#it’s only a cartoon. I know. but sometimes these things hold up a mirror to you as you watch and you face some hard truths

[fantasticalleigh]

God. This is why I am so careful about getting into new media. Because when it’s THIS fucking good and beautiful it makes everything hurt. And it’s a good hurt for sure! But it’s so hard to say goodbye to it. And to know no matter what I do I’ll never make something on that level. loving something so exquisite can be so painful and fun. Arcane fucking changed me.

[youmarin]

Now Recruiting! ft. Inarizaki VB Boys - Part 9: The Miya Swap

Summary: The twins are up for mischief once again.

Word count: 1,224 + Extra 13 [275]

A/N at the end of post.

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During the late summer, Atsumu had stopped dying his hair. His decision had nothing to do with a certain 4?, 5? year old kid that had made fun of him a few months back. It was purely to keep his hair healthy after being out in the sun, the pool and the couple of times he went to the beach. And maybe a little because of the roasting too. 

The twins were both startled, Osamu almost dropping the towel he had just been using to dry his hair when they nearly ran into each other in the hallway.

Oh finally he got rid of that horrid yellow hair. 

 Apparently Osamu had had the same thought, and the grey dye was gone, leaving it all back to his natural brown hair.  But it wasn’t long until Atsumu started complaining. 

“Now we’re gonna get mixed up at school again.”  The ex-box dye blonde whined.

“Just run your mouth and they’ll notice the difference.” the youngest taunted. Then in a second, the idea almost shone on top of his head like in a cartoon. He slapped a hand over his twin’s mouth as if by reflex, knowing he would argue back and effectively shut him up. Atsumu frowned. “But it could be fun too.”

Atsumu swatted his hand away, “What? Pretending to be you? I don’t see any fun in that.” 

Osamu rolled his eyes, holding back.

 I share the sentiment.

 “Not that.” 

“Then what?” He thought for a moment, “Remember that time we tricked basically the whole school for a week and mom found out?”  They had at least done it once at each school they’ve been to, which amounted to 3 times. And then only in “emergencies”.

“Not that either.”” Osamu shuddered, remembering the scolding their mom gave them the last time (She found it a bit funny too but being the authority is hard work normally when it comes to the duo, so as mother Miya she has the responsibility to keep her boys in check. Concessions as such were dangerous and could end on a bigger problem. And now that they were older, she’d trusted they wouldn’t do it again. But they’d done it again last year. Of course she knew not everyone could tell them apart if they didn’t know the boys well. At times that might bother them too, so sometimes they would use that to have things go their way or make fun. After all, she knew them best).

“Then what?” 

Osamu grinned, “Y/n.” 

Atsumu brightened up and mirrored his brother's expression but then hesitated. Flashbacks of the training camp scheme came to his mind, the first and last time he’d done that to you. “I don’t know. She was very upset after the training camp prank.” And he’d suffered the most, both physically and emotionally. 

“That was because she thought we were hurt. But this one’s harmless.” He promised.

Atsumu scrunched up his nose, “Mmm… I’m still not sure…” 

“Forget it.”  Osamu waved his hand brushing it off. If nothing else worked, provocation would, “Pussy.”

“What was that?” 

-

Next week during morning practice, you found all the boys gathered around in a circle. They were having a discussion you couldn’t quite make out what it was about from your spot, some agreeing with each other while others argued back. 

“Kita- senpai, you really are okay with that?”

“Whatever happens, it’s on them.” 

“Please don’t tell on us, Aran-kun.”

“How are you even able to tell them apart?” 

A sigh, “Years of experience.” 

“What are you guys doing?” You asked, putting your bag down on the bench and walking over. 

The group broke apart at the sound of your voice, and there the twins stood in the middle, both smiling. And their hair. Their hair was back to their natural color. It made you think back to the little Miya twins in junior high. 

“They’re so alike it’s freak-ish.” 

“They’re- They’re twins. That’s what twins are like.” 

“And as if they weren’t freak-ish before.” 

At least on the court, it was easy for the others to identify them because of their positions and different play styles. But during the day is when the real messing around started. For a whole week, when you wanted to talk with one twin the other would take their place. But you pretended like you didn’t notice because three could play that game. Atsumu wouldn’t say anything, but by the third day he started to grow a little annoyed by you not being able to tell them apart. He thought you would be able to with you having been around them for months now most of the day.

Come lunch, you were walking around the school yard after eating. Atsumu spotted you from a window on the hallway of the second level of the building and decided against returning to his classroom. 

“Ah, Osamu.” you smiled at him, a playful glint in your eye he failed to notice. Why did he agree to do this again? Ah, sure, it was supposed to be fun. And it had been. At least at first.

“Hi.” his voice came naturally quiet. Maybe this was affecting him too much; he was already sounding like his twin.

“Is everything alright?” 

“Yes.” he said a bit too abruptly. “Yes. It’s just- I saw you from inside and thought I’d join ya.” 

“Sure.” you smiled at him again. You walked around together in silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but so unlike him it felt a little odd. And you’d noticed his mood had been down. But he still kept the façade. 

You sighed, “Atsumu.” 

“Hmm?” Something was totally bothering him. He had completely spaced out. It took him a moment to notice his slip up. “Wha- I’m not-”

“‘Tsumu, I know  that it’s you. I’ve known the entire time.” You chuckled while you watched him open and close his mouth like a fish out of the water. 

“You did? Then why…”

“You tried to mess around with me first so I decided to mess with you too.” 

Atsumu laughed heartily.

“What were the tells?” 

“Mmm…” You turned to face him as you pretended to think. “Your voice. It’s just a tad higher pitched than Osamu’s.” He froze as you stepped closer, looking him in the eyes. Very close. He gulped. “Your eyes. They are warmer than his.” Stepping back again. “Apart from the obvious resemblance, you two are different.” You shrugged as you continued your walk, while he tried to hide his furious blush by turning his face to the side. But he was happy to be done playing this game. 

When he recovered, he returned to being his usual self, “So ya been stealing looks at me?” making you chuckle, then your laughter slowly died down as one particular memory resurfaced. A summer night, Atsumu in front of you after you finally reunited with the whole team, the light from the nearby stand bringing out the color of his eyes. Well, that moment had been enough to notice all the little things.

You felt heat start to rise up to your face and reach the tip of your ears. 

Fortunately, the bell rang signalling the end of lunch break and the beginning of afternoon lectures. He smiled at you from further down the hallway before you both entered your respective classrooms. 

-

Extra 13: The Miya Swap Technique Reveal: Academic Safe! 

Ding! 

They fetched out their phones to see a text message notification from Suna. 

Japanese Lit. teacher dropped a surprise quiz today. 

Sharing a look, Osamu saw the horror flash in Atsumu’s eyes. He hadn’t reviewed his notes at all. Damn, he’d barely been able to finish his summer homework on time. The second term had started not too long ago. Why would they be having a quiz so soon? 

“Cover for me, please?” 

“What’s in it for me?” 

“I’ll do our next English exam for you.” Even if that meant getting his own grade down. Atsumu could say he’d at least improved his English. He knew his was better than Osamu’s.

“Nah. Not an exam.” It was risky pretending during a quiz, but if they got caught (which they hadn’t been so far) they wouldn’t lose as many points.  During an exam was a different thing. They could easily fail the class. “You’ll do my English homework for two months.” 

“Two months?!”  He scowled. He considered his options. He’d rather start with a higher grade now, slack off later during the term and do enough just to pass than with a sad grade that he’ll need to drag himself out of and up. 

He sent a quick text to Suna.

How many points is it worth?

A response almost instantly.

40pts. 

Okay, that was sadistic. That teacher was terrible.

“You’ll have to get me at least a 35. If you get me a grade lower than 30 you’re getting only one month of homework.” Getting a perfect score would bring suspicion.

“I’ll get ya a 36. And I get two months of homework.” 

“Deal.”

A/N: Hello, dear readers! It's been a while (since January I think?). Life's been pretty uneventful on my side. I've been sick for like a month now (I'm sick of this cough that won't leave me alooone!I feel like that yellow cat meme. You know which one I'm talking about I'm sure). Also, the heat sensation reaching a little more than 100 degrees for most of this month... We're melting here. Summer hasn't even started. It's always like summer here anyway. I want Fall to come already to see if the temperatures go down (like in this fall chapter. I'm always out of season here lol). This one's for the Miya twins (and well, Atsumu stans, enjoy this one. It's me. I love him). It's short. Probably the shortest after Part 1. But cute imo. And I wrote most of it on Tuesday and it's already going up? No overthinking for months like with the last part? I want to think Atsumu didn't bleach his hair until he got older?? Maybe Timeskip Tsumu? When it actually looks good? XD I love him but that doesn't mean I won't roast him. Cuz I don't think he would start doing that to his hair at what? 15 yrs old? Also, for the sake of the chapter and looking for it to make sense (am I making sense? JAJA). Not me looking up stuff about hair dye and bleach bc I've never dyed my hair and it remains its virgin black color. And at the end thinking it ain't that serious. The search history tho. To end this long ass note, a lil fun fact: Where I'm from, we call people with non-natural blond hair "rubio/a de farmacia" which is "pharmacy blond/e", mostly if it is very noticeable that they aren't real blondies or if it doesn't suit them. 💀 But also joking. I don't know, it has always been funny to me. The phrase has been around for a long time but I remember during 2017 was it? I was still in high school, the national baseball team dyed their hair blond and a lot of people did in support. So there were pharmacy blondes everywhere. A lot of students did too. Man that was so bad. 😭😂 Anyways, hope you are well, and enjoy your reading. Until next time! - Youmarin

[if-mirrormine]

mm cast interview

characters: grayson donohue, kennedy rose, alex colwell, kelsey montgomery, nora, callie, demetri renfied

words: 1969

**unedited//you guys ever watch kitchen nightmares?**

Hello and welcome to the very long-awaited character interview! I'm your host, Alli, and I have with me today the cast of Mirror Mine!

Kelsey: They know what's going on; let's speed this up a bit, shall we?

(Grayson nudges her and she rolls her eyes but holds her tongue.)

I suppose we should just jump into it! I'll start with Kelsey, since she seems to have volunteered herself. First question; what made you become a detective?

Kelsey: (shrug) Why does anyone? To help those unable to help themselves. To bring justice to those who need it most.

How noble of you! And what were your impressions of the other cast members?

Kelsey: (she tilts her head to the side and hums) Gray was still a rookie when I first met him; I thought he was a total idiot that couldn't tell his arse from his elbow. But he's since grown on me and (eye roll) is actually quite competent and good at his job.

Grayson: (grinning) Thanks, Kels.

Kelsey: Yeah, whatever. Nora, I adore; she made me feel warm and welcome immediately. And she makes the best ratatouille I've ever tasted. I don't interact a lot with Callie, but they seem alright. Alex is way too happy-go-lucky for my liking but to each their own. And I like Kennedy; she seems to be the only one with her head screwed on straight.

And what about Demetri?

Kelsey: (deadpan) I said all I have to say.

Well... alright then! My next question is for Nora; how did it feel to raise two children on your own? Is there anything you would've changed?

Nora: It wasn't easy... those first couple of years were especially difficult. It was like suddenly not having any legs to stand on, I lost my balance a couple of times. But I'm so proud of who they grew up to be and I wouldn't have changed anything. Well, (dark chuckle) except maybe having my husband around.

(Demetri shifts in his seat, his eyes on the floor.)

Is there a specific memory that you'd consider to be your favourite?

Nora: Oh, there are just so many... (pause) I think if I had to choose, it would be Callie's first Christmas. Demetri and I had decided to keep the celebration small instead of inviting our family over, so it was just the four of us. MC was so excited to help Cal unwrap their presents that they didn't even care about their own. We spent the day in our pyjamas, let the kids watch cartoons and play with their new toys... it was the perfect day.

Demetri, would you say that's your favourite memory too?

Demetri: Like Nora said, there are too many to choose from but... that was a really good one.

But it's not your favourite. (He shakes his head.) And if you had to choose?

Demetri: The day I married Nora.

(Nora looks away to the floor and chews on the inside of her cheek.)

Let's move on, shall we? Alex! What is it about Grayson that makes u tease him so much?

Alex: (grinning) He just makes it so easy. He's a walking treasure trove of material.

(Grayson crosses his arms over his chest and grumbles quietly to himself.)

Alex: See what I mean?

Why did you choose paediatric surgery?

Alex: Well, I like children and I like helping people; so, when I realised I could do both, it was an easy choice to make.

But surely that must make things worse when things go wrong?

Alex: (serious) Of course; it's always really difficult to lose a patient but I understand that sometimes there's simply nothing that can done, even if you've done everything in your power to make it not so. A lot of doctors struggle with blaming themselves when things go wrong and I used to too, but I've learned that I can't let myself get swept up in my grief or my next patient might suffer too.

I like that; I think that makes you a great doctor. Now on a lighter note: what made you like MC in high school?

Alex: (with a surprised laugh) Oh, I... don't actually know. I just remember thinking that I needed to talk to them and get to know them, you know? And after our first date, I just wanted more and more.

And how did it feel when you broke up the first time?

Alex: Oof, not great. I was an idiot to let them believe I didn't care for them as much I did - as much as I still do - and that's one of my biggest regrets. I was so relieved when they agreed to get back together; I'd felt like I'd been drowning without them but as soon as they were by my side, I could breathe again.

That's so romantic! I think my next few questions will be for Grayson!

Grayson: (with a nervous smile) I'm ready.

What was the hardest thing for you when MC disappeared?

Callie: (scoff) Jeez, Alli; don't hold back.

(Nora shushes Callie.)

Grayson: (after clearing his throat) You mean besides losing my best friend? I guess losing MC meant losing myself in a way. For so long I'd seen us as me and MC that when it was suddenly just me, I didn't really know how to act anymore. I don't think I'll ever be the same person I was ten years ago.

(Kelsey reaches out to rub his back and he gives her a tight-lipped smile.)

That must've been tough. We've talked quite a bit about the past and favourite memories; do you have one of the MC?

Grayson: My fourteenth birthday. I was supposed to spend it with my dad, but he had to work so MC did everything they could to cheer me up. I think about that day a lot whenever I need a smile.

And how did you realise that you were in love with them?

(He blinks in surprise but quickly regains his composure, his face red.)

Grayson: I guess when I started to look forward to seeing them every day. I'd wake up thinking about them, wondering what we'd do and talk about, and even if the day was objectively bad, I'd say it was good because I got to spend it with them.

I'll go easy on you for this last one: what's it like being a detective? Do you enjoy it as much as you think you would've enjoyed business?

Grayson: It's definitely... interesting. It's a lot more paperwork than I ever thought it would be, which is less than fun.

(Kelsey stifles a laugh and he cracks a smile at her reaction.)

Grayson: (cont.) But overall, I enjoy it; it's a lot different than business, that's for sure. As for whether I'd have enjoyed business more if I stayed... I'll never know for sure, but something tells me I made the right choice.

So mysterious... Let's pivot over to Kennedy!

Kennedy: (imitating Grayson) I'm ready.

(The cast laughs and Grayson does his best to hide a smile behind a look of annoyance.)

What made you choose teaching as a profession?

Kennedy: I always loved learning new things, no matter the subject so going to school every day was really exciting for me, unlike every other child alive, I'm sure. But one of the things that made it so great were the teachers who dedicated their lives to imparting their wisdom and knowledge. I wanted to have that same kind of impact.

And what do you like most about teaching?

Kennedy: Probably seeing that impact in action. (Smiling) So many students come in and out of my classroom and I love knowing that I had a hand, or even just a pinky finger, in getting them where they want to be in life.

On the subject of students... do you have a favourite?

Kennedy: (with a stifled laugh) What kind of teacher would I be if I answered that question?

So that's a 'yes'?

(She makes a gesture of sealing her lips.)

Okay, how about my next question; what do you look for in a partner?

(She thinks for a moment before nodding decisively)

Kennedy: All the usual things; patience, kindness, a sense of humour... someone who I can spend the whole day with without having to say a word in order to be comfortable or show my love for them. Someone I can trust wholeheartedly to catch me when I fall, to lead me when I can't see.

Do you think you've met such a person yet?

