do we think the circles in sigils need to be quite perfect? like maybe drawing a more accurately true circle (instead of a wobbly irregular almost oval thing with ends that overlap instead of join) makes the magic stronger and more accurate. i'm seeing cas come in with his angelic accuracy and just free-hand draw a perfect circle in chalk or marker or paint. 

Fathering a Phantom ch2

I just wanna Talk, I swear

Here we have the chapter 2 for that fic from earlier! Once again, here ya go @five-rivers @floralflowerpower and @uwuplasmiusuwu

“Cole I’m going to murder someone,” was the first thing that Toby said to his husband upon arriving once more in their temporary sanctuary. Cole paused mid throw of his javelin, electric sparks crackling up the polearm, and turned to look at his husband. Toby’s wings were ablaze, his nails sharpened into claws, and his eyes a colorful storm, as though he couldn’t decide what to turn into for maximum lethality. Cole set down his javelin and wrapped around Toby in a hug.

“Who are you planning to murder, sunshine? And should I join in? I haven’t gotten into a good fight since we got here, which is a shame.” Cole coalesced from a mass of clouds into something a bit closer to his original body when Toby relaxed in his embrace, running his fingers through shimmering feathers made of embers. “You really do look like a star like this, by the way.”

“There was, I think, a war forged around here who fired a bunch of rockets at a child! You know that liminal kid I told you about?”

“Oh right, we’re rare in this realm, huh?” Cole’s face scrunched up in confusion and he arched a brow. “I thought the liminal around here beat up the tyrant ruling the place when he woke up?”

“I didn’t exactly ask about what must’ve sucked when I half blew up the metalhead.” Toby flew over to the couch and flopped face first into it. “Now I gotta track him down.”

“Why only half? Sounds like someone you’d take out in one go if you had the drop on em.”

“Well, do you wanna traumatize a kid of unknown cultural origins? He’s so small, and his friends were clearly still living humans. I dunno if he’s seen someone die before, let alone a ghost getting Ended. If I recall, committing murder is a bad way to start a friendship with a child.”

Cole snorted and gave Toby a pat on the shoulder. “Alright, fair, Sildar didn’t like me much after that rescue. But hey, now you can put that on your to do list! Murder, the answer to most problems.” Toby laughed, phasing through the couch when Cole sat on him. “There he is, my giggly celestial chandelier.”

“Do you even remember what a chandelier is? I know you broke like three of them over someone’s head, but I forget whose head.” Toby put out the flames in his feathers and stretched, satisfied when his spine popped a few times. “It’s nice to still be able to do that.”

“I’ll be honest, being a cloud has made the sound of your joints popping kinda gross to me. It sounds like you’ve still got a flesh and blood body.” Cole sat up, scratching his head. “Do you still have a humanoid body? With like, meat and bones and stuff?”

“Probably, yeah. We’ll see, cause if so that’ll come in handy with helping out this liminal kid. Said his name is Danny Phantom.” Toby paused, the feeling of his feather being torn an odd and upsetting one. “Speaking of whom, I should go meet up with them. Think you can find this ‘Skulker’ guy while I educate some kids?”

Cole kissed Toby on the cheek and gave him a thumbs up. “Will do! I can’t promise there’ll be much left of him afterward though, I’m not a fan of idiots who attack kids.” Toby smiled and in a flash of light and beat of wings, he was gone. Cole nodded to himself and grabbed his maul, crackling with electric arcs, and opened up the door to their temporary Sanctuary. “Now then, who the fuck is Skulker?”

After having a small debate about where they couldn’t go and why, team Phantom finally ended up at the indoor roller rink that was partially destroyed by a giant ghost crab a while ago, and sat down at a table that Danny cleared of debris with an ectoblast or three. “Ok guys, I think this is a good enough place to call him up.”

“Are we sure it’s a good idea to call him at all?” Sam held up the feather she’d kept in her pocket, turning it about to watch the golden flame dance. “He took down Skulker pretty fast and it usually takes you a good half hour to do that, Danny.”

“Skulker specializes in attacking Danny is all, Sam. We’ve got the weapons to handle pretty much any ghost we normally deal with, and Danny took down the king of ghosts. I’m pretty sure he can handle anyone else.”

“Plus, Toby wrecked Skulker pretty bad. If he wanted to fight, I’m pretty sure he would’ve started a fight.” Danny condensed his ectoblasts into one ball of ectoplasma and stretched it out into a pole. “Imagine all the cool stuff he could show us!”

“Alright, if you say so.” Sam snapped the feather in half, surprised by how easy it was to do, and grabbed her ecto-pistol. For a moment, there was silence. Then the sound of wingbeats filled the room and Toby appeared above the rink as though landing from a long flight.

“That’s a spell I’m not used to casting frequently in a day. Heyo kids!” Toby waved, tucking his wings by his sides while walking closer. “Sorry for the delay, I was talking to my husband. So, names again just to be sure: Sam, Tucker, and Danny, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. What do you mean spell, exactly? Do ghosts have magic ontop of the other ghost powers now?” Tucker spun the lipstick laser around in his fingers, remembering Desiree’s magic and Freakshow’s staff.

“Anyone who can do magic keeps the ability in death, usually. I’m not dead though, I’m Deathless.” He spread his wings and spun around, thumbs pointing to his chest. “I was born awesome like this, and so was Cole. But, based on your faces you weren’t born like this?”

“No,” Sam said, gesturing at Danny. “This is a recent thing, it’s been since about…” Sam paused, her gaze landing on the wall behind Toby. “March of last year, so 14 months.”

“Yeah, god, we’ve been doing this for over a year now, haven’t we?” Tucker, who had held up a camera to record everything Toby was saying, slumped a bit in his seat and sighed. “Feels like it’s been like this forever and like it happened yesterday.”

Toby stared at them all like they’d each grown extra limbs in odd places – Danny even checked to make sure he hadn’t done that while feeling both old and young at the same time due to how little time had actually passed – before zipping over to Danny and holding his hands just over the teen’s face. “Oh my gods, you’re a baby.”

“I am a teenager, thank you.” Danny gently pulled Toby’s hands away from his face, a brow raised. “What, is 14 infantile to angels, feather man?”

“You’re only 14 months dead, Danny, that makes you a baby ghost.” Sam snorted and Tucker covered his mouth to try and hide his laughter. A snap of Toby’s fingers and flowers began growing in Tucker’s hat, and seeds appeared above Sam, growing into flowers as they fell all over her. “If you’ve had regular interactions with that metal head, no wonder your aura’s all aggro.”

“Skulker’s not exactly the worst of the ghosts we’ve had to fight over the months,” Danny said.

“Oh yeah, that’d have to be either Walker, Spectra, or Vlad. It’s really a toss up between Spectra and Vlad, if you ask me.”

“Vlad wants to kill Danny’s dad because he sees his mom as a trophy that was stolen from him, while Spectra tried to kill Jazz just to depress an entire school so she could feed on the misery to look young.” Sam brushed away the flowers and weighed two in her hands. “Yeah, those around the same level of grossly evil.”

Toby’s wings ignited at some point while Sam was talking, and the sunlight streaming in from the hole in the roof grew somewhat brighter. He reached into a bag he had strapped to his waist and pulled out a book and a pen, his smile all teeth. “Tell me, please, a list of all the adult ghosts who have attacked you children? I’d like to have a discussion with each of them.”

“If we give you their names,” Danny said before Tucker could answer, “do you promise not to go slaughtering them all? I don’t need to know ghostly body language at all to know that flaming wings come from a place of anger and imminent violence.”

“When did you read a thesaurus, Danny?”

“Sam, I’m insulted: I know tri-syllabic words. I can even say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”

“I promise not to slaughter all of the ghosts you inform me hurt you in the past few months, yes. Names?” When Tucker listed off names, Toby wrote them down with an inhuman speed, and Danny exchanged a look with Sam, worried about how exactly that deal might be loopholed around. “Right,” Toby chirped while slamming his book shut, “I’m here to answer some questions of yours, not just ramble about myself and assemble a… list of people to talk to. Got any?”

“So many that I don’t even know where to start.”

so i watched cobra kai all in two days and i have so many -

this show has so many cool and smart angles to it, but the same time.... its so stupid oh my god everyone is so dumb literally mr miyagi held all of the braincells in this whole universe 

like i am but at the same time i am not surprised it was made like this, bc in hindsight of course there were hordes of ppl simping over johnny lawrence ....  but it still amuses me that this is like... an Actual Official Thing

ok this will get long so cut it is

how much fun this cast has is super visible and i love it

i rly enjoy how the world was expanded ! i did grow up watching the karate kid movies, so watching how they progressed the world of the movies so organically was pretty cool. it rly feels like its the same universe

i fucking LOVE stories that are largely about a Thing. dancing ,skating, sports its just so thrilling to experience this all consuming relationship people can have with this type of activity? and martial arts are just that much more intense, so yeah, grown ass men kicking each other around at the lightest provocation and a war veteran caring so much abt teen karate is Ridiculous.... but i love it all because thats the intensity i find so thrilling

was kinda surprised with how much im missing mr. miyagi. first because, like everyone is so unhinged jesus christo, it just really throws into relief how much his character grounded the narrative of the movies. but also hes just a really great character

and on that note it rly Gets Me that the show itself aknowledges that and plays that into daniels angst and all the little ways they sorta weave myiagisms into the whole show........ im not getting emotional over this dumb karate dads show OK

related - i really miss hearing ‘daniel-san’ 🥺🥺

ACE DEGENERATE oh god oh no

they really went down the down and out johnny lawrence route huh. like i was always kinda bummed we see kreese choking him and then we never see him again in the movies, and while i love dumpster fire problematic trash himbo ck johnny, its like......................... actually really sad that his life turned out like this fjngn

everytime i hear ‘babes’ and ‘pussy’ i die a little inside. i know thats the point but i am a v cringe easy person, have mercy (ehe)

loved the way they are constantly drawing parallels between johnny and mr. myiagi of all people. hes the handy man of his building that has a bullied kid asking for help and eventually steps up to teach them karate, beats up a bunch of bullies for him, creates a friendship with said kid, estranged from family, drinks his sorrows away, surprisingly one of the least quick to anger characters (which says more about everyone else really but.... Well.), no schemes or ulterior motives hes just tryna vibe here.... oh and ofc magically heals miguel of is asthma apparently. the true disciple.. meanwhile daniel is his usual messy petty self even tho he wants to be mr myiagi so bad 

also interesting about that is how miguels character is a parallel of both johnny and daniel at the same time

overall the parallels in ck are done really well, drawing comparisons and also subverting them constantly. theyre well thought out

THE PARALELOGRAMS

fr tho, the angle being explicitly the cycle of trauma and its effects and how trumatized adults in turn traumatize kids, maliciously or not, is so interesting

but! on the flip side of that, it feels like the writers are getting in their own way @ letting the characters grow. especially this last season. theres only so many times you can do "johnny and daniel are getting along but 5mins later they are (literally) fighting over some dumbass random issue" or "johnny puts in 20% of effort with robby and then gives up" before it gets on your nerves yknow?

i see daniel no longer talks like macchio ingested 15 shots of espresso before every take and idk how to feel about that tbh

interesting tension in daniel, as in, in tkk mr miyagi was there and daniel was frankly, kind of a lil shit, this messy petty spitfire hot tempered sassy kid,(johnny lawrence voice: just... stop being so annoying) but now hes the adult, and he wants to be mr. miyagi... but hes just not, and never will be to his very core and it shakes him and in a way hes trying to find who he is now that he sees himself in a position to be a not! cobra kai figure. i kinda really like that 

plus how that relates to his cobra kai trauma. idk if the writers thought abt it Like That, i think so, but in any case, its interesting bc it seems like daniel has told everyone whod listen about johnny lawrence his Pretty Boy Karate Rival and high school and 84 cobra kai... But. no one seems to know what went on in 85 (or 86? idk) which was just so much worse

like ye og cobras were shitheads, but tkk iii is just two hours of daniel being emotionally and physically tortured. 

like, the third movie is.............chaotic, to put it nicely, and many people ignore it, but the writers clearly didnt. daniels actions are, in a way, responding so much more to the events of tkk iii than to the first movie ie. johnny himself, AND. daniel doesnt rly seem to have dealt with that trauma? he never told sam? doesnt feel like hes ever told amanda? he doesnt even say terrys name out loud? freaks Out over kreese ? the way he reacts to robbys deceit? his FACE when he walks past the new "fear does not exist in this dojo" paint or kreeses photo? hmMm i sense Pain

his fashion tho........... disappointing. where are the flower shirts daniel huh we had one (1) shirt what a tragedy STOP WEARING SUITS ALL THE TIME . also the band ts/grunge bi are a look for johnny but part of me longs for the preppy lovable 80s bully chic johnny lawrence getups

weird that they never used that last moment of karate kid where johnny kinda... snaps out of his anger and hands daniel the trophy almost in tears. like “youre alright larusso, good match” “thanks a lot”  that being their last direct interection seems like itd be perfect fruit for cobra kai but... they just dont. weird. 

