#ofc i talked to her via text about the game but like. i need to Talk to her irl

[kimmkitsuragi]

OMGGGG i just realized i will be able to talk about disco elysium to my frend who recommended it to me and im so normal about it

so like. boardgame day today and then barbienheimer day thursday and then stayover night after that???? and then on friday go s2 comes out right what if i watch it w my frend there .....

[daydreaming-in-letters]

In a week

Chapter 6

07/30/2022

Pairing: Andrew (Hozier) x Clara (OFC)

Word Count: 3,246

Warnings: rpf, au, language, idiots in love, angst, body shaming, talk of infidelity, forced kissing, Chad is back

Summary: After spending a passionate night together, it is time for Andrew and Clara to leave their little paradise by the sea. But then an unexpected visitor shows up.

A/N: Here comes the last part. In case you enjoyed the story, please consider reblogging or leaving a comment. It means the world to me.

Picture by Ann Savchenko via Unsplash (cropped and text added)

If you like my story, you are very welcome to like, comment or reblog. No permission is given to copy, repost or share my work on other platforms.

Hozier - Run

Leaning against the cool marble of the kitchen counter, Clara faintly noticed the alluring scent of freshly brewed coffee while she stared outside. The colours seemed a bit brighter this morning, the air cleaner, and still it wasn’t the beauty of nature her mind was set on.

She could still feel his arms around her. He had held her all night, keeping her close against his warm body long after his heartbeat had slowed and his breath evened out. Her hand clasped in his above her chest, she hadn’t been able to tell whether sleep had found him or not. He hadn’t moved a single inch, no twitching or soft snoring had given him away. The only thing she knew for sure was that she hadn’t gotten much sleep, if any at all. 

With the first light of day, life seemed to return to his body and not long after the birds had begun their morning song his hand had left hers to explore the curves and valleys of her figure. He had made love to her again, slow and intimate, like real lovers did, worshipping her body with every languid motion. 

She had never expected him to be so good at this pretending game. Or perhaps she hadn’t wanted him to be good at it because it would mean she had been wrong about him being the decent man she took him for. It had hurt to remind herself that the devotion she had seen in his eyes, that burning fire of infatuation had been nothing but an illusion. But it had been necessary to step out of the cozy bubble of make believe they had created and return to the real world again.

She had excused herself shortly after they had found release in each others arms and fled into the shower to wash his scent off her skin and with it the delusional daydream that he would ever be hers. 

Breakfast was ready now, not that she had much of an appetite anyway. The gentle splashing of the shower had stopped a few minutes ago and she knew she needed to ready herself. He would be downstairs with her in a few minutes and she couldn’t risk looking like a rejected puppy when it had been her who had suggested this farce in the first place.

But instead of his soft steps on the stairs, the harsh crunching of gravel that rolled through the open window made her jump. A hand break clicked into place, a door snapped shut with a metallic sound and then there was more crunching gravel. She would have recognised the sound of that stride anywhere.

“Clara?”

Her heart stopped in her chest, her fingers tightening around the coffee cup with such force that she feared it might break. This wasn’t possible. He couldn’t be here. He needed to leave, now. 

Brown puddles of coffee stained the white stone of the counter as she sat down her cup in a hurry and rushed outside. 

“There you are, muffin.”

He looked flawless, as always, as if he belonged in this place with his light blue linen suit and white shirt, making his eyes shine like the clear sky when he pulled the designer sunglasses from his nose and opened his arms for her. He couldn’t be serious.

“Chad?” Clara stopped in her tracks, eager to keep him at a distance. “What are you doing here?”

The falter in his smile told her that he hadn’t missed the icy undertone of her question. Still he didn’t halt his steps and closed the distance between them, his arms now signalling that he meant no harm.

“I came here to apologise.”

“Really? That would be a first.”

“Please, Clara. Let’s stay civilised.”

She huffed. “You mean as civilised as you when you told me I made a fool of myself while you were still buried balls deep inside that woman?”

“I know I hurt you, muffin, and I’m sorry.” His hand set out to touch her shoulder, but Clara backed away. 

“Don’t you fucking muffin me, Chad. And I don’t believe for one second that you have any idea what you did to me.”

He sighed, lowering his head in what was probably supposed to be a sign of humility.

“You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I have no idea what it felt like for you. But what I do know is what losing you felt like to me. It was agony, Clara, being without you, knowing that I had messed up for good this time.”

The audacity this man had. Did he really believe she would fall for this false remorse again? 

“Oh please. Spare me the show, Chad. There was no agony involved at all when you fucked Catherine while you two had made sure Andrew and I would be out of the picture for a few hours.”

“Ok, maybe not in that very moment. But what can I say? You’ve seen her. She’s just impossible to resist.”

Her arms crossing in front of her chest, Clara took another step back.

“Wow. So it is her fault now? The evil bombshell made you do it? Poor Chaddy.”

“No. That’s not…Can you please stop twisting the words in my mouth? I’m trying to apologise here.”

“Well, then try harder. But you should also begin to warm to the idea that I’m not going to accept your apology anyway.”

“Clara, please!” In the most dramatic of gestures he fell to his knees before her, clutching her hips and pressing his cheek to her stomach. “I need you. You’re everything to me and I jeopardised it all by falling for that siren. But please, please try to find it in your heart to forgive this idiot one last time.” He let go of her, his hand vanishing in his pocket and Clara finally dared to breathe again. Too soon, she realised when he produced a small box of black velvet, the sparkle of the jewel inside blinding her sight. “Marry me, sweetest Clara, and make me the happiest man on Earth.”

Clara didn’t know what to do first. Scream at him to get the fuck out of her face or laugh at his total aberration. This was absolutely ridiculous. But he wasn’t anywhere near finished with his sham. 

For a second his eyes fixed on a spot above her shoulder before they returned to her. Shooting her a beaming smile as if she had actually agreed to be his wife, he pulled the ring out of its container and slipped it onto her finger. 

“Fits perfectly. Like the two of us.”

And before she knew what was happening, he stood and pulled her into his arms. Sloppy lips muffled her protest, his tongue forcing its way into her mouth, hands helping themselves to the luscious flesh of her behind. 

He was strong, but at some point Clara found the strength to break his iron grip and free herself from him. 

“What the actual fuck?” Bile rising in her throat, she couldn’t suppress the urge to rid herself of his taste and spit a load of saliva right in front of his cream espadrilles. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

Yanking the ring off her finger she threw it right at him with all the vigour she could muster. 

“It’s because of that pathetic giraffe boy, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“That Andrew fellow. He ensnared you with all the sensitive fuss, didn’t he? Oh, yes, he’s so understanding and emotional with his soulful singing. Makes me want to puke.”

“Why? Because being with him for a week has made me happier than I have ever felt in all the years with you?”

Chad huffed, fingers driving through his neatly waxed hair in an attempt to cope with what he had just heard.

“You’re kidding, right? You’d rather take that sad, twig limbed king of the fairies than marry me?”

“I will always choose Andrew over you. Always.”

Chad stopped, cold eyes glaring at her, full of disdain and she knew the show was finally over.

“You know, Catherine told me he never once satisfied her sexually.”

“But you do?” Scornful laughter filled the strained silence. “This is ridiculous, Chad. And the mere fact that you think this is some kind of fucking contest speaks volumes. But if you must know, he made me come harder last night than you ever did. Thrice.”

Eyes glinting dangerously, he kept silent for a moment. She could almost hear the gears turning in his head while his jaw clenched ferally.

“You’ll regret this, Clara,” he finally spat his pathetic threat, pointing his finger at her face like a makeshift gun. “And when the day arrives, don’t come crawling back to me.”

“Don’t worry. I’d rather die a happy hermit, my pussy covered in cobwebs, than giving you another chance to slowly drain the life from me.” She basked in the look of utter bewilderment on his stupid face for a moment. “And now get the fuck off my property.”

Of course he didn’t make it easy for her. He never had. So why start now?

“Don’t you mean your father’s property?” he sneered. “By the way, speaking of your old man. I don’t think he’ll be too happy about the epitome of a wretched failure you chose as your new fuck buddy.”

“Maybe not. But you’ll be glad to hear that doesn’t concern you anymore. What you should however think about is how pleased he’ll be to learn that you cheated on his only daughter with a fellow employee of his. But I guess you already figured that out yourself. Otherwise you wouldn’t have come here in the first place, am I right?”

His silence told her everything she needed to know. And then the ring box finally snapped shut, marking the end of this superfluous conversation.

“I figured as much. And now get the hell away from me before I call the police and have you removed with force.”

Clara was unable to move. Long after the car door had slammed shut and the growling of the engine had faded, she found herself frozen in place, staring at the spot he had stood in and spat his venom at her. 

He was gone now. Really gone. For good. A smile crept onto her face, tiny at first, nothing more than a hint, but it grew and grew until her cheeks hurt and her chest quivered in a litany of unbridled chuckles. She had never felt like this before, light as a feather, yet strong like a mighty lioness, ready to take on whatever the world was about to throw at her next. 

With a bang that shook the windowpanes, a harsh breeze caused a door to fall shut somewhere behind her, and she jumped around. Andrew. Hot and cold shivers alternated running up and down her spine as she dashed inside, the presentiment that had suddenly befallen her close on her heels.

“Andrew?” she called his name, taking two steps at a time on her way upstairs. Yanking the door to the bathroom open, she found it empty.

“Andrew?” she shouted again, louder, more urgent this time, panic seeping into her tone. His room. She should check his room. Spinning around, she bolted along the seemingly endless corridor. The door was wide open, her heart skipping a beat when she barrelled right through it and her eyes couldn’t find him anywhere. 

“Andrew!”

Frantically she looked around, clinging to the irrational hope that he might have hidden behind the door or inside the wardrobe to prank her. But the moment she stepped up to the floor length window and peered down at the exact spot she and Chad had stood moments ago, she knew she wouldn’t find him here anymore. 

No. No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. Chad, that cunning piece of shit. Slipping that ring onto her finger and kissing her had made absolutely no sense. Only that it had, now that she knew what that resentful fucker had been looking at. 

In the silence of the first shock, she could hear a voice inside of her. Slowly it grew louder, its mumbled whisper becoming clearer until she couldn’t ignore it any longer. This was probably for the better. He didn’t have feelings for her anyway. So a brutal but brisk ending was the best she could have hoped for. 

And still her vision blurred, her legs to weak to carry her weight, forcing her to sink down onto the aggravatingly soft carpet. With a heart wrenching sob, her head fell onto the bed behind her, her fingers clutching the cool cotton sheets that still carried a faint note of his scent. She dragged them closer, collecting as much of him as she could in her arms, tears soaking the pristine white fabric until, with a soft thud, something fell to the ground beside her. 

Even through her hazy vision she had no difficulties identifying the object that lay next to her bended knees. She would have recognised it anywhere. With shaky fingers she lifted it off the ground. He must have left it here by accident. He would never part from it willingly. She had not once seen him without that notebook the entire week, always an arm’s length away to scribble new ideas for a song or god-knows-what onto its pages. 

Clara had never been the nosy type, but when her eyes briefly touched the page that lay open in her hands, she halted. A name jumped at her, her name, and before she knew what she was doing, she found herself leafing through Andrew’s most intimate thoughts.

Clara’s feet had never moved this fast in her entire life. Someone had once told her she wasn’t built to run and the truth of that statement proved to be well-founded in this very moment. This couldn’t be healthy, she thought as the taste of metal weighed heavy on her tongue. Still she pushed on, speeding up an impossible notch.

Why did she have to be such an oaf when it came to keys? She could not be trusted with them, at all. They always magically disappeared at some point and she would have to spend hours searching up and down her flat to retrieve them. Maybe it was finally time to purchase a key rack.

But worst of all was that she had no idea if she had actually chosen the right direction. For all she knew, she could have been running farther away from him in the last ten minutes instead of catching up on him. 

The thought made her legs ache and she stumbled around the next corner. Air, she needed air, her lungs somehow never seemed to filter enough oxygen from it when she worked out. Bloody hell, this was torture. She couldn’t keep this up much longer or she would give herself a heart attack. But she had to, she needed to find him, she needed—

“Andrew!”

It was him, wasn’t it? Or did her oxygen-deprived mind conjure up a mirage from her deepest desire? Well, if it was him, he didn’t show the slightest inclination to stop.

“ANDREW!”

It must be him. Who else would carry the exact same guitar case on their back, a duffle bag in hand while their cute bun bobbed to the rhythm of their determined steps? But he wasn’t the only one driven by determination. And with the howl of a desperate banshee, Clara mobilised every last bit of her remaining strength.

Finally she seemed to close in on him, but she was already too exhausted to call for him again and so she had to take every single step until her fingers managed to wrap around his wrist to spin him around. Panting frantically, she just kept holding on to his wrist, afraid he might vanish if she let go before she could catch her breath. 

“‘the fuck ‘re you going?” she managed to press out at last between two ragged breaths.

“Does it matter?”

His sullen expression made her heart sting in her chest. Or maybe it was the heart attack she had felt coming. Who knew.

“Of course…it does.”

“Why?” he yanked his hand free from her feeble grasp and his bag fell to the ground with a dull clonking sound. “I thought we were just pretending. And it looks like you made your choice anyway. I didn’t want to stand in your way.”

How could someone this bright be such a massive idiot? Did he actually think after everything Chad had done to her, to both of them, she would marry that arsehole? And even if she had agreed to marry Chad. So what? She couldn’t believe Andrew would simply accept it after everything she had read in his notebook.

“Isn’t there anything you have to say to me?” “What would I have to say to you on that matter? You are a grown woman, Clara. Surely you know what’s best for you.”

She couldn’t believe her ears. With a look that could instantly kill she raised her hands, turning them in front of his face.

“You know you are an idiot, right? Probably the biggest, most moronic doofus I’ve ever met. And still…”

Biting her tongue, she needed to avert her gaze. She wouldn’t say it. She wouldn’t. Not before he stopped acting like a colossal prick.

“Still what?”

Oh no, she wouldn’t fall for that soft tone of his voice, luring her into compliance. Never. And she crossed her arms in front of her chest to make that perfectly clear to him as well. 

“Clara?” Gentle fingers grasped her chin and lifted it until she had no other choice but to face him. “Still what?”

Clara swallowed heavily, trying to force down the lump in her throat.

“Don’t you know?” He did, judging from the way his green eyes shimmered. “You must know.”

“I think I do.” Clara forgot how to breathe when he stepped closer, still fixing her in place as he leaned in. “But tell me anyway.” 

The blazing heat of his breath on her lips made her dizzy, his enchanting scent lulling her in and she knew she would give him what he wanted, her dignity be damned. 

