#the only good thing is that hopefully the most annoying stans will move on to the live action that is going to canonize all their bullshit

[n0bamak1s]

laughing gas - mai zenin x reader

request: “Mai Zenin x Fem S/o, where the s/o gets their wisdom tooth removed and confesses their love to mai acting all sweet and cute, mai then takes care of her s/o and confesses too, we can see mai being her bratty and confident self but when she is with her s/o she just lets her walls down” - @shockfirefly

summary: in the request! (genre: fluff, friends to lovers, slice of life, humor)

warnings: reader is high on anesthesia if that counts as a warning, swearing, mostly just tooth rotting fluff (literally!!)

word count: 2k

a/n: i really enjoyed writing this request! at this point i’m basically just a mai zenin stan account tbh but the requests for her are just so fun to write. i’m almost on summer break so hopefully i’ll be more active bc i have a few ideas i’m excited to write for!!

it seriously took everything in mai’s willpower to not immediately whip out her phone to film your groggy state the moment she stepped into the room where you had just gotten your surgery done. she stifled a laugh at the bandage wrapped around your head, vaguely reminiscent of the one noritoshi had worn following the exchange event. when your eyes flicker over to meet her gaze, you give what she can only assume is your attempt at a smile, but looks more like a dog caught eating its owner’s dinner, with your face all swollen and slightly flushed.

forget that willpower shit.

she shamelessly calls out your name, to which you respond like an eager little kid. “say cheese!” she gives you an uncharacteristically wide grin to signal you to mirror her actions. you seemed to not learn from your previous mistake and attempted to smile back at her, before immediately cutting yourself off with a muffled groan. she hardly bothered with hiding her giggle this time, but at the very least she had the decency to cover her mouth as she cracked up.

with an annoyed pout on your face, you huffed and turned to the nurse standing beside you, who you were apparently to loopy to notice had joined in with mai on giggling at your grogginess. “she’s so mean to me!” you said, though your tone had no real irritation to it.

“it’s just to send to utahime. she wants to make sure your doing alright.” mai lied straight through her teeth, though you seem satisfied enough with that answer as you started to push yourself up from the seat you’d been in. mai quickly rushed to your side, knowing you weren’t sensible enough at the moment to ask for her help. before you could stand up and inevitably wobble over, she looped an arm around your waist and moved your arm so it was slung over her shoulders.

“alright champ, let’s get going.” she tried to remain as nonchalant as possible with the close proximity, but unfortunately for her, you seemed determined to embarrass her as much as possible.

“well at least buy me dinner first, ya casanova!” you said (much louder than necessary, mind you). honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising to mai if you could be heard from the waiting room.

with an over enthusiastic wave from you and an awkward thanks from mai to the nurse, you guys set off on your way.

to be fair to you, it was surprisingly a relatively tame trip to the door, with you focusing on keeping your steps in tune with mai’s. you were too lost in thought to embarrass yourself until you had made it to the waiting room. you had rather innocently pointed out a small curse, which would have been completely harmless had it not actually been an old woman, and had you not spoken with an inappropriately loud voice. the poor old lady who had fallen subject to your anesthesia induced self gave you an agitated glare as mai waved sheepishly in apology. the moment you guys were out the door, you turned back to glance through the glass.

“we’ll get her later, mai!” you patted her on the back with determination, your voice still muffled in a way that made you sound like you belonged on sesame street. “she can’t fool me, stupid curse!”

had it been anyone else, mai would have simply rolled her eyes and tugged you on, but since it was you, she found herself laughing along, a quiet laugh, like the sound of a wind chime in early spring weather. the sound seemed to catch you off guard, causing you to stop in your antics before turning to face her. she paused when she felt your gaze back on her, looking at her like a kid would look at fireworks for the first time.

she raised an eyebrow at your sudden change in demeanor. “what?”

“your laugh is pretty.” you stated simply, clearly having some pride at being the one to get her to laugh like that.

she turned away for a moment, hoping it would stop you from seeing the flush spreading across her face, knowing you’d never let her live it down. “thanks.” she muttered, praying she sounded at least a little bit cool and composed.

the short walk to the car was filled with you pointing out random cars asking if they were mai’s as you rested your head on her shoulder, before deciding the swelling was too painful for that.

a large grin which quickly turned into a grimace (you really never learned) appeared on your face when mai finally informed you that you’d made it to the right car. she held your hand to support you as you stepped into the seat, and once she’d sat down, reached over to buckle you in. she chose to ignore the over exaggerated wink you sent her way in favor of her own sanity.

as she drove, you babbled on about nonsense like how you were sure noritoshi had made mechamaru to hide the fact that he was secretly a robot, or how after that run you had gotten at the baseball game, you were sure you were destined to quit sorcery to go to the major leagues. to humor you, mai nodded along, before dryly responding that she’d probably be a better fit considering how good she looked in the baseball uniforms.

ignorant of her joking tone, you were quick to agree enthusiastically. “definitely! but i dunno if i’m the best person to ask, because i think you look good in just about anything.” your voice was sincere as you turned fully to look at her with slightly hazy eyes.

before either of you had time to process the admiration you had shown towards her, you glanced back out the window to the familiar sight of your school. you excitedly waved at the sight of todo and noritoshi sparring together. after catching his attention, todo didn’t even bother to stop the roaring laughter that came from your appearance, pointing out to noritoshi the similarities between your current look and his from just a few weeks ago. noritoshi gave todo an annoyed look, before glancing back over to see mai helping you out of the car, once again slinging your arm over her shoulders and supporting you with an arm on your waist.

she tried her best to ignore todo, she really did. though, it wasn’t exactly easy to ignore him when he loudly exclaimed what a ‘lady killer’ mai was. she snapped her gaze to meet his eyes, giving him a cold glare, before continuing to slink you along to your dorm.

when you opened the door to your dorm, the first thing mai noticed was a bulletin board on your wall, decorated with photos of all your friends, which most recently included your classmates. her eyes flicked to a photo of you next to another girl in elementary school with a smile that showed off your gap from missing teeth, and she chuckled softly at the irony of the photo compared to your current situation. her gaze then quickly shifted to a newly added strip of pictures from a photo booth. she smiled fondly at the memory of you, her, miwa, and momo sandwiching yourselves together in the tiny booth to take photos during your shopping trip. they weren’t ‘good’ photos, per say, in fact you guys all looked rather ridiculous trying to pack into frame, but for some reason, mai seemed to soften up at the memory of it, and how happy you looked just to be next to her.

her train of thought was interrupted by you tugging on the hand that didn’t rest on you, making her turn to see you mere inches from her face.

why the hell were you so close???

“yes?” she questioned, hoping to deflect from the fact that she was so obviously gushing over the photos on your wall just moments before.

“will you sleep with me?”

had you not had an arm around her, she probably would have dropped you in that instant. from the way she carried herself to the way she talked to others, most people would assume mai zenin does NOT blush, yet somehow you’d managed to disprove that theory way too many times today.

“WHAT?” it was her turn to be loud for a moment.

“i’m tireddddd” you whined “and you’re so warm.” you had stated it so casually, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

she groaned, as if it would cover up her sheer embarrassment at how bold you were. wordlessly, she walked you to your bed, keeping her grip on your waist secure. it was amazing how gentle she was as she laid you down on that rock solid bed all the dorms were stuck with. she pulled a blanket over you, sitting awkwardly on the edge of the bed in hopes you’d doze off peacefully from there. when she didn’t shift from her position, you looked at her with a confused expression.

“wouldn’t it be more comfortable to lay down?” your words were still slightly slurred together. you rested a hand on hers. “you know i don’t mind.” despite your dazed look, she could tell your words were sincere as your thumb rubbed circles atop her hand.

mai turned to face you full on, her eyes gentle rather than their usual harsh look.

curse you for being so hard to resist.

“fine” her voice was quiet “but only because it’s my job to watch over you.” she stretched out her legs so she was laying down on the bed, pulling the blanket towards her so she could get comfortable.

“you’re so good to me mai.” you smiled. not a pained grimace, or an awkward baring of your teeth, but a smile. “people always seem to be so intimidated by you, but i don’t really get it. you’ve always been so nice to me. it’s nice.”

she didn’t understand how even when you were all loopy, you still managed to have such an effect on her. hesitantly, she reached up to grab your hand, intertwining her fingers with yours.

it seemed the boldness from your anesthesia had rubbed off on her.

before she had time to talk, you continued. “i always feel so glad when we get paired up for missions, you make me feel so safe. like, i know when i’m around you that you’ll protect me. i admire you so much for doing all that for me.”

she went slightly stiff at your...confession? declaration? what exactly would you call that? you had said it so nonchalantly, whether it was out of trying to play off your fear of rejection or legitimate confidence, it was hard to tell.

“plus you’re really pretty.” your hand squeezed hers as you looked suddenly very interested in the pattern of your blanket. it was odd, seeing you get so shy all of a sudden, though she supposed it was somewhat of a win for her.

as you stared sheepishly away from her eyes that traced over every inch of your face, you felt her hand come up to your cheek, tilting you to face her. she continued scanning your face with an impossibly soft expression, before meeting your eyes once again.

“you know i wouldn’t do all that if it was anyone else.” her voice was barely above a whisper as her eyes bore into yours. her face was so close to yours that you could feel her breath fanning lightly across your face. “it’s all for you.” you’d never seen her so earnest before.

you smiled softly at her, even despite the ridiculous bandages around your head, and your chipmunk like cheeks, she still stared at you with so much love.

“you like meeee.” your tone was teasing, but it was obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes that you were just as whipped as her.

“dammit. you figured me out.” she said sarcastically, shuffling forward slightly so you were flush against her.

up close, the tiredness in your glassy eyes was obvious. she sighed to herself, and slowly leaned in to plant a soft kiss on your forehead.

“get some sleep.” she smiled at your eyes struggling to fight open your heavy eyelids. “we have a lot to talk about once the anesthesia wears off.”

maybe todo wasn’t so far off with that ‘lady killer’ comment.

[realcube]

haikyuu boys with a professional volleyball player! s/o 🏆

characters: kuroo, bokuto, kita, oikawa & sakusa 

tw// swearing

thank you anon for this awesome request!

Tetsurō Kuroo

he’d tell all his teammates about you and none of them would care

well, lev would care - he’d be so excited and asking for kuroo to get him your autograph but yaku would just be like ‘you don’t actually believe him, do you? 🙄’

so yeah, yaku would convince lev and yamamoto that you were just a figment of kuroo’s imagination

even thoUGH YAKU KNEW YOU WERE A REAL PERSON BC HE HAD MET YOU BEFORE AND  HE KNEW THAT YOU WERE DATING KUROO AIREBVKZGA he just loved annoying kuroo <3

and he did the job well bc kuroo was definitely annoyed

he’d be waving his phone around, desperately trying to show lev and yamamoto the selfies he took with you but they’d just be like 😑

then he finally convinced you to come visit him at practise to put an end to his humiliation

so you appeared one day and kuroo was so hyped

but not as hyped as yamamoto

he has hot-ppl senses which tingled when you entered the room so he was the first to greet you while kuroo was sitting setting up the nets

he was literally all over you

‘woah 😍 your thigh are so toned’

‘uh thank you ???’

and kuroo was not here for it

‘AYE GET YOUR DIRTY PAWS AWAY FROM THEM!!’

yamamoto fkn shits himself and runs ✌🏃‍♂️💨

then kuroo picks you up bridal style and parades you around the gym, rubbing it in everyone’s face - especially yaku and lev

‘guys, do you see this? my totally REAL s/o! who’s been to NATIONALS!! uhuh. all mine, y’all.’

yaku is so ticked off and definitely goes to snitch him out to Nekomata

and lev is just so awed, ‘(y/n) is real???’

for a moment he thought he was dreaming too until kenma purposefully hit him with a ball

‘put me down, tetsurō.’ you groaned, folding your arms over your chest

he obeyed, gently setting you down on your feet before pecking your lips, ‘ok, well, i should probably get back to practise now - train hard so hopefully one day i can be as good as you.’ he joked, teasingly emphasising the ‘you’.

you playfully punched his arm before turning on your heels to head out, ‘you wish!’

although he’ll always joke about how amazing you are in comparison to him but he genuinely admires you 🤩

Kōtarō Bokuto

he hypes you up to his team constantly

they’ve literally never even met you and they are being asked all these questions from bokuto lol

‘hey onaga, did you see (y/n) at their nationals game the other day?’

onage flinched upon being jump-scared by his captain, then choked out a little white lie, ‘uh yeahhh.’

bokuto’s face lit up, ‘great! they were so amazing during the third set, weren’t they? what was your favourite part?’

onaga froze, ‘uhh- oh, i think i hear anahori calling me to help him practise his sets! gotta go.’ then he proceeded to bolt off

bokuto shrugged it  off at first as he shouldn’t complain bc a teammate dropped a conversation to continue training with anahori - i mean, onaga came to volleyball club to practise so he wasn’t obligated to make conversation with bokuto

but while he was saying his goodbyes to everyone as they left the gym to go home, it hit him-

‘bye, komi! buh-bye, washio! and goooodbyeeee, konoha.’ bokuto let out a relived sigh as he had now finished saying his partings which meant he could lock the gym then go home, ‘wait-- ANAHORI DIDN’T EVEN COME TO PRACTISE TODAY! ONAGA!’

bokuto was deeply disheartened that his own teammate would lie to him - to get out of a conversation about you, no less

he just wanted them all to love you as much as he does

like..he’s your biggest fan!!!

~ even post-timeskip ~

he’d show up to all of your games wearing your jersey and some of the eagle-eyed press would try talk to him

they’d interview him about his own affair or about the MSBY Black Jackals but he genuinely has no interest in talking about that bc today is your day and he is here to support you

‘are you and your team hopeful to attend Olympics despite player Miya’s rumoured injury? and disclose whether these rumours are factual?’

sakusa decked atsumu after he joked about having covid-

the interview shoved and waved a microphone in bokuto’s face while he just stared at them blankly like ◉_◉

after a while bokuto stuffed a handful of popcorn in his mouth and chuckled, ‘don’t know! but the game is about to begin, shhh!-’ he hushed the interviewer, instinctively swatting the microphone away as he stood up in the stands to cheer for you, ‘WOOOO! GO, (Y/N)!’  

then he turned to the interviewer who stood frozen with a dumbfounded look on his face, ‘THAT’S MY LOVERRRR!’ he screamed into the microphone so loudly that all the press naturally backed off

and please do the same for him when the press approach you at his games 🙏

Shinsuke Kita

ofc he dates a volleyball player player-

he is such an ushijima

he is ushijima if he wasn’t left-handed

he doesn’t really brag about you too often at practise but he feels so proud when you win a game then he comes to practise the next day and his teammates tell him to pass on a congratulations

also he always comes to your games

no matter how minor or how large

you’d think you could both bond a lot over volleyball and you did that in the beginning

but over time - especially when you started playing volleyball professionally - you found other things to bond over and saved volleyball for work

he probably runs a (y/n) stan page AEIVBARTBV

AND YOU’D NEVER GUESS

like he is literally a rice farmer- you are under the impression that he doesn’t even know what facebook is

and he’s good at selling the act too

‘did you see the picture of us i posted on my instagram?--’ you asked, taking another spoonful of your cereal

‘insta what?’ kita inquired without hesitation

then as soon as you exit the room, he’ll log onto his (y/n) twitter stan account

ok ok sorry i’ll stop now

anyway he ALWAYS tries to ensure that the first thing you eat after a big game is something that he cooks

and if you go out with your team to eat after a game to celebrate a victory, he’ll try at act sweet but he’s lowkey shady tbh

‘congratulations on your victory, (y/n). and to many more’ he lifted his glass and so did you

but just as you were about to take a sip, kita interjected, ‘but that is going to be difficult if you keep filling your body with junk rather than healthy, organi--’

‘kita-’

‘ok.’ he took a sip of his drink in your honour

HE JUST CARES ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AND WELLBEING HE’S NOT TRYING TO BE RUDE 😭

Tōru Oikawa

again, when you and oikawa first started dating, volleyball was one of the only things y’all talked about

but now that you were both doing it professionally, it was basically banned in your home

well, the the game itself wasn’t banned but i mean, why would you do something all day then come back to talk about it more?

you both might adore volleyball but everything has it’s limits lol

anyway, oikawa is another one that is extra af when they come to your games

he probably makes a sign and paints his face in your team colours

and when you come out onto the court, he’ll blow you a kiss and if you don’t blow one back he’ll be so offended lmao

bc he always makes a big deal out blowing you a kiss or winking at you as soon as he steps out onto the court

it’s basically a thing he does for good luck at this point

also, if there are ever ppl trying to take pictures of y’all in public- oikawa is the first to make a big show for them

like he’s all up on you 

he’ll dip you then push his lips against you for a passionate kiss, in front of the ppl and they always go fkn crazy

he thinks he is like..Beyoncé famous...which he is not

please humble him 

but nicely 

but y’all only get attention around summertime when you are frequently playing big games 

like if oikawa leaves the house a week you competed in a big game- he’ll literally get swamped with ppl asking about you 

but contrarily, if you both leave the house in winter literally no one would even spare you a glance

on a RARE occasion, someone might sneakily snap a photo but that’s it

so you get the best of both worlds :))

also, if you’re an ace and he’s ever feeling down, if you ask him to set for you for a bit and you compliment one/all of his sets, he’ll literally feel so much better 

Kiyoomi Sakusa 

sometimes you both come back from a rough day at work, slump on the couch and watch TV together

after showering, changing, dinner etc

he’s not nna come anywhere near you if he thinks there is a chance he might be stinky from practise 

he turned on the TV and it just so happened to be on an Live volleyball game in some language that neither of you understood

he’d snake his arms around your shoulders and pull you close to his chest, satisfied by your synced breathing 

he’d press a single kiss against your jaw before shifting his attention onto the channel

you’d lay there in his arms, both of you seeming content in each other’s presence while watching the game

in reality though, neither of you were actually absorbing anything that was happening on the court - you were just staring blankly at the TV

the TV simply served as background noise to your cuddling

tbh he was way more interested in hearing the sound of your heart beat peacefully against his chest 

after a while, if he gets bored, he might finally break the silence by inquiring about your day

but if he doesn’t, you’d probably end up falling asleep in his arms, forcing him to sleep on the couch bc he’s doesn’t want to risk moving and waking you up 🥺

anyway, he’s another one that likes to save volleyball for work then leave it by the door as soon as you step inside the house 

but he’s not as uptight about it as oikawa or kita

like he’ll happily put on a volleyball match for you guys to watch if he thinks the player’s techniques are impressive

also, if the weather is nice, if you ask him to come out and practise with you for a bit and he’ll say yes 🤠

but actually 🤔 now that is think about it, if you guys had a pool in your back garden sakusa would definitely make the most of it

you’ll humbly ask him spike for you on a nice sunny day and he’ll be like

‘volleyball? really? we bought this expensive ass house with a pool which we can only use 4 out the 365.25 days of the year and you want to play volleyball? don’t you do that like..every work day.’

what can i say? man likes getting his moneys worth 🤷‍♂️

‘so is that a no to volleyball?’ you’d ask

*cue sakusa picking you up bridal style and dropping you into the pool*

then you play pool volleyball 👍

as for your games, he turns up in casual wear 😔

disappointed but not surprised

you’ll jokingly be like ‘hey! why aren’t you wearing my team colours? how are people gonna know who you’re cheering for?’ which is fair bc you turn up to all his games with his MSBY black jackals jersey with one of those foam pointy fingers with his number on it

MANS WOULD POINT TO HIS FKN WEDDING RING LIKE ‘our team colours right here.’

[lunarfly]

Ok so I decided to finally post the promised: defending Romione (🥺💗💕💖💞💘) against Dr*mione (ಠಿ_ಠ) shippers.

So I've read a few posts about Dr*mione shippers, talking about why their ship is amazing (which had nothing to do with canon btw) and bashing Ron (for no reason) and I'm literally shaking out of anger.

Here are my thoughts:

1. "Ron is too dumb for hermione"

Stop- Just-

Stop.

RON IS NOT DUMB.

Yes, he might not be very interested in school subjects, but 👏 that 👏 doesn't 👏 mean 👏 he 👏 is 👏 dumb 👏.

He is actually very smart! He beat McGonagall's chess game, he is logical and quick-thinking. There's MANY examples of this that I won't name right now, but it's a canonical fact. Ron. Is. Not. Dumb.

And consider he was dumb. So? Would that stop Romione from happening? NO! Hermione didn't mind Ron not being smart. She was just upset that Ron was lazy and wouldn't study anything until the last minute. She wanted to get both Harry and Ron to study according to a schedule.

Is it clear? Intelligence doesn't determine love.

**And this is something that confuses me. This doesn't have anything to do with the point, but why does nobody realize that Harry isn't much smarter than Ron? Yes, he was better at DADA but that requires TALENT, not intelligence. And I'm pretty sure we all know that Ron is talented as well (hopefully everyone realizes that). Nobody uses the fact that Harry wasn't intelligent against Harmione, but everyone uses the fact that Ron wasn't intelligent against Romione. The double standards tear apart the fandom.

2. "Ron bought hermione perfume and Draco could get her something better."

Soooo, you're saying that just because Ron didn't have the money that Draco had means that Hermione didn't deserve Ron?

Wow, this just says a lot about you dr*mione shippers. You only care about the money that Draco has, not his personality. You don't like Ron because he's poor (and I know how FanFics give the "kind Draco" Ron's canon personality so the only "problem" with Ron is his looks and lack of money). And you don't see Hermione nor Ron the way they are. This "point" of yours is literally stating that Hermione should be a gold-digger and get Draco because he can get her the expensive presents that she deserves. Yikes.

3. "Draco can understand the emotional side of Hermione while Ron can't."

Wait

What?

WHERE DO YOU GET THIS IDEA FROM-

Draco is only EVER concerned about his own self, he is a NARCISSIST. He would NEVER care for someone (let alone Hermione) as purely and truly as he cared about himself. He didn't even care about Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson etc. He was selfish. The only reason he could express his emotions was because he had to go through a lot since he realized that killing Dumbledore wasn't as easy as bullying Hermione. This would never ever work.

And even if Ron didn't understand her as much, he STILL comforted her. Take the beginning chapters of The Deathly Hallows as an example. You'll see.

4. "Ron is too immature."

I need help.

Of course Ron was immature when he was 11!! Yes, he acted immaturely many times, yes, he made many mistakes, but guess what? He changed! He changed for Hermione!! Draco didn't change at all, not for Hermione, nor for anyone else. He remained the same bratty bully.

If you could reread the books and read prisoner of azkaban vs deathly hallows, you will definitely see how much Ron has matured. He doesn't argue with Hermione anymore, he comforts her, he's there for her. Yes, he made a mistake but he was manipulated by the horcrux! We don't blame Ginny for what tom riddle's diary made her do, do we? So stop blaming Ron!

Anyways, I think if dr*mione shippers have read the books, they'll know what I'm talking about when I say Ron changed for Hermione. I honestly don't know how you could miss Ron's character arc.

5. "Ron would be jealous of the brilliant Hermione."

What?

If I remember correctly, the reason Draco bullied the trio was because he was jealous of them. His jealousy turned into a 7 year torture for the trio and now you're saying that Ron is the jealous one? Please.

But anyways, Ron has been jealous of Harry and has made a few mistakes. But there are reasons behind them and I can defend him for each of these with arguments other than "everyone makes mistakes" (cough cough* Draco stans* cough cough).

