#i had more to say about it but my cat stepped on my tablet and backed me out of the page. and maybe its for the best

[wiltking]

i finished Spring in Siberia by Artem Mozgovoy last night and i do think it has changed me on a molecular level, for better or for worse.

it’s about a kid who grows up in siberia during the collapse of the soviet union, of ambiguous sexuality (and gender, imo), and how he survives the isolation of a society that has no place for people like him. the author himself is a gay journalist who left russia in 2011 and it certainly gives the feeling of writing from experience in some instances.

i was really surprised by the level of history interwoven into the story, and some parts do come off a little textbooky, but i don’t say that in a bad way. i think its important to have certain facts stated when so much pravda in russia has been obscured, destroyed, buried, and violently erased. and it’s not a dry read by any means. its poetic and emotional and personal and honest. it’s relevant and critical.

i know a lot of people don’t want to have any sympathy for russians right now, and i get it, i don’t think this book aims to make you feel like you have to feel that way either. but i think it’s important to understand how things became the way they are, to see how far back the propaganda machine runs, how many generations it has in its grip, and how even if putin drops dead tomorrow there will be no easy fix. it’s a tough read, and i’m not sure if hopeful is even a good word to describe it (as it does on the back cover). but it’s good. it may be a long time yet before we get happy/hopeful gay russian romances (from russian authors) but i’m thankful for this book’s existence. even if it made me feel like i was being torn limb from limb. there are those of us who can make it out and craft beautiful works. in memory, in spite, with love. maybe that’s where the real hope is.

[moonlit-imagines]

Rekindled

Dick Grayson x Kyle!reader

warnings: guns/violence, death, brutality. like, the typical arkham game themes. not graphic, tho!! mostly mentions

a/n: this sorta takes place in the arkham knight storyline but you really dont have to know anything about that game to read this, i wanted to give enough detail bc i liked this idea and the arkham game fandom is under appreciated. also lowkey y/n is based on an oc but almost all my y/n’s are <3

prompt:

Gotham was on fire. You were dumb enough to stay behind. Selina had been MIA for longer than you were used to, and every effort of contact was futile. Last time this happened, she had been arrested and thrown into Arkham City, so it was needless to say that you were a bit worried.

Last thing she told you was that a “pretty worthless supervillain” needed her help with something, but she left it at that. Yeah, she had a habit of making herself scarce, but she was your only family and you two always kept in touch. And now that the evacuation was in effect, you felt even more uneasy.

You pulled on your suit, black leather and spandex hugging your body tighter as you zipped up. Pulled your gloves on, claws and all. Clicked the belt around your waist, equipping your small set of weapons and utilities. The headpiece was pretty simple, just some silly cat ears to match your aunt’s, along with the goggles for good measure.

Gotham was more dangerous than you’d ever seen, only delinquents like yourself roamed the streets. Except, they didn’t carry a code like you. Scarecrow caused a panic, this “Arkham Knight” had a personal vendetta to fill, the city was on its knees. Tanks were starting to load onto the islands, troops taking over buildings, and riots overwhelmed what little protection was left here. You knew a few places to go, but your best bet was the movie studios.

Panessa, Batman’s secret base with the Wayne name slapped right on the outside, it always made you smile when you saw it. You were hoping to find an ally inside, maybe someone who could help you find Aunt Selina.

And you may be thinking you’d just sneak inside like a lovely little cat burglar would, but why not try the front door. “Stray.” You spoke into the voice box and chuckled as the doors opened for you. “It’s like they were waiting for me to crawl on back.” You stepped inside and into the elevator and poked the down button, trusting the rickety old elevator to deliver you safely to the lower level.

When you stepped out, there was only one familiar face that wasn’t behind a pane of glass. Didn’t know Batman kept prisoners. “Y/N?” Robin asked from across the room, setting down his tablet to meet you halfway. “What the hell are you still doing in Gotham?”

“Selina’s missing and I didn’t want to leave without her. What’s…all this?” You motioned at the containment cells, starting to understand why there were prisoners when you noticed their Joker-esque features. The lot began to make trouble, beginning to harass and poke fun the same way that clown would.

“Ignore them. I’ll call Batman.” Tim told you. “Make yourself comfortable, I guess. You already broke in.”

“Broke in?” You scoffed. “I used the door, actually. Still have my little voice thing activated. I just had to say my name and I walked in. Kind of rude to assume I just break in just because I happen to be a burglar from time to time.” You ranted and heard a chuckle from Robin just before Batman answered his call.

“He wants to talk to you.” Tim called you over, holding out his arm in an awkward way to you could talk to Bruce.

“Tell me everything, y/n.” Batman instructed.

“Hey, good to see you, too. Uhh, yeah, so Lina said she was hired by some loser supervillain to steal something they needed. That was basically all she told me before she left, been a few days. Can’t get ahold of her.” You explained, looking over at Tim and shrugging. “She considers most of the so-called ‘supervillains’ of Gotham ‘losers,’ though, so it doesn’t really narrow it down.”

“Okay. Stay at the movie studios. I’ll look into it.” Batman hung up just like that and you rolled your eyes.

“Yeah, I’m not allowed to leave either. This…” Robin motioned to the Joker lookalikes, “is what Joker left behind in his death. All that infected blood from Arkham City, it wasn’t all caught, and I have to find a cure.” Robin went back to his tablet and you sat on a nearby chair. “Catwoman tell you much about the City?”

“Only that it was a shithole and Two-Face is a loser.” You started scrolling through the computer before you, reading little lab notes here and there. “How’s Oracle?”

“She’s in the city, of course. Refused to evac, wanted to help, but no one expected anything less.” Robin noticed you snooping, but let you continue. “Nightwing’s okay, too.” Your eyes peeked to the side and your brows raised. “Well, not really. Ego’s bruised since Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy kicked his ass the other night.” You laughed out loud, quite amused by the news.

“Good, he probably needed it.” You leaned back in the chair. “You know, I could probably help out there.”

“I already tried, Batman said to stay here.” Tim sighed.

“I don’t work for Batman. Maybe I wanna go kick some ass and try to find my aunt.” You explained, only half-jokingly. If was only seconds after that projections of the Riddler showed up all over Gotham. “Oh, brother. Not this guy.” You groaned, watching Nygma go on about his plan until Catwoman appeared on screen, causing you to bolt up and out of your chair. You would have run for it now if not for his explicitly telling you to stay away.

“Oh, and Stray, dear? Keep away, please. This is for Batman and Batman only, and if you get too close I might just…oh, well, you know.” Riddler chuckled at the insinuation that he’d detonate the bomb around Selina’s neck. Robin looked to you, noticing you were completely flush as you watched the broadcast.

“Y/N, he’s won’t let Nygma do anything to her. Try to stay calm.” Tim tried to snap you out of it, which only caused you to transition from fear to rage, jumping up from the chair and pacing around to keep from hitting him.

“Just…shut up, T—Robin. Shut up.” Your claws were drawn and you were steadying your breathing before things got ugly for everyone. More taunts were thrown at you from the Joker-infected and you needed to get the hell out of here, so you headed for the elevator.

“Wait, hey! Y/N, you can’t go out there, it’s not safe.” Robin jogged up beside you, but you ignored him. “You can’t save her right now, Riddler is obsessed with besting Batman. You can’t interfere or it’s over.” You stepped into the elevator and just as you were about to press the button, “Dick is in the city.” You paused.

“Why do I care?” You rolled your eyes and watched Robin pull a wrist communicator from his belt.

“You care.” He handed you the comm. “You can call any of us with that. We have our locations on, too. Keep in touch.”

“Where is he?” You sheepishly asked, looking down at your boots. You knew Tim had a stupid, told-you-so smirk on his face.

“Near the docks, he’s working on something. He’ll probably need your help.” Your eyes sort of lit up when you heard that, but you quickly took yourself back to reality knowing Tim was just trying to make sure you weren’t alone out there. For Dick’s sake.

You were still considered apart pf the family, even if Selina and Bruce weren’t a thing at the moment and you and Dick had gone your separate ways. You still caught yourself thinking about Dick Grayson often, wondering what could have been, what you would have done differently, why you guys even chose to leave. Sometimes it made sense, sometimes you struggled not to pick up the phone.

But now you stood on the rooftop of Panessa Studios, looking out to a city in ruins. A city in need of saving. As much as you respected Bruce, there’s no way you believed he could do this all alone. And if he was going to save your aunt, maybe you should lend a helping hand in the meantime. You fiddled with the device on your wrist, trying to get the hang of the new model communicator until you found Nightwing’s contact programmed in. Clicking the button made your stomach drop, you froze up as the line rang.

This comm was given to you, but wasn’t updated in the system as yours, so Nightwing answered the message from Batcom #1 and was shocked to see your beautiful face waiting for his answer. “Y/N! Are you…are you still in Gotham?” Dick’s calling of your name was embarrassingly high-pitched, but he recovered it upon his question. “Please tell me you’re not here.”

“Dick, I’m wearing cat ears and my aunt is being held hostage at the moment, of course I’m here.” You sarcastically answered, just like he remembered. “Tim gave me this thing, said I could go help out if I wanted. Just have to stay away from Riddler stuff for the night.” You explained, showing the Panessa Studios sign in the background.

“Yeah?” You could see Dick’s smile, like he and Tim knew exactly how to plan and you just wouldn’t figure it out. But despite this cold, brutal night, you felt all warm and fuzzy inside when that smirk grew on his face, you knew he was happy to have this opportunity. “I kind of need a partner for what I’ve got going on, Penguin’s doing something shady down by the docks. Wanna join me?”

“I could get behind that.” He sensed a bit of flirtation in your voice. “Meet you there?”

“I’m already here, why don’t I meet you in the middle? It’s really bad out here…” Dick rubbed the back of his neck nervously, thinking he’d come on too strong.

“You’re worried about me?” You chuckled and he told himself his suspicions were true. “How sweet.” You began walking to the edge of the roof, beginning to plot your path to avoid any psychopaths that may try to murder or kidnap you. “It’s not that far, I’ll be fine.” You hung up on him and he took a deep breath. Seeing his ex, probably his first love, after a long, long hiatus, it probably freaked him out more that Gotham’s takeover right now.

You barely felt the nerves he did, you knew you had a certain power over him. Not that you’d like to use it, not like you used to. Getting away with petty little crimes with your charm until you finally gave him a chance, let him show you the other side of things. Betraying that trust would put you down the wrong path once again.

Dick waited patiently for you, staring at the rooftops you may travel across to try and spot you, completing ignoring the smoke and flames from below. Running into trouble up there wouldn’t be much of a problem, everyone was busy robbing stores and shooting each other on the ground. You’d heard about some freaky bodies strung up on rooftops, some more Riddler shenanigans hidden around the place. Honestly, it didn’t surprise you much. This was Gotham City, where anything could happen.

Soon you found yourself just a few more steps from your past. You and Nightwing, both masked, stood across from each other with only a gap between buildings between you. With a graceful leap, you swung above the road and landed right beside the vigilante, who was a bit too stunned to speak, but he was the famed Dick Grayson…he doesn’t stay quiet for long. “Nice landing.” His smooth voice made you smirk involuntarily.

“Hope I didn’t keep you waiting.” You rolled your whip up and clipped it back to your belt.

“Eh, you did…but I’m willing to forgive and forget.” He quipped in his nonchalant tone, same boy you’ve always known. “Bat bossing you around?”

“Yeah, he wanted me to stay at that run-down movie studio. I really wasn’t about it.” You sighed, looking down at the arms deal below. “But I guess you know the feeling a lot better than me. I never really listened to the guy, you know?”

“Oh, I know.” Nightwing chuckled, kneeling down by the ledge. “You’re my inspiration for breaking away. Always giving Bruce shit, not taking him seriously. He hated it.”

“Hated me?” You asked him, wide-eyed.

“Actually, I think it was the reason he liked you so much back then. Usually people see him as like, an authority figure.” Nightwing explained, still observing the Penguin goons below. “And the people who didn’t listen were usually still a little afraid of him. But you were just that ‘kid’ who never quite listened and didn’t quite care.” You chuckled at some old memories that came back to you with his words. Memories of awkward patrols and first encounters with Batman and the first Robin. You and him were so young back then. So young and so hopeless.

“So you’re saying he approved of me?” You teased with a taunting smirk and poked Nightwing in the arm, causing him to scoff and roll his eyes. “Oh, yeah, the big bad Batman approved of the poor little street cat.”

“Well, as close to approval as possible. He is still a hardass.” Nightwing realized in that moment how easy it was to fall into your old ways. No awkwardness, just two people who have a bond you can’t break with time. “So, uh, these guys down here.”

“Righttt, the Penguin guys. North Refrigeration, huh? Man, you’d think Oz wouldn’t be so predictable.” You remarked as a car sped past you on the street behind, shooting an automatic rifle into the sky, but you paid little mind to it. “Remember the Iceberg Lounge? He must really like the cold.”

“He’s definitely got a gimmick.”

“Don’t we all?” You pointed to the cat ears on your headpiece and you both burst into quiet chuckles. “Are we gonna go down there or what, Dickie?” Your nickname for him made his heart flutter.

“Bruce wanted me to wait, he’s got a plan.” Nightwing sighed. “I’m only listening now because of how insane it is tonight, but I wish he’d let us handle it ourselves. He needs a break.”

“I think we all do.” You crossed your legs on the concrete rooftop and wrapped your arms around them, looking past the illegal activities below and over at the city skyline across the water. “If we all make it out of here alive, I think it’s time I leave Gotham.” You stared in silence for a few moments, pretending not to realize Dick staring at your profile. “Wanna do my thing and not listen to Bruce?” You snapped out of it and raised your eyebrows in a playful way. “You can’t say no, it’s not in my nature to listen to big strong men.”

“You wanna go bother these guys down here? They’re just doing their jobs.” He joked, getting up to play your game.

“Oh, well that’s too bad.” You shrugged, nearing the edge of the roof. “Maybe I just wanna say ‘hi.’”

“Oh, well if that’s all you wanna do.” Nightwing stood beside you and you both took a quick leap from the building to the ground, startling the group of thugs and interrupting their very important work.

“Shit! Catwoman?” One of the thugs asked before getting punched in the gut by yourself.

“Hah, he deserved that! Rest of us know who you are, Ronnie’s just a dumbass.” Another thug assured you before Nightwing shocked him with an escrima stick. You both took turns knocking around these cronies until all of them were laid out across the ground, only ones left were hiding inside of the van beside you.

“That was fun.” Nightwing nudged you with his elbow as you walked side by side to the back of this van. “We’ll have to do that again sometime.”

“How about when we find their hideout?” You suggested, knocking on the van doors. They flung open and were shocked to see two vigilantes waiting for them, then desperately drove off just as you’d planned. Nightwing grabbed you by the waist, pulled you close, and used his grapple gun to bring you both back the the rooftops so you could easily follow the van without being spotted. It was a bit off-guard, being pulled in like that, but you didn’t mind at all.

After some time and a bit of flirty remarks here and there, you both made it to the Penguin’s hideout. “You sure you’re in? There’s a lot of people in there, we can still wait for Bruce.”

“Come on, Dickie. It’s nothing we haven’t done before.” You tilted your head to have him come along with you and led him to an unconventional entrance. “It’s gonna be tons of fun, you’ll see.” You opened the rooftop vent and slid down first, crawling beneath the floor and estimating how many men you’d be going up against with your infrared goggles. Probably twenty or so, but you and Dick had trained together for a long time, it would all come back to you in an instant—you hoped.

The both of you popped out from the shadows and immediately started beating on these criminals, watching them all scramble to figure out how to react. “Told you, fun!” You called out to Dick, tossing a pair of bolas at a goon’s legs causing him to trip right into Nightwing’s roundhouse.

“Never doubted you for a moment!” Nightwing answered, pushing another thug your way so you could catch his arm with your whip, pulling his fist into his face. “Ouch! Why’d you do that, man?” Nightwing punched your victim once again. “Starting to think you like getting hurt.” The two of you continued throwing punches in sunch a calculated, synchronized way, catching a few as well. Once a thug managed to land a punch to your face, Nightwing was right to the rescue. “You okay?”

“Never better, baby.” You held your cheek and he worried you’d got a concussion for a moment before realizing you called everyone “baby.” Dazed, he also caught a punch to the back, knocking the final thug down with only his elbow. “That was it? That wasn’t even a challenge, that was a warm-up.” You told Dick, who was still kind of staring at you. “Hey, I told you I’m fine, don’t worry.” You smiled.

“It’s not that.” Dick chuckled. “It’s just, I’m thinking about what you said earlier.”

“What’d I say?” You kicked a guy’s arm away from your foot, wondering what Dick meant.

“About leaving Gotham…I’ve got an extra room at my place.” Dick shamelessly offered, but you could hear the nervousness in his voice.

“An extra room? Did you move apartments?” You raised a brow and saw his cheeks turn red under his mask.

“Uh, well…no.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his gloved hand. “I have extra room in my bed, though…if you’re down.” You stared at him, shocked and expressionless. Not many people could do that to you. “I don’t want to put you on the spot, and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I don’t expect anything out of you, but y/n, I want you in my life again.”

“…What?” You quietly answered him, still dumbfounded by the sudden proposal. You absolutely loved seeing him tonight, and you loved fighting beside him, and you loved him. It was like everything was coming back together.

“I left Gotham, I left everything behind. I left you behind. And I know that was both of our decisions, but if you’d just leave Gotham with me tonight, after all of this is over, I’d like to start over with you however you’d like.” Dick and you stood below these dim string lights in this criminal base surrounded by beaten foes, piles of money, and loads of firearms. A hell of a place for a romantic speech like this. “I just realized how much I was missing without you. And all the dangers of tonight, and you and I getting stuck here. I don’t want to be apart again, y/n.” He confessed to you.

You both quietly stood there a moment, not knowing what to do. You were still sweating from the fighting that had concluded a few minutes ago. Still breathing heavy with a fast heartbeat, but now for a new reason.

You said it yourself, you wanted to leave. Tonight solidified that decision. And Selina would understand. You were a Stray, you went where it was good for you, and maybe Blüdhaven would be good for you. It wasn’t on fire nearly as much, didn’t have as many supervillains, wouldn’t give you a target on your back.

And it had him.

And he was offering you everything.

And without another thought, you took a few paces forward into his arms and pulled his face in for a deep kiss, hands carefully cupping his cheeks as not to scratch them. Dick was surprised at first, but couldn’t resist what he’d been wanting since he left for Blüdhaven. He wrapped his arms around your waist and slowly kissed you back, the passion was still there. Both of you felt it.

You pulled away slightly and gazed into his eyes, both smiling stupidly from the kiss. “Does this mean you’ll come with me? Please say it does.”

“Yeah, Dickie, I’ll come with.”

taglist: @ravenmoore14 // @summersimmerus // @xoxobabydolls // @evilcr0ne // @thedarkqueenofavalon // @elenavampire21 //

[warrenwitches3]

CHAPTER TWO

The walk of silence came to an end as they approached massive double doors that no doubt led to an even bigger room.

