#take my hand lets go watch bill nye together

[obiwan-kenobabe]

I love seeing people so fucking ignorant about science to the point where it HAS to be purposeful........ Seeing so many fun posts about how some lithium mine in Asheville NC incited the hurricane on themselves for insurance fraud purposes? How the government is conjuring these horrible hurricanes back to back to distract from the election? The northern lights are chem trails and proof the government is trying to kill us? People not understanding that using long exposure on your phone camera means it literally takes prolonged time for your shutter to close and therefore your picture is actually like a culmination of a few moments so no, the lines in your photos are not aliens, drones, the government spying on you...

[rookie-critic]

Linoleum (2023, dir. Colin West) - review by Rookie-Critic

I love it when a movie surprises me. Some of my favorite moviegoing experiences from the last few years have been going into something relatively blind, and coming out with something I will absolutely never forget. It gave me C'mon C'mon, my top film from 2021, it gave me The Worst Person in the World, my #3 film 2021, and it has now given me Linoleum. The film follows Jim Gaffigan's Cameron Edwin, an astronomer who hosts a declining children's science show à la Bill Nye the Science Guy who, due to the said decline of his show as well as his marriage, which is on the brink of divorce, is in the middle of a well-earned mid-life crisis. Also, a car with an award-winning astronaut in it falls from the sky next to his mailbox and he is the only person who witnesses the "accident," and nobody believes it really happened. The film invokes a lot of magical realism and, from the opening scene, evokes a Gondry-esque dream-like quality not too far removed from the French director's films Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep.

The film is mean to it's protagonist, but not in a malicious way: his daughter Nora (portrayed by Katelyn Nacon in a fantastic performance) is disrespectful to him in a way that teenagers often are, but clearly has a love for him as she watches and seems to genuinely enjoy his children's show, his wife (portrayed by a fresh-off Better Call Saul Rhea Seehorn in an equally fantastic performance), who is in the process of falling out of love with him, still shows the hallmark signs of lingering care for this person she'd built a life with. Everything feels very domestic and real in it's dreaminess, but still, something about the full picture isn't quite right. That is, until the third act, when the film slams all of its individual, seemingly disjointed and mysterious pieces together to form a complete 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle of a moving and incredible story about how we live our lives and how, looking back, it is a beautiful and wondrous miracle that we all get to spend any amount of time on this small, blue rock we call planet Earth with one another. It shows us that, between despair and hope, between love and hate, that ultimately, hope prevails, love wins, and our intrinsic curiosity about the universe drives us forward towards something fantastic. What that is will be different for everyone, but there is beauty in that unknown, and we should all strive to close our eyes and let the universe form that fantastic something around us and guide us through it.

Normally, I'd take a handful of sentences here to talk about things I didn't like about the film. I could say that the film's final act takes big, artistic swings that will most likely not please all viewers. I could say that elements of the story don't mesh well with the answers to the film's mysteries. These are things that I can see people complaining about with Linoleum, but I would urge those people to watch it again, and really open your mind up to what the film is doing with that third act. Don't be the person telling Cameron to be more practical and that the answer is "not that simple," because the truth is, much like we're told in the film, it probably is. I used to not cry at films at all, and I would tell people that something would have to be truly, uniquely moving to draw tears out of me. Over the past few years I've realized that is no longer the case (maybe it never was), and I openly and proudly cry frequently during movies and shows. I genuinely believe that, had I seen this back when I didn't shed the frequent tear, that I would still have done so while watching Linoleum. It ticked all the right boxes and did all the right things to make it an instant classic in my eyes, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Score: 10/10

Only in theaters as a limited release. Check your local listing to see if it's playing in a theater near you.

[roo-roo-8ecky]

Red for Desire

Warnings: Swearing, blood/medical scenes, breakups, mention of alcohol, slight suggestive themes, um...long chapter

Raphael x OC (female)

Naeri couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Sure, she had heard about the vigilantes, especially after the New York Kraang attack, but she never thought they’d be actual turtles. Maybe she took one shot too many. But after checking his pulse, she learned quickly that he was, in fact, very much real. And while he was monstrously huge, there was nothing disgusting about the way he looked. The man was...built, to say the least. Leave it to the “certified monster fucker” (or so Karai had dubbed her when she admitted to liking Goliath from Gargoyles) to stumble upon a giant turtle man. Naeri was sure if it had been anyone else from the building that saw him, they’d freak the hell out before contacting the nearest news outlet. There was no way she’d let that happen. She knew how the powers that be treated anyone differently. Heck, Naeri’s dealt with her own prejudices back home when she showed up darker than everyone after summer break. 

A small groan from her new friend brought her back down to earth. This man needed some help, and he needed it now. He was too heavy to carry, and there was no way Naeri could grab one of the carts for luggage downstairs without looking suspicious. She wracked her brain, looking around the roof in hopes that something could be of use. Her eyes settled on the greenhouse; it was damp and full of dead plants and empty pots. But no one had even opened it for a good three years and she was certain the man who owned it had long since passed on. It would have to do for now.

Naeri carefully slid the door open, dust and mold falling from the movement. “Shit, this place is a health inspection failure if I ever saw one,” she muttered. After taking a peek inside, she confirmed that there was no one around and even spotted a small mattress. She wasn’t sure all of him would fit; an arm, maybe, but it was better than the cold concrete of the roof. If she could get him over there, that is. Naeri took a deep breath and considered her next move carefully. Her heels clicked softly as she approached him and kneeled next to him. “Hey...I’m gonna try to guide you to that mattress there -” she pointed to the one in the greenhouse and swore she could see his eyes follow the motion “- no one else is here, it’s just me. It’s at least warmer in there, and no one can see you. But you’re gonna have to help me out here, man. You’re kind of massive.” His eyes opened and shut, fluttering a couple times as he tried to focus his sights on the woman in front of him. He moved his legs slightly, shuddering as his body shifted. “Yikes, okay. Um...here, just -just take my hand alright?” One of Naeri’s hands goes to his bicep and the other is held out expectantly. He actually takes it. 

Now, Naeri was by no means a weak person. But if she hadn’t been in a gym for most of her life, he would have most definitely crushed her under his weight. She managed to get him up on his feet; it wasn’t that he had lost his strength per se, but more like he had lost quite a bit of blood. Once he was up, it was a whole lot easier to bring him into the greenhouse and set him on the mattress. He stared at Naeri blankly as she brought her hands up. “Okay I’m gonna be right back,” she started. His eyes widened and one of his rather large hands grabbed her arm in a form of protest. Naeri flinched slightly, but persisted. “I’m gonna get some medical supplies and some snacks to get your blood sugar up. I won’t be far; I promise I’ll be right back, okay, sir?” Her eyes searched his, wondering how much of what she said he could actually understand. He grunted and his fingers twitched. “Wh-what?”

“Raph...Raphael,” he finally wheezed out, pointing to himself. First words of the night.

“Oh. Oh. Um, I’m Naeri. Not like ‘fairy’, but like Bill ‘Nye’, and then air-y. Its a weird name, but it’s the one I got, so...nice to meet you, Raphael.”  Naeri patted his arm lightly, and this time Raphael didn’t know if it was the blood loss or her touch that made him shudder. All he could think of as he watched how his new acquaintance walked out of the greenhouse was how royally fucked he was.

 _______________________________________________________________

Oh God, what do giant turtle men even eat? Naeri had since pulled on a t-shirt and some sweatpants and was now currently in her kitchen clutching a giant comforter to her side, grabbing a couple of sticks of beef jerky and two bottles of gatorade. While she didn’t know how much use it would be, she snatched her med kit from the countertop and flew back out of the door to get back to him. She was insane, She had too much too drink. Fuck, it was her birthday; she should be in bed, sleeping. But she was up at ungodly hours to help some hulking turtle guy because it was hard for her to say ‘no’ to people. And...shit, is he seriously trying to get up?

Naeri gets back to the greenhouse in time to see Raphael trying and failing to stand on his own, knocking over several plants in the process. At this rate, he’d wake up the whole block. “You’re going to pass out and fall off the building,” she whispered worriedly, setting her supplies down at his feet  Raphael plopped back down with a grunt, complying but saying nothing. She hands him a bottle of gatorade, instructing him to “sip it” as she looks him over. Most of the bleeding has miraculously stopped, so it’s easier to wipe it away and tend to the giant wound on his side. More than likely this was the one that made him almost pass out on her roof. Naeri can’t exactly take him to the hospital so she does what she can. 

By the time she had finished wrapping a good amount of gauze and bandages on him, it was 2am. And God, was she exhausted. Between the drinks, Karai, and her new.. friend, it was all Naeri could do to not collapse right there next to Raphael. While he was far from ugly, she couldn’t stand to think what conclusions she’d put together after she woke up sober and next to a man. She sighed as she pushed the thought from her mind, wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep for a hundred years. 

Raphael looked at her as she worked, torn between not knowing what to say and not wanting to say a damn thing. He could tell she had been drinking, if the tequila on her breath and 21st birthday sash from earlier were any indicators of how her night went. He was hoping to whatever was out there that she woke up and forgot all about him, and that he would do the same. “Alright,” Naeri said, standing abruptly, “It’s late. You don’t owe me anything, so if I never see you again: uh, have a nice life I guess. Be careful out there, Raphael.” She shot him a sad, half-drunk smile before handing him the comforter, gathering her things, and leaving him to his own devices. 

He almost tells her not to go.

Part 1

[kazuhasluv]

Yandere!Tsukasa x Reader

This was done like... a week ago and I procrastinated on it very much.

And yes, I spam your notifications >:)

I also posted this on my facebook account nye nye

Tags: @trish-chan @certainyanderecatperson @imchiiii @bloodredruby @dacr-owo @oikawasnonexistentcake

Warning/s: None

although why would you bet on Hanako and Mitsuba-

He knew you were the one.

His one and only (Y/N)-Chan.

And he had to keep you safe.

Even if it meant going on a killing spree.

