and tell me you being in the elevator at the same time our interview ended was pure coincidence? Little Miss Fan?”

She ducked her head, a blush forming on her cheeks. “No… and I’m not little. I’m 7 months older than you, actually.”

“We both just admitted to liking each other. What’s the problem?”

“People will talk.”

“People do little else.”

“You don’t know me!”

“You do know how dating works, right?” I giggled.

“This is insane…”

“Look, there’s no real moral issue here. I’m not your client yet. And when I am, it’s really my band that’s your client, not me individually.”

“Why do you want to date me anyway?”

“Because you’re the first one to take me seriously. Because of a million reasons I can’t wait to discover.”

“This is insane…” she repeated.

“Definitely,” I agreed. Then, I leaned forward and kissed her. It was soft, then it grew as she kissed me back. Her hands came up to cup my face as one of mine came to rest at the base of her neck, pulling her closer to me. All I knew in that moment was that I would never again be able to kiss a woman and not wish it was her. It was animalistic, the way I needed her. I didn’t know why. I just knew I needed more. And something in the way she kissed me back let me know she was feeling the same way.

~Shay~

“There you are,” Raz said with an eye roll when I finally breezed into our apartment.

I glanced down at my phone. 9:17 pm. Whoops… “Must’ve lost track of time,” I shrugged.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me. “Oh, for fucks sake, Shay! You kissed hi,m didn’t you?!”

I brought a finger gingerly to my lips. I could still feel his on mine, the way his teeth had nipped at my lip, the way his breathing had caught in his throat. “Maybe…” I grinned.

“God damn it, Shay!” she started.

I held up a finger. “I know! Okay? I know. Unprofessional. 100 percent. But damn, can you blame me?”

She rolled her eyes, but “He is a babe. They all are.”

“Oh yeah,” I agreed. “And we figured it out.”

“We? Figured out? Oh, God, Shay. What did you do?”

“Remember how you’re always telling me to get a boyfriend or a girlfriend? Well, let’s just say I finally listened.”

“Shay!”

“I know! I know how this looks. We both do. But, look, there’s no real issue here. He’s not actually our client yet. And even when he does become our client, it’s his band, not him. And people are gonna talk their shit anyway. And need I remind you, it’s Ashton fuckin Irwin!”

Her eyes narrowed again as she thought it over. Then, “I hate you. This is a bad idea.”

I rolled my eyes. Maybe the bubble of anger I felt rising up inside of me was because she was giving voice to the own doubts I had in my head. Maybe I found her “holier than thou” act a little off putting because I know she had a thing for one of our actual clients. Maybe, because for the first time in 5 fucking years I had put myself out there to go on a date, with a hell of a guy who actually liked me back, and now my best fucking friend was shitting all over that happiness just because it may or not be a conflict of interest. I didn’t need her on the side of the critics and the skeptics. I needed her on my side. Maybe it was a combination of all of the above. But either way, my temper flared and I was going to let it fly. “You know what? Fuck you,” I said, keeping my voice level but throwing as much venom in my words as I could.

Her eyes widened for a bit at my sharp words, but then they narrowed and I knew she was about to fight back. “Fuck me? Really Shay? This is unprofessional and you know it. People are going to think you’re using him to get the band.”

“I’m not you, Raz!” I shouted, knowing I was hitting low, but too pissed off to stop myself from doing it. “I don’t flirt with everything that’s got a fuckin’ pulse!”

“Fuck you!” she practically spat at me, her own words fierce, but I saw the quiver in her lip.

I laughed. A harsh, humorless sound. “Yeah. Fuck me,” I said with an eye roll before heading down the hall to my room.

“Where the fuck are you going?!” her voice called out.

“The fuck do you care?” I asked, reappearing with a thicker jacket and a beanie in replacement for my hat.

“Shay! SHAY!” she yelled as I slammed the door behind me.

I jogged my way down the stairs, praying she wouldn’t follow me, and ignoring the nagging voice that taunted me. Shay, how long are you gonna run from your problems? Shut up! I don’t run from anything! And just what the hell are you doing right now, Shay? I said shut up!

The phone was ringing by the time I hit the ground floor. The line picked up by the time I pushed my way out of the building. Funnily enough, I couldn’t even remember taking my phone out of my pocket. “Hey, Shay,” he answered, and I could hear his smile. God, how I found security in him so fast was fucking mind-blowing.

“Hey,” I replied, my voice sounding tired and on the verge of a breakdown.

“Uh-oh, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m fine,” I lied.