‘Like the my old castle back home’ the fair maiden held the doors to comparison, while the one at night raven college have a more dark rusty touch with the grand old wood doors, her castle doors back home were colourful and detailed taking at least over 3 months to make each with details of old stories made of clay and wood, the handles made of gold yet still able to swing open easily even with the sizes they were.

Voices speaking caught her attention and she stopped behind Crowley to wait and listen. He also seemed to be mosey as instead of going in he leaned his ear against the wall. ‘Maybe he wants to know if they realised his absence, he is headmaster after all’

~~~mirror chamber~~~

A short boy with red hair spoke up over the commotion of the other students talking. “We're done with orientation and dorm assignments?” He asked then turned to a group of students near him. “All right, new students—let me be clear. At Heartslabyul House, I am the law. Break the rules, and it's off with your head!” A few people seemed to flinch and step back from him a bit due to his voice raising with the last sentence, even the girl outside the door let out a squeal, although it sounded more like the bugle noise a swan makes.

“Yawn* Well, that ceremony was as boring as ever. I'm going back to the dorm. If you're in Savanaclaw House, follow me.” A boy with feline ears seemed to slope around the place ready to get out, his eyes were dropping, and dropping a bit more now, and now there closed, now he’s letting out what sounds like a snore. His dorm mates sweat dropped at that.

“New students! Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your achievement. As dorm leader of Octavinelle House, I am honored to have the opportunity to support you in what I hope will be a fulfilling campus experience.” The boy with glasses seems to really like his new dorm mates.

“Hey, does anyone know where the headmage went? He disappeared midway through the ceremony...” a pretty looking boy finally spoke up about the problem at hand, took them long enough to notice.

“Some headmage he is.” A voice came out of a tablet contradicting the headmage’s decision to leave.

“Maybe he had a tummyache?” An innocent looking boy with red eyes proposed an even more innocent answer. Suddenly the old wooden doors burst open and crowley stepped through martching to the front with a leashes up cat and a hooded student following behind him.

‘This must be an all boys academy, I see no women in sight’ the new information did not make the maiden any less nervous, she remembers what the last male sorcerer she encountered did to her.

“I most certainly did not!” Crowley even had the heart to seem offended, listening only when it involves himself.

The short red head spoke up “Ah, speak of the devil.”

Crowley seemed to hate her at this moment “If you must know, I was searching for the new student who'd failed to show for orientation.” All eyes turned to her as she tried to stay standing straight and not quiver under their gaze. “You are the only one who has yet to be assigned a dorm. Step up to the Dark Mirror, and be quick about it. I'll watch your weasel.” He showed her to a mirror, one that looked familiar in the sense that her stomach dropped when her eyes met with its own. Even worse was when it spoke to her.

State thy name.

“Yuu..” she felt unsafe giving her name away yet she had to remain some form of strength to show the sorcerers that she wasn’t weak or to be laughed at.

The Dark Mirror seemed to drag out her name. “Yuu…

The nature of your soul is...” the pause it seemed to take was long enough to keep her there until she had to become a swan again.

“...unclear to me.”

“What did you just say?” Crowley seemed appalled and the few that were talking quietly completely stopped, this was shocking enough that they didn’t even make a gossip riot about it.

“I sense no magical power from this one that they themself own, magic from another running through them in such a crewel way perhaps but other then that, none. Soundless. Colorless. Shapeless. Utterly vacant of their own. Therefore, no dorm would be appropriate.

“Are you suggesting that the black carriage went to receive a person who cannot even use magic?But that is absurd! The student selection process has not erred once in its century of existence! How could this have happened?” His yelling of utter nonsense right in her ear made Yuu raise her neck and push her shoulders back a bit.

Grim seemed to struggle in his restraints before getting out “Mmmph! Nnnrgggh... *GASP!* ME! Let ME have this student's seat!” ‘Again what is so special about this school that he has to get in’ she wouldn’t dare say this aloud as people might get offended.

“Not so fast, you hyperactive weasel!” Crowley scolded.

“Unlike that human, I can actually use magic! So let me be a student here! Look, I'll show you! My spells're the cat's meow!” He seemed to charge up, his blue ear flames rising higher.

“Everyone, get down!” The short red head seemed to realise what was happening before others and ducked taking the nearest student down buy the arm with him. Yuu felt someone else yank her down just like everyone was doing with each other, she turned and saw it was the really pretty boy with the blonde hair and.. colour at the tips..?. His eyes seemed to widen a smidge upon seeing her appearance.

“Your a girl..?” She nodded and told him later before they both stood up and looked back at the pyromaniac of a cat.

“Myaaahhh!” He spewed his fire all around the room.

“AHHHHH! HELP! I'm on fire over here!” The boy with the red eyes was panicking not knowing what to do when one’s butt was on fire. So Yuu quickly walked to him and pulled the sleeve of her jacket down a bit before telling him to stay still and began to hit the fire until it died down. He rubbed his but sore from both the fore and the hitting before looking at her. His eyes also seemed to widen making the same realisation as the pretty boy from before.

“Oh! Your a girl!” He seemed to not mind and smiled at her “thanks for that!”

“Your welcome” she gave him a polite smile ‘maybe there all not so bad’

“Someone catch that blasted animal before it sets the entire school ablaze!” Crowley ordered around.

“Ugh. Can I go now, or...?” The boy that was snoozing around before seemed to wake up at the commotion a while ago and watched with bored eyes.

“Oh? I thought you fancied yourself a hunter. Go and help yourself to that plump little morsel!” The pretty boy seemed to snap at the human feline.

“Too much effort. Do it yourself.” He waved the other off

“Allow me to handle this, Headmage Crowley. If none of you are up to the task of catching a small animal, I will accept the responsibility.” He seemed to want something out of this with the tone of his voice, Yuu learned to pick up on this all the time before becoming a swan when she had her lessons as a princess.

“WTG Azul. Rackin' up those participation credits.” Yuu had stared at the floating flat box that seemed to speak words she hadn’t heard before, the box noticed her and flew away a bit into the shadows averting her attention back to the pyromaniac.

“I'm sorry, were my instructions unclear?!” He seemed to stress out the issue ducking from an incoming fire ball.

“Sigh* Preeetty sure you can handle catching one mangy weasel all on your lonesome there, headmage.”

“He’s right” she mumbled out no one hearing her, although the lion boys ear twitched and he looked a bit smug.

“How many times do I gotta say it? I'm Grim, spellcaster extraordinaire! I am NOT a weasel!” It seemed to irritate Grim more calling him names.

“Aren't you a spunky little fellow? Riddle, would you be so kind...?” The boy with glasses, Azul..? Turned to the short red head who’s name is revealed to be Riddle.

“Furry miscreant. I will abide no rule-breaking. You will be judged by my hand.” Riddle seems to bask in the fact that he could stop someone from breaking many rules that we’re definitely in place, one probably being to not set the place on fire.

He pointed what seemed to be a pen with some sort of gem on its end at grim and shouted “Off With Your Head!” A red and black heart shaped collar with gold trim appeared around grins neck weighing him down a bit.

“MYAH?! What are you doing?!” He flailed around.

“The Queen of Heart's Rule 23: "One must never bring a cat to a formal affair. Your very presence here is a violation of order. You will vacate these premises immediately.” He carried a stern voice and upon seeing him like this Yuu could tell he’s done it before multiple times.

“But I ain't a cat either! Don't try to collar me! I'll burn it right off! Huh...? Wh-what gives? My fire ain't workin'!” He tried doing his little charge up but nothing happened for him, the fire on his ears stayed still and no signs of his magic activating appeared. This calmed Yuu down a fair bit and she relaxed herself letting her shoulders and neck fall not holding them up anymore.

“Until I deign to remove that collar, you won't be using any magic. You're naught but a pet cat now.” Riddle now seemed to calm down a bit and talked more smug and relaxed.

“M-meoWHAT?! I ain't nobody's pet-NOTHING!” Grim shook his head.

“Oh, you've nothing to worry about there. I certainly have no interest in having you as a pet. The collar will disappear once you're removed from campus.” He waved the cat off as if he were nothing but a little grass bug, the maiden could tell he was of high status, a noble definitely with the way he carried home self and the confidence he had in his skill, he must be very well trained.

“Ha-HA! Good show as always, Riddle. You're signature spell locks down any magic. It's quite handy. I've just GOT to have it—ah, I mean, I've just got to have respect for it.” Azul seemed to arise a major suspicion in Yuu, she knows how to point out slip ups in their speech and personality and this guy slipped up.

‘He’s definitely a manipulator, look at how he’s obsessing over riddles magic’

“Yuu! Was I not clear that you are expected to take responsibility for your familiar?” Crowley turned to the girl. “Now discipline your—What's that? It isn't yours?”

“Sir, I’ve told you times before, but this creature is not mine, I don’t even know what he is, I’ve never seen a cat like that, especially one that spews fire” she put the emphasis on the words pointing at Grim and trying not to show how overwhelmed she was with a talking, fire magicking cat.

“Oh...Is that so? *Ahem* Then I shall have it expelled from campus. I shall even spare it from being served as dinner. My, but I AM kind. ...Someone take this away, please.” Dinner, this man was even considering making it dinner

“Nooooo! Let me gooooo! You fools better remember my name! Cause I'm gonna go down in the annals of magic history! Just you wait!” Grim kept yelling on his way out of the room.

“I feel a bit bad for the poor thing..” Yuu mumbled, the boy who she had forgotten she was standing next to also nodded at her statement, a bit of a sad look on his face.

“Well, that was quite the unexpected fracas. I hereby declare that orientation has concluded. Housewardens, please escort your students back to the dorms.” He looked around the room for a second. “...Hm? Come to think of it, I don't see Housewarden Draconia of House Diasomnia anywhere.” Yuu had moved back a bit as the commotion picked up again with the new topic.

“And that surprises you? Dude's a total recluse.” The smug human cat rolled his eyes, obliviously not caring about this Draconia.

“Wait a sec... Did anyone even invite him?” The boy she was previously standing next to looked at the others around him awaiting a response.

“If you're that worried about him missing out, maybe you should have told him yourself.” The pretty boy she had first met told the boy with the red eyes.

“Maybe, but I don't know him too well either...” he trailed off. Yuu moved back another step and suddenly bumped into someone.

“Oh! So sorry sir, I didn’t see you” she apologised looking at the person she hit, to say he looked different from what she’s used to is an understatement, he was a bit short and had choppy hair that reached a bit past his chin and.. pink? In his hair. ‘Is that pink streaks in his hair?? How unusual’ the boy looked at her and giggled.

“It’s alright young one” he observed her for a moment, furrowing his brows for a split second before returning to his normal face. “I just need to get passed you m’lady”

“Oh yea of course sorry!” She moved a bit to the side enough so he could get passed her towards the front.

“Thank you beastie” he smiled at her before walking towards the big group. ‘How peculiar of a man he is, but who is beastie..?’ she wondered.

She heard whispers erupt all throughout the room “Draconia... Like, Malleus Draconia? THAT Draconia?”

“So it's true? He really does go to school here?”

“Yikes.”

“Ah. Just as I'd expected.” It was the boy who she ran into before. I figured I'd come down and see for myself whether Malleus had made an appearance. But once again, he was evidently not informed that his presence was required at an official ceremony.” He sighed and shook his head.

“You have my sincerest apologies. I assure you, this oversight was in no way intended as a snub.” Azul apologised

“I mean, you must admit, he's not exactly the easiest person to strike up a conversation with.” Riddle said.

“No matter. All who were assigned to House Diasomnia, follow me. I just hope he doesn't sulk about this.” He waved his hand, mumbling the last part.

“Well, Yuu. This is a most unfortunate turn of events.” Crowley turned to her “I'm afraid that you will not be attending Night Raven Collage after all. Surely you realize that I cannot very well admit a student with no magical ability to my academy”

“That’s alright sir, I didn’t plan on attending your all boys magic school” she took down her hood that was masking her appearance, as well as making her very hot. She played with her hair a bit, neatening it up from its messiness. She heard the man let out a little gasp.

“Your a girl, my this is an even more reason to not admit you into the school I’m afraid, But worry not. The Dark Mirror will see you safely home.”

‘Home, with the others..’ she smiled at the thought, then went sour ‘home where Baron is..’

“Now, step into the gate, and visualize the place you whence you came.” She stepped up and imagined home, with her 11 other siblings and her parents, her father the king, a man of great power who was soft on his daughters yet stern when needed, and of her mother, oh her dear sick mother that she missed dearly, the woman who raised her, the woman that made her cookies within the royal kitchen, the woman who taught her to dance, the loving mother that held her when she cried, the mother that spent all her free time surrounded by her daughters, the woman who taught the youngest 3 daughters to sing carols on Christmas, who taught the twins to sneak off and participate in the royal guard training, the woman who spent her days personally teaching her eldest daughter Yuu, the mother that kissed them all to bed no matter how old they got she would tuck them in and sing a song or tell a story, the woman who started to get more ill it was like a curse that wouldn’t go away, the mother that mourned her children upon hearing of their curse, the woman she left behind.

Her sisters all 11 of them, all turned into swans because of her, they took her fate along with them and carried it for 3 years rarely seeing their parents, following Yuu around, living there lives on a lake, the sisters that she left behind and now they would befall the fate of her curse. The family she would return to.

“O Dark Mirror! Return this soul to where it belongs!” Crowley commanded, yet nothing happened

‘No..don’t tell me’

“Ahem* L-let us, er...try this again. O Dark Mirror! Return this soul—“ he was cut off

“There is no such place.” The dark mirror stated plainly.

‘No..No, no, no’ her mind started panicking, no such place?!.

“What?” Crowlwy asked

“here is no place in this world where this soul belongs.

None.”

“How can that be? My, but today is a veritable cavalcade of impossible phenomena!” Crowley stressed.

The mirror didn’t respond.

“This has never happended throughout my long tenure. I must confess that I am at something of a loss. Tell me: From what land do you hail?” He turned to her and asked.

“I’m from the Rhodanthe”

“Rhodanthe? I'm afraid I am not familiar with such a place.”

“But how, it’s one of the most powerful kingdoms across the land” she tried to block out the thought that drifted at the end of her mind.

“I am intimately acquainted with the origins of every student who has ever come here, and yet... This mysterious homeland of your eludes me. Let us go to the library and look it up, shall we?”

NOTE: that is chapter 3 YAY! I start holidays on Friday but I am going away for about a week so I’ll try to have something at least in the making, I’m glad other are liking this story so tell me what you imagine odette!Yuu to look like and the clothes she wears.

I also took the sisters thing from barbie and the 12 dancing princesses, it’ll provide for good angst in the future and it also says that Odette has other swans with her so I decided to go with that and make them her sisters. Hope you all like this chapter it takes a while to make these but I enjoy it, we’re getting closer and closer to day time in wonderland so I’m exited to write the swan. Also if anyone wants to drop a name for the sisters mother or father I’ll try and use it so I can build up their characters, it just needs to have a medieval touch yk not TO modern and if it comes with a meaning I would love to know that to.

IMPORTANT!! I think I might make other posts like incorrect quotes and stuff based on odette!Yuu and stuff like scenarios or answering questions so I’ll try to see how an ask box or whatever it’s called works and use it, I might even posts other Yuusonas I’ve got but I’ll mainly try to focus on odette Yuu.

Tag list: @just-here-reading

[akiranzee]

🌠 • ° ` — “WISHING FOR YOU”

-> PAIRINGS: Alhaitham x gn!Y/n -> SUMMARY: Alhaitham and Y/n L/n, from 2 different universes, suddenly encounter by a miracle. -> WORD COUNT: 2.2k+ -> CONTAINS: fluff, cliffhanger at end (imsry), swearing, KINDA CONFUSING PLOT?? (idk) & alhaitham is 25 while reader is 22. -> A/N: KINDA INSPIRED BY “Your Name”?? IDK I HAVEN’T RLLY FINISHED WATCHING IT LOL. C/n is “cat’s name” :)).

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“Ok I give up. How come all of you has him when I don't have him.” You gave your friends a deadpanned look, setting your tablet down.

“It’s called luck darling.” One of your friends replied, sending you a playful wink.

“Well my luck is seriously dead. Anyway, I’m going home. I need to feed my cat.” You said, getting your shoulder bag and leaving your friend’s house.

“Aw, I thought you were gonna stay.. Anyway, say hi to C/n for me!” One of your friends yelled back, waving at you, and you also did, but your back was faced to them.

~~~~~

Reaching your home after a few more steps, your cat greeted you happily.

“Aw, you’re a cute little thing, aren’t you, C/n?” You petted them and led them inside the house, “come, let's get you food, hmm?”

After giving your cat their food, you hummed as you cooked your own dinner. You tasted the curry you were cooking, and it tastes delicious. You were delighted by the result as this was the first time you’re cooking curry.

You took a plate and served the curry on the table, but as you did, suddenly, the lights went out. The only thing visible to you now was the scorching, running light outside.

You peeked through your window, and saw a meteor shower outside, as your cat followed you.

You’ve heard that wishing on a meteor shower will make your wish come true.

You don’t believe it, but you instead find it quite childish. But trying it out right now doesn’t sound bad, does it? Especially when you’ll lose nothing if you try.

You closed your eyes and wished.

And as you opened your eyes, the meteor shower has ended and the lights went back on.