“I’m in love with you, Andrew.”

He drew in a shaky breath as if he could inhale her words with it and seal them deep inside of him for all eternity. He’d never dared hope to hear those words from her sweet lips and even witnessing them now felt unearthly. Words he himself hadn’t been able to utter last night, like the coward he was, but he would sing them from every last roof for her if she asked him to. 

“And I’m in love with you, sweet one.” 

She huffed softly as her forehead sank against his, sweaty palms covering both of his cheeks. “You know we could have had this all along, right?”

“Probably, yes,” he mused against her lips. “But then we would have missed out on the beautiful magic that hid in all this tragedy.”

“Will you shut up and kiss me already, Shakespeare?”

She could still taste the beaming smile when his lips finally moved with hers. And maybe, someday, if he was lucky, she would admit to him that she had felt it too, that magic, and that she wouldn’t have wanted to miss it for the world. 

[scruffyssketchbook]

I've been really inactive lately, so I'll try to get this posted.

I noticed something that might classify as a plot hole. The PC system add-on that allows pokemon to get injured.

For starters, we never get an explanation for why this add-on was added in the first place. Supposedly, Vay was loopy from his "karp krakers", and put the add-on into the PC without thinking.

Also, we never get an explanation as to how this add-on works. Or, more accurately, how the PC works. Does the PC normally prevent the eevees from feeling pain and being injured at all? For example, even if Blizz tried his hardest, punching someone would be like punching a brick wall for an average person. Or, does the PC simply heal any major injuries the eevees take on? Or is it somewhere in between?

I know that, from the perspective that this is a comic that needs drama, having the add-on allows characters to hurt each other. (See Jed and Shane.) But, from an in comic perspective, this makes no sense.

Secondly, even if we did have a good explanation for how the add-on came to be, why didn't the trainer just get rid of it. And I don't want the explanation that she's stupid. She is 16, she knows how to work a computer. Even if she didn't, she could force Vay to do it, or get Bede (The person who runs the PC system in Sinho) to do it. I also don't want the explanation that she is negligent. She is, but she took the time to look into it after Harmony got hurt. I doubt she would just turn around and do nothing after learning about the add-on.

I may be missing context here, as there is one comic page that I can't access, the page 100 variation on patreon. Maybe there's an explanation in there, but I wouldn't know.

Thirdly, even if we ignore the trainer, what about Dusk? We already know that he has tried to get Blizz to work with him in stopping Icedrop and Greenpaw from fighting. Not to beat around the bush, Greenpaw does bully Icedrop, they just do it in a more covert, mental, and emotional way than Icedrop bullies Greenpaw.

However, Blizz refuses to help, partially because both Dusk and Blizz are petty. If Dusk genuinely wants to stop Icedrop, why not just get rid of the add-on? We know Dusk can manipulate electronics, so why not just delete the add-on, either from within the PC, or sneakily from outside it? Furthermore, Dusk is not stupid. He knows that Vay added the add-on, or at least could figure that out. He and Vay are also in good relations, so why doesn't he, or hasn't he, asked Vay to get rid of the add-on?

The explanation of "Dusk is just a jerk" does not work. Dusk can be a jerk, but everything he does he does for a reason. Most of him being a jerk comes from him being egotistical, narcissistic, and thinking he knows what's best for everyone even when he doesn't.

The only explanation that works is that he doesn't get rid of the add-on due to the fact it would put Daisy and the other hospital vees out of a job.

Last, but certainly not least, is the fact that pokemon other than eevee exist in the trainer's PC. We even get to see one of the other boxes. My point here is that the other pokemon would notice something wrong eventually. Best case senario, they notice due to realizing they can feel pain. Worst, they notice due to a major injury not being healed by the PC.

Those pokemon would want to know what happened. Amusing they either are told the truth or find out on their own, why wouldn't they ask Vay to take off the add-on. If Dusk (since he is the only one I can think of who would try to spin a story) told them a lie, then would every pokemon in the entire PC believe him. Charm and smooth words can only go so far.

___________________________________________________

I have two extra questions I thought up while writing this.

Bonus question 1: How did the trainer know that Harmony was injured? Did vay tell her? She check the pokemon's health in the PC often (both stat, and convential health)?

Bonus 2: If we know pokemon can learn to read and write, then why have none of the pokemon other than Vay tried to communicate with their trainer. What is the point of using Vay as a translator, when the pokemon could just write to the trianer? Do they just want to hide how much they know?

On top of that, if pokemon can learn to use computers, what's stooping them from just using text to speech, completely circumventing Vay all together.

bonus 3: Do the pokemon age in the PC? We know Eve is around two years old, so is she physically still a newborn, or has she physically grown?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Summary/tl;dr

q1: What are the specifics of how the damage allowing add-on was put into the PC?

q2: How does this add-on, and the PC system's healing ability, work?

q3: Why didn't their trainer take the add-on off the PC?

q4: Why didn't Dusk take the add-on off the PC?

q5: Why didn't any of the other pokemon in the PC take off the add-on?

bq1: How did the trainer know that Harmony was injured?

bq2: Why don't we ever see pokemon that know how to write communicate with the trainer?

bq3: Do the pokemon physically age in the PC?

Author chan: Over here asking the important questions! Alright! I can explain!

The mod basically prevents pokemon from healing without outside means like things that can heal a pokemon, Potions, full heals, antidotes, etc etc. This is why it's called the Damage keeper mod.

Normally in the PC, pokemon can feel pain, but they will quickly heal overtime, but with the mod, it just stops this function all together. Usually in the world, it's used with the "No heal on Entrance" mod for trainers who participate in Nuzlocke challenges.

Vay inputted the Damage keeper mod into the PC for one reason, and one reason only. No, he wasn't loopy, He knew what he was doing, and added it on purpose. It was a pretty selfish decision all in all, but I can't say the reason why. It's vaguely hinted to tho. Yes! It makes no sense to have a mod like that inputted in universe. Literally no other character would ever put in this mod into the if given the chance! But, Vay put it in for a specific purpose. Said purpose was actually shown in "Battle scars". Now. Why would Vay do this? Why would he input a mod that makes all pokemon to keep the damage they receive in the box?

Well. He simply only thinks of himself. He didn't think or care about the effect the mod would have on the other pokemon in the PC, just how he could use it to do what he wanted to do. And yes. Vay is a jerk. He's my least favorite main for a reason, you know.

Next up!

As said in comic 200c, Mods are very hard to take off. Why? Well. We are dealing with actual creatures. One wrong move and hundreds of them will get corrupted and essentially die. This isn't like Minecraft, despite me comparing the PC to a minecraft server for explaining how it works to others. Since this mod affects the pokemon directly, its harder to remove because it’s just a big risk for the pokemon. This is also why Dusk cant just remove it. It is too big of a risk to all the pokemon in the PC, which there are over 1000 of at this point. Healing items and free hospitals are a temporary fix.

Also! Blizz does try to help with the bullying, as seen with comic #302, where he states "It's a misunderstanding" followed by text covered by Bolt talking/ignoring him saying "I saw a greenpaw eevee being bullied by Mike and Tike and-" Which, we see on page #298 Tike was the eevee he was punishing.

Lastly! Why don't the other pokemon notice. Well, The few who have been in a PC before do, but most of the pokemon were wild pokemon before they appeared in the PC, so they don’t know how a normal PC feels like. And ofc, how would a pokemon know who to ask about why the PC works the way it does? Mods are common in the world, cause trainers like to give PC pokemon things to do while rotting away. This is actually going to be talked about with Eevui, the new Eevee the trainer obtained via wondertrading. He was in a normal PC before he was traded, so he'd notice the difference, and will comment on it. Funny thing, I have a comic about him trying to describe the PC to pokemon who never been in one before before he goes in the trainer's pc, and it looks completely different from OUR PC box.

Bonus Questions!!

Harmony was brought out of the PC, to the pokemon center, and a nurse Joy informed her that her pokemon was badly injured.

Bro, you so right. I realized this last year and was like "omg" until I remembered that- Pokemon language is different from human language. Ofc, there are pokemon who can read human language in the world, but pokemon and human stuff are different. And in the PC, things are translated into pokemon if not already in pokemon. This does mean pokemon can write to the trainer and it can get translated, but Vay is just an easier method of translation, especially for pokemon who have a harder time reading, writing, and typing (also there are different pokemon languages as well so oof) then like. Not every pokemon knows how to read and write. It’s a privlage usually given only to few captive pokemon. Wild pokemon learning how to read/write in their own language is VERY RARE, especially due to the lack of materials. And the only civilized boxes in the PC are box 1, 2, and 3, so only pokemon living in those boxes have a reason to learn how to read, and resources to learn.

Pokemon are born the height that they stay at all their life, unless they evolve. (Or are Nego. The little weirdo) This is to mimic how it is in pokemon games. So, no. Pokemon don't physically grow. They DO mentally age however. Pokemon tend to age mentally at different rates, so for example, a newborn who is immediately thrusted into situations not meant for a baby (ie, breeding, battling, contests) will mentally age faster than someone (like Eve) Who has stayed in the PC all their life. Nego and Eve are about the same age (Nego being 6 months older) Yet, Nego acts like an infant while Eve does not. This is because Nego ages physically and mentally like a human, while Eve ages quicker mentally, like pokemon do. This also tends to mean that when a pokemon is born doesn't matter much, as they can mentally be ahead or behind.

I hope these answered your questions!! I like talking about SSEC world building! (Its just that I never have the chance to talk about it in detail QuQ)

[theonetheycallhannah]

The Treatment of Captain Syverson- Chapter 7: Non-Productive Time

Pairing: Captain “Sy” Syverson x OFC (Shane Benton)

Summary: On a slow afternoon, Shane remembers a couple of fun evenings with Sy, and can’t help but start texting him…he turns out to be a bad influence.

Don’t want spoilers? Click me first to catch up!

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings:  Language, mature themes, a steamy scene that bumps up against the line of smut/not smut…it looks like smuttish is, in fact, a thing, (see what I did there? Toss a high five to your fic writer for the paraphrased Witcher quote in these here notes! lol! Sorry, i’m tired...and in a weird mood tonight...) so, anyway, using that. I love it. 

Author’s Note: This chapter was about half done before I even started SI1 and SI2! So that’s why it’s come along so quickly in the wake of them. It could also mean that there are some continuity issues…I found a couple during the re-write of the first part, and more when I was proofing, so it should be good, but…fair warning, one or more could have escaped me! Also, let me know if the text convo is hard to follow. I’ll try to reconfigure it to be more clear. It seemed to me like context was enough, and they’d had text convos before, and no one said anything…this one’s longer by about 300%, though, so…feedback and constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism.

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Hope I’m not forgetting anyone! If you want to be notified when I post a new chapter or work, I’ll be happy to add you to my tag list! Stricken blogs are getting personal messages from me when a new chapter is uploaded because Tumblr’s faulty tagging system will not stand in the way of me delivering what the people want!(?) lol! (Although…their lackadaisical notification system might…sorry for that. I have no control. lol!)

Time seemed to pass slowly when Shane wasn’t with Sy. When they weren’t having dinner together, or doing their typical date thing. She thought about their second date. One of the bars in town, chosen for its above average bar food but mostly, it’s pool tables. The warning he’d given her via text had made her laugh:

We’re goin’ to Cade’s for apps and pool, if that's okay. As gorgeous as you looked in that blue dress you wore last night, I recommend jeans and a T-shirt for tonight, okay?

She took his suggestion. A simple black tee, because she was a food klutz from hell, layered over a red camisole, and her favorite jeans. It showed off her dainty arrow necklace well.

While they played, they drank beer and talked about life, getting deeper into things than they could at therapy sessions.

“Dad split when I was about ten, I guess. Mom did her best with her only son, but she sent me to my grandpa’s a lot when she was working or just…needing her own time. He’d been an army man. Fought in Korea. His dad was in World War II. It felt like…I don’t know, this pull, like I was meant to join up.”

“Destiny?” She asked. A dreamy tone overtook him when he talked about his family and his now former career.

“I guess. Never though too much of all that before.”

They smiled at one another. Knowing.

“What was he like? Your grandpa?”

“Oh, Pap was the best. He was a mechanic in the service and so he could get anything hummin, ya know? We fixed up and built motors for all kinds a’ shit. My first car was a ‘67 Shelby Mustang with the fast back all because when I was about 14, he found most of one at a salvage yard and basically rescued it from the crusher. Got it for about nothin’. For two years we collected parts and did body work on that thing. And by the time I turned sixteen, it was the most beautiful, show-ready Kerry green machine you ever seen.”

“One of my favorite cars! I’d love to see pictures!”

“I’ve still got ‘er.” He grinned. “When Pap died, it got…hard for me to drive her, ya know? So…special occasions only now. And he left me his truck, which he’d just bought brand new while I was on my first tour. That F150 crew cab we came here in, with all the bells 'n whistles. I couldn’t let such a fine automobile go to waste.” He grinned.

“You’re such a gear head.” She chuckled.

“Hey, you may be glad about that when you need somebody to get your own motor humming.” He teased back at her, bending over the table to take his shot and sinking it deftly. He said they would only play for fun, but he was still winning this round…which she didn’t think was that fun.

“Okay, I deserved that.”

“The shot, or the innuendo?” He asked to clarify.

“Yes.” They laughed. He eventually did miss, making it her turn.

"Ya know, I'm disappointed in this date, Shane." He baited.

"How come?" she asked, a bit hurt.

"A guy only asks a girl to play pool with him so he can show her how to shoot…and you already know."

It was true. She'd played a lot growing up and even a bit as she got older. She and her siblings loved billiards. Her whole family, really. And although she was no professional, she wasn't half bad for an amateur.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently, sizing up the table for her next shot, but knowing with a fair amount of certainty what he was implying.

"You know. I wanted to get all close to ya. Show ya how to grip that cue in your hand. How to stand, bent at the hip, where to eyeball your shot from." he smiled. "All that shit ya see in movies that makes the girl all nervous and excited that the guy's touchin' on her. Pressed up against her."

Shane grinned, picked up the small, blue cube of chalk and rolled the concave side over the tip of her cue…she had no need to do so, most people didn't, really…but she made herself look really sexy doing it and asked Sy, "Is that right? Well, I guess you'll have to find another way to get your cheap thrills, because this girl has been known to run a table." She bent over the green felt seductively, the angle at which she did so displaying her décolletage in his direction just enough to tantalize him into licking his lips. She took her shot at the 10 ball, but sunk the 8 instead, losing her the game…damn. She shouldn't have gotten cocky.

