#oh fuck i think i fell in love with sunshine boys who deserve the world

[falling-chandeliers]

hey there! i hope you don't mind, i'm just curious, but are you into carmen sandiego? and what sort of content and ships do you post about? like, just in general, not related to cs

hi buddy!!

so here’s the thing: i signed up to tumblr to be a carmen sandiego blog. but that was literally like, what, almost two years ago? who knows jdfhgkjdfg

but yeah, my url used to be rebelliousbirds which should definitely give you an idea of who i shipped. that being said, i definitely don’t hate carulia/carmelia shippers, they’re fantastic !! i love jules with my entire heart

but nowadays, i mostly post atla/tlok and some old voltron stuff !! my blog is mostly centered on wuko and klance, although i did recently start watching haikyuu (started a week ago and now i’m halfway through season two, oops) so you’ll probably see some kagehina, tsukkiyama, or iwaoi stuff along your way!! also definitely asahi or asanoya because asahi is so amazing and he deserves the ENTIRE world i love him so much please

[fruitcoops]

hiii i've just spent the last 36-48 hours reading your works and oh dear do i lOVE your writing and this universe :') . i dont know if you are taking requests but i think it would be kinda interesting (and low key hilarious) if you would write the lions reacting/reading thirst tweets? idk if this is a dumb idea or not but just like some of them reacting to them and going "well i'm actually gay/married so.. no!.. but thank you!"

Part two of the six-month celebration, everyone! Thank you thank you THANK YOU to everyone who submitted comments--I had over 60 come in, and while I couldn’t include them all, reading them was a true joy. The Lion Pride channel was something I started writing on a whim; I never expected it to grow like this <3 Much love to all of you!

TW for alcohol mentions and thirst tweets (nothing explicit)

“Why do I always fear for my life around you?” Sirius asked as Marlene settled into a cushy chair to the side of their table.

She smiled, catlike, and crossed her legs primly. “Because only Finn appreciates me.”

“That’s just the Aries connection, Cap,” Finn said with a smug grin.

“We’re both Leos, Harzy.”

“Eh, close enough.”

Remus raised an eyebrow at her. “You should probably start asking questions before this devolves further, Marley. He’s gonna keep digging himself a hole and we won’t get anything done.”

Marlene’s smile returned with a vengeance. “That’s where you’re wrong, Loops! We’re not doing any questions at all today.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Read it and weep.” She tossed a small posterboard at him like a frisbee; he caught it, barely, though both Talker and Sirius had to duck out of the way. Marlene faced the camera and winked. “Welcome back to Lion Pride, everyone! Today I’m here with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Thomas Walker, and our wonderful cubs to react to your comments on our videos!”

“Bet you thought we’d never see ‘em, huh?” James asked.

“The comments fall into four categories: thirsty, funny, mean, and sweet. I will be reading two of those groups, and my lovely fiancée will be reading the others because she is the human embodiment of sunshine.”

“If you make Dorcas read the mean ones, I’ll be sad,” Leo laughed.

Marlene gave him a look of disbelief. “You think I’m passing up a chance to roast you guys? Puh-lease. We’re starting off strong with some thirsty, thirsty comments! Loops, you’re up first.”

“This is going to be fun,” Sirius said, leaning back in his chair.

She cleared her throat, then turned a smoldering look on their table. “I didn’t know I had a freckle kink, but then Remus Lupin appeared and now here we are.”

“Oh, shit,” Remus muttered, covering his face with his hands as the others howled with laughter.

“Lupin has been looking sexy as hell on the bench for years now. I'm so glad people are simping over him like he deserves,” Marlene read. “And there’s a little heart emoji, just for you.”

“This is every one of my nightmares come to life,” Remus said, though his voice was muffled by his forearms.

James lifted his glasses to swipe away the tears of mirth that had gathered in his eyes. “Are you kidding? This is everything I have ever wanted.”

“Y’know, it is so good to see people drooling over this hot piece of ass at last,” Finn sighed, reaching over to ruffle Remus’ hair as his face turned bright red.

“One more, and it’s a good one,” Marlene warned. She licked her lips, then had to take a moment to laugh before speaking. “I feel like Remus Lupin is the type of guy to bake you muffins—”

“Accurate,” Leo said.

“—but is also a kinky motherfucker.”

Remus’ mouth dropped open as the table erupted into cheering. Logan pumped both fists in the air and Sirius was laughing so hard no sound came out; Talker sank so low in his chair that only his head and shoulders were visible as he applauded.

“Why do people comment these things?” Remus asked, barely above a whisper. “Holy fuck, I’m engaged!”

“Speaking of…” Marlene raised her eyebrows and Sirius smile drooped.

“Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes. Buckle up, Cap!” She rolled her shoulders out. “Get someone who looks at you the way Sirius Black looks at a hockey puck.”

Remus snorted; James’ laugh was so short and sharp that it set everyone else off as well. “That sounds like I have a hockey puck fetish!” Sirius complained. “Which is so, so not true!”

Finn made an ‘ehh’ noise, and he leaned around Remus to smack the back of his head. “Hey!”

“Next one!” Marlene announced. “Sirius Black was my bi awakening.”

A beat of silence passed. “Is that it?” Sirius ventured, looking nervous.

“Yep.”

“Aw, man, that one’s lame,” Talker said, shaking his head. “Everyone thinks Cap is a little hot.”

Remus shot him a look. “A little?”

“Fair. Marley, I dare you to find one person who wouldn’t tap that.”

She rolled her eyes. “Me, though that dovetails nicely into the last one for our lovely captain. Ahem. I understand why Remus is with Sirius: he's hot as hell and rich, I'd hit that too.”

“Oh, fuck, you’re right,” Leo gasped. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Finn and Logan turned to him in unison with a mix of disbelief and offense written all over their faces. “Dude.”

“First of all, Leo, you found yourself two hot rich boys,” Remus interrupted. “Second, that comment is forgetting that he’s funny, and smart, and nice, and—”

Seconds after the initial cover, Sirius took his hand off Remus’ mouth as if he’d been burned. “Did you just lick me?”

“Moving on! This is in all caps, so be prepared.” Marlene shuffled through her posterboards and turned to Leo with an ominous smile. He glanced toward the camera in mild fear. “What does a person have to do to get some hockey player ass?! Like why is Leo Knut so fine?!”

“Amen!” Logan called as Leo blushed.

“According to six of the seven people at this table, the answer to that first question is to be a hockey player,” Talker laughed. “The world may never know the answer to the second, sadly.”

“Lily could play hockey,” James said, resting his chin on his hand. Every single one of the others rolled their eyes. “She could! She’d be so good at it, too.”

“We know,” Finn groaned. “You only mention it every other day.”

“Speaking of the lovely Mrs. Potter,” Marlene began with a sly look as she held up a new card. “Do James and Lily Potter need a third? Asking for me specifically.”

James paused, dumbstruck, while the others drummed their hands on the table. “…no?”

A general sigh of disappointment went up. “I was really hoping he’d say yes,” Leo said.

“Ask Lily next time,” Remus recommended.

James turned to him and blinked slowly. “What are you insinuating, Loops?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Don’t worry, James, you’ll like this one,” Marlene assured him. “James Potter is the ultimate dilf.”

“You’re damn right I am!” James whooped. “Vindication, bitches!”

“Marley, what have you done?” Talker whispered. “He’ll never shut up about that, now.”

“Oh, never,” James all but cackled. “I’m officially a dilf, you guys!”

“I hate you,” Sirius groaned.

“Tremzy, are you ready? We’ve got a couple very special ones for you,” Marlene said.

“Anything to get us out of this hell,” Logan begged.

“In that case: Logan Tremblay’s ass is better than Sidney Crosby’s. I said what I said.”

A pleased flush rose to his cheeks as Finn and Leo high-fived over his head. “Really? Thank you!”

“And they would be correct!” Finn announced. “Best ass in the league.”

“Come on,” Remus scoffed, though he was smiling.

Marlene cleared her throat to get their attention. “I don’t think I can legally read this on air without being censored or getting the video taken down, but…”

She turned the board around; all seven of them leaned forward to read it, then slowly looked at Logan, who turned vivid red. “Mon dieu. Is that—someone commented that on a video? Like, for people to see?”

“I feel like I need to bleach my eyes,” Sirius said just as Finn began shaking with silent laughter.

Leo’s face fell. “You wrote that, didn’t you?”

“I did,” Finn wheezed, scooting forward to fist-bump Marlene. “We wanted to see what you guys would say. Fuckin’ hell, your faces.”

“Alright, Talkie, are you ready?” Marlene asked around her laughter. “Seeing Thomas Walker with a baby makes me want to have his babies…please hit me up.”

He held up his index finger and took a second to laugh before responding. “If that’s Noelle, yes. If that’s anyone else, I’m flattered, but absolutely not.”

Logan made a face. “Ew.”

“We have two more,” Marlene warned. “For some very special people that aren’t here today, but I think you’ll like them anyway.”

Sirius narrowed his eyes. “I don’t trust the look on your face.”

“Daddy Dumo makes me swoon.”

A muddle of horrified noises echoed through the studio as all seven of them cringed. “Oh, my god, that’s my dad!” Logan yelped, covering his ears. Sirius looked vaguely ill and Remus’ shoulders crept toward his ears; James shuddered.

“The worst part is, we all know he can get it,” Finn said with a grimace. “God, I feel like I just heard someone talking about my parents having sex.”

“I’m sure he’ll love to hear that,” Marlene laughed. “Last one, from one of our truth or drinks.”

Remus went pale half a second too late. “N—”

“Hope Lupin is a milf.”

A broken noise escaped his mouth and he clamped his hand over it while Talker rubbed his back in sympathy. Sirius shook his head. “Somehow, that’s worse than Dumo’s.”

“Whoever sent that in, show some respect!” Leo said indignantly as Remus bonked his forehead against the table. “Hope Lupin is a lovely woman!”

“I think they noticed that particular fact,” Marlene pointed out, earning herself several scandalized shouts of her name and a whine from Remus. “That’s all we have for thirst comments! Are you ready for some funny ones?”

“Anything,” Remus pleaded. “I am begging you, anything else.”

Marlene shook her head as she stood, still smiling, and kissed Dorcas on the cheek when she entered the frame. “Go for it, love.”

“Dorcas!” they all cheered, lighting up immediately.

“Hey, guys, it’s been a while!” She curled up in Marlene’s vacant spot and took her own posterboards out from underneath the seat. “Alright, let’s rock and roll. Pascal Dumais is the team dad and nothing will change my mind, and Tremzy is the annoying youngest child.”

“That is so accurate,” Sirius laughed, leaning just out of range of Logan’s playful punch. “Whoever commented that has no idea how right they are.”

“We’ve got a whole sibling dynamic thing going on,” Talker agreed. “Tremzy’s the baby of the family, Cap is the quietly chaotic middle child, and Pots is the older brother that starts shit and inevitably gets blamed for however out-of-control it gets.”

Dorcas nodded. “You are one hundred percent correct. In a similar vein: Pots was the dad jokes friend before he was even a dad.”

“Painfully so,” Leo confirmed, shaking his head as they all groaned in agreement. James looked rather smug about the whole thing. “So many puns.”

“Oh, you’ll like this one,” Dorcas mused as she drew a new card. “If Tremzy looked directly into my eyes for even two seconds, all of my problems would be solved. I am sure of it.”

“Yes,” Finn and Leo said in unison.

“It’s something about the eyes, I think,” James added. “They just stand out so much that it’s a little startling straight-on.”

Logan looked to the camera and stared at it, unblinking; it zoomed in slightly on his face. “Everything will be fine,” he said with mock solemnity. “Your problems are solved.”

“Well, that was terrifying,” Sirius said drily. “Got any more for us, Ms. Meadowes?”

“Of course I do! We’ve got quite a few for Loops and Leo.” She took a sip of her water before getting comfortable again. “My favorite thing about these videos is that we can all see Loops get steadily buffer as the season goes on. Good for you, king!”

“Flex! Flex! Flex!” the six of them chanted; Remus rolled his eyes, but slid his sweater sleeve to his elbow and flexed his forearm, resulting in enough hoots and hollers that they could probably be heard a block away. Talker fake-swooned into Leo’s arms and Remus lightly whacked him on the shoulder.

“Remus Lupin looks like he has squishable cheeks,” Dorcas read aloud.

“He does!” James cooed, scooting over and reaching out.

Remus narrowed his eyes. “I swear to god I’ll bite you.”

Sirius cupped his face between his palms and kissed his nose, then pinched both his cheeks gently. “Ta-da!”

“How many of these do we have?” Remus asked, though his voice was a bit muffled by Sirius’ hands.

“Just one more for you, and it’s my personal favorite.” Dorcas assured him. “I love how the team probably had no impulse control until Loops joined.”

Sirius let go of his face and dissolved into laughter as Finn nearly fell on the floor. “Oh my—you think he has impulse control?” Talker slapped the edge of the table as he shook his head. “Absolutely not. Hell no, Loops is the first person to do stupid shit with us.”

“Yeah, I just don’t get caught,” Remus added around his own laughter. “Everyone thinks I’m such a hardass goody-two-shoes and it lets me get away with so much more than you delinquents.”

“Speaking of delinquents,” Dorcas continued. “This one is from our ‘Taste Testing Sexy Alcohol’ video: ah, yes, now I know how to do a body shot. 10/10, very educational video.”

“Do not take educational advice from us,” Finn blurted instantly. “I know this is a joke, but please exercise caution. That video was a ton of fun but a nightmare to recover from.”

Sirius winced at the memory. “I took two naps and then wished for death for a full day.”

“On a lighter note, who’s ready for some Knutty appreciation?” Dorcas smiled at her cards. “I've only had Leo Knut for a season and half, but if anything happened to him, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.”

“Big mood,” four of them said simultaneously.

Leo turned to the camera with a concerned look on his face. “That’s a meme reference, but are y’all okay?”

“No,” Dorcas answered. “Especially not this next person: Sometimes I do something productive and then I remember @LeoKnut is a 19 year old professional athlete who radiates happiness and with two of the hottest boyfriends the good lord has made, and then my bowl of packaged ramen seems less impressive.”

“I’m proud of your ramen,” Leo said, even as the corners of his mouth twitched in a smile. “And I appreciate the note about my boyfriends, because they are definitely the hottest people the good lord has made.”

Talker stuck his lip out in a pout. “Rude.”

“Sorry, Talkie, I’m biased.”

“Last one before Marlene comes back, so you’d better enjoy it!” Dorcas announced. “Did the Lions effectively utilize girl power when they wrecked toxic masculinity, yes or yes?”

“Can we utilize girl power?” Remus wondered, resting his shin on his hand. “Isn’t that exclusively for, y’know, women?”

“We can utilize himbo power,” Finn suggested.

James gave him an offended look. “Not all of us are himbos!”

“Okay, but you definitely are.”

“I am not!” James held up his fingers to count. “There are only, like, three qualifications, right? I might be strong, hot, and respectful, but I’m not dumb so it doesn’t count!”

“Pots,” Remus said quietly, hiding his smile for half a second. “Buddy, that was four things.”

James paused, then sighed in resignation. “Ah, fuck, I’m a himbo.”

“You really are.”

“At least we don’t promote toxic masculinity.”

They raised their waterbottles in a ‘cheers’ motion as Marlene and Dorcas switched spots; Marlene stretched her arms over her head and grabbed the new boards. “I’m back, beloved himbos. Talker, Leo, you are beloved by the people and have no mean comments. Cap, we’re starting with you.”

“Are they actually mean mean?” he asked.

“Sirius Black seems like a little bitch. Not in a bad way, necessarily. He just. Seems like he'd be a little bitch."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. “Oh, okay. That answers one question.”

“He’s not a little bitch,” Leo said. “Pouty on occasion, but not a little bitch.”

Remus gave him a long look, then shook his head. “Yeah, I mean, you teared up a little when Hattie got a splinter in her paw but didn’t even yell when you almost sliced your finger off while making dinner.”

“Duality of man,” Finn said sagely.

Marlene cocked an eyebrow. “Finn O’Hara’s hair kind of reminds me of Garfield the Cat.”

“Alright, that’s just rude.”

“It does not!” Logan gasped at the same time Leo made a noise of agreement.

Finn turned to him in utter betrayal. “Nutter Butter, I thought you liked my hair!”

“I do!” Leo defended. “But they’re not entirely wrong. It’s very orange in the sun.”

“I’m never going to forget that,” Finn muttered, staring at the floor.

“Ugh, it bothers me so much that Lupin just objectifies Black all the time!” Marlene read in a high-pitched, nasal voice. “No respect in that relationship!”

Sirius raised his eyebrows. “Pardon?”

Marlene stared at it for a moment, then shrugged. “Yeah, I have no idea what videos they were watching. Do you feel objectified in your relationship, Cap? I know the opinion of total strangers really bothers you a lot.”

“I’m really glad you picked up on that,” he said with false gravity. “Yeah, it’s such a bummer when my hot fiancé says I look nice. Such a blow to my self-esteem.”

“That was supposed to be a roast against me,” Remus said, looking amused. “Talk about backfiring.”

“Are you ready, Pots? This one’s pretty brutal,” Marlene warned. James nodded and Finn linked their hands for moral support. “James Potter is a swiftie and you cannot tell me otherwise.”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “…yeah? That’s true? T Swift is a regular occurrence on the locker room playlist.”

“Also, James Potter looks like someone who would think black pepper was spicy.”

“Now that one is mean,” he complained as the others burst out laughing.  “It’s not my fault I have sensitive taste buds!”

“Oh, honey,” she said under her breath as she took a new card. “Get ready, Tremzy. This first one is short and sweet: Logan Tremblay looks like a lesbian.”

“That is not an insult,” Logan laughed. “Every lesbian I know is rad as fuck. I wish I looked that good in a leather jacket.”

“I just realized Logan doesn’t look short cause he’s next to bunch of hockey players, he’s short cause he’s 5’9.”

The smile slipped off his face in a millisecond as the others roared with laughter. “Quoi?”

“Oh, she got you good,” Sirius gasped, patting his shoulder clumsily. “Holy fuck, can I frame that?”

“That’s not what it says.” An edge of distress appeared in Logan’s voice. “Marley, that’s not what it says.”

James sat on the floor with the heels of his palms pressed against his eyes. “You’re fucking—whoever sent that in, you are my new favorite person. Jesus.”

“Do you need a second to recover before we move on?” Dorcas asked as she draped her arms over the back of Marlene’s chair. “The next one is our biggest section by far.”

“It’s the sweet ones, yeah?” Leo asked.

“Right.”

“It might be a good idea to do those before Lo spontaneously combusts.”

“Agreed!” She swapped with Marlene and hauled a short stack of posterboards out from their hiding place with a smile. “A hug from Dumo can probably solve any issue.”

“Facts,” Logan said. “I could really use one right about now, too.”

“Has anyone noticed how blue Leo Knut’s eyes are?”

“Yes,” the six of them chorused.

Finn gave him a dreamy look. “Every single day.”

“When I first read this one, I thought I wrote it,” Dorcas said with a snort. “Someone give Marlene a raise. No reason why, I just love her.”

“Can we do that?” Sirius asked, looking toward the camera crew. “Can we lobby to give you guys raises? Because you definitely deserve it after all the bullshit you deal with to make these videos watchable, and Marlene, you’ve drawn the short end of the stick ninety percent of the time.”

“How?” she called off-screen.

“You have to actually talk to us and try to get answers.”

“Fair.”

Dorcas finished scribbling something down on her notepad. “Just making a note of this conversation for future reference. Moving on! Sirius Black and James Potter are a prime example of hockey husbands, and I adore them.”

“The ironic part of that is that we’re both in committed relationships, but we’re basically married,” James mused.

Remus shook his head. “You guys are so married. Lily wanted to get you matching rings for your birthday, Pots.”

“That would be so cool!” they said in perfect unison. Remus turned to the camera and spread his hands in a case in point motion.

Dorcas stifled her laughter before moving on. “This one is cute. Give Remus Lupin all the hugs! I feel like I could tell him he’s an inspiration and he’d be so nice about it—” She paused to glance up at them. “—this next bit is in parentheses: all the LGBT Lions give me that vibe, but Cap and Knutty are super intimidating so I wouldn’t have the guts.”

Leo’s face fell and Sirius’ eyebrows pitched. “I’m not intimidating!” Leo protested. “I thought we already went over that! Loops gives fantastic hugs, but I want some, too.”

“He definitely deserves all the hugs in the world, but I promise I’m nice,” Sirius said, a bit softer than usual. “Is it because we’re tall?”

Dorcas half-shrugged. “Probably. It’s a little startling at first. Oh, I could’ve written this one, too: The Venn diagram of men I trust and the Gryffindor Lions is a full circle.”

Talker beamed at the camera. “Thank you!”

“So many hockey guys are such douchebags,” Logan said with a shake of his head. “I’m really glad we don’t do that shit.”

“Me, too.” Dorcas slid her old card under her chair. “Sirius Black’s hair looks so soft and I just want to touch it so bad.”

“It is so soft,” Remus agreed immediately. “You have no idea.”

“Everyone wants to touch Cap’s hair,” Finn said, sighing. “It’s so majestic.”

“I need a haircut.”

“No, you don’t,” Remus said as he tugged a stray curl. Sirius hummed.

“This one is from the interview some you did with Jules and Katie: these hockey boys being so soft with kids is my aesthetic! Like, it’s just so adorable to see these big, intimidating dudes be so, so sweet! Love them all!” She turned the card for them to see. “And then they added a heart at the end.”

“It’s impossible to be around those kids and not be happy,” James said. “They’re just too cute and wonderful.”

“Yeah, I love kids.” Finn nodded. “Especially the Dumais and Jules. They’re a hoot.”

“Jules would die if he heard you say that,” Remus laughed. “The hero worship is still going strong with most of you.”

“This one made me laugh when I first read it, but it’s really sweet,” Dorcas informed them. “Anyone else feel like we were deceived these past five years into thinking Cap was this hard-ass man, when in reality he's a cuddle bug who definitely captures and releases spiders instead of squishing them?”

“You weren’t deceived, I was just closeted,” Sirius said. “Also, I absolutely squish spiders.”

Remus gave him a look. “No, you do not. That’s my job. I’m the catch and release person if I can get away with it.”

James shook his head. “The third week of practices you saw a spider and threw me at it.”

“You did what?” Finn asked.

“There was a spider in my stall,” Sirius sighed, looking as if he would rather be anywhere else. “And Pots and I were talking so I didn’t see it until I almost sat on it, and my brain decided the only logical thing to do would be to grab him and shove him toward the spider.”

“That was after you shrieked,” Talker added. “Like, literally shrieked. I’ve never heard anyone make a noise like that.”

“Alright, alright,” Sirius grumbled. “We get it, I don’t like spiders.”

Remus shrugged. “But you are a cuddle bug. They got that part right.”

“We’re in the final two!” Dorcas announced. “This one has some pictures to go with it, so it’s on my phone. Fuck Romeo and Juliet, I want what these bitches have.”

“It’s us!” Leo cooed as the phone made its way down the line. In the upper corner of the screen, the photo appeared—it had been taken in New York, and Logan’s whole face was alight with happiness as Leo and Finn each pressed a kiss to his cheek. The camera caught him mid-laugh, so his eyes were closed and his chin was tucked slightly into Finn’s Strand hoodie.

“That’s my screensaver,” Finn said with a grin, pulling his phone out and turning it toward the camera without moving away from Leo. “One of my favorites.”

