#but focused on being nice and welcoming to people of varying tastes

[suncaptor]

I want to get back into homestuck, and I'm considering making a server for it since the fandom's a bit dead and this blog was consumed by spn, and I sort of want to create an environment where people can talk as much about homestuck and be passionate there while also having it be a really welcoming and supportive place? I'm wondering if anyone would be interested in that or if I could find people who would be.

[hypmicdaydreams]

"A kiss that is really a bet on a few yen"

-pairing: dice arisugawa x gn!reader

-genre: fluff 

-summary: a game of pocky between you and dice becomes way too intense for its own good

-word count: ~4.2k

a bet, for nothing more than the couple of yen you had left, lying around in the empty depths of your pocket. 

to anyone else, this was a downright ridiculous bet, one not even worth betting on in the first place. it was only a few yen, after all, not much to buy things from even the cheapest stores around. what could one even do with the three coins or so you had forgotten that you carried in the left pocket of your hoodie, all of varying monetary value? it wasn’t worth much if anything. 

and yet, to dice, this seemed like just the opportunity he was waiting for. he was eager, a bit too eager for what was nothing more than money one spent on a singular yet small piece of candy from the nearest drug store, to get those coins from you. they were practically calling him. hell, it’d be worth more than what he currently had to his name, which honestly says more about him than you who had taken him up on the offer or even suggested the idea in the first place. 

“let’s play,” you announced, placing the three or so coins in the center, right between where you and dice had been sitting and taking out a small box of pocky in the process. he only looked at you with curious eyes, a sort of glint in his gaze. 

usually, dice never was one to play for cheap pocket change, which was a generous way of putting it given the amount you guys were betting on. such games were much too boring. there wasn’t enough excitement, no threat of losing everything in mere seconds looming over your head. dice didn’t care for losing or winning such small amounts of money here and there (well, most times when he wasn’t dead on broke that is) since they never did make or break his lifestyle. it was whatever, and winning it never did give him that same sort of thrill he got each time he hit a jackpot in the casino or won big. yeah, he may have won like...a few hundred yen? but what would that even do? such bets were of no interest to dice who sought out that specific sort of adrenaline, the life or death situation. there really was no better feeling than winning big after months of tireless effort and tries coupled with the fact that he may have even lost everything in an instant. betting on such small amounts could even be seen as some kind of an insult to dice who took his gambling quite seriously. 

but this time around, whether it was due to his pure, undefeated boredom of being cooped in the house as of late or simply because he was betting against you specifically, dice felt compelled to play along and accept your offer. if he won whatever challenge you’d suggest, then he’d get those glorious one hundred yen coins with a few lint and loose yarn strands thrown in as a gratuitous gesture. truly a one of a kind prize. besides, dice couldn’t quite recall the last time he had made a bet with you, so even if this was so small and worth practically nothing, he was, nonetheless, excited at the prospect. see, betting and winning against someone he was close to was more fun than doing so in a casino, in a room full of strangers he’d probably never see again. he got to victoriously gloat over you, and seeing your crushed face of defeat would surely be worth it (this was all in a loving sense, of course). 

“soo,” dice rubbed his hands together, a smirk much too mischievous for its own good playing on his lips. he really couldn’t wait to start. “how do ya’ play?” 

“it’s simple, really,” you smirked back in retaliation, almost as if tempting him, able to read his thoughts and begging him to just try and win against you. honestly, this game was already getting too serious for its own good. it wasn’t a life or death situation. you were simply two dumbasses betting on three hundred yen for nothing more than entertainment. 

you opened the box of pocky and took one out. “the name of the game is that two people hold on to the stick, one at each end, and they slowly inch forward. whoever breaks the stick first or lets go loses.” then you placed one end, the chocolate dipped one, between your lips, motioning for dice to do the same on the other end, well, unless he didn’t want to. all that meant is that he’d forfeit and you’d win back your yen, but more importantly, it also meant that you got to be the one to gloat about winning against the self-proclaimed gambler, the one who knew all the rules of the game, both inside and out. and that truly would feel glorious. 

it was done purposefully, the fact that you left out the most crucial element to the pocky game, what made the pocky game the pocky game, rather notorious. you never did mention the fact that it’d surely end in a kiss if neither one of you wanted to let go, too stubborn to accept a loss, not that it’d take a genius to figure it out. you, however, had only wanted to fluster dice, which really wasn’t an easy task. you bet red would look so good on him, but alas, you’d never know. besides, it’d be quite funny to see his mind racing in real-time, words jumbled and sentences incoherent. that’d be a win in and of itself. 

dice, however, quickly caught on to the memo. yes, he certainly was a dumbass at times, but not always. that was only a part-time job of his, next to being a full-time rapper and gambler. it didn’t take long for him to figure out your true intention. certainly you just wanted to kiss him, which you simply could’ve told him straight up. there was no need for this roundabout way (i told you, being a dumbass wasn’t his full-time job, but he still was one). jokes aside, he knew exactly what you had intended on given by that devilish smirk on your face. besides, the thought of a kiss with you wasn’t really the first thing that could fluster him, nor was it the last on that note. he simply didn’t think much of it. 

and so, he gave a smirk back of his own, placing the biscuit end between his own lips and staring you in the eyes rather intensely, if only to intimidate you. and it certainly did work to some extent, not that you’d ever let dice know that. it was too late, however, as dice already saw the way your cocky smile faltered for less than a second, which surely only gave him an ego boost. 

you began first as a sort of retaliation against the man you loved, irritated at the fact that he had the audacity to think he could win against you. so you took your first nibble forward, savoring the sweet chocolate taste between your taste buds. it tasted just as good as you remembered, but it’d taste even better with victory on the side. 

then it was dice’s turn, who moved forward twice the amount you did, which surprised you and caused you to unconsciously break the stick, though it certainly wasn’t your fault, not at all! the sticks were honestly quite fragile, a bit too much in a way, and it was definitely unfair on dice’s end for him to move so quickly. if he did that, then the game would end right before it could even begin! and then where was the fun in that? sure, you’d get that kiss, but at what cost? at the cost of getting flustered and giving dice a reason to tease you? well, that wasn’t worth it at all then. it didn’t sound too pleasant, especially not for your ego. 

“heh, that was too easy!” dice grinned, already beginning to gloat at his perceived victory, though he didn’t seem to eat the remainder of the stick. 

“this time didn’t count,” you proclaimed, starting to feel the heat rush to your cheeks, whether it was from bewilderment or irritation, that you didn’t know. and it only worsened once dice shot you another cocky smirk, presumably one calling you a sore loser. 

“you win some, you lose some.”

“i shouldn’t be hearing that from you of all people.” you could only roll his eyes at his continued teasing. ugh, such a child, not that you’d act any better if you were in his place. well, this wasn’t going according to plan at all. “you’re not even supposed to take big bites. that’s unfair! and against the rules actually.”

at this, dice certainly did look a bit confused and perhaps even somewhat spooked. against the rules? he had never heard of that, though then again, he never did hear about the pocky game until you brought it up a few moments ago. this was all your own doing, however, grinning as you finally got dice where you wanted him, confused and at your mercy. in fact, you didn’t know if it actually was against the rules or not, or if there even were official rules in the first place. you simply didn’t want it to end this fast, to lose your couple hundred yen, but more importantly, to lose to dice of all people. if that made you a sore loser, then so be it. your pride was on the line (a bit much, eh?). 

“yep, so we gotta play again, and this time,” you pointed the stick at him, almost in a threatening-like manner, only furthered by the fact that he had an all too guilty look on his face, “you better play fair and not take big bites.” 

“y-yea’”

you grinned, “good.”

and so, you took the stick, placing the chocolate end once more between your lips; it was the more delectable part after all. dice quickly did the same to the other end, and the game began once more, this time the two of you concentrating a lot more than before for whatever reason. those coins of yen were looking really nice right about now. 

almost like déjà vu, you took the initiative once more and got the first nibble, inching in closer to dice who seemed to pay no mind to you but rather focusing on the stick that was the only thing separating you two. hm, was this a sign that he was growing flustered? that’d surely be a welcome surprise, a delight if you will. i mean, he wouldn’t even look you in the eye right now, so that must be the reason. alas, you knew that that most likely wasn’t the reason, though it certainly was tempting to imagine. 

dice responded by inching closer as well, this time actually taking smaller bites than before, ones almost the same size as yours. this particular game was turning out to be a delight already, even if you could feel the heat rush to your face once more for whatever reason. you had been the one to suggest the pocky game to dice in the first place, so why were you the one getting all flustered now that his face was slightly closer to yours while he wasn’t? in fact, he didn’t seem to be showing any emotion, well, other than the typical aloof grin he had on and that oh so adoring gaze. ugh, why did he have to be kinda cute this up close? that was an understatement, however. 

trying your best to brush those thoughts away, you nibbled the next bite, trying to calm your beating heart so that dice wouldn’t be able to hear it, if that was even possible. perhaps it would be considering how loud it sounded to you right at this moment. and it only increased in intensity as dice also took the next bite forward. 

you felt as if you were reaching your limit, as if you were going to break away from the stick and end the game, losing not only your money but your pride as well after having boasted to dice about how you’d most definitely win against him. you hated, absolutely despised, the very thought of that happening, but you also didn’t know if you could keep this up. at this rate, even if you won, dice would almost certainly tease you about how embarrassed you got and how loud that heartbeat of yours was, so loud one could hear it from space even. so who would be the true winner of this? 

thankfully and fortunately on your end, before you could break away, dice did so first, eating up the rest of the stick with that same grin on his face that you had undoubtedly fallen for after being exposed to it for the hundredth time. it only seemed to grow cuter with each passing moment. 

“h-hey!” 

you didn’t even know why you had said that in the first place, sounding somewhat disappointed that the game had ended so soon. you had won. now the yen was all yours and the permission to rub it in dice’s face, and yet, you somehow found yourself hoping that it’d drag on for just a bit longer. did you possibly want to kiss dice? to have dice kiss you, to feel his lips against yours? even if this wasn’t your first kiss with dice, you still found yourself longing for his touch much more than usual right now. it was an unexplained phenomenon, one that you couldn’t even begin to explain. all that you knew was that you wanted to kiss dice, and badly at that. 

however, you, of course, didn’t want to accept that, especially not in the middle of such an intense gambling match. so you tried your best to hide these feelings, this sensation of being too touch starved for your own good, by staring at dice in a rather angry manner, or at least, the angriest you could muster. in all honesty, it was more of a teasing and fun glare, but a glare nonetheless. 

“ah, sorry.” dice sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, an action that you found too cute for words, one that was as such that your heart couldn’t help but skip a beat, all the blood and heat rushing to your cheeks, the sensation you had in your arms and legs leaving. now really wasn’t the best time for your love for the man to flare up yet again. but...perhaps you’d consider hearing this apology out. “i wondered what they tasted like, so i wanted to try one.” 

hngg...fine, you’ll accept his reasoning.

but just this once!! of course. you’d never want to give him the benefit of the doubt, to give him second chances just because you were fond of him. pfft, that was such an utterly ridiculous thought. that’d never be the reason. it was only because you didn’t want the game to end right then and there, to win your yen back so easily. besides, if one thought about it more, it was technically a tie. you had broken the stick on the first run-through of the game, and now on the second, it was dice. technically speaking, neither one of you won or lost. only a third and final game would determine that. 

“fine.” it was nothing more than a mutter, a soft one at that. you didn’t know where all that confidence and charisma you had at the beginning had gone. it must’ve vanished somewhere after all. things simply can’t disappear out of thin air, at least, without turning into something at first. first law of thermodynamics after all. “but if either one of us breaks away, then i win by default.”

“oi! that’s not fair!!-”

you suddenly cut him off by shoving the biscuit end of yet another pocky stick in his mouth, which prompted him to shut up completely. much better.  

“oh hush you.”

smirking once more (something you guys seemed to be doing a lot of in this game) at the sight of his pout, you took the chocolate end between your lips once more, this time even more determined to get your kiss from dice um uh i mean to win the bet. yeah, that’s totally the end goal here, not some measly kiss. where did that idea even come from? there was no way you possibly could want to feel dice’s lips on yours, not how they seemed to fit perfectly, how soft they felt, how...surprisingly good he was at kissing. he was quite good, even if he did use his tongue a bit too often, but it still felt nice, especially when he licked your lips, a sensation that you couldn’t even describe, simply reminiscing in that electrical-like feeling. 

wait, no!! that was beside the point. don’t lose focus. the main thing here was to win against dice and prove to him that you were a much better gambler than he was. forget the fact that this was some dumb betting idea you had come up with, you only wanted to show off to him. that was what you planned on from the start anyway. kissing dice was only in place for you to win. that was the objective of the pocky game after all. it did end up in sweet, chocolate-filled kisses, but that was the fun of it. really, all that mattered was winning, or at least, that’s what you tried to tell yourself. 

shaking your head free from any of those...intrusive thoughts, you focused on the fragile little edible stick in front of you, trying your hardest to ignore the attractive man named dice who so happened to also be in front of you. 

what a complete coincidence, i know. 

for one final time, you took the initiative once more, moving forward just a bit but nonetheless noticeable. the chocolate on your tongue no longer tasted that good; rather, it felt nothing more than something that you were tasting. it was alright at best right now, though perhaps that was because you were craving something a bit sweeter this instant. 

dice moved in closer as well, still seeming as nonchalant as ever, well, as nonchalant as dice could get in the first place. 

the two of you continued on like this, worming in closer, able to feel your breaths against each other, but also concentrating on not breaking the stick that was undeniably shrinking by the second. this was the farthest you’d actually ever gone in a game of pocky, so of course, you were starting to feel the heat, in more ways than one might i add. 

you were so close, so close to victory. you could practically taste it, and no, that wasn’t the melted chocolate on your tongue. yet, you couldn’t find it in yourself to continue. the only thing on your mind right now was the thought of kissing dice, of connecting your lips and capturing his own in a sweet and passionate kiss. gosh, you just wanted to kiss him already, to feel him underneath you, to simply feel his touch and warmth. you couldn’t wait any longer honestly; you were growing more and more impatient. 

yet, you couldn’t find it in yourself to close the gap, to seal the deal and win once and for all. taking the initiative at the end and kissing dice on your own terms? now that was much too embarrassing. it was difficult to think straight right now, to think of anything that wasn’t how good it’d feel to kiss dice. your heartbeat could be heard all the way in your ears, and it was getting much too hot in here, almost suffocating to a degree. you didn’t know if you could handle this warmth anymore, or if you could handle the growing uneasiness and antsy feeling that you were experiencing right now. geez, being this close to dice, seeing him all serious and the like, in the element as when he is while gambling, it was all too flustering. 

but just as you were about to break away, to give in and throw in the towel, deciding that gaining bragging rights simply wasn’t worth it in comparison to being flustered when the two of you eventually kissed, dice did what you least expected him to do despite you knowing full well the extent of his spontaneity. 

dice closed the gap between you guys, kissing you deeply and finishing the remainder of the pocky that was left hanging in your mouth. 

it was a sloppy and wet kiss, rather characteristic of dice as a person as well. his kisses seemed to always encapsulate this sorta feeling, not that you minded all that much, however. it was also a bit rough, though not a lot, only a bit to give it some excitement, not that this scenario could be any more exciting than it already was. and mixed in with the sweetness of the now melted stick and chocolate, the kiss only felt and tasted even better. gosh, this was beyond your expectations. this was way better than what you had imagined in the first place. and right at this moment, you forgot all about the bet, if only for a few seconds, and relished in this kiss. it truly did feel a lot like dice, even if the only reason he kissed you was for a bet for a couple hundred yen. right now, you didn’t care, though when he pulled back, you’d certainly have a much different expression. 

“damn,” he muttered, wiping the remaining chocolate around his lips (the one that came from your very own mouth given that deep kiss he just gave you) with his finger and then proceeding to lick it, a rather attractive and hot action mind you, though perhaps you only felt that way because you too felt quite hot right now. “that is good.” 

you didn’t even have the guts or the correct mindset to fire back at him, to come up with a good comeback. you could only sit there, a flustered and bewildered expression as you try to come to terms with what had just happened. you wiped your now wet mouth with the back of your sleeve, only feeling the butterflies once more as you saw a few light chocolate stains on it once you pulled away. what...just happened?

“heh, don’t mind if i do.” 

dice paid no mind to you as he scooped up your yen from the floor, tossing them in the air a couple of times simply to hear that beautiful clash of metal that he oh so dearly loved. it was one of his favorite sounds after all. but how could he be so nonchalant about this? how could he turn away and look at the coins, sparkle in his eye, right after he gave you a deep kiss out of the blue, as if it required almost no thought out of him? gah, this was particularly frustrating. all this time, the thought of kissing dice was the only thing clouding your mind, the only thing that you could think of that wouldn’t dare leave your head. hell, you even began doubting if you were strong enough to carry out the bet you suggested in the first place! yet, here was dice, thinking nothing of the kiss you had longed for, for so long too (at least, it felt like it). it was only natural to get annoyed. 

“hey-”

“oh no,” he cut off, assuming what you were going to say already, even though it was far from correct. “i won this fair and square. i played by your rules too.” 

it was a small giggle that erupted from you, one that you couldn’t suppress given how cute it seemed that dice got all defensive over some yen you could find lying on the floor of some convenience store or parking lot. he really was a dumbass, but so were you to an extent. dice really was too cute, and you couldn’t stay mad at him for too long, not like this anyway. he could be a bit airheaded at times after all, and you knew that that kiss really wasn’t supposed to mean much, especially not when it was only because of a bet. really, you were feeling too many emotions at that moment, and perhaps it’d be best for you to rest as of now. this had been quite the rollercoaster, from start to finish. 

you took out another pocky stick and began snacking on it, staring at dice rather adoringly as he, just as promised, began boasting about how awesome he was to have won, not that it required much effort in the first place. he was dice, after all, the most notorious of gamblers here in shibuya. every casino must’ve known of him by now, and not because of the fact that he was sort of a popular figure around here. honestly, right now, you didn’t even care that he was bragging, simply content, albeit embarrassed, at the outcome of the game that you had suggested in the first place. 

pocky did taste a bit sweeter now with this memory fresh in your mind.

[wannabe-fic-writer]

Natasha Romanoff x Reader : Prove Me Wrong

Summary: She can trust you, even if she doesn’t know it yet.

Warning: 18+ Mental Health, Mentions of Death, Mentions of Violence, Smut

Chapter 10

* * * * * * 

Eyebrows shoot up into your hairline. E/c eyes blinking in surprise.

Across from you stands the entire team, in front of them is a large breakfast spread, and balloons. 

You smile with a shake of your head,“ what is all this for?” 

Tony smiles, rounding the corner to stand at your side. His arm circles your shoulder,“ as of today, you have officially been with us for a year.”

“Awe, guys this really didn’t have to be celebrated.” You tell them, once again looking at all the food on the counter. 

All of them instantly wave you off a layer of replies rolling over you varying from “you deserve it” to “Tony just wants to party” which makes you laugh. 

Said billionaire picks up two champagne flutes and hands one to you. 

“Y/n, this is to a year of being the greatest of friends, a shoulder to cry on, and pretty much the most important member of this team.” Tony holds his glass up and everyone follows in agreement.

Most important member is a stretch in your opinion but they all seem to think so. 

Taking a sip, you realize this orange juice is mixed with champagne. Which you should’ve expected from Tony. 

Everyone starts to dig into the breakfast, chatter filling the room like it usually does throughout the facility. 

“Y/n, congrats!” Peter exclaims, happily wrapping you in a hug that you return.“ I can’t believe it’s been a year. It’s like just yesterday I was learning your name right? And now we’re like best friends.” The boy rambles.

Chuckling, you give him another one armed hug,“ I was starting to see you as more of a little brother actually.”

His brown eyes light up, just like they had on Christmas.“ I’ve never had an older sister before.” 

“I know.” You chuckle again.

He smiles brightly once again and gives you another hug,“ I’m glad we met Y/n.” 

“Me too Pete.” You rub his back and then pull away. The both of you then going to fix a plate.

Setting your overflowing plate(thanks to Tony’s persistence) on the table, you move to pull your chair out, only for a certain redhead to pull it out for you. 

“One full year huh?” She winks at you and sits in the chair next to you. 

One year with the team and six months with her. 

All that time seemed to fly by in the moment but looking back on it now it’s like more than a year. A year of building these incredible friendships and the most important relationship you’ve had. 

“Crazy right.” You breathe a laugh.

Natasha leans towards you, arms supporting her on the table,“ call me corny but, this has been the best year of my life.” 

Your hand reaches up to cup her cheek,“ I couldn’t agree more,” the two of you meet for a short sweet kiss,“ also you are corny.” 

Laughing, the woman rolls her eyes and kisses you again. 

“As cute as you two are, I’d rather eat my food without all the PDA.” Wanda’s voice invades the small moment. 

“Sorry Wan.” You smile softly at her.

The younger woman waves you off,“ I was only joking. Partly.” 

When the rest of the team sits at the table, you take a moment to thank all of them. Not just for the breakfast but for being so welcoming and just incredible in general. 

All the relationships you’ve built wouldn’t have happened without them. And you wouldn’t have been able to help them if they didn’t trust you. 

They raise another glass to your thanks and Tony tells you it’s only the tip of the iceberg since he’s throwing you a party later. You’re quick to tell him that’s not necessary but he informs you it’s all planned already. 

There hadn’t been a “Stark Party” in a while according to the team. Sam and Peter were quick to thank you, saying they didn’t think there’d be one if you hadn’t showed up. 

You hadn’t been to one of Tony’s parties in years. Since long before both snaps. 

So you are, admittedly, excited for it. After you’ve gotten dressed you wait an hour after the party had started, as Tony asked you to, before heading out. And even though you were expecting the surprise, the number of people that shout “Happy One Year!’ to you startles you.

An excited laugh leaves your lips and once again Tony approaches you first. 

“Okay,” you nod,“ I’ll admit this is pretty great.” You smile at him as the two of you hug. Pulling away you then look to his wife.“ Pep, it’s great to see you.” 

She squeezes you tightly,“ I hate that you’ve been here a year and we’ve barely spent any time together.” 

Your eyes widen in agreement,“ I know. It’s been way too long since we’ve had a wine night.” 

Together the two of you quickly plan a night to do so. Pepper then urging you to go mingle. And you do, making your way through the large crowd of people, those you’ve met and others you’re positive you’ve never seen before. 

Until you approach a pair of both someone you know and someone you’ve only heard of.

“Y/nn!” 

A smile bursts across your face the second she smiles at you. The blonde woman’s energy contagious. 

“Carol! I missed you.” You hug her close, reminded of the months it’s been since she was last here.“ You didn’t have to travel all the way through the galaxy for this but I’m glad you’re here.” 

