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chaseatinydream · 4 years ago

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pirate king (65) || atz

You’ve been working hard on the jacket for the last few days.

Too much time, actually. You don’t need anyone to tell you that, you know from the way your eyes hurt upon seeing sunlight, the way your back aches when you straighten up. You’ve spent too long cooped up in the darkness of the storage hold, the needle and fur in your hands only illuminated by the dim light of the oil lamp that hangs from the supporting beams that run overhead. The movements are mind-numbingly repetitive, you know that, but you figure you need something to distract you from the impending reality of having your nose bleed for the umpteenth time when you’re hunched over the fox fur in your hands.

You only notice the red stains starting to blossom over the fox fur after a good couple of seconds and startle in surprise, jerking away and reaching for the rag that you keep at your side to wipe carelessly at your nose, before tossing it out of sight behind a stack of barrels beside you. The main shape is coming together nicely, you think, but you still need to pad the inside before resewing the seams to make sure it’s nice and secure. Running a hand gently over the soft fur calms you too.

You’re trying to escape.

Anyone can tell from the way you spend your days hiding away in the bowels of the ship, brushing off everyone’s vaguely concerned “are you alright” with a casual laugh and nod and a “of course I’m fine!” You repeat it so many times you almost believe it to be truth at some point, the smile seeming to be permanently etched onto your face now. You’ll be fine, you’ll be fine, you keep telling yourself and sometimes, you wonder who exactly you’re trying to convince.

It’s the third day after the Treasure has left the little seaside town when someone comes down to find you.

To your surprise, it’s Seonghwa standing there at the bottom of the cargo stairs, kitchen knife in hand as he smiles at you. “Mind helping me out with dinner today?” He asks warmly and you shift subtly, hoping that the bloody rag is well hidden and out of sight.

“I’m a little busy though.” You say, raising the fox fur in your hand and Seonghwa frowns slightly.

“You’ve been working on that so long, I think you need a break.” Seonghwa tells you, stepping over to look at what you’re doing. In a rush to hide the bloody rag behind you, you get to your feet as fast as you can, shaking your head. “Oh, I’m fine, honestly! But I, uh, wouldn’t mind helping with dinner at all.”

“That’s great!” Seonghwa chirps cheerily, tugging at your arm gently. “Come on, let’s go then! I’m sure you haven’t lost any of your cooking skills, have you? I’d hate to see my only protege forget everything I’ve taught.”

With a reluctant sigh, you put down the fox fur and follow Seonghwa out of the cargo hold. Your eyes water slightly at the bright sunlight, raising a hand to shield them, glancing about. A few crew members wave excitedly to you upon seeing you out and about for the first time in a few days, and you wave awkwardly back, not entirely sure how to respond. When Seonghwa leads you down the stairs to the galley, you pinch and pull at your cheeks, hoping that your smile is enough to convince them.

When the two of you step into the galley, Seonghwa closes the door behind him. To your surprise, Jongho is sitting at the table in the galley, fidgeting uncomfortably with a small paring knife in his hand. Frowning a little in confusion, you tilt your head to look at the younger battlemaster. “Are you going to help us with dinner, Jongho?”

“Well, yeah.” Jongho says a little too quickly. You manage a small smile, reach over to pinch his cheek and he bats it away, cheeks colouring. Seonghwa laughs at the little display as he reaches over to grab a heavy iron skillet hanging from wall. “Jongho came into the kitchen today and asked if he could cook.”

“I was bored.” Jongho tries to defend himself, grumpily. A smile lifts your cheeks as you take the cutting board from Seonghwa’s outstretched hands, placing it in front of Jongho. “Have you ever cooked before?”

“No, he hasn’t.” Seonghwa chuckles. Jongho glares at his older crew mate. “I’ve never had a reason to before.”

You shake your head in barely concealed amusement as you seat yourself at the table, pulling a slab of dried beef onto the chopping board. Drawing the knife from your belt, you slice away until it falls away as thick chunks, and you’re glad to find out that you’re not entirely incompetent at cutting with your new hand. Jongho sits at the side and peels onions, fingers fumbling with the small knife in his hands.

The three of you sit in silence for a few minutes before you hear a small sniff, looking over to see Jongho sitting on the wooden bench quietly, head down. Frowning, you lean over, tap on his shoulder lightly. “Hey, you alright?”

Jongho doesn’t reply, head bowed, and fear stirs for a moment.

“Are you crying?” Seonghwa asks incredulously, and Jongho’s head snaps up incredibly quick to glare at him, letting the both of you catch sight of his eyes, shiny and wet. Your mouth falls open.

“It’s the damn onions!” Jongho shouts, and at that exact moment, two far tears roll down his cheeks. You and Seonghwa look at each other for a moment before you burst into laughter.

>>>

The ship stops in Tortuga in a few days, just as planned. The winds have been in your favour, and the passage was peaceful. As the Treasure pulls into a familiar port, you’re sitting at the foremast, cross legged and letting the last rays of the setting sun sun warm your cheeks.

“Hello, hello.” Wooyoung’s voice comes from behind you and you turn to see the gunner balancing along the yardarm as he walks towards you, arms stretched out for balance. You give him a small smile when he seats himself next to you, legs swinging out into the empty space below you. “Here we are again.”

“It’s been a while.” You say softly, looking out over the scenery before you as the toll guards row over to the Treasure in a small boat, you see Mingi beneath you commanding for the lowering of the ladder to allow them on board. You manage a small smile and poke him in the side with your wooden hand. “Are you going to go into town?”

“Maybe.” He lifts one shoulder in a shrug as he leans back on his hands. “I promise I’m not up to any monkey business, though.” He tacks on quickly when you quirk a brow at him, before you laugh.

“I remember the first time we came to Tortuga.” You laugh quietly. “You abandoned me with Jongho.”

Wooyoung pouts. “Things are different now.” His nose scrunches up. “I bet I could take you on a better date around town though. What did Jongho take you to the last time, a patisserie and creepy fortune teller?”

“The pastries were nice.” You defend, pinching his cheek lightly and Wooyoung looks at you with a fond smile. Your heart lurches. Oh right, he likes you. He likes you and he’s still waiting for a real answer.

“Maybe you should go out into town.” You say suddenly, looking away from him with your lips pressed together. Wooyoung frowns, and tries to look over at your expression. “Chin Hae...?”

“I don’t think I love you, Wooyoung.” You say softly, and it’s like the blade of a guillotine falling.

There’s a heartbeat of silence, as Wooyoung stares out at the sea before you, mouth forming a little round shape. “Oh.” He breathes, head tilting upwards for a second so you can’t look into his eyes. “Oh.” He repeats, and there’s a soft sniff from your side.

“I’m sorry,” you say, because what else is there to say? But Wooyoung shakes his head, wipes his eyes. “Oh. No, no, no, don’t apologise for how you feel. It’s not your fault. I just... I just need a moment.” He manages a faint smile through the tears budding in the corners of his eyes. “Can you give me a bit?”

“Sure.” You murmur quietly, hooking your toes around the rigging, before looking back at Wooyoung hesitantly. Fresh tears seem to be welling in his eyes, but he’s still smiling, and an uncomfortable feeling wells in your chest with what you think must be guilt. Before you can think too much about it, you start climbing downwards, feet dropping lightly to the deck as you look back up at the mast where a lone shape perches in the dying light of the sunset.

You turn back to the storage hold, eyes resolute. “I’m sorry, Wooyoung. Hopefully things will turn out less painful this way.”

>>>

“I want to go onto land.” Yunho whines like an overgrown puppy as you check his temperature against yours, and you snort softly, crossing your arms.

“Well, you do seem like you’ve gotten better, but that poison was a dangerous one.” You tell him, sitting in the wooden chair next to his bed. “I don’t know what it was, so we should be careful when it comes to your recovery - we don’t want you to strain yourself.”

“But I feel fine, and I’ve been cooped up in here for so long.” He moans, tossing himself back onto the bed, cheeks puffed out. “I want to see the sun and eat some grilled squid.”

“I brought you back some grilled squid just a few days ago.” You remind him and he nods, dopey smile on his lips.

“Yeah, but now I just want more.” He laughs, without the decency to sound even the least bit sheepish and you sigh, shaking your head. Suddenly, the door opens and you startle, instinctively turning away from it. Behind you, your master and captain step into the room, and you rise to your feet, shifting away to let San examine Yunho more carefully.

You know your master is trying to meet your eye, but you only tilt your chin higher in what you hope is a show of confidence, you’re alright, you want to say. You don’t want to see the dark circles under his eyes from his sleepless nights of research, of trying to find some sort of cure that you know doesn’t exist. Look, I’m fine, you want to say. Stop wasting your time and effort on me.

“How are you doing, beanpole?” Hongjoong smacks his battlemaster on the leg gently and Yunho howls exaggeratedly, clutching the area with both hands. “Oh, it hurts, captain, it hurts so much! How could you be such a bully?”

You make a face and San manages a tired laugh. “I suppose you’re still too weak to go about town then.” He says and Yunho immediately falls out of bed. “No, that was a joke, I’m fine, I promise!” He says so eagerly that you can’t help but crack a smile. Your captain shakes his head.

“Well, I suppose that we could let you walk about for a bit and stretch your legs, but you need to be accompanied by someone for your own safety.” Hongjoong tells him and Yunho pouts, but he knows that this is the most his captain will let him push himself. “San, Chin Hae, do you think you could go with him?”

“Sure.” San says, but you don’t reply, giving your captain a wry smile. “Ah, I wanted to go somewhere else though.”

San frowns. “Where?”

But you don’t reply, shrugging vaguely. “A secret.” You get to your feet and step out of the sickbay, leaving the three men behind in confused silence. Yunho and Hongjoong exchange glances, before Yunho comments mildly. “Am I the only one who thinks Chin Hae has been acting strange for the last few days?”

“Not just you.” Hongjoong mutters, scratching lightly at his eyepatch before he frowns. “Chin Hae has just been... holed up in the storage hold working on something for the last few days. I wonder what she’s up to. San, do you know?”

But your master only stares after you with pained eyes, fingers clenching in the hem of his shirt.

#ateez #ateez fanfic #ateez fanfiction #hongjoong #seonghwa #yunho #yeosang #san #mingi #wooyoung #jongho #ateez pirate king #w; ot8 #w; pirate king #w; fanfiction

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judediangelo75 · 4 years ago

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Hair Raising Situations

Hello everyone!

So this one is gonna be a bit different.

1) I’m featuring my best friend in this one, because the whole “Judith Harris” development started between us two (She has her own MC of course and a Bill fan, Billiam being on her ship names).

2) It’s not connected to anything I’ve previously written, just a funny little story.

3) It’s not just TalbottxJudith. Shocker I know. Judith isn’t dating anyone but it would go in the order of who she interested in (from most to least). So it could be looked at as multiple ships and you’ll see her attitude to each person she interacts with.

4) Judith’s hair is straightened here, but when... what happened happens, it would be the same hair cut as Orion’s.

5) We did give Skye a twin brother, his name is Hermes. Get it lol?

Anyways, I hope you like this silly little story. Enjoy!

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

(Brooke Brown) (Age: 16)

I was currently hiding out in the Courtyard in my Animagus form. Why, you may ask?

Because my best friend/sister is out to kill me.

Let's rewind, shall we?

-A little while earlier-

"I can't wait to prank someone with this Fanged Frisbee. Thanks for buying it for me, Brooke," Tonks cheered gleefully as we walked on the Training Grounds. I smiled at the pink haired Hufflepuff.

"Of course. You plan on scaring Filch and Miss Norris with it like last time," I asked. Tonks frowned.

"As much as I love to prank those two, I think I need a change of victims..." The girl trailed off as someone caught her eye. I looked up to find Judith practicing her broom surfing. I glanced back at Tonks and saw the impish smile spread on her face.

Oh no...

"Tonks, I know that look. Don't even think about," I quickly reprimanded the infamous prankster.

"Oh don't be such a spoil sport, Brooke. Her reaction is going to absolutely priceless," Tonks waved off, preparing to throw the Fanged Frisbee.

"Tonks, no-" I watched in horror as the prank item whirled at my best friend.

"JUDITH, LOOK OUT!" Luckily that caught her attention as she was able to evade the frisbee. But she didn't get a chance to rest as the Fanged Frisbee came whistling back round, giving chase.

Judith looked semi-scared as she did her best to shake off the frisbee as she flew around on her broom.

Tonks and I readied our wands to put a stop to the fanged prank item before our friend could get seriously hurt, expect we were have a hard time actually hitting the frisbee.

Tonks and I could only watch as the Fanged Frisbee closed in on her from behind.

"Judith, dive," I shouted. Judith didn't waste a second as she dove down. Judith was able to evade the fanged terror... somewhat.

The sound of fanged teeth cutting through hair felt impossibly loud. I couldn't help but to gape in horror as my best friend's hip-length hair was cut semi-choppily and fell to the ground. Tonks managed to cast Immobulous on the Fanged Frisbee but Judith didn't seem to notice. She stared at the ground where her hair fell while raising a shaking hand to her head.

Uh oh.

I immediately transformed into my red-tailed hawk and flew off. Not before hearing the scream that damn near shook the entire castle.

"BROOKE, TONKS! YOU'RE SO DEAD!"

---

So now I've resorted to hiding until, hopefully, Judith cooled off.

I've been watching the doors that lead to the Courtyard just in case she comes here looking to rip my tail feathers off...

I was so caught up in my inner turmoil, I nearly fell out of the tree I was in when a giant Golden Eagle landed right next to me. Talbott and I transformed back into our human forms for a moment.

"What did you do this time," Talbott asked bluntly. I gave my fellow Ravenclaw an innocent look.

"What are you talking about? I didn't do anything," I said, doing my best to hide my nervous laughter. Talbott raised a sharp brow at me.

"And I'm sure Judith was yelling that she was gonna kill you and Tonks for kicks," he said. I shuddered in fear. Talbott sighed.

"Brooke-" I clapped my hand over his mouth, looking around in fear.

"SHHH! She'll be listening for my name for all I know," I hissed at the eagle Animagus. He stared at me, completely unamused.

"Whatever you did can't be-"

"BROOKE KELLY BROWN! YOU BETTER BE READY FOR AN ASS WHOOPING YOU’LL NEVER FORGET!" I let out a shriek, transforming back in my bird form and hiding behind a startled Talbott.

Judith stormed out in the Courtyard, a fire dancing in her pale gold eyes.

Oh Talbott if you love me as a friend, please for all that good and holy, do not tell her where I am...

-----

(Talbott Winger)

After meeting the "Cursed Children of Hogwarts", I knew my life will never be normal.

I was just thankful for meeting Judith first. Even though she and Brooke were just as persistent on being my friend, she was the much calmer one. Brooke tended to be more mischievous and can easily talk my ear off if I let her.

When I heard Judith's cry of pure fury earlier, all the way from the Library mind you, I knew Brooke and Tonks must've been up to no good. Judith isn't the type to explode or get mad easily, so whatever they did must've been a prank.

When the normally calm Hufflepuff stormed into the Courtyard with a glare sharp enough to kill a man, I instantly had an idea what they did. And couldn't help but blush at the difference.

Judith has been growing her hair out over the years. Her thick long curly mane would reach her mid-back in its natural state. But when it was straighten, it would reach her shapely hips.

I secretly thought she looked beautiful with long hair, silently wishing to play with her long locks. But now, said mane was now cut short. It was a bit choppy, but not in a bad way. She looked cute with short hair...

Her gold eyes scanned the Courtyard for her fearful best friend who was now taking refuge in my hood. Her eyes landed on me and her angry expression melted into something akin to shy embarrassment. She walked up to me slowly.

"H-hey Tal-Talbott," she quietly greeted me. I rose a brow.

The fact that she can switch from rage to shyness nearly gave me whiplash.

