#at least my childhood bestie she's like. she's grown a lot and even if i havent spoken to her in a while im real proud of her right

[todayisafridaynight]

Wanna put your friend in a lil terrarium just to see what wacky things she does stg 😂

i actually Cannot Stress the migraine she gives me every time we hang out. like without fail she'll always say or do something that ranges from mildly questionable or irritating but relatively Whatever to How Have You Survived This Long Without Burning Your House Down Boiling An Egg

[princessbrunette]

ok warning: this is going to be long, so feel free to skip it but i had to get this thought down: i am constantly thinking about being sarahs best friend and being into rafe. i mean, lets be real, if you friends with sarah, of course youd have a little crush on her hot, older brother. your probably a kook, your parents are friends with the camerons, so youve know sarah and rafe since you were a kid. you and sarah immediately hit it off, but rafe was always sort of a mystery to you, especially as you got older. he became more distant, more broody, a bit more mean. didnt show up as much to family dinners, didnt want to play dolls or games in the pool with you and sarah. you were a little sad, especially since you had a little crush on him, but it was ok, at least it wasnt sarah that was drifting away. as you got older, you saw less and less of rafe, just passing greetings and nods in each other directions. you remained a little biased towards him, saving a little soft spot in your heart for your childhood crush, but knew it was silly and useless. you basically went no contact when he went off to college, only seeing him at events and holidays. but, when the summer before your senior year approached, everything shifted. im not sure when he started thinking of you differently, when he stopped seeing you as sarahs annoying little friend. maybe when he saw how much you grew in a matter of months when he came back home for the camerons famous christmas party, his freshman year at college. he didnt know what it was, maybe all the wine he had drinken that night, maybe how the weather had gotten cold, maybe the suffocating air filled with obnoxious rich people, but the way that white, lacy dress hugged your curves, the way that fluffy little cardigan hung on my one button on you chest, he was obsessed. he was disappointed to overhear that you had gotten yourself a boyfriend, but not surprised with the way you had matured. when he went back for his second semester, you were constantly on his mind. seriously, when had you grown up so much? i mean, you had never been ugly, but shit. he thought of how you shouldent be wasting time with stupid high school boys, how they would most certainly not treat you right, not like he could. he knew they wouldnt be able to touch you he could, to make you scream like he could. he honestly felt a little perverted for thinking that way, given that you two practically grew up together, but he couldn't help it. he tried burying himself in mindless sorority girls to forget his newfound infatuation, but he definitely couldn't. in fact, i bet he imagined those girls were you, even accidentally calling them your name sometimes. so when ward offered that he could come home for the summer, rafe said yes with no hesitation. it was practically too easy, the way you walked around the house in a little bikini. all he had to do was give you a little look, his eyes glancing up and down with his trademark smirk, and he had you right where he wanted. you felt bad at first, since you were doing it behind sarahs back, but come on, were you really going to give up the opportunity with the guys whos always owned your heart? of course not, you told yourself. sarah would just have to understand, not that you would tell her anytime soon of course. but she was bound to find out, espcially with the way you and rafe were slowly getting less and less inconspicuous with your sneaking around. i mean, come on, fucking in the hot tub on the patio during his parents infamous 4th of july party is definelty not the way to go unheard of. and trust me, theres a lot more where that came from.

HELLO NOT U WRITING A WHOLE DRABBLE IN MY INBOX HEHEHHE this was so good u should write a fic on this😵‍💫

ugh but this concept is so juicy bc like….. the secrecy, betraying ur bestie by sleeping w her brother…. finally being seen by him in that way….. mhm i love it

[bylightofdawn]

WIP Sunday

Alas, I don't think I'm going to finish this fic today, my attention span has been shit for most of the day though I did manage to write this. It's kinda longer than is prolly necessary but I could not find a good place to break it up. Cahir is having a minor philosophical crisis and Gallatin continues to be a ride or die bestie who is probably the only thing keeping him sane at this point. Aside from that, no REAL story spoilers. I guess for context, Cahir had broken off from him in the forest to seek out a mage/hedge witch in hopes she might be able to assist him in breaking the curse. In order to facilitate that, she cut off a slice of his arm and got some blood from him. NGL I know nothing about magic in the Witcher universe but everything I've seen seems to have very much a something must be sacrificed in order to power the spell with a lot of entropy magic tossed in. And at least one of the curses we see in the show is based off of blood magic sooooo I'm just making shit up as go along.

EDIT: And I'm at 9K already so nope, definitely NOT going to keep this under 10K. I've also made th decision I am going to break this up into chapters if only because the Witcher fandom in general seems to have shorter fanfics and chapters. Posting a 5K or 6K chapter in Star Wars is nothing but I think I'll need to come up with making this a bit more palatable in shorter doses which honestly, thanks to the structure of this fic being intertwined scenes, I think will be pretty easy. -crosses fingers-

This was one of the poorer parts of the Cintran capital and people who had even a sliver of roof space were prone to keeping pigeons for meat animals. They took up less space than chickens or other barnyard animals, and the scent of them was prominent in the air.

Cahir was faced with the dilemma of whether or not he wanted to risk potential food poisoning by visiting one of the local ale houses or if it would just be smarter to go to a better-heeled part of the city. After some trial and error, he had found a vendor two streets over that sold reputable pigeon pies. The problem is, they were often busy and sold out by this time, but Cahir opted to take his chances.

The Great Sun was in his favor today because he managed to snag one of the remaining hand pies and a relatively quiet place to eat in peace. When he’d been a small boy, before the Usurper ruined his childhood by arresting and locking away his father and older brothers, Cahir would have never had something so pedestrian as a pigeon hand pie.

Still, since the fall of his family during the reign of the Usurper, Cahir had eaten far worse things than pigeon pie. There’d been a time when he’d been literally starving where he’d have done anything for even the burnt crust of a leftover pie.

That was before the White Flame had found and rescued him from the worst pits of Hell and had given him a purpose. He’d anointed him, molded him into the perfect soldier and finally a commander of his army and Cahir had repaid that kindness with a devotion that bordered on zealotry.

He’d learned to stop asking questions, deeming all violent mayhem and bloodshed even if it seemed utterly unnecessary was required. As a boy who had lived through one Usurper’s reign and grown up to hate and eventually overthrow that regime he knew how dangerous it was to leave a crop of angry youths the room to grow into angry men and eventually kill you.

Or at least, that was what Emhyr had told him and Cahir had accepted it as gospel truth.

For nearly fifteen years, he had eaten up everything the White Flame had told him without question. He had committed some truly heinous actions, like the wholesale slaughter of towns that dared to resist the might of the Nilfgaardian Empire.

Yet at time went on, the voice of conscience had steadily gone quieter. There were times when it still bothered him but those times had become less frequent. Older soldiers he met had claimed that was signs of a seasoned campaigner. And that good soldiers followed orders because they only have a micro-view of the battle.

Making sense of the bloody arithmetic of war was up to the generals and commanding officers. They had the vision to recognize that the slaughter of ten dissenters would prevent a hundred more from getting any ideas of rebellion. And in doing so, a thousand lives might be saved.

When Cahir had risen through the ranks, those choices had fallen into his shoulders and he’d made them with the same bloodless dispassion he’d witnessed from the White Flame and it has mostly served him well.

Still, he’d found himself becoming more and more disillusioned throughout this seemingly endless campaign and even more so since he’d been stuck in this hellish reality of being forced to replay the same day over and over again.

For the first time since he’d been a starving whelp, he’d begun to question his place in it all. He still wanted to find Princess Cirilla, believed in the pit of his bones he was destined to find and rescue her.

At first, it had been with the intention of delivering her to her rightful father, but lately…lately he was no so sure of that. The nightmares and dreams he had of her foretold of a terrible fate if she was delivered to the White Flame’s hands.

He didn’t know why he accepted that so readily but it felt so real and more like a prophetic vision than the troubled nightmares of a troubled mind that now Cahir did not know what he would do when he found Cirilla.

Of course, until he figured out how to break this damned curse, there wasn’t much he could do.

“Do you know how fucking long I have been searching for you? And here you are just eating and wiling away the day like it is nothing.” That familiar pissed off voice dragged him from his maudlin thoughts and Cahir was not surprised. Gallatin had found him in this place more than once.

Maybe a part of him had subconsciously sought out this space because he knew the elf would find him here. Cahir broke half of the pie and held it out to Gallatin without a word.

The black-haired elf’s nostrils flared with irritation and he reached out to grab Cahir’s arm in a tight grip. “Chaos take you, Cahir!”

Cahir could not contain the hiss of pain that escaped him when Gallatin managed to grasp him right over the bandages mostly hidden by his sleeve as pain licked up his arm like fire.

Gallatin was many things, but unobservant wasn’t one of them, and he immediately moved his grip down so that he could catch the man’s wrist in a much gentler touch. It was a minor miracle Cahir managed to keep his grip on the pie. “Do you mind?”

“What have you gotten into now?” The other man demanded as he shoved the man’s sleeve back to reveal the pink-tinged bandage.

“It’s nothing to be concerned with.”

“I’ll be the judge of that, thank you very much.” The elf said tartly and frowned at the bandages.

“It’s a minor injury, and as you can see, it has been addressed adequately.

“What happened Cahir?” There was a strange note in Gallatin’s voice, one which Cahir could not quite parse.

“I’m cursed, I sought out the help of a witch in order to find a way to break said curse.” The brunette finally confessed quietly. “Grab a seat and I’ll explain as best I can.”

By this point, he’d made it an almost artform, explaining to Gallatin the various vagaries and sordid tales of this walking nightmare. By now, he knew what to avoid if he didn’t want to lose control of the situation and what might set the elf off into a questioning tangent.

The first time had taken him the better part of an hour to read Gallatin in, now he’d gotten it down to a tight fifteen minutes. It never ceased to confound him why the elf was willing to accept the truth so easily when those closest to Cahir such as the White Flame doubted it.

He’d asked the elf about it once and got a vague answer about how magic had played such a centralized component in their lives that you just came to accept the impossible as real possibility. And while his people did not general dabble in curses and the darker side of Chaos and that the Aen Elle had been known to dabble in the darker arts.

By the time Cahir was done, Gallatin had finished his half of the pigeon pie without a word and looked vaguely poleaxed by the whole tale.

“And you think this witch is going to be able to conjure a cure for your curse?”

“I hope so, I’ve been doing this for almost six fortnights and have made little progress.”

Gallatin reached out and caught him by the shoulder in a companionable grip. “I’m sorry you have had to go through this, my friend. I hope this witch can help you but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned for you. Trusting your blood and flesh to some unknown witch…do you know the things she could do to you?”

He asked with concern bright in his eyes.

“I do, but even if she curses me with some kind of death curse…chances are I will simply wake up tomorrow free of the curse, and she will have no memory of me or hold any piece of myself she can use to curse me again,” Cahir admitted softly.

“It’s a dangerous game you are playing, Cahir. I will go with you to make sure she does not get any stupid ideas.”

That surprised him because he usually had to warn Gallatin of his impending death to divert the elf from his quest to reach the palace and his inevitable doom. And even then, it was a coin toss on whether or not he could convince him to put aside his overgrown sense of responsibility towards his people to listen to the human.

But Cahir would not look a gift horse in the mouth and nodded gratefully.

“I appreciate your assistance, Gallatin.” Cahir said with honest sincerity before climbing to his feet.

[vazaez]

what's the lore you have for your ocs? are they friends? family? how old are they? what do they do for a living?

Okay so! For starters they're friends, none of them is related with another, they met in different stages of their lives, not that they all just met at the same time

Dan and Sam are childhood besties, and neighbors so they hung around a lot since they were really small and their dads worked at the same place so they knew each other and their families so sometimes in work reunions of stuff the kids went too and played together (cuz damn is it boring to be a kid at ur parents work events with no one your age around, it still is as grown ups but now we get other ways to distract ourselves lol), conner and alex became friends in a school volley team, they already knew each other beforehand cuz they ended up in the same classroom when alex moved into town in six grade but they were kinda meh about each other, not that they hated each other but just kinda indiferent yea? So they became friends bcs of the team after a few disagreements and fights (they went from "i don't care about you lol we just vibin" to not standing each other to be close buddies,,, character development am i rite), Conner and Dan had been classmates since fourth grade when they got put into the same class and started getting along.

Then, since dan and conner were friends but alex and sam didn't really know each other more than any other classmate for a while they were in a "he/she is my friend's friend" and got along well without much interaction till eventually they actually got close and became a friend group

And last but not least Margot! She moved to that school in seventh grade, most people thought she was just mean or stuck up cuz she has a resting bitch face and didnt talk a lot with the rest of the class but the lil group wanted to include her regardless of what other people said about her even tho they also had doubts at first, as in "what if they're right and she's just gonna reject us brutaly" but got rid of that thought and decided it was worth a shot, that started a year long mission of getting her to know them slowly and showing her that they were being honest about wanting her around (she's insecure abt it cuz of reasons) and finally before she could even notice, they forcefully adopted her got her to be a part of their small group of dumbdumbs lol

Shoot i trailed of um anyways they don't really have canon ages cuz usually draw them in whatever age the context requires but I'll probably draw them mostly around 14-15 or 16,,, idk

And they don't really do anything since they're still in school,, but they get lil jobs in their free time if they can, like walking their neighborhood's dogs, helping in local stores, house sitting, pet sitting and baby sitting, etc.. ykno the type of stuff kids are legally allowed to do to get some money lol (at least here, idk how it is in other places)

[pokemon-teacology]

Okay so update

Turns out the person who was coming to meet me wasn't an employee of the stadium but Leon himself in the flesh

Great! (Sarcastic)

I thought they were just gonna squeeze me in somewhere with the crowd but nope apparently hop's mother pulled some strings (and by that I mean she made her son pull some strings) and now I'm in a box??? Whilde

This is somehow worse though he's up here trying to make small talk as though we've spoken at all recently aaaaa

For context, we were in the same class in primary school, and we and Sonia and my childhood bestie who will remain unnamed for privacy reasons used to hang out all the time.

But then Leon went on his journey as soon as he was allowed and didn't come to secondary school, and Sonia did the same when she got her yamper right before we were supposed to start secondary school. My other friend was in the year below us, so I moved up to secondary school by myself.

Which is fine! Y'know, I hung out with my best friend when she moved up to our school, then when she set out in her journey at 14 I flittered around friend groups for a while and found some buddies from my class to hang out with. They're now the folks I consider closest to me, y'know? I go to uni with like five of them and I'm living with two fo them this year, so it all worked out in the end.

But I haven't really had a lot of contact with Leon or Sonia since. Sonia at least is very good at keeping touch with people, and we texted a lot those first few years and hung out in the summer. But Leon?? I can maybe see him around Christmas time and on Hop's birthday, if I'm lucky with my timing. I barely ever speak to him, so he knows very little about my life, which is very normal for faded childhood friends that don't speak very much. I've changed a lot from when I was a little kid and I'm sure he has too.

I just kinda wish he wouldn't, like, try to be friendly??? He's fine! He's still really nice. But he asked about my ex and I gave him a very vague answer and I dunno if I want to go through the whole "turns out they were a horrible person and also kinda sorta maybe did or didn't cheat on me depending on who you ask plus they werent nice to anyone and I dunno how I didn't see it except yes I do I was naive and worshipped the ground they walked on despite them being awful for me" thing with him rn.

Y'know what's wierdest about this though?

He somehow remembers the names of all of my Pokémon. Even the newer members like Acacia and Crass. Somehow he knows them all??? I guess his mother grilled him on them or he has a list or something. I'd expect him to remember Chomp, since he's the one I've had for the longest, and Smilliam, since I ran to his house to show hop and drop off his gift from me and my brother on the Christmas that I got him. But I don't think we've spoken a word to each other since that day? Maybe like one or two per year. So it's weird that he knows. I dunno.

What I'm getting at is that this is a very awkward situation. I'm trying my best to be friendly, too, I don't want him to feel as though I'm ungrateful for all of this, becaus ei am very grateful for the opportunity to support my lil buddy. But it's bringing me back to an era of my life that I'm not too happy with.

I'm proud of how I've grown as a person since starting university. I like this to be the person people in my life remember and know. But having someone who's only information on my life comes from when I was a sensitive little kid with undiagnosed autism and a truly impressive social ineptitude is... weird. Especially when he seems to remember it all.

I dunno. I'm probably looking too far into this. I should just enjoy the show.

Speaking of which, it's about to begin, so I'd better quit my oversharing and watch.

I got up early to head to Motostoke, the opening ceremony starts in about an hour as ai'm starting to write this, so Im here a bit earlier than anticipated. I'm not quite sure who's going to meet me here, but I suppose I'll wait around the front of the stadium for now. I have a hot drink so I'm good to wait.

While I'm here, I'll give an update on Flambé and Ralter. We had a talk, a very long one, the other night. I... don't know if I approached it with exactly the right words, at least not at first, but essentially what I did was I sat them down with some tea and acknowledged that their rivalry was inconveniencing all three of us, and the team. I told them that I'd asked some folks and done some research, and I finally figured out why it was that they were always fighting. I told them they didn't need to protect me from anything, much less one another, but that I appreciate their effort and that they care about me, and I want them to feel as though they're performing their self-appointed duty of protection, without it coming in the way of their friendship. Because they used to be really good friends before this rivalry started.

So I've told them my plan to get them into that knight school, and to spend one-on-one time with one another, and that I've got some ideas for when we get back to Paldea for them to practice protectinge together. I let them know that I care about and love them both so so so so much, and that I just want them to be happy. I asked if they had any other ideas of how to do this, because I want them to be comfortable in this process of learning to work together. Ralter had some ideas, and Flambé seemed interested in trying them, so that's what we're gonna do! Things were still... tense between them throughout the conversation, and we did have to pause a few times to calm down a starting argument, but we managed to get it done in the end, and we cuddled on the couch afterwards until bed time :)

So I think things went well??? It's a rocky start but it's a start.

Anyway, I'm supposed to meet this person about now, so I'm gonna head in and I'll update when I'm where I'm meant to be.

[mediocre-daydreams]

(prologue) wild heart | bucky barnes x reader

a bird in flight

pairing: bucky barnes x reader

summary: hopping from town to town, you’ve been trying to escape the bad luck which haunts you. when you arrive in nyc; suddenly, your curse becomes a curiosity of tony stark, and you are inducted into the avengers. for a small town girl, your first introduction makes a big impact on bucky. literally.

warnings: swearing (there will probably be swearing in every chapter i can’t resist myself)

w/c: 1.5k

rhiannon rings like a bell through the night

and wouldn’t you love to love her?

takes to the sky like a bird in flight

and who will be her lover?