Her hands rub your arms as she pulls away,“ me too. I’ve missed you.” She then steps back, hand resting on the back of the woman you assume to be her girlfriend,“ Y/n this is Maria Rambeau. Maria this is Y/n.”

Maria smiles at you, holding her hand out,“ Carol’s told me a lot about you, it’s a pleasure.” 

“Oh, the pleasure is all mine. This one doesn’t shut up about you when we talk.” You say teasingly, chin nodding to Carol who’s cheeks tint pink. 

The smile Maria sends to Carol is full of nothing but love and adoration. And if there was ever any doubt that Carol loved her, the smile she returns throws it out the window. But you knew.

Your body stiffens in shock when a hand presses to your lower back and you quickly relax once the familiarity of the soft skin and cold temperature hits you.   

Your girlfriend smiles over at you and you don’t even fight the urge to place a kiss to her cheek. Afterwards looking back at Carol and Maria.“ Maria this is my girlfriend Natasha. Tash this is Maria, Carol’s girlfriend.” 

“Nice to meet you. Carol’s told me a bit about you.” Natasha nods to the woman.

All the while Carol is smiling proudly at you, which you shake your head at in amusement. 

The blonde quirks a brow,“ girlfriend huh? And how long has that been going on?” Her tone is teasing and curious. 

Brushing a strand of hair behind your ear, you mumble,“ six months.” 

Carol’s proud smile becomes knowing and you swear the heat rushing to your face could be felt around the room. 

Natasha, being the god send she is, excuses the two of you. Gracefully pulling you through the crowd to the designated dance floor. 

She pulls you to stand in front of her. Those cold hands circling your waist, hands locking behind you at the dip in your back. 

Focusing on this moment, your eyes scan her face, taking in her perfect lips, her cheekbones and those tiny dimples, and those eyes. God you swear those eyes were the start of it all. 

“You’re so pretty Natasha.” Your hands grip her hips a little tighter.

A smirk curves her lips,“ and you’re beautiful.” 

Despite your blush, you jokingly add,“ well you’re gorgeous.” 

She laughs, forehead resting on your shoulder,“ getting competitive are we?”

“Maybe a little.” You kiss her temple just before she lifts her head.

The two of you continue to sway to the lowly playing soft music, completely entranced by each other’s presence. 

For the last six months the two of you have reveled in these moments together. Some days you could spend together completely. Others you had to steal minutes throughout just to see each other. But it was all perfect.

Learning about Natasha has just proven to make you fall for her more and more. You could safely say your list of reasons why you like her has become reasons why you love her and it’s definitely grown longer.

As all good things come to an end, you’re pulled from your moment with Natasha, by the hand on your shoulder. It’s unexpected which startles you but you’re further startled by the force of the emotions hitting you.

You spin around and lock eyes with Bucky. The anxiety you’d just felt from him is hidden in his eyes, had he not touched you, you wouldn’t have known. 

His jaw clenches,“ can we talk?”

“Of course.” You nod, hand squeezing Natasha’s waist as you mumble an excuse me, and walk away with Bucky. 

Once in an empty hallway he turns to you, his feelings now showing. Fingers wringing together, his teeth abuse his bottom lip, and his eyes remained trained on the ground. 

Knowing not to touch him unless told to, you choose to speak softly,“ Buck, I can tell you’re incredibly anxious. What’s going on?” 

“I-” he swallows and when his eyes meet yours there are tears welling in them,“ I saw someone. Someone from HYDRA. I- I don’t know if I’m seeing things or if they were actually here.” 

This was a recurring problem with Bucky. One you’d discovered while taking him and Steve to the mall one day. Being in such large crowds overwhelmed the man, triggering his anxiety which in turn triggered hallucinations. 

When you addressed it then he revealed that he’d been experiencing these highly anxious moments for a while. The first time the hallucinations had him was months before you’d gotten there while he and Steve were out together. 

At that point you’d begun working him through breathing exercises. Coming up with ways to help him cope with the anxiety so that it wouldn’t reach a point where he hallucinated. 

“Bucky breathe. Five seconds in and out.” He starts to do as instructed. 

You then walk him through his five steps. Listing five things he can see, four things he can hear, three things he can feel, two things he can smell, and one thing he can taste. 

He’s calmed down but you can tell he’s still anxious.

“Hey,” your hands rub his arms,“ I’m gonna make it go away okay?” 

Brown eyes look into yours and he nods. 

Taking a deep, stilling breath in, you take away his major anxiousness, and project the happy excitement you’ve been feeling to him. 

Bucky brightens instantly, giving you a small smile, and squeezing your arms.“ I- thank you Y/n.” 

“Anytime Buck.” 

You wait for the man to disappear around the corner before collapsing to the ground. Your back presses to the wall as you breathe heavily. 

“Y/n?”

Overly anxious, you involuntarily jerk away from the redhead beside you. 

The woman’s heart races as she looks at you, eyebrows pinched together,“ Y/n what’s wrong?” 

“Just- hold on.” You speak through deep breaths. 

Natasha waits with you until you calm down. When your body finally untenses and you sag against the wall, your girlfriend moves to kneel in front of you. 

Fingers grazing your legs she asks, with a soft demanding tone,“ what was that?”

“It was nothing. I’m fine I promise.” 

“That wasn’t fine. When you left you you were fine. Just now, you looked like you’d seen a ghost.” She presses. 

You push your hands up your face and through your hair,“ I didn’t. I was just-”

“Using your powers on Bucky.” She finishes, an almost hard look setting in her eyes. 

Her words take you by surprise. 

When she found out about your powers is lost on you. And what did she know about them? 

Eyes wide, you can barely ask what she’s talking about before she speaks again.“ Have you been using your powers on everyone this entire time?” 

“I- yes.” 

“And you weren’t going to say anything?” She stands. 

Following suit, you stand as well,“ I was going to tell you but I didn’t want to worry you. And I didn’t want you to think I couldn’t handle it-”

A deep frown covers her brow,“ you never even gave me a chance. Am I correct in assuming you’ve been lying to me then? All those times I came to see you after your session and you told me you were fine?”

“That wasn’t necessarily a lie. I was fine it just took me a minute.” 

“Necessarily?” Green eyes narrow at you.“ Lying is lying I don’t care how technical you want to get about it. I do care that you’ve constantly been telling me to trust you and be honest, yet you’ve been lying since the beginning.” 

You open your mouth to protest or object but she’s right.“ Tash I’m sorry okay. I swear I was planning to tell you.”

“Planning or not, you lied. You could’ve just told me you weren’t ready to talk about it. How was lying the better option?” A deep sigh leaves the woman’s lips and she runs a hand through her hair, before simply turning to leave. 

“Wait Ta-”

She holds her hand up,“ don’t follow me Y/n. I need a minute. Just go enjoy your party.” 

With that she leaves you in the hall alone. And you can only blame yourself.

* * * * * *

taglist: @username23345 @muffliat-o  @aaron-despair @natasha-danvers​ @wildhoney32 @criminallyhamilton @fayhar @nat-km-mh @chicken-wang09 @trikruismybitch

[alittlebitgoofy]

stay gold - chapter one (taywhora)

here we go, chapter 1 proper, i’m really excited for where this is going, stay tuned for chapter 2 soon :)) thanks to @goodemornting for betaing ily babes ao3 link

Aurora hesitated at the entrance for a heartbeat or two, eyes bright. 

She’d worked on the outside as much as one could over a few days. The plants had come back to life startlingly quick, as if there was an influence perking them up after being starved of attention for so long. The colours stood out against the stone stairs that curled up to the shrine, vibrant and lambent. She found herself sitting on them often, wondering if the person she’d seen before would ever show themselves again. 

It had taken a week for Aurora to finally drum up the courage to stand at the door, ready to unlock it once more. She tried again with the tip of one of her arrows and struggled. They must have locked it tighter, clearly not wanting her in there. 

Tayce felt the familiar presence at her door once again. 

She watched discerningly as they fumbled with the lock, huffing in frustration as they failed to open it a second time. Good to know her magic had worked— she still felt a bit rusty in that regard. She’d tried to practise a few things to varying levels of success and scorned herself for not trying to refresh her skills sooner. 

The blonde girl finally got it to click open after a few more attempts, letting out an excited squeal at her victory. Tayce scoffed at the sound— mortals really were amused by the tiniest things. It was almost cute, that they’d feel so fulfilled at small success. Aurora wandered through the room quietly, eyeing up the pedestal and hesitantly grabbing something out of the bag she’d brought, which had been concealed by her cloak until she opened it. She placed down a loaf of bread gently, wondering if what she had read was actually true. The deity that lived there apparently loved any type of offering, especially food. She’d made some extra at work to attempt to please her, hoping it would serve as a way to tell if someone truly was watching her, though she’d have to come check the next day. 

Tayce eyed the stranger as she left, carefully relocking the door as she had the time prior. She only now focused on how rejuvenated the front of the shrine looked, peering at it’s appearance in veneration. The flowers were back to their former glory, the ivy tangled it’s way up the walls. The nature seemed to be in peace again, taken care of. Tayce hadn’t seen it like this in years.

Not since then. 

She shook the thought away quickly, focusing on the offering the little mortal had left. It looked good, clearly freshly made, wrapped in a little linen cloth to keep it safe. It was cute— the frequentor of her shrine had put in more effort than anyone had in a long time to please her without asking for anything in return. 

Maybe they still had some skill left in that old village, perhaps the baker was just talented at their craft.  Either way, the blonde had good taste. 

---

Aurora couldn’t stop thinking about the shrine.

It was as if something drew her there, like fate pulling her to something it deemed necessary. It didn’t make sense, no where else she had ever gone made her feel like this. She knew there had to be something inside— whether it be a spirit or a creature or even a person. Everything had convinced her there had to be someone in there, but every time she had visited she’d still received no answers. Aurora wondered why they were hiding, when she had done her best to prove her good intentions. Perhaps something had happened?

Maybe this aura was the one her books kept talking about— the legend of the guardian of their village. Maybe she did really exist, but Aurora couldn’t confirm it until they came face to face. It was all she wanted now, even if only for a split second. 

She came back the next day, noticing the cloth folded on the pedestal and the bread all gone, only tiny crumbs remaining. She took a deep breath— that was absolute, concrete proof. Someone had seen her, be they mortal or guardian. Someone was there. 

That was when she felt it, the eyes returning and watching every little move she made. It fell upon her so quickly, paralysing her as it felt like something kept creeping closer and she was powerless to stop it. They were invisible though Aurora could have sworn she heard the flap of some wings. Her head whipped around the room at a concerning speed, fear bubbling up as she couldn’t see a thing to point to company in there. 

The doors creaked, and with a flash of light, someone appeared in front of her. 

Aurora blinked up at the creature before her, mouth gaping in terror and awe. 

She’d never seen someone so ethereal. 

The creature’s skin sparkled in the light that flooded through the door frame, her wings fell at her side, so wide they didn’t fit in the doorway when stretched out. Her eyes held amusement as a small smirk played at her lips. 

Tayce grinned down at the elf, gaze sharp and challenging. This was the person who had been trying to get her attention and Tayce wouldn’t let her actions go unnoticed, even if the girl  was barely breathing in shock as she slowly approached. 

“So. Any explanation as to why you came here or would you like to forget everything you’ve seen?” Tayce’s smirk grew as her guest’s eyes widened. She forgot how easy it was to play with mortals, especially those who didn’t know of her existence. 

Aurora couldn’t find the words,  all of them stuck in her throat. She blinked back at the person in front of her, gawking.  Her mind was racing, clouded with all the mistakes she might make that might anger this mysterious deity. She’d been trespassing here, obviously, and the creature clearly wasn’t happy about that. Aurora wasn’t sure of the powers that she might possess, or what punishment might come her way.

“I’m just messing with you.” Tayce finally continued, brightening up as the girl's shoulders relaxed immediately. “You’ve been quite respectful, actually, so I thought I’d appear to, y’know, thank you. I’ve seen what you’ve been doing. Quite the makeover of the outside, it’s nice to see some effort put into it after all this time.” Tayce starred her down, taking time to take in her features. She seemed to relax after being spoken to, staring back in silence. 

Aurora tried to process it, that the person in front of her wasn’t angry but yet...thankful? It was confusing, it didn’t make sense with everything she’d read but she seemed so genuine if a little overbearing in her entrance that she couldn’t just shake it off. 

“Yeah.” She spoke quietly, still in awe of the creature in front of her. Anything intricate couldn't get let out as Aurora could only stare at the person in front of her. “You’re… welcome?”

“You don’t need to be scared, if I was going to hurt you I wouldn't have waited so long.” Tayce quipped, glad to see the way the blonde’s lips curled up at the comment. She seemed to relax a bit, the fear in her eyes replaced by a more vibrant curiosity. 

“So what’s your name? The plaque over there is too old to make out a lot of it, though I don’t know if it was intentionally scratched out, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. It’s not important really.” The blonde rambled, feeling the strong gaze of Tayce looking over her though powering through to at least utter a sentence at a reasonable volume. Something about her was enchanting, if not a bit unnerving. She felt powerful even from just standing in front of her. Though her beauty was what really left her shaken, how could she be so effervescent? Maybe this was why people worshipped her in the past. Tayce paused, wondering if she trusted this random mortal enough to allow her in further than an object of her amusement, someone she could get to know. Sure, she seemed decently kind and had no ill will towards her, but she hasn’t gotten this close to someone in a while. Her eyes were too kind, clearly excited under the nerves to meet someone she thought to only be a legend. What would it hurt, humouring her for a bit. She’d surely get bored soon enough but a bit of entertainment sounded like fun.

“My name is Tayce, and yours?” The brunette held eye contact with the smaller elf, repressing a smirk at how she seems to shrink at the prolonged staring. Mortals were funny things, stare at them enough and they’d cower away.

“Aurora.” She managed to get a small word out, eyes staying fixed on Tayce as the deity  moved closer and outstretched her arm. “Your kind still does this, right? It’s polite?” “Yeah, people still shake hands. It’s a bit formal but definitely polite.” Aurora failed to stifle a slight laugh, how could someone so intimidating question the customs of the people she lived so close to.  

Tayce’s expression hardened, not sure how to react to her. She hadn’t been in the company of a mortal in years, but she didn’t remember them being like this at all. It had been too long, maybe the girl was just a bit peculiar. She didn’t mean any rudeness by it, more amusement than anything. Tayce could feel her, calmer than anyone who had ever stood before her. She needed to know more. 

“Why are you here?” Tayce cocked her head to the side ever so slightly, curiosity in her tone, careful not to scare off her new companion. 

“I was, I don’t know, curious? I’ve heard and read a lot about the guardian of our village but no one’s heard anything from them in over a century. I wanted to know, people act like you never existed but there was too much evidence someone was here at some point.” Aurora  spoke honestly, trying to ignore the chilling feeling she got when Tayce’s eyes stayed on her for too long. She didn’t mean it, but their height difference combined with the intensity her eyes held at the first glance left a lasting impression. 

“They’ve forgotten about me, have they? Can’t say i’m surprised, they moved on. Don’t need me anymore. It’s a bit sad, though I'm glad to see everything still thriving.” Tayce felt her stomach drop at the revelation, though she masked it behind a poker face. It was inevitable her lack of appearance would affect the place she called home but for them all to just think she was a figment of folklore, it stung more than she thought it would. So thus, it was quite confusing that Aurora, who appeared to be a run of the mill mortal, thought so differently. Tayce wondered if she had gotten her hands on any books about her, maybe, or some rotting old elder had blathered on about her existence enough that Aurora just had to come see if the myths were true. It was almost embarrassing to know that someone was so invested in her existence, if she was honest. Just your run of the mill immortal deity. 

Ah. that would be weird to most mortals, her existence seemed to always cause shock. It was getting old… 

Aurora wasn’t sure how to respond. She could sense the sadness in the brunette's tone but felt it wasn’t her place to pry. She’d been far too lucky to make it this far, seemingly having earnt at least a small amount of trust from someone who could easily end her with a flick or her wrist. 

“I’m glad I could meet you.” She managed out, barely able to speak as Tayce absentmindedly flexed her wings, showing how large her wingspan was when unfurled. They were majestic, though hidden by her side as after she stretched them out.

“You like my wings?” Tayce raised an eyebrow, delighting in the way Aurora’s face flushed as her staring was caught out. 

“They’re so majestic, really. You’re… you’re breathtaking.” She spoke her thoughts aloud, wondering why Tayce seemed taken aback by the comment before realising what she had said. Right now would be a good time for her memory to be wiped, not remembering the turn this interaction took because she couldn’t keep her own mouth shut and ended up in conversation with someone who probably saw her as insignificant. 

Tayce watched with curiosity at the way the blonde seemed consumed by embarrassment at blindly blurting her thoughts. She was amused, holding back a laugh at how the tips of her ears turned pink. Poor thing didn’t need to be laughed at right now, she was already mortified enough for one day. 

She liked this one, Aurora had a lot of charm, she was sweet. Despite being clearly out of her depth she’d tried her best to converse, it was entertaining watching her fumble through trying to figure out how to treat Tayce. 

“I like you, actually. Though you’re a bit of an odd one, aren’t you?” Tayce laughed, watching over the elf carefully for her reaction. She hoped she could take a bit of a prod, it would make things much more humorous. 

Aurora was taken aback at that, blinking up at the deity skeptically. She couldn’t fathom how something with such an all-encompassing, magical presence could feel anything similar to fondness for her, even if she appreciated it. This made no sense, she was much kinder than the stories said. She seemed like a normal person if not for the huge wings and her sheer height that would dwarf anyone she knew. 

Then she caught on to the end of that statement, a joke very much at her expense but one she couldn’t really deny. She had picked a lock into some type of ground that she didn’t know wasn’t sacred and offered the creature bread with no idea if she was even there. “You say this as the one with huge wings.” She huffed in mock annoyance, chest tightening at the laugh Tayce let out. It was a heavenly sound, she ached to make her laugh more, get to know the intricacies of her, though it was a bit early to pry. 

“Excuse you! My wings are majestic are they not?”

Aurora hesitated, flustered at the reference of her previous comment. She couldn’t win against  Tayce, could she? “Yeah, but they do make you stand out.” She stated simply, feeling her insides warm once more to get a laugh out of her new found friend. “Bit blunt too, you’re a fun one.” Tayce spoke to her fondly, like her friends did when making fun of something impulsive she had done. It felt different, Tayce's eyes pierced through her soul and yet she seemed amused by all of her little comments and quirks. 

There was a mutual air of intrigue, a natural back and forth while still being a bit reserved. Tayce confirmed her intentions, pure if not a bit dangerous. She had made sure to encourage more visits, though Aurora expected her bread may have sweetened her up every so slightly.

Either way, Tayce was fond of her and that put her on cloud nine, all she wanted was to make her laugh again. 

[lucarioisinthevoid]

Twitch Streamer AU???

(I planned on pushing out a FEW AU asks, but then realized I don’t even have so many. There’s going to be a FNAC event, but that will be an event, not a specific AU ask, so- I guess this is it! Very cursed AU, thank you very much Anon Small warning for mentions of blood, I think? Nothing too bad.)

