#more news at 11. (by that I mean whenever the thoughts arrive & when I have time!)

[worms-i-think]

Felicia Luo is so pretty what. Ma’am you gotta share the name of that lip gloss

Posting this mainly for those who go feral every time a new evilwoman is revealed <3 enjoy <3 I haven’t finished chapter 10 yet but the thoughts are brewing!

^^ saw this & was like huh, those little guys in my phone are gonna be in a drooling frenzy lol

[circeyoru]

Collection of Overlords _ Epilogue = Requested

[Alastor x Soul Owner of All Overlords!Reader]

Part 1 — Part 1.5 — Part 2 — Part 3 — Part 4 — Part 5 — Part 6 — Part 7 — Part 8 — Part 9  — Part 10 — Part 11 — Part 12 — Part 13 — Part 14 — Part 15 — Part 16 — Epilogue (here)

Charlie’s face grimanced as she watched Alastor and Husk at your services whenever. Even Angel was comfortable around you now. Her stare shy away the moment your head turned to her direction, even though your eyes were closed, she could feel that she made eye contract with you. You gave her the same soft and gentle smile with a nod, she nodded back but her eyes lips pressed to a tight line. 

She moved when she heard the lift ding to signal its arrival, she got in and pressed her desired floor, looking out as the doors closed at the press of a button. Her eyes met yours as the doors slowly closed like time was slowed or paused, the longest wait of her life was this. You maintained your stared until your attention was called away and Charlie immediately let out a sigh of relief. 

The dear princess steadied herself, she has to do something. She was the one that brought along this hotel, she was the one that brought along all her friends, she was the one that survived that hellish experience with the exterminators. So why was it that the moment you arrived that she felt a change? Saw a change.

She knew she wasn’t enough, that there was more to do as the Princess of Hell. She lacked so much that her people hardly see her as the Princess, the heir to the throne. When she saw your commanding presence in action, she thought she could learn from you. Yet, she found herself unable to get close to you. 

She saw how Alastor was always with you, treating you in a way that was never shown before your arrival. She saw how Husk was more actively attentive without that sharp edge in his tone and words. She saw how Angel was more respectful and mindful of his words and actions, being more open and kinder like a cageless bird. She saw how Vaggie was less angry and tense, even with new guest, also having at least a small smile on her face. She also saw how much more cheerful her father, Lucifer, was after your arrival.

And Niffty was Niffty but more tamed, if one could believe it.

These were all things she wanted to do, things she was aiming to help them change. Granted, she knew it’d take some time to achieve, but that’s what the journey will teach them, that things take time to change. She just can’t understand how you brought along this change in the short amount of time you were here. She saw what you have accomplished without even trying to be impossible. A miracle.

“Dad, you got some time?” Charlie knocked on the door to Lucifer’s workshop, another renovation that you granted to her hotel along with a few other special rooms after your identity was revealed by Lucifer. “Can we talk?”

Charlie flinched as she heard stuff fall and crash behind the door, then she could make out her father stumbling to the door before it opened and Lucifer was standing there with an awkward but excited smile, “Charlie! Of course! Come in, come in.” Lucifer moved to the side to let his daughter enter and closed the door behind her, “Weird that you’re free to chat. Ah, not that I’m not happy or bu- I mean, don’t you usually have some friendship or moral class now?”

“Uh… Well, The Coll- Silver offered for a day off for me since I’ve been working too hard and everyone else agreed. Husk’s teaching everyone to be careful for themselves and others, you know, like lies and tricks?” Charlie felt like she was choking as she admitted that, it was like she was slacking off, like her purpose was being taken from her.

Lucifer sighed, bringing Charlie to sit down at a tea table and sat down himself. With a snap of his fingers, drinks and snacks appeared on the table. He pushed a cup to Charlie before sipping on one himself. His smile dropped as he noticed the obvious frown on her face. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Why are there so many changes after Silver came to the hotel?” Charlie blurted out, Lucifer blinked before getting to respond or given the chance to, Charlie continued, “Not that the changes are bad, but they are the changes I thought I can do it with time. Hell’s my home, this hotel and everyone here is my family and friends, I thought… I thought I can finally pull my weight and help… You know, do my part and be the Princess of Hell.”

“Charlie, you need to understand.” Lucifer got up and went to her, kneeling down so that he was looking up at her, “The throne was never ours.”

The princess gasped. “Then why—”

“We’re only given the title. It means nothing to anyone other than the Sinners.” Lucifer explained, “You never been to the other Rings, but there, you’d be no more than a minor significant figure. We only manage the Sinners, the souls sent to Hell after death, we’re the King and Princess of Sinners. Not of Hell.”

“Then who…”

“Charlie, you’re important to me and I know redemption and this hotel is important to you. But like I told you before, you can’t protect anything without power and authority, you can’t change anything with those as well.” Lucifer got up and opened his six wings, “We’re given this title to protect ourselves, Lilith and I, it never extended to you because you were never there in the beginning when the words were spoken. It was never agreed that our place will be taken over by an heir.”

Charlie got up, feeling like everything was being taken away from her, “So what. Am I nothing now? I can’t amount to anything?”

Lucifer held her hands in his, giving her an encouraging smile, “No. I never mean that. All these changes you’re seeing means potential and interest in rising you to be the next Queen. Teacher doesn’t throw away anyone.” He chuckled, “I had nothing when I came here, Lilith too, but Teach gave us so much. Teach is also giving you so much too. Where this hotel is built, this land was untouched the moment you were born. Until you said to move out, this land is yours.”

Charlie blinked, her heart ached as her eyes pooled up, “Then I’m not being thrown away? I’m not..”

“Never. Everything Teach may be, Teach isn’t pure evil. Otherwise,” Lucifer smiled brightly, “We’d all be dead where we stand.”

Charlie chuckled along, but then froze, “Wait, but then, that means Silver’s the real… Oh my… But you tell me all this, aren’t you in—?!”

Lucifer patted Charlie’s hands, “These are secrets meant for your ears now, Teach said when you ask then I can tell, it was time you knew. Because more challenges will be coming for you in the future.”

.

.

.

“The Princess is ready for her test. For this stage, it’s vital for her to grow. To do that, we need some friction. Between the hotel and the new Overlords.” You turned to the three kneeling Overloards behind you. “The former Vees and Alastor. Your history with each other, Vox and Alastor, would be of great help.”

Alastor, Vox and Velvette all raised their heads as they meet your attention.

“I won’t disappoint, My Sovereign.”

“I’ll do as you command, My Sovereign.”

“Everything will be as you wish, My Liege.”

Note: Okay. This is really really the final part. Say bye bye to this series everyone. I have no idea if it will continue when Season 2 is up cause of all the changes I did for this series. Thanks for sticking by this story till the end everyone.

Circe Y. 

My Works: MASTERLIST

Taglist: (those that don't specify to being in all the works' taglist will automatically be assumed to be in whichever series they comment on)

@aconfusedwonderland @crowleysthings @donustellaron @mistpurpl3 @lucifers-silhouette @fluffy-koalala @snowy-violet @charlottesskiss @plutobots @ray-rook @thealienartist @serenity-songbird @galaxydreamer468 @raynerrold @wen01203 @hikari-michiko @colecreo @myromanempiree @xsamkuro @yourdoorisunlocked @clavelina @jono723 @cursedcattalastor @an-idyllic-novelist @flamiohotman2024 @rea-grace @myromanempiree @veroneverleft @lousypotatoes @crazysuityouth @jellyedkazoo @wat4r @kiraisastay @thealienartist @chefysawesomeideas @wtvbabes @patronizingbitch @koshi-kazu @craftyperfectiontragedy @scr4luv @chrollobb @mysterypotatoink @callmefe @dokukg69 @ratchetprime211 @freejayde @prettyprincess-ily @cgmajor @mook14 @ace-spades-1 @yuuandtheghost @abbiesxox @martinys-world @kiraisastay @umbreon-worshipper @crimsonflameproxy @the-gay-trash-gremlin @ratchetprime211 @soggyb0nes @newkatzkafe2023

[tired-teacher-blog]

Characters : Tattoo artist Aizawa/ Florist fem reader

Featuring : Eri/ Hizashi Yamada/ Nemuri Kayama/ Oboro Shirakumo/ Emi Fukukado

Warnings and Genre : Fluff/ Romance/ Smut and Angst in future chapters/ Multi Chaptered Story

Summary : In a desperate attempt to get closer to the tattoo artist dominating every speck of your brain, you decide to pay him a visit one evening as a client seeking his service. This encounter will prove to be the beginning of something much bigger between you two, but will this new found passion be enough to stand against the difficulties your future holds?

Notes : Loosely inspired by this/ Art below is by the wonderful @/ael-draw who gifted me this gorgeous piece.

Masterlist|Second Masterlist|Third Masterlist

Chapter Count : Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6 • Part 7 • Part 8 • Part 9 • Part 10 • Part 11

It has been a week already since that fateful day, and during the time nothing has really changed for you, you still get up early to go to work and spend the day relishing the happy smiles and cute stories of your customers as they rave about their dear ones who'd be receiving the fragrant blooms.

You still watch out the window for the locked tattoo studio across the street, breathing heavily as time nears his arrival.

You still roam the fictional realm you've built for yourself and the artist named Aizawa, your heart still skips a beat whenever your eyes meet with his black ones, and your mind still goes blank every evening when he greets you.

One thing has changed since then though, and it's the beautiful red rose traced on your skin.

You smile melancholically as you run your fingers along it, it's healing nicely but your heart is not, so maybe you will have to finally let go of your delusions, you -at least- have a reminder of him engraved in your skin now, and that's more than you can dream of attaining.

_ "Hello." a voice brings you back to your senses, a new costumer perhaps.

_ "Welcom.." you start as you shake off your innermost thoughts and prepare to receive the mysterious person, but this person is not mysterious at all, "Mr Aizawa." this person is him.

He stands a bit awkwardly at the door, smiling sheepishly while shoving his hands in his pants' pockets.

He looks almost cute, it's a new side of him that you're not used to seeing, but you love it.

_ "Please come in," you round the counter in a hurry to reach him, almost tripping over your own two feet in the process, "welcome to my humble shop."

You have never seen him under the illumination of daylight before, but now that you have, your amazement is only growing and your wish to take in every small detail of his handsome face is dominating your whole body.

_ "This place is beautiful, really soothing and serene." his eyes travel across every cozy corner of your little shop, lingering on the gorgeous flowers as they stood proudly in their vases.

_ "That's.. so nice of you, thank you, it really means a lot." never in a million years would you have thought to hear him mention your shop, let alone visit it, and it feels like a dream.

_ "So, you must be wondering why I'm here," he clears his throat before uttering, running a hand through his luscious locks as he continues, "I wanted to check in on you and see if you're healing well," he continues while glancing at your arm.

_ "Oh! Yeah.. yes, it feels so much better, it's almost completely healed actually," you are caught off guard by his statement, bringing your arm up slightly and staring at your new tattoo just so you wouldn't look at him, since the blush creeping up your cheeks is now too bright to hide.

_ "Great, and it looks good on you by the way." he replies softly, and you can clearly sense a smile in his words, but you're still too embarrassed to meet his eyes.

The air is strangely pleasant and comfortable around you, even though it probably shouldn't be, considering the circumstances, but you've always felt this way with him near, and you've always found it weird, that the mere thought of him is enough to calm your heart.

_ "Mr Aizawa!" your head snaps up abruptly, and your eyes sparkle as you call out his name -perhaps a bit louder than you have hoped- before running to the section of your shop where the dark pink roses are displayed, and leaving the stunned man behind.

His mouth falls slightly open, and his eyes blink in confusion while watching you skillfully cut the fresh blooms at a perfect angle and gather them in a stunning bouquet before walking back to him.

_ "These are for you," you hold out the roses for him, a shy smile appears on your face as you do, "the dark pink ones are a sign of appreciation and gratitude, and this is exactly how I feel right now," you lower your head again as your blush deepens, "you were so sweet and patient with me when I came to your studio, I will never forget that."

He takes the bouquet from your extended hands and holds it close to himself, but for once he seems lost for words as his eyes move between you and the sweet scented flowers, so you continue, "I know this is probably not something that would normally interest you, but I hope you don't hate them too much." and you giggle shyly while fiddling with your fingers.

_ "I love them, they're as beautiful as you are." his gaze is trained on you as he breathes out, and he does not miss the slight shiver shaking your body when hearing his words.

He pauses for a moment, contemplating what to say next before it turns awkward around you.

_ "So, there is something that I want to ask you," his tone turns into a serious one, prompting a hitch in your breathing as you eagerly await for him to continue, and he does, "would you like to go out with me for dinner sometime?"

He's asking you out, he actually is, this isn't a dream is it? What if you're misunderstanding? He can't possibly mean for it to be anything intimate or romantic like you hope it would be, right? There is no way..

_ "You mean.." you have to make sure, but the words refuse to leave your mouth.

_ "I mean, would you like to go on a date with me?" there, he said it for you.

A rush of emotions ripples through you as your mouth falls open and your eyes widen in sheer surprise, you have always dreamt of this moment and even built it up in your brain ever since you laid eyes on him, yet never have you ever thought it would come to be, but this isn't a fantasy anymore, this is real.

_ "Yes, yes I'd love that."

To be continued..

[madeintheniamh]

I have a request!! Harry and the missus buying Lottie something and Tilly, as a tween, being jealous because she doesn’t get presents like her (like you know at age 11-12 where you want to act all grown up but you’re still a little girl and still kind of enjoy toys and things like that) anywayyy i don’t know if that makes sense 😅💕

this was so cute to write! thank you anon xx

darling, don't you ever grow up

stmf one shot #18

“We’re back!” You and Harry both chorused, rushing through the front doors with your hands full of suitcases and shopping bags. Anne and Tilly were already sat on the stairs awaiting your arrival, as Lottie appeared in the hallway, a glass of squash in her hand. Tilly ran up to Harry straight away, as he peppered her cheeks with kisses. Tilly was always excited whenever he came back from trips abroad- but often timed things to the minute, meaning that if he arrived at home even 5 minutes later than he had told her, she would begin to panic, and scold him for it as soon as she heard his footsteps on the doormat.

“Lottie baby, get over here!” Harry smiled, beckoning her to come closer. “Daddy’s got presents for you!” Tilly, who apparently couldn’t wait, immediately tipped one of the suitcases over and began attempting to unzip it, before Harry looked at you wide eyed remembering what the contents of the bright pink case actually were.

“Whoa, not that one,” You laughed, trying to snatch it out of her grasp before her innocence was ruined by seeing what was actually inside. “This brown one, over here,”

“What brown one?” Tilly moaned, as Harry began to blush. “There’s about 5 brown cases here,”

“He’s never packed light, your Dad,” Anne began to laugh, swatting his back slightly with her hand. “Come here, you bugger,”

“Thanks for looking after them, Mum,” Harry smiled, as he put his arm round her. “I hope they weren’t too much trouble,”

“Not at all, you know I love spending time with the girls,”

Harry began to bend down to the floor as Tilly struggled to unzip the case. Admittedly, you had struggled to get the contents inside in the first place. Harry always promised not to go overboard every-time he bought the girls things back from his travels, but always ended up going overboard anyway. And the girls were becoming that age where the things they were interested in were getting more and more expensive by the week, although he didn’t seem to care.

“Lottie love, this one is yours,” He tried to capture her attention by swinging a huge pink shopping bag at her, as she absentmindedly stared at something that had caught her attention in the window. “Lottie!”

She immediately rushed over and began examining the contents of the bag, eyebrows furrowed slightly in concentration as she struggled to waft through the layers of tissue paper in each box. Inside the first one- a huge 18 inch American Girl doll- the one she had been begging for for months- and in the other tiny pink boxes, a few different frilly outfits to match. And then another matching life-size outfit for Lottie to wear.

She smiled deviously.

“Daddy got them all the way from America for you, because we can’t get them here,”

“I thought they ran out of her,” She smiled. “They make different ones every year,”

“Lucky Daddy knows people in New York, hey?” Harry ruffled her brown curly hair.

“Thank you Daddy, I love you,”

“I love you too, sweet girl,” He smiled, puckering up his lips and peppering a kiss to her cheek.

During all the commotion, Tilly too had been opening up her bags of presents. A few sephora bags worth a good few hundred, maybe even a thousand dollars worth of makeup- he hadn’t been paying attention when the cashier had read out the number displayed on the card reader, instead simply just throwing anything pink he found into the basket. You and Harry turned towards her, and surveyed that her lips were now formed into a pout. She groaned slightly, giving her little sister that mean glare she always did when she meant business.

“What’s the matter, Tilly bug?”

She coughed slightly, still staring at Lottie, who was bewildered by her sister’s angry looking expression.

“Nothing, Daddy, I love it,” She said sarcastically.

“Don’t tell me I bought the wrong thing,” Harry laughed, kissing her forehead as she tried to shuffle away slightly, but he pulled her in closer. “Did I?”

She bit her lip for a minute, the frown lines growing on her forehead, which had recently begun to become dotted with a few angry red teenage spots. Tilly was insistent that she was now nearly a teenager, not a child- she had been going through this phase for a couple of years now- yet she still behaved like a child in many different ways. Because although you and Harry always forgot, she was actually only still twelve, and had barely moved into the senior years at her school.

She glared at Harry closely, before crossing her arms.

“I wanted one of those dolls,” She scorned, looking you up and down angrily.

“Don’t be ungrateful, Til,” You moaned. “You said that you were too grown up for them last year,”

“M’not being ungrateful!” She pouted her lips again. “I do like them. But everyone at school said they were for babies, that’s why I said it,” She picked up the doll from Lottie’s box and held it in her arms softly, cradling it as though it was a real person. “I didn’t want to get rid of all of them, I really liked playing with them,” She said, beginning to tear up a bit.