"I will never let you leave."

~~~~

It was a not so normal day at Kamome Gakuen, with half of your friends in the grave while the other ones feared for their life.

"(N/N)-Chan, why do you think they were killed?" asked your dual hair colored friend, Yashiro Nene.

Staring at your detective work mess, you sigh and manage to say, "To be honest, the ones who were killed stay late with us. It's most likely someone within our circles."

The boy with her, Minamoto Kou, cleared his throat and blurted out, "It's probably Hanako's brother."

You choked on your (insert favorite food) and laughed.

"Wait he had a brother? And I wasn't informed?" you asked as you stopped laughing.

"(Y/N)-San, stop lying, we know that you know Hanako had a brother" Kou said as he squinted at you.

"Of course I knew he had a brother you delinquent suckers. I just didn't felt comfortable" you said as you sipped on (insert your favorite soda/drink) and rolled your eyes at Kou.

"Plus the only sane conversation we had is all ab-" you said until you were cut off by a girly scream.

"I bet it's Mitsuba" Kou said, holding out a bill.

"I bet it's Hanako" you said holding out 2 bills.

"I bet it's both" Nene said holding out 3 bills.

Mitsuba and Hanako then came running in, locking the door behind them.

"What's wrong Hanako-Kun and Mitsuba-Kun?" Nene asked as you and Kou gave her 3 bills each.

"SOME PSYCHOPATHIC BITCH WITH A PEN CHASED US-" Mitsuba shouted.

"Shhh, keep it down! We'll get caught!" you said.

"Did they follow you?" Nene asked.

The room went silent.

Not long later, footsteps were heard, and the lights went out.

Nene and the others huddled closer to you, but not noticing that a hand was reaching for your ankle.

"Huh-" you looked down and saw Tsukasa grabbing your ankle.

"Shit"

"What's wrong, (Y/N)-San?" Mitsuba asked.

You were pulled into darkness.

Hanako and the others ran towards your body being pulled, but they were too late.

-> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> ->-> -> ->

"Wake up (N/N)-Chan~" a voice singsonged.

"H-Huh..?" you stuttered while opening your eyes.

You were tied to a chair, mouth shut with a towel, and your ankles and neck bleeding.

“You can at least pretend to love me" he said, sharpening a knife.

You struggle out of the chair, but it only hurts you more.

Removing the towel from your mouth, you ask, "What do you want, Tsukasa-Kun? And why did you kill those people?"

"How else would they know you belonged to me?” he replied, staring into your eyes, smiling.

"Wh-Wha..."

"I've been watching you for the past months, you looked pretty; very pretty."

"Tsukasa-Kun..."

“I’ll do whatever it takes if it means we’ll be together forever, my sweet.”

"S-Stay away.."

He bit your neck which caused a deep scar.

"What was that for?!" you hiss at him.

"How are people supposed to know you're mine if there isn't a mark of mine there?" he said, with his devilish smile.

You stare at him with disgust.

His smile disappears, now replaced by a scared frown.

"Th-They were taking you away from me! I-I had to react fast!" he reasoned, "I'm only keeping you safe, (N/N)-Chan!!"

You backed away, and you stepped on a knife.

The knife he used to make your ankles bleed.

He noticed your sudden silence.

"What got a talkative girl like you to shut up...?" he asked, turning to you.

You pick up the knife and threatened him with it.

"Dear, you can't kill me because I'm dead. Now, since you are quiet, I don't want to hear anymore noise unless it's my name."

[imma-potatoo]

I HAD TOO

I AM NOT SORRY AT ALL @superwholockandpfl

This is once again written for my friend k.c.cosplay on tiktok! Once again, amazing cosplays 💙💛💙💛💙💛💙

Same universe then this fic

*Logan is a dark side*

Ships: Loceit, parental logicality, parental anxceit

Warnings: none that I know of? Let me know if you want me to tag something

-----------

Perseus and Andromeda

-----------

Logan and Janus stood in front of the other four. Smiles completely coated their faces as they both held out their left hands. Janus holding Logan's bicep with his right hand.

Rings. On both of them.

"You- you got married?" Patton's voice was timid. He didn't expect this day to come. But he currently wanted his father-son dance with Logan

Janus and Logan's faces quickly turned to shock. "What?! No! We're engaged! These are engagement rings daa-- Patton!" Logan blushed at the almost use of Pattons old title. Not that Logan didn't view Patton as a father figure -far from it, Janus and him were the youngest sides- but calling someone dad while you are practically the same age and completely imaginary is quite weird in his opinion but I mean-

"My love, your zoning out again."

Logan could hear the amusement in his fiance's voice. Squeezing Janus' hand slightly; Logan cleared his thoat, "What was that question again?"

Roman was slightly laughing before Remus elbowed him in the ribs, "OW REM-" "Roman sh! Do you have a date picked out yet?" Virgil had a hopeful shimmer in his eyes

Logan and Janus looked at eachother briefly, "Not really, to be honest" Janus laughed slightly. "He just asked me last night," a lose curl falling from behind the yellow sides ear. Logan quickly catching it to tuck it back to its rightful place

The sides migranted over to couch. They had a feeling that they'll be talking for a while.

"Any ideas on a theme yet?" Roman was bouncing enthusiastically, hands tight fisted on the couch. A huge ear to ear grin spread on his face

Logan hummed, thinking back to a precious conversation, "We're thinking victorian or dark academia. But we're open to any suggestions!" his hand was tracing circles over and over on Janus' back.

Roman jumped off the couch. Bouncing up and down over and over and over, "FEAR NOT MY BELOVED FRIENDS! I will help you plan it!"

Romans eyes sparkled rapidly. Grin glowing like wild, he paused for a second or two before gasping, "WE COULD HAVE IT IN A HUGE GOLDEN BALLROOM! With crystal plates! And a hundred foot tall cake! An-"

It was at that point where the blue and yellow sides completely zoned out to Romans tangent.

The newly engaged couple gave eachother a look. This look said a lot of things. But mainly 'are we seriously going to let a side who thinks throwing glitter at random objects equels fashion. Complete control of our wedding?' that look. Its a very very specific look. But its a very obvious look.

The red creativity seemed to notice the couples glazed over eyes and blank expression. So he quickly stopped his rant to add on a rather important detail, "I mean... If you guys want me to help. Its completely ok if you don't!! I mean, its ok, I just-"

"Roman for the love of all things holy. Please stop talking." Logan was rubbing his temple with his free hand, "We would love to have you help plan our wedding. But we don't need a ballroom, or crystal plates, or any fancy fairy tale type things." He squeezed Janus' hand with a bright grin, "We just need eachother."

Roman's dramatic pose and extreme tangent faltered. He paused. Seeming to process the information. Before a small grin took his face. "then thats what you two will have."

Janus moved his gaze from Roman to the green twin... Looking at the floor.... With a pout that could kill a god.... Looking very non-Remus esq.

"Remus, do you also want to help plan our wedding?"

In the span of a second, Remus' face bounced between 50 different emotions before settling on complete and utter happiness, "I THOUGHT YOU WOULD NEVER ASK MY AMAZING DOUBLE D-"

Patton slapped his hand over Remus' mouth, "lets not talk about my future son-in-law like that! eeewwwWWWWWW!!! ROMAN HE LICKED MY HAND!!" Patton snapped his hand away as soon as he put it on.

Laughter filled the rest of the night... And quite a bit of wine.

------2 mouths later-----

Logan grumbled as he threw another crumpled piece of paper against the desk. Elbows on the desk, hands pressing into his eyes.

His supposed vows were going amazingly. Completely. Totally. A hundred percent. Amazing....... Oh who was he kidding? His vows were going terribly.

Not from lack of love or anything absolutely ridiculous like that. He loved Janus more then the stars, moon and galaxies combined. He loved everything about Janus.

He loved Janus' snark. He loved the way his eyes glowed when they watched a movie. Or how Janus' voice drips like steeped honey and smoked chives. Or how his snake eye dilates when he's happy. Or when he gets excited and talks for hours and hours about a philosopher or a certain myth that sparked his interest or reminded him of their relationship-

Thats it.

The last myth that Janus was talking about was Perseus and Andromeda.

Andromeda was to be sacrificed to save her kingdom because her mother boasted about her beauty to the nererids. The nererids told their father, Poseidon, and as revenge; Poseidon sent a sea monster to ravenge the kingdom. Perseus, the hero who slayed Medusa, saw Andromeda chained to the stone and slayed the sea monster. After saving her, he took her hand in marriage.

It was far from their love story. Far far from their love story. But...

The way his eyes lit up.

Logan could get drunk on that look. He could live off that look alone for the rest of his life. Oh and that smile

Logan takes his head out of his hands. Mouth agape.

He had an idea

---------

Janus had been hitting his head against his desk for hours.

Janus could write millions of speeches, and could convince armys to do his bidding, and he could use empty words to get his desires.

But these damn vows.

Janus supposes that its because he isn't used to truth. But he wants too! But the truth seems to be avoiding him more then mouse with a cat.

Logan likes cats, he could never get one before because Patton's allergic. Should he even call Patton by his name? Wouldn't he call him dad now?

He allowed his mind to wonder for a short period of time. Elbows on the desk, hands pressing into his eyes.

This needs to be the truth and its not like he's low on love for Logan. Far far from it

They met when they were younger. Really really younger. He doesn't even remember it. But according to Virgil, Logan and him stared at eachother for five minutes before actually talking to eachother -more like babbling- after that they were practically inseparable. They did everything together apparently. Then they stayed friends for a long time. They barely even talked to eachother by the time that he introduced himself to Thomas. But...

But then Logan became a dark side. Logan started to unbutton the top of his polo. Logan stopped wearing the tie. Logan started to wear ice blue makeup. The Logan he knew as a child came back.

The Logan who loved science, bugs and books. Who loved ranting about old dead philosophers and Janus loved to listen. Logan loved old libraries and classical music. The Logan that used to watch Bill Nye as a child and knows the theme song by heart. The Logan that loved old myths and stories. The Logan who would go outside to the imagination and watch the stars and constellations for hours. His Logan

His favourite constellation was Perseus-

He has an idea.

----The Wedding Day----

Janus adjusted his suit for probably the millionth time. Running his fingers through his hair, attempting to make it lay properly. But only making the curls more wild.

Grumbling obscurities while trying to smooth down his damn hair, he heard low chuckles behind him.

"You know your only gonna make it worse, right Jan?" Virgil was leaning against the wall. His own hair absolutely perfect.

Janus sighed, "I know dad. But I just want my damn hair to lay properly for once! This is why I wear my damn hat-" the chuckles turned into full laughter.

"Logan will love you, no matter how your hair looks," Virgil stood up straight (HA) and walked over to Janus

He took a comb and started to go through his hair. Janus stopped growing by the time he was fifteen, so he was maybe at shoulder height with Virgil. "You need to stop worrying so much, and thats coming from me. Lo loves you more then the sun itself. Don't worry about something as silly as your hair."

Janus watched from the floor to ceiling mirror as Virgil expertly calmed down the mess of his hair.

Meanwhile.....

"Patton please stop crying. Your going to stain my suit-"

"BUT MY BABY'S GETTING MARRIED!!!" tears were still leaking down his face. He's been doing this since he came into the room -which was about twenty minutes ago-

Logan sighed, a smile apparent on his face as he patted his father figure on the back. "I know." he straightened his bowtie slightly in the mirror, "I just love him so much dad," Patton sat down in one of the dressing room chairs. A smile covering his entire face.

"Jan isn't really one to cry. But when I proposed to him? Tears just started leaking. I thought he was upset, so I went to comfort him," blush growing on his cheeks, "then he kissed me and looked me directly in the eyes and said yes." Logan felt a huge grin spreading on his cheeks against his will. He looked out of the mirror and back to his father. "He said yes."

Patton stood up from his seat and put his hands on Logan's shoulders, "and now its your wedding day. You two are going to get married and live out your lives being complete loveable nerds as you talk about philosophy and the stars and things I could never understand. You two are absolutely perfect for eachother and I can't wait to see where you two go next." while tears still shone in his eyes, the smile showed that they were of happiness.

They stared at eachother for a few minutes. Patton nitpicking small details to fix on Logan's suit.

"Janus the one walking down the isle right?"

Logan laughed softly, "yeah, he said it was a more dramatic entrance. Thats my future husband, right there"

Patton looked a little puzzled, "Can you even call him your future husband if the ceremony is starting in less then ten?"

"I mean, technically thats in the futur- wait. How much time was left?"

Patton blinked. Looking in the eyes of his son, "Ten minutes."

A look of panic shot through Logan. "We have to go!"

Logan grabbed Patton's hand. Pulling him out to the room. The celebration hall was stunning

It was outside, circle tables scattered around the clearing like the stars above scattered in the sky. A banquet table for the newly weds, their parents and their best men. The altar was covered in delicate fairy lights illuminating a soft glow. The shimmering stars above their heads shone brighter the usual. The constellations of Perseus and Andromeda were by far the brightest.

Logan stopped in his tirade to the altar. And simply looked at the brilliant view that the twins had put together for them.

For once in his life. Logan was speechless.

"They did a good job right?!?"

Logan was still looking around the meadow, amazed at every tiny detail. From the black dahilas that Remus insisted on including because of the famous unsolved murder, to the fairy lights climbing up the pillers that was no doubt Roman's doing.

"Its beautiful... How di-"

"The twins are a very creative bunch, kiddo!! We have five minutes until your wonderful groom comes out!" The other guests were starting to fill the room as Logan took his place at the altar. It was mostly figments that Thomas had made. Emile, Remy, The Critic, etc. They all took their seats and watched the meadow.

Logan walked over to his place next to the altar. Hands fidgety and resisting the urge to mess with the hair that he spent so long combing down. Roman stood at his side, while Remus waited at the other side of the altar for Janus. Before he knew it the music started to play, the quests rose from their seats, he felt his desire to stand straight. But none of those compared to when Janus walked into the room.

Janus walked in with Virgil latched on to his arm. A periwinkle blossem on the left of his chest. He still had his yellow gloves on -he really hated taking them off. Without the gloves, Janus couldn't lie- but he was without his hat. He was in a black tux with a yellow bowtie.

Logan couldn't think of anything else more beautiful. Logan couldn't think of anyone more beautiful then the side in front of him. Logan couldn't help the gigantic, ear to ear smile as Janus arrived at the altar and took his hands in his own.

The officiant -Who Roman just summoned from the imagination- cleared his voice and spoke to the whole room of people, "Friends and Family, we are gathered here today to connect two side's hearts and souls through this ceremony.

Logic Logan Sanders, Do you take this side to love and to hold, to protect and charish and to adore until the end of your lives?"

His smile growing wider, eyes sparkling with deep love and affection; Logan gazed into Janus' eyes, lightly squeezing his hands. "More then the sun and the stars."

The officiant smiled slightly before turning to Janus. "Deceit Janus Sanders, Do you take this side to love and hold, to protect and charish and to adore until the end of your lives?"

Tears shone throughout Janus' eyes. He removed his hands from Logans and for a second the blue side felt his heart drop, only for it to swell when he sees Janus remove his gloves and place his hands back in Logans. "More then every lie, secret and promise I have ever made."

The officiant turned back to Logan, "Please say your vows."

Logan felt his heart throb as he opened his mouth,

"Janus. In the very very long time that I have known you, I find myself falling more in love with you every day. I love how you laugh. I love how when you're tired you curl up to my side. I love how you stay by my side through it all. My translation from a light side to dark, my learning cerve to our new family, every dilemma from the others that we have to enviably fix.

Every night, every day, every hour, every minute, every second. You occupy my mind. And god Janus, I never want you to leave it.

I love you. I love you more then Perseus loved Andromeda." Logan's eyes were shining with unshed tears, he lightly squeezed Janus' hands. "I love you Janus and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

The officiant nodded, then he turned to Janus. "Please speak your vows."

Janus drew a shaky breath before speaking.

"Logan, I honestly don't remember when we met. You were my only constant, the unchanging variable that I could always fall back on. You were always there for me and I want to always be there for you.

I love you more then anything Logan. The way you light up when a new documentary comes out, drives butterflies to my stomach. When you laugh, I get lightheaded. When you smile, I get bolts of electricity to my heart. When you take me to the imagination for a date among the stars, I get so love drunk that things get dizzy. When you took me to our favourite place and got on one knee, I cried tears of joy.

There is nothing that I don't love about you. I've always found honest words hard to process. But believe me when I say that I've said no lies to you. You are the one person I will never lie to. I love you more then Andromeda loved Perseus," Janus looked up at Logan. The height difference apparent, but he smiled like he never smiled before. "I love you Logan. And I cannot wait to call you my husband."

The two sides gave eachother looked at eachother with pure adoration and love.

"Please put these rings on eachother."

They could hear Patton's loud sobs in the background as they slipped on the rings.

The officiant smiled wide, "I now pronounce you, Husband and Husband! You may now kiss your groom!"

They flew together like magnets. Logan grabbed the side of Janus' face to pull him closer, the earthy smell of cloves and plums filling his senses. Janus held Logan's arms and pulled him towards him. The kiss was far from chaste, but they pulled apart not long after to be met with......

"NOW YOU GOTTA STRIP AND FU-- OW ROMAN!!"

"NOT AT THE WEDDING YOU BABOON!"

The twins were a very chaotic bunch...

The wedding continued perfectly as planned. Then it came to the father-son dances.

Virgil as Janus were doing well. Virgil was giving Janus his best wishes and telling him how proud he was if him.

Patton and Logan??

Patton always cries at wedding to say the least...

Then it was their turn to dance.

Logan took his husbands hand and led him to the dance floor. It was lit by only fairy lights and the extra bright stars. They twirled and spinned and danced like they was only the two there.

The two battled for the lead before Logan won. Hand now in the swell of Janus' back and leading him in a very elaborate ballroom dance. Janus' scales glowing a bright yellow. Even over the music you could hear their laughter.

Patton and Virgil stood on the sidelines. Watching as their children had their fun. Virgil hummed slightly, "you owe me twenty bucks Patt."

Patton was very confused, he hadn't made any new bets recently or borrowed any money. "Why is that kiddo?"

Virgil turned and looked at Patton, "Ten years ago, you bet me that Lo and Jan would never get married. You owe me a twenty."

Patton grumbled slightly as he pulled a bill from his jacket pocket and handed it over. "This is the best bet I've ever lost then."

Virgil laughed, purple beginning to dust under his eyes. "You got that right," He took two glasses of champagne from the waiters walking by, "To our beloved children?"

Patton took the glass and raised it with Virgil. "To our beloved children." they then took a long sip and continued to watch as the couple danced.

The stars shining above, the moon full. They loved eachother more then Perseus and Andromeda.

-------

I. REGRET. NOTHING!!!

I also have 0 self control soo

The charcters are very ooc... But I don't overly care.

💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛

[notalwaysthevillian]

Shattering Stereotypes

Warnings: Kissing, making out, teasing, hickies/marks

Pairings: Romantic Moxiety, Remile, and Logince

Word Count: ~1.3k

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Read from the beginning

Chapter 18

The day before Halloween, or Halloween Eve as Virgil called it, Logan realized he’d had an oversight.

He didn’t have a costume prepared.

“Roman!”

Roman looked up from leaning against Logan’s locker, clocking his boyfriend’s concerned expression. He pulled Logan to his chest immediately, glancing over his shoulder. “What is it? Who do I need to fight?”

“It’s not - it’s nice knowing you’d fight for me, but that’s not what I need.” Logan said, a little breathless from running down the hall (and also from having Roman’s arms around him). “I don’t have a costume! How could I have forgotten the one thing I need for tomorrow?”

“Because you’re a busy study bee?” The nickname had Logan blushing again, pressing his face into Roman’s shirt to hide it. Roman laughed and Logan felt the vibrations. “Lo, you can’t hide forever.”

“I can try.” The words came out muffled.

A hand gently pushed Logan backwards. He looked up to see nothing but adoration in Roman’s eyes. “Honeybee, relax. I can help you with a costume, it’s no sweat.”

“Are you sure?”

The smile Roman sent his way made Logan weak in the knees. “I already know a really cool costume we can do with some of the stuff you already have.”

The two of them headed over to Logan’s, with Roman refusing to spill any more about the potential costume. Logan caught Thomas watching them with a fondness in his eyes as they headed upstairs, playfully bickering.

“Ro, please tell me?”

The taller boy shook his head, pulling open Logan’s closet door. “Nope!”

Frowning, Logan sat on his bed. He watched Roman dig through his clothes, before seemingly finding what he was looking for. When he laid the outfit out, Logan blinked.

“This is what I normally wear.”

“Yes.” Roman pulled something out from behind his back, making Logan turn bright red. “But you wear this over it.”

“How did you even find that?!”

“I saw it in the back of your closet when I was here last time.” Roman tossed the lab coat at Logan. “Put it on!”

Logan moved to take off his shirt, feeling Roman’s eyes boring into him. “You either have to leave or close your eyes.”

Roman spun around and put his hands over his eyes. Logan double checked that he wouldn’t be exposed due to the mirror before quickly changing. He pulled on the lab coat before looking even more confused.

“Where exactly are you going with this?”

“I don’t know, I can’t see you.”

Rolling his eyes, Logan turned Roman around and grabbed his hands. “You can look.”

Roman’s eyes fluttered open. He gave Logan a grin, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “What a beautiful human being.”

“Shut up!” Cheeks burning, Logan tried to shove him, but Roman simply pulled Logan into him.

“Here.” Roman held out a pair of lab goggles. “The last piece of your costume.”

Logan made sure they were loose before putting them on, shoving them up into his hair.

“What am I supposed to be?”

“Bill Nye the Science Guy.” Roman sang, before dissolving into giggles.

Logan shook his head. “This isn’t actually half bad for a homemade costume.”

“Hey! I take homemade costumes are my pride and joy.”

Logan turned in Roman’s arms, looping his own around Roman’s neck. “What are you going to be tomorrow? Other than handsome?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see, honeybee.”

Both of them leaned in, sharing a sweet kiss. Roman pulled back first, eyes raking over Logan’s body. “Is it bad that I kinda find this hot?”

“Guess I’ll have to wear the lab coat more often.”

Someone cleared their throat, making both boys jump. They turned to find Preston at the door, an eyebrow raised. “I hope you weren’t planning anything.”

“No, sir. Not at all.” Roman’s cheeks were bright red. He let go of Logan, taking a step back.

Logan could feel his blush creeping up his neck. “Dad, get out!”

“Fine, but if you’re going to do anything, use protection.”

“DAD!”

The door shut and Logan could hear Preston laughing as he walked away.

There was an awkward silence for a second, before Roman broke it. “Wanna watch a movie?”

Logan pulled out his laptop and brought up Netflix. Roman moved to sit on his bed, groaning when Logan positioned himself in Roman’s lap.

“You’re going to kill me.”

“Nah, if I wanted you dead I’d know how to do it.” Logan said, earning a snort from his boyfriend. He flicked through the various categories, leaning back into Roman’s chest as he did so. Roman’s arms wrapped around his waist, and he nuzzled the back of Logan’s neck.