Streamers, youtubers, content creators. Some people are all of these, some people are none, and some are just one- because each of them needed a very different talent. Those who could do seemingly everything were few and far between- And they ruled the entertainment scene! Thankfully though, the main three as most called them, were also always out for new content to watch. Thus they boosted those that they saw potential in. With some taking the boost and then going off to do their own thing- And some becoming good friends. It always started with a letter. Mike had the habit to do things on stream, as long as no personal details were not visible on them. He used a false email which he regularly changed, and he generally kept himself as safe as possible. Opening emails on stream could be rather fun, even if it was a risk. Sometimes it encouraged people to send bad things- So to prevent the worst, nothing would be downloaded and all emails containing images would be put into the spam bin. Better safe than sorry, the internet was full of terrible people. This day so far had been successful. And by successful it meant that Mike was SCREAMING. “I HATE SUPER MEAT BOY. I WILL COMMIT VIOLENCE AGAINST MEAT IN A MINUTE. I HAVE A BIG F-CKING STEAK IN THE KITCHEN, AND I WILL THROW IT AGAINST THE F_CKING WALL. I WILL GET A HAMMER.” The chat was going wild, cheering. The chat’s phrase of today was “tender Mikey” and it didn’t help at all. “I DID. NOT. HIT THAT! I DID NOT!” A donation popped up, with a robotic voice. ‘Oh hai Mark!’ “NOT FUNNY! NOT F-CKING FUNNY. I’M SUFFERING HERE AND ALL OF YOU SUPPORT IT. YOU’RE ALL F-CKING MONSTERS HERE, I HOPE YOU KNOW THAT. AND I’M NOT F-CKING TENDERIZING THE MEAT WHEN I SLAP IT AROUND, I’LL RIP IT INTO PIECES AND CONSUME IT RAW!” Standing up, he genuinely went to get it- And fifteen minute later he had slightly calmed down, his hands and room slightly bloody. The chat was still celebrating and donating- another thing that never failed to make Mike BEG them to stop and use the money for something GOOD and SENSIBLE, LIKE THEM-FUCKING-SELF- but he had gotten out most of the energy. “Alright. Alright everyone. ENOUGH. I gotta stop you HERE. It’s email time.”   A celebratory jingle played, as Mike booted up the website, opening the inbox. Memes, storytime, I’m-not-fucking-reading-that-and-you-know-it, and- One of the emails caught his- and the chat’s- attention, however. Sender: Fazbear Entertainment Topic: Challenge Needless to say- once again the chat was out of control and this time there was NOTHING Mike could do to stop them. After opening the email, Mike slowly took a deep breath and looked into the camera, between concerned and honored- But that wouldn’t be enough to rip him from his carefully maintained persona. So he audible scoffed- albeit him being unable to hide an excited grin. “Alright bitches and bastards in the audience- we’re firing SuperMeatBoy up again. You won’t be catching ME losing to a pink son of a bitch anytime soon!” After the letter- provided it was accepted and responded to, the production happened. The deal was that a teaser was dropped on the big channel- The entire video itself was put on the smaller one, attracting the viewers over and hopefully make them more likely to want to see the other works the creator had put out. It was a win-win overall, the big channel being able to vary their content, testing the water for new things- and the smaller channel getting a boost and a lot of tips from very experienced creators. Henry and Dave were very generous people. Jeremy was sitting there, taking deep breaths, trying to stay calm. So far, everyone seemed to be rather kind, even if Jeremy was basically a complete nobody. Hell, he never wanted to be anybody. He just wanted to stream himself baking, for those who never had someone baking with them. Because baking could feel stressful, especially when you were missing ingredients or- many reasons, actually. Not only baking, but cooking too- Sometimes playing games on request, but not much in terms of requests ever came in. And now he was here in an actual studio, soon to be seen by an insane amount of people. A cooking competition. Sounded silly- you couldn’t really FIGHT in something like that… But… Henry and Dave had promised it would be fun. And they were nice. With and without the cameras rolling. Speaking off- There they were, approaching, their assistant coming along. He wore a weird phone-head, to ensure his privacy. Or something. It was kinda weird, but he had just accepted the answer he got. “Why, there you are, Jeremy! Would you like to see the equipment we have prepared?” Henry warmly asked, reaching down with his hand to help his guest stand up. “We have gotten a few extra things, just in case.” As they entered the studio, Jeremy’s invisible eyes went WIDE. “Woah- that looks really nice! I love it here! This is high quality stuff-!” “Fantastic!” Pleased Henry opened his arms in his typical theatrical manner- Before being abruptly interrupted by Dave jumping in, halfway over Henry’s shoulder. “ARE YA READY TO GO!? CAMERAS ARE READY!” “Ah- I- I guess- but-“ “YOU HEARD HIM, BOYS! GET IT ROLLIN’!” “W-wait, I don’t even have-“ “Everyone! Welcome to NOTHIN’ AT ALL!” Henry swiftly fitted in, continuing on with the intro. “Todays challenger is the man, the legend, the baker and occasional chef- Jeremy from Baking With Jeremy!” “Wait, what- that’s seriously your channel name, pal?” A bit offended Jeremy looked into the eyes of the people behind the camera. “U-uh- you guys here- I mean- he has literally called his channel Henry Miller! I- uhm- I-“ Snickering Henry put a hand on his guest’s shoulder. “You are very right about that. Say, are you nervous about losing?” “… n-no. I mean- maybe a little. This place here is big and very professional and I’m not used to many people looking at me…” Taking a deep breath, he gave off a nervous smile for the audience. “… yet, I know- it’s a good thing! And as long as everyone has fun, everything will work out!” “Awwwww, look at him!” Dave said, pleased. “You’re so right! We’ll be havin’ fun!” “But also, I will win.” Henry pointed out. “That is when I have the most fun.” Slightly playful Jeremy smiled. “K-keep that attitude, that will make it even easier to blindside you!” Simon whistled, clearly bemused as he held the camera in place- And Henry smirked. “Sure. Anyhow, the stakes are-“ “Steaks? We’re makin’ steaks? I thought we planned on-“ “Dave. I swear to god.” Henry looked at him from the side, before shaking his head. “What is on the line is easy to see- we have roughly an hour to cook the best meal. If Jeremy wins, we will donate 5000 to a charity of his choice!” “And if the young pal loses, he’ll be joinin’ our channel!” Dave chirped. This was news to the brown-haired boy. “W-wait, we never agreed to that-“ “GET TO YOUR STATIONS!” Someone in the back announced. “WHO’S TODAYS FAVORITE?” Simon checked the stream. “The chat says Jeremy is a clear winner. Nobody trusts Henry to keep his two braincells together for long enough to not forget the salt or something.” “Excuse?!” Not only Henry was APPALLED by the chat, Dave joined right in. “Ya guys have NO taste. I’ll be clearly winnin’… but hey, maybe ya peeps don’t know that I plan to cheat!” Surprised Jerry looked over to Dave’s cooking station. “How… how can you cheat at cooking-“ Before he could finish his sentence, he shrieked as Dave pulled out a flamethrower. “HELL YEAH BABY, I AIN’T WAITING 30 MINUTES FOR SOMETHING TO COOK IN THE OVEN, I’LL BE DONE IN FIFTEEN MINUTES MAX!” “W-WAIT THAT DOESN’T SEEM SAVE-“ Henry just raised his hands, cheerful. “Ready… set…” The Phone Guy made eye- well, rotary- contact with Jeremy, slightly raising a fire extinguisher that was by his side. … alright, it seemed the people here were well-prepared for this scenario. So instead he focused on the ingredients in front of him. Almost manic, Henry’s voice rang. “GO!” And… … that was it! Some joined, with amazing results- Mike rubbed his face. “Who thought that was a great idea. I fucking hate this.” Dave next to him on the couch just grinned. “It’s amazin’ what these websites all offer to sell. You won’t be BELIEVIN’ what’s in this box!” “I’M NOT OPENING IT.” “YOU WILL. OTHERWISE IT’LL HUNT YOUR DREAMS. I’LL PUT THIS BOX NEXT TO YOUR BED. YOUR TOILET. ONTO YOUR DINNER TABLE. INTO THE FRIDGE. I’LL ORDER MORE OF THESE BOXES.” “Jesus CHRIST, calm DOWN-“ “I WILL FIGHT YA TO THE DEATH OLD PAL-“ - and some people just went back to the usual pattern, with the occasional raid from Fazbear Entertainment. They asked first, of course. Each of them fulfilled their own niche, each of them had caught Henry’s and Dave’s attention in one way or another. Henry and Dave however- Well, Dave was the varied creator. Henry liked his niche. He played horror, investigated ARGs, read stories about real and fictional crimes against humanity. The world was a terrible place, wasn’t it? Yet he reveled in it. Aside from that he showed extra effects, he built machines and thought everyone one or another thing about creating special effects at home. From dry ice to genuinely ridiculous chain-reactions, Henry showed them it all. Blood too, multiple forms of it, depending on how and where it would be used. Sometimes breaking it off with more light-hearted one-off games and listening to what his community wanted to see… but the most comfortable he was with horror and analysis. He was a youtuber, a streamer, a content creator… … and one thing more. It wasn’t easy to find the code. But his intended audience were a very small amount of people. A small number of strangers. There was no way to know if anyone ever made it to more than one show, but Henry did not care. It wasn’t for them that he did this. Him and William moved down, down below the set, into the lowest regions of the house. The workshop. Nobody really question why you added what to your home if you were a creative person. Even less so if you were a famous, eccentric creator. Yes, the free reign was what he REALLY loved about his job. Maybe he should build his studio somewhere else- But like this it was so much more thrilling! Wordlessly both of them put on their suits. It would hide their identity perfectly- especially the animal heads that contorted their voices a bit. Enough. Today’s participant wore a mask too- another phone head, differently made, different style, but to hide their identity too. However, the voice was in no way muffled. Panicked the person dragged on the chains keeping them attached to the chair. “H-HELLO!? HELLO!? S-SOMEONE- IS SOMEONE HERE!?” A noisy one! Delightful! Both Fredbear and Springbonnie stepped out of the shadows, one form each side. While Springbonnie put his hands gently on the shoulders of the whimpering person, Fredbear stepped in front of the camera, bowing. “Ladies and gentlemen-“ The low voice sounded more like the one of an animal than from a person. Yet it was smooth and comforting. “- I welcome you to yet another installment of our show. I am Fredbear, and over there is my wonderful assistant, Springbonnie. Today we have brought a simple stranger, a nobody who might not even be missed. Thusly I encourage you to truly be creative with your ideas. And while your votes roll in, maybe I point out that next time we will have another little game-show, with quite the effects. We might even get a real bull! You will not want to miss it.” The board above the camera blinked up, as a bitter fight of votes started, everyone wanting to see something else. Three tiers to vote on! Foreplay (light injuries), main course (heavy injury leading to death) and of course what to do with the body. Below it was a little measure for “face reveal”. Some of their viewers really enjoyed seeing the expressions during and after. It came with a risk to Fredbear and Springbonnie, as the victim being recognizable meant their general area of activity was more obvious- thus it was incredibly expensive. They knew there was every now and again law enforcement mixed up between the genuine watchers. It was thrilling too- Yet Fredbear wanted to keep this game alive as long as he could. Thus it was important to hide what they could. Fredbear was a creator first and foremost, an entertainer second- And there was nothing that attracted an HONEST, an UNRESTRAINED, a PURE audience quite like violence. Once blood spilled, humans degraded and it was wonderful. Behind him, the victim began rattling even more erratic. “WHAT- WHAT IS THIS?! LET ME OUT- PLEASE- LET ME OUT- PLEASE- I- DIDN’T DO ANYTHING-“ Burying his hands into the shoulders of Springbonnie downright cackled, enjoying the mania that always accumulated in these situation. “Be still, new friend! The audience HATES too much whining, y’know? And at least you could die with your tongue still intact, wouldn’t that be nicer than having to swallow the thing? Once it almost killed someone, boy, that sure was a bother!” His voice was changed to a cartoonish, upbeat pitch- “While the votes come in, how about we quiz today’s friend… maybe if you are smart enough, they will want you to live! It happened before… o n c e.” Fredbear took out a long scalpel, the face a morbid grimace. “Surprise us!”

[kelelamentia]

Respect is Always in Style.

Respect is Always in Style.

Hi @ozmav have fun.

Marinette’s Room in Paris:

“Oh Tikki, I can’t believe they’re coming to Paris just to visit me!”

Marinette was fluttering about her room, double checking that everything was in its place.  Tikki was the eye of Marinette’s storm.

“I can Marinette, you’re such a wonderful girl, of course they want to see you.”

Tikki then turned sly.

“Damian especially seemed motivated.”

“Tikki!  It’s not like that!”

“But, you want it to be.”

“Maybe…” Marinette trailed off.

The Wayne family, Damian mostly, had started to miss the petite designer; but by a strange twist of fate (*cough*Alfred*cough*) Bruce ended up having some business to conduct in Paris.  When Marinette heard about this and immediately invited all of them to and come taste test her family’s baked goods.

“Alright everything is setup here and all the samples are ready down stairs, now all that’s left to do is wait for Damian.” Marinette breathed.

“And his family, Marinette.”

“Yes, of course his family, I wouldn’t forget about them Tikki.” Marinette amended clearly more focused on Damian’s arrival.

*Ring*

The Bakery’s front bell rang and Marinette’s mother called.

“Marinette dear, your visitors have arrived!”

“Be right down Mama.”

Turning to Marinette and asked Tikki.

“Try and find a good hiding spot Tikki, these guys are a lot smarter than my classmates.”

“That’s not a hard thing to achieve Marinette.”

Tikkis then disappeared, allowing Marinette to go down stairs.

 Front of Dupain-Cheng Bakery:

“Hello my name is Sabine Cheng and this is my husband Tom Dupain, we’re very excited to have you here.” Sabine introduced, gesturing to herself and her towering husband.

“It’s great to meet the family that inspires our daughter!” Tom welcomed.

The Wayne family, plus Alfred, smiled at the visually polar opposite duo.

“Thank you for having us Mrs.Cheng.” Bruce started.

“None of that Mrs.Cheng, call me Sabine.”

“And call me Tom.”

“As long as you call me Bruce, this is Alfred Pennyworth and these are my sons Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian.” Bruce presented, motioning to each person.

Marinette call into the room just as Bruce finished.

“Damian, I’m so happy to see you, I missed you!” Marinette exuberantly greeted.

“Hello Marinette, I’m happy to see you too and I missed you as well; you are looking beautiful today.” Damian smiled at Marinette; she blushed at the compliment and fiddled with her fingers.  They continued to stare at each other until Dick ruined the moment.

“What about us Marinette, didn’t you miss us” He pouted.

Marinette jolted in horror at the thought that she just insulted Damian’s family and rushed to correct it.

“Of course I missed you guys too! Hi Dick, Jason, Tim, Bruce, Alfred, I hope the flight wasn’t too bad.”

The boys chuckled at Marinette trying to reassure them that they were important too.

“Please relax Ms.Marinette, Master Dick was only teasing you, we know you missed us.” Alfred said defusing Marinette.

“Yeah squirt, we know you missed us; you just missed Damian more!” Jason ribbed.

Marinette meeped and buried her face in her hands, trying and failing to hide her bright red blush. Damian was also blushing at the thought of being the one Marinette missed the most. Sabine hated to draw the attention away from Marinette and her sweet heart, but these gentlemen were here to help as well.

“Everyone if you could please follow me to the kitchen we can get the taste test under way.”

“Thank you for trusting us for this Mrs.Sabine, Mr.Tom.  I know baking can be such a touchy thing.” Alfred thanked.

“Don’t you worry we always enjoy feeding people, it’s what we do.” Tom pledged.

“And it won’t due to have people scrawny and under fed.

Sabine directed her attention to Tim.

“You especially young man; are far too skinny, when was the last time you ate.”

“I had coffee this morning.” Tim winced at Alfred sharp look.

“Coffee is not a meal mister; now, you will follow me, you will sit and you will eat.  Do you understand?”

“Yes ma’am.” Tim was hunched over following Sabine to the kitchen, leading a snickering Dick and Jason, along with a quiet Damian and Marinette; both of which were smiling at each other.  Leaving Alfred, Bruce and Tom together at the front.

“You have a lively group there Bruce.” Tom praised.

“I know Tom; I wouldn’t trade them for the world.”

“It would certainly be a very empty household without Master Bruce.”

“I know the feeling, I’m not sure how I could function without hearing Marinette scrambling around her room or the her sewing machine running, and the occasional scream of frustrated designer’s block.”

“I have a hard time imagining Marinette screaming in frustration, she’s always calm when I see her, flustered when teased, but mostly calm.” Bruce admitted.

“That’s because of your youngest Bruce.”

“Could you please explain Mr. Tom?” Alfred requested.

“Damian makes Marinette feel calm and confident, even when he’s not here.  He has showed her that she can be strong, with or without the majority behind her.  He just makes her so happy and I can’t thank him, and all of you, enough for that.”

Something in Tom’s spiel caught Bruce’s attention.

“The majority?”

Tom winced.

“Caught that did you?

Bruce and Alfred nodded.

“I can’t tell you much, because I’m sure Marinette would want to tell you herself, but there is an issue at school.  It involves a liar, her classmates not listening to reason, and a teacher not wanting to act like a proper authority figure and step in because ‘It’s good for the children to work it out for themselves’.  Needless to say it has caused a lot of stress for Marinette.”

“I believe that’s more than enough information Mr. Tom, thank you for trusting us.” Alfred recognized, Bruce agreed.

“That’s enough heavy stuff; let’s go to the kitchen before all the food is gone.” Tom redirected, placing a hand on each mans should, guiding them to the kitchen.

 Kitchen:

Everyone was gathered around a buffet of treats, trying this and that, while answering Tom and Sabine’s questions:

“How’s the taste?”

“How’s the texture?”

“Do you think it needs something?”

And so on and so forth, until all the baked goods were gone and everyone was full.

“That was simply wonderful Mrs. Cheng, I must have your chocolate-banana pie recipe.”

“We’ll see Alfred; now why don’t move to the living room to digest all this.”

“Great idea my dear, I’ll clean up and you charm the guests.” Tom told his wife.

“Too late, we were already charmed by your daughter and the food.” Damian bluntly explained, triggering Marinette to blush.  

“Well, Marinette charmed Damian first, then us, the food was a bonus.” Tim needed to add.

“You have a sweet girl here, can’t expect anything less from a bakery, what’s your recipe?  Sugar, spice, and everything nice?” Dick joked.

Sabine laughed at Tim and Dick.

“I can’t just give away that secret recipe Dick, now follow me and I’ll show boys the living room. Marinette, why don’t you show them outfits you fashioned after Gotham’s Heroes.”

“Mama!  Don’t tell them I did that!”

“Why not dear?  You seemed so proud when you showed us.”

“Because I don’t want them to think I’m insulting their city’s Heroes Mama!”

“Don’t worry too much about that cupcake, it takes a lot to insult those guys with just an outfit.” Jason encouraged.

“You just want to make me blush.”

“Yeah, that too.”

With that Marinette made her way upstairs and the boys were lead to the living room.

 Marinette’s room:

“I can’t believe Mama did that Tikki.” Marinette whispered to the kwami, as got changed into the first outfit.

“I can Marinette; she wants you to show off all your hard work.”

Marinette gave an embarrassed grumble as she putting on the first outfit and made her way down stairs.

 Living room at the same time:

Alfred, Bruce and the boys were lead into a cozy room and sat down.  Damian did so in a daze, having been in such a state since Sabine mentioned “Gotham Hero themed Outfits”; which meant Marinette had a Robin outfit she would be wearing...in front of him, Damian wasn’t sure he could handle that level of cuteness.  Marinette’s voice carried to them as she called.

“Going to go oldest to youngest, is that alright?”

“That’s fine Mari-Dear.” Sabine responded.

Marinette made her way to the centre of the group, in the Batman inspired outfit.

“I thought something simple would be best for Batman.”

The outfit was a business suit that had a black jacket and dress pants, with a light gray blouse underneath and black dress shoes, with her hair in a bun.  The thing with the jacket is that was a bit longer than a normal suit jacket and the edges looked like Batman’s cape.  Marinette had also made her own Batman pin to place on the lapel of the suit jacket.

Bruce commented first.

“You look very professional Marinette; you could wear that to any business meeting.”

“And be the envy of everyone attending.” Damian praised braking out of this light shock.

“That is a brilliant hat tip to Batman, Ms. Marinette.”

“Alfred’s right, you look good Marinette.” Tim added.

“You really did the Dark Knight proud with this.” Dick applauded.

“Yeah, it’s formal and stiff like him.”

“Jason…” Bruce sighed.

Marinette giggled encouraged by the positive feedback.

“I’ll go get the next one.” Marinette said before going back upstairs.

Marinette returned quickly.

“I felt the Nightwing one should be a little more playful.”

Marinette was wearing some black biker shorts; that went half way down her thighs, with a sheer blue skirt that went to her knees over it, along with a fitted black tank top; that a pair of blue wings stitched into the back.  She dawned a pair of blue fingerless gloves of varying length, the one on her right hand went up half way up between her elbow and her should, and the one on her left hand only went half way to her elbow.  On Marinette’s feet she wore white running shoes with blue laces, with no socks visible, a blue and black choker around her neck, and her hair was pulled into a pony tail.

Damian was frozen at the sight of Marinette’s figure, leaving his family to cover for him until he could recover.

“WHOA!” Dick shouted leaping out of his seat smiling.

“That is very impressive Marinette.”

“Indeed Master Bruce, you captured Nightwing’s essence Ms. Marinette.”

Tim and Jason were trying to get Damian to snap out of it; they managed by jabbing Damian in the side when no-one was looking.

“You look like spectacular Marinette, Nightwing would be jealous of how well you pull that off.” Damian said trying to keep his thoughts about her figure to himself.

“You look great Marinette; you definitely nailed the playful aspect.” Tim nodded.

“Can’t say much else other than you look good Sunshine, you’re doing Red Hood next right?” Jason asked.

“Yes Jason, Red Hood is next.” Marinette replied before heading up stairs.

Again Marinette returned quickly wearing the Red Hood themed outfit.

“I tried to go with the tough look.”

This outfit consisted of a pair of gray skinny jeans, a black shirt with the words “RED HOOD” written across it in red; the shirt also showed a small strip of Marinette’s stomach, a cropped brown leather jacket, and a pair of black combat boots with red buckles.  Her hair was loose, only to be pulled back by a red bandana, Marinette also put on a little bit of red lip-stick.

*Whistle*

“Master Jason!  That was inappropriate!”

“Sorry Alfred; couldn’t help myself.”

“She does look good, glad to see she can pull off what Red Hood can’t.” Tim snickered, privately shooting Jason a look.

“She’s an adorable bad*ss!”

“Dick!” Bruce scolded.

“Young man, I will not have that kind of language in my house!”

“Sorry Sabine…”

As this was happening Damian couldn’t move or respond, his eyes bouncing back and forth between Marinette attractive red lips and the bit of skin her shirt showed.  Damian was trying to force himself to look at Marinette’s eyes, reminding himself that he was a gentleman NOT a pervert, but he never makes it past her lips.

Marinette was silently, but happily, freaking out as she went upstairs to change again, only to come down again wearing the Red Robin outfit.

“Red Robin I felt needed to be a little classy.”

This outfit was made up of a red pleated skirt; each pleat made to look like one of the feathers of Red Robins cape, a short sleeve yellow blouse, and a black scarf.  On her feet was a pair of black ballet flats, on her wrists were some black beaded bracelets, and her hair was in a loose side braid.

“How cute Marinette.” Dick started.

“Simple, yet sweet, excellent choice Marinette.” Bruce applauded.

“Can I take a picture of this Marinette? I need to save this.”

“Sure Tim, if that’s what you want.”

“You mean we could have been taking pictures?  Why did no-one tell me?” Dick lamented.

Sabine came to the rescue.

“Don’t worry dears; I have pictures of all the outfits, if you would like them.”

“You bet we would ma’am.”

“Mama! Jason!”

As Marinette was blushing brightly at her mom; she was swaying back and forth, now pleated skirts can be very…swishy and Marinette’s was no exception.  This movement was causing Damian eyes to follow the movement of her skirt…and hips.  Thankfully the only one to notice his behavior was Alfred; who gave him a small slap upside the head to get him focused again.

Marinette turned to Damian.

“Damian you haven’t said anything about this outfit or the last one, was there something you didn’t like?”

“No Marinette, both outfits are magnificent; you show masterful skills.  I was just blown away by your beauty.”  Damian managed to save and be smooth at the same time.

“Thank you Damian; that means so much to me that you think that way.”

Marinette scrambled up the stairs for the last outfit, coming down again Marinette was wearing a look of pride.

“This one is actually my favourite.”

The Robin outfit was a red dress with yellow trim around the skirt and three yellow buttons at the collar bone.  Marinette was also wearing a cropped jacket again; with three quarter sleeves and a hood, that was black on the outside and yellow on the inside.  Around her waist was a yellow hip pouch, on her feet were green ankle boots, her wrists had green bands on them, and her hair was tied up in her usual twin tails, with green ribbons.

“Favorite one, huh?” Jason smirked.

“So she said Jason.” Tim grinned.

Marinette tilted her head not understanding, Bruce to the rescue.

“We all have our favorite heroes; these two just have some opinions on Robin.”

“And mine is that Robin is great and would LOVE you in that.” Dick injected.

“Yes, I believe he would Master Dick.”

Damian could no longer function, HE had inspired her favorite outfit, a really cute outfit, that high-lighted all her beauty for them to see, for Damian to see.  Sabine saved Damian from having to comment.

“I’m thrilled you all think so fondly of my daughter and her skills.” Sabine said with a heart-warming smile, she was about to continue when Tom came in.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but Sabine could you come help me the store is getting busy.”

“Certainly Tom, Marinette why don’t you show your guest the roof top garden.”

“Sure Mama.”

 Roof top garden:

“This very well maintained Marinette.” Bruce admired all the blooming flowers as the boys poked around the roof.

“You certainly made the most of such a small space Ms. Marinette.”

“Thank you, I come out here to relax and think.”

“That’s a good place to have Marinette.” Bruce was cut-off and everyone’s attention was caught.

*Alarm sounds*

“What is that?” Tim asked look at Marinette as she stared of into the distance.

“That’s an Akuma Alarm.”

