#jesus i miss him he was sweet and a short king... it was adorable.

[chl3borzoi]

Okay... i had a detailed dream about reuniting with a man i dated prior who was a short king who i enjoyed very much that ended unfortunately years ago. We had a happy embrace and were happy to be together.

[bokutokoutarou]

@bitesizedgarbage​ asked: Head canons about the bois reaction to their s/o showing up at their doorstep at 2 in the mcfreakin morning. You know the bois love. And you know them well. :3

hehe ofc i do ;)

warning - everything is sfw but kuroo’s part is kind of suggestive oops

⌜ •   °    +   °   •   ⌝

WHEN THEIR S/O SHOWS UP AT THEIR DOORSTEP AT 2 IN THE MORNING

— including tsukishima, daichi, kuroo, sugawara, akaashi & bokuto

masterlist

☆。*。☆。 Tsukishima Kei

His window was open, so he darted out of bed the moment he heard your voice shouting “Kei...Kei...Kei”

“Are you insane?” he asked you, opening the door to reveal himself in a baggy sweatshirt and boxers. “It’s two in the freaking morning — you’re going to wake up my whole street”

“A-are those dinos on your boxers?” you asked him, staring at the tiny green dinosaurs scattered all over the material of his shorts

“Uh, n-no...” he stuttered, his face turning bright red

They totally were

He felt like the biggest asshole on the planet when you broke down and told him that you had a fight with your parents and didn’t know where else to go

He gave you one of his sweatshirts to change into and he set up the couch for you to sleep on, but five minutes later he heard a knock at his bedroom door

“Kei...I’m sorry for bothering you, but it’s really dark and I’m kind of—“

“Come here” he told you, and within seconds you were curled up next to him. But after a couple of minutes, you two gave up on trying to sleep and ended up watching Jurassic Park together

“Do you want to watch the next one?” he asked you when the movie ended, but he let out a quiet laugh when he saw that you had fallen asleep on his chest

“Goodnight, stupid,” he smirked, pulling you closer to his chest before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep

Your boyfriend may be cold at times, but he does have a heart, and it only beats for you

☆。*。☆。 Daichi Sawamura

Daichi is so overprotective, so upon finding you at his doorstep at two in the morning, he immediately pestered you with a thousand questions at once

“Are you okay?”

“Are you hurt?”

“Did you walk here by yourself? That’s not sa—”

“Relax Daichi,” you interrupted your boyfriend, letting out a light laugh at his overprotective antics. “I’m only here because I can’t sleep”

“Oh,” he rubbed the back of his neck before breaking out into laughter. “Well why didn’t you just say so? Come in”

He grabbed you by the hand and guided you to the living room. “Here, just let me set up the couch and—”

“I kind of wanted to be beside you...” you bit your lip in embarrassment. Daichi was such a gentleman that he hadn’t even caught onto the fact that you didn’t come over to merely sleep on his couch

“Oh...” Daichi turned red, but his lips immediately curled up into a soft grin. “Sorry, I should have known”

It wasn’t long before you were snuggled up beside your boyfriend on his bed, your head on his chest and his hand rubbing small circles on your back

“Sweet dreams, [Y/N],” he whispered upon seeing you fast asleep on his chest, and he pressed a soft kiss to the top of your hair

With the soft melody of his heart beating against your ear, and the warm feeling of his arms wrapped around you, it was safe to say that you never slept better in your life

☆。*。☆。 Kuroo Tetsurou

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Kuroo smirked upon swinging open the door and seeing you. “Couldn’t fall asleep because you were thinking about me?”

“Jesus Christ, Tetsu,” you sighed. “I had a fight with my parents”

“Oh...”  his smirk fell from his face. “Well, uh, come on in”

He brought you upstairs to his room and tossed you one of his sweatshirts for you to change into. It wasn’t long before he suggested a couple of things for you two to do to take your mind off the fight...

“Tetsu, what the f-”

“I’m just kidding...” he grinned, letting out a light laugh before he bit his lip. “But my parents aren’t home, so we could if you wanted to”

“You’re such a dork,” you hit him lightly on the shoulder, and within a couple of moments you both burst out into laughter

“You know I was just playing around, right?” your boyfriend chuckled, wrapping his arms around your waist as he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. “Now come on, let’s watch a movie”

You two ended up eating nachos and watching Mean Girls in his living room (it’s his fav movie you can FIGHT me on this)

After the movie was done, you two went on an ASAP Science binge-session because he’s a total science dork and loves to watch those videos his free time (you’ll never admit that you enjoy them too though)

Maybe it progressed into something more, maybe it didn’t. Yet no matter what happened between you two, you were glad that your boyfriend was there for you when you needed him most

☆。*。☆。 Sugawara Koushi

Suga’s a light sleeper, so upon hearing you knocking on his door he got out of bed immediately

“[Y/N] ... it’s 2am,” Suga frowned, concern filling his warm brown eyes upon finding you at his doorstep. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry for waking you up, Koushi,” you apologized, “I couldn’t sleep and I...I just really miss you”

Suga.exe has stopped working

“A-are you alright,” you asked him when he didn’t respond immediately. “If you don’t want me here I can lea—”

“No, stay!” your boyfriend interrupted you, still red in the cheeks. “I missed you too”

You two didn’t end up going to sleep immediately. Instead, you ended up baking cookies (SUGA IS AN AMAZING COOK AND THAT’S A FACT), cuddling on the couch, and having a Disney movie marathon in his living room

Even though you and Suga had already seen most of the movies before, you both yelled at the screen dramatically every time a ‘plot twist’ happened

“PRINCE HANS, YOU EVIL F—”

You ended up falling asleep in Suga’s arms halfway through The Lion King, but your boyfriend didn’t go to sleep just yet

He ended up staying up all night with you on his chest, his eyes glued to the screen as he instinctively twirled your hair in his fingers

Your eyes fluttered open by the time Suga finally passed out, yet upon seeing your boyfriend sleeping angelically with his arms wrapped around your waist, you giggled softly and closed your eyes again

You ended up falling back asleep even though you weren’t tired, because the last thing that you wanted to do was to leave your boyfriend’s warm embrace

☆。*。☆。 Akaashi Keiji

Akaashi is actually sane and has a rigid sleep schedule, so needless to say, he was exhausted when you knocked on his door at 2am and interrupted it

“You’re aware that it’s two in the morning...right?” he yawned softly upon opening the front door. He didn’t even check to see if it was you — he just knew

“Yeah...” you sighed, rubbing your eyes tiredly. “I’m just too nervous to sleep. I have a big test tomorrow, and I’m really scared, and—”

“It’s okay, [Y/N],” Akaashi interrupted your nervous ramblings with a soft smile. “Just come in”

He brought you to his kitchen and made you both some tea, and although he was exhausted, he helped you go over the material you were studying.

After two hours of reviewing, you were too exhausted to function, and you were finally ready to go back home and sleep

“Thanks for helping me, Keiji,” you told your boyfriend after taking a final sip of your drink. “I think I finally feel better, I’m going to go home and—”

“Home?” your boyfriend’s tired eyes widened in surprise. “You can’t go home at this time — it’s not safe. And look at you...you’re exhausted”

“I-I’m not exhausted,” you lied, but an unintentional yawn escaped your lips at the end of your sentence. “Okay...maybe I’m a little exhausted”

You were truly drained from studying, so the next few moments were a blur. One moment you were in the kitchen, and the next moment you were snuggled up beside Akaashi on his bed, your arm draped over his torso and his arm on your back

You didn’t know how you had gotten there, but you did know that you no longer felt the need to go home, because Akaashi’s arms were your home now

☆。*。☆。 Bokuto Koutarou

"[Y/N]!” Bokuto’s lips curled up into a wide grin when he saw you at his doorstep at 2am. “Did you come here for a sleepover?”

‘Sleepover’...pfft, that’s funny. If you came to Bokuto’s house thinking you were getting any sleep, you were wrong because there was no way in hell that that was happening

Y’all made a pillow fort in his living room and blasted music, scrolling through tiktoks and showing each other memes like complete clowns...until you two heard a loud knock on his front door

“Listen,” Bokuto’s neighbour started to speak. “You’re lucky I’m friends with your parents and didn’t call the police because it’s four in the mcfreaking morning and I can hear your party from my bedroom”

Bokuto just tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Sorry, but we’re not having a party, we’re having a sleepover”

You internally face-palmed because your boyfriend was so clueless sometimes (but he’s totally adorable so it’s alright)

After the irritated man left, you and Bokuto went back to your fort and lowered the music so you wouldn’t get any more angry visitors

You let out a soft yawn, and you were about to suggest for you two to go to sleep when your boyfriend whacked you with a pillow and declared that you two were having a pillow fight

Your pillow fight ended up turning into a tickle fight, which somehow ended up turning into a playful make out session (you totally weren’t complaining though)

You and your boyfriend hadn’t gotten an ounce of sleep by the time the sun rose, yet you didn’t regret going over to Bokuto’s house one bit because you had the time of your life

[sugar-petals]

Hey Caro ☺️ I just took your super m quiz - thanks for making such a fun quiz, I feel like it helped me get into super m! I know nothing about them yet but I thought it fit soo well that I got Kai bc I’m a full time dancer - now you have me super curious about him 👀👀

KAI :: INTRODUCTION MASTERPOST (dance focus)

so you wanna know about the god of k-pop choreo? oh yeah, i’ll talk to you about fucking kai! if you dance, this guy is the #1 must-know. once you see him move, there’s no going back. i don’t exaggerate: kai is the gold standard. brace yourselves, i’ll show you why.

kim kai aka kim jongin (27) is a solo artist and super m’s plus exo’s main dancer — est 2019 and 2012 respectively — heading either group with a passionate, hyper-physical style that roots in his early practice of of jazz dance and ballet. the influence definitely shows. 

learning choreography, he’s become the gorgeous fusion of emotional grace and explosive power that unites both tension and extreme accuracy. while at the same time: never sacrificing his interpretation. and HOW MUCH HE BLEEDS FOR HIS CRAFT. he enjoys it so much. 

and he’s communicating it 100%, jongin’s dance is so interactive and raw, luring. i swear to god, put the seatbelts on for this one. it’s never just him, it’s you as well. you’ve never seen this before. he’s like “yes, i meant you, i’m looking at you”:

he’s even gonna modify the choreography to point right at you to underline that very thought. he’s so good, he can learn it, ace it, epitomize it, and do his own thing anyway. even the person in the last row will get whatever point kai wants to make. this is dance that belongs on the biggest stages.