“I forgot you took that one,” Logan murmured. He hooked his chin over Leo’s shoulder and kissed his cheek; the four others at the table gave soft are you seeing this? looks to the camera and Dorcas smiled.

“Pots, I think yours is next. I hate to break it to you, Talkie, but they didn’t get any of you and Noelle.”

“We don’t take a ton of pictures together,” Talker said as James took the phone. “I mean, we take a bunch of selfies, but we don’t live close enough to each other to actually post that often. What picture is it, J?”

James was staring down at the picture with an unbearably sweet expression. “It’s our wedding. That’s my favorite one, actually.”

Like Logan, they had been captured while laughing—Lily was bent slightly at the waist as James clapped, his glasses just as askew as the flower crown on her head. It was impossible to tell who had told the joke originally, but they were both radiant in the sunset.

“That’s a really good one,” Sirius said with an unreadable look on his face.

“Well, well, well, fancypants, you two got a video.” James wiggled his eyebrows and Remus leaned in to see.

“What kind of video? One of our tikt—oh. Oh, this is so cute.” He shifted his chair over as the short edit began to play. “D, who made this?”

“A fan.”

“It’s really impressive,” Sirius said without taking his eyes off the screen. The edit was a series of photos, both on and off the ice; Sirius knocking their helmets together, then Remus looking back over his shoulder, then both of them in the water playing chicken in the sun. It was a slideshow of their life and their love.

“Can you send that to me?” Remus asked when it was over. “Cause that’s super cool.”

“Sure thing. Are you guys ready for the last one?” When they all nodded, she drummed her fingers on the posterboard and cleared her throat. “Arthur appreciation hours. He deserves it after managing to control the team.”

A cheer went up—all seven stood and applauded, half-laughing and half-whooping. “Miracle worker!” Sirius called.

“Best coach in the league!” Finn added.

“Most tolerant man to ever walk the earth!” Remus raised his water in a toast and they tapped the plastic edges together, nearly spilling all over the table.

Dorcas’ eyes crinkled in a smile as she turned to the camera. “That’s it for today, Lions! Tune in next time for more content of our boys, and thank you for such wonderful comments!”

[razorblade180]

Interdimensional Moms: part 1

Intro <-

Yang:So how we doin this? Drawing straws or... well we actually don’t have straws here so-

Weiss:It’s obvious that you wanna go first.

Blake:Extremely obvious.

Ruby:All over your face.

Yang:Hey now, don’t call me out like that! We all have so much to sort out here. I don’t even know where to begin. Differences could start and stop anywhere for all we really know.

Blake:From what it seems, Beacon itself would have one or two minor changes, but the real changes start after the fall. At least, for you three that is.

Weiss:You saying you’re different?

Blake:Unless you three started going on dates with Jaune at Beacon, then yes, I’m different.

RWY:(They’ve been together that long!?)

Yang:Okay, starting from Beacon...nothing really stands out too much. Jaune and I were just friends. *cringes* Back then, a certain faunus caught my eye.

Blake:Ah...right. I guess that tracks in practically every universe.

RW:Oh yeah it does. You two are joined at the hip.

Yang:Haha, really? Glad to hear it. My Blake and I are best buds! Remnant has never seen such a dynamic duo! Can’t say it didn’t take a lot of time effort after a rough patch. We actually dated in my world.

Blake:Same.

Yang:What!? How long?

Blake:I don’t know, it was pretty on again off again.

Yang:Well for me it was after Haven. Both of us had gotten pretty serious. All the growing we’ve done together and apart had brought us closer. However, Adam unintentionally put a wedge between us. His attempt to change and the problems that came with it were-

Yang stopped midway and saw the confused faces of her otherworldly teammates. They were shocked, confused even. Especially Blake, who looked the most shocked of all.

Yang:Umm did I say something odd?

Blake:Adam, he...isn’t dead?

Yang:Oh, well I guess that’s the start of the major changes then. Blake and I fought Adam at Argus. Stabbed him through the chest and watched him fall down rocks into a river.

Ruby:That lines you with my world. Dude died that day. Like any normal person should.

Yang:Well Adam is anything but fucking normal. Man has the craziest luck. A young women, the winter maiden in fact, she saved his life. She’s not exactly normal either. The maiden, Jacquelyn, ended up sticking by him to see if she could change his ways. This naturally meant we’d run into them again. And that’s how things fell apart.

Blake:What do you mean?

Yang:You were fully committed to seeing if Adam could actually change. I wasn’t, so we constantly butted heads in any situation involving him. Then we would fight about things that had nothing to do with at all. Eventually, we broke it off. We remained on decent terms but I was pretty heartbroken about the disconnect. Enter our lovable blonde idiot. Jaune did everything in his power to cheer me up.

Weiss:Sounds like him. Always such a bleeding heart. That boy just can’t help himself. Let me guess, his kindness and concern made you feel all warm and fuzzy?

Yang:Hehe, guilty. It was more of his willingness to laugh at my puns. Jaune’s always been interesting to talk to. He tries to act cool and calm even though he’s terrible at it, then comes clean right after. Before I knew it I was telling him things I hadn’t talked about with people before. I could tell he looked at me like most guys do, but also genuinely wanted to listen to me. Talk about playing unfair; he got defenseless. Suddenly I was smiling again. Anytime with him was time well spent. Then one day, I kissed him.

Ruby:Happily ever after?

Yang:Not even close! Hahaha!

Weiss:Why do you sound proud?

Yang:It’s funny looking back at it to a certain degree. Gods, I was such a brat. More than a few fights are on me. Between Blake, Raven, and other experiences, my insecurities flared up in ugly ways over nothing. It even got us to break up too. I was officially done with dating. My Ruby was out in an uncomfortable position.

Ruby:I bet! I’d never want you two fighting. Especially in my world. Picking between the person I love and my sister!? I don’t know what will happen.

Yang:I kinda do. *sets up* You’d start dating Jaune because you’ve looked at him since Beacon. The two of you would confide in each other and share a special kind of love, but it would be bittersweet. All because your sister still pines for him and never met to make him leave, and Jaune never says it, but he hates how things fell apart. He’s faithful to you and would never do you wrong, a guy to truly cherish. So... you let him go. Watch him walk back to your sister like you asked, because my happiness was worth that much to you.

Ruby:....

Yang: In my world at least. Honestly it’s still the most amazing thing I’ve seen you do. We must’ve cried over that conversation for hours. I felt so guilty and you only smiled, hugging me tight. Jaune and I had a few more stumbles. Nothing serious though. Eventually we moved in together when the world was saved. You and Oscar got together officially which made me happy. Even made our weddings a competition of who’d make dad bawl his eyes out the most. You won by the way; Raven came back into our family and into dad’s arms. Last but not least I had a baby. Yujin Xiao Long, my fucking pride and joy from above.

Weiss:Wow, that’s a lot.

Blake:What am I doing? Did I marry Sun?

Yang:Yep. You and blondes Blake, I tell ya.

Weiss:Hold the phone! Who am I with!?

Yang:Pretty sure you’re technically single. Buuuut, Neo and your have gotten pretty friendly from what I managed to interrogate out of you.

Weiss:That’s, highly unexpected. For a number of reasons.

Yang:Better believe it. Besides Cinder, a few crazies, and Salem, a few people made something of themselves. Dying sucks after all.

Ruby:You have a dead Cinder?

WBY: You don’t?

Ruby:*crosses arms* Hmph, I’ll wait my turn. Yang, you said you’re the only mother from our team. If Blake and I have been married for quite some time then what, we don’t want kids?

The joyful sunshine from Yang slipped into grayer skies. Her smile faded and it increasingly got harder to look at this Ruby without thinking of her own.

Yang:Are you sure that’s something you wanna know? I’ll tell you, but I didn’t want to bring down the mood with the problems where I from.

Blake:Problems? How big of a problem.

Yang:The biggest we’ve faced. It’s...a lot.

Ruby:Well we’ve listened this far. *takes hand* Lay it on us.

Yang:Pfft, oh boy. So...umm...another secret war came up. One that caused us to leave our friends and family for over a decade.

Weiss:A decade!?

Blake:What gets worse after Salem!? Who tries anything after a grimm queen!?

Yang:So a majority of Remnant was still unaware of her, but a fight like that can only be kept under wraps so tightly. Plenty of people still learned fractions of the truth. A few of those people weren’t exactly nice guys. They idolized her efforts and became her followers that wanted to keep her will alive, starting with taking revenge on the people who defeated her. We were so unaware. So caught up in normalcy. They ambushed us, and I mean everyone. We...we didn’t come out unscathed. Ren was crippled badly. Weiss, you almost your brother. Jaune’s family got hit but thankfully lived. The real casualties were aimed to hurt Ruby.

Ruby:Oh, of course. S-So, either you’re about to say I had no time to start a family, or...

Yang:...

Yang:When I tell you the look you made when you learned what happened to Oscar, to Qrow... that’s the moment it felt like my little sister left forever. Till this day you don’t smile like you used to. Very recently, now that it’s finally over, you’ve started looking better, but those ten years were hell. We choose to go out and fight again, avoiding contact with family. I haven’t had a real opportunity to be in my daughters life.

Ruby:How old is she?

Yang:Sixteen soon. Left her when she was four so you know. *tearing up* I missed everything. Just about anyways. Ironically it was Raven and Adam that helped her through the years with Jaune and Dad. Eventually we came back and ooohh boy was Yujin not thrilled in the slightest. Hehehe. Her right hook is really strong. I only had about a week with her before things got complicated again. *wipes eyes* But it’s okay. We left on good term. Something I definitely don’t feel like I deserve.

Blake:I can’t believe a thing like that would be possible.

Yang:Cults are a huge problem in Remnant now. You’re definitely aware of that. You actually oversee a little group from the shadows to deal with them in secret. An idea you got from experience. Adam works for you and everything. Hate to admit, but he’s become the guy you wanted him to be. Even has a family. I’m grateful to him. He personally kept my girl safe.

Blake:To think I’d hear you say that. Now I know this isn’t my world.

Yang:Don’t get me wrong, I still will hit him if given the chance. My life hasn’t been charmed and sacrifices too great were happening way too many times but it finally has gotten to a point where everyone feels like we’re taking steps towards a better future.

Weiss:Moving forward?

Yang:Yes, I was trying to avoid the phrase but yes Weiss, we’re moving forward. Still... *looks at Ruby*....

Ruby:W-What?

Yang:It’s unreal seeing you like this. My Ruby has become so strong and endured but hasn’t really picked herself up completely. All her tragedy stemmed from the loss of Oscar and Qrow; her last talk with Oscar was fight about kids too. That’s the entire reason she went off alone in the first place. Looking at you I can’t help but question my own choices. If...I just let her stay with Jaune, then maybe-

Ruby:Nope.

Yang:Huh?

Ruby:Look, if I know anything about your world, then it’s gonna be me and I can tell you without a doubt your Ruby doesn’t blame or would consider her own happiness without you. She loved you enough to take the chance to find love again. You really think there’s anything you could’ve done differently at that point. That girl is as stubborn as they come! *smiles* So buck up cowgirl. You deserve it.

A sense of warmth came over Yang as she heard those words. This other Ruby smiled at her with the same love as her own; completely caring about Yang’s feeling before her own. Yang felt so...unburdened. She couldn’t help but cry a little, laughing softly as she did. Who would’ve thought love could transcend worlds? It was so vindicating, therapeutic even.

Yang:Ruby, you’re something else entirely, you know that?

Ruby:It’s my curse. All I ever wanted was normal knees but the world said “no, special eyes!”

Yang:Well I guess I should thank the world then?

Weiss:You said your Ruby is getting better? That’s good. Still, it must be pretty weird looking at Jaune. Can’t imagine how lonely it must feel losing a love twice.

Blake:It never numbs.

Yang:Geez you two, lighten up. We can’t all be depressed. Ruby also didn’t lose Jaune. Actually....there may or may not have been an interesting...arrangement for a brief period of time.

Ruby:Ehhh what?

Yang:Hehehe well, hahaha, ummmm a decade is a very long time without feeling any kind of pleasure in a bleak situation. And you know me, I have to share things with you all my life.

Ruby:OH MY GOD!!!

Blake:*grinning* Yooooo! You loaned out Jaune!?

Weiss:That’s....accurate; in a lot of ways.

Ruby:That’s so scandalous! How could you!?

Yang:I didn’t force it! I gave the option, you said no, then you changed your mind because things got real stressful. Like come on, a decade of death and loneliness.

Ruby:Sigh...yeah. I can see it. Still, it’s so filthy. He’s a married man. What, so I’d just look at you and say “Yang I’m gonna sleep with Jaune, don’t come in the room.”

Yang:....

Ruby:What?

Yang:....Nothing.

Ruby:Bullshit! What is it!?

Yang:*scratches head* Well, I was lonely too, and a week is only so long-

Weiss:Oh so it was a group thing!!?

Ruby:WHAT!?

Yang:Only sometimes!

Ruby:SOMETIMES!?

Blake:HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! THAT IS AMAZING!

Ruby:Why are you laughing!?

Blake:Because that’s just so extreme, and not, all at the same time. I could totally see that happening.

Weiss:Same. Dang, Jaune slept with sisters. That’s dangerously close to being like your dad.

Ruby:That’s different!

Blake:Is it though?

Yang:Eh, I don’t see the problem. We’re all grown and make choices. Plus I’m the one who guided you through awkward teenage changes. It not like we didn’t share a room for years.

Ruby:That doesn’t make it okay.

Yang:Eh debatable.

Ruby:*red* It isn’t though! How could I do something so bold!? So taboo!?

Weiss:It isn’t like you’re the one who did it. Just a version of you.

Ruby:Not better!

Yang:Awwww it’s okay Ruby. Let’s hug it out. Hehehe *opens arms*

Ruby:Don’t touch me!

Weiss and Blake laugh until their sides hurt as Ruby tries escaping the bear hug that terrorized her. Yang’s world found interesting for sure. Weiss finally decides to help Ruby out.

Weiss:Got a picture of Yujin?

Yang’s eyes lit up and pulled out her scroll. Her team huddled around her and collectively cooed like that parents they are at the sight of a blonde young girl with gorgeous blue eyes with a black combat school graduation cap and gown and a certificate proudly raised up high. If it wasn’t for those eyes and shoulders length hair, they might’ve mistaken her for Yang.

Yang:She’s going to Beacon early because she’s fucking awesome like her mom.

Ruby:I think you mean her aunt?

Yang:I know what I said.

Weiss:I bet she’s just as hardheaded.

Blake:What do you think your kid is up to right now?

Yang: Well...*smiles*

xxxx

The girl in question sat at a work bench with oil on her face and her hands busy tinkering with gauntlets. She looked over at blueprints in a journal. If they were right, then she was definitely doing something wrong. How her mother made something so complex was crazy!

Yujin:Come on Yujin. You can fix a car, making gauntlets into a sword that don’t break should be easy!

Footsteps came up from behind her and a plate stacked with sandwiches. She looked up and smiled at her dad that gave her a wink, then kissed her forehead.

Jaune:Haveing fun, you grease monkey.

Yujin:Jokes on you, I like monkeys. Just a few more attempts and I’ll have the coolest weapon in Remnant. That entrance exam is as good as aced.

Jaune:Not if you don’t have a landing strategy. Tomorrow we’re going on a trip.

Yujin:Does it happen to be near a cliff?

Jaune:Who can say? Rule one of being a huntsman, be prepared for everything.

He ruffled her hair and left, laughing evilly. Yujin could tell he’s been waiting for this day. She pulled out her scroll and searched through a collection of videos labeled “mom” and found a super early one. She hit play and watched her mother give a peace sign to the camera as trees increasingly got closer from below.

Yang:Beacon rules!!!! Wooohooo!

The camera flipped and focused on a familiar blonde flailing through the air like a doll in the distance.

Yang:Oof, hate to be that guy! Wait, that’s vomit boy! Hahah, hope he survives. He owes me shoes. Poor dude. I guess he needs more training in flirting and landing. Wait, eugh I think he barfed again! Hahaha!

Jaune:Stop watching that one!!!!

Yujin:Hahaha but it’s the best one. The ending is priceless.

Jaune: *walks back down*

Yang:Well if he survives this I guess I can off him at least I can offer him mints and company. Fake it to ya make Jaune. Between me and Ruby, at least you’ll look like a player. Heh, nah, I don’t think I can support a bunny onesie.

Yujin and Jaune:*grinning* And then she did! *high-fives* Arc charm, baby!

[yetaeso]

i finally finished watching light on me. sorry for being ia, i had some irl stuff going on so i didn't really get to watch many bls in a long time. BUT i did finish this one and oh boy do i have quite a few things to say.

first of all, shin woo. that boy might just be one of the best characters ever written. and he is in all aspects a character worthy of being called a comfort character. and not in a "he is so perfect, i wanna marry him" sort of way. he is far from perfect, which is basically normal and very REAL given the fact that perfect people don't exist. so i really like that they showed him as a very good person with some struggles and traumas that resulted in him not acting all kind and nice at the first glance. i like that realness in the show where a character who is basically gay doesn't go around being "i'm gay", but he also doesn't go around hiding who he truly is. (don't get me wrong, both situations are valid but there are also people who just don't give a fuck about going around denying or confirming their sexuality as if that's something that matters, just let people love each other, gay people don't owe you an explanation). he just chooses not to say anything and not denying means people are gonna spread rumors and he just doesn't care and i absolutely adore that about him. sure, it took a lot of struggle and bullying and wishing he wasn't who he is, so he would now be like "i am who i am and i don't give a heck what you have to say about it". but then again, he is definitely NOT perfect. he isn't very sweet and hostile, he isn't talkative, but he is good. he loves tae so much. he makes him feel so good. he loves his friends to the point he would give up his own happiness to save theirs. we saw how he gave up on tae so da on would be happy. and the things he does for both of them are just so precious. that boy is a very good character and i enjoyed watching him. not to mention that kang yoo seok is an absolute beauty and he rocked this character !!

i don't have much to say about tae kyung. he is a very complex character, definitely not so easy to read. he is a bit weird, different. not necessarily in a bad way, but definitely not a person you can meet whenever. i like that uniqueness about him. he just says and shows what he feels and means and it's a good trait. sure, it can make his feelings get hurt very easy, but he likes to feel everything raw and just move on if it doesn't work or stay there if it does. he has no time to waste. i feel like he wants to feel it all and if it doesn't work, he will be sad for a while, but he won't dwell on it. it's a good character, definitely something we need in the bl representation more.

SHIN DA ON !!! I HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS ONE !!! i hate how easily he became my comfort character the moment i played the first episode. the pure kindness in his heart, the constant need to help and please others because he just wants to be noticed and appreciated SO BAD, but constantly fails to be so. and i blame all that family trauma for it. his parents suck real bad. but, as i said, he too isn't perfect, but while shin woo doesn't want to prove anything and just lives his life how he wants to, on the other hand, da on tries his best to please and make everyone else proud and happy, no matter if it makes him comfortable or not. but you know what they say: you can be so good to someone and they will still break you apart with no mercy. and that's what everyone does to da on. e v e r y o n e , starting from his own parents up to his friends (not considering tae, shin woo, shi woon and mr seo) and up to the girl who claims to love him and all those random people who always asked for all sorts of favors but never appreciated it enough. he tried so hard to fit into that mold other people made and even though he got blisters on his palms and tears behind his eyes and even though his limbs ache from trying to fit in SO BAD, he did it so flawlessly for such a long time, never showing that he actually isn't okay at all. and it absolutely pains me. because his character is a good character who just tried to be liked by everyone, he wanted to prove that he was worth the love and affection and good enough for people to consider him a friend, or a son or a lover. but people just never appreciated it enough. that's why he couldn't be a person tae kyung likes, he couldn't be someone who is not considered likable in a society that he tried so hard to please. and i understand that. being a queer person in this world is very hard on it's own, adding his insecurities and trauma on top of it is even worse. he felt like he couldn't handle it, like it wasn't supposed to be like this. and in that constant need to prove himself to others, he kind of lost the track of his own self. he doesn't know how to love who he truly is, not because he doesn't want it, but because he has no idea who he is. and i think that's something he needs to work on FIRST before getting a lover, before breaking any more hearts. and i adore how he actually ended up changing and figuring that part out at the end. slowly, but he is getting there. i think he understood it eventually, too. that's why he gave up on tae when he saw that things just don't work like that. we miss chances sometimes and as much as it can be painful and as much as we regret them, we can't get them back and da on knows it. he finally knows it. and i'm happy for him, he is finally learning who he is. and my opinion is that he deserves all the happiness in the world. i fell so deeply for him.

i didn't want him to end up with taekyung, not because i thought he wasn't fitting, but because i felt he needed to explore himself more. he deserves love, so much love. and i hope someone will be able to give it to him eventually.

i won't say much about so hee. she is that typical girl in bl dramas that has to ruin something lol. but i'm glad she ended up figuring out her mistakes and that she fixed whatever she could in the end. it shows some kind of growth even though i could never forget what she did to da on. you don't hurt the people you love.

haet bit is a good teacher, a good senior. i adore him so much, he is just a ball of fluff and sunshine. all those things he did for his students and taekyung make me feel so emo. really a senior you could wish for.

and of course i saved best for the last. my precious baby shi woon. one little ironic, funny and caring mf. i fell in love with him in the first episode. he is just so perfectly good and nice to his friends and he has no chill if u dare say shit or do stuff to his friends and i absolutely live for that. he is a huge marshmallow in general but if you dare touch his friends, he will bite your hand off. i like how he just knows everything but choses to stay quiet in some situations and then help in other WHEN it seems fitting enough, he really cares a lot. the scene where he is pretending to barf in front of shin woo and tae flirting still gets me.

overall, this series was a great experience and i really enjoyed it. it wasn't too deep, too smutty or anything like that, but it was very fun and very meaningful and it just showed the real side of being a teenager. i'm not saying all bls should be smutty, deep or stuff like that btw. i'm just saying, it was a package where nothing outdid the other, like kissing scenes weren't better than deepness of it and the other way around. it was a little package and everything was not too much, but just enough. i really really liked it. i give this series a 9/10. it was a great experience and if i have time, i would want to rewatch it. absolutely gorgeous. <3

[yconic]

"Divorce is a special kind of pain. It's like death without a body, " is what they say when two halves of a whole heart separate.

Tony never understood when he was younger, never extended the notion of two people who gifted each other to eternity in union splitting up beyond 'Just not talking for a bit.'

He looked at it from a small perspective belonging to a small person, as if the people in question were just two good friends who couldn't decide on what game to play, hurt each other, and needed space.

His parents had done it more times than he cared to count. The frigid silences and artificial prompt politeness between the socialite power couple Howard and Maria Stark could last for two days, or two months, depending on how deep the issue picked out that time ran.

Tony sat straight as he watched the clock tick away, dutifully counting the hours that would bring Maria closer to home from whichever elicit travel affair she filled her time with while Howard closes himself into his workshop, stewing in anger and bitterness that leak out from the door he's not permitted to trespass.

He learns to measure the gravity of their squabbles, - If it's a small argument, Maria picks Germany, France, or Spain. She sends a letter stating the duration of her stay. She sends Tony well wishes, with a touch of formality for a mother, and her name is elegantly plastered on the bottom in cursive.

When Howard fucks up, she picked China, Britain, or Italy, and she disappeared from the earth until she emerged at her like. Howard is Howard, - the relationship between him and his son was too cold for Tony to tell how his father was like without the disdain gleaming in his eyes, but the liquor cabinet always needed at least a daily refill after a spectacular drama.

