#Using my pure imagination

[enchantingglittertyrant]

~ Theory ~

Ok so maybe this is an obvious theory maybe someone already came up with this but I think I have a theory that connects all three adaptions of Wonka together.

If you have not yet seen "Wonka" please be warned, spoilers ahead just a trigger warning.

The theory is....

Wonka's parents divorced and Wonka went to live with his mother until she passed away and he went back to his father, as his father was a dentist and hated anything to do with candy, he made him wear a brace and forbid from eating candy so Wonka his the bar that his mother gave him and kept it with him in secret. When he discovered the taste of chocolate, he decided to follow his mothers footsteps and become a chocolatier something that angered his dad and then he run away.....

Short but bittersweet.

Seeing "Wonka" did answer the question about what happened to his mother and the fact they covered songs from the original movie and I believe that after the experience that Wonka had with Prodnose, Slugworth and Ficklegruber, i think that's why he created the test for the children in the original adoption to see who was honest and loving and not selfish and spoilt.

This is my theory but i could be very wrong.

[leol]

logan 2017 movie canon divergent au kinda.. kurt deus ex machina, everybody lives, happy family = profit

[archiepelago]

alternate surface au inspired by a few ive seen around on tumblr :3

[clarionglass]

so i have been bitten by the sam reich!master bug courtesy of some phenomenal art by @northernfireart and uh. as is too often the case i had to write something otherwise if i didn't get it out of my brain i would go absolutely insane

(there may be more vignettes coming if i have ideas..... there are definitely other episodes i'd like to give the Treatment to, plus with the new dw series coming out on the weekend i may have ideas for how to incorporate the dw gang! however, i promise neither more writing or no more writing. that said, this was a lot of fun so there'll probably be more at some stage :D )

this has full spoilers for the game changer ep "escape the greenroom", but hey that's been out for a while now so,,,, if you haven't seen it i'd highly recommend it as an episode!

so, without further ado:

--

Samuel Dalton was a complete fiction, of course, but that didn't mean that when Sam Reich snuck back upstairs to get tied up in the “out of order” bathroom, the Sam that remained on the monitor, laughing at the contestants, was a pre-recording. And if Brennan, Siobhan and Lou had snorted at the idea of a time-travelling evil magician great-grandfather (for good reason), going in with the actual truth of the matter would have sounded like jumping the shark.

It sounded bizarre, but the time travel bit was the only part about his new partner in crime that was confirmably real. Admittedly, the jury was still out on “evil”—he gave off a weird vibe at times, but so far, no lines had been crossed, and it had all been funny as hell—so for now, Sam was willing to roll with it. But perhaps most surprisingly, there wasn’t even the possibility of blood relation between Samuel Dalton Reich and the guy who had shown up out of the blue one day with his exact face and a plan to really fuck around with things on Game Changer.

Yeah, the whole alien thing had really ruled out that particular prospect.

There had been various bits and pieces of confirmation that this guy wasn’t human through the time Sam had known him, but the final nail in the coffin for that one was when his doppelganger had looked him dead in the eye and tried on one of the heart rate monitors—sorry, “range extenders”—for As a Cucumber. The damn thing had literally sparked up, then died completely. Trying to process input from two separate heartbeats at once would do that, apparently. 

His doppelganger was a Time Lord, or so he had nonchalantly said one afternoon in casual conversation, though Sam still wasn’t sure if that one was a joke or not. It was hard to tell, sometimes, because he said the wildest things with the straightest face, and so far, most of them had turned out to be one hundred percent certifiably true. The time travel, the space travel, even the changing faces thing—it sounded objectively insane, but the proof was undeniable. 

There were some notable exceptions, though. Saying he’d been trapped for aeons inside Neil Patrick Harris’s gold tooth went just that bit too far to be believable, though Sam did appreciate his double’s slightly warped sense of humour.

It was that offbeat line of thinking that lent itself well to game design, as it turned out. He had a knack for coming up with ideas for Game Changer episodes, albeit with the occasional suggestion that went way beyond the bounds of good taste, and, as in the case of Escape the Greenroom, had devised some blinding twists on concepts Sam had already half-formed. The letter puzzle unlocking the secret door? It was perfect.

