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nightmares

pairings/characters: kaeya alberich, diluc ragnvindr, albedo kriedeprinz x gn!reader [all of them are seperate !]

warnings⚠️: skin to skin contact (hugging), nothing I can think of tbh other than that please lmk if I need to add anything !:3

synopsis: what they do when your having a nightmare

wc: 0.8k ~

note: this hc was my first version for nightmares [I posted the 2nd/harbinger version first tho bc I couldnt resist it hohoho] hence why its considerably shorter than the one with the harbingers [which you can check out here !] as always feel free to give me feedback and likes and rbs are greatly appreciated !:) <3

kaeya alberich (凱亞)

☁︎︎ hugs you until you fall back asleep.

☁︎︎ you wake up frantic one night from a nightmare that had you drenched in cold sweat, your heavy breathing loud as it echoed through the otherwise quiet room.

☁︎︎ thank god you hadn't woken him up. After the long day he had with the knights you really didn't want to disturb him from some much needed sleep he was missing out now. ☁︎︎ tearing the blanket off yourself you quickly making your way to the toilet to wash your face, trying to get rid of the memories from the nightmare.

☁︎︎ you padded back to your shared bed, tucking yourself in as quietly as you could in an attempt to go back to sleep. what you didn't expect though was to feel kaeya's hands wrap themselves around your waist, pulling you close to him.

☁︎︎ "are you alright dear?"

☁︎︎ shit. crap he woke up. you tried to turn to face him, sputtering out apologies for waking him up.

☁︎︎ though, instead of doing anything, he snuggled up against your back and pulled the blanket securely over you guys.

☁︎︎ "don't worry about me, are you… ok? do you want to talk about it?"

☁︎︎ even when he was exhausted from a day full of paperwork and teaching new knights how to fight, he somehow found the energy to try and start a conversation with you. at 2.43 in the morning no less.

☁︎︎ "of course kaeya, im ok. it was just a bad dream that's all, go back to sleep it's so late."

☁︎︎ "once im sure you're ok, only then can i sleep in peace. good night dear."

diluc ragnvindr (迪盧克)

☁︎︎ wakes you up to soothe you

☁︎︎ it's not the first time his witness someone have nightmares, (he's seen kaeya have nightmares in the past) but he doesn't think he's seen anyone with nightmares this bad

☁︎︎ he realised you were having a nightmare when you started to shift around in his arms and mumbles what sounds like a please, no, don't. please.

☁︎︎ he doesn't immediately wake you up though. he wants to make sure that you're actually having a nightmare before that (otherwise you'd be losing sleep)

☁︎︎ he confirmed that you were having a nightmare when you started kicking off the blankets and almost smacked his face with your arm.

☁︎︎ "hey… hey y/n wake up, wake up-"

☁︎︎ ah shit. you just had another one of those nightmares and you were currently drenched in cold sweat as you tried to slow your breathing, quickly realising diluc was awake and the one that had woken you up as you got more aware of your surroundings.

☁︎︎ Ah. It was probably him who woke up from the nightmare again.

☁︎︎ "it's ok y/n, I got you. you're ok." he said as he moved nearer to you, leaning his forehead against your own.

☁︎︎ you hugged him, tight, not wanting to let go of him. afraid that whatever happened in your dream might come through.

☁︎︎ "i'm not leaving ok. no ones leaving you darling, you're safe."

albedo kriedeprinz (阿貝多)

☁︎︎ he wakes you up and offers you a potion he made

☁︎︎ that day you were together with him at his campsite at the foot of dragonspine

☁︎︎ as we all know, albedo is very… observant.

☁︎︎ he noticed [almost since the start] that you had frequent nightmares; whether you were aware of it or not, he frequently saw you flinch in your sleep and let out small whines of discomfort and it pained him to see you in that state

☁︎︎ because of this, he would often time wake up in the middle of the night for you so that he could shake you out of your nightmare

☁︎︎ but he knew that wasn't efficient for the both of you so he decided (with your consent) to try and experiment a little. making concoctions in hopes that it would hopefully help with the bad dreams

☁︎︎ he had brought you along with him and klee once to the outskirts of mondstadt to go forging for some local plants and herbs

☁︎︎ you had to say that was blast, seeing the pair bond and they helped you to the best of their ability, it was so sweet of them

☁︎︎ he sat you up, walking over to his table where a vial of purple liquid reast

☁︎︎ "thank you albedo." you said after drinking the bittersweet liquid, barely above a whisper with a droopy smile on your face, showing your gratitude towards him.

☁︎︎ it wasn't long before you fell back asleep. he laid you back down on bed, pressing a kiss on your forehead and then your lips.

☁︎︎ "sweet dreams my love."

Obligatory Father’s Day fic

Title: Get Rekt With Embarrassment, Silver (no, I will not be taking CC) (yes you can shorten it to ‘get rekt silver’)

Characters: Silver, Gold, Blue; brief appearances by Lance

Word Count: 4600

Rating: idk pg-13 for language?

tw: uhhh cursing and bad dads club, threats of violence by silver but none actually happening

inspired roughly by masters but mostly because it’s a funny idea of silver sending lance a “happy father’s day” text and then it spiraled from there thanks to plot bunnelbys. please enjoy and leave your feels in the tags or rbs, thank you.

You can read on ao3 here cuz my theme is atrocious to read on desktop, I apologize

also please don’t tag this as ship wrt lance and silver or else.

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

“Are you going to text him?”

“Gold, you know about my father.”

“No, not him. I meant Lance!”

The redheaded teen gave a suspicious stare at his friend, who was mirthfully grinning at him, playing the innocent but well-intentioned fool. He knew what Gold really meant, but he decided to play along, seeing if he could get his companion to drop the conversation before it even started.

“Why.”

“Because it's Father's Day!” The redhead's face went full flush and he angrily glared at Gold, who only grinned more at his best friend, knowing that he had hit his target. “C'mon Silver! We all know that Lance has been a better father figure to you than your actual father. The guy's got total dad vibes!”

Silver gritted his teeth, his anger and embarrassment growing more with every word that Gold said. “Don't even--! I don't have a dad and that's it, Gold!” He barely held himself back from getting in his friend's face, wanting to hit him but knowing that he would regret it if he did.

Gold help up his hands in a defensive, placating manner. “Okay, okay! I get it! You don't have a dad. You came straight from an egg like Togepi and Sneasel did,” he said, laughing at his own joke.

“... Let's just get on with training today.”

The two had planned to hang out for part of the day. Gold knew that days like today brought his friend some unnecessary reminders of the past that would always haunt Silver, and he wanted to help distract his friend from the cloud of despair, at least for a little bit. Blue was going to join them later on, her understanding of Silver's feelings too good for the redhead to stop her from dropping by unannounced. Silver knew exactly what his friends were doing, and when Gold had asked him to hang out today and train, he shrugged and said, “Suit yourself.” Now he was starting to regret that decision, if Gold was going to be like this the entire time....

They had spent a few hours training. They sat down for a break, letting their Pokemon rest as well. Gold looked over at Silver, sizing him up as he tried again.

“Hey Silver! Can I borrow your phone real quick?”

Silver gave his friend another suspicious stare.

“. . . Why.”

“I wanna see something.”

“No.”

“Aw, c'mon, please? Pretty pleeeeaase? With a cheri berry on top?” Gold had clasped his hands together and bowed his head, begging pointedly.

“The answer's still no.”

Gold gave his friend a pout, and Silver shook his head, sighing a bit. But Gold was relentless in his teasing, and pushed once more.

“You know, you really should send him a text.”

“I'm not sending Lance a text!”

“But he really is a dad! It's courtesy to send your friends a 'Happy Father's Day' text if you know they're a dad.”

Silver gave Gold a skeptical look. In the time that he had spent training at the Dragon's Den in Blackthorn, he had never heard any mention of Lance having kids. Even though the man was pretty private for a public figure, he felt that the bond he shared with his mentor would have earned him some information like that. Not even Clair, who loved to share embarrassing things about her cousin with Silver, had made any mention about being an aunt, any niblings, or anything embarrassing about Lance and fatherhood.

“Oh really? Who's this kid I haven't heard about?” Silver asked, a smug look on his face. He was probably going to regret this, but he felt confident about his information.

“You!”

Silver flushed redder than a Charmeleon. He lunged after Gold, who cackled and leapt out of the way of his glaring friend who shouted at him.

“I'M GONNA PUNCH YOU!”

Silver chased after his friend for a moment, stopping only when he noticed Blue had join them for the day. He stopped and put his fist down, embarrassed that Gold had gotten a rise out of him. He turned away, glaring at where Gold had stopped to watch him, grinning at his friend.

“Don't let me stop you two from your games,” Blue said, teasing her best friend.