He looks back at those moments and realizes, with a shade of pity coated in something more sour, mellow but active, that divorce was never an option for them, the cycle of co-dependency and maintaining legacy had to be kept no matter how demanding that task was.

He can't bring himself to be angry when he feels so bad for them. All that money, and they couldn't buy a second of peace.

It doesn't take long for him to realize his parents don't love each other.

Tony was young, but he was never a child. He was naive, gullible, innocent, - but he was awake. While he didn't clearly understand what love was, he looked at the unhappy frowns on the miserable faces of the pair and thought: 'If that's how love looks like I want no part in it.'

He doesn't love people for more than one night, - A full week if their company was good enough to distract him from the rich golden color of his whiskey that gradually tastes bitter, and more bitter every time. It's not love, he knows, - He keeps that special for his family. But the kind of feeling he has with strangers, with nobody's with a name, resembles what he knows of love too much for him to change meaning.

He won't know how "love" feels like. He refuses to be the caged bird his mother was, to take form in the monster Howard let himself become.

Then, life gives him Steve.

He nests into Tony's life like a storm with skin, hair kissed by sunshine and eyes filled with an ocean that the brunette longs to sink into. He has a boyish charm to him, an old soul that swoops Tony off his feet. It makes him want to slow down, even if he belongs to the future, to activity, to progress. He wants to sit and listen to the stories Steve has, told in a Brooklyn swird that gives character to every word.

Steve looks at him like Rhodey told him all people should look at him. 'Like they can't see the status, or the money, or the power. Like they just see Tony, and nothing more. Because Tony will always be enough. ' Steve looks at him like he hangs the moon for him.

Tony never stood a chance. He looked at Steve, and thinks: "Oh, shit. He's It for me."

He just knows that this one, this Captain, decorated to the teeth, hiding in awkwardness at this petty mingling, social climbing Gala, lowering himself at the bar because he didn't know anybody, was made for him. And if Steve clings to Tony the whole night, he agrees with the parallel drawing out on his part.

He doesn't leave Tony's side, arm snug and comfortable around his middle like they've known each other for longer than time itself, and Tony loves it more than he has the courage to say.

Steve looks at him when the epilogue of the night strikes, too soon for either of their likings. He's tall, broad-shouldered, strong but has the softest eyes in the world. It hurts Tony to arch his neck to stare, but he doesn't want to miss a thing. "I've... I didn't laugh like that since I was in tour. You made my night, Tony."

"It's nothing, -" Because it really is. Considering the sins to his name, the least he can do to atone some mistakes is make as much people as happy as he can. And Happy is a great look on Steve.

He does learn one thing: When Steve says something, it stays how Steve says it. "No, its everything, Tony. I didn't smile once since coming home, " he croaks, like the confession pains him, and Tony aches alongside him. "Everyone is worried about me, saying that, that I seem upset, or sad, or just, never happy anymore, but how else am I supposed to feel?"

"You can't let others tell you how you feel, " Tony soothes, without thinking, a hand softly brushing against Steve's cheek. A frisson zaps through him at the feeling of the soldier's stubble spiking his skin. Steve leans into his touch like it's the most normal thing in the world. Tony's heart grows. "It's not even in your control, so why should it be in theirs? " He understands how Steve feels. More than the world would care to listen.

"Exactly. So, if it's not too much trouble, " his shyness compliments Tony's smitten. "Would you mind making me smile again?"

Tony is, utterly, indubitably, irrevocably, without a shade of doubt, fucked.

He smiles anyway. "You know, soldier, I think I could pull some strings."

---

Their love is like rain in June. It's mellow and distractingly peaceful, makes their worry and everything that ever went wrong scarce away. They can breathe around each other even when they feel like drowning. For once, Tony feels like it'll be okay.

But Life decides to do what it always does when Tony finds something good. It takes, and it takes, until there's nothing.

Steve tells him about Bucky. About the fallen brother that vanished in the mission that stole everything for Steve. "Only one soldier fell off that train, but two died that day, " God, Tony is so worried when Steve talks like that. "It should've been me. I wanted it to be me."

Tony listens and he pictures Rhodey falling. Steve loved Bucky in ways he couldn't even hope to understand.

It turns out, Death is not something so permanent after all.

It's a lovely night for them when Steve gets that call. He's wrapped around Tony and holds him in his arms as if he'd rather go to war again than let him go and Tony's heart never beat so loud for anyone. He would have never let Steve answer if he knew that phone call was the beginning of their end.

Bucky's alive again, is reborn from snow and war and ashes. Broken, but alive. Held captive by terrorists and is unmade, undid, but still alive. Everything around Steve is lost after that.

Tong gives him space and resources, help, support, he gives everything to Steve like on their wedding day. He gives him his care and gentle hands and soft words and love with a heartbeat. And Steve is just... Too preoccupied looking at Bucky to notice. Tony feels like a selfish bastard for wanting his soldier to look at HIM instead of coddling his friend at every moment notice.

He wants Steve to stop suffocating Bucky when he already looks like he's just inhaling instead of breathing.

He wants his husband back.

That's why he deserves what's coming to him. That's his punishment.

They drift apart slowly, as most terrible pains start.

Steve starts spending more and more time around the mental help facility Bucky asked to be enlisted into after his hasty return that had everyone clutching at their pearls. He wants to do it alone, Tony figures easily, starves for a journey he wants to walk himself, for the kind of autonomy only a man who lost it for too long craves.

His bitterness aside, Tony marvels at how similar they are. Maybe In another life, he and Barnes would've made a handsome pair of kindred souls.

Steve doesn't agree. He looks sickened, struck even, at Tony for having the Gall to suggest maybe Barnes would be more responsive if he talked with someone who had mirroring experiences. "God, Tony, you don't... You're not a soldier. You're just a man. You've been through pain, sure, but not like Bucky. No one went through what he did. I'm honestly speechless you ever thought you could compare."

Steve says that, it's why it hurts so bad. The man who swore he'd walk back into the hellfire of war just to find the people who hurt Tony and tear them apart.

The man who couldn't be moved by anything. No nightmare, no night terror, no panic attack, no argument. Nothing convinced Steve to leave. He stayed through it all.

The man who cried relentlessly when Rhodey walked Tony down the alter because 'He couldn't believe how lucky he was to marry someone so beautiful.'

The man who hasn't written Tony a love letter every morning like he used to do in over a year.

The man who spent more time sleeping in hospital rooms than in their bed.

The man who used to not go even one day without saying "I love you". Tony can't even remember the last time this sentence was spoken between them unless he said it first.

The man who agreed to couple therapy, then acted like it rained the next day.

Tony would will himself to shove this under the rug. To put a blind eye to it, to make it work, to ignore Rhodey's disapproval and Pepper's warm worry, to push away the pain blossoming in his chest, threatening to overspill.

But this man adopted a child with him.

---

"That one" Steve points to a small boy, thin but sturdy-looking even in the hand me downs from the orphanage, short limbs supporting a mess of brown hair that looks impossibly soft. His eyes are big and kind. Tony wants to take him home and feed him. "That one's ours."

His name is Peter, and he got into a fight with older kids when they wanted to stomp on ladybugs. He pushes back, but not unkindly. He's no bully. Instead, he takes the time to teach them why disrespecting and hurting nature is wrong, then takes their hands into his own, playing with the tiny creatures for hours.

Tony falls in love immediately. "Let's bring him home, Cap."

---

He can't do it. Tony can't look into Peter's adoring eyes, wide and brown that feel more like a mirror than anything, and see the fear he had for Howard, or the sadness for Maria. Tony can't handle looking at the love of his life and see another him.

Steve is Peter's role model. His knight in shining armor, his protector, everywhere he goes he sings praise to anyone who cares to listen. About his fearless father, his heroic antics that seem so tall for him. "My daddy's a superhero!" Tony doesn't have the heart to take that away.

And Tony loves Steve too much to see him become Howard.

So when Steve misses their son's 5th birthday party because he had more pressing business in D.C, Tony realizes bitterly, there's no saving this. People labeled him as a mechanic, a futurist, but he feels unworthy of both when he couldn't fix or foresee this.

There's no coming back from this.

Natasha doesn't voice it, but she doesn't need to. She tucks her phone away after a third failed attempt to coax, threaten, and guilt Steve into joining them, with muted movements, and Tony can tell she agrees.

Tony's grin is too wide when he looks down at Peter when he drags him off to paint his face, unaware of his father's turmoil. He laughs. He smiles. He celebrates. He has a nice day with his family.

He pulls Pepper aside and asks her to prepare his lawyers in the same breath.

This is why Tony knew love wasn't made for him.

---

Tony's always been good at hurting himself. The more pain he inflicts on himself, the less it'll hurt when someone else does it. So he unpacks the stash of letters he kept locked away in a seif, because they're prized to him, more than any sleek car or company, and reads them before he burns the bridge.

They feel like warm kisses and goodbyes.

'Left for a grocery jog, ran out of coffee. It's supposed to be cold, so don't you even think about leaving the house without a jacket! I'll know. Take care of yourself, even when I'm not there. '

' I love waking up next to you every morning. I love how you hide from the sun in my chest. I love how grumpy you are when Pepper calls for updates and all you do is cuddle me and whine. I love your messy bed hair and how you fall asleep in the shower.

'I never cared for jewelry before but seeing my ring around your finger never gets old. I still can't believe you said yes, but I'm glad you did. You deserve more, but you settled for someone like me. I can't believe it when you say no one would want you forever, I hate that someone made you think like that, that they let you go, but their biggest mistake is my biggest win. Jokes on them.'

'I can't imagine my life without you. Its all radio silence and broken static. Like an artist with a blank canvas and grey paint. You're the best damn thing that ever happened to me, and the fact that I have you means there really is someone up there looking our for me. I'm never letting you go. I love you, I love you, I love you, '

Tony stains the paper with tears as he listens to the song of heartbreak in his chest.

---

"Nat, " Tony pleads, choosing not to look at the tremor in his hands as he neats the papers he wants to see burn. "There's no need for that, come on. You know I love you, but I'm a big boy. I don't need you to hold my hand for this."

Natasha shrugs. "Indulge me."

"He wouldn't do anything to me."

"I thought there were lots of things he wouldn't do. Like stop loving you, for one, " she doesn't mean to be a jab, but Tony strokes his right arm and lets the hurt wash off. He sometimes forgets how blunt and terrifying Pepper's wife is capable of being. "Being paranoid is worth being safe."

They find Steve in the kitchen, sitting stiff and unfamiliar as if he didn't design the place himself. Tony swallows down the pressure in his throat and forces his eyes to stay dry. He wants to rest his hands on Steve's shoulders and pepper the lines of laughter on his flushed face with kisses.

But they're behind that now.

Steve raises his eyes to look at him. He's tired, run-down, missing the spark Tony marked as one of his favorite traits of the blonde. The life wasted from them, telling Tony that he's surviving, but not living.

Tony looks at him back and his eyes say, 'Me too.'

Steve's mouth twists into an imitation of a smile, tries his luck at mimicking something of the reassurance and ease variety, to hide his emotions with a mask of cracked peace Tony undressed a million times, just as Steve undressed his. He's always been good at reading the man. Or, was.

Steve's eyes fall on the documents Tony's holding with his naked hands, no ring in sight, and Tony watches something die in him.

The room drowns in silence for a while.

Natasha stands as a loyal shadow at his side, silent but sharp, hands folded in front of her crotch like a guard dog waiting to pounce. There's a forced calm into her breathing that puts him even more on edge.

Papers brush smoothly above the marble surface, ear piercing to him. Red hot blazing into white noise. It's the most terrible sound he's ever heard. He prefers his breathless, agonized screams in Afghanistan to this.

Steve recoils away, standing up suddenly and shakily, as if the documents are bombs about to kill him anytime now.

He turns his head, refusing to look at them. Refuses to accept they're real.

"Throw those away, Tony, " he says, voice edged with the kind of suffering that would bring Tony to his knees on other circumstances."Get them the hell away from me and never bring them up again, you hear me? I'm serious.''

Carefully, Natasha chimes in, tone mild and neutral. " Steve. Tony would like to speak with you about something, alright? Let's sit down, and talk like grown-ups, -"

"Where's your ring!?" Steve shouts, tiptoeing at the border of desperate and hysteric. Tony wants back into the cave, wants the water to take him away from all of this. It's hard to kill something that's already dead. "What did you do with it!? Why aren't you wearing it!? You PROMISED me, you promised you'd never take it off you JERK, you lying -"

"And you promised to love me until the day we die, but by the looks of it we both could use a lesson in honesty, " Tony cuts icily, colder than colder. His words are resigned, hollow, at the brim of mechanical. He thinks all the people who say Starks are more machine than men had a point. "I'm the fuck up in this relationship. What's your excuse?"

He thought he'd feel vindication watching Steve taste a fraction of his sorrow, that his destroyed look would make something in Tony retaliate. It does nothing. Tony loves him stronger, fiercer, and there's no win here for anyone.

His mouth tastes like ashes.

He just wants to stop, to sink in his bed and swim in ratty hoodies drenched in cheap but sweet cologne, smudged with paint of all shades, and feel Steve's arms shield him from the world.

He wonders if it'll keep Steve up at night, how it never occurred to him that the danger he wanted to defend Tony from might have his face.

"I'll do better. Tony please," Steve begs him, and Tony wonders if the situation is so low a man with his nature would resort to that. He's shaken by big hands engulfing his own for exactly a moment before Natasha intervenes, pushing the blonde away with a hint of regret. Steve recovers, looks right through her at Tony who wants to wipe his tears away. "I'll do better, I'll- I'll spend less time with Bucky if you want, -"

"Bucky isn't the problem. It's not about HIM, it was never about him, this is US, Steve. We, our marriage, our family, its been here longer than Bucky. I never wanted you to - to erase him from your life, I just wanted my husband. Peter wanted his daddy. Bucky could've been apart of that, but you just, you just pushed us aside,-"

"I won't do that anymore. I, - Do you want me to be at home more often? I can, sweetheart, I can do that no problem. I can be at home, I can make time for dates and-and for activities, I can take Peter to the park and play ball, - Do you remember that? How we used to play until he fell asleep? I don't mind, its no problem, -"

Something in Tony snaps.

"WE'RE NOT YOUR FUCKING CHORES," His voice is more roar than man, ragged, tight, pushed to the last limit. The garden of silent pain, fury, rage, and fear he's been harboring finally blossomed into something that seemed to shake the world. His body shudders. "We're not some,- some pestering tasks that you have to save your precious time to complete! Some fucking pets other people have to force you to care of, or some dirty laundry you decide to wear whenever you feel like washing! We're your damn FAMILY,- " A sob hitches his anger, and by the broken look on Steve's face, it's worse than any rage.

He narrows his eyes in disbelief, as if Steve was some stranger and not someone he gave years of his life to. A laugh is pushed out of his chest, choked, long, and terrible. "I would've ended this sooner if, - God, if I knew how much of a burden we became for you."

"Tony, Tony don't say that, " Steve's face is blotched red, painted in punishing torment. "I love you and Peter more than anything in this life. You're mine, both of you, how can you think I don't love you? I, -"

"Just love Bucky more, " Tony finishes, note flat, accepting, rehearsed. His voice feels as hollow as his chest when Steve flinches. "I'm just... I'm so tired. Steve,I'm tired, and- I can't do it anymore. My son, my baby is not going to be a burden on anybody. I can put up with a lot of shit, but Peter is my limit. I can't and I won't put anyone above him. Not even you."

Horror shines bright and clear on the blue eyes Tony loves so much. He spots Steve's finger tremble at his sides, notices the hesitant movement of his Addams apple.

Natasha was wrong. It's a rare occurrence, but it happened.

Steve never stopped loving him.

It makes signing the papers so much harder.

---

Steve lost Bucky to ice, snow, and time. Tony loses Steve to fire, anger, and distance.

---

Pepper is surprised when she hears Steve ended up signing willingly.

She doesn't want to ruin the calm air that finally settled over the emotion packed atmosphere surrounding the living room, currently stashed with carton boxes filled with Steve's stuff, ready to be delivered tomorrow as Tony wanted, but it's a needed talk.

"What did you say to convince him?" She asks, not demanding an answer but clearly expecting one. "I'd just assume Nat had him in an arm lock until he agreed, but, in all honesty, Steve would probably lose an arm than do what people tell him to. Seriously, I've seen anarchists with more respect for authority than this guy."

Tony laughs, too loving and too fond for this predicament. "I said you'd drag his ass through every courtroom in America and drain him of everything he's worth?"

"Mmm. Try again. I mean, that's a Sunday for me, but he's already heard that talk before." Giggles are shared between the pair on the couch, snuggled under fuzzy blankets with wine glasses that clink slightly. Pepper's face relaxes into something sympathetic, earnest. "Was it something Peter related?"

"No, " he shakes his head. It never crossed his mind once, no matter how hurt he was. It felt too much like what his father would do. " Peter is his son, too. No matter what happens between us. There's no changing that. "

"No one would blame you if it came down to that, you know that, right?"

He hums. Pepper waits.

"I asked him to let me say goodbye to my husband instead of forcing me to stay with Howard."

A sharp intake of breath settles something cold beneath Tony's skin. He closes his eyes, and accepts the wine Pepper pours in his cup, neither commenting on how it spills over the rim.

---

Talking to Peter is the hardest part.

He doesn't understand why suddenly there's only two people there instead of three, why he isn't woken up by two pairs of arms tickling him and kissing his sleepy eyelids every morning, why Tony's laughter isn't echoing through the house as Steve spins and twists him around in the living room dance session they had at least once a week.

Why, apparently, Steve now has a permanent residence in DC and can only see him twice a week as their legal agreement states.

Why he has to live in two different places and split his playtime.

Why Tony bought a new apartment and they had to move away, stretching the distance between them and Steve.

"Is Papa comin' home today?" A hand squeezes Tony's heart painfully tight at the small question. He looks down at his son, smaller than usual and playing with his fingers at his feet. His frail shoulder raise, housing an anxious breath as he awaits an answer.

Tony takes his tiny hand in his own, leaning down to press kisses on the back of his son's palm, apology on his lips. "Yeah, baby. He has to come and pick up his stuff. Maybe you can play a little when he arrives! I'm sure he'll be happy to see you. "

Steve sends Sam to pick up his things and Tony feels guilt bite at him for hissing 'coward' in his mind.

Peter is excited to see his uncle Sam but the disappointment when he hears a truck coming instead of the deep rumble of a motorcycle engine doesn't wash off. He soldiers on, smiles for Sam because as little as he is, he's careful with people and their emotions. His goodness is organic. He takes after Steve like that.

Sam's always been frustratingly talented at deciphering his thoughts, even when his face is emotionless. It's one of the many reasons why Tony thinks him and Rhodey match so well. "He said he's really sorry he couldn't come, but... Okay, his excuse is just sad, because I doubt you'd believe he'd rather attend a Zoomba class than see you and Peter. Truth is, he's scared."

"Of facing me?"

"Of hurting you."

"Yeah, well, he's already got that job done on the to do list, " Tony huffs, petty and aware. He tosses Peter his baseball that lands in the backyard, gently nudging him away from the conversation. They watch the ball of energy squeal in delight as he runs to fetch it, tension momentarily on hold. "Sorry. You don't need my shit. Let's just load this and be done with it."

Sam huffs. "Man, I've been involved with your shit for a while. Appreciate the feeling but it's a bit late for that. Trust me, me and Rhodey have in length discussions about it. I'm neck-deep in white boy drama, but well, sacrifices of the job. Not much you can do."

He's playful, Tony knows this, in the corner of his brain that isn't raided by anxiety, yet fear claws at him, sharp and cruel and unexpected. Coldness spreads inside him like wildfire, almost matching the thoughts racing in his mind. Sam and Rhodey were talking? Were they arguing? Had Tony harmed Rhodey's relationship as if he didn't wreck his own enough?

"Talk?" Tony rasps, pushes the words out of his constricted throat that seems to close more and more, synchronizing with his lungs. Sam's wide, concerned eyes tells him the surface looked as bad as the inside."You... You and Rhodey, you guys- Bad talk? You, you fought about it?"

His mind torments him by showcasing Rhodey yelling in Sam's face and Sam yelling back, both standing their ground like two soldiers on a mission and defending their friends like avenging angels. Rhodey is more brother than friend, he'd take his side, like the devoted friend he always proved himself to be, but he watches with a cut breath as Rhodey locks himself in his room and weeps.

Rhodey sharing his fate is Tony's own horror movie.

"...ony! Tony, deep breaths, come on, " gentle hands guide him away from the void his own psyche trapped him into, speaking in a low voice that plucks him back up little by little. "Come on, in and out. Focus on my voice, that's good. Listen to me, Rhodey and I did not and will not fight about this. We're fine, Tony, promise! We agreed, no side pickers. This isn't war, and we won't get into some life or death fight for your and/or Steve's honor, " he tries for a little grin. ''I mean, I'm not supposed to tell you, but we don't like you guys that much."

Tony laughs, at once, a pathetically small sound, but he's grounded enough to laugh. He basks in the lack of sound around them, like the silence of an after battle, suffocating, but free.

The quiet hangs in the air as they load the truck, too, not oppressing, but welcomed, with a touch of comfort that burns just right. When the last box is secured and road-ready, him and Sam stay just a bit on the porch to stare at the house. Because that's what it is, isn't?

'Is papa comin' home?'

There is no home. Not if Steve's missing.

"Steve said you can keep those, if you want," that sentence made Tony hunch his shoulders, releasing that bitter aftertaste in his mouth again, blending with something sweet, and igniting the warmth that pierced as deep as his very marrow. "Nothing he loves or wants back is in those boxes."

Yes, Tony wants to scream. I want to keep the sketchbooks he has for me. I want to keep the photo albums. I want to keep the paint, the charcoal, the brushes. I want to keep the stuffed animals he won me at the fairs. I want to keep his clothes. I want to keep the dances in the living room. I want to keep his love, attention, care, worry, sadness, anger, grief. I want to keep my husband.

Instead, Tony reaches for his back pocket, and squeezes his ring. It burns in his palm, almost begging him to put it back in it's place, or on his finger, where it fitted like it always belonged. His being feels it, as if connected, and he decides to even the odds in the cowardice department.

Sam holds his breath as Tony hands him the ring, with hesitance, with no indication he wants to. "You sure about this?" It's a careful question, painfully gentle, far softer than Tony deserves.

No. Not by a long shot. "Yeah, " he mutters, almost lost in the air. "It's not mine anymore."

Sam curls his hand around the ring, pockets it, and Tony wrestles with the urge to ask for it back. His eyes are trained to the floor, on his shoes, the fine leather ones Steve bought for him on their anniversary, he realizes.

He watches droplets of water splash and dissolve into the concrete. It's raining, he figures, he should take Peter inside or he'll catch a cold. He looks up to watch the dark clouds, and the senine blue above mocks him.

"It's okay, " Rhodey picked a good one, Tony thinks, as Sam covers his crying form away from Peter's eyes. "It's okay, Tony. Just... Let it out. You earned this."

"I tried, " he sobs in Sam's neck, sobs his demise his failure, his bottled cocktail of emotions that waited to implode. "I tried, Sam, I tried so hard, I swear I did."

"We know you did, Tony. We all know."

---

Peter wants to meet Bucky one day.

"Papa used to talk about him all the time, " He says, oblivious to how vexed Tony is hearing that. He apprehends himself, reproaching that he should be over it already. "He sounds pretty cool! I want to see his Terminator arm!"

"It's a Tin Man or Robocop arm, at best, " He smirks at the pout Peter throws his way, smoothing it out with his thumb. "And he's in a hospital. You and I hate hospitals, remember?"

