#even if a few designs are a little goofy but they are dolls that came to life so like you know

[elisedonut]

I'm always like man i hate making ocs but i also want to make a visual novel one day and that's only become more true now that I write

so like i'll have to learn how one day

like i mean i know technically how to like ive made four characters

its just do i give a fuck about them thats problem because the answer is no i'm a bad mother

i just can't bring myself to care about them enough to like do anything with them

so they are useless to me as they are now

[marmie-noir]

Cabaret, Confessions, and Curses

TW: Smut, swearing, Mitch Keller being dressed up and looking good. Per usual no proof read so forgive any silly goofy things pls!

It felt like yesterday when we finally had claimed our peace. There had been a lot of work to do after but it had been so worth it. Every project came with it’s own reward, every long day ending with the knowledge that we were working towards our future. Which, most importantly, was about us being together. 

Since the shootout Mitch had been hesitant to let me out of his sight for a bit. I couldn’t tease him, I’d been the same. We’d been glued at the hip for weeks, the two of us doing everything together from meeting with contractors to approving interior design choices, to filling out paperwork to file with the state to make everything look crystal clean as far as the government was concerned. 

We had our fun too, weekends away and time away from the bar. Pops had harassed us enough to get out of the house and go ‘be young people’, the two of us going to a music festival a few towns over and getting drunk on cheap wine, dancing under the stars with a field full of other people. It was all like a dream, and it had all come down to this. 

I looked at myself in the mirror once more, fingers fiddling with the necklace I had picked. I heard Ann huff next to me and I glanced over with a little frown. “You look perfect, Sunny! C’mon!” She said, grinning at me. 

“You didn’t see Mitch before he left.” I muttered, reaching down to smooth the skirt of my dress. I’d picked something pretty, the cut of the front lower than I normally preferred, the back of it too, but when I’d seen it in the shop last time Ann dragged me out shopping I had wanted it. It was a pretty shade of green that looked nice against my skin and with my hair, making my eyes pop too after Ann had done her voodoo girl magic to make them seem more vibrant. One day I’d have her teach me, but for now I enjoyed having her handle it, the bonding experience something I’d never had with someone else. 

Mitch had left hours ago, getting all dressed up himself in a Western style shirt and a nice pair of jeans, even had a new pair of boots he’d prepped and waxed before going out. I’d practically drooled when he’d come to give me a kiss goodbye. “Come in a few hours, spend some time with Ann, get all dolled up. I’ll handle all the bullshit that always goes wrong on the first night of opening, darlin’. You just enjoy yourself. You’ve earned it.” He’d said, not letting me drag him to the bedroom for a quickie with how good he’d looked. It’d been half touched, half frustrated. 

“And he’s gonna sing tonight.” I said, giving a little spin in my mirror, looking at the way the skirts shifted as I moved. I looked good, really good. “Ann, it’s disgustingly unfair how hot he is.” “Girl, are we looking in the same mirror?” Ann asked, stopping next to me, meeting my eyes in the mirror. “You are looking so fine right now, don’t even. C’mon, get your cute butt into gear, we gotta go see your man. And I wanna check out my new job.” As promised all the employees from Bred-2-Buck would still be employed. But Mitch had been very firm when he’d told everyone that tonight they wouldn’t not be working, they would be enjoying the new place. Even Charlie had accepted, and I was looking forward to seeing the old man show up in his Sunday best. 

Ann drove us to the bar and we didn’t have any issues finding parking, seeing as there was employee parking in a well lit part of the new parking lot, Mitch having that be part of the changes. Safety for his employees. We walked up, spotting Fred acting as bouncer at the front door. 

He perked up, grinning at the two of us. I leaned in, returning his hug and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before pulling back to step in as Ann chatted him up. She liked to flirt with Fred, he got shy and stuttery around her in the sweetest way. 

It was beautiful. The lighting was a reddish tint and everything was new and spotless. Pale colored couches lined the walls, round tables filling up the middle with a spot left open before the new stage for a dance floor. The place was packed except for a few tables near the front and everyone was having a great time eating, drinking, and laughing. Spotting some more familiar faces my smile grew and I made my way towards the front spotting Bohdi and Grace, who I pulled into a hug. She looked stunning, wrapped in a pale bodycon dress, her smile sincere. Clint walked up with another round of drinks and I gave him a side hug too. 

“This is insane! It’s so full!” I said, grinning at them as I slid my hands down the back of my thighs as I sat, making sure my skirt didn’t get too wrinkled. Turning towards the stage I felt my body freeze in reaction, eyes widening as I made eye contact with Mitch. “God damn.” I whispered, causing Ann and Grace to laugh. 

He looked as good as I remembered from a few hours ago, except now he had a few of his top buttons undone. He hadn’t even worn a hat tonight, his hair combed back, a few strands falling across his forehead as he moved slightly while singing, rocking as he played the guitar and sang with that grin on his face. Now, I was no groupie, but a girl could only handle so much. Grace said something but I couldn’t hear her, just going “Mhm.” As I blinked up at Mitch. He smirked, shooting me a wink before scanning across the room. Always the boss it seemed. 

“Grace said Dwight was at the bar if you want to say hi.” Ann said, reaching over to give my thigh a squeeze, making me jump slightly. I blushed at being caught oogling Mitch so obviously. Refocusing on her I reached up to brush some of my hair from my face, giving her a little nod. “Yeah, I will in a minute.” 

The song wrapped up and I clapped with everyone else. Mitch straightened, adjusting the guitar strap as he wrapped his free hand around the mic stand with that same pearly smile. He looked so happy, he looked so good, so in his element. It made my heart ache with happiness a little bit. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, if I could have your attention please?” He said, the band winding down the song behind him as he looked into the crowd. I crossed my legs, intent on hearing what he had to say. 

“As many of ya’ll know, we just got our license.” He gestured to the back room which was now filled with card tables and slot machines. The gambling license had been a longer process than anticipated but it hadn’t been overly difficult thankfully. “And I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to the future home of the Bred-2-Buck Cabaret and Casino!” I let out a cheer and clapped, everyone else joining in. It felt good to have our friends here, the people who had become near and dear to my heart filling the space. 

“Now, none of this would be possible without without the support of my partners, in particular Mr. Dwight Manfredi.” He said, gesturing towards the bar. I turned in my seat, spotting the familiar gray head of hair next to his daughter who I’d recently met. I cupped my hands around my mouth and let out a cheer before clapping. Dwight had grown on me slower than Mitch, but after what he did for us? He was alright in my books, closer to family than I’d like to admit. 

Dwight gave a little wave, looking pleased with himself and not a bit shy. “And I’d also like thank the one who got me through the long hours of paperwork and the frustrations of interior design,” He said, voice dropping low like it was some sort of horror. It garnered some laughter but he didn’t stop. “My rock, my girl, Sunny.” 

I smiled so wide my cheek hurt. I covered my lower face, blushing and shaking my head as Ann reached over to pat at my shoulder, Grace letting out a whooping cheer that had me batting at her with a laugh. Once the clapping and cheers died down he continued on, practically glowing. “Now, I’m going to be taking a short break from being the entertainment tonight to enjoy myself, but I’ll be back in no time. But please give a warm welcome to Malcom and the Bonefish.” He stepped aside as another man stepped forward, apparently part of the band he’d hired for opening night. People clapped once more as the music started up. Mitch handed off his guitar and stepped off the stage, one hand sliding through his hair as he said something to a worker before heading over towards me. I hopped up, all but throwing myself into his open arms. He let out a quiet laugh, giving me a good squeeze before pulling back to look me over. “And I thought you couldn’t get any prettier.” He said, taking my hand and giving me a little spin with that smile that had a heat burning in my lower stomach. I squeezed his hand back and pulled him towards the dance floor where a few other couples were swaying, wanting to get a dance in with him on one of the most important nights. “Hush, I just had to match how handsome you look.” I said, reaching up to lace my fingers together behind his neck. His hands found my hips, the two of us leaning in and swaying to the music. It wasn’t exactly a slow song so we didn’t move slow, but it wasn’t something we should be swinging around to. It was perfect like everything else had been today. “Mitch, it looks amazing.” I said, grinning up at him. He nodded, glancing up for a moment to take in the room before meeting my eyes once more. “Should. You picked everything out.” “Not everything.” I said with a laugh, making him grin a little wider. “You picked out some stuff too.” “Mhm, but the important stuff is all you, darlin’. Don’t forget that.” He said, hands moving to my lower back, pressing gently to ensure I was pressed up tightly against him. I went willingly, the music perfect. I let out a happy sigh, relaxing against his taller form. “Like I’d let you forget that.” I teased, fingers playing with a few strands of his hair at the base of his neck. Mitch leaned down, pressing a quick kiss to my lips before pulling back. I wanted more, and I had already crafted a plan to get what I wanted a few days ago when I’d seen that new desk get carted into his office. Sturdy, hardwood, looking like it should be in a lawyers office. “I’ve got a surprise for you if you can spare fifteen minutes.” “Fifteen minutes for my girl? Easy.” He said, pulling back to find my hand once more. “Lead the way, pretty girl.” The name brought butterflies to my stomach and I shot Ann a wink as I lead Mitch away. She knew my plan, I’d confessed it when we had been getting ready. I lead Mitch down the hallway towards his office, sneaking a glance back at him to catch his heated expression. Opening his office door I closed it behind us, letting go of his hand to walk over to the desk. I perched myself on top of the cool hardwood, leaning back to pop open the top drawer. I pulled the picture frame out, and then grabbed a bottle of expensive whiskey I’d bought with Dwight’s guidance. Setting the bottle down next to my thigh I held the frame out to Mitch with a grin, gesturing he take it. He did, stepping closer, flipping it over. Mitch was silent a few moments before he looked at me, surprising me by being slightly emotional. There was a sheen to his eyes I’d never seen before. “I’m gonna confess, darlin’. When you pulled me in here I thought I was going to be breaking in the new desk. Didn’t think you’d be getting me all misty eyed.” He said, giving me a softer smile and looking back at the picture. 

It was a picture I’d taken awhile ago, a few weeks after starting to work for Mitch. I had insisted Ann snap a picture of myself, Mitch, and Pops. Had claimed it was for me, admitted guilted them a bit. It had turned out great, the old interior of the bar obvious in the photo, my cheesy grin with Mitch laughing, and Pops cracking a half smile for the picture because Ann had asked sweetly.I had it sized up and put into a nice frame for him to put wherever he wanted it.  

“I got a few other shots of the bar I took before we- well, blew it up.” I said with a little shrug, reaching out to hook my fingers in his belt loops to pull him closer between my spread thighs. “Confession time for me as well, I was really hoping you’d fuck me on the new desk also. Think of it as a two parter.”

Mitch let out a genuine laugh, setting the photo down on the desk to instead grab my face. He tilted my chin up, leaning down to press his lips to mine, smiling still. I knew I was smiling too, arching up to kiss him back, the taste of the drink he must have had earlier a little burn against my tongue as it dipped between his lips.  

“Been thinkin’ about you all pretty on this desk since they brought it in.” Mitch breathed out against my lips as his hands moved to my thighs, sliding up under my dress as he leaned in closer to grind against me. He felt good, already half hard in his jeans, the cool metal of his belt buckle obvious through the thin material of my dress. “Oh, my too. I miss the old desk but this one will do.” I teased, nipping at his bottom lip as I reached for his buckle, needing him. I’d been wet since seeing him on stage, my body immediately reacting to seeing that smile for me as he sang. Mitch Keller was like a drug and I was addicted because no matter how much I touched and tasted him I always came back for more. 

Mitch made a noise that was all masculine amusement, his big hands giving the fat of my thighs a squeeze before dipping between them. The rings on his fingers were cool too and I whined, thighs spreading a bit more out of habit, undoing the jingling belt buckle and working on his pants next. As I undid his pants he hooked his fingers around my panties and pulled them down, dropping the red lace on the desk next to me. The thin scrap of fabric had him raising a brow, giving me a sly smile. “Well now, someone was planning this.” He said, one of his big hands pressing against my cunt, blunt fingertips finding how wet I was with a little groan in the back of this throat. “Really planning this.” 

“I did say it was a surprise.” I breathed out. With the help of his free hand he opened his pants, my hands greedily dipping in and pushing them down enough to free his now fully hard cock. “The bra matches, you can see it later.” “Fucking- you are going to be the end of me.” He said with a smile, hand wrapping around mine at the base of his cock, giving himself a slow pump that had me rocking my hips against his hand between my thighs. “I need you now.” I said, looking up at him. So fucking handsome, especially when his blue eyes went dark with want, the two of us wrapped up in one another. Inseparable on a base level that would terrify me if it was anyone else but strong, sturdy Mitch. “I don’t wanna hurt you.” He said, two fingers pushing into my slick pussy. I whined, clenching around him, head tipped back to look up at him. “Y’get so tight, baby.” “Won’t hurt me, want it.” I demanded as firmly as I could while suppressing a moan as he hooked his fingers just right, rubbing at the spot inside me his long frustratingly talented fingers always seemed to find. “Please, Mitch. Fuckin’ please.” He bit out a curse, his hand leaving me and having me feel empty once more. I leaned back on my elbows, arching my hips up so he could push my skirt to my waist, leaning in to grind his hard cock against where I wanted him more. He hit my clit, the friction making me take in a sharp inhale, nipples pebbling behind my sheer bra and showing through the thin dress. 

My legs wrapped around his hips, pulling him closer, needing him inside of me. There was an underlying desperation, a desire, the ache he created deep inside me only something he could soothe. “Please.” I whined once more as he pulled his hips back slightly to slot himself in place. Mitch leaned forward and captured my lips in a heated kiss as he sunk into me, pushing each thick inch into me slowly until his hips were pressed flush against mine. My thighs immediately tightened around his middle as I moaned into the kiss, lips parting under his as he fucked into me with slow, firm strokes, his tongue tasting between my lips at the same time. 

He was big and thick in the perfect way, and I was soaked for him already, each stroke easy. “So good for me.” He ground out, big hands moving to under my knees, using his hold to push my legs up towards my chest. It changed the angle, letting him slide in easier, each thrust pushing him deeper. It was so good my eyes nearly rolled back. 

“Fuck, I’m so lucky.” Mitch’s voice was rough, almost like how it sounded in the morning when I kissed him awake. I wanted to tell him I was the lucky one, I was the one who was winning, a little cock drunk and delusionally happy. But words had left me and I whined, nodding as he continued to thrust. He didn’t let up, setting a fast pace. 

“M’not gonna last.” I confessed, clenching around him when he bottomed out again, grinding so that his pelvis put the most delicious friction on my clit. “‘Specially if you do that.” 

“Me either.” He said, hands sliding up my calves to hook my ankles over his shoulders. He was so deep it was like he was fucking the breath out of my lungs but in the best possible way, my own arousal making the slap of skin on skin sinfully wet. With his hands now free he reached between us. But instead of going right for my clit like he normally did he pressed on my lower stomach lightly. It had me nearly choking on my own gasped breath, the force of his hand making sure that every stroke of his cock hit right where I needed, bullying my g-spot mercilessly. “Fuck-, Mitch.” I choked out, reaching out to grip the edge of the desk as well near the top of my head. His free hand found one of mine, lacing our fingers together, pinning my hand against the wood. His other, on my stomach, was of course long enough to use his thumb to flick at my clit as he fucked me harder and faster. He had me practically bent in half but I didn’t care, the position letting him sink in deeper and faster, pressing in so deep I saw stars. 

“Please please please.” I panted out with each clap of our hips, squeezing our interlaced hands, looking up into his pretty blue eyes. More hair had fallen in his face but it looked good. He gave a little nod, adding a little roll to his hips to grind where I needed him. “C’mon baby, give it to me. Show me how good I make you feel, hm? Wanna see you come undone on my desk so I can think of your perfect pussy every time I sit down to do paperwork.” He growled out, hips never slowing. It was too much and I fell apart under him, my own free hand clasping over my parted lips as I let out a cry. I came hard, clenching around him tightly. I made a noise that I was sure was a porno level moan but all sound had become muffled except the sharp breaths Mitch was taking above me, his own movements becoming sloppy as he chased his own high. “That’s it, that’s my pretty girl, fucking look at you baby. Christ, that’s it. Take it, know you can, know you want to.” He said, deep voice more like a growl in my ear as I nodded at him, hand leaving my mouth as I panted and whimpered. 

The familiar warmth bloomed in my lower stomach and he groaned, head hanging and resting his forehead on mine as he came hard. I echoed the sound, my free hand moving to cup the back of his neck, chin tilting up to capture his lips in a slow heated kiss. He ground against me but didn’t move anymore than that, firmly as deep as he could get. After a few moments Mitch broke the kiss, panting but grinning. I mirrored his expression, letting out a little laugh as he slowly leaned back and let my legs down off his shoulders, his hands massaging at my hips as they were rather stiff from the position. “Shit- I don’t want to ruin your pretty dress.” He said, ready to pull out but hesitating because we’d certainly made a mess. I let out another laugh, gesturing to the side where the cubbies were rebuilt into the wall. “I put some towels in here.” I said, hand falling limp onto the cool surface of the desk. He leaned down to give me another quick kiss before slowly pulling out, both of us making a sound at the overstimulation before he grabbed the towels to gently work on cleaning me up. The two of us straightened one another up and I fixed my hair in the little mirror next to the door, pleased to find Ann’s make up wasn’t really smudged because she used some professional level setting spray. We ended up perched on the edge of the desk, thighs pressed together, as he cracked open the bottle of whiskey. I leaned on his arm but accepted the bottle, taking a small sip and proud that I didn’t even pull a face. “Well,” I said, handing him back the bottle. “We did it Mitch. A full bar, people having a good time, and you even have a stage. A real stage. I’m proud of you.” He set the bottle down, arm wrapping around my shoulders and pulling me close. His free hand tipped my chin up to meet his eyes. I gave him a smile, content and happy, pleased that this was how life was going to be. “I love you.” Mitch spoke softly, thumb brushing over my bottom lip. I blinked, wondering if I’d misheard him. After a few heartbeats I melted. “I love you too.” “Yeah?” “Yeah.” “Good. Think you might be stuck now, darlin’. Stuck here, stuck with me.” He said, voice still that same soft tone that made me want to wrap myself up in him. “Oh no, not here at the bar that is my home with my insanely hot boyfriend. God, some people have no luck.” I teased, giving his thigh a squeeze. He leaned down, brushing his lips against mine when someone knocked on the door. The two of us didn’t pull away but we did turn to look at the door. “Yeah?” He called out, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “Mitch, it’s Dwight.” I recognized Fred’s voice. “He stepped outside to talk to some woman who asked for him and he’s been arrested. Cristina isn’t doing well, and we have no idea what is going on.” 

“God fucking damnit.”

More Mitch and Sunny here

Well, here it is. I might post some random things from the three month break between the shootout and the opening of the new Bred-2-Buck, but for this season that is a wrap. I really love Sunny, thank you everyone who bothered to read my brainrot inspired little fit that was supposed to be 5 chapters long and melted into this. Ily all!!

[dollsorwhatever]

Today was a very good day!!!!!

A very very kind friend offered to help me acquire some of the Giochi SM dolls I’ve needed for my collection by serving as a proxy, since most of the Ebay IT sellers wouldn’t ship to the US and it would’ve been more expensive to import them individually!  The most important one to me is DEFINITELY Princess Serenity; she’s one of the many foreign SM dolls I coveted when I was a child, from the moment I saw her on the now-defunct Sailormoontoys website!

She comes with a very similar spinning platform to Dance N Twirl Barbie that you can “drive” around with the included remote control- it also lights up and plays the melody for Moonlight Densetsu (as shown in this video)! 

Along with her dress being the prettiest and most accurate of any Princess Serenity doll made (despite the tiara and the random Heart Moon Rod that she comes with....), I think she’s one of the best examples of a doll designer perfectly melding the anime with a clever toy concept that acknowledges how kids actually play with toys; you can tell they actually watched the Serenity transformation scene in the anime, knew that kids would want to reenact the princess spinning with their dolls (as I did FREQUENTLY with my SM dolls) and developed an entire play concept around it, and I just think that’s so cool.

