#this is so stupid i shall think about it for the next 70 years

[soap-brain]

oh holy shit that's about the best picture of that breed EVER

ok I know you said Nik is a husky but consider: Caucasian shepherd dog Nik. Protective, absolutely bloody massive, insanely hairy, potentially really dangerous (due to their size)

Your brain. It is galaxy-sized. Behold, Nikolai, the Caucasian Shepherd.

*Марш защи́тников Москвы́ plays in the background*

[livexdolan]

Part 2 of 40 and 70? 🥺🥺

Yes yes and yess

Masterlist

Previously (Pt. 1)

Two weeks later...

“Y/n! Would you please move your ass a little faster?” Maya sighs as I trudge my suitcase down the hall to the living room.

I drop it with a huff, “I’m sorry but someone decided to conveniently forget to mention we were going up to a ski lodge for two weeks.”

She rolls her eyes and grabs the handle, moving it too easy for my liking. Opening the front door she moves my suitcase out into the hall next to hers, “Okay, okay, my bad. But I knew if I told you at first you’d never agreed to go. Especially because...y’know... he-who-shall-not-be-named is going to be there.”

“Yeah well, I don’t care. It’s whatever,” I shrug, hoping my face is covering up how much my heart hurts at the thought of him.

She raises her brow and I know I’m a terrible liar, “Mhm. C’mon, let’s go.”

She walks out the door, grabbing her purse. I grab my purse and throw my phone and keys in it. I also grab my water bottle off the counter, taking a quick sip. My face scrunches a little at the taste of Pinot Grigio, the closest I can get to red wine, seeing as my friends won’t let me have Merlot because it makes me ‘bitchy’.

I lock the door, walking to the elevator where Maya and Kristina are waiting. “Let’s do this.”

When we make it out the complex I stop, my friend bumping into me and cursing but all I can hear is a numbing buzz as I look at the all-too familiar white Tesla sitting in front of me.

“What the hell?” Kris looks down, a blush crawling across her face and Maya sighs, “Why did no one tell me we were going with them?”

“Because we knew you’d try to back out. Ethans car is the only one big enough to fit everyone. It’s us three, Ethan, Grayson, and Ryan. Mando and five other people are meeting us at the lodge,” Kris says softly and I love her so much, it’s the only thing keeping me from hitting her.

“I can’t-“ my words are cut off and my heart starts pounding as the twins jump out of the car, Ethan walking over to Kris and kissing her quickly, grabbing her bag with ease.

Grayson moves in front of me with his hands going into his hoodie pocket. The hoodie I always stole. I think bitterly, “Y/n? You ready?” I flinch at his voice, not looking him in the eye.

I nod silently but when he goes to grab my bag I stop him, pulling the handle myself, “I got it,” I spit, knowing it came out harsher than I planned.

He steps back like I slapped him with the audacity to look hurt. He shakes his head and grabs Mayas bag instead, giving her a half-smile before turning back to the car.

Maya raises her brow but I ignore it, not in the mood for her lecture. Dragging my suitcase to the car I reluctantly hand it to Grayson so he can stuff it into the back. When I get to the back doors I notice something.

Oh God. No. No no no no- “Where’s everyone sitting?” I already know. I had no reason to ask. Fucking hell.

I look at Ethan in the drivers seat, Kristina next to him, Ryan and Maya getting their stuff together in the captain chairs in the second row. Leaving the third row empty. The smallest seats for me and- “ Guess it’s you and me in the back. Just like old times, eh?” I scoff at his deep voice, feeling him behind me.

I grumble and push into the third row, moving as far behind Ryan’s seat as I can, pushing my purse to the ground. Crossing my arms I decide I’m going to sit like a statue for the drive.

Grayson clambers in as well, but instead of giving me space he leans back, spreading his long legs slightly so his thigh is barely touching mine. I pull my leg closer to my side. Grayson sighs and reaches for something.

He holds up a soft blanket and I look at him, he raises his eyebrows as if to say ‘peace offering?’ I uncross my arms and take it from him, slowly relaxing into my seat a little, knowing I can’t ignore him for two weeks, especially not when we’re sitting so close.