“-and who’s that?” you point out absentmindedly to wanda, who’s delighting in giving you a tour of the new compound.

“oh, him? that’s bucky.” she nudges you with her shoulder as you pass by the gym, taking a few extra seconds to peer through the glass doors at the man dancing gracefully in a sparring match with who you presume to be captain america. captain fucking america, you think. it’s all setting in now. i’m ogling a hundred year old man who just so happens to be the figurehead of a more progressive america work out while getting a tour of the avenger’s compound by who may just be the most powerful woman in the world. what next, am i gonna be besties with tony stark? or start talking to animals?

you could’ve predicted none of this. for the entirety of your life, (up until now, obviously), you hadn’t been remotely associated with the avengers. you had never met one, or become a fan (with the exception of black widow, who you secretly harbored a crush for throughout your late teenage years), or even considered applying to be a SHIELD agent when they began re-releasing training applications. when you first left your childhood home, a small town comprised of farmers, local craftspeople, and sprawling hills, you never saw yourself in a big city. you’d grown up in the opposite. as much as home was beautiful, you’d always been an outcast; “bad luck,” is what people considered you. it wasn’t your fault, or your intention, or even something you’d been consciously aware of, but in a town as small as yours, people began connecting the dots when they realized the only constant between the freak fires, car accidents, injuries, and even missing pets was you. anywhere you went, tragedy struck.

so you left, sick of the blame and accusations for things you were absolutely certain you had no involvement in. you’d hopped towns for almost 6 years before coming to new york, where people went for new beginnings. but the townspeople were correct, weren’t they? there was no way that many accidents could be coincidental. you wouldn’t be able to find a new beginning or escape from your past when the cause of all your struggles (and everyone else’s) had always been you.

“bucky? what kind of name is bucky?” you snorted. maybe that was a little unladylike, but you’d given up on first impressions long ago after realizing everybody would eventually come to the same conclusion about you in the end.

“it’s short for buchanan, which is his middle name. he and steve? they used to be best friends before, well, everything.” wanda waved her hands around as if her nonsensical gestures would fill in the gaps. you got the point. “bucky’s real name is james barnes; you’ve probably heard of him or seen at least seen him in a footnote or something—he was a sergeant in WWII, howling commandos, yada yada,” wanda rambled.

“i… didn’t know that, actually,” you confessed. wanda looked surprised. “i grew up in a small town—i mean really small town—and we didn’t really do that standardized education thing. it was more like trade school, so i’m a little behind on my WWII fun facts, but what i can tell you is how many inches deep you should bury strawberry seeds for maximum growth.”

wanda giggled. “you know, i’ve never met anyone like you. i guess we don’t have a lot of small town folk in the compound, and if so, nothing quite like what your hometown sounds like. it’s… refreshing. and i’ve been begging steve to start a garden with me—he’s got a fantastic eye for color, i think he’d be a great florist—but nobody’s interested. maybe you’ll finally be my big break!”

you smiled. “y’know, i’d love that. if i’m honest, i’m… nervous about all this. i still don’t really understand why or what or how or when,” you waved your arms around just like wanda had a few minutes ago, “this all happened. one minute i’m looking for roommates in canada and now tony stark wants to meet me? i’m-” you sighed. “is it okay if we go up to see him now? i don’t even know if i’ll be staying here, wanda. i really don’t know much about this at all. but i would love to see the rest of the compound after, once i find out what this is all about. and if i’m… staying. god, that’s insane, isn’t it?”

wanda opened her mouth to answer, but instead, her eyes caught sight of something behind you. perhaps a bit too late, you turned and realized the door to the gym was opening with you right in the path of impact. the man with the tousled hair, who you had just learned was bucky, was distracted as he dug through his gym bag for a water bottle, and hadn’t bothered to look up as he reached for the door. you could see captain ameri— no, steve— grab his friend’s arm, but a second too late. the door swung open and you were shoved against the side of the wall as the air was knocked out of you.

“fuck,” you muttered, feeling around your body to make sure you hadn’t splintered into pieces and crumbled into dust at the strength of a super-soldier flinging a door onto you.

“holy- i’m so sorry!” to his credit, bucky was quick to abandon his water bottle search and rushed to your side, grabbing your arms with less force than you’d expected from a man who was just trying to beat up captain america, to inspect for bruises or cuts.

“aha,” you panted, having not quite caught your breath or processed the situation. “yeah, no worries! i’m totally fine. uh, it happens to the best of us?”

bucky looked up at you strangely, and suddenly, you caught the gaze of the most startling blue eyes you’d ever seen. his furrowed brows and the crease between them loosened slightly as you tried giving him a reassuring smile. you put your hand on his shoulder, squeezing as if to silently say, “i promise.” his empty, dazed stare goaded a small laugh out of you. bucky swore your laugh was the most wonderful thing he’d ever heard. it wasn’t like bells—the delicate, silver, christmassy ones that men always seemed to love describing girls’ laughs as. no, your laugh was like the bicycle bell his sister, rebecca, used to ring as she rushed past the neighborhood, delivering newspapers. your laugh was like the church bells he’d fallen asleep to in his old brooklyn apartment, on nights when steve was running a fever and he’d look to the sky and pray to the stars that his best friend would be alright. your laugh was like the ship’s bell that pulled him away from his family during the draft, like a new beginning he wasn’t sure if he really wanted but regardless, had no choice in the matter.

unbeknownst to either of you, wanda and steve were exchanging similarly strange looks. “are you seeing this?” wanda mouthed to steve, who nodded, wide eyed. bucky was never one to accept physical touch, especially not from people who he’d just met. he was even wary of steve’s touch. but he didn’t give any sign of moving or indicate discomfort; he didn’t even flinch.

bucky made no effort to move, captivated by the mysterious, smiling stranger he had just assaulted with a door. there was something about you that made his stomach churn. there was something about you that screamed trouble.

“alright, we should probably get going,” wanda announced, grabbing your hand and tugging you to your feet. whatever silent interaction you’d just exchanged with bucky was broken immediately as you both scrambled to stand. from the new position, you finally saw how much taller the two super soldiers were. just over 6 feet, steve and bucky towered over you and wanda. but unlike steve’s welcoming, sunshiney presence, bucky seemed cold and brooding. you didn’t even want to meet their eyes, a little embarrassed to be looking up at them.

“right, yeah, that’s a good idea.” you turned to wanda instead, hoping you could get away from never interacting with the pair ever again after that mortifying introduction. wanda waved goodbye to the supersoldiers cheerfully as you trudged a few steps behind her. bucky watched as you stepped into the elevator, not even realizing he’d done so. steve elbowed bucky teasingly.

“she’s a real bird, isn’t she?” steve laughed at bucky’s rare display of infatuation. “have you got a crush? wondering what it’s like to love her, huh?”

“i- i don’t love her! i literally just met her.”

“i never said you loved her, buck. just saying it looks like you’d want to.”

“shut up, punk.”

❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。

lyric explanation:

rhiannon rings like a bell through the night, and wouldn’t you love to love her?

rhiannon draws attention like a bell’s ring through a quiet night, and one cannot help but fall in love.

takes to the sky like a bird in flight, and who will be her lover?

rhiannon was the goddess of birds; thus, she takes off freely of her own will. however, her flightiness and free spirit prevents her from settling down with one lover.

❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。

comment to be added to my taglist!

series masterlist | main masterlist

[shortkingvi]

the team rwby girls for the ask meme :)

alright settle in kids,,,,,,, let's do this one

Ruby:

favorite thing about them

just,,,,,, how good she is,,,,, the way they've managed to portray her growing up super well while also keeping that distinct innocence and childhood optimism about her is what makes ruby such a wonderful protag i think, and i really really love how, at the end of the day, she is just good, you know?

least favorite thing about them

this is moreso a plot/writing thing, but i don't always LOVE how she just has plans ready and is always the one to figure things out,,,,,, i understand plot armour and protag themes and whatnot, but i wish that they'd make the route to a plan a LITTLE more complex at times and i think a lot of that rests on ruby specifically

favorite line

"you were, and then you trained us"

GOD when she said this line????? i screamed it's SO good

brOTP

give me more nora and ruby interactions crwby i'm begging

OTP

nuts n dolts 😭 my beloved

nOTP

aside from the obvious ones? maybe wh*terose??? i don't HATE it, i just don't really get it u know?

random headcanon

enby ruby,,,,,,, also maybe she builds lego too

unpopular opinion

i don't listen to anyone ever so i don't know what's unpopular but uhhhhhh,,,,,, i guess i'm not crazy about people desperately searching for a pairing for her??? as much as i love nnd, i'd much rather ruby have ruby stay single through the show because i just feel like it makes more sense re: her character

also some of the pairings ppl think up are SO bad

song i associate with them

over the line - state champs,,,,,,, i cannot explain it, it just IS

favorite picture of them

her fucking SMUG face when she fell off the bridge i love it

Weiss:

favorite thing about them

man just like,,,,,,, so much,,,,,,, her dedication to PEOPLE in particular is so beautiful. she grew up with not a lot of love expressed freely and so the way she treats the people in her life now that she's grown and found safety is so endearing because she handles everyone with such care

least favorite thing about them

the fact that they haven't given her a dramatic anime protag haircut yet

favorite line

"i don't know loneliness like you do, i have my own version"

had to stop and absorb that one the first time i heard it,,,,,,, oof

brOTP

freezerburn babeyyyyyyyyyyyyy

OTP

schneekos,,,,, i pray to my schneekos shrine every night and am currently planning a fic about them

nOTP

🐝🐝❄️

random headcanon

trans weiss is my big one,,,,,, also she loves baking but is a horrible cook

unpopular opinion

hate it when she sings,,,,,,, this is moreso because i just can't handle characters/actors singing without cringing violently,,,,,,, leave me alone

song i associate with them

VOID - lil nas x,,,,,,, v much introspective weiss, lonely weiss, v4 weiss etc.

bonus: where i wanna be - A R I Z O N A is a weiss to pyrrha schneekos song

favorite picture of them

it's just a really beautifully animated scene

also when u realize that's pyrrha spear it gets way sadder ok bye

Blake:

favorite thing about them

might honestly die trying to answer this because, as much as i don't talk about her indvidually, she's SUCH an excellent character,,,,,,, i think her dedication to her friends and her ability to read emotions is really wonderful and always so refreshing

least favorite thing about them

no kiss yang yet >:(

jk maybe how type b she's become? i'd like to see her take some more leadership roles in the upcoming seasons rather than just kinda going with the flow, because she's a good leader and that should be a plot device that's utilized more

favorite line

"but that's just it... they're only a part of you. don't forget about the rest"

i just love it so much

brOTP

ladybug,,,,,, i LOVE ladybug

OTP

don't have one 😔 wish i did tho :(

nOTP

🐝🐝❄️

random headcanon

blake is an online shopper and has to be controlled by the team because she spends too much on the daily

unpopular opinion

maybe that i don't think she truly recognized and acknowledged her feelings for yang FULLY until like,,,,,,,, v6? i think she was in denial before then

song i associate with them

it's gonna be okay, baby - MUNA,,,,,,, just listen to it and agree with me thanks

favorite picture of them

bestie that's GAY

Yang:

favorite thing about them

GOD,,,,,, i latched onto her so quickly so this is hard but uhhhhh, i love that she effortlessly switches between team mom and team child depending on what role she needs to play at the time,,,,, i think that flexibility makes her the biggest team player in the show (which is all about teams so that's saying something)

least favorite thing about them

how her passion is sometimes seen as straight up brashness or naivety,,,,, i think she's not always the best communicator so it can seem like she's not thinking at times even though she's very methodical

favorite line

"if there's a chance of reward money, i say we go for it"

not my FAVOURITE favourite, but i love that she was willing to sell weiss at the drop of a hat

brOTP

either freezerburn or her and coco

OTP

again,,,,,, wish i had one 😞

nOTP

her and any man,,,,,,, also what i listed above

random headcanon

summer used to do her hair for her which is why she's so sensitive about people touching it now

unpopular opinion

she's not,,,,,, stupid lol and i feel like a lot of the fandom loves to pretend she is

song i associate with them

have you seen my son - benjamin booker

idk man, just trust me on this

favorite picture of them

we peaked right here in this moment

send me a character!

[lenacker]

Lovebirds

Summary: Captain Levi and Petra’s skill in titan-killing was definitely admirable but romance-wise? They’re just idiots. Erd was definitely much smarter than them combined. And he spent about 17 years to realize he’s in love with his childhood bestie.

Word Count: 1336

FFN | AO3

For two of supposedly the best soldiers in Survey Corps, Petra and Captain Levi were unreasonably dumb. Just a couple of idiots. Like, seriously. Assessing the battlefield and taking actions accordingly? Easy-peasy. Piece of cake.

Realizing they consider each other as more than superior officers and subordinates?

Nah.

Petra has been crushing on Captain for as long as Erd remembers. It’s not even a secret. Probably Captain Levi was the only one who didn’t know because, as he said before, he’s very dumb romance-wise. Petra went from a ‘Humanity’s Strongest’ hardcore fan to a disappointed fan (because he’s not as great as she thought-short and irritating), to just fell freely in love. If he got a coin for every time she mentions Captain in her sentences, he would be super-rich. Wait- that could be a fun dare for their next Friday night truth or dare!

She’s a very nice girl (woman, she definitely would scold him if he calls her girl once more. I’m a full-grown woman, Erd! Stop treating me like a teenage girl!) but her nice-ness increased tenfold for their very pleasant captain. She said he’s unapproachable, but she’s always the one who approaches him whenever he’s in one of his ‘you’re all so stupid, a waste of space and I don’t know why I agreed to take you little shits as my squad’ mood.

Every morning, she makes tea for all of the squad members - but with the captain’s preference. Black tea, with all its amazing earthy aroma, with a dash of sugar. She pours it to each cup (With your stupid manly egos, we would run out of the tea stock within a week! Not you, sir.), starting with the Captain’s of course so it’s warm and nice, and fresh.

If Erd doesn’t know them better, he’d say they have a secret-lover-rendezvous almost every night. They talk in his office until late at night, accompanied by another pot of tea and Captain’s stack of paperwork. He’s more of a hit-and-kill person rather than a sit-and-write person, and though he’s not gonna admit it out loud, Petra’s gift in writing and her diligence is about the only reason he can keep up with his paperwork.

There’s no way to know what else happened behind closed doors, but they never show any weird behavior or something like crumpled clothes, hickeys (and honestly it’s really hard to imagine the clean freak captain Levi doing not-so-clean activities).

Anyway, despite her obvious feeling to their superior, she’s surprisingly professional about it. She didn’t suddenly become a flustered-girl-in-love around the Captain, still the same fiery, determined, hard-working Petra.

Due to her smaller stature and different gender than everyone in the squad, when they first train together, Captain Levi tends to give her less or easier job and workout sets. To say Petra was angry was … an understatement. She felt insulted, confronts him and some riot ensues, and honestly, it’s still a mystery to him how the Captain managed to gain Petra’s respect back.

(Gotta investigate it! What a saucy subject, maybe he can ask Hange about it later)

On the contrary, Captain Levi was the one less professional about his feelings. He either sends Petra to the least dangerous condition possible or the closest to him so he could save her anytime. Not that Petra needs it that often anyway.

He talked to her with almost-affectionate (and by almost he means almost non-distinguishable), lower tone. Erd couldn’t even remember the last time he cussed her out, and he hung out with them pretty often. That's a huge thing, considering the intimidating man’s tendency to call people shitty-[noun] and using potty language as daily conversation.

Also, he’s suddenly a bit more chatty to her? Maybe Petra's friendliness started to affect him. Erd was the second-in-command, yet his interaction with his superior mostly consisted of strategies, formations, and a lot of ‘Erd, you’re in command’ with his classic cold, demanding tone. Oluo was often too scared to talk to him and Gunther was naturally silent.

But with Petra, the Captain could say not really necessary, trivial things like “Petra, you should write to your parents more often, they don’t live forever”, or “Do you think Erwin is in a good mood, I’d like to ask him for a new cleaning supplies fund“, or “Petra, brew the tea exactly 4 minutes to get the best taste”

Well, maybe that last two examples were important.

He wondered how much more time they needed to realize their mutual feelings. Erd himself took about 17 years to admit he considered Emily more than a childhood bestie. That’s bad enough. But he definitely was better at romance-field than both Captain Levi and Petra, for he knows their feelings more than they do. God knows how many years it will take before they become more than superior officers and subordinates.

Hmmm. Maybe they just need a little push. Or a lot.

-

Erd walked into the hall, it was the middle of the night and he’s hungry. He still had some food from his latest visit home, but he absolutely hates eating alone. Maybe there’s someone there he could share with. He basically knew everyone in the Survey Corps, so it didn’t really matter who that was.

Oh, actually it does matter.

There they are, the two lovebirds. You know, because they’re small and good at ‘flying’. They’re in that state where Petra gave the Captain his cup of tea and they just stare at each other’s eyes for 4 seconds too long. Erd cleared his throat.

“Good night, fellow insomniac soldier! Captain.”

Captain Levi just nodded his head slightly, Petra smiled.

“Hi, Erd. Why aren’t you sleeping? Missing the missus?”, she took two more cups, setting them side to side to pour the tea in.

“I always miss her, but that’s not why I can’t sleep. I’m starving, but can’t eat these chips alone so I’m looking around for eat-mates!”

Captain put his cup down (Erd still didn’t understand why he held the cup that way. Just training his fingers’ strength?), “Just don’t let the disgusting grease stain my papers”

“Done!” Who wanted to get near the paperwork anyway? Definitely not Erd. “You want some, Petra?”

She just grinned sheepishly, pointing the paper near her with a tilt of her head, “Sorry, don’t wanna stain them”

Ah, that’s a bummer. He really wanted to have at least an eat-mate.

“You sure? It’s divine, you know. Remember the curry you liked last time? These taste similar but better”

She shakes her head once more.

“I could feed you?” He’s really desperate now, he really needed to eat!

Oh. Maybe that’s not a good idea. If looks could kill, he would be dying right here, on the dirty floor by the scary Captain’s look. Alright. No more making that man jealous then.

Petra, oblivious of the shorter man’s reaction because she focused on stirring the two cups without spilling any drop of tea, just pouted, “Erd, I’m not a child! You don’t need to feed me! Just sit here and eat while we chat and do paperwork. Better than eating alone on your bed, right?”

