#I’m sorry but he’s the only character who got an edited wardrobe change for his characters icon

[chirpsythismorning]

EVERYONE GET BACK!

MIKE’S BLUE SHIRT WAS EDITED TO LOOK YELLOW AND WE ALL KNOW WHAT MIKE WEARING YELLOW MEANS…

Or maybe it could signify, not Mike still projecting onto Will, but just literally being bathed in Will’s light (color)… bc it does kind of remind me of a certain shot at the end of s4…

[raspberryranpo]

Hi! This is my first time requesting from you but I love your work sm ehwodjwks

May I request headcanons of pre-timeskip Dimitri, Claude, Felix and Rhea with an s/o who disappears but comes back to surprise them with flowers? I’m sorry if that’s too specific! >-< please take care! ❤️

their s/o disappears, and then reappears with flowers

fire emblem three houses: dimitri, claude, felix & rhea

havent written for rhea before so forgive me if it’s out of character!!

EDIT: had to go and change a few things because i’d written it wrong 😭😭 i hope it’s ok now!

DIMITRI

almost goes insane once he realises that your arm isn’t locked in his any more whilst you’re both walking through the town

starts yelling your name & everyone nearby thinks he’s lost the plot, before he spots you in the distance at some stall in the market

pushes over like five toddlers (and was that felix?) to get to you, only for you to turn to him as though you knew he was there

when you present him with a bouquet of flowers, he’s very touched & might have one or two tears in his eyes

wraps you in a tight hug & makes sure to return the gesture with flowers of his own later on

CLAUDE

it’s not strange for claude to run off without a word when the two of you are out, but it’s definitely weird for you to run off…

deciding not to look for you (incase there’s a surprise… he knows), he takes his mind away by window shopping in some shops nearby, hoping that maybe you’ll come back soon

it’s been about twenty minutes and he’s almost given up hope when he hears his name being called in the distance

turning around, he spots you running at top speeds with a bouquet of pink flowers

a lot of the petals have fallen off with how fast you were going, but you thrust them towards him anyway - he’s happy regardless :))

FELIX

felix rarely buys flowers. he buys you lots of things, but flowers is definitely not one of them, seeing as though he wants to keep up this tough image - he never expects to receive them either

he wakes up one morning with you gone. you’re not beside him in bed, you’re not anywhere in the house and you’re not in the garden either + panic ensues

he spends the entire day worrying about you, wondering what’s got you up and out of bed so early, and why you haven’t told him about it

eventually, you return later in the evening, with a bouquet of flowers in your hands

when he takes them, he squeezes the stems a little too hard, but his face is bright red & the way he immediately pulls you into his chest shows just how grateful he is

RHEA

it’s normal for rhea to not wake up next to you, seeing as though she’s got her archbishop duties and all that… but she really worries if you’re not there when she wakes up

she spends the entire morning and most of the evening wondering where you’ve gone, and at some point seteth joins in

flayn definitely knew where you went because when she offered to help search, she searched in all the weird places - under the couch, in seteth’s wardrobe, etc

nobody would search for a grown person in those places unless they were trying to waste time… plus, what would the archbishop’s s/o be doing in seteth’s wardrobe??

eventually you return with the so many bouquets in her arms - turns out, you’d been given the lot on your quest to find one of your own, seeing as though your popularity is also soaring - rhea laughs and smiles (the most genuine smile she’d ever given, seteth says) & thanks you endlessly

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | Wheels on Meals (Hung, 1984)

I’m not the first one to make this point, nor will I do so the most elegantly, but I think it’s fair to say that a lot of classic Hong Kong cinema is coloured by a certain claustrophobia that comes out of Hong Kong itself. You can look at a movie like Police Story, which is in many ways a tonally light entertainment, yet gets an undeniable charge out of its setting, especially in its raw, intense climax. But when you take these movies out of that setting, and all of its urban flavour and political and historical baggage, the energy definitely changes. You can look at Armour of God, which was shot throughout Europe and has a certain slackness when compared to the other movies in Jackie Chan’s ridiculous directorial hot streak at the time. (Obviously, the near fatal injuries he suffered during the production played a part in that too.) You can definitely see that quality in Wheels on Meals, which has a pleasing leisurely quality that comes out of its Barcelona setting.

I understand that Sammo Hung had run into difficulties shooting earlier movies in Hong Kong, and found the Spanish officials in contrast to be much more accommodating, and that sense of freedom definitely colours the movie. This is in terms of the proceedings themselves, with several elaborate action sequences shot on location). But it’s also in terms of the overall atmosphere, with the action and comedy sequences having a sense of spontaneity that mixes appealingly with their laser-precise execution. The movie has a certain travelogue quality that results anytime you make a movie in a picturesque setting, but on a deeper level has a feeling of true escapism. Wouldn’t it be neat if you too went on a vacation to Spain and got caught up in an adventure like our heroes? The flimsiness of the plot becomes an asset, as it plays into that “choose your own adventure” quality, and Sammo’s character sums up the stakes most succinctly when explaining why some men tried to kidnap the female lead.

“They’re bad guys.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m a good guy.”

And in that sense, Hung’s knack for maximum visual impact explains the wardrobe. Every single outfit in this movie worn by someone other than an extra manages to clash, not only with the setting (the bright pastel colours pop against the earthen hues of the Spanish architecture), but also with each other (there’s a motorcycle gang who clearly do not shop at the same place). The movie is rarely not pleasing to look at, even if the outfits worn by the characters would be retina-searing in other circumstances. You’ll be taking a lot of great photos on this vacation.

That sense of visual impact and use of colour also plays beautifully into the action scenes. Listen, I’m not a technical expert, and I can’t explain fully why Hung’s precision in his editing and camera moves makes for great action, but I can tell you that when a hideous yellow van starts careening through the streets of Barcelona and knocking away the villain’s automobiles like bumper cars, it’s hard to keep your eyes off the screen. (The van is shown earlier to be extremely high tech for a foodservice operation, a quality that not only comes in handy during the chase, but also accounts for what I assume was the entirety of the special effects budget with its fancy computer display.) Hung must have had a pretty sweet deal with Mitsubishi, as three of his movies managed to make their boxiest, most brightly coloured models integral parts of great action scenes.

Of course, when you put Jackie, Sammo and Yuen Biao (sorry, no first name basis for this fella, the other two get their first names as actors and last names as directors) in a movie together AND have one of the villains played by Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, you’re going to have more than your share of amazing physical feats. The legendary fight between Jackie and Benny the Jet is famous for a moment when the latter does a kick so fast it blows out a bunch of candles with the resulting gust of wind. But that scene is also exciting because of the way it starts to savour every gesture, every move that Jackie makes. (The introduction of slow motion in the tail end of the fight is an astute choice.) Jackie in his own movies has a certain self-deprecating presence (the aforementioned Police Story has him frequently embarrassed in all manner of ways, including girlfriend troubles, a court hearing gone sour and even dog doo on his shoe), but Hung tends to play him as kind of cool, and this fight seems genuinely in awe of him. It’s telling that the opening montage shows Jackie and Yuen Biao working out, capturing their physiques lovingly, as if to tell us that even though a lot of what follows will be fun and games, these guys are undeniably amazing physical performers. Sammo makes himself comparatively goofier through his performance, like his clumsy contributions to the climactic plan, swinging in through a window and kicking Jackie in the face in the process.

“I knew it was you.”

“You knew it was me and still kicked me in the face?”

“I knew it was you when I kicked you and you didn’t say anything.”

He also cheats by giving himself a ridiculous perm, but I guess the other guys get to be goofy as well, and all is fair in love and war.

And of course, as far as amazing physical feats go, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention their female co-star Lola Forner. Forner not only provides the impetus for the plot (a thief with a heart of gold who is also kinda, sorta a princess; don’t think about it too hard), and proves to be a capable comic performer who plays off the boys nicely, but also seems to perpetually have her hair caught in a slight breeze. Listen, blowing out candles with your kick is pretty awesome, but is it really more impressive than having your hair always fluttering in the wind, no matter where you are or what’s happening around you? The jury’s still out.

[omegawolverine]

Plesse tell me about queerness in the get down!!

okay okay queerness in the get down let's fuckn goooo

disclaimer: I havent watched this show in full for like 5 months at least, probably gonna get something wrong and/or forget some more important bits. also this wasnt proof read I just word vomited

tws: period typical homophobia, abuse mention, f slur use, bury your gays trope, overdose mention, mention of a creepy possible age gap (the age gap hasnt been confirmed so that's why its possible), cops

going from least to most prominent queer characters, let's start with mylene cruz!

so, from the beginning of this show she has an established romantic relationship with ezekiel (although the status of their actual relationship changes frequently throughout the show) and though this was a relationship she was hesitant to pursue, it is clear that she does have romantic feelings for him and if not for them both having growing careers in very different music genres (zeke specifically working in a genre that she repeatedly labels as bad because she thinks they're ruining records + that it isnt real music because they're using someone elses piece and rapping over it, that's not really important here tho lol) they probably wouldve had a much healthier, smooth sailing romance. that being said theres a few things that happen in the show that, while not explicitly clear, or even really good coding at that—to the point where you wont catch if you really arent looking for it (and trust me, I always look for coding, hers was just so little that it flew over my head until I saw someone else mention it)—are still cool to think about!

so, for starters, I wanna mention the toy box performance, which was performed by mylene and regina, who are best friends. that's all cool and shit, and you dont really think much about it...until you hear about the fact that the show runners purposely colored a lot of the scenes in that performance with the bi colors. like. the writers after the show ended basically said "oh yeah there was plans to make her coding more explicit, but our shit got cancelled soooo" and then dropped the fact that she was gonna be bi (or at least implies bi) in the series, which puts a new twist on a few things.

now, besides the bi coloring in the background of the toy box performance (which was mostly on scenes with her and regina, which involved a lot of uh,, lowkey lewd dancing. with each other. in very revealing outfits. wooooo), there's her music! I dont tend to read too much into this one bc, like I said before, her coding is fucking light and the writers themselves said they didnt really get to do much with it, but I think some stuff with her music is interesting. specifically how her, yolanda and regina's song set me free blew up because dizzee, resident (lowkey enby coded) bicon, got their song played in a queer club. also that the song was majorly important to dizzee and started playing literally right as he kissed a boy for the first time and realized "oh shit I like boys that's bonkers". also that the song can be taken in a gay way since literally the entire thing is about becoming your true self, fully and unapologetically, which is what both dizzee and mylene's entire character arcs are about. dizzee (and a lot of other queer people, apparently), heard this song about being set free and it resonated with them so much that they got that shit most of its popularity.

speaking of dizzee and mylene, they parallel each other a lot in the way that their arcs are about them realizing who they are, coming into themselves and no longer just letting people treat them like shit in a sense (dizzee starting to tell people essentially that they can call him weird all they want, they can make fun of how he acts, what he likes, how he dresses, etc. but he likes how he is and quite literally saying "it's okay to be an alien" as he has consistently compared himself to one throughout the show vs mylene learning that if she wants to be a disco singer she needs to put her foot down, not let anyone, not even the love of her life, not even her abusive father, stop her from achieving her dreams, etc. and continuing to pursue her career with or without their support). one more little parallel that I think is interesting is during I think s2 towards the end of the show is when dizzee and thor are shown together having fun with each other, painting all over the building and each other and are basically just being happy and in love together and then they have these clips of them being interspersed with clips of mylene at a party where she is starting to realize that if she wants to get anywhere she needs to be her own main priority and that she needs to put her career and her dream, which is what makes her the happiest, above all else if she wants to succeed. idk I just think how the show made these two into a weird parallel, accidental or not, is neat. maybe not an explicitly queer parallel, but I think at least how her music and whatnot helped dizzee, the main queer character in this show, blossom, is important.

moving on we got shaolin fantastic also known as "oh no your internalized homophobia is showing-"

so, heres a quick list of...interesting shao facts:

Consistently referred to as fag/faggot (shaolin fanfaggot is my personal favorite); he gets really defensive about this despite nobody actually thinking he's queer, it's just people being assholes to be assholes, and he is the only character consistently referred to using a slur, especially a homophobic one, especially for a "straight" character. dizzee, a canonically queer character, is called a fag less than shaolin is even though dizzee actively goes to gay clubs, has a not so secret dude he "hangs out with" and wont let anyone properly meet, paints his nails, wears less than straight clothes even by the 70s standards and is just all around the definition of fucking queer (and I mean like in the weird way, not the gay way). in fact theres only like once I can remember him being called a fag and it had nothing to do with him actually being gay it was literally just like thrown out there the same way you would call someone a bitch.

Has only shown sexual interest in women, yet refuses to have deeper relationships with women in general (possibly because of trauma but who knows) but takes his relationships with his "brothers", specifically zeke, very seriously

Tells zeke and zeke ONLY his real name when zeke was planning to stop being his friend bc shao more or less got boo boo, a like 14 year old black kid, arrested for selling hard drugs; he was clearly scared and trying to do anything to keep zeke around, literally chasing him down the street and hounding him until he got zeke to stop and argue with him

Kept threatening to beat up zeke in the end but couldn't actually bring himself to do so, instead saying that zeke is "fucking lucky" before walking away

Let's zeke get away with things that nobody else can, in general just has a weird soft spot for ezekiel that he shows with nobody else

when shao found dizzee with thor in a vaguely compromising situation (like they were just shirtless covered in paint sleeping next to each other but shao had also seen everything they painted on the walls ((which some of it was sus)), it was clear they had painted on each others bodies and dizzee had been routinely disappearing with this guy for weeks now yet not producing nearly as much art, at least, as far as we audience members know) he didnt judge him but instead, waited for him to get cleaned up and then told him something along the lines of "theres a reason why im so secretive blah blah blah [not everyone needs to know everything about me]", which, in context, kinda implies that he might be a lil. a lil homiesexual. jus a lil.

whenever even the possibility of zeke leaving him comes up he absolutely loses it. he has literally cost ezekiel life changing opportunities because he thought zeke would just up and leave him for them. this could be abandonment issues bc he's a severely traumatized character, and that probably does contribute to it, but it also is just not a reaction he has to any of their other friends just randomly dipping in and out of his life soooooo

generally speaking, this mfer has got either bisexual with a big hard on for zeke coding or homosexual with terrible internalized homophobia and still a hard on for zeke coding. either fucking way, that nigga gay. he gay as hell. gay as fuck man. there wasn't really much to analyze here tbh bc the coding is just so fucking obvious if you look for it or you are/have been a gay person who's dealt with at least a little bit of internalized homophobia.

also, just a sidenote, idk how fucking old shao, but I'm praying hes like at max 19 bc I'm pretty sure zeke is a minor in this show and shao definetly is not so the whole him being heavily implied to have a crush on ezekiel thing is kinda. oof. not oof if zeke is like 17 but any younger than that? OOF.

edit: apparently the characters are only supposed to be a year apart in age but i had no clue about that before writing this post and since shaos age was never actually stated in the show i naturally assumed he was an adult since his actor Looks Like An Adult. this is definetly on me to a certain extent, but i also never saw anything about this when trying to find our their ages so 🤷‍♀️ maybe i just didnt look deep enough, sorry!

now moving on to the main event...marcus dizzee kipling :]

so, first things first, let's talk enby coding bc him being bisexual was already confirmed!

um, to start off, I just wanna say I dont think this enby coding was intentional or even really coding, it's just moreso me being a dizzee kin on main and knowing as a transmasc enby he has very transmasc enby vibes. for example:

cool, gender neutral nickname that everyone calls him

paints nails various different colors

the whole wardrobe is just a transmasc enby heaven...fishnet shirts, jean overalls, jackets and cuffed pants galore, the big colorful pins, etc

gender neutral hairstyle (when I had my fro it was very sexy and made it easy to transition between hyper masc and vaguely fem, which is pog)

comparing himself to/representing himself consistently with an alien character (though this is meant to represent his sexuality, it could also double as a gender thing too, not neccesarily bc of the whole nonbinary alien trope but bc an enby who likes aliens might heavily identify or compare themselves to whatever their idea of an alien is, whether that just be a genderless entity or a motherfucker with fly style and no need to be perceived as anything other Wacky As Hell)

moving on from there, let's talk about how his queerness is presented to us and how, while it may be a really good piece of representation, especially coming from netflix, it still lacks in A Lot of places.

so, let's start with good things!

i personally really like the get down's queer rep with dizzee bc it's (for the most part) nonsexualized and very very soft, about dizzee figuring himself out and realizing there is a place where he fits in, and about two teenagers in the 70s falling in love over their shared passion for street art. it also features an interracial couple where both boys challenge stereotypes both about queer men and men of color, which is epic poggers and very sexy. this piece of rep specifically is very important to me bc I am a queer black person and even tho interracial relationships are mostly normalized now, I've still had people give me shit for primarily dating white people in a town that is...primarily white lol

mm anyways, I can also appreciate how in the get down, dizzee being represented by rumi the alien is not a thing specifically related to gender (as it often is) and instead is about his sexuality and just in general weirdness and how it has led to him being alienated amongst his peers, poc or otherwise. him seeing himself as an alien is not about just his queerness, which is important, it is about him being a queer black man who talks different, acts different, dresses different and is "soft"—he isnt a walking black male stereotype and he wouldnt have been seen as masculine back in the 70s by any stretch of the imagination. this can be relatable to a wide spectrum of queer poc, from queer black men currently who still have to deal with this shit or to people like myself who are afab neurodivergent mixed race enbies that have always been signaled out as weird and alienated for it. dizzee is god rep bc while he has a small part in this show, his parts are very impactful, hard hitting and show queer poc of all ages that they arent alone and that it's okay to "weird", you just need to embrace it because somebody will love you for you, as thor did for dizzee.

that being said theres um. some minor problemas here,,,

namely:

dizzee and thors first kiss

the lack of development this pairing got

the way dizzee was confirmed bisexual off screen, he never said the words himself, just showed interest in both genders

the way dizzee and thor were never even confirmed boyfriends or just fwb so most of the fandom just calls them boyfriends bc Why Not

dizzee was implied fucking DEAD??? AT THE END OF THE SERIES?????? AND THOR WAS IMPLIED ARRESTED?????????????

now, these might have been things that wouldve been fine had the show been given it's full run but it wasnt which is why we are now left with probelms.

so, from the top, let's go over these: dizzee and thor's first (and only "on screen") kiss was one that was shown in a montage of other queer people making over and doing other vaguely romantic/sexual things, one of those things being a whole ass naked titty being mouthed at, but the actual kiss...was just not shown? like they really did just say "yes they kissed <3 you know this from the context clues of it being in a montage with kissing, hickey giving and titty sucking <3 but no we will not show it <3" LIKE HELLO? I SAW A NAKED BOOBIE BUT NOT TWO MEN KISS??? HUH????????

also, dizzee and thor were both fucking high as hell during this bit like this isnt a terrible thing but it's also like sometimes you do shit when you're high that you wouldnt do sober and they just never kissed again on screen so like?? like idk that's not that bad but it does kinda irk me since they deadass got no other on screen intimacy after that unless you including painting on eacher other or sleeping next to each other on a shitty mattress but not touching at all during it bc they were both at opposite ends of the mattress like half way off it

so yeah, that was trash. then we got lack of development, which kinda goes with the "dizzee being a bisexual but he never says it in canon" thing cause like...okay dizzee was already sort of a side character from the get go like he wasnt the mc by any means, but he became way more of a background character as things continued until we basically only saw him for performances or when he was with thor, yet they got no fucking development as a pairing other than "dizzee realize he gay, he like thor, he and thor spend time together and ig probably do some gay stuff but we dont really know bc we only ever see them do graffiti together now" like?? tf am I supposed to do with that shit. answer. quickly. and then theres dizzee not being confirmed bisexual, which is just a running problem with shows literally doing everything to say a character is bi except for having the character just...say they're bi? which would be so easy? like a good way dizzee and thor couldve had some development is by thor teaching dizzee things about the queer community that he didnt even know existed, thor couldve helped him understand what being bi meant and helped him label himself and whatnot but instead we got an off screen confirmation that the writers had bisexual in mind when writing him. which is garbagé.

the whole thor and dizzee never having a confirmed relationship status is also a development problem cause like literally nobody knows if they were just friends who made out, maybe fucked, who knows, or if they were dating bc dizzee does give a love confession but a love confession doesn't mean there is a relationship, especially since thor didn't say he was in love either (as far as I remember, I could be wrong, plus whether or not that really happened or was apart of dizzee literally overdosing during a performance is unclear so 🤪)

and now for the biggest issue...bury your gays trope.

during the season 2 finale, dizzee and thor are chased by cops after they are found doing graffiti, one of the cops is able to catch thor while the other chases dizzee into a train tunnel and there is a train seen headed straight for him before the show cuts to black on a train horn. the show writers claim that if they had gotten another season, dizzee wouldve been alive but since they didnt and since that's essentially super fan trivia knowledge, most people dont fucking know that and instead had to watch a black queer teenager chose death over being fucking arrested by a white cop. on top of that, thor didnt see any of that shit because he was caught and the cop started hauling him off while dizzee was still being chased so thor literally has no clue where his friend/possible boyfriend fucking is or that he's likely dead in a goddamn tunnel all alone, unless you count the fucking pig that chased him in there who wouldve died too. this shows rep was so fucking good as far as most shows go on not having major fucking problems, on not being toxic and over sexualized, etc, etc. and then they just. killed a black queer teenager for no fucking reason. like it was literally the last episode ever, it would add nothing to the plot, it would just devastate fans and devastate it fucking did. I dont cry easy but seeing a character I identified with, who I had hyperfixated on, die because he'd rather that than be arrested is terrible. it fucking sucked.

so yeah. that's my all too extensive thoughts/analysis on the get down's queerness. theres definitely stuff I missed, or misinterpreted, or looked too much into, etc, etc., but this was a fun thing to spend time writing sooo yeah!! thanks for the ask anon, sorry this was just a big rambley info dump, but hopefully you get some enjoyment out of it since it took like 3 hours at least 😭😭 feel free to ask clarifying questions lol

[missgarnet]

Where We Stand

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader

Word count:5.7k

Genre: angst with fluff

Warnings: pregnancy, mentions of past miscarriage, blood and injury, Duchess Min and other characters from Stay,  I swear there’s a happy ending

Summary by @minjoonalist​: fluff, pain, almost pain, spain without the s' and fluff?