I do want to test out the dancing feature but I also never thought I would ever get this doll, let alone NIB so I want to keep her NIB for a few days at least.  Talking Super Sailor Moon is also really cool and really funny lol

She’s Giochi’s version of the Bandai JP Chara Talk line, that features a remote system where you can make them talk via the button on the doll’s back, or by pressing the button on the (sold separately) wand and pointing it at her!  There’s also a regular Giochi SSM in the same outfit with the same face as the other Giochi dolls, but I opted to get this one since her makeup is different. I’m on a bit of a quest to get all of the Super Sailor Moon dolls made (minus the pullip because I don’t like them lol) so I’m happy to cross this one off my list and I’m interested to see all of the little similarities and differences between her outfit and the Bandai JP versions! The only thing is that she comes with the wrong wand...lol? I find this really hilarious because they would have had to go out of their way to reproduce the 1992 Moon Stick (in different colors, I might add) and add extra wiring inside to function as a remote instead of just doing a 1:1 reproduction of the Bandai Kaleido Moonscope that already came with this tech lol, like, why??? I also got the original SM Giochi doll (which comes with her Cosmic Heart brooch and Spiral Heart Moon Rod despite the artwork being from two other seasons lol) and the Gigante 17′’ Sailor Moon doll which I have always wanted!

She has one of the cutest SM doll faces out there imo, even if her tiny brooch and tiara make her look kind of goofy. I do also want to get the 1997 17′’ doll from Irwin since they’re made with the same sculpts and screenings as the 17′’ Giochi dolls and I love a good comparison lol  ECSTATIC to finally have these dolls and excited to keep going with my vintage Sailor Moon doll collection!

[alienelvisobsession]

Himbo Prince #2

This is the link to the first chapter if you missed it.

Pairing: Elvis 1956-1957 x Reader

Warnings: silly, goofy, himbo, fluff

Plot: You have a small part in a movie starring Elvis Presley and you’re obviously very attracted to him, because every girl is.

N/A: Thank you for the encouragement. I’d like everyone to know that I don’t think EP was a “himbo” but it’s fun to think about him that way. Just a few reminders: English is not my first language and I’ve never even been to the USA. I obviously wasn’t alive in 1957! This is my first fanfic ever, so be kind. It stems from conversations on Discord about adorable goofy himbo Elvis from the 1950s. It’s just meant to be a silly fun read.

You made a silly mistake yesterday. Elvis Presley asked you out, but you ended the evening with a sulky face because you saw him flirt with another girl at a party. You’re on set today, but you have no scenes with him, and you’re dying to talk to him again. You thought about it over and over, obsessing about him and that redhead. How he let her kiss his cheek, how he laughed with her and put a hand on her waist while he was being photographed with her. You came to the conclusion that he was just being nice and posing for the photographer, but it still bothers you a little. You see him talking to his co-star between takes, then standing there for a moment, one hand resting on the neck of his guitar, while his makeup is being fixed. It won’t be long before lunch time. 

While you wait, you decide to go see Susan, who’s the costume designer for the movie. She’s older than you, but she’s always fun to be around. She doesn’t have much to do at the moment so she’s flipping through a magazine with pictures and stories about many stars: Marilyn Monroe, Joan Crawford, Liz Taylor and others. She stops in the middle section, on a page with an article about the kind of pen that Elvis uses to sign autographs. They call it a ‘doll-point pen’ for some reason. 

“Look at our boy. Why did they publish this picture of him? He looks dangerous, like a criminal,” she says.

Susan shows you the magazine. In the picture he’s sitting down and looking at the camera with a languid expression, hair greased and slicked back, a thumb pressed on his lip.  

“He’s not really dangerous,“ you explain. “He wants to appear that way.”

Susan is a bit puzzled by your explanation, but she accepts it. You keep flipping through the pages and you are captivated by the image of a girl with shaggy blonde hair holding a dog and smiling at the camera. The caption says it’s a French actress.

“That French girl is really sexy. I wish I was sophisticated like her. You know, from Paris, not some random place nobody has ever heard about.”

Susan disappears from a moment and comes back with a blonde wig for you.

“Here you go. You can be her. Her name is Brigitte Bardot. I have a feeling she’s going to be big.”

You try it on, adjust the long wavy hair as best as you can. Susan even finds you a dress that might look vaguely like European fashion. 

Out of the blue you feel like being silly and playing games. You look at yourself in the mirror and try pouting your lips. You come up with a cheeky idea. Elvis is going to finish his scene really soon and you hope he’s going to invite you to have lunch with him. You want to go meet him looking and sounding like a French actress who just flew in from Cannes Film Festival. “That’d be fun. We’ll have a ball,” you say to yourself.

Once the assistant director has called the lunch break, you look for Elvis. You see him talking to his buddies on his way to his dressing room. They’re cousins and friends from high school who travelled to Hollywood to keep him company. He’s always with them, because he likes to be the center of attention and goof around with them. You knock at the door of the dressing room. He’s laughing, boasting about a pass he made at football the day before. He makes it sound like he’s a superhero saving the world. He’s surprised when he sees you. You know he’ll recognize you, but you fake a French accent just to be silly. He’d love that and you know it. You’re careful to always put the stress on the last syllable. You’re almost bursting into laughter, but you manage to stay serious and to introduce yourself.

“Monsieur Prezlee, I am visiting from Paris and… I wanted to met you. I have listened all of your records in France.”

You extend a hand and he shakes it smiling to you.

“Nice to meet you. I’d like to be able to visit Paris one day. Maybe you could show me around,” he says cockily to you in front of his friends. 

Is he acting the fool or did he not recognize you? He’s trying his best to look worldly, but he’s a little intimidated by you. He seems pleased by your presence though and invites you to sit down next to him. He keeps the conversation going. 

“What are French cats listening to? How do you say ‘cat’ in French?”

You have no idea, so you answer that they’re all listening to him. Good lord, he really did not recognize you.

He’s silent for a few moments, then he says something unexpected.

“You know… American soldiers did this thing with French girls, when they were stationed in France. They looked at them intensely…”

At this point Elvis puts his hand on your shoulder and stares at you. You’re alarmed. Is he going to tell you something spicy right there in front of everybody? You are a bit surprised when Elvis boops you on the nose. 

“That’s what they did,” he says to you with a cheeky smile. If any other guy had done that you would have considered it dumb, but he’s Elvis Presley and he’s adorable, even when he makes cheesy jokes that are not funny. You really hope that you’re having lunch with him today. When he finally invites you, you take off your wig, he says he knew it was you, but did he? You’re not so sure.

You decide to eat at Café Continental together. It’s a restaurant inside the studio, which allows for some privacy. Elvis doesn’t go to restaurants that much these days, because he’s constantly being mobbed by fans. He says he doesn’t miss it, but you’re not sure if he’s telling you the truth.

Once you’re inside and you’re sitting down facing each other, he picks up the menu. He’s been there many times and makes you notice something.

“This place is funny, I’m telling you. I don’t know half of the things they serve here. I always eat hamburgers with French fries. Look here. See what they’re called in the menu? ‘Hamburger Sandwich with Shoestring Potatoes’.” 

There are also dishes named after movie stars. You start poking fun at the menu with all the star names and the food you’ve never heard of. You fake a posh accent and pretend to order a ‘Dorothy Lamour Salad’. Elvis watches you amused and seriously considers ordering a ‘Special Perlberger a la Seaton’, just because he has no idea what it is and he wants to know. While he’s at it, fumbling his words through the long name, the waitress comes and greets him as if he were an old friend. 

No Perlberger for Elvis. He has a special order of four big burgers on his plate and a lot of thinly-cut French fries. He gobbles up his burgers as if he hasn’t eaten anything in three days and between bites he’s putting as many fries as he can into his mouth. He doesn’t use condiments on them: he doesn’t like ketchup and mayo apparently is bad for his voice, although you’ve never heard that before. You can’t say he has the best table manners, but he has the innocence of a little child and he’s really enjoying his food. 

Elvis starts discussing actors he’s met and others he wishes to meet. He hopes Marlon Brando will show up some day because he has heard he’s a regular at the restaurant when he’s filming a movie at Paramount Studios. He’s really excited at the prospect, obviously, but he’s terrified that he might order something strange like a sardine sandwich. It’s the worst thing they serve there, according to him. 

“That bastard stinks so bad. I-I- I can’t stand the smell. I would be sitting at the other end of the table w-w-with a hand over my nose. Damn Brando, Louise told me he stinks the whole place with his sandwich.” He points at the waitress that served you the food. 

While he’s discussing this, he steals some fries - sorry, some ‘shoestring potatoes’ - from your plate, so you have no other choice but to take the ketchup bottle and put some of it all over your fries. You’re doing it on purpose, so he doesn’t eat them all, but you make it look like you’re doing it as absentmindedly as possible.

“This boy needs to be trained like a puppy,” you think slightly amused. Luckily, he learned his lesson because he doesn’t touch the rest of your shoestring potatoes. 

You’re feeling comfortable with him, so you gently tease him about his movie star status.

“Hey, maybe one day they’ll have an Elvis Presley special on the menu”.

You said it innocently, but Elvis is laughing from head to toe. 

“And what would that be? Chicken and dumplings?”

He finds it amusing. After a short pause he comes up with an idea.

“They could put on the menu a sandwich my mama makes. Even though it’s a bit unusual and nobody else makes it...”

He must have regretted getting excited about his mama’s sandwich, because he doesn’t want to tell you what’s in the sandwich, no matter how curious you are. You’ll have to find out about this sandwich one way or another, because you want to make it for him. 

Obviously, once you’ve both finished eating, he takes the bill and leaves a good tip. He gives a little wink to the girl at the cash register, whose excitement cannot be easily contained. 

“This puppy needs a good boy award”, you finally judge. You almost bite your lip thinking about the possibilities. For a moment you imagine all the people in the studio disappearing and your lips touching his, but the reality is that there are so many people around you and you have to be back at work immediately. Maybe you should just peck him on the cheek and run to get ready for your scene. You’re not really sure you’ll have the courage to do it with everyone watching. All the time people are turning around to stare at him, girls giggle, men want to shake his hand, that sort of thing. While you’re still figuring out how to reward him for being such a sweetheart and for making you laugh with his fear of sardine sandwiches, he takes your hand in his and kisses it lightly and gallantly. He keeps your hand close to his mouth for a moment. You’re floating above your feet and you’re sure you already have stars in your eyes.

He whispers in a low voice, “See you around, honey. I’ve gotta run.” Checking his watch because he’s running late on his busy schedule, he quickly disappears and rejoins the film crew.

[ynscrazylife]

Can you do a Bucky/Stucky x reader where the reader gets really hurt on a mission but doesn't notice because she is hyped up on adrenaline. And then one of them notice that she is bleeding on something like that and then it all hits her so she like passes out from pain or blood loss whatever. And then the end of it is all fluffy because they are taking care of her. Can one of them braid the readers hair, cause I think that would be really fluffy and adorable.

The Mission That Changed Everything

Summary: Y/N is stabbed on a mission and no one notices until the mission is over.

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Trigger Warning: Mentions of being stabbed (a little descriptive) and blood/blood loss (a little descriptive)

Missions were dangerous. Risking your life, getting hurt, etc, but there was one particular danger on one particular mission that would cause the Avengers to become suddenly more aware, more protected, and more cautious in the future.

That danger was when no one noticed one of their teammates had gotten gravely hurt until after the mission was over. Of course, it was no one’s fault, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t have to change things for future missions.

See, Y/N was an Inhuman, the only Inhuman on the team. The mission they were going on - it required all of the Avengers because they were raiding a base of an evil organization on the uprise. By the end of the mission, they thought they had gathered the intel and the research to know that this group was an anti-superhero group. They soon discovered that the intel and research was fake and the group was actually an anti-Inhuman group.

Durning the mission, they had gotten into a couple fights with a few of the group’s agents. Y/N had been fighting one of the agents and had actually ended up being stabbed with a dagger. It wasn’t just any dagger, though. It was designed to be particularly harmful to Inhumans and had been enchanted with powers so that when Y/N was stabbed, it wouldn’t take its effect of causing her to bleed and causing her pain until later. Because of that, Y/N didn’t even notice she was stabbed.

Until they were arrived back at the tower. 

Smiles instantly graced Bucky and Steve’s faces as they walked in after changing out of their suits and into normal clothes to see their girlfriend Y/N curled up on their bed. They thought she was absolutely adorable as she also smiled, having been waiting for them. 

“You tired, doll?” Bucky asked as he sat on her left and Steve sat on her right. 

Y/N shrugged. “A little,” she said, taking Steve’s hand in her own as she leaned against Bucky. None of them noticed that Y/N had started to bleed since she was still in her suit. 

“Seems like your suit has a hole in it,” Bucky noticed, putting his fingers over it. That was the hole where the dagger had stabbed her and when Bucky felt the blood, he added, concerned, “Are you bleeding, Y/N?” 

Y/N and Steve both tensed up - Y/N from Bucky putting pressure on the wound (though she waved it off as a bruise) and Steve from hearing the blood. 

Y/N, not remembering getting majority hurt, said, “Probably just cut or something. I’ll go change and patch myself up.” If she was thinking clearly, she would have noticed that how could it be just a cut when there was a hole in her otherwise sturdy suit? She stood up, and Bucky and Steve shared an unsure glance, one of them about to say something, when Y/N gasped, clamped a hand over her stomach, and collapsed. 

Steve immediately leaped forward to catch her, maneuvering them both a bit so he could pick her up and lay her on the ground. The two soldiers jumped into action, both confused and scared at the same time. She was fine! She didn’t get hurt on the mission! What could have caused her to pass out? 

Steve focussed on trying to wake her up while Bucky focussed on trying to get her suit off of her. When he unzipped her suit and saw the blood soaking her shirt and shorts, his eyes widened and he tugged at Steve’s arm. “Steve - Steve, this looks like a stab wound!” He said, panicking. 

Steve paused from his attempt to wake her up and looked over at her stomach, his eyes also widening. Fear filled him, and he cursed under his breath before picking Y/N up carefully in her arms. The men with their woman ran off to the infirmary, yelling to anyone that could hear.

When they burst inside, they found Bruce with a couple of doctors and Bucky, worried in a way he had never been before, started rambling off a loud explanation that the doctors just about caught. The moment Steve laid Y/N down on one of the medical tables, he and Bucky were ushered out hurriedly. 

For the next couple of hours, Bucky and Steve stood just right outside. Sometimes they stood together, gripping each other’s hands, other times they were pacing worriedly. At one point they both broke down into tears, wanting and needing their love to be alright, and wondering how no one noticed. 

After what felt like eternity, Bruce came out and told them that she would be okay. Weakened and still in pain because of the dagger’s effects on Inhumans, but okay. However, she was put on bedrest for the next couple of days, and you bet that Steve and Bucky were fussing over her every moment of it.

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

“How are you feeling? Are you feeling okay?” Steve asked for the millionth time as Bucky crawled into their bed to cuddle Y/N. 

Y/N smiled, thinking that their protective nature was very cute. “Not in pain . . . Just bleh. I’m tired, honestly, and unfortunately I still don’t think I can walk without falling over,” she admitted, her smile turning into a frustrated frown. 

“Well, that’s okay. We’ll carry you anywhere you need to go,” Bucky said with a goofy grin. 

“To Paris?” Y/N joked, all three sharing a laugh.

“Oh, I think we need to change your bandages, hun,” Steve said, after a moment. 

Y/N let out a groan, knowing that would hurt, but knew it had to be done and watched her blonde boyfriend go and grab the bandages. She then felt a hand in her hair and leaned into Bucky’s touch, a smile put on her face. 

“Want me to braid your hair?” He asked softly, and Y/N nodded and leaned forward. 

Bucky moved over and when he did, Y/N leaned back against him. That made it a bit difficult to braid her hair, but he didn’t mind. Steve walked back in with the bandages and chuckled when he saw them. Bucky began to braid Y/N’s hair, which was soothing, but Y/N tensed up and grabbed Steve’s hand when he took off her bandages. 

Steve gave her a sympathetic smile. “Just focus on Bucky. It won’t take much time,” he assured her, and she didn’t look convinced, but when Bucky resumed braiding her hair and that relaxed her. Y/N loosened her grip on Steve’s hand and let him bandage her up, occasionally squirming but trying to focus on the braiding being done. 

Steve finished and got into their bed, putting an arm around Bucky and Y/N as Bucky finished braiding Y/N’s hair. Y/N then sat up, swinging her braid over her shoulder and admiring it. “Thank you, I love it,” she said, and pecked Bucky on the lips and then pecked Steve on the lips, too. 

She smiled as she grabbed the remote and turned on the television, turning on a movie.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

(Accidental 150 Follower Special) IOTA’s Top 10 Best (and By That, I Mean Personal Favorite) Episodes of Miraculous Ladybug

Alright, I already covered what I considered to be the worst Miraculous Ladybug episodes in two parts, and now it’s time to talk about the what I consider to be the best Miraculous Ladybug episodes before I talk about... him...

I’m only putting one rule in place for this list. I'm going to try and list episodes with good qualities other than “cool-looking Akuma and awesome fight scenes”, and focus on other details like character moments and story.

Other than that, let’s get started.

These are the Top 10 Best Episodes of Miraculous Ladybug (in my personal opinion because your opinion is also valid)

#10: Mr. Pigeon

While Marinette works on sketching a design for a hat for a fashion contest where the winning design will be worn by Adrien (a rare example where the “Marinette does a thing to impress Adrien” plot actually works), a birdwatcher who loves feeding pigeons in the park is told off by the only police officer in Paris, causing him to get akumatized into the titular Mr. Pigeon, who has control over all of the pigeons in the city.

And by God, does this episode have fun with the concept.

In addition to constantly mimicking pigeon cries, Mr. Pigeon's movements are just so entertaining to watch, only aided by the creative ways he controls the flocks of pigeons.

I'm not kidding when at one point, Mr. Pigeon traps Ladybug and Cat Noir in a cage, and threatens to have his pigeons crap on them unless they hand over their Miraculous. Yeah.

This is one of the episodes that really set the standards for how outlandish the Akumas in Miraculous Ladybug could get. It kind of reminds me of an episode of the original Ultraman, where the SSSP has to find a way to move an incredibly heavy monster using increasingly abnormal strategies, like inflating it with air so it'll float like a balloon. It's clear it isn't taking itself too seriously, so the audience shouldn't either.

Admittedly, Cat Noir's feather allergy feels shoehorned in, and is only included to increase conflict, and you would think it would come up when Mayura, a bird-themed supervillain appears in the third season. But then again, that's just a minor nitpick.

It's just a really fun episode, and I wish we could see Ladybug and Cat Noir fight Mr. Pigeon again that isn't used for a cheap gag.

#9: The Puppeteer

After being told by her mom that she can't have a Ladybug doll made by Marinette, young Manon is Akumatized into the Puppeteer. But obviously, you can't have our heroes beating up a five-year-old, so instead, the Puppeteer has the power to exact control over past Akuma victims as long as she has the doll made by Marinette. So Ladybug and Cat Noir have to face off against Lady Wifi, the Evillustrator, and Rogercop, before the Puppeteer gets her hands on the dolls Marinette made of the two heroes and take control of them as well.

It's still kind of funny to think about the fact that of all the Akumas to become a huge threat to Ladybug and Cat Noir, it's a little girl throwing a temper tantrum. And like with “Mr. Pigeon”, the episode has a lot of fun with the concept, best reflected in the voice acting. You can tell that Carrie Keranen is having so much fun this episode with the stuff she says as Lady Wifi.

The fact that someone who was actually a major threat to the heroes with how she was able to easily outsmart them and also came really close to getting their Miraculous is now acting like a little kid using phrases like “super duper sorry” is even more hilarious.

I'm still a little confused as why of all the past villains, it's Evillustrator and Rogercop that get to come back, and I wish they had gotten more to say, but it's still a treat to see Ladybug and Cat Noir fighting four villains at once, especially since this was before “Heroes Day”.

#8: Sapotis

Hawkmoth akumatizes Alya's little sisters into Sapotis (supposedly based off a folktale, but I can't find anything about it online), who have the power to multiply and easily overwhelm Ladybug and Cat Noir, forcing Ladybug to recruit Alya to become a third hero, Rena Rouge.

I've been a little negative about Alya in the past, but this episode gives her some major character growth. One of the biggest problems I had with her character in Season 1 is how often she tried to figure out Ladybug's identity... despite claiming to be a huge superhero fan, who should know why superheroes keep their identities a secret. Thankfully, this episode mostly puts an end to this idea.

The episode opens with Marinette giving Alya some reasons why Ladybug would keep her identity a secret, and it actually plays into the episode.

Putting aside the stupid Rent-A-Miraculous system introduced in this episode, the idea of keeping secrets and how necessary they can be sometimes is reflected after the battle where Alya is hesitant at first to give up her Miraculous, but eventually concedes and keeps her identity a secret from Marinette (who ironically knows, but that's not important).

Even without that, this episode still has a lot of action with the three heroes fighting their way through an army of Sapotis, with plenty of banter during said action. Hell, at one point, Cat Noir says “gotta catch 'em all”. I don't have a joke here, that's just brilliant.

Out of all the introductory hero episodes, this one easily sticks out among most of them.

(Don’t worry, I’m going to talk about Rena Rouge’s character design in a later post.)