"Run it where, sunshine? Into the ground? Off a cliff?" he laughed as she stomped over and began to poke him mercilessly in the ribs.

"Come on, Minnesota Fats. Let's pay the tab and find something a little cozier to do."

"Oka--wait, did you just call me fat?" he was incredulous. She laughed.

"Oh my God, you thought YOU were gonna teach ME about billiards…Minnesota Fats is like the most famous pool player of ever. I am not calling you fat."

"You messin' with me?" he squinted.

"Sy, google it. I promise. I would never call you fat. You're… my sexy man bear."

"Technically a bear is a fat animal." he sulked.

"Why don't you tell that to one when it's chasing you down to make a meal of ya!" Shane laughed. "Come on. Remember? I think I mentioned something about… finding another way for you to get cheap thrills. Lets explore that, shall we?" she whispered into his ear. He dropped some bills on their table nearby to more than cover their food and beer, and they hauled ass into the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had definitely been exploring. In the two weeks since they'd been given the green light to see each other outside of therapy--the day Sy basically handed Shane's boss her own ass--they'd spent most evenings with each other, unless Shane had a particularly late evening at work or an early day the next day. A few nights, they had been together so late, that just staying over seemed the most reasonable option. But they had both agreed to take things slowly with the physical stuff. It had been a long time since either of them had been in a relationship, and given their patient/therapist situation, waiting a while for the sex had seemed like a good idea…on paper. On the sofa had been a different story.

One day last week, she'd had to make an early night of things, and stood up from his couch, but was pulled back down to straddle his lap.

"Hold on a minute, sunshine. Why don't you gimme a proper goodbye before ya go, hmm?" he held her so close to him at every curve of their bodies, like the pieces of a puzzle snapping flush together. His kisses were deep and agonizing, his beard gently brushing her mouth, teasing her with its uncommon softness. She returned the ardor, squeezing him in every way she could.

She couldn't contain the desire pooling at her center, especially when he clearly couldn't contain his, either, straining against his shorts, pressing against her so deliciously, right where she needed him. She didn't hold back. And he was nothing if not encouraging to her endeavor.

"That feels so good, baby. You're so warm. Mmm." he whispered as he nipped at her ear and bit at her neck. She hadn't intended to, but she felt herself slipping over the edge, into pure euphoria and gripped at his hair, still rather short, though growing out from the mandated buzz. The length made him even more sensitive and when she ran her hands up his neck and over the back of his head, the result was like an electric current straight to his manhood. His body tensed as his release followed hers seconds later.

"Fuck." he said. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" she was truly confused.

"For losin' it like a teenager." he sighed and laid his head against the back of his couch in surrender…an unfamiliar sight, Shane was certain.

"Don't worry about it. I mean…it's not quite how I pictured our first time, but--"

"Oh, hell no. This doesn't count as a TIME, sunshine. This is batting practice. A warm up.”

"Ooh, you and your baseball references again. I told you, I need to leave, Sy. You can't get me worked up with that kinda dirty talk." she kissed his cheek, and stood. "Walk me out?"

He did. And they stood holding one another in the dark, leaned up against her Explorer, Sy's back against the door, Shane's cheek on his bare, hairy chest, and the turning of the earth all but forgotten.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She had to stop thinking about him. About their dates and the time they'd spent together. But her schedule had fallen apart for the day due to a nasty storm that had blown in, she had no more education to work on for now, and she could only clean and organize her treatment room and desk so thoroughly.

She guessed…the secretaries knew she was available if need be…and she was salaried…what was the harm in texting Sy? She'd stayed late and came in early and overworked herself in general so much for this clinic. She could justify a bit of downtime.

Hey! Whatcha doin?

Just did some exercises that my super hot PT gave me! *winky face emoji*

Uh-Oh, should I be jealous?

Mmm, hard to say, sunshine. I guess it'll depend on which one of you sleeps with me first. *devil emoji*

Smart money is on the one who’s already let you get to second base…and basically third, even though…does it count if it’s basically because of a dare. Induced by Jack Daniels?

I think it counts if you came…*smirk emoji*

Damn those skilled fingers and Tennessee whiskey.

What can I say. I told ya I knew how to get a motor humming. *cool guy emoji*

You certainly do. No doubt about that.

So how's your day goin', sunshine?

Eh, everyone's cancelled on me. I have no one until 4:00, and I have nothing to do until then. I've decided to see it as a blessing and text my favorite fella.

And when he didn't respond, you resorted to me? *smirk emoji*

Hey you know that you have no competition for my affection other than like, my dad…and Chris Evans. Lol

Your dad, I'm sure I couldn't compete with if I tried, from what you've told me. Chris…well, I'm a REAL captain, not some guy jumpin' around in tights.

Mmmm, shame. I bet you'd look good in a getup like that. *heart eyes emoji*

You think so?

Yup! *American flag emoji*

You wanna be my Black Widow?

I mean…I've already basically got a costume…*embarrassed monkey emoji*

*several lines of big eye emojis*

Yeah, a few Halloweens ago…I was Romanoff. Now you know. I'm a total nerd.

I'm a nerd, too, sunshine. Serious nerd.

How am I just finding out about this? There's next to no merch at your place, and you never wear typical nerd shirts…*skeptical face emoji*

You haven't seen my whole place…*wink emoji*

What, are you telling me you have Batman bedsheets? *lol emoji*

Oh, it's much…much worse than that. The bedroom is pretty neutral, but…I have a…kind of rec room in the basement that is basically nerd central.

Oh. Em. Gee. I can't WAIT to see that, Sy!!! And how dare you hold out on me!!!

Well, I mean, I didn't wanna lay out all my cards right off the bat. I'm playing the long game.

Ah, so, when do I get to see this nerd trap?

Come on over, sunshine. *smiley face*

I said, I've got a patient at 4:00.

Everyone's cancelled on you. Can't you cancel on them for once?

Not unless I'm violently ill do I ever have any patients cancelled on my behalf.

So…say you're violently ill and come see me. *shrugging man emoji*

I dunno, Sy…

I got stuff to make that soup you like…

She had made it clear to him how much she loved soup, especially a good creamy potato soup, and on one of their dates, he'd had her over and there was a big pot of the stuff on his stove, made from scratch. She'd never had better, and he almost got lucky that night…and I mean…he still got a little lucky. He cooked for her AND cleaned up, AND let her pick the movie that night. She still picked an action movie, because she wasn't really a romance movie type, overall. Even so. Could she leave him hanging?

She opened her thread with Heather in her messenger app on her laptop.

Heather, is there anyone who could take my last patient, Mr. Lopez?

Looks like Cheri has a cancel around that time. Need me to move him?

If you could. I'm not feeling well.

Are you pregnant?

Omg, every fucking time. Why when anything is amiss in a woman's life must it be pregnancy?! And why is it okay to ask that question?! Ugh! She loved Heather like a sister, and it probably was just a joke, but uuuuuugh!

Yes…yes I am. *eye roll emoji* I've got a killer headache that's making me queasy. I'll email Susan. Thanks.

You bet. Tell Sy I said hi. *wink emoji*

Shut up.

After a quick and concise email to her boss, she picked her phone back up. One unread message.

You there, sunshine?

She simply replied,

Get that soup ready, Captain, I'm on my way.

Up Next: Chapter Eight: Heat/Ice

[quasieli]

top six: fictional characters that give you gender envy, flowers, little things that make you happy and d&d moments :D

Ooh lotsa questions!

Gender Envy:

1) Bow from She-Ra (2018). Something about buff athletic dude who wears crop tops and is soft as hell is very Gender to me.

2) Vax from Critical Role. Pretty boy, kinda goth rogue? That’s sexy as hell and I wish that was me. 

3) In a wildly different idea of gender envy, I’ve been thinking about it lately and @quantum-lesbian’s character in the Frostmaiden game I’m in with them, Ambrose, is Big Gender. Beautiful non-binary drow with a starry and kinda witchy aesthetic that dresses super grandly and ostentatiously no matter the occasion? Yes please.

4) Pete from The Unsleeping City, specifically season two. I adore season one Pete but season two Pete that works in a queer bookshop and has a teapot arcane focus, is artsy and is unapologetically a trans man who doesn’t give a shit about gender roles? Sign me the fuck up.  

5) Beau from Critical Role. Buff GNC lesbian mixed with academia, but like academia from the prospective of a grad student with ADHD trying to learn everything about their special interests? A+, I love her and I’m jealous. 

6) I’m gonna cheat a lil bit for this last one. I know the prompt is fictional characters, but Julia Lepetit and Jacob Andrews in their Hitman streams? Simultaneously both of them were Gender for me. Jacob esp felt like that for me, which is weird cause dresses can make me dysphoric, but I am also slightly envious of the Dude in a Dress type of gender presentation. 

Can you tell that I’m a confused trans masc enby

Gonna put it under the cut from here cause oof, there’s still a lot more.

Flowers:

1) Big slut for Sunflowers, always have been, always will be.

2) Fun fact, my dad’s family used to own a flower shop (in like the 70s, so I never got to see it :(), and one of their big things was hydrangeas. My dad has always loved them and now I love the snowballs too!  

3) A recent favorite, the Baker’s Globe Mallow. It’s a type of flower that only grows from the soils of forests that have been affected by wildfires. It’s a simple little flower but I love the idea of something beautiful rising from the ashes after tragedy. A little dramatic, but I’m queer, ofc I’m dramatic.

4) Roses are another important flower to my family (Rose was a family name for a couple generations), and ya know, they’re a classic. 

5) There’s this beautiful magnolia tree in front of my house that blooms with the most beautiful white and pink flowers every spring, and it’s one of my favorite things to see every year. 

6) There’s so many different types of Lillies and they’re all very pretty, but the Purple Stargazer is prob my favorite.

Little Things That Make Me Happy:

1) My cat, Maddie. She may be a cranky girl at times, but she is also very sweet and will always be my baby (even though she is 12). 

2) Not a little thing really, but my best friend. Just getting a sweet/silly text from her or the two of us chilling in a room, sitting in a comfortable silence because we just like being together, nothing better. 

3) Baking, esp if I’m doing it for others. I’m not much of a sweets person myself, a little treat every once in a while type person, but I love baking. It’s a very relaxing process for me, even when it can sometimes get stressful, but seeing people enjoying something I made, especially something that brought me great joy to make, is simply the best. 

4) In the same sorta vein, crafting and other art, but that’s a bit more personal. I love making things for others, but art, particularly drawing, is something I do more for me. It’s such a great feeling when you can get into a really good art mood and just sink yourself into a project. I love it.

5) My plush toys. Yes, I am a 23 year old, no I will not stop loving my plushies. I just got a few new friends, which I made a post about recently, and they such good cuddle buddies. However, there is one king amongst them all. I have this old, beat up christmas puppy beanie baby, on his tag named Jingle Pup, but I just call him Jingle. I had one version of him since I was like 6, but he currently lives on a shelf cause he is very beaten up and fragile, but his “brother”, who I got when I was 8, is still in kinda good shape and is currently chilling on my chest as I type this lol.

6) Again, not a little thing, but it’s important to mention; D&D. The game itself is such a joy, but truly the best part of it is the people. I love creating stories and memories with people through this weird little game. Truly one of my favorite things to do.

D&D Moments:

These are all gonna be personal moments, rather than anything from actual play shows/podcasts. RC is Reforged Campaign, where I play Saube, and FM is Frostmaiden, where I play Sparks.

1) RC - Meeting Mahety, Saube’s girlfriend. We met her way back in session 12 and we are now up to like session 73. Saube saw her and was immediately big heart eyes at her but also felt a bit awkward and shy. So, being a game a dice, I decided to roll. 10 or higher, Saube would talk to her, 9 or lower, she’d stay put. I rolled a 17, 17 is now a lucky number for me. I love Mahety and I’d die for her. 

2) FM - This was an insane fight that should not have been so crazy, but in a fairly early session, my group went up against an angry druid and her awakened animals. So much batshit stuff happened in that fight, and we unfortunately lost our bread loving bard (RIP Agneyis), but one of my favorite combat turns happened in this fight. Our artificer, Omaren, has a robe of useful items and one of the patches on it creates a large pit. Thinking quickly, Omaren tore off the patch, slid it under one of the dire wolves we were fighting and created a looney tunes style pit under it, allowing us to take it out easily via pot shots. Such a clutch move and such a funny visual, especially because the dire wolf kept failing the checks to get out of the pit.  

3) RC - Saube’s Zebrith (I will never remember how this actually spelled RIP). So, for context, Saube ended up with a death curse (long story) that mechanically meant they had disadvantage on any death saving throws. Scary as hell, need to get that fixed! So, Saube and their party had to be smuggled into another country to talk with some religious leaders of a goddess known as The First, the goddess of death. They were told that Saube would have to go through the aforementioned ritual, which included her soul leaving her body for a short period of time. During this ritual, her friends had to call back to her, to say things that would bring her back to her body and I still cry thinking about that game. That ritual was not only important for Saube bodily, but spiritually as well. After that ritual, Saube officially became a cleric of The First! 

4) A real sappy one, RC - Saube meeting all of her friends. Anyone who follows along with the rantings on my blog probably knows how important this game is to me. I met this random group of strangers on tumblr and formed a D&D party with them and now, a year and a half later, I honestly think it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I know that sounds silly and dramatic but not only has this game brought me so much joy and comfort, but I also gained a group of really amazing friends who have been nothing but amazing since day one. As much as Saube knows she can depend on SICL, I know I can depend on my group of weirdos lol. We both love our friends very much and even though we’ve all been through some crazy shit, we wouldn’t change it for the world.    

5) RC - Just playing Saube in general. I really didn’t intend for it to be this way, but Saube is very much a reflection of myself. She is the first long term character I have ever played and so much of me is in her. I try not to treat D&D like therapy, because that’s unfair to my DM and fellow party members, but playing Saube has allowed me to work through some of my own problems, especially social anxiety, in a lot safer of an environment. It isn’t so much that I’m asking this game to help me fix my life, but playing out these scenarios that, in the real world, would make me anxious or make me freak out, I can stop, take a moment to breathe and work out these issues in a way that makes sense to me. Playing her has led me to understanding myself a bit better, as well, and that’s truly such a wonderfully unexpected gift from this whole experience. 

6) Lastly, a silly one: RC - Getting a crit 6. The last session of this game got real interesting. Saube’s party ended up in the ethereal plane and magic got real fucky there. So, any time any of us tried to cast a spell, we’d roll a d20, not look at the result, and then try to guess what number rolled. The closer to the number, the better the result. A few times, a few people managed to get within like 3 or 4 of their roll, but oh the power I felt when I rolled a 6 (on Saube’s die!) and guessed it correctly! So, not only did the spell (Bless) work, but it worked super well. So instead of getting +1d4 to attack rolls and saving throws, Saube and two other party members got +2d4 to attacks, saving throws and skill checks. So powerful I broke the rules of D&D lmao. 

