#also totally not imagining him having to put essential oils on his body totally not

[spideyhexx]

losing it!

[kalee60]

If it inspires you... maybe you could write an established relationship Steve and Bucky where they are completely in sync when it comes to the battle field and the kitchen but there’s one place they are like fumbling idiots. I don’t know where. No hard feelings if this sparks no ideas lol 😂💖💖💖

Oh Kay - this wonderful prompt you gifted me could have gone in so many different directions. And it most definitely inspired me to write something...

But it's neither a clever take on your words or a twisted storyline, therefore I have no apologies and I went the obvious route when filling your idea 😂 (why does my brain always try and get these boys naked?)

So this turned into something a little longer (of course), a little more ridiculous than anticipated, and features some very well intentioned Avengers and two idiots helplessly inept in love...

The fic made it to almost 5.5k and is also on ao3 here (with all tags necessary) if you prefer to read there instead, it'll be part of my stucky bingo fills - 'Sex Magic' and rated E for explicit sexual content 😉 so proceed below with caution...

Oh it's also the first time I've ever tried established relationship... hopefully I've pulled it off!

Steve was happy. 

He finally had a home to call his own, a brilliant team of coworkers, a place in the future and he had Bucky Barnes. After more years than Steve could count, Bucky and he had finally found themselves on the same page - different century, but on even ground. They’d kissed in the heat of the moment after a brutal mission, stated their affections clearly and decided after a breathless confession - to give forever a go.

Having been on the battlefield together for years, Bucky at his six and always there for Steve when he needed, and Steve, having had Bucky’s back no matter the situation (or trouble it got him into) - meant they had a solid base to grow from. And as soon as Sam took over the mantle of Cap, Steve was free to be himself for once, and although Nomad made appearances on the odd occasion, he and Bucky still fought flawlessly together, seamlessly, almost at one in their movements.

It was magical.

But not only were they in sync when under pressure and danger, that same energy continued into their modest but homely kitchen in their brownstone as they unlearned that boiling was the only way to prepare food. They wove around each other, hot pans and knives flashing in a dance as intricate as fighting while they spun about the kitchen, preparing dish after dish, including sweet treats for themselves and cat treats for Alpine.

Bucky and Steve were essentially one unit, an extension of the other in every aspect of their lives - except one…

They’d shared their first kiss, a declaration of intent less than a month earlier on the battlefield in the midst of chaos, and Steve had never felt sweeter lips against his. But it wasn't just the kiss that floored him, it was the all-consuming knowledge that Bucky was his, would always be his, that they were made for each other - that's what made it a perfect moment.

Afterwards, when they'd arrived home tired from the week-long operation, 'congratulations' and 'about times' ringing in their ears, they sat on the sofa staring at the other until Steve leant in, cupping Bucky’s cheek and slowly pressed forward. Bucky having the same idea, lurched up and they smacked heads hard enough to see stars. Chuckling with small smiles, they tried again, with Steve accidentally biting Bucky's tongue, and the third was a kiss so awkward and sloppy, it made Steve feel like a thirteen year old practising on the back of his hand again.

Steve wasn’t sure how he'd got it so wrong.

Bucky had laughed it off at the time, asking Steve if he wanted to watch TV, and with nothing left to do, he agreed. For two overly large war-torn men, they fit wonderfully; wrapping limbs around the other, holding tight like they'd never let go again. It was soothing, comfortable - right. And as Steve pressed soft lips to the crown of Bucky's hair while a documentary played in the background, he wondered why their attempt at kissing when alone, without an audience hadn’t worked.

Steve could only put it down to nerves.

Bucky was his best friend after all, he was the only one who remembered and knew Steve, knew everything about him in fact, there were no secrets - except for the almost one hundred year pining between them. The awkwardness had to be because of a change in dynamics, they were now more, they wanted more, and were so nervous and scared to adapt to something new, it had become an issue of self-confidence.

It would get better.

It had to.

The next morning when Bucky left for a briefing, he placed a kiss on the corner of Steve’s mouth, and when Steve jerked his head to the side to capture Bucky's lips, he somehow managed to press his teeth into the soft pink flesh, tasting blood. Bucky pulled back with a huff of laughter and licked his lips to capture the red stain before leaving with a wink and a goodbye. Steve flushed red, the heat on his cheeks burning enough that he jumped up and organised an impromptu run with Sam to escape the memory. The whole time Steve lamented to a cackling Sam, that he'd somehow forgotten how to kiss.

Sam was a dick.

It had officially been three weeks, three full weeks of 'dating' and even though their actual dates were wonderful, full of laughter and fun and exploration, it was when they crawled into bed next to the other that suddenly every kiss, every touch was fraught with danger and peril. And maybe it was because they were both supersoldiers, both familiar and unfamiliar with some of their strengths, they'd overlooked they were still prone to the usual calamities that befell non-serumed folk, they just bounced back quicker.

So when Bucky ground down hard enough it bent Steve's dick practically in two - well, it wasn't pleasant, and took over an hour for the tears to stop streaming, all while he yelled to a panicked Bucky there was no way he was calling Dr Cho over it and that it would heal.

It healed, but Steve winced each time he went to the bathroom for the following two days.

The love bite Steve sucked into Bucky's upper thigh on the way to taste his gorgeous dick for the first time, erupted into a blood blister almost immediately and Bucky instinctually jerked away, kneeing Steve in the temple.

He only saw stars for two minutes, but the mood died in a flurry of apologies while the mark on Bucky's skin disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

By Steve's count, they'd tried a total of ten times to initiate sex, to make each other feel good, and every single time something had happened to thwart their attempts.

Steve wondered if the universe was trying to tell them they were not supposed to get physical. That they were destined to be best friends without any benefits.

But Steve wouldn't give up without a fight.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“You can stop laughing now,�� Steve said with a sigh, taking a sip of his espresso while trying to ignore the spluttering of his other best friend.

“Oh I know, but I can’t. You kicked Bucky in the hip so hard it somehow threw his body out of alignment and he was walking with a limp for two days. And not the type of limp you want.” Sam was practically heaving in mirth by that stage.

“Why did I come to you for advice? I'm leaving.”

"No, no don't. I'm glad you came to me. But Barnes? I understand your reaction because I'd kick him so he couldn’t walk for days too - but obviously under different circumstances,” Sam added when Steve scowled at his words.

"I don't get it though," Steve complained with an exaggerated shrug. "We sync so well everywhere else. Christ, we even snuggle in such a natural way, that neither of us have had a real nightmare in a month. We are more than ready for the next step. Sam, you have no idea how much we want to take it - but the minute we try to get… intimate - it falls flat."

Sam took a long sip of his iced coffee, thick cream bobbing over the surface as he tilted the glass up. Steve winced at how sweet it had to taste, but he said nothing, remained quiet, knowing that Sam would have some advice at least.

"Maybe it's the way you say intimate? I'm joking, jeez Steve, don't give me your disappointed face. Look, I think you should set the mood, you know - music, candlelight, silk sheets and no distractions. Maybe some aromatic oils too, do the whole, 'I think you're sexy and I want you' gesture - make it obvious you find him desirable.”

“Aromatic oils?”

Sam smirked and waggled his eyebrows, “for a special massage of course.”

Steve flushed at the thought of having Bucky’s naked skin and hardened muscles under his hands, sliding and slipping as he loosened him up, ready to make Bucky fall apart, make him languid and hazy with want. Sam coughed and Steve realised he was letting his imagination run too wild, especially in front of company.

“You know what? I think I chose wisely for my replacement.” Steve grinned as Sam ducked his head, a pleased look gracing his features. “Thanks, Sam. I’m sure it’s a timing thing, we just need to make it sexy.”

Sam clapped his back, and with a wide toothy grin and a wink, said in a low deep voice, “you’re an overachiever Steve - you’ve got this.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Steve in fact, did not have it.

Maybe his first mistake was to massage Bucky on the sofa, not in their bed. He used too much oil and when Steve raised himself up, eager to flip Bucky over and finally take his hard dick in hand, the vinyl fabric in conjunction with Bucky’s skin was soaked and slippery. Steve found himself sliding and flailing uncontrollably, right off the sofa to smack his face into the coffee table, the mood disappearing in a peal of Bucky’s laughter. Steve couldn't even blame him, it would have looked a sight.  

After a long hot shower where Steve contemplated his choice in friends and their terrible advice, Bucky and he sat on a freshly cleaned sofa and watched Animal Planet while eating Thai. They ended up cuddling under Bucky's weighted blanket, falling asleep entwined, and just before Steve blacked out, he wondered if maybe Sam wasn’t the right choice for Cap after all. His plan stunk.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“You do know I’m not that kind of Doctor, right?” Bruce reiterated for the third time, and Steve shrugged in response.

“I know. But at this stage it’s worth a shot. So Doc, any advice for me?”

Bruce sat back on the lone stool in his lab, hand cupping his chin as he thought. At least Bruce appeared to be more contemplative than Sam had been. “Have you tried to romance him? Take Bucky out for a nice dinner, partake in some Asgardian wine to loosen things up, before dancing, showing him that you're a gentleman - prove to Bucky how special he is to you. In my limited experience, the rest will flow from there with no problems.”

Steve nodded along as Bruce spoke, holding Bucky against his body as they danced across the floor wouldn’t be too different from fighting together, and they were in perfect harmony while out in the field. Bruce’s idea made perfect sense to Steve, had more of a familiar feel from Bucky and his early life, before the war than what Sam’s had. Sam's suggestion centered on the physical between Steve and Bucky, whereas Bruce was suggesting something subtle, emotional.

“You know what Bruce? Thank you, I think it might just work.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

It did not work. 

Halfway through their fifth dance as their bodies started to meld together, barely moving on the dancefloor, holding each other's gaze as they whispered words of desire to each, Steve leant forward, their lips barely touching. And as Steve took in a breath, feeling Bucky’s returning exhale on his lips, the back wall blew out in an explosion, Bucky headbutting Steve in surprise, and suddenly they had Hydra operatives swarming them. Steve, as he took out three hostiles with his shield, wondered if he should talk to Dr Cho about the effects of concussion and if he could suffer them, due to his head seemingly taking the brunt of recent mishaps. 

Bucky and Steve fell into tandem together, their natural ability to fight kicking in, keeping the other safe. It was much more natural than dancing and Steve sighed, knowing romantic nights out might not be the right course of action for them. 

It took three days of intense fighting to take down the Hydra faction, and afterwards they were both too tired to speak more than a sentence, and fell into a deep sleep curled around the other immediately. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Steve ignored Tony's unsolicited advice to take Bucky to a ski chalet and teach him how to toboggan, knowing freezing conditions and a small metal tube wouldn't be the best way to loosen them both up to get frisky. Plus Steve was still trying to work out how Tony even knew Steve had asked other people for advice about sex? Maybe JARVIS was spying again, though the AI had promised Steve he wouldn't.

But what was worse, was Peter Parker, at barely even twenty years of age coming to Steve, red faced and stammering, saying that he thought Steve should take Bucky to laser tag and the arcade to have some old fashioned fun. 

Steve at that point was at his wits end, so he tried Peter's plan. When Steve was confronted with all the bright, colourful and confusing machines, he almost gave up. Actual 'old-fashioned' and Peter's idea of it, were poles apart. Though, Steve found he was really good at Tetris and Bucky excelled at zombie shooting games. But it was when playing laser tag it all fell over, Bucky and Steve getting too competitive, and a tad physical, which ended up with them being kicked out and banned, after having to apologise to a bunch of wide-eyed yet excited fifteen year olds. 

Bucky's exclamations that there wasn't that much blood, fell on the deaf ears of the twenty year old manager who reprimanded them, saying that at their age they should know better.

It did not induce a night of passion afterwards. Although, Bucky purchased a console online and a bunch of zombie games that evening, including a bundle that included Tetris, so it wasn't a complete bust.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“So basically what you’re saying is that nothing has worked? You’ve been tiptoeing around each other for what? Almost two months now?” At Steve’s nod, Nat grinned, crouching down and did a handspring, legs wrapping around his neck, pulling him to the floor. “The way you are with each other, I honestly would have guessed you’d been screwing for years. If I didn't know you better.”

“That’s not helpful. I’m serious. We have a real issue.” Steve looked up from his twisted position directly into her green eyes and sighed, she loosened her legs and Steve ran a hand over his face and stayed on the ground. “What if we’re just not meant to be?”

Nat’s expression softened as much as it ever did, meaning her left eyebrow turned down for less than a second before reasserting itself into a perfectly sardonic position.

“Okay, my advice for what it’s worth, and just note that I’m extremely offended that you didn’t come to me first, I mean Sam - come on. But let it happen naturally, organically. Just like it took you a hundred years to own up to your feelings, wait until it feels right to have sex.”

Steve groaned, and stood up, “I’m not waiting another hundred years, Nat.”

“Jesus, Rogers. Fine. Go see Wanda then.”

“Wanda?”

“Use that big brain of yours, not the small one. She’s a witch, I’m sure she can help you out.”

Steve knew the surprise on his face wasn’t feigned. He’d not actually thought Wanda could do spells or the like, but the more he thought about Nat’s words, the more it appealed. Could some magical interference help them?

“Thanks, Nat - I’ll definitely think about it.”

In the space of him finishing his words and a smile forming - Steve was on his back again, Nat’s thighs wrapped around his neck as she squeezed with intent.

“You’ll see that I was right.”

~*~*~*~*~

That night when Steve tried to let things happen naturally, organically as Nat had suggested, Steve slid a hand up Bucky’s side, light as a feather, only for Bucky to squirm in laughter and throw his head backwards, smashing into Steve’s poor battered nose - which broke. It healed within seconds, but blood spurted out in a gush, coating the back of Bucky’s hair and neck. It took an hour to clean up.

~*~*~*~*~

He went and saw Wanda the next day.

~*~*~*~*~

“Well, I’m one lucky girl, first a visit and latte from James this morning and now you this afternoon with a pastry.” Wanda took a bite of the flaky dessert, one Steve knew was her favourite. “Alright Steve what can I do for you today?”

Steve’s immediate reaction was to ask why Bucky had been there, but knew that the two of them had a strong connection, Wanda helping Bucky through some of the residual trauma with her powers, and then their fast bond over Alpine - Bucky’s terror of a stray cat that took up residence in their apartment. Or took over would be more apt.

“I… err, I need your help with something... delicate.”

Wanda gave Steve the smallest smile, a knowing look in her eyes and Steve lost his train of thought for a moment, not sure he really needed another Avenger to know about his intimacy issue with Bucky. He almost chickened out, but Wanda leaned forward and grasped his forearm.

“It’s okay, Steve - you can tell me, ask me anything.”

Sighing heavily, Steve steeled himself, he was out of options.

“Alright -” Steve laid out plainly what had been happening, the awkwardness, the injuries, the sheer unluckiness they’d suffered each time they’d attempted to move their relationship forwards physically.

“And you came to me for...?”

“Help, I guess,” Steve said and looked at Wanda pleadingly, “Can you? I mean, with a potion or a spell or something of the like?”

Wanda slumped back in her chair, mouth opening to speak, but nothing came out, she remained silent. After a minute, she swallowed audibly then looked up at the roof, and if Steve didn’t know better, he would have thought she was rolling her eyes at him. Yet he knew that wouldn’t be the case, Wanda was polite to him, always had been, they were a team. Friends. Only Nat would take those liberties with him.

“Alright,” Wanda finally spoke and stood up, walking over to her kitchen cupboards, pulling out jars and bottles holding different liquids. And before Steve knew it, he was holding a small glass vial filled with a substance that smelt like vodka, but had rosemary and a slice of orange and a few other items bobbing around inside.

“What’s this?”

“Well you asked for a potion, didn’t you?”

“Really? I actually didn’t think you’d -”

“- Do you want the sex magic or not?”

Steve grasped the tiny bottle in his hand, careful not to crush it in his huge meaty hands.

“I do,” he said quickly and stood, pulling her into a warm hug, which she returned readily.

“Just take half an hour before you want to… well, you know.”

“Thanks, Wanda, you were my last hope.”

And as he walked out  the room, Wanda called out after him, “you’ll be fine Steve. I know this will work for you.”

~*~*~*~*~

It worked. 

Bucky was on his knees, mouth wrapped around Steve’s thick dick, swallowing and licking like his life depended on it. And Steve, well, he couldn’t articulate, could only stare down into those familiar grey-blue eyes that gazed at Steve like he was a conquering god, stare at the way saliva dripped down Bucky’s chin as he drew in as much of Steve’s hardness as possible, Bucky’s plush lips stretched taut until they’d lost most of their colour.

It was the most glorious sight of Steve’s entire life.

He didn’t want to think about Wanda in that moment, but he was eternally grateful to her. Bucky had disappeared into the bathroom about half an hour earlier - leaving enough time for Steve to drink the potion in one go, and before he knew it, almost half an hour to the dot, they launched at the other. For once there were no injuries, awkwardness, or pain - just hungry kisses, curious hands and moaning. A lot of moaning and grinding.

Then Bucky dropped to his knees, yanking impatiently at Steve’s pants until they all but ripped off, and sucked him down in the same breath.

Throwing his head back, Steve looked to the ceiling, fingers tangled in Bucky’s hair as Bucky hummed and gasped around his dick, sucking loudly, slurping and choking at times. But Steve couldn’t keep his eyes away for long. Bucky was too compelling, too perfect.

“God, you have no idea how you look right now do you, on your knees, mouth full of me?” Steve husked and involuntarily pumped his hips a few times. Bucky’s eyelids fluttered shut as he listened to Steve’s words, not complaining about the added pressure. “Born to take me, weren't you, Doll?”

Bucky practically squirmed on the spot, moaning and whimpering and Steve realised through the haze and bliss of what Bucky’s clever tongue was doing to him, that Bucky clearly had a thing for pet names.

“Do you want this large dick inside of you sweetheart? Do you want to sit on it? Take it deep into your body, let you take control and ride me until you come?” Steve should have been taken aback by his words, about where his filthy mind was taking them. But he was running his mouth, not thinking, letting what felt good flow off his tongue. And Bucky - he loved it.

Popping his mouth off the end of Steve’s dick, tongue immediately lathing up and down the shaft so as to always have a point of contact, he moaned loudly, wantonly. “God yes, Stevie - want you to fill me up, stretch me, want to feel you for days after, I want you to own me…”

Steve growled possessively, his fingers tightening in Bucky’s hair, pulling back so Bucky was jerked away from his dick, Bucky whining at the loss. Oh christ - that jar of sex magic needed to be marketed - it was phenominal. Steve had never felt so in control of a situation, so ready for anything, not scared, just willing to make Bucky feel good. “I want that too, baby, want everyone to know you’re mine.”

Yanking Bucky upwards, Steve devoured his mouth in a kiss, completely surprised that the potion had worked so well. Not only were they finally on the same page, they were doing it with no shame, telling each other exactly what they wanted and when, pleasuring with sensations and not overthinking, and the teasing - it was natural, it felt right. And Steve knew he was forever in Wanda's debt for the gift of her magic.

“I want to watch you prepare yourself, gorgeous. Want to see your fingers sliding in and out of your tight hole - a hole I’m going to own from tonight onwards.”

“Jesus, Steve, you’re killin’ me here.”

“Not quite yet, I’m not. Give me an hour and we’ll circle back to that.”

“Don’t speak to me like a rookie learning the ropes.” Bucky grumbled.

Steve smiled, “But aren't you?”

“Jerk.”

“Punk.”

