#and go 'yep. things have somehow become worse :)'

[sev-ille]

Teru minamoto, you make me so incredibly sad.

[notafunkiller]

treat you better

Summary: Caught between playing the girlfriend of Bucky's younger brother and the unexpected allure of Bucky's genuine affection, you don't know what to do.

Pairing: (fake) boyfriend's brother!Bucky Barnes x female reader

Warnings: age gap (r is 26, Bucky is 38/39), teasing, pet names, language, no mention of y/n

Word Count: 3.7K

story masterlist

Bucky Barnes masterlist

A/N: This story will have around 4 parts, so this is just the beginning. And I also want to thank @marvelouslizzie and @lavenderhaze967 for their support!

Please, do not repost or translate without my permission!

It’s hard to ignore how loudly he chews or how some water drips down his chin as he drinks between bites. For someone educated well, he has no manners.

“Come on, eat faster. He’s gonna come any second.”

You drop your fork on the plate and give him a look. As if! “I am not gonna do anything like that.”

He is his brother, not the devil. And he actually seemed pretty nice when you met earlier. The fact that William is so scared is funny.

“You don’t ever listen to me.”

“I wonder why.” Your sarcastic answer gets a sigh out of him before he stands up, throwing a napkin on the plate.

“I’ll take a walk.”

“And? Do you want my approval?” You literally couldn’t care less what he does or doesn’t. He’s annoying.

“No, I told you in case he comes down...”

You can’t imagine dealing with this version of him for days, or however long The Devil decides to stay. You snort. “Go ahead, take a walk. Take three walks, I can handle myself.”

He leaves without saying anything else, and you smile, scrolling on your Instagram feed. Fucking finally!

You don’t know how your families considered this a good idea. You are close to hitting him every day, but it seems like things only become worse and worse. You just wish you could just run away and never come back.

“Do you mind if I sit here?”

You look up, jumping. It must be ridiculous to be so shocked since he’s the only one who could come here since William left. You let the phone down and wave to the chair in front of you.

“Please, this is your house.”

The Devil gives you a polite smile. Manners... at least one brother has them. “But I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You won’t eat me, right?”

He gives you a look you can’t exactly decode, and that bothers you. You are good at reading people usually.

“No, love, I won’t eat you.” He sits down amused, and you stare at his arms as he reaches for the chicken plate without realizing. He’s... big.

“Bon appetit!” You smile.

“I didn’t say I won’t bite, though.”

You freeze, thinking he is flirting with you for a second. But it’s ridiculous, there’s no way. Everyone spoke so highly of him: how he is always serious, how he’d be against this whole arrangement. No way he’d flirt with his little brother’s girlfriend. “Is the chicken not enough for you?”

He laughs softly, and you can’t help but stare at him a little more. He shaved and has a small cut right under his chin. Jesus, he is really hot! The little dimple, the eyes and that nose...

“Do what do you do?”

“As in for work?”

“Yep.” He empathizes the p in a very childlike way, which makes you wonder even more how old he is. You should totally ask William later.

“I work for my parents’ company,” you whisper ashamed. You always hate when you say that out loud, but, somehow, it feels even more embarrassing now. You can feel his eyes on you, but you don’t look at him.

“What do you do there?”

“Basic HR work.”

“Is the payment that low?”

You snort. “What?”

“You sounded, so I assumed...”

“It is a little low, not gonna lie. But I mean, no nepo baby judgement…?” You hesitate because you realize you don’t remember his name. Fuck! You and your bad memory.

“What? Why are you blushing?” He leans in, placing his elbows on the table to get closer to you.

How horrible can this situation get?

“I just... can I ask something?”

“I don’t know, love, can you?”

You roll your eyes. You know what? He deserves it.

“What was your name again?”

He doesn’t seem surprised or bothered by your question.

“Full name? James Buchanan Barnes, but you can call me Bucky. Should I write it down in case you forget?”

He gently takes out a pen out of his front pocket and grabs your hand. You tremble a little as he starts to actually write his name on your wrist. The letters get a little smudged, but they’re still clear.

Holy fuck...

He’s warm, but not too warm, so you wait for him to let you go.

“Do you always carry pens around?”

“Only on special occasions.” He winks and gets back to eating, letting the pen on the table.

“How old are you?” You ask before you can change your mind as you keep staring at your wrist. He looks in his early 30s, and since he’s the oldest one, it would make sense.

“Didn’t Will tell you?”

You blush again. “You can see my memory isn’t the best.”

He sighs, suddenly shy and reserved, and you wonder if this is somehow a weak spot. But how would age be a weak spot for a man like this?

“Old.” He smiles. “Thirty-eight.”

You try not to look affected as your eyes drop instantly on his left hand. No wedding band.

And he notices.

“He didn’t tell you I’m single, either?”

You take a few slices of cucumber and eat them fast. “Why would he?”

“I’m his brother.”

You throat feels dry as you nervously swallow. “And I am his girlfriend...”

Bucky nods and immediately starts eating.

“That’s all?” You ask. “No threat not to hurt your brother? No background questions?”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-six.”

“I would have guessed twenty-five.”

You snort. “Really? I was told I look younger than that.”

Bucky shrugs in response. “I assumed you’ve been working for a while, and my brother likes them his age or older.” He pours himself a glass of water, and you watch him drink without any shame, not even caring if he notices. You’re already flushed, and he’s a good view.

“I guess I fit the standard.”

He bites his lip while placing the glass down and shakes his head. “Nope, actually you don’t, this is why it’s really interesting.” He smiles. “How did you two meet?”

“The office. He came with his... your dad and we met at an event,” you answer instantly. Your parents have already made up the story for you, and you had to practice it a few times to make it sound genuine, which was a real struggle.

“Was it love at first sight?”

You snort. “That doesn’t exist.”

“Attraction?”

You try to subtly take a deep breath and pray you’ll sound as convincing as you could. “Look, he seemed like a nice guy, good looking and smart. And he asked me out-”

“He asked you out?” His eyes widen in sheer astonishment. “He always waits for girls to ask him out.”

This is when you snap. What is this? An interrogation?

“And? He asked me out. People make exceptions sometimes, Mr...” you pretend you forgot his name again before you look at your wrist. “Bucky.”

“I understand. My bad, didn’t want to make you mad.”

You puff because his tone in everything but apologetic. “I am not mad!”

“No, obviously. Just like you didn’t pretend you don’t remember my name a second ago.”

You bite your cheek annoyed. “Do you not have something more important to do than this?” You gesture between you two.

Not a smart move, but you are exposed anyway.

“But this,” he copies your hands moves. “is fun. And I am just getting to know my little brother’s girl. Since we’ll live together and stuff.”

What?

“You plan on staying?”

Bucky raises his eyebrows. “Of course.” He smiles. “Where is William? I want to know more about how he asked you out.”

*

You can’t say you’ve been avoiding William, but you’re not necessarily enjoying his company. Since Bucky came, he’s been like a bomb, scared, annoyed, always suggesting you to move in his room because his brother will notice, but you brushed him off constantly.

Unfortunately, you can’t tell him to go away now, too, as he drinks coffee in his gazebo.

“Do you want to go out? For a walk or lunch,” he asks, his voice carrying a hopeful note 

“No, thanks.” You don’t intend to sound rude, but it comes out like this anyway.

His face falls, a subtle disappointment etched across his features, but he tries to hide it by taking a sip of his coffee. Instantly, a pang of guilt hits you.

“Look, I’m sorry, I just... I just don’t feel like going out.” With you.

“Well, you should at least try to make an effort, we should be seen together, you know?” he remarks, his tone slightly reproachful. You nod, realizing he must be also pressured by his family the same way yours pressures you.

“I understand. I assume they put pressure on you.”

He sighs. “Of course they do, but like I think it’s a good idea.”

“What’s a good idea?”

You know it’s Bucky not only by the way William stiffens, but you can also easily recognize his voice, and it’s hard to ignore how attractive you find it.

“To go out more often,” you quickly say, avoiding his eyes. “I told him he should have fun since work has been stressful.”

“What about you?” He casually drops on the chair between you two and takes a bite from his sandwich.

“What about her?” William asks, , his tension evident in his voice.

“Don’t you need some stress relief?”

“I’m alright.” You finally look properly at him as you speak. He’s wearing a white tank top and his disheveled hair adds to the casual allure. He’s so well-proportioned...

“Good.” He smiles and turns to William. “What’s wrong, punk?”

“Just work, you know? Business, you wouldn’t understand.”

You and Bucky snort.

“Sure, buddy, I wouldn’t understand.”

“Are you having siblings time? Should I leave?” you ask, hoping for a positive response.

“Babe, no need.”

You try not to cringe at the way the word babe sounds coming from him and force yourself to give him a polite smile.

“Please, babe, no problem.” You stand up waving, toward Bucky. “Bye.”

Their brotherly time didn’t last long, though. You take a short shower, and as you finish dressing up, you hear a knock on your door.

“You can come in.”

You expect to see William's face when the door cracks, but no, it's not him at all.

“Hi.”

You freeze.

“H-hi.”

Fuck, what will you tell him now?

“Trouble in paradise?”

“What? No. Uhm...” you look around. “What happened?”

“You sleep here, right?”

“Yep.”

He leans his back against the wall, and you can't help but notice how good he looks in those shorts. Jesus, it's like you haven't seen a man in your life.

“Interesting.” He laughs.

“What’s so funny?” You cross your arms, annoyed. He thinks he’s superior or what?

“You are telling me you two have been together for less than six months and you sleep here?”

The judgement and amusement in his voice piss you off even more, as if the situation you are in isn’t bad enough.

“Yes, and?”

“And?” Bucky comes suddenly closer to you. “Are you seriously asking that?”

“Yes! I don’t see what’s your fucking problem. How does where we sleep concern you?”

“Can’t a man be curious?” 

Fuck your curiosity!

“What if we didn’t wanna sleep together now and wait... does that make us less of a couple?” You let out your anger by screaming at him. You don’t think you’ve said anything more ridiculous than that because, sure, you respect everyone who wants to wait, but that’s not you. There's no way you'd get engaged or marry a guy without knowing what your sex life would be like. No way!

“I didn’t say that, but I know my brother, and he is not this type of person.”

You let a deep breath, finding it hard to take your eyes off his lips.

“What if I am?”

He doesn't answer you, simply moving his right hand to his back pocket and taking out a small perfume, then handing it to you. "I think this belongs to you."

Shit!

“Yes, thank you!”

“So you slept in my bed.”

The way he says it makes it sound like you had sex with him or something. But it still leaves you breathless.

You take the perfume from his hand. “Don’t worry, I changed the sheets.”

“See you at dinner, love.” He snorts, turning a little more toward you before opening the door. “You got taste, though. It smells wonderful.”

*

Maybe it’s the hunger or the lack of sleep. Otherwise, why would this make you angry?

“You look very well.” You roll your eyes as you imitate him before taking a sip of your water. Fuck him for coming here and disturbing you. It was enough you see him every morning and after work.

You hear a knock, then the door opens as soon as you put your bottle down. He didn’t even wait.

“Hi, love. How are you?” A few heads turn toward him and then you, and you groan.

“I’m well, thanks. Why are you here?”

Bucky shakes his head. “This is not a nice welcome.” And then he notices everyone. “Hello.”