Goosebumps formed on Logan’s arms and he shivered. “Ro.”

“Hmm?” Roman moved, his lips brushing the back of Logan’s neck. “I’ll stop if you want me to.”

“I don’t want you to stop.”

Tossing his laptop to the foot of the bed, Logan twisted around to face Roman, pressing their lips together again. It matched the intensity of the room, sending Logan’s thoughts spinning.

A little while later, Roman bit down on his collarbone, snapping Logan back to reality. “Ro, wait.”

Roman backed off immediately. “You okay?”

“I can’t - oh my god, that’s going to bruise.”

Roman’s eyes widened. “I’m so sorry Lo, I didn’t realize, I shouldn’t have done that. Um, I probably have the foundation to cover it up -”

Logan pressed a finger to Roman’s lips, stopping the word vomit. “No, I...I’ll just wear the goggles around my neck tomorrow instead. And I - I didn’t not like it. Just...maybe do those where I can hide them?”

“You want more?” The look in Roman’s eyes darkened, and his grip on Logan’s hips got tighter. “Lo, you seriously are going to kill me.”

“Death by kisses doesn’t seem like a bad way to go.” Logan mumbled, before kissing Roman again.

And again.

And again.

The next day, Logan covered up his other marks with ease. The thick strap of the goggles hid the visible one quite well. He’d have to ask Roman how to cover it until it healed, but he was safe for the school day.

He didn’t see Roman at all before the bell rang for English. Roman had mentioned helping Dahlia get ready for her class’s Halloween Party, so he wasn’t too worried. Roman had probably gotten to school late.

As he walked into Mx. Stokes’s classroom, all of his breath was punched out of his lungs. Roman was sitting in his seat, chatting with a few classmates. He was wearing a prince costume. A white overcoat, black pants, and black boots were the base, but Logan could tell that Roman had done a lot of the detail work himself.

When Roman caught sight of Logan blocking the doorway, gaping like a fish, he grinned and waved. Logan restarted his brain before anyone else noticed, heading over to his seat.

“I can’t wait for tonight.” Roman said, kissing him on the cheek.

A few of the girls squealed before Mx. Stokes sent them to their seats, starting class.

Logan did his best to focus, but he couldn’t get his thoughts to steer away from Roman. Nor could he do so the rest of the day, even zoning out when Remy was going through his daily gossip at lunch.

Virgil definitely knew why Logan was so spacy, if the smirk on his face meant anything. But he left Logan alone, only asking questions about homework.

The final bell startled Logan out of his daydreams. He gathered up his things, heading off to meet Roman.

He prayed to every god he could think of that their parents would get along, and that his dads wouldn’t embarrass him.

[avengersassemble-fics]

Fine Line

part 03/?? “i carry it with me”

masterlist

previous part // next part

word count 4k

an: ugh i love sam/bucky interactions. my two doofuses

The quiet humming sound filtered from the small white bathroom and filled the halls of the rather empty apartment. There in the white porcelain bathroom hair flowed down through the air and into the sink, until the skin beneath was stubbled and clear. The humming sound finally came to a stop, leaving a silence in the air that was quite normal for this empty space. Bucky wiped his face clean with a warm moist washcloth and looked up to meet his own gaze in the mirror. He couldn’t help but run his hand over the softer shaven hair on his face, or the now short hair on the back of his neck. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw himself like this.

There was a soft ping that rang from the back of his jeans, and Bucky reached behind him to grab his phone. He swiped open the device and read the message from Sam, and rolled his eyes at the joking message before shoving the phone back into his pocket. He took special care in washing the hair down the sink and tossed the moist washcloth into the hamper before he walked into the hallway and his phone started to ring insistently. Bucky rolled his eyes, and pulled the phone from his back pocket, and put it up to his ear.

“What do you want, Sam?” He asked, making his way down the hallway to his room.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” Sam’s voice rang in his ear, but Bucky just sighed. “C’mon man, it’s New Years Eve.”

“I’m not interested in whatever you have planned, Sam,” Bucky told him. He could practically hear the eye roll on the other end of the line.

“Look man, you gotta come out and readjust to the world,” Sam started to explain while Bucky dug around his drawer for a shirt. “You won’t come to group meetings, you won’t go and see a professional, so why not just go out with me tonight? Nothing too big, let’s just go get some drinks and chill for a bit. Who knows when we’ll get another chance like this.”

Bucky gripped a black long sleeved shirt in his fist and fell silent after Sam spoke. He could hear the light chatters of someone on the other end, and Bucky sighed.

“Fine.” He caved in, and could tell his friend was grinning ear to ear on the other end. “But I swear to God, Sam, if I have to carry your drunk ass home-”

“That was one time!” Sam called out on the other end.

“Yeah, one time too many pal,” Bucky rolled his eyes as he spoke. “Just tell me where to meet you.”

“I’ll hit you up later,” Sam ended, and the beeping of the line closed the call. Bucky placed the phone on the dresser and pulled the black shirt over his body. He instinctively rubbed a hand over his shorter hair when another vibration came through on his phone, and he smiled at this notification in particular.

Now that Bucky could put a face to the words he read everyday, and the voice and laugh that still echoed in his mind, he knew he was in over his head. There was no question about it now. The more time he spent in the city the more he looked for you amongst the crowds. Sam had started to take notice when he’d pass by the cafe you populated days earlier and Bucky would slow his stroll to steal a look inside. He then stole his phone and found your contact information. Sooner or later, Bucky would get him back for that. For everything.

After the phone call, it became easier to text one another instead of using the website. But one thing he hadn’t done since that night was call you again. In all honesty, Bucky didn’t know if he would be able to handle hearing that sweet laced voice once more without caving and offering again to meet. Meet for real that is, not just watch you from across the street like.. Well like a spy.

So when your name came up in his texts, he was quick to open the message and read over your words anxiously.

You: NYE always brings out the most obnoxious people sometimes! It’s barely 10 and everything has booze in it.

Bucky chuckled at your words. This was his first New Years since his demise all those years ago. Truthfully, you were right. The parties back in his day were nothing compared to now. The pomp and circumstance was one of the main reasons he did not want Sam to drag him into public tonight. Even the couple of days leading up to now were too much for him. Bucky pressed the text box and began to type away.

Bucky: I don’t even want to imagine what tonight is going to be like, probably 10x as crazy

You: Wait a second hold on, you’ve never seen the ball drop in Times Square?

Bucky chortled to himself as he eased himself onto the edge of his bed.

Bucky: Can’t say I have doll, there’s a first for everything right?

You: Can’t wait to see your reaction haha!

Though you were just joking with him, Bucky frowned at the idea. He hoped to God Sam didn’t have any tricks up his sleeve tonight - though he had yet to see it happen live, he did look up clips from the previous years. The crowds were massive, and what was everyone doing kissing when the clock hit zero?

Bucky: Do you have plans tonight?

You: My sister is dragging me out again somewhere, but it’s top secret apparently.

Bucky: Hopefully in a part of town you’re allowed in.

You: You have jokes today I see.

Bucky: Has it made you smile yet?

A dangerous question. Bucky eagerly watched the three dots that hopped as you typed back a reply.

You: Yes, but that’s besides the point!

Bucky: Nope that’s all I needed to know, doll.

You: Yeah yeah whatever, jokester. Doing anything fun tonight?

Bucky: Just drinks with a buddy of mine.

You: Just two old men having a night out on the town huh?

Bucky: Look who has jokes now!

You: Take what you dish, old man.

Bucky chuckled to himself. You had started to resort to calling him old man regardless of your knowledge of him. Of course it was all in a joking manner, but you chalked it up to his use of the word doll. You said it sounded like something used in the 50’s (it probably was, but he wouldn’t know), and he had asked if it made you uncomfortable at all. Based off the look on your face the night he called and dropped the word a few times, he hoped the answer was no. And you reassured him of that in a message to answer his question.

Bucky: Try not to spit on yourself tonight.

You: You’ll never let me live that down, will you?

Bucky: Not a chance, doll.

The day carried on as most of his normally did. Alone in his apartment, some tunes filled the empty rooms in a low hum, and he either read, wrote in his journal, or texted back to you. This was how he preferred to spend his days. No missions, no life or death situations, no alien invasions, just the sound jazz in the background and.. You.

So this? This was not what Bucky wanted to do.

When Sam opened up the door to the bar, Bucky nearly choked him then and there. People adorning commemorative hats flocked everywhere, and they all greeted Sam like they knew him. Sam shook hands, slapped people over the shoulder, and smiled at a couple of dames.

Bucky was going to murder this man one day.

“Sam,” he warned when he finally got his companion on his own. “What the fuck is this?”

“I’m sorry I lured you here under false pretenses, but the group I’m with wanted to do something together,” Sam explained as he was handed two beers from the bartender. “Come on, man.. Just have a couple drinks with me, and if you want to leave - you can.”

Sam offered Bucky the bottle of alcohol and Bucky shook his head while he retrieved it. “I’m never trusting you again, I hope you know that.”

“I’m shocked and upset, truly,” Sam said and rolled his eyes. Bucky grumbled and rested on a barstool next to his disgraceful friend.

“So tell me,” Sam took a sip of his beer and pursed his lips and tossed a glance Bucky’s way. “When are you planning on meeting this girl? Sorry, officially meeting this girl?”

“Don’t think I ever will,” he answered honestly. Bucky took a swig from the bottle in his hand, even though he knew it wasn’t going to do much. “We’re in a dangerous line of work, Sam.”

Sam shook his head and motioned over to him. “That’s just an excuse.”

“No, it’s a fact,” Bucky replied. “We’re hunting the man who killed the King of Wakanda, you’re telling me that isn’t dangerous?”

“I never said that,” Sam replied and took a sip from the beer in his hands. “I said it’s an excuse. Barton has made it work, Stark did, God rest his soul. You’re obviously smitten with her.”

“Smitten,” Bucky lulled over the world. “And you call me old fashion.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sam said with a roll of his eyes. “That’s what I get for hanging out with two old geezers for the last few years.”

The sudden mention, minus the name, of the old shared friend made silence fall between them. Sam was working towards forgiveness, Bucky wasn’t to that point yet. He hadn’t spoken his name, nor gone to see him since those days by the lake after Tony’s funeral. Sam knew he soured the mood by the look on Bucky's face, and before he could say something, Bucky was up out of his seat.

“Hey, wait-”

“It’s fine,” Bucky said and tossed a bill down on the bar. “This just isn’t my scene.”

Bucky beelined for the exit. He was nearly out, nearly to freedom when an unknowing body backed up into his path of travel and he knocked right into them. He was quick to catch them from hitting the ground, hands gripping their shoulders, and positioning them back upright. He mumbled apologies as the other steadied themselves with his arms, and his jaw dropped open a bit.

No fucking way was this his luck.

“Geez, I’m sorry,” your familiar silky voice said over the music and chatter. Bucky released his grip on your arms and swallowed the lump in his throat when you looked up to meet his gaze. Your eyebrow quirked up a bit as you seemed to recognize his face and Bucky cleared his throat.

“It’s no problem,” he reassured you. God, were his hands sweating?

“I remember you,” you offered him a smile and Bucky felt frozen in place. “From that club, you got me a couple of drinks.”

“Right,” he nodded and swallowed another lump in his throat. “Rum and Coke.”

“Well that was your choice,” you joked and he finally cracked a smile. “What’s your name?”

“Sam,” he said a little too quickly. He nodded at himself. Fuck. “My name’s Sam.”

“Nice to meet you, Sam,” you offered your hand.

Bucky hesitated for a moment before he gently enveloped your hand with his gloved metal one. “And what should I call you?”

“(Y/N),” you replied and he smiled.

“I like it,” he said before he could stop himself. You smiled and he released your hand. Shit shit shit that was too much-

“Would you like to buy me a drink?” You asked and Bucky blinked a couple times before him. You were flirting with him. He couldn’t help but grin and nod back towards the bar behind him.

“I would like nothing more,” he said. He motioned his hand towards the bar and you moved around him to it. To his dismay, you sat a couple seats away from Sam. Bucky leaned his side against the bar with his back to his previous companion and hoped to God he wasn’t going to look this way. You smiled sweetly at the bartender and ordered something bubbly, and Bucky gave a knowing nod for another beer.

“So Sam,” you said over the music. Bucky could practically feel Sam’s eyes turn and stare at the back of his head, and he wanted nothing more than to hit the smug look off his face. And when Sam realized who and what was going on, he could hear the idiot stifle back laughs. “Are you a part of this.. Thing?”

“The group?” Bucky asked. He heard Sam slam his beer down in a frenzy from laughter and he clenched his jaw. He was going to kill him. He really was. He could just turn around and do it right here, right now. “No, no I’m not a part of it.. Are you?”

You turned a bit over your shoulder, and pointed at your sister who was trying to pry a karaoke mic from another person. “That trainwreck over there is trying to get me to join.”

The bartender was back with the drinks and you thanked him with your pretty smile again. Bucky lifted his beer up and shifted his body so he could send a glare at Sam, who looked like he was going to burst at any moment. With a curled fist, Bucky punched his side, and you didn’t even notice. Sam coughed frantically and you glanced over with a concerned look. Bucky set his beer down and placed a firm solid hand on Sam’s shoulder.

“Woah there man, you okay?” Bucky asked as he neared. Once he was close enough to Sam’s ear he whispered. “Go the fuck away, Sam.”

“Fuck you, Bucky,” Sam said back just as low. Bucky retracted himself back to your side and Sam stood, offered a small nod to the both of you and retreated with his drink. Bucky finally eased himself onto a seat beside you while you watched Sam wander away.

“Is he okay?” You asked and Bucky nodded.

“Yeah, poor guy just can’t hold his alcohol.” Bucky smiled at his own statement and took another swig from his drink. You sipped at your drink, and he could tell from the corner of his eye you were staring at him. Bucky placed his drink down and glanced over at you and you smiled.

“So tell me, Sam,” you started and Bucky turned a bit so he could face you better and just take you in. “Not to be pushy or anything.”

“Push all you want,” he reassured you. He could’ve sworn he saw a hint of rosiness creek over your cheeks.

“What are you doing here if you aren’t a part of this group?”

Bucky had to say his next words very carefully. He knew if he gave too much away you may be able to connect the dots. Your eyes looked his face over as he pondered his thought and he nodded a bit.

“I was dusted, and my pal thinks I should join.. But I don’t think I’m ready.”

“Ah, I see,” you said and Bucky watched as you sipped your drink.

“What about you?” He asked and you glanced over at him as you sipped away. “Gonna listen to your friend and give this a try?”

You let out a little uh uh as you swallowed, and rested your elbows on the bar. “I don’t think it’s for me.”

“Why do you say that?” Bucky asked and you shrugged your shoulders.

“I think I’m doing okay on my own,” you admit to him.

You had a small smile on your face. Bucky couldn’t help but wonder if you thought about him at that moment. But he nodded and glanced up at the tv that hung on the wall. Only a few minutes to midnight. You followed his gaze to the tv and hummed a bit.

“So Sam, are you planning on kissing anyone when the ball drops?” You asked.

Bucky blinked at your question. You were looking at him with curious eyes, and he felt something tingle in his chest. But Bucky fought his thoughts and shook his head.

“Wasn’t planning on it,” he diverted your question and you let out another quiet hmm. You opened your mouth to say something but a hand grabbed onto your arm, and Bucky finally saw your sister up close and personal.

“They won’t let me sing,” she complained and you smiled at Bucky before turning to your sister.

“Good, you’re terrible,” you told her and she rolled her eyes and finally landed her gaze upon Bucky.

“Who is this?” She asked and gave him a nice smile. Bucky could tell you fought back a laugh and stood from your place, wrapping an arm around your sister.

“That’s Sam,” you told her. “And you’re drunk.”

“No just a little bit,” she said and winked at Bucky. He only offered a smile before his eyes locked with yours. “Come on, I wanna be right in the middle when the ball drops.”

“Okay pushover,” you agreed and your sister bounced back to the crowd. You finished your drink and turned to face him and offered Bucky a smile.

“Thank you,” you placed your hand on his and gave it a squeeze. Bucky felt his heart race under his chest and gave you a small nod as you walked away, taking his breath with you. He couldn’t take his eyes off you, not until his worst fears came true. Sam was back at his side.

“So that’s her, huh?” Sam asked as he pulled out his wallet to close his tab. Bucky grumbled and pulled his wallet out as well.

“Yeah.. That’s her,” Bucky admitted. Sam glanced over his shoulder and shrugged a bit.

“She’s cute man, I don’t know why you stole my name.”

“Please just for the love of God drop it,” Bucky nearly pleaded as he put a couple bills down for the bartender in payment and a tip.

“Look,” Sam started as he turned to face Bucky. “I get you want to protect her from this life.. But from what I can tell from the messages, and the flirting, she’s into you.”

Over the tv the sounds of that final countdown started. The crowd in the room began to chant along as well and both men glanced at the tv. Sam turned back to head over to the crowd and looked Bucky over one more time.

“All I’m saying is, don’t be afraid to make the move. We both know how that worked out for Steve.”

Sam wandered off to the group and Bucky stared at the wooden bar before him. The voices that echoed behind him started to count down louder as Bucky got lost in his thoughts.

20! 19! 18! 17! 16!

As much as it physically pained him to admit, Sam was right. But he couldn’t take his word for it if you were “into him” or not. Sam was the absolute worst judge on women. Ladies. Dames-- God damn it that didn’t matter right now!

15! 14! 13! 12! 11!

Just one test. One test and he would know for sure if he would reveal himself to you. If you felt the same way about him. This was his chance to see if what your eyes showed him tonight, and that night outside the cafe were what he was looking for.

10! 9! 8! 7! 6!

Bucky stood up from his chair and downed the remaining liquor in the bottle, even if it didn’t aid him, before he sauntered towards the crowd. He could easily pick you out amongst the other bodies, and had to push through a couple people to get there on time.

5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

Just as the people around started to yell out the fateful words ‘Happy New Year’ Buky grabbed a hold of your hand and pulled you into him. His hands enveloped your face and your expression went from shock to acknowledgment when your eyes met his. In one fluid motion, he leaned down to catch your lips with his.

Your lips didn’t move against his, and Bucky felt defeated. After a couple quick seconds he pulled away and opened his eyes once more to see you staring at him. You looked confused, but he couldn’t tell if you were upset or not. Bucky retracted his hands from your face while others around kissed one another. You held your gaze with him and Bucky was going to just forget this ever happened. Just forget you.

He was pulled back into the moment when you suddenly placed your hand on the nape of his neck, and ran your fingers into the edges of his hair. Bucky was quick to grab a hold of your hips and lean back down to kiss you once more. This time, you moved in sync with him. It was a slow and passionate kiss as you pressed yourself into his body. Your lips parted for him and Bucky eagerly snuck his tongue into your mouth, and you relaxed against him. The almost sloppy wet kisses made his head buzz as he tasted the sweet bubbly drink you consumed with him, and felt your fingers scratch his scalp. His fingers dug into your hips to relieve the pressure he felt in him, and as the cheering died down, you both finally released one another.

Bucky’s lips hovered over yours as your hot breaths mixed with one another. Your skin did indeed look rosy, and the beautiful color in your eyes looked a little darker. You slowly untangled your fingers from his hair, and Bucky took his hands off your hips. He hated to end it like this, but your sister was quick to grab your hand and insist on her tiredness, and pulled you with her to the exit. Bucky didn’t look away as you were pulled out into the snowy night, and he smiled to himself like an idiot.

By the time he got home he had felt his phone vibrate a couple times. As he climbed the stairs to his apartment he ignored Sam’s attempt at a joke on Bucky’s behalf, and fumbled with his keys as he read your message over.

You: Happy New Years, Bucky! Have a good night? Thought about this tonight after all the festivities:

Somewhere there is a place where I belong

Where an orchestra plays my favourite song

Butterflies gather and birds fly high

A beautiful place in a sun-lit sky

I wake and I wonder the land of the free

Where souls dance happy and the shore meets the sea

Mermaids chat and whisper the day

And Gods of hope are not far away

The place where I belong sits right in my hand

It lies in oceans blue and drifts of hot sand

I carry it with me, for my eyes to see

That the place I belong, sits within me

Bucky tossed his keys into the bowl, took his jacket off as usual, and ran his hand through his hair at the thought of tonight. He smiled as he typed back a response.

Bucky: Happy New Years, doll. I did have a good night actually. I’m guessing you had a good night with your sister?

When he didn’t get an immediate reply, Bucky thought he just missed you. He made his way to the bathroom and started to strip rom his clothes when his phone vibrated on the porcelain sink, and he all but rushed to read your message with a stupid grin on his face.

You: It was better than I expected :)

[pinkysfaultorbrainsfault]

animaniacs - s1e40: puppet rulers

episode summary: after seeing how small children react to the characters on their favourite tv show, brain decides that he and pinky will be children’s tv characters, too, before cryogenically freezing themselves for long enough that nostalgia tricks everyone into loving them enough to... elect them world leaders.

because people are totally thinking about old cartoons thirty years after they came off the air, right? that’s a thing normal people do.

the rundown:

we open in 1954.

nobody knows when in 1954 though, because whoever owns this calender isn’t ticking off the days. never mind! i’m sure they have more important things to do.

like welding some shit together, or whatever, like this guy is doing. “there. albert einstien’s latest experiment will be a powerful success.” if it’s albert einstien’s experiment, i don’t know why he hired this guy to do it, but i guess that’s between the big man and himself.

turns out the experiment only needs to be “powerful enough to pull five boxcars and a little caboose”, which is fine. fair enough if albert einstien wants to outsource production of his trainset. he’s probably busy being photographed for ridiculous facebook memes that say shit like “masks give you HIV”. 🙄 

meanwhile, as the music swells and the theme tune comes into the musical layers, we see pinky walking towards brain, who is preparing his coffin. it has a little alarm clock on it so he doesn’t miss bill nye the science guy.

“i’m finished, pinky.” he proclaims. he sure is. “with this cryonic capsule, we shall freeze ourselves and awaken fourty years in the future.” which i suppose is a little less morbid than, yknow, being dead. and bill nye should still be on tv, so it isn’t all bad.+

“egad, brain. what will we do in the future?”

“i don’t know, pinky, but it has to be better than what we’re doing now.”

i feel for him. i have never seen these mice in a well equipped cage. would it kill y’all to put some fucking climbers in there??? jesus.

suddenly, some children appear.

“uncle albert,” they cry. “uncle albert, it’s time.” ominous.

“but kiddies, uncle albert is doing an experiment and did you say it’s time.”

ominous! fortunately, “time” here means “time to sit down and watch tv.”

“hey kids!” says the friendly propellor worm on screen. “what time is it?” it is in fact “TIME FOR MEANIE!” as uncle albert and his fluffy brood proudly complain. yaaaay!

