#I AM THE GREMLIN KNOCKING AT YOUR DOOR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

[theguyinthemathexamples]

WIKIPEDIA MONSTER COMPILATION PAGES FOR PEOPLE

japanese creatures

greek creatures

creatures organised by type

creatures listed by letter

humanoid creatures

filipino creatures

chinese creatures

cryptids

‘fearsome critters’

angels

beings referred to as fairies

creatures that pretend to be human

a page on therianthropic creatures

shapeshifters

hybrid creatures

extraterrestrial creatures

deities

a page of mythology page links

a section of folklore page links

flying creatures

theological demons

fictional species lists

mythology related lists

legendary creature related lists

[kanene-yaaay]

Come here, I have a surprise!

Warnings: None, really dfgyuidfghj. They’re all just being dramatic and having fun! Lee!Isabella and Lee!Mirabel with Ler!Luisa because I am weak for the idea of someone being tickled while being picked up. About 1.000 words.

Kanene’s notes: THIS LITERALLY WAS SUPPOSED TO BE JUST A QUICK THING AND SDFGHJUKILODFGHJ. W h y.

Anyway ONE MORE NEW FANDOM XDDD I wasn’t sure if Luisa really calls Mirabel “hermanita” on the movie since I didn’t watched it in spanish (yet :3) and she does that on the portuguese dub but I hope it is still cute and in character anyway. This is just a fun crazy fic I did because why not, am I right? x) 

I didn’t review this before posting so a few things can be confusing. Hope it is still enjoyable anyway. Have a nice day! :DD

[~*~]

“Camilo!” She whisper-shouted, looking over her shoulder with a wary manner. Everything seemed fine right now, but for how long would it stay that way? Her knuckles rasped and knocked coincidentally on the face engraved on the wood door, colliding with a bit more of force than it was necessary, which would be exactly what she would be doing if that little gremlin doesn’t open the door right in that damn inst-

The floor trembled under her feet.

Oh no.

“Camilo! Camilo, quick open the door. Camilo!” The tremor got stronger. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, no, no. That wasn’t good. That really wasn’t good. Now there was no way the one on the other side of the wall wasn’t listening to it too. She was running out of time. Her knocks became more desperate. “Camilo, I know you’re there! Open the door! You know I can’t hide in my room, she will find me!!” A loud scream echoed in the distance, with a quick, sad look to the sky Mirabel prayed for Isabela. More specifically she prayed to NOT have the same fate as her older sister. Her knocks turned to full slamming her fists on the wood.

There was loud laughter blossoming in the distance.

The floor only trembled more, the sound of thundering footsteps filling the air in sync with the beat.

“Camilo! I swear, I swear I am going to eat all your arepas! I am going to grab your special coffee and give it all to Antonio’s friend if you don’t open that door right now, Camilo!” Her threats were answered with an affronted gasp from the other side, a resounding click of a door being locked pertinently dancing around her.

The loud laughter got closer. Uncontrollable giggles mixed with a playful voice full of words she couldn’t decipher right now.

“No, Camilo! I was kidding, I was kidding!” 

“Mirabel! Found you, hermanita!” Her back collided when with a spin the one being called turned to stare at the scene in front of her, fists still knocking on her cousin’s door. Luisa stared right back at her with a gigantic grin, totally unfazed with the squirming form of Isabella dangling on her shoulder, squeaky, snorty laughter flooding freely from her lips as she did her best to wiggle away from the hand holding her in the place while delivering plenty of squeezes and pinches to her sweet tickle spot. Mirabel’s eyes were pried from Isa’s fate to focus on the way Luisa opened her other arm in invitation, stepping closer. “Come here, Mira, I got a surprise for you.”

Mirabel smiled wobbly at her, pressing her back even more on the door, as if the younger one tried enough, she would become one with Casita.

“Camilo, please, I am sorry for threatening your coffee, okay? Please, Camilo, I will owe you one, pleasepleasepleasepleasepleas-”

The door moved just the tiniest bit, with the corner of her eye Mirabel was able to see brown eyes peeking from the tiny crack opened. 

Bless Camilo’s companionship, his loyalty, his kindness and their story. She knew nothing would be able to make him betray their incredible strong bond formed over stealing food in the middle of the night, she should never had doubted her favorite, bold, good cousin and his true brave heart-

“I am sure that if Camilo opens the door he can also see the surprise.” Luisa’s smile only grew bigger at her, sharp with playfulness and soft around the corners. Mirabel cursed under her breath.

“Yeah, no.” The crack closed, Mirabel cried in protest at the same time Isabella squealed, Luisa now adjusting her with a careful jolt that made the older sister scream with a joy she would forever deny and changing her attack to dance her fingers on her ribs, focusing in that spot right in the middle of the highest rib that fished bubbly, weaker giggles. “She has that look on her face. The same mom and aunt’s get when they’re about to wreck us or to say something embarrassing about our days as babies.” He forced an exaggerated cheer in his next words, mimicking Luisa’s voice and tune. “Either way, good luck with your surprise!”

“Traitor!” Mirabel glared daggers at the door. Maybe if she had enough determination and heat she would be able to melt the object and hit her traitorous cousin. A suspicious footstep clicked behind her and she turned around quickly only to see that now Luisa was two feet closer to her, her free hand wiggling her fingers in an invitation still. Butterflies began to fly crazy in her stomach, anticipatory giggles jumping excitedly on her chest. 

“No one told you both to prank her.”

“But she looked so cute with that cat noses and whiskers on her face and the flowers on her haEEEK-” in a blink Mirabel’s foot wasn’t touching the ground anymore and the whole world become a mix of colors before her was laid on Luisa’s left shoulder, her hand quickly worming her way to her underarm, laughing happily when she was rewarded with a loud shriek.

She jolted both younger and older sisters on her shoulders, ignoring their synchronized squeals of protest.

“I am sorry!!” Mirabel said amidst her laughter. “It was Isabella’s idea!”

“Was it?” Luisa hummed, walking in the direction to her room calmly, waving at Bruno’s amused face when she passed.

“She is lying!”

“Am not!”

“Woah, woah, it’s okay. I didn’t mind the prank at all!” Luisa kneaded on the spots, successfully stopping the fight. “I told you, I just want to give you a surprise gift, nothing more.”

“And what is it?”

Suddenly, Mirabel and Isabella fell, laying on the extremely soft mattress of Luisa’s bed. When did they get inside her room, again?

“This! Surprise!” And then, with no further warning, the strongest sister shoved her face on Mirabel’s stomach, a loud raspberry echoing in the middle of the high pitched laughter.

In his room, Camilo felt a shiver run down his spine. He shuddered, but, well, he did nothing wrong, did he? Mirabel wouldn’t be going after him for revenge, would she?

…

He wondered if it was too much soon to ask his uncle Bruno to let him use his old tunnels inside the walls.

[fandomlovingfreak]

Glacial Passion (9/?)

Regulus Black/Reader

Rating: E for Everyone

Trigger Warning: Arranged Marriage, angst, swearing occasionally

Word Count: 2059

MasterList Link I AO3 Link I Wattpad Link

Summary: Glacial, cold, icy… all words that described Regulus Black’s grey eyes. Was there truly no emotion behind those eyes, or did a caring man exist beneath? Could she defrost those glacial eyes?

Disclaimer: Regulus Black (Walburga Black, Orion Black, and Sirius Black) is a character from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. Reader or y/n is not owned by Rowling. This work has not been created for profit or financial compensation, and is a transformative fair use work in accordance with Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act.

Notes: Okay so I feel rushed 24/7 with this fanfic because of my schedule. I hope you all like it! I rewrote this like 5 times ugh! aha

Enjoy

Visitors at nine o'clock at night was far from uncommon for Sirius Black. But, he usually expected said visitors to arrive with him, hopefully after a wonderful night out drinking and dancing. Visitors that arrived at nine o'clock at night and by themselves were quite an uncommon occurrence at Number Five Godric Lane.

Sirius opens the door at the second knock. The figures of his younger brother and a young woman standing on his front porch both looking gloomy.

"Regulus?" The girl looks younger than his brother, very attractive-- well, she would be, he assumes, if she weren't wearing a scowl that rivaled Regulus's cloudy expression. Sirius leans against his door frame, crossing his arms against his chest nonchalantly, "And you must be (y/n)."

(y/n) opens her mouth to respond, but Regulus cuts her off before she can confirm or deny his statement, "Can we stay here?" The interruption seems to piss her off further, her anger coming off her in waves as she stares daggers at Regulus.

Sirius looks between the young couple for a beat, "I-- sure? But why are you here? What happened?"

"Walburga." Regulus steps forwards to enter, prompting Sirius to move out of the way of his brother and sister-in-law. (y/n) gives him an apologetic look but doesn't say anything as she follows her husband into the small space of Sirius's living room.

He wonders what Regulus has done to piss his wife off so thoroughly as he watches them take a seat on his couch, Regulus somewhere near the middle cushion and (y/n) as far to the right as she possibly can be without sitting on the armrest.

Sirius sits adjacent to them in the comfy reclining chair. After a moment of silence, he sighs, "So, are you going to tell me what's happened?"

"We'll only be here for a couple of days at the least. There was no way we could spend another night-- there."

"I don't care how long you stay. Stay as long as you need to." Sirius looks at (y/n), who still has not said a word to him or Regulus. She's not even looking at either of them, her lips drawn tight and her fingers neatly folded together on her lap. "Were you disowned?"

Regulus's eyes meet his, "No. Can we talk in the kitchen? Just for a moment."

"Sure," Sirius stands up, "I've been rude, though. (y/n) would you like anything to drink?"

The girl's eyes meet his, "Water would be fine, thank you."

"I'll be right back with your water." He leads Regulus into the small kitchen.

"Why are you speaking to me with your wife not present? And what happened anyway?" Sirius opens the cabinet, reaching for a glass as he speaks.

"I wasn't disowned specifically because of (y/n). I know it's the truth. Walburga thinks she's possibly pregnant, and besides, I am sure my father-in-law would be furious to find out our parents ruined his daughter's future over me."

"Is she?" Sirius asks as the glass overflows as he fills it.

"Is she what?"

Sirius rolls his eyes, "Is your wife pregnant?" Honestly, he can understand why (y/n) may be annoyed with Regulus. His little brother was always so distracted by his own thoughts he could hardly converse at a normal rate. Skipping over questions and statements, eager to give his take or changing the subject. He could sometimes be exhausting to talk to, especially if you weren't used to Regulus and his ways.

Regulus scoffs as if Sirius was an idiot to suggest such a thing, "I've never failed to cast a contraceptive charm before. It's just an inkling the woman has, hoping that even as I continue to put up a fight against her ridiculous opinions on how my-- my relationship should look, or how it should operate. Of course, when she suggested that... conceiving an heir was a family matter, I told her it wasn't any of her business. Which she didn't like, at all."

"So you're hanging on as the heir because she's convinced (y/n) is carrying your heir?" Regulus makes a face, the only convincing Sirius needed that he wasn't telling him the complete truth.

"I assume that's what she thinks. You know Walburga. She's convinced sex is strictly reproductive."

Sirius chuckles, "talk about your sex life much with dear old mum, eh Reggie?"

Regulus's frown deepens. Oh, how his younger sibling hated teasing, "of course not. She's become a complete nutter about my private matters. I don't even know how she figured out I was using the charm."

"Well, she is a nutter. Maybe she has Kreacher following you around." It's meant as a joke, but Regulus seems to question if there's some truth in the words. "Oh, c'mon Regulus. Wouldn't you notice the little creep if he had been what-- hiding underneath the bed?" Sirius stifles a laugh. Imagining the little gremlin sneaking into Regulus's bedroom to spy on him from under the bed. The image of Kreacher under the bed, the springs of the bed, knocking against his lumpy head.

"It's not funny. That's entirely possible--" Regulus takes the glass from Sirius's hand, downing it in one go.

"Hey! That was for (y/n)!"

In a very not-raised-by-Walburga-Black manner, Regulus wipes his mouth with the back of his sleeve, nearly slamming the glass on the countertop, "You can refill it."

Sirius mutters something about Regulus being a 'little git' as he refills the glass and pushing past Regulus to bring the glass to (y/n).

"Here you go." The younger woman takes the glass from him, smiling. The smile seems false in his opinion, her eyes immensely sad.

Sirius practically scurries back to his chair, "right-- so all I have to offer is a couch, which I suppose we can transfigure into a bed? Hopefully, that's okay?" His eyes meet (y/n)'s ignoring a sulking Regulus who sits down next to his wife.

"Of course. Thank you." (y/n) stands, looking at Regulus, "Do you mind?" He scowls but gets up off the couch, shuffling towards Sirius. Both brothers watch as (y/n) pulls her wand from her sleeve.

With an elegant flick of her wand, the couch transforms into a comfortable-looking bed large enough to fit two adults.

Looking pleased with her work, (y/n) sits back on the edge of the bed. Almost reluctantly, Regulus sits on the side of the bed (y/n) isn't occupying.

Again, Sirius has the desire to laugh. Clearly, there has been some sort of spat between the couple. Their mother's rudeness can't be the only thing that's got the couple this worked up.

The uncomfortable silence that overcomes the three of them is unbearable. In an attempt to put an end to the awkwardness, Sirius, with a grin, speaks, "I'm still baffled that I didn't get a wedding invitation."

Neither (y/n) nor Regulus look amused by his words.

"This is not the time, Sirius." If looks could kill, Regulus would have surely ended his life.

***

Undoubtedly, Regulus and Sirius shared DNA. I ponder the similarities between my husband and his older brother as I get ready for bed. They both have the same piercing grey eyes and deep brown hair. But their differences could be plainly seen as well. Regulus is a tad bit taller and far skinnier than Sirius. And Sirius's hair is much longer.

Even as their faces share similarities, Regulus always seems to wear a frown while Sirius clearly had an air of ease. Funnily enough, the frown that Regulus wears doesn't match the woman you'd think he would resemble, as Sirius was the one who favored his mother's sharp features. Regulus had clearly inherited Orion's bone structure.

Undoubtedly though, both men were attractive in their own way.

Spitting toothpaste into the basin, I make a face when the thought pops in my head that I find Regulus more handsome than his brother.

I suppose I am allowed to be biased, or at least should be biased, as I'm married to Regulus, but-- I feel silly thinking about this.

Walking back into the makeshift bedroom, I pass Regulus, who doesn't even meet my eye. We've barely spoken since we arrived in Godric's Hollow, only passing looks of anger between us. Part of me longs to reach out and grab his arm, tell him I overreacted, that I'm sorry... but am I really sorry? Or was I just longing for him to whisper sweet things as he held me in bed how he has for the past weeks? I certainly could go one night, or maybe even a few, without his touch.

Unfortunately, I very much wanted him to play the loving husband again. I wanted to listen to his stories and comfort him when painful memories were brought up. I wanted to kiss him in all the ways we could think. Soft and sensual, deep and unforgiving... I wanted the goodnight kisses and the sleepy morning ones.

I obviously-- I don't love him, not yet. Maybe never if this rollercoaster of hot and cold continues on with us. But I did find myself craving affection and attention from Regulus in a way that would suggest feelings had been developing.

And Gods, did I hope that he felt at least an inkling of these developing feelings of mine. Regulus could be soft and sweet in moments, but part of me wondered if he only felt something for me when I was beneath him. It-- was a thought that had begun to plague my mind as our honeymoon had taken a turn for the better.

I had no proof that he didn't have budding feelings for me; I ultimately felt insecure because of that fight.

The way he spoke to me reminded me of every time I was scolded by my parents or grandmother. Like I was a dumb child who didn't have a say in a decision like practically running away from home-- his home.

Climbing into bed, I pull the blanket up towards my chin. The curtains aren't completely drawn, leaving an opening for a sliver of moon to be seen.

I feel my eyes grow tired as I focus on the moon's illumination.

***

Regulus makes his way back into the living room, meaning to discuss their spat. Guilt had sat in the back of his mind since their argument, but he needed her to realize that the anger he showed hadn't been aimed at her. It was stupid to assume that she would just know and understand the history between himself and his parents, and why wouldn't she assume he was attacking her when he raised his voice?

Part of Regulus had hoped she would just understand, and he wouldn't have to explain the rocky relationship between his family to her. (y/n) could be incredibly understanding, but she wasn't a mind reader. He had been unfair.

The carefully crafted apology he had rehearsed in the bathroom as he brushed his teeth sat at the tip of his tongue, dying instantly when he noticed her already under the covers of their makeshift bed.

The moon shines through Sirius's shitty, cheap curtains, casting a beautiful glow on her.

His voice comes out quiet as he calls her name into the dark. Her body doesn't stir, and he walks closer to the bed. The gentle rise and fall of her sleeping form has him convinced she really has fallen asleep without him.

Almost by instinct, he gets into bed, moving closer to wrap her up in his arms, but he hesitates, wondering if she'd even want to be held by him after their fight.

He feels the pang of sadness at the thought that she may not want his touch any longer.

Regulus reasons with himself that if she really didn't want him near her, she would push him away during the night. Maybe-- maybe she would wake up with his body pressed up close against hers, and it could fix something, or at least maybe she'd wake up less angry at him.

Carefully he moves so she's tucked against his body, his arm wrapping around her waist the way he knows she likes best. With a content sigh, she settles back against his body.

Regulus holds still, making sure she hasn't woken up, eventually relaxing and burying his face in her hair.

At least as she sleeps, she still desires him.

[chalkrevelations]

OK, Word of Honor, Episode 9, and I know last time I got deep in the weeds about symbolism, but this week, I’m getting back to basics and rambling on (and on) about what this show is really about: Zhou Zishou and Wen Kexing and their relationship.