First of all, Ron has admitted being jealous of Harry's fame because he lives with 5 older brothers who outshine him. But that's not really a mistake because he never let it get in his way. There were only 2 situations in 7 years when he left Harry out of jealousy but I think these have different explainations.

No1 Ron left in goblet of fire. I think the real reason that Ron let his jealousy get in his way this time, was not only because Harry got to participate in the tournament which could bring him eternal glory, but more likely because he was disappointed that his own best friend didn't even tell him that he was entering and didn't even help him participate (which wasn't true, but Ron thought so back then).

No2 Ron left in deathly hallows. This one was 100% because of the horcrux and I think we should all accept this by now and stop hating on Ron for being affected by dark magic.

And just like that, Ron never let his jealousy get in his way of friendships. I can't think of a situation where Ron is jealous of the brilliant Hermione so if you remember, please let me know so I can argue against it. <3

6. "Ron and Hermione would break up and remain friends, it's easy to imagine because they didn't have a strong relationship."

This was actually said, someone actually said this-

I'm just going to say that Ron and Hermione are happily married to this day (which definitely proves that their relationship is strong) and give the dr*mione community a moment of silence.

7. "Ron didn't do anything for Hermione and was just a jerk."

Coming from a person who has read and reread the books multiple times, I can assure you that Ron did many things for Hermione.

Of course, he was immature at first, he was mean to her, but slowly he started seeing more of the good in Hermione and started changing for her.

And even when he was immature, he still cared about Hermione and would protect her no matter what.

Let's remember how many times rubbish Ron stood up for Hermione against the brilliant bully Draco. 🥰

Let's remember how cowardly Ronald faced his fears of spiders to help Hermione (and the rest of the school, just how jerkier can he get?). 🥰

Let's remember how ridiculous Ronniekins stood up for Hermione against sensational Snape and got himself into detention (oh yes, this is the book version of the movie moment where Ron agrees with Snape about Hermione being an 'insufferable know-it-all'). 🥰

Let's remember how rotten Ronny comforted Hermione when she was worried about Hagrid and Buckbeak (and he even let her hug him and cry on his shoulder, how rude). 🥰

Let's remember how revolting Ronald sacrificed himself to save Harry and Hermione in the chess game. 🥰

Let's remember how horrendous Ron attempted to hex Draco when he used a slur that was meant to offend Hermione. 🥰

Keep in mind that all of these were done when Ron was still immature and still argued a lot with Hermione.

And these aren't even all.

8. "Ron and Hermione have a loveless marriage."

What the-

I'm sorry, I'm trying to be respectful here but this is crap. And the fact that the person said they also had "proof" from the c*rsed ch*ld but didn't want to spoil it-

As much as I hate the c*rsed ch*ld, I can tell you that it did its job portraying Ron and Hermione's unconditional love. Even in alternative realities, where they didn't get married, they were still in love.

And why would you even think that Ron and Hermione would marry and have kids if they didn't love each other? I need explainations.

Next.

9. "Ron never listens to Hermione."

I'm sorry, what? I'm genuinely confused??

What do you even mean by this? Yeah, they used to argue a lot, and? Ron thinks Hermione is brilliant and wonderful and he follows her advice. I can't recall a moment where Ron won't listen to Hermione, doesn't agree with her and ruins her plans. Anyone else?

Since this one is a big mess and a confusion, I'll move on to the next one until someone explains the points and arguments.

10. "Draco could make Hermione laugh while Ron couldn't."

....

Do I really need to say anything for this one?

Ron was the funniest one from the trio, that's why Harry enjoyed his company so much! Don't you remember the line in goblet of fire where Harry thinks about how much he misses having Ron as his best friend, because without him there's less fun and less laughs? I do.

But what I don't remember is finding Draco's sense of humor funny. I'm sorry but his intellectual level is almost as low as Crabbe and Goyle's. His insults are none other than Potty and Weaselbee, he only got 3 O.W.L.s and all of his jokes were stupid and dumb and their only purpose was insulting people he was jealous of.

These fanfics have rotten people's brains...😬

Anyways, I'm going to stop here. I've delayed this post for very long and I'm so excited to finally post it!

I read a book on wattpad by a dr*mione shipper and it was nothing but a giant headache. That's where I got all of these statements from. Most of the garbage in the book revolved around Draco and Hermione being inseparable and getting over all obstacles (wth) and other stupid stuff like that which really annoyed me. The book was called "why we love dr*mione" and it was by Bittenwizard. You can read and enjoy! Trust me, you'll have lots of content to post about after that 🤠👍

*I always try to be respectful to all ships, but sometimes some of them really anger me because the ships are either toxic or the arguments are plain trash. I'm sorry if I offend anyone.

Thank you for reading this. If you're a dr*mione shipper, I hope I've convinced you to give up the ship or come up with better arguments for it.

If you're an anti-dramione I hope you enjoyed the post. I'll delight you with more anti-toxic-ships content. :)

Thank you once again! <3

[rosalynshields]

The Soldier’s Chase

By: Rosalyn Shields

Pairing: Dark-ish Steve Rogers x Reader

Warnings: Kidnapping, Violence, Killing, Explicit language, Reluctance/Non-con, Unprotected sex, Breeding Kink, Oral Sex (female receiving), Vaginal Sex, Smut. I hope I didn't miss anything.

This is for JTargaryen18′s Haunted House 2020 Challenge

The Premise: A celebrity haunted house for charity will be open one night only, Halloween night. You spent days trying to get a ticket online for the event. Thanks to a bad day on Halloween, you get there only a minute before the line closes. You’re the last person to go in and thinking that’s either really bad (everyone is tired or would be in a hurry to see you out) or really good (maybe you’d get some extra time with the one you came to see). 

You are never seen again.

While you are walking into the Haunted house... HYDRA is using Halloween to bring forth Captain America's Mate but it just so happens that the Avengers were attacking the base at the same time. You escape. Once Steve realized who they had... he immediately went on the hunt. The allure of having someone that is HIS and his alone is too tempting. So, you are in an alternate universe scared out of your mind in the woods being stalked by a predatory Captain America... who also happens to be a werewolf.

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

Y/N

You were running late. This was particularly annoying as you were on your way to a haunted house event in your area. It's a one night only charity event that you had spent days online trying to get a ticket for. Once you heard that Chris Evans was going to be there dressed up as Captain America you had to get tickets. Steve Rogers is quite the weakness for you, and you couldn't resist seeing Chris Evans rockin' the Cap look.

 Of course, everything had to go wrong today, normally you love Halloween but sadly you had to work that day. It has been the most stressful day filled with pointless meetings and small talk. You should’ve just taken the day off. From the moment you arrived you were running behind schedule which lasted all day. By the time you were finally able to leave work you were almost two hours behind your normal schedule.

 This only left you two hours to get changed and drive the hour to the haunted house. You can only pray there wasn't a lot of traffic because while normally it didn't take long for you to get ready you wanted to be perfect. The Haunted house rules wouldn’t allow you to wear a costume which was a shame since you had a few amazing costumes that would have gone perfectly within the Marvel Cinematic Universe but you had a few things that would work in a pinch.

 You could have gone with a 1940’s type of outfit that you knew would have made quite an impression on Steve Rogers. You figured that most of the other women who paid to see Captain America would go that route not thinking that you guys weren’t meeting the actual Steve Rogers. Who knows what was to Chris Evans’ taste? So. Instead, you decided to go with something similar to SHIELD Agent’s tactical outfit. 

 It wouldn’t scream costume and it made you feel sexy and badass and that's all that really mattered. Black long sleeve under armor shirt with a form fitting leather vest over it, black tactical pants and belt with black combat boots. If it had been a straight up costume you would have added a fully equipped utility belt and shoulder and hip holsters fully equipped with fake guns. Maybe you would have also sewed on a SHIELD patch or something as well.

 It was all pretty easy to move in and it was both airy enough to keep you cool but heavy enough to keep warm if need be. Since it wasn’t a costume you settled for your normal outing stuff as you are a lone female heading to an event alone in the city. It was probably overkill but you packed a couple of knives, a combat knife in each boot and pepper spray in your left front pocket. Along with your ID, phone, keys and a couple of pens 

 Hopefully, they don’t have a metal detector because explaining why you have knives on your person would probably be difficult. They weren’t large knives, but people tend to get touchy over that sort of thing. It was all for self-defense, you were one of the few that got self-defense classes that included close quarter combat and weapons. All in all, you managed to get out on the road within 45 minutes but knowing your luck today traffic was going to be insane.

 Traffic was insane. What would have normally been an hour drive max took almost an hour and a half. You managed to arrive at the Haunted House event minutes before they close the doors. It was pretty clear you were the last person there, which is either really bad because it's possible everyone is tired or in a hurry to see you out. Or really good and maybe you’d get some extra time with Chris Evans as Captain America. Swoon.

 “You barely made it in time, I was about to close up.”

 “Sorry, traffic was insane. Oh, here is my ticket.” you reply as you show your phone for the electronic ticket to be scanned.

 “Ah, you got the Captain America package. Go ahead, you should be able to get some one-on-one time with Chris Evans.”

 “Great. Thanks.” You replied, shoving your phone in your side pocket.

 As you walk through the doors (thankfully no metal detectors) you start to look around, you can see each room of the Haunted House was carefully constructed for each celebrity and their special characters. You kind of grin as you spot Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes. If you had time you would stop by their rooms as well but for now you wanted to see the man you thought of as your Captain.

 As you get closer to the Captain America room you could feel the anticipation rising, you had been looking forward to this since the first Captain America movie came out. You had always felt connected to Steve Rogers and you had no idea why. So, you resolved to meet Chris Evans and hopefully get over this strange obsession with Captain America. As you walk into the room your eyes widen as you take a look around. 

 It looks like a HYDRA facility that is in the process of being raided by the Avengers. You could see Chris Evans standing alone. He was leaning up against a control panel in his full Captain America gear causing your heart to skip a beat. As you started to walk closer to finally meet him you started to feel woozy. It was as if each step you took was being weighed down and your vision started to blur. As you reach Chris Evans darkness overtakes you.

 Chris Evans' mouth drops open in shock as he watches the girl in black disappear before his eyes just as he took a few steps towards her so he could talk to her. He brings his hands up to rub at his eyes figuring it was just a figment of his imagination. The Halloween spirit messing with his mind. It isn't till the next day when he hears about Y/N Y/L/N missing from the Haunted House charity event from the night before on the news that he started to truly freak out.

 ~~~~~

An Alternate Universe 

The doctor sighed deeply as he watched the last of equipment being set up. They had one shot at this, using a combination of science and magic to accomplish their goals. They are planning to use the magic of the full moon of All Hallows Eve plus the use of The Foster Theory which is portal technology to acquire an incredibly special person. A Mate. More accurately the Mate of Captain America. A Mate, a valuable asset. Once they have the Mate they can truly begin. 

 She would be the perfect undercover asset once they get her to comply. She would be the perfect subject to be brainwashed and secretly embedded within the Avengers. As a bonded Mated pair, they can have quite a bit of control over each other and not just emotionally. The Mate of Captain America under the control of HYDRA can accomplish much in HYDRA's name. First things first they need to bring her here, possibly through time and space. 

 It doesn’t matter from what time or from what country or dimension as long as they get her. They could not fail, they needed her for their plan to work. The doctor gives a self-satisfied smile as the last component is completed. All they have left to do is wait for the moon to be full. Then, they can flip the switch and say the words then she should appear. If she doesn't arrive then they have to wait another year for the perfect conditions to try again. The time has come. 

 The moon was full. The lead Agent walked up to the portal and nodded to the scientist. He started the scientific portion to make the portal and he proceeded to say the words that would focus the portal on the good Captain's Mate. At first the HYDRA scientists watched the alternate dimension taking notes on Subject M's world. Then the lead Agent gave another signal and they fine-tuned the portal to just their future asset. 

 They observed her long enough to realize where she was headed as they spotted him. She was about to meet with the Captain America of their world. They couldn't allow that to happen. They focused the portal again to get in as close as possible. The lead Agent nodded again at another agent. The new Agent prepared to grab Subject M once the portal was close enough. As she got closer to Captain America, they could see her clearly feeling the effects of the portal. 

 Once she was about 5 feet away from Captain America the unknown Agent's hand shot out. It went through the portal and grabbed the girl just as she fainted backwards. She fell back into the portal landing right into the waiting Agent's arms. They succeeded. All their planning and preparing. They succeeded! They brought Captain America's Mate from another dimension. Now all they had to do is prepare for Subject M to wake up so they may begin their good work. 

 Perhaps, she would be cooperative, but it was unlikely that the Mate of Captain America would be willing to follow HYDRA's plans. But with brainwashing much could be accomplished. Y/N woke up completely disoriented and confused with her head pounding. He hands went straight to her pounding head refusing to open her eyes. The last thing she remembered was seeing the handsome face of Chris Evans before nothing. Did she faint? 

 She didn't even get to meet Chris! The thought that perhaps he was still around you caused you to gingerly open your eyes. You winced as you took in the bright lights. Well, it looked as though you were still in the Haunted House. More specifically in the HYDRA base looking room. Which meant Chris Evans could still be there. You couldn't believe you fainted. You stop your rambling thoughts as you finally take note of your surroundings. 

 Your eyes narrow as you finally notice the dozen men and women surrounding you all wearing the HYDRA uniform. You also noticed the hard examination table you were laying on with distaste. What the fuck? You thought.

 "Ah, Subject M. You are awake. Thankfully, the interdimensional travel didn't knock you out for long."

 "Wow, you guys are really playing up the whole HYDRA costume. Also, my name is Y/N, Y/N Y/L/N." You informed him sitting up. You were amused and impressed at their dedication to their costumed personas.

 "Ah, Miss Y/L/N. I have some bad news. We are not playing it up as you so eloquently stated."

 "What?" You asked. You were very confused.

 "You are in fact here because we brought you here."

 "Okay… where exactly is here then?"

 "You are in HYDRA facility 7-5 Alpha but to be more direct you are actually in an alternate universe.

 "In an alternate universe? You are fucking with me, right?"

 "No. I am in fact not fucking with you," the HYDRA goon replied mockingly. 

 He then made a hand gesture to another Agent who started up a machine. A portal opened up. You gasped as the portal proceeded to show you Chris Evans frantically looking around before rubbing his eyes as the Haunted House closed. You could see the clear differences between the Haunted House room and this one. There, you could tell the HYDRA Base's so-called equipment was fake. 

 "Why am I here?" You asked. 

 It was vastly different from where you were now. Everything was real, the equipment, the portal. Everything. You swallowed the lump of fear as you shifted your legs. You moved both of your feet slightly. It was a very natural movement that looked like you were just shifting around or twitching. You noted the feel of the knives that were still in your boots. They didn't pat you down, they just laid you on the examination table.

 "We have brought you here from your universe as you are the Mate of a high-profile target."

 "Mate… what the fuck are you talking about?" You exclaimed.

 "Ah, you must not have Mate's in your world. 

 "No, HYDRA dick face. We do NOT have Mate's in my world."

 "Subject M, you will show some respect, or you will be punished as needed." He growled waiting for acknowledgement at your nod he continued. 

 "What do you know of werewolves?"

 "That they don't exist… They are fictional beings that can typically transform into wolves. They have supernatural strength and healing factors. Depending on the lore they can have special powers. It would be really fascinating except they do NOT exist."

 "In our world, werewolves exist. You Mate is one of the most powerful werewolves in our world and you my darling girl is his mate. His true mate.”

 “His Mate? His true Mate? I don’t understand.”

 "In our world a Mate is precious. Your perfect match in every way. Your mate can influence almost everything about you. You would do anything for your Mate. Mate bonds cannot be broken."

 “How could I possibly be someone’s Mate? I’m not a werewolf.”

 “In your world? No. In ours? Perhaps. Perhaps not." The goon shrugs. 

 "No matter, you are his Mate my dear and we have you. You will be our most valuable asset. Once you are prepared you will be given to your mate then you two will bond and then HYDRA’s plans will begin.”

 "So, who the fuck is my high-profile target of a Mate?" You ask, making sure to bring your hands up to mimic quotations around the word Mate.

 This is fucking bullshit. Sounds like they intend on giving me to some random guy to basically be raped to cement this Mating bond so they can control him through me.

 "Why, you were already on the way to see him in your world. His name is Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America."

 "Captain America?!? Captain America is a werewolf?" You exclaim just as a huge explosion goes off shaking the base. 

 "Sir, the Avengers have infiltrated the base." 

 "Agent 37, take Subject M out of here. Take her to safe house 9-3-5 Charlie. They must not retrieve her."

 "Yes, sir." Agent 37 replied before grabbing your arm to lead you out of the base. His grip was tight as he started to drag you through the halls. You could feel the walls shake with each explosion as they got closer. You don't know much about this world, but you had to escape. You do not want anything to do with the so-called unbreakable Mate bond.

 While you don’t exactly mind the idea of fucking Steve Rogers you had to get back to your world. You doubted he’d ever let you leave. Another explosion rocked the base causing the agent to lose his grip on your arm. You acted fast. You bent down to grab both knives from your boots before lunging forward in one fluid motion stabbing the agent with both knives. The wall behind you exploded giving you a way out straight into a forest. 

 Shoving your knives back into your boots you ran. 

~~~~~

The Avengers

The fight was brutal as HYDRA agents fought in mass doing everything, they could delay the Avengers. After a while Iron man and Captain America made it to the Control Room. Iron Man focused on taking out the HYDRA agents as Captain America was trying to protect the main console. He was still rusty on most modern technology, but they seemed hell bent on trying to destroy this particular equipment. It didn't take long for the final agent to go down.

 "Guys, as soon as you're done clearing the place head towards our position. I'm going to go through their tech and hopefully I'll have some information by the time you're done."

 Steve watches as Tony steps out of the Iron Man suit and starts to work on the slightly mangled console. Steve managed to keep the damage to a minimum when the scientists tried to destroy it, but it still had sustained some damage. Steve kept watch as Tony worked with his shield at the ready. They had cleared most of the base but there could still be HYDRA Agents out there waiting to ambush them. 

 It took Tony a little while to properly hack into the HYDRA network as some of the more sensitive components were destroyed in the struggle. Tony gasps in shock as he reads some of the doctor’s notes and starts to frantically look for the digital recordings that the doctor referenced. He didn’t want to tell Steve what they were up to until he could verify if they managed it or not. IF they managed it, he needs to know what happened to her, to Subject M. 

 “What are we looking at Tony? What were they trying to accomplish?"

 “Steve. You need to look at this.” Tony tells Steve with a note of urgency in his voice. 

 "What is it Tony?“ Steve asked. He then proceeded to put his shield back onto his back harness.

 "Tony, what's going on?" Natasha asked as she walked into the room followed by Clint.

 “From the looks of things, they were trying to bring someone over from what looks like another dimension."

 "Another dimension?" Clint asked.

 "How is that even possible?" Natasha asked.

 "They were using a combination of The Foster Theory and for lack of a better term magic."

 "The use of dimensional energy similar to the Bifrost plus an added magic celestial event…" Thor started.

 "Such as a full moon on All Hallows Eve?" Clint asked.

 "I know not of this All Hallows Eve, but a full moon would suffice as a celestial event." 

 "So, it's possible?" Natasha asked.

 "Yes, it's possible." Thor informed the group.

 "Who were they-" Steve started before shaking his head and continued, "-did they manage it?" 

 "That's what I'm trying to figure out but… Fuck. Looks like they managed it. Fuck."

 "What is it Tony? Did they bring back the Red Skull, Hitler or something?"

 "No. Maybe it's better to watch the surveillance footage as I try to explain."

 "Explain what? Friend Tony." Thor asked as he landed softly in the large room.

 "Before I have you guys look at this surveillance footage Steve you need to know… "

 "Know what? Tony?" Steve asked.

 "Yeah, Tony. You are starting to scare us."

 "Keep in mind she came from another dimension…"

 "Tony cut to the chase, you're stalling." 

 "Steve, looks like they found your mate. Your perfect mate and brought her here from another dimension."

 "What?!?" Everyone exclaimed.

 Steve stood there in shocked silence as he took it in. His Mate. His. Mate. His Mate. He just couldn't believe it. His Mate, who is from another dimension. He had to find her. He needs her. She would complete him. She would be the missing piece. His missing piece. The one thing that is his and his alone. He needed her. He needed the bond. They had to bond. A werewolf without a Mate is a loose cannon, the Mate-bond will stabilize him in every way he needs.

 He couldn’t wait to have her in his arms. To bond. To cover her in his scent and be bathed in her scent. To be inside her, to fill her up. He was going to fuck her until she was covered in nothing but his scent and cum. He couldn’t wait to taste her and have his face covered in her juices. He bets she tastes delicious. He was going to fuck her so hard and so good that she’ll never think of leaving him.

 "Show us the surveillance footage Tony. If they managed to bring her here. Where is she?" Natasha asked. Tony nodded before starting the security footage.

 They all watched silently as the HYDRA soldier adjusted a machine and said some words before a portal opened. Tony made sure to take mental notes of this alternate universe that Steve's mate came from. They needed to know as much as they could especially if she wanted to go back. The HYDRA Agents did some fine tuning of the console causing the picture to change within the portal and a female came within view. 

 They all assumed that she must have been Steve's Mate. Steve's Mate walked into what looked like a Haunted House. The portal was adjusted again and they all silently watched as she walked through several exhibits. Tony found it fascinating as he spotted a few movie characters for their world as well. They all gasped in surprise as they spotted a man that looked exactly like Steve. Right before she was yanked through the portal into their world. 

 They noted her name as they watched the brief conversation between the head HYDRA goon and Miss Y/L/N. As the Goon explained the concept of Mate's they looked at Steve with concern as they realized his Mate had no idea. Werewolves and Mate's do not exist in her world. Which meant she could easily reject him. Once they saw the attack begin a new Agent grabbed Y/N and practically dragged her out of the room. They all looked towards Tony.

 "Is there any more security footage?" Natasha asked.

 "Yes, I tracked her through the halls with Agent 37." Tony replies bringing up the footage. 

 They watch silently as the explosion takes out a wall near them causing Agent 37 to lose Y/N's arm. They gasp in shock as Y/N suddenly reaches down to grab two knives hidden in her boots. Natasha is particularly impressed at the fluid motion Y/N uses as she quickly stabs the goon with both knives. Finally, the wall behind her explodes and she makes her escape before any of the Avengers could rescue her. Self-saving princess for the win.

 “How long ago was this footage?”

 “About 10 minutes.”

 "We need to find her." Clint exclaimed watching Steve. He could tell that Steve was on edge as he kept shifted backwards towards the table his Mate was laying on. 

 He was the only one close enough to hear the low possessive growl Steve released when he saw his Mate walking towards his doppelganger in the security footage. Clint also heard the barely audible whimper Steve released at Y/N confusion and distaste at the concept of Mate's. Now, Steve kept taking deep breaths, holding it before releasing them. If he’s not careful he’ll go into a rut. Once Steve saw Agent 37 grab Y/N’s hand Steve snarled in rage. 

 No one touches his Mate. No one.

 "Mine." Steve growled before bolting. 

 “Shit.”

 "So, who's going after him?" Tony asks the group.

 "Fuck you Stark. An Alpha Werewolf in a rut induced rage after his Mate. No thank you."

 "He can contact us when he's ready for pick up. It's best not to get in his way." Natasha says calmly. 

 "I feel bad for anyone that gets in their way."

 "I don't." Natasha says simply.