“I'm not playing any games...!” Silver said, gritting his teeth. He took at deep breath to calm himself like his two mentors had taught him, and turned around, putting on a smirk to mask that he had been caught acting like a fool.

“We were training.”

“Uh-huh. And part of your training involves literally kicking Gold's ass?”

“...Not literally.”

“That's not what it looked like to me,” she said, teasing her friend still in a playful greeting. Gold caught back up with the two trainers, slinging an arm around Silver's shoulders, who shrugged him off with a groan.

“Hi, Gold.” Blue exchanged a look with him, and the other teen shook his head slightly at her when Silver wasn't looking. “Have you guys taken a break yet? I brought snacks.”

“Nah. We were in the middle of one when Silver got mad at me all of a sudden,” Gold told her with a huge grin on his face, looking at Silver when he said it. “Don't know why though. All I did was ask to borrow his phone...”

“You...” Silver growled in warning, but he shook his head to rid himself of his frustration. “I wouldn't let you borrow my phone even if it meant you were dying.”

“Yeah, because we all know you would be the one using it!” Blue and Gold both laughed, and Silver's face flushed.

“Tch...”

For all their ribbing at him, Silver was grateful that he had earned himself some true friends. He had spent a lot of his life alone, with only Blue beside him as part of a childhood promise they had made. But when they got separated, he vowed to never have any friends again, the pain and ache he felt without them too much to bare. He had spent a lot of his childhood and early teen years telling himself that it was better off that he was alone, that he operated better like that, that he didn't need friends because they'd only hold him back. He didn't need anyone. Not a father, mother, any siblings or any cousins either; just himself. Even his Pokemon were tools to him, no companions in any way that he could have wanted.

But things changed when he met Gold. He kept running into this trainer who kept beating him, even though he knew his Pokemon should have been stronger because he trained them to the ground. He evolved them as soon as was possible. And Gold, who still had a Togepi, a Pichu, Pokemon that were unevolved and powerless on their own, had won against his team that he trained harder and harder each and every time this dopeyheaded trainer crossed his path. It was unfathomable to him that he could ever lose to someone who spent his time laughing and playing with his Pokemon as much as he did train them.

And then he ran into him.

Lance had thoroughly trounced his team with no effort at all. The Dragon-type trainer had given him a pitying look, as though he felt sorry for Silver and his Pokemon.

“Why...? Why? How did I lose so terribly against you?” He had been holding back tears of frustration, shaking as his emotions played with him, the defeat stinging far worse than any against the kid he kept running into. Tears slowly filled his eyes, threatening to fall once the child closed them. He couldn't cry on top of the embarrassing defeat, he just couldn't--

Lance looked at the prone Silver, who had his hands curled up into fists as he slowly beat on the ground, the frustration the child felt too much for the young adult's heart. Lance let out a long sigh, and stood in front of Silver. He knelt down to the child's level, as much as he could.

“You lost because you don't trust your Pokemon. You don't love them.”

Silver found the empty despair within himself burning up with anger. His shaking stopped. He looked up at Lance, and spat on the ground next to him.

“Tch. I lost because of a thing like love and trust? Don't mess with me! I don't need things like that.”

Lance let out a sigh. The child, a preteen, wouldn't be open to hearing an explanation, but he wanted to try anyways. If nothing else, maybe it could plant the seed that would let this kid grow into becoming a better trainer to his Pokemon, and a better human. How he had acted during their battle... To treat his Pokemon so terribly during the match, he almost wanted to stop it before the child had called out the other half of his team. How much had this kid gone through, anyways, to think like this?

“Listen carefully. If you really want to become strong, then you'll need to love and trust in your Pokemon's abilities, and they'll fight their hardest for you. It starts with treating your Pokemon with respect. They're not tools; don't run them ragged in an attempt to be better than someone. Having a rival is all well and good, but don't use it as an excuse to abuse your Pokemon. I hate that. It's things like that, that will cause a trainer to lose, no matter how much training their Pokemon undergo. Once you've established respect with them, spend time with them outside of training. Play with them. It's okay to let go and be childish every once in a while. You won't be able to establish any sort of connection or bond with them if you don't show them love and appreciation. And that bond will turn into trust.” Something it felt like the kid hadn't seen a lot of in his life. The realization pained him to think about, but there was nothing he could do about it if the child wasn't open to him.

“I don't get it....! What does any of that have to do with being the strongest Pokemon trainer there is?!”

Lance let out a half-chuckle, shaking his head. He didn't know how else to explain it to him, but... “I hope that one day you will be able to understand. Please let your Pokemon have some well-earned rest. Even with how poorly you treat them, they still made an effort, and deserve some time off. I think that you, as well, should take some time off to think about things. If you're ever near Blackthorn City, stop by the Dragon's Den. You might be able to find some answers there.”

That had been several years ago.

Silver had grown a lot since then. He had made friends, and re-connected with someone who had vowed to stay beside him. He had confronted his own father, the weak, spineless man who had abandoned him years and years ago, and while he hadn't exactly made peace with his feelings on the matter, it didn't eat him up inside to think about his old man like it used to.

That didn't exactly mean that days like today --where good-natured salesclerks brightly asked him about his plans for Father's day as part of their scripts, or tried to push a sale on him under the notion that he would be seeking a gift for or spending time with anyone who could even remotely be considered a dad-- were any easier or better than they had before. But as he watched Blue and Gold talk and laugh, as they sat around and ate the snacks that Blue brought them, it made him feel a little better to know that he had such good friends that stuck by him. Friends that trusted him, and people that he could.... rely on.

His hand reached into his pocket, absentmindedly tracing the edges of his cell phone.

“Hey, Silver?” Blue asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. He quickly pulled his hand out of his pocket, crossing his arms over his chest.

“...Yeah?”

“Can I borrow your phone real quick? I think I left mine at home and I wanna call to find it.”

Silver gave her a suspicious look. She was good at talking her way into and out of things, being sneaky while seemingly innocent. He looked over at Gold, who was busy playing with his own phone and feeding an Aipom he was training today.

“Can't you get Gold to do it?”

“Gold doesn't have my number saved and I don't remember it.” She gave him a plaintive, sad look.

“You don't-- What do you mean you don't remember your number!?”

She shrugged, looking at him sadly and innocently.

“Grrr....”

“Pleaaaaase? Pretty pleaaaase? It's just to call it!”

Silver had a feeling he was going to regret this. “...Fine.” He jammed his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone, shoving it at Blue. “Take it. Just don't do anything to it, and definitely do not give it to Gold.”

“Aye-aye!”

He rolled his eyes and turned towards his Pokemon, remembering Lance's words about raising them. He had learned how to love and care for them, from his time watching Gold in order to figure out what exactly made the trainer stronger than him, back when they were still kids. Now they were older, practically young adults, and he wondered what he would have thought of himself back then, if he saw who he had become now. No doubt he'd call himself another bleeding heart like he did Lance that one time... But his Pokemon were happier than they had ever been; his Golbat had evolved into a Crobat once he had learned how to change himself and his attitude towards his Pokemon. He had gone to the Dragon's Den a reviled child, but now he was considered respectable among his peers there. Even Clair had remarked on his change, and it was hard to get some good praise out of the easily jealous, haughty lady.

Blue nudged his phone back at him.

“Thanks! I found it! Turns out it was on vibrate in my bag the entire time!” She laughed at her foolish mistake, waving her phone in her hand.

“...You're welcome.”

“Oh cheer up! You did a good deed today! You helped an absolute damsel in distress.”

He rolled his eyes, and was about to speak, but a text notification on his phone went off, nearly startling him. He gave Blue and Gold a suspicious glare, but they only grinned at him.

“Oh? Wonder who that's from; Gold and I are already here, so I'm not sure who else would be texting you...”

“Shove off.” Based off his friends' grins, Silver had an idea of what had happened. He shoved the phone in his pocket without looking at it, turning away from his friends who were waiting expectantly for the chain of events that were about to happen. “It's probably some spam mail or something.”

“You didn't even look at it!”

“I don't need to look at it to know that it's spam!” he yelled. “You two are right here, as you said! Leave me alone!”

The two other trainers exchanged looks, and Blue sighed. “Fine, fine. So what have you guys been up to?”

Gold and Silver explained to Blue what they had been working on as far as training went, and Blue offered to join in. The two boys weren't about to turn her down, so the training regimen for that day was adjusted to allow for a third person, including a three-way battle amongst the trio. Curiosity had itched at Silver's mind. He had managed to put the text out of his mind by focusing on training, but now that they were having another break, their Pokemon cooling off in the nearby river, Silver couldn't help but wonder exactly what it was. He wasn't signed up for any text messaging offers like Blue was, and he didn't give his number out to just anyone, like Gold did. Silver looked over at his friends, who were busy chatting and dipping their feet into the cool riverbank.