Kennedy: (with a wistful smile) Possibly.

Alright, don't tell me... I've got some questions for Callie.

Callie: Hit me.

What's your favourite thing on the menu at the restaurant?

Callie: That mom makes? I'd kill a man for her calzone. But if we're talking about my personally curated dessert menu; I simply can't choose, they're all perfect. (Beat) With that being said, I always recommend the beignets to anyone who'll listen.

Good to know... did you always want to be a pastry chef?

Callie: (shrug) Guess so. I did get forklift certified a couple years back but there's just something about baking that kept pulling me back.

Alex: I think the something you're looking for is that baked goods are delicious.

Callie: (nodding) That'll do it.

My next question is a bit of a hard hitter... what is one thing you've always wanted to say to MC but never did?

Callie: My favourite colour is sage green.

(Nora nudges them, giving them a meaning look and they roll their eyes before crossing their arms over their chest and looking at the floor.)

Callie: Fine, I guess... I don't want to you to hate me. I know I wasn't the best sibling to you, especially those few years before you disappeared, I wasn't very nice, but I didn't mean it. (They take a deep breath.) For a while I was jealous of you... you had more friends than I ever did, you were better at a lot of things than me, you knew dad a lot longer than me... I thought it was unfair, but it was even more unfair for me to take it out on you even though it wasn't your fault. Then you disappeared and I was just so angry at myself for wasting so much of our time together resenting you -

(They're cut off by a choked sob and Nora quickly wraps her arms around them.)

Callie: (crying) I'm sorry, MC; please don't hate me.

They don't hate you, Cal; I can promise you that. (Beat) To wrap everything up, my last few questions are for Demetri.

Demetri: This should be fun... let's hear it then.

First question: what is wrong with you?

(He snorts, hiding his laughter behind a fist.)

Demetri: How much time do you have?

Evidently, not enough... next question: why did you leave your family ten years ago?

Demetri: (with a sad smile) You know I can't answer that.

I had to ask. I suppose I'll settle for the next best thing: do you regret leaving?

Demetri: Yes, it was the worst decision I've ever had to make.

Knowing how everything turned out, would you do it again if given the choice?

(Nora watches him with tears in her eyes and he turns his head to look at her and Callie, an unreadable look on his face.)

Demetri: Yes. (He looks away and Nora squeezes her eyes shut causing tears to slip down her face.) There's nothing I'd change either.

Well; this has all been very... enlightening. Thank you so much for joining me today and thank you to everyone who sent in questions. Couldn't have done it without you! And now, as they say in the biz; it's Christmas, let's go home!

[ask-missparker]

The Chilling Adventures Of Super-Mamas 🧸

— Super Mamas 🍀, friends 🫧 and son 🧸 today

Summary: Sometimes you need a boost of confidence to get things rolling

|✨🧸💞🦋|

Warning: Fluffy and very sweet angsty plot

Setting: Liane Felton’s Designer Store 🪻

Characters mentioned: Rochelle, Rick, Michelle, Peter and Rei

Introducing: Harry Shum Jr as Jake Kwan, The Personal Assistant & Darling Good Friend

~~

The currently blonde girl stood in front of the mirror and shyly said, “Oh my gosh, you sure that this dress is fine? I can totally understand if you don’t want me to..”

“Luna, sweetie, relax! We are designing this dress for your specifically for a reason, duh.” Liane said sitting on her knees pinning the fabric together.

“Yeah but what if it’s too expensive and you can’t find the right stuff for it.”

“That’s why you’re the client and I’m the designer, you give me the money for this stuff. You’re gonna look gorgeous!”

“Yo-you su-sure? I’m just…I am just so nervous.”

“Nervous about what?”

“My we-wedding..wh-what if something happens? O—or Ricky d-doesn’t show..?”

Liane paused what she was doing and looked up at her friend with a ‘bitch you serious?’ look. As Luna looked away a little shyly, rubbing her shoulders as if she was being judged.

The blonde in a purple dress sighed and smiled, “Luna, sweetheart, calm down. You and Rick are so lovey dovey with each other, no way in hell, he is going to leave you waiting at the alter.”

“Y-you sure? Cause I heard grooms might get co-cold feet and not show up.” Luna said with a sigh playing with her nails.

“Okay everyone gets nervous on their wedding day, I know I did, but you have nothing to worry about. And for real girlie, you and Rick are so darn lovey dovey it’s annoyingly obvious how in love you guys are.”

“We are not…I mean, we are in love..but it’s no-not obvious..”

“Last week at an Avengers meeting, you two were holding hands and basically nuzzled into each other’s arms.”

“Ohhh..hehe oops..”

Jake Kwan, Liane’s assistant and personal friend, chuckle in agreement with her boss. He even commented how they are disgustingly cute together from what he seen, hoping their wedding day goes off with a splash.

“You see! Your wedding is gonna be great, maybe just as nice as Rochelle and Michelle’s wedding day.” Liane added with a grin.

“You mean the same wedding where Doc Ock came in and swooped the bridal party off to the side?”

Said a voice jokingly.

They looked over their shoulders to noticed Mia walking in with snacks, drinks and carrying Elliot in her arms. He was playing with his toy Lighting McQueen and only half paying attention to the others. Luna smiled waving at them. Jake looked up from his phone at the moment to smile at the brunette.

Liane glanced at Luna, “Okay not the best example but you get my point. Things went off with a bang for them!” She then turned to look at Mia as she took Elliot for her arms, pressing kisses against her son’s face as she said, “And what are you two doing here?”

Elliot answered, “Mommy said that we can come and see you!”

“Oh did she now? Looks like mommy forgot to text me on the way over.”

“Mama, mommy got you guys donuts!”

Mia looked over sheepishly as she was carefully hugging Luna a sweet hello, making sure to not wrinkle the fabric or get a pin stabbing her side. Liane send the brunette a look before rolling her eyes and chuckling.

As his mommy walked over to his mama, Elliot rushed over and grinned as Luna scooped him tickling him. Luna felt ten times better holding her cute little nephew as they talked about cartoons and whatnot. Even so, Elliot called his auntie pretty which made Luna smile and blush a bit at his compliment.

Liane eyes widen slightly and lightly gasped, “Oh my..Eli Taylor, honey! Be careful with the dress! You too Luna, please be careful it’s not done yet.”

Mia placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled, “It’s fine, hon, the dress is gonna get wrinkled and whatever anyway.”

“But it’s not just the dress, it’s the whole look. It’s not done yet and we might change it. Girl, you don’t understand fashion as hell as I do.”

“Thank you Captain Obvious. Lia, relax it’s fine.” Mia smirked and then muttered, “Besides, knowing who Luna’s man is that dress is gonna get wrinkled anyway.”

“Mia!” Liane replied smirking as she laughed, “Be nice!”

“What? The man is half wolf! That dress ain’t gonna last two hours on the dance floor.”

“Girl, sweetie, you’re too much at times, but true they are gonna dance together and make a romantic scene. Straight out of some classic Disney movie.”

“We weren’t like that, right?”

“Oh no, we were pretty chill. I think I spent half of the night taking pictures with guests and watching the fireworks in the backyard.”

“And dancing. We danced to Maroon 5 Sugar like it was no tomorrow. But mhmmm that wedding cake was so good!”

Liane laugh as she joked, “Fat ass.”