"Hello Judith," I replied. The girl crossed her arms staring at her feet. I couldn't help but find her adorable right now.

She was wearing her semi-casual class outfit. A black sweater over her white button-down collar and yellow and black tie, a black skirt that reached her knees, dark gray long socks, and her shiny ballet flats. With her short hair, it made seem so much sweeter...

I jumped down, feeling Brooke squirm before quickly settling in my hood. I took a few steps forward until I was standing in front of the cute Hufflepuff.

"Have you seen Brooke around," she quietly asked.

I felt a nervous twitch on my back.

Deciding to cover for my fellow Ravenclaw, I shook my head. Silence ensued between the two of us, as Judith still has yet to meet my gaze.

"New haircut," I inquired in an attempt to break the silence. The girl flinched.

"Not by choice. It looks bad, I know," she grumbled. As much as I love her with long hair, I love seeing her like this as well. It brought out her face more, and she looks cuter with the fact it wasn't completely even.

"Who said anything about it looking bad. I think you look rather cute with it," I whispered, twirling a strand between my fingers. Judith looked at me surprised, a hint of color appearing on her face.

"I- um... uh..." I felt a small smile grow on my face.

"Thank you," she squeaked, coming out more like a question rather than a statement.

Too cute.

I dropped my hand, silently chuckling.

"D-do me a favor and tell Brooke that we have Quidditch practice l-later, please," she stumbled over her words. I gave her a small smile.

"Sure, anything for you, little bird," I said softly. The girl's blush grew worse as she tucked a couple of loose strands behind her ear.

"Th-Thanks, Talbott. I'll see you later," she mumbled before quickly leaving the Courtyard. A few moments later, Brooke came out of hiding and transformed back into her human form. She pulled me into a tight hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I felt her squeeze me tighter with each thank you and quickly patted her back, wheezing that she'll break me in half if she hugged me any tighter.

The Ravenclaw girl released me, giving me a sheepish smile.

"Oh, how I wish I could have you around all the time, Talbott. You managed to disarm her without even trying," she sighed in relief. I rolled my eyes at that. Not that I was looking to in the first place, but I did manage to calm the angry Hufflepuff down quite a bit.

"I don't feel like being your human shield every time you get her mad, Brooke. Remember, you have Quidditch practice with her soon so eventually, you'll be on your own," I pointed out. Brooke paled at that and whimpered. I would love to see how she wriggles her way out of that one...

———

(Orion Amari)

McNully, the Parkin twins, and I awaited our two teammates so we can start practice. Though I sense there might be some minor conflict that could cause a shift of imbalance during today's practice.

If Judith's yell from earlier was an indication...

Judith and I connect very well.

She may have the strength that Skype prefers and the tactic that appeals to McNully but I noticed she gravitated more on my lessons on balance above everything else. She didn't bat an eye at my methods, whether it be for us to talk as equals by balancing on our broomsticks or even when I taught her how to Inspired Broom Surfing.

She seems to enjoy not only the challenge but the peace it seems to bring her.

I don't know much about the Curse Vaults but I know it brings her much stress. Helping her clear her mind is definitely something I would gladly do for her whenever she wants.

"OY! Where the hell is Harris and Brown?! They should've been here by now," Skye grumbled, tapping her foot impatiently. Her twin, Hermes, smirked.

"What's the matter, Sky? Eager to get your pasty ass handed to you so soon? Especially after being the Hospital Wing for so long?" The Hufflepuff snarled at her Ravenclaw brother.

"Put a sock in it, will ya?! Now that I'm recovered, I'm gonna mop the floor with you," Skye hissed. McNully simply shook his head at the Parkin Chasers.

"I give it a 98.9% chance this has to do with Judith's death threat earlier," he told me.

"And what could you think to be the reason," I asked the Quidditch commentator. He shrugged his broad shoulders.

"Beats me."

"S-sorry we-we're late, everyone..." came a slightly timid apology. We all turned to find the Ravenclaw Chaser and Hufflepuff Beater in their respected practice uniforms. Brooke, who voiced this apology, was looking away and Judith silently glared daggers at her best friend.

I blinked in surprise as I took in my Beater.

Judith's hair has been cut drastically short, very similar to my own in fact. I'd always found the Hufflepuff to be alluring with her long, thick mane. Especially when the wind would blow, toying with her locks as she meditated with me or when we simply practicing flying on our brooms together.

Her short hair didn't dampen her beauty but simply changed it in a different light. Her facial features were brought out more due to the cut. Her big gold eyes, her soft cheeks, her slightly sharp jawline...

"Tch, nice haircut Harris," Hermes snorted. The girl shifted her glare over to him, making him slightly flinched.

"We don't have time for a bloody makeover, Judith, we had a Quidditch title to defend," Skye chided.

"Oh, can it both of you! It's not like I asked for a bad hair day," Judith snapped, sending a side-eye to a timid Brooke.

"May I asked what happened exactly," McNully asked politely. Judith sighed, refusing to say anything. Brooke tried not to twitch under her hard stare.

"Let's just say a Fanged Frisbee gone wrong," Brooke vaguely summarized. I let out a hum of understanding as I studied the Hufflepuff Beater. A few strands landed in front of her face. Before Judith could do anything, I carefully brushed her hair behind her ear, allowing my fingertips to lightly caress her cheek.

The girl blinked at me in surprise, a blush coloring her face.

"I see nothing wrong with it. I think short hair suits you," I said with a smile. The girl couldn't find any words to say after I complimented her.

"S-so, le-let's get to practicing, ye-yeah," the Hufflepuff Beater offered. I silently chuckled at her attempt to change the subject but appeased her nonetheless.

It didn't escape my attention however when Brooke shot me a grateful look.

———

"Oh boy, definitely need a Wiggenweld Potion," Brooke winced as practice concluded.

Judith showed no mercy, hitting Bludgers with deadly accuracy. She managed to nail Hermes and Brooke quite a number of times, much to Skye's delight, but I can still sense some level of unbalance coming from her.

"Judith, may I speak with you. Alone," I called out to her. Murphy and Skye shrugged, Brooke looked relieved (more or less running out of the stadium, despite her injuries) and Hermes smirked making kissing noises in our direction. Judith looked very peeved, as well as a bit flustered, at that and looked ready to jump the male but I held her back with a steady hand on her shoulder.

"Come now, it wouldn't be long. I promise," I whispered gently to her. Her face did a funny little spasm as her blush grew worse, but she relented. When the others cleared out, I turned Judith so she could face me. The girl stubbornly looked at my chest. I let out a sigh and tilted her chin up so she could look at me.

"Something troubles you. What's wrong," I softly asked.

"It's stupid. One of the few days I actually could relax, I get chased by a rogue Fanged Frisbee thanks to Tonks and Brooke and now I have a haircut that makes me look more like a boy. I'm already insecure about myself as is, this just put me in a foul mood," the girl admitted.

My gaze softened at the Hufflepuff witch.

Tentatively, I cupped her cheek, brushing my thumb under her eye.

"Long or short, your hair doesn't define your beauty, Judith. I'm not speaking to you out of concern a captain has for his teammate, but simply as a wizard expressing himself to a witch. I truly mean when I say you're an alluring girl," I whispered to her. I leaned in pressed a small kiss on her hairline. I heard her let out a shaky breath. Pulling away, her eyes were closed and the blush darkened.

Her gold eyes fluttered open to meet my dark brown ones. She gave me a shy smile.

"Th-Thank you, Orion," she said quietly. I hummed softly and stepped back to give her some space. She asked if she could leave now and I gave her a smile and nodded, saying I'll see her around. She gifted me with one last small smile before walking out of the stadium. I heard the grass being crunched under a set of wheels.

"You seriously could've made the poor girl faint you know," I heard McNully say. I turned to him with a guileless smile.

"You know that I have no shame expressing how I feel. I feel a connection towards the girl, simple as that," I said. The commentator rolled his eyes and chuckled.

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

(Andre Egwu)

I was in the Ravenclaw Common Room studying one of Murphy's playbooks. I really want to be a better Seeker so I can actually play on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. I want to make my grandmother proud... and Judith as well.

The witch never had to reach out to help me, especially since she's on the Hufflepuff team. But she helped introduced me to Murphy so I can learn and strategy wizard himself. I was actually surprised how friendly those two were with each other, which means they've been working closely for quite a while. I remember the kind smile she sent my way when she promised that this is will help me become a better Seeker.

She had such a beautiful smile. Among a lot of features.

Her smooth chocolate skin.

Her delicately sculpted face.

Her athletically fit (and slightly curvy) body.

Her bright gold eyes.

Her long dark hair.

I sighed dreamily.

"Whatcha sighing about, Andre?" A very familiar voice spoke. I jumped to find Judith standing close to the couch I resided on. I blinked in surprise.

Judith blew a strand of her now short hair from her face as she looked at me curiously. Suddenly her battle cry from earlier today makes so much more sense...

Along with Brooke's frantic running in and out (with a bunch of snacks and candy in hand) of the Common Room, yelling if anyone needed her she'll be in the Gryffindor Common Room...

I can understand Judith's anger, but...

It's not as bad as she thinks it is...

"Andre?" I snapped back to reality as the Hufflepuff rose a brow at me. I blushed.

"Sorry, sorry... I was caught up in studying these playbooks," I partially lied through the skin of my teeth. I felt my entire face grow hot. She let out a soft hum.

"Alright," she finally said. I let out a soft sigh of relief. I stood to take a closer look at the girl.

"Cute haircut, whose your stylist," I commented, ruffling her hair playfully. The girl stared at me, surprise overtaking her features.

"I was half expecting you to find this bad," she said, running through her fingers through the choppy cut to fix it. I shook my head.

"You looked good with how your hair was before, but you look very cute with this cut," I said honestly. The Hufflepuff Prefect chuckled and hugged me around the waist. I blushed and wrapped my arms around her. The sweet smell of her shampoo wafted up my nose. Mmm... cocoa butter and coconuts...

I felt a dopey grin spread on my face.

Dear Gods if this is a dream, don't wake me up...

Unfortunately, the girl pulled away.

"I wanted to ask you something," she said. The warmth of her hug and the sweet smell still left me in a slight delirious euphoria. So I didn't hesitate to answer.

"Sure, anything..."

"Do you by any chance know where Brooke is?"

"She went to the Gryffindor Common Room," I said, unknowingly ratting Brooke out to her possibly vengeful best friend. Said best friend gave me a giant smile and another hug.

"Thank you, Andre," she said, and was there a slight purr in her voice? She turned on her heel and walked out of the room, leaving me alone once again.

Sighs... so worth it...

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

(Brooke Brown)

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!

Once I get my hands on Egwu, I'm gonna clobber him!

...Assuming I survive my best friend's wrath...

I glanced at Bill, who was basically yeeted across the room to keep Judith from entering the room. He ended up hitting an armchair, which toppled backward. I forgot how strong my best friend was...

I silently whimpered at the sight of Judith smirking down at me.

"L-l-let's not do-do anything drastic n-now...! I-I'm sure we can t-talk about this, haha haha haha pleasedon'thurtme," I said as I shrunk into the couch. Judith remained quiet for a moment before chuckling. I shut my eyes.

Oh no...

Goodbye world, it was nice knowing you...

"Relax, will ya? I'm not gonna hurt you..." I cracked open one eye.

"Really," I asked quietly.

"Well not really..." Not helping!

"You can say that the short hair kinda grew on me, so I'm gonna spare you from anything drastic," she said.

"Wha-But-How-" The short Hufflepuff gave me a small smile with a slight blush on her face.

"You can say I received some votes of confidence today," she said softly, brushing a few strands behind her ear. I thought back. Talbott. Orion. Andre.

I smirked and snickered.

Apparently, that was the wrong move as Judith's eyes sharpened into a glare. I 'eeped' as she leaned in close to my face.

"Even so, I'm not spending x amount of years just to regrow my hair. You gonna find a way to help me grow it back or else. Got it," she whispered. I nodded frantically. She gave me a lazy smirk.

"Good. See ya at dinner, bestie," she said, pulling away and walking out of the room. Once she was gone, I went over to check to make sure that Bill was okay while mentally wondering how can I convince Penny to brew me some kind of hair potion...

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endof-theline · 3 years ago

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Day 4- Tropetember: Model AU

Day 4 of super early Tropetember is here with a Model AU! Bucky doesn't fall for the models normally, but there's always one exception...

On Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32367433

If there was one thing Bucky had to learn about being a photographer still, it would be how to not fall in love with the goddamn models! Normally it wouldn’t be a problem since a lot of his clients were women or at the least femme and being the gay man with a preference for masc partners made it easy not to fall for his regulars… that would be if the blonde Adonis hadn’t decided that Bucky was going to be one of the only people he wanted to work with since meeting Bucky and seeing his work.

The model in question wasn’t exactly a small name either because why would he be with a face like that? It was Steve fucking Rogers! Only one of the most famous models in America, let alone New York, and boy did he have some connections. After the first photo shoot with Steve, Bucky was getting calls from both The Avengers modelling team and Shield’s photography agency and they were both offering gigs for him with other really well known clients like Natasha Romanov and Tony Stark.

Back to the man in question however, Steve looked like he was sculpted from marble by the Gods and in front of the camera he had the confidence to match it as he posed perfectly. The current shoot was for some athletic brand that Bucky knew the name of only from celebrity photos or gym trainers for actors talking about it, basically it was very expensive and extremely good quality and Steve looked good enough to eat in it.

Bucky directed the blonde into the last position for today, taking his shots and calling the end of the shoot. He immediately started to flick through some of the last photos he had taken with a smile on his face and a whispered “Fuck, that’s why you’re my favourite” as he scrolled through them.

A laugh startled him out of his thoughts as his head whipped up, coming face to face with Steve and immediately blushing when he realised that Steve had heard him “Not sure you’re meant to play favourites with the models, James” Steve teased him with a smirk and Bucky had to remember not to swoon like a teenage girl.

“When the other models start taking perfect shots, I’ll stop playing favourites” Bucky mentally clapped himself on the back for not swallowing his tongue on that one, he held out the camera to show Steve the picture of him doing a pull up. His muscles flexing and shiny with sweat that caught the lights perfectly, the shadows doing wonders for defining Steve’s face and all those sharp edges “I mean look at this, I barely have to touch it”

“I’ll take your word for it, I’ve never been good at being on the opposite side of a camera and I’m hopeless at any sort of editing” Steve laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck, treating Bucky at another look at those amazing arms, and smirking again when he realised where Bucky’s eyes had gone too.

“That’s why you have me around, I know what’s good in front of a lens!” Bucky chirped, blissfully unaware that Steve had caught him staring but still blushing hard from the smirk on Steve’s lips.

“And am I good?” Steve’s voice dropped to a smooth purr that, definitely, made Bucky swallow his tongue as Steve batted his eyelashes innocently and Bucky struggled to find a working brain cell to answer the question “Is that why I’m your favourite?”

"Um-" Bucky's brain had broken, there was only static in there which just left his stupid mouth to run the show "Y-Yes"

"Oh James, did I break it?" Steve teased him as he ruffled Bucky's long hair, laughing as Bucky's face went impossibly redder as he stammered harder "I really did break you, stay here and I'll be straight back!"

"What the fuck is happening?” Bucky whispered under his breath before whipping his head around to make sure he hadn’t been snuck up on again, but Steve was still getting changed behind the screen and everyone else was packing up the set. The camera was still hanging from his hand so he picked it up and started to look through the pictures again, a smile slowly stretching across his face as he admired his work.

A hand clapped him on the shoulder making him yelp and drop the camera, his body froze in a panic before the camera was back in his hands and Steve was cradling it carefully in his large hands “I’m so sorry, are you alright? Is the camera alright?”