especially when, the FIRST SCENE they see each other, suposedly in 30+ years, the first thing to come out of daniels mouth is QUOTE "u still got those golden locks huh?" WHO SAYS SHIT LIKE THAT DANIEL FUCKING SAN 

also amandas immediate reaction "your pretty boy rival?" like. can we talk about the fact that daniel had to have imparted to his wife the very important information that his high school bully/karate rival was like Really Cute and Fucking Hot Actually

 the writers Knew exactly what they were doing and honestly.............. power to them

tkk director voice: and billy was just so cute  

also I was thinking that daniel sounded strangely fond in that first scene, and i wonder if he developed a weird affection for johnny on the grounds that of all of his Karate Rivals johnny was actually the only one who didn’t actively tried to literally kill him

i was actually delightedly surprised with how great the chemistry between them is, like from the get go i am Invested. their rl friendship totally bleeds through and its fantastic

. granted, idiots enemies to lovers friends is my Thing so i am biased  

johnny lawrence: i am down in the dumps, i fucked up my whole life and my sons probably, largely in light of the trauma that the father figure sensei and the philosophy of my karate inflicted on me and all my friends. u know what i should do, as a traumatized, unreliable mess of an adult? teach that same philosophy to some other kids! what could go wrong! 

but really i enjoy the setup of it. i kinda like that i watched it late because, season 1 was johnny setting himself up for failure in a way and it was exciting to watch it all go to shit sjfn

Like. his heart might be in the right place, but theres just.... not a way to teach something like ‘strike hard, no mercy’ and not have it fuck up a kid 

case and point: aisha, miguel and hawk become annoying as all hell over that bullshit in the end of s1, even before shit gets truly fucked up

billys subtle panicked eyes when he sees hawk and miguel fighting dirty in the all valley was SO GOOD especially in parallel with the panic that is so visible in his face in the movie when kreese tells bobby to injure daniel and in the sweep the leg scene 

seen people question wether kreese should have returned and i absolutely think he needed to. johnny needed to realize that cobra kais fundamentals are flawed, at the root, beyond kreese himself being a toxic piece of shit 

also who are we kidding? we are here to see the tkk characters play on new playgrounds!

i get what they're doing abt kreeses backstory, ( also. cobra kai. pq eles caem nas cobras djjs sorry) but did it need to take up that much time? feels like they couldve  done it in half the run time and developed some other stories better 

martin kove has such an evil eye. i love it

love that we get a good follow up to kreese breaks johnnys trophy and tries to CHOKE HIM in the parking lot, which happened in the movie and then....................... was never mentioned again

“the gang is all back together again” aaaa u piece of SHIT 

also. terry silver is definetely appearing ha ha ha PAIN i cant wait

seen ppl say kreese was too much of a cartoon villain like..........................oh......... sweetie........... u dont even Know

interested how johnny will fit into that bc kreese was simping rly hard for johnny here. like i did not expect him to be so adamant to have him with cobra kai ... under his control, sure, but he really wants johnny by his side despite already having control of the dojo and how will terry silver self appointed jon kreeses forever simp going to feel abt that? 

like bitchs dropping by every episode like ‘joooooohnny ..... come bacc to me joooonny......... this ur last warning! for real this time johnny! i wont say it again! watch me ! im leaving johnny! im rly leaving ! im dragging a chair” and johnny is just like. dont let the door hit ya bitch it was so funny pls

and on that subject oof, johnny! doesnt! Know! he doesnt get that side of daniels cobra kai trauma. and i kind of.............. cannot wait for ck 2021 johnny lawrence to meet terry silver like. what a shit show i need a front row seat and popcorn (imagine terry tries some greasy charm and johnny just roundhouse kicks him in the teeth bc he just doest Not Have the Patience for This. glorious)

feels like we, as a society, should acknowledge that cobra kai will never die................ bc their sense of design is just chefs kiss. their name is COBRA KAI. they have sexie sleeveless black gis. theyve sneks. colorful leather jackets with embroided naja insignia, the get ppl thru the aesthetics. evil geniuses

the flashback cuts : masterpiece behavior

the other takes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! of the movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the differente angles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! of the FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE CLOSE UP ON JOHNNYS FACE AT THE KICK 

that scene of daniel and johnny vibing to 80s music in the car. just. oh my god. the fan wish fullfilment. no thoughts head empty.

the new characters! theyre .... good. but. idk. i really like miguel (save for the annoying phase mid s1 - end s2) and amanda, who is a damn riot and has some functioning braincells, but everyone else is       

like dont get me wrong, i dont hate anyone,its not a jane and rafael from jtv situation,  and i am interested and invested in their arcs, but i wouldnt say i like   Like them, as in, personality wise 

like, sams grappling with ptsd was rly gutting and i enjoyed that plus her slight rage issues, 

which nicely parallel torys rage issues. torys background is all over the place tho so im pretty on the fence abt her so far

robby deserves better in every way, and i like how smart and cunning and surprisingly sweet he is

hawk............... is there i guess,

 demetri is annoying in the best way possible,

 carmen is sweet but. i just feel like her character is blunted to make the johnny relationship easier. like when shes furious with him after miguels injury but then forgives him like an episode later? and then convinces him to fight for the tournament bc she had a karate epiphany off screen even tho she was always against it? meh. feels like with the plot thiccening she was swallowed and now shes like a crutch for johnny mora than anything, which is disappointing.

aisha was cool and im kinda mad she wasnt in s3, especially bc a storyline with her tory and sam was like RIGHT THERE , but also... cant say i was super super fond of her... doesnt feel like we ever spent enough time on her

moon the bi icon, 

overall its a good cast but the main draw for me remains the og cast 

the tory/sam miguel/robby Thing. enjoy how theyre Narrative Foils and i like how their stories were so dramatically entangled but oh god give me a break with the teenage love square for the love of god. if u gonna put us through that at least have the decency to not make it so straight

and honestly some sam/tory        miguel/robby romantic tension would even make more sense. just saying! 

also im not sure how i feel abt the cobra kai: red miyagi do: blue theyre going with since some of daniels most iconic looks in tkk are also red. like it was a color they (johnny and him) sorta shared. i get it, opposite but complementary but idk... a little too fire nation and water tribe for me .

 and like the cobra kai kids are so funny abt it bc their outifts grow progressively more ridiculously coordinated. its like do they group chat every morning before leaving their houses? 

robby still sticks out like that tho. he went thru an athleisure/daniel san tsleeves phase and now hes back in the bandts grunge, but his color scheme doesnt fully blend with the other cobra kais. hmmmm.

LOVED LOVED LOVED both the okinawa episode and the cobra kais easy rider episode just such good good heart aching fun

bobby is an icon. he was in tkk and he is now ck hope appears more and more

 tommy is like the most iconic background character. all his lines, freaking gold then and now. sigh :( 

the framing in the okinawa trip was so good everything was so good

i stand by the fact that kumiko was the love interest daniel had the most chemistry with and shes is overall such a joy to watch, loved to see her again, idola, fashion icon

also tkk ii is good u guys are just mean

also really enjoyed chozens role in the episode, his evolution; i love that they introduced the pressure points (ty lee the blueprint) and! the honk + karate! cousins! absolutely iconic

when kumiko reads mr miyagis letters........ oh my god, my eyes FILLED with tears, it was so heart wrenching :(( tamlyns delivery was so emotional and lovely and its so obvious everyone involved in ck has so much love and respect for pat morita and mr miyagi as character, and i adore that it exists like this electric current through the show

when we were watching i told my sister i thought that ali would be miguels big shot surgeon and ngl i am so disappointed that didnt happen. hire me cobra kai writers

also the johnny ali daniel amanda chemistry? off the charts

AND the sassy retconning of daniel and alis breakup! LMAO ‘I HOPE U DIDNT TELL MR MIYAGI IT WAS MY FAULT’ HFDJJGNKFKSD

i am preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetty sure back injuries dont work like that    but oke

daniel and johnny are so good together whenever, like they never actually help the kids or get shit done and end up fighting anyway but its just so much fun when theyre hanging

JOHNNY LAWRENCE AND DANIEL LARUSSO FIGHTING TOGETHER

daniels “plan” on how to get robby to juvie was so stupid. literally were u TRYING to make him hate you. dumbass

parents at those hearing rly brave for ppl that did not do ANYTHING as their kids got involved in a karate gang war until now

“bullshit i heard u were the real bully!” i mightve screeched

this s3 ending was SO DRAMATIC omg

everyone is such a MESS go to THERAPY u unhinged motherfckers

also im sorry but uh. a richass neighborhood in california doesnt have some type of neighborhood watch? the larussos rly dont have any security at all? neighbors wont hear the sound of a damn karate brawl happening next door??? also wasnt tory all like ooo i cant go to juvie, my mom yada yada yet shes always running around town getting into fights even at the rich girls house she was kicked out of school for fighting??   ?  ??    ??        ?                ?    ?          ??                  ?    ? girl??

stop destroying the larussos house, its so pretty :((((

sam finding her center looking at mr miyagis picture...  uwu maybe

robby yelling ‘U ARE WEAAK’@  johnny \as he is easily blocking him is like.... so funny and so sad to me. sweetheart. 

also i know it was meant as ‘oh johnny pushes him and HURTS HIM’ but it just looks like robby runs himself into the lockers and IM SO SORRY I FEEL SO BAD BUT IT WAS SO FUNNY 

i like that he and tory are the cobra kai kids now. we need ppl we care abt there to not revert to a good vs evil schtick, and this is the most engaging it could be... tho it hurts that these kids cant catch a break

ah yes "lets bet some real shit on the result of this teen karate tournament bc that is always a great idea" is BACK

so daniel saves johnny from kreese..... maybe johnny will save him from terry 🧐

and dojos unite ohohoho. lets SEE how that’ll work out 

miguels face of Despair when the ck defectors and the md kids are bickering like 'this is never gonna work' : gold

also. Johnny Lawrence is gonna learn some myiagi-do karate AHAAHSJAKDFH

 ive been waiting for this moment all my lifeeee oh lawrd 

final thoughts! there are def things i hope the writers will improve on the next season, but i am very excited for it either way AND i feel like it has made me enjoy the movies even more and that is a win for a reboot/sequel to me!!

You Can’t Keep A Phantom In Mind - Phic Phight

Prompt Creator: @kinglazrus Prompt: After getting hit by his parent’s newest invention, Danny discovers he is trapped in Phantom form and can’t change back. Summary: Danny is hard on peoples brains and he’s not ok with that.

Warning: mild angst

“Uh dude, what the fuck are you doing?”, Tucker asks as he and Sam walk up to Danny Phantom, not Fenton, opening his locker door. Danny turns to them, “my parents happened that’s what, this is the last semester of school and I’ve decided I’m just fucking done. But you know what’s fucked? No one has even batted a damn eyelash, no double takes; nothing. Not even Valerie has called me out”. Sam and Tucker look around the hallway and notice that he’s right, “Wow, this is kind of sad actually”. Danny nods at Sam, “I don’t even know if they just think I’m in costume for no reason or if I have some weirdass affect on people”.

Danny flings his bag over his shoulder and the trio walk to class. On the way there Dash walks up, “hey Fen-”, Dash cuts himself off as he tilts his head at Danny. Blinking a few times and shaking his head, Dash just walks away. “Ok what the fuck”, Danny flat out glares at Dash’s back as he goes up to Dash. Stepping in front of Dash, “did you have a fucking aneurism or something, Dash?”. Dash shrugs awkwardly, “I don’t know dude, I just really don’t want to hit you now. Somethings up with you I think”. Danny just gapes at Dash as he walks off, turning to Tucker, “you have got to be fucking me”. Tucker just shrugs as they rush off to class.

Lancer looks at Danny only once as he enters, he raises an eyebrow but shakes his head. Danny at this point just wants someone to damn call him out, so he doesn’t even bother grounding himself; just floats a bit above his chair and lets his hair float about. By the end of class Danny is just writing his notes with telekinesis instead of his hands, while Tucker and Sam both gape at both him and the rest of the class. As the bell rings Tucker leans over Danny’s shoulder, “dude what?”. Danny shrugs, “I really have no fucking clue dude, but I am so taking to Mr. Lancer. That guy won’t lie to me and he honestly is rather trustworthy”. Sam sighs as she drags Tucker out, “well whatever’s going on, it would have been nice to know this along time ago”. Danny nods at them as they go, before making his way up to Mr. Lancer.

“So, I know I’m not the most forthcoming student but do you have the slightest clue why the hell you and the rest of the school haven’t called me out on my appearance?”, Danny leans his hip against the teachers desk, making a show of being non-threatening. Lancer shuffles around some of his papers and studies Danny’s appearance before answering, “well, it’s hard to describe Daniel. As soon as I look away from you I just forget. Then when I am looking it’s hard to even think about it. I’m aware but not quite sure what’s going on with you. I’m curious but not enough to actually ask”. Danny shakes his head, “that’s insane, explains so damn much though”. Mr. Lancer shakes his head and blinks a bit, “now Daniel I know you have other classes as do I so, if I’ve satisfied your question you should get along”. Walking out Danny looks back at him, “Uh, thanks I guess”.