even when he films without a crowd, it’s like you’re literally standing opposite to him. he focuses on two people: his moves, and the viewer. he has it look like you made him smile and self-aware, or you made him determined. INCREDIBLE. he shows his charisma, BUT he also shows your own (!) impact on him. it’s a duet. he wants you to join him on the dancefloor. this is from exo’s call me baby mv where kai does his famous come-hither:

he flirts and he encourages. he values the audience and wants them to be confident as well. i think it’s the reason why he’s so outstanding and addictive, kai thinks beyond himself. it’s a tango he involves you in with his eyes and how he opens his body, interprets a lyric.

it’s not about imposing himself going one way. instead: he plays the back and forth ALL. THE. TIME. in any context. whether it be frivolous, or fun, or gloomy, or sweet. even with a simple little smiley wink it’s happening. and he acts like you had a reaction to it. there’s literally just a camera.

this guy’s physique, strength, elegance, feeling for the beat, character portrayal (!), and control is unbelievable. he’s destroyed it in every fancam out there. he can’t switch it off even if he tried. your eyes would go toward him in the largest group formation still. put him in the center, that’s his spot, he showcases it.

because he doesn’t just show learned moves, he makes it radiate something dynamic and animalistic (he embodies superm’s ‘tiger inside’ all the way). 

jongin’s dance says: i love this, you love this, let’s do this, the feeling is right. he makes bodies and unrestrained touch the opposite of wrong, he pronounces it a source of having fun and being instinctual. and he never breaks the tie with you throughout, and uses his shoulders and lips to put the oomph into it. 

he uses innuendo and a ‘we both know’ sentiment perfectly as an invitation rather than just going through his routine. that’s how he can make each move fascinating. you can tell kai knows exactly how to make everyone scream their lungs out. i bet somebody held their breath just reading this post already.

exo’s most famous choreo is ‘monster’ (kai focus linked) with good reason: jongin can turn himself into nothing short of a roaring beast. it’s one sharp, complex move after the other. kai can bend any gravitational law he wants to show any feeling and pose he wants. a glimpse:

now, how to spot him in general if you’re new to him? here are some pointers. kai’s execution is clean, fast, and powerful. those are two decades (!) of experience showing. kai is an all or nothing dancer, he plays no games. he treats every group and solo stage like his best and last. his work ethic is beyond words. yeah, he’s a capricorn. his style is direct as can be, working every axis.

as you can see, jongin is hard to overlook anyway: he’s a 182cm giant made of steel. he strives to acutely visualize impact in his style and it is always successful. in fact, it’s his signature. it’s like he creates invisible objects and pushes through them. boom, he just burst another bubble.

when the song gets to his part, i guarantee you won’t miss him and all the boldness and expression he brings to enrich the performance. hell... he carries it. jongin can handle the center, i’m telling you. (look how fast he rotates here)

talking features — this is what to look for when he dances in a group setting: you can recognize kai’s face by how wide, bluntly structured and sensual it is. jongin is a sight. he has such an aura, serious, sultry, and smiling alike.

with a very recognizable silhouette (like... holy hell!):

he’s very cute as well ♡ the fandom and kai himself have an adorable analogy going on. jongin calls himself a teddy/nini bear and we joined in on it. (i made a thread about it here, it talks more about his offstage life) — hence kai’s fans are called eri-gom, eris as in exo’s fanbase and gom meaning bear. 

and i mean. look at him. what an attractive guy. he’s that handsome. strong brows, teddy eyes, square jaw, swept hair, glorious lips, tan skin. 

now yes, something important concerning his appearance and a serious topic: i don’t want to list you the endless instances of colorism that kai has to endure but it has to be mentioned. jongin has been called every name in the book and people agonize him over his skin incessantly. it goes on and on and on. every day a new terrible comment about him emerges because some pitiful person thought it was funny and would elevate them. 

he’s had to deflect, ignore, reframe, defend, remotivate, assert, harden, prove, denounce, and push himself, protect his confidence, decline skin bleaching constantly, laugh along, dance and practice thrice as hard to get the respect, and still see his dignity torn to pieces all day. i’ll just give it to you straight, that’s all fucked up. kai’s skin is perfect, he’s amazing and wonderful. 

in his own words:

— exactly right. say it even louder.

having him at the bottom of every joke is weird and messed up. this man is an utter beauty and nothing has to be fixed. it is up to him to define himself rather than get called ugly for his skin’s appearance by default, and get whitewashed at every opportunity. it’s been going on for 27 years, he scrunitizes himself all the time and doesn’t look at himself fondly because he hears these beatdowns daily.

it’s heartbreaking that this happens literally with no end in sight (’kai is just a stripper!’... ‘he has bad vibes’... ‘darkest guy jongin!’). for his skin, and how he decides to show it, too. jesus christ his skin looks fantastic, end of debate. they just can’t handle him, kai couldn’t be any more immaculate.

♡

jongin has vigorously protected fans from discrimination, bullies, and shaming himself whenever it came up. in a very straightforward and deadpan manner because he knows exactly how it damages you. (”J” in the subtitles = jongin, he’s wearing the plain white top at the very back)

we need to protect and praise him that way right back. it’s important.

so, needless to say. all in for jongin getting the center stage he deserves. because he has the wow factor in every regard. kai usually opens an MV because there’s no better way to get people’s attention with that level of presence. with kai, you can’t go wrong. if you get the center in a an all star group like superm, you are the king.

being part of that presence, kai’s stage alter ego has reached levels of infamity you can’t even imagine. it’s great to see him being sovereign without apology.

and it doesn’t stop there. he shows time and again that acting, props, and commanding the audience has to be mastered to be an exceptional dancer. kai owns his sex appeal. sometimes, he even dances a portion of choreo with his eyes closed because he’s feeling it so much.

he is a pro in using his surroundings as well, superm’s stages are a glorious opportunity for kai to show how he comfortably ‘lives in’ the 3D space around him.

which makes the viewer do the same: watching kai makes you feel amazing, energized, but also serene and enjoying the moment. 

there’s always balance. it’s the magic of it. e.g. he comes along with so much impetus and decisiveness but eventually, he halts to offer himself. here i am — take me. i’m yours. closed arms, open arms. walking, kneeling. looking down, looking up.

kai goes every extra mile there ever was and makes each eye contact count. involving the audience, one grin at a time. it works. it’s about establishing contact. he connects to the onlooker with so much nuance. 

kai’s smirk is notorious and you can see why it’s so raw and real: he makes it linger. it’s such a duality since his dancing says i’ll come over, while his message is come and get me, i know what’s on your mind.

with a hilarious twist – kai expertly uses humor. you don’t get that in many dancer repertoires. i love it. all those quick expression changes. his smile! 😊 what a man.

so — what makes him so good and known: yes, his style doesn’t deny that dancing and eroticism are one in his business. that takes courage. kai has it. iconic performances have been his reward. point dance/killing part: exo’s love shot choreo. 

that suit has swept the nation. what’s more: kai shows you it’s more than just good hip movement that a good dancer needs. he does everything at once, he puts the pleasure on his face, all his limbs are following the template he chooses.

the thing is. kai couldn’t be any shyer, but when the music starts he becomes a oscar-winning madman. he emotes constantly (!) and stays in character. this is gold.

jongin always plays it up. he knows how to use that face and does a lot of power posing. this is how visceral looks like. he’s interpreted exo’s aggressive concepts to a T.

and he has so. much. fun. it propels him. on every beat.

past every hurt, heartbreak and injury, man. if you know about his genre you knew this was coming, kai does all of that with 4 herniated discs. since debut days, never recovered. every gif in this thread, he dances with a battered spine. wheelchairs, stage collapses, relapse-recovery-schedule tales, the dilemma of injuries being inevitable, limping, kai falling into depression during breaks, constant pain killers, countless tears on stage, we’ve seen it all, the extreme end of it. 

kai works out like hell to literally keep his body from falling apart. but it doesn’t help the nerves in his back that are impacted. doing choreo you can sometimes literally see the pain kicking in and he pulls himself through with force for the last minute. once you know how strained his back is, you can see it.

at the end his expression goes fuck now it’s coming when the adrenaline fades. he takes every second-pause he gets to rest but still finishes each move. even when he holds back, he keeps it together and executes each turn. sometimes, he has to restrict himself and soften his movements to protect his health (especially in hard choreographies such as lucky one which is universally disliked by exo — still jongin makes the very best of it smiling bright and dancing so hard his sleeves come off).

he frequently states he ‘dances in any case unless his legs are affected by something’. all torso injuries are fair game, this guy is hardcore. and people claim he’s just pretending. chen (a fellow exo member) says not a single part of jongin’s body is intact. he has paid every price to get this far to follow his love. he’ll step on stage with crutches. he works SO HARD.

that being said: exo being called the official nation’s group, i say kai is the nation’s dancer. period. he has had his great moment at the korean olympics flawlessly dancing in a hanbok with traditional instruments and fulfilling his dream. 

i love the tension and drama he can bring. he can also thrill with slow, vulnerable movements alike.

kai’s is called a legend, he’s all that and even more. the facial expressions alone are feared by any kai stan because they hit home. 

this guy is a sex icon and goes off like a gun, messing around was never kai’s incentive. 

while at the same time being incredibly nuanced and so, so descriptive with his movements.

point dance: baby don’t cry. yep, kai has danced in water. must-watch.

this man loves what he is doing. he said he wouldn’t regret to die on stage because dancing is his destiny. boy, it shows. this guy has found his purpose. he can tell any story he wants. he’s a complete artist.

he’s perfectly portraying his incentive and he couldn’t look any more like a god on earth.

long story short, kai is dance and motivation goals. if you dance professionally, you can easily look toward him for the right words.

if you want to further your study and knowledge: he released a self-titled solo album recently. highly recommended. he worked forever on it, and he’s really dishing it on there. you get to hear his soft voice plus sizzling footwork. and he isn’t even getting started yet. you’ll hear from kai, i promise. he constantly achieves new levels of artistic perfection.

a last remark. jongin is amazing for a myriad of reasons that go beyond what i show you here given the post focuses on his work on stage. but the point stands, while other people have tried to break him, he broke through every barricade instead and stood up for himself. we can be extremely happy to have him and witnessing his unreal dance is an exceptional pleasure. here’s to jongin continuing his passion and confidence, healing, and getting the sweeping respect and acknowledgement that is his.