This worried the boys.

“What’s an Akuma? And why does it need an alarm?” Bruce questioned, standing straighter, bring Marinette’s attention to himself.

“You know how Gotham has its villains?  Paris has one too, his name is Hawkmoth.”

“Paris has a villain!? Why didn’t you say anything Marinette?”  Damian walked over to her and grabbed her hand.

“I didn’t want you to worry Damian.”

“What exactly does Hawkmoth do?”  Bruce asked trying to get Marinette to continue.

“He takes advantage of people who are feeling their lowest, promising them power and revenge if they do something for him in return.”

“How does take advantage of them and what does he want?”

“Hawkmoth sends out his demonic butterflies to possess and transform a person into something completely different.  What he wants is the Ladybug Earrings and the Black cat ring.”

Bruce was about to ask another question when a loud smash came from the distance.

“I need to go check on something at the school!  Why don’t you go back inside and I’ll catch up with when I get back!”

“Marinette!  It’s clearly too dangerous to go out there, whatever is at the school can wait!”  Damian exclaimed, still holding her hand.

Marinette looked to and fro at the Wayne family, realizing she wouldn’t any argument with them and the destructive sounds were just getting louder, she decided to take a large risk.

“Please keep this a secret.”

The all, but Alfred looked confused.

“Tikki!” Marinette shouted to the roof hatch.

“Let’s go Marinette!” Tikki cried, flying from her hiding spot, she too knew Marinette wouldn’t have won arguing with these guys.

“What is that?!” Damian bellowed tugging on Marinette’s hand.

“Tikki spots on!”

A large flash of light engulfed Marinette and a force push Damian away.  After the light died down what the Wayne family saw was Marinette wearing a skin tight red suit with black spot and a mask, swinging an object in her hand (They wouldn’t know that was a yo-yo).

“I’m so sorry about this; I’ll be back as fast as possible.”  Marinette told them before swinging away.

The Wayne’s just stared as she swung towards the Akuma.

“So…Demon Spawns girlfriend is a hero.”

“So it seems Master Jason. Might I suggest suiting up and joining her?”

“What makes you think we brought our suits Alfred?”

“Really Master Bruce?” Alfred asked raising his eyebrow, before turning to walk back down stairs.

“Now I don’t believe Ms. Marinette will mind if you use her room to change, I will cover for all of you if Ms. Marinette’s parents ask.”

“Right, let’s hurry up, we don’t know if Marinette is by herself or not.”

Damian was changed and swinging in record time, with his family not too far behind him.  What they arrived to was Marinette using her yo-yo as a spinning shield, sheltering civilians, as a giant something threw spikes at her.  Damian moved into action quickly, throwing smoke bomb in its face, triggering its eyes to water and unable to see.   This allowed the civilians to get away and drew Marinette’s attention to Damian and his now arriving family.

“Robin? Batman? Nightwing? Red Hood? Red Robin? What in the world are you doing in Paris?”

“You invited us.” Damian said; an eye for an eye after all.

“What? No I didn’t…no.” Her eyes widened in realization.

“Yes, now what is the situation?” Came Batman’s rough voice.

“I’m Ladybug and that is an Akuma caused by the fact he lost his job.”

“How do we get him back to normal?” Nightwing inquired.

“We find the Akumatized/Possessed object and break it; that will release a butterfly for me to purify.”

“Do you know where the evil butterfly is?” Red Robin probed.

“I believe it’s in his helmet, but I can’t get it and protect from his spikes at the same time.”

“Don’t you have someone to help you?” Robin queried.

“I’m supposed to.” Ladybug muttered.

“What can you do?” Batman needed to know.

“I can purify the Akuma and cast Lucky Charm.”

“What does Lucky Charm do exactly?”

“It gives me what I need to defeat the Akuma Batman.”

“Cast it.”

“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug tossed her yo-yo in the air, the object that came down was…

“A rubber ducky?!  How the h*ll is a ladybug themed rubber help with the Akuma?!”  Red Hood shouted.

“I told you it gives me what I need not what I want.”  Ladybug said looking at her surroundings.

“I have an idea and I need you guys to listen.”

The Batfam nodded.

*One convoluted, but effective plan later*

“Bye-bye butterfly.”

Watching Ladybug wave goodbye to the white butterfly Red Robin couldn’t help but reflect.

“Did we real save the day with a rubber ducky?

Robin walked over to Ladybug, observing all the damage around them.

“This is a normal thing for Paris?  How does it recover?”

“Like this Robin, Miraculous Ladybug!” Ladybug cried tossing the rubber ducky in the air.  It exploded into thousands of sparkly pink ladybugs, swarming over everything, removing all damage and injuries.

“Whoa…” Red Hood said in awe.

“We could really use something like this for Gotham.” Nightwing commented as he surveyed everything.

Batman on the other hand wanted an answer for something brought up earlier.

“Ladybug, you mentioned you were ‘supposed to’ have a partner.”

Ladybug sighed.

“You see…” She was cut off.

“Milady!”

“Oh no.” Ladybug covered her eyes briefly and then looked at the leather cat boy.

“Chat! You’re late, again! You even missed it completely this time! Why?!”

Chat hesitated, showing he didn’t have a good reason.

“Chat this getting ridiculous.”

“It doesn’t matter Bug-a-boo, what matters is that were here together now.  And hey, since the Akuma is defeated we can go on a date!”

“No Chat, I don’t want to go on a date with you.  I don’t like you like that and I’m currently running out of time.”

“Then go recharge and come back Love-bug and then we can go on a date.”

“I just said no Chat; I don’t want to date you!”

“Yes you do Milady; you just don’t know it yet.”

Chat reached out and trying to quickly snatch Ladybug’s arm, only to be snagged by the back of his collar and hauled up into the air by Red Hood.

“Hey punk! She said no and you better respect that; unless you want to be nothing but a smear on the pavement.”

“You’re R-Red Hood! What are you doing in Paris!?”

“What?  Can’t a guy and his family visit Paris?”

“F-Family.” Chat stuttered, slowly turning his head; seeing the entire Bat-family, the very angry Bat-family.

“THIS is your partner Ladybug?” Robin snarled; walking up beside her, hearing a beeping noise as he got close.

“Yes…” Ladybug sighed, resigned to the fact.  Amore frantic beeping got her attention.

“I’m sorry, I have to go or else I’ll de-transform right here.”

“Go ahead Polk-a-dots, we’ll have a nice talk with BratCat.”

“My name is Chat-Noir!” he yelled starting to struggle in Red Hood’s grip, getting nowhere.

“Fine, BratChat.”

Ladybug looked at Batman for conformation, getting a nod, she then turn to Robin and mouthed ‘Later’. Robin gave a smile in her direction and watched her swing off.  When she was out of site he turned to her partner with h*ll burning in his eyes, the fire was burning so brightly you could see it through his mask.  Chat tried to curl-up into a ball at the look, which look silly since he was still dangling in Red Hoods grip.

“You are a disgusting piece of human garbage.” Robin insulted.

“What! No I’m not!”

“Yes you are, you came so late to a battle you actually missed it.  Making Ladybug do all the work.”

“I had to do stuff in my civilian life!” Chat tried to defend himself from Robin’s glare, a Bat-glare in the making.  Batman took a single step toward Chat, causing him to look at Batman.

“Do you think Ladybug didn’t have something going on her civilian life at the time?  Or do you believe that she doesn’t have a life outside that mask…and you.”

“I-I-I…” Chat couldn’t come up with anything to refute what Batman said.

“Robin’s right, you are human garbage.” Red Robin sneered in disgust; Nightwing wrinkled his nose in agreement.

“Don’t forget guys; after making Ladybug do all the work, BratChat here thinks it is okay to hit on her even after she gave a very firm no.”  Red Hood reminded, shaking Chat hard in his grip.

“You don’t understand! She’s supposed to love me!  I deserve her!”

That statement made Robin lose his temper.  He grabbed Chat by the front of his clothes and slammed him on the ground; pulling Chat out of Red Hoods hands, and screamed in his face.

“How dare insinuate that she is something to be owned!  She is a person, a human being, with thoughts feelings and opinions!  Just because you are her partner, does not mean you are ENTITLED to her!”

The rest of the Bat-family looked at the pinned cat boy in disgust; this is what Ladybug to work with constantly?

“Chat Noir,” Batman began “You have proven not to be a responsible hero, so I will be leaving Ladybug contact information for the league for her to call upon when she needs help.”

“But we work with magic!”

“You think there aren’t magic users in the league you entitled BratChat?” Nightwing asked.

“B-But, being a hero is supposed to be fun!”

Red Hood punched the ground besides Chats head; leaving a dent, nearly snarling at what Chat said.

“Being a hero is not fun, its work!  That attitude is going to get someone killed and it’s mostly going to be Ladybug.”

Chat was now too afraid to move or speak; Robin had him pinned, Red Hood had his hand buried beside his head, and the other three were looking like they wanted to skin him. They sat in silence before Batman spoke.

“Robin, Red Hood, let him go; we have other places to be.”

The Bat-Family was off and swinging, leaving a shaken Chat Noir in their wake.

 Marinette’s Rooftop:

The Bat-family landed on the roof, barring witness to a confused Marinette, a calm Alfred, and an amused floating red being.

“How are you so calm Alfred!?”

“I’ve seen many things in my time Ms. Marinette.”

Damian ran over to Marinette and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Marinette you’re okay!”

Marinette returned the hug full force.

“I’m fine Damian; are you okay?”

“You know; before you two get too far, we might want to head inside before we’re seen.”  Bruce interjected.

Damian and Marinette blushed hard, as everyone around them laughed.

 Marinette’s room:

“And that’s my whole situation with Chat and Hawkmoth.” Marinette finished near tears, sitting next to Damian; who had his arm draped across her shoulders and holding her close, for her comfort.  

“That is a terrible problem you have found yourself cornered with Marinette.  I’m going to give you a list of contacts for the magic users in the league; this won’t solve everything, but should make it easier on you when you need help.”

“Thank you Bruce, that means the world to me.”

They sat in quiet as Marinette got her emotions under control.  As Marinette calmed down, she had a realization; making her turn a bright red and bury her face in her hands.

“Marinette want’s the matter!?” Damien asked concerned for the sweet girl, as the other were posed; ready to comfort her.  Marinette mumbled into her hands.

“What was that?” Tim questioned, Marinette then full on freaked out.

“The outfits! You saw the outfits, I showed you the outfits, I wore the outfits in front of you!”

There a pause, and then everyone just cracked up laughing.

“That’s the problem?!” Tim inquired, wiping tears from his eyes.

“Spots, we already told you we love them and we meant it.” Jason reassured between snickers.

“Yeah, you should have seen Damian’s face at some of them, I wish I took pictures.” Dick laughed.

Damian, while embarrassed by his brothers; looked to comfort the wonderful girl beside him.

“Marinette all those outfits you made are fantastic, you should be proud of all your hard work.”

“Indeed Ms. Marinette, but we should make our way back down stairs.  Mrs. Sabine and Mr. Tom will be wondering where we are soon.”

“Good point Alfred, come on boys.”  Bruce agreed getting and leaving, Dick, Jason and Tim following.  Damian stayed behind.

“We’ll join you in a moment father; I wish to speak to Marinette.”

Bruce nodded head and left the two alone.  Alfred went last, carrying Tikki and speaking in hushed tones.  As the door closed, Damian and Marinette looked at each other.

“What did you want to talk about Damian?

Damian squared his shoulders and took a deep breath.

“Marinette you are beautiful, smart and wonderful girl.  You bring light and joy into my life; will you do me the honor of going out on a date with me?  A proper date?”

Marinette was wide eyed and stunned; at her lack of response Damian rushed to reassure her.

“It’s alright if you don’t want to, after BratChat I wouldn’t blame you.”

“No wait Damian I would love to go on a date with you!”

“Really? Even after him?”

“You’re different from Chat Damian, you’ve treated me like a person since the moment you met me.  You always considered my thoughts and feels with whatever you do and you listen to my opinion; even when you don’t always agree with it.  Going out with you would be a pleasure.”

“I’m a luck man, to have you say yes Marinette.  Would like to go to a movie tomorrow?  My Family and I are here for a few more days.”

“A movie sounds great Damian, but…” Marinette trailed off.

“But what?”

“I might need to run off because of an Akuma attack.”

“That is perfectly fine Marinette, I’ll be sure to come prepared.”

Marinette stared at Damian in shock.

“R-Really?”

“Of course Marinette, I will never willing let you face danger alone; not if I have the choice.”

“Damian…” Marinette whispered.

The two were slowly coming together, until their lips just brush one another’s.  They pulled away smiling and Damian grab Marinette’s hand leading her back down stairs and to their families.

“Tomorrow is looking to be a wonderful day Marinette.”

“I was thinking the exact same thing Damian.”

End.

That was Respect is Always in style.

Also

Extra:

Back at their hotel, Dick shouted in excitement.

“She has a magical girl transformation!”

[just-random-obsessions]

Funny Moments In Thor Ragnarök

Thor 1

Thor 2

Avengers 1

I know I said I was gonna do Avengers Age of Ultron too, but because it didn’t have Loki in it, I decided to scrap that idea because this series is mostly focused on the relationship between Loki and Thor. So without further ado, all the funny moments in Thor Ragnarök. Side note: This accounts for all the moments were SUPPOSED to be funny. However these are mostly toilet humor, so whether or not it was actually funny to the viewer just depends on that person’s taste in humor. Funny moments listed below cut line which is underneath the tag list.

Edit for clarification: This is not a post supporting Thor Ragnarok. This is an anti post. In another post (that I’m too lazy to write right now) I will be explaining the difference in humor tones between this movie and the previous three. I will also be explaining why this tonal change is hated by anti Ragnarok people.

Tag List: @fyrecrafted @lokijiro @nikkoliferous @miskiett @icyxmischief @iamanartichoke @juliabohemian @official-and-unstable-satan @darthxerik @melodylnoelle @just-another-human-2019 @fandomsandfanfictions @mentallydatingahotcelebrity @cateyes315 @burningarbiterheart @imnotacreepijustlikeyou @usedtobegoodfriend96 @alexakeyloveloki

~ “Where I met you :)” *skeleton’s jaw drops*

~ “Surtr. Son of...a bitch you’re still alive?!”

~ *The chain keeps spinning Thor around and interrupting Surtr

~ “And you’ll grow as big as a house-?” “A mOuNtAiN” 

~ “Oh that’s a crown. I thought it was a big eyebrow”

~ *Thor’s timing being wrong when he says “that’s what heroes do”

~ “oh I make grave mistakes all the time. Everything seems- *shit that’s a bg dragon* -to work out”

~ “Behold!!! My stuff!

~ *Pronounces Texas wrong*

~ “I call them Des and Troy. Together, they Destroy”

~ *Thor drops the hammer in the dragon’s mouth* “Stay!”

~ *The entire Asgardian play*

~ *The woman in the audience emotionally grabbing Thor’s arm*

~ *Thor being all wtf???*

~ “Father” “Oh shit”

~ *that smile!!!* 

~ *Out of breath* “Behold!! Thor! Odinso-” “You had one job”

~ “I swear I left him right here” “right here on the sidewalk or right here where the building’s being demolished?”

~ “Can’t see into the future. I’m not a witch” “No? Then why do you dress like one?” “hEy!!!1!!!1!!”

~ “I can’t believe you’re alive. I mourned you! I cried for you!” “I’m honored??”

~ *the two girls who approach Thor to take a selfie*

~ “Sorry to hear that Jane dumped you” “She didn’t dump me. I dumped her. It was a mutual dumping”

~ *Thor poking the piece of paper cause he thinks it’s Loki*

~ “You can put down the umbrella”

~ “So Earth has wizards now” “The preferred term is Master of the Mystic Arts” “Alright wizard”

~ *Thor fumbling with the cool spikey things*

~ “I don’t drink tea” “Well what do you drink?” “Not tea”

~*the self-refilling beer*

~ “No I don’t have a phone but you could’ve sent an electronic letter. It’s called an email” “Right do you have a computer?” “No what for?” *confusion*

~ “My hair is not to be meddled with-OW!!!!”

~ “We could’ve just walked”

~ “Don’t forget your umbrella” *the awkwardness between them as everything crashes*

~ “I hAvE bEeN fAlLiNg FoR tHiRtY mInUtEs!!!!1!!1!!!!”

~ I’m pretty sure Odin’s death scene was the only scene to not have any humor in it.

~ “Who are you?” “I’m just the janitor”

~ *Valkyrie tries to do the Badass Walk but falls off the edge*

~ *Val keeps stumbling*

~ “But we’ve already got him” “Alright then. I guess I go through you”

~ *The guns not working at first*

~ *Val’s smirk*

~ *Thor’s mashed up face on the window of the ship*

~ “Whoever you are.” “Whoever I am?! Did you listen to a word I said?!”

~ *Thor’s scared screaming turned into a confused and awkward screaming as he is introduced to the Grandmaster*

~ “He’s wonderful. It is a he?” “It is a he”

~ “She is the- and it starts with a b” “Trash” “Were you just waiting to call her that? It doesn’t start with a b” “Booze-head”

~ “You’ll pay for this” “No I got payed for this”

~ “I am the god of THUNDER” *sparkles*

~ “OH MY GOD I’m stepping in it!!!”

~ “I’m going back to Asgard.” “Assgard?”

~ “Loki!” “Shhh!”

~ *Loki and Thor start arguing*

~ “Get me out!” “I can’t!” “Get me out!” “I can’t!”

~ “I’ve never met this man in my life” “He’s my brother” “Adopted”

~ “Let me introduce myself my name is Korg. I’m kinda like the leader in here”

~ “I tried to start a revolutions but I didn’t print enough pamphlets”

~ “Oh no. Doug’s dead”

~ “That’s exactly what Doug used to say. See you later New Doug”

~ Infinity Gauntlet: “Fake!!”

~ Casket: “Weak!”

~ Surtr’s Crown: “Smaller than I though it would be”

~ *Thor throwing rocks at Loki*

~ “Piss off ghost!!”

~ “It would pull me off-” “Oh my god. The hammer pulled you off?” 

~ *Thor fumbling with talkin to Val and doing the thumbs up*

~ “By Odin’s beard you shall not cut my hair” *2 seconds later* “Please kind sir do not cut my hair”

~ “I have to get off this planet” 

~ “Loki! Look who it is!” *NOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENO

PENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPE

NOPENOPENOPENOPE

~ *Thor gets whacked around like Loki did in Avengers* “YES!!! THATS HOW IT FEELS*

~ “Not just to execute people, but also to execute their vision. But mainly to execute people”

~ *Hulk being naked in the hot tub* “That’s in my brain now”

~ “What are you crazy?!” “YES”

~  “Hulk like fire. Thor like water”

~ *Thor stumbling around Val again*

~ “Because that’s what heroes-” *gets bonked in the head with the ball*

~ *the voice activation being “Point Break”*

~ “What happened to your hair?” “Some creepy old man cut it off” “It looks good”

~ “Banner” “Welcom strongest Avenger” “Uhhh what?”

~ “You and I had a fight “ “Did I win?” “No I won” “That doesn’t sound right”

~ *Topaz trying to hand the Grandmaster the meltsick*

~ “I don’t wanna fight your sister that’s a family issue”

~ *Thor and Bruce arguing like children*

~ “It’s my disguise” “I can see your face” “Not when I do this”

~ *Bruce complimenting Valkyrie*

~ *Thor stealing the name Revengers from the Avengers*

~ “Where are you at these days?” “It varies from moment to moment” *NOPE*

~ “We are going through the big one” “The Devil’s Anus?!”

~ “I’m asking for safe passage. Through the Anus”

~ *The snake story* 

~ “You guys have a beast :D?!!!!”

~ *”I’ll explain later”*

~ “I don’t like that word” “Mainframe?”

~ *Thor and Loki step out of the elevator* “Hello” “Hi”

~ *get help*

~ “Alright I can figure this out it’s just another spaceship”

~ “Did she just say the Grandmaster uses it for orgies?!!” “Yeah. Don’t touch anything”

~ “Use one of your PhD’s” “None of them aRe FoR FLYING ALIEN SPACESHIPS”

~ “Well you do seem like you’re in desperate need of leadership” “Why thank you” 

~ “Not that [Asgard’s] not nice it’s just that it’s on fire”

~ “I love what you’ve done with the place. Redecorating I see”

~ *heroic music plays* *Bruce falls flat on his face*

~ “I’m Korg. This is Miek. We’re gonna jump on that spaceship. Wanna come?”

~ “Your savior is here!!! Did you miss me?”

~ “You’re late” “You’re missing an eye” 

~ “I think we should disband the Revengers”

~ “Hit her with a lightning blast” “I just hit her with the biggest lightning blast in the history of lightning”

~ “So what do we do?” “I’m not doing Get Help”

~ “You can’t defeat me” “I know. But he can”

~ “We’re fulfilling the prophecy” “I hate this prophecy”

~ “For once in your life! Don’t smash!” “Big monster?!” 

~ “It will become a haven-” *Asgard explodes* “Yeah no sorry”

~ “Oh Mieks dead. Yeah I stomped on him on the bridge. I felt so guilty I’ve been carrying him around all day.” *2 seconds later* “Oh Miek you’re alive!! He;s alive guys!! What was your question?”

~ “Do you really think it’s a good idea to go back to earth?” “Yes of course, the people of Earth love me”

I FINALLY FINISHED IT!!!!!

[dreamcatcherfication]

Skin Deep - And The Winner Is...

Hey guys, little PSA here - my laptop is going through some issues right now, so I can only post pre-written fics for the next couple days. I can use my phone and still take requests, but I can’t write anything new. Hopefully things will be fixed soon, but I might not be able to post a fic on Sunday (or I might have to post it late). Thanks so much for understanding!

It’s the epilogue ladies and gents! I hope you’re ready for some good old fashioned fluff as Skin Deep comes to a close. I don’t have much to say other than thank you thank you thank you for sticking around this long! This fic was so fun to write and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. Sorry for any spelling/grammatical errors, I sneezed and all the willpower left my body.

Writing Masterpost

If you want to send a request or a prompt, my inbox is always open! I publish a story at 8:00 AM PST everyday, so I’m always in need of new ideas. If you want to be tagged in my works, just let me know and I’ll be sure to tag you!

Prompts | More Prompts | The Trifecta of Prompts | Original Prompts

Trigger Warnings: (brief) victim blaming

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Scrolling through news articles, Cathy’s head was resting against Anne’s chest as the girlfriends cuddled. “Found another one,” Cathy sighed, showing Anne her phone. The two of them had been finding loads of news articles covering the story on Kit’s trial, the majority of them riddled with falsities and crazy exaggerations. A number of them painted Kit as the villain for assaulting Culpeper and Dereham and then getting her father sent to jail.