“Thank you for noticing. I’ve been doing squats lately.” Mia joked in a silly accent chuckling loudly.

~~~

As time went on, Mia and Jake helped Liane with the dress after removing it off Luna.

It was kinda obvious that Luna was still a little indecisive about how she wanted the final cut of her dress to be. It wasn’t unusual for Liane to have that in clients who had a bunch of other things on their mind. So she was willing to give the girl all the time she needed to have her dress be perfect.

Elliot was playing building blocks with Luna and coloring. It was obvious that spending time with her nephew is what she needed after everything.

Suddenly Luna asked, “How did you know your wedding was going to be good?”

Mia looks up from her phone as she took a break from helping Jake and Liane. They were the professionals after all.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Mia asked respectfully curious.

Luna sighed resting Elliot on her lap as she explained, “Well um..I mean, how did you know that your dress was perfect, the flowers were right…the setting is just so beautiful…and um…th-that everything about it is absolutely amazing…?”

“Hehe I wasn’t expecting everything to be absolutely perfect. Well Liane was but I wasn’t. I am not that kind of person despite how I act.” She admitted.

“Ooohhh…b-but why? H-h-how?”

“With our current line of work, and with how life is, I realize that you have to take things how they are and make the best of it.”

“..w-woahhh!”

“Yeah! I get it everyone dreams of the perfect wedding, but I feel like the perfect wedding is more like, what’s perfect for you. Is it the dress? Is it the flowers? Is it the wedding? Then everything else will fall right into place.”

“Okay, yeah, I see what you mean! I gotta find what’s perfect for me.”

“Mhmm exactly! At the end of the day, all that matters is your and your groom are alright, and that everyone is celebrating the good times together.”

Luna grins, “Wow, Mia, you are so smart! That sounds like a great plan.”

“Thank you for the kind compliment, but you’re smart too.” Mia added smiling.

“W-what? N-no..I am not that smart.”

“Luna, don’t. Don’t head down that road with me, on the whole I am not smart enough bit, you are. End of discussion.”

“B-but..?”

“No buts! You are smart, your are sweet and you are very kind at the end of the day. I mean, come on you’re getting married!”

As the words exited Mia’s lips, Luna smiled once again at the reminder that she is marrying a pretty great guy. Her fiancé Rick Banner. She was pretty lucky. And if she knew her fiancé, he was just as nervous and excited as her.

Maybe Mia and Liane were right? Her wedding day was going to be pretty awesome after all.

She looked down at Eli in her arms, who was showing her his new plushie as she squealed and played with him. She wondered many things about her future with Rick. Mia chuckled watching her son play with his auntie. One of her favorite things to watch.

If she will be a good wife and partner on the field, if they will still be as sweet to each other after they get married, if they will have a family of their own and will they move out from Avengers Towers?

Luna hopes she doesn’t move out of The Tower anytime soon with Ricky. She loves it there way too much and she knows he loves it too.

However she does think about the others relationships sometimes and becomes curious.

She watched Mia and Liane, Michelle and Rochelle, along with the most recent couple Peter and Rei, seeing them all having it figured out. Hell, Pepper and Tony have it all figure out. Or at least, that’s what she thinks for the couples. Luna knows that she have their own struggles, inner turmoil and anxiety about stuff.

She just hopes she will get there one day.

But seeing how she’s getting married very soon, she’s definitely heading in the right direction.

—

THATS ALL FOLKS! 📖 THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING THIS 🥺✨

Please let me know what you think 💭

Tags: @ask-starrk @missstrawbs2001 @purpleprincessonfyre @wizzzardofoz z @thechoooooosenone @rickb-chaos @luna-d-marsh @marvelsfavoriteuncle @elzabeth-stark @sci-fi-lexcon @jackiequick @blueboirick @gcthvile @cherrysft @meiramel @trulysummersprivate and etc

[beebobeebo]

Title: Shit, Kid.

Fandom: Justified

Characters: Raylan Givens, wee Willa Givens , & Tim Gutterson

Relationship: Tim Gutterson x Raylan Givens (Givenson)

Summary: The world is so dire I wrote kid fic.

This is either my brain rebelling against writing blowjobs or having rewatched The Mandalorian.

Also, the swear jar bit is stolen from my stepdad. He still owes me thirty-four goddamn dollars.

Notes: Hippos causes an estimated 500 deaths annually. It'll come up.

"Seriously?" Tim is looking at the little blonde muppet version of Raylan sitting at the kitchen table.

"You gonna tell Dan that I can't find a sitter when you're right here?" Raylan is aggressively tugging on his jacket. "Winona and Richard are sick." Raylan is a whirl of hand motions. "Just gotta turn on cartoons and order dinner. I'll be back before either of you miss me."

Raylan grabs his hat and presses a kiss to his daughter's hair. "Hey, kiddo, Tim's gonna watch you for a little bit."

"Why Tim?" Willa asks with an impressive level of peevishness, which is what you have to call it when a kid is being a dick. She's all of six, but she'd out-Givens Arlo on one of her bad days. Shit, she rests at Raylan-levels while idly playing with her Legos.

"I'm here because, legally, you can't be left alone," Tim answers honestly as he sits down on Raylan's couch.

"Thanks, Tim. Makin' me feel good about this," Raylan says dryly. "Be good, kiddo. Tim's just here to keep the house from burnin' down and feed you dinner."

Raylan plants another kiss on the top of Willa's head. "Be good."

"You already said that," Tim and Willa say in unison. Raylan pinches the bridge of his nose and squints hard at one then the other.

"Bye, Daddy," Willa says without looking up from where she's coloring aggressively.

"Bring back beer," Tim says as he leans forward to grab the remote off the coffee table.

"And ice cream," Willa says still looking at her drawing.

Raylan shakes his head as he walks out the door shouting, "Love you!"

Willa and Tim grumble vague responses at the same time. The pair look at each other and stare for a long moment. Tim's afraid this is a wolf situation. If he breaks first, she'll establish dominance. She holds up her drawing between them. Tim is choosing to generously interpret it as a snake.

"You gonna tell me what that is?"

Willa snorts. "It's you, Tim."

"I'm a snake. I know you're only in the first grade, but that's a weak metaphor, Willa-Wisp"

"No. The snake ate you," Willa explains. "It's digesting you. Their whole body is full of their digestive system."

"Charming," Tim leans back in the couch cushions and clicks on the TV. "Tell me when you get hungry."

Tim idly clicks through the channels trying to ignore the unnerving shuffling sound from behind him. When something grabs his ankle he yells, "Fuck!"

"You owe me a quarter for my swear jar," Willa says from beneath the couch.

"You're running a racket. That stops bein' cute and starts bein' a crime at a certain point." He lifts his ass far enough off the couch to pull out his wallet. "Put it on my damn tab," he says as he holds a ten-dollar bill down by his feet. It's quickly snatched away.

Willa appears at his elbow with the unnerving speed of a child. This is why you don't fuck with horror movie kids. You punt the possessed bastards and run.

"Can I help you, ma'am?"

"Daddy likes you. Sometimes he talks about you when you're not here," she says with a flippant hand wave that's Raylan made over.

"He does the same thing with you. He's very proud of you. You know that, right?" Tim asks. He wouldn't call Raylan perfect, but he was a damn sight better than either of them had known. Raylan loved the shit out of this tiny funhouse mirror of himself.

"He's my daddy," she says matter-of-factly. "Everyone's daddy is proud of them."

"Yeah, sure," Tim says, cycling through channels. Who still has cable?

"Daddy's proud of you," Willa says as she invites herself into Tim's personal space.

Do not engage, Gutterson.

"Yeah?"

Damn it.

"He says you make bad things go away before they even get close," Willa explains as she situates herself in Tim's lap. "Like real far away."

Oh for fuck's sake Raylan.

"I guess I do," Tim admits. "I had to go to special school for it."

"Do you love Daddy?" Willa asks staring directly into his soul. God. Maybe she was possessed.

"Yeah. I even like him most of the time," Tim admits dragging his hand down his face. "Guessin' you still do, too?"

Willa is giving him the look. He knows that look. It's usually angled down at him, though. Goddamn, did this kid only get Winona's hair?

"Of course you do, he's your daddy." Tim smooths her hair. God, who the fuck was he right now?

"Richard loves me, too," She says as her face becomes eyebrows and her little jaw twitches.

"Listen, Wisp, you're only six, but you're comin' off real desperate here. You're tryin' to force me to say somethin'." Tim sighs as he leans back in the cushions and adjusts the kid so they're both comfortable. "Never force anyone to say that. Alright?"

She eyes him. He stares right back. Wolf rules. She blinks.

"Okay. But you are my friend," she says with a nod. "Can we have mac n' cheese for dinner?"

"Hell yeah, we can," he says as he snatches the remote back up. "We can also watch something with robots. No animal shows. You're learnin' some messed up shit from those."

"Like how hippos kill a lot of people?"

"Damn it, Willa. Would you just watch Voltron?"

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

Raylan comes home to a house that smells like neon powdered cheese, has a trail of purple glitter in the carpet, and some weird shit with lion robots playing on the TV.

"Tim?"

"Shut up, man," Tim's voice hisses from the hallway Raylan tosses his hat and jacket on the couch as he heads toward the voice.

"Guessin' she's asleep?" Raylan passes Tim to look into Willa's room. He smiles softly and looks back at Tim. "See. You managed."

"Had to get all the way to Rivendell in The Hobbit before she nodded off," Tim says with a small smile.

Raylan heads down the hallway to his room. Tim follows after a final peek to make sure Willa's not drooling on the book tucked into bed with her.

"Hey." Tim grabs Raylan from behind by the hips and pulls him against his chest. "You didn't bring back beer or ice cream."

Raylan lets his head fall back against Tim's.

"You had fun," he accuses with a smile.

"Fuck you," Tim says into Raylan's hair.

"You didn't hear about the new swear jar?" Raylan turns to face Tim.

"Don't worry. I've got a three-dollar credit."

[absentlyabbie]

you know what i'm honestly tired of all this pre-release speculative outrage and agonizing over the netflix avatar.

i love love LOVE the original animated series.

i'm not expecting the adaptation to be its perfect mirror nor do i need it to be. the cartoon will always be there, perfect as it always has been. the adaptation not only can but should be something else.

okay, so azula and the fire nation have more season 1 presence, and the deadline-tightening of sozin's comet has been relaxed (for very realistic and practical reasons i think are in the best interest of the young actors tbh). i'm fine with that. is it wildly encouraging that there seems to be some misunderstanding around gender roles and the function of some sexism in the original show? not enormously, but also it's not like there weren't issues in the original. and it's not as though shifting those aspects of the story and characters means they can't still be recognizable or have satisfying arcs.

do i wish literally EVERYONE in the entertainment industry would stop riding GoT's dick as if it remains some phenomenal benchmark of "realistic" or "mature" fantasy? by fuck, i sure do. but i also know a lot of the folks who make these game of thrones comparisons are completely off base and just throwing a recognizable name around to try and catch and hold attention.

the trailer looks fantastic. the casting is solid (not saying perfect, but solid.) the show is not out yet.

maybe i just don't personally have the extra energy to burn getting super lathered up in advance over broad speculation, but i'm going to continue with my tentative optimism, pragmatic understanding it may disappoint, and just be willing to let the damn thing speak for itself and form my opinion based on the actual show when i can watch it in full with my own two eyeballs.

i honestly feel like fandom in general could stand to chill several degrees about adaptations and that this, like the new and frankly excellent percy jackson adaptation, are prime examples of how very over the top and precious we can all sometimes be when a new version of a thing we love is about to happen.

the other version is still there. this is, at worst, expensive fanfiction. and like with any fanfiction i'm not vibing with for a thing i love, i am fully capable of hitting the back button and returning to the source material i find more satisfying.

[bcrichsweetheart]

Dream Weaver - Part 1

Prompt: Dreams are Soulmate's Memories (C2) @eddiemunsonbingo Summary: Eddie begins to get a reoccurring dream, and Wayne advises him of an old bit of folklore he heard once. That some dreams could be the memories of your soulmate. Ever the detective, a young Eddie Munson, sets to documenting these dreams in hopes of gathering the clues of who his soulmate might be. Notes: I wanted this to be a visual as well as just text so below the standard fic text you'll see Eddie's actual diary entries, if you like that sort of thing :) But this is Eddie's diary so expect the language to be less than polite and the doodles may be a little immature let's say 😂 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dreaming is free.

Or at least that's what Debbie Harry sings.

You're my official new Dream Diary! Well, first of any diary, really. Nabbed you out of the lost & found when I was skipping class.

You're kinda girly, but you were free, and being girly aint all that bad. That's all patriarchal bullshit, anyway!

Never thought I'd need one of these, but I figure maybe these weird dreams are worth tracking, just in case I do have one. A SOULMATE!!! Christ, that's terrifying!

I was having trouble sleeping, and then I started getting these weird ass dreams. Not like weird-cool, like after too much cheese, chocolate or weed (He’s drawn a picture of a joint here), but like weird, as in they were really fucking normal. I mean normal, like TV family normal, like the Brady bunch, but way less people, not like reality normal.

Well, at least at first. Sometimes they aren't so nice. Sometimes they reminded me of living with my folks, and that FUCKING SUCKED!

Anyway, I told the font of knowledge that is Wayne about these weird dreams and at first, he was like, don't worry about it, but then he told me this bit of folklore and it was something like your dreams are the memories of your soulmate, so I thought I'd start writing them down. Like campaign clues to figure out who it might be? Unless one of their memories is looking in a mirror, I'm gonna need all the clues I can get!

So far, I think that I'm like a little kid, and there are a few people that show up. One is a man who looks real fancy, probably loaded. I guess he’s the Dad? He’s mostly always in a shirt and tie, sometimes one of those Dad polo shirts that he probably wears to golf with his yuppie friends. Well, bad fashion aside, proves one thing at least, being richer wouldn’t have got me a better Dad because the guy is a grade-A star fucking asshole! He’s always holding some object in his hand, a broken picture frame, a Barbie, a book, a glass of whiskey, shoving it towards my face and yelling like I just pissed in his cereal or something. WHAT A DICK! I can feel my soulmate wants to cry but is holding it in. I’m not sure how. Maybe she’s small for her age? The Dad guy is at least 2 feet taller than them. No way someone with that good a life would shout at a kid that way, right? A shitty dad is a pretty sad thing to have in common, but at least it's something because it’s the only thing so far. 

There is a woman in a uniform with an apron, she's nice, and she gives us cookies on the sly, and when the Dad ogre has finished shouting at us, she’s normally the one who turns up just before I wake up.

The last person, I don't know if she’s the Mom or a piano teacher, but she’s way too good-looking to be either. She looks like a movie star and dresses like one too. Velvet Looks like Faye Dunaway in Chinatown, but her eyes slope down, like when she isn’t smiling, they always look sad. But my god, when she smiles and tells me I played something right, I feel like my heart could burst right out of my chest and explode into a million cartoon bluebirds and butterflies or some shit like that. I don't think I've felt that way about anything except my guitar and when a cheerleader smiled at me one time accidentally. Shit what if my soulmate is a cheerleader? Most of them are rich girls, right?

Anyway, that's what I have for now. Until next time Double-D

[darlingshome]

rus in urbe ;

Behind every screen on television, there is an actor. There are brightly shining stars playing out their characters' storylines, animated cartoons and colorful mascots brought to life by a changing voice, vivid worlds unlike any other undisturbed as each world brought forth by humanity's creation is allowed to live.

Wally tightens his crimson ascot, sitting down in front of his mirror. He cocks his head, touching his swirled ascot and holds up his notorious smile in frozen glee.

Wally, like all others who carry the torches of Hollywood and the strings of felt puppets, is a star. He doesn't shine brightly like Sally or have the intelligence of Frank, but he is a star and nobody forgets a memorable face like Wally Darling's. His small, felted hands move around for his comb, opening his drawer to drop the bedazzled thing right in. His eyes move around as Home creaks and bangs, rhythmic to his stitched heart.

"Oh, are you okay?" Wally's voice softens and he glances at the ceiling. Then, around. Home thumps, answering his question. He's the only one capable of truly understanding Home - his pride and joy, his kind neighbor, his connection from here to there.

Wally sighs, grin widening. "That's good. We're family. I have to check up on you, sometimes."

He rolls up his sleeves, walking through Home's hallways and climbing up its stairs. Eventually, he stands inside a spacious room - or, as spacious as it gets - where he has art supplies scattered about. Wax crayons snuggling in their boxes, paint buckets oozing with flavor, brushes and pencils inside clay pots.

The painting room needed to be spruced up before Wally made his return to the red carpet. His best friends certainly wanted to see him again, but now's not the time for wishful thinking. He knows. He can feel their belief in him rising again.

While he's not anywhere near his usual painting spot underneath the tree, Wally reaches into his fine selection of paint tubes and poured random colors into the canvas. No rhyme or reason to his selection.

He dips his brush into red and then yellow. Green with the purple. Mix white and red to create pink. Wally continues building and building, stacking thick strokes and splatting unfitting textures on top of harmonious colors. What appeared to be dainty breezes transformed into howling winds, adorable folks whose faces he can barely remember or attach names to danced about. Dancing and dancing.

His erratic strokes halted in the middle of his painting, Wally looking to the side and mustering his grimace.

(He cannot, for Wally's a natural smiler. The puppet smiles, therefore he's unable to frown. So, he feels inside for a frown.)

He steps away from his painting - something typical of a child. A vivid, anarchistic chaos buried underneath innocence, almost breaking through the very image he's built.

What would his viewers think if he reviewed art in this day and age? Would they laugh along? Be happy with everything he says? Would they see him as his best friend again?

So much time has passed, and yet.

"I know what I am." You sure do, Wally Darling! He teeters on his heels, sitting down on a paint-splotched stool and kicks his short legs around. "And you do too, Home."

Home quietly squeaks, unsure of what to reply with.

"Yes, both of us do. You know... I wonder." Wally crosses his legs, eyes staring into the nothingness of a bare corner. "Why do we dream, when we forget? Everyone forgets, nobody remembers. Who we are. Who I am."

He breathes a monotonous laugh, finding his thoughts ridiculous. "Until now, really. We're still loved, we're being remembered! And our best friends are starting to find us again. Isn't that kind?"

"Yes, isn't that kind..."

[minzart]

Idk if this will be good but have you seen scary godmother spooktacular/ jimmy's revenge on cartoon network? Other than that what abt scary godparent!mc?! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they got transported they at first thought they were in a part of the fright side they didn't go to often. So imagine their surprise when the dark mirror said their home didn't exist in twst.

Crowley: *flipping through maps* where did you say you were from again?

Mc: pumpkin hallow!

Crowley: I generally know where all my students came from.. their is a 'sleepy hallow', 'summers hallow' and 'hallow grove'

Mc: *blushing* awe you think I look that young?

Crowley: eh?

Mc: *twirling hair* I graduated college almost 1000 years ago~

~~~~

The first years and grimm reminds Mc of their broom-mates and harry

Ace and grimm: *fighting over last slice of boo-berry pie*

Sebek: *slamming door open* NIEGEN'S(affectionate)

Epel: ah sebek! We were wondering if you were coming

Mc: *handing sebek the last slice of boo-berry pie* before dumb and dumber takes it

Sebek: *blushing* I humble accept your gift

Ace and grimm: HEY!

-----

Ace: OI! YOU STUPID RAT YOU ATE ALL THE FOOD!

Grimm: I'M NOT A STUPID RAT Y'KNOW!

Mc and jack: *whispering*

Mc: the party just started and all the food is gone..

Jack: we could always make grim-kabobs

Mc: *elbowing jack* really?

Jack: we could order pizza..

Grimm: pizza?

Epel: I can go for some pizza!

Sebek: pizza is a groovy idea

grimm: PIZZA!

Epel:*mockingly*groovy?

Adeuce: *highfiving eachother* YEAH! WITH EXTRA CHEESE AND OLIVES!

Deuce: Wait you like cheese and olives?

Ace: bro

Deuce: bro?

Adeuce: *hugging eachother* bro

Grimm: *interrupting* I'm sure this conversation is imperative to the plot, but can we go back to something more important.. like ordering pizza?

Mc: *warningly* grimm, we didn't forget who inhaled the boo-fet

First years: *glaring*

Grimm: *taking phone from mc* uhmm... I'll call in they know the sound of my voice

-----

Pizza delivery ghost: *knocking*

Mc: *opening door* I got it!

Pizza delivery ghost: hello mc I got your 12 extra large pizza's for you-

Mc: hold on a moment~ twelve extra large pizzas grimm?

Grimm: *crossing his arms* I wanted to make sure everyone got what they liked...

Mc: okay.. I'm back.. h-how much will that be?

PDG: that'll be 200 hundred dollars.. plus tip

Mc: 200 DOLLARS!

PDG: *deep voice* YOU COULD SIGN AWAY YOUR SOUL FOR THEM!

Mc: *handing ghost the money* yeah.. my soul is worth more that 200 dollars worth of pizza's

Grimm: *trying to run off with the pizza's*

Mc: *using magic to grab grimm* YOU! YOU WRECKED MY TABLE, INSULTED OUR GUESTS, STUCK ME WITH 12 PIZZAS! SOMETIMES GRIMM YOU CAN BE INSENSITIVE, BRUTE-ISH AND JUST PLAN LOUSEY TABLE MANNERS!

Grimm: *pleading* oh mc! Please I'll do anything!

First years: *taking pizza's*

Mc: oh I know you will! You'll help me plant pumpkins, clean the gravestones, knit spiderweb and help the ghosts! Oh yes, you'll probably have this paid off by next year! Enjoy your pizza!

~~~~

At first mc was a bit bummed because they spend all year getting ready for Halloween mc hope their broom-mates can finish everything in time. Hell they're not sure if the celebrate Halloween in twistedwonderland... until the last week of September.

Crewel: listen up puppies next week is the start of fright month!

Mc: *perking up* fright month?

Heartslabyul mob: you don't know about fright month!?

Savanaclaw mob: *elbowing heartslabyul mob* you idiot their not from here

Deuce: Halloween is super big here at nrc!

Mc: *running out of class*

Crewel: NO BAD PUPPY! MC GET BACK HERE

-----

Everyone: *out in the court yard to see the well was replaced but a giant jack-o-lantern*

Crowly: *pushing through crowd* OH GREAT SEVENS THE WELL!

Trein: that not the only thing headmaster... seems like the whole of the campus has been decorated..

Vargas: there was even a giant spider at the Colosseum!

Sam: *popping out of nowhere* it be the work of some very strong magic

-----

Riddle: *slamming Headmasters door open followed by the other dormleaders* WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS!

Vil: *crossing arms* YEAH! ALL OF OUR DORMS BEEN...SPOOKIFYED!

Idia: Y-yeah I keep tripping over pumpkins!

Leona: I can't nap with out a cobweb falling on me..

Kalim: Jamil fainted when he saw the giant spider on the Colosseum!

Azul: *pushing up glasses* floyd keeps trying to fight the skeletons at monstro..

-----

Ace: h-hey mc do you have any idea..whos...been..what the hell are you doing?

Mc: *pulling leaves out of the oven* the leaves aren't gonna crisp themselves!

Epel: is that blood?

Mc: *stirring pot* yeah how else are you supposed to get a good scare if blood doesn't ooze down the wall?

Jack: WAIT MC?! are you the one who put up all the Halloween decorations?

Mc: you like them? I normally have all year to prepare, but I didn't know you guys did Halloween!

-----

Crowley: *sighing* who would have thought.. outta everyone this would have been mc

Mc: *sadly* so you don't like them? I'm the HALLOWEEN WITCH! they're all fake!

Mc: *walking to skeleton; pushes button* see

Skeleton: *singing* you'll ground, you'll be ate, We will serve you kids on a plate~

~~~~

Mc couldn't wait for the stamp rally. since diasomnia has the outside of ramshackle mc decided to make a horror maze inside. The abjective is to find the basement to give the "monster" (grimm) candy so it doesn't eat you, and get to the end so either mc or the ghosts will stamp their card and you get some of mc homemade treats.

Girl 1: d-did you hear that?

Boy 1: *shaking* h-hear what?

Radio: *witches cackle* HEHAHA! I'LL GET YOU MY PRETTIES!

Girl 2: *running* AHHH!

Radio: *ghostly moan* LEAVE SOME CANDY IT'S YOUR ONLY HOPE!

Boy 1: we must be getting close to th-the basement!

Grimm: *with microphone to his stomach* *deep and loud growl* CANDY! GIVE YOUR CANDY!

Girl 2: *throwing bucket of candy down the stairs* AHH HERE TAKE IT!

Grimm: HEHE! UNTIL NEXT YEAR!

Group: *running away* AHH

-----

Short ghost: hehe looks like ya made it out alive!

Mc: *stamping cards* haha! I hope to see you next time!

Tall ghost: *handing out candy* to make up for the candy you lost!

Girl 1: c-can we take a picture with you all?

Big ghost: *grinning* haha! Sure!