“Hey, y/n?” Grayson whispers, just loud enough to be heard over the music.

I glance over at him, “Hey, Grayson?” I say back, mockingly.

If that surprised him, he hides it well, “I was just wondering...are you ever going to forgive me?”

I whip my head to look at him, “forgive you?” I repeat.

He nods, a nervous look in his eyes, “For...punching Dylan, that’s why you’ve been ignoring me right?”

I gape at him. My entire brain short circuits and I don’t know what to say. I open my mouth, shut it, and open it again, “You think that’s why I haven’t been talking to you?” I ask incredulously, hoping he’s joking.

“Why do you keep repeating me like that? After I hit Dylan you ran out, then ignored all my texts and calls. Maya even told me you took the final online so you didn’t have to come to the same class as me. I assumed it was because I hurt him. Look, I’m sorry about that. He was being such a dick and I-“

“Are you really that self-centered that you think I would make that big of a deal out of you punching that asshole in the face?” I whisper, cutting him off, “I haven’t talked to you because you and I,” I gesture to the two of us in the small space, “aren’t good friends. You drag me into stupid shit I don’t want to do and I follow you like a lost puppy. I’m tired of it. And frankly, I’m fucking sick of you acting like you never once picked up on how much I loved you. As more than a friend,” I ramble. Leaning back in my seat with a huff, re-crossing my arms.

I stare at the back of Ryan’s headrest and can see Grayson staring at me out of the corner of my eye. I keep up my hard look, Grayson finally giving up and letting out a frustrated sigh, running his hand through his hair and tugging it slightly.

My heart tugs at me, telling me to comfort him, knowing he only does that when he’s really stressed out but I hold back. I’m tired of him using me as his girlfriend without actually letting me be his girlfriend. I have a small epiphany as the thought hits me. That’s it. That’s why all of this pissed me off so much.

Grayson has been using me as his girlfriend for almost ten years. He comes to me with his problems, we cuddle, he takes me out for food and ice cream, makes me go on adventures with him, talks me into wearing matching outfits for his party so he doesn’t look stupid, he even holds my hand. But then he goes off and fucks other girls, he’s had one too many friends with benefits in the past three years. In fact, he had four different girls doing it with him at one time, until two of the girls found out about each other and cut him off.

When I asked him how he felt he just shrugged saying, ‘I never said I wouldn’t have sex with other people’. Maybe that’s part of the problem, too.

Because even if Grayson loved me back- would he even be able to handle a full one-on-one relationship? Would he cheat? Not because he didn’t love me but because he was so used to doing whatever the hell he wanted? I roll my head to the side, watching the world go back as my thoughts swirl.

This is going to be the longest two weeks of my life.

Next...(Pt.3)

-

A/n: I know y’all are gonna hate me but there’s gonna be at least one more part. It was getting a bit long and I think we left off on a good note ;)) lmk how y’all feel about the new part ❤️

[pugh-bug]

Scott Lang x reader

Chapter 1

This is going to be a series I’m not sure where it’s gonna go but we shall see! This is quite an angsty chapter but expect light heartedness after this. Smut. If I’m feeling frisky I might bring in more mcu men for the reader to have a relationship with but I think it’s just gonna be Scott. Atleast for now. He’s insanely underrated. anyway hope you enjoy :)

You grumpily hiked up your tights and felt them rip at your thighs. For fucks sake. Leaning over to straighten them over your toes just made the hole larger. Brooklyn baby had come on your Spotify playlist, which was rich seeing as you were dressing sexy in hopes of impressing a divorced 51 year old. How sweet.

‘That’s what you’re wearing?’ Tony’s voice interrupted your music video moment.

Tony knew about your ‘crush’ on Scott. He wasn’t supposed to. No one was. Somehow you’d let yourself spill everything to the playboy at one of his parties. You’d told him how your heart had raced so much the first time you met Scott Lang you had to excuse yourself and check for pains up your arm. You told him about how much you wanted to fuck him. Be held by him. How he’d almost become a priority and you knew how fucked that was. How obsessed you were becoming. How any attention from him felt important. It was embarrassing but time made you less guilty. Impatience made you flirtier and boredom made you stupid.