Steve swallowed the rest of his retort when Bucky stripped naked to crawl up on their bed, spinning around to lay amongst the pillows, spreading his legs wide like he couldn’t wait to be railed. And Steve was unable to tear his gaze away from Bucky’s hole, his gorgeous and perfect entrance, one that would be puffy and leaking before the night was out - the superficial damage caused by Steve and no one else. A tight sensation welled in Steve’s gut, lurching when Bucky grabbed the lube, pouring liberally before starting to finger himself.

That was the point where Steve knew he'd made a grave mistake.

He wasn’t going to be able to watch Bucky open himself up, Steve was too wound up, too impatient and also too much of a control freak. He needed to ensure Bucky did a good enough job, knowing his girth alone was more than most people were used to. So when Bucky was two fingers in, sweat beading, eyes never leaving Steve’s face, Steve jerked forward and climbed up on the bed, positioning himself between Bucky’s legs. He lubed up his fingers to test the tightness himself, Bucky’s eyes opening in shock at the probing.

“Steve…” he stammered, “What are you doing?”

“Helping.”

Bucky sighed out a breath, relaxing into the intrusion as Steve pressed a finger in next to Bucky’s, and Steve shut his eyes, groaning; Bucky was so tight and hot, perfectly wrapped around Steve’s finger. Steve knew he was going to lose himself in Bucky’s body, was going to transcend, never be the same again and he couldn’t wait.

Steve ensured Bucky was a writhing panting mess before he even contemplated sliding into his tight heat. No matter how much Bucky asked for it, no matter the pleading, the begging (of which Bucky did so prettily, especially with the beginnings of frustrated tears in his eyes), Steve wanted their first time to be free of pain and injury, and by god was he going to deliver.

When he deemed Bucky ready, who pouted back to declare he was, hours ago, it only confirmed a surly Bucky was absolutely gorgeous to Steve, and Steve pulled him down the bed, spreading Bucky’s legs wide. Bucky sank back, allowing himself to be positioned, holding Steve’s gaze hotly as Steve pressed the tip of his dick against the loosened muscle of Bucky’s ass.

The first testing push felt like Steve was going to split Bucky in two - there was no way he would fit. But Bucky grabbed Steve violently by the back of the head, holding him tight in his superhuman strength.

“Don’t you fucking dare stop - not now.”

“Alright, sweetheart,” Steve said placating, “just don’t wanna hurt you.”

“You won’t.” Bucky replied adamantly, and Steve still wasn’t sure until Bucky husked out, “Trust me.”

And Steve did. He trusted Bucky more than anyone else in the world, the universe, and so he continued to press past the tight muscle and...

Oh.

Oh fuck.

He wasn’t expecting Bucky to feel so good, so tight, so perfect. Steve kept pushing, further and further, almost endlessly until he had to pull out an inch to gain more leverage, and the whole time he did this, the whole time he tested and pressed forward again, Steve watched Bucky’s face, looking for signs of discomfort. He saw none.

Bucky was slack-jawed as he stared into Steve’s eyes in a completely blissful state, and pride welled up inside of Steve, he was making Bucky look like that, giving Bucky what he wanted, desired. Steve and no one else.

It was both heady and compelling.

When Steve could push no further and was fully seated within Bucky’s body, he took a breath, then another, and although his instinct was telling him to thrust, take, pound, he didn’t. He’d promised Bucky something.

Grabbing Bucky’s waist, he spun them quickly; Bucky yelping suddenly at the change in position, and looking a little dazed, he ended up straddling Steve, thighs stretched taut over Steve’s large frame.

“Ride me baby.” Steve said simply, and Bucky melted, falling forward to kiss Steve’s lips passionately. Steve held Bucky close as a tongue snaked into his mouth, lips frantic and hot on his, so Steve jerked up into Bucky’s body, reminding Bucky of what he was supposed to be doing, earning him a gasp directly into his mouth.

Sitting up, Bucky pressed his hands against Steve’s stomach for leverage, and tested his breadth of movement, wiggling side to side before he started to move in earnest. Soon Bucky was bouncing on Steve, pulling up and slamming down, taking the pleasure he wanted for himself, and Steve, he lay back and watched the love of his life take every inch he could, and adored it.

After a while, sweat started to pour down Bucky’s temples, his eyes squeezed shut tightly in concentration as he speared himself again and again on Steve’s hardness, wringing pleasure out of every pore, and Steve knew Bucky was close - could tell by the shortening breaths. Licking his palm, Steve reached forward to grip Bucky’s gorgeously rigid dick as it bobbed freely before him, mesmerizing in its movements.

Bucky snapped his eyes open, capturing Steve in his intense gaze, a pleading spark in them, and what Bucky was asking for, Steve wasn’t sure - so he grasped harder and began to stroke. He was methodical, brutal, unrelatening and soon Bucky was clenching around him as come erupted from his dick, coating Steve’s stomach in sticky stripes, and Steve was desperate to taste. So he did. 

Trailing a finger through the mess while Bucky caught his breath, Steve relished Bucky holding him deep within his body, clenching and twitching around him as Steve slid one wet and come soaked finger between his lips, moaning at the unique and tangy taste. It was pure Bucky. His essence, and Steve was addicted already.

“Oh Buck, I’m going to suck you so good one day. You’re the sweetest thing, aren’t you?”

Bucky nodded his head in return, sated and hazy, his breathing returning to some semblance of control, and with a refractory period only superserum enhanced soldiers experienced, Bucky’s dick started to fill again, not quickly, but enough Steve knew from experience that the sensitivity would have abated enough to touch - to continue.

“My turn,” Steve growled, spinning them back over, crushing Bucky into the bed under his weight.

Steve didn’t wait for a response, just immediately pounded hard into Bucky’s limp, open and languid body. And at odds with the rest of his self, Bucky’s dick hardened against Steve’s stomach with every stroke, but Steve had become lost in the sensations, in how good it felt to be encased in Bucky’s heat, his warmth, of finally being closer than ever before for the first time and he couldn’t think straight.

Grabbing Bucky’s chin in one hand, Steve pressed their mouths together, panting into Bucky’s as he whispered words of love tempered with a stream of filth that had Bucky’s eyes rolling to the back of his head.

Thrusting harder again and putting all his strength behind it, able to without hurting Bucky, Steve went into a frenzy as Bucky writhed and moaned underneath him, nonsense words falling from his throat. Steve held on as long as he could, but it was too much, had taken too long to finally be inside of Bucky, and with a litany of ‘oh god’s’ Steve came deep inside of his lover, his friend, his forever and basked in the moment, knowing it was all thanks to a little potion bottle. 

As he caught his breath, inhaling Bucky’s scent, smiling down and kissing his lips reverently, Bucky looked up at him grey-blue eyes full of wonder and happiness.

Their smiles couldn’t be any larger.

Maybe magic wasn’t so bad after all.

~*~*~*~*~

“Judging by the way they couldn’t keep their hands off each other this morning at the team breakfast, I assume you gave Steve and Bucky some help and advice?” Nat asked Wanda as they sat in a wine bar downtown that night on their weekly catch up.

Wanda smirked, holding her glass up in a cheers to Nat. “Yep, Bucky came to me yesterday morning and Steve in the afternoon. Both seeking the exact same help.”

“And did your ‘sex magic’ work?”

“Of course it did - I used my best Vodka.” Wanda affronted that Nat would even question her, knowing the redhead was really teasing.

“What about the spell you used?”

“Well, I wriggled my nose for theatrics, added a sprig of dried rosemary that was stuck to the back of my fridge, and made my hand glow for a second. Some of my finest acting work I think.”

“Those boys just needed some inner confidence - I knew it would work.”

“Of course you did.”

“Damn straight. Tequila shots here please!”’ Nat yelled to the barman who looked way too eager to assist, even though the bar was packed. Nat left a hefty tip when their drinks landed before them less than a minute later, and picking up the glasses she handed one to Wanda. Wanda knew she was going to regret their night the next day. 

Clinking their glasses, Nat declared, “to sex magic and dumb idiots in love.”

“And to us for being excellent enablers and smarter than the lot of them.”

“I couldn't agree more.”

Wanda woke up the next morning wishing she could infuse potions, if she was able to, then her headache might not be so epic. She hid under the covers for the rest of the day. 

Romanoff was a bad influence.

[stark-tony]

underrated irondad and spiderson fic recs part 2

part 1

Queer Eye for the Cacti by silentsaebyeok

summary: He bought one-hundred cacti on Amazon! Pepper was going to kill him!

What had possessed him to do such a thing? He never went on shopping sprees when drunk. That just wasn’t a Tony Stark type of thing to do. And in all honesty, he was astonished he even remembered the Amazon password.

--

Tony makes an interesting purchase while drunk. What he doesn’t expect is for said purchase to bite him in the ass in the worst possible way.

pairings: pepperony

tags: fluff, hurt/comfort

warnings: none

Tumblr Posts by Jen27ny

summary:   Literally what the title says. All the prompts and one-shots I post on tumblr.

pairings: pepperony, spideychelle

tags: hurt/comfort, fluff, angst

warnings:

It Lasts for Always by YellowDistress

summary:  Peter has never asked anyone to kill for him, especially not Tony.

pairings: none

tags: angst

warnings: none

Cursed Christmas by sahiya

summary: A series of unfortunate events befalls Tony, Pepper, Peter, and Morgan (and Happy and May) in the week leading up to Christmas.

It'd be kind of funny if it didn't totally suck. Fortunately, they've got good back-up.

pairings: pepperony

tags: hurt/comfort

warnings: none

Keeping your head up by frostysunflowers

summary: It’s been a while, a long while, since Tony felt this defenceless. He’s without a suit, the manacle around his ankle is solid steel, and he can’t see a single way out.

 He’s been here before, but back then there had been tools, resources, options.

Here, there’s just the walls, his missing kid and the water. 

The water.

pairings: none

tags: hurt/comfort, angst

warnings: kidnapping

Young, Dumb and Suffering by wordscorrupt

summary: In a moment of desperation, Peter decides to take Steve's pain medication to relieve a migraine.

or

Peter accidentally overdoses on pain medication.

pairings: none

tags: 

warnings:

Midnight Oil by JolinarJackson

summary:  After everything that has happened to Peter over the last year - or five, really - he shouldn’t be worried about something as mundane as the ACT. When he fails it, though it sends him into a spiral of self-doubt, which only gets worse when Peter realizes that he doesn’t seem to be able to fix whatever is broken.

pairings: spideychelle, pepperony

tags: hurt/comfort, angst

warnings: none

Love Will Remind Us Who We Are by blondsak

summary: There had been many times in Tony’s life when he’d known the piercing clarity that separated a Good Day from a Bad Day. Had known the ways in which, upon first waking, one’s soul would strike a balance between agony and relief either in your favor, or not.

But none of his earlier Good and Bad times had prepared him for his reality now.

//

Nine months after the Avengers defeated Thanos, Tony is still reckoning with the toll the final snap took on his body. Between grueling physical therapy, near-constant pain, and the inability to so much as tie his own shoes, well-- things aren’t exactly like Tony had imagined.

Luckily for him, there’s a certain kid from Queens who won’t let Tony give up so easily.

pairings: none

tags: angst, hurt/comfort

warnings: none

Summertime Sickness by Spideysickfics

summary: "Well, this is your lucky day, then!" Peter replied enthusiastically, putting his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest as he broke into a wide grin, "You're looking at a former Boy Scout!"

Tony let out a huff of air.

"No shit, a Boy Scout, huh? When did you quit?"

"First grade." Peter's grin didn’t waver. Tony rolled his eyes with a laugh.

"I'm sure you're very knowledgeable."

OR

An Irondad camping trip and sickfic to soothe your soul

pairings: none

tags: 

warnings: none

to break in these bones by searchingforstars

summary: “We’re gonna go play baseball? I’m not exactly a great shot, and you might have to let me out of these first,” Peter rattles his wrists around in the metal chains and they clink together, echoing around the sparse room, “but sounds like fun.

“We’re not playing baseball.”

“Shame, because I passed a park on my way here and I’m pretty sure that there’s only been like, six murders there this year so that could have been a fun spot.”

“I’m going to enjoy this, you fucked up little kid.”

“Hey, I’m not a little-” Peter starts, but he’s cut off by all the air being knocked out of his lungs as he sees the bat raised in front of him.

--

or, Peter doesn't listen to Tony, pisses off someone dangerous and ends up on the wrong end of a baseball bat.

pairings: none

tags: angst, hurt/comfort

warnings: none

5 Times Peter Gave Tony Something by impravidus

summary:  and the 1 time Tony gave him something back

pairings:  none

tags: fluff

warnings: none

You'll Be Here (in My Heart) by seekrest

summary:  The morning that Tony’s life changed forever began as his days usually began now — shuffling into the kitchen half asleep, going through the motions as he searched for Pepper’s favorite coffee mug.

Tony stifled a yawn, grabbing the Black Panther novelty mug she adored while he grabbed one that Morgan had made them years ago - one that made her now cringe with embarrassment anytime she saw him use it, the childish scribbles that made him laugh.

  He sets Morgan’s creation down on the countertop as he reaches for the Black Panther mug, it being just barely out of reach for when Pepper has put it last.

“Damn thing.” Tony mutters to himself, fingers barely brushing against it before he grabs it - going to set it down on the counter only to be surprised when Pepper walks in from the bedroom, an unreadable expression on her face.

“Morning. You know, you and I need to have a talk about about your choice of mugs. I know T’Challa somehow perfected the cup warmer thing here but you could at least show a little—“

“Michelle’s in labor.”

pairings: spideychelle

tags: angst

warnings: none

the little things we don't say out loud by JBS_Forever

summary: “It's not funny,” Peter says, voice catching as he whines, “This is life or death, Ned. I'm actually dying.”

On the other end of the line, Ned sighs, amused and not at all concerned. “So you're Mr. Stark's secret Santa. It's not that bad.”

- - -

In which Peter is Tony's secret Santa, and it is, in fact, that bad.

pairings: none

tags: humor, fluff

warnings: none

Hiking Essentials: A backpack, plenty of water, and a Spider-kid by kiwifeather

summary:  Morgan, Peter, and Tony enjoy each other's company on a hike through the woods while Peter is staying with them for the weekend. Father-and-son bonding ensues

(Takes place after the snap but Tony survives because this is the good timeline and we know that Tony deserved a happy ending)

pairings: none

tags: fluff

warnings: none

In Case of Emergency by Bowtiez

summary: Babysitting his little sister at the Stark's lakeside cabin seems like quite the gig for 17-year-old Peter. Of course he's got that covered- he's a mature individual and he can watch over a five-year-old for forty-eight hours.

On a totally unrelated note, did anyone know that super-healing doesn't really work on bacterial infections? It's a good thing Morgan knows what to do. Well... it's probably a good thing?

pairings: pepperony

tags: fluff

warnings: none

Three Times Tony Stark Used Italian Nicknames and One Time He Received One by MCUsic_to_my_ears

summary:   Tony can't help but slip into his Italian when with his children.

pairings: none

tags: fluff

warnings: none

More Ancient Than Magic by ironfamjam

summary: Life isn't exactly normal when your Head of House is also kinda your father-figure and his daughter is kinda sorta your little sister.

It's also not normal when the bad guys your real-life-war-hero-not-actually-dad defeated in The Great War threaten to return and you're still just trying to finish your Charms essay.

But Professor Stark asked him to protect Morgan. And that's what he's going to do.

Even if it breaks him.

The mini Hogwarts AU

pairings: spideychelle, pepperony

tags: fluff, angst

warnings: torture

Peaches by peterparkr

summary: There’s no response, not even a faint twinge of muscle. Peter tries to listen for a heartbeat, but he can’t seem to focus enough to pinpoint it. Another bubble of thought starts to rise. This could be the reason his spidey-sense is going haywire. Tony could be—

He pushes the bubble down.

OR

Peter and Tony find themselves stranded in the woods after an Avengers mission

pairings: none

tags: angst, hurt/comfort

warnings: none

Snowflakes by Jen27ny

summary:  Tony just wants to see his kids happy - which means letting Morgan stick as many snowflakes to the window as she likes, and making Peter talk about his nightmares.

pairings: none

tags: fluff

warnings: none

I Sure Do Like Those Christmas Cookies by baloobird

summary: Tony is spending a fun afternoon baking cookies with his kids, but his older one isn't acting like himself.

Whatever the problem is, it's up to the now-retired hero to figure it out.

pairings: none

tags: fluff

warnings: bullying, acephobia

An MIT Halloween by bethy_277

summary: Coming to MIT had been difficult, having almost lost his mentor when he had snapped to save the entire universe, and Peter had really struggled. If it hadn’t been for Ned and Harley- who he had met shortly after he came back and become good friends with- he didn’t think he would have made it past the first few weeks at school. He had called both May and Tony that first week, hysterical and begging to come back to New York. May had been patient, Tony had been ready to get in his car to drive to him to help him through it, and Harley and Ned had been there and talked him down both times.  

** Peter is a college student at MIT and Tony brings Morgan up for some trick-or-treating.

pairings: none

tags: fluff

warnings: none

Someone Take Me Home by GallagherHunter

summary:  More than a month since May's death Peter is having a less than stellar day at school in the hopes of making it through the day so he can get to the apartment where he's been living with Tony since his world came crashing around him. Meanwhile, Tony has been advised to adopt Peter to assure him he won't leave him.

pairings: none

tags: hurt/comfort

warnings: bullying

It’s Gonna Be Lit by Pawprinter

summary: What Christmas gift does one get for the man who seemingly has everything?

Peter is struggling to find out.

pairings: none

tags: fluff

warnings: none

I'll Be Home For Christmas by snarkymuch

summary:  May gets called away for work, and Tony steps in to make sure Peter isn't alone for Christmas. Harley, Morgan, and Peter being adorable kids, and Tony being a great dad.

pairings: none

tags: fluff

warnings: none

The power of makeup by SparrowFlight246

summary: Peter shows up to a prestigious awards ceremony with a black eye and a whole lot of regret.

Tony raids Pepper's purse and decides to improvise.

pairings: pepperony

tags: fluff

warnings: none

if you'll be my star, i'll be your sky by ftmpeter

summary: There are two things Tony learns about Peter after Morgan is born.

The first thing is that when it comes to kids, he's a natural.

The second thing is that he's a self-sacrificing little shit.

(Tony already knew that. He has the gray hairs to prove it. But. Still.)

It isn't the kind of self-sacrificing that will get him killed or seriously injured - thank God - but it's just as annoying. Maybe even more, because while he can ground Peter from Spider-Man, he can't exactly ground him from staying up all night to make sure Morgan sleeps through it.

pairings: none

tags: fluff

warnings: none

give the cookies a miss by searchingforstars

summary: “Surprise!” Morgan exclaims as soon as they’re both in the room. She gestures excitedly towards a few slightly sad looking lumps of something drenched in icing and severed onto sticks. There are sprinkles as well, which look like they might have been a nice touch to cheer the entire thing up, had the majority of them not ended up scattered around the surrounding bench space.

“Daddy and I made cookie pops! Well, I made them, he just helped me use the big scary whisk-y thingy. They’re for Katie’s birthday party tomorrow because we all have to bring something yummy to eat, and Daddy wanted to do regular cookies but I told him that was boring. So we made these instead!”

--

or, Peter is poisoned by the ones he trusts most.

pairings: none

tags: fluff, hurt/comfort

warnings: none

i want to be with you 'til the whole world ends by searchingforstars

summary: The last thing he does as his eyes slip shut is wrap his arms tighter around Peter, as tight as he can manage when it feels like the life is draining from him.

Please, for the love of God, I'm sorry I couldn't do it, but please, please, someone look after this kid for me.

Tony would give anything to make sure that Peter Parker is safe.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t have much left to give. He’s about to have nothing left to give.

The world goes dark.