You hear a few ‘hi’s, but he only focuses on you.

“Who are you waiting for?” You ask, and your thoughts immediately dart to Dana. He complimented her earlier, after all.

“My dad.”

You roll your eyes. “Fine, keep it a secret. I don’t care.”

“I’m serious.” He snorts. “What has gotten you so worked up? Did you eat your chocolate bar today?”

You puff, trying to keep your annoyance under control. “What’s this question? Are you my mom?”

You can't lie, though. The fact that he noticed your daily chocolate bar ritual makes you happy. Today, however, you didn't have time.

“I can be your dad.”

That makes you gasp.

“Bucky!” you whisper, and he leans in. “We are working here.”

“And?”

“And go away, you disturb us.”

Bucky rolls his eyes and gets behind your back, dragging your chair away from the desk.

“Barnes!”

Jessica laughs behind you. “Such an older brother behavior.” she says casually, and you frown. You don’t want people to consider him your older brother. Well, it’s obvious why they do, but it still bothers you.

“I need you to come with me.”

You sigh. “Don’t you see I am busy?”

“Come onnn!”

You tell Jessica you’ll be right back and manage to take your phone with you before Bucky drags you by the arm to the hallway. Dana looks up, surprised, but this time he doesn’t even turn his head toward her, guiding you to his dad’s office. Dana looks up, surprised, but this time he doesn't even turn his head toward her, guiding you to his dad's office.

“You brought me here to be your babysitter? You are 38, not 8. I am sure you can wait patiently for your daddy.”

He closes the door, and you try to control your breathing. Why does he make you blush so much? It’s been one month since you two met, and he still has this power over you.

“You have a big sassy mouth, love, that is for sure.”

You cross your hands. “And?”

“And what?”

“You won’t even deny you brought me here cause you were bored?”

“Nope. Why would I?”

And there he is, getting closer to you little by little. You have to fight the urge to step back.

“Instead you talk about how big my mouth is...” you murmur and he snorts.

“Quite a big mouth for someone with thin lips.”

Well, that is a low blow. You don’t even have thin-thin lips.

“You’re an asshole.” You try to leave quickly, but he stops you instantly, realizing that made you mad.

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way at all. You have a spark.”

“I am working. I do actually work, Bucky. It doesn’t matter this is my family’s company.” You try not to yell, but it’s hard. “I get you’re bored, but-”

“I am sorry.”

“For what?” You voice is a whisper, as you’re still trying to calm down. You’re surprised he apologized so fast.

“For being like a douche. It’s the opposite, I wanted your company because you are really nice and smart. I love our conversations. And you having a big mouth means to me you have an opinion and limits.” He takes your hand and squeezes it.

As he speaks, you can't help but feel a mixture of warmth and confusion. His sincerity catches you off guard, and the tension between you begins to shift. Maybe, just maybe, there's more beneath the surface of his teasing and provocation.

You nod. Maybe you overreacted, he never said anything offensive to you. And you appreciate his company in that house.

“It’s okay, I understand. I am surprised you are here, though.”

He doesn’t let go of you hand, so you don’t either.

“He said he has an offer for the office renovation.” He shrugs. “I cannot refuse without talking first. It wouldn’t be fair.”

You want to answer him, tease and maybe fish for more, but you hear the voices right outside the office and you let go of his hand immediately. As if it burned you, as if you were doing something forbidden.

William steps inside first, followed by his dad and your dad, surprisingly.

Bucky immediately gives you a look and takes a step back.

“You came!” His father welcomed him before turning to you. “Thanks for bringing him to my office.”

You realize this is your clue to go and you slowly walk to the door, intentionally ignoring your father. What shocks you is William grabbing your hand, the same hand Bucky touched before, and kissing your cheek.You realize this is your cue to go, and you slowly walk to the door, intentionally ignoring your father. What shocks you is William grabbing your hand, the same hand Bucky touched before, and then kissing your cheek.

“Thanks, babe.”

You have to clench both of your fists not to punch him in the face, refusing to answer him. You don’t know what bothers you more: the fact that he touched you so casually and called you babe again or that he did this shit in front of your families, and more important his brother.

You feel Bucky’s eyes all over your back and face and you can’t help but turn to look at him. He’s expressionless.

You shake your head. What did you expect?

You get back to your office a little grumpy and upset. Jessica immediately asks you if you’re okay, and you brush it off. Fuck your family, fuck Bucky, and fuck his brother.

But the meeting is surprisingly short since you have Bucky back at your desk fifteen minutes later.

You just can’t take a break, can you?

“What?”

“Shouldn’t you have lunch?” He looks around to emphasize his words, and you roll your eyes. You know everyone left but you.

“I have to finish a few tasks. Why?”

“Your boyfriend left the meeting halfway through cause he was hungry.”

You almost gag. You’ve never hated that word more in your life, but you can’t let him know that.

“And?”

“What do you mean and? Why are you not having lunch with him?”

“Because I have tasks to do!” You snap, irritate, while looking him in the eye. You obviously don’t want to talk about it, but he continues, seemingly unfazed.

“Is he gonna bring you some food?”

“No, we didn’t even talk about it. Can you leave me alone now?”

You are so close to crying for no fucking reason. You can’t let anyone see you like this.

“Prick! He should have waited for you.” He strokes his chin as he speaks, clearly annoyed with his brother. “Want to come with-”

“I’m fine. Had my chocolate bar.” You interrupt him, your voice steady despite the emotional storm within. Finally, he takes the hint.

“Okay, love, I understand. I’ll leave you alone. See you home.” He smiles politely and leaves, giving you the space you need.

Alone in your office, you let out a shaky breath, your hands covering your face as you start sobbing. It’s really touching how understanding Bucky is, even if he’s teasing you. It’s a precious reminder that, amidst the chaos, there's someone who actually cares about your well-being.

*

You wait for William to return from his lunch break, and as soon as you see him, you drag him to his office quickly

“Easy! It hurts.”

“Good, it’s supposed to hurt!”

“What did I do?” He genuinely asks.

“You fucking touched me. You kissed my cheek. Did I allow you?”

“What?” He raises his eyebrows. He doesn’t remember seeing you so angry before.

“I asked you when I gave you permission to put your hands on me!”

“I’m supposed to be your boy-”

“But you are not my fucking boyfriend! You don’t have the option to touch me unless I let you by telling you that you can. And you don’t even have to display a shitty facade because guess what? He doesn’t care.”

“Look, I didn’t mean to...”

“You didn’t mean to what? Get in my space? Take advantage of the situation?” The bitterness in your tone echoes your frustration. “You’re just a man, that’s what you do.”

“Not all-”

You laugh humorlessly, not even a little surprised. “Not all men, right? Well, I heard that one before. But you are officially in all-men category.”

You leave like a storm, letting the door open, and before you can get back to your desk, Dana calls your name.

“Hi, what happened?” You try to sound calm.

“You got a delivery and a note.” She hands them both to you and you can’t help but ask:

“A note?”

Who writes notes anymore?

“Yes.”

You take them from her desk, but you don’t enter your office. You want to read the note first, without Jessica’s eyes on you.

If you don’t eat, I’m gonna punish you... with my presence. So think twice before refusing :)

You almost cry again right there in the middle of the hallway. Fuck him! Just fuck him!

How are you supposed to stop thinking about him when he does this?

[rukunas]

college!au drabble which is totally not a self-imagine. tw scummy/toxic eren

The library shouldn’t be this busy on a Saturday— you’d know. You’re always here around this time every week, trapped in the enclave of shelves and whiteboards and books, a huge stack of them propped next to your laptop. Indigo ink stains more than just your notebook, your palm a mosaic of blue hues. The scent is comforting, though, a stagnant presence as you flick through your anatomy textbook. Your brows narrow at the haphazardly-scribbled diagram of the hormone pathways— where the fuck is testosterone produced?

“Bro, she was all fuckin’ over you last night. Basically had you pinned up against the wall.” Laughs bark down the table you’re seated at. Despite the thick headphones you have on, you hear the voices loud and clear.

Testosterone is produced there. The collective fumes of luxury cologne scream Daddy’s Money™ and disrupt your bubble of productivity. Your forehead pinches again, this time in annoyance, knowing just what group of boys decided to have their own ‘study sesh’ on a Saturday afternoon, definitely hungover and waiting it out before heading to the game.

“D’ya think she still would have been all over me if she knew I had her best friend bent over the night before?” Another roar of laughter, this time accompanied with table banging and echoes of “No way, dude!”

It’s so incredibly clichéd, you can’t help but roll your eyes. There is no way men actually speak like that, as if these head-empty imbeciles could get a chance with a girl if they tried.

“No way, dude!” You huff lowly under your breath, amused by your precision at the tone. It was honestly pretty good, you have to pat yourself on the back for that one—

“What was that?”

A glance upwards forces you to meet a pair of forest green eyes, sharp and narrowed. The smirk settling right below makes you unsettled. Annoyed.

You play it cool anyway, tugging off your headphones and shrugging. “Didn’t say anything.”

“Didn’t seem like it.” He raises a brow. His friends snicker behind him, staring you down, waiting to see how the leader of the pack was going to tear you down, limb by limb.

You aren’t the biggest fan of Eren Yeager.

He’s actually, surprisingly, a fan favorite on campus. Somehow he’s always busy handshaking a guy or has a group of girls squealing and running up to him, bragging about how they’re his best friend— ugh. And he gets the grades to make the Dean’s List, becoming all chummy with the professors and even landing some hotshot internship. But you’re the only one who sees through his shit, catches him at times like this where he isn’t God’s gift to Earth and instead is a typical college frat boy— no, scratch that, definitely worse.

You take the high road and shrug once more, pulling your headphones back over your head. Silently, you pack your things, trying your best to ignore the heavy gaze on your silhouette of at least a pair of eyes watching you leave.

“You have got to fuck her.” Jean sighs. “Or I might. Isn’t she why we’re here anyway?”

Eren isn’t sure if his skin is heating up because of the call out or because of his possessiveness over you, despite the fact that he’s nothing to you. The way you look at him proves it, like he’s a wad of bubblegum sticking to the bottom of your shoe, like he’s the one that’s a nobody.

He knows your friends. Hangs out with them, fucks them occasionally. But not because he likes them— he just likes to keep tabs on you. Why? He doesn’t fucking know why. God, he wish he knew why. He does stupid shit like this, coming to the library on a fucking Saturday like a goddamn dork just because he knows you like how quiet it gets on the weekends. He is so infatuated with someone who won’t even look his way, someone who keeps a nose buried in school work and doesn’t even bat a lash at his looks, his jokes, anything?!?

And fine, maybe he’s also feeling a bit warm because of you.

World’s Biggest Blue Baller, yep, it’s you.

Nah. He’ll get you one of these days. Despite whatever game the two of you are playing, he will win. He knows it, feeling the certainty thrum in his blood. It’s why he’s the leader of his friends, the pack of the herd, the man of the men. Because when Eren Yeager has his mind set to what he wants, he’ll get it.

Besides, those quiet smart girls are always the most fun to break.

[fangirlingfromdownunder]

A Sweet Mishap - Chapter 11

Pairing - Jensen Ackles x Reader 

A/N: I just want to start by thanking everyone for all the love on this story so far. Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy. Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist.