First, though, the usual warning: SPOILERS. Not just for this episode, but potentially for the entire show, so drive past and circle back around later if you want to watch all 36.5 eps unspoiled.

Bear with me on this one, because this ep spends a LOT of time on ZZS and WKX, and I think a lot of that time is ZZS making some Monumental Life Decisions, including how he’s going to proceed in this relationship and how he’s going to approach his life moving forward. But I’m finding myself needing to work through it chronologically, and it’s. A Lot. Also, let’s face it, ZZS has been my ride-or-die at least since he dropped to his knees and started disrobing in the middle of the throne room in Ep 1, so a chance to wallow in his emotional journey is a chance I’m gonna take.

So, we do have a brief opener when we find out Dead Guy who the Yueyang disciple was shrieking about at the end of the last ep is Fang Buzhi, AKA the Nine Clawed Fox, the guy who lifted WKX’s (Danyang) Glazed Armor (along with some replicas). He got got by mysterious somebodies in the previous episode, and we find out now that he has three tiny needles in his neck, which ZZS recognizes as a Tian Chuang technique. This leads ZZS to 1) assume it must have been Han Ying who did it, so the (Danyang) Glazed Armor is now in the hands of Tian Chuang, and 2) realize that maybe this is not the best place for the former leader of Tian Chuang to be hanging out right now, so he makes their excuses, because he knows that Gao Chong must be VERY BUSY now that he’s got this corpse on his hands, so they’ll just BE GOING, thanks so much. Gao Chong hopes to see them at the Hero’s Conference, and WKX responds in a Significant Tone that of course he’ll be at the Hero’s Conference, and now ZZS has his Thinky Face on again, because WKX is not nearly as subtle as he seems to think he is when he’s making Pronouncements.

The ZZS/WKX Show really starts kicking into gear that night, at the Getting Lucky Good Luck Inn, where we open on ZZS wandering contemplatively around his room, looking beautiful in the soft light of evening (your FACE, Zhang Zhehan) and ruminating on Prince Jin’s motives for wanting the Glazed Armor, like he’s never met this power-hungry asshole before. Also, he thinks to himself, wtf was that, with Gao Chong keeping anybody from seeing Chengling in the last ep? There’s a knock on the door, which momentarily confuses him - understandably, because as we’ll see, WKX doesn’t generally get the concept of announcing yourself and waiting to be invited in by knocking first, preferring to dramatically bust open doors (at least to ZZS’s bedroom) and grace you with his presence, whatever your thoughts on the matter are. He’s accompanied by waiters and dinner, and ZZS realizes his senses are going, presumably because he can’t smell this spread that WKX has procured in an attempt to prove what a good provider he is (what did I say about food and bonding? ZZS fed him in the market, and now it’s his turn to feed ZZS). WKX tells us that life is just three hots and a cot - which gives away more about your life than you would likely be comfortable with us knowing, Lao Wen, given how close to the vest you’re holding your cards – and that everything else can wait if you can have a meal with someone you like. :coff: (Also, remember this, it will come around again.)

Cut to dinner by flickering candlelight, the better for soft lighting to caress ZZH’s exquisite face, but ZZS isn’t into it at all, staring into space instead of eating WKX’s proffered Courtship Delicacies. This earns what’s possibly WKX’s most hypocritical and amusing comment yet, which is to ask ZZS, “What is it that you can’t tell me?” ZZS - apparently - is still feeling soft about WKX’s help against Tian Chuang’s Chengling-kidnapping attempt - or maybe he’s thinking that a little bit of opening up on his part will soften up WKX - because he hardly has to have a spoon dug into his ribs at all to admit that he’s wondering if it was a mistake to bring Chengling to Five Lakes Alliance. My dude, just steal him back, then. WKX laughs at him and tells him he’s got such a handsome face (true) along with a kind and innocent heart (false, he’s a former government spook and assassin, a part-time ill-tempered gremlin, and a whole-ass troll), and therefore girls will clearly go crazy for him (true, just ask me). ANYWAY, A-Xu, (WKX continues) now that the requisite random no-homo boilerplate is out of the way, are you really thinking of taking on Chengling as a disciple, because now is apparently not too soon to have the adoption conversation about Our Son. I almost expect him to pull out the adoption papers then and there. Instead, he pulls out a story - which is awkwardly placed and kind of clunky, actually, despite being thematically important - of a dog he had once, given to him by Someone Very Important, although of course he’s not going to say who that was (:facepalm:), and his mother warning him that he’d have to take care of it for life, and then he betrayed it.

So, there’s a lot going on here. We’ll eventually find out that ZZS gave Zhen Yan a puppy, so will this story of a gift dog jog ZZS’s memory into realizing that WKX is Zhen Yan without WKX actually telling him, so that WKX can tell his Bundle of Neuroses that it’s not reeeaaallly WKX’s fault ZZS figured it out? Also, WKX sees ZZS being like this about Chengling, and in the Chengling = Zhen Yan equation we’ve already established, is it possible this will prime ZZS to remember another disciple/young boy he took responsibility for, at one point? Of course, on ZZS’s side of things, it’s possible that hearing about this dog that WKX failed is likely to remind him of the way he failed his own responsibility to all the other disciples of Siji Manor, so, excellent way to take a stab at his heart, WKX! However, ZZS breaks the miserable tone we’ve become mired in by smacking WKX, chiding him for comparing their son to a dog, and getting them drinking. See, here, Chengling is the dog. Earlier, the two sisters A-Xiang rescued were the dog. Later, A-Xiang will be the dog. Unfortunately, WKX is going to have a blind spot and never quite realize that, in the Ghost Valley schema he’s set up, the Department of the Unfaithful is also the dog, but we’ll get to that in later eps. For now, cut to later that night: After dinner and a washup, ZZS sits on his bed, and we get some special effects to indicate that his hearing is also giving him problems, so he deploys his special Nightly Nails Torment meditation pose, and then we get the second instance of WKX playing the xiao to help him meditate and rest. (Junjun, your hands on that xiao …) ANYWAY, we get a gorgeous little bit of physical acting from ZZH here that could easily have been overplayed but is nicely restrained and subtle, with just the slightest smile when ZZS realizes WKX is playing, and then his whole body visibly relaxing as he allows himself to sink into WKX’s now-familiar musical embrace the meditation. It is :chef’s kiss:

Cut to next AM, when ZZS is now a very cranky boy, and I get this, because I also am exceedingly irritated when people bust into the room where I’m sleeping with an abundance of cheerfulness and try to get me to interact and do things without at least half an hour to creep my way out of bed, two cups of coffee, and an hour of silence before any attempts to converse like a reasonable human being (I’m looking at YOU, mom), and I don’t even have the excuse of seven Nails pinning me. Also, when WKX whips off the blankets, we learn that ZZH dresses to the right. :hands: I’m just making an observation. So, WKX wants to go to Yuefan Tower like some kind of wide-eyed tourist, and despite some smacking and scowling and death threats, we then smash-cut to the Tower, where ZZS has apparently come to the conclusion that the only way to deal with the ADHD gremlin crawling into his bed is to humor him about this daytrip. I think you could have come up with some more creative ideas that didn’t involve leaving bed, but I guess you’re not the fast one in this relationship, Zhou-ge. Srsly, though, I’m sure WKX would have been happy to do all the work, my dude. (I don’t always have strong top-bottom preferences, but you probably aren’t going to have much luck convincing me that ZZS is not a pillow princess who wants to just lay back and be spoiled. “Aren’t you a very capable man?” indeed. WKX has to do ALL THE WORK, god. I don’t know if I’m swimming against the current here – god knows I was in Inception fandom, where I felt the same way about Eames - but here we are.) Also, I can’t believe WKX didn’t just sit in the bedroom and creep on A-Xu’s beautiful sleeping profile for at least the amount of time it would have taken to drink a pot of tea, another viable option if it was me in this scenario. Tch. What kind of stalker are you, Lao Wen?

ANYWAY, at Yuefang Tower, ZZS tells us about the Four Sages of Anji, a senior-citizen polycule of soulmates who are, conveniently, at this very moment, on a boat in the lake beside the tower, playing music and sword-dancing. This is the first time they’ve been seen in 10+ years, after they put down their various swords and ran off together to live like hippies off-the-grid in the woods, probably skipping around naked, drinking “tea,” and having lots of sex. ZZS sighs wistfully while recounting this tale and calls them “a breath of fresh air.” There’s some discussion and poetry quoting and literary references to soulmates, and somewhere in here we get a shot of ZZS and WKX from behind which makes it super-obvious how hard they’re working the costumes to make Gong Jun look as broad as possible. He’s got the power shoulders on this set of robes, compared to Laopo ZZS’s soft, unstructured, flowing robes, and with those shoulders tapering down to the belted waist, they’ve got Junjun seriously working the Chris Evans Dorito silhouette. Meanwhile, focus back on their conversation: ZZS thinks that “the world is not important, finding a soulmate is,” giving some MAJOR FORESHADOWING for the end of the show (which we are accepting as “Ep” 37 because WE ARE), when we get that icy separation from the rest of the world but they have each other. WKX gives him a yearning look. ZZS looks back … there’s really no other way to put this … coyly, not meeting WKX’s gaze directly. This offers WKX and us a chance to admire his profile once again, thank you, Laopo. ZZS waits until WKX looks back out at the lake before looking at him directly, and his face journey, y’all. He’s thinking that it might not be bad to spend his remaining time with this soulmate, I think he’s starting to re-think the slow suicide, and he’s also thisclose to just letting WKX have him. Y’all, he seriously wants WKX so bad, here. It may be the first time we’ve seen this level of interest from him - it may be the first time, in all that we’ve seen of him, that he allows himself to even have that kind of interest. I think this is the next big step from Ep 6, when he allowed himself to enjoy being desired - now he’s allowing himself to desire, to want something again, other than a chance to drink himself to death in the gutter. This, right here, is a crucial point when he makes the decision to spend whatever time he’s got left living rather than just dying, and I’m flailing on the couch. This is the face of a man who’s ready to Make Some Declarations while getting railed within an inch of his life. SOMEONE IS GETTING SOME TONIGHT. Or he would if he wasn’t going to turn out to be such a fuckup. FFS, WKX.

But first, we cut to a scene of them back at the marketplace, wandering through as WKX mocks various sects in town for the conference – including the Mount Hua boys, who apparently look like virgins make their first trip to a brothel – and ZZS supplies background info on them. WKX asks if ZZS can tell what sect WKX is from, and ZZS calls him a messy bitch before asking if WKX can please stop making him play guessing games about everything and just tell him what WKX so clearly wants ZZS to know. (I know, right? But no, because then WKX might get what he wants, and he’s way too terrified for that, so you have to guess. That way, it’s not his fault when you figure out who he is and reject him, as anyone clearly will do because he’s unlovable and unforgiveable and not even really human, A-Xu.) WKX immediately changes the subject to ramble about the Hero’s Conference and how laughable all the sects are for wanting to be seen as heroes, blah blah blah, rinse and repeat. ZZS comments that only inexperienced people want to be heroes, that experienced people know “every character of the word hero is written in blood,” and yes, the character they’re using for hero, “ying,” is still the same character used in Han Ying’s name (which is not, by the way, the “ying” used in Wei Ying’s name, to cross streams for a moment). ZZS says he’s too old to be a hero (I and my knees feel you, my dude), now he’s just a wanderer, and he asks if WKX wants to be a hero or a wanderer, and WKX says that as a wanderer, all he needs is ZZS, and I’m telling you, someone absolutely would be getting some tonight if only he wasn’t such a fuckup, Lao Wen.

I’m’a try to wrap this up soon, because it’s gotten v. long, but we then cut to that night at the Getting Lucky Inn, ZZS drinking in his room, WKX busting in with his usual dramatic flair, with wine, inviting ZZS up to the roof to drink and look at the moon. He clearly has ulterior motives, but unfortunately for everyone, we’re going to discover they’re not the ulterior motives ZZS is expecting. As they lean back on the roof together, hands almost-but-not-quite touching, a romantic tune playing, WKX tells ZZS that he’s like, really happy! Just super happy! So happy! Ask me why I’m so happy, A-Xu! Spoiler alert: It is, unfortunately, not because he’s getting ready to get some from his laopo. This is particularly unfortunate, because ZZS chooses this moment to take another big step in this relationship, telling WKX that he’s not going to ask about things WKX doesn’t want to tell him, that he’ll wait for whatever WKX wants to tell him. On the surface, this comes off a little bit like, I’m done with asking when you’re not going to answer anyway, but in context – particularly on the back of the earlier scene when ZZS watched WKX turn on a dime and immediately change the subject to avoid exposing anything when ZZS asked WKX to stop making him guess everything – this is as good as a declaration of going all-in. ZZS is committing to this relationship on faith, without having all – or even most – of the answers about WKX, and his approach is going to be to wait until WKX is ready to reveal whatever information he feels safe and comfortable revealing. In practice, he’s going to end up being better or worse at this, depending on the day, but what it reminds me of, already, is that moment in the 20s (Ep 21? 22?) when A-Xiang and Cao Weining are arguing about her killing the beggar guy, he approaches her, she yells at him and points to the ground to indicate exactly how close he’s allowed to get to her, and his respect of that boundary she lays down is instantaneous and absolute. That’s what ZZS is saying he’s going to at least try to do, here. It also reminds me of the way he’s going to respect WKX’s decision on whether or not WKX is going to claim his place as a disciple of Siji Manor, without it affecting their relationship, so we really are starting as ZZS means to go on, here.

Unfortunately, we then find out that what WKX is actually so happy about is that his plan to burn down the jianghu is starting its next big step, and their romantic evening is interrupted by a bunch of dudes fighting and killing each other over a bunch of fake Glazed Armor. WKX mentions that he’s so happy the show’s started; he’s alternately amused, satisfied, and smug as they watch various fights; he seems to be expecting ZZS to also be amused; and I feel like the implication is that this was his real motive for inviting ZZS out onto the roof, to be able to watch this show with him. ZZS – who’s spent enough time standing ankle-deep in blood for six lifetimes and was working hard just a few weeks ago at drinking himself to death to try to forget what that feels like - is displeased and horrified, rather than very proud of what WKX has accomplished; he pushes WKX away from him when WKX approaches him to ask if he doesn’t think it’s all so very amusing; and he calls WKX crazy, then turns his back on him and walks away. To make things worse, the next morning, after WKX brings breakfast to ZZS’s room and actually knocks, only to find that ZZS has left in the middle of the night, WKX will witness an angry mob gathered outside the house in the woods where the Four Sages of Anji are staying for the Hero’s Conference, demanding a piece of the Glazed Armor the Sages are supposedly holding for Gao Chong, and eventually leading to the deaths of all four of these peaceful aging hippies whose commune in the woods was ZZS’s ultimate dream, leaving WKX horrified by the fact that his actions have consequences, including some that are going to make his boyfriend even more pissed off at him.

SO. All that happened. There were some other people in the episode, too:

We see A-Xiang and Cao Weining having lunch. She asks him why he’s not eating, calls him fat and cute, then proceeds to tell him about Ghoul, who likes to eat the faces of pretty boys. Her conversation skills could still use some work. Cao Weining vows to kill the ghosts of Ghost Valley who would do such awful things. A-Xiang actually ignores this slander about the evil of the residents of the Ghost Valley in a way that she doesn’t usually – usually she looks kind of unhappy when the Evilness of the Evil Inhabitants of the Evil Ghost Valley comes up, going all the way back to ZZS’s comments in Ep 2. Right now, she’s too busy pumping Pooh Bear for information, asking about why the Ghost Valley would have left a pile of heads on Yueyang’s doorstep if the Five Lakes Alliance is so great, so what is Five Lakes going to maybe, perhaps, do about this? Cao-dage is suspicious … that A-Xiang might be scared, but don’t worry, he’ll protect her. Oh, sweetheart. I could eat you up with a spoon, right along with Ghoul. Also, it finally registers that A-Xiang called him cute, but she has to step away for a quick confab with a henchwoman.

We also have to watch Chengling get bullied some more by a Yueyang shixiong who I think is Gao Shan, who we’ll later see bullying some prisoners in the Yueyang dungeon as he admits that he’s doing it to relieve his own frustrations and make himself feel better -  fantastic disciples you’ve got there, Gao Chong, I’m super-impressed by the morality and ethics you’re instilling as a sect. Once again, I have to consider WKX’s position on the jianghu as a hive of scum and villainy. Anyway, once Bullying Hour is over, Chengling runs into A-Xiang, and he can’t manage to prevent the waterworks as he confesses that he thought he’d never see any of them again and that ZZS didn’t want him. UGH. Zhou Zishu, come and get your child back. He’s at least somewhat mollified by Xiang-jie telling him she’s been sent to take care of him, and god knows she’s managed to keep WKX fed and clothed this long, so she has some experience as a minder, as counterintuitive as that seems.

We get a quick shot of Han Ying (My Beloved) with two identical pieces of Glazed Armor, apparently realizing that there are fakes out there.

Deng Kuan shows up, beaten and stumbling, and nearly gets turned away at the front gates of his own sect as a beggar – have I mentioned how unimpressed I am by the Yueyang disciples? Deng Kuan appears to be the only one of them worth anything – before they realize who he is. He is put to bed and tenderly nursed by Gao Xiaolian, who cries over him as he won’t wake up.