“I-I’m fine, you just made me jump is all” Bucky chuckled awkwardly before checking over the camera carefully and smiled up at the blonde “Looks like you caught it just in time, it’s all good”

“I’m so glad, I would have felt so bad if I had broken it” Steve sighed as he squeezed Bucky’s shoulder gently, subtly running his hand up to Bucky’s neck and landing back on his shoulder “How about I take you out for dinner to apologize?”

“Oh you don’t have to do that, the camera’s fine and you only made me jump a little, it’s fi-” Bucky waved his hand and smiled brightly up to the blonde who was seconds away from laughing before he interrupted.

“I meant on a date, James” Steve pointed out and couldn’t stop himself from laughing when Bucky’s jaw literally dropped and went bright red, the blush lighting up his ears and disappearing under his shirt collar “You’ll catch flies like that”

Bucky’s teeth clicked as he quickly shut his mouth and cleared his throat “Well in that case, you definitely need to apologize to me and take me out for dinner!”

“I’m free now if you are?” He offered hopefully and laughed again when Bucky almost dropped his phone in his haste to check his schedule. Bucky very quickly decided that pizza night with his cat could be postponed to go on a date with Steve, Alpine would understand since Bucky had told her all about Steve “If you have plans we can do it another day”

“Nope, no plans!” Bucky shoved his phone back in his pocket and grinned excitedly “Where did you wanna go?”

“I know a place I think you’ll like” Steve winked at him before waving him to follow him out so Bucky quickly grabbed his bag and chased after Steve who waited in the doorway for him with a smile on his face that was nothing like the usual smile he had in front of the camera, it was a lot softer and sweeter and it was all for Bucky.

It was a little awkward driving in separate cars, since both of them had driven to the shoot and neither really wanted to leave their cars there either. However awkward it was, it did give Bucky time to let himself freak out in private as he blared his music loudly and shouted at the world.

“Steve fucking Rogers! Steve fucking Rogers is going on a date with me!” Bucky shouted excitedly as he banged his hand on the wheel, he wanted to get out all of the excitement and nerves and giggles that he had before meeting back up with Steve.

So as it turns out, Steve was actually perfect. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, just like Bucky, and he started modeling to help out at home, just like Bucky, and he brought him accidentally to Bucky’s favourite pizza place ever. The pair agreed to ignore how messy the other ate so they devoured their food and between delicious slices of pizza they managed to talk and tease each other.

Bucky couldn’t help but briefly compare Steve to his ex boyfriend, Brock never let Bucky eat messy food in front of him, he never touched him casually but Steve was constantly touching his hand or arm, Brock thought Bucky’s job was stupid but Steve wanted to learn everything about being on Bucky’s end of the cameras.

Steve is perfect, Bucky is in love, both of these facts were already true but Bucky decided that now there was no denying it. Steve the Adonis was going to become Steve, his boyfriend and Bucky was sure of it!

#tropetember #eotl writes #fanfiction #stucky #Steve Rogers #Bucky Barnes

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jaxl-road · 5 years ago

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The League of Extraordinary Rockstars, ch.4

Summary: LA is a hub for music and mutants, making it the perfect place for Motley Crue, Guns N’ Roses, and countless other mutant musicians to call home. But it’s not all easy, especially when it comes to finding a decent place to live. So what better solution than moving in together in the mansion of an immortal? Love, drama, and super powers. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting.

Chapter Warnings: Language, genderswap!Steven

AN: This is a collaboration between myself and @the–blackdahlia! It combines elements from her fic “It’s So Easy (And Other Lies)” (specifically her genderswapped!Steven) and my super powered GnR series. It is completely AU and ignores timelines like Woah, but hopefully you’ll have as much fun reading it as we’re having writing it! Let us know what you think!

~~~~~~~~~

Stevie had gotten so used to yelling waking her up, that when she woke up and the room was silent, she was a little confused. But a smile soon spread on her face as she stretched and rolled over on her mattress. She had so many plans for the room. Paint, rug, furniture, an actual bed, and more. And they were going to get a bunch of that today, plus groceries. A wholesale store had just opened up a month ago, and they actually had the money to buy a membership. They had a busy day today.

And it was cloudy outside.

But as she stood to get dressed, she didn’t think much of it. Stevie never stopped absorbing sunlight- she simply couldn’t shut her mutation off- and especially being in southern California, she usually had an excess of light in her. It was the reason she was always glowing at least a little. If it was overcast for more than a few days it was certainly not a fun time, but ever since she met Duff she was able to simply ask him for some clear skies if it had been too long and she’d be good to go.

Yesterday had been sunny though, so she figured she could let nature do its thing for now. No biggie. Throwing on some jeans and her least dirty shirt, she wandered out into the hallway of her new home. Axl and Sebastian’s door was shut, but Duff’s was open and empty. Continuing into the living room, she heard a frantic voice.

“Dude, I’m telling you, it was right there!”

Turning the corner, she found Tommy waving his arms dramatically in front of an unconvinced looking Duff.

“Well, if you’re so sure, why didn’t you chase after it?”

“I tried! But it was just gone! It probably burrowed under the floorboards or something!”

“What did?” Stevie piped up, getting their attention.

Duff rolled his eyes, “Tommy is still going on about that “raccoon” from yesterday,” he explained, disbelief heavy in his voice.

“It’s true though!” Tommy defended himself, “I saw it again this morning!”

“Are you sure you’re not just, like, super hungover?” Stevie tried to reason. So far, Tommy was the only one to have seen the supposed critter, so she tried to find another explanation, “I mean, I’ve had some mornings where I think the fucking walls are moving, y’know?”

“No! It’s real, I swear!”

Stevie and Duff exchanged looks, even as Tommy continued to ramble. They nodded along politely, wandering into the kitchen when the Motley Crue drummer finally gave up. Throwing open a cabinet, Stevie snatched a bag of chips for her breakfast. Along with their take out, they had grabbed some snacks the night before. The mansion didn’t have a fridge, only an old school ice box that was sorely lacking in ice. Oh well. They’d have that taken care of by the end of the day, Stevie thought happily.

“So, Kelly and I are going shopping today,” She told them as she shoved chips into her mouth. “I thought we could split and have half of you guys clean while half went shopping?”

“You know I hate shopping,” Duff groaned. “I guess I’ll stay here and clean.”

“T, I think you better come with me,” Stevie told the other drummer.

“What? Why?” Tommy asked.

“Well, if you made a flamethrower to melt roaches, imagine what you’ll do when you see your supposed raccoon.”

“Is he still going on about that?” Mick asked, shuffling down the stairs, “Why the fuck isn’t there a coffee maker? I need my caffeine.”

“We’ll get one,” Stevie told him, “Don’t worry. It’s on the list.”

“The delivery guys aren’t gonna be happy having to bring all the things you want to buy to the house,” Nikki pointed out as he appeared as well, leaning against the counter, “We give Kelly shit about the “commute”, but we actually are a decent ways away from the strip.”

“Why are we still complaining about the commute?” Baz inquired, wandering into the kitchen with a still mostly-asleep Axl draped across his back.

“Oh, you know,” Stevie sighed dramatically, “We were just talking about how much trouble getting all the new furniture and stuff here will be. If only there was a big, strong mutant who could get things home for us,” she batted her eyelashes at the tall singer.

“Aw, dude you know I’m your guy!” Baz laughed heartily, earning him a mumbled scolding from the redhead on his back that he was quick to ignore, “It’ll probably take me a few trips, I still have trouble jumping large shit so I might have to take things one at a time, but otherwise it’s no problem!”

“Baz, I love you,” Stevie kissed his cheek.

“Back off, he’s mine,” Axl grumbled from where his face was still pressed into his back. Stevie smiled and shook her head.

“He dyes his hair black and we might have to fight for him,” Stevie told Axl. At that moment, Izzy made his way in and Stevie’s smile got bigger. “Iz!”

“God, how are you so cheerful so early in the morning?” He asked, rubbing his eyes.

“I’m just excited!” She told him, “And you’re going shopping with me and Kelly!”

“What?” Izzy asked. “Who decided that?”

“I did,” Stevie said proudly, “We have a lot to do to get this house in livable shape!” There was a chorus of groans. “I don’t want to hear it. Or I’ll kick everyone except Kelly out.”

The grumbling continued, but none of them put up any real fight. They quickly got the groups sorted out. Stevie, Kelly, Izzy, Tommy, Nikki, and Sebastian would be hitting the stores for the various supplies and furniture the house needed to be livable. Meanwhile, Vince, Mick, Slash, Duff, and Axl would be staying to clean the place and make it less of a health hazard.

Baz dropped Axl unceremoniously onto the beat up couch in the living room. “He’ll wake up once he realizes everyone is doing their cleaning “wrong”,” he assured them.

“Excuse me for having fucking standards,” the redhead mumbled into the dusty cushions, receiving one last kiss on his cheek before the groups split up. The shopping team got ready, Kelly deciding that they should deposit the money instead of paying with cash, so they headed out to the bank.

“Okay, so let’s start with the floor?” Duff suggested. Axl, who’s head had been resting on the couch, popped up suddenly.

“I think the fuck not!”

****

They split the money and each put it in their separate accounts. After fixing overdraft and bank fees, they were all good to go. Stevie was smiling still as she settled in Kelly’s car. She stared out the window as he drove towards the various furniture and home decor stores. Stevie had plans, and one of those plans included a new bed without a spring poking her back.

“You okay over there Glowstick?” Kelly asked. “You’re kinda quiet.”

“I’m good,” She smiled at him, “Just must need some more sleep, y'know?”

Shrugging, Kelly accepted her answer. He hadn’t slept great either, being in a house as old as his meant a lot of weird noises, not to mention they all still had shitty mattresses, so he was sure the blonde drummer would be fine soon enough.

Pulling up to Sears, Stevie clapped her hands excitedly while the poor boys shoved in the back seat of Kelly’s car practically fell out.

“Fuck, Sebastian why do you have so much leg??” Nikki complained, stretching as he stood on the sidewalk, “I thought Tommy was long…”

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Izzy practically screeched, having ghosted out of the car the second the wheels had stopped, “All three of you are over six feet of dumbass! I almost slipped out on the freeway just to end my misery!”

“Aw, poor little guy,” Kelly tried to ruffle Izzy’s hair, though he wasn’t surprised when his hand fell right through.

Izzy glared, “You’re like, an inch taller than me!”

“Okay guys, stop posturing,” Stevie rolled her eyes, “This is supposed to be the fun part! We can get some kickass stuff to make the house the most rockin place in Hollywood!”

They all headed inside. Stevie immediately headed towards the furniture, but Nikki spotted the power tools and looked at Tommy.

“We’ll need a drill and stuff right?” He asked. “And, like, a screwdriver?”

“Shiny torture devices,” Tommy laughed. “Let’s go look.”

“You know if you don’t go with Stevie, she’ll pick your furniture out for you, right?” Izzy told them. They just shrugged. Kelly and Baz were distracted by the video game display, so Izzy sighed, and then realized something. He would be alone with Stevie until they got bored with their toys.

This was his chance.

Following after Stevie, he found the drummer giggling as she hopped onto different mattresses, grinning at the feel of a bed that wasn’t dragged out of a dumpster.

“Having fun?” Izzy smirked.

“Oh, lots,” Stevie replied. Looking over at him, her brows furrowed, suddenly glancing around, “Hey, where’d the other guys go?”

Izzy shrugged, “Baz and Kelly were looking at some game or something, and the terror twins were playing with power tools.”

Stevie huffed, “I swear, I’m going to get those boys bunk beds.”

“Knowing them they’d be thrilled.”

“Come try this mattress out with me!” Stevie told Izzy. He sat on the edge and she pulled him back to lay on it.

“Oh, this is nice,” Izzy mumbled. “I could get used to this.”

“Let’s rebel and take a nap at Sears,” Stevie laughed. Right then, a salesperson came up.

“Do you and your boyfriend like it?” She asked with a giggle. Stevie smiled.

“It’s great but we have a few more to try out,” She told her. Izzy noticed that she didn’t say “he’s not my boyfriend”.

“Well, if you need anything, I’ll be over there,” She told them before walking away. Stevie rolled onto her side.

“Wanna go try out another one?” She asked. “Or should we just order however many in this style?”

Looking into her eyes, Izzy felt his mind racing. He wanted to say “let's try all of them” or maybe “let’s lay here forever” or maybe “oh my God do you have any idea how much I love you?”

But when he opened his mouth, all that came was a choked, “This one seems good.”

“Well, okay then,” Stevie smiled and got up. “I’m gonna go look at some bedding now. I think they have those sets that have everything all in one. Do you wanna come with me?” She bit her lip slightly. She wanted to take the reins and ask Izzy or Duff out, but most of the people she talked to said that they should make the first move. So Stevie was left waiting for someone, who wasn’t Kelly, to flirt with her orsomething.

“Yeah, as long as I can have something in black,” Izzy smirked. Stevie headed over to the bedding, writing on a little notebook what the furniture they needed would be. There were shelves upon shelves of bedding and Stevie just stared at them. Her head was starting to hurt and she felt really tired.

“So, uh, see anything you like?” Stevie asked, gravitating to a purple set. Izzy watched her for a moment before finding his own set in black

“Here,” He told her, “You feeling okay?”

“I’m great. Just tired,” She told him, grinning. “Why don’t we pick out for everyone else?”

“Yeah, sure,” Izzy replied. His eyes almost immediately fell on what had to be child’s bedding, green with bright, cartoonish flowers all over it. Grinning mischievously, he pointed at the garish pattern.

“Oh, we’re definitely getting that one for Vince.”

~~~~~~~

“No, no, no!” Axl yelled, “You’re doing it wrong!”

“I’m just bagging up the trash! How am I doing it wrong?” Vince asked, glaring at the redhead.

“Well, for starters, you’re not in the bag,” Axl shot back. Duff groaned.

“Can you two be civil for like five minutes?” Duff asked.

“He started it!” Both yelled at the same time. Mick pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Where the hell is Slash?” He asked, “Why isn’t he here trying to help us?”

“Because he’s probably sleeping,” Duff rolled his eyes, “Or trying to find more snakes around the garden.”

“I swear, we need to put a bell on him,” Axl muttered.

“Whatever, I’m sure I’ll fucking trip over him soon enough,” Duff grumbled bitterly, sweeping a pile of debris into a small pan.

Given how large the house was, they were making good progress. They’d gotten rid of the cobwebs and layers of dust, and the decades old trash and bottles were cleared away.

"I see we've made progress even with all the screeching," Vince muttered.

"I'll show you screeching," Axl growled, "Baz isn't here and he's like 85% of my self control."

"Chill out," Mick stood between the frontmen, "We're lucky we got this place. Don't fuck it up."

"Guys! There's more buildings out here!" Slash called from outside.

"That's great but you're supposed to be helping us clean this one!" Duff told him.

“But we’re barely even seen the whole place!” Slash whined.

“You know we gotta have this done before Stevie gets home and cuts off all of our balls,” Vince told him.

“Yeah, I saw the way you were looking at Kelly,” Mick told Vince, “You might need them.” Slash glared slightly at Vince under his hair before he huffed and went to get a mop. Axl was about to say something when there was a noise at the front door.

“Hey guys! Let me in!” Baz called. Axl went to the door to find Baz with a cart that had three mattresses on it.

“What’s this?” Axl asked.

“Beds babe!” Baz gave him a kiss, “Oh, the cart? I just thought it would be handy. And it was just sitting outside of Sears.”

“You just stole a cart from Sears?” Mick asked, arms crossed.

“Well yeah. They’re good for it. They’re loaded,” Baz smirked as he brought in the mattresses. “Here’s the first three. I gotta get the rest of them.”

As the teleporter popped away for the second haul, Slash merely shrugged, “Hey, we’ve stolen worse.” He and Duff got to work dragging the mattresses into various bedrooms as Sebastian brought the rest of their haul. By the time he had brought all the mattresses and bedding, the Skid Row singer was panting, collapsing face down onto the mattresses still on the cart.