A Sweet Mishap Masterlist | Main Masterlist

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

As has become a habit of recent, the first thing I do when I open my eyes – despite the headache pounding behind them – is check my phone. I smile at the sweet good night text that must have come through mere seconds after I’d fallen asleep and then text back.

Mornin’ Remind me to stay away from eggnog…Or at least not mix it with wine…

I sit up slowly and take a sip out of the water bottle that I’d somehow had the presence of mind to prepare in advance and reach into my bag for some pain killers. I take a couple of pills before laying back down. After a few minutes my phone buzzes.

Awe, Darlin’ That sounds like a lethal mix You ok?

Yeah, my head hurts

I bet You’re gonna hate what I have to say but... Water, pills, breakfast, exercise also helps

Check, Check, I don’t even want to think about food and not a chance

Fair enough Go back to sleep then I’ll be here when you wake up

I gotta get up Work later

Today?

People need their coffee…I’m closing

Please at least eat something first then Even if you don’t want to

I won’t be allowed to leave here without eating first So don’t worry

Good

This is the only thing I miss about London You know they get the day off after Christmas It’s called Boxing Day Though they mainly watch soccer But it’s a nationwide holiday

First you tell me you’re from Texas and now you’re saying you lived in London? Another long story, I’m guessing?

Yeah…I lived there for almost a year with my boyfriend after high school

Wow I thought my move to LA was ambitious and scary You actually went overseas

Yep…At the time I thought I was in love Anyway, you know the rest of that tragic story I really do have to get up now I’ll talk to you after work

Alright Darlin Hope your head feels better

I smile at his sweet message as I shut off my phone, get up, change into fresh jeans and a hoodie and pack all my things back into my bag. I leave the box from Jensen separate. Without all the extras from the cafe, I could easily manage my bag and the box, but I also know that Nick didn’t drink nearly as much as Stella or I, always wanting to be the responsible one and ready to look after her. So, I know he’ll insist on driving me home. With everything organised, I go to the bathroom to freshen up and then downstairs to indulge in whatever my stomach can handle.

In the kitchen, Nick takes one look at me and sighs. “You girls and your wine…”

“What about your eggnog?”

“I was deliberately light on the alcohol, if it wasn’t for the wine, you’d both be fine. How many times do I have to tell you both how much worse wine-hangover are?”

“Maybe a few hundred more. It’s fun at the time…”

“Yeah, and now you’re both a mess.” He hands me a plate with one of Stewie’s croissants heated up. “You’re gonna have to eat on the run. Stella has to go into the office, I’ll drop you off at the same time. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have to make sure she’s getting ready.” 

I sit at the island bench and pick at the croissant while I wait for Nick and Stella to come back downstairs.

“Some manager you are…” I playfully tease Stella from the backseat as she uses the tiny mirror to fix up her make-up, attempting to make herself look more alive and less hungover.

She meets my eyes in the mirror, “Like you’re any better?”

I shrug, “At least my customers will be just as hungover as me.”

Nick cuts us both off as he parks in front of her office building, “You’re both as bad as each other. I really wish you would stop doing this.” He leans over to peck Stella’s cheek, “I love you, go kick some ass.”

“I love you too, both of you,” she says with a glance over the backseat at me before slipping out of the car. 

Nick waits until she disappears into the large, tinted glass doors before driving off. He sighs as he glances in the rearview mirror to meet my eyes briefly. “None of this funny business at the wedding, remember?” I nod. “You know she’s so close to another massive promotion, she’s in the middle of the pitch of her career. I get that you’re her best friend and that your life's a mess and you’re lonely but please don’t bring her down with you. The wedding is enough of a distraction. She wants this so bad, she won’t tell you because she loves you, but she can’t afford anymore distractions right now.”

My jaw drops. He’s never been this candid or harsh with me before. I’m lost for words. Shocked and hurt, all I can do is bite my cheek to hold back my emotions and nod. The rest of the drive to my apartment passes in uncomfortable, tense silence. The second the car stops I swing the door open and jump out. I quietly thank Nick for driving me and then slip into my apartment building. 

I dump my stuff in the corner of the room and go shower. Feeling sick, hurt, sad, and like a woeful disappointment I scrub every inch of my body as I stand under the scalding water. I wash my hair, shave my legs and thoroughly exfoliate in an attempt to wash away all my feelings and make myself feel at least a little better about myself. By the time I shut off the water and step out of the cubicle I’ve made a list of resolutions that I’m not going to wait until New Years to enact. 

Only contact Stella for wedding related matters

Be the best Maid-of-Honor ever

Get my life back on track - Stop chasing pipe dreams

Get a good-paying, stable 9-5 job

Be realistic about Jensen

I get dressed in the same jeans and a clean long sleeve shirt and then as the first step of my new resolutions, I tape up the box and write ‘return to sender’ on the top. I tie up my hair in a messy bun, put on comfy work shoes, grab my designated work backpack and the box, but as I check the time I realise I won’t make the post office before my shift so I leave it by the door and make a mental note to take it first thing in the morning.

My shift passes by in a blur. I hand out order after order with practiced speed and a forced smile. After flicking the sign to ‘closed’ I scrub every surface until it shines and then lock up. As I walk home I briefly check my phone, I see a text from Jensen but don’t let myself read it. I stuff my phone back in my pocket and quicken my pace to get out of the miserable, cold December air. For a second I;m transported back to my time in London.

I walked down a quiet lane back towards my shared apartment. The bleak weather matched my emotions. The light drizzle matching the tears still falling down my cheeks. I had been sitting alone in a park all day avoiding the place and person I had called home for so long. I only got up once I knew he’d be at work, likely serving fancy cocktails to the pale, model-like brunette he brought back to our apartment. I’d only been gone one night, for an acting class in Paris. But when I got home, excited to surprise him, knowing he’d still be sleeping from working until 2am, I found he wasn’t alone; there was another naked woman laying on my pillow.  A chorus of car horns startles me out of the unpleasant memory and I finally slip back into my building. I have another scalding shower to wash away the sweat and unpleasant smell of mixed foods and beverages clinging to my clothes, skin and hair. When I sit down to eat a bland frozen lasagne I flick through the channels. Supernatural is on again but I force myself to flick past it before Jensen’s face appears. Settling on an animal documentary I open my laptop and search for jobs as I eat. My phone buzzes on the coffee table but I silence it. I feel a little guilty for ignoring him since Jensen has been nothing but nice to me, but then Nick’s words ring back through my head, “I get that you’re her best friend and that your life is a mess and you’re lonely but please don’t bring her down with you.”. And I know he’s right, my life is a mess and I am lonely, but until I sort it out, I’ll just bring anyone around me down with me.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Taglist: @stoneyggirl2 @hobby27, @n-o-p-e-never, @deansimpalababy

[hhbluedynamite]

TADC AU: Superstars!

Yep. I do have fanfics cooking up, plus some drawing, and I did think of an AU of my own.

First, summary:

Nothing seems to want to go right for Monica Brightwen today. Depression was hitting her hard like a freight train, but she somehow was able to push through to go to work, which was a challenge in itself. Her car breaks down, she gets soaked to the bone by some reckless driver, she loses a taxi to some busy woman, and she was nearly late for work…which was apparently fine because her boss was planning to lay her off anyway to free a position for someone else. No biggy…It’s not like Monica actually liked being an accountant… Annnd just to make her day even worse, her apartment building was apparently getting condemned due to the presence of black mold that the landlord failed to tell his tenants about, effectively making Monica homeless… …Great. Just [%$!#]king great! What was the point of anything? Why continue this miserable existence? She didn’t expect the answer to be from a job posting for a gaming complex called the Amazing Digital Circus Arcade Center. The ADCA Center is owned by an extremely eccentric billionaire who has provided lodgings to his employees in exchange for working at his arcade. Well…Monica had nothing else to lose at this point. Besides, it's just a regular arcade center… Right?

If you want to learn more (i.e spoil yourself), keep reading.

(WARNING: It's long)

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

Premise:

Obvy, this is a TADC human AU, but with a twist. Through means that I'm still trying to come up with, anyone who works at the arcade center can turn from matter to data so they can transform into their avatars...including Caine, as he's human in this AU. Think Digimon (and, in a sense, Digimon Frontier). While the original purpose of this is unknown to most, the gang uses this ability to save the populace from rampaging entities called the Abstracted.

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

AU Name:

It took a while for me to come up with a name for the AU, mainly because I wanted something catchy and circus-y. Popular AUs Freakshow and Carnival came to mind. I did think of Festival or even Showstoppers, but I remembered canon Caine calling the players 'superstars' and that wound up sticking. And it was fitting as the groups' avatars are the mascots of the arcade, having sections dedicated to them and has gained fanbases in-universe of the AU.

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

Characters:

Pomni

‘Real’ Name: Monica Brightwen

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 25

Fractal Color(s): Red, Blue, and Gold

Human Facts: Appearance wise, human Pomni looks -- as some would put it -- plain. She is short (5 feet tall to be exact), wears large round glasses, short and unkept dark hair, and usually wears her dress shirt, trousers, and tie as day wear (and work).

Avatar Facts: Nothing has changed much except that her jester outfit is in a slightly darker shade and the yellow accents are more golden in color. The balls on her person also become golden sleigh bells. She also gets extra bells on her gloves and footwear.

Special Abilities: She would eventually learn that she can detach the bells on her person and manipulate their sizes. She can use these bells to either contain the target or as bombs depending on intended use. The bells regenerate after use. Her limbs can also mimic the whole rubber hose animation thing.

Caine

‘Real’ Name: Caine Adams

Pronouns: He/Him

Age: Unknown (late 40s or early 50s)

Fractal Color(s): Red, Orange-Yellow

Human Facts: He is also short (5'5) with olive skin and slicked back red brown hair with a grey streak and is generally fit. He does have heterochromia.

Avatar Facts: Not a lot has changed in his overall design, except for some golden accents, like around his tophat and cufflinks.

Special Abilities: He can create projections either as hard light or visual illusions.

Ragatha

‘Real’ Name: Agatha Weaver

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 30

Fractal Color(s): Orange

Human Facts: A plump woman with fair skin and freckles. Her red hair is usually seen in a messy bun.

Avatar Facts: Her outfit has a more Victorian steampunk style.

Special Abilities: Her main weapon(s) are a large assortment of knives that she can manifest, having an affinity for bladed weapons. She also has the ability to heal via a needle and thread. She doesn't feel pain while in her Avatar form.

Kinger

‘Real’ Name: Axel Callahan

Pronouns: He/Him

Age: 48

Fractal Color(s): Purple, Gold

Human Facts: The tallest human in the group, just passes 6 feet. Kinda lanky and scruffy looking with a stubble, his dirty blonde hair just reaches his shoulders. He wears triangular framed glasses.

Avatar Facts: He wears a royal military uniform instead of his robe, which is more of a long, elaborate cloak with a hood. Wearing the hood helps him focus. And instead of regular gloves, he wears gauntlets.

Special Abilities: He's a marksman, specialty in long range weapons, having great proficiency with firearms and deadly accuracy. His main weapon of choice is a double barrel shotgun, though he also carries a repeating rifle and two flintlock pistols.

Kaufmo

‘Real’ Name: Isaac Kaufmman

Pronouns: He/Him

Age: 35*

Fractal Color(s): Yellow

Human Facts: A large man with a greying beard. (I guess think Jack Black)

Avatar Facts: Not a lot has changed.