[hollowisthyname]

Hello, Icarus! Please infodump to me about Danganronpa?

okay so! I had written out a whole thing but then tumblr deleted it! so that was fun! /s but now that I know what I'm going to write it's much easier, so that's good 😌

n e ways, I'm gonna do like a basic timeline w explanations and some other stuff that hopefully I'll remember once I start writing!! so let's go :D

a list of everything danganronpa in chronological order (not the order that you should play/watch the stuff in, I'll put that in the explanations)

Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Despair Arc (DR3) - second anime, watch along with the Future and Hope arcs after playing the first two games (and UDG if you want to). backstory for the cast of the second game.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (THH) - first main game, play first. also has an anime that's basically the same as the game, but since there's not enough time to put everything from the game into the anime I definitely recommend playing the game. high school students from a prestigious school trapped in said school are forced to play a killing game, hijinks ensue.

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (UDG) - third game, not main. play after playing the first two games. very different game mechanics from the main three, and widely considered not cannon by the fandom. I like it though, and it introduces a lot of really interesting characters along with giving a v underdeveloped character from the first game a lot more character development. it's not necessary to play it (though one of the characters plays a pretty big part in the third anime, so that would make more sense if you already knew her), but I think it's interesting and fun. there are also robot fights.

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (DR2 or SDR2) - second main game, play after playing the first game. same basic premise as the first game, except it's a different class (same school though) and this time they're on an island. even more hijinks and plot twists than the first game.

Super Danganronpa 2.5: Komaeda Nagito to Sekai no Hakaimono - (I could only find the Japanese title for this one, sorry 😔) kinda also part of the second anime? watch after playing the first two games (and UDG if you want) and watching DR3. character is woken up from a coma via overdramatic and overpowered other character.

Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Future and Hope Arcs (DR3) - second anime, watch along with the Despair arc after playing the first two games (and UDG if you want to). aftermath of the first two games.

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (DRV3) - third main game, fourth game in total. I don't actually know when it happens bc they're v secretive about everything, so I'm just putting it last. play last. same premise as the first two, the class is trapped in a school with a courtyard and a huge sort of dome around everything. peak hijinks, too many plot twists to count.

woo!! that's the timeline as I know it, hopefully I didn't miss anything. and I have managed to remember what else I was going to say, so let's move on to section two:

the mechanics of the games

danganronpa is, at its core, a glorified visual novel. every character has a certain amount of sprites for when they talk, as well as voice lines that aren't usually the exact text on the screen but fit the vibe of whatever they're saying. and as I've said before, there's quite a lot of talking. these games have more plot than should really be possible and most or all of it is done through dialogue. cutscenes and class trials are the only parts that are reliably fully voice acted, but there are a lot of those.

as for the parts that are less visual novel-y: you can walk around, and the settings are pretty much as 3d as the 2d-ish style of the game allows. you can also click on things, and sometimes clicking on stuff will get you monocoins, the currency of the game, which means you'll be able to buy presents for the characters!!

"now why do I need presents for the characters?" you ask. well, that's because you're given a certain amount of free time each game to hang out with characters you want to get to know better! the game's ending is fixed, so you won't change the course of the game by who you do or don't hang out with, but you can learn more about characters and become closer to them! giving them presents they like makes them like you more :D

and the most exciting part of danganronpa, what a lot of people play the games for, the true lure of the game.... the class trials!!

so these characters are in a killing game, right? basically, they're faced with a sort of lose-lose predicament: stay trapped in the school forever, or kill one of your classmates to "graduate". but it's not as simple as that, because in order to graduate, you can't be caught. and how do you determine whether or not a criminal has been found out? well, a trial of course!

enter the class trials. every student (barring dead or severely wounded ones) is required to participate in a kind of mock trial- except someone's really dead, and they need to find the murderer or they'll all die too.

(right, did I forget to mention that? only one person can graduate. getting out alive insures that none of your classmates get the luxury of doing the same.)

so, yeah. the class trials are a true fight for life on both sides, because who ever loses will be executed.

and they're really, really fun.

entirely voice acted! enough minigames that the list of them is probably longer than this entire post! the joy of solving the mystery! the... execution, right in front of everyone.

hey, it's a dark game. not like they're trying to hide that. and the executions aren't actually all that gory most of the time, but they're still very much there and onscreen. also as close to fully animated as the games ever get, which is pretty cool.

so how the class trials work is this:

there's a murder. dun dun duuuun. you investigate everywhere related to the murder to get "truth bullets", which are the reason you don't immediately fail at the trials. you don't have to remember all of them, they're all written down in your e-handbook. plus, the protagonists all seem to have really good memories.

time for the actual class trial!! Monokuma (asshole bear running the killing game) introduces everything, explains the rules. and everyone starts talking.

there are a lot of different parts to the class trial, but most of it is "nonstop debates". everyone talks one after the other, and you have to find inconsistencies and shoot the right "weak spot" with the right truth bullet. you refute the lie or mistake and everyone goes back to arguing normally.

there's also hangman's gambit (weird hangman to find a key word), multiple choice things (self-explanatory), and plenty of others.

near the end of the trial (or sometimes only a little over halfway in, it varies), the killer will.... kind of become obvious. there's a specific kind of change in behavior that's the mark of the murderer in these games, but I'm not sure how to describe it exactly. a lot of times there's an accent change, and in general they start acting much more erratic. since it's a trial, though, even after this presents itself you still have to prove your case beyond reasonable doubt.

and once it's become clear to the killer that they're backed into a corner, you have to do the "bullet time battle". it goes by different names in different games, but the basic mechanics are the same: you battle against a student (usually the killer, but not always) in a rhythm-based battle where you have to click to the rhythm to refute your opponent's statements. once you've dealt enough damage, you shoot the final piece of evidence, and that's the end of it.

the murderers react differently different times. sometimes they break down and confess. sometimes they keep denying it. sometimes, they're just calm. however they act, though, the end is the same. they are caught and punished accordingly.

but before that, there's one more thing to do. the closing argument.

your final task is to explain how the murder was committed, from idea to execution (look, a pun! see I can be funny too 😌). and you have to do it... as a manga.

you don't have to draw the whole thing yourself ofc- you just have to fill in the missing panels and then watch as the protagonist narrates it to the rest of the class.

and that's all for the class trial, not counting the long talks after every execution while still in the courtroom.

wow, this is getting...... really, really long. there's only one more thing I'm gonna add, and I promise it will be much shorter than the other two bc it is late and I am officially Incredibly Fucking Tired.

with no further ado, a very short part three:

my general impression of the game. its vibes or smth, I dunno this is just what i think about it

when I first heard of danganronpa, I thought it was a horror game. I can now assure you that it is not. thriller? maybe. debatable. but definitely not horror.

and despite its extremely dark premise, this game is not all doom and gloom. there's so much stuff about hope, and overcoming despair even when it seems impossible... it's not exactly a happy game, but there's a lot more of that in there than you'd probably expect.

all in all, I love this game. so much. it means a lot to me, and I think it's a really good game. thanks for letting me talk about it so much asdhfd :D

[comradelionheart]

This is where I feel safest.

In the blueness of this site, held in comfort as if under my blanket of soft fur.

No one here will ever know who I am or the people I speak of. No one can find me here. I have a questionable habit of running off to avoid being witnessed when I fail or am in pain, and this is where I run to. It is luckily not a boy this time. Well, it’s sort of that too, but not predominantly.

I haven’t shut G out this time. When I thought I’d lost my shot at the job I deleted my WhatsApp and all other social media, and refused to surface until I was willing to face people again. This isn’t unlike when I graduated college uncertain of what to do with life next and just... vanished. I’d a pretty promising presence on Facebook that could potentially have introduced him and I sooner, but I guess life unravels at its own pace and nothing can force it to go sooner or slower. I’ve grown rather accepting of failures because I have unfortunately grown accustomed to them. It’s almost like I expect to meet with resistance or failure each time something nearly works out and in this case I can’t say I willed it upon myself. I literally tested positive for TB. Which is amusing since those are my ex’s initials, and is yet another TB which seems to be hampering my progress. 

Dry humour is what I’m best at if I’m being my authentic self. I must unfortunately smile and wave because I’m a woman and need to be likeable to get anywhere in my line of work. That isn’t to say I’m a sociopath or hate people. I just wish I didn’t have to pretend to be interested in their lives and feign amusement at their not so novel ideas. Pretty sure I’ve not so novel ideas too, but I don’t need to be indulged for the sake of my (not) fragile ego. Anyhow.

I applied for this job early in the year and didn't expect to hear from them (because the first few years of my work life had me flailing and coping with depression instead of steering my career, and I know I shouldn’t grudge her for this but I do). But I did hear from them. And everything went through. Including 3 rounds of aptitude tests and a personal interview (which I thought I bombed but didn't somehow). Until I tested positive on a skin patch test for TB. Why do these stupid standard sets of tests get prescribed world over? Honestly, if I’m ever supreme leader of anywhere I will ban standardised tests. Not in the way that I say medicine is a sham, not at all, but in the way that WE LIVE IN THE THIRD WORLD AND WILL OF COURSE HAVE TAKEN THE BCG OR HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO THE BACTERIA AT SOME POINT BUT IT’S NOT NECESSARILY EVER GOING TO BE ACTIVE SO USE A BETTER AND MORE CONTEXT SPECIFIC TEST INSTEAD OF GIVING ME ANXIETY AND EXISTENTIAL CRISES LIKE THESE, JFC. 😭😭😭

But I’ve taken the other test and that’s also got the drawback of being unable to differentiate between inert and active TB. So I took an HRCT scan. I’m so sick of running around hospitals, there’s a literal virus in the air. But Monday is when I’ll know the medical verdict. And then there’s the whole security check process. I hate when this happens but I’ve lost so much time to grief, I simply cannot sit around moping any longer. 

Earlier this year I interviewed with the **. I was given a verbal confirmation and had a text message implying an offer was made to me, because I received an acknowledgement to my acceptance of an offer. If I was the person I was in 2014, I’d have kicked up a fuss and made sure that offer was honoured, but 2021 me knows that working with bosses who go back on their word slyly and cave to nepotism usually need their cocks sucked. And I’m not only incapable of that, but have also dealt with enough workplace harassment elsewhere to be adamant about a brand at the risk of my mental health. But really, he can go suck it because I have confirmation from staff that he is EVERYTHING I read him to be. I’m not intuitive or anything, I just read people very well because I was hurt so bad by them (repeatedly since childhood) that reading people became a thing I did for survival. My sharp instincts serve me well, but are a trauma response. I am very self aware too, yes.

I then interviewed and got through an NGO that was willing to pay me 24L. I turned it down because the founders were running around like headless chicken with their inability to distinguish PR from Marketing Comms (me) from Marketing for business development. I know I was being paid a lot of money, but I will not kill myself performing all three functions while being acknowledged for just the one on my offer letter. I’ve learned to value my labour capacity and assert myself in the economic and political spheres. 

Personally though? I sometimes still think I’m a romantic pushover.

But this is about work because I need to weep a little before being calm about how this year has treated me. Especially since I’m maintaining a cool demeanour in public and literally hate sharing things I’m burdened with. Idk man, it makes me feel vulnerable and I don’t like feeling like I’ll get a knife twisted in the spot that's most sore. I AM SCREAMING BECAUSE I HAVE LET G WITNESS ME IN PAIN THIS TIME INSTEAD OF RUNNING AWAY and will someday file copyright over An Enduring Romantic because that’s very honestly me. But ofc it isn’t going to be the legal Copyright, just the sham notice like the one I’d sent him to up his Instagram game. Or he could just operate my Twitter and I’ll run his gram. It’ll even feel natural.

Sometime around May an environmental journal asked me to come on board. Work from the office at the height of the pandemic with no travel compensation and very little money. I turned them down. Then came II**. Which I again turned down because they wouldn’t pay market rate for skills I’ve perfected in 4 years just because they wanted 8 years experience on paper for my quotation. I will do a lot for causes I love, but I also really enjoy being paid fairly and acknowledged for the value I bring to the table.

Then came the start up in Del. Which I turned down because the uncle running it in his wife’s name expected 24*7 labour availability for 12L with no health insurance.

The latest in my list of things I’ve turned down is the ** Gov. Which I can obviously go back to since my reason for turning it down was another job, but 14 days of leave all year? 7 day work week if needed? Hell no. I enjoy having labour rights. But also when I told the dude I’d be reporting to if I accepted that I cant accept due to covid concerns his reaction was “sure, send me an email so we can start looking for someone else immediately.” Like.... we just had a second wave, what if something was wrong? I wouldn’t risk losing my job because they expect work even if I were hypothetically coughing up blood. So best not to touch with a bargepole. Now I’m less sad, but also really hope the TB results are negative. This job I want and have said yes to ticks off all of the boxes in my head and I will truly be disappointed if I lose it to disease paranoia despite being completely suited and picked for the role 😞

Just to be on the safer side, I have taken one last shot at achieving my goal of ‘learn how political systems work so you know what you’re talking about first hand in that PhD.’ I hope my Plan A works out instead, though.

Since I’ve brought him up in this, it will be interesting to note that a year ago I did the erstwhile unthinkable act of cutting a friend of for attempting to steal a man I love. A year ago to the date, literally. Funny how this year is more calm, but I was maxed out on endorphins from him last year. Until this March even, if I’m being truthful. I don’t regret cutting her off.She crossed a vvvv red line. ALL my other friends are celebrating. They detested her. 

Another thing that happened last year was me letting him know that I only get hotter with time, but along with this work drama I have also had a run in with intense grief which I thought was a mood disorder (because it was intense, I mentioned?), cholesterol, thyroid, sugar addiction and now, le TB (PLEASE BE A FALSE POSITIVE YESU KRISTU HALP). So needless to say, I haven’t been most fabulous and undergone my physical transformation and these mental health struggles (are getting better now) strapped me to my couch along with the pandemic and its many lockdowns. I have also not studied for the GRE because I’m stimulus seeking via social media and fear of sucking at math has kept me locked in place. I still have a lot to work through on this front and would really like to make his cover right too, but my creativity isn't working and I keep fucking it up. I am not as spectacular as I was last year. The separation has also weathered my dazzle out a little and while I’m living with it, I still have small waves of sadness that show up once in a while.

I might have also accidentally flirted with someone into falling for me. It was all fun and games and for my pride, but now I’ve to gently let them down since I’ve cold feet and am chicken. Because I’m as emotionally unavailable as a streetlamp. Is this why they call me a Gurgaoni fuckboi?

