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bard-llama · 1 year

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WiP Wednesday: Early S3 AU

I decided I wanted to figure out how to make Zuko join the Gaang after Ba Sing Se but before the Invasion, so here’s what I came up with lol

After the war meeting in which the Fire Lord had proclaimed that they would burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground, Zuko had to get away from the palace. He knew he was too transparent, knew that if he lingered, his doubts would be visible and Father would be disappointed again and Azula would torment him and–

So. He left. He found a minor official duty to carry out far, far away from the capital. Touring the secure prison facilities of Fire Fountain City was one of those duties that everyone always put off, but was technically important, so getting approval for his trip was both easy and did not require speaking to his father face to face, for which he was grateful.

Zuko wore his heavy official robes and was shadowed by two royal guards as he followed the local Fire Fountain City guard through the jail. To be honest, he wasn’t paying that much attention, more focused on the screaming in his brain that had been there ever since Father had seriously decreed that they were going to burn down the Earth Kingdom.

Why!? What was the point of it!? Three and a half million people lived in the Earth Kingdom, including their own citizens! The Fire Nation colonies were in the Earth Kingdom, and Father hadn’t said anything specifically about them, but–

And for what? What good did burning the land they conquered do them!?

Why had everyone in that war room cheered for this plan!? Were they all insane!?

Zuko knew better than to speak out, but holding his tongue in that moment had been the hardest thing he’d ever had to do. He was the only one who hadn’t burst into applause after Father’s speech (though he’d forced himself to join in, so as not to attract undue attention).

Not a single other person on that war council had appeared to object to this plan in the slightest. How could that be!? What was wrong with them!?

He swallowed hard, recentering himself before he could lose control in front of the guards. He would – he would figure out something. There had to be a way to do something. There had to be.

“Up ahead, we have a specially-ordered wooden cell, to contain two very valuable prisoners,” the Fire Fountain City guard was saying when Zuko tuned back in. “There’s–”

He was cut off by an explosion and Zuko instinctively bent the flames away from them, moving into a battle stance. Two figures emerged from the cell and it took a moment for Zuko to recognize them through the smoke, but the piercing glare of Katara’s eyes was more than familiar.

“You!” Katara snarled.

“Katara,” the little earthbender girl, Toph, hissed. “We gotta find Aang before Sparky-Sparky-Boom-Man does!”

Zuko blinked as Katara nodded to her companion and then pulled water from somewhere, sending ice spikes at Zuko. He batted them aside with a burst of flame, but when his vision cleared, they were both gone.

“Wait!” He called out without thinking about it, running after them. The legend was that the Avatar was the only one who could stop the Fire Lord. That meant the Avatar needed to know how urgently that was needed.

“Your Highness!” one of his guards shouted after him and Zuko tore off the ornate outer robes, throwing them into the guards’ faces for long enough to elude them. The last thing he needed was them getting in the way.

Now with a freer range of motion, Zuko ran after Katara and Toph. It didn’t take long to catch up, especially not when the two he was following ran into their two missing compatriots. At the sight of him, they all sank into attack positions, but for once, he didn’t want to fight them.

Before he could say as much, the air around the Avatar sparked and exploded and he dove out of the way, running with his friends behind him.

Shit. Zuko knew he’d forgotten something.

The assassin he had hired followed after the Avatar and his friends and Zuko chased him without thought.

“Wait!” he yelled. “Stop! I order you to stop!”

The assassin did actually still, and for a second, Zuko really thought–

Then the assassin turned, eyes fixing on Zuko. It took a moment too long for Zuko to recognize the way the air crackled and he crossed his arms in front of his face, bending as much of the explosion as he could away.

It wasn’t enough and he was sent flying back, slamming into a wall. The last thing he thought before the world went black was fuck, feels like broken ribs.

––

Sokka did not know what was happening. It was not a feeling he enjoyed. All he knew was that Toph and Katara had been gone for too long on their scam, and when he and Aang went searching for them, they found the entire city seemingly abandoned.

Then the explosions had started.

Running into Katara and Toph – almost literally – was a relief, but he had no idea where they came from. That relief quickly soured as he caught sight of who was chasing after them.

“Zuko,” he snarled, holding his boomerang at the ready.

Another explosion went off, far too close to them and Sokka decided that maybe Zuko wasn’t such a significant concern right now. Not dying needed to be the priority.

Then, for some reason, Zuko shouted at Sparky-Sparky-Boom-Man – you know, maybe Combustion Man would be better – ordering him to stop.

Suddenly there was an explosion where Zuko was, and then there was a too-loud thud as Zuko collided with the closest wall.

Sokka had just a few seconds to take that in before the air around them was exploding again. He ran, making sure his friends stayed together and pushing Zuko from his mind.

They dodged around the city, trying to outrun Combustion Man, but they weren’t having much luck. They did get a small lead when Toph threw a boulder in front of an explosion and the shrapnel hit Combustion Man as well, but it wasn’t enough.

Somehow, they ended up near the wall that had a Zuko-shaped imprint. Zuko himself was leaning against the concave wall, one hand over his ribs, the other helping him stand. He definitely looked like he’d had better days and Sokka once again dismissed him from his thoughts. Right now, Combustion Man was the significant threat.

Speaking of…

Combustion Man had somehow managed to get ahead of them and he jumped down in front of them, his metal feet stomping into the cobblestone.

Fuck. Sokka and his friends backed, but all they had at their back was Zuko and a wall, and this was very, very bad.

“Aim for the eye,” a hoarse voice said and Sokka blinked.

“What?”

“Aim for the eye on his forehead. Disrupt his chi. Hurry!”

With a shrug at his companions, Sokka threw his boomerang because really, he had no better ideas.

He managed to score a hit, but it didn’t seem like it really did much other than stun Combustion Man, because he shook himself and inhaled, ready to explode them. Only it was the air around him that crackled and popped and–

“Duck!” Zuko shouted, and then there was a loud whoosh and fwoom and heat washed over Sokka’s back where he was curled around Toph, instinctively shielding her head. But the pain he was expecting never came and when Sokka glanced up, he saw Zuko with his arms spread, containing the explosion in a way he hadn’t known firebending could do.

Finally, it was over and Zuko slumped back against the wall, hugging his midriff. Sokka stood slowly, helping Toph up – and actually being permitted to do so – and checking on Aang and Katara. Everyone seemed to be okay.

Where Combustion Man had been, the cobblestone and the walls were charred black. There was… something lying in the ash, but if Sokka looked too closely, he was going to end up throwing up.

He made sure Aang didn’t look that way. He didn’t need to see that.

Instead, Sokka turned them to face Zuko, who… wasn’t actually attacking. Although, from the way he was holding his ribs, it was possible he couldn’t attack.

Still, Sokka was ready. They surrounded Zuko, all in defensive positions, but Zuko held out his free hand.

“I’m not here to fight you,” he said.

“Then why are you here?” Katara demanded.

Zuko licked his lips, then blurted out, “you have to stop him.”

“What?”

“You – you have to stop him,” Zuko repeated. “You have to stop my Father. You’re the only one who can.”

Sokka shared a confused glance with Aang and Katara.

“I thought you were on your Father’s side,” Aang said slowly.

“I am,” Zuko said immediately. “But – he’s planning to burn down the Earth Kingdom!”

“What!?”

“He’s – he’s gone crazy. They’ve all gone crazy!” Zuko continued, unscarred eye wide with something like panic. “They want to burn three point five million people to the ground!”

Sokka stared, speechless. The others didn’t seem much better either.

“He’s not lying,” Toph murmured quietly.

“Why are you warning us?” Katara asked suspiciously.

Zuko just shook his head. “Our colonies are in the Earth Kingdom! There’s thousands and thousands of civilians who have nothing to do with the war. You can’t let them burn.”

Before they could say anything, there was a shout of “Prince Zuko!” and pounding footsteps approached them. Shit.

Interestingly, Zuko appeared just as concerned about the approach as they were – and then he hissed quietly, “take me hostage.”

“What!?”

“Hurry!”

Sokka stared at Zuko, baffled, but then the guards were upon them and Toph had never needed telling twice when it came to following a bad idea.

“Back off!” she yelled, creating a sharp spike of stone and moving it to rest against Zuko’s throat.

“Your Highness!” the guards cried out, horrified. Zuko didn’t move.

Belatedly, Sokka shook himself and moved to actually restrain Zuko, holding his boomerang to Zuko’s throat, because maybe Toph had it covered, but he needed to do something.

Zuko did not resist in the slightest.

“If you come after us, we’ll kill your Prince!” Toph threatened, edging backwards. Aang blew the bison whistle frantically and they all edged away around the corner – and then bolted, Zuko easily freeing himself from Sokka’s grasp, but running with them anyway.

Appa landed in front of them and they all scrambled up into the saddle, Zuko seemingly encountering no issue with jumping from the ground, even though even Aang could only do that with airbending.

As soon as they were all on Appa, they took flight, and they could see the guards trying to follow them, but before long, they were out of sight.

Aang brought them to the first abandoned little island they could find and as soon as they landed, they all fell to the ground in relief. Except for Zuko, who landed lightly on his toes and immediately began pacing, swearing under his breath as he pulled his hair, ruffling the fancy topknot.

“Uh.” Sokka shared a confused look with Aang and Katara. This was not how confrontations with Zuko were supposed to go.

“Aren’t your ribs broken?” Toph asked eventually.

Zuko barely paused, just muttering, “had worse. I really need to stop getting blown up.”

“I’m sorry, what!?”

Zuko didn’t answer, going back to his pacing. Mostly he seemed to be repeating “fuck” to himself, so Sokka didn’t feel bad interrupting again.

“What the fuck is going on?” he demanded.

Zuko started rambling. “If the guards heard anything, they think I’m a traitor and I’m dead. If they didn’t… then they think I’m a hostage and will report it to my father. He probably won’t care much, ‘cause if I can’t free myself, what good am I? But if they report that you’re alive, then I’m dead anyway, because Azula told him I killed you. Also they probably think we murdered the assassin, which is not great, but better than being dead, so–”

“Hold up,” Sokka held up a hand. “First off, whose side are you on?”

“I don’t know!” Zuko said, pulling on his own hair. “He’s – he’s crazy! He – how can anyone think that’s a good idea!? But they did! All of them! The entire war council cheered at the idea of fucking genocide and–”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Toph said. “I think we need more context here. What’s going on, Sparky?”

Zuko stopped, blinking. “...Sparky?”

“Would you prefer Princey?”

“Definitely not,” Zuko said immediately. “Um. So, okay, yesterday, there was an important war council meeting. I was invited to attend.” He swallowed hard, breathing shaky. “The – the Generals reported that there were still earthbender rebellions that were causing trouble in the Earth Kingdom. They recommended sending more troops, but – my Father asked me if I thought sending more troops would help. And I – all I said was that the people of the Earth Kingdom are proud and strong and can endure anything as long as they have hope. But Father took that to mean we need to destroy their hope and then Azula suggested burning everything down and everyone applauded and Sozin’s Comet is coming and millions of people live in the Earth Kingdom! They’ve all gone crazy!”

Zuko’s frantic words fell over themselves as he spewed them out, clearly stressed and panicked. They’d never seen him like this before and frankly, it was weird. Where was the shouty, fire-happy asshole they knew and despised?

This guy in front of them almost seemed human.

“Zuko,” Aang interrupted Zuko’s tirade. “Breathe.”

Zuko sucked in a loud breath and let it out slowly. “What do we do?”

“‘We’!?”

“The Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Lord,” Zuko said casually. “And he has to be stopped. They all have to be stopped.”

“Are you… asking to join us?” Toph said slowly.

“No! Yes! I don’t know!” he threw his hands up in the air, then tugged on his hair again. “How can they all have gone crazy!? What is wrong with them!?”

“So… to be clear, you are not in favor of genocide?” Sokka asked.

“Of course not!” Zuko burst out, sounding offended.

“Okay, just gotta check,” Sokka held his hands out placatingly. “‘Cause you know, this isn’t exactly a new thing for the Fire Nation.”

Zuko stared at him. “What?”

Katara scoffed. “If you’re so opposed, why didn’t you say anything? If you really thought it was wrong, you would have spoken out.”

Face twisting with anger, Zuko snarled, “oh, forgive me for wanting to keep the other half of my face!”

Sokka blinked. “Wait, what!?”

Zuko blinked. “What?”

“What the fuck did you mean, about your face?”

“...oh.” Zuko looked like he’d swallowed something that wriggled. “You don’t know.”

“Know what?”

“When – when I was thirteen, I spoke out in a war council meeting,” Zuko said, voice shaking slightly.

#atla #wip wednesday #zuko joins the gaang early

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twst-the-night-away · 2 years

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👖 JEANS - what is their go-to outfit?

When they're not in uniforms, obviously...

Violetta's clothes are very demure and cover as much as possible, mostly because she has very pale & sensitive skin and doesn't want to burn. On an off day, her outfit is likely a blouse and a big cardigan (maybe a light shawl or vest instead if it's warmer), a long skirt, tights, and either Mary Janes or lace-up ankle boots. She likes earth tones, with splashes of purple and red.

Juniper, on the other hand, doesn't like wearing too many layers. Her average day clothes are probably just a T-shirt and athletic shorts or rolled-up jeans. On a cooler day, she'll wear a hoodie and jeans or leggings instead. The shirts most likely feature her favorite Spelldrive teams, or be for a team that she's a part of. She likes bright colors like yellow, aqua, and purple.

Paul was given a lot of hand-me-downs when he moved to NRC, but he's not to thrilled with them - especially because they're the "nice" button-down shirts and sweaters and slacks that his older brothers grew out of. His parents wanted him to dress nice and make a good impression. But now that he's used to wearing the Octavinelle dorm uniform, he realizes how much the right outfit can change you, so he's warmed up to dressing up a little. He does have a few tees and hoodies and jeans, but he saves those for really casual times.

Savvy likes breezy, frilly clothes. She prefers dresses to shorts or pants. Her go-to outfit is often a sundress, maybe with a cardigan or jacket if it's cool outside. She likes fluttery details, flowy skirts, ribbons and pearls. Whatever the outfit, she'll either wear sandals or cute little flats with it. Her favorite colors to wear are pastels, especially pink and aqua, with warm neutrals.

Sparky dresses like an average teen boy - either a T-shirt or a hoodie, and jeans. He doesn't care that much about fashion. If it's warm out, he's wearing a tank top or the sleeves of his tee are rolled up. He's gotta show off his guns, after all. He's one of those guys who loves expensive sneakers, so he takes good care of his shoes.