Special Abilities: He mostly uses himself as a distraction, sort of like rodeo clowns. He can also throw his voice.

Gangle

‘Real’ Name: Ayaka Kagami

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 26

Fractal Color(s): Rose-red, Spring Green

Human Facts: The second tallest member, clocking at 5'10. She is well-endowed and dresses modestly. She has really long black hair that she usually keeps in a neat ponytail. She wears small oval shaped glasses.

Avatar Facts: Her ribbons make up most of her body and outfit. Her limbs are tightly coiled for thickness and her 'outfit' resembles that of a ballerina okay more like a magical girl. Can’t think of which right now. Her head consists of both her masks, one facing forward and one facing back. They can switch around depending on her mood.

Special Abilities: She's the fastest of the group, very acrobatic, and hits with precise strikes and can use her ribbons to entangle targets.

Zooble

‘Real’ Name: Ashe Pace

Pronouns: They/Them

Age: 22½ 

Fractal Color(s): Hot Pink, Deep Purple

Human Facts: Androgynous in appearance with dark skin and light patches. They have medium length hair with one side cut and dyed dark magenta. They have piercings on their lip, nose, eyebrow, and ears. They walk with a limp, aided with a cane. They have a sleeve tattoo on their left arm.

Avatar Facts: Nothing has changed, except for two slots in their back.

Special Abilities: They can change their detachable limbs into any usable tool. The two slots are usually reserved for wings.

Jax

‘Real’ Name: Jack Pratt

Pronouns: He/Him

Age: 22

Fractal Color(s): Golden yellow

Human Facts: Tanned skin and dark cropped hair with blonde highlights.

Avatar Facts: Does look noticeably buffer than canon and broader shoulders. Wears a muscle shirt, a leather-looking jacket, baggie pants, two belts, and wrappings around his hands and feet.

Special Abilities: The physically strongest. His main use of weaponry are usually giant hammers, but he would use bats, and knuckledusters. He specializes more in blunt weapons.

(Note: Human names are just for the AU. Their canon real names are unknown)

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

That's it for now until I can think of other stuff. Feel free to ask questions over in the ask box.

[tinyluminaryzombie]

@jilymicrofics | August Prompt 21 | 684 words

“And how’s my favorite radical?”

The coffee shop was already bustling when Lily entered. Three months ago, she’d made a New Year's Resolution to treat herself more (within reason). Since then, her semi-weekly walks to Three Broomsticks Cafe have served as a respite from deary memos and disappointing memos. The distractingly cute owner doesn't hurt either.

“Don’t be silly, James. Radicals don’t wear iron-pressed suits.”

“You know you’re my hero, Evans.”

The second time she visited Three Broom Sticks was for a chocolate fix after a terrible day at work. At 7 pm, the cafe was cleared out. The quiet, mixed with James's soft smile and delicious pastries put her at ease.

So much so that Lily started ranting about her day.

Since then, James has always asked her for work updates. He also couldn't get over her job as legislative director at a large climate nonprofit. Which, yeah, was a terrific ego boost. Lily knows it's impressive, especially at 28. It's another thing to have James tell her.

Bantering with James was becoming one of her favorite things. but t it was also one of the most confusing; did James just like the job or did he like her? And no, despite her friend's instance, Lily refused to make a move. She would not be the creepy customer hitting on the barista/pastry chef/owner, no matter how gorgeous, sweet, and funny he was.

“You with me, Lily?”

Lily shook her head, hoping it looked like she was surveying the options instead of fantasizing. 

“Yep! Present as always,” she managed with a smile.

“Great.” James started tapping his fingers on the counter. “Um— I know you’re busy saving the world—“

“James.”

“— No, I’m right and you know it,” he continues forcing a soft dose of eye contact that made her blush.

“Anyways... We’re having a community organization night tonight, it was actually my brother’s idea! There are a lot of people who want to get involved with their community but aren’t exactly sure how to, hence the community org night. It’s in a week and I thought you could do a table? Maybe make heroes out of us?”

James paused, dragging his hand through his black hair. “Um...I know you’re busy but it would be great to have you!”

Lily was ashamed that her first thought was “I want to touch his hair.” She’s a professional for god’s sake! What’s worse was that her second thought was “how can I make this work?” As legislative director, Lily doesn’t interact much with volunteers. However, the outreach and volunteer coordinator happened to be her former roommate and current best friend. If she brought James’s event during this week’s leadership meeting she doubts anyone would tell her not to go, especially Mary.

“How many people are you expecting?” Lily quickly asked, already preparing the meeting.

James looked almost bashful. “Right now we have 120 RSVPs, which is kind of all this place can fit.”

Damn, Lily thought. It made sense, though. Everyone loved Three Broomsticks and its energy, with community-made art, pride flags, and unique mugs.

“I’m in!”

Suddenly, James had reached over the counter and swung his arms around her shoulders. She leaned into him just as he froze up.”

“Shit, shit!” James exclaimed as he recoiled.

Lily couldn’t get a word in before he started talking, pulling the stands of his hair. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe— so unprofessional of me!”

“James it’s fine. All good.”

“I was just really excited that you’re coming, I hope you still are,” James said with a forced laugh.

“Of course I am! I’m about two seconds away from it being in the Google Calendar— then you know it’s official,” Lily joked. James just nodded.

“Well anyways, here’s your regular, it’s on me today.”

Lily wanted to argue but James was practically begging her to leave. Their flirty banter had dissipated in seconds she couldn't fix it. Instead, she thanked him, tipped what she would have paid, and promised to be back in a few days.

Somehow this particular trip wasn’t as restorative as her others.

[mytheoristavenue]

You have me crying over your Unconventional fiction, it was so good!! Broke my heart 😭😭

I need a Pt. 3 where Leo is grieving over his lost love. April and Casey keep in touch with reader over the phone, but it's not the same of course.

Maybe someone convinces Leo to speak to reader over the phone?

Maybe after some time, reader gets to come back to New York (for college?) and reader and Leo get to reunite and try to work things out (maybe even start a relationship).

Thank you for the ask. This will be the final part to this series!

TMNT 12 Leonardo x Reader - Unconventional Pt. 3

Summary: Years have passed since you left for North Carolina, and you have mixed feelings about returning to New York for your first semester of college.

Warnings: More angst! A tiny bit of fluff too.

"I'm here," you sighed into your cell phone. "Yep. Getting off now." Just as you'd said, you carefully stepped off the train, the tile of the station slick beneath your feet. You struggled to haul your steam trunk off with you, but somehow managed. Scanning the crowd, you looked for your friend, the one you'd spoken to on the phone.

"(Y/N)!" a shrill voice called, as you spotted a ginger woman pushing passed irritated people, and darting towards you, a ravenette man being dragged behind her. "I can't believe you're really here!"

"April!" you shrieked, meeting her halfway and engulfing her in a much needed hug, before pulling her away and holding her at arms length. "God, I missed you guys so much." you beamed.

In the three years you'd been apart, your friendship with Casey and April had never once faltered. She always made a point to call you at least a few times a week, and he often texted you to check up on you, or sent you funny videos he found online. You had even managed to talk to the turtles on occasion. Your T-Phone had broken ages ago, but every once in a while, April would let Mikey or Donnie sit in on a call to say hello.

As you exited the subway, you chittered without friends about what had happened while you were away, and what the future had in store. Some how, the topic of living arrangements came up, and April was appalled to find that you hadn't secured an apartment yet. "What do you mean you haven't found a place yet?!"

You chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of your neck. "Well, I originally intended to move into the dorms, but they only allow payment by the semester and I don't have eight grand just laying around." you explained with a small smile. "I've got enough to put me up in a hotel for the night, I'll go house hunting tomorrow." you reassured, but obviously, this wasn't enough.

"Like hell!" she scolded. "How are going to waste your money on a hotel when not having enough money was the problem in the first place?"

"Well, what other choice do I have?" you shrugged. "I'll be fine, really."

"Absolutely not," she protested. "You're staying with me tonight." Before you had the chance to protest, she was already dragging you back down the steps into the subway system. As you walked, you began to become cautious of her intentions when she hung a sharp right that lead the three of you deeper into a seemingly defunct station.

"April, where are we going? I thought you lived on 31st?" you pondered, withdrawing your hand from hers as she lead.

"Not anymore, I moved out." she simply said, grabbing your hand again, before marching forward with even more vigor than before.

"Maybe this is a bad idea," Casey piped up from behind. "Babe, let's not do this. We could just stay with her in the hotel." Your head instantly snapped back to look at him, his features coated in uncertainty. If Casey Jones, the king of bad ideas, was unsure about this, than it was definitely not something you wanted to be apart of.

In the distance, you could hear chatter and background noise, and taking note of your surroundings, the color left your face. You spotted a broken skateboard, half submerged in sewage, and junk food wrappers scattered about. Even worse were the ruminants of deteriorating pizza boxes everywhere, becoming more numerous as you went further. It suddenly clicked for you where she was taking you, and Casey was right. This was a very bad idea.

"April, stop! I don't want to see them!" you vocalized, trying to tear yourself away from her. She finally let go and stopped, turning to look you in the eye.

"But they miss you, (Y/N)! They already know you're back in town, and they're just gonna come find you if you don't visit." she rationed.

You felt anger bubble in your chest as your fists balled themselves. "you told them I was coming back?! I specifically told you NOT to do that! April, how could you?"

The ginger rolled her eyes at your anger, clearly not understand her mistakes. "Are you really that mad?"

"Yes! I don't want to be here, April!" you shouted, huffing to turn back around and leave the way you'd come. You were born and raised in New York, surely you could find your way.

"(Y/N)?" you blood ran cold at the laid back voice that called out to you, knowing exactly who it was, and that there was no way you could leave now. Slowly, you pivoted on your heels with the fakest smile you could muster and wave back at him.

"Hey Mikey..."

-----

You were now sitting on that old familiar couch, crowded with ghosts from your past, having the absolute worst time. You felt sick, like you could vomit at any moment, without warning. Despite this, you continued to humor the turtles as they all rambled to you about what they'd been up to the last three years. There was nothing you wanted more than to leave again and never have any contact with these people again.

That was made ten fold when you noticed Leo standing in the doorway to the dojo, staring you down. Unbeknownst to you, he was feeling exactly how you were- nauseous and faint. Were couldn't been any words that anyone could string together to make him understand. Not how he felt, not why your were in his living room, nothing. Unwilling to deal with this at the moment, he turned away and went back into the dojo.

Apart of you felt an overwhelming grief watching him turn his back on your again, but the other part was so grateful. You could now go back to hating your current situation without the added pressure. Unluckily for you, it had already been decided that you'd sleep here, and you'd have much more torture to sit through as the night progessed.

-----

The lair laid quiet, all of it's inhabitants asleep, apart from you. You bustled around the living room, collecting your things and hasting tossing them into your trunk. Mentally, you went over a list of what you'd unpacked. Clothes, check. Wallet, check. Phone, check. With bated breath, you locked the final latch on your steamer and collapsed the handle, deciding to simply carry it and not risk the wheels making any noise. Finally, you were ready to make your escape.

"Leaving already?" a tired voice called from the kitchen, prompting you to freeze. How does this keep happening! Laughing nervously, you set the trunk down and turned to confront the person who'd caught you.

