#it was so *chefs kiss* watching his reaction to a trap seconds before it was sprung

[honeybard]

[purple-babygirl]

Bestie bestie, thoughts- daddy! Bucky and little reader cooking together is making my heart melt fr💖 ugh! Like imagine her getting him like a chef hat 🥺 one of those white floppy ones 😭😭 or like they both get matching aprons. Ugh.

Pairing: Chubby!Pâtissier!Daddy!Bucky Barnes x little!f!reader

Word count: 1,404

Warnings: ddlg dynamics, it's all fluff.

A/N: I don't know what you did but i was looking up matching aprons after i saw your ask and boom 💥 pastry chef Bucky thots 💥 attacked me and for that I thank you:"💜💜💜 So here we are. I'm sorry if I took too long and made you feel like I was ignoring your ask, I definitely wasn't💜💜💜 It was just really cute it got my mind going so thank you so very much🥺💜💜 Please enjoy xx.

Pie credit.

heavenly sweet

“Daddy.” She turned around, giving Bucky her back, and he could only smile bigger when he saw the way she was bouncing on her ankles in excitement.

Bucky bow-tied her apron for her, lightly patting her back, “there you go, lil chef,” before pawing at her sides until she giggled.

“Thank you, daddy.” She beamed, letting Bucky help her up on the kitchen counter.

It was a special day for her today. She and Daddy were wearing their matching aprons for the first time, and Bucky was showing her how to make one of her favourites, blueberry pie.

Bucky didn’t get the chance to tell her yet, but the matching aprons gesture had him even crazier in love with her. The way she closely watched his reaction as he'd opened his gift and the way she was over the moon when he’d showed his content with it would forever be engraved in his mind next to all of the other precious memories starring her beautiful eyes.

“Okay, so we have our flour over there,” Bucky pointed to the half-full bag, “eggs and butter too,” he checked, walking closer to her, “and my sugar right here.” Bucky planted his hands on the counter, trapping her between them as he dropped his head to kiss, kitten-lick, and nibble on her jaw.

“Dada!” She squeal-giggled, her hands on Bucky’s round belly as he stood over her.

“Look at you, bonbon! You look like a real chef already! You doing the baking today? Hmm?” Bucky joked, peppering kisses on her face, his hands holding her waist.

“No, jus’ helping daddy,” she giggled more, hiding her face in Bucky’s chest, making him chuckle.

“The best help daddy could get, bonbon.” He kissed the top of her head with a satisfied smile.

~

There was nothing she loved more than watching Daddy work. With his hair pulled back into a small bun, his apron around his full torso, different smudges covering it, and his forearms having the littlest smear of flour on them, Bucky looked like art to her. The way he went about everything he was doing to make her feel included and the way he stole kiss after kiss from her when she was focused. Not to forget how sweet his kisses always were. It was all so perfect. She cherished every moment she got to spend with him, each one better than the last as Daddy made her the best treats that ever existed.

“Now, what do we do, bonbon?” Bucky quizzed playfully, wiping a hand down his apron so he could put the hair that escaped the bun back behind his ear.

“We put in our blueberries!” She replied, her hands eagerly reaching for the bowl of macerated fruit.

“Oh my god,” Bucky looked at her, faking shock and shaking his head.

“Did I say something wrong, daddy?” her voice went small so fast, immediately searching her mind, trying to remember if something went in before the berries.

“I might wanna slow down with teaching you or else next thing I know you’ll be taking over daddy’s bakery, bonbon!” Bucky chuckled, teasingly pecking her cheek.

She laughed with him when he tapped her nose, internally sighing in relief.

He was such a charmer and she was head over heels for him, “’m so proud of you, bonbon.” Bucky kissed her forehead.

“Daddy, can I put them in?” she patted her eyelashes, her hands in place on Bucky’s tummy and he couldn’t help but peck her lips.

“You sure can, lil chef," he said and she grinned at the name he'd started to use, wanting to earn it.

“Here, lemme help you, baby.” Bucky smiled, taking the bowl and holding it for her while she used a spatula to scoop the contents out and into their pie pan.

She was so happy they were doing this together. She was always at her most peaceful state of mind when Bucky would take her to the kitchen with him. Watching him work so passionately was her little self’s own version of bliss. Bucky had the softest aura about him. He was the kindest, most beautiful and most loving Daddy she could’ve ever dreamed of having, and her little heart vowed to appreciate every second with him, every second of him.

“Wait, dada, leave some. Wanna taste.” She stopped Bucky’s hand from slopping the bowl further so the rest of the fruits would fall out.

Bucky, of course, listened to her at once, giving her the bowl to hold on her apron-covered lap as he grabbed her a spoon.

She loved having a taste of the leftovers. Sometimes Bucky would catch her licking cake dough off the bowl in the bakery kitchen and no matter how many times he’d tell her it wasn’t healthy, because the eggs in the batter were raw, she’d still be licking that dough the second he’d turn his back. Bucky loved her too much to be stern with her, so he’d just make sure he was always there, moving the bowl to the sink after being done with it and laughing at her cute pout when she’d see it fill with water as Daddy rinsed it.

Bucky shook the pan to evenly distribute the berries on the surface, adoringly grinning at her attempts to catch a berry that wouldn’t roll and slide off the spoon. She eventually managed to scoop some, moaning when she slid the spoon in her mouth. Bucky’s food always tasted so good she was in love.

“Good, baby?” Bucky licked his lips, wiping his palms on his apron again.

“So good, dada.” She nodded, indulging herself with another spoon of pie filling.

“Give daddy a taste, bonbon,” he asked lowly and she held her spoon up for him, trying not to spill.

Bucky smiled gently, taking the spoon and bowl from her and setting them aside.

She didn’t have time to be confused before he was kissing her, his tongue sliding in to taste hers. Her eyes closed as a surprised moan got out only to be swallowed by Bucky.

She tasted like her with a hint of blueberries, so sweet; so delicious. Bucky’s hands cradled her face as he deepened the kiss, not able to get enough of her flavor, her soft lips or the tiny sounds leaving them. Her smaller hands settled on his chubby tummy, before sliding to his sides to hold him close, slightly clutching his apron.

Their mouths parted, the need for oxygen kind of forcing Bucky away though he still gave her lips a couple of short kisses as he tried to take his breath, his forehead resting on hers.

“So good indeed,” Bucky chuckled breathlessly and her face felt hot, her nose shyly nuzzling Daddy’s cheek to hide.

“Hey, look at me,” Bucky’s voice was so velvety and soft as his fingers brought her face back to his, “I love you, bonbon,” Bucky said, his blue eyes enchanting hers and she could only see, hear, smell and feel him.

Bucky was gorgeous. His tall frame towering over hers, making her feel safe. His pink lips wearing a tender smile that was only designed for her. His cologne surrounding her and filling her chest with warmth. His belly soft and full under her palms. His hair a little out of place as a few strands had slipped out of the bun and refused to stay behind his ear. He was flawless and he was her Daddy.

“I love you, daddy,” she returned with a timid smile.

Her hand went up to slide Bucky’s soft hair back behind his ear, stealing his heart all over again when she cupped his cheek and pressed a tiny kiss to his lips.

With her hand still holding the side of his face and her face tilted upwards, she then started telling Daddy what they had to do next, talking about covering the filling using the remaining pie dough and such, wanting Bucky to be proud of her. And he was, though he wasn’t hearing a word she was saying, he was the proudest.

As he watched her lips move and her hands gesture, Bucky could only think he’d gone to heaven because that must’ve been the only correct name for what he was experiencing in her angelic presence.

Of all the sweet things he's ever tasted, she was his one, true addiction and Bucky was gladly hooked.

~~

Tags: @harrysthiccthighss, @tinystudentfirepurse, @lavendercitizen

[pokelec]

A Dead By Daylight Novice Reviews All the Killers' Trailers (and makes suggestions for what they'd change)

Reveal trailers are paramount for an audience's first look at new characters. First impressions are everything, so your trailer for your shiny new character needs to be perfect for what's in store for the video game! I started playing DBD a month-ish ago but watched all the trailers for the killers before I started playing, and watching some of them got me to thinking about how I would have changes some of the trailers. Some require no changes, while others I think need an overhaul.

Disclaimer: This is in my personal opinion, is not objective at all, and I'm only doing this because this is something I've been thinking about for a month and need some sort of release or else my brain will implode.

Under a read more bc this gets long.

The Trapper - The first trailer! For a first trailer, I think this one is pretty spot on. It follows a lot of beats of slasher movies, in terms of following a survivor that's gonna be killed, her encountering dead bodies, and the suspense of the killer looking for her. Considering Dead by Daylight is effectively a playable horror movie, I think this is a perfect intro to the game. As for what this means for the Trapper, aka our Jason substitute, I think it showed him off alright! We saw his bear traps and got a good look at him doing this thing. Pretty good, all things considered!

The Wraith - The Wraith, Hillbilly, and Nurse all features gameplay as the means of showing off what the killers can do. The Wraith's isn't too bad, since it does show off his Wailing Bell power enough for people to understand "This is a killer that can turn invisible, and you may not know he's right next to you until it's too late". I wish it has a more cinematic style, but I'll be forgiving here because DBD was still young when this was made. I also thing it showed the new map, Autohaven, pretty well. I'm not too big of a fan of ending the trailer with his mori, but that could be because I don't find his mori exciting.

The Hillbilly - Next is our Leatherface expy! This one feels shorter, still using gameplay to introduce our new killer but at least shows off his chainsaw wielding and hints at the map associated with him. I like the shot of him revving his chainsaw underneath the tree with the animal carcasses! I don't mind the ending with his mori here because even if it's off screen, getting cut with a chainsaw is brutal enough to leave a lasting impression. Again, I wish it had the cinematic style, but it's fine.

The Nurse - I think the Nurse's trailer is the weakest of the three gameplay-focused trailers. The text intro is... fine, but I honestly think it fits the Doctor more. It does an okay job of showing us her Blinking mechanics, but it also doesn't? Like we see her teleporting to Nea, but it feels lackluster. I do like the ending shot of dead Nea as the Nurse just blinks away. I'm not quite sure how to change this trailer to be more effective in my opinion, if I'm being honest.

The Shape/Michael Myers - Our first franchise killer, and a perfect trailer. The first second in, we hear John Carpenter's legendary Halloween score. Even non-horror fans will quickly pick up which killer this is. The suspense of Laurie see Michael, Michael coming up the stairs, and especially the shot of Laurie and Michael being on opposite sides of a door is *chef's kiss*. We see enough of the Shape to be satisfied and eager for his release. It's the perfect trailer for him AND Laurie imo.

The Huntress - Ah, the Huntress. She is my favorite killer to play as, and I probably have the majority of my playtime on her. Unfortunately, I think her trailer leaves a lot to be desired. It's the start of the 'let's look at the killer from different angles, have them turn around to the camera, and then attack the viewer' trend of DBD trailers. I call for a complete rewrite! Here's what I would have done:

The map is Mother's Dwelling. Two survivors (David aaaand idk Dwight?) are running and hides behind some trees. We hear the Huntress's lullaby get louder, and we see the bottom half of her and her axe as she walks past the survivors. The lullaby gets quieter, and the survivors take a sigh of relief. Then, a hatchet is thrown and lodged into Dwight's head! David screams and runs. We then see our full look at the Huntress as she picks up the body. Her signature lullaby continues as the trailer ends.

The Hag - The Hag's trailer also follows a similar formula to the Huntress' trailer. There is an animation bump, so we get to see the Hag's emaciated appearance in full detail. I'm not too mad about that, since the Hag's appearance is unsettling enough to cause viewer distress and curiosity more than the Huntress' would. However, because this is a DBD original killer, we need to see what her deal is with her trailer. Thus, I propose this:

On the swamp, Ace is repairing a generator but hears another survivor (Dwight?) get hooked. Ace goes to rescue him, but we see as he steps on a rune in front of the poor survivor. The illusion of the Hag pops up, jumpscaring poor Ace (and the audience) but disappears. Ace then rescues Dwight for real, but Dwight quickly runs away. Why? Because the real Hag is behind Ace and lunges at him, biting his neck. Trailer ends.

The Doctor - I now realize that my taste in writing DBD trailers is 'have the survivor do a thing, they think the killer is near, they then relax, and only then are they attacked by the killer'. It's a bit stereotypical, but again, we're dealing with a game centered on the horror genre, so that's why I'm okay with it.

I mention this because that's effectively the story beats the the Doctor's trailer follows. Instead of attacking Feng, however, the Doctor just looks at her run and stares menacingly. Even though we don't see the Doctor's shock therapy powers here, I think the long look at the killer is still effective because of his design. A first reaction I (and other reactors) experienced went from the initial "OMG the killer is here, run girl!" to "Why tf are his own eyes and mouth held open like that A Clockwork Orange scene?!". We also don't linger for too long on him either, so I think this trailer works well enough.

The Cannibal/Leatherface - Another franchise killer, this time good ol Leatherface! This trailer is a little different, using text to draw up suspense. I do like the reveal of "What is his mask made of? YOU.", but I would've loved to have seen some actual Cannibal action, or at least his in-game model doing his Texas chainsaw massacring thing.

The Nightmare/Freddy Kruger - Oh, c'mon, we got one of the most well known characters in horror in this little video game, and all we get for his trailer is some scratch marks and a 'killer does nothing but stand there menacingly and attack the camera' trailer?! I do like the detail that when we see him, it's DBD's version of the dream world, but we could've at least featured a survivor falling asleep and then seeing him for themselves.

(Also kinda sad it's the reboot version of Freddy instead of the Wes Craven version and the survivor is Quentin instead of Nancy Freaking Thompson, but I guess we should be happy he's in the game at all)

The Pig - Largely, I think this trailer is pretty good. I'm not too big of a fan of Amanda just standing there menacingly near Dwight, but I do like everything else. I especially love the security camera shot of the famous Saw bathroom and the cutaway when Dwight's reverse bear trap activates (but we still see a good bit of gore!). It feels very Saw-like.

The Clown - This trailer is pretty good! Even though we don't see the Clown in much action, we get a lot of visual storytelling with the bottles, the circus, and the ring of fingers, all leading up to the reveal of his face. The diagetic music from Kate is a nice touch, too.

The Spirit - This one is alright. There is a lot of focus on Adam, but it does build up tension to when the Spirit reveals herself. My biggest problem with it is the ending card that is used for her. Yes, I know that's traditional for the end of these trailers, but her pose and expression is kinda meh after the face she makes when she's about to attack Adam. Seriously, that couple of seconds haunts me (sorry) otherwise.

The Legion - My other favorite killer to play! It's so funny how I didn't like Legion when I first heard of them but now they're my favorites. I love how the trailer emphasizes that the new killer(s) looks similar to survivors and the brutality of when Frank reveals himself and stabs Jeff. However, the trailer does a disservice to the other members of the Legion. C'mon, that's their whole shtick!

My recommendation would be to end with a shot of Julie, Joey, and Suzie joining Frank (and obviously getting a good look at them) and surrounding Jeff right before they all stab him. This is a little disingenuous since you can't play as all four of them at once (unless you count that one Blighted skin...), but you also can't disguise yourself as a survivor, so... Yeah. They are The Legion! They act as one! Treat them as such in their trailer, dammit!

The Plague - The Plague's trailer is interesting. Even though we don't see her in action, I think it's fine because seeing her puke on people during her trailer might be a bit off-putting. Just a bit. We still get some storytelling with her whispered prayers, the candles and incense thingy, and, of course, her face. I think because the Plague's design is inherently unique among all the killers so far, she can get away with the 'let's just tease the audience by looking at the killer and nothing else' trend.

The Ghost Face - Not too much I can complain about with this one. I do like the wtf factor of 'wait, why is a DBD trailer at a modern day warehouse???', especially if you're watching a trailer playlist like I first did. It all makes sense when you learn it's Ghost Face, though! Also, justice for that poor cashier.

The Demogorgon - RIP Stranger Things DLC. I don't watch this series, but I really like the Hawkins Lab map and I'm going to be sad when it's gone. :(

I love this trailer! When I hear the Stranger Things music, it actually gives me chills. I'm legitimately so sad the DLC will be gone from the stores, but I do own them myself. I need to actually sit down and play Demo, Steve, and Nancy one of these days. Why am I crying? No, I'm not kidding, why is this trailer making me cry? Renew the contract, Netflix, please! I don't want this stuff to disappear forever!

(Is it weird that I've been nagged on for years to watch Stranger Things but it's Dead By Daylight that's actually convincing me to watch it?)

The Oni - This is an interesting case. The "main" theme of this trailer is the contrast of modern day Japan's Yui and her motorcycle vs the literal ancient samurai Oni. I think it works out, and again, I think the presentation makes up for us not seeing too much of the new killer.

The Deathslinger - Oh boy, do I love my cowboys! This trailer is nearly perfect. We establish the western setting quickly over the sounds of some poor bastard in pain. The reeling in of the chains and the closeup of The Redeemer is so great. My biggest complaint with this trailer is that we linger a bit too long on the Deathslinger's face at the end. Yeah, he's creepy with his eyes and his disjointed jaw, but you can only look at a horror for so long before you want to move on.

The Executioner/Pyramid Head - I like this trailer! I haven't played Silent Hills, but I'm at least somewhat familiar with the premise and Pyramid Head. I love the shot of him passing the classroom door window and the sword cutting a rift through the ground. Yeah, my lack of SH knowledge makes me unable to recommend any changes here.

The Blight - I have no changes to suggest. The Blight's transformation is super horrific, reminding me of the typical depiction of Jekyll and Hyde. Honestly, he is so much more terrifying in his trailer and in lore than in gameplay.

The Twins - No changes needed. BHVR is really starting to hit their stride with these trailers! Seeing Victor come out of Charlotte's body is amazing.

The Trickster - We depart from all of the other trailers by using an K-POP music video style. It does a good job at referencing some of his story beats (namely torturing/killing people, recording their screams, and using them in his music), but it doesn't really make me afraid of the Trickster. Sure, it fits with his theme, but I would have preferred seeing more of him, y'know, instead of just looking pretty and making faces? I still wouldn't change the art style of the trailer, though. It's fitting enough for him and a breath of fresh air from the doom and gloom.

The Nemesis - No change needed, mostly because I'm not too familiar with the Resident Evil series, but seeing Jill, the twink Leon, and Nemesis on-screen is a very cool moment. Also can we get an F in chat for Meg?

The Cenobite/Pinhead - This is a perfect trailer. We got the Lament Configuration, we got the chains pinning up Dwight, we got Pinhead himself! What more can I ask for?

If you actually made it this far, thank for reading? I don't think I really contribute anything to the fandom with this analysis, but DBD has been living rent free in my brain for the past month, so I may as well write something, eh?

[woulddieforperrytheplatypus]

What're some of your favorite moments between Doof and Perry during Phineas and Ferb?

You have absolutely no idea how fucking long I spent making this video fhdsjahkjaf I’m gonna gush under the cut about why I liked each one so y’all don’t have to deal with me if you don’t want to lol

These are in no particular order. They’re just numbered to line up with the reasoning. I added lil descriptions to each of them but you’ll probably have to either watch the video first or have a pretty good memory of the show to understand them lol

1. “Dr. Wexler, you’re a platypus?” (A Hard Day’s Knight)

Literally just the way he says, “Dr. Wexler, you’re a platypus?”

2. “Is every platypus named Perry?” and then Perry bites him (AT2D)

M O N C H (also Heinz calls him cute) (also also “We do not bite the elderly!”)