Hmph. They sure are spending a lot of time talking to each other today, he thought with mild bitterness. He chided himself before the selfish, jealous thoughts could spiral, and looked at them once more. They were distracted enough that maybe... Maybe he could sneak a glance at the mystery message.

Silver slowly pulled out his phone, looking around quickly to make sure no one else was nearby. The teen took a deep breath, turned on his lock screen, and took at look at the name on the message preview.

Lance.

He immediately threw down his hand holding his phone, the screen turning back off. His face flushed immediately as he looked over at his friends, knowing exactly what had happened.

“Ho-oh damn these people with its Sacred Fire...” Silver muttered under his breath, trying to calm himself down. It could have been a coincidence, but he didn't believe in things like that. Okay. Fine. What did they send him?

He took a deep breath, and looked at his messages.

<<< Happy Father's Day

That's it. That's all they sent. He breathed a sigh of relief that it had been something simple, nothing big, silly, or extremely out of character for him to send; only to seize up once he realized what the implications were, since he was still very certain that Lance had no kids of his own, biological or otherwise. In a mixture of frenzy and fear, he looked at Lance's reply, worried that the Champion had questioned the message at all, or said something equally as embarrassing as the sheer fact that his friends sent this message at all. Silver's thoughts were rapidly trying to figure out how to escape any exchanges that could have happened, as he looked at Lance's response.

>>> Awe, thanks Silver. :-]

Silver stood there, stunned into confusion as his face flushed. He just.... accepted it? Didn't question it? Didn't press for more? There was no comment on if it was in relation to the implications of Silver sending it. There were a lot of people among the Dragon Clan who swore that the mentor-mentee relationship had evolved into one more familial, of a father and son, and he didn't seem phased at all by them being proven right, had the text been truly sent by him? But more importantly....

<<< What the fuck is :-]

Was that... supposed to be an emoji? A clown? Did it even mean anything? Silver was too embarrassed by the entire thing to even remember to deny any implications that the message could have given Lance, or any that the Champion could have inferred...

His phone's text notification went off almost immediately, and it startled the redhead out of his confusion as he quickly looked up to see if Gold or Blue had noticed what he was doing. He didn't see them by the riverbank anymore, or anywhere nearby, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Well... Whatever.” He looked at his phone again. An arm was suddenly swung over his shoulder, as Gold leaned against him, chin resting on his friend's shoulder.

“Soooooooooo, who was that message from?” Gold asked loudly, peering at the phone with the biggest grin on his face.

Silver scowled and tried to shove him away. “None of your business!”

But Gold held on as Silver struggled to push his friend away. In the process, Silver's phone dropped. Before the redhead could retrieve it, a purple flash ran by, swiping the phone in the process. Gold's Aipom had the phone gripped in the hand on its tail, waving it around playfully before passing it over to its trainer. Gold quickly unlocked the phone and read the message aloud.

“Awww, he said thanks! Aren't you lucky to have such a good dad in your life? He didn't even question it! It's almost like he knows.....”

“GOLD...”

Blue was standing by Gold, and read over the younger trainer's shoulder, before looking at Silver with a mock gasp. “Silver! You really use that language with him?”

“That's none of your concern!”

“Eh, I'm not surprised,” Gold said, as though Silver weren't right in front of them. “Though I'm surprised Lance didn't tell him something like to mind his language or anything. He seems like the kind of dad who would frown on cursing. What is that thing he put anyways? Oh, he replied! Let's see....... 'A smiley face'. What is he, fifty? Use an emoji like the rest of us. Or call it that...”

There was a pause. A devious smile crept onto Gold's face. “I'm gonna reply!”

“DON'T YOU DARE.”

“D...A....D, That's dad....  space... P...L...S..... please. There, sent!” He tossed Silver's phone back to him, darting away from Silver before he could lunge at him.

“I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!” Silver growled at Gold, who was busy laughing his ass off. Blue wasn't helping, as she was trying to stifle her own giggles. This was great. Just great. He loved his friends, but sometimes.... Sometimes he regretted being friends with them. This was one of those times.

“You--”

There was another text notification. Silver snarled at them, then quickly looked at the message to see what kind of damage had been done.

>>> Did you just type dad?

Hastily, Silver replied back, his face hot from embarrassment and ignoring his friends' teasing laughter, asking him to read Lance's response out loud.

<<< NO. MY PHONE AUTOCORRECTED

<<< YOU'RE NOT MY DAD

<<< I DON'T HAVE A DAD I WAS JUST BEING NICE

For some reason, he didn't have the heart to tell him that Gold and Blue had gotten a hold of his phone and sent those messages. As easier as it would have been to explain it, his flustered feelings had gotten in the way, and he found himself responding in a panic before he could even think about his responses. Silver's own panic had given a response to Lance that was possibly worse than telling him that his friends were pranking him and not Lance,which would have meant that there were no good feelings in the messages at all. He could have at least spared him that had he just been more honest and upfront about his feelings, but his own denial made it difficult to even see that he cared about what the older trainer had thought of him until it was too late.

Silver groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. “Arceus end me, please.”

He ignored his friends, shrugging them off when they gave him apologies for the teasing, asking what he had furiously texted back. Silver showed them, embarrassed, head hung as they read.

“You guys couldn't just leave well enough alone, could you?” Silver snapped. He shook his head, realizing that was harsh. He knew they actually meant well, despite all of their teasing. They really were just trying to get him to open up and see that he had at least one potential paternal figure in his life that cared about him, that he could have had given the barest recognition to. Another groan escaped from Silver and he crouched down, embarrassed and ashamed of all the hard work that he had done thanks to Lance, resulting in this rejection of him. “...He's going to hate me now.”

“I don't know... He didn't seem to hate you when you met; actually, I remember him being concerned about you during the shutdown of the Mahogany hideout,” Gold said, trying to be helpful.

“Gold's right! He's helped you grow and change your life around so much! I think Lance knows you better than that. You're pretty tsundere after all.”

“Ugh. I hate it when you guys call me that.”

“Well, maybe you should stop being one!”

“Nah, if he did that, I don't think he'd be Silver!”

There wasn't a very long wait to find out, as Silver's phone now began to ring in his hands.

All three of them looked at the caller id at once.

“Oh.”

“Should I answer it?”

“What do you mean should you answer it. Do you really think he's going to just give up if you don't answer him? He knows that you're looking at your phone right now!!”

“I don't know! I've never had this issue until you guys made it a thing.”

“Hey, don't look at me! I told Gold it was a bad idea.”

“You still took part!”

“Guys...” Silver sighed loudly, trying to quiet down the squabbling. “I'm answering it.” The other two immediately shut up.

“Hey.” His voice was unsteady as he tried to play it cool, like his usual, detached self. The other two listened intently, trying to hear how the conversation was going. Silver turned away from them, going a few paces away.

“Y-yeah.... Sorry about that. ….Mhmm.... Yes... No, not like that! It's just...” There was a sigh and the other two trainers leaned in, straining their ears to hear as Silver walked away further from them. Blue pouted. Gold threw his hands behind the back of his head.

“Think we might'a pushed it a little too hard?” he asked Blue.

“Mmm.... Maybe? It's not good for him to pretend like he doesn't feel some sort of way towards his mentor. Lance really has been the father figure that Silv's lacked in his life. And I felt a little guilty for awhile that I got my parents back while he still... but the few times I've seen him with Lance, it's like... he actually has a parent for once? Even if Silver hates to admit it, he doesn't wanna let Lance down. He wants to surpass him, sure, but...” She frowned, looking at the silhouette of Silver in the distance. “He's probably wanted a better dad than what he had, and now that he has someone who could fit that bill,  he... doesn't think he's good enough for that? I don't know how to explain it. I just know he needed a push in the right direction and I'm pretty sure that Lance isn't gonna sign some adoption papers unless Silver wanted it. And,” she gestured in Silver's direction. “We all know how that would go if we don't.”

“Yeah, that sounds 'bout right for him. Well, maybe one day he'll feel okay. Maybe next year he might actually send him a text without us saying anything!”

Blue laughed. “Wouldn't that be nice? 'Hey Silver, did you remember to text your dad this year'?”

“ 'Yeah, I did, and he said I was a good son'--” Gold broke off, snorting in laughter. “Okay, okay. He probably wouldn't say that. But maybe we could try again next year. Who knows? Maybe by the time we're thirty, they'll have adoption papers.”

“Pffffft.”

The two broke off their chatter when they saw Silver heading back towards them. They watched as he approached, his expression surprisingly calmer than it had been the entire time they had spent together. He looked... relieved?

“Okay... Yeah. ….... Bye.” Silver put his phone away as he walked back towards his friends, the smug expression they were used to back on the redhead's face.

“What happened?”

“What'd Lance say?”