 Steve took off at a full sprint down the hall and out towards the crumbling wall his Mate left through using his enhanced senses to follow her. Steve could feel the beginnings of the shift as he lost a bit of his iron tight control, he couldn’t help it. His wolf was very possessive over his Mate. He needed her. He stopped briefly at the body that had his Mate’s scent, he wanted to make sure he was dead and not just incapacitated.

 Thankfully, he was dead. His Mate took care of him. She’s perfect. He needed to get to his Mate. She was his. He was going to kill anyone that tries to get in between them. She is perfect. No one could have her but him. He would make her accept him. She will mate with him. He will make her scream HIS name. He will drown her in pleasure. She will bear his young. She is going to be the most perfect mate. 

~~~~~

Y/N

You ran. You could hear the soldiers behind you, they probably found the Agent you killed. You were sure they were looking for you, they needed you. You stop briefly to catch your breath leaning up against a tree. You can see the moon through the tree line, making you feel weirdly aggressive. You needed to be smart. You can't outrun them forever. They will find you. You could hear them moving through the woods. They were loud, not even trying to be stealthy.

 "Now, now. Miss Y/L/N we know you are close by. You have a very distinctive life signature as you aren't a part of this universe. We can always find you." That just means you have nothing to lose you thought. 

 You heard one of the soldiers as he got closer to your position. You still. You grab one of your knives hiding it in the folds of your pants. As the soldier passes you hesitated, before this night you had never killed anyone before. But you are in a different dimension being hunted by HYDRA and probably the Avengers. With that thought you silently step behind one of the soldiers, walking behind him a few steps completely silent. 

 It was strange, normally you were loud as an elephant in the woods especially in the fall with all the dead leaves. You shake off the lingering thoughts before grabbing your target. One hand went over his mouth the other that had the knife went straight into his neck. He died quickly and silently before you gently put him down. Another strange thing, you were a hell of a lot stronger in this universe. Those HYDRA men especially in all that gear shouldn't be light but they were.

 You shrug off all lingering thoughts of your newfound strength and take out two other HYDRA goons. All in the same manner of sneaking up behind them to kill them silently. You could feel your arms covered in blood. You were getting ready to take out your next goon before you heard screams. You doubled back to the last goon you killed and picked up his screams. You should have done this sooner instead of stalking the men one by one.

 "Captain America is in the woods. I repeat Captain Amer-" You hear before the voice is suddenly cut off with a gurgle. Clearly Captain America found him.

 "Listen up men, the Captain is in play and is looking for his Mate…." 

 "Mine," he growled. 

 The Captain's voice is deep and full of rage that you could clearly hear through the transmission. He interrupted what was sure to be the Commander's rousing speech. It isn't long before you start to hear screams and gunfire echoing all around the woods. You had been killing the HYDRA goons silently as possible to not be detected, Captain America on the other hand was making quite the ruckus.

 It sounded like he was ripping them to shreds with all the noise they made. You look around frantically. There wasn't really any place that you could hide but you needed to find something. If he had heightened senses, he might not be able to find you with all the death and blood in the air. You considered covering yourself in more blood or maybe hiding under a corpse. There were a few of them around. You shuddered in horror. 

 The idea of hiding under a dead body freaked you out too much. Before you can find an adequate hiding spot the screaming suddenly stopped. It was quiet. Too quiet. Eerily quiet. He was coming. There's a very good chance he killed everyone and was coming for you. You started to frantically look around. You need to hide as soon as possible. You dive into some dense bushes burrowing yourself as deep as possible. 

 You suddenly started to hear rustling nearby causing you to freeze in fear while studying your surroundings. It was like he just suddenly just appeared out of the woods. He didn't make a sound. The moon gave you a clear picture of him, of Captain America. He was covered from his head to toes in blood and gore. He must have killed everyone, anyone that got in his way based on the amount of blood on his body.

 "Mate." Steve growled taking off his helmet, dropping it to the floor while he sniffed the air. He knew she was nearby. 

 It was hard due to the amount of blood and gore on his body, but he could smell his Mate faintly. He had lost complete control when he heard the HYDRA Commander threaten his Mate. He shifted partly allowing his claws and fangs to come out before methodically killing each and every HYDRA goon that got in his way. He knew he must have been a sight to her, but he could also smell the blood on her. 

 They both had fresh kills on them. She smelled amazing. It was strange, the fresh blood only made her more tempting. It would be hard not to completely lose control when he finally mates her. As it was, his control was hanging on by a thread. He knew she was nearby, hiding. He took in another deep breath before going still. He found her. 

 You could feel every beat of your heart as it goes faster and faster in fear and slight arousal. You weren't sure why but when you shifted you could feel how wet your panties were. For some reason there was a part of you that enjoyed being stalked and chased. Also, the idea of him killing everyone in his way in order to get to you as soon as possible had you unreasonably wet. Clearly there was something about this universe that had you reacting oddly. 

 "Gotcha." Steve breathed in your ear from behind you. You jumped screaming as he grabbed you. He pulled you out from your hiding spot.

 "Oh my God.” 

 “Mate“ Steve starts to run his blood-soaked face against yours.

 “What are you doing?" You ask weirded out. 

 "Scent marking." Steve states simply before grabbing your blood-soaked hands and rubbing them along his face. You cringe away as you notice his claws, you face showing your distaste.

 "What... What's going on?" You ask before grabbing his face to look him in the eyes noting the fangs. His eyes are blown in lust and need.

 "You are mine. My Mate." Steve simply states before grabbing your face.

 "I'm not your Mate. I'm not even from this world. Or dimension or whatever that HYDRA dick said."

 "You are mine." Is all he says as he rubs his head alongside yours, giving you a blast of his personal scent.

 "Please just let me go." You whimper trying not to breath in, his scent is wonderful. 

 "I can't." Steve simply states as he starts to rub his body against yours. 

 You can feel his erection straining against his tactical pants. You are trying to hold your breath which wasn't exactly easy to do when you wanted to hyperventilate. Every time you breathed in Steve's scent you could feel your head getting cloudy. Your body would start to produce more wetness and you needed to think. This caused you to let out an aggressive growl which Steve instantly answered back with a slight whine at the end.

 "No." 

 Something inside of you, some kind of switch clicked on as you suddenly went from passive to aggressive. You started to fight. Kicking, screaming and hitting every inch of him you can reach. While he tried to restrain you, his arms went around your middle restricting your arms movement. Your hands went down towards where your knives were hidden. Grabbing one knife you flip it in your hand and stab backwards, your range limited due to his hold on you.

 You manage to startle him enough to let you go but not injure him. You use the knife to keep him at bay slashing at him every time he attempted to get close. You see his eyes narrow before he hits your hand hard. This caused you to let go of the knife, it flew away from you both. You had one knife left. 

 You didn't hesitate. You ran.  

~~~~~

Steve and Y/N

You ran. You used up a lot of energy and you had some issues breathing especially when you breathed in Steve’s tantalizing scent. You could feel him running after you, you were amazed that he hadn't caught up with you already. Something about this world has made you more than what you were before. You felt energized, like you could run forever when before you would have died after a half a mile. But you weren't a super soldier.

 “What’s wrong sweetheart? Have I not earned you? Do you know how many people I killed to get to you? To protect you?” Steve asks. He was running right next to you clearly keeping pace with ease.

 "Ahhh!" You screamed coming to a complete stop.

 "Son of a bitch." You started to pant out of breath. God you hated running.

 "Language. Sweetheart."

 “Fuck you. You don’t know me."

 "I know enough, my love. My Mate." Steve tells you before bringing you close, giving you a blast of his personal scent. You try not to breathe in as deep as you wanted. 

 "I. Am. NOT. Your. Mate." You bite out. His scent was clouding your mind.

 "Stop. Saying. THAT." Steve growled. He was getting pissed off at your lack of compliance. You. Were. HIS! 

 Your eyes go wide at his tone. You could see him losing more of himself. His eyes flashed gold and his fangs grew larger. He was starting to lose control. You had to do something. You just didn't know what. Perhaps, it would be better just to humor him. You didn't want him to lose complete control and hurt you. Plus, you still had one knife left, you just had to get close enough if you were going to use it.

 "Sorry, Captain Rogers." You tell him. His demeanor changes instantly.

 "It’s Steve, sweetheart.” Steve practically purrs at you. 

 “Steve. You know I'm from another universe. I don't understand what it means to be someone's Mate.”

 “It's okay sweetheart. I will teach you. Let me show you what it means to be Mates." Steve tells you before gathering you into his arms. 

 He breathed in deeply taking in your scent, holding you gently as you fought not to jerk in his arms. You squirm a bit as he rubs his blood-soaked body up against yours. He seemed very intent on rubbing as much of his bloody body up against yours. His body was firm all over and oh so very hard. It was hard not to marvel at how good he felt against your body. You could feel the blood and gore getting transferred over to your body.

 It was gross. Steve could sense your disgust and resolved to distract you as he needed to get as much of his scent on you as possible. He started with gentle kisses that he rained down over your cheek, jaw, neck moving your hair out of the way as needed. You took in a deep breath as you tried not to moan causing you to take in the full effect of Steve's scent. It was like a drug the more you smelled him the more you wanted to smell him. 

 Fact was, you just wanted him. Period. You didn't stop Steve as he slowly unzipped the leather vest. His scent drugging you into compliance. Steve drops your vest to the ground as he gently bites your neck. You let out a moan so soft that Steve's enhanced hearing barely picked up on it. The sound of your moan caused him to smirk widely into your neck. He was getting to you. Your neck has always been a weakness for you. 

 Steve seemed to be focused on the right side of your neck giving that area lavishing kisses, licks and bites. With his scent in your nose it was hard not to gasp and moan. You did manage to notice that Steve kept going back to a specific area of your neck. It was strange. Steve noticed your attention and decided to distract you with a deep kiss. You gasped as you felt his tongue slide into your mouth. 

 First you pushed at Steve's unyielding body, but it had zero results. Steve refused to move an inch away from your body. Steve grabbed the back of your head keeping it in place as he plundered your mouth. Your hands originally came up to fight him but as he kissed you... Your hands came up and wrapped them around his neck instead. One of your hands grabbed onto his shoulder and the other went straight into his hair. 

 Steve pressed one of his thighs between yours bringing it up to rub against your core inflaming you more. The hand in his hair tightened as you suddenly yanked his head to the right. You momentarily lost complete control and bit his lip hard as you rubbed yourself wantonly against him. Steve let out a loud growl in response before moving his mouth from your lips to your neck. You loudly moaned as his huge hand slid underneath your shirt and under your bra. He gently fondled your breasts, teasing your nipples with the rough pads of his fingers. 

 "My beautiful Mate. I can't wait to taste you. Too feel you. To finally be inside you. You are all mine." The sound of his voice snaps you out of your lust induced trance. You stiffen up in panic, grabbing Steve's hands moving them out of your shirt. 

 "No, please. You need to let me go. I have to go back to my world." Steve growled loudly in displeasure before grabbing you roughly.

 "No. You are MINE. You know you want this. You want me. I am your Mate. We are meant to be together."

 You started to struggle. Steve growled at you in warning before gathering both of your hands into one of his. He then walked backwards until your back was pressed into a tree. Steve rocked his body into yours briefly grinding his pelvis against your hip. You could feel every inch of his rock-hard cock pressing against you. You bit your lip trying not to react. Steve then shifted bringing his thigh up and between your legs pressing right into your pussy hard. 

 "Steve!" You yelped. The friction hit you just right causing you to moan loudly. You were close. 

 Your eyes flashed gold briefly before closing tightly. Steve grinned. He knew what gold eyes could mean but it wasn't a sure thing. Yet. So he proceeded. He needed to make you cum. First will be on his thigh, then on his fingers, then his mouth and finally all over his cock. Then he will claim you. You will be his. He grabbed your rips rocking you onto his thigh. You squirmed when his other hand started to roam down your body. 

 His hand slipped into your pants causing him to growl low and deep as he felt how damp the lace crotch of your panties already was. His eyes flashed gold as his wolf started to battle for control. He needed to claim you soon. Steve rubbed your panties causing you to whimper. He made sure to get his fingers good and wet before taking his hand out of your pants. He brought his fingers up to show you how wet you were.

 “See how much you want me?” Steve asked gently as he let go of your hands cupping your face briefly. 

 He gave you a soft brief kiss before bringing his hand up. Steve put his fingers into his mouth sucking your juices off his fingers. He moaned loudly at your taste. He loved how you tasted just as he knew he would. He couldn't wait to drink your juices straight from the source. He gently grabbed your hips before starting to rock you back and forth on his thigh. You arch your back in pleasure as your back hit the tree hard. 

 You try to rub yourself against him looking for the right angle in order to reach your peak. You needed to cum. You needed it. So bad. Your hands grip Steve's shirt bringing him in closer, you no longer cared about the blood or gore. He wrapped his arms around you bringing you up to his lips giving you a deep probing kiss. Before shoving one of his hands into your hair pulling it just enough. 

 "Steve!" You scream cumming as all over Steve's thigh drenching his pants.

 You felt boneless and lax the orgasm taking the fight out of you. Steve on the other hand didn't waste any time. He took off your under-armor shirt tossing it on to the forest floor. He briefly admired your black lacy bra before his desires overtook him again. His mouth went down to lick the tops of your cleavage before sucking your nipples through the bra. It didn't take long for him to get fed up and literally rip the bra from your body tossing the pieces. 

 You moaned your head falling back into the tree as you felt his mouth and hand move simultaneously. Steve wrapped his lips around your nipple while sliding his hand back into your pants completely bypassing your underwear. Steve moaned against you, as you were so wet and so fucking tight. It was only one finger! He spread your legs a bit before sliding two fingers inside you. His fingers curled up hitting a spot that had you withering.

 "That's it sweetheart. Cum. Cum all over my fingers." Steve demanded as you whimpered. 

 Steve's thumb started to rub your clit while gliding his fingers in and out of your pussy. You screamed as you exploded in pleasure cumming HARD before going limp as your legs failed you. Steve managed to grab you before you fell to the floor. He picked you up gently before moving you to a soft pile of leaves. Steve grabbed the top of your pants before pulling hard. 

 RIIIIIPPPPP

 His super soldier strength made quick work of your pants shredding them. They were shredded in half from the top of your hips to your knees rendering them completely useless. Steve didn't bother to stop to admire your matching black lacy panties before ripping them off. Turning them to scraps. He needed to taste you. NOW. Steve frantically licked and sucked down your body wedging himself in between your legs. 

 “Want to taste you. Wanna taste what’s mine.” He whispered. 

 He lowered his mouth to your pussy and licked a stripe from the bottom of your pussy to your clit. Your body arched up against him in pleasure. Your hands went into Steve's hair as he growled low and deep in your pussy. He loved your taste. Steve moved both his hands to your inner thighs, spreading your pussy lips with his thumbs. He dives right in, licking and sucking at your wetness. 

 "You taste so good baby." Steve murmurs looking up at you. His face was covered in your pussy juice. He dived right back in groaning and growling at your taste. The wet squelching noises were obscene as he tongue fucked you deep. It felt amazing. You were almost there, your orgasm was so close you could practically taste it. 