“Oh, baby love, come here,” Harry crooned, holding her shaking frame in his arms as she burst into tears. “You can still be grown up and like dolls, and you can like makeup too, you can like anything you want, and Daddy will try his best to get it for you,”

Tilly was beginning to get to that age where although she was excited about transitioning from a girl into a young woman, she was also secretly terrified about it, although she barely ever admitted that to you and Harry. The period talk had been enough to send her into an anxious frenzy, with her now stashing supplies in her bags and across her bathroom at all times in-case that moment suddenly came. She was still little for a twelve-year-old- she was shorter than you, and her frame was tiny- at times you thought it was too small, but you tried not to say or do anything too much, but she had wanted to look grown so badly. Because all the other girls at school looked so grown up compared to her.

She sobbed softly, but slowed herself down as she breathed in the scent of Harry’s aftershave. They probably sat there for a good ten minutes, as you left them some space and went into the kitchen to stick the kettle on for everyone. You and Harry had only been in the US for a week- but that was a week too long, for Tilly.

“I missed you, Daddy,” she whispered, her tears beginning to slow, mascara forming black circles around her green eyes. “I missed you so much,”

“I missed you too, lovey,” He smiled, as she rested her head under his chin. “Look, you don’t need to act all grown up all the time, okay? Not if you don’t want to. Daddy loves you either way. But don’t grow up too quickly, promise me,”

She held out her pinky finger, as he held out his simultaneously.

“Pinky promise, Daddy,”

“That’s my best girl,” Harry smiled, running circles across her cheek with the back of his fingers. “I love you,”

——-

thank you to the anon who requested this!!!

as always, if you have any further requests for my dadrry series, my inbox is always open! and I have linked the series masterlist here.

I have raging post concert depression from wembley rn so anything show related (wembley in particular if you can think of it) I would love!!

have a good week and tpwk my loves xx

[virtualcarrot]

[KKIR] Modern AU - Teaching Pains Pt the last

Part 11

“Kakashi!” Iruka’s voice booms somewhere from the hallway. It’s quickly followed by a hasty, “-sensei!” likely as he remembers that they’re at work.

Half-chewed stir stick in hand, Kotetsu turns to stare at Kakashi in unabashed incredulity. “The school year has only just started, come on, man,” he groans.

Then he balls up the waste from his snack, successfully tosses it into the trash can, and settles in against the counter for the wait.

Iruka storms in in a familiar struggle with the door damper. “You better have a good explanation,” he barks, needlessly putting the full weight of his back against it.

The door shuts at its usual snail pace.

Never one to miss a good opening, Kakashi chirps: “Sweetheart!” and basks in the resulting blush.

He never thought he’d be the sort of person who freely dispenses terms of endearments. He didn't know he could yield such power. The best way to bug Gai is to act aloof and disinterested. Tenzō endures Kakashi's whimsy with the resignation expected of a desensitized cat. Meanwhile, affectionate taunting gets Iruka to glare like he's planning a bloody murder.

It's great.

Sure enough, Iruka scowls. The storm gathers anew in his eyes. He pushes away from the door like a man on the warpath.

In perfect, well-practiced timing with his arrival at the desk, Kakashi slides on over a box of chocolates from last Valentine's day.

Iruka sighs the sigh of the long-suffering at the sight. “Just how many of these did you buy, seriously?”

“Eeh, maybe a couple,” Kakashi lies with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Iruka picks the box, turns it around to check the description and then lobs it at Kotetsu when it proves uninspiring.

“Oh, thank you!” Kotetsu sing-songs with badly feigned surprise, as if he hadn’t been lingering around just for that.

Kakashi may or may not have gone on an indiscriminate rampage at the clearance sales right after he and Iruka agreed to a relationship some months ago. He keeps his hoard carefully packed away at his apartment, where it takes a full upper shelf of the utility closet. Iruka’s falter of fond disbelief whenever one item pops up has become quite the guilty pleasure.

“It’s for sharing,” Iruka stresses.

“I know, I know,” Kotetsu replies, popping up a random chocolate on his way out. “Thanks for the treat!”

Then, unable to resist the pull, he shuffles back for a second one.

Iruka watches the ever slowing pace of the door shutting behind him with an expression of pure resentment. The man has the strangest grievances. Kakashi wants to kiss him so, so much.

He barely has time to pull his face into something measurably less heart-eyed before Iruka turns his attention back to him.

“I could’ve sworn we’d restocked the chemistry lab for the new year,” Iruka says in a terrible attempt at levity. The vein at his temple is already pulsing. “Wouldn’t you guess my surprise when I was told you’re already ordering additional materials?”

The fact Admin feels the need to tattle to Iruka is hilarious. Kakashi’s well aware that Iruka also gets a kick out of it, once he finds it in himself to wind down.

He’s not quite there yet, so Kakashi gives a harmless little shrug.

Iruka narrows his eyes. “Wasn’t it the deal, that you tell faculty before any grand experiment? I know you don’t have any pending.”

“Aaah, I knew I was forgetting something…”

“Kakashi…” There’s a warning in his voice. “What if they don’t greenlight your demonstration? What are you even gonna use all that liquid nitrogen for?”

“I mean, if the money’s already spent… More incentive for them to let me do it.”

Iruka's grimace of annoyance says he very much disagrees.

He pinches the bridge of his nose. “That’s reckless even for you, you know we have limited resources.”

Geologists wish their own volcanoes were this predictable.

As if he hasn’t just been waiting for that cue, Kakashi taps his palm with a closed fist. “Ah yes, the budget!”

“Yes, the budget.”

Some of Kakashi’s budding excitement seems to bleed through his composure, because Iruka pulls back a little with a puzzled frown. “Okay, what am I missing…?” he asks slowly.

“Well…” Kakashi trails off, pulling a nondescript folder out of his top drawer. “If we’re speaking of budgets… I heard the school came into some additional funds this year. And--”

Iruka’s frown goes from suspicious to confused, and also mildly vexed that he wasn’t kept in the loop. Kakashi doesn’t give him time to dwell. He opens the folder with a flick of his finger and twirls it around for ease of reading.

The first glance is one of polite curiosity. The second is out of pure stupefaction. Seeing as Iruka’s absently groping the air in search of a chair, Kakashi helpfully nudges one within easier reach.

Iruka drops into it and snatches up the paperwork. His satchel hits the floor.

“That’s… That--” he stutters, leafing through the pages back and forth like he’s looking for a gotcha.

He won’t find any. Tenzō was a bit horrified at the idea of letting grubby teenagers around his workplace, but the bonds of former college roommates prevailed. The paperwork’s solid. The Myōboku observatory has granted a visit.

“Yep.”

“But--”

“All expenses paid for students of low income.”

There's something dizzying about being held in the cross hairs of Iruka's awe-struck look.

“How?” Iruka asks somewhat breathlessly.

“Aaah. I understand Hiruzen-sensei came into some money. He was generous enough to invest it in the school.”

“Money? From what?!��

Kakashi shrugs. “The break in. Insurance.”

As far as he’s concerned, it’s a fair decision: Hiruzen might enjoy being surrounded by prized possessions at his workplace but that doesn’t make it any less of a security risk, and trouble did come knocking because of it. Precisely, it came knocking down right on Iruka, who still gets twinges of discomfort here and there even months later.

Nonetheless, Kakashi expects demurring, or some scandalized yelping, out of affection for the Headmaster. But what little conflict Iruka might feel over it, it barely tugs at the corner of his lips. Clearly, his loyalties go to his students before anything and anyone else.

Kakashi has always admired a strong sense of dedication in a person.

“It took some finagling,” he admits. “I didn’t want to get your hopes up too early.”

Iruka pulls a face, sounding too fond to quite sell the exasperation. “Kakashi, Admin tells me if you so much as breathe in the wrong direction, how did you even…?”

It’s disarming. Kakashi’s disarmed. That’ll be his excuse for the way he misses the mark of nonchalance when he scratches the visible skin of his cheekbone and replies:

“Oh well, love finds a way, I suppose.”

Iruka goes very still.

The whims of the school architect have shaped the teachers’ lounge like a flipped L. There’s a dead angle out of sight from the door, or at least that's what Kakashi assumes, because that’s where Iruka presses him into in order to snog him.

It must be private enough.

After a while, Kakashi touches their foreheads together.

“Are you really ordering liquid nitrogen or was that just a setup?” Iruka asks in a spine-tingling murmur.

He’s so smart. Kakashi tucks his unmasked nose against the space behind his ear and huffs amusement at the now familiar scent. Practical Iruka and his cheap personal care products. He pushes closer anyway and draws in a deeper breath.

“Kakashi. The nitrogen.”

What a bloodhound.

“Trust me, it will be fun,” Kakashi says, pulling back to let his wiggling eyebrow work its magic. “The explosion is delightfully sudden.”

“You’re really not selling it to me.”

“Are you sure? Because I seem to remember you confessing to some trouble-making as a teen.”

“That was pillow talk, you can’t hold it against me!”

“Seriously?” Anko’s voice asks somewhere from the doorway.

She sounds more baffled than scandalized, which is pretty understandable. There was a time where Kakashi couldn’t even brush Iruka's shoulder in public without triggering a deeply flustered lecture about propriety on the workplace.

Now, Iruka only groans and drops his head to Kakashi’s shoulder.

“The chocolate is over there on the counter,” he grumbles, letting Kakashi’s silent chuckle jostle him.

Kakashi draws a hand across his lower back, just because he can.

But Anko’s puttering at the kitchenette is making it hard to hold onto the spell. Iruka pulls away with a sheepish look. Kakashi kisses it out of his face before adjusting his mask.

“Will Naruto be allowed to go?” Iruka asks softly.

It's not an absurd concern. The kid’s pretty much on probation at the school and stuck doing community service there for the unforeseen future.

Kakashi snorts. “Are you kidding me? That's a lot of organization, Naruto’s conscripted.”

And he won’t be the only one. Kakashi’s already rehearsed multiple taunts to bait Sasuke into helping and once he’s in, it’ll take but a simple hint to get Sakura to follow suit. Not for nothing, but Kakashi is a genius.

Iruka darts a look at what can be glimpsed of Anko. She seems entirely uninterested in them, so he tugs Kakashi’s mask out of the way again.

The kiss that follows is nothing short of toe-curling.

This is dangerous. Iruka’s growing bold. Kakashi can envision a future where he is the most bashful of them both. How embarrassing.

Or maybe they will just grow easy and comfortable and unashamed with each other. Yeah. Kakashi would like that.

It’s with much regret that he catches sight over Iruka’s shoulder of the clock hanging on the opposite wall.

“Don't want to alarm you,” he whispers against Iruka’s mouth, “but your class starts in four minutes.”

Even Iruka’s jolt is endearing. Kakashi lets him go easily and watches him race for his dropped bag.

“Shit!” Iruka hisses, struggling in his rush to pull the strap over his chest. “Don't--I repeat, do not--set anything on fire without checking in beforehand. Alright?”

He moves back in quickly, but eases when it comes to drawing the mask back into place. He pays unusual attention to flattening the top fold with a fingertip over the bridge of Kakashi’s nose.

Then, resolve steeled, he meets Kakashi's eye with electrifying aplomb.

“Love you,” he declares, before leaving Kakashi with a peck to the cheek.

At the counter, Anko snorts. Kakashi barely hears it past the ringing of thunder in his ears. Or maybe it’s his heartbeat, who could say? His feet are rooted in the floor, his mind is feather light.

The door stops its relentless back swing and Iruka’s head pokes back in.

“You’ll need another adult,” he says. “To chaperone.”

“Ah, yes,” Kakashi replies slowly, as if he's only just thought of it, as if he hasn’t prepared a bullet point argumentation as to why, precisely, it should be someone who’s particularly experienced in the management of troublemakers. Someone who’s used to Naruto and feeds stray students takeout and buys toothbrushes by the family pack and stays up late into the night to agonize over lesson plans.

He's currently having trouble gathering the thoughts to voice it all.

He doesn't have to. Iruka grins and punches the air with the hand that isn’t straining against the door.

“Yes! I’m in!”

Kakashi blinks. “I thought this would be harder,” he admits, because he had genuinely expected to fight against hemming and hawing over preferential treatment.

“Are you kidding me? A guided visit of the observatory? That and I get to watch you give a lecture? I’m not missing that, I'll fight Ebisu if I have to.”

“You probably will have to,” Anko seconds without looking up from the slowly dissolving chocolate she dropped into her steaming mug.

Unperturbed, Iruka shrugs--as much as he’s able to while holding back the door. “It’s fine, Kakashi will train me.”

Their eyes meet. Iruka is smiling all the way up to his eyes and Kakashi’s chest aches with affection.

I will, he wants to say. Of course I will. That and more.

Me too.

“You’re going to be late, sensei,” he warns, voice a bit rougher than usual. “What will your students say?”

“That you’re a bad influence.”

Iruka doesn't seem to mind. If anything, his grin sharpens with something deep and understanding.

“Two minutes,” Anko says mercilessly.

Iruka pulls a face at her but it’s good-natured. He finally drops the door, though it takes him one last smile at Kakashi before he does it.

For a moment there, Kakashi understands all the hostility towards the door damper. The slowly shrinking space refuses to fully commit to their separation. He can’t help but stare until the door fully shuts.

“You guys are excruciating,” Anko informs.

Kakashi chuckles. He puts away the observatory file and brings out his crossword. He wonders what he could cook for them this evening. Iruka wants to go over their first impressions of the students on the new school year.

He can't wait.

~

also on AO3 (with edits and additions)

[hhoneycloves]

Please talk about your CCCC Solar Storms AU (I am daring you)

OUUUHH HOORAY!!! THIS IS WONDERFUL

Okay. So. I'm rather sure that at the VERY least if you live in the United States that you're aware of the recent strong northern lights that, at their greatest thus far, have reached down as far as Alabama. This snapped me back into the realization that OH. OH MY GOD. SOLAR MAXIMIUM IS COMING. Solar Maximum is the peak of the sun's activity in its 11 year cycle, and will be arriving around this time next year, hence the increased sunspotting and solar wind, and by extension, solar storms.

I have been following space weather trends for about a year or so now leading up to this event and I got the kickass idea earlier this week of: "Hey. Hey. Hey. Chonny Jash fan. Hey. Guess who's already the Sun. Guess who [could be] the Earth. Guess who's the Moon." [though that one took me a second to. Realize. like the dumbass I am.]

If the Sun is bombarding the Earth with solar radiation? That's Mind and Soul fighting. This is my big opportunity to write a Mind vs Soul AU AND write all of the atmospheric phenomena and space weather I've been keeping my eyes on AS PLOT POINTS.

look. We've got TWO SOLAR ECLIPSES. We've got the AURORAS. The solar winds, the RADIATION. We have SUNSPOTS. In the local atmospheric phenomena department we have LOADS OF SUNDOGS, a couple instances of GORGEOUS sun halos [i got some of the higher sun arcs on camera last December too, can't wait to play with that], one instance of a MOON HALO— it would be so crazy. It would be so wild.

Currently, plotwise, I have RoE set as the solar eclipse in October, which from my global positioning was not total. After this point, Corona [Mind] takes up a personal vendetta against Aurora {Soul} for Not Doing Enough ["Enough" being synonymous with "killing this mfer"] to punish Selene (Heart) (despite the fact that he already received the punishment of being cast in shadow [eclipses are always on new moons])

I'm working out what it means to be cast in shadow. To obscure another with your shadow. That plays a HUGE role in this whole thing. Eclipses and the lunar cycle. Something with not being allowed to shine. Something with having the beauty of your light snuffed out. Something with being silenced or ignored or usurped or.. something. It's important. It's v important. Expect me to hopefully work it out at some point. I may have to ignore Some conventions of the lunar cycle to make this work but We Cross That Bridge When We Come To It

But anyways !! Corona says ["Aurora you ain't doing Shit, step down or I'll make you."] Aurora basically responds w/ {"You can't do shit. ATMOSPHERE !!"} and Corona says ["FUCKING WATCH ME!! SOLAR WINDS !!"] and then they fight and whenever they fight Corona blasts Aurora w/ solar radiation and Aurora creates shields made of literal auroras to hold off against him and it would make for some Kickass Art

and then there's Selene. Without an atmosphere of his own, tethered to Aurora for safety, he ofc is caught in the crossfire. BUT. because he's the MOON. i thought it would be silly to say that it's up to him to turn the tides of this storyline :3

But. I will say no more. There are things I must obscure for the sake of "interesting reveal later" and "yall better ask me questions about it"

I will drop their designs HOPEFULLY before next week :3

[mosraev]

Lyrics through the decade 9/11

I've decided to collect all the songs I've made through the last decade and share my favourite snippets with you guys. The pictures for the backgrounds will (as much as possible) be pictures I've taken the same year as the lyrics were written. The full lyrics may or may not be made official someday.

Part 9; 2021

Now we've arrived at what I can call the personal era which started with me coming out to myself as nonbinary within the first three months of the year. After that a lot of the songs I started to make became a therapeutic tool getting to reflect over my thoughts and feelings about different topics.

More info under the line

Stay creative, my fellow foxes 🦊💚

Song 1 (pic1); Marco

This is not as much a song as it is 2-3 pages of me in lyrical form thinking through my newly out feelings as a nonbinary person. The 'song' is named after my middlename that on this time I believed would be my new name. Also, to fit with the very personal meaning of this song this is indeed a picture of me having gender euphoria looking in the mirror (although 9 months after the song was written)

Featured lyric:

Starring at the mirror softly repeating the name.

Trying to repeat the rush of joy hearing it for the first time.

Song2 (pic2); Aromantica

A song where I tried to reflect over my feelings as being an aromantic person since I also around this time has been coming to terms with being aro more and more (although I had come out to myself as aro one or two years prior).

Featured lyric:

((Extendend)) I held you and I kissed you

Because I thought that was what I had to.

And it’s funny how pathetic I was playing the part.

I’m not lovedrunk, I’m sober.

I realise that, now it’s over.

This is not who I am.

Song3 (pic 3+4); Altid Nat

This song is the exception to the rule I guess since it is less about my own personal identity explorations but again it is still about me and my feelings getting to be close to people with the loser covid-19 restrictions. You can hear the song here btw.

Featured lyric:

Original (pic3); Jordens trolde, de danser foxtrot over Danmarks bøgetage

((Extended)) så er det nu, vi sprinder guld af alt det som der kan ske i drømmeland.