#twisted wonderland oc #twst oc #daisy's ocs

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daddy-chiluc · 3 years

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Inextinguishable Fire | Chiluc Week Day 1

Fake Dating/Accidental Confession/Roommates AU

Chiluc Fluff

Tw: Mentions of a Stalker

★━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━★

“Ajax! I need your help!” He chimed, his pale knuckles knocking lightly on the door. The sound of creaking soaked through the door, floorboards cried under his weight as his shadow shifted beneath the door. The faintest sound of a groan resonated through the door as it was slowly opened.

The sunlight from the apartment began to creep into his dark room, it’s darkness swallowed around the tall, pale figure before him. The veins in his hands moved as he gripped at the door and it’s frame, his muscles stretching as he curved his back in a weak attempt to pop it. Whatever he had done last night must’ve been eventful, bruises littered his knuckles as cuts and scratches tore at his skin with every breath.

“What’s up Sparky?” He groaned, the sound reverberating through the quiet hallway as he yawned, his bed head unruly as it curled and stuck out in different directions, his sleepy tears rolling down his freckled cheeks.

“I have a problem and I need your help.” Diluc had muttered, determined to fix his gaze upon those ocean blues that drowned him shamelessly with every look. They’d look down at him, up at him, study him and care for him. An overwhelming tsunami sure to swallow him whole and send his head underwater, taking away every breath he took.

“What kinda problem?” Ajax was intrigued. A problem? Whatever this problem was it obviously stressed him out a great deal — his hair was a frenzied mess, curls displaced down his back and along his shoulders from where they had been agitated; probably from where he had been running his fingers through it. Even in his sleepy haze, he could see his fingers were irritated, most likely from scratching, and his lips were chapped, his bottom lip with patches of raw skin, swollen and bleeding. He’d been chewing and pulling at the skin of his lips.

“So you remember why we’re rooming? Because I had a stalker on campus?” He worried, starting to scratch at his neck, most likely from anxiety.

“Yeah…I remember very well. They tried to break into the dorm you shared with that Albedo guy. I chased ‘em off,” he groaned, rubbing at his face, trying to rub his drowsiness away, “What about ‘em? Do I need to beat the shit outta them?” He murmured as he studied the man before him.

“Well…no, not yet I don’t think. That’s not…”

“What’s wrong Diluc?” He whispered gently, his voice deep and raspy from having just woken up. His voice alone was enough to send a shiver down Diluc’s spine.

“I’ve been invited to a double date and the people who invited me think I’m dating you and I don’t know what to do so I came to you thinking you’d know what to do and even though I know how to protect myself I’m still not comfortable knowing there isn’t a restraining order on that stalker so I figured —,”

“Diluc, slow down. You’re rambling, I need you to have mercy on me here,” he laughed as he reached for a t-shirt, “Look, I get this is making you anxious. Why not just tell them you don’t feel up to hanging out right now? Better yet, invite them to the apartment, I don’t care.” He slipped the tee on, the collar hang forward from where it had been stretched out.

The idea of ‘asking another friend’ really wasn’t much of an option for Diluc. He had far too many trust issues and the only reason why he’d hung around Ajax was because he was there the night the stalker had broken in, talking pictures of him and stealing precious items. Had it not been for Albedo’s attempt to stop him, Ajax wouldn’t have heard the ruckus.

“Look, I need you to calm down before you tell me. I can’t keep up when you anxiety ramble,” he smiled softly, nodding to the living room, “Go sit on the couch and wait for me, I’ll brush your hair out and you can go from there okay?” For someone as flamboyant as Kaeya — maybe even more so — he was rather calm in the mornings whereas Kaeya would be loud and dramatic.

Striding along their shared apartment, he sat on the couch as he listened to the winds howl and the birds chirp. He remembered telling the pair he had online classes to worry about, the classes becoming stressful, only adding to his exhaustion after the stalker incident. Feeling the sofa dip behind him, he relaxed instinctively as he sat behind him, pulling his hair behind him before he gently brushed at the hairs, careful not to snag a single strand.

“So start from the beginning for me,” he said calmly, his fingers carding through his hair with each stroke of the hairbrush.

“I was invited to a double date…,” he whispered, slumping forward just a bit as he fiddled his his fingers.

“By who?”

“By Albedo.”

“You’re old roommate?” Diluc nodded as best he could, his weight sinking into the cushions beneath him.

“Why not just invite him and his partner here?”

“I tried but he said he doesn’t want to be a bother and he’d rather pay for coffee down the road.” He sank into his touch as he lightly massaged his scalp.

“And you said he thinks we’re dating?” Diluc hummed, tilting his head back, melting under his touch.

“Yeah, I couldn’t get a word in over the phone, I tried to tell him we weren’t and he didn’t believe me.” He sighed, some of his tension leaving his body.

“And you’re worried about that stalker again?” Diluc hummed again, his eyes closing as Ajax braided the sides to pull into a small ponytail, draping the rest if his tamed hair over his shoulders and down his back.

“Then we’ll go and just call it a fake date.” He shrugged, his hands leaving the tamed red locks his fingers were busied with.

“The two of us on a fake date?” Diluc had thought of it, he just hadn’t expected for him to have the same idea, “What would we even do, how would that —,”

“Dont stress about it too much, just follow my lead,” Ajax soothed, brushing a piece of his hair behind his ear. It was brief when Diluc looked away, Ajax’s eyes stealing a glance at his red lips, his gaze lingering a moment longer than he would’ve liked as the other stared off at the pristine, white wall.

“Look, if it bothers you that much then I’ll just go as company alright? No need to worry your pretty head Aphrodite,” Diluc’s skin burned violently as his mind began to crash, he could feel himself drowning once more, water filling his lungs and his throat as a light kiss was pressed to his temple.

“Why did you —,”

“We’re fake dating right? We gotta make it believable Rosebud, might as well get a head start,” he chuckled as he walked back to his room to get dressed, “Let me know what time we’re leaving,” he called down the hall, his voice bouncing and echoing down the cramped space as Diluc sat mindlessly on the sofa. God, he could be so insufferable sometimes. His fingers feathered over his temple, the ghost of his lips setting his heart aflame as he scoffed. Sure, he helped when he was needed and slept most of the day because of his night classes, but he could be so…so annoying.

An hour had ticked away along the clock’s hands, Diluc looking on in severe distaste at the basic tee and jeans Ajax had chosen. It was so basic Diluc couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he drug him back to his room, rifling through the other’s wardrobe, desperate to find something better for him to wear.

“Take that off, before I rip it off you,” Diluc’s tone was bitter, as he glared at him.

“So forward Diluc,” Ajax snickered, pulling the t-shirt off slowly, teasingly, loving the irritated noise that squeezed itself past Diluc’s throat. His touch against his skin was scalding as he took his shirt off for him. It made his heart flutter and burn like a forest fire in his chest with each breath, becoming far more dire with every inhale — dire for the need to touch him delicately, to let his fingers gingerly trace the underside of his jaw and press chaste kisses to his neck. He swallowed thickly, knowing his pale cheeks were burning with his hidden passion, the tips of his ears must have been burning as bright as the other’s hair. If they had, Diluc had chosen to ignore it, surely.

“Put this on.” Clothes were pushed to his chest, an assortment of colors that worked beautifully together, “I think a slate grey would look better, it’s softer,” he started to ramble, right, he was studying to be a fashion designer, he was also a minor in art, “No, no wait,” he went off, fingers gently skimming against his clothes, “Try this instead,” he handed him another outfit, taking away the sweater and pants he had handed him previously.

“Diluc, it’s a fake date…,” he whispered slowly as Diluc went back to looking through his clothes, “Why are you dressed like it’s a fancy outing, wearing heels, and going so in depth with clothes?”

“Well, Ajax,” he hummed with a swift turn of his heel, his hair spinning as he lifted the other’s chin with his finger, sending Ajax reeling from his spot on his bed. Don’t even get him started on the way he said his name like that, “One, it’s called having a taste in fashion and being a minor in art. Two, they aren’t heels, they’re dress shoes,” he leaned in closely, a smirk danced uncharacteristically along his features as his breath fanned over his lips, “We gotta make it believable…Seerose.” Had it not been for rooming with him for four months his German would have been rough. He…he called him Water Lily in German. The perfect payback really. Ajax laughed lightly as the finger slipped from his chin as he stood up.

“Alright alright, I’ll be out in a moment.” Diluc had been grateful he had the other by his side, his heart hammered in his chest.

“How do I look Firefly?” He chimed, a cheesy grin on his face as he walked back into his room.

“Better,” Diluc was pleased with the outfit. It had gone silent rather quickly, the incessant buzz of the AC being the only noise that had filled the room, “Hey…I have a question.”

“Shoot Sparky,” Ajax relaxed, slouching back just a bit as Diluc eyed him, watching his every move like a hawk.

“Did you want to go on the double date with me?” Ajax’s face flushed. Yes, yes he absolutely wanted to…but how could he admit that so casually?

“Just thought it’d be a cool idea, that’s all.”

“A cool idea?” Diluc had doubted that with every fiber of his being. He could tell by the way he spoke and the way his body had tensed up there was something up.

“Yeah, pretty much.” He shrugged, his body going rigid.

“You’re lying.”

“What?”

“I said you’re lying.”

“Yeah, I heard you the first time but what makes you think I’m lying?”

“You’re too tense.” He said simply, stepping closer eyes cut to examine every bead of sweat that formed on his face, every freckle and every line in his forehead, “Why did you propose the idea of a fake date, and be honest.”

“I am being honest!” He panicked, he could feel his body begin to flare with heat as Diluc walked closer and closer.

“No you aren’t Ajax.”

“Why does it matter?” Ajax argued, as he took slow, consistent steps back.

“Because I’m the last person you should love—,”

“So what if I do?!” Ajax’s voice echoed within the dark room as sunlight streamed through the curtains as he was backed into the wall. His heart raced in his chest as it clicked. He…he just admitted to loving his roommate. The very roommate he saved four months ago and offered to go on a fake date with. He hadn’t meant for it to be so raw, so unromantic that he himself had to groan at his own stupidity.

“…So you’re actually in love with me?” Ajax’s lips pursed shut, as he looked away, embarrassment settling in his bones, flooding every crevice of his body.

“Ajax?”

“Yes, Diluc, I’m in love with you, for fuck sake.” He groaned, his head thumping against the wall as he threw his head back. He was dizzy, his eyes wide as warm hands cupped his cheeks with a forceful kiss pressed to his lips — desperate. Everything in this moment was a blur to him, he just knew he tasted sweet, like sugar and pastries. He could feel the quiver of his lip and it felt right. It felt so, so right.

“C-call, call it off,” he groaned, melting into the kiss with every touch as his lithe fingers traced the veins in his neck, “Call off the meet up—,” he whispered thinly, pulling him impossibly closer as he kissed him feverishly, passion burning in each press of their lips. Diluc gasped as he was suffocated with every gentle kiss pressed to his skin. He pulled at the hairs of his neck, allowing himself to be dragged down to the bottom of the ocean. Lightly, he pushed him away to breathe, laughing lightly at their disheveled state as he cleaned them both up as best he could.

“Or, we could actually make it a date instead of a fake one,” he proposed, hands busying themselves with bronze curls.

“Yes. Fuck yes, I would absolutely love that,” he whispered as he went back to kissing him over and over, grateful for his stupid mouth talking too much.

“A date it is then,” Diluc mumbled against his lips as he allowed himself to be devoured by the other’s warm embrace, “A date it is…” Ajax sank into his touch, feeling his fingers hold him closely by his jaw as his lips met his over and over, his warmth scorching his skin, a fire that could never be extinguished…a fire that could never be extinguished.

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shitpissboi · 3 years

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The More The Merrier

Summary- Just a calm night in with your favorite polycule.

Word Count- 3302

Request?- Yes

Pairing- Bakusquad x reader / Bakugou Katsuki x Kirishima Eijirou x Reader x Sero Hanta x Ashido Mina x Kaminari Denki

Warings- Detailed use of marijuana, swearing, kissing, slight making out, plus sized reader, deaf Bakugou, latinx Sero, aged up characters.

A/N- Again, I am so sorry this is late! I tried extra hard to make it good for the anon who requested it, so I really hope you enjoy it! :)

You smiled as you heard the front door open, watching your redheaded and blonde boyfriends converse as they took off their jackets and shoes at the front door. The two looked up to see you and, and the rest of your partners, all relaxing on the couch. You were on the very end, closest to the door, while Hanta and Denki sat on either side of the middle corner piece, and Mina laid next to the blonde, her head in his lap while the rest of you gamed. You heard some shuffling before a hand gently grabbed the back of your neck, leaning it back to show him smirking down at you.

“Hi Katsu, how was work today love?” You asked, smiling sweetly. Before responding, he leaned down, his eyeliner smeared and the soot from his quirk in a line in the shape of his mask. You leaned back more to give him better access and couldn’t help but smile as his lips met yours. You reached up and put one of your hands on the side of his head, signaling him to stay there. He deepened the kiss by moving his lips slightly, you following in sync with him.

“Come onnnnn, don’t hog Katsuki! I wanna kiss him too!” Denki piped up besides you, making the other blonde break the kiss and playfully glare at him. With your question unanswered, said man walked over to Denki and did the same thing he did to you, but instead of leaning down to kiss you, he lifted the blonde off the couch and held him in his arms bridal style. He quickly fixed him so he was sitting on the couch, with Katsuki between his legs and leaning so far forward that he had to hold Denki to keep him from falling. Said blonde squealed and quickly threw his hands around the other man's shoulders and blushed violently.

“You got my attention now sparky, what’re you gonna do about it?” The older man asked, leaning down even further. Your attention was pulled away as Eijirou made his way over to you, having started with Mina and ignored the situation between your two blonde lovers. You got on your knees and faced him, putting your arms around his shoulders and pulling him closer.

“Hello, my little pebble.” The red head hummed, gripping you by your waist and touching his forehead with your. He gave you a small kiss before pulling away, chuckling at the way you pouted. You sunk back down into the couch and looked to the middle of the couch when you heard a scream and a soft thud. Denki had unceremoniously fallen down after Eijirou had pulled Katsuki away to go shower, which led to dropping the poor blonde and his feet to land over his head.

Denki sat up and grumbled something you couldn’t hear, wrapping his arms around himself. Mina rolled her eyes and hugged him, whispering something in his ear that made him blush and hide his face behind his hands. You rolled your eyes at the supposed “flirt” and turned your attention to your last lover.

“Where’re you going, handsome?” You asked as he stood up and started to walk around the couch but stopped in front of you, running his hand through your hair gently.

“I’m just going to grab our stuff real quick so we're ready when Katsu and Eji get out of the shower, mi amor.”