"N-No! Just going out for a snack-" you once again froze, that sick feeling bubbling back up in your throat, almost intense enough to make you visibly gag. "Leo?"

"It's just weird that you'd take your clothes with you to go get a snack. Especially at one in the morning." he chided, sipping from a glass of water and leaning against the countertop.

"Don't act like you care," you rolled your eyes. "Yes, I'm leaving. Just keep quiet about it, please."

"Were are we going?" he asked smugly, setting his drink down. "I don't know how many restaurants are open right now, but I bet we could find something."

You stared at him through glossy eyes, picking up your suitcase and marching up to the stairs. "That's enough, Leo. I really can't handle your shit talking right now. I just want to be away from you."

His brows furrowed, his hurt pride now becoming more important than his joy of seeing you again. "Go then. But don't say I didn't try."

You halted in your tracks, balled your fists and stomped back over to him, entirely snapped and no longer caring if you woke anyone up or not. "You didn't try, Leo! All you've ever done is hate me and bully me ever since I met you! The last time I saw you, you refused to even say goodbye, and then you never even called!" your chest heaved as tears began to flow freely from your eyes. "And then, after I was dragged here against my own will, when you saw that I was back, you didn't even bother to say anything! Don't you dare say you've tried!"

Leo stood in front of you, and for the first time he took the full force of your beratements, with nothing to say. When he finally did think of something, you didn't even give him the chance. "(Y/N), I-"

"Don't you '(Y/N)' me!" you sobbed, wiping fat tears off on the sleeve of your shirt. "I loved you, Leo! I don't know why, but I did, and all I ever wanted was for you to say one nice thing about me, but you can't even do that! You made it your mission to make my life here a live hell, and now that I'm back you expect to be able to go on midnight snack runs with me and have a cute little back and forth?!"

"Well, no-"

"Just stop." you finally said, hanging your head. "I never even intended for you guys to know I was coming back, because I didn't want to see you. Please, if you have any shred of respect for me, just let me go and don't tell anyone."

"Please don't go." he muttered desperately, catching your attention.

"Why does it matter to you?" you responded sadly, sniffling away the last few tears you had to offer.

"You're really unconventional in how you do things." he finally said quietly, and a bit shamefully.

"Leo, what does that even mean?" You questioned suspiciously, setting your trunk down to relieve your arm of it's weight.

"You said I can't say anything nice about you." he replied, in an almost annoyed tone.

"So that's your idea of a compliment?" you scoffed, shaking your head at him.

"I meant it in a good way." he clarified with a deep breath, refusing to let himself loose his cool again. "It's just something I admire about you."

"That's funny," you dismissed. "I didn't think you admired anything about me."

Guilt ate away at Leo as he continued to shift his gaze between you and the floor. "Look," he finally sighed, sitting down on the couch. "I wont make you stay. Please just here me out, and if you still wanna leave, I'll let you, no strings attached. I just have to get this off my chest."

You groaned, dropping your things and sitting down as well, as far from him as possible. "Whatever, just hurry up. Nothing you could say could change my mind."

With the inhalation of deep breath Leo turned to you, and for possibly the first time, he looked you in the eye. "I want you to know that above all else, I'm sorry." he began, deciding that putting any explanation before an apology would simply be inappropriate. "Secondly, I want you to know that I think I've done a lot of growing over the last few years and...there've been some bad habits I've had to work myself out of, and how I treated you was one of them."

"Cruelty doesn't count as a habit if it's only towards one person, Leo." you scoffed, dramatically rolling your eyes with arms crossed.

"I wouldn't necessarily call it cruelty, per say." he digressed. "But more how I process my feelings...and show affection." Your eyes widened a bit at his half confession.

"Are you really going to sit here and say you bullied me relentlessly over some stupid crush you didn't know how to express?" You spat, eyes narrowing venomously. "Because that's fucking pathetic."

"But it's the truth." he confirmed. "That doesn't make it any less wrong, though. I truly am so sorry, (Y/N). I don't expect forgiveness, but I wanted you to know that there was never a problem with you, it was all me."

You sat in silence for a moment, emotions a flurry of negative and positive. "Thank you for telling me this." you finally said calmly. "But I'd still like to stay somewhere else tonight. I don't feel comfortable here." Leo felt his heart break over you again, just as it bad many times before, and he hung his head low. "But you can walk me there, if you want."

-----

The trek across town was mostly quiet. there was so much to said, but it seemed no one had the right. Leo politely carried your trunk as you walked along side him to the closest budget in. He looked the place up and down while you booked a room in the lobby. He didn't like it at all. It was run down and shady, with barred windows siding, and tacky, dated furnishings. Though, he guessed he didn't have the right to complain if you felt safer here then in his home.

"Well, this is me," you sighed as you both strolled over to your door. "I booked this room for three days, that should give me plenty of time to find an apartment without- well, ya know." He nodded, humming in agreement.

"Well...I guess I'll let you sleep then." he muttered softly, turning to leave.

"Hey, uhm- Leo?" you called out, voice laced with uncertainty.

"Yeah?" he replied, a little too excitedly, turning back to you with a hopeful gleam in his eye.

"M-maybe we could get coffee together sometime this week? After I find a place and get settled in, I mean."

"Coffee...y-yeah. I'd like that, thanks."

Taglist:

@sunshinesdaydream @helpyaw @thelaundrybitch @momii @camillahorne26 @turtle-babe83 @fyreball66 @sharpwindow @roseygardenfan @witchofthenorthstar @pheradream15 @post-apocalyptic-daydream

[broken-clover]

ooooh you've awakened my Steven Moffat DW pet peeve. usually he's fine but my major annoyance with his episodes, and MUCH WORSE in Sherlock where he had more creative control, is his obsession with having EVERYTHING fit into the overarching plot. Everything. Nothing is random nothing is natural its all part of the Big Plan That Will Surely Pay Off Amazingly. it's just so exhausting and takes the kick out of individual episodes because you can't focus on the actual stories there because Stevey is too busy drawing your attention to his ever growing cork board of a plot. like, jesus man WHY would Moriarty give half a wet shit about some random murdering taxi cab driver. Where does that fit in Steve. Bad Wolf worked ONCE Steve. Once.

Hoo boy. The short-form format of that post didn't let me go into detail but coming back to this series a lot of his episodes are so much worse than I remember them being.

And I'm glad you said that! Because it fits into another issue I didn't even bring up. Why is there such a weird fixation on who exactly is 'most important' to the doctor? Because it feels like that comes up so much in the Moffat era. The Ponds are important by being in-laws. River is important because of the weird timeline fuckery and them getting married once. Later Clara is treated as the most important person in his life because of more timeline fuckery. There's a point where it gets dull going 'but then *this* bond with *this* woman was even more deep and complex and unshakable than the last one, really!' multiple times. Characters can't just 'be,' they have to connect to him on a deeper level somehow. It's never just happening to bump into someone, there's always some time and space fate bullshit that pops up.

(And see, while 'The Doctor's Wife' was absolutely full of that as well, that's the one example where it *does* work, because it centers around the one character that's literally been at his side for the entire goddamn series)

One of the things that was fun about the RTD seasons, especially about the companions and recurring characters, was that there was nothing fundamentally special about most of them. Any specialness came from traveling and growing as as person and then doing something courageous based on that growth. Characters came and went and it was sad, but the doctor was a temporary part of their life in the same way that he was to theirs, not the main focal fixture of their existence that made it meaningful. The act of interacting with others added to the richness and sense of understand in one's own life. It feels weird to say in such silly phrasing but it felt like a lot of the first four seasons were simply about the power of friendship on a massive, cosmic scale

Yeesh and yep that's not even getting into the man's complexity addiction. Having an overarching narrative isn't inherently bad but I felt like hopping from season 4 to season 5 was like going from a show where most of the episodes could be watched as desired with a bit of seasonwide narrative to literally having to watch every episode in the designated order without fail unless you wanted to be completely lost. The plot-heavy episodes can be fun but when that's most of the season it becomes a bit harder to digest. It just feels a bit like it's taking itself too seriously

Also. Did I mention the horny? Can't remember if I mentioned the horny.

[liminalh-creations]

15. downtown.

the evil eye doesn't always work, and there's millions between me and you! so just sing to me about eggplants or anything, except for how tired we are...

sketched some familiar (and unfamiliar) faces of the Black Organisation (in civilian clothes)

click below to find out some more details about them! minor warning for mild spoilers up to chapter 15 :)

point of interest: they're all somehow from former east bloc or once-soviet countries

Chianti, Sniper

chinese (?), under 30 years old

VERY short, has a complex about this

she's got the nickname 'Key' but if you call her that without her consent she will throw you

her tattoos are butterfly-and-eye themed (you might see that she's got two tattoos in the drawing, teehee). also, you cannot tell me that the reason for her canon tattoo ISNT a bullet with butterfly wings reference

says "lol" and "lmfao" in casual conversation

might have gotten corrective laser eye surgery (or something similar) - the tattoo on her eyelid might indicate a slightly more long-lasting problem

“Try me again, asshole!” she shrieks, “I’ll stab your dick, too!”

has a girlfriend(?) who gifts italian designer products

vague sibling relationship with Cognac; they're either bickering or they're besties or they're teaming up to gossip about others

“She’s a gamer.”

Korn, Sniper

has a very hoarse voice, possibly resulting from some chronic problem? possible that he doesnt talk much because of this issue

around 45-50 y.o & mongolian

i gave him a wife because i think he deserves someone normal and sane to return home to. according to Vodka's 'accidental' namedrop, she's called Sarnai (the name means Rose in Mongolian <3). also, he's implied to become a father soon

Chianti called him Eeyore in this chapter and it might be one of the funniest things i've ever written. i actually love their dynamic in canon so much that it's a big part of my inspiration for this fic; they just feel so much like they have a life outside of their mandated Black Organisation Cameo Appearance

he and Vodka practice ARB

i sent my friend that picture and he said "this man looks like he's never put any real effort into how he dresses and, in fact, never will" - and honestly? yep.

Arrack, Assassin (?)

arab, though exact national origin is relatively hard to clock (Jenever only figured it out because she remembered Shiraz indirectly referencing him)

was mentioned in Akai's notes from 29/7/2010 >:3c

has a very polished appearance, sculpted muscles type beat

mean slut, "mad dog", self-described bastard. VERY flashy fighter, but also "doesn't care if he loses so long as you're hurt worse"

has some pretty normal Star Wars opinions tbh

"resident fuckboy" / "fuckboy-in-chief" -- context clues indicate he might be a honeypot assassin (like Akai speculates in his notes)

generally easy-going despite being unsettlingly intense, but has a very short temper when Shiraz is brought up. (his degree of Shiraz-obsession probably outshines Jenever's tbh)

he's a one-off B.O. member who shows up in a spin-off comic or something, but you literally cannot introduce a character like that and expect me not to sink my evil little claws into them

Sambuca, "Audiovisual manipulation, back-up IT expert"

slavic & eastern european (exact national origin not yet divulged); around 50 y.o woman

wore a metalcore t-shirt to PT

Gin's previous main IT crow. was part of Tequila's Tokyo office at the time of Teq's death; planted there mostly to train

perfectly faked all of Jenever's and Red's credentials to get them into the japanese police institutions. also seems to be in charge of editing Crows out of CCTV footage. overall, really important behind-the-scenes security/cleanup job

her arms are covered in disparate stick-and-poke tattoos. motifs are not unified. a lot of the words/letters are in cyrillic (not visible in the art bc of leather jacket, sorry hehe)

seems to have a phobia of guns/firearms

Cognac, Hardware & Demolitions

south-east asian (exact national origin not yet divulged)

around 30ish years old. not THAT short (like idk 169cm?), but has major gremlin energy

HORRIBLE frosted tips hairstyle situation

vegetarian

wideset body, physically quite strong but has a vaguely soft appearance

remembers Rye sparring with their team a few times. seems p keen to gossip about him (and anyone, for that matter)

"I am literally a whole bisexual!"

gave his denim jacket to Red Label back in Afghanistan (Arrack was soooo mad about this, probably bc they have matching jackets or smth)

[electricbluebutterflies]

Prompt: “ it's nothing. hurts like hell but -- i've dealt with worse. “

Post-s2-grayspace Kabby. We're playing a little loose with medical plausibility but I did twist my ankle as a tiny human (roughly 20 years ago) so I'm just going with that memory and hoping it's close enough. PG-ish and also on ao3.