Hmm, maybe. But he didn’t wanna spoil their moments together. So he just acted disappointed, with his best shoulder-slump and kicked puppy look.

“I guess I’ll just go back to bed hungry then, you guys are no fun. Good night Petra, Captain”

His steps towards his bedroom stopped by the Captain’s cold voice,

“Oi”

Erd turned back, “Yes, Captain?”

“Take over the training tomorrow. I need to go take care of something Sina.”

“Oh, okay, sir. You wanna take Petra with you?”

And accidentally get into a scenario where you two realize your feelings or are forced to sleep in one bed?

“Huh? Why would I take Petra? You want some time off, Petra? You should just tell me.”

See? He’s too caring!

“No, sir! I’m completely fine!”

“Okay, I’ll brief you all later. We probably get a new puny member soon”

A/N : This turned out about 3 times longer than I thought it would, writing Erd is a lot of fun!

[madzfm]

˛ ⠀ * ⠀ ★ ⠀  JESSICA ALEXANDER  .   CIS FEMALE  .  SHE / HER      ⧽ ⠀ have  you  seen  the  786  latest  post  ?  sources  say  they  have  some  serious  dirt  on  the  child  of  a  big  time   COUNTRY MUSIC STARS  .   they  haven’t  revealed  who  it was  yet  but  my  best  is  on  MADISON  DARLING  !  ever  since  that  last  update  about  how  she  ALLEGEDLY GOT CAUGHT SPORTING A BABY BUMP LAST YEAR BEFORE GHOSTING EVERYONE  i  don’t  put  anything  pass  them  .  i  mean  ,  these  celebrity  kids  are  just  out  of  control  .   they  do  whatever  they  want ��,  whenever  they  want  and  are  ungrateful  in  the  process  !!  i  mean  take  MADDIE  for  example  ,  they’re  a  TWENTY THREE  year  old  DANCER  ,  and  what  did  they  do  to  get  there  ?  have  famous  parents  !  like  hello  ,  just  because  you HAVE BEEN IN MUSIC VIDEOS WITH A-LIST MUSICIANS doesn’t  mean  you  actually  deserved  it  .   i’m   glad   the   786   is   taking   them   down   a   notch   .   it’s   about   time   someone   does   .

             𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐆𝐋𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐂  /  𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓  / 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

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hey ... hey ... how y’all doin’ ?  i’m sooo excited to be here , besties ! sorry i’m late with the intro , it’s been a looooong weekend for me but i’m eager to get the ball rolling . so here’s the rundown , the google doc has a full bio + more stats + headcanons but i don’t expect anyone to actually read all that nonsense so i’ve tried my best to sum it up below ( it’s still kinda long tho i’m sorry y’all i ramble too much ). i’m always down to talk plots & threw a few wanted connection ideas at the bottom , so feel free to hmu on discord any time <3 but yes okay let’s get into it

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━━     ˊ     *     𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬  . .

𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞. madison dallas darling .   𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞(𝐬). maddie , mads .   𝐝𝐨𝐛. april 14 , 1998 .   𝐚𝐠𝐞. twenty - three .   𝐳𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐜. aries sun , libra moon , leo asc .   𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫. cis female .   𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐬. she / her .   𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. bisexual .  𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞. nashville , tn .   𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 5ft 5in .  𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. high school diploma .   𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. dancer / realty tv personality .   𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬. robert “robbie” darling - father . dixie darling - mother . delaney darling - sister .   𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬. compassionate , imaginative , family-oriented  , devoted , generous , sympathetic , idealistic , self critical , naive , competitive , indecisive , impressionable , elusive , sensitive .

━━     ˊ     *     𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐲 . .

tw : things like shitty controlling parents , injury , & pregnancy are mentioned

   born & raised in nashville , tennessee , madison is the daughter of two country music icons ( basically blake shelton & miranda lambert ) & has only ever known a life in the spotlight . her parents were a widely adored it couple who shared their lives with millions of viewers across the world with their reality tv show . at 7pm cst you could tune in to watch robbie & dixie raise their two daughters - having some good ol’ wholesome family fun while juggling responsibilities that come with being famous artists . to any outsider looking in , they seemed like the perfect family . a loving father , a supportive mother , two prim & proper daughters that collected accolade after accolade in every pageant & talent competition they ever entered . but you shouldn’t believe everything you see on tv , even if it’s deceptively labeled as “reality” .

   when the cameras weren’t rolling , the darling sisters were left under their mother’s restrictive control . dixie darling treated her daughters more like dolls than living beings , madison & delaney were basically pretty little accessories . while robbie never dared to mistreat his daughters , he was around a lot less than the show made it seem - often touring the world rather than spending quality time with his girls . plus , dixie & robbie seemed to endlessly fight with one another - nearly every childhood memory madison has of her parents involves them yelling . if she wanted to see them looking happy & in love , she’d have to tune in to the fabricated reality on their own show to get a taste of what a happy , loving family looks like . 

   you can’t be a child of dixie darling without being exploited in some way . while delaney was pushed into the music scene , madison was shoved into the world of dance . she took every class that was offered & practiced for hours upon hours to perfect her craft . her sister had taken after their folks with the singing voice of an angel & the looks to rival that of miss universe , meanwhile maddie was good for two things : dance & doing whatever her mother said . so when dixie said to twirl , she twirled , when she said do a grand jeté, maddie asked how high & then over performed like the good little girl she was trained to be .

   it wasn’t until her parents got divorced & maddie moved to miami to be with her sister , her father , & her father’s new girlfriend that she sort of came out ( or more accruately described as dragged out ) of her timid , non - confrontational , subservient shell . with a longer leash , she had more freedom to roam far & wide . no one tried to tell her what to do or who to talk to & considering she was just a privileged teenager with endless funds & the status to get away with just about anything , you can imagine how badly that went . every mistake she made was broadcasted onto people’s televisions or headlined in tabloids . it was stressful , growing up & messing up all under the watchful gaze of millions of people who felt entitled to berate her for her poor life decisions . just because they watched her grow up on tv didn’t mean they actually knew anything about her . & yet so many people shared their unsolicited opinions on her & her life . it drove her insame .

   maddie wasn’t handling the stress of being well known very well . she wanted a break from it all , to just go somewhere far away where no one knew her name & just live by herself . it was a silly dream . nothing she’d ever actively pursue . but the universe has a funny way of giving us a taste of what we think we want just to teach us a lesson . 

   so over a year ago , maddie found out that she was pregnant . it was a shock to say the least . she kept it a close guarded secret from everyone but her sister for awhile . not only was it a life changing development , but it was one thing that she was determined not to share with the rest of the world . with the idea of running away in continuous loop in the back of her mind , she came up with a plan to buy herself some time . she faked a really bad injury during a performance & let the media run with saying she might not be able to walk , let alone dance ever again . pushing the cover story even further , she claimed to be in need of intense physical therapy & sought after it in a luxurious private lodge in new zealand . that’s where she stayed during her year away , letting no outsiders come visit while she figured out how she was going to move forward with this baby growing inside of her .

   so maddie finally got the break she was looking for even if it wasn’t under the circumstances that she would’ve liked . but she adapted to the situation . in her time away , she went through the entire pregnancy but it was basically decided for her by her parents that it was best to give the baby up for adoption . the little girl would be in good care by a couple that was a family friend of the darlings . better to bless someone who wanted a baby but couldn’t have one than for maddie to keep her daughter when she wasn’t in a place to take care of her . it broke her heart , honestly . she had grown quite attached to the baby & even entertained the idea of being a single mom even though she knew her own mom would never let that happen - it would go against the strict narrative that they try to put out there about the darling family .

   after a year away , maddie is back in miami without anyone knowing what really happened . she keeps using the “injury” as the excuse for her absence from the spotlight . anyone really close to her might be able to tell that something’s off , but she’s trying so hard to act like everything is fine & nothing has changed at all . she might even be able to get away with her lies - if it wasn’t for that damn 786 website threatening to spill the tea & make her life hell .

━━     ˊ     *     𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 & 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 . .

   a wannabe good girl gone bad but harbors a deep rooted fear of being a disappointment & a failure due to her mom’s strict parenting style . so like she wants to be rebellious & come across as carefree but internally she’s panic screaming always ( honestly relatable like same , girl )

   well - mannered in a sweet southern belle kind of way with her please’s & thank you’s & calling everyone ma’am & sir out of respect & what not

   biiiig mom friend energy . she just wants to make sure that everyone is taken care of . she can get very protective & a little helicopter parent-y with her friends . it probably has something to do with control issues that she doesn’t realize she has but we don’t have time to unpack that rn akjsdbk

   before her year away i want to say that she was a lot more people please-y / overly eager to please ?? like rarely said no to people that asked for favors , always agreed to any plans people invited her to out of courtesy , & what have you . but now i see her as being a little less patient than before & a little bit more unhinged & quick to shut down or snap

   guillable ! naive ! dumb as hell ! believes that everyone was raised with the same values as her & has a big of a heart like she does so she’s easily subjectable to getting her feelings hurt & i say let it happen !!

   wants to be mysterious so bad but there is very little known about her & her life that isn’t public knowledge . she could get shit on by a bird & it’ll probably become a twitter highlight idk she just wants to believe she’s imperceptible & acts all evasive in order to keep her private life private but that rarely ever has the desired effect

    one of those annoying rich & famous people that’s like “i wasn’t meant to be famous . i was meant to have a normal life & be a normal person” but like !! she is actually so out of touch with reality & probably couldn’t tell you how much milk is at the grocery store because she has people to do mundane day to day things for her . spoiled little privileged rich girl , let’s be real . her dad tried to keep her humble , idk what happened

   dance style / career is pretty much inspired by maddie ziegler but also not really bc i am very picky & choosey about which aspects of her career i’m pulling from

   boring on social media because she hardly ever posts & is very short with her captions & tweets when she does make an appearance online every blue moon 

   dodges questions about what she’s been up to while she was gone like she’s in the matrix or something . all that pr training her mom put her through when she was younger is coming in handy because she has not given a single honest , straight answer in the months she’s been back . would rather talk about anything else than herself right now so don’t be surprised if she pulls some random subject changes out of her ass if people get nosy . i’m sure the common conspiracy is that maddie was so embarrassed by the fall on stage that she went into hiding 

   delaney is the kim kardashian & britney spears of the family while madison is the kourtney & the jamie lynn xoxo

━━     ˊ     *     𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 . .

ride or die , bad influence , frenemies , family friends , good influence , confidant , rival , girl squad , non judging breakfast club , childhood friend , unlikely friend , exes on good terms , exes on bad terms , neighbors , pr friendship , pr enemy , social media mutuals , party buddies , secret friend , secret hook - up , crush , friends with benefits , adventure buddy , enemy with benefits , dance partners , mentors , mentees , sibling like relationship , will they won���t they , people suspicious of her & her supposed “injury” , father of her baby 👀 jk ..... unless

[pr14nce15]

So quite a few things have changed since the massive blowout with the 1st lot of teens. They have all moved on with their lives and have grown into beautiful young people. Selena, Henry, Lori and Lorenzo have stayed together in the original apartment. Mackenzie, Jamie and Brody have moved into a new place in what used to be Jamie’s childhood home. And Rochelle who has shared with new roommate and best friend Miguel Perez. All of them have cut contact with Jasmine and Malachi as they were the reason why things were such a mess in the first place. As far as we know they have moved away from everyone and started their own fresh start.

For Prince, it was hard for him to move on to new things as he wasn’t ready to let go of his past. Encouragement and positivity was what he needed and with all of that with the support of his friends and family, he did just that. He moved in on his own and during the time he was dating around but things didn’t turn out well. But when his apartment block were expecting a new neighbour, just with Prince’s luck he would lay his eyes on the very glamorous and beautiful Sierra Simcox. They had a really good bond, not like the bond he had with Jasmine. It was a special type of bond. They have been together ever since and Prince is glad he has been able to find his princess.

Other things that have happened for the second Generation, None of us had seen this coming but, Brody has been working on his sexuality. He has always been unsure about it since him and Rochelle we’re together. But since he has broken up with her he has been exploring his options. He tried with other girls and it just didn’t feel right for him. So when he met Rochelle’s bestie Miguel, he felt weak to his knees, and there was no doubt about the attraction towards them both. But since their first encounter, they are both together but Brody did find it hard to come out to his parents. Bella could tell from the moment he said to them “I need to talk to you guys about a life changing thing” and if didn’t bother her in the slightest. As for Dylan, he is still trying to get used to the fact that his son is now gay and is dating a guy but he will understand properly. Eventually.

As for Gabrielle who was also caught in the heartbreak, continued to live her life without Malachi being in her life. She spent most of her time with her cousin Simone, who is literally her best friend, her ride or die and soulmate.

But like Prince you never knew what or who could be around the corner for her. Was we right? Absolutely. She ended up meeting new guy in school Jamal Thomas, who she is now happily with and is glad he’s the better one out of the two. But little did we know Jamal is related to someone or people we used to know quite well. Remember Bob Pancakes? Well this is his nephew. When Gabrielle told us we weren’t exactly happy about it as of what’s happened in the past with Bob but at the end of the day it’s about them and we have all grown to accept it. They are all happy and loved up together.

On the story of Bob Pancakes, we know he is back in town but he has definitely caused a stir with a family and thank god it’s not ours. It’s to do with The Morrison’s. Now I love Kayleigh to bits and she is one of my best friends but, she is very needy and desperate. Lately things with her and Curtis have been ok since having Aimee but the thing they are lacking is Intimacy. Curt is at the age of just wanting to live with life as a older adult and doesn’t seem sex is a big thing anymore. But Kayleigh is still feeling young and raring to go wild and be physically intimate doesn’t sit with them both right. But one thing that I explained to Kayleigh which I haven’t even told anyone yet is that, I ended up getting pregnant for the 3rd time but me and Ty already discussed we didn’t want any children so, as much as I didn’t want to do it, I ended up aborting the baby and I only told Kayleigh about. Of course Kayleigh told Curtis and said “it’s alright for some people who are still physically intimate but, you can’t even touch me anymore…” and then Curt got angry about it and then and that stemmed an argument that got really nasty. So Curt decided to move out to Jamie’s apartment for a couple of weeks till he felt ready to come back. Which just left Kayleigh and Aimee at home together. But of course Kayleigh just wants something, and that something was Bob Pancakes they met up during the day, she invited him back to hers and you all know how the day ends up. Little does Curt know that his wife is cheating on him.

On a more positive note, Other things have gone on. Marielle and Devonte got pregnant whilst on their honeymoon. They did have a few complications through the process but it’s got them where they need to be and that’s their twins and they named them Braylon and Tyson.

We didn’t hear much about Cecilia and Alex’s son but they named him Joseph. They are such a lovely little family and this picture reminded me of Bella and Mortimer when they were younger.

Well keeping it in the family, It’s been a while since we have updated about Cassandra and Branden. Well, they had kept it quite a long time after their wedding day to start thinking about having another baby but after so long, Cass got pregnant and they had a little girl called Faith and I just think The Bowlands are just the perfect family. Ayden was a little bit awkward about having a sibling at the start but he has grown used to it.

And another baby bombshell, All us oldies said we wouldn’t be having no more children now but for Gavin and Zoe, they felt they needed one more and they did. Little Harmony Richards completed their family.

And last but not least we have a new engagement, again keeping it in the family, Lorenzo ended up proposing to Lori and she said Yes. And I am so happy for them. They scream power couple to me especially after their makeovers. Congrats guys!!

Well that is just about it at the moment but there is definitely more to come for sure.

[wearetakingthehobbitstogallifrey]

Kdrama recs Part 2

Hello @camsthisky and anyone else who cares! I do apologize for the delay on this post--it has only been 84 years since Part I of my kdrama recs, I know, and I thought about going for a full century but this is me finding a way to de-stress after watching the first episode of I-Land alkdjfadlksj I’m gonna die of heartbreak but whatever

Speaking of heartbreak, there is a lot to be found in Korea’s wonderful historical dramas, so like, be warned—or, if you are an angst-loving monster like me, settle down for hot guys and good cries

Let us begin! (or, if you want romantic modern dramas see Part 1)

1. Scarlet Heart Ryeo/Moonlovers: 

aha ahahahahahaha *weeps* You may have heard people talk about this show. You may have heard ME talk about this show. This thing was my first kdrama ever and it RUINED ME 

Disclaimer: I have seen this show once and rewatched it twice and on the rewatches I can never quite make myself watch the last 4 or 5 episodes because things get tragic and messy and I get mad. HOWEVER there is a lot of good in the first part of the show and because this thing was all the rage in everywhere but Korea itself, there’s like over 300 fanfic for it and several good fix-its, including one by my good friend @thelonelybrilliance

Ok so anyway this show which could also be called An Abundance of Princes starts with a young woman from modern times getting thrown back into ancient Goryeo during an eclipse and finds herself in the body of Hae Soo, the cousin of the wife of one of the princes, and thus she gets embroiled in royal affairs which are, quite frankly, a mess. See, the evil eyeliner prince (whom I love even when he’s the worst) is plotting with his mom to get the Crown Prince out of the way aka dead BUT who should return to the Palace but the 4th Prince, Wang So, who has spent at least half his life living as hostage to a powerful family. 