It was peculiar, but your stomach was demanding for food, so you never really gave it any thought.

~~~~~

But as the next day started, you went inside the library you’re working at, and all your fellow librarians were whispering and gushing on about something, or someone.

You walked over to them and asked, “hey, what’s up you guys?”

“Eee! Y/n, you’re here! See that man with gray hair and green eyes? He’s so handsome!” Your close co-worker squealed as she pointed at him, which you followed, revealing a gorgeous man reading a book.

Just like the meteor shower last night, you were mesmerized by the sight in front of you. And you feel like the emptiness of your whole world was suddenly filled just by staring at him.

But soon, it was cut off as the woman’s hand appeared in your sight, forcing you to stop staring and come back to earth.

“Ah… sorry. Let’s get to work, guys.” You changed the subject and immediately went to your post, serving as the cashier.

Apparently, the library you’re working at has millions and millions of books, that nobody dared count it. It had all the books people would want; romance, novel, documentaries, horror, adult, and more.

But only rich people would dare buy a book from here, considering the prices of each book being $5,000+.

That’s why you were shocked when the gray-haired man literally carried 10 books and put them in front of you, handing you his credit card.

“Umm… Are you sure you’re gonna buy all of this?” You asked him once again to make him rethink his decision. But fortunately, he bought it all.

“Yes. They sound very interesting. They deserve to be added to my collection.” He said bluntly, and whispered a thanks as you handed him the box full of books he just bought.

And to put it short, he does kind of remind you of someone.

Remember that guy from Sumeru who really loves reading books? Yeah, him — Alhaitham.

Even him and the guy looks alike. Mentioning the hair and eyes, the skin tone, the height, and his voice.

He really does look like Alhaitham.

You gasp softly at the sudden thought; that what if your wishes came true, but the only difference is that you didn’t get him in game, but in real life…?

For the whole duration of your working hours, your brainstorming of theories about this and thats has officially driven you crazy, just looking at one spot for 10 minutes, and then looking somewhere else for 10 minutes again.

Even your fellow librarians were getting scared about your peculiar acting that they’re starting to think you’re being possessed or something.

But at the end of the day, you knew you had to snap out of it and come back to earth once again; and head home.

Reaching your home, your cat greeted you once again, and everyday life went on and on as it usually does.

But the unusual part of it is; you and the man that looks like Alhaitham keeps crossing paths — as if fate desperately wants the two of you for each other.

But you only took it as mere coincidences, but as the saying goes; One means nothing, two means coincidence, and three means something. Which the encounter of the both of you have literally been 5+ times, and that is not considered as a coincidence anymore.

And you swore to yourself; one more encounter, you were gonna lock yourself up inside your house.

And so you did. A fellow co-worker you’re close with came and visited you as they didn’t take your “I’m sick” excuse, banging on your door as if it was gonna break any second now.

“Urgh. Okay, okay, coming!” You rushed to your door, hoping to save it from the hellish knocks it was suffering.

“Oh my god, took you forever!” The shorter lady then tiptoed and placed the back of her palm on your forehead and said, “see? Sick my ass! You look perfectly fine!” And she practically dragged you out of your apartment, but finally convinced her to let you change into something nice.

By the time you entered the library, the man that looked like Alhaitham was there, and the both of you made eye contact which made you quite embarrassed when he looked away and towards his book.

So you did the same; walking away and going to your post in the cashier.

Normally, it would be a boring day, but today, the library offered a 50% discount to the top hit sales today; mangas. So to cut it short, a lot of people bought mangas and yes, unusual and surprising, but the library was full of people that the staffs were also confused where to go or what to do.

You sighed as you finally sat down, you definitely couldn’t wait to get your well deserved meal and bath, along with a goodnight’s sleep later.

As you began to close your eyes, you felt the sleep coming to you.

“Shouldn’t you be doing your job instead of dozing off?” A voice asked, and that instantly made you jolt awake.

“Huh? What?” You looked around as if looking for something, only to see the owner of the voice; the man that looks like Alhaitham.

“I’ve been looking for this book”, he says as he swipes through his phone and shows the picture to you, “do you happen to see it or have some stock left?” He questioned, and you slowly stood up, taking a closer look at the picture.

“Oh, yeah, we have that on stock. But are you sure? It's for $10,000.” You said as you rubbed your eyes, as the man took his phone away from you and put it back into his pocket.

“I remember buying 10 books that costs $50,000+. Surely, $10,000 on 1 book doesn’t sound impossible now, does it?” His choice of words and the way he says it really sounds like the Alhaitham from the game you’re playing.

You stayed silent and bowed, then went inside the storage room to look for that book, not knowing what else to reply to his sarcasm.

After a few minutes, you came back with the book in hand, and then the man paid for it.

Before you allowed him to leave, you knew you had to ask him one question; “What’s your name?”

“Al Haitham” Your eyes widened at that. Not only does he look and act like him, but they also have the same name too? This is not a coincidence anymore, is it?

“Why?” He asked, raising one of his eyebrows.

“Um… nothing, it's just that you remind me of a game character.” You scratched the side of your face, looking down, feeling embarrassed and you don’t know why.

“Who?” He asked again, this time, he was more curious than the last question.

“Um.. here, let me show you.” You opened your phone and showed him a picture of Alhaitham, the game character.

He showed a look of surprise, but quickly changed back to his usual stoic face.

“Huh… is his name also Al Haitham?” He asked, leaning in the counter, seemingly interested as to why he was there.

You said a simple “yeah”, and Al Haitham simply shaked his head and replied, “the creator of the game must’ve known me” which you took it as; “the creator of the game must’ve found me hot enough to put me in game” which you could just strongly agree.

And with that, by whatever miracle is out there, the both of you surprisingly got along. And you also got to know that his first name is Al, and his last name is Haitham.

You guys usually hang out at a cafe or at a park, with you and him usually playing Genshin Impact.

After knowing that he was a character in game, his curiosity peeked in and tried it out.

And when he did try to pull for Alhaitham, it didn’t even take 69 tries for him to get him, unlike you.

And you found that very unfair. Because — Al is new to the game but gets Alhaitham for like only 3-5 tries. While you, this might be the 100th try or more, but you still can’t get him.

You sighed in defeat as you were still unlucky. Al only chuckled and continue playing the game. He didn’t try to comfort you, but his chuckle did, which made your heart race because of it.

Oh dear, not only were you a simp for Alhaitham, but you were also falling for Al.

I mean, it’s what they say, right? If you can’t get the fictional character, then go for the cosplayer — which in your case, Al’s just like the real human version of Alhaitham.

But no, you didn’t try that out. You were happy with the way things were right now, happy with you and Al being close friends. Sure, you wanted to be more than that, but being Al’s friend was more than enough than to be a stranger to him.

Little by little, you fell in love with him. And it was hard to make it not-so-obvious, as every single moment you guys spend together, you find out more new things about him. And that just makes you fall for him more and more.

Until one evening, Al told you there would be a meteor shower, and his house had the best view. So you went to his house and waited.

Just like what happened when the meteor shower has arrived, the lights went out, and a series of meteor came rushing in and pass through the both of you.

It was a magnificent sight, and the both of you came rushing out of his balcony, dazed by the beauty the meteor shower held.

You remembered that wishing in a meteor shower will make your wishes come true. And so you did again, wished for a miracle.

~~~~~

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

You groaned, seemingly awakened by your noisy alarm clock, and suddenly stood up.

Suddenly standing up made your head ache and dizzy though, slowly walking down to the bathroom to wash your face.

You looked at the calendar; May 02, 2019. Ugh, Tuesday. You were hoping for a weekend, but I guess that miracle ain’t gonna happen.

Getting ready for work, you took a bath, brushed your teeth, changed into your work clothes, then finally, packing your bags and wearing your shoes.

You didn’t bother for breakfast, it was your co-worker’s birthday today anyway. Surely, they’d prepare and treat the whole library to food, right?

As you walked out the door, and walked down the street, you suddenly bumped into a stranger, with a grunt coming out from the both of you.

Miracles do happen, but the God sometimes just doesn’t allow that. But on that night, when the both of you wished, you both wished for a miracle to happen.

You wished to stay together, and for Al to like you back. You didn’t see it, but Al also wished. Knowing what would happen to him after that night, he wished for the greatest miracle. It was to stay forever by your side, to stay here forever.

“Ugh- sorry, I wasn’t looking-” As you turned around, you saw a handsome man with gray hair, and green eyes.

Without knowing, the both of you speaked together, as if in sync,

“What’s… your name?”

[bellhopping]

merry christmas fellas, here's my little summary of art

Generally I'd say I've improved a lot throughout this year. Got a proper drawing tablet, switched drawing programs, finally begun working on using more then one type of brush... it's certainly been journey! A journey with many ups and downs, but one I am glad I went on anyhow.

Under the cut is individual uploads of every piece of art in this image, alongside a writeups about their creation. Cheers!

[1/25/23, Medibang Paint]

Starting off with a pretty alright one, drew this to commerate the release of a game I'd been interested in for the past 4 or 5 years. I think it could use some tweaks, but for something drawn in mobile medibang I'm still pretty proud of it.

[N/A, N/A]

This is where my february drawing would go... IF I HAD ONE !!!

I did not draw much digitally in February, on account of my tablet randomly breaking right at the start of the month. I did draw some stuff traditionally, but I don't feel like fishing it out at this moment lol

[3/31/23, Krita]

One of my first proper drawings in krita, and of a character I should really draw more of. This was made for trans day of visibility & comes with a trans pride palette to boot, though I ended up choosing the normal palette since the other one kind of sucks. Also could've done better on the posing, but I was still getting used to the ins & outs of drawing tablet usage so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[4/22/23]

Drawing I made for earth day, honestly a solid contender for best thing I've drawn all year. I did pretty good on the pose, still dig the background a fair bit, & overall think the piece came out damn cool!

[5/12/23, Krita]

An expirement with line thickness, featuring one of my favorite ocs. Despite it's roughness you can tell I had gotten a hang of Krita's core functions by now.

[6/17/23, Krita]

Cover art for the prolouge of CAT-Astrophe Comic, the webcomic my brother & I have been working on. Overall been really happy with my work on the comic so far, I've slowly but surely been getting better at each part of the process and am still making good progress on pages n such ^^

[7/9/23, Krita]

Fanart of a character from a game, drawn for my pal Rinbin after they bought me Rain World. This single handedly inspired me to draw more robots, definitely one thing I 100% intend to follow up on next year.

[8/1/23, MS Paint]

Drawn based off of someone elses post, I don't remember what it was really. Honestly still really damn proud of everything in this!!!

[9/7/23, Krita]

Drew some snakes/snake adjacent pokemon for snektember. I'd say this is around the point where I "mastered" krita, by this point I actively knew how to use a majority of featues & had even begun downloading outside brushes.

[10/20/23, Krita]

Overhaul of a character I made & barely used in 2022, her name is now Olive. I based the whole squidog thing off of something in a dream.

[11/26/23, MS Paint]

Fanart of a webcomic I really fucking like !!!!! Not much more to say I just really dig this one, fucking love drawing in MS Paint.

[12/20/23, Krita]

And, as if to repeat last year, I end this one with a DreamSide main cast image!

Really proud of how much all of my designs have improved throughout the year, from the small tweaks to gigantic overhauls! I finally feel ready to take the next step forward, so to speak.

And that's everything! Thank you all for your time, and accompanying me on this journey. It was certainly a rough one in many aspects, but every year is rough for me so I've gotten used to it. See you all later :>

[lilover131]

Clear Card Chapter 75 Analysis

Omg, Chrissy posting a chapter analysis in a reasonable amount of time! It’s like a Christmas miracle in July! Now that I am mostly moved into my new place and am in a better place emotionally, I actually have the time to sit down and get this done quickly! I apologize for the delays the past two months, and I appreciate y’all being patient with not just that, but the lack of posts in general. I know I’ve been more quiet than usual for sure, and I’d like to get back to being more active on here.

This chapter was really fun in a lot of ways, but we also get a nice cliffhanger that isn’t entirely surprising. But nonetheless, I’m hyped and so ready for future chapters! Without further ado, let’s dig into chapter 75!

As usual, I will start off by talking about the color page. Omgggggg, I love this one. CLAMP gave us the colors for these new outfits immediately (the fanartists are grateful), and I love the similarity to this and the cover for chapter ____. Syaoran still has a serious expression, but certainly looks more serious than emotionless like the Kaito black cat version. And Sakura is actually smiling in this one as opposed to her almost confused expression in the previous chapter. The moon seems to replace the gears for the most part here, and this is symbolic as the moon itself becomes very important in this chapter! We also have Kaito’s clock face in this image, which is important for obvious reasons.

The chapter itself begins with Sakura revealing her Dream wand. It is not familiar to anyone of course, but Sakura stated to have found the key alongside her star key, and she felt it was important to use this one, especially as she and the others could sense that this was made with her magic. It seems logical to all that this staff existed prior to the world being rewritten.

 Tomoyo advises both Sakura and Syaoran that the ear cuffs they are wearing are transmitters that will allow them to talk to each other. Moreover, they can be used to send audio and video to her tablet. Nakuru is impressed by the technology, but I never cease to be amused by Tomoyo’s never ending desire to capture literally everything on film. Hahahaha.

 Sakura then pulls out the FLY card and uses it on Syaoran, which sprouts the wings that we’ve become familiar seeing on him. However, this is a surprise to everyone else, who of course doesn’t remember any of this from the previous timeline. Also, CAN I JUST SAY HOW HAPPY I AM THAT WE STILL GET WINGED SYAO?!! I was honestly a little depressed thinking we wouldn’t see any more of that. Lol. Kero asks why Sakura is using the FLY card on him and what she will do for herself. Sakura states that Momo told her that there were other cards that haven’t disappeared, and she calls upon FLIGHT (yay!!!). FLIGHT is honestly probably the best card of the Clear Cards, so I am stoked to see this card particularly returning. It is the only one from this deck that has really shown clear emotions and personality, and it’s so cute!!

 Eriol seems impressed and through Nakuru’s phone can see the new card. He can tell it is made from Sakura’s magic and Kaho mentions that it is also Sakura’s summoning circle. With that, Sakura steps up to Akiho and asks to borrow her pocket watch for a bit. She willingly passes it along and claims she will be right back before she and Syaoran fly up into the air.

 The couple has a beautiful scene in the sky with the moon in the background, and Sakura thanks Syaoran for coming along. He thanks her in return, but specifically for saying that he is her favorite person in the world. OMG, HOW CUTE CAN THESE TWO BE, SERIOUSLY?! I could not help but gush for a moment and just felt a warmth in my heart. But I absolutely love what Sakura says next. She says that when she found out the world had been rewritten, she thought to herself that if she had something to say, it was important to say it, because then even if the world was rewritten again, the words would still have been said and would live in their hearts. This kind of explains why Sakura has been a little more assertive in what she wants to say in the past few chapters, but I also think this is an important and beautiful message in general for everyone. We should all say what we want to say while we can, because they will live on in our hearts no matter what happens after.

While Tomoyo, Kero, Suppi, Nakuru, and Yuki are watching on the tablet, Touya speaks alone with Akiho. He tells her that despite Sakura’s flaws (which are hardly flaws but just silly teasing remarks), that she always carries out the things she says she is going to do. So if she has promised to find Akiho’s missing person, then she will. He is likely saying this to Akiho so she will be reassured that everyone will come out of this safely. So all they have to do is wait for Sakura to call them…together. He gives her a little pat on the head, and this is just such a sweet little moment between brother and sister.

 Meanwhile, the rest of them are watching the ‘livestream’ of Sakura and Syaoran and just caught the cute interaction between the two. They comment on how livid Touya would’ve been if he had heard the conversation, and Kero and Suppi find themselves starting to pity Touya as a result. Lmaaoo. I guess it’s a blessing he didn’t overhear any of it.

 Sakura and Syaoran are up in the air and discuss how they will go about finding Kaito, and Sakura says that she feels power inside of it, but that it doesn’t belong to anyone she knows. They come to the conclusion that it must belong to ‘the one who is missing’ and that it will lead them to him. Syaoran summons his rashinban and tells Sakura to place the pocket watch on it. She does as asked and Syaoran uses his locating spell. This has been a spell established in the original series as something he could do. In the Sakura card arc, Syaoran attempted to find Eriol via the coat he left behind on the feverish Sakura, and he mentioned this spell when Sakura transformed the SHADOW card at the school to locate Tomoyo (he couldn’t in the end since they didn’t have anything left behind by Tomoyo). The way the spell works though is that Syaoran can locate a person with an object of theirs that is left behind, and I’m so glad we finally get to see him use this spell successfully!

However, the result is rather unexpected. The rashinban shoots out a beam of light that points directly towards the moon. Syaoran assumes this must be a mistake because there are traces of moon magic in the pocket watch, and that perhaps this is why it is pointing towards the moon. This is logical, however Sakura then advises that his tracking spell is actually correct, and that what they are seeing isn’t the real moon. Syaoran is naturally confused by this, but Sakura acts immediately by summoning the SWORD card and slices right through the illusion. 

This seems to open up a portal to where they want to go. Watching from England, Kaho and Eriol are commenting on how magic of this level would have taken the combined power of many sorcerers, but that Sakura was able to see right through it within seconds. She has certainly grown powerful, but Eriol states that this was not power she grew unconsciously but rather through sheer will. If she wants something done, her magic will guide her and do what she wants. It’s a good thing Sakura is such a pure and good human being. Can you imagine what someone with evil intend would do with that kind of power? Makes me shiver thinking about it…

 Sakura and Syaoran have no idea what awaits them on the other side, but nonetheless they bravely go in together and without hesitation. The space they enter almost looks like a crazy Salvador Dali painting with warped clock parts all around them. I think this space symbolizes Kaito’s ‘time’. His lifespan is now a bunch of warped clock pieces that are broken apart (this is my theory at least). The beam of light from Syaoran’s rashinban continues to guide them, however where it ends is certainly unexpected. At the end of the light is...the dragon (the one we’ve seen from Sakura’s dreams) curled up asleep within a gyroscope of sorts. It seems to be trapped, and due to the light pointing at it, reason would deduce that the dragon is Kaito’s current form (likely a result of the curse put upon him by the Association and Akiho’s clan). Now, many of us have had theories that the dragon would ultimately turn out to be Kaito due to the dragon symbols that appeared in the corners of the ‘storybook’ formatting of his past as told by Momo. However, there was never any certainty until now. I can’t say I’m surprised, but I’m glad that we finally are getting some answers.

The only thing we need to know now is…well, what happens now? What will happen if they free and wake up dragon Kaito? Will he be violent and cause destruction? Will he remember who he is? And naturally…how in the world do they get him back to who he was? My current theory is that he will escape and enter Tomoeda, just like the first dream Sakura had about Kaito. I also believe that initially he will not remember who he is and cause destruction, but that Akiho will be the one to bring him back to himself. I also still think Syaoran will have some role here as CLAMP seems to have implied it, but we’ll see exactly what that is. I am extremely excited though to see where this goes, and I anticipate major drama in the next chapter! Let’s gooooooooooooooooo!!!!

[p96822]

Danny was amazed at how she looked in a ponytail. Or he would if not because the girl he likes had just transformed into a superhero. The boy couldn't believe his eyes as he watched the girl open a portal and jump into it.

As the flash of light engulfed the disappearing portal, Danny was in shock as he wondered about going through it when he had the chance.

"Wow," Danny said, still amazed that Marinette was Ladybug.

After Danny snapped out of his amazement that Marinette was Ladybug. "Wait, if Marinette turned into Ladybug, something is happening in Paris," Danny thought.

"Maybe she needs some ghostly help," Danny had a smirk.

The ghost boy headed back to Fenton Works to go to the Far Frozen to get the Infimap so he could help out Marinette if she needed it.

Paris

Marinette made it back home. She took a deep breath, feeling relieved to be home, only to see that it had vines and overgrown trees all around the city.

"Whoever got akumatized must like plants; it's like a greenhouse," Marinette said to herself before swinging through the city to find the akumatized person and Cat Noir.

As she swung around the forest like Paris, Ladybug thought about Danny and those pictures he took of the coffin and tablet.

'What if Danny finds out I'm Ladybug? Then what am I going to do?' She thought to herself before an idea sprung. 'Maybe I can borrow the mouse Miraculous to show that Marinette and Ladybug are not the same person in the mask-like I did with Cat Noir. Maybe make sure the fake me is far enough for him not to reach her in time.'

As she came up with the idea of using the same plan she did with Cat Noir, almost discovering who she was, the superhero stopped to see a sight.