[thebestpersonherelovesbucky]

A Flower, A Note, A Secret

Summary: Bucky Barnes gets to school and finds a flower and a note taped to his locker. He figures it’s someone setting him up. Then again...it might be from someone wonderful.

Characters: Steve Rogers x Bucky Barnes

Word Count: 1.2k

Tags: high school, mentions of recreational drug use, fluff

written for @captain-rogers-beard​‘s  Flex Your Writing Muscles Challenge 

Prompt: The language of flowers, pajamas, a secret passageway

Bucky stops short right there in the middle of the hallway. Taped to his locker is a yellow flower. With it, an envelope--his name scrawled across it in messy handwriting. 

People are staring at him. Some giggling. Some impatiently. Some shocked. Probably because Bucky Barnes, their resident charity case and outcast has a flower and a note on his locker. It’s probably some sick joke. Just another asshole in this insufferable school trying to fuck with him.

With all those eyes on him, Bucky plucks the flower off, gives it a sniff, and then opens the envelope. Inside, is a folded up piece of paper. Written on it, is the name of the flower and what it means. 

Yellow Chrysanthemum = Secret admirer.  Meet me behind the locker room after 9th.

Not that many people know about that room. An old weight room, Bucky thinks. Shield Preparatory School’s own secret passageway. Bucky’s gone back there to get high when he just needs to get away from all these snobs.

When the two buddies he does have in school--Natasha and Clint--get wind of it, neither of them are willing to let him miss this opportunity. 

“You gotta go,” Clint urges. “Maybe someone’s gonna ask you to prom!”

Bucky scoffs. “Doubtful. I’m gay. Which fucking guy here is gonna ask me to the prom?”

“What about Sam Wilson?” Natasha suggests. “He’s a cool guy.”

Captain of the baseball team, student body president, and member of the LGBTQ Alliance Club. 

He is a cool guy. For all the complaining Bucky does about most of the student population, there are a few exceptions and he’s one of them. Bucky had quite the crush on him last year. There’s only one problem.

“He’s already going with Maria Hill,” Bucky says. “Besides, what would Sam Wilson want with a guy like me?”

Both of them punch him in the arm, and since they’re on either side of him, it means both arms get punched. 

“Ow!” he exclaims, even though that really didn’t hurt. “Totally unnecessary.”

“You’re going,” Clint says. “You’re not talking your way out of it.”

Flower in hand, Bucky sighs. He doesn’t really want to admit it, not out loud anyway, but there’s a part of him that really does want to go. He’s sort of dying to find out who’s behind this. But there’s an even bigger part that’s dreading it. Because it wouldn’t be the first time that someone’s fucked with him.

He’s been a target in this damn school since the first day he came to it. He’s a nobody. Just a kid from a public school who wrote an essay that was good enough to earn a scholarship. Which meant assholes like Brock Rumlow and Helmut Zemo, kids of very powerful alumni, decided to make him their personal victim. Whether that meant punching bag or verbal harassment, they’ve been on his case for the past three years. 

If this flower came from one of them or one of their friends, and they make a laughing stock out of him, Bucky’s not so sure he’ll get over it.

“What if...” His voice cracks. “What if it’s a joke?” Bucky keeps his eyes on their lunch table. “What if it’s one of--”

“If it’s one of those assholes,” Natasha says, “I’ll rip off their dicks and make them choke on it.” 

“If it’s big enough,” Clint adds.

The remark, while so totally absurd, makes Bucky laugh so hard he nearly falls out of his chair. Neither of them is actually capable of such a thing, but they truly mean they’ll kick some ass if someone is fucking with him. 

Which is the only reason he says, “Okay. I’ll go.”

By the time 9th period is over and Bucky’s on the way to the locker room, he’s starting to wish he just stayed home in his pajamas today. His heart is in his throat. Pounding. So hard he can hear his pulse thudding in his ears. 

Just in case, Natasha and Clint are waiting for him right by the door--his backup. His bodyguards, he likes to think of them as, even though he’s very capable of throwing a few good punches if need be. More than capable. Just because he’s in drama and writes for the literary magazine instead of making touchdowns or three-pointers doesn’t mean he’s out of shape.

Bucky sucks in a deep breath and goes into the room.

At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be anyone there and he’s sure he’s been had. Then someone stands.

“B-Bucky?”

Bucky nearly falls over when he sees who’s there. For a second, he actually thinks it is a joke because there’s no way that Steve “All American” Rogers, quarterback and captain of the football team and artist and going to Yale next year and homecoming king and probably soon-to-be prom king, left him a flower that means secret admirer. 

Not only is the idea of Steve being his secret admirer just crazy, there’s no way Bucky’s that lucky. He’s had a crush on Steve since he met him when he tutored him in history. 

Out of all the people he’s met that aren’t Natasha and Clint, Steve is his favorite. He’s most decidedly not an asshole. In fact, he’s the opposite. He’s kind and sweet and both shy and social at the same time. Everyone likes Steve and those who don’t are total assholes who Steve hates right back. 

“Steve?” he questions. “Did you--” He lifts the flower. Remembers that Peggy Carter’s locker is right next to his and this is probably meant for her. “Sorry I, uh, I thought this was for me.” Bucky hands it back to him. “I guess you want this back.”

“What?” Steve shakes his head. “No, I...” A blush fills his entire face. “It’s for you. From me. I’m...” He scratches the back of his head. Shifts from foot to foot. “I’m sorry. This looked a lot romantic in my head.”

“Wait, I’m...confused.”

“Well, when I pictured asking you to prom, I thought this would be super cute, having you come to the secret room and now I’m looking around and it looks creepy as fuck and, Jesus, Steve, you suck at this. I’m sorry. Sorry, just forget about it, I’m such an asshole.”

Bucky lets out laugh that echos through the room. “Steve Rogers, are you asking me to the prom?”

“I, uh...that was the idea.” Steve sighs. “I...would you want to go with me? I understand if you don’t, I can’t imagine why someone as awesome as you would want to go with me.” 

“What?!” Bucky shrieks. “I’ve had a crush on you since day one!” Face flushing, Bucky can’t believe he just said that out loud. 

“You...really?” Steve blinks a few times and then his jaw drops. “I’ve had a crush on you, too! Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” He laughs and drops a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “If you’re really asking me to the prom, my answer is yes!”

“Y-yes?” Steve's mouth tugs itself in this adorable smile. “You wanna go with me? Really? Like, not just as friends, as...maybe more? If you’d...maybe wanna go get some pizza beforehand? I mean, like, this weekend?”

“You mean, a date?”

“Uh...yeah.” Steve nibbles his lip and, seriously, how is it fair that everything this guy does is adorable?

“I’d love to, Steve.”

Steve, stepping closer, gently cups Bucky’s cheek in his big, athletic and artistic hand. He looks like he wants to kiss him. 

“I hope you know,” Steve murmurs, leaning in closer, “I’m gonna get you more flowers.”

And he seals that promise with a soft, tender kiss.

[scramblingminds]

Full of Surprises

So...I was really inspired and I hope this is anything like what you had in mind @bringmecoffeeandroses I hope I did your vision some justice 

“Hurry up, Daryl, we don’t want to be late.” Aaron checked the time on his watch again as he jingled his keys like the noise would make Daryl pick up his pace.  

“Ya could just go without me.” Daryl huffed as he came out of his bedroom, carefully tugging a loose t-shirt on.

Aaron looked at Daryl’s worn sweatpants and sneakers, not the greatest outfit for a yoga class but it would do. Daryl eyed Aaron form fitted black shorts and tank top under his zipped hoodie. Daryl snorted at the sandals on the man's feet as he collected his keys, wallet and phone.  

“You have been cooped up in this house since you got home from the hospital,” Aaron crossed his arms, “You need to get out and start some rehab on that shoulder.”

Daryl reached up rubbing his right shoulder, Aaron not missing how he winced a bit with the action. It had been a month since he got shot, a drug raid that turned south. A bullet missing his Kevlar and founding a home in his right shoulder. Rick had felt awful that his partner and best friend got hurt but it wasn’t like it was the first time either of them had been injured in the line of duty.

Daryl had hated how the Kings County PD had made sure he got plenty of time off work to recover. He still had another eight weeks of paid leave and he knew he would go mad by then. He probably was already half way there since he agreed to this damn yoga idea.  

“Besides,” Aaron grinned as he opened the door for Daryl who rolled his eyes at the gesture, “Eric flaked on me last minute and I hate going alone.”  

Daryl locked his door behind them and got into Aaron’s car, “Yeah he invites me along when he already made plans to help Tara and Denise with some girly shit.”

Aaron chuckled as he headed into town, “He is helping them come up with a floor plan for their apartment, you know, since he’s an interior designer.”  

Daryl just shrugged and the rest of the ride was in silence until they pulled into the gym parking lot. Aaron smirked as he held out Eric’s yellow yoga mat to Daryl, his own blue one under his arm. Daryl took it with a glare, “Let’s get this over with, asshole.”  

The yoga class was in a private room in the back. Daryl ducked into himself when he spotted some guys from the force on some of the weight benched as they passed. He knew they would understand why he was doing this but they would still give him shit about it.  

The class started at six and they got their just five minutes early, the room already full of people laying out their mats and doing some stretches.  

“Shoes go here.” Aaron kicked his sandals off by the door that had rows of shoes already lined up.  

Daryl shook his head, no one said they had to do this barefoot. Aaron put his hand on his hip, “Eric will kill you if you mess up his mat with dirty shoes. C’mon Daryl, you promised to give this a real shot.”

Daryl had in fact said that but now he was rethinking this. He needed to get his shoulder back to normal though so he could get back to work, hopefully sooner than later. Daryl grumbled as he kicked off his shoes and socks, “Hate ya.”  

Aaron just grinned as he moved over toward the few free feet of floor and set up his mat, even being kind enough to roll Daryl’s out for him. At six they were all still standing around, no instructor had come in yet. Daryl stood on his mat, he couldn’t really cross his arms but he was cradling his right arm snuggly to his chest.  

“First class?” A bubbly little blonde next to him asked as she shook a bottle full of something green and thick.  

Daryl nodded with a grunt and she beamed at him, “You are going to love it. You’ll love Jesus, trust me.”  

Daryl blinked over at her, “Excuse me?”  

“Oh, I guess you wouldn’t know,” She giggled, “Jesus is over this class, he is the best. Right?”

She had turned to another, older blonde woman who could be her sibling. The older one nodded, “Jesus is amazing.”

Daryl swallowed as he turned back to Aaron who was doing a few stretches and leaned to hiss at him, “Did ya bring me to yoga or a fuckin’ cult meeting?”  

