#i watched blank panther 2 the other day she’s so finee

[fukkiemon]

letitia wright has been all over my tiktok

[aerascreamer]

A body without a heart

An Apex Fanfic

Part 2: Equal

Warning: violence and death mention.

(Part 1 )

———

During the cold season, the heating system of the dormitory purred above Bloodhound's room each night, singing them to sleep or keeping them company while they read on the bed.

So it was a surprise for the tracker to wake up on the floor of a building from the arena and not in their quarter until they realized they didn't lose the match.

Pathfinder's motor produced the constant rumble that woke them up while the robot remained in complete stillness in the middle of the room.

As the hunter sat with difficulties, he came back to life and headed towards them.

"How are you friend? He asked with worries.

"I'm fine don't worry. Just not used to run so much, " They replied while taking out a flask,

"Can I?"

"Oh sure pardon me!"

When sure the MRVN looked away, the tracker took off their mask in a hurry and sipped some water before putting it back.

"Why are you fighting here if your body is so weak?"

Bloodhound jumped on their feet, looked back and found Revenant sitting on the edge of a window. Wait...sitting?

"I'm not letting my wounds stopping me from fighting for the Allfather. It is a test to see my true potential." They puffed their chest with pride.

"Guess having a metallic body has some advantages..." The robot considered, his hand scratching his jaw.

"What do you-" The hunter's body tense in reaction to a new but familiar buzzing approaching.

"EMP incoming!! RUN!"

Pathfinder rushed to the exit without hesitation.

Simultaneously, Revenant pushed himself from the window.

But despite their reactivity, both got hit by the wave of energy coming from a tiny drone, the echo of their lifeless body hitting the ground ringing in all the building.

Without losing a second, Bloodhound took their weapon and peaked over the window. Two silhouettes headed into the first level.

The hunter climbed down the stair and aimed at the entrance

Octane broke in by kicking the door.

Easy target. One mag, one down.

Lifeline jumped back, caught off guard. She dashed right away to another direction, probably to flank the building.

The tracker took the main entrance and hid behind a truck.

Scanning the area, they detected the doctor entering by the second floor.

Bloodhound waited for her to walk passed the entrance...

One more magazine and another down. But no ammo.

Leaving the weapon on the ground, Bloodhound approached the door and heard footsteps coming in.

Striking like a panther, they took Crypto by surprise and disarmed him.

The hacker pushed the hunter away and called back his drone, the device hitting them on the back.

Unphased, they leaped on the man, pinned him down before holding a knife on his throat.

Both out of breath, the two fighters glared at each other coldly.

But Crypto ended up sighting and declared:

"Legend Crypto surrendering." The banner on his wrist turned into a sad face with the words better luck next time! highlighted in blue.

Bloodhound let go of their grip and walked away to check on their teammates.

"Hey, take this. It will wake them up."

The hunter caught the small device the hacker tossed to them and nodded, thankful.

Turning around the corner, they saw Revenant shut down against the wall.

They approached him and activated the device.

The silver shadow turned on with a sound similar to a loud gasp.

On his feet, he put his hands around his chest, checking for a nonexistent heartbeat.

"What was that ?!" He questioned with a taut voice.

"An EMP sent by Crypto's drone" Bloodhound stepped back to give him space.

"An EMP?"

The glow of the synthetic nightmare's eye darkened, processing... Before punched the wall with all his strength.

"Why can't I just DIE already!?"

Digging their way in Bloodhound's perplexed mind, the little details he noticed about Revenant came back... like his natural walk, the need to sit or to brush his head, the glares of jealousy he gave to everyone except Pathfinder... Pathfinder who is a true robot.

Then they understood.

"You...you used to be human. Right ?"

He froze

"You're not a robot...but a Simulacrum."

In a blink of an eye, the shadow grabbed the hunter by the throat and held them in the air as if they weight no more than a pheasant.

"One more word... And I'll use your skin as a carpet..."

Despite their heart racing like a mad hummingbird, Bloodhound held Revenant's burning glaze without fighting back.

Surprised by their lack of reaction, the Simulacrum loosened a little.

"Aren't you afraid of me?"

One inch separated his face from the hunter's mask.

"I...I don't fear...death." They replied with a chocked voice.

Revenant dropped the tracker who rubbed their aching neck.

He stared at them for a moment, puzzled, and climbed on the roof to watch the horizon with doubt and questions rising like a tide.

Bloodhound scanned the zone and found Pathfinder lying in the middle of a road.

As they activated the device, the MRVN's chest lightened up, bugging between his angry and happy face.

"Everything's ok?"

"Yes, don't worry. I really don't like being hit by the EMP, my system is always feeling weird days after it." He tapped on his chest to fix it, without results.

"Feeling ?" Revenant let go of a sarcastic laugh...or at least a grumble close to it.

****

Back in the temporary house of Talos, Bloodhound groomed Artur with their hand and picked up the feathers falling to the ground without a sound

They sighted with sadness as they counted more and more grey ones than last time.

The clock hanging on the wall displayed 9h00 but everyone already went to bed, leaving the building in dead silence.

Except for the hard stomps of metal feet.

Putting the crow back in his favorite shoe, the hunter walked to the automatic door and bumped in Revenant's chest armor.

"My apologies!"

Only an irritated grunt responded to them.

"Something's wrong?"

The shadow's blank face expressed nothing, unlike his shimmering eyes troubled by questions.

He tried to look beneath the mask of the tracker, searching a reason for them to ask with cordiality and detachment towards him.

"You're a weird skin bag." He declared point-blank.

"Normally everyone would have begged to be spared when threatened."

Thoughtful, Bloodhound didn't reply rights away, their mind looking for the right word to answer.

"I'm always prepared for my end, " They started with a slow pace,

"Death... is part of the cycle of nature.

Everything lives, then everything dies."

"Except for me." Revenant contradicted, bitter.

Artur perched on the hunter's shoulder and puffed his black and grey feathers to intimidate the Simulacrum who didn't even look at him.

"If your spirit is still down here, it means you haven't fulfilled your purpose here."

"So you think I have a spirit?" His anger started to rise.

"When that little brain here is made of scrap and bolts?!"

Revenant hit his metal skull to prove his point, creating a clear sound ringing for a second.

"When I'm a body without a heart?!"

He scratched his chest, leaving three parallel marks.

Bloodhound covered their ears, bothered with the high-pitched screeching.

"You still feel hate. There is a reason that makes you move forward.

And you still have those memories from your past life right? Those are real...

"...And corrupted to the core!"

The shadow's voice distorted in pain, wobbly.

Behind the faceplate, thousand of reflections made their way in his mind.

He shook his head, fighting the thoughts, but his hunched shoulders betrayed his exhaustion.

Noticing the changes in Revenant's behavior, Bloodhound offered him to get in their room.

He hesitated, not used to have someone crazy enough to do this, but accepted.

The hunt trophies and Championship Bookends decorated the walls next to a giant bookshelf full of text from all epochs.

Swords and knives waited on a table for the owner to choose them, glowing coldly under the candles.

In contrast, the fur carpets softened the atmosphere and gave the room an old but relaxing look alongside the handmade hammock.

Revenant instantly noticed the broad window facing the outside.

The stars shined bright on the deep mantel of the night.

Even with the latest discoveries made by scientists, secrets still lied in the distant galaxies.

This powerful sense of mystery called the human more than once, letting them dream since the beginning of time without any exceptions.

Not even a soul locked in a lifeless body.

"Being in peace with who you are will be a challenge. But once you get over it, you will finally be able to rest."

The silence fell little by little like a leaf plummeted by the autumn wind.

Bloodhound fell asleep despite the "synthetic nightmare"'s presence, this one gazing at the stars, knees wrapped in his arms close to his chest.

[thejenesaisquoigirl]

DnD Ask Meme- Talise

Link to original, blank meme: https://thejenesaisquoigirl.tumblr.com/post/186529464305/dnd-asks More about my tiefling swashbuckler under the cut~!

1) What would they consider to be their biggest failure?

Oof. Maybe not being able to save her family, or at least her sister-in-law and nephew. Maybe her (former) deep reliance on alcohol once her memories started coming back. Trauma is a motherfucker

2) What’s the story behind their name?

When I first went to grad school visit days at my current institution two years ago, there was another person interviewing with a name that sounded similar. Really loved it and added on LaPearl for her alias’ last name (for her eyes). Her birth name is my Warden from Dragon Age Origins (Hozanna Cousland, only more french) since the backstory shares a lot of similarities. 

3) What’s their relationship with their family?

When she was Hosanna, very close. They all loved learning (though maybe different things), the people in their city, and each other. She was closest to her brother, Yanis, despite their age difference. She felt adrift after losing them and finding Yanis has upset any equilibrium she was finding. 

4) What’s one song that describes them or is them?

The cover of Rise that Superfruit did on their channel

5) Who is their best friend?

Yanis was her best friend growing up; the years after losing him were rough but she was working towards a place of resignation...then they found him alive. As Talise, it’s super weird because yes, her brother used to be able to embarrass her in her previous life; but now, it’s the first time she’s ever felt shame. Hosanna, while sharing a small flair for the dramatic, was a very different person than Talise was crafted to be. But in the party, Jax is the closest to a best friend. 

6) Why are they their class?

 She was reincarnated by a coast druid, and it was only natural to join a crew due to not remembering her past right away. Her previous skill with dueling with a rapier mixed with her familiarity with locks led to her embellishing her new self into the type of sailor one would find in a storybook. 

7) What do they think of their party members?

She feels distinct lines in the sand amongst the party. At first, said lines seemed only about their sleeping habits (there was no other way the rooming arrangements could have shaken out and everyone live). But now, it feels very much like two separate factions working together. Separately: Q- she’s terrified of everything she does being in that book, and she has a hard time wrestling with his innocent naiveté when it reminds her of who she used to be. Briony- Not used to being around women in a strictly friendship sense, but is happy for her presence so Q has someone of a similar maturity. Braxton- He’s rarely there. Annoyed yet darkly amused when he takes point with trap checking and lock-picking; annoyed because she assumes he believes himself an expert in everything (maybe due to him being slightly misogynistic)...amused because she's better and it’s funny to watch him fail due to his own hubris. Jax- They instinctually understand each other. It’s complicated but in a good way as she thinks the world of him. Caspian- Like recognizes like but she feels they have different motivations behind collecting information...and it’s hard for her to move beyond a betrayal of trust. She does enjoy bantering with him and sharing a penchant for innuendo.

8) In what ways are they similar to you?

Insightful, observant, curious, collector of knowledge, has two sides to protect her softness

9) In what ways are they different from you?

Unashamed in the way she moves through the world, unabashedly flirtatious and teasing, confident, how she copes with things (tends to be physical indulgences), seeing trust as black and white, unafraid of confrontation or large birds

10) What do they look for in a romantic partner, if they have a romantic orientation?

She’s super pan and attracted to interesting people. She loves those who keep her guessing and have layers she can explore without ever becoming bored. With a lot of hidden quirks, they need to be fine in indulging her intense love for museums or sleeping in until the latest time possible. Because of stuff that happened in her past, she needs someone who she feels safe with and who can handle that baggage. Someone who can keep up with her banter but who can be soft with her; she wants an equal partner and not someone who she has to take the reins from all the time. So confidence, intelligence, depth, strength, compassion. 

11) If they had a patronus or animagus form, what would it be?

Ooooooooo....idk. Maybe a panther animagus? Something that slinks around with confidence but can be very soft. Patronus would be a cat like Talis or a hippogriff like Fantôme...or a peafowl.

12) What do they smell like?

The ocean and "oriental” notes with hints of coconut and citrus. Someone who has sailed the coastline would have had the opportunity to collects lots of sachets of things to scent their clothing along with various oils, etc which lends itself to the “oriental” perfume family.

13) What is their secret skill?

Sketching/drawing. She’s intensely private about it; but has charcoal, pencils, and a sketchbook in her pack that’s rather like a diary.  

14) What is their relationship to spirituality?

Non-existent save for some superstitions. Hosanna was religious but not superstitious; Talise reversed it as she had a hard time retaining her faith in anything.

15) If they were to be remembered for something, what would they want to be remembered for?

NOT for what happened in her previous life, unless that remembrance served the greater good. She’d just like to be remembered, in general, rather than lost to lines in a book. She wants people to speak kindly of her and the small amount of goodness she’s put into the world.

16) Why did they become an adventurer?

Chance meeting in Dolcino when she was taking a break from sailing haha And news of Yanis came up on their travels so she had to see it through.

17) What’s one thing about their backstory that came to you after you already started playing the campaign?

One notable thing--hadn’t even thought about her being an alcoholic (sober now) until making her playlist. For some reason, “Chandelier” kept coming up and it had to have been a sign because it’s deepened her in ways I wasn’t expecting. Also her tattoos. And her not being a morning person xD

18) Do you have any headcanons for them that haven’t come up in game? Or headcanons for other party members?

Absolutely. Her tattoos and why she has them (only one person in the party has probably seen them); what drove her to her alcoholism; and her sketching. Other party members: Q- that he has tried to teach some magic to Quirrel enough times that Quirrel can mimic the somatic components of some spells; that he’s instantly awake in the mornings with a pep in his step. Briony- that she genuinely doesn’t know or understand how privileged she is and so makes statements about some type of princess-y thing she thinks is normal but is very much not. Jax- he has Talise braid his hair before sleeping because it’s more effective than a ponytail in keeping it neat at night; he quietly chats with Francis when he needs to think through things weighing on his mind; he keeps a tiny, secret notebook to make notes to himself on things he remembers, things he enjoys, etc. Caspian- when he reads dialogue he really likes in books, he’ll speak it aloud until he figures out the exact voice for the character so he can use it for later; 

19) Any ships with your character? If a PC or NPC, what interaction launched it?

She’s the first character in a LONG time I legit ship with another PC. Whether it becomes romantic or remains platonic (it’s not just up to me or Talise), Jax is the most significant person in her life–excluding her brother. They just got each other from day one and they seem to be the only ones able to easily talk to the other, even when the subject is difficult. The canon you created about her feeling safe with Jax is 100% true; ever since Before, she has a hard time sleeping around other people but she trusts him enough to even share a bed…and he’s the only one with whom she would never be anything but truthful. At their core, they are people reinventing themselves after tragedy but don’t know if they’re doing it right. But Jax makes Talise feel it’s alright to be who she authentically is rather than acting the part she’s written for herself; and to find joy again in the things from her past. The ship’s legit launch was after their serious conversation about “equivalent exchange” in relationships (about Caspian) and has since been buoyed by all their side chats + interactions. “…are you just going to stare at me?” “Until you’re ready.”

20) What would your character consider their biggest success? Or what is your favorite success your character has had so far?

Finding her brother and beginning to reconcile Hosanna with Talise. My favorite success was that conversation mentioned above...or successfully surprising characters and peeps with her backstory drops.

[eerythingisshaka]

Wakanda Got Y’all Pt. 4

[Black Panther x Insecure Crossover]

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Word Count: 2.8K

A/N:  I know I said this would be the last chapter buuuuut....stay tuned for more!

Molly grips the edge of the counter her sink rests in as she takes a deep breath.  She tries to concentrate on the patterns in her bathroom walls as Erik does his work between her legs.

“How you feelin?”  He asks, looking up at her with a slight smirk.