Catching up with Tucker in his next class, “so dude, what’d he say?”. Danny shakes his head and laughs, “apparently he literally forgets when not looking at me and can’t even think about it when he is. Completely fucking absurd and I feel like I’m fucking mind controlling people in mass”. Tucker slaps his back, “fucking sweet man, new power!”. Danny rolls his eyes, “something tells me this isn’t new and dude, it’s fucking invasive not cool. I’m quite literally fucking with peoples heads”. Tucker just rolls his eyes as class starts.

During lunch, Dash walks up to their table fully intending to dump his tray on Danny but just stops when he sees him. The trio watch as Dash opens and closes his mouth a few times and just walks away, “wow dude, anti-bully magic boy, that’s what you are”. Danny slugs him, “it’s still fucking wrong, but I won’t deny it’s handy. I seriously hope this works with my parents”. Sam sighs, knowing how Danny is, “of course you of all people would be bothered, Danny. But I think this is good, just like everything else. Don’t abuse it. You’ve got a reason today, so chill”. Danny just shrugs awkwardly as the bell goes off.

In fifth period Skulker shows up in class, everyone but Danny books it out of there and Skulker stops short of shooting Danny, “Uh whelp I’m not one to question your ways but this seems rather reckless even for you”. Skulker moves his hand up and down Danny’s Phantom form as Danny snickers, “turns out I’ve got some mind control shit, none of them can actually really tell or remember how I look right now”. Danny chuckles as he shoots Skulker, “I really should pay more attention to my parents shit before I touch it”. Danny just shrugs as he lets Skulker pelt him with an ectobomb. While Danny fires back Skulker replies, “you are very reckless ghost child, but that ability is quite impressive. You’re even more desirable now!”. Danny laughs as he kicks Skulkers head off, “I’m starting to think you actually have a thing for me”. Skulkers scowls at Danny as Danny sucks him into his thermos. Danny just shrugs as he straight up phases through the walls and floats into sixth class to avoid being late.

Star, who sits next to him, jumps and then looks completely puzzled, “can you run really fast or something? Where’d you even come from?”. Danny sighs and rubs his temple, muttering “god this is a mindfuck, literally”, then turning to Star, “came from fifth class”. Star just nods and accepts this answer.

Danny has final period with Lancer again and he can’t help but feel sorry for him. Lancer has made a habit over the past years to stare at him to make sure he’s paying attention and that is resulting in a lot of rapid blinking and head shaking today. Danny mutters to himself, “he’s going to give himself neck cramps at this point”.

Halfway through class there’s another ghost attack, this time it’s some animalistic ghost. Danny just sighs, throws a pencil at it, and slowly floats over to it; while everyone but Lancer flees, since he’s more or less pinned by the ghost. Inches from the ghost face Danny blasts it point blank with an ectobeam. He’s sighs as he pulls out his thermos and sucks in the ghost. Turning to Mr. Lancer, “ok I’m probably going to give you an aneurism or something if I don’t explain, huh?”. Lancer looks from where the ghost was to Danny, who’s floating a solid 2 feet off the ground and just nods. “Kay well, Phantom Fenton, same person. I’m not all dead just halfway there, halfas the word”, Danny watches as Mr. Lancer blinks once and tilts his head before going wide-eyed, “I, wow, so this is what’s been so weird about today. Well this certainly explains a lot Daniel, though I would hope you’re aren’t just walking around school like this to mess with peoples head”. Danny shakes his head as he plants his feet on the ground, “no, I didn’t even know I could have this sorta mind control effect on people. Basically one of my parents things pretty much turned off my ability to change back to Fenton for 24 hours. Not happy about it but I pretty much decided, screw it and didn’t bother even trying to hide it”. Danny helps Mr. Lancer get off the ground, “well I’m glad you help people Daniel but maybe you should be more careful”. Danny just shrugs as he waves goodbye to Mr. Lancer. Lancer shakes his head at the now empty doorway, “I think my most disappointing child became the one I’m proudest of”. Shaking his head as he goes to sit down and stares at Daniels unfinished assignment with a small smile.

“So Mr. Lancer knows now”, Sam and Tucker both look at Danny like he’s lost his mind. “Dude, what the hell?”, Tucker is the first to speak up. “Tucker I literally shot an animal ghost in front of him while floating, and I’m pretty sure his mind was already melting or some shit before then”, Danny rolls his eyes at Tucker. Sam shakes her head, “pretty sure his brain would’ve been fine you self-sacrificing dumbass”. Danny shrugs as he waves goodbye to them.

Looking to his house door he takes a deep breath and assumes that if he just acts normal the mind thing will work. But at the same time, it’s been years and he’s kind of just done; specially when it comes to hiding from his parents. Pushing the door open, “I’m home! What’s for supper?”. Maddie sticks her head around the door and squints at Danny, who just smiles at her, “Uh, hmm, it’s Spaghetti...Danny?”. She says his name like it’s a question, which in a sense it was, “yeah it’s me and spaghetti is good, uh. Is there like, anything? You want to ask?”. Maddie scratches her head while staring at him, she eventual pulls down her goggles and then lifts them up, then down, then up. Which is confusing the hell out of Danny, “okay? I think I have a question first, what are you doing?”. Maddie blinks, takes off her goggles and shakes her head at them before looking to Danny, “I can’t tell what you look

like but yet I can? What’s going on Danny? And why do you look completely like Phantom through my goggles?”. Danny face palms and mutters quickly, “of course, they’re probably special goggles”, smiling softly he looks at his mom, “yeah been getting that in a sense all day, had a reaction with that weird purple cube thing”. Maddie shakes her head, “I don’t know how all our stuff seems to either be affected by or affect you. Well most things anyways”. Turning her head around she dashed back into the kitchen and shouts, “foods ready!”. Danny sits down at the table and smiles somewhat sadly at his mom, “um sweet”. As Maddie gives him his food she blinks at him a bit, “sweetie I don’t like that something we made has messed you up. You sure this, whatever, will wear off.  That you’ll be ok?”. Danny sighs and nods, “yeah, I’ll be fine after another few hours. Sorry about the mindfuck”. Maddie glares at Danny who just exaggeratedly shrugs, “sorry I can’t think of a different word to describe it”. Maddie sighs and shakes her head as she sits down.

“So uh, where’s dad?”, Danny asks as he puts away his bowl. “Hmmm? Oh yeah, he went out to talk to Phantom. Which I’m starting to feel was pointless? Maybe?”, Maddie shakes her head as she looks at her goggles again but doesn’t put them on. Danny chuckles, “not an easy fellow to find unless you really know where to look”. Maddie smiles softly, gets up and kisses Danny’s head. Ruffling his white hair lightly, “well whatever the reason I’m pretty sure I’m glad we came to a truce”. This makes Danny smile and chuckles lightly, saying softly; more to himself, “me too, me too”.

End.

We’ll Meet Again, I Know Where, I Know When

Rating: Teen and Up

Words: 1591

TW: Violence, Vomit

Summary:  Samantha Winchester is jumped one night on her way home from a diner, and has the feeling she's going to die, until a mysterious savior comes to her aid. Her name is Gabriel and she's the most mysterious person Sam has ever met.

This was written for @sabrielevents​ Sabriel Week! Day 4 is a Free Day so I decided to write a Genderbend fic I've been thinking of lately!

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19465414

So this was it - this was how Sam would die.

It was night time, almost the next morning, and she had been on her merry way back to her dorm. Alone. Her boyfriend was sleeping, exhausted after pulling an all-nighter for a project, but she still had work to do for tomorrow, so she’d left and gone to a nearby 24/7 cafe to avoid disturbing him. An ache in her shoulder reassured her she had forgotten nothing at the table, but she had forgotten something at home. A form of protection other than her fists. Every woman has it drilled into their heads from the day they are old enough to step outside alone, to never really be alone. To take your friends Mace and Knife and Whistle with you. The holy trinity. But Sam had forgotten them completely, more focused on her work than anything else.

She remembered them the moment a hand grabbed her and yanked her into an alleyway.

She gasped, panic flooring through her system, freezing her for a moment. Only her eyes moved, and they noticed she was outnumbered. Four able-bodied, drunk or high, or possibly both, men surrounding her. Snap out of it! Her mother’s voice screamed at her, and of course she obeyed. She pushed her hand through the grip and grabbed the assailants wrist, turning it to the right further than it should naturally go. He yelled in pain, letting go of Sam’s wrist, and she kicked him backwards in the stomach. A choked cry escaped her own throat as six hands grabbed her from behind, clawing at her throat and shoulders before throwing her to the ground. For a moment, her vision went white, as the back of her head slammed against the concrete. The men scrambled at her messenger bag, tossing aside papers in favor of her money, then trying to tug at her laptop. Sam lunged forward, head-butting into one of the men and knocking him back on his ass, but that made more pain shoot across her skull. Bile crept up her throat as the dark world spun and blurred for a moment that felt like forever. In retaliation, another man kicked her in the stomach, and that finally pushed the bile up. That did not deter these hungry scavengers. More kicks were delivered, and that’s when Sam accepted it. She’d die, wind up on the news for a few days or less, and then fade from the memories of everyone.

Then a different kind of light blinded her, because the assaulters reacted too. They looked up, then began shouting frantically at each other to run, tripping over themselves as the rumble of wheels on pavement grew frighteningly close. Dazed, all Sam could do was tuck her head under her arms. All she felt pass by her was air, and the buzzing of a truck engine ended up on the other side of her. She was miraculously fine.

Boots kicked open the drivers door, and the next moment a woman was leaning over Sam, who squinted against the obscenely bright headlights. Her hair was long, practically forming a golden curtain around Sam’s head, as she observed her with whiskey colored eyes, that Sam swore were glowing. “Boy did they rough you up,” she murmured, brushing the back of Sam’s head lightly, and the pain was subtly alleviated. The mysterious woman cast her glowing gaze backwards and snapped. A faint yell of pain went up in the distance, then fell back into the silence. She turned back to Sam. “Let’s get you home.”

“Thank you,” Sam murmured, thinking still cloudy so she didn’t even remember to tell this girl where she lived. The girl looped an arm under Sam’s and helped her into the passenger’s seat of her blue truck, before jumping (literally jumping - she was too short for her own vehicle) into the driver's seat. She didn’t remember doing her own seatbelt, or the woman leaning over to do it, but she was already strapped in and leaned back in the seat, obscuring her vision of the girl. Clunks of shifting signalled they were going in reverse, and the woman backed out, turning onto the mostly quiet road without issue.

“What’s your name?” Sam asked, feeling out of place with the stranger.

“Gabriel.”

Sam’s eyes widened with worry for a moment. Had she been misgendering them this whole time? “Gabriel? What are your pronouns?”

Gabriel grinned, laughing a little. “She/her, well as of right now. It’s what I prefer anyways. Let’s just say my father was a fan of more masculine names. You can call me Gabe for short.”

“Not like...Gabbie?”

“I mean, you could. I hadn’t thought of that nickname. Gabbie…” Gabriel, or Gabe or Gabbie, said thoughtfully.

There was a beat of silence. “Thank you...you saved my life. How could I repay you?” Sam asked.

Gabbie waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about that. I see someone in danger, I help them.”

“I’ll pay you back somehow.”

Her honey gaze glanced back at Sam, and there was a bittersweet look in them. “I’m sure we’ll see each other again one of these days. Maybe then.”

“Do you live around here?”

Gabbie shrugged, oddly pondering the question. “Eh, well, I’m...around. I travel a lot. I don’t really live in one place.”

“Well that’s cryptic. Where’s your mail sent to then?” Sam pressed. She wanted to at least mail a thank you card.

“I don’t get mail.”

“What?”

“It’s a long, long, long story. And I’m sure you’ve heard...something...like it before.”

A decipher code would be handy right about now. But perhaps she was being creepily pushy. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be pushy or anything.”

Gabbie waved her hand dismissively. “I don’t blame you. I’ve been told I’m pretty mysterious. And troublesome.” She smirked back at Sam.

They pulled up to the college campus, and Sam sat up, unbuckling. “Thank you so much for the ride, I promise to make it up to you,” She pledged.

Gabbie’s eyes shot around cautiously. “Actually, why don’t I walk you in? Just in case.”

“I can handle myself.” Although Sam did have to admit she missed having another person watching her back, she could usually keep a good eye out for herself.

“It’d put me a lot more at ease if you let me.”

Sam shrugged. She didn’t see what harm this girl could do. If she tried anything by herself, Sam was sure she could easily overpower her. “Alright then. Come on.” She stepped out and walked around to the other side onto the sidewalk, meeting with Gabbie and finally getting a clear look at her. She was slightly chubby, with a round face framed by wavy, dirty blonde hair. She wore a navy denim jacket with scattered pins, including a halo, bluejay, and a little candy jar, among other things. Suddenly self-conscious of what she was wearing and then realizing it must be covered in vomit, she looked down quickly, only to discover her clothes were crystal clean. Huh. It must have been a lucky break.

