#the design is lovely but. girl why are your colors so dull- oh wait right being confined to a maze doesnt leave many opportunities 4 dyeing

[art-leon]

an eldritch guardian color palette ref thing

[gekkoukanstrega]

EARLY ACCESS SNIPPET - The Summer Festival (P3:HEX)

Post's Word Count: 2408 (The actual Chapter in my doc has 13668 words, which will be posted in a couple days on my Ao3)

Summary: The cast are going to the Summer Festival at the shrine. Enjoying their summer night hanging out with their friends, a couple of surprises turned up for the better.

As soon as the sun begins to set, the time for the festival arises. The luminous lights from the lanterns brightens the nightly atmosphere as the crowds gather to enjoy the special occasion with their friends and loved ones. The shrine isn’t overly crowded, thankfully enough, even as the people chatter and make the place appear louder than usual for a small place. Decorations are hung up all around the Naganaki Shrine as well, with bright colors of fabrics and masks giving a nice touch to the festivities. With the public enjoying their time playing games and snacking on the delights for sale, it's about time for the high schoolers to arrive at the scene.

All the girls go out in their own unique yet colorful yukatas, while the guys that arrive stick with their casual clothing comfortable for the warm weather. That is, with the exception of Takaya— who chose to wear a lined violet-colored yukata with a yellow obi belt at the waistline. He even holds a black and yellow patterned fan up while he waits for the rest of the students to arrive. Ikutsuki happened to show up with a yukata of his own, being brown and beige colored with a dark gray obi. Both of the yukata wearers tied their hair up as well, with the Chairman in particular having it in a half up man bun.

The rest of the group finally arrive at the occasion, Aigis and Ken getting there at the last minute, gathering up with the others in a small huddle as some of the guys take a chance to witness the young women in their yukatas. Chidori’s is mostly silver and white with red-colored floral designs overlapping the inklike branch designs, with an ebony-colored obi wrapped around her waist to break up the light contrast. She also decided to put her hair in a large bun as well as having some makeup and eyeliner on to show off more of her beauty. Of course Junpei should be more mindful than staring right at her in a faze, based on his experiences with the brothers always glaring at him whenever he does so. Yukari then approaches next, wearing a pink and white checker patterned yukata with miniature flower designs on occasional areas of the fabric, and a yellow obi wrapped around her. Meanwhile Fuuka wears a bright blue yukata with simple sunflower designs and a red obi, and Mitsuru is a more elegant white yukata containing simple plant patterns while wearing a dark green obi. Aigis then shows up with a dark blue yukata with white flower designs throughout the fabric, wearing a bright red obi around her waist.

“Hey hey hey, looking good everyone! Now we can finally get this festival started!” Junpei becomes the first to announce with such excitement, glancing at all the girls gathered together before staring at one girl in particular at the end. His eyes widened with awe. “Oh wow, Chidori— you look really nice in black and white.” The man knows better than to make any sort of comment that can make her uncomfortable, being as admirable as he can be with his choice of words.

The girl then simply hums and looks down at her clothes. “Oh, you mean this dull thing?”

“Yeah, you look fantastic!” Yukari compliments the redhead’s wear as well. “It looks really good on you.”

The blonde android then hums in admiration. “How fascinating— the yukatas we all chose to wear are all different from one another. Assuming there’s hundreds if not thousands of uniquely designed materials to choose from,” Aigis states this with a curious tone, already learning so much about the cultural wear. “This kind of decorative attire is meant to be worn by men and women alike. Speaking of… Makoto-san, Junpei-san— why aren’t you two wearing your own?” The android girl turns to look at the two in question. With the corner of her eye she also spotted two other young men in their casual clothes as well. “As a matter of fact, I also realized both Sanada-san and Shirato-san did not put one on either. Isn’t this to be in the spirits of the festival?”

Ikutsuki gives a chuckle at that, given the fact the Chairman himself also noticed the oddity as well, but not so much bothered by it. “You could say that, yes. While it is part of cultural appropriation, it is not obligatory by any means, so not everyone is required to put one on.”

This only has Aigis become more puzzled. “Then why would one even come to the festival without wearing the decorative attire in the first place? I do not understand.”

Akihiko then calmly decides to give his two cents on it, not to say it’s even a correct answer to begin with. “I’d say don’t overthink it too much. Some of us are just here for a good time without getting all nice and fancy.”

“Heh, you sure took the words outta my mouth Sanada-senpai.” Junpei then rubs the back of his head with a wide grin, given he was going to throw some lame excuse in instead.

“Tch, says the one who wears a baseball cap all the time, every time. Seriously, do you ever take that off?” Yukari however gives some sass to the young guy as she lays one hand on her waist with an attitude.

“H-Hey, gimme some slack, will ya���?” He resents that, no surprise there, and kindly ignores her remark as he then glances over to Takaya as the man fans himself with a proper fashion. Junpei then takes a moment to comment, “By the way, you look a little too natural in a yukata.”

Takaya of course takes the compliment in stride, smiling over to the young uncultured man. “Hmph. Why thank you. Doesn't take much at all to look this stunning, if I do say so myself.”

Jin rolls his eyes with a snarky response. “I think the word you're looking for is ‘snobbish’.”

“Excuse you?” That earned Jin a glare from the eldest brother, his voice lowering to a hiss. “You shall regret those words, brother.”

Chidori then makes a disapproving huff, not feeling like dealing with her argumentative brothers first thing when coming to the festival. She then looks over at the bright colored stands and the decorative folks towards that general direction. “Well I don't know about you, but I'm willing to try out some of the food now. If anyone would like to accompany me, well, feel free I suppose.” 

“Oh, you kiddin’?” Junpei then takes the chance and moves right over to join her on their stroll. “I’m all here for the munchies! Which one do you wanna try first? We could start with the takoyakis, the mochis. Oh oh oh, have you ever tried the geppeis? I mean— I suppose everyone has, but—”

“Now hold on just a moment,” Ikutsuki comes in to stop them before they go and take off. While Chidori goes to make a sigh in mere annoyance, the two turn to look at the Chairman to hear him out. Ikutsuki makes sure they’re looking at him first before mentioning, “If there’s one thing to try first— I recommend the karaage. They make it with the finest ingredients, it’s completely im-peck-able!”

Few of the team members just shake their heads and groan at the pun joke, wanting to pretend they didn’t hear that. Meanwhile the Chairman shamelessly grins at it. “Aw come ooonn— that was good, wasn’t it? Anyways, you go and have fun now. Don’t eat too much, you hear?”

Mitsuru then adds in. “And do recommend keeping your phones on you, just in case.”

The students respond with some mumbles and a few ‘yeahs’ before the first two take off in one direction, as Kotone asks to join up with Akihiko and Ken before they go their way. With the rest still in their group circle, one random person coming from the entrance suddenly comes up to one of the students in the group, particularly at Jin, and pulls him closer before giving a proper hello to everyone else.

“Heyy, looks like you’re all here!”

Jin then smiles over to the person, being Izumi, while kindly pulling away for the sake of maintaining his balance. “Well look who finally showed up. Takaya and I were just wondering where you might’ve gotten lost.”

“Ha, very funny,” Izumi smiles through the joke as well, as he doesn’t take offense one bit from his friends who like to tease him all the time. He wears a simple two-toned gray jinbei which consists of a loose top and shorts. Right behind him is a little girl, not even four feet tall, who is wearing a cute pink-and-red yukata with a yellow obi wrapped around at the waist. Some of the female students notice the smaller figure immediately.

“Oh hey there. Who’s this?” Yukari asks with a gentle surprise in tone, seeing that she hasn’t seen the little one before.

Izumi smiles fondly and goes to introduce her to the rest of the group. “This one’s my little sis, Saya. She loves going to these festivals, but can be a little shy of people. Come one Saya, don’t you wanna say hi…?”

The girl only hid away out of clear bashfulness, trying to be out of sight by hiding behind Izumi’s legs. The girls only made an ‘aww’ with adoration.

Fuuka made a small giggle, seeing how endearing the girl is. “Heh, she is quite adorable. How old is she?”

“She’ll be turning seven in September. And just like any other Libra— she can be a kind and honest person. Wouldn’t you say so?”

Takaya can’t help but smile fondly over hearing that, given he was the one who said that to Izumi about what each zodiac means personality-wise a while back. Based on his experience of how much he knows about the little girl too, and vice versa, it’s not too far from the truth either. The young man with the bun then goes to kneel down and holds one arm out to the child, even waving his hands to get her attention. “Oh what’s the matter? Too bashful to even say hi to little old me?”

The girl then perks behind the older brother and smiles right away, walking over to the man while grabbing the one arm he had out. She then jumps up and down and giggles out, “Hehe, Taka-yaki!”

This only leaves the man in a dismayed look, practically rolling his eyes into the back of his head if he could. “I told you many, many times already. It’s not Taka-yaki. And it’s definitely not ‘Takitaki’ either!” The girl then pleads to get picked up, though while Takaya does so, he has some trouble holding her up with both of his slim arms. “My goodness, look how big you’re getting. You’re growing way too fast!”

Mitsuru only smiles after seeing that exchange. “Well how charming. Seems like you two have known each other for quite a while now.”

Takaya, realizing he never mentioned this to anyone else, goes and smiles with a firm nod of his own. “Oh, why yes— Izumi and I would hang out with Saya-chan all the time after school. I usually like to come over whenever and play some games while she invites me to her ‘tea party’ with her adorable little friends. She’s a real sweetheart once you get to know her too.”

Jin definitely recalls him being absent going over to Izumi’s on occasion, giving off a judgmental glare. “You mean rather than doing homework, right?”

“Oh tsk tsk— you do know life isn’t always about school, hm? We both know we’re more than free to take a break now and then. Do whatever, whenever. Isn’t that right, young one?”

Saya, being held by Takaya with one arm as she looks around to see all the others nearby, immediately agrees. “Yeah, school work is for school, not for home!”

“Well, sheesh, sounds like she’s taking that from you, huh? Who knew?” Ikutsuki smiles at the girl and even laughs in response to that, with Jin glaring at the side.

As the settling dies down, the girl then pulls on the fabric from Takaya’s shoulder. “Hey, can we do that fishing game? Please please pleeeaassee, my momma would really love to have a fishy!”

While Takaya glances over to Izumi to see if that’s something that’ll be okay to do, he then turns his head back and smiles softly at Saya. “Well I’d say that’ll be a lovely idea! Now then: Are you going to be the one fishing, or am I going to end up doing all the work for you?”

Given that something like that has happened before, the girl just giggles and demands the man to ‘march forth’ and head their way to the attraction, with Izumi staying where he’s at.

This had Ikutsuki confused for a moment. “Hm, what’s the matter? Don’t you want to tag along with her?”

“Ah, nah. It’s fine,” The unkempt-hair teen waves it off. “I thought it would be best to give them their time together to play some of the games. Besides, she probably got tired of me following her around everywhere.”

This only has the Chairman chuckle once more. “Fair enough. You kids have fun, I’ll join up with the two over there. Just to keep an eye on them.”

After that exchange, the students then parted ways to spend their own time enjoying the festival. Makoto, Yukari, Mitsuru and Aigis went together as a group to find some enjoyment with some activities, eventually splitting up later on. Fuuka, given she did ask Jin to tag along with her for the festival, goes to ask Izumi as well. “Oh, Uchitani-san, would you like to join us for the ring toss? We're thinking about heading there first before checking out the other attractions around.”

Without a beat, the teen lays an arm on Jin’s shoulder with a welcoming grin. “Oh yeah, you bet! Been a while since I played that one.” He didn't need to be asked twice in this case, partnering up with the two immediately and following their lead before nudging the bespectacled friend on the side. “Oh, Jin— we gotta do a rematch of that yo-yo ball game. Still need to beat you after last year.”

“Oh yeah? Bring it!”

[oilivia]

"You wore that just for me?" - Tsukishima x Reader

a/n: reposting this as i had to take it down due to the banner. this fic is an edited and mostly rewritten old piece and it’s one of my favorites! smut after the cut.

tw: hard dom Tsukki, s/m dynamic, degradation, dumbification, rough oral (m receiving), fingering, overstim, mindbreak, aftercare

wordcount: 2.4k

"You're such a needy slut. I bet your cunt is already drenched and I haven't even touched you yet." You knew you were in trouble from the way Tsukishima smirked,  a devilish glint in his eyes. "What, cat got your tongue, little baby? You want me so much that you won't even wait for your dessert to arrive?"

"Kei, what if someone hears you? Y-You shouldn't say things like these in public," your cheeks felt on fire, his words stirring something deep in your core. You rubbed your thighs together under the table to relieve a bit of the pressure, your needy cunt aching to be touched. Even that little bit of friction felt so good, but you needed more. 

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing, I can see your legs shifting. I know you're trying to get off. And you say I'm the pervert? Aren't you scared they'll notice how hungry you are for my cock?" You felt his hand rub your knee, his fingers pinching painfully at your exposed skin. "Tell me, baby, would you rather have the chocolate mousse or my fingers fucking you deep inside your cunt?"

You knew when you got dressed for your date that your outfit was going to drive Tsukishima crazy. It was his favorite color and the cut of the dress hugged your hips just right. But you still didn't expect him to start teasing you like this in the middle of the restaurant. His words were sending shivers down your spine directly to your core and the last thing you wanted was for people to notice how flustered you were. 

"I don't think it's polite to leave before our order arrives, Kei." There was a note of hesitation in your voice and judging by the grin on his face, you could tell he noticed. You hoped he’d let it go, but you knew him better than that. Oh, he would use every last bit of ammunition. You braced yourself, his grip on your knee tightening, nails digging into the supple skin just enough to pull a soft mewl from you. 

"So you think it's more polite to parade that shapely ass of yours in that low-cut dress, hmm? I can perfectly see your every curve, you could as well be naked." How you wished you could wipe that confident smirk off his face. But you couldn't, not when you could barely look at him, too embarrassed to hold his teasing gaze for more than a few seconds. "Tell me, did you wear that dress so everyone could see how much of a slut you are, or did you just want to get my attention?"

"Kei, I thought you would like it," you confessed reluctantly after a moment, your eyes darting to his to gauge his reaction. He looked pleased. Too pleased.

Tsukishima lifted his hand from your leg and grinned, a hint of something darker in his tone as he spoke “I’ll ask for the check and for the dessert to go. I think someone needs to learn what happens when they try to tease me.”

He ordered a taxi and the whole way to your apartment his fingers would wander up and down your leg, getting closer and closer to the hem of your panties. Whenever you looked up at him though, Tsukishima was looking out the window with a disinterested look on his face.

 He feigned indifference so well that you would think the way he played with you did nothing for him. But you could see the outline of his cock twitching in his pants whenever he brushed his hand against the cloth separating it from your heat. If only he moved his fingers a little bit up so it would graze your clit. You wanted his touch so badly you thought you were going crazy. 

Still, he gave you no satisfaction. But once inside your apartment, he grabbed your hand and pulled you to his chest, tightening his arms around you. You gulped. “Where do you think you’re running to, baby? There’s no getting out of this. You wanted my attention and now you got it, pretty little slut. Yeah, you know just what you're doing strutting that ass around, don't play coy now."

He released his hold on you, but before you could do anything he grabbed you by your hair, commanding in a saccharine tone "Now, be a good girl and get on your knees, I know how desperate you are for my cock.”

You felt your folds grow wetter at his words. You knew he was right, you were a slut. Otherwise, why would the way he degraded you make you into such a needy mess? Why did you want so badly to push him, to have him take control of you?

"I need to get changed Kei, can’t this wait a bit?” You knew that disobeying him when he was in this mood spelled punishment for you, but punishment was exactly what you craved. You wanted him to use you, make you his little sex toy. 

“Now, now, you know what happens to whores who talk back, don’t you?” in a flash his hand was between your legs, middle finger probing at your covered slit. “I can already feel how soaked you are. Don’t try to play me, we both know you want to choke on my cock.” His other hand reached for your neck and with a sadistic smile on his face he clasped his fingers around it painfully, cutting your blood flow. “Tell me, will you get on your knees or do I have to make you?”

You let out a whimper, making a desperate attempt to nod. He loved seeing you like this, his smart and beautiful girl reduced to a dumb slut at his fingertips. The way your eyes widened and your mouth opened and closed without making a sound, pliant body shaking and squirming, it sent pleasurable jolts to his cock. 

Once he finished admiring you, he released your neck, eyes still locked on yours as he started to unzip his pants, freeing his erection. You kneeled, looking up at him “Open your mouth and suck it”. Without putting up any resistance you parted your lips, taking his throbbing cock inside your hot mouth. His precum coated your tongue and his scent filled your nostrils. It was intoxicating, you felt your panties getting drenched with your juices.

He grabbed your hair, pushing you deeper against his shaft, making you choke on his length. Your neck hurt, burning from the way he choked you. His tip hit the back of your throat with each thrust and he roughly pulled at your hair, fucking your face with little regard for how it felt for you. He was using you. But why was it tuning you on? You wanted him to touch you, craved to feel more of him, wanted to be used. But mostly you wanted him to help you alleviate some of the pressure that had been piling up in your core for the past hour.

“Don’t assume I don’t know what you want, baby. I can see you looking at me with those pleading eyes, like a famished little cockslut. Is pleasing me not doing enough for your hungry cunt, hmm?” you whimpered at his words, his pace picking up “If you want me to indulge you, show me that you’re a good girl. Take my whole cock down that slutty throat of yours and I’ll make you cum.”

After a couple more minutes, Tsukishima stopped his thrusts with a smirk and let you take control of the movements. You braced yourself, taking his cock deeper and deeper, inch by inch, desperate to please him. Tears welled up in your eyes from the strain and before long they were running down your face, ruining your perfect makeup. He pulled his length out of your abused throat and cooed, cupping your cheeks with a twisted smile “Now, that’s my good little slut. It wasn't that hard now, was it? Go lie on the bed and wait – no touching yourself.”

A few moments later he was between your legs, fingers brushing your thighs as you moaned, his feathery touches setting your skin ablaze. “K-Kei, I-I need you, p-please, I can’t t-take the teasing. I-I need more!” you begged as your hands gripped the sheets.

“Tsk, tsk, you should know by now that telling me not to tease you will just make me want to tease you more. I'm disappointed, I thought you would be smarter than this. I have nothing else to do tonight and I can just stay here and touch, fondle, kiss and fuck you to the brink of orgasm until you’re begging for me to make you cum and then stop. Rinse and repeat. I know I said I will reward you, but I didn’t say I would be making it easy for you, no, no, no,” he chuckled.

Reaching the hem of your panties he pulled them down, slowly, making sure to leave lingering touches on your skin with each movement. Every one of his movements and actions were designed to drive you insane. You were beginning to regret wearing that dress.

You felt a finger gently brush against your clit and then slowly sliding between your sopping folds. “K-Kei, please," you cried loudly, the ache in your core becoming unbearable. The pain in your abused throat dulled, the pleasure in your cunt overshadowing it. 

“You’re fucking drenched. So pathetic. You’ll make a mess of the sheets at this pace. Are you sure you don’t just want me to stop?” He laughed at the way your eyes widened, tears threatening to spill once more.

“P-please, Kei, I don’t care about the sheets,” you pleaded. You needed this, you didn't know how much more teasing you could take before your sanity slipped from you. 

Gathering your slick, he pushed the finger slowly inside you, feeling each ridge of your walls as they instantly started tightening around it.

“Don’t tell me you’re such a needy slut that you’re coming from just my finger. I’ll have to punish you in a different way then," he shoved another finger inside you, picking up the pace while his thumb was rubbed at your clit. You came undone in moments, moans erupting from your lips, body thrashing violently as your juices spilled all over Tsukishima’s hand and on the bed. Still, he didn’t slow down, finger-fucking you through your orgasm. He was nothing if not determined to break you tonight.

Without letting up, he leaned over you, taking a clothed nipple into his mouth, tongue rolling over the sensitive bud before he sank his teeth into the soft flesh. You screamed, you could feel the coil in your stomach tightening more and more, the high from your previous climax barely having passed.

“P-please, slow down, it’s too much,” your words were barely intelligible between the mix of moans and cries. Tsukishima didn't care anyways. You were responding so nicely to him, your body going into overdrive and he didn't even put his cock inside you yet.

Adding a third digit, he sped up his pace stretching your walls even more. “K-Kei” you cried out his name as an orgasm washed over you once more, your body contracting violently beneath Tsukishima. You could barely control your muscles, your eyes shut close and tongue falling out of your open mouth. 

“I hope you’re ready for the main course, baby. I’ll use that cunt of yours, watch how it desperately sucks in my cock. You're so pathetic, I wonder if I'll even feel anything with how fucking wet you are.” 

