#take this baba as a gift from me :)

[whitefuzzykitty]

Omg baba real ‼️💥😳

Done with some baking clay I got 2 days ago

[grimdarling69]

Another de aged Ellie and Dan or otherwise known as Crack

P1 P2 P3

Damian is now regretting every decision that led to where he was at this point in his half-life.

He felt so if he had been battered by a storm all night long and he was pretty sure he was having fever dreams because fucking Lex Luthor is currently dabbing at his head with a damp towel.

Come on, Damian. You're better than this. Get up and fight him. Father would be disappointed if I failed to stop whatever luthor was scheming because of a common cold. He could already see his father's face, his disappointment shrouded in the shadows created by the looming stalactites in the cave. He'd take away Robin, he lose Richard's first gift to him. He couldn't let his baba down.

He tried to shed the blankets but his body failed him and he had to resist a coughing fit. He shivered cold and clammy. His body felt heavy and his clothes were sticking to him uncomfortablely. His hair was a mess and clouded his vision.

"Rest now, ghostling. Your very sick. I need to get you into some new clothes and quickly." he murmured quietly, leaning forward and plying his bangs from his face. For a second he thought he was going to kiss his head and he started struggling again.

"Don't-" He attempted but his voice broke off into a coughing fit. He struggled to catch his breath.

"Shh.. shhh...drink." he gently lifted a glass of water with a childishly pinky bendy straw to his lips. His gentle voice and calm actions remindimg him of his baba and he stupidly started to drink it before he remembered where he was and resisted again.

Luthor didn't seem surprised but didn't attempt to speak to him again and gently pushed him back down onto the bed. His eyes were heavy and he had to repeatedly jerk his head to stay awake.

Ancients, what was wrong with him he was a trained assassin. Not to mention Robin he could survive days without even a second of sleep.

Luthor pushed the door open again and carried soft looking sleepwear in his hands. When did he leave? The sleepwear had little stars and moons and suns periodically spread about. He couldn't help but admire them.

"Please don't fight me, Dani- Damian. You have to get out of those drenched clothes. If you sleep in them, you'll just get sicker. Come on, you love the stars." He tried in vain to fight him off, but eventually Luthor was cringing at him, scratches all over his arms and face, holding the wet clothes in one hand.

"Try to get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning." He turned the lights off and closed the door.

He waited a second to make sure he was actually gone. Once he was sure, he tried to wrangle him self off the bed but kept having to blink and rub his eyes. He had finally succeeded in getting out from under the blanket before he couldn't stay awake any longer and passed out from exhaustion.

---------

Vlad because he was Vlad Masters sometimes known as Vlad Plasmius or ugh the Wisconsin Ghost not Lex Luthor he had spent far to long redeeming himself and becoming a productive member of society to be reincarnated into a cruel ceo who cares only about his image and money and destroys the earth to make it. Creating pollution, ruining lives for no reason, abusing his powers, and trying to kill his archnemesis. Okay, maybe he was being a bit hypocritical, but he was redeemed already, and now he had to start all over!

Every villian worth their salt knows that archenemesiss are for life and he was a redeemed one for goodness sake. He may of fought his godson a lot in his early days but he had been alone for so long. He was a ghost they bonded by fighting! He also apologized for not realized that he didn't know ghost culture yet. He assumed he'd gotten a mentor ghost somewhere like he had the dairy king to teach him and once he realized he made him take lessons with that yeti docter of his.

He was the only one of his kind for decades and it certainly didn't help when his best friends abandoned him after killing him. Jasmine loved to physcoanalyze him she often tried to talk to him about his abandonment issues caused by his parents' deaths worsened by his older sister walking out on him and his future almost destroyed because of Jack Fenton and a fucking soda. That his obsession with Madelyn was caused by the fact he was desperate for family and latched onto the first thing that could give him one.

He didn't approve of cursing, he had kids-god-children that didn't need to hear it but he supposed he could excuse it just this once. Or twice.

When his godson had crashed into his island he felt the presence of his other kids but it was diluted almost. He hoped that whenever Damian woke up he could give him some context.

That was another thing. Somehow, his incredibly gifted and smart godson had apparently but reincarnated as Brucie Wayne's son. He could hardly believe it, but it was also worrying he had found some heavy scaring on him. Everywhere he was covered in scars, some had to be a decade old, at least. Whoever hurt his son was going to pay.

"Mr Luthor, sir?" His assistant knocked on his door.

Ugh, Luthor wasn't terrible he had to admit it had a nice ring to it was just-Lex?... disgusting.

"Come in."

"The um...children's cold medicine is here." She spoke unsure, but handed the specially ordered medicine over. It was brought over by a very good drone from the nearest industrialized island, perks of being a billionaire. He had even more money than in his previous life.

"Aw thank you, Susan." She blinked at him while he took the package she'd been with him since before Konner and so it was understandable she wasn't used to him just now caring to remember her name. Konner... he'll have to contact him to set up a meeting between his new son and his brother soon.

"Will you alert the chefs to cook a simple breakfast for us. No onions and no meat. He'll need to eat with this one. Have it brought to his room." He barely remembered that his godson won't be eating meat anymore after he remembered from one chance meeting at a gala but he had always hated onions and he was quite familiar with his rants about the texture of onions by now.

"Yes, sir. Right away" She quickly exited his office. He still wasn't used to humans being on his island, he typically only had animal ghosts with him or his kids if they weren't busy it was quite strange but he was trying to turn down his Vladness.

He stopped to grab a water bottle and started to head to Damian's room. He knocked on the door and waited. Dead silence met him, the white walls of the hallway was only makeing it worse. He forced himself to not think of the past, his whimpers while he had to stitch him together again for if he made to much sound they would hear him , while slowing opening the door.

He was thankfully asleep, and his fever seemed like it was going down. He packed up the damp towel and started to dab his forehead again. His eyes started to stir.

"Vlad?" His now much younger godson questioned looking even younger he seemed small for his age but he was like that in his past life too.

"I'm here." The sigh of relief spoke for itself. Damian stole the hand not currently in use, a familiar reminder that was common practice for them. His eyes closed again. He took the quiet moment to lament on each of his kids.

Jasmine, the oldest, once told him he was her rich and eccentric uncle. She never needed him in the ways her siblings did. She only lived with him on college breaks anyway. She never needed him to pay for her college, she had no shortage of scholarships. While he loved her, they were still distant. And then she was gone.

Dan, he had adopted him in his originak timeline after...an incident. Dan was always difficult in ways his siblings weren't. Dan was most similar to him, he was half of him afterall, and this often caused many different fights between them. Dan being full ghost often lived with Clockwork anyway. He'd always love him but things were always going to be messy between them.

Ellie, his blood daughter and Daniel's clone. The only one that outright considered him her father but she was very independent and he typically only saw her on weekends too busy traveling the world to have a movie night with her dear old dad. He loved her, but they fought alot she always wanted more independence and he just wanted to see his daughter.

Daniel or Damian now had always seemed to need him the most. Sticking around Amity Park even after the GIWs attack. Always asking questions about being a ghost or being an adult really. And even before that he could often find him somewhere in his house after his patrols around Amity he asked him a few times why he came around even before he had redeemed himself and could only ever get " because it's quiet but now you're here so I have to go. See ya fruitloop" and when Damian came to live with him his friends were usually there and sometimes he felt it was more a teenagers clubhouse than a mayoral manor. But he was really the only constant in his life. And in the beginning he was too injured to be alone, floating at the edge of fading away forever, so they were constantly together and they grew closer and as much as Vlad always saw him as a son he doubts Damian sees him as a father. Jack was his father and Madelyn was his mother. He knows that he still sees them as his parents even after everything he was willing to forgive them. He would never admitt it but sometimes he's glad they never came back as ghosts.

And konner...He wasn't really sure about him. He was his son, his clone he created with Superman. While he of course still had Luthors memories, and luthor seemed to love him but he often pushed him aside. He was second to his goal of killing Superman. He would have to work really hard to repair their relationship but first he needed to get to the Infinate Realms.

Soft knocking broke him out of his thoughts. " Come in."

"Sir. Your food has been prepared." Susan pushed in a large cart with 3 tiers. While this life seemed to be all about the pinnacle of opulence, his first was spent majority in bachelorhood, enough said about that.

She parked the cart close to the bed but not enough to be a hindrance. Damians eyes fluttered at the light but stayed still.

Susan looked at Damian in barely hidden concern and he could tell that Susan Darnaby, mother of three boys ranging from the ages of 24 to 15 had strong maternal instincts. Her oldest apparently worked at the Daily Planet and was apparently the main breadwinner of the family after his dad passed away a few years ago from cancer leaving the family in serious medical debt. He might have reread everybody's file and maybe everything he could find on them. The last thing he needed was one of his employees calling cps on him for stealing a child.

"He has already benefited from his rest last night, this medicine will have him in tip-top shape in no time. There's no need to worry." He attempted to reassurance her.

"Of course sir." For some reason she didn't look very reassured and with once last glance at their hands, left quietly.

"Whuz her." Damian mumbled from where his head was stuffed slightly beneath the pillow to block the light from getting in. He snickered and fixed the pillow. Damian pouted.

"My assistant, Susan. You know she has a son around your age." Damian looked positively scandalized.

"Vlad! I am not dating anyone that is affiliated with you!" He sat up and wacked him with the pillow.

"Oof. Ow." The pillow didn't really hit imhim hard it was worryingly gentle, something Damian would never hold back on he once challenged him to a pillow fight but stuffed his with rocks and we both ended up give each other stitches using the bathroom tiles to ice their bruises.

"You know i never said anything about dating, my boy. Now let's see what was prepared." Damians breakfast consisted of small cake like pancakes shaped like stars with bananas and blueberries arranged like a small constellation. While his was some larger normally shaped pancakes with sliced strawberries and bananas arranged around the outer rim. The other two tiers consisted of several scone and jams and of course clotted cream after on the second day Ellie went on a loud rant right outside the kitchen on how offended she was to not be served clotted cream. The last tier consisted of several small deserts and muffins. He even spotted Damian's favorite muffin, blueberry cheesecake. Or well in his previous life at least, he placed it on his plate anyway, couldn't hurt to try.

"I'm not really hungry." Damian waved him off.

"You have to eat to take this medicine and I know you haven't eaten since you flew in last night, or even longer. Most of this stuff we can cover up and leave out, so you can eat it later if you want." Damian hated when he used logic in his previous life but from what he can remember about his few meetings in this life he liked logic and academics and was quite ahead according to Brucie.

Damian begrudgingly ate the muffin, some fruits and a messily cream and raspberry jamed scone. He only had a bite off the corner star of the pancake before deciding he wasn't a fan of the recipe. Vlad ate both of his pancakes, most of the fruits on his plate, a chocolate muffin, and a cream and apple jam scone. Unfortunately the peace couldn't last because as soon as he deemed Damian had ate enough and gave him the medicine he decided now would be the time to talk.

" I think I'm pregnant." Damian stated calmly staring into his tea cup.

Vlad dropped his own cup and watched the beautiful fine china shatter.

"Your...What?" He spluttered.

"Technically incubation. Dan and Ellies bodies completely destabilized and I merged with their cores to save them. It's something Frostbite briefly taught me." He continued.

Thank god.

"Why didn't you just start with that like a normal person. Are you okay? Is anything hurting not feeling alright?" He could hear himself growing more frantic.

"I'm fine Vlad. There not parasites. Well ellie isn't atleast. We'll have to check with Frostbite for everything else, so we'll need to stsrt the portal as soon as possible"

"You'll need to take the medicine for at least a week before I let you start working around such heavy machinery, but i suppose you can do some calculations up here."

"What! I have to get to Frostbite. How do we know we're doing the right thing? What if...I...do something to hurt them." His voice grew quiet and he closed his eyes both arms came to reach across his stomach and his legs slightly raised and he started to hunch over himself.

"Oh, Damian. I've read about incubation before. Ghosts only allow them selves to merge in such a way with people they must truly trust. If they merged with you, nothing will go wrong. Nothing you can do will hurt them." He moved as he was speaking, sitting down on the bed now. Damian and him had reached the same height in his last life but now his new body was much larger, in both height and muscle, than Damians short height and lean muscle. Made even smaller by him shifting into a ball.

"I don't know. I still had so much to learn and what if we can't open the portal again?" He leaned into him his shoulder more level with his head.

"Have you no trust in your old man? I opened the portal on my own last time with only minor Fenton thievery, thank you. Besides,The only setback I've faced here are the corrupted ectoplasm pools." Damian snickered at him, so he knew his joke wasn't for naught. Until he went rigid suddenly.

"Wait what corrupted pools?"

"The green ectoplasm on this island has pooled together somehow and corrupted itself by laying dormant for sometime. Instrsd of the typical cool and chilling effects the green usually has it seems to be almost acid like. Bubbling and burning things, but I've constructed a purifier that seems to be working well enough." He explained quite confused by Damians sudden change in attitude.

"Why didn't I see i before? Ancients this is worse than i thought..." He stood up suddenly, beginning to pace and run his hands through his hair.

"Slow down. What's going on?" He questioned aiming for placading him, Damian needed rest and minimal stress while sick AND incubating two cores.

"The Lazurus Pits! Their corrupted ectoplasm! Grandfather harnassed them to bring the dead back and get pseudo immortality." He stopped dead at the last word but his back was to Vlad. He's never heard of Lazarus pits before...his grandfather? Thomas Wayne was immortality? But he's dead!

"Thomas Wayne is...immortal?" He questioned as such.

"What? What made you come to that insane conclusion?" He turned to face him, he looked concerned like Vlad was the crazy one muttering.

" Your grandfather?" He looked like a fish, blinking and moving his mouth like he wasn't sur what to say.

"That's actualy not even the craziest thing ive heard actually. No, Ra's al Ghul, the Demon Head is my maternal Grandfather, my mother is Talia al Ghul." What the fuck.

" Brucie Wayne slept with the demons daughter?" Damian couldn't hold back his laughter anymore and burst into laughter turning into a coughing fit, that shook his ribs, and he leant over like he wa going to fall. Vlad quickly moved to support him.

"I'm fine, fruitloop. I just need some water." Vlad steered him to lay back down on the bed. "Stop it fruitloop, your not even my..." he didn't need mind reading powers to know what he was going to say.

" I know." He still tucked him into bed. Moving to turn out the star nightlight out.

"Batman is my father. Batman is Bruce Wayne" I think I'm going to faint.

"The other..." "my siblings." "Of course, no matter what universe we're in you have a crazy family." " You can't talk you made a clone with your archenemy in both lives AND added your own DNA both times."

"It was an accident the first time!" He spluttered.

"Not the second time!" Damian returned.

"I think you need a nap, young man." He sassed.

"Vlad! I am not a baby!" He ignored that remark.

"I'll have Susan wake you up at lunchtime and we'll go to the lab. Is that acceptable for you?"

"Tch." Damian turned around and closed his eyes. He finally succeeded in turning off the lights.

"Sleep well, son." Closing the door softly.

Whatever was a half-ghost to do?

‐--------

Clark Kent was an avid hater of the waiting game. Although he was no stranger to it. It had been now a week since Damian disappeared. Tim had called his sons and broke the news. They had quicky wrapoed everything up and flew back. Jon had yelled at him for hours about having to hear about Damians disappearance from Tim. He just didn't know how to break the news to him. He knew Jon felt betrayed by him especially because they were finally stsrted healing their relationship after everything. Even worse because Jon had finally confided in him how he felt about Damian and now he didn't even tell him when he was kidnapped.

From what he's heard from Bruce, Jon can't hear his heartbeat, but knowing Lex he's most likely kept behind lead so not a totall loss of hope it just means they need detectives not supers.

So he was back at work after parting with Lois he had headed to the break room to get more coffee when he heard it.

"So what Lex has a few sick kids and you think child trafficking? We can't lose another income, mom. Ignore it. Please." He heard his coworker, one he often listened listened in to as his mother coincidentally worked at Lexcorp.

He focused his hearing onto the mother's voice on the other side of the phonecal.

" You don't get it. I can't just ignore it. He experimented on those kids then put them to bed like it was just another day. And then suddenly the kids are gone and the next day another kid is here? It's not right! Something is going on. Wveryday he wakes him up and they est breakfast then they go down to his private lab and dont come out till lunch sometimes until dinner. Last night they didn't come out till midnight and he carried the kid to his own bedroom. There's something going on and I've seen to many rich men take advantage of young children. I can't ignore this again."

Oh god, what if Bruce was wrong about Lex somehow figuring out his identity. What if he noticed him at a gala and took a liking to him. As a reporter he done countless stories on people in high positions who took advantage of their positions of authority to hurt kids. Lex had never seemed that way to him but how well did he really know him anyway? He had some kind of breakdown that changed him anyway. He needed to talk to someone who was familiar with people like this.