3. Perry tries to fly him and Heinz home from the desert but Heinz flips the turbo switch and they lose the jetpack (Road to Danville)

“Like you didn’t know about my switch-flipping compulsion!” They’re literally an old married couple omfg I can’t even (also moment of appreciation for the fact that they’re close enough that Heinz just assumes Perry knows about his switch-flipping compulsion) (another moment of appreciation because Perry probably does)

4. The end of the Perry/Doof subplot of Terrifying Tri-State Trilogy of Terror

First of all, the way Perry decides to run under his giant floating head when going around would take two extra seconds? Beautiful. And, of course, Perry’s fucking smirk because that’s just not his problem lmaooo

5. The pause in the FIGHT FIGHT IT’S A PLATYPUS FIGHT (Doofapus)

I love that they literally just stop mid-fight to have tea. I firmly believe there is no other pair of nemeses that would do that and this is just how Heinz and Perry work. Also, Perry’s smile? He feels so understood? It’s so pure?

6. Vanessa lets Perry in before he can break down the door with his rocket launcher and then Perry accidentally shoots it through the wall (My Sweet Ride)

“This is why I can never have anything nice -_-”

7. Heinz doesn’t trap Perry (Road to Danville)

He’s so confused fjdahfksdhfak he literally goes out of his way to get trapped at that point (even if he pretends he doesn’t) and Heinz flipped the script on him without telling him and his lil shrug is so cute and I just jsfhkjadhsk

8. There’s a Platypus Controlling Me (Brain Drain)

You had to know this one was gonna be there

9. “In your letters, you said your nemesis was a suave, semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable dynamic fury” (Oil on Candace)

The fact that Heinz sent his ex-professor a letter gushing about his nemesis is just *chef’s kiss*

10. Perry and Dennis are fighting in giant puppets in the street and Heinz recognizes Perry piloting the puppet because of his fighting style (The Return of the Rogue Rabbit)

I’m pretty sure this is the only time Heinz ever recognizes Perry without his hat on (correct me if I’m wrong tho) and the fact that it’s literally just because Perry punched the fuckin camera kills me every time

11. Heinz is worried they won’t make his play in time so Perry tells him to flip the turbo switch (Road to Danville)

Perry just trusts him so much??? Flipping the switch was what got them into that mess in the first place??? But Perry cares so much about Heinz making his LOVEMUFFIN play that he’s willing to give it another go??? I love it???

12. DANCE BABY DANCE BABY HANDS IN THE AIR (Candace Disconnected)

I feel like we don’t get to see Perry just kinda hanging out like that a lot. He’s always doing that steely glare, even when they’re having fun. I don’t think Perry really realizes how emotionless he can look sometimes (the beginning and end of Sidetracked are from Perry’s POV especially at the end, the way he acts with the boys shows too much character for a secret agent, so even though he seems to think it’s obvious that he’s all lovey dovey with them, he does much too good a job at hiding his emotions) but it’s nice to see him drop the facade every now and then

13. Heinz calls Monogram because Perry hasn’t shown up (Perry the Actorpus)

I know Perry’s not technically in this one but I love that Heinz a) calls OWCA when Perry doesn’t show up and b) looks so nervous as he calls OWCA because Perry hasn’t shown up

14. Perry brings Heinz a glass of water (Road to Danville)

Half this episode is just them being mad at each other because they blame the other one for sticking them in the desert with way home, and I love that even though Perry’s been fuming pretty much the entire time, the second Heinz actually starts yelling at him, he’s immediately hit with a wave of guilt (also I love that he somehow found a glass of water in the middle of the desert?)

15. “YOU PEED ON MY COUCH!” (AT2D)

Not gonna lie, I mostly picked this one for shits and giggles BUT that doesn’t mean I can’t overanalyze it because that’s what I do best. Perry’s whole role in the show is to tie together the two completely unrelated plots, and that’s only so entertaining because not only does neither side know the other, but neither side knows what version of Perry the other side knows. This is the first time Heinz has really connected mindless pet Perry with Agent P Perry, and I feel like that was the most interesting part of the movie was that Phineas, Ferb, Candace, and Heinz all saw a side of Perry they didn’t know. 

16. Heinz invites Perry out for lunch (The Quietest Day Ever)

Heinz doesn’t even know he got hit with the de-handsome-inator. He literally just thinks he lost, and his immediate reaction is to ask if Perry wants to hang out. I just love those lil insights into their relationship when they’re not fighting. Also, perry.exe has stopped working.

17. Honestly just all of Father’s Day

I hate knowing that chronologically, Father’s Day had to happen probably less than halfway through the summer and not towards the end like it does in the episode order. It’s such a sweet turning point in their relationship. Perry’s head all these horrible backstories about Mr. Doofenshmirtz and I can only assume he hates the guy, but he’s still so supportive of Heinz trying to win his approval -- and he’s supportive when that fails and Heinz needs someone to lean on.

18. Perry Lays An Egg

T H W A R T   M E   P E R R Y   T H E   P L A T Y P U S 

19. Heinz proving he knows how to shut the fuck up by refusing to shut the fuck up (Road to Danville)

Perry’s literally about to fight a bitch and I can’t blame him. I also like the lil look into Heinz’s thoughts with the “it’s not like I have to fill the space” line because it really explains a lot about him.

20. Perry waiting for the New Year’s ball to drop and for Heinz to finish his scheme (Happy New Year!)

Once again, a beautiful look at how their entire relationship is based on their routine and knowing what to expect. It wouldn’t be Heinz and Perry if there was not punching and kicking involved. (Also, Perry’s smug face while he waits) (Also also, Perry’s lil shrug)

21. Heinz invites Perry to hang out in his house in the suburbs (Put That Putter Away)

GIVE PERRY A DAY OFF (but for real I love that Heinz literally just asked if he wanted to hang out, AND that he assured Perry that he’d make sure he didn’t get in trouble with Monogram for it)

22. The end of Sidetracked

THEY? HOLD? HAND???

23. “The thing that’s kept me from succeeding all these years is YOU!” *turns finger around* (Road to Danville)

PERRY IS SO DONE WITH HIS SHlT I CAN’T FDJAFHDJLSFHDSAKJ

24. Roger tries to say hi to sleeping Perry (Just Our Luck)

How often does Perry have to fall asleep around Heinz for the guy to know he gets testy when someone wakes him up?

25. The brief New Year’s dance break (Happy New Year!)

THEIR DANCING IS SO FAST AND SO IN SYNC EITHER THEY REHEARSED THIS OR THEY JUST KNOW EACH OTHER SO WELL THAT IT JUST HAPPENS NATURALLY AND I WOULD DIE FOR THEM OKAY

26. Perry accidentally became famous for advertising tools and then shows up at DEI (Perry the Actorpus)

He’s so happy to see his nemesis again :,)

27. “You think I’m evil, right?” *finger guns* (Oil on Candace)

Perry is at least partially responsible for how horribly that day went, but that’s his job is to make sure evil scientists don’t impress other evil scientists. You don’t want, like, an evil scientist team up or whatever. But I’m decently sure there’s nothing in the job description that says Perry has to stick around and assure his nemesis that he’s good at being evil, so that’s all Perry’s doing.

28. Perry pulled an all nighter and shows up at DEI asleep and Heinz has to try not to wake him up (Just Our Luck)

The amount of respect it takes for Heinz to see his nemesis sleeping on the job and go out of his way not to wake him up (but to make sure he’s still included, of course; he’s not a disrespectful guy, even if he is evil) warms my heart

29. Perry shows Heinz a bunch of their pictures together (This Is Your Backstory)

a) I love that Perry carries those pictures in his wallet 

b) I love that those pictures exist at all

 c) I love that Heinz has enjoyed his nemesisship with Perry so much that it basically negates every tragic backstory

[seanfalco]

Your Secret’s Safe with Me | Nathan Young x Reader

Word count: 2.4k Warnings: Smut/Pegging, Language a/n: tbh I struggled with this, and I’m not sure if I’m exactly happy with it, but I wanted to get it out before Thursday was over.  Just some consensual pegging.  I wanted Nathan’s first time to be comfortable for him with healthy communication. A huge thank you to @midnightseance​ for the gif >:3

“Whoa!  What’re y’doin’?” Nathan yelped, jerking away from your hand as it traveled lower still, the pad of your finger circling his hole.

“Sorry, I got a little carried away,” you replied breathlessly, glancing at him apologetically.  “Did it feel good at all?” you wondered and Nathan frowned, a conflicted look crossing his face as he thought about it.

“Do it again,” he said hesitantly and you slowly resumed your exploration, watching his expression.

“Does that feel good?”

“...Maybe,” he relented reluctantly and a small grin tugged at your lips.

“Maybe, huh?  Would you like me to make you feel good?” you asked between kisses, your tongue teasing his nipple as your finger pressed against him.  “I’ve heard it can be quite pleasurable, and I’ve always wanted to peg someone,” you mused, and Nathan looked thoughtful, conflicted. 

“Alright, I s’pose,” he relented begrudgingly, “but not... right now, I need some time t’mentally prepare,” he murmured, pulling you back up to his face, meeting your kisses with fervor.  “I’ll let yeh peg me properly, but first, I think it’s time for me to take advantage of you.”  

“It’s not taking advantage if I want you to,” you laughed, but Nathan merely shrugged, rolling you to your back. 

“Now you’re just splittin’ hairs.”

——

For the remainder of the week neither you nor Nathan spoke of what had happened or your tentative plans, in fact you half wondered if Nathan had already changed his mind.  You wouldn’t hold it against him if he had, though you’d be lying if you said you weren’t excited to try it with him, the thought of fucking your boyfriend into the mattress, and the sounds he might make aroused you more than you cared to admit.

Your afternoon off, you decided to leave your boyfriend a little gift, hoping he’d find it as sexy as you did -- a little sneak peek to hopefully get him in the mood.

While Nathan was at work, you pulled out the camcorder and tripod to record a short video, sporting your sexiest pair of lingerie and wearing the strap, posing seductively on the bed, hoping you didn’t look completely foolish.

Purposefully leaving the camcorder set up, you dressed and got to work on dinner, waiting for Nathan to get home.

“Hey!” he called as he came through the door, toeing his trainers off to leave in the middle of the hall before joining you in the kitchen.

“Hey,” you replied, grinning as he embraced you from behind.  “How was work?”

“Way too fuckin’ long,” he complained, dropping his face to your shoulder.  “What’re you makin’?” he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him as he sniffed the air moments later, work already forgotten.

“Frozen pizza, but it's one of those fancy ones and I added a few things,” you answered, turning in Nathan’s embrace to face him as he hummed delightedly.

“No one told me I was datin’ a chef,” he exclaimed with a cheesy smile that made you laugh.

“You’re such an ass,” you exclaimed, poking him in the ribs.

“Hey, that was a genuine compliment!” he whined and you relented, smirking as you pulled him forward by the collar for a kiss.

“Aren’t you sweet?” you murmured against his lips and you felt him grin.

“The sweetest,” he replied cheekily, kissing you back.  

After dinner Nathan followed you into the kitchen to deposit his empty plate in the sink, once more trapping you in his arms, his hands already wandering.  “Sooooo, what d’ya wanna do now?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows, full of insinuation, and you rolled your eyes.

“Actually, I have something for you in the bedroom,” you said, attempting to keep a straight face, steering him where you wanted him.

“Oh?” he asked, his eyebrows climbing, a mixture of intrigue and genuine confusion on his face.

“Mhmm,” you answered, nudging him toward the door.  

Before entering, Nathan leaned in curiously, and catching sight of the camcorder still set up his face brightened and he glanced back at you over his shoulder. 

“Oh, I see,” he exclaimed, knowing what that meant and rubbing his hands together excitedly as he hurried to go watch the recording you’d left him.

Though you wanted to see his reaction, you busied yourself with cleaning up dinner, waiting for his answer to the question you’d posed in the video.  Several minutes later Nathan cleared his throat from the door and you spun to face him. 

“Yes?” you asked, excitement coursing through you and you fought against the urge to rub your thighs together against your building arousal.

“I’m uh, I’m gunna take a quick shower,” Nathan announced, a little awkwardly, gesturing over his shoulder with his thumb, but you could see in his eyes he was as excited as you were, if not a little nervous too.

This was your sign he wanted this.

“Alright,” you replied, unable to keep the small grin from your face.  “I’ll see you soon,” you murmured, pushing off the counter to press a kiss to his lips as you slipped past him to the bedroom to get ready yourself.

Watching you for a moment, Nathan shook himself, already undressing on his way to the bathroom and soon you heard the water turn on.  By the time he stepped back into the bedroom, towel around his waist and his usually poofy curls plastered wetly to his face, you were waiting on the edge of the bed in the same lingerie as before and you didn’t miss the way Nathan’s gaze traveled hungrily over you as he moved closer.  

“You look --” he paused to whistle as he stopped in front of you and you gazed up at him through your eyelashes, a smirk twisting your lips as your eyes traveled down his damp chest to his hips, his erection already tenting the towel wrapped round his waist.

“Someone’s excited,” you pointed out, your hands tugging at the towel and Nathan let it fall unabashed to the floor before shimmying his hips, making his cock swing enticingly.

“How can I not be when y’look like that?” he exclaimed and you reached out, sliding your hand over his length, gripping him as you stood and switched him spots, releasing his cock to push him to his back.

As he hit the bed, Nathan gaped up at you, his jaw falling open as you knelt before him, positioning yourself between his knees.  

“Are you nervous?” you asked, stroking him again and a soft moan left his lips.

“Me, nervous?” he exclaimed, lifting his head to peer down at you, forcing a laugh.  “I don’t even know th’meanin’ of the word!  I’ve got nerves of steel, baby!” 

Leveling him a skeptical look, you dipped your head to run your tongue along the underside of his cock, coaxing forth another breathy moan.

“It’s okay if you are… nervous,” you murmured, pausing to kiss the side of his length and then the other side.

Nathan groaned, squirming slightly at your ministrations before speaking up again.

“Have you… ever done this… before?” he asked hesitantly and you once more lifted your face to regard him.

“Technically you’re the first,” you answered slowly and Nathan’s brows raised.  “Well, first guy, at least.  I’ve fucked some girls with a strap on before,” you continued and his face fell slightly.

“Well now I’m kinda jealous,” he muttered and you snorted a laugh.

“Oh c’mon, you’re the only one I wanna rail now, babe.  I’ll show you you have nothin’ to be jealous about,” you murmured, pressing a chaste kiss to the tip of his cock before swirling your tongue around it.

Nathan let out a strangled sigh as his head fell back, and as you lavished his cock with attention you reached for the bottle of lube you’d set out on the bedside table.

Pulling his cock from your mouth for a moment to concentrate, you squirted some of the lube into your hand, coating your finger generously.  

“If you want me to stop at any time, just say so,” you said as you gently ran your slick finger around the rim of his hole, and you could practically feel him tense, clenching.  “I need t’get you ready for the toy,” you murmured, rubbing your finger in slow circles now.  “So try to relax, Nathan, focus on how good it feels.”

“Right.  Yeah,” he answered disjointedly and you smiled to yourself as you took his length back into your mouth while you worked his hole, feeling him start to finally relax.

When you began to push your finger into him he let out a sharp whine, but you kept bobbing your head as you pushed deeper, slowly inserting your finger to the second knuckle, relishing the noises he made.

When you added a second finger you felt him tense once more, but soon he was baring down on you, almost eager.  

Working his ass til you felt he was ready you gave his cock one last good suck before standing and adjusting the harness around your waist.  Quickly lubing up the silicone dildo, Nathan watched, strangely silent for once, his bottom lip caught between his teeth.

“Do I hadta turn over and stick my ass in th’air or anythin’?” he asked, a small tremor to his voice and you looked up from your task to look him in the eye.

“Not unless you want to.  I can fuck you on your back if you want.”

Nathan looked thoughtful, his gaze traveling down to your hand still gripping the dildo.  “I think I wanna watch,” he decided.  “It’d be a shame not to see you when y’look so hot.”

Grinning at his praise you ran your free hand down thigh, giving his leg a squeeze.  “Good, cuz I wanna see the faces you make, how good I make you feel as I fuck you,” you admitted, enjoying the soft flush that rose to his face.  “Are y’ready?” you asked.

“Actually, if I might make a request?  Can y’take the bra off?  I really wanna see those glorious tits o’ yours,” he exclaimed and you rolled your eyes, unsurprised as you reached behind you to unclasp the garment, easing it down so he could get a good look at you. 

“There, better?”

“Much better.”

“Are y’ready now?” you asked, with amusement.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” he muttered.  “Is it weird that I find you incredibly fuckin’ sexy with that thing on?” he added, taking you by surprise.

“I think it’s sexy that you find it sexy,” you purred, aligning yourself, holding the tip of the toy at his entrance.  “Now prepare t’have your world rocked, Nathan Young,” you announced, turning his own words on him.

“Oh, fuck,” he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut  as you pressed into him, slowly repeating what you’d done with your fingers, using shallow thrusts before sliding deeper.  

When you finally sheathed the toy completely, your hips flush with his ass, you paused, Nathan’s mouth falling open as a cross between and moan and a whine fell from his lips and you weren’t exactly sure if it was one of pain or pleasure, but it sent a shiver through you, leaving you very much wanting.

“Babe, you okay?” you asked, checking in, giving him a moment to adjust and he breathed heavily through his nose.

“I think?” he replied, opening one eye to squint up at you.

“You think?” you repeated, slowly pulling out to slide back into him and this time he gasped, throwing his head back.

“Okay, yeah.  Yeah, that-that might feel — fuckkk,” he groaned, the word punctuating your hips coming flush against him again, rocking into him.  “Oh fuck, [y/n],” he exclaimed and you couldn’t help but smirk, carefully watching his face as you began to speed up.

When you grabbed his cock, gliding your fist down his length in time with your thrusts he breathed in sharply, his hips jerking.

“Ahh!” he gasped, his hands balling in the sheets, his face scrunching up in pleasure.  “Ooh yeah.  Yeah, just like that,” he babbled.  “Fuck me sideways with a tire iron, Jay-sus Christ,” he muttered.

“Faster?” you purred, and he shook his head frantically, his mussed curls bouncing eagerly.

“God, you’re so cute like this,” you murmured as you began thrusting faster, swiping your thumb over the tip of his cock, teasing him.

Though the faces he was making weren’t exactly what you’d call sexy, it was cute seeing him begin to unravel, writhing atop the sheets because of your actions and soon you were pounding into him harder, the slap of skin on skin filling the room while Nathan’s wanton cries and needy whines grew louder as well.

“Do you like being fucked like this, babe?” you asked, panting slightly, feeling sweat begin to cover your forehead as you watched him squirm, his toes curling.

“Oh Jay-sus, yes!” he cried, his voice cracking amid the deep groan that followed. 

“Then come for me, Nathan,” you urged, your muscles beginning to cramp while your arousal coated the inside of your thighs, your cunt throbbing.  Each time you ground against the harness you felt yourself growing a little more desperate. 

God how you wanted to see him come undone before you.

Suddenly a strangled cry, louder than the others left your boyfriend’s throat and you could feel his muscles tense as his cock swelled in your grip, but you didn’t relent, over stimulating him as he came in your hand, spilling his seed over his own stomach in spurts, harder than he’d came before, as you continued to ram into him.

“Oh God!  Oh [y/n]!” he whined and you finally slowed, pulling out of him as you released his softening cock.

As Nathan collapsed back you unbuckled the harness from your waist, letting it fall to the floor before crawling atop the bed next to him.  Propping yourself up on your elbow you ran your fingers down his cheek and his eyes fluttered open to gaze up at you, taking a moment to focus on your face.

“Hey,” you murmured, grinning softly at him.

“Hey,” he croaked, turning toward you.