She found Cat Noir fighting against vines.

"Come on! I know I need more greens, but this is ridiculous!" Cat Noir said as he used his staff and spun it to keep the vines away.

"Never thought I'd be happy to see him..." Ladybug said under her breath as she swung in to join him. "I take it that's not lunch?" She asks cheekily.

Cat Noir smiled.

"Milady... nice of you to join the party."

"Sorry, had something distracting me... what's going on?" She asks.

"Wow, you were definitely distracted... these vines came out and took over the city." Cat Noir said

before noticing something behind her, about to reach her. "Watch out!"

To her surprise, Cat Noir jumped over her and struck a vine with his staff.

"Huh?!" Ladybug went.

"These vines are alive... don't let them grab you!" He said.

Ladybug noticed two vines were reaching them and now realized why they were dangerous.

"Got it!" She said, swinging her yo-yo with such speed that it cut the two vines.

"DON'T LET THESE PLANT HATERS STOP YOU!" A female voice called out.

Ladybug stopped, hearing that voice.

"What was that?!" She asks, noticing in time a vine and jumping out of the way.

"I think it's the akumatized villain. I don't know where she is." Cat Noir said as he swung his staff again and knocked a vine. "Back! Back you veggie!"

Ladybug nodded before stepping out of the way of a vine.

"Come on! I eat my vegetables!" She said.

"What is your problem, plant person?!" Cat Noir called out.

"My problem is you don't respect nature!" She called out in response.

That distracted them enough for a vine to wrap around Ladybug's ankle, pulling her up and making her drop her yo-yo.

"W-What?!" Ladybug went.

"Ladybug!" Cat Noir called out before a vine wrapped around prevented him from saving her.

"Okay... what now?" Ladybug asks as the vine lifter her higher.

Meanwhile, a certain someone watching grinned.

"Excellent... you have them. Now... take their Miraculous!"

"I will... but you didn't say I needed them to be alive to do it... So TOSS HER AND LET HER DROP!"

With that, the vine did as ordered, tossing Ladybug several feet up after carrying her over 50 stories into the air.

Worse, she had no idea how to survive without that yo-yo.

"No, no, no, no, no..." Ladybug muttered.

"Ladybug!" Cat Noir called out.

Gasping for ideas, she had one thing on her mind.

Guess I don't have to worry about Danny finding out anymore...

It was then someone swooped in.

That person caught her and landed safely, one knee-buckling upon impact.

Opening her eyes, Ladybug realized she was being carried in bridal fashion by another. She looked up and saw who it was.

"For a ladybug, you don't do a lot flying, do you?" Danny Phantom joked.

For a brief moment, Ladybug's cheeks turned pink, realizing who this was.

"Danny... Phantom?" She asks.

Cat Noir, though relieved she was fine, pouted.

"Hey! She's my partner!" He called out before finally getting the strength to break free.

Ladybug just kept staring at Danny Phantom even as he put her back on her feet.

"You know... you can go back to saving the day now..." He says with a cheeky smirk.

"Huh?" She then recalled what she was doing and nervously laughed. "Right! Of course... Also, quick question, what are you doing here?"

"Uh, I'll answer that later, Ladybug. Now I'm going to put these plants on ice, and then I can talk." Danny went intangible and froze the vines' roots, causing the vines to welt.

"Huh... cool." Ladybug said with a smile, much to Cat Noir's irritation.

Danny phase backed up and had a smirk on his face.

"Well, that's that, Ladybug. Those vines won't be bothering the famous Ladybug and Cat duo anymore, and best stuff them in the freezer." He said, earning a chuckle from Ladybug.

"You seem a bit cocky there, Spooky. We still have to deal with the person with the Akuma; this is our department." Cat Noir said, trying not to sound jealous.

They were about to look for the akumazatized person until a giant tree using its roots to walk like a person, got in their way. The tree had a ma face on its trunk, sharp pointy teeth, and anger-like eyes. On the top of the tree trunk was a girl wearing a dark green jumpsuit with black across the arms. She had a black mask around her eyes. She had purple lipstick and a microphone on her hip.

'Sam!?' Danny thought as he saw his best friend staring at the three heroes.

'Sam, what happened to you?' Danny thought as he saw his friend come out of the tree.

"And you are?" Cat Noir asked.

"Ragtash. The voice of nature, and I'm here to give Paris a new tune of color." The girl's megaphone turned into a flute and blew on her instrument as plants came alive, slithering like charmed snakes.

The three heroes avoided the plants from crushing them like ants. Instead, Cat Noir and Ladybug used their weapons to block the vines from snatching them up.

Sam played her flute again, and two giant venus fly traps sprouted from the ground and lunged at the two french heroes. Ladybug and Cat Noir dodge the venus fly traps by doing backflips.

"You really like your greens, don't you, Veggie Girl?" Cat Noir quipped.

"You haven't seen anything yet, you alley cat," Sam blew into her flute, and the two venus fly traps charged at Cat Noir and Ladybug. But, before the fly traps could get to them, they were frozen solid by Danny Phantom, freezing the roots of the plant.

"Stop!" Danny called out, getting her attention.

"Danny, what are you doing here, and why are you here helping these heroes?" Ragtash asked him.

"I thought of seeing the sights of Paris and my superhero peers, not so much a repeat of what happened with Undergrowth," Danny answered.

"I bet you are only here to see Ladybug!" Ragtash had a jealous tone in her voice and started to play the flute as the fly traps lunged at Danny.

Danny began to dodge the Venus Fly traps and fired at them with his ghost ray.

"I know you have a green thumb, Sam, but this is ridiculous and life-threatening," Danny said.

"I think I just heard that Phantom knows the Akumazatized Villian. Cat Noir, he might know something." Ladybug told him.

"Well, Bugaboo, that girl must have been the exchange student who got akumatized, and Phantom is well known there. So he might have the answer." Cat Noir explained.

Ladybug and Cat Noir dodged a Venus fly trap trying to eat them.

Cat Noir leaped behind it and swung his staff at some starving fly traps. He then started making stab motions at them like a lion tamer, cornering the plants away.

Ladybug swung her yo-yo at the plants, tilting them up as Danny froze them solid.

The cat boy twirled his staff as he smiled.

"I guess I'm a new kind of tamer. Paws off to us." He said with a playful bow.

Ladybug rolled her eyes playfully as Danny leaned on the icy plants.

"If you're gonna say we're like the circus, I do not wanna be the bearded lady."

Chat Noir laughed with Ladybug as Ragtash growled.

"You think you're so funny!?" She shouted, stomping on the ground in rage. "Well, how about a different tune?! I'm sure you will turn a new leaf to this!"

"Ugh... I know you're trying to be clever, but stick to one theme!" Danny brought up.

Ragtash ignored that and blew on her instrument loudly. The ground began turning into a grassy field as trees sprouted everywhere, separating the group. After a few seconds, she pointed to the new forest.

"Fine... how's this?!" She asks.

"Very tacky." Ladybug said.

"How's this for tacky?!" Ragtash shouted as she pointed at her. "Fire!"

The trees aimed and did as ordered. Ladybug was quick and jumped away, dodging wood fired at her like bullets. She used her yo-yo to defected a piece of wood from hitting her.

Meanwhile, Cat Noir was blocking the wood from the tree, firing from its branches with his staff. Roots began to rise from the ground and tried to grab Cat Noir by the ankles; a ghost ray hit the roots.

"Oh, it's you again, Spooky, milady's new admirer." Cat Noir said with a jealous look in his eye.

"The name Danny Phantom, cat boy, and not here to steal her... not that I mind if she shows interest," Danny said with a small smirk.

"It's Cat Noir, but that for the save, Spooky, I'll be sure to buy you some Parisian bread as thanks when this is done." Cat Noir smirked.

"No problem, cat boy, just be sure to pony up when we're done." Danny grinned at Cat Noir.

Danny and Cat Noir worked together to stop the vines and flytraps from attacking them with Danny's ghost blast and Cat Noir's staff. As Danny took down the last vine, he looked at Cat Noir with a smirk.

"Not bad, kitty cat. You could give a few hunters a run for their money back home." Danny said.

"Not bad yourself, Spooky. I'm almost willing actually to buy that bread." Cat Noir quipped back.

As the two nodded, they went through the forest to help Ladybug against Ragtash.

Ragtash aimed for her, and a large chunk of wood was about to hit her when a blast of ecto destroyed it. Then, realizing who it was, she sighed in relief.

"I gotta remember to thank that cute ghost..." She said before turning red and shaking her head. "I mean COOL ghost!"

"Thanks for saving my lady, spooky. That was close." Cat Noir thanked. "If it weren't for you, then Ladybug would have been flattened."

"Well, saving and protecting people is my job even when they are not that thankful. She most likely is." Danny said to the black cat superhero.

"Anyway, we must help Ladybug, or she will be plant food, and she won't be as lovely." Cat Noir snarked as he pole-vaulted to where Ladybug was.

"Yeah, she might be struggling against Ms. Green over there, and I'm pretty sure this double date needs to end soon." Danny quipped as he flew next to the black cat superhero.

Danny and Cat Noir made it where Ladybug and Ragtash were fighting.

"What is the meaning of this? I know we need to protect the environment, but that doesn't mean plants need to take over," Ladybug whirled her yo-yo as she and Ragtash circled each other.

Ragtash looked particularly angry, ready to turn the girl into fertilizer.

"And what do you think is better? Waiting for a pompous politician to step down or finally grow a brain to get the job done?!" Ragtash yelled. "Have you seen America? We have to fight for what's right!"

Ragtash and Ladybug fought in hand-to-hand combat, with Ladybug able to dodge Ragtash's punches and kicks with ease. The thing she had to avoid was the senti-Monster's firing stick-like spears.

Danny and Cat Noir came to Ladybug's aid by kicking Ragtash away from her.

"Cat Noir and Phantom at your service, m'Lady," Cat Noir said.

"Thanks for the help, guys," Ladybug said as she smiled at them.

Danny had a small blush on his face. He thought Ladybug's smile was really cute. But, knowing it was Marinette under the mask, he thought the smile was cuter than before.

"Stay away from him," Ragtash said.

Ragtash glared at Ladybug and growled. She didn't want Danny to fall for another superhero he might not have a chance with and take Danny away from her. So she blew her flute, and two vines grew from the ground and lunged at Cat Noir and Ladybug. The two vines stuck Ladybug and Cat Noir on the chest and pinned them down.

"I won't let you take Danny away from me, you pesty Ladybug," Ragtash said.

As the vines pinned down Ladybug and Cat Noir, Danny went over to Ladybug to save her and Cat Noir.

As the vines pinned down Ladybug and Cat Noir, Danny went over to Ladybug to save her and her feline-themed partner. But, unfortunately, Ragtash used her flute, making vines grow Blood Blossom on them. This caused Danny to fall to the ground and start to glow red.

"What wrong with Phantom over there?" Cat Noir asked Ladybug.

"I don't know, but I think those flowers weaken him, like some allergy..." Ladybug theorized.

The Blood Blossom weakened Danny, and he was unable to move. Ladybug and Cat Noir saw this and realized that they needed to find a way to get rid of the Blood Blossoms. Then an idea came to Ladybug as she looked at Cat Noir, the vines, and the Blood Blossoms.

"Cat Noir, use your Cataclysm on the vines, and I'll get Danny out of here, away from those flowers." Ladybug explained to her partner.

"But. how will I get both the vines that are pining us down?" Cat Noir asked.

"Trust me, and I got this." Ladybug said with a wink.

Cat Noir trusted Ladybug and readied his power.

"Cataclysm!"

Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo around the vines as Cat Noir touched the vines with his powers. Then, as the Cataclysm went through both vines, Ladybug unwrapped her Yo-Yo around the vines so it wouldn't get hit by the Cataclysm. This freed the two French heroes, and Ladybug went to Danny and grabbed him by the waist.

"Gotcha!" She said as she felt his side accidentally and blushed. "Oh my... he's a lot more defined than I thought..." She whispered to herself.

Ladybug and Cat Noir went to the city to hide from Ragtash. They went to the sewer, and Ladybug placed Danny down to rest from Blood Blossom, weakened his he going to be okay M'lady?" Cat Noir asked as he hid behind the fork in the sewers.

"I don't know Kitty, but I hope he is. We could use his help." Ladybug said in a concerning tone.

Danny slowly began to wake up. He rubs the back of his head.

"I can't believe Sam would use Blood Blossom on me. We're going to have a long talk." He grumbled.

"Are you alright, Danny? Ladybug asked him.

"Yeah, I'm alright, Ladybug, just a little peeved," Danny answered.

"Why did those flowers affect you like that?" Ladybug asked him.

"Well, Blood Blossom is the few things that can weaken ghost and their powers; being around them is like Superman with Kryptonite," Danny explained. "I just learned about that a month ago."

Ladybug nodded at the ghost boy.

"We must find a way to get that flute away from Ragtash." She said her plan.

"But how are we going to do that? With those Blood Blossoms, it would be impossible for me to go up there and grab the flute." Danny asked her.

Ladybug thought for a moment before the sound of Cat Noir's ring went off.

"Uh... you two plan... I gotta... take care of something." He said as he ran off.

Danny, straining to sit up, stared.

"Bathroom break?" He asks.

"Sort of... long story." She said.

"Well, got an idea for dealing with those vines?" He asks.

"Question, would you be able to use your power from a distance?" She asks.

"Yeah," Danny answered.

"So... would you be able to freeze them from their roots?" Ladybug suggested with a smile.

Danny smiled.

"An idea worth trying." He responded.

Ladybug nodded at the ghost boy.

After Cat Noir returned, Ladybug explained what Danny Phantom would do about the Blood Blossoms and the other plants. The cat theme superhero nodded, and the three went out of the sewers.

Danny goes underground to freeze the root of Ragtash's plants.

As Cat Noir and Ladybug searched for the Akumazited villain, the city became more like a jungle. But then, Ragtash's sentimonster came out of the ground with Ragtash playing her flute to piloting it.

The tree monster then waved its trunk-like arms at the heroes, which both dodged in time. Then, Ragtash played a different tone on her flute that caused Venus fly traps to grow and lunge at the two french heroes. However, before the Venus fly traps could attack them, ice began to rise to the roots of the Venus fly traps, freezing them.

'What is going on, Ragtash?' Hawkmoth asked her.

"Danny must be freezing the root of my plants, so they won't be able to move," Ragtash explained.

'Try and stop that ghost child from doing that and attack Ladybug and Cat Noir,' Hawkmoth said.

As Ragtash tried to blow her flute to gain control of the plants, Ladybug did her Lucky Charm that turned into a frisbee.

"What are you going to do with that? Going to play catch with your black cat?" Ragtash taunted.

Ladybug looked around to see how she would use the Lucky Charm and devised a plan to end this fight. She then devised a plan by throwing the frisbee, which bounced in many directions. Finally, after it bounced off a street lamp, it hit Ragtash's flute.

"No!" Ragtash yelled.

"No!" Hawkmoth also yelled.

"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir leaped into the air and touched the flute, turning back into a bullhorn. It then turns into ash.

A butterfly and a feather came out of the bullhorn and started to fly and float away.

"No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma!" Ladybug said as she opened her yo-yo and spun it around.

"Time to de-evilise," she swung the yo-yo at the Akuma and the Amok, catching them as the yo-yo closed.

"Gotcha!" she got the yo-yo back.

She pressed a button on the Yo-yo then it opened to reveal a white butterfly and a feather flying and floating out of the yo-yo. "Bye Bye little butterfly and bye-bye little feather,"

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug said as she threw the frisbee in the air; magical Ladybug repaired the city's damage.

Danny had seen a lot of things since getting zapped by the ghost portal, but a swarm of magic ladybugs flying around fixing everything after the battle with a supervillain version of Sam was a new one.

Danny came out of the ground after freezing the roots of Ragtash plants. Sam turned back to normal gripping her head. She was about to fall over before Danny reflexively reached out to catch her, steadying Sam on her feet. Chat noir did the same from her other side "give it a minute. First time Akuma at ions can be rough for people."

"What happened," Sam asked, sounding dazed. "I remember feeling ticked off than a voice in my head something about a miraculous something and blood blossoms then nothing," she said. There was a hint of worry in Sam's eyes when she said blood blossoms looking at him.

Danny's upset feelings about Ragtash using blood blossoms against him were gone from how she described the fight. Instead, it sounded like she had been overshadowed, like when Freakshow had Danny under his control and nearly killed Sam in front of a live audience even though he didn't want to hurt her.

She hadn't held it against him, and he'd be a lousy friend if he held a grudge against her for something she did under someone else's control.

After Sam regains her footing, Danny and Chat Noir go to Ladybug, then Chat Noir and Ladybug fist bump. Ladybug looked at Danny, wanting him to join in their celebratory fist bump , which he did. "Pound it," Ladybug and Chat Noir said.

Thanks to ladybug and chat noir, everything is fine now, citizen," Danny said in his Superhero voice. Sam looked relieved and was more steady on her feet while an older-looking man in a suit with a sash walked over.

Danny guessed he was someone important "Ladybug Chat Noir, on behalf of Paris and project Oxygen, I can't thank you enough for stopping Hawkmoth and this violent protester."

"I'll show him violently," Sam seethed quietly. Danny could practically hear her teeth grinding together.

"Mr. Mayor," Ladybug, aka the girl Danny was going to the dance with, said, stepping forward "you can't possibly blame this girl for her actions being Akumatized," she said around them; a crowd was gathering, a lot of them, Danny noticed had signs against something called project oxygen whatever the heck that was.

The mayor shook his head "of course not, Ladybug, but you don't know this girl. She's in my daughter's class, and even when she is not akumatized, she is abrasive and rude. Today, she nearly incited a violent mob to get her way and stop Project Oxygen," the mayor told the superhero snobbishly.

"That's not true," a short girl with multicolored braids declared. A heavyweight boy nodded, both of them waving their signs.

"It was a peaceful protest," a goth girl said beside her; a girl dressed from head to toe in pink nodded fast.

"Sam hasn't done anything violent," she said, "she's nice."

"Not even to Chloe, who deserves it half the time," a dark-skinned girl muttered.

More and more teenagers chimed in, either sticking up for Sam or talking about how much they hate something called project Oxygen the mayor seemed to be so invested in.

There were even adults now joining the teens.

"Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous who cares about a bunch of dumb trees or a freaky Dupain-Chengs psycho American replacement," a snobby blonde said. At the same time, some nerdy-looking redhead nodded, saying how she agreed with Chloe "daddy, can't you just send her back to her country already" she whined loudly, getting more loud protests from well the teenaged protestors.

"Okay, hold on," Danny and the two French superheroes said at the same time, silencing everyone:

"Okay, why don't we all calm down and talk about this rationally before someone else gets turned into a human meat puppet by the Mothman knockoff."

"Human meat puppet," Ladybug whispered as something about that phrase sounded familiar before she shook her head. "Phantom is right. Let's all calm down before someone gets hurt."