“You alive, man?” Vince questioned, poking his shoulder only to have his hand slapped away by Axl.

“Yeah, yeah, no, I’m good,” Baz mumbled, “Just… Just need a minute.”

As they waited for Sebastian to recover so they could move the rest of the mattresses, Duff tilted his head and squinted at the singer, a thought from earlier returning to him.

“Slash,” he asked, voice serious, “should I dye my hair black?”

“I swear to god, I will never escape this bullshit,” Slash sighed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Duff asked.

“Nothing,” Slash grumbled, “God, I can’t wait to sleep on a brand new mattress.”

“Stevie’s getting bed frames delivered,” Baz mumbled, “Said it wouldn’t be fair for me to keep having to teleport everything.”

“Good call,” Axl nodded, draping himself casually across the other singer’s back, “This is a lot for one day.”

“She told me not to do all these but I was like, challenge accepted!” Baz laughed, “I’m starting to feel better. I wanna go to the grocery store. The one we’re going to is the one that gives out all the samples!”

“Man, he gets free samples while we’re stuck here cleaning?” Slash pouted.

“They’ll bring back food for all of us, you big baby,” Axl rolled his eyes, hopping to his feet as Sebastian stood, stretching his arms over his head.

“Alright, see you guys in a bit!” And with one last ‘pop’, he was gone again.

“God, he bounces back fast,” Vince announced. Axl smirked.

“You should see him at night,” Axl winked, “Now come on, let’s get these mattresses into the rooms and ready for the rest of the stuff!”

With only minimal complaining, the group got back to work setting up their new home.

~~~~~~~

Sebastian stumbled just slightly as he materialized in front of the wholesale store Kelly had said they’d be going to next. Sure enough, the group was out front waiting for him, having managed to beat him there while he was taking his break.

Grinning widely, he jogged over to the cluster of musicians, “Alright, everything’s back at the house! Now let’s get some grub, I’ve been looking forward to this part all day!”

“It’s just the grocery store,” Kelly shook his head. They headed inside, signing up for their membership cards, before starting to walk around the store. Stevie was doing fine, but by the third sample station, she stopped accepting it, and by the time they filled up the second cart with bulk goods, she was so tired she could’ve slept on one of the display models.

“Guys?” She asked, “Will someone walk out with me to the car please?”

“I got it! You guys keep going,” Tommy told them, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and heading back out through the store.

“What’s that about?” Kelly asked Nikki, who shrugged. Izzy came back from grabbing a big thing of paper towel, frowning when he saw Stevie gone.

“Where’d Stevie go?” he asked, throwing the paper towels into the cart.

“She went out to the car with Tommy,” Nikki explained.

“She’d been kind of off all day,” Kelly chimed in, “Maybe she’s sick or something.”

Izzy hummed, glancing towards the exit in concern, but following after the other two boys regardless. Maybe Stevie just needed to sit down.

Meanwhile, Stevie had thought the same thing, but sitting wasn’t helping at all. She felt drained, like she wanted to sleep for a week, and she had to lean heavily on Tommy, barely able to keep herself sitting upright.

“Hey, you okay?” Tommy asked as he held her up.

“Mmmm,” Was all Stevie answered. Tommy had climbed inside the back of the car with her in his arms. It was only in the shaded interior of the car that Tommy could see that she was glowing a pale green.

What the fuck?

“Stevie? What’s going on?” Tommy asked. He knew she would glow consistently, but it was usually more golden, or yellow, sometimes orange. But never green. She looked like a glow in the dark star that was fading out. But Stevie was already asleep, her head resting on his chest, and didn’t answer.

“Stevie?” He asked again, shaking her lightly. She murmured a little, but otherwise stayed quiet. Okay, Tommy was officially freaked out. His head darted around, as if he could find a solution within the beat up vehicle. He didn’t want to leave her, but he didn’t know how much longer the guys would be, and he was super fucking worried. Maneuvering himself slowly, he gently laid the other drummer down across the backseat, closing the door softly before sprinting back into the store in a gust of wind.

“I’m just saying, just cause we have money doesn’t mean everything needs to be name brand!” Kelly was arguing with Nikki, each holding a bag of chips that were nearly identical.

Izzy pinched the bridge of his nose, “I swear, if you two don’t get your shit together, I’m gonna-”

“Guyssomethingiswrongwithstevieshe’sgreenlikeliterallygreenIdon’tknowwhat’swrong!”

The three men were nearly blown back as Tommy skid to a stop in front of them, a frantic look on his face as he spit out what was probably supposed to be words, but instead just sounded like gibberish.

“Woah, babe, slow down,” Nikki frowned in concern, tossing the chips to the side as he put his hands on Tommy’s shoulders, “What’s wrong?”

“Stevie!” The speedster forced himself to speak at human speeds, “I don’t know what’s wrong, but she’s super out of it and she’s glowing, like, green!”

“Shit,” Izzy groaned, “Just hurry up and get some fucking chips!” Izzy hurried outside, leaving everyone confused. They hurried up their shopping as Izzy headed out to the car. Sure enough, she was laying in the backseat, glowing slightly green. Izzy opened the back door and gently pulled Stevie to him.

“I-Iz?” Stevie asked weakly before falling back asleep. Izzy held onto her. The one time he needed Duff and he wasn’t around. He glared at the overcast sky as if he could stare it into submission.

The driver’s door suddenly opened, Kelly sticking his head in and practically throwing bags of food into the front seat. He could hear the trunk opening as well.

“Alright dude,” Kelly asked seriously, “What’s going on?” He bit his lip anxiously as he saw the muted green glow of the Guns drummer.

“This happens when she doesn’t get enough sun,” Izzy explained, “It makes her really sick. It’s Hell for her,” he pet her hair softly as he spoke, “We need to get back to the house so Duff can clear the fucking clouds.”

“I’ll teleport and take some of this stuff with me,” Baz told them.

“I can run home,” Tommy shrugged.

“And leave me here? I’ll piggyback.” Nikki added.

“We’ll meet you there,” Kelly nodded and started the car, taking off. Baz grabbed the leftover things and teleported home while Nikki climbed on Tommy’s back.

“I deserve a backrub after this,” Tommy groaned.

“I’ll do that and more. Let’s just get home,” Nikki promised. Tommy smirked and took off.

In the backseat of the car, Izzy held onto Stevie, focusing on staying solid. This wasn’t the first time he had seen her sick like this, but it was still scary. There was always the “what if”. What if she didn’t stop glowing green? What if they’re someplace where they can’t get sun? What if…

Izzy shook his head and focused on Stevie.

There was no good in focusing on the what ifs- Stevie had always bounced back, and she would do so again this time. She was strong as Hell, and no weather would get her down for long. Without even thinking about it, he gave the drummer a soft kiss on her hair. She’d be fine.

In the front seat, Kelly furrowed his brow as he looked up at the long road leading up to their neighborhood before snorting loudly. Ahead of the car in the distance, he saw a few bolts of lightning before the clouds started retreating from the same spot, the sun slowly spreading as the sky cleared. Kelly shook his head.

“I swear, Duff should have been a theater kid.”

~~~~~~~~

"I'm back!" Baz announced as he teleported into the living room and dropped the bags, "Duff, man!"

"What?" Duff came down the stairs having dropped the last mattress off.

"We need you Mr. Wizard," Baz told him. "Our little Starshine is sun sick."

“What?!” Duff shrieked, a few flashes of lighting coming through the window, “How? It’s been sunny all week, this is the first overcast day in a fuckin while!” Even as he ranted though, his irises and pupils faded as his eyes slowly turned a clear, bright white, and the yard outside was soon bathed in sunshine, the clouds spiraling into a rapidly expanding circle of clear sky.

“I dunno man, that’s just what Izzy said,” Sebastian shrugged, glancing away. He always thought Duff’s eyes were kind of creepy when he did more intense weather manipulation, “She was like, this dull green color.”

Frowning, Duff hummed in concern, “Weird…” His white eyes narrowed slightly as he focused on clearing the clouds from as much of the city as he could. Just a few minutes later the car pulled up. Kelly started carrying food in as Izzy carried Stevie in.

"What happened?" Duff asked.

"Remember how excited she was yesterday and was glowing a shit ton?" Izzy pointed out, "This is the result."

“Fuck, I didn’t even think of that,” Duff looked at the sleeping blonde sadly, “Goddammit, girl, why you always gotta be so excited about everything.”

“Aw, poor Glowstick,” Vince cooed, “I feel bad for complaining about all the times she blinded me yesterday.”

“As you should,” Axl huffed, though he shared the worried gaze of the rest of the house.

“She’ll be fine, guys,” Slash reassured the non-Guns members, who had never witnessed this sort of malady with Stevie before, “She just needs to sleep it off and soak in some sun.”

"I'll take her to her room," Izzy told them, carrying her down the hall. When he looked behind him, the rest of the housemates were following. "Guys, she's fine. Chill out."

"I just, I've been around her a lot and never seen her like that…" Kelly admitted.

Izzy softened, nodding sympathetically, “Yeah, I know.” He let them continue to follow him without comment, the group crowded around the doorway as Izzy set Stevie down gently on the new mattress in the corner of her room. Sighing contentedly, the drummer murmured unintelligibly as she rolled over to spread out on the bed like a starfish, sleepily soaking in the sun shining through the large, numerous windows. It was hard to see in the bright room, but they liked to think she looked a little less green.

Tugging her boots off and tossing them aside, Izzy nodded at the crowd, shooing them away, “Alright guys, let’s go,” he said softly, “let’s let her rest.” Begrudgingly, they all shuffled back into the living room where piles of bedding and food still sat abandoned on the floor.

“Right, so,” Kelly shook his head to clear his thoughts, “The fridge is supposed to be delivered tomorrow, so we mostly got nonperishable shit.”

"Oh chips! Yes!" Vince called out, "You guys are the best."

"Who picked out the bedding?" Axl quizzed.

"Mainly Stevie but I helped," Izzy told them, "Why, got a problem with it?"

"I mean...there's pink stuff…" the frontman grumbled.

“Check it out, there’s also some black sheets too!” Sebastian pointed out.

“Hands off!” Izzy snapped, snatching the bundle of black fabric away, “That one’s mine!”

“Ooooh, so it’s a first come, first serve situation?” Sebastian questioned.

There were a few beats of silence as they all stared at the pile in front of them. Then, chaos erupted as they all leapt forward, elbowing, wrestling, and shouting as they all fought over the different patterns, designs, and colors.

Izzy shook his head in horror, clutching his plain bedding to his chest tighter as he backed away from the madness.

Eventually, two sets of sheets remained- a soft purple one (which Slash had reluctantly relinquished when Izzy told him it was Stevie’s), and a bright pink one with little stars printed across it.

"Look what the twins get," Kelly chuckled. Just then, Tommy walked in, dragging his feet in exhaustion, with Nikki beside him, "Oh, speak of the devils!"

"What's up?" Nikki asked.

"Here's your bedding!" Mick grinned.

"No. No way." Nikki shook his head, "No."

“Sorry, dudes,” Vince snickered, “You were just too slow.”

“I hate all of you,” Tommy whined, laying down directly on the floor, “You’re the worst roommates ever.”

“Suck it up, buttercup,” Mick smirked.

As Tommy and Nikki tried to bribe different people to switch sheets with them, Kelly finally got a chance to really look around him. The house still definitely needed work, what with all the loose floorboards and peeling wallpaper and such, but the lack of dust and grime actually did make a big difference.

“This place is sprucing up pretty nice,” Duff commented, clutching his polka dot bedding protectively as he stood next to Kelly, “Give it a couple weeks and the property value will probably skyrocket,” he grinned, elbowing the other bassist teasingly.

Kelly snorted, “Yeah, yeah. It’s definitely not as bad as I thought it’d be.”

“Wow, tone down the enthusiasm there, Nickels, you’re shining brighter than Stevie.”

“Shut up.”

Chuckling, Duff made his way back to his room to set up his things. While his stuff had been moved over the day before, he hadn’t taken the time to actually put the room together. He figured now was as good a time as any to put up some posters and get shit organized.

The hours passed steadily as the room came together. Books, records, and various pig themed knick knacks filled the tall bookcases lining the walls. His new bed was shoved into a corner by the lone window in the room and piled with both the new bed sheets as well as the blankets he had brought with him, and his bass was placed carefully on its stand. Before he knew it, the sun was setting and his stomach was growling angrily.

He reluctantly headed downstairs where everyone was digging through the food. Duff grabbed an apple and started to snack on it when he looked around.

“Stevie come out yet?” He asked.

“No. I think she’s still sleeping,” Slash told him. Duff nodded and grabbed some different foods and drinks and headed up towards Stevie’s bedroom. She was pretty much laying the same way she had been when Izzy dropped her off, although now she was cuddling a blanket someone had left for her. Duff couldn’t help but smile.

As much as he hated to wake her, food and water would help her feel better just as much as the rest would. Sitting next to the mattress, he shook her shoulder gently.

“Stevie,” he whispered, chuckling when her only response was a soft grumble as she buried her face into her pillow, “Stevie, come on, wake up. I brought you some food.” The grumbling continued, and Duff shook his head fondly. Grabbing a bag of Cheetos from the pile he had brought with him, he pulled the bag open and held it open by the drummer’s face.

“Come ooooon,” he said teasingly, “I got your favorite!”

As expected, the scent of the snack had Stevie blinking awake, turning towards Duff and blindly snatching the bag from him as he laughed.

“My favorite,” She mumbled, eating the Cheetos lazily.

“You’re going to turn into Chester if you keep eating those the way you are,” He chuckled. Stevie just shrugged.

“I’m not the super fast one in this house,” She told him. Duff laughed and went to stand up. “Where are you going?”

“Back downstairs so you can eat in peace?” He shrugged. “I got you a Sprite too, and some other snacks and-”

“Can...can you stay?” Stevie asked.

The request caught Duff off guard, and he felt his heart beat just a little faster. “Are you sure?” he asked, “I don’t want to disturb your rest.”

But Stevie shook her head, “No, I…” she trailed off, “I dunno. I’m feeling better but I just… don’t want to be alone right now.” She clutched the bag of Cheetos to her chest and burrowed down into her blankets, “Never mind, it’s stupid…”

“No, no, no!” Duff practically shouted, “You’re fine, Sunshine,” he carefully laid down next to her, self-consciousness causing him to leave a few inches of space between them.

But it only took a moment for Stevie to scoot over and press herself next to the bassist, resting her head on his shoulder, “Thanks, Duff.”

“Anytime,” he smiled, putting an arm around her to pull her just a little closer. Then, after a moment, he grinned, “You are going to have to share the snacks though.”

“Mmmmm, maybe,” She laughed. “I don’t know if I should though.”

“Why not?” Duff asked.

“Oh, I dunno,” She snuggled closer to him and his heart was racing as fast as Tommy running to the liquor store. God, he wanted to just kiss her so bad, he wanted to ask her out, he wanted to tell her how he had loved her for so long but he didn’t even know how to start. He ran his fingers through her hair, trying to talk himself into doing something. Anything. Was it punk rock for his hands to be this sweaty over a crush?

“Hey Duff,” Stevie bit her lip and looked up at him, “C-can I tell you something?”

“Of course!” Duff turned to look down at her, suddenly concerned, “You know you can tell me anything.”

“I, uh, I might kinda have a crush on someone. He’s tall, with blond hair, and he’s really sweet,” She looked down, suddenly shy.

Furrowing his brows, Duff mentally listed all of their friends, trying to think of who matched that description. It took him longer than he cared to admit to finally click on what she meant, his face flushing, “Wait… really?” He was afraid to get his hopes up. Maybe she was describing someone Duff just hadn’t met before. He was sure there were lots of tall blondes in LA. Oh God, what if she had run into his brother? He might die.