“So?  What did you think?” you asked, curious.  It sure seemed like he enjoyed himself, but you knew how stubborn Nathan could be and you wouldn’t be surprised if he denied it anyway.

“That was… I mean… yeah, I liked it, okay,” he admitted with a huff, his eyes holding a challenge.

“Yeah?” you asked, a giddy grin tugging at your lips.

“Yeah,” he repeated, “but y’can’t tell anyone okay?  I wanna keep my pride, yeah?” he whined and you silenced him with a kiss.

“Your secret’s safe with me, Nathan.”  

Your answer seemed to please him and he sighed contentedly, snuggling closer.

“Does that mean I can peg you again some time?” you ventured, pushing his hair from his forehead and he cracked an eye to peer up at you, chewing his lip.

“Yeah, alright,” he finally relented.  “I still like bein’ the one in charge, but… I wouldn’t mind it if we did this again... sometime,” he confessed haltingly.

“Sounds good to me,” you murmured, pulling him closer, your breath catching as he nuzzled against your neck only to start nipping at you, his hand delving between your thighs.

“Fuck, you’re wet!” he exclaimed abruptly, his head jerking up, eyes wide.  “Is that all just from peggin’ me?” he asked incredulously.

“Yeah,” you answered, feeling your face warm, “it was really hot.  You were really hot.”

“Okay, I changed my mind,” he exclaimed with a giggle, “I’ll let yeh have your way with me me more often if this is the result,” he exclaimed, pushing you eagerly to your back.

“Oh, yeah?” you murmured, laughter tinging your voice as he crawled atop you, his lips moving against your neck.

“Oh yeah,” he repeated, smirking as he pulled back to waggle his eyebrows at you.  “Now it’s my turn to return th’favour.”

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

Nathan tag list: @magic-multicolored-miracle​ @midnightseance​ @etherealsxnder​ @iamsexytrash​ @orions-nebula​ @sokkasdarling​ @itsametaphorbriansblog​ @slutforrobbiebro​

[tickly-trashcan]

Almond Tofu {XiaoVen}

A/N: okay i got a bit carried away with this one, i just got so excited to write xiaoven! So we’re kicking off prompts with these two dorks, and lee venti!! He was so fun to write as a lee oughh he’s such a little shit he deserved all the tickles he got. I also decided to do both of these prompts because 7 and 8 are like,, my faves from the new list, hope you don’t mind! i also had no idea what to call venti’s little thing he wears around his torso so he now wears a corset lmao. anyways i’ve talked long enough, hope you enjoy this one!

Summary: Xiao and Venti are at Wangshu Inn enjoying a meal together. But when Venti steals Xiao’s last bite of his food, how will Xiao make him pay?

Word Count: 2.2k (under the cut)

Xiao sighed. He had been waiting for his partner to show up, but he still hadn’t arrived. He stretched lightly, raising his arms above his head, growing bored.

He knew it was a long way from Mondstadt to the Wangshu Inn, where Xiao currently resided. They had spent the last few nights in Mondstadt together, his partner showing Xiao around the city, forcing him to drink various wines and ciders as they both drunk themselves silly.

Xiao smiled to himself. Though he had always thought he was unworthy of happiness, because of his past and all the things he had done, his partner had finally shown him that there might be something worth living for in happiness. He was what kept Xiao going, and despite how exhausted Xiao could get after spending time with him, he still enjoyed every second of it.

“Yahoo!” A voice suddenly called, and a certain green clad bard flew down from the staircase, riding on a wind current as he stopped behind Xiao. He wrapped his arms around Xiao, nuzzling his face in his hair as he squeezed him tightly.

“I missed you!” He said, his tone slightly whiny as he spoke. Xiao chuckled softly, placing his hand on the arms wrapped around him as they only held him tighter.

“It’s only been a day, Venti,” Xiao said, pulling Venti’s hand off of his body to give it a gentle kiss. Venti giggled, letting go of Xiao and sitting down next to him, grabbing his hand underneath the table.

“That’s a day too long!”

Xiao smiled. He felt so free with Venti, and he was sure that Venti felt the same. Venti swung his arm slightly, making Xiao’s arm go with him as he hummed, glancing around the Wangshu Inn.

“I can’t say I recall ever coming here, would you care to show me around after we have our meal?”

Xiao nodded, standing. “What would you like to eat?”

Venti threw his arms up in the air excitedly. “Wine!”

Xiao frowned. “You can’t have just wine as your meal, Venti.”

Venti pouted and sighed, figuring Xiao was right. “Then some crystal shrimp please.”

Xiao nodded again, walking over to the kitchen where the chef resided. He told him what he wanted and went quickly back over to Venti, who sat at the table, inspecting his lyre.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to compose a song, one about us.”

Xiao flushed as he sat down next to Venti and looked at the table to avoid eye contact. Venti glanced over at him and noticed the slightly red tinge covering Xiao’s face and neck. He grinned. 

Venti strummed his lyre a few times, plucking the strings with ease as he nudged Xiao, making him flinch.

“Would you care to hear, love?”

Love? Xiao’s blush only deepened as he nodded his head, eager to hear Venti’s music. It was Venti’s songs that had once saved Xiao from his karma, and was what had kept him going for so long. His voice, his skill with the lyre, everything about Venti’s musical prowess made Xiao practically melt every time he heard it.

Venti strummed the lyre a few more times, preparing to sing, when the chef came over with their meal. Venti beamed, quickly tucking away his lyre as he pulled the crystal shrimp closer to him, glancing over at Xiao.

“Your song will have to wait, for now I must clear my plate,” Venti said with a chuckle, looking at Xiao who pulled his own plate of food towards him. Venti gasped, furrowing his brows as he pointed at Xiao.

“You told me I can’t have wine as my meal and now you’re having dessert!? Hypocrite!”

“They don’t serve wine here anyway, only sunsettia cider.”

Venti pouted, watching as Xiao ate his almond tofu, finally eating his own meal as he continued to occasionally glare at Xiao.

Eventually Venti finished, but Xiao still had a few bites left. An idea creeped into Venti’s mischievous mind and he scooted his chair a bit closer to Xiao. Xiao didn’t seem to notice as he took another bite of his almond tofu, smiling softly to himself as he went to pick up the last bite of the sweet treat.

Venti quickly swooped in and grabbed the last piece of almond tofu, stuffing it into his mouth as he swallowed, laughing triumphantly. Xiao was frozen, his utensils still hovering right by the plate as he was basically in shock of what just happened. He had been saving the best bite for last, one that had exactly two goji berries that would give the sweet, milky tofu that extra little tang. 

Xiao finally turned his head to see Venti, who had his hands on his hips as he grinned from ear to ear, looking at Xiao.

“That’s what you get!” 

Xiao clenched his utensil, furrowing his eyebrows as he glared at Venti. He wasn’t necessarily angry, it was almost impossible for him to get angry at the playful green-clad bard, but he wasn’t exactly happy either.

“Did you just eat my last bite of almond tofu?” Xiao asked, even though he already knew what had happened.

Venti chuckled, nodding his head. “And it was delicious.”

Xiao snapped his utensil in two and Venti squeaked. Did he make him mad? Venti had never seen Xiao mad before, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. But there was no way Venti was going to back down from Xiao. He was a god, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t be able to handle.

“I don’t think you realize the situation you’re in…” Xiao said, standing up as he continued to stare at Venti, his face vengeful. Venti shrinked back slightly, but otherwise didn’t move.

“It was only a bite, there’s no need to fight,” Venti squeaked out, and Xiao only walked closer to Venti, Venti quickly jumping out of his chair and backing away from Xiao until he hit the wall.

Despite knowing how much trouble he was in, Venti couldn’t seem to keep his mouth shut as he continued on.

“It’s awfully cute that you’re so upset over some almond tofu. Do you love it more than you love me~?” Venti teased, crossing his arms as he tried to keep up his arrogant façade.

“You know, Barbatos,” Xiao said. Uh-oh. He hadn’t used that name in a long time, Venti was seriously in for it. “You’re awfully cocky for someone who’s so ticklish.”

Venti gulped. This was bad. He was trapped between the wall and Xiao, and Xiao wasn’t planning on messing around. He looked around desperately for any kind of escape route, but there was none. He finally decided to take a leap of faith and bolted to the side of Xiao, trying to run away.

Xiao easily grabbed onto the collar of Venti’s coat, stopping him as he wrapped his arms around the short bard.

“H-Hey, I was just messing around! We can get you another bowl of almond tofu, three in fact! Please, don’t tickle me!”

Venti’s pleas and cries when in one ear and out the other for Xiao. He continued to hold Venti as he used one arm to squeeze his side, but there was no reaction. Venti laughed triumphantly once more as he continued to squirm in Xiao’s grip.

Xiao frowned in confusion before realizing it was Venti’s odd, leather corset-like clothing piece that was protecting Venti from being tickled.

“You cannot thwart me! I’m immune to tickles now, see?!” Venti laughed, and he quickly felt Xiao slip his hand behind Venti, undoing his leather corset. Venti giggled frantically as nervousness slowly took over, Xiao also tickling his back slightly as he undid the bindings.

“S-Strihihipping me now? Pervert~” Venti teased, and Xiao growled. The leather piece quickly fell to the floor and Venti gulped in fear, realizing there was really no escape from Xiao.

“U-Uhm… I love you?” Venti tried, knowing that saying that could fluster Xiao. But it didn’t. Venti blew a gust of Anemo to try and float himself out of Xiao’s grip, but it was no use.

Xiao latched his hand onto Venti’s side again, giving it a quick squeeze as Venti squeaked this time, writhing around in Xiao’s grip.

Xiao smirked, though Venti couldn’t see, and he immediately began scribbling his fingers up and down Venti’s side and waist, making him squeal as giggles started to pour from his mouth.

“X-Xiahahahahahao! Wahahahahahahait! I’m - I’m sorrehehehehehehehe!!”

“It’s too late for apologies,” Xiao said simply, pinching Venti’s side as he yelped. His knees buckled and he fell forward, only held up by Xiao, who slowly lowered him to the ground. He sat next to him, too shy to straddle Venti.

He squealed as Xiao continued to skitter his fingers up and down his sides, going to explore his tummy as well. Venti shrieked and immediately swatted blindly at Xiao’s hands, snorting.

“NAHAahahahahaha! Hehehehe, not thehehehehereeee!” Venti wailed, twisting onto his side and curling up in an attempt to protect his sensitive tummy. Xiao smiled as he continued to tickle Venti, poking and prodding at his tummy as Venti jumped with every touch.

“This is what happens when you eat my food,” Xiao said, raising his voice slightly so that he could be heard over Venti’s rather loud laughter.

“I-It’s too bahahahahad you didn’t gehe - get to finish it!” Venti managed to get out through his laughter, and that only further fueled Xiao’s motivation to tickle the living hell out of Venti.

Venti didn’t mind being tickled for the most part, in fact he almost enjoyed it when it was Xiao tickling him. But whenever Xiao got into a vengeful mood like this one, he could be quite the menacing tickler, one that Venti feared.

Xiao grabbed onto one of Venti’s wrists and pinned his arm above his head, forcing Venti on his back as he clawed at his vulnerable belly, Venti practically screeching as Xiao did so. 

“KYAHAHAhahahahaha! Xiaohohohohoho! DohohohohoHOHOHON’T!”

“Don’t what? I’m not doing anything,” He said, a small smirk climbing up his lips as he watched his partner flail around like a fish out of water.

Venti’s laugh always filled Xiao with a warm feeling, which was part of the reason why he loved to tickle him. He always tried to find excuses to tickle Venti, and this happened to be one of the perfect ones. 

He let go of Venti’s wrist to attack his ribs, digging between each one as Venti clamped his arms down, twisting from side to side as he laughed earnestly and loudly.

“GahahahaHAHAHA! Gohohohohohods, not thehehehehere!”

“Would you prefer I tickled your stomach again then?” Xiao asked, one hand starting to travel back to Venti’s tummy and he squeaked.

“Nohohohoho! Not the tuhuhuhuhummy!”

Xiao chuckled as he continued to amuse himself with his partners torture, Venti’s face bright red as he shook it around, cackling. Xiao continued to explore his partner’s sensitive spots, already knowing all of his worst places but treating it like a new game.

Venti kicked and squealed as Xiao tickled him everywhere he could think of. He squeezed his hips, dug under his arms, fluttered his fingers along his neck… 

Venti, meanwhile, was losing his mind over the overwhelming ticklish sensations. He could barely formulate words at this point, all he could do was laugh hysterically and jump at each poke that Xiao decided to throw at him. 

Xiao went back to Venti’s tummy, scribbling around as Venti snorted, cackling as he kicked his legs frantically pushing at Xiao as he tried to turn on his side again. Xiao quickly flipped him back over, continuing the ticklish attack on him as Venti cackled, wrapping his arms around his tummy in an attempt to defend himself.

Xiao grumbled, trying to get between his arms and even tickling his ribs, but Venti wouldn’t budge. Xiao finally grabbed both of Venti’s wrists and, with a little effort, managed to pin them above his head, leaning over him as Venti panted wildly, some residual giggles still escaping his lips.

Xiao dragged a finger down Venti’s arm, slowly and ticklishly as Venti giggled softly, squirming.

“Are you gonna eat my almond tofu again?” Xiao asked, lightly poking Venti’s underarm as he squeaked, grinning widely as he giggled.

“M-Mahahaybe~” Venti cooed, and he shrieked when Xiao clawed at his tummy again.

“OkahahahahAHAY! I won’t I wohohohon’t I - Aah! I prohohomise!” Venti cried, and Xiao ceased his tickling, hand still on Venti’s tummy.

“And are you gonna get me another bowl of almond tofu?”

“Too soon, you might have spoke. For, unfortunately, I am broke,” Venti joked, and was only met with more tickling as he squealed loudly.

“O-One bohohohohowl of almond - GAHAha! Almond tofu for the Adeptus!” Venti yelled, his voice hoarse as Xiao finally let go of him, Venti immediately sitting up and rubbing his tummy as he tried to rid himself of the lingering ticklish sensations.

“You’re so mean,” Venti whined, sticking his tongue out at Xiao who sat down at the table again. Venti quickly put his leather corset back on to protect himself from any further tickles, sitting down next to Xiao.

“I’m not mean, you deserved that and you know it,” Xiao said, thanking the chef as he brought him another bowl of almond tofu.

Venti frowned, though he knew Xiao was sort of right. He poked Xiao playfully, making him jump as he choked on the bite of almond tofu he was currently eating. He glared at Venti, who immediately held his hands up innocently.

“You want me to tickle you that bad?” Xiao threatened, and Venti quickly shook his head. Xiao set down his utensils and got out of his chair, Venti immediately bolting out of the inn laughing as Xiao chased after him. It would likely be a long night full of laughter for the both of them…

[oabf45]

Ok so I finally watched the new 9-1-1 and 9-1-1 Lone Star episodes and here is what I think overall for the seasons so far, the characters, and part 2 of the seasons. Badically my opinions no one asked for 😁

9-1-1

- Let's rip the band aid off. I'm sorry but we're never getting Buddie. I'm a huge Buddie shipper myself, but I honestly have reached the point where I just don't see it happening. For one their friendship alone just isn't what it's been the past two seasons. Idk if its just me feeling this, but their scenes together, though sweet, just haven't been what they've been in the past. I mean this last episode is the most connection I feel from their characters than i have this whole season. I'm still not over Eddie's lack of reaction to Buck being trapped when Buck was ready to dig through the earth to find Eddie. Though I think there is still a chance Buck could be BI I just no longer have hope that Buddie is going to be a thing. I mean, they've at least hinted that Buck could ride that way, but Eddie has given zero signs of being into men at all. But honestly if they at least explore a BI Buck then I'll be happy, even if he's not with Eddie. It also doesn't help that there's a HUGE possibility that Oliver and Ryan don't get along anymore. They stopped following each other on social media and they post pictures with all the rest of the cast except each other. Its just looking extremely unlikely.

- I don't think Ana deserves as much hate as she's getting. I wasn't so fond of the Eddie/Ana pairing either, mostly because I was so into Buddie. But Ana does seem genuinely a great person and its a plus that Christopher loves her. I just wish that if they were going to persue this they would have built it up more and showed us more of her character. I mean we know close to nothing about her which is what makes it hard to like her or like her with Eddie.

- I'm glad that even if Buck doesn't end up with Eddie he still is obviously going to be someone very close to Christopher. Their relationship is so absolutely darling and even if its not Buddie, Buck is very obviously like a second dad.

- At first I was not at all happy with them bringing back Taylor. I found her character so freaking annoying in the past. But honestly her character seems to have mellowed out and I actually liked her. But I am PRAYING that if she sticks around its just as a friend and not a girlfriend. Buck and Taylor are just a huge NOPE in my book.

- I need more of Athena, Bobby, and Michael ASAP! I miss seeing them more on my screen!

- I'm super excited for baby Chimney/Maddie. And I'm so happy Chimney felt safe enough in his relationship to express his feelings about an at home birth. Their relationship is so sweet and healthy and it makes my heart so warm

- I swear on everything I love if they take that little baby away from Hen and Karen I will RIOT! I also hope to see more of Hen's mom and can't wait to see her pass her exam.

- Albert was wrong for dating Buck's bad date, but he's a good guy and overall a good friend. Buck needs more friends outside of Eddie. I hope they give him more of a storyline in part 2.

- Overall loved the first half of 9-1-1 season 4. I hope they do another crossover in part 2 so that Buck can meet Carlos.

9-1-1 Lone Star

- Yes I have hated the baby trope this first half, yes Gwyn has been annoying af and I'm ready for her to go, and YES Owen has been annoying this season too. But I still love Owen and no I don't believe he's a bad person or a bad father. I hope they do right by his character in the second part and bring the old Owen back now that his life is going to go back to what it was. But I also know this is going to leave room for another romantic interest which you just know they're going to bring in. Maybe they'll bring Michelle back 🤷🏽‍♀️

- The amount of screen time Carlos got is *chefs kiss*. I'm so glad we got to see more into his family dynamic. And how great he is as a cop?! Like make that man a detective already! Also Rafael's acting is superb. He has the most expressive eyes I've ever seen! His face with Owen compliments him on his caring heart and how that makes him a great cop? He BEAMED and it was like no one had ever told him that before. I wanted to hug him so badly.

- I'm so happy they're showing a healthy gay relationship. Sure they've had their ups and downs, but they show TK and Carlos working it out perfectly with good communication which is what we need to see represented more with LGBTQ+ couples on TV. I have no doubt they'll last because they're literally the reason most people tune in and the showrunners know that. And that reuniting hug? Ronen and Raf's real life friendship makes their on screen relationship feel so real and I hope that never changes.

- I need more Mateo. The only thing we know is that he's dyslexic and has a cousin in LA. He's such a great character I wish they'd give him more screen time.

- I know that most y'all see them as just a brother/sister pair, but I love the idea of Mateo/Marjan as a couple. I feel like she could help him grow up a little while he could help her have more fun. But either way I love their relationship and want to see more.

-PLEASE give Paul a GREAT love interest. Someone who loves and accepts him for everything he is. He deserves so much love.

- Tommy Vega is THAT BITCH! She deadass basically said "shoot me. You won't". LOVE seeing a strong black woman on the screen. And I hope they give more screen time to Nancy. I feel like she could be a really interesting character.