“Okay, can you grab me a hoodie on your way back, please?” You asked with a small pout, leaning your head up and kissing his wrist.

“Why would I get you one when I can just give you this one?” The tall man asked, pulling his hoodie over his head, revealing an old and loved muscle tee, some small holes torn throughout the shirt. You lifted your arms up and he slipped the hoodie onto you while you raked your eyes over his torso. You muttered out a thank you when he was done, breaking yourself from your trance and sitting on your knees, pulling the black haired man closer by his waist. He looked down and smiled, placing his hands on both sides of your face.

“Your welcome, hermosa.” He mutters, kissing your forehead. You grinned up at him and giggled, watching as he pulled away and started his descent to the bedroom. It was only a couple minutes before he came back with a handful of stuff, you stood up and helped him set it all on the coffee table, going to grab a good couple bottles of water while he went to get the rest. You got back first and set all the bottles up in one of the top corners.

Hanta came back and sat next to you, piling the rest of the stuff on the table. He grabbed a big jar, covered in stickers, out of the mess, along with two grinders. He passed a grinder to you and opened his own, taking the top off of the jar and grabbing a nug. You opened and grabbed your own, breaking it up enough to fit in the ginder before closing the top and swiveling it back and forth.

You repeated the process a couple times before the grinder was filled. You set the grinder down and slid the bong and a water bottle toward you. You checked to make sure the bong was clean before pouring the appropriate amount of water in, setting the bottle aside and grabbing the grinder again. You packed the bowl as full as you could, making sure to keep just a little bit of room at the top, and put down a layer of kief.

You pushed the bong toward the middle of the table and put the grinder next to it, getting up and heading to the kitchen. You went in the junk door and grabbed a bunch of pamphlets out of the junk draw, walking back and tossing them on the table. You noticed Sero was done rolling the joints and was sitting back, so you sat next to him and threw your legs over his, curling up so your head was laying in the crook of his neck. His arms instinctively wrapped around your form and held you against him.

“We doing takeout for dinner tonight?” He murmured, resting his head atop of yours. You hummed and nodded.

“I gotta ask Suki if he’s okay with it but I figured since he just got home he wouldn’t want to cook, and you could probably use a night off from it too.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine with it, we haven’t had takeout for a while so he shouldn’t cause a fuss. I’m more than okay with it.” The black haired man chuckled, running his hand gently up and down your leg absentmindedly. You gave a small chuckle back and snuggled into him more, turning your eyes to the tv as the game was turned off and Hulu was turned on. Only about ten minutes passed with you peacefully resting on your boyfriend before your last two boyfriends finally walked into the living room.

Eijirou sat at the other end of the couch, his right leg against the couch and right dangling to the floor. Mina sat between his legs, her legs hanging over his right one, and Denki sat next to her, their shoulders touching but his legs crossed. Katsuki came to sit with you and Sero, sitting on the other side of you and wrapping an arm around your waist, pulling you back so you were laying against his chest instead of Hanta’s. The blonde hero just leaned over you though, taking the kiss from the other man’s lips that he was supposed to get when he walked in, muttering a small but definitive “There!” as he pulled away.

You smiled at your two boys but turned away to let them have their privacy, leaning over to grab one of the joints from the table that Sero had rolled, and a lighter. Leaning back, and still sandwiched between the two men, you brought the joint to your lips and lit the other end as you inhaled. The smoke filled your lungs with a pleasant burn to the back of your throat, holding the smoke in as Katsuki took the joint from you. You just rolled your eyes at his impatient ass turned toward Hanta, giving the blonde a smirk then leaning in toward the other.

Said man leaned in as well, opening his mouth so he could inhale the smoke flowing out of yours. Getting impatient yourself, you closed the distance between you two, molding your lips together as he exhaled the smoke through his nose. Your lips moved together in sync, the taller man setting a slow but steady pace. The pomeranian growled behind you and grabbed the back of your shirt, gently yanking you back and handing the joint off to Hanta. He took it but continued to glare at Katsuki over your flustered state.

“You can’t just pull her back like that man!”

“Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it Tape Face?”

“You really want to go down this road again, bebe`?” The black haired man asked, slightly gripping the others neck with his hand. Your eyes widened and you quickly rolled off of the two, calmly making your way over to the rest of your partners. You grabbed the take out pamphlets and sat in the middle corner, facing the other three. Denki immediately abandoned his position and bounced over to you, climbing into your lap and sitting right between your crossed legs. You smiled at the adorable man, kissing his cheek and running your fingers through his black and blonde hair.

“Hey cutie, you come here often?” He joked, leaning up to face you. You couldn’t help but laugh at his badly timed and overused joke.

“You're lucky you're so cute, dummy.” You laughed, placing a quick kiss on his lips. He smiled and blushed a little, quickly leaning back to hide it and grabbing the bong from Mina in the process. He proceeded to take his hit while you turned toward Eji and Mina, thrusting the pamphlets toward them.

“You guys can pick what to eat tonight. I was gonna ask Suki and Hanta too but they’re a little busy.” You explained, nodding over to said men who were still arguing. You only reached out to grab the joint that Hanta had set on the table.

“Hey baby, can you hold this while I hit that?” You asked, holding out the joint to him and reaching toward the bong in his hand. He just nodded, wanting to see how long he could possibly hold the smoke in.

“Your quirk hurts your lungs enough Denks, trying to hold it for so long is just gonna make it worse.” You sighed, giving him a quick kiss on the shoulder before bringing the bong to your lips and inhaling while lighting it. Said man just waved you off, his face starting to turn red from how long he was holding it. You pulled the bong away after a good couple seconds and handed it over to Mina, who passed it to Eijirou. You exhaled the smoke upwards, grabbing the joint back from Denki right before he doubled over, the smoke finally getting to him.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” You sighed, rolling your eyes and running your hand up and down his back comfortably. He reached over and grabbed a water bottle from the table, chugging half of it before finally starting to calm you. You rolled your eyes again and brought the joint to your lips, grabbing the hand he wasn’t using to drink and molding his fingers so only was being pointed.

Used to this by now, he simply let you do what you needed to do. You brought his finger up to the end of the joint, squeezing his wrist twice once he was close enough. He sent a small shock to his fingertip, effectively re-lighting the joint for you. You quickly started to exhale, moving your hand to the back of his neck and running it through his hair to show your appreciation. Over his coughing fit, he hummed and leaned into your touch, giving you a quick kiss on the side of your head. You pulled the joint away, holding your breath for only a couple seconds, and then exhaled, passing the joint off to Mina to pass to Eijirou again.

“Wait, I can smoke the joint this time?!” Mina asked, staring at you wide eyed.

“Sorry pebble but not today, they just handed it to you cuz they can’t reach me. You know you and Denks can only smoke joints on special occasions, both of your quirks are really hard on your lungs!” Eijirou piped up, gently taking the joint from Mina and handing her the bong, making sure to give her a kiss on the forehead too.

“But-but it can be a special occasion! Please Eiji, just one hit?” The pinkette pouted, giving her best puppy dog eyes to the red head.

“How about this, when us four get to the roach, we’ll make a time bomb and let you hit that.” Eijirou suggested, taking his own hit from the joint. (If anyone doesn’t know, a timebomb is where you put a roach in the bowl and then fill the rest of the bowl, mostly done with kief :)

“Oooh okay! That’s definitely better than the joint!” She smiled, giving Eijirou a quick kiss back on his lips and then taking her hit from the bong, proceeding to pass it to Denki.

“Wait, if Mina can hit the time bomb, can I?!” He asked excitedly, practically bouncing in your lap.

“Sure, but just be careful please, you already hurt your lungs today, love.” You gave Eijirou a look before answering, only answering him once the red head gave you a nod. He cheered and let out an excited thank you, hugging you tight to him. You just laughed and hugged him back, smiling at the excitement and enthusiasm that he still held, even after years of knowing him.

He worked on calming himself down as Mina passed the joint to you. You took your hit and then looked over to Hanta and Katsuki, giggling at the scene before you. Hanta was sitting similarly to Eijirou, except both legs were wrapped around Katsuki’s torso and resting on his thighs. Katsuki was lying between his legs, his head snuggled into the crook of Hantas stomach and thigh.

You're not sure how, or when, they got into that position, but you aren’t surprised. Katsuki comes off very harsh and domineering, but once you got to know him, you learned how nice and caring he can actually be. It takes a while, especially since he has no interest in making friends (ever), but it’s definitely worth it once you get past his walls. He would do anything for those he cared about, even more so with the 5 of you, who he was completely whipped for.

When Hanta and Eijirou step up, it’s very easy to see the dominating nature melt away into something soft and almost unrecognisable, only showing that side to the 5 people that he loved and trusted the most. The blissful look on his face and the uncharacteristically relaxation of his muscles gave his true feelings away, even though he would swear up and down that he couldn’t stand it when Hanta did that later on.

Your smile softened at the peaceful look on his face, noticing Hanta look down on him with an equally loving look in his eye. He looked up when he noticed you starring, giving his famous triangle smile and scratching the back of his neck. You gave him a smile back and reached over, gently rubbing Katsuki’s lower leg. He opened his eyes and looked up at you, a small smile still on his face. You reached over as far as you could with Denki in your lap, and handed him the joint. His face lit up a little as he took it from you, quickly bringing it to his lips and taking a long drag of it.

Your attention was captured by said man in your lap as he handed you the bong, getting up to head to the bathroom, Mina getting up too so she could use it after him. You quickly took your hit off the bong and set it on the table, having cashed it, and sat up so you could pack it again. You took the fresh roach from Hanta and placed it in the bowl, grabbing the grinder next to you.

You heard Eijirou on his phone in the background, ordering from some random take out place for all of you. You opened the second compartment on the grinder and set one half down, grabbing the very small spoon off the rolling tray and starting to transfer the kief from the grinder to the bowl. You held the roach steady as you packed around it, filling the bowl as much as you could with the small herb.

By the time you were done so was Eijirou, so you grabbed the bong and the lighter and moved toward him. You handed him the bong and he thanked you, quickly taking his hit before passing it back to you. Before you take your hit, he grabbed your hips and pulled you toward him, making you let out a small surprised squeal. He had moved so he was sitting back against the couch, his legs spread apart comfortably. He moved you so you were sitting between his legs but facing the rest of the couch, your shoulder against his chest and your legs hanging over his.

You blushed and giggled, welcoming the warmth of your space heater boyfriend. He chuckled and kissed the top of your head, apologizing for scarring you. You told him it was okay and leaned up to kiss his nose, making him laugh again. You sat up straight to take your hit but relaxed against him as soon as you were done, passing the bong to him so he could hold it. You heard Mina and Denki come back in but paid it no mind, the beautiful haze clouding your mind. As the two got comfortable on the couch, your feet somehow ended up under Denki’s thighs, allowing you to let out a sigh of content, your cold feet getting some much needed warmth.

Eijirou tightened his grip around you and smirked, easily recognizing you fading in and out. You smiled again and snuggled into him, allowing your head to rest on his broad chest. He lifted your head for just a second to pull your hoodie over your head, his hand lingering to cup your face. You smiled gratefully and kissed his hand as a thank you, leaning into the touch.

The redhead smiles and kisses your head, muttering a small “welcome”, having known you long enough to know what your small gestures mean. He held you tight against him, running his now free hand up and down your arm and resting his chin on your head. You opened your eyes briefly to see Denki and Mina sitting next to each other, giggling as they tried to hit the bong at the same time. You rolled your eyes and looked over to your last 2 partners, still in the same position that they were in.

You smiled and let your eyes close, relaxing into your boyfriend. You loved all of your partners, even if they were loud or harsh or idiots, it didn’t matter to you. They were your idiots. And you wouldn’t change it for the world.

Masterlist

Posted 1/4/21

338 notes · View notes

cherryskyies · 4 years

Text

Edge (Zuko x Fem! Reader)

Genre: Fluff, angst.

Yes, this is going to be a series.

Word count: 1.6k

Warnings: Swearing

Main Masterlist

Pt.1 // Pt.2 // Pt.3 // Pt.4 // Pt.5 // Pt.6

Summary- (Y/N) and Zuko were best friends border line lovers until Zuko’s honor/avatar obsessed self got in the way. He wants to use you as bait for the avatar since you are an air bender yourself. Let’s just say, things don’t exactly end well between the two.

"(Y/N)!" Zuko yelled, smiling as he watched you walk onto the ship's deck. "How did you sleep?" He asked, making his way over to you.

It was obvious Zuko hadn't slept well, the dark bags under his eyes being the first thing you notice.

Sitting down, you sighed, "Could have slept better, how about you? How did you sleep?"

Zuko huffed, sprawling out next to you on the floor, “Not that good.”

You moved behind him, gently lifting his head into your lap so you could play with his hair, "Did the storm keep you up too or something else?"

“I suppose the storm is part of the reason, but no. I'm worried about capturing the Avatar," he said, eyes meeting yours. "I just want to go back home and bring you with me so we can be happy together."

You smiled, gently pulling the bands that kept his hair up, "I'm happy as long as I'm with you, Zuko." You started, running your fingers through his hair. "And I know how important your honor is to you, but please don't beat yourself up over it, okay?"

He nodded, slowly sitting up. “I'll try."

You peered down at him, eyebrows raised, "You won't try, you will."

"Can we spar? It’s been a while,” he asked, attempting to change the subject.

"Yeah, but I'm going to win."

He got up, getting in a fighting stance, “I promise to go easy on you, air rat.”

You rolled your eyes at the name, "Whatever, sparky."

Fire danced along his finger tips, a spark appearing here and there, "Ready?"

You nodded, a ghost of a smile on your lips as you stood still.

“Zuko!” You heard Iroh yell, pausing yours and Zuko's actions. "Legs further apart. You'll get knocked back in seconds standing like that.”

"He's right," you said, watching as Zuko widened his stance. "Still not good, but it'll do."

Iroh sighed, taking a seat at the table with tea in his hand, “Be careful, kids. We don’t have a good infirmary on the ship.”

His fire ball had barely hit water by time you were behind him, successfully shoving him on the ground.

“Gotta be quicker than that, Ko."

"Great fight, now join me and have some tea."

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

The sun was at its highest, burning your skin. Even though you were in the south pole, the sun was still hot.

“There! Uncle, look in the distance at the light," Zuko yelled, pointing towards a bright, blue light. “It’s him, the Avatar. I can feel it.”

Iroh, now beside him, sighed, “Zuko, we’ve been through this before.”

Zuko marched towards you, pulling you off the ground forcefully.

“Hey, what was that for!?” you yelled, using a gush of air to push him away. “Don’t have to rip me up like that. Use your words next time.”