Anne huffed in annoyance as she read the article title. “Drama Queen Wants More Attention, Goes to Court and Tricks Jury. What the hell are these reporters thinking?”

Shrugging, Cathy closed out of the article. “I have no idea. But at least we know the truth, and justice is being served.”

Humming in agreement, Anne pulled Cathy closer to her chest. They were together on Anne’s couch waiting for the others to show up for a movie night. After all was said and done, the six girls agreed to come together and hang out without all the drama around them. Kit was out with Anna, but she had moved in with Anne and her family after her father was sentenced to prison. They were supposed to be home any minute, probably with unhealthy snacks in preparation of movie night.

The two girlfriends sat together in silence, needing the moment of quiet. There was almost always noise when Anne was around, but after the chaos that had followed that beauty competition and the trial, silence was much more romantic than any words they could say. Cathy and Anne sat together, enjoying the familiar presence of each other.

Their moment of silence was broken by the door opening, revealing Kit and Anna on the other side. “We’re back,” Kit called, a small bag of groceries in one hand. Her other hand was interlocked with Anna’s as they walked closely together. Cathy noticed their closeness and smiled knowingly at Anna. The other girl hid a blush and instead focused her attention on the bag she was also carrying.

Stretching out from behind Cathy, Anne leaned over the couch. “Did you get anything good?”

“You bet,” Anna replied, releasing Kit’s hand and taking the bag in the girl’s other hand. She placed the two bags on the coffee table in front of Anne and Cathy before plopping onto the loveseat beside the couch. Practically jumping into her lap, Kit climbed onto the loveseat as well and got herself comfortable.

Cathy watched her girlfriend rip through the bags in search of different junk foods. “If only you focused as much in school as you do searching for processed foods.”

“Aha!” Anne cried, pulling out a box of guylian chocolates. She went to open the package, but Cathy slapped her wrist. “Wha?” Anne asked in confusion.

Rolling her eyes, Cathy grabbed the chocolates and put them down on the tables. “At least wait for Catherine and Jane to show up, Anne.”

“Yeah Anne, have some decency,” Anna tried to hide her laugh as she teased her friend.

Pouting dramatically, Anne turned her head away from her girlfriend. “You’re mean to me.”

Chuckling, Cathy leaned into Anne. “Aw, come on, you know you love me.”

Unable to resist, Anne spun back around. “Yeah, I do.” 

She kissed Cathy, only to be cut off by Kit screaming, “Ew, PDA!” and throwing a pencil at them. 

Breaking apart, the girlfriends laughed at Kit’s disgusted face. Picking up the pencil, Anne threw it back at her cousin, watching the girl duck so that it went flying over her and almost hitting Anne before smacking the wall uselessly. “Hey, don’t drag me into this,” Anne pretended to complain.

“Drag you into this?” Anne pretended to be offended. “You started this!”

“How?”

“Well for starters -”

Before the friendly argument could escalate, there was a knock on the door. “I’ll get it,” Cathy offered, standing up and making her way over to the door. She already knew who it was before Catherine and Jane waved through the peephole. Cathy opened the door and greeted, “Hey girls, welcome to Anne’s house.”

The three of them made their way over to the couch, Catherine and Jane scoping out the room as they walked. “Nice house,” Aragon commented as she sat on the opposite side of the couch as Anne. 

Grinning, Anne shrugged. “Well it’s my parents, so I’ll tell them you think they have good taste.” 

Aragon shook her head as a smile graced her lips. “Whatever Boleyn.”

Making her way over directly to Kit and Anna, Jane held something behind her back. “Hi Jane,” Kit gave a small wave.

There was a big smile on Jane’s face that she was trying to hide as she stared at Kit. “Hi Kit.” The nickname rolled much more naturally off Jane’s tongue, and Cathy couldn’t help the swell of pride in her chest.

“Is there something you want to say?” Kit asked, noticing her friend’s excitement.

Presenting what was behind her back, Jane’s eyes brightened. “It’s the pageant sash. The one you would’ve gotten when they announced you as the winner.”

The five girls watched her in varying degrees of excitement. Jane was overwhelmingly excited to present the sash and Anna seemed monumentally proud of the girl next to her. Aragon was satisfied, waiting for Kit to put on the sash and take the winning spot she rightfully deserved. Anne and Cathy were relieved that despite everything, despite Anne’s desire to rig the competition so Kit would win, she had done it all on her own.

Kit’s face dropped, morphing into one of confusion. She carefully grabbed the sash from Jane’s hands, inspecting it. The ribbon wasn’t particularly fancy, but the deep purple and stitching proclaiming “winner” made it seem much more high quality. Kit’s hands moved to the top of the sash where the seams were, and she pulled, ripping the sash in half in one tear.

“Kit!” Cathy gasped, jumping out of her seat. “What are you doing?”

Anna scrambled to pick up the two halves of the sash, inspecting it to see if it was beyond repair. All the girls were shocked at Kit’s actions. Kit started to fidget with her hands, her eyes looking anywhere but the sash. “I don’t want it. I never wanted to be a winner.”

Frowning, Anne rocked in her seat. “What do you mean? That’s all you’ve ever wanted. You’ve been doing this for so long.”

Shrugging, Kit let her voice drop its usual perky tone. “I only did it because I was told to. I’ve never particularly liked beauty competitions. Or competitions in general.”

“Why wouldn’t you want to be a winner?” Jane asked in confusion, her hands unsure of what to do now that the sash was destroyed.

Glancing around the room, Kit furrowed her eyebrows. “Isn’t it obvious? Competitions are about comparing people, seeing who’s better. But it’s impossible to judge things that are different. We’re all too unique to say that one of us is better than the others. I’m done comparing things and trying to be the best. It never does any good.”

There was a silence in the room. “Kit’s right,” Aragon agreed. “These competitions are stupid, and winning is only a title. We already know Kit’s a winner in her own category. So are the rest of us.”

The rest of the girls murmured their agreement. Cathy didn’t know how to describe how immensely proud she was of all her friends in that single moment. Jane had been so nervous to interact with them at first, her voice stuttering and small, but now she was happily talking with Kit and Anna, comfortable with her new friends. 

Anna had always been afraid of her feelings for her best friend, but if their holding hands was anything to go by, Cathy knew Anna wasn’t going to let fear control her anymore. 

Catherine had been so angry with Anne for as long as Cathy could remember, but they had managed to put that aside and be calm enough to joke with each other as friends. 

Kit was so tiny and afraid when this all happened, anxious and unable to keep herself together, to even smile, yet she had overcome all of her fears and insecurities and become the one to understand that these beauty competitions didn’t matter. 

And Anne… Anne had grown from the girl who thought she couldn’t do anything to save her cousin to the girl who, no matter what, was going to do everything she could to protect those she loved. Anne had been willing to jump in front of Kit’s deranged father in order to protect Cathy, knowing full well that if a fight started, she would lose.

Breaking her conversation with Aragon, Anne pulled Cathy into her arms. “You’re so brave, you know,” Anne murmured squeezing her hand.

Frowning Cathy shook her head. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Letting out a puff of air, Anne set her chin on Cathy’s shoulder. “Well then let me tell you. From the moment we started this all, you’ve been by my side. You’ve helped every single one of us in some way. Without you, I would’ve never talked to Catherine about our history. You’re the reason we’re friends now. You’ve encouraged Jane, you helped find Anna, you proved Kit innocent and told the world the truth. You’re a hero Cathy Parr. My hero.”

There were so many things Cathy wanted to respond with, but none of them came out. “I love you,” was all she could say to Anne, her heart beating fast.

“I could never not love you Cathy Parr.”

Once again, Kit broke the moment. “It’s movie night, come on, let’s set up the tv.”

Aragon picked up the remote on Anne’s coffee table and started flipping through movies. “Any of these look good to you?”

“That one!” Kit pointed out when it appeared on screen.

The girls all exchanged knowing grins as Catherine hit play on the movie. “Well then, Miss Congeniality it is.”

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

Tag List:

@radcowboyalmondtree @boleynhowards @annabanana2401 @babeebobo @dont-lose-your-queerhead @everything-insanity @mindless-pidgeon @i-wanna-dance-and-sing-six @thedemidisaster @its-totes-gods-will @thatbolxyngirl @thenameisnoone @sixqueendom

[enterthetadpole]

Excerpt from the story “Happy Birthday, Link.”

For @thinkanddoodle-rhink

Chapter 1: Nineteen

In the twenty years that passed between them, Link would always be come back to the first time it happened. The way their shared room always seemed to smell more like Rhett than himself. The blame would casually be tossed out as Rhett just being naturally more musky. The height and facial hair being factors. How could a ten by ten room even attempt to contain the essence of pure manliness?

They had somehow lost each other at a bar, and even with fake IDs and a confident swagger Link had only been able to get mildly buzzed on eve of his 19th birthday. Still the buzz was enough to get Link lightheaded and giggly, swaying to the vaguely club quality of the music. Occasionally he would glance up over all the other shuffling heads to see if the familiar pair of shoulders and face would float above the crowd.

It didn't.

Link headed out into the muggy early summer heat. His gaze as focused as he could make it to find a way back to their dorm room. It was way too early for Rhett to be there, or honestly, any normal college student to be home in bed on a weekend night. The shapes of people dashing up and down the busy sidewalk varied from smiling to frustration, but at this Link tried his best to ignore anything but the couple of feet in front of him as he continued to walk.

The night had been eventful. He and Rhett had actually talked about things. Things that had weight and had caused both of them to shuffle uncomfortably within their seats. Rhett had even told Link that he hoped that whatever happened tonight would be a stepping stone towards something more fleshed out. More concrete.

"You know that Sarah and I broke up, right?"

Link had nodded. He had almost laughed at the question. Maybe it was the drinks that had been making Rhett's memory hazy, but Link had been there when Sarah had broken up with Rhett over the phone a week ago. Rhett had tried to keep the conversation as quiet as possible, but there was only so much noise that could be muffled from a thick blanket covering your head as you talk. Then moving off of a top bunk to continue in the hallway was always going to be louder than you want.

Rhett had come back into the dark room twenty minutes later. Perhaps if Link hasn't sat up and asked if he was all right, Rhett would have just climbed back up on his mattress and stayed silent. Instead, the bottom bunk shifted and Link watched his best friend in profile. The large shoulders hunched over as if preparing himself to fall apart, and then he did.

"Yeah," Link answered, glass of beer abandoned as he watched Rhett. Studied his features in the subtle blur of inebriation.

"And you still talking to that guy in your study group?"

It took a few seconds for Link to connect who Rhett might be talking about. There were two study groups that Link was a part of, and Link chatted with everyone within them. It was pretty much a necessity in study groups.

"The muscular guy with the wavy brown hair," Rhett continued, obviously seeing Link struggle. "Oscar? I think that's his name."

"Yeah, that's right," Link answered, the face coming into recollection now. "No. We never got past even more than an occasional hello. Shame too. He had such a nice rear end."

Rhett chuckled and lifted his own half full glass of beer to the sky. Link mirrored him, smile moving fast to his lips.

"Let us toast to the memory of Oscar's amazing ass," Rhett said, the tone aching with faux solemness.

Even now, an hour or so since their glasses clinked together and they drank, Link's head was spinning with scenarios. The gentle pull of his shirt when Rhett wanted to ask him a question, or making sure that he was enjoying himself. Plus, it couldn't just be the heat from the drinks that made Link feel flushed whenever he turned to look back at where Rhett had gotten to. It seemed as if Rhett was letting him walk ahead. Almost checking him out to steady his nerves.

Out of more of a need to not trip over his own feet than anything else, Link had stopped waiting for Rhett to catch up. The buzz of the night and the drinks were making him want to stay active and moving. It was only when Link realized that he had definitely lost Rhett in the crowd that he began to react. The usual heaviness was there, but now with a tingling sensation that Link wasn't sure if he actually liked or not.

He decided later that night that he didn't like it. The faint edge of arousal and sleepiness equally pulling at him. The clock radio off on the desk brightly proclaiming in neon green how incredibly early it was to be in bed on a Saturday. His bedsheets felt cold and unnatural. As if even they knew that he shouldn't be laying here. He should be out celebrating his birthday. He should be laughing at jokes that were so much funnier when your hammered.

Hell, he should be hammered.

The sound of the door opening and closing is what made Link know that he must have fallen asleep for a bit. The clock radio confirmed this, and so did the the slurred Happy Birthday from a voice he had known since childhood.

For the second time in seven days, Link could feel Rhett sit down on his bed. The dark profile was tilted down. Perhaps looking at his hands, or maybe his sneakered feet.

"Thanks man," Link muttered back, sitting up and rubbing the corners of his eyes. "Sorry we lost each other out there."

The motion of Rhett's shoulders gave the assumption of a shrug.

"Long as we know where home is, you can't ever really get lost, can you?"

Link couldn't even begin to really let the heaviness of that question roll around his mind. He wasn't really sleepy or drunk in any tangible way, but his brain felt as if was stuck in fear as Rhett zoomed circles around him.

The shadow shifted, and the window to the left gave Link an incredible clear view of Rhett leaning towards him. It was only his face that was suddenly bathed in the brightness of the moonlight. The lips slightly parted. The eyes, heavy with something along with the booze. The mattress shifted again, but this time Link didn't notice. His back was being caressed as Rhett began to invade him. The taste of bitter beer mingled in with something salty, like pretzels given to keep customers thirsty for more.

They swayed, and things were already moving so fast. Link wanted to ask questions. To make sure that this was okay, but Rhett was letting his large hands create all of the answers. A sigh escaped Link's opened mouth as he realized how much his hips belonged in Rhett's grasp. The way his body rolled along with his pajama's up his torso and down his slender legs. The way that Link had to inhale the bare chest of the man holding him like if he let go, he may evaporate.

"Rhett..."

His hands slid down Link's back to cup his backside. His cheeks were spread just enough to let Link know that Rhett had been prepared. A glance towards the right side of the bunk showed that Rhett had been paying attention to the brand of preparation that Link used. The bottle looked so innocent and new.

"You deserve a happy birthday, bo."

Link moaned. His heart was beating out of his chest at what was happening. His thoughts whirling with theories, but each of the words were swallowed up by Rhett's waiting tongue. Inch by inch Link was touched. Not one part of his body was overlooked. The same rapt attention that Link would have frowned at jealously was now his, and he wanted to bathe in it for centuries. Rhett was slow and deliberate. Starting from running his long fingers though the thick dark hair to then gently rub the ever wrinkle brow line with the back of the larger hand.

"Rhett...please..."

"You've always been here," Rhett whispered, and Link could relax his muscles fully now. He needed Rhett to say something - anything - and that's exactly what he was doing. "Always been here."

Link moaned, allowing the words to assist him in getting used to being so warm and wanted. The slickness in his entrance increased, and another small push of Rhett's index finger. Link's eyes rolled back, his head lolled to the left, moonlight striking his features and the man above him cooed. Then as the index finger pressed in further Link arched his back and whimpered.

"You're too beautiful to be real," Rhett mumbled against the opened mouth. "But here you are. I wanna see how real I can make you, bo."

A burst of flowing heat was in the pit of Link's stomach. Rhett was pressing inside of him with firm, yet incredibly gentle pressure. The green eyes were monitoring him. Making sure that he was as comfortable as possible. Link was bucking into one hand while grabbing at the other. Sucking the muscular fingers one by one, and barely about to keep himself grounded.

Rhett, who as far as Link knew had never done anything like this with a man, was already making him close to cry from how amazing this felt. Sounds weren't optional at this point for Link. He was grinding onto the fingers, and groaning at the way Rhett knew exactly when to curl his fingers. His skin was on fire, and Link was taking turns grasping onto the bedsheets around him, Rhett's messy hair, and his own throbbing member.

"I wanna feel ya," Link growled, and even in the shadows he could see Rhett's lips turn upward.

Soon his legs were wrapped around the other man's waist, both bare, and condom wrapper glistening in the light of the moon. Their kisses were sloppy and fierce. Link bounced onto the thickness around him, and the powerful hands pressed them together as they fucked. For the first time Link appreciated the lightly bearded face looking up at him.

Begging him to stare.

With a small twist, Rhett was on top again and swiveling his hips to give all the force that he could to his thrusts. Link was lost again, at the speed of light racing towards a climax that he wasn't ready for, but welcomed just the same. Link was breathing. He could tell because his chest was rising and falling, but he was no longer in his bed. All but Rhett and his body existed now. The tightening of muscles and flexing of skin as Rhett gritted his teeth and hissed as he bucked. Link's mind was blissfully letting go of the world one continent at a time. Enjoying the way that the waves were washing over him until a final thrust, and someone's scream rang out that sounded remarkably like him.

"That was worth makin' you real, bo..."

Link couldn't stop shaking, and then couldn't stop twitching. Yet Rhett was still holding him. Waiting for the Earth to move just a little bit faster. Then suddenly, Link recalled where they were, and he lifted his head from Rhett's shoulder, looking terrified.

"Hey...hey...relax," Rhett whispered. "You're all right. I got you."

"What...wha happened? What time is it?"

Link instinctively looked at the radio clock, and it was two hours later. Rhett was laying on his side, watching Link begin to recover. Telling him to breathe. They both were naked, with the light scent of bath soap hanging in the air.

"I cleaned us up a little bit," Rhett admitted, still making a decision to touch Link's lips with his own. Allowing both of them to figure out what to do after today ended.

[snowpatrolfanclubbrazil]

Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody on depression and the fear his fans would 'run away' The rocker talks to Saeed Saeed ahead of Dubai Jazz Festival and admits he is 'the last person you want to speak to if you want a jazz education'

Many successful artists will tell you it is the years of struggle that are ultimately the most fruitful and rock group Snow Patrol have, perhaps, tasted it more than their peers.

They spent the first ten of their 25 years confined to a small yet dedicated fan-base in their native Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

It was only with the success of their third album, 2003’s brilliant Final Straw, and its dynamic one-two punch of barrelling rocker Splitting Games and the monumental power ballad Run, that the group found international success.

Three years later, the Grammy Awards and years of international arena tours beckoned (including a sell-out Dubai show in 2012) courtesy of their big selling album Eyes Open and the runaway hit Chasing Cars – also known as ‘that Grey's Anatomy song’.

The band’s trajectory may have plateaued somewhat these days, yet they still have enough pull to support the likes of Ed Sheeran in his run of US stadium shows earlier this year.

Affable frontman and guitarist Gary Lightbody likes it this way, he says, as it keeps the ego in check.

“Not that I don’t have one, because if you are on stage playing to thousands of people every night then of course you will get an ego,” he says.

“But it is not a toxic or corrosive one. I think if we had that early success we would have been done as a band by now, because we simply weren’t ready for it. The fact that it took 10 years gave us an appreciation of what it means to be successful and appreciate what I have now.”

The most personal album yet Lightbody says that their UAE return at the Dubai Jazz Festival is part of their first world tour in six years, a period he essentially spent pottering around the house.

“It was kind of daunting to get back on the tour bus and not feeling settled again,” he says.

“I kind of got used to being off the road and living a more sedate life, and I was kind of worried that I wasn’t going to like being on tour. But within the first two minutes of the first show I felt ‘this is what I should have been doing all this time. I remember this.’”

But that’s not to say the years off the road was anything but calm. Idle hands welcome unpleasant thoughts, and Lightbody spent that time battling his depression and addictions.

It all made for last year’s album, Wildness, to be their most personal yet.

Although Lightbody’s lyrics often focused on the nuances of relationships, Snow Patrol’s first album in seven years has the microscope focused on himself.

With tracks such as the U2-ish Don’t Give In, a plea to work through the hardships of depression, and Heal Me, a tribute to a friend who got Lightbody of the booze, Wildness is a testament of survival and, ultimately, hope.

These are all emotional themes that Lightbody wasn’t sure the fans were ready for, especially after being away for so long.

“I didn’t know how it was going to be received,” he says.

“I was wondering if the people would kind of run away from my madness and if people would never speak to me again if I showed them my true self. But then I realised that everybody goes through these things.”

Lightbody is reminded of that that regularly.

Ever since the album’s release, the band has been receiving letters – “actual letters”, he beams – where fans detailed how the album has got them through their own travails.

“It means a lot to me and it definitely changed the way I write now,” he says.

“I don’t necessarily have to write about the darkness all the time but, instead, to just always be completely honest and not be afraid of bearing myself any more. It’s the thing that caused me the most grief in my life, like hiding my depression. It’s just not worth it.”

Hanging out with Ed Sheeran Part of that new open approach to life is Snow Patrol accepting varied touring offers, such as tagging along to Sheeran’s run of massive US shows.

It was a chance for Lightbody to see how the Shape of You singer, one of the most in-demand artists in the world, operates under such circumstances.

“Ed is like you imagine him to be, that’s the best way to describe him. He is extraordinarily friendly and down to earth” Lightbody says.

“I would see this a number of times in that he would go into a room and shake everyone’s hands and say ‘Hello, I am Ed.’ He would chat and spend time with people. He is the same person that I met seven or eight years ago, before his meteoric success.”

s the Dubai Jazz Festival really jazz? Performing in a stadium of 40,000 teenagers is one thing, but headlining a jazz festival is quite another.

While laughingly admitting that he is certainly “the last person you want to speak to if you want a jazz education,” Lightbody says the Dubai event is part of growing trend of such festivals with eclectic line ups, with Switzerland’s Montreux Jazz Festival being a prime example.“But it’s nice to be associated with a jazz festival regardless,” he says.“Matter of fact, I would love to play in a jazz festival if our band was actually jazz. I don’t know, I think we would be booed off the stage. I like to get into these scenarios sometimes. I think it will be fun.”Snow Patrol will perform at the Dubai Jazz Festival on Wednesday, Dubai Media City Amphitheatre. Doors open at 6pm. Tickets begin from Dh350 at www.dubaijazzfest.com

[gimmedatelephantwrites]

Coffee Shop AU Oneshot - I'm Oliver You, Tom Riddle

I'll admit, Tom is a little OOC (out of character) in this, but like, I really wanted to write him with a raging boner for Oliver :/ just suffer through it, I guess,,,

Also I'm on mobile and dont know how to make a "Read More" thing so

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Darkly stained hardwood floors met emerald green counters, topped with clean, if slightly cluttered, darker-stained butcher block countertops; a silver register sat at one end of the counter space, an empty fish bowl filled with various pens of varying degrees of frilliness directly beside it; two-thirds of the counterspace was behind lightly frosted glass, which quite untastefully hid all of the various coffee making and blending apparatuses; round tables of a matching register-silver sat around the space, with cozy chairs of varying shades of green pushed in or hastily shoved aside were small comforts lying around the little caffe. Three of the walls of the caffe, the left, the right, and the entry wall, were the same shade of emerald green as the counters - Tom painted them all at the same time himself, while the back wall was tastefully and painstakingly painted various greys to sort of give more depth to the actual brickwork, but not leave it the natural red brick it was before. Tom still wasnt entirely happy with the paint on the brick, even today, but continually added more and more small touches here and there. A bright pink handprint smacked the top of the bricks, small spatters of pink on the stark white ceiling resulting from it, while a more carefully placed yellow print stood beside it. Anne had helped him paint and stain the caffe before she actually began working there, and had seen it fit to climb on top of the countertops, hand nearly dripping in pink paint, before she jumped - and fell off the countertop soon after as a result of her recklessness - and smacked her hand as high as she could. The yellow one came from him; he stood on the countertop, painted his hand, and pressed it firmly as high as he could.