- Am I the only one that kind of wants to see them bring back Billy Tyson? I know thats so random, but I think he needs redemption. Idk 🤷🏽‍♀️

- Last but not least......thank GOD I read spoilers before watching the episode because if I hadn't prepared myself and they ended the show with that bridge scene......all I gotta say is JUDD AND GRACE BETTER BE FUCKING OK! OR I'M FIGHTING EVERY DAMN BODY! But honestly I think they will be. These two make the show, for one. Judd is deadass the glue that holds that firehouse together and is overall a great character. No way they're killing him off. And Grace is a fucking saint and also a great character. And she's one of the only two black women on the show. Showrunners, y'all really wanna try that? They're such a great, healthy relationship who are literally so unstoppable together. I think they'll have some trauma but survive. And possibly a Ryder baby? Yes please, and please let it be a baby boy. Judd needs a little mixed cowboy 🤠

- Overall the season has been good, but too Owen/Gwyn central. Hoping the next part has more spotlight on the others. Maybe some "Character Begins" episodes? I think a "Judd Begins" Episode would be perfect to start off with to tie into the whole "omg is he alive" aspect we're bound to get.

[scrambleddragonegg]

If your looking for prompts still what about todobakudeku where class 1A doesn't know and are all arguing about who is dating who?

bet this is the chaos I LIVE for. this brought me so much joy. I just have to decide if I wanna do an AU or do it in their universe. this will most likely be set either in 3rd year or 1st because we know 2nd year is pain and suffering galore and the idea of putting them in a 2nd year with the manga going the way it is right now terrifies me so... 3rd year it most likely is.

ALSO todobakudeku is what got me into the fandom honestly and I feel like that’s sad to say. it’s happening more and more though (to me anyway), getting into a fandom from reading the fics and then going “well great now I want to see the characters actual personalities” and then I get sucked in.

sorry that’s a whole rant and I have no self control. here’s the piece though!!!

If you were to ask class 3-A what the biggest thing they’ve experienced this year was, most would (thankfully) say that they’re still trying to crack the code that is the fragile relationship between the Big Three of their year. It’s not uncommon to see Midoriya, one of their resident sunshines, draped over one of the other two either in the common room or in the locker room after a particularly rough training session from their beloved teacher. Todoroki helping him cool off or Bakugo warming his hands just enough to help knead a knotted muscle on the green boy’s shoulder.

The first time seeing either of these instances occur, all any of them could think was; what the everloving fuck happened at Endeavor’s agency that the three most touch averse (yet touch starved) young heroes are clinging to one another like lifelines? It’s not just Midoriya holding on, but you can see either of the other boys all over Midoriya as well. It’s not uncommon to hear a “Kacchan, get off, you’re sweaty!” or a screech of “Sho that’s cold!” One of them is attached to Izuku at any given time and it’s kind of cute.

Though, never at the same time, or while the other is around, which is what ultimately causes the confusion. Izuku is showing physical affection so freely to both of them when both are around, but the other two seem to hold back around one another, only doing something when Izuku asks for it. Bakugo will deny ever showing affection to begin with and shout before storming away, and Todoroki just turns a little pink and brushes it off. Both of them avoid the topic, or seem to anyway.

Asking Midoriya, however is much harder to process than asking the other two. He honestly acts like nothing is out of the ordinary and that it’s completley normal for this to be happening.

That’s when theories start popping up.

“I think Midoriya is dating Todoroki. I saw them training earlier and the tension was,” Aoyama quite literally performs a chef’s kiss before adding, “immaculate.” 

“Could you have called that training? That was flirting and a game of Cat and Mouse.” Jirou deadpans.

“That’s odd, because I literally caught Midoriya and Bakubro cuddling and whispering to one another the night Todoroki had to go visit his dad.” Kirishima says, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“I have noticed that Bakugo always seems to be touching Midoriya in some fashion...” Iida mutters, catching the attention of everyone quickly. He decides to continue with, “But we shouldn’t be talking about their personal matters like this.”

“Iida hush, we want tea.” Uraraka scolds playfully, elbowing the blue haired boy rather harshly. He tries to look at Tsuyu for help but she just shrugs, placing a quick kiss on her girlfriend’s cheek before announcing that she is going to take a nap. It’s getting colder and that tends to take a toll on the frog girl.

“But the night Bakugo went out to see his parents, Todoroki and Midoriya slept in the same room. I saw them coming out of Todoroki’s room the next morning.” Momo adds, curious about this conundrum as well.

“So is Midoriya dating Bakugo or Todoroki?” Mina whines, confused. She too has seen Midoriya with each boy in some sort of compromising situation, but nothing adds up. 

“Maybe they both like Midoriya?” Kaminari suggests out of the blue. Shinso smacks the back of his boyfriend’s head, sending him a glare that clearly means “shut your mouth.” It’s very similar to Aizawa’s. Terrifying. However, the blonde doesn’t seem to be phased in the slightest, only smiling brightly.

“Poor Midoriya, if that’s the case.” Sero jests, only half joking. Some of the others nod in agreement. Bakugo and Todoroki are near unstoppable forces at times. Especailly when faced with competition.

While the rest of the class seems to turn away from the topic, clearly confused enough, Hagakure steps in.

“Based off of THAT reaction, I’d say you two know something!” Hagakure says, quick to pull the attention back to the purple haired boy and his boyfriend.

“Shit. Almost got free.” Kaminari curses, standing up quickly and trying to escape. Shinso, the asshole, is already a few floors up, using his capture weapon to his advantage.

As a group of the most curious start to go after Kaminari, the three boys in question come out of the training room.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had time to train like this, huh? I mean, Endeavor keeps us pretty busy as is, but Kacchan has been helping his parents with their work, and Aizawa Sensei refuses to let up for anything! Usually all I have enough energy to do is lay down with you two! Not that I don’t enjoy it, but training with you two is always a lot of fun-” Midoriya continues to ramble about anything that comes to mind, seeming completley relaxed in the presence of Bakugo and Todoroki. That’s not what makes the others stop listening though. It’s the fond looks that the two share for not only the green haired menace, but eachother as well.

“-and I know Mom’s upset that I haven’t visited in a while, and that she’s never met Sho. I mean, I’m kind of upset about that too, you know? I want to show her both of my boyfriends, not just Kacchan. I mean, she’s gonna love Sho! Probably more than she loves Kacchan!” Bakugo elbows Midoriya in the ribs, earning a “hey!” and a blow of his own to match. Todoroki rolls his eyes as his partners start to playfight, none of the trio aware of the eyes watching them, and shakes his head at them. That just finished training, why tire yourself out even more?

It only takes a few seconds before Midoriya is trapped beneath Bakugo, who immediately attacks the green bean with peppered kisses.

“I- Huh?” Mina asks, no words coming to mind.

“So it appears that they’re all in a relationship together.” Iida says, smiling at how happy Todoroki and Midoriya seem with their situation.

“I’ve never seen Bakubro be so... so soft. It’s so manly.” Kirishima says, chuckling to himself at the end.

“How did they manage to hide that so well for so long?” Uraraka asks, curiosity piqued once more. She looks to Kirishima who shrugs.

“I don’t know, man. I’ve still been hearing his angry rants about Midoriya and Todoroki doing something to piss him off. Nothing really changed there.”

A groan is heard from where the Big Three are and Iida makes it knows that they have an audience by clearing his throat. The three of them jump out of their skins. Kirishima is on the floor laughing with Kaminari and Mina about how he’s never seen Bakugo so scared. Like pure fear, not what happened in first year where he still masked it all with anger.

Midoriya, oddly enough, is the first one to recover from the three’s mortified state.

“H-How long h-have you all b-been s-standing there?” He asks, looking like a tomato.

“Long enough. Anyways! How long have you guys been dating?” Hagakure asks. That girl has no fear.

“About six months.” Todoroki answers, finally able to speak. Bakugo keeps going between furious and panicky.

“Six- WHAT? Excuse me while I give my shovel talk.” Mina calls, apparently also having no fear.

“Raccoon eyes if you touch one hair on either of their heads I’ll kill you myself.” Bakugo snaps. It shocks the class into an awkward silence, but they quickly recover.

“I’m not dealing with this right now.” Bakugo growls, grabbing his boyfriends’ hands and pulling them upstairs. Probably to Midoriya’s room, his being the closest.

“You all do realize that as soon as Bakugo gets over being embarrassed and soft, he’s going to kill us, right?”

[nimata-beroya]

My Thoughts on TBB 1x15 "Return to Kamino" Season 1 finale part 1

I wrote this on my second watch of the episode, so some comments are related to things that came later. To sum it up, this episode was the best so far and it broke me. I'm still crying about it 😭😭 I knew it was going to be devastating, but not on this level of brutality. Anyway, here are my reactions/thoughts. Be warned, it's LONG, and spoilers are everywhere.

When Crosshair said "They'll come for you" to Hunter but leaving unsaid the "like you didn't for me" when he took the commlink to bait the batch. Gawd, it hurt! 😖

But trap aside, I'm glad that this happened bc I was wondering why would they keep Hunter in Daro. It didn't make sense. Especially when it was obvious that the facility had security problems. 2 escapes in as many days doesn't look good. Transferring Hunter to another location makes more sense and if that happened the batch needed to know where or they'd waste time going to Daro again and risking themselves unnecessarily rescuing someone who wasn't there.

Ugh, Rampart why don't you die!!

I knew the batch'd be back to Ord Mantell at the beginning of this episode

Hmm, I must say TBB writers and I think alike sometimes. In a fic that I'm writing, the batch also returns to Kamino and uses a different landing pad than the usual. Mine isn't in the middle of the ocean but I could change it 😜 there's still time for me to edit that

I love the detail of Omega's wet hair

Oh, my heart ❤️ 🥺 Echo asking Omega if she's all right

"Not the ones (clones) that matter" oh, my dear foolish Crossy. You're seeking acceptance and belonging where you shouldn't. I know it's part bc of what has happened, but baby no! Tarkin and Rampart care nothing for you

"They don't leave their own behind. Most of the time." Ouch! It hurts but the jab is well deserved 😖😭😖

"We didn't have a choice" It's true, they didn't. Really, really didn't.

"Hmm. I did?" 😭😭 no, you didn't either 😭😭

See, one of the reasons the batch can infiltrate Kamino relatively easily now it's the lack of troopers and personnel. Can you imagine doing that with hallways full of troopers coming and going. Yeah, fun 🙄

Side note: Yeah, nope. Cross, baby, that chip of yours is still in your head, no matter what you say later on. You're still on with the thing of following orders.

This is the only point where I snorted. Crosshair calling Omega sidekick 🤭 (taking notes for future fics)

Yep, Cross is right. If he'd wanted you all dead, Hunter, you would be. He doesn't miss, remember?

"We're loyal to each other" ~ "You weren't loyal to me" Yikes! That hurt 😭 Hunter's face says it all

"I was one of you" You still are, you idiot! "You might've forgotten" Nah, they didn't. "But I haven't, so that's why I'm going to give you what you never gave… a chance" Honest to god, this is where I started bawling 😭😭😭 and also thinking frantically what was Cross' plan, what was he going to do. The first time I watched it I was unsure of his intentions.

Omega waving at the woman who caught her 😆

I know it comes from all the bullying he suffered, and unhealthy defense mechanisms but when Crosshair started talking about being superior I just wanted to smack the back of his head 😒

"We were brothers once, we can be once again" This right here, this moment is when my heart shattered 💔💔😭😭 because, in the end, all that Cross wants is his family back. A sense of belonging and acceptance that he believes the Empire gave him, but he doesn't want to accept is that the Empire doesn't care for him. He believes that by having his brothers back, he will be complete. He's so lost. Poor my baby 😭😭😭

Oh, I love that Tech notices the reflective disk and he knew what was going to happen. And bumping Wrecker to tell him *chef's kiss*

Hmm, I noticed Hunter nodding Cross before he shot the squad. Hunter also knew what Cross had planned maybe

My beloved lost boy 😭😭 seeking purpose in the wrong place. I just want to hug him i swear 😭😭

"Don't make the same mistake twice. Don't become my enemy" ~ "Crosshair, we never were" 💔😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💔

YESSSSS!!!! Working together again. I'm crying, I'm shaking watching this even in my rewatch. It's a scene so powerful all the boys working again😭💓💓💓😊😊😭😭 and their theme playing. It's such a great moment. And the exact second that Cross decides to help is when Hunter gives him the back.. Like saying, I'm vulnerable, I trust you won't kill me. And Cross responded to that trust. It's so beautiful 😭😭😭💓💓

Does your head hurts, Crossy? I bet it does

"I had my chip removed" Liar, liar. 🤥 (check this post where I give arguments why I think he's lying)

"Since when?" ~ "It doesn't matter." Yes, yes it does. And the fact that you won't say when it's another proof that you're lying Crossy, dear.

*sighs* thank you, Hunter, for stunning your brother. Now, would you please get him out and removed his chip?

Omega running to Hunter and hugging him 🥺🥺🥰🥰 but Hunter, be a dear and hug her back. It's not that difficult, my darling. Just squeeze her against you, that's it.

Yay!! Very good, boys. Get your brother out. It's time for the family to be complete.

Oh, kriff! MOVE PEOPLE, MOVE!! AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

I know they're not dead because there's still one more episode in the season but AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

It's weird to mourn the loss of Tipoca City but dang! That bombardment hit me hard (no pun intended)

As this was my second watch and I've had time to digest some things, there are parts of the episode that I could appreciate more now, but others are just as punchy as they were this morning, no matter if I already know what comes next.

I must say that even when heartbreaking, most of the things Crosshair said to Hunter needed to be said. I've always seen both of their sides and understand Hunter's and Crosshair's motivations, though, and I understand why Hunter wasn't proactive in rescuing Cross. He had 4 other people to think about too. However, It's good that Cross expressed how hurt he is. Because it's that what he feels. He's not angry, he's not seeking vengeance, not really. He's hurting so bad 😭😭💔💔😭😭 All he needs is to have his brothers back

And now I'm scared, like sh*tting-in-my-pants-scared, about what's going to happen next week!! Because you can bet that episode 16 is going to be twice as brutal and heartbreaking as this one if not more.

[crimsonandcloverwrites]

bhah ch8 reread as fast as i can before ch11 arrives help

aww Dani nervous for Jamie’s big race is so cute

i love Dani’s whole photography thing n her wanting to document their lives it’s so sweet

i’m suddenly stuck on the whole blue as a theme thing n now I’m noticing it everywhere/remembering their tent was blue and now their school colours are blue and Dani’s car is blue and I think Jamie’s house is blue. and of course THE SCRUNCHIE

god I love track star Jamie

flip these two are cute together

‘a favour for good luck’ god idk why this gets me so much I think like... Dani giving her this little piece of herself is so wholesome but weirdly loaded i just love it

the carson eddie banter is so funny sdkdhfgj

Dani is such a lil ball of emotions I’m obsessed w her feeling a million things while she watches Jamie

she’s a winner baby!!

also love that this is her setting the record that was mentioned in the prev chapter we love lil details being followed through

Jamie going straight for Dani when she won god that’s so cute

aw Jamie gets a kiss (and a whole gay crisis lol) for her win how sweet

oh no the beginnings of Dani and Eddie

pls this is so soft Carson and Judy so proud of Jamie

I just ate so many carbs I am finally properly fueled for this reading sprint (solidarity w Jamie)

aw Nan quietly proud of her

fkjdfh Dani and Jamie playing footsies at the table

god Nan n Jamie are such a force together truly terrifying to be stuck in the middle of I’m sure. Also fuuuck cld u imagine grown up Jamie and Nan interacting and Jamie in particular being a bit more chilled out and them getting along a lot better but finding their way back to silly little bickering arguments that are really just them knowing they can do that w each other and still be ok at the end of the day bc they love each other ouch it hurts to think about :(

lmao Jamie losing her mind at the sight of Dani in a towel lol I can just imagine her having the same reaction when they’re together too

oooh is the watch from Jamie’s great uncle (? Nan’s brother that she was named for right?) that’s so cool

ugh I want Dani to get her travel adventures so bad

god everytime Dani touches Jamie or says something really sweet or just gives her a look Jamie is suffering so bad

THE MIXTAPE (LITTLE BLUE DUDE SCREAMING AT THE SKY.MEME)

oh god they’re really just gonna curl up in Jamie’s bed and listen to this declaration of love mixtape while Jamie plays with Dani’s hair hold on a minute wait a second

oh no the eddie of it all

aw he brought her flowers (like I am not here for their relationship overall but he does do some sweet things sometimes and he does clearly care abt her)

ugh of course Jamie helped pick them out tho this whole situation is so complicated

god I’m so sad for both of them that their relationship ended up like this. Dani loses that friendship she cherishes so much when it becomes something else she never wanted and Eddie is in love w a girl who will never love him back that way. it really is heartbreaking

oh god the house party time for chaos

Jamie my beloved. sdkjfhsdkjfh and Roger trying to put the moves on her pls this will never stop being funny to me

ugh Dani already feeling so trapped in this life I hate it I hate it

Jamie fiddling w the coin necklace while she watches Dani n Eddie together feels like... she knows she’s losing Dani on some level ouch my heart

is this when Jamie was telling Ed of for letting Dani get drunk wdjkfhdj always the protector aw

she’s still wearing Dani’s scrunchie oh my god. u may have her hand ed but u will never have her hair ties

Dani’s dress MORE BLUE

this is such an interesting event w them like they’re best friends and they’re together so much but they avoid each other for half the party it’s so like... indicative I guess of things changing between them hmmmm

cursed spin the bottle. poor Dani

the zippo lighter. i love seeing things from the box in these chapters. like a gay scavenger hunt

the inadvertent cigarette kiss oh my god. also a little bit like... Jamie just leaning into the pain huh??? I get to put my lips where her lips were but it’s around this thing that has the potential to kill me. god the implications

a little fireside cuddling w ur soulmate ur never gonna kiss how romantic

the sandalwood. I fuckin love that she held onto this scent after Dani told her she smells nice one time. gays really do be like that huh

god this really is the softest moment

christ that almost kiss is so intense how did they just carry on as normal after that I would have died

lol “did i interrupt something?” bro........

dsfkjhdkj Jamie GROWLING at him hahhahahahhaha

oof Dani just wants more of her. I love there was the mention of her carefully constructed walls crumbling and now she’s just like... in this little bubble of almost with her n trying so hard to hold onto that in any way she can

and now she’s back w eddie ouch I hate watching the things she wants slipping out of her grasp

lmao Eddie not putting his arm around Dani when Jamie is there. she really put the fear of god in him I love this angry little lesbian so much

poor Carson being dragged to sports games like “no I’m gay I can’t”

lmao the pair of them trying to be sneaky smoking around the corner (and also having more Moments god the tension of it all)

oooh this Orpheus and Eurydice ref spicy (also fuck this was the beginning of her actually losing Jamie huh god the storytelling... *chef’s kiss*)

oh no Nan :(

god Karen is so awful how could u just break the news to your kid like that

it’s only pain hours from here on out huh

poor Jamie god my heart breaks

something about Dani saying she’s sorry and Jamie just saying she has to go put Mikey to bed fucking breaks me. the fact she’s just lost everything, her home and the stability she was missing from her childhood that she got to have for such a short time, and she can probably barely even process it but all she knows is she has to take care of Mikey. fuck

god her destroying her bike because she’s just so devestated but anger and destruction is easier to feel than being sad.... ouch

“You don’t - you don’t have to feel anything right now. I’ll feel it for you. For the both of us” how dare u make me cry like this

god Jamie giving the scrunchie back feels like such a fucking sad little acknowledgement of her deciding she has to do everything on her own noooo

Dani trying to confront her mom god this is all so much for them to be dealing with I am so sad

tiny mikey saying “want nana” so much pain

Jamie just clinging to Dani when they’re sitting in the pew bc it’s the only way she can ask for help right now ow

“Don’t fight me” my fcking heart this chapter is so sad I need a drink

Jamie is far too young to be self-medicating her way through this god this hurts to read.

this chapter has such a melancholic loss of innocence vibe like going from the teenage parties and boys and track meets and only really having to worry about themselves to this massive amount of responsibility on their shoulders when nan dies (like as much as Jamie tries to push her away Dani takes on a huge burden in trying to help her too) it’s so fucking saaaad

Jamie just breaking and finally crying all this out in Dani’s arms holyyyy shit that will never not break my heart

god Jamie just. determined to raise Mikey on her own cause god knows what the alternative is :(

oof the thread of Jamie determined to fix things. baby sometimes u just cant.