[snarkwriteswrasslin]

FFT: you jump, i jump jack; pete dunne

Notes:

This came to my main asks via @vonschweetz​ and it got me thinking... What if I redid Barbie and Pete entirely. And made Barbie a brattier little Omega, more resistant. I still might want to do this, we shall see... It was an interesting take.

Summary:

Bratty omega meets stubborn as fuck alpha. let the games begin.

Pairing:

Pete Dunne x OFC, Barbie

Warnings:

Uhh... flirtation and banter, bratty omegas and stubborn alphas. It’s cute. Seriously. I might actually try doing something with this.

Barbie looked from man to man, totally unimpressed. Folding her arms, she cleared her throat when they finally took a break from their whole territorial thing. “Will you two kindly knock it the fuck off? And get lost, your Alpha stink is probably what’s keeping my true Alpha from making himself known.”

“You don’t have an Alpha. You could have me, but you won’t stop being stubborn.”

“I’d clearly be better for you than that asshole. C’mon. Think about it. You and me, baby.”

“All you two idiots are doing is making me dryer than the Sahara desert. Fuck off.” Barbie practically spat the words at the two men and luckily, it was enough to send them away. This time.

… oh but those two twat waffles will be back. They always come back… if I could just hurry and figure out who back here is my true Alpha…

… but what if it’s somebody you don’t want to be mated to?…

… anyone has to be better than Oney Lorcan and fucking Matt Cross… anyone…

Almost as if she’d summoned it, the scent was back again and it was… So heavy. It dominated the air and Barbie breathed in deep. Fanning herself, she leaned back against the brick wall and let her eyes flit around the room, careful to not settle on any particular member of the roster.

It couldn’t be Tyler Bate or Trent Seven.

She knew it wasn’t any of the Undisputed Era, she’d gotten close enough to each man earlier in the week to realize that they were not only not the scent she’d been trying to find, but their scents all actually repulsed her.

None of them had that unique combination of Big Red chewing gum and freshly upturned earth like this scent. And while normally, the scent of dirt did literally nothing for her, in this case it was… Like the most erotic thing she’d ever smelled in her life.

It wasn’t Johnny Gargano, either.

So far, no one she’d tried to get close to matched this particular scent.

Distractedly, Barbie stepped away from the wall and gave in to the urge to follow her nose. As she started to walk down the hall, the scent got heavier and heavier, beckoning her. Turning a corner and entering catering, she managed to collide with Pete Dunne around the same time that the scent suddenly intensified. Pete gripped her arms, a gruff swear coming as he said something to her about watching where she walked, only to trail off in mid sentence.

“It’s you.”

They both said it at the same time, but Dakota called out to her and she bit her lip, staring up at her true Alpha a few seconds, trying to get a read on how the current situation affected him.

She couldn’t. He masked his thoughts on the matter heavily.

Barbie’s face fell and she turned abruptly, hurrying over to Dakota and one or two of the other girls.

Pete blinked and turned to scowl at Tyler, who’d just come up behind him and shoved him playfully. “What was ‘at about, Dunney?”

“I found ‘er.”

“And yer not over there with ‘er why? Who was it?”

“The blonde talkin t’ Dakota and the other girls. Th’ one with curly hair.”

Tyler followed his friends gaze and he gave a low and appreciative whistle as he muttered quietly, “Y’ lucky fuckin bastard. Well don’t let me stop y’. Go on, go to ‘er.”

Pete raised a brow and rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

“Yer an idiot, Dunney.”

“Don’t think she was too happy with th’ realization I’m ‘er Alpha.”

“Or maybe, she took one look at yer grouchy mug and retreated because she thought she pissed y’ off. I mean if y’ gave ‘er the look y’ gave me just now, Dunney…” Tyler pointed out as helpfully as possible, but when Pete shook his head no, Tyler grumbled and shook his head.

“Well, I found him.”

“Seriously? Who? I need to know.”

“It’s Pete Dunne. But I don’t… I really don’t think he was thrilled when he realized what was happening… So.. That’s that.”

“What the hell do you mean that’s that? Pete’s always a grouch, that’s just who he is.”

“This was different. He looked annoyed. Maybe I should just give in to one of the other unmated douchebags who keep offering…” Barbie knew deep down that even as she said it, she’d never go through with it, because when she’d realized it was Pete… Something just clicked for her.

She sighed and shook her head, shoving it all out of her mind for the time being. “C’mon.. Someone in here is staring and it’s kinda creeping me out.” Barbie grabbed hold of Dakota’s arm, practically dragging her out of catering.

She collided with Roderick Strong in the hallway. Swallowing hard, she stared up at him, mumbling an apology. Roderick flashed her a grin and leaned against the doorway, pinning her in. “No need to apologize, darlin. You alright?”

“I’m fine, just.. In a hurry.” Barbie nodded to the doorway he was currently blocking and he chuckled, moving to the side. He caught hold of her wrist and held her there a few seconds the second he saw Pete Dunne staring at her from the doorway of catering.

“If any of these idiots mess with ya, Blondie.. Come find Roddy, alright?”

Barbie pried her wrist loose and gave him a thumbs up before rushing off.

Pete’s fists clenched and Tyler muttered to himself with an amused laugh, “And ‘ere we go.” before quickly grabbing hold of his best friend and starting the process of talking him down from whatever ‘punishment’ Pete was currently doling out to Strong in his head.

Pete growled and took a deep breath.

“What y’ need t’ do, Dunney, is go to ‘er and tell ‘er that whatever she thinks isn’t th’ truth.”

“What I need t’ do, Bate, is go down t’ the ring and call ‘im out. Maybe if I make an example out ‘f him, none of the others will even think about tryin it.”

“And when y’ scare th’ living hell out of ‘er Dunney… what then? Just wait til the next time y’ see Strong lurking around, go over and intervene. That proves yer point without anybody bein afraid or havin t’ die.” Tyler eyed his best friend as he said it.

For once, Pete seemed to agree. Tyler let out a breath and then, they made their way down to the ring for the match they had.

– ( LE TIME SKIPPE )

“Clearly, me staying at the hotel while everyone else went out was a stupid idea. I’m so freaking bored!” Barbie was pacing her hotel room, fingers tangled in blonde curls as she tried to keep the worst part of her heat starting at bay.

She eyed the door and then her phone and remembering the annoyed look on Pete’s face earlier, she swore and grabbed the phone, firing off a text.

→ Hey, I’m gonna meet you guys after all.

→ No sense in me locking myself away and saving myself for an Alpha who clearly couldn’t want me less if he tried.

→ It’s that club near the beach, right?

Without waiting on a response, she showered and got out, putting on makeup and digging through her closet. When she saw the skintight little red dress that one of her friends got her as a ‘joke’ she bit her lip and hesitated. She almost passed it over in favor of something casual, her favorite jeans and crop top, but then she thought about it.

She knew who her true Alpha was now. And given that he didn’t seem like he’d be beating down her door anytime soon, was there really any sense in waiting or getting her hopes up?

She tore the tag off the dress and took it into the bathroom, changing into it. Before she could talk herself out of going out and having a fun night, she walked down the stairs and through the lobby.

Just as she went to reach for the handle on the door out of the lobby, Pete stepped in.

“Where th’ hell are y’ going?” Pete blurted it out before he could stop himself from doing so, earning him snickering from both Tyler and Trent.

“Out.”

“Out where?”

“Out. I’m supposed to be meeting someone. Can you kindly remove yourself, sir?” Barbie gazed up at Pete, tapping a stiletto against the floor impatiently.

“Not like ‘at.”

Barbie glanced down at her dress.. Before she could stop herself, she was glancing back up at him with a smirk. “Oh? And you’re gonna stop me how, sir?”

“My name is Pete. Not sir.” Pete was moving closer, Barbie was… beyond well aware of the difference in their height. She swallowed hard and fought to reign herself in because if she didn’t…

It wasn’t going to be pretty.

Self composure was harder than she’d always thought it’d be when she finally found her true Alpha.

She felt her thighs clench.

Pete was eyeing her up, almost as if he were in disbelief that she’d talk back to him.

The thought made her smirk a little, giggling quietly. She cleared her throat. “I’m running late. Either you’re going to do something about what I’m wearing, Alpha, or you’re going to move out of my fucking way.” she said it in her politest tone of voice. Pete edged closer, a hand hesitating before settling on her hip.

He stared her down intently.

Tyler and Trent cleared their throats, exchanging looks and Barbie raised her hand, resting it palm down against the front of Pete’s hoodie, staring at the door they currently blocked intently.

“It looks like I’m gonna have to be the one who walks away.” Barbie said it as she tried to side step Pete.

Pete stood there, watching her walk out of the lobby, his hand in his hair.

“ ‘at went well, Dunney.” Trent broke the silence. Pete’s response was to shove his gear bag at Trent and start to storm out the door. Trent and Tyler shared a look and grumbled. Tyler found a room service attendant and put the bags onto a trolly to be taken up and he caught up to Trent in the parking lot just in time to watch everything as it happened.

Pete caught up to her and tapped her shoulder. Barbie came to a stop and turned, staring up at him with a look of curious amusement in her eyes. “You? I thought we settled this in the lobby, sir.”

“It’s Pete. And we didn’t.” Pete’s tone was firm but quiet. She was migrating closer.. A quick scenting revealed everything and he groaned inwardly as soon as he realized that Tyler had been right back at the arena.

She’d gotten the wrong idea. She had no idea just how blown away he’d been to find out that the vanilla scent he’d been chasing for a while now was her.

Or that he’d noticed her around the time he started to smell mentioned scent and he’d been… attracted, to say the least.

His eyes darted down to the red dress and he cleared his throat. “ Maybe y’ thought I was makin a suggestion, but I was being serious, Omega.”

“My name is Barbie.”

“Barbie.” Pete repeated her name, still gazing down at her intently. Barbie tapped her feet impatiently again, her tongue gliding over her lips to moisten them. Pete’s eyes darted up, settling on her mouth and the attention that the gesture bought to it. He shrugged off his hoodie and thrust it at her.

Barbie eyed the hoodie and then him and she gave a quiet giggle.

“I’m not bein’ funny.”

“No, but… Do you think when you say jump, Alpha… that I’m just gonna ask you how high?”

“Not at all. I’d say it goes both ways.”

“I’m not putting on that hoodie. And why does it matter anyway? What I wear, I mean..” Barbie was moving closer, despite her best efforts to refrain from doing so. Pete gave a satisfied smirk when he felt her body tuck into his. He chuckled and rubbed his chin, trying to think about a response.

Barbie’s phone lit up and started to ring.

“One second.” Barbie answered the phone and she was in the midst of telling Dakota the situation when Pete took the phone and informed Dakota that Barbie wasn’t going to make it.

After ending the call, he held her phone out to her.

“Y’ weren’t in any shape t’ go out alone tonight anyway.”

“Who are you, my father?”

“No, but I am yer Alpha. We both know it.”

Barbie scoffed. “Now you want to claim it.”

“Wanted to earlier. Someone didn’t really give me much time t’ react.”

“The annoyed look on your face was reaction enough.” Barbie stepped away, turning and preparing herself to walk away. She’d never been the kind of girl to just fall in line, follow a rule or an order.

She would’ve kept walking too if Pete hadn’t called out calmly, “ Y’ can keep fighting it.. But y’ know what y’ really feel. I can smell it in yer scent. Fightin is only gonna make it worse on y’.”

“I’m not fighting anything, pal. If you want me, come and get me, Pete.”

Barbie started to slink away and for a split second, because no one was around to see him do it, a smile played on Pete’s lips as he took a deep breath to reign himself in and started to calmly walk after her.

She’d just stepped into the club and was waving at the girls when she felt him pressing into her from behind. “Okay, Barbie. I’ll play yer game. But know that when I play games, I play them t’ win.”

Barbie bit her lip to keep from whimpering and after a second, she managed to reply, “We’ll see, Pete. Think you can handle dancing with me or would that be too much?”

Pete turned her around, pulling her close.

“I don’t dance.”

“This works too..”

[buckybarnesappreciationsociety]

Pool Party Crashers (Who Invited You?)

Summary: All hell breaks loose at Izzy’s first off-campus pool party!

Pairings: Dad! Bucky X Izzy  

OFC: Reader, Little Stevie, Nat, Wanda, Steve, Sam, Tony, Maddie, Aurala, Zach

Word Count: 1,913

Warnings: NONE

A/N: Thanks again to @shy2shot for the prompt. 

Prompt: “While at a party, you hear screams coming from the main floor and you see flashing lights out of the window. You assume the party is getting busted. What walks through the door is much worse than a police officer.”

Izzy and Maddie settled into college life. Between classes and on campus social activities, she rarely spoke to her family. Their sophomore mentors understood leaving home for the first time made the young freshmen homesick.

The upperclassmen had ice cream socials, movie nights, shopping trips, and group meetings to allow the freshmen a chance to voice their opinion about whatever’s bothering them. Izzy vented about her aunts and uncles, the Avengers. She didn’t want anyone to shun her because sometimes, they were a bit over the top. The other students chimed in how cool it was to have Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for family. Izzy talked about her life in Stark Tower and her dad, James Buchanan Barnes. No one had a negative comment about the former Winter Soldier. One of the students wanted Captain America’s autograph!

Meanwhile, Bucky felt lost without hearing from Izzy. Yes, she’d send a text every now and again, but he wanted to actually hear her voice. Y/N assured her anxious husband Izzy was just fine. College life is different from high school. It proved to be quite an adjustment.

Stevie, on the other hand, loved being the only child at home. He and Bucky went fishing, camped out in the backyard under the stars, and much to Y/N’s dismay, Stevie rode on the back of Bucky’s Harley Davidson.

Sitting in the common room, Bucky stared at his cell phone. Y/N walked in and shook her head. “James, what are you doing?”

“I haven’t heard from Izzy in 3 days. What if something’s wrong? Do you think Hydra found her?”

Bucky began hyperventilating. Y/N rushed to his side, rubbing circles on his back.

“James, breathe sweetheart.” Her soothing voice coupled with deep breathing calmed the flustered dad.

“Baby, Izzy’s doing well. She’s busy with classes and social activities.”

“What kind of social activities? Wild parties and drinking?” Bucky jumped up, stalking towards the garage.

Y/N had enough. She caught up to her husband staring him down. “James Buchanan Barnes! You need to calm down!!” Her voice boomed. “OUR DAUGHTER DOES NOT DRINK, NOR DOES SHE ATTEND WILD PARTIES!!!”