Finally, Gao Chong, Shen Shen and Zhao Jing (uh-huh) are horrified to discover that there’s fake Glazed Armor fk’n everywhere in town, making Five Lakes Alliance look ridiculous, which is just fabulous as the Hero’s Conference is coming up, guys. Shen Shen, because everything is a nail, vows to kill anyone who makes problems. Later, Hei Zi, who plays Gao Chong, has an utterly fantastic moment after the deaths of the Four Sages (wow, I did not remember that we wrapped up their entire storyline within a single ep), when he’s haranguing Beggar Gang Chief and is literally all, “You want the Glazed Armor? :pulls a piece out of his robe: HERE. You want some more? :pulls another piece out of his robe: TAKE IT.” It’s a great acting moment, his delivery is perfection.

[sleepylixie]

Cupid’s Arrow-1

Boxer! Lee Know x fem! Reader

2k words, Romance, College AU(Imperium Universe-4) 

Songs: Tiger Inside- Super M

A/N : Y’all heard right. Part-1. Tumblr deleted the draft i was working on here, leaving me only with the first half of the fic that I wrote on Docs. I'm so sorry for the delay @delicatewerewolfsoul I'll make sure to get that posted asap 🥺💕 This fic can be read individually, of course. :) Do let me know what y’all think about this story!! ONTO THE FIC. - Elliana

Imperium Universe: Jisung || Seungmin ||Lee Know || Chan

“Who the everloving heck are you?!” You yell, hands banging roughly against the surface of the table. Assorted shushes and glares were instantly directed towards you, the closest being the admonishing stare of Mark Lee, your best friend.

“You do realize we are in a library?” He hissed, a mess of dark brown hair swinging over his brow as he shook his head at you. You rolled your eyes at him, only turning your attention back to the source of your annoyance- your laptop screen.

“This is the 13th ask I’ve received about the same M in this semester.” You retorted, albeit quieter than your initial outburst. Mark’s brows furrowed, lips pouting in a frown as he absentmindedly turned over a page of his book. “How do you even know it’s the same M? It could very well be one person sending the same ask 13 times.”

“You were the genius who put together the one-ask per account rule in the first place!” You threw your arms up in exasperation, the volume control still proving to be a bit of a struggle. “Besides, they’re all worded really differently, look-” You turned your laptop to face Mark, who leaned forward to scan the words on your screen.

A sleek red website sat open in an incognito tab, punctuated with assorted dove-grey boxes full of questions and curiosities, the sidebar flashing a pretty name- Lovelorn Secretkeeper(LLS). Your best friend chuckled as he read the questions on the site. “People have it bad for this dude.”

“I know! They even say the exact same thing, that he’s too out of their league to even try, but he’s too handsome and talented,” punctuating handsome and talented with exaggerated hand movements, “to not try- What do they expect me to tell them!?”

As cliche as it sounded, Lovelorn Secretkeeper was your university’s anonymous love-guru and wine aunt, meting out advice about crushes and heartbreak solutions like over-the-counter pills. People caught wind of it days after the website mysteriously popped up on the informal forums, impossible to trace altogether. Tens of questions poured in by the day, all questions from lovelorn souls asking for the help of the elusive apparition running the site.

If only Everlark University knew that LLS was run by not one, but two apparitions- both of whom were currently puzzling over the identity of a certain M who had turned up on their list of secrets once too often.

“How difficult do you think it would be to find out who M is?” Mark mused, pushing the laptop back towards you. “I mean, you know he’s a dancer and he’s handsome, so why don’t you, I don’t know,” a nonchalant shrug moving his shoulders, “ask the girls you know, I guess? I’m sure word gets around fast if he’s as hot as these questions scream he is.”

The cogs in your head began to turn, albeit rather unwillingly. You weren’t the most social person despite being aware of status quos your university’s student functioned on- was this Dora-the-explorer-esque expedition to find the elusive M absolutely necessary?

No, it wasn’t, you realized, but your own curiosity wouldn’t be satisfied until you found out who it was that had managed to enamour these many people all while looking evidently unavailable.

“Yeah, I’ll probably do that.”

//

“Hey! Y/N, Right?” A pretty girl sidled up to you on the other side of the bar, her fingers slightly awkward around the glass she was cleaning. New to the trade, you thought belatedly as you smiled politely and nodded at her.

Imperium Bar was just beginning to fill up with students and teacher’s assistants, ready to celebrate the end of yet another week with some cheap alcohol and good times. It was barely halfway through the semester but people inevitably ended up drowning in work- such was the life of a normal student in university, always busy and bustling with full checklists-

“You’re looking for Minho, I heard.” she grinned setting down one glass and picking up the other.

“Yes, I am.” You responded lightly, your eyes still grazing over the slowly filling booths and tables from the corner of the counter you were sitting at.

“He is pretty handsome, really good in the ring. You have a good eye.”

By ring, you could only assume that the new bartender of Imperium meant the stage. You’d spent the past week asking around for a possibly new admit to Everlark who happened to be a dancer and unattainably handsome. To your surprise, your search was cut short in the matter of days when Yeji, a junior in your class pointed you to Lee Felix from her class who knew a Lee Minho. Lee Minho, a transfer student from Everlark’s sister university on the other side of the city, with an express acceptance into the dance club Felix was a part of.

“You’ll find him in Imperium on Fridays,” Felix had the sweetest disposition, a warm smile on his face as he divulged information about his seemingly old friend with great ease. “You should drop by if you want to see him!”

Your better judgement yelled at you to forget the chase- you knew his full name, it was just the matter of a social media stalk before you found out what you needed to know for your 13( now 16) askers. However, you found yourself pulling on a dark hoodie and slipping into the bar on Friday evening, shivering slightly from the cool breeze. You were just curious, you were sure. Just curious.

“Felix! Over here!” The bartender raised an arm in greeting to somebody behind you and moments later, Felix’s dark mane of hair made its way into your line of sight. His eyes were slight crescents on his face as he smiled, the sunny amiability prompting a smile to creep over your face as well.

“Hello, Felix.”

“Sorry for making you wait!” Felix pulled you into a quick hug, before cocking his head towards the back of the bar. “Let’s go, he’s already down there.”

An eyebrow raised in curiosity, you dragged your eyes between Felix and the bartender as you hopped off the stool. “Down...where?”

Felix’s eyes widened, the bartender letting out a gasp of surprise. “Uh…” Your new friend’s voice trailed off in uncertainty, wide and beseeching eyes immediately darting towards the bartender for help. “Oops.”

“Your access should really be revoked, you troublemaking gremlin.” The bartender accused, tossing her dishcloth at him and reaching over to smack him across the head before turning to you.

“There’s been a misunderstanding, Y/N. Junior moron here-” waving indistinctly in Felix’s direction, “is talking about the cellars. Minho works part time here, so he’s usually getting into the stocks in the cellar downstairs. Felix forgot about the rule stating that patrons can’t-”

“At least try to lie convincingly.” You cut through her tirade, a choked laugh from Felix punctuating her surprised silence. Possibly not the most polite thing to say, in hindsight, but her attempts to cover up whatever was going on in the cellar was just getting difficult to hear. You smiled quietly, eyes dragging between Felix’s eyes, alive with mirth to the bartender’s, flat with suspicion.

“It’s not illegal, is it?” You let the question slip loud enough for the two of them to hear. The bartender nodded the exact moment Felix shook his head. A giggle bubbled up your throat at the instant glance of betrayal that passed between the two of them.

“I’ll keep silent about this if the two of you will.” You grinned, shrugging slightly as you pushed the strap of your bag further up your shoulder. Felix let another crow of laughter, twining his arm with yours as he steered you towards the dark back door of Imperium, waving off the bartender’s expasterated shouts to be careful, for fuck’s sake-

“You seem like such a cool person,” Felix giggled as you followed his lead, making your way past the tables and groups of people and back into the cool air outside. . “I was a little intimidated by you at first but you’re actually really cool.” You laughed aloud as Felix knocked thrice on a door next to the bar’s back door in a neat pattern.

“Good to know you think so, junior.”

Just then, the door swung open to a set of stairs and a wave of noise much louder than what you were used to.

“Welcome to the real Imperium.”grinned Felix.

//

You did not think this was where you’d be spending your Friday night- in the basement of a bar with higher ceilings than you thought was possible, the roar of voices settling you more firmly into reality than anything else you’re ever experienced.

The second you and Felix reached the bottom of the stairs, you could see the crowd gathered around the center of the space, the flood lights pointed towards whatever was going on in the middle. There were sparse groups of people scattered throughout, a makeshift bar and couches spread haphazardly around one side while the windows at the top of the walls were left open for some semblance of ventilation. Despite the number of people in the underground space, it didn’t feel… suffocating.

“Do you mind blood or gore?”

Your eyes narrowed; what even was this place? “No.”

Before you could question it, Felix was pulling you towards the crowd and into it, easily slipping between the spaces towards the attraction in the center. You allowed him to lead you, as you had the entire night, until the two of you re-emerged at the edge of the-

The ring.

It looked very much like a boxing ring, but on the same floor level as the audience. Inside were two guys circling each other, breath heaving in puffs of smoke against the chilled air through gritted teeth. They were both dressed in contrasting red and blue, their clenched fists enclosed in hand-wraps. The two guys slipped in and out of the stark shadows that the criss-cross of the floodlights created until one of them caught your eye-

Lee Minho. You didn’t need the yelled introduction Felix was giving you because there was no other way to describe that other than unattainably handsome. Suddenly, the 18 askers in LLS made sense- of course, of fucking course this face seemed impossible to match up to.

You watched in bated curiosity, your eyes scanning him and his opponent- and Minho made the first move. The crowd dissolved into roars of encouragement as he went in for a clean right hook, his movements smooth and feline-fluid. He was confident, you realized as you watched him dodge and block and strike with an almost bored, practiced ease. No, he was good at looking confident. The set of his jaw was nothing but confident, his teeth bared in a snarl of fake amusement as he lunged at his opponent, the fight dissolving into a tangle of arms and legs rolling against the concrete floor.

“He’s one of the best this season.” Felix yelled over the din of the crowd, but your eyes were still trained on the match. “You don’t say.” You shouted back, catching yet another glimmer of amusement light up your companion’s face before turning your attention back to the fight.

Yes, he truly seemed like the best- your breath caught in your throat at Minho’s unhesitant, almost instinctual manner of moving, already on the other side of his opponent before he could even throw a swing. His poor opponent was almost effortlessly pummeled to the ground soon after, a grin of triumph pulling up his lips and the nasty looking bruise high on his cheekbone as he was announced the winner.

His eyes scanned the exultant crowd, catching on yours for a split second before moving away-

You let out a long breath as he hopped out of the ring and into the dark of the surroundings. So it was him.

This was the M your askers were going on and on about-

For the first time, you were in agreement with them.

Lee Minho truly did seem unattainable.

//

Taglist/Interested Parties 🥴: @aliceu @decembermoonskz @rebecca-noona @skzctnightnight @fylithia @illicit-roses @cotccotc @straykidsownmysoul @soya-zz @stellarmonsterr @seraplantery @jl-micasea \\ @inkidz @starryktown @districtninewriters @stayhavens​  

Do let me know what you think! - Elliana

[clevermonkey93]

Mr Frilly part 2

Part 1

Jaskier makes pizza with Geralt and Ciri. It’s cute and fluffy. Oh and they flirt.

also on ao3

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

Jaskier wasn’t nervous. He absolutely wasn’t nervous. Except he was. He totally was because he had a dinner date – was it even a date? It’s just dinner, come on Jask – with a gorgeous hunk of a complete dork of a dad that was utterly besotted with his angelic little gremlin. And Jaskier had just met him. Just met Geralt and Ciri and already he was determined not to blow it. Frankly, Jaskier didn’t care if Geralt wasn’t interested – he's probably ten years older than me, he’s got a kid, he might be straight-straight not just kinda straight – but he so desperately wanted to spend more time with them both and get to know them.

God knows he could use some more friends. Valdo seemed to have left their relationship with all their mutual friends, but I suppose that’s what happens when you date a guy from university for four years and just make friends with all his music friends and –

Jaskier wanted so badly to get this right.

Which is why he stood outside the Rivia house – a beautiful old tall town house which Jaskier would have bet has one of those gorgeous long winding gardens – with a distinctly not-rubbish film and some flowers. A simple but beautiful bunch of wildflowers that Jaskier had stared at for at least fifteen minutes at the shop after he’d left Geralt and Ciri in confectionary. He’d decided to risk it but they’re white and delicate so if he's read the vibe completely wrong they’re obviously for Ciri.

He knocked. Geralt said not to ring the doorbell because next door has a baby.

Oh God I should have changed. Why am I still wearing my shopping clothes and this dumb scarf –

“Hey, Jaskier.”

Jaskier looked up to see Geralt at the doorway, long white hair tied up now and an apron at his waist – oh man why is that sexy?

He had a flour smudge on his cheek and his shirt was covered in flecks. Jaskier was about to tease him and ask why he’s only got a tiny apron when he's wearing a black shirt when he heard footsteps behind the man.

“Mr Frilly!” Ciri cheered as she joined them in the doorway. She was wearing a full-size apron which on a child should look utterly ridiculous but she was also wearing an expression that said she was in charge.

“Already started on dinner I see!” Jaskier said with a grin.

Geralt looked down at his shirt and gave a very sweet shrug before standing to the side and gesturing for Jaskier to join them inside.

“Make yourself comfortable,” he offered. Ciri had already bounded back down the hallway so Jaskier shuffled in and started to wiggle his shoes off with his feet. This inadvertently drew attention to the flowers in his hand.

“Uh, I brought these,” Jaskier started, studying Geralt’s face carefully. Beneath the white smudge of flour there was a distinct pink blush. He didn’t think Geralt looked uncomfortable but oh God it’s so hard to tell. “I brought these.” He repeated quietly.

Jaskier inched the flowers forward to Geralt and thank God he took them. Geralt smiled. No doubt there, that was a proper nice smile.

“Thank you, Jaskier,” he said softly. Jaskier felt Geralt's hand on his shoulder and he was about to say something when –

“Daddy, the dough has gotten SO big!”

Jaskier and Geralt shared a little laugh before Geralt lead him further into the house.

The kitchen was in surprising order considering the state of the chefs, and Jaskier and Geralt walked in to find Ciri proudly holding up a bowl of proofing dough.

“I’ll show you how to make a base,” Ciri said excitedly.

“Wash your hands, Ciri,” Geralt reminded her and Jaskier also took his turn at the sink. As he dried his hands, we watched Geralt dig around a cupboard for a vase, as though he hadn’t used one in a long time, before carefully arranging the flowers to sit in the middle of the kitchen table.

It was a wonderfully sweet evening. Jaskier and Ciri both managed to get covered in flour as they tried to shape pizza crusts while Geralt seemed to be able to do it blind and helping them at the same time.

Jaskier had figured they’d be using tomato puree (he won’t admit to how many years at university he’d lived on pasta and tomato puree) but Geralt brought over a pan of homemade tomato sauce that smelled so good. Even better was the proud little smile he made when Jaskier told him how good it smelled. Best yet was the blush and sudden inhale Geralt didn’t manage to hide when Jaskier couldn’t resist sticking a finger in to try a lick.

“Toppings!” Ciri exclaimed as she carried what Jaskier assumed was a stack of everything from the fridge. Cheese quickly went absolutely everywhere as they each assembled a pizza and it turned out the pair had a tradition of making an extra Frankenstein pizza with every topping.

They loaded them into the oven – “Daddy's going to build a pizza oven in the garden next spring,” Ciri excitedly informed Jaskier. “But they’re still good in the oven.”

Geralt started to clear up while the pizzas cooked, and Ciri immediately vanished. Jaskier stood next to him at the sink to dry things up.

“Thank you for asking me over,” Jaskier said, even though it was clearly Ciri that asked. “I'm really glad I’m here.”

Geralt Hmmed at that, and Jaskier had started to notice it might be his default setting but it sounded like a happy Hmm at least. “What would your Saturday night have been otherwise?” Geralt asked.

“Oh, um,” Jaskier hesitated and dammit he knew he was blushing but he’s going to think I'm so naive and just struggling and – “Well, I’m usually performing at some venue or another, if I’ve managed to get any bookings.” He looked over at Geralt and he seemed interested, not like he suddenly regretted inviting a hipster over, so, “I sing and, uh, play guitar. Among other things.”

Geralt nodded, and definitely didn’t look at Jaskier's mouth when he bit his lip nervously, except Jaskier definitely saw his eyes dart down.

Jaskier shrugged. “But nobody knows me around here. Not yet anyway,” Jaskier laughed quietly. “I’m on at the open mic night this week at Posada's –”

“The live night at The Mandrake is pretty good,” Geralt cut in. Jaskier couldn’t have contained his smile even if he’d tried. Honestly, so many people laughed at him for still trying and –

Breathe, Jask.

“Yeah? What kind of music do they usually have? I mean, well, a lot of my covers usually go down really well, but I also play a lot of my own songs,” Jaskier asked as he dried up the last bowl. Damn it, he was starting to ramble. But he looked over again at Geralt and the man was nodding, and Jaskier thought he might have Hmmed again. Silently though. Jaskier got a little distracted again watching Geralt dry his hands on Jaskier's dish towel and then start to put things away.

“Hmm? What sort of things do you write?” Geralt finally asked, and he definitely stood closer than he needed to as he reached around Jaskier to pick crockery up from the counter.

Jaskier was absolutely not about to reply something like meeting hot dads at the supermarket when the oven timer beeped loudly.

“Pizza!!”

Jaskier jumped a little at Ciri's sudden – immediate – reappearance and although he had no real reason to blush, his cheeks felt like they were on fire.