#7: Guitar Villain

I said before in an earlier post that Jagged Stone is one of my favorite characters in Miraculous Ladybug, so it's obvious that the episode where he gets akumatized would be on this list.

After a disagreement with his manager about trying to mimic the popular singer XY (who ironically lacks a Y chromosome), Jagged is akumatized into Guitar Villain, a rock star with a pet dragon who forces everyone to listen to his Awesome Solo (yes, he names his attacks too) to dance uncontrollably.

Honestly, there's not much I can really say about this episode. It's Ladybug and Cat Noir fighting a rock star who flies around on a goddamn dragon. That's one of the coolest things I've ever seen! Even the way they defeat him (which I won’t give away) is a fun jab at rock stars.

Admittedly, the episode does border on grouchy old man territory sometimes by complaining about how bad today's music is with the way they portray XY as a whiny and egotistical coward, but after watching “Silencer”, you'll be glad everyone hates him.

Overall, it's a rockingly awesome episode.

#6: The Dark Owl

Mr. Damocles, the principal of Marinette and Adrien's school, is akumatized into the Dark Owl, a corrupted version of his favorite comic book superhero (who would later turn out to be real in the New York special, but I don't want to acknowledge that), who uses his high-tech gadgets to trap Ladybug and Cat Noir, putting them in one of their toughest binds yet.

I'm a huge fan of the Adam West Batman show, so you could probably guess why it's on this list. This episode really feels like an episode of that show with how goofy and over the top everything is. Obviously, this episode has a few Batman references thrown in (even an Incredibles reference at one point), and they're all hilarious.

I just love how complex Dark Owl's traps for Ladybug and Cat Noir are, and the fact that he actually manages to outsmart them at one point. Like seriously, have you ever heard of a death trap that involves drowning someone in whipped cream? That’s totally something you’d see the Joker setting up.

I don't really want to give away the ending (which is why this part is so short), because I think it's a really clever resolution that you should check out for yourself.

#5: Gorizilla

Hawkmoth akumatizes Adrien's bodyguard into Gorizilla, whose sole purpose is to protect Adrien. His motivation? To see if Adrien is actually Cat Noir or not. So Adrien has to avoid this gigantic gorilla's wrath with Marinette, all while trying to catch a movie his late mother was in.

See this? This is Adrienette done right. This is the kind of interaction I like when it comes to romance. Marinette and Adrien spend a few scenes with each other avoiding Adrien's crazy fanbase, and Marinette doesn't stammer half of her words. Even when she interacts with Adrien as Ladybug, she still remains confident, and Adrien trusts her judgment when it looks like he might fall. I don't just want Marinette and Adrien to cuddle with each other or declare their love for each other when they get their memories wiped. I want them to interact like human beings before they actually start a relationship, and this episode is a good example of it.

Adrien also gets some good focus with the way he views his relationship with his parents, as does Gabriel with his relationship with his son. Granted, he's taking a pretty huge gamble trying to kill Adrien to see if he's Cat Noir or not as opposed to just... taking off his ring while he sleeps. Can we at least admit he's trying?

I feel they could have done more with the King Kong homage (guess who I'm talking about?), but I can understand there wasn't enough time to focus on that. It's still an important episode to watch for plot and character growth that will barely be acknowledged in later episodes.

#4: Sandboy

tHe SaNdBoY hAs ChEcKeD iN. nOw NiGhTmArEs CaN bEgIn.

Now that we got that obvious joke out of the way, let's talk about one of the most creative episodes of the show.

Tikki and Plagg, Marinette and Adrien's Kwamis (the magical beings that power their Miraculous) take part in a ritual with the other Kwamis inside Master Fu's Miracle Box to contact Nooroo, Hawkmoth's Kwami, on his birthday and get an idea of where he is. Unfortunately, Hawkmoth chooses to akumatize someone during the ritual, leaving Marinette and Adrien helpless to fight back against Sandboy, an Akuma with the power to make their worst fears come true.

I said before in my worst list when talking about “Ladybug” that there was too much going on for one episode, what with Marinette's expulsion, the attempted Scarletmoth attack, and the fake Ladybug plotlines generally being rushed through. This episode is basically the opposite of that (ironically, they're both the penultimate episodes of their respective seasons).

The Kwami ritual and the Akuma attack are perfectly staged together so one affects the other. Not only do the Kwamis have to risk aborting their ritual to reach Nooroo in order to fight the Akuma, but Marinette and Adrien have to deal without fighting off Sandboy's nightmares on their own. Both plots balance each other out into a well-crafted story.

This is also one of the only episodes in the show where the Akuma of the week isn't the man focus. Here, we don't even see what happens to get the kid akumatized into Sandboy, and instead, Gabriel senses someone with negative emotions and akumatizes the kid offscreen. This works, because it doesn't distract from the main plot too much.

Even Marinette and Adrien's worst fears beautifully contrast each other, with both managing to be unsettling in different ways, even if they both have different tones. While Adrien's worst fear is being imprisoned in his own room (the fear only made worse with Plagg's absence), Marinette's worst fear is... the real star of the episode. Ladies and Gentlemen, I think you all know who I'm talking about.

You can tell the animators had a field day with animating Nightmare Adrien. Just look at the way he moves around and the faces he makes. It manages to be terrifying and hilarious at the same time. Bryce Papenbrook's performance only makes it better, cementing this as the highlight of the episode.

This episode also does a good job at foreshadowing the main plot for Season 3 with Hawkmoth finding out about the other Kwamis and by extension, more Miraculous.

It's got plot, comedy, good action, and Nightmare Adrien, so how can you turn this episode down?

And no, I'm not talking about Nightmare Ladybug, mainly because I'm tired of all the evil doppelgangers from the worst list.

#3: Startrain

Yes, believe it or not, I managed to find a Season 3 episode that wasn't complete garbage, and spoiler alert, this isn't the only one.

Marinette and Adrien's class goes on a field trip to London by taking the train, until the driver is akumatized into Startrain, who wants to escape to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by capitalism... SPACE! So Ladybug and Cat Noir have to defeat Startrain while also finding a way to bring everyone on the train back home.

I like how this episode plays with the usual Akuma of the week formula. Unlike every other Akuma they've fought, Cat Noir points out that if they beat Startrain, everyone will die, so they have to be more strategic in their approach. They don't even fight Startrain for most of the episode, as they have to make their way to the front of the train to confront the Akuma. The action in this episode is very creative and really takes advantage of zero gravity, only aided by the design of the futuristic train the episode takes place in.

The new hero introduced, Pegasus (AKA Max, another student in Marinette and Adrien's class), is also really cool, being very intelligent and helping out the heroes progress through the train even before he gets the Horse Miraculous. It makes sense that his intelligence would be used rather than just his powers in this situation.

There are even some good character moments too. For once, Master Fu does something smart and loans the Horse Miraculous (which has the power of teleportation) to Marinette so she can still go on the class trip, trusting her and actually letting her have a life. It was also nice to see Alya stick up for Marinette by keeping Lila from interrupting her nap with Adrien.

This episode is basically like a refreshing glass of water to enjoy during the garbage fire that was Season 3.

(I’m going to talk about Pegasus’ character design later on too, don’t worry)

#2: Silencer

Lukanette shippers, ASSEMBLE!

Music producer Bob Roth and his son XY hold a contest for young artists to show off their skills, and Kitty Section, a band composed of several recurring characters, decides to enter, with Marinette helping to design their costumes. But as soon as they submit their video, they find out that XY copied their style, naturally pissing the band off.

Marinette and the lead guitarist of Kitty Section, Luka, confront Bob Roth and XY, who threaten to ruin their careers by claiming that they ripped off XY. Seeing Marinette getting threatened is more than enough for Hawkmoth to akumatize Luka into Silencer, who naturally has the power to silence and mimic the voices of others.

I talked about Luka and his relationship with Marinette in an earlier post (specifically the one where Astruc claimed that the fandom growing to like Luka counted as character development), and I said that this was one of the few good episodes this season because of their interactions. This episode basically made me realize how much Luka cares for Marinette, and the episode gives plenty of time to show the two spending time together and growing closer. It's basically everything “Oni-Chan” should have been about, giving some depth to Luka and not portraying him as a crazy person like they did with Kagami in that episode.

Silencer is also one of the more creatively designed villains this season, and has a really creative approach to achieving his goals. While the ability to steal and imitate someone's voice seems mundane compared to control over the weather, or making nightmares come to life, it's used very effectively. Silencer basically tricks the police into arresting Bob Roth while imitating the mayor's voice, and he threatens to make his life a living hell by using the connections to the voices he's stolen. Even with the hand puppet gesture, it's still unsettling to have Silencer speak in all these voices, and it would make for a really interesting horror movie.

Even Ladybug and Cat Noir's interactions are back to their Season 1 levels of enjoyment. Even though Silencer took her voice, Ladybug just makes so many expressions that do a great job at describing her feelings, which naturally plays off Cat Noir's motormouth tendencies. Whenever Cat Noir jokes about Ladybug's condition, he is rightfully called out on it and is reprimanded in some way, my favorite being when Ladybug uses her yo-yo to hit Cat Noir on the head to shut him up. Even putting aside that, they still work well together this episode and really feel like equals. I also love their silent fist bump when Bob Roth is exposed.

Again, the episode still takes the time to go on about how unoriginal today's musicians are, and how they lack artistic creativity and all that crap. Look, given how ham-fisted the writing in this show can get, are you surprised the commentary isn't subtle?

Even putting aside how much this episode made me appreciate Lukanette, it still has a lot of great moments that aren't even related to the ship itself, which is a real testament to how this show can perfectly balance romance and story when it's done right. Now if only the show could try this much with Adrienette, then people wouldn't hate the main pairing of the show this much.

#1: The Collector

Taking place immediately after the Season 1 finale, Marinette meets Master Fu and discusses the book she found depicting past Miraculous users. Marinette theorizes that since the book was in the Agreste mansion, Gabriel could be Hawkmoth. And to the surprise of absolutely no one, she's right, and in order to draw off suspicion, Gabriel akumatizes himself into the Collector.

This episode has several good writing decisions for both sides, and the choices the characters make feel natural. Gabriel akumatizing himself is such a smart move, and so is what Marinette and Master Fu do with the book at the end. This episode does a great job setting up future plot threads and establishes Master Fu's character and the mystery associated with him.

The Collector is a visually stunning villain, and his powers are really creative, leading to a great fight with Ladybug and Cat Noir, who use a great strategy to outsmart him. I also love how over the top he is in order to make the heroes believe that he's working for Hawkmoth, all with a devious smile on his face.

This was also the episode that really got me into Miraculous Ladybug as a whole. I checked out the first season on a whim after it was mentioned in a Pan Pizza video, but it was during the hiatus between seasons, and I hadn't really started using Tumblr yet, so it mostly stayed off my radar. When Season 2 started however, I really got invested in the story, and the way this episode turned out was a big reason why. I wondered what it would be like when Adrien finds out his own father is Hawkmoth, and how the story would play out after the reveal.

Despite what it led up to, I still consider “The Collector” to be my favorite episode of Miraculous Ladybug.

Well, now that I talked about that, not it's time to talk about what I consider to be the worst episode of Miraculous Ladybug, “Felix”. God help me...

[mysticdoodles]

Powerful lines from Spinel that hit harder the more you watch

So I’m sure this has probably been done already BUT I’ve been having too many feelings about this movie and especially about this precious new gem so I absolutely have to gush. After watching the movie the first time through, there’s a lot of double meanings to Spinel’s lines that really make her come to life. Obviously this won’t include everything because then I might as well just link the entire dang movie. These lines are the ones that I’ve just found myself thinking about more and more as the days go by since my first watching of the film.

Spoiler alert, most of these are going to be coming from Other Friends (but that’s no big surprise).

!!-SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT, DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE YET-!!

1. “I’ve got a new style, and a few new TOYS.”

Spinel’s introduction is very well framed in a lot of ways, with her slamming down on the injector and backlit by the pink poison glow, but the dialogue is what really hit me. With the context that Pink Diamond abandoned her because Pink eventually grew bored and tired of Spinel, this line in particular struck me as very pointed. Coupled with the slam of her palm against the giant instrument of death, it speaks volumes about how Pink Diamond saw the things that she valued as hers, as well as how Spinel sees herself. Pink had tossed her aside like an unwanted doll - now SHE gets to be the one with fancy new toys, tossing aside her old self just like Pink did.

2. “Yeah yeah, I’ve heard. I’ve had your little message to the universe ON LOOP!”

Pretty blatant in context, but the more you think about it, the sadder it gets. Spinel stood in the garden for six millennia, loyal and faithful to Pink all along, praying she’d return. Instead, all Spinel gets in response is some happy message to the universe from a galaxy-wide intercom that tells her Pink Diamond lived a happy life without her. That everything else was so much better for Pink with her forgotten. That Pink made new friends. Hearing this broke her heart, and traumatized her. Yet she listened over and over to the same message - hoping it would change? Trying to deny it, and see if it wasn’t true? She had the fulfilling relationship she was denied shoved in her face over and over, until she finally gets angry enough to go vent her fury.

3. “[...] where Pink Diamond spends the rest of her days on this NOWHERE PLANET, with a bunch- of- NOBODIES!”

Pink had her own private garden; built just for her, as we know the other diamonds have no taste at all in preserving or keeping organic life. And in the efforts of the Diamond Authority to keep Pink happy, they also gave her Spinel, a gem specifically designed to be a top-of-the-line Best Friend.

And yet despite all of Spinel’s quirky and goofy nature, she was never enough for Pink. The garden, for all its beauty and catering to Pink’s desires, was never enough either. Pink traded her personal playground and ultimate playmate for a planet that was doomed to be colonized and destroyed, and for a- as she puts it- “menagerie” of gems that aren’t particularly special at all. An ‘overcooked’ Amethyst soldier, a Pearl created to be a servant rather than a friend, and a fusion that by Diamond law had been outlawed in Spinel’s time. Spinel was left in her special garden to rot, in exchange for what she views as nothing but a downgrade.

4. “What did she say about me, what did she say? What did you do without me, what did you do? Did you play games without me, what did you play? Did you think all this time that I wouldn’t find out about you?”

These are all the things that ran through Spinel’s head after finding out she’d been left behind for good. That surely Pink Diamond gossiped to her brand new friends about the one she left behind. That surely Pink included her brand new friends in every game she wanted to play that Spinel couldn’t be a part of. That surely everyone involved with Pink Diamond MUST have known about her, and chose to leave her behind. It’s her rationalization for her actions - her excuse to beat on complete strangers for the actions of one person that ruined her life.

5. “Who am I? Who am I?? What are you even saying?”

This is the moment where it hits home for Spinel - that Pink didn’t even talk to other gems about her. Spinel was so unimportant to Pink that she never even crossed her mind or came up in conversation. You can see the moment where shock takes over, and is bulldozed by even greater rage.

All those years, all that waiting, and Pink never once intended on returning, or even so much as acknowledge the existence of her previous ““best friend.””

6. “I’m the loser of the game you didn’t know you were playing!”

Aside from being probably my favorite line in the whole song, this one stuck with me for a good while. It took me until approx. the 54th loop of Other Friends to realize Spinel is being completely literal as well as metaphorical. The reason she stayed in the garden was because- to her- she WAS playing a game with Pink! A game that, by the shallow rules Pink herself set, Spinel has lost. Spinel broke the rules and moved from where Pink told her to stay, and Steven is, for all intents and purposes, what remains of Pink Diamond. He really didn’t know of this false game, none of the Crystal Gems did.

But this hit even harder in the emotional sense - Spinel lost the game long before she moved from her spot in the garden. She lost the minute Pink decided Spinel was better off forgotten on a rock in space than by her side, because her loyalty was wasted on Pink. In Spinel’s steadfast adoration of Pink, she never realized the truth until it was far too late, and she feels all the more foolish for it.

7. “Let’s play another game, this time I get to win! Lives on the line- winner takes all- ready or not, let’s BEGIN!”

Not only is this Spinel’s statement that she’s taking control back by FORCE - that SHE is now the one who gets to pick the games, and as a result, affect the lives of those she “plays” with (just like Pink) - but it’s also a very subtle admission of how this feels. Deep down in the depths of her mind, this isn’t just a mission to cause hurt in turn for the hurt she received, but also a potential suicide mission.

Sure, she might have a good chance of killing ALL of Pink Diamond’s precious new besties; with her fancy new “toys” of a jumbo-sized colony injector full of poison and a factory-reset device for gems, she stands to take out quite a few important Crystal Gems AND the Earth that stole Pink from her, before finishing what she started. But Spinel also acknowledges later in the film that Steven is respected as a legendary savior of the galaxy. She’s playing hardball with powerful figures, and she knows it. That’s WHY she went the extra effort to get such strong equipment before even showing up to the party - Steven and the Crystal Gems were a legitimate threat, who could have easily defeated or even shattered her. And for Spinel, who waited for thousands of years in what I can only describe as emotional torture in solitary confinement, shattering would be preferable to her than one more second of living in that torment.

8. “[We’re going] back, to where I never left.”

Physically leaving the garden never made her problems go away, like how Pink seemed to do with everything she grew bored of. Despite being on Earth, in this ‘new place to play’ and surrounded by gems she’d never met that she could make friends with, even Rejuvenated to be back to how she was supposed to be right out of the kindergarten, she can’t escape the damage done by Pink abandoning her. She’s unable to find happiness yet, haunted by Pink’s actions and decision to discard her. In Spinel’s mind, she’s standing in that garden. Still waiting for Pink. Still waiting for someone, anyone, to come and be her friend.

9. “I don’t want to play anymore.”

This has stopped being a game for Spinel. Attacking and hurting the people she blames for her life being ruined is no longer fun, and doesn’t make her feel better anymore. She’s losing whatever twisted enjoyment she was getting from the one small goal she set for herself to keep moving forward - revenge. So from this point onward, she’s determined to finish things - that maybe actually doing the deed and being done with it would finally make the pain go away.

10. “Why do I want to hurt you so badly? I’m supposed to be your friend... I just want to be your friend...”

Striking out from her anger and pain, Spinel finally recognizes that harming others isn’t going to change how she feels. The pain isn’t disappearing. She’s falling farther and farther from what she truly wants to be. In her heart, she DOESN’T want to harm others, and realizes that she’s lost control of herself and her actions.

And it’s her final plea to Pink Diamond, who she can never get back. That’s all she ever wanted from Pink, and in the end, was it really that much to ask?

[weirdlyokaywithit]

Kiss the Girl pt 2

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: smutty thoughts, Disney princesses, swearing, smart ass remarks

This is the second part of @valkyriesryde’s writing challenge, this is late but better late than never. 

 _________________________________

You woke with a start, a scream tearing out of your throat and tears pouring down your face. Hands fisted in sheets, you were absolutely drenched in sweat and your chest was heaving.

“It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real,” you whispered to yourself. 

Your clock glared 3:42AM in neon green letters, you knew you weren’t going to be able to go back to sleep. After a few deep breaths to steady your breathing and heart rate, you swung your legs out and got up from your bed. You decided to go ahead and start your day, the gym would likely be empty since it was the middle of night. 

After pulling on workout clothes, you took the elevator down to the gym and upon entry JARVIS greeted you and asked if you would like your usual workout playlist. After Kevin Gates started blaring through the speakers, you took a shot of pre-workout and started your warm-up. You were already pouring sweat when the doors to the elevator opened and revealed a tired Bucky Barnes, you called for JARVIS to pause the music. When the music stopped, you sat on one of the benches and Bucky shuffled over to sit next to you. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” He asked softly. 

“Just another nightmare,” you replied, wiping sweat from your brow and swigging out of a water bottle. 

“Can I workout with you?” Bucky asked. 

“You know you don’t have to ask me that, I told you when you got here that you could workout with me any time you want,” you replied, giving him a nudge with your elbow. 

“I’ve seen your workouts, you trying to torture yourself?” Bucky joked.

He wasn’t wrong necessarily, your workouts were designed to push your body so that your mind would stop. You stood up and laughed, you walked over to the free weights section and set up for an intense leg day now that Bucky was joining you. You both got to work on lifting and the silence didn’t bother you like you thought it would, the grunts and semi-laboured breathing. 

“I can’t go back to sleep, after they happen,” you said, softly. 

Bucky’s ocean eyes found mine, he sucked in a deep breath and pushed through the rest of his set before the bar hit the floor. 

“I can’t either, they just start all over again,” Bucky replied, he wiped sweat from his forehead with his forearm. 

You nodded, “Do you think we’ll ever not have them?” 

Bucky’s face softened at the sound of your words, you could see that he was just as tired of plaguing nightmares as you were. He strode the few feet over to stand in front of you and placed his hand on your shoulder, you leaned into the contact. 

“I gave up hope a long time ago, I hope that you don’t have them forever,” his words were low and they wrapped around you warmly. 