YAAAAAAAAAY.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY.

anyway turns out meany’s a bit of a dick.

pinky and brain watch on as the worm gets beaten to death. they are not particularly interested in the violence taking place, until Tiny Einstien Boy Edition (tinestien?) mentions that he wishes “treacle and meanie was president.”

to which brain makes this face.

hm. this is the face i make at my dentist when he asks to see if i’ve been maintaining my crown. sorry that my last dentist exploded my teeth or whatever. that’s kind of why i’m here.

“pinky, are you pondering what i’m pondering?” i want to take a moment out here to point out how fucking tiny brain is pinky is laying on his chest. horizontal and he is still taller than brain i just/?? he’s so fucking small. pinky could just pick him up. he couldn’t do anything. pinky could fucking yeet him like a basketball. or maybe just give him a nice hug.

anyway it turns out brain finally has a use for his cryochamber! he wants to get himself on Time For Meany and “endear himself in the hearts of children.”

anyway so once those kids grow up and become world leaders, they will remember brain fondly enough in their hearts so that... when he thaws out, they’ll, uh, elect him president. not entirely... foolproof, perhaps? but on the other hand if the nice couple from out of the box ran for joint prime minister i’d be pretty hype about it. out of the box doot doot out of the box.

pinky wants his show name to be “big ears.”

brain is more into the idea of being The Iconoclast, an Unconventional Eccentric Who Marches To A Different Drummer. privately that sounds like every single half-bearded nerd man at uni who basically accused me of having my boyfriend do all my coursework for me. does brain intend to hang around cardboard forbidden planet and tell the puppet girls that they don’t have the right to be into guardians of the galaxy? is brain going to be passive aggressive about that 2:2 i got in sculpting and rigging, thomas?????

“oh. i thought maybe you could be noodle noggin.”

we then cut to the studio, where the Fat Ceo Man wants the puppeteer to come up with new puppet characters for the next show. unfortunately, the next show is in three minutes, so he’s not very happy.

good thing he gets this suspicious package in the mail, eh?

as expected, it’s full of mice.

“oh my gosh!” cries our man, who has never seen a mouse before, apparently. “talking puppets!”

“actually we are two laboratory mice who wish to be on your show as part of an intricate plan to take over the world.”

“oh, wow, these are really good.”

so the boys make it on! they probably gave mr puppet man a religious experience, but we don’t see him again, so it’s fine.

“hold it, meany! everyone must meet our two new friends! this is big ears! take a bow, big ears!”

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY.

“and i am the iconoclast, an unconventional eccentric who marches to a different drummer--”

“but you may call me noodle noggin.”

you can’t see it very well in the last image, because uncle albert’s calender is in the way, but this is basically every episode. big ears says something, noodle noggin says something else that’s slightly more pretentious, meany hits him with a big stick.

everyone fucking loves it.

(fuck me. i never actually looked at this screencap close up before. why is pinky in a mousetrap?? why does it have their real names on it???? and why the FUCK do i not have a little brain toy in his own tiny wagon??? hello??? socialist police????)

unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and all projects with talking mice in it must be cancelled absurdly early. and an elmyra reboot of big ears and noodle noggin would be pointless, because brain already gets hit on the head in every episode, so eventually brain has to make the announcement.

“this program has been our last show.” he just sort of... says it, and you can tell pinky definitely wasn’t expecting it. he looks genuinely sad.

but not as sad as the children. even mousetrap pinky looks distraught.

the mice don’t care, obviously, and waste no time in jetting back to the Studio Fridge to activate their cryonic chamber, where pinky makes a very interesting point.

“but brain, why are we freezing ourselves at the height of our popularity?

“to stay fresh in their memory, pinky. we must, to paraphrase milton berle, ‘leave them wanting more’. i’ll see you in the future, pinky.”

there are no good frames for that portion of dialogue but whatever! let’s see how well that goes for them.

conclusion:

so the first thing the boys do upon waking up from ice and dust is to broadcast themselves on tv. “remember me?” asks brain. “it’s your old pal, the iconoclast.”

“and his old pal! zort! big ears!”

it’s very cute.

unfortunately these people are less impressed. they just sort of point, in a scary way. brain invites them all down to the tv station to “shower us in praise and material gifts,” and waits for the fans’ inevitable arrival.

“at last, we can write our own ticket, pinky. no longer in glorious suffering.” alright, hubert von vestra! calm down.

which is when the fans show up. hopefully the fact that they are all morbidly obese is like... coincidental, or to show off the fact that they’re all wearing kid tshirts, right? surely pinky and the brain wouldn’t tell me, a disabled person, that fat people are Bad And Losers? surely not.

“at last, my public has come to shower me with gifts.”

“guess again, noodle noggin!”

“huh.”

“you abandoned us!” cries the crowd. “you went away! you ruined our lives!” as brain tries to grapple with the fact that they are not, in fact, worshipping his image (and uploading pictures of him in the garden of mindy dress to e621) they present him with inordinately expensive therapy bills, because america be that way.

“PAY EM.” yells a gruff man with terrible facial hair. pinky and brain decide they would rather not.

honestly, i’m going to have to give this one to brain. sorry, brain. pinky did make the point earlier, and maybe if brain had thought about it, they might have been able to edit the plan a little and have things work out differently?

or maybe he was just tired of getting hit on the head all the time. ask pinky about that one, b.

brain: 3 pinky: 3 outside influence: 5

“quickly, pinky, we have work to do.”

“you mean taking over the world?”

“no. like finding a good hiding place.”

[thefivecalls]

Things I associate with each of the sides for no reason

Logan:

I understand he's supposed to be dark blue or indigo. Regardless, he will always be teal. This teal:

For some reason when I got detention that one time I got a Logan vibe so yeah theres that

"Space... The final frontier..." But uhhh just the opening has his vibes

Why is he always whereing a neck tie and not a bow tie? If anyone has necktie vibes its Janus not Logan

Logan also has chaos incarnate vibes that are only in check because of his last shreds of humanity one of these days he'll break and when he does thomas can and will set something on fire using bill nye the science guy tactics

He is waking up early and going to bed late

He is framing posters

He is dancing in your bedroom to awesome music that has never been such a vibe before that moment and will never be again.

Broken clocks

Beaker from the muppets? I don't quite get it but yeah

Rock of ages

Getting a pitcher of soda or tea or whatever and setting it on his desk, then getting 23 straws and taping them together so he can lay in bed on his phone and safely drink it without spilling

Grilled cheese

Kahoot music

Remus:

Death waltz. Not the synthesia no the one that takes 14 people to play.

Canoeing

Obviously he has close combat weapons but have you thought about giving him a bow and arrow? I have and yes thats a vibe because he is one of three people I've ever met with those vibes ok

Portable speakers

He is bonfires and fireworks.

He is hyperfixating on something and writing a story until 4 in the morning.

Potions!

The fact that witches ingredients are actually just named strange things but are edible somethings? Like mustard seeds being newts eyes and the like

Acid

In my human anatomy class we dissected deer hearts and when we found the blood clots we called them the Forbidden Jellies.

The county fair

The circus that comes around at fall festival time

Homecoming game in football/rugby

I feel like if he played an instrument he'd be a baritone

The lime green smoke Disney villians have

Roman:

Zootopia the movie

Hopping. Or bouncing in place.

My family's crest?? I think its because of his crest but he had those vibes before the outift upgrade???? Idk

The ponytail thing that give you a unicorn horn when you've got short hair but bangs that are beginning to grow out

He is picnics at the park

He is also going shopping

He is also dancing in the rain at four in the morning with the outside lights on and the music blaring but its ok the neigbors are four acres away and they sleep like the dead.

When I went to my first metal concert and I saw the mosh pit? The exhilaration that comes with wanting to join but not wanting to get crushed is a Roman thing.

Pancakes

Cold pizza at midnight

Succulents!

Fire and cane whiskey

The warm smiles that the bearer never gets to see because they don't get the chance to see it in a reflection

Butterscotch

Janus:

Springtime showers that makes snowmelt rivers

Prom. Dont ask this is just a him vibe ok

He seems like the guy that would make a blanket cacoon/nest when his bedsheets are in the wash and can I say mood

Sunlight

Looking off my back porch and seeing the feilds of corn beginning to dry out in late fall every three years.

Pumpkin soup

Apple cider

Lemonade

Not only is he snowmelt rivers he is also the first thunderstorm of summertime

Sun tea. Not the brand the stuff that you make via harnessing the suns power

Cucumber facemasks

Wildflower honey

The person who youd never guess goes to comic con but is actually the one who wins first place in the costume contest every year

Oversized sweaters

German Sheppards and yellow labs sunbathing after playing for hours

Antique mirrors

Burlap canvas bags

Oil paint

Espressos at ten at night

Late night chinese food runs

Dragons

Spice. Not the average spice either I'm talking could eat a carolina reaper and yes he'll be more red but he could still talk and thats more than I can say for myself

Virgil:

The red rubber balls from kick ball in elementary. By god I can smell the plastic just thinking about it

Flappy stims! Almost every time I flap he comes to mind I never really questioned it

The weighted blanket my dad got that I steal from him all the time

'He's a Mary poppins in a world of hasselhoffs" my friend once said that not even talking about Virgil but like. Come on.

Basically all of Star Lord's vibes are Virgils

Deadpool

Jack Skellington (kinda obvs)

Sample perfumes that are like the size of a pinky

Telescopes

Not writing an essay but instead learning all about world history or astronomy or psychology

Earings. Specifically hoops

Black pearls

Boardwalks that have tiny shops along them with a bunch of food.

Going to a club or a party with flashing lights and even though you're kinda nervous you have fun and live like tomorrow is still a dream away.

Ripped movie posters that the theater is selling

Tying ropes together to make nets.

Fairy lights

Taping movie theater tickets to your wall after you've gone and seen it

Scarecrows sitting on bales of hay at sunset next to my willow tree and the cicadas are on their 13th year so they're the loudest they'll ve until another 13 years have passed

The glint in someone's eye when they think of something mischievous

Bang by AJR

The corpse bride's tale/song

Patton:

The lazer eye meme. This one

Graham Crackers. Not smores, not candy crack-just the cracker ok

Pep rallies

The pet store??

Sugar sculptures

Corn pits (strictly midwestern thing)

Driving for hours upon hours and seeing the strange statues some towns have as you pass them by

Silver sparkles

Art herpes glitter

Photo booths

Riding in the back of a pickup truck on the county's main road

Wedding crystals cabinet where you put the fancy china you're going to give to your children that never gets used once but is probably worth half your house

The chubby bunny challenge

The moment when you tip your chair back too far and you know it but you can't do anything because you'll be on the floor in a second anyway

The thing maya did from Girl Meets World when she slammed lockers closed and caused the chalkboard to let its dust fly

Dusk.

That moment when everything is going by so quickly so you step back and watch the world go by for only a few seconds but then you're back in the present laughing with your friends

Snow cones melting and getting the syrup all over your hands

Orange Side:

All things citrus but especially lemons no not oranges lemons

Sunglasses

Men in black 1 not the rest just the first

Pineapple too hes got a lot of pineapple vibes

Combat boots but with spikes

Also lace?

And tea. Like, all kinds of tea but especially the really expensive stuff that I've only tasted like twice thats imported from Ireland

Himalayan salt lamps.

Sensies. the wax melting things

Candles too

Once we meet him I'll have more but this is it for him for now

Thats it! If this gets notes I might do emile remy and thomas but I think I'll leave this be for the moment. Have a great day y'all!

[dearlazerbunny]

Lie to Me (Ch. 27 of 27)

Pairings: Loki x Reader

Genre/Ratings: M eventually (aiming for a slow burn here); warnings for kidnapping and subsequent anxiety/PTSD (will be marked before every chapter)

Words: 3100

Summary: If you had to guess what the captured, traitor, trickster god Loki Laufeyson wanted or needed at this moment, a babysitter would be far, far down on the list. (Set after the events of Avengers 1.)

SHOUTOUT TO @molmcb and @jessiejunebug, the absolute loves of my life

Requested Tags: @deraniel, @iamverity,  @yasnooshka24, @wegingerangelica, @themusingsofmany , @dark-night-sky-99, @tarynkauai, @stuffandstuff-stuff, @angelicshinigami, @my-current-fandom-is, @geekysimmerthings,           @lokis-butter-knife, @help-i-need-a-social-life, @vodka-and-some-sass, @pandacookieowo

EPILOGUE

“Are you positive you wish to do this?”

You roll your eyes and shove a finger into Loki’s side. “Yes, Loki, I’m sure. Just as sure as I was ten minutes ago when you asked me, and the thirty minutes before that.”

He holds up his hands in mock defeat, a gentle smile on on face at your exasperation. “Yes, yes. Pardon my concern at your self destructive nature.”

“Okay, first of all, I’m pretty certain everyone already knows; second, being associated with you is not self destructive.”

“They still do not trust me.”

“That’s their problem.”

“Witling-”

“No, no, stop that. No coercing me with nicknames.” You grab his hand and entwine your fingers together. They fit together perfectly, just as they always have. “I love you, and I don’t give a damn if SHIELD, Bill Nye, and the freaking Queen of England knows or cares.” You wrinkle your nose at him, and he wrinkles his back, though it’s halfhearted. “You’re stuck with me. Suck it up, buttercup.”

Loki sighs and rubs a thumb over your own in small, comforting circles, eyes watching the city pass by as you weave through traffic. “I do not wish to bring malice upon you simply because you walk by my side. It isn’t worth the prejudice or the risk.”

The resignation in his voice makes your heart sink. He’s been training with the Avengers for a bit over a month now, and you’ve hoped that they’d be a little more open minded about their new teammate once they got to know him. Apparently that hasn’t been the case. You tighten your grip on his hand and scoot over so you can let your head settle in the crook of his neck. “Look, Loki. I don’t want to cause you any trouble either. If you really don’t want to tell SHIELD about us, fine. It’s more your head than mine after all. I just- I never want you to think that I’m ashamed of you. Ever.” You let your chin perch on the bony part of his shoulder and give him a wicked grin. “Plus, I’ve taken on Stark before. He’s just an asshole; I can handle him.”

“Please do not ever do that again.” He boops your nose lightly with his own before you pull away. “My healing skills are nowhere near sufficient enough to mend a repulser blast to the stomach.”

“I’m wounded!” Dramatically, you put a hand to your heart, pretending to swoon into the car door. “My one true love, unwilling to save me from death’s door!”

“I’ve done it once,” he reminds you firmly. “And I do not care to ever repeat the experience.”

“Fair enough.”

The car comes to a stop, and while Loki busies himself with opening your door, you grab your bag and your crutch from where it leans against the seat next to you. Your ankle is permanently problematic, unfortunately, and save for going in and replacing everything with steel, there’s nothing the doctors can really do. You never planned on going out for the Olympics, so you decided to just let it be. A crutch really isn’t that hard to maneuver anyways. And sometimes, if you whine enough, Loki will pick you up bridal-style and carry you around the apartment, even though the kitchen is less than ten feet away.

You’ve decided he probably secretly likes it.

The compound hasn’t gotten any more colorful or any less huge since you’ve been away. It was a bit strange, finally getting around to the paperwork and legalities and clearance of getting yourself reinstated at your job after basically disappearing for a year, but the second you step inside you know you’ve made the right choice. It’s a strange sort of home, with its stern-faced agents and terrible coffee and casually world-threatening incidents on any given Tuesday. Having Loki by your side, and not in a cell, makes it that much better. You can’t hold his hand while you walk, but he knows exactly where to step to avoid tripping you up; how far behind you to follow so he can support you if you need the help. The two of you being so in sync with such little effort always makes your heart happy.

You get a few hesitant nods from colleagues as you pass, and a deliberately blank stare from Sitwell, which you ignore. Deep breaths. You’re fine, he’s fine. This is just day one. It’ll pass.

You’re about to give him a peck on the cheek goodbye and turn off into your own hallway of offices when an intern appears, looking scared out of his mind. “Mister- um- mister Loki? Sir? The others are waiting for you in the training facilities.” He at least waits until Loki acknowledges him with a nod before scurrying away like he’s fleeing for his life, but- wow.

“Is it always like that?” You give him a glance. He’s watching the intern practically sprint down the hallway.

“Unfortunately.” He must sense your annoyance, because his next question can only be a distraction: “would you like to come see?”

You raise an eyebrow at him. You’ve asked several times what this group training entails, but he’s always avoided it or been extremely vague. Mostly you just want to make sure he isn’t getting hurt, and see if you need to punch Tony Stark’s face in. “Really?”

He nods. “This way.”

The training facilities turn out to be another building entirely, most likely constructed for the superheroes to do their… superhero-ing? Without breaking SHIELD’s fancy chrome offices or some poor intern’s leg. He opens the door for you and you duck in, unsure of what to expect.

The room is massive, and the ceiling is so far up you can’t even see it- the roof just ascends into shadow. The ridiculously high-tech looking screens and simulators are at odds with bare-bones gym mats lining the floor and a couple of old-timey punching bags hanging in the corner. Currently, the Black Widow and Captain America appear to be sparring, as both are on the floor with the Widow’s thighs wrapped around the Captain’s neck in a very unpleasant looking hold. Clint Barton looks on appreciatively from the sidelines. Stark is half dressed in his metal suit, fiddling with a hologram hovering in front of his face, and-

“LADY Y/N!” Before you can blink, you’re whisked into someone’s absolutely massive arms so quickly your crutch goes clattering to the floor. His voice booms in your ears, but you just laugh as you’re spun into the air, because only one person can have that loud a voice and that big of a bicep.

“Thor!” You wrap your arms around his neck, giggling as you receive one of the most enthusiastic hugs you’ve ever experienced. It’s like being tackled by a mountain of golden retrievers. “I didn’t know you’d be here!”

“Aye, I wished to surprise you!” Loki, who is watching amusedly from a few feet away, gives you a wink. “My brother aided me in my deception!”

“I can see that,” you laugh, tapping him on the shoulder so he’ll put you down before you suffocate. “Careful you don’t pick up too many of his bad habits.”

He laughs heartily. “It has been many moons. How fares my little sister?” He picks up your brace and hands it to you, but does so casually, as though nothing has changed. Loki must have filled him in, thank god. The last thing you need is for him to cause an impromptu thunderstorm over a limp.

“As good as I can be.” You grin at him, genuinely thrilled to see him. He tucks an arm around your shoulder protectively and gives you another squeeze, almost lifting you off the floor again.

“Please do not hurt the witling, brother. Mortals are such delicate things.” You stick your tongue out at Loki’s teasing but take his hand as you’re finally set on the floor properly, helping you steady yourself.

With the absence of Thor’s booming, you’re suddenly aware of the rest of the room and their incredibly loud silence. The Captain and Romanov, at least, are pretending to be uninterested while they discuss tactics and maneuvers, but Stark and Barton are openly, unabashedly staring at the three of you. Barton can’t take his eyes off the crutch tucked under your arm. You take a breath- you weren’t really planning on meeting them again- well, ever- but might as well get it over with. “Um, hi. Agent Barton. Stark.” You’re not really sure what to say next: ‘sorry about the screaming match we had?’ ‘No hard feelings?’

Unfortunately, Stark takes care of that little dilemma for you. He’s watching you with undisguised disgust. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Steve Rogers looks over sharply. “Tony-”

“No! This is- this is absolutely ridiculous! This is insane. How the hell has SHIELD not mind wiped you and shipped you off to Antarctica yet? And you just waltz in here like nothing’s even happened?”

Every one of your nerves is immediately set on fire. You are not going to be cannon fodder for some stuck-up playboy. “Listen, Stark, I don’t answer to you, and whatever I do with my life is absolutely none of your-”

“What happened to your leg?”

The archer’s question is quiet. Unobtrusive, but yet somehow still louder than your rising voice. You blink at him. “Some HYDRA idiot crushed my ankle. Doctors can’t fix it.”

For a second, you swear he’s going to be sympathetic, until he snorts. “Your boyfriend has enough magic in his fist to drop a small country, but he can’t fix an ankle.”

Loki immediately steps forward and puts a hand on your shoulder, effectively holding you in place. “Witling. You should go.”

“I’m not leaving you here with people who apparently still want to tear your fucking head off!” You snarl, nearly fumbling your crutch to the ground with how much your hands are shaking.

“He’s a criminal-”

“So are you, Stark! The army would love to hand you your ass!”

“I’d like to see them try.”

“Maybe we all just need to-”

“Steve, he murdered Coulson. Remember that? Remember your trading cards with his fucking blood on them?”

“Clint-”

“Never mind the fact that he tried to, I don’t know, enslave the human race! No big deal!”

“Glad to see at least one of us has a level head.”

“I swear to god if another one of you makes another sound I will-”

“IT WAS NOT HIS FAULT!” Thor roars, and this time the air is charged with the smell of ozone. Everyone falls quiet, even Stark, though his mouth is still open to toss out another retort. “It was not his fault,” Thor says again, quieter, but with just as much anger simmering below his voice. He turns to Loki. “Brother, I tire of this falsehood. If you will not tell them, then I shall.”

Loki’s eyes widen. “Thor-“

“Loki is as much a victim as any of us,” he says firmly, “for he too had lost his reason and control to the Mind Stone. His will was not his own.”

And if that doesn’t just make everyone’s jaw drop. You almost wish you could snap a photo. The Avengers are staring at Thor, and Loki looks like he’s about to smite himself out of existence where he stands, and you instinctively take a few steps toward Loki like you can somehow protect him from the coming onslaught. “Thor..? How did you-”

“When you mentioned to me the infinity stones, I decided to follow the path your questions led me down.” Thor shakes his head, more serious than you’ve ever seen him. “The truth is dark, and more troubling than I can say, but it is the truth nonetheless. Loki is not at fault.”

Loki shoots you a venomous glare, and you hold up your palms, trying to placate him. “I ask him back when I didn’t know what they were! When I didn’t know. I promise, I would never have told him the whole story. Not without your permission.”

His jaw is still clenched tight, and you can tell he’s struggling to control his breathing. But slowly, his fingers uncurl from fists on by one. “It appears we need to speak privately, brother.”

Thor nods. “Indeed. This is a burden you have been forced to shoulder for too long.”

Across the room, Stark begins to clap. It’s the slow, mocking clap of a person who just witnessed someone falling on their face and is too cruel to go and help them up. “Fabulous. Really, five stars, I’ll call the Broadway producers right now and have them set the whole thing up.”

You take in a sharp breath in favor of gasping out loud. Loki’s fury is slowly being eaten away by a painful resignation that makes you want to cry. Thor hasn’t quite caught on. “I beg your pardon, but I-”