You were delirious, barely making out his words. Popping his fingers out of your sopping hole, he cleaned them on the already messy sheets and placed your shaking legs on his shoulders. “I think you had enough of a break, what do you say?” he chuckled as he pushed his length inside you. You loved it, the mix of pain and pleasure from the stretch. He knew you couldn't answer, but talking to you while he fucked you dumb was giving him a twisted satisfaction. He relished watching you struggle to understand what he said, too busy taking his fat cock up your cunt.

Your tongue was lolling out of your mouth, eyes rolling at the back of your head with each thrust, hands frantically gripping the sheets, desperately trying to steady yourself as the array of sensations was overtaking your body. Tsukishima’s thumb was back on your clit, rubbing, your walls clenching around his cock and milking as you kept cumming and cumming around it. He reached out his hand, palm clasping firmly around your neck once more.

“Dumb sluts don’t need air, do they, baby? They just need to be railed, fucked until cock is the only thing left on their mind. How many times have you cum already, four? Five? You enjoy it when I choke you? Like giving me complete control over you, hmm?” soft whimpers were all you could muster, your body too sensitive.

You felt Tsukishima’s cock getting harder inside you, his cockhead smacking your cervix. You were spent and your mind was blank, consciousness slipping, but your cunt was still reacting to his cock moving in and out of you, still squeezing him with each thrust. Through the haziness you felt your climax approaching and bursting yet again as his movements came to a halt. Hot cum spilled from your overused cunt, mixed with your own juices. 

He released his hold on your neck and placing a gentle kiss on your forehead. He collapsed on top of you, trying to shift his weight so he wouldn’t crush your much smaller body under him. Your chests were heaving, exhaustion settling in your bones. 

Tsukishima lightly brushed the hair from your face, placing it behind your ear. “You did so good, baby," he cooed, voice soft and a gentle smile on his face. "I’ll come clean you up and then move you to the couch so  I can change the sheets. Then, we can cuddle, okay?" You nodded, barely aware of what was happening around you.

 "Was I too rough?" he asked later after he got under the sheets next to you.

"No, I would've used the safe word," your voice was laced with exhaustion as you spoke. He cradled you in his arms, gently rocking your body and planting sweet kisses on your hair. His good girl.

© 2021 all content belongs to @cherrysdollhouse​, please do not modify or repost without permission

[frosted-night]

Jack Frost Designs Review

Yes it’s finally his time. This is going to include his book designs including previous incarnations in said books. There are more movie concept designs than book so, let’s dig in shall we?

This was in fact the first ever Jack Joyce designed while he came up with The Guardians Of Childhood. He even comes with his own backstory! (Which was cut. Sorry Joyce posts walls of text so it’s a girthy read.)

So instead of a young mischievous trickster, we got a much more depressing story of Jack. (Jack by default is sad obviously) but this one... It kind of hits differently and almost reminds me of the story he crafted for Pitch. A dad who tried to defend his family but through tragic events was ripped from them and changed completely. Design wise, he’s a lot more tree than snow. There doesn’t exist a colored version of this so we’ll never know if he sported winter and dull dead leaf colors rather than grassy greens.This Jack has a weird presence to him, I can’t put my finger on it. Rating: 6/10 He’s really neat! Just a little too Autumn feeling rather than a blend of both Autumn and Winter.

Nightlight feels like the baby evolution if Jack was a pokemon and that's what I’m gonna stick with. Below is a more recent version of him colored.

In all honesty that one is easier on the eyes proportion wise because sometimes Joyce has ‘interesting’ anatomy choices but we aint going into that today. It’s interesting how his hair somehow looks shorter and longer than Jack’s at the same time. Could be because the longer strands float seamlessly but star boy hair physics what can ya do. It’s a little hard to tell what is his skin and what is his armor, so that is a casuality in making a character only have one or two colors in their color scheme. I love other artist’s depictions of Nightlight but the canon one feels a little weak color wise. Rating: 5/10 Sorry, get some better LEDs and then come back.

Here we have a book Jack but I can’t entirely recall if this was used in the books or not. I digress. This design looks like him still wearing very Nightlight-esque armor/clothing and slowly growing into his new persona as Jack Frost. The intricacies are hard to make out but we’ll work with it. This one is very interesting to me because he very much looks like an older teen close to young adult. His hair looks very fluffy too. Not many complaints about this one but not much praise either.

Rating: 6/10 Not great but doesn’t stand out that much.

Remember when I said Joyce had ‘interesting’ anatomy decisions? Jack looks like he has half a head here and it bothers me GREATLY. This is the adult Jack design he went with. Supposedly he likes the opera and he sure looks it. This! Exists!! Kind of wish it didn’t. The outfit is nice but it just doesn’t fit Jack as a whole. This just screams to me that it’s someone else with a similar-ish hairstyle.

Rating: 3/10 Guess he’d be the...Phantom Of The Opera. (I’ll go home and so should he.)

And finally the final Jack. This is the one that almost exactly resembles the Jack we got in the movies(Probably because it was made after the movie but w/e) but just add a cape on him. I can’t really tell if hes got a hoodie and a cape, or just a cloak+hood on top of a sweatshirt. It isn’t too important because my thoughts on this one are obvious. Rating: 10/10 Edna Mode would have a field day with you boy.

MOVIE DESIGN TIME

Joyce claims this is a design he drafted when Leonardo DiCaprio was considered to voice Jack and I can kind of see that with how his face is drawn here. This Jack looks a lot more like a warrior and less of that trickster look. I can’t say I’m a fan of the weird antenna his hood has but his sword is really cool looking.

Rating: 4/10 Nice bow and sword but it can’t save your fashion choices.

This looks like a lanky 11-13 year old who would put rocks or slugs in my shoes and relish in my disgust. He has the exact look of a snot nose kid and I’m unsure how to feel about it.

His various hairstyles drafted here sort of make him softer looking or just more of a snot nose, no in between. Maybe even an Anime Protagonist.

The top right one almost looks like Hiccup from How To Train Your Dragon if you squint. It’ll be a little hard to rate them all as one individual but why not.

Rating: 5/10 I don’t hate them but they aren’t my cup of tea.

AH- IS THAT A FUCKIN GREMLIN?

Oh wait no it isn’t he looks like a 10 year old. Whatever don’t feed him after midnight. The staff’s design of not being shaped like a G is an interesting tidbit but the whole design looks like he’s really young or like a troll etc. This Jack looks like he thinks girls have cooties uses outdated slang.

Rating: 4/10 This is me being generous.

It honestly looks like he hiked his pants up all the way to his chest. A late teen with horrid fashion choices once again. Not many other thoughts here.

Rating: 2/10 Get a sweater on or something.

This is one is very interesting looking to me. His clothes looked a lot more leather based and very human-like. The tatters, tears and frays all make him look like he was a victim of an accident that never changed his clothes. It makes me wonder if this Jack had the same death as the final movie Jack or something else entirely. Either way, this one looks like hes a mid to late teen which really adds to my intrigue.

This was another image that greatly resembled the design so I included it here. It almost looks like his skin is blue here which is pretty neat to me at least. He’s also got leaf motifs here, which from the first Jack design Joyce made, we can see a pattern here.

Rating: 8 /10 I was originally weirded out by his head but now its not so bad.

This Jack is definitely dressed more like a nature boy rather than him having human influenced fashion and it’s an appealing touch. The tiny leaf sprouting from his staff is also kind of cute since the designers seemed to want to put leafs somewhere on his designs. His hairstyle is also very cute but it reminds me of Sasuke Uchiha in a sense. (Not a setback for me at least)

Rating: 7/10 13 year old Jack is going thru a phase.

I thought this Jack didn’t show up again in story boards but I was wrong!

They look a little different from each other but just similar enough to pair together, so bare with me. The first one obviously has looser pants, slightly longer sleeves and got his leaf motif going. This second Jack is a VERY green. It gives the impression that this Jack made his clothes out of plants and natural materials. Again I’m not wholly sure if greens fit his color scheme but they sure went for it for a while. I can’t say I’m a fan of it because it heavily reminds me of Peter Pan.

However a very similar looking Jack could be found in this storyboard. It doesn’t look as green as the other storyboards made it out to be and looks more like dead grass. Which is a pretty nice touch.

Rating: 5/10 I don’t hate it but it just doesn’t vibe yknow.

Speaking of a vibe...hoo this certainly has one.  This Jack isn’t old but certainly doesn’t look very young, maybe in the 20-30 range, thats just me. He has facial features that remind me of Pitch but resembles the Jack Frost of Santa Clause 3

That being said, I wondered if him looking similar to Pitch was in the storyline of them being brothers.(Which was a scrapped thing, who knew.) He’s a bit more menacing in this design but certainly seems like he relishes in his work.

Rating: 4/10 I’d make it a lower score but I gotta give it props

NOW THIS JACK IS KINDA INTERESTING. This one looks like he’s 16 and going through a grunge phase. He’s gonna play Nirvana loudly and not turn it down even if you tell him too. His staff itself has mini icicles hanging off of it and leafs look stuck to his shirt. Did you glue or staple those on Jack? His hair also looks much longer than his other designs and I kind of dig it( Shut up I’m bias.) I’m not wholly sure why else this design has stuck with me but it just has something about it that I just love. I wish there was a full body drawing of it.

(He also kinda has the same hair as the Jack Frost in Runescape but I wont go on about that hoo hoo)

Rating: 9/10 *Bad Boy by Cascada plays in the distance*

This one definitely feels like middleschooler trying to be in a band. His sticks just resemble drumsticks to me what can I say. I’m a big fan of his shoes and his color scheme screams a hibernating tree in winter. His hair also looks like it’s covered in frost rather than it being wholly white, which is very neat!! He looks like he wants to fight but has slight hesitance. Overall a very balanced Jack.

Rating: 8/10 He’s ready for band practice

Not many thoughts here, I just found these tiny Jack designs cute. His hoodie being a jacket instead just adds to the charm of this one.

No talk to him he angy.

Rating: 6/10 fun sized boi

Now this Jack resembles the one earlier that dressed entirely in leather brown colors, however he clearly is different than that one. I’m gonna say it, he looks like a zombie or undead in this design and its pretty fucking gnarly. I don’t know whats going on with his hair but I’m gonna assume it’s just the wind making it look like that. He just has the vibe that he was once human but was turned into something else entirely. It isnt in uncanny territory but borders that. This version of Jack meeting Pitch and the others would have been *very* interesting. Rating: 7/10 Eat a twinkie Jack you’ll feel better.

The final design! I can’t complain much about this one. The way his staff subtly has a G shape and a hexagon(his signature shape) is a wonderful touch. Additionally, the way the frost is gathered mostly where his hand is such an intricate detail. His signature hoodie is iconic at this point so I can’t bad mouth that either.(I can’t anyway because there's no complaints from me here.) Although, I never understood the leather straps that his pants had or their functions. I couldn’t find any colonial outfits that resembled Jack’s pants so its a total mystery to me at least.

And I can’t go on about this design until I mention the snowflake pattern in his eyes

Pure beauty. It’s at a hue of blue that almost looks impossible to have, combined with the electric blue color of the snowflake in his eyes. The amount of detail in this movie amazes me to this day. Rating: One Great Blizzard <3/10

[aliensunflower-fics]

Marinette The Perfect Daughter In Law: A Prompt

[ I've seen a few ‘everyone loves Marinette AU’s’ and a couple Marvel DC ‘all the mentors want THEIR kid to end up with Marinette AU’s’ and well frankly! I felt inspired! So I present to you my new prompt / AU thing! In which all the most powerful / rich / popular people in Paris decide to play matchmaker… ]

It starts when Adrien and Kagami have a less than AMICABLE break up according to their parents and the media anyway in reality it was a really REALLY dull break up. The pair have been ‘dating’ (using each other as an excuse to go out and experience normal teenage stuff) since they were 15. Now at 17 soon to be 18 the pair decided to publicly break up in order to pursue other people and interests. The problem is they never told their parents the truth so both Gabriel and Kagami’s mother Tomeo feel protective and concerned about what must surely be an upsetting first heartbreak for their child. And okay maybe both parents take that out on each other and both get a bit defensive and protective. And MAYBE it ends with Tomeo vowing to get revenge for her daughter. Enter, Marinette. Up and coming fashion designer for the rich and famous! She’s single, talented, and as far as Tomeo knows Gabriel is interested in the girl for her talent. So what better revenge could exist but having Marinette take an interest in Kagami!

Kagami has no idea why her mother suddenly has an interest in Marinette but she wont complain about having more time with her very cute designer friend. And all the outfits Tomeo is paying Marinette to make for Kagami is giving the young fencer plenty of up-close and personal moments with Marinette. And okay Marinette is VERY cute and Kagami wont question why she suddenly has all this tine with Marinette, eating ice cream with the girl and having brunch. But she knows shes absolutely head over heels when Marinette shows up at her fencing tournament gives her a luck charm and cheers her on wearing HER colors. Obviously Kagami wiped the floor with all the competition she cant be seen hesitating in front of Marinette!

On Tomeo’s side of things she makes sure that the paparazzi still lurking around after Kagami and Adrien’s breakup catch photos of what could easily be interpreted as dates between the girls. After all this is a revenge ploy but also Marinette is fantastic so Tomeo is 300% down with Kagami ‘bringing her into the family’ something she tells Kagami after the first paparazzi ‘date photos’ leak into the news. Kagami still has no idea this was an orchestrated affair and just thinks her mothers caught on to her feelings and is overjoyed that Marinette is approved of because after the cheek kiss Marinette gave her for winning the fencing tournament Kagami was preparing to fight her mother for the right to pursue the young designer seriously. After all she never hesitates! 

But Tomeo never realized Gabriel isnt the only one interested in Marinette. Audrey Bourgeouis has been keeping an eye on Marinette trying to find a way to get Marinette on to her side and away from Gabriel. So when she sees the photos of Kagami and Marinette she sees an opportunity. After all if Marinette isnt exclusively into men (and those photos of her flushed cheeks as Kagami cleans ice cream off her bottom lip are a clear indication shes not) then Audrey smells opportunity. After all Marinette was Chloe’s first crush! How cute would that be! The next day Marinette is being offered yet another opportunity to intern under Audrey this time with much looser restrictions. When Marinette accepts she suddenly finds herself working with Chloe… A LOT. The pair are modeling together, often paired together for shoots in perfect complementary clothes that screams ‘opposites attract’. Chloe is also helping manage Marinette’s brand and the two start to get along very well. The model photos and their business lunches are soon plastered alongside the Kagami and Marinette outings with parisian gossip blogs finding their interest picked by this potential love triangle.

Chloe for one, was confused at first. Sure she knew her mom was interested in Marinette but she never thought SHE would be working so closely with her first crush. And Chloe tries to ignore it, after all those are dead feelings! And Marinette woud never forgive her anyway so why even- Wait. Is that Marinette in a downright gorgeous golden dress? A-and she will be posing right next to Chloe for their shared shoot? Well… Chloe always thought herself deserving of royalty and damn if Marinette aint the princess of her dreams. Sorry Adriken’s you had your chance to get the girl, but now its winner keeps all and Marinette is the only prize shes interested in. For the record Alya is freaked out by Chloe being nice, but shes more weirded out by Chloe being protective and handsy and downright shamelessly flirty with Marinette. Audrey is pleased when she hears the news and is quick to give her daughter encouragement acting as if none of this was premeditated at ALL.

Oh but they have no idea that this is just the beginning. Because guess who's moved back into town. Adrien’s favorite cousin and aunty. And Felix’s mom is quite the busybody and dammit Felix needs friends! And maybe a cute girlfriend! And oh whos that pretty girl on the magazine cover? Marinette? The one her celebrity connections have nothing but praise for? Perfect! Shes invited to lunch with Felix and herself on friday to discuss movie costumes! And oh Audrey dear dont you think Marinette would look fabulous sandwiched between TWO blondes! Felix hasnt modeled in a while but come now. So suddenly Marinette is being spotted with Felix guiding him about paris and modeling with him AND Chloe under AUDREY’s brand NOT Gabriels.

Felix thought hed really hate Marinette; he tried to ignore her he really did. But shes funny, witty and sweet. Not to mention trustworthy, so a good candidate for a business partner. And thats it, but then he has to admit hes impressed when he rolls up to a photoshoot and Chloe! The definition of brat personified is acting… Bearable. Yes, somehow Marinette has done the impossible! She has tamed the beast known as Chloe. And yes fine he will admit shes drop dead gorgeous and how intelligent of her to learn all sides of the fashion industry and boost her rep with modelling! Soon hes spending more time with her, he tries to argue he needs a guide, that shes the most bearable person to be with! That she is just a friend- Oh god. No it cant be! He sounds like-! Like ADRIEN! And Chloe already told him about THAT mess! No! Absolutely not! He will not lead on Marinette like his idiot cousin! Marinette is a rare and beautiful woman! She could be his queen! And god he has to admit it much as he loathes too Marinette’s smile is enough to make him thank every non-existent god. He will win her heart, show her that she deserves better than his brain dead cousin! Felix is sure mother will approve of his decision to pursue the girl, now he just needs to do more shoots with Marinette...

And that's what finally gets Gabriel to snap. Because REALLY Felix!? Is there no loyalty to FAMILY. Not to mention he was totally drafting a potential contract for Marinette when Audrey snapped her up the witch! But its fine! Marinette has always been interested in Adrien! Surely she still is? Surely she's not been swayed by any of her new suitors! Right? Gabriel knows he can't mess with Audrey’s contract so he goes through Adrien, freeing up his sons schedule and telling him to spend time with Marinette to help her ‘adapt’ to the harsh world of fashion and modeling. He uses Adrien’s heroic nature to make it sound like hed be saving her from Chloe and Felix. And sure enough Adrien bites, using his friendship with Chloe to worm into fittings, meetings, and photo shoots. At first hes just there to make sure Chloe and Felix arent hurting sweet Marinette. But when he sees the blondes fighting for her attention, flirting with her, posing with her in some rather romantic settings. Suddenly hes less worried and more… Jealous? No! Not him! Hes concerned, confused, suspicious! Obviously he needs to spend more time with Mari- Wait! When did Kagami get here to take Marinette to lunch! And why are they all ignoring him!!!

Now Marinette is fully in the public's eye. Gossip blogs are being fed bits of info writing up each ‘candidates’ appeal as THE romantic partner to the Marinette Dupain-Cheng paris new darling, the girl with a heart of gold too oblivious to see the trail of hearts following her around! But there is still another contender yet to enter the game! Jaggeds been away on tour teaching Luka his up and coming protege all the tricks. And lets not lie Luka has his own fans now, enough to rival all the others. Jagged sees Luka as his own son, even calling him as much! Hell hes even adopted Luka and Juleka and when I say adopted I mean Jagged literally got shared custody of the kids when their real dad tried to start trouble once Luka started gaining fame. Luka and Juleka for one love their adopted father and his wonderful fiance Penny. But back to Jagged, being Jagged. 

The moment Jagged is back in Paris he's checking up on his favorite designer and hopefully future daughter in law! When… WHAT'S THIS?! All the other ritchies in Paris are playing his game! Trying to get Marinette married into THEIR families! Not rock and roll at all! He was here first! And so being Jagged he decides to make Luka’s stake in the race for Marinette’s heart clear! By spamming social media with photos of Marinette being cute with Luka, taking his measurements, going out with him, the pair babying Fang, the two passed out against each other after a long concert. And he has photos going back at least a year or two! Soon Luka’s fans pick up the hype starting a trending hashtag finding the pair cute! Jagged feels confident that hes won! When Audrey retaliates, and from there its a complete train wreck. Before long each pair has a hashtag filled with cute moments and arguing over whos dating the model / fashion designer! 

Meanwhile Adrien is drowning in denial as he goes through each hashtag seething about how many MORE photos everyone else has with Marinette, when HE is her very good friend and was here first! Felix, Chloe and Kagami on the other hand have declared open war after they tried to talk to each other about the hashtags reasonably only for it to devolve into “so you agree Marinette is best with me!” - “WHAT! No! Thats not what I said! Besides she clearly is best with me!” - “Ridiculous!” And so on. Poor Luka is having an entirely different reaction hiding in shame unsure how to face Marinette because he WAS going to ask her on a proper date now that she seems over Adrien, because even with everything she's the melody playing in his heart and he had a plan! But now his mom and sister are texting him and teasing him and apparently he has MORE competition! Who do these people think they are to deserve Marinette! No! Luka won't lose Jagged has been teaching him to be bold and confident! And Marinette is worth all of his efforts! Jagged REGRETS NOTHING even if Penny confiscated the tv remote!

Marinette meanwhile has no idea what's going on because the whole class made a dumb bet on when the designer would notice with one of the bet conditions being that no one could tip Marinette off and that they have to keep her away from Paparazzi so they dont spoil it either. And sense Alya is helping manage Marinette’s social media Marinette hasn't looked at it yet so she has NO idea what's happening. But her birthday is coming up next week and Chloe definitely didn't get dibs on planning a surprise party for her all so she could spoil the girl and RUB her GREAT relationship with Marinette into her competitions FACES! The competition however (and Adrien JustAfriend Agreste) have decided that they really aren't going down without a fight!