Peter whines and makes his eyes larger, pitifully glassy and sad, just the way to wrap Tony around his little finger. "Daddyyyy, pleeeease!" He hooks his fingers around his arm, hugging it close to his chest and his lower lip trembles.

He imagines Steve behind him, smothering a laugh in his shoulder, egging Peter on like two conspirational buddies. He melts, pushing the rush of yearning back, and knows it's a battle lost. Peter is too lovable, too determined, too bright eyed.

He's morbidly curious, in a way, to see what was so special about Bucky that it made Steve want to trade that.

---

Bucky and Peter hit it off in a heartbeat.

The facility hosting Bucky is uncomfortably pristine, from door corner to ceiling. Everything is tailored and arranged with ridiculous precision, clinical, professional, boring, and detached, as most medical spaces are. His workshop dances circles around it in the personality field, and he tells Bucky as such.

He laughs at him. "That's an interesting way to say you're a chronic untidy mess."

'Chronic untidy hot mess, " Tony corrects, hating how easily he falls into conversation with him. He tells himself it's merely a distraction from the stomach twisting smell of medicine, stingy and sharp smothering the air. "How offensive. I demand a trial by combat. Peter, make him pay in blood!"

Peter turns to Bucky, unblinking. "Your hair's greasy."

A theatrical gasps spreads in the room from the blue eyed brunette. Tony beams, kissing Peter's cheek. "That's my boy. I'm sure Bucky's bleeding a lot on the inside."

"Yeah. You know, where blood usually is, " Bucky snarks, heatless, propping Peter off from the spot on his leg and putting him on the ground . "Why don't you go ask nurse Joy to give you some magnets for the arm? Your father and I gotta talk adult business."

"Uncle Clint says adult business is just gossip for grown ups. " Peter retorts, smirk on his lips, half raising on the edges of his mouth. He got the smugness from him, that much Tony will admit. Bucky huffs a laugh that mirror Tony's own and waits for Peter to be out of the hearing range to say his next words.

"I owe you an apology."

Tony blinks, hastily, and speaks before he can even register what he's saying. "No, you don't. Drop it." It comes off razor sharp, yet Bucky must be used to worse, because he doesn't falter.

"I ruined your marriage. There's no forgiving that, but I DO regret it and you'll damn well listen to what I have to say."

"Look, I appreciate it. I do. I'm not... Mad at you. You're just in the crossfire of this clusterfuck. There's no forgiving because there's nothing to forgive, " he murmurs under his breath, words quiet, but sincere, he realizes. "My failure is my own to carry. "

"Stark, relationships need more than one person. Stevie ain't exactly blameless in this whole thing, - Far from it, trust me, I let him know. He got the scolding of the damn lifetime, because he threw away a damn good thing. He made a home for himself and then demolished it. You didn't hand him the sledgehammer, he picked it up on his own dumb self."

"You know, your philosophy lesson would impact me better with wizard lingo. Throw in a riddle or a prophecy and I might bite. " Receiving a blank stare to his quip, Tony sighed, eyes downcast.

"Look. I called it off, alright? I lit up the matches, I burned down the bridge, and I watched it turn to ash. But it was meant to happen, one way or another. We were just too different. Guys like me break the world apart. Men like Steve put it back together. He'll move forward. Like he always does."

Bucky's reply is instant. "No, no he won't, " it's said with such conviction, with such a finality, that it has Tony freezing. "He'll never move on. Not from this. I've never seen him like that for anybody, hell, never seen ANYONE like that. You and him? That's a forever kind of deal. You don't need a ring and name change for that to last. You don't have a choice."

Tony swallows, slowly, unsure. "So what? We just keep path crossing like fate has us tied together, in each other 's range but standing on parallel lines, never meant to cross? This isn't a fairytale, Barnes. It's real life. And even if it wasn't, that's still far from fair."

"It is real life. Which means it ain't fair, Stark. "

Tony takes Peter home, cuddles him closely as if he might disappear, and eyes the empty area around the right side of the bed with a lonely glint that burns in the darkness.

---

The first time Tony meets Steve after the divorce, it's for Natasha's birthday party.

Time jumps from slow to fast, alters between stagnation and overwhelming in the first 6 months that pass after the finalization of their parting. Some days are agonizingly slow. As if the world wants him to stomach every second, consume every minute, where Steve is not with him, isn't his anymore, and choke on the pain that tastes just as sharply as the first time.

And in some, time goes by in blink record, not keen on giving Tony the courtesy of healing, of moving on, of according him the patience or kindness in adapting his feelings to his pace, to accommodate to the arrangement it dragged him in.

Concern crawls inside him regardless of how many times he buries it, makes a tangly nest right in his chest, and makes no effort to move. He doesn't blame Steve for not wanting to meet him, to look at him, to give him the chance of staring into the bright, baby blue eyes that hold everything beautiful in the world.

Tony's seen the wonders of the world, all 8 them, and they all pale put next to Steve.

He feels seething, scalding guilt showering him for thinking that. Because Steve is not his to worry over, not his to call wonderful, not his to care for. Not anymore. He repeats that like a mantra against his eardrum when Natasha asks him if it's fine if she invites him to her party, too.

It's the perfect excuse to see how he's doing, but Tony elects to ignore that and remind Natasha grown-ass people don't ask other grown-ass people for permission on what to do. "Do I look like Pepper to you? No? Then why would I order you around?"

A discreet smile reaches Natasha's features, exhibiting confidence but betraying relief. She loves them both, Tony knows, and wants her friends first, not the fallen lovers. "Just wanted to know if I should hide the sharp knives or prepare some spare sheets."

His face heats ferociously, climbing all the way to the tips of his ears, and all the embarrassment in the world is worth listening to Natasha laugh. Something sharp-edged inside of him brittles at the prospect of seeing Steve, thought, and he holds his tongue from saying something of that nature won't happen.

In the company of his solitude and shame, Tony wonders later, is he afraid of seeing Steve again because he fears the blonde is not doing okay, or because he is?

Later on, he sees Steve stand in flash before him, chatting with some faceless figures, hair longer than last time and flattened slightly at the nape, sporting a beard that framed his gorgeous face perfectly. The impeccable balance between scruffy and well-groomed. Tony itched to run his fingers against it.

"It's the divorce beard, " Clint muses, elbow jolting Tony in the side to show the humor. "Give him a few more weeks, and you'll see him shopping from the Hobo shop. All wrinkled shirts and ketchup stained clothes or something. Men are useless without their wives.'' He winks in Tony's way, but Tony is too entranced by Steve to acknowledge it.

His fists are bruised, Tony notes with a wince as he gets drunk on Steve's form with a studious gaze, creamy skin battered and laced in a cluster of dark purple, crimson, and small patches of yellow shaping his knucklebones.

A trail of question rests blistering on his tongue. 'What happened? Who did that? Who were you fighting? Why? Are you okay? Did you win?' But he closes his eyes and bites his tongue, knowing these questions don't belong to him anymore.

He gave up his rights to that.

But then, Tony spots them.

His breath is knocked out of his lungs in a silent punch, eardrums pushing out all the sound attempting to penetrate his ears. His fingers loosen so much they almost drop his water, feeling tingly numb. Tony's eyes, large and surprised, trace the circle of gold curled around Steve's fourth finger, gleaming softly against the artificial light around the dining room.

Steve is still wearing his ring.

But then, his chest burns and booms, heart roars fiercely behind his ribcage as he notices the thin string of black leather circling around Steve's neck, loose as a necklace, hanging low enough for Tony to eye the shape of metal halo looped right in the middle of the material.

Steve was wearing Tony's ring, too.

The realization left him petrified in place, more statue than man, in stunned shock as he bore into his former lover who only then noticed the brown eyes looking at him, transparent astonishment clear as crystal in his features.

It's like a spell breaks.

Tony's limbs move mechanically, on autopilot, running to the nearest room, getting himself away from what his body detects as danger. Urgency is packed on his step, taking him to the bathroom in record time, but Steve's always been the runner, more athletic between them, and his sprinting lands him a spot in the sleat Tony wass about to slam.

He's pinned to a wall effective immediately, feels cold tiles plant clammy kisses on the back of his head and neck. Tony almost hisses at the force of the slam, but before he can make a peep, his lips are stolen in a savage, fierce kiss.

It's pure desperation conveyed in the most unconventional way. Steve pounces on him, lips wild against Tony's own, pouring every emotion he went through in the past few months,- Longing, yearning, craving, hunger, desire, - his being, his love, his soul into that kiss, barely giving Tony the chance to breathe.

"St-Steve, " He gasps, head tilting slightly to the side to escape the ministrations, to gulp air, moving to avoid the chase at reconnection Steve is playing at by trying to capture his lips again. "Wait, wait a minute, -"

"Missed you, " Steve's voice is thick with want, hitching in the small puffs of air that came off raggedy and breathless, words melting over Tony's mouth. Steve's face glows with a blush he wants to kiss with inhuman greed. "I missed you, I missed you,Tony I missed you" Tony's fucked.

[trensu]

Episode 33: The One where WWX Needs to Stop Touching Swords of the Un-Sexy Kind

So we start the episode with MAXIMUM PAIN

JC is crying and shaking and clinging to jyl’s dead body and I WANT TO DIE

Plus side, wwx grabbed the guy who stabbed jyl and choked him to death

Now wwx is surrounded by all the stupid idiots that comprise the cultivator world and they’re all hurling insults and accusations at him and MY POOR SUNSHINE BOY IS JUST HAVING A BREAKDOWN

We get a shot of lwj who is fighting tooth and nail against the cultivators but he’s surrounded and can’t get to wwx

Also, just so you all know, LWJ HAS THE BEST FIGHT SCENES. He just stopped two blades at once and knocked the guys down 

Oh noooo, wwx pulls out his demon flute and starts playing! Resentful energy starts going even more crazy!

Lwj: wei ying, stop!

EVERYTHING IS AWFUL

AND IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE

Wwx is crying as he’s playing and i’m DYING INSIDE

Oh no! Wwx just spat a bunch of blood

Lwj sees him spit out the blood

AND SUDDENLY THEIR SONG IS PLAYING ON A CELLO, ALL SLOW, AND IT HURTS SO MUCH TO HEAR IT PLAYED THIS WAY

While lwj is distracted by the sight of his soulmate breaking down some ASSHOLE ATTACKS HIM FROM BEHIND AND CUTS HIS ARM

He takes him down and then slides effortlessly into another attack that manages to legit slice some dude’s neck open

OUR BOY IS NOT HOLDING BACK AT ALL, FOLKS

SO FAR LWJ’S MAD FIGHTING SKILLS ARE THE ONLY THING KEEPING ME TOGETHER

Oh no

Wwx just pulled out Plot Device 2 after getting the high ground, and lwj is watching him from below as he does this

Wwx: since you want it so much, come take it with your own ability

And he just chucks it to the crowd

We get to see all the greed and desire for power from all the cultivators here as they start cutting each other down to get their hands on this thing

It disgusts me

Now wwx is laughing BUT IT IS NOT HAPPY LAUGHTER. IT IS DESPERATE GRIEVING LAUGHTER, I HATE IT SO MUCH

AND LWJ IS WATCHING WITH A HELPLESS LOOK ON HIS FACE

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

WWX IS AT THE CLIFF

THAT ONE CLIFF WE HATE

I CAN’T DO THIS

OH GOD

Lwj: wei ying, come back

He says this so softly and full of desperation

He’s so scared

But wwx just steps back more, closer to the cliff’s edge and HE’S CRYING AND JUST LETS HIMSELF FALL

LWJ FUCKING LUNGES FOR HIM

OH GOD I CAN’T DO THIS

I CAN’T

Lwj barely manages to grab him in time and he grips him tight in his hand with all his might

Wwx looks so surprised, completely shocked that someone would try to save him at this point

Lwj, on the other hand, has a grim determined look on his face. He caught his soulmate, just barely, but he caught him and he will not let go!!

Wwx: lan zhan

There’s blood streaming down lwj’s hand from the wound on his arm and it’s just pouring over wwx’s hand

Wwx just hangs there limply, making no move to pull himself up towards lwj

Wwx: lan zhan, let me go

NONONONONONONO

Lwj’s grip SLIPS FOR A SECOND THAT GIVES ME A FREAKING HEART ATTACK but he manages to adjust his grip and clutch at him HARDER

He hasn’t said a word! He hasn’t said anything bc he’s focusing everything he has on holding onto wwx

Then we see jc striding into the scene and I’M DYING I’M DYING THIS IS GOING TO HURT SO BAD

Jc gets to lwj’s side and looms over the both of them

Wwx: jiang cheng…

And wwx for a split second looks happy; he’s happy to see his brother bc it’s his brother, the guy who’s been with him since they were children

But jc draws his sword and glares at him

And that joy peters off into pained acceptance bc wwx thinks he deserves this

Nononononononononononono my yunmeng bros don’t do this to me, please no

Lwj: Jiang Wanyin, stop it!

LWJ IS SAYING THIS THROUGH GRITTED TEETH BC HE SAW JC DRAW HIS SWORD

HE SEES HIM AIMING IT THREATENINGLY AT HIS SOULMATE 

AND HE DOES NOT HAVE THE STRENGTH OR ABILITY TO BLOCK HIM RIGHT NOW BECAUSE HE CAN’T LET GO OF WWX

Jc takes his sword and tells wwx to go to hell and strikes the stone between lwj and wwx

It’s enough to wobble where lwj is at and wwx SEES this and panics

HE WILL NOT BRING LAN ZHAN DOWN WITH HIM

So he yanks his arm from lwj’s grip and lets himself fall

Lwj: WEI YING

AND WE HEAR LWJ SHOUT HIS SOULMATE’S NAME. IT’S FULL OF DESPAIR BC HIS SOULMATE IS LOST TO HIM NOW

AND HIS FACE IS JUST ALL DEVASTATION AND HEARTBREAK

KILL ME KILL ME IT HURTS TOO MUCH

And then the camera pulls back and lwj looks so small standing on that cliff as jc just walks away

Lwj: wei ying

He says his soulmate’s name one last time in a pained gasp, like he can’t get enough air in his lungs, like breathing hurts, bc EVERYTHING HURTS, HE JUST LOST HIS SOULMATE

And then before, i can spiral into a nervous breakdown from the sheer ENORMITY OF EMOTIONS THIS SHOW JUST SHOVED DOWN MY THROAT...

We get a time skip!

~16 years later~

The scene opens to lwj playing ~their song~ on the guqin

Oh god it sounds so beautiful

It’s played in a way that sounds soothing and peaceful

Probably to keep the audience from finding a cliff and taking a dive…

Also, this is the first time we see lwj with his hair down! Or at least it doesn’t have a fancy hairpiece in it; it’s still tied back a bit tho

It’s a fucking travesty that we don’t get to see his hair like this more often. He looks so freaking soft here…

In fact everything looks so soft here: out of focus shots of wwx and lwj, a breeze gently rustling the curtains…

It really is just what i needed to recover from what happened like, two seconds ago, tho, so kudos to the showrunners

Now we get a quick series of flashbacks to mo xuanyu, the juniors, etc etc

The show’s like hey guys, remember 30 episodes ago we started telling a different story with a whole bunch of other characters??

Yeah, we didn’t think so, let us remind you real quick

AND ~THEIR SONG~ IS PLAYING THE WHOLE TIME

Okay, we’re back at present-day Ancient Fantasy China and wwx just starts regaining consciousness

Of course the first thing he does is tenderly watch lwj play their love song

Wwx: sixteen years...it feels like a dream

IT’S VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU KNOW THAT THE FLUTE PART OF THEIR SONG STARTS UP AS SOON AS WWX STARTS TO SPEAK

Lwj: you’re awake

I AM HAVING FEELINGS

MUCH LESS PAINFUL FEELINGS THAN 5 MINUTES AGO, BUT THERE’S A LOT OF THEM AND IDK WHAT TO DO

Lwj continues to play on his guqin

Wwx: i never thought i could still be alive

Lwj: the day you fell of the cliff, jc insisted on searching for your body but he could only see the bones of the dead

Wwx: what about you? Have you ever tried looking for me?

Of COURSE HE FUCKING DID YOU’RE HIS SOULMATE WHAT DID YOU THINK HE WAS GOING TO DO, OH MY GOD

Lwj: three years later, i went there but there were no bones left

God, they’re both speaking so gently to each other 

like they can’t quite believe they’re able to have this conversation, that this reunion is happening at all.

Wwx: why three years later?

Lwj’s hands freeze over the guqin when he asks this

Lwj: these 16 years…

NOTICE HOW LWJ POINTEDLY DOES NOT ANSWER THE QUESTION

Wwx: if i say i don’t know where i was these last 16 years, will you believe me?

Lwj: yes, i believe you

His voice is all soft and full of feeling

Wwx: lan zhan, did you really believe me back then?

HAVE I MENTIONED THAT THEY’RE SPEAKING TO EACH OTHER EVER SO SOFTLY AND TENDERLY AND GENTLE-LIKE?? I AM FULL TO THE BRIM WITH EMOTIONS RN

WWX IS TEARY EYED THE WHOLE TIME, MY HEART MY HEART

Oh, now we cut to a freaking beautiful shot of lwj sitting on a rock with his guqin on his lap, surrounded by trees and a waterfall

HE’S FUCKING GLOWING IN THIS SHOT

And my god the scenery in this show is just so fucking gorgeous

Like, how did they make it so beautiful???

We cut back to wwx and watch as wwx steps out of the Silence Room (aka the jingshi, aka LWJ’S BEDROOM) and starts wandering the Cloud Recesses

And i’m here like ummm? Where’s your mask wwx? YOU’RE WANDERING THE CLOUD RECESSES PRETTY CONFIDENTLY THERE WITHOUT YOUR MASK. 

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING.

We do get cute little flashbacks as wwx reminisces about the last time he was here tho

It’s bittersweet

Oh, he’s coming up to the library pavilion and ~THEIR SONG~ starts playing again! 

WE FLASHBACK TO ANGRY BB!LWJ 

LOOK AT HOW PRECIOUS AND LITTLE THEY ARE HERE. 

BABIES, THEY’RE ALL BABIES HERE. 

Y’KNOW, BEFORE THEY GET HIT WITH ALL THAT WAR AND LOSS AND EMOTIONAL TRAUMA

Now we cut to wwx wandering the back hills of the cloud recesses and there are bunnies!!! HELLO BUNNIES, WE MISSED YOU~!

Wwx picks up one of the bunnies and starts petting them

Wwx: little bunny, do you remember me?

SO CUTE, I DIE.

Wwx: i didn’t know that you were still being kept here after so many years!

He’s holding the bunny so gently and petting them AHHHH

Wwx: didn’t that fuddy duddy say he didn’t like you?

HE SMILES SO SWEETLY AT THE PRECIOUS LITTLE BUNNY

Wwx finishes his time with the bunny and casually makes his way towards the cold spring

HALF NAKED LWJ

WET HALF NAKED LWJ

CHILLING IN THE COLD SPRING BEING TOTALLY GAY

Oh, but when wwx realizes who’s in the cold spring, he gets this pleased little smile on his face!!

That smile slips right off his face tho when he sees that lwj’s back is littered with scars

The music here gets all low and ominous here too.

Wwx’s brows get all furrowed and his mouth drops open in shock

Wwx: whips?

Lwj turns around and sees wwx standing there

he seems pretty surprised to see wwx there, actually, his eyes widen and everything

When he does this HE REVEALS THE WEN BRAND BURNED INTO HIS CHEST RIGHT WHERE WWX HAD IT BURNED INTO HIM IN THE MURDER TURTLE CAVE

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Wwx lets out a little gasp and jerks back in shock when he sees it

At that, lwj immediately flicks his gaze downward and to the side in an obviously nervous gesture

He robes up pretty quickly from here (like REALLY quickly)

Wwx is still staring at him with his eyes all wide but not in a “omg hot naked dude” way; more in a “oh no, what happened?!” sort of way

Side note to mention I LOVE HOW LWJ LOOKS WITH WET HAIR, IDK WHY BUT I DO

Lwj: you’re awake

Wwx: lan zhan, the whips on your back...

Lwj: *looks down and doesn’t answer*

Wwx: you have always been a model among the disciples. What on earth have you done to deserve such a severe punishment?

His brow is all furrowed and he looks almost angry

But his voice is soft and serious and full of concern

And i’m sitting here like, OH BOY, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO LIKE THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION WWX

Wwx: lan zhan, answer me

WHAT IF HE DOESN’T ANSWER, WWX? HMMM? WHAT WILL YOU DO THEN? 

REMEMBER THAT ONE TIME HE DEMANDED YOU ANSWER HIM AND YOU GOT ALL MEAN AND SNARKY?

BECAUSE I DO

I’M STILL NOT OVER IT, THAT WAS REALLY MEAN OF YOU

Lwj: *pointedly stays silent and keeps his gaze lowered*

And here the some lan disciples interrupt before we can get any answers

They’re here to give us Plot, how dare they

Apparently lqr got himself in trouble; couldn’t control a spirit or smth. What a rookie.

But we don’t care bc he’s wwx’s nemesis lol

Wwx and lwj rush over to the “Underworld Chamber” where lqr is at

Yes, they have a building called the Underworld Chamber bc the lan clan specializes in dramatics i guess

And also, somehow between the cold spring to the underworld chamber, lwj’s hair dries completely and he has it all done up again with his snazzy silver hairpiece??

Which, actually, is freaking hilarious if you think about it

Like, oh, gotta go save my uncle but if he sees me so disheveled he’ll make me write lines for sure...better get myself dolled up before i arrive there

Wwx does his cool magic talisman thing to bust open the doors of the dramatically named chamber and then locks the doors up behind them once he and lwj get in

Lwj looks very worried about his uncle, who is currently swooned into the arms of some rando lan disciple

Lwj immediately takes over the guqin bc he’s the Guqin Master and starts playing Magic Music

and the possessed sword is floating in the middle of the room exuding Bad Vibes™

Wwx whips out his shoddy flute and starts playing the Magic Music too bc it’s DUET TIME, BABY

Lol lqr immediately starts groaning when he hears the flute start up

Wwx’s like oh shit, lqr will recognize me if i play masterfully as i usually do so he switches from playing Magic Music to playing ~Their Song~ but, like, horribly??? It’s terrible terrible flute playing.

(also, like, i know they’re all acting, none of them know how to actually play the instruments their characters play but here i’m like ARE YOU EVEN TRYING?? DO THOSE FINGERINGS BELONG TO ANY ACTUAL NOTES???)

(I know i wasn’t the greatest at playing the flute in high school--okay, i was actually a pretty shitty flutist BUT EVEN I CAN TELL THAT THOSE FINGERINGS ARE BULLSHIT)

(okay i’m done yelling about the flute-playing now)

AND LOL LWJ’S FACE IS LIKE WHAT WHAT WHAT ARE YOU DOING, THAT SOUNDS HORRENDOUS HOW DARE YOU MUTILATE OUR LOVE SONG THAT WAY

Lqr: stop the flute! Get out!!

I’M D Y I N G LOLOLOL

Wwx stops playing and looks at lqr like, yikes

Lqr: no more…

And then he passes out like a drama queen omg

Wwx looks at lwj like “oops, sorry about your uncle??”