 "Please…" 

~~~~~

Losing control

"Please, what? Sweetheart. Use your words."

 "Steve, please make me cum."

 "My sweet little Mate wanna cum? Cum all over my mouth sweetheart. Gush all over my face." 

 You shudder, Steve's dirty talk bringing you closer and closer to the edge. Steve held your hips in a vice grip and started lapping at your clit with his tongue. Your hands tightened in Steve's hair pushing his head down and rubbing his face all over your pussy lips when he started to suck your clit. You tensed up as waves and waves of pleasure hit you sending you over the edge. You gushed all over Steve's face covering it with your juices. 

 Steve kept licking and sucking you through your orgasm bringing you down from you high as you pussy started to get sensitive. Steve considered keeping it up and making you cum all over his face again but he needed to be inside you. He needed to feel your tight little pussy wrapped around his cock. You looked at Steve's face covered with your juices and his hair sticking up every which way from you gripping him and grinned. He looked wrecked.

 "Stevie." You shoved your hands back into Steve's hair before pulling. You forcefully brought him back up to face level by his hair. You playfully licked his nose before rubbing your face against his affectionately. 

 Steve grinned. It was clear orgasms were making you more affectionate. It was also bringing out your wolf tendencies as you were currently scent marking him. Steve grabbed your face with both hands before bringing you in for a long and messy kiss. You felt boneless as you kissed him back tasting yourself on him. Steve's right hand started gliding down your body feeling every inch of your curves. 

 As he reached your pussy Steve gently slid two fingers inside you. He started scissoring his fingers to help stretch you out. After a bit Steve pulled his fingers out of you shushing your whine of displeasure. He backed up a little bit going to his tac pants trying to get the stiff material to release him. Finally, he grabbed at the crotch of his tac pants and pulled. He ripped just enough for him to pull his cock free, he didn't bother to take anything else off. 

 "Shit. Wait, Steve. We can't." You tell him as you take a good look at his cock. It was huge and thick. And oh so hard.

 "Can. Must. Mate." Steve grunts out as he strokes his shaft a few times. His control was barely holding on, he didn't want to hurt you by accident. 

 You start to struggle. You didn't know what would happen if you and Steve had full penetration intercourse. For all you knew it could bind you to him forever. Who knew if you could ever be returned to your world? The separation might kill you both, you just didn't know enough. Steve grabbed both your wrists gently pinning them above your head. His other hand went to his cock slowly rubbing it against your soaking slit. 

 "Stop. Steve, you need to stop. We don't know what this will do." 

 "No. Mate. Need." Steve shook his head. He dipped his cock in slightly but never fully sheathed himself just making sure to get his cock good and wet with your juices.

 "Steve, please." You weren't really sure what you were asking for. For him to stop. For him to fuck you. You really didn't know. 

 "Please what, baby?" He wanted you to say it but either way it wasn't going fucking stop him. He needed you.

 "Please, Steve. Fuck me."

 Your thighs shook hard as he reached down to line himself up with your entrance and he began to push in. He sank into you slowly stretching your pussy as he fed you every inch of his cock. Steve brought his mouth down to your neck kissing and licking as much as he could. He never stopped or paused until his hips were finally flush against yours. You felt so full, completely stuffed to the brim.

 "So tight. God, sweetheart. You feel… god never felt…. You were made for me." Steve manages to get out. 

 "I'm going to make you feel so good, my Mate." 

 Steve started slowly at first, almost pulling out completely before gradually pushing back in. You had never felt so full as his cock kept hitting places deep inside you. It felt so amazing. You started to rock your hips back against him. Steve let go of your hands as you wrapped your legs tight around his waist. Steve started to pick up the pace. 

 "That's right my Mate, you are going to cum. You are going to cum all over my rock-hard cock. I'm going to keep fucking you. Then my good girl is going to come for me again… aren't you?"

 "Yes." 

 "Yes, what?"

 "Yes… Steeeevvee…" Within seconds of your answer, your body seized up in a rush of pleasure cumming all over his dick. 

 "I can. Do. This. All. Day." Steve tells you.  Each word being emphasized with a thrust. 

 "Fuck!" You scream cumming again.

 Steve continued to fuck you while you gasped, writhed and moaned, completely mindless beneath him. He continued on and on as you kept feeling that rush of pleasure again and again. You lost count of the amount of orgasms Steve gave you as you just keep cumming and cumming all over Steve's cock. You could feel your body getting ready to tighten around him again as he wrapped his body around yours. 

 "That's it, baby girl. I'm going to cum all inside you."

 "Ste…" You couldn't answer. You were too overwhelmed. You were somewhat aware that his thrusts were coming harder and faster.

 "Are you a good girl? You want me to fill you all up inside?" Steve asked. This caused you to whimper in response as your cunt clenched Steve's cock at the thought.

 "Do you want your Mate's cum all deep inside your well used cunt?" Steve knew he was getting close. He knew he needed to cement the Mating Bond between the two of you.

 "Yes."

 "Yes, what my Mate. Tell me. What do you want?"

 "I want your cum. Please cum inside me."

 "Cum inside you what?"

 "Please cum inside me, Steve. My... Mate." You get out between clenched lips.

 Admitting that you were his Mate caused Steve to lose complete control. He thrusted hard and deep causing you to cum instantly. He needed to cum inside you and make you his. He needed to fill you up with his cum. He needed you to smell of nothing but him. His was going to fill you to the brim over and over again until he impregnated you with his young. He couldn’t wait to see you swell up with his cub. You were his.

 Steve brought his mouth down to your neck as he cried out above you. Licking your Mating gland before biting down his fangs piercing your skin easily. Steve jerked into you hard cumming deep inside you. At the same time, your head instinctively met Steve's neck and bit down. You both felt a jolt of pleasure as the bond snapped into place. This caused you both to orgasm again simultaneously. 

 "Mine." Steve told you. You could feel him. He could feel you as well. 

 "Mine." You agreed. You could feel Steve's feelings and thoughts just as he could feel yours.

 You could feel his reluctance to leave your body and his desire. He could feel your blissed-out state and your confusion as you have no idea what to expect from a Mate bond. Steve reluctantly pulled out the sting of his thick cock leaving your body caused you to wince. You can feel the trickle of cum dripping out of your well used pussy. It was open wide from his thick cock and leaving wet stains on the crotch of what was left of yours and Steve's pants. 

 "Oh, my darling Mate." Steve started to get hard again watching his cum drip obscenely from your well used pussy. He gently pushed his cum back into your pussy causing you to moan. 

 Steve felt the moan go straight to his cock causing him to instantly harden. You could feel he didn't want to waste one precious drop of his cum. Your eyes flashed yellow as you felt the urge to mate again. You wrapped a leg around Steve before rolling your hip. This caused you to flip your positions with you on top. With a show of your newly acquired strength you shoved him down. It was your turn to be in control. 

 "Mine." You tell Steve. Eyes still yellow before raising your hips up.

 "Mate." Steve gasps as you sink onto his cock slowly. 

 Once your hips finally met Steve pelvis you started to ride him frantically. Your hands digging into Steve's chest as you raised your hips up and down. The pleasure consumed you completely. You never noticed your hands. Your hands were slowly started to change from fingers to claws and your mouth started to grow fangs. Steve didn't notice at first as he started to moan and growl underneath you. 

 Once your claws started to pierce his skin did he notice your claws and fangs. He grinned as he healed instantly. Steve took care to watch his own claws as he grabbed your hips. He then planted his feet and started to thrust upwards causing him to slide deeper inside your pussy hitting your cervix with each thrust. It didn't take long for you to cum. You came all over Steve's cock with a scream. 

 "Steve!" You scream that ended in a howl. A howl that Steve instantly answered before cumming deep inside you.

 "Your mine. Forever."

 "Forever." 

 "Happy Halloween baby. I'm never letting you go."

[alpacaparkaseok]

Mine

1. He what now?

Genre: Yoongi x OC

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2.4k

Synopsis: The first time Cara Richie sets foot on the Graham Norton show she’s confronted with questions that have less to do with her upcoming film “Young Rising”, and much more to do with BTS. More specifically with one of their rappers, Suga. Cara is an open supporter and fan of the band, however when Min Yoongi is shipped with the bilingual up-and-coming actress after mentioning her in an interview, things start to get out of hand. Fanart, twitter trends, and stalkers ensue, leaving Cara’s career up to an unknown fate. Then comes the moment the world didn’t even realize it was waiting for: a solo track from Agust D that raises more questions than answers, especially for Cara. 

I would recommend the Graham Norton show to anybody purely based off the quality of their couches. 

 It’s our five minute call when Sebastian Stan, my co-star and annoyingly close friend, shakes me out of my half-asleep daze. 

 “Hey, we’re about to be called up. Ready?” He helps me to sit up, laughing at the state of my hair. No doubt it looks like a bird’s nest. He motions for one of the crew to help me out, a petite makeup artist appearing out of nowhere and touching up my hair.

“Yeah, I’m excited I swear. I just wish I wasn’t so tired.” Sebastian and I rolled in from where we were shooting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo at about ten o’clock this morning. I have yet to recover from the long trip. Unfortunately, our interview was scheduled for tonight, and we stand to begin our course of promoting the movie for the foreseeable future. It’ll still be a few hours before I can crawl into a bed.

“At least it’s only an hour time difference, right?” Sebastian stands me up, instructing me to do some stretching.

“At least we finally have service. I haven’t spoken to my family in three months, they probably think you killed me and left me there in the middle of the jungle.”

One of the perks of our on location shooting was the fact that we only had a couple of satellite phones. No contact with the outside world for nearly three months. I grew way too attached to it, although the one downside was not getting to know how my family and friends were. A lot can happen in three months. I’ve been so rushed to get ready and get over here to the show that I’ve hardly had any time to even glance at my phone besides a cursory text to my group chat with my family letting them know that I’m still alive and back in civilization. 

 “Tempting, but too many witnesses.” Sebastian winks at me, coming to attention when we’re motioned over by one of the staff. Glancing at the TV in the waiting room I can see Graham Norton beginning to introduce us. 

 “Our next guests have just re-entered into civilization, so do excuse them if they’re a little off. Please welcome the dashing Sebastian Stan and lovely Cara Richie!”

Sebastian motions for me to go first, and I jump out into the bright lights. Even though I’ve been on a few shows by now, it never gets old. Granted, I’ve only had one successful blockbuster. Maybe I won’t feel the same once that number starts to climb. 

 I greet Graham before settling down on the couch beside Billie Eilish, the musical guest of the day. I’ve met Billie before, we actually became fast friends. I was invited to a music awards show (I found out that actors are often invited to them for some reason), and we decided to ditch the after party and settle for pizza and a movie instead. 

 “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, glad to know you’re still alive.” Billie mumbles. 

 “Barely,” I whisper back. Sebastian sits down on the other side of me, waving to a few people in the audience. There are a group of girls near the front row that scream even louder when I look their way, and I smile at them. Sebastian sure does have an affect on people.

“Well, well. Glad to see you’ve made it. Didn’t you two just fly in this morning?” Sebastian jumps in to answer. I appreciate him taking the lead, he definitely has a lot more experience than me. 

 “Sure did. I think you’re trying to kill us, Graham.” Graham gasps, every bit the entertaining host. 

 “Now, Cara,” I smile at the man, hopefully masking my exhaustion. I’m a huge fan of him, and I want to leave a good impression. “This is your second major film. How are you feeling with all of the attention you’ve received? Because really, you came out of nowhere.”

I nod, reminding myself not to depend on Sebastian. “That’s true, I kind of did. It’s been amazing though. I think they sent me off to the middle of nowhere so it wouldn’t go to my head.” Graham laughs, the audience joining in. I sit up a little straighter because of it. 

 “That’s probably smart on their part. Really, from what I’ve seen of the previews for this film, it’s called ‘Young Rising’, correct?” We nod. “Right. It looks quite intense. But you two, you two are lovers in this.”

 I shoot Sebastian a look that tells him we are anything but. “Yeah,” I draw out the word. “You could say that.”

“I really don’t know what they were thinking, putting the two of us together.”

“You mean to say that you don’t like each other at all?” Graham asks, feigning concern.

I shake my head. “I loathe him. But he won’t leave me alone, can you believe it?”

Graham nods. “Actually, I can. After all, you were recently named among the ‘most wanted’ stars in the world.”

I look at Billie completely surprised. “I was?” I ask her. She nods, shrugging her shoulders. 

 “Most wanted? That makes me sound like a criminal!”

“Isn’t that the point?” Sebastian taunts. 

 We continue bickering for a while. “I had no idea, but really I have no clue what’s happened over the past three months.”

Graham hums, shuffling through his papers before coming upon what he was looking for. “Really? Well I find that quite interesting, because something happened just last week on this show.” Suddenly the girls up front start screaming again, hardly able to contain themselves. 

I look at Sebastian. “What did you do?” I whisper. He shakes his head at me, mouthing ‘nothing’. 

 “Alright, calm down you three. I haven’t even gotten the chance to tell her yet, you’re going to spoil the surprise!” WIth great effort the girls pipe down. Graham swivels back to me, a mischievous smile on his face. 

“Oh no, what surprise?” I groan. 

Billie pats my knee. “I know what this is about, it’s been all over twitter. This is what I’m thinking of, right?” Billie asks, shooting me a close-lipped smile. 

“All over twitter? I haven’t had a chance to check twitter.” To be honest, I was putting off checking the hot mess that is social media. Three months of peace and quiet have been so nice, I’m clinging to it before I have to dive back in. 

“Last week, we had a very special musical guest. You’re a fan of BTS, aren’t you?”I nod, furrowing my eyebrows. Where is he going with any of this? 

“Yeah, I love them. We were just listening to them in the car, actually.” I gesture between Sebastian and I. Graham studies us like a textbook, nodding along. 

“That’s perfect! They came on the show last week, it was amazing. Wasn’t it?” The audience cheers and claps in response. “We got to have a little chat before they performed. A nice little heart to heart if you will. Somehow, I have no idea how, we got onto the topic of their love lives.”

We all give him a complimentary laugh, knowing full well how they got onto that topic. Any successful interviewer knows their way around questions to make even the most composed celebrity fidget in their seat until they slip up. 

“Oh did you?” Sebastian prompts Graham on. I know him well enough that he’s just wanting to move on at this point. We’re here to talk about our movie, not BTS. Heaven knows they’re famous enough already.

“Yes. You’ve heard of Suga?” I nod. I know who each of the members are, I really do like them a lot. “Well, he said something quite interesting, er, about you.”

My eyebrows flit up. “About me? He knows who I am?”The audience laughs, the girls in the front are practically causing an earthquake with how much jumping around they’re doing. 

“He most certainly does. In fact, when I asked the boys if there was anyone they had their eye on, they all immediately turned to him! It was difficult to get it out of him, to say the least, but I found out that he’s a big fan of yours. And not just from a professional standpoint, if you know what I mean.” Graham winks at me even as my mouth falls open.

Me?

“You’ll have to watch the clip,” Billie says, nudging me. “It’s been all anyone can talk about all week. It’s been so annoying, I see your name everywhere now.” She laughs, and I pull myself together enough to laugh along with her. I look around, reminding myself that I’m on international television, and word will get around quick if I look like a high schooler that just got asked to the prom by her long-time crush.

Even though that’s exactly what I feel like.

The rest of the interview passes in a blur, Graham even going to far as to show me a couple of tweets with the hashtag, #CaraBTS. I’m just relieved there isn’t some weird couple name trending...yet. 

“Oh, look at this one! You’ll love it.” Graham holds his paper up to the light, reading off of it. “‘This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill. Cara and Yoongi are finally happening. I’ve been pushing for this since I found out she went to school in Seoul!’ It would appear this has been a long time coming for some fans. There are others that aren’t quite as excited though, as you can imagine.” 

Shuffling his papers he pulls out another tweet. “Here we are, ‘I’m telling you if Cara Richie lays a single finger on my lil meow meow I’m suing.’ Well isn’t that lovely?”

We finally move on, Sebastian telling a funny story from our time filming in the Congo. I add in whatever tidbits I can, but I remain so focused on looking normal and unbothered by this new information that I nearly miss Billie getting up to sing. It’s during her performance, when the lights are down low and our mics are turned off that Sebastian nudges me, whispering something under his breath. 

He makes it look like he’s pointing something out on stage, “Hey, you alright?”

I nod along, looking for all the world like we’re chatting about the lighting. It’s true that it looks striking, the dark greens and blues cut across the stage, highlighting Billie’s haunting voice. 

“I think I will be. Is this going to be a disaster? Now all anybody will want to talk about is my love life.”

“Which we both know is nonexistent.”

“Exact-hey!” I shove my friend before turning my attention back to the performance. I still can’t quite relax, but I feel a little better. At least I have Sebastian by my side. He certainly knows how to remain low-key when it comes to the press. 

Once the interview ends the three girls at the front squeal until I look at Sebastian who gives me a shrug.

“I don’t think it’s for me,” he gestures to them. “Look at their sign.”

Sneaking a glance over there my eyes widen and I struggle to keep my mouth from hanging open. One of the girls holds up a little poster that I didn’t see before. She probably wasn’t allowed to hold it up during the show because she would block other people’s view. 

There, written in big bold miss that only a blind man could miss it reads:

                Cara x Yoongi nation

Graham notices my attention from where he’s saying goodbye to Billie and makes his way over to me. He gives me a pat on the back. 

“That,” he points out the sign that is now burned into my eyelids. “Is only the beginning, love.”

🌙

By the time Sebastian and I make it back to the hotel where the rest of the cast and director/producers are staying, I want to lock my door and throw something. 

Sebastian told me not to check twitter, but I ignored him. Curiosity did kill the cat, folks. News flash. 

If I wasn’t known before, I certainly am now. Twitter is a mess of supportive fans, those fans who are heartbroken but happy for Suga, and the fans that are out for blood. Like, real blood. I’ve read the words “better watch out” so many times that I can’t help but look over my shoulder every few minutes. 

I do appreciate the fans that claim that only true ARMY will support the boys’ decisions. Nevertheless, I decide to hold off any kind of presence on social media until further notice. A glance at the official BTS twitter shows them doing the same thing, apparently. I’m not sure whether I should be relieved or worried about that.

“I told you not to,” Sebastian chides once we enter the hotel. “Now you’re all depressed.”

“I’m not depressed,” I defend myself. “Just nervous. I’m not sure what this means for my whole acting career. I don’t like knowing that I have no control over it.”

Sebastian wraps an arm around my shoulders as we enter the elevator. “Not to worry, I’m sure the PR team is on it. Stacey is good with these kinds of things. Trust me, I’ve put her through enough near disasters that this will be a piece of cake.”

Sebastian and I share managers, PR reps, and many more things. We’re strange friends, thrown together through a series of random events, but I’m so grateful for him. I would be so lost without all the resources he’s provided me with. 

I give a dry laugh, slumping against my friend as the thought of being so close to a bed only serves to make me more tired. “She’s probably glad that it’s not you for a change.”

“Yeah, probably.”Sebastian bids me goodnight, heading down to his room on the other end of the hall. I can hear our director and a couple of the producers talking, but it’s too muffled to make out much more than their voices. I’m too tired anyways, so I opt to head straight to my room and get into bed before anyone can ask me any questions. I barely make it into my pajamas before I hit the mattress, sighing as I sink into the covers. 

“Ah, finally. Goodnight world,” I mumble, turning to flip my phone on silent. The moment I go to grab my phone, it lights up with a notification. Groaning, I pick it up, squinting at the light. 

“He...he what now?”

Next

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What do you guys think Yoongi did?? 

taglist: @taylorroe3​ @eusticenatalie​

[sweatersexual]

just some black ink on some blue lines (and a shadow you won’t recognize)

Read on AO3

Stan wished he knew what was going through Ford’s mind when he’d packed this box and shoved it in a closet. When they were kids, they’d insisted to their mother on cleaning days that the piles of the stuff in their room were organized, they had a system. Ford probably still had one, but Stan was no longer privy to it. He’d probably be annoyed with Stan for messing it up if - when - he got back.

But if Stan was going to turn this room into a gift shop, this closet would have to be cleared out. So he dug through the motley collection of vinyl records, books, part of a research paper, a jar of molasses, and a Cubic’s Cube, placing most of them in the pile of Ford’s things to be packed away and eventually returned to him. The book on Fifth-Dimensional Calculus, though, that might be helpful with the portal.

Two loose sheets of paper fell out as he flipped through the book. A letter, but not addressed to anyone. Still, Stan had spent enough time bent over that journal to know Ford’s handwriting back to front.

I’ve fallen in love with him, the letter read. I never imagined I could fall in love, let alone with a hog farmer from Tennessee, but he’s brilliant and charming and something electric runs through me every time we touch.

The confirmation that Ford was gay after all these years was hardly a surprise to Stan. He’d suspected Ford’s sexuality for about as long as he’d questioned his own. But Stan could never imagine writing anything so sappy about a guy he himself was into. Stan snorted as he continued reading.

I know you would tease me if I told you this in person. That’s only one of the many, many reasons I can never send this letter. But I feel like I have to tell someone about this or I’ll burst. Anyone else would think I was some kind of pervert. But somehow, I think you would understand.

I know we never talked about this, back when we still talked. We both knew how our father felt about men loving other men . . .

This letter was written to Stan. Ford had wanted to tell someone he was in love, and he had thought of Stan, even though they weren’t talking to each other. Ford must have picked up on Stan being bisexual in some way and known that it would have been safe to come out to him, if circumstances were different.

Well, he’d have been safe from homophobia. Safe from the usual brotherly mockery was a different story.

We both knew how our father felt about men loving other men, and his disapproval hung like a specter over everything we did. I know some psychologists would blame his overbearing nature for my current inclinations . . .

Overbearing nature, yeah, that was putting it lightly. “He’s an asshole,” Stan muttered to himself.

. . . but I can’t help but feel that if an overbearing father makes one queer, there would be a lot more queer people in the world. And psychology is a very inexact science anyway.

Stan had already figured, but it was nice to have someone as smart as Ford say that at least one of the theories people put out about why people weren’t straight was bogus. It didn’t matter why he or Ford loved men, because they weren’t about to change, and they weren’t hurting anybody. The sooner more people realized that, the better.

I’ve given up on analyzing why I feel the way I do about F. The fact that we have so much in common probably has something to do with it, but we didn’t always get along so well. When we first met a few years ago, I found his unique blend of hick and hippie mannerisms very off-putting. He thought me stuffy and intractable. Still, we managed to stand living together long enough to become close friends, and now, something more romantic in nature as well.

A few weeks ago, he insisted we take a break from studying. We drove out to the middle of nowhere and stargazed, something we’ve done several times before. Talking about space excites our imaginations. It has sparked many a conversation about the future, not just our own hopefully bright ones, but that of the world and humanity at large. This time, however, we got on the subject of how grateful we were to have each other in our lives. I’m a loner by nature, as you know, so connecting with anyone as well as I do with F is rare and precious. No sooner were the words out of my mouth than his lips were on mine, and I was reciprocating wholeheartedly.

When the kiss broke, he looked at me questioningly, worried, I think, that either of us would come to our senses and acknowledge the enormity of what we had just done. Instead I simply kissed him back. We’ve shared so many since then, and the close quarters of our dorm have proven too enticing to get schoolwork done without distractions. I’ve had to relocate to the library several times in order to get any real studying done.

That nerd. Of course his main concern about getting a boyfriend was how it would cut into his study time.

Despite how busy we are, we’ve still found time for things like walks around campus or daringly holding hands in the back of a dark movie theater. But mostly we’ve spent an increasing amount of time in each other’s arms back in our dorm. We made love last night. I’ll spare you the details, but I’ll have you know he’s just as considerate and patient in bed as he is anywhere else. Perhaps even more so.

Oh come on. “Considerate and patient?” That’s how you’d describe your waiter, not your lover. Had the sex not been that good? Not that Stan wanted to know the details, Ford had been right about that, but sheesh, Stan expected something more spicy than “considerate and patient.”

I can’t believe I just put that down on paper. Thank goodness you’ll never read this, you’d say I’m such a sap. I can’t help it, I’m in love and the only one I can talk to about it is the object of my affections. And as much as I do love talking to him about us, it would be nice, just for once, for someone else to know how happy I am, and why.

Yeah, Stan had been there before, when he’d dated guys who weren’t out. It sucked, not being able to introduce him to your friends, having to worry about who was watching when you so much as held his hand. So much of what was normal for couples just couldn’t be for you.

But sadly, disappointment is just as much a part of life as love is. You taught me that.

Stan winced. Ford had basically just called him a disappointment. Stan had known their father had felt that way about him, and Ford probably did too, but damn. Seeing it in writing like that still hurt.