If nothing else on this planet manages to kill him, she just might.

This is not a new emotion or desire for Abby – if anything, its frequency has lessened. But other details have changed too, the dramatic personality shift she’s trying to make her peace with and worries was somehow her fault, and-

Most of said personality shift makes her life easier. The fact that Marcus is now impulsive and a bit passive-aggressively suicidal undoes all that goodwill real fast when it flares.

She is not trying to take up his former mantle of paranoia, but it seems that every time he leaves the safety of their compound for more than about two hours, regardless of whether he’s alone or with others, something goes wrong and it becomes her problem. Injuries happen, she gets it, there’s a whole new world everyone is trying to get used to, but most people don’t…

She of all people understands the unwillingness to accept new physical limitations, but it’s like he’s not even trying, like he can ignore that damage and be okay, and then that doesn’t work and she gets stuck dealing with the damage. Just like always.

This time, he thinks he can hide it – he’s learning, perhaps, that these little adventures are becoming the only times she lets herself get mad at him. This time, he comes back moving just slightly wrong, just wrong enough that only someone who pays too much attention to his habits would notice a change, and-

“With me,” she says, and she will at least give him the mercy of not going at him with an audience, as much as that would probably be the most interesting part of five different people’s days. “Now.”

Perfect compliance – this too is becoming normal, this new and frightful willingness to actually listen to her that was absolutely not present six months ago and they’d all be a lot less fucked if it had been and this is no time for what-ifs and-

“I can’t imagine I missed anything that vital in less than half a day,” he says once they’re behind a closed door, not quite making eye contact and clearly trying to distract her. She forgets sometimes that he knows her habits just as well, and hers haven’t dramatically changed recently so that’s even easier, and-

“You are at least aware where you are right now,” she mutters, almost a question. “Turn your head for five minutes and someone tries to cause the apocalypse by accident, again.”

“I know you have more important things to do than-“

“Sit down and shut up for long enough for me to-“

“It’s nothing,” he says in that avoidant voice that used to mean something entirely different between them. “Hurts like hell, but… I’ve dealt with worse.”

Goddamn right he has, Abby thinks and won’t say. At least there’s nothing visibly wrong, at least-

“Make this easier for yourself and tell me what happened before I start removing your clothes until I find it.”

Apparently that’s the necessary level of directness today. Marcus leans down and undoes one of his boots, and… yep, ankle just slightly swollen, sizeable bruise, that’d explain the movement issues, that’d also explain-

“And what exactly did you do?”

“Ground looked level. It wasn’t.”

She kneels down and gets her fingers on the injury, feeling the damage. At least he didn’t manage to break anything, probably just a twist, still unpleasant but not-

“I’m going to wrap that,” she murmurs. “You need to rest it for a few days. I don’t care if-“

“I’m fine. I can’t-“

Abby leans up and glares at him with every bit of fury she can put into her facial expression. “Do you see yourself right now? Do you see these colors that human skin isn’t supposed to-“

“Fine,” he repeats.

“You are supposed to be my other half here. And that means it ruins my life if you go out and hurt yourself any further because of stupid masculine bravado or your barely concealed death wish or-“

“I don’t rest well. You of all people know that.”

Yes, she thinks, the number of times she had to physically tackle him despite being in more pain herself because their combined recovery situation was designed more for supervision than actual enforced healing sure was a time, she’s amazed that even worked, and-

“But I’m the only person left you’ll listen to,” she counters. “And I’m not saying bedrest – I’d like to, but I know you. I’m saying for the next three days your world consists of your normal indoor haunts and ideally not a lot of movement between them, understand?”

It’s not the compromise she wants to make, but she knows how far she can push. And if he spends most of his waking hours on the couch in their shared office, that means she can supervise him and make sure…

Oh, nevermind. Trying to save that man from himself is always a losing battle. She’s known that since she was fifteen. Decades later, she still tries anyways.

“Stay where you can see me,” he correctly interprets. “Understood.”

She moves away for long enough to find an adequate bandage and wraps it around his ankle as tight as she can, just enough structure to control further damage. He’s lucky he didn’t manage to do worse to himself, but it’s probably only a matter of time before-

She’s never actually considered the possibility of her life without him. She doesn’t like that thought.

“There. Is that…”

“I’ll deal.”

It’s not the answer she necessarily wants, but it’ll do. This is no time to actually voice her worry, and-

“I need you,” she repeats anyways.

“Understood.”

[lowkeyclueless5137]

now this Ben 10 AU that has four of Twst boys definitely cool and all. But how the four feel about Ripjaws, heck wonder how they feel a certain Octavinelle mafia(*cough*Azul and Tweels*) may or may not somehow seen Ripjaws too(this goes out to all four of them, Especially Riddle considering *COUGH*Floyd*COUGH*)

Oh dear... That cough sounds dangerous... Pls get some nice honey tea and rest to feel better :D /hj

Probably you couldn't see my previous ask that answered on short this I'm updating too fast, sorry

But now I'll go in depth! More like in depth on Idia's and Riddle's cases for ✨reasons anyone who follows me knows already✨

I'm gonna tackle first how each of our heroes feels about our fishy alien buddy, then the general octa reaction with the particularities last.

Riddle is skeptical of it at first, much how he is every time when he discovers a new alien form. He has a bit of dread, knowing a certain Octavinelle eel who would absolutely tease, but is pleasantly surprised to see that actually the 3 mafioso wannabes are actually intimidated by it. Ripjaws does become close to Riddle's favorites. It falls short mostly because of practicality issues when it doesn't involve a water medium, but hey... It's even better when he discovers that in half transformation, his jaw can extend and thus Riddle can still pretend to be an angler fish mer and scare the shit out of the octa trio. The 3 unfortunately don't know that Riddle is actually that scary and violent angler fish alien so yep... Fun times for the red shortie. :'3

Kalim does like to use ripjaws in combination with his unique magic. Ripjaws actually is a favorite of Jamil, for the sole purpose mentioned above. :'3

Epel is not that thrilled at first, mostly since his first encounter with ripjaws was a half transformation, where he looked like a sweet innocent lil mer. Later he discovered that he can make even WORSE chewing damage and is absolutely happy about ripjaws. Vil is just palm-facing in the bg, don't mind him. :'3

For Idia, he also has a first time half transformation. But because he was outside water at first, he didn't know that he was supposed to have a tail. It takes Ortho's scan to find out about it. Idia still keeps a neutral ground with ripjaws, although he has to make sure his hair doesn't get in the way underwater(personal headcannon that his hair gets longer when wet)

In general, at first, the octatrio are scared of ripjaws, mostly because it resembles an angler fish, which yeah... That one most likely is avoided by young mers for pretty understandable motives. So to see an alien resembling it, even worse, being absolutely able to easily tare down anything with those Jaws and claws and even able to walk on ground without any potion or hassle... Yep... These 3 were thinking it was pure nightmare fuel. :'3

Now for the special exceptions, they only apply for ships, so they aren't really cannon to the main plot of the Au itself. But ya Know... Gotta have my lil 'what if' s.

For Floyd, if he was a romantic interest, he would be like mentioned above, until he finds out that Riddle is the watch bearer. Then he calms down a bit, knowing that 'hey, it's goldfishie! Goldfishie doesn't harm me.'. At first, around Floyd, Riddle has to calm down enough to use the half transformation of ripjaws. Ya know, just to look a bit more human like and have Floyd not scared out of his mind about it. They are working on it... Slowly but it works.

Floyd defenetly teases Riddle about the other alien transformations instead. He thinks swamp fire and Heat-blast are the best fits for his lil angry goldfishie. And Riddle hates that he's actually right. Definitely Floyd takes a bit until he realises that no, this red shortie can't carry you princess style if not transformed in an alien that can lift heavy things. He also sometimes tries to tamper with the watch and make Riddle transform in other aliens just to see how wierd they could get. (his favorite would be Wildmutt and pesky dust) Overtime Riddle just gets used to it. :'3

Now for Idia's case, Azul does find out in book 6, therefore Idia has a field trip with him, explaining the various transformations and to please don't have a heart attack if one of the half transformations looks like Idia just tossed away his spine when using their abilities.

But when ripjaws is introduced, Azul clearly is less scared than the twins, for the sole motive that in octo form, he's gigantic (another personal headcannon) Therefore he wasn't that afraid of angler fishes as the twins were. Still a bit scared, but that fear dimmed down upon knowing that Idia was actually ripjaws. For other transformations, Azul is fond of Cannonball, for the sole purpose that when Idia tries to roll out and hold him to take away from the danger, is nice and snuggly inside.

That would probably wrap it up! :3

[xxdumbblondexx]

---Additional Learning Support---

8 - Have a good time, malyshka.

Master list --- Next --- Previous

“What's everyone’s next lesson?” Yanfei asked as you all crowded around a lunch table. She was throwing resource materials in her bag after tutoring Hu Tao all of lunch in hopes she doesn’t fail her next exam. “Double Music with José. He lets me do whatever I want so it’s kinda chill.” Venti answered, scoffing down the remains of everyone else's lunch. “Don't you have a house captain meeting after school?” Yoimiya asked, and visible wrinkles creased into Venti’s top brow. “Did you have to remind me?! Just thinking of being stuck in a room with the Shogun, Childe’s dildo and the Tsaritsa of all people makes me wanna barf.” “That may also be the vodka you're hiding in your metal water bottle.” Yanfei’s comment escaped her lips in a sigh as she forced her bag onto the empty seat beside her. “Don't snitch on me, slut!” “Xiangling’s already gone home?” I asked, turning attention away from Venti as he chugs down the rest of his ‘water’. “Yeah, said she’s gotta help her dad at the restaurant.” Yoimiya hoisted her bag onto her back and stretched. “See you later, I'm going to netball practice.” She waved a little as she turned her back and exited the canteen. We all said our bye’s as she disappeared out of the room. “I’ll be following them.” You continued as you dragged your bag off the floor and threw it over your shoulder. “Get a lesson?” Hu Tao asked, lifting her head from her note book where she was trying to physically force the revision into her head. “Nah. I’m done for the day.” “You know you don't have to stay for lunch if you don't have any lessons.” Yanfei reminded you as you collected your phone and lanyard from off the table. “Yeah but I always seem to miss things when I leave before lunch. Like when Xiangling decked a year seven for jumping the lunch line and Venti got stuck in the fold-away lunch table.” “It got stuck on my belt! Clearing the bitch wanted to fight.” Venti tried to defend but was soon silenced by Yanfei’s sharp tongue. “And the inanimate object won.” So he chose to take a chug from his water bottle again and pout. “Yep. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow.” “Byeeee.”

