#also I appreciate that he apparently apologizes after barging in on that girl in the toilet lol

[toomuchbloodinmyalcoholsystem]

Pickles' Rehab Tantrum

i wonder if he's ever been called goatee crotch 🤔

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 07 part two

(Masterpost)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Lantern Lighting

Now we have the famous lantern scene, where everybody gets to express their character and have dates, ranging from disastrous to delightful, with the objects of their affection. 

Wei Wuxian continues to be ridiculously good at drawing. 

We’ve all seen Lan Wangji’s lovely first smile in the show a million times, so...let’s look at it again!

This scene is important not just because of the smile, but because there’s a distinct shift in the way they talk about their growing relationship. In the pond, it was “come visit me” and “never!” “I want to be your friend” “No need.” Basically Lan Wangji firmly saying no to Wei Wuxian’s offers of friendship.

This time, Wei Wuxian says “let’s do this together” and Lan Wangji says “I’m used to being alone,” which is not actually a No, just an explanation. And WWX says, you can change that. And then Lan Wangji DOES change it, sharing the lantern and the promise with Wei Wuxian.

Whoever painted this flower is even better than Wei Wuxian at plein air painting. 

(more after the cut!)

Everybody’s wishes

Nie Huasang makes a practical wish. Wen Qing prays for her brother and Jiang Cheng notices how she’s like Yanli. Jiang Cheng isn’t very intense about Wen Qing, which could be a sign of his shyness but could also be a sign of his gayness or aceness. After all, later in life he’s an apparently wealthy clan leader who is hot as fuck, and needs an heir, since his nephew is a Jin. But he’s still not married, 16 years after breaking up with and uh, helping to kill and cremate, the girl he liked in summer school.

The Promise We Made Together

Wei Wuxian makes an ultra-idealistic wish/promise while Lan Wangji watches and falls the rest of the way in love with him, and silently makes the same pledge inside his head. Later they will each refer to this as a promise they made together, which is a really super high level of face-reading by Wei Wuxian, to understand that he really is speaking for both of them here.  While making this promise, Lan Wangji brings out his Yin Iron Magic Bag and waves it around in front of everyone, but nobody notices. 

Let’s take a moment to consider *why* this moment is so powerful for Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji is a boy whose emotions are always on the boil. He’s 100% upset all the time, at this age, and he keeps it clamped down all the time. His cultivation level is probably as high as it is partly because of all the work he does in emotion regulation. (note: if you haven’t read all the meta at @howpeacefulislwj​ , go read it; it’s awesome and hilarious)

Wei Wuxian doesn’t GAF about emotion regulation; he just expresses what he feels, all the damn time. 

He is openly bored, lusty, playful, hungry, whiny. He straight up tells Lan Wangji “you’re boring and you have a stick up your ass” as part of saying he wants to be friends; no deference and also no falseness.  

And he can see right through Lan Wangji’s reserve, barging into his loneliness and isolation without any regard for all of his wards. Wards are made to be broken.

(Unrelated note: Young Lan Wangji's rare moments of contentment seem to come from looking at something beautiful--the moon, falling petals, these lanterns, his mirror.)

But Wei Wuxian is also good. Lan Wangji desperately wants to be good. And here’s Wei Wuxian embodying this awful, amazing, tempting alternative path, in which all the interesting things in life get explored thoroughly, all the sweetness and beauty gets consumed unreservedly, all the pain and ugliness gets confronted and endured without hesitation. 

In this moment, Wei Wuxian tells Lan Wangji “you can change,” and then offers up this prayer/promise that is just pure chivarly, speaking straight to Lan Wangji’s heart. Very simply, I want to spend my life doing right. Not 3500 rules; just one.

This infuriating boy, who breaks rules and who flirts indiscriminately and who pushes and pushes and pushes, reveals himself in this moment to be a hero at the beginning of his journey, and Lan Wangji sees it, and his heart goes right over the cliff.

The Girls’ Room

The girl cultivators all rush over to Yanli to get in her business about her betrothal, inspiring Jin Zixuan to act like a jerk to her and get even further onto Wei Wuxian’s bad side. 

Talk Shit, Get Hit

Yanli’s wish was that Wei Wuxian would grow up and be good. He promptly launches his own personal Sunshot campaign, punching her fiancee so hard that the sun falls out of the sky and the previously well-lit scene transitions to full night.

So, in English, “don’t mention it again” is really mild, akin to “I don’t want to talk about it.” Wei Wuxian’s reaction makes it seem like Jin Zixuan said something really shitty, like “don’t you dare mention that woman to me!” So I’m assuming something is being lost in translation. 

Lan Wangji tries to calm him down. He grabs Wei Wuxian’s sexy arm muscle and basically holds it until the Jiangs exit the scene. 

Nie Huaisang has placed himself between the opposing factions, which is unusually direct of him. In the future he’ll stick to being an unindicted co-conspirator when Wei Wuxian starts trouble. 

Ants in my Pants

Lan Wangji thinks kneeling can make Wei Wuxian cry, which is adorable of him. 

He really relishes this opportunity to be a pedantic tool to his new boyfriend that annoying boy he hardly ever touches, and it really doesn’t work out for him, poor lamb.

Jiang Fengmian stops by to show exactly how deep his affection for Wei Wuxian runs, and to give him whiplash from constantly changing parental expectations. In a couple of hours he’ll be laughing over WWX & JC’s hijinks.

Wei Wuxian takes this opportunity to fantasize about bad things happening to the other boy in the fight, which is in no way foreshadowing of anything.

Douche Dads Conference

We now convene this meeting of the douchebag council. Jiang Cheng is also invited even though he’s a prick, not a douche. <--important distinction

This is our first time meeting Clan Leader Jin Guangshan. He's actually the most sensible and best parent in this scene, but his smug self-satisfaction hints at his true nature. This actor, Shen Xiaohai, has been active in cdramas for a long while now. I wonder what he looked like 15 years ago?

...Holy mother of god.

Jiang Fengmian is the worst dad and the worst husband here. His clan believes in letting children do what they want - uhh YOUR child wants to marry Jin Zixuan. “I wrote a letter to her mother, who arranged this marriage.” Uhhh she arranged for her sickly, low-cultivation-level, sweet and vulnerable child to marry the heir of a rich and powerful clan, with a powerful mother-in-law who’s looking forward to loving and protecting her. Basically she’s guaranteed her daughter’s safety and comfort, and even potential happiness, since her husband may learn to appreciate her (and in fact, does, thanks to soup and repeated beatings from WWX).

Mom worked hard and probably spent a fair amount of social capital to achieve this. And you’re going to toss that aside because the boy thinks he’s too good for her? What the everloving fuck, how are you a clan leader in the first place? 

You can see that Jiang Cheng understands all of this and what a terrible choice his father is making here. 

So do the other adults in the room.

Jin Guangshen: our wives are going to kill us

Lan Qiren: I'm looking at a couple of dead men

Jiang Fengmian pointedly won’t listen to Jiang Cheng or let him speak, showing that all his talk about being free is actually bullshit, that only applies to other people’s children.

Jiang Chang vaults off of the deck to tell Wei Wuxian about it. Hottt

Sorry Sis

Wei Wuxian goes to Jiang Yanli to sorta-apologize and sorta ask to be let off the hook for fucking up her engagement, which he absolutely did. He knows it, which is presumably why he bows to her in paperman form while hiding outside.

At no time has Jiang Yanli indicated to anyone that she doesn’t want to marry Jin Zixuan, as far as I can see, or said she wanted to be defended from insults with punching. Look how good SHE is at defending a person from insults, for comparison.

Yin Iron Blah Blah Blah

The senior Lans meet with Jiang Fengmian  to talk about the Yawn Yin Iron. Yawn. 

Jiang Fengmian addresses Lan Xichen as Lan Gongzi, which is adorable, since he is a big boy to everyone else. His family calls him Xichen and other people call him Zewu-Jun.

Farewell and Fuck You

The three Jiang kids come to say goodbye.

Lan Quiren says goodbye with a heap of criticism for Wei Wuxian and the horse he rode in on, and Jiang Fengmian basically says, yep, that’s what he’s like, all right.  

Good thing Wei Ying gets so much verbal abuse at home he doesn’t take it very hard when he finds it in the field. 

Wangji doesn’t say goodbye properly, which will be a recurring theme for the two of them.

I don’t know if this is because he has a problem with goodbyes, or is just being a jerk, or because he’s so bad at lying he doesn’t dare talk to Wei Wuxian lest he reveal his travel plans. 

Indulgent Dad Continues to be the Worst

Jiang Cheng complains at Wei Wuxian for wanting to say goodbye to Lan Wangji, and WWX says he likes him because he is equal to WWX in fighting, whereas JC sucks. JC hits him tries to hit him--gosh, he DOES suck, comparatively. 

Yanli, who has been keeping these boys in line all summer, sighs deeply at her Dad’s tolerance for their hijinks. OP has five brothers and this sibling-hijinks behavior is 100% accurate, except for the part where it is happening at someone else’s house in front of the hosts. 

WWX pretending to be Lan Qiren where Lan Wangji can see him doing it, in front of Lan Qiren’s colleague and supposed friend, and just earning a laugh from the patriarch? Good lord.  Dad Jiang tolerating this is shocking, particularly in the in-show culture where corporal punishment is as common as tea. 

We’ve tried Nothing, and we’re all out of ideas!

Uggghh why are you like this?

Here in the real world, OP uses “positive discipline” with her child, and encourages other parents to consider it, particularly if your child is neuroatypical or asynchronous.  That said, JF should be punishing the crap out of both boys for this behavior every time it happens, or should quit being a clan leader.  He’s relying on Jiang Yanli to keep them in line while he gets to just be amused by them. And he’s letting Lan Qiren discipline Wei Wuxian instead of doing it himself. He suuuuuuucks. 

Lan Wangji watches all of this. Lan Xichen reminds Lan Wangji that without Wei Wuxian, he’s completely fucking miserable. Lan Wangji still doesn’t plan to bring him along on his trip, though.

Time to return to our lives of crushing loneliness

Rabbits

At this same moment when Lan Wangji is staring down the barrel of future loneliness, Wei Wuxian is already deciding to leave the (forbidden) rabbits in Cloud Recesses “In case Lan Zhan gets lonely.”  This small decision by Wei Wuxian - breaking the rules of Cloud Recesses for the millionth time - is kinder than he knows. Because what is the job of these rabbits? Let’s have a desaturated flashback. 

Lan Zhan spent 3 years in the ice cave. The rabbits kept Lan Yi company in the ice cave. So...did the rabbits sneak in to keep Lan Wangji company in the ice cave as well? I’m going to say yes. By ep 43 they are following him to the gate of Cloud Recesses so they are very attached to him.  Well done, Wei Ying.

Where my bitches at? Seriously, our warren needs bitches

(Is Watership Down still a thing people read? If not, just go ahead and assume all of OP’s rabbit jokes are about Watership Down because OP ain’t going to stop making them)

While Wei Wuxian annoys the bunny he has a flashback to the scene that happened 4 minutes earlier. The Untamed editors assume the viewership has the attention span of a goldfish, and I personally appreciate that they understand me so well.

Wei Wuxian figures out that Lan Wangji is going on the road alone, and tells the bunny immediately. The bunny is very concerned.

Writing Prompt: What do next-generation cultivators Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi wish for at lantern-lighting time?

[epicfangirl01]

Random HCs of The Bois™️ Finding Out About AFAB!MC's Period

Honestly, I'm only writing this because of Mammon's reaction that popped into my head, and I wanted to see how the others would react. Also, these are on the basis that you and the brother are dating a couple months after your arrival.

TW: 18+ because some of the brothers are needy af

Lucifer

You knock on Lucifer's door shortly after school, feeling anxious. Your period came in the middle of your final class, when you realized you were out of pads and tampons. As you were in the Devildom, there isn't a stock of supplies for your already miserable week. And the only way to go to the human world was through Lucifer or Diavolo. As much as you love the gentle giant, you would rather talk about the situation with your boyfriend.

Lucifer tells you to come in, and the eldest brother's eyes soften as he glances up at you. His gaze doesn't linger, however, turning back to his stack of paperwork.

"Do you miss me already, MC? The academy bells have just finished ringing." You shift nervously, your period making you feel uncomfortable, before speaking up.

"I do, but that's actually not why I'm here... I need to go to the human world to pick some things u-" Lucifer sighs, scratching the paper with his pen.

"Darling, I'm sorry, but I am very busy. Besides, you just got home from school. You can wait to go on a shopping spree with Mammon and Asmodeus." You step closer, frowning, and you try to explain.

"No, Lucifer, that's not-" Lucifer's eyes narrow in irritation, still glancing at his paperwork, but his words become a firm warning.

"MC, you must finish your homework. You can go shopping this weekend." Your lower stomach twists in pain, cramps rapidly increasing, and you snap.

"Lucifer, my vagina is FUCKING BLEEDING, DAMMIT!!! I need to go to the store!" The demon's eyes widen as he drops his pen, and he looks up at you, surprised.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say...?" Frustration overwhelms you, until you catch the confusion and concern in his eyes.

"In all your years of existence, you haven't heard of a period before???" Lucifer doesn't say anything, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"I really am overworking myself, aren't I? I suppose it's been a while since I've been to the surface...." You shake your head, chuckling, and you relax when Lucifer is finally ready to listen. You take a couple minutes to explain what is happening, and what you need to take care of yourself. When you're finished, Lucifer nods, glad that you will be okay.

"I apologize for my behavior. I will be more supportive in the future. Here, have some money for your errands. Will $100 dollars be sufficient?" (Yes, Luci, yes it is.)

Mammon

You sit down on Mammon's leather couch, shifting to a semi-comfortable position, and enjoying a movie night with your lovable boyfriend. Mammon grabs some blankets for you, before plopping onto the couch. He smiles at you, and holds you close, making sure that you are settled. You watch the movie for a while, enjoying the movie, when you catch a mischievous glint in your boyfriend's eyes.

"Mammon, wha-"

He smiles and pulls you into his lap, gently kissing you neck. You sigh a bit, uncomfortable with sitting in general, but loving his kisses and nips. You didn't expect Mammon's hand to cup your crotch, but you especially didn't expect him to scream in your ear.

"WHERE THE FUCK DID IT GO?!?"

The pissed off side of your brain fumes for a moment, until your eyes meet Mammon's. You burst out laughing at the panic on Mammon's face, realizing that he felt your pad. The demon of greed doesn't appreciate your laughing, feeling genuinely worried for his beloved human. When you calm down, you turn back to him.

"Mammon, I'm fine. It's still there. I'm just.... kinda on my period..."

He looks at you like you grew three heads, and it quickly becomes apparent he has no idea what you're talking about. You take a few minutes to explain, and he listens patiently, but he still continues to panic.

"You're saying you can bleed FOR A WEEK and be fine?!? And you constantly have cramps and migraines? And this happens once a month??? Why the hell didn't you say anything? How can I help my human when you don't say you need me?!"