Link to ao3

Happy Birthday @sope-and-shine​ Belle, I love you! (also I’m sorry for not killing anyone off in this story, I just couldn’t) 

I also want to say thank you to @minjoonalist​ and @sope-and-shine​‘s Fae for reading through this to helping me edit and think of titles!

“How do I look darling?” you ask, slipping the thin dagger into the hidden slit in the corseted top of your dress.

The duke stepped closer to you and took in the reflection of the two of you together. You watched in the mirror as he swept your hair to the side and started to kiss you, his lips a gentle whisper against your neck. “You look… powerful. I’d have to be an imbecile to ignore that.”

“Is that it?”

You feel his lips forming a smirk against your skin, “Of course not, you’re stunning and you know it just as well as I do. How was I lucky enough to find a wife as brilliant and beautiful as you.” His hands find themselves at your waist, trailing back to play with the laces of your dress.

“Yoongi,” you laugh as you swat his hands away. “They just finished getting me all dressed up in this, I don’t want to call the maids back to retie this again.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t already, you normally make them redo this until it’s as tight as you can get and both of you are exhausted.” He wraps you in his arms again and turns the two of you to face the mirror, “unless you’re…”

He can feel the sharp breath you take, realizing he’d figured it out. “Please, don’t get excited, it's too early for that. I don’t want to tell anyone else just yet.”

“Who else knows?”

“My maid, she thought it was weird when I asked her to find dresses with a higher waistline. She figured it out pretty soon, and I politely asked her not to say anything just yet.”

“Mmhmm, and what do you mean by politely asking this time.”

“I may have… accidentally… threatened to have her tongue removed if she so much as hinted to it”

“You never cease to amaze me, my love.”

A sharp knock on the door interrupted the few moments of alone time you had left. The two of you rushed to finish getting dressed for the day, this meaning countless weapons being discreetly tucked away in the many hidden pockets of your clothing. It was an important day, and you made it a rule to be prepared for anything and everything that could go wrong. Today you had one mission and no one was going to get in your way, not even the king himself.

Looking back you should have said no when she asked you to walk her down the aisle. Traditionally she should have had a family member to give her away, but tradition be damned, if your best friend and closest ally wanted you by her side then nothing was getting in your way.

By the time you got there the poor dear was already panicking as she paced the floor of her dressing room. “What if I mess up or trip and the entire court starts making fun of me”

“I’ll give them something else to talk about.” You said, instinctively reaching toward your favourite dagger. It’s jeweled angel wings sitting at the very top of your gown, giving the appearance of a simple broach when tucked into it’s spot atop your corset.

“Y/N, no weapons. How many times do we have to say this, stabbing people doesn’t solve problems. It only creates more.”

You scoffed at her reply, knowing fully well that it was the first thought you had. “First of all, I wasn’t going to stab anyone… this time. Second, there’s no rule against blackmail or accidently sharing information that would draw far more attention to others.”

“I don’t know how you did this. You didn’t even know Yoongi when the two of you got married, I’ve known Tae far longer and I’m still way too nervous for all of this.”

“Are you kidding me?” You laughed, “I was a wreck on my wedding day. Hell, I practically had to be dragged down the aisle and I would have clawed my way out if I could. I wanted nothing to do with it, then again that wasn’t really up to me. Even afterwards I was still too nervous to actually talk to him, it was much easier to argue and plot all the ways I could get rid of him.”

“You were planning to divorce him?”

“Oh Queenie, divorce was mild compared to what I had in mind.” You smiled at the memories of when you first moved in with your husband. The two of you had barely spent a minute alone, and were at each other's throats any time you were in the same room. He expected someone docile, sweet, and a little fearful of him the way that almost everyone else was. What he hadn’t expected was to be matched with a wife even more stubborn and intimidating than he was, you had become the first true rivalry he had ever experienced and it was thrilling.

It didn’t help him to find out that he had met the only person with a reputation worse than his own among the court, nor that you had found ways to win over his entire staff in a matter of days. Despite being incredibly talented and an excellent asset to have on his side, Yoongi seemed determined to prove that he was still the one in charge for those first few months. Everyday was a competition and the two of you had engaged in a seemingly endless battle of bickering and petty vengeance against one another. Your favourite of these occurred after he made it a point of removing you from a meeting with the generals. He should have known better than to mess with someone who was feared by the court and adored by both his family and his staff.

That next morning as the sun began to rise Yoongi was nearly blinded by the amount of light pouring into his chambers, waking up to the smell of burnt fabric and charred toast. You could hardly contain your laughter when one of the staff recalled being called into the sight of him slipping on his robe only to find that the right sleeve had been completely torn off. Tears ran down your face as you heard about him storming around the room looking for something to wear to meet you at the breakfast table only to find most of his clothes had been sent off to the tailor to be altered or repaired in some way and he had been left with an assortment of mismatched clothing and heavy winter suits. That morning neither of you felt willing to give each other the satisfaction of reacting to the other’s actions. Showing weakness was to show defeat, and neither of you planned on losing. You couldn’t help but feel a sense of just pride as you watched your husband shift in his seat clearly displeased with the current state he was in, almost laughing as he hobbled in missing his left shoe.

You had almost missed the defeated sigh he gave as he took his seat across from you. If he were like any other man you knew, he’d have given you the outburst of rage that you had been preparing yourself for. Instead he had a rather gentle gaze as he met your eyes from across the table and spoke in a soft almost admiring tone, “We can’t keep doing this. I mean seriously, destroying my curtains, burning my breakfast, and ridding me of my entire wardrobe in one morning. And why? I’ve done nothing to offend you.”

The servants quickly began backing out of the room in anticipation of another argument between the two of you.  “Nothing? You really think you’ve nothing wrong?” The icy glare you were so determined to keep directed at him was the only thing holding tears of frustration at bay. But you refused to let him or anyone else see you crying. “Yoongi, you undermine me at every opportunity available, making sure that I have no say in what is going on around me. I have no family here, no friends, no allies on my side. Everything here is about you, while I am constantly pushed aside and belittled by even your guards and servants. I was one of the most brilliant women my age. I learned the arts of battle, bribery, and blackmail by the age of five, and perfected each of them by eleven. And the worst part is all of that is going to waste, I am wasting away and it is all your fault.”

“I’m sorry I had no clue. I just thought you’d want a break from having to fight all the time, I guess I should have noticed this was wrong when you seemed so determined to argue at every opportunity possible.

“You really are an idiot sometimes.”

He laughed at this, the two of you finally sharing a moment of understanding and bonding over as you later called it his very best moment of complete stupidity.

As you sat there recalling all of this your eyes began to water and you let out a quiet sniffle. The two of you had been through so much since then and with very limited exceptions you wouldn’t change a thing. You may not have had the best of beginnings with each other, but he’d done his best to make up for that every day that you’ve shared since then. The two of you still bickered, but it was more affectionate and caring now that you’d decided to save your fury to defend one another.

“Y/N are you crying?” your best friend placed her hand over yours in a comforting gesture.

“No, of course not.” You tried to dry your eyes, but the gesture was not as subtle as you had hoped. “Fine maybe a little. I think I’m just feeling sentimental, all this wedding stuff had me thinking about when Yoongi and I were newly married and the time we had our first good fight”

“You still haven’t told me what happened to the shoes, and everytime I tried to ask the staff they just got really quiet and seemed like they were too afraid to speak.”

“Well, I took all of his left shoes and I had one of my maids put a box outside his room. Then I took most of them and put them away in the box, and I sent the rest away to be burned.”

“You burned his shoes”

“Only the left ones, and only the pairs I didn’t like. Besides if I were to do that now there would have been a lot more of them being burned, I swear just the smell of that shoe polish is enough to make me sick nowadays. Then again there’s been a lot of things that do.”

“Are you, you know?” The young queen-to-be asked, doing her best to emphasize the implied meaning.

“Am I what,” you asked, a challenging tone in your voice. It was obvious she knew, but if she wanted to ask she would have to use her words.

She gives you a knowing smile and pulls you in for a hug, “Congratulations Y/N!”

“Oh, shut up” you laughed trying to hide how nervous you were feeling. Yes she was your best friend, but this pregnancy was news you didn’t want out to the public just yet. “Today is your day, I don’t want to take away from that.”

She rushes to the clock at this realizing the two of you were running horribly behind schedule. As you rush through the halls together, you do your best to pin her veil in place and keep the train of her dress from collecting dust and dirt from the floor. Both of you pause outside the closed doors grandly looming before you, your faces warm and nearly out of breath.

You begin the task of fixing her appearance one last time before everything starts changing again. She was always so small and quiet when you first met. You never thought such a timid young woman would come this far, but something about her just spoke of being so much more than just another commoner. And now here she was in the most delicate white gown with layers of chiffon carefully draped over each other and tiny sleeves resting just off of her shoulders, looking more composed and regal than anyone you’ve ever seen before. The light reflects against some of the crystals sewn into her veil almost creating a halo around her. The light airy dress looked stunning on her and seemed even brighter as the two of you stood side by side. All the intricate layering and the bright white of her dress contrasted beautifully against yours. It wasn’t your original plan but the midnight blue gown and it’s simple pattern seemed to exaggerate your figure in the best of ways. It’s plain bodice and jeweled collar drew attention up and away from the changes you were hoping to hide.

The doors are drawn open and the two of you take a sharp breath as you begin the long anticipated journey down the aisle. To anyone else she would seem calm and composed, but you knew better, “You know, I’ve still got the carriage waiting outside. Say the word and we’ll start running. I’ll even lead the horses myself if that’s what it takes.”

You can see the slight bounce of her shoulders as she begins silently laughing. Looking around you begin to hold on to faces in the crowd, doing your best to remember where everyone was seated to use for later. It was a shock to see Namjoon and his new bride so close to the front, you thought they’d be in the back where she’d be hidden away from the prying eyes of so many nobles. After all, their relationship had been quite a scandal and she was much too far along to hide anything. What didn’t surprise you was the look on Taehyung’s face when he saw you and his fiance nearing the altar. The two of them were stupidly in love with each other and you could see that from a mile away.

You found yourself rather exhausted after all the excitement from the queen’s wedding, deciding to take just a short break at home before involving yourself with any of the court’s drama for a while. It was meant to be just a week, maybe two at the most but as time went by it felt much better to be in the manor with Yoongi than anywhere else. The two of you were still bickering like any other day, but being at home gave you a space away from the rest of the court once you’d started showing. The two of you became cautiously excited about your future child, still too worried to be fully invested but getting closer as each week went by.

There had been a few rough times along the way, but everything had been going well for the most part. That little piece of hope growing each day was worth any of the worries and discomforts you were facing, even the morning sickness that lasted much longer than you would have preferred. You thought things were getting better until another worrisome incident took place.

“Yoongi,  I started bleeding this morning, and something feels very wrong.”

“Are you alright?” He shook his head realizing his mistake, “I’m sorry that’s a ridiculous question. What are you feeling, is there anything I can do?”

“I’m scared Yoongs, I don’t know what’s going on and I can’t tell if it’s normal or if it’s going poorly again. It can’t end like last time, I can’t lose another. I don’t know if there’s anything that can be done, I just don’t want to be alone.”

He crawled up into the oversized bed beside you, gently taking you in his arms as he brushed your hair aside. “I know there’s nothing you or I can do and it’s completely out of our control, but I want you to remember I’m here and I will always love you no matter what.”

The midwife had a sad smile when she entered the room. Mrs. Lee was one of the oldest staff members serving the Mins, having delivered you herself. It warmed her heart to see the two of you curled up together so caring and gentle for once. She had originally been hired to act as a wet nurse, but when your mother went into early labor the midwife had been by her side. You’d practically been raised by her along with a few other maids, so when you found out you were with child there was only one person you wanted to have with you.

Mrs. Lee had seen you grow from a small frail infant to a rather intelligent young woman, and knew almost all of the struggles you had faced along the way. It was always her that you went to with any problems whether it was scraped knees or scheming nobles. Your first pregnancy was rough to say the least, and she was there for all of it holding your hand when everything came to it’s heartbreaking end.

And here she is now, doing her best to keep you calm as she conducts her exam. You begin to shift as you feel another one of the pains you’d felt earlier. It wasn’t horrible, only strange and unpleasant. Yoongi presses his lips to your forehead while you begin to play with his hands to distract yourself. The two lay holding tight to one another as you wait for the midwife’s news. As she felt your stomach, Mrs. Lee paused for a moment furrowing her brow before suddenly bursting out in a smile unlike any other.

“Your Grace, I have good news and even better news. First off your child is in perfect health at the time being.”

You let out a heavy sigh of relief, both of you feeling as though a large weight had been lifted.

“Second is those little pains you were complaining about. It’s not something going wrong that feeling is from the baby kicking. A lot of mothers complain about it being an odd feeling, but it’s good and it means that the baby’s doing well.”

“They didn’t kick last time,” you whispered.

“I know Angel,” she explained. “But you’re much further along this time, and you seem much healthier. Having some spotting this late is a bit concerning, but so long as you start getting enough rest and I keep checking up on you, I don’t think we have anything we need to be too worried about. I’m going to head out now and give the two of you some space, but you can call for me at any time even if it’s something small.”

Mrs. Lee excused herself and quietly left the two of you on your own once more. Yoongi loosened his embrace and turned to face you, there were tears in his eyes and the biggest gummy smile he’s had. You take your hand and place his against your stomach where your unborn child kept kicking. The two of you sat in a comfortable silence for a while before he finally felt something, “They kicked! They actually-” He laughed and gave a joyful little sigh at this, “I love you so much Angel, you’re going to be an amazing mother.”

“I love you too Yoongs, I couldn’t do any of this without you. We’re going to be a great team, but I think our child is going to need a name pretty soon.”

Yoongi gave you an evil grin, “We should name her Yoonji”

“Absolutely not, I think I’m going to be sick,” you announced pressing your hand to your stomach. “We are not naming her after your sister, she’s too much of a b-”

“You can’t keep calling her a bitch, especially when we’re in front of others,” he tried to sound exasperated but the laughter that followed quickly put an end to that act.

You rolled your eyes at the ridiculous argument the two of you kept falling into, surely there were more important things than your opinions and not so backhanded comments about his sister. “Please be serious. If you could choose any name for our child, what would it be?”

“What about Aria for a girl’s name?”

You smile and take his hand in yours once more, “I think it’s beautiful, but we’re not going to need it. We are having a son.”

“My Love, I have no doubt that you know just about everything but we’re not going to find out until they’re here. There’s no way of being sure.”

“No, I’m absolutely sure. This child will be our first beautiful little boy, and I know I’m right. It’s a mother’s instinct and I’m never wrong.”

“Then what are you suggesting, since you’re never wrong.”

“What about Hyun-Su?”

“It’s perfect.”

You pull him closer and reach up to cup his face between your hands, “We’re going to be good at this, right? They’re going to turn out better than we did.”

“I hope so,” he turns his head slightly as he presses his lips to each of your palms. “Regardless they’re going to grow up knowing that they have two parents who will love and fight for them no matter what.”

The two of you stayed under the covers, wrapped in this moment of relief and utter bliss at knowing that your child would grow to be safe, healthy, and above all else loved. What you didn’t know was that this joy would be short lived as much grimmer news was always just around the corner. You had found out quite some time before Yoongi, receiving the letter from one of the associates you had within the court. Oftentimes it paid to have eyes and ears throughout the kingdom, but for possibly the first time you regretted having this knowledge. The letter shook in your hands as you considered your choices, you could send help but you knew there would be some kind of trap lying in wait. There was no way you would risk losing Yoongi to such an obvious scheme, even if it meant sacrificing someone else. Throwing the parchment into the fireplace you watched as all of it crumbled to ash.

The letters kept coming, this time from the Southern Kims themselves each one growing more desperate in their pleas for assistance. It would be one thing to send soldiers, but you knew Yoongi would try to go with and fight the second he heard that Seokjin was in danger. The Kims were kind and had been there for you and your husband every time you needed help, they deserved better and it broke your heart to turn them away knowing that they and their children were likely to die.

At first you just hid them in the pockets of your dress, but after one had nearly slipped out in front of Yoongi you had taken more precautions in hiding the precious information contained in the writing. It began with storing them under the dresser, and then in your pillowcase, burning them the second you had a chance. You had been pulling up the floorboards in search of a new hiding place when Yoongi finally found out. Pushing the envelope under your skirts you had tried to keep him from noticing anything amiss. Unfortunately your husband was more observant than you would like to give him credit for and he had known you long enough to know how you’d try to hide something.

“Yoongi, you can’t go. These aren’t just another group of ruthless barbarians stupid enough to slaughter their own men, they’ll know that you’re coming and they will plan for that.”

“I’ll meet with the generals before I go, we’ll come up with a plan. It will be alright, I promise.” He took your hand in his willing you both to believe the words he said.

You pulled away from him as you stood, “Very well, we can meet with the generals and send troops to help the Kims. However, you are staying here.”

“No, Jin might get on my nerves at times but he’s one of my closest friends. I’m not going to do nothing while he and his family are at risk.”

“What about our family? I know I didn’t want to get too excited about anything, but we don’t have very long until we’re parents ourselves.”

“I’ll be back before the baby comes, without so much as a scratch. I promise.”

“Please don’t. Don’t make promises that we both know aren’t guaranteed.” You took a shakey breath, “Yoongi, I rarely ask anything of you, but this time I am begging you please don’t go. I can’t lose you- we can’t lose you.”

He said something, but you could hardly process the words as his footsteps echoed across the floor, he left you with the hollow sound of your bedroom doors swinging shut behind him and a simple apology mumbled from behind the sealed doors.

You refused to sit and do nothing as your husband led himself to slaughter, if there was anyway to prevent his death you would find it. Collecting all the debts and favours owed to you by the less than upstanding members of the court was just the beginning. It took more bribing and blackmail than you had bargained for, but you got other nobles to send the reinforcements you needed. Lady Park had been all too cooperative after you happened to mention a certain nude portrait and it’s current whereabouts, she and her husband sent twice the guards you had asked for and even provided maps of the area. As for the others, some were less generous but were still eager to compensate you for information or silence in one way or another. The Northern Kims were unable to send any troops of their own. However, Namjoon’s young wife had provided a sizable amount of gold and information on a mercenary group that was up to the job. You had nothing to use against them and didn’t know of anything they were in need of, but for some reason she had given you help regardless. It was a small kindness, but a greatly appreciated one in your time of need.

Everything was in place and you’d given the go ahead for them to approach the men surrounding the Southern Palace, but you’d yet to hear back from any of your troops. All of this had been meant as a backup plan in case something went wrong, but as days turned into weeks Yoongi’s chances of success were growing smaller. You’d taken to pacing the halls at night as your due date drew nearer, he should have been back by now.

“Y/N, you have to rest. You're putting too much stress on your body and that’s not good for you or the baby,” Mrs. Lee warned as she pushed your hair away from your face.

“ Well... seeing as how he’s the one causing all of this, you can take that up with Yoongi once he’s back. Until then I’ll be up doing everything I can to make sure that he comes home in one piece.”

Mrs. Lee didn’t seem too fond of your reply and folded her arms across her chest, “I’ll be sure to mention that, but until then I want you to be resting as much as possible and taking care of yourself. So little miss, you will be in bed, eating three full meals a day, and you will not be fussing over all of this anymore. What’s done is done and all we can do is wait.”

