#the entire city has been itching for a chance to fight the US government after all the times they got cut off after a disaster

[rockthistowninsideout]

DigiWeek 2021

Day 7 - Home (Free Day)

The Story

   “Uh-oh as much as you want! Now the time is over for Digimon and all those supporting them!”, the blonde girl shouted and finally rounded the ledge. She wore a red-and-blue checked school uniform and a devilish grin on her face.

   “Why would you want to end the Digimon?”, Kamemon cried out.

   “Because they are destructive and cannot be trusted!”

   “Then why do you have a Digimon partner?”, Ryudamon asked.

   The girl, who still hadn’t introduced herself, laughed menacingly. _“_There’s no such thing as Digimon partner. Humans can never live in peace with them. Grizzlymon is merely a tool because it was stupid enough to think the same as you. Wanted to become my partner – Instead I made it my slave. It’s what Digimon deserve to be so mindlessly wrecking.”

   “You tested your black spikes on it, didn’t you?” I asked as I caught a glimpse of a sharp tip protruding from its fur.

   She eyed me with a gaze that swung between annoyance and approval. “Oh yes! It was really eager to be my guinea pig and I have to admit it’s doing an excellent job as my assassin. But then again Digimon are nothing but war machines.”

   “That’s not true!”, Kamemon cried out. It seemed to feel deeply offended by the girl’s sermon.

   And I understood that. Kamemon and Ryudamon had been nothing but kind and helpful, and Frezamon had only attacked us because the black spike had corrupted it. Something truly dire had probably happened in her life. To buy time, I asked “What’s your name?”

   Her eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise. She positioned herself straddle-legged before us, hands on her hips, and declared “I am Tamina and you will soon praise me as the Extinguisher of Digimon!”

   Taki leaned into me “She’s got a serious screw loose. White people and their megalomaniac ideas.”

   While I wholeheartedly agreed, I couldn’t shake the feeling that some serious trauma bubbled close beneath the surface. Before I could elaborate on that note, she cried “Grizzlymon, attack!”

   Her Digimon, or better say, her brainwashed minion, unleashed a Heavy Attack. We could duck down and escape to the right, but the attack was so strong that it shattered the stony ledge we’d been hiding under. The shards were blown in all directions and we only stayed safe because Ryudamon threw itself before us and blocked the shrapnel with its armour.

   I looked to Kamemon. “Are you ready?” It nodded. I gripped my DigiVice tightly and as Kamemon started to glow, it vibrated in my hand. When the evolution was done, it identified the new Digimon in our ranks as Gwappamon. Gwappamon was roughly a head or two shorter than what I remembered DexDorugamon to be. Instead of Kamemon’s helmet it had brown dreadlock-like hair that was crowned by a CD. Around its neck a pair of headphones was slung and its belly was stitched and patched up. It parried Grizzlymon’s attack with a Gwappa Punch.

   “See, you’re also only using the Digimon as fighters”, Tamina yelled in triumph.

   “Well, we don’t want to get ourselves killed by you poor Digimon!”, Taki shouted. “I can only pity it, both of you, actually.”

   “Why do you pity me? Pity yourself for being led to believe that Digimon are good!”

   We jumped apart when Grizzlymon launched its next attack. I ran towards the rocks where the ice sheet was wedged when an idea struck me. We were four and they were only a pair. We should have an advantage here.

   Tamina was concentrated on directing Grizzlymon against Gwappamon who was sparring exceptionally. So I had the chance to communicate with Taki and Ryudamon, at least non-verbally. Taki agreed with my plan: I wanted to lure Grizzlymon away by letting myself be reflected in the ice mirror. That was suppposed to irritate Grizzlymon enough to let its focus slip. Hopefully that gave Ryudamon enough time to jump on Grizzlymon’s back. Then Gwappamon could join forces with Ryudamon and we could pin down Tamina.

   I bent down and started forming snow balls. When I had a small battery of them at my feet, I threw them at Grizzlymon with force. After the third, it turned around annoyed. To be on the safe side, I threw a couple more, one hit it straight between the eyes. With a roar, it charged at me. Well, what it supposed was me, but it actually was my reflection it ran towards. Before Tamina could order it to stop it had hit the ice with a sickening crash, the impact was enough to let the ice splitter into a million pieces.

   Immediately, Ryudamon was on its back, clawing into its think fur. Grizzlymon roared in agony but before it could shake Ryudamon off, Gwappamon had thrown it into the snow. Tamina was shouting, she tore at her hair, until we were at her sides and gripped her arms tightly. “Let. Me. Go!” she yelled repeatedly, though her voice grew smaller and smaller until she was mere wax in our hands. Uncontrolled sobs were shaking her body. Taki and I looked at each other, we both simply felt sympathy now. We led Tamina towards the yurt where she collapsed in front of the entrance.

   I wanted to enter but the darkness that had risen from the chimney had now filled the entire hut so I quickly drew the curtain back and told Taki and Tamina that we had to evacuate right now. Tamina was unable to walk, it seemed that only her rage and misguided mission had been holding her up, so I scooped her up bridal-style and hurried down the mountain as fast as I could.

   In passing Taki shouted towards the Digimon to destroy the yurt – Grizzlymon had now been freed from the spike and was looking around confused. Gwappamon sent the CD on its head spinning which tore open a slit in the fabric of the yurt and Ryudamon set the hut ablaze with its Tera Burst. The yurt exploded and the shockwave pushed me several metres down the slope.

   We took shelter behind a particularly sturdy looking ledge. I sat Tamina down who was sobbing. “Shh” I said. “You are okay now.”

   “Yeah, it’s alright”, Taki seconded. After a brief pause she said “And whenever you’re ready, you can tell us why you hate Digimon so much.”

   Tamina was quiet for a few moments, only furiously wiping away the tears from her eyes. I gave her a handkerchief from my school bag. She took it with a grateful expression but she wasn’t smiling yet. Finally she whispered “My mom.” She hiccuped before she could continue “My mom died when Parrotmon and Greymon fought in Hikarigaoka. She was the only victim when she got hit by fallen debris that’s been, well, I don’t know if it came from a bridge, or an apartment building, of it it was a car. It also doesn’t really matter. I wasn’t afraid to see these two creatures fight when I watched them but when I learned that they were responsible for Mommy’s death, I swore revenge. And over the years, my anger only grew whenever I saw Digimon running rampant in the city and all across the globe. They caused malfunctions and destroyed everything. But as far as I know my mom was the only fatality in all those year. I always felt that the government wasn’t doing enough so I itched for a chance to right it myself.”

   She paused to inhale deeply. “And some time ago, I don’t if it’s been hours, or days, or weeks – time works different in the Digital World – I walked home from school when someone called me down a stairwell between two streets. The voice came from behind a gate between two houses, and when I stepped through it, I was in the Digital World, right in front of the yurt, with Bearmon waiting beside it. The voice told me that it understood my sorrow and wanted to help me with my revenge.”

   A few minutes ago, the girl had wanted to dominate the world but now I could feel nothing but sorry for her. Out of an instinct, I hugged her tightly, and Taki on the other side did the same. Our Digimon came back from their battle, they had evolved to their previous levels.

   When Tamina spotted her former slave she called “Oh Bearmon, I’m so sorry!”, and teared up again.

   Bearmon came towards her to hug her, saying “It’s alright now.”

   Kamemon walked over to me and said “We told Bearmon what happened. It was very understanding.”

   “Thank you for tel-”. Before I could finish the sentence, there was a blast that shook the earth. We flinched, then I peaked over the ledge to discover a huge crater where the hut used to be.

   “That wasn’t us!” Kamemon declared.

   From the crater rose smoke that transformed into tentacles halfway through. “Ah shucks!”, I muttered.

   “Did you really think it was over? What you defeated was merely a puppet, a disposable I would have gotten rid of anytime if the time had come. And the time has come!”

   “That’s it! That’s the voice that called me here. Oh my God!” Tamina wailed, shaking vigorously.

  “Stop it!”, I said firmly. “We need your help now. If we want to win against – well, whatever that is, we need to stand united.”

   Tamina looked frightened at me. “I don’t think I can.”

   I lifted her head gently at the chin to look directly into her eyes. “Listen to me. I’m really sorry what happened to your mom. But the Digimon are not to blame for her death. And neither your vendetta nor your indecision will bring her back. What we need to focus on right now is to save the Digital World, and probably our human world too. I don’t know who’s behind the voice but I’m pretty sure they don’t want to spare us. What Ryudamon over there told me was that the Dark Forces had always aimed for the human world too. It’s the rest of your family who’s in danger now. This is your chance to save them!”

   She stared at me like a hare. Her shaking stopped, she swallowed hard before she nodded. “Okay.”

   “Wonderful.” I briefly hugged her, then pulled her up on her feet.