Understandably, Sam’s doppelganger had wanted to observe the fruits of their labours in real time, rather than watching the recording later. It happened, sometimes, particularly when it was one of his ideas that had made it through to the episode list—they’d swap places for a session, with nobody being any the wiser. Watching those edits back always felt a bit weird—it was uncanny how flawless the mimicry was—but hey, the guy was right. It was always fun.

Escape the Greenroom, specifically, with its “Samuel Dalton” conceit, provided them with a unique opportunity. Instead of swapping out the camera feed for a recording when the cast piled into the tiny secret room behind the wall, as per the original plan to get Sam in position to be discovered in the bathroom, they could just swap out the people. Sam would go upstairs, and his double would take his place at the podium, ducking out of sight when everyone came back to the main stage to “defuse the bomb”.

Sam was keen—hell, if their situations had been reversed, he’d want to be there to watch, too—but caution raised a flag. “You don’t think it’s too risky?” he’d asked when the subject was first raised. “Both of us being in the same place?”

His doppelganger had shrugged one shoulder with supreme unconcern. “The crew won't notice.”

At the time, Sam had shot him a sceptical look, but right now, Sam-Reich-in-a-purple-tie and Sam-Reich-in-an-orange-tie were standing backstage post-record, clearly visible and and calmly chatting, and not a single member of the crew had given them so much as a second glance. 

…Hardly even a first glance, come to think about it. If anyone looked over their way, their eyes seemed to… not exactly go through them, but slide over the two of them like water. He was tempted to wave to Nico or Ash or someone, just out of pure curiosity, but something in the back of his mind told him that wouldn’t be the world’s greatest idea. He had a funny feeling he wouldn’t like to see what would happen next.

(He’d given the prop bomb back to the crew once the cameras stopped rolling, and though it looked the same as the one he remembered from before he’d headed upstairs, it felt different in his hands. Heavier, more… serious, somehow. He was sure nothing would have happened—but at the same time, he was suddenly very glad that the cast had cut the correct wire with no less than a minute fifteen to go.)

(The jury was still out on evil, after all.)

“Worth coming in for?” he asked instead.

“Absolutely,” his double replied with relish. “Locking those three in a small room for an hour? Brilliant, fantastic. Inspired. It was absolute chaos.”

“Have you seen up there?” Sam asked, a smile starting to spread across his face. “They messed up the set real bad.”

His doppelganger smirked at him. “You know it took literally two seconds from you telling them to escape the greenroom for Lou to smash that guitar?”

Sam shook his head. “Oh my god. Yeah, they were stressed.” 

“Mmm. Some real panic in that room,” his doppelganger agreed, and Sam chose to ignore the faint note of satisfaction in his voice.

He shifted his weight, settling back to lean against the table behind the set, in the exact instant his double decided to do the same thing. It really was freaky how similar they were, down to the smallest mannerism—like looking in a mirror, only weirder, because the face that looked back at him was truly his own face, not mirror-reversed. Even now, it still caught Sam off guard from time to time, but at least it had faded into a more comfortable kind of strange. He had an exact lookalike who was an actual time-travelling alien. Cool. Doesn’t everyone?

The pair shared a companionable silence for a few moments, before a thought Sam had been turning over for a while rose to the top of his mind. He shifted again, this time on his own, and he felt his double’s regard swing up to fix on him like a magnet. 

“Okay, real talk,” he started, and his doppelganger frowned back in an approximation of confused innocence. “What’s all this for?”

“Who says it has to be for anything? Aren't we just having fun?”

Sam hummed, considering. “Yeah. No, I'd believe that, if I didn't sometimes walk into production meetings and find out I'd apparently been very specific about the people I wanted for certain episodes.”

“Point for Sam,” his doppelganger acknowledged with a grin. “You got me. Wasn’t hard to make a few phone calls on our joint behalf.”

“Yeah, but why?” Sam pressed. “I mean, Siobhan, Brennan and Lou are always great comedy value when you put them together, and it was awesome to have them for this, but I get the feeling you’re thinking of something other than making good content.”

“Who, me?”

With that, his double gave him a look of such overdone pantomime innocence that Sam suddenly and thoroughly understood why, not half an hour earlier, Brennan had very seriously threatened to push him down the stairs. 

He rolled his eyes, which earned him a smirk for his troubles.

Dropping the act, his doppelganger continued. “I’m expecting an… old friend, I guess, to show up at some point, and—well, I’d like to put on a really special show for them. I thought it would be a good opportunity to try a few things out, you know?”