Bucky’s eyes were wide and his mouth shut tight. Y/N shot daggers at her husband. Stevie thought it best not to say anything. He and Sam played Minecraft on the new XBox One S.

“Mom’s really angry at dad. I’m staying out of her way.” Stevie stuffed a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

“Yeah, Bucky messed up big time. Serves him right.” Sam didn’t have an ounce of sympathy for the beleaguered super soldier.

After the tongue lashing from his wife, Bucky decided it best to go and workout. Y/N was on the warpath! Good thing Steve, Tony and Wanda were out running errands. No one stood a chance with her wrath.

Y/N and Nat sat at the kitchen island, watching Stevie and Sam play video games.

“What did you do with Barnes?” Nat smirked.

“He’s in the gym pouting and taking his frustrations out on an innocent bag.

In the meantime, Izzy and Maddie were planning to attend their very first college pool party. One of the upperclass students, Aurala, invited some freshmen over to her house for food, fun, swimming and most importantly, NO ALCOHOL!

But, what would college be without a keg or four, right? A few fraternity members decided it would be cool to crash the party and bring beer. Aurala’s parents trusted her to be responsible and not have anyone over with drugs or alcohol.

Izzy couldn’t believe she and Maddie were invited. To say they were excited didn’t come close. The ecstatic young ladies went shopping for new bikinis, towels, flip flops, and lip gloss.

A nice freshman, Zachary, had his eyes on Izzy. He was handsome, courteous, and highly intelligent. Y/N met him and approved of their friendship, but kept it from her overzealous husband.

The day of the pool party, Bucky phoned Izzy. “Hey sweetheart. How are ya?”

“Dad! Hi. I’m fine...you?” She sounded nervous and Bucky picked up on it.

Perplexed, Bucky furrowed his brow.“Buttercup, is everything alright?”

Maddie motioned for Izzy to calm down. “Yes daddy. We’re on our way to the gym. Gotta keep my body in shape.”

Bucky choked, “WHAT!!! NO ONE IS WATCHING YOUR BODY!!”

Izzy and Maddie could hardly breathe from laughing. “James Barnes, calm down!!!”

“Wait a minute young lady. Did you just call me by my first name?”

“I sure did. Stop being so overprotective. Maddie and I are fine. Now, I love you. Give my love to everyone. Smooches.”

Throwing a pillow at her flustered roommate, Maddie scolded Izzy. “You have no earthly idea how to lie? Your dad is NOT dumb. He’ll figure out what we’re gonna do and mess it up.”

Izzy groaned, “I’m sorry Maddie.  Maybe he’ll forget about it?”

Looking at each other, “Nope...he won’t!”

To a “normal” parent, it probably would’ve been overlooked. But, to James Buchanan Barnes, he knew something wasn’t right. Taking his concerns to Steve, they devised a plan to discover what Izzy was hiding.

POOL PARTY FUN

Zach, Maddie and Izzy arrived at Aurala’s home via taxi. It wasn’t far from campus and they split the fare.

Ringing the doorbell, Aurala greeted her guests. The excited threesome were led to the pool area. A rousing game of volleyball was taking place in the pool, while some played ping pong and video games.

Zach chased Izzy around the deck; Maddie joined a few of her classmates in the pool. Things were going great until a few frat boys decided to crash the gathering.

POOL PARTY RUCKUS

Aurala, visibly upset, told the rowdy bunch to leave. She didn’t want any trouble. Adhering to her wishes, they left, but decided to return unbeknownst to her.

Some of the older girls and guys started drinking and everything went downhill from there. The party spilled out into the back and side of the house.

Izzy, Maddie, Zach and some other attendees decided it best to go upstairs and sit this out, while Aurala tried to calm things down.

Well, by now, no one was paying any attention to her. Someone brought a beer bong and a round of “chug-a-lug”  began.

Suddenly, blue lights flashed throughout the house. Everything went silent. Zach thought it was the police. Nope! It was James Buchanan Barnes, Steven Grant Rogers, Edward Anthony Stark and Sam Wilson, piling out of two SHIELD vehicles.

What ensued next was like a scene from “COPS.” You could hear the “Bad Boys” theme as the fierce foursome entered the premises.

Steve, dressed as Captain America, asked where Aurala’s parents were.

“Th-they’re not here. W-we were fine until some frat boys crashed.” Aurala was visibly shaken.

Growling, Bucky called Izzy. “Isabella Marie Barnes, get down here now!!”

Zach and Maddie looked at Izzy, “Oh shit. You’re in trouble now.”

Pushing herself off the floor, Izzy and company made their way downstairs. Tony and Sam were chastising the crashers, Steve spoke to Aurala’s parents via phone and Bucky waited for his beloved daughter downstairs.

Leaning against the wall with his massive arms folded, Bucky narrowed his eyes at Izzy. Zach wanted to introduce himself but thought it best not right now.

Feigning innocence, Izzy looked at her dad with puppy dog eyes. “D-dad? Wh-what are you doing here?”

“Where do I begin? First, you sounded a bit off when we spoke. I knew you were lying. Second, the tracker in your necklace alerted me to trouble. Shall I keep going?”

Izzy became enraged. “YOU PUT A TRACKER IN MY NECKLACE??!!! C’MON DAD!! GIVE ME A BREAK!!” She stomped outside by the pool, burying her face in her hands.

It hurt Bucky to see his daughter upset. Sitting in the deck chair next to her, Bucky reached out for Izzy’s hand and she pulled back.

“Dad, when will you ever trust me? Yes, I lied; yes, things got out of hand; yes, I’m kinda glad you showed up. But, I’m in college now. How long before you let me go?”

The hurt on Izzy’s face broke his heart. “Sugar Plum, this is a new experience for me. Ya see, I never dreamed I’d ever be worthy enough for a girlfriend, much less a wife and kids. You, Stevie and your mother are my heartbeat. Should something happen to ya, it’d kill me. Please forgive me. I just love’ya so much.”

A tear rolled down Bucky’s jaw. Izzy scooted over for him to sit next to her. “I’m so sorry. I know you worry about me but you have to know I’d never do anything stupid like drink alcohol or do drugs. We were having a really good time until the frat boys showed up. Aurala asked them to leave and they came back.”

“I’m just glad you’re alright. Just don’t lie to me baby. Makes me think you don’t trust me.”

Hugging her dad, “Only if you’ll cut me some slack. Trust me to do what’s right. I’ll never do anything to put myself in harm’s way.”

Nodding, Bucky agreed, “I’ll try. Don’cha lie to me again.”

Zach walked outside and cleared his throat and extended his hand. “M-M-Mr. Barnes? H-hi my name is Zachary. I’m a friend of Isabella’s. N-nice to meet you sir.”

Bucky flashed his metal hand but thought better. “Nice to meet you son. James Barnes.”

Looking between he and Izzy, “Is he your boyfriend?” The word caused bile to rise in Bucky’s throat.

“No dad. He’s a really good friend. Mom liked him the minute they met.”

Eyes bulging, “Your mom knows about him and I didn’t??”

Izzy simply kissed Bucky on the cheek. As the crowd dispersed, Maddie, Zach and Izzy were taken back to campus.

Tony made certain the dean would hear about the frat boys antics and they would be dealt with accordingly.

Steve, Tony and Sam waited by the tinted window SUV as Bucky escorted Maddie and Izzy to their dorm room.

Maddie thanked him for coming when they did. Things could’ve really gotten out of hand.

“I’ve had an eventful night dad. Think I’ll shower and go to sleep. Uh, I appreciate you guys showing up. Please give me a chance to prove to you I’m responsible.”

Kissing the top of her head Bucky replied, “It won’t be easy, but I’ll try. I love ya so much baby girl.”

Giving Bucky a huge hug, “I love you so much Daddy Buckwoo. You’re the best.”

Two lessons were learned from this:

First, NEVER lie to your parents; especially if they’re a former master assassin with  endless tracking resources. Communication is key!

Finally, trust your daughter to be responsible. You raised a young lady with high moral values. Your baby bird has left the nest. Allow her to fly!

[jksmoongf]

Punch-Drunk Love (chapter 2)

Pairing: Jungkook x OFC

Genre: fluff // smut // angst (tbc)

Summary: Being a famous idol isn’t easy, but so isn’t falling in love when you get caught in a web of lies.

@jaxonah thank you bby 💓 I don’t know what I’d do without you 💓

————————————-

Chapter: 2 - Falling For You

[chapter 1]

Warning: none

Wordcount: 1194

Chapter 2 // Falling For You

Over a month of texting had passed. On some days he was texting her all day, on others when he was busy it was less. But he made sure to always send her a text before he went to sleep, so she’d have something nice to wake up to. Mila wasn’t quite sure where this was going. She found herself liking Jungkook more and more each day. In her head he liked her too. It almost seemed strange sometimes, during the day it felt like they were just friends but at night he was a lot more affectionate with her, if that was possible via texting.

When they first started talking it had been somewhat awkward since they didn’t know anything about each other but as time passed, she realized that they had more in common than she expected. They were both in love with music and how it made them feel. And even though they didn’t have the same taste in music, they bonded over sending each other song recommendations and swooning over lyrics. Some people say that if a guy pauses his game to text back, he must really like that person. Mila hated that statement, but deep down she was hoping for it to be true. She smiled every time the screen of her phone lit up and showing his name, although he was playing Overwatch. That had to mean something, right? She had endless amounts of selfies from him on her phone, yet every time she tried to get him to meet her, he’d say he was busy. It confused her; they lived in the same city, they texted every day but it was so hard for him to find time to actually hang out with her. She knew that she had more free time than him; being a student definitely had its perks compared to working fulltime. But how hard could it be to meet up for coffee or dinner? She sighed and closed her eyes. Mindlessly she was gently scratching her dog’s head. Maybe he didn’t like her enough to meet up. Then again, why would he invest so much time in talking to her; sometimes until the early hours of the morning, if he didn’t feel the same? She sat up, grabbed her phone and unlocked it. The only thing she wanted was to meet him and now was the time to make it happen…

The boys had been filming for a tv show all day; Jungkook was tired but happy that he now had time to talk to her. He had missed people before, like he always missed his family back home but now he was missing her, when he wasn’t able to talk to her. If he told one of the boys, he knew that they’d probably make fun of him for missing her when they had not properly met but he didn’t care. She made him happy and that was all that mattered to him. There was only one problem… It was weighing heavy on his mind that she thought he didn’t want to meet her but he was scared. Scared that she would find out who he really was and then run away, because she did not want to deal with him being an idol. He liked the bubble they were in. He liked that she thought that he was just a regular guy. Although he had lied to her about a few things to keep up that façade, he was sure that it was worth it. If she really liked him as much as he liked her, it wouldn’t matter that he was younger or that he lied about his job. Jungkook put down his phone. She was disappointed but it was a lot more difficult for him to make plans with her. He’d have to make sure that no one would recognize him and most importantly see him with a girl, which would spark rumors and could get both of them into trouble. He got up and walked over to Hoseok and Jimin’s shared room. He didn’t even knock on the door and just entered. Jimin was sitting on the floor in front of his bed, playing a video game. “Hey, what’s up?” He looked at Jungkook, who was now sitting down next to him. “Nothing, am I not allowed to just chill with you anymore?” “Of course you are but I can see on your face that something’s bothering you.” Jungkook let out a sigh, letting his head fall back on the mattress behind him. “Fine, you know the girl I’ve been talking to, right?” Jimin made a humming sound, still playing his game. “She wants to meet.” Now he pressed pause, to look at Jungkook. “And that is a problem why?” He didn’t know how to answer that? He knew that if he told Jimin that he had lied to her, he’d make him come clean and he couldn’t risk that. “We’re so busy with practice and promotion, so I don’t really have time. What do I do? She seemed disappointed.” That was a good excuse. “Make time for her. You two have been talking for so long now. Wouldn’t it be nice to talk to her in person?” Nice? Nice wasn’t a good enough word to describe how badly he wanted to see her smile and not just in a picture on his phone. “Yeah but then there’s also the problem that I can’t risk anyone seeing us. You know how some fans are.” Jimin tilted his head in thought, running his hand through his hair. “You can always invite her here, I promise we won’t sneakily take pictures of you and post them to twitter.” They both laughed and Jungkook nudged his older brother. “Knowing you, you’d definitely take pictures when we’re not looking.” “You’re probably right but seriously, ask her to come over some time.” He wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. What if she knew who one of the boys was or even worse, if one of them accidentally told her who he was?  It was just so complicated. He pulled his legs up and rested his arms on his knees. “We’re going to Japan tomorrow, so I’ll have to wait. When we come back I will, if she still wants to see me then.” “Kookie, you like her right?” He nodded; he did like her, maybe even a little too much. Jimin was checking his phone. “And it’s only 6 pm. Ask her to come over now.” His head shot up and his eyes widened. “Hyung what?!” The older one let out a small chuckle. “Don’t be so shocked. Text her and ask her to come over. Just do it, be spontaneous.” He didn’t expect that, he came in here to moan about his problems but maybe it was the push he needed to finally man up and see her. This apartment was his safe-place, he trusted every single person here with his life. Looking at it from all angles, it was his best option for now. But for how long would he be able to keep his real life from her?