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[fenheart87]

Pain of the Tongue

This is not for my SoulTember challenge but the idea is you feel the pain of your soulmate. Marinette feels a familiar pain in her tongue but it fades quicker than last time. Now she has an idea and some suspicions as to who her soulmate is.

Marinette knew she was being rude by ignoring her best friend but this was way more important. The this being the mouth of one Luka Couffaine. It had been bugging her ever since Juleka let it slip that her ever so lovable dumbass of a brother and his walking fashion hazzard disaster of a best friend had done something stupid and Luka had bit through his tongue. The same day hers had started with a sharp pain that faded into a dull one that meant her soulmate had done something to theirs. Which meant that her soulmate could be Luka. Or wishful thinking but she had to prove it one way or another.

"Girl you stare at his mouth any longer and he might just offer his lips to you."

"I want to kiss him but that's so not what this is about." A beat of silence passed and Marinette realized she said that out loud. "Juleka said a couple weeks ago that Luka did something and bit through his tongue right?"

"Uh-huh?" The unsaid I'm not following was loud and clear in the reporter's tone.

"The same day I had a really bad and lingering pain in my tongue. I was thinking about it and a couple years ago I had a sharp unexplainable pain that lasted about four weeks. Looking it up back then to find answers, I found some piercing care websites and the typical healing time frame is four to six weeks. I think Luka has his tongue pierced and he's my soulmate."

"Okay wow, hold on girl." Alya pulled up her notepad on her phone and started a list. "Evidence we can prove please."

"He never shows his tongue, ever. When he laughs, it's always behind his hand or just a quiet chuckle that doesn't show it. Never sticks it out when Juleka does it to him. Juleka always mentions his obsession with rocky road ice cream and how he was ready to die when he couldn't have it for a month. Luka hurt his tongue the same day mine hurt. He's always careful of what he eats, using mouthwash after meals as recommended on those piercing sites."

"Clearly you need to be the Ladyblogger and not me. So what are you going to do? Just bat your pretty blue eyes and lay one on him?"

"Maybe but I need proof first."

"I gotta say, I'm glad we're over the Adrien days."

"Me too Alya, me too."

--

The plan was simple: try and make Luka show his tongue. The only problem is she was making him nervous with all her staring and Juleka was noticing. Marinette forgot how focused on something she could be but decided to tone it down otherwise he was going to think she had an unhealthy fascination with his mouth. Which okay she did but not like in a creepy way. Whatever.

"Did Luka do something?"

"Not recently, no."

"Okay… Can I ask why you're staring at my brother like he's a piece of meat?"

"I'm not meaning to! I mean I am staring but like it's for a reason!" She groaned, this wasn't sounding any better by the second. "You can help me. Do you know if Luka has his tongue pierced?"

"Why?" Marinette really hated how all the Couffaines had that stare into your soul look.

"I've been thinking about it and two years ago my tongue had this sharp pain that lasted about a month and then last week it was kind of similar and it seems when Luka hurt his tongue mine started hurting which you know soulmates share each other's pain and it's possible he's mine?" That was tame as far as her rambles normally would go and now she just had to wait.

"So you've been trying to catch… His tongue?"

"Yes."

"You could just ask him"

"I know!"

"Or kiss him, see if it's there." The purple loving girl shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal either way.

"Juleka!"

"No need to sound so scandalized. So maybe he does and maybe he doesn't. How are you going to prove it?"

"Haven't gotten that far."

--

Luka grabbed another popsicle from the freezer, it was like back when he had gotten his tongue pierced. He had had it checked out and nothing was wrong with the piercing or the slight scar so the only conclusion he could come to was something to do with his soulmate. Which was weird to think about because it caused a trill of happiness and an equal response of upset. He still held feelings for a certain pink designer after all.

"Oh my God! Have you seen it?! Have you seen it?" Alya's voice could be heard before her footsteps clamored across the deck. Signing, he grabbed a large cup of ice and took that too. They had band practice but his mouth pain was killing him.

"What are you talking about Alya?" Oh hey, Marinette was here too.

"Ladybug! I had a short interview with her and she got her tongue pierced!"

"What?" Okay that wasn't his voice but Juleka was keeping the convo going and he stayed where he was just out of sight for a moment.

"Yeah! She got her tongue pierced! I asked her why she wasn't talking as much in the last few akuma battles and her face looked like she was in pain so she just stuck out her tongue and then yo-yo'd away!"

"That's cool but it must be painful." Marinette was coming around the corner and paused as she saw Luka, raising a fine arched brow as if waiting for an answer.

"It was so cool! I almost missed it on camera but look Rose!"

"Hey Marinette."

"Hey Luka, I have an important question. For tongue piercings at what point is kissing considered okay?"

"Four to six weeks depending on the person and their healing ability. Sometimes its less and if you take good care of it then usually a month as long its not tonsil hockey battle." The response was a knee jerk reaction and recited the exact same words his piercer gave him.

"Hm well I guess I can live with that for now." Why was she getting closer and why- Oh. Oh. Marinette was kissing him. Wait. Kissing him?! Luka froze up and a blush took over his face, causing the sneaky girl to giggle as she pulled back. Patting his cheek with a shy smile, Marinette promptly stuck out her tongue to reveal a bar with two balls the color of Viperion's suit.

"Wait, what?" Luka.exe has crashed.

"You work on getting your brain working again and maybe you can get a second chance at that kiss later."

Oh hell.

[akihiko-sanada]

BRO, WHY’D YOU LIKE YUKICHIE SO MUCH??

Ok first of all, bro,,, B R O, bro ilysm being able to infodump like this means so much to me for real. And second of all, this is gonna be very bullet point-e since I can't string a coherent sentence together to save my life. LET'S BEGIN:

Tropes and dichotomies

Yukichie has a bunch of romantic tropes, including but not limited to:

-Beautiful and popular genius falls for airhead jock outcast.

-Childhood best friends to lovers.

-Two girls fall in love but one girl's close minded parents (yukikos) disapprove and kick her out so she suddenly moves in with chie (this definitely happened i'm sure of it).

Now the dichotomies:

Fire and ice: I feel like I don't even have to explain why this is romantic so I'm just gonna jump straight into the evidence: Yukiko is the teammate with Agi and Chie is the one with Bufu, one of Yukiko’s themes is called “Snowflakes” and there's also the twin dragons special move.

Sun and moon: Might be a stretch but I really do think that Yukiko is the moon, silent, beautiful and graceful while Chie is the sun, energetic, bright and hot to the touch.

Shadows

Shadow Chie reveals that Chie developed an inferiority complex from constantly comparing herself to Yukiko (not surprising but aw :(), and part of this is her not feeling worthy of Yukiko and her company, bUT MEANWHILE YUKIKO HAS THE OPPOSITE PROBLEM WHERE SHE RELIES TOO MUCH ON CHIE,,, like shadow Yukiko literally says says to Chie “Chies my prince, she's a strong prince, or at least she was”, she hoped and relied on Chie to save her from having to take over the inn and having to stay in Inaba,,,,. ALSO WHEN SHADOW YUKIKO'S HEALTH IS LOW SHE SUMMONS A PRINCE SHADOW WTF, WTF WTF WTF, SHE STRAIGHT UP SUMMONS HER PRINCE, CHIE, WHEN SHE’S MOST VULNERABLE????? HELP???

And speaking of shadows, Chie is pretty calm when it comes to rescuing people from the TV world except for Yukiko, she goes absolutely APESHIT, says "You don't know SHIT about how I feel! Yukiko might DIE from this, for crying out loud! I'm going, and that's that!" before running HEADFIRST INTO A MONSTER INFESTED PALACE WITHOUT A PERSONA OF HER OWN,, TRUE LOVE RIGHT THERE BABY. She also almost single handedly beats up a whole ass police station for even suggesting that Yukiko was involved in the murders.

Color theory

I'm a huge rwby fan so colors is definitely gonna have its own section IFSFNS. Anyways, in color theory, colors that are on opposite sides of the color wheel are considered complementary colors, and guess what the most used example for this? Green and red! Green and red always pop out when they're next to each other, and color is very important in p4 (for various reasons but a big example is how all the students at school wear dull colors except for the investigation team, they're just full on power rangers), so id like to think that making Yukiko’s and Chie’s colors the prime example of complementary colors was something intentional made to remind you of how well they work together.

Also: Chie “wow yukiko red looks really good on you” yukiko, twirling her hair “haha thanks do you mind if i wear it for the rest of my life-”. Also side note I’m 100% sure that Rio’s favourite color is red because it reminds her of Hamuko <3.

Comphet and obliviousness

It's very obvious that like, everyone’s in the investigation team suffers from comphet, especially considering their reaction to Kanji coming out (which is, something), but I'm only gonna talk about yukichies; first of all this whole scene screams of comphet, no one just gushes about their friend THAT much:

Also, Chie disapproves of all of Yukiko's suitors cause she's subconsciously jealous, Chie is 100% a baby lesbian cause shes literally like: “haha im not a lesbian, I just cut my hair short and mostly hang out with guys because then I’ll be more masculine and men like girls so-aw shit”.

Also, Inaba is a breeding ground for comphet because it's a rural town in the middle of nowhere in a town where most of the popuñation is old so,,,yeah,,,.Yukiko feels like her only option in life is to take over the Amagi inn and follow in her family's footsteps, which would in turn be like rotting away in Inaba, so I like to think that the Amagi inn is some sort of metaphor for how being yourself is key even though it can disappoint your parents by making you stray from the path they paved for you, but that’s still an important step to take to become a better person and being true to yourself. Now that isn't very different from coming out now is it?

Official art and others

-Yukiko’s and Chie’s designs inspired Tomoe Tachibana and Maria Torres from Trauma Team and they’re hella gay

-Yukiko and Chie are next to each other or side eyeing each other when the other isn't looking in 99% of the official art they're in, I wonder why that is-. Also if  you look through Chie’s gallery 90% of her photos include Yukiko and vice versa.

-Everyone in Inaba knows that Chie and Yukiko are practically dating cause some bullies literally threaten Chie with hurting Yukiko saying stuff like “that precious Yukiko-san of yours” and “So don't you care about what happens to your loved ones” LIKE HELLO???

-Chies social link? oh you mean the yukichie social link right? No but seriously like Chies social link revolves around Yukiko NANFFGGW

-Yukiko’s theme in p4u is “princess Amagi” and shadow Yukiko calls Chie her prince, coincidence? ABSOLUTELY NOT. 

Fun headcanons and random stuff

-Chie definitely short circuited for a full ten seconds when she saw Yukiko in a yukata for the first time

-I'm sure that when the investigation team meets up like 20 years after p4 they'll be like “wait Yukiko you've been living with Chie for years?? did you get married?” Yukiko and Chie who haven't even started dating officially “no?? what are you talking about- WAIT.”

-Yukiko and Chie: *adopt three cats and a dog and call them their children*, also yukichie “we’re just really good friends :)))”

-Yukiko and Chie definitely made out with each other a couple of times using the excuse of “were practising for when we have boyfriends”

In conclusion, yukiko and chie have the type of love where they've known each other for so long and care for each other so deeply and passionately that they don't need to search for a significant other because deep down they've always known they were each others. They've always pictured the other in their life from beginning to end but have yet to put together that they want to be in each others life romantically because of comphet and just, never really seeing each other as an option because they've just always been friends, nothing more nothing less. Thank you for coming to my ted talk I hope I gave you yukichie brainrot <3

[vannahfanfics]

If Love Was A Color

Category: Mild Romantic Fluff

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Characters: Katsuki Bakugo, Ochako Uraraka

Additional Tags: Quirkless AU, Soulmate AU

Katsuki’s red eyes zeroed in on the word outlined in the fine print stretching across the six-inch-thick book in front of him. While many of the students congregating in the library would find the massive treatise daunting— especially considering its contents were as dull as the lightbulbs flickering in their dumb heads— Katsuki absorbed every syllable. Committing laws to memory was no easy task, but he embraced the challenge. After all, one day, he would be Japan’s most renowned prosecutor. 

Katsuki’s eyebrows twitched as the loud giggling of girls disrupted his concentration. He glanced over his shoulder with lidded eyes to watch two first-year students clutching coffee cups stroll by.

“So you met your soulmate in Introduction to Biology?” one asked, a pretentious-looking girl whose ponytail looked tight enough to rip off her scalp. 

“Yes! He’s so handsome and so dreamy! He wants to be a doctor; I can’t believe I lucked out with someone so smart and driven!” the other squealed as she pressed a hand to her flushing face. Her cheeks darkened as her friend joked that she should just drop out and marry him since he’ll be so rich; the girl laughed and insisted no, she couldn’t, how improper… But Katsuki could see the wheels turning in her head. He scowled as they disappeared behind some shelves, but their giggles floated behind them, clouding Katsuki’s study sanctuary with obnoxiousness. 

Katsuki hated the concept of soulmates— or really, love in general. First of all, it was so fucked that there was some predetermined person you were miraculously just supposed to commit to spending your life with. What if they were a bitch, like that girl who would rather slide right into a rich man’s pockets and had no work ethic? What if they were some bum who lived in their mother’s basement? It burned Katsuki up inside, the fact that he was supposed to just accept someone without them earning his approval first. There was no way in hell he would let someone ride his coattails off the pretense of love. He had way too much to worry about anyway, as a college senior. 

Still… Sometimes he had to admit that having monochromatic vision was a problem. Although the world adapted to the fact that people were colorblind until they met their soulmates, most people actively sought them— so by Katsuki’s age, most assumed that you had colored vision. He had to continually nag his professors for including color-coded charts and the like in their lectures because how the fuck was he going to differentiate? Still, that problem could be solved just by making waves— and Katsuki was damn good at that. 

Ugh. I have a headache now, listening to those two bimbos prattle, he scowled, rubbing his temples as a dull pounding made a home in his skull. He pushed away from the table, leaving the open books and notes behind to walk the short distance to the coffee shop that adjoined the university’s four-story library. As he stood in line to order himself a plain black coffee, silently reciting the laws he’d just memorized in his head, he didn’t notice the door slam open and someone flurry into the small shop— that is, until they plowed into a chair, tripped over it, and slammed right into Katsuki’s back. 

“Uwahhhhh!” they screeched. With a surprised yelp, Katsuki reflexively arched his back as their face crashed right between his shoulder blades. Crimson eyes wide in confused, he whirled around to face the clumsy stranger— 

and then recoiled because color exploded into his world. He groaned as he staggered back into the display, eyes twitching as his previously inactive rods and cones sprang into life to fill his vision with a million different hues. He held his hand over his eyes, trying to adjust to the thin slivers of color peeking out through his fingers, and watched as a short, round-faced girl with a bob cut slowly straightened up while rubbing her nose. 

“Ow, ow, ow,” she whined pitifully before cracking an eye open. Katsuki gawked at the dark, warm hue that filled her irises, the same color as the tables’ rich wood— brown? Was that brown? Her hair was the same color, so if she was a brunette, it would make sense. Slowly, he lowered his hand from his eyes, squinting as the pain ebbed. She raised her head, mouth opening to apologize— and then she inhaled sharply. 

“Wow. Your eyes are such a beautiful color.” 

Katsuki could feel the heat rush from his toes to the crown of his head. His mother had always told him he’d had crimson eyes like rubies. The girl continued to pore over them, a serene smile blooming on her face before it dawned on her. 

“Wait, wait, wait, I— color? But that means we—! You’re my—! Oh gosh!” she spluttered. Katsuki winced as she slapped her hands hard to her cheeks, causing the skin to bloom pink there— pink, yes, that was the color of blushing. She continued to squirm wildly, entirely overwhelmed by the situation, before she managed to squeak out a sentence. “I’m Ochako Uraraka! It’s very nice to meet you, um, soulmate— Oh, that sounds so creepy!” she wailed and tugged at her chestnut tresses of hair. She looked apologetically at him. Her face turned a deep burning red. “Let me try this again… Your name, what’s your name?” 

“Katsuki Bakugo.”

The barista called him to take his order, so he turned on his heel and did. As he was handing a few bills over the counter, Ochako scampered up behind him to peek over his shoulder. 

“A plain black coffee, huh? You see the type!” she chirped. “I like sweet things— iced coffees with lots of cream, sugar, and flavored syrups are delicious! My favorite flavor is Irish cream— hey, where are you going?” she whined as Katsuki ignored her prattling to take his coffee and begin walking to the exit of the store. He grimaced as she followed after him, swinging her arms and hips a little so that the little planet glitter charm— it was dark, could that be purple?— on her bookbag swung back and forth. “We’re soulmates, right? We should get to know each other, don’tcha think?” 

“Sorry,” Katsuki huffed as he pushed the door open. “I don’t do the whole soulmate thing.” 

He tried not to think of the pitifully sad look on Ochako’s face as he closed the door right in it— but he found that it stuck in his memory for the next three days until he came to the library again. 

She had some determination; he would give her that. She found him in his little nook, leaning his chair back on two legs as he pored over another law book— one that had a blue binding, Eijirou had told him. He didn’t even notice her approaching until he heard the soft tap of a cup, and he looked up to see her standing there, smiling pleasantly as she slid a black coffee towards him. 

“You’re a diligent student, I see. Studying pre-law?” she observed with a point at the book cover. Katsuki snorted, half-debating ignoring her again and rejecting the coffee, but he was running on empty. Why refuse free caffeine? Though he loathed small talk, he supposed he could entertain her for a few minutes, as thanks.

“Yeah,” he answered as he picked up the cup and sipped at the steaming hot beverage. The tension melted from his shoulders as the robust flavor of the roasted beans hit his tongue; it wasn’t long after that the caffeine kicked in, giving his dulled senses and attention a nice buzz. He noticed Ochako slip into the seat opposite him, continuing to smile with those big brown eyes of hers sparkling. He saw the purple planet charm— Saturn, he realized— sitting atop her backpack, so he pointed to it. 

“Astronomy?” 

“Aerospace engineering.” 

Katsuki released an appreciative whistle. He hadn’t expected that of the bubbly girl, and despite his reservations, he had to respect her challenging curriculum. She puffed out her chest with a prideful grin and continued, “I want to design rockets!” 

“A space case for a rocket scientist. That’s perfect,” he snorted with laughter, making Ochako puff out her cheeks in defiance. Now that he noticed, they looked so soft and round… He almost had the urge to pinch them and feel how squishy they were. Almost. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m a little spacey, but it doesn’t matter as long as I can solve the equations, does it?” she retorted haughtily. Katsuki shook his head, muttering a “Guess not,” and she reclined in her seat with a satisfied smirk. Katsuki’s crimson eyes fell back to the law book he was osmosing, and he could see her watching him intently above the tops of the thick pages. “What do you want to do?” she asked slowly. She seemed to be getting the hint that he didn’t want to be bothered for long, but there was a stubborn glint in her eyes. 

“Prosecute,” he quipped, not looking up at her. 

“Wow! That’s an ambitious goal. It takes a lot to be a government prosecutor.” 

“Yeah, it does— a lot of studying, which, if you don’t mind, I would like to get back to,” he huffed with more venom than he meant. A strange sinking feeling washed over him as he watched the girl sink a little into her chair and her smile fold down at the edges. Silently, she got up and slipped her backpack on, mumbling a half-hearted “see you later.” As she began to leave, he cleared his throat. 

“Thanks for the coffee,” he added with a frustrating heat rising to his cheeks. Ochako glanced at the half-empty cup, then back to him— and her smile returned a little sliver. 

The next time they ran into each other, he was in line to get coffee again. She came in afluster, face scrunched as she pored over a notebook scrawled with mathematical equations; she was so absorbed in her calculations that she didn’t notice Katsuki standing in front of her, nor that he ordered an Irish cream and hazelnut coffee with extra cream in sugar. As he turned around, she shuffled forward thinking he had exited the line and bumped right into his chest. Her round cheeks pinkened and she looked up to squeak out an apology, but it died in her throat when she noticed it was him. 

Wordlessly, he held out the coffee to her. 

“To pay you back for the other day,” he explained as she took it, looking at him like he’d given her a ring instead of an iced coffee. She hid her bashful smile behind the white lid, slowly turning her body from side-to-side. As they moved out of line, he gestured to the messy array of numbers and letters on the pages. “What’s that? Looks intense.” 

“It’s an extra credit assignment. If we solve this equation, we get ten bonus points on midterms… But it’s presenting quite a challenge,” she groaned as she scratched at her scalp with the end of her pencil. Smiling, Katsuki pulled out a chair for her and she automatically sank down, her brown eyes never leaving the paper. It was kind of cute, the way her eyebrows scrunched together and her lips poked out in a thoughtful pout. Katsuki found himself softening as he gazed at her; though it definitely looked like a challenging problem, the sparkle in her eyes indicated that she was rather enjoying it. 