Dani trying so hard to hold things together in the ways that she can :*(

god this ending I am in pain. i know it’s ultimately for the best like Jamie and Mikey absolutely could not carry on like that but.... bro... bro..... ouch

ok gonna go cry in the shower for a bit n then i’ll be back for ch9

[songofsoma]

Her Pale Knight

Hi so I read a scene of dark Nate on @seraphinitegames​‘s patreon and I wanted to do my own version but with Ava because you know...I’m gay.

This scene contains dark themes so just a forewarning <3

fandom: the wayhaven chronicles pairing: ava du mortain / detective cecilia beck w|w, femme, trauma

There was an eerie silence that settled over the warehouse that evening. Cecilia couldn’t help but find it a bit unnerving. Usually, when she was visiting the Agency, a member from Unit Bravo or her mother would always be by her side to enjoy a rare few moments to visit with one another—but there was hardly anyone roaming the halls. She had become accustomed to all sorts of supernaturals flitting around the corridors, never failing to give her a kind smile as they passed—one she was delighted to return. She suspected why there was a clear absence of life. The blood bags were to be distributed that afternoon. The subject of feeding seemed to be a touchy topic to Unit Bravo. None of them were comfortable with talking about it, so she left it alone as much as she could. In fact, when Ava told her that they would be given their blood bags, she looked ashamed, unable to meet her gaze. Cecilia had tried to lighten her mood by cracking a joke. “So…do you say compliments to the chef afterward? Or is that considered unethical?” Ava didn’t even crack a smile. It had the opposite effect as she flinched at the word “unethical.” A shame because Farah would’ve loved that one. The vampire had turned to leave without another word until Cecilia caught her hand at the last second. “You know this doesn’t change the way I think of you, right?” She had asked her in a warm tone. “It should.” Ava looked away, gently tugging her hand from Cecilia’s turning to leave the room. This time, Cecilia let her go. It had been hours since that encounter, but her head was still swimming in a sea of Ava. One would think being alive for almost a millennium, she wouldn’t be so ashamed of the core of her very nature. Or perhaps, that was the reason why she felt so. There was still so much Cecilia didn’t know about her life. The most she had been told was from the mirror at the carnival. Ava’s hair was long then, her pale braid stained with blood as was her armor. Even in the midst of battle, she was beautiful, but that cold-hearted smile sent chills down her spine as she killed those who got in her way. All of that information was given unwillingly, she wasn’t even sure if Ava knew that she had gotten a glimpse into her bloody past. She was sure she could sit and listen to Ava talk for hours, but she knew that was only a situation that would play out in her daydreams—in between the stolen kisses and declarations of love that also plagued her thoughts, of course. Cecilia dropped her head into her hands with a groan. Why had she fallen in love with such a stubborn woman? If only Ava would just let her peek over the walls she had built around her feelings, Cecilia knew she could make her happy. And there was nothing more she wanted then to see her happy. In the distance, she heard the strike of bells as another hour rolled around. She had debated on going home, but a selfish piece of her wanted to stay in hopes of seeing her pale knight once more. “Cecilia,” her name purred from Ava’s lips, causing Cecilia to practically jump out of her skin. When had Ava gotten here? It was as if she materialized from her thoughts. Cecilia stood from the couch she was sitting on in the living area. “Ava, I didn’t hear you come in.” She cringed at the tone of her own voice. Something about her wasn’t right. There was a look in her eyes that made her stomach churn with uneasiness which was odd since Ava was who she found herself to feel safest with. Carefully, she began to round the sofa to stand in front of the vampire, even though every inch of her body was screaming at her to run the other direction. Ava smiled and it made her blood turned to ice. It was that same grin from the mirror—right before she executed her victim. “Are you okay?” Cecilia asked, hesitantly placing a hand on her forearm. The skin was unusually warm, a direct contradiction to her typical coolness. “Are you sick?” Ava captured her thin wrist in the prison of her grip, squeezing hard enough to draw a yelp of pain from Cecilia’s lips. “Ava, please—” she cried out, desperately trying to pull away. Amused, Ava let go of her, watching as Cecilia began to scramble backward. “Isn’t this what you want?” Her voice was low and dangerous, poison dripping from every syllable which drooled on to the floor in hopes she might slip into the trap. She began to grow closer. “Isn’t this what you dream of?” She pushed her against the wall forcefully, the back of Cecilia’s head smacking against the concrete brick. Her world spun as she tried to regain focus. But Ava’s body was pressed up against her own now, pinning her in place. “I know you think about me and the things I could do to you.” Ava’s slender finger trailed down Cecilia’s cheek, her fingernail scratching the skin towards the end. “I feel the way your pulse quickens, how you’re breathing changes, the heat of your body.” Her face was directly in front of Cecilia’s now, the light glinting off of her sharp canines as her lips twisted into an imposter of a smile. Cecilia, blinking rapidly, trying to get her world to stay steady blindly pushed at Ava, trying to get her away. This only seemed to entertain her more as both Cecilia’s wrists became prisoners pressed against the wall. “Humans are always so silly,” she chuckled. “Always thinking they can run.” Her nostrils flared as she spoke. “But you can’t. You are too weak. Poor helpless, little human.” Tears surfaced as painful memories of Murphy flooded her mind. The way she was restrained, the helpless feeling, the primal fear running through her veins. But in that situation, Ava had come and saved her. Now, Ava was the one she was fighting against. “Ava, please stop,” Cecilia whimpered. She only laughed and leaned forward, licking the tears from her cheeks mockingly. “Poor little detective thought you were so tough going against big bad Murphy. You haven’t seen real power, Detective.” Her face moved away from hers to move down to the bare skin of her neck. Cecilia didn’t fight back anymore. She was too tired. This was certainly not the way she imagined Ava’s mouth to taste her skin for the first time. She shouldn’t have waited. She should’ve gone home. “You really have no idea what kind of power lays just beneath your skin.” Ava ran her teeth over her throat, pausing over where Murphy had torn her skin open all those months ago. “Do you know how hard it is to be around you? To know the sweet scent of power but not be allowed to touch it. Though I must admit, the forbidden nature of it will make it sweeter than one could ever imagine.” “This isn’t you!” Cecilia sobbed. But it was cut short when Ava’s hand moved to close around her throat instead, beginning to squeeze. “Oh, on the contrary,” she sneered. The edges of Cecilia’s vision were beginning to blacken from lack of air. “This is the monster I really am!” She barred her fangs, ready to go for the kill until the doors busted open with such force, she was sure they were off the hinges. Ava’s hand was torn away from her throat. Cecilia’s knees buckled as she collapsed into a heap on the floor. What was happening? All she could hear was Ava’s angry roars that drowned out a second and third voice. “Cecilia, get up!” Morgan. The girl’s arms enveloped protectively as Cecilia came to. Over Morgan’s black-clad shoulder, she could see that Ava had been pinned down with by both Nat and Farah. She couldn’t recall a time where Nat had looked angrier, even Farah looked ready to tear Ava’s head off. “We can’t hold her for much longer!” Nat yelled, struggling to hold Ava’s burly figure down. “Get her to Agent Beck!” Without a second thought, Morgan scooped Cecilia up tore from the room. “What happened?” Cecilia managed to mumble, her eyelids feeling heavy. Morgan didn’t answer for a brief second. “Poisoned blood.” She said, barely caught by Cecilia as she lost consciousness.

***

The moment Ava’s eyes snapped open she knew something was horribly wrong. Her head pounded as she made the poor attempt to sit up but was groaned when she realized she was unable to. Her wrists and ankles had been restrained. Furrowing her brows, she tried to take in her surroundings, calculating the clues to tell her where she was. Four familiar grey walls, simple wood furniture, a basket of laundry that had yet to be folded. The only thing that was out of place was the fact that she wasn’t alone and the ties binding her to her bed. She was in her room. Surrounded by her friends wearing masks of different emotions. What had happened? Nat stood the closest to the bed. She looked worse for wear with tired eyes and disheveled clothing. Farah mimicked her appearance, both looked stricken with worry. Morgan hovered at the foot of the bed, her face matching that of Agent Becks—anger. Her head was spinning trying to recall what had happened. She remembered being provided the blood bag, but the events after were hazy as if she was trying to recall a dream that had already begun to slip from her memory. “Ava?” Nat called out quietly, taking another step towards the bed. “Why am I tied down?” Her voice was hoarse. How long had she been like this? Nat and Morgan began to free her, following a silent command. As she pushed herself up finally, her head spun. Rebecca stepped into her line of vision. Her eyes were rimmed with red like she had been crying. There were only a few things that Ava could think of that would draw such a reaction—Cecilia. It happened all at once. The memories slammed against her skull making her cringe. It had been like she wasn’t in control of herself like she had been watching on a screen. Her voice taunting Cecilia. Her hand wrapped around Cecilia’s throat. Her grin as she watched as the light was running from Cecilia’s eyes. Oh, those eyes. Her doe-eyed gaze that usually looked upon Ava with warm affection had turned to terror as she begged her to stop. Ava was frozen as she remembered, guilt and anger taking over every inch of her body. “Cecilia?” Ava managed to gasp, Gentle hands rested on her shoulder as Nat tried to comfort her. “She’s okay, she’s being tended to.” “Some of the blood bags given to the Agency were poisoned,” Agent Beck interrupted, pulling Ava’s attention towards her. “We only realized after you were gone.” She was struggling to keep her tone even. Farah leaned back on her heels, trying to smooth down her crumpled shirt. “It took both Nat and me to hold you down. Let’s not do that again,” she tried to lighten the mood but was met with a fierce glare from both Rebecca and Morgan. “Farah, Morgan, will you please go check on Cecilia?” Nat intervened, squeezing Ava’s shoulder. “Let us know if she’s awake, please.” Had she been alone all this time? Just as they were leaving, someone popped their head in, gesturing for Rebecca. With a heavy sigh, she nodded. “We will talk later, Ava.” She said as she began to leave. But she paused before exiting the room. “I know I shouldn’t blame you, but I find it hard not to.” And then it was just her and Nat. It was like Ava had been slapped across the face. She couldn’t blame her. Cecilia was her only child and Ava had put her life at risk by her own hand. Out of all the centuries, she had walked the Earth, she had never hated herself more than now. How could she have hurt someone so kind? Someone who she loved cared for. Someone Ava had sworn to protect. How many times would she fail Cecilia? One time, she was going to be too late to save her. Ava sat on the edge of the bed, her face buried in her hands. “Don’t lie to me, how bad was it?” Her words were muffled. The bed dipped beside her large form as Nat sat next to her. “When we finally figured out where you were, we came in and she was pinned against the wall, your hand around her throat.” Nat blew out a long breath. Ava shuddered as the scene appeared at the forefront of her mind once more. “It wasn’t your fault, Ava,” Nat murmured, wrapping an arm around her broad shoulders to try and comfort her. “Tell that to Cecilia,” she snapped venomously, shaking off her friend by getting to her feet shakily. “Do you know she’s still traumatized from the incident with Murphy? She tries to hide it, but I can see it in her eyes.” Nat listened quietly, not knowing what to say. “She’s told me about it before because she trusted me. She was afraid of being weak, afraid of not deserving her place here,” Ava choked up as she continued. “I’ve ruined it, Natalie.” Tears were rolling down her cheeks as a heavy feeling settled in her chest. Her heart was broken—she had taken Cecilia’s affection for granted. Now, it was ruined because of her own weakness. Ava dropped to her knees, ignoring the splintering pain as they hit the hard floor. Her hands were flush against the wood as she knelt on all fours, unable to hold herself up. And she cried. Deep, heavy sobs erupted from her chest that shook her entire body. Nat knelt beside her, knowing it was best not to say anything, but to just let her know she was there. “It wasn’t you, Ava,” she finally whispered, tucking a loose hair behind Ava’s ear. Ava ripped herself away from Nat, struggling to her feet. She paced the length of the room, not bothering to wipe away her tears. “You don’t know that, Natalie,” she yelled, pausing to stare at where Nat still sat. “Cecilia was the only thing in all these years that made begin to think that I wasn’t truly a monster and look what happened!” The fury had been building and now needed to find an outlet. Turning, Ava’s fist slammed into the side of her dresser causing it to splinter beneath the force. She needed to get out of this room, she needed to breathe. Without another word, Ava threw open the door hard enough to rip it off its hinges as she stormed out of the room, refusing to look back as she left.

***

Between the steady, irritating beep of the machine monitoring her vitals and the horrible dreamed plaguing her mind, Cecilia was ripped from sleep. Her head was cloudy from whatever medicine they must have dosed her with, but she could still vividly remember the face in her nightmares. Usually Murphy haunted her subconscious. The knowledge that he was still at large taunted her, not to mention the events that took place the last time they came face to face. It had traumatized her. Now a new face had haunted her dreams, one that had been so sweet and welcomed before. Pale green eyes, colder than ice, and words that pierced her ears. “Isn’t this what you want?” Immediately, Cecilia desperately searched for the bedpan resting on the floor before violently retching the contents of her stomach. She still hung halfway off the bed as the door to the room opened, tears tickling her skin once more. Cecilia hardly heard them enter. All she could think about was Ava’s tongue on her cheeks, making her sob harder as she lapped at her pain like a starved dog. "Oh, Cece.” Nat choked out, immediately flocking to the side of the bed. She had snatched a towel on her way over to gently wipe off Cecilia’s mouth before helping her back up. Everything hurt. Her neck where Ava had choked her. Her head from being slammed against the wall. But the worst pain was from her heart that had been broken in more ways than one. Cecilia didn’t say anything, she didn’t have to after taking one look at Nat’s face. Instead, Nat pulled her into a hug, letting Cecilia sob into her chest as she ran her fingers through her knotted, dark hair. “I’m sorry we weren’t there sooner,” Nat sounded as if she was in tears as well. “We thought at first she was having a bad reaction and was going to rest, not whatever that was.” Cecilia hugged her friend tighter, beginning to recall what Morgan had told her. “The blood bags were poisoned?” She asked as she pulled away just enough to see her face. She had been correct that Nat had been crying as well, a look of regret in her eyes. She nodded. “We realized that too late. Cecilia, I am so sorry.” “How is Ava?” Cecilia asked after a long moment to let the information begin to sink in. “She’s back to normal now, but—,” Nat cut herself off. “But, what?” With a heavy sigh, Nat leaned back, wiping away her stray tears. “Of all the years I’ve known her, I’ve never seen that woman cry until now.” Cecilia looked away, not able to think about it, her heart was already broken enough. “Can I please go home?” She whispered. Nat looked at her in understanding. “I’ll go get Elidor.” “Will you please get my mom?” Her voice cracked and she feared she might cry again. “Of course, Cecilia. Can I get you anything at all?” She shook her head, just wanting the maternal comfort of her mother’s hug. “Thank you, Nat.” In return, she was given a tight smile as Nat held back more tears. She sniffed, looking at her feet. “If you need anything at all, please call me. I will brave modern technology for you.” That managed to make her smile slightly. “Thanks, Nat.”

[itsthemoofacewriting]

Date Night

Finally, it has happened. This is not an AU! It’s set in OP land. I hadn’t planned to put this story put in a specific spot in the timeline, but my story had other plans. Set sometime after Wano. Minor spoilers if you’re not caught up.

I started writing this when I needed a break from Black Cat and was inspired after seeing the wonderful drawing by the artist ebibi_0629 over on twitter. You should definitely check it out, it’s fantastic, and their other artwork is beautiful too.

Summary: Having Monkey D. Luffy as a captain was never going to be easy when you're dating. SaNami. One-shot. Rating: M Warning: Minor spoilers if you’re not caught up with Wano.

Can also be found on AO3 and FFN.  

Enjoy.

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“Cat Thief Nami and Vinsmoke Sanji, put your hands in the air and don’t resist.”

Marines starting to fill the restaurant through the front and the back, blocking off their escape routes.

“What did you just call me?” Sanji hotly replied, teeth grinding his cigarette and glaring at the marine who just spoke.

Nami sighed at Sanji’s reaction, it certainly wasn’t the time to start pulling on that thread. Especially when they had guns and swords pointed at them. She looked around the restaurant, eyeing civilians and looking for a weak spot for an escape route. Sanji was pretty proficient in dodging her lightening attacks, but normal people weren’t. Even if Sanji didn’t, he sprang back quickly enough.

A marine must have clocked her twitching hand and skittish gaze, as he raised his gun, “We have the place surrounded. There’s no point in trying to escape.”

Not a moment later, there was a sound of a clattering chair and a marine was crying out as the gun was kicked to the floor. “Just who do you think you’re pointing that at?” Sanji said heatedly. He didn’t love guns being pointed at him, who does? But to point them at his beloved Nami-san was a different matter entirely.

The atmosphere thickened in the restaurant. Civilians were slowly being filtered out and they both knew that wasn’t a good thing. Both Sanji and Nami were now standing, looking ready to fight and the marines tensed.

It’d been a beautiful day before they were rudely interrupted by the marines. They’d stopped at an island the day before and the crew had spent the day restocking what they needed. Whilst Sanji was getting ingredients, he’d heard about a new restaurant that had just opened by a chef with, apparently, a remarkable reputation. He didn’t need to hear anything else; he’d turned on his heal and begun hunting it down in an attempt to secure a reservation.

The joy on Nami’s face when he’d got back and told her was exactly what he’d been hoping for. Her face was dazzling as it lit up, and he enjoyed being the one to cause it. It’d been a while since they’d last been on land and had free time. Sure they spent time on board together, but it wasn’t nearly as romantic as a quiet, upscale restaurant. A much different vibe to their usual dinnertimes of shouting and food being stolen. Nami had excitedly told him she had just the dress but refrained from giving detail. She loved an excuse to dress up.

And dress up she did. She exited from her room the next evening in a black dress. A black dress that had a swopping back, exposing her creamy skin and a plunging V-shaped neckline that tied around her neck. Her hair was pulled back into a sophisticated bun, highlighting her graceful neck. It was a very dizzying experience for Sanji as she walked towards him. A few members of the crew had wolf whistled whilst others oohed and awed.

When Sanji had finally regained his composure, he’d walked up to her and placed a kiss on her hand, lowly saying how gorgeous she looked.

Nami had smiled at him coyly, but she’d taken an appreciative look at him too. He dressed in suits normally, but she’d never grow tired of the way they highlighted his trim form. She picked up on the orange handkerchief neatly folded in his breast pocket. And if memory served her correctly, this suit was new too. She was pleased, he’d put in just as much effort as she had.

They made their way into town after that, hand in hand. But not before Nami had a word with Robin about keeping an eye on them. Nami wasn’t particularly worried, they’d been there a day already and no threats had been noted, but it never hurt to be safe.

That’s why Nami couldn’t understand what had led to their current predicament. Only a day here and the marines had sniffed them out?

The last civilian being escorted out caused everyone to erupt into action. Just as one of the marines lifted their gun, Sanji flicked the table up with his foot and kicked the top, sending it soaring in front of him. He launched himself towards another group of marines before they could gather their wits. Close combat meant they couldn’t get a good shot, Sanji thought to himself, aware of the small room they were trapped in.