Tom loved the sight of it. Every morning, he came in, started up a brew, had his morning cuppa - black, no sugar - and then was immediately greeted with his most hated thing: customers.

Usually, however, the early morning crowd wasnt too terribly awful, but there were exceptions to every rule. Especially when it came to, Tom shuddered, youngsters.

But he digressed.

It was drab and dreary that momentous day. Outside, it was raining fairly well, making the air outside pleasantly cool and delightfully scented. The streets had a mist, and Tom wanted nothing more than to go out and just breathe the rainy air in. Rainy weather had to be his most favourite type of weather.

But unfortunately, people enjoyed a hot, freshly made beverage on a rainy day, and that meant that his cafe would be busy. Just as it was now.

Thankfully, he wasnt dealing with the customers today, that was Anne's job on Wednesdays. All he had to do was work behind the counter, make the drinks, and call out the names or whatever the customers insisted on being called.

And, occassionally, when Anne needed a break, interact with the customers. Tom nearly shuddered at the vague thought.

"Tom!" Anne called. "I need 7 hot chocolates, two with two pumps of vanilla, whole milk, one of those with with whipped cream, cinnamon lightly dusted on top, one with 4 pumps of your Hot Unicorn Blood Elixir, coconut milk instead, three made with soy milk, and one with almond."

Anne was a very near and dear working companion of his. She was dark skinned, with very large breasts, a sweet face, and someone who enjoyed wearing clothing that was much too small for her. Even her uniform was too small, which shouldn't be as Tom had given her clothing that had to have been several sizes too large; it was all he had on hand at the moment. Anne must have known a tailor, or had done them herself.

"We should have never offered drink customization, Anne." Tom griped.

He made the hot chocolates, as asked for, and called out, "Ridiculous hot chocolate order for 7."

Six giggling girls came up and grabbed their order, one taking two cups, before returning to their table and awaiting friend.

Business slowed for a moment soon after that, but they werent ever completely devoid of customers in the queue.

And then, it was time for Anne's break.

Oh, how Tom dreaded Anne's break! Now he had to both take orders and make them.

Oh well, he supposed, time to get to work.

Taking the second customers order, the bell above the door rang as someone new entered, or as a customer was leaving. Tom glanced up, saw that it was someone coming in, and greeted him, "Good morning, welcome to the Half-Life Caffe. I'll be with you in just a moment."

And of course, the customer he was currently helping ordered a ridiculous hot beverage, but this time, it was completely asinine; a soy latte, no soy. They're "allergic to soy", as they have so far claimed, but enjoyed the way a soy-free soy latte tasted.

Tom tried his very best to not roll his eyes or groan at this persons incompetence.

It was the single most difficult thing he had ever done. He deserved a solid gold plaque for his deed. Or at the very least an official day of recognition. Perhaps a national holiday, The Day Tom Marvolo Riddle Didnt Roll His Eyes or Make Any Dissenting Noise at the Customers Stupidity.

It had a very nice ring to it, Tom thought.

And now, it was the new customer's turn to order.

"How can I help you this fine, if wet, morning?" And that's when Tom looked up, and met his gorgeous ocean blue eyes. And the rest of his beautiful face, for that matter.

Tom instantly took back what he had previously thought. Not openly gawking at this simply, perfectly stunning individual was the single most difficult thing he had ever done.

The customer was distinctly male, wild, curly blond hair falling every which way seemingly perfectly, even if it was dripping water onto his clothes, his cheeks and nose tinged a slight pink from the nippy air outside, giving him a perpetual blush. He parted his perfectly kissable lips and flashed a smile, all perfectly straight, white teeth, and oh! Then he spoke!

"Actually, I'm not quite sure what I want quite yet. I've never been here before." The stranger told him. His voice was like the sweetest music Tom had ever heard, lilted and bright and airy.

"May I recommend our unique Unicorn Blood Elixir? I invented it myself, and it's only available while I work." How Tom had managed to say that without stuttering was beyond him.

"Oh, that sounds lovely! I'll have the largest size you have, please! I'm not planning on going anywhere, if that makes a difference?" He smiled once again, and Tom very nearly dropped the tall ceramic mug he had just grabbed.

"Can I get a name for your order?" Tom cleared his throat, grabbing an Expo marker from the flowery fish bowl next to the register, and focused his entire will on writing this persons name.

"Oliver," he giggled.

Tom discreetly wiped his mistake away, and god he felt his cheeks begin to warm, how embarrassing.

"£6.50 please."

Money was exchanged, Oliver waved his farewell, and took a seat in the corner, pulling his phone out of his thigh bag and smiling down at whatever was on the screen.

Tom had a not-so-subtle hope it wasnt his boyfriend.

Or girlfriend, Tom wasnt one to judge, but he didnt look the type to have a girlfriend, if his fluffy, gaudy yellow sweater, sinfully tight black skinny jeans, shiny silver mid calf heeled boots, and dark leather thigh bag was anything to go by.

But, who knew, maybe she dressed him?

Tom returned to work, just as Anne came back in. Tom turned to glance at whoever it was, and sighed in relief when he saw it was just his coworker.

"Anne, get your arse back to work!" Tom called over the loudspeaker.

"Oh piss off!" She called back, already putting her apron back on. "What orders do we have now?"

Tom handed over the two easier orders, and worked on Oliver's Unicorn Blood Elixir.

" "soy latte, absolutely no soy"?" Anne questioned. "Couldnt they have just ordered a regular latte?"

"I tried to convince them, but they're adamant the soy-free soy lattes taste the best."

"Well. Oh well, more money in the drawer for us." She shrugged and began making the orders.

Tom braced his hands against his clean counter, staring down at the mug. He didnt ask if it were hot or cold. Why was he acting like this?

Tom! He scolded himself. Pull yourself together. This isnt you, and quite frankly, it's annoying.

He sucked in as much air as his lungs would let him, let it out slowly, and turned toward the front and called out "Oliver?"

Said boy looked up, a question clear on his face. He stood, leaving heavily charmed cell phone at the table, and approached the counter. "That was fast?" He seemed skeptical.

"Actually no. I just remembered I didnt ask you if you wanted it hot or cold."

"Oh! Yes. Of course, cold please! I just looked them up, over there, at that table, and they look so magical cold!" His eyes shone of a glowing wonder. Tom heartrate increased, and he could nearly swear he was dying because of this ethereal, tacky dressed vision in front of him.

Oliver should go to prison for attempted murder. Or maybe he just got out? Either way, he was, actively or not, trying to kill Tom.

Tom chuckled, "Yes, they're very blasé warm, I will admit. But still equally delicious, of course. You may return to your seat, I'll have your order ready momentarily." He smiled graciously, waiting until Oliver smiled back and returned to his seat.

Tom grabbed a new cup, a clear, tall glass this time, wrote Oliver's name on it with the Expo marker, and, before he thought better of it, wrote on the opposite side, this time in Sharpie, as if it were supposed to have it and wasnt just an additional, spur of the moment decision:

bewitching (verb):

Enchant or delight (someone)

Time to get to work, then.

He blended a thick pink, vanilla cupcake flavoured concoction in one blender, an equally thick pale green, Earl Grey flavored in another, and started up the lavender purple, lavender flavoured into the last of the blenders. He poured black tapioca pearls into the bottom of the glass and drizzled edible glitter laced caramel down the inside of the glass while he waited for the three blenders to finish their work, and, once they were done, carefully poured each of the blenders contents into reusable piping bags.

Normally, Tom didnt go through this step, but he wanted to make the drink absolutely perfect for the single most beautiful man in the shop. The rest of the customers who would inevitably see it, be damned; they were worth nothing in comparison to pretty Oliver and his heart stopping smile.

He piped in a thick line of pink, then green, and finally purple, filling the glass completely. He took one of the stainless steel stirrers nearby and very gently, very carefully swirled the colours just a bit, so it wasn't a stark pink, green, and purple, but a much softer, less defined array of colour.

Then, he brought out the hand-prepared pale blue whipped cream, swirled it on top, and brought out Anne's favourite decorations: the silver sugar pearls and sugar crystals. He tossed a handful of pearls on the top of the very colourful creation before doing the same with the silver sugar crystals.

Very nearly perfect. Tom grabbed two of the thick, white straws and arranged them just so, one taller than the other, and sighed.

"Anne?" He asked, cringing all the while. "Do we have any more of those pink, edible hearts?"

Anne gasped dramatically. Why does she have to do this? What does she have against him?!

Please dont draw Oliver's attention! He mentally pleaded.

"You dont put hearts on anything! Even if it's one of our Valentines Specials! What is wrong with you!" She was so loud, and Tom could cry, surely the bitch was going to get Oliver's attention, but then she reached up, into one of the cabinets in the back, and grabbed a small container filled with them. "Here you are, go nuts." And returned to her work.

Tom opened the container, grabbed one of the smaller hearts, and gently placed it in front of the straws. He smiled at his handiwork - Oliver's perfect face would light up as soon as he saw this! - and turned around, ready to call out the order, slightly startled to find Oliver already at the counter, looking flustered and a tad embarrassed.

Oh fuck, did he hear her Tom was going to murder her--

"I'm sorry," his eyes flicked down to Tom's nametag, "Tom. I know I said I wouldnt be going anywhere, but I just got a text from my friend, Gwen. I'm going to need my order to go." He looked dejected.

Tom had an instant hatred toward that look.

"That's alright, here's your order." He passed the glass over to him, a small, reassuring smile over his lips. "Dont worry about the glass, just take it." He said, before Oliver could protest on taking one of their more expensive glasses.

Oliver smiled gently, "Thank you, Tom. Though I do still feel bad at taking one of your glass cups."

"How about this;" Anne rudely shoved her way in, "give him your number, make it even."

Oliver, caught off guard, guffawed, setting his drink down on the countertop so he didnt tip it over on accident, and brought his hand up to try and quiet his harmonic laugh. "I'm sorry!" He got out through a laugh. "I'm not laughing at you, I just didnt expect that!"

Anne reached over, made the receipt machine spit out more paper, and grabbed one of her overly frilled, ostensibly girly, click pens, and passed the two of them over to Oliver.

Through his giggles, he managed to write down his phone number, his name just under it, a tiny heart dotting his "i".

"Here you are, Tom!" He slid the slip of paper over to Tom. "Call me sometime? If not, I'll just have to come back with my friends and make a huge dramatic scene. Maybe get the police involved?"

The cheeky shit! "Well, we cant have that, now can we? I'll call you when I'm off work later this evening, then. Dont make any plans to ruin my life or business just yet, darling." He winked.

. . . .1. . . .

. . . . . . . .2. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .3. . . . . . . . . . . .

His face burst into actual flames, "I'm so sorry, please ignore that last word." Can I die now? Please and thank you! He thought as he buried his face in his hands.

Both Anne and Oliver laughed at him, but Oliver reached his hand over the countertop and gently pulled Tom's hand away from his burning face, and looked imploringly at him. "I'll never forget it, dear." And then, when Tom looked up at him, Oliver pulled Tom's hand to his face, and, to Tom's horrified delight, pressed a kiss to his knuckles. "Anne, was it?" He turned his focus to her, "Could you make sure he calls me?"

She grinned, looking very much like a shark in that one Pixar movie. "I'll make sure he at least sends you a text. And if not him, I know I will~" she winked flirtingly at him.

Oliver giggled his perfect laugh, winked back, took his drink in hand, and left, waving goodbye just outside the window.

"Your face is still red." Anne so helpfully pointed out. "And seriously, you had better call him! He seems nice, and it would do you good to actually get in the game!"

"I will, Anne. He said he'd make a scene with his friends, maybe get the police involved, if I didn't." Tom sighed. "And hes the most wonderful person I've ever seen, can you imagine his disappointed face? Go ahead, Anne. Imagine that perfect face, disappointed. It breaks your heart!"

He paused. "Well, not mine. But I'm sure you get my point."

"I do, and I'm glad we're on the same page." She reached out and touched his shoulder gently, smiling a bit as she said it, before clapping her hands. "Time to get back to work!"

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Tom sat there, on his couch, cell phone in one hand, and Oliver's phone number in the other, and he was nervous.

After Oliver left, they got so busy that Tom had completely forgotten about Oliver's phone number, which had previously been a burning weight in his pocket.

And now, hes on his couch at home, completely nervous.

He may have already stated that, but to his current state of mind, it didnt matter.

He needed to call Oliver. And to do that, he needed to put the numbers in his phone, and then press the green "call" button. One step at a time, Tom.

To put the numbers in.

Now.

Right now.

07

There! The first 2 digits!

00769 7659

And there are the rest! Now, to make the call.

(A/N, I dont know english phone numbers, so idk if that's even correct in the slightest. I know mobile numbers start with 07 and are 11 numbers long, but idk about the rest)

(A/N: Also, DONT CALL IT. It might actually be someones number idk but like srsly dont call it) (I mean it)

He took several deep, calming breaths, or at least he tried to. He ended up hyperventilating for a few minutes. Once he calmed down enough, he turned his phone screen back on, and unlocked it with his password, "v0ld3m0rt".

Before he had any second to think about his actions, once more that day, he pressed the "call" button.

Then, he panicked, nearly dropping the device.

For 3 entire rings, he was frozen in place, staring in horror at his phones screen, nearly silently hoping Oliver wouldnt pick up-

But then he did!

"Hello?" Even from this distance he sounded beautiful ♡

And like he had just woken up.

He quickly brought the phone up to his ear, "Yes, Oliver? This is Tom. From-from the Half-Life Caffe?"

"Oh! Tom! Hi, hello! It's good to finally hear from you!" Despite his obvious giddiness, his voice still sounded rough. "I was just saying to Gwen a few hours ago that we were going to have to start a riot." He laughed, but it came across as more of a few breathy chuckles than anything. "Why are you calling so late though? Its half passed midnight." There was a rustling on the other side of the phone, like maybe Oliver was shifting in his. Bed, Tom figured, or perhaps he was rubbing his eyes, to get the sleep from them.

"Is it really?" He pulled his phone from his ear and checked the time; 12:34. "Oh, I suppose it is. My apologies, it must have taken more time to build up the courage to call you than I thought."

"Wait, 'build up the courage'?" He giggled softly. "Were you afraid of calling me?" Tom could hear the smile in his voice.

"Not afraid, necessarily, just. Nervous."

"Dont be nervous, Tom. It's just me." There was more rustling, and a series of pop-ing noises, before Oliver was back on the line. "Sorry, i was stretching."

They were silent for a few moments, and just when Tom started to feel like an awkward mess, Oliver spoke quietly, "I'm glad you called me, Tom. I really was worried you'd never call."

"Of course I'd call you, Oliver." Tom spoke equally quietly. This was a space in time all their own, and he hated to break the serene moment. He leaned back on the sofa, resting his slightly aching back. "Though, if I'm quite honest, I dont know what to say."

"I think I do. I was cleaning my glass from earlier, and I must say, what an amazing drink, when I noticed a little something on the side."

"Could it have been... your name?" Tom smiled.

"No, you shit!" Oliver laughed. Tom soaked in the feeling it brought him. "The other thing. Does the word "bewitching" ring any bells?"

"Oh, yes, of course. That. A different word and definition is written on all of our glasses, you see-"

"Mmm no, I dont think so." He said in a silly, sing-song voice. "Robert, another of my friends, tried my amazing beverage and wanted one of his own. So I told him where to get it, and to take it there, and he did. But oddly enough, there was no word on it, besides his name."

Oh, well. Maybe it just rubbed off. It's just sharpie on glass, it doesnt last forever."

"Mm-hmm. I thought youd say that. My best friend Andrea was there, too, while I was there. You, however, know her as Anne."

Tom made a terrible noise in the back of his throat.

Oliver must have heard because he giggled, "And she said that you put bewitching on my glass because, and I quote her exact words, I am the "most wonderful person with the most perfect face", and then she prattled on about how red your face was, among other things, and-"

Tom made another noise, and rushed out "I'm so sorry Oliver, I know it was bold of me--"

"Oliver?" A female voice asked. She sounded far away, and quite young, at that, Tom couldnt help but wonder who she was.

A girlfriend? A female friend? His mother?

"Who are you talking to?" She sounded much nearer now. "Its 1 o'clock in the morning, my love."

Tom deduced she was either a very affectionate mother or his girlfriend. No fenale friend called their male friend "my love" for no reason.

Tom felt a cold stab of jealous shame low in his belly. Anne had gotten his hopes up, the incredible bitch. "I'm sorry, Oliver. I'll text you later, I've kept you up for long enough. You should get back to your girlfriend, and get back to sleep while you're at it." Tom couldnt believe he was rambling; Oliver brought out the worst in him, that was for sure.

"What? My what? Tom--" Oliver asked.

- Click -

Oh.

Tom hung up.

Well. There went that. Oliver had a girlfriend.

So why did Tom feel so crushed?

Oh, yes. That's right. He had a crush, so of course his little infatuation would crush him. It was in the name.

Tom's phone lit up, and the song Different as Can Be, his ringtone that Anne had set up for him, started playing. Without even glancing at the devices screen, he denied the call and shut the phone completely off. Oliver wouldnt, or rather, shouldnt, have anything more to say to him. Tom knew he didnt have anything to say to the other boy, so why should he bother answering a phone call?

Tom was exhausted. And he had to get up early the next morning to open up shop. 

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...10am the next morning...

Holy fuck Tom was l a t e

His phone was his alarm, and like a complete fucking dumbarse, Tom had shut his phone off the night before and didnt bother to turn the fucker back on.

He could have simply blocked Oliver's phone number, and yet.

Tom could well and truly throttle himself at his absolute stupidity, and he may or may not have tied his tie a tiny but tighter this morning as a result.

But, onward and upward. He had a business to run, no use fretting over more sleep. Anne had the key to the caffe, and today was Thursday, so she was, in fact, working this morning. Time to get to work.

Tom dressed, brushed his teeth, rinsed with mouthwash, and flossed evenly for good measure, before he brushed his hair out. He didnt have time to shower that morning, so styling his hair had to be a must that morning. After it was perfectly styled, he deemed himself ready for the day. Time to grab his wallet, his car keys, and--

Mreow

Oh, right. His cat, Professor Quirrell.

"I'm sorry, sweet boy. I nearly forgot all about you, didnt I?" Tom apologized to his cat. "Its just I'm late for work."

Mrrrow

"I know, being late is no excuse to not feed you. Let's get you breakfast, shall we?" Tom made his way to the kitchen, where his dearly beloved cat was sat at his spot at the kitchenette's small  table. "It's going to have to be cheap this morning, dear, I dont have time to cook for you. Or for me, for that matter. But I can at least get something at the shop. You, my poor little man," Tom scooped his small, slightly overweight black cat up in his arms, "would starve all day. And that's just not fair, is it?"

Brrrrw, Professor Quirrell agreed. Tom nodded, gently setting Professor Quirrell back down onto the table, before reaching up into a cabinet to get one of his special breakfast plates, and grabbed a can of wet cat food on a lower shelf. He popped the can open, grabbed a fork from the drawer, and gently divvied up his sweet Professor Quirrell's breakfast.

And, of course, Professor Quirrell, being an asshole, took one smell of it, and proceeded to bury it with invisible dirt, before he moved on to the "empty" dish of kibble. You see, it wasnt really empty, but just had a small empty patch in the middle. Tom fondly shook his head at the little bastard man, grabbed a small scoop of crunchies, and filled the dish back up.

Once Professor Quirrell started eating, Tom gently stroked down his back. "There. Now you wont starve." Tom stood, "I'll see you tonight, stinky boy. Behave."

Tom grabbed his keys and wallet, conveniently left at the door, before he called out, "No wild parties, Professor. You know the rules."

He locked his apartment door behind him and strolled down the stairs, before getting to his car, a yellow, 3-door Vauxhall Astra with a silver grill, parked conveniently at the kerb. Dont worry, there werent any double yellows anywhere in the vicinity, so it's not like he would get a parking ticket from the traffic warden. Tom was an exceptionally safe car owner. :)

(A/N: my british bestie helped me with all of that. Everything you just read in that last paragraph is factually correct and 100% certified true by him, an actual british person. The rest cannot be accounted for)

Arriving to work, however, was a completely different story. Several police cars sat out front, two with lights flashing.

Oh. Shit.

Tom parked hastily just down the block a bit, desperate to see what had happened to his caffe. He stepped inside, expecting a murder spree, blood on everything, only to find seven or so officers of the law sitting at the tables, nursing mugs of drinks, and at least four more queued up to order more beverages, and Anne, grinning evilly behind the register, who all turned toward him as he entered, with nothing else amiss in the shop.

"Er... Hello, officers. Working hard. Or hardly working?"

Oliver suddenly turned a corner from the back of the caffe, assumedly returning from the restrooms, when a tall brunet officer from the front of the caffe turned to him. "This the one, Oliver?"

His beautiful face and gorgeous curls, a perfect vision he was yesterday, wearing the same shiny boots and thigh bag as then, but instead of a yellow sweater and black pants, he was wearing rose print white jeans, yellow suspenders, and a form fitted white button up shirt. Such a lovely sight.

Tom! Control yourself! He has a girlfriend.

"Yes, Robert. This is Tom." Oliver puffed out his cheeks and crossed his arms over his chest, and Tom just felt even deeper infatuation with him.

(It couldnt possibly be love, oh no. Tom didnt do that.)

"That's all I need to hear. You're under arrest, Tom." The officer, Robert, pulled his handcuffs from his belt. "Hands behind your back please."

"What? What for?" Tom asked for the sake of his sanity. Of course, he still turned his back against the officer, hands behind him, but that was more out of courtesy and respect for the law than anything else.

Officer Robert came closer, snapping one cuff against his wrist, and pausing before doing up the other. "Why, for hanging up on sweet Oliver, of course. And then, for not answering any of his 17 phone calls after." And then he snapped the other cuff on.

Oliver had really gotten the police involved, just as he promised. The little tart!

Wait...

"Oh, but that wasnt the agreement." Tom started.

"Oh?" Officer Robert questioned. "Then what was the agreement?" Tom thought he heard a smug grin leaking through his voice.