Aaron looked confused as the door to the room opened and all eyes snapped over, “So sorry I’m late, guys and gals and other pals.”

Daryl jaw clenched at what came breezing into the room. The guy was clearly a bit shorter than him but so lean. Not skinny, hell no, the defined muscles of his arms and thighs made that description inaccurate. Aaron’s pants were form fitted, this guys were even tighter and the gray material rippled with every step.  

His hair was long, hanging down below his shoulders and the beard on he was sporting was helping some things make sense. His shirt was as tight as his pants and Daryl almost snorted at the large words that covered the front that read, ‘Whiskey & Yoga’.  

Daryl knew it was embarrassing at his age to be so, smitten for lack of a better word, with someone. The guy was clearly some kind of hippy but he carried himself with so much confidence. This Jesus being so attractive was just part of the appeal, not that Daryl would ever act on his thoughts.  

The guy quickly removed his shoes and got his mat set out with a smile, looking around the room. Daryl didn’t know if he made his voice so soothing or if that was just how it was as he spoke to the room, “I hope everyone had a lovely week and let’s jump right in with doing our warm up poses.”

Daryl startled as without missing a beat everyone around him started moving in unison. Daryl looked over at Aaron who doing the same thing as all the people around him and he almost jumped as words came from in front of him.

“Hello, you must be new,” Daryl turned to see the instructor in front of him, he was quick and quiet Daryl noted, the guy held his left hand out to him, “I’m Paul but everyone calls me Jesus but it’s your pick.”

Daryl took Paul’s, not Jesus because even though it was a very accurate nickname didn’t mean he had to like it, hand and shook it, “I’m Daryl.”

“I dragged him along tonight.” Aaron supplied now stand up straight as the rest of the class keep stretching.

“I was surprised to see you here without Eric,” Paul grinned as he looked over Daryl with bright blue eyes, “So, Daryl, you have an injury in your shoulder?”  

Daryl uncurled his arms, those quick eyes taking in the stiffness of the joint. Daryl flexed his shoulder a bit, “Just a gunshot wound.”  

Paul blinked at the words but didn’t dwell on them, “Alright, try to follow along as best you can, don’t push it and take your time.”

Daryl grunted his agreement and Paul went back to the front of the class. Daryl figured this couldn’t be so hard, it was just some bending and shit, he could handle that.

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

Paul almost felt bad for the new guy, Daryl, as he tried to keep up with everyone else. Paul made a point to explain through the poses for him but he could see that the bulky man was having trouble. He couldn’t bend every far, his face had a sheen of sweet and there was pink flush to his whiskered cheeks. Paul knew Daryl wasn’t the type of person who usually came to his classes.  

However, Paul knew he needed to be there, that shoulder wound wasn’t as little of a deal that Daryl seemed to think it was. He could see how Daryl didn’t fully extend his arm, his winces tiny but Paul caught them. The class was wrapping up so Paul figured the best pose to end with, especially for Daryl, was downward facing dog.  

Paul left his mat, adjusting a few peoples posture as he went before reaching Daryl. The man wasn’t bent over with the rest of them, instead he was more doubled over trying to catch his breath as he swiped his sweaty bangs out of his face.

“Last one, Daryl,” Paul smiled as Daryl groaned low in his throat, “I promise this one isn’t that bad and it will do wonders for your shoulder.”  

Daryl huffed as he bent at the waist, his shoulder audibly creaking as he put his hands on the mat. Daryl’s wince was obvious that time and Paul moved without hesitation, his right hand resting on Daryl’s bicep which was so impressively firm under his palm.  

Paul’s left hand ran down Daryl’s back making him straighten it out, he could feel the man flinch at his touch. Daryl’s shirt slipped up a bit as he moved into the correct posture and Paul spotted a few darker patches of skin. He gave no reaction as he tugged Daryl’s shirt back in place and he gently nudged Daryl’s feet apart into the right place.  

“How’s that?” Paul came around to squat next to Daryl’s head, looking at how the older man’s arms trembled just a bit with the pose, “Does it hurt, do you need to stop?”  

Daryl swallowed, “Nah, it’s fine.”  

Paul smiled, “You should do this one at home, it will build your strength back up. Alright everyone, that’s it for today, you can relax now.”  

Daryl went down into his knees, breathing a bit strained as he sat back on his heels. His face was a blotchy mess but Paul couldn’t help but find it adorable. Paul stood up and looked over at Aaron, “I hope that you drag him along again next week.”  

Aaron nodded with a laugh as Daryl flipped him off.

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

Daryl had wanted to hate the yoga class but by the next day he could feel how his shoulder already was a bit better. It wasn’t much but he didn’t wake up with it throbbing so that was an improvement. Daryl was a stubborn asshole, not stupid and he knew he needed to get his shoulder back into shape. Hell, he couldn’t even ride his bike because of the injury much less get back to work.  

Rick thought it was great that Daryl was doing some rehab even if it was yoga. Rick had stopped by after his shift, a brown bag with burgers and fries in hand. Telling him about all the cases he was missing made Daryl want to jump back into his uniform as quickly as possible.  

So, when Eric called Daryl and told him ‘something suddenly came up’ and he wondered if Daryl would join Aaron again, Daryl didn’t decline. He had been practicing that dog pose all week and he figured if he learned some more things his shoulder would improve even faster.  

Daryl wouldn’t admit he also might want to go in part because of the person teaching the class. Paul was more than happy to teach Daryl new poses to work on his shoulder, maybe just a touch too close at times but Daryl wasn’t knocking him away.  

Paul gave him his number after the second class, in case Daryl had any questions outside of class time and Daryl had asked him a couple. Maybe they also messaged about non-yoga things but no more than Daryl didn’t with his other friends.  

Daryl didn’t say anything about how for three weeks in a row Eric canceled on yoga and got Daryl to go along with Aaron. The reasons were increasingly ridiculous but Daryl just let him come up with excuses for Daryl to use for being there.

Daryl wasn’t as flustered by Paul anymore; his heart still pounded a bit but he didn’t forget how to breathe when he was around like he had in the past. Then Paul had to come into class, on time this time, in a too small white tank top and his hair up in tight top knot.  

Daryl nearly swallowed his damn tongue. Paul’s hair was gorgeous, anyone could see that but how it was up off his neck was making Daryl’s chest tight. His long, pale neck on display with fine wisps of hair at the nape curling just a bit. It wasn’t fair that Paul could get even better looking but he went and did it anyway.  

Daryl was sure the man was trying to kill him, even though he was clueless to Daryl embarrassing crush, because at the end of the class someone asked for a harder pose. Paul taught them a new pose almost every week, Daryl was now able to keep up with the rest of the class though he was still about as flexible as rebar.  

Paul hummed as he tapped his chin, a slight sweat on his forehead and his exposed neck. Paul grinned after a moment, “How about the Firefly Pose?”

Without missing a beat Paul was down on his mat. His hands planted on the floor and with some twisting Daryl didn’t understand his legs were up and calves almost resting on his shoulders. Daryl’s jaw dropped as his ass lifted off the floor and he was stand on his hands. Paul held the pose without losing his grin as a few people clapped and some tried and failed to copy him.  

Daryl’s eyes lingered on Paul’s biceps, how they bulged but were steady under his weight. His legs were spread so far apart that it made Daryl’s groin muscles twinge but Paul was solid as a statue. Daryl’s knees felt weak as Paul easily slipped out of the pose and stood up.

“That’s it for today, have a good week.” Paul dismissed them.

Daryl gave Aaron Eric’s yoga mat before putting his shoes back on. Daryl’s heart was still racing as he headed out of the class waving goodbye to Aaron. Daryl paused when someone called his name as he exited the gym.  

“How’s the shoulder?” Paul asked as he caught up with Daryl.  

Paul was always checking up on his injury, more than his doctor even did. Daryl easily lifted his arm, flexing his arm with ease, “It’s getting there.”  

Daryl could have sworn he saw Paul’s eyes linger on his bicep but figured it was wishful thinking. Paul slapped his other shoulder, “Hell yeah, looks tons better.”  

Daryl willed himself not to blush at the touch, “Well, it’s good enough that I can ride again.”

Paul blinked, face confused until Daryl jerked his thumb in the direction of his bike parked near the door. Paul whistled at the bike, “Is this a Triumph?”  

“Ya know motorcycles?” Daryl cocked an eyebrow because Paul had been right.  

“Use to date a guy that did, picked up a few things I guess,” Paul shrugged as he looked over the black bike, “How did you afford this thing, it’s like ten grand?”

“Fourteen,” Daryl corrected and Paul whistled again, Daryl took pride in how impressed Paul was, “Got my old man’s life insurance money after he kicked it last year, might have splurged a bit.”  

“Well, sorry about your dad,” Paul said as he ran his hand over the leather of the bikes seat, “But this is damn fine machine.”  

Daryl waved off the condolences, old prick hadn’t been worth them, and moved to straddle his bike, “Never figured a hippy like ya would know a thing about motorcycles.”  

“Hippy?” Paul laughed as he stepped back from Daryl’s bike, “I think you’ll find I’m full of surprises.”

Daryl watched and Paul tossed his stuff into his car parked just a spot away, he didn’t know what made him lean against his handle bars and smirk, “Will I now, Paul?”  

Paul opened his door with a grinned right back, “Yeah, if you keep coming to class, who knows what all you will learn.”  

Daryl snorted as Paul got into his car and cranked it, rolling down his window as Daryl tugged his helmet on. Daryl started his bike, calling over the rumble of his engine, “Guess we’ll see ‘bout that next week.”

Daryl didn’t miss how Paul’s grinned slid into a soft smile as he watched Daryl zipped out of the parking lot. Daryl didn’t dwell on the fleeting thought that maybe he wasn’t the only one with a crush in that yoga class.

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

Daryl went to the gym a few different times over the next week. Officers didn’t have to pay for a full membership so he figured he would try some of the weight equipment. His shoulder was feeling more and more like normal with each work out. He got there around seven on Tuesday and spotted Paul’s car in the lot. Yoga class was on Thursday, but that didn’t mean Paul couldn’t come other times.  

Daryl didn’t see the younger man out in the open area of the gym on any of the machines. There were a few private rooms, like the one they had the yoga class in but people used them alone fairly often. Daryl hesitated, he didn’t know if Paul would even be happy to see him or wanted to be bothered. He wasn’t a teacher if he was there on his free time and Daryl wasn’t sure he had the right to any of said time.  