Gril 1: thanks! Say cheese~

Everyone: CHEESE~

Girl 1: #NRC #HALLOWEEN #SPOOKY MAZE #WITCH #MONSTWR #GHOST

Gril 2: that was so scary!

Boy 1: even scarier than the ghost groom one!

~~~~

Mc was spared by the magickam monsters. The maze was getting backed up because everyone was taking pictures, none of them threw candy down the the "monster" . Mc was working on overtime because everyone would take and then throw away the treats they got.

Tall ghost: Mc we need more bags!

Mc: *twisting bags up* huh! I just sent out another batch!

Tall ghkst: yeah and they took them all!

Boy 2: HEY WHERE IS ARE CANDY!

Boy 3: YEAH! WE NEED THEM FOR PICTURES!

Short ghost: *sighing* those ungrateful brats..

-----

Crewel: BAD PUPPIES GET DOWN FROM THERE!

Boy 1: ugh.. no fun

Girl 1: just one picture?

Mc: what's going on here?

Savanaclaw mob: those damn magickam monsters! They've been messing everything up!

Scrabia mob: yeah! They just through their trash everywhere! Making everything smelly

Heartslabyul mob: did I tell you about how they've been trampling and plucking up flowers in the green house!

Ingihyde mob: o-ortho almost b-blew up the school..

Pomefiore mob: eple almost got in a fight! I could tell vil-sempai was on his last leg cuz he didn't stop eple

Octavinelle mob: it's scary one of them kept poking floyd they even cracked the tank he's in..

Diasomnia mob: they even insulted draconia-sama.. I don't know who was gonna blow draconia-sama or sebek

Mc: eh? So that's was all that screaming was from.. sebek

-----

(I'm skipping past some things but the first years and dorm/vice dorm leaders all make their plan to scare the magickam monsters away)

Girl 2: *opening door* shh someone might hear us!

Boy 1: uh.. to late! Look

Boy 2: who the heck are you?

Epel: oh hey.. I'm epel.. who the heck are you?

Girl 1 one: oh.. hey epel... I'm girl 1, this is girl 2, boy 1, boy 2 and this is boy 3..

Boy 3: who are you supposed to be?

Epel: neat.. I'm a vampire look at my fangs!

Boy 2: *rolling eyes* yeah yeah.. and I'm the devil

Epel: I'm gonna tell my makers you said I'm not a real vampire!

Boy 2: go head tell them! I'm not scared

Epel: VIL! ROOK!

Rook and vil: *burst into the room*

Rook: stop me if you heard this one! Five kids walk in to a house..

Vil: oh and?

Rook: AND WE EAT THEM OF COURSE!

Vil: now you tell the funny joke!

Vil and rook: *hiss*

Magickam monsters: AHHH!

-----

Girl 1: *backs up into something*

Idia: *helmet falls off* oh man... my head...

Girl 1: AHH! HIS HEAD FELL OFF!

Boy 2: *opening door to see kalim* ah-

Kalim: *growling*

Boy 3: *slams door*

Deuce: *scraping shovel against floor*noisy...

Girl 2: Z-Z-Z-Z..

Boy 1: Z?

Girl 2: *pointing at deuce* ZOMBIE!

Carter: *grabs boy 1 leg* Hey hey!

Boy 2: RUNN

-----

Jade: oya? Look azul~ some more test subjects!

Azul: they look nice and juicy! Do you think floyd would like them?

Jade: *grabing girl 1* a-ah floyd~ wake up!

Girl 1: *struggling* N-NO!

Trey: *wrapped up in sheets* H-HELP ME!

Jade: *drops girl 1* noisy thing-

-----

MKM: *running to door*

Boy 2: *trips over leona* oof

Leona: you- was it you? Did you steal my treasure? Ruggie get the beast

Ruggie: shishishi~

Jack: *in wolf form* GRRR

-----

MKM: *backing up in to what they think is a tree*

Boy 1: girl 2?

Girl 2: yeah? Boy 3

Boy 3: here! Girl 1?

Girl 1: uhn! Boy 2?

Boy 2: all here... hey boy 1 stop breathing on me!

Boy 1: dude.. I'm over here by girl 1...

MKM: *turning around to see mallues in dragon form*

Malleus: boo.

MKM: AHHH!

~~~~

Hey hey~ I've been busy making my coustme! I'm gonna be a mushroom fairy!

You are gona be the prettiest mushroom Fairy!

[ao3-deviance]

Shadows Under the Bed

new fic (also on AO3 here)

...

There was something under Kirishima's bed. 

He wasn't sure when it started or how it happened, but here, now, at ten years old, he was positive that there was something under his bed. 

Equally, he was certain that if he turned on the lights and checked, that there would be nothing there. Whatever it was moved quickly and Kirishima didn't know where it went, only that it always returned once the lights were off and he was alone in the darkness. 

He stared at his nightlight across the room, a tiny exclamation of 'Manly!' from one of his favorite cartoons. It cast a dim red light across his floor, not quite touching the space under his bed. He held his breath, waiting, and in the silence of his room he heard a soft exhale from under his bed. 

It made something in him shiver and he refused to close his eyes, forced to take a breath as he fought back the urge to scream and run. He knew, as sure as there was something there, that it would be gone the second his parents came to check.

He didn't...think it was mean. Whatever it was had never touched him, never spoken or tried to interact with him. He never felt its presence during the day or even at friends' houses. It was only when he was alone at night that he got the anxiousness of being watched, the cold sensation of eyes on the back of his neck. 

Kirishima swallowed nervously, eyeing the dark chasm between his bed and his nightstand where his glass of water sat. His lamp was there too, tiny pull string there like a safety blanket if he could only reach for it. He knew something was there and somehow he knew that that something didn't come out in the light. He didn't know how he knew these things. He just did. 

But he didn’t think it was mean. 

"Hello?"

His voice came out smaller than he intended, nervous and anxious. There was no response, no sound, but Kirishima knew he had its attention. 

"I know you're there."

He huddled under his blanket, clutching his shark plushie close and watching his floor for any movement within his nightlight's realm. 

"I don't think you're mean...at least, it doesn't feel that way. So if you want to be friends, we can. My name is Kirishima Eijirou. Nice to meet you."

No response again. Kirishima held his breath again, for as long as he could, but he didn't hear anything from under his bed. Eventually he grew tired waiting, heavy eyes slipping closed as he fell unconscious. 

When he woke up in the morning, he could almost forget it happened at all, until he spotted a crumpled piece of paper at the foot of his bed, just under the bed frame. He grabbed it, trying to straighten the page out, and recognized it from an old coloring book he'd left under his bed a long time ago. He felt something like a chill up his spine as he read the crooked characters written in orange crayon, like someone who'd seen kanji before but had never tried to write them, or maybe they just weren't familiar with holding a crayon. 

'Baku-gou'

…..

Kirishima mostly chose to ignore that he had the name of whatever was living under his bed. He still felt it at night, under his bed or in his closet. Sometimes, if he could hold his breath for a really long time, he could hear it breathing. But as long as he ignored it, then he didn't have to do anything about it.

Kirishima hummed to himself as he washed his hands, drying them off with the hand towel before flipping off the light to step out of the bathroom. 

He froze in the doorway. It had only been out of the corner of his eye, but…

He took a shaky step back into the now-dark bathroom, looking at the mirror. His reflection was a shadow, the light from outside the bathroom not quite at the right angle to provide much visibility within the room. His hand hovered over the switch unsurely. He exhaled, the breath coming out uneven as he moved his hand, watching his reflection with his heart pumping. 

His reflection mirrored him, slow steady movements of his hand. Kirishima exhaled, shaking off his paranoia, and he turned to leave again with a small laugh. 

He froze as soon as he turned, wide eyes staring at the wall outside the door. Out of the corner of his eye, his reflection hadn't moved, still facing him. 

Kirishima swallowed, too scared to move. He glanced at the switch, wondering if he could move enough to turn it on. He didn't understand why this was happening to him, first the thing under the bed and now–

His thoughts crashed into each other. The thing under the bed. Could this be…the same? He guessed it kind of felt like the same thing. Maybe? He licked his lips nervously. 

"Uh. Bakugou?" 

His reflection shimmered, like a rippled lake, and when he looked at it suddenly it reflected him again. He tested it, turning his head and looking back quickly, but it was still him every time. 

He closed the door when he left, a little quicker than usual. 

…..

Kirishima was playing a game on his Switch in his room, reclined on a plush beanbag his parents had gotten him. He could hear the soft sounds of his mom watching TV downstairs through his cracked open door. His foot bounced as he focused on his game, accidentally knocking into a baseball he'd left lying on the floor and sending it rolling under his bed. He ignored it. 

Something bumped his foot and he glanced away from his game, icy awareness zinging down his spine immediately. 

It was the baseball. 

Kirishima didn't react to the sounds of his character dying, eyes instead lifting to look into the void under his bed. It looked darker than usual. He set his Switch aside, leaning forward to grab the baseball with shaky hands and rolling it back under his bed softly. 

For a moment, nothing happened. Kirishima held his breath. This was during the day, the sun was out, monsters couldn't be–

Kirishima flailed, falling out of the beanbag and crashing into his dresser in panic when the ball was suddenly rolled back out from under the bed. 

"Ah!"

"Eijirou?" His mother called out downstairs. "What was that? Are you okay?" 

Kirishima stared at the ball with wide eyes, standing with the doorknob in his hand and door opened to run. 

"Uh. I'm fine! Just. Being klumsy," he called out, nerves racking his frame. He shook, trying to take deep calming breathing but he was pretty sure he was hyperventilating. 

"Be more careful, please!"

Suddenly he heard a tapping from under his bed, like fingers counting against his floor. He realized he could hear breathing, deep slow heaving sounds. Without meaning to, he found himself matching the pace, slowly regaining control. By the time he felt more settled, the noises had stopped. 

"Thanks," he offered the room. He slowly managed to get his hand to let go of the door, walking over and sitting on the floor beside his beanbag chair. He eyed the baseball before looking under the bed again bravely. "You, uh. Startled me." He felt that went without saying. 

He jumped when there was a small tap-tap from under his bed. He swallowed. 

"No worries though." He tried to smile, shaky with fear. "You. Um. Want to play?" 

He gently nudged the ball with his foot, sending it rolling back under his bed. He didn't have to wait long this time, the ball coming back and stopping right in front of him. 

"Okay," Kirishima mumbled to himself, heart racing as he rolled it back. 

There was something about playing with the monster under his bed that…made the monster seem less scary?

"So then I told Kaminari…"

He found it easy to talk to the room, telling Bakugou about his friends. He had worried at first if he was talking too much, but each time he paused for too long he'd hear that small tap-tap under his bed, like someone saying "go on," so Kirishima went on. 

"Hey, I wanted to ask. It…was you, the other day. In the mirror. Right?" 

He waited, rolling the ball back under the bed. It didn't come back immediately this time. After a long moment, there was a single tap. 

"Is that a yes?" 

Another tap. Somehow it sounded hesitant, if taps could sound hesitant. 

"So one tap for yes, two taps for no?" Kirishima suggested. There was a tap. He grinned. 

"Cool. The mirror trick was kind of…neat," he said, narrowly avoiding saying creepy or terrifying. "Maybe we could plan that ahead of time though, instead of springing it on me unexpectedly?" He suggested carefully. 

Another single tap. Kirishima exhaled with relief. 

…..

The longer Kirishima felt Bakugou's existence and yet didn't feel any malevolence, the more comfortable Kirishima found himself at night, losing the tension that stiffened his shoulders and instead recognizing the familiarity like an old friend. 

But also, the more he acknowledged Bakugou's presence, the more the other seemed to show up. Kirishima was noticing signs of Bakugou everywhere:  in the reflection of TV screens when the show was dark, in shiny door knobs, in blurry selfies. Bakugou's form didn't seem consistent, usually taking the shadowed blurry form of another child, though occasionally at night Kirishima would catch a glimpse of two orbs glowing a deep red under his bed after turning out the lights and just before he crawled under the sheets. 

"Night, Bakugou," Kirishima mumbled into his pillow, smiling at the familiar quiet tap-tap from under his bed in response. 

Eijirou

Kirishima's eyes flew open, heart racing. He clutched his shark plush tightly.

"Bakugou?" He called out shakily. There was no response. He shivered. "Bakugou, please answer me. Was that you?" Still no response. 

Kirishima curled tightly in on himself. He'd never heard that voice before, deep and gruff and rasping, like sandpaper over rock. Had he been dreaming? Was Bakugou trying to speak with him? Surely he didn't have a second monster lurking around. 

"Please," Kirishima begged the silent room. "Bakugou?" 

He held his breath, unable to hear a single sound without the room. He was shaking, tears welling up in fear as he waited and waited and waited. Just before he gasped for breath, unable to hold it any longer, he heard a tiny, barely there tap under his bed, followed by a heaving sigh, like even that much had been an effort. 

Kirishima sobbed, relief flooding him. It had been Bakugou. He buried his face in his pillow, trying to muffle his sounds. 

"Sorry, sorry," he whispered wetly. "Thank you. I was just scared. It's okay now. I'm sorry."

The silence seemed weighted, heavy with unspoken words, and it occurred to Kirishima that maybe this was why Bakugou had pushed so hard to talk to him. Maybe he was frustrated only being able to answer yes or no questions. 

Sleep

The voice was even rougher this time, like the slow drag of a shovel over gravel. It carried a depthless exhaustion that made Kirishima's eyes hood from the tone alone, sleep looming over him. 

"Okay. Goodnight for real this time," Kirishima mumbled, falling asleep quickly after that. 

Beneath his bed, the shadows grew, two orbs of red shining out to match the red glow from a Manly nightlight. 

…..

[watchyourbluesturngolden]

hi! i love your blog! i was wondering if maybe you could write something where y/n and harry just had their first baby and they finally get some time to themselves and she's a little insecure about their first time after the post partum and nervous about her body or how it gonna feels like? thank uu💖

omg thank you 🥺🥺 I'm so sorry this took so long! i hope you like it :)

a very romantic bath for two

warnings: body insecurity, body image issues

word count: 2.8k

You sighed as you inspected your body in the mirror, running your fingers over the raised lines on your tummy and hips. Many of them were new; they had popped up sometime during your second trimester. At the time, you had been too busy worrying about the new life growing inside you and preparing to bring her home to focus too much on what was happening to your body. Even during the last few weeks of your pregnancy when you felt huge most of the time, Harry made sure to remind you constantly how much he loved you and your new body. He would rub your belly all the time, leaning down to kiss it and talk to your baby. He insisted it would help them develop faster once they were born, but you weren't quite sure where he got this "fact". You both knew he just liked being close to you and your baby.