“Yeah,” She admitted, “I...Duff, I like you…” She smiled a little, waiting for rejection.

Duff didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t find the words to express how light he felt hearing her say that, the weight of all his stress and longing suddenly gone in a fraction of a second. He didn’t think any words existed to explain how happy and disbelieving and relieved and overjoyed he was. How could he possibly explain it?

So he settled for kissing her instead.

Stevie froze. Was she still asleep and dreaming? She felt Duff start to pull back, so she followed him, returning the kiss. Duff wrapped his arms around her and held her close as he kissed her. They both smiled into the kiss, eyes closed as they got lost in each other.

Meanwhile, Izzy decided to check on Stevie, having not seen her since carrying her to her room. Not wanting to wake her if she was still resting, he stuck his head through the door quietly to make sure she was alright.

But what he found was her and Duff in a liplock, and he felt his heart sink.

He pulled himself back into the hallway rapidly, staring at the door between him and the two blondes. It took him a minute to make his legs work, to carry him back to his room, ignoring any attempts made by his many roommates to talk to him along the way. When he was finally safely in the confines of his own room, he sat heavily on his bed.

He shouldn’t be upset, he thought to himself. Had he really thought he had a chance with her? He was the quiet, dark, brooding one, and she was sunshine and joy. Her and Duff made more sense.

It still hurt though. He laid back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, letting his eyes drift shut.

Downstairs, Duff and Stevie slowly separated, both with smiles on their faces. Duff cupped her cheek, but he noticed that her eyes were heavy.

“Why don’t we lay down?” He suggested.

“That sounds great,” She yawned. They moved the snacks off her bed and Duff grabbed the blanket to cover them up. He wrapped his arms around Stevie, placing one last kiss on the crown of her head before they both drifted off to sleep.

#IT'S HAPPENING Y'ALL #guns n' roses #gnr #motley crue #fem!Steven #duff mckagan #izzy stradlin #axl rose #slash #sebastian bach #Nikki Sixx #tommy lee #mick mars #vince neil #kelly nickels #my writing #other people's writing #superpower au

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irronstarkss · 5 years ago

Text

baby fever.

requested? yes! ─> here! └─ @justmewoo

pairing: steve rogers x reader

word count: 2.5k

warnings: none really, just a post-break-up kinda couple

NOTES: i have never! written! for steve rogers! so i apologize if it isn’t great or seems forced! but please, give me criticism about his character if you find anything outta whack, i’d honestly love it :)

avengers masterlist

─

“Hey, sweetheart, I’m gonna be out today – Pep and I have to attend some– some meeting somewhere,” his voice was sarcastic, and in the background, y/n could hear Pepper exasperatedly telling Tony where they were going. “Okay, so, love you, don’t tear the tower down, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Y/n laughed as the voicemail ended, finding it funny to hear her dad tell her, a twenty-two-year-old woman, not to tear the tower down – something about what a dad was supposed to do as a dad. If anything, he was the one more likely to tear it down than she was, and everyone who could breathe could tell you why.

As she put the phone down, the elevator doors opened and JARVIS notified her, “Ms. Y/n, there is waiting for you – a friend of yours, if I’m not mistaken.”

Getting up from her position on the couch, she walked over to the elevator and immediately greeted the woman standing there, holding the kid, “Hey! Jess!”

“Y/n, I just wanted to thank you for this,” Jess said, eyebrows furrowing as she mindlessly burped the baby lying on her shoulder, sound asleep.

“Don’t even worry about it – it’s least I could do for all the times you’ve given me somewhere to live while my dad fixed up our… places,” she laughed, shrugging and smiling sheepishly – she hated sounding like she was rich or otherwise better off than anyone else. She was never the pretentious type, and her dad made sure that she never wavered to how he used to be when he was up and coming as a young Stark with a lot of money to their name.

Jessica smiled, placing a soft hand on y/n’s arm before sighing and looking at her watch, “Okay, I have to meet Benny at the airport in an hour, and traffic is absolutely atrocious right now so!” She handed y/n the boy, “Josh’s feeding schedule is in this backpack,” she pointed to the straps on her shoulder, “along with his food and his diapers – I trust you know how to change and when to change a baby?”

“Jess, are you kidding?”

The two women shared a laugh and Jess finished out all of the tips for her kid, before furrowing her eyebrows and letting out a soft sigh, “Oh– You know what? I think I’m just going to take Josh–”

“The hell you are!” Y/n batted away Jess’s hands as she reached for her child, “Go have your date with Benny. I promise it’ll be nice to not have to worry about your son while you’re gone.”

“I just–” Jess’s shoulders slumped, and y/n shook her head again.

“No ‘just’s or ‘but’s, go, have fun, I promise Josh will be taken care of and perfectly fine when you get back,” Y/n slowly turned Jess around, baby still asleep and drooling just slightly on her shoulder as she walked the mom back to the elevator. “Now give me the backpack and go.”

In a couple more minutes, Y/n had the backpack on one shoulder, a sleeping boy on the other, and she was waving bye to Jessica as the doors closed.

She would have Josh for a few hours that night and knew that when he woke up, she was going to have to make his food and bring out a few of his toys to play with. Unfortunately, the baby waking up was rather soon, and all of the sudden, she was in mom mode, placing him down on the carpet and letting him waddle around, a few, No, stay over here, please or I wouldn’t recommend putting that in your mouth!’s leaving her lips as she kept her hands hovering above the kid’s waist.

Finally finding the time to let the kid sit for a second, she went to the backpack and pulled out the feeding chart, groaning slightly to herself when she realized that she didn’t have long to make the food – and her father’s kitchen, as advanced and convenient as it was, was not going to be an easy place to watch a baby.

“Hey, JARVIS?”

“Yes, Ms. Y/n?”

“Do you know if anyone’s in the tower right now?” She was hopeful that someone, anyone would be able to help her and just watch the kid for a second while she made its food, and hopefully would be willing to help her with the kid for the rest of the day until Jessica got back.

“The only person that appears to be here is Mr. Rogers.”

Y/n’s stomach sank – anyone but Steve Rogers. Of course he was still here, though, it was like he never left the building. There was a moment of quiet, the only noise being the kid giggling and gurgling to her right before she conceded, “Can you send him up here? I need help with this little tyrant.”

In a few minutes, Steve was walking through the elevator doors, broad shoulders slightly slumped and looking post workout. His eyes softened slightly when he looked at her, and y/n’s heart crept to her throat at the sight of him – no matter what happened between them, she would always find him looking like that the most attractive thing she’d ever seen.

“What’s up, y/n?” Steve asked, eyebrows raising slightly as he spotted the small human beginning to run to his legs.

“Do you mind watching him while I make him some food?” Her voice was already tired and she was only a couple hours into this whole babysitting thing.

“Yeah, sure,” he said, nodding and crouching down to smile at the baby. “Hey little buddy, you wanna play?”

“God that sounded creepy, Steve,” Y/n mumbled, eyes rolling, already feeling a slight annoyance bubbling up in her stomach. It wasn’t that she hated Steve, but good God, everything he did seemed to get on her every last nerve these days.

He sighed, closing his eyes for a second and not responding to her comment, instead occupying himself with the boy in front of him, almost on the floor in a mess of giggles when Steve smiled at him.

Y/n walked into the kitchen, readying the food for him that Jess had left a recipe for. It took all of a few minutes before she was coming out, stirring the mush in the bowl for baby Josh. When she stepped out of the kitchen, though, she stopped in her tracks and looked at Steve, laying on the ground and bouncing the baby up and down while they both laughed.

Had it been a few months before, she would’ve smiled and let out an awe, considered what it would be like if that were her and Steve’s baby, if she and Steve had actually managed to last.

But that thought quickly left her mind as soon as Steve made eye contact with her, and the annoyance bubbled up again. She walked around the couch and sat down on the ground next to Steve, watching as he sat up and propped the baby on his lap.

She smiled, looking at those shiny brown eyes and her heart leapt at the cuteness of the toothless grin that mirrored her own. Bringing up the food, she pulled the spoon out of the bowl and started making airplane noises, getting spoonful after spoonful into Josh’s mouth as he giggled, before he finally decided enough was enough and he spit the food out – all over Y/n.

Steve held back a giggle as he looked at the girl in front him, lips pursed in a tiny grin as Y/n wiped baby food from underneath her eye. A sigh left her body, and then she looked at Steve, and the both of them held their stoic faces for a small second before letting out a bout of laughter, Y/n falling back against the couch and Steve cackling, holding Josh in his hands.

As the moment died, Y/n looked back at Steve, and she finally softened, for just a minute, before she realized what was happening and she snapped back into the annoyed version of herself. “I’m gonna go clean myself off, keep him– yeah, you know.”

Steve watched her walk away, and his stomach felt heavy. He shouldn’t have broken up with her, and he truly regretted it – hell, it wasn’t for a good reason either. He did it because he hadn’t felt like he had the time to truly commit to her, and he didn’t want to hurt her later, and better sooner than later right? Wrong. So absolutely wrong.

She told Tony that same night, and Steve would be lying if he said he didn’t deserve what Tony gave him. Stark didn’t even need the suit to absolutely wreck him, Steve getting his ass handed to him in a way that really damaged his pride. The next morning, Y/n wouldn’t talk to him, and Nat hissed at the sight of the black eye and fat lip, shaking her head and giving him the biggest I told you so she could.

Steve drew in a breath, and suddenly he couldn’t think straight, being overtaken by the rather rancid scent of… poop. Y/n came in right about that time, and she immediately smelt it, closing her eyes tightly and walking over to the backpack, pulling out a diaper and then picking Josh up from Steve’s lap.

Placing him on the couch, she asked Steve to go get some paper towels, and then she went to work on changing Josh’s diaper. Taking off the old one, the super soldier was back just in time to give her the towels she could wrap up the poopy diaper, to which she placed beside her while she pulled out the new one and began to put it on.

Halfway through the rather difficult process, Steve interrupted her, “No, no, no, let me help–”

“Steve, don’t–” She tried to stop him, but his much larger hands took over, pushing her’s away while he finished tightening the diaper and securing it to Josh’s butt. Without a word, Y/n grabbed the discarded diaper beside her and got up, walking angrily off to the kitchen.

Steve sighed, head dropping. Of course.

When Y/n came back into the living room, she let out a laugh, a quick scoff, with her tongue to her tooth as she thought about the words she was about to use, “What the hell, Rogers?”

“I–”

“No, you still treat me like I’m some damsel in distress, and we both know I’m not– you don’t have to be a hero every time there’s a person struggling, you don’t have to save me from every goddamn thing.”

Steve looked away for a second before he sighed, “You know I’m not trying to make you a damsel in distress, y/n. I just want to help you, that’s all.”

She was annoyed that his voice was so calm, so level, and it almost made her lose her mind, “Why the fuck do you not yell at me? Why don’t you get angry? Why do you never get sad or frustrated or irritated? Why are you a fucking robot Steve?”

To say she was pissed was to ask for the Understatement of the Year Award. Steve knew this had been festering all morning, festering since he broke up with her, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less when she finally let it out and he had to see her beat red cheeks and hear her strained voice. But Steve opted to say nothing, just furrow his eyebrows and sighing, looking down at his lap.

She scoffed again, shaking her head and looking out the window, “Predictable. Just goddamn predictable,” she went quiet for a minute before rolling her eyes, “thanks for the help, Rogers. You can go back to being a hero.”

Steve knew it wasn’t worth trying to stay, so he just got up, scruffing Josh’s hair and walking to the elevator, leaving the floor Y/n was on. Y/n waited until the doors closed and it dinged before she let herself breakdown, tears starting to slip down her cheeks.

Walking toward Josh, she sniffled and smiled weakly, leaning into his tiny hand as he wiped away the tears. As Y/n looked at him, she realized that he looked just like Jess, and she smiled thinking about the day that she would be able to do this with her own kid, with another baby Stark running around the tower, wreaking havoc wherever they walked.

And, she’d never admit it out loud, at least not these days, but she secretly hoped that baby would’ve looked a hell of a lot like Steve Rogers.

The hours passed slowly, playing with Josh, then turning on the TV and putting on whatever he wanted, and letting him sit there while she left to make his food, trusting that he would stay on the couch and just suck on his binky for a second. But, of course, he was a baby who could walk, so he managed to slide himself off the couch, and when she came back, he was trapped in Steve Rogers’s arms once again, laughing almost hysterically as Steve made a bunch of random noises.

“Oh my God, Josh,” she mumbled, pulling him from Steve’s arms without really acknowledging his being there again, and then asking, “can you hold him while I feed him?”

They recreated the same scene as hours before, but this time, she stopped when she saw Josh start to eat his food slower and slower. Then, once he was done, she put the bowl of food away in the kitchen and came back, flopping onto the couch next to Steve and letting out a sigh. Josh crawled into her lap, head lolling against her shoulder before he nodded off, and Y/n kept a soft hand on his back, rubbing in circles.

The two adults watched the old Tom and Jerry cartoon for a few silent minutes before Steve whispered, “I’m sorry, Y/n.”

She didn’t say much before she looked at him with a small, apologetic pull to her lips, “Me, too.”

That was all they said before focusing on the cartoons again, and before they realized it, they were both nodding off, just like Josh. Y/n fell asleep against Steve’s shoulder, body snuggling just slightly closer, and Steve fell asleep with his arm behind the Y/n and his head on the back of the couch.

When Jess got there later, JARVIS opted to not wake the couple, letting Y/n’s friend walk in on the sight. She smiled to herself, knowing how much Steve had meant to Y/n, and knowing that it would be inevitable that those two ended up back together.

She gently took Josh from Y/n’s arms, grabbed the backpack and all of the toys, then left a note on Y/n’s lap that said she came and grabbed Josh, but the two of them looked like they needed their beauty sleep, so she decided not to bother them. And, as she walked back to the elevator, Y/n turned in her sleep and leaned more into Steve, legs draping across his lap and head against his chest.

Y/n was going to hate her for this in the morning, but, what else were friends for?

#steve rogers x reaer #captain america x reader #steve rogers imagine #captain america imagine #steve rogers #captain america #*#marvel imagine #marvel mcu imagine #marvel x reader #*request

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greeneyedgirls4 · 5 years ago

Text

Heart of a Saint. Life of a Sinner

Summary - Her name was Raven. She had it all. The mind, good looks and sparkling personality. She truly was the Queen of everything.. or so she would let you think.

Her name was Raven.. and this is the story of how she died.

Chapter - 1/32. Bucky x reader.

Warnings - None. Just some fluff and of course a happy(ish) ending because you know me :) The first few chapters probably have awful writing because I started writing this then couldn't write for a good year (it was a bad year) and only got round to continuing it when I got back so please go easy on lil me lol. Are you all ready for this rollercoaster? I can’t wait for you all to read the rest.

You can also find me and this story on - AO3 and Fanfiction.net so feel free to leave some feedback wherever suits (I love feedback so honestly go for it!) please and this is my Masterlist. Thanks and enjoy!

The human mind is truly the scariest thing of all.

My name is Raven. I’m from New York City, have a little pain in the ass brother called Den and I’m a normal young woman.. or at least I was until Hydra decided to kidnap me, experiment on me and force me to build various machines and medicines that will create their army.

As I said, my name is Raven but I’m not a normal young woman anymore. I’ve been through a lot and when you read this, I’m more than likely dead.

1931

High school. The two words I had been trying my best not to think of the whole Summer but instead, here I am, walking into the shiny new school on my first day.

It was a bright cold day in September. The breeze is soft through my hair and the smell of freshly cut grass engulfs me.

What more could you ask for?