One of the maids came knocking at your door, disturbing your mandated rest. Somehow you’d become even more confined to your room after the slight back pains you’d felt that morning. You’d been told to get your rest and avoid getting too worked up. Mrs. Lee would be furious if she found out, but she wasn’t the one in charge here and you had told them to wake you at any hour if they had news from your husband. The young girl had placed a small parcel before you and saw her way out as quietly as possible. You tore the small bow apart, unwrapping it as quickly as possible, tearing the paper piece by piece until you felt shredded wet fabric against your hands.

From the mess you were able to identify one of Yoongi’s jackets, torn to bits and coated in sweat from the battlefield. You’d grown used to seeing things like this, but what stopped you in your tracks were the warm heavily saturated stains of blood that had seeped into the cut fabric. He’d sent you these before, but never in this condition. The two of you had a running joke that he could damage any clothing or armor he wore in a fight, so long as he came home unharmed. But this didn’t seem like it came from someone else, if he had been wearing this then it had to be his blood. Picking up the paper, you looked again for a ransom note, a threatening letter, anything that would tell you that he was still alive, but there was nothing else. He was gone and there was nothing you could do about it.

You felt a sob forming as a different kind of pain tore through you. It was a kind of pressure that brought you to your knees, crying out as Mrs. Lee rushed to your side. She helped you to the edge of the bed, helping you to lay back as she wiped the tears from your eyes.

“It’s going to be alright Y/N, we’re gonna get through this.”

“I can’t- I can’t do this alone. I’m not ready.”

Mrs. Lee takes your hand and squeezes it in hers, “You’re not alone, I’m right here with you

“That’s not what I mean and you know it, he’s gone.”

“Now that’s enough of that, you need to save your energy. I was trying to keep you from going into labor this soon, but it looks like it’s about time to push.” You shook your head at Mrs. Lee’s words as you tried to delay the inevitable. As much as you attempted to stall your labor, your efforts had been in vain as you entered the hours of pushing. Your vision blurred from falling tears as you cried out for the one person who vowed to be by your side for moments like these, all the while knowing that he was never going to walk through that door again

“Angel, I’m here.” Yoongi’s voice called out as the doors were thrown open.

“You’re hurt,” you commented as you took his face between your hands. He had a large gash running down his face, the cut at first glance seeming to go through his eye as well. As you started to remove the blood it became clear that it had been a very narrow miss, but was deeper than you had hoped.

“It’s only a scratch.”

“Oh really, If that’s only a scratch then all this is but a stomach ache and I should be up and about in a few minutes at most.”

“That’s hardly a fair-” Unfortunately for Yoongi, whatever argument he had planned was soon cut off by your yelling at yet another contraction. He climbed into the bed behind you, holding your hand as you cursed him for putting you in your current position.

Whomever said that the pain of childbirth disappeared from one’s memory the second they held their child was horribly wrong, and you wanted nothing more than to personally stab that person in the stomach so that they could feel a fragment of everything you went through. And yet, when you looked at your newborn son it felt as though all that pain were worth it. Yoongi had somehow forgotten about all the horrible things you had called him during labor, or at least decided not to bring it up for a very long time. Your child had made an early and all too exciting entrance into the world, and all of you seemed to be recovering from this in one way or another.

Yoongi had been healing very well, but it became apparent that his wound would leave a scar. Not that you minded, he’d teased you about yours since the very first night the two of you had known each other intimately. Even now as you lie in bed he still traces the two lines on each side of your spine, pressing a kiss to each of the spots he claimed must have held the wings of an angel before you had fallen.

“I think we’ve earned ourselves at least a full day of napping.” Yoongi commented, already pulling the covers over the two of you.

“Just one?” You asked, “If you ask me I think we should try and break our old record and try for at least two and a half days of sleep.”

“When did we,” he paused as the memory dawned on him, “Are you talking about the New Year’s when we were snowed in with the Park family. I remember being in bed for most of that weekend, but I don’t recall much sleep going on at the time.”

“I was talking about after all of that, we ended up being so tired that we spent our last couple days asleep. We could have gotten a few more hours of rest if their staff hadn’t woken us up.”

“Well, there’s no one to bother us now. And our son is sound asleep, so I think we should be too.”

The two of you glanced at the tiny figure in the crib across from you, he looked so small and fragile but you had been relieved to know that he would continue to grow into a strong and healthy young boy. He was only a few days old and you were already starting to notice that he had formed his dad’s same habit of oversleeping, “Hey Yoongs, I’m happy he takes after you.”

[vagarius]

misukazu 21

(if you saw me fuck up the other one no you didnt)

EDIT I THINK THIS ONE GOT A LITTLE FUCKED UP TOO BUT IT’S... READABLE...

questions from this post, and answers originally written for this thread!!

If you had to change the pairing’s very first meeting, how would you change it?    their canon first meeting is already so good SHDGFLJASHG but if i had to choose a different one that's still within the context of mankai... meeting as kids and losing touch and coming back together completely different at mankai

What song fits your pairing the most?    uhhHHhhHHH i don't have a real answer but i do have a partial playlist for one of my misukazu aus and the only two songs in it are furaregai girl by sayuri and champagne's for celebrating by mayday parade and i feel like that says enough sldhgalsdhfalsh

What is your favorite AU/prompt idea/trope for your pairing?     ALL MISUKAZU AUS ARE GOOD but. i really love any au where their first meeting is in the future and both are still kind of lost but they're Older and it's hard to let themselves fall into the easy trust they find in canon. i just think that'd be neat.

Do you prefer canon ideas or do you have your own headcanons for them?     I'VE SAID THIS MANY TIMES BUT CANON MISUKAZU GIVES OFF MADE FOR EACH OTHER VIBES AND USUALLY I DON'T VIBE WITH THAT BUT THEY REALLY ARE WHAT THE OTHER NEEDS... AND I THINK EVEN IF THEY HAD TO PART THEY'D STILL BE ABLE TO BE BETTER PEOPLE BC THEY HAD MET

Favorite canon moment of them?     THERE ARE SO MANY but the one that immediately comes to mind is misumi carrying drunk kazu to bed (latest bday line) because drunk kazu is so soft and it implies that misumi wanted to wish happy birthday to kazu pretty late... what did he want to give him...

Least favorite canon moment of them?     hmm... there's not really one i can think of??? IM SORRY I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY I LOVE ALL THEIR CANON MOMENTS

Favorite headcanon trope/idea? (Your own or someone else’s)    this is somehow both vague and very specific but i think misukazu gives off this vibe: He's beautiful. I can't tell him. or "Kazu is always beautiful~" Don't call me that, Kazu thinks. I'm not. so... insecurities i guess ????? AJSHAJJD

Favorite aspect of them/their relationship dynamics?     THIS IS GOING TO SOUND SO CHEESY but i love how /real/ they allow themselves to be around each other. misukazu at their best is when one thinks "you're you. and i love that you" and the other knows this. i just. THEY VALIDATE THE OTHER SO MUCH CRIES

Least favorite aspect of them/their relationship dynamics? (Can be headcannon)     this isn't a "least fav" so much as "it makes me sad" but if either of them showed any sign of not being interested anymore the other is more likely to give up then push anything. sort of like "it was bound to happen, so i'll enjoy now until they drop me" or EVEN WORSE they think the other would be better off without them and pushes them away. so yeah the fact i can see one of these happening makes me sad.

If they aren’t a canon pairing, how would you get them together?     they give off "everyone knows we're dating but us" energy but at the same time i feel like they'd acknowledge there's something and just not define it bc a) they don't need to (misumi) or b) they're too nervous to (kazu). in other words i think one day they are holding hands and misumi says "kazu? is this dating?" and kazu holds his breath before asking "do you want it to be?"

If you had to take them and plunk them into another fandom, what fandom would that be? Why?     i think theyd be hilarious in any sports animanga (kazu is manager tho bc noodle arms but maybe they bond when misumi walks him through some of his usual training menu one night - ahem. anyway) BUT ALSO horimiya au...

How hard is it write/draw your pairing? Scale of 1-10.     AJDHAJDHSF I REALLY LOVE THEM SO IT COMES PRETTY EASILY... but sometimes you try to put them in tropes and realize they would Just Not Work Like That. idk where i'm going with this. but yeah. anyway 3 for sankaku.

Is there a pairing that you think rivals them?     in terms of what i ship, i tend to ship kazu and misumi individually with a lot of dif charas AJDHAKD. but in terms of like... in-universe "rival" pairings: kazu side: tsuzukazu (maybe, lbr it would take them 273924 yrs to actually get together), kazu x someone from winter (i... have my reasons but they'd take longer than what this answer entails) misumi side: ... surprisingly none that i can think of ahdjahd

Which character of the pairing do you like more? (Would you ever pair yourself with them?)     you know that tweet that's like "sometimes a ship is just your two favs"? yeah that's misukazu for me. but if i had to choose... misumi AJDHAJHDSF I HONESTLY WASNT THAT INTO YUME UNTIL THESE TWO CAME AROUND (NOT COUNTING 707)... but yeah if they wanted to hold me in their arms i wouldn't oppose

Which character of your pairing would be the one to break up with the other? Why?     OOOOOH BOY well. i think it could be either of them. i don't think they'd break up for lack of love but too much love and wanting the other to be happy and thinking that the only way to give them that is to let them go. so i guess the question is which of them would be more likely to be selfish and hold on. thinking this way, i think misumi would be more likely to break-up, bc kazu has lots of friends who are better than him!! and misumi is more ready to leave if he thinks he needs to than kazu is. now im sad.

Are they relatable as characters or as a pairing?     THE NUMBER OF TIMES I'VE BEEN CALLED KAZU KIN... in all seriousness kazu's struggles with speaking out and (shinobi spoilers) his uncertainty over his future hit real close to home... while i don't relate as much as misumi, his struggles always manage to tear my heart into pieces... ((oversharing alert) i guess what really separates me from misumi is his struggle with his desire to connect with family who has treated him poorly... whereas im more "lol fuck you") tldr i relate to kazu slightly more LOL

Did you once/ever dislike one/both of them?     i never disliked them but i was NOT expecting either of them to shoot up so quickly into my favs list ahdjahdjf. also i started shipping them Immediately After reading summer main story so there's that

On an estimate, how many posts have you made about them?    as of september 28th 2020 i make up 11/78 fics on ao3 in the romantic misukazu tag and 2/12 in the platonic one. i may have brainrot.

What made you decide to ship them?     TBH I FINISHED THE MAIN STORY AND WENT "OH MY GOD... THAT'S MY SHIP" but now that i'm here i continue to ship them because they have the potential to bring out both the best and the worst in each other and i'm all about that

Favorite genre for them? (Angst, fluff, etc.)     angst. i just. angst hurt/comfort all the way. im so sorry babies.

lol you thought there would just be 21 ANYWAY EXTRA 1: how do they spend breaks/vacation?    they'd travel a lot when they're older!! kazunari loves to travel and misumi would follow kazunari anywhere (also, new triangles!!) so they go somewhere new whenever they have the time. however i think eventually one or both of their future careers will take them anywhere and everywhere anyway, so their "ideal vacation" might turn into an evening in, cuddling and catching up (as if they didn't already send play-by-play updates over the phone of whatever they did during the day)

EXTRA 2: first date?     i don't they ever have an explicit first date, but if asked they'll cite the time they had a picnic in the park turned triangle hunt turned accidental dip in the duck pond. at least, kazunari will. misumi just tilts his head and wonders what you mean.

EXTRA 3: gifts?     IM FEELING REALLY CHEESY SO I'M MAKING THIS ABOUT ANNIVERSARY GIFTS they both end up getting each other jewelry (although kazu was really really nervous bc he wasn't sure if misumi would wear it). kazu gets misumi a bracelet (with triangles, of course although misumi only wears it sometimes because he doesn't want to lose it) and misumi gets kazu a pair of triangle earrings "so we can match!" and kazunari combusts at the implications

EXTRA 4: sharing clothes     THEY'RE ACTUALLY AROUND THE SAME SIZE (and tend to wear baggier stuff barring kazu's skinny jeans)... but they have completely different Styles so it's still really obvious when steal each other's stuff ahdjajdkaf. as cute as kazu would look in sumi's sweatshirt i think the much more likely scenario is kazu wrapping misumi in his jackets because this boy nEVER BRINGS HIS ANYWHERE anyway just. accidental shared wardrobe misukazu.

EXTRA 5: lake house au    consider: kazunari living in a house on the shore of a lake for a summer for Art Purposes (and a little bit for Dealing With Life purposes but he's not gonna admit that) and meets his lake neighbor misumi who kazu thinks might be a ghost or spirit for a while but he actually just lives further down the lake and misumi unknowingly helps kazu with his Life Issues and maybe they fall in love

[stvlti]

Light Yagami!

do I like them:

Yes as a character to watch / read about, no as a person. His psyche is v interesting but he’s a stinky proto-fascist boi. And he’s just so entitled... miss me with that nonsense

5 good qualities:

he’s a genius and it’s simply enrapturing watching him outsmart his opponents

Ryuk is the closest he comes to having a real friend after discovering the Death Note and honestly i can relate (monsters are friend-shaped!)

his work ethic’s pretty good i guess

that’s all i got sorry

3 bad qualities:

he’s an entitled egomaniac

he kills people for the stupidest reasons

his bedroom has no personality (seriously it is so bland, just like his wardrobe)

favourite episode/etc:

wow... i haven’t rewatched DN in a long time... so I can’t say for sure. for dramaverse it’s definitely the ep where L dies; Masataka really said Lawlight rights. the ep where Soichiro dies is a close second (I thought Masataka delivered Light’s two-faced reaction to his dad’s death perfectly... he really did that scene justice *badum-tss*)

otp:

Lawlight, I suppose? even if I don’t really ship them anymore I still think the symbolisms are sick as heck... they’re narrative foils which makes for great cosmically-entwined lovers thematically. 

brotp:

Light & Ryuk for sure!

ot3:

none, but L/Light/Misa, if I had to choose, and it’s just the 3 of them going through more of the Yotsuba arc shenanigans 

notp:

Light/Misa, believe it or not (I say, as I made one LightxMisa edit after another 🤡)

best quote:

“This world is rotting, and those who are making it rot deserve to die! Someone has to do it, so why not me? Even if it means sacrificing my own mind and soul it's worth it, because the world can't go on like this. I wonder, what if someone else had picked up this book? Is there anyone out there other than me who would be willing to eliminate the vermin from the world? If I don't do it, then who will? That's just it, there's no one. But I can do it. In fact, I'm the only one who can. I'll do it. Using the Death Note, I'll change the world.”

(only because of the meme potential though lbr *casually quotes this whenever I get the tiniest thing done*)

head canon:

what do you mean asexual!Light isn’t canon

Send me a character!

[comicteaparty]

January 13th-January 19th, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from January 13th, 2020 to January 19th, 2020.  The chat focused on Verse by Sam Beck.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Verse by Sam Beck~! (http://versecomic.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until January 19th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. What do you think caused the past civilizations and magic to all but disappear from the world? Do you think magic’s return is really in the world’s best interest, or will it lead to more harm than good?

Comic Tea Party

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. How do you think Fife will change throughout the story, and do you think he will find the strength to protect the people he cares about? In what ways will his own story continue to affect Neitya and her goals?

Comic Tea Party

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. Given the themes of trauma, which character’s depiction of dealing with their own past trauma stuck out to you the most and why? Do you think as a whole each character will learn to better manage their trauma, and how can seeing this help us?

Tired Programmer

I'm sorry for a stupid question, because I'm a newbie here. Are we supposed to discuss these questions here or they are just an ideas for commenting the comics above?(edited)

RebelVampire

They're just ideas. Most people tend to follow the questions, but if you have anything else you'd like to discuss regarding the book club comic for the week, you're more than welcome to. @Tired Programmer

RebelVampire

1) My favorite scene is probably the one where they have Neitya open the gate. There's a lot to like about the scene. First, the art and the composition. The way its composed and paced has a real sense of intensity, so you can really place yourself in the other characters' shoes as they watch this unfold with anxiety. Plus, the glowy bits of magic used add a real mystical element as well. In terms of story, though, I love that this scene simultaneously answers a lot of questions while not answering them at all (and opening more). It's a real interesting blend of baiting the reader in with answers but keep them wanting more. Since in this case, I have a good idea of what happened, but want more elaboration that I know will come in due time. 2) I feel like the past civilizations loss of magic is because of them. Just as were seeing people in the current time want more and more from magic, to the point of challenging what is ethical for the sake of progress, I feel the past civilizations were the same. And that someone did something so grievous it caused magic to just go out of control to the point it dried up from the world. As for magic's return to the world being more good or bad, probably more bad if the current characters are any indication. Like magic isn't inherently bad at all. But you'll always have people like Branca who wants to push the limits and has a "never enough" attitude about it. So as people view magic in the world currently, I feel they can only go down the same path unless they learn some hardcore lessons about that.

3) My favorite character is probably Fife. I like how hard Fife tries and how hard it is for him to actually improve. And while I feel in a lot of stories his slow character growth might be tedious, I actually find it works a lot. Cause the traumas Fife has are very real, and everything we've been shown makes the pace of progress make sense. So I kind of enjoy seeing a character who is so close but just keeps missing the mark cause growth and change are hard. Also, Fife is adorable. So there's that too. 3) I think eventually Fife will find a better way to manage his fears and traumas, because insofar, Fife strikes me as the type to at least try to push himself into situations that make him uncomfortable. So I think eventually he'll find the strength of skill and character he's looking for. It's just gonna be a long journey and not anytime soon, but I think the current situation will kind of demand the change from him. As for his affect on Neitya, I actually think he'll serve an important role of grounding her. Neitya seems like she has a big chosen one destiny ahead of her, and between magic training and looking for answers, I think she'll often forget to take a step back and remember there are others around her who care about her and are affected by her choices. And I think Fife will help serve as the main figure that pulls her back and helps her through things emotionally speaking in certain regards.

RebelVampire

5) There's a lot in my favorite scene to choose from, but I'm gonna go for this page's middle panel http://www.versecomic.com/comic/197 I love love love that slow crawl of the text glowing. Like, I can picture it in my head. And I love that not only was it thought to be done like this, but just that simple choice adds so much to the mysticism of the moment as well as to the feeling of movement for the whole scene. <3 6) For me, it's Fife's trauma that stuck out to me the most. This ties into an earlier answer about how Fife tries. His trauma isn't something he wants, nor is it something he's purposely trying to let affect him. But then theres moments like this http://www.versecomic.com/comic/99 where is just springs up and he freezes. And then he's mad that he let that happen. And I feel like this is a really good characterization of trauma in general. Most people don't want to have trauma or deal with their trauma. It just happens, and it takes a long time to be okay either with the trauma or the fact that the trauma can have negative affects. As a whole, though, I think the characters will all definitely come to better terms with their current traumas (partly because they'll probably have new traumas). But I feel like dealing with the consequences of the gateway is gonna teach everyone stuff about themselves and force them to step up and learn to bite the trauma down to do what needs to be done.

Eightfish

1/5. I liked this page:http://www.versecomic.com/comic/29 I think it does a great job of making the world feel big The cityscapes look amazing as well: http://www.versecomic.com/comic/81 http://www.versecomic.com/comic/64 They have so much personality to them. They feel like unique, lived in places I can feel that the artist has such a love of landscapes

Comic Tea Party

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. What do you think the Vel really are, and how do they tie into the gates? Do you think the Vel can be stopped for good, or is it something that will plague the world no matter what the characters do?

DaemonDan (The Demon Archives)

(finished reading Verse, will try to add some answers today/tomorrow!)

SAWHAND

(Same! Verse is a HUGE fav of mine! I just need to do a quick flip through to refresh, but this week has been ultra busy so far)

Comic Tea Party

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. What is your opinion on Magdalena’s change of heart to legitimately help Branca open a gate with Neitya? Do you think her actions justified or foolish? Also, how will the dire events affect her given her role in it?

RebelVampire

7) I probably enjoy seeing Fife and Azar interact the most. I enjoy the kind of mentorish bond they have despite them kind of being opposite sorts of people. And I also like just in general how understanding Azar is of Fife and doesn't really ridicule him that much for his screwups. And I think of the relationships in the story, its the one I find to be the healthiest in its own way. 8) Given how much the entire thing Branca did felt like necromancy, I'm gonna go with theyre defiled souls. Potentially, they could be the old civilization at large. I know it was mentioned that the Vel existed back then, and maybe the more they messed with magic, the more Vel came about until that's all that was left. Until someone armageddoned them out of the world or something. As for whether they can be stopped for good, probably not. Granted I'm sure they can learn to deal with them better and quell their levels to non end of the world levels. But I think in the end they're just part of the world as corruption is part of the world.