He carefully sets you down, before bolting of of the couch and out the door. You gape at the doorway for a moment, wondering what Mammon is up to. He returns for a moment, his arms holding a pile of pillows, medicine, pajamas, and snacks.

"Does this help? I got the pillows and pjs from your room, medicine from the bathroom, and I kinda took snacks from Beel's stash under his bed.... But it's fine! I made a note that you'll buy more later."

You shake your head, smiling, and you thank him as he walks over to help you. Once Mammon knows you are comfortable, he sits down beside you. You gently kiss Mammon on the lips, before you lay on your side, resting your head on his lap. The demon blushes, and he pulls the blanket over you. His hands gently stroke your hair, and you watch the movie together until you both fall asleep.

Leviathan

The third born invites you into his room for anime night (every night, lol), and you walk into the room with snacks in you arms. Levi welcomes you in as you set the bags onto his coffee table, before grabbing a couple drinks from his mini fridge.

"Good, you're early! The pilot is about to start!"

You chuckle, happy to spend time with him, and you bend down to place everything on the table. As you do so, your shirt lifts just enough to show a small stain on the back of your pants. Levi's eyes accidentally catch sight of it, resulting in a blush.

"Uh, MC? You have a s-stain on your pants..." You turn and look down at your legs, turning to try to find what he's talking about, but you can't see it.

"I can't find it. I'll just wash it off when I get back to my room." The demon tenses and shakes his head, trying to think of the least awkward words to say.

"No, no! I-I mean, you have a blood stain. Y-your period kinda started...."

Your eyes widen at his words, and you look in the reflection of his glass aquarium, cursing at the stain. You hadn't noticed this time, the monthly curse being subtle throughout your busy afternoon. You start to apologize to Levi, when he shakes his head.

"It's not your fault. I-it's fine. I just... I know it might be weird that I know about it. I found out from a high school anime. In the episode, the protagonist goes on their way to school, getting bullied by the leader of the popular girls, and the bully turns away but the protagonist stops her because of a stain, and despite being enemies, the protagonist is kind and knows how she feels, so they take her to the bathroom and helps her clean up... And I- I know it probably sounds weird or creepy for someone to watch anime like that, but I thought it was kind and empowering, an-" You stop Levi mid rant, smiling at his anxiousness, and you give him a small hug.

"Thanks, Levi. I appreciate it. It's part of the unspoken period code, ya know? It can be awkward and embarrassing enough, so even just a discreet heads up can be very helpful. Don't worry about it, okay?"

He nods, glad you understand, and he gently hugs you back.

"O-okay. I'll be back, alright? I remember seeing in the episode that it helps to have a hot shower sometimes to ease the cramps and feel less uncomfortable, and that blankets and pjs can help. I guess if you don't mind a loser like me, you could use any blankets or hoodies I have if it makes you feel better..."

You smile and nod, grateful for the demon of envy. He shyly smiles back, and he spends the rest of the night making sure that you're comfortable during the show.

Satan

The library is quiet and warm as you sit at a table with Satan, working on your assignments. You struggle and struggle through a complex spell for your potions class, irritation and fatigue clouding your brain. You are already sore and pissed off from the beginning of your period, but now stress and anger bubbles beneath the surface.

"MC, you have to say it calml-"

You huff, throwing up your hands, and you scowl at the unaffected spell dummy in front of you.

"I know, Satan! I've been calm for the past half hour, and it's still not right! Can you just actually give me some fucking advice for once so I can get this shit over with?!?"

The middle brother looks at you for a moment, stunned, before chuckling.

"I didn't know you could hold so much anger, MC. I'm almost impressed, although, it is very out of character for you... Are you alright?"

A sigh escapes your lips as you awkwardly cross your arms, looking away. You explain that you are just tired, but Satan can hear the hesitation in your voice. The demon of wrath doesn't speak for a moment, thinking about your recent behavior, and everything snaps into place. Satan has read enough books to last an eternity, including ones about human biology. He knows exactly what is happening, and he generally understands how you are feeling. And through his readings, Satan knows not to ask you directly, should your anger grow.

"Ah, I understand. Well, why didn't you say that you needed a break, kitten? I could have helped you unwind a little."

With that, Satan pulls you away from the table to rest on the couch, grabbing a book from his bag. Once you are both settled, Satan pulls a blanket over you both and opens his book while you rest your head on his lap.

With his human in his arms, Satan calmly reads to you, his voice silky as you eventually drift off to sleep.

Asmodeus

The demon of lust practically barges into your room, Majolish bags in tow as he squeals with excitement.

"MC! Look, Majolish's exclusive swimwear line came out! I found this ADORABLE swimsuit for you to try! It was the last in your size." He pulls out the swimsuit from a bag, showing it to you.

You look up at Asmo, gasping at the swimsuit.

"That looks perfect! Thank you, Asmo. I'll try it on later. I'm not fe-"

Asmo pouts, tossing the swimsuit to you, and reaching for another outfit from his bag.

"Come on!!! I have so much stuff for us to try on! And then we could maybe go to the beach tomor-"

You shake your head, sighing.

"No, Asmo. I'm not up to swimming this week", you lie, shifting in your seat uncomfortably.

Asmo notices, and immediately drops the subject.

"Are you alright, hun? Is it a rough cycle this time?"

Your eyes widen in surprise before you look up at him. His eyes are filled with concern, before you nod.

"Yeah, but it's nothing I haven't dealt with before. I'll be fine. Let's go swimming next week, okay?"

The avatar of lust smiles, before carefully pulling you out of the chair.

"Come on. Let's have a spa day instead. I'll make sure you feel stunning and comfortable."

Beelzebub

You look through the kitchen in your pjs, craving all of your favorite foods, when you hear the door quietly squeak open. Your head turns back, and you see the sheepish gaze of the 6th born.

"Do you need a midnight snack, Beel? I was about to make something myself. I can make some for you."

Beel nods, smiling, before coming into the room.

"I smelled something delicious coming from the kitchen, so I came to check. That's strange, though. You haven't made anything yet?" Beel takes in the large amount of food on the table, much more than you normally eat. Maybe the gluttonous demon was rubbing off on you, he wondered.

You shake your head, just as confused as he is.

"Maybe you were so hungry that you started imagining it. You've done that a few times before."

Beel sniffs the air, before walking up behind you.

"You smell different today... MC, you smell so good..... Can I have a taste?"

You choke on air, trying to understand what he just said.

"Beel! You can't just ask that! That's perverted!" He looks at you with confused, innocent eyes, like a kicked puppy.

"What do you mean? I just wanted to kiss your head. Oh.... You thought I meant or-"

A small screech of panic escapes your lips, and you stop Beel mid-sentence, telling him not to spend too much time with Asmo.

"Right. Sorry, MC... Can I ask a question? Why do you smell different today? You're not as sweet and salty as usual. And you're a lot hungrier today.... Are you okay?"

Realization punches the wind out of you as you understand what Beel has been smelling. He was attracted to your blood, without knowing what it was. An awkward laugh fills the air, and you look away from the red head's gaze.

You spend the next few minutes explaining what was going on, and Beel listens intently as you go on.

"Okay. I'm sorry for being rude... I didn't mean to. To make up for it, I can make you whatever you want. Sit down, and I'll get you some water. You'll lose a lot of hydration for the next few days. Then when food is done, we can go watch Devilish Desserts in my room. Belphie is in the attic tonight."

You smile, pulling Beel into a hug before spending a relaxing evening together.

Belphegor

The sound of your DDD alarm fills the cozy attic, waking you and Belphie up from your after school nap. The youngest brother groans before pulling you closer.

"Did you really have to wake me up? I was having such a nice dream..."

You push yourself off Belphie and the bed, feeling as if you were hit by a truck. Why did you have to feel awful now, when you made plans to see the angels?

Your body aches as you stand, attempting to wake up enough to get ready. Belphie mumbles with irritation, rolling onto his side.

"What's more important tha- Huh? Is that blood?"

Your eyes widen, and you look back to the bed, and your eyes find the red stain on the bedsheets. You look at Belphie in horror, and he sits up, now wide awake.

"MC, are you okay? That's where you were sleeping."

You want to die. You want to shrivel up into a ball and die because how are you going to explain to your boyfriend that it came out of your vagina, and that it's NORMAL?!? Blood coming from anywhere brings some sense of concern anyway, no matter what realm you are from.

"Haha- Yeah, um, about that, I kinda need to tell you something...."

Belphie stays surprisingly alert as you explain, only relaxing when you state that it's normal and frequent.

"Ah. Okay. Tell Simeon to fuck off. You're sick, and you're staying here. Go get a spare hoodie and sweatpants. I'll get you meds, a heating pad, and some spare pillows. Tell the others you're with me tonight."

You smile, glad he understands, and Belphie gets you a couple of things while you get comfortable. When you walk back into the attic, Belphie is fast asleep with his limbs curled around a log of blankets, waiting for you to return.

[5thmarauderwrites]

Apps, Texts & Wizardry — The Marauders x Reader | Request.

Requests are: OPEN.

Requested by Anonymous: “Helooo💛 could you write a modern au where the reader is teaching the marauders how to use tech? Have a nice day :)“.

Pairing: The Marauders x Fem!Reader [platonic].

Word Count: 2,4K

Warnings: None, it’s basically all fun and teasing and friends being friends.

A/N: Hope you like this! I had to refrain myself from the dialogues a bit because i had lots of fun remarks and teasing moments in my head as i imagined how the teaching process would be, so it would end up being very, very long if i hand’t stopped myself. Also the title SUCKS because i literally couldn’t think about anything good.

“L/N!” James yelled your last name in the middle of the library, shaking a brand new smartphone clutched in his hand; Sirius and Peter on his trail. Remus walked a little further, an apologetic frown on his features as he looked at you.

“Potter!” Madam Pince shrieked. “Out! Now!”

“But I’ve just got here!” The boy with unruly black hair protested.

“I do not care! Screams and loud tones of voice are strictly forbidden in my library! Go on – out! Out before I hex you!” The witch brandished her feather duster at the boy as she gesticulated for him to leave.

James grimaced, pushing his glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose, “I just need to talk to my friend, please! She’s right there!” He pointed to you, who watched the unfolding scene with a look of pure terror, in fear that Madam Pince would banish you from the library for good after James’ antics.

Madame Pince sent you a death glare before turning back to the Marauders with a fulminant look on her face, “out, all of you! NOW!”

“We haven’t even done anything!” Sirius shrugged with a frown, trying to defend himself.

The older witch gave them a last warning glare and, getting the message; Remus mumbled an apology and dragged the other three boys out of the room. Madam Pince waited until they were completely off the library’s limits to walk angrily to the table you were sharing with Lily, Marlene and Alice in the quieter corner of the study room.

“L/N!” She spat as she approached your table. “You know you’re one of the few students that I actually tolerate in this school, but this better not happen again because next time you’ll be kicked out with them!”

You widened your eyes in horror and nodded vigorously, afraid to make any noise and irritate the librarian even more. Madam Pince huffed satisfied at your acknowledgement of her threat before turning on her heels and leaving you with a dumbfounded look on your face.

“I don’t know how you and Remus can be friends with those twats,” Lily said in a belittled tone of voice whilst rolling her eyes.

“They’re not that bad once-“ you started to defend the Marauders but trailed off as you looked in the direction of the closed window by the side of the door and saw James and Sirius with their faces glued to the glass, waving for you to come to them.

“You were saying?” Marlene frowned disgustedly at their behaviour.

“Come on, they’re nice people, girls!” Alice chuckled, defending the boys as the sweet and kind person she was.

“They are! Thank you, Ali!” You wrapped your arm around the girl’s shoulders in a gesture of appreciation.

“Sure,” Lily teased with a frown as she studied the boys, whom were now making silly faces at your group from behind the glass window. “I’m sure if you google stupid twats their names won’t come up as soon as you hit the search button.”

Marlene high-fived Lily at her remark and you couldn’t help but smile, even though you rolled your eyes at your redhead friend, “you know you and James have a lot in common, don’t you?” You teased, getting up and grabbing your phone and laptop.

“Where are you going?” She asked amidst a blush, purposely ignoring what you had just said.

“To see what they bloody want before Madam Pince spots them and forbids me to step a foot into the library for good of course,” you shrugged with a lopsided grin and walked away from your lady friends, heading to the boys in the corridor.

 -

 “Y/N, I’m so sorry! I told these idiots that you were studying and they should not bother you!” Remus said as soon as he saw your moving figure approaching the door, his arms up in an apologetic gesture.

“That’s okay, Rem. I know their stupidity is uncontrollable,” you chuckled, squeezing the taller boy’s shoulder.

“Hey!” Sirius exclaimed, offended, as he ran a hand through his thick dark locks.

“She’s not lying,” Remus said with a light shrug of his shoulders, pressing his lips together to contain a smile.

“What do you bloody want from me anyway to barge in the library like that?” You winged your brows, specifically scolding James.

“Sorry about that, little one. Madam Pince really needs to learn how to relax,” he frowned, recalling her unpleasant screams. “Anyway, we got ourselves brand new phones and this muggle box you call a laptop and we were wondering if you could help us out with those… things.”

You lifted a brow as you crossed your arms across your chest, “you got phones? And laptops?” You repeated his sentence with a surprised tone of voice.

“That’s what I just said, yes,” James frowned.

“I reckon you saying something like,” you started, raising your hands in the air and mimicking quotes as you tried your best to impersonate James, “’I will never trade my owl and parchments for these bloody muggle things with these annoying noises.’”

“I’ll admit I may have spoken too soon,” he shrugged with a grimace. “Blimey, it’s hard not to surrender to those things when the entire school and even the Professors are using it!”

You gazed at James with an amused look on your face.

“So, will you help us out, love?” Sirius steadied himself on you as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders and stared at you with puppy eyes.

“I could use the help of these things to improve my studying method and have easier access to books,” Remus said shyly, putting his hands into his pockets.

“I want to try those games the lads have been playing, they’re even talking about doing championships and starting clubs,” Peter’s eyes twinkled as he nodded excitedly.

You heaved a sigh as you looked to the pleading faces of the four Marauders. “Fine, I’ll help you idiots out.”

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

 You had been helping the Marauders with the muggle technology for a few days now and it wasn’t getting any easier. As wizards born and raised into wizarding families, the boys never had any sort of familiarity with technology nor muggle devices before, which hampered the task in hand considerably. Even Remus, who was unquestionably the cleverest among them, was struggling to learn how to properly use a phone.

Beginning with the smartphone was your idea, because you thought that after they mastered this complex device, learning how to use a laptop would be a piece of cake. You just didn’t imagine that it would be so bloody difficult.

“Wait, wait, and wait!” Sirius interrupted your explanation about the Face ID for the third time with a confused frown as he threw his head back heavily into the back pillow of the Gryffindor Common Room sofa. “How am I supposed to make my face unlock this thing? Will I have to hex it?”

“No, you daft dimbo!” You huffed, annoyed. “I’ll get there if you just stop interrupting me!”

“Sorry, love,” he smirked satisfied at your apparent annoyance, resting his elbows on Remus’ and James’ shoulders. “I’ll admit I have a liking to piss you off; and apparently I accomplish that even when I’m not trying to.”