He shrugged the thoughts off, he could at least look for him and if he seemed to want to be alone Daryl would leave him be. Two of the private rooms were empty and one was in use and the schedule said it was a beginner's level MMA class. Daryl only glanced in the open door as he walked passed it but froze in his tracks as he could hear the instructors voice.  

Daryl back pedaled to the doorway and took a better look, his jaw dropping a bit as his stomach went into knots. At the head of the class, hair up in a damn ponytail was Paul. The room was full of about twenty people of different sizes following his every word.

“Okay, partner up, let’s work on high kicks.” Paul’s voice was louder, more authority than when he taught his other class.  

Everyone squared off facing each other, one person held their hand above their head and the other person had to try and kick it. Paul darted around the pairs, fixing a few peoples stances and giving out encouragements.

“I can’t do it!” One guy seethed and Paul was at his side in a second.  

“Why not, Martinez?” Paul asked the man.

“Spencer is too damn tall, I can’t reach his hand.” Martinez glares at the much taller man who had slowly lowered his hand.  

“That’s why you are practicing.” Paul was so blunt Daryl snorted along with a few other’s in the class.  

“No way someone could kick that high.” The man crossed his arms and Paul smirked.

“Spencer, hand up,” Paul took a few steps back and the other man lifted his hand back into the air slightly above his head, “A bit higher, if you would.”

Spencer’s eyes widened as he put his hand up a few inches higher. Paul took a deep breath then took two large steps and with a slight jump he brought his right leg up and clear over Spencer’s head. The slap of his foot connecting with the man’s hand was loud as Paul twisted and landed evenly on his feet.  

Everyone was completely still, Daryl felt like his knees couldn’t hold him as Paul whirled around to Martinez, “It isn’t about can’t, it’s a matter of not wanting to push yourself. If you don’t want to give your absolute all, this isn’t the class for you. If any of you have a problem with that, I don’t expect to see you next week. Let’s call it a night.”  

Paul didn’t move as the class got their stuff and filed out, Daryl moving out of the way of the door. Martinez ducked his head as he grabbed his bag and left. Paul sighed as the class emptied but jumped as someone spoke, “Ya are slam full of surprises.”  

Paul turned, blinking at Daryl before a smile spread over his sweaty face, “I aim to please.”  

“I’m impressed,” Daryl came into the room as Paul got his bag, “Guess I should’ve figured them muscles didn’t come from drinking wheat grass and some bending.”  

Paul nudged him as he left the room, the older man falling in step beside him, “That may be true but you know you love when I’m bendy.”  

Daryl froze in his tracks at the words and Paul did just a step later, looking back at Daryl with huge eyes like his own words just reached him. Daryl felt like this moment was very important, how he reacted could change everything. Paul was a friendly guy, so if Daryl acted like he took it as a joke the younger man would roll with it. But if he reacted poorly, Paul wouldn’t show he was hurt by it, Daryl knew that.  

What they had, this ease they had with each other would be gone if he did that and Daryl didn’t want that. Daryl wasn’t dense and he knew flirting when it was literally slapping him in the face. Daryl stared back at Paul for far too long before he reached up and scratched at his chin before mumbling, “Didn’t think ya had noticed that.”

Paul let out a long breath, a tiny smile coming to his lips, “Were you trying to hide it?”

“Guess not.” Daryl snorted as he started walking again, his work out forgotten as they walked out of the gym. The silence was a bit awkward but not uncomfortable between them.  

Paul tossed his bag in his back seat before turning to Daryl, “Well, I’ll see you in class, right?”

Daryl nodded and Paul returned the gesture as he moved to climb into his car. Daryl couldn’t let this end like this, it wasn’t a bad turn of events but it was up in the air. Daryl’s hand closed around Paul’s wrist stopping him. Paul turned back to him, not shaking him off as Daryl tugged him away from his car just a step.

“I will be going back to work soon and might not get to come to class as much,” Daryl saw Paul’s brows furrow at the words and he couldn’t help smiling just a bit at the scrunched-up face, “But I was wondering if ya might want to...maybe...grab a bite or something...sometime?”  

Paul’s lips went a bit loose, a slight drop to his jaw before he snapped it shut. Paul’s face was still work out flushed but he could see how the high arch of his cheekbone went darker. Paul chuckled softly as he sagged just a bit, “Daryl, you are just as full of surprises.”  

Daryl shrugged making Paul smack his chest lightly before his smile came back in full force, “I think that sounds great, I know this great new vegan place.”  

Daryl blinked, Paul said yes but that other part, not so great. Daryl saw Paul bite his lip, very poorly suppressing a laugh. Daryl let his wrist go so he could cross his arms, “Ya ain’t funny, Paul.”  

“You think I’m adorable and you know it,” Paul grinned and Daryl’s flushed face couldn't argue that, “I think burgers would be better, maybe tomorrow?”

“Now ya speaking my language.” Daryl nodded as Paul pulled his phone out and a few seconds later Daryl’s phone went off in his pocket.  

“Come pick me up around six.” Paul smiled as he turned and opened his car door.

Daryl nodded, waving a bit as Paul started his car and pulled off. Daryl got his phone out and looked at the address Paul sent him and it sank in that he had a date the next day. He had a date with Paul, badass ninja yogi master. Daryl just might have had to pinch himself before climb into his bike.

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

Three weeks later Daryl had his first shift back to work. It was the ass crack of dawn when he had to get up but he did it happily. He shaped up his facial hair, he had let it go a bit wild for too long now. His hair had grown out a bit and he got it trimmed back so he could slick it back from his face. His uniform was a bit tight in the shoulders now, not surprising his he had worked out so much along with the yoga to get back up to snuff.  

Daryl grabbed his duty belt from his dresser where it had been for over two months. His gun was at the station locked up in his locker while he had been on medical leave. He had just tightened his belt in place when a rustle came from the bed behind him with a soft, sleepy hum, “Looking good, Officer Friendly.”

Daryl snorted turning to find Paul had slid over into his pillow, the sheets a tangle around his bare hips as the man smiled up at him. Daryl came over to lean down, brushing Paul’s wrecked hair out of his face, “Only friendly to you, Paul.”  

Paul reached up, running his fingers through Daryl’s hair, fixing an out of place strand or two before bowing up to press his lips to Daryl’s. Daryl kissed him back, just as softly until Paul relaxed back onto the bed, “Have a good first day back, Daryl.”

Daryl pecked his lips one more time before straitening up but paused at the door, “Ya gonna still be here when I get home?”

Paul hummed, stretching a bit before smirking up at Daryl, “That’s a surprise.”

Daryl snorted as he headed out, “Ya and yer surprises, damn hippy.”  

Daryl could hear Paul’s laugh as he left. The only thing that surprised Daryl these days was how he could ever be grateful for being shot. If he hadn’t been Eric would never have schemed to get him into that yoga class. He was surprised that a few months ago he was so unhappy but now, now he had Paul and he couldn’t ask for better than that.  

[mad-madam-m]

Everbody seems to be *hating* the Voltron finale, so I wanted to ask your thoughts on it.

First off, I am sorry this took so long to answer, but I’ve been stupidly, stupidly busy since even before the season aired, so I haven’t had much time to respond.

A very short version: I didn’t hate the final season. Although there are many aspects of it that disappointed me or that I wasn’t happy with, there were also many aspects that I really liked or even loved, so my feelings are mixed and bittersweet.

I think I wanted to like it more than I did, but I also didn’t hate it as much as most people did, and processing all those feelings has taken me a while and I’ve mostly stayed off social media to do it. I can handle hearing disappointment/hurt one-on-one from friends, but I absolutely cannot deal with the unfiltered wave of emotion on places like Twitter and Tumblr right now. What little of it I did see was enough to stress me out badly (and the holidays are stressful enough already, oof), so I’ve mostly been hanging out on Dreamwidth, playing a 3-sentence ficathon, or searching for Tiger & Bunny art because it’s my happy place.

So, yeah, that’s kind of my brief thoughts on season 8. If you want the (much) longer version, including a more detailed breakdown of what I liked and what I didn’t, read on:

Things I loved:

- Hunk. Y’all. I loved Hunk. My headcanon for him has always been that he either ends up opening a restaurant, or that he becomes a diplomat who uses food to help bridge the differences between alien races. To actually see that happen in canon brought me so much joy, you have no idea.

- Pidge, particularly Pidge and her mom. Every scene they had together was fantastic. I especially loved their bargaining in the Clear Day episode. The Olkraion episode was also heartbreaking.

- The entire first episode. Oh my God, I thought the first episode was hilarious. The references to the previous series had me burying my face in my pillow so I wouldn’t wake anybody up with my laughter. The mall trip was absolutely fantastic, and I adored getting to see all the girls hang out together. And the scene with Coran and Lance? Hysterical. (Also, had to love that painting of Coran and Alfor; Coran, you are not subtle at all.)

- Lance and Allura. They were fucking adorable, which still astounds me because I wouldn’t have even been close to liking this ship in seasons 1 and 2. But they were super cute together and all of their scenes were very sweet.  

- Lance and Keith having a couple of surprisingly nice conversations? I missed their bickering, but I did like getting to see them actually being friendly with each other.

- The theme that people can change and find redemption, although I don’t know that it was handled as well here as I would’ve liked (see below), it is one of my favorite themes and I do think some of the .

- Zethrid and Ezor! Alien girlfriends reunited!

- Veronica being unendingly sweet and friendly to Acxa and Acxa being awkward and not knowing how to handle that is my fucking jam, you guys. I could’ve watched another 3 episodes of that easily.

- How much Keith has grown since season 1 and him acknowledging that growth. My chest actually clenched.

- I thought the documentary episode was cute. (Although admittedly, the scenes where the dog carried the camera, I had to stop watching because they were giving me motion sickness.) And I adored Hunk making the Altean dessert for the Alteans they’d recovered.

- The Clear Day episode. Really, the light-hearted funny episodes have always been my favorites, so I liked that we got more than one this season.

- Pidge and Allura having some truly great scenes together. We don’t see the two of them together very often, and the shopping in the first episode and the episode on Olkarion were both great for that. (And Pidge helping Lance get something shiny for Allura the way he helped her get the game system in Space Mall was just wonderful.)

- Everybody getting to talk to the previous Paladins. God, my heart. Even if I wasn’t particularly happy with that part of the plot, I really did like getting to see more of all the original Paladins, and the way it felt like the story was really coming full circle.