9) I really love a lot of the details on the clothes. Like you've got patterns, you've tassle-like things, fur, etc. There's a lot of effort put into some of the smaller details of the clothing that I really think makes a lot of the outfits feel really unique. I also like how each outfit kind of expresses the character's personality such as Branca's dark wardrobe compared to Azar's more flamboyant wardrobe. So there's just a lot of consideration and effort that was put into making the clothing feel impatctful. 10) My opinion of Magdalena is wtf. XD 100% foolish. She did not consider at all the potential consequences at all and grasped way too hard at the hope straw that maybe it'd make things better. That, and curiosity. I can't justify anything she did from an outsider's perspective cause there were just too many what ifs she willfully ignored. Not that I dislike her or anything of course. But she dun goofed. I feel like Magdalena knows this though, and the events are gonna mire her with grief and guilt as she accepts more and more the hand she had in causing this. And she'll be that much more motivated to make it right, probably to the point of recklessness.

Comic Tea Party

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. What do you think happened to Branca after the city was overrun? Do you think Branca will continue to be a threat to the world, or might have the events changed how Branca intends to achieve the cult’s original goals?

Comic Tea Party

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. Do you think Neitya will learn to control her magic? If so, how might she be able to fix the current situation with the gate and the Vel? Also, what do you think will happen when she meets Fife and the others again?

RebelVampire

11) I think this comic's strengths are in its designs, both visually and story-wise. There's an interesting world with its own unique problems that different from our own. The visual presence of the world is stunning, from forests to full-blown cities. The characters have a great sense of visual style and everyone looks really unique and identifiable. Just overall, everything is really designed well for a nice, overall high quality experience. 12) I think Branca probably escaped and is still gonna pursue her ends of bringing magic everywhere. I imagine, though, that she's gonna lay low and figure out wtf Neitya did in the first place and how she can use everything to her advantage. I kind of...doubt Branca will change. She seems too power hungry that even a bunch of Vel aren't gonna deter her methinks.

13) I am looking forward to learning more about the past civilization's downfall and how that still has strong ramifications in the present story's world. I feel there is gonna be some sort of epic reveal at some point that will change every character's perspective on why the world it is the way it is and their relationship with magic. 14) I think Neitya will learn to control her magic. I think even without the voices helping her, she's probably a natural and will pick it up quickly. Though probably there'll be a few things that give her endless frustration. As for fixing the current situation, the most obvious solution would be to close the gate thing opened. But I feel they're gonna go for the harder solution of learning to deal with the Vel instead. I kind of feel like Fife and Neitya will be happy to see each other, but everyone else, not so much. I think there's gonna be lots of trust issues on both side that need to be resolved, so I'm expecting tension.

twothirty

wanted to pop in and thank @RebelVampire for hosting the bookclub and providing such wonderful questions (and answers!)

Comic Tea Party

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Verse this week! Please also give a special thank you to Sam Beck for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Verse, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://versecomic.com/

Sam’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=722594

Verse’s Merchandise: https://hivemill.com/collections/verse

Sam’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/_twothirty

[thatishogwash]

Love is in the Stunts

KuroDai Mid-Birthday Weekend 2018

Day 1: Phenomenon - Celebrity AU

AO3

Kuroo, along with half of the cast and crew, watch as one of the main actors for the would-be historical action piece storm off the set.  Kuroo isn’t all that surprised, the man had been throwing childish fits since day one as if he didn’t realize what he was getting himself into.  Nothing seemed to be how he wanted it to be and most of the crew spent their valuable time trying to talk him back from ledges instead of doing their actual jobs, which meant they were behind schedule even before they started filming.  Kuroo looks down at the head of wardrobe and costume design, Yachi Hitoka.  Yachi is fairly young and sometimes her nerves get the best of her but Kuroo already know she’s got a backbone of steel and after a small pep talk to herself she could get anything she set her mind to done.  She also happened to be brilliant at what she did, the elaborate kimono she had crafted fit his long form perfectly, though she was making minor edits before the first day of shooting tomorrow.

Yachi had lost her laser-like focus as she looked over at the director, Ennoshita Chikara.  Ennoshita was only a few years older than Yachi, young to be directing such a big production but he had won several awards for his independent films and was quickly picked up by a large production company.  This film would be his first big one and one of the main actors had just stormed off.  His face betrayed nothing, his eyes were tired looking and his shoulders were relaxed but his hands were curled into tightly balled fists.  Ennoshita and Yachi had attended the same high school and she had worked on his previous films with him.  Kuroo could see the clear worry written all over Yachi’s face.

Recasting was a dangerous road to go down.  The actor that had stormed out might have been a big man child but he was a talented man child, none of his pomp and arrogance ever came across on screen and the public loved him.  The character of the mild mannered but loyal bodyguard would be a tough one to fill, especially with the direction that Ennoshita planned to that the relationship between the bodyguard and Kuroo’s own character.

“Yo director-san!”  Tanaka Ryuunosuke was the stunt coordinator for the film, along with being an extra in it.  He was a childhood friend of Ennoshita’s and had to be held back a couple times when the actor who had stormed off got into Ennoshita’s face.  Tanaka swung a muscled arm around Ennoshita’s shoulders, giving the other man no choice but to follow him back into the office where the door was closed for privacy.

“Yachi-san?”  Kuroo questioned softly, snapping Yachi out of her daze.

“Oh!  I’m so sorry!”  Yachi said quickly, bending back down to make her final adjustments on the kimino.  “How does that feel?”  She asked, fingers running over the fabric covering Kuroo’s legs to straighten it out before backing away.  Kuroo stepped off the heightened pedestal he was on and walked around.  The garments were heavier than anything Kuroo was used to wearing with more layers that promised to make him sweat under the bright studio lights but Kuroo had to admit it was a beautiful piece of work.  It was the perfect blend of historical accuracy and modern adaptation, just as the story Ennoshita was trying to create with his movie.  Kuroo had been entranced the moment he read the script and was only that much more inclined to do it when he heard a rather famous actor had agreed to play the role of the emperor.

“Yachi,” Oikawa whined as he put away his phone after taking a minimum of 40 selfies.  “What about me?”

Oikawa Tooru was admittedly probably one of the best actors of their generation.  He was one of the select few child actors who managed to crawl their way out of that ambiguous time and come out stronger on the other side.  He had a loyal following that only seemed to grow with each new project he did and every magazine he graced the cover of.  Kuroo was humble enough to admit that he didn’t think they’d ever cross paths, let alone be in the same movie together.  But Oikawa was clever, far more clever than his public persona let on, and he recognized Ennoshita’s talent and how far it would take him.

“Your wardrobe suits you perfectly.”  Yachi said diplomatically, not mentioning that Oikawa technically didn’t even have to be there.  Despite Oikawa’s longtime fame and the wealth he’s accumulated since he was a child, he still showed up for every single meeting, dress rehearsal, lighting and sound check, and everything in between.  Yachi was also very carefully not saying that Kuroo’s own wardrobe needed a lot of last minute changes due to much of it not fitting.

Kuroo’s previous project had been a guest appearance as a vigilante on a popular tv show.  He had appeared in five episodes and had been shirtless for a total of seven scenes.  The no carb, high protein diet had been torturous along with the hours of training and working out he did for the action scenes, but Kuroo couldn’t deny the results were there.  Kuroo had always been on the lean side, good genetics and his height made that possible.  Yachi had made his wardrobe to fit his measurements before he had started training for his role as a vigilante and things had changed since then.  Kuroo had apologized profusely but Yachi had waved it off and worked hard to make sure everything not only fit Kuroo but looked good too.

As Yachi helped Kuroo carefully remove each layer he couldn’t help but look over at the closed door and wonder what solution they were coming to in there.

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

Kuroo let out a long moan specifically designed to earn him a glare from Kenma.  Kuroo continued to eat the tempura, moaning with each new piece until Kenma kicked him and Yaku threatened bodily harm unless he stopped.  Truthfully it was more so Bokuto threatening to take away the food that made Kuroo stop, but honestly it wasn’t all for show.

“I haven’t had anything fried in months.”  Kuroo complained as he snatched another piece and shoved it in his mouth.  The strict diet he had been on for his last role was broken the second they wrapped up but considering Yachi had made so many adjustments to his wardrobe he was being good about what he ate.

Except it was rare for all of them to be able to get together.  Kuroo saw Kozume Kenma more than the others but not nearly as much as Kuroo would like, though Kenma might argue further Kuroo knew he was missed.  It was good to have people who weren’t in the same business as him even if it made it difficult for all of them to gather in the same place more than a handful of times a year.  Kuroo was always busy with one project or another and Kenma was a full time app designer.

Bokuto Koutarou was a professional athlete.  They had met when Kuroo had gotten injured on set and Bokuto was seeing the same physical therapist for an old elbow injury.  Bokuto was one of the silliest people Kuroo had ever met, he was always coming up with wild schemes and saying the most ridiculous things that almost made sense.  The guy was always one of the most hardworking people Kuroo had ever met, Bokuto wasn’t good at anything but sports but by god was he good at those.

Yaku Morisuke was an old high school friend of Kuroo’s, they had turned severe hatred into a lifelong friendship.  Whenever Kuroo was feeling adrift or too far from who he wanted to be, he could always count on the daycare teacher to straighten him out.

“Have they found someone to replace that actor yet?”  Kenma asked.  It had been three days since he stormed off the set and Kuroo hadn’t been able to do any of his scenes because all of them involved his bodyguard.  He could see the stress settling on everyone's shoulders as time continued to crawl on.

“Not that I know of.”  Kuroo answered honestly.  Technically he wasn’t allowed to speak of such things but they were in the safety of Yaku’s apartment and Kuroo trusted the three of them enough not to repeat anything he told them.  “Oikawa’s just as amazing as everyone says he is.”   Bokuto asks if Kuroo can set him up on a date with Oikawa, which Kuroo instantly denies.

“But why not?  Do you think I’m not good looking enough for him?”  Bokuto asked before curling up a bicep with a grin.  Kenma snorts as Yaku gives the large muscle an appreciative glance.

“I think he’d eat you alive.”  Kuroo answered.  “And then I’d have to hire some guys to break his legs and one of those guys would turn out to be a cop and I’d be thrown in prison-”

“Don’t retell one of your own movies you tool!”  Yaku called foul, hitting Kuroo with a pillow as they moved onto other subjects.

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

Kuroo sat back as they reset the scene, script balanced on his knee but mostly forgotten as he watched Terushima and Yachi step back from Oikawa in full outfit and makeup.  Terushima Yuuji was a talented makeup artist that Kuroo thought was going to be a big problem considering he hit on everyone, especially Yachi who was clearly uncomfortable with his advances.  Kuroo had been about to step in during one of these interactions, about to play mediator before someone like Tanaka got whiff of Terushima’s bad attitude and caused a scene.  But a second after Yachi had recoiled she had sprung to life, finger pointing and telling Terushima that she didn’t like the way he talked to her and how uncomfortable he made her feel, unsafe on her own set when approached so aggressively by someone much larger than herself.  Kuroo had expected the makeup artist to scoff and continue his ways but he had actually looked sheepish and the next day he had bowed deeply to Yachi, apologizing and promising that he would stop.

To Terushima’s credit he did stop the aggressive flirting.  Kuroo suspected that he was just a flirt by nature so he didn’t cut it off completely but he always gave people their space, always asked for permission before stepping closer, and had mostly become a better person.  Kuroo had been proud of little Yachi for telling him off but in a way that was constructive, allowed Terushima to see things from her point of view and forgave him when he made a conscious effort to better himself.

Kuroo still wasn’t a huge fan of Terushima’s but he couldn’t hold it against the kid forever when clearly no malice or ill intent was meant by it.  But he still watched Terushima, making sure the other man didn’t slip back into bad habits.  If Kuroo had to talk to him he wouldn’t be nearly as nice as Yachi was.

The sound of a motorcycle coming closer had most heads swiveling around to see who it was.  It was a closed set, which meant whoever was driving up had the credentials to be there but Kuroo didn’t remember anyone riding a motorcycle to set before.

“Was that a motorcycle?  Is Daichi here?”  Tanaka popped up from seemingly nowhere, head swivelling around after the motorcycle had cut off.  Moments later a broad figure walked into the large warehouse where they were housing several sets for the movie they were working on.  The man was wearing a black helmet, the visor tinted so nothing could be seen inside, along with a black leather jacket, dark washed jeans, and old brown boots finished the look.  “Daichi!”  Tanaka did a running leap and the man must have been used to it because he braced one leg slightly behind him before catching Tanaka, making it look easy even though Tanaka was tall and muscular.

“Oh, excuse me!”  Yachi dipped her head in a quick bow before walking over to the stranger and Tanaka.  The man released Tanaka, who hopped to his feet and immediately made room for Yachi.  The man removed his helmet, revealing a would-be plain looking, tanned face.  What could have been plain features were made striking but a large and genuine smile that made his eyes crinkle and a dimple appear in his left cheek.  “It is so good to see you.”  Yachi said with genuine enthusiasm as she took the helmet despite the mans protests.

“Ennoshita is back here.”  Tanaka lead them both away, where Ennoshita had walked off with a few of the lighting people to find something that wasn’t as harsh as the ones they were using now that washed out too much color from the set and actors.

“What do you know?”  Oikawa asked and Kuroo turned to see him addressing a grinning Terushima.

“So much but information isn’t free.”  Terushima turned to his make up kit, reorganizing it.  Oikawa narrowed his eyes.

“What do you want?”  Oikawa asked, voice wary.

“You know what I want.”  Terushima threw another grin over his way.  Kuroo watched with amusement, propping his chin onto a closed fist as he looked at Oikawa, wondering what his response would be.

“I’ll figure it out on my own eventually.”  Oikawa scoffed, adjusting his yukata with practiced hands, a fake air of nonchalance that even Terushima could see through.  Terushima went back to organizing his kit while Oikawa stared holes in the ground.  “Okay!  One instagram picture but I get to choose what we do and how we look.”  Terushima let out an excited shout and they shook on it.  Poor Terushima had no idea what he was getting into, Kuroo had once witnessed Oikawa take no less than a hundred pictures in four different locations before declaring all of them ugly.

“His name is Sawamura Daichi,” Terushima revealed as Oikawa brought out his phone.  Kuroo stood up, placing his script on his chair before hovering over Oikawa’s shoulder to see what he could dig up.  “He’s a stuntman who has worked all over Asia but the past couple years he’s been in a long term contract with a pretty big company in America coordinating a series of superhero movies.  He’s also a senior member of the film club Ennoshita, Tanaka, and Yachi were in.”  Kuroo read the long list of films that Sawamura had not only coordinated all the stunts but was an extra in too.  He had won awards and there were pictures shared by A-List celebrities all around the world crowing his greatness.  Sawamura Daichi’s instagram was a mixture of various stunts, gym pictures, and a plethora of furry creatures.

Before they could dig any deeper Ennoshita walked out and called for everyone to gather.  He introduced their newest cast member, Sawamura who gave a good natured grin and bowed before asking them to take care of him.  Kuroo tried not to think of pictures of revealing tank tops, flexing muscles, or a smiling face as a cat butt his head up against Sawamura’s chin.

Kuroo tried not to think about those things and failed miserably in doing so.

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

Kuroo finds he loves doing scenes with Oikawa.  Oikawa real personality is a bit too much for Kuroo, too much intensity, too much scrutiny, too much pride but all that focused into his character provides the perfect sounding board for Kuroo’s own acting abilities.  There’s no bend or give in Oikawa but he does find the perfect way to balance and blend with whoever he’s sharing screen time with.  He makes Kuroo better and Kuroo’s humble enough to admit that.

Real Oikawa though is a bit childish and gets jealous easily, it’s almost laughable how easy Kuroo finds it to provoke the other male and he knows that’s not always a good thing.  Acting is an odd job to have, it’s difficult to find boundaries when those get blurred so often in their field.  It’s why all of Kuroo’s closet friends aren’t in the same business, he needs people to ground him, to feel comfortable just being himself and not being on all the time.

Oikawa wants to work out all of Kuroo’s secrets.  Kuroo doesn’t think Oikawa wants to do anything unsavory like post them on twitter or sell them to a trashy tabloid magazine but it’s still unnerving to be the center of that high intensity focus.  Kuroo enjoys his privacy, he likes where he is in life, likes the acting roles he takes and his small niche of loyal fans.  He doesn’t want more fame and he already makes a comfortable living wage, all of that confuses Oikawa who is always aiming for a high goal, he can’t understand people who are just content with what they have.

Kuroo had been Oikawa’s focus for a while, until Sawamura Daichi came along and stole the spotlight.  Kuroo couldn’t say he was sad to see it go, but he pitied the other man.  Oikawa couldn’t believe that Sawamura was as wholesome and stalwart as he appeared to be, but with each passing day he just proved himself to be a good old country boy.  A country boy with thighs that could crush a watermelon and a smile that made angels cry, but Kuroo was beginning to think that was a more him thing than anyone else.

Kuroo shoved those feelings deep down inside him because godforbid Oikawa discovered Kuroo’s little parttime crush and weakness for men with deep voices and soft eyes.

It was several days after Sawamura’s initial introduction that Kuroo found the other man in a slightly compromising position.  Kuroo had been walking around the set, generally staying out of people's way and avoiding Oikawa who wanted to go out for drinks afterwards and get to know each other, as if Kuroo was born yesterday.  His headphones were pulled over his eyes, he had a penchant for American blues and alternative rock, when he spotted Sawamura sitting amongst racks of clothes and discarded props.  His back was ramrod straight, his knee bouncing with anxious energy and there was a deep frown on his usually smiling face.

Kuroo would usually never pass up the opportunity to tease someone, especially when Sawamura was oh so teasable, but the slightly battered and crinkled script in Sawamura’s white knuckled grip made him think it through more.  Sawamura was a stuntman whose career was boiled down to Thug Number 2 and Attacker Number 4.  It must be nerve wrecking being thrust into a speaking role, expected to carry part of the plot on his, admittedly nice, shoulders.  The rest of them had time to study the script, to talk things over with Ennoshita, and slowly slide into their roles.

“Having trouble Sawamura?”  Kuroo asked, purposefully dragging out the syllables of Sawamura’s name.  He had really meant to offer help but something about the other man brought out the teenager in Kuroo.  Sawamura looked up, his leg stopped moving and he looked like he was about to give false assurances but then he sighed.

“I’m not an actor.”  Sawamura admitted.  Kuroo put his headphones around his neck, letting the tones of Muddy Waters continue on as he sat in front of Sawamura.

“Ennoshita isn’t an idiot, he wouldn’t have asked you to fill this role if he didn’t have confidence in your abilities to pull it off.”  Kuroo held his hand out for the script and Sawamura handed it over.  Kuroo looked at the first couple lines, knew the familiar scene and couldn’t help but grin up at Sawamura.  “Is it the lines giving you troubles or the fact that you have to say it to a man?”  Kuroo knew he wasn’t being particularly fair, but he had gone most of his career with people asking him frankly bigoted and homophobic questions.  He could work with Sawamura if he was either of those things, but it was best to know it now so Kuroo could swallow down his anger and if he was being honest with himself, disappointment too.

“Ennoshita made me aware of the role I would be playing.”  Sawamura seemed to pull back on his own frustration.  “Men or women, I don’t really care but it doesn’t change the fact that I’ve never had to do any of those type of scenes before.  The most I’ve had to do is yell things like ‘Get him’, and yeah I’ve gotten very good at being punched but this is-” Sawamura made an aborted motion with his hand but Kuroo still understood.  It was about some heavy emotions, it was a relationship that had to be believable otherwise it would create a disconnect with the audience.

“Okay, tell me what you know about the character.”  Kuroo asked.  ���Who is the actor here?  You did ask for my help after all so trust the process.”

“I don’t think I asked for your help at all.”  Sawamura grumbled but he straightened up.  “He’s a bodyguard to the daimyo, a trained samurai in a time where samurai’s are coming to an end.  He has no living family, his only purpose in life is to protect.”

“And his relationship with the daimyo?”  Kuroo asked.

“He loves him but he thinks of himself as lesser, unworthy of that type of love but it doesn’t matter to him because all he wants to do is be by his side.”  Sawamura’s cheeks are a little pink and Kuroo finds it adorable but he forces himself to concentrate.  “He’ll never make the first move because that would be stepping outside the boundaries he’s created, he would think it’d be disrespectful.  He loves the daimyo he protects and would give up his life for him without question.”  Kuroo had to clear his throat twice before he could speak again.

“Well you’ve got the characterization down.”  Kuroo handed the script back.  “So let's see how your acting abilities are.”

They run through lines together.  Sawamura isn’t bad but he wouldn’t be winning awards anytime soon.  There’s a certain stiffness to his deliveries, which actually works quite well with the respectful and rule abiding samurai he’s playing, but there’s a hesitancy there that someone who spent their entire life preparing for their role in society wouldn’t have.  Kuroo knows it’s nerves and he knows it’s because Sawamura won’t take his eyes off the script, concentrating too hard on getting the wording exactly right to put real emotion behind it.