Tears welled in your eyes and he pulled you into his arms, his large hand softly stroking your hair as he shushed you. You wound your arms tightly around his waist and held on like he was your lifeline as you silently cried into his chest. He crooned your name in your ear, and swayed with you softly back and forth. Your tears slowly stopped and you just let him hold you like that, it was so intimate and it felt… right being that close to him. You forced yourself to pull away from his arms and wipe your face off.

“Wanna spar now?” You asked, avoiding his eyes. 

The two of you sparred for hours, until Steve eventually came down looking for you two, you were both a mess, gasping for air and disheveled. Bucky would spar with you until you couldn’t take anymore, that was why you two always worked well on missions together. Steve made you and Bucky hit the shower and then show up on time for breakfast, insisting that Tony was gonna have your heads if you weren’t on time. 

After breakfast you decided you needed some downtime and so you ended up in the media room binging Criminal Minds. You were a good six episodes in when JARVIS greeted Bucky as he walked in, your head popped up over the back of the couch and saw him leaning against the doorway. You immediately paused the episode and motioned for him to come sit with you. 

“You can come watch with me if you want, it’s a little dark but the character development is honestly worth getting through some of the freaky parts,” you said as Bucky plopped down next to you. Bucky motioned for you to hit play and he snorted as soon as he saw Reid, and glanced over at you with a small smirk on his face. 

“Yeah, now I see what you were talking about, Y/N, you’re really here for the character development,” He snarked.

“Hey, now, you may think Spence is a dork but that man has three PHDs, and he could throw me around any day,” you joked. 

Bucky snorted and shoved you, “Hey now! I don’t have three PHDs and I throw you around almost everyday.” 

You burst into laughter at that and Bucky couldn’t help but join in after you started wheezing and tears came leaking out. It was JARVIS announcing Sam and Steve behind you that had yours and Bucky’s laughter coming to a halt, they were both holding giant bowls and Steve had a hold of one of Tony’s fedoras. 

“Lady and gentlemen, it is now time for our next movie showing. Bucky you need to draw so we can get this show on the road,” Sam said jovially. 

Bucky rolled his eyes and stuck his hand behind him, Steve moved so his hand was in the hat and Bucky dramatically drew the piece of paper out. He opened it and announced that we would now be watching Beauty and the Beast, you grinned because you knew Bucky would like some parts of this film. Even you could admit that Beauty and the Beast was pretty good, it had funny moments and wholesome ones. 

“YES! Now, tin man, you just need to prepare to be wowed by the GREATEST princess movie of all time!” Sam crowed and plopped on the other couch.

“Yeah, yeah, bird brain, pipe down over there and let the movie speak for itself,” you reminded Sam.

Steve chuckled, “JARVIS, please start Beauty and the Beast.”

“Of course, Mr. Rogers,” JARVIS responded and the Disney music started. 

Bucky scooched closer to you and eventually his shoulder was touching your own, the contact sent the usual butterflies into a frenzy and goosebumps started down your back. You watched as the beautiful Belle sang her way through the village and tried to ignore the nagging voice in your head that was telling you to lay your head on Bucky’s broad shoulder. After continuing to watch absentmindedly, a large warm hand landed on your thigh just above your knee. Your eyes snapped to Bucky’s hand currently on your leg, thumb softly rubbing circles just above your knee sending electric pulses straight to your core. You peered over at him through your lashes, his eyes were locked on the screen but his lips were pulled into a soft smirk. 

God, his lips, they were so damn distracting, he was so damn distracting. All you could think about were his lips kissing their way down your neck, breasts, and stomach to the one place you needed them most. You wanted to tangle your fingers through his chestnut locks and ride his tongue like your life depended on it. You felt a rush of wetness between your thighs and you bit your lip as you prayed that he would never stop rubbing his thumb in those delicious circles on your skin. 

You snapped your attention back to reality when Bucky leaned over and whispered in your ear, “Okay, Sam might have you on this one, doll. I mean seriously, the teacup, c’mon?” 

“Oh chill out, you haven’t even started to witness greatness yet,” you whispered back.

Bucky chuckled softly and his warm breath lingered for just a second and you relished having his mouth so close to you, relished the feeling of Bucky Barnes whispering in your ear. You smiled softly at the man next to you and he returned it with a cheeky grin, his hand giving your thigh a tiny squeeze. You trained your eyes on the screen in front of you and forced yourself to watch the rest of the movie wtih wild thoughts about Bucky running through your mind. Before you knew it, Tale as Old as Time started pouring through the speaker and you took a deep breath. 

As soon as the credits started rolling, Bucky’s hand slid up your thigh before it left your leg and he looked over at you with a goofy grin on his face. The sight of his smile made your heart skip a beat or maybe stutter, you couldn’t decide which but your heart was going haywire. The lights flicked on overhead and you stretched your arms over your head before getting up, Sam was serenading the room with his rendition of Be Our Guest. You and Bucky shared a look before both snickering at your friend, Steve was by the door shaking his head. 

“So, tin man, what did you think of my pick? It was wonderful, wasn’t it?” Sam goaded, giving Bucky a small shove. 

“Birdman, there was a talking candlelabra,” Bucky snorted, and you grinnned. 

“Oh, don’t you talk about my man, Lumiere liike that!” Sam exclaimed. 

Steve laughed heartily as you mocked Sam behind his back, he spun around and you quickly dropped all expression from your face but it was too late he definitely saw you. Sam scooped you up around your knees and tackled you into the couch, you cried out in surprise and before you knew it Sam was ripped off of you and Bucky was standing worriedly close. 

“Y/N, are you okay?” He asked, concern written all over his face.

“Yeah, I’m fine, seriously it was more of a shocked sound than anything,” you reassured him and took the hand he offered to help you up. 

“But, I am starving so can we get food?” You asked with a playful smile.

Bucky grinned and motioned for you to lead the way so you did, heading up to the shared level. While everyone was in the elevator, you bickered about what to eat and none of you could agree so you decided to just do your own thing. 

____________________________________________

Part Three will be up soon! Comment and leave me some feedback :)

[optic-collector]

Name

Optic Collector 

Citizen Name

Azure Sullivan 

Gender

Female 

Age

31

Birthday

October 31

Height

5'7

Sexuality

Demiromantic Demisexual 

Known Relatives

Abraham Sullivan(Father, Decreased)

Caroline Sullivan(Mother, Decreased)

Vylad Kimble(Uncle, Alive)

Personality

Azure is pretty good at only showing parts of her personality towards her victims often being much like a glacier. The most that her victims do see from her is coldness and overjoy when she admires their eyes. She is pretty good at covering her emotions only letting out her admiration knowing it does put fear into many of her victims. 

Azure has an amazing understanding on how most people think and will know how to play with her victims' minds and force them into her hand. However, when dealing with fellow slashers she knows to be cautious when interacting with them as sometimes they can be unpredictable. She is also very intelligent on top of her understanding of how people work. It only makes it easily for her to catch and toy with her victims until she decides to kill them. 

Most of her true personality tends to be hidden until she decides she trusts whoever she meets and will show a little more of herself. Azure can be very childish though she knows many do look down on her for that. She has a very playful nature while definitely still being very mature. Once she openly shows all of her personality she is goofy, dorky and is definitely much more open and not as secretive as she usually is. She is self conscious especially when it comes to her blind eye and even in herself personality wise. Sullivan is also very touch starved so she can get very touchy and needy when she views the other in a romantic way which does rarely happen.

Love is a very complicated subject for Azure Sullivan. She had locked her heart behind many walls unsure if she should ever feel love or give her sensitive heart to another. SHe can be rather clingy but will hold herself back out of respecting the other and would even distance herself and fight back her own emotions to protect herself. She has anxiety especially when it comes to anything in relation to love so it definitely takes a lot of trust and reassurance for her to fully welcome love.

Hobbies

Doll Making/customizing

Designing Characters

Clay working

Backstory 

Azure Sullivan was born to Abraham and Caroline Sullivan on the night of Halloween night becoming their eldest and only child. Childhood was rather normal and average compared to many yet she grew up in a rather rich part of the city. Her parents seemed in love with each other and both loved her yet that wasn’t ever true. Her father was usually the one to give her gifts and actually showed any worry when it came to her eye and its condition. Growing up her mother was distant from her and usually ignored her when her father wasn’t in the room and would often send her out of the house just so she wouldn’t have to deal with her. Her mother became jealous of her own daughter and became insecure in her relationship and tried many ways to keep her husband’s focus on her all through her daughter’s childhood. From her view she wasn’t her child, this came clear when Azure was 13.

It was the new year when a man broke into their home hoping to kidnap her and use her to force her parents to cough up money for her return. That night her mother happened to have been out cheating on her father with another rich man. Her father instantly figured what was happening when he heard a window break; he locked her bedroom door then went to confront the inturreder only to be met with a blunt object and then a knife to the back. The kidnapper then quickly left as the house suddenly realized what they did and the fact that there were sirens coming closer. She was awoken to police breaking down her door to make sure she was safe.

After that night, her mother fully showed her colors towards her daughter. Azure lived with 2 year of torment and hatred from Caroline til she finally snapped. And during those years her mother made her eye so much worse not caring about her health which led to her slowly going blind in one eye. She pinned her mother to the ground holding a spoon as she spoke very calmly to her mother “pity such beautiful eyes are owned by such a vile person who simply used her husband for his wealth” and with that she spooned out her mother’s eyes putting them in a jar then murdered her. She then made it seem like the attacker was also going to get her staging the whole scene as she panic called the cops. 

Her mother’s brother ended up being her legal guardian after that. She soon learned her brother did disown her mother but still chose to stay for his niece and poor brother-in-law. From her Uncle, she learned how horrible her mother truly was. After she started to leave with her uncle, she started to openly date which all would end with her finding out the person cheated on her and everytime she would stalk taske their eyes and kill them while making it so it didn’t even point to her. As she continued to stay with her uncle, she went to school to become a medical student and that piqued her interest more when she was studying eyes and surgery relating to them. 

She had started a build of a cabin in the woods somewhere near a lake in which she would take her victim’s eyes and kill them. She also started to look into other slashers that often were talked about in the news curious to how they were never yet she too had yet to be caught. As she started her career as a doctor at a nearby hospital, she slowly started to pick out her targets from her patients which slowly turned into anyone who would visit the lake and wander upon her hidden cabin. Soon numbers started to skyrocket on her kills as she continued to live with her Uncle helping him and paying bills.

Powers and Abilities 

Pain Resistance- She is still human but has gotten used to pain as her mother was abusive towards her be in secret or openly til she was 15.

Stealth- She often uses her small size to hide and sneak around and even would often go unnoticed by her victims until the moment she takes them away. 

Intelligence- She is know to out think her victims and even can play them in to the palm of her hand as she 

Weapon Proficiency- While she knows how to use two of her main tools/weapons, she can still use whatever is within her grasp to proficiently end her victim’s lives.

Hunting Skills/Tracker- she can track down, trap, and pursue her victims relentlessly and can quickly adapt to her surroundings instantly, and will not stop until her victims are dead. 

Surgical Ability- Having gone to school and it being her professional job outside of her killing ways she can do almost any surgery in almost an instant however there are a few she is willing to try for the first time yet won’t admit it was her first time until after the procedure. 

Multilingual/Sign Language Understanding- She is proficient in 5 different spoken languages and their respected sign language being English, Spanish, Russsian, Japanese and French. ASL, LSE, РЖЯ, JSL and LSF. She has learned these languages to communicate with patients, victims and other slashers a like. She's been learning different languages since she was young and started with her father teaching her and evolved into her learning on her own.

Weapons

Custom Surgical tools 

Sickles

Whatever she has at hand

[xhanisai]

Miraculous Ladybug: Kiss AU

Feel free to delete the bold if you want to post this. This was the only thing that I worked on for the last few days. I really hope you like it. I did use, I think, every idea you put in. I used every one of the dialogues that you used and only edit them slightly. I did add my own thing slightly. A reason why that the kiss is needed for transformation. I did read your other items about the episodes and even Bubbler. I really liked the Bubbler one you wrote. And if you wanted, I could keep writing more. I really enjoyed doing this. But only if you want me to write more. It is your AU.

“Wait, you mean I have to kiss this stranger to become a hero!? The hell!” Marinette yelled out as she pointed both her hands at the blond boy next to her. ‘He looks like he could be a model!’

Her eyes were wide, and she was slightly panicking. She was not sure entirely sure what was happening. She had seen this old man (pervert?) the other day when he fell down. And now she was in his massage parlour with what looked like the concept of teenage heartthrob made flesh. 

The pair would occasionally look at each, Adrien gave a small wave with a genuine smile toward Marinette. This made her slightly flustered, making her blush and look away. Why was this boy so familiar?

“Yes, though this rule is very new. Believe me, I do not make the rules when it comes to transforming. If it were up to me I would rather you not know each other’s identities. This could cause problems down the road. But, when I think about it, I can see more of the good it will do than harm. You two will be a more effective team and be able to beat evil and keep the order in Paris from Hawk Moth. I believe Tikki told me that one duo had to dance together to become their hero personas.” Master Fu smiled as he drank from a small cup of tea, enjoying the warm beverage on this cool day. The moment he saw these two he knew they were meant to be. They needed a little push. Though a certain red bug wasn’t innocent in the matter either. 

Marinette felt like she was about to crumble. Here she was, being told that she had to kiss someone to be a hero. This couldn’t be real. She had to be dreaming. This had to be some weirdos dream. She accidentally Incepted herself in their dream and now they were controlling this world. But she was reading earlier, well mostly skimming that magazine but still read words. And that was a condition of a dream. You can’t read in them. 

Adrien looked over at Marinette. He couldn’t help but get excited. He had never kissed anyone before, and he did not count photo shoots where it looked like he was kissing female models. He was never comfortable kissing random girls. But Marinette, she was different. He felt a strange connection to her. He hoped that she felt the same. She looked super confident. And even though she was flustered right now, he could tell she was strong at heart, and sorta physically imposing. 

‘WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM GONNA KISS THIS HANDSOME BOY! DO I THANK THE MAN ABOVE OR CURSE THE MAN BELOW! AHHH’ Marinette thought while keeping a somewhat stern voice, listening to Fu talk.

 “So you’re telling me that in order to transform into a super cool cat hero to beat Stoneheart, I have to kiss her? The prettiest girl I’ve ever seen who looks like she could kick my ass? I don’t mind as long as she’s okay with it.” He gave a big smile as he closed his eyes. The last thing he wanted this girl to be was uncomfortable. 

“Y-Y-YOU THINK I’M PRETTY!?” She turned crimson, and that made Adrien blush. Her stutter made his heart beat a little faster. She wasn’t uncomfortable at all with Adrien, or the kiss itself. She was worried that if she did he would regret it and her first kiss would be ruined. She began to hyperventilate. Then, she felt a hand on her. He looked at her with that warm smile and she suddenly felt her worries melt away. This boy, he was magical. 

She stood up and clenched her fists. She brought her forearms toward her stomach, standing confident and triumphantly. She irradiated confidence. She grabbed the Miracle Box containing the earrings, a red flash of light appeared and out popped a strange red creature with black spots on her head. She quickly introduced herself as Tikki, the Kwami of Creation and how she would be used to turn her into a superhero.

Adrien smiled at this, being infected by her confidence and grabbed his own Miracle Box. A flash of green light appeared as Adrien followed it around his body. A small black cat appeared floating in front of the teen. The cat, lazily, explained how he was the Kwami of Destruction. The other half to his Sugar Cube. 

“I told you not to call me that! Call me that again and I will start calling you Stinky Sock.”

“Whatever you say Sugar Cube.”

Adrien and Marinette both smiled at this small exchange. Thinking the same thing. 

“They are so in love.”

“They are so in love.”

Marinette then took a deep breath. They needed to hurry. The couldn’t let Stoneheart parade around any longer and cause mischief. Though they were apparently teleported here to save time, it didn’t mean they could dillydally. They quickly equipped the jewellery, Marinette sorta wincing as it had been a bit since she wore earrings. 

Adrien walked to Marinette, grabbing both of her hands and held them up to his chest. He gave them a small kiss, thinking that it would help calm her nerves. When he looked up she was red once more, which made Adrien want to do it again, but he would have to wait till next time. 

Marinette squeezed his hands tight, looking up at him. He was much taller than she thought. She looked into his green eyes, gulping as she was nervous. When he kissed her hand, she felt better honestly, just super flustered. She did her best to not show it as she smiled. He was rather gentle with her like he was putting her feelings before the whole situation. 

As they looked into each others’ eyes they slowly drifted toward each other. They closed their eyes as their lips locked. This kiss sent shivers up their spines. It made Marinette want to press deeper into it. Adrien didn’t want to let her go. Her lips were cold against his warm ones. They didn’t kiss long, but they could feel a spark through it. It felt right to kiss each other. And 

Marinette was the first to pull away, though she was hesitant to do so. After they finished their 4-second kiss the Kwamis flew inside their jewellery, forming the costumes of their personas. 

They looked at each other for a moment, smiling as they stepped back from each other. The grabbed their weapons, Marinette whirled her yoyo a bit spinning it a little to fast. Adrien looked at his staff, examining it as he pressed the green paw print on the handle. Marinette lost control of the yoyo, it flying in the air and hitting Adrien in the head as his staff extended and hit Marinette in the temple. They both groan in and rubbed their heads, chuckling as Fu opened the window, gesturing toward it. 

“Go forth young heroes.” 

______________________________________________________

“Pound it!” They both yelled out in Unison as they smiled at a job well done. Their Miraculous beeped and Chat Noir looked at his ring. 

“Until later Mar….um m’ lady! Let’s meet up tomorrow morning. I know a pur-fect place to meet” He said nervously. He had almost given her name away. He knew who she was, but he remembered the fact that Master Fu wanted their identities originally secret from one another. So he probably shouldn’t say her name. 

“Ladybug. You call me Ladybug, Chaton.” She quickly said as she twirled her yoyo. She swung out the field and toward her home as Adrien used his baton to exit quickly. 

Ivan and Alya just watched the heroes leave. She quickly made her way towards Ivan, who looked very confused. “Just where exactly am I and why was there a couple in a leather suit out here?”

Ladybug entered her room, her transformation wearing off just a few seconds after she landed on her bed through the trap door. She let out a sigh, laying down on the bed, as she quickly crawled under the covers.

“Why isn’t school just cancelled for tomorrow. Makes no sense…” She fell asleep, exhausted after fighting her first supervillain. Tikki watched her and smiled. She soon rested on the pillow falling asleep with her chosen. A nagging thought wasn’t able to leave her mind though. Was she forgetting something? 

The next morning Marinette woke up excited to see Adrien again. She had received a text from him, saying to meet at a local diner. She actually woke up early, to doll her self up. Which meant a bit of lip gloss and clear coat on her nails. She looked at Tikki, she was deep in sleep even with all the noise she made. She must be exhausted after not using her powers for so long. She gave the small Kwami a kiss on the head and headed out without explaining to her parents. They just looked at each other and said “Teenagers.”

After about a half-hour of walking and jogging with excitement, she arrived at the designated in the text. It was a local chain, about a few dozen across the entirety of France. There were about 6 in Paris. She walked in, the smell of fresh bacon and baked good along with the TV’s plastered all around was comforting. She noticed college students working, some talking, and what she assumed was the table of old men who were regulars that came for the coffee and company of their peers. She spotted Adrien in the back and waving at her. She was nervous because she had no idea if this counted as a date or just friends eating out together. Friends who kiss. To become superheroes. And may or may not have kissed a second time before the battle for good luck. 

She sat across him in the booth, his goofy smile plastering his face as he rubbed the back of his head. He hoped this didn’t weird her out. They had about two hours before school started, so he had time before heading there. He was thankful that Nathalie bought his excuse.

“Why did you want to meet here?” She placed her book bag on the seat, resting her elbows on the table as her head was placed on her palms. 

“Well, I thought that we could know each other. I doubt we will ever see each other outside of our ‘jobs’ so I was hoping we can be…um…friends….” That word felt like poison to him. Like he was hated if he referred to Marinette as a friend only. He had no idea why he thought this. 

They only began to start talking, Adrien mentioned his father before every TV in the diner switched to the news. Nadja Chamack was on screen, her hair a mess and out of breath. 

“Breaking News. It seems that the Villain our new superheroes stopped yesterday has returned 10 fold! He appears to have multiplied and is all across the city. Several eye-witnesses claim that a large swarm of black butterflies erupted from the Effiel Tower and spread across the city. These butterflies came into contact with random people and turned them into the monster. They are as still as statues. The one question I know is on everyone’s mind is; Where are Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

“I failed…Those people….They….”