“...Heh. You two are in sooooo much trouble.”

just randomly, the Cuisance part (…)

[video voice-over guy (VOG): The comings and goings are finished, rien ne va plus - many might say: finally! Because this business of transfers is getting more and more complicated. F. Bobic: „This market is just dictated by some crazy dynamics.“ KH Rummenigge: „The whole of football exploded in the past ten years.“ R. Schröder: „It’s true that many transfers didn’t work out due to the rising fees“. VOG: A complicated business, apparently, though it sounds so simple. KHR: „Every transfer is a business between three parties: releasing club, new club and player.“ VOG: But three parties are often three too many. Everybody’s got their own interests and will often push them through relentlessly. See Leipzig a few weeks ago. Timo Werner entering his last year of contract, a situation that RB wants to avoid at all costs. R. Rangnick: „This scenario that Timo Werner transfers in 2020 on a free contract simply doesn’t exist, this option doesn’t exist. Timo knows that, his agent knows that as well.“ Extend the contract or leave generating a big sum, that’s the clear message. The player turns into a commodity, valid contract or not. But fair play and integrity have become foreign concepts for many players as well. For example Mönchengladbach, for example Mikael Cuisance. The talented midfielder provoked his departure for Bayern Munich in very bad style. M. Rose: „I think he showed some manners of conduct that he won’t show at his new employer’s. And that’s just the point. He can’t do that here either!“ Profits and self-interest dictate the business while at the same time identification and loyalty are more and more pushed to the background.]

Wontorra: „Christoph! What were the wildest rumours you heard or read about yourself?“ Kramer: „Well, it’s been quite some time. I once used to be in high demand on the Italian market, for whatever reason.“ Wontorra: „After the 2014 world cup.“ Kramer: „Exactly. But only ever on the Italian market. Apparently I seem to be one for Italy.“ (grins) Wontorra: „That’s weird, isn’t it?“ Kramer: „Yes, I don’t know why either. But those were the rumours.“ Wontorra: „And which club went after you?“ Kramer: „Napoli and Inter.“ Wontorra: „Why didn’t you go?“ Kramer: „Well. I feel very at home in the Bundesliga, close to my friends and family, I found my football-love in Borussia Mönchengladbach. I was away once at Leverkusen, so I know what it feels like somewhere else… but I don’t need the big wide world of football to be happy as a player.“ Wontorra: „But when you hear or read about these numbers, or your agent tells you about them, this club is willing to pay this transfer fee, how do you react as a player? Do you get numb to it at some point, when there’s the fifth offer of millions? Or does it even create a certain kind of pressure?“ Kramer: „It was never that extreme with me, so I can’t really say much about that. But it’s a bit surreal, isn’t it, when you - or I, in my case, know that Gladbach paid 15 Million for me… Though in today’s football, to be honest, I can’t say I think much about it, because it’s something that’s become normal in a way, unfortunately, or fortunately, whichever way you look at it. Anyway it’s not put any pressure on me. Of course it’s an issue where I feel (literally he says „grabbed by my honour“), aware that they spent so much money on me, so of course I want to do them justice until the very end, and I’m extremely grateful for the chance and the fact that they spent so much money, obviously you want to pay it back in the best possible way. Even if it doesn’t all work out every time, but I will until my last footballing breath, try my best to show my gratitude and pay back this trust.“ Wontorra: „You were at your time Borussia’s most expensive transfer at 15 Million, as you said. To what extend do you even have to try and actively ignore that fact and forget about this number?“ Kramer: „Well, at the time, I think I even said that back then, with my second competitive game we qualified for the Champions League, which earned [Borussia Mönchengladbach] 25 Million Euros, so I was relieved of the pressure of accounting.“ Wontorra: „But it’s got to make you think, doesn’t it? At a point where the sums just get surreal from the fans’ point of view. When they’re just beyond them? Do you think there’s a danger of the fans turning their back on football as a consequence?“ Kramer: „Yes. To be honest, there’s also a little bit the problem that the normal fan, the kind we as footballers so appreciate and love because their support makes us put a bit of extra horse power on the street (I’m just translating literally now what he says) because, well, you just do it for them, because you love it when they sing and show their emotions, and when I see two kids standing there wearing Kramer jerseys my heart just leaps, seriously, but to be honest I’m not sure if Paris St. Germain actually want to keep these fans or if they say „well, when you’re gone we can build some beautiful [VIP] boxes in that place, that will make us much more money and we definitely know they’ll be filled because some corporations will buy [the boxes], so for Paris St. Germain it might be more lucrative to be rid of that *normal* fan, which would be a huge shame, obviously, but I do think that’s how big clubs like Paris in this example work/function.“ Wontorra: „There was a TV show once, I’m not sure if you’re [too young to know it], by Jürgen von der Lippe, „Geld oder Liebe“ („Money or Love?“). So what about you? Which of the two would you prioritize in a transfer, identifying with a club? Kramer: “It’s a difficult question and to be honest I’ve thought much about it. Because of course now I come from a place where I’m very comfortable, I’m doing very well (literally he says „I’ve got my lambs sheltered from the rain“, meaning no worries about money issues) so it’s easy for me to talk. I should have been asked that question when I was 19 or 20 and I don’t know what my answer would have been then. Now I will definitely go for love, no hesitation - that sounds so romantic doesn’t it! (smiles, Wontorra laughs. It definitely sounds more romantic in German, lol) - because you get to a point, just speaking for myself here, where money can’t be the deciding factor. It, well, it may have been, at some point, when you first enter the business, you do want to make a lot of money and money’s a big incentive, but it’s definitely not my priority now. Because, and please don’t get me wrong, this sounds incredibly arrogant, but it really doesn’t matter, does it, whether you earn 4, 7, 8 or 12 million Euros? It doesn’t to me anyway.” Wontorra (speaking over Chris’ last words, so I don’t understand which name he says): „(?) used to say „I can’t eat more than one steak a day!““ Kramer: „Exactly. That’s just how it is. It’s a fine line and I’m well aware that it’s just above a certain level: when my dad gets an offer from a different bank and they’re willing to pay him twice his previous salary he��s got to do it. Money has to be a deciding factor in that case. But not when a different club offers to pay me twice as much, it can’t be then. Because I know and appreciate what I’ve got here (not money-related) and also know that I won’t have that anywhere else, so in short if you ask me the „money or love?“ question in my current life situation, love is definitely more important than money.“ Wontorra: „Is that something you decide by yourself? Or who do you ask/discuss it with?“ Kramer: „For the most part I decide by myself. Of course I talk to my parents and my close friends, I have many people that I’m in close contact with and talk to about stuff like this, but generally it’s an issue where I have to make my own decisions.“ Wontorra: „So give us some insight, inside-Bundesliga style! How do deals, I’ll just say deals, negotiations like that, how do they go down, usually? Does the agent come to you and show you the offer, will you first talk to the club yourself, to the coach or the manager? What’s the order?“ Kramer: „For me it’s very important to not go via third parties. If I decide I want to do this or that, I will talk directly to the people it concerns and not to my agent, or even have him do the talking. Because I want to speak for myself and because I *can* speak for myself. And that shouldn’t be handled by a third party, that just tastes of a lack of trust.“ (Can you say that?) Wontorra: „So put yourself in the shoes of a manager, or a sporting director. Of Max Eberl. We’ll do a quick questions round. Just very quickly, three questions. If I were a manager with an unlimited budget, which player would I get?“ Kramer: „Well, Messi!“ (He says that as if it’s obvious) Wontorra: „Still Messi, even now?“ Kramer: „Still Messi, even now.“ Wontorra: „Not Neymar, or Coutinho, or…?“ Kramer: „Nono, Messi. He seems like a reasonable guy as well, not knowing him at all, obviously. So, yeah. I’d get Messi.“ Wontorra: „Which coach would I sign?“ Kramer: „Ha, I can’t say anything else now, can I, I have to say we’ve got the right one. And I will say that willingly, because I really think highly of him. I’ll just think of an alternative… I think Conte’s great! I really like Conte, his style of play.“ Wontorra: „Though you only know his style of play, not what he’s like as a person, obviously.“ Kramer: „Yes. And for that reason I won’t take this risk. Because we’re doing really well with our current coach,“ Wontorra: „Which player would I stay away from?“ Kramer: „Hm. I wouldn’t want Neymar.“ Wontorra: „Why?“ Kramer: „Because of what I said earlier. He’d definitely be an asset in many regards, but the way he’s been acting, well, it’s just my personal opinion, it’s been a bit… not cool.“ Wontorra: „Alright. And with that we’re back to this Business of Millions that is football. And maybe the question what worth morals and honour still have in a business like this. What do you think? Have things, well, shifted?“ Kramer: „Those are two big words, aren’t they? Things have definitely shifted. I do think though you mustn’t consider it purely an issue of the players. I think it’s just a question of who has more leverage, and it’s not fair to just put it on the players, in my opinion. So, alright, take Neymar. He really wants to leave, he’s bigger than the club. So taking some not-so-cool measures he’ll achieve his goal by „striking himself away“. But when a club, which usually happens below the radar, and which is also one reason why I’m so happy to play here, because that doesn’t happen here, but you often hear about it, when a club wants to get rid of a player and the club has more leverage, they have their ways which are often not publicly known, like "training group two” (?) and just certain measures so the player will know they’re no longer wanted. That’s a scenario that’s really not nice for the player, so I can only ask everybody to - I’m fully aware this is naive, there’s so much money involved and, well, it’s just today’s society, isn’t it? Morals and honour just aren’t anybody’s chief motivation anymore, are they, including myself, including everybody, but I do think the way things currently are I feel - the party that’s got more leverage is always „the asshole“ („in Anfürungsstrichen“), leaving the other one out to starve (?). But I think with proper communication, most of all honesty right from the beginning, so much of this could be avoided. If Neymar says „I want to leave here“, that’s completely fine, that’s okay, when they in turn get to say „you can go, but we want something out of it as well.“ and there’ll be some ground to find an agreement, surely. But the fact there’s always all this mud-slinging nowadays, I just really don’t like that. I think so much of this could be prevented with a clear and most of all honest communication between the involved parties. And also it can’t always be the club saying „this player has a contract, he can’t leave“ but in turn, say to other players  „well, get lost.“ It’s also got to be „this player has a contract, we’ll look after him“ (he puts it differently. The gist is, the contract also means an obligation not just from the player to the club but also from the club towards the player). Wontorra: „Borussia had a similar case recently with Cuisance. He demanded a Stammplatzgarantie (a guarantee that he’ll always be in the starting line-up) which couldn’t be granted. So he started all kinds of shenanigans, demonstratively training with untied shoes among other things that happened, which the coach admonished him for even when he left. What’s your take on the whole thing, as a teammate?“ Kramer: „Well, we talked to Mika about that quite a bit as well, that certain things are, well, just not on. You can be unsatisfied, you have to be unsatisfied, even, as a very ambitious player, maybe you have to be impatient and also -“ Wontorra: „You’re allowed to be emotional as well, the guy’s only twenty years old!“ Kramer: „Yes, definitely. You can make a positive as well as a negative argument of it. You could say as a positive, wow, he’s ambitious, he wants to be a regular starter and excel and take on responsibility and help the team, those are all good traits to begin with. Still on the other hand it’s also a question of how you go about it. You don’t go about it by making demands and then not tying your shoes to show how unhappy you are. You’re allowed to be unhappy and also show it, but, in my opinion, not like that and not over a long period because it’s just not fair towards the group.“ Wontorra: „You mean it’s about team hygiene in a way.“ Kramer: „Yes, this. It’s an unpleasant situation for all players in the squad. You need to try and solve it internally (reach an agreement) and if you can’t… it’s just really shitty. It’s just *not done*, just like when I didn’t play last season, if I had just not put on my shoes properly anymore and kicked the ball away every time it got near me. It’s just a question of respect for the team, simple as that. - But it’s also something he will learn! He’s only 19, or 20 years old. He was elected player of the season, many things came together… still, just, in this instance, the way he went about it was not acceptable, and not (literally: „the English gentlemanly way“) but it’s not like he’s generally a bad person, at all.“ Wontorra: „So how does it work, does the players’ council approach him, or the team captain, and does the player get a stern talking-to or do you just say, here Mika, some advice?“ Kramer: „You can only try and advise him. I was his age once. I was very ambitious and when I didn’t get to play for one game it seemed like the world caved in. I may have reacted differently in training, but on the other hand I never had this luxury problem of the option of a transfer to Bayern Munich. If I’d had an offer from Bayern Munich back then, that would have been quite the bargaining chip („Druckmittel“, leverage?) and I don’t know how I would have handled it. Because when you’re young, and that is something I do know (have experience with), you sometimes make certain statements or decisions even over a longer period of time that are just not good or correct and the people around you think ‚Just what is wrong with you?!‘ We have to consider he’s only 20, he has enormous potential and he’s got an offer from Bayern Munich. I don’t really want to defend him because, bottom line, it was just completely inappropriate, and I do think looking back in five years he’ll say „oh that was really quite shitty from me“, but none of us can change anything now.“ Wontorra: „So who is the one that says „Mika, we have to talk!“?“ Kramer: „Oh right, that was your question, wasn’t it? Sorry. Lars made-„ Wontorra: „Stindl“ Kramer: „Lars Stindl, yes, as our captain, did that a few times, we also tried to talk to him in a group but well, anyway. That’s all standard operating procedure in football. It’s not like it’s a secret that you might go, „Come on my guy, how about tying your shoes?” (…)