Even F may leave me someday. As lovestruck as I am, I can still see the obstacles ahead of us clearly. I try not to let it taint my time with him now, much in the same way I still look back on our childhood fondly, even though it ended so badly.

I still keep that photo of us on the Stan-o-War, you know. F has seen it. He thinks we should talk to each other. I have no idea how I would even start. And sending this letter is still very much out of the question. Ma thinks you moved from the last address you gave her anyway. I would tell you to call her, but that would involve talking to you.

See you never,

Ford

Stan turned the letter over and sighed. Disappointment or not, at least Ford didn’t completely hate him. You didn’t write a letter like that to someone you hated. You didn’t keep a picture to show your boyfriend. You didn’t fondly reminisce on old memories. It sounded like Ford had considered reconciliation as a possibility, but not one he knew how to pursue. Stan could understand that. He had felt the same way.

Stan wondered if he had enough information to look up this F guy. Surely it wouldn’t be hard to track down a Backupsmore alumnus who’d been a hog farmer from Tennessee and had the first initial F. Maybe he was the owner of the smaller sized clothes Stan had found lying around the house, or of the vinyl records that didn’t seem to fit Ford’s music taste. Or maybe Ford had moved on from his college sweetheart and they belonged to someone else.

No, looking up F was a bad idea. Either he’d figure out Stan was impersonating his brother and ruin everything Stan was working for, or he’d believe Stan was Ford and Stan would have to pretend they had romantic history. Neither option was worth the hassle.

Stan ended up keeping the letter down in the basement with his brother’s journal. Whenever Stan reread it, he felt every minute of the decade plus he and Ford had spent growing apart. In another life, could they have shared those moments together? Could they have come out to each other in person? There was a whole relationship as adults they could have had, and maybe it was still a possibility.

Stan just needed to get that portal up and running.

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 8 - Familiar

Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, is it him?, 2.8k

@trevor-wilson-covington​ is the bestie who makes these lovely edits, we stan supportive friends

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Alex sat at his drum set, sticks in hand, and began hitting things at random. Watching the cymbals wobble at dramatic angles every time he made a blow, hearing the crash ring in his ears over and over, making the toms sound da-da-dum in a roll, like his frustration could finally sound out something that fit what he meant to get across. His mom had bought him a punching bag last Christmas in a passive aggressive insistence that he needed a quiet thing to hit if he was going to get things out. Sure, he used it, but only when he actually wanted to work out. He made sure she knew so she couldn’t complain to him about wasting her money on such an expensive gift.

He needed the drums specifically. His thoughts and feelings couldn’t always come out of his mouth, but they were definitely sounds. It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t make them with his own tongue. The only time he’d gotten close was when he and Willie had been screaming over the railing of the observation deck at the Stratosphere a few weeks ago.

Today’s tantrum (and preceding argument) was over school. He was a good student, but the way things were going with Sunset Curve, Alex had little desire to continue. What was another year of subjects he already grasped the concept of when he had no plans to use them? It was a circular conversation at this point, like most things he had with his parents lately. Sometimes he could nod and pretend to just accept whatever they said, but other times they got under his skin. They got in like termites, making anything that was stable inside before feel hollow and weak.

A knock sounded at the door and Alex stilled his cymbals before getting up to answer it. It was his younger sister, Abby.

“You have a phone call,” she told him. Her tone was sassy, but Alex smiled a little at hearing it mirror his own. She was learning. He was proud. Messing up her hair as he moved past her, he went over to the phone and grabbed the receiver.

“Hey, what’s up?” he answered, knowing it could only be one of three people on the other end.

“Hey, man.” It was Bobby. “Luke’s been having a rough day. He won’t say that it’s because Julie is heading out to finish her tour soon, but I’m pretty sure that’s what it’s about. Reggie and I are thinking we take him to the pier; hopefully we can distract him.”

“That’s a perfect idea,” Alex said. “I can meet you at your place in about five minutes.”

“Sweet, dude, see ya.”

They hung up and Alex grabbed his fanny pack, slipping outside without saying a word to anyone. If his parents weren’t used to it by now that was their fault.

Less than an hour later, all the guys were on the boardwalk, surrounded by the many games and rides at Santa Monica. Someone else was busking in the corner they usually occupied, playing a saxophone and they each dropped some change in the tin set out before them. Luke was bouncy and energetic for the most part, but relatively quiet. A few thrill rides would break the silence soon enough, though.

They all walked with their arms around each other’s shoulders, forming a wall that forced anyone else to move around them. Alex had made sure Luke was in the middle, sandwiched between him and Reggie, with Bobby on Reggie’s other side. It didn’t last long, thanks to Alex’s long legs getting them all out of sync, but they still liked doing it. Soon it was just Luke and Reggie, letting Bobby and Alex walk slightly ahead on their own.

“We wanna get something to eat first?” Luke suggested.

“And blow chunks on the rides?” Alex responded. “Kinda not in the mood to pay for my own puke, thank you.”

The look of slight horror on Luke’s face made Bobby laugh.

“Thanks, Alex, for that,” Luke was saying.

“Guys, there’s a short line over here!” Reggie was already heading toward one of the rides, eyes bright with excitement. Alex held out a hand so Bobby could go before him, receiving a head shake of denial before he followed him and pulled Luke along behind. It was a two-seater anyway, and even if Alex weren’t trying to give them a nudge, having Reggie scream in front of him was far better than directly into his ears.

He usually didn’t scream on the rides as much, but he took the opportunity this time. It felt great. Willie had unknowingly given him a gift in that simple act of emptying his lungs into the air. Ride after ride, he wanted to lose his voice to all the things he let out. The safety guards didn’t quite feel like Willie’s hands grabbing onto his jacket, but he wanted to pretend. Among all the realities he kept near his chest, it was alright to imagine he still had Willie there - smiling, giggling, hands open to be held.

He’d had a good amount of time to bang it out once they’d gotten home. Alex broke more sticks that day than he ever had in his life. The main reason he stopped was because Abby came to his room crying, both because she was extremely annoyed and could tell something was wrong. Maybe his parents weren’t much for support, but he was grateful for her. He was also glad she was only nine and was still a huge cuddle bug.

After getting dizzy on rides, Luke was finally at full energy again and had moved them onto games. Alex preferred to watch, but Luke and Bobby were competitive while Reggie cheered for both.

“Is this what it was like in the arcade?” Alex asked, elbowing Reggie as he hollered at Bobby trying to throw a basketball in the net.

“You bet!” Reggie turned with a smile. “We went lo-co.” He enunciated the last word. “You got this Bobby!”

Luke had finished his turn and come up with nothing, so he joined the other two.

“Okay, after this, I’m hungry so I say we get hot dogs,” he told them.

“Yes,” Alex agreed, feeling hungry himself.

Suddenly Reggie began cheering, and they turned to see Bobby celebrating as well as he made a final shot into the hoop. The guy working the booth let him choose from their ridiculously large stuffed animals, and he grabbed a giant puppy. Reggie’s excitement overcame him and once Bobby was facing his direction, Reggie butted his forehead against him, leaving Bobby blinking in confusion. Yikes, Alex thought. They were going to take a long time to sort things out.

Luke guided them all to his favorite hot dog vendor and they all sat at a table that was placed along a wall covered in posters. Alex positioned himself facing away from the table. Sometimes they liked to scout venues they hadn’t tried playing at yet, and it had been a while since they had come to the pier to check the wall. The missing person posters had become more numerous in their corner, which was a sad change. Alex saw one for the Viper Room and nearly had the impulse to cross himself reverently for the sake of Rivers Phoenix. 

He unfortunately spotted a familiar face among the missing person posters. Luke’s parents were still hoping he would come back home. He peeked up at the rest of the guys, all bent over their food too far to pay attention, and decided he didn’t need to say anything. The whole thing with the Pattersons was touchy for all of them, but he knew it wasn’t a good idea to bring it up.

Taking a bite into his own hot dog, Alex looked back up and caught the picture beneath Luke. It was a young boy, aged nine, with dark hair growing over his ears.

William was the only name associated with him, but it listed other things like ‘missing since 1988,’ and ‘last seen in Reno, NV’ and a physical description. Alex furrowed his brow and slowly chewed the rest of his bite as he lifted a hand to pat Reggie on the back.

“Hey, you - you don’t think that’s Willie, do you?” he asked quietly, pointing at the poster. Reggie looked over his shoulder at the kid in the picture. He returned a look of sympathy to Alex.

“Alex,” he said softly. “I know you miss him, buddy, but sometimes a kid is just a random kid. We’ve probably seen his poster every time we’ve been here and just never cared. I hope the little dude’s okay, though.” He glanced back at the picture before facing forward again.

“Yeah,” Alex huffed lightly. “You’re probably right.” He flipped himself around to face the rest of the guys at the table and finish his food, ignoring the pit in his chest.

Julie sat by her mom’s side, holding her hand gently and feeling her breathe as she rested soundly. She was going to hate leaving in the morning, but she only had to finish this leg of the tour and then she could be home. They had made plans together to make scrapbooks about her shows, and she wasn’t going to miss it. Her mom always knew how to motivate her, and she was really grateful for that.

One of the nurses entered the room and gave her a sweet smile. She had kind, squinting eyes and her black hair was tied into a bun that had since loosened up.

“Don’t mind me, I’m just making some checks, doing some cleaning, this and that,” she said.

“I don’t mind at all,” Julie assured her. It was hardly the first time she’d been around while one of the nurses was doing their routines. Something about it had become calming, like it let her know that her mom was in good hands.

“She’s so proud of you,” the woman said among her movements.

Looking up, Julie felt her chest straining to hold the weight that had entered. She couldn’t help but take those words as heavy as they could come.

“I’m sure she tells you, but if you weren’t already making a name for yourself the entire hospital would know who you are by now anyway.”

“She talks a lot, huh?” Julie asked solemnly, a hint of a smile pulling the corners of her mouth.

The nurse raised her eyebrows.

“When she’s having a good day, she’s the best to be around.”

Julie nodded.

“That’s my mom,” she said quietly, smiling.

They both were quiet as the nurse continued about her work.

“Do you have any kids?” Julie asked.

The nurse chuckled.

“Quite a few, actually. I have six. Well, seven, but six at home with me.”

“Wow!” Julie couldn’t imagine handling that big of a family.

“Some of them are older than you, but my youngest is ten now. Most of them just go off and do their own thing or take care of each other.”

“Does the seventh have their own family?”

Pausing, the nurse seemed to blink strangely. She took in a deep breath and then went back to the sheet she had been folding.

“No, unfortunately, we lost him,” she said, the warmth she had spoken with earlier a little more withdrawn.

Julie immediately felt bad for asking, and she seemed to freeze at the tension.

“Don’t be sorry,” the nurse said. “I don’t mean he passed away. We don’t know where he is.”

A horrific realization swept over Julie as she realized there was something more terrifying than the death of a loved one. Not knowing where they were or if they were okay - it sounded like hell. A well of pity deepened inside her heart.

“Has it been a long time?” she asked tentatively.

The nurse nodded.

“It’s hard to let go,” she said, almost sounding like she was changing the subject. “But we all figure out something that helps us carry on.” She straightened with her clipboard in hand at Rose’s bedside.

“What did you find?” Julie asked, genuinely hoping it was a good answer.

The nurse’s eyes glistened as she smiled wistfully.

“Never forgetting,” she said. “But I think you’ve already found something that will help you.”

Julie cocked her head to the side, not understanding what she meant.

“My niece is a big fan, by the way,” the woman said, bowing her head down as she exited the room.

A small noise from her mom made Julie turn to see her eyes slowly opening up.

“Hey, mom,” she said softly, leaning closer to her.

Rose smiled and rubbed her thumb over Julie’s hand.

“Sweetie, hi,” she responded in a raspy voice. “You’re gonna play a mini show for that nurse’s niece, too, aren’t you?”

Julie chuckled. Of course she could overhear them.

“I’m thinking about it,” she told her.

Quietly shutting the front door behind him, Alex surveyed his family’s dark front room before tip-toeing up the stairs to his room. Thank goodness his dad wasn’t reading in the living room this time. He was always guaranteed to be caught when that happened. Once he got to his bedroom he took off his hat and fanny pack and was pulling his hoodie over his head when he heard a small knock. Dammit, he’d be so close.

Opening his door, he looked down to see Abby in her pajamas holding something behind her back.

“Abby, god,” he whispered. “I thought you were gonna be mom.”

She shyly shook her head. Her little blonde braids made small shuffling noises as they barely reached past her shoulders.

“What did you want?” Alex asked her.

“I wanted to show you my picture,” she told him quietly.

Any other night he would’ve sent her back to her room to show him in the morning, but her cuteness was a weapon and Alex was oddly weak tonight.

“Come here,” he said, nodding his head to let her inside. He patted the space beside him on his bed. She grinned as she sat cross-legged and held up the picture.

Alex could definitely identify himself, because she always drew him with his fanny pack on. There was also what appeared to be Luke, Reggie, and Bobby.

“Wait, who’s that?” he asked, pointing to a fifth person in the picture.

“It’s your other friend. I don’t know their name. I heard you talking about them.”

Alex sat back and looked at her, not sure if he was mad about it or not. He tried to be cryptic in his conversations over the phone with the guys, especially if they brought up Willie, so how she picked up on anything was almost impressive.

“Do you not like it?” Abby wondered.

Shaking his head, Alex put his arm around her and squeezed her into his side.

“Abby, this is great!” he assured. “I just didn’t know you paid such good attention.”

“I have good hearing, you know,” she stated proudly. Alex chuckled and gave her a light noogie. “Heeeyy!!” She put up her hands to get him off of her.

“Look at this, though!” he said, pointing to the drawing. “You even got that he has long hair!”

“It’s a boy?” she exclaimed, and then clamped her hand over her mouth. “You have a crush on a boy?”

Alex’s jaw hung open a few seconds too long and immediately felt his body begin to shake and all words were caught in his throat.

“I know what that’s like, Alex,” Abby was saying, in her sassy way. It was enough to reboot his brain.

“Wait, how do you know that? You’re nine!” He looked at her like she was his odd sister again.

Abby simply shrugged.

“Not telling you about it,” was all she said. “And your boy sounds cute.”

The emotion that took over was too good to just be relief. Alex pulled her into a tight hug, seriously trying not to cry. They sat like that for a minute until he got afraid of crushing her.

“You’re a stinker,” he told her, rubbing her back and lightly kissing the top of her head. “But I love you.”

“I love you too, Alex,” she said, voice muffled against his chest.

“Alright, now go to bed, okay?” He let go of her and she hopped off the bed and out the door. Seeing it shut behind her, Alex climbed under the sheets and lay on his back, exhaling sharply. She had been kept out of that conversation long enough, he guessed. It barely even had to be one with her. He let a few tears leak out before aggressively wiping them off his face and turning on his side. Man, did he need some shut-eye.

[august-anon]

Tickletober Day 13 - Wake up!

Fun fact: this is the very first fic I wrote when prepping for tickletober and that's why it's so plot-heavy lol. It's also one of my favorite fics I've written for tickletober, so I hope you guys enjoy it! Also, sorry for the bit of angst lol

Fandom: Gravity Falls

Ship(s): platonic Pines fam

Characters (lee/ler): Lee!Dipper, Lee!Mabel, Ler!Stan (also Ford is here briefly)

Word Count: 1691 words

Summary: Stan may have difficulty recalling anything now, but at least he knows the kids will be a constant.

[ao3 link]

-----------------------------------

Stan sat at the kitchen table, staring down at Mabel’s scrapbook and flipping through pages. He hadn’t been able to stop since she’d given it to him a few days ago, after they all realized how much it had started helping his memory.

The thing was, Stan couldn’t remember much beyond this past summer, and even that was fractured at best. Ford told him stories, of course. Their mom, their dad, their brother. He’d told Stan about the Stan ‘O War, about how they’d always been there for each other, about shenanigans the two of them had gotten into. Stories from Ford’s perspective could only do so much, though. And Stan wasn’t as clueless as Ford thought he was, he could clearly see that Ford was holding a lot back.

Something had happened between the two of them. Possibly multiple somethings. And not good somethings, seeing as Ford wouldn’t crack.

It was disorienting and uncomfortable, to have so much of his life blank. He forgot names, faces, places. He had lapses, even with memories they thought he’d recovered permanently. Sometimes, on bad nights, Stan forgot who he was entirely again, and where he was, and why this strange man that looked like him was trying to tell him to calm down.

He didn’t know why he gave it all up. Stan’s family said, repeatedly, that what he did saved them, all of them. Even people he didn’t know or couldn’t remember. Stan wished that it brought him peace, knowing that, but it never did. He did know, though, that if it came down to it, he would probably make the same choice again in a heartbeat.

No one was hurting those kids, or his brother, ever again. Not if he could help it.

“Stanley?” Someone called from nearby. Stan got the notion that it wasn’t the first time they’d tried to get his attention.

He glanced up, seeing Ford in the doorway to the kitchen. He chuckled, slipping into a nonchalant persona that felt comfortably familiar, even if he hardly remembered it.

“Sorry, lost in thought, I guess,” he said, knocking a fist against his forehead. “Didja need something?”

Ford’s smile was tight around his eyes, like he knew exactly what Stan had been lost in thought about. “No, not at all.”

An awkward silence spread through the room again and an anxious feeling rose up in Stan’s chest. Was he supposed to be remembering something? Was this another routine he forgot, and now he was messing up the steps?

“Why don’t you go wake the kids?” Ford offered, cutting through the silence. “I can make us all breakfast. It’s starting to get late, anyway.”

Stan snorted. “Eight thirty is hardly late, Poindexter,” he said, but he was already rising from the table even as he said it, closing the scrapbook as he went.

Sure, the kids would probably be a bit grumpy. He would too, being woken up so early during a day off, especially in summer, but it gave Stan a task. Something to do that would (hopefully) be hard to mess up, memory or not. 

So Stan dragged himself up the stairs to the attic and quietly pushed open the door to the kids’ room. He sighed when he saw the two of them curled up together in Dipper’s bed. He wasn’t surprised that they were having nightmares. He couldn’t fall asleep either, most nights, but instead of a face or voice haunting him, he had no name to put to his tormentor. Stan didn’t know if that made it easier or harder.

He heard them shuffling around at night when he couldn’t sleep, whispers carrying down through the old wooden house. Never enough for the words to travel, though, just the tone: angry, scared, tired, resigned. These kids acted far too old for their age.

Stan was rather tempted to just leave them and let them sleep. They clearly weren’t sleeping any better than him or Ford, the dark bruises under their eyes only accentuated by the shadows from the window. Really, Stan doubted anyone had been sleeping well, ever since what the town had dubbed “Weirdmaggedon.”

Maybe the kids would benefit from some time outside their realms of nightmares. He could already see Mabel’s face scrunching up in fear.

But how did he wake them? How did one wake an almost-teenager? Shake them? Poke them until they got annoyed enough to open their eyes? Talk really loud until it drew them out of dreamland? None of that seemed like it would lead to very happy children.

Stan sighed again and quietly entered the room, moving to stand next to the bed. Mabel made a distressed sound in her sleep and Stan couldn’t help but let out a sympathetic hum, tucking some of her tangled hair behind her ear. Mabel scrunched up her shoulder weird and a smile briefly tugged at her lips.

Now there was an idea.

Stan may not have had much memory left, but he knew a ticklish kid when he saw them. It felt a little rude to just tickle them right awake, though. Stan figured that would be pretty startling, while coming out of a nightmare. Instead he gently grabbed each of their shoulders and carefully shook them.

“Kids,” Stan said, voice low but not quite a whisper. “Kids, it’s time to wake up.”

Mabel’s face scrunched up, this time in annoyance and not fear. “Grunkle Stan, no,” she moaned, slurring her words in her half-asleep state and rolling over to bury her face in a pillow.

“Too early,” Dipper grumbled, and pulled the blanket over both of their heads.

Stan couldn’t help but chuckle. “Alright, maybe it is a bit early for grumpy pre-teens. But you know who it’s not too early for?”

Twins gasps sounded from under the blanket, and Stan got the distinct feeling that they’d gone through this song and dance before. Well, at least it was reassuring that his personality didn’t seem to have changed much, despite the gaps in memory.

“Grunkle Stan, wait!” Mabel cried, and it already sounded like she was laughing.

“No, no!” Dipper yelled, but his voice was giddy and excited.

“There’s no Grunkle Stan, here,” Stan growled, ripping the blanket off the two of them. “There’s only… the Tickle Monster!”

Dipper and Mabel shrieked as Stan lunged.

Even if Stan himself didn’t remember, it seemed like his fingers did. One hand clawed into Dipper’s stomach, making him squawk and cackle, while the other quickly buried itself up under Mabel’s arm, making her shriek and squeal. Stan couldn’t help but laugh along with the two of them, their laughter being painfully contagious.

“Hey,” Stan said, a goofy grin spreading across his lips. “Did you know, my ex-wife still misses me--”

Dipper and Mabel both groaned through their laughter.

“But her aim is getting better!”

Stan laughed, and he was certain that if the kids weren’t laughing too hard to talk, they would be making the usual assortment of annoyed comments. 

“Wow, kids, I know I’m funny, but I didn’t know my jokes were that good.”

Mabel’s legs had started kicking, trying to propel her away from the tickling fingers, while Dipper seemed to curl in on himself as he snorted and cackled. It was an interesting dichotomy, with them being twins, and reminded Stan a lot of him and Ford when they were younger--

Well well, looks like goofing off did some good for Stan, after all.

But Stan decided that he had plenty of time to focus on that, later. For now, he needed to finish these kids off and get them down to breakfast. Preferably soon, because the realization that Ford could not cook and would likely burn the Shack down had also just hit him.

Stan leaned down, deciding to do his big finish on Dipper first. He pushed Dipper’s legs back down and pulled up his sleep shirt just enough to see his belly. Then, he took a deep breath and blew the biggest raspberry he could in the center of Dipper’s stomach, making sure to shake his head and rub his stubble in on it, and almost breaking to laugh at the near-scream that left Dipper’s lips. He blew a handful of smaller raspberries in a few random places before pulling back and letting Dipper breathe.

Turning toward Mabel, she had already tilted her head back like she knew what to expect. And now that he thought about it, Stan did seem to be getting a weird sense of deja-vu, so maybe this had been routine, before. Stan darted forward to blow a big raspberry against the side of her neck, hoping he didn’t go deaf from her shrill laughter right next to his ear, and blew a handful of smaller raspberries as he moved to the other side of it. There, he blew one last big raspberry before pulling back.

Stan sat on the edge of the bed as the kids caught their breath. They recovered faster than he expected, and Stan suddenly found himself tackled backwards to the bed, the kids laughing as they piled on top of him. Stan laughed, too.

“Good morning, Grunkle Stan!” Mabel yelled, far too loudly for having been asleep just moments before.

“Good morning!” Dipper echoed at a much lower volume.

“Come on,” he said. “We’d better get down to the kitchen before Ford blows the whole place up. I’m sure you two could convince him to step away from the stove long enough for me to make something.”

Dipper and Mabel both gave him incredibly mischievous looks before rushing out of the room without another word. Stan huffed out a breath, watching them go. Then, he quickly rose to follow them. Either his brother was about to get absolutely wrecked by two 12-year-olds, or those kids were about to have quite the round two (six fingers did wonders for tickling skills, based on what was coming back to Stan) and he didn’t want to miss a moment of either scenario.

After all, he knew more than anyone, now, that the memories he made with his family were beyond precious.

[hansolmates]

junhui; you must be magical, because i've fallen under your spell

summary; there was something about gryffindors that unsettled him greatly.

pairing; slytherin!junhui x gryffindor fem!reader 

genre/warnings: hp!au, yule ball!au, fluff!! jun’s a dumb boy

w/c; 2k

a/n; if it were possible to separate the masterpiece that is harry potter and jk rowling, we would. the only jk we stan in jeon jungkook but anyway!! this fic has been sitting in my drive for 3!! years!!! enjoy this belated bday present to our favorite golden bean. enjoy! please share if you like it 

more in the SVT!hogwarts au: vernon, mingyu, jihoon 

“No.”

“C’mon. Just be my partner, it’ll be totally wicked. We’re the best dancers on the team. We can even break heteronormativity if you wanna put it that way.” 

“That’s not the point.” Minghao grumbled, throwing his dirty practice gear over his shoulder. “We told you to find a partner before the next practice. All you’ve done is complain to me about how awful everyone else is. Is there really not one girl or boy in Slytherin that you can partner up with?” 

Junhui’s bark eyes glazed lazily over the pitch, as if there would be random students just lying around during early morning practice. The weather was definitively awful today, with depressingly muted grey clouds and no trace of the sun ever grazing its presence on campus. He rocked his bat back and forth, letting it bounce on his thigh as they exited the field and neared the viaduct. “There really isn’t,” he drolled, looking disinterested, “I hate all of them.” 

“Awh c’mon, you really don’t mean that.”

“Oh, I do. They’re awful.”

“But—”

“No. Please stop trying.” 

Minghao took an abrupt turn at the end of the cobblestoned viaduct, in the team room where most of the members were off to their own devices. Team Hogwarts was doing relatively well in terms of team relationships, so far there were no petty fights over house competition because their school pride against other schools was currently taking precedence. Junhui was being petty, he knew it. But his pride was his mantle, and if that couldn’t hold him together, he might as well crash and burn down the pitch. 