Molly bites her lip, thinking about how she couldn’t believe she happening.  “It’s good, so far.”

Erik nods.  “Bet.  Lift that other leg up a bit.  I ain’t tryna miss nothin, you know?”

He taps her inner thigh with the back of his hand until she got the message, spreading herself further.

“You ever do this before?”  Molly asked nervously.

Erik bobs his head here and there.  “Ehhh, only one time I remember a female being really down for it, but everyone else is like, offended and shit.”

Molly exhales in disbelief, “Aww, for real?  Tsk, this saves me some wrist strain.  It’s nice to be offered, cuz I definitely wasn’t askin, who would?  Just don’t do too much, being an Edward Scissorhands and shit.”

Erik flexed his dimples as he licked his lips in concentration of her center.  He had already put in most of the work already, he just wanted to get to her outer lips a little.

Taking the razor in one hand, he places one finger against her outer labia for a flatter surface area, dragging the blade along her skin with the grain.  The scratchy sound of the razor taking down the stubble is the soundtrack to the room as Molly holds her breath awaiting him to finish.  She wanted to stroke his locs, but figured that would mess up his flow.  He wipes the razor off, repeating the process until she was clean.  

Erik nods, surveying his work with pride.  “There’s more than one way to skin a cat, but I think this is my favorite.”

Molly looks down for herself, feeling her freshly shaved exterior.  “Yeahhh, look at that?  You ever thought about doing this professionally?”

Erik stands in front of Molly, doing his shrug with a silly face.  “I don’t think I have.  But when I look into it, you can write my recommendation, in detail.”

Their shared laughter slowly faded into blank expressions as Molly felt herself heat with anxiety.  She studied Erik’s eyes dilating, plush lips just inches from hers, she wasn’t quite sure how to proceed.

Erik licks his lips. “You wanna do somethin else, now?” his voice saturated with testosterone fueled bass.

Molly stares at him, eyes wide, swallowing to keep her voice steady.  “Uh, I think you wanted to watch somethin on the TV….right?”

Erik looks down Molly’s body before returning to her face.  “If that’s it, you may wanna bring that leg down again.”

Molly curses under her breath as she pulls her dress back down, crossing her ankles.  

Erik chuckles, “You actin shy NOW is too damn funny.  That’s cool though, I’m bout to head out.”

Molly looks after him heading out her bathroom door.  “Wha-what about a nightcap?  My Netflix list is really thick, if you still wanna chill!”  She gets up to go after him.

Erik picks his jacket off her couch walking for her front door.  “Nah, I ain’t really been into what’s available anyway.”

As Erik turns back to her once more, Molly rubs her arm, wondering how to leave their conversation.  “Um, well, thanks for the shape up?”

Erik flashed his golds, lookin at the floor, “Yeah, thanks for trusting me with a razor after a drink.”

Molly stands there until she squints at him suspiciously.  “And that’s really gonna be it?  My pussy was on full display, and you ain’t tryin shit?”

Erik cocks his head to the side. “You tryna see my dick to call it even?”

Molly wheezes with embarrassment.  “Whaaaaa? Who said that? Don’t try me, ol boy!”

Erik steps to Molly, lookin straight down in her face, “You don’t act like you ready to try a damn thing, witcha shy actin ass,”  Erik says, practically growling.

Molly, gulps again.  Soon as Erik closes in on her, she is a puddle.  “I just don’t know you for real, or what to expect, you know?  It’s-”

Erik shakes his head, “See, you already thinkin too much bout it.  I’m here, you here.  I’m cool, you fine as hell...and I know you think the same.”

Molly kisses her teeth, “Nigga, don’t flatter yourself.”

ERik raises an eyebrow, “I could see it for myself.  The towel was necessary back there-”

Molly pops him in his arm, hurting herself more than him.  “Whatever, boy!  Go on then, I’m good.”

“You good?”

Molly nods.

Erik leans his head down hovering over her mouth.  They look in each other’s eyes for what seemed like an eternity, before Molly closes the gap.  Slowly they sucked on each other’s lips, like ripened fruit.  Molly caught herself leaning into a little further than she consciously meant to, before Erik pulls back.

“Maybe you ain’t so shy.  We’ll see though.  Call me when you need another appointment, Moll.”

Molly closes the door after him, leaning on the doorframe, completely hot and bothered.  

----

“And that’s all that happened?”  Issa asks her incredulously over a stack of chicken and waffles.

Molly shrugs, pickin at her food, “Girl, that was it.  My snatch was all there for him to do what he wanted, but all he did was help a sistah out.”

“Well I wish a nigga would offer me some salon care if I needed to clear some brush.  That oughta be a requirement.”

Molly laughs, “Could you imagine niggas going to a trade school to learn that because that’s what needs to be done to get pussy?”

“Shit, they do that for cars, clothes, and shit.  Get some skills that are useful for once, save a bitch a dollar.”

“Right?  So….. I don’t know.  He told me to call him if I need a touch up.”  Molly says.

Issa looks at Molly suspiciously, “Now, did he really say that, cuz he startin to sound kinda….” her voice trails off as she wiggles her hand side to side.

Molly screws her face up, “No, dang!  It’s a euphemism, no doubt.  But, I don’t know….”

Issa shrugs, “I know you not gettin cold feet after he has literally played with ya pussy already.  Somethin backwards about that.”

Molly waves her hands, “I know!! It just seemed too intimate to do that and NOT have sex.  I ain’t ready to be wifin niggas up or nuthin.”

“Girl, I’m sure he playin you as hard as you playin him, so don’t think too much.  Just call him up cuz I know you hate clingy dudes, so make your plans.”

Molly pulls out her phone side eyeing Issa.  “Pssh, whatever, miss know-it-all.  Swear you know somebody life.”  Molly grumbles under her breath.  As she texts Erik, she asks Issa, “What about T’Challa though?  When’s your movie date?”

“Umm, supposed to be tomorrow.  And it’s not a date, it’s just...an outing between colleagues to blow off steam.”

Molly scoffs putting down her phone.  “Is that what we callin it these days?  Is that why you asked me about the vaginal rejuvenation buy one get one free promo on Groupon?”

Issa rolls her eyes.  “Female hygiene/reproductive health is important.”

“Bullshit, you gettin ya walls waxed for a slip and slide.”  Molly quips.

“Ok!  I don’t even know what he is down for.  He from the motherland and everything, he might be saving himself.”

Molly pauses, pressing her fist to her mouth.  “It is the biggest misconception that these foreign fools out here all high and mighty, chaste.  Sure there’s some, but TRUST men are men, across all borders.  Food and women:  serve it up, they eatin.”

Issa talks out the side of her mouth.  “Everyone ‘cept you apparently….”

“Aight you can pay your own meal if you wanna talk.”

“Nooo!  I love you!  You’re so great!  Pussy is bomb, sure he gon nom!”  Issa sings beggingly.

---

The evening of the associate outing with T’Challa was less than an hour away, and Issa took her place at the mirror.  Looking at her fiercest rival, herself, she catches a rhythm in her head and start bobbing, feelin herself.

Yo, I been peeped that you really feelin me.

So the next step oughta come quite  naturally.

You can make ya move, but remember I’m the driver.

Don’t want a minute man, don’t even think of gettin tired.

Movie popcorn too high priced, it’s really wack

So how about you try making this nani ya snack?

New name alert, you can her goldfish

Make this pussy smile back, dip in my well and make a wish--

Issa sighs heavily, “Why you so damn horny?”  she touches up her eyebrows as her phone goes off.  T’Challa texts her saying he is on the way to the theatre.  Issa confirms, saying she is too.  She spends another fifteen minutes touching up her face and taking pictures for the ‘gram before heading out in her car.  

Issa bops to her Frank Ocean, getting good vibes and feeling completely full and ready for this night.  It was really starting to feel like a stress reliever.

Suddenly a bump hits her tire.  Issa stills herself as her car rolls violently and rickety down the street.  The rhythmic plop of her tire with every rotation signaled she just made herself a flat tire.

“Shit, shit, nooo!”  Issa curses out loud as she pulled over to the first lear space she could find on the side of the road.  Getting out she begrudgingly surveyed the damage: completely flat.

“Fuck!  Why me!”  Issa yelled to the sky as she clopped over to lean on her car in frustration.  Alone in a cute outfit with brokedown transportation at night wasn’t the best situation for her to be in so she pulls her phone out to call T’Challa and cancel first.

He picks up on the first ring.  “Hello, Ms. Issa.  Are you close?”

Issa picks at the hem of her shorts.  “No, I gotta give you a raincheck, I’m sorry.”

T’Challa sighs disappointed.  “Ahh, did you have other plans then?”

Issa double checks her surroundings.  “I wish I did right now, but no I’m not trying to skip out, my car just gave up on me.”

“Oh, do you need a ride?”  T’Challa asks with a little more perkiness.

Issa pauses.  “Uh, I guess, if you don’t mind?  I don’t want to put you out since you’re already there.”

“Oh no!  It is ok.  Please, just let me know where you are.”  T’Challa says.

She can hear his keys jingling as she tells him her address, going back in her car to wait.

T’Challa’s car pulls up behind hers.  He gets out leaning on her driver’s side.  “That’s a nasty flat.”

Issa sighs, “I needed new tires anyway.  I was waiting for a bonus at work, but why not now, right?”

T’Challa looks at her empathetically, stroking his chin.  “Life has a funny way of doing things like that.”

Issa nods, looking at the time on her phone, groaning with disappointment.  “The movie already started.  We won’t get another showing for another two hours.  I knew I should’ve let you go on home instead of getting me, now that we can’t make the show.”

T’Challa wears a long face.  “I was really looking forward to that show about….the dog?”

Issa chuckles, “Yeeaah, that meets the robot and they save Wall Street?”

T’Challa smiles, the apples of his cheeks invading his facial structure.  “Ahh, an Oscar worthy film, indeed.   Shame to miss…..well at least let me take you home then.”  T’Challa opens her car door as he guides her to his.

“Thank you again, I really appreciate it.”  The ride to her house was quiet.  Issa wasn’t sure what to say since the night was presumably over, but it could also not be over.  She was a grown woman, without a curfew or a parent at home, who could tell her what not to do.  But she certainly didn’t feel comfortable enough to have him burn his gas to turn around and go somewhere else now.  Issa sneaks a look over a T’Challa concentrated on the road.  His arm outstretched, toned and shapely with not so humble muscles.  His long, knuckly hands grip the wheel, subtly massaging the rim.  Issa checks her phone to pass the time, coming up with a game plan as he pulls up to her spot.

He drops his hands to his lap, looking over at Issa.  “Well here we are, Ms. Issa.  If you want to go get your car in the morning, let me know.  I don’t mind at all helping out.  Do you have a spare?”

Issa shakes her head, “No...responsibility isn’t my strongest characteristic.”

T’Challa smirks, “I don’t see you that way at all.  You have many talents as I have seen, and you are a great help to me and the team.”

Issa cheeses, “Well, if you say so, I’ll take it!”

T’Challa leans his head on the headrest.  “It’s true, you are a smart woman.   That’s how I know we can be a success.  It’s not lost on me the cultural differences between me and the community here, but with you as a liason, I can make sure no one is offended or lost in my accent.”

Issa chuckles, “It’s all good.  That lady and her kids were really just looking for a fight.  People aren’t always at their best when accepting help so expect some struggle, but I hear you, no problem at all to bridge that gap.  As for the accent, keep that.  It’s a great ice breaker.”

“You think so?”

“Oh yeah.  People perk up to it automatically to listen closer, so if you have meaningful shit to say, it’ll land quicker.  Plus it’s sexy as…..”  Issa’s voice fades as she catches herself saying too much.

T’Challa tucks his lips and nods, looking ahead as they sit for a while in silence.  Issa cursed herself for getting too forward but also, it had to be said; or at least she convinced herself of that.  How else could she try to lay claim to him without a little flirting?  Issa wasn’t ready to call it a night, so she worked up some inner hood nerve.

“So, you wanna come up or nah?!”  Issa asked with a little too much bass in her voice.

T’Challa looked at her half like she was crazy but slowly smiled.  “You would like some company?”

Issa clears her throat nodding, “I mean, sure.  I’m reclaiming my time!  Just cuz we can’t see a new movie doesn’t mean we can’t hang out.  If you want to, you got the green light….”  Issa’s voice trails off as she studies T’Challa’s reaction.

He takes his keys out of the ignition.  “That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

Issa and T’Challa make their way up to her place, going in she turns on the light.  “Sorry for the mess.  I stay unprepared for company.”

T’Challa stands surveying the surroundings.  “Oh, it’s alright.  I’m just content to be invited.”

Issa picks some clothes off of the couch and cups from the table.  “Please, sit.  Do you drink?”

T’Challa sits, picking up a pillow, studying its design.  “Occasionally; I wouldn’t mind a glass.  Who is this?”

Issa pulls out a bottle looking back at him staring at the pillow.  “Oh that’s Frank Ocean.  Have you heard him?”

T’Challa shakes his head.  “No, but you must think highly of him.”

Issa screws her face up as she pours some cheap moscato.  “I mean, he cool.  I just really liked the pillow.”

T’Challa reads her reaction.  “You don’t have to be embarrassed, it’s cute.”

Issa nods and whispers a cheer to herself at being called cute as she walks the glasses over to him.  “Yeah, I’m a big music head.  Nicki Minaj is around here somewhere but she may be on time out anyway.  Gettin all loud and outta pocket.”  

T’Challa laughs into his glass as he sips.  “I see.  Well, it’s nice to see someone laying down the law in their home.”

Issa gulps her drink as his vice dropped to a sexy octave.  “Mhm!  That’s me!  All business round here.”

T’Challa leans forward putting his drink down.  “Well we aren’t on the clock now, thank goodness.  This week was very crazy.”

“The craziest!  But that should be a sign that it’s on the way for the better now.”

T’Challa turns to Issa, looking at her a little too long.  “Wise words from an attractive woman.”

Issa was internally screaming at this blunt response, but laughs it off to keep the mood light.  “Well the lighting in here is deceptive sometime, and I had a pimple this morning, so...”  

“No joke, don’t sell yourself short.”  T’Challa says as he leans towards Issa, who was not ready, but became completely ready to try him on.  They embrace slowly.  His lips plush against hers, his hands remain at a gentlemanly section of her leg as her heart beats out of her chest.  The associate outing just got a little personal.

Part 5

RagTag

@hbicprettyprincess

@kimianostalgia

@afraiddreamingandloving

@chaneajoyyy

@myfavemarvelfanfics

@nys30

@blkintrovert

@allhailnjadaka

@cutewylie 

Other Works

King Kil’mawalls  

T’akia

Some Weeks Are Better Than Others

Commencement Day

Song of Stevens

The Coffee Prince

N’Jadaka’s Helpful Hands

If I Could Do It All Again

#SundaySweat

Signs of Rain

World’s Best Baba

[persephones24]

Again?!

After watching Black Panther, I just fell in love with M'baku and just had to write something about him. And then I saw something on Facebook saying that he looked like the type of guy to get you pregnant with your 5th child after you got your tubes tied. And I can just see him just doing some shit like that. He bae and fine af. He thick af and i felt personally attacked because i wasnt ready to see him in all his thickness. Also, it's not a spoiler but I'm going to put it just because I'm a nice person like that.