   We gathered together, back to back, gazing up to the sky. It darkened by the second, the clouds spun faster and faster until some sort of vent had formed. “Prepare for doom!”, the voice thundered.

   Taki grabbed my hand on the left side, Kamemon on the right. “Ready?”, she asked.

   I nodded. “Let’s do this

Gwappamon

Also:

HAPPY ODAIBA DAY!!

Thank you so much for organizing the event @earlgreymon​ and @tangledupblue! It was wonderful to see us Digimon fans reunited again and to share our love for an anime that’s been with us for more than 20 years. 

#digiweek2021 #digimon #digimon adventure #my oc #my stories

[skymoonandstardust]

Imagine Peter Parker falling in love with you, an Asgardian

You were much younger then Thor or Loki-- a  miracle princess, when none was thought to be on the horizon. 

Though of course much older then the actual years you were  the  Asgardian equivalent of a fifteen year old (looking the part too), and already skilled at all types of combat-- hand to hand, melee, long range weapons and even horse backed warfare.

which is why even  though you were so much younger you always tagged along with Thor, Loki, Sif and the warriors three on every single battle and adventure they had and why they and your parents allowed it.

They knew you were good enough. .  .

and that your back was watched enough between your two brothers and four friends.  

No one raised any complaints when you joined Thor when he went down to Midgard to stop Loki, who was wreaking havoc there.

You’d always been interested in Midgard and that was your first taste of it. . .and their first sight of you.

Before then no one had known Thor even had a sister, then after the battle of New York pictures of all the avengers were everywhere, plastered all over the news and across the entire city-- which included you.

Little did you know there was a small boy named Peter Parker in Queens who was glued, soaking up every picture and bit of information he could about each and everyone of your team. . . especially about you the famous sister of thor

he’ d only been interested in Thor since that first sighting of him in the new Mexico Town . . . and now that you were on the scene that interest naturally shifted to include you to. 

He was smitten. 

. . . but Peter just assumed it was a stupid kid crush that would pass in time or like those infatuations people get with celebrities; short and never likely to happen or turn out to be anything.

Not like he was going to ever meet you. 

Except he would because a few years later a spider bite would make sure of it. 

Neither of you knew that though of course, he just kept living his life a bit happy a bit sad while you kept living yours on asgard, a bit happy and a bit sad too.

While he had to deal with the loss of his uncle ben and supporting Aunt May as much as possible you had to deal with the loss of your mother, Frigga, then put that aside as best you could to help loki and thor save Jane, destroy the dark elves and save Asgard (and the eight other realms too-- no big deal)

You did it but it came at another loss. . .the loss of your brother Loki. Like Thor you cared about him even after everything he’d done and especially  coming on the heels of your mother’s passing his death hurt you (for the second time)

After that Thor left asgard, supposedly to go back to Midgard and jane

though you were sad to see him go you were glad he was going to be happy so after bidding him goodbye you watched him leave. . . as heartbroken as it made you.

Being the only heir meant that a lot of the old duties-- and all the attention--  that had once been taken care of by your brothers now fell to you.  You were just glad you didn't have to do everything since your father was still alive and ruling.  though he was . .  different then he used to be and you had your suspicions about that. 

Suspicions or not when word reached you via Hiemdal of divisions on Midgard, that things were gathering for the avengers to fight against themselves you knew you had to go and help. for yourself, for them and for Thor since you knew it's what he would do, if he could.

There was no way he would allow the avengers to fall to chaos so and there was no way you would either so you armed yourself, got permission from odin who granted it a bit too eagerly and left. 

Heimdal dropped you right in front of Avengers towers and you strode in unchallenged to find pretty much all of them there arguing over a piece of paper. 

It didn't take long before you were caught up and understood the situation. Stark thought the avengers shouldn't be unsupervised ,that they should be regulated by the government-- and half the team had rallied around him while Steve believed that the avengers should remain as they were -- and the other half of the team had taken his side

You tried your best to try to stem the situation and avoid any arguing and conflict. . .. but somehow before you even knew how it had happened the lines had been drawn, war was declared. . .and you found yourself standing on Steve's side of it. 

Oh well.

There were bigger bilgesnipe to face because soon enough You, Sam and Steve heard from Bucky about the other winter soldiers and the imminent civil war was put on the back burner. You all knew that stopping Zemo and keeping the soldiers form being unleashed on the world was more important then that.   

So all of you headed on your way to the airport to get a ride and started the wheels in motion to recruit a few more heroes to your side.

Meanwhile Tony was doing some recruiting himself and Peter Parker’  life was being turned upside down for the fourth time in his short years.

Needless to say he was stoked . . .especially after he found out you would be there when Happy let it slip after one of Peters 1,152 questions ( yes, he did keep count.) 

But who could blame the boy? He was only having the dream of a lifetime come true. . .especially meeting the asgardian princess. Like I said , this boy has been crushing you hard-- for years now.   

And now he’s getting a chance to actually meet you, when he never thought he would? 

yeah.

He’s over the moon.

So obviously that means he bothers and pesters Happy with his questions and enthusiasm even more and that he’s even more excited for the next day.  

You? You’re preparing with team cap, getting ready fight, of course, not knowing about the boy who’s so looking forward to meeting you

Totally gushes into his video camera about you as soon as you show up with the rest of Team Cap when he’s recording the film right before the battle starts.

When he flips in Peter absolutely says hello to you and nearly has a fanboy attack right then before tony interrupts and the fighting gets underway. You like him the second he jumps onto the scene and are definitely interested in this happy, bright, enthusiastic young warrior/hero like you -- though you're also a little confused and surprised (but you've got to admit to being pleased too) when he singles you out for a hello and gushes shortly about you before Stark cuts him off.

That definitely throws of your ready to fight mojo a bit.

stupid intriguing spider boy-- catching you off guard and making you want to throw the fight. 

Even when the fighting stars Peter doesn't; even  think of going after you-- in fact he tries to stay out of your way as much as possible just because he doesn't want to have to hurt  you . .. or say or do something embarrassing in front of you.  and truthfully you’re trying to stay out of his way a bit too. After all that you don’t really want to fight him. . . but you will, and you’ll fight the rest of them too because it's needed.

When Spider-Man gets hit and taken out of the fight, for a crazy moment you want to dash away from where you’re fighting T’challa and go check on him but you force yourself not to.

I mean why would you? he’s on the opposite side. the wrong side whether he knows it or not-- and you’ve only just met this boy. how could you get so attached in basically a minute that you'd want to put aside the battle, the war and your side to go check on him?

oh yeah, cause it's Peter Benjamin Parker and we all pretty much fell in love with him in two seconds flat

Next thing you know Steve and Bucky have gotten away in a quinjet and the rest of your team are under arrest. . .except for you apparently because Tony somehow convinced  Ross that as a princess of Asgard you weren't really under their jurisdiction and to send you home.

Sent home you are with only a minor slap of the wrist and nothing else, left to spend your days however you can, left to think about all your friends and comrades in jail, the success of Bucky and Steve’s mission. . .and most of all you’re left to think of that Spider-Man.

Which you do.

a lot.

. . .more then you probably should.  

Even though you’re forbidden to go to Midgard now until odin allows it's not long before the itch to go overtakes you; to go so you can see your friends you tell your self, and find out what happened. 

But it's more then half because you want to see that  Spider-Man again.

Peter himself, can’ t stop thinking about you or that day in the german airport when he finally met you for the first time. it was hard for him to keep that from ned and as soon as his guy in the chair learned about his secret identity peter told him all about it

Ned asked a million questions too of course-- but not before starting it all off by whisper yelling “No way, you met that asgardian princess-- your dream girl? the one you’ve had a crush on for forever?”

The forevers:  @casownsmyass @docharleythegeekqueen @imadeangirl-butimsamcurious @his-paradox @l4life @fangirl-who-dreams  @sarciaczekk @esoltis280 @theresnofandomforthis  @laramitk @dragonangel-funandfire   @a-sea-of-fandoms @thatbasicnerd4life @scarlettsoldier @cassiopeia-barrow

Marvel girls:  @l4life @thomashiddlestonloveloki  @coltcas  @padfootsiriusorionblackthethird @escapingthoughtsandsecrets

  Spiderman/Peter Parker: @lets-imagine-fanfics @l4life @tomxhotland @lucypcvensie @internetgremlin @meanwhile-in-other-worlds  @cutie1365 @petah-parkah-and-potahtas

#MCU #Marvel #Avengers #the avengers #marvel fanfic #marvel fanfiction #marvel fic #avengers fanfic #avengers fic #avengers fanfiction #marvel imagine #marvel imagines #avengers imagine #avengers imagines #peter parker x you #peter parker x reader #peter parker x Y/N #you x peter parker #reader x peter parker #Y/N x peter parker #you x Spider-Man #spider-man x reader #spider-man x you #spider-man x y/n #reader x Spider-Man #Y/N x Spider-Man #peter parker fic #peter parker fanfic #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker imagine

[fapangel]

A couple of my friends recently went on vacation to Greece (Santorini, specifically) and discovered that Greeks were actually some of the hardest-working people they've ever met. In your experience, how true is this? Is the whole "lazy Greeks" thing completely unjustified? Based on a kernel of truth? Or actually true and the folks in Santorini are unusually hard working?