Mistaken Chapter Six

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Word Count: 2721 (this actually comprises chapters 7 and 8 on Ao3)

THERE ARE NO ENDGAME SPOILERS, THIS IS A DELAYED UPLOAD FROM AO3

Fic Summary: Peter Parker has been given the responsibility of bringing in a new recruit. Now, as an adult, he realizes that none of the trashy YA novels he read in high school could have prepared him for this. There was a storm on the horizon, and all they could do from the Tower is watch.

Chapter Summary: it... it is a thing. Good luck friends lol

Warnings: smut and language and that’s probably it. mentions of death and gun violence probably, it’s been a while since I wrote this

Chapter One   Chapter Two   Chapter Three   Chapter Four   Chapter Five

We sat, assessing one another and picking at our plates of food, more for something to do with our hands, as opposed to nothing at all. In those moments I could just read in his body language the fact that he had put two and two together and remembered why I looked so familiar. He had been responsible for training my sister when she failed on missions, whereas I had never had to face the wrath of the Winter Soldier and his handlers. For a year or so after we escaped, my sister and I saw his face in every passing stranger, terrified Hydra was coming back to reclaim us.

Because to Hydra, we weren’t members of a team, as they had initially led my sister and I to believe. We were their property, attack dogs trained to be set loose every once in a while. Caged, every other time. I let my fork clatter to the table before folding my fingers underneath my chin to support my head as I stared at the man across from me.

Barnes followed suit, pushing his plate away and leaning back in his chair. His ice blue eyes flashed to mine before he took a sharp breath in and out and then spoke for the first time since he’d walked through my door just under an hour ago.

“So, were you sent here to bring me in? Wanda doesn’t seem to think so but I’ve known Hydra for a few more decades than she has, so I’m warier.” Simple and to the point. Disciplined even, to any onlookers there might have been. But, as a fellow survivor of Hydra saw all his tells, the brightness of his eyes, the clenched teeth and slightly hunched shoulders. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he wasn’t fully seated either, prepared to spring up at any moment, despite his look of nonchalance.

“You should trust Wanda more. No, soldat, I didn’t come to bring you in. You know,” I said, chuckling drily, “I thought this conversation was going to happen years ago but in reverse. Did no one from Hydra come looking for us? Before they went under? Or were Nadia and I just new playthings for you and yours?” I asked, ice coating my harsh tone.

Bucky flinched at my use of Russian and again at the name of my sister. So he did remember us. Somehow, that didn’t make me feel any better about his presence here.

“Our superiors were… rather distracted by certain developments and felt that you all would return to your homes. I guess their arrogance finally got the better of them in that regard. And then, with the new threat of Thor, Steve and Tony and the convergence of the Avengers on the world scale, they more than likely shoved your files deep down. Though I’d imagine your recent resurfacing has been noted by rogue Hydra factions that are still operating around the globe.”

A solid enough explanation for why no one had come for Nadia and I. Another thing I had to thank the Avengers for, I supposed. “So, what happens now? Wanda has seen all she needed to see to support me. Where will the others fall in line?”

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, leaning forward so his elbows rested on the table. “Steve believes Wanda and is willing to work with you. Same goes for Natasha and Clint and the Maximoffs. Tony… well, he may get over this sooner than he did before but I wouldn’t count on it. We still haven’t figured our shit out, though I was the one who killed his parents in person. But I didn’t do it in my right mind. That’s the difference between the two of us I suppose.”

I laughed, darkly at first before it rapidly became hysterical, but I managed to keep a handle on the powers inside of me. “You really think I was in my right mind Barnes? After years of the torture and abuse I suffered at the hands of my parents to then be rescued and groomed by an evil organization when I was barely twelve? Not even close. But by the time I realized what Hydra really was, it was too late. They weren’t letting us go, not without exacting a terrible price.”

Barnes sighed and looked back at me, eyes softening almost imperceptibly. “You did come here willingly. And you show no ill intent, despite your obvious penchant for self-destructive tendencies.” I couldn’t exactly disagree. “I think you’ll find that you’ll fit right in with this merry little band of superpowered misfits. We’re all a little broken here.”