He really hadn't left any room for you to be insecure during your pregnancy. He reassured you every day that you were more beautiful than ever, and he was always showing you how much he liked your new body. He could never keep his hands off you, always wanting to touch and hold you. It even got annoying at times, but mostly you appreciated it, and you were glad he never let your hormones get the best of you. Then, after Stevie was born, you were too busy and exhausted to even think about your appearance. You and harry were barely getting any sleep, and all of your time was devoted to caring for the newest member of your family. It wasn't until now, when Stevie was a little over 3 months old, that things started calming down a bit. She slept through the night most of the time, and you were finally coming out of that sleep deprived haze you had been in. Unfortunately, this gave you time to really look at yourself in the mirror. You had just gotten out of the shower, and Harry was with Stevie in the living room. You tilted to the side, looking at how much bigger your stomach was than before you had Stevie. The skin there was dimpled and soft, much more squishy than it used to be. And the stretch marks. They were everywhere, and much more prominent than they had ever been. You weren't sure if you would ever be able to get back to normal. Your negative thoughts were interrupted by a short knock on the door. You quickly wrapped a towel around yourself before you called, "You can come in!" Harry peaked his head into the room, smiling softly. "Sorry to bother you, but I'm out of wipes. I think there's another pack under the sink?" "No, it's okay, i was done," you smiled, reaching under the sink to grab the package. "Is she okay?" "She's fine, lovie," he smiled softly. "You don't have to feel bad being away for her for half an hour." "I know," you sighed. "But i still do. I hate not being next to her all the time." "Me too, i just want to hold her and never put her down." You nodded, sighing internally at how much you already missed your baby. "Why don't you finish up in here and then we'll make some lunch?" "Sounds good," you said, smiling at him in the mirror. Once the door was closed, you dropped the towel again. You really tried not to be too upset about how you looked, but it was hard. You knew if you told Harry he would just say the same thing, that it was normal and he thought you were beautiful. You didn't think that would help much. So you pulled on your old t-shirt and sweatpants, running a brush through your wet hair before making your way out to the kitchen. "Hi, baby," you smiled, picking Stevie up from the play mat on the floor. "I missed you." She snuggled against your chest, her head leaning on your shoulder as she let out a content little sigh. You leaned down, grabbing Stevie's rattle and putting it back in the toy box before you made your way into the kitchen. "How does spaghetti sound?" Harry asked. "Sounds good," you nodded, settling into one of the chairs at the dining table. you were about to pull off your shirt to feed Stevie, but the image of your prominent stretch marks made you reconsider. "Can you grab me one of the blankets?" You asked, but kept your eyes on Stevie. You knew if you looked up, you would see that sad and confused look on his face as he wondered why you suddenly wanted to cover yourself around him, and you really didn't feel like explaining your newfound insecurities right now. Thankfully, he didn't press for answers. "Sure, love. It's in the nursery?" You nodded, fiddling with the collar of Stevie's onesie to look busy. "Okay, I'll be right back," He gave a small smile before he left the kitchen. "What am i gonna do, hm?" You asked Stevie. She just blinked in response. Harry came back with the blanket, draping it over your shoulders from the front. "Thank you," you said quietly, adjusting the cover so you could pull your shirt up. "Of course, love," he replied, going back to the stove. "I wanted to ask you something, actually." You

hummed questioningly, eyes fixed on Stevie under the blanket. "Well, we just haven't had any time alone since Stevie was born, and my mum is dying to spend some more time with her, so do you think... I mean, only if it's okay with you, maybe we could have my mum take her for the weekend?" You hesitated, your heart suddenly beating much faster. Being away from Stevie for more than a day... of course you knew she would be safe and happy with Anne, but still... the thought made anxiety spike in your chest. Then there was the matter of being alone with Harry. You probably should feel guilty for not wanting to spend time with him, but with the way you had been feeling about yourself lately, you couldn't bring yourself to care. But you also knew refusing this would cause all sorts of problems. It would make both Harry and Anne feel bad, and you really didn't want to upset anyone. So, taking a shaky breath in, you nodded. "We can do that. I just... i don't think I can do more than a day or two." "That's totally fine," Harry reassured you. "I don't want to be away from her for that long either. I was thinking we could drop her off Friday after lunch, then pick her up Saturday evening. Or sometime Sunday if they're really having a good time," he laughed. "They'll have all sorts of fun together, mum might not want to let her go so soon." You smiled at the thought of the pictures you knew Anne would send you. Stevie and her in the garden, Stevie in the stroller as they went for a walk, Stevie in the high chair while Anne baked cookies. "Okay. After supper we can get her stuff together." Harry beamed, coming over to kiss your forehead. "Thank you, baby. And if it gets to be too much, we can pick her up early. We can do whatever you need, okay?" Despite Harry's constant reassurance, you felt no less anxious the next day. You checked and re-checked Stevie's bag, making sure she had enough clothes to last her a week. "Lovie, she's only gonna be there for two days," Harry reminded you gently. "No, I know, but what if she spits up a lot? Sometimes she spits up a whole bunch and then she'll need to be changed, and what if-" "Hey, hey," he cut you off, placing his hands on your shoulders and speaking in a soothing tone. "It'll be alright. She's gonna be fine. She has enough clothes, and everything is gonna be okay." You nodded, taking a deep breath as you looked into his eyes. "Right. She's gonna be fine."

-----

"And the milk is here-" you held up several plastic bags- "I'll put this in the fridge. And to heat it up- wait, you already know how to heat up milk," you laughed nervously. "Um, and her onesies are all in the backpack. I have extras in there- a lot of extras, because sometimes she spits up a lot. And then her diffuser is in there too- we usually put a few drops of lavender oil in there, it helps her sleep. And diapers and wipes and diaper cream are all in the bag, and... oh! Her stuffed bunny. It helps her calm down if she's fussy. And I think... that should be everything," You exhaled, trying to smile at Anne. Harry put his arm around your waist. "Y/N, she knows how to take care of a baby. Look how well i turned out!" Despite how nervous you were, you managed to laugh. "Right. I'm just... I'm sorry, I've never been away from her." "It's alright," Anne smiled reassuringly. "I understand how scary it is to be away from her for the first time. But you can call or FaceTime, or if it's too much you can come pick her up." "Thank you," you sighed. "We should probably get going before i change my mind." Harry nodded, unbuckling Stevie from her carrier. He hugged her to his chest, kissing the top of her head. "I'll miss you so much," he said. "But you'll have so much fun with your grandma. And we'll see you soon, okay?" he kissed her one more time before handing her over to you. "Be good for your grandma, okay? I love you," you kissed her just like Harry had. "I love you so much." Before you could start crying, you handed her to Anne. "Thank you so much for this, Anne," you said. "We really appreciate it." "You're a godsend," harry agreed. "Thank you." "Of course, I'm happy to have her," Anne smiled. "Now shoo, so i can spend some time with her!"

-----

"It's so quiet," Harry said as you walked into the house. "I'm not used to it." "I know," You laughed. "There's no cartoons or baby shark, it's crazy." "Can't say I miss baby shark, though," he shook his head. "I think we need to find a new song for her." You nodded. "It got old really fast." "It did," he laughed. "And now... we can enjoy some peace... and quiet." He stepped closer to you, smiling as he heard your breath hitch. "I was thinking maybe we could have a bath together?" Your heart started thudding faster in your chest, and not for a good reason. "No," you said quickly. Too quickly. Hurt and confusion flashed across his face, and you immediately wanted to take back your words. "I just- I can't," you said quietly, stepping back. "Is there... did something happen?" he asked gently, eyes softening when he realized how close to tears you were. "What's the matter, love?" "Harry, I just can't," you shook your head as tears welled up in your eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm trying but I just can't get back to normal. I look terrible and I have all these stretch marks and everything is just wrong," you cried, bringing up your hands to cover your face. "Baby..." he whispered, moving closer and opening his arms. "Come here." You did as he asked, walking into his arms and leaning against him as you cried. "I just don't want you to see me," you sniffled. "Your body isn't wrong," he shook his head. "Not at all. It might look different than it did before, but that's because it went through something amazing. It gave us Stevie! It- you are perfect. Alright?" You nodded against his chest. "I just... i really don't like the way i look anymore and i don't think you will either." Since your face was pressed against his shirt, you didn't see the way his face dropped. You didn't see how much it hurt him to hear you talk about yourself this way. You felt him inhale a shaky breath before he hugged you tighter. "I'm so sorry you feel this way. I had no idea how much it was bothering you. I want- I want to show you how much I love you. Will you let me show you?" "How?" you said quietly. "Do you trust me?" You hesitated for only a moment before nodding. He smiled, pulling back and taking your hand. He lead you into your bedroom, closing the door behind the two of you. He crossed the room to stand in front of you again, his fingers gripping the hem of your shirt. "Can i take this off?" he asked quietly, keeping his eyes on yours. He must have sensed your hesitancy, because he dropped his hands down to his sides. "It's just me," he reminded you. "We don't have to if you don't want to, though." "No, it's... it's okay," You decided, raising your arms. He smiled gently, tugging the soft material up and over your head. You kept your eyes on him as soon as the shirt was off your head, too apprehensive to look down at your body. "You're so beautiful," he whispered. He hooked his fingers in the elastic of your sweatpants, looking at you again for confirmation. You nodded, allowing him to pull the rest of the clothing off your body and taking his hand to step out of them. He lead you over to the bed, keeping his eyes on yours the whole way. "Lay back," he instructed quietly, watching as you did what he said. He climbed into the bed behind you, settling himself between your legs to meet your eyes. "You're amazing," he smiled. "The most beautiful woman I've ever seen." he brought his hand down to your stomach, and you cringed immediately when he brushed over one of the marks. "It's okay," he soothed. "There's nothing wrong with these. You know what they are?" You shook your head. "They're little marks that remind us of Stevie. They show how strong you are for carrying her, and keeping her safe until she was ready to come out and meet us. And they show how someday, you'll be able to have another baby, and keep him or her safe just like Stevie. Right? That's all they are." He moved down, leaning his head closer so he could press a soft kiss to one of the marks near your hip. "I don't want you to change anything

about yourself," he said, moving his lips over the lines on your tummy. "I love you just the way you are." Tears were welling up in your eyes again, but this time they weren't from anxiety or fear. This time, they were because you felt overwhelmed by your love for him. "Harry..." He looked up, his face falling when he noticed the tears in your eyes. "No, please don't cry," he said, moving back up to hover over you again. "I'm sorry, please don't be upset," he frowned, wiping one of the tears away with his thumb. You shook your head. "That's not why- i just love you so much," you said, trying your best to smile. "I love you too," he smiled back, leaning down to kiss your forehead, then your nose, then your cheeks, and finally, your lips. "I love you so, so much, and I will show you every day if you'll let me," he sighed, moving off you to lay on his side. He kept one hand on your hip, helping you turn over to look at him. "I want you to tell me if you're ever feeling like this again, okay? I want to know so I can help you." "Okay," you nodded, still sniffling a bit. "Thank you." You leaned against him, tucking your head in his neck. "Thank you." "Of course, lovie." He wrapped his arms around you, kissing the top of your head. "I want you to always know how loved you are. It doesn't matter how many times I have to remind you; i don't ever want you to feel like this and not tell me. I love you way too much to let you be this sad." "I will," you promised. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." "it's okay," he soothed, running his hand up and down your back. "Do you think... it's okay if you're not ready yet, but do you think we could try taking a bath?" This time, you barely even hesitated before answering. "I think we can try," you nodded. "We can even turn off the lights if you want, just light a few candles," he mused, his face pressed gently against your hair. "It's more romantic that way anyways." "That sounds good," you laughed. "Come on then," he said, sitting up. "One very romantic bath for two, coming right up."

[marveldc-imagines-hub]

Imagine Costume-Prepping With Peter:

Anon said: “Can I ask for a Halloween fic or hc with Peter Parker and his best friend reader?”

Fictober prompt: Day 1 - “I need you.”

A/N: This is sometime pre-Jake Gyllenhaal not me having to Google his last name iofjdfigjiohrth, probably somewhere between Homecoming and The Bad Times. Enjoy, and happy spoops!

You frowned as Peter cheekily strolled into his bedroom, all smiles and arms outstretched in a jarringly Tony Stark-like fashion, where you had been sitting on his bed and waiting to see his Halloween costume idea for this year. “Peter, no.”

Peter’s eyes grew three sizes as his arms flopped back to his sides. “What? Why?”

Cue big brown puppy eyes on your best friend’s sweet, hopeful baby face. You scowled on, focusing eye-daggers at the spider symbol on his chest.

“C’mon, [Y/N]!” Peter half-whined. He offered you a few stereotypical hero poses in his actual real-life Spidey suit, clearly trying trying to persuade you; you felt your lips twitch momentarily but you managed to hold it together until he dropped his mini modeling session and switched back to pouting. “It’s funny! Besides, no one will know I’m actually Spider-Man!”

You squinted at him. “You’re literally wearing the suit that Tony Stark gave you. Who else has a suit like that?”

Peter’s eyes flitted to look at anything but you as he began to realize you had a point. Still, after a few moments of fidgeting, he threw up his hands in snap-to-finger-guns formation at you. “Maybe I’m just really good at costumes!”

“Tony Stark good?”

“... Okay, well...” The brunette briefly deflated again and his fingers flexed at his sides, as if grasping at the air would help him grasp onto a good argument. Once he decided on something at least somewhat worth saying, you watched his entire body rev itself back up like the Energizer Bunny. He made a step towards you and began to through up his “I have an idea” hands.

You stopped him by raising your own hand. “Look, it’s absolutely wild that no one has figured it out already, especially at school. I mean, you sometimes make your web fluid while literally sitting in class.”

Peter’s already big eyes grew even wider and one hand dropped to his side again, palm-down and fingers flexed just slightly: Keep it down in Peter Mannerism Language. Despite the two of you people the only people in his apartment at the moment, he lowered his voice when he spoke next. “You noticed that?”

All energy except what was necessary to stare dumbfounded at him left your body; a you-shaped cartoon battery that was quickly draining appeared briefly in your mind’s eye. “I sit across the aisle from you, dude. You face me when you’re pouring chemicals into your desk. Like... what?”

You got a point, Peter said in Mannerism as his eyes darted away and then back to you a couple of times.

“Anyway,” you continued before he thought too hard about it, “what I mean is that yeah, maybe you won’t get caught, or whatever, but... trashy homemade costumes are like our Halloween thing, man! You, me, MJ, Ned! Some really sucky safety scissors, some really cheap foam, some glitter glue for some reason even though none of us ever use it--”

Peter interjected, “Ned used his to paint his nails that one time.”

“--and you got me there,” you admitted with a waggle of your finger. “But at least when you dressed up as Iron Man for the past, what, eight years? You would remake the costume every year. Now look at us.”

You halfheartedly gestured towards the mirror propped up against Peter’s dresser. When the two of you looked, your reflections stared back. Even when he wasn’t doing something heroic in the suit, your best friend looked a little foreign to you. He looked and felt like a superhero, and maybe that’s what really upset you; he was a hero and there you were, standing next to him in a plastic chest plate that costed five bucks at Walmart and the tattered red shower curtain that you’d saved when your parent bought a new one a few months back.

Except, you realized immediately after, Pete is literally a superhero and he deserves to feel good about it. And I should be proud of him instead of being a jackass.

“What?”

You blinked and met Peter’s eyes in the mirror. “What?”

“You mumbled something,” he clarified. You stared as a smile pulled at the corners of his lips but he didn’t have a poker face that was nearly as good as yours; the smile won over only seconds later. “Something about being a hero?”

You felt your cheeks warm as embarrassment began rearing its head but you hid it with a roll of your eyes and playful jab to your friend’s ribs. “Not important. Wear your super suit. You earned it, it’s only fair. I just get worried, you know.”

Peter nodded, then fell back into thought again as he rubbed his side, mostly out of habit than because you had actually hurt him. Then, suddenly, he was throwing his arm around your shoulders in a squishy side-hug that caught you so off guard that you almost stumbled. His strength was still something that he was coming into, even after all this time.

“Ah, careful!” you yelped, then pinched his arm in retaliation. “I don’t have the Spider Tingle like you do.”

“Never.” Peter said, all too seriously. “Never say Spider Tingle.”

There was a mini stare-down. Peter, warning you. You, daring him to stop you. Staring led to squinting. Squinting led to eyebrow movements, which led to weird faces and both of you breaking into a giggle fit.

When you calmed yourselves, Peter released you from the side-hug and picked at his suit a bit. “You are right, though. I probably shouldn’t risk it and the Garbage Brigade is tradition.”

You agreed sagely, “Meaningful, sacred tradition.”

The two of you chuckled again, then Peter went on, “And what kind of friend would I be to break such tradition? If I’m gonna dress up as Spider-Man, I could at least use my first suit to be a little... more casual.”

The first suit? As in your favorite Spidey suit? As in the sweatshirt and the ski mask and the weird goggles and the--?

“No one would expect Spider-Man to go back to wearing his blue athletic pants, huh?” Peter added, confirming you suspicions of the suit, looking at you to see what you thought about this idea.

You stared back. “Pete, do you still have your first Spidey suit?”

He nodded. “Mhm. Yes. Why?”

“Pete.”

“Yes.”

“Pete.”

“Yes.”

“Peter.”

“Yes.”

“Peter Parker.”

“Yes, [Y/N] [L/N].”

You walked right up to him, planted a hand on either side of his face, and stared deeply into his eyes. “Peter.”

“Yes...?” Peter said, now unsure of what to do.

“Pete, please,” you said, “Life or death situation. Right now. I need you... to wear the Trash Panda Spider-Man suit.”