So has a scar that cuts across his eye and which in this society makes him a horror to look at or smthing idk he just looks extra hot to me but anyway he wears a mask and is known as the wolf dog (or as the MURDER ANGST CUPCAKE thanks @abadpoetwithdreams). He might seem a little rough around the edges at first because his life has been hell but he really just wants to love and be loved okay people need to be nice to him wtf

Other princes include: 

    1.  the Crown Prince, Wang Mu, a good egg, not particularly charismatic but he tried to protect his lil bro when no one else would

    2.  the 8th prince, Wang Wook, who reminds me of a fellow named Shane and I don’t mean the cowboy

    3.  the 10th prince, Wang Eun, a dumb adorable spoiled bby (played by Baekhyun from EXO)

    4.  the 13th prince, Baek Ah, a tol soft boi, an artist, a BAE, a BRO, a SHIPPER ON DECK

    5.  the 14th prince, Wang Jung this son will fight everyone he’ll fight himself he just loves to fight! Not always wise but he’s a good boy and I like him a lot 

    6.  just realized I skipped the 9th prince but nobody cares 

One quick note is that IU plays Hae Soo, and I enjoy her a lot in the first half of the show where she is still spunky and rebellious...sadly her character kind of falls apart/gets too weak for my liking as the episodes progress

The MAIN reason why I feel it my duty to recommend this show to everyone despite the fact I have never met anyone who wasn’t traumatized by it is LEE JOON GI

Yes, this man:

 I mentioned him in the previous rec post—he played Bong Sang Pil in Lawless Lawyer (AND IS NOW CURRENTLY STARRING IN FLOWER OF EVIL WHICH WILL BE ON ANOTHER POST AHDFOIASDHGALDSKJF FRIQ I AM IN LOVE WITH THAT MAN) 

BUT SERIOUSLY LOOK AT HIS PHOENIX EYES!!! HIS RAZOR SHARP FEATURES! HIS BIG ADORABLE EARS! HIS BEAUTIFUL EXCESSIVE BANGS! 4TH PRINCE WANG SO LOVE OF MY LIFE

SOMEONE PROTECT THIS BBY

2. Hwarang: Ok so right off the bat I am going to smack down a disclaimer that I can’t stand the female lead. TRULY CANNOT. Thus, I don’t like the romance, and only care about the love triangle as far as it just shows how sad and lonely one of the guys is. (Also there are scenes of dumb old men plotting and I don’t like them either). At the end of the show, I am happy that the one guy is NOT stuck with the female lead as his wife. Good for you sir

Sounds like a show to steer clear of then, right? WRONG. This is a show that you skip through because the scenes that are good? Are GREAT

Picture this: It is the Silla era of Korea, and the queen is ruling as regent in place of her son, who has been hiding all his life because everyone wants to kill him. Well, son is now grown and must soon come into the light and take the throne. Queen who both wants her son as king but also really likes being queen decides to do everyone a favor and form an elite fighting squad out of all the prettiest and most talented sons of nobles in the land, with the idea that they will be loyal only to the throne, and thereby keep their dads from plotting to destroy everything. 

Let me tell you something, these ARE the prettiest boys in the land. Good hair, good jawlines, beautiful smiles—the cast lineup includes Park Hyung Sik and his cute lil elf ear, Park Seo Joon, Taehyung (yes from BTS!), and Choi Minho from Shinee, plus two other actors who are lesser known but who are drop-dead gorgeous. Anyway. Sorry, but they really are all beautiful. 

The fun thing is they don’t all get along right away, a few of them are VERY much opposed to the other for various reasons, but they all have to bond and become brothers in arms. And what they don’t know is that the real king snuck in and is one of them. 10/10 I would die for the boys! (also Tae has an older half-brother who is a lower rank than him but whom he looks up to and that makes for cuteness and pain) Once you skip the boring or annoying parts of the show, the rest has so much delight, laughter, and oops pain, lots of pain. I want to go re-watch. 

Two other things I should mention about the show: a super soft side romance between secondary characters and a game of, as they call it in the show, HOT SOCCER 

^pretty boy 1 (with the cute elf ear sadly on the other side of his head)

^pretty boy 2 (sad cheekbone bby) and pretty boy 3 (happy cheekbone bby)

^pretty boy 4 (the prettiest of them all, and he knows it!)

^pretty boy 5 (aka Taehyung danced around the set of a historical drama and made everyone adopt him as their bby) 

3. Faith/The Great Doctor: This is a longer kdrama at 24 episodes and they didn’t have much of a budget so special effects aren’t the best or anything but I just got really attached to all the characters? This is another modern girl goes back in time but UNLIKE SHR it actually has a happy ending, so if you need a historical drama cleanse after that tearjerker/enrager, this could be it for you

Eun Soo has to navigate the ancient kingdom, keep people believing she is a heavenly doctor with special powers, and keep Choi Young alive so he can fulfill his promise of returning her to her own time. The problem with that is Choi Young does have kind of a death wish because of reasons—

Eun Soo is a plastic surgeon who would really like a rich handsome husband one day but them’s the breaks for you, aka she has had no luck in that department. Back in ancient Korea, Choi Young (played by Lee Minho in sadly the only role I really love him in) is a high-ranking beloved captain who can fall asleep anywhere. Oh he can also make electricity with his hands! :D

The story begins when the sleepy sad captain tries to escort the new king and queen to their palace. This was during the time period when ancient Korea was basically a puppet kingdom/tributary of ancient China (Yuan). The king (who is very smol and lacks confidence, but still has a good heart for his country) lived as a hostage in Yuan for many years, and his wise tol queen is a princess of that land, and someone needs to sit them down and make them talk because they actually love each other a lot. Anyway, when the queen gets injured by assassins, Choi Young goes searching for a legendary doctor, winds up in modern Korea, and steals both Eun Soo and a SWAT shield, because hey, it looked cool I guess

Lots of fun things in the show: Choi Young has a crew of soldiers who are BEYOND loyal to him, and while he doesn’t think much of the king at first because he’s been burned by kings before, they slowly become bros and shippers on deck for each other. Eun Soo does not lose her spunk or loyalty unlike other people I could mention *cough*HaeSoofromScarletHeartRyeo*, and it cracks me up when she curses people out. There are also a bunch of people (mostly bad guys) running around with special powers or gifts, including a flame lady and a flute boy, and the latter wears delightful anime wigs, keeps his sword in his flute, and plays his flute to kill—literally! I love flute boy very much 

sorry it’s black and white but DO YOU SEE THE SWAT SHIELD

4. My Country: A New Age:

ANGST ANGST ANGST PAAAAAIN BUT ALSO BEST INTRO BEST FAVES BEST ACTORS

Picture this: two young men, who both hail from childhoods of trauma, who grew up together and are best friends, and who are tragically forced apart and end up on opposite sides of a conflict that threatens to upend the current rule of the kingdom. This IS the star-crossed brotp you’ve been waiting for!

Seo Hwi is the son of a general who died a criminal, and all he wants is to live simply and earn enough rice take care of his younger sister, who has seizures and a sweet crush on Hwi’s bestie. Hwi is the best softest most loyal boy with a good and true heart, a great deal of courage, and a talent for wielding a sword, and just wait till you see the best one-shot fight scene ever of him in battle, it is INCREDIBLE! (He is played by Yang Se Jong, who I now want to see more of) Hwi has an abundance of charisma points in that he picks up a small band of loyal soldier friends and they become the best little found family, lots of brotp-ness in this crew—do not mess with any of them because they will all FIGHT you

Seon Ho meanwhile is the illegitimate despised son of a powerful nobleman, only tolerated because the legitimate son died. Seon Ho loves his friend and is very protective of his friend’s little sister who crushes on him but his dad is a high class grade A power-hungry jerk and that causes complications of course. Seon Ho also has a good heart, he’s a gentle soul really, but he always gets stuck in bad positions and unfortunately makes a couple of difficult/bad choices so he hardens himself as much as he can but the consequences always kill him and he just wants to save his friends and destroy his dad and the stupid hierarchy that treats bastards as lesser. WHY IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK? 

Seon Ho he is played by Woo Do Hwan who has so much talent I die so many times over in this show just because of the way he portrays Seon Ho like that sad sad boy is one of my favorite characters evER! Is he problematic? At times maybe but I am HERE for him he just needs LOVE AND AFFECTION AND AN ABUNDANCE OF GOOD FRIENDS BUT INSTEAD (SOMETIMES THRU HIS OWN FAULT BUT HE ADMITS THAT) HE JUST SUFFERS AND SO I SUFFERRRR

*grabs a towel and dries up my tears*

Hwi also falls in love with a woman named Hui Jae (or was it Hee Jae i can’t remember) and they are very cute together, she’s pretty cool but the show’s one failing is arguably that they kind of underuse her in the plot as the story goes on? But I still like her and she still has a good role, and she is both brave and kind and not afraid to step in or tell people off, also keep a weather eye open for patching up scenes! 

Oh yeah, eVERYONE in this gets hurt/stabbed/shot/bloody, such a shame they have to take their shirts off to clean and bandage the wounds ;)

Last character I must mention is Bang Won, played by Jang Hyuk in his second interpretation of the historical figure. Bang Won is the fifth? son of the guy who becomes emperor/king, and he has his own plans for the country, so when Hwi catches his eye, he recruits him to his cause.  What you need to know about him is that he has issues with his dad, is slightly unhinged, and cannot and should not be parted from the fan that he constantly carries around with him. Gotta say, Jang Hyuk is FANTASTIC (heheheheheheh) in the role, able to convey all kinds of emotion in the rise and fall of his voice, in the tilt of his head, the tears of his eyes, the flick of his fan. Give this actor all the awards! 

To sum up: if you like to cry for days after watching a drama, if you like excellent heart-wrenching brotps, if you like conflicted characters, if you like amazing music and setting and plot, if you like guys with good hair and arm muscles (and 

abs, thank you shirtless scenes what) this show is a Must Watch 

DID I SAY STAR-CROSSED BROTP I MEANT SWORD-CROSSED BROTP ADKJFADLSKJFLKJDFALKDGKLJL </3

~

Ok I was going to leave the historical drama post at this for now but...I’m going to cheat a little and include the one historical C!drama I just finished.Yes folks I am talking about:

5. Nirvana in Fire:

Ok so maybe the switch from kdrama to cdrama makes you uncertain. Maybe the fact that this show has FIFTY-FOUR EPISODES makes you go hell no I don’t have enough time for that. Well if you overlook this show for those reasons, you are making, and I do not exaggerate, the greatest mistake of your show-watching life!

Look, first, this drama has one of the best, most intricate, most satisfying plots in history, with like 20 characters you would die for, and second, the episodes are only about 42 minutes each, which is shorter than most kdrama episodes, so you can deal.

Once upon a time there was a general/family who were just too good to exist in corrupt old China, so naturally they were framed for treason and there was a giant massacre and everybody died, including the eldest prince who was like um dad maybe this is all a horrible mistake and the king was like no u are the mistake. Sad times.

One of the many younger princes named Jing (A NOBLE HEART, if not always the cleverest) returns home from wherever he was, finds out that not only did his prince brother die, but so did his best friend/brother in the whole wide world, Lin Shu, son of the general. Because he insists on the innocence of said bros/family, Jing becomes an outcast prince and is shuffled off to fight in wars where he can’t cause any trouble. Meanwhile, Princess Nihuang, Lin Shu’s brave, awesome, amazing, wise, incredible girlfriend, refuses to marry anyone else, and because she is too cool to be messed with, nobody tries to banish her

Cut to I think eleven years later, when the two most powerful princes are vying to be the crown prince and heir to the throne. They both try to recruit the aid of a renowned clever and sassy strategist named Mei Changsu, to help them with plotting and PR and such.

Well little do they know that Mei Changsu is actually the not-dead Lin Shu, with a completely new face (for reasons), and that Mei Changsu is a chess master setting up a long con for the dual purpose of obtaining revenge/justice for the dead and of raising Prince Jing to the throne, since Prince Jing is the only man with a good enough heart and strong enough will to make China a better place for all the people. But just to make it hard on everybody, Mei Changsu is dead set on not telling anyone who he really is—again, for reasons. He is not always successful in keeping his secret.

I literally don’t know what else to say because there is so MUCH to say, so many characters to love, and I mean LOVE. How do you get a cast this good? How is everyone so different yet so important? How do you feel bad for the emperor even when he’s slimy? How do you have to stop yourself from rooting for the prince who would destroy some of your faves? I can’t praise the charisma and acting talent in this show enough! And the music! IS GORGEOUS!

1 strategist too sassy for his own good and too clever for everyone else’s good + 1 prince who loves his mom and his dead best friend and his dead older brother more than anything else in the world + 1 gentle wise mom + 1 eternally loyal princess who would defend her loved ones with the sword if necessary + 1 sassy Elrond healer man + 1 grumpy sulky baby who loves being a better fighter than almost everyone + 1 loyal to the death, brave badass general who is going to have a stress breakdown if the strategist doesn’t take better care of himself + not 1 but 2 good boys who deserve to be protected but who are willing to throw themselves into battle if necessary + 1 antagonist tiger prince who I love and am not ashamed to say it = THE BEST OF TIMES

^he hardly ever wears his hair down but when he does <33333333

*checks calendar* how soon is too soon rewatch something, asking for a friend

[forlorned]

finally i’m getting ‘round to barbie’s bio!! she’s a charming native that loves this town more than she hates it, but only by a small margin. she’s the secretary to the mayor, but her father was a disciple so she’s... neutral on the club. wolves, tho? gross. her mom is also a little infamous around town for partying too much, even into her fifties, sort of like lorelai from gilmore girls if she was chaotic and a former biker groupie. anyways, here’s her details:

content warnings: death, implied bipolar disorder

born october 20th, 1988 in charming, california. her mother, also named barbara goodwin, was new to the town when she met ty. she didn’t plan on staying long, accepting a temporary job to fill in as a substitute teacher that was on maternity leave, but it was love at first sight for the two of them. she didn’t know he was a biker until two weeks into their relationship, a fact that ty kept from her. she was only twenty three when she moved to charming, ty a bit older, but she decided to forgive him for lying. by that time, she was madly in love with him... or at least she thought so. the relationship didn’t last as long as her pregnancy. they were constantly on and off, fighting daily, and when barbie was born, barb decided ty would have nothing to do with his daughter. (that didn’t last very long.)

barbie grew up with her father wandering in and out of her life, sometimes living with her and her mom, sometimes not seeing him for months, depending on what was going on with the club at any particular time. it was mostly just her and her mother, and barb only being in her mid 20s when barbie was born, quickly felt like she was losing her youth. she would party regularly, leaving barbie with the elderly neighbor, usually at the clubhouse when she liked ty and la luna’s when she didn’t. for the most part, it was just barb and little barb (as she was known the devil’s disciples and most locals), and they grew up more like sisters than mother and daughter. her mother was her best friend, except when she wasn’t.

barbie was only thirteen when her father died, though it had been a good year since the last time she saw him, during a time when relations between the devil’s disciples and wicked wolves were especially violent. dying in a violent shootout, the president at the time told her that he died whispering barbie’s name, but she finds that hard to believe. of course she was devastated that her father had died, but it felt more like the death of an uncle or distant cousin than one half of the couple that brought her to life.

things were a little different after her father’s death. her mother was still a part-time party girl, relying on her daughter as her only confidant, but she got a little more paranoid. she wasn’t worried about the club, or the gang, so much, it was just the world in general. one moment, big barb was carefree, the next she was obsessively checking the windows were still locked. barbie never grew up with a very rosy view of the disciple’s, but it was confusing how her mother could go from loving them deeply to hating them even more over the course of a day. it wasn’t an easy time to live in charming, but barbie grew to fear everyone, not just gang violence.

it was only a few short years before she got to high school after her dad died, and barbie mostly kept to herself. she was embarrassed over her mother’s public antics, scared of being hurt, and was one of the few black girls in school; all a recipe for an introverted, shy teenager. though she had loose ties to the disciples through her father, she was a chronic good girl, and that carried throughout her college years. she saw what alcohol did to her mother, knew how her father died, she wanted to stay as far away from the seedy underbelly of charming as she possibly could.

not too far, though. she stayed at home during her college education, commuting to fresno for school. desperately she wanted to leave charming, but she feared what would happen to her mother if no one was around to rein her in. completing a bachelor’s degree in communications at fresno pacific university, a major she chose simply because it could lead to many different careers, she found herself unemployed back in her mother’s house after graduation.

barbie landed in the mayor’s office by accident—not literally, but she was searching job listings in the fresno/charming area and came across one for a file clerk at the charming mayor’s office. hired after one interview, she really only intended to be there until she found something better, but slowly she started getting promoted until she was finally in the actual office. working as the mayor’s secretary for the past five years, barbie is incredibly content with her job. for now, at least, she’s absolutely fine where she is. (secretly, she hopes to be the mayor one day. not now, but maybe one day.)

before she had a vaguely cordial relationship with the disciples, and disapproved of the wolves, but since working in the mayor’s office, she’s grown to heavily dislike both. she wants charming to be a nice place to live, but it wasn’t ever that nice to begin with, was it? as far as either crew or gang knows, she’s neutral.

has a very bubbly personality, but it’s mostly just a front. she feels like she can never be angry because her mother relied on her so much as a child and it’s carried over into adulthood. also has major trust issues because of her relationship with her parents, grew up thinking that anyone that was talking to her just wanted something from her. doesn’t have a lot of friends, or at least she doesn’t have a lot of close friends. mostly hangs out with coworkers or fellow i-don’t-want-to-talk-about-my-trauma-ever-so-let’s-talk-about-real-housewives-of-nyc people.

moved into her own apartment, but frequently goes to her mother’s house to check on her/have dinner. and by frequently i mean like six times a week. doesn’t drink more than a glass of wine if she is going to drink, so most people think she’s really boring (she kinda is lol, but we love her).

you either know her as barbie or little barb, never just barb (please call me barbie, barb is my mom’s name. yes she named me after herself.) or barbara. sometimes will answer to babs.

kiiiiind of judgmental, oops. doesn’t think crew or gang members are inherently bad people but it’s more like ooh no baby what is you doing.jpg sort of thing. distrusting but incredibly lonely, whomp whomp. a big fan of passive aggressive smiles. kinda... fake, but in like an innocent way.

wanted stuffs:

childhood friends: barbie grew up in charming, so if ur muse is a lifelong local, they probably know barbie! she’s very shy but super nice, kinda kept to herself growing up, but very ride-or-die until you do something she thinks is Wrong and Amoral.

a best friend: c’mon. this girl needs a bestie, a least one person for her to feel close to and share her real emotions with. except a lot of stopping by ur place of work to go out to lunch and random gifts because Gifts Are Her Love Language.

exes: though barbie is super like... not forthcoming with her emotions, she’s very bubbly and like come the fuck on, she’s a smoke show. i’m imagining someone that really liked her but found her forced cheery attitude annoying and she refused to meaningfully commit because she was scared of the feelings.

childhood enemy: someone that didn’t like barbie growing up, for any reason (except racism obviously lmao). they could’ve been a fellow club brat or maybe they just thought she was weak bc she was so quiet and shy when they were kids. who knows! i just like antagonistic relationships!

a roommate: she moved out of her mom’s house years ago and has a good government job but she still needs help to pay the rent!! ideally they could be really good friends or maybe they were strangers that have to learn to live together and they’re constantly getting annoyed with each other for like, leaving the bathroom fan on or something. i figure this connection would be with another woman, but it doesn’t have to be!

a surrogate little sister (or bro, or sibling): barbie grew up an only child, but she’s got lots of Big Sister Energy. i’m thinking this will be a connection for someone younger that’s in need of some sisterly guidance, or perhaps a fellow club brat that’s more integrated into the crew/grew up to join and barbie’s like i don’t approve of your choices but i’m here 4 u.

um honestly i could go on forever but i don’t want this to be super long, so message me on here or discord (wanda’s loving boy#1003) if you want to plot!! :)

[dapper-ships-herself]

I'm curious about your Fairy Tail platonics!!! :0c

Oh yes! I love my fairy friends so much!