He has to call Jason.

A/n I took this chapter to hash out my thoughts on a redeemed father vlad and kis kids. Danny is obviously his favorite, but he does love all of his kids they just don't feel the need to stick around Amity Park like I think Danny would. Danny is also his character foil, and I wanted to tie in both parallels into both him and bruce with vlad. So that is not Canon vlads backstory but something i thought about with the fact he is desperate or obsessed with the idea of a family. Also, if you see any inconsisties between Damian and vlads' povs and the "attack," their might be a reason hint hint. I also wanted to say that vlad and lex are both quite similar in concept but vlad in my au decided to become better for his kids and to choose them first not like lex who loves kon in his own way but is still second to his own mission. vlad very much is more vlad than he is lex mostly because he sees himself in lex if he didn't choose his kids over villainy. While Damian and danny are now more of a mix between each other. I like to think that the danny that saw a random girl who just said she was his cousin and just rolled with it would just roll with the flow if he was reincarnated. I also wanted to bring up the fact that vlad and Damian will pick up the pace and be a lot more worried as you'll see next part and right now the bats are in a disarray trying to find him. Also the supers I only had Jon age up 2 years older than Damian cause he will be a bigger part of the story and I needed him older hint hint he has his mother's purple eyes in this story.

[itsabouttimex2]

Y/N’s not the Beloved?

(At least, not at first)

Thinking so hard about Y/N just… not being the “beloved” in the yandere dynamics, and instead being the “neglected” party.

Just, like-

It’s not that Sun Wukong and Macaque don’t love you for being their precious adopted kiddo, but… you’re “just” a person, and you don’t have a tail or fur to groom like them. You can’t climb as well as they can, and you don’t have fangs. And you just aren’t strong enough to keep up.

So there’s this inherent disparity, and you feel sometimes more like a guest than a member of the family.

But then MK’s rock comes along! And then it hatches and there’s a new little monkey in the family for them dote on! They have a new baby, one that’s just like them!

In a way that you just… aren’t.

You just can’t compare. Sure, they still love you- you’re never hungry or cold, your clothes are plentiful, and they still support your interests, but…

They just don’t love you like they love him.

Because MK gets the nicest things, in all the ways you didn’t. He gets brand new clothes just right for a growing boy with a true form that fractures in and out of existence. But many of your “new” clothes have to be hastily sewn up because they’re hand-me-downs from Papa, and they had ear and tail slits- they were made for Mystic Monkeys, after all!

(And you aren’t one of them, no matter how hard you try to be.)

And MK gets his favorite foods and snacks whenever he asks, no matter how far Baba has to travel or how many stores his clones have to trawl to find those illusive treats. And when he digs in, you think of the times Papa taught you to “appreciate” his hard work in the kitchen by making you eat every bite of a meal he made, even if you gagged and coughed through it… but MK gets full impunity to have sides replaced whenever he decides a food is “yucky” without even trying it.

You got gifts for being well-behaved or accomplishing goals, but MK gets them for simply asking. You got money by doing extra chores or babysitting the mountain monkeys. MK is given it because your dads are in a good mood.

Not to mention how many of your hobbies and free days are undermined because you “need” to babysit the favorite child.

So on, and so forth.

And then one day it all grinds to a peak and you can’t take the favoritism anymore, so you eventually have the quietest messy breakdown known to man in the ungodly hours of the morning. When you finally manage to pull yourself together, the decision is promptly made- with a tightly-packed bag in tow, you sneak out through a window, clamber down the house walls, and disappear beyond the horizon.

And Macaque and Wukong are devastated, obviously. Sure, you aren’t the “beloved”, which is clearly MK, but you’re still their baby!

BUT! It gets even worse, because for all the worry in their hearts, MK is even worse!

He throws tantrums and rejects food and has uncontrollable fits where he bites bloody marks into his arms through hysteric tears. And even when the kiddo isn’t screaming his bloodied little mouth off, it’s only to scream for you to come back.

So, while they would’ve always made an honest effort to bring you back home (this is your home, even if it doesn’t always feel like it), having their “beloved” child start to genuinely harm himself over your absence only ramps up the efforts to get their first kid back.

“Open the door,” comes your papa’s tempered voice, barely second after you’ve registered the knock. “C’mon, kiddo. We need to talk.”

His foot meets the wooden door, tapping and testing the strength- not that there was really any question he could clear the flimsy barrier.

Tap. Tap.

At the pause, you drop everything and scramble into the closet, right as Macaque kicks through the door with a huff. The leather of his boot catches the light with a dark gleam, but he retracts it and readies for another blow.

“You in, Mac?”

“Not yet- I missed.”

His next strike lands true, shredding the cheap doorknob out of place so forcefully that it tears through the glass window behind it and disappears into the bushes behind the hotel, entirely flattened into a copper disk.

“Not bad,” cheers Wukong, peering into the wrecked room. “Not bad at all, bud!”

With a hand clasped over your mouth to muffle the sound of shallow breathing, you hunker down and wait- with a bitter thought at how casual they are about all this.

Didn’t they realize how badly hurt you were by the unabashed favoritism, the constant coming in second, the unending isolation?

How could they treat this like a casual outing?

“Alright, bud- pack your bags and put on something warm! We’re heading home!

Just barely you manage to bite back a cry of frustration over this miserable circumstance, expected to return to a home that had essentially shunted you aside.

“C’mon, brat. Did you really think we’d let you spend any more time in this hellhole? The mountain is a lot safer, anyways.”

You don’t even realize that Macaque is reaching into the closet until he has your upper arm in his hold, pulling until you’ve cleared the wooden threshold molding between your sanctuary and the living space.

Barely even on your feet, Wukong is upon you with a scarf, wrapping it tight and finishing with a neat bow.

“You know, MK really missed you,” he sighs, thinking of tantrums that spanned hours and the smell of mold in the kitchen when food the child flung had spilled under the counter and gone unnoticed for far too long.

Why should you care that their baby was suffering?

But whether you care or not (and they’re certainly not waiting for your opinion), they’re going to take you “home”.

With Wukong’s hand to wrap around your shoulders and Macaque’s to grip your wrist, they slowly march the way back to the precious little Mystic Monkey that you’ve come to hate.

And though your heart turns over at the sight of MK wailing on the floor, there’s this strange discomfort that arises when they call it that:

“Y/N is back!”

and it prompts an immediate end of his formerly hysterical waterworks?

Because he runs to you and throws both of his chubby little arms around your legs, demanding that you “never ever leave again!” and both of your dads are right behind him, because their son gets whatever he wants, when he wants it-

And what MK wants is you.

[keep-wonwooing]

— Two Boyfriends

synopsis ᝰ.ᐟ

⤷ ˗ˏˋ "I want two boyfriends so i can dress them up like twins!" ˎˊ˗

pairing ᝰ.ᐟ

⤷ idol!seongcheol x chubby fem reader x idol!mingyu

warnings ᝰ.ᐟ

⤷ poly, fluff, & physical touch (can't think of anything)

"Kim Mingyu, get back here!" My yell echoed through the house. My boyfriend of one years and 3 months, Kim Mingyu, who’s also an idol, had taken my PC holder that featured an official photo of Joshua—my bias.

"No! This is supposed to be me, not Joshua hyung!" he whined, hiding behind the couch.

He always whines like this, but normally, he’s fine with it. I don’t know what got into him today.

"Come on, baba, give it back, please?" I pouted, already feeling tired from chasing him around the apartment.

Shaking his head, he bolted upstairs, disappearing from my sight. I sighed and flopped onto the couch.

"I’m home!" I heard the door open, revealing my other boyfriend, Seventeen’s leader, Choi Seungcheol.

"Baby… Mingyu took it again!" I whined, rolling dramatically on the couch.

"Hi there, love," he greeted me warmly, leaning down to kiss my forehead.

Amazing, right? I have both of them as my boyfriends. It all started when I met them at an offline fan meeting.

flashback

⤷ I’m currently on my way to Seventeen’s offline fan meeting, and I’m super excited because this is my first time attending and seeing them up close.

While waiting for the guards to let us in, I’m double-checking all the bags containing the gifts I prepared for the boys.

Finally, the doors opened, and the Carats and I began lining up to keep everything organized. I noticed most of the fans were with their friends, while I stood alone. I’m not great at making friends with strangers, so I stayed quiet.

As I was checking my bags again, I suddenly heard squeals, and then Seventeen started appearing one by one.

I couldn’t help but smile as I saw them waving at us. As a fan finally seeing them up close, I enthusiastically waved back. I caught Hoshi looking at me, and he waved directly at me—I’m sure he noticed the tiger-themed t-shirt I was wearing.

"Say the name!" Seungcheol began, his voice loud and confident.

"Seventeen! Hello, we are Seventeen!" the members chorused, bowing after their greeting.

A staff member handed Seungcheol a microphone so he could speak.

"Good afternoon, Carats! We really appreciate all the effort you made to attend this offline fan meeting, and we hope you’ll enjoy your time with us. Thank you!" he said, looking around the crowd while waving.

Oh my gosh, he’s so handsome in real life! I fanned myself, trying to calm down my blushing face. Who wouldn’t be flustered with these guys standing on stage, looking absolutely fine?

The members finally took their seats, and the staff began assisting some Carats onto the stage. While the first fan interacted with Seungkwan, the other members started engaging with the rest of us in the audience.

"How are you guys feeling today? Isn’t it a little cold?" Dino asked, earning mixed answers of “yes” and “no,” which made him chuckle.

"Yah! I saw a lot of Carats wearing tiger shirts today. Where did you guys buy those?" Hoshi asked, looking amazed.

"Shein!" I answered. I felt embarrassed when I realized I was the only one who replied, while the others just laughed, finding Hoshi adorable.

"Oh?! Really?! How much is it? I’m willing to buy it!" he excitedly said, making the other members laugh.

My number was 21, but they were still on number 4, so it was going to take a while for my turn. We were given five minutes to talk to each member, which I felt was enough time to enjoy the moment.

Am I being delusional, or is Mingyu really looking at me? I waved at him with a smile, not expecting anything, but when he waved back, my cheeks burned, and I quickly broke eye contact.

After an hour, it was finally my turn. I had just finished talking to Seungkwan, Dino, The8, and Jun.

"Thank you so much for this!" Jun said, pointing at the cat plushie with his name on the collar.

"You’re welcome! Bye-bye!" I giggled, waving at him before finally moving on to Hoshi, who had been eyeing my shirt.

"Hey there!" he greeted me, starting to sign my album.

"So earlier, you asked us Carats where we bought our clothes, and I was the one who said Shein," I began, hoping to make the conversation more personal.

"Yes, yes! I really wanted to know where to buy more shirts, especially with that kind of design!" he said with a surprised expression.

"You don’t have to buy anything, though, because I bought you two tiger-themed shirts. I was nervous you might not like them, but I still wanted to give them to you," I said quickly, handing him a bag decorated with a cute tiger cartoon.

"I will definitely keep this bag!" he exclaimed, examining the bag before opening it. The Carats behind us gasped softly, admiring the gesture.

"It’s pretty, Hoshi-yah!" a Carat called out, and he proudly stood up to show it off.

We laughed, and he sat back down, thanking me nonstop. "I guess you’ll want more? I’ll tell you the shop then," I teased, giggling.

The next person was Joshua—my ultimate bias since the first day I started stanning Seventeen. He had always caught my attention.

"Hello, you’re really pretty," Joshua said softly, smiling as he began signing my album.

"You’re even prettier!" I replied, making us both giggle. I handed him a bag with a cinnamon roll plushie and a simple necklace featuring their group picture.

"Woah~ So I really do look like Cinnamon Roll, huh?" he joked, making me laugh and nod.

"Really! You’re both so cute," I replied.

"Oh my gosh, how much is this? I really love it!" he said, admiring the necklace.

While Joshua and I were talking, I felt someone staring at me. I glanced over and saw Seungcheol, who had just finished speaking to another Carat, looking in my direction.

"Thank you so much, really!" Joshua said, before the staff guided me to the next member.

"Hi there," Seungcheol greeted me with a warm, handsome smile.

I was stunned and stuttered when I greeted him back. "H-hello!" I nervously replied, making him laugh.

"How’s it going? Are you having fun?" he asked while signing my album.

"I’m really enjoying it so far! This is also my first time attending an event like this," I said, smiling.

"Woah, really? I’m happy you were able to attend this one," he said sincerely, looking at me with kind eyes.

He slowly held my hand, and I blushed so hard. I had held hands with the other members too, but Seungcheol had this special effect on me. Maybe it’s because he’s one of my bias wreckers.

"Here’s my gift for you!" I said, handing him a cherry hairclip along with one for his dog, Kkuma. "This one’s for you, and this is for Kkuma. I hope she’ll like it."

"She will, I’m sure!" he replied, examining the clips with a warm smile. "Can you put it on for me?" he asked, pointing at his hair.

I nodded quickly, my hands trembling as I clipped it onto his hair. "You look even more handsome with it," I said, smiling shyly.

"Really? I’m glad then," he said, smiling back and gently holding my hands again.

"I hope you guys aren’t too tired with your schedules and are getting enough rest," I sighed and pouted. "I was really worried when I kept seeing articles about you guys being sick."

He patted my head warmly. "Thank you, but don’t worry too much, okay? We’re doing fine right now."

After my conversation with Seungcheol and the other members, Mingyu was the last one I met before stepping off the stage.

"Hi, pretty~" he greeted me with a charming smile, glancing at me briefly before signing my album.

"I have a gift for you," I said, handing him a bag. "It’s a shirt you can use for working out or just as daily wear."

"So, your name is Y/N?" he asked, and I nodded immediately.

"You have a pretty name—just like you," he said, making me blush.

"I... uh... thank you," I stammered.

"I’ll definitely wear this! You’ll see it on my Instagram or in a random Going Seventeen video," he chuckled, holding up the shirt.

"Are you going to the Follow tour concert?" he asked me.

"Yes, I hope so. I’m nervous I won’t be able to get a ticket," I pouted.

"Don’t worry—you’ll get one. And I’ll make sure to find you!" he exclaimed.

"Really? I was planning to get a VIP ticket so I could jump properly to Aju Nice," I joked, making him laugh.

"Time’s up!" the staff announced. I smiled at the staff before bidding goodbye to Mingyu.

---

A few months later, tickets for the Follow tour in Seoul went on sale. I was sweating in my room, juggling three devices, anxiously waiting for my turn. On my laptop, my queue number was 961. I almost cried—I had a real chance to attend!

---

The day of the Follow tour concert arrived, and it was time for the soundcheck. I was so lucky to have a spot near the barricade.

They were performing Don Quixote, and I saw Seungcheol walking toward our side. He stopped for a moment, then ran over to Mingyu, dragging him back to our section and pointing at us.

The Carats behind me cheered loudly as Mingyu smiled widely and waved at me.

---

A few hours later, the concert started with Super. Everyone was screaming their lungs out and singing along. The concert went smoothly, with a few interactions between me and the members—especially Mingyu, who kept coming to our side of the stage.

At one point, he even took my phone, ran around the stage, and recorded videos. I was shocked—who wouldn’t be? My bias had just taken my phone to snap a bunch of selcas with the other members!

During Aju Nice, the members ran freely across the stage. Mingyu handed my phone back to a security guard, pointing at me to make sure I got it.

I thanked both the guard and Mingyu as he walked away, my heart full of gratitude and excitement.

The concert had ended, and I was waiting to leave the venue when a staff member tapped my shoulder. “Excuse me, please follow me.”

I looked around nervously, hoping no one noticed. Luckily, most Carats were too busy chatting to see the guard opening the barricade for me.

I followed her, confused. “Why do you need me? Who are you?” I asked.

“I’m Seungcheol’s manager. He asked me to find you,” she replied, leading me to a door marked Seventeen.

The door opened, and I saw Dino. “Oh! You’re the one who gave me the otter plushie! I brought it today—want to see?” he said excitedly before running off to fetch it.

He remembers me? I thought, stunned.

“Hey, you’re Y/N, right? The one who gave me the necklace with our group picture inside?” Joshua approached me, holding a water bottle.

“Yes, that’s me,” I said, smiling shyly.

He smiled back warmly and gestured for me to enter. Inside, a few staff members were tidying up while the members relaxed.

“Here it is!” Dino returned, proudly showing off the otter plushie.

“And it’s wearing the Dino shirt!” I exclaimed, giggling.

“Ah, you’re here!” Mingyu appeared beside me, flashing his signature grin.

“Well, yes. But why am I here? Shouldn’t you guys be resting?” I asked, puzzled.

He nodded. “We are, but…” Before finishing, he gently took my arm and guided me to the side where Seungcheol was seated, watching us.