Minghao started to grumble unintelligibly under his breath, ripping off his blazer and shoving it to one side of his training bag. He looked visibly angry, and Junhui could understand that. Being on Team Hogwarts was stressful enough, and having a friend like him who was heatedly intolerable was just icing on the cake. 

“I know someone who can be your partner,” Minghao finally said, looking away, “She can pick up dances quickly. But you gotta promise me you’ll be nice to her.” 

“Me? Nice? I’m the nicest person you could possibly meet.” Junhui replied loftily, giving a lazy smirk as he relaxed against the bench. “I’ll treat her like a princess if she’s as good as a dancer as you claim she is.” 

“Even if she’s a Gryffindor?” 

“Even if she’s a—” his jaw dropped, and he sat straight, his aloof facade shattered just enough for him to sputter out of control. His beater’s bat slipped like butter from his grasp, causing it to echo throughout the room and multiple members to look at the pair strangely. He ignored all of them like a grain of sand. “Seriously? A Gryffindor?”

“I’m a Gryffindor. What are you trying to say?” 

“I’m saying. It’s fine if pretty boy Chwe wants to go prance around with his stuffy bookworm, that’s expected. But when was the last time you saw a Gryffindor and Slytherin kill it on the dancefloor?” 

“I’m taking a Gryffindor,” Jihoon said levelly, looking over them from the side of the bench. His posture was slumped, his hair windswept and his cheeks kissed with a strawberry red from the nippy weather. He was already in his school robes, tucking in the collar of his emerald knit so it would settle nicely. Running a hand through his sandy locks, he brushed up to them, taking no shame into walking into their conversation. 

Jihoon had a tendency to flit in and out whenever he pleased, and for whatever reason people still liked Jihoon, something that irked Junhui incessantly. But he never dared to ask, considering Jihoon’s own brand of confidence was something to be desired. “But I also like this person a lot, I don’t care that she’s a Gryffindor. So just swallow your pride and be lucky that someone is willing to help you out, especially last minute.”

“Well,” Minghao looked away sheepishly, trying to save face, “she hasn’t exactly said yes yet. I haven’t even asked her, but there’s no reason why she wouldn’t say no.” 

“Alright. Hopefully she says yes then.” Junhui finally said, giving Minghao a small smile. He wrapped an arm around his shoulders, giving a firm squeeze. “Thank you.” 

From the corner of his eye, he saw Jihoon give an inkling of a grin, before turning around and walking back. 

“Thank you for giving people a chance.” Minghao replied genuinely, squeezing Junhui’s shoulders once before changing into his own robes. 

Junhui was nervous. He was nervous and shy and worried that this was going to all be messed up and risk getting kicked off the team. Minghao told him once they entered the practice room, the Great Hall, that his partner would be a little late. It was understandable, it was a last minute thing and he could totally fault himself for that. 

He had to play it cool, he had to. He already brought himself thus far, making it onto the team, and playing it off like it was no big deal. But it was work, all of it. Even the little things like this, dancing some five minute routine for the entire campus to see. There was nothing else he could hold onto at this point, everyone else was partnered up in the room (except Mingyu Kim, but no one else seemed to notice since he was never around) and now he was just left to fidget until you showed up. 

“Where’s your partner, Junhui?” Soonyoung walked up to him, all up in his face, and Junhui fought the urge to push the co-captain back. Soonyoung was wearing Muggle athletic wear, the one with the strangely thin fabric and pants that were too loose at the top and fitted at the bottom. What did Soonyoung think they were, a Muggle boy band? “We’re about to start.” 

“Oh well, she's—”

“Here! Sorry I'm late!” your voice echoed throughout the Great Hall, padding down the linoleum like wildfire. You, a young lady in gold and red dropped her things on one of the dining tables, and surprise surprise, you were dressed exactly like Soonyoung. Your body was a blur as you ripped off your robes, revealing a complete and utter lack of clothing that had Junhui’s gaze burn scarlet. Tight black shorts that ribboned across your thighs, and a white athletic t-shirt that had the same silky material as the Gryffindor captain. 

Soonyoung’s face lit up like the morning sun, his face comparable to diamonds as you bounded  up next to him. He made a show of it, putting his thumb and forefinger together as if he were taking a photograph of the pair. “Wait, seriously?” he balked, and Junhui grew annoyed at how delighted the hyper kid was being. “Oh Junhui you have the best partner.” 

Junhui scrunched his nose, uncomfortable that Soonyoung wanted to be all chummy now that he was doing the right thing. Biting the inside of his lip, he turned to you, who offered him a small smile and an outstretch of a hand. 

He blinked. Oh, you’re gorgeous. 

And when he took her hand and gave a firm squeeze in reply, he could’ve sworn he felt you. That strange, red crackling fire that so many of them seemed to emanate like it was the newest trend, but it was all-encompassing and so definitively you, that he hated to admit he was aching for more. “I’m Junhui Wen.” he drawled, tilting his head to meet his cocoa eyes to yours. 

“I know who you are,” you replied immediately, the subtle jab in your tone pinning him to the floor like it was a glass stake. There was an energy in your gaze, the curious light that was making Junhui spellbound. “We have a bunch of classes together. Divination? Alchemy? Muggle Studies?” 

He could only stare at you, struck. His smirk from ten seconds ago descended in a downward spiral, realizing that wow, he had no comeback for that. It was downright a sin not to notice you all this time, and you were rightfully calling him out on it. Points to the Gryffindor, indeed. 

Gryffindor’s always intimidated him, a secret only a select few has picked up on. His parents were good people, always telling him that confidence is key and he should strive to be more like them. So, he tried. He’s cocky, for sure. A little shit? Definitely. But it’s different when righteousness slaps in the face, a reminder that there’s goodness in his heart and a strive to do better. 

Thankfully (the first and last time Junhui would ever be thankful to Soonyoung) practice had already started and you were late. He felt the grip of your small palm, and you smack his hand to your waist. Is it bad how much he thought how perfect it felt? How he wanted to hold you in his arms forever—

“At this rate,” you cut dryly, voice loud enough for only you two to hear, “we’ll be a centerpiece because you’re not moving a damn inch. Merlin, do you need me to lead?” 

“Oh,” it’s only then Junhui realized that his friends were dancing circles around them, and he’s messed up the formation, “sorry.” 

You two finally step into the piece, thankful that Junhui had quick reflexes. To his chagrin, you’re not too bad yourself. Despite the lightning on your tongue, you held yourself with grace, following him across the floor as if you were floating. Soonyoung was right, he did snatch up the best partner. He owes Minghao a barrel of butterbeer. 

“Hey,” you hummed, voice blending wonderfully between the enchanted piano. “Minghao told me a little about you.”

“All good things, I’m hoping.” 

You snorted, tilting your head so it brushed against his robes. “Maybe. Said that Gryffindors make you nervous.” 

He scoffed, “No, that’s not true.” 

“So, I don’t make you nervous?” 

Whether Junhui said yes or no, he knew that both answers would be wrong. He could tell how much you knew, how easy it was to rile him up. Sweat was clinging to his palms, probably hot and sticky against your thin muggle t-shirt that clings deliciously to your waist (he takes it back, he takes it back! Muggle clothing is wonderful.)

“Whatever you’re trying to do,” he murmured, leaning over your form as he lets your body relax in a dip, “it’s not gonna work.”

Instead of entertaining his sudden accusation, you grabbed his robes, pulling him even closer even though the music stopped and people are listening to Soonyoung’s instructions for next class. “Where will you be picking me up?” 

“What?” 

“For the Yule ball. Jihoon is picking his date in front of our common room. You should come too.” 

“Uh,” he completely forgot that having you as a dance partner coincided with the possibility of you being his date for the ball. He had the opportunity to be in your company for one whole night. Terror spiked in his form, because he realized that he couldn’t mess up this chance. “Yeah, I’ll be there.” he says, and you seem satisfied by his definitive answer. 

You’re still playing with the hem of his robes, tracing your fingers along the Slytherin emblem. There’s no snark, no playful banter like you were expecting when Minghao prepared you for this. You’ll have fun with him. 

“I’ll be wearing emerald, so you should think of matching my robes with yours,” and you smirk at him, tilting your head, “good thing I already know how handsome you look in green, Junnie.” 

The last of his resolve crumbled like a piss-poor treacle tart. 

Junhui’s besotted, attracted by your boldness and craving for more of your attention. The rest of your words were hazy, like he was swimming in the Gillyweed lagoon. Something about how he better not freeze up like he did before, otherwise he’d be hexed like the girl in The Red Shoes. Something about how you’re looking forward to seeing him. He’s drowned, unable to form a coherent reply when a friend comes from behind to snatch you up. They forced you to pack up so you’d get first dibs on tonight’s dinner.  

You send him a wink before you’re forced out the door, and all he could do was wave dumbly. 

“Knew you’d like her,” Minghao slid up to Junhui, punching him in the shoulder. The pain didn’t even register as Minghao continues to tease him, going so far as to pinch his golden skin. “Merlin, do you have a crush already?” he giggled, trying to shake the taller one back to reality. 

No, Junhui was bewitched.

[bow-wow-wark-wark]

21. What characters get slept on? Who deserves more love?

I have no idea again.... lol I am not like in every corner of the fandom so I'll say mtc again. I feel like theres not that many mtc stans out there... where are you? Specifically rio and jyuto tho, I feel like most people like samatoki the most... understandable but I feel like all my boys deserve love... oh also the girls, tho I understand why not everyone is super into them lol they have like no content to their name.. it would be hilarious if they had like a chuoh girl hang out or something lol

22. Do you have any HypMic merch? What do you wanna get?

I have 2 posters!!! One is of the anime and the other of like all the charas and stuff.

What wouldnt I want to get lol? I would like to own a manga volume particularly from the tdd or bat/dh manga (or all of them 👀) I would also like to see one of the stage plays or own that live performance cd that came out. Also I'll find it hilarious to own one of their perfume bottles lol I would like to have anything I could get my hands on tbh.

23. About your favorite character -why do you love them?

Sjsjsisk this is going to be long balls again...

Ok so I'll do my favorites that I mentioned bc I dont have only one. So I love hifumi because I love his attitude, at the start i thought he was a little vain bc of the dont stop the party lyrics, and i like vain charas so I liked him on principle but then when it was a bit of a cover up it's like :0 i honestly adore bubbly, silly, loud characthers like him, I like how hes so efficient and positive and cute and like caring or when he gets carried away with things, i like that too, reminds me of myself in a sense. Hes just great and I admire his will power to fight over his fear of women.

Next jyushi, I love how hes like a huge cry baby and gets upset about small stuff, it makes me feel better about myself lol, besides its admirable how he also wants to fight and get stronger!!! How inspiring!! I love his vkey persona it's so cute!!! I love dramatic charas like him and I like how once in the presence of some one he know he just mellows down, its soooo cute!! I really love his normal voice, specially when hes like whining about something.

Next Otome, ok so I know i said jiro before and trust me i love him to death but ill do Otome 1st. Ok so i like how shes so short, and i like how distant she seems from everything, likes shes running the party and yet shes just like sitting... i feel like I like her more of in a story sense than in general characther wise, shes just surprisingly amusing to me like shes hilarious and shes also super pretty so yeah. Lol my love for her could be described by: girl hot and girl you're really weird. I see her under a stethoscope just like how she sees the people participating in the drb.

Ok last jiro!!! I also love his attitude, he's silly and passionate, friendly and a good brother. I like how he's a little "dumb" I find it nice. I like how despite how much he fights with saburo he cares so much for him!! All his songs slap and I really liked the bazillion ichiro references he dropped, I'm glad that his characther is moving on from idolizing him, good work to my boy!!

24. Drop a headcanon for your favorite character.

Hifumi: :0 gender fluid hiumi!! Gender fluid hifumi! He has adhd and ocd, I've also seen a post about how he could be autistic so why not? He likes watching asmr and made a channel himself that doppo watches religiously. He is a verbal stimmer. Less of a headcanon but a prayer but his sister is still alive (think of the wonders it could do for his chara)

Otome: shes a demi girl!! She and Rei fake dated for convenience and it was the worst period of their lifes (I know theres no chance where that would happen but I find it funny) I cant quite pick it but he feels weirdly neurodivergent to me so yeah.

Jyushi: nonbinary jyushi!! Hes also neurodivergent, I also think they're latine!! I think it would be funny if he wasnt that good at speaking spanish tho, lol rip to him.

Jiro: he has adhd, and is a a demiboy. I think it would be funny how now that he is getting over idolizing ichiro he had to come true and be like: ichi-nii I actually dont like this anime you like. Lol testing the BB bonds once more.

25. Do you like any of the side characters?

Mmmm yeah sort off. I like Urumi a bit, like shes an important person to Jiro and I appreciate her help in this recent drama cd, shes also really pretty. Ghhh it annoys me how much of a stereotype she is tho and how they treat her.... so mean.

I like Honobono a bit as well but she also does some things that irk me a bit.. Admittedly considering her crimes against hifumi I thought I would dislike her way more!! it's mainly bc I find her voice nice and her raps always pop off, the lyrics are always nice and she carries herself super well.

After that I dont think theres any other ones.. I havent seen the anime at all but those love alien bitches dont look that bad.

Cutting this again bc boy dont I talk to much, anyways, hopefully I'll be done soon ;)

[starship-squidlet]

Wordgame: Truth - Tryst

(Okay, so I’m not doing these in the order you sent them—I’m doing them in order of which I have an idea for 😂)

I decided to do this one in the Space Pirate AU I’m working on!!! It’s sort of a Newsies/Star Wars crossover, because I was too lazy to do full world-building for a whole galaxy, but all that’s coming from Star Wars is names of places/things/species/etc. Hope that makes sense.

Fandom: Newsies (and sort of Star Wars)

Word count: 1,441

(I’m also tagging @the-cowbi @fifty-for-the-racer @aggressive-bucky-barnes-stan because I know you guys were at least a little interested in the Space Pirate AU/Yo Ho Hero so I thought you might be interested in this!)

.*.*.*.*.*.

“Hey, JoJo! Where ya goin’?” Romeo dropped down from the crossbeam of the mast and cocked his head to the side, ears swiveling, one to face her, one turning towards some noise from the other end of the ship that only he could hear.

JoJo rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Just out,” she said, intentionally vague. She didn’t need anyone knowing her business, least of all Romeo, who quite possibly had the biggest mouth on the ship. “Even I need to get off the ship every now and then.”

“Aw, come on,” he whined. “Tell me the truth.”

“What makes you think that’s not it?” JoJo laughed. She brushed past him, the rainbow crest of feathers that ran from the bridge of her nose to the small of her back rippling. “Tell Spot I’ll be back well before we cast off if he asks.”

“You better be,” Romeo called after her. “He’ll leave without you!”

“Yeah, I know!”

JoJo pulled her hood up as she stepped off the gangplank and onto the crowded platform of the space dock. While the people around her were quite literally of all shapes, sizes, colors, and more, the kaleidoscope of brilliant colors of her feathers tended to draw a few stares. Onotorans weren’t common even in the Outer Rim, and they were currently in the Core. Most people around here had never even heard of her people, planet, or system. She didn’t want to draw unwanted attention.

The spaceport was fairly easy to navigate. She’d been there enough times that she knew her way to her destination. It was a small corner of an overgrown garden, hidden from the paths around it behind curtains of wild ivy and tall hedges in desperate need of a trim. JoJo glanced over her shoulder as she approached the garden. This part of the spaceport wasn’t as busy as the main roads, but, in the name of privacy, she didn’t particularly want to be seen.

When she was certain no-one was watching, she slipped a hand under the ivy and pulled it aside so that she could step in. As her eyes adjusted to the dimmer, green-tinted light, she smiled to herself. She wasn’t the first to arrive.

Sniper grinned as she stood. Her cloak had been pushed back behind her shoulders, her lekku resting against her chest to brush against her stomach. She reached out a hand towards JoJo to help her step up onto the small platform concealed by the ivy. JoJo accepted it, her own lavender skin turning a dull brown in the green light, while Sniper’s yellow skin wore a chartreuse hue. Sniper pulled her up and into a long, tight hug.

They stood there for several minutes before JoJo pulled away just long enough to press a kiss to the other woman’s lips. “Hi,” she giggled, resting her forehead against Sniper’s.

“Hi,” Sniper laughed. “Welcome back. How was the Mid Rim?”

“Boring,” JoJo rolled her eyes. She took a step back and slid her coat down and off, tossing it aside as she revealed the feathers on her forearms and back, all laid flat against her skin, as she was undeniably relaxed for the first time in weeks—since the last time she and Sniper had been able to meet for one of their trysts.

Sniper grinned and unclasped her cloak, tossing it on top of JoJo’s discarded jacket. They settled down on the moss-covered platform, staring up at what little of the sky was visible through the ivy-covered lattice over them. They chatted for a while, side by side, hands clasped. JoJo rested her head against Sniper’s shoulder, smiling at the familiarity of her scent. It was oil and spices and hints of fuel all at once, and they combined to smell like happiness. Like love. Like home. Sniper pulled her hand away and squirmed around to wrap her arm around JoJo’s shoulders, pulling her even closer.

“How much longer do you have?” Sniper murmured.

JoJo sighed and lifted her arm, shaking her wrist to get her timepiece to display. “Ten minutes before Spot starts to get angry. Thirty before he gets really angry.”

Sniper laughed. “Guess I’d better get ready to let you go again.”

JoJo groaned and rolled onto her side, slinging her arm over Sniper’s stomach and burying her face in her shoulder. “Do we have to?” she grumbled, voice muffled.

“Only if you want to keep your job.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“It’s a good job.”

“And I’m good at it. Everyone always needs a good navigator. I can find another job. One that doesn’t take me so far out from the Core.”

Sniper smiled to herself. “And you’d be miserable. You like exploring.”

“I love you.”

“Well, I love you enough to know that we’re both happier with you going out on your adventures. Because otherwise you’re miserable, and then I’m miserable because you’re miserable.”

JoJo laughed and pulled away into a sitting position. “I wouldn’t be miserable. I can’t be miserable with you around.”

Sniper rolled her eyes and sat up, slinging her legs over JoJo’s and pulling her down so that their foreheads rested against each other. “One of these days we’ll settle down together. Just… not yet.”

JoJo smiled and pulled her into another kiss. “Hopefully ‘one of these days’ isn’t too far off.”

“Hopefully.”

A few minutes later, they reluctantly separated and retrieved their outerwear. JoJo pulled on her coat and raised the hood again, while Sniper settled for wrapping her cloak loosely around her shoulders, lifting her lekku out from under it and letting them rest on top of the garment while she fiddled with the clasp. After a moment, JoJo pushed her hands aside and fastened the clasp for her. “Honestly,” she sighed. “A mechanic, and you can’t even get the clasp on your cloak fixed. How do you repair ships?”

Sniper laughed. “Sometimes I don’t even know that myself.”

They walked part of the way together before separating, JoJo for the dock where The Banner was waiting for her, and Sniper for the repair bays where she worked. “Let me know when you’re heading back for the Core,” Sniper whispered, leaning in to press one last kiss to JoJo’s cheek.

“I’ll call as soon as I can,” JoJo promised. “Maybe we’ll go to a big enough spaceport that I can find a holonet terminal.”

Sniper snorted. “Good luck with that.”

JoJo laughed and waved goodbye as they split apart. She took her time walking back to The Banner, even though—or maybe because—she knew it would annoy Spot.

Sure enough, the captain was waiting for her, arms crossed and ears back as he scowled down the gangplank at her. “You’re late.”

JoJo sighed. “Sorry, captain. Won’t happen again.”

Spot barked out a laugh. “Sure. I’ll buy that lie when pigs fly.”

“I’m pretty sure there’s somewhere in the galaxy where they do,” JoJo quipped, slipping past him. “Do we have our heading?”

“We do,” Spot said, falling in step beside her as they headed for the control board. “Coordinates are already set; just waiting for you to plot our course.”

JoJo nodded and took her place behind the navicomputer, running quickly through calculations and dialing the directions into the computer. “Ready when you are, captain!” she called once it was done.

Spot nodded, once, and went through the ignition sequence. The huge, barrel-shaped engines on the sides of the ship roared to life, the third on the keel following suit as they began to lift away from their berth. As they rose, the transparisteel walls that formed their protective atmosphere bubble unfolded and rose, meeting at the top of the mast. The shimmer of the outer shield was only seconds behind the dome, tinging the view with the palest of blues.

Finch, Specs, Romeo, and Skittery were perched in their positions in the rigging, hair and fur and feathers fluttering in the “wind” generated by the moving currents of recycled air that filled the ship with atmosphere. The last three occupants of the ship stood behind JoJo and Spot: Katherine and Charlie, “princess” and “prince”, respectively, of their illustrious father’s semi-legitimate shipping empire, and Davey, their magic-wielding babysitter, for lack of a better term.

“Loose the rigging!” Spot called, and the boys up the masts scurried to follow the order. In seconds, the massive solar sails that collected power for the ship were unfurled, billowing outwards towards the closest source of ultraviolet light.

JoJo smiled to herself. I may not want to admit it, but Sniper’s right. This is where I belong right now. This is where I want to be.

[forgotten-daydreamer]

in defense of Allura

Disclaimer: I do not accept any kind of hatred under this post. I expect all readers to act politely toward those who don’t share their opinion, and I expect you to expose your own ideas respectfully. Toxicity is forbidden on my blog. I don't hate any character, and this is just an analysis. Anything that stimulates a mature debate is welcomed, as long as you do it politely. Thank you!

The time has come. Long enough I’ve dwelled upon the choices that the writers of VLD have made, especially in the last seasons: in this post, I’ll focus on the decisions concerning Princess Allura. 

We were introduced to Allura in the pilot of the show, and it only took a few minutes- should I say doboshes?- to understand her overall personality. The Princess stumbled out of the pod, disoriented and confused, and only an instant later- the time necessary to snap out of her groggy state- she defended herself against a possible threat, being Lance in this case: she physically overwhelmed him with only a few rapid moves, her grip on him steady. Everything about her body language and verbal language screamed “strength”, in the following scenes as well. As she remembered about her father’s death, and about her homeplanet Altea being destroyed, the initial shock faded rather rapidly, and in a few instant she recovered from it. This doesn’t mean that if she hadn’t done it she would have been weak, not at all; it means that Allura, being a leader, knew how to put her feelings aside for a better situation, in order to better focus on the mission at hand.

It’s immediately clear to us that she wasn’t minimally interested in Lance’s advances: she considered him as a teammate, and later as a dear friend, but nothing more than that was  shown in the first seasons. When Lance got badly injured, she didn’t seem too worried- though she immediately jumped into action to secure the perimeter. A couple of episodes later, when Lance exited from the healing pod, she spoke to the teen kindly, relieved that he was alright. Yet, this is not a sign of being in love: all of us would be happy if a friend of ours who was at risk was said to be finally out of the woods. 

Allura was very practical, focused on her mission: she wanted to save the universe at all cost. At the beginning, her continuous arguments with the paladins may have given the impression that she was annoying and too strict, but she was simply driven by passion and desire to prove to everyone, herself included, that she could do the right thing for the universe. Though she never made it explicit, it was obvious that Allura cared about the opinion that the others had about her (even when she simply insisted on thanking the Arusians) because she tried to overcome her own insecurities by making herself as useful as possible to the cause. Even when she “just” flew the Castleship, she always offered her support and ideas to improve training, strategies and team bonding. 

Throughout the seasons, we learnt that Allura had the tendency to blame herself, like when she thought that the Galra were tracking the team through her, for example. Allura also threw herself into battle if it meant saving the others, like when she pushed Shiro out of the way and ended up prisoner, or when she saved the Balmera and risked her own health, pushing herself too far to do the right thing and help the innocents that she couldn’t protect during the 10’000 years of absence. So, according to the evidence we had collected in the first seasons, Allura was selfless and caring, despite everything. 

And then, just when we thought we’d seen it all, Allura became the paladin of the Blue Lion of Voltron (I’ll talk about this event in Lance’s p.o.v. in a different post, don’t worry). She was uncertain at first, but ready to dive head-first into the battle, willing to learn and improve her skills. Being an Altean, she immediately connected with Blue, and everything seemed rather easy; though at the beginning her piloting skills weren’t the best, she learnt in the matter of a single episode, and if you don’t consider it quick learning, then I don’t know what it was. Added to that, Allura was also talented, “progressing a lot faster than any of [the other paladins]”, as Lance said some time later.

When Keith confessed his Galra lineage, her attitude towards him was childish, but it was how someone would have normally reacted in a similar situation. People often have a hard time accepting someone that is unwillingly part of a group whose members caused them any harm; it’s one of the principles of racism, and that’s a synonym of ignorance as well. Human minds work like that, because we all tend to associate trauma with a certain group of people, or day, or any other input: it’s despicable, and sadly most people think like that. Luckily for all the Allura stans (me included, though I stan all the main characters of this show) she overcame this issue quickly. What I like about it was that she didn’t brush it off, but she apologised to Keith in person, evidently mortified for her behaviour, and after that she moved past it, accepting her friend and overcoming their differences happily. Mature people apologise, while childish ones pretend that their mistakes didn’t happen: by making amends for her mistake, Allura showed us just how mature she is for a 18/22 year-old (we do not have an official age, so my guess is as good as yours). 