They walked up to the door together, and Gabbie opened it, giving a bow as she let Sam walk first. Sam laughed at her antics, and Gabbie grinned as she joined her. Gabbie looked around curiously. “So this is where you bougie law students live huh?”

Sam snorted. “Yeah, we’re super bougie. We have pure gold chandeliers in each room, which are also all suites.”

“Wow, impressive.”

“And the coffee we drink to pull all-nighters every night is shipped fresh from Brazil and ground by hand. Only the best beans for us.”

“That’s sooo cool, tell me more,” Gabbie used a Valley Girl voice, batting her eyelashes and clinging to Sam’s arm. Normally being touched by a stranger like that would feel uncomfortable, but Sam didn’t mind it. Not when it was Gabbie.

Sam went on like this as they walked up the stairs, eventually developing a British accent, and they giggled at each other, forgetting the encounter that had brought them together. In time, Sam came to her doorway, and she found herself feeling sad at the arrival. Gabbie looked the same.

“Again, thank you -”

“Ah, don’t say it one more time,” Gabbie put her hand up. “I have your back.”

Sam smiled softly. She pulled her keys out of her pocket. “I hope you’re right, about us seeing each other again soon.”

That same bittersweet look crossed Gabbie’s face. “Something tells me I am.”

Sam opened the door and stepped inside. “Goodnight Gabbie.”

“Goodnight Sam.” And with that she turned and left.

When Sam walked in she went straight to the bathroom, splashing some water on her face then looking up in the mirror. Again with that lucky break - no bruises marked her up, not on her face or arms or legs, not anywhere she could see. The only mark she was left with was the smile Gabbie gave her. The one that made Sam question this feeling in her chest for the first time. The same kind of feeling that strengthened as she walked into her bedroom and saw her boyfriend passed out, arm draping over the side. She slipped in beside him, arm curling over his side, but as she glanced up at the ceiling a part of her expected her honey-haired rescuer to pop up.

She would never guess, not in a million years, that she’d run into her once again, and they’d both reveal their true selves to each other.

14x06: Optimism

Then:

The Then Bot automatically triggers this gif when we haven’t seen Cas in a while. I don’t make the rules. (But the opener was excellent this week!)

Now:

We open to not one, but two! people wearing tan coats this episode. Maybe Sears was having a tan coat fire sale when wardrobe was scouting for outfits? I don’t know how else to explain this situation.

One person is Harper, the local library worker. She makes plans to see Winston later that night, but Miles sneaks up with his handy red stapler to defend her honor or something.

Harper then throws libraries under the bus.

My reaction as a librarian working at a busy public library:

Winston, ebullient that his date is confirmed, heads out and struts down the sidewalk with the Bee Gee’s setting his stride. 

LOL. What the hell, show? Poor Winston doesn’t get to finish the song in his head OR go on that date with Harper because he’s yanked into the bushes, leaving nothing but the black goo canon splatter as evidence.

Meanwhile at the bunker, we learn that Jack doesn’t like food as much now that he’s lost his grace (not so much like your father after all…) and that Sam went to meet up with Charlie for an exciting case.

Jack reiterates to Dean that no one blames Dean for Michael, but Dean counters that he blames himself and that’s all that really matters in Dean’s mind. Jack then suggests they go on a hunt. Winston Mathers is dead and he had human bite marks on him. Dean suggests that he’ll go alone, but Jack reminds him of the buddy system. Jack needs to do something to take his mind off the guilt he has for not taking out Michael when he had the chance. (Good lord, he is a Winchester.)

Sam and Charlie continue their stakeout at a bus stop. Charlie brought along books. Sam is her new best friend.

Dean and Jack pull up to Dicks Red Rooster Diner (where’s the possessive apostrophe??) and try to interview the LEAST FRIENDLY diner worker in the world. (Natasha: You might say she’s a real...dick.) Winston is dead. That’s all she knows. And that they should look in to Harper Sayles.

*Classic Jack Moment Alert*

Jack: What’s courting?

Dean: It’s what you do before you start dating.  

Jack: Ah, and that’s the thing you do before the sex.

Our little nephilim is growing up so fast! The diner worker adds, “Sometimes you just have the sex.” Dean literally moves a decorative rooster away and tries to get the conversation back on track. OH DEAN.

They interview locals to get a better picture of Harper: Sweet, lonely, prom queen, boyfriend who ditched her, men disappear on her, loves romance novels.

At the stakeout Sam is busy worrying about Dean when Charlie reassures him that Dean’ll be fine. He then tells her about how Dean used to have a wingman in our Charlie (uh, DEAN LITERALLY HAS A WINGMAN RIGHT NOW.) But this scene is sobering to realize that this Charlie is not our Charlie. She tells the story of meeting the love of her life, Kara (she owned a bakery outside of Chicago and smelled like peaches and had a smile that made Charlie’s face light up in such a way that made me ache and cry for someone I’ll never even see on this show. guh.) She then tells what happened when Michael and Lucifer started their war. Their world fell apart and Kara died. Sam says, “Not here.” Charlie responds, “Not yet.” Hahaha, that world didn’t have Sam Fucking Winchester and his brother.

At the diner, Dean eats pie and Jack asks about the birds and the bees. Dean’s gonna give Jack “the talk”. First, they need to investigate Harper.

At the library, Dean starts interrogating Harper when Jack interrupts. Dean tells the kid to back off and Jack tells the old man to back off. Dean’s FACE. He does not like to be called old. He takes off. The music swells, and Harper, impressed with Jack coming to her rescue, thanks him and stares and stares.

Harper and Jack take off for her apartment. Miles shows up again, but is rebuffed again. He heads to the alley and while Dean starts to follow Jack and Harper, he hears Miles scream and takes a detour. Miles is dead on the ground.

At the stakeout, Charlie tells Sam that this is her last case. She hates hunting and just wants to live on a mountaintop with good wifi. So much to unpack with that little conversation.

At Harper’s apartment, she goes to find a book for Jack while Jack lays the usual hunter traps --silver, holy water, coughing ‘Christo’. OH JACK.

Charlie thinks they’re dealing with a Musca --a human/fly hybrid.

Jack asks Harper about her boyfriend, Vance. He wanted to leave town, but Harper wanted to stay. He left, and Harper’s bad luck started. Jack and Harper keep staring and bonding while soft music fills the scene. This is so not romantic, folks.

*Classic Jack Moment Alert II*

Harper: Jack, do you believe in love at first sight?

Jack: Do you...mind if I use the bathroom?

Once in the bathroom, Jack calls Dean to tell him that she’s not a monster and that he’s 99% sure that she’s in love with him. Dean disagrees. All the same, Jack needs to know everything about sex. Go. While on the phone, Dean is attacked!

Jack heads back into Harper’s living room. She invites him out for coffee (ooo, like a date?) when Dean busts in. “Hey, I work with Jack. We’re here to save lives. Maybe yours.” And then the pounding begins in earnest on the door. Something growls fiercely in the hallway, slamming against the front door. Dean spots a photo of Harper’s ex boyfriend on the counter. It turns out that Vance - the one who moved away - has returned as a zombie.

Jack smuggles Harper out while Dean tangles with “Archie” the crazed red-headed undead in a letterman’s jacket.

The fight goes swimmingly (very poorly), but Jack and Harper escape.

Meanwhile, Sam and Charlie continue their stakeout. Sam tries to convince Charlie to stick around but she tells him sharply that, “It’s my life, Sam. Not hers, and not yours.” This is such a wonderful, valid point. I’m so glad to see Charlie sticking up for herself and validating her unique existence.

They don’t have much time to lock horns on the issue, though, because the strange Doctor Who villain has returned to sit creepily next to other bus stop denizens.

A bus rolls up and when it pulls away they just manage to catch a glimpse of the guy from the bus stop getting dragged away down an alley. They give chase.

Back with Dean, Vance gives up mid-fight and races outside to pursue Harper. Jack and Harper hide in the library, lock the door, and turn out the light. Nobody will ever think to look for her there…

Sam and Charlie zero in on a slimy door and brainstorm options. They don’t have a brass nail dipped in sugar water - the traditional instrument of destruction - so they’ll have to improvise. They bust inside and find a warehouse full of stinking meat and the cloying scent of pine fresh. Flies fill the air in a terrible symphony.

They find a pile of bodies and the monster’s briefcase. The briefcase is full of a chloroformed handkerchief and a megaton of pinefresh air fresheners. They find the victim - who’s still alive. Unfortunately for them, so is the fly monster. It attacks first Charlie, then Sam, and totally bugs out on them.

For Costuming Science

They work together to kill the fly, shooting it in the head. It’s...juicy. But dead! Good work, guys.

Back in the library, Harper and Jack watch the doors of the library warily as they hunker behind the circulation desk. Harper sneaks up to lock the front door, when Vance arrives at the door. They stare at each other and then Harper opens the door and lets in her ex boyfriend. He hands her a book and Harper swoons and goes in for the kiss. “He’s my boyfriend,” Harper announces. “He just gets a little jealous sometimes.”

“But he’s dead. And stalking you.” Poor Jack does NOT compute. Undead, ultra-possessive Vance has to eat flesh to maintain his body, and has eaten a succession of Harper’s suitors. She’s cool with it, though. It’s just like a sex game, right? RIGHT?

Vance stalks Jack through the library while Harper waits primly at the circulation desk. “I come from a long line of necromancers,” Harper confesses over the intercom. She killed Vance to keep him in town after college, and then killed every unsuitable suitor after that.

Dean sneaks up on Jack in the library and they share a whispered plan of attack. Just a short while later, Jack approaches Harper and gives her a romantic monologue about why she should choose him instead of Vance. He’s alive, for one thing. They can settle down in town and also, did he mention, he’s alive? 

Vance doesn’t take kindly to this and attacks, but Dean pens him in and shoots him. Harper watches the violence while Dean tries to bargain with crazy, undead Vance. “This isn’t love, not anymore...You have to eat people to stay together? Is that romantic, huh?” Nice try, Dean. Harper orders Vance to kill Dean but it’s too late. Jack and Dean grab hold of Vance’s arms and cuff him to the security checkpoint. Harper escapes out of the front door.

Charlie and Sam drive home after their hunt. The recent Musca abductee survived and the fly guy is dead. Sam preaches a sermon to Charlie about how the Musca striking out on his own and leaving his family led to his demise. Charlie scoffs at Sam’s metaphor. “I wasn’t looking for love. I found it, and I lost it. And I didn’t kill people and nest in their body parts.” Accurate!

This discussion is intercut with scenes of the Musca collecting their fallen dead, loading him onto a stretcher to presumably bring him home. It’s beautiful, and a little surreal - a token of a community’s love even when one of their members has gone so terribly astray.

Sam gives up the metaphor, because he’s a smart guy. “Don’t leave,” he says simply. Sam insists that hunters do good in the world, and that goodness can spread just as much as the bad. “That’s worth it, even with all the tears and death.” This is such a wholesome, healthy thing for Sam to say.

“Just to be super clear, I am not like the fly monster,” Charlie tells Sam. But she’ll think about staying. (Staaaaay, Charlie, staaaaay!)

I love this very relevant quote of the day from Jason Fischer’s Twitter account from Thursday: 

At the cock a doodle dick diner, Harper sits and pens a juvenile note to Jack. “I am not crazy,” she insists in her love letter. LOL. She’s finally been convinced to leave town so she can track down Jack, kill him, resurrect him with her dark magic, and date him forever. How...sweet. 

She addresses the letter to Jack Smith, care of the Lebanon post office. Several have speculated that she’s going to show up as a driving presence in episode 300, which I am HERE for, sirs.

At the bunker, Jack and Dean share a post-hunt drink. Vance is dead, staked in his grave. Love can be crazier than Harper’s wacky approach, Dean tells Jack. Jack absorbs this, and insists that he’s ready to hunt now. “You’re gonna make mistakes,” Dean tells Jack (and HIMSELF, RIGHT?) “It’s how you handle yourself once you’ve made those mistakes.” Jack hammers down the point that Dean’s doing his best, too.

Dean accedes, and starts talking plans for getting Jack out on more hunts. Suddenly, Jack succumbs to his cough. He buckles over, blood dripping from his nose and out of his mouth. He passes out on the kitchen floor. OH NOES

True Quotes Last Forever:

He’s just overreacting because nothing ever happens here.

We can be hunting buddies!

His obituary said he loved having breakfast here in the morning which is sort of oddly specific.

Pie’s important.

People are always the same when things go wrong: they lose it. One day the water’s shut off; the next day people are on fire.

I have read all the books.

When the goo fits…

Our perp might just be a giant fly with low self esteem.

I need to know everything about sex. Go.

At first I thought it was a ghost, then he punched me in the face.

You don’t want to tackle some regular guy just because he’s into some weird fashion.

So, we got creative. Cool.

Some people pretend to be naughty nurses. Some people get tied up.

Every relationship has its stuff.

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

The Death Curse Ch. 1

After last week’s episode where the girl who flirted with Sam died, I couldn’t help but think about Sam’s poor reputation with women... So then I got the idea to fix it with a fic. But I have to break it real good first, so, uh, strap in I guess?