“You sure do!” You smiled wryly at him, curling your legs on the seat of the stuffed armchair you were occupying, leaning yourself a little in the boys direction. “Anyway, you’ll access your phone settings right… here,” you said, showing them with your phone where to tap. “To register your face, you’ll need to hold your device between 10 and 20 inches away from you. With your face centered in the circle, you’ll move your head around until the scan is complete.”

The boys quickly followed your instructions and registered their faces, finally completing the basic configurations of their phones as they did so, allowing you to start teaching them how to use its apps and download other ones.

“There’s a camera in this? Cool!” Sirius exclaimed excitedly once he unlocked his phone screen. “What?” He added with a smile when you chuckled at his reaction.

“I’ve always thought that if you were a muggle, you’d sort of be an edgy photographer,” you answered with a lopsided grin.

“I could be one to,” James shrugged uninterested. “I’d definitely be edgy.”

“You, James? Come on!” You rolled your eyes, laughing wholeheartedly. “You’d be an annoying influencer jock.”

“A what?” He asked, utterly confused as if you were speaking in another language.

“You’d definitely be an overachiever high school athlete who were not only famous at school but also on the internet,” you winged your brows at him, resting your chin of your fist.

“You’d definitely be like that, mate!” Remus laughed, pointing his index finger at James.

“Yeah? And how would all-mighty Moony be?” James teased, crossing his arms across his chest and bending his head a little so he could playfully stare at his brown-haired friend.

“Rem would be a total hipster!” You shouted excitedly, clapping your hands. “He’d definitely be an outsider to the cultural mainstream, he’d have an online blog where he’d review books and would definitely be vocal about structural issues in the muggle society.”

“Why would he be the coolest among us?” James frowned, a little annoyed.

“Because he already is,” you shrugged, winging your brows.

“I can totally see muggle Moony being like that too,” Peter nodded vaguely from his seat on the arm of the sofa, picturing what you had just said inside his head.

“Can we focus on the tech again?” James said, swinging his phone in the air.

“Yes, we can, you pampered berk,” you answered, the ends of your lips curling up into an amused smirk as you got up of the armchair and motioned to the sofa, squeezing yourself between James and Sirius.

Slowly, you started to explain to them how to use the iMessage service and how to text someone and read the texts you receive. The boys seemed awestruck by the fact that you could get in touch with someone so easily and get an instant response back.

“Wicked! Now I can ask Lily out without putting myself in danger!” James exclaimed excitedly, the blaze that crackled in the fireplace lighting up his features. “Can’t I?”

“Well, she can always block your number, you know…” you frowned mockingly at him, earning amused laughs from Remus, Sirius and Peter.

The four of you teased James for a while before you and the boys got back to the teaching process. An hour or so later, you had already covered all the phone basic apps and they were already familiar with their functions and how to properly use them.

“Now, to the fun stuff!” You announced excitedly. “Let’s introduce you lads to the wonderful world of the trending apps.”

“Are there more?” Sirius widened his eyes as he rested his head on your shoulder.

“Indeed, my dear Black!” You quirked your brows satisfied, tilting your head so you could look him in the eyes. “There are tons of apps you can download to improve your experience, apps that match your likings such as, in your case, dating apps.”

“Dating apps? Can’t you just charm the ladies through texts?” He asked confusedly.

“You sure can, but these apps are basically made for people who want to engage on… knowing someone a little bit better, if you know what I mean,” you chuckled. “With the dating apps you don’t have to ask yourself if the other person is somehow romantically interested in you, because when they swipe right and the match is made, it means the interest is mutual.”

“And how would you know all this?” He asked, lifting his head and smirking mockingly at you. “Y/N L/N, do you use dating apps?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” you retorted, blushing furiously. Sirius’ smirk grew wider.

A sudden silence fell among the five of you as you and Sirius stared at each other with narrowed eyes; he holding a teasing look whilst you held a deadly one. James and Remus watched the scene with delighted expressions whilst Peter monotonously scrolled through his phone screen.

“Ahem,” Remus cleared his throat with an amused smile, dragging you and Sirius back to reality. “Are there any good apps to download books and to read them?”

You slowly tilted your head in Remus’ direction and, nodding, started to show him the apps you had on your phone for reading purposes and which ones you thought would fit his needs better. Remus avidly listened to your tips whilst downloading each and every app you had mentioned on his own phone.

The day quickly faded into night as you and the Marauders went on and on about the technologies and its functions and soon, the five of you were the only ones in the now silent Common Room, the light coming from the fireplace and the displays of your phones being the only things shining in the almost complete darkness.

“And done!” James exclaimed, getting up from the sofa and stretching himself. “TikTok is already downloaded and ready to be used! Tomorrow we’ll pull the ‘Dance Like a Hippogriff’ prank and Y/N here will film everything so we can upload the edited video on our TikTok account later.”

“Excuse you?” You frowned, crossing your arms across your chest.

“It’ll be fun, I promise!” He joined his hands pleadingly. “Come on! Please?” He added at the grimace you made.

“Fine!” You rolled your eyes with a smile after a few seconds. “Now I’m going to bed before another brilliant idea pops up into that twat mind of yours."

Saying goodbye to the Marauders, you walked to the stairs that led to the girls’ dormitory and took a quick look over your shoulder. Before you climbed up the stairs, a smile formed on your lips as you saw the four boys talking excitedly and laughing whilst scrolling through their phones.

[raccdog]

Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms (Part 4)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3  | Part 4  | Part 5

Adrien ascended the stairs of the school absentmindedly, immersed in his own thoughts. Yesterday’s fight with Ladybug had left him depressed. He had never meant to be so cruel. He knew he had taken his own problems out on her. He hadn’t been fair.

He had tried messaging after he’d arrived home but she never read the messages, and he couldn’t really blame her. He had been a prick.

With a sigh he placed his phone in his back pocket, only to see a familiar black mop braided in pigtails walk a few meters in front of him. Marinette. He had forgotten about her. He still owed her an apology.

With renewed determination he trod through the crowd of students until he reached her. She was facing forward, not realizing she was being followed. As he got closer two things became clearer. Firstly, she smelled weird, but not in a bad way. It simply was a pungent, herb-like smell that made his sensitive nose twitch slightly. And secondly, she seemed to wobble as she took each step, so much so that he was afraid she was going to fall the moment a weak breeze passed by.

Pepping himself up mentally, he decided it wasn’t the moment to hesitate and reached for her shoulder.

Only to be turned around, his arm seized in a martial art’s hold as he fell to his knees, his hand completely twisted painfully on his back. He couldn’t have been in that position for more than a few seconds before whoever had attacked him released him again, but he was certain he never wanted to relive that experience again. Adrien then noticed a very frantic voice to his left. The girl apologizing over and over again for some reason...

Oh. The person apologizing and on the verge of tears was no other than Marinette.

And she probably was also the one who had brought him to his knees.

“Are you sure you’re ok Adrien?” She was heaving. “Do you need the nurse? A doctor? Surgery? Oh god I didn’t break your arm did I?” She was flailing like crazy. She was probably on the verge of a full on panic-attack he noticed, with the way she was failing to breath through her ramblings.

“It’s ok ‘Nette, it was my fault, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you,” Adrien chuckled softly, moving his hand to as to show her it was fine, albeit it did feel a bit sore. “Besides, I deserved it.”

Marinette finally seemed to regain some of her composure, blinking owlishly, blue eyes on green ones. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. The awkwardness almost palpable.

He opted on being the first one to make a move. He stood up, dusting himself off, and offered her a hand. She looked at it for a few moments before her gaze returned to staring at him. Adrien was beginning to fear that she might not forgive him, but just before he was about to retract his hand she grabbed it, using him as an anchor to lift herself. They stayed like that for a while, their hands lingering  in each other’s.

His free hand shot up to ruffle his nape. “Listen Mari I...” Adrien began hesitantly. “I wanted to apologize, for everything.” He gripped her hand a tad more firmly. She didn’t know how far his apology went. Both as Adrien and as Chat Noir, he was so sorry. He hoped that she could see the sincerity in his face as she looked at him, searching his face for something.

He hadn’t realized he’d been holding a breath until she smiled weakly and Adrien found himself exhaling in relief.

“It’s ok Adrien, I forgive you,” she giggled softly. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you that way either, or assaulted you like that just a minute ago.”

He laughed slightly at that. “Well, we’re even then,” he agreed. He noticed how her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, and she still looked dead tired, but at least his apology had apparently lifted some weight off her shoulders, if the way she had visibly relaxed was anything to go by.

Before he could overthink it he pulled her into a hug, her soft form pressing comfortably against him. She smelled like pastries, sugar, bread and that herb stuff that intrigued him, but he absolutely loved it.

She pulled away quickly after, the hug a bit too short for his taste but he stepped back anyway, giving her space. Her smile was better now, a bit more real and wide.

“Thank you Adrien, I needed that,” she confessed, grasping his bicep faintly. He only nodded, grinning from ear to ear. He was glad he had made up with one of his best friends.

As the bell rang they separated, waving each other goodbye. He was happy sure, but he still felt a little guilty. Maybe he’d surprise her after school with a visit.

After a long day, the last bell finally sounded. Every student got up and prepared to leave. Adrien walked next to Nino, not actually listening to the conversation he seemed to be having with Kim and Max. He was mentally going over his plan again. He’d first go to the bakery and ask permission to spend some time with Marinette, then they could play some videogames together and he’d invite her to something in order to properly apologize.

Just as he smiled to himself because of the ingenuity of his secret plotting he caught that scent again. Except this time it was way stronger, so much so that he found himself retching violently as he went down. Nino, Kim and Max were at his side in an instant, asking if he was alright.

“I’m fine guys it’s just,” he said slowly, trying to not breath anymore of that stench again. “What is that smell?” The three boys looked at one another and then they turned to look at something to the right before their eyes were on him again. Kim was smirking, Max was grimacing and Nino was giving him a small sympathetic smile.

“What?” Adrien asked embarrassed, immediately regretting it as he started coughing.

“Coddled Rich Boy Adrien Agreste hasn’t smelt weed before!” Kim laughed.

“W-What?” The blond choked.

“You know blondie! La beu, l’herbe, la ganja, la marie! Weed bro!” He explained.

“B-but that smell, it can’t, wha-” He couldn’t think clearly, the stink too overwhelming.

“It’s those older students from the class across ours,” Max explained, his nose also scrunched up. “I don’t appreciate their...odor trail either.”

“Don’t worry dude, I’ll tell them to move a bit so you can recover ok?” Nino offered, patting his shoulder when Adrien nodded helplessly.

For some time he tried to hold his breath as much as he could, before inhaling small spurts of air to try and minimize the use of his nose. Adrien felt lightheaded and ready to pass out from lack of proper oxygen by the time Nino came back. “You can breathe again dude,” he reassured him. “They’re gone now.”

Adrien finally let go and breathed deeply, his puffs sounding raspy after such an ordeal. The smell still lingered slightly, but it was much more bearable now. It even was a bit familiar, almost like...

“I have to go!” Adrien yelled suddenly, realization hitting him like a bucket of cold water. He jumped to his feet quickly as he rushed past his concerned classmates.

“What is his deal,” Kim asked Nino, who only shrugged. “I don’t know dude, he’s been acting weirdly lately.” He shook his head. “He probably is late to one of his scheduled activities.”

Adrien, meanwhile, was barging in through the front of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Sabine looked up in surprise at the racket, but smiled when he saw it was Adrien, although it was rare to see him panting like that.

“Hello Adrien, what brings you here?”

“Hello Miss Cheng,” he heaved. “Is Marinette upstairs?”

Sabine frowned. “Yes she is but-”

“Great! Can I see her? It’s urgent!”

“Yeah you can go up but she’s not al-”

“Thank you see you later bye!” He replied, already going upstairs. Sabine could only smile and shake her head. Boys, always so impatient. She just hoped Marinette could handle two male teenagers at the same time. With a hidden smirk she went back inside the bakery’s kitchen. It was better if Tom didn’t know.

Adrien stopped for a second when he was right in front of the trapdoor. On the other side, music and laughter could be heard. He recognized Marinette’s voice, but she wasn’t alone. A deeper tone was talking and laughing alongside her.

Before he could hesitate any further, he opened it, the room plummeting to silence.

“Adrien? What are you doing here?” He heard Marinette ask. The room was rather dimly lit, her fairy lights turned on. She was sitting on her chaise, no, rather she was sitting on someone’s lap. He was a familiar face. If he remembered correctly he was Juleka’s older brother.

“Sorry Marinette, your mother let me in and I had to talk to you about...” He trailed off as he sniffed more profoundly. The smell was back. It wasn’t as strong as it had been at school, but it definitely didn’t leave him with any doubts. His eyes narrowed at the cups they were holding, where a soft whiff of smoke was rising. The scent came from within them.

“Why are you smoking weed Marinette?” He growled. Marinette’s eyes widened like saucers.

“What?” She squeaked incredulously. The other male only laughed, setting his cup aside as he rose, lifting Marinette gently to let her sit back on the seat. “Calm down Sunshine,” he chuckled. “Come inside!”

But Adrien wasn’t calm. Oh no. He was furious. He could feel himself bristle. “Do you think this is funny?” He spat, then turned to look at the girl pleadingly. “Please Marinette, why would you do drugs?”

Adrien stepped inside and tried to approach her, but was intercepted by Luka.

“Whoa there hot-stuff,” he tried calmly. “Let’s not accuse each other like that ok? There’s no way Marinette could be doing drugs,” the blue-haired boy smiled. He only growled at the older boy, whose eyebrow rose, not intimidated at all. To Adrien’s chagrin they were at eye level, since they were roughly the same height. He would have liked to tower over him at that moment.

“Get out of my way!” He hissed. “I need to talk to Marinette!”

“Adrien!” The girl in question exclaimed. “What is wrong with you! Don’t talk to Luka like that!”

“I don’t think you need to talk to anyone at all, buttercup,” Luka said calmly, his constant aloofness gone.

“Call me buttercup one more time, see what happens,” he seethed. If he had been Chat Noir his tail would have been lashing out from side to side violently.

“Is that a challenge?” Luka sneered. “Buttercup?” Marinette only gasped at the blue-haired boy’s actions. But before she could reprimand them once again Adrien lunged, Luka following close.

Marinette could only yelp in surprise as both boys crashed on the floor in a tangled heap of appendages. They rolled and wrestled with each other as Marinette demanded them to stop from her place in the chaise, but of course she was being completely ignored.

“It’s your fault isn’t it!” Adrien yowled, his hand pressing down on the other boy’s face. “You are the one who got her into drugs!” Luka for his part could only knee him in his side, pushing him under. “What are you even talking about?” Luka questioned, barely moving his hand in time to not get it bitten.

“Don’t act like you don’t know!” Adrien snarled, his legs kicking upwards, protecting his belly. “You are the one who brings Marinette the drugs!” Accused the blond, rolling them both again so he was on top again.

“What drugs!” Luka finally screamed, confused. “Those drugs!” Adrien pointed to the cups. “I can smell it. There’s weed inside those cups!”