- I choked up when Atlas and Voltron combined to form one giant dual robot. I thought they were going to leave Shiro behind for the final confrontation with Honerva, but no. I loved getting to see the six of them fighting together, side-by-side, and that Shiro was there with them for the end of it.

- The final shot of the five of them watching their Lions fly away, with the focus on Keith and Shiro together as Black’s Paladins.

- And the final final shot of the Lions and Allura in the nebula. In the original Beast King GoLion series (the Japanese series that Voltron was cribbed from), there was a goddess at the center of the universe responsible for all creation (if I’m remembering it correctly), and that’s what this reminded me of. I don’t know if that’s the implication they intended—that Allura had become the goddess—but that’s what I took from it.

Things I didn’t love:

- Not enough Shiro, and I missed the little moments with him and Keith that we’ve seen sprinkled throughout most of the seasons. (I don’t expect The Black Paladins every episode, but good lord, would it have killed them to just have a couple of minutes of Shiro and Keith walking around the Clear Day carnival together? Hanging out on the night before launch day? Hell, just put Shiro on Black with Keith and Kosmo and give them a couple of lines of conversation before Lance comes up. It wouldn’t have been hard.)

- Allura actually letting the tiny evil creature inside her and then…nothing really happens? Like?? I really thought there was going to be more of a consequence for her taking that inside her because it’s pretty clear it can’t be controlled and I was seriously thinking she was not far away from going full darkside for at least an episode. But it just…did exactly what they wanted to do and that was that?

- Where the hell did Ezor even come from?! Like, I’m a-okay that she lived, but. Uh. What? I really wish that had been better explained, especially because she apparently had a pretty significant come-to-Jesus moment sometime between season 7 and season 8. (There were several moments like this, where like…I thought someone was dead, and they turned out to be alive, or they just randomly showed up somewhere after I thought they were somewhere else. It was confusing and a little bit annoying.)

- Much as I like to see villains getting redemption, by the end of the season, it felt…overdone? Like, they brought back a lot of previous villains and almost all of them either had reformed (the Warden and Ezor, for example) or were reformed by their interactions with the heroes (Zethrid, Honerva). Redemption arcs are hard to do well and I think the problem here was that there wasn’t enough time in 13 episodes to do that many proper justice, especially for someone like Honerva, who, uh…yeah. When your main villain for the season has literally destroyed almost all of reality and gets redeemed in less time than it took me to write this sentence, it doesn’t really give that arc the importance it needs.

- I really wish they’d left all the epilogues out entirely and just had the show end with the Lions flying off at the end and our original five Paladins standing together, watching them go. The epilogues felt a little hasty and last-minute, and I have to wonder if Shiro’s in particular was added only to deal with some of the backlash they got after season 7. Which, while I can appreciate that it’s a huge deal to actually show a same-sex kiss in a children’s animated series like this, it really does come across like it was just done for the sake of scoring diversity points/dealing with the aforementioned backlash, instead of allowing Shiro to have an actual on-screen romance like Lance and Allura.

- I’m still not sure how I feel about Allura’s ending. On the one hand, I don’t hate that there was a sacrifice like that that needed to be made, and I kind of wondered if they’d do something like that since, you know, series finale, saving all realities, etc. etc. But on the other hand, I feel like it could’ve been executed/explained much better (e.g., giving Coran a chance to say good-bye to her, at the very least), and I mean. Come on. I would’ve by far preferred it if Allura lived and got to go back to help rebuild her planet/people.

So yeah. Like I said, mixed feelings overall. I had intended to rewatch the whole thing before s8 came out, but I didn’t have time, so I may do that later, once the holidays are over and I’ve binged some of the other stuff I have on my list. I’m also sure rewatching will give me a different feeling on season 8 once I see it in context with everything else, so you know. We’ll see how that goes. XD

[simplyotome]

LEON’S SEASON 2 THOUGHTS + SPOILERS BC WOW HOW CAN I NOT TALK ABOUT THIS??

I had this post in the works for days but finally getting to it. 

Might as well just add a ‘keep reading’ tab because who knows? Some fans might not have the story yet and I don’t want to ruin anything. 

Let’s not kid ourselves, I’ve been more than ready for this story and honestly, the first time reading it...it hit me like a bus. I couldn’t keep up because DRAMA plus Voltage finally gave it after eons of teasing.

Plus Leon’s my bias god so...

I swear I had to read this story twice just to comprehend it and like pinch myself in between slides that it’s real.

ANYWAYS!

MOVING ON!

MY REACTIONS A MESS. It’s just as jumbled up as I typed it way back when. But I just am too lazy to change it. 

This story just shot of the gate. Voltage wasn’t pulling punches. They said it’d be “epic” and they were right. The drama chart just hit a peak with Leon’s main stories. 

Plus we’re barely into the second chapter when things go nsfw with the love making holy jesus i was like woahhh but im here for it

But I’m also here for those sweet love confessions. 

Leon’s always like “words aren’t enough to convey how the depth of my love for you” but sweet talk me away

ANYWAYS 

PLOT TIME

It’s crazy that Leon is the next candidate for being the King of the Heavens with this Heaven’s Rift thing. He doesn’t care for it. But hey ho guess what MC is in the way of the plan so basically it’s time to elope.

They hide (?? because it’s in MC’s apartment which is a secret known to everybody at this point) from the King and his new controlled cohorts. But I love the domestic fluff man. Aside from threat of death aside this was cute af. But come on!! Leon stealing meatballs was so adorable!!!! Plus being smug as fuck while doing it, man what a guy. It’s hard to be mad. 

I was reeeeeally hoping I’d see or read something about Leon being in a kimono but there was nothing. But I guess I can go to Hakuouki and find Leon’s VA voice a character in a kimono so I guess I can live. This blog shamelessly promotes Hakuouki btw. 

BUT we do meet up with MC’s mother. Which was short but nice. Leon not putting up his usually haughty airs and genuinely happy to know how loved MC is--though he does mentioning loving MC more which I’m like yesss 

NOW THIS BRINGS UP THAT IMAGE VOLTAGE TEASED OUT.

Of course when I saw MC with the knife during that first teaser CG, I knew she was being controlled. Fucking called that shit.

BUT I DIDN’T EXPECT HER TO GUT HERSELF.

I WAS MORTIFIED and also impressed because she had the willpower to do it. MC I’m sorry if I ever doubted you.

BUT 

THE MENTION OF LEON SCREAMING.

HOLY FUDGE. THAT GAVE ME CHILLS!

HE’S NEVER DONE THAT. EVER. 

AND HE KNOWS HE CAN’T DO ANYTHING TO HEAL HER. 

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUNDS OF MUSIC LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!

I LOVED THAT ANGST! 

NOT ONLY THAT, IN THE END TO SAVE HER LIFE, LEON GIVES MC ONE OF THE STARS IN HIS EYES TO LIVE AND SEPARATES HIMSELF FROM HER.

Side note: I love how he address how much he loves her before they part.

Because he admits her falling under the King’s control wasn’t because of her doubting her love for him, but rather: she was torn between her love for him and the those she loved on earth. Especially when she had nightmares of their lives were threatened. Her compassionate heart is a strength and he acknowledges it and I was so incredibly moved.

BUT YO TO MOVE FORWARD:

THIS FUCKING CG

I WAS LIKE WHAAAT???

I ALWAYS WONDERED ABOUT THIS

SURE IT’S THE OPENING VIDEO

BUT HOLY FUCK WHAT A MOVE

VOLTAGE I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE

I was tearing up. Goddamn.

I also have to do a shout out to the other gods honestly.

This story wouldn’t have ended so nicely had they all not found MC, who was stuck on earth after being separated from Leon and without any memory of him or the other gods.

I expected the Department of Wishes would want things to work out for Leon, of course being his Department, but the Department of Punishments guys stepping up? Wow, even Zyglavis, a man who is disgusted with Leon more than anyone, defended Leon and MC’s relationship.

Heaven was hell without Leon’s love for MC. 

They all knew it and there was no choice to reunite them because they were stronger together.

Wingmen. All of them. And they bring her up while she doesn’t even have a clue who they are or who Leon is. 

I’m a sucker for amnesia plots, guys. I just gotta confess it now. Finding out the King had taken Leon and MC’s memories of each other was great. And that part when they reunite in heaven and look at each other with no clue who the other is...that was my jam. GRAB ME MY TWO SLICES TWELVE GRAIN BREAD. LET ME MAKE A SANDWICH OF THIS. I’LL GOBBLE IT UP.  I’m simple ok? I live for this kind of drama. 

BUT WAIT: MC IS PREGNANT???

The gods berated MC for not “seeing the signs” but fuck you guys I didn’t expect that! Sure she felt unwell and had a minor episode of feeling sick, but I thought that was from fucking sticking herself in with a knife??? Obviously???

I was surprised the child survived!

A miracle indeed.

Which underlines what Leon and MC’s relationship is. As a god and human, truly, a relationship born of that.

Surprisingly I got the happy end which was honestly one of my favorite parts because everyone is getting a long. I love how each god is looking after MC and even more worried about her because she’s with a child.

OH BUT THIS BEAUTIFUL CG THOUGH:

WAITING FOR THIS SEASON 2 WAS WORTH IT!

I need to see new official Leon art in his new attire now!!

ALSO shout out to MC! I loved that MC’s tenacity to work still showed in the Happy Ending!! Being pregnant won’t stop her! Ha, love it. 

So was this a good story?

Yes, I personally thought it was! The more I read it, the more I like it! 

The ending is very sweet. Almost a bit bitter for me because there’s so much changing. The prior King is dead. I’m going to miss his trickster ways. But hey fuck it: Leon and MC are married! And the gods are having a great time!

AAAND THAT’S ALL I GOT

THANKS FOR READING

GOOD NIGHT

[inonibird]

Ok, I’m a babby-n00b fan (it’s been what, two weeks, three?), but I really frickin’ love the band The Dear Hunter and I want to gush about their music and I enjoy ranking things so...yeah, here’s me talking about my favorite songs from the Acts. (no major story spoilers)

Please feel free to completely ignore if you aren’t interested in my semi-coherent and less-than-sophisticated ramblings. X’D

First of all, if you aren’t familiar with these concept albums, the Acts (I-V as of 2016) tell the ongoing story about the life and death of a character known as “the Boy” or “the Dear Hunter”. Leitmotifs, repeated lyrics and reprises abound. Basically prog rock opera. *two thumbs up* I dig it, obviously. Picking a top 10 list is ROUGH, man, so I’m going to take a cue from the Nostalgia Critic and bump it up to 11. Even then, I have far too many honorable mentions. LOOK, ALL OF THIS MUSIC IS GREAT OK??? But these are my personal favorites:

11. “Life and Death” - “We stand here waaaaittiiiiinnnggg, waiting to diiiiiieeeee~” UUGGHH it gets me every time. Both the lyrics and the music itself capture something that is sweet, heartbreaking, depressing and yet hopeful all at once. The gentle piano reprise plays us out of one of my favorite Acts.