For det er altid nat et sted på verdensplan.

Translated to English (pic4):

the trolls of the earth dance foxtrot in Denmark's treetops.

((Extended)) It is now we weave gold of all

that can happen in dreamland

cause it's always night somewhere in the world.

Song4 (pic5+6); Forstadsfabeldyr

This is an interesting one since I had less than a week to write and produce it on summer camp where I wasn't out yet so I wanted to make it somewhat mystical about what in the world I was referring to (thereby not outing myself before time) but also I really felt like getting out my hurt feelings about becoming the represent queer whenever people learned about my identity. (hint the swearing is back)

Featured lyric:

Original (pic6); Verden er så satans monokrom

for alle farverne er vasket ud med hvidt.

Translated to English (pic5); The world is fucking monochrome.

All the colours has been washed out.

Song5 (pic6+7); Glas v.2

Quite an interesting one that shows how my way of making songs has shifted since I originally made myself the challenge to make a song inspired by a poem on a playing card about rocks wanting to be glass and then the first version was meant to be about eating disorders (not told from my own pov) but that didn't connect with me so instead I told about nonbinary gender dysphoria (that is way more my own pov and so a therapeutic song instead)

Featured lyric:

Original (pic7): Når svaret for dem er hverken "han" eller "hende"

kommer de nemt til kort.

De ville så gerne kunne passe ind,

men kabalen går ikke op.

Translated to English (pic8): When their answer is not "he" or "she",

they'll easily come up short.

they'd love to fit in, but

the patience doesn't come up.

[justtluffythings]

HOME: Book 8 - CHAPTER THREE

MASTERLIST

September 29, 1991

Dear Charlie,

He does, actually. His hair is a bit shaggy in the front, so it covers it most of the time, but you can see it whenever he messes with it, which is often. Ron comes to visit me all the time in my office to chat, and he usually brings Harry with him, so I’ve had a few conversations with him. He hasn’t said anything about Binns’ classes, other than how boring they are, which I mean, who wasn’t expecting that? But I have heard a lot of complaints about Snape, which sucks because we’re even closer now than we were before, and I know how nice he can be. I think he’s just misunderstood, although I know he can be really mean to other people. There was an incident in Ron and Harry’s very first class with him where Neville did something wrong when brewing a potion and it spilled all over him. He had really painful boils all over, and let’s just say Snape wasn’t very empathetic about it. 

That’s so exciting though! I can’t wait to hear how it goes with the dragons! I know how much you’ve been looking forward to this. And only you would be excited about cleaning up dragon dung. A month is a long time, but I’m sure it’ll fly by. Time is really flying by here too, I can’t believe I’ve been a professor for a month already. It feels like just yesterday that we were arriving at Hogwarts for the first time, and now… It’s crazy.

On that note, classes have been amazing! Ron’s complained to me about a million times about the fact that they haven’t begun using magic in my class yet, but I want to make sure they have a basic knowledge of charms before starting to practice any. He would be very unhappy to know my schedule doesn’t have them using magic until Halloween. But all the other year’s classes are going great. I am just so in love with this job. Getting to chat with my students about charms is one thing, but having Ravenclaws coming to me with their problems and concerns is just so surreal. The fact that I’m their Head of House, and they trust me to give them advice… I just can’t believe it. Next month, I have to schedule the Career Advice Meetings with my fifth-years, which is going to be so fun! I can’t wait to see what their ambitions are and try to help them achieve their dreams.

How are things outside of work? Are you making any new friends? How’s your Romanian coming along? And are you getting more familiar with your neighborhood?

Miss you loads,

Veronica

***

October 11, 1991

Dear Ronnie,

I think you need to remember that Snape isn’t the same with everyone else as he is with you. He picks and chooses who he likes and who he doesn’t, and those he doesn’t like get his full wrath. I only escaped that wrath because of you, but it’s usually only Slytherins that get that privilege. You were different for some reason, but it makes sense that Ronald and Harry are complaining about him. Two Gryffindors? He hates our house more than any of the others. That’s too bad about Neville though, I’m sure Madam Pomfrey was able to heal him in an instant, but it must have been so painful for him. And now Snape won’t let him live it down, I’m sure.

I’m glad classes have been going well, and that it’s everything you wanted and more. This job really was made for you. I can imagine those meetings can be stressful for some students, so they’re lucky to have you guiding them. And don’t listen to Ronald. I’m sure you put in so much thought into the way you planned the year. He’ll get over it.

I’ve made a few friends at work. I’ve been spending a lot of time with the people that will be on my team when I start working with the dragons on Monday, and they all seem like people I would get along with. There’s going to be seven of us on the team; the five other guys seem nice. The one girl on our team though… I don’t know how I feel about her yet. She kind of gets on my nerves a bit; she acts like she’s the only one that knows anything about dragons. And you and I both know she isn’t. But anyway, we’ll see how it goes with her.

My Romanian is pretty good, I’d say. I still need to ask people to slow down when they speak to me, but I’m understanding a lot more and can have some decent conversations about more than just dragons. As for the neighborhood, I haven’t really been out much since you left, if I’m honest. I go to and from work by the Floo Network, and only go out for groceries. But the boys on my team are going to a pub nearby tonight and have asked me to join, so I think I will. I’m sure it’ll be a good time, although they don’t have butterbeers in Romania, so we’ll see what they drink here.

How is Ronald doing in his classes? Is he picking up on it?

Miss you more,

Charlie

[cold-arrow]

Doctor’s Notes, Book 6 part 11

| A burning meeting | Summary, Things of note since last entry: arriving in Waterdeep B-line to Silverhand's office scheduling conflicts mansion, Jarvis had something for us? a pleasant welcome, notified of our intent. settling in for a bit.  questions of faith. rushing an important project, the trimming of tony. ashes of disaster. distraught depression. piecing the things together of what remains. (the ring)    early meeting, late night visit. no entry. LA office debriefing. Tying up loose ends, finishing final errands. readying for transport

| 1 / 6 | After we arrived in Waterdeep we immediately B-lined it towards Lady Silverhands office. Unfortunately however… she was out of town. We tried to press the guards at the entrance to reach out to her as soon as possible, and explain the urgency of the matter. But they weren’t particularly helpful. And said they couldn’t do anything much us. Maybe put in an appointment for next week, at best.

So we ended up just Sending her a message, thanks to Lym.  hopefully she’ll be able to meet with us, sooner rather than later. At the very least she now has been notified, of our intent for an urgent meeting. I don’t really want the water baron the find us, before we deliver our evidence to miss Silverhand.

-- we ended up going to the mansion in order to kill some time. Lym reminded us that Jarvis had something ready, or waiting for us? next we should visit. So we thought, might as well pay the good man a visit.

He was quite happy to see us, though a bit surprised. but welcomed us in nevertheless. Offering to prepare us some food, should we be hungry. Which we gratefully accepted. After we introduced Aldrin,  we took the time to catch up a bit. seems he’s been a bit bored without our constant buzzing around. And that he does miss our presence from time to time. but I wouldn’t be surprised if he appreciates some of the peace and quiet as well.

| 2 / 6 |

Had an interesting conversation with Lym, and even Omrick, about faith. There were a couple of things that had been bothering me, or that I’d been wondering about, and I decided to finally ask some of them. Initially I was just curious about how Lym’s was doing with her new magical hand. Which fortunately, didn’t seem to feel out of sorts. Thought it definitely feels different from her other hand. it somehow still seems to feel quite natural to her. Still an extension of herself. -- Nothing felt really that different either, when casting magic with it. Or whether she can feel a connection with the weave through it, whenever she prays. But on the other hand, ( not pun intended ) , she also Does feel a connection with the Weave through it? Which seemed strange to me. I asked her about that as well, and it seems that the presence of ones deity kind of waxes and wanes. Sometimes it’s almost palpable. like if she reached out she could touch it. But other times it’s distant, or quiet. But… a different kind of quiet. Not like there is nothing, but more… I don’t know. It still confuses me.

I have only felt the presence of something, perhaps Illmater, like once or twice. So I think I can kind of understand. But… more than that.     When… Lym was gone. And I made the medallion for her, I… prayed to the Weave as well. And though I didn’t really feel, or hear anything in return. Or afterwards. Just… quiet, But it felt like a different kind of quiet? Present, but still there. Distant? But not   not there? is that perhaps what she means.

Omrick elaborated a bit as well. And told me what praying for him is like. Which was quite fascinating. -- And that it might differ from person to person. Or situation. Like his quiet prayers during the day, have a different    sensation, than the ones during combat. He described it as warm, and comforting. But during battle, it turns to a burning fury. that he can wield and fight with.

All of it left me with quite a lot to ponder on. So afterwards I went to my room to simply think on it for a bit. Maybe get some more of my thoughts out on paper, written out. So that hat hopefully makes mor sense. -- And more importantly, get started on all things we found, and all that shit Lym dumped into my bag…

I wonder how full my bag of holding now actually is.

| 3 / 6 | All of it is gone. Burned to ashes. Gone up in flames.

When… I reached into my bag to grab some of the papers. It… was on fire. I… I don’t understand, how there was a fire in my bag of holding. But all the documents we found were burning….

I panicked. And didn’t really know what to do. There shouldn’t be any oxygen inside, but putting the papers bag in didn’t seem to do anything. They just kept burning, until I eventually dumped everything from my bag onto the ground. In pile of my burning stuff. Trying to think of a way to put out the flames and safe the papers we found. But the onliest thing I could think of in the end. Was the take the enchanted decanter. And dump water onto it. I wasn’t even sure whether that was gonna work. Cause it seemed like magical fire, or had to be, if it somehow had lit inside my bag of holding. But… I don’t know.

All that is left is a lot of soggy mess of wet papers and ashes.

--

Told the others. They were confused. When I found lym and told her to perhaps notify Silverhand that the evidence had burned, she reminded me to perhaps first check if there was anything salvageable left. So that’s what I did.

All most all of the papers we found at the water barons office are gone. Those are the ones which had burned the most. There is still a decent amount of paper left from the captain. But it’s gonna take a lot of time to piece it all back together. Not sure where to even begin… how do I… I don’t know. Managed to make a start at least. Did a quick scan of some of the items we found as well. And one of them in particular caught my interest. Was wondering if that was perhaps the thing that had caused the fire, though unfortunately it wasn’t. it would have atleast explained it. though it’s kind of a relatively interesting ring. Think Aldirn might find it useful. If he wants it. Otherwise I might use it myself. And keep it as a reminder of all of this. Perhaps I could have saved more of the papers, if I could have asked the other for help. Or perhaps that would have been useless and everything would have just burned. Maybe in hindsight, I should have asked for some help with checking out the papers first. But I didn’t want to bother them with all of the boring menial work, and just let them relax for a bit. But, I don’t really what the best option would have been. * in hindsight, the best theory I have, is that the papers were enchanted to somehow burn

| 4 / 6 | Didn’t have time to sort through a lot of the documents in the end. I made Some headway, on the Frost giant stronghold. As well as some of the correspondence with the Water Baron and the captain. that might hopefully serve as proof. But that is about as far as I got, Because we got a late night visit. Form Lady Silverhand. Who was here the have a meeting with us, in the middle of the night. I guess she did come as soon as possible, which is nice. but… also unfortunate timing.

Took a lot of convincing and apologizing though, to have the meeting at her office. Cause Jarvis couldn’t really let her in, and possibly discover things about himself, the mansion, or it’s master. He send us out at first, trying to reason with her. but due to the complex nature and absurdity of it all, we couldn’t really convince her, or explain things in any reasonable way, why she couldn’t have the meeting here. Lym was the first one to head out to her. and stalled the best she could. But any arguments she made, fell on deaf ears, so to speak. And I wasn’t able to due much better job eitherm when I was send out instead. Eventually Jarvis head to head out himself using one of my Alter self elixers, and try and explain the situation to her. Guess only he could really explain the situation in the end, despite not wanting to risk going out to meet with her himself.

But we managed to buy some time, and arrange for a meeting at her office. So that’s where we headed to, after gathering our stuff, and want remained of the documents. -- she wasn’t as impressed as I’d hoped, which… I don’t blame her. Any concrete evidence we had, had burned. And most of the remaining pieces still had to be coherently put back together. I simply give her everything we currently had. And tried explaining the situation, along with the other, the best we could.

Hopefully the info on the Frost giants will prove useful.

And at least eliminate the possibility of Yartar joining the LA anytime soon. Or at least while she is still in rule.

But that’s about it. The info on the teleportation circles didn’t really face her. And everything we shared about the Kraken only served to concrete, that it’s pretty much out of our depth. Atleast as far as the Lord’s alliance is concerned, right now. A cult as big as that is currently impossible to handle for them. with everything that Is going on. And the best we can do is simply focus on dealing with the giants. Of which the Stone giants are up next.

We also informed her of some the thing we found about the storm king, and the Ordening. But until we can actually do anything about it. Or find out anything else about the situation, it isn’t really pertinent infor right now. So I guess we’ll be getting ready to set out, towards the Grey Peak mountains

|  5 / 6 | we took a day to prepare ourselves, and get some final business in order. Lym wanted to head out as soon as possible, which is definitely understandable. I feel kind of guilty for asking for a day to sorts some stuff out, with the… looming threat, right around the corner. But I want to get as much done, in preparation for the stone giants as possible. And a day is all ill be giving myself.

Omrick took the opportunity to “groom” Tony a bit. which he spend all day doing, and chipping away at. Especially since he’s planning on taking Tony along for the journey. Apparently the first tools he had weren’t good enough, and either broke, or would break of he continued using them. But he did find some small gems, among the debris in the meantime. And I think Tony was already a lot less bulkier by the time lunch came around.

He needed better tools though, and asked Jarvis if he could find or acquire some more durable ones for him. I’m a little offended that he didn’t ask me for help with making custom tools. But maybe he was being mindful of the fact that I was also busy with my own project. And the diamond tools Jarvis found him seemed quite exquisite.

he ended up with quite a lot of small precious gems, when he was finally done, and tony had returned to a decent size / shape.

He even gave some of them to me, which I’m quite grateful for. I could definitely use them in practicing with making some more jewellery in the near future, which is quite nice.

--

Alderin had and important meeting with Lady Silverhand, and took care of that during the morning.

-- and Lym spend some time with Fluffy, and within the library.

( had gone to the library as well, with Omrick, the previous day. Too look up some stuff about the stone giants, and Morkoth, the ship.

But all I found was some horrible deep sea creature, with a similar name. Which somehow looked even worse than a Kuo’toa based on the drawings. As well as some fiction novel about stone giants. Which didn’t help much. At least the last one was better than the kid’s book Omrick found though about stone giants )

| 6 / 6 | ended up just buying the ingredients I needed for my project. Since that would simply save a lot of time. And actually let me finish  enchanting it today. Turned out to be a lot cheaper than expected as well. Even though I did had to wait for one of the scrolls unfortunately, since it stall had to be inscribed.

Worth it though. Because I finished before the evening even.

Took the both the scrolls of “Long Strider” and “Jump”, as well as the arcane essence, And used that to make the ink to inscribe and treat the boots with.

Made sure to inscribe runes of levitation and agility beneath the soles, and along the lower edges for the boots.

Didn’t want to alter the boot themselves too much, since I wanted them to remain comfortable. So left them as is.

Had a bit of an issue with getting the first set of runes by the soles right. but managed to fix the mistakes. And flawlessly inscribed the remaining runes along both boots.

--

The results are quite satisfactory, especially for such a short time frame. Thankfully it wasn’t too complex, so that saved a lot of time, as well as difficulty with making them. but hopefully it was worth it.

--

Omrick seems quite happy with the boots, much to my relief. Quite glad that he likes the. And I look forward to seeing him come face to face with some the giants we’ll be facing soon. And see them in action. Will be quite interesting. … making final preparations before heading out. Somehow I’m a lot more nervous than ive been, for some the other giants we’ve faced. Maybe it because of all the undead. But… Hopefully it won’t be nearly as bad with how thing went with the fire giant stronghold.

But the stone giants seem a lot more intelligent. So im really hoping thing will go alright.

Illmater. Weave.  Please help us make it through this. We could really use our aid I think. | end of entry |

[mochikeiji]

Exact Replica

Request: "Hi! I really love you're writing and was wondering if you could do prompt 25+29 for Kuroo Tetsuro from Haikyuu? And could it be angst to fluff? (Maybe Kuroo was ignoring the reader due to lots of work/stress so reader feels neglected?) It's totally up to you tho! Ty so much!!"

25. "Would you notice if I was gone?"

29. "I didn't mean it."

↠ Pairing: Kuroo Tetsuro x F!Reader

↠ Warning: angst to fluff, mentions of pregnancy and kuroo's sad childhood

↬ Word Count: 3.7k

↠ a/n: okay this is my longest one yet. I swear the prompt screams angst to fluff so much that I go into it.

↳ from Go! Go! Gogatsu Event

Kuroo Tetsuro achieved many great things in life after graduating from his university, with multiple acknowledgements and honors. Landed a position as a young CEO from a sports association at the age of 24, he had enough money in his pocket and bank to stable both of you financially. Life was good to him after having to build from the roots  of his ruined childhood; the only years of defeat Kuroo doesn't ever want to repeat. His father and mother were in the same position as you both are; owning your own shared house, good working environment, investments and stability, married.

Up until this day Kuroo questions why his parents split. They were fortunate that they had every thing completed, sadly it was the family and love that wasn't taken care of. You could be the happiest person, yet the void inside would still be there, Kuroo thought. Foolish people were to neglect something more valuable than any object that is given. Whether it was his father or his mother that stopped nurturing what they both bonded for the longest time, they were both fools to let each other go over something simple. He vows to never let history repeat itself.

But now the tables seemed to have flipped for the both of you. Your lives not far from what he had ran away from. If Kuroo could eat his words back, he would've now that he was running late yet again to coming home, forgetting about the promise he swore to about joining you after a full month of being occupied in his office. Coming home to have you already tucked in bed, but suffering in silence.

Most days he didn't bother greeting you in the morning and night. As a good wife, you understand. He was a busy man with an important position to maintain.