So my s/i gets along with pretty much the whole guild, she's grown up with a lot of them and is just generally pretty friendly and sees everyone as one big family and loves all of them.

Of course, she does have some besties

Natsu

Gillian is naturally more soft spoken and gentle, so there's been plenty of times where she's found herself dragged along by Natsu. Though she's not entirely reluctant to getting up to mischief with him, since she does have a playful side, she's also gotten pretty good at settling him down a bit. Natsu challenges her to a fight at least a couple times a year, he loses everytime.

Their childhood friendships are a bit different depending on which version of my s/i we're talking about (both are the same basically during the current story, it's just their back stories that differ).

Dreyar! Gillian hasn't changed much from childhood to now in personality, though she was a bit more shy and so Natsu made her a little nervous. But, she was also a kid who always felt she had something to prove since she looks up to her older brother so much, so while she wouldn't engage him, if he got in her face, she'd step up and fight him.

Library! Gillian was very intimidated by him as kids and tried to avoid him until she started opening up to the guild. As she slowly started to talk more and become a little more comfortable, one of the first times she willingly went up to Natsu was when he was sad about not being to read well and she offered to help teach him.

She's also always liked Happy and they get along well. He lets her pet him.

Gray

Gillian appreciates Gray's more laid back nature and the two are actually pretty close, sitting together often at the guild hall and chatting.

One of the powers I play around with my s/i having is crystal magic, and in that case she and Gray like to play around and make little sculptures and have friendly competitions over who is better at shaping their magic.

As children, with both backstories, Gray was always pretty mellow around her after realizing how much being a hot head made her nervous and feeling bad about it, especially with the library backstory, so they wouldn't sit down and talk, but she did feel more comfortable around Gray than a lot of other people.

Lucy

Lucy and Gillian get along pretty great and would consider each other a close friend! Gillian was one of the first to reach out and befriend Lucy after she first joined the guild. They both love reading and writing, and the two of them plus Levy (who Gillian has also always gotten along really well with and is close friends with) get together to talk about books a lot. Lucy actually starts letting Gillian read the rough drafts of her novel. They respect each other and Gillian is really encouraging towards her.

Juvia

Again, these two get along pretty great, Juvia sees Gillian as a kindred spirit in terms of both of them are pinning after someone else, though Gillian is a lot more subtle about her affection and Juvia is actually one of the few to recognize Gillian's loyalty to Erza for what it is. Gillian felt like Juvia could benefit from more friends after she joined Fairy Tail, so she started inviting her over to her house pretty regularly for tea and it's a tradition that's kept up.

(Sometimes I actually low-key consider her to be in the crush category)

Wendy

I am not all caught up on Fairy Tail and I'm not super knowledgeable about Wendy, but I do know that Gillian and her would get along great. Gillian sees some of her younger self in Wendy and subsequently decides to look out for her when she can.

Present day, Mira and Gillian get along fantastically and they're pretty similar in personality to an extent, though Gillian has a bit more snark in her (actually I imagine that in the episode where everyone switches bodies, it's these two that switch right from the beginning and while everyone is freaking out, they're just having a grand time). When they were kids, Mira terrified her, especially library! Gillian. She also gets along well with Lisanna and Elfman. Cana and her hardly actually talked as kids, but as they grew up they have gotten close as well, Cana always trying to get her to relax and have a drink with her. (another one who's low-key in the crush category).

Gillian likes to organize girls nights for the Fairy Tail girls on a regular basis. At least one of the boys, usually Natsu and Happy, tries to crash it each time. She actually isn't opposed to the boys joining, the more the merrier, but the other girls tend to kick them out pretty quick.

The thunder legion, in the version of her being Laxus's little sister, love her and watch over her, Laxus actually entrusting his legion to Gillian while at the same time giving them one last command of keeping her safe after the battle of Fairy Tail arc when he's kicked out.

And since Erza and Gillian are just best friends for a good portion of the series before Gillian confesses, here's a bit about their friendship.

They've always been pretty attached at the hip; they acknowledge each other's strength and support each other fully in everything. Before team Natsu was formed, they would go on jobs together pretty often just the two of them, mostly for the reason that they enjoy each other's company rather than actually needing help. Gillian is the only one Erza never scolds, and Gillian is seemingly immune to Erza's harsh aura when she is scolding other people, keeping a calm smile (example of this, when Erza first shows up in the series and she's berating everyone, Gillian is up on the second floor and only looks down when she hears the commotion, upon seeing that it's Erza, she launches herself off the balcony and at Erza to hug her and it's just like a complete 180 on Erza's mood because she goes from harsh glares to smiling and spinning Gillian around,much to everyone's relief). Gillian often acts as a buffer for Erza's rage and the other's in the guild tend to run to and hide behind her to avoid Erza's wrath. Gillian rarely ever gets truly mad, but the quickest way to do that, even quicker than threatening her guild in general, is to threaten or talk bad about Erza. She is completely in Erza's court and is often following her lead. This is in part due to how much she respects Erza, also because she's had a crush on her since they were kids.

Dreyar! Gillian gravitated towards Erza because of her strength and her reaching out to Erza just because she seemed lonely was a big part of her healing process as a child and helped her open up more to the rest of the guild. Though if Gillian were asked, she'd say it was Erza who was the one who helped her become stronger and more confident and denies that her actions actually had that much effect on Erza, just thinking she was doing the right thing and nothing special basically. Gillian has gotten more independent, but was extra clingy as kids.

With library! Gillian, it was actually Erza who reached out to her. Gillian wouldn't speak to anyone for months after she first arrived at the guild and would only sit in corners by herself. One day Mira decided to try and pick a fight with the little recluse and Erza came to her defense (probably actually the beginning of their childhood feud). After that, Gillian started following her around like a lost puppy, and Erza was the first person in the guild she actually spoke to. It was just a simple word the first time, her name, but it was a big step and showed how quickly Gillian decided she could trust Erza. She's pretty much always seen hiding behind Erza.

Either way, Erza has always made Gillian feel safe. Their bond, whether romantic or platonic, is incredibly strong. Both are willing to sacrifice everything for the other.

I also have two oc's I could talk about their relation to her, but this is already getting long. If anyone's interested, I could make another post about them? One's just part of the backstory of library! Gillian, the other is a dude who is high-key in love with her.

[branlovestowrite]

Reunited: A Stucky Story

I recently fell down the Stucky wormhole after @dracosollicitus started posting her Stucky WIP What’s Left of Kisses (side note, go read that when you’re done here). I’ve read a lot of Stucky stories in the past two months, but I couldn’t find one that had them reuniting in a modern-day, non superhero setting. After a while I decided I should write it myself. I added in Shuri/Bucky BroTP because I LOVE them as besties, as well as a little Jessica Jones/Bucky Barnes friendship because I love JJ and want her in all the Marvel stories. And of course, the women of Marvel ship Stucky and take measures to throw them together. This is my first Stucky story, and, if it’s a ship you’re into, I hope you’ll like what I’ve come up with.

Title: Reunited

Rating: T for mild language and brief mentions of sex

Summary: Bucky Barnes never thought he’d see his childhood best friend, and source of his first heartbreak, Steve Rogers ever again. He is thrown for a loop when Steve ends up working for one of his new clients. What happens now that these boys are together again? Can Bucky finally overcome his nerves and confess his true feelings to Steve?

Also on AO3

On a typical Wednesday morning, Bucky Barnes walked into work, completely unaware that by the end of the day, his life would change forever. That morning had seemed like a normal day in the office. The coffee was stale, the old donuts sat untouched and unmoved, and Shuri was teasing him just like she did every day. “Hey Bucky!” she yelled from across the room. “Yes?” He asked, the corners of his mouth twitching with amusement as he approached their shared workspace. Shuri’s brown eyes sparkled with mirth. “Peter and I are in an argument-” “More like a disagreement,” Peter interrupted, his head poking above the cube wall. “An argument,” Shuri continued “about what dating was like before cell phones. I figured you could help me settle it.” “Really?” Bucky raised his eyebrows in response. “I’m not that much older than you guys. I got my first cell phone in high school.” “But that was old tech,” Shuri clarified. “No dating apps; limited texting. What did you do when you had to… call… people?” She said the word ‘call’ as if it offended her. “I don’t know,” Bucky replied, “I just called them.” He dropped his messenger bag to the floor and sank into his desk chair. “What even is this argument about?” “I say people didn’t… have sex,” Peter explained, a flush rising up over his cheeks and ears. “I mean, that is, they didn’t have sex as soon. They waited longer. Since, you know, they weren’t sexting or sending-” he cut himself off as the remainder of his face turned the same shade as a tomato. Shuri gave an exasperated sigh. “Dick pics, Peter. The phrase is dick pics.”

Bucky groaned and hung his head, his chin length hair falling around his face. “You know, we are working…” “Anyway! I say that even if they couldn’t send dick pics, people still found ways to get nasty because people have always found ways to get nasty.” “What did I just walk in on?” Shuri’s brother, their boss and owner of the company, T’Challa walked up with a concerned look on his face. “Do I need to call Okoye?” “No, please, sir,” Peter fumbled. “Ha!” Shuri laughed. “Peter’s scared of HR!” “I’m not scared of HR; just Okoye. She can be so tough!” “Please make them stop,” Bucky pleaded, turning to T’Challa. Their boss only laughed in return. “If you find a way to make my sister stop, Barnes, you come let me know. I haven’t found one yet.” He walked on, continuing his morning lap of the office. After a minute, as Bucky was bringing up his email, Shuri pushed her chair over to his desk. “So, old man, what did you guys do?” Bucky stopped his perusal to reminisce. He remembered rushing home to get to his computer and see if Steve was online. They would chat for hours via AIM, unless one of them had to get off the computer so a parent could use the phone line. When they each got cell phones they would call each other at 9:00pm sharp, when minutes were unlimited, and talk until one or both of their phone batteries died. A flush grew on his cheeks as he remembered the not-so-innocent turn their conversations sometimes took. While he never did anything explicit with Steve, he thoroughly remembered some of the thoughts he’d had during those conversations; thoughts he’d been too afraid to express. And the things he did with other people, in an attempt to get Steve out of his head. “Shuri’s right.” He said, looking at Peter. Shuri smirked conspiratorially. “Oooo… Bucky got nasty!” “That’s all I’m saying,” Bucky replied, turning back to his screen. Bucky worked for Wakanda Tech, or WT as the employees called it, a startup taking the corporate communications world by storm. T’Challa inherited the company from his father, but most of their recent products came directly from Shuri’s designs. She was a wunderkind, with an innate understanding of technology that put people twice her age to shame. And somehow she managed to combine her technical ability with a personality that was warm and engaging. It was impossible not to like Shuri. Bucky considered himself lucky to have landed a position at WT. Most of the employees were in their early 20’s. He was a random outlier, having met Okoye, their director of HR, at a job fair for veterans. Okoye was not your typical HR rep. She had a strict no-bullshit policy and had no issue with calling out her employees when she felt they were in violation of that. But she was also fiercely loyal and dedicated to the success of WT, having grown up alongside T’Challa. Okoye had an eye for talent, and she saw something in Bucky, even if he didn’t really see it himself. He worked as a implementation manager, helping get new clients on the platform once they’d purchased a license. Bucky had an eye for organization, a direct result of his military training. His personal life might be a mess, but he knew how to get other people in order. Once Shuri and Peter settled their dispute, the office became quiet, although a hum of anticipation still hung in the air. Today was a very important day for WT. T’Challa had been in discussions with Tony Stark about bringing their product to Stark Inc. If they landed this contract, there would be a huge bonus for everyone. Negotiations were almost complete; Stark was coming by later to hopefully sign the final documents. Bucky couldn’t calm the anxiety that crept up his spine. He never liked brash, overcompensating men like Stark- or at least the way Stark was portrayed in the media. When he was younger, he’d stopped more than a few of those types from beating Steve to a pulp. He’d learned to live with them in the Army, being surrounded by meatheads who preened like peacocks to hide their insecurities. He’d had his fill of guys like that during his time in the service, and did his best to avoid them now. Unfortunately, there was only one other Implementation Manager at WT, Peter, and he was too green to take on the Stark job. Like it or not, Bucky would have to be in the room with Stark later that day, and he’d most likely also have to suck up to the man. His stomach roiled and he skipped lunch, hiding out at his desk while he nibbled on a few crackers.

The day kept moving like a freight train, and, before long, it was time. The quiet, efficient atmosphere of WT was turned on its ear when Tony Stark walked in. Bucky watched from the safety of his desk as Stark was greeted by T’Challa. “Mr. Stark,” the always professional entrepreneur began as he shook Stark’s hand. “No no,” his guest interrupted, “if we’re gonna work together, you gotta call me Tony.” The man spoke his words in a rapid clip, as if he didn’t have time to breathe properly between syllables. “Very well, Tony: welcome to Wakanda Tech.” T’Challa gestured proudly around the office. “Small operation you got here, huh?” “We believe in a flat organization structure, to maximize efficiency.” “Great use of buzzwords there, pal,” Stark replied, placing his hand on T’Challa’s shoulder. Shuri chose that moment to stand from her desk and extend her own hand to Bucky. “Shall we go in?” “Do I have to?” Bucky whined petulantly. “Yes!” she scolded, looking much older than her 22 years. “Get off your ass and come with me.” Bucky straightened up and grabbed his tablet, standing to follow the younger woman. They headed to the conference room and made it inside just before Stark and his entourage entered. “This must be Shuri!” Stark exclaimed, greeting the lady on question with a hug. Shuri halfheartedly returned the gesture before pulling away with a smile. “It is good to meet you, Mr. Stark.” “I already had this conversation with your brother. Call me Tony.” Shuri smiled politely in response and then turned to Bucky. “This is James Barnes. He is the Implementation Manager that will be working on your account.” “Jamie!” Tony said, patting the other man on the shoulder. “Tony,” Bucky returned with a bemused smirk. “Finally someone who gets it,” Tony said with a smile. He turned to the people surrounding him. “Allow me to introduce Pepper Potts, my right hand and the only reason I have any success in this world.” A tall, willowy redhead nodded her head toward Bucky and Shuri. “And this is Rhodey, my other right hand and best friend in the world.” The man in question smiled tensely at the group. “And finally, this is-” “Steve,” Bucky said in awe, looking up at the last member of Stark’s party. “Steve Rogers, from my legal team,” Tony filled in, a little deflated. “I’m sorry,” he said, pointing between them, “do you two know each other?”

“Bucky and I go way back,” Steve said, his smile still as devastating as ever. He flashed his blue eyes at Bucky, and the other man felt himself get weak in the knees. “Bucky?” Tony asked with a smirk. Bucky grimaced. “My full name is James Buchanan Barnes… but my friends call me Bucky.” “Splendid!” Tony said. “You didn’t tell me you knew someone who worked here, Rogers.” “I didn’t know I had a connection,” Steve replied warmly, still looking at Bucky. “It’s been a while since we talked.” Bucky gave Steve a shy smile. “A lot has happened since we last saw each other.” They stood like that, staring awkwardly at one another while butterflies danced in Bucky’s stomach. Finally, T’Challa intervened. “Shall we get started?” he asked as he gestured toward the table. Bucky wasn’t sure how he made it through that meeting in one piece, but, in spite of the awkwardness he felt, the meeting was a success. Stark seemed keener to sign the contract knowing there was a personal relationship between a member of his staff and someone at WT. As soon as the meeting adjourned Steve pulled Bucky aside.  

“You look good, Buck.” “Thanks,” Bucky said, refusing to meet the other man’s eyes. Steve had changed so much since he’d last seen him, He was at least a good foot taller, with much broader shoulders. Bucky had to actively try not to drool. “You do too, but… I thought you were smaller.” Steve chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. “I had a growth spurt right after I moved away.” “You look… really good,” Bucky said. He took in Steve’s chest and thick arms that filled out his jacket just right. His mind wandered to the last time those arms had been wrapped around him in a hug, when Steve was thinner and shorter. He couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel now to have them wrap around his body; to get lost in that strong embrace. “Bucky?” Steve asked, meeting the other man’s eye. “Huh? Yeah?” Bucky came back to himself with a jolt, cursing his train of thought. “You wanna get a drink later? Catch up?” “Yeah,” Bucky replied as a brilliant smile bloomed across Steve’s face. “Yeah, I’d like that.” Steve gave Bucky his card, adding his personal cell number and making Bucky promise to call him. Then he had to go, and Bucky was left standing there, feeling dumbstruck. He heaved a sigh the moment the room was clear. He was so, so screwed. ~/~ “What the hell was that?” Shuri asked the moment he got back to desk. “What are you talking about?” “Um… how about the way you eye-fucked Stark’s lawyer the entire time? Although it seems to have worked in our favor. We should pimp you out more.”

“I did not ‘eye-fuck’ anyone,” Bucky protested. “Steve’s just an old friend.” “Right… ‘friend.’ You know, it’s 2019. You don’t have to use euphemisms anymore.” “I’m not covering anything! I’ve never tried to hide my sexuality. But Steve was never like that. We grew up together.” “From the way you were looking at him, it seems like homeboy ‘glowed up.’ You gonna go for it?” “Nah. Steve’s not into guys. He’s a heterosexual, all-American boy,” Bucky replied, unable to hide the tinge of sadness in his voice. “You might want to reconsider that opinion,” Shuri replied. “What makes you say that?” “Because he spent the entire meeting looking at you the same way you were looking at him.”

This new information distracted Bucky for the rest of the day, and he had trouble focusing on even the most basic of tasks. Finally, at 4:55, he decided he couldn’t do anything else, and began to pack up. As he flipped through his portfolio, the business card Steve had pressed into his hand fluttered to the ground. Before he could retrieve it, Shuri scooped it up.

“Steve Rogers gave you his card, did he? And he wrote his personal number on there?”

“Yeah… he mentioned going to get a drink.”

“So call him!”

“Yeah… I will. Just… I need some time. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Steve. A lot’s changed. I’m not the same kid I was in high school.”

Shuri’s gaze softened and she placed a gentle hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “I think the issue is actually that you’re a lot more like that kid than you realized, and seeing an old friend brought it all back.”

Bucky huffed a sigh and gave her a wry smile. “As usual, you prove how much smarter you are than me.”