“Are you our noona?” Mingyu asked suddenly.

“I’m a ’96 liner, and I share the same birthday as Jun,” I replied with a laugh.

“Really?!” Jun chimed in from across the room, making everyone laugh.

Seungcheol spoke up. “The members and I really appreciated all the gifts you gave us. Some of us are using them, and others are keeping them safe.”

“I’m just glad you liked them,” I replied, still feeling a bit nervous being this close to them.

“Here,” Mingyu handed me a blanket to cover my legs since I was wearing a short skirt.

“Thank you,” I said softly.

Seungcheol continued, “So, we were thinking of inviting you to dinner—if you’re okay with it. No pressure!” He raised his hands reassuringly.

“Oh? I’m fine with it. But is it really okay? I mean, it’s a group dinner, and—”

“Noona, please?” Dino interrupted, giving me puppy eyes.

“It’ll be fun!” Jeonghan added, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.

I laughed. “Well, if it’s okay with you guys, then sure. I’ll go.”

The room erupted in cheers, and the members quickly changed so we could leave for dinner early.

---

Dinner

We ended up at a restaurant enjoying pork belly. While the others drank lightly, I stuck to soda since I wasn’t great with alcohol.

I sat between Dino and Jeonghan, playing the famous hongsam game.

“Wow, I’ve only ever watched this in videos, but playing it with you guys is so much fun!” I said, laughing until my stomach hurt.

“Noona got it wrong!” Dino yelled triumphantly.

“Eh? I did?” I asked, confused.

He eagerly explained why, and everyone laughed, telling me to drink my soda as a penalty. I agreed, and we continued playing.

After dinner, Seungcheol paid the bill.

“Seungcheol must be rich!” I teased, making him roll his eyes.

“Aye, don’t be humble!” I added, and the others burst out laughing.

When they offered to drop me off, I initially refused but eventually gave in. I ended up on their bus, heading home.

“Thank you for today,” I said sincerely.

“You’re welcome. The boys really wanted to be friends with you, especially after the fan meeting—Dino in particular,” Jeonghan teased.

“Can we have your number, noona?” Mingyu asked, blushing as the others teased him.

I laughed. “Is it okay?” I asked Seungcheol, who nodded.

“Of course, don’t worry,” he said with a warm smile.

When we reached my stop, I thanked them again and waved goodbye. It wasn’t until I was inside that it hit me: I was now friends with Seventeen, and Mingyu had my number.

---

A Few Months Later

⤷I had grown closer to the boys and often stayed at Seungcheol’s house, where they all lived. Each member had their own room—it was basically a mansion!

“Noona! Seungkwan keeps saying I’m bad at badminton!” Dino whined, sitting beside me.

“Because you are! Right, noona? You saw how I beat him in TTT,” Seungkwan smirked.

“I did, but don’t tease Dino so much!” I laughed.

Suddenly, I remembered something. “Wait! Oh no, my ramen!” I ran to the kitchen and found Mingyu standing there.

“Is this yours, noona?” he asked, pointing at the pot.

I nodded sheepishly. “I forgot because I was watching a K-drama with the guys.”

“Your ramen’s ready. I’ll grab a bowl for you,” he said, opening the cabinet.

“Y/N?” Seungcheol’s voice interrupted us.

I turned to him. “Oppa, why?”

“Can you both come upstairs to the balcony?”

I glanced at Mingyu, who gave me a small smile. “Let’s go,” he said.

As we followed Seungcheol, I yelled back to the others, “Don’t eat my ramen!”

Their smirks told me they probably would.

When we reached the balcony, Seungcheol was already waiting. “What’s wrong? I’m nervous!” I joked, standing between him and Mingyu.

Seungcheol nudged Mingyu. “You should go first.”

Mingyu took a deep breath and looked at me. “Just tell her,” Seungcheol encouraged.

"Why me?" Mingyu whined. "Fine, I'll tell her," Seungcheol sighed.

"I know this might end up awkward, but... me and Mingyu want to confess something to you..." Seungcheol began. "The day we saw you at the fan meeting, we were immediately attracted to your beauty, and we couldn’t wait to have a conversation with you. We were so happy to have the chance to talk to such a beautiful fan. After that, me and the guys couldn’t stop talking about you, especially Mingyu. I told them that we should invite you to dinner if we got the chance, and we immediately took that opportunity after the concert. As time passed, Mingyu and I started to develop a small crush on you. We’ve been hanging out a lot, and now we just wanted to share our feelings with you, hoping it won’t make things awkward if you like one of us."

I couldn’t quite process what he said.

"H-hey, no pressure. If you’re not ready—"

"No," I interrupted, "I mean, uh... how do I explain this? I do like you both too, but I... I don’t know. I don’t want to pick between you two," I nervously said while playing with my fingers.

"I also like you both personally—not just because you two are my biases, but for who you really are. We’ve all become so close, and I was confused about who I liked, but I realized that maybe I just like you both equally..." I confessed.

"Really? Maybe we can make it work?" Mingyu said.

"I don’t understand," Seungcheol said, looking at Mingyu in confusion.

"Well, I’m gonna admit that I find Cheol-hyung attractive—"

I stopped myself from giggling, and Mingyu noticed. He shyly hid his face against my shoulder.

"Aye~ don’t be shy!" I teased.

"Stop it, noona!" He whined.

"Continue, Gyu," we heard Seungcheol say. Even though he was nervous, Mingyu continued.

"Well... yeah, I do find you, hyung, attractive, and might have small feelings for you and noona. So I’m suggesting that we should work it out and try to be in a relationship?" Mingyu continued.

"Ooh! It’s like a poly relationship?" I asked, and Mingyu nodded as an answer.

"I like reading that kind of genre, though, so I guess it’s a good idea. What’s your thought on that?" I said, looking at Seungcheol, who was quietly observing us.

"Well, me and Mingyu already talked about this kind of setup. We were just thinking that you wouldn’t agree and might find it weird," Seungcheol explained, leaning against the railing.

"I don’t find it weird," I replied with a smile. "But what about the boys? I’m scared that their perspective will change towards me when they find out about this," I said, sighing.

"About that, we’ve already talked to them, and they were fine with it. They were actually supportive," Seungcheol reassured me.

I took a deep breath, absorbing everything they just told me. The idea of being in a relationship with both Seungcheol and Mingyu felt like walking into uncharted territory—but it also felt exciting and genuine.

"So... you’re saying the boys are supportive?" I asked cautiously, my fingers fidgeting with the edge of Mingyu’s blanket.

Mingyu nodded, his expression soft and reassuring. "We talked about it because we wanted their blessing before confessing. They even teased us about how nervous we were."

Seungcheol chuckled, the sound easing some of my nerves. "Yeah, Jeonghan especially had a field day with it. He said he ‘saw this coming from a mile away.’"

I couldn’t help but laugh. "That does sound like Jeonghan."

For a moment, we all stood in comfortable silence, the city lights twinkling behind us. Then Mingyu reached out and gently took my hand in his. "Noona, we just want to make you happy. If this setup doesn’t feel right for you, we’ll understand."

Seungcheol nodded in agreement, his gaze steady and sincere. "We care about you too much to push you into something you’re not ready for."

Their honesty and thoughtfulness made my chest tighten with emotion. I realized that what I felt for them wasn’t just a fleeting crush or admiration. It was something deeper, built on trust and genuine connection.

"I..." I hesitated for a moment before meeting their eyes. "I want to try. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know I want to explore it with both of you."

Their faces lit up, Mingyu’s smile bright and Cheol’s soft and comforting. Mingyu pulled me into a playful hug, his excitement contagious. "Noona, you won’t regret this! We’ll make sure of it!"

Seungcheol’s arms wrapped around both of us, his warmth grounding. "Let’s take this one step at a time, together."

And in that moment, surrounded by their laughter and warmth, I knew I had made the right choice.

"So they finally had the guts to tell you?" Jeonghan teased as the three of us headed back downstairs.

"Shut up, hyung!" Mingyu said, making Jeonghan laugh.

- end of flashback -

back to present

⤷"What did he take?" Cheol asked, helping me stand up from the couch.

"My photocard!" I replied.

"Mingyu!" He called, and we saw him poke his head out from the door upstairs. I gave him a smirk after Cheol motioned for him to come down.

"Give it back," Cheol ordered.

"But love!" Mingyu whined before handing it back to me. I hugged him and leaned my head against his chest since he's taller.

"We both know you also have one, right? And it's always in my bag wherever I go," I said, making him nod sheepishly while smiling.

Cheol just laughed at us before dragging us to the kitchen, showing us the food he bought for us.

"Woah!" Mingyu and I exclaimed as we saw the spread.

"Thank you, baby!" I said, pecking his cheek.

"You're welcome, bab," he smiled, caressing my hair.

"Let's eat!" Mingyu cheered, taking the food out of the plastic.

I may or may not do a part 2 of this 😁 please tell me your thoughts about this at the comment section!

[pahtoosh]

baba face

[image ID: photos of sebastian stan, chris evans, and various stuffed animals photoshopped onto a yellow background. sebastian stan is holding a round wolf stuffed animal and looking into the distance. chris evans is hiding a smile with a hand over his mouth. the stuffed animals include four frowning stuffed animals and one smiling one. /.end ID]

masterlist

18+

wc: ~2400 words

warnings: reader takes a little tumble

a/n: this was inspired by @angelbaby-fics ! Chloe, thank you for showing me your turtle and inspiring this whole piece! (side note: if anyone would like to talk about their stuffies, I would LOVE to hear about them!!

pairing: stucky x gn!little!reader

summary: sam gets a stuffed animal for reader that frowns like bucky! things get out of hand when the other avengers join in and buy reader way too many grumpy stuffies

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ

It all started when Sam came back from a mission in late June. The Avengers would sometimes bring back presents when they went overseas. They didn’t always have the time to stop by a gift shop but when they did, the gifts were always cherished and held a little closer when the Avenger eventually had to travel again. 

Two weeks before his mission, you had gotten very close with Sam. Your daddies asked him to watch over you one day and he gave you a whole adventure. He took you to a pottery painting studio, then the park, and ended the day with the best ice cream you’ve ever had. From then on, you were inseparable. 

During group meal times, you’d make jokes with him across the table. If you were allowed in the room for a meeting, you’d pass notes back and forth. Sam would also play with you during Tony’s summer parties; he was going to let you fly with redwing before Bucky marched outside and confined you to his hip for the rest of the night. You didn’t mind too much though, the sky probably wasn’t as comfortable as being held by Baba. 

Your attachment to Sam made this mission all the more difficult for everyone involved. You, because you missed your friend. Sam, because he missed your happy giggles and felt bad for leaving you right when he finally gained your trust. And your daddies because they had to witness you get sad every time something reminded you of Sam. 

Fortunately, the mission was going well and he was expected to return right on time. On his last day, Sam was looking both ways to cross the street when a stuffed animal in a display window caught his eye. He looked at his watch to see if he had enough time to make his flight, then quickly entered the store and bought the plushie because he knew you’d love it. 

On the plane, Sam sat with the plushie in his lap to keep it safe. It was still in the bag from the store, looking like an oddly shaped lump in a now wrinkly paper bag. When Sam returned to the tower, Steve was the first to greet him before you nudged your Dada out of the way to give Sam a bone-crushing hug. 

“I missed you, Sammy!”

“I missed you too, peanut.” He kneeled down and handed you the paper bag. “I gotcha something.”

You beamed at him. “Thank you! I love it!”

Sam laughed. “You haven’t even opened it yet!”

“I already know I’m gonna like it because it’s from you,” you said, matter of factly. “But okay.”

You opened the bag and gasped when you saw the plush. 

It was a soft turtle with a slightly slouched posture, but that wasn’t the part you were focused on. Your favorite part was the plushie’s grumpy expression. It looked just like Bucky. 

“HE HAS BABA FACE! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!” You screamed your gratitude while running circles around the trio of Sam and your daddies. Sam and Steve were barely holding in their laughter, meanwhile Bucky stood confused, but happy that you were happy. Despite his super hearing, he wasn’t sure if he heard you correctly. Did you say baba face? Or maybe you said bubble face?  

Bucky figured that this wasn’t something he needed the answers to immediately, so he didn’t ask any questions and resolved to watching you tire yourself out. 

The grumpy turtle became your new shadow. Everywhere you went, so did the plush. You’d have it tucked under your arm while running through the compound. During mealtimes in your home, the turtle would get his own chair and toy food. Outside, you kept your turtle in a drawstring backpack with the head poking out so he could see the world too. When your daddies carried you around, you’d make a silly game out of making the turtle mess up your Dada’s hair or bite your Baba’s ears. 

Even before giving you the turtle, Sam loved to boast about how he was your favorite Avenger(you didn’t have a favorite, but you didn’t have the heart to correct him on that when he kept giving you all of his attention). When you all played hide and seek, he bragged for three days straight about how you chose him to be your partner. Your attachment to the turtle only heightened his pride. 

He always asked you where the turtle was, knowing it couldn’t be more than three feet away from you. Sam made a big fuss about the turtle having his own seat at the dinner table and fell victim to your strength and contagious giggles when you pushed him out of his seat to make room for your turtle. Sam learned his lesson that day and didn’t fight for the turtle to have his own chair in the debriefing room. However, he did bring in an extra stool for the plush. Sam even bought you the very drawstring backpack that allowed you to take your new friend on your outdoor adventures. In private, he’d ask you about how the turtle was settling into his new home and gave him the gentlest kiss when you said the turtle needed more lovin’. 

The others all thought your friendship with Sam was adorable, but there was one person who saw this as an opportunity for some friendly competition. Natasha knew that there was room in your heart for more than one avenger bestie, so she devised a plan to take her spot. She had two missions in August–the first: survey a crime group that’s suspected to have ties with Zemo. The second: give you a gift worthy of four days of bragging. 

After successful recon, Natasha’s plane landed in the Avenger’s HQ. She turned in her paperwork that she completed on the flight home, then went to freshen up so she could give you your gift. Natasha found you cuddled up with Steve in the movie room watching some old cartoon. She knocked on the door.

“Got any room for a couple more friends on that couch?”

“Natty, you’re back!” You untangled yourself from Steve and ran to give her a hug. You looked behind her expecting to see more of the group. “Where’s the other friends?”

She held up a bag with the arm that wasn’t hugging you. “Your new friend traveled a long way to get here.”

You squealed and hugged Natasha again before accepting the bag from her hand and kneeling on the floor to pull out the tissue paper and free your gift. 

“You guys are spoiling them, you know that?” Steve asked, lightheartedly from the couch.

“Oh hush, how many hours of screen time have you given them today?”

Steve opened and closed his mouth a couple times, not expecting the question.

“Doesn’t count if the movies came from your time, right?” 

Any response from Steve was cut off by your cheering. 

“BABA OCTOPUS!! BABATOPUS!!” you held up the plush proudly like it was Simba. “Dada, look!”

“Oh he’s beautiful, baby.” Steve chuckled at the round, bright red octopus plush with a deep frown on its face. “What do you say to Nat?”

“THANK YOU NAAAT!” you yelled. Excitement flickered across your face once more, then you ran out of the movie room with the octopus securely tucked under your arm.

“Where are you going, baby? And no running indoors!” Steve shouted as he chased after you. 

You slowed for a bit, but kept moving at a swift pace. “I hav’ta show Baba my new friend!”

Natasha watched your little race from the movie room with an amused grin on her face. During dinner that night, she enjoyed the shocked look on Sam’s face when you pulled up with two grumpy plushies and pretended to feed the octopus before the turtle.

Sam turned to Natasha. “You have no idea what you’ve just started.”

She smirked. “And you have no idea what you’re getting into.”

Steve leaned over to whisper to Bucky. “We’re gonna need more space in the playroom.”

𓏲 ࣪₊♡

The competition expanded beyond Natasha and Sam. All of the Avengers were determined to find the next grumpy plush to win your heart. There was a penguin from Peter, a frog from Thor, a cat from Tony, and a panda from Wanda. Your collection was starting to get out of control. You desperately wanted to carry all of your plushies everywhere with you to keep things fair, but your daddies put an end to that when you tripped on the sidewalk while trying to push a stroller full of scowling stuffed animals. 

Bucky decided to help you create a system so you could fairly pick one plushie from the collection to carry around for the day. He made small slips of paper so you could write down their names and pull one out of a cup each morning. He brought his supplies to you while you were having an afternoon snack at the dining table. His heart broke seeing you with your knees bandaged up and the streaks of dried tears from the fall earlier today still on your face.

“Hi, Baba,” you sniffled.

“Hey, sweetie. What’s going on? You eatin’ your snack?”

“Mhm.”

“Why aren’t you eating at the kitchen island, baby? You always eat your snack there.”