There were times where you'd be tapping your foot down on the floor as the clock strikes at an ungodly hour with your messages still not bothered to be replied to or even read. But you understand. He's working! Always doing what he can for the both of you like the good husband he wanted to be.

Even if sometimes he'd come home without a kiss or a simple, "I missed you." you understand. He's drained. No time for silly, endearing affections. You've done them a lot before back when you were younger. You're adults! Married! A married partner shouldn't be feeling so needy when the other was only doing their part.

Even when sometimes your insecurities would kick in whenever you'd visit your husband to drop his forgotten lunch again, only to see him flocked by different women; probably secretaries, interns, and assistance.

You understand. You always did took such good care of what you two have.

Well had.

His home office door slams shut, awakening you from your nap on the couch. Didn't Kuroo notice you when he walked in? Looking at the clock you noticed it was near 11:30 PM since he's arrived. Late again, maybe he hasn't eaten anything? No worries, you thought sadly. Stretching your aching muscles, you made your way to the dining area. So far dinner was left untouched once more. Just how many times has it gone to waste because you continued on cooking for two?

Or rather, three.

You beam at the sudden reminder while preparing your husband's plate. You'd always miss him whenever he'd come home, never had the chance to surprise him at the right time of your little discovery about a week ago. Fear did struck you because of the possible reactions he'd give, but you were so excited in sharing the news that a couple would share the equal happiness from, you couldn't contain it any longer.

Maybe you should've chosen another time unbeknownst to you how your husband was hunched over his desk, clearly in displease of the previous events that had occurred during the meeting back in his office. Hence why his work stack added more piles of predicaments, only fueling his headaches more wishing he could just lay down peace and quiet without disturbance.

He grumbles at the knock on his door, only typing furiously with emphasized taps on the keyboard. You, not sensing the emitting aura from the room took it as a response for you to enter. It surprised you a bit on how disordered his home office had become. It was obvious his coat had been thrown carelessly as it lays on the floor, wrinkled. Carefully placing the plate full of food on the small coffee table at the side, you gingerly picked up the article of clothing. Lightly trying to smoothen out the lines before hanging it behind his door and turning back to your husband.

"Tetsu?" cautiously calling out his name, you were kind of wary at the fact he didn't turn to see you unlike he does before whenever you'd enter the room. "I brought you your dinner. You came home pretty late." you tried to maintain the light hearted tone of your voice to hide how nervous you were in telling him the big news.

The atmosphere was kind of eerie when all he did was hum meekly from your words. Feeling a bit disheartened from his lack of attentiveness, still forcing a smile, you padded a little closer behind him with your hands clasps together. "I also wanted— well needed to tell you something." averting your eyes away from him as you prepared in your head. With a small hope he'd turn around for once after a long time.

"Can it be another time? I'm in the middle of stuff here."

Another time.

Why is it always next time? It's frustrating enough to not see him or have him speak to you even for a moment, but this made your stomach churn in an unpleasant way. Frowning at his poor reply, you gulped a few of your sentence back. Not fully trusting your emotions getting in the way, "You never really talked to me before, Tetsu.. I get that you're busy, but it wouldn't hurt for you to give a little minute for me."

Even just a second as long as he'd finally notice you.

"(Y/n) if you understand then why bother? You can clearly see I'm busy." chest huffing out a harsh sigh, still not bothering to turn around. Gripping your hands tightly, your patience were starting to snap. "You're always busy, Tetsu! I never had a proper conversation with you again." raising the volume of your voice a little made his actions come to a halt. Chair revolving around to face you. His appearance made it obvious how exhausted he has been; tousled hair that he usually takes longer to style, the light forming bags underneath his eyes from the screen and lack of sleep. The visible annoyance marked in his expression. But couldn't he say the same for you?

"Fine. Here, you have my attention now. Are we talking properly now?" his way of provoking you wasn't in the right place. It only made you look at him in disbelief because you've grown to never meet such side of your husband before. The news you had originally planned to share vanished from your head, replaced with the restrained emotions that has been building up inside your heart, tipping over.

"Tetsu, what is wrong with you?" looking at him now seemed like you were talking to someone else. His words were curt and short with no intention of prolonging the conversation, itching to get back to work so he could be done with it. "I already you I'm just busy. I would be done by now if you didn't want to talk properly with me." he says as if he's the one in distraught. "Seriously, nothing's wrong but I think you aren't. You're never like this."

"That's because you never cared to noticed in the first place!" wailing out the collapsed emotions that has weighed you heavily. It was too late to stop yourself from voicing out the things your husband left aside. A full month of being a good, understanding image of a wife thrown away to the rubbles without even appreciating the the long nights of you waiting up for him, cooking meals even though the next day they'd end up being in the trash, tolerating the coldness of the used to be warm sheets, putting up with the insecurities you took upon yourself to hide to avoid troubling your husband further when all you wanted was for him to assure you that he still loves you and only you.

The fascade you put up just for him crumbles. And it infuriates you more of how he still doesn't notice.

"(Y/n), you know I've been working! There's so much stuff that needs to be attended for just so you and I could live normally!"

"Tetsuro, we are stabled, it's okay to slow down a bit. How is this any normal to you when you don't even realize how this affects me?!"

The chair slides back roughly against the floor with a loud creak as he towers over you. Glowering eyes with a dark expression looming over his face, clearly now enraged. "You're being selfish right now. I'm here doing what I can to support us and all you could think of was you, you, you. Can't you see I'm doing this for you as well? God what else do you want from me, the world?"

"I only wanted you to give me your time and attention even just for a second, Tetsuro! I've been doing my best for you all this month and I never said anything to trouble you!"

It hurts when he said how you were being the selfish one when it was the opposite. It dawned to you that all those days of giving your all for him wasn't once noticed. "Will you ever grow up already? Attention? Really? We're adults, (Y/n) not teenagers for fucks sake. My time is just wasted because of you!" he doesn't stop there even if you've had your mouth already shut from how he portrayed you as. His words were beginning to leave a deep scar in you as you quiet down to the next line.

"If you think that nothing is troubling me, there is! And you just happen to add in for crying out loud!"

There were no words exchanged after his meltdown. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he looks away from you— who's eyes were already watery. Unable to even tell your side anymore at the ache of your heart. "So..I'm just troubling you then?" quivering out your words, Kuroo clenches his jaw as the bubbling frustration was being held back with the last bit of restrain he had.

"Would you notice if I was gone, Tetsu?"

Instead of being alarmed by your chosen form of sentence, you watched with sad eyes as your husband pulled back his chair and faced his workload. He didn't even noticed you're already crying silently, "Not now, (Y/n). We'll talk later."

He doesn't even noticed how you walked out sobbing with a shattered heart nor the door in the living room closing. Leaving him alone for the next few hours in peace like he wanted.

Time went on quickly when one doesn't take their eyes off from their consecutive workaholic state. With a groan, he almost slams his laptop shut before stretching his bones, slowly relaxing the tense muscles. It's up to his co workers and assistance to deal with the load he's prepared to dump onto them after they threw all theirs to him. Hoping to freshen up his face, Kuroo tidies his desk up before making his way to the door. Stopping in realization of the now cold dinner that was left on the coffee table.

His stomach growled loudly at the lack of food it's digested in the longest run. It was still good if he heats it up, he does miss eating home made meals than his stale ones back in the cafeteria of his workplace. Grabbing the plate carefully he first made a short journey to the kitchen to heat up his food. Unusual it was to have all the lights out in the house. You'd always leave some opened when he was awake. Then again the guilt started to crawl up to his chest knowing he's the cause of why you'd forgotten.

Now entering the bathroom with water running down his face, he plans ahead the apology he owes you when he wakes up tomorrow morning. He could reschedule his own time since he is the boss. He closes the faucet right after he was done rinsing. Looking around for the towel his eyes caught something below the small organizer you put up next to the sink. Grabbing the towel above the first part of the organizer, bending down slowly to avoid getting cramps, his actions were quick to grab the object that caught his attention the moment it seemed so familiar and surprising.

Pregnancy test. Two lines for positive.

Having a child with you was the last thing he's yet to accomplish from his list, and here it was. As much as he wanted to be in denial, it all felt like surge of contentment drowns him in because he was going to be a dad. However his body began to tremble whilst still holding the test and staring intently at it. The previous guilt that was crawling beneath his bones became a dark, desolated hole of anxiety and fear that ate him whole. The things he's said and done will never be taken back no matter how he apologizes to the past events a few hours ago.

Hours ago. It was already 2:25 when the fight had ceased. Deep down he knows he couldn't wait until the next day to plead for forgiveness. After all, he did vow to never leave you both a day feeling heavy alone. Kuroo felt nauseous of how much of an asshole he had treated you. Like starting a game of volleyball once more, he was beyond nervous when he approached your shared bedroom. There was no excuse of his actions indeed as he solemnly enters the dimmed room. He sighs a little shaky when he closes in your bed, "Baby?" he starts, "Baby, are you awake?" it was one of the little things he's memorized that you'd do when you both aren't in good terms. You never really slept, just pretended because you always had the heart to wait up for him.

When he gets no response he reaches out to pat you, only coming to the sense that the sheets were left untouched; no warmth traced behind. You weren't there, any where. His blood runs cold and immediately fishes out for his phone in his pocket, speed dialing your number while he circles the entire area of the house in case you'd be there. Now he was more terrified when he hears the familiar voice mail from the living room couch where you had slept while waiting for him.

You left your phone. His wife wasn't home— his pregnant wife.

"Fuck." running a rough hand through his tangled hair. The lump on his throat grows but he refuses to let out a string of sobs. It was his fault you were gone at such an ungodly hour. Kuroo felt more than a bigger asshole than before he's made you come to the point of leaving home. Just as his mother did and never returned. The one thing he swore you two would never be the same came to life, only thought now is Kuroo doesn't know whether you've left him for good after being a neglectful husband and to have dishearten his own beloved wife like that.

"Would you notice if I was gone?"

Rang in his head as he stood outside the neighborhood, running. Chasing after a hallucinated image of you any place he tried to remember you'd be in. A fool he has been to have left you in a loveless marriage. He loves you, he really does. He can't imagine a life without you in it. Just as it was about to become the happiest he's wanted, he pushed it all too soon. A bad husband, he cries. "(Y/n), please come home." legs aching and panting from having to study all areas. It was pitch black; there were no opened spots for you to even go at an hour of slumber and chaos. The only convenient store did not even have you in it. You were no where to be seen and Kuroo breaks.

Of course he'd notice when it was all too late. The past he's ran away from was still the place he's returned now that the house was only occupied by nothing but rotten memories of the love he didn't took care of. The exact replica of a married life he desperately tried to dodge. "I'm so sorry." for the lonely nights he's left you to sleep, over thinking of what may have been your fault and always figuring him out tirelessly. For the small efforts of adoration he didn't took a glance at and gone to waste. For the words that were never even meant for you to ever feel. For being a neglectful husband. He was sorry he noticed too late how he ruined his precious wife.

Now he's left you on your own out in the dangers outside. If anything horrible happened to you he will forever be crushed. But the world thinks that second chances are given to those who truly deserve them after you came in quietly, slipping off your sandals and waving back to your friend who had dropped you off home. Your short break to the convenient store changed when you met up with her and drove back to her place to rant about what happened. Being the sluggish person you are whenever sadness hits, you never noticed how long you've over stayed. It wasn't like your husband was going to know if he still was working.

Much to your surprise that he wasn't, you stifled a gasp to find him with his hands holding his head that was leaned down on the table. His shoulders were lightly jolting with escapes of audible sniffles, indicating that he was in fact crying. If he looked exhausted before, it wasn't enough to describe his current state; as if he was a man who'd lost every thing as he sat there with all hope lost. Your foot padded on the creaky part of the floor in attempt to tiptoe over his hunched back to comfort him. Squeaking in the awkward situation you've put the room in when Kuroo turns his head behind to see you standing there a bit frightened, but concerned when you saw how disheveled his face looks.

"Tetsu—" his name got cut off short from when you almost tripped over your balance at the sudden impact of Kuroo throwing himself into your arms with his weight. You couldn't make out what he was mumbling on about, but you melt to his embrace even if he squeezes the living day lights from you, afraid that he was going crazy and you weren't real. "Thank God," litters of kisses were placed on your clavicle, "You're back."

He repeats, slowly convincing himself that you are indeed home in his arms, safe, no harm detected. Just home. "I'm so sorry.."

"I didn't mean it. I didn't mean any of what I said, I-I'm so sorry." your bodies swayed gently to the sound of your hushes and his cries of apologies. "Please don't leave me like that again. I was so scared."

"Shhh, it's okay, Tetsu. I'm sorry. I'm okay— we're okay." leading him to sit down at the couch, you placed the bag of different brands of sweets and junk on the table before facing your husband. You had to stifle in a laugh watching him wipe his nose, you couldn't help but be reminded of a mini Tetsuro by looking at him. The argument that stung you faded when he took a hold of your hands and mumbled another apology.

"You shouldn't be sorry for anything. I should be.." flickering his eyes from your belly to your bloodshot eyes from your own fiasco back in your friend's place, he slides in closer next to you where your shoulders touched. "I haven't been a good husband lately, have I?" he looks at you expectantly. Frowning, you still nodded. Tired of hiding your own feelings from him.

"I know you're busy most of the time, Tetsu. But I just wanted you to recognize me as your wife." thumbs quick to swipe away the tear that had shed from your eye, "We're in this together, remember?" he pulls you right from the arm, shoving your face to his chest in need to hold you for all the times he should've. Ignoring the dampness of his white long-sleeved polo, breathing in the scent of your sweet shampoo. You were still so forgiving and understanding despite on how equally tired as he was you are.

"I'm so sorry I've made you feel as if I never cared anymore. You never deserved that." his lips found it's way to the crown of your head. "I don't deserve you, and I really don't want to lose you after me being stupid." giggling through tears, fist connecting a soft punch on his chest, bubbling a chuckle to the surface as he lightly pulls you away from hiding.

"I really didn't mean all of those things I've said, baby. I love you and only you." stroking ever so lovingly your cheek, you don't catch on to the fact that his other hand was placed over your stomach protectively. Making a silent promise to not only you, but the soon to be new addition to the family that he will never again neglect what he should've cherished more and looked after than the constant worries at the back of his head.

Because he will never again repeat the replica of a broken family he once was born in.

© all content belongs to mochikeiji. Please do not repost or copy, ありがとうございました!! (=^･^=)

[nagipops]

hii I love your blogs sooo much you're really talented (I just needed to say it sorry) so straight to the point, I already made 2 requests to you and I really enjoyed your writing so I would like to make another again. As I'm clueless about what to request I'll just ask for random hcs for konoha 11, idk if it's too much but if so then you can do with Neji (I love him so much), Kakashi and Naruto. Thank you in advance and sorry anything ^^

RANDOM KONOHA 11 HEADCANONS!

FEATURING: naruto, sakura, shikamaru, ino, choji, neji, rock lee, tenten, kiba, hinata, and shino

WARNINGS: mentions alcohol, drugs, food, bugs, and the tiniest nsfw mention if you get the joke. hehe

A/N: AHHHH ANONN this seriously made my day, im so so glad you enjoy my work!! 💖

NARUTO

you know how we all have “the chair”, where we throw all of our dirty clothes onto?

yeah, imagine that, but from the seat to the fricking ceiling

its just a GINORMOUS MOUND of clothes, you wonder how he even goes through that many clothes so quickly???

definitely shoves it under his bed whenever guests come over (somehow)

holds chopsticks really weirdly. but it works.

asked tenten to put his hair into space buns to mimic his sexy jutsu and went around flirting with the village

jiraiya was so proud of him T-T

comes up with the WORST pickup lines

they’re so bad, its almost charming. almost

has gone AWOL multiple times, disappearing from everywhere, just everywhere

it scared you a little, so you searched the entire village for him

you finally found him sitting on the ledge of a cliff, gazing out at the vast sea

concerned and panicked, you cried out to ask him what was wrong

he turned to you with a crestfallen, devastated look on his face and said,

“i bought shrimp ramen instead of chicken ramen.”

you’ve never searched for him after his disappearance ever again.

SAKURA

100% makes origami shurikens and chucks them at you

they are deathly precise and deathly sharp. seriously, how are these not illegal weapons yet???

writes threatening motivational notes to herself on the mirror

“u got this!” “make sure to smack naruto today!” “ino sucks!”

her backpack would always be way too high up on her back. idk why but. it would

does her hair all nice and pretty before she goes out but once she arrives to her destination SHE KEEP. TAKING. IT OUT. and redoing it over and over and over again

like it’s impossible to make eye contact with her because she’s holding a bobby pin between her teeth while braiding her hair

her guilty pleasure would be hostess treats

ding dongs are her favorite. don’t ask me how i know, i just know.

eats the yellow starbursts just to spite naruto and all her haters

loves small lap dogs, she think’s they’re so cute and cuddly

but she especially loves chihuahuas

they’re so feisty and naruto HATES them, so of course she had to go and get one for herself

dresses the poor dog up in little bonnets and jackets and ties its tiny fuzzy hairs into pigtails

she and the chihuahua are not that much unlike <3

SHIKAMARU

this man is a god at shogi but he absolutely SUCKSSSS at cup pong.

is this an ick? idk. but he is absolute trash at this game.

it gets even worse when he’s got a couple drinks in him

tries to calculate the velocity and acceleration and angle and shit but his shot is always a good two feet off BYE 😭

just mutters an “aw, shit” before awaiting his turn again

hates checkers, loves chess

“checkers is for WUSSIES” - shikamaru nara

i said this in another post, but he is Very Good at whistling

like that’s his hidden talent

can copy any tune with the perfect pitch and rhythm

speaking of, he can do really cool tricks with his tongue

like making a four leaf clover, touching the bridge of his nose with it, flipping it upside down, you name it

he has slanted, scrawled handwriting, to the point where it’s almost illegible

wbk he cheats in school SO OFTEN. but he never gets caught. he’s not stupid, he just couldn’t care less about his classes.

thinks weed and e-cigs are stupid, cigarettes are where it’s at

you just can’t replicate the feeling of taking a drag from a cig after a long, tiring day

plus he looks hella cool while doing it B)

INO

teaches the boyz™️ how to braid their hair

like they all gather in a circle around this feisty fashionista and fail attempt to braid their hair

sakura was just fuming in the sidelines

“OI, INO-PIG, THAT’S A DUTCH BRAID, NOT A FRENCH BRAID!!”

yeah, ino 🙄

the only one that can actually do it is neji because a) this man is talented af and b) he’s got the long hairrr

ino probably envies his thick, sleek hair because hE’S a bOy

also asks everyone for their blood type and zodiac signs and tells them if they’re compatible with her or not

and definitely judges you for your sign 😣

“oh, you’re a gemini? hmm, what a shame...”

makes bouquets for her favorite people and kin assigns everyone a flower

only assigns the pretty nice ones to the people she likes (sorry sakura, you’re out of luck)

one of her favorite hobbies is crafting! she’s really good with details and small things so she loves making those miniature dollhouses and stuff

also really good at watercoloring. especially painting flowers and landscapes

also i feel like she would be really good at playing any instrument because of her skilled hands

can play a badass flute solo. period.