This id for you love since there aren’t any M’Baku fics out yet @captainrogerss

Next up will be smut and i am working on that as we speak. I just wanted to get this out there first. 

M'baku x black!reader (it's race neutral but y'all know what's up)

WordCount: 1321

Warnings: none. Just major fluff.

You slowly walked through the corridor of your home. The slight cold of the snow breeze biting into the exposed flesh. Your feet patted on the ground, automatically taking you to where you need to go. To your chambers. Where your husband is. M’baku is the leader of the Jabari tribe in the country of Wakanda. Having the tribe in the outskirts of the land, hidden in the mountains. You have met your husband as children. Your father was a fisherman of the village, and had business with the leader of the tribe at the time. You met M’baku as a child, and the love that you had for him blossomed throughout your adolescence. He was the first to confess his undying love for you. His confession coming out a lot nervous and broken sentences, but you thought it was adorable and brave. As the two of you dated, he spoiled you rotten. Wishing to give you everything and anything that you deserved. He proposed after 2 years of dating. The two of you confessing your love in front of the tribe and the great jaguar of Wakanda.

After a year of being married, you became pregnant with your first child, N’jaku. M’baku becoming infatuated with the tiny human, declaring that he wanted more children right away. You shrugged it off as just him being proud of his son. But then eight months later, you were pregnant again with your daughter, Zanaiya. You are elated and so is your husband, but another child in less than a year. You and M’baku agreed to wait a few years to have more children.

At the rate that the two of you have been going at it, there won't be no mistake of you having your own football team. You took birth control to of course not get pregnant again. It worked for about a year, but recently you noticed the change in your physical appearance and your appetite. At first you just thought it was because of your period since it was coming soon. But then it never came. It might be late, no worries, you thought.

Until earlier this week, you began to get nauseous, different foods making you sick to your stomach. You had your suspicion and made a visit to the healers. They answered your questions. You are pregnant. 2 months along.

You walked back home in a daze. You were careful. You took the pill on time and never missed a day. How can this even happen. The shock of the news that you have received still in effect as you came closer to your shared bedroom. The sound of your children's laughter filling the hallway. You peeked into the room, seeing your gorilla of a husband, playing with his kids. N’jaku and Zanayia sat on his thighs, laughing hysterically while he tickled them mercifully.

A smile spread on your lips, your heart swelling at the site of your little family. He might not look it with his 6’4 and built of thick muscle and intimidating glare, but he is a family man through and through. Only showing this side to those who are close to him.

You made yourself known, walking fully into the room. M’baku noticed you first, the smile on his face never ceasing.

“Sithandwa sam, welcome home.” You took slow stride towards your little family, M’baku and N’jaku beginning to wrestle while Zanaiya waddled over to you. Picking the toddler up, you set her on your hip, she instantly snuggled into your side, her little head resting between your shoulder and neck.

N’jaku made a cry of victory as he pushed his father to the bed, putting his feet to his chest and making the gorilla call. You laugh at his silliness.

“Mommy, I got baba.”

“I see; you are becoming very strong. Maybe one day you will surpass your father.”

Hands shoot out and grab hold to the toddler, engulfing him in a hug.

“But until then umfana wam omncinane, you practice on your skills.” You stood in between M’baku thick thighs, his brown orbs staring at you in awe. You leaned down, capturing his lips in a sweet and tender kiss, lingering longer than need.

“Ikumkani wam.” He said, using his right hand to rub your hip. He hums in bliss.

“Wam kumkani.” You kiss him again, feeling the love he has for you in it.

“How are you feeling?”

“Much better.”

“Good. Can't have my Queen sick now can we.” he said, kissing you again. You leaned back slightly, sighing deeply. You don't know why you are so nervous to tell him, more children are what he wants, so why is this so hard.

“What is wrong?”

“I have something to tell you.” You hold Zanaiya tighter, gathering the courage to say what's on your mind. The one year olds yawn tore you from your inside debate.

“It's time for bed, umncinci.” You reach out to take N’jaku from him, but he gently pushed your hands away, taking the half sleep child from your arms.

“I'll put them to bed. You rest. Say goodnight to mommy.” Kissing both of your children on the head, they mumble their goodnight as M’baku took them to bed. You couldn't help but stare at his thighs, the thickness of them sending your mind into the gutter. No wonder why you're pregnant, no matter how much you two go at it, you can never be tired of him or his thickness.

You sat at the end of your bed, patiently waiting for your husband to come back.

After a while, he came back into the bedroom. His face etched in worry. He stood before you, his large hands cradling your cheeks.

“What is it that you must tell me?”

It's now or never.

“Remember we agreed that we should wait a few years until we start to have kids again.”

This caught his attention, his face growing deeper in confusion.

“Yes I remember. Why?”

“Well…. You see…. I'm p-pregnant.” There was a long pause, with him just staring at you face blank. With a lack of response, you started to get worried. Did he actually not want to have another baby right now?

M’baku cracked a smile, it reaching up to his eyes. He kissed you deeply, lifting you up from the bed, and holding you in a semi tight embrace.

“You're happy, my love?”

“Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? I knew those tiny pills couldn't stop my soldiers from impregnating you.” He gently lay you down on your shared bed.

“You what?”

“Sithandwa sam, it is in a gorilla’s nature to breed his women and to have as many offspring as possible. A means of survival. Those pills would not keep me from fulfilling my animalistic duties.”

He lay between your legs, resting his head on your stomach, rubbing your barely there bump. You began carding your fingers over his thick hair. “It is also in a Gorillas nature to have a harem. Do you have other women that I don't know about?”

“Hayi women, Only you. You are the jealous type; I would not want to bring that beast out.” M’baku kissed you stomach, pushing the dress you had on over your stomach. He began to trail a line of kisses down your stomach to your thighs. Your breath hitch, making you aroused. You can feel him nipping and kissing on the meaty flesh of your thighs. He took a deep inhale.

“My, don’t you smell divine. I can never get enough of you.” Hooking his fingers in your panties, he took them off, tossing them somewhere behind him. Tossing your legs over his big shoulders, he settled himself between your thighs, mouth so close to your awaiting heat.

“If you keep that up, I might get pregnant again.”

“Ikumkani wam, I want a whole army once I am done with you.”

Translations: 

Ikumkani wam: My Queen

Sithandwa sam: My love

Wam kumkani: My King

umfana wam omncinane: My Little Warrior

umncinci: Princess 

Hayi: No

[gingerkookies]

Tribal - Chapter 2

word count: 1,222 content: plot development genre: fantasy/scifi

Previous chapter: ch1

You woke up with a start, sitting up and gasping for air. You heard a grumble behind you and turned to see your mother in her wolf form, raising her great head, eyes bleary with sleep. After a second you realized that a warm, soft yellow aura enveloped her and she looked just slightly different than her usual self. You were so confused. You knew this was you mom, but how could she look different?

Opening her jaws in a great yawn, your mother stood up and twisted into her human form, a smile on her lips. That was when you noticed the whiskers. There were whiskers in front of your eyes.. And a black nose that definitely wasn't there before. When you opened your mouth to scream, a human scream didn't come out, but a high-pitched yowl instead. Your heart was racing as your mother let out a soft chuckle.

"It's alright, darling," she said comfortingly as she knelt in front of you. Your eyes were glancing around everywhere, taking in how everything looked just a tad bit oversaturated with new colors that swirled around lazily in the morning breeze. Not only were the colors off, everything seemed sharper, as though all the edges were cut by a fine blade. Finally turning back to your mother, you were silent as questions and thoughts fought for dominance in your head.

"Darling, you’re a panther, like Kara and your uncle Hoshi," your mother smiled warmly, eyes crinkling at the edges in sincerity. Panther. The word immediately frightened away all other thoughts as it seemed to echo around in your now blank mind. Finally you saw them, your paws, your tail, your feline body. Black. All black as night. You sprung up, chest once again about to explode as the fears you'd had all your life came true: you weren't a wolf animorph. You wanted to scream and throw a tantrum while at the same time wanting to sob uncontrollably into your pillow at home.

Before you knew it you were off. You were running somewhere and you were going faster than you had ever gone before. "Be home for dinner," your mother's calm telepathic voice floated into your mind, soothing some of your nerves. Yes, mother, you thought to yourself as you effortlessly picked up your pace.

Hoshi woke to the pounding of paws. Eyes snapping open, he opened his mouth to taste the air. With a start he realized it was you. Why is she here? His mind raced. Shaking himself, he stepped out of his little nook at the base of a great pine tree, only to get thrown back into it a second later by a black furry mass hurtling into his side.

The two felines both let out yowls of surprise as they tumbled to the ground. Untangling himself from your limbs, Hoshi noticed the white aura surrounding you and his heart skipped a beat. It can't be, he thought, backing away from your dazed form. Finally seeming to get a hold of yourself and your new body, you rolled onto your paws and turned to face Hoshi.

"Hoshi…" you said in your feline tongue, not realizing that only other felines would be able to understand. The scene before you had your mind reeling. Hoshi had his fangs bared, hissing softly as he stepped away from you. However, he wasn't his usual deep black. It was as if there was a thin film before your eyes. A thin… white film. Your eyes widened as a memory flashed before your eyes. A memory of a blinding white aura.

She's seeing it again, Hoshi realized as he watched your eyes. Shaking himself, he forced himself to calm down. "_____," he called to you, his heartbeat still thumping loudly in his ears. Your eyes, which had been glazed over in thought, snapped back to his blue ones. "Is my aura… white to you?" he asked carefully. At the slow nod of your head he laid down with a sigh, resting his great head on his paws.

Taking a deep breath, you settled across from him in the hollow filled with dried pine needles. You started a few times as the questions bubbled up in your mind, but you pushed away the urge to speak, instead choosing to mull things over in silence.

After some time, Hoshi finally turned towards you. "_____, you must be my mate." There was a pain in his voice and his words seemed tired. "I'm sure you're as shocked as me, but… but this is the plan of the gods." He let out a half-hearted laugh as he said, "Seems they really want me to be part of your family, eh?" Your eyes crinkled in a soft smile. Kara had been very close to you and it had destroyed your family when Hoshi had brought back her lifeless body. A rogue band of hunters had come across them as they were out one night. You'd forever remember the bitter reek of blood and the emptiness in Hoshi's eyes.

As you sat there in thoughtful silence, the fears that your mad sprint had momentarily shrugged off came rushing back. You were the only daughter of two of the alpha wolves in the Wolf Tribe… and your animorph was a panther. Your fears had come true. You would have to choose between remaining in the Wolf Tribe, but being forced to live as an omega with the other females who were not wolf animorphs, and leaving. But if you left, you'd either have to find the Panther Tribe, suffer the same fate in another tribe, or set off alone.

An animorph had a year from their coming-of-age day to make a decision. Kara hadn't reached her first year before she had been killed and now it was your turn to make the same decision. Leaving terrified you, but so did being almost outcast by your own tribe.

Sensing your anxiety, Hoshi stood up and padded over to you, curling his larger feline frame around yours and settling his head on your haunches. He took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled a breath laced with healing energy into your face. Your eyes fluttered for a second as sleep began to muddle your thoughts before you finally took a deep breath of your own and allowed yourself to slip into unconsciousness.

Hoshi gazed tiredly at your closed eyes. As a panther, you had brilliant dark purple eyes that he had caught himself gazing into while you were lost in thought. Never would he have thought that the gods would have decided on giving him another mate. The occurrence was rare, to say the least. Mostly because the majority of animorphs don't have to go through the pain of losing their mates, a voice whispered in the back of his mind, bitter with the remnants of his grief. But here you were, laying before him, shimmering with a bright white aura… an aura that reminded him of a happier time. With these thoughts in mind, Hoshi too drifted to sleep, wrapped in memories of Kara… and of you.

Unbeknownst to either of you, curled up together in the shade of the massive pine tree, a new mate bond began to form as tendrils from each of your spirits began to intertwine.

Yay~ more plot development! I think I’m getting more of a handle on where I want to go with this haha... if I had the time I’d love to spin up something longer, but maybe aim for 5 chapters? That’s doable... I hope.

[nozoroomie]

Confessing Really Shouldn’t be this Difficult Chapter 1: Love Letter Part 1

Summary:  Confession attempt number one: An incredibly crafted love letter, written with the help of her two best friends. The stationery is perfect, the letter is dropped off at just the right time, and everything seems to be in place. What could possibly go wrong?

Notes: Hello everyone! Welcome to the very first -official- chapter of this story! Thank you for being so patient and hanging on to just the prologue for so long- I promise I'll try to keep up with regular updates. If things go well, hopefully every 2-3 weeks a new chapter will be posted!

Small note: Every time "Line" is mentioned, it's referring to the instant messaging app!

And a special HUGE thank you to @banditchika , I'm love you, thank you so so much for all your help betaing this and helping me figure out better ways to word my sentences, and to @ Sessaware for also reading it over and giving me her input! Thank you both again so so much ;w;.I hope you guys enjoy this first chapter!

Thank you for reading, replying. commenting and rebloging! Every bit of feedback means a lot to me ;w;

Word count: 6,392

[A03]

“Hanayo?!”

Nico sighs and fiddles with her eraser at the end of the club table. A notebook lies open in front of her and a mechanical pencil rests next to it. Eli’s exclamation causes her to blush a bit. Is it always this embarrassing telling your best friends who you have a crush on?

“That’s right Elichi~” Nozomi says in a sing song voice. “Our beloved Nicocchi is in love with cute little Hanayo-chan!”

“Harasho!” Eli’s eyes sparkle with excitement and she looks at Nico with the brightest smile, “I was a bit worried when you asked for us to meet in the club room, but I’m glad it’s for something as wonderful as this.”

Nico smiles awkwardly. “Thanks, I guess.” She shrugs and plays with her eraser a bit more.

“Do you plan on telling her?” Eli asks.

A dumb question from Eli, really. She’s got writing supplies in front of her- she’s asked both of them to meet with her and given Eli the final details of the conversation her and Nozomi had the night before. The question isn’t if Nico plans on telling her, but more like how she plans on telling her.

“Actually, that’s sort of why you’re here. Both of you.” Nico points towards Nozomi, who flashes a small grin.

“Nicocchi, is this your way of asking us to help you?” She teases.

Eli’s face is ecstatic for a moment, the idea already warming up to her. She looks to Nico with a unwavering and determined smile. Nico blushes a bit, not sure if she can answer Nozomi when Eli’s looking at her like that.

“I’d love nothing more than to help you out.” She says with confidence, “I’ll do whatever I can to help get your feelings to reach Hanayo.”

Despite Eli’s reassurance, Nico can see the tiny tinge of pink on Eli’s cheeks, as if she were a little embarrassed by her choice of words. She wishes this were a conversation on Line and not in person, that way she wouldn’t have to attempt to hide her blush. Or have to hear the words “your feelings” and “Hanayo” voiced out loud by her friends. It’s not like she’s embarrassed or  anything, but hearing the words spoken out loud from other people makes it feel more real. More set in stone. The idea of telling Hanayo she loves her is nerve wracking, but making a plan to act on those feelings makes her heart race in a way that can only be described as horrifying. Or exciting. There’s actually several ways Nico could describe this feeling, if she really thinks about it.

This might be hard to get used to.

“Yes okay! Yeah, I need a bit of help. Not like, a huge amount, I just-” she pauses, looking to the paper and gesturing to it with both hands. “I want to write her this love letter, full of my feelings, but I don’t even know how to begin it.”