[checkingoutforheroes]

B.A.B.Y PROTOCOL.

Part 2.

Avengers x fem!reader 

Pt.1

Words: 1892

Synopsis: This takes place in Avengers: Age of Ultron. When The Avengers were at the rock bottom, Nick Fury and advised by Maria Hill, to initiate the B.A.B.Y Protocol. Will a young, damaged and broke girl agree to this initiative and help a team to save this planet earth?

Main Masterlist 

Maria and Fury bring you to The Avengers tower for mission briefing and meet the rest of the team. To be honest, you are beyond excited you see the building. You move from your seat to another, looking out of the window, facing the tower. Maria looks at you at the rear view mirror, seeing your awe face and smile. “If you open that window, I might’ve mistaken you with a dog.” You ignore her comment and ask them “Is this S.H.I.E.L.D? You guys work here? You build this place papa Bear? This is taller than I thought it would be!”

Fury look at you and then Maria “Now she’s excited.” Maria answer your question. “That is Avengers tower. S.H.I.E.L.D no longer exist. Burn to the ground.” You didn’t keep up about them after left the agency so you don’t know what happened. “What happened? Did this moody papa Bear show his emotion through action?” You let out a small laugh until Fury annoyed “Once again you call my name other than Fury, I’ll burn you too.” “Nahh, you’re not going to burn me. You need me. Otherwise, I’m not in this car right now. I said to him and Maria drive through the parking basement. “She got you, boss.”

Fury walk ahead to their meeting room. You stop your track when you see an aquarium placed at the wall. You never see something like that before in your life. When Maria realize that you are not walking behind her, she turns back to get you. “What are you doing?” “Looking at these fish in an aquarium stuck on the wall. How they do that? How they going to feed the fish? Rich people shit, quite awesome.” You said and Maria just shake her head. “We have a world crisis and the first thing you did is watch the fish?! Are you kidding me? Let’s go meat the team.”

 Meanwhile Fury already told the team about a new protocol or whatever. You didn’t hear that clearly until you are inside the room. Fury talk to them. “Since all of you are here, including Maximoff, I have a new protocol that you can use.” Steve looking confusing at Fury. “We already made a plan.” Tony interrupt to teasing Steve “Yeah and a good ted talk by the captain too.” Natasha asking about the protocol. “Do we know about the protocol?” Fury take a seat “No, Romanoff. No one knows about this protocol except Agent Hill. This protocol was created to help the team when in need, and this team clearly need it right now.” Steve ask him. “What protocol is that?” Natasha looking at Clint and he shrug. “B.A.B.Y PROTOCOL.” Tony just laugh while Steve have a serious face looking at him. “I’m sorry. That’s kinda funny name for a protocol.” Maria open the door and you both going in. All eyes on you and you feeling slightly nervous. How can you not, they are The Avengers! You recognize all of their face except one person wearing black dress and red cardigan.  

Fury introduce you to the team. “Right on time. Avengers, I introduce you B.A.B.Y PROTOCOL, as in Best Associate By Yours truly.” Maria added “Also, we call her Baby.” They are quiet and shock appear in their faces except two people. Natasha and Clint. They go greet you. “Baby!” Natasha walks to hug you while Tony look at you two weird. “Nat! Omg, I miss you. Clint! Miss you too!” You hug Clint and he hold your head. “Well, she grows up.” “Yeah, with some food and water, I did. Man, you’re old.” You said to him and Natasha smile “Kids growing, Barton.” “Natasha, beautiful as always. You have to drop your skin care routine, sis.” Tony interrupt the moment “You both knew her? Fury, you said no one know about this protocol.” Fury nods. “I said no one know about this protocol not that Romanoff and Barton didn’t know her.”

Steve starts asking question. “How old are you?” Tony interject again. “Yeah. You don’t look like a baby to me.”

             You looking back at Steve, smirk on your face. “How old are you?” Maria sign you to behave. “Baby.” Tony sit down at one of the chair. “I like this kid already!” He earns a glare from Steve and you apologizing “I’m sorry. That’s not a good first impression. I’m 22.”

“What is your name?” Damn he is a serious one.

             “People call me Baby.”

“What people didn’t call you?”

             “If they didn’t call me? Silence, I guess.” You whisper at Natasha left ear “Can I not tell them my name?” She crooks a little smile. “It’s up to you.” “I prefer being call by that name that Maria & Fury has told you or anything you want except my real name due to personal reason.” You nod and smile at them.

“Why? Dark past? Major criminal? Wanted by CIA? Interpol? MI6? Ugly name? Kicked out of family or something?” Seriously, how can they work as a team with a guy name Tony Stark? Maria, Natasha and Clint have your back.

“She’s here to help us. Nothing else, Stark.” Maria said to him.

Natasha glare at him. “I suggest you stop right there or you’re not going to see any sunlight.”

Clint agree with them. “Leave her alone man.” Tony look guilty. “Everybody in this room has dark past. I’m just curious, not judging. She’s not alone.” Wanda tell them that he told the truth. “He’s not lying.” “Thank you Wendy. Peace?” You walking toward him “No heart feeling.” You guys fist bump each other.

Steve ask again. “How do you know Barton and Romanoff?”

             “While I was in S.H.I.E.L.D Academy, which I thought a Juvenile school at first, they trained me combat espionage. Since that’s the only thing on my expertise. I wish to have Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz brain though. They’re genius in bio-chem and engerneering.”

“Why you thought it was juvenile at first? You commit crime?”

             “Duh.” Both you and Tony said it at the same time and again “JINX!” Natasha look at Steve. “Relax captain, all of us commit crime back then.” “I didn’t” Tony look at him. “Are you sure about that?” “What do you mean Stark?” Steve ask and he say “You literally cheated your medical checkup to join the army.” “I did it to protect our country.” Steve said and Clint chuckle “Still crime.” Fury tell Maria to handle the briefing and he’s out. You ask where is he going? “Where is he going?” “He have another thing to do Baby.”

             “I know most of you but I don’t think I know or seen you, Mr. ?” You ask and Natasha introduce him. “That is Dr. Bruce Banner.”

             You shake his hand. “Nice to meet you. What did you do?”

Bruce seems like to hesitate to answer that. “You didn’t know? New York?”

             “Alien? Chitauri?” You ask him back innocently.

“Um. I’m, the big green guy.” He anxiously answers that.

             “An ogre! Wow, that is so cool!” Clint hold my shoulder. “The other green, buddy.” “Oh, I know. I’m sorry, I forgot your ogre name is Shrek. Still cool though. I watch all of his movies when I was a kid. Maybe we can watch it again sometimes.”

Bruce look at Natasha and then back at you. “That’s, not me either, but yeah, we can watch that, big green cartoon sometimes.” Tony finally tell you who he is. “You seriously don’t remember who broke New York kid? He’s The Hulk!” Bruce looks down and tilt his head to look at Tony. “Yes. I’m that! Thank you for bringing back memory, Tony!”

             You feel guilty for not remember that. “Gosh, I’m so sorry. But hey, New York already broken before you broke it. Can I have a selfie? You’re incredible.” You snap the picture before he even answers. Tony said something “I’m literally right here. The coolest guy in the group.” You turn your head to the girl in black dress, red cardigan. “And you are?”

She answers with a thick accent “Wanda Maximoff.”

             “You’re not from here? You have an accent just like Nat. Well, once she’s mad at me during training years ago.” You remember the detail and Natasha rolls her eyes at you. “That is one time. I slipped.” “Human make mistakes sis. You aren’t machine.”

“I just got here yesterday. I made a mistake. Wrong judgement, I want to make it right. I join them.” She explains and you currently melting, just to hear he talk. You want her to talk more so you can hear her talk. Thing is, you didn’t know that she can read mind. Where is that accent came from? Russian? You ask those questions in your head. “From Sokovia.”

             “Where are you from? What? I just ask-“

Maria answer my question. “She’s a telekinesis, energy manipulation and some kind of neuroelectric interfacing.” “Huh?” You don’t even know what that is and Maria make it simple for you. “Telepathic.” You turn to look back at her. “That is so awesome!” Tony huff at your statement. “Yeah, until she’s in your head.” She just looking down “I’m sorry.”

 Right after she said that, Thor, God of Thunder walk into the room and tell about the scepter. You are amazed and suddenly you bend the knee. “Oh. My. God. You’re Thor!” He looks back at you. “and you tiny female human.” “You. Are. the God of Lightning! I am a fan! No. I’m an air-conditioner.” He smiling, feeling proud. “Thank you, tiny human lady. It’s God of Thunder, actually. What’s an air-conditioner?”

Maria gives us final brief. “You guys might want to prepare something for tomorrow. We’re flying to Korea and find Dr. Chow tomorrow morning. Get some rest, sleep early, you guys need it.”

             You ask them a question. “Can I go back to my place, then come back? Clint can you take me?” “Yeah, I can.” Steve kind of not agree with you. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” “Why? I need to take my stuff.” “I can pick her up tomorrow.” You and Clint said and Steve ask you again. “Do you have a suit? or uniform?” You unzip your sweater and show your Donut Do It uniform. “Will, this do? Because someone decided that it was okay to give a surprise visit when I’m on my way to work.” Maria just smirking at you and Natasha smile “I don’t think that appropriate gear for the field.”

Tony offers you to stay with them at the tower. “Captain’s right. Don’t want to risk anything on the team member night before fight. Stay here, I’ve got plenty of room. Natasha can show you. They basically live here. We have spare shirts too.” You look at Wanda “You live here too?” She’s thinking about the answer. “I spend the night here.” Natasha turn you to look at her. “That’s a good idea. Just stay here tonight. Wanda’s here too.” “Natasha can show you your room, take a shower and dinner later.” Tony said. You look at Maria by the mention of dinner. She sighs “Okay, spaghetti and chicken wings.” Natasha add “And caramel pudding?” You smile at her “You remember?!” “Of course I do.” Clint jokingly say “How can she not, you guys practically sisters.”

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Thank you for spending your time reading this. Feel free to reblog or ask me anything, thank you in advance!

Part 3 is coming!

[doublerainebow]

Artist Resources (Part 1?)

This is basically just going to be a bunch of resources I have found to be useful. I can’t say that I’ve used all of them, but I’m sure they’re all worth checking out.

I’m also gonna try to put a detailed description for most of the links so you have a better idea of what you’re getting. I apologize in advance if some of them are redundant lol

(I put “Part 1″ if in the case I make another one)

~Links to Tutorials, Tips, Resources, etc~

Another Resource List -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Apparently, the post isn’t mobile-friendly, so it’s suggested to view this on Tumblr browser. Has a bunch of other links. I’ve checked out a few of them (mainly the copyright stuff lol), and it seems that some of the links may be a bit outdated. Still, it doesn’t hurt to check out the links.

Arms and Legs -- Leads to another Tumblr post. A handy tutorial on elbow and knee placement.

Art & Game Dev -- This leads to my personal playlist of a bunch of YouTube videos. Has a bunch of tutorials and interesting videos that I’ve collected over the course of a few years lol.

Blamblot -- A website that contains resources and tutorials on comic lettering. This is primarily in reference to western comics, but it doesn’t help to take a looksie.

Commission Calculator -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Helps artists to stop selling themselves short.

Comparing Heights (hikaku-sitatter) -- A height comparer for centimeters.

Comparing Heights -- A height comparer for feet and inches.

Mouth Shapes and Lip-Syncing -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Useful for... drawing mouth shapes.

Reference Angle -- Useful for when you’re trying to map out a face from an odd angle.

Soft Proofing for Printing -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Helps when you’re trying to make prints of your artwork.

Textures -- A website full of different and mostly free textures. While this website is made for 3D texturing, it can also be useful for 2D drawings. Signing up gives you 15 free credits everyday, and you can use those credits to download some textures for free.

The Models Resource -- A website of models ripped from a wide array of games.

The Spriters Resource -- A website of sprites ripped from a wide array of games.

The Textures Resource -- A websites of textures ripped from a wide array of games. 

~Links to Stock Images~

Please check out whatever policies they may have for their images before using them!

(not sure if any of them are active anymore as I followed some of these accounts a long time ago when I used to be more active on Deviant Art lol)

adorkastock (formerly senshistock)

anatoref -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Has a bunch of hand photo references

charligal-stock

HumanAnatomy4Artist -- Does contain nudity

null-entity

PhelanDavion

RobynRose

~Links to Other Artists~

Akihito Yoshitomi -- Yoshitomi is a mangaka who has tutorials on manga making. He also has an insightful series in which he drafts and draws a 30-page manga in 18 days. Remember that every artist works differently and his process may be different from another’s.

Drawfee -- Drawfee is an improv drawing show of four artists: Nathan Yaffe, Jacob Andrews, Julia Lepetit, and Karina Farek. While they don’t have tutorials in a sense, their videos explain the different processes they go through as they draw. They also occasionally provide tips, tricks, and resources in their videos. They do have another channel and a Twitch channel where they host drawing classes in addition to other fun shenanigans.

EtheringtonBrothers -- Has a bunch of useful and eye-catching tutorials called “How to Think When You Draw”.

Mark Crilley -- Mark is a comic artist, specializing in manga, who has a bunch of tutorials about anatomy, perspective, comic making, and other things.

Miyuli -- Miyuli is an artist who posts tutorials on their Twitter. Their tutorials range from anatomy to clothing to other things. They even have a few books of art tips. Currently (as of the time of posting this), their 2018 version is free for download, so I highly recommend you download that. Some tips may be outdated, but they should still be helpful.

Whyt Manga (Twitter/YouTube) -- Odunze is a comic artist, specializing in manga, that has a bunch of tutorials on manga making and drawing characters of color.

~Links to Free Programs~

Blender -- A free 3D program if you’re into 3D modeling and such. I also personally haven’t used Blender (I use Maya lol), but I know it’s a respectable program.

Krita -- A free painting program if you can’t afford Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint. I personally haven’t used Krita, but I have recommended it to a few friends and they have positive reviews about it.

Paint Tool SAI -- Okay, this one isn’t free, but it’s a significantly cheaper painting program where you don’t have to pay a subscription. It’s 5,500JPY (~50 USD). I’m not sure how well it still works on modern computers (the last update was 2016), but I still use it here and there because I love the pen tool feature it has, and it still works like a charm for me.

~General Tips From Raine~

Raine admits that she’s guilty of not following her own advice, but Raine hopes that the tips that she does know will be beneficial to someone who will follow them. She’s also going to keep all her tips under the cut so as to not make this post a huge wall of text (even though it technically already is lol)

Also, if you have some resources, tutorials, tips yourself, please feel free to send them to me and maybe I’ll make a part 2 to this post!

ALWAYS LOOK FOR REFERENCE. This should really go without saying. You can’t draw from life if you refuse to observe life itself.

If you can’t find the exact thing you need, MAKE YOUR OWN REFERENCE. Time and time again, I can’t find something exactly that I need. So instead, what I do is that I take pictures of my own reference. Sometimes I even grab a friend and take pictures of them doing whatever it is I need.

Have a mirror handy when you’re drawing. Sometimes what you need is actually right there in front of you.

Having trouble drawing something? Do some studies. Take the time to understand what it is you’re drawing. I can’t remember the exact story, but I heard that the people who were working on Tarzan were having a hard time drawing his hands. So, what they did was spend a few hours looking at hands to try and understand how they work.

IT’S OKAY TO STUDY THE ART OF OTHER ARTISTS. Just as we look to the old masters as a reference, it’s definitely okay to look at modern-day artists for reference. Just don’t go copying exactly everything that they do, or worse, trace what they do. Just don’t do it... at all.

Not every line needs to be realized. The viewer of your work will automatically connect the dots.

DO NOT TRASH YOUR OLD DRAWINGS. Please, never ever do this. Your old drawings have value to them, even if they look terrible to you. Old drawings may hold ideas for things you could do for the future. They also serve as a way to see how far you’ve come as an artist.

GETTING BETTER AT DRAWING TAKES TIME AND EFFORT. You’re not gonna get better overnight. It’ll take months, or even years, to feel like you’re a competent artist, and even then, you’ll still have room for improvement.