He rolled his eyes, grabbing you again, “You’re going to be my bait. He doesn’t know any other air benders are alive so when he sees you, he’ll follow.”

You shook your head, eyes wide as you remove yourself from his grip once more, “No, I’m not going to do that Zuko.”

Zuko was angry, trying to grab you again, but missing due to you jumping back, "Of course, go ahead and be useless. Besides pretending to care, It's the only thing you're good at."

'Ouch,' you thought, looking away.

Iroh cleared his throat, standing in between you and Zuko, "Enough."

Zuko had walked away, wanting to make sure the crew heard the change of course.

"Are you okay, (y/n)?" Iroh asked, pulling you into a hug.

You nodded, "Yeah, just…thinking."

"Do it. Pack your bags and go. I can take care of Zuko as long as you promise to take care of yourself."

"Where will I go?" You asked, not sure how well you'd do being on your own again.

"Try the air temples, you can at least have shelter there."

"Alright, i'll trust you, Iroh."

‘I have my glider, clothes, food, water, and money. What else?’ you thought, scanning your room for the hundredth time.

“Oh! My bracelet," you realized, walking over to your nightstand and slipping on the red bracelet Zuko had made and gifted you for your birthday.

You were thrown out of your memories when you felt the ship crash into something.

"Must be there," you muttered, swinging your bag over your shoulder and sprinting to the front, glider in hand.

“I know you’re hiding him! He’d be about this old, master of all elements!” Zuko yelled, grabbing an old lady from a young girl's grip.

“Zuko, let her go. It’s obvious they don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” you said, trying to separate him from the elder.

He paused, and for a moment you thought he'd comply, "Why is the prisoner out of their cell?"

Zuko returned his focus to the villagers as the guards started surrounding you.

”Sorry," you whispered, using your bending to send them flying.

Still too caught up in his threatening, he failed to notice you and the way you were running toward him, staff in hand.

'crack'

You hit him straight in the head, hard enough that his grip on the woman faltered and you were able to pull her away.

"Looking for me?" A voice asked, turning Zuko's attention from you to the kid standing in front of him.

“You’re the Avatar!?” Zuko yelled, shocked at how young he looked. “You’re just a kid!”

"And you're just a teenager!" The avatar shot back, not caring that literal smoke was coming out of Zuko's ears.

Without warning, Zuko shot fire his way, which ended up hitting the village igloos and melting them.

“If I go with you, will you stop attacking the village?” The avatar asked, looking at the prince whose gaze was on you.

“Only if she comes as well," Zuko said, knowing you wouldn't dare to say no and put all the villagers in harm's way.

The avatar looked at him confused, "Why her too?"

"She's a prisoner, my prisoner and she doesn't deserve freedom."

You took a step forward, arms out and ready for the cuffs, "Fuck you."

“Aang, no!” The girl holding the elder yelled, but she was left with a sad smile from the boy besides me.

“I’m sorry I got you trapped again,” The boy named Aang apologized. “I’ll make sure we get out of here together.”

You forced a smile, “It was going to happen anyway."

"All will be fi-"

"No talking," a guard said, cutting him off and making him pout.

You honestly felt like death would be better than this. Its been years since you've been in one of the cells, the feeling of cold, rough wood doing nothing to comfort you as the cuffs dug into your skin.

“(Y/N)?” A familiar voice called. “(Y/N), get up! I’ve released the Avatar and now I’m releasing you."

"Iroh?" You asked, looking up from the ground to watch as he took your restraints off and handed you your staff and bag.

“He’s in the front of the ship and refuses to leave without you, so go!” He said, pulling you up and out of the cell.

You sprinted to the front deck, legs sore and tired.

“Lets go!” Aang yelled, seeing you and grabbing your wrist as he ran towards a giant animal, only to be stopped by guards surrounding you two.

“Katara, Sokka! Get on Appa and start flying! We’ll catch up!” Aang yelled, turning to you and the guards. “How good are you at kicking firebender butt?” He asked, laughing nervously.

“Pretty good.” you replied, spinning in a circle and smashing your fist together, successfully sending a ring of wind at the guards causing them to stumble back, which gave you and Aang enough time to run away and make it to Appa.

Yeah, Zuko hates me now.

552 notes · View notes

falcor-thee-luck-dragon · 3 years

Text

Don’t Feed The Flames - Bucky Barnes x (f)reader, Natasha x platonic (f) reader

Summary: Bucky has made you angry after a tough mission with the crew, why you ask? Apparently he thinks it’s totally fine to run inside a burning building to help you complete the mission in question.

Warning: bit of angst, mostly a good time with the team, Bucky fluff shoved in ur welcome

-reader has fire powers btw, I don’t wanna confuse anyone lol

Masterlist

The mission was difficult to say the least, successful in its own right, but tough for everyone involved. All the Avengers were needed for this clusterfuck of a mission, minus Bruce and Thor who are elsewhere in the universe, lucky them.

All the team needed to do was infiltrated one of the last highly armed Hydra bases left in existence, get rid of the artillery and boom, slither right on in. Objective? Snatch valuable intel as to where the other bases are hiding, and surprise surprise, you and Wanda had to take care of some very pissed off experimentees who were unfortunately brainwashed beyond the point of helping them recover.

Ending the night in everyone quickly evacuating the premise with the essentials while you stayed back to blow up the base to nothing more then bricks and ash. Although during this, Bucky stayed back to shoot some freelancers who tried to take you the fuck out, with what would you know it; flame throwers.

Apparently Hydra is greatly lacking in weapons and functioning brain cells, among other things. Granted, you understood Bucky’s concern for your well-being when he ran into the fire. But oh dear lord were you not happy with him one goddamn bit.

Luckily Sam was able to pluck him out before anything fell on your idiot boyfriend while you were producing mass destruction in the giant airplane storage area. In the aftermath, you came out unharmed but covered in smudge marks and burnt off cloves yet again.

Bucky? Well he came away with a pissed off girlfriend and his life to say the least. And let’s just say the long four hour ride back was a tad bit awkward, even if you were too damn exhausted to show your irritation with Bucky. The team sure as hell knew he wasn’t going to be spared of your wrath when the jet landed.

It took approximately ten seconds for your man to shuffle out of your line of sight, using Steve as a shield to hide behind while they walked out. You had been distracted when Natasha asked for something picked up, then suddenly your mind was on Bucky. A moment later you stomped out of the Quinjet in pursuit of the one and only James Buchanan Barnes as he awaited your fury.

“James!” You growl fiercely, “You are the most fucking reckless person I’ve ever fucking met and I’m literally friends with Tony!” You snap while the rest of your teammates go about their business, trying to listen yet smartly staying out of everything.

“I know.” Mutters Bucky like a kicked puppy suffering his mother’s wrath, blue eyes looking at you with regret clearly visible on his handsome face.

“You know! You know!? Then why the fuck would you just run into the flames like that!” You shout while throwing your arms into the air in frustration, “You’re not fire proof Bucky!”

“Y/N...”

“Do you have a goddamn death wish!?” You interrupt, giving him a dumbfounded look as he glances from Steve to the floor then back to you again, trying to find something or someone with enough pity to help him.

He finds none, “Well....no.” Your brows raise yet again at his short and annoyingly blunt answers to make up for his stupidly daring boldness.

“Then why-ugh, whatever never mind.” You dismiss with a wave of your hand before quickly turning on your heels to walk for the metal doors into the main part of the facility, while the others keep their distance from your heated state.

“Wait Y/N, come back I’m sorry!” Exclaims Bucky desperately while you continue to ignore your reckless man, “You’re right I shouldn’t have....ugh...come on babe....shit...” Mutters Bucky as he watches you leave him in such a heated state.

“Dude just let her cool off, oh uh well....no pun intended.” Jokes Sam with a shrug as Bucky watches you stomp away in frustration, your body almost sizzling with actual flame.

“I didn’t mean to....well...ugh, shit I guess I kind of did.” Admits Bucky with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck as you slam the door shut with a loud thud, “Sometimes I forget fire can’t hurt her. I should have just let her handle the burning building herself instead of going inside when she uh, told me not to.”

Steve walks out of the Quinjet with a bag in hand to greet the two, “Y/N seemed a bit...”

“Pissed off.” Adds Sam with a light chuckle as Bucky frowns at the giant glass window.

“Yeah.” Mutters Steve awkwardly as he side eyes Bucky, “Well ugh, see you guys at dinner, I think Wanda and Vision are getting takeout from somewhere.”

“See ya Steve.”

“Bye.”

Sam and Bucky watch as Steve heads for the metal doors, soon he’s gone and the two are the only Avengers left in the giant parking garage of sorts.

“She’s going to hate me for the rest of the day I know it.” Sadly mutters Bucky, already missing your beautiful face no matter what state your in.

“I wouldn’t say it’s hate.”

“She’s going to be very disappointed in me then.”

“Yeah probably.”

Bucky gives him an offended look, “You’re supposed to say something uplifting or positive.”

“Man don’t look at me for relationship advice. This is Y/N we’re talking about, just give her a couple hours she’ll simmer down.” Inquirers Sam with a friendly pat on the back before he starts walking away for the door, as casually and unbothered as ever.

Bucky keeps silent for a moment while his mind swims with what to do next, suddenly he looks up at his retreating friend, “Hey Sam!” Shouts Bucky just as Sam opens up the door, causing him to stop and give his friend a quizzical look.

“What?!”

“Fuck you!”

Sam immediately snorts, “You brought this upon yourself brother!” And with that he shuts the door leaving Bucky alone and full of regret for putting himself in danger today when you specifically told him you could handle yourself.

Why is caring for someone so hard, wonders Bucky.

——

After taking a greatly needed shower and putting on a fresh new pair of comfortable clothing for the evening, you slipped past your friends rooms and away from where Bucky may be hiding.

Until at last you made it to Natasha’s door without being caught by anyone in the hallway and stopped for a needless conversation. Soon enough you slip into Nat’s room and saunter around for a bit as you wait for her to end her shower.

“Oh shit!” Gasps Natasha as soon as she opens the door and notices you poking around her stuff, “Jesus Y/N how’d you get in here!?”

“I opened the door.”

“I thought I locked it?”

“You did.”

Natasha gives you a puzzled look as you wander over to her nightstand, nonchalantly minding your business while picking up her current novel as she watches you curiously, “So uh, how’s it going?” She asks cautiously, well aware of your irritation with Bucky earlier that day.

Flipping through the pages you answer her honestly, “I’m fine now.”

Natasha nods before turning around to search through her drawers for an outfit, “I figured that much, considering if you were still pissed you’d be throwing fireballs into the cement wall downstairs.” She quips with her usual smirk as you gently close the book and set it back in its rightful place.

“That is.....true.” You agree with a shrug, “I’m just sending a message at this point.”

“Oh really?” Laughs Natasha while slipping on a shirt, “Poor Bucky then.”

“Yeah well he was being an idiot tough guy so....it’s what I’m doing.” You add with a lopsided smug grin, “Serves him right for being reckless with no regard for his physical safety. I love him but at what cost?”

“Someone needs to tell Steve that.” Mutters Natasha as she pulls on some sweatpants.

You chuckle, “What? That someone needs to tell Steve they love him? Not a bad idea.”

“That too.” Points Natasha, “I seriously don’t know how he’s not dead yet.”

Your brows furrow in thought for a moment, “He’s built like a stone sentinel with a will greater then many, he fears nothing.” You deadpan, face stoic and serious.

“Just about.” Laughs Natasha as you begin to cackle right along with her, in the middle of your laughing fit does the door suddenly burst open to reveal...

“Hello ladies.” Chirps Tony with an award winning smile, usual old T-shirt on and hair a bit of a mess though somehow managing to keep his Stark charm.

“I really need to get an automatic lock on that thing.” Mutters Nat to no one in particular.

“What’s up Stark.” You add with an acknowledging tilt of your head, “You here to bother us or tell us something interesting?”

“Everything I say is interesting my dear sparky.” Quips Tony with a brow wiggle.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Right, anyways. Foods here.” Chides Tony as he sets a hand on his hip, “Unless you’re both too cool for movie night. More for us then, I’ll have Vision drop off our half eaten tacos.”

“We have tacos?” You ask with an intrigued raise of your brow, just wanting to confirm and make sure he’s not bluffing, you fucking love taco night.

“Yep.”

“How long have they been here?”

“Wanda and Vis just arrived so you’re the first two I found.” Oh, fuck yeah!

Turning your head to a smirking Natasha you smile back before bolting for the door, “Move Stark!” You snap before shoving him to the side and cackling as you and Natasha book it down the hall with Tony trying to keep up in the background. What can you say, Natasha always makes it a competition and its taco night. Sometimes you gotta play dirty.

Soon you and your assassin best friend who you tripped up before reaching the door finally skid into the Avengers giant lounging area. The room is relatively empty with the exception of Wanda and Vision who are seated at the large metal table near the kitchen where all the various paper bags of tacos are seated. And ripe for the taking.

Smelling absolutely delicious all tucked snug in their wrapping and filled with the most divine ingredients, you could just about die of happiness. With a beaming smile upon your face and the surprised expressions from your two friends you belt out loudly, “Tacos FUCK YEAH!” Before racing for the bags and getting tripped by Natasha.

Whipping your head up to watch her snatch a bag you growl half angrily, “You bitch.” While she happily smiles back down at you, taco in hand.

“What are you doing on the floor? Foods here.” She jokes as you quickly walk over to the counter with all the bags.

“Ha ha, you’re hilarious now give me that.”

After about ten minutes of eating and shooting the breeze with Natasha, Wanda, Vision, and Tony; you’re ears immediately catch the sounds of thundered running down the hallway and other muffled curses from two familiar individuals.

“Fun’s arrived.” Whispers Natasha with a friendly nudge to your arm as it lays on the flat surface of the table while you absentmindedly crumple up a wrapper.

Biting your lip you anticipate the impending commotion, “Fantastic.” And this whole evening could be more enjoyable if your hundred year old boyfriend would have used some common sense.

A second later the door swings open to reveal a panting Sam before Bucky slides in after him, equally as flustered, those two idiots. As they stand there collecting their breaths, Steve casually steps into the room, walking past them and over to the bags of tacos, “Aw sweet, taco night.” He confirms excitedly, hungrily eyeing up a particular bag.

Rolling your eyes, you slouch carelessly into your expensive swivel chair before turning to Wanda who’s seated across from you, “Hey, Red Riding Hood, you’re up.” She turns her attention away from Vision and nods before giving you a sly smirk and using her power to send a balled up piece of taco wrapping straight for your head.

In one calculably swift motion do you incinerate the paper material before its able to reach your face, “Y/N you’re going to set the fire detectors off.” Laughs Tony as he crumbles up a new ball.