“Oooh, you’re gunna tell her through love letter huh? Good choice, Nicocchi. Very direct and to the point.” Nozomi nods her head, approving of Nico’s idea.

“Right? I thought so too.” Nico crosses her arms and smirks, satisfied that her idea is a hit. “My problem here is I can’t write a good enough letter.”

“How many times have you tried to write it?” Eli inquires.

“About three,” Nico replies instantly. Her friends stare at each other before looking back to her and she sighs dejectedly. “ Okay, seven. But none of them sound right! I can’t form the right words at all. Saying ‘I like you, please go out with me,’ is way too flat and unexciting, but whenever I try to elaborate I just get distracted and end up with disasters like this.”

She flips a couple pages back in her notebook and hands it to Eli. She takes it and glances over one of the letters Nico’s written. Her cheeks puff a little as she tries -and fails- to stifle a small giggle. She covers her mouth with one hand and Nico rolls her eyes.

“It’s fine. That’s one of the first drafts so of course it’s bad.”

“I-it’s not that.” Eli tries to reassure, “The letter just sounds nothing like you at all. It’s like you’re putting on an act.”

“Eh?! Seriously?! I didn’t think it was that bad...” Nico grumbles and Eli flips the page, reading over the next letter.

“Hmm.. this ones better, but you’re right about sounding too flat. I’d say it’s more like you’re really… stiff?” She looks to Nozomi with a questioning gaze and holds the notebook out to her.

Nozomi takes it with both hands and scans the letter. She puts a thoughtful hand to her chin and hums, furrowing her brows and examining the characters on the page. Nico can already hear something ridiculous coming from Nozomi’s mouth.

“Actually, It’s just really easy to tell how nervous you are while writing this.”

Surprised, Nico sits up.

“Really?” She asks.

“Mhmm. It’s not even about penmanship really, it’s more like your wording fumbles around a lot, ya know?” She flips the page back to the earlier letter and reads it, smirking a little before pushing the notebook away. “That first one on the other hand? Yikes.”

There it is. Nico frowns. “Gee, thanks.”

“So, how do we help Nico improve her letter then?” Eli says, bringing the two of them back to the main question once again.

The three of them fall into silence, pondering it. Nico’s hands go back to fiddling with her eraser and Eli takes the notebook, scanning through the different letters Nico’s already written. Nozomi looks to the ceiling with a small frown as she considers different options. A phone vibrates and each of the girls check their pockets to determine who’s phone received the message.

Nico’s eyes light up a little when she notices an e-mail notification from Hanayo. She opens it with glee and Eli and Nozomi peer over curiously, wanting to know who the sender is. The contents are an image file and a caption that says “Don’t tell Maki-chan I sent this!!”

“Oho? What’s this Hanayo-chan is sending you?” Nozomi quips, leaning closer to get a better look.

“Isn’t it a bit rude to peek at messages that aren’t yours?” Nico jabs, but does nothing to move away from Nozomi or Eli’s curious gazes.

Nozomi laughs and says nothing to follow up. Nico taps on the thumbnail and the photo takes a moment before it loads. Nico snorts while Eli and Nozomi chuckle as a photo of a flustered Maki and beaming Rin take up the screen. Both have kitty whiskers drawn on in some sort of pen, and judging by the slight blur of the photo, Hanayo must have moved her camera out of the way fast so Maki didn’t notice. Nico’s phone vibrates and she exits from the photo to read the next message.

In quotations, the text reads “We’re a couple of cutie panthers!” followed by a dash and Rin’s name. Nico laughs loudly while the other two giggle with her. When she recovers from her laughter she opens up a blank reply and begins to type.

“Cute, but if I remember right, there’s three cutie panthers, ain’t there?”

Nico hits send with another laugh.

“Ahh, lunch with those three looks like it’s fun. We should all eat together sometime.” Nozomi comments with a grin.

“We can always do that tomorrow.” Eli suggests.

Another vibration comes from Nico’s phone and she ignores the other two as they begin making plans for tomorrow's lunch. The reply from Hanayo is only a photo this time, and Nico opens it curiously. When the picture loads her throat closes and her hold on the phone tightens. Hanayo’s holding a shy peace sign up with one hand. Her glasses are on and decorating either sides of her face are two whiskers that match Maki and Rin’s from the previous photo. There’s a slight tinge of pink to her cheeks, as well as a couple grains of rice lingering in the corner of her mouth.

Nico feels like she could die happy this very moment from the surprise photo. Nozomi and Eli have stopped talking and are looking at Nico with concern on their faces. Her phone vibrates again and Nico’s brought back to reality, backing away from the photo and reading the follow up text.

“Rin-chan had to take the photo, but we’re all here!! (´･ω･`)”

‘Thank you Rin.’ Nico thinks, tempted to raise her fist in the air.

“What was the last picture Hanayo sent?” asks Nozomi as she leans closer, wanting to see the image. Nico almost chucks the phone across the room in her surprise.

“I-It was Hanayo,” She says, going back to the picture to show the other two.

“Is this a sign you and I are being replaced by Rin and Hanayo for the next performance of Cutie Panther?” Eli jests, a warm smile on her face. “We can swap subunits for the day. Nico, you can be with Printemps while I join Lily White.”

Eli’s the only one who laughs at her joke. Nozomi and Nico make eye contact, knowing that if a switch like that actually happened, Eli would probably be in Printemps and Nico would join Lily White. They let Eli have her fun and Nozomi watches as Nico smiles fondly at the photo on her screen.

“Nicocchi really loves Hanayo-chan, doesn’t she.” It’s not said as a question, nor teasingly. It’s a genuine observation. Nico looks to her friend and notices the warm, fond smile she has. The kind Nozomi wears when Eli walks into the room.

“I-” She pauses, thinking over her own feelings. She knows talking with Nozomi last night cleared up her uncertain feelings, but they’re still so new and unfamiliar, she feels a little weird saying them outloud. “I really, really do.”

Nozomi and Eli settle back down in their chairs. Nozomi looks at Eli, silently communicating something that the blonde seems to understand perfectly. Her green eyed gaze looks back to Nico and her smile turns cheeky as she asks a question.

“Why?”

Flabbergasted, Nico almost glares at her.

“What the heck do you mean ‘why’?!” She almost throws her arms up. “I don’t know why I love Hanayo! It just sort of happened.”

Nozomi hums.

“Love has a weird way of doing that.” She says with a nod. “But what do you love about her?”

Nico hesitates. There’s a lot she could say for this question. It isn’t just a single thing, more like a compilation of little things.

“I love a lot of things about her,” She eventually begins, “I love her personality. Even if she is a little timid and doesn’t have a lot of confidence in herself some times, if she’s determined, she’ll do her best to succeed. She’s cute- not just her looks, but everything about her is cute. She’s great to talk with, she always makes sure you know she’s listening to you and she’s serious about idols. She may even rival me when it comes to how much we know about the business.”

Nico thinks about her junior and a small smile forms on her face. All the time spent with her, conversations they’ve shared, every little detail that brought them closer together and strengthened their friendship were also little things that helped Nico fall for her in the first place. She misses the gentle smiles both Eli and Nozomi stare at her with. She speaks in a soft tone as she continues.

“I love the way she laughs. The way her eyes light up when she see’s something she loves, or hears something good about muse. I love how she shouts “BIG NEWS!” when there’s been an update on Love Live, or anything in general really. I love all of these and I love all of her.”

Eli sniffles a bit and Nico looks over to see her wiping away a tear.

“Eh?! Are you crying?!” She’s a mixture of embarrassed and proud of the little detail and Eli doesn’t try to deny it.

“I-I don’t mean to! It’s just so sweet.” She sighs a bit and smiles, “It’s nice, seeing how happy loving her makes you.”

Nico almost buries her face into her hands to hide her embarrassment.

“It really is, isn’t it?” Nozomi giggles and looks at Eli, “and you wrote all of it down, right Elichi?”

Eli holds up a piece of paper Nico hadn’t noticed and winks.

“Every word.”

Nico almost screams.

“You wrote it all down?! What the hell?!” She stands up flustered, reaching over to Eli and grabbing the paper. She scans Eli’s point form notes of the confession and she feels her face heat up.

“It’s to help you, Nicocchi!” Nozomi laughs, “If you can say all of this outloud, you shouldn’t have a problem with putting it on paper, right?”

Nico swears she can hear a heavenly chorus. There’s a golden glow surrounding Nozomi, making her think nothing less of an angelic angel;maybe even a beautiful goddess like Muse's namesakes. Nico reaches over and grabs Nozomi’s hands into her own, looking her dead in the face and saying her thoughts proudly.

“You’re a genius and if I could, I’d kiss you right now.”

Nozomi’s eyes practically light up and Eli coughs. Nico laughs.

“Geeze Eli, I’m kidding. Besides, I should be kissing you since you wrote down all of this great content that just came out of my mouth. I won’t, because that’d be weird, but I’d kiss you if it wasn’t.”

Eli’s cheeks redden and Nozomi lets out a small, disappointed hum (Nico wants to assume it’s because she joked about kissing Eli instead of her, but she knows Nozomi’s probably disappointed there’s no kissing at all. ) She rereads everything Eli’s written down carefully before reaching into her bag and pulling out a piece of pink stationery. Lining the outsides of it is a pattern of a bunny silhouette and tiny pink hearts. It’s Nico’s favourite, and the perfect kind to use for something as important as this.

“Okay. I think I have the right idea.” Nico grabs her pencil and without any more hesitation, she begins to write on the dotted lines of the paper.

Nozomi and Eli busy themselves with light conversation, not wanting to distract Nico from her writing. Lunch is nearing its end and the girl is determined to finish this before heading back to class. She needs to finish it now. It has to be slipped into Hanayo’s shoe locker before practice starts. She’s glad that no matter the speed of her writing, it’s always perfectly legible- and quite adorable, if she’s truly honest. Practicing to have the cutest writing in grade 3 had perfect, lasting impressions.

By the time she reaches the end of the letter, she hesitates. It’s time for her to write her name. She swallows, hard, her pencil hovering above the bottom of the paper. This would seal the letters fate. She could leave it anonymous, leave Hanayo guessing who left the letter in her locker and have her ponder endlessly until she either figured it out or Nico decided enough was enough- but then what would be the point of the love letter? Nico didn’t want to make this anonymous. She wanted Hanayo to know her true feelings, and know that it’s her who has been nothing but blessed with falling in love with her.

That thought alone makes Nico sign the bottom of the paper, and for an added touch she doodles a small heart and a tiny “nico nico nii” next to it.

“Nico, I’m sorry but lunch is almost over,” Eli’s voice has a hint of worry to it, but Nico looks up with a triumphant smile.

“Guess that means I made the deadline~” She grins, holding the letter out to her. “Well, tell me what you think.”

Eli gingerly takes it from her, reading it. She nods at some parts and Nico watches as her smile grows wider. She hands the paper off to Nozomi when she’s finished reading and turns to Nico, giving her a wink and a thumbs up.

“It’s perfect!”

Nico silently pats herself on the back and Nozomi laughs.

“It is. It’s very much like Nicocchi too. I’d expect nothing less than this.” Nozomi hands the paper back to Nico and grins. “Looks like the hardest part is over.”

Nico sighs in relief.

“Thank god. Now all I have to do is put it in her locker before practice.”

Eli wants to add a thought in, but the bell signalling the end of lunch rings and her thoughts are pushed to the side. Nico quickly folds the letter up and puts it into a matching envelope. She doesn’t seal it as she slips it into her bag and she follows Nozomi and Eli as they stand from their chairs.

“Good luck with your letter, Nico.” Eli says with a smile.

“Thanks,” Nico returns the smile, “I’ll need it.”

The three of them laugh as they exit the club room and head towards their classrooms for the second half of the school day.

Fifteen minutes left in class and Nico’s having a small breakdown. Her English work means nothing right now, the most important moment of the day is approaching and Nico isn’t so sure she’s as prepared as she thought she was. She’s never felt so anxious before; not even before her very first live at Otonokizaka.

She reaches into her bag and pulls out the envelope. There’s no harm in being certain your love letter is perfect, right? And it wasn’t like she had the chance to proofread it herself during lunch- she was a little behind by the time she was able to begin writing it. Her eyes carefully scan the letter over and over again, double and triple checking that everything is written perfectly and that her mess of words actually got her feelings across. She fails to notice the girls around her packing up their books and getting ready to leave class. The teacher calls for everyones attention, but Nico ignores it as she checks over the letter one last time.

The end of day bell rings and Nico’s brought back to reality. Startled by the chime, Nico hurriedly gathers all her things. She quickly seals up the envelope, not giving it a second thought as she turns it around and scribbles the kanji for Hanayo’s name. She’s determined to get it downstairs and inside of Hanayo’s shoe locker, while still being on time to make it to the club room with the rest of the gang. She haphazardously throws all her books and loose papers into her school bag before making a mad dash out of the class.

On her way down the hall, she notices Eli give her a quick thumbs up. She returns it with a small smile as she excuses herself past a couple of girls, weaving her way by them and dashing down the stairs. She clutches the cute stationary in her hands like her life depends on it, not wanting to lose the important letter. The letter that contains her most heartfelt feelings towards her junior.

By the time Nico makes it to the bottom, her breathing is incredibly heavy.  A few students look her way, worried about her current state, but she waves them off and tells them she’s fine. She moves as quickly as any winded girl can towards the entrance and the shoe lockers, heading straight for the row with Hanayo’s. She scans each number on the shoe compartments with careful eyes, not wanting to mistake the numbers.

“216…. 220... “ she mumbles to herself as she glances at the numbers. “Ah! 223!”

She swallows the nervous lump in her throat as she reaches the exact locker she needs to be at. With shaky hands, she pulls the door open carefully. Inside it, Hanayo’s outdoor shoes sit on the bottom level, neatly placed next to one another and not a single detail out of place. It’s very cute; very much like her. Nico shakes her head before placing it down on the pair of brown shoes before shutting the locker tightly. She glances up to the clock and sighs in relief when it reads only a few minutes have gone by since she made her mad dash down the stairs.

“Now.. to climb back up them.”

Nico groans as she makes her way back inside the building and towards the closest staircase.

“Great practice today, everybody!” Umi calls out to the group. “We’ve all been working really hard on our steps lately, so I think tomorrow we should all take the time to memorize the new lyrics. Does that work for everyone?”

A chorus of “Yes!” comes from the group. Umi smiles and dismisses everyone for the day. Nico immediately goes for her towel, picking it up and wiping the sweat off her brow. There’s a nudge from her right side and she glances to see Nozomi peeking at her with curious eyes. Nico frowns.

“What?” She asks in a flat tone.

“Oh nothing~. Just wondering how dropping off the ‘you know what’ went.” She gives Nico a tiny wink and Nico immediately leans in to shush her.

“S-shut up! It went fine! What else did you think would happen?!”

Nozomi laughs and shrugs.

“Dunno.” She turns her gaze over to their juniors to see Hanayo talking with Maki about today's practice. Nico’s gaze follows hers and her eyes soften. Her heart jumps in her chest and she reaches up, absentmindedly clenching it.

“Don’t worry Nicocchi.” Nozomi says quietly. “I’m sure your feelings will reach her through that letter. You worked hard on it during lunch time, after all.”