CHOJI

would honestly rather die than get anywhere NEAR an asparagus

he just thinks they’re so gross and bitter and NOT SALTY

he always eats his yakiniku a little bit undercooked because he’s way too impatient to wait for it to cook fully. who do you think he is??

whenever he cloud gazes with shikamaru, when asked what he thinks a cloud looks like, he just says some sort of food

“oi, choji, what does that one look like to you?”

“a... yakiniku grill... with... pineapple rings on it! ooh, and a wagyu steak right there!”

he thinks pringles are an abomination to society. where’s the crisp? where’s the grease? where’s the saltiness?!!!

asks ino to teach him how to do his hair all fancy and the two of them devote an entire day learning different hairstyles

it’s his new favorite thing to do now :D

he really likes crayons!!!!

like he’ll write with them, draw with them, color with them, do everything with them

he’s even tried to eat them. he said they tasted good.

definitely had the 128 crayon pack WITH THE BUILT-IN SHARPENER, and everyone thought he was the coolest kid in town

he ate it UP, he even scored some bbq dates with the ladies

i also feel like he loves basketball, and he has a MEAN slam dunk

like his vertical isn’t that high, but the man can REACH

he loves when people laugh at him when he challenges them to a 1v1 and then proceeds to absolutely destroy them <3

NEJI

he seems like a cucumber kind of guy.

just cucumber

like i feel like he puts it in everything; soba, salads, sandwiches, his face, yeah

it’s mellow and cool, just like him!

speaking of, i feel like he lives for spa days and facials

it just lets him be alone in his little cucumber scented world for an hour or two and he gets damn clear skin from it as well

seriously he has PERFECT skin. flawless. not a single blemish. his cheeks feel like baby butts they’re so smooth.

i feel like he’d be a god at solving rubik’s cubes, don’t ask me why

like if anyone scrambled theirs on accident they would just take it to neji and he’d solve it in the blink of an eye

CAT PERSON!!! loves the little meow meows

who are we kidding, neji basically is a cat; agile, aloof, does silly things without trying to, very cute

he just feels akin to the little fuzzballs and he thinks petting cats are extremely therapeutic. good for the soul

he is a golf man. he would take his juniors golfing and everyone thinks he’s uncool. cmon neji let them go to the skate park at least T-T

also very good at karaoke, definitely surprised everyone once he got a few drinks in him since he started serenading you

LIGHTWEIGHT!!! do not get more than one shot of alcohol in him. he will go berserk.

i also feel like he’d really love photography; not taking pictures of people, but of nature

he loves taking a quiet stroll through a pretty forest and snapping pictures of all the unique flora and fauna

it’s so serene ︶ ‿ ︶

ROCK LEE

100% milly rocks everywhere

gai got in on it too once he asked what lee was doing

“is that what all the youthful cool kids do these days!”

they also dab together. a lot

DO NOT BE SEEN WITH THESE TWO!!! you are not associated with them.

definitely is the one breakdancing in the middle of the dance circle at a high school party

he’s mad skilled at it too

headspins and windmills galore

challenged naruto to a dance-off and completely OBLITERATED him

lee then asked if naruto wanted a rematch, this time with one hand tied behind lee’s back

naruto obliged, and he STILL lost

RIP naruto and his fangirls, they all scrambled to lee afterwards T-T

i feel like his favorite subject is science

not the boring physics equations and laws and theories but the fun EXPERIMENTS

definitely has singed all of his hair off one time and he went to gai blubbering to help him grow back his precious hair

but he loves experimenting with different combinations and chemicals to get different reactions each time

created a potent love potion and carried it around with him all day one day

and it was actually working

girls were flocking to him left and right, staring at his lips and his face

he was so abashed at the sudden attention

heck, it even worked on sakura

“oi, lee-san!”

“hehe, yes, sakura-san?”

her eyes shifted downwards to his lips and his heart thumped harder

“hey... lee-san?”

“what is it?”

“you have something on your lip. we’ve been trying to tell you all day but you just winked and blew kisses at us.”

legend has it lee has still not recovered to this day.

TENTEN

has THE prettiest handwriting. and she can write SUPER fast

it’s like a superpower

like she transcribed five pages of a report in less than two minutes with perfect handwriting

naruto is so jealous.

she is also super good at origami! those diligent, accurate hands aren’t just for throwing things

taught sakura how to make shurikens but does NOT endorse any violent uses of them

she can replicate all of her weapons with paper and they can actually function, it’s so cool

made paper kunai knives one day and the wholeee village wanted to get their hands on them

i feel like she’d listen to mitski. idk i just get those vibes

LOVES BIG DOGS!! especially fluffy wuffy samoyeds

like man’s best friend?? no, GIRL’S BEST FRIEND!!

hugs and cuddles and squishes all the big dogs

she thinks small dogs are spawns of satan

sakura and her have definitely quarreled over this

but at the end of the day, all dogs are adorable fur babies, so she lets it slide :,)

KIBA

kiba always looks SO GOOD in photos you take of him, candid or not

like you could just whip out a camera and snap a photo of him at any given moment and he would look perfect

you framed a picture of him yelling at akamaru for peeing inside the house

it’s pure artwork

i feel like he tries to swagger around with his hands shoved in his pockets but it fails MISERABLY and the girls are wondering if he broke his leg or something 😭

kiba just walk normally. for the love of god please just walk normally.

he tries to slump back in his chair really low but one time he slouched way too low so he slipped off of his chair and onto the ground LMFAOOOO

he just wallowed there... in shame...

also.. he LOVES when the girls put makeup on him!!

he tries to act like he hates it. but it secretly gives him so much confidence

not to mention the girls hyping him up are a huge ego boost

okay the inside of his jacket hood is the warmest. thing. EVER!!!

seriously, no wonder this dude is so happy-go-lucky all the time, he’s living in literal heaven 24/7

it’s like you’re sleeping on a cloud inside a warm, cozy bed during a cold winter morning

10/10 would recommend letting him give you his sweatshirt when you’re chillin with a hair tie ❤️

HINATA

always smells like lavender soap. always

also has the cutest pencil pouches with little puppy faces and kawaii things

oH and she has those mini yoobi highlighters, she thinks they’re so cute (and functional!)

everyone flocks to her to try them out and marvel at the cute tiny highlighters

and they try to steal them from her but she doesn’t even stop them because she’s too timid to 😭

naruto goes BALLISTIC over them

she lets him have all of them <3

tennis girl!!! tennis girl.

all of her opponents always underestimate her because she’s so timid and shy and quiet

but she has a KILLER serve

and then she takes her opponents to the slaughterhouse with a complete shutout ;)

she’s really athletic believe it or not, she can beat most of the boys in a mile run and she has incredible endurance

i feel like she really loves velvet scrunchies

she just thinks they’re so pretty and they keep her hair soft so they’re cute and functional

also takes the PRETTIEST notes!!

color codes, dividers, headers, you name it, it’s all super readable too its insane

everyone asks her for her notes, not to study but just to appreciate the pure artwork that it is ^w^

SHINO

shino is SO easy to prank

“how do you catch an eyemaster?” *cue naruto and kiba snickering*

“eyemaster bait. that is because—”

even when everyone’s laughing their asses off, he still continues to explain his answer since he does NOT GET THE JOKE

tried his hand at writing haikus

here’s his best one so far:

“Bugs are amazing. That is because they are bugs. Bugs are very nice.” - Shino Aburame

VERY proud of it, since it took him weeks to perfect

praise it, pls

had one of those ant farms and bug-catching kits as a kid

and he would fill the kit TO THE BRIM. LIKE IT WAS HEAVY BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY BUGS.

he loves the little chitters of the different bugs

he had jars of different bugs all lined up on a wall shelf in his room

collects silkworms off of trees and sticks them into his pockets (no i definitely did not do this as a kid...)

HELP I FEEL LIKE he would record a timelapse of his ant farm growing and upload it to youtube with a movie maker title screen that says

“my ants”

if you enjoyed this post, likes and reblogs are much appreciated :) feel free to request here, and make sure to read the rules first! have a lovely day everyone <3

[risukadarlin]

[piofiore no banshou] vol. 1: nicola - track one

1; capriccioso

masterpost

                                                                                ✿

[00:11] It’s morning already?

I need to get up…

Huh? No, I wasn’t–

I’m not asleep.

I’m awake already…

I mean it…

Yeah, I’m getting up.

Just a little longer…

5 more minutes.

You sleep too.

Oversleeping is the best.

It’s fine.

You don’t need to worry; the bed’s not going anywhere.

I’ll protect you.

Just a little…

Me too.

I love you.

                                                                               ✿

[01:34] Erm…

I’m sorry.

Are you still angry at me?

Then why won’t you look me in the eyes?

You’ve been cold with me all morning, right?

Whenever I try to hold your hand, you just run away.

Hey, signorina. 

I didn’t forget we had a date planned, okay?

We ended up setting off a bit late but I was looking forward to today just as much as you were.

Right? You remember me saying I couldn’t wait until next week every chance I got, right?

But, if you’ll let me make excuses…

It’s been three weeks since we arrived in New York and I’ve done my best to wake up every morning.

Now that work has started to settle down, I’m finally feeling the exhaustion.

I love relaxing in bed with you too.

And I’ve been holding back recently.

I got carried away…

That’s right!

Holding back.

I’m not lying.

I’ve held back a lot.

Every day even, if I’m being honest.

It takes everything in me not to grab you when you come and wake me up and spend the whole day in bed with you.

I really am not a morning person.

If I wake up, I can usually stay awake…

Hey, do you remember when I proposed to you?

I actually wanted to make it more romantic.

I wanted to make it a moment you’d remember forever.

Like when we went to Milano.

You were really happy then.

So I thought about asking while we were on vacation.

Somewhere romantic and linked to love.

Like Romeo and Juliet’s city of Verona.

Or the Basilica of San Valentino in Terni.

Or we could chat while walking along the riviera ligure.

It’s not that funny…

But you’re right, it’s not like me.

I know that.

I never even dreamed of getting married before.

And now I can’t stop thinking about the possibilities.

And I was so worried about what I’d do if you said no.

Or what I’d do if Sister Sophia didn’t allow it.

But when you came to wake me up that morning…

The moment I saw you…

I realised I loved you and wanted you to be by my side forever.

I forgot every plan I’d made until that point.

I usually plan in detail before I do anything.

But when it comes to you, I always act before I think.

It was the same when I kissed you for the first time.

We weren’t dating, but…

It’s your fault too!

Well, anyway! What I’m trying to say is…

I love it when you wake me up.

So much that I ruin my own plans.

You thought it was just a joke, though.

I’m not angry.

I did sulk for a bit though.

So stop being angry with me, okay?

Grazie.

I’m happy you forgive me.

I know you just forgave me and this might make you angry again, but…

The truth is, I love cheering you up.

Because my lovely fiancée never gets angry or upset with people, does she?

It makes me a little happy that only I get to see that side of you.

I’m sorry, I’m sorry.

Signorina, I can see it now.

That’s America’s largest art gallery.

The Met - The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The building’s design is classicist, I think?

It fits in really well with the other buildings on Fifth Avenue.

They look really similar.

Maybe they were designed by the same person.

I can’t believe we live close to such a large building.

Central Park is huge.

                                                                               ✿

[06:25] I was told it would be big but I didn’t realise how big!

I can’t think of anything this huge in Italy.

I bet every museum we have is smaller.

It’s unusual that it was built using donations too.

It means that a great deal of people were willing to give a great deal of money.

They believed it would really help with America’s development.

So, where should we start?

Maybe we should start from their very first artefact - a marble sarcophagus from the Roman era.

Apparently they have a lot of Egyptian items too.

They still carry out their own excavations and display any of the buried goods they find.

And paintings too. 

I’m sure they have some Vermeer.

Woman with a Water Jug, I think.

The blue of Vermeer is famous for being made with lapis lazuli.

Of course.

Let’s look at everything in order.

I’m glad you’re having fun.

It’s making me happy too.

I’m sorry for not being able to take you sightseeing often after we came all this way together.

If I had more time, I’d take you to other cities too, like Washington.

We could even go to Chicago and meet Gilbert.

No, it’s not like I want to meet him or anything.

But he must be lonely after leaving Burlone despite all that time getting used to it.

And I thought you might want to meet him too.

I know.

You were thinking about me.

Dante was right to choose you as my watchdog.

You’ve done your job perfectly since we arrived.

You are a bit stubborn, though.

Whenever I asked you if you wanted to go out, you’d tell me you just wanted to stay in your room.

I know it’s so I can rest properly, so I was a little grateful.

I rested much better than when I was in Burlone.

Those days together in the hotel doing nothing all day were the best.

Work was going well too and we prepared for the move here perfectly.

We found a great place to live too.

Luck must have been on our side.

If you hadn’t come too, I would have worked as much as I could and then returned to Italy.

People in Burlone would struggle without me.

Dante actually warned me about it before we left.

He said “these tickets are for a round trip, make sure you come home on time.”

He’s the one who told me to bring you with me.

He told me not to waste my time with you.

He must still be worried after what happened last year.

After the incident, he told me that he’d pushed something he should have dealt with himself onto me.

It’s so like him to feel that kind of responsibility.

But, even if I didn’t know about him, I do feel bad for leaving him to carry everything by himself for so long.

But the duty that’s bound him - bound the Falzone’s - for so long crumbled to ashes that day…

The secret’s still there, though.

The three of us are accomplices in that respect.

I’m sorry for ruining the mood.

Anyway, we still have a week until the boat home.

It’s not very long but let’s have as much fun as we can.

We can’t go far but there’s still loads to see.

There’s so much I want to get used to.

Most of our members have never been to America.

Let’s learn as much as we can so we can show Dante and Leo around next time.

[altruistic-meme]

AFTG fic recs

Hi all! I just wanted to share some of my all-time favorite fanfics for aftg, for no real reason other than I want more people to read them and send their love to the authors :) 

Under a readmore because it got. A little long. But please enjoy!

WIPs

Dangerous Habits by LovelyLittleGrim ( @lovelylittlegrim )

Andrew has run into problems while on undercover jobs before. None of those problems were anything like the troublesome runaway that is one Nathaniel Wesninski

Aka: the fic where Andrew is undercover as a hitman for hire and Neil is the guy who hires him. Things get complicated from there.

Undercover Andrew? BAMF Neil? Hitman AU?? Absolutely. I’m in love. The story is just *chef kisses*

Chapters: 8/9

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, past rape/non-con, Drake Spear (who is his own warning), Butcher Neil, 

--

Negotiations by elesary ( @elesary )

This is what Andrew Minyard knows: his brother is dead, killed by a petty Raven prince who has never learned to keep his hands off of Andrew's things. His brother's daughters are his responsibility, a job that is made infinitely harder when their shitty grandparents want custody. Nathaniel Wesninski is a liar, but he might be the only way to avenge Aaron and protect his nieces. All Andrew has to do is watch Nathaniels - Neil's- back as he carves out his own life and identity from everyone who thinks they own him.

Andrew has always been good at upholding his end of the bargain, has he finally found someone willing to uphold theirs?

This fic has got me fucked up, honestly. I’m emotional over it. It’s fantastic.

Chapters: 11/?

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, attempted sexual assault, Butcher Neil,

--

the upper hand by plantelty ( @plantelty  )

Shortly after losing his mother, Neil arrives in the small town of Palmetto, South Carolina, alone in the world and with an impossible plan to carry through.

At the age of eighteen, Andrew ends up helping a boy stage his own death.

-

Just two fucked up boys learning to trust each other during the course of a summer, but also: multiple references to songs, twinyard angst (Nicky tries his best), The Plotting of Neil Josten's Gruesome Demise, and shit hitting the fan in a variety of ugly ways!

The cliffhanger has got me on the edge of my seat, but it is 100% worth the read and the wait for the last chapter!! 

Chapters: 10/11

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Canon typical violence, 

--

The Butcher’s House by Fire_Bear ( @fire-bear )

Andrew thought something was odd with the house the Foxes had to move into after their Athletes' House had been burnt down. He just wasn't prepared for what was actually wrong with it.

For this was a house full of monsters.

Ghost story! Ghost story! Ghost story! I literally think about this fic every other day, it’s fantastic. 

Chapters: 6/?

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Warnings: character death (major or minor is unclear), injuries, 

--

Promise of an Unbroken Boy by elesary ( @elesary​ )

Neil is caught by the police with Mary's burning body and is sent to juvie in Oakland where he is assigned to share a cell with one Andrew Doe, who promises him Exy, if only Neil will tell him all of his secrets. With no access to tinted contacts and hair dye, he agrees, it's only a matter of time until he's killed after all. What does he have to lose?

But Andrew's found someone who knows what a promise means, and he'll be damned if he lets that go without a fight.

Ngl this is definitely in my very top favorites -- I LOVE the idea of Neil and Andrew meeting pre-series, and this fic just BLEW my expectations for that plotline out of the waters

Chapters: 14/?