“You heading out. Bucky?” Peter asked, poking his head over the cube wall once more.

“Yeah Pete. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Actually, would you be free to head over to Nick’s with me? I wanted to ask your advice about something.” His gaze shifted to Shuri and he gave a scowl “ Away from interfering parties.”

Bucky laughed. “Alright Pete, yeah. Let’s do it.”

~/~

Steve Rogers was an adult. He’d graduated early from Harvard Law and landed a lucrative position at Stark Inc. before he’d turned 25. So influential was he in that role that he’s ended up becoming one of the principal members of the legal team at the company 18 months later. Steve was on lists like “30 under 30” and he didn’t like to brag, but he was considered in some circles to be a ‘big deal’. So why did he currently feel like a nervous teenager waiting by the phone?

He’d tried to play it off, but seeing Bucky earlier that day had thrown him. Bucky had been his best friend for the majority of his young life. He brought school work when Steve was sick and sat by his bed, helping to keep him entertained. As they got older, he’d helped protect Steve when he got into fights he couldn’t finish. He’d been there in good and bad times. Losing Bucky in his life was a blow Steve had never really recovered from.

After the meeting, he’d wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the day catching up with his friend, but there was too much to do. He cursed himself for not getting a commitment to meet the other man somewhere later on. Leaving the planning up to Bucky filled him with anxiety. Steve did not like to wait. He was not a waiter. He was a doer.

At five-o'clock his phone finally rang, the caller an unknown number. He felt his heart pounding in his chest as he pressed the ‘accept’ button.

“Bucky?”

The voice on the other end of the line gave a dry laugh. It was definitely female, so not Bucky. “No, this is Shuri.”

It took a moment for his brain to catch up with the name. “Oh, yes, from WT, right?” It was a bit strange that she was calling his personal line, but he wasn’t going to be rude. “How can I help you?”

“This isn’t business related, Mr. Rogers.”

“Please, call me Steve.”

“Yes, Steve,” she replied. “I thought you might want to know where Bucky Barnes is heading for an after work drink.”

“Oh, well if he wants me to join him, I’m sure he’ll call me and give me the place.” He pulled his phone away from his head to look at the screen, silently hoping there would be another incoming call.

“No, Steve, I don’t believe he will. I have worked with Sergeant Barnes for two years, and I know when he is vacillating. This is one of those times. He needs a nudge in the right direction.”

“I don’t know if that’s really-”

“Trust me Mr. Rogers, he would not call you of his own accord.”

This felt wrong to Steve, a violation of his old friend’s privacy. “I mean, if he doesn’t want to call me, he doesn’t have to. I’m not going to force him if he doesn’t want to.”

“No, he wants to. Of that I am sure.”

“What’s your aim here?” Steve asked, his tone changing as his suspicion rose. He didn’t want to insult the young woman, but he was starting to wonder why she was so invested in telling him where Bucky was going to be.

“I don’t mean any harm. I only wish to see my friend Bucky happy, and I know he’ll talk himself out of calling you if left to his own devices.”

Steve sighed as he took in her words. He wanted to believe that Bucky was more confident than that, but the last time he’d been in contact with his friend, he’d had the same impression. “Tell me.”

She gave him the name and address of the bar where Bucky was heading.

“Are you sure he’s gonna be there? Maybe he’s just going home?”

“He’ll be there. Our coworker Peter is going with him to make sure.”

“Is everyone at WT in on this?”

He could practically hear her smile on the other end of the line. “Just get there, Mr. Rogers. As soon as you can.”

~/~

Seeing Steve earlier in the day brought back a flood of memories for Bucky. Steve had been his best friend for his entire childhood, all the way through to the summer before their junior year of high school. He and Steve did everything together. They grew up alongside one another and had been closer in many ways than Bucky was to his own flesh-and-blood sibling.

But Steve was more than just a brother. He’d been Bucky’s first love. At the same time that he was just starting to realize his sexuality, he simultaneously realized that he was head-over-heels for Steven Grant Rogers.

When they were younger, Steve had been overlooked by nearly everyone. He was the smallest kid in class and had a slew of health problems that were the likely culprit for his stunted growth. Most prominent was his asthma, followed closely by a spinal curvature that led to him wearing a back brace for a few years. He had poor eyesight with color blindedness, which he wore thick glasses to help correct. And he had a weak immune system that caused him to get sick, and therefore miss school, all the time.

None of the other kids wanted to play with Steve. They were irritated with his inability to keep up when they ran. Or how he would break into a coughing fit in the middle of a dare, freaking everyone out with the fear that one of their cohorts might actually die from one of their stupid stunts.

Bucky was the opposite of Steve. Rambunctious and outgoing, he’d been friends with nearly everyone. He always had kids asking him to play. But Bucky only ever wanted to hang out with Steve.

He couldn’t remember the exact moment he’d first felt drawn to Steve. Bucky had known the other boy since the first grade, but they weren’t in the same class until the third grade. Because they lived in the same building, Bucky would often bring homework for Steve to do when he was out sick. At first, Steve’s mom had just expected Bucky to leave the work and run off, as other children must have done, but Bucky was precocious little fuck.

“How’s Stevie doin’ Mrs. Rogers?”

“Oh,” she’d replied, genuinely surprised at his question. “He’s getting better. He’s in his room, but he’s up and reading.”

“Can I go say hi to him?”

“Sure. Let me just poke my head in and let him know you’re here.”

Steve had seemed just as surprised at Bucky’s appearance as his mother, but welcomed the company.

“Whatcha readin’?” Bucky asked, pointing to the comic book in Steve’s lap.

“Oh, um… X-Men.”

“Killer! I like X-Men too! Who’s your favorite? I like Wolverine.”

Steve smiled at Bucky then, a real, genuine smile, and launched into a diatribe about how his favorite was Professor Xavier because even though he was in a wheelchair, he was one of the most powerful of the X-Men, but he still used his power for good, taking in young mutants and helping to guide them.

From that day forward, Steve and Bucky spent almost every afternoon together, talking about comics, movies (they once had a very heated debate about which trilogy had the superior Harrison Ford performance: Star Wars or Indiana Jones), and, when they were older, girls.

One afternoon, when they were 12 and sitting in Steve’s room, the blond turned to his friend and very innocently asked “You ever kissed a girl, Buck?”

“Yep,” Bucky replied nonchalantly, only half listening while he flipped through a comic book.

“What?! No way! When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Bucky looked up at his friend and cringed. “It’s not my proudest moment.”

“When was it?”

“At Sharon Carter’s last birthday party. She wanted to play ‘spin-the-bottle.’”

Steve got a dreamy look at the mention of Sharon’s name. It was hardly a secret that he had a thing for the girl. She was kind to Steve, but had no inclination toward him. Steve had actually been invited to that party, but hadn’t been able to go because he was recovering from a wicked bout of bronchitis.

He looked back to Bucky with a goofy smile. “Who’d you kiss?”

Bucky’s face went red at that.

“Who was it?”

Bucky bit his lip for a moment, deliberating what to say, before finally deciding on the truth. He never usually kept secrets from Steve, and this one had been eating him alive. “I kissed Sharon.” He watched in horror as his friend’s face fell. “I’m sorry man!” Bucky continued. “I know you like her, and I didn’t want to, but the bottle landed on me when she spun it, and it was her birthday party, and I didn’t want to reject her in front of everyone.” He huffed a breath as he paused.

Steve, being Steve, gave him a gentle smile. “It’s okay, I get it.” His smile broadened into a grin. “How was it?”

“Kind of embarrassing,” Bucky admitted with a groan. “We went into a closet, and I was so nervous that I just barely gave her a peck. I couldn’t touch her because my hands were so sweaty. I didn’t want to gross her out.”

“Well maybe there’s hope for me yet.”

“As long as you can kiss better than I did.”

“Doubtful,” Steve snorted. “At least you’ve kissed someone once. I’ve never kissed anyone.”

Bucky got a wild idea then, and didn’t have the good sense to censor himself before blurting it out. “Wanna practice on me?”

“What?” Steve’s face was a mixture of shock and confusion.

“I mean, we’re buds, right? Let’s just practice with each other. Make us more ready when the next time comes.”

“Um… okay.”

Although his first kiss was technically with Sharon, Bucky always considered his kiss with Steve to be his first true kiss. It ignited feelings in him that he didn’t quite understand. He had a hard time looking at Steve the same, once he knew how soft the other boy’s lips were.

Steve eventually did get to kiss Sharon. Despite her initial reluctance, she decided to give Steve a chance and they even went steady for a few weeks in the eighth grade. But beyond that, Steve never had much luck with girls.

He remained smaller than all the other guys in their class, and ended up being the target of more than a few bullies. But Steve was scrappy. Although he was small, he could take a hit, and refused to run or stand down when confronted. Bucky always teetered on the fine line between when to let Steve stand up for himself and when to intervene to make sure Steve didn’t get seriously injured.

Bucky continued to hang out with Steve, even as he was taunted for it by the more popular kids in high school. He didn’t really care what anyone else said. Steve was his best friend.

One night during freshman year, when they were talking on the phone, Steve was whining to Bucky about how he would never have a shot with another girl in his life.

“You’re great, Stevie,” Bucky’d said, more than a little annoyed with the situation. “The right girl will come along eventually. She’ll see all the good in you and not worry about the other stuff.”

“I wish I could find a girl just like you, Bucky.”

That caused a lump to stick in Bucky’s throat. He’d decided to never tell Steve how he felt, knowing that Steve didn’t reciprocate his feelings. Bucky was terrified of destroying their friendship. He swallowed thickly before replying. “You do?”

“Yeah. You’re my best friend, Buck, and you always see the best in me. I’m so glad I have you.”

“I’m glad to have you too,” Bucky choked out in response. He’d almost decided to confess his feelings then, but Steve sighed and changed the subject before he had a chance.

“What about you, huh? I heard Lori’s got a thing for ya’.”

“Well, um… I think I might be gay,” Bucky replied, in lieu of confessing. He had been deliberating for some time on how to share this with Steve. He knew Steve, and knew his friend would never reject him, but, nevertheless, he braced himself for a bad response.

“Oh yeah?” Steve simply replied, and Bucky was immensely relieved to hear the smile in his friend’s voice.

“Yeah,” he sighed in relief.

“Okay man, cool. You got your eye on anyone, or just been thinking this for a bit?”

“Just been thinkin’ it,” Bucky admitted, not quite ready to tell Steve that he only had eyes for his best friend.

That had been the extent of Bucky’s coming out for another year, before he finally confessed to his parents and friends. He ended up going on a couple dates, had a few kisses, but never dated anyone seriously until after Steve moved.

The summer before their junior year, just after Steve turned sixteen, a bomb dropped in his world. His father, who had left his mother heartbroken when he was just a baby, suddenly died. Steve was shocked to learn that his dad had left him a house and a sizable amount of money. The house was in Indiana, and he was contacted by the grandfather he never knew he had to come out for a visit.

That summer ended up being a turning point for Steve. He got into a medical trial that ended up helping him overcome several of his physical ailments. Sarah went out several times to visit her son, and ended up really liking the area. When the summer ended, Steve’s grandpa asked if they would consider moving there. The house was nice, and Sarah would be able to make more money as a nurse if she wasn’t paying rent. And Steve wanted to get to know his family. His only concern was leaving Bucky.

“Come on, man,” Bucky’d assured him. “We got lots of ways to stay in touch. You ain’t getting rid of me.”

So Steve had gone, and although he never said anything, Bucky’s heart broke that day.

At first, they’d stayed in touch much the same way they had during the summer, through email, phone calls, and instant messaging, but, as the school year progressed, they began to drift apart. Steve had new friends. Since he wasn’t sick all the time and missing out on everything, he had an easier time meeting people. It was a fresh start for Steve, and Bucky didn’t want to keep his friend from his new social circle.

So, instead, Bucky dealt with his heartbreak in self-destructive ways: drinking heavily, experimenting with drugs, and losing his virginity to a random encounter at a party. He had lots of sex during his last two years of high school, with boys and girls. The further Bucky fell down the rabbit hole, the less he would talk to Steve. In the end, he screwed his grades up so bad that he barely graduated and didn’t have any college offers or scholarships to speak of. Directionless, he’d opted to enlist in the Army.

Enlistment had been the final thing to sever his connection to Steve. They had separate lives, and Bucky just assumed there was no chance he’d ever run into the other man again.

~/~

Bucky sat in the bar, trying not to lose his shit on Peter. He really did like the younger man, but he could be a bit over eager at times, like a puppy. Today seemed to be one of those days.

Peter got up to head to the bathroom, and Bucky decided to approach the bartender and order something harder than the beer he’d been nursing. As he stood there, waiting for his drink, he heard a surly voice speak from behind him.

“Barnes.”

“Jones,” he replied, turning to face the newcomer. Bucky liked Jessica Jones, even if she was an acquired taste. She was a PI that he’d met in this very bar, when she’d caught him on a date with a cheating husband. Jessica didn’t want to blow her cover, but after she had the pictures, she pulled Bucky aside and clued him in. Bucky had no idea his date was married, and thanked God that he hadn’t slept with the man.

“What are you doing here?” Jessica asked, the hint of a smile playing across her face. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Yeah, I haven’t been going out much. It’s cheaper to drink at home and don’t have to wear pants.”

“Can’t argue with that logic.”

Bucky considered her for a moment. Her dark hair hung down past her shoulders, and she was dressed in her usual armor of a t-shirt, jeans, boots, and a leather jacket. But something was different. It could have been a trick of the light, but she seemed to have taken a little more care with her makeup. Her brown eyes looked bigger than usual thanks to her artful eyeliner. And she wore a dark lipstick that set off her creamy skin beautifully.  “Something’s changed about you, Jones. What’s going on?”

She schooled her features and gave him a stern look before breaking out into a full-on grin. Bucky couldn’t stop his small gasp when she smiled. She was truly beautiful, but her usually sour disposition tended to put people off.

“Okay, who are you and what have you done with my friend Jessica?”

“Shut up,” she replied, shoving his shoulder. “I’m on a date.” She nodded her head to the table behind her, where a gorgeous man with tan skin, jet black hair, and a neatly trimmed beard sat, watching them with interest.

“Damn girl,” Bucky replied, looping her arm with his own. “Does he swing both ways? Cause if so, send him my way when you’re done with him.”

“Oh fuck off, Barnes,” she laughed, freeing her arm.

Bucky relaxed for the first time all day, forgetting his nerves about Steve in his excitement for his friend. “You look good, Jess. Happy.”

“Thanks.” She glanced at something just over Bucky’s shoulder. “Well, I just wanted to come say hi since I haven’t seen you in a while. I’m gonna go back to my date and let you get back to yours.”

“Oh, no, I’m not on a date, just here with Pete from work.”

“Yeah?” She leaned in close and whispered as quietly as she could in the din of the bar. “Then who’s the blond beefcake two stools down who keeps staring at you?”

Bucky turned his head suddenly to see Steve sitting there, wearing a smirk and looking positively delicious. He’d removed his jacket and unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt, exposing the hollow of his throat. Bucky bit back the sudden urge to trace the other man’s adam’s apple with his tongue. “Oh my God… that’s Steve. I didn’t call him. How’d he know I was here?”

“That’s Steve?” Jessica asked, and Bucky automatically hissed at her to keep her voice down. He had shared the story with her one night over drinks, and she knew all about the torch he carried. “Well, Mazel Tov and all that,” she said with a wink. “Let’s get coffee sometime and you can tell me how good he fucks. And um…” she leaned to the left slightly, presumedly to check Steve out, “maybe we could arrange a trade.”

“Fuck you Jones.”

Jessica had already turned away when she called over her shoulder “We tried that, remember?”

Despite his annoyance, Bucky managed one last smile while he flipped her the bird, before gathering his courage to turn around and face Steve.

~/~

Steve watched Bucky with interest as he turned away from the stunning brunette he’d been talking to. He couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of the ease between them. It was obvious they weren’t lovers, but they were friends, and Steve missed having Bucky as his friend.

Bucky downed the shot he’d ordered and left the glass on the bar as he sauntered over to Steve. That was really the only way Steve could describe his walk. He didn’t seem as confident as the Bucky Barnes of their childhood, but he sure as hell knew how to fake it.

“Either you’re stalking me or Peter slipped something in my beer and I blacked out, because I don’t remember calling you.” Steve felt his cheeks warm as Bucky spoke. He took a minute to process the words, realizing they were harsher than the tone Bucky used to convey them.

“Um, right… well, Shuri called me and let me know you’d be here, so I thought I’d stop by after work and see if you’d be up for that drink.” He hadn’t looked Bucky in the eyes yet. “I can go, if it’s making you uncomfortable.” He moved to grab his wallet and pay for his beer.

“No, Steve, wait,” Bucky said, with a chuckle. “I was fuckin’ with you. Don’t go. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Yeah?” Steve’s lips spread wide in a grin and he finally looked up to meet Bucky’s gaze. What he saw there was heart-stopping. Bucky always had the most beautiful eyes, their color a cool gray-blue that changed from icy to steel depending on his mood. Right now they were brilliant, even in the dim light of the bar. And they were complimented by an amazing smile.

“Yeah,” Bucky replied, not breaking eye contact.

They stood there for a few seconds, just drinking one another in, before the spell was broken by the approach of Bucky’s coworker.

“Hey Buck-” Peter began.

“Shit! Pete! I’m sorry man,” Bucky replied before Peter could finish his sentence. “I abandoned you. I just ran into a couple people, and-”

“Yeah, man, no problem,” Peter replied. “I was actually gonna say I gotta split. My buddy Ned called and he needs me to come over.” Bucky raised his eyebrows at that, but before he could say anything, Peter sputtered on. “I mean… not ‘needs me’ like that, needs me. Ned’s just a friend. I mean… not that I have any problem with dudes, but Ned’s got a girlfriend and I’m kind of into this girl we went to high school together, and-”

Bucky interrupted the younger man’s diatribe. “Pete, it’s okay. You didn’t say anything to offend me.”

“Phew, that’s a relief,” Peter said, literally wiping his hand across his brow as he said the word ‘phew.’ Steve’s nerdy heart went out to the younger man. He could definitely remember being just as awkward in his own youth.

Peter swiftly made his exit, and Bucky ordered a fresh beer, abandoning the one he’d had at the table he was sitting at with Peter. He settled onto the stool next to Steve.

“So, bigwig legal guy at Stark Inc. at 28, huh? How’d you manage that?