He drifts away.

--

Or, Peter and Tony nearly lose each other.

pairings: none

tags: angst

warnings: none

Of bright autumn days and things that go bump in the night by frostysunflowers

summary: Halloween/fall themed fics featuring plenty of fluff, feels and seasonal shenanigans!

pairings: none

tags: fluff, humor, angst

warnings: none

Twelve Days of Terror: A Whumptober Collection by seekrest

summary:

pairings: spideychelle

tags: 

warnings: 

[jawritter]

Migraines...

Request: May I request something? I suffer of chronic migraine and every time I say it hurts to much to hang out people tell me it's only an headache, Can you write a Jensen x reader where she is in a similar situation? She has a migraine in one of their first date, she didn't say anything but J can see she isn't ejoing herself and when he found out why he bring her home to give her something for the pain and cuddle. And in the future he always stay home and cuddle her when she has migraine? Thank you!

Warnings: None really, maybe some language in there somewhere, but that’s always a warning with me lol. I’m not sorry. Sick reader warning, headache, bad headache, fluffy Jensen. I think that’s about it.

Pairing: Jensen Ackles x Sick!Reader

Word Count: 1859

A/N: Beta’d by @leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid​! Thanks again hun! Also thanks to @deanwanddamons​ who has been working on a project with me for my 1k binge read! You guys are both awesome!!

Want more? Check out my masterlist!!

***MASTERLIST***

Even though the text message notification on your phone wasn’t loud in theory, it seemed like it was loud enough to break the sound barrier to your aching head. 

Rolling over in your sea of blankets you feel blindly for your phone in the pitch black room, regretting the moment you look at the brightly lit screen of your phone, feeling a fresh stab of pain shoot through your skull at the assaulting light change in your vision field.

When you finally got the screen dark enough for you to read the text message without screaming pain in your head you see it was a text message from Jensen, telling you that he was looking forward to dinner with you tonight when he got off work, and your heart fell in your chest. 

You had been suffering from a migraine for the past two days, and it was just getting worse, you had totally forgotten about your plans for dinner with your boyfriend tonight. Hell you didn’t even know what day it was until he texted you, you had barely left your bed.

Letting out a frustrated huff of breath you text him back, and tell him you couldn’t wait to see him. When in reality, you were racking your aching brain, trying to figure out exactly how you were going to survive this date. 

You didn’t want to cancel your date with him because of your migraine. It wasn’t like it was something you hadn’t had to suffer through before, having had them from a very young age, and as everyone loved to tell you, ‘It’s just a headache’, so you have had to suffer through dates, birthdays, work, and just about anything you could imagine before. 

Also it had been a week since you’d seen Jensen, the two of you hadn’t been dating long, and you didn’t want to disappoint him. In fact this was your first ‘official’ date.

If there was one person you didn’t want to let down because of a ‘stupid headache’ it was him. 

So you spent the rest of the day trying medication, home remedies from essential oils, to excessive caffeine intake to get this migraine to let up at least a little bit, in order to fool your boyfriend. 

By the time you showered, dressed, and did your makeup, you were pretty sure the drummer for Disturbed was trapped inside your skull, and was playing ‘Down With The Sickness’ on repeat. 

Nothing you had tried worked, not even a little bit, this was probably the most relentless migraine you had ever experienced, just because you so desperately needed it to go away, it chose to hang on.

You didn’t have time to wallow long in your self pity before the doorbell sounded, and you opened the door, revealing Jensen. 

“Hey baby girl, I missed you.” Jensen said, coming through the door, and grabbing you up into a hug. The swift movement that would have normally made you laugh, made you scrunch up your nose, and close your eyes for a second. Jensen was quick to pick up the change in your normal behavior as well. Not missing a thing. The boy was observant if he was nothing else, and that was going to make this just as hard to hide the fact that you weren’t feeling the best. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked you, furrowing his eyebrows as he looked into your eyes, searching you as if he could read your reaction before you answered him. 

“Nothing’s wrong, just surprised me that’s all.” you lied smoothly, hoping he’d buy it.

“Oh, sorry, I was just really excited to see you.” he said, grabbing you around the waist, and pulling you closer to him, slower this time, brushing his lips over yours in a sweet kiss. 

“S’okay, I really missed your face too,” you tell him jokingly, attempting to lighten the mood.

“Well, let’s get going before they cancel our reservation,” he said, grabbing your jacket, and helping you to slip it on your shoulders. "When we’re done if you're feeling up to it, I thought about taking you down to the pier. It’s beautiful out there at night, one of my favorite places actually.”

You smiled sweetly at him before giving him a peck on his cheek as he opened the car door for you. You couldn’t disappoint him in this, he’d put so much thought into it, and people all over the world would consider you damn lucky to have a date night with Jensen Ackles, so you soldiered through it, determined to not let it show that your skull was pounding.

The ride to the restaurant was a short one mercifully, and they took you both to the back fairly quickly, into the VIP part of the restaurant, one of the perks of being on a date with Jensen. 

The strong smell of the Italian food assaulted your senses as soon as you made your way into the room, and you had to swallow down the wave of nausea that assaulted you. 

Two very annoying things that made migraines more than just a headache, the sensitivity to light, and smell were horrible. 

You tried your best to keep up with the conversation, Jensen talked to you about his day on set, future projects, asking you questions about yourself in an attempt to get to know you better. You thought you were keeping up pretty good with the conversation. Until Jensen finally put his fork down, and pushed his plate away from him, his astonishing green eyes searching yours, and his fingers reaching up nervously to scratch at his beard.

“Y/N… Am I doing something wrong?” Jensen asks, and your heart hit your feet like a lead balloon. 

“No Jay, everything is perfect! Why would you think you were doing something wrong?” you asked in earnest, and if you wouldn’t have had a headache, you would have been having a great time. 

Jensen picked a perfect restaurant, you loved the food, what little bit you were able to eat of it, and he was being the perfect gentleman. He’d obviously put a lot of thought into this date tonight, and you felt like you had already let him down, or he wouldn’t have even had to ask you that question. 

“Well, it’s just that you’ve hardly touched your food at all, you refused the wine when they offered it to you, and you're barely talking to me at all, I feel like I’m carrying the conversation here. I just, you know, wanted you to have a good time.”

You mentally high fived yourself in the face as he looked down at his lap defeated, you never meant to hurt his feelings, you thought you were keeping up the conversation pretty well, he was obviously paying more attention than you gave him credit for, and you were a horrible actor. 

Reaching across the table you grab his hand in your own, and his eyes look up to meet yours as he chews nervously at his lower lip, awaiting your rejection. 

“Jay, that’s not it, I’m having a good time, It’s just, I wasn’t very honest with you earlier. You see I have these migraines, and I’ve been dealing with this one for the past two days, I thought I could soldier through it without you noticing, but apparently there’s a reason why I’m not an actor. I love spending time with you Jensen, and I didn’t want to let you down.”

Jensen reached across the table with his free hand, your hands in his big, warm hands, his eyes softening instantly, and relief evident on his beautiful face. 

“Oh baby, you should have told me!” you looked down for a moment humiliated and embarrassed that you had officially ruined your first date with the man you’d been in love with since the words “Easy tiger” fell from those amazingly pink lips of his fifteen years ago. 

Sliding his chair around the small table in order to get closer to you, Jensen wraps his arms around you, and pulls you into his chest, the warmth of his body, and the scent of his cologne had you melting against him in a matter of seconds. 

“I’m sorry I ruined our date. I’m sure you never want to go out with me again.” You tell him shyly, enjoying the close contact, convinced it was the last you’d ever get from him.

“Sweetheart, of course I want to see you again, hell you really think you're getting rid of me tonight?” he asked as he motioned to the waiter to bring the check. “We’re getting you home, in some comfy PJ’s, and we’re gonna cuddle until you feel better, even if that takes days.”

If you hadn’t fallen in love with the man already, you would have been right there at that moment. No one had ever treated you like that just because you had a migraine, never. Usually they told you to suck it up, but his main concern seemed to be you feeling better, and getting you home. You didn’t know how the hell you got so lucky to have found this man, but you thanked whatever God out there that was listening that you did.

Once Jensen got you home, medicated, and in your comfy PJ’s he changed into some he’d still had packed in his car, and snuggled down into the bed next to you, turning the lights off in the bedroom, getting it as cold as the two of you could stand it, and enveloping you in his strong arms. Playing with your hair softly, and peppering you with little, soft kisses ever so often until you relaxed against him.

Even with a horrible migraine you fell asleep that night more content than you had ever been in your life, you could definitely get used to sleeping in this man’s arms.

The next morning came and you were greeted with a cup of coffee, and Jensen’s lips kissing your head, snuggling back down into the covers next to you. 

“Feeling better, baby girl?” he asked you, letting you settle back against him with a cup of coffee curled in your fingers. His warm body pressed tightly to yours. 

“Much better, migraine seems to be gone, or almost gone, you're a miracle worker.” you tell him, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, before settling back down against him. 

“I got the magic touch.” he said, tickling your sides a little, causing you to giggle against him.

“Seriously, baby girl, next time you're not feeling well tell me, we’ll have a night in, as long as I’m with you, I don’t care how I spend it. I just want to be with you.”

“How did I get so lucky to have you, Jensen?” you asked him, looking into his piercing green eyes that you could honestly drown in. 

“Better remember it to, baby girl. Cause I’m one of a kind” 

Giving him a jab in the ribs playfully you reveil in the laugh that vibrated through him. He was right about one thing, he was definitely one of the kind. 

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

Tag List: @screechingartisancashbailiff​ @thecreatiivecorner​  @aflamboyanceofgays @vicmc624​ @busy-bee-angel-misska​ @justanotherwinchester​ @deanwanddamons​​ @imabitch4jensen​​ @rvgrsbrns​​ @bi-danvers0​​ @onethirstyunicorn​​ @i-love-superhero​​ @akshi8278​ @lyss-dw79​ @magssteenkamp​ @lemondropirwin​ @squirrelnotsam​ @hobby27​ @spnbaby-67​ @mrsjenniferwinchester​ @defenderrosetyler​ 

[ikevamp-annalyne]

Actually I didn't want to ask but here goes my ask I have epilepsy and I'm depending on my medicines without them I would have seizure with any stressful moment. Even I already drank my medicine if Im having bad day or I'm sad or angry I get miniseizures(it's like my consciousness is open but I can't control some body part) My friends are scared of that and some ppl doesn't even talk to me cause of that, so I wonder how characters react that. I don't have character in my mind so just do random

Hello dear! Thank you so much for this request! -(๑☆‿ ☆#)ᕗ it was very interesting to imagine and I hope you will like the result ^^

Napoleon:

At first, he is surprised because he has never seen this before and he doesn't know how to react. But he quickly catches up and helps you with taking your medicine. From this day on, he will always keep an eye on you and have your medicines on him for any crisis. If someone looks scared or is looking at you with disgust when you are having a crisis, he will scare them so hecking much nobody will ever do it again. He will be by your side almost non-stop.

Mozart:

Surprised and flustered are his first reactions when you are having miniseizure. He doesn't get what is happening to you so you will explain the whole thing to him and he will listen very attentively. Upon knowing about it, he will not be as surprised as before and will do everything to help you, be it bringing your medicine, making you food, playing music to get you to relax. And throw sharp insults if anyone dares telling you something.

Leonardo:

He catches up super fast when you are having one of these miniseizures. He doesn't panick, asks you what you need, gives it to you while caressing your hair and whispering comforting and relaxing word. Then, you tell him what happened exactly. He gets fascinated and will study anything related to epilepsy to come up with good relaxation techniques, and to know how he must act when you are in crisis. He wants you to feel safe in his arms.

Arthur:

He is surprised at first but he was a doctor so he knows what you are living. He will give you your medicines, help you with your anxiety crises and give you some plants and herbal teas to relax. In case you have a miniseizure, he will hand you everything you need, give you breathing techniques and handle you with care. And if someone tries to mess up with you? Oh he goes full wild beast mode and will throw punches to protect you.

Vincent:

Cute baby is flustered and very worried about you. He will be frantic and look everywhere for your medicines. However, he quickly realises you must feel worse than him so he calms down and helps you the best way he can. If you are anxious and have a miniseizure time, he will make you paint with him. Art really helps calming people, so he tries it out to be of help to you. He will also make you herbal teas, massage you if your muscles are sore...

Theodorus:

At first, he is afraid and gets a bit distant. It is new to him so he doesn't know what it is, what it means, how to help... He is afraid of making it worse. Thus he asks Arthur about this and he will inform himself a lot on epilepsy. He will apologise for his previous behaviour and will ask you what you need, what you want. He will keep a box of your medicine on him, some essential oils to relax if needed -recommanded by Arthur-, and candies for sugar shots.

Isaac:

He is afraid and kinda runs away. He thinks it is his fault when you had a miniseizure around him. But once it has passed, he will ask you what happened and you will explain it very calmly to him. It is a tad hard to swallow but he will eventually calm down and swear to help you the best way he can. Bringing medicines, relaxing methodes, massages, anything. He is still a bit shocked when you are in crisis, but he gradually gets used and will calm you down.

Jean:

Baby is scared and kinda like Isaac: he thinks it is his fault and will avoid you. He even hides himself from you. You are very sad about this, but one day you are in crisis and he will be the one closer to you. He sees you taking medicines and then realises how hard it may be on you. So he apologises while giving you a huge glass of water. He pats your shoulder and tells you to come to him when in crisis: he will do everything to be a man of trust for you.

Dazai:

He will be surprised and look at you curiously. He is likely to ask loads of questions about epilepsy, your seizures, the medicine... In order to better understand what it means and how you live with it. He will try to give you relaxing methods, making you laugh to lighten up your mood when you are anxious. And if you have a crisis in front of him, he leads you to Arthur who knows more about how to help with your condition.

William:

He finds it fascinating and will totally use it in a play. However, when you are suffering from it, he becomes dead serious -he had never thought it would make you act like this- and asks what you need. He will provide anything, even though he doesn't see in what way it could help. To prevent any miniseizures due to anxiety, he will read to you: his voice is strangely relaxing and it does help you calming down.

Comte:

Mama Comte will be very calm about, reacting super fast to you having a crisis. He will always keep medicines on him, and he even "recruited" the best doctors to find complementary treatments to help you. He makes a relaxing room only for you, with your own bathroom, toilets, any necesary things you could ever need. Also, he forbids any resident to disturb you. When you are in crisis, he relaxes you and massages your back.

Sebastian:

Super effective babe. He knows about epilepsy so he will have medicines, blends of herbal teas ready, essential oils, anything he can gather to help you. Since you are working with him, he will keep an eye on you and not put too much pressure on you. He will also ask residents to ask him before asking you something, so that it lessens any anxiety crisis possibility. In case you have a miniseizure, he will not panick, hold you close while rocking you and calming you.

I hope you like it and that nothing on here is offending or unrealistic T.T if something is wrong or very unsensitive of me, please tell me!

[bigskydreaming]

I was about to say, I can't see Jason letting his guard down as much as intoxication would. I CAN see Jason drinking apple juice and pretending to be drunk. (Funny how I can remember Dick drinking, never more than one or two drinks, and Jason refusing wine, but the fanfic writers get it al wrong.)

Yeah, tbh, I don’t really see any of the Batkids ever being or becoming even casual drinkers. They all value control too much, and have too much experience with mind and mood-altering substances for it to be appealing to them in my personal opinion. 

Just my personal headcanon is like, they tend to treat drinking as like, another skill to acquire. They try it to maybe just have enough experience with it that they can fake it undercover and know what they’re doing, or that if they end up in a situation where they have to take at least a quick drink to sell their cover like, they’re not going to be totally blind-sided by the taste or sensation, especially because most of their reputations don’t or aren’t likely to lend themselves to being completely unfamiliar with alcohol. And maybe they occasionally make an point to build up a tolerance in case for some reason they need it, but I honestly can’t really ever buy any of them as casual drinkers.

I mean, I focus a lot on Dick’s times brainwashed or under someone else’s control, and also his rigid insistence on self-determination in his life, and I just can’t honestly see any mindset where he’s like yes, lowering my inhibitions and lessening my ability to be in control of myself is exactly what I’m looking for. Its kinda like how I drastically disagree with takes on him as submissive in any kind of dom/sub fic, lol. Its not about the partner, its about the fact that Dick isn’t the kind of control freak who looks for opportunities to take a break from the stresses of holding such an iron control over his self.....rather, IMO, Dick is that way BECAUSE of how often he’s had virtually NO control of himself or what happens to him, and how much that always....sucks for him. 

He tries to maintain self-control and control stuff in his life wherever and whenever he can because he’s not about to lose any of the basically rare opportunities to not HAVE to push back against someone else’s will or expectations for him, where he can just be uncontested in being in charge of his autonomy and own destiny. And I honestly have never seen anything in his character that suggests he’d ever remotely be looking for or welcome to opportunities to basically just....willingly hand over the control of himself that he fights soooo damn hard to obtain and maintain....because when has that EVER ended well for him, you know? So I just....don’t buy sub Dick and never have, and I don’t buy Dick as a casual drinker even, for pretty much the same exact reasons.

Jason I see as a bit more complicated, because of a couple factors. First, there’s the presence of drugs and alcohol in his early life and how much that affected his life as just a bystander, essentially. And its not like every child of an alcoholic parent grows up to be hostile to alcohol, etc. But in Jason’s case I feel that he would be, like he’d almost personify drugs and alcohols as an actual antagonist in his life that have made him suffer, been the actual enemy that prevented him from having a real go at a family with his first parents. And thus he’d just be viciously opposed to them in their entirety, like even as a expansive, nebulous concept of them and everything related to them. Which would also play into things like his insistence that drug dealers in Gotham not sell to kids, etc.

Also, there’s the fact that Jason kinda ended up with....gap years in his development, where the normal linear timeline of developing as a teenager was derailed by his death and then supplanted by a very unorthodox later development that was guided by assassins and influenced by an external-turned-internal force that had a definite influence on his emotions and thought patterns at times. So Jason kinda missed out on a number of years where he could have potentially worked through a lot of his childhood issues with abuse, his parents and drugs and alcohol to a degree further than he did in canon, but just......never got the opportunity to. So it was like....hitting pause on all of that and then unpause when he actually came back to Gotham and rejoined society in his own way, as that put him around these kinds of things again and forced an internal confrontation with how he felt about them now.

And then there’s also the matter of the Pit itself.....much like Dick, but in entirely different ways, Jason has been extremely impacted by things that are not his fault or choosing, that originate OUTSIDE of him and end up controlling or influencing him internally, again through no choice of his own.....and thus, same as Dick, I don’t see how any substance that lessened his control over himself during the times he actually HAS it, would like....remotely appeal to him.

But then again on the other hand, I do think Jason is very self-destructive at times, not more so than Dick, as he can be very self-destructive as well, but just in different ways. Like, Dick IMO is someone who self-destructs quietly and over time. Suffering in silence, not availing himself of any of the opportunities he has to get help from others in various matters because he either doesn’t trust that they’ll prioritize him or he doesn’t feel that he deserves to be, or a combination of both. Jason, IMO, is neither innately more self-destructive or less, its just that....his tendency towards self-destruction manifests pretty explosively, like, in singular burning bright kind of instances that flare up, are just colossally bad decisions that he very quickly regrets, but then die back down and leave him cleaning up the aftermath, but at least having gotten whatever caused that particular turn towards self-destruction like, kinda out of his system.