Summary: Y/N is moving into the bunker with Sam. There’s fluffiness, for now.

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: none

Everything was nearly moved in. The old Men of Letters bed had been swapped out for Y/N’s queen sized, much newer mattress, and her dresser had been precariously transported down the Bunker’s stairs and into the bedroom. It almost didn't fit through the doorway. Sam insisted they take the drawers out first, claiming it would lighten the load and keep the handles from scraping the inside of the doorframe, but Dean insisted the opposite because “they kill pagan gods, a dresser is a piece of cake!” So the drawers stayed in. One of the handles did make shallow scratch on the frame, but Sam didn’t notice and Dean diverted his attention away from the “I told you so” moment by making his own I Told You So face at Sam.  

The Bunker’s rooms weren’t ideal for sharing. They had been made for individual men sleeping alone and living here for the purpose of studying, much how Sam Winchester had been using his space. Now there was a woman preparing to live here, too. After placing the furniture, there was considerably less floor space than there had been, with the larger bed and second dresser, but the changes transformed the bedroom from a bare sleeping space into a shared bedroom. Neither Sam nor Y/N cared about more floor space.

“I still can’t believe you’re letting her move in here,” Dean said, hands on his hips while he surveyed the room.

Sam looked at Dean, his eyes saying “what the heck, man!” as he glanced over at Y/N to remind Dean she was, in fact, standing right there.

“I mean in your room,” he explained, “You always keep things just so, and we all know she doesn’t.”

It was Y/N’s turn give Dean the stink eye.

She walked over to Sam, put her arm around his waist, and pulled him in close. “It’s called love, Dean. It makes you do crazy things,” she said in the most airy voice she could conjure.

Dean rolled his eyes playfully and waved her off before spinning on his heels and exiting the room. “Love schmove,” he called from down the hall.

Sam was still frustrated when Y/N looked up into his eyes. She gently tugged on his waist until he relaxed and swayed with her. “He’s only teasing. Come on, let’s finish setting up our room.”

Sam sighed before looking down at her. “Our room. I like the sound of that,” he said with a smile, turning Y/N by her waist until she faced him.

“Mmm, me too,” she said, leaning in and meeting Sam for a kiss. She melted into it, letting him pull her in as close as he could and thread his hand through her hair. Then, all too soon for Sam, she pulled away, leaving him wanting more. “Time to get to work!” she said.

Sometime later, after more sorting and putting away, and the occasional kiss that Sam stole, Y/N carried an armful of her own books into the library. Sam was trailing behind her, toting the last few she couldn’t, when Dean came in with three beers.

He held them up before placing them on the table. “Thought you guys might need a break.”

“That sounds great,” Sam said, dropping his books on a table.

“I’m putting these away first,” Y/N said as she walked the shelves, looking for an open section.

Sam raised his eyebrows at Dean.

“You never stop going, do you?” Dean said.

“No,” she said pointedly. “And it’s saved both of our asses more than once.”

Dean chuckled. “I can drink to that. It’s going to come in handy in the future too, I’m sure.”

Y/N squinted at him. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, Sammy here doesn’t have the best track record with women.” Dean tried to hide the smirk on his face with a drink of beer, but he did a poor job of it.

“How so?”

“Dean, stop,” Sam said, “It’s not funny.”

“I mean, it kind of is,” Dean said.

“What’s funny?” Y/N was still searching the shelves, one of her books teetering dangerously on the edge of her arm.

“Nothing,” Sam said.

“Just a running joke we, well I have,” Dean said, “About the lifespan of Sam’s girlfriends.”

“It’s stupid,” Sam said, “And not true. I have...at least two previous girlfriends who are still alive.”

“That’s not that great of a record. Most of my exes are still alive.”

“The point is, Y//N has nothing to worry about. It’s not like I’m cursed.”

At this point, Y/N had tuned out their conversation even though she had stopped walking just beside the table they sat at. She found a spot for her books on one of the shelves perpendicular to the wall. As she crouched down to reach the empty shelving, she lost her balance and fell forward, hitting the shelf and spilling her books onto the floor. But before she could completely hit the floor, a hand yanked her up and back, and a sword fell where had been squatting.

“Where did that come from?” she gasped.

Dean dropped her hand. “That sword’s been sitting on the shelf forever, it’s been here every time you have.”

“Dean, stop,” Sam said, coming between them, “Are you ok?” he asked Y/N, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“My wrist hurts a little from being yanked, but, yeah, I’m fine.”

“Be thankful it wasn’t your neck,” Dean said.

“Can we just put this back up on the shelf and maybe make sure it’s secure?” Sam said.

“Yeah, I’ll stack them. Y/N, maybe you should take your break now,” Dean said.

“Ok… But the books have to be in alphabetical order!” she said, waving her finger at Dean.

Sam directed her over to a chair before she could nag at Dean again, but she kept a close eye on him as he picked up the sword and then her books. She scrutinized every placement he made, and when he was done, she inspected the books one by one. Her library was the one thing she kept meticulously organized, and she wasn’t about to let Dean Winchester mess that up.

Later that evening, after all of Y/N’s belongings were put away, and after dinner had been eaten and the details of a new case picked over, Sam and Y/N retired to their room for their first night of sleep after moving in together. This wasn’t the first time they had slept in the same bed; they’d been dating the eight months, but everything felt new to Y/N. They were familiar with each others belongings and routines, knew how much toothpaste the other liked to use and what time they liked to go to bed, but there was still something enthralling and a little awkward in the air about realizing they lived together.

Sam watched Y/N walk to her dresser and pull open a drawer only to realize the shirt she wanted was hanging in his closet from the last time she’d been over. He watched her huff and turn around, almost running into the bed on her way over to the closet. He chuckled to himself before slipping his sleep shirt over his head. When his head popped through the collar, Y/N was falling into the closet.

He rushed over to grab her, but couldn’t move fast enough. She fell forward, clinging onto his hanging flannels for support, only to have one of them slip off the hanger and send her falling the rest of the way to the floor.

“Ow!” she yelped. “What do you have that’s so hard and pointy back here?”

Sam rushed over to help her up, pulling her by her arm. “Are you ok? What happened?”

“The shirt I wanted was all the way against the wall. I was trying to reach back and grab it,” she pouted.

Sam couldn’t help the smile pulling at the corners of his lips. “I have pretty long arms. Ask for help next time.”

“Maybe you could help by not putting dangerous things in your closet!” Y/N rubbed the small of her back.

“Lemme see.” Sam turned her around, lifting the back of her shirt. There was a scrape just to the left of her spine. The skin had broken in one spot and blood was beginning to pool and drip. “It’s just a scrape. I have some boxes on the floor. You probably fell on one. Come on, we’ll get you bandaged up.”

Y/N sighed, turning back around to face him. “I feel like your bunker is out to get me.”

“Nah, you’re just clumsy,” Sam teased, leading her out of the room.

“Hey!” She swatted at the back of head lightly. “Now when have you ever known me to be clumsy?”

Sam thought on that question for a moment. “Never, actually.”

“Exactly. I’m like a cat, which is why I’m a better hunter than you or your brother.”

Sam stopped in his tracks and spun around, causing Y/N to stop with her face almost in his chest. “Oh is that right?” he challenged.

“Mhm,” she said confidently, hands on her hips.

“Then how can I do this!” Sam took Y/N by surprise, tickling her sides and backing her into a wall. She was bent over in a fit of giggles, but he didn’t stop.

“Sam! Stop...that’s not….fair!” She tried shoving him away, but it was no use. He was too strong and had disarmed her. She was ticklish, and Sam knew all of her weak spots.

Finally, he took his hands away, leaving her gasping for breath. She looked up and pushed him back playfully. “Not cool! You’re supposed to be taking care of this injury that’s your fault!”

“Oh it’s my fault, huh?”

“Yes,” she said, standing up straight.

Sam could do nothing but shake his head at her and laugh. “Alright, alright. Let’s fix you up and then get you to bed. And then hopefully you won’t be so clumsy in the morning.”

Y/N sighed and rolled her eyes one last time that night while walking with Sam down the hall to get bandaids. Sam was rarely playful, but Y/N didn’t mind it when he was. He was just happy about her moving in, and she was too. It was a major step for both of them after many failed relationships and lives too dangerous to get someone else involved in. Settling down hadn’t been in either’s plans, but it crept up on them unexpectedly. Neither could deny the chance for a different kind of life once they realized the opportunity. And now here they were, having taken a risk, trusting in fate and each other to make this work. Sam and Y/N had no doubts, except maybe in her ability to navigate her new home without injuring herself.

Tags: 

Everything: @akshi8278 @amanda-teaches @angelus320 @atc74 @authoressskr @bambi95-blog @because-imma-lady-assface @blanketmadeofstar @brewsthespirit-blog @britney8793 @cutedictionary @ellen-reincarnated1967 @emoryhemsworth @feelmyroarrrr @frenchybell @growningupgeek @gryffindorable713 @hexparker @holyfuckloueh @impala-dreamer @its-not-candy @jayankles @jesspfly @luciisthebest @megansescape @mjdoc90 @mogaruke @moonlitskinwalker @mrsbatesmotel53 @mrswhozeewhatsis @nightmaredean @oneshoeshort @pizza-boy-cas @seenashwrite @shamelesslydean @sis-tafics @skybinx-blog @spontaneousam @super-not-naturall @tennesseewhiskey-and-pie @there-must-be-a-lock @waiting-to-find-myshadows @wordstothewisereaders @ginamsmith @itsthesamegametoday @mereka18

Want to be on my tag list for the series? Put your name down here. 

Dream a Little Dream of Me - Ch4/4

It becomes sort of a thing with us. Me and Tony. Every now and then, whenever the exhaustion hits too hard, whenever sleeping and the dreams and the lack of dreams are too much to take, JARVIS makes sure we always find each other. He was subtle about it at first, thought he was being clever having us coincidentally meet in the kitchen or gym or the roof.

Took us just few days to figure out the AI is most definitely plotting against us.

Or for us, I suppose.

Since our impromptu meetings started, things got…better. Not great or perfect but better. No more falling asleep dreading what’s to come, no more waking up miserable and angry…I’m nowhere near okay but I think maybe, just maybe I could be. Maybe there’s still a place for me in here. After the war, after HYDRA and the Winter Soldier…after seventy years living in my own personal nightmare I might be able to do something with my life after all.

Current goal number one? Make Clint stop stealing my favorite fruit loops!

“Yikes! Do you have your will sorted out bird brain?” Tony waltzes around me into the kitchen, looking between me and Clint. “Because if glares could kill…” he trails off, walking to the fridge.

Clint turns around, freezing when he spots me looming in the doorway. “What?!” he frowns at me, mouth full of my delicious –

“It’s the fruit loops, Katniss,” Tony hums.

“Wha-?”

“They’re mine,” I glare harder at the archer, who in turn widens his eyes.

“Th…they’re delicious,” he stutters.

“I know.”

“I’ll uh…buy some more! For both of us!”

“Yes, you will.”

He glances at Tony, who’s too busy searching for potential breakfast in the fridge to notice him. “O-kaaay.”

“Now.”

“Right,” he nods and bolts out of the kitchen.

“Well…that’s one way of getting rid of morning annoyances. Very handy. No pun intended,” he glances at me, eying the left hand for a second. “Making friends?”

“Clint’s cool,” I shrug. “Not cool enough to share these with him yet though.”

(Read-more ahead!)

He watches me with eyebrows raised as I sit down where Clint’s been just moments ago, confiscating the bowl of deliciousness. “Looks like you’re okay with sharing,” he chuckles, picking a blueberry jam out of the fridge and grabbing a couple slices of bread from the counter.

I almost drop the spoon, making a double-take at what I’ve just witnessed. “Are you…making breakfast?!” I blurt out.

“I’m hungry.”

Only that never stopped him from not eating anything for days. Steve of course gave me the Tony Stark 101, thinking he could pass it off as an excuse for almost strangling the man. Almost made me want to strangle him, but after a quick notes comparison with Natasha I found he was mostly right about everything.

Barely sleeps, barely eats, is reckless in battles, doesn’t listen to anyone, makes jokes out of everything to dodge anything serious…still not an excuse for what Steve did. Luckily for Steve, he’s behaving himself lately so I won’t have to punch him anytime soon.

And…so is Tony. He’s still doped on coffee most of the time – he does like his coffee, alright – but doesn’t look like he’s just crawled out of his own grave.

Wait…was he humming a minute ago? He was.

Huh.

“Morning,” Natasha sneaks in, sitting opposite of me with a smirk.

“Nat,” Tony winks at her, finishes his PB&J’s and heads for the exit. “See ya around, James,” he adds on his way out.

“Sure.”

I gotta go for a run after this. Clear my head. Before…before I start thinking about something that’s so not possible.

“James?” Natasha snorts, smirk widening.

I glare at the spy, wishing it would have the same effect as it does on Clint. “S’ my name.”

“Yeeees. It is,” she purses her lips, eyes dangerously…knowing.