“No, sorry. I just can’t buy this one. You actually expect us to believe that shit? You try to pass him off as the misunderstood villain all this time and then decided, whoops, guess what, he was actually brainwashed! None of it was his fault!” Stark shakes his head. “Unbelievable. Seriously.”

“I do not claim that I am purely innocent,” Loki says quietly. “Though what my brother says is largely true.”

“He told me himself,” you add, trying to send positive thoughts to the man standing beside you. You’re pretty sure grabbing his hand to comfort him wouldn’t be appreciated by anyone right now. “Back when he was in his cell. You can check the footage yourself.”

“Oh, I have no doubt he told you,” Stark sneers. “He told you a bunch of bullshit and you swallowed it hook, line, and sinker, like a good little pawn. And Thor, buddy, I’m sorry, but Loki has been feeding you lies his entire life and you just keep falling for them. Stop making excuses for him and accept the fact that he’s a fucking murderer!”

Stark’s voice has risen to a crescendo over the course of his little speech, and small pieces of his armor lock into place until he’s fully suited in metal, save for his helmet. The repulsors on his palms are glowing white hot. At some point, Rogers grabbed his shield, though he looks as though he isn’t sure whether to throw it at Tony or Loki. Barton is remarkably silent, standing completely still, not moving a single tick. His eyes have a horrible haunted sheen to them, as though he’s reliving a nightmare. Romanov is taking to him in low, worried tones, in- Russian, maybe?- but she doesn’t seem to be getting through to him.

Thor, for his part, is in a proper rage. Mjolnir flies to his grip, and small streaks of lighting are beginning to form at his wrists. “You dare insinuate I lie?”

Loki has visibly locked himself away; pushed any thought or feeling deep down and thrown away the key. His fingers are twitching like he’s searching for something to defend himself with, and the hard look on his face says he’s preparing to fight his way out.

And then there’s you, small and remarkably unremarkable, standing in the midst of gods and monsters about to throw themselves into a civil war. You want to scream, you want to throw yourself at Stark and claw him out of that stupid suit of his piece by piece until he knows what real pain feels like. You’re mad. Livid. Indescribably enraged. Something hot and mean is streaking through your veins, and you let it race through you like wildfire, coating your vision in sparks of white and making you feel like crushing a gang of superheroes beneath your heel will be child’s play.

Your fists close around something sharp and solid.

Things happen too quickly for you to process. Loki shouts, alarmed, and Stark’s eyes widen in something that looks like fear before raising his hand and firing off two bolts of energy directly at you. Thor throws Mjolnir to intercept, but not before Captain America flings himself between you and the beams of light, forcing them to ricochet off his shield and into the wall, where they leave scorch marks and the smell of molten metal.

There’s a stillness that falls over the room, ominous as a single black crow. You’re still angry, still running hot with this indescribable something, but your brain is somewhat back online- why did Stark just fire at you?

And why does everyone look so scared?

“Witling.” Loki’s voice, gentle and very calm, floats through the haze. “Put down the knives.”

The… knives? You want to ask him what he’s taking about, you want to say something, but everything in you is frozen, quivering, waiting to strike.

“Love. It’s just me. I’m right here. Don’t move-” you feel his hand around your wrist, then deftly flick… something… from your hand into his. The spell is shattered, and he world falls back into place with a rush of static and a ringing in your ears. Everything in you seems to slump, and something metallic clatters to the floor.

Everyone around you is still holding their breath, watching the timer of a bomb hold steady at 00:01.

You blink, suddenly incredibly tired and confused. “What- what just happened?”

“I believe,” Loki says, his voice outwardly calm but internally shaking like a leaf, “you just conjured yourself some daggers.”

“Excuse me?” When you look to your right, a gleaming knife, dark as night and etched with glowing runes carved into the hilt, lies at your feet. Its twin is in Loki’s hands.

Your eyes widen. “I- I what?”

A hundred dimensions away, overlooking Asgard’s city of gold, Frigga smiles.

A/N: So. Here it is. The longest fic I have ever written by over 20k. I wrote this fic during a kind of terrible time in my life. My waking hours were basically nothing but scrolling through Ao3, and once I’d read all the fics I liked three times over, I thought, well... write what you’d want to read, right? So I did. The amount of love I’ve gotten has been asTOUNDING. Like seriously, guys. Wow. Thank you so, so freaking much. You have absolutely no idea how much it means to me, and I want to personally give each and every one of you a huge hug. 

That being said... I, uh, kind of want there to be a sequel? Now, I started writing this fic in January of this year. I finished in September- that’s nine months. I only started posting when I had 35k written plus a very specific outline and idea of where everything was going. I have none of that for this sequel. I cannot promise this sequel will come soon. But I think it will happen, eventually. I like this world too much to let it go just yet. If you have notifications turned on for this fic’s updates, keep it, so six months from now you’ll know when I start posting the second part of the story. 

I’m still dealing with a lot right now. I’m not sure if it’s because of the completion of this basically-a-novel or my health or school or all of the above but I haven’t really written anything in months. It scares me a bit. I hope my need to write will come back soon. Until then, I’m excited to fulfill the prompts I promised, and you can always submit other things you’d like to see here or on my tumblr- I’ll post them on here as they get finished :)

Once again, thank you all SO much. Sometimes the only thing getting me through the days was the excitement of posting another chapter and getting to talk and laugh with you guys. I love you all so much.

[seoftheart]

100 things i love about johnny

“his english name means “god is gracious” and it’s derived from hebrew words יוֹ (yo) which is the hebrew god and חָנַן (chanan) which means “to be gracious” and i mean,, true

his korean name is written as 英浩 in hanja characters and they can mean  “flower, petal, brave, hero” and  “great, numerous, vast” - also true

his lisp

his bad puns and pickup lines

how he donated his voice by recording audio guides to aid artists with development disabilities

how much he loves haechan and taeil :((

how much he loves nct in general

his love for yoona

how he never fails to include both female and male fans when he’s talking so nobody gets excluded

his silky hair

the way he furrows his eyebrows and one side of his upper lip goes up when he says something sassy or tries sounding smart

the little, cute wrinkles that appear on the sides of his mouth when he’s smiling

how hard he works on his chinese and tries to communicate with chinese members in their native language grfsregkajeg

the way he discreetly comforted yeri on enana when she was sick

how he noticed that on the vlive commentary function it said “say something nice” and found it really nice

how he’s really humble about the things he does and his qualities, oh my god !!

he thought his selfies weren’t good and asked for advice and didn’t believe jaehyun and doyoung when they told him his selfies are really good indeed, he was so surprised when they told him!!

his wannabe raps LMAO that rap he wrote in high school still haunts me

he stayed in sm for so long, ever since 2008, but he didn’t give up and made it to debut with nct! he had to watch his friends from exo debut before him while he was left behind but that didn’t discourage him one bit ;((

how he always finds a way to play on enana during the commercial break, and it’s usually playing with the cameras, which is really cute

his smile when he’s talking with the fans

how he always does that dance where he swings his arms left to right constantly while doing the same with hips, in sync with the arm swing and embarrasses others but does it anyway

he always thinks of nct’s international fans!! he always adds a sentence of two in english so everybody understands what’s going on

he has a lot of trouble learning japanese but he still tries so hard ;((

his “boku wa johnny desu”

he’s really shy when someone compliments him, but never fails to compliment others

he has such a nice relationship with enana staff members and always helps them and encourages them

“to everyone out there, i just want to say that whoever’s listening to this is absolutely beautiful, and there’s nothing you need to change about your appearance, you’re already as perfect and unique as you are.  don’t let anyone tell you differently. if you ever feel like you’re not worth anything, seek help or change your environment, don’t let the bullies get to you. life is long, life is beautiful. don’t stop right here because of these mean people. live for yourself, live happily, and show them you’re stronger than them.”

saying “bless you” when people sneeze a lot of people overlook, but he finds it meaningful

he always encourages either the nct members or complete strangers when they’re speaking english even though they make mistakes and makes them feel confident about their language skills

that one time he started randomly meowing on enana and made jaehyun laugh

ok but on a serious note tho. johnny likes to,,,meow around. idk if it grew into a (weird) habit of his but he just,,,meows. he meows around jaehyun, he meows around mark, he probably meows around everyone in nct. can i pls get this limited-edition cat too

his super broccoli and super corn t-shirts

his singing voice ;–;

how he never hesitates to do aegyo but regrets it straight afterward so he lowers his head and covers his face with his hands

he said he loves running through the rain when it’s raining and it’s so unusual but cute!

lmao he’s such a hopeless romantic tho, i bet he got that running-in-the-rain idea from a romance film or smth

“to do and regret, rather than not to do and regret”

his hobby is photography and he takes really nice photos which he posts on nct’s instagram!!

his signature is really pretty!! it’s one of the most beautiful signatures i’ve seen an idol have tbh

he plays the piano really well and he used to play it together with jaehyun in their room when they were roommates

during the time he shared the room with jaehyun, jaehyun used to always light up scented candles and it sometimes bothered johnny but he never said anything about it so jaehyun wouldn’t feel bad

also,, he sleeps naked?? but like,, he’s so open with it. he’s like oh? clothes? i don’t wear clothes when i sleep lol and taeil is ????? so  c o n f u s e d  but johnny is just there, with a big grin on his face lmao

he’s a bit clumsy but it makes him adorable ;-;

his laugh!! it goes from a simple giggle to a high pitched laughter and it’s so recognisable and funny to hear, but it never makes you tired of hearing it

the dimples that appear on his face when he’s smiling, #help

he always gives other members the chance to speak in english if they want to or if they’re confident but never forces them if they don’t want to

how he’s so passionate about photography and he uses his camera more to capture the nature and his members than to take pictures of himself

also. that one photo of a smiley face written on a foggy car window (probably?) that he took is so, so, so important.

seriously, i love the style of photography he is going for!!

how he always participates when nct does volunteer work, like how he went to that school and made meals for children or how he went to a p.e. class and taught the kids how to dance

the way he laughs!! he always laughs in little fits, like, it goes hahaha hahahaha hahaha and it’s a d o r a b l e

how he’s secretly a meme king and loves sharing memes with nct members on their gc but they never reply to him and it’s so sad but so cute fsdjkghs

the way he looks at cameras like they’re the most precious things in the world

he never fails to hype a nct member up!!

how much he loves his family. he doesn’t talk about them a lot but when he does you can see it in his eyes how much he misses his parents. also when he cried when they sent him a video message for his birthday during his smrookies days!!

also when he was so surprised and teared up when his mum sent an audio message to enana back in 2018

“love starts with a smile” - johnny, 170327

he always sees beauty in some things that would usually get overlooked or wouldn’t be seen as beautiful and pretty and he never fails to express how he finds them nice!!

his relationship with mark. it’s not only that they’re english speakers so they’re close, you can see just how much johnny cares for mark. mark is like johnny’s little brother

he has a tendency to say things in a tone someone could find sarcastic but he really means it. he uses these phrases that have grown to be seen as sarcastic only to convey his true feelings and i find it so unique and beautiful (like when he said “it’s beautiful, mark” in the first relay vlive when mark, jaemin, winwin and kun were making standees for the sprouts - one would think he’s saying it just so that he wouldn’t hurt mark’s feelings but if you listen closely enough, you can hear the sincerity in his voice)

how he uses “your one and only” when writing to the fans

also the message on a photocard for the regular-irregular album where he wrote “from your one and only to my one and only” i literally blushed okay.

seriously though, the messages he writes on photocards are so thoughtful and cute, for example on the regulate pc he wrote: “simon says... smile!” and like,, i might have cried.

his face with no makeup on!!!

his thighs that are both muscular and soft, you can’t really tell if he’s really fit or a bit chubby and it makes my heart go whoosh whoosh bc!! my bias!!! is chubby!!!!! and i love it!! !!!!

seriously though, the songs he recommends and/or plays on enana

he says he’s a really clumsy person or it’s just his height so he always bumps into things and i find it adorable even though it must hurt him but how can you not love these small things about this giant man shjsjs

how he sleeps with so many plushies and gives them names and always changes the one he’s hugging at night om g

“pandas. OmG PANDAS” - johnny in ikea

have i already said this but he’s so empathic and compassionate and conscientious and always tries to make people around him feel comfortable with his jokes and warm smiles

he’s also so patient and laid-back and doesn’t get angry so easily, like, someone would probably get angry with yuta were it his phone number that was exposed (even by accident) but johnny was just liek,,,yah it’s okay and forgave yuta and sgjdjsh he’s just so nice :(

how he thinks make-up shouldn’t be limited to girls only and doesn’t believe in gender roles!!

in addition to that, he even appeared in an episode of netflix’s bill nye saves the world that touches on the topic of sexuality & identity and it’s such a big thing for an idol, especially a rookie idol to talk about how kpop is changing the traditional ideas of what gender norms are in such a conservative country??

“just be yourself. i feel like that’s a big point” - johnny in bill nye saves the world

*serious, with a smile on his face* “do you have a boyfriend?” *serious* *can’t contain the cringe and laughter* *turns away in an adorable way*

johnny’s fashion evaluation much?? it’s just him giving weird names to nct’s outfits and pretending to be an expert by giving them star ratings but it’s all just random and it’s so funny shjsh

while we’re at being funny! god of humour!! right there!!!! johnny suh invented humour ok i don’t make the rules

like,, his humour is not the normal kind, i saw many people actually say he’s not funny but LMAO joke’s on you, his humour is the galaxy brain type of humour, it’s like,, a bit dry but it’s so funny if you’re on the same page as him

when he went to ikea with jaehyun to buy a lamp but they only ended up looking at plushies and johnny immediately made friends with two snake plushies, fred and jason. “fred, what are you doing here??” “jason, jason! no, he’s my friend, jason. jason, he’s my friend.” - johnny in ikea, after saving jaehyun from jason’s bite. like that’s so random but it’s working because i’ve melted

him wearing hoodies and putting them over his head while taking photos of his members is so precious and soft!!

the way his pinky kind of drifts away from the rest of his fingers when he’s waving or covering his mouth or doing anything with his hand really

his plump lips and the way they curl upwards a bit and it makes them look so  c u t e  but they’re also a bit sexy???

he has these scars on his face (a lot of them on his chin) that are almost invisible because of the makeup but i think they’re from pimples, perhaps? but they’re so beautiful and precious and i love them when he smiles and they get a different shape and it’s art?? on someone’s face?????

he speaks so confidently in korean even though it’s not his native language! one would think it is by the way he never stutters or has a loss for words but it’s just because of his never-ending friendliness and confidence that’s a part of his personality

remember the rolling paper event during the 127 1st anniversary party? all of johnny’s messages were the longest ones and were so heartfelt and sincere. he really poured his entire heart while writing those and that only shows just how much he loves his members

his role inside the group may seem unimportant but he’s one of the few people holding the group together. there is taeyong as the leader, but johnny is like a leader from the shadows who puts everyone before himself first - and it is not easy to do

he cares for the foreign members so, so much. out of all the nct members, he’s been in sm the longest and as a foreigner he understands and knows what it’s like to suddenly be in a completely new country surrounded by nothing but strangers. he kept on conversing with ten, both in english and in korean, so ten would feel more comfortable and he’s the main reason ten’s korean has gotten so much better. also, he takes so much patience with the chinese members who have language barriers with both him and the rest of nct and never fails to correct them when they say something wrong or when they can’t think of a word/phrase to say. when they were touring seoul, he was always next to lucas and closely listening to how lucas speaks so that he can help him learn better!!

johnny knows how to flirt and seduce but what he doesn’t know is how to act afterwards so the embarrassment that comes after he says something cringy is just the most adorable think ever (take “do you have a boyfriend?” ig video for an example). he’s just so awkward and he can’t compliment someone without blushing ;(

also oh boy, johnny is just so bad at lying like fksjshksh he can’t keep a secret to save a life. were we, nctzens, not so dumb, we’d get so many spoilers he accidentally gave lmao

while we’re at this, he also can’t have a nice phone because he literally doesn’t care about it, hE THREW IT IN THE FLOOR in that one video, isn’t that enough as it IS

also,,,,,,he put a metal fidget spinner on its screen and somehow expected it not to break?????? just how lovable this idiot is.

he’s so,,,,awkward and cute around girls,,,like,,,,,,,help me. him confessing to yoona (kind of?) is the cutest thing ever and it just fills my heart with love and i!! wanna protect!!!!!

the thing i always look at when i watch enana are his ears because he always fiddles with them and touches the earring(s) and it’s cuuuute

but lmAO somehow the earring(s) always fall out when he does touch them and it’s somehow so,,endearing because he’s so cute jfc

he once said he tries using “thank you” and "i love you” a lot because those words are so powerful and he seems to always want to bring smile to other people’s faces..

also!! his parents call him prince as a nickname and,,well. i might be crying because that’s  s o f t

do you know that johnny always tries to wear colourful clothes on rainy days so that he breaks the monotony and the nostalgia of rain?? fdkjhsrgahkdsg

“you can overcome everything with laughter”

also,, have you noticed how he always makes a double peace sign when he’s embarrassed? cute.

[marvelandimagine]

In My Home (Chapter 2)

Series summary: After Wakanda opens its borders, you begin working in Shuri’s lab as part of an all-women STEM program, and you meet a certain White Wolf. What starts out as mutual bonding over science turns into much more than you ever could have anticipated. 

Loosely inspired by Young the Giant’s “In My Home”

Pairing: Bucky x scientist reader

Word Count: 1,960

Warnings: Language, PTSD, sexual thoughts

A/N: WELP Bucky’s internal POV turned out longer than I thought but I pinky promise chapter three is going to be dialogue for dayzzzz

Reader Tags: @staringmoony @noxxia @mikithekiki @just-a-littlebit-of-everything  @galaxy-siren 

Bucky can’t stop thinking about you. He knows he’s in deep because he finds himself replaying conversations and moments together with you over and over in his head, trying to engrave their details into his memory—the sound of your laugh, how you talk with your hands, the glint in your eyes he thinks he’s seen whenever the two of you end up physically close (which seems to be a lot lately)––that goddamn indecipherable look that’s driving him crazy as he mentally weighs the pros and cons of finally acting on what he desperately wants, to finally bring his lips to yours, to feel your body pressed against his while your tongue slips between his teeth and his hands tangle in your hair––

And he keeps trying his best to stop his imagination right there (often failing) because he’s not sure he can trust his mind on this. Because the thought that you could ever reciprocate, could even come close to feeling the way he feels about you, would ever want to be with him in any sense of really being with someone, that had to just be a dream.

But then his brain tugged at him to recall moments that had happened between the two of you that he was pretty damn sure he didn’t imagine. How welcoming you were when he first met you, how you were willing to open up to him about your past so that it might help him in his present. And when he found himself spilling his guts about his uncertainty regarding whether or not Shuri had really fixed him, not knowing what to do with the lingering anxiety and flashbacks and nightmares––you still didn’t treat him like a bomb that was about to go off. You just treated him like a human being.

And it wasn’t like he hadn’t experienced that since Steve snapped him out of his Hydra programming—a lot of people had been kind to him. And he’d done what Shuri asked and hit up a few veteran support group meetings in the city and even livestreamed a few in the States, so he had related to others with similar experiences before meeting you. He just couldn’t explain it, the connection he felt to you, like you both went through life following the same rhythm. As ridiculous and sentimental as it sounded in his head, it was like your souls seemed to be in sync.

You were funny and hopeful and kind and so, so pretty, even in a lab coat and faded band t-shirt. You drew him in without even trying, and the connection he felt with you––that he wondered, hoped, dreamed you could maybe even feel a fraction of––kept growing stronger the more time you spent together. He initially couldn’t even believe you wanted to spend time with him, but he slowly stopped questioning it and tried to just go with it without waiting for the other shoe to drop.

He just tried to enjoy being present with you, whether he was reading your loaned copy of Bill Nye’s Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation while you whirled around the lab, or utterly absorbed in listening to you do your best to catch him up on a highlight reel of humanitarian achievements and pop culture while he told you about 1930s New York City and the inventions that blew his mind (he still was waiting for a flying car, but self-driving cars were still pretty damn impressive) over sambusa and the best lamb and rice dish he was sure he’d ever have, confiding and laughing and flirting all over the city.

He may not have been with a woman in literally decades, but that didn’t mean he didn’t notice signs of seeming attraction and affection, small actions and comments you dropped here and there that made his heart stop and start at the same time. What he did forget was how maddening it could be, the slow burn of glances and touches and before someone finally made a decisive move. Back before everything happened, he never had a problem making that move, but now, the fear of losing someone who already made him the happiest he’d been in years kept him rooted in place.

It was driving him crazy, especially when it came to hints in your touch: your hip gently nudging him to scooch farther down your lab table; your thigh grazing his as you sat side by side on the Maglev train; your palm swatting him on the shoulder as he made another comment that had you shaking your head but chuckling nonetheless. He savored each of these moments, no matter how seemingly insignificant, his longing for even further closeness with you becoming harder to ignore each time. So he experimented to see if maybe he really did have a shot at this, taking your hand in the middle of the crowded street, raising his voice so you could hear him over the chattering crowd and music echoing around the city:

“I’ll get lost otherwise.”

“You’re right,” you called back, smirking as your free hand gestured to the predominantly Wakandan crowd. “How would I ever find you amongst this sea of white men with bionic arms?”

You didn’t let go of his hand, though, and Bucky felt hope rise in his chest along with his heartbeat.