You pouted and gestured to the plushies sitting around you. “I can’t fit all my friends there.”

“Oh I know, bubs. It must be so hard carrying all these guys around, huh?” He mentally scolded himself for leaving you alone during your snack. He should’ve known better than to expect you to stay put when your little friends were trapped inside the stroller. It must’ve taken so long to arrange the plushies around the table with your injury. 

You perked up at his next words. 

“Baba has something for you.” Bucky spread out the slips of paper on the table and placed a cup next to them. “You can write down the names of all your little friends on these papers and pick one name out of the cup to decide which one you’re walking around with for the day. Does that sound fair?”

You shrugged, “I guess I can do that.” You really would’ve liked a solution that allowed you to bring all of the grumpy plushies with you everywhere, but deep down you knew that it just wasn’t practical. You took the pencil that Bucky held out for you and started writing down your plushies’ names.

Your Baba lovingly kissed the top of your head and rubbed your back while you wrote. He loved watching you focus on a task. He almost didn’t notice what you were writing down.

Bucky squinted then blinked a couple of times, not believing what he saw. “Baby, why are you writing ‘Baba’ on everything?”

You paused and tilted your head back to look at him. “That’s their names. Baba Turtle and Baba Cat and Baba Bear and Baba-”

“Why do you call them that?”

“‘Cause look!” You picked up the grumpy frog sitting next to you and held it out for Bucky to see. “They look like Baba!” You hugged the plushie before setting it back down to continue writing. 

Bucky’s heart melted. His sweet, wonderful baby was so attached to these plushies that reminded them of him. His signature scowl that often got him into trouble brought them comfort. His friends even noticed and spoiled his baby rotten with even more of these toys. 

Bucky continued watching you work. He looked at the plushies differently now. 

𓏲 ࣪₊♡

Steve and Bucky were cleaning your playroom. Normally this would be your responsibility, but you had gone to bed a little earlier, and they didn’t want you walking too much with your injury. Steve was putting your plushies into their designated bins. He wasn’t harsh with them, but his efficient method of gathering an armful and plopping them down certainly would have raised an eyebrow from you. 

“Hey, go easy with turtle me,” Bucky teased. 

“Turtle you?” Steve asked. 

Bucky nodded proudly, then held the plush up to his face. “Don’t you see the resemblance?” 

“Whatever, punk. At least my face isn’t the reason we have a 50 gallon bin of stuffed animals.” Steve turned around and kept cleaning, completely missing the look of excitement on Bucky’s face. 

The next day, your Baba volunteered to pick up breakfast while Steve helped you get ready. Bucky stopped by a toy store on his way to the bakery. He’d seen this particular plushie before and knew that this was the perfect moment to get it for you. Not too long later, he was entering your home with bagels in one hand and your new friend in the other. 

Bucky hid the plush behind his back when he heard you and Steve walking towards him. 

“Hi, Baba!”

“Good morning, baby.” Bucky leaned down to kiss your forehead, then kissed Steve’s cheek as a thanks when he handed off the box of bagels. 

You hugged Bucky and couldn’t help but notice that one of his hands wasn’t hugging you back. 

“Baba, hug me better,” you whined. 

Bucky laughed. “Hang on, I’ve got somethin’ for ya.”

You gasped in excitement and took a step back so you could see. Bucky revealed the plush with a dramatic flourish, then somewhat nervously waited for your reaction. The stuffed animal had you in shock. It was a stuffed giraffe that stood with the most perfect posture. It had spiky hair, blue eyes, and a charming smile. You knew exactly who it was supposed to resemble. 

“IT'S DADA!” You squealed and graciously took the plush while running to the kitchen where Steve was. He was already making his way to you when he heard your scream. 

“Dada’s right here, bubba. What’s going on?”

You held up the plush while doing a little dance. “Look! It’s a Dada giraffe!”

Steve laughed then ran a hand over his face when he made the connection. You ran off to your playroom, saying something about “finding a Baba for this Dada” while your daddies shared a look. 

Bucky brought in Steve for a hug, patting his dumbfounded lover on the back. He playfully whispered in his ear, “We’re gonna need more space in the playroom.”

[quinnysnursery]

Little Chris??

[🥤] bedtime tears | chris sturniolo one-shot

paring : little!chris sturniolo x cg!gn!reader

summary : after a long day of fun, little!chris just isn't ready for bedtime

warning/extra tid-bits : tantrums, crying, i think thats all!

word count : 1,281

divider credit : me c: i made it!

a/n : RAAAAAAA (sorry for any typos, i'm just a girl !)

The two of you had possibly one of the best regression days ever, Chris had finally worked up enough courage to go out in public while regressed, determined to spend the day at the zoo with his caregiver.

Somehow, you two managed to pull it off without Chris being recognized. You managed to spend nearly the entire day at zoo, Chris' headspace full-force. Now though, you two were back home and you were cooking a box of instant mac 'n cheese for your boy.

Stirring in the macaroni, you slowly turned down the heat of the stove to not overcook the SpongeBob-shaped noodles.

"Mama/Dada/Baba?" Chris called from behind your back. You turned around, smiling brightly. "Yes, Lovebug?" You asked, "Is the 'roni almost done?" He asked, peeking behind you.

You nodded, "Almost bug, can you sit down for me?". Chris nodded, giving you a toothy grin before he began making race-car noises as he traced his hot wheels truck against the kitchen counters before sitting himself down at the island.

Placing the bowl of mac 'n cheese in front of your little, you sat down next to him. "Is it good?" You chuckled as Chris began scarfing down the cheesy noodles. "Mhm! 's spongebob!" He smiled, showing you his spoon that had a patrick-shaped noodle on it. You smiled, ruffling the boy's fluffy hair. When Chris finally declared he was “all done!” you took both bowls into the sink, beginning to rinse them off.

“Lovebug?” You attempted grabbing your littles attention. “Mhm?!” Chris answered, already beginning to play with his race-car once again.

“It’s…” You trailed off, looking at your phone before finishing your sentence, “9:30, can you be a big boy for Mama/Dada/Baba and start brushing your teeth for bed?”. Looking up, your brow instantly furrowed at Chris’ teary eyes.

“Oh angel…what’s wrong?” You asked, shutting off the sinks faucet and beginning to reach for your boy. Chris, however, instantly pushed his chair away from the kitchen island and stormed upstairs. A loud slam from a door following him shortly after.

You hadn't expected that at all. You and Chris had a wonderful day at the zoo, spending extra time at the Gorilla exhibit and even getting not one but two plushies at the gift shop.

Sure, Little Chris never loved bedtime but he'd never stormed off and slammed a door before.

After taking a few minutes to collect yourself, you began the trudge upstairs. One of your favorite parts of being Chris' caregiver is you got to rewrite things your own parents did wrong. By being able to collect yourself, you were able to assure yourself that you could speak to Chris without getting frustrated.

Quiet sniffles came from behind the bathroom door, exposing Chris' hiding spot. "Lovey? What's going on?" You asked as you walked up to the door, trying the handle. Locked, of course.

"G-Go 'way!" Your little cried causing you to frown. "Sweetheart..." You tried, your voice gentle and calm. "Can you let mama/dada/baba in so we can talk?" You asked, silently begging he said would say yes. Thankfully, you heard a small 'click!' come from the door and you were able to turn the knob.

Stepping into the restroom, you were immediately greeted with the sight of Chris standing near the tub, eyes red and puffy from crying with the accompanying tear marks down his cheeks.

"Oh baby...what's going on?" You asked, bringing your arms out to offer the distressed little a hug. Chris instantly accepted this, burying his head into your clothing. "N-No bedtime..." Chris pouted, his tears dampening your shirt.

"No bedtime?" You asked, making sure you heard him correctly. Chris whined and stomped his foot, "No bedtime." He grumbled.

"Sweetheart, you've had such a long day though..." You tried, brushing his hair away from his tear-ridden face. Chris whined, shaking his head.

"Can you pretty please brush your teeth?" You asked gently, pulling away from Chris and wiping his eyes with your sleeves. Chris began to whine but you cut him off, "You don't have to go to bed just yet, but you had a lot of cotton candy at the zoo." You chuckled, causing a small smile to appear on the littles face as he slowly began to brush his teeth.

You let out a content sigh, ruffling his hair. The rest of the night would not be easy.

You were right. The two of you had managed to brush your teeth with minimal hitches, the occasional sniffle and eye-rub erupting from Chris.

The next problem arose when it was time for pajamas.

"Mickey Mouse or...Toy Story?" You asked, pulling out two options of sleep pants for Chris. Chris sniffled, looking between the two before speaking. "M' wanted Light'ing Mc'een.." He mumbled, crossing his arms as he sat on the bed.

"You wore those yesterday, lovebug. They're in the hamper." You explained gently, crouching down to meet Chris' eyes that seemed to be fixated on the floor.

This began a whole new set of tears, Chris begging for the "Light'ing Mc'een jammies".

You gently took hold of the little's hands, "Chris, I need you to take a deep breath for me." You said firmly. Chris sniffled, taking a second to calm his tears before slowly taking a slow breath.

"Good job...such a good boy." You praised, giving him an encouraging smile. The two of you worked through another deep-breath before you spoke again.

"I know you want to Lightening Mcqueen jammies, but they're dirty." You paused before beginning again. "So, would you like to choose between these two options or do you want mama/dada/baba to choose?" You finished, brushing a Chris' hair away from his face.

Chris thought for a moment before squeaking out his answer, "Mama/dada/baba..." You nodded, standing up and picking up the toy-story themed pajama pants and a plain black muscle shirt.

"Alright sweetheart, go get dressed. I'll be right here when you're ready." You smiled. Chris took a few moments before going back to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

When Chris returned, you somehow managed to get him curled up next to you without another tantrum.

"M' not tired..." He whined, laying his head against your shoulder. "Lovebug, just try and settle down...for me?" You asked. Chris shook his head, letting out a long whine.

You thought for a moment before speaking, "Why don't you wanna go to sleep, baby?" You asked, looking down at Chris who'd buried himself into your side.

The boy mumbled something, causing you to lean down further. "Hm?" You asked again.

"M' don't wanna be big tomorrow..." Chris mumbled, slightly louder this time. Embarrassed tears beginning to slowly slip out your little boy's eyes.

You cooed, gently taking Chris' chin in your hand and guiding his gaze to meet yours. "Sweet boy, you never ever have to be big for me." You comforted, wiping his tears away with the pads of your thumbs.

"B-but m' was little all day...'s not fair..." He whimpered, you shushed him. "If I needed a break I'd let you know, and Mama/dada/baba is saying its okay. Okay?" You smiled, Chris thought for a moment before sheepishly nodding.

"...'kays." He smiled, flinging himself into your arms for a hug. You chuckled as he koala-ed himself around you.

The two of you stayed that way far after Chris had lulled himself to sleep, which took no less than 10 minutes.

Slowly, you were able to lay him down. You were quick to lay down with him, brushing his fluffy brown hair away from his sleepy face.

"My sweet boy."

[http-shield]

♡ ‧₊˚ ⋅ It Will Come Back

Chapter One: Don't Give It A Hand

~ bucky barnes x fem!reader ~tags/cw: angst, childhood memories, bucky as the winter soldier, eastern european/slavic heritage reader, does not follow the canonical timeline after bucky is arrested in romania, deviates from canon, childhood memories, implied SA, post war trauma, ~ wc:5.4k ~ not proofread Your grandmother has the gift so why couldn't she see the man in your future?

Chapter One: Don't Give It A Hand

It is said that you must not utter the name of the wolf. Use any other word to describe the beast for its name and title will summon it from the depths of hell. 

1993 Nižepole, FYROM

A clump of wet tea leaves stares at you from within the porcelain cup.

"I see a rock," you answer honestly, pointing a tiny finger at the lump as you swirl it in the leftover liquid. 

A wrinkled hand reaches out and slaps yours, and a harsh voice begins to berate you. "Stop! You're ruining it." 

Your grandmother sits across from you on her wooden stool. Her shoulders hunched and covered tightly in a tartan shawl, a matching headscarf tied beneath her chin in a knotted bow. The years of farm life had worn on her, freckled marr her skin like stars on a clear night sky, lines and wrinkles embedded deep from all the years of love and laughter, stories so woven through her very being that they manifest in flesh.

Her eyes crinkle up as she smiles and gently takes the cup from your hands, knobby fingers like a birch tree cradling the porcelain as though it were a baby chick. She holds it up to the light, trying to discern the pattern from beneath. From where you are sitting, you can't see any light coming through, but Baba is magical—always has been—so maybe she sees something you can't.

She hums, lowering the vessel to eye level and taking another peek. 

"You're going to move away from here—far, far away," she says wistfully, closing one eye to garner a new perspective on the future. "I see a cat." She flits her gaze from the prophetic cup to you and then back to the cup. "There is a tall man, but I can't see his face." 

Your nose wrinkles at that.

Tall man? Moving away from home? Unlikely. There has never been a desire to get away from your farm. Your home's rolling hills and endless sky are enough for you, and you doubt you will ever want to be anywhere else.  

A cat, maybe. You've always wanted one. 

"There's something else, something sooner, but I don't know- I can't see it." Her voice dissolves into a whisper as your attention shifts.

With your head slung back against the chair, you bask in the mid-spring sun. Heat kisses your exposed skin, and the warm breeze does naught to cool you down, but you enjoy it. You have longed for the heat all winter, wished that the months would be shorter so the sun would come around quicker, and now that it is here, you never want it to leave. The farm is its usual springtime uproar, with birds chirping and bugs humming as they flit from flower to flower. Cowbells ring from the neighbouring field as the cattle graze for lunch, chickens cluck in their roosts, and the dogs across the road bark as a newcomer drives by. You hear the rumble of an engine; the sound of rubber under gravel fills you with excitement at the possibility of a new face or delivery from the main town. 

The dogs bark louder as the car draws nearer, but their howls have a sharper edge, and their snarling is grittier and lower. Fear begins to settle in your chest.

The air shifts, the wind suddenly stops, crickets no longer hum, and birds are eerily quiet. The sound of the engine ceases for a moment, and then there is the crunch of boots on gravel. Your grandmother reaches out to you; her bony fingers wrap around your wrist and tug you forward. Her words are hushed, spat out at a speed you can't understand.

"Listen to me," she tugs on your wrist, and you look at her face.  Terror lies in her furrowed brows, thin lips pursed as her jaw clenches. 

"You need to get inside. Go hide in your cupboard, and don't leave until I get you. I don't care what you hear; stay inside until I come for you." Her words are grave, a direct warning not to disobey her instructions. 

"What's happening?" you whisper, panic rising in your throat. 

She spares a glance at the front gate; the sounds of footsteps are replaced by howling dogs. 

"The wolf is here." 

2015 Bucharest, Romania

A wolf can smell its prey from two-point-four kilometres away. This is a fact.

That is the distance between you and your apartment, exactly two points four, or no more, no less, as stated by the map on your phone.

Your location pings as a small red dot being shared with your friends, who can easily open the application and see that you are almost home, almost safe within the confines of your apartment walls, but you don't know if you will make it home tonight, for there is a wolf standing on the street corner. 

Cloaked entirely in the blackness of night, the outskirts of the streetlight do little to illuminate much beyond the silhouette and glint of canine eyes. It is crouched over in the street, claws digging into the freshly fallen snow as it hurls its guts up, spewing its latest kill into the gutter. Terror slices through you, a sharp winter wind following suit and turning your blood to ice. You need to move, to step back into the darkness before the beast takes notice and begins its hunt. The snow is soft beneath your feet, and the wind is loud enough to cover any sound you make; you might make it out alive. Might cheat death once more. Potentially be more than just a number on a spreadsheet, so you take a step back, gently, carefully, ohh so tentatively to avoid arousing suspicion. Still, as your shoe crunches on powdery snow, the wolf turns. 

In the low light, the beast begins to shift. Standing from the crouch emerges a man as he rises on two legs and stumbles forward, sputtering unintelligible sentences as he lunges through the snow. The creature paces forward, his steps sloppy and belligerent, but he is tall, his gait wide and lengthier than yours, and though you have turned, tried to make a break for the street beyond, a hand clamps down on your wrist. There is no fur, no claws, nothing to resemble a beast beyond the look in his eyes as you are yanked forward. The nauseating stench on him fills your nose; sweat and beer, vinegar and cigarette smoke engulf you as he shoves his face into yours. You attempt to pull back, the bag on your shoulder having slipped off and down to the earth below. 

"Let me go." You grit through clenched teeth, the lump in your throat turning to bile as you breathe in more of the putrid scent. "Get off me." 

The beast smiles, teeth rotted and missing, and you try desperately not to gag. "Where are you going? Do you need someone to take you?" 