He liked that. 

Wait a minute, he realized, his train of thought derailing and veering off a canyonside. The gears turning in his brain threatened to overheat and spin out of control as he considered what he had just actually thought. Him, liking Ochako? No. No, no, no. That wasn’t possible. Katsuki didn’t do love, he didn’t do dating, he didn’t do soulmates. 

“Good luck with your problem. I gotta go,” he blurted, using his hand to hide the blush creeping onto his face. Ochako looked up with a confused gasp, but he was already marching out the door. Dimly, he could hear her meekly call, “Thanks for the coffee…” 

As he stalked down the sidewalk, oblivious to the cloudy gray sky and the pattering rain beginning to sprinkle down from the heavens to dye the white sidewalk a deep slate, Katsuki’s mind was whirling. He tugged at his ash-blond strands of hair with a deep, guttural growl. He couldn’t like Ochako. He wouldn’t like Ochako. He’d always sworn that he’d never fall into that trap; he’d never take stock into that soulmate bullshit. It was just his subconscious; it had to be! He didn’t have a crush on her. It was just the internalization of all that soulmate propaganda trying to trick him into thinking he had to like her. 

Right? He didn’t like Ochako. He didn’t like her sweet soft voice, or her warm brown eyes, or her big broad toothy smile her rosy round cheeks complimented so well. He didn’t find that little purple Saturn charm endearing, nor the way she pushed her fingers together when she was nervous, nor her little thoughtful pout and scrunched brows. He didn’t. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. 

Katsuki stopped walking. He tipped his head up to stare defeatedly up at the cloudy gray sky. Gray. He hated that color now. It reminded him of a time when the world was just that— gray and lifeless and dull. Just Katsuki and his law books, all in monochrome. 

Now the sky was blue, and so were the bluebirds nesting in the eaves of his dorm. Now the grass was green, as were the leaves that rustled in the trees lining the walking track by the gym. Now the sun was yellow, like the buttercups growing in front of the library. Katsuki’s eyes were red, like Eijirou’s spiky red hair and the apples he insisted on crunching on every morning though Katsuki hated the sound. Now grapes were purple, like Ochako’s glittery Saturn planet charm. 

Now hearts were pink, just like Ochako’s warm, squishable, cute little cheeks. If Katsuki had to pick what color love was, it would be pink. 

He dropped his head down with a sardonic chuckle. The water dripped down from his drenched hair to run down his face in rivulets. Pink, like Katsuki’s face every time he clapped on eyes on that clumsy, space case, chubby-cheeked cutie who happened to be his soulmate. 

Damn it. He was in love with Ochako. 

The slick sidewalk squeaked under his tennis shoe as he whirled on his heel to sprint back to the library. He surprised Ochako as she was walking through the double doors, making her compulsively chuck the notebook forward. She gasped and reached out as it spiraled out into the rain; if it landed in a puddle, the black ink on the pages would bleed into incomprehensible smudges, and she’d never get that extra credit she was working so hard to earn. Katsuki caught it as it sailed over his head, slowly bringing it to his chest to shield it with his body. 

“K-Katsuki?” Ochako asked uncertainly, looking him up and down. He probably looked a sight, clothes and hair soaked from the rain and his chest heaving from the feverish sprint. 

“You wanna know something? The first time I saw you, I couldn’t help but think that your eyes were the most beautiful color,” he whispered. It’s true, he loved the pink shade her cheeks turned— but nothing compared to that warm chocolatey brown that sucked him in and embraced him in warmth. 

“I… I thought you didn’t do soulmates,” she swallowed, pushing her fingers together. Katsuki walked forward with a soft smile, holding out the notebook to her. 

“I changed my mind,” he said while reaching up to brush a strand of her soft brown hair out of her face. He then grinned devilishly and pinched her cheek, making her squeak in protest. “Can’t resist ya, Cheeks.” 

“What happened to Space Case?” 

“You’ve been upgraded. Congratulations.” 

Ochako blinked at him, then began laughing. She took the notebook back and hugged it to her chest, airy giggles making her shoulders shake a little. Now that he heard them from Ochako, he supposed those girly giggles weren’t that bad. 

This soulmate thing… He could get used to it.

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

[pink-imagines]

spice it up

request: Ok this is something that’s been on my mind for a couple of days now, and it’s SUPER CHEESY but plz bear with me haha. I’ve been watching a lot of ANTM and it inspired me to think about an au where Bakugo is a pro-hero and Y/N is a upcoming top model visiting Japan to walk and display a new line of lingerie based off of Pro-Hero’s costumes (kinda like for a Victoria’s Secret fashion show) She’s chosen to wear the Ground Zero lingerie and she gets permission to shadow Bakugo for a day or two to get a read on his personality so she can base her walk off of him. Thing is, off the catwalk, Y/N’s personality is free-spirited, laidback and even a little shy, so when Bakugo meets her he’s like “why the fuck would they choose an extra like her to be me?” but little does he know on the catwalk her personality does a complete 180 and is outrageously fierce and confident. Pro-hero’s got a free invitation to the fashion show so with some convincing from his friends (and maybe because he was curious to see how the hell she was going to pull this off) he goes to the show and his reaction to when she steps on the catwalk… Lol I want to leave it up to you. Wow that was wayyy longer then I expected it to be. I’m sorry to spam you like that 😂 I feel like ppl are either going to love or hate this idea so if you don’t want to write it I honestly don’t blame you haha. Either way I love your posts! You’re writing style is very fun to read!

a/n: hellooo! hope you’re doing well! sorry for the late update, but i hope that this is an alright imagine!

warnings: description of lingerie(??)

masterlist

You were exhausted. The airport had always been a stressful place, but now you were jetlagged aswell. Flying to Japan wasn’t an easy task, but it was worth it. You carefully pushed the sunglasses you were wearing up the bridge of your nose. It was a weak disguise, but you really couldn’t care less.

“The car’s waiting outside. Let’s hurry up.”, your manager spoke fast. You grabbed your bag and followed after her. The paparazzi were flooding the exit, luckily they had put up fences. This was one of the reasons you had to look atleast a little bit dressed up on airports. Which was the most uncomfortable thing ever, but you just had to live with it. By “dressed up” they usually just meant “don’t wear sweatpants”. So you could still wear your comfy pair of jeans and a nice sweater or something of the sort.

“How do you feel after travelling so much? From New York, to London, to Paris and now here in Tokyo. How do you cope?” The same questions were popping up everywhere, but you didn’t stop for any of them. The only time you did stop was when you saw a few fans getting strangled against the fence. You hurried towards them, got their things signed and made sure they got back to safety.

“Let’s go, Y/N.”, your manager warned.

“Coming!”, you sighed and kept walking.

The next day you were driven to the place where you’d be messured for the lingerie.

“Y/N? Over here, honey!”, the designer said. He got you into a chair as soon as you arrived.

“What do you have for me today, Ray?”, you smiled kindly.

“So, heroes are a big thing. So we’ve made a line of hero-inspired lingerie, we think it’ll be a hit.”, he said with a big grin and showed you the sketches, “We’ll get them ready as soon as possible, but we need to match the right hero to the right model.”

“Alright, I trust your judgement.”, you looked through the sketches, “Give it to me, Ray.”

“Okay, okay. Since you’re the most charesmatic of the girls, we want you take care of the hothead.”, he pointed at one of the sketches, “Ground Zero.” You looked at the sketch. The top was some sort of dulled down orange color, in a lacy material. That wasn’t that bad, it was the usual, but there was a leather harness on top of it... a leather harness that connected to a leather choker. The bottoms were high-waisted and in the same lace material but black. But that wasn’t it. There was a pair of leather, knee-high, boots along with it.

“It’s... extreme.”, you sighed, “But, sure... I’ll do it.”

“Oh, thank you, Y/N. You’re a life saver, no model in Japan wanted to take the roll.”, he chuckled, “Here I’ll show you what we thought we should do for the face.” He showed you a face with cat-eye eyeliner, a simple nude lip and some sort of explosion looking thing behind the ears. You guessed that was a part of Ground Zero’s hero costume.

“Looks great, Ray.”, you smiled.

“Go get yourself meassured, your manager is booking you a meeting with Ground Zero so that you can study his personality.”, he said calmly and started to walk away.

How had you gotten yourself in this mess? To be honest, you didn’t know anymore. Everything happened so fast and now suddenly you were in the lobby of a hero agency, waiting for Ground Zero to go on his lunch break.

“Y/N Y/L/N?”, a rough voice asked behind you. You turned around to see a pair of crimson eyes staring into your soul. His hair was messy and he was just wearing jeans, a hoodie and a leather jacket. You didn’t know why you thought he’d show up in his hero costume.

“I’m guessing you’re Ground Zero?”, you stretched out your hand.

“You can say Bakugo.”, he scoffed and ignored your stretched out hand. He instead put his hands in his pockets.

“Are you ready to go?”, you asked.

“Why else would I be here?”, he sighed and walked to the exit. This was gonna be an exhausting week.

Bakugo walked as if he had just proven a point, or like he had just won an argument. To say the least, there was only pure confidence flooding in his veins. You hated it, but you simply had to see this as a job. You weren’t in your body, you were only watching from the audience.

“Are you just gonna sit there looking at me? You’re not gonna talk?”, he quirked an eyebrow at you.

“Fine then... um... what kind of music do you listen to?”, you asked innocently.

“Music?”, he bursted out into laughter, “That’s it? You really are just another extra!”

“Listen, man, you’re the one who wanted to talk. So talk.”, you kept your calm, you didn’t want to make a scene out in public.

“Eh- this place sucks, let’s go to my apartment. We can talk there.”, he shrugged and walked faster.

“Your apartment?”, you squeaked.

You were just supposed to follow him around for a while every day, but now you were in his apartment. This was only the first day! His apartment was nice though... it kind of had an oldschool aesthetic to it. Like he came straight out of a private school in England during the 1980′s.

“You asked what kind of music I’m into or something?”, he sighed and walked over to a record player after taking off his shoes and hanging up his jacket. You stopped for a second. Didn’t he just make fun of you for asking that? You watched as he flipped through a few records.

“Yeah, I did.”, you answered cautiosly and hung up your coat next to his jacket.

He effortlessly handled one of the vinyls and quickly put it on the record player... it started playing and-... was that The Beatles? Bakugo sat down on his couch as if it wasn’t extremely shocking for him to listen to this.

“You listen to The Beatles?”, you asked as Paul McCartney started signing the first verse of Yesterday.

“Who doesn’t?”, he sighed, “C’mon, sit down.” You sat down in one of the armchair’s and finished listening to the song.

“You don’t seem like you listen to this kind of music.”, you commented as the next song started playing.

“I don’t only listen to this, idiot.”, he snarked, “This was the first thing I found.”

“Whatever you say.”

A few days went by and you’d go through the same schedule. Wait for Bakugo to go out for his lunchbreak, walk around for a bit, go to his apartment and go home when he had to start his next shift. He started making you lunch, and he was a surprisingly good cook. 

For the last day he stopped you before you parted ways.

“Wait-... can I meet you at your hotel later tonight?”, he actually looked a little bit nervous for once.

“I mean, yeah... but why?”, you gave him an unsure smile.

“I’ll take you out for food, something spicy... unless you can’t handle that.”, he grinned, his confidence was suddenly back.

“You wanna bet?”, your laughed.

“Alright then, it’s a bet.”, he chuckled, “I’ll meet you around 7 in the lobby.”

“For sure. I’ll see you!”, you waved goodbye and so did he.

Just when you were about to sneak out to the lobby your manager walked past.

“Where are you going?”, she asked.

“I was just uh...”

“And why’s Ground Zero in the lobby? He’s starting a commotion! We don’t need that, we need you to rest for the show tomorrow!”, she sighed.

“Please, I just wanted to-”

“No, Y/N. You can’t go out tonight, you have a damn show tomorrow.”

“Well, please just tell Bak- I mean... Ground Zero that I can’t come... and that I’m sorry.”, you pleaded, “Please.”

“Fine...”, she agreed.

The next day you woke up early to go to the fitting, so that you could later that day go to the show. Since they had your measurments, it fit perfectly.

“Hey, Laura!”, you stopped your manager as she passed by your make up station.

“Yeah, what’s up? Need anything?”, she asked.

“No-... I was just wondering if you know if Ground Zero would be here tonight.”, you asked.

“I don’t know, honey.”, she sighed, “He hasn’t said anything about it.”

“Alright, thank you.”

You got a moment alone in your changing room before you were going backstage. There was a harch knock on the door, which prompted you to go over to it and open the door. 

“Is it time to come out n-”, you stopped dead in your tracks when you saw Bakugo in front of you.

“Hey.”, he said quietly.

“Hi.”, you responded, “How did you get back here?”

“It’s not that hard for a hero of my status.”, he grinned and puffed up his chest a bit.

“Okay, okay...”, you chuckled and wrapped the silk robe you had on tighter around you, “Well, I’m happy you made it.”

“Y/N! Showtime!”, you heard your manager shout.

“Coming!”, you answered.

“Good luck... on the show...”, he muttered.

“Thank you! I expect to see you in the crowd.”, you grinned and ran up to the backstage area.

-

Maybe he should’ve tried to see what she was wearing. He really hadn’t thought about it at all...

The show was in alphabetic order, so he’d have to sit there for a bit before she’d come out. He really didn’t care much for the other models and he might’ve fell asleep for a few minutes here and there... but that was the chair’s fault! It was too comfortable, it even had armrests! How could he not fall asleep? Just for a bit... 

“Ground Zero!”, they shouted, making him almost jump out of his seat. Eijiro, who sat beside him, let out a quiet chuckle.

“Shut up, man...”, he whispered before glueing his eyes to the runway. He didn’t even recognize her at first. Y/N was... different... and it wasn’t just the clothing... or more like the lack there of.

Her whole aura was different when she walked she was like a whole new person. She was fierce, confident, simply the embodiment of a goddess of war and destruction.  Katsuki’s eyes were glued to her, every curve and edge, and his mouth was slightly agape in shock. He didn’t even realize that people were taking pictures of him.

After the show Katsuki made his way backstage, where he met up with Y/N who was now wrapped up in her silk robe again.

“What did you think? Did you like it?”, she grinned.

“I-...”, he looked around at the people around him who were all watching, “It was alright.”

“Alright?”, you laughed, “Okay then, you diva, I’m gonna go get changed!” His gaze followed her form as she walked away from him to her changing room... until he noticed that people were staring at him.

“Oi! What are you looking at!?”

-

The next day you were already at the airport early in the morning, which was way to early since the plane didn’t leave for another hour. So you decided to look at the articles about last night.

You scrolled quickly through most of them until you saw a picture of a familiar face. It was Bakugo! Looking absolutely star struck as your figure strutted down the runway. A smile spread across your lips and you took a screenshot of the photo.

“Hey, do we have Ground Zero’s buisness email or something like that?”, you asked your manager.

“I can get it for you. Why do you need it?”, she quirked an eyebrow at you.

“Oh, I just wanted to thank him.”, you smiled sweetly, “Also, do you know the next time I’ll be working in Japan?”

“In a few months or so.”

“Perfect.” You couldn’t wait.

-

permanent taglist: @theoceanphoenixhasrisen | @raven-r0ses | @darkbeautyswife | @sondering-thoughts | @gowoneandonlyone | @bnhabadass | @queenblackcat | @jayetheanimefreek101 | @witchy-anna 

tagged for this fic: @bnha-violetnote​ | @succulent-momma​

[the-peak-of-despair]

Mahiru Koizumi x Blackend!Reader

I NO LONGER HAVE ACCESS TO THE ORIGINAL ASK! 

anon asked:  Omg I just read the Fuyuhiko angst and it was amazing 🥺💖 Anyways I was wondering if I could have the same sort of plot with Mahiru if it’s not too much trouble? I love your blog💖💞💖

Definitely don’t listen to as the world caves in by matt maltese as you think about Mahiru watching your execution. I’m kidding, do it. Interalize it. -Mod Akane

Holy shit.

Holy.. fucking.. Shit.

You’d done it.

You’d killed Peko Pekoyama. 

You watched her eyes, she was there, at your feet, dying, looking up at you. So many emotions warped her red eyes. She rasped, as if she wanted to say something, but then.. Her eyes.. The light faded, near a gray dull color as she expired in front of you, moonlight shining down and giving her body a light glow, the most light it would ever give off again. 

You never thought you’d kill someone. Let alone the Ultimate Swordswoman. But still, looking down at her now, lifeless...bloody… a knife still in your hand….

The world around you collapsed, as you started to realize...

oh dear god, what had you done?

---

As everyone shuffled into the courtroom once again, Mahiru warily looked around, eyeing down anyone suspicious as she put her hand in (Y/N)’s, approaching her podium cautiously as (Y/N) joined right next to her. 

“So.. where shall we start..?” Sonia trails off as everyone settles. 

“I’m not sure, but whoever did this..” Mahiru starts, “it’d be better to just fess up.” She feels (Y/N)’s grip tighten, for only a second.

“W-Well, for now it might be easier to start with Mikan’s autopsy results?” Hajime suggests. 

“A-Ah, y-yes..!” Mikan starts. “W-Well, it’s obvious, her c-cause of death w-would be the gash o-on her neck.. T-There’s signs of a struggle with her clothes and scratches on her t-torso, b-but that’s a-about it..” She plays with her thumbs, looking down and away from the rest of the trial. 

“Man, to think someone got the jump on Peko..” Akane says, scratching the back of her head. “It’s hard to believe, you know?” 

“Maybe someone close to her betrayed her?” Sonia suggests. “It is the only thing I can think of, for such a skilled fighter..” 

“Hey.. Fuyuhiko.. You alright..?” Kazuichi asks, turning the room’s attention to Fuyuhiko, who was breathing heavy and gripping his podium, staring down at the floor.

“I-I’m fine. Just get o-on with the stupid trial..” He mutters, briefly glancing up at everyone else in the room. (Y/N)’s grip tightened once again, and Maihru glances at her. Eyes widened and almost like she was shaking.. 

“..You okay?” Maihru asks quietly, worried more about her lover than everyone else as the trial moved on.

“Y-Yeah. I-I’m fine.” (Y/N) turns to Mahiru and smiles weakly, before turning back to Hajime, who was rambling something about finding the murder weapon.

As a photographer, Mahiru knew smiles in and out. Better yet, she’d known your smile like she knew photography. She’d fallen in love with it. Which is why it concerned her, realizing that your smile was forced, and most likely fake…

Had you been hiding something from her? 

“Well, obviously, the weapon was a knife. We’d seen it at the scene, correct?” Nagito asks, a blatant rhetorical question. It was only the second trial, but it was pretty clear that this is how he would be acting during every trial.

“Well, duh! We saw that much, genius.” Akane rolls her eyes. “That doesn’t help any.”  

“Maybe it could help..?” Sonia suggests. “Does anyone know where the knife came from?” 

“U-Um.. judging by the size of it.. And the d-design i-itself.. I-I’d assume it’s a k-kitchen knife..” Mikan comments, shaking like a leaf. 

“Well, the only people who go into the hotel kitchen are.. Mahiru and (Y/N).” Kazuichi points out. Mahiru drops (Y/N)’s hand in shock.

“Me? You’re going to accuse us?” Mahiru asks. “Why would- would either of us have any reason to kill Peko? That’s ridiculous!” She waves her hands around dramatically, akin to a mother lecturing her children. 

“We haven’t accused either of you yet..” Hajime comments. 

“Still, the notion is ridiculous!” Mahiru argues. 

“I-I did it.” (Y/N) states, shaky yet a calm demeanor plastered over her face.

“W-What..?” Mahiru turned quickly, looking at (Y/N) with fear. “I-If you’re joking, this i-isn’t funny…” 

“I..I killed Peko.” (Y/N) takes a heavy breath, eyes brimming with tears. “I- I didn’t.. I don’t want you guys to argue a-and potentially get hurt c-cause of me..” “T-This isn’t funny, (Y/N)!” Mahiru places a hand on her shoulder, as she begins to cry. “S-Stop trying to joke around!” 

“I-I wish I was..”

“Y-You..” Fuyuhiko begins.. “Y-You bastard!” He takes a heavy breath, finally standing up straight before beginning to scream at the girl. The girl Mahiru loved- the girl- who killed their friend- oh God..

“L-Leave her alone!” “Like fucking hell I will! She fucking- she- sh-she killed Peko! Whatever fucking punishment she gets, she can take it!” Fuyuhiko argues, refusing to even look at (Y/N). 

“Take that back!” Mahiru reprimands him. “I don’t care, she didn’t kill Peko!”