Steve blushed again and looked down at the bar top. “I met Tony in college, and he took over his Dad’s company just as I was finishing law school. He contacted me and asked me to interview for a job on their legal team. I wasn’t about to turn down an opportunity like that. After I got the job, Tony told me he needed to clean house and that he wanted someone with his ear to the ground in legal. I helped him catch some bad actors, and when their positions were vacated, Tony asked if I wanted to take one.”

“Damn, that’s quite the story.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of unbelievable, right? Little guy from Brooklyn like me ending up here.”

“Yeah…” Bucky trailed off as he took a swig of his beer. “I always believed that little guy would go places.”

“That means a lot coming from you, Buck.” Steve looked over at the other man, his eyes soft.

“I never stopped believing in you, Stevie,” he replied, his voice soft.

“So…” Steve said after a pause. “What about you? How’d you’d end up at WT?”

“I met Okoye, the head of their HR, at a VA job fair.”

“Yeah? I remembered you enlisted after graduation. How long did you serve?”

“Six years, three tours. I was planning to retire, but I got injured on my last tour and was medically discharged.”

“Shit… What happened?”

“IED. Not a very big one, but enough to do some serious damage to my left arm. I was a sniper, and I couldn’t keep doing that job if I couldn’t hold the gun steady.”

“Oh damn… I’m sorry to hear that man.”

Bucky looked at Steve for a second, his eyes watering and his upper lip quivering. Steve felt his heart speed up at the thought of his friend’s pain. He started to stand up to give the other man a hug when Bucky’s face broke into a huge grin.

“You always were so gullible Stevie.”

“You jerk!” Steve replied with a laugh as he settled back on his stool.

Bucky pretended to look hurt. “What? Me? I’m not the one laughing at a wounded veteran, ya’ punk!”

“Yeah. yeah, asshole.” Steve tilted his beer to take a swig, his eyes never leaving Bucky’s. When he placed the bottle back down on the bartop, his smile faded a little, becoming wistful. “I’ve missed you, Buck. What happened to us?”

“I’m an asshole who doesn’t deserve nice things, that’s what,” Bucky said, suddenly looking anywhere but at Steve.

~/~

“What the hell does that mean?” Steve asked, and Bucky felt his heart constrict a little more. Sweet Stevie, always caring so much about everyone else.

“Look… it was a long time ago. Let’s forget I said anything. Tell me more about you.”

“No, Buck. I don’t want to forget it. What did you mean? If anything, I’m the asshole in the situation since I left.”

“No, Steve, no.” Bucky suddenly felt panicked at the thought that Steve would ever blame himself. Without thinking, he grabbed Steve’s hand in his own. “You could never be an asshole. You have always been the kindest, most selfless person I know. You going to Indiana was a good thing, wasn’t it? Without that, you might never have gotten healthy, and I doubt you could have afforded law school if you and your mom stayed in Brooklyn.”

“Then why? Why did we lose touch? We were always so close. Even when I had nothing, I had you.”

Bucky cringed. Even after all these years, it physically pained him to keep anything from Steve. “It was all my fault. I became a mess those last two years of high school. I was a drugged out loser. I barely graduated. You didn’t need someone like me dragging you down.”

Steve’s face softened and he squeezed Bucky’s hand with his own. “You would never have dragged me down. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to help you. It sounds like you were really hurting back then.”

“I was trying to find something.”

“What was that?”

Bucky looked up at Steve then, his eyes a bright cornflower blue, expressing his earnestness. “You,” Bucky replied, unable to tear his gaze away. “I was trying to find you.”

“You knew where I was, Bucky. If you needed me, I would have come back in a heartbeat.”

“I didn’t want to tear you away from your new life. You finally had everything you ever wanted. How selfish would it have been if I’d asked you to come back because I was working through a little bit of depression?”

“But, other than my ma, no one has ever been more important to me that you. I would have done anything to help you.”

“Naw… you had a new life. I remember those pictures on Facebook. You had that cute little girlfriend. The blonde one, kinda looked like Sharon. What was her name?”

“Kate,” Steve said with a small grin. “I think the main reason I first talked to her was because she reminded me of Sharon.” Bucky made to pull his hand free, but Steve kept his grip strong. “But what did you mean when you said you were trying to find me?”

“I…” Bucky sighed deeply and looked at the floor. “I wanted to find someone to take your place in my life. So I wouldn’t feel so empty.”

“Did it work?”

“No. Every person I hooked up with just made me feel more alone, but I kept trying. I must have slept my way through half of the teenage population of Brooklyn, but no one could hold a candle to you.”

Steve suddenly got very still. “What do you mean, Bucky? We never hooked up.”

Shit , Bucky thought, there goes my big fuckin’ mouth gettin’ me in trouble again. He looked up to meet Steve’s eyes once more, his mouth gaping like a fish out of water..

“Bucky… did you… did you want to be with me?”

“I… uh…” fuckfuckfuck “Um… I mean…” He felt his face flushing crimson red. “Shit. I never meant to tell you that Stevie. I’m sorry. Fuck… Let me just.” He grabbed his wallet out of his pocket and threw down whatever cash he had on hand, praying it was enough to cover his drinks. He’d just humiliated himself in front of Steve. The last thing he needed was to also stick him with the bill.

Steve stared open-mouthed as Bucky turned and walked as fast as he could out of the bar, heading for the parking lot. He was unlocking his car door when he heard Steve calling out his name.

“I’m sorry Stevie. Please… let me go home and hide for a while. I can’t deal with this right now.” He realized he was babbling, but it was like a dam broke and he couldn’t stop. “We were just reconnecting and then I went and fucked it up. Damnit… I am so sorry Steve. Please can we just forget I said anything? It was a long time ago and-”

He was cut off abruptly when Steve surged forward and captured Bucky’s mouth with his own. Bucky was shocked momentarily before his reflexes kicked in and he kissed back, Steve’s lips just as soft as he remembered them. He moaned softly as Steve’s hand grazed up his neck and over his jawline. The kiss seemed to drag on forever, a heavenly meeting of plush lips and velvety tongues and light nips of teeth. Bucky felt himself swoon a little inside.

When they finally broke apart, their chests panting, Steve brought his other hand up to cup Bucky’s cheeks. “You still talk too fuckin’ much,” he growled, and Bucky laughed before leaning back in for another kiss.

“I didn’t think you liked guys,” Bucky said in awe when they separated once more.

“Bucky… I have been gone for you from the moment you kissed me when we were kids. I was just so afraid to tell you then and lose you as a friend.”

“You punk… we could have had so much more time together if you’d have just said something!” Bucky chuckled as he pulled Steve’s body closer to his own.

“If I’d have said something? You’re the chatterbox you jerk! You should have told me how you felt.”

“I didn’t want to lose your friendship either.”

“Shit… we gotta get better at communicating with each other if we’re gonna make things work this time around.”

“Why don’t we start practicing on Friday? Will you go out on a date with me, Stevie?”

“Yes,” Steve whispered before closing in on Bucky for another mind-blowing kiss.

~/~

The next morning, when Bucky walked into work, Shuri was standing in the middle of their shared workspace wearing a self-satisfied smirk. “Did you have a good night, Bucky?”

Bucky tried to look offended, he really did, but he’d spent the night having pleasant dreams of kissing Steve at an outside table of a restaurant by the waterside. He smiled at his coworker. “I did.” He shrugged off his backpack and sat at his computer.

“How is Steve?” She asked as she followed him. “Will you be seeing him again?”

“You really don’t do subtle, do you?”

“I don’t have time for such things. Do you have a date or not?”

“Yes,” he replied, unable to hide his grin.

Shuri squealed with delight and danced in place. “Bucky’s gonna get nasty!”

“Just don’t send him any dick pics,” Peter mumbled from the other side of the cube wall.

Bucky blushed in response and Shuri cackled. “It’s too late for that, Peter!” she called back. “Did he send you one back?”

“I’m not saying anything about that, Shuri.”

She chuckled and took her seat at her desk. “As a sign of your gratitude, I fully expect your first daughter to be named after me.”

“Well, I was planning to do that anyway,” Bucky said with a grin.

“Damn right you were.”

Bucky looked up at his monitor and began to peruse his email. A minute later a notification popped up on his phone with a text from Steve.

Can’t wait for tomorrow night.

Bucky was unable to hide his grin as he picked up his phone to send a response.

If you enjoyed this, I’d really love a like, reblog, or comment (or all three!). Thanks for reading!

[prettyfunkyunorganized]

Sugar Daddy Hanzo part 7

Hey there everyone! Another chapter all ready for you. Some set up for the next part and some struggles with how much you want your man back.

And btw, thanks for answering my question last time! It was super fun to see your responses! :D

Around 4,300 words today. Enjoy!

BTW, this whole business world AU is based on my bud @watch-your-grammer‘s post here. She’s glorious and so is her work.

The rest of the story: pt one, pt two, pt three, pt four, pt five, pt six 

Saturdays were supposed to be relaxing – not a clusterfuck, but here you were, half tacking on another day to the workweek and half trying to get your best friend’s baby shower in order. And all the way losing your shit.

“What the hell do you mean Clarissa’s Cupcakes pulled out on us,” you fumed at your phone as you tried to dig through your desk for the to-do list that just kept growing and growing.

“Yeah,” Jules said slowly, “they canceled on us.”

“We paid upfront for that stupid reservation! What the hell happened?”

“They said someone else made them a better offer or something. The whole place is closed for the day for a private party, dude. We’re kinda boned,” Jules said, sounding pretty damn dejected for her, but at least that meant she was taking this seriously.

You heaved a long sigh and thought a moment. “Okay, okay. That’s okay. We’ll figure something else out. If all else fails, we can have the party at one of our places. Mags will be fine with that.”

“As long as it's not mine, I’m cool with that,” Jules agreed, going right back to optimistic fast enough to give you emotional whiplash.

“Why not yours,” you asked, “you’ve got that great dining and kitchen area. I’ll help you get it ready as soon as I’m done here.”

“About that,” she laughed, “I’m in the middle of a job, and my creative process is uh, messy, as you know. And this time the subject matter is sorta graphic. Like aliens with tentacles that have teeth graphic.”

Having one of your besties be an animatronic whiz and well-respected movie monster creator was great around Halloween. Right now, not so much.

“Well fuck. Nicole will never let that many people she doesn’t know in her place, so I guess my apartment it is,” you groaned.

“No offense babe, but your place is pretty small for that. I could try to clean my stuff up some, I guess, but the alien herself ain’t going nowhere right now.”

“No, no,” you sighed, “I got it. I’ll move some stuff around and rig up some more seating. Just hope I can get home in time.”

There was a pause on the other side of the line, and you knew what was coming next. A scolding. “You better not be where I think you are,” Jules said in her most grown-up tone.

“Um,” you hesitated.

“Good freakin’ gods woman! That job is bleeding you dry! You gotta stop letting them treat you like this.” She sounded more disappointed than angry, which stung plenty.

“I know, I know, but you know me, I work hard! It’s what I do. It’s important.”

“Lovebug,” Jules said gently, calling you by your childhood nickname to get her point across, “I know your mom and dad always told you that, but working yourself into a pit isn’t good either. Especially since that company doesn’t appreciate you and all you do. You could be doing so much better! You’ve got enough big-name clients that you should absolutely have more than that cheap little cubicle. You work with fucking Lucio himself, girl! That’s big-time shit!”

“I – I know,” you fumbled, “but there aren’t any openings here for a better position. I’ve just got to wait it out.”

“You ought to ask for a raise,” Jules snorted.

“Yeah, probably,” you huffed, rubbing your temple. “I don’t know why I can stand up to Hanzo like I did but going up to my superiors here at work seems daunting – even though I know I deserve more.”

“Because your parents taught you to value your career more than relationships and you’re still internally trying to please them despite the fact that you know they’re unhealthy and unhappy,” Jules said frankly. “Childhood psychological shit, it’ll get you every time.”

“No kidding,” you laughed, taking a moment to close your eyes and remind yourself that you were so much more than just your job.

“I know you’re not going to just blow off work,” Jules said, “but don’t go crazy today, alright? We have a party to get to! And the world won’t end just because you left some stuff to be done on Monday.”

“That much I can do,” you agreed, “thanks, Jules.”

“No problem. I don’t have many wise moments, but when I do, I’m more than happy to share them.”

“Maybe you ought to share some weed with me next week to get rid of the nerves before I go ask my boss for a raise,” you suggested, only partially joking.

“Holy fuck yes! Yes! Babe, let’s do it! Nicole can give you one of her hardcore pep talks and Mags can make you feel all good and shit! Fuck yeah! This is happening. I’ve decided.”

“Oh dear god what have I started,” you giggled.

“This is the best idea you’ve ever had.”

“Jules, love, I dig the excitement, but we have other things to focus on right now. If I get my place ready for the party can you get food?”

“Sure thing,” she said nonchalantly, “snacks are basically my specialty. I’ve got a caterer that owes me a favor, too.”

“Awesome, thanks, Jules. I’ll talk to you later. Keep me in the loop.”

“Yup. You just get done with stupid-ass work, alright?”

“I’ll try.”

You spent the next few hours toiling away at work, mostly alone at the office once again. Jules was right, you did have a problem. Thankfully, your phone buzzed, reminding you that time was in fact passing and you had other, much more enjoyable things to do.

‘Hey the caterer needs to get into your place soon to drop off goodies. You home?’

It was Jules. Who would be all over you for still being at work. “Fuck,” you hissed before typing a simple, ‘No.’

‘Da faq girl,” she replied.

‘I’m getting decorations and shit,’ you lied.

‘Oh. Cool. You do you. Just get home soon, k?’

‘Yep,’ you sent back, realizing you had dug yourself into a hole. Now you had to decorate, get home, and make your place presentable in a much too small window of time. Frantically, you called Nicole to see if she could help, but no she was still at the vet with her pup. Maggie’s mother could open the door for the caterer, but then she’d freak out about how ‘dirty’ the place was and start stressing and cleaning everything – or, even worse, tattle to your parents about ‘the state of that place!’ There was Maggie’s mother-in-law, but she was something of an attention whore and a snob who would undoubtedly make up some dramatic story about having to go to some ‘tacky shop’ for ‘tacky décor’ and how she did ‘the absolute best she could under the circumstances.’

No.

You were not listening to that on your day off.

Well, your day almost off.

As you scrolled through your contact list trying to find someone to help, a sudden text popped up. From Hanzo, no less.

“Huh,” you said frowning at his name. An image of him trying to pick out baby shower do-dads came to mind and made you cackle. “Oh hell no, I’m not asking him to do that, no matter how great the blackmail would be if I got pictures. Not that I could ever see the need to blackmail him.”

Since the morning at the coffee shop, you and Hanzo had done exactly as you had agreed upon. You were civil, spoke on occasion, and played nice. He was always respectful and appreciative of any time you gave him, but the tension was still there. At times, you would sill times get shudder including memories of that night he terrified you in that parking lot, but you were starting to see that part of him less and less with each conversation. Most of the time when he reached out to you, it was for a bit of advice or asking about something he’d read. He was a voracious reader now, it seemed, devouring anything he could get his hands on about overcoming mental obstacles. That seemed to be his new safe space – where he retreated when he was having a setback or had done something he deemed to be wrong.

He was being too hard on himself, you knew that, but there was only so much you could do while keeping an appropriate distance.

It was hard not to go to him and run your fingers through his hair, whispering soft reassurances.

The sadness that often coated his voice when you spoke on the phone made your stomach twist.

But this was his battle, and he would fight it in his own way. He had others to help him along the way, and he wasn’t your responsibility.

Hanzo was, however, always saying that he wanted to repay your kindness, so maybe you could ask him for a favor. Friend to friend.

You called him up before you could chicken out and waited rather impatiently for him to pick up.

“Hello,” he said, surprise and unease in his tone.

“Oh thank goodness,” you sighed. “Hey, Hanzo it’s me.”

“Yes, of course,” he said, “is something wrong?”

“What? No,” you replied in confusion. “Why would there be?”

“No reason,” he explained, “I was just not expecting a call. Usually, I am the one asking if I may bother you with a phone call.”

“Right,” you said laughing awkwardly, “well, the thing is, I sorta need some help.”

“What can I do,” he asked gravely. You could see his pensive face so clearly in your mind. It made you smile.

“Chill, Hanzo, I’m fine. It’s a little thing really, but I didn’t know who else to go to.”

“I am glad to hear you are alright and I am of course happy to help however I can,” he said softly. That damn voice of his was going to be the death of you.

“So, the gals and I are throwing Mags a baby shower,” you began.

“I see,” Hanzo said worriedly.

“Calm down,” you snorted, “you don’t have to come or anything, I just need someone to unlock the door for the people bringing food.”

“Ah, well, that I can most certainly do. Is there a spare key I should use nearby?”

“Yeah. It’s in a little magnetized box under the ridge of the big metal planter to the left of the door. If you can’t find it, give me a text.” You grabbed your purse and headed to the stairs.

“I will,” Hanzo said, evidently still taking this quite seriously, “but something has just occurred to me.”

“What’s that?”

“I have never been to your apartment,” he said, making you stop and frown.

“Well I’ll be damned, you haven’t. Whoops. I’ll text you the address in a sec, just leaving work.”

“My, my,” he said with a small chuckle, “your dedication is admirable.”

“That’s not what my friends say,” you grumbled.

“Why is that?”

“I may have a slight problem with balance,” you admitted sheepishly, “but I’m working on it. I do have a tendency to throw myself into the office when I’m stressed about other things, though.”

“Did I cause that reaction this time,” he asked gently.

In all honesty, yes, you were still dealing with the repercussions of taking on too much work to distract yourself after you and Hanzo broke it off, but he wasn’t the only cause. “Nah, it’s more me. I need to stop this pattern I always get myself into. I’ve basically buried myself in paperwork this time.”

“I can relate,” Hanzo hummed out, sounding stressed. As usual. “Do try to take care of yourself, though, will you? I – I worry. I know you are capable and independent, but . . . nonetheless.”

You shut your eyes tightly at the twinge in your heart. He could be so sweet. Sometimes. “Just, um, let me know if you need anything else, okay? I gotta go get some stuff.”

Hanzo cleared his throat tensely. “You have my word.”

“Thanks, Hanzo. Bye.” You let out an abysmal groan as soon as you hung up. “Why does he have to make it so hard to not like him?!”

Darting through the nearest party supply store like a tornado did wonders to take Hanzo off your mind – if there was anything in this world that absolutely did not remind you of that man, it was pink streamers and glitter – but seeing him standing next to your open doorway brought a wave of emotions you really didn’t have time to deal with.