She let out some tears. An event like this, something that affected many peoples lives negatively. She failed them. She hurt them. Their lives put on halt because of her inability to act. She began to hyperventilate, clutching her chest as she looked at the screens. She couldn’t take it. She grabbed her bag and ran and out the diner, Adrien is not far behind her. 

She kept running until she ran face-first into one of the Stoneheart clones. She let out a scream, cowering for a moment before realising that it wasn’t moving. Adrien caught up with her, grabbing her hand and taking her to an alleyway. She fell against the wall, dropping her bag and closing her eyes.

“Marinette, listen to me. Everything will be ok. We just have to-”

“It’s not ok! I am the reason we failed. There was a tiny voice screaming in the back of my mind to do something about the Akuma but I failed to act! It is my fault!”

She looked at Adrien, taking his ring off him suddenly and grabbing his face. She forced a quick kiss from him. Tikki woke up suddenly, grabbing on to the bed railing as if she was being sucked by a powerful vacuum. She lost her grip and with great speed, she was transported to an alleyway. She saw Marinette pulled away from the kiss as she was sucked into the Miraculous. She transformed into Ladybug, tears in her eyes as she gave him back the ring. She grabbed her backpack and grabbed her yoyo, spinning it as she refused to look at him. 

“WAIT! M’LADY!. 

She ignored him and used her yoyo to soar through the air and head home. She reached her balcony in about 6 minutes. She entered her room, clutching her sides as she sobbed. Her transformation dropped, Tikki forcing the transformation to go away. She slid across the bed, looking up at Marinette. “I am sorry Tikki. I don’t think I can be Ladybug any more. I will find you someone who can.”

Before Tikki could object and explain what to do she took off the earrings, unknowingly renouncing her position. She looked at the red jewels, placing them back in their Miracle Box and setting it in her backpack. The rest of the morning she felt dreary, and her dad tried his best to cheer her up, even managed to get her to smile. But she couldn’t stop thinking about how she was the reason those people were trapped. She couldn’t handle such a responsibility. The clumsy baker would never make a great superhero.

When she arrived on campus she spotted a bag falling from the second story. Alya groaned from above, looking at the bag as it fell onto the ground. Alya. She loves superheroes. She would be great to be the next Ladybug. Marinette quickly moved to her bag, setting the Miracle Box inside. She grabbed the bag and headed up the stairs, smiling at Alya as she handed it, and the burden of heroism, to her. Alya thanked her and headed to the classroom. 

Just outside Adrien was running up the steps to the school. He wanted to use his powers to sneak out and get a head start, but he couldn’t activate them without Marinette. Not that it was a possibility anyway. He was halfway up the steps when he heard a loud honk. He looked back, seeing Gorilla and Nathalie in the car. Nathalie stepped out and walked toward Adrien. She was about to say something before Adrien yelled out.

“Please, just tell my father you were too late and couldn’t get to me in time.” He had a pleading look in his eyes as he ran up the remainder of the steps. Disappearing into the school Nathalie just sighed, holding a brown paper bag. She had made a small lunch for him. Though it was only PB&J with yoghurt she thought he might need it. 

Alya had walked to the seats, Marinette close behind when she heard a yell, causing her to tense up and curse to herself from being scared. 

“MARINETTE!!!!!!”

“Adrien!?!?”

Adrien ran up to Marinette, wrapping his arms around her tight. Her face turned red at the contact. Several emotions welled up inside of her. One part joy, one part fear out of him knowing her decision. But she can’t help but press her arms around him. He wasn’t mad at her, he could tell. Was he worried?

“How could you leave me! ‘I can’t save Paris on my own! You don’t just kiss a guy and run away!” Adrien blurted this all out loud, his face buried in her neck as she said this. 

Alya walked up to the pair, smirking as she pushed her glasses up on her nose with her middle finger. “Marinette~ I didn’t know that you had a boyfriend.~” She said teasingly as she chuckled. 

Chloe looked was in the background. Kim, Alix, Max, and Rose had to hold her back. They swore that they could see fire spewing from her mouth as she screamed and kick. 

“How is she this strong!” Kim yelled out.

“ADRIKINS!!!!!!”

“Boyfriend? I’m her partner.” Adrien answered innocently, finally showing his face. He squished his cheeks against the deadpanned looking Marinette, quirky smile on his lips as everyone else took a double-take at his words.

“Can you excuse us for a minute, please? Thanks!” Marinette stormed off with a love-struck Adrien being led by the wrist. She brought them to the locker room, pushing Adrine inside with a huff. This room is soundproof thanks to nobody wanting to listen to young teenagers gossip 

“What the hell is wrong with you! You almost exposed your identity to everyone in the classroom. I was an exception but they can’t know about you being Chat Noir!”

“Wait, what about you?” He crossed his arms and leaned closer to her. “What about your identity.”

Marinette looked down and to the left. She rubbed her forearm, feeling small as she clenched her mouth shut. She wanted to speak, but she couldn’t.

“Well?”

“I gave it up! I gave up this stupid burden I didn’t want to have in the first place!” She yelled out as she threw her hands down. Tears threatened the corner of her eyes as she looked up at Adrien. Not to her surprise, but he had a look of shock, but…hurt? That surprised her. 

“Why would you just give up on me…I mean this job like that? We could do great things together!” He took a step toward her, and she moved a step back. She felt a small amount of shame build-up, but she pushed it back as she took a hard step toward him.

“I never asked for this! All I have done is help an old man not get run over by a damn car! Suddenly that qualifies me to be a hero! Then Ethan Mars definitely deserves to have my…The Ladybug Miraculous then.”

“Marinette you shouldn’t be so harsh on yourself. We are human and we make mistakes-”

“Exactly! I am a teenager and I just made a huge mistake that could get many people killed. I can’t do it. I won’t do it. I…I can’t.”

Adrien looked at her. He hated this. He hated this feeling brewing inside of him. He felt hate. But it wasn’t toward Marinette. It was toward the person who caused this. The man, woman, trans, or whatever they identify as, fault.

“So that’s it…? Fine… but don’t mistake this as me giving up on you. I’ve seen your potential and I know why Master Fu has chosen you. I’ll make you see how amazing you are, even if it takes me a thousand years! That’s a promise.” 

He looked at her, his face, his whole demeanour more serious than he had even been his entire life. He grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle, yet loving kiss. At the same time, the two felt something. They were both not entirely sure what it was, but they liked it. 

The duo walked back to class, sitting down across from each other. The entire time they kept glancing at each other. The entire class could feel and almost see the tension. Alix even said out loud, “Does anyone have a knife? This tension is in my way and I can’t focus on my school work.”This got some laughs from the rest of the class and caused the two teens to blush in embarrassment.

Later that day Marinette tried to cheer up Ivan. She knew that he was a strong boy and that he could beat these negative emotions. She gave him a small pep talk and the idea to write a song for Mylene. After talking with him she went back to the classroom, talking with Alya for a moment as she spied Chloe and Adrien talking. She let out a sigh, only to have the door burst open and the wall destroyed. Stoneheart yelled out his name as it was called. He grabbed Mylene and Chloe, the latter screaming about her hair as he burst through the wall. 

“Ivan is a supervillain and is going to terrorize the city! I am so there!” Alya yells out loud. Marinette looks at Alya, seeing her reach into her bag and get excited for a moment. Alya takes out her phone and throws her bag at Marinette. She catches it instinctively and watches her new friend leave. 

“Thanks for watching my bag! Love you!” Her voice got farther and farther away. 

Marinette tried to yell at her about her bag, grabbing it and letting out a breath. Adrien was at the hole in the wall, looking out of it and closing his eyes. 

“This is crazy. This is crazy.” He yelled as he jumped out, landing on the street he began running in the direction of Stoneheart. Along the way he found a street vendor selling kitchen supplies. He stopped and examined them all. He picked up a frying pan, nodded, paid for it, and continued to run. He grabbed a mask from a different vendor selling cheap costumes, ignoring the banana costume as some weird man was looking at it. ‘Like I’ll ever wear that right…..’

Marinette was at the hole, groaning she gripped Alya’s bag tight and ran out the door. She tried her best to follow Alya, but she had too much of a head start. She finally found Alya, she was recording behind some trash cans and filming Adrien. She raised an eyebrow, watching as this goofball was narrowly missing giant stone fists that were crashing down upon him. He was dodging them as best as he could, thankful to his father that his fencing lessons have a practical use outside of looking cool. 

That’s when it happened. Stoneheart backhanded a car, sending it flying toward Alya unknowingly. She screamed, pushing herself to the wall, falling into a very narrow doorway. The car had her trapped, the door behind her locked and no space to crawl out. She felt like this was the end. She reached her hand out, feeling the fresh air on her hand as oxygen supply was low in this space. If she didn’t she get more soon, she would suffer brain damage. Due to the space that she had, she had more than normal circumstances with no oxygen. 

This awoke something in Marinette. Time seemed to slow down for her. She watched her friend’s hand desperately reach out for help. Adrien was trying and failing, to fight off Stoneheart. It hit her. She knew why she was chosen, and she was going to make it right. She quickly grabbed the earring out of Alya’s bag, putting them on as Tikki appeared from the box. Before Marinette could say anything she was hugged by the creature. 

“I’d knew you would come back.”

Marinette smiled, kissing the Kwami on the head and bolted toward Adrien. He was out of breath, his lovely frying pan was dented to all hell, and worse of all, he didn’t have a single pun the could throw at this oversized Thing™ without cringing himself. He closed his eyes, ready to embrace whatever the Stoneheart was gonna do to him. But he felt himself being tackled. The scent of vanilla wafting through his nose. They rolled away, going into a small alleyway and away from prying eyes. He had landed on top of this girl, revealing herself to be Marinette. 

“You came back …why?” Adrien gasped, hope bubbling in his chest as he peered down into the girl’s vivid blue eyes. They shone with determination that he has never seen on anyone, ever. This look in her eyes was infectious. She saved him and filled him with determination.  

“Seeing my partner and new friend in trouble may have sparked the fire within,” Marinette smirked. It quickly turned into an apologetic frown. “Listen, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have deserted you like that and let my insecurities take over me. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. You know what I’m going through the most and I just-”

She was silenced with a finger on her lips- or was it the fond, loving smile of his that radiated pure sunshine? 

“What matters the most is that you came back, Marinette,” The way he breathed out her name did wonders to her heart. Was she falling for him? “I’ll follow you, protect you, and help you all the way. You and me against the world!”

Marinette couldn’t help but melt. If she can’t do it for Paris, then the very least she can do is do it for him. She’ll protect his smile no matter what. And if she should fail, she hopes that they are together in the final moment. 

“Guess it only took you two hours to get me back on track,” The dark-haired girl grinned cutely, clasping her arms around Adrien’s neck before pulling him in for a kiss. Adrien’s eyes went wide but quickly closed them. He held her close, feeling the passion that she put into the kiss and applied his own. He felt a strange connection form between them as during this kiss. He couldn’t explain it, but it felt right. When they pulled away from each other, which admittedly was hard for both of them to do, they were already transformed. 

“Now let’s go save Alya and get this Akuma.”

______________________________________________________

Marinette stood outside, the rain pouring down as she stood under the small shelter of the arc under the door. Everyone had left, and Marinette was hoping to catch Alya before she left. Wanting to hopefully talk and just make sure she was ok. She always hated the rain made her hair almost impossible to comb or brush. Tikki flew out from her purse, smiling at her and tapped Marinette on the nose. 

“I’m so proud of you and what you did today,” She said with a smile as she sat on her shoulder. 

“Thanks, Tikki. I am glad you never gave up on me. I have a feeling this will be the start of a wonderful friendship.”

She heard footsteps behind her, seeing Adrien with his umbrella and sent a wave to him. Plagg was on his shoulder whispering in his ear. “Go get her.”

Adrien smiled and took a few steps back to her. She blushed when he came back, making him smile wider. ‘She has such a cute smile. She really is beautiful.’ He walked up to her, extending his hand out to her with the umbrella. 

“You don’t have to walk in the rain. If it is anything like mine you will need a special comb just to get it untangled.” He laughed and offered his umbrella to her. 

She looked down, blushing as she extended her hand out. Their fingers touched, and at that moment Marinette felt her heart speed up. She knew she was in love. This model, who was a stranger to her not 24 hours ago, stole her heart and held it close. Adrien felt it too. He told himself he felt the love for her during her fantastic display at the Eiffel Tower. But when she touched him, it only confirmed his feelings. She took the umbrella, about to say something when it collapsed on her. Adrien laughed. Laughed the most in several months of depression. Being around this girl was like a shot of dopamine to his entire being. He leaned in, kissing her cheek and narrowly missing the corner of her mouth.

“Bye m’ lady. I can’t wait to save the day with you once more, and to see you at school tomorrow.” 

He smiled and walked away, leaving Marinette in shock and flustered. As soon as Adrien entered the car for him, he couldn’t help but exclaim his giddy. Marinette did the same, unconsciously wiggling her butt. Something she always did whenever she was excited. 

Then, unknown to the both of them and they headed home, looking at their Kwamis they said in unison. 

“I love him”

“I love her.”

Master Fu stood in the rain, holding his umbrella and smiling as he began to walk away. “That went better than expected Wayzz. They really are meant for each other. Best not to tell Marinette that it was Tikki’s idea to do the kiss after staking out the both of them they ‘saved me’.”

“That would be wise Master. That would be very wise.”

They both had a laugh before heading to their own home. Knowing many trials and tribulations will await the Ladybug and Chat.

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

Duuuuuuuude this was brilliant! I can’t believe you spent so much time on this! This is all so good! I loved your interpretation on this AU and I really loved how you portrayed the characters! Thank you very much for writing it <333

Now if you excuse me, I’m going to reread this again and again~! This will put everyone in such a great mood after watching such an eventful episode yesterday lol

[otterenergy1962]

Letting go of old beliefs - part 3

In part 1 and 2, I wrote about life situations that caused me to have limiting beliefs about myself. For this entry, I am focusing on one that has run through the core of my being and has been persistently there for my entire life. As I examine it, I am starting to locate the actual point(s) in time that caused this limiting belief.

I am plain and unattractive.

It is a simple fact that I don’t always see why others people think that I am attractive. Some people even go as far as to say that I already know that or that I take advantage of it. I’ve been accused of being an attention seeker for posting a picture of my weightlifting progress… Many people just make assumptions and seem to be quite willing to express the same to me because they feel safe behind their keyboard.  Would any of them have the courage to say so in front of my face?

One of my old desires was to look like a Tom of Finland drawing. For my straight friends, Tom of Finland was an artist who drew gay men in a hyper-masculine manner. The men were often extremely muscular and well-endowed. I always thought that I was a man who was too far from even being close to resembling a hyper-masculine caricature. I felt very different inside. I was still that overweight kid that had low self esteem and low self worth.

Sometimes guys project their ideas and feelings onto me. I’ve gotten friendship requests on FaceBook from men who seem to be a really nice guys. Once friended and without my request, a dick pic (or other parts of the body) shows up and I feel disappointed because they must only see me for what they believe I am. If I post a picture of myself without my shirt on does that mean that I am a whore and want others to automatically think think that I am seeking such? That I am willing to toss them a nude shot of me without any self-respect?

My ex husband would often say that I was the straightest gay man that he had ever known. He said this because I would often wear jeans and a t-shirt, didn’t seem to have any fashion sense or didn’t partake in the stereotypical gay man’s activities. I didn’t want to sleep around with everyone, didn’t obsess with HGTV, didn’t go to raves stoned on various drugs or believing that the grass might be greener on the other side of some stupid fence so that I could dump one man for a better one…. He even said that I didn’t have the gay designer gene!

After all, I didn’t fit the Tom of Finland stereotype. I liked reading, writing, science fiction, gardening, cooking and more. I liked walking on the beach and camping.   I didn’t ride a motorbike or wear leather and role play hyper-masculine fantasies. So, why didn’t I start acting like I was a Tom of Finland man so that I could PRETEND that I was something that I was not? My ex husband, Henry, did that all the time. I used to giggle about his desire to be a butch leather fantasy man who loved doilies, frilly antique pieces and miniature doll houses! I didn’t deem it necessary to pretend that I was something that I wasn’t.

In my journey of self discovery, I have learned that it is okay to be silly, dance to Madonna in my underwear while making dinner or singing Donna Summer tunes while cleaning the house. By the way, I clean my house in jeans and a t-shirt! How “un-gay” can that be? I love otters, not in the gay sense, but the animal. A gay otter is a man that loves bears. Bears are big and hairy guys. So, I’m not a gay otter, but am nicknamed Otter because I want to be playful like my spirit animal. A friend recently told me that one of things he loves about talking to me is how I say goodbye on a FaceTime call. I wave bye-bye like I do with my students! He says that I have this cute child-like grin on my face and wave quick little wave. He says it is really cute!  Okay, definitely not Tom of Finland! What makes it okay is that I don’t have to conform. I can be anything I want.

As I write this, I think back to when I was a child. I loved to play ball tossing games and skipping rope. Tom of Finland guys don’t skip Double Dutch… or do they? This brings up a question that my friend, Gary, recently asked me. “What would you say to that little kid that loved Double Dutch and tossing a ball against a wall whilst singing songs? Why does he like doing those things?” He would say because it was fun. There wasn’t a rule that said I couldn’t do those things. I didn’t like playing sports that much and seemed to enjoy the girls’ company more than the boys’.

It wasn’t until I was a few years later that I found out that being different would surface in a negative way. Suddenly, the word “Fag” starting being heard. The Double Dutch guy was a fag who felt dumpy and nondescript. I think that I was trying to make myself that way to avoid being noticed. If you made yourself as nondescript as possible, the bullies wouldn’t notice you as much. Duck your head and look the other way! I can even remember telling my mother that I didn’t feel good about myself. She just said that I would grow out of it…

I didn’t. I took that idea into my adult life. I continued to believe that I was nondescript and unattractive. When I came out, men liked me because of my age, or so I thought.  I figured that being young made you attractive. It never occurred to me that I was attractive in some other way.

I’ve already written about the AIDS crisis and how it affected me. When you are HIV+, you see the world through a different lens. In the early years of AIDS, people like me were considered pariahs. You were considered so because people were afraid. I remember the stories of the early years where men who had this unknown disease were isolated in rooms at hospitals, their food trays left in the hallway for fear of getting this unknown disease. For more information, read this article: https://www.out.com/positive-voices/2016/12/01/woman-who-cared-hundreds-abandoned-gay-men-dying-aids#media-gallery-media-1 . Like the men in the story, I felt abandoned. My partner at the time was so afraid of the syndrome that he refused to touch me. In my mind, he abandoned me, so I  abandoned him and tried to move on. Relationships became more and more difficult.  Even hook ups were impossible because I didn’t want to infect someone else by accident. So all those years of dealing with HIV had a major affect on my view of being unattractive and undesirable. It fortified my original concept of myself. Gradually, as I met more HIV+ men, I began to have relationships that were more comfortable, but the effect of the situation has stayed with my all of my adult life.

I’ve also written about how exercise saved my life in those times. I’ve been exercising ever since in the form of weights, aerobics and group fitness classes. I also taught them from 1990-2013 and developed a real sense of physical fitness. In those times, I developed the belief that to be attractive, one had to be muscular and fit. I was able to hide my disability though exercise and bulking up. In all that time, I never considered the possibility of looking inside and seeing the person or soul who had the muscular, fit body. All I could see was an imperfect body, never fit enough, all the flaws with my face, my body, and my soul. I could rally a major list of flaws, but seldom looked at the positives.

It has been in the last few years after major relationships ended, and dealing with cancer that I have come to see what I need to see. I began to look inside for the answers. I am still on that road to understanding and loving myself. I can honestly say that I am an attractive man, not totally because of my outside appearance, but what is also inside. My friend, Gary, again come up with a nugget of wisdom one night as we discussed the difference between being attractive, being desirable, being appealing etc. We even discussed who we thought was stunningly beautiful! The nugget was, “Keep your eyes, ears and heart open to an opportunity to try something new!” I’ve opened all of my senses to take the opportunity to see what is beautiful in me!

So, I was curious about what people thought of me. I asked a group of friends, some of them have been sexual partners and some have been platonic friends. The answers stunned me. The points that came up the most were:

“… you are a man that speaks and acts from your heart and have nothing but the best intentions for those you care about most.”

“You’re incredibly kind and caring. You’ve been kind of like a "Daddy" type to me by nurturing me and giving me tough love when needed. You're an animal lover. You’re intelligent. Strong. All of that. Confident.”

“Your eyes are intense, showing your beautiful soul and genuine warm and caring smile.  Then you’re so warm, kind, respectful, affectionate...  fun and adventurous.”

“You come across as what we call in Arabic, ‘the combination of the opposites’ - you are silent and brooding but at the same time really kind and caring, and you can be goofy and fun when the time calls for it. You are a serious man who has no problem showing emotions and vulnerability. You are strong, yet fragile.”