Geralt laughed ever so quietly. Jaskier eyed him carefully as the man's mouth turned up in the slightest smirk. Oh, Geralt was teasing him.

Jaskier flicked the dish towel at Geralt before joining Ciri at the oven, taking the mitts from her before she could try to hurt herself carrying too many hot pizzas. They took the pizzas to the lounge and before Jaskier could worry about where he should sit, Ciri sat him in the middle of the sofa because that’s where guests sit, Mr. Frilly.

“What film are we watching?” Ciri asked, sat on the floor in front of the telly to get to the DVD player.

“Oh!” Jaskier popped up again and went to his bag. “Have you guys seen The Princess Bride?”

Ciri had not and Gert agreed it was a not-rubbish film. Not that Jaskier would have judged him too harshly if he didn’t liked his favourite film.

He sat between Geralt and Ciri as they ate pizza, and Jaskier definitely agreed it was at least the best pizza in town and quite frankly until he tried ‘Papa Vesemir's’ pizza, he was willing to say best ever. They watched the film, Geralt and Jaskier both half watching Ciri watch it for the first time. When Geralt took his hair out from its bun, Jaskier couldn’t help but reach over to tuck a stray lock behind his ear before Geralt tied half of it back anyway.

Away from the warm kitchen, it cooled down quickly in the lounge so Geralt pulled the throw blanket over them from the back of the sofa. He laughed softly when Jaskier stole the opportunity to tuck in closer as his arms were raised, and then laughed properly when Ciri used Jaskier's distraction to steal his frilly scarf.

Jaskier must have dozed off towards the end of the film because he woke up to Geralt carefully easing him up from leaning against his chest as the credits rolled. “Just putting Ciri to bed.”

Ah, yes, parenting to be done. Jaskier blinked himself awake somewhat while Geralt followed Ciri upstairs. As he listened to muffled arguments about whether she'd brushed her teeth for long enough and how many stories she needed before sleep, Jaskier took their cleared plates back to the kitchen.

He was putting the last of the clean dishes away when Geralt reappeared.

“The princess sleeps?” Jaskier asked softly. Geralt Hmmed at him, leaning against the door frame in a way that looked far too good for him to not be aware.

“Are you awake now?” Geralt teased, and Jaskier admirably resisted sticking his tongue out. Really though, he only resisted because he finally closed the distance between them and leaned up, hopeful, towards Geralt. He was pretty sure, but Oh god what if he really had misread things –

Geralt kissed him. He kissed him softly, steadily and with a firm hand holding Jaskier's hip to his waist.

Jaskier sighed, only loud enough for Geralt to just hear. “Yeah, I'm awake.”

[e-milieeee]

haunted

Summary: When Gabriel goes a step too far, Plagg has decided he’s had enough. 

Meanwhile, Gabriel Agreste has discovered that his house may or may not be haunted, because a vengeful spirit certainly seems to be after him. 

Notes: basically plagg being a little gremlin and trolling gabriel like he deserves. ft. gabe’s 3 remaining braincells. based on this post by @hamsternamedmarinette and @snail-noir im sorry its so crappy lol 

haunted

“Well,” Adrien is saying as he trudges inside the room and kicks the door shut. “There’s that, then.”

Plagg flits out from his shirt. His face is set in an angry mask, tail sticking straight up. “That’s that?” he echoes. “No, that’s absurd! Your father’s absurd! He should come back here and I’ll give him a piece of my mind and—”

Adrien squeezes his eyes shut. “Plagg, it’s fine. Forget it.”

Plagg makes an angry noise in the back of his throat. “So you’re just gonna take that? For weeks? He has no right.”

In his hand is the piece of paper—now crumpled—that his father had shoved into his fingers before he stormed off: the schedule for the fashion show. It runs for a week, but there’s also a terrifying amount of preparations to be done two weeks prior—all of which his father had decided he needed to be present for.

“I can’t risk making father angry,” Adrien settles with.

Plagg folds his arms. “Fine,” his kwami says curtly, in a manner of speaking that Adrien always finds hard to argue with. “Hypothetically speaking, then, if your father found out his plans had been cata—destroyed, would you be allowed to go out?”

“Plagg, I’m not going to break into my father’s study as Chat Noir to cataclysm his work just so I can go out with friends.”

Plagg smiles at him. It’s the smile Adrien had often gotten before he’d discovered the toilet paper in his washroom all scratched up and littering the floor. “Don’t worry,” comes the reply. “You won’t have to.”

***

Gabriel Agreste’s study is locked, but that doesn’t prove a problem for the small black shape that slips through the doors like they’re made of nothing more than mist. It’s dark, but cats have always seen better at night anyway.

There, on the top of his desk, lies the designs for the first set of clothes that are to be showcased. Meticulous notes. Fabric samples. Timing and schedules. Signatures and contracts.

The small, black cat picks the folder up with two paws. Then it crumbles into dust.

***

“Nathalie, did you touch the folder on my desk?”

It’s been a long morning—Gabriel had been up at 4 AM in an attempt to see if he could get an edge on Ladybug and Chat Noir. It had been horrendous to find someone to akumatize so early, and by the time he’d pinpointed his victim—forty five minutes later—he had nearly fallen asleep. He’d been pummelled by Ladybug and Chat Noir. Absolutely pummelled. And then, as if the situation couldn't help but get worse, Audrey Bourgeois had called him at six (just when he was about to go back to bed) and told him she couldn’t make it to the fashion show.

That woman had no regard for timezones. And no regard for him, either, because part of the marketing for the fashion week was Audrey’s attendance.

Gabriel was considering akumatizing himself when he realized the manila folder on his desk—that had been there when he left the night prior—was nowhere to be seen.

He searches through all his files. Crawls under his desk. Checks his lair. It's gone.

“Nathalie!” he bellows again, and she comes barrelling through the door to his office.

“What is it, sir?”

Gabriel takes a deep breath. “Have you seen the files for the fashion show? It was in the folder on my desk when I left.”

“Sir, I haven’t been in your office since last night, and I’m certain I saw your files there. Are you sure you haven’t misplaced it?”

Misplaced it, yeah. That’s what it was. Probably.

Now, what he needed was a nap.

***

The files do not turn up. Gabriel sends Nathalie to print them out again. The most important stuff is stored on his computer, but there are signatures he’d spent weeks getting.

He locks the files in his drawer the next time he gets it.

***

Tuesday morning finds Gabriel Agreste feeling much more refreshed. He even joins Adrien for three minutes during breakfast.

He walks into his office to find his favourite coffee mug in smithereens on the ground.

The files are still stored safely in his drawer. But there is a big, ugly tear across the dress he’d been working on for the past three months.

Gabriel screams.

***

Gabriel Agreste isn’t a fan of security cameras in his office. Especially because anyone with some hacking ability could possibly get their hands on the tape, and the last thing he needs is someone seeing him descending into his lair, or opening the safe behind his painting. Really—there’s simply too many sketchy things he’s done in the office for him to trust putting a camera there.

But he installs two of them nonetheless. His coffee mug could be an accident. But that rip on the dress? No, the only explanation is that it was intentional. But how?

Gabriel thinks of possibilities until he gives himself a headache.

***

“Father seems stressed lately,” Adrien notes to Plagg. There’s not much time for himself between busy schedules, but the moments in between he catches to talk to his kwami. The past week, stuck alone in his room with barely any interaction with his friends, has been draining. He cherishes the precious minutes he gets to spend with Plagg.

“Does he?” Plagg asks in a tone of practiced disinterest. “Well, he does have that really important fashion week thing coming up.”

“He asked me if I’d broken into his study a day ago, but he always locks his study. I think some of his files were missing.”

“Oh?” Plagg replies. “That’s terrible misfortune.”

“Father says he thinks a thief snuck in in the middle of the night and stole them, but we have security cameras all around the house and nothing happened.”

“Spooky.”

“Plagg…”

Plagg only shrugs. “Perhaps your house is haunted,” he replies disinterestedly. “Good thing you’re not scared of ghosts, Adrien.”

***

The house is haunted, and Gabriel cannot sleep.

The most terrifying part of watching the footage is that he sees nothing. There is no movement. No nothing. But then, the next morning, his files inside the locked drawer have disappeared.

Nathalie asks him about the dark rings around his eyes. He drinks two more cups of coffees in response.

***

Gabriel’s eyes are burning, but he’s determined to stay awake.

He likes to think himself neat and meticulous, but even he has his breaking point—his desk is littered with coffee cups, and he’s resorted to drinking energy drinks to keep himself awake. There’s less than ten days until the fashion show starts. It’s been so heavy on his schedule that he’s barely found time to akumatize three three people the past week.

Ladybug and Chat Noir must be having a field day while he’s sitting miserably in his office, waiting to catch the thief, too exhausted to summon up more akumas.

The clock ticks past midnight. Gabriel nearly faceplants into a coffee mug.

Another cup of redbull.

By the time it’s two in the morning, nothing shocking in particular has happened. Every time the flashing light of a car drives past the front of the house he starts, sits back down, and struggles to keep his eyes open.

It’s 2:04 when a crash sounds outside of his office.

Like a madman, Gabriel scrambles up from his seat. He knocks over a half-finished mug of coffee in the process, but that doesn’t matter. The door of his office slams open. He trips on a rug. But he gets up and runs like he’s never run before.

With all the force he can muster, he slams his palm down on the light, and the once-dark staircase and hall become bathed in golden light. The chandelier flickers twice and he stares down at the hall with half the mind to wonder if he’s going to finally see the ghost.

Gabriel is the only one in the hall.

He checks once more. Then again. Then again. But there is no one there, no source of the crash—

Oh, no.

The painting he’d bid at an auction twelve years ago—one that had cost a fortune—has fallen off the wall and face planted into the floor. The sight of it physically hurts Gabriel, and he’s scrambling towards it in a mixture of fear and anger when another noise sounds in his office.

In the months of being Hawkmoth, Gabriel Agreste has felt a generous range of emotions. But never has he felt such bone-chilling fear.

He heads back up the steps with robotic movements numbly. Down the corridor. Into his office.

There is no one there, and the mess that has been made is moreso his fault than of the invisible thief—or ghost—but then Gabriel sees one of his locked drawers open and the contents inside dumped unceremoniously on the ground.

The next day, when Nathalie finds him out cold on the ground, he attributes it to the exhaustion and the amount of coffee and energy drinks he’d consumed. But deep down, Gabriel knows that it’s the terror that’s finally caught up.

Either way, he faints.

***

Gabriel is confined to bed by a very concerned Nathalie. She usually heeds to his instructions, but the rare insistence from her and his own fatigue lands him out of commission for the day. It doesn’t stop him, however, from giving her a set of instructions.

“First, my office,” Gabriel croaks. His throat hurts—he must’ve caught a cold as well. “Please clean everything up and reinstall the locks. And then… and then…”

He thinks of the missing files—three times—and grits his teeth. “Cancel the fashion week.”

Nathalie’s jaw drops open. “Sir—”

“I know,” Gabriel mutters. “I just… I’m left with no choice. I’ll reschedule. Make up some excuse.”

She dips her head. “Noted, sir. Is that all?”

Gabriel gives her a miserable nod. She’s halfway out the door when he remembers.

“Nathalie!” he yells. “Get me a shaman, too.”

***

“The fashion week is cancelled.” Adrien looks up from practicing piano. “Father is sick, I think, which might be why. Nathalie looked super stressed when I saw her before my lessons.”

“Cancelled?” Plagg echoes dispassionately. “Huh. That’s too bad, I guess.”

“No, that’s good! I mean, it’s not good that my father is sick and Nathalie is stressed, but… at least I won’t be hounded about preparations. I even got permission to go out today.”

“Huh,” Plagg replies. He settles himself into his wheel of cheese. “I guess you’re lucky after all, then.”

Notes: yeah idk what i wrote but master fu is the shaman they hire and he finds out gabriel is hawkmoth and arrests him and the end if u wanna know what happens next 

Here’s my fics masterlist! 

[itskateak]

Mint Ice Cream & Bubblegum Kisses - Chapter Four

(Bucky Barnes X Single Dad!Reader)

Series Summary: Y/N L/N works as an intel specialist at the Avenger’s Compound. He scans chatter on the international - and intergalactic - level for any information that might be helpful to the Avengers and other agents. But he’s also a single father to a beautiful eight-year-old girl: Angelica L/N. It’s tough raising a little girl on his own and working a full-time job, but he’s managing. A promotion has him launched up in rank at the Compound, leading him to work directly with the Avengers team. The only problem is it’s a 24/7 job. Life around the compound gets a little strange when his daughter is added to the mix of enhanced humans and ex-assassins.

Chapter Summary: Rumors had always surrounded Bucky Barnes. A very early morning has Y/N thinking that every single one of them are wrong.

Word Count: 3.9K

Warnings: Meet-cute, fluff, unwanted romantic advances (again), minor language, Bucky being a little self-loathing

A/N: I wish y'all could've seen what happened in the middle of revising this - we got a 5.1 earthquake out of nowhere that jolted the house pretty good and in my rush to pick up my glass (and not move from the couch because screw that, I'm lazy and mother nature would have to throw me off the couch herself like that guy in the bathtub on Nov. 30th, 2018 - which, by the way, who is just soaking in the bathtub at 8:30 AM???), I slapped the keyboard. Oops. And then we got two more in the next two minutes.

Masterlist

Taglist is open! Drop a note in my messages, inbox, or leave a comment to be added!

If I can’t tag you, I will personally message you when a new chapter comes out so you don’t miss it!

✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ … ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ … ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿

Y/N sank into his desk chair, sleep hanging at the corner of his eyes. He almost had hit his alarm and gone back to bed, but since Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes were returning from a mission, he forced himself out of bed. They'd have information for him to add to the system that could be urgent. So, here he was, half-awake and booting up his computer.

He hadn't even had his caffeine this morning so his personality had yet to catch up. He was just a walking, mumbling shell of Y/N until his brain woke up entirely. That could take ten minutes, or it could take two hours. 

A knock on the door made him look up and blink to see who was in his doorway. The hall outside was still dark and his office wasn't very bright either so it was a little difficult to see.

Steve smiled in greeting and leaned against the doorframe. He was still in his tactical gear, a bloody scratch on his cheek proving that he'd come straight from the helicarrier. "Hey, Y/N. You're up bright and early."

"Well, you two decided to come back before even the roosters are awake, so...here I am. Just in case you guys had sensitive intel for me." Y/N tiredly smiled in return.

"Ah. Buck's the one who gathered most of the intel. He wanted to shower first since he was, in his words, sweatier than a sinner in a church and smellier than a nightclub on Wednesdays." Steve shrugged. "Sometimes I wonder if he's okay when he says stuff like that."

"A...nightclub on...Wednesdays?" Y/N asked, head tilted curiously.

"Apparently, Wednesdays were some of the busiest nights back in the day at the clubs he used to go to. Packed with people. We didn't really use deodorant in that time...so, it smelled pretty bad after a while." Steve explained. "Anyway, I came by to ask you a very important question."

"What's up?"

"What is your favorite caffeinated drink?"

✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ … ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ … ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿

Y/N didn't realize he had fallen asleep on his desk until someone had carefully placed a cup next to him. He turned his head as he woke up, leaning his cheek against his arm. He blinked awake, noticing the mug.

"Bless you, you beautiful, beautiful person." He mumbled sleepily, straightening up and taking the warm drink gratefully.

"An apology for making you get up really early and somethin' to get you movin'." The person said with a soft voice. "Steve told me that was your favorite."

Y/N looked up at them and paused. He was tall - but that may have been the vantage point - and had wide shoulders. His eyes were a glittering blue and filled with friendliness. He gave a lopsided smile.

 "I'm Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, but everyone just calls me Bucky."

"Y/N L/N. Nice to meet you. And thanks for the drink." Y/N extended his hand to greet Bucky. "So, what do you have for me?"

Bucky set a small stack of old files on the corner of the desk before sitting down on the couch pressed against the wall meant for visitors. He laid his ankle on his knee, leaning back and lounging against the couch. He hitched his chin towards the dusty files.

"Grabbed them from the Hydra base we raided. Not sure what all is in there but it seemed pretty important given how it was locked in a safe within a safe, behind a vaulted door and guarded by people armed to the teeth." Bucky explained then sighed deeply, his head falling back against the top of the seat. He stared at the ceiling, shaking his head slightly.

"Sounds crazy. You okay?" Y/N swiveled in his chair to face Bucky, tilting his head slightly. He warmed his hands with the drink he'd been brought, taking slow sips periodically to avoid burning his tongue.

"Yeah, just tired and glad to be back." Bucky picked his head back up and brushed his hair back out of his face. It was obvious he had just gotten out of the shower not too long ago, his hair still damp and starting to curl up. 

"Did you get hurt?"  Y/N asked, concerned. From the looks of Steve, the mission had been rough on them. They'd been gone for almost two weeks.

"Nothin' major. Few scratches and bruises. Maybe a pinched nerve or muscle in my knee, but Bruce isn't awake yet to get it checked out." Bucky gestured with his head to his left knee before shrugging. "How're you settling in? I heard about Stark's smooth promotion offer."

"Oh, yeah...that scared the shit out of me. Everything's working out well. A little strange being my own boss, really, but it feels great. I know Angelica's having a blast with the fact there's a pool downstairs and she's surrounded by some pretty cool people." Y/N shook his head fondly. "New office, new room, new environment. It's different...but good."

"That's how I felt when I first moved here. Though, everyone wasn't as welcoming...and they had every right not to trust me." Bucky looked at the floor, expression faltering. "I'm...not the easiest to get along with somedays."