"The agreement was I would call him, or Oliver would get the police involved. I did call him, so there are no reasons to arrest me, officer. I held up my end of the bargain." Tom smoothly talked.

"Why would you hang up on him, though? Have you ever spoken to him? You wont ever want to hang up." Another officer, presumably from the sitting crowd, asked.

"It was nearing 1am, officer. And I had to get to work early this morning."

"But here you are, at 11am. I don't count that as early, do any of you?" A woman asked. That voice... it wasnt Anne, and it sounded familiar...

"I turned my phone off last night. My phone is my alarm, so of course I didnt wake up at the right time." Tom explained.

"You didn't have to turn your phone off." Oliver said. He sounded grouchy, and Tom desperately wanted to see his Mr. Grouchy Face.

"You're right, I could have just blocked your number."

"You didnt have to do that, either!" There was a small k'thunk, very soon after that. Did Oliver just stomp his foot? How very childish, Tom couldnt help but chuckle at the mere thought.

"Oliver, it was late. I needed to sleep. You needed to sleep, your girlfriend needed to sleep, I dont understand why you're getting so upset with me for being responsible."

"I dont have a girlfriend!" Another k'thunk. "Gwen is a lesbian!"

"Hey, whoa now." The same female voice from earlier spoke up. "Let's not put any labels on anything, shall we? I prefer women, yes, that is true, but I would totally bang him too."

"You're just saying that because hes in handcuffs, Gwen."

"Can I be released now, please?" Tom asked, quite done with the uncomfortable cuffs. "Its obvious this is just a sham arrest."

Officer Robert cleared his throat. "Well, everything seems to check out, at least from what an eyewitness testimony states." Officer Robert quickly pulled the key from its place, "Dont let it happen again, however, young man. Next time, I wont be so lenient." And he unlocked the cuffs.

An entire five minutes and 15 seconds of being handcuffed, all because Oliver was a little pissy. Tom could already see himself dating this dramatic train wreck of a human.

"Thank you."

"Are we done now? I'm sure we ruined this poor man's business forever." Another officer spoke.

"Yeah, and now he knows Oliver can and will get the police involved in the future. I'm sure hes been scared enough for today."

Officers Robert and Gwen turned toward Oliver, as if asking if they were still needed. "Yeah, fine. Go away." Oliver said, suddenly sounding very tired. "Tom and I need to talk about a few things, and I know this is already going to spread around the precinct  like fiend fire."

The officers stood, bringing their empty mugs to the counter to be cleaned, and getting to-go paper cups for the road. Anne was a saint for making more carafes.

Speaking of...

Anne, who had been suspiciously silent the entire time, was standing behind the counter, elbows resting against it, grinning madly, looking exactly like the shark from that Pixar movie. Or the Cheshire cat. Maybe a mix of the two.

"Fish are friends, Anne." Tom told her.

"I'm going to give the two of you a moment," she said, still grinning her crazed grin. "I need to say goodbye to Gwen. Oliver, we have security cameras. If you murder him, I cant help you with anything, but I am planning on making some meat pies eventually." She winked, took her apron off and hung it on the hook behind the counter, before she too left the caffe.

Once the last officer left, making the comment about how good the coffee here was, Oliver grabbed Tom's wrist to get his attention. "Tom. I dont have a girlfriend. I'm living with Gwen. The couch is uncomfortable, and we're close enough that we can share the bed without it being weird. Is that really the reason why you hung up on me-why you turned your phone off and ignored me? Or was all this just. Some little mistake?"

"I apologize for making such a bold assumption. You just seem to bring out the worst in my behaviour. I apologize for that as well. Yes, it was because I believed you had a girlfriend. I may have developed a sort of. Infatuation, if you will, with you. And while I know that's not any grounds for anything to become of us, I couldnt help but feel." Tom paused and chewed his lower lip, averting his eyes. "Jealous. I want you to be mine, and just the thought of you being hers, well. It didn't settle well with me." He finished quietly.

Oliver, the sweet boy, giggled. Tom looked up at him. "How about this? I get your work schedule, come in whenever I can, I get a drink, you get a drink, we chat for a while, and see where this gets us? Maybe, possibly, going on some real dates in between?" If Tom had known better, he would know that Oliver was blatantly flirting.

"That sounds wonderful, Oliver. Thank you." Tom truly meant it, too.

[fluidsf]

Resonant Visions 1

공중도둑 (Mid-Air Thief): 무너지기 (Crumbling) (2018)

Album Cover by 신혜정

Reviewed format: Self-released Digital Album by 공중도둑 (Mid-Air Thief)

Welcome to the first in a new series of reviews on this blog focused on connecting graphic design, illustration, photography of music releases with the music contained within as well as reviewing both the artwork and music I select based on my personal taste. With this series I aim to showcase both quality release artwork as well as its effect on the perception of the music. Today I have for you this album by South Korean artist 공중도둑 (Mid-Air Thief) titled 무너지기 (Crumbling), this album was Self-released by 공중도둑 (Mid-Air Thief) in 2018. The download of this album features the Album Cover in good resolution as well as the 8 album tracks in 16-bit/44.1kHz CD quality audio, with total timing of 45 minutes. The Album Cover you can see above is by 신혜정 , I couldn't find any info on the artist online unfotunately with the name being very common in South Korea. The artwork has a very vintage kind of look to it, a grainy analogue photograph of a man fishing near the sea on a dark brown beach and with subdued blue sky conjurs up ideas of a retro sounding album of simple down to earth music. However the artist name and album title in multi-coloured silhouette like Korean characters in which the artist name is bended adds the element of Psychedelia to the vibe of the artwork, hinting at something subtly trippy inside. A really nicely minimal artwork design that puts the focus on the photograph but adds that spacey twist to the design with the character design. And indeed the album sounds quite like I imagined from looking closely to this cover, the music is K-folk with plenty of psychedelic elements in it, subdued vocals and a down to earth yet playful ambience to all the songs. Yet it's more experimental than I thought it'd be, so the character design's multi-colours do give away that there's in fact a lot of electronics and creative (lo-fi) effect experiments in the production of the songs and it's much trippier than I expected. So the album cover gives a good idea of the music but be ready to expect something quite different too.

Now onto the review of the actual songs on 무너지기 (Crumbling). The album's 8 tracks are mostly longer than an average folk song featuring expansive compositions in terms of vocal melodies and instrumental arrangements of the songs that often feature these curious and interesting psychedelic twists in their chord progressions as well as the aforementioned usage of synths, synth bass and sometimes electronic beats. This music has a very cinematic feel to it as well, with the story-telling through melodies and vocals (although I don't understand Korean unfortunately) combined with the many experimental details in the production as well as usage of a lot of shifting in the depth of the space the music is performed in, adding interesting acoustic effects to the music that put you as the listener inside the house (?) or room the music is performed in. First song 왜? (Why?) starts with some cool electronic filtered experimentation and then moves to the main part of the song. The male singer and female singer both sing in this warm tone over bright acoustic guitar. Apart from the musical content I especially like the lo-fi recording hiss and slightly fuzzy saturated sound the music on this album has, it gives it a great warm vintage sound (like the analogue photo on the cover) that still feels contemporary and authentic too however. On 왜? (Why?) the music moves from acoustic subtle parts to more intense synth layered fiery parts in which the vocals get accompanied by arpeggiated sharp high pitched synths and punchy compressed drums dancing around the room. A filter is also used to add interesting buildups in this piece created an ambience that subtly moves from bright to more subdued back again and the tuning of the synths is also different in the second half from the first which creates exciting new harmonies. The song feels pretty abstract in its melodies and rhythms too actually, this is catchy music but it's also more complex than your average folk song but if you keep vibing with this it definitely works. Then on 쇠사슬 (Ahhhh, These Chains!) we have a more acoustic oriented song which also features glockenspiel. The song moves in a waltz like tempo and features plenty of tinkling guitars through the stereo field, intense compressed drums punching through the mix pretty nicely as well as various synth elements creating a dense trippy atmosphere that is maybe a bit too maximalist to some people but I like this kind of excess, this is great. There's several great soloing on the acoustic guitar as well and a great instrumental outro part, really wild and fun Psychedelic Folk music. 감은 듯 (Gameun Deut) is a more conventional sounding K-folk song but it's definitely really fun with the dense sounding production almost drowning out the subtle male and female vocals but it works and the song feels full of joyful vibrant positive energy, the psychedelic harmonic twists and easy going Asian pop vocal melody styles feeling very pleasant and tasteful. The song also features a subdued musical / soundtrack like bridge part which sounds pretty old-school like from an old Korean drama film, very good. 곡선과 투과광 (Curve and Light) has a very cool funky sound to it with grooving drums, grinding (strings) bass and vibrant warm synths that also still sounds very Korean but with that pleasant hazy lo-fi filter over it and a quirky playful middle part which features only vocals and weird quirky synths as well as these cool mechanic clangs adding an unexpected Industrial element to the mix. This subtly moves to an intense second half with a half-step groove, flashing funky synths and jumpy electronic drums also featuring that nice Industrial clanging percussion. What is great about the vocals combined with the sometimes more fiery parts is that the male and female singer never really exaggerate their vocals but stay pretty calm singing them which adds a nice warm element of peace to the music, very nice. 함께 무너지기 (Crumbling Together) is the album's longest song at almost 10 minutes and it's exactly the right length. The songs moves into various directions melodically and arangement (and production) wise, the crumbling theme is put into music here through tinkling instruments, and the "broken" sound of the recording of the male vocals about two minutes into the song. This quite like a progressive Folk kind of song, subtly shifting progressing from ambience to more fully-fledged "crumbling" parts of tinkling and "falling" instrument clouds. Highlights in this song include the Middle Eastern strings at the start of the second half of the song as well as the sea field recordings added to the acoustic guitar and bell like instrument at the end, this sound directly feels like what the album cover looks like. 함께 무너지기 (Crumbling Together) feels like a great sweet subtle kind of story told through music moving into mysterious but also vibrant and rich directions but it all comes down to magical experiences in a calm place near the sea, peaceful living, that's what it feels like. 수호자 (Protector) is brighter and more explosive again, in a waltz like tempo the song features positive and "calmly excited" melodies and soothing vocals that then burst into explosive climaxes full of glistening synths, intense drums and bass as well as pleasant acoustic guitar as well. There are those sweet Middle Eastern strings here as well, this song feels quite a bit more Rock too, sweet piece. 흙 (Dirt) features some great trippy psychedelic melodies and synth twists and effects, male and female vocals and his this great kind of fairground twisted circus kind of vibe to it that the best of classic 60s psychedelic music has, very nice. It's very trippy and fun at times but also just as dynamic and varied in its progression and vocals as the other songs. Quite an experience. 무소식 (No Answer) continues the psychedelic theme from the previous song somewhat though with a less explosive sound, the song seems to continously build with a warm sweet atmosphere and some great synth and sound effects in the second half adding to the male and female vocals. The song does remind me a bit of MGMT in its sound actually, nice psychedelic folk kind of piece and a great closing song of this album, though at the end I wish there was more as it ends when you'd hoped it would continue, still a good song though.

무너지기 (Crumbling) by 공중도둑 (Mid-Air Thief) is an excellent South Korean Psychedelic Folk / Folktronica album with a sweet mellow but also often vibrant cinematic kind of peaceful introverted ambience. The songs are really well written and vocal and instrumental performances are great as well as the excellent top-notch productions. This is a great warm cozy but also adventurous listen of an album also for listeners who don't understand the lyrics and 신혜정's Album Cover matches the music rather well and is good invitation to listen. Recommended music for people looking for Korean folk music in a more independent, psychedelic minded direction with less of a mainstream / pop sound to it but sounding more local / experimental. Also definitely recommended for anyone looking for great independent music from Asia, this is one of my favourite reviewed releases of 2019 too. Recommended album.

Digital Album is available from the 공중도둑 (Mid-Air Thief) Bandcamp page here: https://midairthief.bandcamp.com/album/crumbling

[ivarthebonemearmy]

A Heart Can Only Be Broken Once ( part 5)

Part 1 

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Overall fic summary: I am always bad at those. But. OC gets raped (briefly mentioned, not very detailed but trigger warning nonetheless), and pushes Ivar away. Ivar cheats (or does he?) causing her to leave him. Ubbe sweeps in like the knight in shining armour he is, but to what extent will Ivar go to, to ensure Kari stays with him forever?

Chapter wordcount: 1538

Trigger Warnings: `mentions of rape, panic attacks, Ivar gets a bit dark, not very detailed mentions and descriptions/scenes of torture

A/N: I know it has been ages, and I am so sorry for that. Chapter 5 is up! I am guessing the fic is about halfway done, but I won’t make it certain as I have no idea where tf I am taking it. The move has been super stressful, hence I haven’t been updating. But. Here it is! I hope it does not disappoint! Are you team Ubbe or team Ivar? Feedback super encouraged and always welcome! 

Chapter 5

The world passed around me in a series of blurs and my bones ached from having laid in bed for the past week. There wasn’t an ounce of will to move, and I spent most days staring at the window and out onto the ever-changing sky outside. I watched its colours turn from black to blue to shades of amber and I wondered how could new days start as if nothing happened when my world felt like it has ended.

I prayed to the gods, begged them to help me understand the fate they gave me but all I received was silence. After a while, I stopped.

I thought back to every moment I spent with Ubbe and a pang of pain shot through my chest, making my heartbeat skip every time and with every thought of that night. His face, full of pain, exhaustion, and torment, the blood inking his porcelain skin flashed through my mind and brought fresh tears to my eyes but none would fall. I’ve cried all the tears I could cry.

Ivar came in every day. He’d slither his way across the wooden floor, same as I watched him do a thousand times before, pulled himself into the bed and held me close to his chest. He talked to me about anything and everything, from the food he had to the new battle plans.

“I’ll make you a Queen someday, my love,” he said one night. The whisper sent a shiver of fear down my spine, and it held an undertone of the craze that he had the night I found out about Ubbe. “We will rule the world, the gods will be proud and you and I will spend our eternity at the feasts in Valhalla when the time comes, for the both of us.”

The thought terrified me more than I would care to admit. I have long forgotten about what led me to this point, the men who touched me, who took away any amount of dignity I had. I knew Ivar had found them, and they were long dead or at least in the depths of rotten cells, awaiting Ivar’s famous torture plays.

Even though he visited every day, he never stayed long. Just long enough to pretend that I have never left that day, and nothing has changed.

The sudden knock on the window by my bed startled me out of my thoughts. It was frantic and desperate. I clambered out of the bed and followed the noise. The only light in the room was from the full moon hanging across the raven sky, and I couldn’t see anything outside.

As I opened the window, the harsh air pricked my skin, covering me with goosebumps. “Hello?” I asked softly, too scared of the men guarding my door.

“I don’t have much time,” whispered a voice. “I want you to come with me.”

“Ubbe?” I reached out, terrified that I was imagining his voice. The voice I thought I’d never get to hear again.

His hand clasped around mine. “Yes, Kari it’s me,” he said. My body washed with relief. “Will you come with me?”

I nodded frantically even though he couldn’t see me. “Yes.”

He gave my hand a tight squeeze. “In a week, the same time as now, I will be here. Be ready.”

“I…”

“There’s no time. I will be back,” he said. “Until then, I need you to stay safe, do whatever he asks you to do, Kari.”

The door outside creaked slowly and before I could reply, Ubbe was gone and the only thing I faced was the icy breeze that blew gently across my face.

“What’s my love doing by the window, hmm?” He asked. I heard the floorboards creaked behind me as the all familiar sound of Ivar’s movements echoed across the room. “You’ll catch a cold.”

With every ounce of will I could muster, I painted on a smile, forcing my features to stretch out across my face. Turning around to face him, I watched his face contort into one of surprise though it came as quickly as it went. He took me in for a second, his eyes hungrily drinking in my nightgown, lingering on my chest.

“I just needed a bit of fresh air is all,” I said, before making my way back to bed. I lifted half of the covers and held them up. “Well, are you going to join me?”

My heart hammered against my rib cage as I watched him eagerly crawl up to the bed. I knew I had to do it, play nice so he lets off his guard. Play nice. Play nice. Play nice.

As he turned around to face me, he traced my face with his fingertips, watching the line his finger made. “I love you, Kari, so much so that if any man, or death itself, tries to rip you from me, I will rip the throat out of the man and I will tear the doors of Valhalla open and bring you back to me.”

Once upon a time, those words would bring and tangle our bodies together. We’d make love for hours, and I’d watch his face form into one of pleasure, adoration, and love and beg the gods to etch it into my entire memory so everything else will cease to exist. Once upon a time, those words were ones I craved to hear, no matter when and where. That was all before. Now, they make me feel sick.

I took a deep breath and looked into his eyes, hoping and praying that neither my voice or my eyes would betray the turmoil and revolution I felt buzzing inside me. Instead, I focused on the hope that Ubbe’s voice and promise have me and hoped it would be enough. He’s alive. “I love you too, Ivar.”

He seemed content with my answer as he leaned his lips to close on mine. It was the softest kiss I’ve ever received from him, yet it felt like spikes poked at my lips and the taste was bitter and foul. Just as I was about to pull away, Ubbe’s face and plan flashed in my mind. Play nice.

————

The rumours of Ubbe’s sudden disappearance seemed to linger across the yards, and they were written across the hard stares everyone kept throwing as I walked past. People greeted me nonetheless, some forcefully, some genuinely and some nonchalantly. I didn’t particularly care for any of them.

The rumours vary, some say he ran off to marry a slave girl, some say he died, some were right in their rumours and some thought he simply went away on a raid of his own. The fact I wasn’t seen for a week added more suspicion and puzzle pieces for the conversations.

I picked up some fresh fruit and clothes, carrying out some chores along the way before making my way to the main hall. I needed to make the plan work.

The hall was full of men. The wooden table, filled with as much food as the eye could see, stood right in the center. All around it were round-bellied men, most of which were old Vikings, drunk off of their beverages.

Right at the top was Ivar, his left hand was resting gently on his chin and lips, as he watched and studied everyone. Being with him for so long, I knew he was contemplating everyone’s moves, mannerisms and finding their weaknesses. Looking at him from afar, he reminds me of a hawk, watching and waiting for its prey.

As the men began to notice me entering, some began to throw me hungry stares. Ivar’s eyes followed the men’s attention and fell on me they softened slightly but turned hard when he noticed the stares that lingered on me from around the room.

A man reached out to grab my butt, but before his hand touched me Ivar’s voice hushed the room. “She’s mine,” was all he said. The men went ashen at the tone of his voice, low and laced with menace.

I walked over to him, and his eyes fell on me, watching my every move. I threw him a slow smile, and his eyes immediately softened. For a second, I felt a pang if the love I used to have for this man before everything came tumbling back into the flashbacks.

His other brother Hvitserk sat to the right of him and he watched our exchange, amused. I never got too close to Hvitserk, he never really talked much to anyone outside of his immediate family.

As I stood before Ivar, he pulled me in and sat me on his lap. His hands held my waist protectively and his lips searched for my neck, kissing it and biting it, leaving a mark. I leaned into his touch, closed my eyes and tried not to flinch away or tense up.

The hall was still quiet, but as his lips let go of my flesh, the noise picked up again and went back to the rowdiness it held before. Ivar breathed me in, running his nose across my throat, occasionally nibbling at it gently. “Mine,” he whispered. “Forever, only mine.”

Play nice.

@titty-teetee

@vikingsmania

@amelia1998

[blaineandsamevanderson]

Title: Nailed It! Chapter 1

Author: @blaineandsamevanderson

Fandom: Teen Wolf

Ship: Thiam

Rating: PG-13

Summary: The Nailed It! AU no one asked for.  Liam is a contestant, Theo is a guest judge….

**

**

“Welcome to Nailed It! The baking show based on the internet phenomenon where ordinary people try to recreate masterpieces...but don’t always get there.  I’m Nicole Byer, along with chocolate boss Jacques Torres and today’s special guest, scrumptious treat Theo Raeken.  Today three home bakers will recreate epic, magical desserts over two rounds of competition.  One of them will walk away with $10,000!  Let’s meet our bakers!” Nicole announced, standing in the Nailed It kitchen with Jacques and Theo.

The scene shifted to show a young man running across a lacrosse field before transitioning to him in a kitchen.  “Hi, I’m Liam,” he introduces himself as a title card identifies him as Liam Dunbar - Student/Lacrosse player at UC Berkeley.  There are various hots of him baking (with varying degrees of success) and being teased by his friends about it.  “I started baking with my mom when I was in high school cuz it helps me relax...plus, there’s food at the end and I’ll eat anything, so...win win no matter what!  I wanna prove to my friends Mason and Corey that my cakes are edible...no one's broken a tooth in years!”

A beautiful redhead appears on screen next.  “Baking is simply science,” she notes as the scroll names her Lydia Martin- Noted Theoretical Physicist.  “Sometimes, after a long day of unlocking unknown secrets of the universe, it’s nice to come home and unwind in the kitchen.”  There’s a brief montage that shows he baking several nice looking cakes.

The final contestant stares at the camera with dark eyes and an annoyed expression.  “Derek,” he grumbles, unaware that the screen identifies him as Derek Hale - Grumpy Cat Doppelgänger?.  There are a bunch of shots of him glaring at half cooked or charred cookies.  “I lost a bet.”

The door at the far end of the studio kitchen slides open, admitting the three bakers.  “Hey guys!” Nicole greeted them enthusiastically.  “Welcome to Season 2 of Nailed It! You guys ready to bake?”

The three contestants nodded with varying levels of enthusiasm.  

“Today we’re celebrating all things sexy.  With me, as always, our head judge, as hot as chili pepper chocolate, Jacques Torres.”

The man in chefs whites smiled. “Nicole, I love you, I’m so glad to be back.  Hello, Bakers, bonjour.”

“Today’s guest judge might have abs that say he’s never eaten a cake, but rumor has it he’s got a sweet tooth.  You might know him from billboards, runway shows and television...Theo Raeken,” Nicole continued, indicating the handsome young man on her other side.  “Wow...I just want to stare at you for a bit.”

A bright smile crossed Theo’s face and he wrapped his arms around Nicole in a warm hug as he smiled at the bakers.  “Hey guys.  Can’t wait to taste what you come up with!”

Playfully fanning herself after the hug, Nicole faced the bakers. “There’s a special prize for the winner of this round: Baker’s Choice!  Behind door number 1, there are 3 sexy ass treats.  You get to choose which one you want to nail.  If you’re trying to impress someone on a first date or even get a little action, nothing gets the party started like these...Erotic baked goods!” The doors opened to reveal three small cakes.  “Three perfectly formed, nearly anatomically correct cakes are yours for the taking.  Each of you must choose one to recreate.  First we have a Bootiful Bottom...next Bountiful Bosoms...and finally a rather impressive example of baked manhood.  Grab your favorite!”