“Have a good time, malyshka.” Your dad’s last message laid on your mind, unable to move or leave. Yeah, having eight year olds running about really sounded like fun. Almost as fun as the ALS session waiting for you tomorrow. You thought about skipping it but you realised that by doing that, your parents would find out and somehow make this horrible situation even worse. It stung, honestly. They had never been harsh on you since you were a ‘delicate’ kid. Childe liked to say that was why you always got out of difficult situations. That Mum and dad were too frightened to be harsh with you since you might break. Like you were a glass doll. Clearly, that had changed. Clearly they didn't give a shit anymore because who cuts their own child off when they do bad in school? You had heard about it in movies and stuff but never expected it to become your reality. “I’m homeeee.” You didn’t need Teucer’s yell to announce his arrival. Him throwing the door into the wall was all you needed. You forced yourself off the sofa and to the entryway to find your younger brother kicking his shoes off in the doorway and a small girl behind him. “Hi Teucer.” You greeted him with a sigh, already feeling exhausted. “[Nameeeee]” He tackled you into a hug, jumping from space to space like a rabbit on acid. “[Name]! This is my friend Klee! Klee, this is my big sister [Name]!” You looked at the girl he dragged in, finding her undoubtedly adorable. Her cheeks were plush and pinchable, her hair was a sandy blonde with a red bunny pin in and her eyes were as big as the sky at twilight. Red sky at night, shepherds delight. “Hi! I’m Klee!” Your knees were bending before you noticed you’d crouched down to her height. “Nice to meet you, I’m [name].” Realising your weakness to this kid, you quickly pulled yourself up and away from her, looking in the direction of the kitchen. “How would you kids like to make some cookies with me?” That seemed like a good idea. Fill the children up on sugar and home that they tire themselves out or something. You could always made wee- NO! We don't drug kids. That sounds like a crime allegation that will definitely send you to prison. And anyway, you don't have access to that kinda stuff. Anyway, how difficult would it be to look after two little kids for a few hours?

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

Hiyaaa

Just for everyone who's unformal with x's at the end of texts, they are just a term of endearment from family and friends. It's normal in the uk to receive them from like your parents and close friends and it doesn't really mean anything but that.

But if they are received from like a stranger or a person your 'talking to' it can also mean flirting.

Thanks for reading x

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball GT 63

✨GT Stands For Get Trashed✨

Last time, Goku and Vegeta lost their Super Saiyan 4 forms, leaving them virtually defenseless against Omega Shenron.  I mentioned this before, but Vegeta brings it up in this episode.  In theory, they could fuse in their base form and turn SSJ4 that way, but, as Goku points out, it won’t work because Goku’s stuck in this kid body, which means their sizes don’t match up well enough for Fusion. 

And with no one left to stop him, Omega decides to destroy the Earth.  I think this is the same Minus Energy Power Ball he used in Episode 60.  He refers to this one not being as big as the one he used before, so I can’t imagine what else he would be talking about.  Also, Omega has said that he needs all seven Dragon Balls in order to deply MEPB, so this is the first time he’s been able to do it since he lost the Four Star Dragon Ball in Episode 60.

And Vegeta makes a valiant attempt to stop it from hitting the Earth, but...

... Goku knocks him out of the way and takes on the Power Ball himself.  This is kind of dumb.   At least Vegeta had a little gas in the tank left.  He may not be able to maintain Super Saiyan 4, but he hasn’t been fighting as long as Goku has, so he had a better chance of repelling this thing. 

And sure, this is Goku’s show, but it’s kind of annoying how aggressively Toei pushes Goku to the forefront in this series.  Like, if they wanted him to catch this attack, just have him catch the attack.  But no, he has to tackle Vegeta so he can get bonus points for being so selfless. 

So how in the hell is Goku resisting this kind of power?  He couldn’t lay a finger on Omega Shenron in the last couple of episodes, and now he’s pushing back Omega’s finisher.  GT Logic, that’s how.  Goku is simultaneously weak and strong.

Somehow, Goku stops the thing from destroying the whole planet, but it still makes a big enough explosion to leave a giant hole in this city they’ve been fighting in. 

Satisfied that Goku has been killed, Omega Shenron gets busy destroying the world. Well, now he’s gonna do it the slow way, I guess.  I mean, can he not do another Minus Energy Power Ball, or is this just how he’d rather play it?  Anyway, he restores the field of Minus Energy around the Earth, but instead of that multi-colored haze, it turns the sky dark instead, which is a much cooler effect. 

Also, disasters start to happen all over the planet.  I think this was happening anyway, but it’s happening faster now.

And that really fires up Vegeta, because he’s already lived through the destruction of one home planet.  He refuses to stand by and let it happen again.  So he charges back into action, but before he goes, he tells Trunks to evacuate the others in Bulma’s spaceship, and then Trunks, Goten, and Gohan can train somewhere and avenge their fathers.

But they don’t follow his orders.   Instead they send the others on ahead, and go back to support Vegeta’s last stand.  Even Chi-Chi approves, which is pretty rare for this franchise.  Weird how Uub isn’t joining them, seeing as how this series opened with him becoming the nominal protector of the Earth.

Anyway, yeah, Vegeta’s attack is a non-starter.  Omega beats him and the boys without any trouble at all.

Then Omega knocks him over by the crater and tells Vegeta he can share a grave with Goku, but Vegeta laughs when he sees what’s down there...

Yep, it’s Goku with a Spirit Bomb!  And apparently he’s been working on it the whole time Vegeta was trying to make his last stand. 

Let’s talk about why this sucks.

✨"Good" "Ideas", Poorly Executed✨

So first and foremost, this is a cheap rip-off of the Spirit Bomb Goku used to defeat Kid Buu at the end of Dragon Ball Z.  I get that Toei loves their Spirit Bomb finishes, and that they used this trick in four different DBZ movies, but this is just sad.  The big finish to GT is nothing more than a pale imitation of the big finish of Z.  What a crock.

Making matters worse is the fact that we only spend about half an episode on this Spirit Bomb, which means Goku has to speedrun all the stuff he did to make it work against Kid Buu.  Remember how he needed King Kai to put him in touch with the people of Earth so he could take all the power they could give him?  Well, they just skip over that.  By the time this Spirit Bomb is revealed, Goku’s already received all the power he can get from the Earth’s population.  We don’t know how he contacted everyone to ask for it, but somehow that happened.

We know he didn’t have help from King Kai this time, because he doesn’t contact King Kai until after he’s made it this far.  Instead, he asks King Kai to contact the rest of the universe, so he can borrow power from them as well.

And you might argue that this “Universal” style is what makes the GT Spirit Bomb unique, but I don’t buy it.  The Spirit Bomb Goku used on Kid Buu also had power from the Namekians, as well as Otherworld.  Sure, this one gets more planets to join in, but that only makes the Bomb bigger, not more original.

And putting all these morts from the Grand Tour kind of makes this Spirit Bomb worse, if you asked me.  The Para Brothers ruin everything they touch, is all I’m saying.

Why is this kid still in the hospital?  Oh, right, silly question.  He has to pretend to be sick because the hospital is the only place to get food on this dumb planet.

So you might be asking why Omega Shenron doesn’t attack Goku while he assembles this Spirit Bomb.  Well, he does attack Goku, and the blasts just... don’t hurt him.  At all.  And to be fair, Kid Buu pulled the same stunt, but I chalked that up to Kid Buu just taking potshots to goad Goku into moving out of position.  Omega’s a lot smarter than that, so you would think all of his blasts would be strong enough to kill Goku, or at least hurt him enough to thwart Goku’s plan.  But no.  Goku just sort of bounces and shakes with each hit, but nothing happens.  Which... I mean, he did withstand that Minus Energy Power Ball earlier, so who the fuck knows anymore?

So yeah, Goku’s just invincible now, which sort of begs the question of why he didn’t try this from the start.  I mean, if he can just float there and be indestructible until he throws an irresistible attack, then why didn’t he try this on Baby and Super 17?

Anyway, Goku throws the bomb, it works, and it digs a big trench in the ground because that’s what happened in the Kid Buu fight.  And we know Omega’s really dead this time because we can see all seven Dragon Balls restored to their original appearance. 

Then Shenron just appears unbidden, which is a first.  The narrator wonders if something is going to happen.  Yeah, good eye, narrator.

✨Positivity Page✨

I hate this episode for ripping off the climax of the Buu arc, but I do enjoy seeing Omega’s bones as his body dissolves in the Spirit Bomb.  It’s the one thing Buu couldn’t offer, since he’s boneless and all. 

And this means the Shadow Dragons are finally all dead, so no more of their bullshit for the rest of this series.  I mean, there’s only one episode left, but it’s still a relief.

✨Is This Episode Worse than "The Roaming Lake"?✨

Yes.  This episode is trash.

None of this makes any sense.  Goku’s stuck in his base form because of the beating he’s been taking for the last six episodes, and yet he’s shrugging off attacks that are enough to bring down Vegeta, no matter which Super Saiyan form he uses.  Omega Shenron is rightly terrified of the Spirit Bomb, but he just stands there like an idiot and lets it hit him.  Oh, right, that was the other thing they didn’t rip off from the Kid Buu fight.  In Z, Kid Buu forced the Spirit Bomb back toward Goku, who was too exhausted to stop it.  Here, Goku just overwhelms Omega in seconds, even though Goku should be just as weary here, and Omega is far more powerful than Kid Buu. 

We never see how he convinces the people of Earth to help him make the Spirit Bomb.  We also never see how the four Kais convince all of the planets in the universe to help Goku.  Most of the beings in the universe have never heard of the Kais or Goku, and they have no idea what’s happening on Earth right now, or that their worlds will be threatened next.  This is all just slapped together, like a student pulling an all-nighter on a term paper. 

And it’s all completely arbitrary.  In the Buu Saga, Goku never tried the Spirit Bomb because he didn’t think it could do any good.  That’s why Vegeta had to come up with a way to adapt it to the situation at hand.  Otherwise, Goku would have used it from the start and there would have been no story.  Here, Goku has the whole thing figured out on his own, so he was just... waiting to see if anything else might work instead? 

See, this is why you shouldn’t plagiarize, kids.  It’s not just the dishonesty.  When you copy stuff without understanding how it works, you lose the subtle touches that made it worth stealing in the first place.  Toriyama understood the Spirit Bomb, and how to use it in his stories, and when to use it, and how to hold off on using it without making the characters look dumb.  The people making GT were just like “It’s the end of the fight!  Time for the Spirit Bomb!”

Ugh.

✨The Blade Braxton Memorial Haiku*✨

They killed King Furry?

Damn, GT won’t let us have

nothin’. Rest in peace, boy.

[the-graves-family]

5. Pinned Down | "It's broken."

Another day, another way he’s pissed off Aaron somehow.

Ace should really try to write down a list of things that annoy his brother. Not because he has any hope of avoiding them, but because he personally thinks it’d be funny to just have a stack of paper thicker than the dictionary.