“Mahiru..” (Y/N) sets a hand on her arm, even though she was still wincing from Fuyuhiko’s verbal assault. 

“I’m not gonna believe it! Not until there’s cold, hard evidence!” 

“You can deny it all you fucking want, she’s a FILTHFY FUCKING KILLER!” Fuyuhiko screams. “I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU WON’T BELIEVE!” 

“Guys, please stop argu-” Chiaki tries to intervene. 

“Stay out of this, Chiaki.” Mahiru stops her, without even looking at her.

“Mahiru!” (Y/N) snaps for her attention, and finally Mahiru- along with everyone else- finally turns and looks at (Y/N). She rolls up her sleeve, to reveal a gash across her arm, still slightly dripping with blood. “This is proof. When P-Peko fought back..” 

“N-No..” Mahiru covers her mouth, going as far as biting her hand to hold in her sobs. This isn’t happening. This was a dream, she’d wake up any second, or maybe Hajime would prove (Y/N) wrong..

“See?! There’s your fucking evidence!” Fuyuhiko yells. “Let’s just start fucking voting already!” 

“Weeell, if you insist!” Monokuma cheerily intervenes. “NO!” Mahiru starts screaming as she turns to her classmates, already pulling their levers. “PLEASE! She’s not- she’s not guilty! Please! You- You’ve gotta believe me!” 

“Stop, Mahiru..” (Y/N) sets a hand on her shoulder, even as Mahiru votes for herself instead of (Y/N). She turns, tears streaming down her beloved’s face..dear God, this was a nightmare. The world began to cave in around Mahiru as it was confirmed, (Y/N) was guilty.

“W-Why? WHY’D YOU FUCKING KILL PEKO?” Fuyuhiko slams his hands against his podium, daggers in his eyes as he stares down (Y/N) with daggers in his eyes. “I WAS PROTECTING MAHIRU!” (Y/N) screams. “I-I played that stupid game Monokuma set up! A-And- I saw what happened! And I heard you talking to Peko, Fuyuhiko!” 

Fuyuhiko’s taken aback. “What?” 

“Sh-She was your friend! Your bodyguard! And Mahiru- Mahiru just wanted to talk to everyone and- and fix everything! That’s why sh-she even wanted to invite Hiyoko, and Mikan, and I-Ibuki!” (Y/N) argues, wiping tears from her eyes.

Mikan looks between them, overwhelmed. “O-Oh, dear, l-l-let me t-take care of your arm-!”

“Don’t you fucking dare, Mikan!” Fuyuhiko interjects, earning a startled shriek from Mikan.

“Please, fix her arm, Mikan!” Mahiru adds, only overwhelming the poor girl.

“What am I missing here?!” Akane interjects. “What the hell happened?” 

“That- that game! I-It was about- our school life- our memories. and Mahiru just wanted to talk to everyone involved- b-but Fuyuhiko and Peko were planning to kill her! Because F-Fuyuhiko’s sister-”

“Don’t you fucking DARE-” Fuyuhiko starts to yell, before taking a deep breath- “talk about my fucking sister.”

“Heey, hey, hey hey!” Monokuma interjects. “The vote’s over, y’know! (Y/N). Is. Guilty!”

“N-No! M-Monkuma, d-don’t-” Mahiru begins pleading, and some part of her is praying to every god she’d ever known, please, don’t take away (Y/N), don’t take her away.. 

“Don’t whaaaat? You know the rules, sweetheart! (Y/N)’s the blackened! And I’ve prepared a veerry special punishment for her!” “Wait, I’m still confused..” Sonia stops Monokuma. “Let them explain..”

“Heey, I’m sure Mahiru and Fuyuhiko can do all the talking! Come on, stop delaying me!” Monokuma complains as Mahiru pulls (Y/N) into a hug, holding her close. 

“D-Don’t leave me, p-please..” Mahiru starts sobbing, hiccups to boot. “P-Please, (Y/N)! Tell me you didn’t kill her!” 

“I-I’m sorry, Mahiru..” (Y/N) wipes Mahiru’s tears as the hug ends, and Mahiru leans into the touch. “B-But it’s like y-you said at the s-start of the trial, right..? T-The killer d-deserves to be punished..” (Y/N) forced another smile. 

The realization slams into Mahiru as she realizes what she’s said, and what she’s done. “Oh, god, n-no..” Mahiru can’t even protest as she starts to cry even more, maybe the last time she’d ever see (Y/N) alive begins to blur with tears.

“Come on! Iiiiit’s PUNISHMENT TIME!” Monokuma shouts with glee as (Y/N) walks away, out of her grasp. “I’ve got an extra special punishment for our Ultimate (talent)!” 

Mahiru can’t even speak as she watches the execution. Her entire world, maybe even the Earth around her itself, began to cave in on her. It all became blurry, through her tears and her screams of protests.. All she really knew anymore was you were dead by the end of it all. No one said a word, not even after the execution was over, the room was near silent aside from Mahiru, on her knees crying and screaming for (Y/N) to come back, her entire personality itself shattered. 

No one said a word on the way back to their cottages. The killing game would continue, if you were there or not...

[rosesgonerogue]

Just a Friend

Daminette December Day 1

It wasn’t often that Damian had to deal with the Agreste child, but with both their fathers being such big names, it was inevitable. Agreste was preferable to the Bourgeois brat, but he still reeked of a sheltered life. And now Damian was going to have to put up with him for the next several days while Father discussed business with the elder Agreste. 

“Remind me why Drake couldn’t come instead?” Damian demanded once again. 

“You know the reason,” Bruce sighed. “I was specifically asked to come with one of my sons. But if I come, Tim had to stay behind to keep the company running.” 

“Grayson?”

“He’s standing in as Batman.” 

“Why couldn’t Todd do that? Or come here?” 

Bruce fixed him with a flat stare. “We would either have a slew of corpses, or an international incident on our hands.” 

Damian growled, knowing that his father was right. That didn’t mean that he liked this cursed city. 

They came to the Agreste mansion all too soon, and Damian already dreaded the awkward conversations that awaited. It had been a few years since he’d been forced to associate with the boy, and Damian could only hope he was somehow less sheltered.

The mansion was more ostentatious than ever. It had a way of looming over people that felt cold. He never would have admitted it, but he almost wished his brothers were here to cause chaos and bring some life into the dead house.

To complete the aura, the door was opened by Agreste’s stoic assistant, the one with glasses and a harsh bun. Gabriel was standing staunchly inside with Adrien at his side, green eyes dull.

“Thank you for travelling all this way, Bruce,” Gabriel said in perfect English. “We welcome you and your son.”

“It was our pleasure,” Bruce said with a cordial smile. “Damian was curious why you wanted one of my sons to come, though.”

“We’ve found a rather interesting young designer, and if things work out in our deals, we were hoping your son might consider modelling her designs, potentially taking the brand over to America.”

Translation: Gabriel thought his son was too good for this, so Damian was stuck modelling for an amateur.

Bruce’s smile tightened ever so slightly, knowing that this would be a hard sell to Damian. “We’ll see how these negotiations go first.”

“Very well. Adrien, why don’t you entertain young Damian in your room?”

Damian bristled at being dismissed in such a manner, but before he could do anything, Adrien actually spoke up.

“Actually, Father, I was wondering if I could show Damian around Paris, maybe introduce him to a friend or two?”

Wow, the boy had a backbone now, as well as friends. Interesting. His friends were probably just as rich and sheltered as Agreste, but maybe they would distract one another until they forgot about Damian entirely. One could hope, anyway.

At least Agreste had a seemingly competent bodyguard, Damian noted as he followed the blond out to the shiny car. The whole way Adrian yammered on about his friends, but in particular some girl named Marinette. With all the praise he was giving her, it was a wonder that this Marinette hadn’t cured cancer yet.

Adrien paused in his praises of her long enough that, despite himself, Damian found himself asking, “Is this Marinette your girlfriend? You certainly have plenty to say about her.”

The boy laughed. “Oh no, Marinette if just a friend, my first friend, really. You’ll love her, just wait.”

“Tt.” Damian couldn’t help the noise of disbelief as he gazed out the car window. He was expecting and dreading being taken to some tourist attraction, but it appeared that they had arrived at… a bakery?

“Marinette is actually the designer you might be working with. She’s amazing, and this is her family’s bakery.”

Ah, Agreste was likely trying to sell the virtues of the girl so Damian would look more kindly on whatever shoddy designs the girl had come up with. It was a more underhanded tactic than he thought Agreste capable of, and kind of impressive.

The bakery was small, but clearly good quality. Damian had to admit that the food appeared to be comparable with Pennyworth’s cooking. At the counter, they were greeted by a petite Asian woman.

“Oh, Adrien, it’s nice to see you again. Are you and your friend here to see Marinette? She warned us you two might be coming. She’s in her room, you know the way up.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Cheng. We’ll head up there now,” Adrien said, leading Damien deeper into the bakery. Before they made it to the hallway, however, they were intercepted by a hulking bear of a man.

Damian tensed -- he was even carrying a weapon, one of those wooden paddle things that were used to get things out of traditional ovens. This man would be formidable because of his size alone, but--

“It’s nice to see more of Marinette’s friends here. Take this up with you,” he said, setting the paddle down to hand Adrien an entire quiche. “You boys are welcome to have some as well, but make sure Marinette eats a slice. She got a commission, and we’re not sure when she last ate or slept.”

Damian sighed as he accepted a pile of plates and forks. So, she was obsessive like Time as well. This girl already sounded exhausting, but breakfast had been a while ago, and the quiche smelled amazing.

Agreste led them through the bakery and up the stairs as Damian attempted to mentally reconcile what could have resulted in the union of the slight Asian woman and the hulking baker. What he expected, however, was not at all what he got.

“We’re here with food, Marinette,” Adrien called as he stepped into the room.

“I’ll eat in a minute, Mom, I just need to finish this applique,” the girl mumbled. She wasn’t visible yet, hidden behind a massive ball gown.

“Marinette, you have a guest,” Adrien said gently.

“Yes, papa, I’m getting plenty of sleep,” she mumbled.

The dress the girl was working on was quite possibly the most intricate thing Damian had ever seen. The dress appeared to be scarlet silk, the skirt resting on layer upon layer of tulle and crinoline, The body of the dress was patterned with hand-appliqued black lace. Normally the color combination would have been garish, but it was vaguely reminiscent of a ladybug, and definitely worthy of the red carpet.

Suddenly Damian was filled with the need to know more about this girl. He heard her humming to herself before making a noise of satisfaction. “There, I’m officially done, now what did you--”

The girl cut off when she peeked from around the gown, eyes wide as she squeaked, “Adrien, what are you doing here? And who is that?”

He had never had such an absurdly intense reaction before to merely seeing someone’s face and hearing their voice. Her eyes were wide in shock, and they were the bluest eyes Damian had ever seen, complimenting her blue-black hair that looked unbelievably soft. As he contemplated taking that hair out of its pigtails and -- holy infatuation, Batman, Damian was beginning to sound like Grayson. Besides, this girl looked more like a Wayne than Damian himself did.

“Marinette, meet Damian Wayne, one of your potential models,” Adrien said in English, most likely for Damian’s benefit.

“That was today!” the girl exclaimed, in adorably accented English as she scrambled to get off of the ground where she had been kneeling to finish the dress. “I’m so sorry, I got so wrapped up in this commission and lost track of time. I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng, it’s nice to meet you, Damian.” She finally emerged from behind the dress and held out a hand. It was warm and unexpectedly calloused, but tiny, just like her. She was almost pixie-like, obviously taking more after her mother  than her father.

“It’s a pleasure,” Damian said, shaking her hand longer than was strictly necessary. “This dress is truly a work of art.”

“Oh, you speak French!” Marinette said delightedly. Honestly, he hadn’t noticed he’d switched languages. “My English is okay, but your French sounds amazing!”

“Well clearly your sewing ability surpasses almost anything I’ve ever seen before. Now I can’t wait to see what your fashion line has to offer.” Why was he saying this? Why was Damian smiling in an imitation of Grayson whenever he was near a female?

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” Marinette said, ducking her head to hide her slight blush. “But if you’re going to be my model then I’m going to have to tailor a lot of things to you, so you’re going to have to put up with me for a while.”

“I think I can handle that.”

As Marinette stammered a reply, Adrien awkwardly stood to the side, still holding the quiche. Had… Had Marinette forgotten him? Marinette never forgot him! He was always oddly the center of attention when Marinette was around because they were such good friends! Adrien felt slightly unsettled. He had hoped that Marinette would soften Damian, but he didn’t expect him to smile at her like that.

Throughout the rest of their stay in Paris, Damian found any and every excuse to spend any moment with Marinette. Bruce was curious and slightly suspicious about this turn of events. He expected this kind of thing from Dick, but it was entirely baffling from Damian.

One night when Damian had been out particularly late with Marinette, Bruce decided to wait up. He heard the door opening followed by Damian murmuring lowly in French, and… was that a chuckle? Yes, his son was softly laughing into his phone. The slight smile dropped off of the boy’s face when he met Bruce’s eyes and he murmured, “I’ll talk to you later, Angel.”

Raising an eyebrow, Bruce asked, “Angel?”

He regretted the way Damian instantly snapped into his rigid, emotionless persona. “Is something wrong, Father?”

Bruce was quick to say, “You’re not in trouble, Damian. I’m just worried, you’ve never been in a relationship before, and this all seems--”

“You’re mistaken, Father,” Damian interrupted. “Marinette and I are just friends.”

Bruce nodded and was going to leave the subject there before a small smirk crawled across the boy’s face. “For now, at least.”

Hi! I’m kind of new to this community, but you can call me Rose! Or Rogue, whichever you prefer! I found this pairing just a while ago, and when I saw the prompts for Daminette December, I got so freaking excited! I don’t do a lot of romance writing, so this is kind of an experiment. I want to get better at it, so please, let me know how I’m doing! Unfortunately, not all of the prompts will be this long, I’ve got finals coming up. I’ll try to keep up posting daily, though! 

Taglist: 

@ozmav @daminette-december2019 @maribat-archive

[unmaskedagain]

Worse than the Devil

Hey Everyone, I got really inspired by the amazing response to my first fic Queen Of Mean. I decided to write a follow up. Its to Selena Gomez’s version of Cruella De Vil. I loved it when it first came out and it sent shivers when I realized it was perfect for my follow up.

Looking back the missing pigtails in the bluenette’s hair when she walked into class Monday morning, dressed like she just got off the runaway, flanked by Chloe at her side, should’ve been the first warning sign.

But in the class’s defense, it had been a crazy weekend. The fireworks that came with Ladybug’s video, Alya’s meltdown, and Lila being outted as a liar didn’t die down after class ended that day.  No. The weekend had been filled out a never-ending stream of group texts, complaining of hurt feelings, nasty little liars, and why, or why wasn’t Marinette replying to their texts? Answering her phone? Didn’t she know they were sorry? Didn’t she know they needed their everyday Ladybug now more than ever? Alya in particular.

Alya, who had spent the entire weekend, nearly 24/7, trying to save her blog; defend her life’s work against the avalanche of criticism that had come it’s way; even the most loyal fans screamed of betrayal. She had released a dozen video explaining what happened and begging her viewers to understand that people make mistakes. Calling Marinette with no answer, texting her best friend for help only to get no reply. Texting Marinette that Lila was a dirty, rotten, liar in over a hundred different way, in over a hundred different texts; only to never get a reply; which Alya never understood. Marinette was right. Lila was a liar. Alya and Marinette should be teaming up to bring her down like their brought down Chloe; stand together like best friends do.

As Alya sat patiently at her desk, with Nino holding her hand in support, waiting for Marinette to arrive so she could find comfort in her bestie, never once did an apology cross her mind. Alya was too indignant, too self-righteous, convinced the Ladybug was victim-blaming. It wasn’t Alya’s fault. Her boyfriend agreed. Her entire class agreed. She just knew, soon, all of Paris would agree.

           When Marinette casually strolled in, talking animatedly with Chloe about their week, she left the other students stunned. Gone was the pintails. Gone was the easy-going, simple, practically trademarked pink pants and grey flower decorated shirt. Gone was the happy smile that the students had always remembered was there to greet them and bring them cheer on a sour Monday, like the day was.

           Instead, Marinette’s hair was down and flowing down her shoulders, longer than they could ever remember it being (though granted they hadn’t paid much attention to their once friend in last few months, except for giving her a few quick glares and sneers) and was perfectly coiffed with strands pullback in braids that would’ve made Daenerys Targaryen take notes. She was dressed in all black; a cropped leather jacket, a sparkly black halter top that tied around her neck in a pretty bow, her jeans black and skin tight, and killer high heels that would make most girls envious. The only color Marinette wore was the sliver bracelets adorning her arms and the classic movie star red lips she sported. Marinette looked a supermodel.

           And if Marinette’s new look didn’t stunned them. Then the look on her face when she glanced at them sure did. Move over Hawkmoth, because if Marinette didn’t scare you, no evil thing could.

It was like the entire classroom went colder. Maybe it was because of the ice in Marinette’s stare, her curved red-stained smirk that screamed: beware. The way everything about her just screamed predator, alpha, top of the food chain. Queen.

           Alya blinked hard. Nino blinked hard. Adrien blinked hard. Too stunned at the sight to even remember to badger the bluenette.  She and Chloe, also dressed like a runaway model, flounced to the back of the class without a hello, a smile, a wave; anything friendly. It was like they were too insignificant for the girls to notice. If they had an ounce of luck still in their lives, that would’ve been so.

           Unfortunately for them that wasn’t the case.

           The girls were painfully aware of their existence; of every move they made over the week, every stupid text they sent, every false apology uttered. Because the downfall of the Ladyblog was just a taste of what was to come. At this point, Marinette and Chloe was just Spiders waiting for the kill.

“Girl, you don’t have to sit with Chloe,” Alya exclaimed.  “We’ll make room, right?” Nino nodded quickly, eager to give his childhood friend an olive branch.

“Why wouldn’t I want to sit with Chloe?” Marinette asked nonchalantly. “She’s my best friend.”

           What happened next was similar to what, Marinette, thought happened in movie; where the main character says something shocking at a dance, there’s a sound of a record scratch, and silence as all eyes turn to the speaker.

           The smirk the spread over Chloe’s face, the glow that filled her, the thought of the havoc she was about to help commence practically made her purr.

“Best friend?” Alix asked, her pink hair pulled back and her face skeptical. “Last I checked, you were mortal enemies.”

“Last time you check was not long after Lie-La came to class,” Marinette retorted.

“Which is the last time you’re opinion matter to us,” Chloe added. “Or well to Mari here. I never paid you peasant any mind.”

“You can’t be best friends,” Alya jumped up. “You shouldn’t even be friends. I can’t believe it? After what she did to you?”

           The other students nodded.

“She stole your design.” Rose put in.

“Bullied you for years,” Max said.

“Ruined your present for teach!” Kim added.

           Alya nodded smugly at the class backing her up, and gave Marinette a bright smile and an expectant look that always used to work on cowing the other girl.

“Bygones,” Marinette sighed. “I forgave her. And we bonded over how stupid you were at believing Lie-La.” Marinette leaned back in her seat. “Besides it’s not like she ever called me a jealous bitch? Told me to check my sources? Ditched me a million times. Whispered mean words about me right in front of me. And even crueler words behind my back. Chloe would never do that.”

“You know who would?” Chloe grinned. ‘You.” She pointed at Alya. “And you.” She pointed at Alix. “And you!” At Nino “And you, you, you, you. And well everyone here really.”

“Chloe maybe be mean; in fact the greatest mean girl Sharpay,” Marinette smiled lovingly at the blond who preened at the praise.

“But at least I’m not a bad friend,” Chloe snipped viciously.

“Now Chloe that would imply I’m still friends with them at all.”

           At the statement, students wilted into themselves. Their misdeeds weighed heavily on them. They had been so upset at Lila for lying to them, at themselves for believing her, kicking themselves for not listening to Marinette, they never once considered how Marinette felt about the whole mess. But now they knew, she wasn’t happy.

           Little did they know just how furious the once sweet girl was.

           The two girls turned their attention to each other.

“Wasn’t this week just amaz!” Chloe said easily. “Fashion shows are always just so spectacular.”

“Your mom is, like, the best,” Marinette nodded eagerly. “I still can’t believe we got to model.”

           Chloe side-eyed the students, pretending they weren’t listening. “And why not? They were short. And just look at us. We’re beautiful. We deserved to be on that runway.”

“Runaway?” Mylène asked, awed. “You were in a fashion show.”

           Marinette nodded, kindly, though inwardly smirking. “There are pictures from the show online. They’re trending.” So was Marinette’s social media accounts. “We got to model with Kate Upton and Bella and Gigi Hadid.”

“We’re all the rage!” Chloe stated. “Mommy’s thinking of making us the faces of her new line. We’ll be in next week’s issue of Teen Vogue.”