“Where are you? Are you home?” I could hear him moving around in his room, his voice holding a slight trace of panic.

I smiled despite the hurricane of emotions raging in my chest. He was worried about me. I didn’t realize how much I had missed having a potentially romantic partner being able to read me so well. And so soon? Add intuitive to the growing list of things that made me adore that man. God, he was sweet. Why couldn’t Raz see that? Why couldn’t she be happy I found a nice guy? “No,” I answered. “I… uh…” Where was I going? “I need to clear my head.”

“Shay, it’s dark out. Go home, please. Or tell me where you are so I can come get you.”

“Central Park, 5 minutes,” I told him.

“Central Park, 5 minutes,” he repeated. “I’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon, Fletch.”

I hung up and let my mind wander as I walked, my hands burrowing into the pockets of my jacket. Back home wearing a leather jacket in March, even at night, would have made me sweat. I would never get used to the biting New York cold. But I’d be damned if I went back to LA looking like this. Me this morning? Sure. Shay from this morning could roll up to LA and brag about how great her life had become. But Shay right now? No, I couldn’t go home the same insecure wreck I was when I left. I needed to pull it together.

~~~

~December 2017~

A knock sounded on my apartment. “It’s open,” I called out, too lazy to get up and actually answer. I didn’t know why Raz was knocking. She had a key.

“Honestly, Shay, you shouldn’t leave your door unlocked like that,” Raz tsked as the door shut behind her and she flopped down next to me on the couch.

“Honestly, Raz,” I joked back, “you should just ditch your dorm room and move in with me already. You’re here all the time anyway.” At two and a half years of knowing each other Raz had become my very best friend. She made the ache of missing home a lot more bearable.

“What and give up my freedom?” she scoffed. “Yeah, right.”

I shrugged. “We’re graduating next semester. Where you gonna go, Raz?”

“Where are you gonna go?” she countered, referring to my career options, not my living situation.

“Somewhere we can both be free,” I answered, spreading my arms across the back of my couch.

~~~

“Shay?” Ashton’s voice laced with concern startled me out of my thoughts.

“Hey, Fletch,” I answered with a small smile.

“Are you okay?”

I shrugged.

“Shay, what’s wrong?”

“Everything,” I breathed, scared if I said anymore I would shatter. I didn’t want to shatter in front of him. I didn’t want him to see me vulnerable. But something in his voice made me think it would be okay if I did.

He wrapped me tightly into a hug and I breathed in him in. I wasn’t the biggest fan of cologne, but I could get used to liking his citrusy scent. Just like I could get used to the way his strong arms held me tight, his heartbeat hammering in my ear, his breaths as steady and solid as he was. “C’mon,” he murmured, leading us to a nearby bench. “What’s wrong?”

“Something’s gotta be wrong for me to enjoy Central Park at night with a cute boy?” I added with a small chuckle.

He frowned.

“Sorry. Not boy. Man,” I amended with another chuckle.

The frown deepened. “You just said everything was wrong. And now nothing’s wrong? Shay… what’s going on?”

I sighed. “I really don’t want to be vulnerable with you right now.”

“What do you want?”

“For this to be easy. To just be able to like someone without people thinking there are bigger things at play.”

“Who’s thinking bigger things are at play? Shay, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying I like you. Not as lawyer Shay trying to close a deal. But as Shay Shay. Just a woman with a hopeless crush on a man that the rest of the world is going to blow way out of proportion.”