10. “Wait” - Probably the most…hmm, “popular-sounding” songs on my list. I tend to gravitate toward the theatrical numbers, and while this one plays out a bit more like a typical rock song, it’s really frickin’ good. REALLY good. I mean, it wouldn’t be on my list if I didn’t love it to bits. CHORD PROGRESSIONS.

9. “The Most Cursed of Hands / Who Am I” - This was not at all a song I was expecting to like, but LOOK AT IT NOW! All I had to do was keep listening, dammit. The slow build pays off around the middle, then it BOMBARDS you with bluesy awesomeness (as well as a fleeting, nifty callback to “Mustard Gas”; more on that one soon, haha) up through the groovy, slick “Who Am I”. Great combo.

8. “At the End of the Earth” - I usually measure my love of a song based off of how much I rock out to them in the car, and I’m less inclined to listen to slower tunes in that instance. That said, this one is just so poignant and builds up to a  excellent, powerful jam. And guess what? Chord progressions. :B

7. “Mustard Gas” - "HERE THEY ARE!” *BUM BUM BUH BUM BUM BUH* This one blasts it out of the park with its orchestrations (dat brass), and we’re definitely getting into the “sing at the top of your lungs in the car” territory at this part of the list. The middle section is a delightful, unexpected treat sandwiched between the bombast. So yeah. War sucks. Song rocks.

6. “King of Swords (Reversed)” - This song was SO UNEXPECTED. The first time I heard it, I was actually pissed off. I didn’t even make it past 10 seconds, just skipped to the next track. When I finally went back and forced myself to get through it…well, color me contrite. That CHORUS. And the last 30 or so seconds of the song proper (before the outro) gives off such an awesome Jesus Christ Superstar vibe. This jumped so high on my list SO FAST.

5. “A Beginning” - This song MURDERS me. As the finale for Act V, it obviously packs narrative punch, and there’s no way I can have listened to the entire story so far and NOT be super emotional about this ending. It’s gorgeous. It’s powerful. It’s heart-rending. It’s a goddamn frisson bomb. And I cry every time. No, you don’t understand. EVERY. TIME. I mean, I’ll be the first to admit that I cry easily (and I get extremely worked up about beautiful music), but damn this one hits me hard. All I have to do is THINK the words “Dear apparition” and WHOOPS there go my glottis and tear ducts. There’s also a cool parallel with Act IV’s closer, “Ouroboros”...but I think the melody works better here. ;)

4. “The Pimp and the Priest” - From the skeevy muted trumpet at the outset to the cringe-worthy concepts strung through the lyrics, this song ooooozes with mood-setting villainy. This is a fantastic introduction to the main antagonist (my favorite character, of course), and by far my favorite song from the first Act. That chorus STICKS, man. This one’s a gem. A gross gem. I love it. :’D

3. “The Poison Woman” - Hey, speaking of the Pimp/Priest, did you miss him in Act III? Well, I did, because I listened to all of this shit out of order. BUT YES, fortunately, the Poison Woman was here to fill the void. This is far and away my favorite chorus of any song. Casey’s voice sounds amazing up there in the stratosphere, and it’s just so much damn good, messed-up fun.

2. “The March” - Now, I understand this may not seem fair. This song is a mash-up of so many songs that came before it (many of which I haven’t even listed in my top 11; an exception being “Wait”, which took me an embarrassingly long time to realize)…but y’know what? I don’t care. This is such a fantastic integration of those themes and a perfect culmination of the Pimp/Priest’s character. Still pure villainy, of course, but twisted into something that feels almost righteous, given the spoilerific circumstances. I am head over heels for this one. The vocal arpeggios in the verses and just…the whole…mob scene vibe…so good…a triumph… *dead*

1. “The Bitter Suite IV and V: The Congregation and the Sermon in the Silt” - Who here is remotely surprised? This was my introductory song to The Dear Hunter and it will always be my favorite. I’ve loved villain songs all my life. I remember when I was a wee child, my friend and I were “playing the Little Mermaid” and I insisted that SHE be Ariel so I could be Ursula and sing “Poor Unfortunate Souls”. I mean, duh, right? Anyway, this song has everything that I love, not the least of which being an oom-pah baseline AND AN ACTUAL CONTRABASSOON HOLY SHIT SO GOOD. Theatricality, lyrics that verge on the edge of patter, incredible orchestrations, more of that delicious Vaudevillian vibe, the subject matter, the sleaze OH GOD THE SLEAZE, that frickin’ build-up/transition from The Congregation TO the Sermon in the Silt, “HEY HEY KID HEY KID GET A GOD”—I—just… *rolls around in the beautiful filth forever*

Honorable Mentions:

“The Writing on a Wall” / “Rebirth” / “Regress” - I couldn’t pick one. All three of these set the mood so well for their respective albums. Excuse me while I go harmonize with each of them right now.

“Moon / Awake” - It’s NOT FAIR that this song has so much crossover with “A Beginning”. But “A Beginning” is more significant to me emotionally, and I decided it would be a bit much to put this one in my top 11 list as well. Still, amazing bookends for the album. And I can listen to this without crying. Usually. :’D

“He Said He Had a Story” - This song is so wrong. So very, very wrong. I feel horrible for loving it as much as I do, but half the love is for how much it makes you HATE the character singing it. The other half is because it’s catchy as hell.

“Blood of the Rose” - Oh, look, an Act II song. I guess people really like Act II? Ehh. It doesn’t have the production values or symphonic lavishness that I adore in the final three Acts. Still, this mournful tango gives me chills.

“The Flame (Is Gone)” - An unconventional little tune, but those beguiling chord progressions, as well as the narrative significance...and when I realized what was happening in the song…no spoilers, but whoof.

“Blood” - IF ONLY FOR THE CLIMACTIC INTERWEAVING OF THE PIMP/PRIEST’S THEME. It’s so damn cathartic in the context.

“The Revival” - It didn’t seem right not to include this one in my favorites, being pretty damn villainous, but there is something about it that falls a tiny bit short for me. Maybe it just needs more oom-pahs? That said, the chorus is another winner.

“If All Goes Well” - I really, really wished I cared more for the first 2:25 of the song, because the rest is PURE GOLD. It’s beautiful. And there is more bassoon. Inoni approves.

Gosh, so much good music. And so many reprises that weave leitmotifs in and out of the narrative and really bring the story together as a fantastic, cohesive whole. So much love.

…Now do I have to rank the Acts? 8(

Nah. Nope. Can’t do it. III, IV & V are too close to call. Too good in different ways, too good for different moods. Just...all the love, yeah.

Anyway, guess it’s time to explore the rest of their music! So happy that there’s so much more to hear~ 83c

[historywhore2-0]

Last Hurrah

I had my last night at Big Chill for the year on Saturday night. Sherlock and Rob were behind the bar wearing Santa hats. There was a salsa band and an awesome DJ. Simon was in a disgustingly good mood. It was a good, if short, night. Kaela was with me while Pen stayed in with Dave. She doesn't drink so I didn't quite know what to do with her. We didn't really talk to anyone besides each other and the bartenders. When we first got there I checked my coat and walked over to where Arturo was working behind the bar. While standing waiting to actually get to the bar I saw Simon standing by coat check so I walked over and said hi to him. He hugged me and I introduced him to Kaela. He said hey and hugged her before running off to wherever he was going. I turned to Kaela and said, "He's not normally that huggy. I'm trying to figure out what he's on." Her eyes widened a bit at my nonchalance. While I was waiting for Arturo to finish serving someone Rob caught my eye and waved at me, not bothering to put down the bottle that was in his hand. I introduced Kaela to Arturo over the bar and he asked, "The same?" and then gestured for single or double. I told him a double while silently horrified that he actually had my order memorized. I got my drink and we wandered around for a bit. I went looking for Dawid so we went upstairs to the Snug. Simon was working and I said I was looking for Dawid and he said he was on break. He originally didn't know who I was talking about and said, "Who? Oh, everyone calls him Acid now." This is beyond weird. I said, "Why? Because he did acid?" This beyond unlikely. Simon laughed and said, "No, he's straightedge. Well, he was straightedge", with this glint in his eye. My eyes widened, "What do you mean 'were'? Did you break Dawid, Simon?!" There were customers standing at the bar now so he laughed and said he'd tell me about it later so we walked away. 

We were in the stairwell at some point and there's this ledge that always has a bunch of free newspapers and stuff. I looked over and the title of one stack caught my eye: the Socialist Worker. I shook my head and said "Simon fucking Prendergast". I ran upstairs to the Snug and leaned on the bar. When Simon leaned towards me I grinned and said, "So, do you want explain to me why there's a stack of the Socialist Worker in the stairwell?" His eyes widened as he jumped back, defensive, "No! You're not going to believe me when I say this but they were here when I got here! Liam said the same thing to me! It wasn't me!" I was crying I was laughing so hard. I was leaning against the wall trying to catch my breath. So amazing. We walked away and stood at the door to the Terrace talking to Tof for a bit before Ed came to give him shit and we went back inside where it was warm. At one point I asked Ed where he was from and he told me to guess, I said Brazil and he smiled. I then asked him if his full name was Eduardo. It was. Too cool for words. I love being right about things like that. It is going to be a constant struggle to not call him Wardo though. Damn you, TSN. Kaela insisted that she was ok without a drink. I walked to one end of the bar downstairs and Maggie walked over to me and said, "Hello, Trouble," before hugging me. I introduced him to Kaela and he attempted to disparage me. I tried to shut him up and he talked over me going, "People at home should know who you really are!" Jerk.