Danny nodded gratefully "now, can someone keyword one tell me what Project Oxygen is," Danny asked.

"I can, Mr. Phantom," the girl with the multicolored braids who had first stuck up for Sam said. Danny nodded.

"Yes, thank you-" Danny paused since he didn't know her name.

"Mylene," Chat noir whispered.

"Mylene," Danny said, "can you please tell me what project oxygen is."

Mylene nodded. "Project Oxygen is a plan proposed by the mayor and the fashion designer Gabriel Agreste to cut down all the trees in Paris and replace them with towers that are supposed to do the same thing that trees do naturally artificially," she explained.

Okay

Wow

No wonder Sam got ticked off so easily.

That had to be, undoubtedly, one of the stupidest things Danny had ever heard.

The box ghost plans of 'Doom' made more sense.

Something Danny said that was out loud.

The blonde brat and her daddy, the mayor, looked offended "ridiculous, utterly ridiculous, who do you think you are."

"Someone who knows more about trees, apparently," Danny said. "Mr. Mayor, did you even consider how your machines would run."

"Run," he asked, confused. He hadn't thought of that.

"Yes, what will make the machines do their job? What are you going to use to power them."

"Oh," the mayor said, "well, obviously, the city power grid."

"Right the city power grid, the thing that most likely takes natural resources to generate power and to run the hundreds, maybe thousands of Project Oxygen towers throughout Paris, would mean more power would need to be generated, which means more pollution from the power plants wouldn't make it."

The mayor opened his mouth to argue, but then he realized Danny was right. "I just wanted to do something good for Paris."

Chat noir stepped toward the mayor "if you want to do something good for Paris, Mr. Mayor, maybe you should listen to the people of Paris," the black-clad superhero suggested. He then looked to Sam and Danny "and its guests."

The mayor nodded "you're absolutely right, Chat noir. I'll cancel everything; I'll plant more trees, I'll turn the project oxygen towers already made into recycling bins, I'll, I'll-"

"Apologize to Sam Manson," Mylene suggested.

"Yea, I'll apologize," the mayor said. "Miss Manson, I'm sorry for my words earlier. I hope you could find it in your heart to forgive me."

"DADDY" Chloe yelled, furious at the 'betrayal.'

'Good grief, I feel bad for Sam,' Danny thought, wincing 'she's louder than Ember.'

"Just do your promises, Mr. Mayor, and we'll be even," Sam said, clearly not happy to be talking to the mayor.

The mayor accepted this and went over to talk to a construction crew.

"That was surprisingly easy to change his mind," Danny said.

"Mayor Bourgeois isn't a bad guy though he cares more about his self-image than anything else," Ladybug explained.

"Got it like Montez but dumber," Danny said, nodding.

Seriously what genius thought that project oxygen thing was a good idea?

It sounded more like the evil plan of a Saturday morning cartoon villain than anything else.

After the heroes were done talking to the mayor about Project Oxygen, they left. The French heroes so their identities would not be revealed. At the same time, Danny needs to Amity Park before any ghosts cause trouble while he is gone.

Danny took out the Infimap that he got from Frostbite. " I should thank Frostbite for trusting me with the Infimap," he said.

Flashback

"You need the Infi-Map, oh, Great one?" Frostbite asked.

"Uh, yeah, because I thought of seeing the sight of Paris," Danny sightly lied to the yeti ghost.

"Be careful, Great One. I heard that there's a dangerous villain known as Hawkmoth. He is known for using butterflies to make supervillains, so keep your emotion in check," Frostbite warned.

"I'll keep that in mind, and also, how do you know about this Hawkmoth guy?" Danny asked the snow yeti.

"Don't think we stay in the Ghost Zone, Great one," Frostbite answered.

Danny shrugged his shoulders and left to help out Ladybug on whatever supervillain she was facing right now.

End of flashback

"Maybe I should ask Frostbite if he knows about those ghost-like things Marinette was talking to?" Danny muttered to himself before Ladybug landed next to him.

"Phantom," Ladybug started. "I was wondering why you were truly here in France?"

"Well, um, you see," Danny started to think of a lie to get out of this situation with Ladybug.

Ladybug narrowed her eyes, knowing that Danny Phantom didn't have an answer to her question.

Danny tried to think of an excuse but couldn't come up with one that was believable. Then Danny thought of telling her the half-truth of why he was here.

"Well, I saw you in Amity Park making a portal, so I decided to follow you because I thought you needed some ghostly help," Danny finally answered the Ladybug theme superhero.

Ladybug was now panicking in her mind that Danny might have seen her transform from Marinette into Pegibug. So now she was trying to think of a way to tell Phantom why she was making a portal from Amity Park to Paris.

"Well, I was, um, I was looking for a Miraculous that might have been in your hometown and need to make sure that I can get it before Hawkmoth could learn about it and get it," Ladybug lied to Danny.

Danny nodded even though he wasn't sure that Marinette was looking for a Miraculous so that crazy Franch fruitloop wouldn't get it to become stronger.

"If you need any help finding the Miraculous, give me a call," Danny told her.

"Thanks, Phantom. And thank you again for catching me when Ragtash almost flattened me," Ladybug told him.

"No problem, Ladybug," Danny blushed.

Something about Danny's blush was familiar to Ladybug, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Danny opened the Infi-Map that created a ghost portal and flew into it as its close. Ladybug combines the horse and Ladybug Miraculous to make a portal back into the Fenton Works to her room.

Ladybug made it to the spare room and transformed back to Marinette. She flopped on her bed and thought about Danny Phantom. She was now wondering if Danny saw her transform into Pegabug.

"Marinette, Marinette," Tikki called out.

"Yeah, Tikki?" Marinette answered.

"Why didn't you ask Danny Phantom if he saw you transform before leaving?" Tikki asked.

As the vines pinned down Ladybug and Cat Noir, Danny went over to Ladybug to save her and her feline-themed partner. But, unfortunately, Ragtash used her flute, making vines grow Blood Blossom on them. This caused Danny to fall to the ground and start to glow red.

"What wrong with Phantom over there?" Cat Noir asked Ladybug.

"I don't know, but I think those flowers weaken him, like some allergy..." Ladybug theorized.

The Blood Blossom weakened Danny, and he was unable to move. Ladybug and Cat Noir saw this and realized that they needed to find a way to get rid of the Blood Blossoms. Then an idea came to Ladybug as she looked at Cat Noir, the vines, and the Blood Blossoms.

"Cat Noir, use your Cataclysm on the vines, and I'll get Danny out of here, away from those flowers." Ladybug explained to her partner.

"But. how will I get both the vines that are pining us down?" Cat Noir asked.

"Trust me, and I got this." Ladybug said with a wink.

Cat Noir trusted Ladybug and readied his power.

"Cataclysm!"

Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo around the vines as Cat Noir touched the vines with his powers. Then, as the Cataclysm went through both vines, Ladybug unwrapped her Yo-Yo around the vines so it wouldn't get hit by the Cataclysm. This freed the two French heroes, and Ladybug went to Danny and grabbed him by the waist.

"Gotcha!" She said as she felt his side accidentally and blushed. "Oh my... he's a lot more defined than I thought..." She whispered to herself.

Ladybug and Cat Noir went to the city to hide from Ragtash. They went to the sewer, and Ladybug placed Danny down to rest from Blood Blossom, weakened his he going to be okay M'lady?" Cat Noir asked as he hid behind the fork in the sewers.

"I don't know Kitty, but I hope he is. We could use his help." Ladybug said in a concerning tone.

Danny slowly began to wake up. He rubs the back of his head.

"I can't believe Sam would use Blood Blossom on me. We're going to have a long talk." He grumbled.

"Are you alright, Danny? Ladybug asked him.

"Yeah, I'm alright, Ladybug, just a little peeved," Danny answered.

"Why did those flowers affect you like that?" Ladybug asked him.

"Well, Blood Blossom is the few things that can weaken ghost and their powers; being around them is like Superman with Kryptonite," Danny explained. "I just learned about that a month ago."

Ladybug nodded at the ghost boy.

"We must find a way to get that flute away from Ragtash." She said her plan.

"But how are we going to do that? With those Blood Blossoms, it would be impossible for me to go up there and grab the flute." Danny asked her.

Ladybug thought for a moment before the sound of Cat Noir's ring went off.

"Uh... you two plan... I gotta... take care of something." He said as he ran off.

Danny, straining to sit up, stared.

"Bathroom break?" He asks.

"Sort of... long story." She said.

"Well, got an idea for dealing with those vines?" He asks.

"Question, would you be able to use your power from a distance?" She asks.

"Yeah," Danny answered.

"So... would you be able to freeze them from their roots?" Ladybug suggested with a smile.

Danny smiled.

"An idea worth trying." He responded.

Ladybug nodded at the ghost boy.

After Cat Noir returned, Ladybug explained what Danny Phantom would do about the Blood Blossoms and the other plants. The cat theme superhero nodded, and the three went out of the sewers.

Danny goes underground to freeze the root of Ragtash's plants.

As Cat Noir and Ladybug searched for the Akumazited villain, the city became more like a jungle. But then, Ragtash's sentimonster came out of the ground with Ragtash playing her flute to piloting it.

The tree monster then waved its trunk-like arms at the heroes, which both dodged in time. Then, Ragtash played a different tone on her flute that caused Venus fly traps to grow and lunge at the two french heroes. However, before the Venus fly traps could attack them, ice began to rise to the roots of the Venus fly traps, freezing them.

'What is going on, Ragtash?' Hawkmoth asked her.

"Danny must be freezing the root of my plants, so they won't be able to move," Ragtash explained.

'Try and stop that ghost child from doing that and attack Ladybug and Cat Noir,' Hawkmoth said.

As Ragtash tried to blow her flute to gain control of the plants, Ladybug did her Lucky Charm that turned into a frisbee.

"What are you going to do with that? Going to play catch with your black cat?" Ragtash taunted.

Ladybug looked around to see how she would use the Lucky Charm and devised a plan to end this fight. She then devised a plan by throwing the frisbee, which bounced in many directions. Finally, after it bounced off a street lamp, it hit Ragtash's flute.

"No!" Ragtash yelled.

"No!" Hawkmoth also yelled.

"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir leaped into the air and touched the flute, turning back into a bullhorn. It then turns into ash.

A butterfly and a feather came out of the bullhorn and started to fly and float away.

"No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma!" Ladybug said as she opened her yo-yo and spun it around.

"Time to de-evilise," she swung the yo-yo at the Akuma and the Amok, catching them as the yo-yo closed.

"Gotcha!" she got the yo-yo back.

She pressed a button on the Yo-yo then it opened to reveal a white butterfly and a feather flying and floating out of the yo-yo. "Bye Bye little butterfly and bye-bye little feather,"

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug said as she threw the frisbee in the air; magical Ladybug repaired the city's damage.

Danny had seen a lot of things since getting zapped by the ghost portal, but a swarm of magic ladybugs flying around fixing everything after the battle with a supervillain version of Sam was a new one.

Danny came out of the ground after freezing the roots of Ragtash plants. Sam turned back to normal gripping her head. She was about to fall over before Danny reflexively reached out to catch her, steadying Sam on her feet. Chat noir did the same from her other side "give it a minute. First time Akuma at ions can be rough for people."

"What happened," Sam asked, sounding dazed. "I remember feeling ticked off than a voice in my head something about a miraculous something and blood blossoms then nothing," she said. There was a hint of worry in Sam's eyes when she said blood blossoms looking at him.

Danny's upset feelings about Ragtash using blood blossoms against him were gone from how she described the fight. Instead, it sounded like she had been overshadowed, like when Freakshow had Danny under his control and nearly killed Sam in front of a live audience even though he didn't want to hurt her.

She hadn't held it against him, and he'd be a lousy friend if he held a grudge against her for something she did under someone else's control.

After Sam regains her footing, Danny and Chat Noir go to Ladybug, then Chat Noir and Ladybug fist bump. Ladybug looked at Danny, wanting him to join in their celebratory fist bump , which he did. "Pound it," Ladybug and Chat Noir said.

Thanks to ladybug and chat noir, everything is fine now, citizen," Danny said in his Superhero voice. Sam looked relieved and was more steady on her feet while an older-looking man in a suit with a sash walked over.

Danny guessed he was someone important "Ladybug Chat Noir, on behalf of Paris and project Oxygen, I can't thank you enough for stopping Hawkmoth and this violent protester."

"I'll show him violently," Sam seethed quietly. Danny could practically hear her teeth grinding together.

"Mr. Mayor," Ladybug, aka the girl Danny was going to the dance with, said, stepping forward "you can't possibly blame this girl for her actions being Akumatized," she said around them; a crowd was gathering, a lot of them, Danny noticed had signs against something called project oxygen whatever the heck that was.

The mayor shook his head "of course not, Ladybug, but you don't know this girl. She's in my daughter's class, and even when she is not akumatized, she is abrasive and rude. Today, she nearly incited a violent mob to get her way and stop Project Oxygen," the mayor told the superhero snobbishly.

"That's not true," a short girl with multicolored braids declared. A heavyweight boy nodded, both of them waving their signs.

"It was a peaceful protest," a goth girl said beside her; a girl dressed from head to toe in pink nodded fast.

"Sam hasn't done anything violent," she said, "she's nice."

"Not even to Chloe, who deserves it half the time," a dark-skinned girl muttered.

More and more teenagers chimed in, either sticking up for Sam or talking about how much they hate something called project Oxygen the mayor seemed to be so invested in.

There were even adults now joining the teens.

"Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous who cares about a bunch of dumb trees or a freaky Dupain-Chengs psycho American replacement," a snobby blonde said. At the same time, some nerdy-looking redhead nodded, saying how she agreed with Chloe "daddy, can't you just send her back to her country already" she whined loudly, getting more loud protests from well the teenaged protestors.

"Okay, hold on," Danny and the two French superheroes said at the same time, silencing everyone:

"Okay, why don't we all calm down and talk about this rationally before someone else gets turned into a human meat puppet by the Mothman knockoff."

"Human meat puppet," Ladybug whispered as something about that phrase sounded familiar before she shook her head. "Phantom is right. Let's all calm down before someone gets hurt."

Danny nodded gratefully "now, can someone keyword one tell me what Project Oxygen is," Danny asked.

[roseate-felidae]

Depression episodes and new tablet hell

So previously I was on a semi successful medication to manage my clinical depression. It worked mostly fine until my monthly hormone cycle messed it up and caused mental breakdowns.

These episodes happened twice weekly every damn month. So big problem.

During these breakdowns I tend to also try to make myself feel better by going with what usually makes me happy- my Autistic obsession.

This is my animals. Most of the time I am very happy with just my rabbits. But in my more Fragile state I tend to convince myself that there are better and more fulfilling options. My most recent one is the idea that dogs and cats are "superior" to rabbits.

Turns out that cats tend to have the same affectionate capacity as rabbits. That is to say that you get extremely friendly ones and then others that are more independent. So not a slight to either animal, rabbits are just very friendly if we'll socialized. So cats are not really "superior" at all.

Dogs on the other hand were a nightmare. The breeds I liked were very complicated. Cocker spaniels were too high energy and had separation anxiety. Cavalier king Charles spaniel has high rates of syringomyelia and are brachycephalic. Labradors I have experience with (my step mums pets) and are very clumsy, high energy and high shedding. I'm severely allergic to dogs aswell. So were just a bad descision overall.

But my main take away was that there was not even anything wrong with my pets and if I got a cat/dog tomorrow it would not solve anything. It's what I already get with my beloved buns anyway and my brain is just searching for a better solution to a thing that's not the problem to begin with (depression is).

I even tried internet dating, even though I tend to keep to myself and don't like company outside of family and online friends. I wasn't even lonely but was trying to "fix" non existent problems again to sort out depression.

So I get new tablets and think it's going to work.

It's been a month now and these fuckers had undone all my depression help I had previously with my last meds and not solved the damn anxiety I was put on it for it in the first place.

So now I need to talk to the doctor's tomorrow and hopefully be taken seriously this time.

You see I tried talking to them twice already and they first forgot to call me back and then never made time for an appointment the second time.

Boy do I love the chaotic mixture of depression, anxiety and autism. Also when doctors don't give a shit about doing their jobs.

TL: DR: new tablets I got to help with depression and anxiety have not helped me with said depression and anxiety. I am worse than I was before. Anxiety meltdowns trigger autism to "fix" non existent pet problems. Turns out unsurprisingly rabbit pets were fine and it's trying to make a big deal out of nothing.

[laneelliot12]

I love the way you draw cats! How did you adopt a style like that? Who/What were your inspirations?

Thank you!!! I'm so glad people have been liking them!! I'd say I get a lot of style elements from popular cartoons, like pokemon, but I also take a lot of care in my references, and learned to breakdown their shapes over years of trial and error. I'd say a majority of the inspo I got was from random warrior cats speed paints on youtube- I'd pause the frames and pay attention to all the different steps they did! I don't think any one youtuber stood out to me as someone I got my style from, but It's def an amalgamation of a bunch of creators from the early 2010's! I'd love to post something, or even a video one day, of how I do each of the steps I do to get where I get! [Below is a retelling of my art journey if anyone is interested!]

I'd like to think I've got two styles of drawing: art for ocs, and canonized fan art. For both I use a great deal of references, either chosen from stock/free use image sites or from pictures of my three irl cats (who are very photogenic <3)! I am self taught, which means I've gone through a LOT of trial and error over the good decade I've been into the WC fandom. About a year or two ago, my laptop (that I've had since childhood) crashed so hard it deleted everything from my hard drive, losing YEARS of progress/artwork that I hadn't posted anywhere. Foolishly, months before that, I'd deleted my DeviantArt where all my cringe emo ocs were posted, something I was embarrassed of at the time, and now deeply regret doing (fr keep and date ALL of your art it is so important for your growth). I wish more than anything that I could post some of it here to show how my style has grown and changed, but sadly, I'll just have to describe it to ya.

[^^^ Above: the only bit of art I have saved from that time!]

I started drawing wc art in the 4th grade with some friends at my school- a very close friend of mine had started doing it, and I had never really drawn before, so I just followed along with what she did; the meme-y 'firestar doesn't like waffles/derp' fad of the time had be in a VICE GRIP and a lot of my work looked like that. I drew almost exclusively on paper, until my parents let me use the trackpad/mouse on the family computer in mspaint, where my passion for it really started to take off.