Things seemed to be going well for her: she learnt how to better manipulate quintessence, she gave Keith space when he needed to find Shiro after his mysterious disappearance, she learnt how to better pilot her Lion and so on and so forth. It was all going well, until Lotor’s arrival: then, it all started to go downhill.

Lance became inexplicably obsessed with her again, and at the same time, Lotor slowly  manipulated Allura. Now, I don’t personally like Lotor since he willingly commits genocide for his own purposes, but I will not dwell further on the topic for it’s not my main discourse now.

Lotor tricked the Princess into believing him, she played into his hands, blinded by love. Mind that when I wrote “love”, my left eyebrow rose impossibly high. In fact, Allura had never shown to be interested in love; surely enough, she was romantically (and sexually, apparently) interested in people as we have witnessed, so the possibility of a love interest wasn’t odd at all. It was just sudden. Too sudden, for my personal opinion. 

The problem I have with Lotura (Lotor x Allura, and I specify because I had to google the ship name) is that it’s based on nothing. The team was wholly against Lotor, except for Shiro who was not himself, quite literally. Allura never gave any impression of trusting people easily: not only when Keith said that he was half Galra, but also when Shiro begged her to trust Ulaz. She was hesitant and not happy about having someone she didn’t trust on board. Thus, her sudden burst of trust toward Lotor was odd, especially when it was quite obvious to most of the audience that the Galra prince was not telling the whole truth. I also wish that we got to see more interactions between Pidge and Allura and Hunk and Allura in s6 and beyond, since they rarely talked anymore despite being on the same team. Even Allura’s interactions with Coran were so diminished in number that they looked like complete strangers in the second half of the series, and it hurt. 

I mark this point as the start of Allura’s downfall: from iconic character to mere love interest, which is not wrong at all per se, but it is when any other trait and development is purposefully ignored and forgotten by the writers “for the sake of the story”.

Thankfully, Allura seemed to recover quickly after Lotor’s betrayal (the scene when she flips him like a coin? Priceless), declaring all of her hatred towards the cruelties he’d committed and how he let her down irreparably. One good thing that Lotor did- and I have to admit that it was good-  was that he made Allura discover new abilities and become stronger, powers-wise speaking. Yet, all of this was secondary to her being a love interest with no other apparent purpose. Why do I say this? Because as soon as she got rid of Lotor, she got together with Lance, and to be honest it’s not quite clear to me how or why. 

I can’t deny that when I watched s1, I was an Allurance shipper; I was sixteen, a hopeless goofball who believed in all the clichés. Now, however, I do realize that Lance’s advances were annoying and obnoxious (and he’s my absolute favourite character, so this shows you just how honest I’m being, hopefully), and that I’m so grateful that Allura didn’t give in. At least, she didn’t do it at the beginning. In the last season, however, she fell in love with Lance in a single episode: when he asked her out, she seemed hesitant and only accepted because Romelle pushed her to give it a try. The dinner sequence was where Allura understood that Lance wasn’t the womanizer she thought he was, but I don’t believe that in reality that would have changed anything. You don’t simply fall in love in one evening only because your date’s family tells you that this person isn’t what they seem; in fact, that would worry me even more, personally, because it would mean that my date is a total stranger.

Lance’s “I love you” was not completely uncalled for, but simply very confusing: he seemed to be over her, but he became jealous when Lotor showed up. I tried so hard to see this as a “protective brother/friend” dynamic, but that sentence leaves no space for speculation (again, I’ll talk about Lance another time). What shocked me was Allura reaction’s to Lance’s confession.

She’d never looked at him with any kind of romantic interest, and even if some scenes may be seen as such (when she resuscitates him. And proceeds to hide it from the team. Yeah, another huge disastrous plotline), it’s undeniable that the Princess had trust-issues, and for a good reason too. That one time that she went against her team’s choice and trusted Lotor a bit too much, she got used and heartbroken. So why was she suddenly so in love with a boy that she’d always treated as nothing more than a good friend? My answer is: bad writing.

If Allura had shown any romantic interest in Lance for at least three consecutive seasons out of eight- to create a deeper connection- I would have taken it without complaining much. If Lotor hadn’t committed genocide and didn’t proceed to use Allura, I would have accepted Lotura too (friendly reminder that I don’t do ship hate unless ships involve rape, pedophilia and incest. So I’m not hating on Allurance and Lotura, though Lotor is a villain and I don’t like him, but that’s just my opinion). If Allura was allowed to be both strong and romantically interested in anyone, I would have taken it. But especially in s8, the writers erased her personality, turning a bright and iconic character into dating material. It wasn't fair to her nor to Lance, honestly.

The last straw was her sacrifice: Allura died to save the universe and since it was her main goal, I’m okay with it, though it hurt as she’s my second favourite character. What I didn’t like about it was that the villains got a happier ending than she did. Lotor, who committed genocide, got to live happily ever after with his parents, a violent conqueror and an abusive hag who ripped the universe apart to be with her son (I get it, mothers love their kids, but this is far too extreme). And furthermore, Lotor didn’t even like his parents, but still for some reason he was happy to be with them again, maybe because at least he got to spend eternity with someone that loves him despite everything. 

Allura, however, died without saying goodbye to Coran, the man who stayed by her side for all their- but also ours- adventures, the one who believed in her the most and who did everything to protect her. She died without getting a last look at the universe she left behind, at the people who weren’t there in her final moments but that cared for her and vice versa (Shay, Romelle, even Krolia. Even the mice, Kalternecker and Cosmo, really). Each character had about a half a minute to say their goodbyes, except for Lance, whose goodbye was the longest but also the least impactful, in my opinion. The writers played too much with the dramatic idea of it and the result was sloppy- as much as I love dramatic scenes, this was purposeless. 

Allura’s last act of kindness- as if saving the whole universe and every existing reality wasn’t enough- was gifting Lance with the Marks of the Chosen. Though, I’m not sure how to interpret it. In a fic I recently wrote, I theorised that “Allura gave you [Lance] these marks because she knew that you had greatness within, and they can actively remind you of it in your darkest moments [...]”. Of course, I’m far from sure that this is the real reason. My question is, was there even a real reason, or did Allura give him the Marks for dramatic purposes? If so, I’m glad that it wasn’t confirmed officially, because at least we get to make our own theories that surely are more satisfying than “we wanted fans to cry more”. Still, I see those marks as scars, and I will talk about it thoroughly in Lance’s analysis. 

In conclusion, I don’t think that Allura was bad at all. I think that, in the end, she was simply badly written, which is entirely different.

s1-s5 Allura was a strong, compassionate, empowering, trustworthy, bright, lovable and fun character and for that, she deserved a better- much better- ending. She’ll always be in my heart, and I hope that future reboots will treat her right. 

I will always remember Allura dearly. As Coran said in the final episode, “Just around this table I see so many lives touched by her actions. For some of us, she was a diplomat, a teacher, a leader, and a friend. But to those of us around this table, she will always be family”. Raising an imaginary glass, I just want to say... “To Allura”.

[a-solitary-marshmallow]

Please Don‘t See Me - Chapter 7

Ford was early to rise, intent on packing for a day of research in the forest. His journal and writing implements went into his backpack along with some mushrooms, in case he had to bribe any gnomes. Sample bags – for taking samples, obviously. Trail mix for Ford and jerky for Rebus. A pocket knife for cutting through any unwanted vegetation. A small case of tools in case any of his equipment needed recalibrating. The equipment itself; most notably, the old metal detector he had converted into a handheld mutation-scanner.

Well, technically it detected a currently-unknown element he’d found traces of in a mutated squirrel’s body, that he suspected was the cause of the mutation. Close enough.

Ford fiddled with the makeshift scanner, checking that it was in working order, before he aimed it at the freezer. After a brief hesitation the machine chirped.

“Yes!” Ford grinned excitedly. And then hesitated. “…perhaps there is a better place to keep specimens.”

Hmm.

Rebus shot him a look across the kitchen that seemed to say, ‘why yes, maybe you shouldn’t be keeping a mutated squirrel corpse in the same freezer you store food in’. Ford huffed.

“Well, for the moment it’s the only place I have where it can be properly preserved. Now come here, I want to test something.”

Rebus trotted forward and Ford lifted his scanner towards the wolf. The scanner remained unresponsive.

“…that’s odd.” Ford had been sure that the wolf’s eccentricities had been the result of the same mutation. If it wasn’t that…

It beeped. Ford studied his scanner curiously.

“The element’s presence is weaker in you than in the squirrel, but that could be due to the level of exposure, or perhaps the amount of time since the exposure. In any case, my hypothesis was correct! You must have come into contact with the source material somehow…” Rebus cocked his head inquisitively. “How should I know? That’s what today’s expedition is for. If it’s not the crystals I may try to retrace your steps before you came here.”

At the last moment Ford pulled on a thick coat to hide from the winter chill. It wasn’t yet snowing but the ground gleamed with frost. He shrugged on his backpack and, armed with his journal in hand, started the trek into the woods.

Rebus padded alongside him – Rebus went everywhere with him. Ford could hardly remember not having the massive, shaggy hound around. Who did he used to talk to while he worked? Himself?

…when he was younger, he used to talk to Stanley.

His brother rarely understood the content but he always listened intently while Ford rambled on about parabolas or string theory or whatever he was studying. Stanley had always seemed to know exactly what Ford needed. He gave his undivided attention even to subjects he found boring, just because Ford loved them. Their parents often thought Ford was annoying but Stan listened and it had been one of Ford’s favourite things to rush to him with whatever exciting new fact he’d learned so they could be excited together. When Ford had gotten self-conscious about stimming in public Stan would blow a raspberry, flap his hands and jump around until Ford couldn’t help but join in too, and he was having so much fun that didn’t much care anymore what others thought.

A bump against Ford’s side brought him back to the present and he stumbled, catching himself on the tree trunk Rebus had just stopped him from walking into face-first.

Ford gave his head a quick shake to clear it, irritated with himself. Why was he thinking about Stanley? He was in the process of making a scientific discovery! There were more important things to think about.

…if this truly was a previously-undiscovered element, would Ford get to name it?

The deeper they walked into the forest the more uneasy Ford’s travelling partner seemed to get. Rebus’s thick fur prickled and he pressed close to Ford’s side, casting wary glances at the forest around them. The anxiousness was infectious. Ford gripped his sensor tightly and rested one hand on the wolf’s back, taking comfort in the contact. Ford didn’t notice anything amiss, but canine senses were notoriously sharper than humans’. Perhaps the crystal formations grew in the territory of another predator; or, perhaps, the griffin flock from earlier had passed through this area. Whatever the reason Rebus remained on-edge through the majority of the hike.

Ford’s apprehension, however, was forgotten the moment the crystals came into view. He picked up his pace and hurried into their midst, chatting to Rebus as he did.

“Now, last time I was here I planned to measure the crystals’ growth, and I made a mark – ah, here! Hmm. They haven’t grown since I last checked, which was… four months ago. My, time does fly. I suppose I can disregard the theory that they have an accelerated growth rate. When we return to the house I must remember to investigate natural crystal formation. There’s still the possibility that their growth rate is slower than the norm!”

Rebus let out a curious-sounding rumble, wariness seemingly sidelined for the moment. It wasn’t a question, but Ford elaborated anyway.

“Ah, you see, investigating the conditions of their formation will allow me to deduce what other places they may exist in.” Ford glanced up at the sky, reassuring himself that the mildly overcast weather had not cleared up since he began this expedition. Fluctuating levels of sunlight would increase the chance of either Ford or Rebus getting caught in a stray size-altering beam.

Ford lifted his sensor and ran it carefully over the nearest crystal, which was a lovely blush colour. There was no reaction so he moved onto the next.

“Now, hopefully my scanner here will pick up traces of that mystery element. Considering it has been present in every creature I’ve known to be affected by the mutation, there is a high chance that it will be present in the source of the mutation.” Ford glanced over his shoulder at Rebus, who seemed torn between watching Ford curiously and glaring at the forest around them. “Hmm, perhaps your presence here might skew the results if you carry traces of it… then again, the element’s presence in you is quite weak, and… aha!”

The last part was a triumphant cry as his sensor beeped. The crystal it had landed on looked very much like its neighbours but for the tiny flecks of some sort of mineral deposit inside its translucent body, peppering the stream of sunlight focused through it with tiny shadows. The grass around this particular crystal grew thicker and more virulent than in the rest of the clearing. Perhaps…

Ford plucked the leaf from a nearby tree and experimentally dropped it into said beam of light. It plopped lightly to the ground and did not grow or shrink as expected. Instead, as he watched, the delicate veins began to swell and bulge.

Ford let out a rush of air. “The light. The minerals in the crystal must be distorting its natural size-altering properties! Don’t you see Rebus, this is most likely the source of the mutated creatures running around Gravity Falls.”

Rebus padded over leaned against Ford’s side, a steady presence. Ford whipped out his journal to start jotting down observations.

“But why only now… the crystal fragments in the grass suggest that one was damaged recently, perhaps a formation that prevented light reaching the deformed crystal. In the wake of its absence the deformed crystal has been exposed to light and thus will affect any creature that walks into its path!” He studied the swollen leaf. “Yes, that would explain the disproportionate physique of affected creatures; and I wonder if it influences their disposition as well, or if the ones I’ve come across were already predisposed to violence. Perhaps the latter, given that you seem to have been affected both physically and mentally and yet are non-aggressive towards humans.”

Rebus let out an offended huff.

“Don’t give me that look. The fact that you seem to have some understanding of what I’m saying to you at all suggests heightened intelligence that I suspect came from this very source.” Ford nodded to himself. “Yes, yes… I’ll definitely have to run some experiments on this. Perhaps I can isolate and identify the mystery mineral. It will be a good excuse to test my new Mass Spectrometer!”

Ford (very carefully) scraped off several samples of the crystal. Drilling into it to extract a fleck of mystery mineral took quite some time. He frowned to himself as he guided a pair of tweezers into the narrow hole, trying to extract one while causing minimal damage to the crystal. Fiddly work indeed. He was glad he’d packed a small hand drill and a facial mask, to avoid breathing in any of the dust.

Rebus let out a distressed whine from behind him.

“Yes, yes, I know. We’ll leave in a second, I just need to collect this sample.” Ford carefully lifted the glinting fleck and dropped it into a plastic bag, quickly folding it up and securing it into his pack to avoid any light shining onto it. He had enough oddities already, thank you very much. He wasn’t looking to be mutated on top of that.

Ford packed up his equipment and shrugged on his pack with a wide grin. Rebus shook himself and padded over to join him as Ford began the walk back. Ford’s mind raced as he walked. With these samples he should be able to run tests and deduce the exact nature of its effect on organic tissue. Hopefully he would be able to reverse-engineer its effects to cure affected creatures. Perhaps he should pull a tarp over the deformed crystal to prevent it from mutating anything else?

Ford was still deep in thought when they broke the thick tree cover and headed through a more sparse area of vegetation. Rebus growling was his first clue that they weren’t alone. His second clue was something growling back.

Ford froze as a low, aggressive huffing filled the air. He turned slowly, shoulders hunched, to catch a glimpse of a big body across the clearing. Big, covered in patchy, shaggy brown fur, disproportionate as it gathered up its huge mass to stomp and woof angrily at the growling wolf. The Rebus of bears, as it was. The hairs on the back of Ford’s neck prickled.

…ah. So that was the reason for Rebus’s wariness.

Ford took a slow step backwards and the bear stomped and whuffed, peeling back its lips to display yellowish teeth. Rebus’s rumbling growl got a little louder. Ford tried to think. Why would a wild bear attack them? Maybe there were cubs nearby, or simply they’d wandered too close into its territory and it felt threatened. Their best bet was to back away slowly, appear small as they edged out of its territory-

Rebus sprang forward.

“No!” Ford yelped but the wolf was already charging for the creature’s throat. The bear hunched its shoulders to protect its vulnerable neck and its teeth snapped shut just shy of Rebus’s leg. The wolf yelped and the bear swung one massive paw and sent him skidding.

Ford yelled, which, in hindsight, may have been a mistake, because the now-enraged bear charged towards him.

[fairyqueenofthedragons]

The Magic Begins

Fablekingdom chapter 2

As I'm following canon set up of chapters, it starts with set up still. I am trying to show a slightly different dynamic between the siblings, while keeping the spirit of it. There will be bigger changes later on, but obviously the beginning is hard to change majorly, especially just arriving lol.

(Find Chapter One with a server of “Fk ch 1)

Hope you enjoy the chapter :D

Come chat with me on discord: https://discord.gg/8Vc6w9JWxv

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Kendra had been sitting in the car for hours.

She and Seth had done just about everything they could think of to handle the boredom, but she’d finished her two books, they’d played a dozen rounds of tic-tac-toe, and he’d moved onto trying to beat her at chopsticks (that game with your fingers). Seth had had a few comics, but he’d gone through them faster then she had her books. Even his handheld video game couldn’t hold his attention anymore.

“I thought you said that Grandpa Sorenson lived in Connecticut, not India,” Seth grumbled.

Mom sighed, having listened to Seth’s complaints for the last hour, “It won’t be much longer. Enjoy the scenery.”

She’d said that the last six times.

“It’s boring! I’m hungry, can we stop for food?”

Kendra was on Seth’s side here; the scenery was boring.

Mom pulled up the grocery bag full of snacks, “How about some Peanut butter and crackers instead?”

Seth shot Kendra a pained look but reached for the crackers regardless.

“Ooh, I want some Almond Roca,” Dad said without taking his eyes from the road.

He’s still managed to keep to his New Year’s resolution of keeping Almond Roca on hand at all times.

“Do you want anything Kendra?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Kendra turned her gaze outside as Seth munched on his snack. When was this drive going to be over? At least Grandfathers house can’t be as boring as this drive.

Honestly, Kendra wasn’t happy they were being sent off to stay with their grandparents just because of some cruise. She wished her family would just let them come with… or maybe just her, Seth might be too young (and too annoying).

They would be gone for seventeen days! Kendra couldn’t believe they’d just leave them like this.

They’re getting it for free, them and all the aunts and uncles on her mom’s side. They didn’t win a contest or anything to get it, they got the cruise because Kendra’s grandparents had asphyxiated.

Grandma and Grandpa Larsen had been visiting relatives in South Carolina. Unfortunately, the trailer they lived in had some gas leak and they’d all died in their sleep. The grandparents had specified a long time ago that when they died all their kids and spouses were to use an allocated sum of money to go on a Scandinavian cruise.

Grandchildren were not invited.

“We’re almost there kids!” Kendra’s dad said cheerfully.

“Yay,” Seth grumbled. “Then you guys can abandon us for your fancy cruise.”

“Won’t you get bored stuck on a boat for seventeen days?” Kendra asked hopefully.

Dad caught her eye in the rearview mirror. “The food is supposed to be incredible, top reviews. Snails, fish eggs, the works. It’s gonna be great.”

Mom wacked his arm.

“We’re not all that excited about the trip kids,” Mom said sadly. “I doubt your grandparents envisioned an accidental death when they made the request. The cruise is to honor their memory more than for fun.”

“What kind of death did they plan then?” Seth muttered.

Kendra couldn’t help but agree, who planned their death?

The ship stops in ports as you go,” Dad said, deliberately redirecting the conversation. “You get to disembark for part of the time.”

“Are you at least going to get us something?” Kendra asked. “If you’re just going to leave us at your parent’s house.”

“Of course we will dear,” Mom reassured. “We’ll get you some chocolates, maybe some books, maybe there will be cool jewelry!”

“I want a sword,” Seth said. “A sharp one.”

“I think it’s great for you kids that you get to stay with my parents,” Dad added. “I mean, they never invite anyone to stay with them. It’s definitely better than some cruise.”

Kendra shared a look with Seth, their parents were full of it.

“They’re hermits,” Seth argued. “We barely know them!”

“They’re my parents,” Dad said. “I survived, you’ll have fun.”

The car passed through a small town, only a few buildings lined the road, many seeming old a run down. There didn’t appear to be anything more interesting than a small library at the corner.

“It’s very exciting,” Dad continued. “Like I said, they never invite anyone. You’ll have a blast.”

Kendra tried hard not to roll her eyes. She knew for a fact that they hadn’t been invited. Kendra had overheard their mom when she approached Grandpa Sorenson about letting the kids stay with him at the funeral.

The funeral itself hadn’t been fun at all, it was creepy seeing her grandparents all dressed up fancy with lots of makeup. It didn’t look like them at all.

Those grandparents, the Larsen’s, they were the ones that they’d known. They’d come to lots of holidays and done many long visits with Kendra’s family. But Kendra couldn’t remember seeing the Sorenson’s much since Seth had started second grade.

Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson had inherited an estate in Connecticut around the time her parents were married. All the stories she’d heard were fantastical, filled with fairies and demons and witches. They were obviously fake, it made her think the place was something very boring.

Honestly, everyone was shocked when grandpa Sorenson had shown up at the funeral. It’d been more than eighteen months since either grandparent had visited anywhere.

He’d apologized that Grandma Ruth hadn’t been able to come, she’d fallen ill, but it really was the norm for only one to show up.

But at the end Kendra had overheard Mom talking to Grandpa Sorenson, cajoling him into watching her and Seth. She’d been heading to the bathroom but paused when she’d overheard them at the corner.

“Why can’t they stay with Marci?”

“Normally they would, but Marci is coming on the cruise.”

Kendra had risked a peek and seen Grandpa Sorenson standing across from her mom.

“Where are Marci’s kids going?”

“To her in-laws.”

“What about a baby-sitter?”

Grandpa had seemed almost pleading then, his expression tight.

“Two and a half weeks is a long time for a sitter. You’ve mentioned before something about having them over…”

“Yes, I do recall… But does it have to be late June? What about July?”

“The cruise is on a time frame. What’s the difference?”

He’d rubbed his face with a sigh.

“Things are extra busy then… I don’t know, Marla. I’m not that good with kids. Is there no where else they could go?”

“I’m sorry Stan,” Mom said, sounding on the verge of tears. “I know things are busy for you, and I don’t want to go on this cruise. You did so good with them when they were younger, I know you don’t see them often but… This cruise was important to my parents, so I want to go for them. If you can’t take care of the kids we can stay behind-“

“No,” Grandpa Sorenson interrupted with a sigh. “It’s fine. I’m sure we can find some place to lock them up.”

So, no, Grandpa Sorenson did not invite them.

Seth finished his crackers and pulled his game back out, flipping through the cartridges.

“Which game should I play?”

Kendra leaned over, “The fashion one.”

He rolled his eyes, “That one is just for character design.”

“Then make an elf.”

“I don’t want to!”

“You asked which you should do.”

“Nevermind, your suggestion is dumb.”

Seth ended up picking a fighting game and started it up.

Kendra got bored of watching quickly and turned to look out the windows. The trees were large and dark, little light slipping through the branches.

She jolted when they turned onto a gravel driveway.

“Look at that sign,” Seth said.

She followed his finger to see signs hanging on the side of the road.

Private Property

No Trespassing

Trespassers Will Be Persecuted

Please respect our privacy

“What are all these signs?” Kendra muttered.

“Oh, you know Grandpa Sorenson,” her dad said cheerfully. “Such a sense of humor.”

“I think they’re funny,” Seth declared. “Can we get some for our house?”

Kendra frowned at them as the car continued up the long driveway, no house anywhere in sight.

There were more signs as they went.

Beware of the Dog

We do not call 911

Beware of .12 Gauge

No Public Access at any Time

Owner Shoots

Kendra leaned back. This seems so… pleasant.

“I like that one,” Seth said pointing at the Owner Shoots sign.

Kendra shook her head as they finally reached the end of the driveway. Before them was a wrought-iron fence topped with fleurs-de-lis. Open in their path was a large double gate. She peered around but couldn’t see the end of the fence through the trees.

Even after passing through the gates there was still no sign of the house through the trees, until suddenly the trees cut off.

A large house came into view suddenly. It wasn’t quite a mansion, but was definitely larger than most houses Kendra had seen.

It was constructed out of dark wood and stone, old looking but solid and in good shape. The grounds around it were much more impressive though. There was a massive flower garden blooming in front of the house, with manicured hedges and a fish pond. It seemed to wrap around the side of the house too. Kendra wondered what flowers there were, and if there was a vegetable garden as well.

Further back Kendra could see a massive barn, at least five stories tall and topped with a large weather vane that she couldn’t quite make out but seemed shaped like an animal, but not a rooster.

“Oh, it’s lovely,” Mom said. “I wish we were all staying.”

Kendra blinked, “You’ve never been here?”

“No,” Mom said sadly. “Your father came here a few times before we were married.”

Dad nodded, “Yeah. There are some wild stories about this place, haha, I’ve told you a few of them.”

Seth yawned, “Yeah, like the evil witch in a shack.”

“Or the demon in the chapel.”

“Aren’t there trolls over one hill?”

Their dad laughed, “Yeah, my dad used to tell some wild stories. You should hear the ones Aunt Sophie would tell sometimes. She swears she met satyrs one time.”