"I think we're getting along just fine." Y/N gave him a friendly smile. "I might be biased since you brought me my favorite drink."

Bucky laughed then, a warm sound that filled the space, and the corners of his eyes crinkled up. "So you figured out my plan. Bribe you into likin' me." 

"Don't think you have to bribe me very much." Y/N broke into laughter, too, happy to see a smile back on Bucky's face. "You should get some food and get some rest if you can."

"I won't be able to sleep until later. Too wired still and probably will be for most of the morning."

"Maybe Wanda will make some tea for you." Y/N set his cup down. "My daughter doesn't know that you two were coming back this morning. She can be very hyperactive and excited when meeting new people. I didn't want you to come back from a mission and possibly be in a bad state of mind only to be met with a kid who wants to ask you rapid-fire questions for an hour."

"I appreciate that. I won't be against meeting her this afternoon. It's a Monday, right?" Bucky glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost five in the morning. "Yeah. Sometime this afternoon, if you want me to swing by and meet her, just let me know."

 "Of course. Thanks, again, for the drink. I'll get to these files soon." Y/N smiled, waving his hand vaguely at the stack of files.

"No problem. I'll get out of your way and leave you to it. Nice to meet you, Y/N. Happy to have you on the team." Bucky stood raised his arms above his head in a stretch. "Oh, and if you need translating or cracking the codes, let me know and I'll help with what I can. See you around, Y/N."

"See you, Bucky." Y/N watched him walk past the glass front of his office and down the hall. All the rumors he'd heard about Bucky being gruff and cold to everyone he meets seemed to be untrue. He already liked the ex-assassin, despite only knowing him for ten minutes total. His rough exterior was offset by his kindness and concern for others.

Y/N pulled the top file and opened it. He sighed. It was all in Russian. Luckily, he could scan the documents into the computer and a program would translate them all out. The only thing he'd need to do afterward would be to create a decoder for the system Hydra used. He shook his mouse to wake his computer.

This was similar tedious work to what he'd used to do, but at least he could wear what he wanted and play music out loud without disturbing anyone. And his daughter could come in and out whenever she wanted when she was tearing around like the little gremlin she was. 

With a wayward glance at the clock, he stood and started scanning the documents.

✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ … ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ … ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿

Angelica came running into Y/N's office after school had gotten out, her backpack thrown on the floor near the couch. She flopped onto it on her back, limbs sprawled out, groaning loudly.

"Well, hello to you, too." Y/N said, glancing up from his computer to look at his daughter. "How was school?"

"Boring. Like usual." She whined, throwing her arms out but nearly falling off the couch in the process. She squealed and steadied herself. "I wish we did harder math things or read more interesting things."

"Can't be as boring as what I've been doing." Y/N teased, scrolling through the newly translated documents. He was still scanning the files that Bucky had brought that morning and he had yet to start cracking the codes that HYDRA used. "I have at least thirty-eight papercuts on my hands now."

"Whatcha looking at?" Angelica rolled off the couch and moved to see his computer screens. He switched tabs quickly to a google home page. "Papaaa."

"It could be sensitive content, Angel. Can't show you that. And I have no idea what kind of content is in there. Some of it might not be suitable for you." Y/N picked her up and settled her on his lap, an arm around her waist. She leaned back against him, leaning her head against his. "I could take a break and we can watch some YouTube."

"Ooh! Can we watch some dog videos?" She asked, excited.

"Whatever you want, kiddo." He leaned forward and brought up YouTube, typing in a search for funny dog videos. "We can have a fifteen-minute break before I should get back to work and you should start on homework."

"Don't ruin this for me." Angelica groaned, lighting kicking his shin. "Ooh! The first one looks adorable. Look at his little paws!"

Y/N grinned and clicked on the video, turning up the volume. Her giggles and laughter always brightened his day. He watched a puppy stumble and tip a water dish over. Everyone needed a puppy break in the middle of the day and it was definitely needed after the very early morning. 

✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ … ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ … ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿

"Oh, wow. This is fancy. You sure moved up in the world." Kiera's voice startled Y/N and he looked up from his notes. 

"Oh, hi! Come in, Kiera." Y/N minimized the tabs on his screens and closed his notebook. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I have a few files from our department that are directly related to a mission that's coming up that they want you to look at." She said, holding up two folders. 

"I've not been told of any mission but let me see what's up." He held his hand out and she crossed his office to pass the files over. He opened the top one and scanned over the words. "I'll have to talk to Tony or Steve to see what this is about, but this seems pretty important."

"The boss man wanted me to run it up here as soon as it was compiled. Are you sure you don't know what it's about?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"They might've told me and I just forgot. It's been a crazy few days with Natasha and Sam prepping to leave for a mission tonight and the intel I had to send to the Guardians." Y/N set the files down on his desk.

"So, how's it feel to be in the elite club?" Kiera sat down on the couch, crossing her legs. She was wearing a pencil skirt and heels, which he didn't actually pay attention to after doing a quick scan over her. 

"I had to get up at like...three-thirty this morning because Rogers and Barnes decided to return from a mission with sensitive files at four." Y/N buzzed his lips, leaning back in his chair. "Rogers stopped by first to say hi and tell me Barnes had all the files."

"Sergeant Barnes makes me...uncomfortable sometimes. He's really quiet in meetings and always looks like he's angry or doesn't want to be there." Kiera pursed her lips. "And whenever he talks, he's really short and gruff. He just seems really cold and unapproachable. Did you have to deal with him alone?"

"He brought me my favorite drink, apologized for making me get up so early, and asked how I was settling in. He was nice and offered to help  decode the files he'd brought." He shrugged, thinking back on their conversation that morning. "He was really friendly and open. I think he just isn't comfortable around strangers or large groups of people."

"Y/N, I'm worried about you and Angelica. What if he tries to hurt either of you? I know they say he's stable but is he really? What if he just snaps one day and turns back into the Winter Soldier?" Kiera stood and crossed to him, sitting on the edge of his desk. 

Y/N arched a brow slightly as she laid a hand on his shoulder, her thumb rubbing in a circle over the fabric of his shirt. "Kiera, why are you even bringing this up? If there was even the possibility of him being a threat to anyone, especially Angelica, they wouldn't have let us move in here or he would still be in Wakanda."

"All I'm saying is that you should be careful, okay? I don't think you should get too close to him. I don't want to see you get hurt and I really don't want to see Angelica get hurt." Kiera said. She didn't even know Bucky other than what she's heard through rumors or the news, so why was she pushing this so much? In his eight-minute conversation with Bucky that morning, he'd already dismissed all the rumors and other experiences people had told him about because of how open and friendly he'd been.

"Kiera," He started, voice low and stern. "If I had any concerns about Bucky, I would speak to him directly about it. Talking about him behind his back and perpetuating rumors only hurts his reputation and the way people view him. He knows people don't trust him and feels that it's rightfully deserved."

"Just...be careful, okay? That's all I'm asking. I just fear for Angelica." Kiera said quietly.

"Oh, uh...I'll just...come back in a few minutes." A voice made them both turn and Y/N shrugged Kiera's hand off his shoulder. Bucky was standing awkwardly in the doorway, a hand raised to knock on the door.

"No, come on in, Bucky." Y/N flashed him a warm smile and gave a side-eyed glance at the woman still hovering near him. "Kiera was just leaving." He said through his teeth.

"The boss will want me back in my little cubicle." She stood and walked past Bucky without sparing a glance at him and paused in the doorway. "I'll see you Wednesday night." She winked and smiled before sauntering down the hall.

"Did I interrupt something?" Bucky avoided eye contact, looking at the pictures on the wall instead as he moved further into the office. He looked awkward, his arms hanging limply at his sides. Y/N wondered if he overheard their conversation. 

"She was just bringing files relating to a mission coming up that I may or may not have been told about." Y/N turned back to his computer, opening his tabs and notebook again. Bucky could see the intel and he didn't have to worry about the confidential issue.

"Seemed a little more friendly than that." Bucky snorted, sitting down on the couch, and immediately sinking into it. He was relaxing with every passing second. "Wednesday, huh?"

"I have absolutely no idea what she was talking about. The only plan I have Wednesday night is to go to the library after getting ice cream at Pop's Shoppe with Angelica like we do every Wednesday night." Y/N said, looking at him with an open expression of honesty. 

"Sounded like a date to me." Bucky threw an arm over the back of the couch, his ankle resting on his knee. "Nothin' wrong with that if it was."

"She's just a friend." Y/N sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I should clear that up with her in case she got the wrong impression." 

"I don't think you called me down here to talk about your workplace drama, though." Bucky gave him a lopsided smile, head tilted slightly. Any awkwardness or discomfort was gone. "What's up?"

"Need your help deciphering the codes. I've identified four different codes they use but I can't figure out what they mean." Y/N pressed his lips together in frustration. "I've written each of them down."

"Got a pen?" Bucky sat up, hand extended.

"Yeah. Here's the notebook, too." Y/N passed them to him, noticing that he didn't hesitate with reaching out with his metal arm. Not that he minded the metal prosthetic in the first place. "While you work on that, I can look over the files Kiera brought."

"She seems nice. Seen her in a couple of briefings. Knows what she's talking about and is really good at her job." Bucky said, eyes scanning the notebook as he wrote. "Not a bad choice, honestly."

"She is nice, but not my type." Y/N responded, opening one of the new files, ignoring the flush rising on his face. He was so embarrassed for absolutely no reason.

"Don't think she knows that." Bucky snorted before muttering something in Russian under his breath. He glanced up for a moment. "Maybe you should make it clear to her."

"Last week I used going to Operations Control - even though I was actually going to Accounting - as an excuse to leave just to stop her from asking me to dinner because I didn't want to turn her down." He admitted, keeping his gaze on the papers as his face warming up even more.

"Just let her down easy. Tell her you think she's nice but you aren't interested in a romantic relationship with her." Bucky suggested with a shrug.

A comfortable silence settled between them as they both worked on their respective tasks. Occasionally, there was a soft whirring of the computers as the fans turned on to cool them down or of Bucky's arm as he moved. It was because of this that they both heard the footsteps rushing toward the office.

"Papa, I finished my homework! Can you check my multiplication worksheet?" Angelica came dashing in, holding a folder to her chest, and smiling broadly.

"Inside voice, kiddo. Inside voice." Y/N looked up with a gently chastizing expression. "But, yes. I can check your math." 

Angelica stopped with wide-eyes, actually noticing the man on the couch for the first time since she'd sprinted in. There went the plan of setting up a meeting time for Bucky and the ball of energy.

Bucky glanced up and gave her a quick smile that reminded Y/N of the one he gave to people when they held doors open for him. It was full of awkward friendliness and Y/N had sympathy for him.

"You're James Buchanan Barnes." She said in amazement, smiling broadly in return. She bounced on the balls of her feet, barely containing her enthusiasm.

"Uh, yep. That's my name, but you really don't need to call me James or Barnes or whatever. Just Bucky works." He tucked a strand of hair that had fallen into his vision behind his ear. "And you're..?"

"Angelica. Kiddo, you can barrage Bucky with questions here in a second but I need your math homework if you want me to check it." Y/N chuckled. His daughter snapped out of her daze and rushed to hand her folder to him. She then skipped over to the couch and flopped down next to him.

"Whatcha working on?" She asked in her adorable way, her head tilted.

"Code cracking for your dad." Bucky hummed, shifting so he wasn't so closed off.

"Is it fun?"

"Sort of. I'm tired so I'm not exactly at a functioning level." He bounced his foot slightly. "I think you're the only person I've met who has been starstruck and knew my actual name."

"I did a project last month about you for history. That lesson was the only one that was not boring." Angelica swung her legs. "I think you're pretty cool."

"Oh," Bucky said, looking at the notebook. "Uh, thanks."

Y/N glanced up from the multiplication problems to see a blush spreading across the badass Winter Soldier's face. He smiled secretly and returned to the multiplication, scanning just to be sure his math whiz of a kid hadn't missed anything in her speed demon functions.

"Everyone else wanted to do projects on Natasha or Steve or Wanda and no one wanted to do a project on you. Made me mad 'cause they had all these ideas about you that were, like, not at all true but they didn't know that 'cause they jus' listened to their parents and didn't take ten minutes to think for themselfs." Angelica glared at the floor in her very childlike stern manner. "There's a reason you're a hero but they wouldn't know that 'cause all they'd heard was that you were a bad guy. So someone had to tell them otherwise."

"Alright, kiddo. This all looks correct. Good job." Y/N tucked the papers back into her folder and set his pen aside. She hopped off the couch and took her folder back with a smile. "Bucky and I need to get back to work, so you'll have to scram, okay?"

"Wanda said she'd teach me how to make some food from her homeland when I was done with my homework," Angelica told him.

"You remember the rules?"

"Yep!" 

"Then scram. Have fun." Y/N gently shoved her shoulder and she giggled.

"Bye, Bucky! See you later!" Angelica said, pausing at the door to give him a wave.

"See ya around, sweetie." He waved back with a friendly smile before she took off running down the hall again. "She is quite the ball of energy."

"You have no idea." Y/N laughed, picking the file back up. "She didn't make you uncomfortable or anything, right? She tends to get loud and talkative when she's super excited."

"No, no. It was cute. I've...never really had someone act like that the first time I've met them. Usually, they're all wary and distrustful like I'm some feral dog that has to be danced around." Bucky sighed, running a hand through his hair. His lips were pressed into a firm line and he glared at the notebook.

"You know, when she did that project on you, she wouldn't stop talking about you for weeks. I've seen her get passionate about things before, but for some reason, she was extra determined to prove to everyone that you're a good guy now." Y/N smiled fondly. "She likes seeing the good in people. Always have, and probably always will."

"I think she takes after you on that one," Bucky mumbled under his breath. "This should let you decode the information. They mixed codes a lot just to be extra sure no one could sell the intel."

Y/N took his notebook and pen back with a nod. "Thanks. This will help a ton."

Bucky stood, wincing slightly as his knee popped. "I'll leave you to it, then."

"Oh, I have a deal proposition before you go." Y/N stopped him with a smirk. 

"I'm listening." Bucky arched a brow.

"You bring my drink every morning and every time Angelica plans a prank on you or a prank that could affect you, I'll let you know. If she asks, just say it's a super-soldier superpower or something." Y/N offered with a mischievous grin. "We have a deal?"

"We have a deal." Bucky shook his hand. 

✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ … ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿ … ✿°•∘ɷ∘•°✿

Taglist - @supernaturalwintersoldier​ @shadowolf993​ @myybebe @pastel-boy-sungjae​

[jq37]

The Royal Report– A Crown of Candy Ep 16 For Candia (Part 1)

The Second Most Stressful Conversation All Season

The Rocks family sails up to Cola River, concealed in Primsy’s ships with a small contingent of soldiers. As they go, they pick up another set of allies--the remaining knights from Theo’s order.

Ruby gets called to speak with her mom and dad and Cara asks her to close the door behind her. When she speaks, it’s with more candor than she’s ever used with Ruby that we’ve seen. She says that all she’s ever wanted for Ruby was her safety and she tried to secure that by protecting her from secrets but now she is truly a woman grown and the best way to protect her is by sharing secrets, an approach Ruby seems to appreciate. 

Cara fills her in on what she and Amethar learned last episode--Ghee died before she married Amethar. That means she’s still queen, he’s still king, and though Rina is still Amethar’s first born heir, Ruby is also trueborn. 

Ruby asks if they’re going to tell people and Amethar says he wants to wait. Things are heightened right now and it would make things weird in battle. Ruby says that if that’s what he wants, she won’t tell anyone. Ruby also says she doesn’t trust Rina’s people, something Amethar cites as another reason he doesn’t want to tell people yet.

Cara asks Ruby’s opinion on Rina and she says that she thinks she’s dangerous. Cara agrees and Amethar thinks she’s being a little harsh in her assessment but Ruby goes on. She thinks that Rina has tunnel vision in her hatred of the church and there are good people who follow the Bulb (again, Cara is a devout Bulbian). Cara chimes in that Port Syrup is in ruins because of her people. Amethar wants to delay all this talk but Cara drops an absolute banger of a line, “Amethar. The delay of conversation has been perhaps your most cardinal sin.” 

Ruby thinks that maybe Rina can be good but her people are full stop, bad. She didn’t order Port Syrup sacked (good) but it was by her people in her name (bad) and she doesn’t seem super bothered by the collateral damage (also bad). However, she does think that maybe if she wasn’t surrounded by these people, she'd make different choices. 

Cara says that with Rina on the throne, Candia’s future is written in flame. She says that Theo was pretty quick to join up with Rina and asks Amethar what he thinks he’ll do with the new info about his kingship. Amethar thinks he’ll be loyal so she thinks maybe they can tell him but Ruby points out that he’s not good with secrets. Cara says that’s a wise observation. She also says, in not so many words, that this is going to be a dangerous battle and during dangerous battles, sometimes people--like your husband’s pesky half daughter who is bumping your own daughter in the line of succession and has a merry band of war criminals--die.

“Hey, you’re talking about my daughter,” says Amethar.

“I am talking about the future of Candia,” says Cara. 

She tells Ruby that if she doesn’t think it’s a good idea to talk to Theo, that’s fine, but she should listen to her heart. She has the sight for the future to come and “If fortune cannot be on our side, we will have to do what fortune cannot.”

The Most Stressful Conversation All Season

The ship continues to sail upriver. Brennan makes a little roll that he doesn’t announce but seems entirely too pleased about. 

There’s a lot of debate about arriving and attacking and they decide to get to Dulcington late so they have cover but can attack when it starts to get light and have some visability for archers and such. 