First, I’d like to point out that Santorini is interesting because it’s almost certainly the location of the city known as “Atlantis,” as this fascinating and very well done BBC documentary establishes. As the documentary describes, the destruction of Atlantis - by a massive volcanic event much like the devastating Krakatoa explosion - didn’t just destroy a single prosperous trade city, but brought on a devastating “nuclear winter” effect recorded by other contemporary sources, including Egyptian hieroglyphic records, and plenty of archaeological evidence of the actual eruption and following tsunamis. The eruption did terrible damage to the ancient Minoan civilization, quite likely leading to their downfall.

The island of Santorini is a volcanic island, created by a still-active killer of civilizations. They are still unearthing the remains of more outlying settlements on the island that were not utterly vaporized like the city that was built pretty much on top of the volcano’s central cone (in what is now the central bay, after the volcano collapsed into its own magma chamber and the sea rushed in,) so the echoes of the victims of this island are still all around it.  

Now check out this picture of lovely traditional Greek-style houses built along the rim of the god-damned crater. GREEKS STILL LIVE ON THIS FUCKING BASTION OF HADES. Consider what that says about Greeks.  

With that reflexive horror out of the way, about Greeks - the most important thing to understand about Greeks is that Greeks are fucking poor. They have always been pretty damn poor. Even in antiquity, if you weren’t Athens? You were fuckin poor. And you need only look at the terrain to tell why - they joke that Greece is the only country where farmers can literally fall out of their own fields, because so much agriculture has to be done on terraces cut into mountainsides. And though Greece’s mineral wealth isn’t terrible, it never really had the domestic industry needed to capitalize on it. Greece could’ve overcome this with time, but 300 years of domination and exploitation by the Ottoman Empire, followed by invasion and occupation in WWII (the German army stripped Greece of almost every machine tool and working factory it had), followed by a civil war with Communists, meant that the nation’s been kicked in the head so many times it never really had a chance to find its feet. My own grandfather sailed sail-powered clipper ships around the Greek islands as a boy in the 1930s (a lot cheaper to operate than a modern steel ship with a proper engine, you see,) and the island my father’s side of the family came from, Kalamos, didn’t get electrical service run to it until 2005. For most of history - and still, today - Greeks have had to be hardworking just to survive. 

Researching the novel I’m writing set in 1930s Greece gave me some rude shocks - it was Greek-Americans who raised the money to send Greece’s athletes to the Olympics in 1932, and in the run-up to WWII, the Greek government actually raised funds from the people directly to repair and upgrade their decaying WWI-era airbases. One of the tales of the war itself, heard from a friend of my grandfather’s, concerned how the Greek soldiers in the mountains, fighting the invading Italians, fed themselves - they waited till the Italians put their spaghetti pots on the fire, then they’d charge in, fire a few rounds, throw a few grenades, and while the Italians were still tripping over themselves they’d steal the spaghetti pots right off the goddamned fire. 

Yeah. Greece was - and is - fucking poor. 

The BBC actually has an article about the Lazy Greeks stereotype, and it shows that Greeks work more than most of the EU - Greece’s real problem is that, just like the EU, it embraced socialism, and that’s not working out too goddamned well for them. Greeks are of the opinion that the EU is fucking them over, destroying their economy to make them a source of cheap labor. Maybe it’s bullshit, but you have to remember that this isn’t the first time Greece has been under international financial controls - their economy was so fucked that they were put under international economic control in 1897. This is how far back the debt crisis goes. 

It’s not just “oh noes socialism” that fucked up Greece, however - it’s well known that Greece’s civil government is a fucking trainwreck and that tax evasion and tax fraud is rampant. My family still owns our small plot on Kalamos, and when we looked into selling it, or building on it, we found out quickly that you pretty much need to hire a lawyer full-time to navigate the un-ending clusterfuck of their civil government - to say nothing of the bribes you might have to pass around. This, unfortunately, is what you get from a nation who had a strong tradition of being Turk-killing hill bandits for 300 years, had to fight a series of wars just to survive against their Balkan neighbors immediately thereafter, was brutally sacked by Germany and then had to dive head-long into the international Communists Versus Anti-Communists battle along with everyone else. Despite defeating the Communists - narrowly - victory in the civil war never really resolved the tensions in the populace (any more than our own did,) and even worse, the alternative to Communists, in Greece, was pretty much always nationalists - they remained popular enough that Greece was taken over and ruled by a fucking military junta from 1967-74. The current Golden Dawn fascist party in Greece are big fans of these fucks, naturally. I call them nationalists because Metaxism was always fascism-lite at best; they were literal royalists (both in Metaxas’s time and in 1967, Greece had a King who had actual political and legal power,) so the emphasis on nationalism and political loyalty were simply to maintain control over a restive and divided populace, rather than underpinned by any really hardcore radical fascist shit. It was even rumored that Metaxas was moving towards restoration of democratic government in the late 30s before he was Overtaken By Events. 

Unfortunately that’s left Metaxasim with just enough respectability that the Junta - and their current admirers - were able to gloss over the dictator part of “benevolent dictator” and all the police state, jackbooted-thug oppression that implies. So today Greece still has unironic anarcho-communist fuckheads running loose, and a bunch of unironic nationalists just itching to go full jackboots on their ass. 

Now I’ll be the first to say I’m not intimately acquainted with modern Greek politics, but you can clearly see the modern cracks line up pretty well with the historical tensions. Any way you dice it, modern Greece just isn’t a very unified state or people. It’s not full Balkans mode mind you, but it’s not hard to see how graft and corruption are still rampant in their civil government; they never really had the long period of stability required to hammer out that kind of society. 

And there’s a second problem, too - the long history of Greece being used by a pawn against outside powers. The Greek War of Independence was backed by Europe, first by wealthy individuals and groups, and then by direct national governments deploying their fleets and soldiers. It was primarily a way to fuck with the Ottoman Empire, which’d been Europe’s enemy since before corned powder. This would continue through the Balkan Wars and into WWI, where Greece’s northern half actually revolted to give the British a casus belli to open a new front against the Central Powers, and of course WWII, and after that, the Greek Civil War would become the first foray of the CIA in anti-Communist dickery. The CIA was also balls-deep in the 1967 Junta, in fact, for the same reason - hold off the Commies. And all of this, of course, included Money. There was always more money from the US or Europe or NATO or England or whoeverthefuck, and it always had strings attached. Greece is very strategically located - if Turkey (and the Bosporus Strait) ever left NATO, than the Greek islands in the Dardanelles could control access to the Black Sea. So there’s almost always been outside flows of money to exploit, which lessened the dire necessity of actually unfucking their own civil society, and thus economy. 

Greeks work very hard  - it’s just that their entire government is kind of fucked up. 

[ssimpleandclean]

No Hero (Rebelcaptain week, Day 4)

This one fits both prompts: nerve, and the AU of my choice (in this case, Pacific Rim).

there’s a non-zero chance I’m going to flesh this au out at some point, because I’ve literally been thinking about it for months. 

content warning for one very brief mention of suicidal ideation.

Read it on AO3! Full text below the cut:

She’s lost her nerve, they said. She’s afraid, she’s no hero, it’s her fault he’s dead.

Jyn still wakes sometimes with those whispers in her ears, her back itching under the weight of all those stares. Sometimes she thinks she hears them under the sound of her welder, or in the hum of the elevator.

She avoids the news as much as she can, but she can still hear the other builders talking. The Jaeger program defunded. The walls are the strategy of choice now. Jyn snorts every time she hears it; she has first hand experience with the kaiju. Nothing that can’t punch back stands a chance against them. And sure enough, not a week later, a kaiju tears through a wall like it’s wet bread and they’re right back where they started.

It’s almost funny. The only thing keeping her from laughing (or, some days, from stepping off the highest part of the wall) is how Saw would have looked at her. There’s an echoing hole in her head where he used to be. Her mentor, more of a father to her than her own ever was, the man who saw the fury inside her and gave her a place to aim it. He’s still there in the Drift, somewhere. It’s not enough.

--

The man standing next to Draven on the helipad looks unremarkable at first glance, but when his dark eyes meet hers Jyn’s nerves abruptly start to sing, a rush of endorphins through her entire body. She realizes what it means when she falls into the (crappy regulation) bed later that night, and can’t believe her shitty luck.