There was the day when you had made him promise to not let you leave the lab no matter what you said until you finished a new round of cross-referencing your updated personal data samples with the 500 something you had collected while getting your doctorate. But then it turned out that there was a music festival happening two blocks away from the lab, and how were you supposed to focus with the booming sounds of drums and the wafting aromas of roasted street fare, but Bucky wanted to mess with you a bit.

And so he stood between you and the door, trying his best to keep a straight face.

“You said, and I quote ‘Bucky do not let me leave this lab, no matter how much I beg, or plead, or––“

You waved your hands.

“That was old Y/N who was bright-eyed and full of caffeine and optimism. This is 7 p.m. current Y/N realizing that I will literally be here until 3 a.m., which I’ve already done twice this week. Current Y/N Y/N just needs to dance and eat some mandazi.”

“A promise is a promise! What if this was the very night when you were destined to be struck by genius with a breakthrough that changes the course of humanity, but I prevented that from happening by breaking my word.” Bucky shrugged, the corner of his mouth turning up. “Not chancing it.”

You sighed in feigned resignation.

“You’re right, you’re right.”

Bucky was thrown off for half a second but your concession, but then you were sprinting past him as best as you could sprint past a genetically enhanced soldier, your cackle turning into profanities choked by laughter as Bucky easily caught you, arms wrapping around your waist.

“Goddammit, Bucky!”

He was barely even holding you, so nervous about hurting you, but it was still enough to keep you locked in place as you struggled, both of you chuckling for a few more seconds before you gave up, going limp in his arms. He could feel the rise and fall of your chest, was close enough to breathe in the bright scent of your perfume.

“Guess I’ll die here.”

Your light tone then turned bitter on a dime, taking Bucky by surprise.

“I lied, I really don’t deserve to get out of here tonight, not when my dumbass has been stuck on the same problem for weeks, and everyone else in that lab has actually been able to do their fucking jobs.”

“Hey, Y/N, that’s not true.” Bucky broke his hold on you, turning you around to face him, watching as you shook your head, chewing at the corner of your lip as you averted your eyes.

“You’re one of the smartest people I know. And I see you, everyone sees you working your ass off in there. Give yourself a break.” He paused for a second before placing his hands on your shoulders, the action prompting you to bring your pained gaze back to meet his.

“You know I’m not actually holding you hostage, right?”

You had mustered a snort of laughter and nodded but still had that defeated look across your face, and Bucky’s instinct to care for you overshadowed his nerves. 

“C’mere.”

And he pulled you toward him and you immediately settled into his embrace, letting out a deep exhale as you burrowed your head in his chest, arms winding around his waist. And as much as he wanted to, he didn’t dare try to kiss you in the midst of your mini crisis, not knowing if you’d misinterpret it as only being given to try to make you feel better as opposed to showing you how deeply he felt about you.

“Thank you.” Your voice was muffled against him and you pulled back, sniffling but smiling. “Sorry I lost my cool there.”

“You don’t need to apologize. Come on, let’s get you some fresh air and some mandazi, you’ll feel better.”

“Good plan.” You both started walking down the hall, and Bucky could feel your stare burning through him, turning and seeing you giving him that look again.

“What?”

“Nothing ... just glad I met you.”

Even with that seemingly picture perfect moment, gnawing fear kept him from showing you right then and there how he really felt, settling instead on words that felt safer instead.

“Feeling’s mutual.”

He’s recalling all of these moments in his head, especially how he’s kicked himself after each one for not making a move. What was wrong with him? How long was he going to let fear dictate his life? The life he had fought for, the one he was still clawing his way out of the past for?

He’s jolted out of his reverie by the rumble of an engine in the distance, and his head snaps up to see trees rustling in the distance.

Even the sheep look startled.

“What the hell?”

And then he sees you come barreling out of the tree line in what looks like a military-grade hummer, except in a rich violet color, wearing sunglasses and a grin, the car’s speakers blaring that one Black Keys (Black Locks? He can never keep all the music you tell him straight) song he’s heard a few times in your lab, and he doesn’t know if he believes in a god, but damn, of all songs to be playing, it’s one hell of a cosmic coincidence that it’s this one.

“Woah, oh oh, I’ve got a love that keeps me hanging. 

I’m a lonely boy, I’m a lonely boy.”

“Son of a bitch.”

Bucky’s heart was beating fast, mind working overtime in a last-ditch attempt to dissuade him from stopping the chess match between you two and taking the chance he wanted to since practically the day you met. He’d been controlled for so long, shoved around with no agency, no say in what he could do.

But this, right here, right now, this was his life. And he didn’t want to waste more of it waiting, waste more of it hanging because of his own hesitation. He had the ability to make choices today, even when it seemed terrifying and vulnerable and could potentially end in disaster. Or, it could end in something fucking great. Something that made him feel happy, feel understood, feel alive.

Isn’t that all he really wanted?

And as you pull up near his hut, he makes a barely noticeable nod to himself. He’s made his decision. Today, instead of choosing fear, he was going to choose you.

[imaginingit]

high school au!haechan

GUESS WHO’S BACK !! in case you’ve never met anyone that embodies SUCH a typical high schooler like hyuck before, here u go ! may or may not have done the quarterback and band geek trope . i regret nothing 

oh BOY

first of all 

let’s backtrack a little bit and talk about middle school!haechan too cause...,,, dude is a Mess 

was the sketchy one in seventh grade that sold like g-shocks and silly bands at the hill in front of the park every lunch recess 

had a power ranger lunchbox all the way up until he was like 13 lol when yukhei would be like.....hyung......What.

during the summer when the school staff are making up the lists for the classes everyone’s like 

“nO no way he’s in a class with renjun, renjun is the only person he’ll ever be afraid of i can’t have that dispute in my class”

“um. hyuck can’t be in the same class as jisung either...i once saw him try to feed jisung yellow snow saying it was lemon flavoured... poor boy believed him...”

“mark’s mother gifted me a box of chocolates last year with a note thanking me for my hard work and begging her son to be in a different class than hyuck. sorry, guys.”

the principal looks over all the lists and is like UM these are bullshit reasons, just put all of them together, how bad could it be???

ahem. BAD.

every science class starts with chenle and yukhei SCREAMING the bill nye theme song do u guys watch the vlives my GOD i thought chenle was hard to keep up with and nOW THERE’S LUCAS 

dodgeball during phys-ed is just haechan, yukhei and jeno absolutely slaughtering everyone

mark has his headphones in the entire time in art class and if one of the guys try to talk to him he just raises his finger and shushes them

jeno and jaemin flirt 

renjun, chenle and yukhei trying to win jisung over and then ending up just swearing at each other in mandarin 

anyway

has been the football captain since he was at the youngest age that was  eligible to even sign up,,,,, he’s that good 

always always makes mark walk home with him after practice 

so mark just sits on the bleachers with his bio textbook in his lap and glasses slipping down his nose, pages just flying left and right from the wind, bored out of his mind like fUCking hyuck i hate u i hate waiting two hours for practice to end just so you can show me your new pokemon cards at home ffs

everytime there’s practice before school, he’s always the last one to stay on the field, promising coach he just wants to try another long catch

SO because he’s always late this BITch just runs straight to first period with sweaty hair and practice clothes and athletic tape still on his fingers 

renjun: you disgust me.

jaemin: here’s my deodorant. and jeno’s. and jisung’s. here take all of ours take it please just take it oh my gO d

loves this sport more than absolutely anything honestly 

his entire bedroom is just full of patriots posters and banners 

his mom pranked him on his birthday telling him to open the box on his bed with pats tickets inside 

ran upstairs crying hysterically and fucking opened it to find a picture of his siblings going HA YOU THOUGHT 

resented them for the rest of his life 

but this boy also really loves music!!

always performs a ballad every year at the school talent show with jisung doing some sort of contemporary performance

his parents are both fans of old schoolers, like abba & elvis & beatles such, so he grew up with the beautiful combination of football on the tv and ‘mamma mia’ spinning on the record player in the kitchen 

during his final middle school year, he performed a version of his favourite park hyoshin song, and finished with the entire school in uproar, cheering and screaming HYUCK HYUCK HYUCK!!! YES!!!

and so he puts the mic back on the stand and runs down the stage to his teammates waiting in the crowd

so excited and and ready to jump into their arms

only to witness a couple of them standing there motionless and checking their wrists, as if waiting from the start for his performance to be over 

he sees the defensive tackle of his team, some dude that probably shaves twice a day and is beefed BEYOND belief 

“hey man, abt time you’re done, coach wants to run over some plays for next week’s game against yg tech, let’s go”

and that was it

the hoard of guys in letterman jackets pull him into their midst and before he could even complain, they mercilessly make their way to the gym as a group

with renjun, chenle, jaemin, jeno, mark and yukhei all just standing there like ... o ... ok ... we just wanted to congratulate u, hyuck...

donghyuck never brings that moment up ever and the dreamies don’t question (yes lucas is a dreamie square up)

from then on, they notice hyuck’s been humming less and isn’t even commenting about day6′s new releases or how renjun’s grandfather bought a brand new record player from the most expensive record store in their town 

donghyuck continues being the school’s star quarterback and having meetings with minor league scouts every week 

they know it’s a touchy topic and being as close as they are with each other, they don’t pry hyuck about it and knows he’s the type to hold it in but will bring it up when he has to 

but unlike what they all think, hyuck doesn’t explode in anger or spite 

he finally opens up on a regular friday night when mark’s sleeping over after finishing a hefty assignment 

and mark is surprised that he prods on this topic with, not anger or spite, but ,,,,, fear? 

“hey mark.......what if this is the only thing i can do?"

“what do you mean?”

“i don’t want to just be some brainless jock” 

mark is a little... stunned... he’s known him all his life and this is the first time hyuck has shown any sign of fear?? of anything???

mark just scootches in a little closer....”you’re not brainless, and this won’t be the only thing you’ll be good at, i promise”

BUT OF COURSE they never speak of it again hyuck’s just kinda like hahahahahha emotions what ahahahah sadness what ahahhahah

but graduation hits and before the dreamies (and yukhei hehe) know it, it’s time for high school

all the upperclassmen know him and think he’s a little shit but love him anyway, so embraced him and all his friends when they entered 

fascinated by how much wider the hallways are and how BIG  the school actually is 

gets lost MORE FREQUENTLY THAN HE’D LIKE TO EVER ADMIT OUT LOUD .

tryouts for the football team are on like the second day 

was so excited!!!! to play with his close hyungs and co-captains jaehyun and youngho 

coach personally came up to him and was like .... boi it’s so rare for a freshman to be on the varsity team, hERE’S YOUR JERSEY NUMBER AND YOUR LOCKER AND YOUR EQUIPMENT AND YOUR OWN PERSONAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE I’LL WORK AROUND U IT’S OKAY 

is treated automatically like the superstar at the first official practice and honestly doesn’t ..,,know how to handle 

he’s only always been around his middle school friends, aka people he’s known all his life and who know he doesn’t like being smothered 

donghyuck knows he’s good but again, will anyone ever look him past the football?

mark sees all this new attention he’s getting and his heart silently breaks a bit knowing hyuck doesn’t truly want all of this

the football, yes !!! the clout, not really 

but hyuck is a freshman!! and knows he can’t speak up quite yet so he endures this superstar status already bestowed on him and forces his uncomfortable smile away 

it’s ok !! he tells himself

it’s good to be recognized for something you’re good at ..,, right ?

but as years pass and seniors graduate and championships continue to be won, hyuck slowly climbs up the popularity pyramid with it too

so by the first day of senior year, having just recently started getting close with the captain of the cheerleading squad and throwing the biggest party of the summer break as a last hurrah a few days prior, hyuck walks into the high school doors as the talk of the TOWN

all those stereotypical popular pretty boys you see on tv namely um troy bolton um austin ames um finn hudson um scott mccall um YES 

that’s literally him at this point 

loved by all students for being a social butterfly and not ??? an asshole ??? to those that aren’t as popular

teachers adore him cause he participates in class and always hands assignments in on time despite his student schedule and always gifts them little holiday baskets at the end of every semester

renjun had junior year chem with him and almost threw his paper out the window when he saw hyuck’s mark

“how are you this good ,,,,,,,, when you don’t even DO anything?!” 

point is, he’s at the top of his game

and this year, senior year, the stakes for the championship are higher than ever; with hyuck’s school topping the rankings for the east, they’ll likely be meeting with the champion team in the west for the finals, and coach claims he hasn’t seen a matchup this neck-and-neck in terms of stats, style of play, and pairing matchups in .,,,, years

so there’s absolutely no screwing around this year - losing is not an option

but overall, haechan believes he has his shit planned out: there were assignments, then exams, then playoffs, then the championships, followed by celebrations here and there, and then hopefully a scholarship, followed by graduation and then college, and then it’ll just be the flower road from there

what he really doesn’t factor in, though, is a certain captain of a certain school marching band, swooping in to save his ass for the first time of many,,,,many more to come 

it happens on a regular tuesday afternoon 

you two shared the same stupid humanities elective class during last period, and it didn’t dawn upon him that a rough copy of this useless visual presentation was due today that he did nOT even know was even assigned 

the teacher comes around with her pointy ass glasses and a clipboard decorated in purple flower stickers, visibly softening at an obviously panicked hyuck 

“hello, donghyuck, ready to show me the rough copy?” 

“well,,,,see i-i um ,,, i”

THE ENTIRE CLASS IS SILENT AT THIS POINT BC

????? LEE DONGHYUCK FORGOT AN ASSIGNMENT? 

the teacher kind of urges him on, half in disbelief and half in pity at how scared he looks for the first time ever

he’s still trying to conjure up a plausible excuse, all the while LITERALLY WANTING TO HIT HIMSELF IN THE HEAD

ugh ur so stUPID, hyuck, he thinks, coach even ended practice early last night too and all u did was binge the last airbender for the 80th time AGAIn like a DUMBASS ugh 

so there’s a couple more awkward moments of silence 

until

“oh, ms kwon! i should have said something, haha we partnered up for this one! i have it on my laptop here!!”

his flushed face whips around and lands on you 

in your oversized knit sweater and cute skinny blue jeans ripped at the knee, round glasses threatening to fall from your nose 

and a surge washes over him he’s neve r ev  er felt before 

relief ?? ya, sure. we’ll call it that for now 

the teacher looks at you, then back at hyuck with an eyebrow cocked and you steal that moment to send him a nod and stern look in your eyes

he’s spluttering at this point 

“ye-yeah, sorry miss, just a little tired and f-frazzled i guess...”

the teacher kind of just gives herself a knowing smile, as sort of a “heh....alrighty then” but walks over to your desk nonetheless 

the entire class seems to buy it too, and go back to their white noise chatter 

hyuck lets out the loudest exhale before scrambling to his feet over to you just glaring at him with a knowing smile and your arms crossed across your chest

“i’m so soRRY I DON’T EVEN KNOW YOUR NAME WHY DID YOU JUST DO THAT FOR ME YOU REALLY DIDN’T HAVE TO i’m s o sorry i had practice late last night and holy crap it just totally slipped by me and-”

he stops at the sight of you bursting into a fit of giggles and is even more ??? confused ?? hes so frazzled

you: “it’s ok, you idiot, i know you always get stuff in on time anyway” 

and he shuts right back up and turns BRIGHT RED bc who even is this person? who’s so cute n helpful 

you: “i’m y/n btw!! i’m captain of the marching band for ur team” 

and the lightbulb visibly clicks for hyuck 

“OOOOH so that’s why you look so familiar!!” 

so the two of you chat away about playoffs coming up and the championships the last few years and how it’s so strange neither of you have crossed paths in the pass when you’ve had so many connections

and you kind of just smile and nod at that 

because you fully know why 

lee donghyuck, captain and quarterback of the football team

lee donghyuck, school heartthrob and teachers’ favourite

lee donghyuck, the social butterfly and the amicable figure in every situation 

he had always been there, practicing on the field in front of you as you tried to pry your eyes off of him and run the trumpet section one more time,,.,,,,he was always there, but always so??? unreachable???

you couldn’t pretend you never laid eyes on him on freshman orientation day when he was being stopped by every person he walked by to be high fived and welcomed to the team

and thought wow . his skin? his aura? the way his smile lights up the whole goddamn room? 

and you’re in a lot of classes with jaemin and always see hyuck drop by a few minutes before class to sit and goof around before getting lovingly chastised by the teacher 

but never reached out to say hi or anything 

he was always too unreachable 

BUT OF COURSE you don’t say anything and instead just smile at the ground and shrug 

“guess that’s just the way we’re supposed to be, you know?” 

and just as he was about to ask what you meant by that, the bell rings and you let out a breath you didn’t even realize you were holding 

like w Ow a whole 1 hour class w ur crush and he’s finally talking to you ???? TOO MUCH FOR ONE DAY 

you don’t even utter a goodbye  but just give him a bright, knowing smile, stuff your papers into your bag and leave for the day 

and even as the classmates pack up and the teacher is gone and hyuck knows he doesn’t have practice today but needs to get home bc he promised his mom he would help with her flat tire, he can’t find it in himself to stand up and leave 

he’s sitting there processing your words, and just,,,,you

“i’ve really been around y/n this whole time and didn’t even know it?” 

suddenly he just feels stricken with guilt and shame and remembers all the time the ball landed by the bleachers and you exCitedly running down the steps to toss it back clumsily 

he remembers always smiling back and saying “thanks”, but never quite meeting the eyes of the person 

he lets out a grumble and just plunks his head onto the wooden desk loudly 

chenle and jisung come bc they were all supposed to walk home together 

and just see a slumped hyuck bumping his head up and down on the table whispering “stupid, ,,,,, so stupid” over and over again

jisung: he did it oh my god it’s done it broke him football finally broke him HIGH SCHOOL FUCKING BROKE HIM 

so after fixing the tire and helping clean after dinner and finally lying in bed that night

he makes this silent promis e ??? to make it up to u somehow ?? 

you both wake up the next day, both w each other lingering in your minds, and both unsure of what to do to get rid of it 

though hyuck isn’t sure he wants to 

you both daze off during classes and stare at the back of the head of the person in front of you,,,,just,,, thinking 

and then it’s time for fifth period 

and you don’t think you’ve ever speedwalked so fast to a class before 

people start pouring in and as the second bells starts to ring you still don’t see his face and you decide getting your hopes up all day for no reason was just stupid 

the teacher is about to start the class before the door opens one last time and you see a visibly flustered hyuck shuffle in 

right into the seat next to you 

what you don’t know is two minutes prior to this, poor dude was in the bathroom rinsing his face and trying to do something, anytHING to get the blush off his cheeks but to no avail 

so the lesson today was about families and societies and you swear the next ten minutes felt like forty 

your eyelids start getting a little heavier before you hear the scratching of a pencil on paper 

he’s marked the side of your notebook with a little “hello ^-^” 

you try to conceal the beaming smile threatening to creep on ur face but you really can’t

you’re just a little whipped aren’t u

that entire class is then just spent doodling stupid things on each other’s notebooks and giggling and even had to have the teacher turn to you guys and give a stern look before realizing it was hyuck and just BEAMED 

by the time the class ended you were packing your stuff up to leave before he gRabs your hand 

“what the--?” 

he takes your thumb and places it on the fingerprint scanner before fiddling with something on it 

your mind immediately sprinted to the WORST IDEAS

“he’s hacking my instagram right now isn’t he he’s telling my family on facebook that i do drugs, isn’t he LEE DONGHYUCK GIVE ME MY PHONE”

so you start to fumble for it before he hands it back to you calmly,

“i’ll be expecting a text tonight”

and then he’s gone 

SMOOTH ISN’T HE 

and that was the start of the cutest friendship ever ???? 

you guys talk about anything and everything, from the colour of your room to his sister’s favourite food to the one time you fell from your treehouse and had to get stitches to the time lucas got stuck in a slide on a children’s playground when they all decided to sneak out at like 11pm at night and had to call the fire department to come get him out 

and texts eventually turn into calls and calls eventually turn into being inseparable at school

the boys LOVE YOU and immediately pinned you on their side to torture hyuck together

and as time goes by, all the boys start noticing changes in hyuck and how he would never do anything with them without mentioning your name

like they’d be out having ice cream after studying at jisung’s and he’d absentmindedly mention that this lemon ice cream is the perfect colour of your room and that yellow is your favourite colour 

or that the disco ball in jaemin’s basement is exactly the one you have dangling on the rearview mirror in your car 

so WINK WINK NUDGE NUDGE but the boys respect you enough to not tell you yet bc you deserve to have hyuck confess on his own

you guys hang out any chance you get and it isn’t till near spring formal that he comes over with some mcdonalds that you realize you’ve gotten so comfortable so fast 

so you both settle into the kitchen before he opens up the big mac, takes off one of the buns of the burger, to reveal ketchup dotted across the patty spelling “SF? :D” bc the patty was too small to spell the full words, “spring formal?” lol 

and you scoff and throw a fry at him bc of course you’d go with him 

and your heart’s just racing for the rest of the night

after dinner you head out to your backyard and lay a blanket on the grass to stare up at the stars 

hyuck knows a lot about astrology so you love just lying there and hearing him tell you about the lyra constellation and its myths 

you spend the night just giggling and laughing and shoving each other around before it starts to get really late and he knows he should be going 

but he can’t seem to move

and so he asks,

“hey, are you mad at me?”

and you’re a little,,,confused before you reply, “for spilling jisung’s apple juice on my laptop the other day? just a little, but i’ll forgive you if you pay for my spring formal ticket for me hehe”

he rolls his eyes and scoffs and says, “no you idiot”

you can’t think of why you’d be upset with him, considering it was just a regular night for you two

he explains, “you know.....for not really knowing you before this year”

your heart kind of sank bc you weren’t really expecting it but you also deep deep deep down seriously wished he would never bring this up 

it’s silence until you answer

“no, because i don’t blame you for it” 

“what do you mean”

“well...” you know it’s a tough thing to tell him but you know he’ll listen to your words

“you’ve just always been unreachable, you know? like i remember seeing you on freshmen orientation day and just thinking, you know, this guy is just something else,,,something i’ll never be. and over the years, i made my peace with that, bc that’s just the situation you were thrust in,,, you know, football and parties and stuff”

and hyuck’s heart sinks with each word because you really mentioned everything he was afraid of,,,,that he was only ever gonna be popular because of football,,,,and that he never really had a say before he was thrust into the social status he’s in now 