From there I got into deviantart, and started out like a lot of young kids did- thick, uniform lineart, coloring in the flats manually, tons of airbrushes and clip images of sparkles, the GOOD STUFF. I would hold paper up to the computer screen and trace the emo mspaint scourge pmvs frame by frame, I was obsessed. Then, for my 13th birthday, my uncle gifted me my very first wacom tablet; a tiny, 6x6 plastic plate that came with a pen and a too short chord. I drew constantly, watching speed paints and reading riverspirit comics until my eyes melted out of my skull, rp'd and posted little comics about my day to day. This went on and I very slowly started improving the more naturally drawing came to me; I held my pen different, downloaded a pirated version of firealpaca, learned about lineweight, obtained LAYERS. Almost seven years ago now, that friend I started drawing with passed away while she was very young. I couldn't stomach drawing warrior cats art for a long time after that; and, my parents had been urging me to give it up for a while too (in their opinions, if I was going to waste my time drawing, it should be something I could do to make money. If only they could see my commission having ass now!!). I still made art, but I did it formally; still life, paintings, figure sketches. When I got to highschool, I went to a specialized program for gifted students (burnout king right here) and took a TON of formal art classes, studying it as my main field. I learned about shapes and color and the natural flow of a piece; but I never really get over my love of cartoons, or my love of warrior cats art. There was just something so special about it, so unique to any fandom I've ever been in, that eventually, I was called back to it. My life was very difficult during that time, when I decided to redraw some of my old digital art for a class warmup. I hadn't touched a laptop in years, and it was ROUGH, but I reconnected with it instantly, and it was the first bit of serotonin I'd had in a WHILE. I got back into roleplays, got back into tumblr, got back into all the old stuff that made me happy.

I graduated highschool in 2020 and started drawing a lot of warrior cats content in between shifts- which leads to where I am now! I was deeply insecure about it and would hide the fact I did it from people I knew irl because I was afraid they'd think im cringe (I am cringe and I love that about myself now, thank u therapy)- and now, I pay for our internet bill off warrior cats commission money, which felt like a pretty big leap!! I still like doing 'formal traditional art', and it has influenced my art and it's shapes a ton- but I still cling to the anime eyes I loved to draw as the kid who wanted to make cartoons for all the world to see.

[macgyvertape]

BG3 Act 2 thoughts and liveblog part 1

Yeah act 2 was the point where I just kept my tablet open so I could write down how my character would roleplay things, and this really stopped just a liveblog. Upon reread, I forgot how many people my character killed through dialogue checks, that weren't hard to pass, during this part of the game. To borrow from D2: "I will take what I need. The words in my throat are the weapon in my fist" really does sum up my character.

I went over the mountain pass first. I demanded the goblin fetch his bone after he did that to the animal, “forcing responsibility” my character is worse than whats in the shadows. Fun that Astarion approves of things like this that play to the Dark Urge but are also about striking against abusers

I wiped out the camp then called Kar’niss with Minthara’s lyre then intimidated him when he questioned me. My character is pretending to go along with the cultists right up until they are acceptable targets for attacks, and I turned on Kar’niss during the harper attack

Was not expecting Mol to show up and vouch for me with Jaheira

I got to hug Karlach, it was so emotional. My D!urge character is definitely fond of Karlach and willing to admit that to herself, likes her enough that making Karlach happy and trying to find a third option to Karlach’s dilemma is an influencing decision factor. She’s leaving it to Karlach to choose between death vs going back to the hells and in the meantime really wants to help Karlach live life to the fullest. She would definitely be happy to sleep with Karlach if she wanted that or help her do whatever hedonistic thing she wanted.

Oh so Wyll’s demon patron showed up, I can’t believe he still says he chose right even after my character pointed out he’s everything he accused Karlach of being. D!urge isn’t emotionally invested in Wyll but Karlach is, so she’ll help.

Ok my character definitely doesn’t trust the Dream Guardian but thinks he’s hot in the new outfit, but is really suspicious he’s secretly a mindflayer

I saw the Stange Ox’s thoughts of murder and let it be, if it wants to run from the dark urges, who am my character to say differently

Of course my character sniffed out the truth serum and didn’t drink the wine. It's very easy making consistent character choices that Astarion keeps approving of. Also of course Astarion approves of talking to the cat, he is one

My character does not play chess, good thing she had Astarion and Gale along and just let them help Mol

My character is obviously not going to help the Absolute since she doesn’t want to be a puppet for his cult, anything he wants she doesn’t want him to have. She felt that Dark Urge to let Isobel get killed then thought how the inn would fall and there goes Karlach’s chances of being helped by Dammon, but there was a moment where she was tempted talking to Isobel until she pushed it back since she doesn’t want the D!urge to rule her. 

My character was very flattered that Asatarion said “every step we walk trails blood, killing is an instinct for us. I respect you for that'' especially since Astarion was right there with her doing the killing. My character doesn’t want to turn into a mindflayer but controlling the parasites with Astarion’s plan of a little world domination does sound tempting. Love the idea of him influencing my character into more than just killing the cult 

My character is definitely worried about the butler showed up urging her to kill Isobel

This cool looking guy wants justice for murder victims, my character agreed to help for a reward but also out curiosity since she's a murderer will this guy come after me

Love how Lae’zel is inspired by us killing the undead Drider in 1 turn, yep I’m leading our team to be good at killing

Gave Shadowheart her favorite flower, and told her that she’d give me something in time, since we aren’t so close that my character wouldn’t think of this as an exchange

I let Lae’zel beat me in the fight, but turned her down when she asked me to be hers. I assume that ends the fling so I figure its just a messy relationship that my character feels awkward about

My character’s line in the sand is not extorting a child for money to find their parents, liked the “muster some kindness for once”

Also my character loves the Phalar Aluve sword, all it took was some blood in the underdark and I can buff my allies or hurt enemies around me

Of course I killed the undead brewer with his own brew and was D!urge inspired by it, it was peak my character performing as a bard with my feats, faking the drinking to gain confidence and exploiting an enemy for information

My character has also been running around with Gale nonstop since entering the creche especially since the shadowlands are in her view “weird wizard shit” so he’s designated Moonlantern holder, and I like to think this is the point she finally grows fond of him and his sense of humor and his stories. 

Astarion’s line about pitying the other six stuck with Cazador and how Cazador tortured him, like my character felt really sympathetic listening to that. Cazador was already in the kill list, now its help Astarion kill him extra painfully

My character was surprised Wyll made a pass and it wasn’t just for casual sex, she thinks if Wyll wants a committed relationship there are a lot more morally compatible companions, like Karlach, than her. 

Madeline snitched on people to the Dark Justicars and got them killed in a brutal way and He Who Was wants to torture the souls of murders, seemed the most fitting way was to make her spirit in his body recreate how the people died by stabbing themselves, it seems fair to my character that He Who Was also feels some of the pain if he’s going to be weird about this

My character’s opinion of Shar is dropping with encounters of people like Malus Thorn so she hasn’t been spending much time with Shadowheart. 

Raphael showing up and warning me in his dramatic manner about unleashing a pestilence if a creature makes it out of the tomb I open, my character is definitely on high alert. That Astarion will get his scars translated, adds impetus to not mess around. I then thought this would lock me out of things and left for later

My character did enjoy convincing all the Shar nurses to turn on each other or commit suicide. I killed Sister Lidwin for torturing/kiling Arabella’s parents, figured my character would be happy to avenge them. Used the bard actions to be kind when telling Arabella about her parent’s deaths, and Karlach and Astarion approved which re-emphasises is probably some good positive moral reinforcement for my character

Halsin’s portal was defended by prepping the surrounding area in flammable surfaces and throwing a lot of bombs and fire damage spells

Finally unlocked Halsin as a companion, wish I had figured out how to do this earlier. Oh well, that’s for the next playthrough.

My character is thrilled, she’s super attracted by how buff Halsin is but also finds him really charming. He seems open to causal relationships and she’s impressed that someone who doesn’t had a tadpole joining in to help out and hopefully he can defend himself unlike that poor bard.

The one person my character wishes she could ask for money is Rolan for rescuing him from his own idiocy 

Initial Moonrise tower team is Astarion, Gale, and Halsin. Its an unbalanced team but figured my character would choose along the lines of people who could infiltrate and lie, and would be open to Astarion’s plan of some light world domination plus Halsin who has unfinished business

My character is worried that the cat says she was there before, and wonders how monstrous she was to deliberately step on a cat’s tale. I chose the option “try to remember what was forgotten” and even though it killed the cat I decided to keep that choice for rp purposes, since my past evils aren’t so lost. Want to amp up my character being worried about the loss of control and what monster they were, as well as the fact she’s done risky stuff in this quest to figure out their past or gain more power. 

My character figures whatever monster she might have been the woman mind dominating the knolls to be “better people” is far more fucked up. So of course she influenced the knolls to turn on her, but was surprised and discomforted that they too recognized her

My character gave Araj some of my blood continuing the train of fucking around with sketchy things for power. She spoke up that Astarion was his own person but was like “Astarion why don’t you want to just bite her for this great reward?” since I like to think she’s a little confused on what others will do for power if it isn’t life or death (convincing people about the tadpoles was life or death) and the person hasn’t set firm boundaries. Then when Astarion said he really didn’t want to she was like “don’t do anything you don’t want to”, and when he thanked her, she assumed it was for not trying to persuade him.

Ketheric Thorm immediately got cooler once I heard his voice and recognized it was JK Simmons. Also oh wow its Fezzerk from Blighted Village windmill so many many hours ago

Lol of course my character didn’t speak up for the goblins, it would blow my cover and they were torturing Barcus Wroot when I met them, and they aren’t going free since they serve the Absolute. My D!urge character did “BEG! CHOKE! DIE!” (I originally chose “I will do this with my own hands, it always feels better” and liked it more for the role playing but it gave no Astarion approval)

I sat in Kethric’s throne and Astarion had the funniest dialogue mocking me. Fitting that I then distracted from my mind being searched for loyalty by focusing on my lust for Astarion

Act 2 in the shadowlands has really been my character growing closer to Gale, where she’s moved beyond being fond of him to actually caring for him which makes not feel awkward about how much he really likes her.  Especially since she hasn’t been persuading him to like her, and hasn't pushed him to go for the power and ambition or to be less loyal to Mystra. She's just agreed with his ambitions since he has (in her view) a good mix of pragmatism and morals, and she thinks he's a loyal type of person so she doesn't need to watch her back. So she encouraged him to do the pixie necromancy and then thought it would be a good time to bring up he doesn’t have to live by Mystra’s doctrine and has a choice about the orb.

Yeah of course even though it made Karlach feel bad my character stood with her and listened to 3 sad stories in exchange for some demon coins, and then told her I was her real friend and my D!urge character actually meant it. (Actually I’ve never used the demon coins to empower her since I forgot about that mechanic till now and I’ve been resource hoarding). 

When Astarion thanked my character back at camp again for not forcing him to bite the Drow she was a bit surprised and of course said she doesn’t want him to do anything he doesn’t want to do. My character mentioned “So why sleep with me? Did you think you'd get something from it?” since of course she recognized he was seducing her back in act 1 before they really knew each other, Astarion responded “Of course I needed protection… and seducing you was easy frankly”. My character genuinely respects him for doing that, manipulating her for his own survival and so she’ll like him considering she regularly uses [persuade] and [intimidate]. Astarion mentions he started to genuinely feel something for her, and she responded that she cares about him; genuinely she likes him the most out of the whole group not just romantically but also in terms of the lengths she would go and the things she would do for him. 

Ideally my character could choose all the options of “what do you want to do” and “we can be together without sleeping together for as long as you need” and “open your mind so he sees you care”, but since I can only pick one I figure Astarion knows my character can lie even in their mind so best just talk to him with words. 

When Gale wanted to speak privately and was melancholy about his future death my character took every opportunity to say that they would find another way, he didn’t have to die, but didn’t mention anything about how he might kill innocents because she would kill those same innocents herself to keep Gale alive. When she met Gale on the cliffs it was really I think the moment she acknowledged she cares about Gale and him living, that she’s turning down an easy way to destroy the Absolute. When Gale said “I consider myself lucky to call you my friend” my character genuinely meant it when she said the feeling was mutual.

Prisoner rescue team is: Astarion, Gale, and Karlach. Of course I get the “not to worry I have a permit” when I exploit Balthazar not being around to contradict me having his permission

After talking with the Warden my character is definitely worried they used to be an Absolute cultist before she lost her memory

In the tower jail I used Astarion to 1 hit ko the eyes, then killed the Warden in her tower in 1 hit with an exploding barrel, then threw the gnomes his tools so he could escape, and we made it to the boat without the other 2 guards catching up

My character wants Barcus to realize he can do better than Wulbren, that Wulbren doesn’t like him but is happy to use his concern

After 3 reloads because a companion triggered a trap in the gauntlet of Shar i just said fuck this I’m looking up a walkthrough, this is giving me flashbacks to The Fade section in DA:O

Astarion was upset my character started chatting with the demon in Shar’s Gauntlet, then was impressed when D!urge talked the demon into killing all the companions then itself. My character didn’t care about Astarion saying thanks, she just wanted to see if Astarion was happy with the demon's death and say it was a pleasure to kill him

My character of course was going to help Astarion kill Cazador, she was happy to kill him all the way back in act 1. As for the ritual for vampire ascendant she has her doubts; how many souls need to be sacrificed and is there some other catch.

I didn’t realize we weren’t supposed to follow the rats to the bottom area; then Shadowheart and Gale were inspired when the swarm turned back into a dude and my character was inspired by killing more than 5 enemies in a round. So worked out all around

My character killed Balthazar before continuing through the gauntlet. That was a hard fight, where Gale having counterspell and lots of special arrows helped

My character decided since the deception is at a dead end killing Balthazar she might as well break into Kethric’s quarters. She thought the undead dog Squire was adorable, but all of her fears of her past reading about “the handpicked captain not found in the wreckage” are becoming worse

In front of the Nightsong my character had finally hit the breaking point of tolerance towards Shadowheart’s worship of Shar, and she did charm (to pass the 30 roll persuasion) Shadowheart to not go through with killing the Nightsong because otherwise it would have been a bloodbath killing Shadowheart to stop her.

This is the first time my character used charm/friends on a companion

Looking up other ways to do this afterwards, I guess it fits into role playing my character that over the course of being in the shadowlands and seeing the proof Shar just uses and twists people while Shadowheart stayed devoted, it had a big negative effect on my character's trust in Shadowheart and her loyalties. So much so she pushed the issue at the first opportunity and didn't tell Shadowheart “do what you want” like some other companions, and didn't wait for Shadowheart to change her mind. There's too much on the line to keep the Inn's protections and to fight Ketheric

[sushiwife]

***Warning: talk and description of death***

At 10:25 pm on October 31, my dad began showing signs of a stroke. He'd had a few over the years, so my mom was atleast able to figure out that he was having difficulties.

I had stepped out temporarely to assist someone at my job, and was back only minutes later. As I walked up to the door, I noticed that the t.v. was off and mom was sitting in front of dad. After spending the majority of my life helping my mom take care of my dad, I immediately knew something was wrong.

The very first thing I noticed getting into the house is that my dad looked like he had melted into his chair. That the best way to describe it. Poor posture, glassy eyes, slow to respond, drool coming out of the right side of his mouth. There was blood too. I started to assess him, asking him who, what, where, and when. He answers all of those correctly. We take his blood pressure, it's normal for him, a little on the high side. He complains that he can't move his right leg. Mom points out he can't move his right arm either. We spend just a couple minutes trying to figure out what was going on and we determine that he is absolutely have a neurological episode of some sort. To what degree, we weren't sure.

The funny thing is, if you have had any sort of neurological problem, sometimes having an infection or even pneumonia starts off looking like a neuro episode. It makes you feel real stupid when you call 911 and it turns out he just has a bad UTI.

Either way, there was a problem and we couldn't get him to the car with the way he was. I call 911, and dispatch guides me through another assessment. She tells me that an ambulance is on their way. What clued me in that this was different than any other time, is that she tells me to stay on the phone. Usually they ask if it's okay to end the call as someone was on their way. She asks me more questions.

My husband has come upstairs at this point. I told him I was on the phone with 911 and he immediately begins to help me clear the living room so that the EMTs can assist my dad with less difficulty. He tosses the cat in the bathroom. Mom starts to grab her things, phone, tablet, charge cords, it's gonna be a long night.

EMTs arrive quickly. They begin to do their own assessment, asking us questions, asking dad questions, taking his blood pressure, checking his glucose ( he's not diabetic). The get what I call 'The Chair'. It looks as the name suggests, but it also has straps, handles, and wheels. They get dad situated.

One EMT has sleeve tattos. I hear my dad say "Nice tats." It's slurred at this point. My bloods begins to run ice cold.

The get my dad loaded up, I help mom pack her to go bag. Once they begin to roll away, I notice that they left their medic bag. I hear that it's bad if they do that, and I get it, with all the stuff in there, however I don't feel it to be unprofessional. I feel like it shows how focused they were on my dad and making sure that he was tended to in a timely manner. I tell mom to let one of the nurses know that the EMTs left the bag. They will know how to get a hold of them.

Mom heads to the hospital. I don't go because of COVID. The whole ordeal takes place in about 20 minutes.

Mom calls me a very short time later. They hadn't put him into a ER room yet, he went straight to CT. Mom tells me it's not looking good.

The EMT comes by to grab his bag.

Mom calls again, dad is being transfered to the nearest Trauma 1 center, an hour and a half away by car. He is being airlifted. She says once he gets loaded onto the helicopter, she'll head home to get clothes and other toiletries. She's called my brother, he's coming to drive her. She says it's really bad, but he's still awake and talking. I start gathering her things, then my things. I tell my husband to get his things.

Mom gets back from the hospital, they had to sedate, then intubate him because he started retching. She tells me to wait to drive. Come after you've gotten rest, she tells me. There's no point in both of us being exhausted. My brother shows up and they leave.

I switch between packing and panicing. I barely get three hours of sleep.

I fucking book it to the hospital. Exhausted, worried, I didn't know what to think. When I get there my mom gives me a hug. She asks me if I want to go see dad. I say yes. She walks me to where the unit is. We have to be buzzed in. She shows me the way to his room. I walk around the corner and into the room I go. And my heart just breaks.

There is my dad. Laying there, tube down his throat, leaning to the one side, not awake. I break down.

Mom tells me that we are now waiting for my sister to get here so we can have a meeting with the doctors. My heart sank.

It was a short while later that my sister arrives. Mom alerts the doctor and we all go into a little conference room. He's had a massive stroke. There is significant damage, substantial bleeding. If he makes it, he will never walk, never talk, need 24/7 care. He would have to be place into a long term care facility. That was if he made it. The first order of business, they have determined that the bleeding had stopped, but the blood might still be spreading. If the blood reaches to certain parts of the brain, it is 95% fatal. There is a surgery they can perform to alieviate the blood and pressure (because there was a little bit of swelling in the brain), but it would not have any affect on his quailty of life. If we wanted them to, they would perform the surgery, and it could possibly extend his life, but to an unknown degree. They weren't sure if he would survive the surgery. The other options we were given were wait and see if he recovers any functionality or we discuss removing the tube. We opt to wait and see for a day or two, and then discuss our options from there.

Thus begins the worst and most devastating week of my life. We immediately opt out of the surgery, because we felt it would do no good. There is no recovery. We've all come to the same conclusion. Dad was not coming home with us. We decide to remove the tube, but we are able to wait a few days so people can say their goodbyes.