“It’s not hopeless,” he said, his eyes a pool of swirling honey underneath the streetlights, his breath hot against my face as he pulled me in for a kiss. I wished for time to stop as I melted into him, letting his kiss glue all the pieces together before they could fall.

~~~

“Morning, Maya,” I greeted as I strolled into the office the next morning.

“Morning, Shay.”

“Did you manage to hunt down 5SOS’ current contract agreement?” I asked. I had asked her yesterday before the meeting, but I wasn’t sure if she had gotten around to it as she got busy pleasing her other boss.

“No, Shay,” she fumbled. “Sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it,” I smiled at her. I’d have my assistant Alejandro track it down when he got in.

“Raz, ready to rock the world?” I greeted, poking my head in her office. I was back to being my chipper self, ready to put our lover’s quarrel behind me if she was. Neither one of us had apologized. But that was the beauty of our friendship. At the end of the day it didn’t matter what was said, because we had each others backs no matter what. But does she Shay? The nagging voice asked. What if is a fool’s game, I answered back fiercely.

“Yep! I’m working with Waterparks today. Can you send me the schedule you worked out for them?”

“Check your email, Raz,” I winked. I was damn good at my job. The schedule was already on there. “I’ll be working on drafting a contract for 5SOS. So, I’ll hold down the fort. Keep a good eye on those Waterpark guys, and try not to drool over the green-haired one so much,” I smirked.

“Awsten is a babe, Mrs. Irwin,” she teased me back.

“Oh, hush!” I laughed, walking to my office, smiling to myself. Good, if she was teasing it meant she was being civil about the idea, if not completely accepting. That was fine. I didn’t need acceptance. Well… No, civil was fine. Civil was good. Acceptance could and would come later, I was sure of it. “Oh, Ale,” I said, my eyes locking in on the tall law student striding my way.

“Morning, Shay,” Alejandro greeted me. Alejandro Juarez was a Puerto Rican lad in his first year of law school. The law firm I worked at in my college days had him as an intern and contacted me when they said the young man was interested in working more directly with a lawyer, rather than doing the equivalent of paper pushing. That had been 3 months into Raz and I starting our business and I was desperate for help. And one look at the ambitious man and I was hooked. I had even written his recommendation for his law school application and attended his graduation from his undergrad program last May. His drive and positive attitude had made him essential and I had come to think of him as a little brother.

“How long do I have you today?”

“I have class at 2:30. So 1?”

“That’s fine. I remember the rigor very well myself. I have a small task for you. Think you can handle it?”

“I can do my best.”

“I need you to track down 5SOS’s current contract for me.”

“Shay, they’re not in our system.”

“I know. They have an LA team managing them right now. I need to see what it entails. And I need you to get it for me.”

“How?”

“Mmm… lie. Say it’s for school, Ale,” I told him, placing my hand on his chest. “You’re a smart man, I believe in you.”

“I’ll do my best,” he told me, swallowing.

“You always do,” I smiled brightly at him. I loved how being a powerful woman felt. “I’ll be in the office if you need me. And don’t bother Raz, she’ll be with a client until further notice.”

“Should I let Eloise know?” he asked, referring to Raz’s assistant.

“Eloise should already know, Ale. Contract, please and thank you.”

“Coming right up.”

I turned to go into my office when my phone rang. “This is Shay,” I answered, stepping into my office and shutting my door.

“Hey, babes,” Ashton’s voice sounded over the line.

My heart fluttered at the pet name. I could definitely get used to that.“Oh, hey Fletch. What’s up?”

“Nothing, just wanted to hear your voice.”

I smiled as I sat down at my desk and pulled up a blank document. “Aw, you’re sweet.” But there was something in his voice that seemed… off? “Is something wrong?”

“No.”

“Fletch,” I started. “I know we have our walls. I’m extremely appreciative that you’re patient with me while I figure out what is too much to share with you too soon. I’m extending you that same respect. But, please. I can hear in your voice that something’s off.”

“You can?” came the incredulous reply.

“You’re very expressive,” I admitted. “Please. Talk to me. That’s the only way we’re gonna figure this whole mess out.”

“Something’s gotta be wrong with me to enjoy a phone call with my girlfriend?” came the teasing tone as he used my own words against me.

I smiled. “What’s going on Fletch? You don’t have to be vulnerable and lay out your life story just yet. But c’mon, give me a little something.”

He chuckled, then sighed. I could picture his brows furrowing together and his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s Cal. I don’t think he’s on board with the whole us dating thing. I think he thinks you’re seducing me to get us as a client. You know, like you said everyone would think. I think I was too swept up in the moment to realize the deeper implications of what you were trying to get me to understand. But, I see it now. And from Cal, it’s… Fuck, I dunno what to do here.”

“Neither do I,” I confessed.

“Can I ask you a question without you getting offended?”

“Of course,” I nodded.

“Are you using me to get my band to sign with your company?”

“No,” I promised. “Look, this is nothing but a huge coincidence. I’m just as afraid of this going badly as you probably are. I’ve been hurt before, and I certainly don’t want to re-experience that pain. But, I’m also a professional. Whatever happens between me and you is between me and you. It has no effect on my company’s desire to take your band on as a client, I can promise you that much now. It’s two totally separate things that just look related.” As I spoke I became less sure of who I was reassuring: him, Cal, Raz, or myself. “Shay the lawyer would love to sign your band, yes. But, Shay the woman just wants you.”

He let out a small chuckle and I could picture his dimples. Man, my boyfriend was such a babe. And damn that sounded good. Ashton Irwin, my boyfriend. Shay Gibson, Ashton Irwin’s girlfriend. I got chills just thinking about it. “Alright. So, what is my gorgeous girlfriend up to?”