But after lqr is very much unconscious he starts playing Magic Music well again

So that all happens and eventually the sword spirit chills out and clatters to the floor

It’s still very obviously exuding Bad Vibes™ and doing this creepy whisper thing so of course wwx is like IMMA GRAB IT

OMG WWX STOP TOUCHING SCREAMING SWORDS

HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING JFC

Yeah so for some reason, wwx thinks it’s a good idea to touch the possessed sword and it starts screaming at him obvs and he starts to shake

Lwj is watching him all worriedly

The screaming seems to overwhelm wwx bc he’s flung back STRAIGHT INTO LWJ’S ARMS

Like, no hesitation. Lwj IMMEDIATELY catches him all tenderly as he falls

We cut back to the silence room with lwj at lqr’s bedside, checking his meridians/spiritual energy/whatever the hell

He’s very focused but all the juniors are cheeping at him like baby birds, it’s adorable

Except one of the juniors starts talking about the possibility of the yiling patriarch possessing someone and lwj opens his eyes and glares at him

HE GLARES SO HARD

AND ALL THE JUNIORS DUCK THEIR HEADS IN SHAME 

Lwj dismisses them

Lwj: sizhui, go to bed

Lsz: but dad!!

Lwj: say no more, go

Lsz: yes father

I LOVE DADJI AND LSZ MOMENTS, I HAD TO INCLUDE THIS EXCHANGE

Lsz leaves and bumps into wwx who’s lounging casually outside that building. It’s night time. He’s dressed all in black. Wearing a mask. He looks sketchy af is what i’m saying.

Like, you choose NOW to wear a mask?? WHERE WAS THAT MASK EARLIER???

Wwx: are you okay, random junior that i’m fond of for some unknown reason?

And lsz opens up to him and starts being all Clever and talking Plot Points

Wwx is watching him puzzle this out and he’s so proud and impressed with lsz

Wwx: good analysis, it seems you’ve studied really hard!

More plot talk and then lsz is all why are you wearing a mask again?

Wwx: i’m afraid of being seen by some old friends…

“FRIENDS” LOLOL YEAH OKAY

Cut to a new scene. It’s morning time!

Lwj is staring longingly at wwx

Wwx: you’re not suspecting me are you? I’ve been sleeping for 16 years.

HELLO DENSE!WWX. CAN’T SAY THAT I’VE MISSED YOUR OBLIVIOUSNESS

HE’S OBVIOUSLY USING EVERY OUNCE SELF RESTRAINT TO NOT GRAB YOU AND KISS THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF YOU

Also, is this how he’s coping with being dead and resurrected? Pretending he took an extended nap?? this is a crowley approved coping mechanism, and i too approve of extended naps

Lwj: of course i believe you

Now they’re doing Plot Talk but we’re not gonna go into detail

Instead we’re going to enjoy their general proximity to each other and watch their pretty beautiful gorgeous faces as they bask in each other’s presence and talk smart with their wonderful voices

*dreamy sigh*

WWX IS BEING CLEVER

AND LWJ IS KEEPING UP WITH HIS CLEVERNESS

AND THEY REACH THE SAME CONCLUSION AND SAY IT OUT LOUD SIMULTANEOUSLY

BC THEY’RE GENIUS SOULMATES

(their conclusion has to do with Xue Yang and Plot Device 1 that may have something to do with Plot Device 2?? Only mentioning it vaguely bc it becomes relevant to wangxiantics later. We don’t need to know more than this lol)

Ooh, the end of their Plot Talk wwx says something about how whoever planted the sword ghost is obviously coming after him

Like, he realizes that he’s the target (presumably; i suppose it’s a reasonable assumption for him to make at this point). He stares off into the distance totally accepting of becoming the target again

But lwj gazes at him like OVER MY DEAD BODY IS ANYONE GONNA TAKE YOU AWAY FROM ME AGAIN, I JUST GOT YOU BACK!!

Maybe i’m projecting bc OVER MY DEAD BODY AM I LETTING ANYONE HURT MY PRECIOUS SUNSHINE BOY AGAIN,. COME OUT HERE AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN/WOMAN/NB PERSON

Now they’re back at the Underworld Chamber where the sword ghost (sans sword) is just chillin there and it’s all glowy and blue instead of smoky black.

Blah blah PLOT blah blah Follow the sword ghost blah blah Find sword ghost’s owner blah blah

Oh, and here lwj says they’re going on a trip together for Plot Reasons

Wwx is very excited about it. He hops and LEANS HARD into lwj.

Like, he’s putting weight into it guys, just getting all up close and personal with lwj’s strong sturdy shoulder~!

Wwx: i finally won’t be controlled by the strict rules here!

UM EXCUSE ME???

WHEN HAVE YOU EVER FOLLOWED THEIR RULES, WWX

WHEN

NAME ONE TIME

GO AHEAD, I’LL WAIT.

Lwj steps back slightly and wwx barely catches himself in time, it’s GREAT.

GUYS, OUR BOYS ARE TRAVELING TOGETHER AGAIN

ON A MISSION

TOGETHER!! 

SIDE BY SIDE!

TO HUNT DOWN EVIL!

TOGETHER!!

JUST LIKE OLD TIMES BEFORE ALL THE ANGST AND TRAUMA HAPPENED!!!

Look at our boys! Together! In qinghe!! Qinghe brings back so many fond memories!

They go into town to explore

Lol, we meet a mountebank selling portraits of the yiling patriarch that are supposed to ward off evil 

Wwx gets distracted by him and stays behind to chat while lwj keeps going

Wwx inspects the portraits and is SUPER DISAPPOINTED AND OFFENDED

THOSE PORTRAITS PHYSICALLY PAIN HIM

Wwx: the yiling patriarch was famous for his good looks! Who are these losers?? If you never saw the actual person, don’t draw randomly!! Stop misleading the younger generation! THEY HAVE TO KNOW HOW PRETTY I AM

Ah, poor wwx. Nobody can capture his beautiful perfect face.

SURPRISE JIN LING!!

ANGRY LITTLE BOY

KNOCKING DOWN THE POOR INNOCENT MOUNTEBANK

He’s all, that guy should be grateful all i did was kick him. I will kill anyone who mentions the yiling patriarch around me!!

Lol he’s such a brat, i love him.

Wwx: *internally* i wonder how his personality turned out this way. Poor temper, strong hostility. He learned all his uncle’s and father’s defects but none of his mother's strengths. If i don’t start working on him now, he’ll definitely suffer in the future…

LOOK AT WWX BEING A CONCERNED UNCLE!! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

Except he hasn’t had much practice being an uncle so he brings up the time he pinned him to the ground with a talisman 

Jin ling gets offended...

Aaaand here comes FAIRY THE WONDER DOG!! 

Wwx hears the dog barking and making their way towards him AND FLIPS THE FUCK OUT

HE RUNS AWAY SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS

IT’S HILARIOUS

And we end on that high note.

Talk about emotional whiplash.

How can you make me want to tear my heart out of my own chest at the beginning and 40ish minutes later have me giggling like a loon??

Return to Masterpost

[twd-fangirrrl]

Her| Daryl

Into Daryl’s mind...

 (Y/n)… 

that girl blow my mind since the first day i met her. 

We met in Atlanta. She ran away from her mom and brother when they scaped from the chaos of the city, just to go to Rick who was in the hospital. Rick and (y/n) have a special connection kind father-daughter. They complete each other. They arrived to the camp together and that was the moment when I fell in love with her. Since the farm we start to spend more time together, we used to go to hunt something to eat, and i teached her how to do it. And our first kiss was in the prison.

Flashback

-              …And that was the time I broke my arm.

She laugh from her story. She’s gorgeous.

-              What’s wrong, Daryl?

I was looking at her directly. She noticed.

-              Umm… nothing.

-              Hey…

She get closer to me.

-              You are very handsome Daryl.

I froze. She said that?

-              Wh..what?

Oh God, I’m like a teenager boy.

-              Yes. You are very handsome, and strong. And i like you too much, Daryl.

Her cheeks get a red tone. She give me a little and cute smirk. Damn man, she likes me, am I dreaming?

-              And.. and you are a gorgeous girl, (y/n). Really.

I touched her cheek. She smiled at me. And she make the thing I didn’t dare to do.

She kiss me. Soft, and shy. I touch her cheek and I get my hand behind her head to get her closer of me. She plays with my hair, my neck, and cheeks. Man, what is she doing to me?

End flashback

I remember this while I walk to our house. I smile. She’s the love of my life.

Suddenly the memory of Negan, is in love with her, hits me. Well, I don’t blame him for being in love with her. I call that the ‘’(y/n) effect’’ And this happen many times before. In Terminus, with that guy Gareth. He tried to separate her from us, and obviously it didin’t happen. Then when we arrived here, the leader’s son Aiden Monroe went directly to her, so flirtatious. (Y/n) rejected him so elegantly… that’s my girl. 

And now Negan… damn. Just to think that makes me feel so angry. But that feelling go away when I enter home and I see her. She’s standing there eating something. With her mouth full of food. she turned to me. I laugh, she’s so tender.

-              Hello baby.

-              Hello Sunshine.

I put my hands in her waist, getting her close to me.

-              What’s up, sexy boy? Is everything okay?

And suddenly a feelling hits me. Am I enough for her? I lower my head.

-              Hey, hey. Did he make you something? I have to go and give him a punch?

She’s very rude, and brave, but tender. And I like that.

-              No. He didn’t nothing. Come here.

I took her soft and small hand and head us to the couch. She sits there with her legs crossed.

-              Baby, what’s wrong?

She said touching my hair.

-              Do you love me?

She make a sad face.

-              Daryl, of course i love you, honey. Why are you saying that? Just for the thing Negan said about me? D, he’s a bad person, he likes me, but he not to me. The only person I like is you, and only you, okay?

I loock at her. What did I make to deserve her? She is so strong, smart, supportive, so funny. And I’m just me.

-              D, tell me something Honey.

She goes up to me, with her legs on each side of mine. She took my head in his hands and makes me loocked at her. I put my hands in her waist.

-              Look at me and listen me. I don’t want to see you bad for Negan okay? You know that I love you very much Daryl. I don’t give a fuck the world, only us. The only man, the only gentleman I want by my side is you. Forever you baby. Don’t you see how I fell about you? You are the love of my life. You were my first time in everything –she blushes-you have confidence in me. I have confidence in you of course. You were the first boy my father accepts for me –she smile- I live here with you, and you don’t have idea how much happy makes me, to share everything with you Daryl. Every adventure, every laugh, every tear, every, every moment of our lifes. Okay? I adore you.

And she kiss me. So deep, so tender ad passionate.

-              Thanks for everything (y/n). For make me a better man, a better person. I fight every single day for you, and for us. For you to being safe and happy, and the best price is seeing you happy, and smiling. And all of that is because I adore you so much.

-              There it is my romantic boy.

She had a huge smile on her face.

And man.

That’s everything to me.

For my life be complete.

[boneshine]

Our boy, Arthur, what a baby boy. We love. So, it's been a while since our boy and his s/o have been able to get out and have an official date night without being bothered by a brutal society. But, Arthur figures a date night at home for the two if them should be prett great, right? Of course! But he over thinks everything, thinking it isnt the perfect night his s/o would want. However, they couldn't ask for anything better. Love ya 💕💕💕

“Painted Walls“ (Arthur Fleck x Reader)

Nestled in the haven of your shared apartment, date night was about to begin.

Arthur traced a smile into the kitchen counter as he thought, finger idly tapping a song. It matched the trickle of the rain outside. It was just a sprinkle but steadily growing harder, light pats of droplets that fogged up the tiny window hanging above the sink.

He hummed. Stormy weather… and turned back to the cabinets to search for what he could make for dinner.

It was a good thing he suggested staying indoors, anyway.

Before you moved in together, most of your dates would take place outside. It was a bit of sunshine in the drab gray of his life. At the diner for a bite, talking for hours until the streetlights buzzed on, followed with a nice walk to your apartment, a kiss…

That wasn’t the case lately. It was crazy out there. Gotham wasn’t safe.

Arthur could suffer through it, just like he did every day on his job. For as long as he could remember, he would come home tired and aching, absolutely drenched in the poison of this city. It would eat him alive, little by little. Pick a piece away until he had nothing left. It was horrible. But he was used to it. He expected it. He probably deserved it.

He would never want to risk you.

Even though you both now shared an apartment, you still had your little “dates”. He loved it. And it was why he had suggested you stay indoors. Yes, you had survived this long without him, but why would he ever chance it? If he had a choice, he’d never want you to leave.

Even he recognized that thought wasn’t healthy, but it didn’t stop him from thinking. Worrying.

If anything happened to you…

Arthur shook his head and went back to browsing through the cabinets, checking the soup labels. He didn’t eat much, but you both enjoyed simple meals. Years of taking care of his mother made him a reliable cook. It was never anything fancy, but food was food.

You deserved the best, but he could make do with what he offered.

The sound of running water drew his attention back to the bathroom where you were “freshening up” for the date and Arthur smiled to himself, turning on the stove top.

The dial clicked but the stove didn’t heat up.

Arthur’s smile fell. He turned the dial again. Nothing. “Oh, no…” he groaned, running a hand down his face, irritation settling in. As old as this oven was, it was prone to little fits now and again. Piece of junk. “Not now, you stupid…”

He knocked a hand against the top harshly, once, twice, a third time, his anger flaring. His foot lifted.

Piece of SHIT!

The thunderous rattle of his foot connecting with the side of the oven jarred him, had him stumble back at the force of it. He held himself against the wall and looked over to the bathroom, cautiously, to see if you heard.

The shower was still running.

Exhaling, Arthur sent a final glare at the stove and went over to the couch to reach for a cigarette. His hand flexed and stung.

Some date night I planned out. This place is falling apart.

He grimaced around a mouthful of smoke, breathing it in, running a hand through his hair. That fact was staring him in the face and suddenly couldn’t be unseen. It was impossible to miss. How… awful this building was. The cockroaches sent in complaints about the living conditions.

And you couldn’t leave. The rain—

But was it the rain?

They’re trapped. I trapped them.

The horrible thought shot through his brain and he choked on a breath, heaving in a gasp as he coughed, his mouth lined with ash and bitterness.

Why did you decide on this stupid apartment for a date—

Arthur shook off that thought and went back to the kitchen. Maybe he could salvage the meal. Cold soup wasn’t great, but he could think of something, couldn’t he?

No, you can’t! Stupid apartment—

He cringed, holding his head. Fuck, he was falling. His chest felt too tight. He wanted to cry, but he felt himself try to snicker and he swallowed it back. Outside isn’t better, it’s raining—

And it’s horrible, horrible, outside is just horrible, it’s so crazy out there, so many awful people—

The burn in his throat melded with the remnants of his cigarette. Screaming outside— Nobody’s civil anymore— It was so awful out there! That’s why they had to stay inside! What if they got hurt?

STUPID! APARTMENT!

It’s so cramped… I trapped them! I hate… Why is this all I can offer?

He pressed up against the room, his head thudding against the wall. He tried to focus on the paint, but the feeling dipped as he noticed the scrapes and dull color that darkened his mood.

I can’t make anything work…

He shuddered to collect himself, but felt a pressure on his back, a feather-light touch ghosting across his shoulder blades, and he flinched, turning to see…

You were standing there, hand outstretched.

“What’s wrong?” You looked worried.

A loaded question, he thinks. Everything is wrong.

Despite the world crashing down around him, Arthur put on a smile and shook his head. A chuckle slipped through his lips. “Nothin’,” he answered. Another chuckle that was a little louder, and he turned away from you as the panic rose. “E-Everything’s fine.”

“No, really, what’s wrong—"

“I came up with a new joke!” he interrupted, the wallpaper shaking as he stared at the unremarkable striped pattern that peeled away. What a shithole. “I …. You wanna… hmm-heheh… hear it?”

No answer.

“There once was a man… wh-who was… so fucked up… he kept… losing things…” his joke was muffled through his hand as he covered his mouth, but the comedy surely shone through, “He was so bad at it… h-he couldn’t even keep living!”

You weren’t laughing. But he kept hearing laughter.

Oh, that was him.

“And there were so… so many…” blow after blow, the laugh was punched out of him, made him wheeze, hands uselessly clutched at his throat as he choked. He took a breath and tried again, “b-b… better guys out th-there—”

His laughter rang out in the cramped, horrible little apartment.

“I—I’m—sorry,” he choked out, his forced grin twisted into that familiar grimace. Arthur’s fingers scrambled through his hair, gripping, breathing hard, but the chuckles clawed up his throat, ripped through bared teeth. “I’m sorry!” He was making it worse! When he turned around, the look on your face was nothing short of horrified.

Why would you stay with a wreck like me?

“I just… I… hah… wanted… a… ni-… nice evening with you! Please… Pl-Please don’t l-leave…”

“Arthur!”

Your hands, still wet from the shower, grabbed his wrists and he tried to twist away, but you held on and he froze.

His throat burned and his attention was now on the dingy floor, his clumsy feet, the chipped walls…

You were saying something, and he struggled to focus on what it was as he coughed, tried to calm his breathing. It was soothing and you were gently petting his hands. The scent of soap. Clean. Soft. His head tilted to see the concern painted across your face.

“It’s okay, Arthur. It’s okay…” you kept telling him.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he came back to himself, blinking back a tear. He sniffled. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“I… ruined the date night—”

“No, you didn’t!”

“But—”

Your eyes locked with his and he grew quiet while your hand reached out and cradled his cheek. “You didn’t,” you repeated.

Arthur swallowed his words. But I did… He broke from your gaze and looked at the ground. He cleared his throat. “I, um… I just… I want to make you happy, a-and I… got a little,” he huffed, shaking his head, “carried away.”

Your hand was still on his cheek, and you drew his attention back to you and your smile. “You’re so sweet. But you shouldn’t work yourself up over this. I’m just happy if I’m with you.”

Arthur blinked. “Happy…” he repeated dreamily. Just with me? “You really mean that?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Why?” the whisper left him before he could stop it.

He was such an idiot. Why would he ever question the one good thing that’s ever happened to him in his entire fucking life? Nothing had ever made him so happy. He should be thankful that you were still here. You hadn’t left. You hadn’t laughed at him. You didn’t look at him like he was some freak.

You shook your head, leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the side of his mouth. Let him tilt forward and reciprocate with another on your lips.

His world dissolved down to your taste as you pulled back.

“Because I love you.”

You’re too great to stay with someone this fucking broken. Wake up.

“I don’t know why,” he said, desperately wishing he would stop asking for an explanation while he still had you. Why couldn’t he just be glad that you stuck around?

“There’s plenty of reasons. Did you want me to write a list?”

Arthur gave a snort. He wanted to believe you, but that was crazy. “You mmm… might be as messed up as I am,” he mumbled out, but his lips twitched.

You smiled back. “You got a problem with that?”

Arthur’s mouth finally, cautiously, stretched into a real smile and he wrapped you up in his arms. Never to let go. “No,” he breathed.

His joke of a life wasn’t so bad if you were the punchline.

[pure-bakusass]

Kiribaku AU Month: Day 8: 🐲 HTTYD AU 🐲

Today I did some sketches that serve as illustrations to the drabble I wrote (killing it with the writing! 💚 they say practice makes perfect).

Basically Kirishima is Hiccup based and Bakugou is Astrid based 💙 Bakugou meets Kirishima when he's still an insecure mess, but he falls in love with him and believes in him. Together they hunt down the Night Fury, but it escapes and Kirishima finds it on his own later and tries to befriend it. Kirishima is the sunshine boy that wants to befriend dragons. Bakugou despises them and wants to kill them, but his love for Kirishima makes him slowly change his approach. There are situations I pictured with them that I couldn't include in the drabble so there they are, here:

Kiri trains the dragon in Bakugou's presence, and Bakugou is standing in the safe distance angrily like "Iook im not going to tell the rest but keep that disgusting thing away from me" while he eventually slowly grows to love the dragon as much as Kiri does.

Kirishima: Look, this is Bakugou. I know both of you started off pretty badly but Bakugou means no harm. There is no need to be afraid of Bakugou. See? Bakugou put the knife down.

One day the dragon licks Bakugou's face and it's hilarious.

Kirishima: See? He loves you!

Bakugou: *grumpily wipes his face* It's a fucking one-sided love then.

Remember the moment when Hiccup took Astrid to that wild ride on Toothless? Kirishima does the same to Bakugou to prove a point. Bakugou just stubbornly refuses to accept the concept of riding dragons and Kirishima had no other choice than to get to him like this.

Kirishima: Let me just show you something, that's all! And then I'll put you down!

Bakugou: *clinging to dragon's tail for life and screaming* Fuck no, you better put me the fuck down now!

Bakugou ends up enjoying the ride, but he's lowkey scared being this high for the first time in his life, so he clinged to Kirishima's back and held him tight.

Bakugou: *hits Kirishima* That's for forcing me to ride the fucking dragon.

Bakugou: *kisses Kirishima* And that's for...the rest.

@kiribakumonth2019

Now for the ✨drabble✨ You can read it under the cut!

"Fuck!"

Bakugou's scream suddenly broke the peaceful, calm silence of the forest. Both him and Kirishima were wandering around the place for quite a time, and while it was completely understandable for Bakugou to get frustrated, Kirishima genuinly enjoyed it. If it wasn't for the reason why they were here, he would consider it just a nice walk, a date even. But Kirishima knew that today they meant business, and he shouldn't let his thoughts get away from it too much. If he wanted Bakugou not to be angry with him, that is.

"That shitty dragon really couldn't have found itself a better place than a fucking forest to crash, huh?" Bakugou snarled as he vented his frustration by kicking the nearest rock. Kirishima smiled at him. At this point he was so used to Bakugou's outbursts that he found them amusing, in a way.

"Dude, there's hardly even anything else here apart from forests, what did you expect? Hey, c'mon. Don't worry so much about that. I'm sure we'll find it."

Bakugou didn't feel like calming down at all, although he did have to admit that Kirishima's warm smile was probably the only thing in the entire world that would ever come this near to soothing his nerves. He rolled his eyes in response, but the tone of his voice did calm significantly.

"I'm not worried, idiot. I'm sure we'll find it, because I am not leaving the damn place without a dragon. I will tear down every fucking tree if that's what it takes to bring the bastard to the village."

"Yeah, right, that's what I'm talking about! I can't wait to see their faces when we show them that we actually DID take a real Night Fury down! I'm so excited just thinking about it. Aren't you excited Katsuki?"

Bakugou laughed. He couldn't help it that Kirishima's excitement was getting through to him.

"Fuck, you bet I am. Those idiots kept laughing at me for saying I shot this stupid Night Fury bullshit down with my own hands. But now that you're going to kill it, we'll make them all choke on those words."

"Oh damn right we- wait, what? Me?"

Kirishima stopped and blinked in surprise, not quite believing what he has just heard. All of a sudden, his enthusiasm faded away, leaving him visibly nervous.

"Since when it's me who is supposed to kill the dragon, Katsuki? I mean it was you who shot it so wouldn't it be fair for you to, uh, finish the work you started?

Bakugou raised his eyebrow. Such a sudden change in Kirishima's behavior seemed suspicious and unusual for him. He didn't like it.

"What are you even saying, shithead? Of course the fuck not! We're a team. I did my part of the job which means now is your turn. That is what I call fair. Besides, I already killed my first dragon, and you didn't. If this keeps up those idiots out there in the village will eat you alive."

"Are you saying that they still talk about me behind my back...? About the not-killing-a-dragon thing?"

Bakugou sighed. Now he understood exactly what the sudden change of attitude was about. How could he not get it before? He knew too well about Kirishima's biggest insecurity and mentioning the villagers was one fast way to trigger it even more. Bakugou felt like he was the actual idiot here and he hated that. He looked Kirishima in the eyes, dead serious.