Really? she thinks at no one in particular. Of all the people, I’m drift compatible with Draven’s flunky? She groans and rolls over, shoving her face into the pillow. Fuck you, too.

--

She nearly loses a couple of the sparring matches, distracted by the way his presence fizzles on her nerves. Great, I’ve become a Cassian Andor compass, she grumbles inwardly, knocking her current opponent flat on her back. “Enough,” she declares, glaring up at Draven. “I already know who my partner is.”

Draven is, as usual, annoyingly observant. He picks up on the tension between them. “Captain Andor is not trained as a Jaeger pilot,” he says. Looking at Jyn, he doesn’t see the way Cassian’s mouth thins, his grip tightening on his clipboard.

“I don’t care,” Jyn says. “Or are you nervous he’ll lose?”

“Sir,” Cassian says.

Draven glances at him. And sighs. “Alright.”

A fire lights in Cassian’s eyes, and for the first time Jyn thinks this might actually work.

--

Cassian chases the RABIT. Jyn watches the kaiju tear Mexico City apart in helpless silence. Watches as if from afar as Cassian, age eight, goes chasing after the monster, throwing rocks, doing anything he can to try and distract it from taking more lives. Sees the passion behind the cool exterior, and suddenly understands what her nerves have been telling her all along.

--

Their final assault on the Rift is a suicide mission and every single one of them knows it. It’s worse even than Jyn expected; by the time Rogue One finally zaps into the Rift, she’s determined not to let anyone else die on her watch. She sends Cassian back to the surface fully intending to let the Rift finish what Knifehead started years ago.

But the hole he leaves behind is even worse than Saw’s, all raw and ragged edges. She can’t do that to him, not knowing what it did to her. So she fights, and she drags herself along, and the last thing she remembers is praying for the first time in years that for once, the universe is on her side.

--

It is.

--

The week that follows is a hellish marathon of debriefs. Jyn doesn’t see Cassian for several days; she’s half convinced he got dragged off to answer his home government’s questions.

Then someone knocks on her door, and she knows who it is before she even gets up to open it.

The instant the door opens they’re all over each other, hands skimming warm skin, mouths clumsy with their rush to taste one another.

“I thought you were gone,” Jyn mutters into the skin of his neck, grazing it with her teeth. “I thought you’d been dragged off somewhere to answer more fucking questions.”

“They wanted to,” Cassian says on a gasp, “I told them where they could shove it.”

Jyn pulls back, raising an eyebrow at him. “That took some nerve, I bet.”

He backs her against the door, hands hard on her hips. “It was worth it.”

#rebelcaptainweek #therebelcaptainnetwork #rebelcaptainprompts #rogue one #rebelcaptain #ire writes shit

[justsomebucky]

Ten Years (Part 12)

Summary: AU. When a major account is on the line at work, reader is forced to revisit some old connections at her ten year high school reunion for a chance at success. Will she let the past consume her, or will she see the future in her grasp?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Word Count: 4,065 (I AM OUT OF MY MIND)

Warnings: language, fluff, excessive sweetness

A/N: Tags are closed. This is the second to last part. I came THISCLOSE to having another cliffhanger, but I couldn’t do it. I don’t want to drag it out just to torture you. PS - IT’S SO FLUFFY I’M GONNA DIE!

It was a total shame that you weren’t able to be paid for almost an entire week of doing nothing all the time.

The whole week had been really relaxing, once you got Monday and that little resignation detail out of the way. You decided to get your hair done, you took yourself shopping for interview outfits (just in case what you were working on didn’t pan out), and you generally just let yourself breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy life.

You’d heard from Bucky here and there via text message, and you’d met up with Wanda and Sam for lunch once, but other than that, you’d spent most of the rest of the week alone. According to Sam, Wakanda, Inc., was in overdrive mode, meaning every available resource was being used to support Bucky and the team he had assembled for the Stark account.

Now that you were no longer on that team, you were free to pursue a job prospect that you found to be incredibly exciting.

There was only one problem: it didn’t exist yet.

In all the time you’d spent trying to find a job that suited you, there were never really any that stood out. You knew most people had no choice but to settle, that most people didn’t even get to work in the field they wanted to. Most people didn’t get to love their jobs.

But you had rent to pay, and you had an insatiable desire to help people on this planet, and you weren’t about to settle. You’d been settling your whole life, watching from the wings as everyone else took what they wanted.

So, you decided to do the innovative thing, the newfound-confidence thing, the Bucky Barnes thing, and propose an entirely new position.

The timing was tricky, though. You didn’t want to distract the co-CEO of Stark Industries from her duties while Bucky was going through his most important presentation to date.

So here you sat on this bright, sunny Friday morning, waiting for one Virginia Pepper Potts to join you. You picked a coffee shop near your beloved fountain just to give you some level of comfort. You still felt bad that you hadn’t bothered to say goodbye to her at the reunion before you ran away like a child.

The cappuccino you had ordered for Pepper (that she had requested when you texted her about it) sat steaming across from you and your iced coffee. It didn’t matter what time of year it was, you loved the cold coffees the most, though sometimes you broke down and got a hot chocolate.

You were so lost in your thoughts about different kinds of coffees that you didn’t even notice her walk in.

Pepper flopped down across from you with a heaving sigh. “Thank you so much for the cappuccino,” she groaned. “I definitely needed a coffee break. Tony is on a rampage this morning.”

Well, that certainly didn’t bode well for the teams that had to pitch to get his business today. “What’s the matter?”

“Oh, he’s groaning on and on about the fruits of his generosity yielding…what had he called it exactly?” She tapped her chin thoughtfully, then used air quotes. “Meaningless garbage.”

Good, so it had nothing to do with his biomedical business efforts. “You mean the September Foundation, then, right?”

“Right.” She rolled her eyes, but a fond smile appeared on her face. “He’s impossible. The first round of grants went out last year at that MIT function, I don’t know if you remember it being in the news or anything?”

“I remember.”

“I didn’t go, of course, because not only were Tony and I fighting, but I had work of my own to do, namely figuring out how to distribute the money properly. Unlike what Tony thinks, you can’t just say the magic words and have funds magically appear in that many accounts for project funding.”

“I imagine that it’s a lot of work,” you offered. This was getting you a little closer to what you wanted to talk about anyways, so you didn’t mind her complaining.

As the head of the September Foundation, Pepper was in charge of all philanthropic activity for Tony Stark. Since she was also co-CEO of Stark Industries, she was constantly working. Maybe you could use that to your advantage.

“It’s so much work,” she agreed, taking a sip. “But it’s worth it. And maybe Tony is right, maybe one of these students really will change the world. Anyways, what did you want to meet with me about today? You know I can’t talk to you about the bids, right?”

“I don’t want to talk about the bids, though we both know which company would be able to handle Tony’s image and his promotional responsibilities for the new medical technology.” You paused a second, before leaning forward just a little. “I don’t work there anymore, by the way. I resigned on Monday.”

Pepper’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”

“It’s just not the career I want.”

“So you want to talk about job opportunities at Stark Industries, then? I would be happy to find something for you-“

“Not exactly,” you interjected, suddenly feeling nervous. What if this didn’t work? What if they had no intention of going with what you wanted because they had no interest in it? Maybe they’d give you a job anyway, just to save you from dying of embarrassment.

“Well, how can I help you? I’m sort of pressed for time, Y/N.”

“I want to work for the September Foundation.”

Her eyebrows lifted slightly. “Really? You’re interested in innovations in science?”

“Well, not really, you know tech isn’t really my thing. I had a slightly different proposal for you, and I wanted to see if you and Tony would be interested in maybe expanding your charitable outreach.”

“I’m listening.” Pepper leaned back in her seat, her full attention on you.

“I read the transcript of Tony’s speech to the students at MIT. He told them the challenges they are facing are the ‘greatest mankind has ever known,’ and referred to them as ‘the others.’ But innovations in science and medicine aren’t the only ones being hurt by the current economy and government.”

“Oh, I know it,” she agreed. “You should see the number of charities asking for donations these days.”

“Right. So my thoughts were, why are innovations in the arts worth less than innovations in science? One of Tony Stark’s last memories of his mom was her singing at a piano. He even named the September Foundation after an old song she used to sing. The arts have been positively influencing mankind for thousands of years, but in times like these, programs are cut, and students aren’t given a chance to experience the arts the way they should. It doesn’t even have to be limited to the obvious choices like music, painting, acting…it could be architecture, it could be drafting in a new, creative way. But we have to be able and willing to reach out to students early enough to pique their interest, to get the creativity flowing. That’s when you’ll find the next Beethoven, the next Frank Lloyd Wright, or the next da Vinci. And who knows, maybe they will be able to help design the next biomedical instrument for Stark Industries that saves someone’s life?”

By this point, Pepper was staring at you with unblinking eyes, so you weren’t really sure what her reaction was. You tried to keep your breathing steady, but that wasn’t exactly easy right now.