[datingadviceonreddit]

Hi guys,I went on a date with this girl. We had an amazing time. Prior to this, she had flaked me 2 times because she was busy, she posted it on instagram(she is an elite figure skater), so i let it slide, because she asked for my number the night we met. Therefore I knew she was interested. I finally got a solid date locked down, and it ended with her staying at my place for 3 days of fun. The next day after she left she wrote me basically asking why i had not wrote her yet(she told me I was bad at texting).Now Corona virus enters, I was suddenly not allowed to stay at my place because my roommates had been on a vacation in Italy. So I had to find another place because I work at a restaurant, and my studies was canceled. I could basically do whatever i wanted. So i packed my car with my stuff and went on my way. I ofc talked to her about it, and she was like "you can stay with me if you want". And i told her i would just crash at friends houses etc. Anyway, the day before my roommates arrived home, she wrote me and asked if i had found a place to stay yet, i told her i was not certain yet, but i was just going to couch surf. So again, she popped the "you can stay with me", and i told her it would be great to start off at her place. Next day I became "homeless" and I write this girl asking what her address it. I sat at the restaurant where i work, to spend my day since i couldn't be at home from now on. Hours go by, and she had not responded to me yet. So i decide she is not interested and since I all of the sudden had no place to stay, I became desperate. I made plans with some old friends one of which had a birthday the next day, so i found it to be a great way to spend the first days. This girl lives 2 hours away from me, and my friends whom i was visiting lives 4. On the same route.I drive off - tired of waiting and had to drive if i wanted to reach their place before midnight. When I am almost at the city where the girl lives. She calls me up saying she had been at some kind of figure skater show. I told her I had made other plans at this point. She sounded kind of bummed, so I tell her I can come by on my way on my way back during the next week when I don't want to stay at my friends anymore. She agrees, and tells me i can call her if i get bored on my drive. An hour later i call her, and she does not pick up. Just as i arrived at my friends place, she calls me and asks why i had called her. I just told her because i was bored during my drive, like she told me to. And she was like ooh, i was just with a girlfriend of mine. And i was like; okay anyway. I just arrived and told her what day i planned to be going home. And she was like, yeah thats fine, we will figure it out.A couple of days go by, and i ask her if she is available at *insert day* and that i had been thinking about her, and would love to meet.(I had a feeling i had been very distant myself, so i tried to show her a little bit of the inside of my head) But she never replied. So i decide to stay at couple of more days, since I had no other plans. The days go by without much contact other than her writing me something about someone with corona had been at a nightclub we both had attended.I was finally allowed to go all the way home again, since my roommates was tested negative of Corona. So I decided to drive home, without saying anything to her. I go out with an old friend(girl) of mine to grab a cup of coffee. I put up a mystory on instagram of us walking in the woods, and then BAM, she replied to it, saying it was weird that I drove home without telling her/seeing her. I told her I did it because she never replied to my message. So I figured she wasn't interested. She said she never received it, even though it said "delivered". But gave her the benefit of the doubt and send her a screenshot of the message instead. She called me up was like "I NEVER GOT THAT MESSAGE, I PROMISE". I told her fine, and suggested another day I could come by, and she agreed. But she was moving apartments that day and told me i could help her. I told her i would love to. I ended the convo teasing her that she was probably not going to respond the whole day like last time, with a laugh. And she told me "nooo ofc not, i want to see you". Lo and behold, the next day i wake up to a message, telling me she wants to push our plans into "next week" so she could settle in at the new place. I replied "Okay fine, talk to you soon". A couple of days later, i call her up, to ask how everything is going. She didn't pick up. But messaged me later that day to ask why i had called. I just told her i wanted to talk, because i was bored because of the lockdown (at this point the whole country had gone into lockdown because of corona virus). She replied she was bored as well, so i told her she could call me. She never did, and I decided to leave it alone.Next day she writes me a computer related question, because i told her i was studying computer science. I said it depended on what program she was using. But she could just do *insert computer command* in general. She never replied.Now, it have almost been two weeks, and I can't for the life of me figure out if i should contact her or leave it alone. I feel like I have not been that good at writing her, pretty much just trying to set up dates every time I contacted her. Yet I kind of believe that it is her turn to show interest, since i have done it multiple times now, maybe in fact been chasing her idk. Should I contact her, or should i just leave her the f alone? I was thinking about writing something silly like: "Hey since you cant seem to settle in at your place, lets make our next date a bank robbery so we can buy you a prober place. In case you weren't interested after all, you should just have told me, instead of waisting my time".What do you guys think?​Edit: I don't know if this is related. But I noticed she shares some weird quotes on instagram sometimes. A week ago she shared this quote: ""He's just gone silent on me again and I don't know why" I said "Again? No im sorry thats enough! You havent played games at all, and he acts like this. Its time for you to leave for good and show him that you dont get treated like that by anybody. You are better than this" Zara responded"". She is very spirtual and shares stuff like: "You attract what you think about", and "You will find the right one, you dont need to put in any effort" kind of stuff. via /r/dating_advice

[buckybarnesappreciationsociety]

Party Crashers

Summary: All hell breaks loose at Izzy’s first off-campus pool party!

Pairings: Dad! Bucky X Izzy  

OFC: Reader, Little Stevie, Nat, Wanda, Steve, Sam, Tony, Maddie, Aurala, Zach

Word Count: 1,913

Warnings: NONE

Thanks again to @shy2shot for the prompt. I had so much fun writing about Izzy and her college adventures.

Prompt: “While at a party, you hear screams coming from the main floor and you see flashing lights out of the window. You assume the party is getting busted. What walks through the door is much worse than a police officer.”

Izzy and Maddie settled into college life. Between classes and on campus social activities, she rarely spoke to her family. Their sophomore mentors understood leaving home for the first time made the young freshmen homesick.

The upperclassmen had ice cream socials, movie nights, shopping trips, and group meetings to allow the freshmen a chance to voice their opinion about whatever’s bothering them. Izzy vented about her aunts and uncles, the Avengers. She didn’t want anyone to shun her because sometimes, they were a bit over the top. The other students chimed in how cool it was to have Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for family. Izzy talked about her life in Stark Tower and her dad, James Buchanan Barnes. No one had a negative comment about the former Winter Soldier. One of the students wanted Captain America’s autograph!

Meanwhile, Bucky felt lost without hearing from Izzy. Yes, she’d send a text every now and again, but he wanted to actually hear her voice. Y/N assured her anxious husband Izzy was just fine. College life is different from high school. It proved to be quite an adjustment.

Stevie, on the other hand, loved being the only child at home. He and Bucky went fishing, camped out in the backyard under the stars, and much to Y/N’s dismay, Stevie rode on the back of Bucky’s Harley Davidson.

Sitting in the common room, Bucky stared at his cell phone. Y/N walked in and shook her head. “James, what are you doing?”

“I haven’t heard from Izzy in 3 days. What if something’s wrong? Do you think Hydra found her?”

Bucky began hyperventilating. Y/N rushed to his side, rubbing circles on his back.

“James, breathe sweetheart.” Her soothing voice coupled with deep breathing calmed the flustered dad.

“Baby, Izzy’s doing well. She’s busy with classes and social activities.”

“What kind of social activities? Wild parties and drinking?” Bucky jumped up, stalking towards the garage.

Y/N had enough. She caught up to her husband staring him down. “James Buchanan Barnes! You need to calm down!!” Her voice boomed. “OUR DAUGHTER DOES NOT DRINK, NOR DOES SHE ATTEND WILD PARTIES!!!”

Bucky’s eyes were wide and his mouth shut tight. Y/N shot daggers at her husband. Stevie thought it best not to say anything. He and Sam played Minecraft on the new XBox One S.

“Mom’s really angry at dad. I’m staying out of her way.” Stevie stuffed a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

“Yeah, Bucky messed up big time. Serves him right.” Sam didn’t have an ounce of sympathy for the beleaguered super soldier.

After the tongue lashing from his wife, Bucky decided it best to go and workout. Y/N was on the warpath! Good thing Steve, Tony and Wanda were out running errands. No one stood a chance with her wrath.

Y/N and Nat sat at the kitchen island, watching Stevie and Sam play video games.

“What did you do with Barnes?” Nat smirked.

“He’s in the gym pouting and taking his frustrations out on an innocent bag.

In the meantime, Izzy and Maddie were planning to attend their very first college pool party. One of the upperclass students, Aurala, invited some freshmen over to her house for food, fun, swimming and most importantly, NO ALCOHOL!

But, what would college be without a keg or four, right? A few fraternity members decided it would be cool to crash the party and bring beer. Aurala’s parents trusted her to be responsible and not have anyone over with drugs or alcohol.

Izzy couldn’t believe she and Maddie were invited. To say they were excited didn’t come close. The ecstatic young ladies went shopping for new bikinis, towels, flip flops, and lip gloss.

A nice freshman, Zachary, had his eyes on Izzy. He was handsome, courteous, and highly intelligent. Y/N met him and approved of their friendship, but kept it from her overzealous husband.

The day of the pool party, Bucky phoned Izzy. “Hey sweetheart. How are ya?”

“Dad! Hi. I’m fine...you?” She sounded nervous and Bucky picked up on it.

Perplexed, Bucky furrowed his brow.“Buttercup, is everything alright?”

Maddie motioned for Izzy to calm down. “Yes daddy. We’re on our way to the gym. Gotta keep my body in shape.”

Bucky choked, “WHAT!!! NO ONE IS WATCHING YOUR BODY!!”

Izzy and Maddie could hardly breathe from laughing. “James Barnes, calm down!!!”

“Wait a minute young lady. Did you just call me by my first name?”

“I sure did. Stop being so overprotective. Maddie and I are fine. Now, I love you. Give my love to everyone. Smooches.”

Throwing a pillow at her flustered roommate, Maddie scolded Izzy. “You have no earthly idea how to lie? Your dad is NOT dumb. He’ll figure out what we’re gonna do and mess it up.”

Izzy groaned, “I’m sorry Maddie.  Maybe he’ll forget about it?”

Looking at each other, “Nope...he won’t!”

To a “normal” parent, it probably would’ve been overlooked. But, to James Buchanan Barnes, he knew something wasn’t right. Taking his concerns to Steve, they devised a plan to discover what Izzy was hiding.

POOL PARTY FUN

Zach, Maddie and Izzy arrived at Aurala’s home via taxi. It wasn’t far from campus and they split the fare.

Ringing the doorbell, Aurala greeted her guests. The excited threesome were led to the pool area. A rousing game of volleyball was taking place in the pool, while some played ping pong and video games.

Zach chased Izzy around the deck; Maddie joined a few of her classmates in the pool. Things were going great until a few frat boys decided to crash the gathering.

POOL PARTY RUCKUS

Aurala, visibly upset, told the rowdy bunch to leave. She didn’t want any trouble. Adhering to her wishes, they left, but decided to return unbeknownst to her.

Some of the older girls and guys started drinking and everything went downhill from there. The party spilled out into the back and side of the house.

Izzy, Maddie, Zach and some other attendees decided it best to go upstairs and sit this out, while Aurala tried to calm things down.

Well, by now, no one was paying any attention to her. Someone brought a beer bong and a round of “chug-a-lug”  began.

Suddenly, blue lights flashed throughout the house. Screams erupted as everyone scrambled to leave. Zach thought it was the police. Nope! It was James Buchanan Barnes, Steven Grant Rogers, Anthony Edward Stark and Sam Wilson, piling out of two SHIELD vehicles, with tinted windows and blue lights flashing.

What ensued next was like a scene from “COPS.” You could hear the “Bad Boys” theme as the fierce foursome entered the premises.

Steve, dressed as Captain America, asked where Aurala’s parents were.

“Th-they’re not here. W-we were fine until some frat boys crashed.” Aurala was visibly shaken.

Growling, Bucky called Izzy. “Isabella Marie Barnes, get down here now!!”

Zach and Maddie looked at Izzy, “Oh shit. You’re in trouble now.”

Pushing herself off the floor, Izzy and company made their way downstairs. Tony and Sam were chastising the crashers, Steve spoke to Aurala’s parents via phone and Bucky waited for his beloved daughter downstairs.

Leaning against the wall with his massive arms folded, Bucky narrowed his eyes at Zach, who just happened to be holding Izzy’s hand. The look on Bucky’s face caused the scared young man to back away and stand next to Maddie.

Feigning innocence, Izzy looked at her dad with puppy dog eyes. “D-dad? Wh-what are you doing here?”

“Where do I begin? First, you sounded a bit off when we spoke. I knew you were lying. Second, the tracker in your necklace alerted me to trouble. Shall I keep going?”

Izzy became enraged. “YOU PUT A TRACKER IN MY NECKLACE??!!! C’MON DAD!! GIVE ME A BREAK!!” She stomped outside by the pool, burying her face in her hands.

It hurt Bucky to see his daughter upset. Sitting in the deck chair next to her, Bucky reached out for Izzy’s hand and she pulled back.

“Dad, when will you ever trust me? Yes, I lied; yes, things got out of hand; yes, I’m kinda glad you showed up. But, I’m in college now. How long before you let me go?”

The hurt on Izzy’s face broke his heart. “Sugar Plum, this is a new experience for me. Ya see, I never dreamed I’d ever be worthy enough for a girlfriend, much less a wife and kids. You, Stevie and your mother are my heartbeat. Should something happen to ya, it’d kill me. Please forgive me. I just love’ya so much.”

A tear rolled down Bucky’s jaw. Izzy scooted over for him to sit next to her. “I’m so sorry. I know you worry about me but you have to know I’d never do anything stupid like drink alcohol or do drugs. We were having a really good time until the frat boys showed up. Aurala asked them to leave and they came back.”

“I’m just glad you’re alright. Just don’t lie to me baby. Makes me think you don’t trust me.”

Hugging her dad, “Only if you’ll cut me some slack. Trust me to do what’s right. I’ll never do anything to put myself in harm’s way.”

Nodding, Bucky agreed, “I’ll try. Don’cha lie to me again.”

Zach walked outside and cleared his throat and extended his hand. “M-M-Mr. Barnes? H-hi my name is Zachary. I’m a friend of Isabella’s. N-nice to meet you sir.”

Bucky flashed his metal hand but thought better. “Nice to meet you son. James Barnes.”

Looking between he and Izzy, “Is he your boyfriend?” The word caused bile to rise in Bucky’s throat.

“No dad. He’s a really good friend. Mom liked him the minute they met.”

Eyes bulging, “Your mom knows about him and I didn’t??”

Izzy simply kissed Bucky on the cheek. As the crowd dispersed, Maddie, Zach and Izzy were taken back to campus.

Tony made certain the dean would hear about the frat boys antics and they would be dealt with accordingly.

Steve, Tony and Sam waited by the tinted window SUV as Bucky escorted Maddie and Izzy to their dorm room.

Maddie thanked him for coming when they did. Things could’ve really gotten out of hand.

“I’ve had an eventful night dad. Think I’ll shower and go to sleep. Uh, I appreciate you guys showing up. Please give me a chance to prove to you I’m responsible.”

Kissing the top of her head Bucky replied, “It won’t be easy, but I’ll try. I love ya so much baby girl.”

Giving Bucky a huge hug, “I love you so much Daddy Buckwoo. You’re the best.”

Two lessons were learned from this:

First, NEVER lie to your parents; especially if they’re a former master assassin with  endless tracking resources. Communication is key!

Finally, trust your daughter to be responsible. Bucky raised a young lady with high moral values. Your baby bird has left the nest. Allow her to fly!