"Not when i beat the goddamn shit out of them when they do so. Listen, you don't deserve to be put down like that. You're strong and manly, and totally capable of killing dragons. I'm sure of that. And you know it too. It's just the rest that don't know. Wouldn't it be thrilling to prove them wrong?"

Kirishima didn't look convinced. In fact he looked like he was having a hard time processing the situation. Bakugou reflected on his words and tried again with different approach.

"...Look, I-

...I may have used the wrong words for it. It doesn't fucking matter at all what others think about you, as long as you yourself know your own worth. But what matters is that killing a dragon is a powerful experience. It really makes you feel like you have enormous strenght, like you're some kind of a god. I want you to be able to experience it and be as satisfied and fulfilled as me. Only a fool would reject the opportunity to kill a dragon that is basically served to him on a silver plate. Listen, if you don't want to kill the dragon for yourself, do it for me. Do it for us, Ei."

The thing was that no matter how bad Kirishima's doubts were, he couldn't deny that he was madly in love with Bakugou, and therefore extremely weak for all those moments when he spoke to him in [that] voice he was using on him right now. The soft, loving, encouraging, lower toned kind of voice Bakugou wouldn't use on anyone else except Kirishima.

"I guess you do have a point here Katsuki."

Bakugou responded with a satisfied, fierce smile, one of those that Kirishima really enjoyed seeing. He gave in completely as Bakugou pulled him closer for a nice, deep kiss.

"There you go... There's my brave, unbreakable Eijirou. I think I might have something just for the occasion."

Bakugou reached to his belt and grabbed a knife he then gave to Kirishima. But that was no ordinary knife. Kirishima's eyes went open wide as he realised what he was holding. It was Katsuki's lucky knife, the exact one he killed his first dragon with. Kirishima was still amazed everytime he remembered that fight. To take down a dragon having only a knife on you for many seemed impossible. But for Katsuki, there was no such thing as impossible. That's why he admired him so much and still found it hard to believe that someone like Bakugou would consider someone like him his equal.

"What, why so surprised? You need it more than I do. Keep it. Make a good use of it and make me proud. No, make yourself proud."

Now that Kirishima thought about it, he has never actually seen Bakugou allowing anyone to touch it, ever, let alone make any use of it. The fact he was gifted such a meaningful thing filled Kirishima's heart with sudden wave of courage and will to act. Will to be strong and to prove himself that there is no such thing he's not capable of. The big, bright smile came back to Kirishima's face.

"Thank you, Katsuki. Thank you so much."

As they continued to search through the woods, Kirishima's excitement was in the right place. Even though he still felt nervous, he decided not to let it control him. At some point he reached for another kiss but Bakugou pushed him away and pointed to the ground with visible satisfaction.

"Ei, look! You see those traces here? I bet that's where the dragon fell. It was too weak to fly away, it's most probably very near. Fuck, we've found it!"

Next thing they saw when they looked around the place was a familiar net, and under it, a big, black pile of something that was most probably their dragon. Sparks of excitement appeared in Bakugou's eyes as he gave Kirishima a push forward.

"Go get it."

"Right!"

Kirishima took a deep breath as he began carefully approaching the dragon. He could do it. He totally could. "I have Katsu's lucky knife and a taste of his lips on mine, what could possibly go wrong?" he mumbled to himself as he was getting close to the infamous Night Fury. Bakugou decided to watch him from the distance.

First thing that Kirishima did as soon as he reached the dragon was to kneel down beside it and gently place his hand on it, then move it across its smooth, black scales. For a brief second he thought that maybe the dragon was already dead? That would certainly spare him a lot of trouble. But then he felt his hand being gently lifted as the dragon inhaled. He gasped in surprise and quickly took his hand back. The dragon was very much alive. Kirishima felt absolutely terrified, yet absolutely amazed at the same time. Not only it was his first time seing a dragon this close, but also seeing a dragon that nobody has ever seen before at all. This felt like enough of a thrilling experience for Kirishima. When he remembered what he was supposed to do, it brought up a weird feeling of sadness in him. The dragon was so...beautiful. It looked so peaceful and vulnerable while it was asleep like this. Kirishima sighed heavily.

"How am I supposed to take your life away while you can't even fight me back...?"

"What the fuck is taking you so long, shitty hair?!"

Kirishima twitched. Bakugou's yelling brought him down to earth yet once again.

"Katsu, I-...I don't think I can do it!"

That was most probably the worst possible way to express what he was feeling right now. He regretted those words the moment he spoke. Bakugou approached him quickly and angrily.

"What the fuck is your problem again?! You want to back away now that we're so close? After I gave you the knife and did my fucking best to make you feel better about yourself, even though I can't comfort others for shit and you know it? Listen here, you-"

"No, no, I'm not going to back away, please let me explain!" Kirishima interrupted Bakugou halfway through his outburst, hoping it wouldn't last. "I mean just look at him. He seems so vulnerable lying helplessly like this on the ground like he's already defeated. All I'm saying is that...you know, is there really a pride to be taken in butchering an unconcious dragon? I mean, it's no effort, there's not even a fight. That's not very manly nor thrilling if you ask me."

For a second Bakugou looked like he was about to lose his shit and explode again, but as soon as Kirishima spoke, his face expression changed. Now he was smiling, and it was one of those sly, fierce grins of his that always meant trouble.

"Right, sure. Of course you want a fight. That's understandable. Should have just said exactly that, babe. Let's rile the beast up then."

Bakugou got down on his knees and started cutting the strings of the net that was tangled around the dragon's limbs.

"Wait, no, that's not what I-"

Before Kirishima could say anything more, he was interrupted with the sound of a loud hit of Bakugou's hand on the dragon's hard scaled back. The Night Fury's eyes opened up right away and its pupils narrowed in a sign of hostility.

"this is bad-"

The dragon stood up on all fours, spreading its wings and roaring loudly and terrifyingly right in Bakugou and Kirishima's face. Kirishima's heart stopped, but Bakugou? Bakugou yelled back.

"That's right, that's more like it! Bring it on, fucker! They don't call you the Night Fury for no fucking reason, do they?!"

That's when it all went down to shit.

***

what a terrible way to finish a drabble XDDDD but thats all, thank you for attention <3

[tays2centsonstuff]

JOJO RABBIT, 2019

synopsis: a young boy in hitler's army finds out his mother is hiding a jewish girl in their home.

director: taika waititi writers: taika waititi stars: roman griffin davis, thomasin mckenzie, scarlett johansson, taika waititi

genres: comedy | drama | war

country: new zealand, usa, czech republic language: english, german filming locations: czech republic

runtime: 108mins

---

overall opinion:

oh lord. ohhhhh lordy. this one. I know what you think… a comedy / satire about world war II??? that sounds terrible and disrespectful, no?

yep, that’s kind of what I thought. so I went into «jojo rabbit» with skeptical thoughts, as did a lot of people I think, simply because a comedy about world war II, how funny can it actually be without being tasteless? but I love taika waititi and I knew both he and scarlett have jewish roots so that kind of told me it couldn’t be bad.

and oh boy am I glad I watched this. 

this movie made me laugh until it had me bawling like a baby. 

okay, first. this movie was nominated for 6 oscars: best picture, best supporting actress (scarlett johansson), best production design, best costume design, best film editing, and best adapted screenplay for which it won. I wish it would have won more (best picture and best supporting actress, come on). it’s such a unique movie in that it portrays one of the worst periods in human history in such a fun, light-hearted and at the same time sobering and poignant way. you laugh, then you’re shocked, then you smile, then you cry, ... this movie is an absolute rollercoaster. it has so much soul and the characters are phenomenal (rosie just captured my heart). I fell in love with all of the characters instantly.

the story follows johannes «jojo» betzler (roman griffin davis), a 10 year old boy living in nazi germany, who’s a proud member of the hitler youth. throughout the movie, his imaginary friend adolf (taika waititi) guides him and tries to influence him (as in, jojo tries to convince himself that he’s doing the right thing as a nazi). at some point he finds out that his mother rosie (scarlett johansson) who is secretly anti-nazi is hiding a young jewish girl (thomasin mckenzie) in their house. for safety reasons, jojo and the girl, elsa, decide not to tell rosie that they have met, and instead meet up in secret while rosie is at work. jojo can’t believe he «caught a jew», and tries to find out all kinds of information to then tell the other nazis to give them an advantage in the war. except everything turns into a completely different direction. 

man, what a ride. honestly, I think this is a movie everyone should watch. all the actors are phenomenal, especially roman griffin davis (this was his first movie ever) as jojo, taika waititi as hilarious satire-hitler, and scarlett johansson as jojo’s mother rosie. every single one of them deserved an oscar for their performance. it was simply beautiful to watch.

the cinematography and the colours were also amazing. the movie looked stunning, despite the sad topic it covered. I love how taika decided to use vibrant colours and stylish costumes to contrast the dark matter of the film. it works beautifully and gives it a very human touch – like there was more to life than just the war, even during this time.

---

SPOILERS AHEAD, I would invite you to watch the movie first and then come back for the rest if it’s something that interests you. :)

---

out of all the perfect characters I think rosie was my favourite. she is anti-nazi and handing out little notes against the regime, which you know from the beginning is a death-sentence. at home, whenever she is with her son, she is this happy-go-sunshine person, ever dancing, making jokes, pretending everything is fine, all to protect her son and the girl she so selflessly invited into her home, knowing it would kill her if they found out. I had to actually PAUSE the movie and recover for a few minutes when jojo walked past those shoes hanging in the air. I CRIED. she was such a loving character. one of my favourites, ever. in any movie or book. simply beautifully created. I want to be rosie when I grow up.

but in the end, I fell in love with all of them. jojo, who was just so sweet in his ways, how he was convinced hitler was doing the right thing and he was proud to be helping them, but in the end realised that «those jews» are just normal people. the bond he develops with elsa over the course of the movie is so sweet and touching. the way he writes those letters to her «from her boyfriend» who he didn’t know had died. he was trying so hard to make her feel safe and happy even though she was «the enemy». that said a lot about him and roman brings him across so well.

and elsa, the jewish girl, played by thomasin mckenzie, wasn’t just intent on playing the victim. she was funny, sarcastic and clever, giving the most absurd answers to jojo’s questions on his quest to figure out more about jews. it made me laugh even though the situation wasn’t funny at all. it took some of the weight from the topic which I thought was great.

honestly, this film has it all. a great story, great morals, phenomenal acting, funny moments, heartbreaking moments, beautiful cinematography, and it will definitely leave you thinking after the end credits.

---

why it stayed with me:

the whole movie is such an emotional rollercoaster. it’s funny, it’s really sad, really intense, but then in the end… there is so much hope. 

the way taika waititi managed to tell a gruesome story in such a poignant way, you just can’t help but love what he’s done. I hate slapstick usually, especially about sensitive topics (like, I would rather die than watch borat which I turned off 15mins into the film), but this was done so well and with so much heart and soul. 

---

favourite scene / moment:

the dinner scene with jojo and rosie. iconic. (39:40–44:00)

and when elsa and jojo are staring out the window at night and having a really sweet conversation.

---

what I didn’t like:

nothing. it was perfect. although I HATED the fact that rosie died but I guess it was bound to happen.

---

interesting trivia / fun facts:

both taika waititi and scarlett johansson have jewish roots. when taika, who is maori/jewish, was asked about why he chose to play the role of adolf hitler, he said «the answer's simple, what better 'fuck you' to the guy?»

one of taika’s reasons for making the film was the realisation that after world war II people cried that «we should never forget» but given the behaviour of «certain people in certain parts of the world», it felt to him like we are forgetting.

even though the spoken dialogue is all in english, all written or printed text in the movie is in german.

«I don't like the idea of seeing people hang,» taika waititi said, and that's what led in part to the reveal of rosie's death without showing her face. he added that seeing your dead loved one is an intimate thing, and that we didn't «have permission» to see what jojo saw.

in the scene where the boys burn books at the camp, tom waits’ «I don’t wanna grow up» is playing in the background. in 2009, scarlett johansson recorded an album with tom waits covers, which also features that same song. the album is called «anywhere I lay my head» and is available on spotify.

---

favourite quotes:

[rosie and jojo come upon six people hanging from the gallows in the town square]

jojo: what did they do?

rosie: what they could.

---

rating: 10/10.

this movie broke my goddamn heart and it had the audacity to do so while I was having a really fun time watching it! 

simply a must-see.

[joetatoeheads]

“I can’t believe this” X David Dobrik

Word Count: 2.8K

Warnings: None

Masterlist

There were tears, just so many tears. Natalie looked at Y/N in shock, which made her cry even harder. This was unexpected.

“When are you going to tell him?” asked Natalie.

“I guess soon. I can’t believe it.”

Natalie hugged Y/N until she stopped crying. Even Natalie joined in with her own happy tears.

“I can’t believe it,” copied Natalie.

“How do I tell him?”

“I’ll help you! We can make a cute little announcement and then you two can tell everyone else. David is going to ask me to help regardless. I am his assistant after all but this time is something I’ll actually enjoy doing.”

Natalie really was a saint. She dealt with David which that alone meant she deserved a Nobel peace prize or anything better. Then she helped David and Y/N get together. Natalie helped Y/N with dealing with the rude comments and a couple of death threats every now and again. Besides David, Natalie was the one Y/N loved like a sister and relied on through so many difficult times.

Natalie and Y/N spent several minutes thinking about how to tell David after crying for so long. “What if I just told him when we are eating. Something simple?” thought Y/N.

“Okay. Do you want me to go get you two chipotle? I can even help you set up a camera so you can have David’s reaction,” offered Natalie.

“Yes! Thank you so much Natalie!”

“No problem. Give me half an hour to help you. David shouldn’t be back for another hour so we have time.”

Natalie always to the rescue, had picked up the food, hid two cameras in plain sight and helped Y/N turn them on too because she was clueless as a child. Finally, everything was set up as Y/N was on the couch waiting for David to come home. Natalie had left for the night to give them as much privacy as possible.

Anxiously Y/N waited until the door opened and David headed straight for her. With one kiss on the forehead, he threw himself on the couch beside her with a big smile.

“How was your day?”

“I think I got some good content,” answered David.

“Are you hungry?”

“Starving.”

“I asked Natalie to pick us up chipotle.”

“God I love you,” groaned David in happiness.

“Come on, let's go eat on the table.”

Y/N tried to eat faster than David but the boy would just shove at much food as possible in his mouth and Y/N couldn’t keep up. So she gave up and pretended that she was full.

“Alright, I think I’m done.”

“What? You have even had half your bowl. You usually finish more than that.”

“I’m full I swear! Look I have a food baby. So I’ll have one to match the real baby,” smiled Y/N.

David was smiling at the first part then his smile dropped and he was confused. David repeated the last one in his head several times before looking at Y/N was the happiest face she had ever seen on him.

“Are you being serious?”

Y/N nodded several times before David grabbed her face in his hands making her look at him. His smile was the greatest thing she had ever seen in the world. His smile had been one of the first things she had fallen in love with.

“Please tell me you're serious,” asked David again.

“I am! I’m pregnant!”

David responded by kissing all over her face mumbling ‘I love you’ and ‘I can't believe this.’ Once he had kissed every part of her face his attention went to her stomach where their child would be growing in the months to come. David whispered some things to her stomach that Y/N couldn’t hear.

Until David looked up at her, “Can they hear me?”

“Not yet. Maybe in a week or two they can,” answered Y/N.

“I’m so happy!” laughed David.

That laugh. It was another thing Y/N fell in love with. When he would throw his head back and laugh he was himself the most. David’s laugh would light up Y/N’s world most days. During rough times, it was one of the few things that could make things better.

-----

Telling both your families was the easiest thing. David got in both families to LA and surprised them with an ultrasound and a single flower. David made a joke about wanting to have a dozen children so he could give Y/N a dozen roses every year for the rest of their life to represent every child they would have. You were both young but had not only the support of family but also friends. Having them around made you assure of that.

David was more than excited to become a father. He would go up to his dad and tell him how he started a nursery and was getting clothes for the baby. David was a beam of sunshine the entire day, everyone saw it. Past complaints about your young age and lack of experience were washed away. Even seeing David hold toddlers and infants in his arms made everyone believe he would be an amazing father.

“He’s a natural.”

“He is. He’s thrilled,” smiled Y/N watching David play with the younger children in both families.

“I wish you two nothing but the best. The love that radiates from you two will be perfect for the little one.”

“Thank you.”

-----

Telling the rest of the group was challenging. While David and Y/N wanted to tell them, the chance they would tell the rest of the world would complicate things. David had kept Y/N hidden from the public fearing she would receive hate since his break up with Liza. When he disclosed his relationship in one of the vlogs everything he feared came true, but she stuck by him. Now she was going to have his child, and he wanted to protect them both even more.

“Did you get everything?” asked David.

“I did,” smiled Y/N.

“Are you going to tell me what it is?”

“No. I want it to be a surprise,” replied Y/N.

“But the surprise is for them not me. I already know you’re pregnant.”

“Yes but if I don’t give you a gift then someone might think something is up. Besides, it’s a gift for all of you,” explained Y/N.

“A gift for me too?”

“Yes. You’re going to love this surprise. It’ll be good content for everybody.”

“Content they’ll never use,” corrected David.

“They could use some content. As far as the world will know someone is pregnant. They just won’t know who.”

“I’ll go over it with them and check their videos before they upload them.”

“David, it’ll be fine. I don’t care what everyone else has to say.”

David ignored the last comment not wanting to get into a fight before a day like this. “Come on. Let’s go pick up some of the guys,” said David as he gave Y/N a kiss.

It took almost an hour to get everyone to David’s. The anticipation was killing everyone. David allowed cameras to vlog but anything on twitter, snapchat, or Instagram wasn’t allowed which raised so many questions. He had to go over some basic rules about posting and content which bored Y/N because she never got into vlogs or Youtube. Everyone was talking over each other until Y/N yelled to get their attention.

“Okay everyone! Please get in a line so the cameras can all see you.”

“I’m scared,” laughed Erin.

“I feel like I soon as I reach in something is going to bite me,” added Carly.

“Somehow I feel like I’m going to get shot by a paintball gun,” joked Jeff.

“I made these gifts, not David,” argued Y/N.

“That doesn’t help any of us,” smiled Jeff with a confused face.

“When do we open them!? I’m excited!” asked Mariah.

“Hold on! First I wanted to say a few words.”

“Baby let’s just get this on. I’m hoping for a new camera,” smiled Zane.

“Or a $1,000,” laughed Heath.

“Okay I’m not a millionaire I can’t give you all money,” argued Y/N.

“We all know David is and he wouldn’t deny you asking for 20K,” joked Scott.

“Anyways! I love you guys and you’ve been another family to me. So I decided to get everyone gifts. Now you can open them!”

Heath and Zane attacked the bags and everyone pulled out t-shirts that brought more confusion than excitement.

“Our faces surrounding a flamingo?” asked Zane.

“Baby that’s a stork and you a dummy,” laughed Heath.

“How do you know what a stork is?” laughed Jeff.

“Wait. Why would our faces surround a stork? Is this your merch?” asked Todd.

“Are you coming out with merch now Y/N?” asked Jonah.

“But all of our faces are on there so is this vlog squad merch? Oh my god it’s official I’m in the vlog squad. Finally!,” joked Joe.

This loud gasp was heard around the room from Erin as she was staring at Scott holding up the shirt. Everyone looked at Erin, looked at Scott, and looked at the back of their shirts which either read ‘Uncle’ or ‘Aunt’.

“Oh my god!” yelled Erin

Then Carly joined in, “Oh my god!”

“No fucking way,” laughed Jeff thinking this entire thing was a prank.

“Is this real or are you fucking with us?!” yelled Corinna.

Heath and Zane were the first to congratulate Y/N by picking her up in a hug. Everyone started congratulating the couple with the biggest smiles. Cameras everywhere were getting everyone reactions and Matt screamed.

“The content! The views!” joked Matt.

“Are you crying?” asked Mariah.

“I am! Let me live in the moment!” laughed Heath as he wiped away a tear and attempted to put on the new shirt.

“I right there with you baby,” laughed Zane also putting on his shirt.

Mariah joined in on the tears, then Natalie, Corinna and almost everyone else started to cry.

Y/N looked around in laughter.

“Are you really laughing? You and David are perfect for each other,” laughed Scott.

“But think of the clickbait! I made you all cry!” laughed Y/N.

“Definitely perfect for each other,” agreed Kristen.

A teary-eyed David walked up to Y/N engulfing her in a big hug. The two took a couple seconds from the chaos surrounding them to find quietness in each other's arms. David kissed Y/N on the cheek before letting her go and both went back to the conversation.

-----

Perhaps the biggest surprise for David was the fact that everyone kept his baby a secret. He thought Zane or Heath would mess things up, maybe even him but everyone was able to keep their mouths shut. Y/N appeared in videos only from the chest up and in pictures, she was in the back with someone in front of her on their knees. That job was reserved for either Zane or Matt by David to protect Y/N and her growing stomach.

The gender reveal was the next big step and of, course family and friends were invited. Like the pregnancy announcement to the rest of the vlog squad, cameras were allowed but posting was forbidden. Y/N proved herself to be David’s other half in the gender reveal once again.

True to the David way of things, Y/N decided that everyone should find out the gender of her baby by paintball guns.

Jeff, Scott, Todd, and Zane were chosen to get shot by a paintball gun who Y/N, David, Jason, and Natalie would shoot at the same time. It was perfect but of course, Natalie and Y/N were the only ones who knew that would be going on.

Everyone wore shades of blue or pink which was meant to show what gender everyone wanted the baby to be. The small party of friends and family were excited for the gender reveal and everyone had questions as to how they were doing it.

David was oblivious to the whole thing and was kind of happy he didn’t have to answer any questions. Natalie and Y/N locked themselves in his room as the party went on to explain what they were going to do for a video.

“So the ever amazing Natalie helped me with the gender reveal. I wanted to bring back David’s bit with the paintball gun so I have chosen four boys to get shot and me, Dave, Jason, and Natalie will be shooting them. The paintball guns already have either blue or pink in them but we can’t look inside. And I thought this was the perfect way to announce the gender,” explained Y/N.

Finally, at the end of the party, Y/N and David had a crowd around them and everyone had the cameras out to vlog this special moment.

“First off I want to thank everyone for coming. It means the world to Dave and I that we get to share this special moment with the people we love. I know there were questions about how we were going to do this so i thought in a David Dobrik fashion… actually, can I get Natalie and Jason next to us first.”

Natalie and Jason stood next to Y/N and David, Jason was confused as to what he was doing.

“Jason, after all the shit I pulled on you over the years, I thought you would enjoy being here,” smiled David.

“What a better way to tell the family than paintball guns!” yelled Y/N.

David light up when he heard paintball guns and like second nature, Jeff, Scott, Zane, and every other victim to David’s prank sprang for cover. Natalie brought out the four paintball guns as Jeff, Scott, Todd, and Zane were rounded up and brought in front of smiling Natalie, Jason, Y/N, and David.

“I did not agree to this,” argued Jeff.

“It’s for my baby,” smiled Y/N as she held up the paintball gun.

“Do I at least get $100 for this?” asked Todd as he and Scott huddled up together.

“What you get it the chance to know my baby,” joked David.

“Come on boys this is for baby Dobrik. Do you really want them to grow up knowing you refused to do this for them?” asked Y/N.

“Baby, I better be named the godfather or something if I have to go through this pain again,” laughed Zane.

“Dump them like a chicken nugget in barbecue sauce at the baptism,” joked Matt.