“Eh, we could afford a renovation.”

Tony fake scoffs, “Rude.”

“Well Y/N, I thought you did great.” Applauds Wanda with a chuckle as the three other men walk around to the far end where no one is seated, “Alright Tony you next.”

You refrain from making any eye contact with Bucky who steals a few longing glances at your smiling face, instead he follows Sam and Steve to the opposite end and watches as you quickly turn another balled up paper to ash. The sounds of your laughter and the rest of the tables almost enough to drive him insane.

Yet he refrains, Bucky knows he’s essentially in time out, reason for almost getting himself killed today; and you’re not breaking anytime soon, or so he thinks.

Ignoring the three boys hungrily attacking their poor tacos away from the main groups theatrics, Vision suddenly gains your attention, “Well I suppose I should participate with this game or fear feeling left out....uh, what is the objective? Or perhaps the name?”

“They throw wrappers at me and I set them on fire before it hits myself or the ground.” You reply while crumbling up another piece, leaving Vision to process the possible deeper meaning to your brief explanation, though there really isn’t one. It’s just for fun.

“By the way I’ve been able to get her exactly once.” Brags Tony with a shit eating grin, causing you to scoff at that memory.

“Oh fuck all the way off you flicked water into my face and then threw the paper.”

“And it was very much worth it.” He confirms as you roll your eyes at his cheating from last taco night.

The rest of your friends fill the room with snickers and some louder laughter coming from Sam down at the far end, with a raised brow you snap your head in that direction and stand, “Something funny bird boy?” You quip in a half threatening manner.

Sam’s smirk immediately drops from his face as his expression appears nonchalant, “What nooo. That was Steve.” He mutters before taking another bite out of his taco.

“Y/N that was definitely not me.”

“Uh huh.”

“Maybe it was Bucky.” Jokes Sam as you shift your fiery attention over to a fearful Bucky who quickly shakes his head before smacking Sam on the arm.

“No.” You confirm with a knowing smirk, “He doesn’t have a death wish.”

“Well neither do I please have mercy.” Pleads Sam with hands raised in defeat, “I would like to finish my taco.”

You stare down at them for a brief tension filled moment before casually shrugging, “Yeah alright.” Before sitting back down again.

——

Opening up the trash can you quickly shove down three giant paper bags from dinner with a bit of effort considering how full it is. Natasha and Vision are cleaning up in various areas nearby while Sam, Bucky, Natasha, Steve, and Tony sit in the lounging area discussing if it was necessary that Dobby was killed off in the Deathly Hallows. You know, normal things you discuss with your superpowered friends.

Well Bucky is mostly just listening and stealing glances over to you every couple of minutes, really wishing you would just walk over to him and let him show you how sorry he was with the biggest hug he could possibly muster. Probably never letting you go again, though you wouldn’t mind.

Ignoring your own longing to be cuddled up next to Bucky, you instead fight with the damn trash can to fucking shut its dumb lid already. With one hand forcefully shoving down bags, paper plates, and banana peels you start to think if volunteering for clean up was even worth it.

A blue flame suddenly erupts from your palm and makes a big black hole through the paper bags and plates, your eyes go wide in surprise as you immediately retract your hand from the trash and shut the lid just as quickly.

Taking a single step back you let out a breath before turning your head to find Bucky watching your whole ordeal go down with a drink in hand, guess he must have gotten up to get some juice and stayed for your one on one brawl with the trash can. Rolling your eyes, you wave it off, “Completely under control.” You mutter as he slowly nods.

Well this is awkward.

Shifting your gaze from Bucky to your friends and back to Bucky again, he finally speaks, “Is that why the lid has smoke coming from under it?”

“What?” You wonder in puzzlement before looking back down at the trash can to find smoke indeed rising, “Oh fuck!” Ripping the lid off you’re kindly greeted with a burst of flame and smoke. Well, shit.

“Uh, Y/N?” Asks Bucky with an uncertain chuckle, “You’re positive everything is under control?” Quips your smartass boyfriend.

With more flames rising to an almost alarming level, though not quit yet, you glance at your oblivious friends before racing for the sink, “Yes! Everything is fucking fine!” Wanda skips to the side as you snatch a cup of something from the counter by the sink.

Running back you skid in your tracks and dump the clear liquid onto the flames which causes them to rise even higher and gain the attentions of everyone sitting down and relaxing, “Why is my trash can on fire?” Asks Tony as casually as ever.

“I don’t know maybe it looks better this way?!” You sass before giving the glass a double take, “The hell? What the fuck was in this!” You shout, holding up the glass while fire burns in the trash from behind you.

“Oh that had some Quinjet fuel in it, why do you ask?” Replies Tony, he’s gotta be fucking with you.

Squinting at him in bewilderment, you shake the empty glass in frustration, “Why the fuck would there be a random glass of fuel sitting in a clear unlabeled glass on the fucking sink of all places!”

“What did you think it was?”

“Oh I don’t know!? Water?!” You snap causing the fire to roar even higher at your outburst.

Looking almost like a demon princess standing there with flames rising from behind you, your fists ball up with blue flame, something that you don’t even realize is happening as you give Tony a (what the fuck are you actually stupid) face.

Sensing your obvious irritation and rising anger, Bucky comes to the rescue with a whole bowl full of actual water and promptly dumbs it onto the flames which causes the unless materials to sizzle and whine. Soon the oranges and reds are gone, leaving the contents turned to ash and nothing more then wet soot.

Distinguishing your own flames, you hang your head low, revealing a tired heavy sigh as you mumble, “Shit.” Suddenly you feel admittedly quit drained and annoyed from the events of the day, even if they weren’t all bad.

Your friends keep silent for a moment before Steve quickly stands, “Movie night anyone?” Gaining the attention of everyone in an instant; you bless the blonde for his intuitive ways of helping you out in the smallest of moments. He truly is a great friend.

“Yeah I could watch something.” Adds Sam with a shrug, “I’m thinking Deathly Hallows Part 2.”

“Yeah it’s pretty good I’ll join.”

“Me too.”

“Yeah I’m in.”

Everyone get up and begins walking for the door as you stay standing in your spot near the wet and ash covered metal trash can, everyone exiting for the home theater except for Bucky who’s back is to you while he tells Sam you’ll be there in a minute.

Folding your arms, you suddenly feel like it’s the first time you and Bucky have ever talked one on one with each other, you’re typically a pretty damn confident and fiery person to begin with, it’s just. Being mad at your favorite human in the whole entire world and then embarrassing yourself with accidentally setting the trash can on fire can take its toll.

Also not to mention the mission many hours ago was admittedly hectic and stress inducing and then, Bucky....perhaps a moment to calm down would have been smart if taken earlier. God your life moves to damn fast.

“You are so intense sometimes.”

Breaking out of your self reflective trance, your eyes quickly dart up to see Bucky who’s giving you a soft smile, “If you wanted my attention you could have just asked.”

“Very funny.” You scoff, “I was actually too busy being mad at you.”

“Ah, right.” Nods Bucky as he mirrors your defensive positioning, deciding to cross his arms and make a pouty face like yourself, “So I guess we’ll just stay here and brood then?”

“I’m trying to make a point.” You mutter, you’re not gonna crack, you’re not gonna do it.

“I’m trying to get my girlfriend to watch a movie with me.” Admits Bucky with an affectionate head tilt as you frown, “I know they’re not going to wait for us so....uh....okay let me start over.....I’m sorry for being reckless and almost dying. And I mean it too, with all of my heart. I love you Y/N.”

Although you’d like to throw his dumb reckless ass some sass and strut away leaving him guessing and begging for more, you just can’t find it in you at this point. He looks at you with those big beautiful blue eyes full of love and adoration for you and only you, how could you possibly resist them?

You know with every ounce of your soul that he means every single word, and you also know that he’s missed you since the second you yelled at him and slammed the facility door, leaving him alone and regretting his past decisions that could have potentially ended him then and there.

“Sometimes James, sometimes.” You mutter, shaking your head in disapproval before a small smirk pulls at your lips and in that moment he knows you’re his, “Come here.”

Heeding to your wonderful command that he’s been waiting to hear all day, he swiftly makes the short distance to gather your smaller body into a giant Bucky bear hug, his strong arms wrap protectively around your back as his head falls into the side of your neck as he quickly steals a small kiss.

You pull him in even tighter and fully enjoy the sensation of himself flush against you, metal arm squeezing your rip cage and long dark hair that falls into your eyes; god you love him so much.

Giving you one last little squeeze of affection, Bucky slowly pulls away and presses his head against yours, “I gotta be honest, I have no idea what this movie is about.” Reveals Bucky as he continues to holds you close.

Chuckling you press a kiss to his lips, “I’ll tell you what’s happening. Let’s go before we miss anything else.”

Nodding, he tilts your head up to press a sweet kiss to your lips one last time before letting you go, so that the two of you can begin walking for the door. Opening up the metal and glass door for you like the gentleman that he is, Bucky quickly jogs over to your side.

“So Sam told me these guys are wizards or something? Like they can teleport and fly I think?” States Bucky in question while walking in step with you.

Looking over at him you smile at how cute he’s being right now, giving him an agreeable nod, “Yeah they can do cool stuff like change form and set things on fire.”

Bucky suddenly starts laughing much to your confusion, “Y/N does that make you a wizard?”

Shoving him to the side you snort as he keeps laughing, “Shut up.” You mutter humorously as he stumbles from your friendly push.

Making quick steps to catch up with you, Bucky pulls you into his side, “Forgive me I didn’t mean it...” Snickers your adorable idiot, “I bet you’d be the best wizard, pointy hat and all.”

Shaking your head you can’t help the smirk that tugs against your better wishes, “I’m gonna set you on fire.” You jokingly threaten him with as he affectionately squeezes your side, causing you to be pressed even closer against him.

“Wizard.” Muses Bucky as he plants a kiss to your cheek as you try and push him away.

“Bucky, shut the fuck up.”

“But, I love you.”

#bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x reader #Bucky Barnes #the winter soldier x reader #the winter soldier x y/n #marvel imagine #marvel x reader #marvel x you #fanfic

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tundrainafrica · 4 years

Text

Why I love LeviHan (a rant)

So I'm pretty new to the LeviHan community and I just wanted to rant about how much of a work of art this fucking ship is even though I have no idea whether Isayama did it on purpose or not. But damn, this ship literally introduced me to the drama of shipping fluff and AUs --- two genres I used to avoid like the plague because never have I felt such adamance for a ship to set sail in YEARS since Percabeth back in high school.

To give some background about myself, the past five years, I was no fan of ships. Like literally, I tried to avoid shipping fics like the plague (for any fandom) because I was like "come on war racial war, zombie like monsters? Who has time to fall in love?" A lot of non romance shows don’t leave time for a relationship to develop and we literally just get a time skip where suddenly they pair people up together and I’m like woop good story but yo how the heck did they end up together.

In real life, I also did get into a healthy relationship with a guy, a slow burn after five years type and I thought yeah I've seen how I want a relationship to develop and now imma be picky as fuck with ships.

I did end up picky as fuck with ships but Isayama with the minimal screen time he actually gave this ship to set sail with probably minimal intention to actually confirm their ship got me climbing into this ship while it sunk canonically after chapter 132 because holy fuck ISAYAMA YOU MAD MAN.

Let's talk about how they were introduced. Trost is destroyed. Titans are impossible to kill then whoop. We get a group of weirdos and outcasts who can somehow kill titans like crazy.

Strong titan slayer dude.

Strong titan slayer girl. (Hange is female to me.)

Cool commander dude.

Cool interesting characters. Eren's dream team since episode 1. Two captains. Constantly together. Erwin is their glue. Nothing suspicious about that. They work together. They're too busy fighting Titans to actually be considering a relationship right??

Besides, Hange and Levi are just way too different like

Levi is like *slash slash slash I hate titans u ugly* *slash slash slash eww titan blood* *slash slash slash kill Titans they're all monsters*

Hange is like *slash slash slash oooh titan blood* *slash slash slash dont kill them i wanna dissect them* *doesn't slash* titans make me horny.

Like sure we could argue opposites attract but there are more cases where opposite personality dating would probably backfire and with the idiosyncrasies of both parties at polar ends of the spectrum it just didn't seem possible for there to be a spark? Like logistically they would tear each other's hair out if they were stuck together in a relationship.

At that point, Erwin being the middle ground between both captain weirdos, I couldn't help but think shipping Erwin with either of them would have been the more realistic option.

Season 2 had its fair share the first two scenes with Levi picking her up and the carriage. Didn't see anything too sparky yet and yes the last scene where he could tell who she is by her knock. (but yes sparks flew in hindsight).

Season 3: Erwin the glue gets trapped in capital due to political reasons and only one arm. Two captains forced to combine forces to manage the survey corps in peril. They get their bonding moments like torturing some dude together and reflecting over the untimely deaths of Hange’s squad. (and maybe Levi’s squad too)

They separate while coup d'etat happens because their skills were needed elsewhere. They got to save Eren and like hours later in the cavern Levi was especially concerned about Hange when she got shot by the hook back in the cavern like you don't see that concern with any other character except maybe Erwin. (But it can be argued that maybe all the other people he ever loved died too fast he never got the time to be concerned.)

All the way until the battle of Shiganshina Levi is usually with Hange.

When he’s not with her, there’s a reason (usually Erwin’s orders.)

When he's not with her he's thinking about her.

Then Erwin their magical glue of a commander does die and the captains gotta stick together even without the glue because they're the last two surviving people in the old survey corps.

It's apparent Levi hates the changes made to the survey corps because he still keeps the green cloak which everyone kinda abandoned. So it can be argued that Hänge was also that last bit of fresh air Levi had of the olden days.

they're

together

almost

Every

Friking

Scene

Like you can't blame them. Levi is anti social and traditional survey corps type.

Hange is still reeling from the loss of Erwin and her quick rise to power as commander.

They may have differing personalities but they had the same history. They both know loss, bloodshed and battle the survey corps brings that no one else probably understands to the extent they do.

And we get the bombshell of this scene.

Hange literally proposes to him that they just run away to the forest and just build a life for themselves and the cold harsh brazen Levi doesn't outright reject it.

He instead acknowledges what he knows about her that she'll never do that. This only confirms that they know each other too well, that they have a bond that exists between them which cannot so easily be replaced by anyone else.

And then a few chapters later

Dead.

And sure yeah Levi didn't cry but like yo, the way Levi handled her death is worse than crying. We have never seen Levi react to a death like this.

Levi is holding on to the hand which touched Hange’s.