“You need to get off script.”  Kuroo said after his name had been called.  He stood up and stretched out his long body.  There were people who did better with things like tele prompts but it was clear despite Sawamura’s staple of society looks, he was a bit of a wild card and needed to have the freedom to put a bit of himself into the character.  “Ennoshita told us at our first reading that the words weren’t as important as long as-”

“The emotion behind them was conveyed.”  Sawamura grinned ruefully down at his script.  A brilliant idea came to Kuroo that would allow him to sneak out of drinks with Oikawa while getting to know Sawamura better.

“Do you want to go over lines after filming?”  Sawamura looked up, surprise written on his face.

“I’m learning the stunts from Tanaka after but if you don’t mind sticking around?”  Sawamura asked, a hesitant smile on his face.  Oh no, Kuroo thought as he nodded without a second thought, he was definitely in trouble.

[valkerymillenia]

"Aquaman" (2018)

I didn't expect to get to watch this in theaters because of financial issues but I got invited to a theater with circumstances that allowed me to use my free ticket coupon so... Yay.

Bear in mind that is just my personal impression. Also- SPOILERS.

Honestly, I went in expecting nothing. Here's why.

Firstly, because I never liked classic comic book Aquaman: straight, white, upper-middle class, cliché blond male with time and resources to get a law degree, upgrades to superpowered King that is mildly useless outside of water and still manages to be one-dimensional (who's story is only interesting and validated by the characters around him and not himself), goes from mild-mannered Superman-copycat personality to the most boring played out viking/pirate-esque personality that tries to hard to be more than it is, all of this with a splash of arrogance, a truckload of tacky outfits and a touch of toxic masculinity to wrap it all up. Sorry but it's just not my jam.

Granted I haven't read the last, what, ten years of the Aquaman comics? Or watched any adaptations others than the Jason Momoa's since... 2010 or 2012, I think?

But yeah, I was never very much into classic Arthur Curry (but I can appreciate the Aquaman worldbuilding though! That part is pretty cool).

Secondly, I got my hopes up for Jason Momoa's Aquaman because even though the JL movie disappoints (as does the overall DCEU movieverse in general), Jason's new rendition of the character seemed promising and a lot more interesting, but given how only Wonder Woman impressed in the new DCEU and everything else has been somewhat disappointing as a whole, I didn't want to get my hopes up again.

However, considering that I tried not to have expectations (other than "please don't oversexualize Mera or shove her exclusively into the romantic interest role") I actually ended up being impressed by the movie!

My first and most simple impression is:

Aquaman feels like Indiana Jones and Fifth Element meet The Little Mermaid and 20,000 Leagues.

It's also a very Arthurian tale, heavily dependant on family drama.

Regarding Jason's acting, the way he chose to play the character is so much better than anything I could have asked for. He makes for a well rounded imperfectly perfect character, he's not Marty-Stu'ed like other renditions, he manages to effortlessly ooze "tough guy" vibes while still being a giant teddy bear dork. Thehe new look is pretty damn impressive even though the movie returns a bit to more recent comic redesigns rather than the new style of JL, and the way Jason acts makes Arthur feel human, exciting and with realistic emotional development.

Plus, a POC Aquaman, specially a Polynesian one since that's how the movie codes him, with strong connections both his heritages, just fits so much better than the Arian cliché, specially since the Atlanteans always displayed a lot of racism/specism in the comics (and even more outright in this movie).

Mera was shockingly not as sexualized or romanticized as I expected. Yes, she still is on both accounts to a certain degree, with her tight overly-cleavaged suit and her role as princess-promised-to-the-king (which in a fight for legacy story like this will always shove her a bit into the trophy role), BUT somehow Amber Heard manages to balance this out with the badassery of a woman who actively takes charge and though she places duty above all else, she doesn't let her role take away from her individuality or shadow her power, strength and intelligence.

So Mera actually turned out pretty incredible but I still want to see her more on equal footing with Arthur, plot-wise. Could also live without the usual mid-battle pause to talk and kiss though.

Tom and Atlanna were a pleasant surprise! Their romance sub-plot actually sets a good tone for the movie and ties everything together very well in a way that makes the story flow and connect convincingly and full-circle. It's also interesting to see how the relationship defies a lot of stereotypes and metaphors of discrimination- it is, after all, an interracial couple where the woman is the strong powerful one and the man is the gentle heart that does not at all feel his masculinity threatened by his queen wife. Very wholesome.

The chronology and editing were pretty damn good too. Again, I haven't seen editing and story flow this well in DC other than with WW.

The CGI was... Well, for DC standards it was pretty epic but still not up to par to the bar the MCU has set. However, entirely aquatic world/sets are something new and ambitious so we have to cut them some slack.

Then again, the biggest problem wasn't so much the CGI but the leaps in logic.

Sure, the movie is spent 85% under water (aka working around visual distortion, air bubbles, low visibly, pollution/blurriness, unknown landscapes, a very big variety of ecosystems between the different bodies of water depicted, etc) in a universe with fish people, crab people, underwater volcanoes, prehistoric sea monsters, wrecks and decay, millions of aquatic creatures, underwater cities of advanced tech and an alien-quality, completely new mind-blowing architecture... It's all very ambitious and you'd think some of these would be a bit much to swallow or look subpar but that's not it at all.

Yes, some of the more fantastical creatures are still less than perfect (not talking about Uncanny Abyss here but literal CGI stiffness) but that can be absolutely overlooked in favor of their creativity and how well in works with the story.

No, the real problem is some obvious flaws in well established physics, used for dramatic effect. I guess many people might not notice them but to me some were a I little more jarring than others and tended to distract from the actual story. I guess I'll post some of these moments in a separate post.

HOWEVER, the one thing I really have to point out in this movie is the wardrobe!

The females had skintight outfits or flowy pearly things, obviously meant to be sexy but the irony is they actually come off as more practical, simple, realistic and appealing! (The jellyfish dress is an exception for obvious reasons, it's supposed to be over the top). And the ladies accessorize very well too! Meanwhile, the male outfits are straight out of the comics- loudly colorful, nerdy, unnecessary, clunky, heavy and in some cases (looking at you, Orm) just plain tacky.

I mean, Arthur has an excuse- he wears pretty normal clothes unless forced to change and when he finally takes up the legacy suit there's actually a good excuse for the brightness and flourish since it's supposed to be an ancient King's ceremonial armor (taking a corpse's suit and putting it on right away is a little morbid though) and, like the female outfits, it's skintight like a wetsuit so it does have less drag and manages to be practical despite the flourish. And Black Manta has A BIT of an excuse too- he has to reshape and work with tech that is beyond his own and just tries to keep it sustainable so I can totally accept it. No other male outfits can be excused or unseen (*Edna Mode voice* capes? Underwater? Really?).

All in all, it's a good movie and I'm impressed. Now if only DC stopped trying to force dark grunginess and cheap-looking CGI (*cough*JL*cough*SS*cough*) on everything and actually took real risks and raised the bar instead of trying to be edgy, super serious and "sexy"...

Though... What does it tell DC that so far the best DCEU movies have been the ones staring and directed women and POC?

[guillotinedangel]

Can I request a LotorxReader, fluff scenario where the reader is betrothed to lotor and she genuinely loves him but he thinks she's just using him for his status until she fought beside him during a battle and he saw how beautiful and how he was actually denying himself of liking her, please ? I know this is very detailed but I'm bad at writing and I love reading your stories ❤️

Hi sweetie! So, it was really fun to write this one because I personally love a good demonstration of how badass a character is, especially if their s/o is right there to be amazed by their skills hahaha anyway, the only thing I am not entirely sure is if I got the fluffy part right, but you can leave me another anon message with your opinion of it. This said, enjoy!~Chimera.

Ship: Lotor x fem!reader.Scene: Lotor doubts his fiancée real interests until she fights alongside him.Warnings: Mature language, violent scenes.Edited and corrected by: @portrait-ninja

“You havegot to be kidding.” Pidge snapped, “There’s no way I am helpingLotor become Emperor!”

Lotorraised an eyebrow in disbelief; looking away he tried not to show howhurt he was by the human girl’s words. He had helped the paladins and killedhis own father, Zarkon, freeing the universe from his reign; accomplishinga goal that legend said could only be achieved by Voltron. But nothing hadseemed to change; everybody kept looking at him like if he was only aminiature version of his father. Speaking to him with no respect and openlymanifesting their hatred for him. And what was worse, now nobody wanted to payhim back.

Standing byhis side, you frowned and crossed your arms over your chest, pissedby your best friend’s words. Pidge couldn’t be serious, after everything thatLotor had done!

“ForGod’s sake, Pidge, your father is safe and sound thanks to him.”

“Youthink I care? I am not helping him get on the throne.”

Youlooked around for support from anybody else but no one seemed ready to offerit.

“You’re allbeing so quiznaking selfish! Lotor helped us defeat our biggest enemy! It’sthanks to him that the universe is safe, you can’t deny it!”

“Y/N”Allura said, placing her hand in your shoulder. “You are not being objectivehere. You love him, you -”

Butyou didn’t let her finish. You shook free from her grip and took afew steps back, getting closer to Lotor.

“He’semperor of the Galra Empire. At least he has a kingdom to rule,unlike you.” You said bitterly to the princess.

Everyone fellsilent and Lotor looked at you knowing you had stepped over the line.He loved you and appreciated the support but still there wassomething he didn’t quite understand. Since he had defeated his father andasked you to marry him –which had happened pretty much all at once-you had been insanely obsessed with him claiming his right over the galranthrone. Almost to the point where Lotor was starting todoubt if you really loved him for who he was rather thanwhat hehad been born into. He hated himself for even thinking that butyour actions where starting to speak for themselves.

“It’sokay, Y/N, you can’t change their minds…” he said reaching out foryou, but the look in your eyes made him stop.

“Theyare your people, Lotor. You are the only legitimate heir. The throne is yourbirthright. If you don’t claim it someone else will, and if they arehostile to Voltron,we will be right back where we started. Can’t any of you seethat?”

Everyoneexchanged a meaningful look.

“Well,”Shiro began, “She kinda has a point there, better the devil you know…”

“No!”Pidge’s cheeks turned red out of pure anger, “We are not helping him!”

“Finethen!” you shouted, “I hope you don’t treat all your allies like this becausesoon enough you won’t have any!”

Youstormed out of the room with your words hanging in the air.

//

“Y/N”

Thefamiliar voice of the prince called to you from across thehall, but you kept walking; ignoring him. You were pissed with your friends fornot seeing sense, pissed with Lotor for letting the throne slip from betweenhis fingers.

Abreeze fluttered your hair and the tall body of your half-galranhalf-altean fiancée made you stop short. You loved how he towered above you andhow strong he was. The purplish color of his skin, the yellow of hisferal eyes, the ivory of his hair… but when it came to times like this it allmade him look pretty terrifying.

“What?”you hissed.

“Youcan’t keep doing this. I appreciate the support you provide, but if that isgoing to make you lose your friends or the trust they have placed inyou... You are a bigger part of team Voltron than I am. Becoming Emperor wouldmean you becoming Empress. Would they be okay with that?”

“Youthink I care?” your eyes sparkled with anger. Just as Lotor feared, you werewilling to risk everything for the throne but was it for him or forpower? “They don’t get it, fear is clouding their judgment, but I cansee.”

“Noyou can’t!” Lotor snapped. You frowned and took a little step back, “If fear iswhat clouds their minds then the promise of power is clouding yours!”

“Excuseme?”

“Yes,I’m not stupid, Y/N, I’m 10,000 years old, do you think a youngling likeyou can fool me? You have been obsessed with me taking the throne ever since Ikilled my father, ever since I proposed you.”

“Lotorwhat the hell are you saying?”

Fearstarted crawling up your chest, replacing the anger until it vanished completelyand only sole anguish took control of your heart. Was Lotor saying that he hasdoubts about your feelings for him? Was he for quiznaking real?

“WellI’m saying that our engagement is over and that I’m leaving this place. I don’twant to be around you anymore.”

“What?”the word came out of your lips, barely a whisper. Did he just end things betweenthe two of you?

Youopened your mouth to say something else, but the words died in yourthroat as emotions whirled in your chest. Maybe Pidge was rightall this time. You shouldn’t have put your trust Lotor. Hewasn’t capable of love. Your whole relationship had been an excuse for himto accomplish what he wanted and now that he had it… he was getting rid of thedead weight. Of you.

“I’msorry,” the prince said, trying to hold back tears. He never feltmore heartbroken in his whole life, not even when his father treatedhim like trash… no. You had been his pillar, his reason to keep fighting andnow… well. Now he had seen why he had built up those huge walls around hisheart in the first place.

And so,he left.

//

Ithad been weeks since Lotor had left the castle and went only god-knows-where.Since your fight you had barely left your room. Shiro was the only one you allowedto come and go, because he had tried to stand up for Lotor during thediscussion you had on the bridge. Everybody else tried to talk to you when theyfound out, but you didn’t allow them to come in. They were just feelingguilty about your breakup, nothing more. They didn’t care and youknew that. At some point,everyone felt better with the situation theway it was now with Lotor gone. Plus, you didn’t need Pidge or Alluratelling you that they had warned you about him.

“Youfeeling any better?” Shiro asked, entering the room with a hot plate ofsomething that didn’t look like the goo you usually ate. You immediately knewthat was probably Hunk trying to make you feel better indirectly.

“No.”you mumbled, turning around in bed to face the paladin, “How could I?”

Shirofrowned and left the plate on the empty desk. He took a seat on theedge of your bed.

“Youstill love each other and I bet that’s the reason why he did it.”

“Istill love him I’m sure of that but… He seemed to mean it.”

“Y/N,please. A few weeks ago you were standing up for him on the bridgeand he was trying to calm you down. Look, I may be inexperienced inthis field, but I’m not blind.”

“Well…”you took a deep breath “Now he’s gone so… There’s nothing leftfor me to do.”

“Maybethere is.” Shiro started playing with his fingers, nervous.

“Whatis it, Shirogane? Spit it out.”

Shiro fell silentfor a moment.

“Um,maybe you and I can take the Black Lion and go help him.”

“Withwhat? We don’t even know where he is…”

Shiroscratched his nape and you stood up in bed.

“Shiro.” Yousaid warningly.

“Okay,okay. He’s gone to claim the throne. The Galra are holdinga celebration ceremony and…”

“Andwe are still here!?” you snapped, jumping out of bed and running to yourwardrobe to get your armor, “Move your ass, Shirogane! They’re gonna cut himto pieces if he shows up alone and with no backup!”

//

Asthe Black Lion appeared in the sky all the Galra reunited for theKral Zera ceremony taking place turned around surprised, Lotor included,who had just arrived. His first thought was that the paladins haddecided to break their word and not let him take the throne. What hedidn’t expect was seeing you climb out of the lion, walking like youowned the place, with the black paladin at your back and in your full royalGarla armor.

Hehad given it to you saying “His Empress should have an armor worthyof her” and, even though you didn’t tower over the glara, Lotor could feelhow everyone exchanged concerned glances, While you were askilled warrior and an ally of Voltron everyone knew that messingwith you did not only guarantee your wrath, but Lotor’s as well.

“Whatare you doing here?” he asked, approaching you with a smile on his face. He hadto admit he had been feeling lost and lonely all these weeks,without your touch and that look in your eyes. He had been feelingempty without your smile and the scent of your hair.

“I’mtrying to save your ass, my prince.” you said, raising an eyebrow lecturinghim, “You are really brave coming here alone, but I thought you could use somehelp. Prince Lotor has the protection of Voltron” you continued, raising yourvoice so everybody could hear you, “if any of you dares to challenge him, theywill have to fight me as well and, if you come up victorious, the paladins willtake revenge. So, that said, does anyone want to stepforward? Does anybody want to lose their life to sit on a throne thatdoesn’t belong to them?”

As yourgaze roamed over the crowd, you were able to see Lotor’s former generals. Theirmurderous gazes where settled on you, but they didn’t dare say a word and evenless, confront any of you.

“Youheard my beloved princess, does anyone wish to challenge us?”

“Your beloved princess,as you call her, is not even galran, and neither are you.” A voice spoke fromthe crowd. The voice was revealed to belong to CommanderSendak, speaking with a repulsed look on his face, “So, as you are notworthy, I challenge you, but only you. I am not fighting that human scum.”

“Youscared?” you asked defiant, taking a step forward, but Lotor grabbed your armbefore you could say something else.

“IfI win, she will be the Galra’s future Empress therefore, I demand you takeback what you just said about her.”

Sendaklaughed and the weapon that replaced his lost arm, shone in a bright purplelight.

“Well,as you desire, prince. Your little bitch will die with you today.”

Ashe said that, his cybernetic arm was shooting right towards you, butLotor stopped it with his sword before it could reach you. Jumping towardsSendak he started a very heated fight between the two of them.

“Y/N!”Shiro called out to you. As you turned around, he threw his bayard at you,which, for some reason immediately shaped into a sword, “Use it well, and bringit back to me!”

Younodded and turned your face back to the fight, just in time to see Sendak throw apunch at Lotor, grazing less than an inch away from his face. Clenchingyour teeth with rage and remembering Sendak breaking into the castle andalmost killing all of you, you ran directly to him, tackling theGalra commander. He was at least two feet taller than you and you hit haddestabilized him, before he could regain his footing you swung your sword athim.

Theattack caught him by surprise and he was not able to get away in time. The edgeof the bayard scratched his face and down his armor, leaving an open andbleeding wound on one of his cheeks.

Lotorlooked at you wide eyed and the Garla watching the scene held theirbreath at the sight.

Didyou, a weak and tiny earthling, just managed to hurt one oftheir best commanders?

“Whowere you calling human scum, kitten?” you mocked him.

Sendakwiped the blood off his face and let out a warning growl. He had beenhumiliated by that quiznaking human bitch.

“Iam going to make myself new armor from your bones!” he screamed,charging back at you but, being smaller and lighter than him, it was easy foryou to use his huge body to avoid his attack successfully.

“You’re reallygonna need more than my bones for that.” You said playfully, swinging your sword,“I’m tiny compared to you.”

Withrage pounding through his veins, Sendak threw his hand at you, but Lotor got inthe way as he did before and repelled the attack.

“IfI were you,” he said panting, “I’d keep my mouth shut.”

“Oh,baby” Sendak moved again and you rolled down to one side as Lotor jumped to theother, avoiding being caught in the hole your foe just created in the groundwere you had stood, “You’re taking all the fun away!”

Yousmiled at each other and started attacking Sendak from different sides, drivinghim mad. You two were playing with him, in front of the Galra Empire.Even if he did manage to kill you in the end, the stories of this fightwouldn’t go away any time soon, and he was already starting to feel tired.He needed to put an end to this, now.

Avoidinganother of Lotor’s attacks, Sendak turned around to face you, and a wide smileappeared in his face, allowing you to see his fangs. All he had to do was takea good shot at you. Kill the prince’s lover. It would drive him mad, he wouldcommit a mistake and the throne was his. It was so simple.

“Tolove is to die, prince!” He said before charging towards you.

Thiswasn’t like the other times. He was starting to get a grip on your moves.He managed to graze you a few times, even though Lotor was trying tokeep him away from you, failing amazingly, to be honest. Sendak seemed reallyfocused on you and, as his attacks grew stronger and faster yourbody started to feel theeffects of the battle.

Eachhit from his metal arm was like agony. He had been trained all his lifefor this, but you? Hell, you only had a few classes with the paladins and someintensetraining with Lotor that usually ended romantically. You werein a good shape of course, and you were and amazing warrior but that wasn’tenough to face an eight-foot tall built and crazy purple alien with adeadly mechanical arm. Not to mention he probably had hundredsof years of intense military and combat training.

Soeventually your tired muscles made you flinch, and Sendak gotyou, slashing his claws all across your face.

Youscreamed in pain and you started taking steps back, blinded by the blood thatwas bathing your face. Trying to get away from Sendak you reached the Kral Zerastairs and tripped, falling backwards and dropping the bayard from your hands.You were exposed, and experiencing terrible agony. You weren’t sureif your foe’s claws did get your eyes because the pain was so excruciatingthat it went all throughout your head and down your neck.The only thing that you could actually hear was Shiro shouting yourname across the square and then Lotor, screaming before hearing the clashing ofmetal against metal again.

Aftera while you were able to open your eyes. You seemed to see just fine, eventhough the blood kept getting in your eyes, tinting everything red.The painwouldn’t go away, but you had to help Lotor. You knew he wasusually calm while fighting and that was what made him win. With all that rageinside he would only get himself hurt.

“Fuckingrabid pussycat.”

Bathedin your own blood and feeling the dizziness that usually came with excessiveblood loss, you reached for the black bayard and, taking a deep breath chargedSendak.