DON’T LOOK DOWN ON YOURSELF IF YOU’RE TAKING A LONG TIME TO GET BETTER. It’ll be better for your mental health in the long run.

Alternatively, DON'T LOOK DOWN ON OTHER ARTISTS EITHER, ESPECIALLY TO MAKE YOURSELF FEEL BETTER. You know the struggles it took for you to get where you are, so don’t go putting down other people when you’ve been in their shoes once.

KEEP DRAWING. If you’re not making an effort to get better, then you’re not going to be better. I get that it’s hard to find the inspiration to draw (I’m very guilty of this), but just keep trying. It doesn’t have to be big or spectacular. You don’t even have to post it if you’re the type who likes to post their art stuff.

Try to find references from real-life. It’ll help you better understand form, lighting, shadows, etc., especially if you’re going for a more realistic kind of art style. Otherwise, finding reference from things like cartoons, anime, comics, etc. are just as good.

Try new things. Try new art mediums. Try a different art style. Switch up the way you do things. Maybe you’ll hate it, maybe you’ll like it. Who knows if you don’t try.

Watch time-lapses (or speed draws/speed paints) of other artists!

Pinterest and Google are your friends if you need tutorials or references or whatever.

If you’re offering commissions, DO NOT WORK UNDER YOUR LOCAL MINIMUM WAGE. You are literally devaluing the work you actually put into a piece.

I like to think I’m an aficionado of Photoshop, so feel free to ask me questions on how to achieve something! I’ve used Photoshop for about 11 years now and know my way around the program. On another note, I do recommend setting custom keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop because the default shortcuts are terrible (in my opinion), and because having custom shortcuts increases the speed of your workflow.

Because I’ve been seeing this a lot lately in Twitter, you’re never too old to start in art. Art is just one of those things that anyone can pick up at any age because the only thing you really need to get good in art is time, diligence, and patience.

Try not to post hi-res images of your artwork to prevent art stealers from selling your artwork in high resolution.

Always, always, always add your signature and watermark on your artwork. I like to add my signatures and watermarks in places that’ll be hard to erase or crop out. I’ve also seen people add their signatures and watermarks in creative ways (ex. on a character’s shirt). You need to protect your work in an era where people will just blatantly steal it and make profit off your work.

Tag List

@reality-is-often-disappointing

[astro-rain]

delicate; b.barnes

chapter seventeen - “wouldn’t dream of it”

delicate masterlist

word count: 4.7k

synopsis: reader has a strange dream that ends up bringing on a cascade of various events and feelings.

pairings: bucky barnes x fem!reader

A/N: feel free to drop any opinions/thoughts/predictions below (or in my asks if u wanna be anonymous!!)

She would have woken up from a night's sleep saturated with regret... if she had slept a wink. She spent the night tossing and turning, and at about five in the morning, the pursuit of rest was abandoned.

Forcefully and exasperatedly, she sat straight up, glaring at the clock and letting the blanket pool around her waist. Y/N had her weekly meeting with Shuri at nine o'clock... that meant four hours to kill. More like four more hours of trudging through thoughts, memories, questions, and fears surrounding the previous day. Four more hours of ruminating over Bucky Barnes. This seemed to become a reoccurring activity her life.

She stared at the wall, thinking about how before, there was at least the excuse of being drunk: maybe not completely knowing what she was doing, maybe not remembering something correctly. But they were sober this time... she was sober. And what struck her was that, when it happened, when he kissed her, there was no moment of initial startle. There was no surprise jerk back or woah-what-are-you-doing response. Their bodies just fell into form. She just fell into form. Like it was an instinct. Like they were both used to it, and had done it a number of times before.

She wasn't sure what shocked her more: the fact that he kissed her or the fact that she kissed him back. Was he being bold? Or did she lead him on? Had she been leading him on? He wouldn't have done it on his own account, right? She had a degree of difficulty in believing she was wanted. Truly.

She could've sworn that she wasn't this emotionally invested. She could've sworn that if she couldn't control what she was feeling, she could at least control what she was doing. She rubbed her eyes, wondering where she went so wrong. It probably happened at some point during the isolated time she had been spending with Bucky in a secret corner of the world, not minding the least bit that she had been away from home and work for months whilst working on a project hardly anyone else was even aware of.

Even with all this in mind, she didn't seem to care. She didn't really mind that she hadn't been home in ages, it didn't really bother her that she might be in trouble when she gets back for helping enemy of the state Sharon Carter, runaway fugitive Steve Rogers, or war criminal James Buchanan Barnes. Because every time she thought about the consequences, it just didn't seem to matter more than what was keeping her in Wakanda... Besides, she guessed Bucky would probably be pardoned and after everything settled down, who would pay any attention to her? It's not like she mattered in the grand scheme.

As soon as that very thought arose, she could hear Bucky's voice scolding her in the back of her head. Why was he always there?

Frustrated, she groaned into the air in front of her. Her feelings were so confusing, she wasn't even sure what exactly it was she felt towards Bucky. On one hand, she felt fiercely protective over him: she'd go down fighting before she'd let anyone lay a hand on him, prepared to stay in his corner forever, ready on defense.

But at the same time, she felt this ineffable sense of warmth for him. Like one look at the way his eyes crinkle when he smiled, and she'd turn soft as water. Like being in his vicinity smoothed out the rough around her edges.

And if all this wasn't enough, now she had been touched by him, she had felt his lips and the gentleness in his skin. This brought a cascade of new feelings, ones she knew she had to hide. It... was definitely a problem. She knew, don't get her wrong, she knew it was a problem. As much as she understood this irrefutable fact, the numbness in her lips just wouldn't go away. He had remained with her even hours later. She couldn't get rid of his heartbeat; it was still in her hand. She could still feel him.

Basically, she knew this most recent development was an issue. She knew it was bad, wrong, worrisome, and whatever else. And knowing this, recognizing the very hot water she was in, the only thing she could focus on was trying to ignore the recurrent desire to be near him, to find him and be close to him.

"Fuck."

She plopped back down on her back and elected to cast a burning glare at the ceiling until she had to get ready for her meeting.

—

"I think it might be too hot for this," she complained with a smile on her face.

"It was your idea," he said, a few steps ahead of her, "and we're almost there, so buck up."

She laughed. He smiled at the sound.

"What?" he asked.

"You said buck up. Like Buck... Bucky. Like you."

He just looked at her, amused. Sun kissed and happy.

"It's fitting," she shrugged, grinning.

"Guess so. Hurry up, slow poke. You're gonna fall behind."

"I'm already behind," she huffed . "Your super soldier legs are too fast for me."

"Well," he stopped short and she finally caught up, standing right beside him, "we're here. So worry not."

He looked over at her to find her already looking at him. Funny how their eyes always found each other like that.

"What?" he asked again, not able to help how the corners of his mouth turned up just slightly.

"Nothin.’ Everything," she shrugged. "You."

Perhaps she just liked looking at him. Him and his long hair and light eyes. Was that such a crime? His skin looked caramelized under the sun. She wanted to reach out and touch him.

"You're a real peach, y'know that?" he smirked.

She looked away, pretending to find the grass around them spectacularly interesting while hiding a dopey smile at his compliment.

"Hey, doll face. I'm a lot more fun than the grass, I swear," he teased. "Lemme see my favorite face."

"Hold on." She got an idea.

She reached down beside her and plucked a flower from the soil.

"A little hibiscus," she smiled, tucking the small flower behind his ear. God, he was just so pretty.

She stood back, satisfied with her decor. She sighed, content. How couldn't she be? She was looking at two of the most beautiful things. Flowers and Bucky.

As soon as it was securely in place, Bucky bent down to pick the hibiscus that sat right next to the one Y/N chose. Mirroring her actions, he placed it behind her ear.

"A little hibiscus," he repeated fondly, "for a real peach!"

She didn't dare try to hide the next dopey grin while taking in the sight before her, of Bucky beaming in the sunlight with a flower in his hair. Looking at this, she understood why mankind began to paint. Why there needed to be someway to capture something as precious as this, some method of preserving something so idyllic and beautiful and pure and perfect.

Perfect like the cool, fresh water of the lake. Their lake. Their place. The flowing, breathing water she felt around her waist. They floated around, her and Bucky, as light as air in that lake.

The two were weightless, adoration suspended in animation. The water preserved the feeling of feather light kisses and chests pressed together and hands beginning to roam. If only she could be closer to him. Her fingers in his hair and his palms on either side of her face wasn't enough. She needed more. More, more, more of him.

Skin is so soft and the sun is so warm and soon enough, the water was up to her shoulders as his arms ran up her back. Arms plural, she noticed. He held her with both, protectively enclosing the longing feeling between them.

"Oh, fucking hell!" Y/N sprang up, throwing the blanket off of her.

She must've fallen asleep... and began to dream... She could imagine if her brain was a person, it'd be laughing at her for that.

Why? Why? What was the reason for this? There was no point! How frustrating! How embarrassing that her mind betrayed her with dreams of him.

"God damn it," she swore under her breath.

She wanted to angrily shake her fist in the air like vengeful cartoon character, as she got out of bed and headed towards her wardrobe.

It was 8 a.m. One hour until her meeting with Shuri. She would spend the time changing her outfit until it was distracting enough to draw her attention away from thoughts of that damn lake... and his damn hands...

—

"My friend!" Shuri greeted in her usual upbeat manner. "How are you? How are things?"

There was absolutely no way to answer this honestly.

"I'm doin' well. Same old, same old. How 'bout you?"

"Good as always," she smiled. "Thank you."

Y/N took a seat at one of the tables in Shuri's lab. "So how is T'Challa doing with Nakia?"

"Oh, who knows these days! He is so awkward, I have no idea!"

They both laughed. Y/N was glad she and Shuri were able to talk like this. They weren't just robotic colleagues who only communicated when they needed to. They were partners, and they worked well together.

The meeting commenced like it did every other week. Updates on Bucky's progress, new ideas or adjustments to treatment or planning, going over scans or data, you name it. But this time, she had something else in mind. Something that a dream reminded her of. She had mentioned maybe getting her hands on a prosthetic for Bucky. She wasn’t familiar with the prosthetics industry in Wakanda, but they could probably make something work.

Was that too much? Did she care too much? Was she showing too much regard for him? Was this too much to ask of her?

"Hey, remember a couple weeks ago when I talked about prosthetics?"

"Of course," Shuri smiled. She genuinely enjoyed her partner - her partner who was intelligent, confident, and articulate but still sometimes sounded shy. "You wanna see what I've been working on?"

"You... you ordered one? I didn't-"

"Oh, no. Not ordered. Just you wait," she said, pulling out a drawer to dig amongst papers. "I've been workin' my magic."

Shuri pulled out a manilla folder that had W.W. - Proj. 1 printed on it.

She dropped the folder in front of the psychologist who sat across from her, gesturing for her to look through it. Y/N opened it to see several pages of prosthetics research, information on cybernetics and various designs for a bionic arm.

"Oh... wow." Y/N marveled.

"What do you think?"

"It's incredible," Y/N shook her head. "I didn't- ... I thought you meant you bought one or something. I didn't know you designed one"

"I didn't just design it. I made it."

"You- what?"

"Yep. First model ready for use. Do you want to see it?"

"I'd love to."

Shuri walked her over to a large, rectangular case in the side of the lab.

"Holy shit," she let slip.

The arm was astounding: a glossy black with ridges etched in a shiny gold. It glimmered, sitting in its casing.

Shuri laughed. Thank you."

"Sorry. Excuse my French. This is... remarkable. Can I give it to him?"

"I suppose so. It hasn't got much use just sitting in my lab."

Excitement grew in her chest. Bucky would be able to have an arm he was in control of, one that wasn't forcefully attached to him and used as a weapon. In a way, he would be gaining a sense of autonomy. God, she wanted to see him right away and tell him the news. She was happy to make Bucky happy.

"Oh," Shuri perked her head up. "And there was something else I wanted to talk to you about."

"Yeah, what's up?"

"You're aware of the trigger words, correct?"

"Of course."

"I'm close to fully deconstructing the mind control, but there's no way to know for sure unless we test it out..."

Oh. The excitement dissipated and her stomach dropped. She didn't mean...

"You don't mean..."

"The effect and response of the words needs to be tested on him."

Oh God. There was no way this would be easy.

"And you need to be the one to do it."

Fuck.

"Me?" she tried to hide her shock, her worry, her now overwhelming urge to protect him. "How come?"

"It seems like he trusts you most out of everyone here. I consulted with the Doras about safety and we think that if something were to go wrong, it'd be safest to happen with you. Of course they'll be nearby, but you'd be the one mostly likely to be able to control him in that state."

Her mouth went dry. Control him? She could never. She would never. She knew, in depth, the anguish he carried in his bones as a result of being trapped as a weapon wielded by other people. The thought of her controlling him made her skin crawl.

She knew how much he feared the Winter Soldier and how he would hate losing touch with himself again. He's been free from this kind of violation for a while now; she had very much rather not take that freedom away.

At the same time, she understood how this test was necessary for a full recovery and rehabilitation. And who knows if the words will even work? Maybe she'll say them and nothing will even happen.

He would have to get over this obstacle in order to make it to the other side clean. She could only imagine how scary this would be for him. But she'd be damned if she wasn't going to be right there with him.

"Okay," she said dryly. "When... when are we gonna do this?"

"Not yet but soon. I'll keep you updated."

The rest of the meeting carried on as usual, but Y/N might as well have not even been there. Her mind was off. Off somewhere trying to think of how to tell Bucky the news. The very last thing in the world she wanted to do was hurt him. She'd take his place if she could.

—

As soon as she was free from the calm, professional facade she had going with Shuri, she found herself speed walking back to where Bucky was. She needed to get to him. Now.

When his hut was in sight, she was nervous. She was nervous before, she supposed. She just wanted everything to be okay.

"Buck," she called, a few steps away from the entryway. "I need to talk to you!"

When she stepped inside she froze in place, staring blankly at the two super soldiers in front of her instead of the one she expected. Two as in Bucky and Steve.

"Y/N," Bucky stood up. He sounded surprised.

"Oh-uh," she stuttered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I can come back later."

"That's okay," Steve's voice was gentle. "I'll leave you... to it."

Steve threw Bucky a look she couldn't quite decipher before he left. Bucky just looked panicked.

And soon enough they were alone. They stood directly in front of each other, but with a noticeably awkward amount of space between them. The tiny part of her brain that was still mulling over the dream wanted him closer.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hey..."

"You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah," she breathed. "It's uh... there's kind of a lot."

"Look, about yesterday, I-"

Oh. She completely forgot about that. Well, not completely. There was no way she could forget that. But, at the moment there were more pressing matters on her mind.

"It's not about yesterday."

"It's...not?"

"No. I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

"Uh... bad news?"

She took a steady breath in. She wasn't sure exactly how to tell him, she just knew he needed to know. He deserved nothing but the truth.

"So, I was just with Shuri and we discussed the next step in your treatment..."

He said nothing, waiting for the aforementioned "bad news." She continued.

"Apparently, we have to test the trigger words on you..."

His expression dropped and she watched all the color drain from his face.

"I know. I'm sorry. I don't wanna do it, but we have to do it to see if it's really outta your head."

"Yeah, that's the problem," he finally spoke. "What if it's not? Then I hurt someone - or multiple people. There's gotta be some other way to test it."

"You're not going to hurt anyone. Or multiple people."

"How can you say that?"

"It's just gonna be the two of us."

"What?!"

"Shuri thought the safest way of doing this was for me to conduct the test. That way, if things ever got out of hand, which is very unlikely to happen, I'd be the best bet at... handling... that situation. Since you know me the best."

"No way. There's no way. I thought you meant they were gonna strap me down and have some lab tech read them. This is way too unsafe-"

"Strap you down? Bucky, no-"

He still saw himself as an animal that needed to be contained. Muzzled.

"What if I hurt you?" his voice shook just a little.

The fear in his eyes was potent. It made her angry. Angry at Hydra and whoever the fuck else had a hand in this sin against the kind and gentle man who stood before her. The man who was genuinely scared of himself. How dare they make him feel so unsafe within his own mind, within his own body. All she wanted to do was make it better, and suddenly, she could no longer stand for the distance between them. She stepped forward and grasped his hand between both of hers.