On second thoughts, I’m gonna go for the run now. I back out of the kitchen, noting that as soon as I’m three steps away from the table, the still half-full bowl of fruit loops once again changes owners.

Damn Natasha.

Tonight’s one of those nights. Nights I know I should go to sleep, but don’t want to at all. I don’t even have to tell JARVIS where to take me after I step into the elevator. It goes straight up, stopping at the penthouse.

Guess I’m lucky, because Tony would usually be in the workshop this early into the evening and I w –

And he’s asleep.

Right there on the couch, still wearing his ragged and dirty workshop clothing and his left hand holding onto a wrench.

“JARVIS?” I whisper, unable to hold back a smile.

“You may wake him up, Sergeant. He’s been asleep for five hours like this, which is sufficient for now,” he replies just as quietly.

The couch is comfy, but sleeping on it for too long isn’t exactly comfortable. And if he sleeps for too long, he delves too deep into whatever nightmare decides to pay him a visit.

I walk across the room without making a single sound. Every now and then I find a good use for all the assassin skills HYDRA bothered to train me. Moving silently like this comes in handy all the time – like this, on the battlefield…or if I want to scare Sam shitless when I catch him spying on Natasha. The dude couldn’t be more obvious if he tried. I told him that…and didn’t really appreciate the comeback.

“Look who’s talkin’, Sergeant I’m-just-watching-Iron Man-for science! Or whatever excuse you’re making!”

Damn bird brains…

Crouching down next to the couch, I take a moment to observe the seemingly relaxed face of the man that would without a doubt be haunting my dreams by now – if I had any.

Maybe it’s for the best.

“Hey,” I try at first, but his peaceful face doesn’t even stir at the sound. Startling him awake would be as bad as letting him continue sleeping so I have to be as sneaky about it as I can. Taking my chances, I place my metal hand on his warm, flesh one, hoping the wrench it’s holding won’t deck me in the face next. “Wake up, Tony.”

It’s not exactly a smooth awakening, but with a sharp intake of breath and a slight jolt he opens his eyes, wide and wild for a moment.

“Sorry. J said nap time’s over so,” I smile at him, but it falters the instant I see the sheer terror in those brown eyes.

“S’okay,” he sits up, his PR face falling into place. “Didn’t wanna sleep anyway,” he yawns, looking down at our joined hands.

Crap.

I stand up, making it a subtle excuse to break the surely offending contact. The way his eyes sadly travel up with the motion confuse me enough to regret doing it immediately. “You a’right?”

“Hm? Sure,” he nods, frowning at the wrench he then places on the coffee table.

It’s the kinda ‘sure’ that makes me really restless and by me I mean whatever is left of the Winter Soldier somewhere down there. Steve used to say it, usually while his bony little face was all bloody and beaten, but ‘sure’ - he was okay.

Tony is not okay.

Whatever expression forms on my face must convey that message with absolute clarity, because he sighs and sits back against the back of the sofa.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” he grumbles and it’s the closest thing to an admission of not being okay I’ll ever get from the man, if past experiences are anything to go by.

“Okay.”

“It’s…stupid,” he continues in a lowered voice. “Anyway. What brings you up here at this hour?”

“Tony, it’s just a lil’ over 6 PM.”

“It is?! Oh. So…wanna hang out?” he smiles, but the press façade is still at hundred percent.

“Yeah,” I return the smile, bright and honest.

His face falls all of a sudden. “Well, we’ve got about ten minutes. I totally forgot about Prague,” he mumbles, teeth gritted.

Ah. The International Astronomical Union thing. “I thought that was tomorrow.”

“It is. And I’m supposed to have a presentation on something that’s not even built yet!” he glares at the wrench. “Gotta go hit the workshop and do some hard core overnight inventing, just like old times. I’d tell you to come along but…”

“S’fine. Would only distract ya.” And freak out the second I stepped in there.

“You’ve got no idea…I mean,” he clears his throat and gets up, pacing around the couch. “It wouldn’t be a problem. Seriously. If you ever wanna try coming down there you can. Anytime. I’ve already trained DUM-E to make sure he wouldn’t be a bother…or spray you with a fire-extinguisher. Don’t ask, he’s got a fetish that one,” he explains with a snort, seeing my confusion.

“He sounds like fun. I’ll uh…I’ll think about it.”

“Sure. So…five minutes to go. Need a drink? Or a movie recommendation? You can stay here if you want. Or - ”

“Thanks. That’s alright. Gonna read something and go to sleep, I guess.”

He looks at me with the same ‘I see right through your bullshit’ look I used on him a moment ago.

“Fine! So it’s not alright…s’not like you can do anything about it. Or anyone, really.”

He hums in thought, eyeing the piano with what I can only guess to be determination. “Even if you can’t dream, you can occupy your mind with something, right? Imagine something? That’s what I try doing. To chase away the nightmares. Or the fear of them. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”

“It’s been workin’ lately, huh?”

He freezes…and is that a blush? Did Clint slip something into my tea? I’m seeing things now. Great. I’m gonna murder him.

“Yeah…kinda. Anyway. Thought I’d suggest it…in case it might work for you, too,” he shrugs.

“I tried, actually. My imagination suffered over the years, though. It just wouldn’t work for me.”

His lips twitch into a subtle, mischievous smirk and he moves to the piano. “Maybe we just need to give it some incentive.”

“I don’t think a little bit of Mozart is gonna help,” I roll my eyes, but he starts playing anyway.

And that’s not Mozart. Or Chopin or Bach or whoever. I don’t really know anything about music, but I know this song.

Everyone born in the twenties knows this song. It would be playing in the background while you were slowly dancing with ya sweetheart and getting your first kiss. And second, third, and so on. I don’t remember a single dance or event where this didn’t play at least once.

The melody starts rolling and Tony hums along with it. He’s made it clear ain’t nobody’s gonna hear him sing, ever.

I move to my VIP chair – as he calls it – not sitting down, just next to it. Next to Tony.

The songs brings back good memories, that’s for sure. But I don’t understand how this is supposed to be some kinda incent –

Oh. Oh.

...while I’m alone and blue as can be, dream a little dream of me...

I thought the chair was the only thing capable of wiping my mind completely clean, but this right here manages to out-do it. I gape at the engineer, who’s still playing and humming the tune with a content smile, trying to make sense of what’s happening here.

By the time he’s done and rotates on the piano stool to look at me, my brain finally decides to cooperate and in a rare moment of clarity I return eighty years into the past to switch the Bucky Barnes mode on. “Are you…flirting with me in a song?”

He raises his eyebrows and for one single moment he looks shy. Tony goddamn Stark looks shy. Before I can take that in, he’s back to that mischievous smile. “Too High School Musical for you? Or not enough? Wait, you don’t know what that is, do you. Good, don’t ever let Clint bully you into watching it. Seriously, he’ll be sneaky about it and - ”

He goes on babbling in the speed of light about something something Clint, but all I heard was…the lack of a ‘no I’m not, you fool’ in that sentence. Not only didn’t he deny the flirting bit, he basically confirmed it. HYDRA spent seventy years trying to break me…and by the stunned, silly way I must look right now I guess this man succeeded in doing that in only five minutes.

“…so the question is, is it enough of an incentive for you to survive the night while I’m off to plot revenge against those damn astronomers for demoting Pluto? And yes, that’s the only reason I even agreed to the presentation. That and a chance to hit the pubs for some good beer. You’re a beer guy, right? I’ll bring you some. There’s one called ‘Demon’…and it tastes exactly as the name suggests – deviously good. Only they don’t bottle it…oh well, I’ll bring the whole cask! Uh…you okay?”

I shake my head a little, trying some sorta hard reset or somethin’ before he calls 911. “You…you’ve just told me…in a song to…dream of you,” I sum it up, more for myself than anyone else, really, because his growing smirk is telling me he knows all too well what he’s said and what it means.

He shrugs, raising a challenging eyebrow. “The song’s telling you to do a lot of things, actually. I don’t remember all the lyrics, but I’m pretty sure at one point there’s something about saying nighty night and kissing and holding tight. I guess we can skip that – even though that’s my favorite bit – and you can just tell me you’ll miss me, go do the dreaming part and we can revisit the rest tomorrow after I crush that presentation.”

He says it so matter-of-factly that the million questions flooding my brain disperse into thin air this instant. He’s dead serious. He’s…deadly seriously flirting with me. With. Me.

As if reading every word of my inner dilemma, his cocky smile eases into this gentle little quirk of lips I’ve only ever seen him use…well…with me…and stands up. Taking two swift steps right into my personal space he grabs both my arms in a gentle hold and leans close enough his lips brush against my left ear. “How does that sound to your imagination?” he whispers in a tone that is probably just as innocent as Clint’s apologetic pout. Not at fucking all.

I finally manage to will my head to move and lock gazes with the engineer, his eyes more alive than I’ve ever seen them. And I have been paying special attention to them lately, alright?

I’m not the Bucky Barnes of old…he would definitely do something more than just imagine things right now. But HYDRA and all the fuckery it’s put me through be damned – the Bucky Barnes I am now is NOT out of the game yet. I still know how to play it. So I will.

Finding the courage to put one of my very own smirks on, I return the gentle hold, place my hands – flesh and metal – on his hips and lean closer to whisper as well: “I’ll miss you.”

Not at all innocent – voice or hands.

And now that I’ve said what he suggested, I’m gonna go and do what he suggested as well. So I take a few steps backwards, memorizing that partly satisfied, vulnerable and partly something-else-entirely way he’s watching me right now and turn around, walking back to the elevator.

It’s already here and opening, but I decide to give into the swirling curiosity after all. “Is that what you’ve been doing lately?” I glance back at the now openly grinning man. “Dreaming of me?”

He shrugs. “Maaaaaybeeee…? Although, lately is a bit…inaccurate, to be honest.”

Day one hundred of discovering useful Winter Soldier abilities – the ability to maintain eye contact with a stone cold, unreadable expression despite a volcano of emotions is exploding in my head. That’s right, HYDRA, I’m about to utilize seventy years worth of your training efforts not to assassinate people, but flirt with Tony Stark.

So while I leave my already wild mind deal with Tony’s revelation, I back into the elevator, watching him – and him watching me – until the doors slide shut and JARVIS automatically moves it down to my floor.

“JARVIS?”

“Yes, I have already downloaded the song to your StarkPad music library,” he answers before I can even ask.

That just goes to show how brilliant the AI is. Like father like son. But there’s one more th –

“I have also taken the liberty of including a full version of Sir’s instrumental performance of the song. There is also one where he sings along, but I wouldn’t recommend it for listening-before-sleeping purposes. But if you are ever feeling down and in need of a good laugh then it is available to you as well.”

Okay…there’s a fine line between brilliance and actual mind reading. Gotta watch out for this one.

I go through my evening routine and when I’m all clean and tucked in, I put the piano piece on repeat. The volume is gentle enough to be almost soothing and it doesn’t really take long to be lulled to sleep by it, the melody going on and on in the background until morning.

“Before you murder me, I did not eat your fruit loops!” Clint throws a disclaimer my way as soon as I enter the kitchen.

I glare at him – and Sam, Steve and Natasha too, for good measure – not believing a work of it. When I make it to the cupboard I indeed find the box of fruit loops completely empty and just left in there as evidence of the unforgivable deed.

A mocking, teasing gesture. Oh when I find who’s done it I will…nevermind. Bird brain is lucky, because this fine early morning I am in a very good mood.

So I might not have dreamt last night, not really. But the events of the evening kept replaying in my head – with the added bonus of my not so brain-dead imagination throwing in a little bit of…somethin’ to keep my mind occupied for a while, that’s for sure.

“For once, Katniss isn’t lying,” Tony materializes in the doorway, ready to storm the conference, fancy suit and all.

That fancy suit however wouldn’t stay there very long…courtesy of my imagination.

“For once? What’s that supposed to mean?!” Clint pouts, glaring at a suspiciously amused Natasha.

“How do you know he’s not lying?” I narrow my eyes at Tony, trying my usual intimidating look but god! Is that difficult to do to him. When he’s all suited-up and grinning and…what aftershave is that?! Without a doubt designed to torture me.

“Why, James, isn’t that obvious?” he beams and brings an empty bowl he’s been hiding behind his back into view. “I know, because I ate them.”

Clint chokes on air, eyes bulging out. “You’ve got a death wish?!”

“What’s going on?” Steve frowns in clear confusion, looking between the all of us.

Tony only grins more, setting the bowl on the table next to Clint. “Sharing is caring,” he shrugs, raising just one eyebrow in quite the practiced fashion.

I couldn’t agree more…but he’s not getting away that easily. “Well in that case…” I turn around and pour myself the remaining Stark Potion of Life.

The way Tony’s grin breaks and molds into absolute horror in a second as I bring the cup to my lips almost makes me burst into laughing. Him and his coffee, seriously…

I torture him but a moment longer, before offering the untouched cup to him. “Sharing is caring, huh,” I smile but narrow my eyes immediately. “Some things I’m not gonna share. Just so you know.”

He takes the cup, pouting. “Good. Me neither.”