Sunday comes and they remove the tube. He continues breathing on his own. We go in to see him several times. I get an opportunity to talk to him alone, tell him I love him. Talked about everything that had happened and that our options weren't good, that he wouldn't want us to let him live like that. I told him that I wished there was another way, another option, a miracle, because I wasn't ready to let him go, but I knew that we needed to.

They moved him to palliative care, we wait while they get him settled and helped Mom get situated. My husband and I stay at a nearby hotel as we planned to visit the next morning. I am absolutely miserable. We get food and I barely eat a third of it. This whole time, I had been messaging with various people in our lives, letting them know what was happening. There was one I had forgotten, a friend from high school that got on really well with my dad. I told her what had happened, what was going to happen. I told her I didn't want her randomly find out down the road.

Eventually I ready for bed, making sure I was wearing clothes that I could roll out of bed and leave in. We sleep, but only for a few hours as my mom calls me just before 3:30 am. It's time, but she's not even sure that I will make it before he passes. I jump out of bed, glasses, shoes, jacket on before the minute was up. Husband yanked on pants, shoes, and jacket and then we are off. I speed to the hospital, no one on the streets. We get to the hospital and through the checkpoint faster than I thought possible. Keep in mind, this hospital is massive, practically a city all on it's own. We find the right elevator, get up to the floor and to his quickly.

I walk into his room, prior to this, I didn't think he could look any worse. But he did. He wasn't breathing, mouth still open, pallor had turn yellow. His hands were still curled and stiff, but even puffier than before. While no one would confirm this, I'm sure he was already dead. Mom just sat there, just as shell-shocked as I was, wondering if this was really happening. After several minutes, two nurses came in with a heart monitor. This was palliative care, so rushing wasn't going to be a thing. They hooked him up and after a few more minutes they inform us that they no longer detect a heart beat. That he had passed.

They give their gentle condolences, tell us that a doctor will be in shortly to pronounce the time of death. They tell us that there is no rush, that we may spend whatever time we need with him. They leave and then the doctor arrives shortly after. He introduces himself and that he was going to exam my dad. He does so and officially announces that he has passed. The Dr gives condolences and an apology, but he has questions he needs to ask us. Would we like an autopsy (he didn't recommend as we knew the causes), informs us that the donor network would be calling us within two hours to ask questions, and a few others that I don't remember. He then excuses himself, repeats what the nurse had told us. We all just sit there. We quietly talk, mostly about nothing. My mom asks me to call the funeral home we had planned to use, and request the pick up.

After a little back and forth, mom and I confirming with one another that we are indeed ready to leave. As ready as we would ever be. Afterwards was blur, going back to the hotel, getting breakfast, the donor network called and asked invasive yet necessary questions for an hour an a half. My brother and sister in law show up, eventually we decide it's time to go home and face the music.

[unhingedwomandiaries]

Number twenty-eight on my list of fifty things to do before I'm fifty is to reconnect with an old friend. Sounds simple enough, right? Like something you'd see on one of those insipid Facebook memes your aunt shares between pictures of her cats and thinly veiled QAnon conspiracies. I wasn't expecting to check this particular box so soon, and I sure as hell didn't know who I'd be reconnecting with. Life's funny that way, I guess. One minute you're contemplating the existential dread of your own mortality, the next you're getting a LinkedIn message from a guy you haven't thought about since Obama was president.

So there I am, fresh off the Amtrak from New York City, where I'd just spent a week pretending to give a shit about fashion while secretly wondering if the models ever eat anything more substantial than cigarette smoke and their own self-loathing. I find myself in the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, because apparently that's what passes for excitement in my life between classes and work. I'm about to park my ass at a table when I notice someome left their book behind. Inside, there's a brochure about suicide prevention, which is about as cheerful as finding a used condom in your grandmother's purse.

Now, I've always had this weird savior complex. It's like a superhero origin story, if that superhero's power was an overwhelming urge to stick his nose where it doesn't belong. I once raised a litter of baby squirrels that fell through a vent in my mom's bedroom. Why? Because apparently I thought I was some kind of rodent messiah. Their mother had chewed through the wiring in our attic, probably driven mad by the constant loop of "Bargain Hunt" reruns my mother insisted on watching.

So there I am, suddenly consumed with the need to know who this suicidal bookworm is. I corner some poor intern who looks like she just stepped out of a Tennessee Williams play and start grilling her like she's a suspect on "Law & Order: SVU". Turns out, the book belongs to a guy named X, a microbiology junior with a minor in pharmacology. The intern describes him as "handsome in a bookish way," which I'm pretty sure is Southern Belle code for "wears glasses and probably hasn't seen sunlight in three years."

Now, armed with this utterly useless information and a renewed sense of purpose, I decide to track down X. Because apparently, I've appointed myself the Batman of the depressed Ivy League set. I enlist the help of another microbiology student who leads me to X's dorm room.

X is exactly what you'd expect: pale, fragile, and looking like he's one bad grade away from a total nervous breakdown. I introduce myself with all the subtlety of a hammer to the face, telling him I know he's planning to off himself and that I'm here to stop it. Because nothing says "I care" like accosting a stranger in their own room and accusing them of being suicidal.

X doesn't even put up a fight. He just kind of... acquiesces. Like he's thinking, "Well, I was going to kill myself, but this crazy lady seems pretty adamant about keeping me alive, so I guess I'll go along with it." So I do what any rational person would do: I drag him to the beach and force-feed him fried cod and chips. Because nothing cures suicidal thoughts like arterial blockage, right?

Somewhere between his third and fourth fish, X confesses that he's got 500 ibuprofen tablets waiting for him back in his room. And let me tell you, if you're going to check out, ibuprofen is a hell of a way to do it. It's like deciding to travel across the country by pogo stick - sure, you'll get there eventually, but it's going to be a long, painful journey.

So, naturally, I decide the best course of action is to kidnap X and take him to New York City. Because nothing says "life-affirming experience" like being forcibly removed from your comfort zone by a stranger who's clearly operating on a different plane of reality. We end up at the Paradiso Film Emporium, where I drop $470 on a 16mm copy of "Fantastic Planet." Why? Because apparently I think watching a French animated film about giant blue aliens is the key to unlocking X's will to live.

Back at the Isle of Man, I reveal my piece de resistance: a makeshift movie theater in a car park. We watch the film on the roof of some poor schmuck's BMW, because nothing says "cinematic experience" like potential property damage and trespassing charges.

And you know what? It worked. X didn't kill himself that night. Instead, he fell asleep on a car roof watching a movie about blue aliens. Sometimes, that's all it takes to keep going: a reminder that the world is weird and wonderful and full of surprises.

Fast forward to now, and X just reached out on LinkedIn. Apparently, a freak thundersnow storm took out my old dogwood tree. But you know what? I'm not sad. That tree was never meant to last forever. Neither are we. The point is to bloom where you're planted, even if where you're planted is on the roof of a BMW in a car park, watching French animation with a stranger who's taken an unhealthy interest in your continued existence.

Life's weird like that. Sometimes you set out to reconnect with an old friend, and instead you end up saving a life. Or maybe you just end up watching a movie about giant blue aliens. Either way, it beats the hell out of dying.

[redhairedwolfwitch]

Hickeys and Hayfever - Sarah Reese x Reader - Chicago Med

Requests: I don't know if you'd do this but the reader gives Sarah a hickey or the other way round and it becomes uncovered somehow during the day and people tease them about it

Reese requests because I'm a sucker for a certain Psychiatrist (and also because I accidentally put 4 numbers last time) Request 1) 8 & 25 Request 2) 15 & 23 (if you can do these thank you so much)

Random request because I just do be like that, you have hayfever and you keep sneezing and Sarah finds it adorable (I'm hating my hayfever so I'm requesting this for serotonin haha)

Prompts:

15. "Wow, that was adorable."

23. "Kiss me, you idiot."

High pollen counts sucked. That was a given. Especially when you happened to suffer from hayfever.

Oh, and you happened to accidently sleep over at your girlfriend's house, so you didn't have your hayfever meds on hand.

"Oh, crap." Sarah's voice stirred you from your slumber, standing at the full length mirror propped up against the wall.

"What, what's wrong?" Your voice was croaky as you struggled to sit up, propping yourself up on your elbows to see what Sarah was so worried about.

Her reflection.

And the hickeys on her skin.

"Well, my scrubs cover nearly all of these, except one... oh, wow, babe, you didn't get away with it either." Sarah pointed out, crossing the room to adjust your over-sized t-shirt to check the hickeys on your skin too.

"What do you- oh, yeah, wow." You realised, spotting what Sarah was looking at.

"Come on, we need to get ready for work." Sarah smiled, leaning in to quickly kiss you, jerking away to make a dash to the bathroom.

///

"Babe, do you have any antihistamines?" You called out, feeling your nose itch as you padded around Sarah's kitchen.

The pitter patter of the shower ceased as Sarah finished, stepping out and wrapping herself in a towel as she went to answer you, "in the first aid kit, kitchen cupboard on the left."

"Are you okay?" She enquired, stepping out of the bathroom to spot you opening the kit.

"High pollen-" You cut yourself off by sneezing into your elbow, grimacing as Sarah chuckled at the sound of your sneeze.

"Wow that was adorable." Sarah admitted to herself, biting her lip as you frowned at what had happened.

"Hayfever?" The question was rhetorical as she watched you take the antihistamines, kissing your cheek when you let out a sigh.

"You should get ready, shift starts soon. Unless you're going like that..." Sarah joked, scrunching her nose up as you laughed, glancing down at your bare feet, over-sized t-shirt and shorts.

"Definitely not going like this."

///

Sarah had covered most of her hickeys with her scrubs; you had done the same. However, each of you had one hickey that couldn't be covered by the scrubs, leaving Sarah to apply make-up to her neck, whilst you lingered over the idea of a turtle-neck, until Sarah pointed out you'd melt into a puddle of sweat as soon as the two of you were in the parking lot.

"I have no idea how to cover this one." You admitted, leaving Sarah to giggle into her hand, reaching for a plaster.

"We'll say you got scratched by a cat, since I can't see anyone believing it was a curling iron or straighteners." She admitted, applying the plaster to hide the hickey on your neck.

///

"Morning you two, S/n, you have a patient in treatment 4, Reese, Doctor Charles is waiting for you up in psych." Maggie explained, looking down at the tablet before she glanced up, raising an eyebrow.

"What's with the plaster on your neck?"

You froze like a deer in headlights, letting out a shaky breath as a cue for Sarah to answer.

"They got scratched by my cat... Rolo did not want to let go of them." Sarah explained, giving April and Maggie an awkward smile as they raised eyebrows.

"I didn't know you had a cat, Reese."

"Thought you were more of a dog person." April admitted, leaving you to snort, remembering the hypothetical future you and Sarah had discussed one night when neither of you could sleep.

The two of you would adopt a dog.

///

You were relieved that nobody questioned the plaster on your neck, nor did the plaster come loose throughout the day. The make-up on Sarah's neck however? That was going to rub off eventually, especially in the heat.

Whilst the ED had air-conditioning, it lacked sunlight.

So, when Sarah went up to the balcony with Ava and Connor, she didn't think much about it, until Ava pointed it out.

Tieing her hair up so she could keep cool, Ava quirked a brow at the mark on Sarah's neck, the makeup that was once covering it having rubbed away in the heat.

"Doctor Reese, is that a hickey on your neck?"

Sarah paused in bringing the forkful of pasta to her mouth as she processed the question, her free hand moving to her neck as Connor cleared his throat, biting his lip to stop laughing.

"Seems like you had a fun time last night." Ava added, whilst Connor paused, realising something.

"That plaster on Doctor S/n's neck, that's not a cat scratch, is it?" Connor asked, leaving Sarah to awkwardly smile, glancing over at her phone as it buzzed, her lockscreen of the two of you lighting up the screen.

///

"Hey, Y/n." April smiled as she found you refilling your water bottle.

"Hey, April. How are you doing?" You smiled, replacing the cap on your bottle as April's eyes drifted to the plaster on your neck with a frown.

"Have you made sure to disinfect the scratch?"

"Uh... um..." You stammered, trying to duck away as April reached over to look at the plaster, peeling it away slightly as you grimaced.

"That's... that's not a scratch, that's a hickey." April realised, leaving you to sigh, covering it with the your water bottle as the coolness helped calm down your skin.

"Wait, but Reese said... Reese doesn't have a cat called Rolo, does she? She just lied because she's the one who gave you that, and guessing from how you're now checking your scrubs in the reflection, I'd say she gave you more than one." April concluded, leaving you to gawp at her in shock.

"How long have you and Sarah been a thing then? Hey, I need details here." April enquired, smiling as you calmed down, opening your phone to show April your lockscreen, along with send a quick text to your girlfriend.

///

Sarah found you sat at one of the computers, typing away at some patient's notes. Her eyes widened when she saw your plaster was gone, but you were unbothered.

"What happened to your neck?" Sarah whispered, raising an eyebrow as you let out a sigh.

"April removed it because she wanted to check I had disinfected the cat scratch..." You deadpanned, letting out a huff as Sarah chuckled slightly.

"But it turns out, it's a hickey, not a cat scratch, right Reese?" Nat teased as she walked over, having heard from April and Maggie.

"Uh-"

"In fact, you even have a matching one!" Will added, smirking as your eyes widened, realising that the make-up Sarah had applied had rubbed off.

"S/n, incoming!" Maggie shouted, leaving you to push the wheelie chair away from the desk, your lab coat fluttering in the movement as you hurried to meet the paramedics, leaving Sarah to the teasing in the process.

///

"So, you and Reese?"

You glanced up to meet Connor's eyes, seeing him smirk as you rolled yours. Connor was basically your best friend in the hospital, along with Sarah, then you and her got together.

"For the last 4 months, yeah. Now, can we focus on saving this patient and not my love life?" You replied, noticing Connor grin before his focus switched to the patient.

///

"Hey, Doctor Charles, did you know S/n and Reese are dating?" April enquired as she was working with Maggie.

"Who do you think got them to realise they have feelings for each other?" Doctor Charles chuckled, leaving Maggie to fist-bump him as April's eyes widened.

"Wow."

///

You were grateful that the teasing would end when the shift was over. The desire to just curl up with the love of your life in your arms was overwhelming as you grabbed your stuff. Instead, that didn't last long, your backpack dropping from your grip as you turned around to Sarah standing behind you.

"Hi."

"Hey." You chewed you lip, staring into her eyes as she smiled, almost like she was reading for mind.

"Kiss me, you idiot." She smiled, becoming flustered as you pulled her into a kiss by tugging on the lapels of her lab coat.

"My place or yours?" You enquired as the two of you broke apart.

"Hmm, well, if you stay at mine overnight again, I get to hear your adorable little hayfever sneezes..." Sarah teased, watching as your eyes widened, gasping at her plan.

"Yeah, no, my place, definitely my place." You concluded, tangling your fingers with hers as your free hand grabbed your discarded backpack, heading out of the ED for the night ahead.

[sserpente]

A/N: Request from @wrenstrange! Put up the decorations, it’s finally time again! Enjoy, everyone!

Words: 1957 Warnings: pure fluff, blood sample/needle/syringe, soft!Loki, fatique, fainting

You dropped like a piece of wood right about when you were making yourself a cup of tea in the kitchen. Knees ceasing to support you any longer, vision darkening, stars dancing around you making you dizzy. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head and before you knew it, your body finally won and shut down.

Although if you could have chosen, you would not have fallen straight into Loki’s arms whose reflexes caught you, preventing you from hitting the hard floor beneath you. He cradled you with his brows furrowed, his blue gaze almost helpless as he looked at Thor and Stark for support.

Then, everything went black.

-

“Welcome back.” You blinked, the artificial lights above your head blinding you. A hand held you down when you attempted to sit up drowsily. Bruce was leaning against a metal table in Tony’s lab, hands crossed before his chest and with a concerned expression on his face. “You blacked out,” he explained, “out of the blue.”

“How are you feeling?” Tony added.

You only realised then that it was Loki who had held you down. He was sitting on a chair right next to the makeshift bed they had carried into Tony’s lab and he was observing you with Argus eyes. Your heart sped up when you noticed. You usually tended to avoid the God of Mischief at all cost. There was a part of you that was afraid of him after watching him making an entire crowd kneel in Stuttgart, the other was hands down swooning over him. It had all started when he had rescued a cat from a tree, honouring a cliché he had not even been aware of. But someone who helped defenceless little kittens had to have a soft heart deep down, no?

Thor had brought him to Earth along with him after Asgard had been destroyed. He could not exactly be considered an Avenger but he had long surpassed the villain image… at least, to some extent. Well, you were no Avenger either. You used to be a SHIELD intern and then somehow ended up with the superheroes themselves. Apart from some basic fighting skills and the ability to use a gun, you had been trained to spend most of your time in front of a computer, often working twelve hours or even more a day. What did they say? Evil never sleeps.

“Any idea what might have caused this?” Bruce continued.

You shook your head. “No. But I’ve been having migraines and a persistent fatigue that just won’t go away.”

“I see… anything else?”

“Um…”

“You can talk to us, (Y/N).”

“Well, I… I’ve been dizzy a lot lately but that sometimes happens during my special week of the month so I didn’t think anything of it.” You took a deep breath but hesitated.

“And?”

“I’ve been sweating way more when working out. Like, a lot more. Instead of making progress… I feel like I’m getting weaker every day. It’s frustrating.”

“Uh-huh. I’m taking a blood sample. FRIDAY will run a couple of tests on you to figure out what’s wrong.”

“What? No! Nothing’s wrong! We don’t need a b-blood sample.”

“No one faints for no reason, (Y/N), especially not on Loki.” Loki rolled his eyes but did not leave your side, even when Bruce started fiddling around with some gear and apparently, a first-aid kit and then approached you with a syringe and a small clear vial.

“I’ve done this a million times before, I’ll be gentle.”

“No! No, no blood test, Bruce, please!” Almost hysterically, you moved back on the bed, your heart in your mouth.

“(Y/N),” Loki suddenly said calmly. You shivered when he spoke your name, his head tilted slightly. “Are you afraid of needles?”

“N-n-no…” You lied. Loki raised an eyebrow.

“Look at me.” He said. Hesitating only a little, you did as you were told. It wasn’t like his tone allowed any contradiction anyway. In fact, it reminded you a lot of his strict and bossy tone when he had caused chaos in Germany. “It has to be done. Hold my hand and do not take your eyes off of me.”

“Who are you and what you have done to Reindeer Games?” Tony tossed in, throwing the Trickster a suspicious glance. Loki rolled his eyes once more. As if he had any obligation to explain himself to Stark of all people.

In the meantime, you were panicking even more. Loki was being nice and considerate with you and Bruce was about to pierce your skin with a needle. Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck… your breathing sped up.

“Look. At. Me.” Loki repeated. You obeyed this time, allowing him to take your hand and press it gently. Much to your surprise, it immediately calmed you down a little. You gaped at him unbelievingly. You didn’t even feel the needle going into your skin and drawing blood. Wait… was he casting a spell on you?