“She is smart, not gorgeous. And she is working, so she needs to go. I’ll text when I go for lunch, okay?”

“She is smart and gorgeous. And I hope she doesn’t work too hard.”

“Me? Never,” I laughed. Working hard was the only way I knew how to work. “Bye, Fletch.”

“Bye, babes.”

We hung up and I stretched my hands out in front of me, cracking them as I did so. Then, I set to work, outlining a foolproof contract for our potential new client. My intent was to ensure that they would have full creative control of what they did and how, the same we promised every client we had. It was part of why we were so successful. Our motto was after all “Let art speak for itself, because to tamper is to diminish.” But, I still needed my hands on their current contract to see what they were currently being offered. We didn’t want to give them what they already had. We wanted better.

When I had a basic draft, I moved on to checking schedules. I knew 5SOS’s current management had a North American tour planned for the band to go on after their sad 2 month stint in Europe that was 1.) not long enough and 2.) had upset a lot of fans by the reckless skipping around. I needed to have something in the works to help sweeten the deal. And thankfully, I already had a rock band that we were sending off on a world tour of their that was set to start next March and carrying them into November, both for their benefit and to the benefit of one of our up-and-coming duos- a sweet brother-sister act with the voice of angels and attitude to boot. “Eloise?” I asked after I hit the button on my phone to buzz Raz’s assistant.

“Yes, Shay?”

“Is Raz busy currently?”

“Uh… yes. She’s in with Waterparks in the conference room.”

“Thank you, El,” I said. Perfect. Both of them in the same spot.

“Oh! Shay, they just sent over the contract. Would you prefer a hard copy?” Alejandro asked as I walked out of my office.

“Ale, you’re the best!” Today was going fan-fuckin-tastic and I loved it. “Can I get 6 copies, please?”

“Sure thing, Shay.”

“And email the pdf of it anyway,” I added as an afterthought. Better to have too many copies than not enough.

“Already did.”

“Thank you, Ale. Get me those copies, and you can cut out early if you like,” I told him. I knew he would appreciate the time to relax or get in some last minute studying before dashing off to the crazy world that was first year law school.

“Thanks Shay!”

I rapped on the conference room door before I entered. “And here’s Miss Gibson now,” Raz said, glancing up at me. “Impeccable timing.”

“Hey,” I greeted. “I take it Raz showed you gentlemen your tour schedule?” While Raz liked to up her professionality by referring to everyone as Miss or Mr in the office, I brought in the friendlier side by opting to stick with first names or nicknames. It was a perfect balance; the way we liked to run our business. The only time Raz slipped from that professional demeanor in the office was one-on-one. The only time I slipped into that formality myself was when I was mad. It was a simple unspoken norm in the office that “Miss Toliver referring to you by your first name is fine, but if Shay uses your last name, you better run.”

“Yeah, we’re looking it over now. 8 months, huh?”

“Make sure those passports are up to date,” I told them, then “It’s what you wanted, right? To be as accessible as possible? There’s no interviews scheduled during that time. Just shows and meet and greets.”

“This is perfect!” they told me.

“Did Raz also show you the interview schedule. It’s a little less than a year away so we got plenty of prep time. It’ll be a very busy week, but short so you can rest up before the tour.”

“Yeah, it all looks so great.”

“Awesome. And I actually had a question for you all.”

“Uh-oh, you have that look,” Raz said, crossing her arms. “What crazy idea do you have now?”

“How would you feel if you co-headlined with 5SOS?” I asked, a smile on my lips.

“5SOS? Hell yeah! Is that one band still opening for us?”

“Yes, Lucky Mess will still be opening,” I assured them.

“But, don’t get your hopes up about 5SOS,” Raz warned them, and me. “We’re optimistic. But no promises.”

“Nah, this is great. Can we make the tour name Punk Rarities Tour?”

“I like where your mind’s at,” I smiled again.

Raz rolled her eyes, “Anyway!”

I chuckled to myself as I walked back to my office. Time to focus my attention on the contract. Everything was lining up perfectly, now I just needed to stick the landing.

“Everything’s on your desk, Shay. It’s still early, though. Are you sure you don’t need me to stay?” Alejandro told me.

“Is your test today?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer. I knew everything about my staff. It was a habit I picked up in my years at the law firm. If you knew everything going on, nothing snuck up on you. And I wasn’t in the business of unexpected surprises. I may have created a reputation of being impulsive, but that was because everybody only heard what flew from my lips. What they missed was how my brain was already 3 steps ahead of the game.

“It is!” he smiled, pleased I remembered.

“Then, I’ll manage.”

“Thank you!”

“Give ‘em hell, kid,” I smiled before shutting myself in my office once more. Alright. Let’s see what type of shithole mess 5SOS is in, I thought to myself as I took in the stack of contracts neatly piled on my desk, an email notification on my browser showing the message from Alejandro that held a pdf version of the papers in front of me.

I took a quick glance at the time. 10:30. Wow, it was early. Perfect.

I picked up one of the contracts, giving it a quick glance. Looked pretty standard. Creative control, plenty of touring and promos before tours. I clicked my tongue. Damn, c’mon, I needed to strike gold here. Aha! My eyes glanced at a section titled: Relationships. “Oh this is great,” I said out loud as I learned that while they were free to flirt and sleep around, girlfriends-emphasis on girl, oof fuckin’ homophobes in LA? Alright- needed to be “approved.” I snorted. “Good, God. That certainly explains a lot…”

I was about to continue my digging when my desk phone buzzed. “Yes Maya?” I asked, hitting the button to connect me with the front desk.

“Shay, a Calum Hood is here to see you?”