Ominous pause aside, that was actually kind of sweet. Sweeter than he’d been expecting, that’s for sure—he was half anticipating the revelation that he and his cast were subjects in some weird experiment. Hey, that still couldn’t fully be ruled out, but still.

“Okay,” he acquiesced. “Well… just let me know, next time? Before you start ordering in my cast like takeout?”

“Who says they’re your cast?” his double shot back with a twinkle in his eye, and Sam snorted.

“Fine. Our cast, then. But seriously, let me know?”

His doppelganger nodded, which, if not quite fully convincing, was good enough. 

“Oh, and do you know when your friend might be arriving?” Sam asked. “Because if you wanted to plan something, we can���”

“I don’t know,” his doppelganger interrupted. “So yeah, we’ll have to move fast when they do get here. But I’ve got it under control.”

He broke off, then shot Sam a mischievous grin. “In the meantime, though, I’ve had this fun thought about time loops…”

[itsrlymine]

Hey could you share pics of your Porsche or smth that happened to you? It’s not that I don’t believe you I just really need to see proof lately to believe cause are half the people here just scripting or sharing actual success stories?

You shouldn't need proof in the 3d to know something is real. That's the whole point of law of assumption.

If you are experiencing people just scripting and posting just to post, that's based on your literal assumption!!! Like do we not know how this law works???? Click the link and don't ask me for proof again.

[dazais-guardian-angel]

Well, at least Fukuzawa got his wish granted, I guess.... he's finally inside Fukuchi <3

[oh-what-the-heck-its-xanthar]

So the dragon age devs have said that the faction you choose in da4 determines your last name. Which just makes me SO curious as to what the Antivan Crow last name will be. Like which house a crow rook would be a part of. I'm dying to know!!!

[bulkyphrase]

Stucky for Steve Stans

I feel like I don't rec enough Stucky, so please have this list of some of my favorite Steve-forward Stucky fics!

Not a Perfect Soldier by TooManyBattles (Skarabrae_stone) (@captaintoomanybattles) (Mature | Graphic Depictions Of Violence | 93,354 words)

Summary: In a world where HYDRA was wiped out in the '40s, Steve is found by the Army rather than SHIELD. General Thaddeus Ross wants a perfectly obedient super-soldier at his command, and to that end, he sets out to break Steve to his will. As Steve struggles to come to terms with all he has lost, his life in captivity is only made bearable by the presence of another prisoner-- another super-soldier known only as "Soldat". Then the Avengers strike a deal with Ross to "borrow" him for missions, and Steve is faced with a team who dislikes him, an organization he doesn't trust, and the question of what he's willing to do to escape Ross's clutches.

Lessons in Normality by relenafanel (@relenafanel) (Explicit | No Archive Warnings Apply | 38,002 words)

Summary: Things Steve knows about his boyfriend Bucky: How he looks with his face relaxed in sleep. That he can perfectly flip pancakes. The way he’s open about things Steve is still adapting to, like therapy and depression and sex toys and being a millennial. The way he laughs with his mouth wide open and his eyes squinted, and the cheerful way he cheats at cards and loses at laser tag. The way he seduces Steve with a knowing glint in his eye. The way Steve responds to it, stronger each time, taken by his beauty and competence and snark and compassion (or the compassionate way he boots Steve in the ass when he needs a push). Things Steve doesn’t know about his boyfriend Bucky: That he’s an undercover operative gathering intel on Hydra, SHIELD, and which Steve is affiliated with. Otherwise known as The Honey Pot AU

I Remembered You Were Mine by hobbitdragon (Explicit | Rape/Non-Con | 4,455 words)

Summary: Steve awakes in a strange place with a familiar face standing over him. He has no idea where he is or how he got there, but at least Bucky is with him. Also available as a podfic read by Tipsy_Kitty (@tipsyxkitty)

More below the cut!

Demon Seed by SucculentHyena (@succulent-hyena) (Mature | Graphic Depictions Of Violence | 92,478 words)

Summary: [Transcript 00:11:48] MS: You were with him the most throughout the course of events, both before and after. Your account could shed light on something we may have missed. JB: What difference will that make? MS: It could make all the difference. Captain Rogers’ case is unprecedented, he’s the most intact victim we’ve ever recovered- JB: [laughing] You call that intact? -Excerpt of Interview with Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes regarding the Incident.