“You’re kind and easily let people in. And it’s just very easy to be around you, a very welcoming presence.”

Where there examples that showed that they thought I was attractive?  You bet! However, they have been tempered with the above points, telling me that it is more than just what is on the outside, and that the inside is just as important:

“Physically, for me you are definition of what I consider hot, attractive, not pretty girly but stern masculine look and a warm beautiful smile, you’re tall and muscular and very aggressive sexually chemistry that just is a drug to me.”

“Obviously you’re extremely handsome and built. You’re into a lot of fun and hot things, such as rubber and kink.”

“Superficially, you’re ruggedly handsome.”

“Ok, here’s my honest answer: physical aspects: silver, salt and pepper hair and beard are very attractive to me, combined those signs of a well seasoned man with the body of a well trained one and then you have a lethal combo that many can’t resist.”

“And top if off, you’re a very sexy and handsome man. ❤️”

So, can I honestly say that I am attractive? Am I a Tom of Finland kind of guy? The answer has been coming to me more lately. I’ve taken a few selfies and I’ve looked past the crooked smile and the grey hair. I’ve ignored the wrinkles and saw the warmth and beauty in my own eyes. There is a softness and a love that I’ve not noticed before. Is it selfish or conceited to find the self love and the things that make me attractive to myself?  I’m going to have to say no. If anyone says that I am posting pictures of me with my new glasses to just to get attention or to make me feel better by hearing everyone’s opinions… I have have something to say: These guys need to push off and find somewhere else to dump their own insecurities! They need to acknowledge their projections and their own conceptions of self onto me. I’m not a narcissistic man who posts pictures and says, “Look at me! Hello! I am here! I am beautiful and don’t I know it?”  Give me a fucking break!  All I am is a man who looked into the mirror, deep into his own eyes and found the soul and heart of a man that people find attractive and beautiful for many reasons.

I’ve since had that conversation with the little boy inside who thought he was nondescript and unattractive. We’ve consoled each other and come to love each other for all of our traits. Thank you guys (Gary, Bryan, Seann, Ray, Masoud et al), for your comments. Thank you for helping me see that being attractive starts at home in the belief of the self. I love you guys!

Carpe diem!

[tangledcassandra]

Slow Dance With You

Title: Slow Dance With You

Description: Prom only comes once a year, and for some, once in a lifetime.

[Read on AO3]

Chapter 1:

Cassandra entered her bedroom and immediately knew something was amiss. Everything in her personal space was always purposely placed, extremely organized for maximum efficiency. But something was different. Off, perhaps. She glanced around for the sign of her unease, resting her eyes upon a lump on her bed. She pulled a knife from somewhere on her person, cautiously approaching the unknown object.

She noticed, once she got close, that it was a bouquet. She poked it experimentally with her knife, just to be sure. A random bundle of flowers was still pretty suspicious. She picked up the colorful assortment, wondering who would be so bold as to enter her room uninvited. The answer soon became clear as she picked out a small card from among the arrangement, flipping it open to read the words,

Come outside.

That was all. No name, no given reason behind the ominous message. There were only two culprits who would have the nerve to come into her room while she wasn't present: Rapunzel and Lady Crowley. And there was no way Crowley would go to the effort of getting her flowers, no matter the occasion. Which left only one culprit: the princess of Corona herself, Rapunzel.

Cassandra wasn't sure exactly what her plan might be, but she couldn't help but indulge her favorite person in the world. With a sigh, she went to her door, grabbing the handle as a sinking feeling came over her that she was about to get Rapunzel-ed. Though whether that was a good or bad thing, she couldn't be sure.

She opened the door slowly, trying to prepare herself for whatever Rapunzel might have planned. It probably wasn't that elaborate, given that she would have only had a minute or so to set everything up before she noticed the note. Maybe it was going to be a good Rapunzel-ing, like a cool yet unexpected gift. That was the thing with being Rapunzel-ed; you either got something cool or you actually got pranked.

There she was, standing in the hallway, a very glittery sign in her hands. On it were the words, Will you go to prom with me?

As Cassandra confusedly looked up at her, trying to process exactly what she meant, she was assailed by confetti, jumping back into a defensive position as she glanced to either side of the doorway. There were Stan and Pete, apparently roped into whatever this was. During the momentary distraction, Rapunzel had flipped her sign over, and now it read, Please say yes!

"What is this?" Cassandra asked, frankly baffled by the obscure nature of this particular prank.

"Well, I saw a poster when I was in town, and I thought you and I could go to prom together. Will you go with me?"

"We're adults. Prom is for teenagers. Who are in school."

"That's what I heard, so I asked the school administrator if she would make an exception because I've never been and I also might've offered to let them move the dance to one of the castle ballrooms and have the royal chefs cater it."

"Wait, you're serious? Raps, it's a goofy event where everybody spends way too much time getting dressed up in fancy clothes so they can go stand around or dance awkwardly with each other."

"And there's cake."

"Prom is overrated. If you want to dance and eat cake, we can do that anytime. Plus, you know I don't do sweets."

"But this could be fun!"

"It is the opposite of fun, which is why I never went."

"Really?" Rapunzel lowered her sign and approached Cassandra, "why not?"

"Aside from the fact that it is a completely useless affair that kids go nuts over, I didn't have a date."

"Well, now you do!"

"Nope. Pass. Besides, I am way too old to go," Cassandra folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the doorframe.

"But they're letting me go."

"They're not going to say no to a princess crashing the party, especially with the offer you made them."

"I'm sure they'd make an exception for you, too. You went to school, right?"

"That's not how it works. But if you want to go, be my guest."

Pete and Stan took the opportunity to step away while the girls were involved in their disagreement.

"Please?" Rapunzel dropped her sign, coming to stand next to Cassandra, clasping her hands together against her chest and giving her one of her signature smiles, her poutiest lips, and her biggest puppy-dog eyes.

Cassandra shut her eyes, trying to block out the image of Rapunzel's adorable, pleading expression. But she couldn't do it. She couldn't say no to that face. Or any face Rapunzel made. She opened one eye, then the other, seeing her still planted firmly by her side. She rolled her eyes and groaned, already dreading the idea of being trapped in a room of adolescents.

"...fffffffffine."

"Yay!" Rapunzel's arms sprang from her body, encapsulating Cassandra in a tight hug before she could react. "This is going to be the best prom ever!"

"This is your first prom ever."

"And yours!" she grinned, giving an extra squeeze.

"I guess it won't be unbearably terrible if you're there," Cassandra slowly slid her arms around Rapunzel, reluctantly returning the enthusiastic embrace.

"Sooo?"

"So?"

Rapunzel left her side and picked up her sign again, holding it proudly. "Come on. Say it."

Cassandra begrudgingly sighed. "Yes, I will go to prom with you."

"Woo! Okay, what are you wearing? How are you doing your hair? Wait don't tell me! I want to be surprised. I am just so excited. Alright, well, I will see you on prom night!" And with that, she skipped off.

"Probably before that, too!" Cassandra called after, knowing prom was still a few weeks away. She looked down, studying the sparkly confetti at her feet. She was sure she'd be finding loose pieces of it all over her room for the next year. Shaking as much of it as she could out of her hair, she wondered how she always got roped into Rapunzel's latest escaped.

Well, the princess was assuredly going to be wearing something spectacular, so Cassandra figured she should find something that wasn't her usual lady-in-waiting or everyday outfit. Formal wear was not Cassandra's forte, but for Rapunzel, she'd make it work.

Chapter 2:

Prom night came all too soon for Cassandra. She wasn't big on teenagers, and she especially wasn't big on dances, so overall she was not enthused about the entire thing. The one silver lining was Rapunzel being there, but she expected that as usual she'd be inundated with adoring citizens all evening. Not that that typically bothered her, but there would be little for her to do if her date was busy all night.

Date . Cassandra smiled as she considered the word. Rapunzel probably didn't understand the implications of formally inviting someone to go to the prom with you, but still. It was worth noting that she was the person Rapunzel had chosen to ask, when anyone in the kingdom would have readily said yes. The world's peppiest princess really had to pick the one person in Corona who never had been and never would be excited for prom.

Maybe if Rapunzel was distracted enough, she could duck out early. Hopefully.

Rapunzel had made herself busy helping with last minute organization and preparations, so instead of arriving together, they'd agreed to meet there. Not that either of them had far to go.

Cassandra dreaded every step that brought her closer to the ballroom, and yet, she felt excitement budding at the prospect of seeing Rapunzel all dolled up. She had tried to make herself presentable enough to not stand out, as much as someone who was far too old to be there could avoid being the oddball in the room.

It was every bit as excessive as she'd expected. Prom was a big affair for those who were of proper age to go, but this was something else. There were footmen offering to take coats, a portrait painter off to one side, a cake with at least five layers, what could be considered a feast of other desserts, and a dance floor big enough to host the entirety of Corona. But with Rapunzel in charge, she didn't do anything small.

She grimaced, feeling more awkward and out of place than ever. Much like when she had to put on her lady-in-waiting outfit and attend to ladylike duties, she felt much like she didn't belong here. Most of these kids were from Corona proper, commoners like herself. Not that that made much of a difference considering she was here with the princess and that she actually shouldn't be here at all.

Speaking of, where was-

"Cass?"

She turned to see Rapunzel clad in a purple gown, with a sequined yellow sun adorning the center just above her waist. Rapunzel valued her freedom of movement, among other things, so the elegant yet simple and loose design fit her perfectly. It looked like something she'd wear in summer, perhaps to a picnic with other royalty. It left her shoulders exposed, which Cassandra could see were already flushed, no doubt from running around trying to ensure that everything was perfect.

As she made her way up the dress to Rapunzel's face, she noticed the princess was staring at her as well.

"What?"

"You're not in a dress?"

"You don't like it?" her shoulders slumped.

"No!" she approached, laying a hand on Cassandra's arm. "The suit looks good on you. Really good."

Cassandra thought she caught a hint of red flowing to Rapunzel's cheeks, but perhaps she was mistaken and they were just rosy from her exertion. "Thank you. You look pretty- pretty beautiful," she rubbed a hand sheepishly behind her neck.

For thinking she wouldn't fit in, Cassandra was already acting like a shy and nervous teen.

"Oh! Thank you Cass. Your outfit is very handsome," she ran a hand along either of her arms, feeling the soft fabric beneath her fingers. She noted the violet color of her clothing, similar to that of her own. A yellow bowtie completed the look.

"I guess we both wanted to show our pride for Corona."

"And we match!" Rapunzel exclaimed. "But none of the other girls are in suits," she observed as she glanced around the room. "I thought there might be a dress code."

"There is, and I don't care."

"I don't either. You look fantastic!"

"Stop!" Cassandra felt heat rising to her cheeks.

"Okay, okay," Rapunzel smiled fondly.

"I feel ridiculous. I'm like, the oldest person here."

"That's not true! Lady Crowley is here."

" Lady Crowley is  chaperoning , not  attending ."

"Cass, who cares! Tonight is going to be amazing. Oh, but I do still have a few more preparations to attend to, so I'll see you soon. Alright? Why don't you go have some fun?"

"Well, as I already told you, prom's are the opposite of fun, so-"

"You can do it, Cass!" Rapunzel called, already on her way. "I won't be long."

"Ugh," Cassandra sighed. The evening was turning out exactly as she'd expected, and yet, she was still a little annoyed. She decided to check out the food table, in hopes that Rapunzel had stocked something healthy in addition to the schmorgesborg of sweets. But she highly doubted it.

The night wore on and Cassandra spent much of her time by the punchbowl, silently judging how ridiculous everyone looked in their oversized suits and ill-fitting dresses. They were all trying so hard to impress their dates and their peers. What did it even matter, anyway? Most of them would lose touch once their formative school years ended. Their friendships wouldn't last. This was all so,  so , pointless.

Every time she saw Rapunzel approach, she'd be stopped, either by another of the adults with some issue that needed her help, or one of the many teens expressing their gratitude for her for hosting the party or asking her to dance or just thanking her for existing.

She had just decided to leave when she turned, nearly running into Rapunzel, who had a hand extended towards her.

"May I have this dance?"

Cassandra nodded wordlessly, accepting the offered hand as Rapunzel swept her onto the dance floor.

They assumed a closed position, customary for a waltz or other such intimate dances. Rapunzel placed one hand below Cassandra's neck, while the other occupied her hand. Cassandra, in turn, wrapped a hand protectively around Rapunzel's waist.

"I'm sorry I've been so busy tonight," Rapunzel began. "I was the one who invited you and you've been alone all night. Don't think I didn't notice. I've been trying to get back to your side for ages. I really wanted to be with you. I was just so busy-"

"Shh," Cassandra put a finger to Rapunzel's lips. "We're together now, aren't we? Stop worrying so much," she looked lovingly down at her.

"We are," Rapunzel returned the soft gaze.

They danced for awhile, each seemingly distracted by the others in the room. They wavered between stealing glances over each other's shoulders, before briefly catching the other looking at them and then quickly turning away. There was an unspoken tension between them, that neither was willing to break.

"I think people are staring," Cassandra commented.

"I wish they wouldn't. Just because I'm a princess, all eyes are always on me."

"And me. And my ridiculous outfit."

"It is not ridiculous, Cass! I think it's very becoming on you. Besides, you get to dance with the princess! Who cares what anyone else thinks?"

"I guess," she didn't quite sound convinced.

Finally, a slow song was played, and Rapunzel gently placed her head on Cassandra's chest. She stiffened for a moment, before embracing Rapunzel as they slowly stepped around the dance floor. She placed her chin against her head, resting it there as she tried to keep her nerves under control.

Dancing had been one thing, but this was far more intimate than any moment they'd previously shared. She felt her chest tightening, and found it hard to breath, as they carried on. She felt like her heart might leap out of her throat from how fast it was beating, and the feeling made her a little nauseous. She felt hot, and shaky, and all at once it became too much.

She pried Rapunzel off of her, giving her a last once over as she stuttered, "I need some air!" before darting towards one of the doors leading to an outside balcony.

"Wait, Cass-" she called after, but she didn't stop or even look back.

Cassandra burst from the ballroom, shutting the doors behind her to try to have some semblance of privacy. She leaned on the bannister, taking in quick, shaky breaths as she tried to get ahold of herself. She wiped a hand across her brow, clearing away sweat as she attempted to calm down.

She definitely didn't have plans to go back inside any time soon. To take her mind off of abandoning Rapunzel on the dance floor, she kept herself busy watching the couples below. Some looking for a quiet spot to rest or make out or share a secret dance with no music or confess their feelings. Not overly entertaining, but it beat being completely alone.

It was a while before Cassandra saw Rapunzel again; no doubt she was busy fixing a problem or filling her dance card with adoring fans. She was a people pleaser, after all. Cassandra was glad for the time alone to collect her thoughts, but she was also beginning to wonder if coming here was a complete mistake. As she considered leaving, she heard someone behind her call her name.

"Cass?"

Who else could it be but Rapunzel, coming up beside her to join her on the balcony.

"Hey," she kept her eyes locked on the courtyard, not meeting her gaze.

"Cass, I just want to thank you, for humoring me with this. I know you weren't very enthusiastic about the whole thing, but I'm glad you're here. It wouldn't have been as magical without you."

"You really think tonight was 'magical'? Surrounded by rowdy teenagers who vied for your attention all night and kept us apart?"

"Well, they're not here now," Rapunzel's hand slid along the bannister until she could grasp Cassandra's in her own.

Cassandra blushed, even at such a small gesture. She looked up, getting lost in those gorgeous green pools, as she stared breathless at the woman she was so, so in love with. She felt her heart pounding, so hard she thought it might leave her chest. She gave the hand holding hers a squeeze, her thumb gently caressing Rapunzel's hand.

"Cass?" Rapunzel swallowed.

"Yes?"

"Is it alright if I want to kiss you?"

" No! I mean- no- yes- it  is  alright, but why would you want to?" Cassandra made a visibly pained expression when she realized what she'd said. She'd just had the chance to lock lips with the most gorgeous girl in the kingdom, and now it was going to seem like she was making an excuse to get out of it.

She tried to pull away, only for Rapunzel to hang on even tighter. Cassandra turned around, a bewildered look on her face.

Rapunzel stepped closer, bridging the space between them. "Why wouldn't I want to, Cass? You're one of the most important people in my life. You mean more to me than I could ever say with words. So I wanted to try to tell you how I feel, not with words, but with-"

Cassandra cut her off, capturing her in a kiss before Rapunzel had a chance to finish. She squealed in surprise, before melting into the kiss. She slowly wrapped her arms around Cassandra's neck, as she felt hands grasp her torso. She sighed happily, wishing this moment could last forever.

At last they pulled away, resting their foreheads against one another as they stood, breathing heavily.

Cassandra broke the quiet first, clearing her throat as she said, "I love you."

Rapunzel grinned, before responding, "I love you, too."

"You do?"

"Of course I do! Why do you think I invited you here tonight?"

"I thought you just wanted an excuse to go to a party and drag me with you."

"While I would do that, I also wanted to spend some time with you. I guess I wasn't a very good date, though."

"You're perfect," she smiled.

"What do you say we ditch this dance and go literally anywhere else?"

"You know nothing would make me happier."

Rapunzel took her hand, leading her back through the hall and away from the dwindling assemblage of teens. They found a quiet part of the castle, where they could finally talk without being disturbed. They shared a few more private kisses, giggling like school girls as they revelled in their shared happiness.

All in all, Cassandra decided, prom wasn't a total waste of her time. There were worse ways she could have spent her evening.

Eventually, they made their way towards Rapunzel's room, intending on having one of their signature sleepovers. Except this time, there would probably be a lot more cuddling. Cassandra stared affectionately at Rapunzel, thinking about just how lucky she was. And though she didn't say it aloud, Rapunzel was thinking the exact same thing.

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[razzle-zazzle]

Parent & Backstory Headcanons

Reine & Laek (& Rhys’ *keysmashes numberpad* sisters)

Reine is a pretty girl from a rural fishing town by the Deep Ocean, where the Leviathans roam. Laek is a former scholar from a slightly more urban town who just wants to live with his wife.

Reine has a secondary ice affinity, Laek only has his primary water affinity. Laek teaches his wife and daughters how to read and write.

Rhys gets his horns from his father, but he gets most of his looks from his mother. He did get his father’s eyes though.

They have five daughters, two of which die, before they finally have a son. Then they have six more daughters, one of which dies of sickness very early on.

Rhys, like most of his sisters, is very intelligent. So much so that his family actually gets a letter from the former queen of Daemos herself offering to take Rhys in as a student. Even though it’s not for sure yet, they still have a larger dinner than usual to celebrate and let Rhys know that even if he doesn’t get accepted, they’re still proud of him and will support him.

Rhys gets accepted. He’s moved to the capital, but he does get to visit his family every so often. When he’s visiting due to his yttrehbuph, and tells Reine he’s going to induce his ice yttrehbuph while he can, she smiles and tells him that she’ll show him the best spot for it.

Lullabies! Reine sings lullabies to all of her children; the older siblings will join in too.

Reine will mother anyone who needs it. For example:

She wanted to adopt Pierce when the group came to their town to hunt Leviathans.

She comforted Noi when he had a panic attack over almost being eaten again.

Reine is just made of motherly love and energy; she will mess you up if you hurt the children.

Any children.

Laek is awkward and goofy but he’s got a big heart. He’s blonde because reasons.

Basically, while they’re not wealthy, Rhys’ family is full of love and support and it’s why he’s the only member of the team to practice consistent self-care.

Marsch & Sohrah

Marsch is a warrior in the service of the royal family; he’s the general of the army. His primary affinity is earth & his secondary affinity is metal. Sohrah is an anxiety-ridden girl from a noble family of merchants who was engaged to Marsch for political reasons; they found love anyway.  Sohrah’s primary affinity is water, her secondary affinity is plants.

A daemos with two primary affinities, while not unheard of, isn’t common, but Pierce has water and earth as primary affinities anyway. For his yttrehbuph, which was water and earth at the same time, Pierce just flooded the hole and slept through it.

Marsch is often away at war, and Sohrah would get sick really often when Pierce was young, so Pierce grew up pretty lonely. Sohrah’s anxieties over whether she was raising Pierce right often caused her to get so caught up in the details that she’d fail to notice her son sometimes. She tries.

Marsch calls Pierce “Pearl” because Pierce got Sohrah’s water affinity; Sohrah calls Pierce “Beetle” because Pierce got Marsch’s earth affinity.

I have no idea what Marsch and Sohrah look like beyond Marsch having the same tattoo as his son and Sohrah putting her hair up in a flower crown bun, so go wild with designs. Both have dark hair I guess? Eh just go wild.