Summer. That’s what but it had flown by. I spent most of my days reading but when I wasn't doing that I was taking my little brother Den to his random soccer games or making sure we both got fed. Our parents aren't exactly the caring type so I was forced from a young age to learn how to bring up myself but when I turned six, Den was born and I had to learn to bring up him too. Bringing myself and Den up wasn't the easiest thing in the world but when you grow up around two alcoholics.. it’s not the hardest thing either.

Making my way through the iron gates I don't hear someone calling my name until I feel a small hand grip my shoulder. “Raven! I told you to wait for me at the park.”

I turn when Mary's voice reaches my ear. Of course she would have her blonde hair up in a ponytail. She always was the school pet in that way, following all the rules. “Sorry Mary. I totally forgot.”

We both turn towards the school building again and continue our journey to our classroom. When I reach the seat assigned to me I smile to myself when I see that Mary will be beside me, my smile quickly fades when I see the name on the other side of me. Bucky Barnes. He was known as the most popular boy in our neighbourhood.. and not for good reasons. Yes he's handsome and he has that whole bad boy look down to a T but he also flirts with anything that moves.

“Was Dennis giving you a hard time again this morning?” I’m snapped from my thoughts when I hear Mary’s quiet voice.

I take out my notebook and pencil and settle into my seat as the rest of the class filters in. “He wasn't too bad. Just a bit annoyed that I’ll be finishing later than he is now so he has to wait with the teacher.”

I hear her sigh and it’s not long before she's digging for answers again. “How many bottles have they drank today then?”

“Three.” I reply, lifting my green eyes to meet her sparkling blue. “It is nine o'clock and that was from last night so they are getting better.”

“You keep telling yourself that Rav.” She says and that’s when I look away from her. Mary has been my best friend since we were two. We met when she fell over in front of my house and mum had to bring her inside to patch up her cut knee. After that day, we would see each other all the time and soon became fast friends.

I lift my eyes to see the grey haired teacher make her way into the room but instead of watching longer I decide to pick up my pencil and doodle in my notebook. A habit of mine when I’m bored unfortunately.

After a few minutes I hear a rustling beside me and a husky cough. Lifting my eyes once more I meet the steel blue eyes of James or as everyone likes to call him.. Bucky.

“You alright there neighbour?” He says with a cocky smile and I can’t help the low groan that escapes me.

“Perfect. How about you Bucky?”

“Living life like there’s no tomorrow.” Bucky replies, his eyes still focused on mine. He leans forward, just enough for me to be able to smell the light aftershave on him. “I do love it when you say my name by the way.”

Again I groan only this time I roll my eyes too just to emphasis how much he was annoying me right now. “Good to know.” I whisper, turning my head towards the teacher who was now writing on the blackboard.

Throughout class I glance at Bucky every so often and find him already side eyeing me, only turning away when my eyes meet his. It was no secret among my friends that I have had a crush on Bucky for years, even when he annoys the life out of me. He was the first person outside of my family that I had met when we moved next door to him. I was only two when we moved from Queens to Brooklyn but I distinctly remember meeting him for the first time when he kicked a football at my head, only to miss and break my mum’s favourite plant pot.. which I then got the blame of and ended up with a fractured wrist for three weeks.

He’s never been overly nice to me though. Always teasing me, flirting maybe too but mostly doing those usual childish things that boys do to annoy girls. Today was actually the longest conversation we have had without one of us annoying the other person to the brink of wanting to stick a pencil in their eye. I think he just sees me as his little annoying neighbour. Suits me.

When class finishes I quietly leave before Mary, or even Bucky, can stop me for a chat. Making my way down the corridor I feel a strange sense of familiarity. I couldn't pinpoint what it was that seemed so familiar. Maybe it’s the fact I’m walking alone or that I’m trying to find any opportunity to just leave home and run away and marry a rich man who will hire someone to kill my parents once and for all. Yes, that sounds like it.

“Oui.. Raven.”

“Good start Bucky.” I say, turning my whole body to face him as he walks, no, saunters towards me. God this man would be the death of me. Between his gelled back brown hair, those piercing blue eyes and that smile that could melt anything in its path.. yes he was going to kill me.

He frowns and I know he's already confused by my quick reply. “What do you mean good start?”

“You remembered my name.” I reply, looking him straight in the eye. When he continues frowning, I give up. “I was being sarcastic Bucky.”

“Ohh. I thought you were actually being nice to me for once.”

“You're not that lucky. Now what did you want?” I say, nodding for him answer quickly before my English class starts.

I watch him run a hand through his hair before he answers. “Could you be my p-partner for that assignment the teacher was going on about?”

“Why?”

“I just thought because we live beside each other and are beside each other in class so it would be easier to work together.”

I glance behind him as Mary comes out of the classroom batting her eyelids at a tall black haired boy who looks like he would rather be anywhere but right there with her. “Erm.. sure. As long as this isn't any kind of joke.”

“Why would it be a joke?” He says and he almost sounds vulnerable which causes guilt to bubble up in your chest. An emotion you are not too familiar with.

“I know you Bucky. You play people, you joke and you’re with a different girl every bloody week. I don't want us to suddenly sleep together and for me to end up being another girl in a long line. This is school and a project, no jokes.”

He nods his head and I sigh with relief. “No jokes. I promise.”

“Good. It’s hardly like we are even friends anyway.” I whisper, ignoring the hurt look on Bucky’s face and turning around to make my way into the English studies classroom.

Well this was going to be fun..

Tagging a few friends to spread the word a bit more hopefully - @deathbyukmen @ex-bookjunky @fanboyswhereare-you @myplaceofheavenorhell @galacyan-imagine @xllizette @honeybournehippy @sgtbxckybxrnes @wolfpawn @jackierand @cumonbucky @scarlettsage77 @lokisgloriouspurpose9 @archy3001 @redlipstickandplaid @unicorns-and-fairy-dust @starstruckpastalandbear and anyone else who wants to have a nosy xo

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ghostmartyr · 6 years ago

Text

Pokémon White Randomized Nuzlocke Run [Part 6]

Five badges down, three to go!

Hail the victorious living:

Frogger (Seismitoad)

Ptera (Archeops)

Palm (Breloom)

Batman (Escavalier)

Gelding (Tornadus)

Fido (Entei)

Clay invited our ten-year-old self off to see a cave in the middle of the wilderness, so that’s first on the agenda today.

Or is it?

Yeah, fight time.

Bianca has learned the way of the Hyper Potion. I would mind this less if she used it on something that didn’t know Hypnosis. And Defense Curl. And Lucky Chant.

Bianca’s Musharna is much like Bianca’s Patrat. It has murder in its heart.

STOP FEEDING IT HYPER POTIONS BIANCA. JUST LET IT DIE.

Sigh. Well. It’s BRNed now. So Fido doesn’t have to be awake for the rest of this fight. Aw, but it wakes up anyway, because Fido loves me.

All of my fucking yes.

I’m going to let Gelding tackle the Pansear, because I don’t think he can get too hurt from it. I’d very much like to not be wrong about that, and ta-da, all is well.

The final Watchdog is before us.

How fitting that Gelding knows the move Revenge.

Confuse Ray is nothing before it.

Confuse Ray, Super Fang, and Hypnosis.

Hey so Batman’s in now and I don’t like this at all.

Lemonade for Batman. And now a Hyper Potion.

Super Fang can’t be its only attack.

HA, BATMAN WOKE UP!

She fought through the Confuse Ray and killed the bloodthirsty Watchdog!

Hell. I hate those things.

Bianca gives us Fly, so yay. When’s Surf coming around?

This route is great for Palm, so I’m going to give in, let him lead the party, and throw the Exp. Share on anything that can’t do jack against the current set of wilds. I guess it’s nice that everyone’s getting a turn up front.

Time to open up our new area. Hopefully it’ll be full of things Batman can grind against. ...Gosh, that’s a sentence.

LOOK AT THE COOL CAVE.

Also N is there.

Fight time?

Oh hey, I forgot you things existed!

I guess they’re people. I probably should not call them things. Hey N, why do you get a ninja squad with your knight motif? What kind of Mary Sue nonsense is leaking out of your green hair and if you give me your hat will I stop commenting on it?

Also, fight time is apparently not until the end of this cave. If then.

Which means now is the time for finding pokemon.

...Not you. No repeats.

Chargestone Cave’s true power is bringing all of the characters with names together. Hi Professor Juniper. Are you going to give me free stuff again? You are!

It’s a Lucky Egg!

That is an incredibly useful item to have. Thank you, Professor. I am so glad you do something besides telling people where they can ride their bikes.

Actually I don’t know if she does that. I haven’t tried to ride my bike anywhere I can’t. I’m too used to being yelled at over that.

‘Ello, score. I don’t know how I feel about how many of these things I recognize from elsewhere, and let me tell you about how much I wish this Yanmega did not have SonicBoom, but Yanmega’s cool.

The trick is not going on autopilot. This thing can murder any number of my team.

(Yes, I forgot the Quick Ball again.)

Net Ball?

...Nope.

This has the feel of not going well. Frogger, you have the most HP, go soak up some hits.

If I have to knock it out just to avoid a wipe I’m going to be sad.

I need to buy some stuff at the next town. I have eight Great Balls left. They aren’t even earning a shake. Hey, wait, that one did. Yay?

Yay!

Dang, name. Name.

I don’t think enough people are reading these to judge me if I name it Fluttershy. That’s his name now. See you another time, Fluttershy. Hopefully never. I like the current squad.

The game’s now decided it’s Summer.

This matters because now the random Deerling we come across will be adorable and green and I can never have one.

I’m gonna give Gelding the Lucky Egg and toss him out in front.

There’s Chansey in here. This one knows Minimize. Another move I don’t care for, but yay for Revenge killing it in one hit. Plus, you know, actually hitting it. This cave is going to be gold for exp.

A wild trainer appeared!

I can’t remember if Archen has a Rock typing. This thing is conceivably very dangerous. Not while it uses Agility, but... Yeah, okay, Acrobatics brought Gelding down to 25, Fido, operating under the theory that it doesn’t have a Rock move, go murder it.

Murder achieved. Good dog.

Frogger’s going to be in front for a bit while I see about healing.

Frogger does not do enough damage to harm the Chansey with Softboiled.

Batman, get in there and try to fix something.

Future plans include never letting Gelding take damage. This is all a massive inconvenience of switching and walking around and switching and yay exp.

I think the next time I can buy stuff I just need to make a concentrated effort to pick up some Potions. Walking back to whatever Center equivalent is nearest to save items is very time-consuming. I should give up and buy all the health I will never need.

Look at my super special awesome ninja escort. Because I might fall off the bridge if I’m left to my own devices or something, idk.

Gelding wants to learn Agility. I do not want him to learn Agility. Guess which one of us has an opinion that matters.

Now a Maractus has appeared. Is this cave just the land of repeats?

One level below, Shiftry, Chatot, and Xatu wander the halls. So only the first level is the land of repeats.

These guys both just gave me a Nugget for no reason. Score.

Oh great, a few steps away is someone who heals stuff. That is so much better than free Nuggets. Naturally the healing’s only there because Team Plasma and plot stuff needs to happen elsewhere in the cave, but we can’t have everything.

Another pokemon I love is Scraggy. Team Plasma likes using it. How dare they. Same with the Sandile set.

This gen has so many good pokemon what even.

Like, yes, Watchdog.

But everything else.

Heyo, Batman’s learned Iron Head. Ptera’s going to get the Exp. Share now. I think the leveling is going to be a little absurd for a while, but I want it to be absurd with everything on the same page. We do not play favorites on this team.

Because the favorite is dead.

Gelding’s turning out to be surprisingly useful just because his moveset has so much variety. He has a Fighting, Psychic, Flying, and Dark move, and a focus on both Attack stats. It just walks on things. Floats.

Hahaha except for Watchdogs with Hypnosis. Why does that not ever miss. Hypnosis, Super Fang, and terror. These are the tools of the devil.

!!!!!!!!

I can’t catch it, but ! ! !

I’ve never seen any of these in any of the games! This is truly the cave of wonders!

Also our new way of dealing with Watchdog is sending out Palm and having Palm Mach Punch it into oblivion. Because we shall not suffer a Watchdog to live.

Another level down, and there’s Grimer, Electrike...

I need a legendary bingo card and I need it yesterday. The heck. The actual heck.

...

Am. I playing with a shiny clause?

...

Okay, here’s how shinies will be dealt with: I am allowed to catch them outside the realms of the standard challenge. They will not receive nicknames, so will not be used. But I can try to catch them.

“Them” meaning this Grimer, because I don’t think shiny odds are affected by the Randomizer. This is just some cool natural luck.

...Luck that I think I am going to use my one Quick Ball on. I haven’t yet figured out which move is least likely to kill this critter, but all of my pokemon have ten levels on it, and are fully evolved. If I can dodge hurting it, I should.

Hella!

I don’t usually dig the green shinies, but it is super appropriate for Grimer, and I am very happy to have it.

This floor has Zubat. My heart has a feeling. You have not been missed, you fucking bat, but no Pokemon run would be complete without you. It just wouldn’t be the same.

You know, I think I might have gone down the wrong stairs for plot progression. There were just normal trainers and items down there, and there are stairs that go up to the right of those stairs.

...I’m gonna heal before I address that.

Up the stairs, and we’re back to Entei.

As well as plot.

I was about to ask if there’s any other gen that cares as much about its color names, but then I remembered that yes, pretty much all of them are linked well to some kind of something.

I keep disagreeing with N. I can’t remember/do not know if that changes anything in the slightest, it’s just what’s going on.

Hey so I forget. How does N rationalize his use of pokemon for battles? Was that in one of the dialogue bubbles I didn’t read? Or just much earlier in the game? I don’t particularly care, I’m just curious.

Then there’s Professor Juniper and all the other adults who listen to this kid and go all, “Oh sweetie, we all go through the phase of thinking we’re the only ones with good thoughts. Lots of love, keep having fun!”

I’m paraphrasing.

Look, Flying Gym place.

If there is some other way of thinking of it, I do not have it on my memory record. Oh, Move Deleter’s in the house next to the Center. That would be maybe useful if I still had a legendary that knew Cut.

I don’t, if you recall.

Hey, we meet Professor Juniper’s dad. He updates our pokedex, so maybe we won’t end up with question marks where most of our team’s numbers should be.

Flying Gym Leader’s name is Skyla. Pretty sure she is one of the Gym Leaders I am continually searching out femslash fic for. Results make me sad, but then again, it’s been a while. Maybe that’s what I’ll do after beating her.

“Hey kid, wanna see a graveyard?”

Aha.

That is much more depressing in a Nuzlocke run.

This is a really tiny city. There’s the airport, a few buildings, and then BAM, back to nature. After being immediately outside a cave. This town just popped into place because the airport showed up, didn’t it?

But more importantly...

It’s a new route!

What will we get?

I’m walking around the grass because I can’t remember if there are other kinds of grass in this route and I want the illusion of choice in my completely random options. This has led to fighting a triple battle with a trainer who has a Watchdog.

At least it can only make one thing fall asleep per turn. It doesn’t bother trying, because this monster knows Hyper Fang, which is maybe even more stressful when its only chance at attacking is a critical hit, but the important thing is that it’s over now and another Watchdog is dead.

We faint the pokemon we attack. My team can be killed, but not their opponents.

Watchdogs still die.

#Canon

Hello, I accidentally took a step into the grass, and here we have our new friend!

...How not to kill it. I think the usual route is just Biting it with something, but everything except Fido and Batman has ten levels on it, and Fido and Batman are Fido and Batman.

Grass/Water, right? Hm.

Frogger, let’s see if Mud Shot can keep the little guy alive.

Heyo! Not even to the orange. Good boy, Frogger.

And oh geez, I have been very negligent in buying stuff. Poke Balls are still in good shape, but none of the other Balls are.

Oh, nice. That was pretty much painless. He needs a name, though.

You remind me of a ninja turtle.