How Can You Go On With Such Conviction? by Jaune_Chat (@jaune-chat) (Explicit | No Archive Warnings Apply | 23,085 words)

Summary: Steve Rogers is a professional alpha with an unfortunately famous name. A veteran who specializes in people with top-secret clearance, he’s been having some particularly interesting clients lately. This brings him to the attention of SHIELD, who think an alpha like him could be just the person to help a very ill Asset they have. But Steve has more up his sleeve than just one set of skills when it comes to helping the people he cares for.

Ring the Bell Backward by Dira Sudis (dsudis) (@dsudis) (Teen And Up Audiences | No Archive Warnings Apply | 13,234 words)

Summary: "I know how it is," Wanda said. "Being half of something. I would go anywhere if I knew he was there waiting for me." Also available as a podfic read by sallysparrow017

only living boy in new york by beardsley (Mature | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | 2,683 words)

Summary: Steve wakes up in a VA hospital in Manhattan, and nothing is the same.

darling heart, i loved you from the start (but that's no excuse for the state i'm in) by voxofthevoid (@voxofthevoid) (Teen And Up Audiences | No Archive Warnings Apply | 19,727 words)

Summary: “I thought you’d make a terrible Nazi but turns out you’d make a terrifying one instead.” The year is 2012. Loki has vanished with the Tesseract, and Manhattan is a blazing wreck. A very tired Steve Rogers goes home and meets another very tired Steve Rogers. Or, the one where Steve saves the mind stone for last and decides to fuck the timeline beyond all recognition, which regrettably involves crawling delicately up Hydra's asshole and less regrettably involves showering a very confused Bucky Barnes with affection.

On a Pale Horse by leveragehunters (Monkeygreen) (@leveragehunters) (Teen And Up Audiences | No Archive Warnings Apply | 25,765 words)

Summary: Fast and fierce, the Horse Guard protect the Kingdom and its people, and they welcome anyone into their ranks-noble, commoner, or peasant-so long as they can ride a horse like they were born to it. Guard Barnes—Bucky—has come to the Kingdom's largest horse fair to find a new horse. He's supposed to choose from one of the approved horses; instead he finds himself buying a tall, skinny, angry stallion with the ridiculous name of Steve. Bucky can't leave him behind, but he's nothing like what Bucky's looking for and everything Bucky doesn't want. But Bucky's more right than even he knows because Steve's not a horse at all. He's a man under a curse, victim of a powerful sorcerer's temper and magic, and he's bound to never, by action or deed, reveal what he truly is. It's gonna be one hell of a ride. Also available as a podfic read by Tipsy_Kitty (@tipsyxkitty)

Steve Rogers Is (Not) A Good Influence by attackofthezee (noxlunate) (@attackofthezee) (Teen And Up Audiences | No Archive Warnings Apply | 4,181 words)

Summary: Steve’s left staring at the kid- Peter, his brain helpfully reminds him. The kid is staring back. “So, you’re, like, Captain America, huh?” Peter asks, and he looks a little starstruck but less so than he did when he’d stared at Tony Stark’s jet taking off. “Uh, yeah.” Steve says, staring hard at a spot just past the kid’s shoulder as he shoves his hands as deep as they can go into the pockets of his jeans. “Call me Steve.” “Cool.” Parker breathes, and Steve tries not to think about just how badly this is going to go. Aka Steve Rogers' American Tour Of Waiting For His Brainwashed Boyfriend To Come Back And Blowing Up Hydra is interrupted when Tony Stark dumps Peter Parker into his lap.

cascades. by orange_crushed (Mature | Graphic Depictions Of Violence | 152,138 words)

Summary: “Holy shit,” Howard says, crackling through the speakers. “You alive in there?” Lying is a sin, of course, but Steve’s not sure what else he can do. He’s already lied to the government and Bucky and God Almighty; and himself, himself most of all. He ought to tell the truth. That he’s not quite what they hoped for. That perhaps they should put him back into the ocean. “Probably,” he says, instead, listening to Howard’s tinny laughter; and waits for the blast doors to unlock. Also available as a podfic read by quietnight (@quietnighty)

Into That Good Night by Nonymos (Explicit | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence | 73,540 words)

Summary: Steve Rogers has lived for entirely too long—long enough to see the world's end. The heroes are gone, and the Earth is pushing what's left of mankind towards the exit. But when a makeshift team rises from the ashes, when a mysterious presence all but drags Steve there, he begins to think there may be hope yet. As they shoot for the stars one last time, Steve will get proof yet again that the future is nothing if not an echo of the past.