So his means of self-destruction tend to just be LOUDER, and more.....in your face...but they also come and go more quickly, IMO. And one of those are pretty much the only time or reason I can see for him ever engaging in drinking or voluntarily giving up control.....like, the appeal specifically is a kind of self-punishment, and thus makes for an ideal weapon of choice at least once.....BUT again, the caveat there is like I said, I view Jason as someone who cycles through periods of self-destruction, but then he like...moves past it (or at least on a surface level, like, he FEELS like he has, though the initial problem often stil remains under the surface). But the point is, I think he regrets these instances of self-destruction soon after they happen....and I also think he’s someone who believes very strongly in not making the same mistakes twice. 

Like, he knows not to take things for granted better than anyone. Shit doesn’t go according to plan, my personal headcanon for him is his ideal followup is the immediate realization well, that didn’t work, time for something completely different....and then he does something completely different in the hopes of getting closer to his actual desired result. So I could see him doing something like getting black out drunk, etc, as one of these bouts of self-destruction....but the key in my mind, is I could only see him doing that ONCE. Once he’d done it and regretted it, it’d be crystallized in his mind as a Mistake and like, nope, not doing that again. Even when having another tendency towards self-destruction at a later date....I think he’d do it in a different way.

Also, I’ve never bought Jason as a smoker, like, I could see him faking it for The Mood or whatever, lol, but like.......this is a kid who grew up malnourished and thus had to take on criminals as a very under-sized Robin. He comes back after the Pit like, over six feet tall and well-oiled muscle that makes it SO much easier to kick ass as a vigilante? Why the FUCK would he ever screw that up by messing with his lungs or anything else, you know? If anything, I see Jason as being like, as much a ‘my body is my temple’ kind of guy as Dick is, just for different reasons.

I’ve always said I see Dick and Jason having a lot more in common than they’re usually credited with, and all of this is a huge part of why. They both just have HUGE issues with control in regards to themselves and their lives, and just being able to HAVE it and to take advantage of it, do what THEY want to do rather than constantly being moved about by the whims of others and having to always adjust or adapt to whatever everyone else was doing or the box they were being forced in by situations, etc. They’ve BEEN without control, self-autonomy, in ways and to degrees most people couldn’t imagine, so, like....its IMO more likely to be that much more precious and valuable to them than it is even to most people? Like, these are two men who I don’t see ever giving it up without a fight, and thus, they’re just like.....I’m gonna hard pass on the alcohol, etc.

And its got nothing to do with judgment on their part, I don’t think, like, other than the fact that they can’t personally relate to seeing the appeal. Its just the end result of lowered inhibitions/loss of self control or autonomy that they’re like...yeah, that’s what we’re not on board with, thanks but no thanks. Not for us.

I don’t have as strong of headcanons about the other kids just because they’re either too young or it just doesn’t come up as much, such as with Cass (though you can probably guess my headcanon for Cass there given that I talk about the similarities ALL three of the eldest Wayne kids share in a lot of ways, lol) but honestly I think it’d be more of the same with all of them, even if not always for quite the same reasons or quite as strong of reasons. Like, they’ve all been raised with too much reason to value self-control and too little cause to see lowered inhibitions as appealing, so the Batfam as a whole I personally headcanon as being nah, we get our highs from adrenaline and being weird as fuck, thanks though.

[docholligay]

Winston and Lena for Geeky =P

@madegeeky YOU ARE VERY LOVED. Also this is abbout 2500 words and thus not even really a ficlet anymore but instead

A Stopped Clock 7.5: Lighting-Up Time in London

I hope you enjoy it! All of  A Stopped Clock can be found here. 

It was raining in London, which you’d think Winston wouldn’t even pay attention to anymore, used to it as he was, but he still noted it. He’d had Tracer back in London two weeks, and already he’d seen improvements to her condition, and so it could rain as much as it wanted. She loved it anyway, she was a creature of the fog and mist. She was always complaining about how dry Numbani was anyhow. 

The question, of course, still hung over him as to how much better she would get. Mercy had no idea, either, simply shaking her head and saying by every model she could figure, Tracer should not have survived the shock of it in the first place. Being ripped in and out of time was hard on a body, not to mention the aspects of sensory overload that the absence of time itself had on her. He tried not to think on it, too much, as the answer for him would never change as to what he would do. He would take care of Tracer, for as long as she needed, or as long as she lived, whatever came first. 

Besides, it was much easier in London. The Oxtons were constantly helping, bringing over food and offering to help with cleaning and dishes and whatever else Winston and Tracer might need. Making sure Tracer’s life was as pleasant as possible was more of a group project here, and he knew no one would try to take her and put her away, and for that reason alone, rain or not, Winston felt much more at ease. 

Athena’s voice rang overhead. “Parvati is at the door.” 

Tracer’s cousin was a frequent visitor, a seeming palette swap of Tracer herself born a month later. Winston opened the door for her, grocery bags in hand, her long black hair swept up into a low and lazy bun that didn’t fully contain it, dark eyes glittering with mischief as she winked at Winston, deep freckles dancing across her face as she smiled that Oxton grin. 

“Brought you a few essentials.” She eased past him without being invited, knowing she had no need. 

Essentials, by Parvati’s measure, was likely a container of beer and cider and few frozen pizzas. Sometimes she thought ahead enough to bring some meat, or vegetables, but it was always a scattered array. In the kitchen, Parvati made Tracer look like a domestic goddess, which she was always quick to counter was reversed when something needed cleaning. 

Depositing her essentials in the exact spaces Winston had imagined, a light blue bag from work still slung over her shoulder, she clapped Winston on the arm. 

“‘Ow’s this romantical sort of day going for you, big guy?” 

Winston looked at her, puzzled. “What?” 

“‘S Valentine’s Day,” she took something out of the bag, “on that note, Teddy ‘ad me bring you these.” 

They were sweet rolls, in the shape of hearts with pink frosting. Anything from Teddy’s bakery was generally a treat, but he must have remembered how much he liked these. 

“Ones with raisins in, your favorite, right?” 

“I,” Winston stumbled, “Yes, I love them, I, I totally forgot it was Valentine’s Day.” 

Parvati gave a crackle of a laugh. “Women ‘round all of London will be crying tonight,” she saw his slight slump of the shoulder, “I’s only joking Win, why should you know what day it is, been a bit busy, you have, and that’s the bloody truth.” 

“Do you have plans?” He asked setting the rolls out for later. Maybe Tracer would feel well enough to have tea. 

“Intend to,” she chuckled, “but so far, not much luck.” 

“Weren’t you--” He shook his head. “Nothing.” 

“No need to be bashful for it, Win, wasn’t I seeing a man, you were going to ask, love, and well, true enough, I was, but I find men are a bit like fast food adverts. You see it, and you go, ‘right enough, think I’d love that!” get it ‘ome, nothing but a bit of greasy cheese stuck to some weak little patty and the ‘ole thing covered in oil, think I’d learn, but I never really do, curse of me life, it is.” 

Sometimes talking to Parvati made Winston miss Tracer, in ways he could not articulate. She had the same rapid fire stream of consciousness, the same easy laugh, the same patter. She didn’t have Tracer’s quality of movement, exactly--no one did--but it was obvious they had been raised together, and it made him feel a desperate longing for Tracer to come back to him, just as she’d been. 

“Should be seeing Lena,” Parvati nodded, “if you’ll excuse me, told me to come by early.” 

Winston nodded as Parvati headed to the side room that had always been Tracer’s, even when Winston had first bought this place, before she’d been so badly hurt again. It was nice that people came to see her, and her family seemed patient with the idea that she didn’t really talk too much, still, or that she needed a bit of quiet and calm. In all, he supposed, they were both very lucky. The Oxtons had taken him in like a stray, given them his last name and told him to say no more about it. 

There were plenty of things he needed to do today. He had to try and get everything together to start advertising his repair business. It wasn’t glamourous, but he could fix nearly anything, technology wise, and so what if it was cell phones and laptops and not high-end equipment? He’d made his interest known to the British government, thinking they might have need of his particular skills, but of course, with Overwatch crumbling, they were keeping their distance. 

So, cell phones and laptops it was, no job too big or too small for your friendly repairape. It would be enough to get them by, with her family’s help, and he could do it from home, so she could be cared for, and so Winston didn’t really care that it was somewhat of a stepdown from the cutting edge work he’d been doing. Maybe there would be enough time to tinker, and that would be nice. He’d always liked that. 

Valentine’s Day. It was strange to think that a day devoted to love might mean anything to him at all, and he would have convinced himself he didn’t care, when he was younger, before he’d had any sort of a family to call his own. And now he was getting sweet rolls from someone who owed him nothing, and he had completely failed to reciprocate. 

Teddy wouldn’t hold it against him. It wasn’t in his nature, and the two of them had always had a bit of a kinship, being giant, quiet marshmallows folded into a family of tiny spitfires. 

Maybe he would see about getting dinner delivered for him and Tracer, something special. Whether she was seeing someone or wasn’t, Tracer had always made a special point of doing something with the two of them for Palentine’s Day, her own giggling inclusion to a romantic holiday that allowed space for the people she loved in all the other ways. Maybe Italian? Their favorite was always Chinese, and sometimes Indian, but Valentine’s Day was a special holiday and so he wanted to get something special. If she was feeling up to it, maybe they could watch a movie together. 

Nothing too much--Mercy had recommend Tracer not drink on the medicine she’d prescribed, and he never wanted to make Tracer feel bad for forgetting, she’d been trying to get well, of course she wouldn’t pay the day any mind--but just something, so Tracer would know he still felt himself lucky to have a friend like her. 

Yes, he resolved, that would be a nice quiet Valentine’s Day between them, and that would be just lovely. 

His thoughts were disturbed by the sound of Parvati calling goodbye to Tracer, shutting the doors quietly behind her as she swung back around to where WInston sat. It had been nearly an hour, that he’d been sitting there just daydreaming, he realized, and had gotten so little of the work he’d meant to accomplished. 

“Seems pretty well today,” Parvati nodded to him, “minute by minute, sun comes back up, don’t it?” 

He envied the Oxtons their easy faith in resilience. It was not that they believed things would work out, so much as they believed they could recover from them. East end flattened in the Omnic crisis? Always did hate that pub, opportunity for something better to go in. Tracer ripped out of time? Well, she was always a strong little thing, she’ll come right. Someone you love has died? We’ll all live the harder for them, say their name over a beer. They were born with sunshine and steel in their spines, and he adored them. 

“She’s getting better,” he nodded. 

“Course she is,” Parvati shifted her bag onto her shoulder, “told her the plans for me birthday, and she’d be barmy to miss that, love, and you as well, Win, you never come out and you should.” 

“Parvati, that’s not until September.” 

“Right,” she giggled, “but I know you, Win, and it’ll take you the ‘ole seven months to talk yourself into it. Oh! And Lena’s wanting to see you as well, likely to tell you all about me birthday plans.” 

She had a small point, but he refused to concede it, instead scowling playfully and waving her off. Parvati chuckled as she tied her shoes and headed out the door into the damp and grey of a cool London day, flicking open her umbrella with a flourish as the door closed behind her. 

Winston closed the lid of his laptop. There was no way he was going to get anything done until he’d spoken to Tracer and made sure she didn’t need anything, anyhow. Maybe he could come back to it with fresh eyes and get a little more done. Tracer would be excited, he hoped, for their dinner plans. He would suggest she order whatever she liked, and as much of it as she wanted. She was eating a little better, in the past few days, but it was still a worry of his. There was only so many times he cared to have an argument about whether or not she needed a nutrition shake. 

He lumbered quietly into her bedroom, decorated with pictures of her family and friends, little drawings by some of the smaller Oxtons, and postcards from some of the scattered Overwatch folks who cared enough to hope she got well. Tracer herself was leaned against a large pile of pillows, looking out the window at the drizzle and the pigeons huddling under the eave of the house for warmth. She still carried the pallor she would carry for months, and there was a quality of fragility about her that seemed so out of character no matter how long it persisted, but her sweater was brightly colored, and when she saw Winston come in she smiled brightly, and pushed herself to sit up. 

“Win.” Her voice was a bit quiet, but warm and bright. 

He settled in next to her bed. When he sat on the floor, they were nearly nose to nose, and Tracer seemed to appreciate it, at least until she could easily climb on his shoulder again. 

“Parvati said you’re feeling good today.” He nodded as if that extra emphasis would make it true. 

“I think so!” She looked back out the window again, “‘ope the pigeons are staying warm, but I must be honest, missed this in Numbani.” 

She touched the window, and the cold ran through her for a moment. Her body jumped and she gave a small whimper, hanging her head and closing her eyes. 

He reached out and put his hand on her leg, almost without thinking about it, his touch heavy and gentle. Tracer put her hand on Winston’s and they sat there for a moment, Tracer taking a few deep breaths before she opened her eyes. 

“Don’t always think.” She managed a small smile. 

“I was thinking,” he kept his voice soft, “tonight, for dinner, it’s Valentine’s Day--I,I forgot too, so don’t” 

“Oh Win, but I didn’t forget!” She leaned forward excitedly, nearly jumping toward him, which itself was a bit too much, and she had to brace herself on the edge of the bed for a few quiet seconds. 

Don’t be a worrywart, Winston, he reminded himself, she hates that. She’s testing things because she’s feeling so much better. That’s good. She’s fighting. She’s winning. Just takes time. 

“I didn’t forget,” she continued, nodding slowly, “I got you something. It isn’t very much, really, but I made Parvati ‘elp.” 

She turned to her little bedside table and took out a card. The red envelope had a few heart stickers on it, and in clumsy, difficult handwriting, it said “To Win. I love you. Lena.” 

“Still shaking a bit,” she looked down at it, “not as pretty as it might be.” 

He took it from her trembling hands, trying not to show how overwhelmed he was by the quality of her love, even after knowing her for these last few years. A few weeks ago, she had been barely able to speak, hardly able to be touched, and here she was, thinking about Winston on a silly side holiday. 

Winston ran his hand over the envelope. It almost seemed too much to open. How hard must it have been for her to write? Every letter she would have struggled through was an I love you, and he wasn’t sure he could bear it. 

 “I didn’t do anything for you.” 

She gave a chuff. “Think we can both agree that’s a bloody lie.” 

He looked up at her. “I thought maybe I would get us some Italian. Have a little date for the two of us, watch a movie?” 

“Oh Win, I’d love to!” she reached out slowly, resting her head on his shoulder. “I love you. Happy Palentine’s Day, love.” 

Her eyes held that glimmer he’d always known, and he felt the sunrise Parvati had mentioned. 

There were so many things Winston could not control. The rain in London. The market for mobile repair. Whether Tracer would ever fully recover. But he could do this. He would make a nice cozy spot on the couch for the two of them, two little Valentines safe and sound. He would get them rich, thick pastas, and play some sappy movie. 

He may not be able to fix her, but he could love her, and be loved by her, and today, that was enough.

[lemonsandstrawberries]

For Better or Worse

fandom: Stony (Steve x Tony), with a side of Winterfalcon (Bucky x Sam)

summary: Games are supposed to bring people joy and this was something Steve didn’t see coming and it caught him completely off guard. 

length: 1 189 words

warning: SPOILERS FOR HARRY POTTER: HOGWART’S MYSTERY YEAR 6, CHAPTER 18 (knowing the game is not essential to reading the fic, it gets pretty self-explanatory, just a warning for those who play it). also, a spoiler for Star Wars VII near the end, but if you didn’t see it yet (granted you are a fan), getting spoiled is totally on you!

a/n: soooo, I am playing the game mentioned above and I was pretty shocked about the chapter’s ending... also, if there is an opportunity to write about Steve geeking out about Harry Potter, I am gonna take it! (headcanon - Steve, Bucky and Sam like Harry Potter, Tony and Rhodey prefer Star Wars). feedback, reblogs, likes and HP:HM asks are needed and appreciated! (tell me your house!)

—————

For Better or Worse

Steve held the phone in his hands, not believing what he was seeing. There was a cold shiver on his back and a tight grasp around his heart. It was so quiet, almost as if someone turned the whole world on mute, the whole air sucked out and leaving him struggling.

No, this was not happening. This was never supposed to happen. He slowly put his phone down, screen facing down, not able to look. Not able to move forward. It was overwhelming and the weight of it all sat heavily on his arms, forcing him to curl in himself. His world was collapsing and he mustered all the strength he had left in himself for a tearful cry.

"TONY!"

"Ewuh?!" Tony bolted up from the couch, feeling all fuzzy and bleary, brutally woken up from his nap. He looked around himself and ruffled his hair, not understanding what had happened. Did someone scream? The TV was turned off, so that was not it, he could smell the cooking dinner from the kitchen, and well, everything seemed perfectly fine and normal.

"Boss."

Tony jumped, hearing Friday. Why was he feeling so nervous? "Fry, what's going on?" He asked, rubbing his eyes from sleep.

"You should go to the kitchen."

"What? Dinner is ready?" He asked, standing up and stretching, letting his body wake up.

There was a pause as Friday took her time to answer.

"I don't think dinner will be ready for a while."

That didn't sound right. So, the scream he had heard... was it Steve?

"Steve!" Tony took a step, before running, more and more sure that what had woken him up was his husband's screaming. "Steve, is everything - Steve!"

The sight was very confusing. The pots with food were gently simmering on the stove, steam rising and filling the kitchen with the scent of meat and spices. Some ingredients for a garden salad, Steve liked to force him to eat had been lined up on the counter, waiting to be chopped up and doused with olive oil just before serving, to keep the vegetables crisp. And at the kitchen table, was Steve, all bundled up in himself, pressing both hands to his face and not moving.

"Steve? Baby?" Tony came closer carefully, looking for any sign of what happened. Did Steve hurt himself? He looked around, expecting to spot droplets of blood, or maybe hot oil splatters, but their kitchen looked like usual, neat and organized. "Baby, are you okay?" Tony asked softly, putting his hand on Steve's shoulder for attention, not expecting Steve to turn around so violently and bury himself into him with a loud sob. "Steve?!" Tony tried again, relaxing into the embrace and stroking hands along his husband's nape and back of his head. "Baby, what happened?"

Steve took a wheezing breath, more sobs escaping him. "I - I lost him," Steve finally managed to get out. His voice was heavy and wet, and Tony could feel tears soaking the material of his shirt. "I lost my best friend, Tony. He's gone. She killed him."

"What?" Tony asked, his voice dropping into a whisper. No, that couldn't have happened. Who would go after Bucky? It had to be some false information. Had to be. "Steve. Steve, look at me," Tony urged, stepping away to put both hands under Steve's jawline and force him to look up. It was frightening how the blue eyes were filled up with tears, rolling down Steve's cheeks without any control. "It has to be some sort of mistake. Who told you this?"

"No one. I saw it," Steve sniffled, closing his eyes, more tears running down his face.

Tony's mouth fell open in horror, his hands slipping down. Steve pulled Tony back and hid into his stomach again, and Tony absentmindedly started to stroke his husband's shoulders. Steve watched Bucky die? Like, again, just this time die-die? For good? Tony couldn't find any words, not imagining how horrible it had to be and what he could say to soothe his husband.

Just -

Steve had been in the kitchen. For quite some time. How he could be in the kitchen and watch Bucky die at the same time?

And then he heard it. Some sorrowful, quiet music. Tony saw Steve's phone, upturned and on the table and reached for it, looking at the screen.

Four characters in the middle of a dark forest. Three kneeling, looking down at a body laying on the ground, eyes wide open, dark and absent.

Was it that Harry Potter game Steve liked so much?

And just like that, all the nervousness that had gathered in Tony disappeared. Was this all hysteria about a character dying in the game?

Before Tony could react, Steve's phone started calling, Bucky's face and number flashing on the screen. It was probably the first time Tony was so happy to see Bucky.