Nodding, I pushed back my chair and stood up, grabbing my plate to dump its contents into the trash can when Barnes spoke again. “You’re not on lockdown anymore. I would advise against leaving the Tower, but this is your home now. Not a prison. And we’d like for you to treat it that way. Just… maybe avoid tony for a little while.”

Yeah, easy enough when you live a few doors away from the guy. But, Barnes did have a point. He stood and moved to the door and wished me goodnight before slipping through the door without a backward glance.

I tossed and turned that night, but not due to overwhelming nightmares, which was a welcome change of pace. No, my skin itched and my brain raced, looking for something to hold on to, looking for any sort of distraction. My body begged me to take action, to do something. After days of being laid up, even just a simple jog sounded like it would hit the spot for my restless limbs.

I gave in at around two in the morning, throwing on my leggings, slick work out short and tennis shoes before pulling my hair back. Then I was out the door and down to the rec level of the Tower, which was like a carnival for enhanced people.

For the first hour, I thought I was alone as I ran a few miles, lifted so small-ish weights and completed over a hundred sit-ups, which isn’t a lot, but it wasn’t half bad for a warm up. It wasn’t until I was shadow boxing that I realized I wasn’t alone. I felt a rapturous presence behind me and to the left. So I spun quickly and jabbed at the face of the intruder, only to punch… two feet?

“Hey, don’t you know it’s rude to touch someone else’s feet without consent. Could sue you for harassing me, you know.”

Parker. Spidey, it seemed, had decided to literally hang out behind me, upside down, suspended from the ceiling. “What do you want Buggy?” I asked as if nothing had transpired between us over the past few, very eventful dates.

“Sometimes I just hang around here at night. Calms me down, plus the ceilings are high enough that I can practice some more… out of the box acrobatics without embarrassing myself and ending up on the front page of the Daily Bugle again. You know how they are.” I did actually. Their constant tirade against Spider-Man was one of the few things that actually made me laugh out loud.

But I totally understood the need for peace and quiet and to kind of get rid of the riff-raff. So I smiled brightly and asked Buggy if he could show me how exactly he managed to get that tensile strength in the material he used for his webs.

To say Peter was like a toddler around science would be an understatement. But it made us both happy. So we went, the past firmly behind us.

Peter and I spent the rest of the night in the labs. Mostly, it was just Peter demonstrating how each of his projects worked, like the changes he was making to his web formula and improvements he was making to his suit to change the way he could interface with his A.I. Karen.

Sometime later, as the sun was sluggishly rising, FRIDAY gently (for an AI) reminded Peter and me that now would be the only time to shower, eat and dress before training commenced for the day. At the reminder, Peter simply grimaced, and I returned the expression. What was waiting for me down on the common floor couldn’t possibly be good. Peter pushed down the sleeves of his sweatshirt nervously and gestured for me to follow him as he stepped into the elevator.

Down on the common floor, everyone was nursing their own cup of coffee, steam billowing into their faces. Well, everyone except Thor. He had a beer stein full of chocolate milk that he nearly chugged as he giddily bounced up and down in his seat, the godly equivalent of a toddler and golden retriever wrapped in one muscly package of happiness and positivity.

Without a word, Pietro handed Peter and I both our own coffees. Mine was an iced cold brew. Some deep, nearly dead part of me was touched that he remembered my disdain for hot, weak drinks. He winked at me as he turned back to return to his spot next to the fridge, but not before swiping another donut from the breakfast bar. Something must have happened before Peter and I arrived because Clint and Sam both glared daggers at Pietro.

“So...” I began, “we going to talk about the elephant in the room or ignite it until we hit the training rooms and punch it out?”

Steve and Wanda looked up sharply from the food in front of them, taking not so sneaky glances at the others. Tony was gripping his coffee mug so hard, if he’d been anyone else in the room, it would have shattered. Sam just looked weary and Bucky... he was leaning up against the sink, arms crossed over his chest. He almost looked disappointed.

“Punching it out seems to be the winner. If you have a problem with me or need questions answered, you know how to get them. Beyond that, I’m not leaving so don’t even try.” I began choking up out of nowhere. “I’m not letting those bastards take another home from me. You all have always been nothing but kind and I treated that kindness with deception and indifference. But I’m going to blame that on the whole, kindness being a completely new experience for me. Obviously, I mean everyone here no harm...” I petered off, not knowing what to say to get my feelings across. I looked around, lost, capturing the gazes of Pietro and Bucky, who both just nodded back at me.

Bucky pushed off of the counter and approached me, laying a hand on my shoulder. “Kaida is no more Hydra than I am. If you trust in me, be open to trusting her. We’ve all... made mistakes.”

Yeah, that’s one way to put it.

Even Thor looked uncomfortable at this point and Tony was just straight up heading for the elevator without a backward glance. Bruce trailed after him, shrugging apologetically. Seconds that felt like hours passed and finally, the elevator began to descend to the lab floors.

“Alright team, move out. We have work to do,” Steve said in his most Captain-y voice. And damn if it wasn’t kind of hot. I wasn’t the only one who thought so. I could tell just from the shift from light blue to icy gray in Bucky’s eyes that he was going to be pulling Rogers into his room later. Or sooner, depending on how tight his shirt was today

Hours and buckets of sweat later and the whole team broke for lunch. As expected, no one took me up on my offer but we still weren’t pre-incident buddies anymore. Bucky and Pietro seemed most inclined to stick by my side while Wanda was off with Vision. Peter gave me these weird agonizing glances from across the main training floor the whole time. The kid was weird. Who knows what he got up to in his own brain.

Anyways, I knew what I had to do as soon as I stepped on to the elevator, moments after everyone else left to the cafeteria area. There was a confrontation that was way overdue.

As soon as I stepped out on to the slightly grimy linoleum floor of the lab, Bruce looked up and blanched before quickly shoving his papers and laptop into a satchel and bounding for the elevator before it closed behind me.

“Good luck,” he muttered shakily. I nodded in thanks and a moment later he was gone. A quick look around told me that Tony must be in a back room somewhere, probably grabbing parts. In the background, Black Sabbath tinkled through the inlaid speaker system.

“Brucey, darling, do you want to go with blue or green for the new nanotech in Veronica?? Or maybe purple, unless that would be too on the no-.” He quickly cut himself off as he came waltzing around the corner of desks and displays to see me perched on his stool.

“Get out,” he growled, standing stock still, shoulders tense. When I didn’t move, he did, reaching for the minibar he had installed on the wall opposite me, pulling out a bottle of scotch and taking a swig.

“Well if it’s going to be that kind of party...” I drawled darkly before reaching down into my gym bag and pulling out my flask of bourbon and followed suit. Tony didn’t exactly roll out the welcome wagon after that but he did seem to relax a bit. At the very least, he didn’t summon what was left of the Iron Legion protocol to physically remove me from his presence.

“Why are you here Kaida?” Tony finally asked, ice coating his words as they pierced into me in ways I wasn’t expecting.

“Is it so odd for a former assassin to check up on her friends? I mean, it would be a shame to just throw everything away for a simple misunderstanding right? At the very least we have to work and live together. Unless you intend to kick me out?” I stared Tony down, waiting for that explosive anger that I knew he was trying to shove deep down.

“Oh Kaida, we were never friends. We fucked. But I’d fuck anything with two legs and a rack. I think you know that as well as I do. The only reason I ever gave up that life was Pepper and, well, you know exactly how that turned out.”

“Again, not my doing. I was long gone by the time someone executed the hit they had on her.”

“But you knew and you did nothing. Warned no one. You know, it’s not like I’m hard to find. A literal skyscraper that used to have my name on it not stand out to you?”

“I-,” I began, searching for any explanation for my inaction. As terrible as it was to admit, I’d simply never considered interfering with Hydras plans. I was much more concerned with keeping my sister and myself alive at the time.

“You know,” Tony said, interrupting my frantic, guilty train of thought, “some kid once told me that when you have the powers and abilities that we do and do nothing, then the bad things that happen, they happen because of you. Maybe you should chew on that for a little while Kaida. I won’t kick you out but I don’t want to see your face around my space for a long while.”

And then, like a switch flipped in my body, hot rage filled me. What did this entitled, rich snob know about being a kid my age and seeing the shit I’d seen? When he was my age he was partying every night and wrecking Bentley’s and Aston Martin’s like it was nothing, like nothing mattered to him at all.

“Maybe you should grow a pair then Stark. You’re really angry, huh? Prove it. Fight me. Kick me out. We both know I can take it. You saw the bruises when I first moved in. Couldn’t be missed with that lack of clothing when we first got acquainted. Do your worst.”

Suddenly he was in my face again, hatred and something else raged in his eyes. Maybe not hatred at me, but at the reaction, I could always weasel out of him. Had been doing for my past few weeks at the Tower.