“Speaking of sharing!” Clint ruins the moment by jumping between us, putting his hand around my shoulders, leaning close with his patented smirk of conspiracy. “I’ve heard all about Nat’s ninja dream, Steve’s weird riding on the subway dream…so, your turn!”

“You dreamt about riding on the subway? The fuck?!” Tony turns his attention to Steve, who’s still blinking between us like we’ve just erased his brain or something.

“I’ve had…you could call it a dream I suppose,” I tell Clint, leaning against the counter behind me. “I dreamt a little dream of a little someone. Well…not so little now that I think about it.”

“Eeeeyyy! Now we’re talking dirty, metal man!” Clint exclaims, hitting my metal upper-arm with his fist. “Tell me everything!”

I lock gazes with Tony, who is back to grinning like a mad man. “Not sharin’ that with you, bird brain. And what are you lookin’ at? Go, you’ve got to avenge Pluto and get back here with the beer.”

“Bossy…I’ll be off then. Behave, boys…and ninja,” he gives Natasha a courtesy bow and with a wink my way, he walks out of the room.

I can’t help but watch his retreat – studying all the curves for science purposes of course – and it seems to be the last straw for Stevie, who definitely noticed with all his confused staring.

“Did you just…never mind. I’ll be in the gym,” he shakes his head and all but runs away.

With sudden wave of clarity I didn’t think my brain would ever be capable of again, I realize it should really be me running out of the room.

I should be flinching out of Clint’s bro half-hug, I should be freaked out by yet another one of his dream questions and I should most definitely be even more freaked out by the fact that I am not.

Not flinching away, not freaking out, not running away.

A man can’t afford any of that while on a flirting mission with Tony Stark. And said flirting mission needs more…research. JARVIS will help, I think.

Looks like I’m just gonna have to wait until the evening for…the man of my dreams. And make sure I’m a man of his dreams as well and not the nightmares.

And I have plenty of incentives on my mind for that.

~The End <3

Coming Home to You

Steve was tired. It had been a long and useless mission. The lead he got reached a dead-end and now he was back to square one. He had been at this case for months. It was starting to weigh on him. Now he sat in the back of the quinjet leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling wondering what Tony was doing alone in the tower. His fiancé was probably down in the lab or out with Rhodes since his friend was in town for the past week while Steve was out. All Steve wanted right now was to wrap himself around Tony and hide them away for a week and recharge. Realistically though, he knew that was not going to happen. Still a man could dream.

 “Hey,” Nat shook his shoulder softly while giving him a soft smile, “we are at SHIELD. We just landed.”

 Steve blinked at Nat a few times before her words finally sunk in making him smile back, “took us long enough.”

“Don’t look at me,” Clint grumbled, “If I went any faster Tony would have my head and I would like to keep it at least for one more day.”

 Steve got up and punched Clint lightly in the arm teasingly. The archer smiled back before hopping off the plane. Steve looked at the exit of the plane feeling excitement. He was one step closer to his fiance. One step closer to having Tony in his arms. Damn. He needed this. Needed this so badly.

 Steve took a deep breath and got off the plane.

 The hanger was busy. Busier than usual, he noted. Men and women ran around him in a hurry to get to their destinations as if the world itself was under attack. Steve wondered for a moment if it was but he shrugged it off. The world could wait until he got home to his beloved.

 “Come, Steve,” Nat came up to him looking extremely tired. If he did not know her so well he would not have been able to tell. Nat hid behind layers upon layers of walls and to most she seemed cold, unaffected by anything but to a trained eye such as him, Steve knew better.

 “Leave the guy alone, he’s home sick,” Clint came back to them as well giving Steve a large smile. Nat just shoved Clint away teasingly before starting her journey again. This time, Steve followed and Clint was not far behind.

 They got to the conference room they were to meet Fury in and it was surprise, surprise, empty. Steve hated being forced to wait. Especially after a long mission. Maybe he should unleash Tony on them again. It might be beneficial and it was fun to watch.

 “Thank you for coming,” Coulson stepped through the door, the shock of his not death had long since faded but Steve still falters a bit when he sees him.

 “Glad to be of service,” Clint replied briskly, out of all of them he and Tony were the least forgiving. Steve understood but still, he knew Clint was so angry and bitter because he cared too much about Coulson.

“We will get this meeting done quick shall we?” Coulson asked indicating with his free hand for everyone to sit. Only Clint did not take the offer. Instead he stood by the door gripping his bow tightly. A look passed Coulson’s face but it was too quick for Steve to decipher but he could take a good guess. Still, Coulson made this decision so he has to deal with its consequences.

 “The mission ended nowhere. It was a dead end. Again. If Fury-”  and that was all Steve heard. His mind wandered as he began to think of Tony wearing his favorite outfit sitting on their bed, legs crossed, holding a cup of cranberry juice as if it were fine wine. Or Tony wearing his greased stained tank, his loose jeans and his thick leather gloves welding something onto his or War Machine’s armor. Or To-

 “-eve!” a voice broke through his thoughts making him, sadly, return to the dreary reality. Steve looked to his left and saw Nat looking at him questioningly before nodding in affirmation as if they had spoken. They had gotten to that point in their relationship where no words need to be spoken between them. It always freaked Sam and Tony out but it seemed to amuse Thor and the Hulk. As for Clint he and Nat are even worse. No one can get to their level of understanding. They have been through too much.

 “Sorry,” Steve sighed giving his fickle attention back to the meeting. Time seemed to slow the more Steve listened, regurgitating any information that he could about the failed mission. He was doing this as a favor to Fury. He was not a SHIELD agent. None of them are. Not anymore.

 A part of him wondered why they even were bothering with the debriefing. A voice laughed in the back of his mind that sounded so much like Bucky saying, spending too much time with your fiance Stevie. He’s starting to rub off on you. It’s a good look though so keep it up.  Steve smiled at that causing him to get another shove from Nat. He, again, forced himself to listen.

 By the end of it Fury left in a whirl of his coat and an angry look on his face, Coulson looked between amusement and indifference, Nat seemed about ready to murder someone and Clint...well Clint was playing with an arrow. That was never a good sign. It was time to take the kids home.

 “If that is all, Coulson, we will be going,” Nat spoke with a harsh tone of finality that Steve was so thankful for. In these moments he was so drained he could not feel like he could lead anyone anywhere but home. Damn, he needed Tony badly.

 Nat, once again thank the heavens, lead the way back to the quinjet. They all knew that Tony would kill them all slowly if they left one of his babies with SHIELD. It’s not that the organization did not have their own quinjets just that it had not had the Stark touch to it like theirs did and Steve would like to keep it that way. He had this weird sense of selfishness to keep some of Tony’s designs and handy work to themselves. Tony already gave so much. They did not need to have anymore.

 The thought of Tony was what gave Steve the energy to get himself into the quinjet and buckle up. He had sat himself to the first seat he found. He wanted to be able to get off as fast as possible. And with that they were off again to the Tower and Steve fell asleep once more.

 It was Clint who woke him this time. He was not as gentle as Nat nor as caring. He gave Steve a sly look before hopping off the plane and entered the building surely to disappear into the vents. Steve had already noted that behavior after the third time they came back from a long mission that lasted for more than three days.

 All thoughts of Clint exited his mind as Steve walked into the tower feeling the cool breeze that Tony always sets when he is alone. It was nice since they had been stuck in the tropics with humidity and heat for about two and a half weeks. Steve took a deep breath closed his eyes and let the smell and feel of home encompass him for a moment before he would go find Tony.

 He hoped it would not be a long search...and it wasn’t.

 Steve found Tony standing in the kitchen. Their kitchen. In the penthouse away from everyone else. He loved it here because this space. This floor was theirs and no one else’s. Steve stopped to take the sight he saw in as Tony swayed his hips to the loud AC/DC music, moved his head to the beat as he continued to roll what Steve figured to be the pie crust.

 His fiance was shirtless and barefoot and had not touched his hair since he last woke up because it still had the messiness of being laid on a pillow. Tony turned to and stopped mid stride when he saw Steve. It was the first time Steve took notice of Tony’s pink ‘kiss the cook’ apron Sam had bought Steve as a joke. This, Steve drank in, was what he needed. The swell of emotions began to seep into his bones and course through his veins. He never needed someone so much as he needed Tony in that moment.

 Tony seemed to get the drift as he smiled widely and happily taking a few short steps into his arms whispering into his ear as he pressed them into a hug, “I wanted it to be a surprise. JARVIS calculated that you would arrive much later than you did. How did the mission go?”

 Steve wanted to give a sassy remark but he stopped himself and instead said, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

 “That bad, huh? I should really tell Fury to not take you on wild goose chases. He has men for that,” Tony kept on babbling on about how he was going to set it all right and Steve just smiled softly and pressed his face into Tony’s hair. Tony let Steve hold him and for that he was thankful. He needed this.

 Tony instead twisted around and somehow wiggled them both to the counter so he could finish the last pie and put it in the oven to bake. It was no secret that Steve loved apple pie but ever since he tasted Tony’s cherry pie there was no going back. Steve was hooked and it made him so happy when Tony made them. He always made them in batches of four, two and a half for Steve, half for Tony and one for the team.

 So now the smell of cherry pie and the feel of Tony in his arms was all Steve wanted. Was all Steve needed. He could feel himself relax. Feel himself unwind.

Tony guided them to their couch near the window that Tony set up the day after Steve moved in, so that they could have a spot to watch the city from their floor. And Steve let Tony climb into his lap and wrap himself around him so that they both could have a good view of the city below. Steve just let his left hand hold Tony close and had his right roam Tony’s body landing in his hair as he began to slowly pet his fiance’s soft hair.

 Steve loved this. He was the happiest man in the world. He could watch the world burn and not move a muscle. He had decided that he was not moving from this spot for a long, long time.

 Not even when the Avengers alarm went off. Not even when JARVIS insisted that it was urgent. Steve ignored it all. If it the rest of the team needed them they knew where to find them but Steve knew that Nat would and could handle it.

 Instead Steve pulled Tony close and began to shower him in kisses telling him every time in between that he loved him.

 Tony answered him later that night with a whisper, “I love you.” and it make Steve so happy to hear that from a man who found it hard to confess his feelings out loud even if softly and privately.

 He was so happy to be home.  

My philosophy for a happy life | Sam Berns | TEDxMidAtlantic

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/my-philosophy-for-a-happy-life-sam-berns-tedxmidatlantic-2/