He could still kick himself. He’d been much too preoccupied with his beautiful Nami-san and had failed to notice the large group moving towards them. This is exactly what his observation haki was for. Now they were stuck in this situation because of his blunder.

Meanwhile, Nami had already pulled her clima-tact out from her dress and was spinning it, black clouds rising to the ceiling. She’d only need a few more seconds. Anyone who attempted to advance, was hit as she extended her clima-tact. With the darkening sky, Sanji understood what was about to happen. He started to clear a path towards the door, they leapt out just in time as thunder came crashing down, electrocuting those left in the restaurant.

They weren’t out of the woods yet. Turning around, they were met with a group of non-crispy marines.

“How did this happen?” They were both running side by side through the town centre, a hoard of marines shouting behind them. A stark contrast to the way they’d entered town.

“I don’t know, I didn’t see any marines yesterday when I was out food shopping.”

She peeked behind her shoulder, marines still on their tail. “Me neither. Who had the den den mushi before we left? I need to call them to let them know. They might need to move the ship.”

“Franky. But we also need to find anyone who’s in town.”

Nami groaned. Her feet were starting to hurt and honestly, she was tired. This was not the evening she was expecting.

“Do you want me to carry you?” As much as he loved her in heels, even Sanji knew with all the running they couldn’t be comfortable. She normally wore heels, but he hadn’t seen those before, and they were definitely taller than her others.

Bless him. Bless him for realising without her even having to say anything. “No, it’s fine. But we do need a plan. Running around town isn’t going to do anything.”

She was right, of course. Looking around, Sanji couldn’t see an opening. Maybe they should start using back alleys, a risky move but he could always use skywalk if they got trapped. Daring a look behind him, he was surprised to see the marines were no longer on their tails.  

They were further away.

Much further away.

He stopped.

“Why are you… oh.” Nami just a few feet behind him, observed as the marines pulled away to run in a different direction.

Suddenly she was pulled into a small alleyway next to them. Sanji curled his arm around her waist to draw her into him as he leant against the alleyway wall and put a finger to his lips. A second later a group of marines were running past them from the opposite direction where they had just been standing.

“What the hell is going on?” Nami whispered. Why would they pull back when they were on top of them?

Peering out of the alleyway, Sanji couldn’t see a single marine anymore. “I don’t know, it doesn’t make sense. But maybe we should call Sunny whilst we have the chance?”

Nami’s hand disappeared down the front of her dress and Sanji’s eyes bulged, his arm tightening around her. She smiled naughtily at him and produced a small den den mushi.

Sanji glared at the snail, lucky bastard.

“Stop that.” Nami smacked his arm.

Just as she was dialling, Sanji’s hand covered hers to stop her. His smooth voice interrupted anything she was about to say. “Don’t bother calling.” He sighed in defeat.

She followed his pointed finger to the main street just in time to see Luffy running past them, laughing and holding his hat on his head. Marines following him. So that’s why they’d pulled away just now, they needed back up.

Bigger fish to try.

“That idiot,” they both said simultaneously. A night ruined because of their captain. Nami couldn’t stop herself from clenching Sanji’s top. His hand came to rest on hers, trying to soothe whatever patience she had left.

When he turned the corner and was out of sight, any previous worry drained from the both of them. They were no longer worried about any unexpected threats; it was just another of Luffy’s reckless actions.

Nami leaned her forehead against Sanji’s chest, humourlessly chuckling. “Well, this has been romantic.”

Sanji turned his attention towards the woman in his arms. Admiring her. “You really do look gorgeous in that dress. It’s such a shame it’s all been ruined by our idiot captain.”

“Hmmm, maybe the first part, but the evening’s not over yet and Robin’s got first watch.” Nami purred into Sanji’s ear, pressing her body against his and trapping him against the wall. Not that Sanji had any issues with that.

Her lips ghosted against the shell of his ear and she felt a shiver run down his body. It was too fun sometimes to rile him up.

His hands moved from around her back to her waist and she pulled back to look at his face, there was still evidence of his blush, but he was leaning down. She leaned up, slowly, and she felt their breaths mingle, their lips only a breath away from the others. She’d kissed him so many times, but she still felt her stomach knot in anticipation.

“Heeeey! You guys! There you are!”

Their eyes snapped open and any sexual tension that had been building quickly deflated as they pulled apart. Simultaneously, their heads turned in defeat to see their captain charging towards them, a hoard of marines on his heels.

Luffy was leading them towards the pair.

Anger welled in Nami. “You idiot! What do you think you’re doing?” Shaking her fist at their steadily approaching captain.

Sanji grabbed her hand, nudging her to start moving. They got a head start but Luffy easily caught up.

“I dunno what happened, they just started chasing me.” Luffy carelessly shrugged, sprinting next to them.

Both of them doubted that explanation.

“And you have a moustache on because…?” Nami asked.

“Robin said if I wanted to go out, it had to be in disguise. I had some left from Dressroba.”

Nami could only imagine the badgering the woman had received before relenting and letting him leave. Robin had failed, but she’d done a better job than anyone else could have.

“Is anyone else in town?” Sanji asked.

Luffy shook his head.

“Okay, well we can’t exactly lead them back to the ship. What do you suggest, oh wise captain?”

Luffy’s eyes gleamed and he came to a stop. “We fight them.”

Sanji and Nami stopped, both flanking either of Luffy’s sides. The marines didn’t stand a chance.

.

.

.

All three came back looking much more dishevelled than when they left. Nami and Sanji’s mood had definitely worsened as they kept glaring at Luffy.

No one needed to ask any questions. They’d all been on the crew long enough.

Nami didn’t say anything about why they returned in that state and with Luffy either, instead she started barking orders for them to start leaving. The supplies were bought, and the log pose had set earlier in the day, there was no reason for them to hang about any longer- especially now the marines knew they were here.

Once they were out on the open sea, the crew was starting to wind down. The darkening sky showing how late it was becoming and they dropped anchor.

Nami stopped by the galley before going to her room. She stood in the doorway, watching Sanji fuss around as he counted the new supplies. She couldn’t help but feel disappointed about how their evening had turned out. The food at the restaurant had been fantastic and the wine exquisite. Having Sanji just look at her, having his full attention, and not having to fight off Luffy or serve anyone else, was a nice change of pace. Her words from the alleyway crept back into her mind.

Drawing on her skills as a thief, she crept up behind him and he actually jumped when her arms ran up from his hips to wrap around his waist. Instantly he relaxed when he realised who it was.

“It’s such a relief that it’s you. I was worried for a second it might be Luffy coming to beg for some food.” Sanji smirked over his shoulder at her.

“All he’d need to do is grow some breasts and he might stand a chance of it working.”

Sanji snorted, “Not unless he managed to turn into you.”

He said it with no hesitation, such a charmer.

But she needed to remember why she came into the galley originally.

“Come meet me in my room,” She breathed into his ear and pulled away, dodging the arms that attempted to draw her back in. She made sure to emphasise the swing of her hips as she left the kitchen. She gave him five minutes, maximum.

When she’d gotten to her room, she’d decided to undo the bun in her hair. There was no point keeping it when it was already a mess and after what she had planned, it wouldn’t be getting neater.

There was a hurried knock at the door and Nami smiled to herself, not even five minutes had passed. She walked over to open the door and Sanji was softly smiling at her, he’d taken off his suit jacket, leaving him in just his waist coat.

Wasting no time, she tugged on his tie to pull him into the room, and into a hurried kiss. She made sure to flick the lock on her door. His hands quickly found her waist and he squeezed as he returned the kiss. She hummed into the kiss when his hands started to run along her bare back and their lips slowed, savouring the quiet moment to enjoy each other.

Slowly, he walked her the bed until her legs met with the wooden side. Her hands started to undo the buttons of his vest as his toyed with the tied fabric at her neck. As soon as his vest hit the floor and the fabric around her neck was untied, they were both falling onto the bed.

They pulled apart and Sanji used that moment to peel the top half of her dress down. He stopped breathing; sheer white lace looked back at him. Oh god, it was his favourite bra. He could see her hardening nipples straining underneath.

Nami squirmed under him. Was it flattering that he appreciated her form so much? Yes. But she did not have the patience for this right now. Grabbing his hand, she moved it up to her breast and he regained his sense. Large hands curled around her breast and she moaned, pulling him back into a kiss. This one was scorching, lips moving frantically, and his tongue swept against her lower lip. She gasped when his hand finally stopped caressing her breast and his thumb rolled her nipple. One hand grasped his shoulder whilst her other found his length through his trousers and gave a rub in appreciation. He broke the kiss and groaned, not expecting it.

Using his surprise to her advantage, she pushed his shoulder to roll them and she settled herself on top of him. She retracted her hand and instead rolled her hips against them, both throwing their heads back. His hands ran from her thighs up to her hips, pushing the dress to reveal matching underwear.

This was definitely planned. And that thought alone turned him on even more.

Loud thumping outside the door made them both jump. It was getting late, what were they still doing running around? Not a second later and the thumping noise was at her door, frantically knocking.

“Oi, you guys in there? You have to see this.” Luffy’s voice cutting through the quiet and the door handle started to frantically shake.

Thank god she’d locked it. That’s the last thing either of them needed right now.

Before either of them could saying anything, a smooth voice was interrupting Luffy’s attempt to knock the door down. “I’m sure they want their privacy right now. Why don’t you show me instead?”

Footsteps started to retreat, but Luffy was still arguing that everyone should see it.

Sanji could sob. Robin-chan deserved a medal.

Nami was thinking the same thing. Her hands pressed against Sanji’s chest and she let out a relieved breath. She smiled back down at Sanji, leaning down to press a tender kiss on his lips to try and recover the mood.

It didn’t take long. Sanji’s tongue sweeping back into her mouth and he rolled his hips up, displaying just how ready he was. Nami’s fingers hurriedly worked the buttons of his top, leaving the tie for the time being. She never minded it staying on. Sanji made quick work of her bra, flinging it onto the floor and his shirt soon joined.

She leaned down to press their now naked chests together and they gasped at the contact. She avoided his lips, choosing to press kisses along his jaw and work her way down his neck to lightly nip at his pulse.

He was almost putty underneath her. His hand caressed down her side, working their way down her body to cup her and run a finger teasingly against her covered lips. She stopped her ministrations to moan lightly, pushing her hips against his hand. His finger continued to stroke her through her underwear, and he groaned, she was so wet. And hot. Her hands were back at his shoulders, clutching them as her hips wiggled to get his hand to move more and breathing heavily into his neck.

Nami had completed forgotten about Sanji’s neck for the time being, instead she could feel tiny jolts running through her stomach as he teased her. He had the most skilful hands and her stomach knotted in anticipation at the thought of them in her.

Once he’d fully soaked her underwear, he pushed them to one side. His fingers were just about to make contact, to feel her wet heat on his fingers and hear the most delicious moans tumble from her mouth when someone in the room coughed.

Someone that wasn’t Sanji or Nami.

There was a mouth on the opposite wall. That was who had coughed. Thank god it was only that and not an ear or eye.

“I apologise for interrupting, but things are getting out of control outside.”

They both looked puzzled for a second, trying to comprehend what was being said through their hazy minds. The ship tipping abruptly to one side cleared the fog. Sanji just manged to gain his bearings and stop them both from rolling off the bed.

An ear blossomed next to the mouth after that to hear the reply.

“What the hell is going on?” Nami exclaimed, sitting up.

“Jinbe lured a peculiar sea monster closer to the ship that Luffy had spotted. Luffy now wants to keep it as a pet. He’s currently trying to pull it on board to put in the fish tank,” Robin’s voice calmly responded; despite the news she’d just delivered.

“Jinbe what?!”

Luffy she could understand, but Jinbe?! He was supposed to be a calm, wise man. How had he got sucked into this? There would be hell to pay. Not only for their idiotic actions, but to ruin their date and their private time alone. She almost wanted to whine, she was still worked up and desperate for his hands. She could feel Sanji still just as ready to go beneath her.

Sanji sighed, his hands groping her hips one last time and silently mourning what was about to happen coming to an abrupt end.

Just one night. That’s all they’d ask for. But apparently that was too much when you had Monkey D. Luffy as a captain.

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

I take pure delight in cockblocking them. First with spiders and now Luffy.

I haven’t seen a great deal of Jinbe interacting with the crew, so he may be out of character. But, if he’s joining the Straw-hat’s, he’s surely going to muck in with the chaos at some point! Also, I really want to see to see Nami scolding the monster quartet.

I’m supposed to be a multi-shipper, yet I cannot stop thinking about these two. And I’m about to start reading WCI in the manga… that’s not going to help either.

Thanks for reading!  

[movedyourchair505]

Napule Nights - La Festa Degli  Innamorati 2014

Time for the King and Queen of Napoli and their first Valentine’s Day. You guessed it, Elana helped x

- chapter navigation -

x

As the light became too bright, the sound of the alarm too sharp, the warmth of the bed too fleeting and the craving for a cigarette too prominent, Alexander turned over onto his back, his eyes squeezed shut after being open for merely a second, the light stinging and he groaned with discomfort, stretching out his arm, wide awake instantly when he realised once the alarm was off, the apartment was completely silent, and he was alone.

He shot up into a sitting position, raking his fingers through his hair, searching instantly for his phone, as he scrolled for her number listening out, but he knew he would have been able to tell had she still been in the apartment, her scent would've lingered, the sound of the shower would be audible, music even, the shuffle of clothes, but there was no sound but him tapping on the screen.

The phone was pressed to his ear quickly and he stood up, eyeing his clothes on the floor as well as noticing that hers were gone. The dial tone made his fingers clench tighter around his phone each time, his heart skipping a beat when he heard her voice on the other end of the line.

“Yes, Alexander?”

The cheerful tone in her voice, the light-hearted smirk he could hear as she spoke, it eased the tension within him for merely a millisecond, the muscles in his jaw tightening instantly again. “Jade, where the fook are yeh?” he snapped. “Yeh fookin' kno' 'ow worryin' wakin' up wifout yeh 'ere is.”

“I'm just at Kane's,” she stated, unimpressed, looking down at her legs dangling off the counter and taking a sip from her coffee. “Lana made me some cappuccino. They had some fun, but don't worry, I didn't join in.”

Alex tensed, his jaw trembling. “Wha' are yeh playin' at, Jade?”

She exhaled loudly. “I'm not playing at anything,” she shrugged nonchalantly. “You said last night that you 'weren't big on la festa degli innamorati'.”

“Jade-...”

“So I figured I'd get taken care of here,” she continued. “I've got Zabaglione from Gli Oro, I've got coffee. Maybe I can borrow a toy from Lana.”

Miles gasped as he watched Jade hang up the phone without awaiting Alexander's response, a smirk playing around his lips as he shook his head in disbelief. “Bella...”

Jade raised an eyebrow with both Lana's and Miles' gazes on her. “What?” she shrugged. “He can do business all day, spend it however he wants, I won't get in his way.”

“Bella, 'e's gunna feel disrespected...”

“Yeah, he always does,” she said. “And he should. Saying he's not big on Valentine's Day and then expecting me to be there when he wakes up, maybe suck him off, make him coffee...”

Miles laughed. “Ya dun't need teh rile 'im up on purpose, eh?” he cackled, taking a sip from his own coffee.

Jade shrugged again. “I'm not gonna spend this day with him and act like it's just another day, like I'm okay with him not appreciating me.”

Less than half an hour later, there was a persistent ring at the door, though before Miles could even open, the member of security Alexander had placed at his apartment opened the door and Alex strode inside confidently, now dressed in a well-fitted suit in a merlot red velvet, the top few buttons of the black shirt underneath undone and revealing his chain and his sun-kissed chest. His hair was slicked back, a few strands falling over his forehead loosely and his fingers were clutched around two black velvet boxes, Helders stood behind him holding a bouquet of white roses in the other hand.

Jade straightened up where she sat on the counter, placing down her cup and looking at him with an eyebrow raised expectantly.

“Jade, c'mere.”

Despite her desire to frustrate him, despite having expect a different reaction entirely, certainly not him showing up so quickly, she couldn't suppress the instant curiosity his presence evoked within her, she was aching to open the gifts he'd evidently brought for her, she wanted to run her fingers through his hair, feel him relax if she ran her hand down the velvet material of his suit and having left early in the morning before he was awake, she craved his touch desperately, longed for his hands on her, the feeling of his lips hard and possessive against hers and she slid off the kitchen counter, her sparkly red heels clicking on the floor as she made her way over to him.

There was a fire in his eyes, an intensity she could hardly hold with her own gaze and as soon as she was close enough, his hand came down on her hip, then made its way to her lower back, pressed flat against the small of her back to pull her flush against him, his scent overwhelming her instantly.

“Jade,” he drawled, his upper lip stretching as he spoke, attempting to focus on the calm confidence his gesture carried rather than the nerve she'd allowed herself. “Did yeh realleh fookin' fink I wouldn't 'ave anehfin' for yeh todeh?” he asked, his voice deep, strained.

The depth in his chocolate brown gaze, the unshakable authority weakened her knees as well as it instilled a sense of realisation within her that she should have known better, how ridiculous it had been despite everything to think he would not use today of all days as another excuse to absolutely spoil her.

“Got a'ead of yehrself, eh?” he hummed. “I were joost teasin' yeh last night.” He knew he should not have felt so strongly about her winding him up when he'd done nothing but the same, both their impulses driven too far by the shared passion that drew him to her.

“What's this?” she asked, refusing to allow him the satisfaction of knowing he was right.

He smirked, handing her the small box first and she eagerly popped it open, her eyes widening at the pair of diamond earrings, reflective and shiny in the light and paired with an arrangement of emerald that sparkled just the same and perfectly matched the stone between her collarbones, and Alex knew that swallowing his pride and allowing her what she'd wanted was worth it merely for the look in her eyes, the glimmer of excitement, the pure joy as she took off the silver earrings she'd been wearing to replace them with the shiny new pieces, tilting her slender neck so he could see.

“Beau'iful, as predicted,” he drawled, licking his lips, then letting go of her to open the larger box in his hands, revealing a delicate headband, sparkling and covered completely in diamonds, an abundance of emeralds and jades raised in the middle to form the prongs of a crown.

Her eyes widened and she stepped closer to him, her lips parted in awe. “Alexander...”

He smirked at her unfiltered reaction, the pure excitement that spread across her features. “So yeh can feel like proper royalteh.”

Without another word from her, he took the generously jewelled item out, handing the empty box back to Helders before setting down the shiny tiara on her head, the heavy feeling of it only making her smile grow wider. “You're unbelievable.”

With his hands now free, he placed one on her hip again, the other cupping the side of her face and drawing her in, his lips crashing against hers and kissing her eagerly, the plush feeling of her lips, the heat of them, the desperate whimper that left her lips making his grip on her tighten.

She moaned needily when he drew back too soon, but her eyes fell shut instantly again as he angled back her neck and his kisses trailed down her jaw, his lips sucking, kissing lightly on her neck, skimming over her throat, her heart pounding as her body curved into his.

“Tha's not all I've got for yeh...” he rasped, his voice like velvet, his lips close to her ear. “Gunna take yeh down teh the car 'n weh're gunna 'ave a glass of Deau, eh?”

She breathed shakily, her fingers clutching on to his shoulder as his teeth sunk into her soft skin for merely a second, his breath ghosting over her neck.

“I got yeh tha' scent yeh was eyein' the other day, wif the gold” he added. “There's two Bordelle sets waitin' for yeh in the car as well...”

“Alexander...” she whispered.