Leotello. Bam. I hope I don’t need you, because I know I didn’t choose the Water Stone to have, and I can’t recall if I’ve picked one up.

I really need to switch Gelding out of the first slot. Fido needs some leveling, and Gelding really does not anymore. He’s 40 in a field of high 30s. ...Okay, the actual field is high 20s, but the field known as my team is high 30s, and that’s what I care about.

Anyway, Fido. Witness the power of the Lucky Egg.

...After I go and buy some stuff before I forget.

(That didn’t happen, I fought the next trainer instead.)

I FORGOT ABOUT AXEW.

Aw, you adorable dinosaur creature you. I am so sorry I’m gonna murder you, yes I am. Such a perfect, flawless critter. Best Dragon line is best, no question. Haxorus even has an amazing shiny form. -pats Axew on its perfect head-

Okay, purchases. Potions. Balls. Need them.

Have them.

Okay, yeah. Journey free to continue.

Male Nidoran is a thing in this route. So is Girafarig. So are trainers.

Mother?

Why are you caring about your ten-year-old at this point in the story?

...Huh. And that’s literally all she calls to do. Neat.

There’s darker grass over the ways. Let’s see what I could have had if I had been slightly more smart about where I put my feet.

Hullo, it is a Staraptor.

That is such a damn badass bird.

Like, look at it.

Look at its soulless eyes.

Terrifying.

V cool.

Purrloin is also in the darker grass. And more Buizel. Back in the normal grass there is Ariados. I always had some degree of affection for that thing. No idea why. Never once used it, and I don’t like spiders. I guess it doesn’t have the right number of legs, so that makes it okay? Huh, there’s also a Durant.

...Did I enter a different area? I didn’t see anything to indicate that. There’s a Girafarig back again. Maybe it was just a percentage thing.

Ha. Yeah.

I don’t wanna go in.

A place I obviously should have come to long before.

I’m just going to run upstairs and dance around the graves until I find my next pokemon and trigger whatever’s necessary to let me battle the Gym Leader. Armed with the comforting knowledge that if any of my team dies, they will have a good, immediate resting spot.

I know I’m like the millionth person to point this out, but really. There are really trainer fights in a graveyard? Wherefore art thou respectless maggots.

Oh my gosh! You! You are a favorite thing! Hello!

...How the heck do I not kill you?

I think. I’m going to give Gelding a shot. Air Cutter isn’t too

...

No?

Gelding no. No no no no no no no.

Damn it. No.

To finish the thought above, Trapinch is Ground, so I was willing to chance Gelding’s high Attack against Air Cutter being kind of wimpy, and the type resistance killing STAB, and there was a risk regardless because of the levels and stats, but I thought Flying vs Ground wasn’t such a terrible thing to bet on, given the options, and.

Hell, now I’m sad.

Less meaningful things hanging out in the graveyard are Anorith Anorith and Anorith. Is it one species per level or am I just unlucky and growing sadder?

I picked up a Revive off the ground in a pokemon grave site.

That’s a yes on sadder.

Hey, so I’ve been seeing a lot of Swoobat lately that I haven’t screencapped, and that reminded me of something: I never went back to that cave, and I think there was more to it. It has one of the legendaries from this gen in its depths, I think, and I guess there isn’t much for me to do in it, but it’s weird to think there’s a place I didn’t really explore.

...Meanwhile.

Where is my bingo chart.

I don’t even know this thing’s typing. I think it’s from this gen, but it’s one of those that I maybe got from a GameStop event and never really looked at or used, and even that is foggy. My assumption would be Psychic just based on me shrugging and assigning Psychic to any legendary I’m not sure on.

Green could mean Grass, though. Wait, no it couldn’t. I used Flamethrower and it lived.

Fido’s setting a record for number of times it can hurt itself in confusion. Being put to SLP is practically a blessing, and I seriously need to switch before we see some legendary on legendary death action in the wrong direction.

Yeah, definitely Psychic. Batman is super effective against it.

So that was needlessly scary, and then on our way down the stairs to see the friendly nurse (this gen is so kind about healing stations and I love it), we run into a Dragonair.

I don’t think I could play a randomized version without Nuzlocke rules or something similar. I would go nuts training every single thing I loved to be a viable option. I’d be a hundred hours in and have four badges.

Plot?

To soothe the souls of our fallen friends.

Huh. This is kind of an empty detour. Skyla’s only up here to heal a pokemon off-screen, and then we ring a very pretty bell that gives me feelings that wouldn’t happen without the death clauses. It’s nice enough, but I could have sworn something a little more monumental went on. No?

Am I thinking of another memorial site? I think I might be... I think Golett is somewhere later in the map?

Maybe that’s what I’m thinking of.

I won’t complain about the free exp, this just felt like a bit of a non sequitor delay. Usually places like this turn out to be optional.

What are you doing on top of this tower. You are lunch for Palm and I appreciate that, but this is the opposite of your natural environment.

Palpitoad’s up here too. Palm is a lucky mushroom kangaroo this eve. His Attack stat will always make me sad, but his existence makes me happy.

The floor below the top has Muk in addition to the legendary song thing. So that’s neat. Actually wait, Frogger’s the only one not 40. Maybe I’ll let him beat up on the Muk.

Oh. He was closer than I thought. Anorith works too, I guess.

Every time I see a Trapinch I am going to feel just so sad.

So sad.

I don’t even know what I would have named her. But we would have been amazing together.

For now, though, it is Gym time.

It might not have aesthetic, but Skyla’s Gym is all about firing yourself through cannons repeatedly to find new opponents. Yes.

Ptera is going to be in the first spot. With Crunch in the place of Rock Throw (why did I do that again?), he only has Ancient Power for STAB + Super Effective, but he’s still overpowered as heck, and has a partial Rock typing, so he should be okay against other birds. I think most of my team can probably handle anything she throws out, though there will, of course, be the odd “wait it learns that?” moment. Hopefully nothing too catastrophic, but I do expect it.

It’s a bird. It’s a plane.

It’s a me.

Without the necessary syllables to make that reference fly home.

So, the cannon fodder seems to have early 30s for their squads. Ptera’s not having a problem with that, despite me using Acrobatics even though he has a Lucky Egg on him. Items and Acrobatics do not play well together. I’ll try to remember that before Skyla. It hasn’t mattered so far, but if it does matter, it’ll be against her.

Oki doki. Lucky Egg off, Ptera prepped. I was lazy and used a Potion for 12hp to top Ptera off instead of going back to the Center. It isn’t like I’ll have much use for standard Potions. It’s practically free healing.

Now then.

Let’s gooooo.

I can’t remember if I’ve commented on it yet, but the sprite for our protagonist just looks so serious this gen. It isn’t quite so noticeable when he’s on his own, but put him next to someone like Skyla and he brings Red to mind.

He is a little happier in the video chat things.

Maybe he just takes Gym fights seriously.

What a weirdo.

First up is a level 33 Swoobat, looking adorable. Yay for Crunch, and it is gone. Following that is a level 35 Swanna. I’m going to use Ancient Power and cross my fingers for that one. I was about to be happy with Crunch over Rock throw, but I really miss having a physical Rock attack.

One and done, last one up is a level 33 Unfezant. Ancient Power again?

Yes!

Another painless victory, another badge! Sweetness!

Skyla lets us go with a warning about seeing Team Plasma in the next city, but that is a thing for another day. Now is the time for basking in the glory of success and Pokemon Centers.

#Pokemon #Nuzlocke Challenge

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midoriyasbones · 7 years ago

Note

Klance and a visit to the zoo

turned into an aquarium visit too... but i hope you dont mind!

pls suggest more fluff prompts ill love you forever if you do

Support the story on Ao3!

“Keeeeeith,” Lance whined like a two year old as Keith dragged him like a dead weight through the crowd of excited children and less excited parents. “It’s hot out! What are you even looking for? And why aren’t we using a map?”

“Because you were so impatient to get through the gates that I didn’t have time to grab one,” Keith grumbled, going up on his tippy toes in an attempt to see over the heads of zoo visitors with little success. God, he’d never realized just how short he was. Was this how Pidge felt all the time?

Keith was beginning to regret not bringing anyone else along with them to the zoo. They would have forced Lance to slow down, or at least distracted or entertained him enough to allow Keith to apply his sunscreen. But this was also supposed to be their first real date together of the summer, alone. They’d gone on a few ‘dates’ in June and July, but could you really consider it a real date when their friends almost always tagged along or? Or if Allura or Shiro practically chaperone them? Keith had just wanted a time where he and Lance could just be together, not that he didn’t enjoy the others. He just wanted some time when he could kiss Lance (more than a peck) and not have Shiro gently remind them that Pidge was still kinda young and then have Pidge not so gently remind Shiro that he was literally six years old. He would gladly slather aloe vera all over his body for that.

“Well, what are you looking for?” Lance asked impatiently. “And also when are we getting dinner? It’s like, 7:30, I don’t even think the zoo is open for much longer and… we haven’t stopped by the aquarium yet.”

“The zoo closes at 8,” Keith said with a bit of a sigh. “And the aquarium is still under renovation, remember? It won’t be open for a week or two. I don’t think we’d be able to see anything even if we did have time to stop by.”

“It’ll be okay, we can come back again soon, right?” Keith reminded him hopefully. “Our apartment is only a 20 minute drive from here. We can come up over the weekend sometime.”

“I know,” Lance sighed, discouraged. “But I really wanted to just see it before we go back to school and get swamped with homework and have to be adults again. There won’t be a lot of time to make day trips just to see the aquarium, you and I both know that.”

Keith bit his lip, feeling guilty. He hated seeing Lance disappointed. That face was almost enough to make him spill the other big reason they couldn’t go to the aquarium yet just to make him feel better. Almost.

Keith knew Lance had practically grown up going to this aquarium pretty much every weekend. He could make maps on it from memory. He knew where every exhibit was, he knew the names of every dog shark and stingray in the touch pools. He was best friends with the head of the marine life care department at the zoo, Coran. This aquarium was actually where Keith and Lance first met. It meant a lot to both of them. That was why it was bitter sweet when the zoo announced they were closing the aquarium last year to make some (very much needed) renovations on all the exhibits. On one hand it was sad to see the aquarium that meant so much to them change, but they were both excited to see the new additions. Today was supposed to be the opening day and Keith and Lance had planned this day trip months in advance, which was why Lance was disappointed when the zoo suddenly announced last month that the aquarium would need another week to finalize all the renovations, but there was nothing they could do about it.

They met 2 years ago when Lance was working with the zoo and Keith was here doing research for his architecture final project. Fortunately Keith’s teacher, Allura, was Coran’s niece, and Keith had been Allura’s favorite student, so when he asked if he could be allowed to look behind the scenes Allura had pulled a few favors. Keith remembered the first time he’d ever met Lance had been standing in a pool of baby sea turtles, inspecting them for shell rot. They’d gotten off to a bit of a rocky start, but since they both practically lived in the halls of the aquarium that year they soon became very close.

“Hey,” Keith said, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend’s waist. “We’ve still had fun today, right?”

And it actually had been a really great day so far. They’d went in a clockwise circle around the zoo, taking their time to look at all the animals, and occasionally stopping to compare each other to said animals. They’d compared their arm-span to the wingspan of giant bats, fed granola to budgies, and watched the new baby elephant romp around in a mud puddle. Lance was having a blast, reading all the facts and goofy signs out loud in an attempt to make Keith laugh, and it worked. They’d decided to eat lunch in the aviary and a beautiful macaw had landed on Lance’s shoulder and kept wolf whistling at him until a zookeeper came over with a little cup of nectar and showed Lance how to feed it without spilling the cup.

“His name is Frederick,” The zookeeper had informed them as Lance held up the cup for the hungry lorikeet to eat. “And he seems to think he can flirt with everyone that passes by him.”

“Wow,” Keith grinned at Lance slyly. “I can’t believe I found the embodiment of you in a bird.”

Lance had flicked a french fry at him in retaliation.

After lunch they’d seen tigers prowl around their enclosures and red pandas doze peacefully in trees. They ended up spending a lot of time in the enclosed desert area where they got to watch meerkats scamper in and out of their burrows and fat tortoises waddle their way across the sand. Now they were going through some of the last outdoor exhibits and Lance was getting a little tired. In fact, Keith was pretty sure the poor guy had crashed about halfway through the lemurs, monkeys, and apes exhibits. Keith didn’t blame him, they’d been here since 9 in the morning and the entire time Lance had been running around and chittering excitedly about every single thing.

“Well, if we can’t see my favorite animal,” Lance huffed, leaning into Keith. “We can see yours, what is it anyways?”

“That’s actually what I was taking you to see,” Keith said, continuing to walk towards the exhibit. “My favorite animal is a hippopotamus.”

“A what?” Lance said, incredulous.

“You heard me.” Keith’s cheeks burned a bit. “I like hippos. They’re uh… big and uh… kinda cute.”

“Cute?” Lance laughed a little bit, seeming to perk up. “I mean, the baby hippos are, but aren’t hippos like, one of the most dangerous animals in the world?”

“They are the most dangerous animal in the world.” Keith corrected as they approached the hippo exhibit and leaned against the railing. “But they’re still cute as fuck, look at them.”

Lance did, laughing a bit as the baby hippo swam circles around its mother. “I guess in a way they’re like you then: big and mean looking, but actually just adorable softies once you start digging.”

Keith turned to look at Lance, and was struck dumb for a moment. His boyfriend was leaning against the railing, watching the baby hippo dive in and out of the water as its mother stayed submerged beneath, ears flicking occasionally when a fly landed on them. The soft light from the setting sun cast an orange glow over his tanned skin and reflected back from his blue eyes. His sunglasses were positioned up in his soft, mousy brown hair. He looked… beautiful.

Wow.

That was gay.

“Attention zoo visitors.” A voice called out through the loudspeakers and startled Keith out of his gawking. “The zoo will be closing in 15 minutes. Please make your way towards the exit now. Thank you for visiting today!”

Lance sighed, pulling away from the railing. “Well, thanks for taking me out today. I had fun.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t get to see the aquarium,” Keith said, taking one of Lance’s gangly arms and slipping it around his shoulders. “I know you really wanted to see it.”

“Nah,” Lance waved him away with his free hand. “You’re right, we can come back on a free weekend. It’ll be a good date idea, right? Well, what are we doing for dinner. It’s kind of late, but I could look up a couple restaurants in the area on my phone.”

“I’ve already made arrangements for dinner,” Keith grinned as he pulled Lance by the waist away from the throngs of families pushing strollers and couples holding hands and towards a gated off path.

“Wait, Keith the exit is that way.” Lance protested, trying to tug them back. Lance may be bigger than Keith, but Keith had a strong grip on his waist. “What are you doing? We can’t go back there! It says employees only!”

“Does it?” Keith said, tilting his head at the sign in mock confusion. “It may be because I dropped out of High School and had to retake junior year, but I think it says ‘Keith is the best boyfriend ever’.”

“What are you tal-,” Lance stopped as Keith pulled out his key ring. He looked up at Keith and raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing, mullet?”

“Taking you out to dinner, and don’t try to pay me back, it’s my treat.” Keith replied, searching for the key labeled ‘AQUA’. “I wanted to scale the fence, make it like old times, but Allura wouldn’t let me.”

“What do you mean Allura wouldn’t let you?” Lance asked as Keith pushed the gates open. “Keith, you know we aren’t allowed back here, and I thought you left your life of crime in the past! And isn’t this the path to the old aquarium?”“Yup.” Keith confirmed, grabbing Lance’s hand and pulling him along. “Just shut up and trust me.”

Lance was probably going to argue some more, but then he saw the impressive shiny new entrance to the aquarium and his mouth fell open. He gaped in stunned silence, allowing Keith to pull him down the lantern lit mosaic pathway. The tiles were the color of soft sand with shell shapes embedded inside to give it the impression of a beach. The tiles faded into blue with specks of iridescent stones to resemble the rolling waves of the beach. As they ran down the path, lights (controlled by Pidge in their tech room) flickered on in the reflection pool and fountains shot jets of water high into the night sky.