Zane burst out laughing remembering that viral video, “Shit then I better be baptizing that baby myself.”

“Never going to happen Zane,” said David.

“Okay line up! Everyone is dying to know.”

The four boys hesitantly lined up to get shot and Y/N had a big smile on her face.

“You’re really excited to do this,” observed David.

“I am! I don’t know if it’s finding out the gender or getting to shoot someone with a paintball gun,” laughed Y/N.

David kissed Y/N, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

In a matter of seconds, the four boys were shot and the sight of blue on their clothes made the crowd go crazy. David and Y/N immediately dropped the paintball guns and hugged each other. They told each other ‘I love you’ ‘Oh my god’ and ‘I can’t believe this’ in muffled voices. Y/N was in tears as David kissed her. The crowd still in a small craze surrounded Y/N and David. Congratulations were given with hugs and kisses. This was a family.

-----

How Y/N was going to give birth was a difficult choice. The choice of a home birth was more favorable but David being paranoid wanted a hospital. Eventually, they settled with home birth literal days before Y/N gave birth. David never left Y/N’s side as she was in pain. He whispered encouraging things in her ear and brought her whatever she needed. It was almost 20 hours before David heard the cries of his son in the world.

Only being a couple hours born baby Dobrik was visited by a wide range of people. David held his newborn son with a big smile like always and showed him to his friends and family. For months David had kept the biggest secret of his life. To explain and show off his son, David didn’t post a vlog one day and instead posted a compilation of the videos over the last year in exactly four minutes and twenty seconds.

The first had been when Y/N told him she was pregnant, to telling his friends and family, then to the gender reveal. Everyone followed suit with their own videos. Carly and Erin, Scott, Jeff, Jonah, Josh, Joe, and so many others paid tribute to baby Dobrik their own way.

[hadestownmodern]

dont have sex u will get pregnant and get made fun of by persephone

Hi guys! @dilforpheus here! I want to preface that the first segment of this was written before the banter on Instagram, but once I saw it I had to incorporate it. There is one final segment with WAY too many spoilers to share yet! 

This friendship/semi maternal relationship between Eurydice and Persephone is arguably my favorite in the ENTIRE modern au. 

The exams were passed back with no particular ceremony. Just Persephone turning them over on Student’s desks, curling writing on the front projecting a number as to how well a student did. Eurydice wasn’t particularly paying attention. She didn’t sleep much the night before and her back was absolutely killing her. She wasn’t even sure how she was going to make it through the next fifty-seven minutes of Persephone lecturing her on social structure in some specific midwestern town and the obscure sociological study that was performed on middle schoolers in the region. 

Eurydice barely notices when Persephone puts her returned exam in front of her, and most certainly misses the smirk on her features as she hands back the papers. Eurydice flips it over to see her grade- 87, adequate- before flipping through the exam to see what she missed. She notices that one corner is bumpier than the other, and flips to see what is interrupting the pages. 

There, staples to the corner of her exam, is a single condom. Not much use now that there is a staple through the middle. In persephone’s swirling cursive is written  

“You, like the girls in this study, could benefit from these -Seph”

Dumbfounded, Eurydice looked up to see Persephone smirking at her as she returned to her laptop in the front of the room .

“Are you fucking with me, Stephanie?” Eurydice mumbled, turning the paper to look at Persephone. “Jokes on you, i’m allergic to latex.” She quips, disregarding the fact she was fully in class in front of people she didn’t know. Fuck ‘em, she’d never see them again after this semester anyway. Persephone was going to be in her life forever. 

“Excellent point. I’ll remember that for next time.”

They ignore the gaping looks of her classmates, and the murmured whispers as Persephone goes back to teaching and beginning the new unit. 

“What did she just call her?” “Did she lowkey call Eurydice a whore?”  

It’s halfway through class, not even a full 30 minutes into the lecture when Eurydice is grasping the edge of the desk so tightly her knuckles were white. Her breathing is labored, but only enough that a trained eye would see. She isn’t even taking notes as Persephone tosses a keyring at her. “Get out of here, you look like shit.”

Persephone is erasing the board before Eurydice can process it, grasping the key ring in her fingers. 

“No, i’m staying. I have to learn this eventually before you give me an 87 again”  

Persephone rolls her eyes before shutting her laptop. “Fine. Class is over.” 

Noone else in the class argues as they quickly pack up their things and scramble out of the classroom, short “bye” and “have a good weekends” pour out of their mouths as Persephone watches them go. She sits at the now empty desk beside Eurydice and runs a hand over her hair. “Is it your back again… Orpheus told me it’s been bothering you recently.”

Eurydice only nods, letting out a shaky breath. ‘You didn’t need to end class-”

“Well you weren’t leaving, and you were distracting me. I was afraid you were gonna pass out right here.”

Eurydice laughs half heartedly, and starts to put her stuff in her bag. “Thank you, Perstephanie.”

Persephone put an arm around her shoulder and rubbed her shoulder. “You know, if you used a condom, you wouldn’t be having this problem.”

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

“Are you fucking serious right now?” Eurydice pulled out the tissue paper, pulling a single box of condoms out. Attached was a note, in Persephone’s flourished cursive.

“So next birthday you don’t have to be pregnant -Seph. P.s. the real present is a vacation where you can put these into use. “

“I’m just saying, twenty two is way more fun when you don’t have feet you can’t see.” Persephone is on the other side of the bar, pouring herself an extra drink to toast to Eurydice, where she herself could not. “We could be drinking on the beach, but no, you drank two glasses of wine at my house and ended up in bed with my nephew.”

“Oh fuck off, You set me up for that-”

“EuRyDiCe! PeRsEpHonE!” Orpheus’ voice cracks from the other end of the bar at the same time a shot glass slips from his fingers and shatters on the ground. “What...whats going on? Why are you fighting?” 

His hazel eyes are wide as they flick between the two most important women in his life who are seemingly arguing over..a gift? Their impending child? “I thought you liked each other!”

Eurydice reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “We do, Orpheus. We’re just messing around.”

“We do this in class all the time!” Persephone promised, squeezing his shoulder. “And you clearly didn’t listen when I taught you what safe sex was all those years ago. Maybe it’ll get through to her.”

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

There’s a gentle knock on the door that startles Eurydice, who pulls her eyes away from her daughter. A couple of hours old and she already seemed to shift the tilt of her world’s axis. She’s finally showered and in something comfortable when Orpheus stepped out to grab something to eat- namely, bring her fries from that diner down the street. She deserved it, dammit.  Eurydice looks up to see Persephone in the doorway, waving and smiling brightly.

“Hey sunshine, can I come in?” Persephone peaks in, genuine joy on her face as she watched Eurydice. So young, but in the short time she’s known her, she’s seen her grow into a completely different woman. “Everyone else will be here soon..Junie’s with my mom..but I wanted to see you.” Yes, she was overjoyed to see this baby that belonged to the boy she raised, but her priority was currently on the woman holding her. She wasn’t about to let her get overlooked in all the excitement of the baby. 

“Yeah, Yeah of course… I’m trying to get the hang of feeding her, but then she fell asleep. And they keep telling me to sleep when she does. But I can’t seem to stop looking at her…”

Persephone sat on the end of the bed, near Eurydice but not daring to crowd her personal space. “No, no I understand completely. I didn’t even put Junie down for about two weeks. Wouldn’t even let my mama hold her..” She rests her hand on Eurydice’s knee with a smile. “So a girl, huh? Does she have a name yet?

“Don’t act like you didn’t know.” Eurydice teased, running her finger over the baby’s nose with a lazy smile. “Your mother knows everything. But yes. I can’t believe it. I love her so much already, and I’ve barely known her three hours...we can’t name her. Nothing seems good enough..I’ve called her french fry for months now.”

“Even you’re starting to believe in her magic. That’s impressive. And a name will come to you. Well, My mother named Junie. No way in hell did my husband pick the name Juniper.”  Persephone watched the way Eurydice didn’t even look at her, unable to drag her eyes away from the tiny person she held in the crook of her arm. “How are you, honey. And don’t give me that fine, bullshit.”

“i...I’m so happy. I love her so much and I love Orpheus so much and- i’m so tired.” Eurydice admits, letting out a sigh. “I love her so much, and I can’t even describe how happy I am. But i’m tired and I didn’t realize how much pain i’d still be in.. and it’s like her gums are razor blades and I don’t think i’m every going to physically be capable of having sex again, not to mention why would Orpheus even want to and- I’m so tired but I can’t look away from her! I can’t put her down. She’s been apart of me for so long.”  She’s crying before she realizes it, warm tears running down her face. She hiccups as she feels the baby starting to move in her arms and almost cries harder. How was she supposed to do this if she was already exhausted?

Persephone is closer to her, tucking black curls behind her ear before wiping at her cheeks. “It’s okay, Eurydice, it’s okay. I understand. I really do. I felt guilty for being tired, for not being on top of the game all the time. I worked so hard to have her, how dare I be anything less than 100%.” She pulled her head to her chest, stroking Eurydice’s soft curls as she held her. Eurydice needed a mother, she needed a mother to care about her, and Persephone was more than glad to fill her part. “”I would take showers that were exactly three minutes long. And for 180 seconds I would sob. Because how dare I be anything less that grateful. But fuck, I just wanted a nap for more than two hours at a time. And to not feel like a cow. So I get it.” 

Persephone kisses the top of Eurydice’s head, feeling the girl’s body just shake as she cried into her. Of course she kept it in. Women were trained to think they could show nothing but joy that day, when in reality the emotional highs and lows came like the changing tide. “It’s okay. You’re going to be the best mom. You are allowed to feel things, Eurydice” She promises, allowing herself a glance down at the incredibly small little girl Eurydice was clutching as if her life depended on it. “She’s so beautiful already. Looks just like you…”

“She looks like a potato alien, you can say it!” Eurydice whined, hiding her face in Persephone’s shoulder. 

“Well..all babies do. But you ate so many fries what do you expect other than a potato?” It’s teasing, and light, and the way Perspehone lightens the mood. She won’t dare ask to hold the baby, not with the way Eurydice anchors herself by holding her. 

“I feel like I got punched in the stomach with at least six knives and then someone ripped out whatever balances my emotions. All that while feeling like a dairy cow mixed with the happiest person in the world.” Eurydice tries to describe, laughing just a little as she wiped her tears away. “I’m a mess.”

“Well, you know, all of that could have been prevented with a condom. Which, by the way-” She pulled out a card and handed it to her. “Heres one for safekeeping, remember it in six weeks.”

“You’re such an asshole sometimes.”

“I know.”

[lusie-king]

Atone

This

Is the story

Of

A demon

With a halo

And an angel

Seeking sin

 Those who believe hell to be a wicked place never grew up there. It’s hard to see your origins as evil when they’re all you’ve ever known. It’s difficult to be afraid of the night creatures and dark monsters when they’re howls lulled you to sleep every night. It’s impossible not to crave the warmth of hellfire and scent of souls burning when, to you, they’re reminders of your upbringing. Of the only things in existence that have ever cared for you.

I was different from the start. My brothers and sisters would sneer at me with their sharp teeth and dark eyes, sneer at the glowing wisp atop my head between little horns. They’d mock my lack of wings and a pointed tail, though I liked not having a tail once I realized how they yanked on each other’s as a means of torment. I never let it get to me, though. Not the beatings nor the laughing nor the torment. I was always content with how the world made me, and though they teased me, I was the one who felt pity for them, and so I knew my differences did not stop at the surface. They were rooted deep within me. And it made me feel special. It made me feel unique.

He couldn’t believe how different he was by the end. A creature most holy in the beginning, with white feathers running along his back and robes of pure light covering his innocent form. His sisters and brothers and even his own father frowned upon the lack of aureole sitting softly above tufts of mousy hair. His appearance reminded them too much of mortality, and with mortality came sin. They never ridiculed him out loud, not like my family did, and that was somehow worse. At least I knew exactly what my siblings thought. He spent everyday wondering if they’d ever love him. He cursed the way the world made him, vowing with each sunrise to find his purpose and be the epitome of righteousness he thought he was meant to be. He never felt special. But he was unique.

The day he fell I remember like my own name. Never had I seen something so beautiful, so sacred grace this planet where I bided my time like I had an eternity of it. He claimed he’d find meaning here but I knew, as soon as I saw his face, I knew he didn’t come here on his own. And he couldn’t go back. I knew for the way he immediately threw himself to his knees and folded his hands in prayer, though I was certain no one was listening. No one but me.

I kept my distance, tucked behind a tree, watching with flitting eyes, staying absolutely still until he had run out of tears and his feathers drooped. Then, I emerged. The moment he sensed me, I slammed into the tree, his hand around my throat, my pointed teeth baring in the most sadistic way. His hand burned when it touched my body.

“How dare you look upon something so holy.” He spoke with a hiss.

I gripped his wrist, enjoying how his face twitched in pain. My touch burned too. His wrathful eyes softened when he saw what hovered above my head. What didn’t hover above his.

“What the…what is that?” His dark eyes searched me, realizing there were certain things missing. “What are you?”

“Exactly what you suspect.”

“Why are you here? You don’t belong here.”

“Neither do you.” I wriggled out from under his grasp. “I guess we have that in common.”

“You and I are nothing alike.” He didn’t touch me again.

“True.” I tilted my head. “The difference being, I can go home whenever I want.”

The rage returned. But I wasn’t afraid. Even when he grabbed me by the horn and dragged me away.

“As a soldier of heaven, it is my sworn duty to protect this mortal world from the likes of you.”

“Oh?” I crossed my arms, smirking as he pulled. “Why?”

“Why?” He scoffed. “What do you mean why? You know why, soulless beast!”

“I do not. I come up here to read. Things below get noisy like you wouldn’t believe. Up here, all is quiet. All is peaceful.”

“Peaceful?” His tone became bitter. “This place is anything but peaceful.” He let me go so he could look into my eyes. “This place is bloodshed and brutality and sin.”

“Sounds like Hell.”

“That…that…” Oh, he was furious.  “You know not of what you speak!”

I couldn’t keep the smug look from my face. “I do. And I know this place is also bright and calm and full of joy. Full of hope.”

“Sounds…” His voice softened. “Sounds like heaven.”

“Now that, I would not know.” I sat back down, a book materializing in my hands.

“You—you are not like the others I have encountered.”

“Nor are you.” I felt him staring at me.

He was quiet for a while, many racing thoughts brewing behind those dark eyes. “I don’t know what to do now.”

“You could make the best of it.”

He crouched beside me. “How?”

I thought for a moment. “Come with me.”

He hesitated, gazing down at me with wary eyes.

“Or remain alone in this field. Your choice.”

Reluctantly, he followed, suspicious glare never leaving the back of my head.

City lights were prettier than the stars, I thought. The way they twinkled so close, each a beacon to someone’s life. To a moment in time. We walked along the mortals, me a figment of their imagination melting in and out of the shadows, he a flash of light moving faster than their eyes could perceive.

“They’re disgusting, even you must agree!”

“I do not.” I shot him a sly look. “Nor do I think you truly believe that.”

The way he stared at them, taking every detail. Listening to their voices. To their pain.

“Nature is messy. But she doesn’t make mistakes.”

His fingers subconsciously ran through his hair, as if expecting something to dance over his head.

“Everything has balance,” I went on. “It’s magnificent.”

We watched a mother coo to her infant. We watched a boy push his sister into a puddle. We watched a scrawny dog graciously accept a handout. We watched a man steal from someone who had nothing.

“I don’t understand,” he growled.

“That’s the problem.” I shook my head. “You keep trying to understand but you can’t because no one can. This world is complicated, as it deserves to be. And those who try to fully comprehend it will drive themselves mad.”

“So what do I do?” He was begging. Desperate. Confused and hurt and my own heart, which I sometimes forgot I had, wrenched.

“Don’t try.” I looked into his innocent eyes. “Just do.”

I took his hand and pressed it to the cold building, letting him take in the marble. That was the beginning.

Gardenias. Purple clouds. Raspberries. Mortal laughter. Tights gowns and clacking heels. Pearls strung along exposed necks. Jewels dancing in chandelier light. Perfect sculptures, the ones where texture defies material.

Screams of pain. Damned souls. Old books. I bit my lip. A moonlit lake. Glittering fish. The smell of death. Flies around a carcass. Pomegranates and dirt blacker than charcoal. Mortal skulls. Hot tears. All this chaos, all this agony, and I still got to see his smile.

Coconut milk. The smell of oil paint. Green tea. Horseshoes on cobblestone sidewalks. Silver chains. He closed his eyes.

Neon lights. Throbbing music. Curling smoke and cigarette buds. Jean jackets. Bloodshot eyes and greasy hair. Doubts. Insomnia. Ecstasy, both kinds. Shaking restlessness. The sharpness of my horns. Scraped knees.

White shells. Footprints in wet sand. Boardwalks and docks. Ferris wheels. Worn down carousels. A swaying sailboat. White curtains fluttering around a windowsill. Shimmering ocean waves. Salt and seaweed sticky on the skin.

A sweet blonde mortal. Her soft lips against his skin. The way his breathing hitched. Glossy makeup. Streaks of shadow streaming down my face. Silk sheets. Whiskey and rum, hot in the throat. A tan-skinned boy. Rough hands running along immortal flesh, calling me a pretty thing, hating my pointed teeth.

Obsidian blades. Bruised knuckles. Split lips. Lost memories. Forgotten dreams. He said he’d never go back, given the chance. Sad smiles. The taste of blood. Clinking glasses. Sparkling champagne. I smiled and his eyes never left my face.

Wool shawls. Racing through the forest. I said they’d have to drag me back. Red and orange leaves fluttering around us. Hot apple cider. Cinnamon donuts. The ground crunched. Meaningless apologies. Bottled sunshine. He spread his wings, mismatched feathers fluttering in the breeze, towering over me. My heartbeat quickened.

He touched my hand and inhaled once when his skin burned. Then he touched me again, holy palms running down my face, down my neck, down my back, leaving ash in their wake. Panting. Dark eyes stared into mine, into the soul newly formed. He looked haunting, hair in his face. Red scratches stretched across his chiseled muscles. My claws skimmed his wings. They were softer than I imagined. My lips found his. He tasted of sin. Quiet moans. Squeezing flesh. Our fingers aligned. I no longer wondered what Heaven was like.

 I laid in his arms, far from the first time. Shadow against light. I never felt so real.

“I was touch starved all my life.” His voice was low. His fingers absentmindedly ran through my hair. “Meanwhile others couldn’t keep their hands off you.”

I tilted my head up. “And look at us now.”

“And look at us now.” He paused, deep in thought. “Is this a happy ending? Do we deserve that?”

“Why not?” I hugged him closer. He was almost found. “If you decide everything always had meaning, you no longer have to search for it.”

His cheek pressed against my temple. “You are hellfire with a halo. Something sacred in the most unholy way. There's nothing soft about your stone-cold heart and yet you hold me with the gentlest hands. When your lips, damp with blood and eyes, dark with sin, set themselves upon me I feel saved. I don't care about the taste of iron or solid black of your irises. All I know is I'd take your bruised knuckles over smooth flesh any day.” His voice trembled as he spoke, laying down all his cards. “Your demons are vast, but they do not exceed my own.”

“Everyone is fucked up in their own way,” I murmured, head on his chest. “And I think that’s beautiful.”

Time went on. His feathers frayed. The light between my horns faded. Neither of us cared. We walked among the mortals until mortality took over. Until his pure light dimmed and disappeared. Until my horns withered away. Until my claws softened and his wings became scars. My heart beat vigorously, in sync with his own. Our touch no longer burned. We were different. We were unique. We were something magnificent and foul. We were mortal. And I wanted those dark eyes to be all I’d ever known.

[1985keery]

✰ prompt list ✰

Hey!!!! So I love to write so I made a prompt list! If you want me to do a certain one, just message me this number(s) and person!! i do

- that 70s show

- stranger things

- jim halpert

- bbc sherlock

- + more!!!

anyway here are the prompts lol:

1. "I love that color on you"

2. "What could possibly go wrong"

3. "You haven't been yourself lately"

4. "My boyfriend is a basic white girl"

5. "Maybe I'm meant to be alone"

6. "Stop acting like you care!"

7. "What happened to you!"

8. "You don't sing anymore"

9. “It's 4 in the fucking morning"

10. "I'm dying!" "It's a sprained ankle"

11, "You promised me - you promised!"

12. "You don't know me at all"

13. "WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU SO CUTE"

14. "I love you" "Why"

15. "You're so cheesy"

16. "I wish you could see yourself as I see you"

17. "Is that my skirt?"

18. "I see how you look at him"

19. *Cackling* "Stop, I'm gonna pee!"

20."Ya know what, I'm not even gonna ask"

21. "Your breath smells good"

22. "How would you know what that taste like?"

23. "Of course you were in marching band"

24. "You're mine, and I don't share"

25. "Okay, that one hurt, but I'll let it slide"

26. "You're so cute! Take your pants off"

27. "My work is important!" "And I'm not?"

28. "You'll catch me right?" "Always"

29. "We are not naming our child that"

30. "Stay here and don't move, I'll be right back"

31. "I don't even know who you are anymore!"

32. "It's not what it looks like"

33. "Take one more step and I snap her pretty little neck"

34. "Hey hey hey, I'm here, you're okay, you're safe"

35. "Please stop crying, it breaks my heart"

36. "Get down from there!"

37. "Don't be afraid, I'm here"

38. "Can you just hold me?"

39. "It was you and me against the world. The world won"

40. "Whatever you do, don't make a sound"

41. " I was angry, and she was available, and I'm so sorry"

42. "Stop it - you're scaring me"

43. "Do you still like me" "I married you"

44. "Man, you're whipped"

45. "You loved her. You loved her and it scared you and now she's gone"

46. "Psst, wake up"

47. "What are you gonna do about it"

48. "Shut up" "Make me"

49. "Just one more kiss"

50. "I have to go to work" "Nooooooooo"

51."Behave - we're in public"

52. "I don't want your pity"

53. "Are you okay" "Yeah" "You're bleeding" "Okay maybe I lied"

54. "That's what she said"

55. "Go upstairs and lock the door, okay? Don't come out unless I tell you"

56. "What the hell is that supposed to mean"

57. "You make my heart happy"

58. "I'm obsessed with that dimple"

59. "I think I've loved you since that first day"

60. "No takesies- backsies"

61. "You taste good"

62. "You are love in it's best form"

63. "Oh my sweet girl/boy, what have they done to you"

64. "You can't die on me, do you understand, you can't"

65. "Her angel eyes see the good in many devils"

66."This is illegal" "Yep"

67. "Well tell them to fuck off" "But that's mean!"

68. "You're so immature" "Your moms so immature"

69."You look so good tonight, baby"

70. "The worlds biggest badass can't handle a book where the dog dies"

71."We have each other, and that's enough"

72. "If you wanted a kiss you could've just asked"

73. "Stop biting your lip"

74. "You knew how important this was to me"

75. "I'm out of second chances"

76. "I can do whatever I want, we're not dating, remember?"

77. "I'm just one of your many booty calls"

78. "I would give you the world if I could"

79. "Ew, I look gross"

80. "I don't want you to get sick!"

81. "People are staring at us"

82. "I'll always be here, no matter what"

83. "You can get closer, you know"

84. "Can you sit still"

85. "You have the mentality of a toddler"

89. "You p-promised you-you-you wouldn't let them h-hurt mmmm me"

90. "That's my girl"

91. "I'm fine" "Don't do this" "Really, I'm fine" "Let me help you!"