“What I’m proposing is that you let me lead a branch of the September Foundation for the arts that will help students of all ages, especially inner city or rural schools where the funding is lacking. If you want, we could even help kids with college tuition, or save pieces of it for funding their art shows or performances. Either way, I want to help kids find their creativity again.”

“I love it,” she murmured, a smile forming on her face. “It’s brilliant, Y/N. You’re right, you’re so right about it. The innovators of tomorrow could very well be designers, musicians, architects, or hell, even the next Meryl Streep. The arts have a hand in saving humanity, too.”

“So you’ll at least think about it?”

“Think about it?” Pepper chuckled, reaching into her bag and pulling out her phone. “Give me five minutes.” She stood up with her phone to her ear and walked outside.

You turned in your chair to look out the window as she stood chatting, one arm wrapped around her midsection. She was still smiling, and before she could catch you staring, you turned back around to take a long sip of coffee.

It didn’t even take five minutes for her to come back.

She was still smiling. “Tony loves the idea, Y/N! By the way, I’m pretty sure you just fixed his mood.”

“Really?” Your jaw about fell to the table. “Why’s that?”

“Because you brought up his mom at the piano. He said he couldn’t imagine his mom without music, and the thought of the creative arts dying made him sick. So, there you go. You’re in.”

“Really?” you asked again, unable to help yourself. There was no way it was this easy.

“Well, knowing the right people certainly helps, but Tony has been itching to expand the foundation’s reach. The timing here was perfect. Can you come by my office on Monday to iron out some of the details, and talk about the kind of team you will need?”

What the hell? Now you get a team? This was too good to be true. This was more than you’d hoped for.

So naturally, tears filled your eyes.

Pepper looked alarmed. “What’s wrong, did I say something?”

“No, I just…I hoped, but in the back of my mind, never expected this to go as well as it has,” you explained with a tearful laugh. “I know it’s ridiculous, but…”

“No.” She shook her head. “It’s not ridiculous at all. It’s about time things started going your way, wouldn’t you say?”

---

You weren’t exactly sure what time Bucky’s presentation to Tony Stark was supposed to be, but you figured it was going to be before lunchtime, since he was up first. So, you decided to kill time until you got a text from someone, anyone, that it was over.

The public library was a great place to do that. It felt a bit like doing homework, but you knew you needed to read up on a few things before venturing into a new career. You cozied up with some books about non-profits, grants (and the legalese), and even a book about Tony himself, just so you could try to understand him a little better. The best way, of course, would be to meet him yourself, but you couldn’t do that until you officially had the job come Monday morning.

Now that you thought about it, you hoped he didn’t change his mind by Monday. Everything you’d read so far said that Tony was a very active, sometimes impulsive man.

Around one in the afternoon, your thoughts drifted back to Bucky. You still hadn’t heard from anyone about how the meeting went, so you texted Wanda, and then Sam, to see if they’d heard anything.

Wanda was the only one to text you back. I saw them come back into the office, but I haven’t really gotten any news about it yet.

You chewed your lower lip thoughtfully before replying. Who went for the presentation?

Sam and Bucky, and a couple of accountants.

Why would Sam go with him?

I’m honestly not sure. They immediately went into T’Challa’s office.

Well, shit. That means it either went really well, or really badly. Can you please find out? I’m dying here!

Yeah, sure, I’ll see what I can dig up. I’ll text you if I figure anything out. Hey, what’s your favorite song? Just curious?

Your brows furrowed in confusion. What the hell could she possibly want to know that for?

Why? And do you mean of all time, or current?

All-time fave.

Make You Feel My Love by Bob Dylan. Actually, Adele has a great cover, too. Again, why?

I’m looking for new music.

Likely story. Whatever she was up to couldn’t be good. Maybe you’d text Sam again to have him snoop on Wanda.

You set your phone down on your leg with a sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose. Everything was starting to stress you out. If Bucky didn’t get the account, what would you even do? You had a job lined up at Stark’s foundation (hopefully); would Bucky even want to date you if you were constantly reminding him of something that he missed out on?

Then again, what were the odds of him not getting the account? Bucky was the best in the business from what you’d seen and the reputation he’d gained over the years. No freaking way did he lose the account to someone else, especially not with so much on the line.

Your mind drifted back to the very first meeting T’Challa held about the Stark bid. You’d been so focused on what Wanda was up to, knowing she was trying to conspire behind your back to get you with Bucky, that you’d totally forgotten what Bucky had said during the meeting.

The first thing he had suggested was to highlight Tony Stark’s philanthropic work. A little wave of excitement went through you when you realized you might get to help the team after all, only in a different capacity. Maybe you and Bucky would be able to work side-by-side without-

Wait…

Pepper had mentioned that she didn’t want any pre-existing relationships to cause issues between the two companies. That was why you couldn’t be on the pitch in the first place; you knew her personally and she considered that to be an unfair advantage.

Would she take issue with you dating Bucky even if the account is for Stark Industries, and not the September Foundation?

As you packed up your stuff and left the library, you wondered if you were making things better for yourself, or once again making them worse.

---

There was still no reply from Bucky when evening rolled around. You started getting ready for your date (under the assumption that you were still having a date), and the entire time it felt like your stomach was doing somersaults.

You looked damn good, and you were feeling a little better, too. No news had to be better than bad news, right?

When your phone finally started ringing, you raced over to your phone that was charging on the nightstand and answered, trying not to sound breathless. “Hello?”

“Hey there.”

You bit back a smile. “’Bout time you called me, I was starting to wonder if I should find a new date tonight?”

“Not a chance in hell. I’m standing outside your apartment door if you’re ready to go?”

“Shit, sorry! I didn’t hear you knock?”

“That’s because I didn’t knock.”

“Oh. Okay, well, I’m going to hang up and open the door now.” You ended the call and wandered out into the hallway to the door. When you swung it open, you couldn’t stop the surprised gasp. “Bucky, oh my god!”

No wonder he didn’t knock. Bucky had his phone in one hand, and a huge bouquet of lilies in the other. “For you,” he said, holding them out. “I wasn’t sure what kind of flower you liked, or if you even liked them at all, but I wasn’t going to risk showing up empty-handed. You look amazing, by the way.”

You grinned at him, feeling your face heat up a little. “You aren’t so bad yourself, Barnes.” Bucky was dressed in a nice suit, his hair slicked back just a little. He looked so incredible.

This was really happening. You were officially on a date with Bucky Barnes. Who would have freaking guessed this would happen?

That damn Wanda, that’s who.

“They’re beautiful,” you murmured, leaning in to smell a lily. “Thank you. Come inside while I put these in water.” You turned to head back to the kitchen cupboard where you kept your only glass vase. You weren’t much for buying yourself flowers, so you didn’t get much use out of it. It was kind of exciting to use it now, though.

You busied yourself with the water and flower food, while Bucky shut the door and wandered into your apartment. Mr. Fuzzypants immediately started rubbing against his leg.

That was one smart cat.

“So,” you began, unable to meet his eyes. “How’d the pitch go?”

“It went okay,” he replied casually, reaching down to pet Mr. Fuzzypants. 

His flat tone made you look up. “Just okay?”

“We won’t really know who Tony picked until Monday,” Bucky explained, straightening and moving closer to rest his hands on the counter. “I’m not really worried about it. I think we got it.”

“That’s great, though!”

“Yeah.” He nodded, watching as you arranged the lilies so that they each had more room. “I took Sam with me today.”

“To show him the ropes?”

“Um…something like that.” He cleared his throat. “Let’s not talk about work anymore just yet, I just want to focus on us, okay? I have to make myself a viable contender, after all.”

You laughed, grabbing your cardigan and purse from the couch. “That’s right. I expect to be wooed properly.”

“Oh don’t worry. I don’t mean to brag, but, you’re definitely gonna be wooed.” His blue eyes sparkled as the two of you made your way to the elevators. “I’m the best, remember?”

He was so utterly charming, and you hadn’t even left the building yet. All you could do was shake your head at him.

You were so done for.

---

After dinner, which was lovely and probably cost Bucky more than you cared to think about, he asked if you’d like to take a walk with him.

The two of you made your way via cab to Central Park, which made you grateful for the last-minute decision to wear flats. “You’re not taking me to the zoo, are you?”

“No. You’ll see.”

You walked around to the Bethesda Terrace, and the second the fountain came into view, you grinned. “Are you just going to go around the city finding new fountains for me?”

“No, actually.” Bucky reached for your hand and tugged gently. “Central Park is my comfort zone. This is where I come to think. Sometimes it’s here at this fountain, sometimes it’s in the Conservatory Garden. Sometimes I just walk around until I’m tired.” He shrugged. “I just wanted to show you my spot in the city, since you were nice enough to let me in on yours.”