Pierce met Asch when he was 14 and Asch was 12. They didn’t get along at first, but Pierce takes his job as Asch’s bodyguard very seriously. He still does. Asch spends almost as much time looking after Pierce as Pierce does protecting him.

Roase & Oek (& Pyne, but he’s not important)

Warning for mentions of abuse

Oek is a young apothecary with an otherworldly talent for poisons and pharmaceuticals. He’s got a lot of potential, but he’s slowly dying from a disease without a cure. So he wants a child he can pass his knowledge onto. To do that, he stalks this young girl trapped in an abusive family, and manages to get her secluded away somewhere private. 

Two/three weeks later he’s asking her father for her hand in marriage, in order to take responsibility for the unborn child.

So now they’re married.

Their first son, Pyne, resembles Roase more than Oek. He’s got her hunter green hair, he’s tied it up into braids like her, he’s got her blue eyes and curled black horns. He’s very much like Roase, but he’s not very good at pharmaceuticals. He’s also very much a doormat. Pyne is about seven when Leif is born. He’s nine when he runs off, never to be seen again. Does he come up later as an important character? Probably not.

Roase playing with little bby Leif, who just cannot stop moving. She reads him fairy tales about knights and princesses and a lot of the games they play revolve around that. She just likes seeing her little boy smile.

Leif, besides the eyes, is practically the spitting image of his father. Although Oek has his hair tied back and tends to wear cloaks and capes.

Leif has a really unreliable memory when it comes to his parents (and he doesn’t remember his brother at all); Roase isn’t the perfect paragon that he views her as, and Oek isn’t the completely soulless asshole that Leif remembers. In fact, a lot of the terrible things Roase has done (she’s gotten and is getting better since Oek’s death) have, in Leif’s memory, become terrible things Oek has done. One might almost say that Leif views his mother through rose-tinted glasses as a coping mechanism…

The King, the late Queen Umbre, and the current Queen Moorhen (& Rhal)

I don’t have a name for the king yet.

The King very much loved his first wife, but she fell ill and died shortly after Asch was born, making Asch very dear to the king.

Asch was born an ylkys, which means his fire was too strong for his body. Ylkys have a much shorter life expectancy, and tradition holds that they should be killed in infancy so they don’t have to suffer. The king decides to screw tradition and asks his mother, Lady Grandma, if anything can be done. She does what she can to help Asch’s body grow in strength.

And that’s why Asch is alive today. Because his mother died and his father didn’t want to lose the last thing she gave the world. It’s also why he’s spoiled.

Eventually, the king realizes his sons need a mother and that his kingdom needs a queen. So he remarries. Queen Moorhen is… serviceable. She does her job, and she does it well, even if she doesn’t have the same warmth that Umbre had. Sure, Lady Grandma distrusts her, and has reason to given that Moorhen is from another kingdom, but Moorhen is genuinely trying to do what’s best for Daemos.

Asch also had a pretty lonely childhood; while Noi was a servant in the castle Asch would seek him out as a playmate. They both got in trouble for this, but nobody really saw the need to push the issue.

Asch likes playing with dolls. It was his coping mechanism for when he was little; his way of pretending to be healthy enough to train with Rhal, and now it’s his way of pretending to be a good leader (he is but he’s too hard on himself to see that). That’s why Noi knows how to make little stone figures; he made some for Asch when he noticed Asch likes them.

Asch was the one who petitioned Noi be trained to fight to act as a knight instead; it’s because of this that Noi is even alive.

Noi’s Parents

Oh who am I kidding they don’t matter. They don’t come up again after selling Noi off, and they don’t really influence him all that much.

Noi was the oldest of four (soon to be five) when he was sold; he was the only one at a viable age for that kind of thing.

Noi’s been through a few masters, not as many as others due to being sent to work as a servant in the castle when he was seven or so.

Noi usually got dragged away from his duties by Asch, who needed a playmate.

[returnn-of-the-mac]

Companions (+ Maxson, Haylen and Sturges? 👀) react to a female sole who has long hair that gets caught on things / is always in the way but refuses to cut it.

Ahh this one was so much fun to write! I kinda went a bit crazy; the reacts are looong. But the more the merrier, right? I kinda have to cite the US Navy handbook for *spoiler* Maxon’s React; I copied and pasted some parts directly from there *end spoiler*. Please enjoy!😸

FO4 Companions React: Female Sole’s Long Hair Being An Inconvenience

Preston: Preston and Sole were hiding in a steam trunk, preparing a sneak attack on a gang of raiders that had taken over a newly established Minutemen checkpoint. When the raiders had gotten close, Preston turned to his partner. “On the count of three, we’re going to leap out of this truck and attack, okay?” Sole nodded. “One...two...three!” The pair leaped out of the trunk, safety’s off and ready to attack. Sole suddenly shrieked. The trunk had slammed shut behind her, right onto her long hair. She was stuck in place. “General! Stand your ground! Try to do as much damage as you can in that position and I’ll hold them back!” Guns blazed as the gang of raiders swarmed the little shack, trying to get past Preston who was standing in the doorway and fending them off. From behind, Sole aimed at the raiders, able to pick them clean with expert precision. When all the raiders had been cleared, Preston approached his companion and opened the trunk. Sole stood up, gently massaging her sore scalp and apologizing profusely. Preston chuckled. “It’s okay, I know how much your hair means to you.”

Sturges: Sturges and Sole were enjoying a relaxing afternoon in Sanctuary, listening to country music and crafting armor. “Hey, I made a prototype heated metal press,” Sturges mentioned. “It might make it easier to make thinner parts for your armor. Why dontcha try it out? You can be first to test it.” Sole beamed at the offer and followed Sturges over to the complex contraption he designed. Sturges picked up a metal bucket and set it down on the platform. “Whenever you’re ready, just pull the lever and boom! Gotcha self a sleek new piece of metal to work with.” Sole set a cluster of aluminum cans on the platform. Just as they were about to pull the lever, a gust of wind blew her long hair forward. The hot press clamped down on her hair. Sole shrieked as Sturges quickly yanked the lever up. “[Name], are you okay?” Sole stared in horror at the long locks of burnt hair still attached to the metal press. She then ran their fingers through her hair. Half of it was gone. Her eyes began to water. “I’m so sorry, [name]. Come here,” Sturges said, opening his arms to a devastated Sole. She accepted the gesture and mourned the loss of her majestic locks.

Cait: Cait and Sole were crawling in an air vent, prepared to ambush a group of gunners below. “We best be careful,” Cait warned, “these gunners have eyes like a Deathclaw and ears like...a Deathclaw. They are human deathclaws. With guns.” A gunner walked right under where they were standing. “Ye jump down behind me, yeah?” Cait gave Sole a thumbs up and then kicked the vent out. “COME ON YE STUPID BASTARDS!” Cait landed on the gunner’s shoulders and bashed his head with her gun. She then got up and started shooting frenetically, “How does it feel gettin yer arses kicked by girls?” It was when the gunners began to gang up on her that the redhead noticed the absence of her partner. “[Name]? Where the fuck are ye at ye whore?” She turned around and saw Sole hanging from the ceiling by her long hair. “Motherfucker.” Cait muttered in annoyance, “Well, I guess it’s gonna be a one-woman’s show then. INCOMIN’!” Cait chucked a grenade, and, using a fallen bookshelf as leverage, launched herself back into the air vent, dragging Sole with her. Using her knife, she chopped Sole’s hair to free her and they quickly retreated, just before the bomb went off. Cait woefully looked at her partner. “I’m sorry about yer hair. You probably ain’t pleased. But I didn’t want you to get blown to smithereens.”

X6-88: X6 and Sole were exiting the Institute, on their way to start their next mission. On the way out, the pair discussed their strategy to destroy The Railroad when Sole suddenly shrieked. X6 turned around to see his partner flailing. He then noticed that her long hair had gotten caught in the automatic door...again. Ma’am? May I suggest getting a haircut?” X6 asked flatly, “This is the second time this week and fifth time this month that this has happened.” Sole huffed and X6 rolled his eyes under his glasses. She could be stubborn; especially when the subject involved cutting her beloved locks. X6 made another attempt to change his partner’s mind. “What if this happens during our mission? The repercussions could prove fatal. Please, reconsider.” After seeing that Sole was not going to be persuaded, X6 held out an elastic. “Put it up. For this mission, at least. Now’s not the time to be irrational.” Sole finally gave in and put their hair into a bun.

Gage: Sole and Gage were sounding the evening constructing a base for a raider gang. Sole had just finished nailing a wooden wall into place when she walked away to take a sip of purified water. She took a few steps toward before she was yanked backward. She turned around to confirm her worst fear: she had nailed the board right over the tips of her hair. She called for Gage, who was busy spray painting the exterior of the shack. “Sup boss?” Gage asked. Sole pointed and Gage rolled his eyes. “You gotta be kiddin me. And I thought you were a smart one.” Gage examined the board and nail. “What’ve we got here? ...Hey, you ain’t half bad at carpentry. But as for common sense. That’s another story.” Gage skillfully removed the embedded nail using just a pocket knife and a bottle opener. He removed the board, freeing Sole’s hair. “Impressed, boss? Ya gotta learn how to improvise sometimes.” Gage chuckled dryly. “But uh. Ya ain’t gonna try that again without pullin your hair back next time, right? Don’t be stupid. You're on your own next time.”

Piper: Piper and Sole were standing outside Mayor McDonough’s door, trying to break in and free Geneva. “Okay so obviously kicking and screaming didn’t work,” Piper scratched her head nervously, “Any ideas, Blue?” Sole approached the door and began to pick the lock. “Oh that’s right, you’re the queen of lockpicking! Don’t mind me, I’m just gonna sit back and take notes.” When the lock clicked, Sole and Piper looked at each other, nodded, and flung the doors open. “I knew it! I knew you were a synth, McDonough! Now let that hostage go!” Just then a breeze came through the window and slammed the doors behind them. Sole flew backward; as her hair had gotten caught in the door. “Dimwits.” McDonough muttered, watching Piper panic as Sole frantically tried to free her own hair. “Blue, woulda quit fidgeting for a minute? I’ll open the door for you. Just stay still.” Piper turned the knob on the wooden doors and pushed out, freeing her partner. A disoriented Sole scrambled to her feet. Piper shook her head and focused her attention back on the deranged mayor. “I hope you enjoyed that little show, because now we mean business,” She turned to her blushing partner and smirked, “Right Blue?”

Hancock: Sole and Hancock we’re enjoying a relaxing afternoon on Spectacle Island . They had just taken down the Institute and decided to take a well-deserved vacation. “This is niiiice,” Hancock beamed, taking a long hit of jet. “I could really get used to this.” Sole smiled as she laid down in the sand, absorbing the warmth from the sun. She closed their eyes and imagined she was at the beach in Cape Cod with Nate and Shaun— a vacation spot the family frequented. She was just about to drift into a deep sleep when suddenly she felt a powerful force grab hold of her hair and toss her across the sand like a rag doll. Dazed, Sole looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. “[Name]! Are you okay, doll?” Hancock yelled, trying to fend off a mirelurk. “Bad move, buddy.” Hancock stayed as he repeatedly shot the underbelly of the ferocious crab. The mirelurk eventually gave in to its injuries and fell to the ground, dead. “Looks like I’m your king now.” Hancock teased. He then ran over to his partner and knelt beside her. “Seriously, though? Are you okay?” Sole nodded. “How’s the hair?”Hancock laughed, grabbing a thick lock of hair and examining it. “Is that a bald spot I see..!? Nah, I’m just messin with ya. It’s all still there.”

Deacon: Deacon and Sole were leaving the Railroad for their next quest when the secret door closed behind them, right onto Sole’s hair. Sole cried for help and Deacon sprinted over to her. “Looks like you’re in a bit of a hairy situation.” Sole shot daggers at Deacon as he chuckled at his own joke. “Alright let’s see here...shit. What’s the password?” A livid Sole screamed ‘Railroad.’ Deacon looked at them. “What? No way, that’s too easy. Knowing Des she probably made the password something complex like...schadenfreude.” Sole was now cursing in frustration. Deacon had a goofy smile plastered on his face “Okay, fine, if you insist, I will try ‘railroad.’” Deacon spun the wheel to spell out the password and the door opened. Sole freed herself and glared at Deacon. He chuckled, “You’re fine, you were never really in real danger anyway.” Deacon explained, putting a playful arm around Sole’s shoulder. “Maybe you should cut hair a little so it doesn’t get caught on everything. You could even donate extra inches to Lockes4Deacon. I’m am bald, after all.”

Strong: Strong and Sole were wandering around Back Bay When Sole suddenly felt a massive tug on her hair. She was practically flung into the hard ground. A confused Sole yowled in pain; everything hurt from her head all the way down to her legs. Her vision was blurry— definitely a concussion— and she couldn’t get back up. “Strong sorry, human!” Strong apologized, “Strong step on fur and human kept running! No mean to hurt!” Sole weakly begged their Supermutant friend to give them a stimpack. Strong obedient searched through Sole’s inventory and grabbed the medicine, promptly injecting Sole. Sole stood up and massaged her scalp. “Human should cut fur.” Strong advised, “Long fur is weakness. Easy target.”

Longfellow: Sole and Longfellow were fishing on the docks of Far Harbor when suddenly a gulper leaped from the water and chomped down on Sole’s hair, dragging her into the salty water below. “Shit! I’m commin!” Longfellow yelled as he dove in after her. He took out a spear and swiftly swam toward the enemy. With a powerful jab, he impaled the creature, killing it instantly. Sole and Longfellow then swam to coast. When they had both reached the sandy shore, Longfellow chuckled. “Well, that was a doozy! Good thing I didn’t start my drinking at 7am today!” He joked. He then studied Sole’s hair. “Well, would you look at that; not even a scratch on the hair. Impressive! Mind donating some of that so I can use it as fishing line?”

Ada: Ada and Sole were fighting off robots in the mechanist's lair when Sole screamed. Her hair had gotten caught in one of the hostile robot’s machinery. “Hold on, ma’am! I’ll be right over to assist you.” Ada finished off the robot she was currently fighting and scrambled over to her struggling companion. She scanned the area of the trapped hair. “My diagnostic revealed that your hair is stuck in between a coil and a gear. There is only a 3.776% chance of getting your hair out unscathed. Your viable options include: manually freeing hair and risking a large bald spot— or— cutting hair short to at least have a style that looks half-decent—or— doing nothing.”

Nick: Nick and Sole were sloshing around the flooded streets of Forest Grove Marsh when Nick turned to his partner. “Careful,” he whispered, “I hear this place is a popular vacation destination for ferals.” Almost immediately after he said that the pair spotted emaciated bodies of the ghouls patrolling the end of the road. It was then that Nick noticed a building that was still in-tact but had a few openings that could be used to discreetly shoot the ferals. “Now, would you look at that? This building would make a fantastic shooting post.” The detective mused, “If we sneak into the building and lock the door behind us, we might be able to wipe them out from a spot where they can’t reach us.” Sole nodded and the two crept into the building. Sole closed the door behind her— unaware her hair had yet to make it through— and Nick barred it. “I’ll shoot from the window first; you stay there. We’ll trick them into thinking it’s just me over here. Then, you jump in. Ferals are pretty...feeble-minded. So your surprise attack will probably disorient then.” He then walked over to the window. “Ready?” Sole gave a thumbs up. Nick aimed his laser rifle and shot at the hoard of ghouls. Nick was able to take down about 1/3 of the mob when he called to Sole. “NOW!” Sole leaped toward the window—or at least tried to. She hollered in pain as her hair tugged at her scalp. Nick immediately understood what had happened. “I’m coming, pal!” He ran over to his companion. After quickly assessing the situation and realizing that opening the door was out of the question, he took a machete out of his inventory. “I’m so sorry I have to do this [name], but it’s either this or becoming feral food.” Sole gave Nick the okay and with the swift swipe of the blade, Sole was freed from her long locks. The pair quickly moved to the window to continue their ambush.

MacCready: Sole and MacCready were making their way down a dirt path in the woods when a pack of five wild mongrels attacked. All but one of the dogs were easily killed. The fifth dog— an alpha— snuck up behind the pair and clamped onto Sole’s hair. Sole screeched in pain and MacCready pulled out his gun. He aimed and fired, immediately killing the canine. Sole thanked her companion and MacCready smirked. “Hey, don’t mention it. That’s what I’m here for, right?” He shifted uncomfortably. “Actually [name], there’s been, uh, something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about, and I think this might’ve been the universe’s sign that now’s the time.” Sole perked up. “I...I don’t really think it’s a good idea to be wandering the Commonwealth with free-flowing hair that practically reaches your thighs. It could be dangerous. Like what just happened. What if that dog were a feral? I don’t even want to imagine-“ he realized he was rambling and stopped himself short. “But I digress. What I’m trying to say is maybe that was a sign that you should cut your hair.” Sole shot him a look. MacCready immediately understood that he had not gotten through to her. “It’s kinda a liability, yanno. For both of us.” Sole rolled her eyes and MacCready scoffed. “What? You gonna miss all those hairballs that clog the drain in the only working shower in Sanctuary? They’re gross.” Sole turned away and continued walking down the path, MacCready following close behind. The pair continued on their trek, an awkward silence between them. Eventually, MacCready sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. Your hair is beautiful. And I really don’t care about the darn hairballs in the shower. How many times do you think I actually use the shower? I just don’t want anything to happen to you.” Sole turned to face her partner and saw how genuinely distraught he was. She felt bad, and the two compromised that from here on out, Sole would wear her hair up in a bun.

Codsworth: Sole and Codsworth were walking around Sanctuary when Sole’s hair randomly got caught in a rotted doorframe. She called Codsworth for help, and the robot sighed. “Mum, remember back in the old days when your hair was...groomed? Well, wasn’t it easier to maintain? Didn’t it feel good not worrying about getting it stuck in everything?” Sole rolled her eyes at the robot’s question. Codsworth signed. “Fine. I suppose it’s none of my business. I just think you would be better off without your hair holding you back.”

Curie: Sole and Curie were approaching the Saugus Ironworks when they were attacked by a gang of Forged raiders. The pair fought valiantly and had taken out most of the group until a Forged managed to sneak behind Sole and set her hair on fire. “Madam! You’re hair! It’s been set ablaze!” Sole shrieked and threw herself onto the dirt ground in an attempt to smolder the flames. Curie defended Sole while they recovered. When she had defeated the Forged, she knelt down beside Sole. “Are you alright?” Curie asked, concerned. Sole sat up, revealing hair that was charred up to the shoulders as well as some minor neck burns. “Oh...” Curie mourned, “Let me treat your burns. As for your hair—“ Curie touched the burned hair and it crumbled in her hands. Sole began to cry. “Oh no, please don’t cry,” Curie pleaded, she wrapped her arms around her sobbing companion and gently held her. “I know you’re going to miss your long hair, but it will grow back. And hair can still look nice short.” Curie smiled, looked at Sole, and wiped away her tears “We can be like twins until your hair grows back.”

Danse: Sole and Danse were sneaking through the buildings of college square, fully prepared to ambush the synths that had taken over the area. “Remain vigilant.”’Danse warned, “These synths are stealthy sons-of-bitches.” Just then, a mob of synths busted down the door, revealing the duo. “Show no mercy!” Danse bellowed, loading his laser rifle and shooting at the robots. Just then, a gust of wind blew Sole’s long hair into Danse’s face. “View obstructed!” Danse yelled as he missed the targets. The synths used this error to charge at the pair. “They’re closing in— melee!” Sole and Danse put away their guns and engaged in physical combat with the synths. When the synths were finally defeated, Danse looked at his partner. He was not pleased. “Soldier! Do something about your hair!” The Paladin berated, “It’s a hazard, and it’s a violation of policy. I’ve been letting it slide, but this could’ve ended in a fatality had we not been prepared for physical combat.” Danse took a minute to cool off before continuing, “I apologize for scolding you. But this is a written rule, and it’s enforced for a reason. I know you take great pride in your hair, but for your own wellbeing and for the safety of your brothers and sisters please just...manage it.”

Haylen: “You sure your hair isn’t gonna get stuck in the power armor?” Haylen asked, concerned. “It might get locked in the door or caught on a gear or something. Thankfully there are emergency release switches but—“ Sole stepped into the power armor. “You’re a stubborn one, aren’t you?” Haylen muttered to herself, “And that makes 3 of the 4 members of this squad hardheads.” She looked back over at Sole, holding up an elastic, “You sure you don’t even want a hair tie? I have plenty extra.” Sole shook her head and activated the suit. It powered up and sealed— right onto their hair. Sole shrieked in pain, and Haylen rushed over to activate the emergency release. When the suit opened back up, Sole was greeted by Haylen, arms crossed and smiling smugly. She silently held out the hair tie again and Sole snatched it. “1 for Haylen; 0 for [name].”