Stark slammed his bottle down on the desk right beside me before wrapping his hand through the hair at the back of my hair hard, twisting and pulling me forward before viciously kissing and biting my neck. It was painful but not in a way that made me inclined to push him away.

“God I hate you so much,” he said and he ripped my shirt up and over my head before taking a step back.

“Wanna be useful? Turn around and bend over the desk, hands behind your back. And don’t move a muscle.”

I did as he said, breath coming out in gasps.

Oh, this was bad.

Really bad.

Or maybe really good.

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Well, That Was Aggravating: Ten Takeaways from Seahawks 24, Eagles 10

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  Of course it ended on a Byron Maxwell interception.

That was the cherry on top for the most annoying game I’ve watched in at least five years. Annoying because of stops, starts, and penalties. Annoying because of Russell Wilson running backward 15 yards, then heaving the ball into the air for a defensive holding call. Annoying because Cris Collinsworth wouldn’t let the game breathe. Annoying because the Eagles left points on the board and shot themselves in the foot.

And it was an illegal forward pass. It absolutely was. The guy or guys in the booth need to tell Doug Pederson to throw the flag and the officials have to get the call right in the first place.

Watch it again for the ten millionth time:

Forward? You decide. http://pic.twitter.com/7rhLdBvKIk

— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) December 4, 2017

When you’re down by a touchdown in the fourth quarter and they convert on third and long, it’s the type of play that kills a game.

But listen, credit to Seattle for a great performance. Carson Wentz was pressured constantly and put off his game. Wilson did his thing and converted plays like the one above to move the sticks and keep the Birds’ offense off the field. It was frustrating to watch because every defensive win seemed to be followed by a backbreaker of a chunk play.

The Eagles fall to 10-2, which is where nobody had them at this point in the season, so let’s keep things in perspective. I’m fine with the “facing adversity” narrative. I think this kind of loss brings the team back down to Earth where they hit the reset button and hopefully finish strong down the stretch. Next week’s game in Los Angeles will tell us everything we need to know about this team.

  1) Key plays

There were at least seven of them that just killed the Birds.

Off the top of my head:

Carson Wentz missing Nelson Agholor wide open in the first quarter

Wentz underthrowing Agholor in the third quarter

Kenjon Barner stumbling on a failed 4th and 3

Alshon Jeffery’s blatant holding penalty in the red zone

Wentz’s fumble through the back of the end zone

Failed blitz on third and 10 Seattle touchdown pass

the forward lateral no-call

Bullet point #2 in visual form:

A good throw by Wentz and this is a TD. Two missed to Agholor tonight. http://pic.twitter.com/9fgO7EfduM

— Dan Levy (@DanLevyThinks) December 4, 2017

All of those plays were just brutal to watch unfold. Carson just didn’t seem to have it last night outside of two clutch third down conversions on the Birds’ only touchdown drive.

  2) Empty sets

If you don’t run the ball well and you’re facing the league’s best rushing defense, don’t use a running back, yeah?

We saw a lot of empty set from Seattle last night, with five receivers for Wilson to work with:

The Eagles are in nickel there, with Malcolm Jenkins in the slot and Rodney McLeod playing as a single high safety. Mychal Kendricks is lined up on a running back, J.D. McKissic, who motions inside.

Here’s how the above freeze actually played out on the field:

It’s a little five yard cross there for a big YAC gain.

Empty set is tough to defend because you usually end up with at least one matchup that you don’t like. Plus, with five receivers going out, there’s less space to operate, you know? More bodies to screen and pick and rub and drag and confuse corners and safeties. It’s also hard to blitz against because you’ve got 1v1 matchups all over the field that a veteran like Wilson will identify and pick apart.

The Birds are generally very good at getting to the quarterback in these situations, but Wilson’s ability to escape the pocket and extend plays just made it a nightmare for the secondary in coverage.

  3) Jalen Mills and Big V

No, these guys don’t have anything to do with one another, but they stood out a bit more than others in being problems for the first time this year.

Vaitai had trouble with Frank Clark on the left, who had a pair of sacks and three tackles for loss.

Mills had some issues navigating crossing/drag routes and getting caught up in traffic. He wound up on skates on a Doug Baldwin third down catch, then got left behind trying to trail Tyler Lockett on this touchdown grab:

Let's try that again.. Touchdown #Seahawks! http://pic.twitter.com/OBL7REkaXm

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 4, 2017

That’s not easy to defend– just a lot of junk in a small amount of space, similar to the empty set above.

These types of plays were bread and butter Eagles back in 2013. Nick Foles had a great understanding with Riley Cooper on that little matriculation and misdirection across the middle.

  4) “Shut up and tote the ball”

For the first time since coming to Philly, Jay Ajayi had more carries than LeGarrette Blount and Corey Clement. He finished with 9 for 35 yards and a long of 11.

It looked like they might have something in the running game after a somewhat slow start, but Ajayi didn’t touch the ball again after getting two carries on the touchdown drive that started in the third quarter and carried over to the fourth.

Overall, they finished with 98 yards on 26 carries, 30 of which came on six Wentz rushes.

They mostly abandoned the run while playing from behind, ending with a split around 65/35 in pass/run ratio. Seattle’s defense was stout at the line of scrimmage, but I don’t feel like the Eagles really tested their beat up secondary. Nelson Agholor had a big game, but Zach Ertz only had two grabs before leaving with concussion symptoms. Again they failed to get him involved early and he was a total non-factor before heading to the medical tent.

  5) Russell running backwards

It’s frustrating to watch Seattle operate, because you’re sitting there thinking, “what the hell is this gimmicky flag football offense?” Then you grudgingly start to accept the fact that their one-dimensional look works because Russell Wilson is just so good at what he does. It’s hard to hate on him. He makes you miss, linemen get tired and demoralized chasing after him, and corners and safeties get irritated having to cover for 6, 7 and 8 seconds on a play. That’s part of the reason why there were so many penalties on the secondary last night.

This is not C.J. Beathard, Mitch Trubisky, or Brock Osweiler at home. The Eagles played a Super Bowl winner on the road, a guy who strung out plays and just showed a ton of smarts on the night.

For what it’s worth, the Eagles did get to him a couple of times. They sandwiched him in the third quarter and forced an intentional grounding a little bit later. Schematically, there’s not a ton you can do to adjust, because while rushing three gives you another guy to drop in coverage, you’re still not forcing him to get rid of the ball any faster. And on the one time the Eagles brought a ton of pressure, he identified a mismatch on a deep flag pattern and burned the Birds for a touchdown.

On a play like this, they force him from the pocket and Mychal Kendricks picks up his assignment, the running back, coming out of the backfield. But Wilson just rolls right, points his RB inside, and dinks it to him for a huge gain:

He’s just a pain in the ass to play against.

  6) The “12th man”

Hard to say if the crowd played a factor in the loss since I’m sitting here watching the game in Fishtown.

There were a few instances where the Eagles didn’t get their snaps off until right before the play clock went, and one of those times Seattle tee’d off on Wentz for a sack. Maybe the noise had something to do with the confusion before halftime as well, but I really don’t know.

I just find it hard to believe that a bunch of coffee-drinking hipsters would be more raucous than a true “blue collar” and “lunch pail” type of city like Philadelphia.

  7) Officiating

It was Carolina-esque, but not as lopsided.

I’m not sure about that pass interference on Ronald Darby, but the dumb holding call on Alshon Jeffery was correct. I also felt like the late hit on Kenjon Barner’s punt return could/should have been flagged.

Another shitty call was this, which the Eagles’ challenged and lost, inexplicably:

Not a first down. Got it. http://pic.twitter.com/3yP1Z3I8eI

— Eagles Fan Problems (@EagleFanProbs) December 4, 2017

They also missed a blatant holding call on Beau Allen when Corey Graham was whistled for defensive holding on the same play:

Refs had no problem calling a hold on the Eagles on this play. But apparently didn’t see that Beau Allen was put in a choke hold on the same play. http://pic.twitter.com/KgkihJ9Rbl

— Patrick (@PatrickMCausey) December 4, 2017

Allen is mugged, Wilson spins backward 15 yards, and we’re playing backyard bullshit football again.

In fairness, there were some bad calls against Seattle, too. Darby clearly got a hand inside a receiver’s facemask on a play where he failed to get his head turned around and locate the ball. So that made up for at least one crap call against the Eagles.

  8) Doug’s worst call?

Not challenging the illegal forward pass is on the guy(s) upstairs. I think Kyle and I disagreed on that, but it’s not entirely a black and white issue. The guy(s) with replay access have to give Doug a concrete yes or no. It can’t be, “well, maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t.” So Kyle is right, ultimately it’s Doug’s call, but if the booth dudes are watching the same shit we’re watching, then you need to be in his ear screaming for him to throw the flag.