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, Underage, attempted rape/non-con, canon-typical violence, 

~~~~~~~~~

Complete

The Nameless Monster by kanekicure ( @kanekicure )

Nathaniel Wesninski wants nothing more than to see his father dead and buried. But when his father promises him the title of The Butcher, Nathaniel quickly realizes that his destiny of following in his father's footsteps is closer than ever before.

So of course, when he gets forced to go undercover for the Baltimore police, he starts seeing what living could truly be.

-

Andrew Minyard is a newly recruited police officer for the worst precinct in Baltimore, who is dedicated on hunting down the notorious Butcher and his unnamed underling. But when Neil Josten is thrown into his midst as his civilian consultant; he starts to realize some things don't quite appear as they seem.

I love the story telling -- the secret identities, the plotting, everything.

Chapters: 14/14

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, Butcher Neil, implied/referenced rape/non-con, implied/referenced child abuse, implied/referenced slef-harm (I believe there is a scene that is somewhat detailed on this subject), some characters also get drugged at one point, 

-- 

that’s just something people say by nanatsuyu ( @theoctopusnods )

Neil makes the mistake of stealing the wrong car. Andrew makes the mistake of offering a ride to a liar. They both make the mistake of turning the whole affair into a road trip ‘home.’

Gonna be honest; the summary does not give a big idea as to what is in store and i am SO GLAD I gave this one a try so i’m telling you that you will be too

Chapters: 24/24

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse, panic attacks (somewhat grahic descriptions of)

--

The Story After You by kanekicure ( @kanekicure )

Andrew Minyard does not understand how Riko Moriyama landed Neil Wesninski.

How the snot-nosed, small dick, rich brat, second son of the Moriyama family who also just so happened to own the largest EXY gear and merchandiser company in the world “RAVEN” - had landed smart mouthed, quick witted, stupidly blue eyed Wesninski, was beyond him. Well, unless Wesninski was a gold digger, but Andrew doubted it.

-

Or; how Andrew Minyard says he doesn't get into messy situations, until he meets Neil and suddenly he is in the most messiest possible situation ever imagined in his life - oh and also, he might be becoming a homewrecker.

Ok I am behind bc I haven’t read the final chapter of this but!! I love the story, it’s very emotional and moving, and I love the characterization in it.

Chapters: 10/10

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Abusive Riko/Neil, abusive relationship, implied/referenced rape/non-con, implied/reference child abuse, implied/referenced self-harm, graphic depictions of violence, some descriptions of injuries/scarring, 

-- 

This Complicated Life by 5a5b5p5 ( @andrewsbutterflyknife )

“This is exactly why I don’t want you and Andrew to meet,” Aaron says grumpily. “You two would get along far too well.”

Neil grins. “I just like pissing you off,” he says, “It’s not my fault your brother does such a good job at it.”

—

Neil doesn’t expect much from his Sophomore year of college, but when he becomes a waiter at the Palmetto Bistro, his life gets a whole lot more interesting. As it turns out, maintaining friendships new and old as well as navigating an interesting relationship with the head chef of the restaurant—who just so happens to be his best friend’s twin brother—is a lot more complicated than he’d thought it would be.

A much more light-hearted fic than most of the others! Includes a secret relationship, and also chef Andrew >>

Chapters: 10/10

Rating: Mature

Warnings: 

--

When I Fade, Keep Me in Your Memory by demesh 

Neil Josten has a secret: he can flicker out of existence.

He can vanish with the turn of a thought; click his fingers, and suddenly he’s not there anymore. Invisible and untouchable, he becomes a living ghost.

Having promised his mother never to let his ability go, Neil teeters the line between faded and real, a person and an echo. He can’t risk getting hurt.

But then, one day, someone sees him when they shouldn’t be able to.

 A (flower-shop) AU about how a faded and lonely Neil finds it in him to become someone real.

Another fic that I need to catch up on ;; but anyway it’s amazing and I love Neil’s ability in it, it’s so well explained and well-written about

Chapters: 12/12

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Warnings: mentions of past abuse, panic attacks

--

12 Ways to Woo a Minyard by NikNak22 ( @knickknacksandallthat )

Neil is a math nerd who, by a stroke of dumb luck, falls into a group of friends that are the closest thing to family he’s ever had. So, when he tells them about his new mysterious crush, he shouldn’t be surprised how immediately they come up with a plan to help win them over. One they insist that if Neil follows it, he’ll have them falling for him in no time. But things don’t always go to plan – or do they?

Nicky wants to set him up with someone else. Matt and Jeremy are confused but supportive. Allison and Seth offer lewd suggestions, while Dan does her best to keep everyone in line. Jean and Renee know something, Aaron doesn’t really care, and Kevin just wants Neil to join the lacrosse team.

But one thing’s for certain – whether Neil’s successful or not, everyone’s got money riding on this.

The romance-trope-filled fanfic of my dreams. Sometimes you just need a fic of pure joy -- this is that fic. 

Chapters: 14/14

Rating: Mature

Warnings: 

--

finders keepers by moonix ( @annawrites ​ )

Andrew meets Nathaniel through a scavenger hunt app. As their team takes part in a hunt that sends each of them to creepy, abandoned places alone to solve clues and gain points, Andrew and Nathaniel begin a little treasure hunt of their own. The anonymity of getting to know each other in small increments, never meeting face-to-face, allows them a level of intimacy neither are used to. Meanwhile Renee’s friend Neil is acting weird whenever Andrew shows up…

This was one of the first fics I read for aftg!! And BOY what a great start!! All of the little pieces and parts that work together, and just the scavenger hunt itself is fantastic! (I also REALLY wanna know if there is an app like this out there because I would be down to do that)

Chapters: 8/8

Rating: Mature

Warnings: (these all come from the author:) “mentions of historical abuse in a mental asylum, mentions of suicide, mentions of murder and kidnapping, morbid facts, creepy abandoned places including a haunted house at a theme park with disturbing rooms, special appearance of a creepy clown doll, fatphobia and some introspection on body image/complicated relationship with food, mention of self harm scars”

-----

Scared to Live (But I’m Scared to Die) by Major_816 ( @major816 )

Neil Josten goes to the Nest for Andrew, but he stays for a lot more.

~

"I'm sorry Coach," he muttered.

"For what kid?" Wymack shifted. "You've got to give me something to work with here."

Wymack watched the thin traces of sorrow as paper exchanged hands and he was looking down at a contract with the Edgar Allan Raven's.

"I signed them Coach, I'm sorry."

~

The one where Neil doesn't come back from Winter Break.

It is VERY dark, and is one of very few fics that I have actually been almost unable to read one of the scenes, so DEFINITELY pay attention to the warnings -- both these, and the ones provided for each individual chapter. I did go through the fic to collect as many warnings as I could find in the chapter warnings, but be sure to take care of yourself.

Chapters: 36/36

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: rape/non-con elements, implied/referenced rape/non-con, discussions of rape/non-con, canon-typical violence, graphic descritions, physical abuse, panic attacks, descriptions of injuries (often graphic), psychological warfare, dissociating, psychological torture, physical torture, use of knives, alcoholism/alcohol abuse, pain-induced delirium, rape/non-con, emotional self-separation, suicidal ideation/thoughts of suicide, emotional distress (which sums up the whole fic and also me while reading it), handcuffs/chains used as restraints, referenced/implied abuse towards animals, vomitting, begging, excessive use of painkillers, drowning, waterboarding, physical restraint, mutilation of an animal, mild hallucinations, non-con drugging, sleep deprivation, starvation, humiliation, the Butcher, 

Also one of the first fics I read and 100% my absolute favorite fic!!! Which is adfjhsd a little worrying, considering, but it is what it is. Anyway. This fic absolutely wrecked me, and while it is technically complete, there is a sequel in the works! So! But I am so so excited for the sequel, and I am working on rereading this. It’s amazing. 1000/10.

[postalenha]

11. special

not really knowing what to wear, you decided to put on a beige sundress that goes below your knee, wishing that jay wouldn't bring you in a wall climbing type of place.

checking your reflection in the mirror, you fix a strand of hair that's sticking out and iron the dress with your hand, "perfect."

you smiled before hearing one to two honks of car. you decided to leave your apartment. outside, you see jay in his car, waving at you. you went straight to him saying, “good afternoon.”

he unbuckled his seatbelt and went out of his car, opening the car door to greet you, “good afternoon, lovely.” you smile before going inside.

his car smells like fresh flowers, which helps you calm down and not worry throughout the ride. once you've had enough courage to speak, you ask him “may i ask where we’re headed to?”

"i'm taking you to my favorite restaurant." he answered, "don't worry, i won't disappoint you."

you softly chuckle, "i'm looking forward to it."

the drive was smooth and quiet. you think if this was even a good idea because you remember telling yourself to never meet him again, let alone involve him in your life.

but you decided to give him a chance. it's not like you would lose anything. you would just hang out, that's all.

he stopped his car in front of a fancy building. he got out of his car and opened the door for you. he then offered his arm where you can cling your hand into. giving his car keys to the valet guy and you went straight inside.

immediately after a staff member had a glance of jay, she knew right away where to lead us. the two of you are now sitting at a table for two before the waitress hands you your menu.

you look over at jay, trying to get a recommendation from him while he's preoccupied, searching at his menu.

the waitress laughs a little before she pokes jay and points at you, jay widens his eyes. "oh no worries, i'll order for us." he smiled, "but you can order what you want too."

shaking your head no you tell him, "it's okay. you can order for us." he took that as a green light, so he ordered everything in the menu that he wanted you to have a taste of.

you weren't really listening to what he's saying, all you feel right now is admiration. you admired how well he can handle himself. he seems to know what he's doing, and looks like he's an expert with these types of situations.

waiting for the food to arrive, "i hope i lived upto your expectations." jay scratches the back of his nape, "i didn't tell you where we're going to keep the thrill."

you laughed at what he just said, "you made me anxious the whole ride just for you to experience some thrill?" you questioned him, he just smiled at you.

"the cold sweats were worth it. this place is magnificent." you commented, looking around and analyzing the place.

"it's elegant, very. yet cozy." you added, the structural design of the place was finely furnished. there are aerial plants hanging but the sight doesn't really make you suffocate, instead, they help make the surrounding more earthy.

"i know, that's why it's my favorite." he happily said, "and i'm glad you're liking it so far."

not long after, your food arrived. you couldn't tell if jay was very hungry or he just genuinely wanted you to try the food. seeing the number of plates on your table right now, it's enough to feed a whole six person family.

overwhelmed, you don't know where to start so you just stared at the food as they stare right back at you. jay sees your reaction and actually thinks it was cute.

while you're busy getting lost in your own thoughts, he started cutting the steak for you. it just went unnoticed until he switched your plate to his.

"why did you steal mine?" you asked him with full confusion painted on your face, he smirks. pointing at the plate in front of you, "they are the same thing. the only difference is; i already cut that for you."

after cutting his steak, he handed you a small cup with some kind of sauce inside. "try that with the flat bread like this." he showed you how to do it, and you just followed him, "then eat."

you both eat in usion before you hum in surprise, jay smiles for the nth time seeing you nod your head in approval. "that was actually good!" you said.

"it is. it makes a good appetizer." he told you, you both moved on and continued eating the main course. “i’m glad you agreed to see me.” he said.

you look at him, “i’m also glad you brought me to such a good place.” you said a while before taking a bite into your steak. tasting the savor of the meat as you chew it.

silence was the sound of the afternoon as you both ate in peace. he sometimes offers to help you with things like pouring your glass of wine, wiping the sauce from your lips but other than that, you both really didn’t interact that much.

jay had been thinking of what he should say, but he couldn't seem to find the right words or construct a good sentence to initiate a conversation. he only smiles at you whenever your eyes meet his.

but when dessert came, you grew tired of the silence that had been hurting your ears. so you decided to ask him, “how are your butterflies?” it’s funny to ask how his butterflies are.

because if he would ask you the same question, you would answer that yours are in your stomach as you speak. “they’re doing good.” he said, “i’m actually planning if i should free them or not.”

“why?” you ask him, jay looked at you. seeing your face, he knew that you actually cared because it is painted right all over your face. “i just think that i’m holding them back from the freedom that they deserve.”

“but what if their freedom is you?” you blurt out. “i mean- what if they feel like they have all the freedom in the world as long as you’re there by their side?” you panic while you blabber out the words without processing them in your head first.

“sorry, i wasn’t making sense.” you’re talking about butterflies for god’s sake. why would his butterflies even feel that way about him- well they can, but not certain.

jay thinks that it was fascinating that you said that. “no, you are making sense.” he reassured. he never once thought of how his butterflies would feel if he let go of them, he was busy thinking about what they feel in his perspective and never theirs.

instantly after you’re finished eating, you go out and wait for the valet driver to get the car. “we can sit there while we wait.” he pointed at the bench, you shake your head. “it’s fine, we can wait here.” you said, “unless you want to sit.”

he shook his head too and was also about to say something, “jongseong!” a woman shouts as she approaches you. you’re confused, there is no jongseong here. unless your name wasn’t y/n after all.

the woman stops in front of jay, “i didn’t expect to see you here!” she greets him with a hug. he’s jongseong?

you just stood there, quiet. even distanced yourself to give them some space. of course, just the right distance to hear what they’re talking about. “i most certainly didn't expect to see you either.” he said, the woman laughed and slaps his shoulder.

“we’re going to a pub, do you want to come?” she invited him. that is when jay- or jongseong- or whoever the hell he says he is; looks your way so you avoid his eyes, but on your peripheral vision you can see him walk to you.

feeling an arm on you shoulder, you look at his hand while you hear him say, “sorry. i’m with someone.” he said. you expected the girl to go with what he said but she just smiles. “come on! there would be a lot of people.”

she inserts herself in the middle of you two and clings her arm into yours, “she can find more friends there too!” you look away because you don’t know how to respond to her invitation, you barely even know her.

but that was hypocritical for you to say, because it wasn’t that much of a problem when you and jay spent the night at the pub. you were about to agree when something drawn on her arm caught your attention.

it’s the butterfly jay had drew on your arm when you two met at the bar, the same one. the only difference is that yours is already faded while hers is new and visible. you slowly remove her hand that was clinging on your arm.

“sorry, i’m really tired. i’ll be heading home, but jay can come if he wants to.” you told them. the girl lost her verbal ability and just looked at jay, “i’m going wherever she goes.. so, i’ll see you around.” he said.

the valet driver came right on time, jay was about to open the door for you but you opened it for yourself and just went inside his car not saying anything. jay doesn't really know what the big deal is, he certainly doesn’t get why you’re suddenly mad when you were so smiley earlier.

the car ride was silent too, it was awkward but you think that it’s better this way. but jay didn’t. he wanted the talkative y/n he met at the pub, you’re the same girl but why are you acting so cold all of a sudden?

once his car was parked in front of your apartment, you got out of his car and said “thank you.” and rushed inside. not letting him say any word. you throw yourself onto your bed, screaming.

you thought you were special. turns out jay’s just good at making individuals feel like they are, when in reality you are just like everyone else. a person who seeks the love they think they deserve and need.

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[shepherds-of-haven]

I hope you’re having a great day Lena! I was just wondering if we could have any fluff facts about the shepherds as a whole! Like fun tidbits of how they interact with each other, what some of them do if they have the same day off, does anyone host weekly game nights?? I hope that makes sense! Reading the recent short story on Patreon I love seeing how the characters interact with one another and now I need moreeeeeee🙏

Ooh, great question! I’m feeling curiously tapped dry at the moment, so I’ll probably have to reblog this as more ideas come to me; I’m so happy you’re enjoying the short story, btw!! 💖

Some group dynamic headcanons:

Many of them steal clothes from each other. Briony wears a cute sweater of Shery's (she asked), Ayla gets cold so she just takes one of Red's jackets from a chair (she didn't ask), Chase gives Tallys his scarf one day and Riel corders Trouble a pair of gloves from a fashion line he favors because his old ones are holey and they get into an argument about it... This leads to some recruits mistakenly thinking that the captains are all involved in some sort of mass relationship because they keep walking out of each other's rooms wearing each other's clothes. (The recruits believe a lot of really dumb stuff, if you couldn't tell. They LOVE gossip. It's like a competitive sport in the compound)

There is a weekly card game night, initiated and organized first by Chase, but it grows bigger over time, with snacks, cakes, drinks, and new games being procured! I'd actually say it's more like every ten-fourteen days or so than on any set weekday, and is typically proposed by anyone who senses that they or others need to blow off some steam. They all tend to meet in a private common room and either just chill and play some card games and casually drink and listen to music, or they get LOUD and raucous and play more risque non-card games (like Question or Command/Truth or Dare). The loud nights are more like once a month or bi-monthly, though! They take place in the captains' lounge so dumb recruits don't get to join! It's rare that they're in there all doing the same thing, though: maybe half will be at the table playing card games while others will be broken up into smaller groups, say arm-wrestling in the corner or playing chess at the smaller table or reading, but they're all there! Game nights are almost never held unless everyone is there, which is extraordinarily difficult to schedule, but they all make an effort to make it happen--even those who first had to be dragged into it, like Blade or Riel!

Speaking of chess games, Red and Riel have a standing game where they complete at least four more moves every night that they're around and able to meet up after dinner. Planning their next move helps them both break up the monotony of the day, and it's something they enjoy immensely. However, whenever he gets called away on a mission, Red gets sick with worry that Riel's been cooking up all sorts of schemes while he's been gone, so sometimes on the road he has, like, a schematic that he doodles on trying to anticipate Riel's next move, and it's very nerdy and ramps up in joking Anxiety. Riel, graciously, goes easier on him on nights after he comes back from long trips, though he denies it

Similarly, Blade and Trouble have a standing training session once a week where they just beat the crap out of each other. This is generally where they do the majority of their talking