“I posted a few photos on my Insta,” Marinette shrugged. “You can look if you want, I guess.” It was said with a faux unsure, insecure, unassuming voice; a voice that even the most terrifying vampire bat could have even the smartest of victims dancing to it.

           With that the girls went back to their conversation. Pretending they didn’t notice their classmates whipping out their phones to verify.

“WOW,” Rose beamed. “They do have pics with the Hadid sisters. Oh you look so pretty Marinette.”

“Dude is that Kendall Jenner?” Kim asked.

“Beyoncé!” Alya yelled. “Beyoncé was there. You met Beyoncé.”

“Chill,” Chloe snapped. “We didn’t meet her. We just waved. Jay-Z was there too btw.”

“Jay-Z,” Nino whispered in awe.

Before befriending Marinette, Chloe was have gladly lied and said they met the goddess, that was Queen Beyoncé. But Marinette wouldn't suffer liars. And hated anyone who lied about her. Chloe was smart enough to know losing Marinette as a friend would be costly to her; both personally and professionally.

           The blond refused to toss away the blessing that was Marinette’s friendship. Not the like fools before her. They didn’t know what they lost. But Chloe would make sure they did.

           It had taken weeks of slowly inching her way to being Marinette’s friend. The girl had been untrusting the blonde’s actions at first. But eventually, Chloe won her over, proved she could be a good friend, if not the best friend Marinette ever had.

           And the best part? Chloe didn’t have to change. Granted she had to dull unsavory traits like lying and stealing but it was worth it.

“Tony. Stark.” Max gulped like he was just told Santa was in fact real. “You are in a picture with Tony Stark; Iron Man.”

“Pepper Potts wanted a vacation,” Marinette said. “Peter, their son, is a friend of mine. We met last summer when he was visiting England with his class. I was there with my grandma. We hit it off. He knew I was nervous about going on stage so he got his mom to come here so he could support me. It was just supposed to be the two of them. Until Mr. Tony realized and followed along. Swore up and down they were trying to ditch him,” Marinette laughed.

“Oh please,” Chloe huffed. “He was proud that his kid was hanging out with a gorgeous French model.”

“Two gorgeous French models,” Marinette corrected. “The three of us got ice cream afterwards, remember? I can’t wait for this summer. Peter said we can spend of three weeks at Stark Tower; interning. PR for you. You’ll be amazing at it. God knows I could do, though.” She said glumly. Though her internship was going to be assisting the Pepper Potts on her day to day life.

“Ridiculous!” Chloe snapped. “Utterly Ridiculous. You know you can’t wait to get your hands on Thor’s cape to find out what material Alien princes use. Not to mention the plans I saw for a potential Captain America supersuit.”

Marinette crossed her arms, and huffed. “Hey that man is walking around dressed like America’s drunk prom date. Someone has to step in.”

“It’s a classic look,” Nathanial told them.

“It’s a crime against fashion,” Marinette hissed.

           With that, the girls went back to talking about their weekend and bickering over summer plans. Or at least they tried to.

“You could’ve invited us,” Alya snapped. “Or at least told us.”

“Why?” Marinette asked. “We’re not friends. Why don’t you ask Lila how it was? I’m sure, she’ll happily spin you a yarn about how amazing everything was. And promise you’ll meet them next time.”

           It was like a slap to the face. The entire class quieted back down; wishing the bell would ring already. And wondering where Miss Bustier was.

           Unfortunately for the teacher, quite a few concerned parents and staff members had taken issue with how Bustier had been running her class. Bullying, students being constantly turned into Akumas, why Lila could miss so much school without it being a major issue.

“Don’t you think you’re being harsh?” Adrien asked. “They’re sorry.”

No, Marinette thought darkly. They weren’t. Not yet. But they would be soon.

“Okay,” Marinette shrugged, carelessly, inhumanly. “I don’t see why that matters. I accept their apology but it changes nothing. Sorry doesn’t fix anything. It doesn’t magically make every alright again. It’s no Ladybug charm. Let it go.” She warned.

           While Marinette did have plans to bring down Adrien, they were for a later time. And when she did, it would be painful. And it would break him. Like he helped break her.

           For months Adrien had stood by, remained silent as Marinette was made into an outcast, bullied, lost all her friends… when he knew. Knew Lila was lying, knew Marinette was just trying to help. After he promised, vowed to have her back. Instead, Adrien let them deface her sketchbook after Lila accuse Marinette of yet another bullying incident; destroying all of Marinette’s hard work. Despite knowing Marinette couldn’t have possible done what Lila said she had. He just let it happen, too afraid to stand up and tell the truth.

           Adrien didn’t take the hint. Or didn’t recognize a warning when he heard it.

“Their hurting too!” The blond boy defended, outraged at how his everyday Ladybug

“How?” Marinette asked curiously, innocently reminiscent of the girl who had been their friend who had existed when the world was still a wholesome place. “You said it yourself it’s not like Lila was hurting anybody. At least that’s what you told me, remember? You knew Lila was lying since like forever and you’re just fine.”

           It went silent again. Adrien paled. Marinette could barely stop the smile from slipping onto her face. If she wasn’t careful, they might combined their collective ten brain cells and catch on. See that she was a monster that should’ve never been released.

“You knew?” Nino asked in horrified disbelief.

           Dozens of hurt filled eyes trained on Adrien. It was at that moment Ms. Mendeleiev walked into class. “Students, I’ll be filling in today and possibly for the rest of the week. Everyone in their seats. Class is about to begin.”

           It was the smoothest devastation Chloe had ever witnessed and grew up with her mother and Gabriel Agreste as role models.

           In few years, the blonde knew there would be few would who hesitate to call Marinette, or herself, the devil. Too stunned to realize just how much worse either girl was.

           Chloe glanced at the girl who had become her best friend, and fellow mean-girl-in-arms. Marinette had her bluebell eyes trained on the chaos she had just unleashed, once again, on her fellow classmates.

           A lessor man, woman would’ve shivered. Chloe had shivered and had nightmares the first time that gaze rested on her.

           However, when time wore off the shock; Chloe realize she’d only see those type of eyes watching from underneath a rock.

           If you weren’t scared of the New Marinette, then you hadn’t met her yet.

Look out world, Chloe thought. Long Live the Queen.

[tired-college-student-writing]

Tim’s Secret Weapon pt. 11

I’ve been slightly obsessed with @ozmav​ ‘s Damian Wayne/Marinette Dupain-Cheng pairing as of late, and just saw a post that has inspired me more than anything else has in months, so I felt the need to write it

Summary- Tim has always seen the numbers floating above people’s heads, been able to perceive their threat levels with a single glance. After being a hero for so long he thought he was desensitized to seeing high numbers above people’s heads until Damian brings a new friend home. 

Part 1 

Part 10 

Part 11(HERE)

Part 12 

____________________________________________

“How can they be gone?” Tim whispered into the silence, trying to focus on anything other than the blank spaces and the stabbing pain behind his eyes. 

His numbers, the one thing that had stuck by him through everything. They had allowed him to understand the world around him as he was left behind and abandoned, time and time again. The ability that gave him the freedom of the world, the confidence to face the Batman down and demand to be allowed to fight at his side. The power that allowed him to find a family when every other person in his life had decided that he wasn’t worth the effort. 

And now they were gone. 

His family was frozen around him, fear and confusion pouring off of them. They didn’t know his attachment to his power, didn’t understand the depth of how ingrained his power was to him but they had each experienced the loss of a sense before, or a limb. It was jarring and painful and there wasn’t a lot they could do to help. 

“Take it off,” Damian said, already going to pull off the choker he wore, having not given the transformation phrase yet, “The miraculous, the transformation must have done something. Get it off now.” 

His hand shook as he tried to grasp the edge of the glasses, only for a firm hand to wrap around his wrist and pull it away. 

“Wait,” Marinette broke in, kneeling down in front of him, “Tim can you get us back to the hotel, you need to open a portal. Picture the hotel, and call for Voyage.” 

Tim blinked away the spots starting to form in his vision, what was happening, “Voy…age?” 

Max appeared in his line of sight, fear swimming behind the firm determination set in his face “Voyage, picture the hotel, picture Alfred and the sitting room, if coordinates would help you then we can get them for you. You’re the only one that can get us back right now. Can you do that for us?” 

He tried to nod but only groaned as the world spun, “Okay. I think I can… Think I can do it…Voyage!”  

The magic swirling around him as he thought back to the hotel made him nearly double over as the pain spiked, his stomach churning from the intense pressure. 

“Point at a wall,” Max soothed, “It will be over soon. We need to get you back to the hotel.” 

The world tilts as he lifts his arm and suddenly Alfred appears in his vision, surrounded by a blue light that seemed to pulse in sync with the pain in his skull.

His vision swam. 

“Get him to the bathroom now,” Marinette orders Bruce and Tim felt himself being lifted and carried, clutching the front of his father figure’s suit like he was an itty bitty Robin again, hurt enough to make Bruce fuss over them, or merely having dozed off on a stake off again. He’d been embarrassed to be carried like this again in front of his brothers if his skull didn’t feel like it had been caved in by Harley’s mallet, and injected with a bad batch of Poison Ivy’s latest experiment. 

He’s removed from Bruce’s chest, and he can vaguely hear the man protesting as he’s pulled away. 

“This is going to be unpleasant,” Someone tells him, even if it sounds like it’s from a mile away through a damp sewer, before the glasses are pulled from his face and he’s lurching forward to bury his face in the toilet he had apparently been set in front of, stomach finally losing the battle to keep his dinner down. 

Slowly his stomach calmed down and the pounding dulled down to an ache. He was able to stop dry heaving and became aware of the pair of hands rubbing his back. Taking some calming breaths to calm down how much his body was trembling he glanced to see Ladybug, still suited up, kneeling to his left, and to his left was Nightwing in full gear, worry and concern edged deep into his features.

“Oh thank god,” Tim breathed, resting his temple against the cool porcelain. Over Dick’s head was the ever familiar royal blue 10. 

“Powers back online?” Marinette asked worry etched on her face only to sigh in relief when he gave a slight nod, “I hoped so. I’m so sorry Tim.” 

“What the hell was that?” He heard Dick hiss. 

He could almost feel Marinette grimace, “Some people have a negative reaction to certain miraculous, but that’s usually only if they have a strong connection to one of the other miraculous that is incompatible with the one they’re trying on, such as the Bee attempting to wield the Snake or the Fox taking up the Monkey. None of you had a strong connection with any of the miraculous in the box though so I wasn’t expecting this, maybe a mild one if you chose a miraculous not suited for you, but nothing like this! I’ve never seen a reaction this bad… I guess I didn’t take Tim’s power into consideration. ”  

“I hate magic,” Tim groaned but took the glass of water Damian offered, and sipped it lightly, before allowing Dick to pull him to his feet. 

“That’s fair,” Chloe called from the main room, “But can any of you convince your dad to use my power so I can have Pollen back.”

“Bruce?” Tim asked with a scrunched brow as he leaned out of the bathroom, fearing that his stomach might try a second rebellion. 

The man was clearly uncomfortable, standing stiffly against the wall next to the door, though his jaw unclenched when he saw Tim reappear, “The bee power allows the user to completely freeze voluntary movements of the victim for an indefinite amount of time.”  

A shiver went up the Bats spine, Damien especially had an uncomfortable look on his face as they realized why this would bother Bruce so much. No matter how much the boy loved his mother, the matters of his creation were inexcusable. 

“It’ll keep the target immobilized until you detransform,” Chloe offered, eyes softening slightly, “So sting someone and then use the detransformation phrase, ‘Pollen Buzz Off’. It’ll be okay, I promise.”

Bruce nodded stiffly, even though his breathing became overly controlled as the energy pulsed off of the stinger. He was gentle as he nudged the needle into Chloe’s bared arm but seemed to stop breathing as the girl froze. 

“Pollen Buzz off,” Bruce rushes out letting the power fall away and doesn’t relax until Chloe unfreezes. 

“See,” She offered, holding out a hand for her kwami to rest on, “Everything is fine.” 

“You were right,” He relented, removing the comb from his cowl, “I apologize for-”  

The blonde shook her head, “Don’t be ridiculous. You obviously have some reason to hate my power and I don’t blame you. Any miraculous power in the wrong hands is frightening, after all. I’m terrified of the Peacock but I doubt you’d ever fear for your life against Alfred, with or without the power to create sentient life from nothing. Don’t share your trauma with us over that.” 

The man merely nodded, pulling off his cowl to give her a soft, respecting smile. 

“Jason next,” Adrien offered, “Luckily Cataclysm is a bit more versatile.” 

Jason grimaced glancing down at his poisonous looking claws, “Destroy anything I touch?”  

“Try not to think about it too much,” The blond grimaced, “Call for Cataclysm and the first thing you touch with the energy will be destroyed. It can be... overwhelming if you think about too much.” 

The man scowled at the claws, but it’s Damien that voices the thought bouncing around the Bats’ heads “Cloaked in black, a weapon that can shrink until easily hidden away from sight, and the power to destroy anything or anyone but leave no evidence behind. The Black Cat was designed to be the assassin of the miraculous.”

Adrien winced, “Probably... but we don’t kill. I prefer to play the knight role to my Lady’s strategizer.  Plagg did say that there have been more than a few Black Cat assassins through the years.” 

Jason huffed a sigh as he summoned the dark energy around his fist, “Let’s get this over with, what am I breaking?” 

Alix picked up the mini writing pad from next to the hotel phone, “Catch!” 

The paper withered the second it touched his hand, crumbling and disintegrating into ash. 

“Complete entropy,” Tim commented, eyeing the tiny pile of dust left behind. 

“Geek out later, replacement,” Jason snapped with an eye roll, still holding his hand out as to not touch anything even now that the power was spent, “Plagg Claws In,” 

“Oh come on,” Tim groaned after the lights had faded. The others looked at him curiously but he just stared. 

Because while detransformation had let Bruce’s number fall back to his normal 11, though it still was rich honey in color, Jason’s didn’t. 

Jason’s neon green 10 was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a scarily familiar 15. 

____________________________________________

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[musedblues]

Born To Love You [Part: 4]

summary: When Gwilym ropes you into a lie, the truth becomes painfully obvious. When Joe makes things harder, there’s no telling if he even has a clue.

a/n: Have I mentioned how much I love you lot? Because it's true! I do! 💖 Here is chapter 4 in all 'er glory. Feedback/ predictions/ and thoughts of any kind are always intensely appreciated of course! Stay well darlings 💞

w/c: 5k

Part 5

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

"Hello, my darling, my dear!" A familiar lilt floated past the door of your rented flat. Gwilym's mother was here.

You weren't entirely surprised to see her, she usually found some excuse to visit her son on whatever film set he used to occupy his time through the years. But she was terrible at surprises, and always let you know when she was planning on popping round. So why hadn't you heard from Mrs. Lee till now?

Before you had time to ask or even greet her properly, her arms were wrapped around your shoulders like a vice. Gwil's mother had always loved you- the first night you met, she assigned you a designated spot at the family dinner table. She never questioned your situation with her son. She always went out of her way to invite you to holiday parties and spontaneous family gatherings. And the times you had to miss out for one reason or another, and Gwil still brought Olive along, he'd bring her back to you with a message from his mother; how she'd missed you.

"What are you doing here?" You laughed into the woman's hair. Before Mrs. Lee answered, as you pulled away from the embrace, you noticed the look on Gwilym's face. You could tell there was something he'd been waiting longer than a couple of minutes to say.

"I invited her to stay for the weekend." Gwil grinned, sauntering closer to greet his mother with warm grandeur. To both of you, Gwil's mother's presence in the Airbnb was like a breath of fresh air. Olive was perhaps the most pleased of all, clamoring with laughter toward Mrs. Lee. She scooped up your daughter in a big hug and went on explaining her surprise visit...

"There's a show here in the city on Monday. I'm meeting some coworkers there, we've been planning for months! Anyway, I called Gwil to ask him to lunch and he doubled the offer! I'll be glad to watch Olive for a night, but before you leave we have to catch up."

"Leave? Where are we going?" You turned to Gwil as everyone settled further into the room. He seemed to already be waiting to tell you what he'd had up his sleeve.

"Lucy planned a party, tomorrow night. Rented a place to stay and everything."

"Oh...oh no-" You'd nearly forgotten. It was Joe's birthday.

"And I knew you'd try and get out of it. So, mum will stay here with Olive and when we get back on Sunday I'll blow my paycheck on taking her to a big fancy dinner as thanks." Gwil looked to his mother as she eased onto the sofa with a smile and a shrug, unopposed to being pampered.

"Gwilym!" You worried, trying to contain your panic but make yourself clear all the same. "I don't think I should go." You implored.

"It would be stranger if you didn't, don't you think?" Gwilym looked to you with a raised brow, his firm voice stirring the worry in your gut.

"Why are you two so on edge?" Mrs. Lee piped up from the sofa, where she sat unbothered by Olive yanking at the necklaces layered across her chest.

Neither of you could lie to her. So you and Gwil heaved a matching sigh and spun to sit on opposite sides of the room. And just like when James demanded to know what was up, Gwil took initiative in telling the story you'd been engulfed in for a while now- sparing a few details about arguments and longing gazes. His mother listened, showing little to no favor for which side she might have been on; hardly giving a single sign this situation shocked the woman to any degree.

"So, tomorrow is Joe's birthday. And we'll spend all night together in the thick of it." Gwilym rose a hand your way, almost like he was asking you what to do next. But he'd already planned everything out, hadn't he?

"Well," Gwilym's mother straightened. "That's the best time to work things out, without Olive around. Surely you can sit your friends down and explain things like adults, right?" She pointed a look to Gwil, one you imagined sent a chill down his spine as a boy, and maybe even still now.

"Right." He looked from her to you. And you knew he wasn't done scheming. You knew you were stuck between the promise you made to Lucy to be prepared to party, and whatever Gwil was up to now.

///

"Mama?" Olive grabbed the hem of your shirt in her fists as you flung your purse over your shoulder. Somehow, it sucked even harder every new time you had to leave her behind. She'd mastered the art of puppy dog eyes, her tears pooling, her lip quivering.

You promised her that you'd be back before she knew it. That she was in safe, fun-loving hands. But when the girl looked to Gwil who was toting your overnight bag to the front door, she was done for. Not even his excitable transaction of Olive's beloved one red-eyed bat stopped her tears.

And even though it felt impossible to walk out the door to the sound of her pleading cries, you knew she'd be okay. You wondered of your fate, though.

You left the rented car at the flat for Mrs. Lee, whose stories over homemade dinner and chatter over morning coffee lifted your spirits tenfold. Her excitement for spending a little more time doing just the same when you got back would likely keep you from drowning in your own worried thoughts. Off you went, all the while...

Lucy had rented some cottage in the hills. Apparently, she'd overheard Joe muttering about wanting to spend some time in the countryside before the production came to an end. The usual lot of you were invited to come ready to spend a night of fun, a night to celebrate Joe. He deserved that and more. But you certainly weren't worthy or prepared to join in such a celebration.

While your uber headed out of the city, you and Gwilym talked about how hard it was to leave Olive, how you couldn't wait for her to be a little older, easier to sneak in on the action. How you wished she'd stay small all the same. How Gwil stayed with you and your roommates the first week you brought Olive home, and how he hated to leave by the end of then. About the first day you left her with Gwilym when you went back to work, and how it seemed so easy because you knew how happy Gwilym was and that everything was fine.

As the forests of trees grew denser along the roadside, the ride became coated in a silence you mistook for shared reminiscence. But then Gwilym spoke up with a question you hadn't expected.

"If... if I hadn't roped you into being 'Mrs. Lee'..." He hesitated, almost afraid to ask. You, afraid to wonder.

"If I wasn't around when you met Joe..."

"If you weren't around, I wouldn't have met any of your lovely friends, honey." You gave your fake husband's hand a squeeze hoping he would take a hint.

By then, the uber was creeping up a gravel path to a cottage in the midst of pines and maples. The dull blue sky framed the quaint old home made up of worn brick and curtain shielded windows. Near the tri-colored brick chimney, Ben was stood smoking. His eyes (even from your view behind the tinted car window) somehow greener than the leaves that threatened to envelop your shelter for the evening.

Your conversation with Gwilym was officially cast aside, but you didn't miss his somber smile. The fact he felt for you muted the ache of adoration you felt for Joe at the mention of his name. You shook all those thoughts away on your clamor to solid ground.

Ben greeted the pair of you cheerily and led the way inside. No one else had made it yet. Ben said you and Gwilym were lucky to be early enough to choose the best room in the house. There were enough for everyone, around tight paint chipped corners. If you had to be locked in with everyone for an evening, at least it got to be in such a charming little space.