Now, let’s recap the moment right before halftime:

3rd and 2, Corey Clement pitch right for 0 yards. No real issues with the play call, might have preferred a downhill run there

let the clock run, become confused, then waste a timeout

punt

Seattle kneels down and we go into halftime

On one hand, they were getting the ball back to start the second half. Failing the fourth down conversion allows Seattle about 2 plays to try to get into field goal position. So I get that side of it.

But it just felt very conservative by Doug’s standards. And when you’re used to going for it all the time, and that being part of your rhythm and mindset, it just felt wrong overall.

  9) Doug’s best call?

Despite what I literally just wrote above, I thought Doug made the right decision not to go for it on 4th and 1 on the very first drive, just for the fact that it was still too early in the game and the field position wasn’t totally ideal. If they’re 10 yards further up the field, I say go for it every time, and he probably would have. But the defense held, Seattle punted, and they reclaimed position right around the Seahawks’ 40-something yard line, so it ended up working out.

No problem on the first challenge, which I linked above. The refs got it wrong.

That’s about it. Whatever. Doug didn’t have his best game.

  10) Flannel and jeans

Did you catch the Alice in Chains song on a first quarter bump shot? I appreciate the shout out to Seattle grunge. NBC did it again in the second quarter, too. The first song was “Man in the Box” and the second was “Rooster.” Pearl Jam made it on there later with “Even Flow.” Somebody in the production booth had good taste in music.

Seattle grunge rankings:

Soundgarden

AIC

(big gap)

Pearl Jam

Nirvana

Honorable mentions to Mudhoney and Screaming Trees and Candlebox, etc.

Yeah, Nirvana probably had the biggest influence on music, but their discography doesn’t stack up to AIC or Soundgarden. And I like Pearl Jam, always have, but I don’t worship them like the rest of Philly does. We’ve always had this thing for Pearl Jam, Springsteen, and Bon Jovi that I never understood.

  Well, That Was Aggravating: Ten Takeaways from Seahawks 24, Eagles 10 published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

Taking Down PFF’s Von Miller Evaluation

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  In Sunday’s 51-23 blowout loss, Broncos edge rusher Von Miller scored the game’s highest grade at Pro Football Focus.

Here’s what they wrote:

“Miller had five total pressures, including a forced fumble on a sack on 27 pass-rushes, and was one of two Broncos defenders with multiple pressures. He was even better against the run, where he had six run-defense stops, tied for the most in a single game this season among edge defenders.”

National NFL Twitter used the PFF analysis to dispute assertions that right tackle Lane Johnson did a really nice job on the Denver Pro Bowler, but if you watched even five minutes of the game, you know that matchup wasn’t even much of a storyline.

PFF rated Von Miller as best edge rusher this week with 5 pressures and a sack. Some philly pundits talking about how great Johnson played ?

— Joe Banner (@JoeBanner13) November 6, 2017

First of all, Lane Johnson wasn’t even in the game when Miller forced the fumble. Isaac Seumalo was playing right tackle and Carson Wentz had already been pulled. It was 44-16 in the 4th quarter when Miller did this:

#DENvsPHI Nick foles entra por Wentz, sack, fumble y regreso a touchdown, los @Broncos abajo 44-23 http://pic.twitter.com/JrdE8Q3zRS

— NFL México (@nflmx) November 5, 2017

Miller beat a backup tackle to strip a backup quarterback, and he may have been offside on the play:

Man, I swear Von Miller was offside on that play where he strip-sacked Foles. #Eagles http://pic.twitter.com/ts4ocwxCOb

— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) November 6, 2017

In this morning’s post, I mentioned how the Eagles watched the Kansas City game film and had a lot of success emulating some of the things Alex Smith did last week. The Birds used the run/pass option, moved Wentz out of the pocket, and got rid of the ball quickly.

On two touchdowns, they left Miller completely unblocked, instead optioning off of him and making plays elsewhere on the field.

This was the Corey Clement speed option, where Miller correctly takes the quarterback away to force the pitch but doesn’t have any help on the backside, because Seumalo simply ignores him to engage the linebacker and Mack Hollins has Aqib Talib locked up:

It was the same thing on the Alshon Jeffery touchdown pass.

The Eagles go run/pass option and Lane Johnson doesn’t even acknowledge Miller, instead blocking down on Philly native Will Parks to sell the play-action. Wentz rolls out and Jeffery beats Talib before Miller can get in the quarterback’s face:

Similar concept on the Clement screen pass touchdown.

Here Miller thinks he’s clean through on Wentz after shrugging off the lightest of chips, but Wentz releases this ball at the perfect time, again right before Miller can influence the play:

Another @eagles TD!

It's @CJ_Wentz to @CoreyClement_6! #FlyEaglesFly http://pic.twitter.com/0uxKf4NDca

— NFL (@NFL) November 5, 2017

It’s just really a nice design from the Eagles.

Parks is pulled wide by Trey Burton, who lines up as a fullback and runs a short flat route. That leaves Brandon Marshall in a 1v3 against Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, and Brandon Brooks.

Good luck fighting through this:

So that was a big part of the game plan against Von Miller – just ignore him! Put him on an island. Force his teammates to make plays behind him. The Broncos have 10 other guys on the field who didn’t do much to help their superstar, who was pretty much schemed out of the game.

Looking at it from a Bronco perspective, I think #58 did have some nice moments in this game when the Birds actually bothered to engage him.

We have access to the coaches film now, so here’s a good shot of a bull rush that forces Wentz to spin out of pressure and throw the ball away:

Even then, Miller ends up on his back. Clement may actually save a sack there by putting a shoulder on Shane Ray, who beat Halipoulivaati Vaitai to the inside.

On this play, Miller lines up against Brent Celek on the edge with Johnson getting a late hand on his shoulder, but Wentz is already releasing the ball by the time he’s in his face:

Again, that was part of the game plan. Roll Wentz, throw on the run, early release. It’s the exact same thing Alex Smith did last week with success.

This clip is going around on social media, too, but rag dolling aside, you again see Wentz throw the ball before Miller and Johnson even engage:

Here's that Lane Johnson Von Miller toss one more time. http://pic.twitter.com/748GfrfJOA

— James Simpson (@JS_Football) November 7, 2017

Go through the film and you’ll find all sorts of intricacies in how the Birds planned for Miller. They chipped him at times, they let Johnson handle him 1v1, and they completely stranded him on a bunch of scores. There was even one sequence where Hollins locked him up on a roll out and another where LeGarrette Blount lined up in the slot to engage him.

Statistically, here’s how Miller finished the game:

1 sack

5 hurries

1 QB hit

6 run stops

8 tackles (all solo)

3 tackles for loss

So the numbers aren’t bad, not at all, but again, the sack took place against a pair of backups in the fourth quarter. Four of his eight tackles happened after the Eagles had already scored 38 points. Two of his TFL took place after the 9:52 mark in the 3rd quarter. And how many QB pressures came from unblocked designs?

If anything, Miller’s presence in run defense was probably more influential than the near-misses he had in pass rush.

Look, PFF puts out some interesting stuff, but you have to add context to every single graphic they publish. That’s the same for any media outlet.

Here’s an example:

Two Jet RBs finished among the top 3 in yards after contact per attempt this week http://pic.twitter.com/raYJYMWYvu

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) November 7, 2017

Not a bad graphic, right? Just consider that “contact” can be different on every run. There’s a difference between breaking an Asante Samuel arm tackle and trucking an outside linebacker.

Here’s an image with some basic cornerback numbers:

Lions CB Quandre Diggs was impressive

✈️ http://pic.twitter.com/Jb7zKUSN1U

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) November 7, 2017

Who was he matched up against? Who was the opposing quarterback? Is that QB good? Does that QB suck? (spoiler, it was Brett Hundley)

Every number comes with context, or a lack thereof. Some are less arbitrary than others. No shit.

Where PFF goes off the rails is with the grading system they use, which somehow judged Von Miller, a guy who wasn’t even involved in most key plays on Sunday, as the highest rated player on both teams. And hey, maybe there’s a science to it, and maybe he was good based on their criteria, but I think we understand why the optics look goofy, considering the fact that his team allowed 44 points to the Birds’ starters and 7 points to Nick Foles and company.

On the other hand, PFF published a good story yesterday evaluating the sophomore seasons of Carson Wentz and Jared Goff:

Wentz has also benefitted (sic) hugely from the scheme being tailored to suit his play. The Eagles run more run-pass option plays than anybody else in the league. They have run almost 100 RPOs (98) over the season, and no other side has more than 65.

There ya go. I learned something.

Some good and some bad from PFF, which is par for the course for pretty much every site that does what they do.

  Taking Down PFF’s Von Miller Evaluation published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv