#parts I did not like: the actual construction haha - I pressed too hard with my heat press and glue seeped out on the cover & back

[super-cerulean]

Two Way Street

Request:  Hi sweetheart, can I request a #10 & #13 from Jason Todd prompt challenge? Sorry to bother u. I love ur blog (The prompts were Jason being Jealous of the reader and Dick and the reader being jealous of Jason and Kori)

Warnings: Language 

Part One/ Part Two

Jason Todd had been a friend of yours before you had even become a superhero. You met him after he had become Red Hood while he was doing an undercover mission at the bar you worked at. The two of you became quick friends and it didn’t take long for you to figure out who he really was. Though you thought what he did was cool and noble, you never really saw yourself doing it. Some people were cut out for staying up all night exchanging bullets with the criminal underworld and some weren’t. You didn’t think you were cut out for that kind of life. Of course, there were all types of ways to be a superhero and you ended up finding that out the hard way. Being a vigilante didn’t fit well for you, but apparently being a Green Lantern did. At least that’s what everyone told you after the ring had dragged you halfway across the galaxy. From then on, you found yourself doing a lot of things you wouldn’t have even dreamed of; one such thing being assisting Jason’s brother Dick on a mission.

Getting the call from Nightwing was surprising, but it wasn’t the first time you had been asked to assist another hero. Jason had done it plenty of times under the guise of “extra training” when he needed back up or wanted you to use your ring to help with something. If you hadn’t known him as well you might have gotten angry that he was using your powers for his own gain. Unfortunately, you’d known him long enough to have asked for the Red Hood’s help enough times to allow him the freedom of using you in the same way. Karma really could be a bitch sometimes.

Despite not having any experience working with Dick or in Bludhaven, you knew him well enough had been bored with life between your own missions so you suited up, charged your ring and went out. Dick was working on a case where alien technology was involved, so he wanted help from someone who was more familiar with it. Of course, being a close friend of Jason and a nosey person in general, you knew Kori and you knew they had a thing going on. Why he'd asked for your help instead of hers was intriguing to say the least and the question burned in the back of your mind  for most of the mission until he finally decided to bring it up.

“So um. Besides this mission, I kind of need your help with something,” he said while you were travelling to your next destination. Your ring allowed you to fly on your own, but you didn’t feel like dealing with Dick travelling across rooftops so you made a small plane construct for Dick to ride in. It was a lot quicker and made it easier to talk to each other.

“And what would that be?” You slowed your own speed, trailing parallel to the construct to better hear him over the sound of wind in your ears. Dick leaned onto the front of the plane, his hair flying away from his mask and exposing the entirety of his face. His eyes were covered by his mask, but you could still read most of his expression. He seemed nervous, biting his lip as he figured out what he wanted to say.

“It’s kind of dumb, but I needed help with something with Starfire.”

“Okay? You’re starting to freak me out with this cryptic shit,” you responded.

“Well I've been trying to figure out what we are for the longest time but she really doesn't seem like she wants to be in a relationship. So I asked her about it and we got into a huge fight because I said I wanted to have an actual relationship and she wanted to keep things the way they are. So I said, fine but if you don’t want to take this seriously, then neither will I.” You paused, eyes wandering away from his face as you though then returning with a confused look.

“...so, because you wanted a more serious relationship…you broke up?”

“I don’t know, there isn’t anything to really break up since we apparently aren’t that serious. I want to be with her and all, I just wish she would...you know, think me as more than a dick appointment.” He paused, seeing you quirk a smile at his choice of words, and sighed. “No pun intended.”

“Okay, so what do you want me to do about it?”

“I want you to help me make her jealous.”

“Me? She will kick. My. Ass. I've only been a Green Lantern for like half a year, I couldn't take her in a fight.” You turned suddenly so that you were facing him, slowing to an almost complete stop. “Not only that, but trying to make her jealous? That’s kind of fucked up.”

“I won’t let it go that far, I just want to do something to find out if she cares about me as much as I care about her. I know it’s a shitty thing to do, but I don’t think she realizes how it feels to not know where we stand.” You were quiet, turning around again and guiding you to the location you needed to go for your mission and deconstructing the plane once Dick had stepped out of it. “I just really need someone to help with this and you’re the best candidate.”

“Why?”

“You just got into this whole hero circle so it wouldn't be completely insane for us to be flirting. We’re kind of in similar circles and you’re obviously not bad looking.”

“Oh haha, you're so funny,” you retorted. Even though you were still teasing each other, you were actually thinking about his proposal. He was right that Kori would likely not get angry enough to fight you, but it was kind of odd. His intentions were good but you had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

“I know we’re not that close and all, but I feel like I’m running out of options. If you’re not comfortable with it, it’s fine though. I can ask someone else or find another way.”

“You know what? Fine, if this blows up it'll be in your face so I don't have that much to lose.” Dick broke into a grin at your agreement to help him and you rolled your eyes.

“Absolutely, if Kori really does get mad, I’ll tell her it was all me. And if it doesn’t work and whatever sliver of a relationship I had is ruined, at least I can say I made a new friend.”

“I’m glad you’re making jokes to cope with this, because that’s more than likely what’s going to happen.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t,” Dick responded. He turned to walk away, but suddenly faced you again. “Oh, and don’t mention this to Jason. I know you guys are close but he’s also close with Kori and I don’t want him to ruin the plan.”

“You do realize we started sharing an apartment like a month ago, right?” You narrowed your eyes at him, crossing your arms over your chest. Maybe you should have just told him to find someone else. Jason was now your closest friend and lying to him didn’t feel right; even if it was to help his brother out.

“Yes, but it’ll be fine. We’ll let him believe it with Star for a while until the plan is done. Then, you can tell him and laugh about how dumb this is.”

After a moment of heavy thought, you finally sighed in defeat. “...Alright, I guess that's fair.”

“So you’re in?”

“Yeah, I’m in.

Dick had apparently thought everything through before he even asked for your help. He wanted to start off small with random video chats while he was at the Titan’s Tower and inviting you over to hang out with him when he knew Kori would be there. You didn’t put much thought into it because the plan wasn’t really yours, so you weren’t even sure it was working. He wasn’t doing much outside of hanging out and talking to you more. When he asked you to help make Kori jealous, you thought he would be acting overly flirtatious, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Whatever it was, you were at least glad you didn’t have to do much either. The only real indication that anything was different came a few days in when Jason brought it up.  

It was a lazy day where both of you were relaxing after going through hell doing Red Hood and Green Lantern work respectively. Jason was sitting in an armchair opposite to you in sweat pants and a plain t-shirt while you reclined on the couch in your own pajamas. Dick had been texting you back and forth for a while since you had gotten home and you were laughing at the dumb things he’d been talking about. Despite the whole situation, Dick was actually pretty fun to talk to. If he didn’t end up dead in a ditch, you’d be glad to keep up a friendship with him. It was while the thought had crossed your mind that Jason suddenly spoke up.

“I heard that you and Nightwing have been working together a lot…” You looked up, seeing Jason glancing at you over his book. His eyes remained on the page, but he was waiting on a response from you as he read.  The fact that he even knew about it surprised you, so when he spoke you had to take a moment to find a response.

“Yeah, I guess we have.” Jason didn’t react much besides nodding at first, so you thought he was done with it. He seemed to not care much about the whole thing other than being curious as he continued to stare down at the pages in his book. Then, he surprised you again by pressing a bit further into his inquiry.

“I didn’t know you two were that close.”

“Well we weren’t, but he asked me to help him on a case and we’ve been talking a lot since then.” You watched Jason carefully. He seemed like he wanted to say something more, but he was biting his tongue. You wondered just how much Kori had told him and what Dick had been doing on his end. Having the effects of his plan ripple into your house was a bit unnerving, but you kept your promise to Dick not to say anything to Jason. He seemed fairly nonchalant about it, so you didn’t think too much about him asking you. The only thing that worried you was that Dick’s plan might interfere with your own relationships, but that seemed to not be the case. At least that was what you thought.

He may have looked cool as a cucumber to you, but he was internally fuming. Kori had only told him about your relationship with Dick the night before and he was even angrier a day later than he had been when he first learned of it. It took so much willpower to come off as nonchalant mentioning it to you that he could have been a lantern himself. His anger was pretty much boiling inside him, but he refused to let it show. Instead, he stuck to playing it cool, using the book as a way to keep from losing it. In all honesty, he had been planning to read from it to calm himself down a bit, but he ended up reading the same page over and over again because he was distracted. Distracted by you smiling and laughing at text messages that were likely coming from his brother.  

Denial was his first thought when he found out, thinking there must have been some kind of misunderstanding. Maybe that’s why it didn’t piss him off as much. It wasn’t until he noticed the shift in your behavior that it really sunk in as real. It wasn’t a lot, but he knew you well enough to know that something was different. Especially the way that you spent much more time on your phone. He didn’t have to see your phone to know who you were texting and the thought alone made him want to throw his book out the window.

What did he think he was doing?

First, he has a huge fight with Kori and now he decides to reach out and start flirting with you? He knew Dick had a bit of a reputation, but this was just ridiculous. And of all people, he had to start talking to Y/N. One of his best friends and his roommate. It was so out of the blue that Jason had no idea what to do with all this sudden anger. He didn’t want to talk to you about it because that might end up in an argument. It really wasn’t his business to be telling you who to talk to and Jason knew that. Still, he couldn’t just turn off his feelings. He was angry and whether or not it was warranted, he had to do something about it or at least get more information before he started freaking out.

Not long after Jason had asked you about Dick, you found yourself being dragged further into the mess again. Just as you were heading into the kitchen to prepare lunch for yourself, your phone rang and drew your attention away from the refrigerator. The caller ID read “BIG Richard” and was followed by a slew of eggplant emojis. Initially you had it set to Little Richard to be funny, but Dick had seen it and changed it himself immediately. Cracking a small smile, you answered his call and pressed the phone to your ear.

“Y/N, is Jason at home right now?” You hummed in thought at his question, doing a quick walkthrough of your apartment to check and see if he was out. After you’d looked around you responded to Dick, telling him that Jason wasn’t at home.

“I thought so. Kori’s gone too and I heard her talking about the outlaws with Beast Boy on her way out. They must be out on a mission together.”

“Wow, you really are a detective.”

Dick ignored your sarcastic comment and questioned you again. “You said they come by your apartment after missions sometimes, right?”

“Yeah, sometimes. Jason didn’t take much from his room when I checked so it’s probably not a long one.”

“Okay then, I’m coming over.”

“Seriously? They probably won’t even come here.”

“Maybe not, but at least you’ll be in my incredible company.”

“Do we really have to do this at my house? Jason’s been acting weird about it already.” It wasn’t noticeable at first, but he was certainly acting differently. He seemed less apt to talk to you and was in a bad mood fairly often. You didn’t want to think it had been because of everything going on with Dick but it couldn’t have been a coincidence.

“Oh trust me, I know. He told me off about it the other day.” You paused what you were doing, at this.  

“Wait, he did? What did he say?”

“He asked me to meet up with him and he was asking if we were dating. I brushed it off and just said we were talking, but he actually got mad about it.”

“Did you tell him it’s not real?”

“Of course not, that would ruin everything. I just told him we’re both adults and can make our own choices.”

“Well that explains his shitty attitude.” You hesitated, chewing your lip as you leaned against the kitchen counter. “Did he say why he was so pissed off?”

“No, but I can probably guess why. I just hope this is working as well on Kori as it is on him.” You chose not to ask him to elaborate more, instead opting to focus on him instead. This wasn’t about you and the thoughts that were starting to form in your mind were just going to be trouble in the long run. It was better to just let it go and worry about what was going on in the present.

“Let’s hope not for your sake,” you replied. Dick laughed at your response and ended the call, letting you know he was on his way. You agreed and said you’d set up something for you both to do, but you couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling in your chest.

Dick was at your apartment for hours before anyone came back. To pass time, you’d been watching random tv and relaxing on your couch together with pretty much all of the snacks you’d been hiding in your room. You were sitting on either side of the couch with your legs crossed over the middle and tossing popcorn back and forth, trying to catch it in your mouths when the front door opened. Dick shot you a sudden look and you almost choked laughing at his expression.  

There was chatter coming from the entrance so you knew Jason wasn’t alone. You were already shaking your head, knowing that Dick’s plan had worked and you weren’t going to hear the end of his “genius” for at least a full 24 hours. Unfortunately, you were going to be seeing the results up close and personal instead of through dramatic retellings via phone.

Roy was the first one to notice the two of you in the living room. Well, he saw the snacks more precisely and wasted no time in leaping over the couch and stealing some. It was then that Jason and Kori noticed that Dick was there with you. They had already changed out of their costumes and Roy smelled like alcohol and cigarettes so they likely had gone out somewhere after they were done with their mission. You could already sense the tension in the room, so you busied yourself with saving your snacks from Roy’s greedy hands.

“Oh come on, you can share some of this with your guests!” He protested, trying to keep you from taking the bag of candy he’d taken.

“Yeah, some. Not the whole bag. Give it back, Harper!” Roy laughed when you lunged at him and Dick balanced the popcorn on his arm away from the couch so that it wouldn't spill everywhere while you were fighting for your snacks. Roy was another hero you were well acquainted with as he often came by and stayed with Jason when he was in town. He hadn’t crashed overnight at your new apartment yet, but he came by often enough.

“Would you two fight away from the food so you don’t ruin it all!” Dick kicked at Roy, who fell to the floor in front of the couch with a dull thump. He laughed, adjusting into a sitting position between the couch and coffee table where he stole candy from another bag.

“Oh I’m sorry, am I disturbing date night?”

“No, but you are disturbing the peace and I’ll send your ass flying to Metropolis if you don’t cut it out!” You heard shuffling behind you and turned to see what the others had been doing while Roy was stealing food. Kori was walking around into your kitchen while Jason had paused near the entrance and was staring at Dick with narrowed eyes. Before you could say anything, he was talking.

“Dick, can I talk to you for a minute?” You looked back at him with raised eyebrows, and he gave you a quick smile before agreeing and hopping over the couch. Roy was quick to take his spot and the bowl of popcorn he’d left in his wake while they disappeared down the hallway to your rooms.

“Want any snacks, Kori? There’s a bunch here,” you called out, trying to relieve some of the awkwardness from the situation.

“Oh so you offer her snacks but when it’s me you snatch them away like a little gremlin?”

“Yes, because she didn’t run over here like a wild animal to steal them,” you said, returning Roy’s glare with one of your own. Kori came around with a smile, laughing at Roy’s face and looking over the selection of foods on your table. She sat down between the two of you, picking out something she liked and crossing her legs onto the couch.

“How was the mission?”

“Way easier than we thought it would be,” Roy responded simply.

“Which means boring,” Kori added. The three of you sat together and talked for a while, falling into an easy conversation. You were glad that even though Dick had you wrapped up in his little scheme that you were still cool with Kori and your friendship was fine. At this point, you kind of wished the whole thing was over so you didn’t have to worry about it anymore. Of course, things were never that easy.

Out of seemingly nowhere, Jason returned to the living room, his entire stance changed. It was easy to tell he was pissed off by the way he walked and Dick followed behind him, not looking much better. You hadn’t heard anything but they’d clearly gotten into an argument while the rest of you were chatting.  Jason had thrown his jacket back on while Dick was watching him with a furious gaze.

“Come on, Kori,” he said. You raised your eyebrows, glancing at her as she looked over the back of the seat with as much confusion as you held.

“Why?”

“Because,” Jason said, glancing at Dick, who was still fuming. “We have a date.”

Tag List

@jason-todd-rh @chidroichan-blog @queen-fighter @hyp-oh-critical @roseangel013bf

[winchesterandpie]

Baby Please Come Home

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Word Count: 2540

Warnings: None

A/N: This is part two to I’ll Be Home For Christmas [Click HERE to read]! I couldn’t leave y’all hanging for too long, haha. Anyways, just a bit of sad Bucky and then a bunch of fluff at the end! Once again, please excuse the mistakes - I’m out of practice. That said, constructive criticism is always welcome! Love you guys! Merry Christmas!! Gif is not mine, and the line from the storybook is from The Night Before Christmas, by Clement C. Moore!

The snow’s coming down

I'm watching it fall

Lots of people around

Baby please come home

Bucky sat staring out the window as the snow fell thickly outside, blanketing the world. He seemed oblivious to the other Avengers, who were passing through the room at regular intervals. Just month prior, in the first major snowfall of the year, she had convinced them all to go out for a snowball fight.

"Guys! Look! It's snowing!" Y/N burst into the room excitedly, Nat following close behind with a matching grin on her face.

"Yeah? So?" Tony clearly did NOT share the same excitement.

"So! Let's go have a snowball fight!" She was practically bouncing from foot to foot, and Bucky had to grin and admit to himself that he found her antics adorable.

"But it's cold!" was Tony's reply.

"You're just scared because you know I'll beat you." She grinned cheekily, quirking an eyebrow. She definitely knew how to manipulate Tony.

"Y'know what, kid? You're on!"

"So you're coming then?" She brightened even more, if that were possible.

"Heck yeah, I am! Prepare for defeat!" Almost immediately she sprinted for a coat, hat, gloves, and boots before waiting for everyone else to be ready.

In the end, as she had predicted, Y/N's team beat Tony's - thoroughly decided when she and Natasha buried Tony beneath a massive snowball. Y/N was laughing gleefully as Tony struggled to unbury himself with little success.

Bucky couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was - her cheeks tinted red with the cold, her hair dusted with sparkling snow, the light that seemed to radiate from her...

"You're in love with her, aren't you?" Steve asked from beside his friend, startling Bucky from his thoughts.

"I think I might be. I'm not sure though..." When Bucky paused, Steve thought he might be thinking of a trait he disliked. Knowing that Y/N had a crush on Bucky, Steve hastened to help make a case for her.

"She's a good one to be in love with," he pointed out, and Bucky quickly spoke up again.

"I know. I just don't remember what it feels like to be in love," he shrugged before continuing. "And I doubt she feels the same. I'm don't think I'm as good at flirting as I used to be, so I've no idea how I'll win her over."

"Well, I think you've still got it."

"Thanks, Steve." They got quiet when they saw the subject of their conversation approaching.

"Hey guys! I've got some cookies inside and I'm gonna make hot cocoa if you want some!"

"That sounds perfect, doll," Bucky grinned.

"Great!" With an answering grin, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along with her. Bucky certainly wasn't objecting. That left Steve to follow behind, and Nat fell into step beside him.

"How long do you think it'll be before they realize they're in love?" she asked.

"Hopefully soon," Steve responded, content to see his friend so happy.

A soft smile crossed Bucky's face at the memory of the day he realized he was in love. They'd come a long ways since that day. Two days later, they had shared their first kiss. And now, Y/N was a long ways away, and the space she normally occupied at Bucky's side felt cold.

The church bells in town

All ringing in song

Full of happy sounds

Baby please come home

Most of the team was in the kitchen, singing along to Christmas songs as they worked on cookies to eat later that night. Bucky could hear then, but he didn't really want to go in. He knew that the Christmas Eve tradition had originated from Y/N, and it just didn't feel right without her there.

"Buck, come help us!" Steve plopped down next to his friend, intent on trying to get him out of his gloomy mood. "It'll be fun!"

Just then, a chorus of laughter came from the kitchen, echoing Steve's statement perfectly. What they didn't know was that Nat had just gotten a text from their missing teammate, who was now on her way home.

Hey girl! Tis the season for Christmas miracles because GUESS WHO'S ON HER WAY HOME?! The group in the kitchen was beyond excited - Christmas felt more complete with the whole adopted family there.

Yes! Have you told the Grinch you're gonna be back?

Not yet... Actually, I need a favor.

Anything for you, sugar!

Apparently being locked up in a cell had given Y/N plenty of time to think up an epic return because she had quite the plan.

"I knew there was a reason we kept that kid around." Tony was grinning like a child on Christmas morning. "I can't wait to see the Grinch's face tonight."

They returned to decorating cookies with new excitement, explaining the plan to Steve when he returned unsuccessfully from his attempts to lift Bucky's mood. But this surprise was guaranteed to do the trick.

They're singing “Deck the Halls”

But it's not like Christmas at all

I remember when you were here

And all the fun we had last year

Pretty lights on the tree

I'm watching them shine

You should be here with me

Baby please come home

"What are you doing?" Bucky asked in genuine confusion as Y/N pulled several storage tubs from her closet.

"You'll see. Now, carry this to the living room, would you?

"Ummm... sure?"

"Right answer." She grinned as she teased him gently. With a shrug, Bucky picked up the first storage tub and headed to the living room, where he found an undecorated fir tree waiting. Soon, the four tubs were in the room, and Y/N opened up one full of Christmas lights.

"Have you ever decorated a Christmas tree, Barnes?" She paused, the string of lights in one hand while the other rested on her hip.

"I'll admit it's been a little while since the last one."

"Do you want to help with it? You've got an eye for decorating that would be really good."

"Show me what to do, and we'll get it done, doll," Bucky responded with a grin.

"Well, come over here then," she said as she moved to where the tree was set up. He moved to stand behind her, his arms wrapping around her middle. She leaned back against his chest for a moment before shuffling forward with him to the tree, starting to weave the lights through the branches. To Bucky, the Christmas magic in the air and the glow of the lights brought an extra shine to her presence that couldn't even be dimmed by the thought that she left on a mission the next day.

Every once in a while, they would pause in decorating and sing along with the music, laughing and grinning in each other's arms. Y/N pressed a quick kiss to the underside of Bucky's jaw before spinning away. It took him a minute to realize with a laugh that she had, in the same movement, stuck a Santa hat on top of his head. He retaliated with a gold bow on top of her head because 'all I want for Christmas is you.'

Gradually, the team joined in decorating the living room and dancing to the music. Tony was acting almost as though making his own music video. Y/N and Bucky's frequent falling into each other was received with cheers from the team who had been working to set the two of them up since long before they had admitted their feelings for each other

Occasionally Nat or Clint would jokingly cover Tony's eyes, since 5 year olds don't usually like the kissing part.

In the end, they were all standing around the tree, admiring their work in the soft glow of the lights from around the room. Bucky's arms were around Y/N and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Looks good, doll," He said quietly, not wanting to disturb the peace of the moment.

"Well, a certain someone with an eye for art helped out!" She grinned, drawing a chuckle from him as she leaned back against him. Bucky couldn't help but wish that the moment would never end.

"I know, I'm just the best helper. No autographs today please, " Tony piped up, mock-indignance in his voice.

"Hey, Buck! We're gonna read the story now! C'mon!" Steve's voice broke Bucky from his absent-minded staring at the Christmas tree.

"What story is it?"

"Just come on! You'll see!" Steve's voice took on a sing-song tone.

"And there's cookies," Tony broke in, carrying two plates of cookies. His voice was muffled by the cookie shoved in his mouth. Bucky was about to refuse when Nat came in.

"Look, I get that it's hard. But do you really think Y/N would want you to not enjoy Christmas simply because she isn't here?"

"... No..." He had to admit she was right, albeit quietly.

"Then come on!" She encouraged gently. And so, reluctantly, Bucky went and sat with the Avenger family by the fireplace, eating a cookie, and waiting for Nat to start reading the story.

They're singing deck the halls

Not like Christmas at all

I remember when you were here

And all the fun we had last year

Oh, if there was a way

I'd hold back these tears

Oh, but it's Christmas day

“And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof the prancing and pawing of each little hoof.” Natasha paused as some loud thuds came from the roof of the tower.

"Sir, it would appear that situation number 537 is happening. Would you like me to play the alarm?" FRIDAY addressed Tony

"Yes. Sound the alarm." Bucky jumped when suddenly 'Santa Claus is coming to town' started playing loudly through the speakers. "Let's go, guys. I need to know why Santa didn't get everything on my wishlist last year."

"Wait, so Santa's up there?" Steve asked incredulously. Most of the team feigned confusion at the mention of Santa.

"Yeah. I told FRIDAY to alert me when he came. Now let's go!" Little did Bucky know they were all in on this little prank. And so, they were all heading up the elevator to the roof, which happened to double as the quinjet landing.

Your POV

"OK, now go before they see you! As soon as I'm off!" I reminded the pilot again. To his credit, he was a good sport about it. I was currently dressed up as Santa, my bag disguised as Santa's. I even had on a wig, hat, and fake beard to complete the look. I was BEYOND excited to be home, and more than that, I was excited to see my adopted family again. I was practically bouncing with nervous energy. The quinjet was barely out of sight when the team burst onto the roof.

"Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!" I called in the deepest, manliest voice I could muster. "You're almost all on the nice list this year, so I've brought you some gifts." I'd ended up with a few minutes extra to make a stop and grab some some little gag gifts for the team - the real ones were already under the tree.

"Let's see, we've got Natasha, Steve, Bruce, Clint, Sam, Wanda, Thor..." I said, running through the team as I handed them their presents.

"Tony, you didn't quite make the list again this year. Try a little harder next time, hmm? Better luck next year." All the same, I handed him a 'consolation prize.' Then I stopped in front of Bucky.

"I had to think hard for your gift. Hopefully you enjoy it. Now close your eyes." He followed the instruction after a moment's hesitation and I grinned, eager to see his face after I revealed myself. Quickly I pulled off the hat, wig, and beard, and set down my bag." Now open them," I said, allowing my voice to return to its normal tone. His blue eyes were full of joy, excitement, and wonder as he completed a double take before immediately pulling me into a hug.

"You're home!" The words were quiet, but the emotion behind them was palpable. We stayed wrapped up in each other's arms for a long moment. I buried my face in his chest and he pressed his nose into my hair, totally engrossed in each other. Slowly, the cheers from the team filtered through our ears at our reunion. I pulled back to grin at Bucky and pressed a quick kiss to the underside of his jaw before twisting gently out of his arms.

"Thanks guys," I grinned at all of them. "I couldn't have pulled it off without you!"

"You mean you guys knew and didn't tell me?" Bucky was a little caught off guard at that as I moved to hug the rest of the team.

"We figured your reaction would be better this way." Nat grinned and pulled me into a hug before letting me go with a slight push in Bucky's direction. I certainly didn't need more convincing to slide under his arm.

"Well, it's a tiny bit cold out here guys! Can we go in and have some hot cocoa now?" My Santa costume wasn't particularly warm, and I wanted back inside.

"Only if I get a present from Santa," Tony replied.

"Guess you should have been better this year," I teased right back as Bucky turned to go inside.

We settled down under a blanket by the warm fire and let Natasha read the story to us. Bucky hadn't let go of me since the roof, but I wasn't complaining. I leaned a little more heavily into him as I took a bite of my cookie, his warmth a comforting reassurance that I really had made it back. The occasional kisses pressed into my hair grounded me further.

"I knew you'd be home in time for Christmas." The words were spoken quietly in my ear even though everyone had gone to bed after the story, leaving us alone by the tree. I turned to look up at Bucky, and I was immediately lost in his eyes that twinkled with the reflections of the tree's lights.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Buck," I replied, smiling softly.

"It wasn't like Christmas til you got home," he admitted. "I missed you, doll."

"I missed you too, handsome." I didn't know who moved first, but it didn't matter because then his lips were on mine. He tasted of hot cocoa and sugar cookies, and his arms tugged me impossibly close. The kiss was slow and gentle, but warmed my soul like the heartily crackling fire.

"Merry Christmas, sweetheart. I love you." I felt the words against my lips more than I heard them.

"I love you more," I replied, kissing him again. We were unhurried, reveling in each other's company. I couldn't think of anywhere I'd rather be. He chuckled when we pulled apart again.

"Well then I love you most," Bucky declared, kissing my forehead lightly.

I was in Bucky's arms, safe from the world outside, Christmas lights dancing merrily around us - this was home.

And I was home for Christmas.

Forever Tags

@riddikulus-obsessions @addictionmarvel @peppermint--teas @angel-with-broken-wings @javapeach @mercedesbarnes

Tag list is OPEN

[imustspeakmyheart]

The Night Once Ruled My Imagination is so lovely and such a cute premise! If you're looking for prompts I think it might be interesting to see a story from one member of the Bouquet's perspective, looking at the others and thinking about how they interact: example: Damien loving how Arum and Rilla bring out each other's scientific enthusiasm or Rilla appreciating how Arum brings out a different side of Damien, or any combo- maybe even some quickly resolved jealousy haha

Thank you for these requests and sorry they took a while!! Fic is under the cut and posted on AO3 here.

The soft sounds of rain pattering against the window and the scratching of a quill against parchment were the only sounds in the little bubble that was Rilla’s hut, secluded as it was from the hustle and bustle of the Second Citadel. Damien liked the ambient quiet. Especially when writing a new poem -he’d been particularly fond of ballads as of late- he liked to be away from too much external stimulus; it was distracting, jumbling words in his head, or making him mess up the metre of a phrase.

Rilla’s hut was perfect, often filled with the sounds of her humming, moving about and arranging her various pots of ingredients, all of which came together like a unique melody. He was hearing some of those noises now, the clinking of vials and pans along with the muted muttering of his two most beloved people in the world. Damien smiled, penned another few words and allowed himself to get lost in the calm of composing.

That was, until he heard something smash against a counter, which startled him enough to track an ugly stripe through his work as his body twitched.  The voices from Rilla’s kitchen raised their volume in argument.

“Saints above.” Damien muttered, looking at his parchment in slight annoyance. There were small blots of ink that had splattered over the page too, but nothing that made it illegible. He raised his head then, looking at the doorway that lead to the kitchen.

The very kitchen that Damien, with a unanimous vote from both is loves, had been banned from when they decided they would try to bake something together, because they both knew Damien was a disaster at anything that involved cooking.

He made a valiant effort to get back to his poem, knowing that Rilla and Arum deserved their space together, even if it involved a possible argument, but eventually the pent up curiosity got the better of him. When the sound of Arum’s rattling carried from the kitchen, loud enough to be heard by Damien, he carefully put his quill down and got up. It wouldn’t hurt to take a little peak to check whether everything was okay. After all, what sort of knight would he be if he simply ignored such clear signs of distress.

Attempting stealth, he padded through the small living room and into the hallway that led to the kitchen area. As he got closer, Rilla and Arum’s voices got louder and they appeared to not be arguing anymore. Arum’s rattle still sounded, but it didn’t have the particular inflection that pointed to him being annoyed. Rather, Damien thought, it sounded closer to the warmth of his affectionate purring.

When he reached the open doorway of the kitchen he was careful to stay on his side of the threshold. Rilla and Arum stood close together, huddled in the small space in front of the counter. Two of Arum’s hands were occupied with holding ingredients, while his other two were knuckle-deep in a ball of dough. He was looking at Rilla, his head cocked and eyes squinting in that headstrong way Damien knew so well. Rilla for her part had her arms crossed with her hip leaning against the counter staring Arum down, one brow raised in defiance.

“I still think you should be measuring ingredients, baking is a delicate process. It’s science!” Rilla said, her lips pursed. Damien watched as Arum wordlessly put one of the jars down, opened the other one and stuck his finger into it. When he lifted his finger out, fluid was sticking to his claw, lazily dripping its way down the length of it. He dripped some of it onto the dough, never once breaking eye contact with Rilla, who visibly balked at the display. The rattling was back, low and amused. Arum’s lower arms started to knead the fluid into the dough.

“I know how much I need of each ingredient, Amaryllis dear. Call it instinct, experience, the will of the universe, maybe even magic, but it has never led me or my kind astray.”

Damien had to stifle a chuckle, not wanting to butt into the clearly playful argument and content to simply observe.

“But-”

“Why don’t you also make something then, with your science, and we will have our Honeysuckle decide which is better when we’re done? Is that an amendable solution?” Arum was smiling now, his eyes blinking slowly out of their squint. He’d set the pot down and reached his hand out to gently brush a stray hair behind Rilla’s ear. Rilla looked at the dough on the counter doubtfully, then back up to Arum.

“Game on, then.” She said, a confident twist to her lips as she pushed onto her tiptoes clearly asking for a kiss. Arum bent down, allowing Rilla to press her lips softly to his scaly mouth. The rhythm of the rain mingled together with the pleased sound of Arum’s rattles and it was perhaps the most lovely harmony of sounds Damien had ever heard, perhaps only to be made better by Rilla’s singing.

Arum straightened up and stilled the arms working on the dough. “I had a head start, why don’t I allow you to catch up?”

“Oh, how gracious of you my humble Lord Arum.” Rilla rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling.

Then Rilla set to work, setting up her ingredients, occasionally asking Arum to grab something for her from a high shelf, or asking him to hold something since his “four arms were clearly an advantage, you know.” They fell into an easy rhythm together, even in the small space that Rilla’s kitchen allowed them. Damien leaned his shoulder against the wall and watched them work.

It was remarkable really, seeing the two of them together. All the clutter in Damien’s thoughts vanished as he focused on them, delighting in the little ways they interacted that pointed to their easy intimacy. More remarkable still was just how far he’d come in this relationship and how it made him feel. Months ago his hackles might have raised at his loves doing something that didn’t involve him in the slightest, familiar anxiety nestling in his chest and making him worry that they did not want him there because they despised him.

Now all it did was make him proud.

Rilla was listing everything she was doing, methodically laying out her ingredients, measuring them and adding them all together in order of how it should be done. She was telling Arum her process, partly to show him how she thought the process should be, but also because finally she had someone who understood her when she talked so theoretically. It did not make Damien feel jealous anymore, knowing that he couldn’t understand things like this, while Arum could.

Meanwhile, Arum was doing little things to try and distract Rilla, tapping against her waist with his tail to startle her just a smidge, or seeing Rilla look away and sliding one of her ingredients over to his side of the counter. Every time, Rilla would swat at him playfully and tell him off, the amusement clear in her voice. The smile on Damien’s face was almost painful, but it was that or laugh out loud and give himself away. He wanted to keep looking at them in secret for just a little while longer.

Eventually, Rilla began humming a song as she worked and Damien had a hard time controlling the singular emotion that was overflowing inside his chest. He loved them so much, it was simply too much for his body to contain sometimes. His hands were itching for a pen and he had words in his mind that spoke of companionship, hummed melodies and small kitchens during a rainstorm. Moving back to his quill and parchment would mean leaving the scene in front of him, however, which he was less thrilled about, so he stayed put.

Physically clutching at his chest with one hand and pressing his lips firmly together, Damien continued to watch them. He tried as well as he could to formulate his emotions into verse in his mind so he was less tempted to burst into the room and take both of his loves into this arms. Phrases danced their way through his thoughts while Rilla absentmindedly bumped her shoulder into Arum, not hard, just a small touch that showed the gravity that pulled them together as naturally as celestial bodies.

It occurred to him that he rarely saw this, just the two of them together. Of course, Damien was familiar with how they acted around each other by now, when they were all together. He knew how he was with each of them separately, too, how they felt different and made him a better person in their own unique ways. He supposed he never really considered that Rilla and Arum would also have that, a relationship that was all them, beautiful and precious and theirs.

Rilla and Arum were still speaking to each other, but the conversation went over Damien’s head partly because he was too busy calming his over-eager heart with haphazardly constructed metaphors that twisted together into something resembling a poem. The other part of it was that the pair had devolved into a heated discussion over how to best get a pie or some such evenly heated and their talk about different possible methods of oven construction and heating patterns of coal and wood were simply too much for Damien to grasp.  

It was then that Arum twisted his head too far Damien’s way in an exaggerated motion of rolling his eyes and saw the knight leaning in the doorway. He cocked his head and just blinked at him for a second, before his face split into a smile.

“Seems like we have an audience, Amaryllis. A knight has snuck into our midst.”

Rilla, who’d been busy enough with mixing something to not have noticed Arum turning his head, now looked up and twisted around to look at Damien. It was quite the comical sight actually, Arum’s claws caked with dough and Rilla’s face dusted slightly with some kind of flour where it had blown up from the mixing bowl.

“A knight I distinctly remember we banned from the kitchen.” Rilla said, not sounding annoyed in the slightest as she put the mixing bowl down and took a step toward Damien. He raised his hands up in surrender and smiled sheepishly.

“I haven’t once set foot in your kitchen sanctuary, I wouldn’t dare.” Then Rilla was rubbing her nose against Damien’s, undoubtedly getting some flour on his face. He laughed, taking Rilla by the shoulders and pushing himself backward away from the onslaught. He heard Arum’s warm chuckle, amused by the two of them.

“Alright, alright. Message received, I’ll leave you two to your baking, tragically bereft of my company. You were simply too fascinating not to watch” He intoned his words as if reciting his more dramatic poetry, hanging his head in mock sadness though he was smiling widely. Rilla leaned up to kiss him once, patted him on the cheek turned back to her mixing.

“We’ll let you know when we’re done, Damien. We’re in need of a judge.”

Arum briefly walked up to Damien too, keeping his dough-covered hands carefully away from him as he leaned in close to press his mouth to Damien’s crown, blowing some air from his nose to playfully ruffle Damien’s hair. “She thinks she can win, too. Adorable.” Arum whispered close to Damien’s ear, making him shiver just the slightest. Then Arum turned back too, concentrating on his work again with his tail swishing behind him contentedly.

With that, Damien padded back into the cozy living room, surrounded by the homely sounds of his two loves baking for him. Or rather, baking in competition, but Damien was fine with that. They’d gifted him with another poem after all, which occupied his time until finally his two flowers emerged from the kitchen again.

In the end, Damien naturally loved both of the things they’d baked, which had been frustrating for Arum and Rilla, but what else could Damien have said? He was equally biased in two ways, after all.

[wehelddarkness]

Annual Writing Self-Evaluation 2018

The lovely @1diamondinthesun tagged me to do the annual writing self-evaluation! 2018 wasn’t my strongest year in writing, but let’s do this!

All answers should be about works published in 2018. (Skip any questions you don’t want to answer, but please leave them on the list so that others can answer them if they want.)

1. Number of stories (including drabbles) posted to AO3: 

Eleven (two long fics and nine drabbles)

2. Word count posted for the year:  154.876

3. List of works published this year:

Tell The World We Finally Got It All Right 

Belting out sunlight, shimmering love - The Spring Drabbles series

Joy and fresh days of love accompany your hearts - The Summer Drabbles series

The leaves are ready to begin falling again, as I am for you  - The Autumn Drabbles series

Make Your Heart Remember Me 

4. Fandoms I wrote for: One Direction

5. Pairings: Harry/Louis

(putting the rest of the questions under the cut because it became a long post lol)

6. Story with the most…

Kudos / Bookmarks:  Make Your Heart Remember Me

Comments:  Make Your Heart Remember Me &  Tell The World We Finally Got It All Right (both have 27 comment threads)

7. Work I’m most proud of (and why): Although MYHRM is my longest fic this year and even though I’ve envisioned it for two years before finally getting a start on it and spending months working on it, I have to say I’m proudest of TTWWFGIAR. This fic is part of a series that I love with all my heart as if it was a child. @regulusarcblack​ and I have created such a wonderful world for Muggle!Louis and Wizard!Harry that just getting to write more of their story, no matter if it’s something small and silly, and no matter if people don’t even pay attention to it anymore, it will always have a special place in my heart. I’m very proud of how MYHRM turned out and for the amount of attention it got as well, but TTWWFGIAR owns my heart.

8. Work I’m least proud of (and why): It’s not that I’m least proud of them, but I don’t precisely have much emotional connection with the drabbles series. I’m proud of myself for managing to condense three stories the way I did, but as for the stories, they don’t hold a lot of meaning for me.

9. A favorite excerpt of your writing: 

I have two. 

One from TTWWFGIAR:

Louis fixed his still wet fringe over his forehead and closed his eyes for a second before he answered her back. “That’s a funny story, actually,” he laughed again, “I… we came back here.”

“We? Who’s we, Louis? I’m sure it’s not Lottie because she came back yesterday morning and she was just as lost on where you’d be as I was.”

“It’s Harry.” He decided to cut to the chase and just spill it out. As soon as he spoke he opened his eyes again to see Harry walking inside the room, a white towel around his middle just like the one Louis had on himself, and a smirk on his lips.

It took a moment for his mother to speak again. “Harry? Is… he there now? With you?”

“Yeah, he is.” Louis watched as Harry got the sweatpants and jumper he had conjured for himself the day before and started getting dressed.

“And are you going to explain to me how and why he’s there with you?” Jay wasn’t demanding anything and Louis could sense she was feeling more relaxed to know that new piece of information. “I mean, I’m not mad that you’re there with him. I’m just confused, love, that’s what. What happened?”

Harry looked back at Louis when he finished dressing himself and was putting his hair up in a bun. “Is that your mother?” There was a small frown on his brows as he walked closer to where Louis was sat on the bed.

Louis nodded, mouthing a “yeah” and quirking his lips into a smile.

“Do you want the short or long story?” He talked back to his mother as Harry approached him, his eyes not leaving Louis’ as he softly ran his fingers through Louis’ hair.

“I’m gonna go make breakfast while you talk to her, okay?” He moved his hand down to Louis’ face, caressing his cheek with his thumb.

“Okay,” Louis murmured before turning his face a bit to leave a gentle kiss on the inside of Harry’s palm.

He saw Harry’s eyes soften with the gesture and scrunching up his nose as he leaned down to kiss Louis on the cheek before he turned around to leave.

And from MYHRM:

“Dad?”

Harry hears Lily’s voice very low before he can focus his vision on his daughter in front of him. It’s still dark but he can see her sleepy face yawning as she looks at him.

He startles himself a bit, forgetting for a moment where he is. Then, it hits him as he feels an arm around his middle and the press of Louis’ body behind him as they’re lying on the couch. He doesn’t remember when they decided to move from their sitting positions and sleep right there.

Louis’ breath is serene on Harry’s neck and he smiles at himself before he speaks to Lily.

“Yes, petal?”

“I woke up to go to the bathroom and you weren’t in the bedroom with me.” He sees her rubbing her eyes with one hand. “Can I sleep with you and Louis here?”

Harry wants to laugh because Lily could’ve asked him to go back to the bedroom with her, but the fact that she wants to sleep there, on a sofa that barely fits Harry and Louis together, only warms his heart.

He’s too sleepy to say no or to reason that he should really get up and move to the room and also wake up Louis, or even to think about what Lily has made of him and Louis sleeping together like that. So he simply squirms a little closer to Louis to give Lily some space, opening one of his arms so she can lie there and snuggle up to him.

“Goodnight, dad,” she says against his neck and Harry kisses the top of her head as he tries to get comfortable again to sleep.

“Night, petal.” He closes his eyes and just before he can allow himself to rest again, he feels Louis kissing the back of his neck and moving his arm from Harry’s waist to hold not only him, but also Lily in one embrace, intertwining his fingers with Harry’s over Lily’s middle.

This is the happiest he’s been in a long time, and it doesn’t matter that they are all cramped on Louis’ couch or that he and Louis haven’t actually talked about them and their future. But if the future involves more nights like this, with the two people he loves so much, then he truly can’t wish for anything better.

10. Share or describe a favorite review you received: 

I didn’t get many reviews on my works this year, but I have to say @derekhaleace’s thorough comments on MYHRM really lifted my mood! @doctorrainbows’ comments on TTWWFGIAR too (Rosie I miss you <3)

And I want to add one that was not my favorite, but it gave me a lot of perspective on MYHRM:

“Good story idea but written with too much decriptions and info ended up skipping a lot of the story.”

This comment really made me laugh out loud, not in a bad way though, but because this was exactly how I was feeling and why I struggled so much with that fic. I wasn’t content on how I was writing it because it felt like I was dragging the story. I was writing and writing and the number of words only kept growing and I felt like I wasn’t advancing on the plot. I took this as a constructive criticism and I know some people have validated me saying that for them the story didn’t feel like that, or others saying that the amount of description was just enough... So, yeah, I know it’s matter of like, but it helped me to be more critic about my own writing.

11. A time when writing was really, really hard: This whole past year tbh? first it started with the fact that I got a serious pain on my right hand, I didn’t know if it was tendinitis or what, so I went to the doctor, did physiotherapy for about 2 months? and in the end the end the only thing that helped the pain was arthritis medicine lol so for MONTHS I couldn’t write properly because if I forced my hand, it would be worse, that’s why I kept doing the drabbles challenge, because 100 words each was easier than trying a full fic. Then in august I finally started writing MYHRM, but it took me longer than I planned because of writer’s block and lack of motivation and a lot of self-doubt about my writing, so it wasn’t easy either :/

12. A scene or character that you wrote that surprised you: That’s a hard question, but probably Lily from MYHRM. I had already written a kid fic before, but it hadn’t been like this, because this whole fic focused on the interaction of Harry and Louis with Lily and I wasn’t sure how I would write her, and I needed to remind myself not to forget about her haha In the end, I think I did a pretty good job, her personality is so precious and I love her.

13. How did you grow as a writer this year: I think I stopped caring too much about people paying attention to my fics? It was something that always bugged me, expecting more people to read them, finding them in fics recs and so on. Obviously, I still want people to read them, but if only a few people read notice the and enjoy them, that’s what matters, and mostly, that I’m happy with how my fics turned out.

14. How do you hope to grow next year: I hope to keep writing more for myself, keep thinking of stories that I have fun writing and reading and care less about making it to the famous author’s niche in the fandom. Maybe also try to have some of other ideas I’ve had for other fandoms come to life, who knows.

15. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer: As always, @regulusarcblack who has to listen to my ramblings, even if she’s already sick of them lmao but she’s the one I seek when I’m writing and she always helps me put my idea in place. But I also have t give a HUGE shout out to @britpickerhl for sticking with me for another year, for dealing with my dumb mistakes, for having so much patience with gdocs and me, but mainly for helping me improve my writing and being my cheerleader!

16. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: I never know, because I’m not a person with much experiences, so there isn’t much to include in my fics lol I think I reflect some of my personality when I write Harry, but that’s it. And I’m a hopeless romantic and sap and fluff hoe, so that’s what my fics end up looking like hahaha

17. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: Keep writing for yourself and for the people you know who enjoy your work and try not to feel down if you are overlooked by the fandom. If you are happy with your story, that’s what matters. Also, try venturing to other pairings and fandoms, don’t stick to only what you are familiar with (not only regarding writing but also reading), it will give you a broader perspective of how readers and fandoms work.

18. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting or finishing in the new year: I’m writing a wip, which I can’t talk much about yet, but I’m quite excited about it because it’s been incredibly easy for me to write and I’m having so much fun with it, so I hope to kick off 2019 with this one in a good place about my writing!

19. Tag writers whose answers you’d like to read: I don’t know who has already done it lol so I’ll tag @mediawhorefics @emperorstyles @louisalbumnow @hrrytomlinson @hogwartzlou @tofiveohfive if you haven’t and want to do it!

[rainydawgradioblog]

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Treefort 2019 - Tres Leches Interview

This year, Rainy Dawg Radio was invited to attend Treefort Festival, an annual celebration of art that takes place in downtown Boise. The festival took place over the course of 5 days on a surprisingly sunny March weekend and included musical acts spanned across multiple venues which ranged from large standing concert halls to small independent bars. Down at the Shredder, a beautifully grimy dive bar, Seattle band Tres Leches played a daytime set that paired perfectly with the drizzling Seattle-esque weather outside. The three piece band consists of Rainy Dawg alumnus Alaia D’Alessandro, Ulises Mariscal, and Zander Yates who cycled through drums, guitar, bass, and theremin throughout the set like a game of musical chairs. I talked to the band the following day over free coffee and treats (shout out press room) to talk about college radio, the band’s formation, and the current state of music in Seattle. Note: The following script has been edited for clarity.

Tres Leches live at Treefort. Photo by Willy Picton.

Chelsea: First I’m going to talk about some radio stuff because Alaia was a DJ here at Rainy Dawg.

Alaia: I was, yeah!

Chelsea: What was your show called and what did you play on it?

Alaia: It was either called Phonic Earth or Phono Seattle, I forget which rendition I used, but I played a bunch of different kinds of music. I think it was Phonic Earth because I played music from all over the world. Not just in Seattle but we had some cool people come in to do small in-studios. We had Hijos De Agüeybaná play bomba music. They played barriles which are these big drums. They have African heritage and it combines with Taino, which is indigenous Puerto Rican, and played other percussion instruments. They make it up to dance and some of the dance movements and lyrics are Spanish. It is like a big combination of all the different backgrounds of puerto rican culture. We also had a local band at the time called Night Train and did an in studio with us.

Chelsea: Do you feel that your time at student radio and the connections that you made help you in your starting career with music?

Alaia: Yeah definitely. Now I work at KEXP and that’s been a huge help. Having some experience behind the board at Rainy Dawg helped me. I really enjoyed being able to use that as a platform to help local bands too and get them on the radio or have them in for conversations. It taught me a lot about networking. Our band puts packets together to send to other radio stations. Also, curating shows was helpful, like how Rainy dawg does like a once a year concert.

Chelsea: Yeah, now we do three shows a quarter.

Alaia: That’s great!

Chelsea: I meant 3 shows a year with one a quarter sorry haha. But I think the show that you’re talking about is our birthday fest.

Alaia: Oh okay yea that might have been it. When I was there, Unknown Mortal Orchestra was playing. That was kind of a new territory for the station at the time. It was kind of a big deal to have that band there. It wasn’t the first time they had a big band there, but it was one of the first times the students had really done all the curation for it. Got the band, got the funds so that was a really cool step forward. So it’s really awesome that you do three shows a year now, that’s incredible, congratulations!

Chelsea: Yeah! We do two of the shows with local bands only and the last show is where we get national acts, usually we have a local band or two as the openers. And the other thing we do is a battle of the bands which is our next event actually. So then I guess if you all didn’t meet in Rainy Dawg, how did you guys come together?

Zander: Alaia and I met at high school.

Alaia: We met in the band room at school.

Zander: At Nova High School, we started jamming. We were in bands together back then.

Alaia: I still remember when he walked in, he looked very different. But yeah it was funny, I think you seemed kind of sheepish at first.

Zander: Yeah, I was pretty nerdy.

Alaia: And then Ulises and I…

Ulises: I went to Bumbershoot in 2011 I think and I saw this Mexican electronic band that was playing Bumbershoot, Nortec Collective. They were doing like Norteño and Electronica. I didn’t know Alaia and Zander and all of a sudden I heard someone talking in the background and it was Alaia and she had like a really loud voice.

Alaia: (loudly) What are you talking about!

Ulises: Like in a good way, haha! I was just listening in like I wonder who that person is? And we kinda look at each other like we kinda vibe you know really like *snaps* that. We didn’t have to talk or anything. And then we realized that she liked some of the same bands from Mexico like I’ve never met anybody that knows bands from Mexico and I was just like “how do you know those bands?” and we stated chilling and she pushed me to play the drums cause, you know, I’m a painter, so we went to the EMP museum and we kinda started jamming there and I was like “I’m gonna buy my first drum set!” And then we kinda just started jamming from there. And it was fun!

Alaia: At the time he had told me “I’m a DJ!”

Ulises: I’m a DJ actually!

Alaia: Now you are! Now he DJs for Hollow Earth Radio! But at the time I think I looked back to Zander and was like “Ah yeah, I met this DJ”

Zander: I forgot about that!

Alaia: You did not DJ!

Ulises: I was thinking in the future. “I am a DJ, I know what I am not right now” but it worked!

Chelsea: Do you think Seattle is still a place where bands can emerge or do you think that the emergent music scene is being pushed out?

Ulises: Well, in my opinion, I think that all these problems that we have with housing and homelessness is kinda in a good way pushing artists to get out there with their art you know? I know it’s bad but as an artist you kind of have to do that art and make yourself hurt. And now we’ve got to be more of a community to keep going.

Zander: More pressure with [Amazon] not getting taxed, it makes it really easy for them to come in and do whatever they want as a business and it makes it really hard for small business to come up because they have to pick up the bill. The small businesses have a really big hand to play in the music scene of course and venues are having a really hard time. And again, with property prices raising, it’s affecting the kind of music you hear in Seattle, which isn't inherently bad all the time. It is sad to see bands move out because it is really hard to have a drum kit in a small apartment. It’s harder to have band practice, and it’s also just harder to practice and create music that has a lot of complexity or virtuosity to it because it’s hard to put a lot of time into practicing, because there’s no way you’re gonna make it if you’re not working 40-50 hours a week. You hear that in the music a lot. There’s a lot more solo artists because it’s really hard to have a band and there’s a lot more bands that just have really simple music, again not an inherently bad thing but, it is just kind of interesting because you hear it and you’re like “this band sounds like this because of this economic factor”.

Zane: Do you think that has changed during the time you all have been together in the music scene in Seattle?

Ulises: It’s changing really fast. I feel like sometimes we don’t even have time to stop and say “this is where we are”. It changes so fast you have to just get with whatever is happening because it’s just very chaotic and all over the place. It reflects what [Zander] was just saying about how the city is changing. Like the scenery of capitol hill is just construction and there’s constant noise which definitely reflects on your music without even thinking about it. So it definitely plays a role and I try to take it as part of the artwork, like “okay, there’s nothing I can do and at least I can get something from it.” I know it affects a lot of people and it sucks that bands have to move out so I want to make sure that it stays in the music so when people listen in the future they know what was happening today so we don’t make the same mistakes.

Alaia: I will say that I think the community’s response to all of this has been really strong and you have all these bands that are fighting for their independence and fighting for their community, like the Black Tones come to mind, and then you start kind of really having to create community. I love the shows we’ve been playing, I love all the shows we’ve played, but the ones we’re playing currently seem the most supportive. The artists want to stay and see the other bands like “hey all my fans, I want you to see something new!” And that changes with genre mixing too, which is not about staying part of one scene, it’s about breaking down all the scenes because we all need each other. And we can’t divide things into scenes, or north and south and west and east, because we all need to see each other right now and see our resources and pool them together, so it doesn’t matter if you’re playing with an electro cumbia artist like Terror Cactus or a hip hop jazz afro-latinx artist like Guayaba or also DoNormaal and Bearaxe. Everyone right now needs to come together and if artists affected by issues are able to express themselves and be themselves consciously or subconsciously, then those artists are gravitating toward each other and really starting to support each other. It’s not cool anymore to be the loner artist and I’m glad that fallacy is dying.

Zander: It’s cool how that’s the norm now. I remember being in shows or booking shows back in 2012 when there were mixed bills, cause I wasn’t thinking about the bill I just asked my friends if they wanted to play a show and didn’t care that they played a different genre. But I remember all the sound engineers and booking managers thought I was really weird for doing that and now it’s the norm. In Seattle it’s hard to find a show that only one genre, and I love that because it brings everyone together where people can interact and share ideas which is really cool.

Chelsea: People are all over Spotify, Bandcamp, whatever now and you don’t see as many pure metalheads or die hard rock fans or people interested in only one genre, so there’s genre blending for fans and artists. So you said that you’ve been enjoying the shows you’ve been playing lately, is there anyone that you saw either here at Treefort or in Seattle recently that you’ve liked? Anyone that really surprised you?

Alaia: I liked ORUÃ who played last night. They played a couple bands after us. They were definitely really groovy in an unexpected way. When I think of groovy I think of genres that are classically dance music like soul, or RnB, or dance pop and electronica. This was very psychedelic. The beats that the drummer had were really danceable.

Ulises: I’m excited to see Carrion kids. I think their singer is the drummer of another band that came to Seattle and played with us a while back called Los Honeyrockets. Definitely excited for them and Y La Bamba. They’re probably playing right now, but we’re seeing them later.

Alaia: Oh, See Hurricanes at freakout fest in Seattle. They were fun to play with.

Zander: Well we’re excited to play with the black tones again, and go see them.

Ulises: They’re releasing their first album. We’re excited to go see them.

Chelsea: Are they a Seattle band?

Ulises: Yes, they’re really amazing. Another band that I saw that I didn’t know and was surprising was Velvet Q.

Alaia: Yeah!

Ulises: Yeah, I was very impressed. It was one of those moments where you just walk in and you’re like “holy shit this is a great band!”

Zander: I saw Gaylan Lee here and he was pretty freaking good. He’s just a ridiculously good songwriter. It’s really cool to see people and just be like “Oh this person’s really going to be remembered” Well I guess everyone is going to be remembered in some ways, as long as the internet doesn’t get solar flared into non existence, but it’s cool to hear people that you’re like “Woah, this is a legendary singer-songwriter and just a very legendary person” and see someone perform like that. That venue was great, the Boise contemporary theatre.

Chelsea: Yea! I saw Wend there yesterday. They described themselves as chamber psych.

Zander: Oh that sounds awesome, I wish I could’ve seen that.

Chelsea: It was really good, they had a harp and a bunch of strings and everything. It was one of the bands that has like 12 people.

Zander: Oh those are the best kind of bands.

Chelsea: Definitely one of my favorites that I’ve seen. I’ve loved the whole curation of the festival. And I was surprised that they reached out to us to give us these press passes.

Alaia: I think that the festival actually cares about who’s coming to it, and that everybody can at least make connections, and they care about connecting people throughout the community here and throughout the world. I got that state from the stage we were at, the whole curation for that stage was great. It felt like they booked people saying “I think these people would be friends.”

Ulises: Also, the hotel we were staying, at a lot of bands were staying there too, so it was good to talk to some people who were playing. (to Zander) You talked to somebody in the bathtub right?

Zander: (laughing) Hot tub!

Alaia: There was a band High Hazel in the artist home upstairs who we talked to, they’re playing tonight.

Chelsea: Well the last question I have is: do you have any upcoming dates in Seattle that we should tell the UW community about?

Ulises: Alaia and Zander have shows in Seattle coming up, they have their own solo projects.

Alaia: I’m going to be playing April 6th at the clock out lounge with with my band, it’s just my name Alaia, A-l-A-I-A, and sometime it looks weird when you look it up. My name is Alaia D'Alessandro. When you look it up it’s A, lower case l, A, uppercase I, A so it’s like 3 A’s with 2 lines but they’re actually letters it’s just for being cute, but it might not be functional. Also, we’re going to submit a video for a tiny desk so tell ‘em to watch it.

Zander: I’m playing a show April 25th at Vermillion. And if you google my name you’ll find it, I’ve got a bunch of crap out there, I’m starting a YouTube channel and all that, I’m doing some cryptocurrency projects, I kind of want to save the universe so I’m doing a lot of shit. And then after these shows we’re also playing a benefit on May 31st. It’s a benefit for Nova high school because they have to fund some teachers out of pocket, because the school district is not doing their job.

Alaia: That was the high school we met at. That was the high school that just let us make bands.

Zander: We’re working on some new music. We’ve got side projects and you know, we put out a really cool album last year and we might put out some more stuff this year but we’re kind of creating an expanded universe like Star Wars nerds. And Uli’s got some really cool projects he’s working on too, I don’t know if it has to be secret.

Ulises: Oh, well I’m just working on some artwork for the city, I’m pretty excited about it. I was selected out of thousands of artists and I didn’t even have to apply because you know, most art that you want to make you have to make a resume, and submit photos and everything, but for this, they contacted me. I thought it was a scam at first, as an artist nothing good ever happens to you, but no, it’s awesome, it’s going really well for most of us. I think at the beginning I’ll say to all the artists, it’s going to be really hard at the beginning and you’re going to want to quit and you’ve just got to keep pushing.

Alaia: As the buildings are going up in Seattle we’re also building our own thing, just to sound like a dad.

Zander: That’s legit though, to be able to create your own space, to create your own existence. I was reading this argument on YouTube, like it wasn’t really an argument just this person being really down on themselves being like, “what are we going to do? We’re never going to be free, or have liberty because there’s this battle for wealth and resources” And a lot of people don’t want to create, they just want to hoard, or take, or inherit because work is hard, even artwork! Any of it is hard, and someone said the route to freedom is through new technology and creation like creating new spaces. I guess it’s like the original idea behind DIY, and I agree with the root ethos of DIY, and it become more of an aesthetic like ordering things on Amazon. Like I got this DIY pin on the internet.

Ulises: Yeah, I think we’re losing that with technology. I know a lot of people my age who do not know how to do things DIY, like when you have less, you have to go and kind of create things, and a lot of people are losing that creativity 'cause we have technology, which is really sad.

Zander: But some people are gaining it through technology. I mean, crypto is DIY currency. But I think it’s cool that most people even learn just a little bit of HTML growing up, just so we could make our myspace look cool. It’s kind of neat when you think about it, like HTML didn’t even exist when our grandparents were alive, it’s a form of coding. And it’s interesting how people adapt, I also agree with Ulises; I think it’s sad that people don’t know how to fix things.

Ulises: I think there needs to be a balance, we’re losing from one, but we’re also gaining from both. That’s what I mean when I say we should be working toward both, instead of just going into technology and leaving the other.

Alaia: There’s a way to have diversity in the way you do things and in your tools and your resources.You can value the DIY cryptocurrency and you can value the handmade things that take maybe a little more time to make, or maybe a little more of your physical labor to put in, and that gives you a different result and that’s special that they’re both different things and they can provide different kinds of value.

Ulises: (pointing to Alaia sitting in between him and zander) This is a balance right here.

[kaleraniel]

Whenever we write, it’s something we do together. We may not always actually talk, but we both contribute more or less equally (whether or not Terra actually notices it and doesn’t chalk it up to eir own thoughts ahaha) Anyway, thought we should make a list. Or rather, two lists. Fics in progress, and fics we haven’t started but want to.

In progress, in order of current motivation to finish (kind of)– *“"sequel”“ to fake dating au. Just need to add some stuff (maybe up to 1k? We can’t shut up about these two and their healthy communication I mean talk about goals, right) and tweak the characterization to fit the established au. Motivated by time, mostly. Hope to get it up by Valentine’s Day. *gym au where it’s gay and such a pity Javert’s has prosopagnosia and always distracted by Valjean’s arms, and how Valjean’s never seen Javert out of uniform and doesn’t recognize him in workout clothes and is ever so distracted by his runners calves. Absolutely tragic. *dw doctor/TARDIS fic. I think I’m into that a lot because of that symbiotic relationship. I’m always about symbiotic relationships, probably given my own nature, haha *dæmon au, because that’s always important. Won’t be finished anytime soon. *magic au, because it’s almost done and why not? *leverage ot3 fic, since we don’t expect that to be too long, and also I mean it’s leverage so that’s always good. *phone call perceived unrequited perfectworldshipping fic, since we still think that’s really good and just the right amount of angst that is satisfying as hell. At least for us to read. That bittersweet kind of thing, where they’re just a hair’s breadth too late, they miss each other by just a second, if they had only reached out sooner but it was never the right time. Both of us love that shit so much. Kind of wary of posting two 5+1 fics so close together though. *Vampire!Javert, even though we’re undecided what direction to take that one right now. We have up to the bridge, but we can take it to the potentially nsfw direction or somewhere else that’s sfw. *self indulgent fic, since it’s self indulgent. Also at a standstill since we lost so much of it. Might not ever post because it’s fairly personal with the amount we project our own struggles with depression onto Javert. *sad fic, because that seems short. It’s hard to write. Haven’t been struck with that inspiration where the words come with that yet. Terra wants to write that more than I do, out of some kind of desperation to prove we can do something other than sickening fluff we can hardly bare to edit lol. There’s no rush. We have two modes: sickening fluff that apparently makes people scream and/or laugh out loud (which is? Unexpected? That funny stuff is fun to write but we never expected it to be as much fun to read), or angst fic that will break you. Absolutely no in between. *the other sad fic, which is also really personal, but it’s also half informative so somehow the part of us who loved to educate overtakes the anxious part of us hahaha. That fic requires an actual map so we can get things in order, and more research than we’re willing to put in at the moment. So, standstill. We know exactly where we want to go with it though. Probably the fic we actually use words to talk to each other about the most. Usually it’s just feelings, melding together in that writing zone to where we are really one with each other and not separated at all. That can be fun too, but I like talking. *the one where Javert is a ghost. We have the beginning, but Terra’s more interested in how Javert works and functions as a ghost rather than actual plot and I’m stuck on what to do so it’s at a standstill. *wolves fic, because that’s such a good quote we can’t not use it. Don’t know where we’re quite going with it exactly. Have a vague idea but nothing solid. *Vegas au, requires casefic which means a case and we aren’t quite sure how to handle that yet. Of course, because it revolves around casefic, we can’t do much with it yet but we have the first scene written out that probably will need redoing at a later date but whatever. It’s Vegas. *butter for lube. I hate Terra for this. So much. *touchfic, requires massive reworking. It’s 25k. Like half of that is going to have to be rewritten entirely or cut and that’s going to take so much time and effort. Totally know where we’re going, it’s just how to get there that’s the issue. *3rd person POV fic. Know what we’re doing, just not sure how to make it into a good fic. Also we keep getting distracted by OCs, so large sections of that are going to have to be cut or at least severely minimized. Those are just the things we have actual parts written, not just outlined.

To write, in no particular order– *REVERSE GROUNDHOG. We’ve been wanting to write this for literally years. And we have about 80% of it planned to a T in our brain. We just. Need to write it. And figure out that last 20%. *werewolf Valjean, for obvious reasons. There’s never enough supernatural (not the show, although the influence is most definitely there) AUs nor creature!aus *superhero AU, fight us okay *coffeeshop au #3, where jvj is a crime novel author and lowkey uses the cases Javert mutters about in his books that Javert’s a closet fan of. Idea half stolen from Paper Monsters, a cherik fic. *olive garden au aka coffee shop au #1, which Terra promised Stephanie like four years ago *Coffeeshop au #2, which is so similar to the Australian au that we might scrap it, or just write it for our own enjoyment and never post. *the one we call Mercy, with swensonvert and raminjean, which is decidedly nsfw and will go to the Shame Account. *buddy cop AU inspired by… oh what’s that movie. With the two lady leads. It’s kind of recent and super good. *leverage au with the Les Mis faves, of course. I wish we had more straight up Leverage ideas, because that’s such a good show. We yell at each other about it so much. *ink on skin soulmate au because we love soulmate AUs. *dw dæmon au where humans are the only species who have dæmons and the Doctor is absolutely fascinated by this. Thought of this yesterday, so it’s pretty new. *the one where the main pairing is Javert/Seine with lots of suicidal ideation. *Toulon nsfw fic. We don’t know how to introduce the nsfw aspect, honestly. And our Jean le cric isn’t canon characterized and it bothers me. Terra says run with it, "because fuck it it’s fanfiction,” but it bugs me. Technically, it’s partly written, but it bugs me so much I’m not counting that. *TiMER soulmate au. That one’s interesting because it plays off the idea of people evolving and growing, how the person that’s “perfectly comparable with you” may meet you earlier on (and at that point, you are good with them) but their timer doesn’t stop then. Javert’s timer resets and resets to the point where he thinks it’s faulty and Valjean’s remains constant, only skipping around near the barricades because Javert himself is fluctuating then too. Anyway that’s a lot of fun but requires a lot of looking things up in the brick and referencing the Les Mis timeline often. *music au, because we love those too, and although we collaborated with Star on the one we did for the Big Bang, we’re still not satisfied because it doesn’t /exactly/ match up with the one we constructed in our head. It’s good and we enjoy it immensely, but it doesn’t scratch the itch. If we end up rewriting it with the same plot points and stuff, we won’t post it. Might change it up, making Valjean a solo piano or luthier, but always secret composer Madeleine and always concert master Javert. *coffeeshop au #4, where they keep meeting on accident during rush and leave post its on each other’s coffee and only know each other by their coffee names. Occasionally they talk in line but it’s just a meet-cute honestly. We don’t expect this to be long, just a cute little idea. Javert always freaks out with the reveal and makes things longer and harder though, even when we expect that of him. *possibly doctor/surgeon!Javert and Valjean always coming to the ER because of shit he gets himself into by performing mostly selfish actions. Javert has beef with him for some reason. Maybe mugged him when he was a student of important things that held him back, or otherwise heavily inconvenienced him and he pressed charges, of course. *lowkey artist Valjean, who is really good but doesn’t think he is. Don’t know if this should be modern or canon era. Inspired by a friend who has Valjean hair we met at fiddle camp. He’s very good and does both realistic and caricatures that really capture people and that’s such a Valjean thing. *white collar inspired fic, half planned out. Valjean as an art thief and Javert as his pursuer. When Javert puts him away the first time, Valjean’s just gotten in with bad people. He changes when he gets out. His motives change to be more Leverage-like, and it becomes almost a game of cat and mouse. In his forgeries he starts writing stuff to leave Javert, little post it notes on the wall where a painting used to be, etc. Javert is confused but honestly missed chasing Valjean. Then after one incident where Valjean handcuffs Javert to something and leaves him there after banter/lowkey flirting, he leaves these files proving how corrupt the people he’s robbing are, as well as proof that the paintings get returned to a good place or the money from the sale goes to a good cause with only a little bit missing to pay for Valjean’s own humble life. Javert starts doubting. Valjean sees him on the bridge, paints him, then breaks into Javert’s house to hang it (and also buys him food because Jesus your fridge is barren, must feed you). It’s even signed with his real name and painted in his own style. Javert is kind of touched, even if he’s pissed off that Valjean could break into his apartment so easily (he changes his locks and only gets halfway through the milk before it goes bad. There’s a reason he doesn’t keep much food. It’s because he’s never home to eat it). Then, when Cosette is in danger, Valjean panics and doesn’t know who to go too except Javert. Javert comes home one day to Valjean pacing in his front room (and is annoyed he broke in /again/, why can’t he ring the doorbell like a normal– he doesn’t know why he could even thing of Valjean as normal and then thinks he should be more angry a know criminal is in his home and somehow looks like he belongs there). And then minor casefic- Javert helps him in exchange for his freedom. After, Javert manages to get Valjean as a consultant with an ankle bracelet thing a la white collar because damn it, he’s definitely gone for him. The first time Javert visits Valjean’s house he’s annoyed because Valjean has an original Monet hanging in Cosette’s room, which means the one they think is real is actually a forgery. That’s been developing in our brain for a long time too. We should just write it already. *TWEWY au, where Valjean ends up dying the same week as Javert. It’s a normal Game, of course. Unsure if we should have Reaper!Javert or not. Still working out the logistics of that. Who should be Conductor, Game Master, other reapers. Composer, even. *modern au where Javert’s a cop and keeps pulling over former criminal Valjean who’s now a successful and well know businessman. They end up making out against the side of Javert’s cruiser after many cop-based innuendos. Valjean’s license plate has 24601 in it, obviously. *original!weird friends AU. Featuring Grantaire/Javert friendship that neither will admit is friendship, born of over a year of arresting Grantaire for being drunk in public and various other minor crimes and watching him in the drunktank. They talk about being mentally ill, so bipolar lithro Grantaire and prosopagnosia lowkey depressed Javert. They talk about Grantaire’s unrequited crush that’s both ideal and hell for him, and teases Javert relentlessly about his not so lowkey crush on Valjean. Probably Grantaire POV. Grantaire crashes his car/motorcycle through Valjean’s shopfront window, and Grantaire just has him call Javert, totally unknowing that this is the guy Javert’s crushing hard on and has to deal with that awkward mess while very drunk and very manic. Possibly recognizes Valjean as Cosette’s dad, idk. Arranges for them to meet up very sneakily, because they’re not friends and this is just to make Javert shut up about this guy, yes totally, not to make him happy or anything. Shut up. They’re not friends. (Wow that was almost entirely Terra there. It’s late. We’re tired and not used to separation.) *AU!weird friends au where everything is the same as the above au except Grantaire has a vine account (Vine will be mourned). Obviously set when Vine was still alive and well. Consists mainly of Grantaire filming Javert while mentioning Valjean and watching as Javert attempts to be chill but is totally /not/. May involve him dropping massive amounts of paperwork, or spilling boiling hot coffee on himself. Definitely features him threatening Grantaire with arrest, not like that phases Grantaire anymore. Cosette sees his vines, mostly the one where Javert actually sees Valjean and walks straight into a street sign or trips over a parked car or something, and recognizes “oh my god that’s my dad”. They gleefully try to get them together and Grantaire’s vines consist of them actually meeting and Javert crushing harder than a 12 year old girl and Valjean’s being absolutely smitten with him. Probably told strictly through social media and video descriptions? It would be fun to try that since the texting was so fun in fake dating. Grantaire’s name is drunktank420 and you can’t stop me. *Canon era transman Javert. Can’t stop us. It’s ideal. …there’s more, because there’s always more. We are always thinking of fic. Anything cute or neat that happens in real life you can bet one of us latches onto it and an AU is born right there. It’s 5am we should sleep. Fic is too much fun for the both of us, which is why I completely endorse it. I would love to explore Valjean’s PTSD and anxiety more and having Javert learn how to calm him down or see the signs to remove him from his stressors. Also, obviously, Javert’s depression, suicidal ideation, and recovering from his suicide attempt. And his prosopagnosia, ADHD-ness, and his dyslexia in more detail. I put bits of it in almost everything but we want to examine it more.

[zoetekohana]

Asking this because of that top notch Michi rec post you made: Top 5 Michi Fics.

Oh, thank you so much! I’m really pleased to hear youliked my Michi rec post. ♡ (*Here* it is for those who want to check it out.)

To be honest, it’s really not easy to make a top fiveof Michi fics for two reasons: 1. I love way more than five Michi fics and it’dbe difficult to rank them. 2. I’ve been reading Michi fics ever since 2004.Granted I haven’t read every single one of them. And there are so many stories that I really, really loved but have been deleted in that twelve year time span. (I’m going to include those anyways, though.)

Let’s give it a try…

I’d first like to discuss a few Michi stories I reallylike that just didn’t make the cut to my top five, but still deserve a special mention:

⚘Thin Lines byHemsee Apparently this got deleted? I only found out about this yesterday, because I started checking the links on my Michi masterpost, but evidently it’s been deleted instead. Which is unfortunate because I was really eager to know how the relationship between Taichi and Mimi would further develop. Plus, Hemsee really has a clean, beautiful writing style that is so wonderful to read. I hope she creates a new multi-chaptered Michi story, though. 

⚘ All Good Things by Hemsee Luckily, her Michi oneshot is still there. It tells the story of how Mimi and Taichi’s relationship developed throughout the years since their childhood and how they gradually fell in love and got together. 

⚘ anchor me back down by dianaagronSimilarly to “All Good Things”, this story follows their relationship from the very beginning, since kindergarten, in a wonderful will they/won’t they-kind of way, to their mid-twenties. While I do love both stories (what can I say, I’m a major sucker for slow-burns), I do prefer ambd over agt. Plus how can anyone dislike a story inspired by that beautiful song by Mindy Gledhill?

⚘ Snow by hello heartbreak I recently re-read this story and loved it just as much as I did ten years ago. Ngl it hurts seeing my beloved Chosen in such pain, but this story is so touching. I also believe this is the fic that generated my headcanon that Mimi would have trouble transferring back to Japan and have trouble speaking/studying the language. Lo and behold, ten years later that headcanon actually came true in tri! 

⚘ Buttons by BenignUser This story is just so adorable! It makes me melt every time I read it. (I believe I’ve read this oneshot five times. What is my life, haha?) But really, it’s so fun, so cute and definitely worth your while. 

⚘ keep it classy by hellyeahayumichan This is a collection of four (slightly nsfw) drabbles for Michi, Sorato, Takari and Kenyako. It’s just such a great read! I really admire the subtle descriptions. Hellyeahayumichan has such a way with words. (And even though it’s not fic, I highly, highly recommend checking out her Michi art! Each and every one of her drawings are amazing. I envy her colouring skills in particular.)

⚘ Parallels by Scripturiens There are no words to describe how amazing this artwork is. And I stress the word art, because it’s really an interesting exercise in writing by putting the different pieces out of order so that all the nuances of the thoughts and the actions of the characters come together with such care. Amazing structure aside, it’s a nice piece that so wonderfully conveys emotion, especially heartbreak. I love it so much, and now I want to go re-read it….

⚘ Whispers at night by ribbonedcuriosa To this day I’m still so happy I requested a Digimon story set in the Star Wars universe from ribbonedcuriosa, because she took it and fabricated this lovely ficlet. She merged both franchises so fluently, it’s inspiring. The Michi is subtle here, but I love subtle implied pairings when it comes to the adventure genre. I honestly crave more of this story. Forever crossing my fingers for a continuation.

After contemplating long and hard over it, I now present you my TOP FIVE MICHI STORIES:

05 ⚘What Women Want by StarlillyWe start of with one of the most popular Michi fics on FF.net. And that’s understandable, because this story is so much fun! I believe I started reading it not long, just a couple of months, after it was completed. I’m even planning on re-reading after finals, so my little review here is based on my memory of when I read it late 2005. 

First there is something I have to confess (again, I’m sure I’ve stated this before, but just to be clear I’ll state it once more) that I don’t really like it when authors use the dubbed names in fics. I prefer reading Taichi Yagami over Tai Kamiya, very much so. I didn’t like it back when I started reading Michi fics in 2004/2005 and I still don’t now. That said, I won’t turn a fic down because the author chose to use the dubbed names. I do like to give it at least a try. (I sound so picky now…) And in this case: I loved the “What Women Want” film back then (still do, I rewatched it this year), so there was no way I wouldn’t read a Michi fic based on that film. And honestly, Starlilly took the premise and really made it her own while developing the relationship between Taichi and Mimi so well. 

04 ⚘ Falling’s not the problem by ribbonedcuriosaAhhhh, this story is so good! I was eagerly awaiting the next part to beta each time because it’s just so good. I absolutely love how curiosa jumped back and forth from past to present to showcase how Mimi and Taichi got to the point where they were in the beginning and how their lives further developed since then. And she did it so fluidly. Also her characterizations of both Taichi and Mimi are so well-done. 

03 ⚘Come to Me by Pied Piper + Only Alive by Pied PiperI’m sure you all knew beforehand that at least one Pied Piper story would make my top five, and here’s the first one… Sorry, first two. Okay, I know I’m cheating here by putting both these stories on the number three slot and therefore haven’t whittled my list down to five fics but six. But for the life of me, I can not chose between these two! 

I’ll talk about Come to Me first. I really love this story so much because it’s so real, so relatable. There were so many moments where I just nodded understandingly, because it was so realistic. And I talked before how I love slow-burns, well, this fic is one of the ultimate slow-burns I’ve ever read. I really enjoyed reading about their journey from how they became friends first to actually falling for each other, but being apprehensive first considering they were still dealing with their heartbreak from a previous relationship, to finally arriving at their destination together which felt so earned. It was so beautiful beyond comprehension. (PS: I still have a half-finished fanart of it lying around.)

Moving onto Only Alive now… I’m confident my good friend Sunny is going to love the fact that I included this fic into my top three. Back in the beginning of 2009 when we discovered our mutual passion for digimon as well for Michi through a meme on my livejournal (we befriended over Avatar first), she told me that this was her most favourite Michi story. Somehow I hadn’t read it then yet. (Seriously, what was wrong with me?) So, at her recommendation, I read the first chapter and I immediately wrote back to her that I was in love with this story already. There was a certain passage in the first chapter that stood out to me, because it was the perfect Michi interaction:

So he asked her to dinner, sending a written apology note down to her small cubicle several stories below his feet.

She replied almost instantly: Jackass. 

He responded: Pick you up at eight? 

She agreed: Buy me flowers, too. 

Ah, Mimi, Mimi. How he missed someone who could talk back without fear. Welcome home, he grinned to himself.

To me, Michi is so compatible, because their personalities just go well together. They’re both headstrong but they’re both also very passionate and kind. I love seeing them portrayed with the whole “love to tease you” dynamic. And that passage in OA is an excellent example of that. Honestly, Pied Piper has such an exquisite grasp on these characters. I knew then that this fic was going to be splendid, and boy, did it deliver! I read it in the course of three evenings.

I will forever love both these stories. Then again I will forever love all the stories Pied Piper wrote. Just thinking about them makes me want to re-read every single one of them (except that I sadly lost a couple over the years…) 

02 ⚘ Creative License by R.vdPI’m kind of cheating again, haha, because technically this wasn’t really Michi. Daikeru, a ship I love so much next to Michi (thanks to this fic actually), was the main pairing of this story, but Michi was definitely heavily featured. But I just loved this story so much! Unfortunately it was deleted several years ago. (Around 2007, iirc.) 

That being said, I still feel lucky to have read this story. I can’t begin to explain how amazing it was! It was so cleverly constructed. Each chapter focused on a certain aspect of the story, and with each chapter we learned more and more what happened to these characters in the past and how they’re ultimately connected to other characters. It was all intricately interwoven. The writing style was also so crisp, so poetic, so inspiring. Plus, while the Michi was very angsty, it was very hot. I still haven’t read a nsfw Michi that came close to their scenes in this story. 

01 ⚘ My Captain’s Lady by Pied PiperIs there any surprise that MCL is my ultimate favourite? 

The truth is: This isn’t just my favourite Michi fic. This isn’t even just my favourite Digimon fic. This is my ultimate favourite fic ever.

It was the very first fic that got me so hooked. I started reading MCL after chapter fifteen or so (don’t remember the exact chapter anymore, since y’know, it was eleven years ago) and kept checking for the next update. It was really bad with the final chapter, because it was New Year’s Eve and I continuously pressed refresh so eagerly awaiting the update and then when it was finally there I read it between the different courses of dinner. 

I loved it so much that I was raving about it non-stop to my best friend that she, who hadn’t watched a single episode of digimon, even wanted to read it. So I lend her my binder of MCL and I like that she texted me her thoughts a few times. I kept those texts, even after ten years, until I had to buy a new phone last summer. 

Sentimental experiences aside, the story itself is just so epic. It had everything: an intriguing plot, an amazing build-up, lots of suspense and action, and of course a compelling romance between Taichi and Mimi. Once again, the journey of the characters and their relationship was so moving and so captivating. And I loved every step of the way. 

[comicteaparty]

November 5th-11th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from November 5th, 2018 to November 11th, 2018.  The chat focused on Cloverlines by Wednesday Ash, asteRiesling, Nachocobana, and Nadikusmo.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Cloverlines by Wednesday Ash, asteRiesling, Nachocobana, and Nadikusmo~! (https://tapas.io/series/Cloverlines)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until November 11th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 3. What do you think happened between Damon and Karen that caused such a rift in their relationship? Will Karen sign the divorce papers or is she going to continue to cling to Damon? How will this affect Damon’s future?

QUESTION 4. Several characters mentioned that Aimi is a “failed idol.” What do you think happened that caused Aimi to fail as an idol? Do you think this will have consequences for Aimi and/or the band at some point?

Ash

Hey guys, I'm looking forward to reading all your thoughts about Cloverlines

snuffysam

1. Aimi pulling the strings to get Yuuki into the band was my favorite. Just how she goes from being some spoiled brat who uses her charms (aka the PHEROMONES she puts on for her live performances!!!) to get free meals to being surprisingly sweet towards Yuuki.

2. Commenter "TrAsh" said it best - Damon truly is "daddy material". In all seriousness, it was hard to pick between him and Aimi, just due to how much I love Aimi's surprisingly brilliant trickster personality but... I just feel so bad for Damon, I want to give him a hug

3. Have you met Karen? Hmm... I suppose it could be some major argument, or Damon wanting to focus more on the band, but it may just be that they grew further apart as people...

4. (has anyone besides Monica actually said this? i don't recall) Anyway, I think Aimi failed as an idol because she sabotages every piece of equipment in sight if she doesn't like some aspect of the performance/recording session (the songs, the people she's working with, etc). Was she justified in ruining a bunch of careers (including her own) like that? Well... idol industries in the real world are pretty exploitative, so probably.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. Do you think Yuuki will adjust to his new life on Earth and the band in general? Will his addition to the band be good in the long run, or will Yuuki continue to cause problems in his own way? Also, do you think Yuuki will become homesick?

ShaRose49

I read the first two chapter so far lol. I thought Aimi was the cutest thing

I doubt Yūko will become homesick cause earth is the best

Yūko

AAHG, YUKII DANGIT

Oh wait is it yuuki? Sonuva...

RebelVampire

its okay names are hard. i look them up a lot to make sure im spelling them right XD

ShaRose49

Haha yeah but it was also dang AUTO CORRECT lol

Japanese names are hard but here so cool I have a few in my comic. Is this comic cloverlines what you would describe as a sci-fi comedy or rom-com?

snuffysam

there's not really much romance in comic

there's a divorce, does that count?

ShaRose49

Nope! That’s just drama

And no worries I don’t mind romance unless it’s super sassy or steamy and non-stop

I looooooooove scifi

BTW snuffy I think I recognize your name from Comic Fury hi!!

snuffysam

hi! yes, I recognize you too!

ShaRose49

Awesome which comic did you do again? (Or are you a reader whups)

snuffysam

that's something we should probably talk about in #general ha ha

ShaRose49

Oh yeah okay tell me there!

snuffysam

i think yuuki has already adjusted pretty well to the band. though aimi might be a bit of a bad influence, given that he wasn't exactly nice to monica...

ShaRose49

I love the art in Cloverlines it was so cute. Maybe this is random but the face she made when she said she spent all her money on delicious meat was to die for SO CUTE

I’ll take a peek at another chapter before I fall asleep lol

snuffysam

how far have you gotten so far? just the first two chapters?

ShaRose49

Just read the third

Man they beat the crap outta poor yuuki

I love that it’s set in Tokyo and starts at kind of a rock-bottom thing. Nowhere to go but up!!

snuffysam

you say that, but they seem to have trouble with that regard

constantly getting negative press

ShaRose49

Who? I don’t follow but maybe it’s cause I’m tired it’s late where I am

snuffysam

the band

brought in a new guy who played super weird

then played a near-blasphemous song on live tv

ShaRose49

Oh yeah. They were just about to bring him in probably where I left off

snuffysam

oh, I thought you said you read through chapter 3?

ShaRose49

Blasphemous?!

Yeah I did...hang on lemme check

The third chapter just has those two band guys arguing over a solo career and then they find Yuuki getting beat up outside

snuffysam

ah i see what you're saying. you're talking about the third update on line

ShaRose49

Yup.

Webtoons

I forgot it’s on other places too

Why was the song blasphemous was it really inappropriate or something?

snuffysam

well, that's a bit spoilers for the real third chapter, ha ha

which is two chapters away from where you are

ShaRose49

Well I don’t wanna read something super dirty or anything not my style

snuffysam

oh no, it's not dirty

religious blasphemy

ShaRose49

?! Like they make fun of a religion?

RebelVampire

fictional religious blasphemy

snuffysam

^

ShaRose49

Aww-has-has okay gotcha

That’s probably not so bad then

snuffysam

not for us it isn't

for the fictional people it's a bit of an issue ha ha

ShaRose49

🤭yeah poor them lol. It’s nice to have things that don’t exist IRL sometimes so that nobody’s bothered . I’m usually a sucker for real stuff though along with cartoony tropes

Anywho I gotta get to bed, thanks for chatting I will return!

snuffysam

yeah me too, talk to you later!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 6. Cloverlines has suffered several changes in band line-ups. Do you think Aussie might try to return to the band? Alternatively, how might his solo career affect the group? What about Monica? Will she manage to stick with the band despite tension?

Ash

would like to chime in for a bit above: having it be a fictional religion allows for less baggage when depicting its effects i feel, cause I wanna show what are the effects of it, without any risk of offending reasonable people otherwise

it's good to have an objective view on something inherently subjective, and fictionalizing the aesthetic elements allows a way for that

ShaRose49

Yeah for sure, things are safer with fictional concepts but I think real ones can be good to depends I guess. It’s super fun to make up stuff though

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Despite the band focus, the world in the story keeps turning. How might the recent terrorist events affect Cloverlines or other bands? Who do you think Mirai was? What others aspects of the world caught your attention?

RebelVampire

okay time to answer some questions. 1) My favorite scene so far is the one where Damon and Karen have dinner. I really liked all the subtle and not so subtle ways it showcased the state of their relationship. this is not to mention that i liked it wasnt even technically about their relationship, it was about Rinne. the fact it became about their relationship felt both very realistic and very revealing. 2) Damon. I think he has the most compelling of the conflicts and hes the most sensible of the group. He provides an essential grounding influence in the fact of everyone else being a bit more exaggerated, and if anyone is gonna make the band succeed, its damon. also, he has great hair. 3) I assume what happened is exactly what we saw at dinner: they have a personality clAsh. In the end though, I'm gonna theorize that Karen probably pushed Damon a bit too hard..maybe to succeed in music, and Damon just bailed because it wasn't the way he wanted to do it. overall, though, i think the route of their problems stems from the fact that damon is ambitious and laid back while karen is ambitious and aggressive. i think karen will sign the divorce papers eventually. but she's definitely going to cling for a while. however, i think shell slowly ease off as stuff with rinne starts to happen and changes some of the dynamic of the story. 4) Have you met Aimi? XD That is what happened. Aimi is 1000% not the type to follow orders and will do whatever she wants. Thus, this would make her a poor idol since shed be told constantly where to go and what to wear for her image. Damon is a saint for not having fired her. XD Overall, though, the fact she might be a "failed idol" is irrelevant i think. at the end what will have consequences is aimi continuing to do as aimi do.

5) Yuuki seems pretty well-adjusted as is, so he'll probably be fine. I do think there's gonna be more issues with Yuuki as part of the band though. Cause they basically hired him out of desperation and of the two gigs weve seen, we got weird guitar sound one and blasphemy one. so i think as a whole we havent gotten to see a good demonstration of whether yuuki is good or not. so it might take a while for him to fit in with the band. but to be fair, id say this about most of the members. they really need to work on their synergy as a band imo XD. i think yuuki will only become homesick if his fleet comes near enough he could viably go home. cause then its a tangible goal versus some theoretical could do it thing. 6) Idk if will, but I do think it'd be interesting to see Aussie go "i want to come back." Create some drama where the group has to pick between Aussie and Yuuki and test the limits. Solo career wise I think it might actually help the group. If Aussie is successful and is like "i was in that band" others might take more of an interest. As far as Monica goes, she'll probably stick around. I think the worst of the tension already came and went. 7) I assume the terrorist attacks will keep up and they will inadvertantly expose Rinne and cause all the scandal. Though given the comic's tone I can't really forsee any serious consequences. As for Mirai, IDK. Good question. I assume it was a real person who did something significant which is somewhat interesting to consider. For the world in general I'm really curious about how spread out the population is. Cause the galaxy is a big place. And the astronomy nerd in me wonders what the travel technology is like.

ShaRose49

I didn’t get to the terrorists yet I can’t wait!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 8. Rinne, a robot, has a strange vision and keeps asking if Monica is Mirai. What do you think is happening to Rinne? Is Karen right to be worried about Rinne’s sentience? What is Rinne supposed to “create?”

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. Do you think Cloverlines will manage to succeed as a band in general? What do you think has to happen for that to be the case? Alternatively, what other hiccups might they face as they aim for stardom?

snuffysam

step 1: fire aimi

question. does it say anywhere that this civilization spans the whole galaxy? or just the solar system? because the furthest from Earth I remember being mentioned is Pluto

RebelVampire

i think its somewhat implied

because in the opening earth is described as the entertainment of the galaxy

not to mention theres aliens

snuffysam

ah yes

RebelVampire

and last i checked there are not aliens in the rest of the solar system

snuffysam

it's been a while

since i've checked, that is

RebelVampire

but tbf how much of the galaxy is colonized is up for debate. i think its at least implied it goes beyond the solar system tho

so it might not be the whole galaxy. cause i mean galaxies are pretty huge

snuffysam

the nearest habitable planets we've found so far are like 30 light years away? and the milky way is over 100k light years across

anyway my guess is that Mirai is just some robot's rights revolutionary dude, and any surviving sentient robots seem to treat them like some sort of deity. don't think Monica is Mirai though. Rinne just gets confused easily.

also what does Rinne create? sick beats! next question!

RebelVampire

omg XD sick beats is a good answer

cause that does seem the direction its gonna go

Ash

well be exploring the larger space in coming eps

RebelVampire

QUESTION 10. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

snuffysam

i want to see them do more shows! yuuki doesn't have all that much experience under his belt and... honestly, I just want to see a performance where he isn't playing a song ten seconds after finding out about it

RebelVampire

i second that. id also like to see him do a show that isnt buried up to its knees in controversy

RebelVampire

8) I definitely don't think Monica is Mirai. I'm starting to think Mirai is an artifical intelligence maybe. Or was a person who made artificial intelligence which is kind of a big deal. but this is what's happening to rinne. she's tapping into some sort of programming that expresses mirai's ultimate desires for her creations. that being said, i do think karen is right to be concenred. not because rinne is dangerous, but because shes right. if its illegal, their band is gonna be screwed if they get discovered. 9) i somewhat agree with the joke answer that they gotta do something about aimi. i feel they wont succeed as long as they continue to tolerate her impulsive willfulness. not to say theyll have no success, but theres a diff levels of success and theyll never become top tier if her shenanigans continue to bury them in controversy. 10) as i said before, i really would like to see more concerts with the band in general. cause i think its an important experience for them to bond as a band and as characters. i also look forward to karen moving past damon because i think itll be interesting to see how she finally matures enough to reach the conclusion.

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Cloverlines this week! Please also give a special thank you to Wednesday Ash, asteRiesling, Nachocobana, and Nadikusmo for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Cloverlines, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below! Read and Comment: https://tapas.io/series/Cloverlines Cloverlines’ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wednesdayAsh

[canaryatlaw]

Well today was pretty all around good, so yay for that! Alarm went off at 9 am and I got myself up, thankfully, and made my way to church, even though it was raining and fucking freezing all fucking day AGAIN which didn't make the journey very pleasant at all but I did make it with some time to kill since I was going to service first (I use the same time set up to get to church, and when I'm in the babies room first I need to get there a bit earlier, so when I'm going to the service first I end up being early) so I went to the awesome volunteer lounge they have that's always stocked with amazing food and had some of this chicken and dumplings combination and I definitely used the chili toppings of sour cream, cheddar cheese, and oyster crackers and mixed it all together, and it was pretty damn awesome. So then I sat in the lounge and talked to people I know, including a discussion about 13 reasons why based off my Facebook post from yesterday (and I was speaking with the mom of teenagers so that of course brought up some important stuff to be mindful of while watching) which got over 30 likes so I felt was pretty successful. Went to service, and I feel super bad about this but I was definitely feeling rather sleepy during it and I legit can't remember pretty much any of the message haha which is bad. I think it's the new melatonin I'm trying, it's the same amount as all the others but maybe I think I'm letting too much of it dissolve in my mouth or something stupid like that so I managed to stay awake guru didn't get much out of the message unfortunately. Thankfully, I knew that only happened when I was sitting and not actively doing anything, so I wouldn't get sleepy while in the babies room. So I make it up there once the service ends, one volunteer from the last service is sticking around to pack things up a bit. I forget if I've mentioned this before, I probably have at some point, but my church has to move off site for the month of May for construction, so after today's service we had to pack everything up to move. But things were quiet at first and there was a very cute little 5 month old girl I was playing with, and I settled her to be rather content in one of the little rockers with toys hanging from above. I don't remember the exact order, but we got a few more babies shortly after, including a little girl who's apparently been having a hard time staying and not crying for quite a while now and her parents were convinced she was gonna start screaming as soon as they left, and then she was good for pretty much the entire service, like I think there was maybe 1 minute worth of crying the whole time which was pretty impressive. Then we got a quick influx because they were doing baby dedications today in this service so after they do that they take the babies to the nursery of course so we had like 4 of them come in. We weren't doing too bad because for the most part everyone was cooperating so it was only a little chaotic. A mom and her son who's also had troubles came in and she sticks around for him, and there's this really cute little girl who can walk and such but just really likes being held, so once the other official worker and I were dealing with actually crying babies she just went to the mom and basically was in her lap the whole time and it was too cute haha because I know from previous conversations she has 3 little boys and would like a little girl. We may actually ask if she wants to join the team working in the babies room soon haha since she seems to be doing well with it already. I had one of the adorable twins that was dedicated for a little while because she was crying, they're normally very docile and almost never cry but thanks to the dedication they missed their nap so she was cranky and ended up getting passed off. Then the 5 month old girl I was with originally started crying so I held her and rocked her for probably the last 20 minutes, she stopped crying fairly quickly but didn't seem all that interested in falling asleep even though I could tell she was tired, so we just hung out and it was fine. So yeah, a bit chaotic but overall pretty good turn out for that number of babies and few volunteers. At the end of the service the two other babies team coaches who are married and lawyers showed up (they had served in an earlier service) to help with the packing and transition, so I stuck with them for a while and packed stuff up, and then we had a little powwow with everyone there on what the plan was and there was a funny little moment where they were trying to explain what would be happening to the building that made it so we couldn't be in it, and they said something like they "have to build in easements" for something about the seating but easements are a concept in property law so as soon as they said that word all 3 of us just looked at each other and smothered our giggles. It was around this time though that I realized the rest of it was probably gonna be a lot of lifting and carrying, which I really should not be doing with my back, and after voicing it the two of them told me to get out of here and go study for my finals because they had enough people haha and I didn't really have any good arguments against so I did (after grabbing a slice of crappy papa johns pizza and a less crappy ice cream bar). I wasn't gonna go all the way back up north to home since I would need to be around there for the babies team meeting we were having tonight anyway, so I went over to the Starbucks I've been chilling in when I have time to kill in that area to get some work done. I had my first experience with "pink drink" because up to this point whenever I'd asked they said they were out of the stuff to make it with. I was somewhat skeptical because I'm not really a coconut fan at all but I wanted to try it, and it was actually really good! So I'm a fan, lol, typical basic white girl I know. But then I got down to business to defeat my paper, 6 sections left out of 21, which I was able to knock down to 2 sections left after today (which is really 1 1/2 half sections because one is partially answered). Basically, I have everything except the revenue and expense budget because I have no fucking idea where to even start with that, but I'm gonna consult the actual textbook (if you could call it that) that we got for the class that I stopped reading out of after the second week of class and hopefully they can help with some guidance there, and if not my bs skills are pretty universally well-tuned, so hey, I may just be able to pull it off anyway. After that I'll just have to write the appendix which should be fairly short, and some sort of works cited page (I was pressing him for what kind of citations he wanted and he's like "I really don't care, whatever works" and I was like THATS SO UNHELPFUL lol but I think he was generally trying to communicate he doesn't care about all the technicalities that have been hammered into our brains as vital for all these years and he just wants the content to be good with an understandable cite, so I can handle that. I'll probably have to do some editing to different sections to make it flow together better, but I should be on track to finish it tomorrow and hopefully have some time left to study for crim pro. I'm currently at 26 pages of full text, no blank spaces, and just over 9,000 words, so I think I'm in a pretty good spot because I did aim to get as close as possible on all the word limits so it would feel like I have enough content. So I'm happy with that for now. While I was at Starbucks I got a text from the babies group leader who was hosting the meeting tonight saying they had been a miscommunication with her roommate and we couldn't meet at her apartment tonight, so we ended up moving the meeting to this cute little pizzeria. So now I just had to figure out how to get there. Plugged it into my maps and the best route seemed to be the bus that runs the street that I was on north, and then a shorter ride east to the address. Okay, this should work. Except for some reason my bus time tracker app didn't have the second route listed- like it just skipped over route 70 for some reason. Weird, but whatever, I still had google maps which was pretty good with that stuff. So I hopped on the bus and took it a good ways north, then got off and waited for the next bus to come....and waited....I finally figured out how to get an arrival time off another app and it was still ten minutes out at which point I was really like 😡😡😡😡 because in case you've forgotten it's still really rainy and fucking cold out and standing out there for a prolonged period of time was about as miserable as you can get, so I was not a happy camper by the time the bus came, but I was very glad it did show (and coincidentally, the name of the place we ate at was named happy camper). It was a cool place, pretty big, they ID as soon as you walk in lol so we got a booth and just talked normal chat for a while, and then when our food came we started getting down to business. A lot of it had to do with the move and transitioning of course, and how to best help our families with that. Since the church will be meeting in an elementary school for the next month the kids rooms are actually gonna be in the building next door, so that's gonna be somewhat difficult to navigate at first so we wanted to make sure we were ready for that. And yeah, we just did other basic talk about any problems we've been having, any suggestions we have, and looking to expand the volunteer team, because apparently our church volunteer base is lower than most churches, which seems very odd to me because I feel like everyone volunteers, but that's probably because I'm a volunteer and that's how I know them, lol. Apparently we have about a 17% volunteer rate out of our typical 1,500 person congregation (I didn't know this number so that was cool to learn to) and most churches have their numbers in the 20's or 30's, so we'd like to work on that. And yeah, we basically just talked and laughed and had a good time. I ordered a pizza with Parmesan, tomatoes (that I mostly ended up picking off, lol) and pesto sauce and omgggg it was amazing and I would definitely get it again. So that was overall a productive meeting. As we're getting set to leave I'm trying to figure out my options to get home from here, and it looks like if I walk a few blocks over I could either catch a bus north that gets me pretty closer to my apartment (second closest after the 50 bus I take to work) or there was a red line stop, but if I took the red line I would have to walk 15-20 minutes home in the freezing miserable rain- but I could also get stuck outside waiting for the bus and I was not about to do that again. So I check the arrival times for the bus and it's like, 3 minutes, and 20 minutes. Well crap. At this point I just figured I'd head in that direction and see what happens, and I kept tracking the bus and saw that it was still a little bit out, and when I got to the intersection it had just pulled up to the bus stop- which was on the diagonal corner from where I was, which with crosswalk signals make it pretty much impossible for me to get there. But they had a red light so I ran to the other side of the street, then contemplated running into moving traffic several times, but I managed to get across without any cars coming and just as their light turned green I managed to signal to the bus driver that was still about 15 feet away that I was coming, and he graciously waited for me, and I've gotta tell you, I was so glad in that moment haha because I so did not want to have to be out in the weather any longer. So that made me happy. The 22 bus is a nice view on the ride north, it's just not particularly fast so I don't always utilize it, but it was enjoyable tonight. Got home shortly after 9, and against my better judgment watched Chicago Justice, which I think I'm officially quitting because this goddamn show is going to give me an aneurysm out of the sheer amount of anger and frustration that builds up in me watching them just get legit everything wrong about the legal system and try to pull off these ridiculous stunts with charging people with certain crimes that in real life would get thrown out in a SECOND, and seeing that week after week is just incredibly irritating, and they manage to get all the stupid stuff wrong to like objections and I swear nobody on this damn show knows what a cross examination is because literally all of them use it as counselor testifying but nobody objects. So I think I'm giving up here. Apparently though there were a few people on Twitter that were enjoying my commentary of how full of bs it was, lol. Oh well. I went to Riverdale then, which mostly just made me roll my eyes. I was never really into the whole teen drama scene, not counting Smallville because that's not really a "drama" anyway, and what makes it even more absurd is it seems like the kids here are all mostly normal but all their parents are out of their fucking minds and going to end up in jail for running a criminal enterprise or something, lol. So I was meh at best about that. Then I stuck around for an episode of friends before getting ready for bed, and here we are. Get to sleep in tomorrow thankfully, so looking forward to that, then getting the pedal to the metal on studying/writing as we hit these last 3 days. By Thursday I'll be totally done with the semester! Seriously, can't wait. Sigh, until then. Goodnight babes. Sleep well.

[rbeatz]

rBeatz Exclusive Interview: The Dr. Frankenstein of Electronic Music, Mad Zach

In an age where the music performance is forced to evolve,  Mad Zach is ahead of the curve. We here at rBeatz like to think about the future of music, and one of our predictions is that the performance element of electronic music will continue to get more intricate.

Casette Blog describes Mad Zach as a “crazy scientist of circuit bending and hardware hacking” aka the Dr. Frankenstein of electronic music.

Mad Zach recently released his new EP, Fortress via Plasma Audio. The EP really showcases the artists experimentation into the electronic realm.

Mad Zach is the future of electronic music performances fusing elements of controllerism, finger drumming, and DJing. Currently, he is getting ready for his 2017 tour, which includes a performance at “What The Festival.” Zach’s style is a favorite of the big production tech companies in music, such as Native Instruments and Ableton. His performances have taken Youtube by storm, amassing over 10 million views.

Take a listen to the EP below. We suggest you play the EP then read the interview for the FULL Mad Zach experience.

What we here at rBeatz are interested in is the artists thought process when creating projects. Below are some questions we asked Mad Zach.

INTERVIEW:

Where are you from?

I’m originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, but got my musical start in Santa Cruz. Also lived briefly in Austin, and now I am based in Berlin, Germany.

Tell us the story of how you got started creating music on your computer?

I played guitar for 12 years before I started making beats. I had begun to dabble with drum machines and synthesizers by the time I got to Uni. For some reason I always thought you had to have a PC to make beats, but then a friend of mine showed me Reason on Mac and leant me his midi keyboard. From that moment on I was obsessed lol.

At that time, there weren’t all the resources online that there are now, so it was pretty much trial by fire. I remember reading a lot of wikipedia articles trying to figure out what midi and oscillators were.

After a few months I transitioned to Ableton, and shortly thereafter began collecting hardware.

Did you play any instruments before producing on the computer?

Yeah, guitar for 12 years. Its a great instrument but I needed an outlet which allowed me more of a complete vision. I had all these beats and sounds in my head which I could not create with guitar.

What made you lean towards sampling?

I like sampling because its fun and inspiring, when you find a cool sample it gives the track a backbone to work around. It also opens up a huge world when you start to think of any recorded sound as an instrument. Its often a great way to add a sense of dimension to tracks.

It also intrigues me to think about how one song might have little moments from the last 80 years all seamlessly combined into a new vision, that trips me out haha.

What is your biggest accomplishment to date? 

I could list some events but honestly all the usual “accomplishments” just last a few moments and are surrounded by loads of hard work.

So in that respect my biggest accomplishment is just to be able to keep making music all the time. I feel very fortunate to have found a path which allows me to be creative and not have to deal with too much else, aside from the unavoidable bureaucracies of modern life.

Who are your musical influences?

I pull inspiration from all over, jazz, hip hop, techno, miami bass, dub, trip hop, classical. I can usually find something I like in every genre. Of course I try to check out what other producers are doing as well.

What is your favorite controller for finger drumming and why?

Midi Fighter, because its nice and mashable. I like that the buttons are so easy to press and all pretty close together. It makes finger drumming a little easier when you don’t have to move your hands so dramatically. Recently I’ve been spending more time with my MPC2000XL, which isn’t a controller but is pretty great for finger drumming. I always thought I didn’t like velocity

but the MPC actually does a nice job with it.

You speak about “playability” in your youtube videos – when creating your ideal 8 x 8 sample grid on Ableton Push or Launchpad, what sample elements are a MUST to create a playable grid?

You gotta have your drums, some bass sounds, fx, atmospheres, hooks. The nice challenge about working with a limited number of sound slots is that is forces me to be very selective about which sounds I use and make sure they all go well together.

What element do you normally start with when creating a production from scratch (i.e. drums, bass, synths, vocals (not that you use too many vocals))?

These days I just turn the studio on and hit play on my midi sync box. That gets everything moving straight out of the gate, from there I dial in some rhythmic element on the drum machines, and start noodling on the synths. When I have something I like I’ll record a jam of it, or make some samples from the sounds I’ve designed. I have a few different ways I make music, sometimes I start by making a sound pack, sometimes I start by jamming out on my hardware.

Do you have a go-to sample layout when starting a project from scratch?

If there’s a sound pack involved then yes.. but sampling is just one element of my production flow so I’d say its more likely that I have a go to routing with the mixer. The way I route my studio everything has its place, in some ways its pretty fixed. So I always know which channel different sounds are coming in on. I also try to give each piece of gear a very specific role, so even though

I could make a kick on the Moog, I never do. The 909 kick is always on hand, the Mother 32’s just do white noise, the sub phatty is exclusively on sub patrol, etc.

What synth are you currently using?

I have a lot of synths, but my favorite isn’t just one, its all of them together. In some ways my mixer is my favorite synth haha. I do a lot of sound design which combines different layers of synths and fx.

Sometimes people ask me how I make this or that sound and the answer is almost always some crazy combination of processing which involves many steps and layering.

I do like the Sub 37 but most synths on their own are pretty dry.

What are your favorite sample packs that you’ve created and why?

Its hard to pick favorites, but I really love playing some of the classics from my second volume of packs. Mostly I love packs that give you an opportunity to play through a nice tension and release. Then of course there’s the 64 pad packs I made for Ableton, those are super fun if you have a push or launchpad.

What are some of your favorite VSTs and why?

I don’t have many vsts but some friends of mine use the Fab Filter stuff, which sounds quite nice. Also the H-Delay by Waves is excellent. I love moogerfoogers the most, which are hardware.

How do you make your kick sound?

There are a million ways to make a kick. These days I use one of my drum machines, tweak the sound on there, and then sometimes run it through some of my MoogerFoogers. I spent a lot of time making different kicks but in the end, a phat kick is a phat kick and its not a song or a musical idea (most of the time) so I try to stick with what sounds good already and focus on how the kick interacts with the rest of the elements.

Are there any critical producing tips you’d like to share with our young producers out there?

Yeah I would say don’t compress stuff too much, don’t eq all dramatically and try to pick out certain frequencies. The more I learn, the less I do, and the more I use my ears instead of numbers. If a sound doesn’t fit, pick another. I usually try to do most of my mixing with volume and very subtle eq curves.

What social media platform do you think is most important for young producers to get a handle on?

Myspace, hands down. Just add Tom he’ll help you find the truth.

What is your favorite part about playing music?

Going into a hypnotic meditation space and losing track of time and space.

What is your least favorite part about playing music?

Trouble shooting mysterious gear problems and not knowing if its the gear or me being stoned lol

What is next for Mad Zach?

I have some exciting tour dates scheduled for this year. Looking forward to playing at Coachella, What the Festival, Shambala, Hard Fest, and lots of clubs as well. I just released a new EP “Fortress” [above] and am finishing up construction on a new studio. I’ll also be releasing some new sound packs soon, and am preparing a few new releases and collabs, including a new track with Barclay Crenshaw.

from rBeatz.com http://ift.tt/2nHGPPZ

[waywardparadiseblizzard-blog]

15.02.17 – A long overdue download

I have been thinking about guys a lot recently, maybe one specific one a bit too much, it’s amazing how my tune has changed so quickly, before singleton status was acquired sex was boring, I just put it down to maybe it wasn’t for me, I also never saw guys in any other way than platonic, I just couldn’t see past my relationship, But now a new lease of life has awakened in me and I am struggling to contend with my impulsive urges! I am still coming to terms with what it means to be single and with that what it means to be just me.

The main thing I struggle with is what I call relationship conditioning, anyone who has been in a long term relationship understands the cooperation and sacrifice you need to maintain a good relationship, but what happens when your long term relationship is over?  What do you do when all that carefully constructed conditioning is no longer needed?

Well, there is no short answer, it’s a case of trial and error, I find I don��t even realise my relationship conditioning has kicked in until I find myself saying a certain thing to a guy or feeling a certain way because of a guy! These situations have made me realise that my journey to understanding me is disconnecting from any conditioning. I need to stop thinking in pairs and become the solo strong independent lady I know I am!

To counter this conditioning, I have started working on important life goals, my main focus at the moment….

- Getting fit!... I want to be healthy, lose some weight, and feel strong in my own body! To do this I have been doing a mix of Gym, yoga & Swimming, mainly swimming as the water calls to me!... in about a month and a half I have lost 1.5 stone, my skin is better, I feel stronger and more awake and capable mentally. The only negative, I wish I had done this sooner!

- My Career… My job is by no means easy, I cannot just turn up to work and zone out and get the job done, it requires such a mixed skillset that I find I am mentally drained a lot, this has also been exasperated in the past by items like break up’s, but after my most recent breakup I promised myself I would never fall apart like I had in the past.  I have started trying to re-programme my mind and how I see negative life actions or failure, trying to see each point as a lesson to learn or progress, although this is not a fall proof science, I find cultivating a strong mental attitude is one of the most important and laborious tasks I am doing at the moment.

- Being the best I can be to my family and friends… This is something I am sad to admit I have faltered on at times; relationships have an uncanny way of sticking blinkers on you, making you forget all the other important people in your life. I am probably a bit extreme here as I did see the fam and friends a fair bit, but it’s the being accountable and ready to be there for them whenever they need me I am working on, I want to be the best I can be to all of them as I really do appreciate and love them all so much.

- Improving my mind & Body for no other reason than fun… I am trying to engage in as many new activities as possible as well as picking up old hobbies left  dusty for far too long, for example Gym/Swimming, sketching, Learning to DJ, Dance class, Yoga, Photography etc the list goes on, but I find for a seeker such as I having fun & progressive hobbies really helps me retain/regain my focus. Distractions are key post break up!

- Discovering myself sexually… This is something that has long lay dormant in me, i am by no means vanilla, I have tried a great many things and it’s been fun, but one thing my girls recently mentioned was masturbating, this is territory I have never really ventured in to, I think it’s because I always convinced myself that I didn’t need to as the real thing was better, my girls said ‘how can you expect to be pleasured by a guy if you can’t pleasure yourself’ – strong life advise right there!... so in the spirit of exploration I decided to give it a go.  On valentine’s day 2017 I took the plunge and it was actually amazing, without going in to much detail, I tried to harness the feelings and style I had encountered in a recent phone sex rendezvous, with that certain guy that seems to make me a bit crazy, but I digress, the point is understanding how to pleasure myself really made me realise how little I know about my sexual appetite, so my continued push for 2017 is to try new things, to really explore it! My body image has always held me back but I am working on this physically and mentally, so now I am free to explore the deepest reaches of my lust and fantasy.

So in summary all fairly generic goals, but all vitally important to my progression, so now on to the thing that has been wrestling with my better judgement…. That guy that makes me crazy!..... let’s set the scene first, I had been engaged to my fiancé in a long dead 7 year relationship, it was fairly dead towards the latter years but you know how these things go, you don’t always see it straight away, anyway, that ended around September/October 2016 on fairly good terms, so new year’s eve comes around and my girls want to go to London town for party times! I had still been wearing my engagement ring as a sort of safety net, I think now because I was a bit lost with all the change, but come NYE I decided to start 2017 without it! For me the symbolism of this moment is what gave me final closure.

So I rock up to this lovely bar that one of my good pals works at, it’s a 90’s themed night! Not my first choice but I actually loved it, the vibe there was good, people having fun, loving spending time with my pals, a perfect evening.  I then meet this guy who at first I overlooked due to my old friend relationship conditioning, don’t get me wrong he was hot and I was single, but I wasn’t ready!.... he told me ‘red heads are sexy’, which made me blush so much, but I couldn’t bring myself to act on it and I walked away, it was too soon! Anyway, the night progressed, his best mate got with my best mate and despite all this man’s advances towards me I just couldn’t bring myself to act on it, all in all it was a fun night with them, they are definitely my sort of people.

After new year’s I contacted this guy, I wanted to apologise if I had been a tease as I was a bit mean with his advances at times, all in a jokey way, but still it made me feel bad, I am not the sort of women to play hard to get or not be clear with my actions, I prefer honesty, so we started chatting online and it turned out the incredibly drunk man with strong advances was actually really ok, the next few weeks we chatted, shared music and generally had a bit of fun, it was just what I needed at that point in time.

So a lot of ass lobbing, phone sexing, music sharing and general chit chat later we went out together with a load of our friends about a month later to a night call soul train, it was such an amazing night, the guy who makes me crazy fascinates me, I have never danced (well sort of danced haha) like I did with him, my focus was not always on him as all my girls where there and his friends too, but just having him there somehow electrified the whole evening for me.  I don’t know why but I feel a pull towards him to know more about him, to add to this I am not looking for a relationship, I am not wanting to get serious, but I don’t see any problem with wanting to know someone more, I literally stumbled across the below paragraph whilst on stumble upon the other day and it was just so fitting I felt it worth mentioning:

“Sometimes you meet someone, and it’s so clear that the two of you, on some level belong together. As Lovers,  or as friends, or as family, or as something entirely different. You just work whether you understand one another or you’re in love or you’re partners in crime. You meet these people throughout your life, out of nowhere, under the strangest circumstances, and they help you feel alive. I don’t know if that makes me believe in coincidence, or fate or sheer blind luck but it definitely makes me believe in something”

After soul train, I may have gone back to his and had possibly the most amazing sex I have had in years… before you think I am an actual hoe bag going for it on only the second time I had seen him, I did go to soul train with a strong attitude that if it didn’t feel right when I saw him again I wouldn’t sleep with him, but everything from his conversation, his body language, how awesome his friends where, how well he got on with my girls sold me on him.

At some points when we danced, I literally cannot remember anything other than the way his body felt pressed against mine, it’s the most euphoric, sensual experience losing yourself in someone else, even for just a moment, especially a stranger.

The night progressed, we went back to his pals, had some awkward sofa sex, followed by a fairly awkward shower! Haha, we then went for breakfast and I must admit I felt a little on the back foot, pretty tired from getting mashed and staying up all night plus so much dancing, I wasn’t my normal chatty self but it felt ok, he then invited me back to spend the day at him, my first thought was my pal is still asleep at his best mates house, I wasn’t sure if I should go, I mean I wanted to but I was weighing it all up, I eventually agreed to go, so we started our journey to his.

That day at his was equal parts amazing and odd, I was tired and quiet as I had been our partying the night before, but the sex was mental, his body, his lips, his stare, it does some bad things to me, plus he knew what he was doing, I don’t know how many times I had an orgasm that day. My only regret is I didn’t return the favour to him more.

Something I have learnt about him outside of bedroom talk is he has an affinity for music, he can even sing, which I really like and he is kind, he seems like a good person, this most of all makes me feel good, I have always prided myself on being a good judge of character, so I trust my instincts on this. In addition to this he has a good job, he knows what he is about and is generally a very smart and positive guy. He does have an edge of guardedness about him though, I feel like he likes his own time and is quite a private person unless you have known him for years, which I respect, it’s just a bit different to how I work, but variety is the spice of life!.... I guess maybe it’s this assumption that he is private that makes me want to know him better, especially as I feel this magnetism towards him.

Soooo the aftermath…. That night sent my head reeling for a long while, the first few days back at work I literally couldn’t focus, I was a mix of happy and confused all at the same time, I later discovered I just needed to process and re-prioritise my life! Again distractions are good!.... since soul train I have cracked on with my aforementioned life goals, enjoying myself and trying to enrich the life of others.

I am seeing him this Sunday again, we are going to catch an exhibition in town and then head to a party later on, I am actually really excited about it because i want to get to know him more. Sexually I would say we are compatible and obviously we have chatted a lot via social media, but to me body language and face to face contact is what matters most, plus it’s always fun to go out in to London :)

Feeling positive and happy, albeit cautious, I am somewhat of a hedonist at heart and it’s easy to get swept up in the ride.

[winchesterandpie]

Baby Please Come Home

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Word Count: 2540

Warnings: None

A/N: This is part two to I’ll Be Home For Christmas [Insert Link]! I couldn’t leave y’all hanging for too long, haha. Anyways, just a bit of sad Bucky and then a bunch of fluff at the end! Once again, please excuse the mistakes - I’m out of practice. That said, constructive criticism is always welcome! Love you guys! Merry Christmas!! Gif is not mine, and the line from the storybook is from The Night Before Christmas, by Clement C. Moore!

The snow’s coming down

I'm watching it fall

Lots of people around

Baby please come home

Bucky sat staring out the window as the snow fell thickly outside, blanketing the world. He seemed oblivious to the other Avengers, who were passing through the room at regular intervals. Just month prior, in the first major snowfall of the year, she had convinced them all to go out for a snowball fight.

"Guys! Look! It's snowing!" Y/N burst into the room excitedly, Nat following close behind with a matching grin on her face.

"Yeah? So?" Tony clearly did NOT share the same excitement.

"So! Let's go have a snowball fight!" She was practically bouncing from foot to foot, and Bucky had to grin and admit to himself that he found her antics adorable.

"But it's cold!" was Tony's reply.

"You're just scared because you know I'll beat you." She grinned cheekily, quirking an eyebrow. She definitely knew how to manipulate Tony.

"Y'know what, kid? You're on!"

"So you're coming then?" She brightened even more, if that were possible.

"Heck yeah, I am! Prepare for defeat!" Almost immediately she sprinted for a coat, hat, gloves, and boots before waiting for everyone else to be ready.

In the end, as she had predicted, Y/N's team beat Tony's - thoroughly decided when she and Natasha buried Tony beneath a massive snowball. Y/N was laughing gleefully as Tony struggled to unbury himself with little success.

Bucky couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was - her cheeks tinted red with the cold, her hair dusted with sparkling snow, the light that seemed to radiate from her...

"You're in love with her, aren't you?" Steve asked from beside his friend, startling Bucky from his thoughts.

"I think I might be. I'm not sure though..." When Bucky paused, Steve thought he might be thinking of a trait he disliked. Knowing that Y/N had a crush on Bucky, Steve hastened to help make a case for her.

"She's a good one to be in love with," he pointed out, and Bucky quickly spoke up again.

"I know. I just don't remember what it feels like to be in love," he shrugged before continuing. "And I doubt she feels the same. I'm don't think I'm as good at flirting as I used to be, so I've no idea how I'll win her over."

"Well, I think you've still got it."

"Thanks, Steve." They got quiet when they saw the subject of their conversation approaching.

"Hey guys! I've got some cookies inside and I'm gonna make hot cocoa if you want some!"

"That sounds perfect, doll," Bucky grinned.

"Great!" With an answering grin, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along with her. Bucky certainly wasn't objecting. That left Steve to follow behind, and Nat fell into step beside him.

"How long do you think it'll be before they realize they're in love?" she asked.

"Hopefully soon," Steve responded, content to see his friend so happy.

A soft smile crossed Bucky's face at the memory of the day he realized he was in love. They'd come a long ways since that day. Two days later, they had shared their first kiss. And now, Y/N was a long ways away, and the space she normally occupied at Bucky's side felt cold.

The church bells in town

All ringing in song

Full of happy sounds

Baby please come home

Most of the team was in the kitchen, singing along to Christmas songs as they worked on cookies to eat later that night. Bucky could hear then, but he didn't really want to go in. He knew that the Christmas Eve tradition had originated from Y/N, and it just didn't feel right without her there.

"Buck, come help us!" Steve plopped down next to his friend, intent on trying to get him out of his gloomy mood. "It'll be fun!"

Just then, a chorus of laughter came from the kitchen, echoing Steve's statement perfectly. What they didn't know was that Nat had just gotten a text from their missing teammate, who was now on her way home.

Hey girl! Tis the season for Christmas miracles because GUESS WHO'S ON HER WAY HOME?!

The group in the kitchen was beyond excited - Christmas felt more complete with the whole adopted family there.

Yes! Have you told the Grinch you're gonna be back?

Not yet... Actually, I need a favor.

Anything for you, sugar!

Apparently being locked up in a cell had given Y/N plenty of time to think up an epic return because she had quite the plan.

"I knew there was a reason we kept that kid around." Tony was grinning like a child on Christmas morning. "I can't wait to see the Grinch's face tonight."

They returned to decorating cookies with new excitement, explaining the plan to Steve when he returned unsuccessfully from his attempts to lift Bucky's mood. But this surprise was guaranteed to do the trick.

They're singing “Deck the Halls”

But it's not like Christmas at all

I remember when you were here

And all the fun we had last year

Pretty lights on the tree

I'm watching them shine

You should be here with me

Baby please come home

"What are you doing?" Bucky asked in genuine confusion as Y/N pulled several storage tubs from her closet.

"You'll see. Now, carry this to the living room, would you?

"Ummm... sure?"

"Right answer." She grinned as she teased him gently. With a shrug, Bucky picked up the first storage tub and headed to the living room, where he found an undecorated fir tree waiting. Soon, the four tubs were in the room, and Y/N opened up one full of Christmas lights.

"Have you ever decorated a Christmas tree, Barnes?" She paused, the string of lights in one hand while the other rested on her hip.

"I'll admit it's been a little while since the last one."

"Do you want to help with it? You've got an eye for decorating that would be really good."

"Show me what to do, and we'll get it done, doll," Bucky responded with a grin.

"Well, come over here then," she said as she moved to where the tree was set up. He moved to stand behind her, his arms wrapping around her middle. She leaned back against his chest for a moment before shuffling forward with him to the tree, starting to weave the lights through the branches. To Bucky, the Christmas magic in the air and the glow of the lights brought an extra shine to her presence that couldn't even be dimmed by the thought that she left on a mission the next day.

Every once in a while, they would pause in decorating and sing along with the music, laughing and grinning in each other's arms. Y/N pressed a quick kiss to the underside of Bucky's jaw before spinning away. It took him a minute to realize with a laugh that she had, in the same movement, stuck a Santa hat on top of his head. He retaliated with a gold bow on top of her head because 'all I want for Christmas is you.'

Gradually, the team joined in decorating the living room and dancing to the music. Tony was acting almost as though making his own music video. Y/N and Bucky's frequent falling into each other was received with cheers from the team who had been working to set the two of them up since long before they had admitted their feelings for each other

Occasionally Nat or Clint would jokingly cover Tony's eyes, since 5 year olds don't usually like the kissing part.

In the end, they were all standing around the tree, admiring their work in the soft glow of the lights from around the room. Bucky's arms were around Y/N and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Looks good, doll," He said quietly, not wanting to disturb the peace of the moment.

"Well, a certain someone with an eye for art helped out!" She grinned, drawing a chuckle from him as she leaned back against him. Bucky couldn't help but wish that the moment would never end.

"I know, I'm just the best helper. No autographs today please, " Tony piped up, mock-indignance in his voice.

"Hey, Buck! We're gonna read the story now! C'mon!" Steve's voice broke Bucky from his absent-minded staring at the Christmas tree.

"What story is it?"

"Just come on! You'll see!" Steve's voice took on a sing-song tone.

"And there's cookies," Tony broke in, carrying two plates of cookies. His voice was muffled by the cookie shoved in his mouth. Bucky was about to refuse when Nat came in.

"Look, I get that it's hard. But do you really think Y/N would want you to not enjoy Christmas simply because she isn't here?"

"... No..." He had to admit she was right, albeit quietly.

"Then come on!" She encouraged gently. And so, reluctantly, Bucky went and sat with the Avenger family by the fireplace, eating a cookie, and waiting for Nat to start reading the story.

They're singing deck the halls

Not like Christmas at all

I remember when you were here

And all the fun we had last year

Oh, if there was a way

I'd hold back these tears

Oh, but it's Christmas day

“And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof the prancing and pawing of each little hoof.” Natasha paused as some loud thuds came from the roof of the tower.

"Sir, it would appear that situation number 537 is happening. Would you like me to play the alarm?" FRIDAY addressed Tony

"Yes. Sound the alarm." Bucky jumped when suddenly 'Santa Claus is coming to town' started playing loudly through the speakers. "Let's go, guys. I need to know why Santa didn't get everything on my wishlist last year."

"Wait, so Santa's up there?" Steve asked incredulously. Most of the team feigned confusion at the mention of Santa.

"Yeah. I told FRIDAY to alert me when he came. Now let's go!" Little did Bucky know they were all in on this little prank. And so, they were all heading up the elevator to the roof, which happened to double as the quinjet landing.

Your POV

"OK, now go before they see you! As soon as I'm off!" I reminded the pilot again. To his credit, he was a good sport about it. I was currently dressed up as Santa, my bag disguised as Santa's. I even had on a wig, hat, and fake beard to complete the look. I was BEYOND excited to be home, and more than that, I was excited to see my adopted family again. I was practically bouncing with nervous energy. The quinjet was barely out of sight when the team burst onto the roof.

"Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!" I called in the deepest, manliest voice I could muster. "You're almost all on the nice list this year, so I've brought you some gifts." I'd ended up with a few minutes extra to make a stop and grab some some little gag gifts for the team - the real ones were already under the tree.

"Let's see, we've got Natasha, Steve, Bruce, Clint, Sam, Wanda, Thor..." I said, running through the team as I handed them their presents.

"Tony, you didn't quite make the list again this year. Try a little harder next time, hmm? Better luck next year." All the same, I handed him a 'consolation prize.' Then I stopped in front of Bucky.

"I had to think hard for your gift. Hopefully you enjoy it. Now close your eyes." He followed the instruction after a moment's hesitation and I grinned, eager to see his face after I revealed myself. Quickly I pulled off the hat, wig, and beard, and set down my bag." Now open them," I said, allowing my voice to return to its normal tone. His blue eyes were full of joy, excitement, and wonder as he completed a double take before immediately pulling me into a hug.

"You're home!" The words were quiet, but the emotion behind them was palpable. We stayed wrapped up in each other's arms for a long moment. I buried my face in his chest and he pressed his nose into my hair, totally engrossed in each other. Slowly, the cheers from the team filtered through our ears at our reunion. I pulled back to grin at Bucky and pressed a quick kiss to the underside of his jaw before twisting gently out of his arms.

"Thanks guys," I grinned at all of them. "I couldn't have pulled it off without you!"

"You mean you guys knew and didn't tell me?" Bucky was a little caught off guard at that as I moved to hug the rest of the team.

"We figured your reaction would be better this way." Nat grinned and pulled me into a hug before letting me go with a slight push in Bucky's direction. I certainly didn't need more convincing to slide under his arm.

"Well, it's a tiny bit cold out here guys! Can we go in and have some hot cocoa now?" My Santa costume wasn't particularly warm, and I wanted back inside.

"Only if I get a present from Santa," Tony replied.

"Guess you should have been better this year," I teased right back as Bucky turned to go inside.

We settled down under a blanket by the warm fire and let Natasha read the story to us. Bucky hadn't let go of me since the roof, but I wasn't complaining. I leaned a little more heavily into him as I took a bite of my cookie, his warmth a comforting reassurance that I really had made it back. The occasional kisses pressed into my hair grounded me further.

"I knew you'd be home in time for Christmas." The words were spoken quietly in my ear even though everyone had gone to bed after the story, leaving us alone by the tree. I turned to look up at Bucky, and I was immediately lost in his eyes that twinkled with the reflections of the tree's lights.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Buck," I replied, smiling softly.

"It wasn't like Christmas til you got home," he admitted. "I missed you, doll."

"I missed you too, handsome." I didn't know who moved first, but it didn't matter because then his lips were on mine. He tasted of hot cocoa and sugar cookies, and his arms tugged me impossibly close. The kiss was slow and gentle, but warmed my soul like the heartily crackling fire.

"Merry Christmas, sweetheart. I love you." I felt the words against my lips more than I heard them.

"I love you more," I replied, kissing him again. We were unhurried, reveling in each other's company. I couldn't think of anywhere I'd rather be. He chuckled when we pulled apart again.

"Well then I love you most," Bucky declared, kissing my forehead lightly.

I was in Bucky's arms, safe from the world outside, Christmas lights dancing merrily around us - this was home.

And I was home for Christmas.

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