Theblade pierced right through his lower back and exiting through his lowerabdomen, making the commander growl in pain. As he turned around hehit you hard enough to send you flying back to the stairs, losing yourbreath when your ribs made contact with the cold and hard ground.

Realizingwhat had just happened all of the Galra fell silent and Lotor took afew steps back, wanting to get to you but, at the same time, not being sure ofSendak’s defeat. Did you just kill the commander? By yourself?

Theanswer came as Sendak fell to his knees panting in pain and, immediatelyafter he fell on his face. Dead.

“He isdead.”

“Thehuman girl has killed Sendak.”

“She did it.”

Seeing that hisfoe was defeated, Lotor dropped his sword and ran to you.

You let outa moan of pain as he cradled you in his arms. Even through all the agony youmanaged to smile at him.

“We didit” you mumbled.

“You did it,which was just incredible.”

Youchuckled, but the pain tore through you again, making you close youreyes tightly.

“It’sokay,” Lotor said, “don’t talk now. I… want to apologize. I was feeling soinsecure; I should have never said those awful things, my love. Now Isee, you are willing to do anything for me as I would for you. Willyou be able to forgive me?”

“Ilove you, Lotor, that’s the only thing that matters.” You took a breath torecover your strength, “I have to apologize too. I was being so stupid aboutthe Emperor thing… acting like a brat with my friends.”

“Shh now,you were right about everything.” The prince stroked your hair,stained with blood. He wanted to cry, seeing you so hurt because ofhim, with Sendak’s claws marks across your face leaving you branded forever.

“Lightthat flame. Go claim your throne” you said under your breath, grabbing Lotor’snape to bring him down to you to kiss him.

“Ourthrone.” He corrected you, as you two broke apart.

“Vrepitsa, my Emperor.”

“Vrepitsa, my Empress.”

 -Chimera.

[sunnysynthsunshine]

San-Soho (The Young Ones/Black Mirror)

note: even though there are meta-references to the actors playing these characters (Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson) the characters are still the same, even if they have similar appearances as their actors outside of the “san soho” realm.

Some dialogue I have added in myself, but the rest of the fanfic’s format was based on the original script of the Black Mirror episode San Junipero written by Charlie Brooker and directed by Owen Harris) they own the concept,and (The Young Ones was written by Ben Elton,Rik Mayall and Lise Mayer, Directed by Paul Jackson,Geoff Posner and Ed Bye, with the characters belonging to the actors who played them).

Britain's equivalent to San Junipero is San Soho

(when Rick Pratt wanders San Soho he meets a punk called Vyvyan as their lives change forever)

(this is also mainly told from Rick's perspective)

Chapter 1

The year was 1985

Walking along the sidewalk of neon sparkling Soho was the sarcastic but socially timid Rick Pratt,

A young man in his early 20s he was dressed quite plainly

He experienced 1985 before this was one of those many times

He decided to visit the local nightclub

He had a loose grey shirt, black badge covered blazer and red boots on, not usual nightclub attire but he wasn't really a party person so he focused on Pac-man which he was not good at

when suddenly he saw a beautiful orange-haired man in a trihawk dancing on the dance floor to The Clash.

Rick tried to ignore the punk but he noticed him

“Oi!”

He tried to run off but the punk kept gesturing to him moving his head in his direction when he wasn't moshing

“Wanna join”

“Pardon?” Rick said unable to sense the gesture due to the loud atmosphere

“Right” the punk mumbled before he ran over to Rick and dragged him to the dance floor to join him

“You're going to enjoy this” the punk shouted before Rick started to mosh

Swaying his body in an animated fashion like that of a vintage cartoon character

The crowd was crashing like a wave except covered in spike studs and band logos

Rick felt like a stammering Ian Curtis as he clambered making sure he didn't hit anyone

He ended up clambering with that punk from earlier.

Part of Rick wanted to enjoy this cool “rebellious” activity but the other felt like he was ruining the event simply by being there.

He felt uneasy he didn't want anyone thinking anything weird was going on.

Rick was unsure about the concept of moshing but tried to continue anyway.

Chapter 2

When the song was over he left the dance floor he felt a bit embarrassed he could feel his nerves acting up so he just sipped his lemonade and walked out the fire escape door.

The punk from before caught up with him “Why are you running away?” he asked

Rick  made an awkward smile “Sorry I’m not into *moshing*”

The Punk answered back “No shit you were like the world’s most stiff giraffe back there”

Rick was going to walk off only for the punk to say “I was taking the piss...obviously”

“I’m Vyvyan, sorry for forcing you to mosh with me, I only get to do these on Saturday nights

Rick sat on a low wall

“It wasn't that Everyone was looking at us crash into each other”

Vyvyan tilted his head “Why would they care?”

Rick made a couple miming gestures with his hands

“You know? two blokes grinding into each other like cheese graters”

Vyvyan lit a cigarette and smoked it

“Okay: one, there’s not as many uptight tory folks here as there used to be, and two,

This is a punk part of town nobody’s judging here”

“You want one?” he offered as he leaned over holding his lighter to where Rick was sitting

Rick nodded as he also took a cigarette

Vyvyan spoke again “if they were staring it’s because they were intimidated by me sod em”

Rick chuckled “your such a stupid fascist you know that?”

Vyvyan smirked proudly “Thank you”

Rick looked at the sky “I’ve never moshed before”

Vyvyan stared at him surprised “Never, as in you’ve never gotten a gang of mates to just destroy the dance floor to Iron Maiden?”

Rick shook his head “Never I’d usually listen to punk rock music alone

Living in a right-wing house that was frowned upon, tattoos, androgyny the whole lot

Vyvyan was shocked “What are you a hermit? that’s one drab existence you’ve got there”

Rick shrugged

“They vote the pigs, the officers attack people like rabid dogs I want to be a revolutionary Anarchist poet but I can’t do much else they worship thatch like she’s God outside of literature I’m politically pathetic”

Rick looked down when Vyvyan sat next to him

“Yeah, Well. No one knows about half the shit I’ve done, like Riding a motorbike up someone's staircase”

“With your folks, they come from a different place on the political spectrum tories will always be nasty in my eyes”

“Yep I agree with you there, it doesn't help to have no mates, they simply don’t understand concepts like shyness, trust issues or anxiety

I get panic attacks sometimes around crowds and what they say is just deal with it.

“from past social experiences I’ve had to repress many things depressive episodes, nerves and flashbacks just because I don’t want to bother others or bring the mood down”

“I always feel weird when put into lively situations but that’s because I haven’t gotten the chance to fully express myself in that way”

Rick kicked his legs against a wall when Vyvyan looked at him

“What would you like to do that you’ve never done before?”

Rick smiled “Oh so many things I’d like to go to concerts, I’d like to perform for people, I’d like to, I’d’ like to

Vyvyan put his finger on Rick’s lips “Soho is the party hub of London might as well nick all the time we have left while we still can”

They went to fortune tellers, they went to thrift shops, they bought some “magazines” and they checked out the local comic strip club seeing the likes of French and Saunders, Alexi Sayle and Peter Richardson and Nigel Planer onstage telling jokes.

Rick and Vyvyan then ran off to a pub where they got completely sloshed usually Rick would be able to hold his lager but when “Come On Eileen” was playing on the radio Vyvyan had thrown him into his arms as they danced until after a few more minutes Rick was getting tired and Vyvyan was getting bored “Boring bastard” he mumbled angrily as he grabbed Rick’s sleepy face shoving his head into the cake that was in front of him.

Rick cheerfully said, “Hey Vyv this is like Laurel and Hardy or do you prefer Chaplin?”

This ramble of questions cascaded into Vyvyan yelling “Shut Up!” in Rick’s face

Rick was suddenly silent he was probably asleep but then Vyv remembered what he said about mental health before as he quietly carried Rick over his shoulder driving him back to his place in his yellow Ford Anglia.

At Vyvyan’s house, he let Rick relax on his sofa covered in his universal monster themed blanket

He was about to mumble “I’m sorry” when Rick suddenly awoke to scoff “You bloody fascist” pointing his finger at Vyvyan aggressively before he threw a tantrum “You got your hands over me  How dare you! And to think you thought you’d get a snog from me”

Vyvyan was annoyed but not annoyed enough to get violent so he chased Rick around the room

There was a short intermission from the fight when Vyvyan accidentally turned on his record player making the Cliff Richard hit “Living Doll” play which made Rick pause going into a dream-like trance badly singing out of tune

it was not long until they were both yelling “Virgin” at each other while pillow fighting.

However, because of the fun “fight” as they were no longer angry they were laughing

When Rick’s pigtails were undone Rick then pulled at Vyvyan’s hair leaving orange hair dye stains on Rick’s shirt

What started off as a chase around the house, dancing and pillow fighting resulted in Vyvyan trying to playfully choke Rick only for him to aggressively hug Vyvyan in return

After the snog and shag was over

Rick innocently licked his lips “I’ve never done anything like that before”

Vyvyan smirked “All the more reason” as he unlocked the handcuffs from his bed

Rick hesitated “you're a lovely bloke. I can’t”

Vyvyan shrugged “Alright then”

Rick stumbled over his words “you see -I?”

Vyvyan nodded “I understand”

Rick looked at the time and scrambled to get his clothes on before he was about to dash outside “I have to go”

Vyvyan stared “in this crap weather?”

Rick shouted back “It’s been great to meet you”

Chapter 3

He shook Vyvyan’s hand before he left

Later in the early morning, Rick was looking around his wardrobe for different outfits

He tried a green suit but it didn't work, he tried a basic shirt with a tie and jeans that didn't work, he even tried a blue and red anorak but that didn't work so he just had to settle with his pair of yellow dungarees.

A few days later at the same club, they met at Vyvyan tried to talk to Rick but he was talking to someone was that Peter Richardson’s son he was with?

He wandered into the restrooms that Rick had went off to he surprisingly still had his pigtails in

They said nothing

Rick looked in the mirror his hands on his cheeks unhappy a fake smile projected on his face amongst the red lip balm smudged under his lips

“I don’t know how to do this”

Vyvyan was confused “do what?”

Rick whined “Just help me can’t you just”

He settled “It’s like talking to a bloody hologram”

Vyvyan looked down and then back at Rick’s upset face he smiled

“You want to get in my car?”

Vyvyan raced his Ford Anglia down the highway the street looking like it was a 1980s music video

Rick asked, “How long have you been here?”

Vyvyan answered, “In Soho?”

Rick nodded

Vyvyan thought for a while

“ a couple months but the main thing is I’m planning to enjoy myself before I finally pop my clogs...guess I’m a lurking wanker like you”

Rick chuckled “Yeah”

Chapter Management

Edit Chapter

Chapter 4

Vyv’s car suddenly ended up in the upcoming lane luckily they prevented danger as the car skidded to a halt

“SHIT!” Rick yelled

Vyvyan started erupting into laughter his gravelly nasally voice being more loud than the traffic

“Your face”

They then went back round to Vyvyan’s place to have another shag even though outside of the dream system version of Soho Rick and Vyvyan were virgins

They then chatted about their past loves Rick apparently once had a big crush on a Scottish makeup artist and they remembered about when they watched the comic strip days before that Vyvyan and Jennifer Saunders were making subtle body language to each other.

Rick then remembered not only were they in the simulated afterlife of Soho but they were fictional characters with vague memories of the meta actors who played them in real life

He looked at the clock and then remembered something dark,something secret something Vyvyan should never know.

“I’m just going to party and nothing is going to stop me not Tories and definitely not that facist God”

Rick then walked off in a huff

Vyvyan continued to enjoy life in Soho without Rick but that was hard

A few days later and Soho looks like it’s in the 2000s

Vyvyan walked into the night club while Feel Good Inc by the Gorillaz played in the background

Vyvyan could see Rick with his hair down in more “Emo” attire playing dance dance revolution only for him to stop when he noticed Vyvyan.

Vyvyan started hounding Rick with questions in the restroom

“Wait a minute I’ve been looking for you why did you piss off like that?”

Rick was irritated “Why are you here?”

Vyvyan shouted “Why did you hide from me?”

Rick ran off some people could notice when Vyvyan saw that Rick was on the roof of the nightclub

Vyvyan ran up to where Rick was “Please tell me your pain slider is turned down”

Rick moved his eyebrows “Maybe,Maybe not”

Before he walked away “I’m not going to jump”

Vyvyan sighed looking down and then back at Rick “Look I’m sorry alright,I’m a lurker too I-I

Rick felt solemn “I don’t know how long there is,I wasn't prepared for this I wanted to…”

Vyvyan shut him up with a kiss

They had another passionate night in Vyvyan’s place but then the unpleasant question was mentioned again

Rick exhaled “I have 3 months”

Vyvyan whined “Why? I’ll have nobody to play fight with at the pub every night nobody to have slapstick arguements with it’s not going to be the same”

Rick explained “my real life self, he was married he had kids,he had a happy life he entertained many but then he took a tumble on a quadbike and lost part of his spark eventually that caught up with him and he’s in the afterlife now I’m still around because I’m a fictional entity he created but like with imaginary friends I’m fading the more I’m forgotten I don’t want the same fate"

Vyvyan started to sob “Don’t leave me this way”

Rick smiled at him “I’m dying the people’s poet is dying nothing but that scares me”

Vyvyan whimpered “I want to visit you,let me say hi”

Rick again walked off the time changed from 11:59 to 12:00

Later a more grown up Vyvyan arrived at a hospital 

he now had glasses and was balding looking like an old man he was taken to a private room where Rick was quietly resting he was a lot more older than before he looked like he was in his 40s or 50s.

he looked at Rick for a moment

“It’s time for you to pass over and me soon probably”

He shrugged,

Vyvyan then took out a ring and put it onto Rick’s frail finger

As he was given the device to transport him and Rick back to Soho

After a few days, he did the same 

It was a sunny day in early March when in Soho Vyvyan parked his car near the seaside as he ran over to rick who was folding his hands happily,

“Miss me?”

Vyvyan  was lost for words “Of course I bloody missed you Happy Birthday” he shouted as he aggressively hugged Rick in an embrace as they ran along the seaside chasing each other like old times.

The End~

(dedicated to the late great pan global phenomenon,Lord of Misrule and Peoples Poet) Rik Mayall (1958-2014) (The Future is as bright as you make it, Love is the answer~!)

[bitsandbobsandstuff]

Pool balls and underpants

Summary: Bucky offers to teach you how to play pool, but he ends up in a slightly awkward predicament. Characters: Bucky x Reader Warnings: Language, lots of innuendos, Bucky being little shit Story prompt: “I made the mistake of thinking ‘This can’t get weirder.’ Sorry.”

A/N: First time I’ve done a writing challenge of any kind, thanks @jurassicbarnes​ for letting me take this one!  I haven’t written anything fluffy in awhile, this felt necessary, and it may require a smutty style follow-up. Also, while I may be a complete shit talker IRL, I am terrible at pool and don’t know what I’m doing, so hopefully this makes sense. And I really need to find someone to edit my wordy ass... A/N 2: Oh look, I wrote a sequel. Another kinky wager.

MASTERLIST

It was a little known fact – you adored dive bars. Everything smells musty? Great. All the tables feel sticky? Perfect. The decor resembles a 1970’s porn set? Bitchin.

It was a complete contradiction to your work persona. Your name was uttered in hushed, reverent tones in the halls of the Avengers compound, commonly followed by the phrase ‘that woman gets shit done.’ Frankly, you worked your ass off to get to this point, so the satisfaction of being known as the one who was always cool, always calm, always poised – it was a heady feeling.

It’s because of your rigid work environment that you gravitated toward the local bar. It was one place you could let your guard down, unwind and relax. Distancing your professional and personal life was a necessary ingredient in your sanity, a dichotomy you actively encouraged.

And then one day out of nowhere, Bucky Barnes swaggered into your life.

That rule-book you had? He lit it on fire. Remember when you could control the room and everything around you? Yep, that’s long gone. He crashed into your world with an arrogant little smile and those wickedly blue eyes, a delicious temptation you tried (and spectacularly failed) to ignore.

Concentrating at work became a struggle.

Meeting his gaze without a slight panic was impossible.

His flirty little innuendos flustered you every single time.

It was so fucking annoying.

Unfortunately for you, Bucky was well aware of the effect he had, and he loved it. So your interaction strategy evolved – if you were going anywhere near the man, it had to be on your own terms, because there’s a very real possibility you may jump him at the first opportunity.

Long story short – that’s how Bucky Barnes ended up at your favourite bar. 

*****

There’s a rusty whine at the front door, and a tall man steps over the threshold, back-lit by a flood of sunshine. He hesitates upon seeing the drab surroundings, but when he finds you at the bar, a crooked smile pulls up his lips.

"Thought I had the wrong place. Not the scene I expected.” 

Bucky slides his considerable bulk onto the seat across from you, long legs automatically spreading around you. The logical part of your brain chastises you for subtly leaning in to smell his cologne.

The other part of your brain tells logic to fuck off.

Taking a long pull from your beer instead, you give him a shrug. “What can I say, I’m a woman of contrasts.” 

Bucky’s gaze rakes slowly over you, taking in the demure black skirt and jacket, settling on the black heels tapping nervously against the bar rail. He bites his bottom lip between his teeth, lips curling in a devilish little grin.

"Clearly.”

Reaching over the counter to grab a fresh bottle, you dangle it in front of him with a brave smile. “First round’s my treat.”

He nods his thanks, eyes never leaving you. Clinking his bottle lightly against yours, you hear him murmur under his breath.

“Hope that’s not my only treat today.” 

Ugh the man is frustrating. You see the amusement in his eyes as he watches you scrambling for that smooth, poised exterior he’s heard so much about. Racking your brain for a subject change, you remember one of your favourite topics, the request tumbling quickly from nervous lips.

“So, um, any embarrassing stories about Steve you want to share?”

He throws his head back with a booming laugh, visibly softening at the request, and you breathe a sigh of relief. Soon enough, you’re giggling as he brings the colourful stories to life, and right there, when you catch a glimpse behind his cocky exterior, you realise something.

Bucky Barnes is intensely sweet. And charming.

That’s just fucking excellent. As if you needed another reason to want the man.

He talks for quite awhile, and at the end of one ridiculous tale involving Steve losing his shoes in a game of pool and Bucky spending the evening trying to win them back, he pauses for a long drink. Picking at the label on your beer bottle, you pluck up the courage for your next move, and voice a thought.

“I always wanted to learn how to play pool.”

There’s a clatter behind the bar when Mel, your favourite barman, knocks over a row of glasses. Turning toward the sound, you see him straightening the glassware, a bemused expression on his face.

Tipping his head back, Bucky drains his beer, and you find yourself mesmerised by a drop hanging precariously on his bottom lip. The dark scruff covering his neck bobs as the alcohol slides down his throat, and when he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, he gives you a wink.

“Well, I've been told I'm an excellent teacher. How about a lesson? Just you and me?” 

Maybe it’s the slight buzz from your drink, but you’re feeling a little bold, so you squeeze his knee and wink back. “Let’s see what you got.”

Delighted by your response, Bucky leaps eagerly from the stool, hand resting lightly on your lower back as he guides you to the pool table in the far corner, and his obvious enthusiasm makes your heart flutter.

Plucking two pool sticks from the rack, he hands you one, gently laying the other on the soft green felt of the table. “We’ll just cover the basics for now. Might need a few more private lessons to work out all your…kinks.” He raises his eyebrows at you suggestively, and you can’t help but roll your eyes.

“Okay hotshot, let’s just see your skills before we discuss my kinks.”

Inclining his head with a grin, he begins.

“First thing to know, if your stance is shit, the rest of your game will suck. It’s all about staying loose. Getting in the right position. So, spread your legs for me, put your left foot forward, and relax your knees.”

The way his voice drops with the words ‘spread your legs for me’ is enough to make your breath hitch, as your mind spirals off in several filthy directions. Following his instructions, you spread your legs slightly, setting your left foot forward, and Bucky watches closely, eyes roaming over you.

“Hmm, not quite. Here, let me.” Placing his hands lightly on your rib-cage, he strokes his fingers up and down, before resting them firmly on your hips. You can feel the temperature difference between his hands through the light fabric of your skirt, flesh hand burning hot, metal hand ice cold from holding the beer. He gives a low chuckle when he feels you shiver. "Relax sweetheart, I’m not getting fresh. Just being helpful.”

“Right,” you shoot back dryly, eyeing him over your shoulder, catching sight of his dark grin. 

His hands twist your hips, and his knee nudges your leg forward, but of course he doesn’t stop there. Tickling your waist, trailing up your back, he finally wraps his fingers over your shoulders and presses his thumbs into your shoulder-blades. He pulls gently, adjusting your posture.

“Don’t hunch over, keep your shoulders back.” His thumbs stay in place, massaging delicate circles, and you catch yourself leaning into the touch, before coming to your senses and elbowing him back.

The man is making you overheat.

"Hang on, I’m just – just wait a sec." Turning to thrust the stick in his hands, your fingers fumble with your jacket before you finally open the button and shrug out of the long sleeves. 