I pulled a face. Of fucking course he was. First Raz, now Calum. I was beginning to wonder what our best friends were more concerned with- protecting Ashton and I from potential heartache, or protecting their own image. Frankly, I didn’t care. Ashton and I were grown ups capable of making our own decisions and we didn’t need anyone’s approval. So why was I letting this cut deep the way it was? Because all you ever wanted was to be accepted, my brain supplied. I let out a breath to steady myself. “I’ll be right there,” I answered, getting up.

“Calum,” I greeted, opting for the middle ground by not calling him by the nickname I had picked out for him, but also keeping my temper in check. For now. “Glad of you to drop by. Can I get you anything to drink?”

“No, this’ll be quick,” he told me, his brown eyed gaze heavy as it locked on mine.

“Please, right this way,” I said, leading him back to my office. “So, what can I help you with?” I asked him, gesturing to one of the chairs I had in my office.

“You need to stop,” he told me. It was direct and simple. A demand. He remained standing, rather than taking a seat. A power move. Time to show Calum Hood just who the fuck he thought he was fucking with.

“I’m sorry?” I blinked, meeting his gaze and holding it steady. Keep it cool. Play it dumb.

“With Ash. Stop it. Whatever this thing is. End it. Now.” Again, the words were direct. No malice. No begging. As simple as asking someone to pass him the salt.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re getting at.”

“What’s your angle here?” he demanded, his brown eyes hardening, his arms crossing. Now came the malice. Game on.

“I don’t have an angle, Mr. Hood,” I told him, keeping my arms down at my side, our eyes still locked.

He scoffed, dropping his gaze. “Bullshit.”

“Is that so?” I asked, continuing to remain cool and level-headed. No way I was going to get lectured by Calum “love is a scam” Hood. I turned my computer screen and thrust a copy of his current contract in his hand. “I take my job very seriously, Mr. Hood. When we said we could do better, we meant it.”

“This is my current contract,” he scoffed again, shaking the document in his hand at me.

“And this,” I gestured at the computer, “is my offer. Giving your band total control in every aspect of your lives. We want to represent 5SOS, Mr. Hood, not the other way around. There’s no ulterior motive here at play. This is my offer. Take it or walk, I don’t really care. But this ‘thing’ as you so lovingly called it I have with Ashton? That’s personal, and frankly none of your concern.”

His eyes squinted as he stepped forward to look at my computer screen.

“Oh, and I already have a tour lined up for 5SOS with Waterparks. Co-headliners with a small opening act. You each get a 75 minute set. Better get started on that setlist,” I told him, dual-screening my computer so he could see the tour dates. “There’s also a week long press tour of sorts. Just interviews around here to generate buzz.”

“These are a year out. What if you and Ash break up?” he asked, finally getting to the point. His eyes still had a hard edge to them, when they locked back on mine, but it wasn’t as stoney as before. This was worry. He cared about his friend, that much was obvious. I would admire it more if it wasn’t at my expense.

“What if we don’t?” I countered. Then, “Don’t answer that. The answer is the same either way. Nothing happens. I’m a professional. If my company represents your band, then my company represents your band. Plain and simple. Your account will most likely get passed to an associate anyhow. There’s no real conflict in interest, here, only the imagined one you, and I assume the rest of the world, want to see.”

While his eyes showed him weakening in his stoic stance, he still had fight left in him. “You’d rather risk losing us as a potential client, than break things off with Ash.”

I shrugged. “I have other clients, Calum. Waterparks is already preparing to headline the Punk Rarities Tour by themselves. The only loss here is your band’s. Seems a bit selfish of you to keep them from what is an amazing offer just because you have your own reservations. But, that’s neither here nor there. Point is, I’m not walking away from my relationship with Ashton. I’m serious about your band, and I’m serious about him.”

“You barely know him!”

His temper flare, brought out my irritated professionalism again. Damn, just as I was back to the middle ground. What a shame. “Yes, I do believe that’s why they call it ‘dating,’ Mr. Hood. You should try it sometime. Too bad your current contract is a bit… hmm, let’s use the term ‘restrictive’ in that area. If only there was a management company that didn’t give a damn who you choose to associate yourself with. Oh… wait, that would be this company, now wouldn’t it?”

“This is stupid, you know that right? The rumors this is gonna cause when your relationship gets outted? It’s gonna be a total shitshow. Are you prepared for that?”

I narrowed my eyes at him with his nasty snarl that seemed out of place on a man so pretty. “Nobody’s holding a gun to your head, Mr. Hood. You and your band are free to walk away from my offer. So what are you really scared of here? Scared that I might break your friend’s heart? Or scared that my company can and will do better for you and your band?”

“I’m not scared of anything,” was the cold reply.

“Could’ve fooled me,” I replied, just as cooly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Hood, I have work to do.”

“This isn’t over,” he huffed, stalking out of my office.

“Merely the beginning,” I said to his retreating back.

~Ashton~

“Cal, how could you?!” I rounded on my friend when he came back to the hotel from his morning “walk.” “I really like her! You could’ve fucked everything up for me!”

“More than you could’ve fucked this up for all of us over a stupid crush?!” he yelled back.

“She’s not like that!”

“How do you know?! You’ve known her for what? 24 hours?! How do you know she’s not seducing you to sign us?!”

“I just do, okay?!” His sullenness was already making my stomach churn, but his outright hostility was taking it too far. If he wanted to blame someone, he should be blaming Mike for sending the text in the first place. But no. Instead he stormed into my girlfriend’s office and raised hell. But yeah, me and her were the unprofessional ones. Sure. That was fair… I was about to continue tearing into him, but all our phones pinging had me stopping in my tracks.

I opened the email on my phone. It had 3 attachments and a simple message:

Dear 5SOS,

Meet me at 2pm today to discuss the attached files. No excuses. I know you’re still in town.

Shay Gibson

Head of Legal Department

C.S Management