"Leave me alone." You tug on your arm, but his grip is locked. "Please." 

You curl your fingers into a fist, nails digging into your palm in a sharp sting, but that is nothing compared to what could come, what you could be facing if you do not make some attempt to fight back.

The beast stumbles forward, his chest pressed against your arm, your hand being placed over the seam of his pants. A scream builds in your chest, your throat tightening painfully against the tears that begin to line your eyes, but before you can make a sound, neither a whine nor whimper, the beast is ripped away from you. 

A second pair of hands is tugging at your shoulders, pulling you back into the shadows of the building as your assailant slides through the snow. 

"It's okay. You're okay." another man's voice fills your head as you are pulled further back. "Just keep walking." 

You shouldn't follow the instructions; for all you know, this was planned. Have someone scare you, then use a second man to lull you into a false sense of safety before you are finally trapped and carted off to where they had planned, but you do as he says. You lean into his hands and let him guide you away, leaving the beast in the snow. 

The hands veer you in the opposite direction, towards the light and sound of a busier street. You want to turn, to face the person who had just pulled you from certain death and thank them, to offer them some kind of reward for the deed they had just committed, but the hands on your shoulders keep pushing forward.

"My bag!" you exclaim, suddenly aware of the lack of weight dragging down your right side. It feels silly to worry about such a thing, but you had your wallet, keys, and phone in that bag; your entire life was in that bag.

"Got it." Your hero mutters, and you spot the white canvas bag swinging at his side. 

When did he pick that up?

The light of the street stuns you as you step out of the alley. You still, for a moment, reorientate yourself as you feel the pressure of his hands leave you, only to be replaced by the weight of your bag on your shoulder.  Whirling around, your vision blurring momentarily at the sudden spin, you face your saviour. 

"Thank you so much," you whisper, voice shaky as you take deep breaths, the ice-cold air burning your lungs. "Thank you, thank you." 

Another gulp of air stabilises your vision, subsides the tingling in your hands, and begins to even out your heartbeat. 

"I'm so sorry." Apologies are quick to be thrown. "I don't know what would have happened if you- thank you" The words fly out of you as you speak, not pausing to breathe. "I owe you so much. A drink or food or money, I'll give you money." 

You reach into the canvas bag, searching for your wallet, to offer money as a thank you, but a gloved hand on your arm stops you. 

"Are you okay?" the man asks. 

The question gives you pause to truly understand what just happened. Tears sting your eyes, your throat tightens once again, and you begin to feel your bottom lip shake, but now is not the time. You will break down at home, in the sanctity of your own bathroom, not in front of another strange man. 

"Yeah, I think," you swallow the lump in your throat and blink back the tears, your shaking hands wiping your cheeks in case any had fallen free. "Thank you." 

"Do you need to call someone?" 

The offer has you looking up at your hero and are stunned by his appearance. He is handsome, scarily handsome. Chiselled features of sharp cheekbones and strong jaw, piercings blue eyes framed by locks of dark brown hair hidden beneath a scruffy baseball cap. His brows are set in a concerned furrow, his mouth following suit. You stare, unable to make sense that a man so perfect is standing before you and not the leading man in a painting by Eugene Delacroix. 

"I can wait with you?" He presses, dipping his head so as to not seem so imposing. 

You shake your head. "No, I—I don't have anyone to call." A frown tugs at the corner of your mouth. "I can walk home; it's just a block away." 

The man shakes his head. "I'll call you a cab, " he says, raising his hand to signal a taxi. 

"No, no, please." you begin, waving your hands in protest. "I'm fine!" 

A car pulls over as the man flags him down. "I'll pay for it, please." 

"No, I can't accept that-" 

"No. Ma'am, please. Let me get you home safe." His insistence shuts you up, and you find yourself following his instructions as he opens the door of the car and motions for you to get in. 

The taxi is warm and smells of tobacco. The driver is an old man who looks vaguely like an uncle you haven't seen in years. He smiles at you and turns back to your saviour for directions. The man stands on the sidewalk, one arm slung over the top of the car as he leans in and nods to you in the back seat. 

"Take her wherever she needs to go." a gloved hand slips him a decent amount of bills that could cover three of your trips. 

"Ohh, that's…" You're once again shut down by a look from the strange man. You sink into your seat, suddenly feeling like a child being scolded. 

"Please, just get her home safe, " the man implores, glancing at you once more before he pulls away. 

The driver tips his hat with a small "yes, boss" before he pockets the money and pulls away from the curb. 

You turn in your seat, staring out the back window to catch another glimpse of the strange man, but as you look back, you see that the spot he once stood in is empty. Nothing but the swirl of snow. You sink back into the leather, inhaling deeply as you run through the events of the last ten minutes in your mind. Who the fuck was that and why did his eyes look so familiar? 

---

Bucky hates snow—always has and always will. His mother had always scolded him for using that word, her soft voice reminding him that hate is such a strong word that he should use softer, kinder words. That there was no room for hate in his heart. Bucky detests snow. 

There is nothing magical about frozen rain as it pelts against raw skin, covering the world in a dangerous icy slick, freezing the ground so nothing can grow, and turning everything into a white wasteland devoid of any sign of life. He didn't like it as a child and certainly does not like it now. 

His breath is puffs of air into the frozen morning,  the street glowing yellow beneath streetlights, shopfront displays of Christmas trees, and twinkling fairy lights. Bucky thinks for a moment, trying to recall the months of the year and how many of them he had spent in this city if it was almost Christmas. His mind is a jumble of days and weeks, and he cannot pinpoint the exact moment he had come to Bucharest; it would be on a ticket somewhere in his apartment. He should get a calendar and start marking days off. That would be normal. It could lead to the healthy habit of timekeeping, grounding him to the present day whenever he felt the world got too soft beneath his feet. Timekeeping is good, something he wasn't allowed to do back then, and he was never given a chance. 

Bucky scrawls his to-do list of buying a calendar in the top margin of his notebook, followed by a simple 'food; right under it. He had been paid yesterday. Cash in hand for his work as a handyman, carrying supplies up and down stairs on a construction sight. Easy, simple, achievable work. There was no thinking or conversing, simple yes's and no's to even more straightforward questions. It hadn't been hard to find that type of work once he settled into his version of a normal life post-Hydra. There is no shortage of under-the-table work. Employers want to avoid paying benefits and taxes to their team, so they hire drifters and passersby, undocumented people who overstayed visas and travellers looking for some extra cash. Bucky had fit right in, his quiet demeanour hiding him from prying eyes as he worked, head down and mouth shut, just making enough to eat. Never more. There is no need. 

The weight of the notes sits heavy in his pocket, and he knows he should have gone into the market yesterday to blend into the crowd, but as the day wound down, his anxiety did the opposite. The racing in his chest at being recognised spun him into a frenzy of shortened breaths and darkening vision. The roaring in his ears as his blood rushed through his veins became all too similar to the machines that had been used on him, the pressure in his mind building and building until all he could think about was smashing his head against the wall until he cracked his skull, the blood spilling and tension easing but as the minutes passed, the cold tiles of the bathroom soothing his clammy skin, did his heart return to normal, breathing intense and laboured but even, the roaring dulling until he felt like Bucky again. A very blurry and fragmented Bucky, but Bucky nonetheless. His stomach begins to growl, his hunger becoming nausea as the time between meals stretches further, and he is reminded why he had decided to face the world. 

Food. 

---

"I need you to watch him." your manager whispers as she passes behind you, her arms full of boxed muffins. 

"Who?" you follow her as she rounds the corner of the bakery department, throwing the stock on the silver bench. You quickly scan the area around your workspace, spotting no one other than your coworker who is busy decorating a cake.

"There's a guy in the bread aisle; he looks weird." is the only explanation as she begins to scan each small box, the scanner unit in her hand chirping after each successful read. 

"Why me?" you groan, fingers working on tightening your apron strings. "I don't wanna watch some creepy guy." 

Your boss stops, places her hands flat on the counter and fixes you with a look of mild annoyance. The muscles in her jaw twitch as she takes in a breath. 

"Just go. Pretend to fill stock, readjust tags, just make sure he pays for whatever he takes." 

You wait a moment, debating whether or not to turn this into an argument and whether the subsequent unpaid overtime you might have to do would be worth it to not watch a potential shoplifter. But you value sleep and time alone, and doing unpaid work is not worth the mild inconvenience it would be if you had to talk to the guy, so you sigh and throw your head back dramatically, resigning to the orders of your boss. 

She shouts a sung thank you as you walk away; your only acknowledgement of her gratitude is a raised hand as you walk into the aforementioned aisle. 

The shop's bright white fluorescent lights reflect off the grey linoleum with a harsh glare, smothering the cavernous warehouse in a mildly offputting, ever-present light. Smooth, bulbous black security cameras hang over the ends of each aisle, deterring most thieves; however, some still try to push their luck. Towards the end of the aisle, the suspected man stands in front of the packaged loaves. Oh. You've seen him before, a few times, actually within the past few weeks. He had become a frequent shopper, always quiet and polite, and never once struck you as someone who would try to steal, though his current ensemble did scream thief! Dark jeans, heavy black boots, a green jacket, and a black baseball hat slung low over his eyebrows. You watch as his gloved hands trace over the labels, mouth moving as he silently sounds out the vowels. He turns the bread over, weighing it before his head snaps towards you. 

Your breath catches in your throat at the sudden movement. There have been very few moments in life when you felt as though the ground would crumble away beneath you. Honestly, you can count them on one hand, but so far, the man in front of you has been present for two of them. Those familiar blue eyes stare back at you, and you cannot move. 

It's not fear but something so remarkably close that freezes you to your spot. It is not an emotion you can name. It is something you haven't felt before, but the tightness in your throat has you categorising it with the bad emotions, the ones that make you want to curl up in your bed and hide from the world, the ones that make you feel small again. 

The man takes a tentative step towards you—just one, no more—not as if he wants to get closer, just open up his body for conversation. You swallow, knowing he is about to speak, but the rock in your throat makes it impossible. 

He holds up the loaf of bread in his gloved hands and asks, "Do you know which bread keeps the longest?"  There is a hint of an American accent you had not heard a few nights ago. 

You shook your head. "I can ask if you would like?" the Romanian strangely formal on your tongue. 

He shakes his head, a tight smile appearing briefly before he turns on his heels and walks out of the aisle. 

A shaky breath escapes you as you fold over. Hands on your knees as you open your mouth, gulping air down and down into your body, the oxygen chasing away the static slowly creeping along your limbs. A nervous response your body has enacted for as long as you can remember, but it always goes away with a few deep breaths, the electricity turning back to blood and rushing through your body usually. When you were younger, you often panicked that if that static got to your heart, it would override your entire body, turning your muscles into electrical wires. You would become part robot, part human, and that fear had only been exacerbated after witnessing the man in your barn. His metal arm glinting in the low light sent shivers down your spine at the genuine fear your young brain conjured up, but that had to be a dream; there was no plausible explanation for that. Who has a metal arm? 

Another deep breath has your body relaxing, the tightness in your muscles easing away, but it does not stop your mind from racing. You hadn't had a moment to sit and think about that man from the other night; the second you got home, you had been bombarded with emails from your aunt, unanswered calls from your manager and an inbox from a friend you had not spoken to since moving away. There was not a single second where you sat and processed the events and the possible outcome of what could have happened, and if you are being honest with yourself, there never will be. You don't want to open that, to tear a small hole open to inspect inside, because if you open that gash, it would undoubtedly undo the rest of the hastily sutured wounds you have, and there is no time for that. No time to think about your home, your parents, your grandmother, the life you left behind, no time for anything other than moving forward. To keep pushing, to keep living. 

"Are you okay?" your boss asks, her hand sliding up your back to rest between your shoulder blades. 

Another deep breath in. 

"Yeah, just tired." You lie and stand, your vision darkening temporarily at the sudden movement. "Just saw someone I thought I knew." 

---

You see your hero two more times in store before you work up the nerve to say something. 

The original plan was as follows:

Step one: Introduce yourself.

Step two: Say thank you for the other night and apologise for taking so long to say thank you

Step three: Ask him out for coffee as a thank you (and not because he is possibly the most stunning man you have ever seen) 

However, like all good plans, yours goes to waste the second you see him standing in the bread aisle. 

"This bread is really good even if you keep it in the freezer." you slide up to him, a loaf of bread in hand, an attempt to be smooth and start a conversation. 

A side glance is spared your way. His jaw is clenched, but upon seeing you, it relaxes. He turns his head, his eyes finding yours for a split second before glancing at the bread in your hand. 

"Sorry?" 

Oh. 

Your cheeks heat in embarrassment. Have you got the wrong guy? Is this not the man you have thought of for the past week? The man who had saved you from certain doom? 

"The last time you were here, you asked which bread would keep the longest, and I didn't have an answer." You hold the bread up a little higher. "But now I do." 

Should you mention the incident in the alley?

Confusion furrows his brows, but he accepts the loaf nonetheless. "Thank you."

But there is no sincerity in his words. He is cautious about avoiding touching you despite wearing gloves, his fingers digging into the paper bag with gentle strength. He takes a step back, eyes squinting as though trying to figure out your motive behind the gesture and continues to back away before swiftly turning for the register, not another word spoken. 

A heavy sigh leaves you. All the air in your lungs had turned to lead for the duration of the conversation. 

Yes, You should have mentioned the incident in the alley. 

---

"Thank you," a smooth voice says from your left. You quickly turn to find the source, unsure if it's a customer or coworker, and are pleasantly surprised to see your illusive hero standing beside you.

You stand, brushing your hands on your apron, suddenly aware of how grimy and dirty your uniform is. "For?" the question comes out a little harsher than you intend. 

He shifts uncomfortably at your tone. "The bread, earlier in the week." 

"That's okay. I'm just doing my job." You're quick to correct the bitterness you had just spilt with a quick smile. "I'm glad it worked out." 

There is an unusual jitteriness to him. Usually, he is still and calm, like a man made of marble, as he analyses the stock, but today, he is fidgety. His fingers twitch at his side,  and his eyes search for something in the space between you. You think he is going to speak as he parts his lips, but he doesn't. 

You fill the gap. "You probably don't-"

"I just wanted to" 

The two of you awkwardly talk over the other as you realise you both want to say something. 

"Sorry. You finish what you were saying." He holds out his gloved hand as a gesture to keep talking. 

"It was nothing, I just—It's not important." You quickly dismiss yourself, not sure if you want to open that can of worms. If he has yet to mention it, surely he doesn't remember. 

The man looks like he wants to say something but stops himself and takes another direction. "I just wanted to say thank you. I'm Bucky." A gloved hand is extended, and you take it without a second thought. The leather is warm against your frozen fingers as you introduce yourself. 

Maybe you'll just let it go and start afresh. Close that wound completely and get the healing over and done with. 

"Lovely to meet you, Bucky. If you ever need anything, come find me." You've made this offer to many customers and thought nothing more of it but as he lets go of your hand and bids you farewell, you hope that isn't the last you see of him.

---

It's not.

Bucky becomes a frequent shopper. Having been seen maybe twice a fortnight, it is now once a week, with increasing conversation each time your paths cross. 

It starts with small hellos as you stock the aisles he is in, both of you watching each other as you navigate the small space; then he starts to ask about your day, comments on the weather, and the busyness of the square outside. Small talk to break the ice and ease him into conversations. He wants to talk to you despite every cell in his body telling him to run and hide from the potential threat; he can't stop himself as he smiles at you. 

"Do you like fruit?" he asks rather abruptly one day as he watches you stock the apple display. 

The question gives you pause, and he worries he has said the wrong thing or made a mistake, but your smile eases his anxiety. 

"I like fruit," you nod, attention on him but hands still working to stack. "Why?" 

Bucky is still determining why he asked the question. He has been looking at foods that increase memory and brain health, so that could be where it came from, but there is another part of him, something smaller and buried a little deeper, that wants to get to know you. He knows of you, has seen you in the store and saved you from that freak that one time, but other than that, you are just the pretty store clerk who he can't seem to forget about. 

"I've read that fruit can help with memory and was going to ask if you had any favourites I might try."  That works.

"Well, watermelon is my favourite, but I don't think that helps the brain a lot, so I think after that, it might be rasp-ber-ry?" you struggle to pronounce the word in Romanian, your tongue slipping over the constants. 

"Raspberries?' Bucky answers in English, having already known your native language just by the way you pronounce certain words. 

"Oh, you speak English?" you turn towards him, eyes wide as the familiar language catches you off guard.

"Better than Romanian." a small chuckle escapes him before he can help it. "We can stick to it if its easier."

Your eyes narrow as if trying to figure out who you are talking to. Bucky wants to laugh at that and encourage you to try. Let him know if you work it out so he can figure it out, too. 