It’s the middle of the night as they approach their destination and Rina hears a knock at her door. It’s Swifty and, wouldn’t you know it, he just eavesdropped on a *reaaaaaal* interesting conversation by the royal family (we get a quick cut to Brennan’s mystery-roll). But before he can spill the tea, she stops to tell him (and Gooey who is also there doing the bodyguard thing) that she was *not* about the carnage of Port Syrup. They NEED to be better than that. These people may never accept her but she doesn’t want them to *hate* her. Swifty is like, “lol, about that.” She tells her what he heard--or at least *some* of what he heard. He tell her about the death/wedding timeline and about the fact that they’ve been sitting on the news for a day (leaving out the bits where Amethar defended her and Ruby thought she might be good) and implies that they’re waiting for her to die in battle (something Cara implied in fairness) or kill her themselves (a little more of a leap--but not by much). Rina, not quite seething but something akin to it, says that if they had just told her this information, she would have worked with them seeing as the crown was only ever a means to an end for her but they had to be dishonest with her. Swifty says he’s excited to waste all their enemies during the upcoming battle and, once it’s over, if she wants them to turn their slaughter efforts a little closer to home, she just has to say the word. In response, she says she wants to speak to Theo so she can seek his counsel. She also reiterates that the Port Syrup debacle was a full war crime and shouldn’t have happened regardless of her relationship with the Rocks family (Swifty and Gooey exchange a glance she doesn’t fully parse) and then Gooey gets Theo.

After some weird flirting with Gooey (he makes an appointment to get “slammed big style” [sic] by her), Theo shows up to talk to Rina. She says that she’s been helping the Rocks family a ton in battle but she’s only been rebuffed. Is it worth it? Should she keep helping them? Theo says that he’s known the family for a long time and they’re good people who wouldn’t hurt her. Rina says that Theo is an honorable man and she trusts that even if he doesn’t side with her, he’ll do the honorable thing. Then she tells her what she knows, info that he is, of course, hearing for the first time. On an 18 Insight check, he knows he’s not being lied to and he knows he has a choice to make. He remembers Lazuli, all those years on their first meeting, telling him to think for himself and he amends his earlier statement. He might have spoken too soon about Amethar. He’s reckless, he wishes he could have worked for any of his sisters rather than him, and he clearly doesn’t have love for all of his family based on the way he’s treating her. He’s officially Team Rina (like he kinda was before but even moreso). She makes it official by casting the Dedication version of Ceremony on him and he feels more connected to her than ever before (also +1d4 to all Saving Throws for 24 hours). 

War is Hell (to Recap) 

The group gets into position with a bunch of stealth checks to get ready for their dawn attack. Despite pledging himself to Rina, Theo doesn’t want to work against Amethar and he wants to tell Cumulus. Rina agrees since she doesn’t fully trust her people and she thinks it’s good to bring another trustworthy person in on this.

Right before fighting breaks out, Theo gives the CliffsNotes version to Cumulus (ie: there is some weirdness in the line of succession and the family is plotting without us) and also messages Liam that Rina is potentially in danger, getting back the message that he’ll for sure help protect her. Ruby rolls Insight to see if she can tell Theo’s being weird but with a Nat 20 deception check from him, she’s sure that Theo is loyal to them above all else and would never betray them.  

OK guys, here’s the deal. Almost everything else in this episode is truly just chess. Moving units across the board. Taking out troops strategically. Placing minis. Stuff like that. Not at all interesting to recap or read. So all you really need to know is, “The Rocks family and their numerous allies (cheese sailors manning catapults, monks, Candian fighters) get into position and the fight begins at dawn, with them doing pretty well once it starts.” Pretty much everyone gets to do at least one clutch thing and you can check out the episode if you want more detail than that.

The only really important thing to know is that Kerradin is there, Grissini is there, and Plumbeline is there. In fact, not only is she there, she comes down from the castle walls so she can ride in on her meep chariot and knock Theo prone.  

Unfortunately for her, she hasn’t gotten the news about Peppermint Batman. Three attacks+flanking+sneak attack+favored enemy damage+bursting arrow+hail of arrows=58 damage to Plumbeline immediately.

As she stands over Theo, two crossbow bolts explode through her eyes and she drops down dead.

And that’s it for this episode! Join us next week for the actual finale of a Crown of Candy!

1 Million Years Dungeon

SWIFTY!

Man, Swifty really is the personification of Brennan’s craving for some sweet, sweet PvP action huh?

You homicidal little chaos gremlin, it is BAFFLING that you have the queen’s ear and I hate it.

Things I’m Concerned About

Emily had Rina use the word “fools” and I know that she grew up on the same Disney movies that we did where fools is an antagonist exclusive word. Hate the implications of that!

Do you remember what I said about Cara in her literal first appearance? I generally like her but I’m getting some light Lady Macbeth vibes. Well here we are. It was so weird to see her and Ruby getting along but I really loved the scene. So tense and so careful with every word. (Also, I *knew* that info was going to get to Rina as the conversation was happening and I was bracing for it but it was still like, damn).

We still haven’t gotten to, “Family is exposed, family is vulnerable.”

That look Gooey and Swifty shared? Don’t love that. 

So, as I’ve been concerned about for a while now, we’re gearing up for some PvP. It still doesn’t have to happen but things are getting dicey and lines are being drawn. Theo has made his allegiances known and Cumulus from way back when said he stands with the magic of Candia, not the Rocks family--plus he just pledged his whole order to her. Ruby and Amethar obviously are on the same side if this happens (though you know no one wants to avoid PvP more than him) and I think Liam would be more inclined to stay with the family if it comes to it, though he also doesn’t seem like he’d be down for this.

Continuing on from my last point, if there’s a big PvP fight potentially on the horizon and the other side has a DRAGON and also ALL THE HEALS...mmm, I wouldn’t love that. Oh also, I didn’t mention it in the recap but Rina said she wasn’t gonna waste her spells on Ruby/Amethar anymore which is a SCARY THING for your HEALER to say before the FINAL BATTLE.  

Edit: I forgot to mention (s/o to @fjordgofurther for the sideways reminder)! Because of the way it’s been framed (“we will have to do what fortune cannot”) and because of the poetry of it and, practically speaking, because they’re the two main casters, if it gets to PvP I can see it ending up being Rina and Ruby, head to head and...do not care for that image one bit lemme tell you. 

Five More Things

I am VERY happy that Rina told off her crew about their casual war crimes because it would have dropped by opinion of her HUGELY if she was just chill about it. 

I don’t want to downplay the amount of work that went into the battle stuff in this ep. There were a lot of cool large scale battle mechanics and home rules for fighting with troops and letting them use your abilities and stuff. But it’s very hard for me to recount that without sounding like a history textbook chapter on the Civil War or something and I’m not Ken Burns. 

Place your bets. Blessed Ally Nat 20 on the wish-egg-seed or on icing Kerradin?

Very wild that they destroyed the afterlife RIGHT before this fight. Like, before they knew that if they died, they could at least still talk to their loved ones to some degree. But now that’s gone. Perma-death is suddenly extra-perma. I wonder if that was a conscious choice on Brennan’s part.

Did I ever get to say, “newly *mint*-ed” with regard to Liam’s Peppermint Batman status? I don’t remember and it would be a shame if I hadn’t. 

I have more thoughts but this episode ends so clearly midway through the action that I feel it’s best to leave them for the actual finale. 

One More Thing!

As I’ve mentioned on here before, I’m working on an audiodrama podcast which should be dropping later this year! Absolutely No Adventures, a podcast about avoiding dangerous quests, making weird friends, and baking. It’s also a podcast about baking.  

The Twitter handle is @noadventurespod and we just got our art!

I’m very excited to start releasing stuff for it and I hope some of y’all check it out!

[captnbarnesrogers]

Fall: Pick Your Lover Over Prom Dresses

Pairing/Characters: CollegeAU!Bucky Barnes x Reader Warnings: Jealous Bucky, swearing, not much lmao alotta fluff Chapter Summary:  WC: 2.3k+ A/N: 3 more chapters to go!!

PREVIOUSLY FALL MASTERLIST

When you woke up from your deep slumber, you were in Bucky’s arms, warm and secure. You felt more comfortable to walk down the stairs by yourself. To your surprise, Winnie had left a note on the fridge that she and George had gone to work for the day. She added that the plates of food for you and Bucky were inside the fridge, ready to be heated and eaten. You prepared two cups and made some coffee for the both of you. You heated up the food and placed them on a tray, carefully bringing them up the stairs. You placed the tray on the bedside table and snuck yourself in between Bucky’s arms once again.

He began to turn in his sleep before finally opening his eyes and peeping at you.

“Am I in heaven? Because I think I’ve seen an angel.” You laughed as he kissed your cheek.

“If you’ve seen me, you’re probably in Hell.” He let out a groggy chuckle, his arm resting across your stomach, “Hungry?”

“Starving.”

“Well, I’ve made coffee and heated up some food.” He sat up as you handed him his mug, taking a sip straight away.

“If this is Hell, I wanna stay here forever.” You handed him a fork and you both shared the plate.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Enters Rebecca, panic flushes on her face. You stood up from your spot and rushed over to her.

“Are you okay?” You asked with concern. She took a deep breath before beginning.

“Jessica bailed on me, now I have no one to pick prom dresses with and I’m gonna look like shit and Alex won’t take me if I look like shit.” She says without a breath.

“Well, if Alex won’t take you because you look like shit, he’s an idiot.” Bucky explains with a mouthful, “That’s why I’m dating Y/N, she looks like shit all the time.” You glared at him jokingly.

“Your brother’s right, prom night should be a time to have fun with your friends, not to focus on boys.”

“I dunno Y/N, I lost my-“

“James!” You laughed, “Your sister doesn’t need to know that.”

“Yeah, gross, you gremlin.” He couldn’t stop laughing.

“Besides your brother being stupid, I’d be happy to help you pick a dress out.” You gave her a hug, Bucky watching with adoration with his eye – although he hid it quite well behind his mug of coffee, “Half the fun is picking out a dress.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!!” She exclaimed, embracing you tighter. Rebecca looked at Bucky whilst you both hugged and mouthed, ��Marry her.’ He shook his head and smiled, hiding his blush.

“Okay, let me get ready and we can go.” She nodded and ran off to her room to do the same. You walked back toward Bucky who finished off his coffee, you planted a kiss on his cheek, “Drive us over?”

“Sure.” He croaked, taken aback by your actions. Surprised at his tone, he laughed, “Yeah, yeah sure.”

He watched you from the bed getting ready. A sweater, some jeans, a beanie; all so simple but you made it look like something that took hours to put together. He began thinking through your entire friendship. How you were the only relationship he put in effort to keep and maybe this was an excuse to finally up the courage he didn’t have back at the university. He shook himself out of the thought and brought the fact back to himself that this was a fake relationship and it was only going to last two weeks. After the two weeks, you’d look back at him as Bucky: your flirtatious friend. You snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Helloooo? Earth to James Barnes?” You giggled.

“Yeah, sorry! I’ll just put some pants on.”

“Okay.”

Rebecca rushed down the stairs excitedly. Her crossbody bag over her shoulders. She described her perfect dress to you. Light filling her eyes and smile plastered across her face.

“Okay so, it’s going to be a red silk dress, right?” You nodded, “with like a dropped neckline and spaghetti straps.”

“Oooh! That’s going to look so good!” You rubbed her back as she entered the backseat of the car and you made your way to the front seat.

“And I’m thinking rose gold hoop earrings and red strappy heels.” Bucky rolled his eyes as he started the engine of the car.

“Geez, it’s senior prom, not a wedding, Bec.”

“Leave her alone, James, I think every seventeen year old senior girl should have a show stopping dress.” Bec agreed with you, hitting the back of his head, truly showing the relationship that she and Bucky had.

Rebecca asked for the Bluetooth in the car to Bucky’s demise. He scrunched his nose at every song that played which made you laugh. He parked in front of the dress shop and stopped the engine.

“Thank the Lord that’s over!” Bec rolled her eyes at her brother’s annoyance, “I’m gonna go meet some friends while you guys pick some dresses, that alright with you, doll?” You nodded. Bec leaned in the middle compartment of the backseat, eyes hopeful, “What do you want, squirt?” You both looked at her.

“Well?” She began.

“What?”

“Aren’t you guys gonna kiss goodbye?” You blushed. Bucky choked on air.

“Um, yeah, of course we were about to!” You said leaning into Bucky and giving him a peck.

“You guys are the most unromantic couple on earth… That? That was pathetic.” She exited the car and entered the store. You finally breathed out and your cheeks flushed a deeper crimson.

“That bad, huh?” You asked Bucky nervously.

“I’m not complaining.” He couldn’t stop staring at you and he began to lean in. His hand snaking its way to your cheek and behind your neck. He looked at your lips and back to your eyes. This was it. This was the kiss that would seal the deal.

Multiple loud knocks made their way through the window, disrupting the moment.

“I’m gonna kill her.” You smiled down.

“Duty calls.”

“I’ll see you later?” You nod and he plants a kiss on your cheek. When you exit the car, the icy cold breeze of the air hit your cheek, making you grasp a hold of your body against it. You entered the store and Rebecca was already trying on dresses. Bright lights shone down on the display dresses and the sound of the heaters running through the vents were loud. Bec grabbed a dress from the rack, a little bit different to how she described but she had stated that she was ‘keeping an open mind’. It made you laugh.

“Are you going to try some dresses on as well?” She asked. You shook your head.

“No, but I’ll be brutally honest with the dresses you try on?” You both came to that agreement. She tried on dress after dress after dress. Nothing seemed to look nice and fitting on her until, she found the red dress that she had described a few hours beforehand, “Now that, looks amazing on you.”

“Mind zipping me up, please?” You walked over and pulled the zip up. The dress fitting perfectly on her, “He likes you, you know?” You hummed in response, “Bucky, I can tell, he really likes you, loves you even.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, for starters, he brought you home.” She looked at herself in the mirror and walked over to the shoe section, picking out black strappy heels, “He doesn’t do that, he likes to keep his love life and home life completely separate.” She sat down and put the heels on before standing up and walking over to the mirror again.

“That might just be to keep your mom from asking questions.”

“Maybe.” She turned to you and smirked, “Also he looks to you a lot, even when someone else is speaking, ever notice that he’s always following you around like a lost puppy?” Come to think of it, now that she mentioned, he really did, even back at the university, “and how he’s always concerned about where you are, what you’re doing, and pushing himself in situations and places where you are?”

“Your brother and I have been friends for a long time, Bec, I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything.”

“I don’t know, Y/N, sounds like he’s pretty smitten, huh?” You couldn’t help but blush at the thought, “I mean, I guess you’ll just have to wait until he gets jealous, it’s always the better tell.” She winked. The sales lady walked over with a smile.

“That’s so fitting on you, love!” She fixed the straps and continued, “it’s the only one in the store, guaranteed no one else would have this dress at your prom!” Bec jumped with joy, clapping her hands together. She took off the dress and the heels, taking them to the counter to be bought.

“Do you wanna get a smoothie or something?” She asked.

“Know any good places?”

“You’ll have to learn that I know all the best places.” She said with confidence, propping up and walking down the street. You were distracted from how much Bec and yourself were talking that you didn’t notice someone heading towards you. Before you knew it, you had bumped into them.

“Oh my god,” you shrieked, “I am so sorry!” You looked up to find your friend, Peter, a guy from your screenwriting class.

“Hi, Y/N, what are you doing here?”

“Peter!” You gave him a hug and a smile, “I’m actually here with Bucky.” You turned to Bec, not wanting your little lie to get busted, “Why don’t you head on in? I’ll follow.” She nodded and when she entered, the bell above the door rang out.

“Little sister duty?”

“Yeah, kind of, she needed a prom dress.”

Meanwhile, in the smoothie shop, Bec was texting Bucky. He had asked where you were and she told him where you both were. She had also mentioned to Bucky that you had bumped into a friend. Almost to his convenience, he was nearby and ready to pick you both up.

He looked from afar; you laughed at Peter’s jokes and conversed with wonder. Something bubbled up inside of him. Almost like a fire ready to explode with each word that came out of Peter’s mouth. He started to wonder if you ever laughed like that at his jokes, if you listened with wonder in every conversation you both had. Finally, you both hugged goodbye and you entered the smoothie shop, following Bec.

“Hey!” Bec greeted with a smile, “I got you one of my favourites, it’s an orange sherbet smoothie.” You took a sip.

“Tastes good.” The door bell rang through the shop and in entered Bucky, “Hey.” You leaned in to kiss his cheek and he smiled but almost as if he didn’t want to accept it. His demeanour had changed from this morning and it made your stomach turn. Had something happened whilst you and Bec were picking out a dress?

“Ready to go?” He asked.

“You don’t want a smoothie, Buck?” He shook his head, no. Bec shrugged toward you and stood up from her seat, grabbing the plastic which contained her dress and her shoes. He almost raced to the car as rain started to spit onto the ground.

The ride on the way home was silent. Although, Bec was too busy to notice. You did though. There wasn’t a flirtatious comment coming anytime soon. You were so curious but didn’t want to bring up whatever it was in front of his sister. You tried to put your hand on his shoulder, comforting him somehow but he shrugged your hand off of him. It was you. He was upset at you. You don’t know what you had done but you were so desperate to know why he’d suddenly become so cold. He parked the car in the driveway and walked to the door, opening it and stepping inside. Bec followed and gave you a smile.

“Thank you for today, Y/N, I had fun.” You leaned forward and gave her a hug.