He chuckled, reveling in the way she surrendered to him so willingly. “Got ya one of them toys wif the sonic waves...”

He felt her breath hitch in her throat as he spoke, pressing a kiss to her collarbone before angling her head to his level, waiting for her eyes to flutter open. “Yeh can use it wif me permission,” he stated. “Jade, look at meh.”

The depth of his voice, the promises had her melting for him, her heart pounding as she opened her eyes and met his. “I'm sorry,” she said, knew that given the extravagance of him, it was due.

He chuckled, shaking his head, his lip twitching. “Weh're goin' teh Paris,” he stated with a small smile, watching the excitement, the disbelief flicker across her face yet again with immense content. “There's a new dress, new 'eels 'n a bag yeh've wanted waitin' for yeh in the car too. 'n I'm gunna take out teh buy sum more nice fings when weh're on Avenue Montaigne.”

“W-Where are we staying?” she asked quietly to cover for the absolute wonder she knew was already evident in her expression, her hand smoothing down his shoulder.

He chuckled. “'s a loveleh spa 'otel, I booked it weeks ago. 'n the restaurant 'as the finest desserts in all of France. 'n the best lobster. I kno' the chef.”

She hung on to his every word, pressing herself closer to him, ready to say or do anything he could possibly ask of her.

He reached out to brush her hair back, trapping her chin between his fingers, his gaze still locked on hers as he spoke. “'n when weh get teh the room I'm gunna fook yeh so good, yeh won't question meh again.”

She could have dropped to her knees for him right then there, opening her mouth to speak, but found herself drawn out of the spell he had her under when she heard a slow clap staring behind her, turning to look over her shoulder to Kane grinning and clapping.

“Bravo,” he cackled. “Get out of 'ere then.”

Jade licked her lips, looking back to Alexander. “All of that for me?” She pursed her lips, tilting her head slightly and reaching to run her fingers through his hair. “Maestro?”

He was almost unable to suppress the immense satisfaction her words instilled within him, the smug smile playing around his lips threatening to get out of control. “'course, principessa,” he drawled. “The best ain't good enouf for me Jade.”

[hellyeahomeland]

“False Friends” | Directed by Keith Gordon, Cinematography by Peter Levy

In case you hadn’t heard, Carrie smoked a few cigarettes this week. The opening of the episode is actually pretty interesting, the conversation with Yevgeny the previous night in the bar ringing in Carrie’s ears. (Carrie isn’t sleeping--again--and we all know that spells trouble for her.)

Carrie is, for the most part, a loner smoker. And a stress smoker. And a rooftop smoker, apparently! Here more than in previous instances where we’ve seen her smoke, the setting--all alone on the roof--visually represents her own headspace. 

She flashes back to the scene we’ve seen several times already this season. This time, however, we finally see Carrie clearly. She speaks, she’s lucid. There is real fear in her expression, but also longing. The reveal of course is that Carrie is on her meds and in her right mind, and she doesn’t want Yevgeny to leave. 

The camera turns to Yevgeny as Carrie’s dragged away. This is a shot we’ve seen already this season but, by the end of the episode, his expression takes on a different meaning. It’s not cold or detached. He doesn’t want to leave her either. 

The repetition of this specific memory and the way it’s morphed over the episodes is remarkably similar to early season one Brody. We all knew the Carrie/Brody parallels this season would be heavy; the show is not only retelling that story with roles reversed but also using many of the storytelling devices they used in season one. 

Then as now, the audience learns along with the characters what actually took place. First we learn that Brody actually did know Nazir; Nazir held him. Then we learn that Brody watched Tom Walker die. Then we learn that Brody is the one who beat Tom Walker to death (or at least he thought he did). The key difference obviously is that Brody was deceiving Carrie. Carrie is deceiving herself (or is she?).

IJLTP. (Any time this show does something with bokeh IJLTP.) (Bokeh is the way a camera lens renders out-of-focus points of light.)

We thought the framing of this particular shot was interesting. There are two blocks of color behind Carrie, orange and white, and her body lies squarely in the center of either, one half on either side. Maybe this was completely accidental, or maybe it’s symbolic and indicative of the way she’s being pulled in different directions. She also remains in the dark--figuratively and literally. In the first episode of the season, Carrie was often framed inside rectangular boundaries, now she’s half-in, half-out. Before, she felt trapped in the car, in her bedroom, in the fenced-in basketball court. Now, she finally gets some freedom (and maybe a dollop of “fresh” air, natch). 

(There is a similar Mad Men shot that Sara thinks about at least weekly that conveyed something similar about Don.) 

Linus Roache’s performance as David Wellington is fairly underrated. It’ll be interesting to see him in a context other than “Elizabeth Keane’s mouthpiece/bodyguard/sounding board/good cop/bad cop.” For example, this passive aggressive grin at new VP Ben Hayes when he makes a similarly passive aggressive comment about Princeton. 

...or this side eye when Ben Hayes suggests firing Saul, a “Keane holdover.” 

Carrie’s comment in the premiere that Mike was not an “alpha” looms large in this scene and throughout the episode. Carrie makes several comments about him finally doing the job the right way or her way. Their differing personalities and management styles are on full display visually here. Carrie towers over him, while Mike sits back, hands folded in his lap. 

Also, as a logistics person, it bothers Gail that Mike has set up his desk so his back is facing the window. With all of that top secret intel on his computer, isn’t having the windows right there a problem? Is this an intentional nod to his incompetence or did the better lighting of his office for the crew win out? (Sara thinks it can be both.)

The Saul/Haqqani scenes this episode were uniformly visually stunning. First, the show continues its use of light to reinforce who knows what. Here Haqqani’s face is cloaked in darkness while light falls across Saul’s face. 

Overall, Saul’s captivity plays out plot-wise obviously much differently this time than in season four. We’re struck as well by how different the mood is. Both men lean or hunch here. They’re tired, they’re old, they’ve done this before.

The slow pan around Jalal while he’s praying to reveal Tasneem is … *chef’s kiss* (and suggests so much her persona of being the ultimate puppet master, waiting around any corner).

More bokeh, more smoking. Smokehing. 

There’s more mirroring between Carrie and Jenna this week, which is probably how Jenna intends to befriend Carrie (“Carrie smokes? I should too!”), but it actually just feeds into Sara’s theory that Jenna is going to “single white female” Carrie. We love the framing here of Carrie, back to camera (and to Jenna), and Jenna lurking behind her. 

And some visual symmetry here. The camera shots of the two of them are often at a distance, speaking to the depth (or lack thereof) of their relationship. Throughout this episode we see a variety of different pairings between characters. The camera choices in these scenes illustrate closeness and proximity, or distance and mistrust.

In season four there were so many references to Saul losing his eyeglasses during the prisoner exchange. If you recall, he takes them off on the tarmac and Carrie picks them up after she convinces him to get up. Later, she returns his glasses to him just as their car is hit by an RPG. So, given that, two things: 

Saul losing his glasses and then getting them back is almost certainly a harbinger of shit to come! 

We absolutely loved the framing of this scene: Haqqani’s hands slowly coming into frame and gingerly placing the glasses back on Saul’s face. We mentioned above how different the mood was this time around with Saul and Haqqani and this gentle act seemed to encompass all of that.

Two old men, some (we, Jalal) would say past their prime, standing alone in the dark. 

And the dark gives way to a new dawn, a new day. We’re about to break out into song! 

But seriously, this was a gorgeously filmed scene. We do wonder how long they were waiting out in the mountains of Morocco for the sun to rise.

The scene between Haqqani and his son Jalal was the standout of the episode. It is such an eerie reflection of the end of “From A to B and Back Again” when Haqqani kills Aayan. That episode and its ending are at this point Homeland lore, which has the added benefit of making what was already a tense scene fucking unbearable. 

We love the use of perspective and shot/reverse shot here.

The parallels with “From A to B…” continue. Then as now, Saul looks on, helpless, wearing a similar outfit but this time with his hands unbound. Then as now, Haqqani makes a spectacle of it all, when he knows others are watching (the Americans via drone in season four, his entire crew in the courtyard now).

The kiss to the forehead. At this point we were about 650% sure Haqqani was about to shoot his son in the head.

And he does pull out the gun. Jalal literally stares down the barrel. 

Instead of killing him, Haqqani just throws him onto the street, which is maybe just as bad if you’re Jalal. The framing here is remarkable. Jalal stands in the center of the frame, back to the camera, ensconced in sunlight. He’s not awash in some heavenly light. On the contrary, it’s almost as if he’s just been spit out of it, cast out of the kingdom. It all seemed vaguely biblical, like a reverse Prodigal Son, though we’re not sure if that fits exactly. If you know, drop us a line!

We’re three episodes into the season, and we’ve gotten an “over Saul’s shoulder” shot in each one. This is now a theme!

Homeland is not a show that uses flashbacks that heavily (other than the aforementioned Brody/Nazir series from season one and when they de-aged Claire Danes by putting her hair in a half ponytail). They’ve been effective thus far, slowly peeling the layer on the onion that is Carrie’s Russian captivity. 

As Yevgeny recounts Carrie’s suicide attempt, we see split-second flashes in her head. At first, the images are blurry.

And just a few seconds later, they come into focus for us as Carrie remembers. All this is obvious enough, but we also think the way that the focus on the images shifts so suddenly and the way the sequences are edited serve to disorient the viewer in the same way Carrie remains disoriented and confused about just what happened during the seven lost months. 

This scene is notable for a few reasons. First, Carrie and Yevgeny remain so physically close. He leans into her. We also love that it’s more than just Carrie’s reaction to what he’s saying. We see Yevgeny’s reaction to her reaction, as well as his emotions in recounting it. He is remarkably free of judgment and shows legitimate, deep caring, possibly love, as he reveals one of Carrie’s darkest moments. 

And while Carrie makes an offhand remark about her relationship with Brody being accessible information in her “file,” the fact is she never talks about him. Like, ever. (Sara maintains Carrie has a mental and possibly physical “Brody box” that remains sealed.) The significance of Carrie opening up to Yevgeny about what is--sorry, folks--the love of her life really can’t be overstated.

All we have to say about this is “ughhhhhhhhhh.” 

We’re three episodes into the season, and we’ve gotten a “Carrie watches Yevgeny walk away” shot in each one. This is now a theme!

We really hope that the blaring red “ABSOLUTELY NO CELL PHONES” sign is a callback to when Brody infamously and inexplicably snuck his cell phone into the situation room in “Beirut Is Back,” allowing him to send a “DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!” text to Nazir just in the nick of time.

IJLTP.

Here is our Reverse Prodigal Son: lost and wondering, his face bloodied, bordering on delirious. 

And here is Tasneem, her beautiful aubergine scarf blowing perfectly in the wind (sorry, Sara forgot to do Things Tasneem Wore This Week, but she thinks this aubergine scarf is beautiful), looking like a goddamn puppet master goddess, coming to save him. And by “save” we mean “control and manipulate.” Saviors really do come in all different flavors on this show. 

[angel-princess-anna]

Anna x Bates Spoilers for the Film

DOWNTON ABBEY FILM SPOILERS!!

This is from memory obviously and they mostly had a lot of little scenes with the other servants. The order of some of the events might be wrong, sorry. My reaction will be in another post.

*****DOWNTON ABBEY FILM SPOILERS!!*****

Anna’s first scene is she comes in the kitchen, goes to the sink, and leaves.

I’m pretty sure Bates’ first scene is in her next scene, but I can’t remember. At some point the staff are told about the royal visit. A/B have no real reaction to it that I can recall.

The timeline of the film is quite quick btw. It wasn’t like S5CS or S6CS or anything with any real time skips. It would be really hard for me to make an exact timeline like I have for the show (hell, I don’t think it’s even stated it’s 1927 or autumn??). Also, a lot of stuff happens off screen and is just mentioned as happening.

Anyway, there’s some scene at night, and the servants are getting up from the table, and Bates says, “Shall I fetch Johnny or you?” And Anna says she will.

But we don’t get to see their son until the next night. They are heading home for the night, Bates is carrying him, and I think Anna kinda goes in and tickles his leg like she did Charlie in S2E8 [EDIT: I think it’s his arm not is leg, and then she fixes his wee little tie]. The issue is that as they are getting ready to leave, some of the other servants mill around them, so there's frames where they are blocked :/ Also, that scene was color corrected, it it darker than the stills. [EDIT: the second viewing was better than the first in terms of definition, and the scene wasn’t as dark]

Speaking of the stills, the one really shipping looking one is not in the film. Also, Anna and Bates don’t kiss in the film either. And oh, Anna only calls him “Mr Bates”, but it is in a scene where she would have in the TV show. There’s not really any scene where the two of them are really alone together, come to think of it....??

The royal servants come and of course the staff doesn’t like these other people taking over their jobs and being rude to them. Anna and Bates have a couple scenes in the boot room (sigh) and the queen’s dresser is like, oh I am a very good seamstress.

Anna has smaller scenes dressing Mary and Edith where she learns that items have gone missing. She also find the dresser in the drawing room when she goes to fetch gloves Mary left there. Bates has a scene where he helps show the visiting servants in.

When the boiler is broken and hot water has to be carted up stairs and Mary asks Anna if the jug and bowl are too heavy for her. She says it’s not. I don’t think this meant anything as Baxter also comments on how heavy they are too (so when you watch it, don’t think it’s about something else :/)

The royals arrive at some point in here and Anna and Bates are there to greet them with the others. Anna basically tells Molesley to chill.

The chairs for the ceremony/parade arrive in the pouring rain and Anna has a scene to tell someone to fetch Mary. Mary comes and Anna tells her and she’ll help move them, but that Bates can’t. Mary says something about Anna being her friend and says something about how she hopes they are indeed friends. The scene though, lack any poginancy with the moment, imho.

Robert and Merton and some of the others also get their hats and coats on and help with the chairs and they get them to dais. Mary and Anna set them up, and I think they say something about Tom here.

I honestly cannot remember when the wine cellar scene is. There’s a scene where Anna and Bates are telling people to meet them down there, and then they are down there, and they are a little too uncharastically into this scheme. Anna has some things planned already and Thomas offers his help to get rid of the footman (him and Mr Ellis will later do a prank call and get them to leave). They decide not to mess with the personal attentions. Carson doesn’t really approve (he has some other scene where he scolds A/B but I can’t remember exactly when that happens). [EDIT: this is after the parade]

The day of the parade, the staff is downstairs and Anna is already dressed in the pink outfit, but no hat. She says she has to run an errand at the Bakewells’ first (btw, Mr Bakewell is finally on screen at one point! But not this scene, we don’t see Anna go there).

Next we see Anna, she is late for the ceremony part of the parade and pushing her way through the staff to go be in the front. She’s kinda in front of Bates, but gets to sit in a chair. You can’t really see them in much of the crowd shots.

The night of the dinner, the staff’s plan is put into motion. Anna “takes care” of the chef and he goes off for a nap. Mrs Patmore spills sauce on the royal butler page of the backstairs. Anna has Andy go lock the doors to trap them in.

There’s some more group scenes that both Anna and Bates are present as the staff get ready to serve the royals. 

Anna dresses Edith for the dinner and it turns out she got the wrong dress for the ball the next day. Anna says to leave it with her. Edith also mentions something is missing from her room.

Johnny’s other scene is the one on the gallery where the nanny is holding and Mary blows a kiss to the all the kids from the great hall before the dinner.

The servants are bustling around. Bates is in the scene when Carson is unsure he really should be the one serving; Anna is in one when they are preparing to get Molesley to go (side note: a long time DA TV show extra got lines in these scenes as the third footman!)

The servants toast in the kitchen. Bates leads the toast and besides the glory of Downton, he also toasts his “beautiful wife”. Buuuuuuut there’s no poignancy to this either. It’s a faaaar cry the Marvelous scene from S3CS. No A/B theme music, not even good camera angle.

Anna tells off the dresser, tell her that she knows that she is behind the thefts. Anna blackmails her into helping Edith and fix her dress. Edith doesn’t know what is up but calls Anna a genius.

Anna gets Mary ready for the night and that’s where Anna’s lines from the trailer happen about the beating heart of Downton and all that jazz. Mary does mention servants leaving but... nope nothing to hint that Anna and Bates might be leaving any point to get the hotel.

The next day, Anna tells off the queen’s dresser again, asking her why she did it.

There’s a servants’ hall scene with them having breakfast.

The servants go to see the royals off. Anna, Bates, and Baxter go to walk off after, and Carson calls Anna over (well he calls her “Mrs Bates” here; he really couldn’t make up is mind in the film to call her by her first or last name and swapped a first times. The visiting servants do call her Mrs Bates).

Carson asks her what she gave the chef, she says a sleeping draught. I wish I was kidding.

... I can’t remember but there miiiight have been a group servant scene after this but if there was, it wasn’t anything important. The servants aren’t in much of the last 10 or so minutes.

The opening credits is the names in alphabetical order, all the original cast + those who were in the opening credits of S6 and Imelda. Then it had the other people's. The ending credits was by appearance. Anna was listed first for her sink scene, as Bates's first scene is with her later. She's "Anna Bates" and he's "Mr Bates" in credits. Johnny (and Caroline Talbot) are not credited, but the other kids are.

If I think of more, I will add it here as an edit.

EDIT: Mushy reminded me that there was the scene where Edith’s dress comes in a big box and Bates tells Anna that Lady Edith’s dressed arrive, and Anna corrects him that Edith’s not the Marchioness of Hexham

And while there is a scene with Anna and Bates together in the boot room, it does not match the still we have (they for one are not alone in there).

EDIT 2: in the scene with the toasting, Bates doesn’t drink wine. He hands wine to Anna, but then he has water.

[kokutoyoru]

Operation “Kiss” [ZoSan]

Day 6 - Sacrifice / Kiss

Rating: T (mention of sex. Really mention, just like one sentence)

Summary: Nami thinks that Zoro and Sanji feel something to each other. She decided that if she somehow make them kiss, she could watch their reaction and by that judge, if she was right. Rest of the crew think it’s better to just ask, but what could they know?

           ‘They love each other,’ stated Luffy, looking around his friends.

           His whole crew, except Zoro and Sanji, gathered in aquarium room, trying to somehow guess if said men felt something to each other or not. Captain was getting tired with all their speech of how they saw something which could mean nothing or how they didn’t think two people always fighting could get along enough to create some kind of bond. Luffy didn’t listen, but he was tired anyway. He’d prefer to play than sat there and think about something so obvious. Of course his swordsman and cook loved each other! How others couldn’t see that!?

           ‘What do you mean, Luffy?’ asked Nami, crossing arms against her chest.

           Black haired boy shrugged.

           ‘They love each other,’ he repeated, slighty louder. Maybe his navigator couldn’t hear him the first time?

           ‘I know that they are crewmates and we all love each others here, but we meant it more like…’ Nami started to explain, but Luffy shaked his head.

           ‘No. They are crewmates but they also love each other. Like, romantic kind of love.’

           ‘How do you…’ she started again, but captain already lost his attention.

           ‘I’m hungry!’ he yelled and run out.

           Nami looked after him for while longer, then she turned to others in room. Chopper was shifting nervously on his hooves, obviously wanting to go after his captain. Usopp was nodding, as if he knew everything, though his eyes clearly said, that he has no idea what was going on. Robin sat on bench with book in her hand, smiling as usual. Brook played some light tunes on his violin. Franky wasn’t paying attention, he was doing something whith some gears and springs. Navigator sighed.

           ‘Ok, anyone knows, why is he so sure?’ she asked, but didn’t get any reply. Only Robin looked as if she could knew anything but woman always looked like that and getting those kinds of informations from her could be complcated.