At that Luka suddenly stopped struggling, laying limp under him, chest rising rapidly, trying to get as much oxygen inside of him now that he could. Adrien also paused, only to catch his breath, his hands still clutching the other’s shirt, knuckles white in tension.

A vibration startled Adrien out of nowhere, only realizing it came from Luka as he tried to contain his laughter and failing. Then the dam broke and the blue-haired boy started chortling like Adrien had never heard before, his confused form still on top moving with the other boy’s spasms.

He couldn’t help but blush. “What’s so funny!” He demanded to know. “It’s just,” Luka tried, and failed, to explain, as he fell back into laughing like a madman. “Y-you! You a-actually-” He wheezed.

Accepting he wouldn’t be explaining the hilarity of the situation Adrien turned, ready to ask Marinette for her opinion, only to freeze under her glare. He felt himself go rigid as he realized two very important things.

First, he had barged unannounced and accused her of doing drugs at her own home, on her own room.

Secondly, he had just been all-out fighting with a boy for a while just mere seconds ago. A boy that probably was Marinette’s close friend. A boy that most likely was also Marinette’s boyfriend. Adrien gulped audibly, which the other boy seemed to catch, as he tried to reign in his laughter into only snickering as he sat up, pushing Adrien to the side.

“Now I’m gonna go grab the first aid kit,” Marinette drawled, her tone dangerous. “And if I see or hear any one of you, you’re going to wish you had never met me.”

“Yes ma’am” Both teens answered in sync.

With that she marched downstairs to retrieve the kit, leaving an awkward atmosphere behind her. Adrien whirled when he heard Luka snort softly. He glared at him, which only made the other boy snicker harder. He was about to snap at him when the sound of the trapdoor closing rather violently made him jump. He straightened himself a bit and he saw Luka doing the same, a small grin never leaving his lips, which of course irritated him.

“What am I going to do with you,” Marinette sighed as she crouched in front of Luka, his smile widening ever so slightly. It was then that he noticed Luka’s injured lip, a few drops of blood visible. Adrien winced when Marinette dabbed at it with cotton, his guilt rising. He probably shouldn’t have tussled with the other boy. He was a superhero after all. Who knows how much damage he could have done to him if he had lost all control.

Adrien started when Marinette was suddenly in front of him. Her eyes silently reprimanding him, judging him for his immature actions. He let his gaze fall to the floor, ashamed. He knew he had no excuse. Marinette would probably hate him for the rest of her life now.

That’s why it was such a shock when he felt soft hands and fabric against his cheek. He looked up at her, his eyes sparking with hope and guilt. Adrien wished she understood, he wanted her to forgive him, so he tried to convey so with his eyes.

She seemed to hesitate for a second before sighing in resignation. One of her hands caressing his cheek while the other cleaned his face with what appeared to be a rag.

“I’m sorry,” Adrien mumbled, not wanting to make things worse, his eyes fixed in hers.

Marinette stuttered in her actions for a moment before cursing under her breath, which made Luka snort. Adrien looked between them confused.

“What were you trying to do Adrien,” Marinette asked him softly. “I don’t want you doing drugs Mari,” he confessed, eyes dropping down again. “You are way too important to me so I... I couldn’t,” he struggled to answer, his throat felt clogged up.

“Oh no, no, no, Adrien,” Marinette hugged him. “Oh Adrien, I’m not doing drugs or anything like that.”

“But the smell!” He protested. “You smelled like weed Mari!” He heard Luka begin to snicker again, but this time it was curt short thanks to Marinette who sent him a glare, sobering him up.

“Adrien, the smell is from, well...”

“It’s tea Adrien.” Luka interrupted, answering his question finally. “It’s cannabis tea yes, but it’s perfectly legal here in France.” He explained. “Not only that but it’s also great for you, as long as you don’t abuse it obviously.” He concluded, a small amused smirk on his face.

“Huh,” Adrien said intelligently. “I guess I’m an idiot.”

Luka broke again, falling to the floor, howling wildly as he convulsed. Even Marinette looked startled by it. He seemed like such a calm, easy-going kind-of guy, but here he was, laughing at him openly like a maniac.

The absurdity of it all hit him like a train-wreck at that moment, as he began to giggle, then laugh, until he was roaring as loudly as the other teen.

Marinette looked at them like a deer caught in headlights, before she broke into a fit of giggles of her own, a real smile on her face this time. She tried to lecture them, but it didn’t come off as serious, with it being said between pearls of laughter.

Adrien achieved some semblance of tranquility as he laid in Marinette’s floor, his whole body stretched as he just stared at her ceiling. He felt his pulse, quick and alive, running through him. His chest still sputtered with the stray giggle here and there. And as he closed his eyes, he imagined how life would be if it was always like this, full of absurdity and laughter. Happiness.

No, he wouldn’t mind if things stayed like this forever.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4  | Part 5

TAGS UNDER THE CUT

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[orwocolor]

saturday mornings with borhap boys in bed

AN: As always, the rest of the boys are under the cut. Enjoy and don’t forget to comment :)

Gwilym

a loud beeping noise startles you

your body jerks up, and with your eyes still closed, your hand shoots to an alarm clock sitting on your bedside table, snoozing the alarm as quickly as possible

you groan and burrow back into duvets

you scoot over to gwilym who’s lying right next to you

although he’s still half asleep, he opens his arms wide and let you snuggle into him

he encircles his arms around you, pulling you as close as possible

you take a deep breath through your nose, and breathe in his scent

you nuzzle the crook of his neck, his beard scratching lightly against your forehead

he starts weaving his fingers in your hair but soon enough, his arm grows heavy on you and he’s back in deep slumber

and you desire nothing else and so you soon follow him

but as it usually it, five minutes later, the sound of the alarm clock pierces through your bedroom

this time, it’s gwil who reaches over you and dismisses the alarm completely

you roll on your back and rub your eyes

“I think we should get up,” you say, sheer reluctance apparent in your groan

“er, what about no,” gwil answers and moves to lie on top of you, pressing his ear against your chest, listening to your heartbeat

and also holding you in bed, and not letting you go

“come on” you insist, and give him a weak push, since your heart’s not in it

you feel like it is you whom you try to convince to get up rather than gwilym

“five more minutes” he whispers into your skin and slides down his hand to caress your side

“what about the kids?” you ask

“they’re fast asleep, it’s middle of the night”

“it’s light outside”

“irrelevant,” he says resolutely and pulls you closer to him

you move to rise up but he holds you still “come on, stay here”

“if I stay here, will you fix the dripping tap that you said you would fix about a week ago? I mean, I can fix it myself but where’s the fun in that,” you grin, “and besides, you promised”

he hides a chuckle into your chest and places a delicate kiss there “okay, I’ll do it”

“promise? for real this time?”

he huffs and raises on his elbows to look into your eyes

he licks his fingers and lifts them up “promise, scout’s honour”

“and you’re gonna do it first thing in the morning?” you smile at him

“I’m gonna do other things first” his eyebrows wiggle and you can’t help but kiss him

“but before I’m gonna get to it,” he continues when your lips finally part “let’s go back to sleep”

Joe

you slowly open your eyes and look around your bedroom

you blink a few times, still getting accustomed to the light streaming down on you through a window

a quiet groan leaves your mouth and you stretch your body, feeling all sorts of good

you blush as you remember the last night and hide your grin into a pillow

“joe” you whisper as you turn around but his side of the bed is empty

“joe?” you say again, a bit louder and your fingers grazes the cold sheets

that’s when you hear a crash and loud “damn it!” coming from the kitchen

okay good, he’s alive and at home

he also probably just broke something but hopefully he’s not hurt

“joe?” you yell, way too reluctant to get out of the bed

his head pokes into the bedroom and he gives you a smile, looking out of breath

“good morning, love, hope you slept well” he says quickly “erm, the bowl with those little pink roses... that wasn’t, I mean isn’t precious, is it?”

“no, it wasn’t and that’s your only luck, sir” you point your finger at him in mocked annoyance

“great! stay exactly where you are, I’ll be right back!” the last words are muffled by the closed door, since he’s already gone before he can finish the sentence

you fall back and pull the duvet to your nose, trying to stay warm

it takes a few minutes before joe enters your bedroom again, a bed tray in his hands

“oh my god, that smells delicious” you start salivating from the scent only and you even haven’t had a bite

“only the best for my best” joe places the tray across your legs and you sit up properly

“that was cheesy af, but you’ve brought me food, so you’re forgiven” you plant a quick kiss on his cheek as he plops down next to you, still wearing his pyjamas, and you dive into your breakfast

there’s everything, coffee, juice, pancakes, syrup, red fruit, yoghurt, toasts, gummy bears

wait, gummy bears?

you pick up the bowl with them and raise your eyebrows, pointedly looking at joe

he just shrugs “breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it has to be as nutritious as possible”

“right” you say slowly and do not further comment on it

“hey!” you yell when joe grabs a few blueberries “you thief! that’s my breakfast”

“soon, we’re gonna share everything you know? in good times and bad, in sickness and health and all that stuff? as my wife-to-be you shouldn’t mind sharing your breakfast with me” he gives you a big goofy smile

you return it, but he doesn’t notice as you stealthily take a few gummy bears into your hand

you toss them at him a burst in laughter when you see his surprised expression

“ah, you’re so gonna pay for that!” he says and grabs a handful of gummy bears as well, with a mischievous look in his face

Ben

when you wake up, it’s still quite early as you can’t see the sun yet

but you can tell it’s almost the crack of dawn

you groan in pain the moment you straighten your leg as you stretch and you get a cramp into it from sleeping curled up in a ball the whole night

you grit your teeth and force yourself to keep it stretched, although it hurts so much

after a little while, the pain dissipates and you calm down

there’s no need to look around, since you already know that you’re alone in bed

it’s not so long ago since you moved into ben’s place

and it didn’t take you much time to realise that your mornings were going to be a solitary affair

unless he’s working, he starts his day with a morning jog, getting up when you’re still deep in slumber

at first, you were confused and worried by his absence but you got used to it by now

you grab the book on your bedside table and start browsing through it to find the part where you finished the last time

immersed in the story, you hear a key turning in the lock of the front door and barking

“quiet, girl, we don’t want to wake up y/n” he yell-whispers to frankie

you can hear her paws patting against the wooden floor in the living room as she runs around the house

“no, frankie, no!”

she barges into the bedroom and jumps on the bed, immediately coming for your face as she gives it a proper lick in greetings

“and good morning to you, too!” you scratch the area behind her ears and she grumbles appreciatively

ben’s at her heels and rushes after her

“frankie! down!”

you give her a hug, not letting her go and planting a kiss on her head

“it’s fine, I’ve been up already” you nod towards the book that’s lying open on the bed next to you

“oh, okay” ben gives you a smile which you reciprocate

you finally take him in and you like what you see

he’s out of breath, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead and dripping down the sides of his head, a black t-shirt snuggly hugging his torso, earphones swinging against his chest, and his grey sweatpants sagged down on his hips

you bite your bottom lip and the movement doesn’t go unnoticed

he clears his throat and darts his eyes down to the floor "I’m gonna get a shower”

“you forgot something” you say and he looks you in the eyes, confused

“did I?”

“uh-huh” you tap your lips and give him a cheeky smile

he releases a relieved sigh and stalks over to you, covering your lips with his

“good morning, love” he whispers against your mouth

“good morning” you answer, a smile audible in your voice, happy that he’s back home

he leans further down and kisses you again, his tongue sliding against yours

“stop it!” you say with laughter when your lips part “you’re all sweaty and you’re squishing poor frankie”

she’s still nestled in your lap and gives him an annoyed look

“sorry girl” he apologises and pets her head

she licks his palm - apology accepted

“and what about me? I won’t get an apology? your sweat is everywhere!”

“I saw you ogling me, love, and well, now you’ve got a reason to join me in the shower”

Rami

you emerge from dreams slowly and gradually

first you feel the light kiss of sun on your eyelids and you smile sleepily

when you finally open your eyes, you find out the source of light is not the sun but a lamp sat on one of the bedside tables, the one on the opposite side of the bed

it takes you a moment to come back to earth and differentiate between your dreams and reality

you stir and hide a yawn into your palm

“good morning, my love”

rami’s voice is soft and tender and he leans down to kiss your temple

he sits in your bed, his back against the headboard

“morning” you respond and take a deep breath through your nose

you raise your eyes and gaze at him

he’s reading a script, always the perfectionist he is

the filming starts on monday and he wants to be prepared as much as he can be

the light coming from the lamp illuminates the other side of his face that is turned away from you

the glow makes him look almost angel-like

“what time is it?” you ask, still feeling a bit groggy

he turns to his bedside table

“half past seven” he answers

after a single beat you realise you were supposed to get up early and get your children prepared for a weekend at their grandma’s

“crap, the kids, I forgot”

you almost jump out of the bed but rami is quick to stop you

“no, no, don’t worry, all’s done, my mum’s already left with them” he explains

“wait, what?” your brain just can’t start functioning properly and you feel even more disoriented

“I woke them up, dragged them out of their beds, prepared breakfast, packed their bags, made them put their clothes on, that took as long as any other morning, which means forever, then I had to change said, since he put on his shirt the wrong side out and he put his shoes on the wrong feet” he chuckles at the last bit

“you should have woken me up” you say sincerely and lift your head to caress his face

“I know you didn’t get that much of sleep” he answers and puts the script on the bed “I heard you sneaking out of our bedroom when the storm began, I know you went to their room and stayed there for some time”

“you know how much thunders frighten them” you offer as an explanation and look down on your hands in your lap

“I know, and I love you so much for everything you do” he notices how your hands fidget, so he takes them into his and presses kisses on them

“so” you start slowly “the kids are gone?”

“uh-huh”

“and they’re not gonna return anytime soon?”

“uh-huh”

“and we’re alone?”

“uh-huh”

you cock an eyebrow and wait for the penny to drop

his face lightens up in understanding and he kisses you on your lips

and it’s a hell of a kiss

[shannaraisles]

Comfort & Ploy - Chapter 2

Carver Hawke needs a girlfriend for the festive season. Filipa Trevelyan needs an excuse not to spend Satinalia with her parents. Best friends pretending to be lovers … what could possibly go wrong?

[Read on AO3]

*****

"Thank the Maker that's over!"

Carver snorted in agreement with Filipa's declaration as the taxi cab bore them away from Garrett's apartment building and toward their hotel. That had been ... excruciating, in its own way. He probably could have handled it if they had only been fooling his brother and Isabela, but to suddenly find that Mila Rutherford was also Mila Trevelyan, Filipa's older sister? He had almost blurted out the truth several times, and she knew it. That was why he had the mark of her fingernails imprinted in his thigh, due to the number of times she'd had to pinch him under the table.

"I really am dreadfully sorry," he said again, finally allowed to apologize without being cut off mid-word. "I honestly didn't know that you were that Pip."

"And I didn't know that Mila's musician friend was your brother," Filipa pointed out, a lot calmer than he had expected her to be in the circumstances. "We're in a mess of our own making, but it's all fine, Carver. Honestly, I'll ... I'll think of something."