“No problem.” You looked around the room and noticed Bucky had disappeared, “Well, if you’re happy to do this again, I am too.” She nodded and headed into the kitchen. You made your way upstairs and entered the room. Bucky kept himself busy as you sat on the bed, “Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know, Y/N, is it?”

“I don’t even know what I did, Bucky.” You stood up from the bed and followed his each step. The room was quite small but you wondered why he felt miles away, “I can’t read your mind.”

“Didn’t say you could.”

“You’re acting like a child!” You stated, making him scoff. He cleaned his desk, stacking notebooks and notepads on top of each other. You walked over to him and hugged him from behind, “Please, Bucky?” He sighed.

“I just-” He turned to face you, “I don’t know, I don’t have the right to but I do- Bec told me that you bumped into Pete.” He hand made its way to your back, rubbing with comfort.

“And?”

“Don’t make me say it, Y/N.” He kissed your head, “I’m sorry.” You’d suddenly put two and two together. You and Pete. He had seen you with Pete.

“You’re jealous.”

“I don’t have an excuse to get me out of this.” He chuckled nervously.

“And you’re jealous because?” You were baiting him to say it, a smile plastered on your face. He shook his head, “Well, you don’t need to be.” You looked up at him. Your hand snaking its way to his cheek. Pulling him down, you planted a kiss on his lips.

“I’m convinced.” He laughed.

----

TAGLIST:

@captianlibby​

[snakesnack6]

Turns Out She’s 100% My Cousin

(its been a while since I wrote something to this length,so here is a fic for the Youtuber Six AU. I’m currently planning for a multi-chapter fic for this the future,so don’t be afraid to ask questions and such about it)

This is also available on ao3: here

Headcannons for this au : The Queens  , Ladies and Waiting + The Palace

Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard were known in the youtube community as the dynamic cousin duo,when Anne first started out. With Katherine behind the scenes and Anne on the screen, they made their name. No one really knew the reason behind the cousin,but it worked out for them. Even when Katherine moved onto her own channel, and made a name of her own, she still stayed with Anne. To Anne, Katherine was her little cousin who she needed to protect, and to Katherine, Anne was her mentor and guardian who she could rely on. All in all, they see each as family in thick and thin, and that's what really mattered to the both of them.

The video pans to the main members of The Palace currently seated in their living room with Anne, Anna, and Parr on the couch and the others on stools behind them.

“Hello my fellow queens, kings, princes, princesses, and everyone in between. I’m Anne and you're watching Disney channel” The queens laugh at the small quip except Aragon who just rolls her eyes. Anne motions to the 6 boxes on the table while continuing, “Anyways, since World Heritage Day is coming up, we decided to do a DNA to look into our own heritage and to prove I’m not a gremlin”

“ Annie, at this point you have to accept that gremlin part of you, just like I do.” Katherine says. 

“There’s even a movie about it. You might be in it” Cathy adds to the blow as Anne wipes fake tears. “As hurtful as that was to hear, today we will be using the service of 23&Me for our testing. Personally I know my family heavily lived in France and spent some time in England.”

“Pure-blood German, born and raised,but I may have some Russia and Dutch in me”

“If Spain doesn’t show on my test,I’m just gonna sue and get my money back. Otherwise I’m Spanish,as well as Romanian”

“My family were from France and Italy before they moved to the countryside of the UK before my immediate family moved to America”

Both Cathy and Kat hesitate to go next,but after a few seconds Cathy decides to go. “ I know my mother had some relation to Spain, and that the rest of my family I’m unsure of. I think mainly from northern Europe,but don’t quote me on that”

“Same thing with me. I’m not really sure where my family is from,but I know I same some relation to France because of Anne’s side” Kat turns to Parr, and leans down to give her a gentle hug “But I wouldn’t worry too much, we’ll figure it out”

The video continues with Aragon and Jane explaining how the test works and how it can affect ancestors, relatives, and diseases that are connected to your DNA just through some saliva. The queens do the process of spitting into tubes, some preferably doing it off camera.(Anna started choking at one point) Parr ends the test part of the video by  explaining that in a few weeks ,they will get their results. The video skips to a break snake with Aragon and Maria break-dancing,with beat-boxing provided by Anne and Kat, with the caption ‘A few weeks later’.

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

“Welcome back everyone, it is currently...” Parr looks off camera”around 2 am, and we have gotten our results”. 

The camera zooms out to show the queens in the same spots as before with their laptops, or phones with them. They are all currently wearing their pajamas. Each one of them take turns looking at each of their results. Kat and Anne get excited when Kat finds out she actually has some background in France. Cathy also finds out she has a mixture of countries in northern Europe. The mood does dim when the test says that there is a chance of cancer for Catherine and Anna,but after a few jokes and quips, the mood lightens once again.

“Kat, Jane, are you getting this as well?” Anne turns her laptop to them and the camera shows ‘Jane Seymour’ as 2nd cousin and ‘Katherine Howard’ as 1st cousin under ‘possible relatives’. ”I know that Kitty is related to me,but Jane...I’m honestly shocked” 

“Same thing as you Anne” Kat shows her screen.

“Same” After Jane shows her, there is a moment of silence between them,but Jane soon breaks the ice. “I’m going to make some calls” as she leaves the room.  Anne leaves the room as well, followed by Katherine.

Now in an awkward position, Anna and the other Catherine's do some closing remarks, end the video, and inform their subscribers they will post any other news about this on a later date.

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

After an hour of calls,text, and talking to family members and those of the household, Anne and Katherine decide to confront Jane first. 

Before they are able to knock, Catherine opens the door to see them “I’m guessing you're here to finally talk it out” the cousins nod. “ Just please don’t cause anymore chaos that is already here” The said party giggles and walks in as Catherine leaves.  

Jane sits there on her bed, writing ,or possibly drawing in one of her recipe journals. It takes the sound of the door closing for her to realize her newly found cousins have entered a room. Jane motions for them to take a seat next to her on the bed,but instead Kat goes to hug Jane as Anne takes a seat next to her.

“For a long time, it's just been me and Katherine and to have met the rest of the queens and LiW in order to create The Palace,  and to finding out we have another cousin right underneath our noses. Life really is crazy” Katherine soon lets go of Jane in order to pull Anne in as well.

“Life works in mysterious ways Anne,but I think a welcome to the family slash A three cousin-teer hang out day is order” Katherine turns to Jane. “What do you think?”

“I think it should be planned,but we can deal with that in the morning. Also just because we are technically blood related family, doesn’t mean your first to taste test my recipes” 

Katherine dramatically falls on the floor,” I would Never ask my cousin for such a thing,but I do want dibs of getting my plate first”

Jane and Anne laugh as the night gets darker . They stay in the room for a while,just talking and catching up. At some point of the night, Chris the Pig joined them as Jane talked about her life on a farm. And when the other queens went to check on them, they found the cousin on the floor with Jane in the middle and Chris at her feet. The cousin duo now technically is a trio,but that announcement that can be worried about in the future. For now they can make up for lost time, and learn even more about the new addition to the little family, a cousin that Anne wanted to protect and another mentor for Kat to learn from.

[acefrogmonarch]

Headcanons

It’s very specific to my own story but if it inspires you in some way, then I’m glad it came in handy

Best friends Adrien and Mari

Diana hearing tales of Ladybug or Lady Luck. Her mother not telling her that she is Lady Luck.

Marinette not minding if she died in her sleep, Alya gets very worried. “It’s peaceful, no pain, no fear, just tranquility. This just makes Alya feel more guilty for not being there.

Damian really wants to test Mari, ever since that video and since she threatened him.

after getting to know Marinette better, Damian calls her beautiful and other compliments in Arabic. like my flower, and my radiant sun.

Marinette thinks its teasing until one day she sees the way how he says it and how soft he looks. She allows herself to fall deeper in love.

She and Adrien have revealed and tried to date but both ended up not making each other happy or content.

late hour talks about things, embarrassing stuff they share and confirming each other’s disappearance for peers. Gets very complicated once JL gets in to help. Year 3 they reveal. Year 6, it ends. Hawkmoth is gone.

everyone thinks they are dating, in reality, they’re just best friends and not even Alya knows how much they’ve shared

Mayura/Natalie is showing up less and less but always makes a great senti monster when it counts

Damian keeps his guards up around Marinette and her friends when they meet as civilians

Marinette is worried that it’s another guy asking to see her throat so before Damian even speaks she threatens him to keep shut about it unless he wants a beating.

it’s said that Damian was smitten by that point.

the same issue arises when she gets another injury after her throat is no longer red and raw. The new ones are on her ribs and chest.

its date night for them and a group of guys start asking to see her ‘battle scar’ and dramatically shows them.

Because they recognize her from the news. And you know assholes.

Or or. She tells off about how this isn’t some sideshow and no matter how ugly a scar it tells their trauma and story. both at the same time.

Alya, Jason, and dick were tailing them because it’s their second date and no one has any idea where their first one was.

(Raven helped Damian set up the first one.)

They record every moment.

sometimes when its bad Mari gets claustrophobic but is very subtle about her panic. she scratches one of her main arteries that run up and down on her neck, she does it subconsciously, once one side is hurting she moves onto the other one.

Damian caught her one time and she’s like what? she pulls away and the panic sets again and she’s resisting the urge to just scratch harder, so she settles for twiddling her thumbs.

Mari has ADHD, it’s mellowed a lot since childhood. Insomnia plays in on that and she hates not moving, its hero instinct and her nature.

tt

Nino’s the kind to go with the flow kind but he sees this rift that Lila makes and just disappears

Alya always notices so she goes finds him

Now it’s a test to see if she doesn’t do it one day that he knows shes changed

Nino doesn’t know what to do he has to be adult about it, he tells Alya but is rejected, saying that “he just always go with the flow and sometimes he has to go with his flow

so he takes a break on Alya and says he’s going to further his career before Alya can even figure out who she is.

and Alya is just really confused because she knows who she is and is mad at Nino. Nino never felt more relieved when they finally got back together after the whole Incident ™.

Risk (the bat fam find out the hard way to never ask Mari to a game)

Bruce and Tim went head to head with Mari and almost won (After they were scared to death)

Tim was with some of Mari’s friends and it was game night, they were naive then. Tim started listing off board games and Nino tries to stop him before he says the name "ris-”

Max starts to panic, “He got to s, HE GOT TO S!!” they try to calm him down.

Mari knocks on the door once and they turn to look and It’s her and they are freaking the fuck out.

Damian says one moment they were together and then disappeared in the next.

They were on the other side of the city, it was a 40-minute drive out.

Alfred doesn’t know how she came in, neither does bruce. The cameras caught nothing; no glitches, no loops she was just found their one moment.

Nooroo is passed to Lila but they capture the peacock and its cure, but Emilie not so much. Gabrial calls his apprentice to be Natalie.

Mari asks if Lila had something to do with this.

Dami witness Maris worst and best, as both her and ladybug, vice versa

She does come to terms about how one is not without the other, she learns this from Damian “I am an Al Ghul, a Wayne and a Robin, but goddamnit Mari I’m mother fucking Damian first.”

its the first time he’s yelled at her, she takes it to heart, she was smitten

they court for the longest fucking time. Its 4 years after they unofficial court and he proposes in the middle of a fight they are both smitten for each other.

once the Adrien crush is gone she gives him all his premade presents and makes the chest her fabric chest.

D: “MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG WE LIVE IN A MANSION WHY ARE YOU EATING CEREAL OUT OF A PLASTIC TABLEWARE”

M: “YOU ATE CEREAL WITH A FORK BEFORE AND YOU DON’T SEE ME COMPLAINING”

Tim is the only one to point out what happened to the bowls, Alfred no longer questions it.

Running to where Marinette is, he exposed her. “I KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO THE BOWLS MARI”

Mari slurps up cereal out of plastic tableware for a long time they lock eyes. Very quietly she whispers. “Tikki” “Spots on.” And yeets outta the window.

She calls Damian later after a couple of hours. “Is it okay to come home.” Damian is cackling. “I don’t know what you did to make Tim mad but I love it.”

“At the expense of Tim, I’ll take it.” It’s the first time he’s ever remotely said the L-word.

Tim: Did you just give me your leftover food? Jason: “Yeah” T: What am I? Your second-hand bitch? J: no you’re my main bitch T: Wait then that means you have other bitches J: what you think I’m a one hoe pimp?

Mini Ladd Memes

T: “You wanna see my penis.” crouched like a gremlin and moving towards. Marinette IMMEDIATELY turning to Tim. “SVEBE!” Damian looking at the two in disgust. “Disgusting”

The two look in shock and can’t stop laughing because they have no idea if he actually knows what they're talking about but neither answers him when he asks why they laugh now.

Bruce has caught Tim and Mari going “MMMMMMMMM” and T posing to each other. Mari goes red and super embarrassed about it, Tim never lets her forget. Its called “coming out to dad” between the two.

Nino doesn’t want to touch this and he won’t.

“Leave my eight-foot-tall son alone,” Marinette says this as Tim is perched on the bat computer. They chuckle and try to get through the bit but can’t stop laughing.

“robin an actual robin, go my vegan birdy.” Drunk Mari at some point. like shes 18 and can drink

Other stuff

(shared on the maribat discord) Sometimes when Marinette picks something up, something behind her away falls onto the floor. “Mom, it happened again.” It’s the same object but somewhere else. Picks up her pencil and a random pencil rolls down to her feet.

At one point Tim dared Marinette to pick someone up from the Bat fam. Before she even attempts to pick up Damian, she asked everyone to gather. Once that was done, she let out a big “Sorry!” and picks up Damian.

Tim ate shit, the rest of batfam have no clue what happened

Tikki says its the balance from her luck from being Ladybug. She later notices that she’s not as clumsy as before, Damian says it's her confidence showing and they share a moment

Damian to Marinette at some point. “Stop taking pictures of my food Mari”

[nameha]

A little excerpt of a modern police Au

---

"What," Madara growled, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand, "and I do mean this," the other white knuckled the arm rest of his recliner.

"The FUCK is going on?!" Madara's eyes flickered from Naruto and Sasuke, scowling from on their knees in the middle of his living room, to Obito and Shisui.

Both had a vice grip on the the indignant pair and who were covered in....what...

What WAS that? Madara squinted.

Cake batter?

A thick pale yellow substance clinging to their uniforms drying in a tacky mess. Frosting smudged over their faces and hands transferring to Naruto and Sasuke's clothes.

They even had sprinkles, in multiple colors and shapes Madara noticed, in their hair.

It was too fucking late, or, well, early for this shit, it was now a quarter after 3.

Then his eyes went to Kakashi and Yamato, still red-faced, trying to catch their breath from bursting through his god damn front door after Shisui and Obito dragged Sasuke and Naruto, kicking and shouting, through said door.

Finally his eyes settled on an amused Kagami and far less amused, possibly murderous, Tobirama. Both had taken up residence on his love seat, sitting a little too close for Madara's comfort, half a cushion was exposed in Kagami's side.

Tobirama's arms crossed and tapping his index finger against his bicep.

"Officer Uchiha, care to explain?" Madara grit out, tilting his head back against the cushion, a migraine rapidly forming behind his eyes.

Obito, Shisui and Sasuke argued over each other, with their version of events, voices over lapping into an unintelligible garble of words.

"SHUT UP." Madara boomed, hair rising and bristling over his robe, effectively silencing all three of them.

"Why did I hire so many people with the same surname" Madara muttered to himself, no one dared to give him an actual answer.

"Officer SHISUI Uchiha. Explain." Madara tried again, his tone pitched low, drumming his fingers against his thigh impatiently.

"We got a dispatch call at 12:45, from a concerned neighbor about two people climbing through the basement window of professor Senju's home."

Madara knew where this was going, he leveled Sasuke and Naruto with a narrowing of his eyes, and nodded for Shisui to continue.

"We arrived at professor Senju's home at 12:57, I knocked on the door while Obito went around to check the window, there was no sign of forced entry so he came back. Kagami and Tobirama opened the door for us and invited us in, we informed them of the situation. Tobirama lead us to the basement, which

is also his lab-"

"That's where we found these two brats rilfing through his shit!" Obito glowered at his cousin, tightening his grip on Sasuke's shoulder, who grimaced but kept quiet.

"Then they ran away! Out through the god damn window again like little gremlin racoons!"

Shisui sighed as Obito fumed, undeterred by the interupption.

"We followed them, not out the window, well Obito followed them out the window I took the stairs."

"Im not going to commend you for having at least one brain cell between the both of you."

"Anyways," Shisui shrugged off the insult,

"While Obito followed them on foot I took the car to follow him, we ended up at...the Akimichi's Sweets Plant--"

"The fuckers ran in there! Like they mapped the place out! Some Scooby Doo type shit! At one point I was running away from Shisui with Naruto!"

Madara resisted the urge to put his face in his hands.

"They even set traps! Who the fuck--"

"Spare me the details of how you two came to be cake pops." Madara interjected and Shisui continued.

"Long story short, they had a car on the other side of the factory, they got in it we got in our car and Sasuke drove like a bat out of hell until he pulled up on your lawn, we tackled them coming up the porch."

Madara sat up to glance out the window, sure enough there sat Sasuke's car, headlights still on, the tires crushing the flower beds he had painstakingly cultivated to impress Hashirama. Behind Sasuke's car was Shisui's cruiser, also parked on top of a painstakingly made gift.

If he wasn't angry about being bothered after 2am with this garbage, he was angry now.

He cast a wrathful look towards Kakashi and Yamato.

"You two came into this how?"

"Got a call from Sasuke about the investigation, he said he found evidence of guilt and were being followed by "compromised" officers."