The fountain water you’d been staring at got a little blurry, and you tried to blink the tears back before he could notice. “That’s very nice of you.”

Bucky gave your hand a little squeeze, but didn’t say anything.

You stood there, hand-in-hand, silently observing your surroundings for a moment, and it was easy to see why he liked it here. “I used to avoid this place,” you admitted. “I thought it would have more tourists than mine, but it’s about the same.”

“Yep.” He paused for another look around, then smiled at you. “Ready to move on?”

“Sure.”

“How am I doing so far?”

You let out a little chuckle. “I’d say you’re doing very well.”

“A good rating on the introduction always helps me land the deal.”

You raised an eyebrow at him as the two of you turned to walk down the path, still holding hands. “I’m just a deal, now?”

“You’re a major deal,” Bucky joked. “A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“Well, when you put it that way…”

---

“Close your eyes.”

“Come on, Bucky, I can see we’re near the opera house, I know you’re taking me to my fountain now.”

“Ah, but if you don’t close your eyes, I can’t really make this presentation as effective as I want it to be. I need you to close them.”

You sighed, rolling your eyes before you closed your eyes. “Fine.”

“No peeking!”

“How am I supposed to see where to walk?”

“I’ll guide you.” His arm slipped around your waist, hand resting on your hip as the two of you moved forward slowly. You shivered at the contact.

“Almost there.”

You already knew where he was taking you, but now you were a little worried about what awaited you. “There’s no flash mob, right?”

“Right.” Bucky tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle his laughter. “I don’t think I could handle that, either.”

“Is there-“

“Stop trying to guess,” he interrupted, still laughing at you. “I don’t want this to be ruined.”

The closer you got to the sounds of rushing fountain water, the more nervous you became. There was a low mumble, as if a small group had gathered. “Please tell me we don’t have an audience.”

“There’s a couple of people being nosy,” he murmured in your ear. “A small crowd. I’m sorry about that.”

“Nothing you can do, it’s a public square,” you said with a shrug. “Can I open my eyes now?”

“Uh. Hang on.” His arm disappeared from your waist, and you were left feeling a little chilly, but you kept your eyes closed as promised.

“Can I open them now?” you called out, tugging at the sleeves of your sweater impatiently.

“Okay, open them!” He sounded further away.

Your eyes opened, then widened in awe.

Bucky stood a few feet away, his hand outstretched toward you. Behind him were a quartet of violinists, instruments at the ready, their music stands covered in fairy lights (with tiny little battery packs! You didn’t even know that was a thing until now).

“Y/N, since we didn’t get to have a proper dance before, would you please dance with me?”

“In front of all these people?” Your eyes were still wide, legs a little shaky at the idea of being the center of attention. “You hired musicians?”

“They’re students, part of the music program at Julliard. I remember you mentioning that you liked to listen to them play sometimes.”

He was far more observant than you had ever given him credit for.

Bucky gestured to you again, his hand still outstretched. You couldn’t leave him hanging, not after all this.

You moved forward until you were in front of him and placed your right hand in his left. He grasped it gently, wrapping his right arm around your waist to draw you closer. Everything felt incredibly intimate.

The two of you fit together perfectly, you noted, letting your free arm wrap around his shoulder.

Bucky let out a shuddered breath, then gave you a small smile as the musicians began to play.

When you heard the first few notes of your favorite song, you knew Wanda was in on this the whole time. You grinned at Bucky. “Gee, I wonder how you knew to have them play this song?”

“You aren’t the only one with insider information,” he admitted with a wink. “And the lyrics are fitting, don’t you think?”

He led you slowly around a small area beside the fountain you loved so much. You were mesmerized, unable to peel your gaze away from his, until he leaned over after about a minute to whisper lyrics in your ear. “I know you haven’t made your mind up yet, but I would never do you wrong. I’ve known it from the moment that we met; no doubt in my mind where you belong.”

The crowd no longer mattered; the only thing you could focus on, the only thing you wanted to focus on, was Bucky.

Before he could pull away again, you turned your head and captured his lips with yours.

It was totally out-of-character, completely spontaneous, and exactly what you wanted. The small crowd around you started cheering, and you felt Bucky grin against your lips.

“I guess my little pitch worked, then?” he breathed out, pulling away only slightly.

The corner of your mouth lifted. “Guess so.”

As the song came to an end, Bucky dropped your hand from his and reached up to cup your face gently. His eyes were stunning, more emotional than you’d ever seen them before.

And the second kiss was even better.

---

Part 13 - End!

PERMA TAGS: @sprinkleofhappinessuniverse @minaphobia @amrita31199 @aenna-4 @ailynalonso15 @psingh97 @sofiadiaz04 @mirkwood—princess @lilasiannerd @coffeeismylife28 @capdanrogers @melissalovesmusicyay @hollycornish @northscorpio @gallifreyansass @ancchor @vaisabu @alurea-actually @hailey-a-s @buckyswinterchildren @cleanslates @minervaem @blackcoffeeandgreenteaforme @winterboobaer @kjs-s @hardcorehippos @rchlnwtn @seeyainanotherlifebrotha @aeillo @wydari @jay-birdbitchez @crownie-sr @neverbeforgotten @givemethatgold @notsoprettykitty @punk-rock-princess-626 @dracsgirl @giannastoico @cosmic-avenger @rockintensse @angelicshinigami @heytherepartner @simplyme8308

Story Tags (closed!): @srgtjamesbarnes107 @caitsymichelle13 @karipaleta @unevenpages @themistsofmyavalon @themanwiththemetalarm @marvelgoateecollection @awwtommo @stentorian-lore-n @lilyoflothlorien @tenaecious @winterhurricane @musichowler @mayathepsychicc @38leticia @buckybarnesbestbabe @labyrinth-of-storylines @the-renaissance @mrs-lamezec @skywalkerswift @lauraonly @grumpybeyonce @cadetomlinson @captainmqmeep @killer-stiles @sociallyimpairedme @fancybasementpersona @siobhanrebecca @kenobi-and-barnes @basicallybucky @supernaturaldean67 @sebuckytucker @queenllamamama13 @potatoandfries @arie-tfw

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes drabble #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes au #bucky au #AU!buckybarnes #au!bucky #modern bucky barnes au #james buchanan barne #bucky x you #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes reader insert #just-some-drabbles #ten years

[briangroth27]

Arrow Season 6 Wish List

Full Spoilers…

I loved Season 5 and thought it completed Season 4’s return to Arrow’s Season 2 high point. I can’t wait to see where the show will go next, but here are some things I’d love to see in Season 6!

Oliver Queen/Green Arrow I love that Ollie fought through the darkness of the “monster” inside him and it seems like we’re headed for a more hopeful hero.  Ollie doesn’t need to be as sunny as Flash or Supergirl, but an arc arguing that you can always come back from your sins (no matter how awful) is a great tack to take with a character so steeped in personal improvement as Green Arrow. There’s a valid story in becoming a beacon of hope after overcoming your mistakes, and watching Oliver and the rest of Team Arrow lift each other up and stay in the light despite the darkness of their pasts will be great to watch. Despite being a show about redemption, it doesn’t have to become any less gritty: Ollie can be the light and center of hope in a dark world. I do want them to define the “pleasure” Ollie took when he liked killing criminals. My feeling is his “monster” was the awareness that killing was never off the table for him and the fact that he would gladly do whatever it took to save others (connecting to his role as Star City’s sin-eater), coupled perhaps with a bit of happiness knowing he’d permanently made the world a little safer by eliminating a criminal (that was never implied and I can’t believe we were supposed to infer Ollie is a serial killer who became a vigilante to scratch his murderous itch). Assuming everyone he loves isn’t dead, I can’t wait to see a happier, free-from-his-past Oliver!

I’m also very interested to see how Ollie develops now that William is back in his life. I felt Season 4 missed an opportunity to play with that entirely fresh relationship, so hopefully William will stick around for a long time and we’ll see Ollie grow into a father. The scene or two we got of him bonding with William last year was sweet, but with what seems like Samantha’s death, I’m sure Ollie and William’s relationship will take a dark turn this year. I hope they can work through it.

What I still want to see most—and what I think Amell’s version needs to fully be Green Arrow—is his left-wing politics. Comics Ollie stands apart from other heroes for railing against the system that creates criminals and societal problems in addition to fighting supervillains, so that should translate here. Oliver’s mayoral arc in Season 5 saw him making several baby steps and at least one major leap toward this iconic status, so I hope that continues. Executive Producer Marc Guggenheim told me in a Tumblr ask long ago that it’s difficult to get too far into the political aspect, so I appreciate any strides they can make. I’d settle for Ollie becoming the voice of the common man—something similar to Chris Evans’ Captain America, perhaps—if they can’t go full-on liberal with him. They could incorporate Ollie’s time as a Bratva captain to utilize his first-hand experience with the criminal perspective; if he understands what motivates criminals, not only can he fight them better, but he can work to ease the systemic issues that create crime. Ollie can also use the darkness of his past to better understand and connect with the criminals he faces, both as Green Arrow and as mayor, to hopefully lead them down a better path. Whether those factors come into play or not, Ollie trying to run a broken government and realizing it needs to change to truly save everyone would be a great step forward. If the theme of Season 6 is family, perhaps it’s time Ollie took an even bigger interest in the larger “family” of Star City’s residents.