"I've heard plums are pretty good, too." he watches as you bite down on your bottom lip, pulling the flesh into your mouth for a second. "You know-" 

Bucky stiffens, heart beginning to race. There are too many variables as to where this conversation is headed. 

"I know you, " you say, brows crinkling ever so slightly. You helped me that one night. I'm not sure if you remember." 

A huffed breath leaves Bucky as his muscles relax. Not the direction he dreaded. Good. He nods and leans against the stand. 

"I know, I didn't want to say anything in case you were…I didn't wanna scare ya."  

You nod slowly, taking a deep breath as you turn back to stack the apples in your hands. The silence has his heart racing, this time for an entirely different reason. 

"Can I take you out as a thank you?" you ask suddenly, staring at the produce under your hands.

Bucky jolts, the fruit beneath his elbow shifting at the surprise, but he quickly catches them. The mechanics in his arm whirs, and he hopes to God, you didn't hear it. 

"Me?" 

"No. The other man who saved me." you joke, and Bucky notices the blush that begins to creep along your cheeks. 

Bucky laughs. "Uh, sure."

"If you want." You are quick to amend. 

"I want to," he reassures you, not wanting to cast doubt on his desire to go out with you. "I just haven't gone out in a long time," 

"Me neither," you shrug, leaning on the plastic create. "It's just a thank you. You don't have to dress up, I swear." 

Bucky wets his lips, pulling the bottom one between his teeth as he deliberates. "Sure." 

Your eyes narrow suspiciously. "I can give you my number?" 

"I don't have a phone." 

"I can meet you here?" The offer is sincere and you don't look too perturbed by the fact he doesn't have a phone. 

There are a lot of things missing from Bucky's life—a phone, a proper house, friends, family, his sane mind. However, something is pulling him towards you. He isn't entirely sure what it is, where it has come from, or what will happen if he starts a friendship with you, but there is something so deep within him—the same gut feeling he had when he saw Steve on the bridge all those months ago—that is pulling him towards you now. 

He squares his shoulders before asking. "What time?"

[twin-wxngs]

Nightmare Critters counterpart discussion.

{So, before I begin, I would like to point something out. I don't normally do speculation like this to a larger scale. However, I would also point this out as well regarding the discussion of these 16 characters:}

{The nightmare critters are not really counterparts. They are just another group like smiling critters. So! With that in mind, this topic is just for fun. So with that out of the way, let's begin under the cut. We'll be going in release order.}

When looking for counterparts for the Nightmare Critters, you have to look at their negative traits and find what clashes with them. Now, I could be wrong about some of these, but this is my take on them.

1. Baba Chops

Baba doesn't exactly like being outside. And while her friends tend to convince her after loads of trying, she seems to dip back into the same recluse we seem to see her as. Because of the fact she prefers her alone time compared to spending time with her friends leads to me believe that her counterpart is none other than the leader of the Smiling Critters: Dogday.

Dogday essentially embodies everything that Baba doesn't like doing. Spending time with his friends, being outside and having fun with others. That's what he loves the most, being there for his friends. On top of that, Baba would be that kind of person who wouldn't like having a leader role and would push it on to someone else if it meant she'd have her space.

One other thing to note, is that Baba's scent is Anise. If you don't know, Anise is a plant that is actually very unhealthy for dogs when consumed too much. However, it is also seen as a dog's catnip, making them more happy and energetic to an alarming degree.

2. Icky Licky

Icky from the looks of his description, is a very gifted individual with actual good merits. However, the problem is his attitude when making competition with others. He seems to be the type to make multiple excuses, pin them on any excuse, and maybe even pin it on other people just to say he didn't lose. As competitive as he is, he's a spoilsport with a knack for making multiple pleading cases because he doesn't want to lose. The person I can see him clashing with on this scale is Hoppy.

You see, Hoppy is energetic and sporty as well. Although the difference between her and Icky is the fact that she wouldn't really take losses that seriously. She loves sports, but she loves sharing those sports with her friends. While they're both competitive, Hoppy would actually take the loss like a champ and swear she'd win next time. And trust me, she means that.

Minor note, but both of them are animals that do a lot of hopping and jumping, if it helps you see what I'm saying.

3. Rabie Baby

Now, Rabie's counterpart doesn't really seem all that obvious. But let's take a look at what she says. She loves secrets, and she loves to blab about them to their friends. Unfortunately it seems that Rabie's big mouth of hers might seem to get her into trouble. She doesn't know boundaries, and seems to constantly push into blabbing about others because she loves to do so. I can think of one person for this, and it's Bobby.

Bobby is like the tight knit, responsible older sister of the group. She knows her friends boundaries and makes sure they're okay mentally when they're feeling down. Everyone goes to and trusts her to keep things quiet, essentially the therapist of the group. Meaning, she does know her fair share of secrets about her friends, but she keeps that kind of thing to herself, because she doesn't want to start anything. And come on, that's rude.

4. Allister Gator

Allister is definitely what you would call a lazybones by heart. He doesn't risk wanting to try anything if it means it won't bring him anything good about it. Essentially, if it doesn't benefit him, he won't do it, because he's waiting for the right thing to come by and be good for him. He's essentially a slouch that doesn't really want to put any effort, because he thinks he's good as he is. Which is a stark contrast to Kickin.

Kickin, believe it or not, is a coward who is afraid to try new things. However, this also makes him a little bit lazy too as a result. Because of this persona he has when wanting to be seen as the cool one, he's going to push through it and do anything to be seen as cool among his peers. He may not be the most courageous, but he puts in an effort to try to be, because good things will happen if you put in enough effort. And he makes an effort to try and stand out, unlike Allister here.

5. Simon Smokes

Simon is definitely one of those people that wants to be seen, but the thing is, there's something deeper going on here. You see, the way he carries himself and the fact he seems to want attention, to pay close eyes to his accomplishments makes him a bit.. desperate. Keep in mind, dragons aside from breathing fire, are known for hoarding treasure. Because of this, you could say his pendant embodies his greed for attention and gratification, which is quite opposite of Crafty.

You're all gonna kill me for this, but I'm saying it anyway. And no, it has nothing to do with them being the two mythical creatures of the group. It's moreso how they carry themselves about their talents. Compared to Simon, Crafty is more closed off about the things she likes to do. Although she wants friends, she doesn't know how to make them either, but doesn't want to bother people either, making her a bit of recluse. But the thing is, she's good at what she does, but doesn't outright gloat about it either. She'd only talk about it if you asked, being more humble and modest, probably saying it's not that good. Unlike Simon, who thinks he's on top of it all.

6. Poe

Poe definitely isn't having a phase. Jokes aside, they seem to be quite unlikable towards daylight, and seem to prefer being at night. In a sense, you could see Poe as a bit of a night owl, with the irony that they're not an owl. By the sounds of it, Poe would be the one out of the Nightmare Critters with a nocturnal schedule, wanting to be awake at night, and asleep during the day, but let's be real. If Baba's persistent friends are anything to be taken out of context, they don't let Poe do this. Which is funny, because I don't think Catnap would either. .

If you haven't forgotten, Catnap's whole deal is sleeping at appropriate times. He makes sure everyone is well rested before they have a good day of playing and having fun, which is the balance he shares with Dogday. He wouldn't like it if they were suddenly awake at night like this, especially if they have no reason to. Catnap's love for sleeping at night is both a duty and a passion, even if he's still a cat. Which you know, he takes naps during the day. Poe would probably hate this guy due to his insistence on sleeping at appropriate times.

7. Touille

Touille, despite appearing to be a glutton, is honestly more of an oddball with disgusting tastes. It's been said that seems to talk everyone's ears off when it comes to talking about his favorite thing: trash. He likes eating it, but I imagine he also likes to collect it as much as he loves talking about it. Although he's not smart in a traditional book smart sense, he seems to make up for that fact in street smarts. The difference in that scope of knowledge would contrast beautifully with Bubba.

Now you see, Bubba is what you'd call a textbook smart individual. Research? History? Document, he's your elephants and seems to know quite a lot on that side. The problem is, like Touille, he seems to talk a bit too much whether you like it or not. But unlike Touille, he doesn't really know how to apply that knowledge in a street setting. He'd prefer being in a library compared to the dump. But unlike Bubba, Touille would probably eat a book instead of read it, if it looked unsalvageable enough.

Another minor note, but Elephants don't really like rodents. If you remember they're too small for them to see, which kinda helped me make a connection.

8. Maggie Mako

Maggie usually has one thing on her mind: food. And not the good kind of food, if we're talking from a health perspective. She seems to be insanely selective about what she eats, and prefers a LOT of junk food, and is unapologetically rude about it. It's safe to say that I don't think she plans on shaping up anytime soon. Although, this would definitely irk the likes of Picky.

Picky is the other side of the caring duo that makes her and Bobby. She's been known to make sure her friends aren't selective of their food, and is actually quite healthy herself. She and Bobby care about that immensely, with Bobby caring about your mental health, and Picky caring about your physical health from a food standpoint. And who could blame her? Watching the things you eat determines how fit you'll be. I don't think she'd appreciate Maggie tossing away the veggies, or other healthy foods she gives her.

{And I believe that is it. What do you think? Do you agree with me or not? It's fine if you don't, but I don't think I want to debate this. I've been doing this on discord for too long waiting for them all to come out. So, feel free to discuss your own thoughts with peers. Personally, Kickin and Hoppy's positions could go either way, but the others I'm sure of. Still! Have fun speculating!}

[marymary-diva17]

Soft hearted with a broken soul (2)

Tonowari x reader x ronal

Taking cation of one words had been something everyone learned, from a very young age. Now that had become to be true as harsh words and cold treatment, had finally become the final straw for a spirt that felt broken. It was time now for one who had been broken to rebuild and live the life they wish, no longer letting anyone else stop them.

Y/n " ......." After the events that had unfolded between you and the others, life hasn't been the same that much. You had been obeying everyone wishes and keeping some distance yourself and them, all expect kiri who came to see you still.

y/n " you are doing an amazing job weaving kiri"

kiri " thank you"

y/n " so who are you making these gifts for"

kiri " my friend spider so when he gets here he will have I and my siblings to welcome him back, along with some nice gifts as well"

y/n " that very nice of you"

????? " kiri oh hello y/n"

kiri " tuk what are you doing out here alone you should be with someone"

tuk " well I came looking for you"

y/n " hello little one care to join us"

tuk " really I'm allowed to after all that happened with our mama and you"

kiri " tuk"

y/n " it okay you can stay tuk and your sister has told me so much, about you and your siblings"

tuk " thank you" tuk soon joined the weaving group and started weaving something, during this time she got to see that you are very nice.

y/n " good job little one you have a very good artistic talent"

tuk " thank you y/n"

????? " I leave you in changer of tuk for one afternoon and you lose her"

????? " I didn't lose her she wonder off on her own she might of not, gotten that far from here"

????? " don't worry we will find her and we might find kiri as well" the trio soon looked up to see the other kids standing there, you had looked at your kids and other two sully boys.

y/n "hello children it seems like you made your way here looking for tuk over here"

neteyam " hello y/n she had wondered off"

y/n " yes tuk here had come here looking for kiri and I invited her to come join us, will you all love to join us or no it up for you to decide"

lo'ak " after what happened yesterday you will be fine with us around"

y/n " yes I will not let adults words hold judgment on their children" the kids soon nodded their heads and soon joined you and the two girls while weaving, it was easy to tell that your kids had something on their mind.

Tisreya " mama"

y/n " yes my dear"

tsireya " we are sorry about yesterday what neytiri spoke was not true mama we love you and see you as our mama"

aonung " yes we are sorry and we are sorry for being distance lately, we didn't mean to hurt you mama"

rotxo " we also should of said something yesterday as well verse standing there, in silence allow neytiri to speak down on you"

y/n " my children it okay you all still have my heart and love, there is nothing that anyone could say that will change that ... but neytiri words did hurt that day and still do"

neteyam " y/n we are sorry for our mother behave I apologize on her behalf"

y/n " young man you shouldn't have to do that for her but it very mature of you, I will give your parents their respect space along with my mates as well"

neteyam " okay"

rotxo " what going in happen with your relationship with baba and mother"

y/n " distance seems to be the best for us right now I have done everything for my love to them, but right now the battle has become to hard ... I think I will need to use this distance to see where it will lead"

tsireya " oh mama we are sorry if there is something we can do"

y/n " no my loves this is between me and them but no matter what happens, I will still love all of my children"

aonung " baba and mother were wrong for yesterday and their reasons to not have kids, with you was completely stupid of them as well"

lo'ak " I have to agree you are good mother and good person for what we have seen and heard from kiri and your kids as well"

y/n " thank you all but now lets me show you all some new weaving styles" the kids had nodded their heads and agreed to stay with you for the remaining of the afternoon. Soon the group was heading back to the village.

????? " hello" everyone soon looked towards the water to see a boy standing there he looked just like kiri and lo'ak .

sully kids " spider"

spider " hey guys it been a while" spider soon passed out in the water as the sully kids race to his aid.

y/n " my sons race to the village and tell tonowari a teen boy, that sully knows has arrived here"

aonung " yes mama"

rotxo " right away" you soon went to the boy who was being held up by neteyam and lo'ak.

y/n " he exhausted we most get him to my home I can attend to him there"

kiri " can I help please y/n"

tsireya " I want to help as well"

y/n " sure come along all of you" the kids had followed you towards your home.

y/n " tuk grabbed the roll up mat over there and roll it out for the boy"

tuk " okay" tuk had grabbed the mat and soon rolled it out spider was soon laid slowly on the mat.

kiri " is he going to be okay"

y/n " he will be fine he just tried and seems to be hurt a bit, we will need to heal up his injuries"

kiri " I have some herbs we can make into paste that will be good for him"

y/n " good do that"

spider " umm where I'm guys .... guys"

lo'ak " hey bro we are here right now you are in a new friend of our home y/n"

y/n " hello young one you will be fine we will fix you up right away and you will need rest"

spider " okay"

kiri " here the paste is ready this is going to stink a bit spider"

spider " it okay" kiri and tsireya had placed the paste on spider body.

Jake " kids we came right away is spider really here"

spider " hello"

aonung " mother we brought them here right away"

tonowari " y/n"

y/n " the boy will be fine he will need rest but his injuries will heal, no need to worry that much right now Jake sully I think it will be best if you call your friends here"

Jake " yes I will do that"

neytiri " kids what are you doing here"

kiri " helping out our friend neytiri"

ronal " y/n why have you brought this child into our home do you know what you have done"

neytiri " he of demon blood you will bring doom to your clan"

ronal " y/n we need to have Jake and his friends deal with him as he their kind"

y/n " enough" everyone soon looked at you shocked by this behavior.

y/n " you four out now I will not have any your four upset the children anymore"

tonowari " y/n ....."

y/n " I said out now tonowari get out of my home now" the four adults had soon been taken out of your home, as you looked at them with cold glare.

y/n " he will be staying here under my care as he a child the same age as out kids"

neytiri " he is demon blood are you that stupid"

y/n " watch your tongue you will not insult me anymore neytiri, he is just like all of you kids no matter who blood he share ... shame on you for saying that to him and everyone else who spoke that way"

Jake " why is he navi he was human when he was taken"

y/n " it seems like eywa has work her ways to help on of her children, you can ask more later on call your friends as well"

Jake " yes I will make that happened"

tonowari " why did you bring him to our home"

y/n " my home we haven't lived together for a long time it my home and that is your and ronal home, remember tonowari so I have all rights to allow him inside my home"

ronal " y/n ..."

y/n " no I'm doing what best for that boy and the kids and you will respect that, please for eywa sake we can talk more tomorrow"

tsireya " mama will it be fine if we spend the night here"

y/n " yes you can"

ronal " no I will not ...."

y/n " they can stay that my discussion if the sully kids want to stay, with their friend as well they can"

tsireya " yes I will tell them that as it seems like they wish to stay"

y/n " good" tsireya soon walked back into the room as you soon looked at the four adults again.

y/n " I will take it from here and I will update you all tomorrow"

tonowari " ma y/n please ..."

y/n " I will update you all in the morning please thank those words, verse any actions that can happen" the four adults seem to back down with everyone else, when you gave them a cold glare. You soon went back into the home to attend to the children.

aonung " mama is everything going to be okay"

y/n " yes everything will be fine you all can spend the night here we can have some dinner, and talk a bit more"

spider " thank you for allow me to stay"

y/n " you are welcome" the kids had helped you make dinner and the rest of the evening seem to be going well, now it seems like you were no longer letting anyone push you around and fight for yourself. Now the former soft hearted navi women who soul seemed to be broken, was no started to rebuild herself and live the life she wanted and not have others control her or speak poorly of her anymore.