just as he’s about to clear his throat from emotions and get up to spout some stupid excuse on why his mom wants him home now even though she was probably already in bed, you continue

“but....now i know that’s not all that you are...you’re kind and smart and sweet and funny, and yeah you’re crazy good at football but you’re also crazy good at singing and science and fixing tires and vacuuming and playing with your little sister and making people laugh,,,that’s why you’re my friend now”

hyuck doesn’t realize how long he stares at you after you said that before you wave your hand in front of his face ((”uh dude.....”))

he feels tears welling up in his throat so he just lies back down and makes some nonchalant comment again, playing it all off like he usually does

“mhm okay yea enough with the sappiness i just wanted to know if the geeky band girl hates the quarterback captain like they typically do okay blah blah”

but you and him both know

you’re both concealing smiles as you lay there, staring at the stars 

he’s never heard anyone talk about him like that before 

and you’ve always known that he was still a little unsure of himself 

and maybe this just put this all to rest 

and as you both lay there with the sound of your own frantic heartbeats in your ears, you dwell on the fact that maybe it shouldn’t be beating that hard,,,,that fast,,,,

ANYWAY

senior year is going by, and before you guys know it, championships are in three days  

your school wins the semi-finals in dramatic fashion, with the winning touchdown seconds before the final whistle 

and you couldn’t make it to that game bc of a huge assignment due the next day but hyuck makes sure to call you as soon as he grabbed his stuff from the locker room 

“hEY WHERE ARE YOU GOING WE’RE GOING TO MINGYU’S HOUSE FOR DRINKS TO CELEBRATE”

“SORRY DUDES SOMETHING IMPORTANT CAME UP!!! HAVE FUN WITHOUT ME!!”

it was only a beat of silence before jungwoo just scoffed and shrugged, “someone’s WHIPPPEEEDDD” 

hyuck just blushes red and runs out in the midst of the entire locker room hollering and throwing sweaty towels at him 

bc he knows he doesn’t really have feelings for you, does he? 

these past few months have been amazing but it can’t be 

all he does know is 

how your hair smells like vanilla when you whip your head around to scold him for pinching your sides 

how your eyes crinkle when you laugh at some pun you read on reddit 

how your fingers get really bad circulation so they’re always cold and red and you have to make sure to wear sweaters during the winter to keep them warm

how you hate helping out the flutes cause they’re always screechy 

how you started playing the saxophone because your grandma did when she was in college 

how your eyes light up when someone mentions your favourite tv show character 

how you hate carrots but he always makes you eat them cause they’re good for you and you just sit there all pouty

how much he loves loves LOVES when you come over to just do nothing like sit on his windowsill and read or go through his old childhood pictures for the millionth time and giggle at every cute smiley one for the millionth time

he’s standing there in the middle of the field with his phone in his hand, dangling by his side, with you hollering through the receiver like “,,,,hello? bitch u called ME, HELLO?!!” 

and he just mumbles a “uh i gotta go sorry i’ll tell you about it tomorrow” 

and hangs up

cause fuck 

he’s in love isn’t he 

and he’s lying in bed again that night, knowing that he wants to tell you but he’s also so afraid, cause you’re his best best best (sorry mark) friend

and he’s never gotten so close to anyone so fast 

and he loves going to practice early with you so you guys can grab breakfast before 

and how he always makes sure to “accidentally” miss a toss and have it land on your head while you’re running a piece

so he tosses and turns all night 

before he comes to a decision

he knows the marching band always has practice on the bleachers every wednesday morning, coinciding with the team’s morning practice as well  

he rips his sheets off his tired body but surges up and runs to his computer, types in a few things onto the search engine and presses “print” 

it’s the next morning, and as you groggily heave yourself up from your bed, dreading having to deal with the flutes and their screeching sharps today, you also think abt hyuck and you wonder why he was acting so weird last night

but you brush it off as fatigue from a long and gruelling game 

it’s a beautiful day outside already at 7:00 in the morning, with just the slightest bit of chilliness and dew on the morning grass, and hyuck thinks it’s no accident that the sun decided to come out today too 

he holds the crinkly sheets of music in his hands, slightly shaking and profusely sweating, somehow nervous bc of someone he admires for the first time ??? in his life ???? 

he practically sprints to school, wanting to be there before you do

he spots the majority of the marching band already there and he sighs in relief when he doesn’t spot you

“hEy guys!” he runs up to the bleachers 

and he stops for a second before he realizes like ..... all these people look like deers in headlights bc ,, ,,,,,, the quarterback,,,,isn’t here with you?? aren’t you guys always stuck beside each other ????

“i’m s o sorry i don’t have a lot of time to explain and i know its confusing and this is gonna be such a rush but here !!!!” 

he hands out the sheet music to everyone there and makes them promise to not let you know about it 

everyone exchanges confusing looks ((one dude’s just like ‘fuck man it’s too early in the morning for secrets’)) but end up agreeing anyway and haechan doesn’t even have time to celebrate before he hears his teammates starting to make their way out of the practice room

he runs over to seungkwan, your best friend in band and someone who haechan knows won’t hold his word unless a bribe is involved

“okay look i know you’re y/n’s best friend but you have to promise me you won’t let her know about this okay?”

seungkwan props his clarinet on his shoulders, almost as if he was holding a baseball bat instead and does his best to puff his shoulders like “HMPH well what do i get out of this??”

“if you can establish a secret rehearsal time for tomorrow with the rest of the band where i can come and rehearse with you, i’ll set you up with our running back” bc god fucking knows vernon and seungkwan have been crushing on each other for years but have never had the guts to go NEAR each other and haechan is just sick of vernon’s endless daydreaming in the locker room 

seungkwan goes BRIGHT RED before clearing his throat and muttering “ugh fiNe” under his breath even tho he’s finally !!!!!! gonna talk to hansol !! agghhhhh!!!! 

haechan practically blows him a million kisses and runs off to the locker room before seungkwan asks

“HEY ummmm but uh why are you doing this?”

haechan sighs and feels he can’t even begin to explain himself without becoming a blubbering mess

so he just reassures him with a, “you’ll see”

hyuck doesn’t come to class that day even though you swore you saw him at practice 

he had cancelled breakfast w you earlier that morning and only waved to you once during practice, but again, you credit that to the finals being in 48 hours 

you shoot him a “cute bum where u from” text in hopes of getting his attention

“okay but no seriously WHERE ARE U I HATE MS KWON SO MUCH”

and no answer again 

you huff and give up and know he’ll message when he has to 

what you don’t know is he made sure to steer clear of you from now until the championships bc 1. he’s still not sure what he can do around you anymore now that he Knows how he Feels 

and 2. bc his hands are just glued to the sheet music, trying to rehearse as much as he can for this little surprise he has planned for you 

so all he does is just send you back a simple “not feeling well, just gonna rest up until the game” 

and your heart sinks bc you guys haven’t gone 48 hours without talking since like 8 months ago 

regardless, with championships coming up and endless school assignments piling up, you’re pretty well distracted 

but you do also silently curse yourself for imagining every quote in romeo and juliet to be hyuck and you 

and how every hour of those 48 hours seemed so excruciating and long and empty bc both of you were so busy 

so by the time it’s game day, you are restless and in so much yearning for a presence you never knew you needed this bad 

but you know, as soon as the game’s over, you can hopefully run into his arms and congratulate him 

ahem platonically ofc ahem, you try to convince yourself 

you get to the field and it’s already bustling with mascots and spectators and streamers and you can barely hear the sound of the band warming up above all the noise 

intros begin and you guys start playing the opening pieces as the banner rips and out runs 

hyuck

and it’s like suddenly the earth just . stops 

looking at him running out, eyes blazed and all determined and strong made you feel so much all at once, you could feel your knees starting to buckle

and it didn’t really help when, mid run, he turns his head to you and gives a subtle smile and wink before heading to the center of the field 

you bite back a beaming smile of your own

for the next two hours, that’ll have to be enough 

and there wasn’t a single doubt in your body that they were gonna lose 

the game starts and the volume doesn’t dim for even a second 

you feel yourself sweating profusely through your blue and white uniform with each toss and whistle and tackle and you swear you’ve never been so nervous in your life 

it’s the final quarter and your school is down by just a touchdown and you swear you won’t be able to handle this anymore it’s toO MUCH

you glance up at the stands to see yukhei holding chenle’s head and screaming and jaemin with his head in his hands and jeno just closing his eyes ((”i can’t watch i can’t watch i can’t watch”)) and mark and jisung grabbing onto each other muttering things that look like praying ??? 

you even spot former alumni, youngho, taeyong and jaehyun, biting their nails and clasping their hands 

there’s barely a minute left and the ball is in our possession 

you hear hyuck echo a “HUT!! HUT HUT” before he tosses the ball in the air

it’s like time slows down as you see the running back catch it and dash for the end 

THE ENTIRE FIELD IS ON THEIR TOES as you watch your team’s defence tackle and hammer people out of vernon’s way 

he’s going and going and just before the horn blows for the end of the game, he crosses the line and 

EVERYONE GOES INSANE

the horn blows for the final second and once again, you guys have done it 

everyone from the stands pours down onto the field and before you can process it, mark and the boys are running up to you and dog-piling you, dragging you into the crowd with them

they did it!!! hyuck did it!!!! 

there are streamers and confetti everywhere but your eyes are just straining and stretching, looking for him 

it’s just loud, white noise for a second before you hear something behind you 

your band is in position and you see seungkwan counting them in for the opening beats

your heart starts to panic to remember if you forgot you had another piece to perform?????

the opening chords to a familiar classic starts playing and before you can even react 

there’s a voice in a mic 

and the sound of someone singing 

and it’s hyuck 

the band plays along with him and you’re just,,,,,perplexed and confused as to what he’s doing 

until you realize he’s looking straight at you

the swing beat starts to get everyone in the crowd singing and dancing 

but you’re frozen in your spot 

did he plan this?? what is he doing and how did you not know about it???? you feel hands behind you and eyes start to land on you as the boys push you forward and hyuck starts making his way onto the field to where you’re standing 

the crowd gets even louder and the music gets even happier as he’s dancing and grooving his way to you 

and then there he is, right in front of you 

his voice has you hypnotized and you’re absolutely sure this is a dream 

you guys move together to the beat, never taking eyes off one another and you just have an amazed expression on your face the entire time 

the songs comes to a beautiful climactic end and you still have no idea what’s going on

the lyrics still echo in your head

“hey, hey, baby....i want to know if you'll be mine...when i saw you walking down the street, i said that’s someone i’d like to meet,,,”

and the entire school is watching ((INCLUDING HYUCK’S PARENTS AND YOUR TEACHERS))) and your head is just spinning, spinning, spinning

he lowers the mic and just leans close and rests his forehead on yours and whispers his words to you

“i love you, and i’m so sorry it took so long but i really really do, i just hope i can make up for all the time lost,” 

his eyes are pouring emotions into yours and for some reason you want to cry 

his team just won a championship!!!! scouts are probably here, scribbling his name down for a scholarship right now!! and everyone on this field was just yelling and whooping his name a second ago!!! 

yet he’s standing here, so vulnerable and nervous in front of you 

so you grab his face and swallow your nerves

and tell him you love him, you’ve loved him for so long 

all you hear is just muted yelling and cheering and whooping around you before you swear you see a glisten in his eyes as he leans and swoops you in for a kiss 

the band is going off and playing some other 80s love tune and there is still confetti just flying all over the place and people running up to you and hugging you guys 

but his hand is still entangled in yours and he just winks 

bc in the midst of all the chaos and all the noise of being such a superstar, there you are 

and he’s sure that’s all he’ll need 

[thelowlysatsuma]

Ramble in whatever form you choose. I won’t be able to be active all the time so if you want to be able to do it whenever you want I’d say text posts but I’ll also try to occasionally ask you about them so there’s some variety

!!! okay! well i think i’ll choose a couple from the list that i haven’t made many posts about before (aka no ts or go) and ramble on here!

oof under the cut bc idk how long this will get

steven universe

oh hon don’t even get me STARTED on su like that shit? that shit is so good? okay first of all i love the cast so much? gosh they’re just all so sweet and cool and sometimes they collab w/ thomas sanders and i love rebecca sugar and im gonna cry they’re so sweet im so soft

okay SECONDLY the show itself oof

okay okay im just? god im so soft?? like the music is so good, i can (and do) watch it w/ my parents, GOD do i wanna cosplay pearl’s new outfit (and rainbow 2.0, if i can pull it off), im in love with the concept and all the fusions and the story and the worldbuilding and god, this made me realize my utter love and adoration of COLOURS like they’re so PRETTY im in LOVE oh my gOD and just

god it has such a good message and such a good plot and such good characters i wanna be steven’s friend i wanna be all of their friends oh man i just can’t wait until my baby cousins are old enough for me to show this to them because i’m going to enjoy that experience so much

ducktales

oh jfc where the fuck do i even start with ducktales okay david tennant as scrooge mcduck makes my fucking life literally he’sthe best goddamn charaacter in the show – well, best besides the triplets (my BOYS), webby (!!! my KID), f e n t o n (god i love that nerd), mark beaks (what an asshole), mrs beakley (i wanna be her when i grow up), launchpad (!!! he!!), and so many others??? this is like serious every character in the show erasure but hot damn duck tales says gay rights and it does so in style (oh yeah also i love lena della donald oh webby’s new friend whose name i forget uhhh herules oh the inventor guy fenton’s boss that dipshit love him uhhh gandra dee who’s voiced by jameela jamil if im not mistaken??????) and yeah it’s a hilarious show but it’s also just a really good one for me to watch whenever i start to like. feel empty inside?? but then like i’ll put on ducktales and i’ll feel better

gravity falls

this show. this show RUINED ME. i started watching it like four years late (aka last year lmao) but GOD, im so in love with it. def another one i wanna show my cousins.

like?? just??? the ciphers and mysteries appeal so much to me and my love of mystery and crime novels, the characters are all amazing, alex hirsch himself is just such a g?? and like. it’s so good. it hurts me so much but then it’s all okay in the end and it’s just. it’s so good.

yeah i sobbed my eyes out when i watched that series finale.

camp camp, which somehow i forgot on my other list

god, is this show hilarious. like, fuck is it funny. it’s so good. it’s so fucking good. i was a little shocked when i saw the first episode but i’m so into it now, and i’m so attatched to all the characters bc they’re just dumbasses trying their best (or worst, in a few cases) and i love them for it. that’s peak fool energy right there and it speaks to me

orphan black

okay okay okay veering now into a much darker type of television, orphan black is??? phenominal???

okay so my best friend @fuck-me-gently-with-a-slurpee got me into it when i was like 14 or 15 i think and i honestly cannot thank her enough because this show is incredible. the plot’s super engaging, i literally cannot say anything about it without giving away spoilers, and the main character has quite possibly the best actor i’ve ever seen playing her

like. you think thomas sanders is good? he ain’t got SHIT on tatianna maslany

mythbusters

you guys. you guys. mythbusters was my childhood. like seriously, i watched that show religiously.

it’s what first got me into science, and it’s what kept me interested in explosions. it’s light and funny and ridiculous and scientifically accurate in the dumbest ways possible. i swear to god the main cast nearly dies once an episode

these guys are my idols. like, i seriously cannot overstate how much i love the mythbusters. adam and jamie, tori, kari, and grant.

when i was a kid, i wanted to be a mythbuster when i grew up, and god damnit, i still do. they mean that much to me

bill nye

fun fact! i actually had no fuckin clue who bill nye was until seventh grade, when i had to watch an episode of his show for homework because i missed a day of class. it was the episode on static electricity, and i remember sitting at my dining room table in the dim winter afternoon light, squinting at my computer, and thinking “what the FUCK am i WATCHING?”

needless to say, i’ve seen more since then, but that initial what the fuckery is still present and i love it.

not only is bill nye the science guy a flippin fantstic show, but bill nye himself? the coolest guy alive. god, i love him. what a g.

various comedians including but not limited to john mulaney,john oliver, and hasan minhaj

okay, as a gay, i am legally required to love john mulaney, but seriously that guy is so. fuckin. funny that i can’t help myself. his timing is priceless, the way he moves onstage is hysterical, just. god i love his stuff.

literally his comedic timing and style is half the reason people find me funny. i just phrase my sentences the way he would because, you know, i’m good at stealing things, and people laugh, and i go “hey. that actually worked”. and then i keep doing it

next, john oliver. okay, so while i don’t watch his show religiously, i do watch it when my parents do every now and again, and fuck is his stuff funny. like. just. shit.

finally, hasan minhaj’s patriot act is just. one of my favourite current events comedy shows out there. it’s in a similar vein to john oliver’s stuff, just more international, and shit, is he good at what he does. i lvoe it.

hoodwinked the movie (i am dead serious)

okay, while i haven’t seen it in over four years, this is still my favourite movie of all time. it also has one of my favourite villain songs of all times, and some of the best character exchanges just. ever. especially with wolf and twitchy

...god, i love twitchy. also the goat. i’m probably gonna be the goat when i grow up, let’s be honest

one day at a time

i just.

there’s so much to say about odaat. like. it’s so funny. it makes me nearly cry every episode (and makes my mother actually cry every episode). the characters, god, the characters

like. alex is such a cute dumb kid (who’s smarter than he looks), penelope is so salty constantly and i love her but she’s genuinely so cool and such a good mom and i cry??? elena is so amazing like god she’s such a fuckin nerd but she’s also so salty (takes after her mom) and is literally the best????

and then there’s abuelita, whom i adore. like, god, rita moreno is SO cool and SUCH a great actress and has SUCH an amazing sense of comedic timing and GOD, i LOVE HER

can’t forget about syd and doc berkowitz, which like. okay first off the good doc. just. god i love the doc. he’s so sweet and such a genuinely good dude and he’s a bit of a coward at heart but that’s okay because he genuinely cares and does his best and god he’s just such an amazing character im !!!!! and then syd is such a dork and i love them and elena and god, it made me so happy to see not only an actual enby character on a big sitcom, but also just?? like??? it’s not forced but it’s still there??? like there’s one episode where one of the plots is just syd and elena trying to figure out what elena should call them, since neither of them are comfy using “girlfriend” for syd since they’re not a girl, and they finally agree on “significant other” and schneider imMEDIATELY says “dont you mean, SYDnificant other?” and then they use that for the REST OF THE SHOW IT”S SO CUTE OKAY

and finally, schneider. he might be my favourite character in the entire show (which is a damn hard list to pick from!!!), but he’s just. he’s so sweet, he and penelope have one of the absolute best male/female friendships i’ve ever seen (which! never! turns! romantic! ever!!!), he’s actually got surprising depths but he’s also like such a nice goofball that when they get revealed, it hurts, and he’s just this canadian dumbass (heyyyyy repreSENT) with the worst goddamn canadian accent sometimes and he’s a hipster and The Dumb Friend and the weird uncle all rolled into one and GOD, i love him so much

the good place and brooklyn 99

okay, i love these two both so, so much, but i’m lumping them together because a) they’re both mike schur shows with a similar sense of humour, that say gay rights, and with characters who’d definitely love each other if they met and b) my hand is getting tired from all this typing but i still have so much  love to go around!!!!

okay so so SO! they’re both so good. they’re so fucking funny and amazing and i was immediately hooked on both of their pilots. their characters are all so genuine and flawed and fucking hysterical to watch, and the ships and friendships are all so amazing and pure and good and soft and they have their problems and they WORK THEM OUT HEALTHILY AND IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY OKAY!!!

god, i literally cannot overstate how much i adore these two shows. mike schur, you’re a wonderful, wonderful dude. thank you so much

many musicals (top faves include BOM, hamilton, legally blonde, chicago, matilda, and more!)

i’m putting the musicals together because while i do adore each and every one of them individually, i also just have great big deep-seated love of the art of musical theatre itself in general, ya feel?

like, as someone who’s been both performing and viewing them from a very young age, the sheer sense of utter joy they bring is almost unparalleled

not to be That Bitch who quotes musicals, but “and that hop in our hearts as the overture starts lets us know how lucky we are” might be the closest i’ve ever gotten to finding words to fit the feeling when the lights go down and the show begins. it’s simply phenomenal

the others series by anne bishop

okay, OKAY, if you haven’t read this series (first book called written in red – they have terrible titles but god, they’re worth it), then what are you doing with your life? like, not only is there the perfect logicality au to them (just sayin’), but god, it’s such an incredible series

the worldbbuilding is so cool and the characters are all great and god the ships are the damn hill i die on it’s got literally such a good “sort of enemies mostly just dislike each other to reluctant acquaintances to friends to lovers” ship and it deals with some serious issues rlly well and it’s got baby puppies!!!

like, they’re wolf puppies, but still, they are b a b e y

and finally (for now, at least), the mysterious benedict society, by trenton lee stewart

this book series was my childhood. i mean, there are so many other books i could be talking about right now that i utterly adore (the artemis fowl series springs to mind), but gosh, MBS just brings me such absolute joy to read that i just had to have it on here.

i’m not thinking straight at this point in the evening, but i just wanna say that i will never, not ever forget about reynie. about kate. about sticky. about constance. about rhonda and number two and milligan and miss perumal and my absolute son sq pedalian and, of course, i will never, never forget about mr benedict

it’s bright, and it’s bittersweet, and it’s beautiful.

and it’s good. simply, utterly, wonderfully good.

thank you for the ask, anon.

thank you.

[johnny-boy-17]

STAR VS THE FORCES OF EVIL or The Art Student’s Awakening (A Review)

Oh hey, it’s another review by me that nobody asked for! Ok, this one is actually gonna mean a lot to me since this show is pretty much the reason I even started posting things on this site to begin with (thank you and curse you Tumblr), so I need to get it all off my chest. 

Short version: It’s really fuckin’ good, and y’all should check it out. The ending could have used a little more finesse, but it’s still pretty damn good.

Long version: *gasps for air*

Ok let’s start with the story. Yeah, it’s certainly a rollar-coaster. What starts out as a fun little-romp-of-the-week type of story...