I stopped to talk to Toff for a few minutes and gave him shit about not calling Neelam (which she's totally ok with but it's fun to watch him flail). I went and sat on a ledge for awhile to see if there was anything interesting to see, knowing that I could not drag Kaela with me to talk to randoms. She would probably die. We ended up back upstairs so I could get the Dawid story from Simon. It turns out that Dawid didn't drink before moving to London. He started drinking out of necessity; he's a bartender. I can't believe anyone from Poland had to move to the UK to start drinking. Simon made some quip about how there's a lot of things about Dawid that don't make sense. I decided not to push the issue there. I told Simon that Kaela's never been drunk and his eyes widened. I told him I felt like I needed to buy her a shot of something, Agwe maybe? He told me that if I let him make her a proper cocktail he'd give us a 25% discount. He decided on Rosie's Lemonade which is a sweet whiskey cocktail. I told him to make us two and as he did so I gave him shit about how he was doing it just to watch him smile and defend himself. As he finished I told him that he was making Kaela her first legal drink and he goes, "I've never taken anyone's virginity before." I responded quickly, "Really? I heard it's a good time." "What?" "Nothing." I handed him a tenner and he gave me back change. I could get used to an employee discount. I miss William and Mario. Kaela took a sip of her drink and blanched, "Oh my gosh!" Simon fell apart, "That is literally the most adorable thing I've ever seen." He came out from behind the bar to hug her. He couldn't handle it. It was hilarious to watch her drink it. I liked it more than I thought I was going to. I'm not normally a fan of whiskey but Sim has a way of making it sweet enough for me to enjoy. Jesus, I'm disgusting. 

Maggie ran upstairs at one point and poured two shots of whiskey, one for Simon and one for the girl that was working with him. Simon threw back the shot and I said to him, "Are you gonna be able to keep that one down?" with my tongue between my teeth. His face stretched into a defensive grin, "I hadn't drank in two weeks!" Maggie laughed and grabbed my arm as he walked past to go back downstairs, "Look after Simon, alright?" I laughed and stopped him from walking off long enough to say, "Yeah, that's the best plan I've ever heard. Me look after Simon? That'll really end well." Maggie barked a laugh, "It will!" He's ridiculous.  It got a bit busy then so we went and sat up in the Nook to drink our drinks. Well, I drank my drink. Kaela nursed hers. As it got closer to when we had to leave I started to make my rounds. I found Toff and Ed and said good-bye. I waited next to the bar for Sherlock to be free and hugged him while he said something incredibly Irish over the music. We went to go upstairs to find Simon but we stopped in the stairwell so I could drink some of Kaela's drink. Maggie walked in and goes, "I thought you were supposed to be looking after Simon!" I rolled my eyes at him as walked to the other end of the stairwell and pulled open the door to the break room. I heard him laugh and he called back to me, "You actually are!". I heard Simon respond, "What?" and Maggie laughed again as I fell apart. 

A group of guys walked down the stairs and went to open the door to the main bar but I stopped them. "Declan?" It was Callum's friend Declan who I think is amazing. He's far more normal than anyone else in the group and he has the added benefit of looking like he's 16 and adorable with his curly brown hair and hoodie. There was a guy with him I didn't know and he walked back into the stairwell looking a bit terrified. He said hi and turned to the guy he was with, "This is Callum's friend." I cringed a bit at that and Declan goes, "She hates Callum." "I don't hate Callum!," I protested. The guy with him was someone named Tom. He then told Tom, "This is the girl that gave me shit about my Bears hat." "Well if you don't know what it is you shouldn't wear it. Do you even know what sport it is?" Declan smiled at me, "Yes! After you gave me a hard time about it I went and did research." I practically fell over. So fucking funny. I asked him if Callum and Liam were with them mostly because I'd made a joke the week previous about how I was going to run into Callum the night I went to Big Chill with Kaela. It was going to happen. Declan said that they hadn't come out. I laughed a bit at this. They're definitely terrified which is hilarious. I have no bad feelings towards Callum at all. I might be a little pissed off if he ignored me or if I saw him hitting on another girl but generally I'm not angry at him for anything. Tom was hitting on Kaela but I couldn't help her as I wanted to be besties with Declan and that required conversation. Tom did interrupt me at one point to ask if anyone called me Britz. I rolled my eyes at him. Declan than made me tell Tom Penny's full name which they both found hilarious. I told Declan that we needed to be facebook friends and he attempted to give me Tom's full name and then goes, "And it's Callum Mackenzie!" "I know Callum's second name. Do you know how common a name that is? And come on, what's your surname." He eventually gave it up and I said we had to go, we had to catch a Tube back to mine which meant explaining that I don't actually live in King's Cross and all that. I hugged him goodbye and wished him a Merry Christmas. It was a hilarious encounter. I'm so glad I noticed him when he walked by. 

I finished off my drink and Kaela couldn't believe I wasn't on the floor. Sure, it was a Simon drink so it was fairly strong but it brought me to my third drink of the night and I'd eaten. There wasn't that much alcohol. Both Bobbie and Ed had walked in while we were talking to Declan and Tom and told us that we couldn't stand there and both of them looked at me and said, "You know that" before walking out. I go there too much. I gave Kaela my coat check ticket and asked her to grab my coat while I ran upstairs. Simon was still on break or whatever but Dawid was behind the bar in the Snug. I gave him the rest of Kaela's drink and told him to give it to Simon or have it himself. I just didn't want it to go to waste and I know that Simon at the very least has no issue drinking my drinks. He nodded and I said I was going, I'd be back in a month. He came out from behind the bar and hugged me goodbye. He looked a bit out of it and was a bit quiet but I was in a hurry anyways so it was fine. He wasn't wearing his normal trucker hat which was a bit strange but I waved goodbye while he looked a bit helpless from behind the bar. I went downstairs and ran into Arturo who kissed me three times and told me to have a good Christmas. I got my coat from Kaela and stood at the end of the bar waiting to catch Rob's eye. He saw me and walked over. I said I was leaving and he hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. He asked when I'd be back and I said the end of January. His eyes widened and he hugged me again, tight. I told him to have a good Christmas and all that and he hugged me a third time looking sad as he pulled back and I kissed him on the cheek. 

I really wanted to see Simon before we left so after saying goodbye to Toff I ran back upstairs really quick and stuck my head into the Snug. There was still only Dawid. I went back downstairs and led Kaela out the side door that I'm not technically supposed to use but the main bar was crowded and I was afraid we'd miss our train. I didn't want to have to pay for a cab when I'd already said goodbye to everyone. 

We got home without incident and I logged onto facebook. Simon was online so I messaged him saying sorry that I didn't see him before I left but to have a good Christmas, New Years, etc. I didn't expect him to respond. I just didn't want to post it on his wall. He responded and we had a decently long conversation. It was bizarre. I could not believe that I was having a facebook conversation with Simon. We've definitely crossed the line from customer to friend. He was off and just waiting for everybody else to finish so he was sitting in the office. I called him a loser and told him to go home but he kept talking to me for ten minutes as we shared how we both love how fucked up everyone in London is compared to what people think. I told him about me telling my friend who will be here for two weeks in January that "There will be a lot of people on a lot of drugs. If you know that, things will be much less confusing." He sent me back a million ha's before agreeing with me. He really does think Kaela is adorable. I told him I didn't think her boyfriend would appreciate that and he responds, "I didn't mean it at all in a sexual way. She is quite cute though." He types like a human which I knew he would. Eventually he told him he had to dash but he'd see me in January. It absolutely kills me how many of these bartenders I am legitimately friends with. This number increased the next day when I was sitting on facebook in the afternoon and Dawid messaged me. Simon and I had a legitimate facebook conversation months and months ago but it had happened. Dawid had always been closer to Pen (they have a hilarious friendship made up mostly of panic and confused hand signals). I'd never really spoken to him. He messaged me apologizing for the night before. He'd been hammered the night before and was running on an hour of sleep. His written English isn't too bad actually. We talked for like 45 minutes. They'd all gotten off of work and were going to go out or something and they found him passed out in the break room, dead to the world. They'd put his coat on him and brought him to the Tube station and sent him home. He'd passed out on the Tube and woke up somewhere he didn't live, which is disturbing as he lives at the end of the Piccadilly line. I told him that they should've known better and sent someone with him to take him all the way home. He said that Sherlock was with him but he somehow convinced him that he was fine and he'd gotten off. He has no idea how he managed this as he has no idea what his English is like when he's that drunk. I was dying. Kaela thought there was something wrong with me because of how hard I was laughing. I probably did sound a bit bipolar as I was simultaneously having a frustrating conversation with George. Dawid and I talked about a lot of nothing but I learned a lot about him. He's genuinely a hilarious person and I was so sad that there was no way for Penny to be a part of this conversation. Eventually he had to go but he wished me a merry Christmas and wished me luck with my family.

I'm glad that I got to kind of cement my friendship with him and Simon before I left. I genuinely adore that whole bar staff. I love that Maggie calls me Trouble and gives me shit about things. I love Sherlock's teasing comments, sarcasm, and the fact that he can tell us how much he hates his life. I love having in jokes with Simon and watching his face when I tease him. I love knowing that Toff, Ed, and Ben would all protect me with their lives. I love Arturo's genuine affection and David's smile of recognition (even if that does means he think's it's ok to get grabby when he's drunk). I love that Rob and I are clearly friends and that he clearly cares (though how much is really up in the air as there's been some confusing moments with him lately). I love that Dawid was worried I'd be mad at him or something because he didn't wish me a merry Christmas. They are genuinely good people. They may occasionally make stupid decisions but they're good people. I have no regrets about the relationships I've forged with them. They've even seeped into my new year's resolutions. I feel like making out with Simon is inevitable. It really is. We have a ridiculous amount of chemistry and his territorial response to Callum makes me think there's something there. Plus, we do have a tendency to get drunk and end up with out faces close together and me standing between his legs. It's ridiculous. So, I figured I'd stick it on my list of things to do in 2012. That way, when it happens I can feel slightly accomplished instead of horrified. 

My other thing is that I want to have a conversation with Rob. I want to know if he's just an awkward person or if there's something awkward between us. I don't know if I could have a legitimate relationship with Simon. It would be too ridiculous but Rob is a different story. He's less unpredictable, sweeter and with less of a tendency to get high and act like an idiot. I want to know if there's something there or if he's just a really strange person (which he kind of is but that's not the point). God, Simon would freak out though. He would be so passive aggressive if I started dating Rob. Penny had an epiphany the other day. We've dib-sed up the bartenders. She has Atilla and George and Arturo (by default) and I have Simon, Sherlock (though I will never have Sherlock really), and Rob. She had a thought, what if they'd done the same thing to else? What if they'd decided who had dibs on each one of us? The sad thing is that they probably match pretty closely. Atilla and Dawid would lay claim to Penny. Rob and Simon would both throw their hands up for me. One day we're going to end up at a staff party with them and hard drugs and things are not going to end well.