**

Of course he’d wind up with the dick, Liam thought with a sigh.  Lydia had darted in, surprisingly fast on her high heels, and grabbed the ass cake, leaving him and Derek to choose between the Boobs and dick.  Longer arms had won out and Derek retreated to his kitchen with the boobs.  Not that he had an issue with the cake, he just thought the other two looked like they’d be an easier bake.

He consulted the iPad mounted in his kitchen, reading the recipe and nodding.  It seemed like a fairly standard cake recipe, the shape of it coming from carving out the cake, so he’d have to make sure his bake was on point.  He could hear Lydia clicking around her kitchen, then the whir of a mixer from Derek’s and scrambled into action.

**

“Have you ever made erotic baked goods, Jacques?

The chef laughed.  “This is a first for me, Nicole!  It’s not often I get to say that after so many years in this business.”

She turned to Theo and teased, “Is there any tasty treat you’re especially eager to try.”

Theo’s eyes twinkled and he gave a nod toward Liam’s kitchen. “I have to say, I’m kinda interested to get my mouth on Liam’s cock...cake.”

**

It totally wasn’t Liam’s fault when he dropped a pan.  Thank god it was empty, but how could they expect him to focus when Theo Raeken was saying things like that?  Okay, so there was no way the show could know Theo had been Liam’s first celebrity crush that made him realize he wasn’t 100% straight, but still!

The man was clearly a menace!

Cakes safe in the oven, Liam went to make his buttercream, trying to ignore the sexy distraction at the judges table.

**

“Uh oh...Derek’s putting his butter in the microwave.”

“That’s a mistake.  The consistency will be too loose.  Oily.”

“I think Lydia’s skipping the buttercream all together in favor of a ganache.”

“I’m not a fan of ganache. If I’m eating a cake, I want frosting.”

**

Crap.  The cake was a little under done, Liam was pretty sure of that, but he had to get it frosted.  Not focusing on shape yet, he made a rough attempt at the shape of the cake before jamming it in the blast chiller.

The only reason he wasn’t panicking was that the others seemed to be at a similar stage.

Ripping it out of the chiller, Liam hurried back to his counter and began carving the shape of the cake.  

**

“This is a tight race. Everyone’s on the decorating stage with 5 minutes left.”

“I’ve seen some good skills and a few questionable choices.”

“Everyone seems to have some impressive skills...certainly better in the kitchen than me.  I especially appreciate Liam’s handling of his cake.  Impressive.”

**

When the first round came to a close, Liam found himself standing by Lydia and Derek, each of them covering their cakes before the reveal.

Nicole looked to Derek first.  “Okay, Derek, you were trying to nail a tremendous ta ta cake!  Let’s take a final look at the example.”  Everyone looked at the impressive cake before turning back to Derek.

With a sigh, he lifted the lid off of his cake.  There was a beat of silence before he grumped, “Nailed it.”

The cake kinda looked like boobs.  Sure, they were a little misshapen and different sizes, the fondant not really smooth but it was the nipples that were really odd.  Liam felt a small stab of hope that maybe his cake wouldn’t be the worst.

“Okay,” Nicole said, tilting her head to the side.  “Okay, they kinda look like boobs.  I can see it.”

Jacques nodded.  “If your buttercream had set right, it would have provided a smoother base for the fondant.  Next time, no microwave!”

“I mean, I’d eat it, but it looks like you airbrushed off the nipples and just left the areolas,” Theo said as they approached and sampled the cake.

They seemed to like the taste of the cake though and then moved on to Lydia.

Her cake actually looked like the example, not perfect, but really close.  Everyone was impressed and the only complaint anyone had was that it was slightly dry.

When Liam pulled the cover off his cake, he blurted, “Nailed it!”

Because why not?

The judges were quiet for a moment and then Nicole said, “It kinda looks like the example, cake, so, props for that.”

“Yes, your carving was quite well done,” Jacques added.  “Have you ever worked with fondant before?”

“No,” Liam admitted, eyes darting over to Theo who was approaching.

“The fondant’s cracked right at the tip and the buttercream is leaking out,” the man said with a smile, swiping a finger through the escaping frosting and then sucking it clean.  “Mmm, your cream is tasty.”

“This isn’t that kind of show, boys!” Nicole said and Liam barely heard their praise of the cake’s flavor.  He did have to admit that bits were undercooked.

Lydia won the Golden baking hat and Liam wasn’t entirely surprised to discover he was at the bottom of the pile.  He resolved himself to at least beat Derek in round 2.

TBC....

[shaizstern]

Article from NYT: Five-Minute Coronavirus Stress Resets

How to get unstuck from your anxiety.

By Jenny Taitz • Illustrations by Rozalina Burkova

In this emotional equivalent to an ultramarathon, it’s key to have some stress-reducing strategies available that work quickly and efficiently to help you hit the reset button.

Here’s why: Struggling with chronic worry gets in the way of effectively managing your emotions. Unfortunately, many people who experience distress try to escape their unpleasant emotions by distracting themselves in ways that ultimately backfire.

If you suspect you might be one of them, ask yourself whether you have a tendency to judge your emotions — it’s a common thing to do. But it can fuel a vicious loop of feeling, then avoiding the feelings and feeling even worse. Pushing away feelings is like trying to force a beach ball underwater: They will pop back up. Instead, notice and normalize difficult emotions; ideally, negative feelings, including fear, can motivate us to solve problems.

So rather than dealing with anxiety and uncertainty by getting lost worrying, then chasing short-term fixes with longer-term consequences, like procrastinating, using food or marijuana to cope or relying on benzodiazepines — the anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax — it’s helpful to experiment with quick strategies that will empower you. These strategies are not necessarily a cure, but can help lower the intensity of overwhelming emotions, allowing you to recalibrate to better deal with challenges you face.

My patients often reflect that an additional perk of strategic coping is boosting your sense of mastery — the hope that arises when you stretch yourself and accomplish something difficult, like coping with your anxiety in a productive way.

Try Music Medicine

Focusing on relaxing sounds reduces stress. In research spearheaded by Dr. Veena Graff, an assistant professor in the department of anesthesiology and critical care at the University of Pennsylvania, preoperative patients were assigned either to music medicine — listening to Marconi Union’s “Weightless” — or prescribed a benzodiazepine. Remarkably, serene music proved nearly as effective in easing patients’ jitters as the medication option, with no side effects.

To honor your unique taste, explore different options and create a playlist that you find comforting when you need a break. Keep in mind that although it can seem cathartic to hear songs that validate your emotions (for example, listening to lyrics about heartache while feeling lonely), research on inducing varying mood states concludes that we can improve our experience with a more uplifting soundtrack. “Music can lift us out of depression or move us to tears — it is a remedy, a tonic, orange juice for the ear,” as Dr. Oliver Sacks wrote in “Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain.”

Cool Off

Marsha Linehan, a professor emeritus in psychology at the University of Washington, popularized an exercise in dialectical behavior therapy to regulate intense emotions that involves immediately lowering your body temperature by creating a mini plunge pool for your face. This sounds odd, but it activates your body’s dive response, a reflex that happens when you cool your nostrils while holding your breath, dampening your physiological and emotional intensity.

To do it, fill a large bowl with ice water, set a timer for 15 to 30 seconds, take a deep breath and hold your breath while dipping your face into the water. While this isn’t conventionally relaxing, it will slow your heart rate, allowing blood to flow more easily to your brain. I love watching my clients try this over our telehealth calls and seeing firsthand how quickly this shifts their perspective. Just being willing to do this, I tell my clients as they prepare to submerge, is a way to practice being flexible.

Pace Your Breathing

One of my favorite ideas that never fails to fill me with gratitude, no matter what else is happening, comes from the mindfulness expert Jon Kabat-Zinn, who likes to say, “As long as you are breathing, there is more right with you than wrong with you.” In “The Healing Power of the Breath,” Drs. Richard Brown and Patricia Gerbarg offer a range of exercises to promote resilience. One of my favorites: Slow your breathing down to six breaths a minute by consciously inhaling and exhaling (to practice this timing, you can use a secondhand and inhale for five seconds, exhale for five seconds, and repeat four times, or try a guided recording). Paced breathing offers a host of physiological benefits, like reducing your blood pressure, which helps promote a sense of tranquillity. When people tell me it feels challenging to breathe in a certain way when they feel panicked, I tell them to start with alternative soothing activities, like music, and work their way up to paced breathing.

Practice ‘Anchoring’

Another way to stay present rather than spin into a crisis is to notice if you are engaged in thinking that isn’t helping you. Our interpretations of events supercharge the intensity of our emotions. After all, anticipating, “This will go on for years!” in a moment of anguish will only inspire more hopelessness. But mindfulness, or learning to see more clearly as opposed to jumping to conclusions, is a nice remedy for anxiety. One brief way to enter the moment is known as “anchoring,” a popular strategy.

Start by physically centering yourself by digging your heels into the floor — this evokes a feeling of being grounded in reality. Then take a moment to observe: What am I thinking? Feeling in my body? Doing? Then ask yourself: Is my response: A) Helpful? B) Aligned with my values now? Or C) Related to future worries or a past problem? While we can get stuck in specific thoughts, stepping back to more generally decide if those thoughts are helpful can get us out of rumination mode. It may also help to tape a list of these prompts on your computer to remember to take a step back and refocus when your thoughts are only making things worse.

Hyperventilate

If you struggle with physical sensations of anxiety, like muscle tension and feeling like you can’t get enough air, a counterintuitive yet important way to manage is to practice bringing on those sensations in more quiet moments to improve how you tolerate stressful ones.

Learning to repeatedly welcome physical symptoms allows you to stop seeing them as catastrophic. In a recent therapy group I led on Zoom, my clients prepared to try this by ordering thin coffee straws. I set my timer for a minute as they pinched their noses and tried to breathe only through the straw.

We also worked on replicating the other sensations they associated with fear, like muscle tension, dizziness and shortness of breath. We held a plank, spun in circles and ran in place. Some people were surprised that the practice experience was worse than the anxiety they normally felt. Others found it was similar, which felt liberating — they didn’t have to wait for the feelings to catch them off guard — and instead could purposefully habituate themselves to them.

Recently, at the end of a long day of video calls with patients, my 5-year-old daughter asked, “When will the germs go away?” After removing my 3-year-old’s sneaker from my 1-year-old’s mouth, I saw a request from a client about an urgent check-in. I practiced paced breathing and pulled up our nightly dance party playlist (by request: Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling”) before discussing my daughter’s feelings and returning to work.

Now I hope you create your own plan with the strategies above. By practicing managing your emotions, you’ll experience a sense of freedom in your life. I don’t know about you, but I’d chase that over any mindless short-term alternative.

Original Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/06/well/mind/five-minute-coronavirus-stress-resets.html?searchResultPosition=1

[dapperkobold]

Warframe: Quick Equip Guide (MR 9)

Having recently hit MR 9 in Warframe, I’ve used quite a number of frames and weapons, not all of which are equal. Warframe could likely spend an entire major update dedicated to re-balancing and still be adorably imbalanced. So, if anyone does read my review and decides to pick up the game, here’s what I’ve ranked to max and whether I think it’s worth messing with.

There ARE bad weapons in Warframe. But, as I went over in my musings on the Gorgon, I don’t think that a weapon is bad just because it’s a little funky. A weapon must instead make the price of fixing the funkiness too high or even completely impossible. So, I’m going to rate the equipment here in terms of the FUN I had.

Great is the best, Fun is that I had fun but it’s nothing amazing, Okay is pretty neutral, Meh is that I disliked it a little and Bad is that I honestly do think it’s a bad weapon (And likely not worth your time)

Now, I didn’t get all these entirely through gameplay, I admit, so it’s possible that grinding for some of these will make it not worth it, but I figure I might was well mention all of them. How much fun does a slot and doubled mod capacity translate to?

ATTENTION: There have been some updates since this list was made! Some MR requirements have changed (some things may be harder to use to replace your starting gun now) and a lot of things have received buffs (including the gorgon, go figure) so some of the details listed my be inaccurate, but the overall thoughts should still be the same.

Warframes

Excalibur: A solid starter choice, but after getting enough mods that you can use the fourth ability on a regular basis there’s little need for anything else. However, if you chose a different starter you may have something more solid by the time you get to where you can unlock Excalibur. Fun.

Frost Prime: Frost in general seems like a must-have on the Warframe lineup. Freeze has limited usage, but all his other powers have solid niches and the Snow Globe is honestly as good as people say it is. Frost is the difference between a easy excavation mission and a long, stressful excavation mission. Great.

Ivara: Completely cheeses spy missions. Even if Ivara’s powers were just her four quiver arrows, I wouldn’t be too disappointed. In addition, her innate radar is the kind of thing you don’t know you need until you have it. Her pickpocketing, stealth, and Artemis Bow is just icing. Also, using navigator with arrows is fun. Using navigator with high explosives is hilarious. Great.

Limbo: Not for the faint of temperment, Limbo is the kind of Warframe that rewards practice and investment exponentially. Good powers, unique mechanics, some amount of innate energy management, put a reactor on this bad boy, look up some guides, and be a warrior from outside space and time. Great.

Mesa: Bullet bullet gun, my biggest hurdle with her has been ability duration. Keep in mind she’s a bit of a glass cannon, but other than that she’s a great frame. Fun.

Nezha: A frame I have very little experience with, but I think there’s some good times on the horizon. Abilities are a unique mix that are delightful, a mix of support and damage. He’ll take a little getting used to (and a clan to get the blueprints from) but if you want to try the fire boy out I say go for it! Fun.

Nidus: Hooboy, this guy deserves his spot as maybe one of the most OP Frames in the game. Four really good powers, innate energy management, high health and regeneration, this guy has it all. And it’s not just that he’s OP, but he’s also honestly fun to play. A challenge? Maybe not so much, but when the chips are down there’s few situations where you don’t want Nidus. Great.

Rhino: Here’s one situation where I can tell that it’s my personal taste shaping my opinion more than actual fact. This man is a train, his ability set is really good, his survivability is really good, and I just don’t like him as much for some reason I’m not sure of. I put him at Okay, but a mix of his early-game location and solid ability means that he’s definitely worth picking up when you’re starting out.

Trinity: Welcome to Warframe: the medic heals people by killing people. Really, Trinity is a good frame with good abilities that can be effective solo as much as in a group. The only problem is that she’s kind of ugly. Stick to less saturated colors, and if you feel serious grab the Strega skin. Great.

Primary Weapons:

Attica: Not a lot to say. It was fairly effective, even if the projectile drop was annoying, but I didn’t feel a need to keep it around. Technically automatic fire, but slow enough that it didn’t work very well. Okay.

Dex Sybaris: As someone with a slightly irrational disliking for burst weapons, the fact that I like Dex Sybaris at all says a lot. It’s a fine precision weapon and likely the best Warframe anniversary present item. Great.

Dread: The Stalker’s pointy-stick-launcher is really good. It’s silent, has no projectile drop, good stats, and it’s easier to get than any prime weapon. The only downside is that it’s impossible to make it look good in any color scheme other than the default one. Great.

Gorgon: I wrote an entire ramble about this The spool-up time is too long, the ammo economy is too bad, and the kick is just too strong to use. Bad.

Grakata: I picked this up as a replacement for my starter gun and it was pretty good. Fun.

Hek: By default it’s a good shotgun with low magazine size. Okay. With the syndicate mod it does hilarious amounts of damage, effectively becoming a cone weapon, and is one of the best shotguns in the game. Great.

Hema: Eh, the mechanics of this weapon really are more important than the sheer damage or the fact it’s a burst weapon. You reload, you lose health. You score headshots, you get health. As long as you can score enough headshots you will be fine, but at that point it’s a little easy. Fun.

Ignis Wraith: A terrifyingly effective flamethrower, currently my go-to weapon for when I’m being serious. Not sure where to get it anymore, I admit. Great if you can get it.

Karak: A solid grineer assault rifle. Might be a good option to swap out your starter weapon for, but I could feel it falling behind at higher levels. Okay.

Latron: A fairly rapid fire precision weapon. Not glamorous, but it’s cheap and it works. Fun.

Miter: It fires giant spinning sawblades. What more do you want? When charged it punches through thin walls. When not charged it can bounce off of things. The wide projectile can score multiple kills per shot. It’s odd to get used to, but it’s still big fun. Great.

Penta: Now, explosives in this game are kind of touchy. You take full self-damage, so if you’re not careful they can end you FAST. But the Penta, see, only explodes when you tell it to. This makes it either a really good grenade launcher or (with the right mod) a sticky bomb launcher. Use with Ivara for maximum shenanigans. Great.

Rubico: Since the recent sniper re-work, sniper weapons in general have been good. Nothing really stands out about the Rubico, it’s just effective. Fun.

Soma Prime: Well, it’s not the most complex of weapons, but it is without a doubt brutally efficient. Sometimes you just want to shoot someone in the face with lots of bullets. Great.

Supra: Eh, the sheer amount of bullets may not be as impressive as soma prime, but it still works. Personally I’m experimenting on the viability of it as a status weapon using the syndicate mod, but even just in terms of sheer bullets it works well. Fun.

Vectis: Has become my favorite sniper rifle. Sure, there’s fine details that could be argued over, but who cares? It feels less like a one-shot rifle and more like it has a bottomless magazine. Maybe it just makes me nostalgic for shooters before clip mechanics, but I enjoy it a lot and it works well. Great.

Vulkar: Another sniper Rifle, works well. It seems strange to me to have a status-focused sniper rifle, since if the status matters the target didn’t die in one hit, the entire point of sniper rifles. Eh, whatever. Fun.

Secondary Weapons

Cestra: This was mentioned in the Gorgon post, it has a spool-up time and lackluster stats but I like it. Fun. Maybe don’t stick with it, but level it up on the way to the Dual Cestra.

Dex Furis: Eh. It’s a wonderful early-game weapon, no doubt, but I didn’t keep it around. Get it free, especially if you’re new to the game, and use it until you get something that fills the same niche but better. Meh.

Dual Cestra: It’s the Cestra. But better. And it’s still Fun.

Lex: Let’s not mince words: the starter secondary weapons are bad. Buy a Lex as soon as you can and love it. It’s a quality precision weapon, and solid enough to keep you company into the endgame. Great.

Mk-1 Kunai: Speak of the devil and you will find in on your hip. I know that the proper Kunai has better stats, but the Mk-1 rubbed me the wrong way enough that I have no intent of getting the full version. The way that you throw means that the trajectory varies, when standing behind cover about half the shots will hit the cover, the arcing is just a bother (I have a far better time shooting people out of cover with hitscan weapons than arcing ones) and even the full version does not have stats to make up for all this. Bad.

Stug: This is a very nice weapon. It fires globs of corrosive goo that deal damage over time and then explode. It can be fired full-auto or charged with the secondary fire, and it’s never done self-damage to me. Is it a gimmick weapon? Very much so! But you know what? It’s a gimmick weapon that works. Level it, upgrade it, love it. Great.

Talons: This is what it takes for me to forgive the wonky throwing on the Kunai! They’re bombs that stick where you hit and you can detonate them whenever you want. They’re effective and reliable. Use with Ivara for more laughs. Great.

Twin Grakatas: They do large amounts of damage very, very fast. It’s just that simple. I can’t fault their effectiveness, but I can fault their ammo economy. If you have a keen eye for sheer damage output, you’ll like these, but I find myself keeping these on the backburner more and more. Fun.

Twin Gremlins: Eh... they work. if you’re farming for the Miter or Trinity you’ll likely get the blurprints so there’s no reason to avoid them, but they just don’t catch my attention like other weapons do. Others have plenty of good to say, so maybe you’ll appreciate them more. Okay.

Melee Weapons

Dex Dakra: I lucked out and got these to replace my starter weapon, and they work fine for that! I don’t feel much need to go back to them, but hey. Fun.

Furax: Oh cripes the Furax. I only leveled these things because they were a component for the Knux and part of me wishes I didn’t. They’re supposed to be like power fists, but the low damage, slow speed, short range, and bad sound effects make them feel like they’re specifically taking power from your strikes instead of adding it. I’m not touching these again until someone goes in and turns the batteries around. Bad.

Galatine: giant sword is giant and also effective. It really is that easy! Fun!

Heat Sword: I don’t know how to get this to do heat damage. Slam attack or something? I don’t care, you get it free from an early quest but don’t expect to get a lot out of it. Bad.

Hirudo: Okay, THIS makes you feel awesome. Punch and kick your enemy into oblivion, do good damage, and get healing every time you crit. It’s not as good as it sounds, it’s BETTER. It’s tons of fun and is hilarious to use with a cape to make you look like some kind of anime character. Great.

Lacera: Ooh, this one is hit and miss with me. I don’t like the whip-sword animations, but as a status weapon it’s second to none. I’d say to try it out if you have a chance. If you like the animations and stances you’re likely to have a great time, but for me I keep it around in case I ever expect to need to strip armor. Fun.

Lecta: Eh, it works and has a fine status chance. Not a lot to say, really. If anything it’s told me I like the whip animations so I should consider buying a better whip. Okay.

Mk-1 Bo: the only starter weapon I enjoyed leveling up, but mainly because I didn’t have any other options. Literally, I got this thing to 30 before I got a second melee weapon. Now that I have options I just don’t care. Meh.

Scindo Prime: It’s a really good axe! Big, too! Brutal but effective! I even use the Manticore skin. That lowers its swing speed but increases its damage, and I almost never swing it more than once in a row anyway so I’ll happily take it! Great.

Companions

Taxon (and Artax): Taxon is basically your starter sentinel, and you know what? I like it. It’s a good one. It improves your shield and slows down your enemies. Fun.

Helminth Charger: Whooos a good abmonination against nature? Who’s a good girl? It you! Do you want to go knock over some enemies? You do, don’t ya! You can run them right over! Or you can impale them and drag them to you! I see you impale an enemy, and I say to myself, ‘that enemy is so dead!’ You’re so good at what you do! You’re a good puppy you are!!!!!!!! Great.

Other Notes

Arcwing stuff... I just haven’t leveled any to 30. that said, I have decided that I don’t like the default weapons. If you’re like me and don’t like the Arcwing default weapons, get a clan, go to the chem lab, and grab the Grattler and the Knux. Near as I can tell they’re the only arcwing weapons you don’t need to jump through syndicate hoops to get.

Also I never leveled up the Mk-1 Braton I didn’t like it. 

Currently in progress I have Octavia (who is looking fun, if a bit gimmicky), the Argonak (Which is looking like a good marksman rifle/assault rifle), the Lex Prime (which is overkill in most situations and almost overkill in the rest of them), and the Azima (which even without the gimmick is a solid full-auto pistol.)