Maxon: Sole was nervously sitting in Maxon’s quarters, waiting for the Elder to arrive for the private meeting he’s called for. The Elder finally entered the room, closing the door behind him. He took a seat across from Sole. “I called you here today to discuss a policy violation. Specifically the uniform code.” Maxon pulled out the Brotherhood of Steel Employee Handbook. Page 124, Rule #22 states: Because it is impossible to provide examples of every appropriate or unacceptable hairstyle, the good judgment of leaders at all levels is key to enforcement of Brotherhood’s grooming policy.  Therefore, grooming appearance while in uniform shall present a neat, professional appearance. It should not impede one’s ability to enter/exit power armor and/or fight in combat. Hair length, when in uniform, may touch, but not fall below a horizontal line level with the lower edge of the back of the collar. Long hair should be pulled back.” Maxon sternly looked at Sole, who was obviously avoiding his gaze. “You are not an exception to the rules, so the choice is yours: you can either cut your hair or pull it back. You can no longer have it free-flowing.”

[bansept]

Little One

As I am part of the ARMY and a shipper of Namjin, I was thinking about writing a little something... I am not sure about my writing skills, as I haven't written in years but, well, I had this thought and I wanted to share!

The begining of this may be a little angsty (?) But it is a fluffy one-shot, rest assured!

I thought about this AU a few days ago, and since I couldn't get it outside my head, here it is!

Pairing : Namjin

Rating : T

Genre : Fluff. Not the fluffiest, but still uwu-ing.

Warnings : In this One-shot, Namjoon has a start of depression, so they veryyyyy slightly talk about it, but nothing bad.

Namjoon was a serious man.

He had to worry about his work, about his apartment, his family, his friends and everything else. Always making sure he worked very hard for his boss, staying late at night so that half of his money could go to his parents, who were going through a rough time.

He was the only child, so he had more responsibilities. But it was all okay. Everything was alright.

At school, when he was just a kid, teachers and adults told him to work hard and efficiently, that way, he was going to be happy. So he did.

Like all the kids, he did his homeworks.

Like all the teenagers, he went through a rebellious phase, asking questions and getting emotional. Thinking about it now made him frown at his own stupidity.

Now that he was an adult, he had responsibilities, duties : make money, keep his job, found a wife, have children and teach them properly how to enter the society's mold.

Namjoon didn't like to go outside : it was just a waste of time.

Yet, following his friends, he let himself be led to this new coffee shop the goofy Taehyung talked about.

"Stop being grumpy hyung! It makes you look older than you are!"

Taehyung chuckled, proud of Jimin and Jungkook's giggles, who were walking ahead.

So now going to the coffee shop was a waste of time AND an opportunity to make fun of him.

Great.

"I told you already, I have some important documents to read for tomorrow..."

He groaned at Taehyung, who shrugged.

"Well, too bad I guess!"

Taehyung let go of Namjoon's sleeve, entering the building, making the little bells attached to the door ring. Jimin pushed Namjoon a bit, smiling from ear to ear.

"Come on, your papers can wait a bit. We're just trying to make you breathe a bit."

Namjoon glanced at the short man and saw the sincere look in his eyes. Sighing, he nodded.

"Alright. But I am leaving in one hour."

His tone was harsh, trying to sound intimidating, but Jimin and the others were used to it by now.

"Good, good! Let's go then."

The coffee shop was beautiful. Of course it was going to be so. Taehyung had a great interest in art, design and architecture, making him so very picky about absolutely everything that it was impossible for him to enter anything that didn't match his tastes.

Inside, they all could hear the chatter if young people, like them, who were enjoying themselves, like most of them.

The walls were brights with lights and a lot of decorations, but strangely enough, none of it seemed too much, even when the shelf seemed to be seconds away from falling under the weight of many collector Mario figurine.

The sight made Namjoon smiled.

The group walked to a table, in the far right corner of the shop, too far for Namjoon to sneak away unnoticed.

"Ah, this place doesn't change at all!" Jungkook smiled, stretching.

The poor guy was trying his best to not knock anything off, as his arms seemed to grow more and more. Being a very sportive young man, Jungkook was mainly composed of muscles and cuteness which, to Namjoon, was a rather strange combination.

Jimin, seated next to the muscly maknae, was discussing with Taehyung about a particular dance move he had learned over the week.

Namjoon just looked at them, not saying anything. What could he say? The three young men around him were full of life and curiosity while he... Well he wasn't. He couldn't explain it, but he had lost it somewhere. At work maybe, trying to reach a goal he had not really chosen himself.

"Oh, hello again boys. And mister."

A voice he had never heard before made Namjoon look up. And he was shocked to the core.

There stood a man like he had never seen before : he was tall, with wide shoulders and a thin waist, but also the most beautiful face Namjoon had ever seen. With plump lips and almond-shaped eyes, he looked like a work of art.

Was it possible to create a human being that looked this heavenly?

"Oh Hyung! Hello!"

Jungkook smiled, his eyes lighting up.

The man nodded at him, smiling back, before going back to Namjoon.

"I am Seokjin, nice to meet you sir."

Namjoon was a bit shocked at the "sir" at the end of the sentence, since the said Seokjin looked older than him. Jimin noticed his friend was in distress.

"He's Namjoon hyung! Very nice, but buried in work..."

Seokjin nodded again, this time closing his eyes a little.

"Ah yes, I see. Well, Namjoon-ah, don't you worry. Here is the place to just relax between friends!"

The friends around Namjoon cheered on that, encouraging Namjoon to loosen up a bit.

But if course, as the hour passed, it was easier said than done.

The place was nice, and so were the people. But the problem was Seokjin.

Namjoon was angry at the man.

Because he was only doing his job, going to talk to the customers and being friendly, yet he looked like a God. How could someone just walk around like that? Was he secretly a model? Or perhaps an angel?

And if that was the only thing, then it would have been okay. Namjoon would have been fine. But it wasn't it.

Seokjin was always smiling at him, his words hitting him deeper than they should have.

"So Namjoon-ah, you're working in business?"

Somehow, Seokjin had sat next to him, leaving his job aside. The coffee shop was empty, except from them. Even the waiters were gone. And he asked himself why in the hell did he feel like in some of those blue rose dramas.

"I'm, yeah. Things like that."

Namjoon mumbled, playing with the edges of his glass.

"No wonder you looked tired the minute you guys walked in : you're a night owl that never actually wanted to be a night owl."

Seokjin ate a peanut next to him, seemingly understanding something important.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Oh you know, you were probably stressed by your parents to do that kind of job. So you're happy to have it, cause, let's face it, it usually pays you well. But..."

Seokjin turned his warm eyes at him and gave him a pitiful smile.

"Is this what makes you happy?"

Namjoon looked at him, confused, for a moment before huffing.

"Happiness is overrated. A job is a job, so that kind of emotion has nothing to do with it."

Seokjin tsked, shaking his head from side to side, and Namjoon cursed inwardly at how good such a normal movement made him look.

"Happiness isn't overrated. It's your body's gazoline. You can't work properly without it."

"I don't know a single thing about cars or gazoline or whatever. I don't even have a driving license."

Seokjin gave him an eye roll, but still chuckled.

And God did it sound heavenly.

"Yah, Namjoon-ah. If you're so down to earth all the time, life will be meaningless for you."

Namjoon frowned, wiggling uncomfortably in his seat. The leather squeaking at his movement reminding him of how silent the coffee had turned. He looked around to notice his friends were gone, leaving the two older men to their talk.

He suddenly weighted a ton, both from the anger and the fear he felt. He was no coward : he had watched Annabelle twice, without shouting or getting scared. Impressive, right?

Yet, the man in front of him scared him more than he ever thought would be possible. The fear wasn't the same anxious one you felt while watching a haunted doll trying to possess people. It was more... subtile. He had no idea where it came from, but it was here, consuming him from head to toe, and without his consent, his cheeks reddened when Seokjin patted his shoulder.

"Listen Namjoon, I know we barely know each other, but I feel like I'll regret it if I don't say it now."

Namjoon's heart skipped a beat, and he felt cold sweat running down his back. What was happening?

"Do what you want in life. I know, it's a bit easy to say that, but it's true. You're in the business. You're winning money. You have friends. But you are still so... uninterested in everything. Jimin or Taehyung could walk back here and ask you to go have fun God knows where and you would refuse because you don't believe in happiness."

Seokjin kept on patting him.

"I was like that too. I used to be an advocate because I was told to be like that. That it would be the best for me. And I believed that. But after more than 6 years of it, I was fingers away from a severe depression. So I decided to temporarily disappoint my parents to do what I wanted, what I had never dreamed of before. And here I am now, with my own Cafe, happy."

Namjoon had listened carefully, staring at Seokjin's eyes. Could he do the same? It seemed so simple... His heart had called down, gradually getting used to the gentle smile and warm hand. But his mind was even cloudier than before.

"I... Thank you Hyung but... My family needs me, I can't do that..."

"Namjoon."

He looked up again, the same serene smile on Seokjin's face.

"I am not telling you to rush it, because you do NOT want to do it. Just take it slowly and be sure about it. And when you are, when you'll finally take the jump, your friends will be here for you."

Months later, when Namjoon stepped out of the building, he breathed deeply, letting the spring air fill his lungs.

Things had changed, a bit.

Following Seokjin's advice, he had carefully thought about his own happiness. What it was to him. He had tried a few things and now was certain that a great many of them were amazing. Fishing? Yup. Cycling? Oh yes. But cooking? He would definitely have to work on this.

Namjoon had managed to clear more of his evenings to stay with his friends and meet new people, along them Min Yoongi, Jimin's official boyfriend - they had "hid" it for months - and Jung Hoseok, Yoongi's best friend, who was always hyped for absolutely everything. Namjoon had figured out that he lived out not of coffee or vitamins but from fashion.

It was a weird phase, but Hoseok literally dragged him out if his apartment to go shopping, declaring that a plane shirt with jeans were not funky enough anymore. So, Hoseok made it his mission to bring more colors to his life, which he did. Maybe too much. But he would never actually say it.

But most importantly, well...

Seokjin cleared his throat loudly, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Joon, I swear we'll be late."

He laughed, cuddling the man closer, giving him a light kiss on the cheek.

"Sorry sorry, I was thinking for a bit."

He had understood that his greatest happiness was not from him, but from Seokjin himself.

The man who helped him for months, non-stop, to love himself and live for himself, who was here to wipe his tears away when the work pressure was too much and who gave him more confidence than anyone. It wasn't easy at first, Namjoon being wearry and Seokjin doing horrible jokes, but it worked.

"Thinking? About what?"

Seokjin tilted his head to the side, becoming more serious. He was always worried about Namjoon since he knew how, sometimes, some pesky thoughts could come back and ruin the day.

Namjoon chuckled, rubbing his back.

"About how much I am thankful to you."

Thankful didn't feel strong enough. Right enough. But Namjoon guessed he was going to go with it.

Seokjin smiled, this time the smile sincere and soft, making tiny creases appear on the side of his eyes. He reached for Namjoon's face, brushing his finger on his cheek.

"You are very welcome, Little One."

Both couldn't stop the huge smiles from forming, they didn't want to.

Namjoon leaned towards Seokjin, brushing their noses together affectionately. Seokjin laughed, blushing but not pulling away, and returned the gesture.

Yeah. Namjoon was sure now. He was still working in business. He was still a serious guy. But now, he could actually feel the joy of being alive. He'd have to discuss things with Seokjin, including the ridiculous nickname his boyfriend had given him, but he was fine for now.

Very fine.

It is very short, I know that well, but I honestly don't think it needs more than that. Maybe I'll come back one day to re-do it, adding more of everyone... But for now, it will do!

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Thank you for reading! Reviews are always appreciated!

[drrjsb]

Bruce Banner Appreciation Week Day  3: Injury/Child 

“Before: Spring 1979″

Bruce is having issues at school, and Aunt Susan can’t get him to talk about it until she finds some sheet music that belonged to his mother.

If there was one thing Susan Banner hated, it was going through the boxes that had arrived about six months after her sister-in-law Rebecca Banner’s death. As far as the military was concerned, the case had been closed when her brother had been admitted to a mental hospital hundreds of miles away, unfit to stand trial, so there was no reason for the police nor the military to hold the broken pieces of the family’s lives that did not pertain directly to the case any longer. When the officer arrived with two MPs and a half-loaded van, Bruce had been at school, so she’d locked the boxes away safely in a basement storage room, reasoning that Bruce didn’t need to run across them while he was getting settled into a routine. The military had packed the boxes up room by room, but sometimes there would be an odd item packed up randomly because someone hadn’t known what to do with a stray book or a coffee mug.

She was tackling a box one night a week and separating out the obvious junk from things Bruce might later like to have. Unfortunately, a lot of his mother’s possessions had been damaged or destroyed when Brian Banner had barricaded himself in the house for a few hours before the police were able to talk him out. He’d made good use of his last hours of freedom ripping up her clothes, breaking all the mirrors, throwing a sewing machine down the staircase, ruining a piano with a set of golf clubs, and upending every drawer and shelf in the kitchen. That sarcastic voice in the back of Susan’s head hoped it had been cathartic for her brother, but Susan sincerely doubted that was so. She as still having trouble reconciling the protective big brother she knew from childhood with the narcissistic monster he became, following down their own father’s violent path.

As a result, here she was late on a Friday evening wearily tackling an unlabeled box from Dayton after Bruce was settled upstairs in bed, ragdoll tucked in with him while the model solar system he’d designed glowed dimly as planets on a clockwork device circled the ceiling. It had been a rough day at school for him, and he’d had a scrape on his cheek when she’d picked him up at the elementary. Her instinct was to march him right back in and talk to the teacher, but he’d begged her not to do it. Against her better judgment, she’d backed off, and they drove home in tense silence.

Bruce’s aunt reasoned she could always talk to the woman later, teacher to teacher. Susan taught music at the local high school since she’d stepped down as Division Head to have more time with Bruce. She’d started college on scholarship as a piano performance major with big dreams and plenty of ambition, but reality hit once her cantankerous father was left an invalid after a stroke. That meant she’d given up dreams of being a concert pianist and switched over to an education track. Fortunately, she’d been able to get through college on work study, grants, and teaching piano lessons on the side, so she hadn’t needed much help from her older brother Brian who was already making good money working on a government contract in New Mexico. She’d continued her education to earn an MA and now she had her PhD and tenure. Thus, she could support her nephew comfortably without touching the survivor benefits or insurance money Bruce had received or the remunerations from his father’s work. That money she saved, so he would be able to attend the Science Academy in a few years and then, presumably, the best universities. Who knew, he might focus his talents in an entirely different direction? Whatever it might be, she’d be there to support him.

Susan had found her sister-in-law’s sheet music in a satchel at the bottom of the box and immediately knew what a potential treasure this was. She had just started teaching Bruce beginning piano, and he was taking to it well. She spread the books and smaller pieces out across the top of her Baldwin baby grand to see what Rebecca had liked to play. “You had such a pretty voice, Becky. Now, what did you play besides church music and hymns?” Susan murmured to herself. There were a couple of collections of show tunes and a Disney anthology. The rest were advanced classical studies from Rebecca’s student days and a variety of single song sheets that had been popular back ten or more years before: quite the mixed bag, Susan decided. The teacher thumbed through the selections from musicals and noticed some works from Camelot were well marked. For some reason, that didn’t surprise her. She’d look at those later.

The Disney collection immediately fell open to “Baby Mine,” so she placed the book on the music stand and sat down on the bench to try sight reading the chords. She had gotten through the base clef with her left hand and started to put it with the melody when she looked up and saw Bruce standing in the doorway like a little revenant in pajamas with his goofy ragdoll Guardian in tow. Susan smiled and patted the piano bench beside her, and he shyly came in and sat down on her right. He’d been in bed an hour, so she’d accidentally woken him up. Understandably, he looked a little dazed.

“I . . . I dreamed I heard Mom, but I guess it was you playing,” he said sleepily. Susan could hear a bit of disappointment in his voice. Poor kid! You should have waited, scolded the voice in her head.

“Did she play this for you?” His aunt asked as she went over the first line.

“Yes. She sang it to me when I was really little.” He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed in that weighty way he had, reminding Susan of a much older soul. “She’d play it when things didn’t go well, too.” His aunt really hoped he’d be ready to talk because Bruce had been completely silent and disengaged at dinner and retreated to his room afterward.

“Like today?” Susan asked as she continued quietly to play the song for him.

“Yah.”

“Can you tell me what happened today?” she coaxed.

He swallowed hard before he replied. “Not much. Some older kids were picking on people after school, and Guardian came out.”

“Not your Guardian? Do you mean the janitor or the maintenance man came out of the building?” Susan was a bit confused.

“No,” Bruce hugged his doll closer. “Guardian only comes out when he really has to.”

Okay, this was odd. She knew the principal, the maintenance crew, and the janitor, but that wasn’t one of their names. Susan frowned, knowing the doll had been left at home resting on his bed today like always. What could he mean? “What did Guardian do?”

“He took his hand like this,” Bruce showed her the heel of his left hand, “and he hit the biggest kid in the nose.” He demonstrated a martial arts-like upward strike for her.

Susan stopped playing and placed her full attention on her nephew. “This happened outside the school while you waited on me? Did any teachers see it? What happened to the boy?”

Bruce shook his head. “No teachers were there. We were on the playground. The boy cried and his nose bled a lot, but the big kids all left. I think they were too embarrassed to tell. The other kids cheered though.” The smallest smile flitted across his face. He seemed just a wee bit proud of that.

“Why didn’t you tell me when I picked you up?”

“Guardian took care of it. He . . . he didn’t want you to worry,” Bruce trailed off. Susan wasn’t sure what to think. He looked up at her, and she swore for a moment she was looking into his mother’s green eyes, and then it was gone. “Could you please play the song again, Aunt Susan?”

What a little con! “All right. Can you help me sing?” He nodded and smiled up at her, so she played it and sang with him.

Baby mine, don't you cry.

Baby mine, dry your eyes.

Rest your head close to my heart,

Never to part, baby of mine.

Little one, when you play,

Pay no heed what they say.

Let your eyes sparkle and shine,

Never a tear, baby of mine.

If they knew all about you,

They'd end up loving you, too.

All those same people who scold you,

What they'd give just for the right to hold you.

From your hair down to your toes,

You're so much, goodness knows.

And, you're so precious to me,

Sweet as can be, baby of mine.

By the end, he’d snuggled closer to her, and she wrapped her arm around him. “This is your song, hmm?”

“It used to be.”

“It could still be yours.”

“I don’t cry anymore.”

“But it would be okay if you did.”

“No. I don’t let people hurt me anymore, so I don’t cry. If you cry, they win.” She’d learned Bruce could be very stubborn. He’d gather his data and mull things over, but once his mind was set on a course of action, he was quite adamant.

“Like the kids at school?” she guessed.

“No. Well, yes, but I don’t care about them. They never will get me to cry. They’re a waste of time.” He paused for a moment to think. “If I don’t feel something, I can’t be hurt or sad; therefore, I won’t cry.”

“So, you’re saying if you don’t feel anything, you think you won’t be hurt?”

“Right. I don’t want to feel or be hurt, at least not at school. Maybe most of the time when I’m not at home.”

“Do you feel something for me?” she asked, a little afraid of the answer.

“Of course, I do, Aunt Susan!” Bruce threw his arms tightly around her torso, and she hugged him close, feeling relieved. “I’ve known you my whole life. I know you love me.” Yet, she suspected she knew what he’d meant. The boy was armored up to not let himself feel for anyone, at least no one new, and she wasn’t sure how to convince him he should do otherwise.

The friends he did have were older and shared his interests in computers and electronics or astronomy or chemistry. The only friend Bruce had who was near his age was his cousin Jennifer who’d had a standing library date with him on Saturdays for the past nine months or so. Would these connections be enough? The boy just didn’t seem interested in expanding his circle at all. She hugged him close. “Do you want to play this piece on your own sometime?”

“Yes,” he said and straightened up, reaching out to touch the keys and slowly beginning to figure out the right-hand melody. “I want to play this for my child someday, but I want the words to be different.”

“Happier?”

“Yes, I want her or him to be happier than me.”

“Bruce, I want you to be happy. I know you’ve been deeply hurt, but one day you will be ready to take a chance again because the rewards are so worthwhile. There are going to be people worth knowing and loving who will come into your life.” She grinned, “How do you expect to have children one day if you don’t find someone to fall in love with?”

He didn’t respond immediately. “I guess you’re right, but if you know this, why aren’t you married?”

What a little stinker! “I was always busy with school or my job, so I never found the right person, but then it didn’t matter because you came into my life. I would rather that bad things didn’t happen to your family, but at least we both get a second chance.”