He sighed, absently wrapping a long arm around her shoulders to hug her, both grateful for her continued insistence on his deception and deeply apologetic for dropping her into a lie to her own family. He knew he was lucky that she'd even agreed to it in the first place, much less kept it up throughout an excruciating meal in which everyone and their partner had wanted to know all about his new relationship.

"We can at least tell Mila and Cullen," he began, but Filipa sighed, shaking her head.

"If we do that, they'll tell Alys," she told him, "and that little girl can't keep a secret to save her life if there isn't something in it for her. I'm afraid we're going to have to keep it up in front of my family as well."

"Serves me right for having the idea in the first place," he muttered, feeling her head thump onto his shoulder. It wasn't unusual; away from his brother, he was a pretty tactile person, and Filipa had never objected to absentminded hugs from her enormous best friend.

"Don't do that," his friend said, poking his ribs with one finger. "We're in this together, right? At least half of this is my fault, so don't you go getting all broody and grumpy on me. If we're going to do this, we're going to have fun doing it. Right?"

"Even though the odds of us being forced into a public kiss just went through the roof?" he asked pointedly.

"Even though," she agreed, firm in her certainty. "It isn't as though we're not used to being all huggy and friendly. We just have to do it in front of family for once. That's all. I'm sure it will be enough."

"Again with the confidence," he muttered, chuckling as she poked at him again. "Stop that."

"Be confident with me, then!"

Laughing, he batted at her hands, each of them lurching a little as the cab came to a halt in front of The Warden's Arms, one of his favorite inns in the city. He always stayed here when he visited Garrett - it had got to the point where Duncan, the owner, could tell it was him just from the greeting over the phone.

Within a few minutes, they were pushing their way inside, smiling and far more comfortable than they had been at his brother's house. The pub seemed busy, but not overly crowded, allowing them to make their way to the bar without barging into anyone relaxing with a pint and friends as they passed. The barman grinned as he caught sight of Carver.

"That time of year again?" he asked, already reaching for the ledger with the room reservations in it. "How time does fly."

"Hallo, Alistair," Carver greeted his old friend, setting his bag down to rummage in a pocket for his card.

"I thought I was paying?" Filipa objected, digging into her pocket for her own wallet.

"No, I'm fairly sure I'm the one who arranged this farce," Carver responded, handing his card to the barman. "Alistair, this is Pip."

The tall Alistair, who never ceased to have a smile on his face despite the fact that Carver knew bar-tending was a deeply stressful job at times, offered over one of his flirtier smiles to Filipa.

"Lovely to meet you, Pip," he said. "Welcome to Denerim."

"Thank you, Alistair," she answered, her own smile just a little too warm for Carver's liking.

Wait a second. That was a ridiculous reaction. Filipa was his friend, she was here doing this as a favor to him. He had no right to get stupidly jealous just because she might be flirting with a handsome man who wasn't shy about flirting back within boundaries. She wasn't his girlfriend. Well, to the outside world for the sake of an easy Satinalia, she was, but ... He frowned inwardly. He was confusing himself now.

"Here we go," Alistair said, handing over a room key. "Room 24, all ready for you."

Carver waited for the other key to be handed to him. There was no other key.

"I'm sure I reserved two rooms," he said, glancing worriedly at Filipa.

Alistair frowned, flipping through the ledger quickly. He shook his head.

"No, Duncan put you down here as one room," he said, worry creasing his face as he looked up at them. "We're fully booked, Carver. I don't have any more rooms to give you."

Carver opened his mouth, feeling the frustration boiling up inside him, and abruptly calmed as Filipa's hand touched his arm. She was looking up at him with that peculiarly gentle way she had; a sort of reassuring expression that never failed to stop him making a prat of himself for the sake of his pride.

"It's not like we haven't shared a room before," she reminded him. "It's an honest mistake, after all. Maybe another room will be available later on in the week?"

Alistair glanced down at the book in his hands.

"Looks like there'll be a free room in three days," he offered. "I can pencil it in as yours, if you want."

Carver hesitated. He didn't like to move about once he was settled, and he knew Filipa was the same way. And she was right - they had shared a room before now, though admittedly it had been in the company of seven other people. It wasn't as dreadful a thought as it might have seemed.

"Shall we see how tonight goes?" Filipa suggested, seeing his indecision. "It is a busy season, and if we're all right tonight, then that room could go to someone else who needs it without worry. Right?"

She looked at Alistair, who was glancing between the pair of them with a speculative look on his face. He blinked, apparently forcing himself out of his thoughts when he realized she was speaking to him.

"That would be a big help," he admitted. "Look, I'll hold the reservation in pencil tonight, and you can let me know in the morning if he snores too much for you to stay with him more than one more night."

Filipa laughed, and again, Carver felt a pang of annoyance at the flirting. What was wrong with him? He bent to pick up the bags, passing the key to her.

"Thanks, Alistair," he managed, though he was certain he sounded off. "Dinner still served here? Do we need to book a table?"

"Table booking comes with the room rez," Alistair reminded him. "Kitchen closes at nine, I'd suggest getting down here before half eight if you want a meal."

"Sounds good to me," Filipa said, smiling up at Carver. "C'mon, I want a shower."

"All right, all right."

Relaxing a little more now she was walking away from Alistair's appreciative gaze beside him, Carver lead the way out of the tap room and up the stairs. He knew this inn like the back of his hand, and room 24 was one of the better rooms. As he peered in over Filipa's shoulder when the door opened, he realized why.

There was only one bed.

Apparently Duncan had absorbed the information that Carver was bringing someone with him, but not that he needed an extra room. The bed was a divine, a size created specifically for couples who needed the extra inches, but still ... Just one bed. Sharing a bed. With Filipa. Who was staring right along with him.

He risked a glance down at his friend just in time to see her burst out laughing, sagging into his side as she absolutely guffawed with merriment, pointing wordlessly at the bed and cackling like a woman gone completely round the bend. Carver sighed, dropping his bag on the floor to get an arm around her before she fell over. He'd seen her collapse in giggles too many times to want anyone to find her keeled over and snorting with laughter half in and half out of their room. With an easy lift, he got her a couple of inches off her feet and walked into the room, depositing her on said bed before returning for his bag and closing the door.

"Are you done?" he asked, mildly irritated by her amusement and, if he was honest, rather more relieved by it. At least she wasn't flying off the handle at the very thought of having to share this space with him.

Filipa waved a hand at him, still fighting to get her giggles under control.

"Your face!" she declared, laying a hand over her eyes in an attempt not to burst out laughing once again in the face of his expression. "You look like someone just told you to strip and dance the Rivaini rhumba in front of your parents!"

"I do not!"

Despite his annoyance, he couldn't deny that his best friend's laughter was deeply infectious, thumping down onto the bed beside her to get his revenge for her laughter by tickling her until she squealed for mercy. Which she did, eventually, but only when he had her pinned down with both her hands wrapped in one of his, and her legs trapped beneath his thigh.

"I give, I give!" Grinning up at him, Filipa took in a deep breath, her cheeks taut with that gleeful expression on her face.  "I'll sleep on the couch."

"You will not," he told her firmly. "The least I can do is let you have the bed."

"Oh, so you'll give up a seven foot bed in favor of a four foot couch, will you?" she argued. "I don't think so. If we're going through with this week of glorious torture, I am not putting up with you being grumpy just because you didn't sleep well!"

"Me? You're the one who gets grumpy on bad sleep," he defended himself, trying not to blush as she wriggled.

He was acutely aware, as he had never been before, of just how ... feminine ... his best friend really was. Having her pinned down beneath him was doing nothing for his feeling of being completely off-balance. Filipa rolled her eyes at him, gently tugging on her hands, and he released her with a surprising amount of reluctance, rolling onto his back to lie on the bed at her side. In spite of the awkwardness of the situation, it didn't feel wrong to lie on a bed with her.

"Maybe we should just share," he blurted out, before his brain could grab the words and force them down a chimney somewhere. "There's plenty of room, after all."

"Are you sure?"

He tilted his head to find her looking at him, her smile faded from everywhere but her eyes as she considered him.

"Why not?" he said, shrugging. "It isn't as though I'm going to ravish you in your sleep."

"Sure you trust me not to ravish you in your sleep?" she countered wickedly, catching his hand before he could poke at her ticklish side again. "Okay, okay. I do solemnly swear not to get handsy in bed. Satisfied?"

"Very, thank you."

He grinned back at her, heaving himself up to sit and look around the room. It was one of Duncan's best rooms, he thought, inwardly groaning at the realization that the inn-owner had obviously decided that Carver was bringing a girlfriend or boyfriend with him and therefore needed a special room for the purpose. He was going to have words with that man if he caught him in the next week.

"Didn't you want a shower?" he asked Filipa curiously.

There was no answer. He glanced down, finding his friend dozing off on the soft covers beside him. Well, it had been a long day. They had been up before dawn to get to Kirkwall and catch the boat, and her seasickness would not have helped with her energy levels. Let her nap for a little while - he could take his own shower without embarrassment and wake her up with time to have her own before dinner.

With a fond smile, he gently maneuvered her out of her coat and boots, tucking his arms beneath her back and knees to lift her up and set her head on the pillow. He pulled the throw up and over her shoulder, catching his hand just before he stroked her hair. That was weird, and they had promised each other it wouldn't get weird. She was his best friend. She was doing him a favor.

Thank the Maker she was asleep, though. He had something rather insistent to take care of in the shower.

[stephn-prkr]

Time Heals

A/N: Hi, hope you enjoy it!

Pairings: Stephen Strange x Reader

Words: 1,449

Warnings: angst

You liked Stephen.

Ever since you saw him in Kamar-Taj, trying his best to heal his shaking hands from his car accident, You felt bad. You tried to befriend him, finding ways to talk to him, but he'd always ignore and push you aside. "Sorry, I'm busy prioritizing to heal my hands, find another guy to meddle with," He said, earning a slap to the face.

His ego was the number one reason why you disliked him then, in the middle of training, he'd always make sarcastic and rude comments about this ruining 'the laws of physics' and 'this is a joke' remarks. Everyone got used to it, and he did, too, when he spent years in Kamar-Taj, trying to master the Mystic Arts.

But, there's one creature who can tolerate him, and that's you.

It also took him years to finally let go of his massive ego to apologize to you and made attempts to start over. You gladly accepted the offer.

You don't believe that people change. No. You believed that people mature at a slow pace, they evolve to be better, to become better.

Over the past few months, the relationship between you and Stephen gradually changed, becoming more healthier, more fun, more comforting, more exciting. At the moment, you found yourself starting to like him, adoring the way he made random jokes while both of you were meditating, finding ways to distract you when you were busy focusing on your training, scaring you in the middle of the night, making a sarcastic "Booo" while in his astral form, and in the middle of reading your books, he'd just make a portal to your bedroom and just hang-out there.

After the battle with Kaecilius and Dormammu, and him being the Master of the Mystic Arts, both of you confessed your love to each other, thus, started a new and loving relationship.

It felt like home.

The feeling of his warmth and his arms wrapped around you in your sleep made you feel safe. The sound of his laugh was music to your ears, his calloused and scarred, shaking hands moving to your face, his lips crashing to yours, hands trailing down your neck, ecstatic.

You loved Stephen.

Truly, 'magic' wasn't for you, you spent the majority of your time at you and Stephen's shared-apartment, while you wait for him to come home from the New York sanctum, him being the one to guard the sanctum made you worry all the time. What if there's suddenly a big threat? What if this time he gets hurt? And you weren't there?

It started to go downhill. He went back to his old self.

Fights occur, arguments aren't solved in the end, apologizing wasn't even an option.

He was never at home. He spends his majority now guarding the sanctum.

You didn't know how it even started, one day you suddenly barged in the sanctum in the middle of the night, looking for Stephen, "Please, come home now," You practically begged. You couldn't sleep properly, not when the love of your life wasn't beside you, "I can't, you know that, Y/N. I have to guard the sanctum-"

"Wong's here, right, Wong?" You said to Wong who was standing behind Stephen, "Yes, Strange, We can handle it from here, get some rest." Wong insisted.

Stephen ran his hands through his hair, not saying anything.

He opened a portal to the apartment, nodding at Wong before the both of you enter.

He sighed, "What do you want,"

Your eyes widened at his question, "What do you mean? I just want you to get some rest, you've been in there for nearly three whole days, you didn't even bother to contact me, I was getting really worried-"

"You know it's my job! They need me there! I know more shit than they do, why do you think they chose me as the Sorcerer Supreme? Because they know I'm capable of saving the entire human race," He spat, you furrowed your eyebrows, "I can't believe this, do you even hear yourself? Your ego and pride are taking over you again! Where is the Stephen I know? I need my boyfriend back-"

"And I don't need a clingy girlfriend breathing down my neck all the time!" He snapped, tears were now blurring your vision, "W-what?"

"I just think it'd be best if we never met," He confessed.

You were speechless.

So that just came out of his mouth, shocking, right? People mature, but people don't change. A part of you felt like you knew eventually that this was gonna happen. His ego suddenly shows up, hurts the both of you, pain eating you.

The feeling of when you started to get to know each other, hanging out, loving him, being with him to the end of the line, thrown out of the window.

This is your dark dimension, pain, betrayal, heart-broken, guilt, and regret sucking you all at the same time, your world crumbling before you.

What did you do wrong? Was it because you were too clingy? Annoying? Nuisance? Bother? A mistake? Why? Was he miserable being with you?

Tears were now streaming down your cheeks. You watched as he looked at you, dark, glistening eyes staring right at you.

"What do you mean?" You said, letting out a quiet sob. "I'm just trying to protect and love you! You're tired all the time, and if being such a nuisance and being so clingy annoys you so much, then I'll try not to-"

"It's not about that," He replied, hands on his head, "Then what? Tell me!" You yelled.

"I...I have been seeing Christine again."

And suddenly, maybe the idea of Dormammu sucking the life out of you weren't such a bad thing right now. You felt so weightless, like a part of you was missing, his love. It's all gone. And you blame yourself for it. Dread washing over you.

There was a saying, 'There's no love like the first."

Stephen was your first, you remembered it felt like taking drugs, eventually becoming addicted to it.

It was no surprise when a part of him was also missing, and it sucks to know that you couldn't fill that space.

"Is...that why you weren't coming home all the time? You were with her...while I was here, concerned about you?" You looked down, "And here I thought you actually loved me."

"I do, baby, I do, it's just-'

"Just what? I am not her? I am not that girl who was with you before all this Sorcerer shit happened? Am I not enough?" Your voice shaking.

"It's...different when I'm with her,"

"I loved you! You let me love you! And you didn't even truly love me back!" You screamed.

"I'm sorry, Y/N." Was the last thing he said before he did something involving with the time stone.

+

Another day, another miserable life.

Every night, or three in the morning, you stayed late at night, trying your best to remember your past, Kamar-Taj...what does that have to do with your past? I mean, that was all you could remember. It was driving you insane.