"It's Bucky," Tony said, accepting the call and putting the phone to Steve's ear. Steve sniffled, leaving a disturbing amount on wetness on Tony's shirt, and took the phone.

"Hello?"

"STEVE! DID YOU FINISH - "

"I did!"

"I can't believe this happened!"

"Me neither!"

"How they could do this to us?!"

"I don't know, Buck!"

Tony listened to the conversation, Bucky bellowing to Steve, sounding just as distraught as Steve was. Harry Potter nerds.

"This sucks so much," Tony heard Bucky spat out and Steve unglued himself from Tony and turned around to better talk with Bucky. "I just took out Andre for a Valentines' Day dinner, and now they take our best friend away?!"

"I know!" Steve tried to wipe his eyes dry. "I didn't feel this bad since Merula cheated to get herself on the Frog Choir and I gave her my spot. How Sam took it?"

"He didn't finish the chapter yet! I don't know what I am going to do, he will be back from work in like an hour, how I am supposed to keep away from my husband that Rowan is dead?!"

Tony felt that he wasn't needed anymore. Let the nerds handle it on their own. He slowly started to back away, planning to head out, when Steve whipped around and looked at him.

"Where are you going?" Steve asked. Eyes wet, nose red, lips trembling. A pretty miserable sight. All over a mobile game.

"Nowhere," Tony assured quickly, not able to leave his husband in such a pitiful state, even if it was over something so trivial. Well, for him. It meant a lot to Steve, and Steve meant a lot to Tony. Besides, when Han Solo had been killed by his own son, Tony bawled his eyes out and Steve was there for him the whole time, not letting out a peep. "I am here, baby," Tony wrapped arms around his husband's shoulders and put his cheek on Steve's head, Steve leaning into his touch and holding him back with his free hand. And so, they stayed, Tony listening to Steve's and Bucky's tearful exchange, because it was just like their wedding vows said.

For better or worse, in sickness or health, and for moments of geekiness.

[hobimo]

Hello!! If you’re seeing this then it means you’ve read the final chapter of It Happened Quiet!! Thank you very much for making it all the way through :’’))

I figured, since this sort of my first time writing this much of a thriller/mystery kind of thing that there would be loose ends I didn’t manage to quite tie up, or details that probably deserve more explanation than I gave them, so I’m just going to write a big long masterpost about the fic, basically. I considered writing this like a big fancy essay but I haven’t written anything formal since high school, so you’ll have to excuse the informality :’’))

CHARACTERS

1.     Yoongi

In the fic, Yoongi is 25 years old. In the past 14 years, he’s lived a very quiet life, going to school and befriending Namjoon, Seokjin, Jungkook and Jimin. He’s relatively unaware of his witch heritage and very dismissive of it in general, chalking it up to superstition.

The events of what happen in the forest when he and Hoseok go into it as children is very murky a) because I wanted to be sort of dark and never really clear but also b) because I couldn’t make up my damn mind about what I wanted. (pls forgivi). The breakdown is basically yoonseok go into the woods one day and they’re in for a big surprise and through some unclear turn of events, they have a falling out, and they’re just kids and they’re tired and hungry and scared, and things get thrown way out of proportion and they separate, and then things fall apart. Yes, Yoongi did intentionally leave Hoseok behind. Not through ill-will, he was just a kid and he was frustrated and scared and just wanted to get home, but as you can see the guilt literally eats him up as soon as he’s out and he can’t go back for Hoseok.

The majority of the flashbacks are experienced by Yoongi, as weird dreams or distorted memories or whatever, but they’re not necessarily his. That’s an important point I did try to reinforce by having Taehyung have memories that mirror Yoongi’s exactly. It was my attempt at playing the unreliable narrator card. I hope I did it justice :’’)

Anyways, story goes on, Yoongi chooses Taehyung over his friends when they have some weird inquest at his home, and then Jungkook does his big I release you and then taegi fall in love whatever it’s just like that in the countryside.

Something I did try with Yoongi was to have the witchy feel come back in the later chapters following his talk with Namjoon when his eyes go blue. I made him make sage oil instead of his sage-steeped-water-thing and threw in a few references to his mother doing it but never fully explaining it because she knows Yoongi isn’t his full self anymore. Essentially Yoongi’s “ghost” in the woods was his ‘witchy’ half. At least that’s what I tried, obviously he stayed kinda witch-boy aesthetic but you know.

2.     Taehyung

Taehyung is my son and I love him. In Yoongi’s part of the story, he does show up with no memory at all and that’s because Yoongi’s half-life in the woods says give those to me, referring to his memories. By the time he reaches Yoongi’s door he’s basically a total amnesiac.

Obviously, I tried to give Taehyung and Yoongi as much parallels as I could. See: the cows, being called a ‘witch’ (even though Taehyung is 100% NOT a witch), the piano, etc. I also had him get involved with Hoseok mostly because I wasn’t prepared to try and fit in Taehyung’s gay awakening in the 8 chapters we had (but also so I could imply some sexy taegiseok poly), but also because I wanted to flesh out Hoseok’s character. Vhope were always going to be involved but originally I wasn’t going to reveal quite as much as I did in chapter 7. But I still had fun writing it so it’s whatever.

Some key points about Taehyung worth noting are how he chooses his friends and family (his siblings, his town) over Hoseok, especially with his line “You only have me, but I have a lot more than just you.” This is basically the mirror image of what Yoongi does when Jungkook confronts them, which gives you a little more insight into Taehyung’s character at the time. When he was shaking his head in chapter 6 it was more of a ‘don’t do it Yoongi please don’t do it’ instead of a ‘they’re speaking bs you should choose me’. Taehyung remembering Jungkook is something I justify since Jungkook is obviously more powerful than a witch half-life in the woods, so obviously the memories belong more to Jungkook than they do Yoongi. But also it was just fun.

Taehee and Taewoo live long and happy lives despite losing their big brother in the war. Taewoo becomes a farmer that moves down the valley, and Taehee ends up marrying Jungkook in the sixties. (It was Jungkook’s attempt at keeping her safe. It was very wholesome don’t go yikes on me!!! It also implies Taehyung has descendants in town but we don’t ever see them.)

Taehyung is the ‘fairy’ of the story. In return for the mortal body he gave Hoseok (blood and bone) Hoseok essentially made him into a fairy that could grant wishes. I thought it was cute, since Hoseok had called Taehyung a fairy earlier and stuff. (The alternate title for this fic was also “The Witch, the Fairy and the Woods” so.)

3.     Namjoon

Namjoon is essentially god!!!! Even though he clowns the concept of god!!! There’s not much to say about him, I’ll get into it when we get to the LORE section of this mess of a masterpost. You can call Namjoon god or death or whatever makes you happy. When he said he was the ‘bad’ guy compared to Jungkook, it’s because Namjoon is essentially Jungkook’s boss and will have to punish him for breaking the rules as a shrine god. We’ll get to that later!

It is implied in the epilogue that Namjoon had more influence than he let on. If you’ll remember in the earlier chapters Yoongi says something like he has “less than 65,000 won to his name” and yet Namjoon transfers Seokjin “500,000 won”. Basically I was trying to hint that Namjoon was trying to nudge Yoongi along the path that would take him back into the woods by removing the vast majority of his savings. Food for thought!

Essentially Namjoon was just a fun venture fo me, I’d always wanted to write a character who knew everything but was just distant and mysterious enough to drive someone insane. Also when I was younger and read The Fault in Our Stars the author-guy mentions that the Flower Man in his story was God, and I’ve always kind of wanted to do that too. That’s about it for him. :’’)

4.     Jungkook

I do feel like Jungkook’s character has been quite explained already in the fic, but he’s wonderful so we’re going to talk about him a bit more. As previously said, he’s the shrine god, and that means he lives his life in a constant cycle of reincarnation, essentially. Mortal body turnover may be a better way of putting it. He’s essentially the founding spirit of the town and the land it’s on, and has been for however long the land has been there outside of the woods. The runes on his arms don’t really mean anything when they appear in chapter 6, they’re just sort of symbolic of Taehyung—something of the woods—touching something he has no right to. If Yoongi had grabbed him, there would have been none of those markings.

Though he was obviously cold to Taehyung, Jungkook is a character I tried really hard to make very kind. He’s not bitter towards Taehyung, but he knows he has a job to put things back in their rightful order, and that involves sending Taehyung back to the woods. I’m sure he would have loved to tell Taehyung about what happened to his siblings, but alas, things didn’t work out that way. Rip.

5.     Jimin

Jimin is the current Park, Jungkook’s direct servant and bOYFRIEND. Jikook love each other a whole lot and that’s why Jungkook risked it all to just be with him. It’s not mentioned in the fic, nor is it especially relevant, but Jungkook did have Jimin’s parents sent away when they started to get romantically involved because the elder Parks were obviously against it. As Namjoon says at the end of chapter 9, they’re going to live a very long and happy time together.

It did break my heart not to have vmin be best friends, and in the original drafts of the fic they were going to become somewhat friendly, but things didn’t work out that way. I think it was at least interesting for Jimin to be the way he was in the fic.

6.     Seokjin

Owner of The Best dialogue. As said he’s part of some low-key exorcist order that the author didn’t spend enough worldbuilding time to fully develop, but it’s just a very low-key, very very top secret Order of families that have been going for ages and ages that are aware of the position of gods and stuff. Very different to witches. He is 100% normal human, and his father did die before he came to the village where Yoongi lives, and so his mother Mrs Kim decided she didn’t want her son to die the same way and had them stationed in this remote ass place. I’m not sure what else there is to say about him other than he’s Extremely Valid and I love him.

7.     Hoseok

Namjoon calls him the ‘mouthpiece’ of the forest, but’s a bit more complicated than that. There’s a large part of Hoseok’s character that is still fundamentally him, but it’s a little bit funked up, as you can probably imagine. As you can imagine, deep down he still is that ten year old boy that got abandoned by his best friend in the woods, so he’s grown pretty possessive of the idea of Yoongi, since he couldn’t ever have him. His whole schtick with Taehyung is completely genuine, though.

I did spend a lot of time justifying how to make him older, since I did want to imply that Taegiseok poly at the end of the fic, and I figured Taehyung’s implied wish for a friend would have enabled Hoseok to grow with him. Also I just wanted a grown-up Hoseok. In the original drafts of the reunion scene, Hoseok was going to be naked, but I ditched that when I was writing chapter 7 because I doubt Taehyung would have even considered going near a naked boy in the woods.

8.     Min Insook

Yoongi’s mother!! A bona fide witch, she relocated to the countryside with her husband some time before Yoongi’s birth and then her husband died. I don’t know why, but he did. She was obviously planning on using the ‘ley lines’ for her witch magic and stuff, hence why Yoongi’s early childhood is filled with odd mentions of forest gods and his mother making things at the counter, but after her son gets caught by the forest and leaves his ‘witchy’ half behind, Insook basically abandons all of that in favour of raising him normally.

I did wait until chapter 8 to reveal her name for no real reason other than I hadn’t thought of one. Sorry guys :’’))

Her death is completely natural and unrelated to the schenanigans of the story. She really just does get sick and ends up dying from it because she’s too proud to ask for help. HOWEVER, as Taehyung kept bringing up, some of her is left in the house. Her ‘ghost’ or half-life, whatever, stays in the house in an attempt to keep Yoongi from going back to the woods, since she says the instant Yoongi’s free of them that she ‘won’t let’ him go back. She made the choice for him. This continues for the rest of Yoongi’s twenty-five years, basically, until Yoongi has that weird dream where he meets his other half and basically sticks himself back together, turning his eyes a proper light blue like Hoseok’s and Taehyung’s, and giving him whatever witchy dominance he needs to break whatever binding spell is on him.

The white moth that appears in the epilogue is basically her metaphorical presence. It’s on the urn (her ashes) and Yoongi lets it outside, symbolising that he’s going to be free of his grief about her and that he’s broken free of her spell and whatnot. The household fae works mostly the same way, except that Yoongi releasing it is way more metaphorical in that he’s removing everything of a home (household) he used to see there. It’s basically the equivalent to him packing up and leaving.

As you can see this isn’t organised at all, and I apologise. Hopefully it still improves your understanding somewhat :’’)

LORE

Gods, Woods, Fairies

I did say throughout the fic that the word ‘fairy’ was very important and had several meanings. The epilogue covers the last one. They were:

1.     Fairy = gay man (shown through Taehyung)

2.     Fairies grant wishes (Yoongi wishes he went back)

3.     “Before gods and monsters, they called them fairies.” (Mostly pertaining to Jungkook’s connection to the word.)

Obviously, you guys came up with WAY more complex and meaningful versions than I did, but they were the ones I had. Every interesting comment I got about the meaning of the word ‘fairy’ I basically accepted as canon, so thank you all for them :’’))

Gods

As previously stated, this is where we discuss Jungkook and Namjoon. This concept of gods is something I’ve had sitting around for a while. Basically it goes like this:

There are gods of people (Jungkook) and

There are gods of nature (the woods).

And then there’s Namjoon who’s essentially Mr Big Boss but whatever.

Gods of people like Jungkook are obviously fully equipped to understand and judge their subjects as best they can. He has a domain, the village and the surrounding land and all of its people, and he has a job: whenever they die, he has to make a judgement on their souls, basically. The idea that the god always has to have a reincarnation that has lived through every generation of people is so important here, because only then does he have the context to judge people’s choices fully. He was a young man during the war, so he can judge the soldiers that died on his land. Hence why he only really gets to the age of ~30.

Therefore, by choosing to love Jimin instead of finding a woman to love for a few decades and having an heir, he’s broken this rule that's been set that gods have to live through every generation and fully understand all their subjects. Jungkook will grow older, more distant to the younger people of the village, less able to judge them properly, and then once he reaches a certain age he can’t face the people without giving away his immortality.

Namjoon calls himself the ‘bad guy’ in this scenario because he will be the one taking Jungkook aside and fixing the mess he’s made. Namjoon is very kind, though, so the worst he’ll probably do is make Jungkook just restart the Jeon line, because losing Jimin is probably enough suffering.

The gods of nature like the woods are far less sophisticated. They don’t have this human range of emotions because they don’t have subjects to judge when they die. They’re gods of places and stuff. They are sentient, but not as people. Hence, when Hoseok more or less gets turned into the embodiment of the woods, he still retains the majority of his personality since the woods has nothing to replace it with. He’s just a little bit wilder.

I really hope this makes sense!! Please feel free to ask me more about it, since this particular lore is something I’ll definitely be re-using in future fics.

MOTIFS

The white deer

Honestly, I was very wary of overusing the white deer. I did try to sow some seeds in the early chapters that Yoongi is a little bit obsessed with it, seeing as he carved wood to look like it and even gets up when the white deer gets near his house—so don’t take it to be completely legitimate. The fact is, we’re never going to know what really went down in the woods between Yoongi and Hoseok, but the white deer is a scapegoat for Yoongi to unload his reasoning on, basically. It’s definitely a real thing, though, if you see a white deer in the wild make sure you nod to it and all that. It’s just that in this fic, it’s obvious Yoongi is kind of obsessed with it.

Also deers do eat birds. I watched a video where a faun ate a baby bird and I’ve been traumatised every since, but I thought it was a a valid image to use in that scene.

Sage

Honestly, I’m not sure about the validity of sage. If you’re native American and you know the proper rituals, that's a completely different ball game and you’re by Far the expert here. I’m just a babie who knows Nothing, but sage is something that keeps coming up pretty often in fics like these. In my family it’s more common to use things like rosemary or that tree I think is called a ‘money tree’ (I have no idea what it’s called, sorry.)

Eragon

The Eragon series is very important to me! That poem Yoongi recites is something I also use whenever it’s late at night and I start to freak out for whatever reason. When I first read it, it really stuck, and because I’m unimaginative I just gave Yoongi the same poem. Eragon was also a big part of my tween years, so I did just insert it straight into the fic. I haven’t read it in a VERY long time, though.

Final Notes

Taehyung’s initial wounds when he comes to Yoongi’s door are based off that one redidt post where op meets some strange man in a forest whose face is red with blood and he freaks out when he sees her old Walkman. I’ll definitely update this with the link when I find it again.

A major inspiration for this fic was the song “It Happened Quiet” by Aurora, and also some at by @feelfei on twitter that she has sadly taken down. I have the image saved, but I don’t know if I should attach it to this post without her permission, so I don’t think I will. It’s a very game-cam-esque drawing of a naked Taehyung in the middle of the dark woods with glowing eyes. It had the caption “something that came from the forest” and it was really inspirational to me (it’s also the image of the playlist)!! The final inspiration was the song “Human” by Sevdaliza.

I think that should be everything I have to say about this fic!! If you have any more questions let me know and I’ll be sure to update this as well. Thank you all so much for reading all the way through It Happened Quiet, it really means a lot to me. You’ve all been super kind and I wish you all the best!!

EDIT: finally found an excerpt of the original reddit post!! i think it’s been taken down tho rip. but you can see it here: 

I could see that his nose and lips and part of his forehead were all gone. It was like they'd been sliced clean off. He was bleeding bad, and I saw that the knees of his pants were red too. He looked me over and he saw my Walkman and he screamed. He just kept babbling and touching his face, and I realized he wasn't wearing the right clothing. He had some kind of weird grey cloth jacket and almost formal pants on, and the jacket had these weird buttons and red borders on it. -- the only thing I could really understand: 'Don't touch me! You'll make me go back there!'

took me a while and it’s not the complete post but the fact that I found anything is nice! Thank you again!!

[fly-pow-bye]

DuckTales 2017 - “The Golden Lagoon of White Agony Plains!”

Story by: Francisco Angones, Madison Bateman, Colleen Evanson, Christian Magalhaes, Bob Snow

Written by: Bob Snow

Directed by: John Aoshima

Storyboard by: Jean-Sebastien Duclos, Mark Garcia, Tanner Johnson, John Ramirez

I wouldn't call this a creek, either.

This episode starts with Scrooge and the boys paying a visit to a Gala dedicated to a newly opened Glomgold Wing at the Natural History Museum. The joke is that all of the exhibits are just whatever he can salvage from Scrooge's past adventures, and some outright falsehoods. Dewey even talks about how he's trying way too hard. Dewey's right...in maybe too many ways.

Scrooge, obviously not a big fan of this duck who tries to murder him any chance he can, is only there to support Duckburg's cultural institutions as an upstanding citizen. Oh, and to steal Glomgold's cocktail weenies and teriyaki skewers. The irony is that it's Louie that calls him out for this. That seems out of character for him, though it might be due to his suit giving him a rash.

As the boys follow Scrooge's lead in taking a bunch of buffet food, one of the guests of honor walks in the room. Scrooge drops his bag and gasps at the sight at this familiar-to-him face. The nephews ask him if his gasp is about a curse, a villain, or a villainous curse, but it's even worse than that.

Scrooge: ...it's my ex! (gulp)

🎵Life is like a hurricane...🎶

Well, that's one way to do a cold open.

Specifically, it's Goldie O'Gilt. He clarifies that she's an ex-rival and ex-partner, but the boys do not buy it. Scrooge gets the boys, and anyone in the audience who hasn't heard of this legacy character, ready by telling them to watch their wallets. They trade insults to each other, Scrooge saying that she has cloven hooves, and Goldie calling him a tightwad. Well, it is a fitting name for someone who takes hors d'oeuvres from a buffet. I learned just now that’s how you spell those words.

While the insults both disturb and intrigue Dewey, Glomgold shows up to tell Scrooge that Goldie happens to be his date. Even before she says anything, her body language clearly indicates he doesn't want anything to do with this man. Once the music starts playing, Scrooge and Goldie start dancing. He tries a second plan: dancing the same kind of dance with Dewey. I don't have a comment for that one.