           ‘Maybe he saw them, like… together, or something?’ suggested Usopp, scratching his nose.

           ‘Yeah, maybe they were kissing… Do you thing they are the type who would kiss?’ Franky looked up from his mechanism and smiled.

           ‘No, I think they are more like ‘right into sex’ kind of couple,’ laughed Brook.

           ‘Gross,’ commented Nami. ‘Anyway, we have to know if they feel something to each other or not! How do you suggest we should do it?’

           ‘Maybe just ask them?’ Chopper looked at her with his big, innocent eyes.

           ‘No, Chopper. That won’t do. They are too stubborn to admit it. We have to find another way!’

           ‘How about you try to make them kiss somehow?’ Robin chuckled behind her hand. ‘Their reaction should give away enough to judge.’

           ‘That’s why I love you, Robin!’ exclaimed red haired. ‘Ok, it’s time to start operation ‘Kiss’!’

           ‘That’s rather boring name. Let me figure out something super!’ shouted Franky.

           ‘No!’

 ~*~

             ‘Sanji-kun!’ exclaimed Nami, waving to the blond to come closer. He smiled brightly and did so, instantly asking if he could do something. ‘Yeah, actually, could you try it for me? It’s taste reminds me of something, but I’m not sure what. I thought a great chef like you could tell me what it is?’

           Sanji eyed glass with yellowish substance suspiciously. He didn’t remember giving Nami-san something like that. Could it be someone stole from his kitchen when he wasn’t there?

           ‘What is it, Nami-san?’ he asked, taking glass and sniffing it. It smelled quite like orange, but also with something else...

           ‘Oh, it’s from Chopper. I had headache and he gave me this. Said it isn’t dangerous so you could taste it without worry.’

           Blond man nodded, relieved that it wasn’t because of some guys stupid idea to raid his kitchen. Thought the fact that navigator had a headache was somehow worrysome. Maybe he could do her some tea or... Ice? What could help with that?

           Sanji decided that he could think about it later and sipped carefully from glass. Yeah, it was definitely orange flavoured, but he couldn’t feel anything else familiar. Besides stronge taste of some medicine, of course. He narrowed his eyebrows,

           ‘I don’t know, Nami-san. I can’t feel anything besides orange.’

           Girl shaked her head.

           ‘No, I’m pretty sure there’s something familiar. Try again, please?’

           And he did. He tried it at least ten more times with same effect. He didn’t know what Nami could possibly felt there but he wasn’t able to catch that one flavour that was important to girl. Finally, she just nodded and thanked him and he went to kitchen. Suddenly, he felt sleepy. He looked at clock. He still had at least one hour before he should start preparing dinner. He may as well take short nap. But he needed go to bed first... On the other hand, floor looked so fluffy. Yeah, it was good enough.

 ~*~

             ‘Zoro!’

           Loud shout from Nami was what wake the swordsman. He opened his eye and looked around, searching for any danger. When he didn’t spot any, he stared at red head. She looked like she was in hurry. And... scared? Like something bad happened. But it wasn’t enemy attack.

           ‘What is it?’ he asked, getting up. He may not know why she decided to call him first of all people but if this was serious, then he was going to help her.

           ‘It’s Sanji!’ Red haired ran toward the kitchen, so he followed her. While still moving, she briefly explained: ‘I think he is not breathing!’

           Zoro nearly stopped, hearing this.

           ‘Why did you come to me? We have to get Chopper!’ He sterted to turn away but the girl stopped him.

           ‘No, he can’t! He is... stuck.’

           ‘Stuck...?’ Roronoa frowned.

           ‘Yeah, in... The closet.’ She looked away for a moment, but then again stared in his eyes. ‘There’s no time to explain. It was... Luffy’s idea!’

           ‘Oh.’ If it was their captain, then it wasn’t that suspicious. After all, getting their little doctor stuck in the closet wouldn’t be the weirdest thing he ever done...

           ‘Yeah, guys are trying to get him out so you have to help Sanji till then!’

           Zoro only nodded and ran past Nami into the kitchen, noticing that cook was on the floor, seming unconcious. Swordsman came closer and called him. No response.

           ‘You need to do CPR,’ called girl, and Zoro nodded. He knew the basics, thought he never really needed them. He more often killed people than saved their lifes. ‘Put yours lips to his and...’

           ‘I know what to do!’ he glared at her but in the next moment concentrated on task on hand. He was pretty sure he should press on his chest first but maybe he was wrong? He never tried this...

           He leaned down and then freezed. He could swear, he heard...

           ‘What? What are you waiting for?’ asked Nami impatiently.

           ‘Be quiet for a moment!’ hissed Roronoa and listened more closely. Yeah, he weren’t mistaken. ‘He is breathing. Quit loudly too. I guess he just fell asleep,’ he decided, standing up again.

           ‘A-are you sure about it?’ Nami looked nervous.

           ‘Yup, definitely. But the fact that he is sleeping on the floor is still weird. We should get Chopper to check on him.’ Green haired man sighed and scratched his head in thought. ‘Can you check if those idiots got Chopper out already? I’ll get this one to his bed.’

           ‘Yes, of course...’ Why Nami seemed so upset? Fact that cook was still breathing should be relief for her, right? Maybe she was just worried of the fact that he was unconcious? Zoro decided that he didn’t have time and energy to think about it. He should just get the cook to his bed and then take another nap.

 ~*~

             Chopper come to Sanji just to make Zoro relax. After all, swordsman was the only one who didn’t know about their plan – Nami’s plan he should tell. But when they were alone in the room with sleeping cook, doctor couldn’t stop his curiousity. Even thought Nami told them not to...

           ‘Zoro, can I ask you something?’ asked reindeer, looking uncertainly at his older friend.

           ‘Sure, what is it, Chopper?’ Roronoa’s gaze warmed a little when he was adressing their youngest companion, as always.

           ‘Are you and Sanji... Together?’

 ~*~

             ‘It’s your turn, Usopp,’ declared Nami, staring intently at her friend.

           Long nosed man nodded reluctantly, not sure if the idea was that good after all. Both Zoro and Sanji were scary and if one – or worse, both – of them found out what they were going to do, Usopp probably would be a dead man.

           ‘You sure about that? We can still think about something else...’ he said but stopped, at the glare he received from the navigator.

           ‘Just do your part! I’ll make them play with us so it’s up to you that this think will work!’ she hissed and then smiled dangerously.

           ‘Fine, fine...’ Usopp sighed, defeated.

           He walked to Zoro, trying to calm his nerves. It wasn’t easy. At least swordsman was finishing cleaning his swords so he wasn’t going to be too annoyed from being disturbed. Hopefully.

           ‘Hey, Zoro!’ called Usopp.

           Roronoa lifted his head and looked at sniper suspiciously. He knew something was off, he just didn’t know what. Yet.

           ‘What is it?’ asked green haired man, sheathing his sword.

           ‘Uh, could you help me with someting?’

           Zoro stood up and crossed his arms against his chest, his gaze moving around as if looking for potential trap. Still, he nodded to his friend to continue. He was nearly sure that some of his crewmates were planning something but he didn’t know what and it made him careful.

           ‘So, uh, I made this and I want you to... hold it?’

           Roronoa watched as Usopp pull out some kind of small black box with one metal side. Or it looked like that. He took it and examined, but he still got no idea what it could be used as.

           ‘What is it for?’ asked Zoro.

           ‘It’s... It’s charm that protect against all monsters that could want to eat you! It’s my greatest invention to protect all innocent people in world!’ long nosed man lied, feeling better the second he thought about it. He was always good at lying after all.

           ‘Yeah, sure.’ Swordsman rolled his eyes.

           ‘Just... Can you keep it until tonight? It’s important to me?’

           Zoro sighed, but nodded anyway.

           ‘Ok. But if it make anything weird, you’re going to pay for it.’

           Usopp smiled and thanked him, then runned away. He didn’t really thought that conversation would go as easily. Now, to find Nami...

 ~*~

             ‘You two are playing with us!’ stated Nami, looking at Zoro and Sanji who were both confused.

           ‘Of course, if that is what you want, Nami-san, I’ll play...’ Sanji nodded, smiling unsurely. He didn’t know what was going on, but he could join if that was what the girl wanted him to do...

           ‘Why do I have to do what you want?’ Zoro was harder to convince, as always.

           ‘You should just listen to Nami-san, you brute!’ Cook exhaled a cloud of smoke from his cigarette.

           ‘Shut up, cook. I won’t listen to that witch!’

           Usopp looked nervously at Franky, who just shrugged. They were arguing as always. Why Nami wanted to make them kiss each other? It was suicidal idea.

           ‘Zoro.’ Nami smiled dangerously. ‘How much do you owe me already?’ Zoro only grunted something in return. ‘Do you want me to double it?’

           After a little more arguing, the six of them gathered aroung on deck, where Nami started to explain rules. Both women were smiling weirdly, Usopp and Franky looked a little worried, Sanji was smiling to girls and Zoro just sat there, annoyed. He would rather just keep an eye on Luffy and Chopper who were running around. Or talk with Brook who was playing on his violin.

           ‘So, each of us spin this bottle.’ She showed them normal looking glass bottle. ‘Who it ends up pointing at, is going to kiss the person who spinned it.’

           ‘That’s it?’ Roronoa didn’t look pleased. ‘And what if I don’t want to kiss the person it point?’

           ‘Then you still have to kiss that person. You have to stick to the rules.’ Nami stared at him with warning.

           ‘I’m not kissing you, even if you want to raise my debt againg,’ he stated, not stepping back from her challenge.

           ‘Fine.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘If it points at me, you can spin it once again. Happy?’

           Zoro only shrugged.

           ‘Just let’s start so we can finish earlier.’

           Robin smiled and took the bottle in her hand.

           ‘Who want to start? Cook-san, maybe?’

           Sanji’s smile only widened. He took the bottle and thanked woman, before looking around as if not sure if that was really happening.

           ‘So, if it points at Nami-san or Robin-chan, I can kiss you?’ he asked, looking at them hopefully. Zoro snorted, hearing that.

           ‘Yes, yes... Do it already!’ Nami stared at the bottle with excitement.

Usopp moved nervously, looking between her and Zoro. He hoped his little invention would work. Little magnet currently in Zoro’s pocket should only work with the other, hidden under the cap. If that bottle ends up pointing at Nami, she would kill him. But if it ends up really pointing at Zoro and the man somehow find out, he was dead too. And if it was Sanji, who would know... The boy decided he didn’t want to imagine this.

Obviously, he either had luck or it worked, because after few seconds, the bottle was pointing toward Zoro. Nami clapped her hands.

‘Now, you have to kiss!’ she exclaimed.

Zoro shot her murderous glare, but then just shrugged and looked at Sanji. Cook sighed, probably a little dissapointed, then move slightly as if to move closer to swordsman...

‘Marines!’ Luffy’s shout made them look away from their little game and at the sea. In the distance, they could see marine ship, sailing straight at them.

‘Finally some kind of entertainment!’ Zoro grinned, getting up.

‘And that’s where I agree with you, moss-head.’ Nodded Sanji.

 ~*~

             Franky was humming, while repairing the hole, one of the marines made on the deck of Sunny. Usopp looked at cyborg and then at Sanji, who was helping them. Rest of the crew were cleaning other side of ship which meant they were out of earshot.

           ‘So, Sanji... Today’s game...’ he started, not really knowing how to ask what he wanted to ask.

           The blond hummed, prompting his friend to continue whatever he wanted to say, but sniper didn’t really know what to say. Franky asked that instead of him.

           ‘Are you with Zoro?’

 ~*~

             Nami was getting a little annoyed. Two plans and neither worked! It was time to involve Luffy. Yeah, a little desperate move, but she really wanted to know!

           ‘Luffy, could you help me a bit?’ she asked, looking at her captain with little smile.

           ‘Sure, what do I have to do?’ he agreed instantly, looking at her with those happy eyes.

           ‘Could you jump in the way that would make Zoro and Sanji fall onto each other?’

           Luffy frowned.

           ‘Are you still trying to know if they love each other? I told you they do, so why are you still trying?’ he asked. Why had he be so perceptive?

           ‘Because I need to be sure!’

           ‘So just ask them.’ Luffy shrugged as if not seeing any problems with that.

           ‘Did you ever saw them? They’re never going to admit that! Sanji is never going to admit that he may like men as well and Zoro... He just don’t do feelings!’

           Black haired boy watched her carefully for a while, then he nodded.

           ‘Fine, if that’ll make you happy, I’ll help you. But you should just talk to them. They are ours friends, they don’t want to have such huge secrets.’

           ‘Yeah, sure...’ Nami rolled her eyes. ‘Just get to it!’

 ~*~

             She didn’t have to wait for an opportunity too long. Two men behave as if they wanted Nami to execute her plan, arguing that close to each other, nearly touching but not yet. She needed to help them just a little.

           ‘Luffy, now,’ she hissed.

Captain grasped the rail and made few steps back before shooting forward, towards his crewmates. But Sanji, who was standing facing them, probably saw him in time and just moved to the side. Luffy flew into Zoro and they both landed on deck.

‘You idiot! Why did you do that!? Again!?’ yelled Zoro, while black haired man just started laughing

‘Anyway, I’m going to made dinner. Don’t destroy anything!’ said Sanji, who turned around and headed to kitchen. Nami sighed and returned to girl’s room, ignoring still yelling swordsman, laughin captain and Brook, who was watching it all curiously.

 ~*~

             ‘Zoro-san, may I ask you a question?’ Brook get closer to swordsman, who was dusting his clothes. Luffy just ran off in the direction of kitchen to ask Sanji for some meat.

           ‘Yeah, sure,’ mumbled Zoro, still trying to make his clothes look normal.

           ‘I know it may be personal, so if you don’t want to answer, I’ll understand. I can’t help but wonder... Are you and Sanji-san together?’

 ~*~

             ‘Fine, then it’s time for toughter ways.’ Nami steeled her gaze, looking at closed box in her hands.

           ‘Are you sure about it? You know you can just ask them and...’ Usopp stopped, when he received murderous glare from the girl.

           ‘Yes, I’m sure. And if you don’t want to help, then just go back to ship!’

           Sniper hesitated only for a moment. He turned back and ran off toward where Sunny was docked. Red haired rolled her eyes. Coward.

           They reached small island, which looked uninhibited. It was perfect to gather some food, as said Sanji, who wander off into woods to look for some fruits. He should be back in no time, which meant Nami needed to hurry. She knew where Zoro was sleeping in the shadow of one of many trees. She made Usopp catch her a snake. It wasn’t too venomous, girl knew that one. But it was enough to leave a biting mark. And that was all she needed. She was going to make them kiss!

           She walked to sleeping swordsman and listened. Yeah, Sanji was coming this way. Good. She carefully opened lid and throw the snake in the direction of Zoro. Soon after that, the man woke up and moved his hand to his face, near his chin, wincing with unexpected pain. He then saw the snake and with his other hand he killed animal in the blink of an eye.

           ‘What happened?’ asked Nami, moving as if she just get there.

           Zoro removed hands from his face and looked at it.

           ‘I’m not sure, I guess it just bite me.’ He shrugged and relaxed as if planning to go back to sleep.

           ‘It’s bad! What if it was venomous!?’ she asked loudly – loud enough for Sanji to hear.

           ‘Nami-san? Why are you shouting? Something happened?’ he asked, only few seconds later appearing near them.

           ‘Zoro was bitten by snake. I think it may be venomous,’ she informed.

           ‘We need to get you to Chopper, moss-head.’ Sanji looked at swordsman with worry.

           ‘Nah, it’s ok. It’s nothing dangerous. I’ll just go back to sleep and...’ Zoro started but was interrupted.

           ‘Forget it, marimo! We are getting you to Chopper.’ Cook glared at other man who just sighed.

           ‘Fine. If that’ll make you calm down...’ Roronoa was going to get up, when Nami shook her head.

           ‘There is no time for that. Sanji, you have to suck that venom off,’ she said with such cartainty she nearly belived herself.

           ‘What?’ The blond looked at her with frown. ‘You sure, Nami-san?’

           ‘I don’t think this is good idea. We better find Chopper,’ agreed Zoro.

           ‘And what if it’ll kill you before we get to Sunny? No, we need to do something now!’ She put her hands on her hips.

           Zoro rolled his eyes and Sanji looked between the two of them, before finally stepping closer to swordsman.

           ‘Fine, if you think so, Nami-san...’ he looked carefully at tiny wound, wondering how to even start.

           The girl watched with excitement, waiting for their reaction. Now it were no way it couldn’t work!

           ‘Stop it!’

And of course, life decided to prove her wrong. She looked behind herself to notice Chopper who were running toward them with Usopp behind him. Long nosem man looked slighly scared but it definitely was him who called their doctor. She should have thought about him!

‘Hey, Chopper, Marimo got bitten by some snake,’ stated Sanji, taking step back.

‘I know, Usopp told me!’ Reindeer looked worriedly at his friends, then started looking for the animal that caused all of this. If it was indeed venomous, he should know what to start with.

‘He told you? How did he know in the first place?’ Both Sanji and Zoro looked at sniper suspiciously.

‘What is more important, you should never suck venom off. It could only make it worse!’ Chopper finally spotted little reptile and sighed with relief. ‘It wasn’t venomous.’

‘Uh, that’s great! Then we should all go back to ship!’ exclaimed Nami, turning around and trying to get out.

‘Nami! What did you do?’ asked Zoro, who just crossed his arms and stared at her.

‘I think you should talk,’ sighed Chopper. Then he shooke his head. ‘Before it gets really dangerous.’

 ~*~

              ‘So? What was all that about?’ asked Zoro, looking at his crew members with raised eyebrow.

           They all gathered around table in the kitchen. Chopper called all of the crew. Sanji decided that it was perfect opportunity to do some snacks so he got a bowl and started mixing ingredients for croissants.

           There was silence for few minutes, before Nami sighed in defeat and shooked her head.

           ‘We tried to make you two kiss,’ she admited.

           ‘We?’ Usopp raised his eyebrow.

           ‘Ok, I was.’

           ‘Kiss? Just that?’ Roronoa looked more surprised than anything else.

           He and Sanji looked at each other and they shrugged. Sanji set aside his bowl and take step ahead. Zoro cradled blond head lightly and then they kissed. But not just simple lip-to-lip touch, no! They deepened their kiss, by slightly arching their head and, what Nami was sure about, putting their tongues into others’ mounth! After a minute or so, they finally pulled back, but didn’t step away from one another, just standing with their chest brushing.

           ‘You taste like sweat and booze. That’s gross,’ informed Sanji, calmly looking at swordsman’s face.

           ‘You taste gross too.’ Zoro shrugged nonchalantly. ‘Like tobacco and chocolate. You know I hate chocolate.’

           Sanji shrugged.

           ‘That’s why I’m making some with fruits.’ He then kissed green haired man once again, just brush of lips this time, and backed off. ‘Ok, I need to finish this.’

           Nami gawked at them, not really beliving what she just saw.

           ‘You… Kiss…’ She shooke her head. ‘Are you two together!? Like… Together, together!?’

           Zoro sat back on his seat and take another gulp of his alkohol, like nothing just happened. He looked at her without understanding.

           ‘Yeah. You didn’t know?’ he asked.

           ‘No!’ Nami exclaimed, completly ignoring Luffy, who nodded his head. ‘Why didn’t you said so?’

           Zoro shrugged.

           ‘We thought it was quite obvious.’

           ‘But… We tried to figure it out so much…’

           ‘Why didn’t you just ask?’ Roronoa held his glass near his lips – which only moments ago were on Sanji’s! – and glance at her curiously. ‘Others did.’