My philosophy for a happy life | Sam Berns | TEDxMidAtlantic

Translator: Bob Prottas Reviewer: Ariana Bleau Lugo hey everyone. I’m Sam, and i just turned 17. Just a few years in the past, before my freshman year in high tuition, I wanted to play snare drum within the Foxboro excessive institution Marching Band, and it used to be a dream that I just had to accomplish. But every snare drum and harness weighed about forty pounds each and every, and i’ve a disorder known as Progeria. So just to offer you an notion, I weigh simplest about 50 pounds. So, logistically, I fairly couldn’t carry a general sized snare drum, and on account that of this the band director assigned me to play pit percussion for the period of the halftime exhibit.Now pit percussion was once fun. It worried some particularly cool auxiliary percussion instruments, just like the bongos, timpani, and timbales, and cowbell. So it was enjoyable, but it surely involved no marching, and that i was once just so devastated. Nonetheless, nothing used to be going to discontinue me from enjoying snare drum with the marching band within the halftime show. So my loved ones and that i labored with an engineer to design a snare drum harness that will be lighter, and simpler for me to hold.So after steady work, we made a snare drum equipment that weighs handiest about 6 kilos. (Applause) I simply need to give you some extra know-how about Progeria. It affects simplest about 350 youngsters at present, worldwide. So it is lovely infrequent, and the effects of Progeria comprise: tight epidermis, lack of weight achieve, stunted growth, and coronary heart disease. Final 12 months my mom and her workforce of scientists released the first successful Progeria cure study, and considering the fact that of this I used to be interviewed on NPR, and John Hamilton requested me the question: "what’s the essential thing that men and women should learn about you?" And my answer used to be effectively that i’ve an awfully happy lifestyles. (Applause) So although there are lots of limitations in my lifestyles, with various them being created via Progeria, I don’t need persons to consider dangerous for me. I do not consider about these boundaries always, and i am able to overcome most of them anyway. So Im right here at present, to share with you my philosophy for a completely happy lifestyles. So, for me, there are 3 features to this philosophy. So it is a quote from the noted Ferris Bueller. The primary facet to my philosophy is that Im k with what I ultimately cant do given that there’s a lot i will be able to do.Now people many times inquire from me questions like, "Isnt it tough residing with Progeria?" or "What daily challenges of Progeria do you face?" And identity like to assert that, although i have Progeria, most of my time is spent fascinated by things that don’t have anything to do with Progeria in any respect. Now this doesnt mean that I ignore the negative features of these obstacles.After I cant do whatever like run a long distance, or go on an intense roller coaster, i do know what Im lacking out on. However as a substitute, I decide on to center of attention on the pursuits that i can do by means of things that Im , like scouting, or music, or comedian books, or any of my favorite Boston sporting activities teams. Yeah, so — (Laughter) however, repeatedly I ought to in finding an extra option to do something via making adjustments, and that i want to put these things within the "can do" category. Form of such as you saw with the drum earlier. So heres a clip with me playing Spider-Man with the Foxboro high school Marching Band at halftime a few years ago. (Video) Spider-Man theme track (Applause) thanks. All correct, all correct, so — That was once beautiful cool, and so I was capable to achieve my dream of taking part in snare drum with the marching band, as I think i can do for all of my desires.So optimistically, which you could accomplish your desires as good, with this outlook. The following facet to my philosophy is that I encompass myself with persons I wish to be with, folks of high satisfactory. Im totally lucky to have an potent family, who have invariably supported me for the period of my whole lifestyles. And Im also particularly lucky to have a particularly shut workforce of associates at school. Now were kind of goofy, a lot of us are band geeks, however we quite enjoy every others manufacturer, and we support each different out once we need to.We see every other for who we are on the inside. So this is us goofing off somewhat bit. So had been juniors in high college now, and we are able to now mentor younger band contributors, as a single collective unit. What i like about being in a group just like the band, is that the music that we make collectively, is correct, is genuine, and it supersedes Progeria. So I dont have got to fear about that when Im feeling so just right about making music. But even having made a documentary, going on tv a few instances, I suppose like Im at my best possible factor when Im with the people that surround me day-to-day.They furnish the true optimistic influences in my existence, as i’m hoping i can provide a constructive affect in theirs as well. (Applause) thanks. So the backside line here, is that i hope you respect and love your loved ones, love your buddies, for you guys, love you Bros and renowned your mentors, and your community, given that they are an extraordinarily real part of every day existence, they may be able to make a real gigantic, confident have an effect on. The third aspect to the philosophy is, preserve moving forward. Heres a quote via a person you can also comprehend, named Walt Disney, and its one in all my favourite prices. I perpetually try to have something to appear ahead to. Anything to strive for to make my existence richer. It doesnt ought to be huge. It would be some thing from looking ahead to the subsequent comedian e-book to return out, or going on a large loved ones vacation, or hanging out with my friends, to going to the next high college soccer game.Nevertheless, all of those things maintain me focused, and understand that theres a shiny future ahead, and may just get me through some intricate occasions that I is also having. Now this mentality includes staying in a ahead considering state of intellect. I try difficult not to waste vigour feeling badly for myself, since when I do, I get stuck in a paradox, the place theres no room for any happiness or another emotion. Now, its not that I ignore when Im feeling badly, I form of accept it, I let it in, so that i will be able to acknowledge it, and do what I must do to move previous it. When I was younger, I desired to be an engineer. I desired to be an inventor, who would catapult the world into a greater future. Maybe this came from my love of Legos, and the freedom of expression that I felt after I was constructing with them.And this used to be additionally derived from my family and my mentors, who constantly make me suppose whole, and just right about myself. Now today my ambitions have transformed a bit of bit, identity like to enter the discipline of Biology, perhaps mobilephone biology, or genetics, or biochemistry, or relatively whatever. This can be a friend of mine, who I appear up to, Francis Collins, the director of the NIH, and that is us at TEDMED last yr, chatting away.I suppose that it doesn’t matter what I prefer to become, I think that i can exchange the world. And as Im striving to alter the arena, I can be comfortable. About four years in the past, HBO commenced to movie a documentary about my household and me referred to as existence according to Sam. That was a gorgeous first-rate experience, but it surely was additionally four years ago. And like any person, my views on many matters have converted, and confidently matured, like my expertise career choice. Nonetheless, some things have stayed the equal for the period of that time.Like my mentality, and philosophy in the direction of lifestyles. So I want to show you a clip of my younger self from the film, that I suppose embodies that philosophy. (Video) i know more about it genetically. So its less of an embodiment now. It was once like this factor that prevents me from doing all these items, that factors different kids to die, that factors everybody to be stressed, and now its a protein that is abnormal, that weakens the constitution of cells. So, and it takes a burden off of me considering now I dont ought to believe about Progeria as an entity. K, pretty excellent, huh? (Applause) thanks. So, as one can find Ive been thinking this fashion for many years. But identification on no account quite had to practice all of these facets of my philosophy to the scan at one time, until final January.I used to be lovely unwell, I had a chest bloodless, and that i was in the medical institution for a few days, and i used to be secluded from all of the features of my life that I felt made me, me, that form of gave me my identity. But knowing that I used to be going to get higher, and watching forward to a time that i might suppose good once more, helped me to hold moving forward. And usually I had to be courageous, and it wasnt at all times handy. Many times I faltered, I had bad days, however i noticed that being courageous isnt speculated to be convenient. And for me, I suppose its the key strategy to maintain moving ahead. So, all in all, I dont waste vigor feeling bad for myself. I encompass myself with individuals that I wish to be with, and i preserve moving forward. So with this philosophy, i hope that every one of you, despite your limitations, can have an extraordinarily completely satisfied life as good. Oh, wait, hang on a 2nd, an extra piece of recommendation – (Laughter) under no circumstances omit a occasion if which you can support it. My colleges homecoming dance is day after today night time, and i shall be there.Thank you very so much. (Applause) .

My philosophy for a happy life | Sam Berns | TEDxMidAtlantic

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/my-philosophy-for-a-happy-life-sam-berns-tedxmidatlantic-2/

My philosophy for a happy life | Sam Berns | TEDxMidAtlantic

Translator: Bob Prottas Reviewer: Ariana Bleau Lugo hey everyone. I’m Sam, and i just turned 17. Just a few years in the past, before my freshman year in high tuition, I wanted to play snare drum within the Foxboro excessive institution Marching Band, and it used to be a dream that I just had to accomplish. But every snare drum and harness weighed about forty pounds each and every, and i’ve a disorder known as Progeria. So just to offer you an notion, I weigh simplest about 50 pounds. So, logistically, I fairly couldn’t carry a general sized snare drum, and on account that of this the band director assigned me to play pit percussion for the period of the halftime exhibit.Now pit percussion was once fun. It worried some particularly cool auxiliary percussion instruments, just like the bongos, timpani, and timbales, and cowbell. So it was enjoyable, but it surely involved no marching, and that i was once just so devastated. Nonetheless, nothing used to be going to discontinue me from enjoying snare drum with the marching band within the halftime show. So my loved ones and that i labored with an engineer to design a snare drum harness that will be lighter, and simpler for me to hold.So after steady work, we made a snare drum equipment that weighs handiest about 6 kilos. (Applause) I simply need to give you some extra know-how about Progeria. It affects simplest about 350 youngsters at present, worldwide. So it is lovely infrequent, and the effects of Progeria comprise: tight epidermis, lack of weight achieve, stunted growth, and coronary heart disease. Final 12 months my mom and her workforce of scientists released the first successful Progeria cure study, and considering the fact that of this I used to be interviewed on NPR, and John Hamilton requested me the question: "what’s the essential thing that men and women should learn about you?" And my answer used to be effectively that i’ve an awfully happy lifestyles. (Applause) So although there are lots of limitations in my lifestyles, with various them being created via Progeria, I don’t need persons to consider dangerous for me. I do not consider about these boundaries always, and i am able to overcome most of them anyway. So Im right here at present, to share with you my philosophy for a completely happy lifestyles. So, for me, there are 3 features to this philosophy. So it is a quote from the noted Ferris Bueller. The primary facet to my philosophy is that Im k with what I ultimately cant do given that there’s a lot i will be able to do.Now people many times inquire from me questions like, "Isnt it tough residing with Progeria?" or "What daily challenges of Progeria do you face?" And identity like to assert that, although i have Progeria, most of my time is spent fascinated by things that don’t have anything to do with Progeria in any respect. Now this doesnt mean that I ignore the negative features of these obstacles.After I cant do whatever like run a long distance, or go on an intense roller coaster, i do know what Im lacking out on. However as a substitute, I decide on to center of attention on the pursuits that i can do by means of things that Im , like scouting, or music, or comedian books, or any of my favorite Boston sporting activities teams. Yeah, so — (Laughter) however, repeatedly I ought to in finding an extra option to do something via making adjustments, and that i want to put these things within the "can do" category. Form of such as you saw with the drum earlier. So heres a clip with me playing Spider-Man with the Foxboro high school Marching Band at halftime a few years ago. (Video) Spider-Man theme track (Applause) thanks. All correct, all correct, so — That was once beautiful cool, and so I was capable to achieve my dream of taking part in snare drum with the marching band, as I think i can do for all of my desires.So optimistically, which you could accomplish your desires as good, with this outlook. The following facet to my philosophy is that I encompass myself with persons I wish to be with, folks of high satisfactory. Im totally lucky to have an potent family, who have invariably supported me for the period of my whole lifestyles. And Im also particularly lucky to have a particularly shut workforce of associates at school. Now were kind of goofy, a lot of us are band geeks, however we quite enjoy every others manufacturer, and we support each different out once we need to.We see every other for who we are on the inside. So this is us goofing off somewhat bit. So had been juniors in high college now, and we are able to now mentor younger band contributors, as a single collective unit. What i like about being in a group just like the band, is that the music that we make collectively, is correct, is genuine, and it supersedes Progeria. So I dont have got to fear about that when Im feeling so just right about making music. But even having made a documentary, going on tv a few instances, I suppose like Im at my best possible factor when Im with the people that surround me day-to-day.They furnish the true optimistic influences in my existence, as i’m hoping i can provide a constructive affect in theirs as well. (Applause) thanks. So the backside line here, is that i hope you respect and love your loved ones, love your buddies, for you guys, love you Bros and renowned your mentors, and your community, given that they are an extraordinarily real part of every day existence, they may be able to make a real gigantic, confident have an effect on. The third aspect to the philosophy is, preserve moving forward. Heres a quote via a person you can also comprehend, named Walt Disney, and its one in all my favourite prices. I perpetually try to have something to appear ahead to. Anything to strive for to make my existence richer. It doesnt ought to be huge. It would be some thing from looking ahead to the subsequent comedian e-book to return out, or going on a large loved ones vacation, or hanging out with my friends, to going to the next high college soccer game.Nevertheless, all of those things maintain me focused, and understand that theres a shiny future ahead, and may just get me through some intricate occasions that I is also having. Now this mentality includes staying in a ahead considering state of intellect. I try difficult not to waste vigour feeling badly for myself, since when I do, I get stuck in a paradox, the place theres no room for any happiness or another emotion. Now, its not that I ignore when Im feeling badly, I form of accept it, I let it in, so that i will be able to acknowledge it, and do what I must do to move previous it. When I was younger, I desired to be an engineer. I desired to be an inventor, who would catapult the world into a greater future. Maybe this came from my love of Legos, and the freedom of expression that I felt after I was constructing with them.And this used to be additionally derived from my family and my mentors, who constantly make me suppose whole, and just right about myself. Now today my ambitions have transformed a bit of bit, identity like to enter the discipline of Biology, perhaps mobilephone biology, or genetics, or biochemistry, or relatively whatever. This can be a friend of mine, who I appear up to, Francis Collins, the director of the NIH, and that is us at TEDMED last yr, chatting away.I suppose that it doesn’t matter what I prefer to become, I think that i can exchange the world. And as Im striving to alter the arena, I can be comfortable. About four years in the past, HBO commenced to movie a documentary about my household and me referred to as existence according to Sam. That was a gorgeous first-rate experience, but it surely was additionally four years ago. And like any person, my views on many matters have converted, and confidently matured, like my expertise career choice. Nonetheless, some things have stayed the equal for the period of that time.Like my mentality, and philosophy in the direction of lifestyles. So I want to show you a clip of my younger self from the film, that I suppose embodies that philosophy. (Video) i know more about it genetically. So its less of an embodiment now. It was once like this factor that prevents me from doing all these items, that factors different kids to die, that factors everybody to be stressed, and now its a protein that is abnormal, that weakens the constitution of cells. So, and it takes a burden off of me considering now I dont ought to believe about Progeria as an entity. K, pretty excellent, huh? (Applause) thanks. So, as one can find Ive been thinking this fashion for many years. But identification on no account quite had to practice all of these facets of my philosophy to the scan at one time, until final January.I used to be lovely unwell, I had a chest bloodless, and that i was in the medical institution for a few days, and i used to be secluded from all of the features of my life that I felt made me, me, that form of gave me my identity. But knowing that I used to be going to get higher, and watching forward to a time that i might suppose good once more, helped me to hold moving forward. And usually I had to be courageous, and it wasnt at all times handy. Many times I faltered, I had bad days, however i noticed that being courageous isnt speculated to be convenient. And for me, I suppose its the key strategy to maintain moving ahead. So, all in all, I dont waste vigor feeling bad for myself. I encompass myself with individuals that I wish to be with, and i preserve moving forward. So with this philosophy, i hope that every one of you, despite your limitations, can have an extraordinarily completely satisfied life as good. Oh, wait, hang on a 2nd, an extra piece of recommendation – (Laughter) under no circumstances omit a occasion if which you can support it. My colleges homecoming dance is day after today night time, and i shall be there.Thank you very so much. (Applause) .