Briony and Ayla first had an agreement that they would get the other one up if they overslept (Briony tends to be the one who oversleeps while Ayla is better about being up at dawn, but Ayla is really grouchy if she went to bed late and Briony is the only one who can handle her), which morphed into doing runs and sparring together at dawn and having breakfast frequently!

The girls have a standing spa night once a month where they all get together in a room (usually Shery’s) and basically do sleepover stuff and relax and chat and catch up for a few hours. This also sometimes involves showing each other new outfits that they bought that month! Sometimes there are even group baths in the big common bath, but these are rarer because Shery is shy and Tallys doesn’t like sitting in hot water getting pruny

Chase and Trouble drag Red and Halek to go drinking with them around once a month; sometimes Blade is persuaded to go if Trouble can get the drop on him and punch him hard enough to wind him. It’s complicated

Riel and Shery, of course, have tea together once a week! You’re not allowed if you can’t bring a chill vibe (Riel’s rules). Tallys, Lavinet, Halek, and Red are occasional visitors; Briony is allowed on a good day. Blade would be allowed but he has 0 interest

Similarly, Lavinet hosts a weekly brunch, either in a courtyard or at some restaurant in town! Typically it’s a girl thing and Ayla, Briony, and Shery are the most consistent attendees, but Chase has snuck his way in there often, and Riel, Halek, or Red pop up occasionally!

Tallys and Halek cook together! It’s not all that often and doesn’t seem to have any set way of materializing--it just happens somehow--but they both very much enjoy it! Sometimes they cook dinner for the whole group and have a little dinner party that they both secretly get excited for! Sometimes Shery bakes the dessert!

Riel noticed that Tallys has a little garden that she spends time weeding, so he sends gardening tools or special seeds when he thinks she needs them and she leaves baskets of vegetables or vases of flowers in his office. All of this is done without exchanging a word

Chase sporadically teaches Briony acrobatics and things like tightrope walking, just randomly whenever they’re both idle. She teaches him how to gut people with bare fists and also sometimes they paint! 

Caine caught Red grazing in the pantry late one night and now it’s like a Thing where they pass each other in the kitchen and Red sort of just looks the other way re: Caine’s bedtime and what on earth he’s doing up so late and Caine doesn’t tell anybody that Red is just absent-mindedly eating a loaf of bread at 2 AM because he was too busy working to remember to eat dinner. It’ll be like, “there’s some turkey leftover from dinner in the cold box” “oh hey, Caine. thanks. ...so, what’s the news from the midnight watch tonight?” “i’m going to go hunt ghosts on the seventh floor with my friends!” “...okay! have fun!”

Lavinet has a monthly shopping trip where she updates her wardrobe, and it is very common for others to accompany her around the city and just shop while they drop! Common partners are Shery, Briony, Riel, Chase, and once memorably Blade, who didn’t know what he was in for!

Trouble and Ayla are wildly competitive and keep arm-wrestling each other for money; this becomes a bi-weekly sporting event that is eagerly attended and bet upon by third parties

There was ONE group karaoke night. ONE. Most of them got so blackout drunk that they swore to never do it again. Even now, several of them go green whenever they hear a popular bar song (“Don’t Piss Where You Plant Your Flowers”) being sung, especially badly

The game of "telephone" gets really bad in their group. It's like, Shery will say to Briony that she's worried because she thought Riel looked a bit peaky and feverish. Briony will say in passing to Trouble that Riel is getting sick and Shery is worried. Trouble will say to Tallys that Shery is worried sick because Riel is bedridden. Tallys will be mixing herbs and Chase will ask what for and Tallys will reply that Riel is sick, but because she's mixing herbs, Chase will surmise that the sickness must be quite advanced, and will later say, "Damn, have you seen Riel? Seems like he's really sick." Red will interpret this as "I have seen Riel for myself and have determined that he's extremely ill." At least four people will bust into Riel's room, expecting him to be on the verge of death, despite the fact that they saw Riel that morning. Riel will be fine and very annoyed at the intrusion.

They rarely go out as a group to bars and establishments outside of the compound (too chaotic as well as risky, for one thing, and also, recruits don't need to see their superiors like hanging out of bushes and dancing on tabletops drunk out of their minds, and also, "Mages can't drink" (lol)), but when they do deem it a worthy occasion (Trouble's birthday, say), the girls are very punctual when getting ready, and the boys are almost always extremely late due to various shenanigans (Chase forgot that he put a booby trap on Red’s door, covering Red with flour, or a cat somehow slips into Trouble’s room and steals, like, a detonator or an important key, and they have to go chasing it across the city). This has led to the girls coming late on purpose in order to even out their arrival, but mysteriously, this has only led to even later start times, meaning they often don’t get started until like 10 or 11 PM when the most well-intentioned souls meant to be in bed by midnight... that never happens, either!

One such night once led to them ending up on a ridge in the Sun’s Embrace, like a mile outside of the city, in order to watch the sun rise together, because hiking in the dark while blasted out of their minds sounded like a really good idea. They all made it, and the dawn was spectacular, but the moment was ruined when Tallys said softly, “It’s the beginning of a beautiful new day--” punctuated by Trouble abruptly throwing up in a bush and Riel just flat-out passing out

[redgillan]

Under Pastel Skies - 11

Sugar daddy!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Modern!AU Bucky doesn’t need anyone, especially not a sugar baby. He isn’t that desperate… but she smiles so sweetly and she’s endearingly awkward, and he’s so lonely. She’s an artist, a painter, the type of person who always puts others before herself. Throwing caution to the wind Bucky offers her a place to live, a place where she can finally paint whatever her heart desires. He doesn’t need much in return; a friend, a muse.

Word Count: 6,696

Warnings: Unprotected Sex (non explicit) 

A/N: And finally... Just a word before, and it’s important, I wanted to put the explicit between two ‘*’ but I settled for one at the end because explicit means different things to different people. So whenever it starts to get too steamy for you, skip to the *. Thank you for reading, I appreciate your support!

Wannabe sugar daddies, don’t interact with this post. 

Bucky moved behind the kitchen counter when he heard the door close. You and your guests were in the hallway where you took their coats and asked them to remove their shoes. He took a deep breath to calm himself. He had to stay calm, you depended on him tonight.

“It smells nice in here. What did y-”

Bucky straightened himself up and tried to keep a casual, friendly smile on his face as he came face-to-face with Okoye. He had seen enough pictures of your siblings to recognize them.

She looked surprised to find someone else there. He raised his hand and waved, and she frowned at him in confusion. The rest of the guests stopped short when they saw him waving like a dork. You pushed through them and came to his side.

“Guys, this is my friend, Bucky,” you said. “He’s the one who invited you.”

“Thanks for the invite. I hope you like wine,” Scott said, extending his hand as he walked over to Bucky.

“I sure do.”

Then he shook Wanda and Okoye’s hands, telling them how good it was to finally meet them. Your sisters introduced him to their partners, W’Kabi and Edwin who preferred to be called ‘Viz’.

You led them to the living room while Bucky prepared the drinks. W’Kabi decided to stay behind and help Bucky carry the drinks to the living room. He praised Bucky for having such a nice home.

The conversation seemed to flow easily between your siblings, though as Bucky arrived with your drink, he couldn’t help but notice that you were not participating. You took the glass from his hand, smiled then went back to staring at the coffee table. He sat next to you and rubbed soothing strokes on your arm before he reached for his drink.

Okoye was telling everyone that she had decided to return to New York after King T’Chaka’s passing. His son carried the mantle of the Black Panther, surrounding himself with his father’s Dora Milaje, but Okoye wanted to live closer to her own family.

She was a Dora Milaje, loyal to her king, but she was also a sister, loyal to her family. She felt like there were no good choices, and it ate away at her until her king found a solution to her problem. His little sister, Shuri, was starting her own business in the United States and needed her own bodyguards. Okoye accepted and W’Kabi followed her.

Scott didn’t share much. He showed everyone pictures of his little girl, Cassie, and said he was now working at Baskin-Robbins.

Wanda was evasive about her life and whereabouts. She told everyone that she’d been backpacking across Europe and met Viz, a wealthy businessman, on a beautiful sunny day in Berlin. They’d been attached at the hip ever since.

“And of course, you’re all invited to the wedding,” Wanda said while Okoye admired the ring. “It’s going to be a small wedding. I just need my family.”

“Excuse-me,” you said, standing up abruptly. “I think something’s burning.”

Bucky watched you disappear into the kitchen. He glanced at the group again, no one was paying attention so he followed you into the kitchen.

He found you leaning back against the counter, your arms crossed over your chest, staring into nothing. He walked over to you and pulled you into a one-armed hug that you accepted with a pleased sigh.

“I don’t think I can do this,” you said, your voice muffled against his shirt.

“Is it a code ‘flamingo’?”

“No,” you chuckled, pulling away. You took a deep breath and leaned back against the counter again. “It’s just...”

You huffed, unable to find the words and grabbed him by the waist, seeking his warmth again. Bucky let out a surprised laugh as you squeezed him tightly. He wrapped his arm around your shoulders and pressed you against his chest.

“I know it’s hard,” he said, kissing the crown of your head. “It’ll be over soon, angel.”

Bucky rocked you side to side in a slow, soothing rhythm until you were practically melting against him. He felt you take a deep breath, your nose buried in his chest. He didn’t want the moment to end, but you’d been gone for several minutes now, and the others would barge in the kitchen soon.

He pressed a long kiss to your forehead and gently pushed you away, his arm falling to your waist. You smoothed out the wrinkles you had made in his shirt without looking him in the eye.

He could tell you were thinking about something but before he could ask what was on your mind, you kissed the slight cleft in his chin and quickly moved away from him.

He smiled to himself, his heart beating a little faster.

You were transferring the dinner rolls from the pan to the basket when Scott poked his head into the kitchen. Bucky was still smiling to himself like a lovesick idiot.

“Everything okay?” Scott asked, taking a step closer to you. You turned to him and nodded. “It’s kinda weird, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“Seeing each other again after all this time.” He leaned his forearm on the counter next to you and smelled the bread. “Baby Wanda’s getting married. Did you know they flew me first class? And the hotel is incredible. I feel like a prince.”

“Viz seems very nice.”

“I can’t believe Wanda backpacked through Europe,” Scott scoffed. “She hates camping.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Bucky watched as Scott leaned closer and whispered in your ear. ��Listen, I wanted to thank you for everything you did for me and for Cassie-” Bucky quietly left the two of you alone. It was a private conversation and he didn’t want to impose himself.

He finished setting the table, and soon everyone joined in. Bucky was sitting with his back to the kitchen, W’Kabi sitting next to him. You took a seat across from him, Wanda sitting next to you. Okoye sat next to Wanda, facing Scott, and Viz took a seat at the end of the table.

The food was good, and everyone complimented Bucky on his cooking skills. He said that you had helped him a lot, but you refused to take credit for chopping up a bunch of vegetables. You gushed about his cooking skills and his delicious recipes. It made them salivate just thinking about it.

“And your house is amazing,” Scott said with a dreamy look on his face. “A place like that...” he sighed, “that must have cost you an arm and a leg.” The whole room fell silent, and something that sounded like a foot hitting a shin made the table jump. “Ouch, why did yo- oh.”

Okoye was looking at him with the widest pair of eyes Bucky had ever seen. She looked furious and exasperated at the same time. The others stared at their plates as the uncomfortable silence grew.

Bucky glanced at you, not surprised to find you smirking. You knew he lived for moments like these, and you knew he already had the perfect comeback. As he watched you bit your lip, trying to contain a little giggle, he couldn’t help but love you even more.

“It was the original price but I’m a good negotiator,” Bucky said. “Only cost me an arm.”

W’Kabi was the first to laugh at his joke, then the whole table broke into fits of laughter. Scott looked equally amused and relieved.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t-”

“No problem,” Bucky cut him off.

“Can’t take you anywhere,” Okoye said with a smile and a shake of her head. She turned to Bucky as everyone calmed down. “So, Bucky, strange name, uh? What do you do for a living?”

“My name is James, Bucky’s just a nickname.” He wiped his mouth and set the napkin down. “I’m a writer.”

“A pretty good one, judging by your apartment.”

“I’m all right.” He shrugged. “Literally.” Scott snickered at the joke.

“He’s too modest,” you said. “His books are best sellers. They’re autobiographical, he’s very sincere and honest and funny. He has a way of making you laugh about things that are pretty awful.”

“Yeah, we saw that,” Wanda said with a grin. “Are you working on anything at the moment?”

Bucky shifted a little in his seat. “Yeah, it’s uh,” he cleared his throat. “It’s a very important one. I don’t really want to talk about it. Don’t wanna jinx it.”

He wasn’t going to tell your family that he was writing a book about how he fell in love with you. That’d be pretty awkward.

“I understand,” Okoye nodded, then looked at you. “You’ve been really quiet tonight.” You shrugged. “I thought you were still living with Natasha. Do you still work at the hotel? Where is it again? Chelsea? That’s one hell of a commute from Brooklyn.”

“I wasn’t exactly living with Natasha,” you said. “I was crashing on her sofa. And no, I quit six months ago. I’m a full time artist now.”

“That’s great,” Scott said, raising his glass toward you in a silent toast. “How’s that working out for you?”

“Not too bad. Bucky’s friend is a professional photographer. He helped me set up my website. The pictures he took are amazing. I sold a few pieces online but I’m struggling to find gallery representation.”

“Hey, as long as it pays the bills.”

“I don’t really have to worry about bills these days.”

“What do you mean?”

The room got quiet again, and Bucky could feel the tension in the air, buzzing like static electricity. All eyes were suddenly on you, waiting for an explanation. Bucky knew you were not going to lie to them. He locked eyes with you, and braced himself for impact.

You set your fork down and folded your hands in your lap.

“Well, Bucky and I have an arrangement.”

“I don’t like where this is going,” Scott cut you off.

“I’m not going to beat around the bush and I’m not going to use pretty words to make it sounds more appealing,” you continued as if you hadn’t heard him. “He’s my sugar daddy.”

“You’re joking. Please, tell me you’re joking.”

“Nope,” you replied smugly, popping the ‘p’.

A chorus of voices rose in protest. Okoye and Scott were shouting while the others kept glancing around wondering what had just happened. Wanda was strangely quiet next to you.

“Oh, shut up!” you shouted. “You left me alone. All of you. We were all grieving our brother but it doesn’t give you the right to fuck off when things get tough. Do you know how fucking terrifying it was when mom started to lose her memories? Or when the police drove her home at three in the morning after one of her spells? No, you don’t know because you weren’t there.”

Bucky had never seen you so upset before, and he didn’t quite know what to do but he felt like you needed to get it off your chest.

“I didn’t have friends or boyfriends. I went to class, then got home, hoping mom hadn’t set the house on fire. I took the first decent job I could find because she needed a new home and professional help. Without Natasha I would have been homeless.” You turned to Bucky. “I’m so sorry, I’ve ruined dinner. You’ve worked so hard.”

“It’s okay,” he replied immediately. “I’m with you.”

“God, you’re so nice,” you sighed, then turned to your siblings. “See? That’s the kind of person he is. I was lonely and lost, and I found him and he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. He’s kind and sweet, he’s selfless and generous, and you have no right to criticize our relationship.”

Bucky stared at you, his mouth hanging open a little. Slowly he shook himself out of his trance and reached for your hand on the table. He had no idea you thought so highly of him.

“We needed each other,” you continued. “And I don’t care what you think.”

Dinner was officially ruined but Bucky didn’t care. He smiled at you, soft and reassuring, and let go of your hand when you smiled back. He was proud of you for speaking up, for standing up for yourself.

Bucky noticed Wanda and Viz exchanging looks.

“Okay so, since we’re sharing truth bombs,” Wanda said, shifting a bit in her seat. “I wasn’t really traveling through Europe. I went to Sokovia and after that, everything’s kind of a blur. I did things I’m not proud of. I wanted to forget,” she paused and sighed, “everything. I hit rock bottom, pretty hard, and checked myself into a psychiatric hospital. That’s where I met Viz. He helped me send you those postcards. I screwed up, real bad, but I couldn’t tell you guys the truth. I’m not really proud of myself.”

“I got fired from Baskin-Robbins for yelling at a costumer.”

“Okay!” Okoye exclaimed in her big sister voice. “Enough truth bombs.” She pointed at you. “I’m sorry you had to do this alone, it wasn’t right but we’re here now and we won’t let you down. As for the sugar daddy thing... well you’re a grown woman, you can do whatever you want. Bucky seems like a nice guy.” She turned to Wanda. “We are all dealing with our pain in our own way. I’m not judging you. We’re here for you, Wanda.”

“I know,” Wanda said, sniffing.

“And Scott, stop yelling at people.”

“Yeah, good idea.”

Bucky turned to W’Kabi and Viz who looked proud of their girls, albeit a little uncomfortable with the whole situation. Someone started chuckling, he couldn’t tell who it was, but suddenly the whole table broke into a fit of laughter.

“How about some dessert,” he said. “Then you guys can fill me in on some childhood secrets.”

As he walked away from the table, he heard you warn your siblings to keep their mouths shut. They laughed in response, which made Bucky smile. Surely it’d take more than one outburst at a family dinner to fix your broken bond but it was a good start.

During dessert, he learned that everyone called you ‘Splotchy’ because you painted on the living room walls as a child. He learned that you always wanted to play board games with Okoye. Your favourite one was Mystery Date.

“She had a crush on Tyler, the beach date.”

“No, that’s not true, don’t listen to them.”

When they finally left, you spent a few extra moments hugging everyone. Promises were made, and Bucky couldn’t help but smile as he watched you wave goodbye to your siblings.

It was just the two of you again, and the mountain of dirty dishes and silverware. He told you not to worry about the dishes, but you knew if he went to bed he wouldn't be able to sleep, not when the kitchen was such a mess so you cleaned together.

He loved these moments with you. There was something very peaceful about the night; the dark skies, the soft lights, the quiet apartment, knowing people all around town where getting ready for bed. It used to make him feel tiny and isolated but now, with you, the night didn’t seem so frightening anymore.

A few weeks went by, and things were changing a bit. You spent your Saturday mornings with your sisters, bonding, and facetimed with Scott at least once a week.

Bucky also noticed a subtle change in Sam’s behaviour. He seemed happier and he wondered if his friend had already forgotten Natasha.

It was almost June, and the building’s swimming pool reopened as the weather got warmer. Despite living there for several years, he had never gone near that swimming pool until you dragged him out one scorching afternoon.

The rooftop was surprisingly calm, apart for the group of children playing in the pool. There were people sunbathing around the pool, enjoying a good book, socializing. You dropped your bag on the floor and laid out your towel on the reclining chair.