Nico nods. She wishes there’s more she could do, but it’s all up to her letter now. She hopes that maybe Hanayo will text her later after reading it, or will ask to meet up to give her a proper response. There’s so many ways this could go, the thought of having to wait to find out stresses Nico out just a bit more than the idea of confessing to the girl face to face.

“Hey Nicocchi,” Nozomi says in a whisper close to her ear. “If we hurry up, maybe we can watch Hanayo-chan get the letter from her locker.”

Nico’s head whips to the side, her pigtails smacking Nozomi in the face. The idea pieces itself together inside her brain and she shouts.

“WELL, WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?!” She grabs Nozomi by the wrist and drags her to the door, calling back to their third comrade, “ELI, HURRY UP! YOU’RE WALKING WITH US, RIGHT?!”

Nozomi’s laughing as Nico pulls her through the door to the stairs and Eli sighs, saying goodbye to the girls and quickly following the two of them off the rooftop.

“Why exactly do we need to hurry?!” She asks, looking to Nozomi for an answer.

“Nicocchi wants to watch the magical moment happen.” Nozomi explains with a cheeky grin, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious as well.”

Nico’s face feels warm but she says nothing as they reach the club room. They grab their uniforms and it doesn’t take the three of them long to change out of their practice clothes and back into them. Nico doesn’t bother tying her ribbon up nicely as she hoists her bag over her shoulder and waits impatiently by the door.

Once the other two have finished, Nico leads the way down the halls and to the school’s entrance. She ignores the increasing butterflies that build up more and more in the pit of her stomach. Thanks to the adrenaline from practice, it feels like nothing more than a light tickle, but she knows the moment Hanayo opens that  locker door she’ll be feeling the full force of her anxieties.

The three of them settle in the perfect spot in the aisle next to the one with Hanayo’s locker. Nico stands between both of her friends, biting her lip and pushing all the thoughts that seem too hopeful out of her mind. She reminds herself that it’s a love letter, Hanayo might not read it until she gets home and even then, there’s no telling what her reaction might be. Maybe Nico will be rejected. Maybe Hanayo won’t want to be anything more than friends. Maybe she’s already dating somebody else Nico doesn’t know of (a silly thought, she realizes, because Hanayo keeps no secrets from muse, and they both know being an idol and having a lover has its problems .)

Voices can be heard in the distance and Nico can feel both Nozomi and Eli shifting closer to her in their excitement. Eli’s hand is comfortingly resting on her shoulder while Nozomi has linked her arm with Nico’s. This is it. The moment of truth is right before their eyes. Nico swallows nervously.

Rin and Hanayo step into the school entrance, discussing the English homework they’d been given. The older girls are so quiet that not a breath can be heard from any of them. Rin’s voice becomes a bit distant as she heads to her locker all the way at the end of the row, near the exit. Nico shuts her eyes tightly and the sound of Hanayo opening the door to her own echos in her ears.

“Eh?” Hanayo startles. “H-huh.. Whats this..?!”

Nico’s lips form a thin line and her face heats up even more. She’s hyper aware of the way Nozomi and Eli tense up with her; how all three of them stand as still as possible. She can hear the way Hanayo turns over the envelope and how she reads out her own name to herself. Nico shuts her eyes tightly and waits as the moment reaches its peak: would Hanayo open the envelope now? Or later?

“R-Rin-chan!” Hanayo calls out immediately, “R-Rin-chan!!!”

“Kayo-chin?!” Rin shouts back, followed by fast approaching footsteps. “What’s up!? What’s wro- OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT?!”

“I-I DON’T KNOW!” Hanayo cries, “IT’S ADDRESSED TO ME!”

“KAYO-CHIN, IS THAT A LOVE LETTER?!”

“I DON’T KNOW!”

It’s almost comical, the reactions the two of them have. If Nico weren’t so nervous, she’d be laughing about this. She feels the weight of Eli’s hand lift off her shoulder and her eyes glance to her, watching her cover her mouth and shake a little bit. She nudges Eli playfully and the girl only tries to stifle her laughs more.

“Geeze, you two are loud. What’s gotten you both so riled up?” A voice comes from the hall.

“MAKI-CHAN, IT’S BIG NEWS!” Rin exclaims, stealing the popular catchphrase from Hanayo, “KAYO-CHIN FOUND A LETTER IN HER LOCKER!”

“Eh?!” Maki’s voice seems surprised and the third years listen as her footsteps move closer to the other three.

Nico wishes she could see Hanayo’s expression right now.

“Koizumi Hanayo,” Maki reads the front of the envelope.”W-well, it’s certainly a letter for you alright.”

“Right?! This is amazing! Kayo-chin, you gotta open it!” Rin’s voice is bubbly and you can tell she’s got a slight bounce in her posture as she speaks.

“N-now?! B-but.. But I can’t.. it.. it wouldn’t be right to read it right now, would it?!”

“Rin, you can’t just ask Hanayo to read something personal right here in front of us.” Maki scolds.

Nico silently thanks Maki for stopping everyone from seeing the confession. It isn’t that it’s badly written- Nico poured her whole heart into it. It’s the highest quality love letter around. But, as great as it is, it's meant for one person’s eyes only (A silly thought, she realizes, when she remembers she had Eli and Nozomi proof read it.)

“Aww, but the flaps already opening up, see?”

‘Stupid cheap stationery.’ Nico almost grumbles.

“Eh?! Oh no! It is!” Hanayo sounds distressed. “I-I’ll just reseal it-”

Her voice cuts off and there’s an awkward silence from the other side of the shoe lockers. Nico glances to Eli and Nozomi in confusion and the both of them wear an expression that mirrors her own. Suddenly, Rin shouts so loudly that Nico’s positive all the clubs outside can hear her.

“IT’S EMPTY?!?!”

Nico’s eyes widen. Nozomi and Eli look at her bewildered as she starts quietly rummaging through her bag. She hands various textbooks and notebooks for both Eli and Nozomi to hold as she digs deeper into the bag. Sure enough, as she pulls out her English notebook, a corner of paper that matches the envelope the first years currently have peeks out at her. Nico tugs at it carefully and clutches it with a shaky hand as her face goes pale and her heart sinks. Staring her right in the face is her confession. The single most important detail of the love letter.

Nico wants to cry.

“Who would just put an empty envelope in your locker?!” Rin asks, her voice a mixture of offended and astonished.

“An idiot.” Maki says, and you can tell she wears an unhappy expression. “Don’t pay any mind to it Hanayo. This is a low prank.”

“You think it’s a prank?!” Rin’s horrified when she asks, not wanting to assume the worst like Maki has.

“W-well, what else could it be?!” Maki retorts. Nico can picture her arms are crossed and her fingers playing with her hair.

Hanayo hasn’t said anything in what feels like forever. Nico’s heart sinks imagining how hurt she must feel. There’s a nudge from the side Eli’s on and she glances to her taller friend. She points down the row and Nico turns just in time to see Nozomi walking out of their aisle and into the first years.

She almost yells.

“I was wondering what the commotion was~” Nozomi’s voice jumps in and Nico buries her face into her hands.

“Nozomi-chan!” Rin calls out to her. “Hey hey, come look at this!”

Eli and Nico listen as Nozomi’s footsteps get closer to the other girls.

“Hm? A love letter?!” She exclaims curiously.

“That’s what we thought too but it’s empty!!” Rin definitely sounds angry about this now, no thanks to Maki pointing out it could be a prank.

“Ahh… isn’t that something.” Nozomi responds.

“Uhm,” It’s the first time Hanayo’s spoken since they realized it was empty and Nico’s stomach tightens. “N-Nozomi-chan, you don’t��� you don’t think this is a prank, do you?”

Her voice sounds hurt. Nico wants to punch herself in the face. Or smash it repeatedly into the lockers. How could she be so stupid and forget the actual letter? The cute envelope is nothing without the letter inside of it. This is a disaster.

“Mmm, well, it does seem that way doesn’t it?” Nozomi starts, “But Otonokizaka is full of sweet girls. I don’t think any of them would intentionally put an envelope in your locker without the letter.”

There’s a small silence from the other side.

“That’s true,” Hanayo says quietly. “Everyone I talk with here is so kind towards me.”

“Mhm. Plus, the school loves muse, don’t they?” Nozomi adds. “I think whoever gave this to you is just a little clumsy. They’re probably going to open their bag later and find the letter and feel pretty silly for forgetting to put it in the envelope.”

Nico can hear the smirk in Nozomi’s voice and she doesn’t know whether she should feel grateful or upset by the way she’s saving the situation.

Rin giggles a bit.

“That sounds kind of sad. Now I feel kinda bad for whoever gave Kayo-chin the empty envelope.”

“I’m not convinced.” Maki states, still unimpressed by the situation. “But it’s not really my concern. Hanayo, what do you think?”

There’s a moment of pause before the timid girl speaks.

“I think Nozomi-chan might be right.” She says, “I really don’t think anyone would do a prank like this. N-not here, anyway, but uhm,” She pauses a bit, as if thinking of what to say next. “W-well, I am hoping that they aren’t too sad about it later.”

Nico’s heart soars. This girl is just too good. Way too good. Even now, after her confession letter failed, she still hopes that whoever attempted to confess to her isn’t feeling down about failing. Nico wishes she could tell her right now. She wishes she could pull the courage to run into the other row and shout her feelings to the world, but as she gazes at the piece of paper clutched in her hand, she’s reminded of how she got into the situation in the first place. She holds the letter closer to her and almost sighs.

“Hey, didn’t you leave earlier with Nico-chan?” Rin suddenly says.

Nico tenses again.

“Ah, I did.” Nozomi replies with a laugh, “Nicocchi was so eager to leave, but thanks to that I forgot one of my books in class, so I came back to get it.”

‘Nice save, Nozomi.’ Nico thinks, with a mental thumbs up.

“Oh! Well, tell her and Eli-chan we said hi then!” Rin laughs, “Maki-chan, Kayo-chin, are we all ready to go?”

“Just let me grab my outdoor shoes.” Maki says.

The first years say goodbye to Nozomi, and Nico and Eli stay standing where they are until they hear the sounds of their footsteps walking out the entrance. Nico groans loudly and puts her head in her hands, the letter crumpling into her face as she accepts the fact that this confession is her biggest failure to date.

“What a mess.” She sighs. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice the letter wasn’t in the envelope.”

“How did that end up happening?” Eli asks in surprise. “Nozomi and I watched you fold and put it in the envelope at lunch!”

“I know! I know but-” Nico removes her hands from her face and looks up to the blonde, a tiny blush on her face. “I wanted to go over it one last time and the end of class to make sure it was absolutely perfect, and then class was dismissed and I sort of panicked and sealed the envelope and shoved my books into my bag.”

“Nicocchi needs to be a little careful with her notes then.” Nozomi says with a laugh as she returns,  “Well, to be fair I may have seen this coming.”

Nico looks at Nozomi with squinted eyes.

“You KNEW it wouldn’t work!? And you let me embarrass myself?!” Nico exclaims, pushing herself onto her feet and glaring up at Nozomi.

“It was the cards, Nicocchi!” Nozomi laughs, “I may have done a reading for you before practice, and it wasn’t exactly the best outcome it could be but-”

“Wasn’t exactly?! Nozomi, I listened to Hanayo find an empty envelope from me in her locker! I think it’s far from the best outcome!” Nico’s voice is loud and Eli reaches out and pats Nico’s head reassuringly.

“There there Nico, it’s not like you won’t have other opportunities to tell Hanayo how you feel.” She reassures. “Nozomi, did your cards imply something else would happen if the letter failed?”

Nozomi smiles and shrugs. Nico feels a strong urge to crumple the letter in her hands into a small ball and throw it at the girl’s dimpled face. Eli sighs.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” She rubs the back of her neck and adjusts her bag on her shoulder. “Nico, would you like to join us for parfaits?”

“Thanks, but I think I’m going to go home for the day.” The shorter girl grumbles, folding the letter up and slipping it back into her bag.

“Hey, look on the bright side of this,” Eli attempts to bring up her mood by throwing in a positive thought, “With the letter not working, you can always try something more direct.”

“Mhm!” Nozomi says, looping her arm with one of Nico’s and adding onto Eli’s point. “Maybe you can invite her over to your place and watch some of those Lives you’ve got on dvd. We all know how you and Hanayo-chan love them.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“And maybe you’ll be able to read out the letter to her instea-” Nico cuts Nozomi off by elbowing her in the side. Nozomi laughs through the light pain as Nico walks away from her.

“Nozomi,” Eli warns and Nozomi’s laughter ends, replaced with a teasing smile. Eli turns her attention to Nico and steps forward to walk with her. “In all honestly though, it does give you a lot more time to work on confessing to her again. A lot of people fail to get their first confession across, and even I had my own struggles with confessing to Nozomi.

“Wait, really?” Nico’s a bit intrigued. She knew the story of how Eli confessed, but she hadn’t known Eli struggled to tell her girlfriend her feelings.

“Of course! It took me months before I could even ask Nozomi out, and I think I was finally able to tell her on the fourth attempt.”

Nozomi says a little “aw” as she catches up with the two of them, walking on Nico’s other side. Eli laughs as her cheeks tint red again and Nico’s attention goes from Eli to the open space in front of them. Knowing that even Eli had a tough time telling Nozomi her feelings gives her a bit of hope, and while Eli probably didn’t fail as badly with her confessions as Nico did today, she knows Eli has the right idea.

“Thanks Eli.” Nico says sincerely.

Eli smiles.

“So, does this mean you’re not giving up on telling Hanayo-chan you love her?” Nozomi asks.

Nico nods.

“Of course it does! It’d be dumb to give up in the first place, especially after today,” Nico starts, “If Eli didn’t give up on telling you her feelings, then there’s no way I can give up on telling Hanayo! I’ll tell her exactly how I feel no matter what!”

“Harasho!” Eli cheers, “That’s the spirit, Nico!”

“We’ll be rooting for you, Nicocchi! Do your best!” Nozomi adds.

Today really didn’t go as planned for Nico, but with nothing but determination and the promise of getting her feelings across to Hanayo, Nico’s confident the next attempt will be better.

[harrysbbby]

Blame- Bucky Barnes- Part 12

a/n: this will probably be the last update for a while but to make sure it’s not too long��. Reblog & tag a friend to help get a new part uploaded :)

Also, we’re nearing the end of this… so please send me requests as this story only has about another 3 or 4 parts to go!

part-1

part-2

part-3

part-4

part-5

part-6

part-7

part-8

part-9

part-10

part-11

You were taken to the Super Max prison in the middle of the ocean. Wanda had been straight-jacketed, and you had all been put in separate cells. You had gotten some medical attention for your eye, but you found out you had nearly lost complete sight in it. You weren’t sure if it was your lack of sleep, or your anxiousness caused by Steve and Bucky’s unknown whereabouts or status, or your loss of blood but you had become unstable in the medical room. You thrashed out on the doctors and they had to sedate you to calm you down. They took you back to your cell in handcuffs, not trusting you anymore.

You had no idea of time or day, but Tony had come to the prison and came into your block of cells.

Clint clapped sarcastically as he entered, “The futurist, gentlemen! The futurist is here! He sees all! He knows what’s best for you, whether your like it or not.”

“Give me a break, Barton.” Tony replied moving up to Clint’s cell and speaking to him through the glass, “I had no idea they’d put you in here, come on.”