After that, Glomgold decides to reveal the main attraction: a skeleton of a "Glacial Klondike Monster" his oil crew managed to dig up in the Yukon. Unlike the Glomasaurus Rex, which was clearly made up of random dinosaur bones, this exhibit is legitimate. The lights go out, and the mammoth's head disappears. No, it's not another mystery story, or another ghost story for that matter. Scrooge looks around and finds a certain someone missing, and he hot-tails it out of the gala.

While Launchpad drives Scrooge and the boys to the Mansion, it will make sense to how he would know about where she went later, the boys want to know more about "Scrooge's new old giiirlfriend", while they all make literal duck-lips. Yeah, that's their only real character trait they have for the rest of the episode. While DuckTales 2017 gave the boys far more distinct personalities, this episode is not a good example of that. Wait, Huey, Dewey, and Louie acting identically? No way!

They do get to be the audience of another Scrooge McDuck flashback to a time long before Donald or Della. We’re getting into “The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck”-like material here. From what I've read, it's a very loose adaptation; no Goose Egg Nugget here.

They go into a cave in the White Agony Plains to find the titular Golden Lagoon. Suddenly, Goldie, in her scheming ways, decides to steal the map to find the lagoon for herself. Scrooge manages to catch her, but the map gets torn in half. Suddenly, the "Glacial Monster" shows itself, being what might be the last of the Wooly Mammoths. Goldie’s part of the map ended up stuck in the mammoth’s teeth, and over a century later, that same mammoth's skeleton ended up in Glomgold's Gala. We get a shot of the skeleton with a map sticking out of its teeth, which wasn't shown before when we got a shot of it before, but never mind.

Yes, I really mean a century later. While they don’t specify the exact year, Scrooge is definitely referring to the Klondike Gold Rush in 1896. Huey, in one of the few times he gets to show off his personality, starts counting on his fingers and outright asks how old Scrooge is. He obviously does not answer that question, but this episode gives a rather decent explanation beyond "it's just a cartoon, so just relax".

While running from the Wooly Mammoth, Scrooge and Goldie jumped into a freezing lake, causing them to be stuck in an ice cube for 5 years. In fact, this episode confirms this isn't the only time they've been in situtations that made them age slower. The dance scene from earlier shows them talking about a fountain of youth and several timeless demon dimensions. In an unrelated note, Goldie also offhandedly mentions a necklace that prevents burns, which the camera zooms into for a few seconds. I did not think much of this on my first viewing.

After the story that was captivating that even the driver got too interested in it, Scrooge finally reaches his Manor to find that Goldie barged into his house, and she immediately asks where his half of the map went. One may wonder how she managed to get past Mrs. Beakley, all but shown to be a super spy with great combat abilities, and her trained-in-similar-arts granddaughter.

Well, she did. As the rest of this episode will prove, she's just that awesome. After Scrooge throws a chair at his own nephews after they do the same "Scrooge loves Goldie" shtick, yeah, don't anger Scrooge, Goldie realizes that it must be in Scrooge's top hat. When Scrooge wrestles her down for it, she offers the adventure. Scrooge asks why.

Goldie: Because it's gold, because it's a treasure you never found, and because you're Scrooge McDuck.

Scrooge, Goldie imitating him: You think you know me sooo well!

They decide to go on the adventure. Speaking of the map, we later see it, and it's one of those "dotted line with the X on it" maps. I'd imagine the one that has the X on it could have at least tried to extrapolate the path. I guess I could assume that half was in that skull, but wouldn't Glomgold take it? Whatever.

Goldie puts on her old outfit, and they go into the cave. The entire episode essentially follows a similar path: throughout the adventure, they both accuse each other of trying to sabotage each other. They are totally doing that. Scrooge finds an arrow trap, which he activates by throwing a pebble at it, and accuses Goldie of doing it. Scrooge then stops Goldie from getting stuck in a giant bear trap that he totally didn't set up. Notice the difference there.

They end up at a pulley-controlled elevator, built for one. Not willing to let one person go and get a jump on the lagoon, they have to share the elevator. Of course, this leads to her complaining about his sweat. It's a funny scene.

Not speaking of particularly funny scenes, Glomgold is slowly following them. I'll be honest: his scenes don't really do much for me. All he really does is get hit by all the traps, cuts the rope of the aforementioned elevator, and talks about how Scrooge is taking his girl. He seems to disappear after this scene, because it's better to focus on the scenes with Scrooge and Goldie trying to mess each other up.

One scene has Goldie lighting a trail of gunpowder behind Scrooge, taking both halves of the map with her while he's chasing. In this universe of ducks and dogs that walk upright and talk, this trail of gunpowder leads to a bear. Not a relative of Baloo, but a bear just like in real life. I wonder how that works.

Unlike in real life, Goldie gets cornered by Scrooge riding that same bear. He even reveals that he speaks bear. This show now has just as much talking to non-language-speaking-animals as that other reboot. How can he do this? Because he's Scrooge McDuck. Yeah, that’s a running gag throughout this episode, and it does have a good payoff at the end.

They eventually reach a dead end, which happens to be right next to the frozen lake where they spent 5 years of their lives. This leads to even more backstory. After 5 years of being forced into staring at each other, their frozen scowls slowly turned into smiles. Aw, they really do love each other. While it's certainly romantic to see this, it is a horrifying thought that they were conscious in there.

Of course, there's a caveat: as soon as Goldie's half of the ice melts, she immediately leaves Scrooge behind. Scrooge realized that she loved gold more than him, and Goldie...agrees. Fitting.

They do get to the waterfall made of molten gold, thanks to the help of erosion over a century. Scrooge gets Nanook, the bear, to break the wall they thought was a dead end open in something that would have looked cool in trailers. However, as soon as they bask in the glory, a twist happens. I debated whether or not I should even have these ellipsis, to be honest.

← JAW$! 🦆 Day of the Only Child →

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Big shock, she was going to betray him in the end, just like Scrooge repeatedly accused her of doing! There is one surprise on top of this: Glomgold decides to show up, after stumbling down a hill because he's Glomgold, and reveals that he teamed up with her to do this ruse! Unlike the last time he tried, this turned out to be true.

Scrooge, telling himself he should have expected this, asks Goldie why she did this after all she did for her. He talks about how he untied her from Nanook...which he happened to tie her to himself. Again, fitting. Her response?

Goldie: Because I'm Goldie O'Gilt!

See, good payoff.

Regardless of what I feel about Glomgold’s involvement in this episode, I do like the flashback scene he describes, which is in this 50's romance comic book-like style. It even ends with him smooching the air. He sure loves that Goldie, he even came up with the shipping name: Glomgoldie.

There's a pickaxe fight that mirrors the dance scene down to certain lines, and a rather shocking scene that does give Glomgold a little more purpose in the plot. I don't want to give away everything, but I definitely questioned whether they would really do what they did.

I only have one thing I will say that will add to this review: the necklace I talked about earlier does become a plot point. What necklace? Well, that was my first impression of that ending, too; it took a second viewing for me to realize it didn't just come out of nowhere.

How does it stack up?

Promising a big adventure that happens to be a huge reference to the original comics, and the return of a classic character, DuckTales 2017 took a huge risk with this episode. As someone who hasn't really read the original stories, I can't judge whether or not it's a good adaptation.

I debated what rating I should give this. It's an entertaining adventure, sure, but it's a little repetitive, and Glomgold just became a third wheel that was more tiring than funny. This one slightly misses the mark for me. In a worse reboot, this would be one of the best episodes, but after Jaw$, it's just merely above average, which is a very high neutral for this show.

Next, the return of another classic character...whether you like him or not.

← JAW$! 🦆 Day of the Only Child →

[x-dudes]

Can you do a Poe x reader where the reader is a sarcastic mechanic. She and Poe constantly argue like they hate each other but in reality it’s like they’re flirting unknowingly. While arguing, Poe interrupts her by kissing her? If that makes sense

Notes: Totally does!! I gotchu. Also, from the moment I started writing this Han and Leia parallels (without all the toxic tendencies in their relationship) just grabbed at me and I almost couldn’t resist. hope you like it!!! It’s kind of long so you can find it under the cut for convenience sake.

Published: December 28th, 2017

Warnings: Some spoilers for The Last Jedi? Nothing too major. I’d say it kind of spoils the opening scene but it was put under a read more link regardless.

-

The sweltering heat of the main ship’s gas system almost overcame you, causing heavy beads of sweat to drip from the skin of your face, neck, and back as you worked vigorously on your repairs. A little BB unit sat propped up on your workbench, with it’s center panel opened as you examined the mainframe. Moments earlier he had gone through major electrical damage, evident still in the singed appearance of the orange paint and the heat the droid still radiated hours later, and you were assessing the damage from within, hoping silently it wouldn’t be anything that couldn’t be repaired with what you had available.

“How’s he looking?” A voice called, breaking you from your concentration. You flinched slightly, causing your hand to press against the heated metal of the droid’s outer shell and obtain an oblong burn across your forearm. Though recognizing the voice in question, you refused to let yourself appear anything less than snide and disdainful as you finally lifted your head up to lock eyes.

“Don’t talk to me.” You answered, turning your chair back to the little droid and placing your electric wedge between two magnetic plates along the damaged perimeter of his body.

“(Y/N),-”

“Poe, I’m working, and unlike your job, mine consists of serious concentration and deliberate thought.” You scorned, sending an electric shock through the metallic plates of the wedge and effectively rebooting the droid’s motion system.

“Woah, woah, woah, be careful with my droid.” He chuckled.

“His gyrosystem was in permanent motion lock. Y’know that thing that allows him to even move in the first place? Although, I think it might do him some good to do something other than follow you blindly. So did you want a frozen droid? ‘Cause I can always take out one of his chips if tha-

“I think I get it.”

“No, Poe, I don’t think you do get it.” You snapped. “BB-8 almost died out there- I don’t know if you believe that droids can die like that, I know it’s kind of a ‘controversial’ topic.” You placed air quotes around the word controversial. “But I do. I believe that there’s some other part to them that we can’t build or program. You see it in BB-8, don’t you? He sees it in himself. I know he does.- He’s in here kind of frequently you know?” Of course, it couldn’t be some sort of talk with (Y/N) without a snarky comment or sarcastic remark. “And he risked it all, knowing that this could mean everything, to help you be a careless idiot, because he trusts you. He did it because he loves you.” For once, Poe stood before you completely wordless. Any thoughts of what he could say all died down in his throat before they had the chance to surface. The thick silence was cut with the sounds of happy whirring and chirping as the familiar little droid powered back up. Poe only watched as (Y/N) screwed his plate back into place and gave everything a good shake to test for durability. BB let out a series of low whistles, causing you to laugh as you met the droid’s gaze.

“Sorry, sorry. Hey, Beebee, how ya’ feeling?” He whirred in response. “I can imagine…” You replied as you cleaned the sweat and oil from her palms. You stood up to stroke his side, and Poe watched carefully as the little droid leaned into your touch, hearing your words from just moments earlier play on loop in his head. “Well, I think you’re very brave.”

“Oh, but I’m careless?” Poe gloated, nudging your shoulder with his fingers as he pulled closer to your workbench.

“I think you’re certainly something.” You taunted.

“What kind of something?”

“Well, the last time I was as mean to you as I’d like to be, General Organa called me into her quarters to scold me.” You teased in return, a faint smile playing at the corners of your lips just faint enough for BB-8 alone to notice. “…to say the least.”

“Wait, her quarters?”

“Yeah, and I was still really young and real new to the Resistance mech team, too, so I was convinced that I was going to walk out of there wearing my ass as a hat or something because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.” You chuckled.

“Oh, man, I don’t even remember what happened that day. What did you do?”

“I think that was one of many times I would threaten to beat you senseless if you didn’t start taking better care of BB-8.” You quipped. “Poor fella…”

“So what’d she do to you? You know, (Y/N), I think ass hats are going to be the next big fashion trend of the decade.” He taunted, scooting closer to your seat on the workbench. You replied with a tempting ‘hmm?’ which he couldn’t help but smirk at. “Yeah, because you are one.”

“Fuck off, Poe.” You replied, shoving him roughly from his seat with a visible smirk. “Getoutta here, your atrocious face and horrendous personality make my working conditions just about unbearable.”

“And we were getting along so well…” He mocked, wiping an imaginary tear as he lifted BB-8 from the table and placed him on the laminate flooring of the ship.

“Uh uh uh, what do you think you’re doing with h-”

“I’m taking him home? As he is mine and I think I have the right to do so?”

“And what makes you so sure he’s all fixed up? That one flight repair won’t turn him into scrap metal and spare parts?” You countered. He stood silent. “Yeah, thought so.” You crouched to speak one-on-one with BB, hearing him whir conflictedly. “Hey, I never said you couldn’t go. Just go easy on yourself, alright? And check up with me at least once every couple of days until I say otherwise, you got that?” The droid rolled his head to signal he understood. “That means no being reckless for you, either. Promise?” BB-8 extended one of his thin metal arms from his chest in a sort of pinky-promise. Your little finger wrapped around the arm with a grin as you stood up to face Poe once again. “If he ends up back in here, I’ll have you wearing your ass as a hat. Are we clear?”

“I’m sorry, princess.” He sneered, one eyebrow raised in his signature Poe Dameron fashion that you’ve grown to resent. “But I think I can handle him.”

“You fucking better…” You called, though he and the little droid were already stepping away.

BB-8 chirped his concerns through the speaker, trying to keep his voice low until they turned the corner. It came out as more of a question than anything else, though it still made Poe chuckle in disbelief.

“Like her?” He repeated. “Yeah, I guess she’s alright…”

“I told you, I told you if he found himself in there one more time, Poe, I wouldn’t fucki-”

“Yeah, I’m aware, princess, what did you expect me to do? I needed him. We can’t all sit along the edge of the battlefield doing-”

“Call me princess one more time see if I don’t smack you into next year.” You threatened, feeling him grow closer with each insult spewed at each other. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t report to the General that you’re unfit to hold a droid and that BB-8 should essentially be repossessed.” You prompted. He turned his head in serious thought, making you realize only now that you could feel his warm breath fan out against your cheeks.

“Shit- (Y/N), you can’t be seriou-”

“I’m absolutely serious. You and Organa are already kind of on thin ice here, Poe, and for good reason, too. It wouldn’t be very hard at all to report the instances in which-”

“Well then why haven’t ya’, (Y/N)?! Huh?!” Poe snapped slamming his fist on to your workbench with such force, and at such a close proximity that it was second nature to jump.

“Poe,” You began, evening your voice out so were no longer shouting. Fighting wasn’t your goal, you reminded yourself. 

“With such an active effort to call me out on every mistake I make with ‘im, why haven’t you just turned me in already?”

“Poe, I-”

“No, I don’t want anymore bullshit from you, (Y/N)! I wan-”

“Because I didn’t report them, Poe! I DIDN’T REPORT ANY OF BB’S PREVIOUS DAMAGES BECAUSE I KNEW IT WOULD GET YOU INTO A LOAD OF SHIT YOU DIDN’T NEED TO BE IN, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS AGAINST VERY STRICT RESISTANCE CODE THAT I DID, ESPECIALLY WHEN SAID DROID HAS HELD INFORMATION CRITICAL TO THE ENTIRE WELLBEING OF THE RESISTANCE. ALL BECAUSE I WAS TRYING TO KEEP YOU OFF THE BENCH AND AWAY FROM THE SHITTY SIDELINES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, BECAUSE WITH HOW OFTEN BB-8 IS IN HERE I ACTUALLY KIND OF BEGAN TO BELIEVE IN YOU. A LONG TIME AGO, ACTUALLY. BEFORE FLEEING D’QAR, BEFORE THE BLACK SQUADRON, MAYBE EVEN BEFORE YOU BECAME ‘THE POE DAMERON’ POSTERCHILD PILOT OF THE RESISTANCE WHO EVERYONE BUT LEIA’S AFRAID TO CALL OUT, BECAUSE THEY THINK HE CAN DO NO WRONG.” You stopped to catch your breath in short pants, realizing you had moved yourself even closer as you screamed at him. You spoke again, voice now gravelly and soft from misuse, yet still just strong enough to speak your peace. “God, you’re such an idiot. Although I guess this is partially my fault, because I didn’t realize at the time that you were actually kind of a prick- stop that.”

“Stop what?” Poe replied, stepping closer with his signature eyebrow raised in a taunting look. Although this time it was different, and you couldn’t place why.

“Looking at me like that.” You answered.

“Looking at you like what, princess?”

“Stop calling me that.” You stated softly.

“What, Princess?” You nod bitterly. “Weren’t you a princess?” He recalls, thinking back briefly to a conversation he overheard between yourself and Leia.

“Not exactly. Though this is something you would know if you bothered to pay mind to anybody but yourself f-” Your snide remarks died on your lips as Poe feverishly closed the distance, pressing his own to yours. He pulled away, a smug look marking his features. “What? Do you think that just kissing a woman solves all of your problems? You questioned, sneering angrily, yet placing your hands over his chest and keeping him in place by the lapels of his jacket.

“Not exactly. But the years worth of backed up sexual and romantic tension? That’s another story.” You rolled your eyes in a dramatic display, pushing him away from you with a soft thud. He furrowed his brow, unsure of whether to follow as you walked away.

“My shift ends at seven.” You explained, turning back to meet his confused gaze a few feet behind you with a taunting smile. “You want to wait up for me? We can finish this afterwards.”

[inktrinsic]

‘ART IS EVERYTHING’

- interview with a tattooist

Baldwin Ang is a man on a constant quest, seeking to fill his life with experiences that enrich him, all of which he ultimately expresses in works of ink. Working with artists from all over the planet, Baldwin feels that his nomadic lifestyle is paramount to growth as a tattoo artist. The world his oyster, Baldwin's love for the craft brings him anywhere art exists - "everywhere, basically!", he laughingly says.

He believes every piece of inked skin tells a story, and listens intently to every customer who goes to him. Observing him at work tattooing fills one with a sense of wonder; such is the tangible passion he exudes when executing his craft.

With travel restrictions still in place, i manage to catch up with Baldwin here in Singapore, to talk about his passion for ink, and how he got into the craft.

Tell me about your first tattoo experience.

I grew up an only child in an average, middle-class home, typically Singaporean. My dad ran a small business,.and Mum helped out. Left on my own mostly, I pretty much entertained myself, with toys and later, other kids my age hanging around the neighbourhood. I started getting tattoos at a very young age - the first was a dare actually! Gradually I became intrigued by the art form, and this spark fueled my resolve to start doing research on tattoo as an art form and the history behind it.

I started tattooing at 16 (below legal age) without any proper apprenticeship, in a friend’s studio in Singapore. Initially, it was difficult to be taken seriously by people within the industry, they dismissed me as some "young punk" hence there wasn't much hope of me getting a decent appprenticeship anywhere. I stuck with it though, I guess I kind of knew this was what I really wanted to do.

I worked pretty hard, starting from bottom up, and about a year into it, my tattoo artist opened a door for me into the world of professional tattooing. I started understudying with Nicckuhori of Horikawa Tattoos, Singapore, (god-son of Sensei Horiyoshi III) whom i thank for showing me the proper methods pertaining to traditional Japanese tattooing. After that i worked alongside Augustine Nezumi for almost 2 years before embarking on my life as a nomad.

Do you think an apprenticeship is the best way to learn the business?

Without a doubt! Starting out without a proper apprenticeship, thats just a bad idea - like walking blindfolded- because you need to learn the basic techniques and stuff like that from the start correctly. Good foundation and whatnot. I took twice as long to get my basics right, and probably took alot of unnecessary detours, all for the lack of guidance. Although I think it worked well for me because all that hard work being self taught gives me a sort of perspective many younger tattooist seem to lack (no offense to anyone).