You’d never seen him dress so . . . casually before. And . . .

Damn.

“Hey,” you called to him, cursing the way your voice broke. Christ, it was like you were back in high school, fawning over an upperclassman. At least this time he didn’t have swoopy hair. You had such terrible taste back then.

Well, maybe you still did, but that was a thought for another day.

“Hello,” he said with a smile. You looked him up and down as two people carried in a few trays. “Is something the matter,” he asked when he caught you staring.

“Nope,” you said with a grin, “I just didn’t know you owned anything other than freshly pressed suits.”

“Yes, well,” he said flushing, “you called me while I was in the middle of . . . something.”

“Son of a – ” you hissed, “I’m sorry! I didn’t even ask if you were busy, did I? I didn’t mean to – ”

Hanzo reached over and took a few of the bags hanging from your arms. “Think nothing of it. You did not interrupt anything important.”

You ushered him in and set the mess of shopping bags down. “Thanks again for letting these guys in,” you said gesturing to the people arranging miniature cakes all over your countertop, “but you didn’t have to stick around if you have other things to do. They’re good people, totally trustworthy.”

“I thought it best to stay close just in case. Not because I doubted their professionalism, but to see if you needed anything else. Based on the amount of food these people have brought in, you have quite the event going on here,” he said eyeing the pile of appetizers.

“Maggie has seven sisters-in-law,” you explained, trying not to grimace.

“Honto?! I cannott imagine,” Hanzo reeled.

You giggled, “Neither can I! I’ve always had such a small family, having ten in a household seems like hell to me.”

“Agreed,” Hanzo murmured, shaking his head.

“Anyway,” you said, smiling at him, “I should be fine. I’ve still got an hour to put up some decorations and tidy up a bit before the other girls get here to help me finish up. We got this.”

“Then I will leave you to it,” Hanzo said with a small bow before heading back to the hall.

“Wait,” you blurted, not really knowing why you’d said it. He turned back to you and waited.

Your face went hot as you rushed over to the kitchen and plucked a peach topped cake for him. “Here,” you said handing it to him, “for your trouble.”

“That is not necessary,” he said kindly, giving you an impossibly tender look, “I am simply glad I could help, and for a chance to see you.”

This was the first time you had seen each other face to face since that day at the coffee shop. He looked good, and not just because he always looked good. There was a sort of calm about him, as if maybe he wasn’t so bogged down by everything anymore. A proper therapist could do that.

You were happy for him. He deserved some progress, to not be alone and attacking himself all the time. You truly believed that.

And you also knew he had a sweet tooth as bad as yours.

“Take it,” you said, grabbing his hand and placing the little square napkin in his palm. “I know you want to.”

He grinned. “I can only say so to buttercream frosting so many times. Thank you, and enjoy your party. It sounds like you could use some fun.”

“I will. Take care, Hanzo.”

“I shall do my best,” he said with a nod, “and by the way, I like your home. It is, hmm, ‘warm’, I suppose is the word  am looking for. Or perhaps safe. I never quite understood how to navigate that line between ‘house’ and ‘home,’ but you certainly have.”

Something about that sentence made you pout involuntarily as your heart dropped.

“Not that I mean to be looking for sympathy,” Hanzo said quickly, “I meant it as a compliment! I should not have made that comment about me, I apologize.”

The blush he got. It was too much.

“Don’t worry about it,” you said wavering a little closer to him. “I’m flattered that you like my place. Here I thought it might not be fancy or cleaned up enough for you.”

He scoffed, “Please, my own maid thinks I am a bit too much of a ‘neat freak.’ I know not everyone has my uncanny need to have everything polished.”

“Yeah, I don’t polish anything,” you laughed, walking him to the elevator, “but I probably should be more on top of the dishes.”

Hanzo shrugged, “If I did not have someone tidying up for me, I would likely be the same way. Or I would just eat out more often, I am not sure which.”

You parted ways with a wave that left you feeling unsatisfied. It was as if your skin was itching for his touch.

“Fucking hell,” you moaned, “I gotta get over this guy.”

The party came and went, Hanzo’s piercing eyes lingering in your mind when you weren’t occupied. You had thought you were over this dumb puppy dog love stage weeks ago, but evidently not. Maybe it was seeing the way Maggie and her wife got along that made you feel like this. Or seeing a new family being started in front of you. Or maybe it was just loneliness. Once everyone had left the house you were on your own again, wishing you had someone to vent to about your boss emailing you about picking up another coworker’s slack.

“I always get like this when I’m tired,” you tried to assure yourself, “I’ll get over it. All I need is a shower and some proper sleep. And maybe for my boss to stop being a shitlord.”

Soon, you were settled on the couch hair up in a microfiber towel and your fluffiest robe around your shoulders. You felt better, yes, but you couldn’t help but think about snuggling up in Hanzo’s wide-collared hoodie from earlier today.

“Why are boy hoodies always the best,” you asked the universe, slightly perturbed at this unwarranted slight the fashion industry had given your gender.

Your ringtone went off, and you swiped your phone from the coffee table. Hanzo again.

Now the universe was really being a dick.

‘I hope everything went well tonight,’ he had sent. ‘I forgot to mention that I set your key by the sink. One of the caterers saw where you had hidden it, so you may want to find another location just to be safe, but that may just be my paranoia at work.’

“Worrywart,” you snickered before sending back, ‘Yes I saw it. Thanks. Good idea. And yeah, we had a good time. A few hiccups, but I handled it.’

‘Hiccups? Is everything alright?’

‘There was a small soon-to-be-Grandma fight, and Bruce Wayne peed on one of my plants, but that’s all.’

It took him longer to respond than usual, but then a confused, ‘Bruce Wayne? The Batman alter ego,’ came through. You laughed and snuggled deeper into your cushions.

‘Nicole’s dog has a solemn looking face and very pointy little ears that make him look like Batman, hence the name. Gotta admit, I’m a little surprised you knew that name of the top of your head, or did you Google it,’ you teased.

‘Genji told me. He says hello,’ Hanzo admitted.

Half a second later Hanzo was calling you. “Um, yeah,” you said into the receiver.

“I told you she would pick up,” Genji said, sounding as if he were straining.

“And I asked you not to call her,” you barely heard Hanzo say. “It is late, and she has had a long day.”

“Well then maybe you should not have texted her,” Genji replied jokingly.

“That is different,” Hanzo griped. It was nice to hear them acting like normal brothers.

“What is going on,” you asked as a smile crossed your face.

“I stole Hanzo’s phone so I could talk to you,” Genji explained, “and now he is trying to get it back, but I am faster.”

There was a slew of angry Japanese that made Genji burst out laughing. “That sounds like a dangerous game you’re playing, Genji,” you giggled. “Was there a reason you called, or are you just torturing your big bro.”

“Meh, a little of column A, a little of column B,” he replied.

“Perhaps I should just call Mercy as retaliation,” you heard Hanzo say in a voice so devious you had to add a dramatic gasp to the conversation.

“WHAT,” Genji yelped, “and when did – how did you get my phone?!”

“I always took my stealth studies more seriously than you did, brother,” Hanzo chuckled.

“Damn it,” Genji said defeatedly, “okay, fine, I will give it back, but before I do, I wanted to invite your lovely friend here to a party I am having next week. Everyone at Overwatch adored you, and we would love to have you there if that would not be too awkward.”

“You want to invite me,” you clarified.

“But of course,” Genji all but sang. “It is just a casual little thing for a few friends I throw every year. Hanzo made it sound like you could use a night out, maybe one that involves less Grandmothers – no offense to your baby shower guests.”

“Just how much did Hanzo tell you,” you asked, feigning skepticism.

“I am nosy,” Genji said flatly.

“Indeed you are,” Hanzo barked.

“So will you come? I promise it will be a good time.” It sounded like the younger Shimada was almost begging you to join them.

“No funny business,” you asked apprehensively.

“Not at all.”

“And I won’t have to worry about people looking down their noses at me?”

“If anyone does I will show them the door,” Genji said.

“And you know I’m not coming as your brother’s date,” you said, a bit quieter.

“Yes, I know,” he replied, less excitement in his voice.

“Well . . . alright, I’ll come,” you agreed, not entirely sure this was a good idea considering how much you were already pining over Hanzo.

“That is fantastic news,” Genji said, “the others will be delighted to – Hey! Hanzo! I was not done with that!”

“Pardon the interruption,” Hanzo said, noises coming through the earpiece that sounded like he was holding his brother away with his other arm, “but you really do not have to come if you do not wish to. Do not let my brother pester you into joining us.”

“I don’t mind,” you said honestly, “it would be nice to see Lena and the others again.”

“There will be liquor,” Hanzo hinted, “not that I need to partake but – ”

“Why is liquor a problem,” Genji asked.

Hanzo sighed deeply. “She does not want to be around me when I drink after that night I hurt her.”

“That,” Genji started, then took a long pause. “Well, to be candid that is a very rational decision, and I approve of her looking out for herself.”

“As do I,” Hanzo agreed.

“I can still hardly believe you ruined such a good thing,” Genji lamented.

“Do not start with me tonight,” Hanzo groaned, “please? I assure you I cannot feel any worse than I already do. Just seeing her makes me – ”

“Ahem,” you said loudly, “I’m still here, you know.”

“Sorry,” the two brothers said simultaneously.

“Look, I don’t have to come to this shindig of yours if it’s going to complicate things. I’m fine,” you said with a shrug.

“No,” Hanzo said gingerly, “if you would like to come, that would be lovely. I do not need to drink that night.”

“I don’t mean to spoil your fun or anything,” you said awkwardly. You suddenly felt like a controlling girlfriend, only you weren’t his girlfriend. But you were just trying to look out for yourself . . .

“You are not ruining anything,” Hanzo said kindly, “just the opposite, in fact. Come, enjoy yourself, and I promise I will not drink. I believe it will likely be good for me to prove to myself that I can be out with some coworkers and not need a bevy of drinks to get through.”

While he didn’t sound entirely convinced in his ability to do so, you had to agree that it might be a good step for him to take. “Alright, I’ll still come. If you’re sure you don’t mind, that is.”

“Not at all,” Hanzo said, “I will let you know the details when Genji finally decides on a theme.”

“Oh yeah,” Genji yelled, “it is a costume party, but you do not have to get too into it if you do not want to.”

“Good to know,” you laughed, “tell your goofy brother thanks for the invite, but I should start winding down for the night.”

“I will. Goodnight, my beau- ” He caught himself and coughed in embarrassment. “G-goodnight.”

He hung up before you could respond, making you wince. “Fu-uh-uh-uh-ck,” you wailed, smacking yourself in the forehead. “I really, really, really wish I didn’t still want to be his god-damned beauty.” Tears began to sting your eyes, and you weren’t sure they had formed out of anger, or longing.

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[acsversace-news]

Andrew Cunanan was cool.

Like, really cool.

Sincerely, legitimately awesome.

That’s the tragedy of “Creator/Destroyer,” the penultimate episode of this extraordinary season of television. By the time we see Andrew in his full glory as one of the wildest guys at his high school, we’ve also seen his father Modesto, who debuts in this episode, get his hooks deep into the kid. Andrew has seen his father harangue and assault his mother. He’s borne the weight of all his dad’s dreams, knowing this comes at the expense of his siblings, sensing on some level it’s not right to have this kind of pressure placed on him but, because the pressure is couched as praise, not knowing how to fight back. He’s been…well, the show is cagey on this, but saying he’s been molested by his father would not be out of bounds.

And even now, as an ebullient and confident teenager, he’s begun certain behavior patterns that will get him in trouble in the end: he has a sugar daddy, and he becomes fast friends with Lizzie, his future bestie, because she shows up at a high-school house party pretending to be a kid rather than the married adult she really is. (“I’m an impostor.” “All the best people are.”) He’s picking up little tidbits on how to deceive (including his go-to pseudonym, DeSilva, the name of the people who own the house where the party takes place) and why (because “when you feel special, success will follow” as his father teaches him).

But for a brief time, he’s just a cool, slightly weird, slightly obnoxious, slightly closeted teenager, and if you weren’t at least two of those things during your high school career I don’t wanna know you. He stands up to homophobes in a familiar way, by camping it up even further, going so far as to pose for his class photo with his shirt all the way unbuttoned to show off his (impressive!) torso. He’s prophetically chosen to be “Most Likely to Be Remembered,” and equally prophetically selects “Après moi, le déluge” as his yearbook quote. He rolls into the parking lot like a refugee from Less Than Zero (complete with that movie’s soundtrack staple, the Bangles’ cover of “Hazy Shade of Winter”; the film was his IRL fave) and shows up at the house party in an Eddie Murphy red-leather jumpsuit. (Finally it’s clear why so many of his music cues over the course of the ‘90s portion of the series were anachronistically ’80s: The ’80s were his time.) This Andrew could be loved. This Andrew could be saved.

In that sense, Andrew’s not so far away from our episode-opening glimpse of Gianni Versace as a kid, though that’s the least successful segment of the episode, if not the whole season. This has been a bugbear of mine all season long, but for real: Anytime native Italian-speakers start talking to one another when there’s no one else around, those conversations scenes reallyshould take place in Italian. It’s next to impossible to feel a connection to young Gianni and his mother when they’re talking in absurdly accented English like they’re doing a nostalgic spaghetti-sauce commercial. The old-country lighting and color palette doesn’t help either, nor does the dialogue that Mama Versace and Young Gianni are forced to spout — an uplifting, after-school-special lesson about not letting bullies and homophobes and sexists stop you from pursuing your dreams, the importance of hard work, yadda yadda yadda.

Knowing this show, the excess schmaltz here is probably deliberate, intended to drive home the contrast between Gianni’s genuinely supportive mother, who instills in him the belief that effort, talent, and success are all interconnceted, with Andrew’s faux-supportive parents, who treat him like a god when they’re not terrifying him with pressure and spousal abuse and who brainwash him into believing that success is handed out to innately special people like a party favor. I get that, I appreciate that. But in a time when shows from The Americans to Narcos can spend half an episode or more using another language — or when shows like Game of Thrones shoot scenes in languages that are completely imaginary! — going with the “when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza-pie” approach displays a baffling lack of confidence in the audience. (This is the only episode where Tom Rob Smith shares the writing credit with another person, Maggie Cohn, and I wonder if that’s got something to do with it.)

Fortunately the show is on firmer ground with Andrew’s father. As Modesto “Pete” Cunanan, Jon Jon Briones faces the daunting task of airdropping into the series in its penultimate episode, in a role with no more or less responsibility than revealing the foundational traumas that turned Andrew Cunanan who and what he is. He makes it work so well that it starts to feel like he’s been there all along. He inhabits the era perfectly, for one thing: With his impeccable coiffed hair, double-breasted suits, tight-fitting leisure ware, and grown-ass-man mustache, he looks like every uncle in your family’s old faded photo album. He has a fireplug physicality and a crisp vocal cadence that can project confidence and dynamism one moment, then weirdness and menace the next. Frequently he’s called upon to shift between modes almost within a single sentence, as when he chokeslams Andrew’s mother Mary Ann to the ground and then immediately starts celebrating the purchase of his son’s new car once again.

And like many Horatio Alger cases, his belief in pulling himself up by his own bootstraps (as his superiors at Merrill Lynch put it) comes with undue contempt for those he considers weak. He brings up his childhood poverty in the Philippines as a talking point; he brings up Mary Ann’s postpartum depression and hospitalization as a weapon. Unsurprisingly for such a figure, at no time does he seem capable of addressing or even acknowledging his own weaknesses, his own pain. For one thing, he’s clearly experienced anti-Asian racism; that’s the unmistakable subtext of his interview with Merrill, where he’s the only candidate who isn’t white, as well as his relentless drive to assimilate and Americanize. It’s hinted at in the way he refers to his family home as a place his would-be employers could purchase with the cash in their wallets; when we finally see it, it’s not a mansion to be sure, but it’s no hellhole either. It’s a house, but it happens to be a house in a place other than America, which makes it a hovel in his eyes. He passes this self-hatred on to his son, who when asked by a relative in Manila if this is his “first time home” can’t even bring himself to respond. Only by concocting the legend of his father the pineapple magnate (plantations “as far as the eye can see,” he tells his Filipino boss at the pharmacy, for whom he holds nothing but contempt) can Andrew reconcile his heritage with his and his father’s hunger for the American dream.

Moreover, while Modesto’s justification for why the feds are out to bust him for theft but not his bosses — “They’re all stealing. My crime was that I stole too small…If I had stolen $100 million, they would have promoted me” — is pretty much completely accurate, it doesn’t explain why he left his family holding the bag. Watch him when he returns to his cubicle after learning his fraud has been uncovered: He grips the desk, grimaces, puts his head down for about two seconds, and by the time he raises it again he’s decided to buy tickets to Manila and abandon his wife and children. Not even his wall full of photos of Andrew (the style of which should look familiar at this point given all of his son’s similar shrines to Gianni Versace, and what does that tell you about this relationship) prevents him from telling his travel agent to book that flight.

I think there’s a moment that portrays the damage Modesto does to his son more clearly and powerfully than the car incident, than the bit where he pretends not to have gotten the job at Merrily Lynch and then berates Mary Ann for believing him, than his escape and exile, than his homophobic confrontation with his son when Andrew (in a rare and genuinely impressive display of hard work and emotional uncertainty) tracks him down in Manila, or even during the bedside scene that very heavily implies child molestation (implied again when, in ostensible reference to becoming reaccustomed to the Manila heat, he purrs to Andrew that “You can pretend you belong somewhere else, but the body knows”). And Modesto’s not even on screen for it at first.

In a scene that’s achingly familiar to any former young overachiever waiting for confirmation that they’ve gotten the thing they’re supposed to want, Andrew grabs the days mail directly from the postal worker and flips envelopes to the floor until he finds one from Bishop’s School, the prestigious secondary school Modesto has made it his life’s mission to get Andrew into. The next time we and his mother Mary Ann see him, he’s in tears. “Why are you crying?” Mary Ann asks, her toothy grin shaping the words. “You got in!”

Andrew is crying the way you might cry when you hear a certain test result came back negative, or receive word that your kid is alright after a bus accident. The pressure of being Modesto Cunan’s special son — so special that his father literally gets down and kisses his feet upon hearing the news — was slowly crushing him. Now that he’s made it, he’s sobbing from the decompression. What misery it must have been for him a few years later, then, when he realized he’d fought all his life to live up to a fraud. “I’m the world’s greatest opportunist,” his father once told him. We’ll see about that, Dad. We’ll see about that.