How to Woo the Winter Soldier by writeonclara (@writeonclara) (General Audiences | No Archive Warnings Apply | 21,570 words)

Summary: “I think I’m ready to date again,” Steve said. “What,” Natasha said. “What?” Clint said, lowering his binoculars. He blinked at the dumbstruck look on the Captain’s face, then followed his gaze to where he was staring dopily at—at the Winter fucking Soldier. “Steve, no,” Clint groaned. Or: Steve courts the Winter Soldier. Also available as a podfic read by Akaihyou (@akaihyou)

Bait and Switch by galwednesday (@galwednesday) (Teen And Up Audiences | No Archive Warnings Apply | 2,650 words)

Summary: "Post-action tacos?” Tony suggested. “I’m thinking that place by Fordham. BattleBot, you in?” “Can’t,” the Soldier said, typing something into his phone. “I have a date.” Tony stopped talking for an entire three seconds. “You. Have a date.” The Soldier looked up and blinked, clearly nonplussed to find Sam and Tony both staring at him. “Yes.” “With who?” “My boyfriend.” “You have a boyfriend. You have a boyfriend?” Tony looked like he’d just walked into a lamppost, and then the lamppost had handed him a birthday present. Also available as a podfic read by Nendian

[elliwoods]

I need to buy myself a really expensive lego set.... as a treat.

[wonder-worker]

"As for the government of the kingdom, [Edward V] had complete confidence in the peers of realm and the queen."

"According to the Crowland continuator, [Elizabeth Woodville] seems to have taken the king's place in listening to his council immediately after Edward IV's death. It does appear that she expected to have some role in her son's kingship, and the Crowland continuator’s report of the letters sent to her by [Richard of Gloucester] indicates that she had good reason to expect to be able to work with him and the other councillors: 'the duke of Gloucester wrote the most pleasant letters to console the queen; he promised to come and offer submission, fealty and all that was due from him to his lord and king, Edward V, the first-born son of his brother the dead king and the queen'."

"[However], in what was Gloucester's first coup, Edward V was separated from his household and Woodville advisors. When the young king questioned the move, Buckingham was reported to have told the boy 'It is not in the business of women but men to govern kingdoms'. The blunt remark referred to the authority of Elizabeth Woodville as queen and the power she must have anticipated within the new political climate left by Edward IV's sudden death [...] While the veracity of this scene is questionable*, the words attributed to the duke no doubt seemed plausible to Dominic Mancini who believed they exemplified the popular sentiment held by men [...]."

-Dominic Mancini, The Usurpation of Richard the Third / J.L. Laynesmith, The Last Medieval Queens: English Queenship 1445-1503 / Alexander R. Brondarbit, Power Brokers and the Yorkist State, 1461-1485

*One of Mancini's key sources seems to have been Edward V's own doctor, John Argentine, who attended to him in the Tower. It's very likely that he was the one who recounted this scene to Mancini, which suggests that it should probably be considered more credible than not.

[crystal-verse]

that promised guide on how i draw g'raha's face, feat. notes in the upper right corner and my own little specbio/au way of drawing him in the lower left

(shoutout to @fell-court for providing the reference screenshots!)

[fisheito]

If you tracked my eye activity on that bliss promo pic with the tops it would be something like this

Making a major stop at topper

Before crashing into a ditch (yakuya corner)

[flovoid]

‘the imperfect family’

[rogueonestan]

slow mornings

summary: slow mornings with joel are rare, which only makes them even more special.

word count: 2k

masterlist | ao3

Lazy mornings with Joel are rare. It’s not often that you’re able to just be in each other’s arms and sleep in. It's a rare occurrence when that’s able to happen. 

Usually, as soon as the sun rises, the both of you are getting ready for the day. You prepare coffee and breakfast for the two of you as Joel dresses himself. Sleeping in for an extra ten to fifteen minutes in the morning is a luxury. It’s even more of a luxury when you both can be wrapped in each other’s arms without worrying about what you have to do for the day, like today.

Joel made you a promise earlier in the week where he said he would try to make more time for you. With how hectic things have been as of late, the only time you got to see each other was late at night or early in the morning. Joel usually would be busy working for the majority of the day while you kept yourself busy, usually with menial tasks in the apartment you share with Joel.