While I’m glad there will be danger in the form of the Feds looking into Ollie’s  Green Arrow connections—a good outgrowth from being investigated by Susan and a perfect result of making GA a target—I hope they don’t derail his mayoral administration. There’s so much more drama they can mine from that setup. They can frustrate him with companies who don’t want to pay to help people who “don’t help themselves” and the limits of his mayoral position that don’t allow him to make the changes that will really help save the city. Ollie navigating how to convince people to care could be his hardest fight—and an especially relevant one—yet. Give Ollie as many obstacles he can’t just shoot as possible!

Allies -Thea Queen/Speedy: Thea’s fear that her darkness is leading her to become like Moira is a brilliant idea, and while she went away to deal with it in Season 5, I think we definitely need to see that battle onscreen in Season 6. Malcolm’s death will surely complicate things and I can’t wait to see where Thea goes from here because of her complex feelings towards him. Were she to truly embrace her inner Moira, I wouldn’t be opposed to Thea becoming a villain for a bit.

-John Diggle/Spartan: I’d like to see more conflicts about the legality and limits of superheroes vs. the government overstepping its bounds with Lyla. I’d also love for these two to meet Connor Hawke/John Jr., particularly now that he’s been rewritten into the timeline via Flashpoint. If there’s more for John to deal with in terms of his guilt over killing Andy, then let’s see that too!

-Felicity Smoak/Overwatch: While I’m all for most of the characters fighting past their darkness, Felicity indulging in hers is kinda fun. I liked her subplot with Helix in Season 5 and I absolutely think they need to deal more with her choosing to destroy Havenrock than they have. I wouldn’t mind Felicity’s spinal tech being damaged in the destruction of Lian Yu to the extent where she has to deal with her paralysis far more than we saw in Season 4. That was a rushed arc in Season 4 that could’ve yielded much more drama and growth to her character, in addition to being a realistic and relatable chance for greater representation on the show. I’d love Donna Smoak to return too, which could be especially interesting given the darkness Felicity has experienced since we saw her last. I’d also love to see more of her relationships with her father and Ollie; Noah leaving is full of possibilities and I really like how Felicity fits into Ollie’s arc of becoming a better man (even if conversely, I like Felicity going darker).

-Roy Harper/Arsenal: I’d love Roy back on the team full-time! I really liked the partnership he and Ollie forged and if his return in Season 3 showed us nothing else, no one Thea dates holds a candle to the connection she has with Roy. I’d love to see where Roy is now and if he’s continued his heroics in his own way. If we can’t ever get Dick Grayson, Agent of Spyral because of the Batman rights limits, what about Agent Harper? Roy worked with the Suicide Squad in the comics, so this wouldn’t be that big a change from the source material. The world even thinks he’s dead—like they did Grayson when he went undercover in Spyral—and Spyral is too cool and fun a spy organization not to use on one of The CW’s shows. Reinventing Roy as Ollie’s mole in a mind-bending international spy ring could be an awesome arc! Colton Haynes said he’d be back soon, so I can’t wait!

-Curtis Holt/Mr. Terrific: I want to learn more about him and see how the show deals with super-science beyond what Ray brought to it. Personally, I’d like to see him become the low budget/homemade tech guy to differentiate him from the heroes of Legends, Supergirl, and Flash. Curtis found a good balance between using his fists and his brain to fight crime this year and I’m excited to see that develop even further. Curtis is also working really well as the beacon of untainted light/hope on the show (with a sense of “fair play”) and I’d love for that to continue. We saw his marriage to Paul fall apart this year, so I’d like to see more fallout of that, in addition to flashbacks or something to show us their happier times so we have a better idea of what Curtis lost. I really think Paul is Vigilante, so that’d be a great conflict! I also wouldn’t mind if Curtis and Rene became a thing.

-Dinah Drake/Black Canary 2: I still would like to see more of why the team needs Dinah. I like her, but Team Arrow doesn't feel more complete with her on it. Ollie brought her in reasoning that Laurel left a hole they needed to fill and while her death definitely left the team feeling shattered in Season 4, it felt rebuilt before Dinah was brought in. I don’t think she’s extraneous, I just don't see what Dinah's bringing that no one else is; had Ollie not made that declaration, it wouldn’t stick out like it does. That said, I think there’s great potential with her job as a cop to look at how the rest of the force views superheroes and a chance to examine when it’s appropriate to deal with a crime as a cop and when being Black Canary is necessary. Her policework is also a good source of conflict for her superhero ID, since things like her fingerprints are now on record and she’s surrounded by detectives who’ll notice if she slips away and Black Canary appears; she’ll have to be that much more careful when in the field. I’m also very interested to see how she lives up to Laurel’s legacy in both her and Quentin’s eyes, and how her ongoing conflict with Black Siren develops.

-Rene Ramirez/Wild Dog: I don’t know anything about Wild Dog in the comics and while it took a while for him to grow on me, I left the season a fan. I hope he and Quentin can get his daughter back and I’d also love to see their working relationship at City Hall to continue: that was key to improving and rounding out Rene for me and I loved the bond he built with Quentin. I’m up for anything with his character, but one idea for a fun subplot I had was for him and Zoe to have a playdate with Ollie and William. I doubt it would happen, but I’d absolutely be down for it. At the very least, it seems like it’d be logical for the two kids who seem like they’ll be on the show for a while to bond and become friends. The other key relationship Rene had in Season 5 for me was his friendship with Curtis, so I’d definitely love to see that expanded on and fully explored.

-Quentin Lance: If any member of Team Arrow were to die in the destruction of Lian Yu, my money would be on Quentin. He seems to have mostly cleaned himself up, approved of Dinah carrying on Laurel’s legacy, and found a renewed purpose; it might seem like his arc is complete. However, I think there’s plenty of potential with Laurel-2 around. Black Siren’s presence and the attempt to save her soul can fuel at least another season of plotlines for Quentin. The writers also found a fun reversal of his relationship with Ollie by working as his Deputy Mayor last year and surprising bonds with both Thea and Rene, all of which I’d love to see continue in Season 6.

-Slade Wilson/Deathstroke: I loved the older and wiser version we met in the Season 5 finale, so I’m up for whatever his deal with Ollie to find his son brings. But will the fact that Slade killed Moira be a sticking point for Ollie, no matter how much he wants to believe his old friend has changed?

-Nyssa al Ghul: I just hope she survived Lian Yu. She’s one of my favorites, so I’d love it if her feud with Talia could continue! I’d also like to see her reunite with Sara at some point.

-Dick Grayson/Nightwing: Dick Grayson would be an awesome example of a vigilante who permanently beat the darkness, since Robin came from tragedy yet helped Batman move into the light. Dick’s bright and friendly attitude mixed with his background with a much darker mentor would make for an interesting combination and he’d be a cool foil for Roy or, more pressingly, Thea. This is highly unlikely given Nightwing’s not only getting a movie but leading the Titans…but since that’s a Greg Berlanti show too, I hope they can cross over down the line!

-Barbara Gordon/Oracle: I doubt we’ll get her on the show (maybe on Titans, though), but Ollie has mentioned she exists so it’d be fun to develop a friendly rivalry between Babs and Felicity. Even if she only appeared offscreen via text or email, like Superman in Supergirl Season 1, it could work: they could encounter her Birds of Prey operatives and we wouldn’t necessarily have to see her in the flesh. If that’s the most we can get, I’d take it.

-Helena Bertinelli/Huntress: Guggenheim says she could return and I’d be all for her development beyond the angry vigilante she’s been so far. How does Ollie’s administration deal with a vigilante who isn’t working with his team? Could she be working with Vigilante? With Helix? Perhaps she could mention that she’s working with “someone new,” and she could be one of Oracle’s Birds of Prey operatives. Regardless, I’d like to see her and Ollie patch things up and forge a healthier relationship.

-Vic Sage/The Question: Vic Sage’s brutal style of vigilantism clashes with Ollie’s efforts to find peaceful solutions (think Daredevil and Punisher), while his day job as a reporter would allow him to put pressure on Ollie’s mayoral position as well as threaten to expose his Green Arrow double life. Though it’s true Vigilante and Susan Williams just played very similar roles, Question’s insane Mulder-esque conspiracy theories—which are usually right—would be extremely entertaining with everyone around him thinking he’s completely nuts. Question has struggled with whether or not to take a life in the comics, which would be a cool parallel of Ollie’s recent internal battle. The character’s original objectivist beliefs would be a great contrast to Ollie’s growing liberal mindset too. I’m also up for introducing Renee Montoya (the second Question) as his partner-in-training or as the current Question (and maybe Dinah’s partner on the force!)…though she’s appeared on Gotham so she’s probably off-limits.