...becomes this tale of power corruption, racism battle, and a tale of trust in one another and unity among the people.

Whether or not it handles that well seems to be half and half. On one hand, grace under fire this show is not. It does seem a little rushed in the last season, and you can really tell it wanted to be a bit longer, flesh out ideas, but didn’t have time for it (I blame the Mouse on that). 

I mean I dunno about you, but a show that introduces time travel right the fuck out of nowhere in a medium never seems to end well, this show is no exception.

That and they reeeeeaaaaaally try to knock you unconscious using a hammer with all the prejudice allegories.

On the other hand, good characters can make a shit story seem like high-class art. And good characters this show has in spades (no eclipsa-related pun intended).

Firstly, Star Butterfly herself. It seems stupid not to start with her. And... yeah she’s a really fun protagonist. Not only is she basically Sailor Moon hyped up on too much nose candy, but she has an incredible story of growth to go with. She starts as a fun-loving monster battler that’s too eager to run away from her problems to this teenager facing the looming shadow of adulthood head on and ready to ditch her past of monster-ism(?) for good, never to let such discrimination see the light of day again. Not to mention Eden Sher just absolutely brings this character to life, even if it’s just little things she says like “yeah totally totally totally” or “we got burger juice on the wall rug.” Something in her performance just absolutely friggin’ works wonders. I’d say she’s probably one of my favorite protagonists out there that “the big D” has come up with, but my favorte character they’ve created in a looooong time? That award... 

... goes to mother-fuckin’ Marco Ubaldo Diaz. I cannot BELIEVE how much they won me over with this guy. I think it’s because I saw so much of myself in this guy to the point where I am convinced he’s my long-lost brother. This B0I starts out as this paranoid play-it-safe ‘nother brick in the wall type who just wants to get through his teenage life without any kind of trouble, and by the end is a guy who’s ready to shrug off getting impaled by an evil unicorn being ridden by a corrupted version of Star’s half-demon ex just to get him to snap out of it (it just now dawns on me how fuckin’ batshit this show is). I just love how as he’s easing up on his paranoia, he learns to stop taking himself so seriously and let loose every now and then. Adam McAruther deserves praise for playing this guy, and I don’t know who could ever play this guy like he did. If no other takeaways for this show were to be, it’d be that Marco is in a lineup of my favorite fictional characters of all time.

Now I sense some ears (ok fine all ears) are waiting for me to talk about the two together, so I’ll touch on it once, and make an entire post on it later: It’s great. It’s pleasing to the eye, it’s wholesome for the soul, it makes them both into better beings, the opposite attracts thing is done beautifully, the chemistry could make Bill Nye proud, and I think their ending was as good as it could be for them... though I do hate how long it took to get there. 

OK LIGHTNING ROUND GO (can’t get ‘em al, so sorry):

-Tom: I like the guy, definitely a more relatable and visible character arc and his design is neat.

-Jackie: I wish my lesbian venice beach girl got more appreciation, but I luv her none the less.

-Janna: I luv my strange bisexual filipino witch-wannabee (you know what I said is true don’t deny it)

-Moon: Never really gave her full trust, but was not disappointed by her in any way, despite various actions in the end.

-River: I liked him in the beginning season, sorta trailed off by the end.

-Kelly: Not sure why she was there, but she was cool.

-Eclipsa: We stan that queen! Loved the fact that her motives were so grey, and you every could tell if she was going to turn out to be truly bad or not.

-Globgor: We stan that king! I adored how he actually was a threat back in his day, but now regrets everything he ever did then (plus him size shifting in fights is creative as hell), wish we could have had more of him, but it’s cool that we got any at all really.

-Glossaryck: I loved him, true chaotic neutral god. He was such a troll, and he has my respect (and to think all he wanted to do was die).

 -Ponyhead: I hope that sack of shit gets donated to a glue factory.

But what is a good story without good villains? Well, this show wants to have a ton of good ones, but nothing really sticks to the wall too well, though they do leave an impact.

LUDO: This is how to do  a comedic villain right. You have fun with him in the beginning, and then you make him into a legit threat the next, and by the end give him a redemption arc so as to let him go back on his old ways without soiling his actual good moments as an antagonist. He was the one who surprised me the most.

TOFFEE: Ooooohhhhhhhhh everybody loves this lawyer-lizard B0I and so do I. This guy’s plan was 1: not evil at all, 2: his methods were borderline black and grey, and 3: it was still going on in the background of the story of the entire show since his arival. His personality was cool, suave, persuasive, manipulative, downright terrifying sometimes, and he was just so good at it. While everyone certainly wishes we had more of him, what we got and how long le lasted just cements him as probably one of my all-time favorite villains ever really.

Ms. HEINOUS/METEORA: Oh shakespeare where art thou? Such a wondrous work this tragedey is. Heinous just starts out as a villain who pushes the patriarchy so you can say “fuck that shit,” tries to steal youth for herself, wants to kill Marco for ruining her perfection, y’know yahoo. But the moment you realize her name is Meteora, and what her past has been like... yeah, this is a fuckin’ shakespearian villain for certain. It gets to a point where you begin to agree with what she’s doing, and you’re glad thing turn out all right for her in the end, but god-damn she was such a captivating force to go up against. Scar can suck one compared to this.

MINA LOVEBERRY: I wanna say this was a good attempt at an Aku-type villain (humor and terror in perfect balance), but yeah she could have been handled better. For what we did get with her though, I’m content with it. It’s just funny to see hobo-usagi here just hulk out and talk with a southern accent about what is essentially senile racism n’ shit. There are hints to a tragic past that led to this, and that was nice, but overall not exactly a swan song.

In fact, that’s kinda how the whole ending was wasn’t it? It was serviceable, but nothing big to write home about. I could have definitely used a little more polish to flesh out some things, but we got left with enough to tide over I suppose, though I so wanna see more. 

I mean, look at this new world we were left with! Could you imagine a new season just exploring that? It sounds like so much fun! However, the crew have this “leave them wanting more mentality (ha! hope you were paying attention to that foreshadowing!),” not to mention I have seen the creator Madame Daron Nefcy encourage all the creative fans this show has to do all sorts of stuff (of which we seemed to have wasted no time and not even waited for the show to end to start doing *glares at the fan-made-starco kids everywhere*).

Really, at the end of it all, I’d compare this entire series to a friend doing a cannonball from a high-dive. First, you’re amazed that they decided to climb the ladder. Second, you’re in awe of the guts their showing to prepare for the jump. Third, you gawk as they actually did jump off into the water from the height. But fourth, you see them underwater and watch them un form the ball and into a weird janky zero-gravity water thing swimming up for air, not to mention you remembered they didn’t swan dive. But that doesnt mean the plunge was all that bad, you enjoyed watching all the steps to it, didn’t you?

Overall, the score I shall leave it at would be... 7.5/10, and an easy thumbs up approval. It’s ending and other aspects have a lot to be desired, but the story and characters are too good to ignore. 

Check it out if you haven’t already (probably binge it), and to Madame Nefcy (if by some stroke of a miracle you see this) thank you so much for creating this show. I am so glad I saw it despite my gripes, and I’d gladly see it again.

[blacksheep28]

IKEA Days

The group headed for the door.

She paused, heading for the living room to dig out her keys and nab her real clothes. “Hey, you boys can start the car, I need to change real quick.” The keys were pressed into the hands of whoever was closest before dashing off to get ready. Papyrus gasped, practically exploding with excitement at being entrusted with the keys. The group headed out. “we’re just starting the car, not driving it,” Papyrus reminded them.

Once she had a bra on again and she’d smoothed out her hair as much as possible, Shannon rejoined the boys outside. “So where to first?” “PAPYRUS MENTIONED A PLACE CALLED IKEA THAT SELLS FURNITURE PUZZLES!” Sans exclaimed eagerly. "Yep, it sure does." This would be fine, right? She'd put together IKEA furniture before. It couldn't be that bad. "Alright. Figure out where you're all sitting and hop in, I'll drive." The lazy Papyrus settled into the back while the other Papyrus and Sans engaged in a staring contest. Sans looked at them from the front seat. “that seems intense.” Papyrus whipped to look at him. “SANS! WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?” "Well. Shotgun it is. Hope you can navigate well, Sans," Shannon shot over at him with a smile. "Middle row or back row, you two, we have places to be." The shocked pair clambered into the back and settled down. Sans chuckled. “I’m a great guide.” "Alrighty, guide us safely to the mystical land of IKEA, my greatest guide." Shannon pulled out of the driveway and headed towards the city, flipping on the radio and offering out an AUX cord. "Any of you have musical preference?" “better than girl guides,” Sans joked. He pulled out the map. “OH! I LIKE FAST MUSIC!” Papyrus volunteered. “BATTLE MUSIC!” Sans added. “how about swing?” Papyrus asked. "I'm going to pretend you mean the Canadian version of Girl Scouts and spare you from my fist in your face," she smiled sweetly, then tossed the cord back towards the middle console. "I like it all, take turns." Shannon suddenly felt like she was thirteen again and helping take care of too many children at once. Sans blinked. “girl scouts? not girl guides?” So many jokes he’d have to redo. Papyrus took the cord first and blasted out  Everything is Awesome. "That what we call it where I'm from." Shannon raised a brow at the music, but didn't take back her cord and tapped her finger along the wheel in time when she found the beat. Sans directed Shannon along as Papyrus took over and put on Sing Sing by Benny Goodman. Her tapping switched immediately to the old fingerings she remembered on the tenor. "Whoever picked this wins definite brownie points," Shannon shouted back towards the boys. Papyrus grinned. “will hold you to that honey.” She grinned towards her rear view mirror and felt a little remorse when they pulled up to the IKEA. It was fun getting to know their music tastes, in her opinion. "Okay, so this place is easy to get lost in. Nobody wander off," Shannon stressed, pointing at Sans and Sans. "You especially. I could spot the others from a mile away, but I'd lose you two forever." “got it. no wondering.” “SANS! SHE SAID NO WANDERING!” “right. no wondering about wandering.” “SANS!” “i’ll just have to wander on wondering.” Papyrus screeched in anguish, the relaxed Papyrus chuckling while the energetic Sans looked torn. Shannon stared blankly at the exchange. "...I didn't get enough sleep for this. Sans, you stay with me." She took his hand in hers and held on tight. "Is there anyone else I need to physically hold on to?" Sans looked at her holding his right hand. “something’s right.” Papyrus looked like he was fighting the urge to kill his brother. The other Sans looked pained at that one himself. The sweatshirt Papyrus slumped over to Shannon’s other side. “i don’t want to get left behind.” At first her cheeks flushed. Then the word play hit her and she tipped her head back and groaned, slipping a hand into Papyrus' anyway. "You two are terrible. Come on, let's go get some furniture." She dragged the group inside and asked where they wanted to begin. "What do we need to get first?" “BEDS FOR EVERYONE,” Papyrus stated. "So we need two beds, I'm assuming the beds you've already got at home are still in tact," Shannon nodded. "So we are going to 'bedroom', follow me." The group traveled through, the occasional customer and employee watching them curiously. Monsters were still an oddity with how rare they were.

“HOW ABOUT THIS ONE?” Sans suggested, pointing to a bed that looked really hard to assemble. “why don’t we test it,” Sans joked. "It looks nice. Let's see." Her hand left Sans' for exactly three seconds to test the bed's sturdiness, and there he went. She grabbed for him immediately. "Whoa, hey, no wandering off. You already have a bed, mister, don't make me pull a Girlfriend Move and have you keep your hands in my pockets," she threatened with a glare. Sans chuckled. “worth a try.” Sans examined the bed. “IT LOOKS STURDY.” Papyrus hummed resting his head on Shannon. “looks good.” "Why don't you test it out, Sans?" She looked to the skeleton in her grasp and squeezed slightly. "Not you. You stay here." “gonna leave me sans bed?” Sans face palmed. “THAT IS MY NAME AS WELL,” he complained. He sat on the bed and bounced slightly. “IT’S COMFY!” Shannon smiled towards the energetic Sans in need of a bed and let go just long enough to give a light smack to the back of the other Sans' head. "That's great! How about you, Papyrus, see anything you want to try?" Sans chuckled at the smack, only half heartedly even attempting to dodge. “I DO NOT NEED A BED! MY RACECAR BED IS VERY COOL AND SUITS ALL MY NEEDS!” Papyrus answered. “think she meant me,” the other Papyrus muttered awkwardly. He slouched down. "Yeah, I did mean this one," she clarified, jiggling Papyrus' hand in hers slightly with a hum. "This... Might get confusing if you boys are all going to stay together. Maybe we should come up with a naming system." Sans unfortunately lit up. “how about comic for me?” “WHAT? WHY?” Papyrus asked. “cause i’m comical.” Shannon bit back a laugh and looked at Papyrus and Sans' strained expressions. "Not that it isn't fitting, but let's choose something that won't give half the household an aneurysm, maybe." “I COULD BE GUARD!” Sans suggested brightly. “could just call me pal,” Papyrus suggested lazily. “PAPS! THAT’S NOT A PROPER NICKNAME!” "I mean, if you'd like that, little blue dude," she agreed before turning to address possibly the worst nickname she'd heard yet. "And that is just truly awful, orange, I'd mix you up with people in a heartbeat. No way." Sans blushed blue again, before quickly forcing his magic back. Why did he like the way that sounded? Papyrus chuckled looking down at his hoodie. “huh. orange works.”

“what about bill?” Sans suggested straight faced. Shannon took a look at 'Orange' and chuckled softly. "You know what, it's unique. It works." She eyed Sans suspiciously-- After that comic suggestion, there was no way this wasn't a trap. Somehow. "Bill sounds fine. If that's what you want."

“THAT’S VERY MATURE OF YOU,” Papyrus congratulated. Sans immediately started humming the Bill Nye theme song. Papyrus twitched. “NYEH!” It took every ounce of self control to snap her mouth shut and keep from chanting along. She twitched, before completely dissolving into giggles. Sans grinned widely, looking completely pleased with her response. Orange Papyrus snickered as well, while the other two looked simply exasperated by their lack of maturity. “HARD TO BELIEVE THEY’RE OLDER,” Sans commented. “Okay, so you’re officially forgiven for wandering off earlier,” Shannon gasped through her dying laughter. “Whew.” She shot a look at the skeletons still holding her hands and raised a brow. “Really? You two are older?” “yup.” Sans grinned at her. “YOU WOULD NEVER GUESS IT FROM HIS BEHAVIOR,” Papyrus pouted. Her eyes flitted between the sets of siblings curiously. “No, no, I see it. Me and my brother are the same way,” Shannon admitted with an amused sigh. “When I was in grade school I helped him with his high school homework.” Orange and Bill looked impressed, while Sans and Papyrus gasped in awe. They looked absolutely ecstatic. “WOWIE! YOU MUST BE BRILLIANT!” Papyrus cheered. “I BET YOU’RE GREAT AT PUZZLES!” Sans exclaimed. The praise made her want to sink into the mattress in front of them and never resurface, but puzzles? Shannon lit up. “I do like puzzles! Mysteries are my favorite, but I like all kinds!” she gushed excitedly, squeezing Bill and Orange’s hands. Orange happily squeezed her hand back. “IT’LL BE GREAT PUTTING THE BEDS TOGETHER,” Papyrus said happily. He and Sans walked over and picked up the huge boxes the beds came in. “I’m sure it will be,” she smiled before her entire expression froze at the sight. They were just picking up the beds, like they were nothing. “I... Wow, monsters sure are strong, huh. Do you— Do you two wanna set those down somewhere before we continue?” “WE CAN PUT IT IN OUR PHONES,” Papyrus answered. “BUT SHOULDN’T WE PAY FIRST?”

Shannon looked around to find the direction of the checkout before she paused, whirling back around to Papyrus. “Wait, phones? Do you have a QR scanner or something?”

“A WHAT?” Papyrus asked. “a qr scanner. handheld device that scans an item to help people buy it,” Bill answered. “NO, WE DON’T HAVE THAT. WE JUST STORE ITEMS DIRECTLY,” Sans said.

“What the hell does— What do you mean, you store items directly?” she asked with a nervous laugh. “Do you have like hammerspace in your cell phones?”

“basically,” Orange admitted. “DO HUMANS NOT HAVE THAT?” Sans asked. “HUMANS LACK A LOT OF BASICS,” Papyrus explained. “WE ARE WORKING TO HELP WITH THAT BUT IT IS SLOW.” “their science has stuff we didn’t know,” Bill pointed out.

Shannon took a minute to just stare at the ground, slightly agape. Actual endless space inventory was a thing to monsters, and also basic. “I...really need to learn more about monster magic,” she sighed softly, straightening up.

“WE CAN TEACH YOU!” Papyrus immediately volunteered.

“You know? I’d like that,” Shannon smiled. “But primary mission first— Let’s take these up to checkout to put on hold.”

The group walked to the front. Every single human they walked past, employee and customer, stopped and stared at the floating boxes following the skeletons.

Shannon leaned across the service counter to scribble her name on a piece of paper. “We’re buying these, but we have some more looking around to do,” she explained with a smile. The employee took their ticket without a word and Shannon moved the group away, reclaiming Bill and Orange’s hands. “So what else, boys?”

The bed boxes were put down and they continued in. “still need mattresses and blankets,” Orange noted.

“CLOTHES TOO,” Sans added. “IT’S BEEN WAY TOO LONG SINCE YOUR HOODIE WAS WASHED.” Orange shrugged lazily.

"Okay, so back to the bedroom. And we'll stop by a clothing store on the way home, if you'd like," Shannon offered, leading the way back to the right section. "There's actually a mall in the center of town."

“sounds good to me,” Bill said lazily. The group tested a few mattresses, Orange letting go to flop face first into one while Sans yelled at him for being lazy.

She grinned at Orange's behavior and followed suit, hopping down on the bed beside him. How could she pass up the chance to test out a mattress? "Oh, this one's a good one. Gives just a little, firm support."

“SHANNON! DON’T ENCOURAGE HIM!” Sans scolded. Papyrus picked up Bill where he had somehow managed to fall asleep while standing.

"How else would you test the mattress, little blue dude?" she shot back, lifting her head just enough to grin up at him.

“THAT-IT-“ Sans spluttered a little. His cheeks tinted faintly blue. “THAT NICKNAME IS LONGER THAN MY ACTUAL NAME!” He finally got out.

Her grin turned into a softer, sweet smile upon seeing Sans' reaction. "Yes it is, but you do know I'm talking to you," Shannon hummed in amusement. "Would you prefer little blue?"

His blush increased further and Papyrus laughed softly. Orange grinned. “yeah little bro. that work?”

"Little Blue?" she sang playfully. "I'm waiting on an answer here, it's rude to make a lady wait."

“IT’S FINE!” Blue ducked down, really embarrassed now. The nickname was awfully sweet. Papyrus walked over with Bill under his arms. “SO THIS MATTRESS GOOD?” Orange lazily have a thumbs up.

Shannon laughed and let him be before the poor thing died of blue face. "Okay, then let's get it for you," she said to Orange, offering out a hand to coax him up from the mattress. "And get off it so we can bring it home."

“you can bring me with the mattress,” Orange suggested. “PA-ORANGE!” Blue scolded.

"Orange." Shannon paused and instead of prying him from the bed, used her previously offered hand to try and tickle him from the bed. Her fingers danced along where his rib cage would be.

Orange jolted and rolled off the mattress to escape the tickles, nyeh hehing quietly. Blue grinned happily and grabbed the mattress with his magic.

"There we go, one upright skeleton," she said proudly, grinning. "I'm getting pretty good at wrangling you boys, you know? Might have to make it a full time job. Now, off to blankets!"

“THAT SOUNDS GREAT!” Papyrus exclaimed. “THEN YOU COULD BE WITH US ALL THE TIME!” Blue raced off to deposit the mattresses with the bed frames before coming back and picking out blankets. Blue picked out a blanket covered with racing comets and planets while Orange picked out a blanket with a spiral on it.

Shannon paused. It was definitely something for him to take it so literally. "I-- I'd really love to, big guy, but I have a job and bills to pay," she laughed, feeling her face redden. The blankets weren't what she would have expected for the brothers, though to be fair, they weren't very close yet. "I like them. Good choices, Blue, Orange. You two all set on bed stuff?"

Papyrus sagged. “OH. BUT WE CAN HANG OUT AFTER RIGHT?”

"We sure can," she promised with a reassuring pat on Papyrus' arm. “seems so,” Orange agreed. Blue looked around. “WHERE’S BILL?”

"Oh, shoot, I let go of him for one second--". Shannon looked around and retraced their steps for a good few minutes before sighing and taking in a deep breath. "Papyrus, forgive me for what I'm about to do. Ahem-- WHAT'S THE MATTER, BILL?"

His voice came from a bin full of pillows. “everything...everything is matter.” Papyrus stared at the bin as if it had betrayed him, his children, and everything he believed in. “except energy, of course.”

She grinned and marched over towards the stack of pillows to peer inside. "There's my little meme buddy. Come on, Bill, let's go. Sooner we get done with chores, the sooner you can take a real nap."

“pretty comfy here.” Contrary to his words he pushed himself up. Maybe working so long on the machine hadn’t been his best idea. He just really didn’t want to wake up to find things reset. There was a reason he mostly napped instead of sleeping through the night. Blue and Orange carried their blankets to add to their cargo. “just clothes now, right?” Orange asked.

A hand stretched out to help him from the bin. "Yeah, yeah, we'll make something just as comfy when I take you home," she promised. "And... Let's see, I think so? I'm just the valet here, boys." Blue and Papyrus carefully went over everything. “PILLOWS!” Papyrus exclaimed. “right here bro.” Bill slipped the pillows onto the pile and Papyrus grinned. “NOW WE’RE GOOD!” Blue announced. They paid, took out their phones-and somehow got it all in them.

"And there we go, all set!" Shannon just watched as the group made their purchases and the items literally disappeared into their phones-- It was hard not to stare. "Wow, you guys... Were not kidding. Okay, good to know."

“DO YOU WANT YOUR PHONE UPDATED?” Papyrus asked kindly as the group headed back to the car. This time Orange stole shotgun.

She unlocked the car with a little beep and slid into the driver's seat. "Thanks, Paps, but I don't think human technology is even capable of an upgrade that advanced," Shannon laughed softly. "You ready to be my first mate, Orange?" “aye aye captain,” Orange teased. Papyrus looked rather shocked. “DO YOU NEED A NEW PHONE THEN?” Blue asked in concern. "What? Oh, probably, but I hate the new phones. They're too big for my little baby hands," Shannon laughed, tossing back the AUX cord while she started up the engine. "Plus they're expensive, Blue, don't worry about it."

“YOU SURE?” Papyrus asked. “IT SEEMS RATHER REMISS TO LET YOU GO WITHOUT SUCH BASIC TECHNOLOGY.”

The car started off in the right direction at least, and Shannon smiled into her rearview mirror. "Don't worry about it, Papyrus, like I said-- It's very expensive. I don't really have the need or the money right now."

Orange carefully gave directions as they drove, far more precise than Bill had. “ALRIGHT.” Blue put on This is War by Thirty Seconds to Mars.

She was ever grateful for Orange's competent dictation. Driving to unfamiliar areas was a nightmare. "Interesting choice, Blue," Shannon hummed curiously, "Didn't peg you for this kinda guy." “IT’S GREAT!” Blue enthused. “THE PASSION! THE RHYTHM!”

"I'll have to introduce you to EDM some time," she smiled.

“SOUNDS GOOD,” Blue said happily. Bill accepted the aux cord and put on Saskatchewan Pirates. Shannon's eyebrows raised at the music choice, but she said nothing-- Some of her music choices were garbage. High quality garbage.

“MY TURN! NYEH!” Papyrus happily seized the aux cord. Can’t Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake played out, Papyrus and Blue dancing to it. "Oh, good one!" Her hands slapped at the wheel to the beat, head bobbing back and forth in lieu of actual dancing while driving. Shannon sang along to every word and grinned over at her first mate while paused at a stop light.

For just driving to get clothes it was fun.