Levi just sits down in the middle of a pivotal scene and where he might end up fighting any minute coz like what's life he literally lost everything he could have lived for.

Like sure people who don't think LeviHan is canon would say “He’s injured. He’s tired.”

Just a few chapters ago though we got him ready to fight

"That’s the last person left of course it would break him more than anything"

That's the point. They're complete opposites they've been together for years and even if the chemistry wasn't there before, even if they would never have gotten along at all, personality and logistics-wise, they were placed in a situation where their glue Erwin died, everything of the life they knew before, all their loved ones in the survey corps died and now they were left with the responsibility of managing what's left and being the only two people with a shared history.

That literally set up one of the best places for a fucking romance to bloom. Yet the war and the circumstances just made it so hard for them to act upon it yet somehow the manga and anime were peppered with this cool understanding of

Yo I want you.

like maybe when we retire let's keep in touch and I dunno have babies or something

But yeah yo we gotta fight.

Then Levi be like “Yeah babies be a good idea?” (Titans don’t love you. I love you.)

Death foreshadowing

Then Levi

Fucking

Broken

Like we've never seen him before.

Wow isayama the madman didn't need to build this masterpiece of a relationship from love at first sight, to confessions, to placing them in unnatural situations for sexual tension.

He built a subtle relationship out of necessity, out of the need for some humanity in this dark world. Two people placed at the lead at the forefront of this war, willing to adjust, willing to change and work despite their differences because they needed that warmth, they needed the reminder that there exists happiness and hope in this world which transcends all that bullshit they have experienced to that point until her death.

I really wish I could experience that epiphany again with another couple.

I applaud the subtlety of this relationship and the natural development of one of the best ships I have experienced in a long while.

#levihan #levi x hanji #levi x hange #levi ackerman #hange zoë #hange zoe #hanji zoe #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #ship

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nancywheelxr · 4 years

Note

For Sokka/Zuko prompts: falling in love + fighting non-bender style

hey, anon, i love you and i hope you like this <3

“Come spar with me,” Sokka says, just like that. The sun is setting in the sky and Katara’s food is beginning to stir Momo from his nap, and a few feet away Zuko can see Suki attempting to teach Aang a very basic fighting stance while Toph laughs.

It still doesn’t explain why Sokka is still there, looking at Zuko like Zuko is the insane one for being doubtful. “Why?”

Sokka flails. “Why– because! Because I’m bored! Because I want to! Because– I don’t know, Zuko, why does anyone do anything?”

“You do realize you would lose, right?” He says instead of trying to parse through his reasons. Only Sokka knows how his mind works and after the awful days spent in the prison, Zuko’s learned it’s no use trying to follow his logic.

“Excuse me!” Sokka gasps, offended in a way that shows on his whole face, “I’ll have you know, I’ve been trained by a master in the arts! I’ve got a space sword!”

He wonders how liberally the word trained is being used. “Still.”

“Oh, I see how it is,” Sokka sharpens in a smirk, arms crossing over his chest, and Zuko watches amused, a little disconcerted at the whiplash between expressions. “You’re scared you’re gonna lose. That’s okay, I get it, I’d be too if I were you.”

It’s not that Zuko doesn’t know he’s being played, he knows, but the challenge is still out there, in the air, and he has never been good at standing down. Sokka’s got him there and he knows it and Zuko knows it and probably even Katara, wherever she is, knows it too. “Fine,” he snaps, scowling because otherwise he’d be smiling and Zuko’s never been very good at that either. At least he thinks so, it’s been a long time, he can’t remember, anyway. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Sokka laughs. “Famous last words.”

A friendly spar is not something Zuko remembers doing. Training, yes, or showing off when he thought his father might be looking, or the thing Azula did where sometimes she would tackle him and they would wrestle and pretend it’s not meant to hurt, but not this, not until now.

But it’s nice, too, and it burns off the restlessness that’s settled ever since they left the Boiling Rock, and Zuko aches to think he’d been trying to destroy this sort of thing only weeks ago. His sword clashes with Sokka’s and they glint silver in the rising moon.

Sokka grins.

In the moonlight, he glows, and Zuko thinks of the boy with war paint on his face standing as tall as he could in the way of a warship, and something in his chest twists and aches again– it’s been a long road to here, but he sees the ocean on Sokka’s eyes just as clear as they had reflected the waves that day. “Tired yet?”

Yes, Zuko wants to say, frighteningly so. “Not a chance,” he replies instead because that’s not what’s been asked, and presses harder, hits him in the ribs hilt-first, smirks like he’s learned.

And so it goes, steady like clockwork.

“You know,” Sokka says the next night, “this place is pretty neat, huh?”

Zuko, who knows this temple by heart already from patrolling every night before sleep in the first week, figures neat is probably the understatement of the century. “You could say that.”

“It’s at least on the top three places we camped,” he continues, pushing further on his attacks and forcing Zuko to pull back in defense. Then, his face softens a little, eyes darting fleetingly up at the moon and around the clearing, and this sort of vulnerability, of distraction, is the perfect moment to make his move, but for some reason, Zuko can’t bring himself to do it. Sokka grins ruefully and the whole world goes a little dizzy, “it kind of makes you wish we could stay here forever, doesn’t it?”

Feeling oddly off-tilt, he shrugs, distracted. “I guess,” he shakes his head, hopes to clear it with the whiplash.

Sokka rolls his eyes, lowering his sword. “Well, no need to sound so excited, jeez, I was just saying.”

“Sorry,” Zuko blinks, watches the muscles on his arms work as he reaches for his canteen, watches water spill down his chin, the curve of his neck, and disappear under his shirt. Right. It’s definitely time for a break.

His own water does little to his dry mouth and it’s only when he tries to nudge their lanterns just a bit brighter but finds the flames flaring up higher, that he notices the racing of his heart hasn’t faded yet. Sokka smiles, and says something about their itinerary, and Zuko listens, and listens, and listens.

The Western Air Temple is left behind and it feels awfully final, Sozin’s Comet a hanging threat on the horizon. It won’t be long now.

Zuko sits on Appa’s back and watches Sokka, head bent over a map with his sister, the rising sun painting his skin. At his side, Toph makes a startled noise. “Really, Sparky?”

“What?” He frowns, dragging his eyes away to find her looking at him strangely. His face warms and his hands close into fists, even if he’s not sure why. Half of him kind of hopes Toph tells him, but the other half is terrified of the answer.

She shakes her head, makes a face up at him. “Nothing, just thought you should know– you’re so not subtle.”

It’s not like she’s wrong, but Zuko would still rather know what he’s letting show on his face now. Fear? Sorrow? Anger?

It doesn’t matter, in the end.

It won’t be long now.

After his coronation, it takes Sokka three days to find him in his study, table littered with reports and law texts, an insurmountable mountain of things he must fix, must change, to even begin thinking of reparations.

“How did you get past my guards?” He asks without looking up from the scroll in his hands. The candle by his elbow flickers, throwing golden shadows across the paper.

Sokka is smiling, Zuko can tell even while turned away, and there’s the rustle of his brushes being shuffled away from the edge as he leans against the table. “I’m like, a war hero now. It gets me places.”

“Suki let you in, then,” Zuko finally allows himself to roll up the scroll, tilt his head up for once to talk with him, and grins. He was right, Sokka is smiling, easy and malleable.

“Like I said, it gets me places,” he shrugs, kicks the leg of his chair, falling serious, “hey, she also said you’ve been here a while.”

Zuko sighs, feeling the exhaustion snaking around his bones, the tight aching on his chest from the branching scar Azula’s lightning left, the unsigned paperwork he left in his quarters this morning. “There’s a lot to do,” he says truthfully.

“Yeah, no shit, but it doesn’t have to be done in a day,” Sokka rolls his eyes, kicks his chair a little harder. There’s a crinkle between his brows and it’s very distracting, it makes Zuko want to reach out and smooth it away, trace the lines until they faded back to someplace peaceful. “And you don’t have to do it all alone either, dumbass. Come on, you need to relax before you combust in one big fireball of stress.”

“I can’t,” he rubs at his eyes, willing the weariness to settle back, and closes them for a second– inhale, exhale. “There’s too much– negotiations will begin soon, they’re sending ambassadors– and the school curriculum, it needs to be revised– and, and–”

“Zuko,” Sokka says, and his voice arrests Zuko’s focus impossibly. Zuko really wishes it didn’t because now he has to look at Sokka, give him his full attention, and it’s overwhelming. The moon is backlighting his figure and Zuko never noticed how much the blue of his clothes, his eyes, stand out in the red and gold of the palace. It makes Zuko’s lungs hiccup and his heart constrict painfully, a warm ache blooming just behind his sternum– a summer tide, heating up his skin against the night chill, and even before he asks, Zuko knows he would give him anything, there’s no choice for him. “Come spar with me?”

Zuko puts out his candle. “Yeah, okay.”

“I gotta say,” Sokka says, sword steady on his hands, “this place is a hell of a lot better than that clearing at the temple.”

The practice room has a mat to break their falls without leaving scraped skin behind, at least, and practice swords blunt enough they don’t have to worry about accidentally losing a limb. “The view isn’t all that great, though.”

Something shifts in Sokka’s eyes, softer and warmer. “I don’t know,” he shrugs with painfully fake nonchalance, “it looks pretty great to me.”

There’s a flush rising to his cheeks and Zuko doesn’t understand why for a second, but looks behind his shoulder at the closed doors, frowning, because this sounds like Sokka’s strangely smooth awkward flirting he’s witnessed. “I don’t think Suki can hear you from here,” he feels the need to point out, speaking around the sudden catch on his throat, “and the door’s closed anyway.”

Sokka chokes. “That’s not– I didn’t– what–” a pause as he seems to gather himself, “I didn’t mean Suki. Why would I mean Suki? She’d probably kick my ass for a comment like that, anyway.”

Zuko frowns. “Because she’s your girlfriend?”

Another round of startled coughing. It’s a really good thing those swords are blunt, after all. “We broke up, like, ages ago? After, you know, the comet and everything. It put things into perspective or something, I dunno. It was different, with no war or anything, when it was just us hanging out.”

“Oh,” Zuko clears his throat, something odd fluttering around his chest, and tries to think if there was something different about Suki in the past few days. He doesn’t think so? It’s hard to tell, he’s been busy and she always smiled when she saw him– it did feel like her eyes had grown a little more knowing lately, though, like she knew something he didn’t, but that could probably be his lack of sleep talking. “I’m sorry?”

Sokka snorts. “No that’s rough, buddy, this time?” but before Zuko could apologize for that too, he waves him off, “it’s fine, don’t worry about it. I think we just realized we loved each other better as friends. Maybe the fact that both of us are fine is a sign breaking up really was the right thing.”

“Like Mai and I,” he nods, understanding. Being with Mai had been nice, safe and comforting, but when she had taken his hand and told him she would be leaving with Ty Lee, Zuko hadn’t been heartbroken. Mai had smiled, a small pretty thing, and hugged him, face buried on the curve of his neck, and he misses her dearly, but loving someone doesn’t necessarily mean being in love with someone.

“Yeah,” Sokka twists his sword on his hand, eyes following the arc it makes in the air, and his smile comes in gentle waves, washing over Zuko with its cheeriness. “Now come on, quit stalling– I’m so kicking your ass this time.”

With a sinking dread, Zuko refuses to acknowledge the realization just beyond his fingertips, curling his hands around the hilt of his dao blades fiercely, and ignores the gentle smoke wafting from his palms.

Denial doesn’t take him too far, unsurprisingly. His feelings for Sokka have been building without his knowing, a spring that’s grown into a river spilling into the ocean, stretching in all directions, far beyond the horizon line.

It’s far too late to try and contain now.

Instead, Zuko will just have to learn to carry that around too, board it up away from the light, careful not to let any of it tumble out in the open. In the past, he’s never been very good at keeping his emotions in check, but since the Sun Warriors, he thinks he might be improving a little.

Not that Sokka makes it anywhere easy for him. So far, none of them have left, on the contrary– Katara has taken upon herself to boss the healers around while the injured are slowly trickling in from all over the countries, Aang and Toph have ingrained themselves in every one of his meetings since no one has dared to question their presence yet, and Sokka– well. Sokka seems to be everywhere these days.

Sure, Zuko knows they won’t stay forever, they all have a home to go back to, families to return to, but for now, well.

“Dude, wanna see how many fire flakes I can fit in my mouth?”

For now, there’s Zuko watching Sokka sit by his window, basking in Agni’s light and smiling at him while digging into the flake bowl even though he knows the spice will burn his tongue. “I’m guessing around two before you start crying?”

“It’s not that bad,” Sokka glares, but it’s mellow and gentle, late-afternoon lazy, and Zuko has to forcefully remind himself not to stare. “Yeah, no, okay, it’s bad, it’s bad!”

He pushes the milk he had nicked from the kitchens earlier just in case something like this happened towards him, snickering like he’s not hopelessly endeared. “I did warn you.”

Sokka glowers. “Shut up, I’m building up a resistance.”

“If you say so,” Zuko allows, knowing it will rile him up and make him flush, probably go into a rant, and hides his own smile. Affection bubbles on his chest, I know you, he thinks, I know you by heart.

Predictably, Sokka pushes off his seat, crowding on Zuko to tell him exactly where he could shove his condescension, and Zuko twists on his own chair to face him, an eyebrow raised. It doesn’t slow Sokka down, though, if anything, it inflames him further, makes him take another step forward, slip between his legs to poke at his chest.

“ – and, and,” Sokka trails off, looking down at where his legs have bumped on the chair, and seeming to finally notice how very close they had gravitated. Zuko shifts and his knees graze Sokka’s pants, and his skin seems to burn even through the cloth. Swallowing thickly, he risks looking up, shakily trying to keep a blank expression and feeling the ocean raging around his ribs. Sokka’s eyes are wide and blue, a gentle wave crashing on the sand, and any words die on his tongue. “So, uh.”

He hums questioningly, one hand clinging to the table edge, undoubtedly leaving soot burned handprints behind.

“I, erm, forgot what I was going to say,” Sokka admits quietly, and Zuko wants to think his gaze has slipped down to his mouth for half a second there, but it’s very hard to think when they’re close like this and if neither of them moves soon, he fears his chest might crack open like ice, spilling his love all over the floor, heart falling at their feet, bruised and stitched up as it is. “Hey,” he nudges his knee.

Zuko burns. “Hi?”

“I think– I think I’m gonna do something real stupid right now,” he says, “and I’m really hoping you won’t hate me for this later.”

There’s no hating you, Zuko wants to say, because he’s been falling since, perhaps, the South Pole, and by now, there’s no stopping. His feelings are an ocean and Zuko’ll drown in them.