“Yeah, well, you knew they’ll put us somewhere, Tony.”

“Yeah. But, not some super max floating ocean pokey. You know, this place is for maniacs. This is a place for…”

“Criminals?” Clint suggested. He stood up and moved towards the glass, talking directly to him, “Criminals, Tony. I think that’s the word you’re looking for. Right? It didn’t used to mean me, or Sam, or (Y/n) or Wanda. But, here we are.”

“'Cause you broke the law.” Tony counted

“Yeah.’ Clint sighed

“I didn’t make you.”

“The law. The law.” Clint began pacing back and forth.

“You read it, you broke it.”

“The law. The law,” Clint continued, “the law.”

“Alright, you’re all grown up. You got a wife and kids. I don’t understand why didn’t you think about them before you choose the wrong side?” Tony finished, moving away from his cell as Clint stood up angrily.

“You better watch your back on this guy. Chances are he’s going to break it.” He said as he banged his hands against the glass.

“Hank Pym always said, you never can trust a Stark.” Scott said as Tony walked past

“Who are you?”

“Come on, man.” Scott exasperated.

Tony reached your cell and your back was turn towards him but you heard his footsteps and eyes burning into your back.

“An eye for an eye… that’s the saying, right, Tony?” you snapped as you turned around, revealing the grotesque flesh which held your severed eye. “I believe you owe me one.”

“You did this to yourself.” He said. You laughed,

“I did this to me? No, you did this to me. You did this to all of us when you initiated those damn Accords.” You huffed.

“Listen, about Barnes..” he tried to say before you cut him off angrily.

“No! Don’t you dare speak to me about him. Not after what you have done. Tony it wasn’t Steve who tore the Avengers apart, it was you.” You glared at him fuming, “Get out of my sight.” You said wiping around as to not look at him, “or so I should say if I had both my eyes.”

Tony walked over to Sam’s cell and you heard the start of their conversation.

“How’s Rhodes?”

“We’re flying him to Columbia Medical tomorrow. So… Fingers cross.” Tony replied, “What do you need? They feed you yet?”

“Oh so what, you’re the good cop now?” Sam questioned before the rest of their conversation was too hushed to be heard.

Soon enough, Tony was leaving. You huffed back over to your hard metal bed, attempting to get some sleep. Your dreams were horrible nightmares of the battle, from what horrors actually happened, mixed with scenarios your brain imagined. One in particular that spooked you was the feeling of a metal hand on your neck and haunting eyes glaring into you. Without fail, it woke you up every time. You were terrified for Steve and Bucky and in the prison, you were almost certain you’d never hear from them again.

But low and behold, a few days later, Steve came walking through the doors of the super max prison. He walked up to Sam, who wore a smirk on his face.

“Oh welcome,” he said sarcastically. The keys Steve carried clanged as he worked to unlock Sam’s door.

“Well, thanks for having me,” he shot back, smiling up at him.

As he got to your cell he pointed at the eye-patch you had so kindly received from Secretary Ross, note the sarcasm

“How’s your eye?” he asked concerned. You just shrugged,

“Tingles every now and then but it’s not so bad.”

He eventually got all of you out of your cells. You helped Wanda out of her straight jacket. She groaned and stretched her arms,

“That thing was horrible,” she complained, moving her head side to side, a couple of cracks heard from her stiff neck

You all, meaning yourself, Sam, Scott, Clint and Wanda, followed Steve towards the jet he had waiting.

“How did you get in here?” Wanda asked, “there were so many guards.”

“I had some help,” Steve answered as the jet door opened, revealing T’Challa in his Blank Panther gear holding his helmet in his hand. He helped usher the rest of you into the jet as it set off for Wakanda. On the journey Steve explained how he had sent a letter to Tony, apologizing and telling him that if he truly needed us, we would all be there.

“T’Challa has kindly accepted to hide us in Wakanda until this blows over,” Steve clarified, “Bucky’s there waiting for..”

“Bucky?” you interrupted loudly, perking up the sound of his name, “Is he okay?”

Steve was taken-a-back by your outburst and blinked a few times before nodding. Sam’s cackle travelled through your ears from beside you,

“Smooth, (Y/N),” he threw his head back, eyes squinted shut, “you’re in deep”

“Oh shut up Sam! It’s not like that..” but before you could finish defending yourself Wanda rolled her eyes,

“Sure it isn’t,” She smiled.

“You’re all impossible,” you grumbled, slumping back in your seat. Steve laughed lightly,

“Don’t worry, I’m sure Bucky will be ecstatic to see you.”

 You arrived at the compound in Wakanda, all of you eager to get off the jet and be able to enjoy yourselves without the threat of guards or tazers every second of every day. You walked into the building with everyone else, it was large and immaculate.

“Thank you, T’Challa, for letting us stay here” You said, looking up at the high ceilings and out the windows that overlooked the Wakandan jungle.

“It’s my pleasure, (Y/N),” he spoke softly, “we are all victim’s here and if I can help one of you in the slightest….” he trailed off tilting his head. You smiled at him as you the corner into the large living area.

Into your view came the back of Bucky’s head. He sat on the couch, reading some kind of tablet, a confused look on his face, but of course none of you could see that. He was actually reading an article of the Top 10 Biggest Events of the 1900’s, trying to catch up on what he missed. The invention of the internet was very interesting to him that he nearly didn’t hear all the footsteps enter the room. But, he is a super soldier, so with his enhanced hearing he heard the mass of feet travelling his way. He swiveled in his place to see the entirety of Team Cap walking towards him and he smiled. He was so glad to see the people who were becoming his friends, slowly but surely. His heart fluttered when he saw you, but he was determined to keep his butterflies at bay.

He stood up and met you guys in the open area by the staircase. Steve came up to Bucky and clasp a hand on his shoulder before looking at him seriously,

“You all good, Buck?” he asked

“I’m fine, just catching up on some stuff,” he lifted up the tablet still poised in his hand, he looked up to sweep his eyes across the many people standing in front of him and he felt nervous. He didn’t know if he could trust himself not to lash out, so he began to cower back. However, before he could dainty arms wrapped around his neck and he could smell the faint scent of your shampoo.

Bucky tensed under you grip and for a millisecond you thought you had made a wrong decision but he loosened slightly and wrapped cautious arms around your waist.

“I’m sorry..” you stuttered as you stepped back, “that was overstepping the lin-“

“(Y/N),” he interrupted, “I don’t mind.”

You relaxed and smiled lightly. That’s when Bucky realized only one of your gorgeous (his choice of adjective) eyes were staring back at him.

“Your… your eye.” He stated sadly. You automatically moved to cover the eyepatch  but he grabbed your hand. You knew as soon as you were aware of the damage that you would be self-conscious about the wound- so ugly and gross- but Bucky seemed to make it worse. You actually really cared what he thought of you.

“I’m fine, Bucky, please..” but your plea didn’t help. He lifted up the patch to assess the damaged before placing it back on your eye, jaw clenched

“I’m going to kill Stark,”

“Oh puh-lease, you are not! If anyone gets the honours for this, I do!”

“C’mon,”

“No, absolutely not, I’m not letting you go to prison- for MURDER”

Everyone stood around as you and Bucky interacted. To the two of you it was almost as if you were the only two in the room. They were amazed at how your conversation flowed so easily in a matter of seconds. No one had seen either of you so bubbly in a long time. Sam stepped closer to Steve and whispered into his ear,

“What the hell are we going to do with these two?” he half joked, the other half a tone of annoyance at the thought of having to watch them do this, every day.

“Nothing, they’re perfect for each other.” He smiled watching his best friend smile at you genuinely. It looked painful but it was one of his first smiles since leaving the winter soldier behind.

“How about we show everyone to their rooms,” T’Challa suggested. You and Bucky had yet to stray from one another. Without looking away from you he spoke,

“I’ll show you yours, it’s across from me,” he said, grabbing your wrist and pulling you with him up the stairs, happily chatting about the article he’d been reading.

“Oh my god,” Wanda said, motioning to T’Challa for him to lead the way, “it’s as if we don’t even exist” she rolled her eyes as your’s and Bucky’s laughter echoed down the hallway

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[sazandorable]

Princess Tutu OT4!

1. A large spider has gotten into the house/apartment. How does each person react?

tbh every single one of them is the type to pick it up gently and carry it outside the house, they probably argue over who gets to do it. (Well, Ahiru, Fakir and Rue argue about each other’s skill in picking-up-a-spider-without-hurting-it, while Mytho wordlessly goes ahead and does it. Gently.)

2. What are their sleeping arrangements? Do they get multiple mattresses, several rooms? Line a floor with mattresses and then make the entire room a bed? Who are the blanket hoggers? The ones who flail? 

Depends on the general living arrangement; if AU or UA where they’re all living together, they probably just pile up on two double mattresses (maybe there’s one or two single beds in other rooms for when Rue needs to get some real sleep or Fakir needs to wind down and take a break from babysitting these idiots), but in the canon final set-up Rue and Mytho sleep together in their royal bedchambers and Fakir sleeps with a duck on his chest or head at his own home. Whenever they visit, one of the couples gets their own separate room and bed.

In all settings, Ahiru hogs all the blankets and bundles up in a burrito, snuggled up to a random someone(s). Mytho constantly ends up sprawled in odd places and odd positions outside of the blanket. Fakir does not sleep very well.3. How do they celebrate the holidays? What are the favorite holidays in the household for each person? Are there ever any disagreements about which holiday is the best? Do any of them go all out with decorations and participation in events? Does anyone ever suffer in silent agony that they’re being forced into holiday sweaters or fed too many holiday foods, but out of love they keep their mouth shut?There are probably celebrations specific to the kingdom, like idk, a day of flowers, a toy festival, etc. The school puts together ballet shows for a lot of them and they all get very intense about it. Ahiru proclaims that this holiday is her favorite at every holiday. And Fakir probably claims to haaaaate whatever is equivalent to Valentine’s Day, but is Very Serious about the White Day equivalent. Rue and Mytho both have an unspoken particular fondness for winter holidays about celebrating the return/remembering/recreating light and warmth during the darker months.

Ahiru is the most into decorations, but everyone helps out good-naturedly, though Fakir doesn’t always... agree with the decorations. There’s a lot of arguing Mytho and Ahiru down from ladders and away from sharp tools or electricity.

Mytho is always wearing seasonal equivalents of silly fluffy Christmas sweaters and looks adorable in them; he and Ahiru also get a lot of things in their hair like flower crowns, ornate headbands, ribbon braids and stuff. DUCK AHIRU GETS CUTE DECORATIONS ALL THE TIME. Fakir dresses up for the main event but that’s about it, and it’s never completely out of hand, though Mytho or Ahiru will manage to make him wear silly or extravagant cute stuff sometimes (like at least one flower hairclip). Rue dresses appropriately to the season but in discreet ways, simply fitting in without grabbing attention, then Gets Dolled Up for the main event and knocks everyone dead (as in, her three partners and everyone else).

Rue and Ahiru do each other’s hair pretty much constantly for these things.

Rue is picky about festive menus, but relents and tries to partake and enjoy the feast while still watching her diet, because festive dinners with everyone are important. Ahiru just splurges on everything and magically stays fit bc she flails around so much.

4. How do they all keep house? Do they assign chores, and if so, does anyone ever slack? Does anyone ever say, “let’s clean” and (most?) everyone suddenly hops off the furniture and pitches in?Nah, Fakir probably has to coordinate and enforce but everyone does their part. Rue might occasionally complain in “I’m a lady” ways, but Mytho and Ahiru accidentally make her feel bad about it instantly by offering to do it for her and let her rest, so instead she doubles up her efforts.

They definitely have a few Group Complete Cleaning days in the year.5. Something contagious is going around! How will each of them handle being sick? Who are the ones who insist on working even when they’re not well? Who are the ones who stay away when they’re healthy? The ones who play nurse? One of them catches it, insists they’re fine and can continue to go about their daily life as usual, everyone else insists on smothering them in bed and nursing them obsessively, they all catch it.

6. The mess that is deciding where to eat out and what to order. That goes well, they just go to family restaurants with variety and everyone orders for themselves, though there’s some sharing and tasting bites off each other’s meals. It just takes ages for Ahiru to pick, and then to eat everything she ordered, but that’s the same as usual, they’ve all learned to plan for extra time. Fakir might get annoyed and snap at her to just make her mind already — possibly she eventually asks someone else to pick for her.

Mytho probably has other people pick for him most of the time. I’m not sure if he eats very little or five servings... (do we have canon bits about this that I forgot about?)7. One or more of them comes across a stray animal. How do the family members each react? Who tries to find the previous owner? Does anyone want the others to mind their own business? Do they end up keeping it?Fakir tries to refuse, they already have their hands full with a (part) duck and a doll child (they DEFINITELY get Uzura back in canon verse :/). Most of the time ends up relenting. They nurse 5 animals back to health every winter, have a dozen birds nests around the roof, and probably just as many cats (who are trained to not bother the birds).8. They take a trip to the zoo. What is each person’s favorite animal, and who gets excited about seeing theirs? Who downplays it? Who is willing to wait while the other drags everyone off to their favorite animals, and who tries to tell everyone they’re going to stick to the set path from beginning to end, and everyone will get to see their favorites soon so calm down?Mytho stops at the pond and stares at the swans for half an hour while everyone goes to get ice cream. They bring him a cone when he’s done.

Ahiru wants to feed or free all the animals and gets yelled at by rude parrots. Fakir gets peanuts thrown at him. Rue is just suffering along but she likes the cheetahs and panthers. They avoid the corvids area.9. Describe everyone going on a camping trip. Who enjoys it? Which one(s) set up the tent? Who would get lost in the woods but is only a few feet away from a gas station? Fakir and Rue spend the entire trip trying to keep their significant others safe and un-lost, with mixed results (Mytho wanders out into the woods the second you take your eyes off him, and Ahiru makes water catch on fire). For this reason, they don’t do this often. Picnics are much less of a hassle.10. Who tells the ghost stories or watches the ghost stories, and who are the ones who need a cuddle sandwich to get through the night every time they encounter anything the least bit spooky?... Okay, so obviously Fakir is the best storyteller (though he has to be begged to do it), but Rue can tell horrifying stuff. And Mytho will occasionally suddenly say terrifying stuff with a blank face and voice. He likes watching horror movies, as well, again with a neutral expression, calmly eating pop-corn while a shuddering Ahiru clings to him for dear life.

Ahiru gets spooked by the smallest things even outside of ghost stories/horror movies nights, but she kindof masochistically loves it. She gets extra cuddles at any rate.11. Who steals everyone else’s clothing? Who can’t tell their own clothing from other people’s anymore? Mytho is constantly found wearing one (1) article of clothing of undetermined origin. Ahiru and Rue sometimes swap clothes or accessories, but it’s conscious and they always ask (and get Really Happy about it). Fakir only ever wears his own stuff but finding it is sometimes hard.

12. One of them starts singing. Who joins in? Who absolutely refuses to join in? If any of them can’t sing, does everyone roll with it, or do they stop and beg that person to stop as well?Ahiru starts a cheery song, Mytho joins in almost instantly, Rue might eventually, Fakir refuses to.