What is it about tattoos that compel you ?

That art can exist on a living human canvas.

What’s it like in your studio?

I work with my closest friends in the world, they are family. Nicckuhori, Sam, Colin, Wuzai - in Meteorite Tattoo in Singapore. There is so much creative energy andwe constantly bounce ideas off one another. There's alot of laughter, and camaraderie here - put 5 boys in a room, imagine the kind of mischief we get into! More importantly, there is a certain "sync" we share, artistically, aesthetically, and in even our beliefs so it works out well. Nicckuhori’s work is one of my greatest influences and a great source of inspiration; i respect and love him like a brother. Yet at the same time I hate him the way you hate your siblings because he fools around, laughs too much and always when I’m trying to focus.

Have you worked at many conventions?

I’ve attended many conventions but I’ve only worked at the conventions in Rome, St Gallen (Switzerland), Wurzberg (Germany) and Singapore.

How do people at conventions perceive your work?

(Laughs) I have no idea though I definitely hope it was positive.

Do you find working alongside other talented artists helps you to improve your own techniques?

It is really important for me to understand and learn from other artists. Observing other artists at work, discussing various pieces and techniques  with someone who is kind enough to share with me their ideas and techniques, that knowlegde is invaluable.

During your trips abroad, have you noticed any particular areas that are more welcoming to tattoos and tattooists than others?

Not really. I am lucky i guess, I have mostly only met really nice people who have welcomed me very graciously, and I’m very grateful for that.

Do you think that a formal art training is needed to becoming a tattooist?

I think it helps but formal art training in a traditional college is not totally essential as most aspects of tattooing are picked up on the job. While I have a diploma in graphic design from LASALLE, I don't attribute my artwork to the education i received in school.

Most of the best tattooists I know have no formal art training.

Who are your main influences, including both tattooists and the more traditional artists?

Sensei Horiyoshi III, Nicckuhori, Susan, Roland, Filip Leu, Mick, Aarron Cain, Carlston, Kuniyoshi, Hokusai, the list goes on!

Do you have a favourite style of tattooing? Can you describe your own style?

My genre choice would have to be Japanese style. I try to mix the traditional Japanese tattooing style with the neo-Japanese style. I am currently trying to explore a wider variety of subjects, colours and compositions.

What is it about your chosen area of expertise that you enjoy so much? Why were you drawn to it?

I revere the mystical history of Japanese and oriental tattooing rich in culture and tradition. Singapore is incredibly modern, there isn’t much preservation  of Asian culture, or any traditions since we’re a young nation. I have always been drawn to culture, and I was exposed to oriental art  at a really young age. Focusing on traditional tattooing was really just a natural progression.

What would be the ultimate tattoo for you to create? What subject matter/placement/techniques would you use?

I would love to do just a full body suit of Japanese background, water, earth, sky, fire, experimenting with shading the contours of the body. Maybe with a lot of positive and negative to create strong contrasts and boldness to last a lifetime.

How do you relax and spend time away from tattooing?

I am starting to try some abstract painting with oil, watercolour, Sumi etc. Nothing related to tattoos. And I watch too much Netflix. And I try to go to the mountains in Switzerland. I love nature. It’s good for the heart and soul.

What’s your favourite part of being an artist?

I get to be creative and the creation of good art. Art is everything, really, and it makes me very satisfied.

Lastly, what changes have you observed in the tattoo industry?

Not much, except for how society on a whole has evolved into one more accepting of tattoos as a form of art. There seems to be less stigma and bias when it comes to people sporting tattoos. This is definitely a sign of the times, and I hope that it will continue growing in that vein. That being said, I think there are also some who get into this trade with the wrong motivation, maybe it’s because of the hype sparked off by the media. Reality shows glamorise tattooing, making it seem really cool and easy, and with the Internet and websites that sells starter kits at super cheap prices and way too many books on how to tattoo, it’s becoming really easy to start tattooing, which somehow diminishes the richness of this art form.

[islandpcosjourney]

Hindsight

29th December 2020

3 years ago, after a lovely family Christmas and a crazy few weeks beforehand redecorating the kitchen & dining room, I was enjoying some down-time. Facebook reminded me today that we were removing my fireplace in town – a big job involving big hammers and lots of sweat, on hubby’s part anyway ;) I had also just said goodbye to my Dad for the last time, although I didn’t know that. My final words to him were “Please go see a doctor” as we had noticed that he wasn’t himself while he was with us Christmas week. If I’d known in hindsight that I’d never see or speak to him again, I’d have never let him go. For the last 3 years I’ve punished myself for that. But in all honesty, I’m glad I didn’t know, despite the shock of his untimely passing, as I spent no time trying to cling onto something I wouldn’t have. He was just my Dad, it was just an ordinary Christmas, we were just hammering concrete out of a fireplace, as per usual and it was his time to go.

This year. The year of COVID. The year of cancellations. The year of worry. The year of unknowns. The year of excess screen time. The year of FOOD! This was the year of a fresh start. A chance to really sit down and think, quietly about anything and everything. In a year where our health has been debated so much in the press and in the community, I chose this year to sort it out, head on. Or rather, this was the year that my body chose, to WANT to sort itself out.

Many of you will have read before of the trials and tribulations that my PCOS gives me daily. It’s a vicious circle of physical and mental symptoms caused by external and internal factors. But before this year, although I’d done tons of research and I knew everything I could about my difficulties, I still couldn’t solve them. Something was always stopping me and that was indeed me.

We are what we eat. I truly believe this and always did but mentally I was always being drawn to the wrong foods. I still am, I am human after all but while most people had a kill switch to stop themselves from eating junk, my switch was broken, or so I thought. I understood the theory behind what foods would be good for me but putting it into practice is always the hard part and I’m sure many of you will have faced this before yourselves!

During lockdown, like many others, I was forced online to work. It wasn’t long after that I started noticing daily headaches, getting worse and worse. After a while, it was debilitating, and I was at the point (when in normal circumstances) where I’d have run to the GP for some stronger pills! But this wasn’t really an option this time and it forced me to think alternatively. I was convinced it was screen time to blame so I took a wee break and combined my teaching days/hours to make sure I had a long weekend away from the computer to recover each week. Around the same time, I was also experiencing buzzing in my ears – one Sunday thinking I was going insane hearing somebody strimming in their garden, when of course nobody would do that up here on a Sunday! Kevin definitely thought I’d gone mad and I was certainly believing I was! We figured out it was tinnitus or something similar and deduced I’d just have to ignore it, along-with my headaches. Fast forward to June when I finally decided to move a huge pile of recipe books from the landing upstairs. I can’t remember why they ended up there in the first place but rather than putting them back downstairs again, they’d just sat there in a tall pile for months. It was at this stage that I came across Jason Vale’s Turbo Charge Your Life in 14 Days book. A book I’d had at college and had used to lose weight before my degree’s final recital in 2009. I remembered losing 7lbs in 7 days. I sifted through all the pages and got swept back through memory lane and my tastebuds started to remember the taste of some of the juices. Mmmmmmmm yummy. Especially the Turbo charge smoothie – Pineapple, apple, lime, spinach, cucumber, celery & avocado. The ONLY form of avocado I would eat as I hated its taste but seemed to love its creaminess in a smoothie! Avocado being an essential fat that I KNEW I should be eating with my PCOS…… So, the next shopping trip I decided the buy the ingredients, dig out my juicer and before I knew it, while planning a week away to see my Mum & brother, I also planned a detox! AND it timed in perfectly with Jason’s BIG juice challenge between 6th – 12th July! Perfect, all meant to be.

So now, let’s cut a long story very short. I returned a week later totally rejuvenated, hadn’t eaten a single morsel of chewable food in 8 days and I’d lost 8lbs – here, something was working! I felt amazing, my headaches had gone, my skin was glowing, my teeth were whiter, I had tons of energy and I no longer had any ringing in my ears – all after just one week. Ok, so let’s continue! Nearly 6 months later incorporating juicing into my daily diet and I’m 30lbs down (It was at 33lbs, but Christmas was far too good hahahaha). I’ve set myself a target of 100lbs but the biggest reason for this dietary change is not to lose all the excess weight I’m carrying, although of course that will help, its to always put my health first and live the healthiest life I can. In a year where health has never been more important, I am finally on top of mine. I have finally found a way to control my symptoms and my cravings, naturally. I know it probably all sounds ridiculously obvious, but we are what we eat. My body was consuming junk therefore I was junk – I was overweight, chronically fatigued, had oily/acne skin, excess hair, moody, depressive, stressed, dull, no fun – the list is endless. I will now consume, in an average juicy week: 7 pineapples, 56 apples, 7 limes, 28 celery sticks, 28 asparagus spears, 7 courgettes, 2 bags of spinach, 1.5 bags of kale, 3.5 cucumbers, 3 broccoli stems, a few bananas, massive handfuls of mixed berries, beetroot, 7 pears, 7 avocados. Safe to say I am now bright, bubbly, happy, positive, glowing, full of energy, no back pain or headaches, smooth skin everywhere and best of all, I am reducing my PCOS symptoms massively. I’ve been at this weight before; I remember how I felt at this weight before. My weight has nothing to do with this feeling. The food I am eating is directly responsible. Finally, an answer to all my troubles. I know it sounds obvious but how many of us will turn to medications or look for other factors to blame for our chronic conditions? I did! As soon as I was diagnosed, I continuously went running back to the GP/consultant for more and more pills. One to sort that, one to sort this, another one to counteract the last one etc etc. I KNOW categorically that the medications were intoxicating me and that the fuel I put into my body causes the relevant energy output whether strong or weak. I know that if I wake up in the morning and feel tired, a juice will sort me out, not caffeine. I know that if I’m tired at night it is because of the incorrect fuel I’ve put into my body earlier that day, for whatever reason I decided to consume it. I am seeing a direct long-term result of it all too.

From previous blogs, you will know that I DID NOT have a menstrual cycle without medical intervention. As of Boxing Day this year, that is no longer true. It may have taken since July to regulate my hormones naturally, but it has worked. Obviously, time will tell if I’m going to restore any kind of regularity to it but in all honesty, that’s not a concern right now as I can’t remember having a regular cycle since I was a teenager, so we’re talking around 20 years of hormonal disruption to be reversed and Rome wasn’t built in a day! Interestingly the last “natural” cycle I had after stopping years of medication also appeared on Boxing Day, in 2016 ;) In August this year, I was convinced “mother nature” had come to visit but she only said a very brief hello in a socially distanced way for a day so this time with the COVID restrictions lifted a little she was able to come to stay with gifts of stomach cramps, carb cravings & headaches as a way of getting us reacquainted again. Needless to say, she was made very welcome and I’ve never been happier, especially by hugging a hot water bottle.

Not everything is quite sorted but as you can imagine, its well on track! I now choose my food wisely, looking for naturally wholesome options as is humanly possible and just being more conscious of what I am eating (of course I eat treats ocassionally but I’m doing it consciously). Would you put dirty fuel in a car? Of course not. Would you put dirty oil in during an oil change? Of course not. That’s what I believe medications do to chronic conditions – they throw dirty oil into an already dirty engine. Our cars need servicing each year where they get an oil change, where the filters are cleaned, where essential maintenance is done, so why don’t we do that when we’re chronically sick? Why do we turn to pills to sort a condition we’ve developed rather than look to what we’re fuelling our body with and give it a good clean out? Of course we need medicines for acute conditions but chronic ones can be reversed if we clean out the “filter” and do an “oil change”. I’ve seen tons of documentaries recently where I’ve learned of people curing their Asthma, Eczema, Psoriasis, Diabetes etc I’ve even seen a documentary where cancers have gone into remission for dozens of years through eating raw food alone. I know it’ll sound very “out there” for some people and it would’ve done for me too had I not gone looking for Functional Medicine (using food to heal) research after years of understanding the theory behind it but not finding the right way to put it into practice. But, never in my whole life and in spite of a worldwide Pandemic, have I felt more alive or healthier than I do right now. I may have turned the clock back 3 years on my weight but energy-wise I feel about 15 years younger which is far more important than any number on the bathroom scales.

In hindsight, do I wish that I’d reached these dietary conclusions earlier? Not at all. It wasn’t the right time. In hindsight, I can see that all of the information that I have been armed with over the years, are the tools that have set me up for the success I now have. Like a fine wine, I needed time to breathe, time to mature to become the best I can be. No point in opening it early, you’ll just be disappointed. A good teacher is somebody who’s struggled themselves and I’m a better, stronger person for having had my major struggles. There’s probably many still to come. Life is never boring!

Now that I’ve written this, I logged into Tumblr to copy this blog across and to see when I last posted and to my amazement it was Boxing day last year! I love coincidences of dates & Boxing Day seems to have cropped up a number of times. I said that my goal was to increase my energy levels as I really struggled this time last year. I had said regarding Christmas day:

“I want to be able to, one day, wake up early to make the breakfast, open stocking presents, get dressed inc. make up, cook a Christmas dinner, watch a bit of Christmas TV, play some board games, do the washing up and still feel like a proper woman – not some shadow of one who can only do one or two tasks a day.”

Well I did all those things! I’d totally forgotten that I’d even set that goal (for one day!) but I reached it a year later and more. I never thought I’d be sizes smaller than a previous year as my pattern has always been to be one size bigger each year ;) I recently ordered a few jumpers for the harsh winter, one a size 16-18 and one a size 14 for the future. Well, although a stretchy material, I’m in the size 14 jumper and had to send back the other as it just hung off me! Considering I was a size 20 last year, ballooned to a size 22 by the middle of the year and now I’m back to the size I was 3 years ago, I’m delighted. I also don’t get the violently ill episodes when I eat gluten/dairy now that I did before when I religiously followed a PCOS diet and ocassionally slipped up. I honestly think fruit & veg is healing my gut, my hormones, my skin, every organ in my body! There’s a lot to say for eating a plant-based diet, not only for my health but also the purse-strings but there’s also lots to say for eating balanced nutrition and listening to one’s body for what it really needs. My ears are wide open now.

[drugaddictbitch]

Lifestyle Tips That Will Make You Gorgeous!

Lifestyle goes hand in hand with beauty. Do not believe me? Well, what you eat, how you live your daily life and the products that you use all optimise how beautiful you can feel and look. Our skin is like a mirror: it reflects what is going on inside. It is these toxins - and most of us have them - which ruin how our skin and body acts from daily. Even in case you look good now - you don't have any idea just how much better your skin, body and hair (generally ) could seem. I will give you 3 sure- fire ways to maximise your beauty by simply tiny adjustments to your lifestyle.

Cherie's Ultimate Lifestyle Tips (Part One) -

1. What You Should Eat: I am not going to say'eat healthier' because I am positive you have heard a thousand times. Not only is it hard to keep up a healthy eating lifestyle on a continuous basis, it is also extremely dull imagining your potential on carrot sticks and water. I could tell you a lifestyle centred around tomatoes, lemons, watercress and berries would help you because they're amazing skin boosters - and I would be telling you the truth - but I am confident you want a faster and simpler way to getting smoking hot. So, instead, I offer you the specific ingredients required to become gorgeous, radiant skin... quickly and where to get them.

I totally swear by this. I wish I'd Dr Udo's personal email so that I could tell him I love him! Your skin is so soft and I've even experienced dry patches clearing up like magic. Additionally, it has a complete collection of overall wellness benefits that work together with the beauty aspect, so in case you wish to discover how it can help make you stunning - get a jar. It's a'must - have' in my life for sure.

Buy Spirulina. My uncle Justin - who was at a lot of world class seminars on nutrition and lifestyle - has spent a fortune finding out what works and what does not (particularly when it comes to looking amazing.) 1 time, when I was at his house, he put this green powder to my fruit juice. I was horrified, I did not need to touch it never mind actually eat it! But, the reality is, Spirulina is extremely mild tasting, almost refreshing on the tongue. Additionally, it just happens to be among the most naturally nutrient rich foods in the world.

It actually contains all the essential amino acids and so is called a'total protein. Within minutes of eating it, you get a noticeable burst of energy (that I found made my face look immediately radiant.) It is really unbelievable and has improved my quality of life on so many levels. After all, what you put in your body is reflected in the health and beauty out of it. I buy the organic powder only (do not get the pills because the absorption rate is reduced in pill form).

If you purchase these two skin savers as part of a sensible way of life, you're already half way there to your attractiveness transformation.

2. What you ought to drink - What I am about to say will make you groan in precisely the identical manner as when your mom told you to wash your room but unfortunately it is so true I need to mention it.

It's Water. Yes, boring I know... but frankly, because I started drinking just under two litres a day, my skin glows like I am in love. It's such easy addition to your way of life and yet I find it more powerful than any cream. Water plumps out the skin, flushes away imperfections and keeps your skin smooth and hydrated. I also realize that adding a slice of lemon into it's much more potent, with quicker results. I didn't begin on two litres but trust me, make an attempt and as your water consumption increases, so will your confidence.

3. Make your own face mask/skin tonic

Allow me to tell you something - lotions with"infusion of..." (fill the blank) are usually complete garbage. Unless they're organic, you're going to find a complete catalog of chemicals that over time will really cause one to skin issues and harm your body. Get the ideal cost effective natural ingredients and you'll see improved results for more, while saving some cash.

My life consisted of work, work and did I mention work? I had been run down and my skin understood it. I was using cream for weeks that the physician prescribed but it never worked. This mask, without exaggeration, cleared up my skin and made it tender and more young in 6 hours!

You will need: 1 teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil 5 tablespoons Organic Apple Cider Vinegar 10 tbsp Green Tea (To make a scrub, add sugar until thick and 1 tsp honey)

Awaken in the morning a goddess. Perfect.

If you include the above products for your way of life, I guarantee that in a really short time you'll wonder how you ever lived without them. I feel genuinely gorgeous after I've used these strategies and I understand you will also.

Is Your Home Business Giving You The Lifestyle You Want?

If running a business from home is the trick to lifestyle freedom, why are so many parents who operate a business from home feeling as though they are on a never ending hamster wheel?

Let us explore some of the reasons:

Working for yourself should be the ultimate in success, freedom, satisfaction and making the lifestyle you want for yourself.

If the preceding statement is true (and I think it is), then it begs the question"why is it not true for so many folks?"

Looking round there are lots of parents running a business from home facing very similar challenges - working much longer hours then they need to, not hitting the gain levels they desire, family life jeopardized, relationships suffering, not time for living life - to name but a few! Why is this?

The reasons could be many and complex. Different contributing factors can apply to every individual and their unique conditions. Having said this, there are things you can do to put your business on the path to supplying the lifestyle you want for yourself.

Here are some tips for getting started:

• quit seeing your business and lifestyle as different entities. • Clearly define what your ideal lifestyle resembles, with no constraints. • Make sure your business plan and action plans are tailored to achieve your lifestyle goals. • Place in place measurement methods to demonstrate the effect your business is having in creating your ideal lifestyle. Always use measurement tools to drive your choices and actions.

These hints make the assumption that you regularly review your business vision, strategy, performance targets and action plans. If you do not do these things, that is the starting point right there! These items are key to sustainable and consistent business success.

The point I'm making is this:

If you wish to achieve Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom you need to start with designing it.

I can not stress highly enough the importance of this - create a vision which integrates both your business and lifestyle that's clear, specific, measurable and lights a fire in your belly.

Working for yourself is the secret to lifestyle freedom - use it wisely!

What will you do to stop being a slave to your home business and use it to support you with the family lifestyle and life you really want? It's important to not forget it is totally in your control to mold your house business to support your family lifestyle and life you really want.