92. "Stop cursing" "Fuck you"

93. "You're cute when you blush"

94."Are - are you jealous?"

95. "What are you doing?" "My best"

96. "Puppy dog eyes don't work on- Fine"

97. "Are you okay?" "I wanna be"

98. "I won this for you"

99. "It's watching me" "What is" "That plushie"

100. "I'm coming to get you, okay? Just stay there"

101. "If we get out of here alive, I'm gonna kill you"

102. "Come in, lunch is ready"

103. "I'm gonna try to lose a few pounds" "Please don't your stomach is the comfiest pillow"

104. "I've been waiting for you for over 6 hours"

105. "Hey, weird question, but why is the kitchen on fire?"

106. "Mmm nope, it's naptime"

107. "Did you eat my leftovers?"

108. "Wow! I was not prepared for that"

109. *Sees a moose* "That's a weird looking cow"

110. "Hello, my love" "What's up fucker"

111. "Don't make me be alone again"

112. "Oh, my apologies, I didn't realize you ruled the world"

113. "You get super clingy when you're drunk"

114. "I can't believe you fell for that"

115. "What the hell is that?" "That's my new best friend"

116. "I hate that I'm still in love with you"

117. "You are gorgeous, love, don't ever doubt that"

118. "I never wanna let you go"

119. "You make me feel all warm inside"

120. "Just go to sleep darling, I'll be right here when you wake up"

121. "C'mere, you can sit on my lap until I'm done working"

122. "You're the best pillow"

123. "Stop messing with your IV"

124. "I thought you were gone" "You can't get rid of me that easily"

125. "It should've been me"

126. "Kiss me"

127. "Open this door before I break it down"

128. "Were you ever gonna tell me?"

129. "I saw that. You just checked me out"

130. "Nothing could make me stop loving you"

131. "I'm not special. I'm quite boring, really"

132. "Feels good, huh?"

133. "You're an angel"

134. "Did you just smack my butt with a rubber chicken?"

135. "Do you think we should just stop... this"

136. "Do you really believe that"

137. "It'd make sense why you like her more than me. I mean, she's smarter, prettier, funnier, she's perfect"

138. "Do you miss him?" "He absolutely shattered me" "But do you miss him?" "Yes"

139. "I want an answer, damn it!"

140. "Do you regret it?"

141. "This is why we can't have nice things"

142. "I never stood a chance, did I?"

143. "You broke my heart and all you can say is sorry?"

144. "You don't have to hide anymore"

145. "You never cease to amaze me"

146. "See you in the next life, my love"

147. "Are you even listening to me right now?!"

148. "I can't do this anymore"

149. "This was a mistake"

150. "Shut up! Just - Just shut up!"

151. "You deserve so much better"

152. "Whose ass do I have to kick?"

153. "I worked so hard to be where I am now and I'm not gonna let someone take that away from me"

154. "Pack your shit and go"

155. "You'll be the death of me"

156. "I don't need protecting"

157. "I am fully convinced you never graduated kindergarten"

158. "Go then, leave! See if I care!'

159.  "If you haven't noticed, I'm fucked up"

160. "You reek of alcohol"

161. "Don't talk, keep your strength"

162. "I broke my rules for you"

163. "She may seem like rainbows and sunshine, but I bet behind closed doors she's latex and whips"

164. "How bad do you want to find out?"

165. "You look great in my shirt"

166. "You'll regret this when you're sober"

167. "You look cute with bed head"

168."Mmmm, you're warm"

169. "It was only a nightmare"

170. "It's not bad to cry.  In fact, I think it makes a person stronger"

[freddie-roger-brian-john]

Kisses of fire - Part Two

A/N - ok so this was originally a little bit longer but my phone ran out of charge before I had the chance to save it so here we are. Hope you enjoy!!

Warnings - none

Word count - 2555 (was originally over 3000 and I’m sad)

Read part one here!!!

——————

Needless to say, John could be very persuasive. Y/N wasn't quite sure how it happened but by that night, she was in his bed as he panted loudly, coming down from his high only one minute and forty nine seconds later.

His hotel room was very small and cramped. It seemed he had brought everything he owned on holiday with him. Y/N noticed his bass sitting in the corner.

"That was the greatest event of my life," John confessed through heavy breathing. He had an arm wrapped tightly around Y/N as she lay her head on his bare chest. "It's been a good life,

you know. Full of happy things, but... that was the best of them."

Well, she was happy he was happy at least.

"Did you enjoy...?" He began before stopping himself. "No, don't answer that." The casualness of the day had completely disappeared. After that performance, Y/N was beginning to feel a little awkward. "But did you?" He asked.

"It was..." Y/N tried to search for word that didn't mean short. "Lovely." She patted his chest. "Thank you." She tried her best to sound convincing.

"No," he said, hugging her even tighter. "Thank you."

It didn't take too long for John to fall asleep. However, as soon as Y/N was sure he was out, she untangled herself from his tightly grasping limbs, and stood up from the bed. She found her clothes, quickly getting dressed, and made her way to the door.

She headed back to her own room in the hotel and grabbed a notepad from within her bag. Tearing out a page, she found a pencil and jotted down the words

"Gone to Greece."

Maybe one day he would take inspiration from her. Maybe when life got too stressful, he would write a similar note for his future band mates and then fuck off to Bali or something.

Creeping back into John's room, she left the note on his bedside table. She looked at it, and then to John's sleeping form. The boy was a romantic. He deserved better. She turned the piece of paper over and quickly jotted down a few sentences.

-

Dear John,

So sorry I had to leave so early. Looking forward to the sunshine in Greece. Hope everything goes well when you get back hope. I'm rooting for you. Break free, spread your wings and find a band for me. Find a better girl than me; someone who's you're best friend. Don't take any shit, don't take any back chat.

Love, Y/N

P.s next time you're with a girl though, maybe try not to -

She tried to think of a delicate enough word.

- misfire.

-

Her eyes found his bass guitar again and, although it seemed a little far fetched, she truly hoped he would heed her advice and join a student band.

"Bye, John," she said, quietly.

And with that, she closed the door behind her, quickly grabbed her suitcase from her room, and set off towards the train station.

————

The next day, Y/N found herself in a coastal town in Greece. As the train had been slightly delayed, she was running late for the ferry that would take her to Kalokari.

She quickly rushed over to a small booth in which a round man sat, ready to check passports and sell tickets.

He was taking his time about it. He kept glancing between Y/N and her passport photo, and eyeing her suspiciously.

"Your hair is different," he commented.

"It is a bit," she responded, growing a little impatient. "Listen-" she looked at his name tag, "- Elton, I know we could talk about that, but, uh, the ferry leaves any second, and-"

"I liked your hair better before," he told her, not really listening. "It looked a lot like my mother, Melina's. Now it looks like my Auntie Sharon's."

He stamped her passport and she ran down the peer as quickly as she could, shouting a fast "thank you" behind her.

"Wait! Wait!" She shouted to the ferry which had just started to move. She was running as fast as she could and failed to notice some of her clothes slip out of her jam packed suitcase. "Please! Turn around, it's not too late!"

But the ferry was gone and it had no intention of stopping for Y/N to climb aboard. She let her flailing arms fall to her sides and heaved a heavy sigh of frustration and disappointment. The next ferry wasn't for another week.

"This is great," an English voice said behind her. She turned around and saw a young man, maybe only a year older than John had been. He had blonde hair that fell to just above his shoulders and the most breathtaking eyes Y/N had ever seen. "I'm just going to follow you

everywhere. By the end of the day, I'll have a whole new wardrobe."

"I don't think that'll suit you," Y/N told him, a smile playing at her otherwise annoyed lips. He smirked and held the bikini top that he had picked up to his chest.

"I think I can make it work," he said. To be completely honest, Y/N agreed. The confidence that was radiating off this boy was quite refreshing after Y/N's encounter with John. Unlike the bassist, this man seemed a lot more similar to her. He seemed free. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just really wanted to catch that ferry," she explained as he passed her clothes back to her.

"There'll be another next Monday," he told her. She nodded.

"Yeah, thanks," she muttered. As she sat her suitcase on the pier and began stuffing her clothes back inside, the man walked off back to where he had come from. Y/N's couldn't help but giggle as she saw him hop down into his boat.

"Right," she said, "but, uh, what would be

really great - today, not tomorrow - would be if, somewhere in this harbour, there was a guy."

"Young, luscious blond hair, dashingly handsome?" He asked as he fiddled with some of the ropes on his boat.

"He's probably passable-looking," she told him. He smiled, shaking head. "But he has a boat."

"And a couple of days free before he's got a gig here on the mainland," he continued.

"So maybe he can take her where she wants to go," she suggested. He smiled brightly at her.

"He'd love to," he said. His smile faltered. "But the sad fact is... this isn't my boat. I just wanted to impress you."

"Oh," Y/N muttered, her smile also fading. "Oh, okay." She made to turn and walk away but he called out after her.

"I'm kidding," he laughed. She whipped back around, her grin returning. "I'm kidding," he assured her. "Jump on. I'm Roger."

And so, Y/N hopped down onto the boat. She stumbled slightly but roger was quick to catch her and steady her back on her feet. She  pulsing help but notice the way his hands lingered on her bare arm before letting go. "I'm Y/N," she told him to help snap him out of his day dream. He was staring at her rather intently.

However, he didn't break out of it. Instead, the piercing gaze was now matched with a sheepish smile. "Lovely name," he told her, his voice almost dreamlike. "I've never seen eyes the same colour as yours."

She had to laugh. Her eyes had never been anything she consider special or out of the ordinary.

"Yeah, thanks," she said through an amused smile. Roger shook his head as if to clear and seemed to come back to earth.

"Um," said Roger looking right and left as if to find a direction for this slightly awkward, yet intimate, conversation to go in. "Come on, I'll show you under the deck." He took her hand and they headed below deck.

"I actually have a friend on the island who helped me buy this boat," he explained as they descended the stairs.

"You must be pretty close," she commented. Roger smiled and dramatically placed a hand over his heart.

"Soulmates," he told her, letting a laugh escape his mouth. They found the bottom of the stair and he held out his arms as if to say voila! "There are two beds," he said, "but unfortunately, one of them is rather full."

She glanced to where he was pointing and saw that the bed was covered in flippers and goggles and rope and all the things you would need on a boat.

"Huh," she said eyeing his cheeky grin. "Convenient." She giggled and the two of them headed back upstairs.

"You know what?" Roger said and the sunlight hit their faces. "You have one of those smiles

that makes the rest of the world smile, too." She almost rolled her eyes. "Luckily for me, this trip isn't long enough for my fragile heart to shatter completely when you leave my boat." His hand was over his heart again.

"Ugh." This time, she actually did roll her eyes. "I get it. You're one of them."

"One of who?" Roger asked, seemingly oblivious to how cheesy he was being.

"Well," said Y/N, preparing to give him a little lesson. "There are two kinds of seducer. The first doesn't actually like women and so wants to assert his power over them, but the second, and far more dangerous, is the guy who genuinely falls in love every evening, only to fall out of it again the next morning." Roger was smiling and his eyebrows were raised high.

"But as you run away, you tell her you're the one in pain and she's just too much for you to handle."

"Hmm," Roger thought for a moment. "That sounds eerily accurate."

"Does it now?" She grinned.

"Luckily for you," Roger told her, stepping nearer, "there is also a third type."

"And what would that be?" She asked. His hands found their way to her hips and hers held onto his arms. They were almost touching foreheads. He smirked. Her eyes resembled how his had been. Almost glazed over.

"Me."

Closer and closer. Millimetres apart. Lips almost touching.

But then Y/N saw something - no, someone. The mainland was still visible, the boat had only just left. The figure of the peer were small but she could just make out his skinny frame.

"Your hair," The man who checked the passports said to John Deacon. "I think it would be better short, maybe even a perm would suit you."

"Sorry, I wonder, could you please hurry up a bit?" John asked him as he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. "Uh, you see, I've followed a girl all the way from Paris. She wrote me a note. A very kind note. Saying good-bye." He looked down at his feet, wondering for a moment if he had made the wrong decision. "But when you've found the only girl you think you're ever gonna love, it's gotta be worth one more try. Don't you think?"

The man looked John up and down, nodding. "Yes," He said. John smiled. "You would definitely suit a perm." He stamped John's passport and John ran as quickly as he could to the end of the peer to check the ferry times. But then he saw her.

Over Roger's shoulder, she locked eyes with the John who was rapidly growing smaller as they sailed further and further away. John's face fell but he shook his head, quickly managed to regain control over his face, and nodded to Y/N before turning around and walking away.

"Are you alright?" Roger asked her. Her eyes found him again and she nodded, attempting to clear all thoughts of John from her mind.

"Yeah, Yeah, I'm fine," she said. Now that she was looking into Roger's sea coloured eyes again, John seemed very far away. "I'm great."

And again, they both leaned in. Closer and closer until-

"Hey!" A voice called. The location of the shout was beyond either of their peripheral vision and neither of them could bare to tear their eyes away.

"What was that?" Y/N, her voice distracted and quiet.

"Nothing," Roger assured her. "A seagull or something."

Closer and closer.

"Hey!?" The voice cried again. Y/N was now to curious, she turned to find the caller and Roger, eyes closing in frustration and disappointment, leaned his forehead against the side of her head, their arms still intertwining them.

"Hello!" Y/N called out to the caller. Roger finally turned to look. A man stood on a very small boat, staring up at them from a fair few meters away.

"Hi," said Roger through gritted teeth. "Just checking to see if you're in danger, which you're clearly not, so we'll be off.” He made to grab Y/N's hand and pull her below deck for some privacy but she shook him off.

"My engine is not working," The man explained, pointing to the engine that refused to start.

"Oh, that is bad luck. I'll radio for someone

to come and help you," Roger said. “They should be along soon.” He grabbed Y/N’s hand and made to try and pull her below deck for some privacy but she just waved him off.

“Please, please,” The man said, bring their attention back to him. “There is a woman waiting for me on the mainland. Her family,

they not want her to marry a simple fisherman like Alexio. They want rich man. Ugly, fat, big mole on face, but rich. But she...” his face, which had to contorted to one of disgust as he described his lover’s betrothed, softened at the thought of her. “...she want me.”

Y/N couldn’t help but smile at the look of pure love on his face. “And I love her with all my heartness,” he told them. “Please help, kind sir

and beautiful lady.”

She turned to look at Roger, who she saw was already staring at her.

“Well, obviously we're doing this,” she said to him quietly. He shook his head but smiled and, at the same time, they both answered,

“Yes.”

——————

Taglist - @dorianbasil @seasexnsun @casafrass @deakyrog

Let me know what you thought!! :)

[psycho-slytherin]

Strangers ch. 27

Your dizzy spells have gotten worse, but it’s time for you and Yoongi to shine.

Pairing: Yoongi x (female) Reader

Word count: 1.6k

Genre: Floof

|mlist|

<–– Prev   Next ––>

Okay. Okay. It’s fine. Everything is fine. Fine fine fine fine. Fine. Fine–

A knock at your door interrupts your whirlwind of overthinking, and when you open it you see your downstairs neighbor tapping his foot impatiently.

“Oh, hi there, Soobin. What can I do for you?” You’re cautiously polite, reasonably sure that by this point your neighbor despises you– when you flooded your apartment, his was also damaged, and your obnoxious alarms at all hours have probably driven him crazy.

Soobin yawns. “It’s two in the morning, y/n. I understand if you’re stressed or something. However, your pacing is making it hard to sleep.”

“Oh.” Your cheeks turn red. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you up.”

“Get some sleep,” your neighbor advises. “I’m not trying to pry, but it’s hard to ignore when you’ve been pacing for the better part of an hour.”

“Yes- I will.” You apologize again before saying goodnight, and once you close the door you sigh and lean your forehead against the smooth wood. You’ve never felt so nervous in your life– just thinking about tomorrow raises goosebumps on your arms and makes your heart stutter.

You’re going to kiss Yoongi.

You. Are going. To kiss. Min Yoongi.

Well, your character is going to kiss Yoongi’s character. But still.

The first time you saw Yoongi, back when he called himself Agust, you’d fainted. Just seeing him was enough to overwhelm you entirely and make you lose any semblance of dignity. And now, that man, your idol, your dream, is going to kiss you.

As you climb into bed, you pray that you’ll be able to at least keep your balance tomorrow. Today. Whatever. You need sleep.

“Fame, flashlight– gi-give it to me!”

You shoot upwards, jolted unpleasantly out of an equally unpleasant dream. “Son of a bitch,” You groan, rubbing your temples. Your head hurts terribly, and the comments you’ve been reading online followed you once again into sleep.

@captainkookie21: hey throwback to when @yourname was a no-name who didn’t sleep her way to the top, amirite? Our boys are too good for her lmao

@seventeengoingonseokjin: im so conflicted about #MoonOverTheSea like?? Do I stan because Yoongi? Do I hate because @yourname? What’s the protocol

@namjoonforpresident: Y’all there’s a rumor that there’ll be a #MoonOverTheSea footage leak lmfao didn’t they barely start filming

@bangtan-uwus: unpopular opinion but fuck @yourname and everything she stands for. I’d understand if she were actually famous but she aint and she doesn’t deserve yoongi

@captainkookie21: @bangtan-uwus lol you mean popular opinion

“Ugh.” You bury your face in your hands, squeezing your eyes shut tight, tight enough to keep everything out. There’s an emptiness in your chest so heavy that it hurts to breath, and you’re dizzy again– these spells have been happening more often lately.

Suddenly, your phone rings. The noise makes you jump and scramble to answer.

“Hello?”

“Y/n~ how are you, darling?” Lisa sings in your ear.

You force yourself to relax, force your voice to lighten for your friend’s sake. “Yeah, I’m great. How ‘bout you?”

“Tut-tut. This isn’t about me, hon. Second day of filming! How are you feeling?”

“Yeah, um– you know, good. Fine.”

“Convincing,” Lisa replies dryly. “Well, I’m downstairs. I can give you a lift to the set if you want?”

“Thanks, I’ll be right down.” You rush to gather your things and join Lisa in her car.

"We’re not going to film in the studio today,” you tell her. “We’re going to some outdoor location.”

“Ah, tell me the address?”

You read it to her off your phone and spend the rest of the car ride anxiously tapping as Lisa chatters. Yoongi. Yoongi. You’re going to kiss him, just like in your dream, the one you can’t even force yourself to forget.

“By the way, I’ve been noticing some mean stuff on Twitter lately...” Lisa says cautiously, and you freeze.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Lisa scoffs. “You need to tell me if it’s getting out of hand.”

“I’m fine, Lisa.”

“I’m feeling just fine, fine, fine,” Lisa sings as she parks. “If you say so, girl. Have a good day, yeah? Tell me everything!”

“You know I will.”

Lisa’s eyes narrow. “Do I know that? I’m just kidding. See ya!”

“Bye...?”

You turn and walk to where the film crew has set up tents and trailers. You spot Avery, and judging by her frazzled expression she’s clearly somehow slept less than you.

“Oh, thank god, y/n. Please tell me you’re the one decent member of this cast,” Avery exclaims when you approach.

“Uh... what?”

“The two leads aren’t cooperating because they’re jealous you and Yoongi have been in front of the camera most,” an assistant supplies. “And since the schedule changed and we have to film your outdoor kiss first, they’re both refusing to be onset today.”

Right. The kiss. Almost on cue, Yoongi shows up, moving through the star-struck crew.

“Are we getting started?” He asks Avery, not looking you in the eye.

“Yes. Yes! We are. Hair and makeup, both of you. I want you onset next to those trees in half an hour. If we have to do more than ten takes for any scene, I might go crazy. It’s fine. Everything is fine.” Avery says in a very not-fine way. Unwilling to provoke your director, you scurry off to hair and makeup, only relaxing when Yoongi is out of sight.

But you’re friends. And you’re only acting. This tension isn’t normal. You’re just friends. Why are you so damn nervous?

The period clothing is heavy, and too warm in the noon sun. Because your clothes and makeup are simpler, you trundle onset before Yoongi arrives, and spend the extra few minutes reviewing your lines.

Avery stands next to the camera along with the cinematographer and several assistants. At last, Yoongi walks up to you. You want to tease him about how dashing he looks, but for once the words fail you: how can you joke when it’s the truth? Yoongi is undeniably handsome, but now... he looks royal. He looks perfect.

Avery quickly walks you and Yoongi through the scene, including where you’ll move and when. “Y/n, we’ll start with your line, okay? Take one. Ready, and... action!”

“Isn’t the sunshine lovely today, Mr. Moon?” you sing sweetly as you walk with Yoongi across the field, cameras surrounding you.

“Not half as lovely as you, Miss Kim– though I do wish you would call me Sung-Min.” Yoongi looks at you for the first time today and you feel your cheeks heat up.

You laugh off the sudden rush of affection. “Then I am Ji-Woo. Even though it is hardly appropriate–”

Yoongi grasps your hands in his, and you nearly gasp. This wasn’t in the script.

“I no longer care what is appropriate, Ji-Woo. After all...” he pauses, the corners of his catlike eyes crinkling. “I fell in love with you, didn’t I?”

You giggle modestly, but the intensity of his gaze combined with your intertwined fingers makes you feel like something inside you is falling apart.

“I suppose you did,” you reply, keeping your voice level as Yoongi leads you to the large flat rock Avery pointed out earlier. With a swish of your skirts you settle yourself upon the rock, spine straight, hands folded in your lap. Yoongi stands in front of you.

“Won’t you sit down, Sung-Min?”

“What? Oh, yes.” Yoongi becomes more agitated, and begins pacing in front of you. Much like, you think bemusedly, your own behavior last night. “Y/n, I–”

“Cut!” Avery hollers, and you’re brought back to reality. “Yoongi, she’s Ji-Woo, remember?”

“Ah, yes. Sorry.” Yoongi nods quickly, looking embarrassed.

Your director sighs. “It’s fine– it’s going great so far. Why don’t we keep going from Yoongi’s line? Ready, and... action!”

“Ji-Woo, I’ve been meaning to ask you...”

“Yes?” You’re only supposed to look nervous, so why do you feel your heartbeat quickening?

“I love you, Kim Ji-Woo. I love you truly, fervently, and with every part of myself.” Yoongi takes a breath and with a start you realize you’ve been holding yours. “I think I was besotted from the moment I met you, and every day since has done nothing but intensify my affection. And so, I must ask you– will you do me the honor and privilege, on this day and all days hence, of becoming my wife?”

The tears are there before you have to summon them: Yoongi is kneeling before you, his eyes wide, pleading, hopeful, beautiful. You press your lips together and nod happily and Yoongi’s face lights up with euphoric disbelief and he rises, and he hugs you tightly, so tightly, and when he at last pulls away you’re left looking at each other, eyes wide, mouths inches apart, and you don’t dare breathe.

It’s for the drama. Just friends. Just–

And you have no more time to think because he’s kissing you, Min Yoongi is kissing you and he’s kissing you gently, lovingly, his lips are so soft against yours and he tastes like mangoes for some reason and you reach up to rest your hands on his shoulders and he cups your cheek as though protecting a flower and all this goes through your head in about two seconds because he’s kissing you and there’s nothing more distracting in the world.

After perhaps an eternity you break apart, and Avery once more yells “Cut! Great, we should do another take just in case.”

But you can’t hear her too well: your head hurts again, and you feel another dizzy spell about to hit you, but this one much stronger than the ones you’ve been experiencing lately, and your balance feels off and you’re tired, so tired–

Yoongi must notice. “Y/n, are you oka–”

“I am going to faint,” you announce, before your eyes flutter shut and the world turns to black.