Mytho and Rue also hum quietly to themselves sometimes, or sing to animals like friggin’ Disney princesses, and everyone stops and goes dreamy-eyes at them.13. Who is the warmest to cuddle with? Who is always cold? Who wants the heater up, who wants the heater down, who wants to save money but is cold as fuck and piles under layers of clothing and blankets in the house? Who dies in summer? Who wants to turn up the AC and wait out until winter?Re: body temperature, Mytho is always cold as a corpse, no matter what amount of cuddles he gets. Rue is generally cold but can be warmed up. Fakir’s body temperature is normal but he’s always dying from cold/heat during winter/summer; Ahiru complains, too, but is always running around all the same without it actually affecting her. There’s a lot of splashing in water and bundling up in sweaters and blankets throughout the year. And cuddling. The biggest problem in really hot summers is the inability to cuddle.14. When grocery shopping, who budgets and makes lists? Who happily throws things into the cart and figures it’ll work out? Who estimates their general spending as they pick up items, but they throw in a couple of splurges? Who oversees that the splurges don’t go too far and tells the other(s) to put some or all of the items back on the shelf?In order, Fakir, Ahiru and Mytho (and Uzura.), Rue, Fakir (sternly, and just as often at Rue as at the others).

Ahiru and Mytho love going to the market so they usually go in a group, but Fakir generally prefers to do the shopping himself and alone, it’s just easier. Despite the above, Rue can overall be trusted to do it alone too.

... Mytho and Rue might be catastrophic, though.

15. Something broke down! Are any of them handy around the house with fixing things? Who thinks they can do it on their own and what level of success do they have? Who breaks down and calls a professional out?

Fakir fixes it. Sometimes he has to call Charon. When Fakir is not there, the others sometimes try to fix it, with enthusiasm and generally disastrous results. At least once (no matter the setting), Charon was called by Ahiru in tears, and ensured Fakir didn’t even notice anything upon his return.

Fakir always dreads having to leave the house.

[jillmckenzie1]

Higher, Further, Faster

Representation matters. It’s just as important to see some facsimile of yourself at age seven as it is at age 77. It’s a way of shaping your identity, a way of telling the world that you matter. Done right, representation can show you a higher path and provide you with a way to be better.

As a kid, my morals were shaped more powerfully and acutely by comics than they ever were by church.* Spider-Man taught me doing the right thing can suck. It can be lonely and painful, but it’s no less the right thing to do. Superman taught me that consideration for others makes the world not only a better place but also a more bearable place. Those moral lessons imprinted themselves because I could see aspects of myself in those characters. I’ll never web-swing through the concrete jungle of Manhattan, but I always have the opportunity to be decent.

The other power that representation has is normalization. It introduces groups, ideas, and concepts to the “mainstream,” and over time, they cease to be a novelty. From the years 1820 to 1860 a third of all immigrants were Irish. They were initially persecuted and looked upon as lesser, and “No Irish Need Apply” were a common feature of Help Wanted signs. Now? Having an Irish heritage is as big a deal as buying produce. That’s as it should be.

That all brings us to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s an unstoppable cultural juggernaut that, for a long while there, was built on straight white dudes. This may come as a surprise to you, but out of 21 films in the MCU, all but two of them have starred a straight white dude. All but two of them were directed by a straight white guy. One of those films is the newest entry in the MCU, Captain Marvel. Is it going to be like Black Panther, where it’s a cultural asteroid strike that fundamentally changes things? No, but it’s a strong step forward.

Her name is Vers (Brie Larson), and she’s a soldier. Scratch that, she’s maybe the soldier. Her honor and duty is to represent Starforce and the best parts of the Kree Empire. She lives on the Kree home world of Hala, and the Kree have been at war with the Skrulls, a race of shapeshifters. So she fights them. Yet there’s a giant blank in her memories, and maybe there’s more to her life than a centuries-long conflict.

Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) is her commanding officer and mentor, and he mansplains that she needs to keep her emotions in check. There’s a lot of that going around because the Supreme Intelligence (Annette Bening) tells Vers the same thing. Does she? During a conflict with the Skrulls, she’s captured and the Skrulls futz with her memories pretty extensively. She escapes, wipes the floor with about two dozen Skrull soldiers, and peaces out in an escape pod. As far as I can see, her emotions are serving her just fine.

Things get more complicated when Vers arrives on a backwater dump of a planet. We call it Earth. The bad news is that she lands in a hellhole known as Los Angeles. The worse news is that it’s the year 1995, and the inhabitants of this jerkwater burg are not what you would call sophisticated. The even worse news is that a squad of Skrulls, led by the wily Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) have followed her.

All is not lost, because of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). He’s been riding a desk for a while, working for a shadowy organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D., and Fury seems to be a little lacking in direction. He’ll team up with Vers, also known as Carol Danvers, and she’ll learn a great deal about who she really is, her place in the world, and the truth of things. Oh, and there’s an orange cat named Goose who’s just *chef’s kiss* perfection.

When Wonder Woman was released in the summer of 2017 it was largely viewed as a feminist triumph. The first big-budget superhero film starring a woman and directed by a woman, it did two things in very short order. First, it made a trainload of money and proved that blockbusters viewed through a feminist lens could be critically and commercially successful.** Second, for a brief moment, it made the MCU look just a little irrelevant. I’m not saying the success of Wonder Woman was the primary reason for Captain Marvel. From here, though, if you squint a little bit…

Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Flack, Captain Marvel is a solid, second-tier film in the sprawling MCU.*** It arrived with gigantic expectations, viewed as being a feminist triumph with the same cultural cachet as Black Panther. Those expectations are unfair. Yes, Captain Marvel has a first act that feels uneven, production design that feels like more of the same from the MCU, and too many winks at the culture of the ’90s. Once the film finds its groove, though, we’re treated to some strong action sequences and decent FX.**** More importantly, Boden and Flack come from the world of independent film, and they have a reputation for strong characterization. I appreciated that they often pump the brakes so we can hang with the characters and get to know them.

Boden and Flack wrote the script along with Geneva Robertson-Dworet, and it falls prey to an increasingly common problem in the MCU–that of the relentless quips. The worst offender was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Time and distance have shown me that Guardians has an unpleasant habit of undercutting moments of genuine emotions with giant-sized snark. Here, it’s not quite as bad, but it too often feels like gags are crammed in instead of being allowed to happen organically. When the script steps away from that and drills down into Carol’s memories and her recapturing of her strength, it soars. It’s not subtle,***** but the movies of the MCU aren’t designed to be subtle. They’re aspirational, and I enjoyed Carol becoming her best self after falling and getting back up, all under her own steam. Her character feels somewhat flimsy at times, and another pass on the script would have likely solved some problems.

If there’s one thing Marvel Studios consistently excels at, it’s casting. They tend to use their main character as a solid anchor, then allow the supporting characters to orbit around them. Captain America is a rock in his own films. He doesn’t change, but things change around him, and he reacts accordingly. As Carol, Brie Larson is in a similar situation. She’s brave, smart, and a touch impetuous. There isn’t an enormous amount of meat to her character, but Larson is an intelligent actor who knows when to lean into the superhero iconography and when to play it more real. She’s joined by an entertaining Samuel L. Jackson, playing a Nick Fury who hasn’t yet become a cynic. I particularly enjoyed Ben Mendelsohn’s layered Talos, and it’s nice that the MCU seems to be moving away from two-dimensional villains.

I don’t think that Captain Marvel is going to strike the culture like a metaphorical Mjolnir. It doesn’t have to since it’s a well-made standalone adventure, as well as a comfortable piece in the tapestry of the MCU. More importantly, as portrayed through a positive feminist lens, the adventures of Carol Danvers take us a little bit further to a day when a blockbuster made by and starring women simply isn’t a rarity. That alone is worth celebrating.

  *It also bears mentioning that nobody ever got radicalized by reading Avengers comics.

**Duh.

***It’s not up there with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Black Panther or Avengers: Infinity War. I’d but it right next to Thor: Ragnarok and Spider-Man: Homecoming.

****I was particularly impressed with the digital de-aging of both Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg. Here, Jackson looks exactly the way he did in The Long Kiss Good Night. Watch closely, and the only giveaway is that his movements are occasionally stiffer and slower.

*****Did we need a major battle set to “Just a Girl” by No Doubt? It’s extraordinarily obvious, and I think the same thing could have been done with more style.

from Blog https://ondenver.com/higher-further-faster/

[junker-town]

NFL Dad, Week 12: An unfortunate chain of events

One dad’s diary of balancing two young children with seven hours of RedZone channel. How much could possibly go wrong? (A lot, if you’re Alex Smith.)

A successful day of parenting has two qualities: (1) good logistics and (2) getting the hell out of the house. They work in tandem, and the farther you go, the more logistical planning you need.

For example, I know that my kids need to be down for their nap by 1:30 p.m., so any morning excursion needs to end with us back at our apartment by 1:15. Except my 18-month-old son sometimes tires out by 12:30 or 1:00, so earlier is better. And they need to eat lunch by noon, or sometimes 11:30, so we need to pack lunches or plan a stop for food. Plus snacks. Plus the diaper bag. Which stroller are we going to take — the unwieldy double? Or the collapsible one? Are we taking the subway? Does the subway stop we’re going to have an elevator, or should I plan on throwing my back out carrying a stroller up the stairs again? I swear the invasion of Normandy had fewer coordinating instructions.

This is the kind of planning my wife and I put into a Saturday excursion to a French bakery to get macarons (my three-year-old daughter has a fascination with Paris). We put my son in the foldable stroller for the short stroller ride, and counted on our daughter to walk most of the 10 blocks from subway to fancy cookies.

It went swimmingly! The kids were overjoyed to be in a new neighborhood, our scheduling was stellar, the macarons were light but rich in flavor — and then the wheels fell off. Or, more accurately, a nut fell off a screw holding the stroller together, and half the frame collapsed.

Now, instead carrying my daughter on my shoulders while my wife pushed our son in the stroller (read: walking at an adult pace), my wife carried my daughter while I slung the collapsed stroller over one shoulder and carried my son in my other arm. He is the approximate size and shape of a 27-pound kettlebell, minus the convenient handle. It was slow going.

When we finally got on a subway home, I looked at the stroller, the conveyance that made the trip easy until one tiny lost part turned it into dead weight and gave us extra things to carry. This is where, if I were concerned about making this a football metaphor, I would talk about injuries and the difficulties of replacing a star player mid-season in the salary cap era.

But I’m not. I just wanted to complain.

EARLY GAMES, FIRST HALF

— Here is my ranking of early slate games based on anticipated entertainment value to me. NOTE: I have weird tastes and strong grudges.

Bears-Eagles. The Eagles are fun to watch, the Bears are an entertaining disaster, and I love blowouts.

Bucs-Falcons. Mike Evans and Julio Jones.

Bills-Chiefs. Both teams are in freefall, I picked the Bills to cover today, and I’m an ardent supporter of Tyrod Taylor, Competent Starting Quarterback.

Panthers-Jets. The Jets are trash but I kind of love them? For not sucking as hard as they should? Love is weird, man.

Titans-Colts. A pleasing array of blue uniforms.

Dolphins-Patriots. I have Rob Gronkowski on a fantasy team.

Browns-Bengals. No to this much orange. No to this much Ohio.

— Speaking of Browns-Bengals, my daughter pooped on the toilet just before the games started. Three more poops on the toilet, and she gets to watch her first movie: Moana.

I’m familiar with the schools of thought that say you shouldn’t incentivize potty training, and that’s how we started off, too. Then my daughter started holding in poops for several days before struggling to crank out the hardened rock in her butt, and we implemented a multi-tiered system of bribes that would put FIFA to shame.

— The kids come and kiss me before naptime as Tom Brady hits Gronk on a 3rd and 7. The Pats are already up 7-0 after running a fake punt on 4th and 9 deep in their own territory, and they soon double their lead with a TD to Gronk. I’m fine calling this one over.

— Tyrod Taylor finds Zay Jones on a drag route across the end zone (NOTE: as always, when I cite the route that was run, any inaccuracies are due to not paying attention and lack of replays). The Bills are up 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, and Alex Smith has looked VERY shaky to start the game. So I guess that’s why they don’t hand out actual Quarter-Season MVP trophies.

— In a bang-bang flurry of cuts, RedZone shows three straight touchdowns: Mohammed Sanu hits Julio Jones for a 51-yard touchdown bomb from the Wildcat formation; the Dolphins scoop up an errant snap to score a defensive TD; and Cam Newton runs it in on a bootleg on 3rd and goal at the goal line.

I will now embed the best of those three plays.

Look at that cool head despite the bobbled snap! I am prepared to declare Mohammed Sanu better than at least five starting quarterbacks in the NFL.

Also, I called that a Wildcat formation, but the Wildcat really seems more a principle at this point: “We have replaced our quarterback with someone more athletic for one play. He can’t really read a defense, but we’re not necessarily counting on him to. Are you ready? ‘Cuz this is gonna be an adventure for us, too.”

— Nelson Agholor flips into the end zone, and the Eagles are up 14-0 over the Bears. This game is as good as over, but I love that there’s so much more to come. THRASH THE SCRUBS.

— Alex Smith has started 1/6 for 3 yards. Chiefs Twitter is embroiled in a bitter civil war between fans who want Pat Mahomes to start and fans who blame the play-calling, or the line, or ... buddy, I don’t see how this is on anyone but Smith. He seems like a very nice person who’s gone through a lot of professional hardship, but at this point I a benching would be an act of mercy.

Also, I crave Pat Mahomes bombs. LET PAT COOK!

— On Saturday, when we’d gotten back on the subway after the stroller broke, I said to my wife, “It reminds me of that saying, “For want of a nail, the shoe was lost...”

She gave me a puzzled look.

“You know, ‘For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost,’ then the rider was lost, then the message, and so on until the war was lost.”

Her face was still blank. Had she really never heard this common proverb about logistics in war? I shrugged and offered meekly, “My parents used to say it.”

“You and I had really different childhoods,” she replied.

— Julio Jones had one touchdown in the first 11 weeks of the season (proof that football is flawed). He now has two in the first half against the Bucs.

http://pic.twitter.com/FWGgJ8bdXi

— ALSO, KEITHFUJIMOTO (@vineydelnegro) November 26, 2017

RIP, those ankles.

QUESTION: Hey, what about the ball coming loose after Jones hit the pylon? There have been repeated rulings that players haven’t been established as a runner despite taking several steps while making a catch, so if Jones lost the ball going to ground, shouldn’t that be a touchback? Or at least reviewed with closer scrutiny than it got?

ANSWER: SHUT UP NERD. Did you see that cornerback fall down or what?

— Alex Smith update: He is 2 of 8 for seven yards. The Bills’ Steven Hauschka misses a 52-yarder, so the Chiefs will have good field position to try to get their first first down of the day as the clock approaches the 2-minute warning.

OK, we have a first down! But it’s still not great for the Chiefs. It feels like every replay features the color commentator circling the open receiver that Smith didn’t see. Still, KC gets its first points of the day with a Harrison Butker field goal, and the Bills hustle to answer before the gun: Hauschka is good from 56 yards, and the Bills lead 13-3 at halftime.

— Robby Anderson makes a RIDICULOUS catch in double coverage for a touchdown. This marks his fifth straight game with a touchdown.

.@youngamazing9 beats double coverage with EASE. #Jets http://pic.twitter.com/uAtifOZIVW

— NFL (@NFL) November 26, 2017

One of my co-workers offered Anderson to me as part of a trade package last week — “Anderson’s been really good lately,” he said — and I reacted like he’d offered me a plate of dog crap. Look, I enjoy the scrappiness of the Jets, but I don’t want them on my fantasy teams.