TAGS: @omalleysgirl22 @pegasusdragontiger @jezzula @bolon-tiku @barnesvogue @sebstanfanma @goodnightwife @love2rhyme @3brosangel@supersoldierslover @sgtjamesbuchananbarnes107th @writing-is-my-elixir-of-life @buckybabybaby @marvelous-imagining 

[datingadviceonreddit]

First post on Reddit. Figured I'd try and make it a good one. This is going to be pretty long, so stay with me. I'll try and not bore you to death. No promises though. You've been warned.IntroTo give you, the readers, an idea of my background and where I'm coming from. Also human beings are inherently curious, right? :PSo I'm 35, a college student (an even longer story haha), single and never been in a what you folks call an LTR. Or hooked up (I'll get to that later). At this point I'm sure a lot of people are wonder wtf is wrong with this guy. Did I get hit with the ugly stick? Do I have a hunched back?Resemble Emperor Palpatine after playing with too many matches as a child? ....Afaik, nothing. Actually got a lot of positive comments from a multitude of people, although that's always subjective. I workout around 6x a week so keep myself in a good, physical condition. I'm not a big guy, but athletic sure. I still play football (soccer), love to read, play music, speak 5 languages, into computers, science, gaming and NOT socially awkward. Bit of a mix I guess. I can talk to people no problem, even women. Had to learn that whilst working at a Laser Tag center in my late teens/early adulthood (best job ever). There just has to be a connection and until recently, never had that. They say that life works in mysterious ways. Uhuh.So, with that out of the way, I've been lurking for a long, long time and reading each post and all the topics in a lot of relevant forums in the aftermath of my recent connection (Dating, Dating_Advice, Relationships, AskMen, Toughlove, Redpill etc...). There are some great stories on here, but a lot of depressing ones too. A modern phenomenon seems to be Ghosting. The majority of people would rather have honesty, as hurtful as that is, it's infinitely better than wondering wtf and being left in the dark. It would also enable people to grow and move on. At least those capable of some intelligence. Life after all, is an ever-continuous learning experience. On the flip side of this, some people cannot handle the truth (as seen on the NceGuy subreddit).History of my 'dating'I'm not totally clueless you know, so here goes:Primary school:Chased a girl for a while and at one point got a "Would you be my boyfriend Yes/No Tick box thing'. Just don't tell anyone (haha). Later on at one point I did tell people, so I fucked it up. Still a fond memory.Temporary primary school (just moved country, 12yrs old,.finished primary school back home, but new country, new language.....had to wait for new school year to go to an International school)There was this girl that I found immensely attractive. I went to the shops and bought a single, red rose. Placed it on her desk during break time. Yes everyone knew who it was from and no, she didn't reciprocate. Was a nice gesture though.High school:I guess around 14-15 at this time. On a school trip abroad this one girl caught my eye. Couldn't stop thinking about her. Back at school I did my research and found out in which class she was in (each class had a classbook, with records of students and to keep attendance) and left her a note. If I recall correctly, I even smooth talked her address from a school administrator and sent her a bouqet of flowers. Not bad for that age, right? Things did escalate from there and during a lunch break there she was, with her friends, all started giggling when I walked outside. I approached and started talking and it went from there. Since this was the 90s we spent hours talking on the home phone and even came to my place. One memory of that was when I rode her home (bikes) and we stayed at the halfway point for hours just talking and being playful (my mom called the police on me wondering where I was, because I didn't do shit like that, just my siser). It never escalated to kissing though, as much as I wanted to. One thing that stuck in my mind was she had a history of being abused, so with that in your head you want to proceed carefully. I wasn't stupid. Inexperienced sure. How do you deal with something like that? I suppose that's one of life's regrets. What if? What could have been?High school 2Different school, just going up in the system. So there's this really really cute girl and just happens to be best friends with one of my female classmates. At one point a friend of mine started dating this classmate and I got them to put in some good words for me (Networking people, this shit is legit). So, we started hanging out, doing stuff. After school, at the park etc. Lots of kissing (wasn't me escalating, trust me). Anyhow at one point as you do at school, you invite people over for a small party/gathering. My parents are divorced, mom lived elsewhere and dad was away most of the time (work). So the house is mine. I'm 18 at this point so it's all fine. Soaking rain, met the group outside, came in etc and this girl is all wet and needed a change of clothes so she put on a tracksuit of mine. Everyone had been drinking so all good. Kindof. So we're getting hot and heavy on the couch (the group is still sitting around the table haha....no shame :P) and at one point I put my hands down her pants.....but.....BUT.....this goes on in my head "oh wait because she's been drinking I must not take advantage of her" so I didn't. She then leads me to my bedroom and we start making out on the bed, but because I was a dumb motherfucker back then I didn't escalate it (so we wen't back downstairs again). The signs were obvious, but inexperience on my part and being too 'nice' and 'gentlemanly' about it....le sigh.This was my one and only chance so far (cry) to get laid. The relationship lasted about....3-4 weeks? In retrospect I learned a lot and the fact that there are different women out there with different wants and needs. The irony of that is how different my life might have been. Maybe somewhere in a parallell universe I wasn't that dumb...And thus ends my 'dating' history, as short as it was, for the next two decades. It's odd I suppose. In the years I followed before going back to college I was working in the entertainment industry. Bars, clubs etc. Working behind the bar was really really awesome. Not just working well with your colleagues and having fun (still hard work), but interacting with the customers. Unfortunately I was never, and still not, a 'player'. I'm just me. So no 'barman hooked up with...' stories etc. No panties being thrown in my direction for free drinks...So basically that was my life. Eventually moved to an IT/logistics job, still played football, still went to the gym, still played computer games, still did my music. Then at one point I decided fuck it, and went back to college.Fast forward to nowSo I'm at the end stage of my Bachelors and it's Koningsnacht here in NL. My smartphone is tucked away in my drawer and I use Whatsapp via Bluestacks on the PC. Just easier that way. Some of my football mates are in town at the Irish Pub and I go down to meet them. I get there and they are gone. Shit. No smartphone, no way to contact them, and ofc didn't put their numbers in my flipphone. Derp. I get pissed off and go back home, figured fuck it, just as well, don't want to drink and get drunk anyhow. I did fire up my PC again and find out where they were. At this point I'm debating, because usually when I go back bad things happens (drink too much, massive hangover) but #YOLO, right? So back I go.The night was great, went to a few bars (four of us) and had a blast. I did NOT go out expecting to meet anyone. The last place we went to was a club open till 4am. Ordered some interesting mixes and had fun........and there she was. Ironically a mate of my mine was talking to the pair and I overheard where they were from and English being spoken, so I went in and took over the conversation (sorry mate). I connected with this girl from the start. Started talking about music and we had a passion for similar stuff. We moved to the side and talked all night and exchanged numbers there and then. When the place had to close I helped her get her coat and walked her home (was a fair walk, 30min easy). Her friend also had a guy with her but was busy doing her own thing. That night we ended up talking till 7am. She made some great tea with some moonshine which was at least 60%++ and just enjoyed each others company I guess. It only ended when her friend was tired and wanted to go to sleep, haha. So bade our farewells....we both went outside and she was worried for me about the rain, but being a footballer it was only a slight drizzle and it was fine. Was nice of her though. Didn't kiss her ( I wanted to, trust me), but the whole 3 kisses on the cheek thing and rode off into the sunrise...Texted her the next day and set up a date. Went on around 4 dates after that and they all went really well. We talked a lot and had fun. You just know something is right when you can communicate without any pressure. No nonsense, just getting to know each other. There wasn't non stop texting, but she'd text me ask me how my weekend was etc. After a night out that she had originally planned with her friends ( I was welcomed to come along, didn't pressure her, but she said "Well if they have issues with it (me coming along) then they aren't my friends anymore" So that was a positive reaction. She ended up coming an hour later, cause they were drinking at home first :P but we ended up again talking non stop and her friends backed off and eventually buggered off elsewhere...... At the end of that (3rd date) I walked her to her bike and made my move, slowly, slowly and we kissed. There's no feeling like that connection. Electric. And we made plans to see each other again on Sunday (this was Friday).On that date I met her where she parks her bike, kissed her and we went through town holding hands (I initiated). Took her to various places, walk through the park etc. At other points where we weren't holding hands or couldn't, she'd grab mine, so that was a good sign I thought. Things were looking up. Again ended with me taking her home, kissing. She did warn me that the following week she'd be busy (exam coming up, internship). Fair play, I'm a student myself so I know how that works. Not a problem. She'd let me know when she'd have time. People have their own lives too.Next day (Monday). Evening, around 10pm, I was already in bed, smartphone on the table....yes I had finally found a use for it.....and there's this thunderstorm going. Always enjoyed a good storm, great for getting to sleep. I get a text.....from her........saying how she enjoys thunderstorms etc (as Gibbs would say, there's no such thing as coincidence) and we flirt. I replied along the lines of how I enjoy them as well and "There's only one thing missing wink"But. Tuesday. This is where shit gets (Un)real.Because she has this exam coming up, I get it in my head to drop off a box of chocolates where she lives (as fate would have it, 10s away from where I play football....) so she has something nice to snack on whilst she's studying. I do the same behind my PC. Now, the day before she had mentioned chocolates so that's how it popped into my head. These weren't bonbons, nor anything even romantic I thought. Just a box of Jaffa Cakes that my grandma had brought over when she visted. You cannot buy them here in NL and these were my only box (goddamnit). I wrote a note to it attesting to the fac tthat these were to help her study and that her friend could have some too if she behaved. So a friendly, cheeky note, right?Tuesday evening came about. Nothing. No word. I mean, I knew it was a risk leaving the bag hanging on the door. I dropped them off on my way to the gym after all. So I asked her. She didn't get them. Shit. Someone must have stolen them. Motherf*****s. Probably some punk ass kid. Anyhow I wrote a text as such....about an hour or two later I got a somewhat scathing message back "You shouldn't have bothered cuz I won't have time for you this week etc etc etc" Woah. WTF? I knew from that moment that something was up, but she did warn me she'd be busy. I was Alright, you warned me, gl with the exam, let me know when you have time" and didn't contact her again.Few days later she contacted me thanking me for the chocolates and that another house guest had brought the bag in, but that the following week she'd be busy too with her final internship report and had already planned a weekend away with her BFF (female). Again I fired off an ok, have fun, let me know"8 days passed, no word. This is where I learned from Reddit about Ghosting. I thought shit, I'm being ghosted. No idea why. The chocolates? Really? Fuck man everyone loves chocolates, right? ShitAt the point it's feeling like a huge kick in the balls. Like someone just dropped a thermonuclear device on my ass. However, instead of pussying around I decided enough was enough. I'm taking control of my life once and for all. I've always been athletic, but started going hard at the gym. Everyday. Sometimes twice a day. Got my place sorted out, cleaned it from top to bottom. Every nook and cranny. Threw out all my old shit I didn't need anymore (still had computer mags from 1996+) and old electronics. Everything went. Everything was spotless.I even bought two new books. Modern Romance by Aziz Anshari (funny as fuck, highly recommend) and The Game (recommended by a friend). This last book is really weird though.However. 8 days came around and I did the hardest thing I've ever done in a long time. I removed her from my contacts. Broke my heart, but had to be done. Didn't really sleep that night. Very early morning I was still awake and thinking. Fuck it, fuck the rules. Who imposed these bullshit rules anyhow? I'll break them (Thanks Arnold) I'll send a final message. And being the sometimes-too-smart IT geek I am....figured her phone number might still be located in my flipphone. So switched simcards and lo and behold, there it was. Back on the smartphone I fired off a long message. Basically came down to how I enjoyed the time we spent together, regardless of the outcome. Wished her well and didn't expect any response.At the end of the day I got a response. She apologised and said she'd chickened out, how the chocolates scared her off and wasn't sure where this was heading.However, I was a great guy and she enjoyed the company. She needed time and wasn't ready for a commitment. I responded again thanked her for being brave in sending the msg and honest (well she could have kept her mouth shut, so have to give her credit). All we ever want is honesty, as much as it might suck. I did say my intentions were honourable but respected her decision. Wished her well and left with if she ever wanted to talk or grab a drink she knew where to find me.So that ends that chapter.In retrospect, the red flag during our dates was that she mentioned her ex a few times (pothead, he dumped her apparantly, didn't ask why). I should have carefully poked and prodded and found out when the relationship ended I suppose. I guess it was recent and/or other things were at play still. She had basically come to this country with him and I'll assume they were together for a while and had plans. Just a guess on my part.The days that followed were extremely hard. At times I didn't want to get out of bed. My gym time sucked balls. Couldn't concentrate, couldn't finish my routines. Gah. Then you know it's bad. Basically you just want things to end or just be swallowed up. I did a lot of ranting and raving at my mates online and they listened, had advice, as hard as it was. So appreciate all the shit I put them through (they know who they are). As Freddy put it: The Show Must Go On.It didn't end there. Oh no. Being the total dumbass I am I left her number in my phone. Two weeks after the fact I was somewhat back to normal (not really, but relatively speaking). Was going to go to the pub with a friend but he cancelled at the last minute. I figured fuck it. I'm 35, good looking, fuck sitting at home wallowing in misery I'll go out and have fun. Talk to people. This I did, up to a point. I ended up at the same place I met her. At first it was fine, busier than normal, good music, lots of good looking women around. I did contemplate at one point going up to speak to some but was in a good place at that point and just enjoyed the surroundings.ButThe alcohol started kicking in. I realised that I really didn't want to speak to anyone else and just had one person on my mind (fuck...you know where this is going). I bust out the phone and fired off a long message. In my defense, I still had some things left to say and like Rocky in Rocky Balboa (6) I had to get it out of my system. She actually responded right away (this was after midnight) and she was glad I understood, but she was confused and needed to be alone for a while etc. I responded to that (how I thought she shouldn't think that, she is a beautfful, intelligent and fun person to be with) yadeyadah. I did mean every word. I don't bullshit.In the morning I did apologise for being an annoying, dumb fuck and wouldn't bother her again and wished her well on her vacation.So there you have it Reddit. My story. If you've read all of this then fuck me you deserve a cookie. At the very least a strong drink probably.So to all of you posting how you are 18, 25 or whatever age and still haven't been laid. Trust me, things could be worse. You could be me, hahahaha. (I had my shot at 18 :P) But there's no right age either. And don't force it. I've thought plenty of times about casual hookups, or even paid services. But that's not me and never will be. Yes I've also tried online dating, but never clicked with me. I just have to keep moving forward with my own life. It's not easy though. No human being should ever be alone and as you get older, it sucks even more. You just have to keep at it.Worst part of this story is, I still think about her. Everyday. As much as I try and get her out of my frikking system, I'll be lying on a bench doing flys, or pullups on the bar and she'll pop into my head. You know how annoying that shit is? Even trying to follow The Rock's advice "FOCUS!" doesn't help. But what can a guy do ? (get laid? Thanks Reddit, very funny).On the positive side, I'm even more motivated at the gym than ever before and I stopped caring about computer games. Once I realised that I thought the End Times are truly here. Some things are more important in pursuing though. And talking is good. Don't keep shit bottled up inside, even if you have to make a Reddit post. via /r/dating_advice