The two shared an exasperated look.

“Anyways, you’ll have a blast. We never stayed long, but it was always entertaining. Worst comes to worst you can just hang out in the pool.”

Kendra rolled her eyes. Honestly, they were too old to believe all those fairy tales.

The car pulled to a stop just outside the garage as the front door open.

Grandpa Sorenson stepped out, followed by a tall, lanky man and a thin, older woman. Mom, Dad, Seth, and Kendra hopped out of the car.

The older woman was unfamiliar to Kendra, and so was the man. The woman had white hair streaked with black strands, and yet her face seemed ageless, her age impossible to place. Her skin was a tawny olive tone that appeared completely flawless, her black hair was pin-straight and framed her face.

The man had messy brown hair to go with matching brown eyes that studied them intently. He came over to the van, helping Dad open the back and begin removing suitcases.

“Just place the things inside,” Grandpa told Dad. “Dale will take them up to the bedroom.”

“Where’s Mom?” Dad asked looking around.

“She’s visiting your Aunt Edna.”

Dad looked surprised. “In Missouri?”

“Edna’s dying,” Grandpa said grimly.

Kendra had barely heard of Aunt Edna, and never met her, so she wasn’t that affected by it. Dad seemed upset thought.

She shifted awkwardly, studying the house to distract herself from their conversation.

The windows were cool, with bubbly glass. And there were bird nests under the eaves. She also noticed a lot of butterflies fluttering around.

Mom suddenly drew their attention and Seth and her scrambled to gather their things from the car and shove it all in their backpacks to bring in.

“I’ll grab the pillows if you grab the blankets?” Seth offered.

“Sure,” Kendra agreed, reaching for the blanket Seth had brought for napping on the car ride while he snagged her pillow.

Seth also snagged his ‘emergency kit’, a cereal box filled with odds and ends he thought would come in handy.

The two hurried after their parents, reaching them at the front door.

“Oh, there you are,” Mom said. “Got everything?”

“Yeah,” Seth huffed. “Except a ticket to go on the cruise.”

Mom sighed, ruffling Seth’s hair. “We’ll miss you too.”

He groaned, swiping at her hand as she turned to Kendra.

“Watch out for your brother, and both of you stay out of trouble, okay?”

Kendra nodded, “We’ll do our best.”

“So who’s this?” Dad was asking Grandpa.

“This is Lena, our housekeeper,” Grandpa said. “She helps around the house while Dale helps me tend to the grounds.”

“Nice to meet you,” Dad said.

“A pleasure,” Lena agreed with a soft accent. Kendra couldn’t quite place it, yet it reminded her of the ocean.

Lena opened the door, beckoning them inside.

“Oh, the home is beautiful,” Mom said. “I wish we had time for a tour.”

“Maybe when you get back,” Grandpa offered.

Kendra looked around. The house really was beautiful.

The glossy wood floors shone in the light and a low table in the entry hall held a beautifully painted ceramic vase with wilting flowers placed in it. There was a tall, brass coatrack off to one side beside a black bench with a high, carved back. It looked old and very interesting.

“Thank you again for letting the kids stay with you,” Dad said. “I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.”

Grandpa nodded, looking a bit awkward.

“It’s our pleasure.”

“I wish we could visit some,” Dad said. “But we’re on a really tight schedule.”

Grandpa pat his shoulder, “I understand, another time. Don’t let us keep you from your trip.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

Dad turned to Kendra and Seth, ruffling Seth’s hair.

“Have fun kids, we’ll be back before you know it.”

“Be good,” Mom said, hugging Kendra then Seth. “Do whatever Grandpa Sorenson tells you.”

Kendra sniffed, tears welling up. She swallowed hard and nodded, “Have a fun cruise.”

“Bring us back souvenirs,” Seth reminded.

Mom laughed, “The best ones.”

“We love you kids,” Dad said as he headed to the door.

Mom hugged them both one last time then went after him.

Kendra hurried after them, watching as they climbed into the SUV and start it up. Dad honked the horn as he pulled out, turning around and driving away. Kendra watched until the SUV vanished into the trees.

She tried not to think that her parents were probably relieved to be off without Seth and her. They were probably delighted for the vacation, not caring that they’d abandoned their two kids alone in a pretty, but creepy home with a grandparent they barely know.

Seth was poking around the entrance room, poking at one of the cabinets and picking up one of the intricate pieces of a decorative chess set.

Grandpa stood awkwardly, watching Seth and wincing when Seth put down a piece too hard.

“Leave the chess pieces alone,” Kendra told Seth. “They look expensive and breakable.”

“It’s fine,” Grandpa said, looking relieved when Seth put them down. He cleared his throat, “Shall I show you to your room?”

“Okay,” Seth said. “When’s lunch?”

Grandpa coughed, “It’s a bit past lunch but we can make you a snack to hold you till dinner.”

Seth nodded eagerly, “I’m starving.”

Kendra followed silently as Grandpa went up the stairs and down a carpeted hall to the foot of a narrow wooden staircase leading up to a white door.

“We don’t often have guests, especially children,” Grandpa explained. “I think you’ll be the most comfortable in the attic.”

Kendra was expecting something dark and musty, like the attic back home, but when he opened the door she saw it was actually very nice.

It was set up like a cheerful playroom. Spacious, clean, and bright, the long room had two beds at the far end, one wall covered in bookshelves and a couple of dressers, and the other held two wardrobes and some toy chests. There was a unicorn rocking horse sitting to the side, and a full dollhouse in one corner with a small piano in the other. Sitting beside of one of the dressers was a hen in a cage.

Seth went straight for the chicken. “Cool!” He poked a finger through the slender bars, trying to pet the soft looking feathers.

“Be careful, Seth,” Kendra warned. “Be gentle.”

“He’ll be fine,” Grandpa soothed. “Goldilocks is more a house pet than a barnyard hen. Your grandmother usually takes care of her, but since she’s gone I thought you kids might enjoy taking care of her for now. You’ll need to feed her, clean her cage, and collect her eggs.”

Seth looked delighted, “She lays eggs?”

“An egg or two a day if you keep her well fed,” Grandpa confirmed, motioning to a white plastic bucket full of kernels. “One scoop in the morning and in the evening should be good. I’ll show you how to change the lining of her cage in a few days. Make sure she has plenty of water and a tiny bowl of milk each morning.”

“Milk?”

He smiled mysteriously, “That’s the secret behind the eggs.”

“Can we take her out?” Seth asked, now stroking her feathers.

“Be gentle,” Grandpa said. “And put her back after.”

“Is it okay for us to play with the toys?” Kendra asked, studying the dollhouse. “Some of these look expensive.”

“Toys should be played with,” Grandpa said. “Just try to take care of them and that will be enough.”

“Awesome,” Seth said, going over to the piano and banging on the keys.

Kendra blinked, the notes sounded different than a piano. She couldn’t quite place what was off.

“While you stay here, this room is your space,” Grandpa said. “Within reason of course. I won’t pick up this space, nor bother you about it, as long as you treat the rest of the house with respect.”

“Alright,” Kendra agreed.

“Sounds good,” Seth nodded.

“I also have some unfortunate news. We’re in the height of tick season, have you heard of Lyme disease?”

Seth shook his head, but Kendra considered for a moment.

“I think so, but I can’t remember what it is.”

“It was originally discovered in the town of Lyme, Connecticut, not too far from here. You can catch it from tick bites, and during tick season the woods here are full of ticks.”

“What’s it do?” Seth asked.

“It starts out as a rash,” Grandpa said. “But it leads to arthritis, paralysis, and heart failure. And on top of that, ticks in general are bad to have. If you try to pull them off the heads detach, makes them hard to remove.”

“Gross,” Kendra muttered.

Grandpa nodded, “They’re very small and hard to see, at least until they fill up on blood, then they get as large as grapes.”

“Wow,” Seth said. “Can’t you just use bug spray?”

Grandpa nodded, “That can help, but isn’t a guarantee. The point is, you kids aren’t allowed to go into the woods. Stay on the lawn, play in the pool, explore the gardens, but stay away from the woods. I won’t be taking you to the hospital for Lyme disease.”

They both nodded.

“Good. As long as you follow that rule it’ll be fine. Break it and I’ll have to take away your outdoor privileges for your own safety.”

Seth winced, “Right, got it.”

“We understand,” Kendra assured him.

Grandpa nodded again, looking satisfied.

“One last thing,” he continued. “You’ll also need to stay out of the barn. There’s a lot of old tools and ladders and rusty pieces of farm equipment. I don’t want to risk you getting injured or getting tetanus.”

“Okay,” Seth agreed easily.

“Sounds reasonable,” Kendra said.

“Is there a TV?” Seth asked, poking at a canvas on an easel by one of the toy chests.

“No TV, or radio. We don’t get good reception out here, and it’s very expensive to run lines out.”

“When’s dinner?”

“In a few hours, Lena will be bringing up a snack for you soon. On that note, if you need anything, go to Lena. I’m very busy handling the upkeep of the property, so Lena will help with whatever you need.” He motioned to a purple cord hanging against the wall near one of the beds. “Tug the cord if you need her.”

“Alright, will we eat in one of the dining rooms?”

Grandpa nodded, “When I’m able to join you yes. On the days I’m too busy, like today, you can eat in here, in the kitchen, or anywhere else in the house. As long as you keep everything relatively clean you’re free to eat where you’re comfortable.”

“Wow,” said Seth. “Mom and Dad never let us eat in our rooms!”

Grandpa’s lips twitched, “Well, if it seems you can’t clean up after yourselves I may put a limit on it. But for now, you’re free to eat where you please.”

“Awesome,” Seth muttered.

Kendra’s smiled, that did sound nice.

“Now then, I need to go and complete my chores. I’ll likely not see you again till tomorrow.” He turned to leave but paused, pulling out a tiny key ring from his coat pocket. “Each of these keys fit something in this room. See if you can figure out what each unlocks.”

Kendra accepted the keyring curiously and Grandpa headed out, shutting the door gently behind him.

Seth had opened a toy chest now and was examining the contents. The toys were old-fashioned but in excellent condition. Soldiers, dolls, puzzles, stuffed animals, wooden blocks, some blocks shaped like logs, and others.

Kendra went to the window, a telescope put before it. She tried to peer through the eyepiece but couldn’t get it to focus right no matter how much she adjusted the knobs.

Pulling away she studied the window, realizing they were made of bubbly glass like the front of the house.

She unfastened the latch, pushing the window open. Even without the telescope she could see far into the forest. She moved the telescope closer and peered through it. After a moment of adjusted the knobs she could see even the leaves of the trees in clear detail.

“Oh, let me see,” Seth said, peering over her shoulder.

“Give me a bit, I just started looking.”

“But I wanna see.”

“Go play with the toys some,” Kendra huffed. “I’ll let you look after I’m done.”

“But sharing is caring,” Seth insisted.

“I said you could look, let me use it first though. I was using it already.”

Seth squinted, “What are you even looking at?”

“The trees.”

“Boring, let me see. I’ll look at something more interesting.”

Kendra rolled her eyes but stepped away, not wanting to deal with his whining.

“Fine but let me close the window. I don’t want bugs to come in.”

“Sure, whatever,” Seth studied the telescope as she closed the window and went off to study the dressers.

They were carved elegantly with fairies and unicorns and fiery birds.

She ran her fingers over the intricate patterns, she wished she had something like this at home.

She shook her head, going to look at the wardrobes, it reminded her of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. She wondered if she stepped in would she find a mystical land on the other side.

“This stupid thing won’t even focus,” Seth complained.

Kendra smiled.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to reblog and leave a review, they feed my soul.

What did you think of the room? What changes do you think their foreknowledge will bring? What things did you dislike from the original series that you'd like changed?

lmk if you’d like to be tagged.

[popculturebuffet]

DWD Reviews: A Brush with Oblivion Or Is Everyone Blind and Stupid? (Commission by WeirdKev27)

Well this was a mixed bag if I ever saw one. Taking a break from the Ride, since Kev commissioned this during my still going black friday sale, seriously 3 bucks for episode commissions get after it, I thought this would be pretty good.. good villain with a good gimmick. Could be intresting. I didn’t count on EVERYONE but Honker, Gosalyn and Splatter Phoenix themselves daring to be stupid. I mean my god in god we trust, this one was frustrating. I WANTED to like it for it’s brilliant qualities but the main plot is so frustrating, Let’s discuss shall we? First off WHY Kev commissioned this one. He was waiting till I did Quackerjack and Bushroot but he decided to do it early because sale prices. See this is a BONUS chapter in “March to Justice Ducks”. It’s very thinly associated with it, but honestly had I had the idea myself I would’ve gladly done this and I thank Kev for it. See Tad Stones regretted putting Negaduck in the fearsome five. It’s not that Negs is a bad character.. it’s the opposite. Being such a dynamic and interesting one.. meant he overshadowed the other four to the point they didn’t get as much of a chance to shine. So in hindsight, had he had the chance to do it all over again he would’ve put Splatter Phoenix here in there instead. And I’m incllined to agree: as the comics show, Quackerjack could’ve been the leader easy and if not him Megavolt, but neither would’ve overpowered the others. That being said the five we did get are great, and the dynamic is fine, but I can’t fault him for wanting them to be equals instead of minons. 

And honestly , and getting to one of the episodes strengths, Splatter Phoenix IS a thoroughly awesome villain with a unique and interesting power. In short she’s an experimental artist who through her experimenting, created a paint brush that can bring paintings to life and control them as well as allow her to travel in and out of them. She’s voiced here by  Dani Staahl, who i’ve never heard of but is terrific. And shockingly, she’s voiced by a rather sizeable voice next time with Andrea Martin of SCTV fame. And if your wondering if i’m going to cover her other appearance you are extremely correct, just probably further down the line or for another commission.  But her powers are used REALLY creatively by the episode, having her and Darkwing and Co run through various abstract art I can’t really name outside of the salvador dahli piece at the end because I don’t know art. That being said, it still looks utterly gorgeous and while I can’t name most of the pieces or the artists behind them, the wiki does say most are pastiches. They are recognizable though and it does look utterly stunning from a cubist piece to the dahli finale to Gosalyn’s dinosaur picture seen above. Each style is unique, crisp and beautifully animated and they and splatter are the saving grace of the episode. These sequences are some of the best i’ve seen from the show and, especially for a low budget 90′s kids show even a disney one, are REALLY impressive and would be even today. And her attidue helps. While her gimmick is simple, she talks in intellectual art speak most of the time, it’s funny enough to enjoy. Plus, it weirdly does things for me and I don’t know how to respond to that so let’s move on. 

My shame aside, you may be wondering two things then: Why I don’t like this episode, and why i’m not covering it my usual style. Well the answer to both is otherwise.. this episode is REALLY damn obnoxious. Splatter takes up enough to make it watchable.. but the main spine of the episode not only pisses me off in a very specific way, as it follows a story trope I CANNOT stand, but in a general way it’s just frustrating and REALLY dumb.  The basic premise is it’s children’s art night at the musem, with the kids various paintings being displayed, so naturally The Mallards and the Muddlefoots are both there, with Honker having painted a painting within a painting and Gosalyn having painted a horrifing but neat dinosaur piece. It’s then.. the plot starts and my patience evaporates. Honker spots Splatter in a painting and spots her comit a theft but no one belivies him. They belivie it wasn’t him, because he dosen’t have the target on him, but his parents think he’s making stuff up and so does Drake. Or in other words...

I mean.. nothing about this works. I’d get skepticism in a normal setting, and this was produced earlier in the series though as for where your guess is as good as mine, but.. this is a world where appliances were brought to life, a water dog publicly ransomed the cities water suply, and and an evil toymaker raised hell, not to mention the bat based pizza theft. A woman running in and out of a painting SHOULD NOT be that farfetched but no everyone just assumes the kid is lying and dosen’t bother asking why. Including Drake.. everyone else.. fine, Herb’s a moron and we’ll get to him in a second. But Drake has fought so much weird shit at this point, you’d THINK he’d think it was a supervillian and not just honker lying.  You’d think but no. Thankfully he finds out pretty quick, so he’s more tolerable but it still hurts my head that he’s this stubborn. 

But as I just hinted at.. Herb and Binkie are worse as they repeadtly think their son is a liar and ground him over it... even though they KNOW Honker dosen’t lie, Gosalyn admits he can’t and admits she’s failed to teach him, and then instead of you know believing their kid, blame Gos for it, which amount's to absolutley nothing so why have this plot point! All it did was make me hate herb as much as Drake does.. I mean if he’s this terrible a parent and this dense that rather than believe his own kid didn’t do the impossible or wasn’t covering for a thief that his friend taught him how to lie, no wonder Drake can’t stand him. The voice dosen’t help, as normally it’s tolerable but it’s extra loud and extra insufferable this episode. It just makes already insufferable scnees worse. 

But the crowner for moron of this episode is the curator, who repadtly, when seeing Honker there, blames him for the thefts, and at one point when he tries to enter a painting HAS A CHILD ARRESTED. He has a small child, who couldn’t of possibly taken any of this.. arrested. Now granted one of the paintings is destroyed.. but the can wasn’t left behind by splatter phoenix. So he had a 10 year old arrested... on charges of propety destrictuion? What.. why would he do this? WHy would his parents belivie this/ WHY. it’s agonizingly dumb. It hurts.. it hurts and I understandably didn’t want to go on loop with this asshole. But that’s what the episode feels like and it only gets broken because Splatter outright tells the curator so she can ransom mona lisa’s mouth! GAH. 

But yeah that’s our big setpiece,  as Splatter carriers mona’s annoying mouth around through some cool set pieces. We also get a neat bit earlier of Gosalyn stuck in a piccaso, which looks really damn neat and also really painful. And apparently she can leave because drake enters? I dunno, it’s not the dumbest thing about this episode. We do get the curator catching Darkwing tryign to take the painting.. which not only has him actually blamed with a crime resonably for the first time since the pilot, but is clever and gets a good line out of the deal.  And that brings me to another reason the episode is so frustrating: so much of the plot is just dropped threads. The Waddlemeyers don’t want honker around gosalyn. Goes nowhere. Gosalyn is trapped in a painting,. Resolved pretty easily. Darkwing might take the fall for this GOES NOWHERE. MY SANITY. GOES AWAY. 

Finally.. I just don’t like this stock plot. The “Character is telling the truth but no one belivies them”. it CAN be done well. Amphibia did this plot well in season 1 and Gravity Falls used it well as it was revealed Stan DOES know, he just was playing dumb. It can be done right.. it’s just more often than not a kid is put through hell for something they have on control over by some asshole adult or some other kid. or an adult is put through it. I’ve never enjoyed this sort of Michigan J Frog bullshit, and never will. And here it’s an innocent, honest, good kid being sent to JAIL breifly for .. telling the truth. With no reward. Just nope episode over. fuck this episode. 

So before we wrap, the finale, which again is pretty good. Honker finds one of Splatter’s brushes, uses it to restore Darking and Co and it’s pretty cleve.r. then it gets dumb again with Darkwing escorting pheonix away and the muddlefoots finally beliving their son after mona lisa’s smile tells them he isn’t a liar.. okay whatever we’re done. 

FINAL. THOUGHTS. 

This episode is split down the middle :It’s half a good episode, wtih great sequences, great jokes and great use of classic art.. and half GOD MAKE IT STOP AGGRIVATION. It’s easily the worst darkwing i’ve seen so far, and yet SITLL has stuff worth watching it for. The painting sequences are still some of the shows best.. it’s jsut saddled with a plot I hate and that aggrivates me. This was not good, and i’ve seen much better and hopefully Splatter’s other appearance is less aggravating. we will see eventually. Till then, there’s always another rainbow. 

[pastelwitchling]

Let me preface this by saying; I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t want to talk about this episode because it was a really hard one for me. Not because I didn’t like the story, or because as an Alex stan I was disappointed -- I wasn’t actually, I was overjoyed at the episode, and I’ll get into that more in a second. But it was a very hard episode simply because of the song that played at the end. That song is called Hurricane by Fleurie, and I know that because I know all the songs that were played in Shadowhunters’ most important moments. Hurricane was played in the season 2 finale in a very tragic and beautiful scene, and to hear it again....

Thankfully, I feel a lot better now, the next morning, and I realized that I had to talk about this episode for two big reasons; Alex and Isobel. Lily had said she hoped the episode would start a discussion, and I didn’t want to just avoid it because it’s a touchy subject. I didn’t want to let her down. I’m a woman, part of a minority that also thinks it has the right to make rules about a woman’s body, so I’ll start off with Isobel’s story because I have a lot to say about Alex and Michael and Malex.

I’ll make it simple. I was really hoping Isobel would get an abortion, that they wouldn’t force her into it because it’s a baby and it’s inside her. I think some lines were a little... they just didn’t fit the story, and it became obvious that it was a little preachy, but with the current condition and men thinking they have any sort of right to make rules about a woman’s body, then preachy is okay right now. I think Lily was absolutely brilliant, I cried with her when she cried for Max (how beautiful and phenomenal was he? My future husband, right there), I was proud of the way she got rid of Sheriff Valenti (what a nuisance that woman was, I hated her), and despite Isobel’s strengths, she really showed her vulnerability so beautifully. She was phenomenal, I was very proud of her, and I’m so happy we’re done with this ridiculous pregnancy story.

Now, onto Malex. For Alex, I loved the episode. He was brilliant, he was phenomenal, his chemistry with everyone was, again, magical. I feel like there’s this idea a lot of people have right now that Alex is happy to see his father suffer and die, but... I’m sorry, I just can’t see him satisfied with that at all. People said that when Jesse started convulsing last episode, Alex didn’t care, but I thought it was obvious that he had cared a lot. I felt he was conflicted, not pleased, and afraid at the same time of what might happen to him.

Don’t get me wrong, Alex was definitely manipulating him, using mind tricks to get Jesse to apply more morphine, to get him talking, and everything he told him about “good American soldiers” (I was laughing so hard, my brilliant genius) was utter crap... but I also felt his apology in the beginning was genuine. Not because Alex felt he needed to apologize or because he was so abused that he didn’t know any better, or anything like that -- look at 1x08. Alex doesn’t feel bad about hurting his father. But I do think that Alex apologized because he was just sorry that it had to come to this. That things between them had gotten so bad that Jesse was now lying in a hospital bed with tubes stuck to him. The apology was nothing to do with Jesse’s character, but with Alex’s. He’s a good man, he doesn’t want to see his father lying there pumping morphine into his veins (well, he does want it, he tricked him into it, but not to see him in such a pathetic state). I think his anger that’s been culminating has made him think he wants it, and that’s where the conflict comes in. Deep down, Alex knows he doesn’t want to hurt anyone, not even Jesse. Also, Jesse's smile when he was talking to Alex, when he asked not to hear about Michael. Personally, it only confirmed what I already knew about Jesse, which is that he loves Alex (in his own twisted, psychotic way), and he wants Alex to want to be part of the family, he wants Alex to be at his side. That doesn’t mean Alex should be, but it’s what Jesse so clearly wants.

I love the back and forth between Michael and Alex, I love the way they can talk to each other. People are so annoyed by the “tortured lust to ‘sup, bro” part, and I’m just -- I don’t get it? I thought it was hilarious, I laugh every time I think about it. I understand that some of you may think Michael is reducing their relationship to sex, but... essentially, that’s what it was. Tyler said so himself at comic-con! He said, they already know they like to sleep together, but do they like each other? The whole point of this friendship, or whatever they’re trying to do but clearly can’t because they love each other too much, is figure out if they can love each other beyond the, as Michael put it, epic sex. If they can be friends. I am overjoyed at how well they can work off each other when they’re not trying to devour each other’s faces (which I am also overjoyed at seeing), how much they clearly love each other.

When Michael came out at the end, asking Alex where he was going? Everyone is talking about the symbolism behind “I thought that we were done.” “No.” And I love that beyond words, but what really caught me was the desperation in Michael���s voice. It’s like he saw Alex out his window, starting to leave, and came rushing out to stop him. It wasn’t like Michael stepped out, noticed Alex wasn’t in his seat, and casually looked around for him. He full-on stormed out of his airstream, almost afraid as he asked Alex where he was going. It was perfect. I want to see more of that, that blatant desperation for Alex not to go. I think the dynamic between those two has been phenomenal this season so far, and I absolutely can’t wait for next week’s episode. Michael actually thanked Alex, without being forced to. I don’t want to speculate about Forrest or Michael’s jealousy, I don’t want to say anything until I’ve seen it. (Hopefully, I’ll have the Sense and Sensibility au to keep me busy.)

This is the biggest point I wanted to get to. Some Alex stans are saying that it’s really hard to be an Alex stan, and I totally get it! No one is acknowledging his feelings, no one is even mentioning his name when he’s not in a scene, his so-called friends talk about and to Michael as if Alex never existed, and it makes me physically ill. It pisses me off to no end... but Alex is still more than his relationship with Michael. He’s not simply what he is to Michael, he’s an Air Force Captain, with his own team, he’s a genius who knows how to manipulate when needed, he’s a good man with a good heart, and who hopefully to the gods will get a phenomenal love interest. He’s beautiful, he’s brilliant, he’s magical, and to see him bear this repulsive m*luca crap (seriously, I won’t be able to stand the sight of Maria until it’s over) with the grace of a true Ravenclaw, as heartbreaking as it is, it’s also wonderful because Alex isn’t pining miserably, he’s not curled in on himself, waiting for Michael to love him. He’s moving forward, he’s staying strong even when it hurts like hell. What’s more courageous and beautiful than that?

If this episode proved anything to me, it’s these three things; Lily Cowles is my eternal spring goddess and I’m in love with her, the chemistry between Michael and Alex in a simple -- as Michael put it -- ‘sup, bro is stronger than a sex scene between that joke of a relationship with Maria, and Alex is -- without a doubt -- a true hero that the great Stan Lee would’ve been proud of.