“There. All done.” You could not bring yourself to look where Bruce brought your blood sample but when both Tony and he stepped away and turned their backs on you, you swallowed.

“T-thank you…” You had to ask—not because you did not think he was not capable of offering his help without seeking a personal advantage and not because you didn’t think he was too evil to even think about being selfless… but because you were genuinely curious about his motivation. Loki did nothing without a reason, he was always one step ahead. “You put a spell on me, didn’t you?”

He nodded. “Why… why did you do that for me?”

“We are all afraid of something.” It was the only response he gave you. For a few moments, you merely sat there quietly, neither of you uttering a single word. Only when Bruce and Tony returned did you realise that Loki was still holding your hand.

“Okay… I’ve got the results from your blood test and FRIDAY couldn’t find anything suspicious.” Tony announced, scrolling on his tablet. Bruce adjusted his glasses to take a peek.

“You said you’ve been feeling tired? You sweat a lot, you get dizzy, and I’m presuming you barely have an appetite?”

“I don’t have time to eat a lot to be honest…” You confirmed.

“Any concentration problems?”

Pressing your lips together to a thin line, you thought about it for a moment. Now that he mentioned it… it had gotten obnoxiously hard to focus on your work lately. Eventually, you nodded.

“Sounds like severe exhaustion to me.” Bruce said. “Do you have issues with low blood pressure or diabetes or any other medical condition? No, FRIDAY would have found something like that. You know what I think? You overworked yourself.”

“Like… a burnout?” You probed.

“Most definitely.”

You grunted. Oh, that was just great. There you were, attempting to squeeze in regular workouts in this awesome training hall the Avengers called the HARM room after work to get stronger and hence, eventually gather up the courage to speak to Loki and now you looked exactly like what you did not want him to see you as—a weak and meagre human.

“The best medicine would be for you to quit work for a while and stop physical exercise altogether.”

“Banner is right,” Tony added. “Take a few weeks off and rest, sleep in, eat more and healthy… the whole program. I officially give you a holiday.”

“You’re not my boss, Tony, you can’t give me a holiday.” Your smile was weak. “But I don’t have time for this anyway! I can’t believe this is happening so soon before Christmas!” You whined. “I can’t stay in bed, I’ve got so much to do! I have to buy presents and decorate and bake biscuits and make gingerbread… Besides, I’m gonna fall behind on all the data.”

He shrugged. “I’ll take care of that. Let me talk to Fury. You let us know if you need anything. Can you take her to her room, Reindeer Games? And please, no funny business.” Beside you, Loki was just frowning, utterly ignoring the billionaire’s request.

“Why were you pushing yourself so hard?” He finally spoke when the two Avengers had left—whether it was genuine confusion or mere curiosity in his voice, you were not sure. “Why were you training for battle in the first place? I have never seen you out on a mission.”

You sighed. Time to let the cat out of the bag, it wasn’t like you were still going to make a good impression on him anymore now.

“I wanted to impress you, I guess…”

“Impress me?” Loki repeated incredulously.

“Yeah… catch your attention… in a way. I mean, part of me is still terrified of you, of course but… you have a good heart, Loki. I knew when I saw you rescuing that cat from the tree.”

The God of Mischief rolled his eyes. “I knew this was going to damage my reputation.” He responded with a sly smirk, making you grin. “It was an innocent kitten, what was I supposed to do?”

“See?”

Your heart skipped a beat when his blue eyes locked with yours. He appeared… uncertain; not used to dealing with affection. Loki swallowed.

“Can you walk?”

“I’m not sure…”

The God of Mischief sighed, his lips pressed together to a thin line. Without any hesitation, he snuck one of his arms under your knees and wrapped the other around your waist. He lifted you off the makeshift bed as if you weighed nothing—and to him, you probably didn’t.

Loki carried you to your room in utter silence and eventually lay you down in your bed. Your heart jumped when he sat down on the edge of the bed himself, with a peculiar interest in his hands so he would not have to look you in the eye.

“There is no need to impress me.” He suddenly said. Your head shot up. “I did not think anyone would even… never mind.”

Oh. It almost felt like you were finally getting to know each other, for real this time.

“Do you want to stay for a while? I was going to watch some Christmas movies if I’m not allowed to get out of bed.” You sighed. “I can’t even decorate. You have no idea how many decorations I have to put up. None of the others care to make it a little more festive here, especially not Fury.”

“Yes, I have seen the boxes.” Loki replied. “It’s a little… corny, wouldn’t you say?”

“Honestly, when living among superheroes who risk their lives every single day, you could use a little corny.”

“I see.” Loki simply waved his hand and before you knew it, your entire room was decorated. Green and red tinsel shimmered on your window sill, holiday lights were blinking above your door and fake—but incredibly real-looking—snowflakes hung from the ceiling. Many of your favourite decoration items were now sitting on your nightstand and your desk, including your tiny little Christmas tree. The rest of the decorations, so it seemed, Loki must have spread all over the Tower.

“Oh my Goodness… Loki, this is amazing!” The God of Mischief winked and when you looked down on yourself, you noticed you too were wearing a green and gold Christmas sweater. Heavens, you could kiss him. “Thank you so much! What did you… is the entire Tower…”

“Yes.” He confirmed. He didn’t have to. Tony did only a fraction of a second later.

“Thor! Can you tell me why my Ironman helmet just grew metal antlers? I swear to God, if Reindeer Games has something to do with this…” It was then you exploded with laughter despite your exhaustion.

-

A/N: If you enjoyed this story, I would appreciate it so much if you considered supporting me on Kofi! It’s either for caffeine or red wine, I’ll take both. ko-fi.com/sserpente ♥

[letthebodyfall]

He slumped, cocking a brow up. "I'd take a gander that it was you who wanted me here, eh? I don't appreciate being removed from my home like a prisoner." She kept his gaze, face devoid of anything.

Masterlist

Part 5

CW: Some depictions of violence under the domestic part.

She can be kind, but she was never averse to violence, especially when her family was concerned.

--

There was an air around her for days after the explosion.

Her treatment of him didn't change. She was as attentive as ever; constantly making sure he was comfortable and fed no matter how many times he assured her that he was okay.

Here was a woman with soft smiles, a kind and gentle demeanor. Respectful and tactful, with some mischievousness tucked underneath.

She was always welcoming and warm whenever he came home. It unnerved him the first few weeks of living together but now it was something he came to expect, fully knowing it was a mistake but he was too tired to consider it for the time being.

He'd see her flutter about the apartment or be hunched down in front of her massive screen tablet, drawing and drawing all the while wondering where the cold-hearted villain he came to know as Nightshade had gone.

It was unnerving at first. The way her demeanor was so different from what he was used to.

She smiled a lot more. Small ones that get warmer whenever he catches her looking at him. She was quiet, often moving with the grace of a cat around the apartment so much that he wonders if she'd let him keep a bell on her so he'd be more aware of where she was.

They never touch. In the weeks that they've lived together, they never touched intimately, even casually.

She was giving him the choice, he knew. It was at his initiative to touch her.

The only times her gentle fingertips landed on his skin where when he was too exhausted to mend his own injuries. Expert hands moving and weaving bandages that he almost always never felt a thing.

"If you keep thinking too hard, you're gonna get a migraine."

A snort found its way out of him, eyes lifting as she slowly lowered herself onto the armchair next to the sofa, carefully tucking her legs beneath her weight.

The familiar smirk was there, but nothing close to the malicious ones she used to give him whenever they closed in during combat.

The scent of coffee permeated the apartment but he was too lazy to get himself a cup, decided to instead move in on her, face closing in on hers as he plucked the cup from her hands.

Their fingers never touched.

---

Cold, cold air covered her as she strode through the marble halls of the prison.

Even retired, she still had her contacts. Some loyal, some too afraid to refuse her.

It wasn't difficult to execute, especially with the right strings pulled. It was laughably easy to locate the man, even after the police and heroes scoured the city for days.

Breathing out, her breathe visible as the sleek automated doors opened soundlessly upon her arrival.

It was dark, just as she expected.

The figure sat on a chair, unbound. Eyes that flitted from side to side, top to bottom, now still as they focused on her.

"Oh? I don't believe we've met," the man crooned, edging forward in his seat as long, dirty blond hair matted against his forehead.

She laughed, though there was no amusement nor heart in the sound. The air was cold.

"We haven't, no."

She didn't sit, merely standing in place as her eyes focused on the man in front of her, burning the image of him inside her brain.

They regarded each other for a beat, then another. The opening and closing of the cells around them the only instance of the passage of time.

He slumped, cocking a brow up. "I'd take a gander that it was you who wanted me here, eh? I don't appreciate being removed from my home like a prisoner."

She kept his gaze, face devoid of anything.

He fidgeted.

Nightshade took a step, the shadows around her moving and molding into a solid chair that easily supporting her as she sat, her legs neatly folded as she regarded him.

"If my information is correct," she began, her eyes never leaving his face. "You seem to have a penchant for explosives."

"Pah! Rudimentary things, truly." There was mirth in his eyes now, fingers folding to and from as he took a more relaxed posture.

"Three explosions in a day. Impressive."

"It is, isn't it?" Fully smirking now, he leaned too far forward, eyes now glinting at the pathetic rays of light that managed to stream through the small window of the fortified door. "And no one managed to catch me from the locations. Though I might say," his voice turned low, suggestive. "I never thought they'd leave me to a woman. Are you police?"

"No." The air was colder, almost oppressively so. "Raphael Tanvitur, also known as Backbiter. Prominent serial arsonist turned serial bomber. Welcome to the city."

"Yes." The shadows moved once, twice. She watched him blink furiously as to try to make sense of the scene. "Charming city you have here."

"We're fond of it, yes." She stood now, a towering figure above his sitting form.

Tanvitur squinted and inhaled before putting on a winning smile, though strained. Tendrils of shadows now taking hold of the chair, his feet, an arm. "If there's no other conversation," he began. "I best be heading back to my jail cell, eh?"

The chair lurched from beneath him, crashing to pieces as it smashed against the wall.

Adrenaline pumped in his veins as he crawled back as she took a step forward, and another. Shadows pushed and pulled, his limbs stretched out farther and farther. "You're not a policewo-"

Eyes glinting, foot firmly planted on his leg.

"I'm not, no."

A crack and the screams that followed sent chills down the spines of every personnel in the vicinity.

---

A bit darker in the last part, but I thought it was about time Nightshade did something lol

I'd love to get some suggestions for hero and villain names! Or a name for the series. I'm also taking suggestions for things that could appear in the series!

Masterlist

Part 5

Part 7

[dirtychocolatechai]

meet-cute | b.b.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader Warning(s): fluff, awkward Bucky, vet appointment stuff, Alpine Request: Babes if you're lowkey taking requests can I lowkey make one? 👉🏼👈🏼🥺💕 something flirty and cute and maybe a lil spicy with Bucky and vet!reader where something's going on with Alpine? Not self indulgent at all 😻💖 Notes: This was the first thing I’ve written in months and it felt damn good. Funny story, I actually almost went to school to be a vet tech + shadowed a vet for two weeks and got to see some wickedly cool things.

This was a bit self-indulgent on my part because I had a cat who passed away some years ago because of struvite stones and I wished he had a happier ending like Alpine so I thought why not 🤷‍♀️💖

Taglist is open

(gif from google)

There’s nothing Bucky hates more than the stringent smell of industrial cleaners and clinical white walls - too many associations and shades of memory long laid to rest - except for when something’s going on with Alpine. The Turkish Angora was fine up until a few days ago when he started to hide away and sleep all day.

That wasn’t too concerning at first...

But then came the pained little noises, the frantic running back and forth from the litter box, the excessive grooming. The pit that started forming low in his belly grew, his instincts screaming at him that something was wrong, very wrong, with his little buddy. 

Bucky wasn’t about to fuck around and set up an appointment with the first vet office he could find that had a same-day opening. And now he’s trying not to fall apart at the seams while he waits for the docs to do their magic and tell him what the hell’s going on with his cat and what he has to do to fix it.

The vet tech collected Alpine a bit ago and every minute stretches into years, the cat’s pitiful meow echoing in his ears and those betrayed eyes burned onto the backs of his eyelids.

I know, Bub, I’m sorry but they gotta figure out what’s going on. It’ll be okay, they’ll take care of you. 

His ass went numb from the plastic chair ages ago, his leg jiggling up and down at a rapid pace as he chews on his thumbnail and waits.

And waits.

And waits.

God, he knows these things take time but he’d rather be back at home, curled up on the couch with Alpine pigging out on breakfast food and watching space documentaries. 

How much longer-

“Alright, Mr. Barnes?”

The heavy door swings open with a click, a kind, professional voice preceding a pair of sensible shoes as the vet steps into the room with a clipboard cradled against her chest. His eyes snap up, skipping over her completely to look at the tech holding his cat who looks absolutely miserable. 

She introduces herself but he’s not paying attention. He’s not meaning to be rude but all his focus narrows in on that white little face, the knot in his chest unfurling at the little mew.

He smiles, his eyes crinkling around the edges as he breathes, “Hey there, Little Buddy.” 

The vet doesn’t push, in fact, she seems a little enamored with how much he melts at the sight of his pet. Her own lips quirk up into a soft smile while she stands off to the side patiently as Alpine’s set down on the metal table.

Bucky gets in a few good scritches under his chin, the beginnings of a purr just starting to vibrate his hand when the vet clears her throat delicately. 

He clears his throat, heat burrowing into the apples of his cheeks. “Shi - uh, ‘m sorry.” A hand scrubs over the back of his neck. “I’m just - uh - y’know...” 

Her laugh trickles down his spine like warm rain, the sound effectively drawing his attention away from the cat rubbing up against his side. He gets his first look at her and oh.

A bare face and a no-nonsense hairstyle greet him, her scrubs and white coat adding to the overall doctor vibe but she’s still breathtaking. The natural beauty in the curves of her face, the slant of her brows, the sparkle of her eyes.

He feels like he got sucker-punched in the chest, his heart giving a sudden throb that has him coughing like an idiot as he scrambles to not look like such a jackass.

“So,” he clears his throat, scratching at the stubble along his jaw, “What’s - what’s wrong with him?” 

Glancing down at Alpine’s chart, she hums and writes a note before glancing back up with a reassuring smile. “Nothing that can’t be managed with a special diet and watching his water intake.”

It’s like the weight of the world disappears from his shoulders, his broad frame practically heaving with his sigh of relief. “Oh thank fucking- ahem, ‘scuse me - thank god.” 

Her chuckle and sly smile have him blushing from the roots of his hair to the collar of his shirt, his stomach squirming in discomfort. Old habits are hard to break, especially ones his momma taught him with a box to the ear.

“You’re allowed to swear, Mr. Barnes,” she says, reaching down to run her fingers through snow-white fur. “We’re all adults here.” 

“No, no, I know...” 

“Hm, anyway, his blood work came back and everything looks fine which is a good thing.” 

And it’s back to business like that, any hint of personality hidden behind cool professionalism that Bucky thinks even Tasha would admire. Except for the playful gleam in her eyes as she sneaks peeks at him while going over everything they did and what they found. 

“Struvite crystals are quite common in cats at low levels, especially males because their tract is longer and narrower.” She pauses, flipping to a new page. “Depending on the severity, they can clump together in the urinary tract and actually form stones. That’s where the true problem lies because get one large enough, and it can cause a blockage.”

He’s listening with rapt attention, soaking in the knowledge she’s imparting to him all the while, petting Alpine who keeps nuzzling him and making little sounds. Honestly, he could listen to her talk for hours even if he didn’t understand a goddamn thing. 

She’s so animated when she speaks, holds eye contact and makes sure he understands everything without making him feel like an idiot. He’s had so many doctors who talked at him rather than with him, staring through him without seeing, more interested in the paycheck rather than their patients.

But not her, she cares.

Deeply.

He can see it all over her face and it’s utterly enchanting. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little enamored, charmed.

Turning the tablet towards him, she shifts closer and a waft of whatever perfume she’s wearing tickles his nose as she explains what the x-ray of Alpine’s abdomen found.

“These are the stones but thankfully they’re relatively small,” she points to several hazy white ovals starkly visible on the radiograph, “We caught them in time before they became a really big problem.” 

Shit, she smells so good...

 “Now, we’ll send you home with a special diet and see how he does. Also, make sure to up his fluid intake as much as you can. The food can take several months to start dissolving the crystals so we’ll have to do everything we can to help. Sound good?”

Bucky hasn’t pulled his eyes away from her face once this entire time, and how fucking creepy is that?

Quickly looking down at Alpine, embarrassment gnawing at his belly, he nods and wishes for the first time since he cut his hair that he hadn’t so he’d at least have a passing chance at hiding the blush burning its way across his face. 

“Yeah,” he says, picking up the ball of white fluff to hold against his chest, a makeshift shield. “Is there anything else I should do?” 

“No.” She smiles, writing another note and tapping away at the tablet next to her. “I do want to see him again in about a month for a check-up.”

Fuck, he doesn’t want to leave so soon.

The irony isn’t lost on him either.

How does he make this last longer? What can he do? If Sam was here right now, he’d be kicking him in the ass and bitching at him to ask for her number already, Ice Pick.

The clack of the chart being set down rings through the room, bouncing off the walls and sounding so fucking final that he starts to panic. 

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. 

She’s already halfway to the door when she asks, “Do you have any questions?”

The word vomit spring from him, unbidden and sudden without any thought, more forward than he’s been with a woman in years.

“Can I have your number?”

As soon as the question leaves his lips, he curses, cringes and wishes he could snatch the very words from the air itself.

Great, I just hit on my vet.

No amount of backpedaling can salvage this but goddamn it if Bucky doesn’t try, stuttering out some half-assed excuse about wanting it just in case he thinks of something later.

When he glances up, he wishes he hadn’t. The vet tech is in near tears in the corner, biting her lips so hard he wouldn’t be surprised if they started to bleed.

But it’s the absolute surprised bafflement on the woman he just inappropriately hit on that does him in, makes him about ready to burn all forms of identification and run for the hills. 

Her brows nearly reach her hairline, her mouth slack, eyes startled. She gets ahold of herself before he does, and he barely stops himself from slapping a hand over his face.

Right when he’s thinking there’s no way he’s going to be able to show his face in the office again, her expression softens with gentle amusement and her lips twitch. 

Struck dumb, he can only watch as she writes something down on a slip of paper before handing it over to him. He barely believes the string of numbers and the cheeky little call me anytime :).

The wink she sends his way is there and gone, so fast he almost believes he imagined it. 

“For emergencies only,” she says, slyly. “Of course.”

“Of course,” he agrees, almost tripping over the cat carrier as he hurries to stuff Alpine back in. “Of course, thank you. I...appreciate it.” 

“Anytime, Mr. Barnes.” 

Bucky leaves the room in a stupor, the world sharply shifted to the left as he heads to the front desk to make the follow-up appointment, but not before hearing the whispered, “Girl, you’re lucky. He’s fine!” and the “He is, isn’t he?”.