~~~

“Shay, 5SOS is here to see you,” the receptionist said into the phone.

“Thank you, Maya, I’ll be right there,” Shay’s voice said through the speaker. Then, she was in front of us, the epitome of professional in a grey blazer covering a flowery blouse, fitted skinny black slacks showing off her small curves, her black heels clicking along the floor. “Ashton, Luke, Mike, Mr. Hood, good to see you all again,” she greeted, her voice holding a small edge to it. “If you’ll follow me, please,” she continued, turning and leading us into the same conference room we were in yesterday, where 2 folders were placed in front of each of the 5 seats. “So, blue folder is your current contract with your current management system. Red is C. S. Management’s contract. I’ve taken the liberty of highlighting key differences in each contract so you know exactly what’s different. Basically, I’m keeping what I liked and tweaking what should have been tweaked the day you stopped touring with One Direction. Also in red folder you’ll find the Punk Rarities Tour which you will have a 75 minute set as co-headliners with Waterparks and Lucky Mess as your opening act. I highly suggest you make sure your passports are up to date, and that you don’t lose them, Mike.” Her eyes danced playfully behind her black frames as her gaze shifted to the shorter of the blondes who looked down sheepishly.

“How did she know?” Mike whispered.

“I know everything,” she whispered back with a wink. “Now, as I was telling Mr. Hood this morning, there is also a week long interview press tour of sorts before the actual world tour takes place.” It was the second time she had referred to Calum as “Mr. Hood” and I knew she was doing it on purpose. Being friendly with us and cold with him. I smirked to myself. It wasn’t like he didn’t deserve it.

“This is great and all but 1.) we’re still in a contract and 2.) where’s Miss Toliver?” Luke asked.