Madara raised an eyebrow.

"And you two just happened to be in the same place, together, at this time of night."

"We're off the clock, sir. And car-pulling was eaiser." Kakashi turned up his eye in a smile and Yamato put a sheepish hand on the back of his neck.

"Right." Madara clicked his tongue, crossing one slippered foot over his knee.

He didn't even want to check where their car was parked.

He turned his attention to Kagami and Tobirama.

"Am I to assume you also "car-pulled"?"

"Yes?" Kagami gave a nervous chuckle.

"And just what were you doing at professor Senju's residence at 1 in the morning, Kagami."

"Well, you see, research mainly, I'm there all the time and I-"

"They live together." Sasuke cut in.

"They're married!!" Naruto shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the pair before Shisui gently smacked it down.

Everyone, except Shisui who opted to look at the ceiling, snapped their attention to Kagami and Tobirama.

"S-surprise!" Kagami put his hands up, in surrender, the light catching the ring on his left finger.

"Unbelievable." Madara hissed through his teeth, rubbing his temples.

"I have proof that professor Tobirama is behind the grave robbing."

"Oh, do you." Tobirama's voice was dry, unimpressed. Kagami's eyebrows pinched at the accusation, he looped a protective arm around Tobirama.

"Yes, Sasuke, do you?" Madara leaned on his thighs, resting his cheek in his palm.

Sasuke wrenched out of Obito's grip, throwing a folder at Madara's feet.

"Here."

Madara picked up the folder and opened it, leaning back and inspecting the contents. His left eye twitched and a muscle in his lip jumped as he skimmed the reports.

He snapped the folder shut.

"Did you obtain this without a warrant?"

Sasuke snorts.

"Of course I had a warrant."

"Mhm, very well. Senju, is this yours?" Madara handed it over to Tobirama who opened it.

"Seems to be."

"Is that your hand writing?"

"Seems to be."

"And you're short hand and codes?"

Tobirama gave an agreeable hum, but seemed otherwise unaffected.

"It is my hand writing, my codes and my short hand. But I didn't write this." Tobirama put the folder down.

Madara closed his eyes in annoyance.

"And that means what?"

"I do not cross my Ts in that manner nor do I curve my Cs so sloppily."

"That doesn't mean shit! There's too much information that wasn't reported on!" Sasuke snarled.

"Shut up!" Madara snapped, Sasuke's jaw clicked shut but he matched Madara's glare with his own.

"This is what is going to happen," Madara sighed, "Everyone is going to go the hell home, Shisui and Obito are going to take a god damn shower before reporting back to the station and 8am. I also expect Kakashi and Yamato to show up on time and in separate vehicles. Tobirama you're going to be arrested tomorrow morning as a person of interest. Both as a formality and procedure. As for Naruto, you'll be reporting back to forensics where you're supposed to be, under Yamato. And Sasuke? You're off the case and I'm putting you on probation."

Madara put his hand up before anyone could voice their grievances.

"Very well." Tobirama conceded, standing up. Kagami rose with him, almost relieved to get out of this unscathed.

"Oh and Kagami."

"Y-yes Madara?"

"As for you, you are going to inform everyone of your eloping. Everyone and you'll do it personally."

"Even Izuna?"

"Dress appropriately, I hope your mile has gotten faster."

Kagami went pale as Tobirama lead him to the door before stopping.

"Give my regards to Hashirama." Tobirama smirked as Madara sputtered and a door in the back of the house closed softly.

Madara slammed the door after everyone had filed out. He turned back to his bedroom before the door swung open and Itachi stumbled in, looking confused.

Madara rolled his eyes, he should have seen that one coming.

"They left already."

"Ah..."

[lonelyapprehension]

"We were driving and then I just turned and saw the light" “You thought you were dying?” "No I finally found the McDonalds sign." I don't really know what kinda prompts to send but this looked like a fun dialog one if you want? 🐍

ohhhhh heck yes

i'm doing this azazel bc why not

"how did you and dad meet?" your child asked you, pulling their comforter up to their neck

"well... it's a different love story," you responded. "do you want me to tell it to you?"

your kid nodded, a grin present on their face.

you sighed. "alright gremlin, but you have to fall asleep right after. deal?" you stuck your hand out

"deal!" your hand was taken, and you tried not to 'aww' at how small their hand was compared to yours.

"well it all started one bright spring morning..."

"jesus christ! i'n gonna be late!" you shouted, almost falling out of your bed. "great! my boss is gonna kill me." you started the coffee pot, and ran to the bathroom to get ready.

it was a miracle you didn't trip over anything, you hadn't cleaned in some time.

eventually you finished your morning routine and raced to your car, checking the time when you got in.

you checked the time, trying to calm your racing heart. "...i never fixed my alarm clock."

your child sat up. "what do you mean?"

"well," you chuckled. "i never fixed my clock when it came to the time change. i thought i was gonna be late, but i was going to be am hour early."

"is that why dad always makes fun of you when we hafta fix our clocks?" you child asked, laying back down and messing with your hand.

you sighed. "yeah, your dad's a jerk. now where were we? oh right, the clock."

"i'm so stupid." you muttered, letting your forehead rest on the rim of your steering wheel. "i might as well go to work early, i've got nothing better to do..."

"so i went in early, and one of my co-workers just ran on up to me!"

"oh my god!" your co-worker yelled, grabbing your forearms. "the ceo is here!"

you tried to pull your arms free, but to no avail. "chrissy, chillax. what's so big about that?"

chrissy pointed to your boss's door, where you could see her talking to someone else. most likely the ceo. "he's hot! and i look like a mess!"

"chrissy." you pulled your arms out harshly, resting your hands on her shoulders. "you look fine. i'm gonna start working, you know where to find me."

"in your cubicle? where you put all my drawings up?" your child asked, pressing their tiny hand to yours.

"nah, this one was much smaller. your dad is the reason why i have more space in my cubicle now."

your kid nodded, a clear sign for you to continue.

"so i started working..."

the sound of a door slamming snapped you out of your daze. you turned around to see your boss running to the bathroom, the front of her shirt dripping with coffee. you looked around the office and you saw chrissy standing near the coffee maker, an empty pot in her hand and a smug grin on her face.

you sighed, getting up and walking to the bathroom, knocking on the door. "kayla? you okay in there?" you asked, pressing your ear up to the door.

"i'n fine!" kayla shouted back, annoyance and anger clear in her tone

"do you need a spare shirt? i can just wear my sweater."

you backed up from the door when you heard a click. kayla's face popped out, a weary look in her eyes. "if it's not too much trouble?"

you shook your head. "no, no trouble at all."

kayla gave you a small smile in return, and stepped out of the bathroom in her now ruined shirt.

"woah! that's so nice of you!" your kid had stars in their eyes. "i have such nice parents..."

you chuckled, giving your child a kiss on the head. "yeah, i guess you do."

you were back at your desk, trying to finish your report, when a taller male leaned over the divider.

"may i help you?" you asked, eyes focused on your screen.

"oh, i just wanted to say what you did for my little sister was really nice." his voice was soft, but still held a lot of power

you looked up, taking in the man's features. "oh it was really no problem. kayla's done a lot for me, i'd be a jerk not to."

the man laughed softly, and you could see the resemblance between him and kayla.

"how do dad and auntie kayla look similar?" your child asked, sleep taking over their voice.

"they both have such kind eyes, and it's how does baby. not how do."

"skip to when you and dad started dating! i wanna hear the juicy stuff!"

"the juicy stuff?" you asked, laughing a bit. "like what?"

"how was your first date?"

you thought for a minute. "alright, alright. i'll skip to that."

"this is a nice caf��, thanks for inviting me."

azazel laughed softly. "if you think this is nice, you should see some of the restaurants i visit."

you sipped your drink, relishing the taste. "might not be my scene, i'm not the fanciest."

azazel was glad for his glasses, you couldn't tell that he was taking in every inch of you. "i think you could clean up nice."

you laughed. "such kind words, my good sir"

azazel laughed with you. "ever been on a road trip?"

"oh boy, yeah. it was a really stupid spur of the moment thing"

"tell me about it?" azazel put his head on his hands, looking at you intently.

"you gotta hurry it up! i don't wanna fall asleep in the middle of the story!" your child whinned.

"jeez! i don't know if i could go any faster!" you responded, squeezing their hand.

"just try!"

you were taking with your hands, getting more and more into the story by the second. "we were driving and then i just turned around and saw the light"

azazel choked on his drink. "you thought you were dying?" he asked incredulously.

"what? no!" you laughed. "i finally found the mcdonalds sign, silly!"

azazel sighed. "don't scare me like that!" he threatened, but the smile on his face made it clear he meant it lightly.

"i'll try." you teased

"so i finished my story and-" you stopped for a moment, listening to your child's soft snores. "and you'll be so mad in the morning." you whispered, setting them down in the bed gently. "night, baby." you pressed a soft kiss to their forehead.

when you reached the threshold of your child's door, your wrist was grabbed and you were pulled into your shared room with azazel.

"what the heck!?" you whisper-shouted. "you could've woken-" you were cut off when he kissed you softly.

"could've woken who up? they were out like a light, it's fine, baby." he rested his chin on the top of your head, holding you close and swaying slightly.

you wavered, resting your arms around his waist. "fine, whatever. i'm tired though, let's sleep early tonight."

azazel pressed a kiss to the top of your head. "you mean now?" you nodded, making him chuckle. "go get ready then." he let you go, flopping down onto the two of your's shared bed.

you nodded, a small smile present on your lips. you were so happy you said yes.

[bronte-deserves-better]

“You can stay with me tonight” When I saw this I thought of there was only one bed, but you are angst gremlin and I am certain you will crush my heart into several pieces that lay strewn on the floor. But still, I must read it or else I have betrayed you and lost my honor. I’m sure you’ve figured out who I am

I know exactly who you are and I love you. Actually, just for you I’m putting Emery in this one. (Although fair warning, I have no idea how to write him, so I apologize in advance for the screw-ups.) I also promise to make it mostly not soul-crushing.

---

It was about two in the morning when Emery heard a knock on his door. The two am part wasn’t so unusual, he was often up at this hour of night, but hearing a knock on his door was unusual, given that most sane people were asleep. Emery did count himself amongst ‘sane people’, but he was part of the small portion that was regularly up at two am. Which he supposed made his sanity a little more dubious. Then again, he had more sanity than most of the rest of the Council.

Regardless of the state of Emery’s sanity, he made his way down the stairs to answer the door. What was even more surprising than a knock on his door in the middle of the night turned out to be the fact that the knocker was Bronte, his colleague who generally disagreed with him on most issues. 

Emery supposed this night couldn’t get much weirder, so he just glanced down at the other. “Good morning. Evening? Night? It’s technically morning, anyways.”

“Good morning,” Bronte muttered, staring at the ground.

“Am I to get an explanation as to why you’re on my doorstep at two am?”

The other Councillor continued to stare at the ground. “I..couldn’t exactly sleep. And Oralie is asleep like a sensible person. Trust me, I wouldn’t have come to your doorstep except as a last resort.”

Emery tried not to take that personally. “Well, come in, I suppose. It’s not like I was sleeping anyways.”

Bronte stepped inside. “Are you always up at two am?”

“Usually, yes.”

He didn’t ask why, instead sitting silently on Emery’s sofa. Emery flailed for words for a few moments, the late hour and unexpected events robbing him of his usual eloquence. 

“Uh...do you need anything?” He asked finally.

“Just to not be alone,” Bronte muttered. He didn’t look exactly pleased to need companionship, so Emery didn’t press the matter. 

“Well, you can stay with me tonight. I had no intention of going to sleep in the next few hours anyways.”

“Thanks.”

There were a few minutes of awkward silence.

“You aren’t in any of my nightmares,” Bronte said finally. “It’s easier to remember what’s real with other people around.”

Emery found the first statement strange, but he let it slide. “You’re welcome to crash here for the night.”

“I don’t think you’ll really appreciate it if I do.”

“Why not?”

Bronte didn’t seem to want to answer that, and Emery sighed and let it drop, turning the conversation to easier topics. “We’ve got that meeting with the goblin queen tomorrow, do you think we’re prepared?”

“About as prepared as possible.”

“That’s good, we’ve got to make that one quick. We’ve got a lot to do tomorrow.”

“Tell me about it.”

It was easier to commiserate about Councillor duties than confront any serious topic, so that was what they did until the sun peeked over the horizon to illuminate Eternalia and it was time for another full day.

---

Emery is surprisingly fun to write, I hope you like this!

Send me a prompt

[silverbulletbazinga]

My Life in a Post/Dear Father

This is me. This is your daughter. That one pathetic egg you fertilized during intercourse. I know you never really cared for me, even when I was an infant, lost to the world of sex, drugs, and alcohol. You would have made a fine parent if you didn’t leave me with her. Tonya, Daughter of Joyce and Mistress to many horny men. She had me in her tyrannic, abusive grip over the course of five long and miserable years. You were in jail during that time, leaving me with her. I have faint recollections of you defending me from being beaten with a whip, saving me from the men Tonya sold me off to. My favorite memory...what little there is of it...was when we would play with my little Pet Shop toys. You always took the chewed up fish that I never liked, letting me play with the sparkly kitten I so loved.

    But that memory turns sour when I remember you leaving in the middle of the night, leaving me to suffer under Tonya’s rule. She beat me, screamed at me, locked me in my room for days on end without food…and I always waited patiently, waiting for you to come and rescue me from her. To swoop me off my feet and carry me to the playground where we would order a pizza and play for hours on end. But that never happened. Instead, I was tortured, molested, and broken. And I cried-oh, how I cried over you. Praying for you to come back and take me away, to relieve me from this stress and pain I was enduring as a child. You never showed. You never came riding on a white stallion, dressed in bronze armor as you slayed past the sweaty gremlins and frisky trolls of pedophilia and drug abuse. I realized too late that I had to defend myself.

    So, I fought. I slapped, bit, and cried my way through those disgusting men who touched me. I ran away from Tonya in the middle of the night, shoeless, jacketless, alone. I walked down the corner and past the playground, to another apartment in Marjorie Gardens. I sulked up the stairs, my toes freezing from the late fall chill. I knocked on the door, it opened to reveal my childhood friend’s mother. She took me in, gave me a bed, until the police came to find me later on. I foolishly ran into Tonya’s arms, crying , ‘Mommy!’ What a naive child I was. Running into the arms of my torturer.  I should have told the police of the pain, the agonizing misery I endured, and they would have taken her away, saving me from more danger. But I didn’t. I stayed. Worst decision of my life.

    Fast forward to the age of six. Tonya and I had been kicked from Marjorie Gardens and had taken up refuge in Westover. After one night, she already was having sex with some other man, cheating on you. Of course, I was too blind to care. Every night, she would leave me alone, telling me to stab anyone who came through that unlocked door. She gave me a damn knife to defend myself-a child should never feel as though they are in constant danger. But I was. Tonya was missing for hours, but returned with a pizza, so that was all I cared about, as I had been starving for days. Then, just like that, she was gone again. 

    Several days went by, living in that cramped apartment. Then, my heroes arrived, dressed in blue and silver, branding guns. They slammed open the doors, tackling Tonya to the ground. I was in my pajamas, just having woken up to whatever hell was going on. I was taken away by cruiser, sent to some odd place full of green walls, animal stickers, and white ceilings.  I was given a quilt, a stuffed animal, and a warm meal. By morning, I was sent to another place. A foster home. About a year went by and I had been to over five different foster homes.

    All the while I was being moved, little did I know you were rotting in a jail cell. For all of the time I was waiting for you to come, you were trapped in a damned cell, surrounded by murderers and drug dealers. But I didn’t know you were one of them. One of the criminals. You sold drugs as a living. You gave away addictive fuel to those who were troubled and in need of some sort of LSD. I thought you were a great person, incapable of harming others. Boy, was I wrong, foolish enough to truly believe that you could never hurt yourself or other people. 

    Years later, I am adopted. My family now loves me, unlike you or Tonya ever did. I heard you had gotten out of prison, had a job, and was living in a small apartment. My mother suggested I go and see you. I immediately agreed. We arrived in Fairmont, parking in front of the house and gathering up some food and clothes we had brought you. We walked behind the house to the back, where we saw you sitting on the back porch, not a care in the world. I remembered your smile, the way your dimples would appear with every hearty grin. 

    I walked up the steps, greeting you with a smile and a firm handshake. But I wanted more, though I was too scared to ask. As we walked in, I took off my shoes and sat on the sofa, my hands folded in my lap. When you left to bring something up, my mother suggested I hug you. I hesitated, but when you came back, I hugged you. You hesitantly hugged back, asking if I even wanted to hug you. I said yes because I wanted that bond, that one thing I had never gotten from you before...love.

 I had brought my XBOX controller in hopes of playing Minecraft with you, but it wouldn’t connect. So, I played alone, describing the rules to you. While I played, you and my mother spoke, talked about the government and other adult stuff. About an hour went by and we left, heading back home. It was a silent car ride. 

A few days later, my mother called me into the living room. I walked out, sitting down as she gestured for me to take a seat. She told me what you had said; that I caused you to turn to drugs, that I was the greatest mistake of your life. I ran to my room, slamming the door shut as I sobbed with misery. How could I have been so naive? How could I have trusted you and let you in, past my barrier around my heart? That night was when I first cut. My arm was a bloody mess, my bed sheets stained with my crimson blood. You did this to me. You ruined me, tainted my innocence. Now here I am.

I am stronger than I ever was, better than I ever could have been. This is not your daughter. This is me, and my name is SilverBulletBazinga