Bucky had never seen you in a bathing suit before and it caught him completely off guard, but what made him literally growl was seeing the little pendant of your necklace rest against your skin. He didn’t know why but it awoke something in him.

You both slathered on sunscreen before you went for a swim. Bucky recognized a few neighbours, and while they all knew he only had one arm, they had never seen him shirtless before. Bucky didn’t mind their inquisitiveness, as long as you were beside him.

“Do you think the kids peed in the water?” you asked as you rested against the edge of the pool.

“Probably,” Bucky cringed. “When I was a kid, my mom told me that there were chemicals that turned the water a different color when someone pees.”

“Ew,” you laughed.

After a while, he lay out in the sun, enjoying the feel of the sun on his skin. He could still hear you playing water polo with the kids when a shadow passed over him. With a frown, he pushed his sunglasses up onto his forehead.

“It’s nice to see you, James,” his neighbour beamed, taking a seat on your unoccupied chair. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you out here.”

“Hi.” He wasn’t surprised when his voice came out hoarse since he had been on the verge of falling asleep. With the grace of a walrus, he propped himself into a sitting position. “Yes, well, swimming pools are more fun when you’re not alone.”

His neighbour turned to look at you. “Congratulations, by the way. I didn’t know you were seeing someone. Must have been serious if you two moved in together. How long has it been since she moved in? Six months?”

“Seven.”

He knew he should have corrected her, you weren’t his girlfriend, but it felt good. It was just a harmless little lie.

“Does she make you happy?”

“I’m the happiest man on earth,” he replied with a bright smile, then slid his sunglasses back on his face.

His neighbour chuckled quietly. “I can see that!”

When you returned to your seat, his neighbour was gone. You hummed to yourself as you settled into your seat, big droplets of water running down your body. Bucky tilted his head down and peered at you over the top of his sunglasses.

“Where did you get that popsicle?”

“Jealous?” You licked your treat without looking at him. “The kids’ mom gave me one as a thank you for looking after her kids.”

“That looks good.”

“So good.”

“Mind sharing it with me?”

You pursed your lips thoughtfully, then held out your popsicle. As Bucky leaned closer, you pulled it away and jumped to your feet. The look he gave you was one of pure betrayal.

“Oh, angel, you should have never done that.”

He grinned to himself when he saw a shiver run through you. When he stood up, you took a step back. He strutted toward you, his grin predatory. The floor was slippery so you couldn’t go very far.

“Are you ready to share now?”

“No!”  

The popsicle melted down your hand, creating a mess. You turned your arm and licked the drops of popsicle juice from the inside of your wrist. It distracted you long enough for Bucky to wrap his arm around your waist, pulling you against him. You squealed and grabbed him around the neck to keep from falling while also trying not to smush the popsicle against his chest.

You waved the treat in front of his face and he tried to bite off the tip of your popsicle. It made you laugh, your body sagging against him. His face was close to yours. He was so close he could smell the artificial orange scent of your popsicle.

Your laughter died down and your breath caught in your throat when you saw the way he was looking at you. Without thinking, he went for it. He felt your fingers flex against his skin, urging him closer.

His lips were barely a breath away from yours when one of the kids repeatedly slapped your thigh, obviously oblivious to what the two grownups were about to do.

“Come back! We haven’t finished the game,” the kid whined. “Come on!”

Reluctantly, you let go of Bucky and took a step back. Your exhale came out shaky, and in your almost-kiss-induced trance you handed him the popsicle without saying anything before you followed the kid.

You turned back to look at him, one hand sprawled across your stomach, the other across your chest. He knew you were feeling it too: the butterflies, the racing heartbeat, that pleasant heat going through your body.

The difference between like and love.

A week later, he came home to an empty apartment. He climbed the stairs to your studio but you weren’t there. Instead, he found a canvas stretched out smooth and tight on the floor, and several bowls of paint arranged in a semi-circle around it.

He knew you were home, you wouldn’t leave without your phone or bag. Out of curiosity, he went up on the roof and let out a relieved breath when he found you.

You were sitting on the edge of the rooftop with your knees up to your chin and your arms wrapped loosely around your shins. You looked so beautiful in the golden hue of the setting sun.

He stood there, watching you as if he was looking at a painting in a museum. Entranced. You hadn’t noticed him yet, and a quick glance around the roof told him you were alone.  

Slowly, he made his way to you and took in your appearance: a short sleeve white shirt and a pair of denim overalls. The shirt was surprisingly spotless but the overalls were covered in dried paint splatters of different colours.

“I looked everywhere for you,” he spoke softly, trying not to disturb you.

“Did you?”

You straightened up a little but kept your eyes trained on the horizon. Bucky sat close to your feet and let his hand slip under the hem of your jeans to close around your ankle. A sigh slipped past your lips, and he let his fingertips linger for a moment on your smooth skin.

He knew you had a meeting today, and judging by the resigned look on your face, it didn’t go well.

“What’s on your mind, angel?” he said, caressing the top of your foot.

“I was thinking about the night we met. God, I was so nervous,” you said, laughing softly. “I told you that agreeing to meet you was like choosing between a pack of wolves and jumping off a cliff.”

“I remember,” he chuckled.

“I never told you how glad I am that I jumped off that cliff,” you said. “I’d never jumped head first into something, not knowing what was going to happen. Now I think I’m addicted to it. Before I met you, I was living for others. Everything single decision was thoroughly analysed. There was no mystery, fun, or impulsiveness. I put my entire life on hold, and now I see that I can’t do that anymore.”

“What are you going to do?”

You paused, searching for the right words. “I don’t know if I want to turn my passion into a career. Painting is my safe-place, and right now it’s giving me so much anxiety. I haven’t had the inspiration to paint in weeks.” You looked at him and pressed your lips together tightly. “And, if I don’t want to become a full time artist, then I guess our deal is off.”

Bucky stared at you, mouth agape. He really hadn’t seen it coming.

“Please, don’t be angry,” you pleaded. “I don’t want to stop seeing you. When he didn’t answer, you leaned forward and touched his face.

“I could never be angry with you, angel,” he said, kissing the inside of your palm. “I understand, and I’ll help you however I can.”

“I’m not sure yet. I’m still thinking about it.” You looked away from him and stared at the sky. “Do you know that feeling when you stand in a high place and you think about jumping? You don’t want to jump and you don’t do it, but there’s that urge.”

“I think I do.”

“It’s called ‘call of the void’. People say that it’s an affirmation of our will to live. That knowing we’re going to die one day makes us appreciate life even more.” You looked at him. “I want to jump but I can’t. I’m scared.” You lowered your voice. “I don’t want to ruin what we have.”

“You’re scaring me a little. You can’t talk about jumping when we’re sitting on the edge of the roof.”

You chuckled under your breath. “It’s a metaphor.”

“Let’s go home. We’ll make dinner together, put on some music and pretend we’re in a movie.” He got to his feet and held out his hand to you. “Please.”

You took his hand and let him lead you to the staircase.

Once you were inside the apartment, he removed his shoes and you removed yours. Silence settled between the two of you as you entered the kitchen. Bucky moved behind the counter while you stood close to the dining table.

When he chanced a glance at you, he saw you staring into nothing while you played with the charm on your necklace, rolling it back and forth on its chain. You often did that when you were daydreaming.

Bucky walked over to you and placed his hand on top of yours, halting your movements. You let go of the pendant and held his hand instead. He ran his thumb soothingly over your fingers.

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he spoke softly.

“If I say it, it’s going to change everything.”

He pressed your joined hands against his chest, over his heart. “No, it’ll make it real.”

He let go of your hand and cupped the side of your face. You leaned closer until you were only inches apart. His thumb traced your cheekbone, then moved to trace the outline of your bottom lip.

He let you come to him, let you take that first step, and when your lips brushed against his, he closed his eyes and sighed. He kissed your parted lips; once, twice, three times, tiny little kisses against your trembling lips.

His kiss grew bolder, turning into something so intimate, so passionate and intense that tears gathered in his eyes. He pressed his mouth more firmly against yours, his large hand still cupping the side of your face. His bad shoulder jutted forward as if his missing arm wanted to touch you.

He let out a groan, frustrated that he only had one hand to finally explore your skin. Sensing his inner turmoil, you held onto his bad shoulder and pulled him against you.

His tongue swept into your mouth, moving in a slow and deliberate rhythm. A growl escaped him and he deepened the kiss, tasting, sliding, retreating and entering again. He poured everything he had into the kiss.

“Bucky,” you moaned after your broke the kiss, breathless.

Hearing his name fall from your lips, your voice hoarse with desire, sparked something inside him. He swiped his thumb over your bottom lip, feeling the softness and collecting the moisture that had gathered there.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said, looking positively entranced. “My pretty angel.”

You pulled him in for another kiss and wrapped your arms around his neck, your slightly cold hands felt amazing against his heated skin. He pressed himself against you, letting you feel the rise and fall of his chest, the desperation in the jerky thrust of his hips.

He needed more but he wasn’t going to force you into anything. He was more than happy to stand here and kiss you for hours. He cupped the back of your neck and rubbed the sensitive skin behind your ear with his thumb.

“I’m yours,” he spoke against your lips, his eyes screwed shut.  

You pulled back to look him in the eye, searching his face. He opened his eyes and you saw nothing but honesty in the depth of his eyes.

You untangled yourself from him and took his hand. Slowly, you took a step back, then another, his hand still in yours. His eyebrows lifted slightly when you bit your bottom lip and gave him a coy look.

He nearly growled again, the wolf inside him eager to touch you, feel you, claim you. He stood taller, his chest puffed out and breathing fast.

You led him up the stairs to the second floor and turned on the light in the corridor. You slowly made your way down the corridor with him behind you.

But instead of turning left towards his bedroom, you turned right into your studio, and it changed everything. Your studio was your sanctuary, your safe place, and knowing that you were about to bare your soul and body to him tamed his inner wolf.

You hesitated at the threshold of the room and glanced over your shoulder to look at him. Bucky squeezed your hand to encourage you.

“I bought some body paint on my way home,” you said, letting go of his hand to step into the room. “I wanted to try something different, something more personal. I wanted to use my body to express my emotions, to create something raw and messy. My interpretation of somatic art therapy.”

You moved around the darkened room; bent down to adjust the canvas on the floor and made sure the bowls of paint were still full.

“I sat there and thought of my mom and Pietro,” you continued, barefoot on the canvas. “I only feel sadness and anger, and I don’t want to create something that makes me feel sad. And I realized the only thing that keeps me inspired is hope.”

Turning to face him, you held your hand out, palm up, and his eyes widened at your silent request. Without thinking twice, he joined you on the canvas. It was both soft and scratchy under his feet.

Bucky watched as you unbuckled the right strap of your overalls and slipped the second strap off your shoulder. You tugged your jeans down your legs and tossed them aside, leaving you in your underwear and white shirt.

Swallowing thickly, Bucky let his eyes travel up and down your body. He had seen you in your bathing suit before but this was different. Then he reached behind his neck and pulled his shirt over his head, baring his strong chest, hard abdomen and marred skin.

The room was dark; the pastel sky, visible from your studio thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room, didn’t provide much light. The light was still on in the corridor, casting a faint golden glow over the room.

You took a step forward to examine his scars more carefully and Bucky took that opportunity to kiss you again, slowly, intimately. He peppered kisses along your jaw and down your neck, then went down on his knees in front of you and continued his journey down your body, pressing soft kisses to your stomach.

He accidentally knocked over two bowls of paint; the dark colours spilled out onto the canvas, chasing each other. His kisses made you light up with desire, your moans music to his ears as your hands came down on the back of his head.

When it all became too much, you gently pushed him into a lying position and helped him out of his jeans. His belt buckle made a faint clink when you pulled it open, and Bucky swore out loud when you planted a wet open-mouthed kiss right below his navel.

In the back of his mind, he knew he wasn’t going to survive the night. He let his head fall back against the canvas and closed his eyes shut. Your talented mouth sent sharp jolts of pleasure through him, making it difficult to breathe.

He could feel the paint stick to his back, creating the shape of his upper body on the canvas. It was strangely exciting.

He moaned, arching his back, and slammed his fist down on the canvas. His fist landed in one of the bowls of paint. It splashed paint everywhere. He looked down at you and saw tiny flecks of paint splayed like freckles on one side of your face.

It made you both giggle. As he pushed himself up into a sitting position, Bucky left a print of his forearm on the canvas. You climbed into his lap, straddling him, then removed your shirt and bra. You wrapped your legs around him, one hand on his upper arm, the other hugging his neck.

Bucky was sitting on the canvas with his legs outstretched and slightly bent at the knees. He held you against his chest, rocking back and forth, his arm around the small of your back. You sighed together, sharing the same breath.

“You have the prettiest nose.” You let your index finger run down the length of his nose, your finger wet with paint. “So pretty.”

Laughing softly, he brushed his nose against yours and kissed you. He changed the angle of his thrusts, catching you by surprise.

“Does that feel good, angel?” he asked, lightly biting your jaw. You answered with a short cry. “Look at me.” You slowly opened your eyes, your movements faltered a little. “You’re so beautiful like this. You drive me crazy, y’know that?”

“Bucky,” you cried out.

He felt you shiver when he moved his hand from your back to your face. He cupped the side of your face and you immediately pressed yourself closer to him, craving the warmth of his touch.

He stopped your movements and looked you in the eye. “I’d do anything for you. Anything. You’re my one and only.”

He laid you down as gently and safely as he could, and once you were lying flat on your back, he sprawled between your thighs. He supported his weight on his forearm, careful not to crush you. Your hands slid up his sides, and as your thumb traced over his ribcage, a violent shiver went through his body.

He had never seen anything more beautiful than watching you come apart; your eyebrows furrowed, your lips parted in a silent ‘o’, the way your body shook in little spams. Absolutely stunning.

Exhausted, he collapsed on top of you and hid his face in the crook of your neck. You wrapped your arms around him and slowly caressed his back.

After he kissed his way down the side of your neck, he straightened himself up into a kneeling position and looked down at you. Your naked body was on display, covered in paint and glistening under the moonlight. He wished he could take a picture, immortalize this memory.

*

He helped you up, and after another passionate kiss he led you to his bathroom, the two of you leaving colourful footprints all over the clean floor.

The bathroom's bright fluorescent light was harsh and unforgiving as you looked at each other in the mirror. Yet you were both glowing, streaks and dots of paint covering your bodies. Bucky turned on the water and waited for it to get hot.

He wrapped his arm around you from behind and rested his chin on your shoulder. “We look like we blew up a rainbow,” he said, smiling wide when it made you chuckle.

In the shower, you took turns washing each other, laughing and kissing until the water turned cold. You pushed his hair out of his eyes and smiled sweetly at him.

“We’re going to catch a cold if we stay here.”

“Mhh,” he replied, kissing your temple. “You’re right. There are clean towels on the shelf. Go, I’ll be right behind you, I still need to take care of my scar.”

“Can I help you?”

Asking for help wasn’t something he was comfortable with, especially after years of being babied by his ex-girlfriend, friends and family. After his accident, he couldn’t do anything on his own. He had to rely on others and it made him feel like a burden, like he was incapable of taking care of himself.

He knew it was all in his head but he couldn’t help it.

“It’s not exactly sexy,” he said.

“I don’t care. I want to help. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”

Patiently he guided you step by step through the process of cleaning his stump. You inspected his skin thoroughly, looking for irritation or any signs of infection, then washed it with a mild soap.

He had to admit that watching the woman he loved take such good care of his scar made his stomach fill with butterflies. You looked so focused, so attentive, that he could help but smile and try to kiss you.

“Bucky,” you complained, turning your head away, avoiding his kiss. “This is serious business, stop fooling around.”

He almost said it. I love you. But something was holding him back. He didn’t know what would happen next and it scared him. He didn’t want this to be a one-time thing, but he also realized that things were moving too fast.

“Okay, now you’re shivering,” he said, holding you close, trying to share his body heat with you. “Let’s get out of here.”

He wrapped you in a fluffy bathrobe and patted you dry. Then you carefully dried his scar and applied corticosteroid cream to his shoulder, massaging it gently into his skin. He slipped on his robe and you loosely tied the belt at his waist.

“We should talk about what just happened,” you said, playing with the belt. “What does it mean? What are we going to do? Can we-mph”

He cut you off with a kiss, long and hard and filled with passion. You smiled against his lips and finally pulled away.

“Is that how you’re going to shut me up from now on?” you asked with a grin.

“We’ll talk,” he said, pressing his forehead against yours. “But not tonight.”

“When then?”

“Tomorrow, I promise.”

You looked down at your hands on his belt and nodded. He tilted your head up and lowered his mouth to yours.

“Don’t avoid me tomorrow. Please.”

Your words felt like a knife in his heart, and it left him momentarily speechless. He took one of your hands and pressed it against his heart. “No matter what we decide to do, you’re my angel and I’m yours.”

You shared a long, silent hug before you both decided to call it a night. Once he saw the footprints in the corridor, Bucky felt the urge to clean them. He tried to resist but he knew if he didn't clean he wouldn't be able to sleep.

You understood –you always understood. That’s why he felt so comfortable with you.

Once it was clean, he joined you in the kitchen and made you breakfast for dinner, opening the cupboard and pulling out a couple boxes of cereal you didn’t even know he had.

He told you that he was keeping them for a special occasion. He remembered you telling him that it was your favourite meal as a kid, watching TV with your siblings every Sunday night, eating cereals.

“I can’t believe you remembered that,” you said, tears in your eyes.

The two of you sat on your bed, sharing random thoughts and spoonfuls of cereal. You giggled as milk dribbled down his chin and stained his robe. You wiped at the spot on his chin with your thumb and gave him a chaste kiss.

Your lips tasted sweet. Bucky pulled you in for another kiss, discarding the dirty dishes on your bedside table. You helped each other undress, then slid under the covers where you laid your head on Bucky’s chest.

“Bucky,” your voice cut through the quiet. “Do you mind-”

“Don’t worry, my angel, I’ll wait until you fall asleep.”

“Thank you.”

Part 12