Then, while you were busy cleaning the dishes last night, Joel had surprised you when he told you he had the following day dedicated only to you.

Hearing that put the biggest smile on your face. Your arms immediately wrapped themselves around his neck as his strong arms held you in his embrace. It was probably the happiest he’s seen you in a long time, so the same reciprocated on his face.

You woke up well before the sun rose this morning out of habit. You were about to begin your morning routine of starting a pot of coffee when you remembered what Joel had promised you the night before. So, your arms tightened their grasp around Joel’s waist as you drifted off to sleep. Mornings filled purely with sleep were the kind you always looked forward to the most.

The morning seemed to have slipped through your fingers faster than you ever could imagine. By the time you woke up for the second time this morning, the entire apartment was bathed in sunlight. Your eyes instinctively glance over at your partner as a warm feeling forms in your belly when you find his grasp on you is barely there. When you had fallen asleep earlier in the night, it would’ve taken all of your strength just to leave his grasp with how tight he held you throughout the night. It would’ve taken hardly any energy for you to unwrap yourself from his grasp and get out of bed.

Not that you would not to. If it were up to you, you would spend the remainder of your days like this- doing nothing in your lover’s arms without complaints. Gently adjusting yourself on your side so that you don’t disturb Joel from his slumber, your head rests against his chest. The steady rate of his heartbeat alone was enough to lure you to sleep for the remainder of the morning, perhaps even for the rest of the day, but you were determined to remember everything about this moment. From the way his heartbeat sounded to the barely there grasp he has on you, to the sounds from outside that can be vaguely heard in the room. 

Everything about this moment was perfect, something that came from dreams, so you focus on the thought of that. Thinking about the simplicity of it all brings a smile on your face.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜

It wasn’t long after that Joel finally lured himself awake. When he woke, though, he expected you to be asleep in his arms. That was always something he looked forward to when he woke up in the morning, so it surprised him when he woke up alone in bed this morning. His arm was resting where you were sleeping the previous night. The spot in the bed was still warm, so it wasn’t long since you left his side. 

As he begins to glance around the apartment, the sound of your humming coming from the direction of the kitchen puts a smile on his face. It’s something you’ve always done whenever you’re cooking dinner in the evening or you find yourself cleaning around the apartment. The aroma of the coffee beans beginning to fill the air is what lures Joel out of bed. 

“You’re not supposed to be out of bed.” Joel whispers in your ear as his arms wrap themselves from behind you.

Your hands come up and rest on top of his as a smile appears on your lips. You disregard the task at hand for a few moments as you intertwine your fingers with his, in which Joel gives your hand a soft squeeze in response. A soft hum leaves your lips, a sound of pure bliss. 

“I was just making us some coffee.” You tell him.

“I can see that.” He says to you as he rests his chin on your shoulder, but not before he pecks a soft kiss on the exposed skin on your neck. The scratchy feeling of his stubble tickles your skin and it’s enough to elicit a laugh out of you.

“Come back to bed.” Joel encourages you as he softly tugs on the grip he has on you, but you simply stay put.

“I can’t, Joel, I have to-“

“You don’t have to do anything. You’re not supposed to do a single thing today.”

“But-“

A soft sound of disapproval comes from his lips in response. His arms tug on you once again. “You can do it tomorrow. I missed you.”

A soft laugh bubbles in your throat. “I wasn’t even gone for five minutes.”

A whine falls from his lips. “Just come back to bed, baby. Please.”

“Oh, alright.” You eventually cave in, not that it took that much convincing. You allow Joel to guide you both back to bed.

Joel’s arms leave your embrace only for the limited time it took for the two of you to get situated in bed. As soon as the blankets are placed on top of you, the feeling of Joel’s arms are wrapped around you once again. 

The warm feeling of his skin on top of yours once again created the fuzzy feeling in your stomach, but that feeling also traveled throughout your body, including your brain- you couldn’t focus on anything at the moment. The only thing you manage to find yourself doing is placing your head back on Joel’s chest and listening to his heartbeat, just as you had done earlier in the morning. Your arms instinctively wrap themselves around his torso. 

Everything about this moment was perfect- it almost seemed too perfect for it to be real. It felt like it was coming out of a dream. You wanted to pinch yourself, to make sure this was real and you weren’t just making this up, but you didn’t want to ruin it. You simply allowed it to happen.