Bucky’s eyes gleam as he watches you throw the jacket over a chair, before snatching the stick back. The white tank top you wore had straps lined in lace, and a plunging neckline showing more than a shadow of cleavage. He doesn’t even bother to hide his hum of happy approval at the wardrobe change, before continuing his lesson. 

“Next thing is make sure your stick grip is right. You hold it too tight, it’ll go too fast. Keep it too loose, and you won’t have control.” Again, he finds the right word to send a tremor down your spine, his rich baritone drawing out the word tight, and you grit your teeth.

“Question. Are you trying to make everything sound X-rated, or is this just your teaching style?” The comment comes out as a hiss, and he barks a laugh. 

“Drop the sass and just give it a try.”

Huffing loudly, you clutch the stick tightly and search for the right finger placement, when you feel him step behind you.

“Mmm, no, that’s not right. Let me help.” His body feels like a furnace when he circles his long arms around your body, running his palms gently down your arms and caging you between his body and the pool table.

“I’ll hold the stick. Put your hands on mine, feel how I move.” His voice murmurs low in your ear, breath warm against your skin, and did you just feel him lick your neck?

“Jesus Christ,” you mumble, heart rate flying out of control. His chest is pressed against your back, and you feel the vibration when he tries to choke back his laughter.

When you release the pool stick, he takes immediate control. He leans down, bending you forward, his hips grinding yours into the table. When he bridges his metal fingers on the table, you’re struck by the contrast between the shining silver and the bright green, before you feel him drag his right hand down the back of the stick.

Well fine. If this is how he wants to play, you’re on board.

Mirroring his movements, you give the stick several slow strokes, before wrapping your fingers around his. Pushing into him, you hear his quiet grunt when your ass rubs against his crotch. Snaking your left hand under his, you rest the back of your fingers against his metal palm. 

“What do we do now?” You whisper the words, letting them hang between you, the scents of alcohol and spearmint gum flavouring the air, while Bucky’s thick thighs are flush against yours.

Hearing your soft voice so close forces him to step back, hastily adjusting the rising situation in the front of his jeans. He utters a faint groan at the feel of his own hand, making him stutter when he tries to move on to the next part of his lesson.

“Good, okay. Good. Good. So, um, the third thing to focus on, is your stroke.”

You nearly drop the pool stick. “You have got to be kidding me.”

He tilts his head and grins down at you, gratified to see you’re equally worked up from his little demonstration. “Why do you seem to think everything I say is filthy? What does that say about you anyway?”

He is such a little shit.

“Just finish the lesson asshole,” you mutter under your breath, but of course he hears anyway, his laughter echoing around the bar.

“The way you stroke the stick is important, it has to be smooth. Pull back slowly, use your entire hand, and always give a few practice strokes before you hit the balls.”

“For fuck’s sake Barnes, come on.”

Bucky rubs his hand along his jaw with a sheepish expression. “Okay okay, that was too much. Sorry.”

Shooing him away, you pick up his pool stick and shove it into his hands. “Let’s just play, I’ll figure it out.” 

After a couple practice games, you find the usual reserve you have around him has disappeared. Your desire to talk shit has also escalated, and Bucky is wildly entertained by your newfound confidence.

After one particularly lousy shot, you drop the stick on the table, turning to him with a sniff.

"Alright, I’m good. So, $20 bucks says I can take you.”

Bucky chuckles as he shakes his head. “No. I’m not comfortable stealing a lady’s money. Sorry to break your heart, but that’s what’ll happen.”

“Are you scared I’ll kick your ass? I didn’t realise what a little bitch you were.”

He holds his hands up in defeat, a huge smile breaking across his face. “And I didn’t realise what a little hot head you were. Fine, let’s do this, but let’s make it interesting. I refuse to take your money, so find something else.”

“Fine, no money, I hate to rob a pretty boy like you anyway.” He rolls his eyes at your statement, and you pause, sizing him up. "How about this. You win – I let you pick an outfit, any outfit, and I’ll wear it to work tomorrow. If I win – you let me do the same.”

Bucky sucks in a breath, contemplating your proposition, and you can see his mind tripping over the all the dirty possibilities.

“You’re on. There’s a sexy little French maid outfit I saw in a costume shop down the street, and I’d really enjoy seeing that on you.

You smirk, extending your hand to seal the deal, and he grips your fingers enthusiastically.

In a gesture of gallantry, Bucky racks the balls for you, and offers to let you break. Skipping to the head of the table, you give him a confident wave. 

“I’m gonna completely spin the tables on you, just watch.”

“Well the phrase would be ‘run the table,’ but it’s cute when you say things like that.”

You set the white cue ball in position, and lean into your stance, fingers wrapping naturally around the stick. Lining up the first shot, your eyes flick up to see Bucky at the end of the table, watching with an amused smile. His posture’s relaxed, and you know he genuinely believes he’s indulging you.

You almost feel bad. Almost. 

There’s a sharp crack when you snap the stick forward, scattering the balls and grinning when the striped 12 ball drops in the side pocket.

He’s surprised, briefly caught off guard, and you bite your tongue to hold back your laugh.

“That’s – that’s not bad. Lucky, but yeah good.”

You’re all innocence when you look up, feigning a look of happy confusion. “Thanks sweetheart. I can go again, right?”

Bucky shakes his head at the nickname. “Yes, still your turn. No more slop though, you gotta call every shot.”

Turning back to the table you spy an easy shot, so you saunter toward him, poking him with your stick to move away. Bridging your hand on the table, you indicate the shot you want.

“The 11, side pocket.”

Drawing the stick back slowly, your firm hit sends the ball banking off the side, knocking in your target.

Glancing down the table, you find another shot. “Thirteen, corner pocket.” The cue ball rolls down the side rail, gently tapping in the 13 ball and bouncing back. You feel a little thrill when you see one of your best shots open in the middle of the table.

You glance up at Bucky, who’s looking rather perplexed. The next shot will completely expose this little charade, but you can’t help yourself.

Turning the stick slightly, you take aim and incline your head toward the shot.

“Double shot, the nine ball in the corner, and the 14 in the side pocket.”

The cue ball flies forward, hitting one of Bucky’s before it knocks in the nine, and spirals off to hit the 14, sinking it in the side pocket. Rising slowly from the table, you quirk an eyebrow at him. His eyes are narrowed as he stares back with intense suspicion, realisation sinking in.

Clearing your throat, you point toward the other end of the table. “The 15 in the corner.”

There’s a small cluster of solid balls in front of you, and with careful aim, the white ball curves gracefully around the cluster, right then back left, before it hits in the 15.

Bucky stands with his arms crossed now, jaw clenched tight. You never noticed before, but when he’s irritated, he gets a small tick in his cheek. It’s cute.

Cocking your head, you give him a wide-eyed look. “Something wrong?”

He stays silent. Hmm. The tick is getting stronger.

“Last stripe, the 10, side pocket.” It was almost too simple, a quick hit and the ball drops in.

The only thing left is the black eight ball, and it takes every ounce of self-control not to burst into laughter at the look on Bucky’s face right now.

“Winning shot, corner pocket.” And in it goes.

Standing up straight, you give your neck a little twist, sighing happily when you hear the joints crack.

Bucky is vigorously shaking his head at you. “No. Fucking hell, fuck this.”

Holding up a finger, you give him a stern look. “Language, Barnes.”

“No way. How the fuck?! You fucking hustled me. This doesn’t count. This absolutely doesn’t count.” He sounds so panicked, and looks so incredulous, it’s comical. 

You scrunch up your nose and give him a sweet smile. “It’s cute when you say things like that.”

His jaw drops at your words. Setting your pool cue in the rack, you dust the chalk off your hands and pick up your purse. Walking up to him, you tap a finger under his chin and gently close his mouth. “Sorry sweetheart, maybe next time, huh?”

Stretching onto your tiptoes, you press a kiss on his cheek, and twist a lock of his dark hair around your finger. “But I did thoroughly enjoy our lesson. Really, Bucky. I mean seriously enjoyed it."

There’s a flash of desire in his eyes at your words, at the feel of your fingers tugging at his hair, and frankly at the way you just completely schooled him. It pisses him off to say it, but that was fucking hot.

“Hate to leave your manhood hanging by a thread, but I’ve got stuff to do. See you tomorrow.”

Reluctantly letting go of his hair, you give his cheek a gentle slap. Confidence soaring, you pop your sunglasses on and stride out of the bar, fluttering your fingers in a nonchalant goodbye.

Fuck yes. You’re back and damn it feels good.

“I’ll text you the details, but don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll look fetching!”

Bucky stands rooted to the spot, completely baffled at the turn of events. Hearing footsteps behind him, he turns and looks disbelievingly at Mel, who had wandered over to give Bucky a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry son. Thought about warning you, but – that was too damn funny.”

*****

The compound is quiet when you arrive for work the next morning. Hours tick along while you luxuriate in the uninterrupted coffee access, before the team trail into the kitchen, a familiar morning routine coming to life while you hammer out emails on your phone. There’s a heavy groan and Steve collapses beside you.

“Morning.” He hands you a fresh cup of coffee, unsuccessfully stifling his yawn. “How’d you and Buck get on yesterday? Have a good time?”

Fingers hovering over the keys, your lips twitch. “It was great, we had a few drinks, talked for awhile. Bucky showed me a few tricks around the pool table.”

At this statement, Steve lowers his coffee cup and sighs. “Come on, you didn’t do it again.”

“Didn’t do what? What exactly are you accusing me of Rogers?”

“I think we know exactly what I’m accusing you of.”

Looking up from your phone, you shrug. “Don’t worry, Bucky can take care of himself. It was a risky move, but that’s his business. Know what I’m saying?”

“No, I have no idea what you’re saying, but I’ll just assume you’ve found some way to embarrass the hell out of him.” Steve shakes his head in mock dismay, but the look of glee on his face is clearly at odds with his pathetic attempt at sympathy.

In that moment, your ears perk to hear Bucky mumbling and shuffling in the hallway, and you turn to call over your shoulder.

“Morning Bucky! I know you’re out there, get in the kitchen!”

He’s more vocal now, a constant stream of expletives reaching your ears.

“Bucky Barnes! Slide your ass out here now!” At your words, the team all drop what they’re doing and look up expectantly.

Still cursing, Bucky stomps into the kitchen. He’s dressed in white athletic socks, an unbuttoned dress shirt, and a form fitting pair of white briefs. A pair of black sunglasses are perched on his nose, an annoyed scowl on his face.

There’s complete silence, before screams of laughter fill the air. Bucky stands still, arms crossed over his chest, and he tips the sunglasses down his nose. “This is fucking ridiculous.”

“Risky Business. Nice.” Reaching across the counter, Nat gives you a high five.

Sam’s looking curiously at Bucky, staring intently at the white briefs, when he notices a small ‘SR’ in black marker on the waistband. “Dude…are those your underwear?”

Bucky glares at him. “No. Do I look like I would own white briefs?”

“So they belong to…?”

“Those are mine.” Steve says flatly, setting down his coffee. “What the hell, did you go through my god damn underwear drawer?”

“Fuck off Stevie, where the hell was I supposed to find a pair?”

“Hang on, are you mad at me for asking why you’re stealing my underwear? Jesus. Here I made the mistake of thinking ‘This can’t get weirder.’ Sorry.”

Hopping off your chair, you walk over to Bucky, straightening his shirt collar before leaning up to whisper in his ear.

“If you still want to work out all those kinks, I’m ready when you are.” With a playful smack on his ass, you laugh and stroll out of the kitchen.

He’s startled for a moment, before a sly smile stretches across his face, and he whips around to follow, white socks slipping and sliding on the smooth tiles as he chases after you.

*****

TAGS: @buckyappreciationsociety @stentorian-lore-n @ihavemymomentsstill  @badassbaker​ @psingh97 @interestedbystanderwrites @4theluvofall because I told her I’d try to write some dialogue...

[swanqueeneverafter]

02. The Thing You Love Most, Pt.2

The Enchanted Forest. A forest. (The Evil Queen, her valet, and several others are gathered around a fire. These other include an ogre, a gnome and a blind witch.) Evil Queen: “Who among us is tired of losing? That's why I called you here. To put an end to our misery. Today, we claim victory. And move to a new, better realm. A place where we can finally win.” Blind Witch: “And we'll be happy?” Evil Queen: “I guarantee it. But first, I need something from you. A lock of hair from those with the darkest souls. You must trust me. Because, if you don't... there are other ways. (Uses her magic to move the trees surrounding them. The gnome, witch, and ogre remove locks of hair:) A wise decision. (She collects their hair:) All that remains is the final ingredient. (Her valet presents a box to her, which she opens and takes out a large heart:) A prized heart, from my childhood steed. A glorious beast whose passing will fuel our victory. Let my wrath be unleashed.” (She tosses the heart into the fire. The fire blooms into a cloud of dark smoke, then dissipates, leaving those assembled looking shocked and confused. The gnome begins to laugh.) Gnome: “Yeah, you really unleashed something there!” (He points and laughs at the Queen, who promptly turns him into stone, which is used as the focus to transition to the next scene.) Storybrooke. Present. The Mayor's house, exterior. (Regina picks an apple from her tree as Sidney Glass walks up, showing off a newspaper.) Sidney: “The Mirror strikes again.” Regina: “You're late.” Sidney: “Sorry, I wanted to bring you the latest edition. I assure you, it's one of my better hatchet jobs.” (Presents her the newspaper.) Regina: (Taking the newspaper:) “That's not what I asked for. What'd you find out about her?“ Sidney: “Well, the truth be told, there wasn't much. She spent a lot of time in foster homes. She got into a little trouble when she was a kid, but the details are locked up pretty tight. Since then, she's clean. Bounced around all over. The only thing I really learned was that she doesn't like to sit still.” Regina: “That appears to have changed.” Sidney: “I-I didn't know that, um, she had Henry while she was in Phoenix? How'd he wind up here in Maine?” Regina: “So if I'm understanding you correctly, you've found nothing of value. Which means you have no value, Sidney. Do you know what I do with things that hold no value to me? I throw them away.” Sidney: “I--I'll keep looking.” (He walks away.) Storybrooke. Present. Granny's Diner. (Emma is seated at the counter, reading the newspaper. Ruby sits a mug of hot chocolate, with cinnamon, in front of her.) Ruby: “Here you go.” Emma: “Thank you... but I did not order that.” Ruby: “Yeah, I know. You have an admirer.” (Emma turns around, seeing Sheriff Graham seated in a booth. She puts down her paper and walks over to him.)

Graham: “Ah, so you decided to stay.” Emma: “Observant. Important for a cop.” Graham: “That's good news for our tourist business, bad for our local signage. (Emma gives him a look:) It's--it's a joke... because you ran over our sign...” Emma: “Look, the cocoa was a nice gesture, and I am impressed that you guessed that I like cinnamon in my chocolate, 'cause most people don't, but I am not here to flirt, so, thank you, but no thank you.” (She sets the mug on the table.) Graham: “I didn't send it.” Henry: (Seated at another booth:) “I did. I like cinnamon, too.” (He gets up.) Emma: “Don't you have school?” Henry: “Duh, I'm ten. Walk me.” Storybrooke. Present. Exterior, the street. (Henry and Emma walk down the sidewalk.) Emma: “So, what's the deal with you and your mom?” Henry: “It's not about us, it's about her curse. We have to break it. Luckily, I have a plan. Step one: identification. I call it, "Operation Cobra".” Emma: “Cobra? That has nothing to do with fairy tales.” Henry: “Exactly, it's a code name. It'll throw the Queen off the trail.” Emma: “So, everyone here is fairy tale character, they just don't know it.” Henry: “That's the curse. Time's been frozen.. Until you got here. (Emma begins to take a bite of the apple she's carrying:) Hey! Where'd you get that?” Emma: “Your mom.” Henry: “Don't eat that!” (He takes it from her and throws it.) Emma: “Okay... Um, uh, alright. What about their pasts?” Henry: “They don't know. It's a haze to them. Ask anyone anything and you'll see.” Emma: “So... for decades, people have been walking around, in a haze, not aging, with screwed up memories, stuck in a cursed town that kept them oblivious.” Henry: “I knew you'd get it! That's why we need you, you're the only one who can stop her Curse.” Emma: “Because I'm the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming?” Henry: “Yes! And right now, we have the advantage. My mom doesn't know that. (Unzips his backpack:) I took out the end, (Takes out pages from the Once Upon a Time book and hands them to Emma:) the part with you in it. (Emma looks at a page containing an illustration of Prince Charming placing baby Emma in the wardrobe, the name "Emma" clearly visibly on the baby blanket.) See? Your mom is Snow White!” Emma: “Kid..” Henry: “I know the hero never believes at first, if they did, it wouldn't be a very good story. If you need proof, take them, read them. But whatever you do, don't let her see these pages. They're dangerous. If she finds out who you are... then it would be bad. (Scene transitions to the front of the school, Emma stops walking and Henry continues on:) I gotta go, but I'll find you later and we can get started. I knew you'd believe me!” Emma: “I never said I did!” Henry: “Why else would you be here?” (Runs off toward the school.)

Mary Margaret: (Approaching Emma:) “It's good to see his smile back.” Emma: “I didn't do anything.” Mary Margaret: “You stayed. So... does the Mayor know you're still here?” Emma: “Oh, she knows. What is her deal? She's not a great people person, how did she get elected?” Mary Margaret: “She's been Mayor as long as I can remember. No one's ever been brave enough to run against her. She inspires quite a bit of... well, fear. I'm afraid I only made that worse by giving Henry that book and now he thinks she's the Evil Queen.” Emma: “Who does he think you are?” Mary Margaret: (Scoffs:) “It's silly...” Emma: (Laughs:) “I just got five minutes of silly. Lay it on me.” Mary Margaret: “Snow White. (Emma looks slightly stunned, the school bell rings in the distance:) Who does he think you are?” Emma: “I'm not in the book.. Can I ask you a favor? Regina mentioned the kid's in therapy; do you know where I can find the doctor?” Storybrooke. Present. Dr. Archie Hopper's office. (Archie sits reading. Emma knocks on the door and enters.) Emma: “Hey.” Archie: “Emma Swan. (Stands, picking up a copy of the newspaper:) I was just, uh, reading about you. Let me guess, you're here for help with a little post-traumatic stress? (Chuckles, setting the paper down:) That diagnosis was free, by the way.” Emma: (Laughs:) “No, I'm here about Henry.” Archie: “I'm sorry, I-I I really shouldn't...” Emma: “I know, I'm sorry, I just... just tell me something. This fairy tale obsession, what is causing it? I mean, he thinks everyone is a character in his book. That's... crazy.” Archie: “I-I hope you don't talk that way in front of him. The word "crazy" is um.. quite damaging. These stories-- they're his language. He has no idea how to express complex emotions so he's translating as best he can, this is how he communicates. He's using this book to help deal with his problems. (Moves to a file cabinet, opening it and removing a file.) Why don't you take a look at the file. Um... see what I mean.” Emma: “Why are you doing this?” Archie: “Well, he talks about you a lot. You're.. very important to him.” Emma: “Thank you.” Archie: “Just uh... see that I get it back, okay? (He opens the door and Emma moves to exit:) Miss Swan. Just for the sake of the boy, be careful how you handle his... belief system. To destroy his imagination would be.. would be devastating. (Emma departs and Archie closes the door. He sits down at a desk and picks up the phone, making a call:) You were right. She... was just here.” Regina: (On the other end of the line, in her office:) “Did she take the file?” Archie: “Yes. H-how did you know she was gonna come here?” Regina: “Because I'm the one who gave her the idea.”

[pegasusdragontiger]

The Runaway Jeans and Mr. Squiggle

Pairing: Chris Evans Reader x her

Rating: G

Warnings: Fluff and feels, Laughter.  

Summary: Chris needs to catch the runaway jeans!

 Shout out to @always-an-evans-addict you read it and edited it for me this lady is an  angel, beautiful person you needs hugs and a lot of presents! For the @always-an-evans-addict Challenge she sent to me <3<3  

 Enjoy!

 “We’ve been through so much together, you're my buddy, but there is one thing that we both know is a no go. It breaks my heart to do this to say this, as I think you know how important you are to us and our family.”

 Chris sips his coffee as he sits on the couch, placing the coffee on the coffee table and taking a deep breath. He shakes his head, looking up. “I have called this emergency meeting to discuss with you the rules of the house. I know it is a lot to take in and to process but these kinds of things need to be aired and discussed with an open heart and mind.”

 He hears a rustling and fidgeting of clothing, along with a little cough, causing him to look to the side. Mikey is sitting there watching an episode of Mr.Squiggle, which has been discontinued for a long time but, as his wife introduced the show to your little boy not that long ago, he was hooked on the show. Normally he would be fidgeting and chatty through all TV shows, but this show seemed different; He was transfixed by the puppets and the host, seeing them drawing the Characters like Blackboard. For you it was hilarious and entertaining. You couldn’t understand why or how this show never made it to kid’s screens here in the U.S or the UK, but was hugely popular in Australia from 1959 to 1999. Little kids loved seeing all the drawings that Mr.Squiggle did each episode.