And it was late at night, you kept walking and walking, distracted from your own thoughts and you didn't even realize you went the wrong path.

"Shit." You muttered, looking at your surroundings, "177A, Bleecker St.?" You tilted your head.

Apparently, you even forgot where you even lived.

"Lost?" A voice behind you asked. You jumped at the sudden voice, you turned your head, "Uh, kinda." You nervously laughed.

It was a guy, mid-30s, wearing a white shirt, black jeans, sneakers, and a really bright red jacket. "I'll take you home, then." He says.

Along the way, he initiated a conversation, you didn't mind at all, at first you were suspicious, I mean, it was a stranger, you can't really trust anyone these days.

But something about him felt like you knew him all your life, like as if he was your long lost friend or whatever.

Soon enough, both of you were standing at your doorstep.

"Thank you, really, I appreciate it." You say to him, smiling,

He smiled back, "No worries, besides, it was dangerous for a beautiful girl like you roaming around the streets alone at night," He says.

You scratch the back of your head, "Hey, I didn't catch your name?"

He gives you a smile again, "Stephen, Stephen Strange."

"Uh," You snapped back from reality, "I-I'm Y/N." You smile back.

"I know," He replied, "Ciao." He waved goodbye and left.

You closed the door, "Stephen Strange? Where did I hear that?" You asked yourself.

There was something suspicious about this guy. Why? First, you didn’t mention your address, second, what does ‘I know’ even mean?

A whole lot of you was missing.

[mundane-pleasures-are-best]

This Can’t be Real

Post-KH3 Akusai/Fluffy Grief

Isa opened his eyes, feeling warm fingers weaving through his hair, soft breath ghosting his round ears as he let out a pleased sigh, blinking once to test if this was an illusion. 

Master Xehanort had been fond of those, making him relive Lea whispering sweet nothings to him and then stabbing him with a chakram and a deadly smirk, yanking it out and lighting his insides on fire. A deep laugh echoing in his brain as Master Xehanort delighted in his screams. 

“Isa?” He turned to the redhead with a look of dread, pinching his own arm as Lea sighed. 

“It happened again?”

“This can’t be real Lea, I can’t have happiness. I don’t deserve it.”

“Why?” Lea’s eyebrows raised, his face making a mixture of emotions- empathy, anguish, and worst of all- the pity. Isa hated the pity. Lea was only treating him well now, three years after the final battle, because of that pity. He was sure of it. 

Isa sat up and looked down at his chest, free of scars, his aches limited to his thrashing during nightmares. He looked at Lea who scooted closer to him under the covers, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him to his body. Isa enjoyed the body heat, sleeping next to Lea was like having a living hot compress next to him. Isa was naturally cold, he had an iron deficiency as a child and it had not improved with age.  He wondered if that’s why he was attracted to Lea in the first place, Axel had developed an affinity with fire. His body as a nobody had not suffered the faults of his human form, and he had been grateful, but now he was more grateful for the spooning as it started again, a leg wrapping around him, pulling him tight. He did hate being the little spoon though. 

“Isa?” The redhead had been waiting for an answer, but saw the other was still distant, and as he started to nuzzle and mess with the blue locks he watched Isa’s eyes droop. Those lovely blue-green orbs something he had missed for years, but had not realized until he was staring back into them.  “Alright nap-time again?” He chuckled. The taller male feeling cold toes touch his, making him shiver before he rubbed his feet against the other to get them warm again. He felt Isa lean into him subconsciously, so he reached for the weighted blanket the other had kicked to the end of the bed in his sleep and placed it back over them. Lea started placing soft kisses on the pale neck, enjoying the shivers and trembles against his frame. Isa bit his lip and he closed his eyes trying to resist the moan threatening to escape his throat.

“N-no.”

“No?” Lea stopped kissing his neck, terrified he had gone too far. It had been just a year ago when Isa allowed him to share a bed. They had been sleeping in different rooms for the first two years after the last battle.

“I just....I’m not. Lea what are you doing?”

“Kissing your neck?” Lea wondered where this was going, if Isa was going to dive back into his own mind and wander the home their parents had chipped in to rent for them. The whine at the door caused Isa to raise his head and look at it, the incessant clawed pawing and whines led Isa to untangle his body from Lea, in an effort to reach the door before the dogs took it down. Lea touched his shoulder softly, “I got it.” 

He got out of bed, missing the spooning already; Lea opened the door as two large dogs pushed past him in an instant and jumped on the bed, taking his spot behind Isa and on the other side. Isa was smiling as they licked his face and nuzzled him, whining to alert him they had sensed his emotion again, and wanted him to feel better. Lea sighed and pushed the Saint Bernard slowly, with a LOT of effort, down the bed so he could reclaim his spot. The dog barely looked bothered, its tail wagging madly as it barked happily at him, army-crawling up as Lea spooned Isa quickly before his side of the bed could be stolen again. As soon as he he assumed it was safe the fluffy male dog placed its huge head on his hip, falling asleep on his legs, something he hated as it left him absolutely numb the next day. The other dog, a female rescue, peered over Isa’s shoulder at him with a look of interest to see if she was going to need to move as well. Instead she let out a pleased woof as Isa let her spoon against his stomach and lick his fingers, making Isa chuckle softly and whisper, “Good girl.” 

Lea sometimes wondered if the dogs understood more than him about the man he knew for years. They always barged in to greet Isa, grabbed Isa’s arm and started to lead him to the kitchen, demanding food yet also forcing Isa to eat something as well. They barked when he didn’t eat, whined when he refused to do things, and licked his face to wake him up. Lea knew it was depression, or PTSD from being a vessel, or worse it was the guilt eating at him like when he looked at Roxas and Xion talking to Lea outside the house (they were not yet welcome inside with Isa yet, as he had started to stare at Xion as if she were a demon, now that had saw her actual face). Isa made Roxas angry, despite the other apologizing gruffly to him, and Xion felt extremely uncomfortable as she tried to understand why her presence affected him so. However, she dragged Roxas with her to visit Lea, hoping eventually Isa would open the door and invite them inside instead of retreating when Lea invited them in. The blue-haired man would disappear for hours, coming back with papers or something in his hands to make it seem like he had been busy. 

Lea knew it a lie when he brought a book, Isa hadn’t been able to complete a book in ages and often he’d pick up a book with a daily astrology horoscope stuck in the middle. He found a book on the stages of grief under a towel by the tub, a book on astrology compatibility under the bed, and sadly some questionable searches on their home computer, thanks to him asking Ienzo to hack into the internet history. His heart broke when he read the searches about “how to live with onself,” “how can I say what I want,” and the worst “the afterlife and hell.” It wasn’t a religious quandary he was searching for, it was Isa struggling with conversations. His mother had advised him to try to talk to Isa more, but he was just as slippery with his words as he had been as Saix.  Lea asked Isa’s parents and they told him to keep trying. 

He tightened his grip on Isa, kissing the back of his neck, “I love you, you know?”

“I have it memorized,” Isa’s voice was dry, but soft. Lea knew he was mocking him, but the hand gripping his told him he appreciated the words.

They both feel asleep briefly and Lea didn’t need to coax the dogs to remain in bed as he woke up again and slipped out of the covers to make breakfast. He found the Saint Bernard hogging the bed again when he returned, both dogs eyeing the bacon on the plate and licking their lips. He pointed his thumb over his shoulder back at the kitchen, “Your breakfast is in there, I slipped some bacon-” they jumped off the bed and pushed him aside again, he could hear kibble flying everywhere from here, “Great...”

He rounded the bed as the other was rubbing his eyes, the dogs forcing him to wake up sooner than he wanted. Lea pulled the cup of coffee off of the plate and handed it to the other, Isa sipped at it immediately, looking at the plate of food that Lea set next to him a little too much like the dogs had. Isa set his mug down and started eating, as Lea went to the kitchen to pick up the glass of orange juice and plate of toast he had been forced to leave behind on the first trip.  He kicked an ottoman near Isa and set them on top, as the blue eyes stared at him in surprise. 

“Wow, you ...went all out. What’s the occasion? You sick?” Isa reached up to touch Lea’s forehead and then let his hand fall, “No.” 

“Maybe I just like you.” 

“Why?” Isa continued to look at him, suspiciously, wondering at Lea’s motive. 

“Isa, not everything is a trap.”

The blue-haired man started eating more, hesitantly forking up eggs and still watching Lea, as the taller male sat on the bed next to him and cupped his face, licking the jam from the pink lips causing Isa to let out a sound of surprise, “Mm strawberry.” 

Isa turned red, his blush carrying to his ears as he set the food down before he dropped it, scooting from his friend and looking down, turning a deeper red when Lea leaned over and kissed him, his soft lips grazing and brushing against his, hungrily sucking at Isa’s lips like they were breakfast to him. When Isa broke for air he managed to get out, “Where’s your food?”

He poked Isa square in his chest, “Right here.”

Isa smacked the hand aside and tried to seem composed as he headed for the bathroom, Lea following closely behind, finding that persistence was the only way to make Isa reveal what he was thinking. Isa whipped his head around as he had stepped into the bathroom, “And you’re going to take a bath now too?”

“No I was planning on running you a bath, oh yeah, watch your food.” Isa looked confused until he heard claws clicking on the floor as the dogs tried to sneak into the bedroom for scraps. 

“Jupiter! Callisto!” Isa’s voice raised enough for the dogs to stop and freeze, caught in the act. He pointed to the living room as they retreated to their beds, and he closed the bedroom door, hearing Lea already starting the bath for him. For some reason he thought Isa was incapable of doing things for himself. Apparently unless he went berserk and hit people they had no respect for his own abilities. 

Lea called over to him, “It’s getting warm, you better get in before I make it too hot again, as much as I enjoy your ass getting as red as my hair.” 

Isa huffed and blushed again, his eyes narrowing at Lea, “You did that on purpose.” 

“Not really, I just don’t get affected by the heat anymore, sorry Babe.” 

“Babe?!” Isa choked out, feeling more insulted as the pet name had been uttered. 

“Yeah, Babe, Pig in the City.” Lea smirked at him, turning the water down to a slow trickle as he added in bubble-bath and set out towels for him to dry off after the bath.

“I’m a pig now?” His voice was raising. 

“Yeah a cute pink thing that squeals a lot.” His smirk widened. 

Isa stomped his way over to him, as Lea took advantage of the situation and yanked Isa’s sleep-pants and boxers down in one swift motion, then shoved him into the tub. Lea had been careful not to overfill the claw-foot tub, so that it would not splash out as he pushed the other in. 

The naked man fumbled as he fell, splashing and rearranging himself so that he was sitting up, moving his wet hair out of his face, about to yell at Lea about how immature that was, how he could have been injured, how he would kick his ass to next week, how he would- 

Lea stripped off his pants and boxer-briefs quickly before he stepped into the tub from the other side, spreading his legs so they laid on either side of Isa’s hips, enjoying the way Isa stared then jerked his eyes away, huffing and muttering swears at him. Lea was amused how Isa’s cheeks matched his flaming head of hair now. It was cute. 

“C’mon Isa, we have the same equipment, don’t act like a girl.” For emphasis he gathered a wave of bubbles between his legs, his eyebrows raised, “Better? Watch out I think I might have seen your dick when I threw you, oh no, now I’m just gonna get cooties.” 

Isa glared at him, “Shut up. You’re just a pervert taking advantage of the situation.” 

“Which one?” Lea cocked his head to one side, a smile playing on his lips. 

“Me.  You’re just enjoying what I am now,” Isa replied sharply, his voice getting cold, a strange resemblance to his nobody, “Useless. You just want something to pity, to help you get over the terrible things you did in the Organization.” 

Lea moved his legs back, sitting up, as Isa’s eyes immediately rose to avoid looking down, Lea scooted closer to him, his tone even and eyes locked as he placed his hands on Isa’s knees, “Are you talking about me or you, Isa?” He ignored the glare, finally seeing past it, “You’re acting like Saix again, to make me leave you again.” He scooted further, his hips between Isa’s legs, his hands brushing up pale legs to grip the other’s hips, “I’m not leaving, do your worst, you can’t keep doing this.” 

Isa took a breath, his glare wavering the closer Lea got, “Doing what?”

“Acting like a dick when you’re just feeling sad. I didn’t like that little asshole Vanitas, but my god do you act real similar when you get upset. I love you, and I know you hate to hear it, but I do. You’re allowed to have that.”

“What? An annoying friend that never stops bothering me?” 

“I was going to say happiness and a life with a really hot friend,” Lea warmed up his hands and enjoyed the wordplay and the other’s squirm. Isa continued to avoid his eyes, shifting when Lea nibbled at his collarbone, finally closing the distance and kissing the side of Isa’s mouth, nipping at his lower lip, pulling it and letting it snap back. He felt Isa turn and kiss back, soft at first, his own hair getting a rough yank as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the older male’s tongue shove into his mouth, in a pathetic attempt to establish dominance in a relationship centered on rebuilding equality. He trapped Isa’s tongue with his teeth, holding it ransom as Isa growled at him, swiftly letting go with another laugh.  As Isa went to yell at him he kissed him deeply, feeling his friend lean back into the wall of the tub, wrapping his arms around Lea’s neck until Lea parted and placed another kiss on his pale nose. 

“Why...did you stop?” Isa was out of breath, watching Lea pull back with a soft whine in his tone. Lea smiled and got back to his knees, tugging Isa forward and managing to wiggle him around so that Isa was between his legs and he could rest his chin on Isa’s shoulder. He felt the other shiver, this time from both the air and the closeness.  Lea turned the water back on and grabbed Isa’s comb from the small table next to the tub that held grooming products, mostly Isa’s. 

He started to comb his hair, placing his hand at the other’s scalp and holding his hair at the base to avoid yanking his head during snarls in the locks.  Isa slowly sank back into Lea’s chest, closing his eyes as the other gently combed out his hair, occasionally kissing the top of his head and ears, rubbing his nose against the other’s ear as he stopped combing and pulled stray hairs out of the comb, tossing them onto the towel next to the tub. Once it was free of hair he began combing again, humming some of Isa’s favorite songs as he worked, only stopping when the other’s head lolled to the side, as he heard Isa start to snore softly, his face more calm than it had been in weeks. He chuckled softly, soaking in the tub and using his thighs to lock Isa in place as he slept so that he wouldn’t drown.  He waited until the water started to get cold and his toes pruned to move Isa. It was hard lifting him without waking him in the tub and he was glad he had thought ahead and moved the bathroom rug close to the tub before they got in. He took Isa back to the bed, taking one of their many throw blankets that Isa had acquired and lightly dried him off and finally wrapped in another dry blanket, tucking him into the bed after he slipped Isa’s boxers back on so that if he woke up he wouldn’t assume anything unwanted had happened. Lea walked back to the bathroom to drain the tub then went back to the bed to take a nap, curling around Isa again to warm him as he slept. The dogs took care of his other side and the foot of the bed, surrounding Isa in a toasty embrace. 