Sokka doesn’t want a reply, though. He exhales shakily and suddenly, his hands are on Zuko’s cheeks and Sokka is leaning down, kissing Zuko. Lightning sizzles inside him and you don’t stare at the sun, so Zuko closes his eyes, hands closing on Sokka’s waist to draw him closer, feeling like he might die from this, would gladly die for this.

“Hey,” Sokka says again, pulling away, and Zuko chases him that inch, a pull and push of tides, and there’s breathlessness in the air they share, “so, no hating, uh.”

Zuko touches skin under his shirt and feels Sokka shiver under his hands. “What do you think,” he murmurs, so painfully fond that his whole self aches with it, “I love you, dumbass.”

Sokka laughs, light and bright, like sea foam, and kisses him again, and again, and again, like he knows Zuko has been walking around with all these impossible wantings inside him and now there’s a hollowness that leaves him afraid he might float up if untethered. Like he knows Zuko’s never thought he’d get to have this, to be this happy. “You’re such a jerk,” he says, “I love you too,” a kiss, a hand tangling on his hair, his heart, bursting, “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

#zukka #sokka x zuko #zuko #sokka #atla #zukka fanfic #atla fanfic #avatar the last airbender #atla tag #zukka tag #writing tag #look an as

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365days365movies · 3 years

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January 24, 2021: Speed Racer (2008) (Part 1)

Car Action Weekend Concludes!

Anime! As I’m sure Tumblr is aware, Japan’s most famous television format has spread far and wide, especially in the United States. It started on American TV with Astro Boy in 1963. A few series premiered after that, but one of the series that made the biggest splash was a little show about a boy, his girlfriend, his friend, his father, his little brother, and his little brother’s chimpanzee.

Oh, also cars or something.

Mach GoGoGo, AKA Speed Racer in the USA, was a classic series about car racing, with wacky enemies, crazy cars, and about a year’s worth of runtime. Still, it lasted for YEARS, to the extent that I remember watching it at some point in the early 2000s! But I didn’t grow up with it. The Wachowskis, however, might have.

Oh yeah, it’s THESE gals. Directors and creators of the Matrix, the Wachowskis were looking to direct a more family-friendly movie, and hopped onto a Speed Racer adaptation that’d been in development for years. Since 1992, Warner Bros had been trying to bring the enigmatic racecar driver to life, with Johnny Depp as the lead...in 1995.

He left, though, and actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shia LaBeouf, and Zac Efron would be considered over the years. For the director, Julien Temple, Gus Van Sant, Alfonso Cuaron, and Hype Williams were recommended. Eventually, though, the Wachowskis would accept the job, and Emile Hirsch was brought into the project, alongside a surprising cast. But, we’ll get there.

So why Speed Racer for this month? Why not save this for Sports November? Or, better yet, why watch this at all? Honestly...I wanted to do this one. Mostly because in recent years, it’s become controversial with reviewers and critics. Why? Well, lets get into it, rather than explain here! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

Speed Racer - yes, Speed Racer (Emile Hersch), that is his ACTUAL NAME - is awaiting an upcoming race, when we get a glimpse into his past. A distracted kid at school, much to the dismay of his mother, Mom (Susan Sarandon), he’s not doing great at school, thinking only about races and his brother, Rex (Scott Porter).

In a legitimately neat touch, he daydreams being in a race, with the original Speed Racer theme song playing in the background. His daydream is bright and colorful, and looks like it’s drawn by a little kid. Which is funny, because the entire movie has a cartoon aesthetic, it turns out.

We’ll see if I get used to THAT. He gets in the car with Rex, and they go to the RIDICULOUS racetrack, holy shit. It’s like Mario Kart in here. From the track, we transition to the modern day. The world is watching, as Speed Racer tears up the track, and also as I GET A SEIZURE GAAAAAAAAH. This is an insanely colorful world with some very confusing and complicated visuals. This movie is...something, that’s for sure.

During the race, we find out that something happened to Rex 8 years ago, during which Rex set the track record. We also meet his girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), father, Pops (John Goodman), brother Spritle (Pauline Litt), and...chimpanzee, Chim Chim (Willy and Kenzie, interchangeably, YES I CREDITED THE CHIMPS). Speed Racer. I keep forgetting that this is Speed Racer.

More flashbacks to the past show us how Trixie and Speed met, as well as a STRAIGHT UP MURDER ATTEMPT WHAT

Whoof; cutthroat business, that racing stuff. Rex leaves Racer Motors as a result, and leaves Speed his car, apparently turning to the dark side by taking out other racers with increasingly dirty tactics. This lasted until a brutal crash that apparently killed him. But, if you know your Speed Racer mythos even a little...

Back to the race, where Speed is about to beat his brother’s record, but purposely slows down just enough. In any case, he wins the race, as a shadowy figure that totally isn’t his alive brother watches on.

The next morning, the family, Trixie, and road manager Sparky (Kick Gurry) are having breakfast. They’re interrupted by E.P. Arnold Royalton, esq. (Roger Allam), an executive who’s come to recruit Speed, proposing to act as a sponsor for not just Speed, but for Racer Motors. While Pops isn’t inclined to sign up with a big company, Royalton’s offer is intriguing enough for them to go to MY EYES!!!!

OH CHRIST MY EYES WHAT THE HELL

OK, look, this film is gorgeous, and also looks like Robert Rodriguez’s imagination vomited all over the screen. Seriously, I appreciate the artistry here, but...OW. And this ENTIRE SEQUENCE is an exercise in my visual tolerance for 2008-era graphics and ridiculously bright colors.

The Racers are taken for a dizzying journey through Royalton Industries, and my entire brain is melting, God. After the tour, Pops tells Royalton that, while his money intimidates him, he’s open to an alliance between RI and Racer Motors. And then, we transition from the bright and poppy world of Royalton Industries, to -

YO WHAT??? Talk about a complete opposite tone! This crime boss, Cruncher Block (John Benfield), is beating and torturing a driver, Taejo (Rain), and he’s pretty obviously bloodied. Before feeding Taejo’s hands to his pet CGI piranhas (yes, really), they’re interrupted. Also, did I mention that this office is INSIDE OF A MOVING TRUCK WHAT.

The intruder is the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox), who takes down their battle truck with his car’s weaponry. And I gotta say, this is a neat, if extremely wacky, battle sequence. Cruncher throws Taejo out of the truck, only for Racer X to save him and try to recruit him to stop Cruncher. He might be a bit of a vigilante, it would seem.

While Speed and Trixie have a romantic getaway - which is spoiled by an intruding Spritle and Chim Chim - a shady deal between Royalton and a competitor is taking place, revealing that he isn’t entirely on the up-and-up. The next day, Speed meets with Royalton, thinking on signing the contracts. He decides not to, citing an interaction with his father from shortly after Rex’s death, and stating that he couldn’t abandon his family like that.

Royalton’s not very happy about that, though, and taps into his inner Tim Curry something FIERCE. He monologues on the invention of the modern racing league, as well as the financial implications of races through history. In other words, racing’s about power and money, and he reveals that races like the Grand Prix are rigged from the get-go. And SMACK-DAB in the middle of that villain monologue:

A sugar high. The editing of this film is hyperactive, I swear. Forgot to mention that Spritle and Chim Chim snuck into RI with Speed to steal candy - yes, really - and discover that the cars being built by RI have dirty tricks literally built in. Speed turns Royalton down, and Royalton tells him that Speed won’t win or even place in the next race, which we cut to immediately.

Taejo from earlier is racing, and gets in a crash that he somehow survives? Speed also crashes and loses, as predicted by Royalton, which destroys the Mach 6. This leads to Racer Motors being sued for copyright infringement, disgracing them in the media. He also speaks to Ben Burns (Richard Roundtree), one of his racing heroes, and finds out that his classic race was indeed rigged in his failure. This, of course, breaks Speed’s racing spirit.

After a pep talk from Mom, Racer Motors gets a visit from Racer X and Inspector Detector (Benny Furmann), who ask Speed for help. Taejo’s asked them for help, but only if Racer X and Speed help. Unfortunately, the race is on the same dangerous track that Rex died on. However, if they win, it will cause trouble for the crime boss Crusher and his secret ally, Royalton. While Pops fiercely objects, Speed goes in secret, with Trixie as support.

Speed finally wears the classic Speed Race outfit while in the classic car, they go to the race track, and I STROKE OUT AGAIN GODDAMIVWHBROVQJQ

youtube

And somehow THIS IS ONLY HALF OF THE GODDAMN MOVIE. See you in Part 2!

#speed racer #the wachowskis #lana wachowski #lilly wachowski #speed racer 2009 #emile hirsch #christina ricci #john goodman #sarah sarandon #matthew fox #roger allam #365 movie challenge #365 movies 365 days #365 Days 365 Movies #365 movies a year #user365 #mygifs #my gifs #action january

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bloodfromthethorn · 3 years

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Accident

Matty, usually, loves her job, but there are some days where she can't help but feel she just isn't being paid enough for it.

Part eleven of the July of Whump 2021 prompt challenge.

Also on AO3.

For all its covert operations, thanks to the think tank cover, The Phoenix was still technically classified as a regular place of business. That meant a lot of things, like paying property taxes and having to report earnings to the state, but by far one of the most mundane outcomes was the need for an Accident Book. In theory, any time someone employed by The Phoenix was injured while at work they had to write a short report detailing the accident for the book, and every year or so, The Phoenix would have to submit their anonymised incident reports to the local council.

Of course, this posed something of a problem for a government agency trying to stay off the radar; even with identifying information taken out, someone was probably going to take note if a seemingly mundane think tank reported 18 gunshot wounds over the course of a single year.

The workaround, therefore, had been that any injuries acquired outside of the building – like, say, when agents were out on missions – didn’t go into the book, and instead it was filled with the much more minor things that occurred in the relative safety of the Phoenix. There were still a couple of things that had to be omitted, like Bozer getting stabbed, but mostly, the plan seemed to work out okay. With a whole block of science labs taking up a considerable chunk of the building, there were more than enough burned fingertips and electric shocks that weren’t suspicious to fill a passably convincing report.

That being said, Matty wasn’t entirely sure how she was supposed to play this one off as a standard workplace mishap.

“Okay, okay, stop. I’m going to need you to run this by me again. Start at the beginning.”

“Well, like I said, we had Sparky up on the table-”

“At the beginning, Bozer,” she cut in, shooting her two agents a firm look. Boze’s natural charisma was, as ever, unhindered by her glare, while Mac did his usual trick of falling back on his army training and acquired a blank expression to let any yelling wash right over him. Jack did the same whenever he was genuinely in trouble and it drove Matty crazy any time it happened.

“We were working on separate projects,” Mac explained in a much more level tone than Boze had managed. To be fair, that might have had something to do with the gauze wrapped tightly around his forehead. “I’m still trying to troubleshoot that luminogen work for the dev team – you know, the glowstick stuff?”

She nodded.

“Right. And Bozer-”

“I was trying to fix a glitch in Sparky’s programming.”

“You were trying to make him call you sir,” Mac put in with a snort. He sobered as soon as he caught Matty’s hard stare. “But, uh, yeah. We were both just in the lab doing our own thing. Then Boze called me over to take a look at something-”

“I needed a spare part of hands to rewire the circuit board while I updated the code, and you know how much Mac hates someone else messing up his wiring.”

“I wasn’t working on anything volatile, so I dropped what I was doing and went to help. All of my stuff should have been completely fine where it was.”

Matty eyed him critically. He didn’t look like he was lying, but then it was a little hard to tell how much of that was down to the concussion and the bruises swelling on the left side of his face. “But it wasn’t,” she concluded.

“One of the other lab techs came through when I was focused on Sparky,” he explained with a wince. “She didn’t know that I still had things running and she noticed that my nitrogen line was still live, so she shut it off.”

“Don’t we have standard practices in place so that doesn’t happen?”

“Yes, but she’s only been with us two weeks. She didn’t know any better.”

“Mhmm.”

“Honestly Matty, it’s not her fault. I shouldn’t have left an active reaction unattended without sticking a red form up. That’s the standard practice that’s supposed to stop this thing from happening.”

“But you didn’t fill in the form.”

“I didn’t think I’d be gone long and I was still in the same room. Besides, the team usually knows not to mess with anything I’m working on, whether I’ve put up a form or not.” He went to rub at his face, then aborted the attempt when his fingers brushed over the gauze, wincing. Bozer and Matty were both watching him carefully, but he didn’t start keeling over so it would have to be good enough.

Matty sighed heavily. Playing the blame game wasn’t going to get them anywhere; she just needed to know what happened. “Okay then. You and Boze were over with Sparky and a lab tech shut off a nitrogen valve. Then what?”

“Well, nothing, for a little while. I was using the nitrogen to keep the reaction system anoxic, so everything was already sealed. Even without the nitrogen feed, it should have been fine to just sit there until I came back to it. Only, it turns out that when you combine the fluorescent polymer our dev team synthesised with NMP – the solvent I was using – it drops a proton and turns acidic.” He rolled his eyes as he said it, as if judging his own mistake like either Matty or Bozer had any concept of how predictable the problem could have been, then regretted it as it sent him dizzy again.

“Let me guess,” Matty said to give him a moment to recover, “The acid burned through a seal?”

“A rubber bung I was using to act as an injection port,” he confirmed grimly. “The seal failed and oxygen got in.”

“And the polymer is pyrophoric,” she finished for him. When he shot her a startled look, she shrugged. “I do read the reports I get sent Blondie. The spontaneous fire problem was one of the things they wanted you to take a look at, right?”

“Yeah. I hadn’t got to that part though.”

“Evidently.”

Boze jumped in to spare Mac the effort of defending himself. Now that the actual chemistry stuff was out the way, he knew the rest of the story. “While all this was happening, we were having a few problems with Sparky. The code was disagreeing with his logic boards, and it was making him fritz out pretty badly. He nearly took Mac’s fingers off when he sat up without warning.”

“And scared the hell out of us both,” Mac agreed.

“Yeah. Thank god Jack wasn’t in the room. We’d still be trying to get him down from the rafters.”

Matty cleared her throat and the pair of them snapped back to attention. Well, as at attention as Mac could reasonably be sitting up on one of the examination tables in the med bay.

With a cowed look, Bozer continued. “We were trying to work out what had happened, so we got Sparky going through a few movements. Because we weren’t finished, we didn’t bother getting him down off the table, so when he stood up completely…”

“He was a nine foot tall, eight hundred pound accident waiting to happen,” Mac finished. He gave a single shoulder shrug when Matty raised an eyebrow at him. “What? Even I’m willing to admit this whole thing was stupid.”