[bloodydragam]

Cleaning Bottles With You On New Year's Day

Happy New Year's to @lilithlinen! This is my Secret Santa gift for the event hosted by @97keanu! Merry belated Christmas and a very happy new year.

Summary: You share some intimate moments with John Wick on the New Year.

Tags: Mention of injuries, Fluff, slightly NSFW.

Words: 1.8 k

December 31. 09:00 a.m.

Your face against his chest, your legs intertwined with his and his arms around you. It was all so comforting, despite it all: your lives, your scars, the place where you met, once upon a time. John and you had fallen asleep watching movies last night, and somehow had ended like this, cuddling comfortably.

His black hair falling on your face felt like a curtain that protected you from the outside world. Actually, his whole presence felt like that: him, his house, damn, even his dog. It all felt so out of touch with the Underworld; John was just so gentle and kind, surely one of the reasons why he was a legend. So very unlike all of them, that’s why he was the best of them.

“Merry Christmas” he whispered as he woke up, laughing after. It had become a little joke, stretched for almost a week now.

“Mmh” you chuckled, “Merry Christmas indeed…”

It was supposed to be just for the Christmas, but your ankle was feeling better, The Continental was back to usual business, and you had no longer the need for a place to stay the night… but you’ve found yourself unable to leave, and John unable to let you go.

He pulled you close to him, burying his face in the crook of your neck and inhaling, his arms tightening their hold around you.

“Are you leaving today?” he asked, knowing that a contract could be pulled on you any second, and he, well, he could always pick his contracts.

John's question was soft, warm, and a little bit of worry hung in the silence. But he was holding you close to him, his face buried in the crook of your neck as though to memorize how you smelled, how your skin felt, to imprint it in his mind so he could picture you in your absence.

“No, I don't want to leave yet.”  you answered, wrapping your own arms around him and breathing him in just as he was doing, nuzzling against him. "Unless, of course, you want me to leave" you added, just seeking the reassurance that in fact, the Baba Yaga had stolen you away from the world, from him to keep, and you had happily let him.

John's response was immediate. “No.”

He lifted his head at that and looked down at you, his eyes meeting yours. There was a mixture of possessiveness, protectiveness, and affection in his intense gaze, and he shook his head for emphasis.

“I don't want you to leave. Not ever.”

You smiled, feeling your cheeks burn a little at his words and his gaze.

John's grip on you intensified as he spoke, his arms wrapping tighter around you. He was holding you as though he feared you would slip through his fingers like sand.

“Don't leave,” he repeated, his voice taking a more desperate tone. He leaned down to rest his forehead against yours, his breath warm against your face. “Stay here. Stay with me.”

“If that's what you want...” you smiled, “besides, how is Dog going to survive without me now? He loves me!”

John laughed at your last words, the sound of it soft and filled with amusement. He pulled back slightly to look at you, a smile on his lips.

“You're just staying for the dog now, are you?” he teased, one eyebrow raised in mock disbelief. You both laugh.

The sound of your shared laughter filled the room, creating a comfortable atmosphere. John's arms were still wrapped tight around you as he spoke, his voice light and teasing.

“I knew it. Here I was thinking you liked me, turns out you're just here for my dog.”

“He's cuter than you, can't blame me.”

John chuckled at your comment and proceeded to kiss your temple. An action that took your breath away. You had stolen some kisses with John here and there, but now, cuddled in his bed, a mix of anticipation and nervousness forming in your lower stomach.

“Cheeky,” he murmured, his lips lingering against your skin. “But you know what they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

His hand moved to your waist, his fingers gently tracing small patterns on your skin above the fabric of your shirt. As his hand moved on your body, John's eyes were fixed on yours, studying your reaction to his touch. He was clearly enjoying the moment, the way you felt in his arms, the warmth of your body against his. He pulled you closer to him, his chest pressing against yours, his face hovering just above yours.

Still, he waited for the approval, the word, the nod or the action that would let him continue, to let you show you how much it had meant to him that you spent Christmas with him, that you stayed the whole week I'm his house, cooking, watching movies, giving him a sense of normalcy that he had lost so many years ago.

And you wanted him to show you, to let this man love you with his calloused hands, his rosy lips and gentle gaze. Him. John Wick when he was just John.

So, you nodded.

But fate had a slightly different idea of how you both should spend the day.

Just when John was about to kiss you, as his hands lifted the hem of your shirt, your phone rang, and even if you captured his lips and tried to ignore the sound, after some more notifications, it was clear you had to answer.

“Damm it!” you hissed, reaching for your phone at the night table, as John sat in bed and sighed, a bit amused but also frustrated.

“Don't worry, we will get back to it,” he reassured you, but as you let a long, gloomy sigh out, John knew that you both won't be getting back to it for a while.

December 31. 11:57 p.m.

At least, there has been a New Year’s party for both of you, one with a mission to kill someone, that ended in a massive fight on a populated club back in the city. But as the last body fell to the ground, you and John did too. Alive, unlike the body, but tired as hell and just wanting to return to the bed you had abandoned in the morning.

John lied with you on the ground, he was as breathless as you.

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this” he said softly, both regret and tenderness in his tone, as both of you lied on the floor of the now lonely club.

“I think I was the one who dragged you into this last-minute job…” you recalled.

“I didn’t mean today… I mean… this feeling. This love”

You smiled, a bit incredulous. “Love, you say?”

John’s eyes grew big for a moment, but then courage took the lead, “Yes… love.” His hand went to your neck, holding it gently as he inspected your lips. “Loving me is not easy, you know?”

“Liar!” you exclaimed with a smile, “Loving you is so damn easy, John… and any other situation, outside here, is of no consequence.”

“I’m afraid you will regret that, found out how wrong you are…”

“We’re both from this world, John… there’s nothing that will scare me, nothing that will make me regret loving you. Today I was the one to pull us out from bed, maybe tomorrow it will be you, but as long as we make it back, I don’t have a problem with following your every step.”

John took the words in. “You’re really cheeky” he chuckled, before grabbing your face between his hands, admiring your beauty among the new scars and injuries, holding you carefully, as the most valuable and delicate gift.

“Come on, you love that about me…”

John nodded. “I love you. Period.”

And as outside, the clock ticked midnight, John pulled you into a kiss. Your lips savoring each other, the small tastes of blood due to cuts and the tenderness that you shared.

January 1. 02:15 a.m.

John dragged you to bed, the always clean and soft sheets of The Continental rooms making your aching, hurt body shiver, but the Baba Yaga’s urgent touches more so. His rough hands caressed from your temple to your cheek and your lips, cleaning a bit of blood that stained your perfect lips.

He himself was beaten to hell, an ice package tied to his arm, recent scars and bruises gracing his face and a purple eye starting to take color on his right eye. But as he caressed your face, held you close, in the peaceful, darkened room, he felt alive, content, as he hadn’t felt in a long time. A smile appeared on his lips.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Well, this could’ve been worse… so much worse” you smiled. Despite all, having John there, holding you tenderly, made everything better. “Actually, I think there’s no other person I would rather be right now. Things couldn’t go better.”

John nodded, taking the words in. Still caressing your lips.

“And your ankle?”

He got a huffed for answer. “It’s injured again, for sure…”

John smirked. An idea already in his head.

“Well, you can always stay with me until you get better…” his hand went from your lip to your neck, holding its nape gently. “If that’s what you want, of course.”

Your whole body shivered again at his touches. “I think we already had this conversation…”

John hovered over you. “Yeah… I know. Just want to be sure, you will be staying.”

“Of course, John. I will stay with you always…”

The assassin smiled, finally able to get back to the moment you had left on pause on the morning, pulling from your shirt, looking at you with a warm and dangerous gaze.

His lips found yours again, with less blood than some hours ago, the cuts already cleaned. You wrapped your arms carefully around him, trying not to move out of place the ice package he had tied to his arm, but quickly he got rid of it, making you laugh.

“Jeez, we’re never recovering like this.”

“I don’t care” he hissed, kissing you again, and again. His hands pulled your shirt off you, as you started to do the same to his clothes. Among kisses, caresses and small moans.

Once you were naked, John kissed your whole body, from your temple to your legs, taking his time between your thighs and the place that ached for him already.

“John…” you moaned, feeling his beard scratching you and his tongue making you shiver and squirm. He took his sweet time, wanting to make you feel good and wanting you to never leave.

As hours passed, you ended up where you started, cuddling next to him, your bodies intertwined, a sense of peace hovering over you both, a feeling that you never wanted to let go.

“Happy New Year…” he whispered against your ear. “Almost forgot to say it.”

You smiled.

“Happy New Year, John. You’re never getting rid of me”

He smiled, hugged you even closer, wanting your bodies to merge as one once again.

“That’s the idea, love.”

[yourfavpasifikacreator]

{No ke aha la i pau ai e like me keia ..}

Meaning: why'd it have to end like this

Clarisse la rue x Hawaiian!fem!daughter of aphrodite!reader

⚠️Warning⚠️: angst r!dies Selina a clarisse crying

Summary: the reader sacrificed themselves for Selina.

A/n: sorry guys I have really bad writing skills- but enjoy!

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Your gaze fell upon Selina failing to defeat the lydian drakon your sister Selina in fact it was going to kill her your heart raced as you ran as fast as you could to save her she closed her eyes and you Selina was alive but you fell on the ground backwards your thick flowing long curly hair that was on the side of you beautiful face Selina opened one of her eye she was alive but she looked at her older sister a her jaw-dropped covering her mouth she went to the side of you a held your hand and cried out loudly "SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME..!" You grasped her hand softly "I've always loved, you my dear beautiful sister and I always will but I want you to tell clarisse.." you said weakly your loving girlfriend clarisse is still fighting as your gaze fell upon her fighting you weakly took your bracelet off it was customized like a lei but smaller it has the beautiful pattern from your island the design was a hibiscus flower but something was written on it and it was in Hawaiian "Inā e wehe ʻia kēia mai koʻu lima, ua hala au akā makemake wau e ʻōlelo ʻo kaʻu hoaaloha a me koʻu kaikuahine ka mea maikaʻi loa i loaʻa i loko o koʻu ola aloha wau iā ʻolua..." Selina choked out tears at this point seeing the bracelets word why was nobody coming she thought sobbing you caressed your sisters face wiping the tears off her face you smiled softly "oua, don't cry, baba ill always be with you.." you smiled weakly clarisse stopped fighting a quickly made her way to Selina a you she gazed in utter disbelief the love her life was perishing before her eyes Selina looked away she couldn't bear the pain of seeing your face anymore you mumbled "don't blame each other, clarisse," you spoke stuttering in your sentence your soft voice "take my bracelet.." and then you spoke for the last time "my one wish clarisse, don't hide from others there is going to be many who loves you other than me so don't hide yourself from love and look after my sister please my love.." clarisse had tears coming out of her she replied "this is not fair, don't leave me, don't you dare go and leave without" Selina spoke "Aloha au iā ʻoe, ʻaʻole au e poina iā ʻoe.." they both hated the gods for taking you away your eyes closed with with tears strolling down the side of your face clarisse gently caressed your beautiful face gifted by your mother now cold your eyes peacefully shut clarisse a Selina sobbing in pain clarisse kissed your cold skin crying in to your chest holding the bracelet to her heart or to the empty spot where her heart was and put her forehead on yours you twos nose together for the last time she wish she could go back in time..

[snoopledrooplecheesedoodle]

HI! Sorry, first time doing something like this, I just really liked your fic of the yandere neko cafe!

I was wondering if you could do this request, just if you feeling like it, of course, is just how some of your ocs (anybody really, I like them all, lol) would react to Reader getting gifted some cat ears and actually putting them on?

tysm, keep up the work, u're doing amazing!

Damn even Donut (jk I love him too)? It melts my heart that you like my characters and I think this would be cute. Thank you for requesting from me, I find it very sweet.

Yandere Cat Cafe's Reactions to you wearing cat Ears

Totally ecstatic:

Macchi:

Macchi loves cats and you, combining them makes you all the more irresistible. She doesn't care how you get them because this girl is buying you more. Ooh maybe she'll buy calico ears so you're matching! Maybe even matching outfits too! Wait where are you going, she's just getting started!

Cocoa:

OMG! You look totally fabulous! She has to take some pictures of you and two and post them! Just two cute besties, #purrfectpair! You will be sore from smiling as Cocoa gets different photos from different angles. How can she not when you both look so cute! Wait you know she saw a few items in the mall that would look fab with your ears. She's got coupons! You end up being dragged away on a shopping spree with a very happy Burmese.

Cookie and Muffin:

The twin terrors and fooling around behind the counter (under Shopkeeper's watchful eye) trying to make sweetest drink possible. When it's to their satisfaction they run to get you to try it. Baba look what they ma-Oh my gosh you're just like them! They knew you were perfect for their little family! They drop the drink forgetting all about it, instead asking why you were hiding your ears from them before. You try to explain that they are fake, but the twins are so happy you fake some story about not feeling confident with them out. Good luck getting out of this one because now you'll be wearing cat ears 24/7 to keep up the lie.

Matcha:

Bro's your biggest supporter (bro but gender neutral), you could walk in wearing a trash bag and Matcha would think you were the most ethereal being to walk the planet Earth. You walking in with cat ears makes them want to cry, you look so heavenly. You panic a little bit as they grab onto your ankle and weep while singing your praises. They just want to worship you as you deserve. Definitely wants you to buy a cat collar, not for yourself but for them. They just want to be yours and seeing you looking so cute eggs them on.

Meh:

Shopkeeper:

Shopkeeper finds it amusing that you prance into their cafe wearing cat ears. Do you want them to serve your coffee in a saucer for you to lap at? Don't look so frustrated it will only egg them on further. Besides that, Shopkeeper is neither ecstatic nor completely hating the idea. They love you for you and cat ears will make no difference.

Espresso:

Espresso is pretty nonchalant about the cat ears, if it makes you happy and doesn't harm anyone go for it. If anyone talks bad in public about you wearing them, you get scary cat privileges as Espresso looks more like a panther behind you. Glaring as he shields you from the offending party. He will probably be more into them when he starts drawing pictures of you with cat ears. Besides that, no big reaction.

Cappuccino:

So, you still going to cuddle them? Okay then they don't care. Cap don't give a single fuck, definition of apathy. Only reason they are slightly interested is because they are on you. If you were to do things that cats do to show affection like bring Cap gifts or nuzzle them. You won't be leaving the cafe without being dragged off to a secluded area and being thoroughly marked. Sides that lazy kitty don't care.

Croissant:

Confused Croissant activated. Are you trying to court him? He's flattered immensely but don't you think this method is a little unorthodox? Croissant flushing like you kissed him in public. He isn't used to people going out of their way for his affections, so give him some space. He will accept your silent confession just try not to do something like this in public again please.

Hates it:

Sugar:

Don't get her wrong, she thinks you're cute, but she can't help but find the display childish. She wants you to be happy but at the same time she wants to have sway over how you look. If you wanted accessories, you should ask her. Sugar is a well-known rising actress because of her hardworking attitude and alluring figure. She's got money to spoil you with any accessory you want, as long as she approves. Preferably a nice little pure silver chain she can hold onto.

Butch:

Cats. It's always those fuckers. He works at a cat cafe and such but that doesn't mean he's a cat lover (bro you literally like Shopkeeper stfu). Bares his teeth at this display, you really love riling him up and pretending that you did nothing wrong. He'll rip those disgusting things off your head and get you a proper pair of dog ears. Wait what why is he saying this, he doesn't like you like that?!

Donut:

Darling why did you accept some scoundrel's gift so easily. He'd adore them he bought them but some mangy person, that's too far! He's a model and Shopkeeper pays extremely well he can buy you anything you want. Pouts and complains about the ears getting in the way of snuggle time. Gets more jealous if you refuse to let him replace them. If you insist on cheating on him so openly there will be consequences.

[bruciemilf]

brain go brrrrRRR buuut... BRUCE being forgotten on the day of his birth <33

Bruce tired from patrol, sore and aching forgetting HIS own day because he has been used to never celebrating it until his children show up.

Granted, Alfred has tried before. Greeting him on the occassion but never pushing, too scared that one day the flighty bat would break once again and he is left with oueces he can't fix.

But anyway, the kids celebrate for him in little ways when they were young. Maybe treats with dick, reading with jason, info dump with tim, art with damian (dami says he sucks btw but is glad for the activity), steph conjures a waffle contest (she wins), just yea spending time as a birthday present is enough just for him and the greetings "Happy Birthday B" or "Your birth old man" even the silent approach of cass's kiss on the cheek. So, he never forgot his day.

Yet lately, everything has been his fault. His relationship with the kids are strained. Everyone else is out of town or offworld or busy for days, weeks or months. Then his day comes, no greeting just a ping on his phone calendar. BIRTHDAY it said, knowing no ither notification will settle on his screen.