You and Gwil wordlessly abandoned your things on a small quilt covered bed and went to find Ben in the kitchen, proudly setting out all the liquor he managed to bring along. Rami and Lucy were in charge of bringing Joe, and a boatload of snacks. Gwilym must have been in charge of bringing you.

You knew it was important not to let a single crack split between your bond tonight, with no baby to hide behind. It wasn't hard to seem content, settling into a big comfy sofa as there three of you waited around. Beams of grey sun shot through the massive windows on the doors that lead outback. As you lost yourself to admiring the space, the others burst in.

Rami and Lucy carried a comical amount of bags in after Joe who was clearly ready to party. You couldn't help but laugh, out of all the ways he could have celebrated, he was delighted to stick himself in the middle of nowhere with the same group of people he was always stuck with anyway.

And just like that, you were all back together again like you'd been forever, like an afterschool special. It was easy to mix yourself in, just as easy as it might have been to stay in a far off corner. No one could focus on one thing long while they scattered off to explore the floor plan. After everyone had their share of admiring the nooks and crannies of the home, the fun began.

In the garden past the rickety steps of the porch, there was a tattered net already set up. Near the shed, Gwilym found a trunk full of dirty old sporting goods, and a tarnished blue volleyball was the only thing sturdy enough to play with. You teamed up and went wild like kids, like you all had at the play place outside Ben's favorite cafe. Except now you all relied on each other to play the same honest game.

Morale drifted from teasing banter to grunting curses as your scores were tied. You spiked the ball and won the first game. Celebration hardly lasted as chatter of a second round was on the rise. But when Lucy trodded of to catch her breath, you quickly decided to join her, riding your winning high.

She motioned you inside, making a b-line for the kitchen while the sun turned the world golden. Lucy appointed you to help her start making dinner as the boys continued playing volleyball to the death.

As their shouting at each other rattled the kitchen windows, Lucy unveiled ingredients for a homemade pizza. She'd heard Joe craving it the week before, and tonight was all about him.

"You're good at this." You pointed out, helping her set out ingredients along the counter space that wasn't crowded with booze.

"What?" Lucy laughed, cheeks still flushed from running around out back. Hair still windblown. Still so flawless. And kind, to top it off.

"Going out of your way to make people feel like they belong." You made clear. When you met, she'd gifted you the perfect handbag. Now she planned out Joe's birthday evening like her own, plotting for things he brought up in passing- things he probably hadn't realized anyone might have heard at all.

"I guess it's my love language or whatever." Lucy shrugged, moving about the kitchen. "My uncle married a hopelessly out of touch woman when I was thirteen. She heard I liked to read. So, for every holiday or birthday, this woman would alway buy me those dreadful penny novels from the market. The kind that are basically porn about pirates and vampires," Lucy laughed, and you did too. Those novels were definitely guilty pleasures. Who would think to gift them? Let alone to a teenaged girl who was probably just as wise beyond her years back then, too.

"I vowed to be a better gift-giver. But... I did always read those books." Lucy snorted a laugh. As you helped chop veggies and mix spices, she told you all the horrifically cheesy one liners from the novels she never wanted.

Soon your laughter drowned out the boys shouts from outside, and Ben rushed to join the party. He cranked music and danced around the kitchen while you prepared dinner, mixing drinks to test out the bevy of alcohol he’d purchased.

Rami joined in, while Joe and Gwil shared some kind of chat in the living room. You could see them past the wave of Rami's hand as he told a story. And no matter what they might have been talking about, the way Joe and Gwil kept stealing glances in your direction made your nerves stand on end. Luckily, you had enough vodka to stir up a different, much more manageable buzz.

It was picture-perfect organized chaos. You felt like you had back when you moved in with James and Andy, when they would throw parties just to celebrate random Saturdays. Back when you only knew Gwilym as the guy from down the road with a nice house and a pretty face. He still had those things, but now there was so much more that made up the tall man you willingly wrote your future off too. You missed Olive. But you knew she was happy and safe, and so were you. You took another shot to prove so.

"Come now." Lucy wheezed, a glass of wine and three shots of whiskey deep. She was still quoting the best of the worst lines she could remember from all those horrible romance novels she'd been gifted.  "You're fighting your feelings for this man with all the strength of the Confederate Army."

"I'm sorry, what?" Joe gasped a laugh as he passed by, freezing in place. You and Lucy laughed too hard to explain why on earth she'd just said that. And when she caught her breath, Lucy only quoted something else,

"He tore open her blouse like a Publisher’s Clearing House letter."

"That's not real." You pointed, the ache in your gut finally from laughing too hard.

"Whatever you two are having, I'd like some." Joe decided, reaching past you to grab the bottle at your side. His arm brushing against your waist would have been enough to send you into a total blackout, but he just had to look right at you, too. As Joe grabbed the liquor and Lucy kept laughing, you noted that time seemed to stop; even on your second glass of rum. All because Joe dared to look right at you, like he so often did, like no one else ever had before.

Another drink, you decided. It had worked so far, and everyone else was on the quick path to getting wasted before dinner was finished cooking. Luckily, the smell of fresh sauce alerted everyone to gather around and conduct themselves to share a meal together.

The homemade pizza was better than you expected, and your hopes had grown very high as you helped make it. Everyone was in agreeance, scattered about the living room, paper plates in their laps, music still blasting from Ben's phone somewhere in the kitchen. But no one was happier than Joe. He raved over Lucy's thoughtfulness, and over the very tasty dinner that resulted. Rami poured everyone another drink as Ben insisted it was time for Joe to open his presents.

You all raced to collect the gifts you brought and made a very big deal out of making Joe take his time unveiling each. What more did you have to do than make an event out of every last minute together? To make sure Joe realized just how dearly he was cared for?

Ben had gotten Joe tickets to a rugby game, and some of his favorite English chocolates- Joe broke off pieces to share with every one of you. Lucy and Rami gave him an expensive-looking box of tea, alongside a clay mug decorated with stamps of delicate-looking dinosaurs.

Gwil got him a portable record player and said it was from the both of you. Gwil had taken notice that Joe was buying a bunch of vinyl on days off, and leaving the discs to collect in his suitcase for when he got back to New York. But he wouldn't be going home for a while still, so it seemed fitting to offer Joe a way to fill his drab Airbnb with some music until then. The auburn-haired lad lit up, and gave a heartfelt thanks to his extremely generous friends, insisting that an allnighter in this comfortable cottage was already more than enough.

"Oh wait, there's one last thing." You gave Gwil a sly smirk as you stood to pass a sealed envelope to Joe. Everyone leaned in close while Joe curiously unveiled a powder blue card with the words happy birthday simply scrawled on the front. It was blank inside, besides the harsh scribbles of crayon that Olive spent a long time jabbing into the paper. The 'drawing' was meant to be her birthday wish. You and Gwil singed your names at the bottom in pen, but you wrote Olive's name in the same pink crayon to match her efforts. You missed her.

"That is the cutest shit I've ever fucking seen." Ben cursed. It was your idea. Joe looked like he wanted to cry, but he only cracked up laughing for a very charming moment. Then he hugged you and Gwilym at the same time, repeating his thanks over and over again.

///

The drinks kept coming as night fell. You got tired of mixing your vodka and just went for it, because it really did kind of taste like blueberries. You all took turns in the only bathroom with a shower and eventually, Rami had roped everyone into some kind of drunk history type storytelling session.

Ben took a turn, jumping to his feet, anxious to tell the story of Frankenstein. The only problem being that he was hammered, and his efforts in recounting the details were hazy. So he started over from the beginning...

"Okay, pay attention everybody. Now," Ben slurred, spinning in the middle of the room to face where you sat on the opposite end of the sofa from Gwilym.

"So like, you and Gwil are Mary and Percy." Ben pointed. Gwilym looked your way as if he'd just realized you were on the other side of the couch. "And uh, Joe can be Byron! Everyone wants to sleep with him... I think," Ben decided, hazily looking back to you. "Okay so just pretend you really want to for the sake of this story. It's very important-"

"Why can't Lucy and Rami be the Shelleys?" You blurted out in wonder, uncomfortable with this drunken imaginary scenario. Gwil rolled his eyes and reached for his drink.

"Because you're the married lot," Ben pointed. Gwilym honest to God nearly choked on his liquor.

"Oh yeah. Hey, why don't you guys wear rings?" Rami pipped up from across the way, gesturing between you and Gwil.

"You don't wanna know the answer to that." Gwil chuckled. Three shots of vodka and four glasses of rum were no excuse to be so flippant. You shot the guy a glare, hardly caring if anyone else saw the warning in your eye so long as Gwilym did.

"Moving on, who will you be, Ben?" Gwyilm conducted everyone's attention to the man in the middle of the room. Ben propped one foot on the coffee table, swaying in place as he declared,

"I'm the bloody doctor!"

As the blonde stumbled through his story, Lucy passed out in Rami's arms. Joe seemed to be the only one laughing along with Ben, as his narrative progressed. Every time Ben pointed to you and Gwil, the tension between the pair of you boiled dangerous fiercer. Warning looks meant to keep each other quite turned into something darker, glares more bittered than pitying.

When Ben lost his place long enough for silence to fall over the lot of you, Rami carried Lucy down the hall, shouting pleasant goodnights to the rest of the gang. You decided it was a sign, and stood to call it a night as well. Ben moved slowly to collect empty bottles while Joe started to collect his thoughtful gifts.

"I hope you've had a happy birthday, mate." Ben smiled to Joe before the blonde moved to help Gwil pick up a few of the discarded plates and cups. Joe was gathering his mess of presents, stalling to admire the card you thought to give him.

"Thank you for this." Joe grinned in your direction, scanning the card again, and opening it to examine the scribbles of crayon meant to be Olive's well wishes. The man with fossils for eyes beamed like a fool and you couldn't help but do the same; moving by his side to glance over the scratched greeting from your daughter, to Joe.

"You guys made one cute kid," Ben spoke up across the room. You blinked up, catching Gwilym's nod of appreciation toward Ben. "Do you think you'll ever have any more?" He wondered, casually.

You gave an automatic, tipsy shrug, not opposed to the idea, just not with Gwil of course. But they didn't need to know that. 

"No, actually." Gwil glared at you, like he was upset you weren’t playing along or keeping a low enough profile. Like he hadn't been just as dangerously close to giving yourselves away.

"Are you guys alright?" Ben timidly wondered after a beat. Gwil just clenched his jaw shut and spun around toward the kitchen to finish cleaning up. You didn't know the answer to Ben's question, either.

So you hurried after Gwilym, your vision blurred, but your intention clear as day. You found him throwing his rubbish out with a sigh.

"Why are you acting like this?" You hissed, stepping close so no one else could hear.

"Blame it on the rum, dear." Gwilym shrugged but shot you a look that let you know he knew exactly what he was doing. He turned further into the room as you shot back,

"Drunk isn't a synonym for stupid. You should know to keep your mouth shut, you're the one who started this."

"Then shouldn't I end it?"

"It will never end!" You'd always be trading school pick-ups and planning birthday parties together. You knew Gwilym knew that.

"But this has to end. You won't tell, and you won't let me tell, so we're gonna break up the old fashioned way, got it?"

"What are you talking about?" You wondered, exhausted.  

"I don't want to be married to you anymore! If I had a ring I would throw it on the ground." He spoke, loud and clear enough to get you to see a little straighter.

"Gwilym, what the fuck?" You let out a stunned laugh. You knew what he must have meant, but the tone of his voice and the look in his eye hit you right where it hurt most. You weren't married, but you might as well have been. Gwilym agreed with that sentiment through laughter most of the time. Because he was your friend. But it suddenly seemed like he didn't want to be anything at all, with you.

The thick silence was back when Joe sauntered into the kitchen like he might have been breaking the rules. You couldn't be sure if he'd heard or not, but when you turned away from Gwilym's glare, you saw Joe stood looking at you like his heart was broken.

You made yourself turn from his troubled gaze, turning out of the kitchen.

Gwilym was reluctantly hot on your trail, offering a hurried goodnight to his friend before meeting where you'd run off to. The bedroom was suffocatingly small, when Gwilym shut the both of you in, it felt like the walls were closing in.

"I get that this is fucked. We're fucked. But no one was around to hear that, Gwil. We've always been on the same team."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean... I just..." Gwil deflated as you floated onto the side of the little bed in the corner.

"Just what?" You worried, bracing for impact, preparing for this night to end on the sour note that rang in your ears now.

"I thought by shutting you out... pushing you away, that... God, it sounds dumb to say out loud. I'm just sick of watching you pretend. You deserve so much better, y/n." Gwilym explained, heavy eyes screwing shut in frustration.

"Well don't fucking do that! You're all I've got." You plead in a sorry whimper. You knew that Gwilym was drunk. And you knew he felt bad for what he said and was trying to make it better, now, by hanging his head before you.

Why did this keep happening? There wasn't anything to say anymore, was there? How about the truth, for a change?

"I think I must love him." You gave a sad little shrug, eyes fixed on the wall ahead of you. "And I'm really afraid that it won't matter if we 'break up' or not."

Gwil made his way to where you sat, slumping to join your side. He wrapped a sorry arm around your shoulder and you leaned in. There was a dangerous rumble of tears bubbling far below your surface, distant enough to curse away.

"We should get some sleep." Gwilym gently moved you to lay back till your head hit the pillow. You watched on as he relaxed at your side without a second thought. Hardly a courtesy, just a routine. It brought you a faint glow of comfort either way.

"Thanks, Gwil." You hoped he registered your tone, and all the things you were grateful for in the moment. You laid in silence as Gwil drifted off at your side. Even if you wanted to close your eyes you couldn't, not with the way your mind raced.

"I'll always be here for you, ya know?" Gwilym mumbled from his sleepy state, eye closed. "I'm sorry for what I said."

You hummed after a beat, watching him sleep. Still, you just kept staring up at the ceiling while your fake husband drifted off at your side. Try as you might, you couldn't keep your eyes shut.

Once the patterns on the wall stopped spinning, you made a very quiet escape, padding out into the hall as softly as you could.

The cottage was dark and quiet, save for the fire still flickering in the chimney from the living room. You were drawn to it like a moth, but you stalled in the shadows at the edge of the light cast among the furniture. Someone else was up. Actually, it looked like Joe had never gone to bed.

"Couldn't sleep?" Joe asked quietly, noting your presence. He was standing near the large fog-covered picture windows, slowly shuffling toward the middle of the room. Your feet moved in the same direction, as you shrugged in indecision.

"What about you?" You wondered, meeting Joe in the middle of the living area. He looked at you for a beat before easing to the floor, where he crossed his legs and leaned against the sofa behind him.

"My parents called. I miss them." Joe admitted softly. You decided to sit next to him, but not too close. You brought your knees to your chest and admired how Joe's profile looked illuminated by flickering firelight. You hummed in understanding, and Joe took that as the sign to say more. He started talking about New York and his tenth birthday- one he spent in the mountains of the desert. He was disappointed to find out it was still chilly there, this time of year. Then he asked you why you were still awake- like he knew there was more to the story.

And too much time passed while you wracked your brain for an excuse that didn't point in the direction of the truth. Why was it so easy to be with Gwilym, but so hard to act like you wanted to be? Joe lowered his eyes and after a while of quiet, he spoke up again...

"I wish we met differently."

"I don't. You didn't say anything wrong, then." You snapped a little too quickly. He couldn't possibly take that moment away from you. It was all you had. And even though you should have known better than to allude to that fact that you clung to Joe’s fist words to you, it was probably obvious you did, anyway.

"I wouldn't change what I said." Joe pointed quietly, yet assured. It was as if the flames flickering before you jumped into your belly when Joe's eyes locked onto yours, again. Holy shit pull it together. You knew if you didn't leave the room very soon that you would make a royal fool of yourself.

"Happy birthday. I should head back." You sighed reluctantly, stretching your legs in front of you, wishing Joe might stop you from going. And then he did speak up again, but he didn't say what you wanted to hear...

"Sweet dreams, Mrs. Lee."

"Please don't call me that." You replied without thinking. Because you were still a little buzzed. Because you couldn't think around Joe anyway. You registered his slowly twisting expression as if he was wondering why you seemed so upset. As if, maybe, he knew...

"It's far too proper. We're friends right?" You lamented in a pathetic hurry, feeling a pit open in your chest all the while. Joe focused on you, and you knew he could tell you were grasping at straws. As you held your breath and Joe's gaze, you noticed a look in his eye, as if he were making a decision.

"Yeah... we're friends, y/n." Joe softly expressed. The leather sofa quietly crunched as Joe stood and turned toward the dark hallway.

"Goodnight." His voice sounded heavy, even as it floated away from you. You were left against the sofa with a broken heart and a killer headache.

///

The next afternoon, you watched Joe turn his head away from you on his way down the rickety porch steps, sullen. You tried to pass the moment off as a hurry, when you noticed Lucy and Rami practically jogging out of the place to catch the shared ride. Tomorrow was another early day on set. No more time to waste.

But then your heart was practically shattered when Joe offered you a pitiful one-armed hug and a flat generic farewell before disappearing in the back of an uber with his friends. Lucy and Rami both had time for a few parting sentiments. Joe hadn't even really looked at you all morning. He was even a little distant from Gwilym as they shared a brief goodbye.

Ben shared your uber back into London, and ten minutes into your hour-long commute, the sweet guy asked if you were feeling alright.

"Too much to drink." You passed off the easy excuse and couldn't help but rest your head on Gwilym's shoulder. You wanted comfort. You knew he would give it to you, no questions asked, just like always.

He'd woken up last night when you came back to the tiny bed feeling much worse than you had before leaving there. You didn't know it, but Gwilym heard Joe tell you goodnight before you came back into the room. Since then Gwil was aching to know what happened- if anything. Something had to have by the way he monitored Joe's rushed goodbyes today and your sulking. If Ben would just, put headphones in, or something...

But you were perfectly content leaning against Gwilym and letting your stare gloss over. You started to convince yourself things were supposed to be this way. You tried to focus on heading back to Olive and Gwil's mother, the fun you were likely to have with the kind woman while she was still in town. But then she'd leave, and you'd be back to simply convincing yourself, like now. Ben caught your sulking stare, and you caught him studying you. The blonde's gaze lingered on you as if he knew something was very wrong... as if he knew you were lying. But what about, this time?

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

taglist: @sonic-volcano @imtheinvisiblequeen @redspecialty @itscale @stardust-killer-queen @joemazzelo @dancetohotspace @kiwi-hardy @joeneslee @borhapqueen92 @im-an-adult-ish @johndeaconshands @seven-seas-of-ham-on-rhye @beepbeephardy @slutforbritdick @joemazzmatazz @almightygwil  @sadhwstudent​ @freakibanana 

[fablesrose]

Of Kings and Shadows XXX

Description: Y/n, a girl who seems to have found her calling. Being a SHIELD agent is like a dream come true. With a friendship starting to form with the Avengers, she’s the Queen of the world! What could go wrong?

Pairings: Avengers x reader, Loki x reader (eventually)

Warnings: none

Series Masterlist

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

A flip of a switch. A single syllable.

In the coming weeks, something started to feel different. Maybe it was the voice in my head. It was a voice all too familiar, but luckily it was only a whisper. A very convincing whisper, though.

That one word that echoed in Steve's voice spun my whole mindset to do a 180.

My whens became ifs.

The ifs became whens.

And that little voice that I call Noxy resurfaced again.

When are they going to forget about you down here?

When are they going to leave you here to starve? To rot?

When are they just going to drop you to the bottom of the sea, hoping you never resurface?

When are you going to escape before that happens?

There was a person that was molded in me. Before I became The Queen. It was a frame of mind that I seemed to shed when I took back control. I thought perhaps it had disappeared, dissolved, whatever, I didn't really think about it. All I cared about was that suddenly, I was the person my friends loved so dearly again. That small window of someone different was gone, invisible, even erased.

I came to realize that that wasn't the case.

The person I became, slightly sinister, a bit dark, perhaps a little morbid in certain circumstances, was born from desperation. It disappeared when that desperation was no longer needed. It faded as I lost interest in the life my body was living without me. Or at least I thought it faded. I'm beginning to think that I just ignored it.

Once that desperation came back... I don't think this part of me is ever going to go away again.

I couldn't help but look for ways to escape my impending torment. I noticed that the inner machinery of the cell was exposed whenever my food was delivered. (It was still in smoothie form, unfortunately.) I calculated the space in between and if there was enough for me to squeeze through and if there was a pathway for me to break free. I severely doubted it. The only result of that plan could be my limbs grinding in the gears.

That little part of me almost smiled at the thought of feeling something other than the constant overstimulation mixed with dull numbness that's been coursing under my skin since I got that stupid shot.

I tried to steer my mind to any other plan, but they all fell flat in impossibility. The doors were out of the question. With the two never open at the same time, making a run for it was simply absurd. The walls and floor were all sheer, and I had no tools besides a few books and a deck of cards to dismantle anything. I couldn't use my powers to break out either, since that was the whole point of this whole fucking cell.