She’d more or less pieced together the rest of the story by now, but she still felt she should hear it for herself. Proper protocol and all that. “Alright. Then what?”

“We were trying to get Sparky back down when the reaction system blew,” Mac said. “We were far enough away that we weren’t at risk of burns, but Boze got a facefull of dye and Sparky got knocked off the table.”

“And onto you.”

He grimaced faintly, casting an offended eye at the sling supporting what had recently been a very dislocated shoulder. The expression did nothing to soften the bruises scattered across his face. “Yeah.”

Beside him, a slightly discoloured Boze swayed to knock their uninjured shoulders together. “Sorry, man,” he said, not for the first time. “Can’t help but think this is my fault.”

“It wasn’t. My reaction, my boom. Besides, you’re the one who’s going to be glowing in the dark for the next two weeks.”

“Yeah, and I’m sure the ladies will love it. You’re the one with the busted up arm.”

“It’s nothing, really. My shoulder pops out all the time.”

“You say that like it’s comforting and I gotta tell you man, it really ain’t.”

Matty’s gaze flicked between them. As much of a mess as Mac was, and despite the fact that Bozer was a lot more green than he had been when he’d arrived at work that morning, they’d both been signed off by medical with minor injuries. In theory, it was exactly the sort of thing that should go in her accident report, and yet she had a sneaking suspicion this particular story was going to raise a lot more questions than she was really willing to answer. It was funny – Mac had a habit of bringing that feeling out in her.

“Okay,” she said. “Okay. I think I’ve got the picture. I’m not even going to pretend I understand how you managed to configure such a comedy of errors, but I trust that you’ve both learned how to avoid this problem in future?”

Like two boys caught doing something they shouldn’t, they both nodded quickly in unison. She couldn’t quite bite back her smile. “Alright then. Bozer, you’re cleared to work for the rest of the day should you wish to. Mac, you’re off rotation entirely until that concussion clears up, then it’s light duty to let your shoulder heal. I’ve called Jack to come pick you up.”

That certainly got his attention. “You called Jack? It’s his day off!”

“I’m well aware. But you can’t drive with that arm and as your nominated next of kin, he’s left standing orders to be informed every time you get injured. He should be here any minute.”

Bozer was snickering to himself, while Mac’s expression had folded into something between desolate and sheepish. Matty had had a hell of time getting Jack to calm down and listen when she’d first called to tell him Mac was in medical and evidently Mac had some idea of the helicopter parenting about to rain down on his head. Maybe that would be the thing to actually make him realise the seriousness of his own actions.

“Great,” he muttered sarcastically, just as Matty heard the door to medical swing open so forcefully it cracked against the wall. With a dry smile, she stood back and waited to see the fireworks.

#MacGyver #angus macgyver #wilt bozer #matty webber #fanfiction #fanfic #my fanfic #whump of july 2021

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quarantineddreamer · 4 years

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Back after a week off with an update to this fic! 😊 Little excerpt below. I love the nosy, all-knowing Toph trope and had way too much fun writing these bits.

“Toph?” Zuko finally asked, turning from his observations of Katara somewhat reluctantly. “Can I help you with something?”

She smiled slyly and knocked his arm with her elbow. “Oh, what do you think, Sparky? Anything I should know about?”

“Sparky?”

“Don’t change the subject,” she frowned. “What were you doing with Sugar Queen last night?”

Zuko caught himself before his hand was more than halfway to the girl’s ridiculously loud mouth. He checked quickly to see if Sokka or Aang had taken notice of her question, before mumbling, “Toph, Toph, let’s keep this conversation quiet, uh... Katara is sleeping.”

It was true, she had drifted off again, her jaw hanging loosely, her head tilting an impossible angle backwards. Zuko’s neck hurt just looking at her. Someone ought to get her a pillow… but he knew it would only attract more attention to her unusual sleepiness if he did so, nevermind the fact that he was certain she would bat him away, insisting she was awake.

“Zuko…” Toph had clearly been trying to get his attention, she rolled her eyes when he returned his gaze to her.

“Toph…”

“Sparky, just be straight with me. I don’t need earth beneath my feet right now to tell me you’re hiding something.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Zuko didn’t want to be the one to reveal anything. Not when Katara had clearly been wanting to conceal the truth from the others. She had laughed off Aang’s comment about her peculiar smoky scent that morning by saying she was overdue to wash some of her clothes. Zuko refused to betray her trust --if he could call it that. Her faith in him still seemed uncertain, though far better than it had been a week ago.

“Oh spirits, you’re the worst liar I’ve ever met.”

“My sister inherited all that skill.” Zuko shook his head in surprise at his own casual comment. Maybe I’m a bit tired today too… It was an unusual lapse in the careful guard he kept around any mention of his difficult past --the shouting at Aang the night before was a prime example of why he avoided the delicate subject.

Toph however, seemed uninterested in this detail. “Where did you guys go last night?” she insisted quietly, leaning her head closer to his.

Zuko sighed heavily, glancing from Sokka -fiddling with his boomerang- to Aang, cheerfully chatting at Appa.

“I promise your secret is safe with me.”

The hat Katara had worn while fighting the fire rested in Zuko’s lap. He picked at the straw, wishing it were not so windy atop Appa. The sun was shining brightly and he wanted to use the hat for protection from its light. Despite being born and raised in the Fire Nation his skin was remarkably sensitive. Already he could feel it reddening -especially his scalp, where hair had not yet grown thick enough to shield it.

Toph ripped the hat out of his hands. “Quit fiddling! Fine… If you won’t tell me I’ll wake Katara. Kata-”

“No, wait!” Zuko cast a quick glance at the waterbender, but her eyes remained closed, a soft snore escaping her throat. “Look, we snuck away to take care of some things, it was no big deal.”

But the earthbender’s eyebrows shot up faster than Momo’s eyes widened at the sight of a tasty grub. “Take care of some things? Does Aang know?”

“No, please, don’t say anything. It doesn’t seem like Katara wants to tell him.”

“I knew there was something going on between you guys! My feet were practically vibrating with how fast your hearts were beating after you strolled out of the tunnels the day I met you.”

Zuko cocked his head quizzically. “Wait, what are you saying?”

“It’s okay, Sparky. A promise is a promise -your secret is safe with me, and I am a far better liar than you. Still, I’m just surprised Aang hasn’t noticed. Or Sokka.”

What is she talking about? “Noticed…?” Toph snorted. “Please, I mean I’m blind and I could tell. You and Sugar Queen have got it bad for each other.”

“Got what?”

“I thought we agreed you just need to give up on lying? Got -you know...” Toph gestured loosely then pursed her lips and emitted a few quick smooching noises.

Zuko could not have been more grateful for two things: One, that Katara was still sleeping. Two, that Toph could not see the absolute furious shade of pink he felt himself turning. “You’ve got it totally wrong, no, no that’s not it --we snuck away to put out a fire!”

“Right, right, gotta get all the kisses in while you can, I’m sure it’s hard during the day when your passion burns so intensely and Aang’s right there just totally oblivious and chasing after Sugar Queen. Poor guy… I get why Katara doesn’t want to tell him yet.”

“Toph, no!” Zuko whispered frantically. “ Actual fire. We went back to the forest. We stopped the soldiers from burning it all down.”

He felt that it was now Toph’s turn to blush, but instead the girl shrugged with a casualness that left Zuko sputtering to try and explain further. She interrupted at his third failed effort at starting a proper sentence. “Okay, okay, so you went to go stop some Fire Nation baddies last night. I standby my earlier statement. There’s something between you two. Just wait. You’ll figure it out.”

Zuko wanted to deny it, but even as he shook his head, he found his eyes landing on the waterbender, as they often did. It didn’t matter though. Whatever he felt --and he still wasn’t entirely certain what that was- what Toph spoke of couldn’t happen, and not just because he doubted Katara would ever reciprocate those emotions.

‘You still have a lot of making up to do…’ Katara had said, and Zuko wanted so desperately to do just that. He was no longer the Avatar’s enemy, yes, but he still had much to prove as an ally. How could he help Aang restore balance if he turned the boy against him by pursuing any sort of feelings for Katara? It was obvious the airbender was infatuated with her. No, nothing could happen.

Zuko turned back to Toph with fresh resolve. “There’s nothing to figure out... “ he repeated to her.

“Whatever you say,” she said, though Zuko caught her muttering, “Seriously, worst liar, ever,” under her breath as she crawled away from him and towards Sokka.

#avatar the last airbender #zutara #zutara fanfic #atla fanfic #zuko x katara #atla #cannon divergence #book 2: earth #aang #sokka #toph #and guests ;)#zukos-calming-tea #b writes #EoC update

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pidgebeifong · 4 years

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atla characters as bnha characters (part 2)

Post-redemption arc Zuko (aka thank-god-ur-not-bald-anymore) as Todoroki Shouto

if you didn’t see this one coming idk what to tell you

Daddy Issues™

emotionally scarring burn on left eye inflicted by a parent

Co-Presidents of the Shitty Dads Club

gorgeous, sweet, out of ur league

have to be at least friendship level 3 to unlock Mysterious Tragic Backstory

fire powers that they wouldn’t use/lost the ability to use for a while

hot (both literally and figuratively)

the favourites of their fandoms

Socially Awkward™

both have a sweet & kind friend who’s partly the reason they’re not angsty and emo anymore, everyone say thank you midoriya for giving us the todoroki we have today (give me platonic!zukaang/tododeku or give me death)

started out friendless and now they have like six bffs

‘farther is for physical distance, further is for metaphorical distance, and father is for emotional distance’

Pre-redemption arc Zuko (aka what-the-fuck-is-that-ponytail) as Bakugou Katsuki

weird hair

Angery Bois™

im sorry they both look like really angry pomeranians i can’t take them seriously

‘you wanna go?! you wanna fuckin go?!’ tell me that isn’t the entirety of bakugou’s dialogue summed up in two sentences

‘let me see what you have’ ‘A KNIFE’ ‘NO’

torments the hell out of peace-loving main protagonist & hunts them down

both have had their lives saved (kinda? at least deku tried) by the main protagonist when they were still assholes

have father figures (kinda? does all might count?) who just want them to stop being fucking assholes and make the right decisions for once but do these dumbasses listen? no

have kidnapped someone/been the one who got kidnapped

100% would recommend anger management therapy. pls for the love of god sort out ur deep-rooted issues

repressed gays

zuko gets a pass bc of his emo tragic backstory but honestly baku was such a jerk to deku in szn 1 for literally no reason. fuck you bakugou

Azula as Dabi (aka Todoroki Touya, we all know it’s true at this point)

yes i have a special place in my heart for villains with blue fire and tragic backstories, what about it

figuratively and literally hotter than their siblings (don’t @ me y’all know it’s true)

the ‘evil’ sibling one of whom was actually just misguided and whose redemption arc i’m still waiting for, but i’m not going to elaborate on that bc the way the atla writers handled azula just makes me mad & I’ll end up talking forever about it

fathers majorly fucked them up (ozai was abusive to azula, fight me)

kinda psycho

god if dabi really does turn out to be a todoroki and still doesn’t get a redemption arc i am suing. my heart cannot take this pain again

their most popular ships are both gay with a person who’s the complete opposite of them and have/will inevitably betray them in the end (tyzula, hot wings. manga readers know what i’m talking about but i don’t think dabi/hawks is too popular a ship with anime-only fans yet)

Ty Lee as Ashido Mina

pink!!! pinkity pink pink

bubbly and fun, peppy attitudes

‘be gay do crimes’

actually incredibly dangerous and formidable even though they don’t really look like it (can you imagine fighting someone who can literally paralyze your entire body with a few punches? or shoot honest-to-god acid at you? we stan two (2) queens)

really flexible and good at sports (ty lee’s acrobatics, mina’s hip hop dancing)

both part of iconic squads (ozai’s angels, the bakusquad)

both their squads have a kinda mean leader (azula, bakugou)

don’t really take criticisms too harshly and always brush off mean comments by azula or bakugou with a smile

yeah i don’t really have a lot to say about them bc they don’t have a lot of screen time (we were robbed) but they’re cool

Mai as Aizawa-Sensei

110% done with ur shit

Did Not Sign Up For This

the OG emos

*drives up to mcdonalds with ten kids in the backseat clamouring for fries, orders one (1) black coffee and leaves*

every day their will to live dies a little more

neither of them have bending/powers that are useful in combat so they’ve both learnt to be really good at fighting the traditional way, without bending or quirks

just let them sleep ffs

kinda hot when they’re fighting

dragged into dangerous situations by the main characters when they just want to mind their own business and take a nap

‘wake me up (wake me up inside)’

Uncle Iroh as All Might

father figures

cheerful, jovial, always there to save the day

very powerful & strong

kinda old

both have antagonistic relationships with the ‘abusive fathers in power’ in each of their respective series

you probably can’t tell but i really don’t like iroh (even tho i adore all might) so it’s kind of hard to find good stuff to say about him, but i’m trying

give good advice that’s useless anyway bc the protagonists literally never follow it

both adopt a young boy who isn’t actually their kid but whom they have a closer relationship with than the boy’s actual dad has with the boy

train that young boy to become their successor

Fire Lord Ozai as Endeavour (aka human pieces of shit)

FUUUUUUCCCCKKK YOOOUUUU

burn in hell

apologise to your fucking kids

why was end*avour given a redemption arc in the manga that’s just as bad as h*ggar getting that stupid fucking redemption arc in voltron, makes absolutely zero (0) sense

good at one (1) thing and it’s giving their kids emotional trauma that they’ll have to carry around for the rest of their lives

have stupid beards and moustaches that makes them look like paedophiles

being indirectly/directly responsible for burns on their sons’ left eyes

hold on a sec i’ll be right back just give me a moment, i gotta go punt these dickheads into the mfing sun

if they were dying of hunger and i had a feast in front of me, i’d tell my servants to burn the leftovers

Princess Ursa as Todoroki Rei

both forced into marriages because of their bloodline/powers that would make their future kids strong

had abusive husbands who were very powerful and feared

scarred their kids (literally)

disappeared from the household while their kids were still young due to an incident where they killed/harmed a family member (ursa poisoned fire lord azulon, rei scalded shouto’s eye)

had a child/children who was/were disregarded in favour of the child who was favoured bc of their abnormally strong powers

unintentionally abusive (ursa fucked azula up bad, don’t @ me)

idk what else to say we got like two and a half seconds of screentime in total for each of them

Bonus:

Emo Zuko (like even more than normal) as Tokoyami Fumikage

professional Edgelords™ such darkness

so drama

very emo

Sparky Sparky Boom Man as Bakugou Katsuki (aka sparky sparky boom boi)

boom boom time to die

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