---

It was afternoon when Lea woke up, he looked at the clock with a smile, they had managed to waste half of the day snuggling. It was an improvement.  He looked down and smiled wide, Isa had turned in his sleep and his head was buried in Lea’s chest, his legs between the redhead’s and toes touching his. Isa turned out to be quite the little needy snuggler.  Lea reached for the remote that was teetering stupidly on the top of the headboard and turned on the science channel at a low volume, watching a show on explosions and feeling happy, today seemed right. This was how it was supposed to be. 

Isa opened his eyes halfway through the second episode of the show Lea was watching, his eyes moving without turning his head. His body was warm, relaxed, it was....comforting? He felt fur against his back, Lea’s chest was a pleasant temperature keeping him cozy and not uncomfortable. Isa’s guilt returned again, hands stroked his cheek, fingers in his damp hair curling the blue strands at the tips. Those same fingers running through the combed hair and causing him to moan lightly at the feeling, the guilt weakened, a warmth sneaking past it, a feeling he was unfamiliar with...  

This was how it was supposed to be? 

He buried his face in Lea’s chest, he still smelled the breakfast from the nightstand, the dogs snored loudly next to him, television hummed with noise from the show, and his friend let out a happy sigh. 

“Lea?” Isa’s eyes were closed, his breathing soft and even. 

“Mm?” Lea looked down, stroking the other’s cheek with the back of his hand. 

“I...I think I can get used to this.” 

Lea smiled, his fingers tracing Isa’s chin, thumb rolling over soft skin on his forehead, no longer bearing a horrible scar, “I think I can too. I love you, Isa.”

Isa snorted lightly, a playful smile on his lips, “I didn’t forget.”   

[fly-pow-bye]

Powerpuff Girls 2016 - “Oh! Daisy!”

Written by: Haley Mancini

Written & Storyboarded by: Leticia Abreu Silva, John Martinez

Directed by: Nick Jennings, Bob Boyle

Shallow HAL.

This episode will continue Bubbles’ trait of computer programming. I'm honestly surprised they even kept this going for so long, since usually they depict Bubbles as this silly blonde that can't spell. So far, Bubbles has programmed:

A game that was super popular, at least among the students of Townsville Elementary. Also, she made some sort of machine that can send people to the internet with only tinfoil. Apparently, that's coding?

A robotic, 3D printed clone of herself that is perfect in every way except for security, and yet not important for her to even shed a tear when it got destroyed.

The third one that is going to be in this episode may not be as impressive as #2, but it's up there.

The episode starts out with Bubbles hanging out with the other participants of the school's coding club, including Barry. Maybe they were convinced he was this breakout character, considering how many times he appears in this reboot. He probably could be if he had a personality beyond "he wears an Illuminati shirt and yet never seems to talk about it". At least he has a name; I don't think the other two even have that.

Generic Girl: How many programmers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Bubbles: What?

Generic Girl: None, it's a hardware issue.

Barry laughs so hard that milk comes out of his nose, and they consider that just as funny as that joke. Suddenly, Buttercup barges into the door, and thinks this is some sort of fun times when she was supposed to be doing homework. It turns out, she was doing homework, and she gets to show off something she made to show off her true coding prowess.

...a robot assistant named Daisy. See, this flower's name a subtle reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey, something this reboot will not try to take advantage of in every minute of this character's existence.

Buttercup continues to accuse Bubbles of wrongdoing, possibly as a attempt to finally get Bubbles in trouble! Silly Buttercup, Bubbles can cause an entire zoo to cause mayhem around Townsville, and she'll still get off scot-free. She then tells Bubbles that she's going to be in trouble for putting this assistant all around the house. It's not like they're going to absolutely adore this thing.

They absolutely adore this thing! Blossom loves it because it reprograms other devices, as Blossom praises the device for reprogramming the Broomba to clean more efficiently. No, it didn't also give her a haircut, as much as Edna Mode would have appreciated it, that's just another case of the disappearing ponytail trick.

As for Sitcom Dad's reasoning. It scheduled the DVR to record all of the Sitcom Dad's favorite shows, like Sciencefeld! They managed to come up with a title for their Seinfeld parody, but do they do anything with it? Well, one thing: they reference the bass line used in its theme song.

That's really it.

Bubbles: Yeah, he's a scheduling wizard!

Oh, no, please don't say that word! It might attract...

Ah, too late. Schedulebot shows up to express his discontent with being replaced, and the Professor decides to completely ignore him by saying that this is the best robot ever. In one episode, he seemed to care more about Schedulebot's well being than the Powerpuff Girls, but now that this flower exists, he may as well not even exist to good ol' Sitcom Dad! This starts a subplot that nobody will care about, because it's a Schedulebot plot.

Of course, Buttercup can't be happy that her sister managed to make several robots that can make turkey dinner. The closest we get to an actual good reason is that he can't stop combing her hair, and the robot pronounces her name as "Bootercup", which the other think is just as much of a laugh riot as hardware issues and milk squirting out of people's noses.

A few minutes after midnight, Buttercup wakes up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. As she walks out, Daisy tells her not to forget to wash her hands. Then, not to forget to use soap. Then, not to use the guest towels. The absolute worst of them all, it dares to comb Buttercup's hair again! That seems to be a coding error; wouldn't Buttercup. Whatever the case, it does its job: annoying Buttercup.

Buttercup: (messes up own hair) Why don't I mess with your hair?!

Daisy: If you go to the main control room in the lab, you'll see that I have no hair, Bootercup.

Daisy also manages to get Buttercup to the lab to continue the plot, as there was no reason for him to even talk about the main control room.

It's a constant mention from me whenever this coding aspect of her character comes up: being a coding wizard would be extremely difficult if you cannot spell. Turns out, Bubbles' programming language of choice is something more akin to Scratch, a building block language that even the Reboot Puffs got involved in at one point. I guess that kind of explains that.

Buttercup decides to go through this code to change a few things, like turning off the alarm, lowering his moral percentage to -40%, and turning off his conscience. Buttercup does say she thought this word was "con science", but she already turned down the morals, and she clearly knew what she was doing then!

8.25 hours later, the girls wake up, and the windows suddenly shut with huge metal doors. Bubbles tries to fix everything by telling Daisy to open the windows. Everyone stand up and recite the line you're probably thinking he's going to say to that.

Daisy: I'm afraid I can't do that for you, Bubbles.

Okay, it's slightly different than the line from the movie, but anyone can get it. I would not be surprised if they took more inspiration from the Futurama episode that parodied it. At least they're not ripping off the original Powerpuff Girls this time; closest episode I can think of is Coupe D'etat.

Bubbles tries to go into the living room, only to be attacked by the Broomba. The Powerpuff Girls are truly unstoppable, unless there's glitter, markers, Roombas, ordinary rope, a dinosaur shouting at them, or rat tails. Who can possibly stop this robotic vacuum cleaner? Clearly it has to be the rascally...

...pink princess with an eye laser? Blossom then takes off her ribbon, ties it around her head, and tells her sisters to go into the hallway so she can finish the job. It's actually a genius plan from Blossom, as this gives a reason for her to be off-screen while she beats up the Broomba. As we all know, the Reboot Puffs can't fight anything on screen and win.

Throughout this episode, Blossom is the one that is resorting to violence and acting like an 80's action hero. This just seems way out of character for her, but I'm glad to have an episode that has a Reboot Puff other than Buttercup save her sisters.

They do have to explain what the Professor is doing during all of this, because there's no way he should be so oblivious to all of this. Turns out, he's stuck in the shower.

Daisy: Now lather.

Professor: Okay!

Daisy: Now rinse.

Professor: Okay!

Huh, a robot trapping a human in an infinite loop. One would think he would eventually use his brain to find out what's going on, but that brain would be very inconvenient to the plot, so this lather/rinse loop takes him out of the vast majority of the episode.

It turns out, Daisy is able to reprogram all of the devices in the Powerpuff household to rampage against them, including machines that simply shouldn’t be able to fight them, like the L-Cube! They decide to sneak around the house to avoid getting caught. Unfortunately, Bubbles just could not help it.

Bubbles: (farts in Buttercup’s face)

That all important character trait of having a flatulence problem shows up again, because why not? It seems like the only consistent character trait Bubbles has; whether she’s a maroon or a coding genius, farting is a free action for her. At least there’s somewhat of a point to this, as this allows Buttercup to walk backwards into the aforementioned L-Cube to get captured.

Blossom ends up saving her by using her eye lasers again. Buttercup’s not too happy, because the L-Cube was destroyed.

Blossom: Do you think this is a game?

Buttercup: Uh, yeah, that’s exactly what it was.

…ha.

Suddenly, Schedulebot manages to open the door, coming in with full Rambo gear. Guess he was busy getting all of that while he was locked out of the house. How did he get in the house, anyway? It would have made a lot more sense if he used that chainsaw to do it, as he doesn't seem to use it at all.

Granted, that's not the only weapon he brought: he also brought some grenades. Maybe he'll use them to sacrifice himself to save our girls from all of those evil house appliances, shouting to the girls to remember him...

...and that what actually happens! Finally, Schedulebot is destroyed! Though, so are a lot of household appliances that might not be cheap to replace, but they are never paid any mind. Speaking of never paying anything any mind, Blossom, in a rare bit of her not acting as a macho hero in this episode, she says that Schedulebot probably be fine. Yeah, I'm sure he will. They never explained how he got into the door, why not not explain how he survived this?

When they go into the lab, Daisy tells the girls that he has evolved. And...that's it. Not, "I evolved, and I'm going to take over the world", or "I evolved, and I'm going to make all gum taste like black licorice", or anything else. Sure, there's some vines growing out of what seems like a hole in the ground, but they just kind of stop any potential for a god-like computer here.

Blossom tells the girls that they must go "into the breach", as they slowly fly towards the computer monitor, and they instantly teleport into the computer world. Even Bubbles seems to be confused by this. No special equipment made out of tin toil or anything, Blossom just says "once again into the breach", flies up to the computer monster, and...

...boom, they're in a place that proves that the Virtual Boy would be just as eye searing if they went with green instead of red. It's possible that Daisy did this with his "evolved powers", but there's not much that indicates that this is against the Reboot Puff's will, and that's the only way this would have happened.

Another more likely guess is that it may have wanted to do this because he wanted to kill the Powerpuff Girls in the digital world. Daisy does find out that they sneaked in here, and hears all about Bubbles' plan to repair the code. He even says the most unexpected line, I completely lie.

Daisy: I can't let you do that, Bubbles.

Also technically not the line from the movie, even if it's how a lot of people remembered it. After saying this, the cutesy flower turns into a googly-eyed plant monster. This gives us a real on-screen monster fight that doesn't end with just a random zap of Blossom's eyes.

While Blossom is dealing with the giant plant, Buttercup, under the guidance of the coding wizard, has to reverse the mistakes she made the last night. This actually affects the fight scene, as this code wrangling continuously makes the monster weaker and stronger as Blossom tries to fight it. For example, she accidentally gives it missiles, which ends up firing at Blossom...to no effect? If only I could say the reboot was getting tired of the Monster Punch, Girls Down scenes.

Eventually, they find this star piece, which looked like any other piece until Buttercup picked it up. The same thing happens with the missile piece, actually. I have a feeling they intended to have all of these pieces have different images on them, but they forgot to actually draw them. Once she gets it onto the top, we see a huge flash of light.

Suddenly, pancakes. Yeah, everything just reverted back to normal, with Daisy making delicious flapjacks. Even better for Buttercup, Daisy even messes up Buttercup's hair without care and learned to pronounce her name correctly! Buttercup gets everything she wanted, and that means everything is alright.

Everything is peaceful, the Professor got the best shower of his life, and we have a robot buddy that is so useful, it would be just too incredible to see in future episodes. What can possibly bring this plot back to the status quo? Someone using a line I didn't expect to hear in a TV-Y7-FV show.

Schedulebot: Ha, 🚚🚚 you! (repeatedly bashes Daisy with a baseball bat)

According to the closed captions, he's saying "got you", but that was not what I heard. And I thought "damn it, Utonium" was good! Aside from that, I do question the perspective of this shot, which makes him look absolutely gigantic. Maybe he has the ability to absorb grenade explosions, see, no explanation for how he survived the grenade, or maybe it's just bad animation. Surely, it can not be the latter!

After Daisy gets its head batted in, we hear a funky bass line as the episode immediately cuts to black. I guess they realized that Sciencefeld joke never really had any kind of conclusion or point! I guess since Seinfeld was a show about nothing, Sciencefeld ups the ante by being literally nothing! How fitting.

Does the title fit?

The only thing the title reminds me of is Super Mario Land. But yes, it's a robot named Daisy, and it does things that could make one go "oh." It's just barely above the "name of the character" titles.

How does it stack up?

I get how the idea for this episode could lead to something interesting, but it never quite goes anywhere good. There are some okay ideas, especially at the end, but this is one of the "meh" episodes for me. Oh, well.

Next, the Powerpuff Girls eat ice cream. No, it’s not one of my gags, they really eat ice cream.

← The Gift ☆ Brain Freeze →

[nessnessquik]

The Nanny - Chapter 2

I am completely overwhelmed by everyone’s amazing and encouraging responses to my first chapter. It’s hard to explain just how much your comments mean to me! You guys are just the best. I hope you enjoy everything to come!

Special thanks to Corinna, my amazing Mandarin translator!! And always Kaiya and Liz. Love yall. =)

Also on AO3.

“Do I have to go to school today?” Daisy looked up at Melinda imploringly from behind her bowl of cereal.

“Eat another bite, Daisy, and yes.” Melinda answered, glancing at her daughter from the island where she was assembling a turkey and cheese sandwich for Daisy’s lunchbox. The disappointment on Daisy’s little face made her want to change her mind, but her shift started in an hour. She couldn’t call out now unless there was some kind of emergency.

“But-but I wanna go to work with you.” Daisy sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

Melinda set down the sandwich and immediately went to crouch beside her little girl. She was used to Daisy's reluctance to part from her. Especially when she was a baby, her separation anxiety had made it difficult for Melinda to go anywhere alone. But this was something different. She usually wasn't this clingy anymore unless she was sick...or something was upsetting her.

“Daisy, xiǎo huā,” Melinda had given Daisy the Mandarin nickname when she was still just a baby: little flower. Melinda put a hand on her back and switched to Mandarin, as she frequently did at the house with Daisy. “What’s wrong?” She probed.

Daisy put her spoon down and threw her arms around Melinda’s neck for a hug. “I don’t wanna go to school. And I don’t like aftercare. I wanna stay with you.” Daisy’s voice was muffled by Melinda’s shirt.

Melinda held onto her and stood up, rubbing her back soothingly as Daisy straddled her waist. “I know you don’t like aftercare, xiǎo huā, but Mama has to go to work.”

She was loathe to leave Daisy in the daycare program after school. Her previous nanny, who moved away in January, usually picked her up right after her class ended. The past couple of months without a nanny meant that most days, Daisy had to stay in aftercare until she (or Peggy or Maria) were able to pick her up. Even though the school was good and the teachers were kind, Daisy expressed how much she disliked it. On particularly long or bad days, she would cry in class about having to go. Ms. Anne Weaver, Daisy's VPK teacher, explained to her that Daisy played by herself most of the time in aftercare. She thought it had to do with the fact that many of the other students in aftercare were older, and none of her classmates stayed after school. Melinda hated that her daughter had to be in a place where she felt she didn’t fit in, but without a nanny there was just no way for her to make sure Daisy was taken care of for those few hours without being at the school. Part of the burden of being a single mother, she supposed.