“What are you thinking about?” Joel asks you.

“Nothing.” You tell him. “It’s just… Is this real?”

A soft chuckle comes from his lips, the sensation of vibrations spread across his chest as a result. You slowly lift your head to look into his eyes. One of your hands places itself in the spot where your head was just resting to support yourself. A small smile begins to form on his lips when he glances at you.

“Yes. This is real.” He tells you. 

“This feels like a dream.” You whisper out loud. 

“Do you remember the day we met?”  You ask as your fingers play with the hem of his shirt.

He chuckles at the memory. “It’s quite hard to forget, you nearly broke my nose.”

It was now your turn to laugh in response. Warmth fills your cheeks as you bury your face in his chest. “That wasn’t my fault. You snuck up on me.”

“I would argue against that.”

“You shouldn’t sneak up on strangers.” You argue.

“You shouldn’t punch strangers in the face.” He rebuttals.

“How was I supposed to know you were the person I was supposed to meet?” A friend of a friend of yours had told you about this man who had the supplies you were in need of, but the place you were supposed to meet him at was in an area of the QZ you were unfamiliar with.

A short chuckle comes from Joel’s lips, the feeling vibrating against the hand you used to support yourself after you lifted your head from his chest. “You made quite the first impression.”

It was now your turn to laugh in response. Memories of that day flood your mind. Never would you have imagined that you would fall in love with the man who scared you half to death that day, or that you would be sharing an intimate morning with him in the bed you share.

One of Joel’s hands makes its way to the back of your head, gently encouraging you to return to its place on his chest. You gladly allow yourself to do so. The feeling of his hand running through your hair only adds to the light-headed feeling you have in your brain. The constant feeling of his fingers running themselves in your hair and the steady feeling of his heartbeat was threatening you to drift off once again.

Moments like these were the ones Joel looked forward to the most. They happen only a handful of times throughout the year. They only happen when work is slow or stolen moments between the two of you during the weekend. If it were up to him, his days would begin with mornings like this- you wrapped safely in his arms as you do nothing for the day.

The feeling of your soft hair was the only thing he focused on. The repeated action of roaming his fingers through your hair and gently scratching your scalp gave him something to do so that he wouldn’t drift off, not yet.

He wanted to take everything in before the day ended and you both had to return to your lives. He didn’t want to think about the harsh reality of the world, how if either left the walls of your apartment, it could be the last, so he allows himself to take everything in. 

The moment his fingers stop running themselves in your hair, your head tilts slightly up to look up at your partner. When you do so, you find him deep in thought as he looks off in the distance.

“What is it?” You ask.

“Nothing. It’s just, I missed this. I missed us.” Joel admits as the hand that once ran through your hair now caresses the high point of your cheekbone, gently stroking the area. The small smile on your face only grows at his confession.

“Me too.” You admit. Silence lingers in the air for a split second before you speak again. “I wish we could do this more often.”

“So do I.”

It wasn’t long after you felt yourself beginning to drift off. The familiar scent of Joel and the calm heartbeat of his was like a call for you to fall asleep, but before you’re able to do so, the feeling of Joel’s lips grazes the top of your forehead. You could even feel the feeling of his lips lifting up as they lingered on your skin. 

Just moments before you drift off, you hear him speak again. “I love you, baby.”

“I love you too.” You reply as a large smile is plastered on your face as you begin to drift off.

The remainder of your day was spent wrapped in each other’s grasp. Soft confessions would leave both of your lips whenever you were awake. Stolen kisses would occur throughout the afternoon- you would fall asleep to the feeling of Joel’s lips pecking wherever they could reach without waking you, and you would do the same. Though, it usually would be on the hand that was resting against your waist.

The only time you left your bed that day was when you began to prep dinner that night. It took a lot of convincing to convince Joel to leave side for thirty minutes, but when you were eating the meal you prepared, he sat near you as he held your hand. Joel never left your side until the following morning when you both went back to your usual routines.

[tifa-simp]

I want to see RedXIII square up to Dark Star in part 3. Can you imagine the cheeky insults he'll throw at Dark Star and maybe Rufus? It's gonna be hilarious.

Or even better, Tifa & RedXIII vs Rufus & Dark Star. It's gonna be sick!

[brooklynisher]

Okay blue thing here ya go

Mainframe design by @butterbolted-automaton (Under the cut!)

[x]