"I trust you, Buck," she smiled a small but earnest smile, letting him know that she truly was here for him. "Entirely. I promise. Okay?"

He nodded, still reluctant and entirely scared.

"Do you trust me?" she asked.

"I do. I trust you, I do," he cast his glance downwards, almost in shame. "It's myself I don't trust."

Her chest twisted with an emotion difficult to place. Mostly, it was the desire to take every ounce of pain away. She wished she could just snap her fingers and make it fade into nothing.

"That's okay," she said.

He looked back up at her, confused.

"You don't have to trust yourself. That's hard enough as it is and Hydra didn't make it any easier. You just trust me, alright? I'm the one reading the words, so, even though I'd hate it, if you were to be... activated... you'd be listening to me not trying to fight me," she squeezed his hand. "And I will not let anything happen to you."

"I'm not worried about me..."

She knew. She was not stupid; she knew that Bucky was separate from the Winter Soldier and that theoretically, the Winter Soldier - and only the Winter Soldier - had the potential to hurt her. She wasn't blind to the dangers, but she also wasn't blind to the fact that there was no exact science to brainwashing. Whos to say nothing could ever seep through the programming? She knew what happened with Bucky when he was forced to fight Steve for the first time. How it changed him.

Even though the Winter Soldier was in there, there was more of Bucky. She knew that for sure. And she needed to make sure he knew one thing: even if the Winter Soldier was trying to claw his way back and entire world was against him, she saw Bucky and trusted Bucky and believed in Bucky. She was a constant. And she wouldn’t give up on him.

"What, you're worried about me?" she joked, lightheartedly. She took the hand she was holding and pressed it against her cheek. "This wouldn't hurt me, James Buchanan."

He sighed, feeling the warmth from her face. He did not deserve this kindness and he definitely did not trust himself despite her trust in him. Of course Bucky would never hurt her. But Bucky wasn't the Winter Soldier. And he didn't have the heart to tell her what the Winter Soldier could or would do. He didn't have the stomach to even think about what would happen if the Winter Soldier actually did something.

But there was something about the way she believed in him, the way her conviction was so strong. It made him almost start to doubt these feelings. He could never be sure of everything being okay, but at least he could be sure of her.

"Okay," he whispered.

"Okay?"

"I'll do it."

"Alright," she smiled.

She removed his hand from her face, but still held onto it.

"And even if you did try to fight me, I think I could go a couple rounds in the ring with the Winter Soldier. I'm big and tough."

They both laughed knowing she had very minimal fight training.

"You'd definitely kick my ass," Bucky chuckled.

She just smiled. And then her eyes grew wide.

"Oh! You wanna know the good news?"

"F'course."

Bucky watched her briefly disappear through the entryway before returning with a big, rectangular case. He raised an eyebrow.

"That's good news? What is it, a bomb?"

"I don't do bombs... arson only."

The look on his face made her wonder if he actually questioned whether or not she was serious. She fought laughter as she opened the case. It was silent for a moment. Y/N looked at him, waiting for a reaction.

"Is that... for me?"

"All yours, Buck. A favor I asked of Shuri."

She told him about the arm. Told him about Shuri's design, and the features and functionality. She didn't mention what made her think to ask Shuri, but that surely wasn't important.

"It's really cool, and like super sleek and badass. But more importantly, it will make you feel more... I don't wanna say regular 'cause nothing about you is regular," a shy smile slipped. "But more... how you're used to having your body feel and function."

"That's..." he shook his head before looking up and making dauntingly deliberate eye contact. "Thank you. For thinkin' of me. I mean it. I hope it wasn't too much trouble for her to make it."

"Nothin's too much trouble, Bucky. You're worth it."

"You're a real peach, y’know that?"

Suddenly she looked abashed. Did he say something wrong?

"Sorry- I didn't-"

"No, it's okay. I just got a weird sense of déjà vu. Don't worry about it."

He looked at her like he didn't quite believe her, but she tried not to think too hard about it.

"So..." Bucky gestured towards the arm. "...what do we do with this?"

"You wanna try it on?"

His brows shot up. "Oh! I mean- sure- I guess so, yeah."

She tried to pick it up and nearly threw her back out. "Jesus!"

"Woah there, tiger," he withheld a laugh, putting a hand under the vibranium arm to hold most of its weight.

"Okay, sit down," she ordered, both of them fumbling to hold onto the arm. "Shuri told me how to get the arm on. There's some... magnetic thing. I don't even know - it was some complex engineering lingo. Not my field."

After a couple minutes, clumsy hands attempting awkward assembly, and several curse words later... the arm was attached. They both stood as Bucky stuck out the bionic arm, admiring it and Y/N leaned back, admiring him. Wow.

Bucky smiled, holding both his forearms out - palms facing up - to see how they moved. "This is incredible."

He turned to her. "You're incredible. Thank you."

"No problem at all," she stepped forward. "How does it feel?"

Her hands found their way below his, cupping the underneath of them with a feather light touch. "How do you feel?"

"More... balanced," he laughed. "Coordinated?"

"Steady?"

"Absolutely."

"Stronger?"

"Definitely."

She looked up at him. "Confident? More comfortable in your own skin? That's what's most important."

He gripped her hands. "For sure. Thanks to you."

"Glad I could help. Just wanna make you feel more like yourself, you know?"

"I feel the most like myself when I'm with you," he nearly whispered.

He smiled, and then did something... unexpected. He let go of one of her hands and with the other, he twirled her around as if they were dancing. She went along with the movement, body falling in sync it even though she was confused.

"You make me wanna dance again."

With his voice so endearing, and his heart so spirited, the world around them fell quiet. She stepped forward and rested her hand on his shoulder. Then she placed one of his hands on her waist, and held the other out to the side, fingers intertwined with hers. And oh, the feeling of his hands on her; it was nearly overwhelming.

"Then dance."

And they swayed. They swayed to nothing, to the sweet sound of finding comfort in another person. She let her eyes flutter shut, allowed her guard to come down for just a moment. Just this moment. With him.

Bucky broke the silence with a shy question. "So yesterday... what does that mean for-"

"Let's just keep it between us."

"What do you mean?"

"It was a moment - like this one. I think I think too much, and I may have overreacted before. It doesn't have to be some cumbersome ordeal. It's just us."

"We're good then?"

"We're good."

"Good. 'Cause I like this."

She inhaled and smiled at the feeling of him inside her lungs. They continued swaying as they continued talking.

"You were in my dream you know?"

"Was I?"

"You were."

"Could I fly?"

"No," she laughed. "You were - well we, actually, were walking to that lake."

"To swim?"

Not exactly...

"I don't know. It's kinda foggy and didn't make much sense since it was a dream but we were definitely there."

"Did I say anything existentially insightful?" he joked.

"I don't remember much of what we said, but I remember how it felt."

"How... how did it feel?"

There she went again. She could feel herself slipping, but found it hard to care. She closed her eyes, thinking back to hibiscuses and Bucky's arms.

"The water and sun on my skin felt kind of like this," her hands ran up his sides dangerously slow and settled behind his neck, finger tips tangling into the ends of his hair.

His breath faltered. "Is that so?"

Unconsciously, his other hand found her waist and somehow the little space between them grew even smaller.

"Mhm," she hummed. "and the sight of a flower in your hair felt kind of like this."

Her hands moved to cup his face, the soft skin of her palm settling on his jawline.

"It was so pretty," she sighed.

"Yeah... pretty," he agreed. But he wasn't talking about the dream or the flower.

"And... your arms and your hands... felt kind of like this."

Gently, she pulled his face down to hers, though he needed no guidance or encouragement. When their lips met, that feelings of incompletion and longing, which had been prickling the back of her mind since the previous day, finally went away. They dissolved into fingers pressing into her hips, soft stubble tickling her cheek, and the delightfully encompassing presence of him.

She wasn't sure how long it was until they separated and words were spoken again. All she really recognized what that she was out of breath.

"And to think I was going to apologize for yesterday," Bucky smirked.

"I had to return the favor."

"And I gotta make up for lost time"

"Well, please don't let me stop you."

And he didn't. They continued right where they left off, except this time, it felt much too similar to something she had felt before. Hands began to roam just like they did in her dream.

The only thing was, her dream was cut short. She had no idea how it ended. But his hands were everywhere and it was all her senses could register. He was everywhere: her lips, her neck, her collar bones. She was burning.

The air ran out of her chest, and her voice was barely a breathy sigh. "Don't stop."

She could feel his smile on her skin. "Wouldn't dream of it."

-

The next morning, she awoke entwined in his arms - both of them.

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[whump-town]

Dream A Little Dream of Me

Parings: Morgan/Hotch

This is mostly fluff (not by like sure everyone's standards but considering what I normally write this is fluff)

There’s blood on his hands and through a fog, he feels Emily’s cold fingers grab his bicep. She says his name but he can’t process the urgency for what it is. He blinks at her, confused until he follows her gaze. She’s driving like a madman, the most stable of the two of them but by no means in the state of mind to be speeding down a highway following an ambulance. And that’s what he sees when he figures out what it is she’s showing him. The fog cuts out, he’s too aware. Everything is crystal clear.

The lights keep cycling, red and white bouncing around the darkness. Casting eerie shadows along the dark green trees.

But the siren is gone. The shrill call out into the dark is silent.

The emergency quickly moving from dire to futile. From saving a life to delivering a body.

Derek wakes up alone, chest covered in a cold sweat. His right hand sweeps out in front of him, nothing but cold sheets where Aaron should be. His heart is beating so hard that it hurts, he can’t catch his breath. Throwing the blankets off of his legs Derek pulls himself up out of bed. He’s weak, head fog, and limbs laden as he stumbles forward.

“Aaron?” he calls to the dark bathroom. No one’s in there. The door is open and the lights are off but the useless hope that someone might be in there is enough to make him ask anyways. He opens the bedroom door, follows the night light in the hall to the living room. Heart kicking up harder, his pulse creeping up to his face. Making his body tense and hot.

He nearly falls to the floor when he gets to the living room. To the TV glowing bright cartoonish colors over Jack and Aaron’s bodies curled up onto the couch.

“Papa,” Jack whispers around the thumb in his mouth.

Aaron is asleep, head tilted back and mouth open. He looks sickish pale, body not adjusted to his most recent trauma. He’s weak and achy from the blood loss -- hardly able to keep food down from the sudden increase of medications that they’ve put him on. He’s on antihistamines until they get the all-clear and coupled with the painkillers he’s rarely awake. The small moments Derek can get out of him are drowsy, he’s disoriented and needs help with every menial task. Can’t even walk without Derek holding him upright, guiding him, and reminding him over and over where they’re going.

“Taking care of daddy?” Derek asks.

Jack nods, a proud little smile hooked to the side by his thumb. “He was getting a sw’ink.” He’s missing all four of his front teeth, so a lot of his words these days have unique little sounds to them. Harder to pronounce those sounds without the proper tools. It’s adorable. Derek loves every second of it and it’s his favorite thing when he and Aaron just crawl into bed at night and repeat the words back to one another.

Tonight he didn’t hear Aaron get out of bed. It’s a conversation they’ll have to have later hushed and angry, Aaron will make it about autonomy when really it’s just guilt. He knows he has to rely on Derek more but how can he wake him up in the middle night after keeping him up for hours? When he’s the one doing all the running around? Setting alarms for an endless supply of medications and having to rake a rag to Aaron’s hair because he still can’t shower. He’s exhausted and Aaron can make it to the kitchen on his own.

But it’s really not that simple.

“A drink,” Derek smirks but he can’t put forth the amount of amusement his tone should reflect. Aaron got up because he was in pain. There’s nothing else that would move him from that bed but pain. “Did you help daddy get a drink?”

Jack nods.

“That’s good.” Derek squats down by the couch, opening his arms and smiling when Jack comes to him without prompting. “Why don’t you go climb into our bed?” He kisses the side of Jack’s head, smiling and feeling himself relax. Jack clings to his neck, presses his face into Derek’s chest. “I’m going to get daddy and we’ll be back in a second, okay?” It’s the perfect bait and Jack doesn’t need to be told twice. “Okay,” Derek plants Jack on his feet. Watching him stumble off in the direction of their bedroom.

With a groan from his knees, Derek stands back up.

The danger is not a new part of the job. From the very beginning, it’s been a none negotiable but sometimes it’s easy to feel comfortable. To think yourself above it and Derek’s been painfully reminded that he isn’t. That this job will take more than you give and still rob you of everything good.

Derek can still feel Aaron’s blood on his face. The spray of a severed artery.

“I ought to put a leash on you,” Derek whispers, a sad smile creeping back up as Aaron’s eyes flutter open. He leans down over the couch, careful to hold his own weight as he kisses Aaron. A hand on his cheek, the rough coarse hair he hasn’t shaved rubbing against the palm of Derek’s hand. “You keep wandering off.”

Aaron makes a soft sound of annoyance when Derek pulls away, unable to pull himself upright and seek out more from the kiss. His tired eyes move around the room, squinting at how harsh the light from the TV is. How violently his eyes feel assaulted by the annoyingly bright colors of the cartoon currently on. The volume is off but he can still imagine the high-pitched voices that would define each character. “Where’s Jack?” he croaks. His voice is rough, sleep clinging tightly to him.

Derek offers him a hand up -- more than a hand. “In our bed.” He needs Derek to pull him upright, supporting the shoulder that still aches fiercely with staples and stitches. He can’t even stand on his feet. Derek has to be there too to catch him around the hips and allow him a moment to blink through vertigo that tries with all its might to send him back onto the couch.

“Okay?” Derek asks and Aaron nods. His fingers feel tingly, pinpricks of pain eating at the nerves but there’s nothing to be done about that. The best solution he’s come up with is the exercises his P.T. sent him home with. Slowly moving his fingers to meet his thumb but that produces nothing but hot agony all up his arm and he only does it when Derek asks him to.

Jack thinks Hotch looks like Iron Man with all the “machinery” wrapped around his arm. He sees the blood and the bruises and he’s mostly forgiving of the situation. Irked that Hotch doesn’t pick him up and that Derek’s focus has been on keeping them all alive rather than planning long fun days at the park or, really, just anywhere fun.

They look almost like a monster coming into the room but Jack hears them mumbling back and forth and eases back onto the bed. Waiting eagerly to be held and excited to sleep in their bed. It’s more comfortable than his and it’s giant and with his face pushed into Hotch’s pillow, Jack falls asleep. He wakes up when Hotch sits down on the corner of the bed, watching them both in the low light of the room as they whisper to one another.

It’s everything, a moment Jack will cling to well into his adult life. A measure of love, so warm and tender. The comfort of that heavy blanket over his body and the familiar weight of Derek’s fingers moving over his hair. “Scoot over for me, baby.” And Jack never gets the chance, he’s picked up. Yawning against Derek’s chest as he’s moved to the other side of the bed, giving his father more room to lay down. And he watches them, sleepy eyes hardly able to make them out.

“You’re so fucking stubborn,” Derek mumbles but it lacks all malice.

Aaron smiles and eases back, grunting at the way it pulls on his back. It takes him a moment to shift around and he tenses up, holds his breath through a wave of pain. Derek picks his injured hand up, moving quickly but gently to move a pillow up behind Aaron’s side. Using it to hold the weight of his arm.

“Better?” Derek whispers and Aaron nods his head, eyes still pinched shut.

Jack wiggles closer and mirrors Derek. He leans close and whispers, “better, daddy?”

Aaron looks over at Jack, their faces so close they could knock foreheads. “I’m cozy,” he whispers, “are you cozy?”

Jack nods, “I am cozy. Are you cozy, Papa?”

Derek yawns as he climbs into the bed. He curls up beside Jack, throws an arm over him, and tangles his legs over with Aaron’s. “Oh yeah,” he answers. “Goodnight.”

“Don’t let the bed bugs bite,” Jack whispers, nudging Derek a little to remember their nightly ritual. Jack won't go to bed unless he says that, it's just as important as the nightlight in the hall and Aaron reading "Where The Wild Things Are".

He can't even remember where it started but Derek smiles and repeats, “yeah… don’t let the bed bugs bite.”