[shakezbiar2605]

Lifestyle Tips That Will Make You Gorgeous!

Lifestyle goes hand in hand with beauty. Do not believe me? Well, everything you eat, how you live your daily life and the products that you use all optimise how beautiful you can feel and look. Our skin is like a mirror: it reflects what is going on inside. It is these toxins - and most of us have them - which ruin how our skin and body acts from daily. Even in case you look good now - you don't have any idea just how much better your skin, body and hair (generally ) could seem. I will give you 3 sure- fire ways to maximise your beauty by simply tiny adjustments to your lifestyle.

Cherie's Ultimate Lifestyle Tips (Part One) -

1. What You Should Eat: I am not going to say'eat healthier' because I am positive you have heard a thousand times. Not only is it tough to keep up a healthy eating lifestyle on a continuous basis, it is also extremely dull imagining your potential on carrot sticks and water. I could tell you a lifestyle centred around tomatoes, lemons, watercress and berries would help you because they're amazing skin boosters - and I would be telling you the truth - but I am confident you want a faster and simpler way to getting smoking hot. So, instead, I offer you the specific ingredients required to become gorgeous, radiant skin... quickly and where to get them.

I totally swear by this. I wish I'd Dr Udo's personal email so that I could tell him I love him! It's easy, you pop a tablespoon of it in your water or smoothie and half an hour later, your skin feels as though you've borrowed Aphrodite's face for the day. Your skin is so soft and I've even experienced dry patches clearing up like magic. Additionally, it has a complete collection of overall wellness benefits that work together with the beauty aspect, so in case you wish to discover how it can help make you stunning - get a jar. It's a'must - have' in my life for sure.

Buy Spirulina. My uncle Justin - who was at a lot of world class seminars on nutrition and lifestyle - has spent a fortune finding out what works and what does not (particularly when it comes to looking amazing.) 1 time, when I was at his house, he put this green powder to my fruit juice. I was horrified, I did not need to touch it never mind actually eat it! But, the reality is, Spirulina is extremely mild tasting, almost refreshing on the tongue. Additionally, it just happens to be among the most naturally nutrient rich foods in the world.

It actually contains all the essential amino acids and so is called a'total protein. Within minutes of eating it, you get a noticeable burst of energy (that I found made my face look immediately radiant.) It is really unbelievable and has improved my quality of life on so many levels. After all, what you put in your body is reflected in the health and beauty out of it. I buy the organic powder only (do not get the pills because the absorption rate is reduced in pill form).

If you purchase these two skin savers as part of a sensible way of life, you're already half way there to your attractiveness transformation.

2. What you ought to drink - What I am about to say will make you groan in precisely the identical manner as when your mom told you to wash your room but unfortunately it is so true I need to mention it.

It's Water. Yes, boring I know... but frankly, because I started drinking just under two litres a day, my skin glows like I am in love. It's such easy addition to your way of life and yet I find it more powerful than any cream. Water plumps out the skin, flushes away imperfections and keeps your skin smooth and hydrated. I also realize that adding a slice of lemon into it's much more potent, with quicker results. I didn't begin on two litres but trust me, make an attempt and as your water consumption increases, so will your confidence.

3. Make your own face mask/skin tonic

Allow me to tell you something - lotions with"infusion of..." (fill the blank) are usually complete garbage. Unless they're organic, you're going to find a complete catalogue of chemicals which over time will really cause you skin issues and harm your body. Get the ideal cost effective natural ingredients and you'll see improved results for more, while saving some cash.

My life consisted of work, work and did I mention work? I had been run down and my skin understood it. Pimples, dryness, you name it I had it. I was using cream for weeks that the physician prescribed but it never worked. This mask, without exaggeration, cleared up my skin and made it tender and more young in 6 hours!

You will need: 1 teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil 5 tablespoons Organic Apple Cider Vinegar 10 tbsp Green Tea (To make a scrub, add sugar until thick and 1 tsp honey)

Awaken in the morning a goddess. Perfect.

If you add the above products for your way of life, I guarantee that in a really short time you'll wonder how you ever lived without them. I feel genuinely gorgeous after I've used these strategies and I understand you will also.

Lifestyle Tips For the Healthy Diabetic

Here are some lifestyle tips for the healthy diabetic-

1. Change your diet.

A healthy diet coupled with appropriate nutrition can help the diabetic manage their problem. Obese men and women are at greater risk to diabetes. So it's essential for diabetics to keep a healthy weight. Actually, it isn't merely the diabetics who have to eat healthy. Modifying your diet to healthier alternatives can help prevent other diseases in the long term. It's crucial for the diabetic to cut back on carbohydrates, because sugar comes from this food group. And diabetes is concerned about the erratic levels of sugar in your body. The number of salt and fats one takes in should also be controlled. Diabetes has some associated risks including high blood pressure and higher cholesterol. Healthy eating can merely help in minimizing these related risks and prevent any more diabetic complications.

2. Lead an active lifestyle.

Being sedentary is the worst thing that a diabetic can do. Daily exercise can help a diabetic lose weight and keep it at healthy levels. As stated previously, diabetes has some related risks like hypertension and higher cholesterol. . Exercise can reduce cholesterol levels and increase good cholesterol levels. Exercise additionally reduces stress levels of the human body. Another benefit of exercise is that it releases endorphins that are the natural pain relievers of the human body. Exercise makes the blood flow normally which can be constricted as a result of elevated glucose levels coming out of diabetes.

3. Monitor your glucose levels constantly.

Glucose testing on a continuous basis can help the diabetic monitor his glucose levels and make adjustments in their food and medicinal intake. A diabetic who doesn't understand how to check up on her or his glucose level is similar to a beginner driver mindlessly maneuvering a car. It's surely imperative that a diabetic understands how to check their glucose level. This will assist the parasitic in controlling their food intake. This may also warn the parasitic if their physical activities aren't enough. All diabetics have a mark or goal on what their sugar level ought to be. Testing constantly helps diabetics in handling properly their affliction.

Diabetes shouldn't be life sentence. With subject, a diabetic can lead a healthy and happy lifestyle. The aforementioned lifestyle tips are easy enough for the diabetic to follow. Constant encouragement from family and friends can help the diabetic accomplish this healthy way of life. Except for continuous glucose testing, the stated lifestyle tips are in fact applicable to everyone. And besides for gene-influenced diabetes, diabetes can actually be prevented. Even people with this condition needs to know about the above lifestyle tips to be able to prevent going in the other direction.

[sablelab]

Three Days in the Highlands Chapter 35

DISCLAIMER:

This is a complete work of fiction and as such is an entirely fabricated tale created in my imagination.  I appreciate you taking the time to read my story and or leave a message. Many thanks xox

SYNOPSIS:

“ It was as if he had planned for this evening to be one to remember .”  Caitriona reflects on their evening thus far.  Some suggestive text and content NSFW.

Chapter 35

  Totally relaxed Caitriona lay on their bed robed in the beautiful, vintage peignoir lingerie robe and nightgown set she had received from Terry waiting for Sam to come back to her from downstairs. Some time had elapsed since he had placed her on the bed and they had spoken endearingly to each other.  She did love Sam, so very much, and the words came easily to her lips. Today had certainly been a declaration of his love for her as well culminating in their bath on their return home. Just the thought of that word brought a smile to her lips. This was home ... their home and she couldn’t be happier or more contented to be here in the Highlands with him over this weekend. Their night on Islay had been a magical one but nothing compared to the time spent here together in this home. Unfortunately, they would have to leave tomorrow and Cait was dreading going back to Glasgow and their gruelling filming schedule.

As much as she tried she could not dismiss the wonderful bubble bath Sam had run for her. Closing her eyes her mind filled with Sam's image and the things he had done in the bathtub and Caitriona smiled lost in her recollection of what had transpired.

Sam had painstakingly bathed her with the delicately scented and wonderfully smooth bath lotion and the smell still lingered on her skin intoxicating her senses.  Her flesh tingled just remembering his gentle yet erotic soothing touch that had ignited her desire for him in a heartbeat.  Goose bumps formed wherever his touch had been and her emotions had heightened beyond measure.  Everywhere he’d touched, the strokes of his wonderful fingers across her skin seemed to alleviate any aches and pains as well as eliminate every tension she'd felt since climbing Mount Schiehallion today. He knew her body so well and his touch was a balm to her senses

But the best thing of all was that her man had made love to her in the bath. The thought of their bodies joined in the water sent a ripple of excitement darting through her body. Caitriona sighed as images ricocheted in her mind.

They had physically made love but when his demonstrative touch renewed all those blissful moments all over again, she’d been lost beyond measure. Slowly but surely he’d made love to her again and again with his tactile caresses.  She’d thought she may just have combusted if Sam had continued to stroke her skin so adoringly in the guise of helping her recover from her physical discomfort. The trouble was he’d unwittingly caused a different gamut of pain, a pleasurable pain that had threatened to bring her to the abyss once more.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She couldn’t wait to see Sam’s face when he saw what she was now wearing and she in turn couldn’t wait for him to remove the gossamer thin, translucent fabric from her body. This sheer gown was her favourite costume and she was ever so glad that Terry had given it to her. She loved the way the beautiful silk caressed her skin and now that she was wearing it she could imagine and feel the glide of Sam’s hands as he took it from her body.  Just the thought of his fingers caressing her naked skin as he removed the peignoir caused her heart to flutter incessantly.

As she lay there Cait looked around just noticing what was different in the bedroom.  Perhaps it was the candles or maybe it was the seductive smell of the burning essential oil that made her feel wanton, but there was certainly something afoot in this bedroom. The room just felt really romantic tonight and it made her smile. Just the thought of Sam’s whispered, soothing and oh so sexy voice when he’d said “I love you” had resonated. He had told her many times before that he loved her but somehow this time was different. It felt as if he wanted to say more but the words wouldn’t form.  What was he up to that made him tongue tired this time? If she could work that out then the mystery would be solved, but alas she was too languid to form any real coherent thoughts. Her favourite music playing in the background had also created a dreamy atmosphere conducive to relaxing after a long day at Mount Schiehallion.  All these things were lovely but collectively they all really made her take note. Sam’s choices were working some special magic though. She was in heaven, and he was the one responsible for those feelings of bliss.

It was as if he had planned for this evening to be one to remember to celebrate what had happened today on the mountain. She was so happy that she felt she could burst.

Cait loved him for all the care he had taken to set up the mood in their room. It was perfect … he was perfect. He always made her feel so special, cherished and loved that she could hardly believe that he was truly her man.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Caitriona opened her eyes as these thoughts began to consume her mind, but she was too tired to even think about his reasoning. However, as she lay on the bed her stomach began sending her signals of a different nature.

She was famished and Sam had gone downstairs to get them something to eat, but he was certainly taking his time and her stomach began to rumble in protest. He’d prepared their dinner whilst she was having her bath but his appearance in the bathroom and his subsequent joining her in the tub had probably put an end to whatever he had decided to make for them to eat.  She was getting more ravenous as the clock ticked and couldn’t care less what he bought up for them to eat.  She would devour anything as long as it was food.  Whatever was he doing that was taking so long?

She was nearly on the verge of calling out to him but no sooner had she thought he was gone for a long while than Sam popped his head sheepishly around the corner.

“I’m so sorry my darling.  The dinner I prepared earlier was completely ruined and I was trying to salvage it, but I’ll be back again soon with a snack to replace what was spoiled.”

“I guess we stayed too long in the bath and ....”

“We were preoccupied by other things,” he said finishing her sentence with a knowing grin from ear to ear.  “Not that I’m complaining.”

“Neither am I Sam but my stomach is.  Do you want some help?”

“No.  You just stay there honey and relax. I’ll be back before you miss me,” he replied moving closer to the bed and giving her a kiss on the cheek.  However, distracted by what Caitriona was wearing Sam was reluctant to leave. “Grrrr! You look absolutely sexy in that gown.”

“Thanks babe.”

“I’m so glad that Terry gave you that negligee Caitriona.  It’s beautiful and I can’t wait to take it off you.” He gave her a cheeky grin that left her in no uncertainty that Sam Heughan would do that in the blink of an eye.

“It slips off very easily Sam.”

He smiled at her and raised his eyebrow the way that she knew he had already worked out in his head the exact time it would take to disrobe her from this beautiful peignoir.

“Yes I know.  I saw the rushes of that episode.” Caitriona noted some distain in his voice.  “Can’t say that I liked it very much that Tobias got to remove it from your body. I wanted to punch his lights out you know.  I was so jealous.”

“You needn’t have been. It was in the script.  It was just acting.”

“Hhmmph!”

“Well then good thing that you will have your chance later on then Heughan.  You do know that Tobias is blind as a bat without his glasses?”

“Well then. That gives me some comfort that he couldn’t see you clearly but I still didn’t like it you know.”

“I love that you were jealous Sam but there was no need to be. Tobias knew the score early on between the two of us and he was respectful of it. So there is still hope for you to be the first.”

“Don’t you worry about that Balfe-e.  That negligee will be off that tempting body before you can say my name.”

“Oh, I can’t wait.”

“Vixen.”

With her eyes sparkling with mischievous joy Caitriona replied in her most tempting and seductive voice, “Bite me.”

“Oh, I intend to ... Now ... about that peignoir. I think it is time it came off.”

Dinner was ruined for the second time.  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Third time for something to eat, however, had been the charm, but now she was craving something sweet and dessert would just top off what had been a sensational day.

"Don't move.  I’ll be right back.”

Caitriona reluctantly eased herself from his arms as Sam rose from their bed.  “Why? Where are you going?” She said with an inquisitive tone in her voice.

“I forgot something,” was his evasive reply.  He stood by the side of the bed wrapping his towel precariously back around his hips, then placing his hands on either side of her body he leaned down and placed a kiss to Cait’s cheek.

Looking into his eyes she smiled alluringly and said, “I would really like some dessert Sam.”  

“And you shall have some,” he replied against her mouth before walking away from her towards the bathroom.

“Sam? Dessert is that-a-way ... in the kitchen ... not the bathroom. Whatever are you doing?” What is he up to? Cait wondered, as she enjoyed the view of his retreating figure particularly his pert backside hidden beneath the terry towelling material.  

“You’ll see.” He called out over his shoulder. The tone of his voice registered something mysterious and for the life of her Caitriona couldn’t fathom why he was back in the bathroom.

OMG!  She had forgotten all about Eddie and wondered if she was still curled up in the basin.

Obviously that must have been the reason why Sam had headed to the bathroom and not the kitchen.  As she waited patiently, Caitriona momentarily closed her eyes and laid her head back against the pillow, but when she did so memories came flooding back.  She began to muse over how she came to be divested of the beautiful sheer negligee she’d worn before Sam Heughan had seen to its removal.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

He’d earlier tried to dexterously remove the peignoir she’d worn without ripping the sheer material, it was after all a gift from Terry  and she loved it so very much that he was as careful as he could possibly be in his enthusiasm to see her body naked once more. Thankfully in his haste and eagerness, the material had given way without incident slipping from her body before she could even utter his name. He had forewarned her that this would be so, and the slinky material had just slipped off of her body in one quick smooth movement of his hands. Sam had subsequently nonchalantly gathered it up and tossed it into the air until it had floated gently to the floor like a feather.  

She remembered groaning as his passion threatened to overpower her. She could still feel his potent kisses that had left moist trails all over her skin worshiping her.  Sam propped himself up on one elbow above her gazing into her eyes while his other hand began to roam along her side.  The scrape of his fingertips stroking delicate lines up and down the side of her neck did all unconscionable things to her nervous system. Sam’s piercing blue eyes never left her gaze and burned into her soul. When his delicious mouth moved down her chest and found the top of her stomach, she thought she would die with how he was making her feel.  Her reaction was immediate especially when he bit her skin before licking his tongue inside her belly button.  She��d gasped, arching her neck back gripping a fistful of Sam’s hair so tight with one hand, while her other hand fell to the mattress and fisted in the already dishevelled covers.

Sam, ever the conjurer, had moved his body between her spread legs, kneeling on the mattress while he continued to caress her stomach with his mouth, anointing her skin with kisses to every part of her belly. She was coming apart at the seams. She could barely breathe and felt as if she was sinking into mire. Trailing his mouth further downn her body she‘d next felt the touch of his lips on the inside of her thigh just above her knee which caused every muscle in her legs to clench in anticipation of his next move. Her toes curled as her lover’s sensual attack continued.  It was all too much, and not enough at the same time. She wanted more.  Sam’s warm, wet lips had ever so slowly made a tantalising path up her thigh making her body quake with intense feeling. She could still feel the gentle nips of his teeth scraping across her flesh and when he kissed her intimately, she almost convulsed.

“Saammm.”

 “Shhhh.”

She’d barely heard his reply for she felt as if she was disintegrating into tiny fragments of dust. It was as if an explosion had occurred inside her body when Sam’s lips had probed against her throbbing sex. Unable to stop the feelings of euphoric happiness affecting her nervous system she had sucked in a quick breath in fear that she may asphyxiate. He repeated his tortuous actions to her other leg as she writhed in pleasure.  With her body trembling with feelings, she lifted her head to look down to where she could see the top of Sam’s auburn head moving along the inside of her thigh.  Sensing her scrutiny, he’d lifted his head and gave a wry grin before continuing in the same vein.  He licked, then sucked and nibbled on the sensitive flesh along her inner leg going teasingly close to the juncture of her thighs.

“Mmmm,” he’d groaned, the sound coming out almost like one of Eddie’s purrs.

It felt wonderful. “Oh God ... Yes!”  She could remember the metallic taste of blood on her lips for she must have bitten her lip when she cried out. This sustained unravelling of her thought processes was heightened even more with Sam’s next words.

“Open up for me Cait.”

With an agonized groan, she had succumbed to his torment. Her entire body arched up and she’d gasped, gripping the sheets with her hand. A tortured cry of lust burst forth from her lips as Sam delved inside again and again sliding his tongue into her. Sucking on the pulsing bud he was making her entire body quiver with ecstatic pleasure. Rolling her hips against Sam’s mouth, she’d wantonly lifted her body off the mattress as the intense feelings started building inside of her even more intense. Unable to stop the torment, she’d reached her hand down and grabbed his head, raking her fingernails over Sam’s scalp while euphoric sensations built up inside of her. Her entire body was trembling as every lick of his tongue brought her closer and closer to the edge, until suddenly her body exploded and waves of acute pleasure ripped through her.   Spasms rocked her to the core, spreading outwards from the place Sam’s mouth was, all the way to the very tips of her fingers and toes as a tumultuous climax rocked her body.

She remembered the way her chest was heaving with the effort to breathe and when her love had crawled up her body to hover over her, he’d rested his weight on his forearms. The look in his eyes was scorching. Sam was wearing his heart there in the windows to his soul. Mesmerised by the pull of his gaze she could do nothing but mirror his look. She surrendered.  Wickedly, Sam grinned down at her before he’d dipped his face and kissed her so tenderly that once again her breath hitched in her chest. When he lifted his mouth from her lips, she’d grinned up at him the same way he'd grinned at her, but it was the words he said next that had thrilled her to the very core of her being.

“You’re my world Caitriona.  I can’t imagine living my life without you.”

Reliving those words brought a smile to her heart.  Was he saying what she thought he was saying without actually saying the words?

She knew at that moment that Sam had much on his mind. Those precious little words he’d uttered on the Mount today were coming again. Cait knew in her heart of hearts that tonight was special for that reason for he’d gone to a lot of trouble to make everything romantic and unique in way that was memorable for them both. Tonight, Sam Heughan was summoning up the courage to propose once more and if it took all night then she could be patient.

Patience after all was a virtue with love being the greatest virtue all.

  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thanks for reading. xox