“Oh, see you are smart! Luke, your contract with C. S. Management takes effect the second your current contract ends. You and your bandmates just need to sign it of course, and not sign a new one with your current company. That leaves plenty of time for any amendments and revisions to make sure this contract is exactly what every single one of you wants. As for my business partner, she‘ll take a more hands-on approach once 5SOS becomes a client. I just handle contracts and scheduling.”

“This tour looks long…” Mike said.

“It is,” Shay agreed. “Waterparks wanted to make themselves as accessible as possible to their fanbase, so I did what I could to make that happen. If a conflict of interest arises, we’re more than prepared to handle it. We’re very… flexible here at C.S. Management.”

“Look, no jumping all over the place other,” I said, looking at the cities tied to the tour dates. “Just a simple zigzag, up and down.”

“Yeah, I was never fond of the idea of jumping recklessly all over the map,” she said, with a small smug look. “I like order.”

“Do we have to make a decision now?” Luke asked, his blue eyes scared. I didn’t blame him. This was all happening so fast. Much faster than our first contract when we became a band. That’s because you’re established now, my brain told me, you’re no longer those punk high school dropouts from Sydney. Hey! I didn’t drop out... These are your thoughts. Focus!

Shay shook her head. “No, not at all. Please feel free to take the time to look everything over. Let me know if you have any questions, or need me to adjust certain aspects. I don’t need a decision from 5SOS until the end of November. And even then, I’ll tell you the same thing I told Mr. Hood, I don’t really care if you take the offer or not.”

“Wow, you sure are confident in yourself,” Calum scoffed.

“I know what my company is capable of Mr. Hood. I know we can do better for your band than what you’ve been getting. Which isn’t bad, by the way, it’s just child’s play, and you’re men now. You have been for a while. I’m open to working with 5SOS to ensure the band gets the best management possible. Whether or not you choose to take me as seriously as I’m willing to take your band, that’s on you.”

“And this isn’t some ploy? Cal said that you might be using Ash to get at us,” Luke put in.

Shay rolled her eyes, clearly sick of the back and forth she was having both with herself and with the rest of the world about our forming relationship. “Could you excuse me for a minute?” she asked, a smile on her face that I didn’t like the look of. She didn’t wait for an answer as she turned on her heel. We watched her go and I watched as another worker’s eyes went wide as she nodded her head wildly. Some words were exchanged and then Raz came out of her office looking frazzled for a brief second before following Shay back to us.

Shay didn’t say a word as she quickly gathered up the red folders and promptly shredded them. “I am good at my job. I earned everything I have with my brain, not with what’s between my legs,” she spoke, her tone sharp as she continued shredding folder after folder while we watched her in horror. She looked down at the shredder as she pushed the last folder through it with a blank expression. “Pity. That was some of my best work, too. I’ll leave you in the hands of the professional, now, gentlemen,” she said with a look towards Calum and Raz specifically. It was a terrifying look, eerily calm with a cutting look. “Enjoy the rest of your stay,” she added before strolling back out of the office.