 Enemies -Robert Queen-2: Either as an enemy or an antagonistic ally, I’d love to see Ollie meet this alternate universe version his father, who became the Arrow of Earth-2. Not doing this would be a major misstep, particularly as Ollie will be a father this season as well and the season’s theme is family. I’d love to see how Robert-2 has developed differently from Ollie and how Ollie reacts to seeing his father in his role. I don’t see them really getting along for some reason (at least at first), but I’d love to see them try! It’s also likely Robert-2 has some history with Black Siren, so that’d be a great connection as well! 

-Laurel Lance-2/Black Siren: I’d love to learn about her history on Earth-2 and I can’t wait to see where she goes next season, since Laurel-2 is one of my favorite additions to the show. What does she want now that she’s marooned here? Whether Oliver and Team Arrow are successful in redeeming her or if she goes completely evil, I’m down. I can’t wait to see her battle with Dinah over the Black Canary legacy and how she reacts to Quentin on an extended basis. I’d love to see her interact with Sara over on Legends too! Whatever she does, I hope she’s an independent operative this season rather than working for another bigger bad. There’s a team of villains this year, but I hope they’re equal partners rather than Laurel-2 being a lackey. I’d also like to see a flashback to when and how Barry broke the news to Team Arrow that they had her locked up—and how Ollie reacted—since Team Flash chose to keep her a secret at first.

-Dinah Lance-2: I’d love it if Alex Kingston could return as Laurel-2's mom and the original Black Siren of Earth-2. Either as a hero disappointed by Laurel-2’s villainous turn or a villain who passed her mantle on to her daughter, this would be a cool twist on the comics’ Black Canary legacy, as well as an awesome evil version of Laurel’s legacy on the show. And what if she met our Quentin? Was her Quentin a corrupt cop?

-Vigilante: I can’t wait to find out who’s under the mask and I’m certainly hoping he’s Paul Holt. The clash between him and Curtis—not to mention Curtis’ reaction to finding out Paul is a vigilante too—would be fantastic. I wonder if he’s working with Helix as their muscle, but either way, I hope to see more of his “kill all the villains” philosophy clashing with Ollie’s new mindset.

-Evelyn Sharp/Artemis: I would’ve loved to know how she felt about finally getting to work with Laurel’s old team. Did she feel she was living up to Lance’s legacy? Did once holding the Black Canary mantle make her second-guess her decision to side with Prometheus at all? In hindsight, she was one of Season 5’s bigger missteps, as she had both built-in tension with Oliver from Season 4 that could’ve been focused on and they could’ve done a lot more with her journey from Canary acolyte to villain. She had the makings of a solid supporting enemy and I liked what McLaughlin did with the screentime she had. Unfortunately, she didn’t get enough time to really dig into Evelyn’s potential. If she survived the island, I’d most like to see her played up as a dark foil for Thea; an externalization of Thea’s struggle like Chase was for Ollie. Evelyn being driven by her parents’ deaths is a perfect parallel to Thea feeling the darkness of her parents taking hold of her.

-Werner Zytle/Count Vertigo: An actual count would be awesome—I really like the idea of a criminal with diplomatic immunity—but I doubt we’ll get it now that we’re two Vertigos deep (though Werner Zytle could be disgraced foreign royalty for all we know…or maybe he’s distantly related to royalty and doesn’t know it yet). I loved Seth Gabel’s insane Count, but Zytle could use more personality and grander ambitions IMO. What does he want? What drives him? Could he get into a turf war with Brick? The comics’ reality-warping Vertigo device falling into his hands would give him a more powerful attack and an awesome visual effect! Most importantly, warping Ollie’s perception of reality would be a wholly unique way to mess with Green Arrow’s primary attack strategy. If nothing else, it feels like Vertigo could fill the mob boss role Brick and Church have tried to hold over the course of the series. They could do so much more with Zytle, so I hope they explore him to his fullest!

-William Tockman/Clock King: I’d like to see him return in a larger supervillain role, maybe as someone who organizes other criminals’ crimes so they’re more effective.

-Onomatopoeia: An extremely tough assassin who only speaks in onomatopoeias, he’d be cool and creepy. He’s one of the few major Green Arrow villains who haven’t appeared on the show yet, so it’d be cool to finally get him in live action!

-Lonnie Machin/Anarky: I have no idea where Thea’s arc is going to take her, but I bet there’s a good chance it leads directly to him. I loved the point he made about her always following others and I hope that the two of them have a few more climactic battles. 

-Owen Mercer/Captain Boomerang: I don’t see how Digger Harkness could have survived Lian Yu, so perhaps Arrow—or Flash—can introduce his metahuman son! Owen has super speed that manifests in bursts (allowing him to bring a whole new level to his boomerang attacks), but he’s more interested in family than he is in crime. With Season 6 being about family, it’d be cool to see him introduced this year!

-Spyral: A UN covert operations agency from the Cold War, they recruit lone operatives like daredevils and mad scientists rather than agents from established espionage agencies. They’re spies with tech like hypnos implants that create illusions and hallucinations in the minds of enemies, can link operatives’ vision, and can upload information directly to the mind. They also have identity protection implants that “swirl” their face in the minds of enemies and on camera so they can’t be remembered. Maybe they’re interested in taking advantage of the worldwide lack of nukes Damien Darhk caused. Maybe their Cold War ties could connect to Ollie’s time in Russia somehow. They’d also give ARGUS an interesting opponent, to loop Lyla into the story.

-Cheshire: If Roy is coming back, they should introduce her! As the world’s “second-deadliest assassin”—an excellent fighter and acrobat who employs poisoned blades and other weapons—she’d be a great challenge for the team. Her comic history with Roy (she’s the mother of his child) could be twisted in new and interesting ways on the show; if they went with Spyral, maybe she could be his handler or partner. Perhaps a semi-redeemed assassin like post-Roy Cheshire could be a cool foil for Thea as well.

-Edward Nygma/Riddler (or Enigma): It’ll probably never happen, but I’d love to see Team Arrow go up against Riddler, my favorite Batman villain and an entirely different type of challenge for the team. If Cory Michael Smith could play the Berlanti-verse doppelganger of his Gotham character it’d be perfect, as he’s one of the best parts of that show. But since he likely can’t, maybe they could use Riddler’s daughter Enigma instead. Just have her refer to wanting to impress her dad by “improving” on his methods to take down a superhero. I doubt Gotham will ever get to her and if we can have an unnamed Harley Quinn cameo on Arrow, Enigma shouldn’t be that big a stretch.

 I don’t have specific ideas for what they could do, but I’m always game for more Cupid, Brick, Chien Na Wei, Liza Warner, Talia, and Calculator! I love that CW villains recur like in the comics and hope that continues. If Season 6 features villains who are deliberate opponents for specific members of Team Arrow, perhaps they could team up to form Arrow’s very own Injustice Gang!

 General Show Notes I hope Arrow—and Oliver himself—continues taking on real-life social issues and systemic problems to the extent that Supergirl takes on feminist struggles. Our ongoing real-life political standoff between the rich and poor—as well as the movement for greater equality and representation—makes this the perfect time to dive into that aspect! Dealing with the issues of today could be the key to reinvigorating the show's ratings, direction, and purpose in Season 6 and beyond. Arrow's CW’s grounded show and Ollie is one of the most political characters in comics (in addition to Ollie literally being involved in the politics of Star City), so it’s already a perfect fit!

I certainly hope that any future flashbacks follow Daredevil’s example: use them when needed, but don’t put them in all or even most of the episodes. I like that they’re something of a metaphor for drawing an arrow back before letting it fly, but it’s time to move past them. I can’t wait for the majority of episodes (at least) to use their full runtime—flashbacks took up an average of eight minutes each week—to flesh out the present-day adventures!

This is the absolute smallest nitpick I could possibly come up with, but I’d still like them to start calling the Arrow Cave “The Quiver.” Ever since Harley Quinn pointed out how much more sense that makes for Green Arrow’s base of operations in an issue of Injustice, I’ve thought it should be the canon term. It sounds cool and pulpy too!

Finally, I’d love for them to find a way for Justin Hartley to appear on the show. I don’t know who joked about it years ago, but the idea of Hartley being the actor hired to play Oliver in a movie would be funny! However, if we can go to Earth-Smallville, I’d love to see Team Arrow’s reaction to a much lighter Oliver!

I can’t wait for Arrow to return tomorrow! What do you want to see?

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