 Hearing the theme song and making clappy hands as it started to play, Mikey wiggles around in excitement for the start of his favourite show. Chris remembers what your wife said before she headed out to go grocery shopping. “Thank god for Youtube and smart people that loved this show for uploading it- so that parents and former fans of the show could watch the episodes anytime they want.” She told you how the first time she showed Mikey an episode the stillness that came over him, the absolute focus was frightening but a god send. The amount of things you could get done in one room while he watched an episode was amazing.

 “You ok, Mikey?”

 He replied “Shh, Daddy, I needs ta lisen to the song!”

 “Sorry Buddy.” Turning his focus back to the problem at hand, he sighs. “Well, this is how it is going to go down. I will ask you to drop them, and you will let go. In exchange, I will give you the one thing you want the most- which you know Mom won’t let you have for too long as you’ll make yourself sick.” Chris rubs his hands together and lets out a chuckle. “Alright, I will come over to that side of the room, and I want you to promise me you won’t run, okay? Mom will be home soon, and if she finds out you have her favorite pair she will not only be mad at you, but mad at me for allowing things to get this far.”

 As he rises from the couch and slowly approaches the coffee table, he moves to the right side of it and proceeds to slowly turn left, not to startle who’s on the other side of the table. He keeps his hands out, trying to act inconspicuous and non-threatening.

 It’s all in vain; Dodger seizes his chance and bolts to the other side of the table, taking off like a rocket to escape from his dad’s clutches. Chris sighs and groans in frustration, muttering under his breath. “Not again… Dodger!! Come back here!” He calls and runs after the dog, trying to catch up to him as they move through the house, going room to room.

 As he tries to get closer to the dog it becomes apparent why he was doing the chasing. In the dog’s mouth was a pair of jeans- Not just any jeans; a nice, dark blue pair that you love and adore. You found them in a store in Sydney, and they not only felt nice, but they were fitted comfortably and just a down-right sexy pair of jeans. You wouldn’t only be annoyed, you would be furious.

 Chris accidently left the wardrobe door open this morning as he was getting dressed, and the next thing he saw was Dodger shooting out from the walk-in with your jeans, fluffy tail flung high in the air as if he was proud of himself for getting such a precious gift- a treasure that he could keep. No amount of bribing such as walkies, extra food, play time or affection would sway him. He was determined to have your pair of jeans no matter what. Chris also tried pleading and begging, which normally Dodger would listen to and drop the item at your feet. But this time he just wouldn’t budge.

 Chris stops by the kitchen door, bracing himself against the doorway and slightly puffing, looking across the room at Dodger. The puppy is at the back door trying to get the big glass sliding door to open, which thank heavens it wouldn’t as it was still locked. Taking the few minutes to breathe, he looks at the watch, seeing the time and freaking out a little more. He has 35-40 minutes tops to get Dodger to let go of the jeans and check the damage before you got home. He pokes his head back into the lounge room to see Mikey had fallen to sleep while watching Mr. Squiggle. With a relieved sigh, he turns back to the kitchen to notice Dodger trying to creep away slowly. “Buddy, you stay right where you are.” As he starts to try and slowly approach the dog his phone rings, drawing his attention.

 Looking up at the ceiling and sighing in frustration, Chris digs his phone out of his back pocket, wondering who could be calling. He swipes the screen to see your name, having a mini panic attack as he thought of all the possible reasons for you to be calling now.

 Glancing up at Dodger and saying, “Noo, stay!” Chris watches as Dodger sits with jeans in his mouth, drool landing on them as his head tilts to the side, as if to ask what was happening to their game of chase. Finger on the receive button Chris takes a breath and swipes, “Hi babe, what’s up?” He puts a smile in his voice, still eyeing his puppy.

 “Hi hun, I just wanted to let you know that the shopping is done and I’m in the car on the way home right now.”

 “Oh really? That was quick.”

 “Quick? You think this trip was quick? Anyway, the reason I’m coming back earlier than planned- other than getting all the groceries- is because a random person approached me as I was walking to the car and said being the weight and size I am isn’t healthy for me and my baby. Like really I only have a slight baby bump and everyone decides that just because I’m not skinny or model size, or the fact that I have bloody curves makes it okay to criticise me?!”

 “Babe ignore them,” Chris says reassuringly. “The doc says the three of you are healthy and he’s happy with your weight right now.”

 “I know, I told the person to mind their own business and move along. Then quickly packed the car and I’m on my way home now.”

 “How far out?” He eyes Dodger again.

 “Oh, 15 minutes.”

 “You’re hands free, aren’t you?”

 “Yeah, of course! Anyway, I pulled over on the side of the road to chat with you, so see you soon babe. Bye.”

  As Chris hangs up, fear and shock hits as he looks to Dodger, who is looking seriously at him. “Buddy, I need those jeans back now. She will be here in a few minutes,” They both eye each other with the kitchen table in the middle. Dodger at one end and him at the head of the table. “We have no time for games.” As he moves to the left slowly, Dodger moves to the right, going the opposite way.

 To anyone walking in right now, it would look like a weird dance routine performed by a man and his dog chasing each other around the table, changing directions and going the other direction. They both stop in the middle of the table, staring each other down and trying to predict which way the other will go. Seeing an opportunity he glances at his watch, noticing he has 6 minutes left before you come back. As soon as the thought enters his mind the sound of a car’s engine approaching- paired with the sound of the garage door opening- had the both of them looking at each other with surprise. They both look towards the door in the kitchen, which lead into the laundry and then the garage.

 Looking back at Dodger, Chris frantically motions to him to come closer. “Give me the jeans Dodger, please give me the jeans so all I have to do is put them in the machine and wash them when she isn’t looking. Pleassee?” The sound of bags rustling and keys jiggling causes him to realise that he had no time. He takes a chance and goes to the left, putting everything he has into getting to the other side and surprising Dodger enough to get the jump on him.

 Dodger, whose focus was on his mom coming through the door any minute, didn’t notice until Chris let out a chuckle, “Ah haa!” Dodger’s head moves from the door to Chris, and his eyes widen. He quickly turned around and went back into the living room, but seeing as Chris had such a head start he didn’t get far before his dad finally caught him around his waist, moving his right hand to the dog’s mouth and grabbing the jeans letting out a cheer. “Yes!”

 “Honey I’m home!”

 “Hi sweetie.” The sound of bags being placed on the kitchen bench comes before the sound of your shoes heading back to the garage. The boys both let out a sigh of relief, and Chris turns his focus back to said jeans in hand. Dodger takes his chance and wiggles out of Chris’ grip, trying to bolt forward, but seeing as Chris still had a hold on the jeans he didn’t get far. Again he and Dodger eye each other, the pup letting out a muffled bark and his tail wagging at speed as to say, “Play!!” Tug of war started over your jeans, him with one leg and Chris the other.

 Meanwhile you come back into the kitchen. “How was your day, hun?”

 “Was good,” Using all the muscle and strength he had, Chris pulls Dodger closer to make a final grab for them. At the same time you’re asking more questions, and Chris has to take a breath and answer, trying not to sound like he’s exhausting himself for her to ask what was going on. He describes the day he’s had and how Mikhail was a gem to look after.

 “That’s good, I will need a hand though for the groceries please.”

 Dodger tugs twice and pulls in a move Chris isn’t braced for. The tugs cause him to nearly lose his balance. Knowing he has to answer, he hisses through his teeth, “Be there in a minute hun, just a bit busy.”

 Your footsteps change from heading towards the garage to stopping with your question. “Is everything okay Chris?”

 “Yeah, just need to grab this thing first before I come and help you.” As he gives three tugs on the jeans to pull Dodger back to him. To their surprise the puppy moves within a foot of his dad.

 “If you're sure?”

 “Yeah, it’s fine.” Chris says, voice exhausted and strained. “Come on buddy, just give me the jeans!” He whispers to Dodger. Both parties give more and more tugs, trying to get the other to let go. During this war, they both pull at the same time, both using all their strength to pull the jeans their way. The sound of bags being placed in the kitchen and footsteps coming and going surround them, panic and fear of if or when you will try and find Chris and see this scene, makes him put more into the next few tugs. In doing so he hears a rip, and as Chris looks to the jeans he watches in horror as the jeans start to rip from the main crutch.

 The more Dodger tugs, the more the ripping noise and the rip gets bigger until the material can’t take the tugging and pulling from either side and it gives. The jeans tear in two, the sudden shock of the material giving causing both to fall on their bottoms. Dodger lets out another muffled bark and his tail wags in high gear, thinking he’s won the game. He gets up on all fours and starts to jump and run around in joy, what was left of the jeans in his mouth.

 All noise in the kitchen stops. “Chris, what was that noise? What was that ripping noise?” Your footsteps make their way towards the lounge room and as you stop just behind your husband, Dodger seeing you and running to her to show you his prize. Chris can just imagine your face, the look of surprise and giving Dodger rubs and scratches.

 Then your eyes see the jeans with a look of confusion and then horror. “Hun what’s this in Dodger’s mouth? they look familiar? Are they- Are they my pair of jeans that I can’t find anywhere else? The jeans that I had bought online and had them delivered to my mom’s house, and then had her deliver to me here? The ones that I have tried to find more pairs and I can’t get any as they are so popular?” As you turn around to look at him with the other leg of the jeans, she gasps at the site of the jeans ripped in two.

 Chris immediately starts talking, not stopping to breathe. “Babe I can explain! Really, I forgot about Dodger and the wardrobe door was open as I went to get Mikey ready for the day, and I remembered seeing him enter our room, and next thing I know he had the pair of jeans with him and I tried I really did to get them back, have him give them to me but nothing worked-” Your hazel green/brown eyes lock onto his, the hazel as completely gone and the green in your eyes was in full force. That only happened when either your temper was in full force or when you were emotional or just randomly sometimes depending on your mood.

 He sighs, trying not to moon too much, but god he loves it a bit when you lose a bit of your temper- and when you went on a rant, he couldn’t help but find it a bit of a turn on.

 Getting back to the scene before you, you sighed and closed your eyes, taking deep calming breaths and knowing that getting mad wasn’t going to solve this problem. You know you needed to keep your blood pressure down as your left hand moves to your slightly swollen belly with twins inside, rubbing in soothing motions. With a deep breath your eyes open and look to the ceiling in frustration before coming down to both Chris and Dodger. Not too far apart Dodger notices the tension in the air and knows something is wrong as his mom looked at him in disappointment, making him hang his head in shame as he knows he’s in trouble.

 “Chris, I warned you about that, geez!”

 “I can’t do what you do! You have this secret power over Dodger, you tell him to sit and he sits, you give him the look and he just obeys! It’s a thing to behold!”

 Laughing in frustration you look at him. “It’s because I have had years of experience with naughty dogs and cats. I know how sneaky, smart and manipulative they are with their puppy dog eyes and how successively Dodger uses it on you. For example, it’s all about the tone and making sure you’re letting your dog know who is alpha in the pack.”

 You look straight at Dodger. “Dodger!” You call in a slightly lower tone. “Look at me, Dodger!” The pup looks at you, and you hold out your hand. “Release.” Dodger looks at his mom and gets up, walking a bit towards you and dropping the jeans into your hand before backing up. “Sit” He sits, and you walk towards him and slowly go down on one knee, and looking Dodger in the eyes and giving his head a pat. “Good boy,”

 You give that spot behind his ears a good scratch that gave him a bit of ecstasy as you pull away and slowly get back up again. You look at your husband and let out a laugh, his face was in not only shock but he knew his eyes had a glazed look about them, as seeing you doing that made him fall in love with you all over again. Looking straight at you he says, “God I love you!”

 Letting out another laugh you just smile and shake your head in exasperation. “We’ll talk about this later. Can you bring it the heavy stuff in please?”

 “What? I thought you promised me you weren’t going to do any heavy lifting?”

 “I didn’t, I got one of the staffers at the store to place them in the car!” You protest.

 As Chris rises and moves to greet you with a hug he leans his head against yours, breathing in your shampoo as he turns his head and kisses your temple. He puts his forehead against yours to look into your eyes, hands cradling your face. “I love you so much babe.” He leans back and has his hands move to your belly as he goes down on one knee. He leans his face to your belly. “Good morning little ones, Daddy says hi and love you very much!” He smooths his hands over it, and his hand touches the side of her belly that makes your whole body twitch and jerk. Chris always insists it’s your ticklish spot, but it is more of him touching a part of you that hits a nerve in you back.

 “Stop it,�� You laugh, whacking him in the shoulder. Glancing up at you with a devilish smirk, his face lets you know he has plans for you and those sensitive spots you have on your body tonight. He raises his eyebrows suggestively, and you smirk. “Besides, you still need to bring the rest of the things inside.”

 Grinning, Chris rises with his hands still on your belly. “Mommy wants me to show off my muscles by doing the heavy lifting.” He brings up his arms to flex said muscles.

 “Huh? Yeah hunny, as much as all this and you turn me on, can you bring the last of the shopping in please? I am heading to the toilet, I really need to go.” You quickly move towards the bathroom. When you finish you look to Dodger. “Come on buddy, let's bring the stuff inside before Mikey wakes up from his nap time!”

 @always-an-evans-addict @ilovethings-somuch @theycallmebecca @mycapt-ohcapt 

[birdiethebibliophile]

{fic} In Passing

Word Count:  1.3k Characters:  Lucien, Rhysand Warnings:  Sexual tension galore but that’s it

Here on AO3.

Summary:    Lucien runs into Rhys on his way to check on Feyre while they're trapped Under the Mountain. Based on @yalenayardeen‘s Cutthroat Fanfiction: ACOTAR Edition Generator! Prompt was:

CHARACTERS: rhysand and lucien; TROPE: captured by the enemy; TWIST: rhys must lean against at least three (3) door frames over the course of the fic

Title is from Company of Thieves song “In Passing”

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“God fucking dammit, Rhys, you’re going to be the death of me.”

Lucien was so sick of Rhysand. Sick of his feathery hair, and of his stupid black wardrobe that practically screamed villainy, and his stupid violet eyes. Who the hell had violet eyes?

Rhys was leaning against a door frame. “Going somewhere?”

“None of your business,” Lucien snapped. He didn’t have time for this. Even as they spoke, Feyre could be dying. He’d been worried out of his mind the past week as he’d lain wounded in his chambers. He didn’t even know if Feyre was still alive. He needed to get to her – heal her. Not just because Tamlin was in love with her, and Tamlin was his High Lord. Because she was his friend, and he wanted to be hers.

His back still hurt like hell, but he couldn’t waste another minute.

“If you’re going to see Feyre darling,” Rhys said as Lucien was about to push past him, “don’t bother. I got to her three days ago.” He grinned, showing teeth so white that Lucien wanted to put a hand over his own mouth on instinct.

Lucien turned to Rhys – slowly. “What did you do to her?”

“Healed her. It’s a good thing, too – she would’ve been dead by the time you got there.”

“In exchange for what?” Lucien said, teeth gritted.

“Oh, nothing much… Just one week of her time per month for the rest of her life.”

Before he quite knew what he was doing, Lucien shoved Rhys – hard. Rhys must not have been expecting it, because he lost his balance and stumbled backwards, almost falling. “Screw you, Rhys,” Lucien said, breathing hard. “Seriously. Screw you.”

Rhys’s eyes were glittering. “So that’s what you were thinking about when you were shut up your chambers for a week, little Lucien,” he crooned. “And here I thought it was Tamlin who held your heart. What a lovely surprise.” Rhys stepped towards Lucien, and Lucien backed away instinctively, until his back met the doorframe. He let out a soft hiss of pain at the contact.

Rhys leaned in, bracing one arm on the wood above Lucien’s head. Cauldron boil him, why did Rhys always have to make him feel so… undone? This close to the other man, he could feel heat radiating off of him. He’s consistently and ridiculously surprised by how… warm Rhys is. If he’d had to guess, he’d have thought that Rhys’s skin would be cold as a Winter Court faerie’s.

It really wasn’t fair.

“Fuck off, Rhys,” Lucien snarled, but didn’t move. He didn’t want to do a thing – not a damn thing – to put himself any closer to the other man.

Rhys clicked his tongue softly. “Is that any way to talk to a High Lord?”

Lucien’s breath hitched as Rhys’s head dropped a little, and he felt his fine hair brush against his face. “You know perfectly well I’ve never given a shit about who I talk to how.”

“And we’ve seen where that’s gotten you.” Rhys lifted one elegant finger and traced it, feather-light, down Lucien’s scar. “Trouble, little Lucien, nothing but trouble. You break your mother’s heart, you know.”

“Don’t bring her into this,” Lucien said, his voice a half-hearted snarl, the other half devoted to trying not to think about Rhys’s finger lingering on his face.

“So I’m not allowed to talk about Tamlin, and I’m not allowed to talk about your mother… what am I allowed to talk about?” Rhys mused. “Or perhaps… should I not talk at all?” He bent down further, and his breath ghosted across Lucien’s neck.

“Don’t,” Lucien breathed, the only word he was able to get out of lungs that seemed suddenly empty.

“Don’t what?” Rhys’s nose brushed Lucien’s neck this time, and Lucien had to grab the doorpost behind him for support. “Be specific, Lucien.”

Lucien opened his mouth to say don’t fucking touch me, but the words died in his throat. His body was crying out at the contact – begging for the caress of Rhys’s hands, the press of his mouth against his own. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had touched him like this. Tamlin made a point of staying a safe distance away, as he did with all males. Andras, perhaps, but… it had never been like this, both soft and sharp, with him. Lucien hadn’t let it be the former, and Andras would never have let it be the latter.

Rhys was different. Lucien had known it from the first time he’d seen the male. Lucien had been playing emissary from Spring to the Court of Nightmares, and Rhys was all windblown hair and cheekbones sharper than Lucien’s own and star-glittering night edging his form. Lucien’s breath had caught in this throat, and he’d known that Rhys had noticed.

Startled? Rhys had said, and that darkness had curled over his hands, changing into talons that clicked lightly on the arm of his onyx throne.

Only by the fact that the High Lord of Night sits like a whore, Lucien had shot back.

Rhys’s response had been to widen his legs even more and give Lucien a slow, predatory smile. You’re much more fun than Tamlin is, little Lucien, he’d said. Lucien remembered thinking that Rhys’s gaze was a heady thing – that he could’ve sworn it was magic, a slow lick of shadow that brushed his body in places that had heat rising in his cheeks.

It hadn’t helped that he’d been on his knees at the time.

They’d run into each other a few times since, both before and since Amarantha had taken over. Each time, Lucien had reminded himself of Rhysand’s cruelty, his vindictiveness, but… only afterwards. In the moment, it was always like this:  like he’d been drugged with faerie wine, like he’d grown dizzy from dancing until the sun rose, like he’d been put under a spell.

Lucien jerked back as he felt Rhys’s tongue touch his skin. Unfortunately, he jerked into the doorpost, and he couldn’t help a sharp cry of pain.

Rhys frowned. One of his hands wrapped gently around Lucien’s wrist and tugged him forward, and the other slipped under the back of Lucien’s shirt, skimming over the half-healed lashes. “I thought she let you heal.”

Lucien gave a hollow laugh. “Only to the point where I could stand up.”

He hissed again as Rhys prodded one of the tender spots on his back. “Well, we can’t have this,” Rhys said. “It’s no fun to seduce you if I can’t even pin you against a wall. Here…” And quite suddenly, Lucien felt the pain drain away.

He felt his back. There were still raised scars, but that searing, snapping pain no longer ripped through him at the touch. “You –”

“Healed you,” Rhys finished.

“You don’t give anything away for free,” Lucien said, suspicion creeping into his tone. “What do you want in return?”

Rhys leaned in, his breath warm against Lucien’s ear. “Would a kiss be too much to ask?” he asked, voice soft and seductive.

Lucien didn’t respond. He thought of Tamlin snarling at Rhys, Feyre cursing him. He imagined what they would say if they were in his position. He knew what it would be: Get the hell away from me, you bastard.

But he wasn’t either of them. He was Lucien, and he was lonely.

“No,” Lucien breathed, and closed his eyes against the treachery.

His eyes were still closed when Rhys kissed him. He’d expected a devouring – a deep, searching kiss, intense and almost painful. Instead, it barely a brush of Rhys’s lips against his own.

Lucien’s eyes flickered open and met Rhys’s. For once, they didn’t look violet. They just looked blue – and almost sad.

“I’m sorry,” Rhys said, and for a moment, his hand came up to cup Lucien’s cheek, thumb brushing against his scar.

And then he was gone – melted into nothing but shadows and emptiness – and Lucien was alone once more.