Again, I watched her go, completely stunned. What was that quote? Though she be but little, she is fierce? Yeah, that was it. Quotes like that were made about women like Shay.

~~~

“So, is it safe to assume you like rock music?” I asked, leaning my arms on the table as I looked at her.

She smiled over her cup at me. “Yeah, that’s a pretty safe assumption.”

I giggled. “Well, do you only listen to rock, or do you listen to other music?”

“I listen to other music. I enjoy rock music, obviously. I manage rock bands so of course I like rock music. But given the choice, I listen to country.”

“Country?” I asked my eyes going wide.

She laughed. “Yeah. Makes me feel close to my dad.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“Why?” she laughed again. “My dad’s alive, Fletch. But, my parents are divorced. So, mom raised us on 80s rock and 90s grunge. And dad raised us on country.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I said again, not sure what else to say.

She smiled and reached for my hand. “Don’t be. My parents split when I was too young to understand.”

“That still sucks, Shay…” With my own dad not being in the picture and a slew of stepdads in his wake, father issues were not something I was blind to.

She squeezed my hand and continued to smile. “No, it doesn’t. It would suck more if they had stayed unhappy together. My mom had primary custody, but we saw my dad plenty. I have healthy relationships with both my parents, and they have a healthy relationship with each other.”

“You keep saying ‘we.’ Do you have siblings?”

She nodded. “I have one. Well 3, actually, I guess. My older brother. And then a stepbrother and stepsister. Also both older.”

“And the step siblings?”

“One from each stepmom.”

“You have 2 stepmoms?”

She laughed. “Yeah, Mom’s a lesbian. Probably why she was so unhappy with my dad. That, and they were young when they had my brother and me.”

I laughed with her. “Your family dynamics are weird.”

She continued to laugh. “Oh, it gets weirder, trust me. But, there’s plenty of love, which is the important part.”

“So, you’re the baby, huh?”

“Guilty as charged. But, I act older. Or, at least I’ve been asked if I was the older sibling before.”

I chuckled, “I don’t really buy into that birth order nonsense.”

“Neither do I, Fletch, neither do I.”

“You know, you keep calling me that, and it’s really not fair. I don’t even know your middle name.”

“Oh, you do.”

“I do?”

She nodded, a devilish smile on her lips. “Shannon’s my middle name.”

“Well, what’s your first name?”

“Bridget.”

“Oh, so you’re like Irish-Irish,” I teased.

She just laughed. “Yeah, my name’s an Irish trainwreck.”

“So, when did you start going by your middle name?”

“When I moved to New York.”

“Oh shit, really? Where are you from originally?”

“LA,” she smiled.

“You gave up LA for New York? Why?”

“Change of pace. Job opportunity. Law school. Take your pick,” she shrugged, leaning way back in her seat and crossing her arms.

“Did I say something to upset you?”

“No. You’re just asking a lot of questions.”

“I’m trying to get to know you,” I laughed. How did a woman as smart as her not know how dating worked?

“Oh,” she said, uncrossing her arms. “Sorry. I’m not used to talking about myself much.”

“I can tell,” I smiled. She had alluded in our phone call this morning to have been hurt in the past. I wondered if this, along with her hesitation to ask me to slow down last night, was part of that hurt. It both broke my heart and angered me that someone would make her make her doubt herself in any way. But if someone loved her right, she wouldn’t be on a date with you, my brain told me. True. Their loss. My gain. “Must’ve been a hell of a job offer to trade one coast for the other.”

She shrugged, but it was less closed off than her first shrug. “I spent the summer before my last year of college interning at a law firm here in Manhattan. I liked it. They liked me. They offered me a job. I said I live in LA and have a year of school left. They said that was what computers were for. So, when I applied to law schools, I applied out here because that’s where my job was.”

“What caused you to take an internship in New York, anyway? I’m assuming you grew up in LA, went to school there and whatnot. I mean, New York is great and all. But LA is… well it’s LA. That was home, right?”

She nodded. “Yeah. But, uh, I was ready to expand my horizons a bit. And I had a boyfriend who supported it. Or so I thought.”

There is was. The damaging ex-boyfriend “What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, my ex was a sweetheart. He was the one who encouraged me to take the internship in the first place. I’ve always loved New York, but never had the chance to go. So, he was like ‘well here’s your chance, take it.’ So, I did. And it was great. And then I realized he said ‘your chance’ not ‘our chance.’” She shrugged again.

I frowned. That didn’t sound damaging. He sounded… well to steal her words, like a sweetheart. “That’s rough, but, at least he didn’t hold you back.”

She offered me a sad smile as her mind took her backwards through the years. “Yeah, he was always good about that. Part of what made it all so hard, if I’m being honest. We were both making plans for a better life. I just thought it was for us together, not individually.”

“Jesus, I’m sorry,” I said, covering her hands in mine. Who wouldn’t want a life with her?

The sadness left her smile. “That’s the third time you apologized for something that 1.) isn’t your fault and 2.) I moved on from long ago.”

“It’s called sympathy, babes.”

~Shay

May 2020~

“Fletch!” I greeted happily, pulling him in for a hug.

His arms wrapped around me and his head dipped down to burrow into my neck. “Missed you,” he mumbled against my skin.

“Missed you too,” I smiled, running my fingers through his ink-black hair. “How long do I get you?”

“All week. The guys fly in Thursday, and then we all fly out Friday afternoon,” he told me, lifting up his head.

“I get you all to myself for a whole week? Wow, lucky me.”

“Lucky you? Lucky me. Now, get in here,” he said, tugging me into his hotel room.

~~~

Tag List (Leave a message at the beep)

@goeatsomelife @flameraine @cashtonasff5sos @here-for-the-uproars @cxddlyash @1-irwin-94 @baldcalum @sparkling-chaos @tea4sykes @youngblood199456 @5-seconds-of-obsession

#evil author day #galcal irwin

3 notes · View notes