So he sits in the cave. Tired and aching, not unusual but the hollow ache of his soul hits him harder than the rough patrol. He finds himself alone, for the first time in a while and he accepts it. Welcomes the dark of his mind telling him what he always secretly believed in growing up from the boy in the alley to a man in a suit.

" YOU make yourself lonely B, WE deserve it but it's okay. Gotham needs the bat more than anyone will ever need YOU."

It aches but it's okay. Everyone forgot, they should eventually. Unable to sleep off the ache of the last minutes of his day he goes back to the grave and it's been so long since he'd done this but-

"Happy birthday" he sings, quiet and low to mama and dad and leaves quiet and empty parting with the words he thought he had long forgotten before-

"just- just another year, so please take me home soon"

*** ANYWAY i needed to brainrot because bruce having thoughts of awe that he lived past the age he thought that it would be the end feels so good, thank ü 😔

When Bruce steps back in the manor, he almost jumps out of his skin.

Jason's much bigger than him now, but he still jumps in Bruce's arms, mirroring his 10 year old self. "Finally! Thought you'd never come back."

Bruce blinks, "Wha..."

Alfred tuts. " Come now, sir. We mustn't let Master Grayson's baking go to waste."

"It's cake mix from Batmart, Baba. I'd rather eat a corpse."

"Come on, Damian! How would you feel if I told B you've been bringing stray cats home for a week?"

"They're my birthday gift. Baba and I will find them good homes, like this one." And bruce just wants to cry. He does. In Jason's shoulder. Even if Jay tells him only suckers cry (he cries in Bruce's shoulder, too)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ahmed Baba at Ahmed Baba's Newsletter:

A flurry of incompetent policy decisions and abuses of power spark chaos and immediate court injunctions. Unhinged, divisive, blame-seeking press conferences that try to exploit a crisis or disaster. Democratic lawmakers and pro-democracy groups jump into action to oppose the latest unlawful maneuver. GOP lawmakers twist themselves into either defending the latest ramble or evading questions from an eager press demanding answers.

To the surprise of no one who has been honest with themselves, Trump’s second term is unfolding much like his first, but with higher stakes. This week, the Trump Administration's federal funding freeze sparked confusion and chaos before they rescinded it after public pressure and court injunctions mounted. After a plane crash in D.C. killed 67 people, President Trump sought to exploit the tragedy by baselessly blaming DEI, sparking media fact-checks and public outcry. Trump’s team has tried to sell the public on the idea that they would be more competent this time. That they learned from the failures of Trump’s first term. But it’s clear that Trump 2.0 has many of the same shortcomings as Trump 1.0. Perhaps one of the biggest obstacles to Trump’s authoritarian ambitions is his own incompetence.

I documented every day of Trump’s first term in real-time and later organized it all in an index where you can click into every week. For me and many Americans who have been warning about what could happen in a second Trump administration, this was déjà vu. For others, this week was a stark reminder of why Trump is unfit for office. How Trump has behaved in office thus far is exactly why he lost as an incumbent in 2020. Trump's outrage-bait nonsense works in a campaign, but it's toxic in government, especially during a tragedy or crisis. During the 2024 election, many Americans appeared to have collective amnesia about Trump's first term. I wrote about this in my newsletter last year. The truth is Trump's governing style is defined by self-interest, chaos, incompetence, and divisive depravity. Now, Americans are being confronted with the real-world consequences of his re-election.

Even before the events of this week, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that many of Trump’s executive orders are wildly unpopular, and Trump’s approval rating has dipped to 45%. The poll found that 77% of Americans oppose Trump ending requirements that make government employees report gifts or investments, 62% of Americans oppose pardoning the January 6 rioters, 60% oppose implementing new tariffs on imports from Canada, 59% oppose ending birthright citizenship, and 59% oppose ending federal efforts to hire women and people of color.

[...]

The first major commercial plane crash since 2009 had just occurred above D.C., and bodies were still being pulled from the Potomac River. The American public was in a state of mourning as we learned more about the passengers, which included American figure skaters. At this moment, Americans needed calm, deliberate leadership and credible information. Instead, they got the Donald Trump we remember from the unhinged COVID-19 pandemic press briefings. President Trump repeatedly sought to blame Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Biden Administration. Trump also cited people with disabilities. Multiple reporters pushed back, including NBC’s Peter Alexander, who pointed out the fact diversity policies were also in place during Trump’s own administration. [...] The fact this policy was in place during Trump’s own administration takes down one part of his argument, but the notion generally that this was somehow the fault of DEI, aka the presence of more people of color and women in these roles, is asinine and depraved. Even Senate Republicans were caught off guard by the comments.

[...] President Trump later signed a memo that blamed the crash on DEI. First off, it’s not clear whether there were any people of color or women flying either aircraft. So, that undermines his point. I feel terrible even talking about the race or gender of these people who have lost their lives, but Trump has forced that into this discussion. This was a tragic accident, and the skills of these individuals should not be thrown into question. They go through rigorous training and are highly qualified for their roles. [...]

This crash came days after Trump made sweeping changes at the FAA as part of his efforts to downsize the federal government. Trump removed several key officials and implemented a hiring freeze. It’s not clear if Trump’s actions contributed to the circumstances that caused the crash, but Trump received online criticism for the changes after the fatal accident. Faced with criticism, Trump did what he always does: deflect blame. This time, he scapegoated DEI.

[...]

On Monday, the Trump Administration made its most chaotic move so far this term and ramped up its distortion of the federal government by ordering a freeze on federal assistance programs. Unilaterally freezing congressionally approved funds is a direct violation of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. This funding freeze came as Trump has made several unlawful moves to test the boundaries of the law and this Supreme Court’s appetite for further expanding executive power

The incredibly vague 2-page memo, written by Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Matthew J. Vaeth, threw the country into a state of confusion. The freeze on federal assistance was set to take place on Tuesday evening at 5 pm EST and was for the purpose of reviewing if the funding complies with Trump’s culture war executive orders. The initial memo made exceptions for Medicare or Social Security and “assistance provided directly to individuals,” but there were widespread reports of Medicaid portals being down in all 50 states on Tuesday, in spite of a second “clarifying” memo from the White House claiming Medicaid was unaffected. There was confusion among nonprofits who administer aid and healthcare providers. Lawsuits began flying from nonprofits, health groups, and Democratic state attorneys general.

Then, minutes before it was set to take effect, D.C. District Judge Loren Ali Khan temporarily blocked Trump’s funding freeze. By Wednesday, the public backlash had grown so great that the White House rescinded the OMB memo, attempting to avoid further court injunctions. But Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sent a tweet trying to save face, claiming the funding freeze was still on. Hilariously, the Trump Administration was heading into another court hearing moments later. A federal judge, citing Leavitt’s tweet, said that they intended to grant another injunction. Talk about a self-own.

[...]

Trump’s Overreach Could Backfire Politically, Too

In November, I wrote an article claiming that Trump was going to overreach when in office and predicted that instead of focusing on lowering prices, he would bring about Project 2025 extremism, incompetence, culture wars, and cruel policies.

It’s all going exactly as expected, and it could backfire on Republicans. As I noted at the beginning of this piece, polling isn’t looking good on Trump’s executive orders. And when it comes to Trump’s approach to his billionaire allies, that’s also not going over well with Americans. An AP/NORC poll earlier this month found that Elon Musk only has a 36% approval rating, DOGE has a 29% approval rating, and only 12% of Americans think it’s good that billionaires are advising the president. The Musk poll came even before he made that arm gesture at the inauguration many are calling a Nazi salute. It turns out that oligarchy is unpopular. Who knew? The data indicates that if Democrats lock in on a consistent anti-corruption message while pointing out that Trump’s moves are directly impacting Americans (like they did with the funding freeze), they could be well-positioned to win in the 2026 midterms.

After almost two weeks of Tyrant 47’s reign that has tattered America at the seams, he is repeating his first term on steroids: authoritarian overreach, causing legal headaches, and embarrassing lies out of his mouth and social media posts.

See Also:

HuffPost: Inside Trump's Second-Term Torrent Of Chaos

[c0zy-fluff]

Happy New Year, everyone!!!

Anyways, more GoldenThunder/RitualCandles HCS (finally coming from me)!!!

- These two are the MONARCHS of stubbornness. When crushing on each other, they just 'straight' up REFUSED to believe the fact they were in love with the other for like weeks, hell, even MONTHS. Even if another critter tries to tell one of them that they're in love with the other, they'd both refuse to even listen to a peep about love.

- Simon likes to put his arm around Poe's shoulder at any random point when he's around them; Poe doesn't seem to mind, or really care

- If you were to ask Simon if he was starting to crush on Poe cuz you saw him making goo goo eyes at them at some point, he would take his denial to his grave and the afterlife. While Simon would be pretty (and unfortunately) obvious when it comes to gawking at Poe from a distance (such as his tail starting to swish back and forth, having a goofy ahh smile on his face, and his hands cupping his face), if anyone we're to question him in that very moment, he'd either pay them to leave, pay them and tell them they didn't see anything, or probably just threaten them to not tell a single soul about it

- Poe's way of making "goo goo eyes" at Simon in "public" is somewhat similar to @/smilingcrittersthingig's hc (with SunCross), but it's just their regular RBF (resting bitch face) instead, and yet Baba's able to tell from a mile away that Poe is staring "lovey dovey" at Simon cuz she the fucking queen of being a grumpy af sheep + she'd know for long enough that if Poe is staring at Simon for long enough for her to stand around for like 15 minutes, she knows they like him

- If their way of trying to hide their relationship from the group goes poorly, like REALLY poorly, they'll basically just give up on trying to be secretive abt it,, And if any of the critters (sc OR nc) say to both of them that the two are starting to get annoying w/ their couple stuff (like playfully/affectionately teasing one another), there's a 50/50 chance where Simon and Poe will tell to critter to fuck off or they'll be even more obnoxious by having their playful teasing become slightly more cheesy and corny to the point where the critter leaves the room and then the two both laugh it off afterwards

- Their love language towards each other most of the time is just affectionate teasing. However, they both do have their separate love languages for each other; Simon's love language is through gifts cuz with all that cash, the moment Poe lays their eyes on smth they're interested in (probably smth gothic), Simon's already at the cash register with the item that caught Poe's eye + Poe's love language is with affection through words, but also with physical affection; if Simon does smth like REALLY sweet for them, they'd give him a small kiss on the cheek and a nice hug for the gesture (thank those 2 hcs abt their love languages from @skelexguts hehehehe :33)

- Simon sometimes purrs (ig it's like a rumble for dragons) when cuddling w/ Poe and he's NEVER aware of it, like ever; whenever Poe points it out, Simon basically feels like he got hit with wave a of 1st hand embarrassment and his face would change from a light red to DARK red in SECONDS. Poe rather thinks of it as cute (both the purrs + embarrassment), but ofc they'd never say it out loud (yeah, cuz they stubborn AF)

Aaaaaaaaaaand that's all!!! :DDD

RAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NEW YEAR, NEW HCS FOR THESE CUTE CRITTERS HEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!!!!!!

I LEGIT CANNOT WAIT FOR MORE HCS ABT THESE TWO!!!!! (+ all ur hcs are very welcome here!! :DD)

[askyuuandco]

TW: Angst but Wholesome. Happy Father's Day

------Flashback------

Yuu's Father: *reading the papers*

Kid Triplets: *peaking from the door watching their father read* :o ... Yuu's Father: *knows his girls are there* Girls. Please come in I know your out there. <:) Kid Triplets: *come in laughing and giggling* Daddy! XD Yuu's Father: *picks all three of them up* Hello my little 明星 (movie star idk how say plural :'l) . How was your day at the park? <:) Kid Triplets: *hold out gifts for their dad* >v<'/>.</>u< !!!

Yuu's Father: *gasp* What's this? Kid Yuu: It's a present for you Baba <X> Kid Amy: HAPPY BABA'S DAY!!! XD Kid Evelynn: Happy...Baba's day... <:> Kid Yuu: Happy Baba's Day. :D Yuu's Dad: Oh girls...You didn't have to give me a present. Kid Triplets: But we made it for you Baba. :'0 Yuu's Dad: *burst into comedic tears and accepts the presents* Thank you my dears I will treasure these for a life time. Yuu's Dad: *pick them up* Just as much as I treasure all of you *gives them all kiss* Kid Triplets: *giggling and laughing* --------end Flashback----- Yuu: *making father's day gifts for all the teachers* <:L Grim: What are you doing henchmen? :< Yuu: making father's day gifts for the teachers. Grim: why the heck are you doing that for? Yuu: because since I can't 100% see my dad right now I thought I'd make them presents too. And Prof. Trien might not be able to see his kids right now either so I thought...why not... <X>

Grim: okay then kind of sounds sly but okay Yuu: *pouts* It's not silly it means a lot too me! >X0 Grim: okay okay! I guess teach's lounge right? >.> Yuu: yep. ^v^

------------Teacher's Lounge------- Staff: *talking to one another* Yuu: *knocks on door* Prof. Trien: Come on in. U.U Yuu: *comes in holding gift baskets* H-Hello <:> Sam: Oh Yuu little imp how ya doin'! :D Vargas: What's with the gift baskets? Is there a special occasion? :D Yuu: *embarrassed blushing* Well from my realm it's Father's day and...* starts mumbling embarrassed* I'd like to give you guys these... @/////@'///

Staff: !!! :0 Crewel: Oh sweetheart you didn't have to go through all of trouble to make or get us anything Vargas: *elbows Crewel* Hey come Divus she made us gifts we can't say no right? >v>

Crewel: *happy blush* I guess not...okay come and bring them over Yuu: :'D *comes over and gives them all presents* Vargas: Dumbbells! Sweet! Thanks Yuu *ruffles up her hair* Crewel: a Dalmatian print tie *little tears come down his face* Thank you Yuu. ;v; *gives head pats while fixing the hair that Vargas messed up* Trien: a mug with Lucius's face on it. Thank you Yuu I appreciate it very much. UvU *gives her a side hug* Sam: Yo I got a mega phone! Sweet! Thanks little imp! >X3 *ruffles up her hair again* Crewel: Damn it Sam I just fixed it! >X0 Crowley: What about me!? ;0; Yuu: =.= ... *gives him his present* Crowley: *takes the mug* "World's Decent Dad" Yuu: *mumbles* you're welcome... >.> Crowley: *cries ugly* THANK YOU ;0; *gives Yuu a big hug* Yuu: Crowley your squishing me! DX< Yuu: *mumbles* I love you too...*pouts* Staff: *chuckles and laughs together* ---------------few hours later-------- Yuu: one more person...actually two more but I'll do him a little later =v= *walking down the hall* Light Music Club: *chatting away* Yuu: *runs up to them* Lilia-Senpai! :0 Lilia: Ah! Why if it isn't Yuu-Chan. How you today? :3 Yuu: I'm good...um...here >///< *hands gift bag with cute bats on it over to Lilia* Lilia: A present! For me! Oh you shouldn't have! X> Lilia: What's the occasion! :D Yuu: *embarrassed mumbles* I-It's father's day in my realm and I thought of you and you know... Lilia: *hears her loud and clear* OvO oh! OOOOHHH!!! *gives her a big old hug* Lilia: Thank you little bat you didn't have too I will treasure this gift bag with my life >w<

Yuu: *hugs back* ;v; Lilia: Now let's me check what's inside >X> *opens the bag all excited* Lilia: A World's Greatest Bat Dad T-Shirt, A bat shaped mug, an acorn bracelet, and a card?!?! *crying and hugging Yuu tight but not too tight* Thank you Yuu-Chan you truly made my day! ;v;

Yuu: <X'> your welcome. Yuu: Read the card later though... <XP Lilia: I promise I will ^u^ ----------2 hours later----- Yuu: *comes back and goes to the makeshift alter she made* ... Yuu:*looks at the photo she paint of her father on the alter*...Happy Father's Day Baba...I miss you very much... U_U *pays respects to the alter and leaves her dad's favorite snacks on the alter and then tells him about her day*

Ghost Dad: *watching from a far smiling and content* UvU

----Meanwhile With Lilia---- Lilia: okay what does the letter say...*reads it allowed* Lilia: "Dear Lilia, Thank you for being an impactful person in my life. Thank you for being so loving and kind too me on my first year in being in Twisted Wonderland. You treated me with respect and love and I appreciate that very much. Although seeing you in your past also through me out for a loop especially how you and mom would butt heads sometimes Lilia: ...was really...shocking...but refreshing I finally got to see what my mom's teen/young adult life was...Sincerely your niece...Cassidy Y. Irving... Lilia: ... :0 *processing* Lilia: *still processing* ...my what... Lilia: *realization* MY WHA- (.OAO.)'///