I ran out of ideas.

Today was a particularly hard day with how loud my mind was screaming at me to escape. To persevere. To survive. To feel. To be prepared for the absolute worst-case scenario.

Loki visited quietly today. For a while, we just stared at each other blankly. My mind was wandering to the dark places Steve unlocked. I only vaguely wondered what Loki was thinking about when he gazed at me.

I was broken out of my stupor when Loki spoke, "Did I ever tell you how relieved I was when I was finally able to see your eyes again?"

I tilted my head, "What do you mean? Like when you saw that I was alive?"

Loki mirrored my movements with a furrowed brow and a shake of the head, "You don't know... Do you?"

I sighed, blinking slowly, "Know what Loki?"

He produced a couple of illusions of pictures of me. The pictures were cropped to center around my face, but I could see my white tactical suit around the corners. What I did notice was my eyes were not their original color. If it was anything but Loki's impossibly high-quality illusions, I would have blamed the unnatural black hue to the grain of the screen or camera, but it wasn't. The illusion left no doubt. My eyes were not my own, instead replaced with black orbs that swallowed more light then was given.

"Oh, man." I gently traced around the edge of my eye subconsciously. So this is what they saw when they looked at me. My eyes held no light... Literally. "You could've told me I looked like shit," I chuckled to try and cover up my slight discomfort.

"Now now, did you forget my opening statement already?" The illusions fizzled out silently as he spoke. I was a little embarrassed to say that I had been too distracted with shock to pay much attention to what he had said before.

He made sure to make eye contact with me as he spoke slowly, "I was so glad when I was able to see your eyes again."

With that I found a hand-held mirror appear in my clasp. It had exquisite workmanship. Knowing Loki, the delicate designs were carved into genuine gold. I purposefully didn't look at myself, instead, directing my attention to the beautiful piece Loki put in my hands.

"Don't be shy my dear," Loki spoke softly with equally gentle nudges of magic at the mirror.

I finally raised it to look at myself. I kept my gaze from my own and studied the other features of my face. There wasn't any denying that it was mine, but I could tell I had changed. My skin had lost all its impurities, scars and rough skin had just disappeared. Certain features seemed to have been enhanced to capitalize on my beauty. It was almost like I was wearing natural make-up. Without the smokey eye. The structure was similar, but perhaps a little more angled, a bit more perfect.

Or maybe I always looked like this and I'd just forgotten, who knows?

After I had looked at everything but my eyes, there was nothing else to delay the inevitable. I finally turned my eyes to... my eyes. I wasn't sure what I would find. I was silently hoping that they looked the same as they were in my childhood, but I was preparing to see an abyss.

Either way, I was wrong.

My irises were somewhere in between. I had a black ring around the outside that seemed to be leaking into the color from my memories. I pulled the mirror closer to get a better look with a furrowed brow. It was fascinating, but terrifying at the same time. I don't know how long I was staring at my eyes, but eventually, I placed the mirror down with a shake of my head. It was such a strange sensation.

"So you meant half of my eyes right?" I gave Loki a soft smile as he vanished the mirror on the floor.

He chuckled, "They're still yours."

I didn't answer, instead, I just kept my smile, not knowing what to say.

Loki's voice quickly followed his presence in my mind, You must stop those thoughts of yours.

Instantly I knew what he was talking about. How would you know and why does it matter princely?

I watched as his smile stretched to a smirk, Who do you think I am darling?

I blew a stray hair from my face that fell when I tilted my head at him. I looked at him innocently, waiting for him to continue. He didn't leave me waiting for long.

Besides. I have a surprise for you.

A/n: If you enjoyed maybe consider leaving a reblog and a comment? Thank you!!

Best Buds Tag List: @kitkatd7 @snarky--starky @confetti-its-an-imagine-blog @kaogasm

OKAS Tag List: @paigelin

[louhooo]

Father Like Son

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Sugar isn’t that bad, right?

Word Count: 3.4k

Warnings: Swearing, pregnancy, FLUFF

Prompt: step away from the cookies

A/N: Did I stay up until midnight even though I had to work the next day to finish this? Mmm YEAH! Does someone (I’m someone) procrastinate way too much for their own good? Mmm YEAH! This is for @nacho-bucky​‘s writing challenge! Cait, even though I don’t know you personally, I feel like you’re one of the sweetest people on here, and I would like to be your friend pls 

Feedback is always welcomed! 💘

You pushed yourself up in bed and Bucky inhaled sharply, still in a sleep-induced haze as he started to sit up.

“What is it? Is it the baby?” His hand went to your stomach and he stared up at you. You grinned and laid your hand on top of his.

“No, it’s not the baby. They’re still sound asleep on my bladder.” Bucky’s defense lowered and his head plopped back onto his pillow.

Pregnancy put Bucky on high alert every time, always increasing in magnitude the closer to the due date you got. You still had a few more months before the baby was born, but you couldn’t wait, if only so that Bucky could finally relax with the baby in his arms.

Well... relax as much as father of three with a newborn could.

You patted his hand and he let it slide to the bed and watched as you rolled yourself out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom. He glanced at the clock. 6:39. Henry would still be asleep, but Annalise would be waking up soon, and would be ready for breakfast. 

Bucky reached for the baby monitor on the nightstand and clicked the screen. Sure enough, Annalise was laying on her back, playing with her feet. Bucky grinned and set the monitor back down and got out of bed, throwing on some pants before he walked down the hall to his baby girl’s room. He creaked the door open, and Annalise quickly started to stand up, excited that she could finally get out of her crib. Wouldn’t be much longer before she moved to her ‘big girl’ bed.

“Good morning, sweet pea.” She smiled at her dad and reached her arms up for him. He held her close to his chest, her head going right to the crook of his neck as he walked her back to your bedroom. You were just coming out of the bathroom and smiled.

“Look who’s awake…” you cooed softly, the morning still too early for normal speaking volumes. Annalise smiled at you and made grabby hands. You walked over to her and brought her palm to your lips, kissing it repeatedly. “Wanna go to the store with mama?” Annalise nodded eagerly and Bucky pinched his brows.

“The store? What do you need at the store?” You grinned at Annalise, still holding her hand.

“Figured we could bake some cookies today.”

“You’ve already got stuff for baking, though. I don’t think you needta go to the store.” Your eyes finally met his, and your brows arched slightly. Right…. Bucky was ‘too protective’, as you’d kindly reminded him over and over again. He sighed and gave you a despondent look. “I just don’t want you doing too much. The doctor said you needed to rest.” 

“I am rested, Bucky.” A silent command, with a tone that warned of trouble if he tried stopping you. He sighed deeply as he stared at you. 

He had one last resort.

“Henry’s gonna be sad if he finds out you went to the store without him.” The look you gave in return was not amused.

“Really?” You asked sardonically. Bucky shrugged innocently.

“He will…. You know he’s a mama’s boy….” You stared at him.

“Henry will be fine, James.” Uh-oh. He got the first name. He sighed in the back of his throat, accepting defeat.

“I’ll get her dressed and fed for you so you can get ready….” he grumbled. You grinned and kissed Annalise’s hand.

“Thank you, papa.” You turned and went to the dresser and started pulling out clothes for the day. Bucky watched you for a few moments until you met his eyes in the mirror. You walked back over to him and puckered your lips for him. “I love you.” He met your lips and hummed.

“I love you.” Another peck, and you shooed them out so you could get ready. Bucky went back to Annalise’s room and changed her diaper and put on long navy pants and a red shirt that had a sparkly gold reindeer on it. He put on her socks and slipped her tiny feet into her white sneakers. They went downstairs and Bucky slid her into her high chair and placed Cheerios down for her while he cut up her banana. 

You came down stairs ten minutes later, dressed in black leggings and a sweatshirt that was definitely not yours. You stole a piece of unsmooshed banana from her tray and popped it in your mouth before you went to the bathroom off the kitchen and grabbed Annie’s hair brush and elastics and brushed her curly hair into a pony tail. The usual flurry of excitement followed as you carried Annalise out to the car and got everything you would need for the trek to the grocery store. 

Bucky watched you back out of the garage, his hands on his hips, as he tried not to worry. It’s just the grocery store, Buck, not like we’re leaving to go fight HYDRA or anything, you had so lovingly murmured to him just before you left. Now he had that thought in his head. 

The pads of feet coming down the stairs grabbed his attention, and he shut the door to the garage and the negative thoughts.

“Who wants waffles?”

A dull thud landed on the table in front of Bucky. He folded the corner of the paper back and inspected what was in front of him. A brown paper bag and you, an innocent grin on your face, and your hands on your belly.

“Hi.”

Your grin grew. “Hi.” Bucky’s eyes flicked down to the bag briefly, before settling back on you.

“Is there something you wanna show me…?”

“Maaaybe…” you sang. Bucky huffed through his nose, a crooked smirk on his face, and folded the newspaper, setting it down next to his coffee.

He pulled the twine handle, peering into the bag. On top were small containers of sprinkles, in various shapes and colors. 

“That’s a lotta sprinkles, sweatheart….”

“Well, if we’re gonna make a lot, we’re gonna need a lot.”

“I wanna help, mama!” Henry clambered onto the chair beside Bucky and looked at all the cool stuff his mom bought. Annalise squealed in agreement and tugged on Bucky to pick her up. He helped her onto the chair Henry was on so she could look at what her big brother was looking at.

Bucky raised his brows and looked up at you. “I’m not sure how available I’ll be. With the kids and all.” You snorted.

“Nice try, Barnes. That didn’t work last year, either.” You smirked and Bucky instantly felt guilty for trying to get out of helping you. Well… slightly guilty. You were like a drill sergeant when it came to your cookies, one that could control a whole team of superheroes with just a look. 

Especially him.

But it didn’t take much for him to do what you told him to.

You set everything down on the table and walked around and situated yourself on his lap. Bucky sighed and wrapped his hand against your lower back as he sat back against the chair. “You always get mad at me when you bake.” You chuckled and brushed his long hair back.

“Yeah, because you always eat most of the cookies before they’ve even cooled.”

“Do you get a tummy ache, papa?” You turned to Henry and nodded.

“He does, which is why you shouldn’t eat too much of dessert, even if it tastes really good.” 

“Well, make cookies that don’t taste good and I won’t eat ‘em….” he grumbled. You looked back at Bucky and tucked a stubborn strand of hair behind his ear and gently scratched his scalp.

“Not on your life.” Bucky huffed through his nose and gazed at you. “I promise to not get mad, if you promise to not eat all the cookies.” Bucky’s eyes roamed your face as he considered your offer. He wasn’t sure he had the restraint.

“Alright, I’ll help.” You grinned and gave him a soft kiss as Henry and Annie cheered.

“Thank you, Bucky.” Bucky puckered his lips for another kiss, but you were already off his lap and picking up the bags and moving them to the counter. “Do you wanna get started?”

“I-” Bucky was interrupted by the kids screaming in excitement. 

You had the kids help you grab everything you would need and helped them stand on the step ladder so they could wash their hands at the kitchen sink. 

Bucky was making cookies today whether he had a choice or not.

Henry helped dump the measured ingredients into the giant yellow Pyrex bowl, and he even got to help mix it (with mom’s help, of course.) Bucky turned on Nat King Cole and crooned a merry Christmas to you while twirling you around the kitchen. Henry and Annie copied their parents, much to your delight. 

Henry was already on his way to being a mini-Bucky, in more ways than just his looks.

After the cookies had come out of the oven and cooled, you mixed up the frosting while Henry and Bucky cleared off the remnants of the early lunch from the kitchen table to make room for decorating. Piping bags of red, green, white, yellow, and blue frosting sat in the middle of your table with the jars of sprinkles, with plates of unfrosted sugar cookies waiting to be decorated.

You showed Henry how to hold the piping bag, and you helped him squeeze it while Bucky held Annalise in his lap and helped keep Henry’s cookie in place. His designs were more abstract, and mainly consisted of concentrated blue globs of frosting on one side of the cookie, and stray lines on the rest. 

Bucky helped Annalise hold the frosting, wrapping his hands over hers to help squeeze the bag, decorating the cookies with green hearts or blue stars or whatever random squiggles Annie wanted to make. You put some of the sprinkles in a bowl and showed the kids how to turn the cookie upside-down and push the sprinkles onto the frosting, trying to reduce the amount of sprinkles that wound up on the floor.

Henry and Annie’s favorite part was licking their fingers when the frosting got on them. 

The first few times, you and Bucky laughed at their reaction to the taste, but you were quick to notice that tiny fingers were getting more frosting than the cookies.

“Honey, no more frosting on your fingers.”

“It’s an a-cident, mama,” Henry assured as you watched the piping bag go directly on his finger, and then to his mouth. You sighed and looked at Bucky for support, but you watched him do the same thing with the red frosting.

“Bucky!” His eyes went wide and he looked at you, dropping the piping bag on the table. “Kinda hard to discipline when dad’s doing it, too.” Bucky cleared his throat and dawned a more serious face as he lowered to Henry’s level.

“Bub, no more frosting on your fingers,” he turned to Annalise, “you, too, sweet pea. Your tummy’s will hurt if you eat too much.”

“Why?”

“Because when people eat too much sugar, it makes their tummies feel bad because…” Why does it hurt to eat too much sugar? Bucky made a mental note to look that up later. “Too much sugar isn’t good for you. Your body can’t grow big and strong if you only eat sugar.”

“But I like sugar…”

“I do, too, and so does mama, but we just can’t have it all the time.” Henry’s face scrunched up as he processed what his dad was telling him. He turned his gaze to the frosting and sighed.

“Fine…” You weren’t sure how, but Henry wasn’t putting up a fight, and you weren’t about to jinx yourself. You moved to get a wet washcloth and wiped his hands and face, the faint green stain still on his lips. Then, you wiped Annie’s face, taking her from Bucky’s lap and settling her on your hip.

“Okay, babies, let’s go take a quick bath before nap.” Henry slid off the chair and took off to go upstairs. You looked over at Bucky, “You can take a break if you want. It shouldn’t take too long to give ‘em a bath.” Bucky chuckled and stood up.

“It’s cute that you think I’m not gonna help.” You rolled your eyes and chuckled. “I’ll get clean clothes out of the dryer and meet you upstairs.” You smiled and followed Henry upstairs to start the bath. Bucky waited for the squeak of the faucet before he shoved four of the cookies he had frosted into his mouth. 

Bucky would have to sneak Henry a cookie later for taking the attention off Bucky. 

One with extra frosting.

While the kids napped, you and Bucky finished decorating, giving into the temptation and each eating a cookie or two before you put most them away in airtight containers and stuck them in the freezer, leaving just enough out to put in the snowman cookie jar that sat on the counter.

“Wanna watch a movie?” Bucky loaded the dishwasher and nodded.

“Yeah, we can. Maybe we could nap, too.” You hummed longingly and rubbed your lower back. Bucky came up behind you, massaging the spot in your back that always turned you into butter.

You groaned in pleasure, leaning your head back against Bucky. “Oh my god, you’re amazing….” Bucky smirked and kissed the top of your head.

“Let’s go lay down, sweetheart.” You hummed lazily, letting Bucky guide you to the living room. He grabbed a pillow and blanket from the basket behind the couch and laid them down, tucking you in before sitting on the other side of the couch and extending his legs on the ottoman. You turned on a random movie playing on TV and turned on your side, Bucky’s hand almost instantly going to your head and massaging it. You groaned again and Bucky smirked to himself.

After a few minutes, your breathing evened out, and Bucky settled back, closing his eyes for a few quiet minutes.

You opened your eyes and reached your hand back to rub Bucky’s leg, but instead you just rubbed the corduroy of the couch. You looked up and saw that your husband wasn’t there. He couldn’t have been far. Maybe he went upstairs to lay in bed, or- 

You heard the soft clink of ceramic and your head shot in the direction of the kitchen.

That little shit. 

You slowly got up and crept towards the kitchen, taking slow and deliberate steps.

“Bucky, step away from the cookies!” You flipped on the kitchen light and caught Bucky red handed with his hand in the cookie jar. His hand was still in the jar and he was frozen, a look of culpability on his face. He’d already ate more than a dozen, but he couldn’t help himself, they were just too damn good. He slowly raised his hand, a cookie firmly in his grasp. You narrowed your eyes on him, “James… I will come over there.” You watched his hand move slowly, but steadily, in the direction of his mouth. “I’m gonna tell Steve,” you threatened. Bucky snorted.

“Real scary, sweetheart,” he rolled his eyes, “What’s he gonna do? Ground me?” You used the distraction to run towards him. His eyes went wide and he tried turning and running in the opposite direction, but he had no traction on the tile with the socks he was wearing. A loud THUD echoed throughout the house. 

You grimaced and walked over to him and looked down at him, “You okay?”

He groaned and held his head with his right hand. “I think I’m concussed….” You knelt down.

“Here, let me check.” You brushed his hair back from his face and made him follow your finger. You quickly snatched the cookie out of his hand and giggled at the horror that flashed across his face.

“Hey!” He tried reaching for it, but you laid back, putting your legs out to stop him. He gave you an incredulous look at he sat on his knees looking at you, “Really? You think that’s gonna stop me?”

“I know it will.” Bucky squinted his eyes at you, assessing you. “I told you no cookies!”

“I know, I know…” He put his hands out defensively and shrugged off the chastising. He held out his hand for you and helped you up, snatching the cookie back out of your hands. 

“Hey! Bucky! Give me the cookie!” You watched in astonishment as he shoved the whole thing into his giant mouth. You scoffed and walked over to the cookie jar, putting the lid back on and cradling it into your arms. “Fine. I’m taking them with me.” You started walking upstairs.

“Where’re you goin’?” He whispered.

“Go away. I’m hiding the cookie jar.” You whispered back.

“There’re cookies in the freezer, sweetheart. I could still eat them if I wanted to.”

“You hate cookies from the freezer. You like room temperature best.” Hmm… you knew him too well.

“If you hide it, you’ll forget where, and we’ll find moldy cookies this summer when it starts to smell.” You shot him a look. 

“I’ll remember,” you spoke with stubborn determination. Your mom brain wasn’t that bad. You went into your bedroom and quickly walked into the closet, shutting door behind you. You opened the box with old baby clothes of Henry’s snapping the lid shut and hiding it under the clean towels. You came back out of the closet and Bucky sat on the edge of the bed, resting his forearms on his knees.

“Did you hide ‘em?”

“I did.” Bucky grinned and stood up.

“Ya gonna tell me later?” You shook your head. Bucky hummed and took slow steps, getting closer and closer to you. He stared at your belly and rubbed his flesh hand over your bump, making your resolve waver.

That asshole really knew how to pull on your heartstrings.

“Did you even sleep, or did you wait for me to fall asleep so you could sneak cookies?” Bucky chuckled and kept rubbing, but looked at you.

“I told you I wouldn’t eat ‘em if they didn’t taste good…. Should’ve made some that tasted like dirt.” You sighed and raised a very mom-esque brow at him.

“You can’t eat cookies all the time, Buck. We have kids now, and if they see you shoveling cookies into your mouth, they’re going to think that they can do that, too.” 

“But, our kids are a lot smarter than I am. They know they can’t eat cookies all the time.”

“One, you really are dumb if you think I’m gonna buy that you’re ‘not smart’,” Bucky grinned, “And two, they both want to be big and strong like you. And if that means they getta eat cookies for three meals, I think they’d be okay with it.” Bucky sighed and weighed your words.

“But they taste good…!” Bucky whined. You chortled and rested your hand on his.

“I know they do, but you don’t get to eat them all the time.” Bucky frowned and you sighed. “Try again later. That look only works for the kids.” Bucky sighed in the back of his throat.

“Well, I gave that look to the kids.” You giggled and patted his cheek before turning to walk back downstairs.

“Sorry, baby.” Bucky grumbled and followed you downstairs. “Maybe you can convince the kids to give you theirs.”

He snorted, “Yeah, we’ll see about that.” You sat back on the couch, cuddling under the blanket, and Bucky went to the kitchen to start the dishwasher. He walked in and froze when he saw Henry trying to take a cookie out of the container in the freezer. He watched as Henry slowly spun around, feeling someone’s presence in the room.

He smiled, guilt written all over his face. “Hi, papa.” Bucky looked at the blue cookie in his hand and back at Henry. He quickly glanced at you in the living room, making sure you weren’t paying attention before he walked up to Henry.

“We’ll split it.” Henry stared wide-eyed at his dad, before quickly nodding in agreement and letting Bucky split the cookie. “But we can’t tell mom.” Henry kept nodding his head and held out his pinkie.

“Pinkie promise.” Bucky interlocked his pinkie with Henry’s and shook their hands.

“Pinkie promise.”

Mom would never know....

...At least for a little while.