— With less than 10 seconds left in the half, Matt Moore gets picked off in the end zone. Instead of trailing by just one score, the Dolphins will go in to the locker room trailing 21-10.

Not that it matters, of course. Miami’s lone touchdown is a chance defensive score on a bad snap. They’ve already gotten their breaks for the game (they also snatched an INT from Brady, just his third of the season), and they’re losing anyway. I’m not sure why I framed a potential one-score game as potentially affecting the outcome; I blame the announcers.

— Alshon Jeffery, working out of the slot in the red zone, puts Eagles up 24-0 with five seconds left in the half. The score, his seventh of the season, triggers a $250,000 performance clause in Jeffery’s contract, as well as an extremely good celebration.

BOWLING FOR EAGLES http://pic.twitter.com/RXEYdmuiU9

— Clay Wendler (@ClayWendler) November 26, 2017

EARLY GAMES, SECOND HALF

— Albert Wilson slips through several defenders to score the Chiefs’ first touchdown. KC has some life, and now trails 13-10.

— Holy hell, what a play by McCown to Anderson for 50-plus yards and the TD. The Jets now lead 17-12.

"GO DEEP!" - @JoshMcCown12 And that's exactly what @YoungAmazing9 did. Another @NYJets TD! #Jets http://pic.twitter.com/Gdi31ZUDG0

— NFL (@NFL) November 26, 2017

I would like to issue an apology to Josh McCown. Before the season, I said the only job he should have at age 38 is as a backup for a good team, and that he had no business starting. That was wrong: He has completed more than 67% of his passes for 17 touchdowns (both career bests) while throwing eight interceptions in 11 games. That’s totally serviceable! I’d take McCown over Joe Flacco any day.

— Ummmmm...

How does Chris Myers think burping a baby works? http://pic.twitter.com/lwYCec5jxg

— Mike Tunison (@xmasape) November 26, 2017

Look, announcers have to say a LOT of words every game, and the right phrase isn’t always on the tip of your tongue. Chris Myers saw Delanie Walker performing CPR on the football, and the words that came out to describe it were “burping the baby.” I don’t think he doesn’t know know how to burp a baby. It’s not like he’s fending off lawsuits for crushing infants’ chests while babysitting, you know?

— My daughter wakes up from her nap. “Can I watch football too, Daddy?” she says. My heart gushes. I doubt that this is anything approaching an original thought, but I think the reason I’m so madly in love with my daughter is that she’s a little copy of the woman I love the most, but with flashes of my own DNA. So she’s a combination of my most selfless love with the egotistical love I have for myself, and those feelings happening at the same time is more powerful than any other emotion I’ve felt.

My son? Oh yeah! He’s great too. Love that little dude.

— Jonathan Stewart scores for the Panthers, but the two-point conversion comes up short. Carolina takes an 18-17 lead.

— My wife goes to get our son up from his nap, but he rejects her presence. “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” I go in and play peekaboo with him, and he cackles maniacally. It’s my laugh, in toddler form. Let the record show that I love him as much as my daughter.

— With the Chiefs trailing and less than three minutes left, Alex Smith throws off-target on 4th and four. The pass was closer to being intercepted than it was to being completed. The film session for this game isn’t gonna be fun for him.

Wouldn’t it suck to have to sit through critical replays of your job? “Here’s where your Powerpoint went off the rails, Johnson. What was this chart supposed to accomplish? Look at the clients’ eyes here: They’re completely glazed over! You lost your audience!”

— After a Jets field goal, the Panthers take the lead on a fumble recovery that goes for six the other way. The two-point conversion gives them a six-point lead, and my precious 4.5-point spread looks in trouble.

— Trailing 16-10, the Chiefs have one last chance to mount a game-winning drive, and Alex Smith ... throws an interception. Tradavious White returns the ball all the way to the Chiefs’ 10-yard line, and boos rain down on Smith. Poor guy. Poor Chiefs fans, too, but I’m still allowed to feel bad for a nice guy who sucks at his job.

— The Panthers return a punt for a touchdown, and the Jets have now COMPLETELY Jets’d this up. They allowed consecutive defensive and special teams touchdowns to go from winning this game to having no chance to cover. I can’t WAIT to go back to not caring about the Jets.

— The Eagles defense, thinking they’d intercepted a Trubisky pass late in the game, perform the Electric Slide. But the call is overturned, so they intercept Trubisky again, and perform the Electric Slide again.

Eagles making an Electric Slide music video this time out http://pic.twitter.com/q4RTtlXYZC

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) November 26, 2017

The celebration only counts if the play stands.

LATE GAMES, FIRST HALF

— Totally biased late slate entertainment rankings:

Seahawks-49ers. Here is my weekly apology for being a Seahawks fan. If I could stop, I would.

Saints-Rams. This should have been flexed into Sunday Night Football. I reject Brett Hundley from primetime.

Jaguars-Cardinals. The Calais Campbell/Blaine Gabbert revenge game! Also, Blaine Gabbert versus Blake Bortles reminds me of one of my favorite tweets.

Broncos-Raiders. I appreciate the bad blood, but “Paxton Lynch versus Marshawn Lynch” doesn’t quite move the needle when both teams have losing records.

— It’s rainy and windy in Santa Clara, and on the first play from scrimmage, Russell Wilson ignores a short throw to a wide-open J.D. McKissic in order to throw to a blanketed Jimmy Graham. Eric Reid picks him off.

— For a couple of blissful minutes, my kids play together peacefully without any involvement from their parents. Is this ... Could this be a glimpse of what we hoped for when we had kids 19 months apart? Like, OF COURSE, they’ll fight over toys, but the mere NOTION of entire minutes where I don’t have to actively parent one or both of them makes my heart sing.

— After a Seahawks drive stalls, Blair Walsh is wide left from 48.

“He only missed PATs for one season.”

— Saints-Rams is finally underway. The Rams put together an impressive drive and go up 7-0 on a short slant to Sammy Watkins.

— RedZone’s first look at Broncos-Raiders is a knock-down drag-out fight between Michael Crabtree and Aqib Talib on the sidelines, and on the field, and across the field. Both players — as well as Gabe Jackson — are tossed from the game.

It started the play before, when Crabtree punched Chris Harris in the stomach. On the next play, Crabtree blocked Talib, and the cornerback took the opportunity to snatch the Raider’s chain for the second year running.

I know that fighting is bad, especially given that players are already trying to murder each other within the rules on every play of the game, but ... this was all WILDLY ENTERTAINING. Like, Marshawn Lynch escorting Talib out of the game is only the fourth- or fifth-most intriguing part of this.

Marshawn Lynch escorted Aqib Talib out of the game. http://pic.twitter.com/D2Cci6Ks3c

— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) November 26, 2017

I’m so bummed that this is the second Broncos-Raiders game of the year. I want another one!

— Bobby Wagner straight up ROBS a man of a catch, and the Seahawks get the ball at 14. Two plays later, Russell Wilson’s read-option fools the camera man (and everyone else) as he scoots in for the touchdown.

After review... It's a @Bwagz54 INT! #Seahawks http://pic.twitter.com/HQTT7JFBqO

— NFL (@NFL) November 26, 2017

.@DangeRussWilson will do it himself! #Seahawks http://pic.twitter.com/GbC1G1o1g8

— NFL (@NFL) November 26, 2017

— Alvin Kamara breaks a 74-yard run for a TD. Holy crap. The Saints cut the Rams’ lead to 10-7.

He. Is. GONE. 74-yard @A_kamara6 TOUCHDOWN! #GoSaints http://pic.twitter.com/EhnZE2cAFX

— NFL (@NFL) November 26, 2017

I will never forgive myself for not getting Kamara in any of my fantasy leagues. All of the excitement at the beginning of the season for Kareem Hunt and Tarik Cohen has faded, and it’s Kamara who’s the real truth. I love that dude. (NOTE: I have no idea what he looks like without a helmet.)

— We get my parents on a Facetime call so they can see the kids. I say “see” and not “talk with,” because conversing with the kids through the screen is almost impossible. My son only wants to get close enough to touch the screen (he constantly hangs up on family members), while my daughter becomes hyperactive, running from room to room, posing in downward dog, and crawling through a collapsible tunnel we’ve laid out. After each trick she runs to the iPad to make sure she’s still being watched, shriek-laughs, and runs off to do something else.

— Even though Talib got the better of Crabtree, the actual football game has been all Raiders, thanks mostly to Paxton Lynch. Jared Cook makes a nice catch in the back of the end zone, and the Raiders lead 14-0.

wow that stat http://pic.twitter.com/C6lZQIwgN5

— Harry Lyles Jr. (@harrylylesjr) November 26, 2017

— ENDORSEMENT: The frozen mini chicken tacos from Trader Joe’s. They’re one of the rare foods that both of my kids will eat every time without complaint.

— The Jags get on the board with a field goal before the half; they trail 13-3. Nothing about the Cardinals’ lead feels safe, yet Blake Bortles isn’t exactly the man I’d choose to lead a comeback. The Jags will need a defensive or special teams TD to get back in the game.

LATE GAMES, SECOND HALF

— The 49ers open the second half with a big dose of Carlos Hyde, who batters the Seahawks D and carries the Niners into Seahawks territory. A field goal cuts the Seahawks’ lead to 7-6.

— One of my daughter’s pretend games is a spin on the Sleeping Beauty/Snow White plot: She puts me or my wife to sleep with magic, we fall asleep, then she wakes us up with a kiss. When she comes to work her magic on me, I fall asleep very slowly, yawning as I watch Russell Wilson convert a 3rd and nine by hitting a leaping, twisting Doug Baldwin downfield. She kisses me awake before the next play, another shot downfield to Tanner McEvoy. The quick drive ends with a Nick Vannett TD and no other magical comas.

— RedZone shows clips of Calais Campbell reuniting with his former teammates before the game. And yet no mention of the respect Jaguars players surely have for Blaine Gabbert. What a shame.

— I have the TV muted while we listen to a Beatles playlist. I’ve never cared much for the Beatles, but their work holds up as children’s music. The Beatles are like if Raffi had an edge and more instruments.

Now, some people might be angered by that take, but I’m not trying to be incendiary. Revolver and Sgt. Pepper are two of the best children’s albums ever made, and I’ll take “Yellow Submarine” over “Banana Phone” any day. Well, almost any day. Banana phones are pretty funny.

— Both defenses in the Saints-Rams game have stiffened — no points in 3rd quarter, and not much in the way of drives, either.

— Bork Birdles scores on a bootleg. The Jags trail 16-10.

— Jimmy Graham scores a touchdown on a short slant. With the ball on the left hash, the Seahawks lined up five wide receivers -- three on the left, two on the right. Then they motioned Tyler Lockett to the left, leaving Graham isolated on the wide side of the field. A fade was the obvious call, which is probably what made getting open on the slant so easy.

I wrote all of that out because it took the Seahawks TWO YEARS to figure this shit out, even though the Saints printed money with plays like that for five years.

— Let’s check in on Paxton Lynch:

Paxton Lynch is 7-of-12 for 35 yards, 0 TD and 1 INT. Vs. the NFL's worst defense. It's more than halfway through the third quarter.

— Frank Schwab (@YahooSchwab) November 26, 2017

— With the kids in the bath, my wife has switched to a Christmas music playlist. My daughter splashes my wife after being told not to do so, so I come in to levy the punishment. I pull my daughter out of the bath, and she starts screaming. It takes some of the enjoyment out of Mariah Carey singing “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Only some of it, though. That song is a fortress of good cheer.

— After my daughter calms down, I put her in her pajamas. “What was your favorite part of the day?” I ask. “Was it splashing in the bath?”

“Yeah,” she says, though not with conviction.

“Was it playing with Evan and eating my breakfast sandwich?”

“Yeah.”

“Was it going to church with Mommy?”

She pauses. “No.”

— With the Saints down by 13 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Alvin Kamara adds “hurdling guys” to his repertoire.

This just in: Alvin Kamara is extremely talented #Saints http://pic.twitter.com/uobNEKP6R0

— Clay Wendler (@ClayWendler) November 26, 2017

On the same drive, the Saints go for it on 4th and five at the edge of field goal range, and Brees again goes to Kamara, which sets up first and goal. But the drive stalls, and the Saints kick a field goal like a bunch of cowards. They’re gonna lose the game now.

— While I sing “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic” to my kids, Calais Campbell scoops up a fumble and runs it in to give Jags a 17-16 lead. I love how predictable the Jaguars are. NOW GIMME SOME BORTLES IN CRUNCH TIME.

— With about a minute and a half remaining, the Niners lose C.J. Beathard to an injury after a hard hit from Michael Bennett. IT’S GAROPPOLO TIME.

Down 24-6, Jimmy G calmly steers the Niners a whole 19 yards, culminating in a touchdown on the final play of the game. Just a really thrilling ending for the Niners faithful who stuck around, and a devastating turn of events for the heroes like me who had the Seahawks defense in fantasy.

— Strangely, the Broncos scoring points has coincided with Trevor Siemian replacing Paxton Lynch, who left the game with an injury.

This @TrevorSiemian TD pass... #DENvsOAK http://pic.twitter.com/0HDLVieQKl

— NFL (@NFL) November 27, 2017

That score makes it 21-14, and the Raiders will need a first down or two to kill the clock.

— Late in the fourth quarter, with the game tied at 24, Jacksonville intercepts Gabbert, and Scott Hanson actually says, “Blake Bortles getting a chance to be a hero...”

Come on, now. We know better than this. When Bortles is in charge of a two-minute drill, don’t frame it in the positive. At the very least, be noncommittal. “Let’s see what the Jaguars do here.” “We’re heading for an interesting finish.” “Surely both sides are nervous here.” Hedge your bets, man.

On 3rd and six, at the outer edge of FG range, Tyrann Mathieu intercepts Bortles.

— On 3rd and eight, deep in his own territory, Derek Carr hits Cordarelle Patterson deep to kill off the Broncos’ hopes for a comeback.

Oh my, @ceeflashpee84! 55-yard gain on the pass from @derekcarrqb! #RaiderNation http://pic.twitter.com/ahy06MkyFl

— NFL (@NFL) November 27, 2017

— Alvin Kamara gets in for another score, and it’s back to a one-possession game with 1:45 remaining. It is unfathomable to me that Kamara only got 11 touches in this game (for 188 yards and two touchdowns). I understand that he’s not built like a workhorse, but Sean Payton may want to revisit that decision after this game.

The onside kick is no good, and the Rams win.

— The Jaguars have gotten the ball back with the game still tied. Once again, Blake Bortles has a chance to be the hero, which is to say: He throws another interception. Phil Dawson kicks a 57-yard field goal and the Cardinals win.

— As the games wrap up, I knead the mixture that will become tonight’s meatloaf. I won’t go into my mother’s full recipe — although putting a recipe at the end of 4000 words of derivative bullshit would make this a typical internet recipe — but the combination of ground beef, ground pork, raw egg, bread crumbs, and various sauces and spices is less than pleasant.

It gets better as I go, though, and after I shape the loaf and wash my hands, I put the pan in the oven and watch RedZone’s touchdown montage. It goes on a little too long, but then, so do most things about the NFL.