Melinda could feel Daisy relaxing in her arms the longer she held her, and finally Melinda pulled back to look into her daughter’s face.

“Hey,” Melinda moved the brown strands of hair away from Daisy’s face. “Guess what tomorrow is? My day off! You know what that means.” She saw the beginnings of a smile start to creep up. “We can do Tai Chi in the morning, and after school we’ll go to Aunt Peggy and Aunt Maria’s classes at the gym. Then at night we’ll eat ice cream. How’s that sound?”

“And play Chutes ‘n’ Ladders?”

Melinda groaned, causing Daisy to let out a giggle. “Okay, Chutes and Ladders too.”

Daisy hugged her once more. “Wǒ ài nǐ, Mommy.”

I love you. The phrase warmed her soul. “Wǒ ài nǐ, xiǎo huā.” Melinda set her down. “Now, finish your cereal.”

Daisy peered into her bowl and wrinkled her nose. “But it’s all squishy now.”

Melinda sighed and quickly began packing Daisy’s lunch away. Their little heart to heart (though she cherished every second of it) had left them with little time to linger. Looked like it was going to be another protein bar breakfast kind of morning.

“Okay, go get your shoes and backpack on, I’ll be right there.”

Melinda was sitting at her desk, reading through a few patient files and filling out paperwork when Natasha barged through her doorway, knocking once as if that was all the warning she needed.

“What are you waiting for?” Natasha demanded, hand on her hip.

“This mother’s latest report from her OB/GYN.” Melinda replied without looking up.

“I’m talking about Phil. You haven’t called him yet.”

Melinda finally lifted her head to roll her eyes. “I’ve been a little busy. And how did you even know about that?”

“Pepper told me.” Natasha sat on her desk, which she knew Melinda hated, and leaned on some of her papers. “Phil was one of Clint’s teachers in high school, so when he moved back here, Clint introduced us. I think you and Daisy would like him.”

“Good to know. Now get off my desk and go find someone to patch up.” Melinda knew what Natasha was doing. She was trying to annoy her into contacting the man.

“Are you going to call him?”

Melinda sighed. “Nat, you’re more of a four year old than Daisy is sometimes.”

Natasha folded her arms. “Well where do you think she gets it from?”

Melinda shook her head, concealing her smile. “For your information, I was going to call him today.”

“Hmm, well let me help you with that.” Nat swiped up her phone from her desk faster than she could blink and, moving just out of reach, began dialing Phil’s number.

“Natasha!” Melinda lunged and grabbed the phone back, but it had already started ringing. The glare Melinda sent the redhead would have caused every intern (and some doctors, for that matter) to apologize profusely and run the opposite way, but her friend just grinned back.

“You’re welcome!” Natasha called out as she left, shutting the door behind her.

Melinda huffed in annoyance, but quickly turned her attention to the phone...which had just stopped ringing.

“Hello?”

“Dr. May? Hi.” The man stuck his hand out, his blue eyes betraying some nervousness despite his easy smile. “Phil Coulson.”

“Most people just call me ‘May,’” Melinda stood briefly to shake his hand. “Thanks for agreeing to meet on such short notice.” She gestured for him to sit in the chair across from her before sitting back down.

Melinda chose her favorite breakfast cafe as a meeting spot for her interview with the renowned-yet-surprisingly-ordinary-looking Phil Coulson. The mid-morning sun peeking through a few clouds and the gentle breeze made for a very pleasant day for an outdoor brunch.

Phil thanked her as he seated himself, looking around the quaint patio and the rest of the cafe and nodding in appreciation. “I’ve never been here before, but I find that those little, lesser-known restaurants are usually the best ones, don’t you think?”

Melinda nodded in agreement, gazing at the property fondly. “I’ve been coming here for years. The owner, Sif, and her husband are good people.”

“How long have you lived here?” Phil asked, leaning forward with eager eyes.

Melinda cocked an eyebrow. “Aren’t I supposed to be the one asking questions here?”

“Oh-geez, yeah you’re right. Sorry.” Phil seemed to deflate slightly as he looked away from her to study his menu instead.

Melinda suppressed a smile at Phil’s obvious embarrassment. It was healthy to be a little nervous at an interview-it meant that he cared about what she thought about him.

All the same, Melinda could almost hear her mother’s voice in her head, chiding her for speaking without thinking first.

“It was just a joke, Mr. Coulson.” Melinda’s voice broke the silence. No need for him to already think the worst of her.

“Phil,” he responded immediately, looking back up at her. A slightly more cautious smile tugged one side of his mouth back up. “You can call me Phil.”

“Well, Phil, Pepper said you work at a bakery and substitute teach at a high school?” Melinda picked up her menu. “After we decide on what to eat, I’d like to hear about how you got into that.”

Melinda’s first observation was discovered less than a minute after ordering their food: Phil Coulson was a talker.

She listened, making internal notes of his appearance while he spoke: he had brown hair (thinning at the top), blue eyes (the blue button down he wore really made them stand out), average height (still a good amount of inches taller than her), nice smile and voice (sincere and pleasing), he wore a suit jacket over his dress shirt (disguising what appeared to be a strong set of arms). Hmm. Perhaps he wasn’t as ordinary as she thought he’d been when he walked up.

In fact, she mused to herself, he’s actually kind of attractive…

Was all of this information she needed to know about a nanny?

Probably not.

Melinda mentally shook herself and forced herself to tune back into Phil’s story. As his bacon and spinach quiche cooled on its plate, he told her about his difficulty in choosing a subject in college to focus on. He’d bounced around for a while until he’d finally graduated as the only history major with an excess amount of culinary electives. It was there, apparently, that he’d met and roomed with Tony Stark.

“Which was just as fun as you can imagine, if you know Tony at all.” Phil stated dryly. Melinda snorted in understanding before swallowing a forkful of her own ham and cheese quiche.

“Has he changed at all since then?” Melinda inquired.

Phil chewed a bite of his (nearly forgotten) food thoughtfully. “He likes to act the same as he did in college, but it’s more of a front now. He’s grown up a bit since then, thanks to Pepper and Fitz.”

Melinda scoffed again and muttered. “Could’ve fooled me.”

Phil grinned at her, and Melinda was surprised at how easy it was to smile back at him.

Sif chose that moment to swing by, refilling their drinks with expert precision. The brunette raised her eyebrows, glancing between her and Phil as she poured. “Enjoying everything?”

Melinda sent her a look, knowing exactly what she was hinting at.

The double meaning seemed to go right over Phil’s head as he nodded enthusiastically. “This quiche is delicious. Is there any way I could convince you to give me the recipe?”

Sif smiled. “I’ll speak to the cook.” She walked away to serve another guest, but not before throwing another smirk over her shoulder in Melinda’s direction.

She pretended not to notice.

“And after college?” Melinda prodded him.

“Oh, right. I taught history at a local high school here for a while. That was interesting since I was only a few years older than some of them. Then my father passed away suddenly and I moved back to my childhood home to be with my mom.” Phil’s eyes looked distant. “She helped me rediscover my love for baking, and she’s also the reason I came back here.” His smile was back, though it held a bit of embarrassment. “She basically kicked me out and forced me to pursue my idea of opening my own bakery.”

“She sounds like a great mom.”

“She is. She taught me a lot. She’s also the reason I love kids.” Phil fiddled with his fork. “She taught me to take care of them when I was still young myself. With a bunch of younger cousins, I was basically the family babysitter. Until, unfortunately, college forced me to retire from my budding career.”

Melinda let out a surprised chuckle at the joke. At the sound, Phil's blue eyes snapped quickly to hers and he beamed back, looking delighted with himself for causing her to laugh.

“I’ve been rambling. I’m sorry, I’ve been told I do that a lot.” Phil tilted his head as he looked at her. “What about yourself? And Daisy?”

“Daisy’s four, she’ll be five this July.” Melinda subtly ignored the prompt to speak about herself. It didn’t matter what Phil thought or knew about her personally, as long as he took good care of her daughter. This isn’t a date, it’s an interview, Melinda told herself firmly. She pulled out her phone as she spoke. “She loves dressing up, Chutes and Ladders, ice cream, and playing outside. Here’s a picture of her, in case you haven’t seen one yet.”

Phil studied the photo with a smile. “Yeah, I have seen some of you before, actually.” Melinda glanced at him quickly and watched his ears turned pink. “I mean you as in plural, like the two of you. Y’all, as some might say. Pepper and Natasha have shown me a few of you and Daisy.”

Melinda bit back a smile at his stammering. With anyone else, the admission might have sounded creepy, but with Phil it was almost...cute. In a dorky, kind of endearing sort of way.

Phil cleared his throat to break up the awkwardness. “She looks sweet.” He finally stated.

Melinda squashed down the urge to tease him, deciding it would be more professional to just ignore the exchange. “She is.” A little, affectionate smile crossed her lips as she looked at the picture. “She can also be a bit of a handful. Many of the other nannies found her difficult to keep up with.”

Melinda’s eyes suddenly focused above the picture to see the clock in bold letters. She nearly groaned aloud. When did it get so late? “I’m sorry, I need to go pick up Daisy from school now or she’ll be waiting on me.”

She stood up and grabbed her purse, then hesitated and considered Phil in front of her. He was now on his feet as well and he looked at her with slight concern in his eyes. “Would you...like to meet her?”

Phil’s eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly grinned and nodded. “I’d love to.”

[movietvtechgeeks]

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/supernatural-monsters-among-angels-lily-sunders-regrets/

'Supernatural' Monsters Among Angels for Lily Sunder's Regrets

You can never have enough of angels in Supernatural, right? Many fans out there would like to put all the angels back in heaven, the demons back in hell and the boys and mom concentrating on the things that go bump in the night. But Cas and Crowley who are fan favorites won’t be shuttered with their brethren. And won’t it be fun if there was one episode with only the two of them? Anyway, how the show handles angels and demons will probably depend on the writing, and preferably, no large arcs about angels and demons for a while. The latest episode “Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets” is a well-crafted angel story with no ties to the Lucifer arc. The episode might as well be another monster story that happens to actively include Castiel. This is a recap and a review of Season 12 episode 10, so spoiler alert for those who haven’t caught up yet. This episode begins with a woman playing the classic arcade game Rampage in a bar that’s about to close down, setting up a slightly creepy atmosphere like those monster episodes setting up the victim. The victim here, the woman, happens to be an angel named Benjamin. A bit weird but gender-bent angels happened before when Castiel temporarily took over Claire Novak, Raphael taking a female vessel and Hannah inhabited a male vessel. Benjamin gets attacked by an unknown assassin, who is also a woman sporting two angel blades and loses but not before alerting her group which includes Castiel. At the bunker, Castiel is once again at odds with Dean despite Cas saving the Winchesters by killing Billie. Still couldn’t get over an avatar of Death named Billie. Dean is worried sick of the cosmic consequences Billie warned them about breaking their deal in order to escape Site 94. Cas is still hoping for some appreciation and at the same time is mad at Dean for making another Earth-shattering-Winchester-life-exchange-deal, which this time he had to break. Cas gets alerted to Benjamin’s distress signal and has to investigate. Sam offers help, and Dean reluctantly tags along. Mary is out hunting a shapeshifter somewhere. While on their shaky road trip, Cas describes Benjamin as being clever and careful which gives them some idea that someone who can kill an angel like Benjamin is someone to watch out for. While investigating, they pick up one of the woman’s angel blades, and Castiel gets an idea of who they’re up against which also alerts the assassin to Castiel’s presence. The woman kisses a very old photograph of a girl before setting off. Castiel meets with his old group of angels. One is Isham who has an intense animosity against humans, and another is named Mirabel. Mirabel and Isham blames and insults Castiel for their broken wings which explains their de-powered status. The Winchesters barge in while the angels talk so Mirabel decides to go out as lookout resulting in her getting killed by the assassin. Isham leaves and discovers Mirabel’s corpse and gets attacked himself. They all discover and fight the assassin, but she escapes leaving Isham injured. Cas knows the assassin and explains what happened many years ago in 1901. We see a female Castiel, also wearing a coat along with Isham, Mirabel, Benjamin and a couple of others. Isham explains that they’re out to kill a Nephilim sired by their fellow angel Akobel and a woman who turns out to be the assassin named Lily Sunder. Isham was as racist to humans back then as he is in the present. Cas reads Akobel’s judgement then executes him, and Isham goes in to kill Lily’s Nephilim daughter. In the present, Isham explains that Lily Sunder is a professor who’s an expert in angels, knows Enochian lore and that he spared Lily out of mercy. Isham also said that Lily made a demonic pact for her life and powers. The Winchesters volunteer to find Lily using her car plate that Sam memorized. Because Lily was killing angels for revenge, Sam and Dean wants to convince her to stop hunting Castiel instead of killing her. When they leave, Castiel heals Isham leaving him weakened. The boys find Lily, but Lily explains the story from her point of view. Lily’s obsession with angels led her to summon one, and she summoned Isham who was, unfortunately, hateful of humans but developed a fatal attraction to Lily. Lily left Isham and to protect herself summoned a benevolent angel named Akobel who she married. Lily also explained that May, her daughter was not a Nephilim as she had her before her marriage to Akobel. Isham’s sortie to Lily’s house was to kill Akobel and to personally hurt her by killing May unbeknownst to the company. Lily didn’t make a demonic pact but used Enochian magic to give her powers and extend her life but at the cost of her soul which Sam could relate to. The brothers try to confirm this with Cas, but Isham hid his phone. Dean leaves Sam to guard Lily and confirm their findings to a weakened Cas. Isham attacks Cas and Dean after being confronted with the truth. Dean threatens Isham with an angel sigil, but the effects might be unpredictable to a hurt Cas. Sam and Lily arrive in time to save them. Lily tries to hold back Isham, but Cas manages to kill him from behind. The brothers try to convince Lily not to continue her vengeance against Castiel. Castiel also apologizes and offers himself to Lily but Lily leaves apparently satisfied with Isham’s death. The episode ends in the bunker with Dean and Cas settling their differences but with Cas still not regretful about his decision to kill Billie. They later discuss their next step in finding Lucifer’s Nephilim and hopefully find a better way of dealing with it. Again, this is quite a good monster story with Lily, and later Isham standing in for the monsters. Despite being another angel story, this one was pretty dramatic, interesting and shows that angels, including Cas, have been working on the Earth even before the apocalypse. Lily Sunder is also an interesting character and might show up in a future angel-centric episode. With this show, if the brothers still have to deal with demons, they’ll have to deal with dick angels like Lucifer as well, with Lily helping out. More angel stories would be okay if they’re as well-made as this one. Here's a quick look at an upcoming scene from Thursday's Supernatural 1211 Regarding Dean. I always thought everything was regarding Dean in some way.

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