They stopped a few feet in front of the large new glass doors to get a good look. The old weather worn marble exterior had been replaced by a sleek modern design meant to symbolize the way water ebbed and flowed over the shore. Their had been a contest to find the design for the architecture, and the winner’s name was to be kept a secret until opening day. But Keith already knew the winner, and now Lance did too.

He turned to Lance grinning, waiting to see his reaction. Lance’s blue eyes were blown wide as realization dawned on him.

“THIS IS YOUR DESIGN!” He shrieked incredulously. “OH MY GOD! KEITH! YOU WON?”

Keith nodded. He’d been dying to tell him since he found out from Allura, but decided to keep it a secret so he could surprise Lance. “I won the contest, and got an A on my project.”

“YOU-” But whatever Lance going to say he stopped when he pulled Keith into a harsh kiss. When they finally pulled away Lance spluttered wordlessly finally giving Keith the opportunity to explain.

“They emailed me at Christmas time saying I had won the contest,” He said, “And I was going to tell you, but I decided to make it into a surprise. It’s been killing me.”

“I cannot believe this.” Lance said, covering his face with hands as Keith swiped a card and the electronic doors unlocked themselves and opened to reveal the brand new interior. “This has to be a dream. There is no way this is- THE DOG SHARK POOL!”

The minute Lance saw the small, sleek bodies of dog sharks moving effortlessly through the water he was already running. Keith laughed, chasing after him. Lance knelt reverently by the edge of the pool, looking into the crystal clear water, then looking up at Keith.

“Can I…?” He began, and Keith nodded. He reached out with two fingers and let his fingers graze against a shark near the water’s surface. The shark glided past him, fin cutting a gentle wake behind it. The blue lights from the water cast a glow over Lance’s face. “I can’t believe they kept this exhibit. When I was working here they were considering removing it because of the stress.”

“You remember that rest area idea you suggested last year?” Keith said casually, petting a dog shark.“Yeah,” Lance nodded, not taking his eyes off the water. “But the old tank didn’t have the resources for it.”

“This one does,” Keith said, pointing towards the end of the pool where natural looking rocks blocked off a section of the pool and a sign stood that read:’ Dogshark rest area, please do not pet!’. “When I designed this tank I put one in so the zoo could keep the dog sharks.”

“Oh my God,” Lance managed, sounding a little choked up. “You are… just…”

“I’m glad you like it,” Keith smiled, pecking Lance’s cheek.

The rest of the night was spent holding hands and kissing underneath the tropical reef and watching jellyfish float lazily through the clear waters and being totally, tragically, sickeningly in love.

#voltron #klance #vld #voltron legendary defender #keith #lance #keith kogane #lance mcclain #keith vld #lance vld #writing #Anonymous

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jodybouchard9 · 7 years ago

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A Loving Ode to Clutter: 5 Reasons Stuff Is Actually Good for Your Home

asbe/iStock

Minimalism, Marie Kondo, clear open spaces with one lone object perched on an otherwise empty shelf—such austere home decor may inspire many, but I’m here to say I’m over it. All hail maximalism instead!

Seriously, guys. Those rooms bathed in “greige” or off-white that “add interest” with a single textural element? Sigh. Aren’t you tired of that yet?

I’ve heard the cultlike dogma of how decluttering will “set me free,” how clutter in my visual field is akin to clutter in my mind, how it’s even a cancer on my happiness. But I respectfully disagree. Here are five reasons why stuff is actually good for your home, and how happy you are in it.

1. If you cook, read, or have hobbies, you need stuff to do it with

Do vegetable peelers spark joy? Do colanders? The most useful tools in my kitchen are ugly. The more use they get, the more battered they become, and not in some beautiful French wooden spoon way. Just in a regular dinged-up way.

These tools are beautiful to me in their usefulness, and in the things they let me do: make food for the people I love. This must be true for anyone with a hobby—painting, sewing, woodworking.

The more perfect, minimalist, and styled a workspace is, the less functional it is to anyone actually trying to make something in it.

Form has so mercilessly beaten function into the ground that visible implements of work are no longer acceptable. We are all supposed to aspire to stark-white kitchens filled with gleaming tile and spotless Vitamix machines, where homely utensils hide in the cabinet. I guarantee that 80% of your cooking time in a kitchen like that will be spent taking tools out of cabinets and putting them back in.

While we’re at it, I’ll go to bat for the much-maligned unitaskers, too: When you need to pit cherries, only a cherry pitter will do. I’d much rather have a cluttered kitchen than spend cherry season poking pits out with a straw (what the internet suggests).

And don’t even get me started on people who think books are ugly (books that will be read, not some curated selection of leather-bound first editions or books arranged by color.) That just makes me sad.

Books are beautiful, and meant to be read.

Audrey Ference

A recent study even found that messy spaces enhance creativity. “That disordered or chaotic workspace may be enhancing your creativity,” Dana Dunn points out in Psychology Today. “Conversely, that Zen-like, minimalist hideaway may be undermining your originality and inventiveness.”

Beyond that, though, it’s just boring to see so many people choose the same near-blank slate for their spaces, however Instagrammable they may be.

2. Minimalism is wasteful, actually

So OK, the idea is that purging all of your excess stuff—hopefully at least donating it somewhere—leaves you with just the essentials. You feel cleaner, clearer, lighter. I think everyone has done this before, and experienced the sense of accomplishment that a mostly empty closet or drawer brings. But then, oops, you need one of the things you got rid of.

It turns out, although you use a seam ripper or long underwear or a fat separator only once a year, you do in fact need them once a year. So you go buy a new one, which feels nice, because it’s shiny and new instead of old and used and you can get it cheap on Amazon. Then you do your seasonal purge and get rid of it again. Rinse, repeat.

At no point in the cycle do you feel bad, because we are conditioned to enjoy buying things, and to see things as disposable. But that’s kind of awful, isn’t it? The best-case scenario is this stuff is getting reused by someone else and not ending up in a landfill; however, resources are still needed to produce and ship the stuff, to cart the used objects to a resale store.

Instead, you could just have a drawer full of items you use only occasionally. The clutter police would have you believe this is awful, but if you really think about it, maybe it’s the other way around.

3. Minimalism isn’t less work, it’s more work

I feel like one of the most disingenuous claims that minimalists make is that once you release yourself from the burden of things, life is just so much simpler, freer, easier. This is true only if you have a dedicated household staff. Which, I guess, is why it’s so aspirational.

If you have people to feed you and clean up after you and scrub your white tile, then congratulations, you are wealthy and you should choose whatever design suits your fancy. If you’re cooking for yourself every day and cleaning your own bathrooms, ultrawhite minimalism seems like a bad choice.

Of course, I’m not suggesting you live in filth, but there’s a difference between cleaning the bathroom once a week and constantly buffing the smudges out of your white quartz countertop.

In a house comfortably filled with well-chosen stuff, you can leave your keys on the counter or a stack of books on a table without their looking like a beacon that screams mess. There’s a reason people use words such as “livable” and “comfortable” to describe less-than-minimalist spaces: because you can live in them comfortably.

4. If you have kids or pets, clutter is inevitable

Even if you’re that parent who dresses your children in drab Nordic sheaths and allows them to play with only $150 abstract woodblock sets, your kids are going to find a way to introduce hideous plastic Elmos into your home. Where do they come from? Are the grandparents sneaking them in? They seem to multiply in drawers and corners until suddenly your house is covered in lurid pink princesses, violent action figures, and anthropomorphic talking trains.

Your least favorite toy is pretty much guaranteed to be your child’s most favorite toy. The reason kids’ toys are tacky is because children don’t actually like tasteful things—they don’t care about earth tones or artisanal crafting. As such, trying to be minimalist with children is a Sisyphean task, and a thankless one. Just accept that kids (and pets) require stuff, and find some bins to shove everything into at the end of the day. An ottoman that is secretly a storage bin has made a huge difference in the amount of Peppa Pigs littering my living room floor at any given time.

This stuff has meaning by bringing to mind a specific time, place, or person who is near and dear.

Audrey Ference

5. It’s not cluttered—it’s curated

Designers have such condescending names for little things: knickknacks, curios, souvenirs. Why should it be verboten to display all of the little things you have gone through life picking up? Why are only expensive, purchased-specifically-for-the-space accessories acceptable?

The surfaces of my home are filled with stuff my husband and I have acquired throughout the course of our lives: ceramic owls, crystals, action figures, this weird garden gnome his grandma painted, a bust of Elvis, an octopus keyring, family photos, nonfamily photos, books, comics, records, postcards, stuff. Stuff that I love, that has meaning to me, that reminds me of a specific time, place, or person who is near and dear to my heart.

I don’t save all the stuff I come across; I’m not an advocate for hoarding. I know we’re all tired of the word “curated,” but maybe that’s what I’m really talking about. A curated aesthetic of much-ness: colors, textures, objects, shapes, in abundance and all at once. I know that’s not for everyone. But it’s the kind of beauty I’d like to see appreciated, instead of written off as mere clutter. In my house at least, clutter is beautiful, and it’s here to stay.

The post A Loving Ode to Clutter: 5 Reasons Stuff Is Actually Good for Your Home appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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junker-town · 7 years ago

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Bruce Maxwell would like you to listen

Baseball finally had its first National Anthem protest, and it came from an unlikely and perfect source.

Baseball is the sport that’s responsible for the National Anthem being played before sporting events, and it was always going to be the last sport to get sucked into the controversy. It’s responsible because the tradition started at a World Series game 99 years ago, during World War I, when millions of young men were killed for reasons that most adults don’t remember today. It was going to be the last sport because it’s the stodgiest one. It’s the sport that’s the most resistant to change.

Baseball was going to be the last sport to get sucked in because it’s the one that appeals to how great everything used to be. With football, you can measure the height, weight, and 40-yard dash time of the average player in 1956, compare it to the modern player, and laugh. With basketball, you can watch five seconds of video from a different era and appreciate the difference in skill and speed today. With baseball, there’s always someone to call back to, someone who was the best you ever saw, full stop, no context needed. The sport doesn’t have to progress to be enjoyed, even as it unquestionably does.

Baseball was going to be the last sport to get sucked in because it’s the one in which traditions are followed because they’re traditions, and this is important because the traditional traditions are traditionally followed in a traditional manner, look, just respect the traditions. Don’t stare too long at a home run. If they hit our guy, we hit theirs. Rookies don’t get to complain to umpires nearly as much as veterans. There is rarely any introspection when it comes to the unwritten rules. They’re commandments, and they’ve just always been there, man. Don’t ask too many questions. Follow them or get hurt.

Baseball was going to be the last sport to get sucked in because it’s one of the whitest sports, both in terms of participation and viewership. Whitest makes a difference not because patriotism is connected to pigment, but because it makes a huge difference in one’s ability to say, “Hey, knock it off, nothing’s wrong, what’s the big deal?”

Baseball was going to be the last sport to get sucked in, but it was never going to be immune. This conversation was always coming because it’s nearly impossible to pretend like nothing is wrong right now. This makes people so damned uncomfortable. The status quo is incredibly comfortable, just a warm, snuggly blanket, and now it’s being challenged by rude, shivering people. This ruins your whole vibe.

The only surprise, really, is who challenged that status quo and how perfect he was for the job. Bruce Maxwell was born on a military base. He’s on record as saying that the patriotic garb for Memorial Day and Independence Day means more to him because of his family’s military background. He made a calculated effort to draw a clear line between protest and disrespect.

The most important part is that Maxwell is a 26-year-old rookie with absolutely everything to lose. He’s a backup catcher with a .244 batting average and three home runs. He’s someone who’s been worth 0.1 WAR this year, which means he’s a replaceable player, by definition. He looked at Colin Kaepernick, an accomplished veteran without a job, someone too toxic for the billionaires of the NFL to consider, and knew what the worst-case scenario was. Maxwell kneeled anyway because he felt his message and the amplification of it was more important than his job security.

As a reminder, that message is this:

Listen.

That’s it. That’s the controversial message that has everyone so upset. Instead of mindlessly singing along and pretending that the country is beyond criticism, we have to listen now? The people who are upset at anthem protests are upset that they have to listen and engage with the idea that the country isn’t perfect, that there’s still more work to do. The current president was elected on a campaign slogan that roughly translated to “Everything is shitty now, but I can help,” but he’s also the loudest critic of anyone who dares to say, “This one specific thing has always been shitty, and we need you to listen.” The cognitive dissonance is overwhelming.

A man born in Germany because of his dad’s devotion to this country would like you to listen.

If you want politics out of your baseball, I regret to inform you that they’ve always been there. Hollywood got to make a clean, shiny movie about Jackie Robinson, which allowed people to feel good about the progress we’ve made, except Robinson didn’t get to live in that clean, shiny movie. He lived in a bleak reality, where the death threats didn’t stop coming when the two hours were over. If you think baseball has always been about keeping politics out, Hank Aaron has some letters to share with you.

If you want an example that’s less dramatic, consider the story of Andrew McCutchen, who explained why there are fewer and fewer American-born black players in Major League Baseball.

For all the backlash around the Jackie Robinson West team “cheating,” most people are ignoring the truth of how these 12-year-old kids make it out of their towns and onto a national stage. Individuals step in and fill that financial gap. Hopefully those people are trustworthy and have their hearts in the right place. I was fortunate in that respect. Other kids might not be. When you talk to players around Major League Baseball, almost every single one of them has a story about a person who stepped in and took care of their expenses. You hear it all the time: “If it wasn’t for this guy, I wouldn’t be in the league.”

It takes money to play travel ball. It takes money to play at the highest amateur levels. African-Americans have a disproportionately small amount of the country’s wealth, which means they’ll have a disproportionately small chance of climbing the ladder in baseball. And you have two choices: You can believe that African-Americans are poorer because they’re genetically inferior, which would make you a flaming racist, or you can believe that it’s the case because of opportunities that were denied to earlier generations, with a clean, neatly drawn line that goes back to slavery and the guns, germs, and steel that allowed the institution to exist. It’s not a stretch to suggest that the declining number of African-American players in baseball shares a root cause with the systemic violence that Kaepernick was protesting in the first place. It’s all tangled up in the same bloody history, and having everyone wear the number “42” once a year isn’t going to fix that.

And if you have a moment to listen, Bruce Maxwell would like to point all of this out. That’s all he asks.

This isn’t the first time that players have used the National Anthem to send a message. This was just a couple years ago:

youtube

Scott Van Slyke and Joe Kelly used the National Anthem to send a message. That message was this: Tee hee. They weren’t thinking about the sacrifices their fellow Americans made to keep them free. At that moment, the anthem was just a vehicle to break the tension, get a few giggles, and give their teammates an incrementally better chance of winning. And no one minded. Not a single editorial was penned in response, which suggests that the problem isn’t that athletes are using the anthem to send a message, but that they’re using the anthem to send a message that’s more threatening than “tee hee.”

Baseball was always going to be the last sport to get sucked in, but this was always coming. If history is any guide, Maxwell will be remembered fondly. I walked past a statue of John Carlos and Tommie Smith every day for years, which would have been unthinkable to the people who were the angriest at being told to listen back in 1968. It’s why Jackie Robinson went from death threats to a national hero, even though he used his autobiography to point out that the National Anthem rang hollow to him, too.

Until history is on his side, though, Maxwell will be dealing with a lot of nonsense. He knew that. He knew that there would be consequences, and he weighed that against the urgency of his message. He decided the message was more important. Maybe you should check out his message, then. It won’t take too long.

Bruce Maxwell would like you to listen. He risked his career because he thinks you should listen. Won’t you take a few minutes to listen?

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