He doesn’t have much amusement in his life.

The weight on his chest doesn’t let up, even as he struggles to breathe, pointlessly pawing at Aaron’s leg. His lung capacity had never been the same after the accident, and a fully grown man stepping on his chest is not exactly conducive to oxygen getting into his bloodstream.

Gasping for air, he whines as he feels his brother put even more pressure on his ribs. The lack of oxygen bothers him, but the feeling of his bones straining under the stress is worse. It all feels like it’s building up to something he’s really not going to enjoy.

The injustice of it all doesn’t even register with him anymore. What’s the point of thinking something is unfair if nothing is ever going to change that? Waste of energy.

Aaron looks amused, this time. Sometimes he looks bored. Other times, he doesn’t look like anything at all. Something cold, something strange. Those are the worst days. 

All in all, this hasn’t become too bad, yet—

The pain suddenly becomes impossibly sharp, as a wet, popping noise breaks the relative silence. 

A scream is ripped from his throat, and Ace feels tears welling in his eyes. He can’t remember the last time pain made him cry like that. Even Aaron stops pressing down, and blinks at him, mild curiosity shining in his eyes. Pained gasps turn into sobs as his brother steps off, and Ace doesn’t get the chance to even try to move away before Aaron is crouching down and reaching out.

He doesn’t get a moment’s reprieve before his shirt is pulled up and he feels cold fingers pressing into his ribs, feeling, searching for—

“Oh, yep, that’s broken,” Aaron mutters as he presses down on Ace’s seventh rib on his left side, and his brother wails. “Oh shut up, quit being such a fucking baby.”

Hurts, hurts to breathe, I can’t— 

A single glancing glare from Aaron is enough to make Ace shut his mouth with a whimper. He doesn’t want this momentary respite to end. He’s in a lot of fucking pain, and he just wants to crawl into his room and pass out. 

If he can even crawl at all, now.

“You think your ribs got damaged in your little accident and that’s why they broke so easily?” Aaron asks, while he keeps prodding the quickly forming bruise, making Ace’s vision dark each time he does.

No, I think you just stepped on me with your full weight and ribs are not meant to handle that.

He doesn’t say that. Because Aaron is not actually expecting a reply, and because he’d get so much worse than a bruised rib if he did.

There is a part of him that wants to cry and beg and plead for mercy, and he can feel tears running down his face as he struggles to breathe, but he knows that Aaron will only take that as encouragement. So Ace closes his eyes and tries not to scream as his brother once again pushes on the broken bone.

Aaron looks so happy.

[livlane02]

Fanfic: The Witching Hour

It was the same dream, the old terracotta bricks seemingly surrounding me in a complete circle. Natural light streamed brightly from the dome above, it had to be high noon, and a church bell was ringing in the distance. There was a presence lurking in the shadows, just out of the sun's reach. It was a creature and an ancient one at that. A vampire’s gaze was a weighty thing, oppressive, and dangerous.

With a gasp I woke to a gentle knocking on my door, I rolled over to see the dull light of daybreak. The face of the vampire eluded me yet again, as it had for the past six months. Bella, my roommate peeked her messy bedhead into my room.

“Andria are you up?”

“Yes,” my answer was muffled behind my hands as I rubbed my face.

When she moved in half a year ago, I noticed Bella’s lack of sleep and suggested doing nightly yoga. Which I had somehow turned into morning walks through the neighborhood. But, hey at least it was good for us. I went through my ablutions and sluggishly dressed for going out. I found Bella already waiting for me by the front door. Without a word, we slipped out and began our journey into the cool foggy morning. As always it took about two blocks for us to wake up enough to carry on a conversation.

“We should decorate for Halloween,” I stated noticing quite a few homes already getting into spooky season. It had always been a favorite of mine, just the irony of it all.

“It’s September…” She shot me an incredulous grin.

“I suppose we can wait until after Mabon to decorate.” I had my eyes glued onto this huge blow-up black cat with glowing eyes to even notice my slip-up.

“Mabon? What the heck is that?”

Damn. I could hear my dad’s voice just as clear as day, cautioning me about living with a mortal. I thought about lying, but Bella had become my best friend and rather odd herself. She held secrets, and at times the energy would become so strong my ears would ring. The only one I know for certain is that she had encountered a vampire due to the bite on her wrist. Maybe I could just tell her, of course leaving out a few key points. After all, in this day and age being a ‘witch’ didn’t immediately equal death.

“It’s a pagan holiday; it’s like our thanksgiving. Although it's celebrated from the twenty-first through the twenty-ninth.”

“Oh,” Bella almost tripped over her own feet, I reached out a steadying hand.

“Yeah it’s not something I advertise, but I grew up in a pagan household.” I jumped when she suddenly started laughing, well this was unexpected. Bella must have noticed my wondering look and she wiped her eyes which had begun to tear up with her mirth. “I’m sorry, Andria, I’m not laughing at you! Oh, I really should have known…So you’re Wiccan?”

“Yep,” I pop the last letter of the word. It was more than that, but I was rolling with it. Just as she wasn’t elaborating on the true meaning of her words either. “I’m glad you’re taking this so well, I was worried it would bother you.”

Bella scoffed and we began our walk again, “I’m sure there are stranger things out there than you being a witch.”

I merely hummed in response and linked our elbows together. Pieces of that shifty dream flashed in my mind, I could see it all as accurately as Bella beside me. Strange indeed…

September 22nd (The Autumn Equinox)

Going through protective wards is about as pleasant as peeing on an electric fence. The magic of whoever enforced them racked down your psyche, the more powerful the caster the worse it is. Any human who happened to stumble upon my great grandmother’s secluded home outside of Baton Rouge would suddenly find themselves going in the opposite direction… An uninvited caster’s mind would turn on them before they ever reached the house, their energy drained.

The old house was as it had always been. The light green weathered paint chipped as were the white shutters. Vibrant ferns still hung from the front porch, and Grandmother Geneva’s angel trumpets were still in bloom. I parked my jeep under the shade tree along the side of the house, before meandering my way to the backyard.

Geneva Wildes was a caster of the earth and was more at home with her hands in the soil. I stood for a long moment watching her work diligently in her garden. The big straw hat shielding her from the heat of the day, covered her still vibrant red hair. No gloves adorned her hands as she softly sang the tune My Bonnie. I felt like a ten-year-old again watching her, enjoying her melodic voice envious of her ease with the plants. They always died on me…

“She looks like an angel.” My Grand Dad Henrik’s deep voice startled me, he had always been a little too light on his feet. He leaned against the trunk of a nearby oak. The silver strands of hair mixed in with the dark seemed to glisten in the afternoon sun. “You would never know she had the temperament of a rattlesnake.”

“You love it,” I snorted quietly so as not to disturb her work. Although I would bet money she knew we were there. She had always been a blunt and no-nonsense kind of woman, whom I had always admired.

“That I do,” he readily agreed with a mischievous grin as he tilted his head back toward the front of the house in a gesture for me to follow him. “Without her combative nature to keep my mind sharp, these last one hundred and fifty years would have been mighty boring.”

“I imagine so.” I smiled while trying to push down the rolling in my stomach. I didn’t think Granddad would be here, I thought he would be with my father in New Orleans. But I suppose since stepping down from his seat on the Gathering he is no longer needed.

He eased himself down into the front steps with a deep sigh before his summer blue eyes met my own of the same hand-me-down color. I knew I had been caught. “Alexandria, have you been dreaming again?” My brain worked rapidly trying to think of a way to twist the truth. There was no way I could lie to such a strong castor, he would know immediately. But bringing up vampires would only send Granddad running right to my father. “I feel your distress, it calls out to me surely as if it were my own.”

“I have,” I admitted with a deep sigh. “However everything is… shadowed nothing is truly clear.”

“Well,” Granddad wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders, drawing me into his side, and leading me into the house. “Tonight would be the best night to seek out the uncertain all of our power will be surging.”

I smiled even as the knot in my stomach became tighter. That was exactly what I was afraid of…..

[albumwalloffame]

Let’s talk about The Shaggs

Yep, I’m talking about this album cover again, why? Because some information, that quite frankly I should have looked up before posting this album cover as part of the Album Cover Wall of Infamy 2021 Advent Calendar has recently come to my attention. So, let’s talk about this information and why it makes this cover so much worse.

So, the first question I should answer is, “Who actually were The Shaggs?” and beyond just “The band behind one of the most infamous albums in rock history”. The Shaggs were a rock band formed in New Hampshire, and was composed of three sisters, Dorothy, Betty and Helen Wiggin. Now, one might believe that, it being the sixties and these three being kids, they heard some records and wanted to make their own music, and admittedly I thought that too, because I was, and really still am, an idiot. These girls were literally forced into being a band by their father.

Their father was a man named Austin Wiggin Jr. and when he was young, his mother did some palm reading and predicted three things about Austin’s future, two of which came true, and the third was that his daughters would form a popular band. So, when the first two predictions came true, Austin tried to make the third come true, and how did he go about doing it? Getting his daughters interested in music by buying records? Letting them go to concerts? Nope, he literally pulled them out of school and bought them instruments and made them become a band.

Despite this literally being the worst way to form a band ever, it’s also noted that Austin never let his daughters go to any concerts, or even really have much of a social life. Helen even said that he was “Inappropriately intimate” with her once. So yes, these girls were essentially abused into becoming a band to fulfill a prophecy from a man’s dead mother.

So, my comment about “These girls look like they hoped their parents didn’t see them on a rock album cover”, is almost apt, but I can’t say it isn’t somewhat accurate. They look like they don’t want to be here, probably because the quite literally did not want to be here, it is a very “We’re here because Dad would kill us if we weren’t” vibes, and I do think he would literally kill them, nothing makes a musician legendary like death. Austin seemed like the kind of man who would go that extra mile. However, and I am trying not to say “Thankfully” here, Austin had a heart attack and died at the age of 47. After the family moved out and sold the place, the person they sold it to believed Austin’s ghost haunted the place and donated it to the Fremont Fire Department, who used it for a firefighting exercise.

As an aside, I genuinely did not think you could have a crazier story in music than The Beach Boys, the band that had ties to Charles Manson. However, this surpasses all of that.

So, that is the end of this band right? Their father died and they disbanded? Well guess what, in the early seventies, some guy actually played a few of their songs on a radio show, and that man would somehow go on to have a music career. You probably think, “Oh, he was probably just some nobody lo-fi noise jazz musician”, but no, this man became one of the biggest names in avant-garde and rock fusion, in fact he was actually present during the PMRC hearings alongside John Denver and Dee Snider, yeah, Frank Zappa was a fan of this band, and is probably a major reason for this band’s cult following. You know who else liked this album? Just a little punk kid from Washington you’ve probably never heard of, his name was Kurt Cobain. Yeah, The Shaggs are partially to thank for the big Grunge explosion of the 90s.

So, is this still one of the worst album covers in music history? Yes, again, it has the ickyness of parental abuse on it, they look uncomfortable because they probably are uncomfortable. They didn’t want to be musicians, but because their grandma predicted they’d be a popular band, their father tried to make them into a band. It is kind of funny though, he never did live to see the prediction come true, because they are something of a popular band in some circles.

I guess my comment wasn’t the only ironic thing about this band, eh?