‘Yes. What do you think?’

Tony had arrived just as you had gotten your skin tight dress to go over your tits. No easy task. You gave him a quick spin in your revealing outfit and heals. A slight mischievous grin formed on your face. He knew what you were doing.

‘I think Scott might have a heart attack.’

That made you laugh excitedly.

‘You’re not supposed to want that Y/N.’ Tony’s tone was warning you but he couldn’t help but smile at your so called ‘antics’. He couldn’t help but route for you. Despite the age gap. He’d dated many younger women in his time and you and Scott would make a hilarious endearing couple. To say the least.

‘Well,’ you sighed, fiddling with your bra strap before looking up at him. ‘I’m not wishing him anything bad. He’s my friend. I just want him to have a good time tonight.’ Was he your friend though? The two of you spent time together alone sometimes but he didn’t know a lot about you. Not as much as you knew about him.

‘Oh how noble of you.’ Tony smirked.

You knew how you sounded. Maybe you’d be happier if your type was young men. Men/boys like the ones that smiled at you on nights out and went to University and hadn’t grown up in the 70s. No. That just wasn’t you. It was naive and the whole thing made you feel younger and older, braver and more anxious at the same time. Scott had such a strong affect on you. He was everything you admired in a person. Intelligent. Caring. Hilarious (he’d made you cry laughing several times). Honest, loyal and sexier than anyone you’d ever interacted with. When you’d first met him he smiled at you so brightly you weren’t sure if you’d imagined it. Everyone liked him. How could they not?

All you could focus on as you finally went downstairs was how much you wanted to talk to Scott and be near him.

‘Don’t get too drunk and pass out on me okay?’

You ignored Tony’s unreasonable request and scanned Stark Tower for Scott. Wanda looked gorgeous in her classic red stood beside a tipsy smiling Clint. There was a Thor, already requesting drinking games, and two soldiers shamelessly flirting. Lucky. Nat was pouring herself and Bruce a drink whilst Vision stared at one of Tony’s odd abstract paintings. Where was he?

‘Who’re you looking for?’

Oh. You must have said that last part out loud.

‘You got a drink yet?’

Scott. You instantly smiled. It was so childish. He’d asked you two questions and you were just stood gazing. Scott moved closer to you looking for an answer. He smelt of the Earth and oil. It took a lot for you to not just sink your face into his clothes and fuck he looked good too. As always. ‘I was looking f- you know I’m a bit cold..’ you trailed off not sure what your plan had been in the first place.

Sometimes speaking to him was easy, on those days you’d think of him as a friend, but if you thought a bit too much you’d go over the edge and turn pretty useless.

As if he hadn’t noticed before, Scott took your appearance in. He seemed slightly shocked at first but not as taken aback as Tony assumed he’d be. Bit disappointing. Maybe you hadn’t looked as ‘sexy’ as you’d hoped. You caught his gaze pause at your legs and hips. A slight smile crept up on you - you had a feeling Scott Lang wasn’t a chest man. Not that it really mattered. One glance didn’t mean much, Tony had stared at you inappropriately more than once and Banner.

‘I mean- you aren’t really wearing a lot. I have a jacket if you want something warmer on..’ just like you Scott trailed off. Wearing his jacket sounded appealing but being kissed by him would be so much better. Deep in inappropriate thoughts about the ‘friend’ in front of your face, you sighed. God this would all be easier if you were atleast tipsy. You were especially anxious that night which you just hated because Tony’s parties were normally when you let loose. Thor had had to peel you off the floor last time while you mumbled something about how ordering fast food was more nerve wracking than ordering from sex shops.

‘Y/N!’ Thor’s booming voice cut between you and Scott as did his massive frame. You didn’t mind. He was like a huge teddy and just as inviting. Scott greeted him but you could sense his discomfort. The former criminal wasn’t overly fond of people he didn’t know much about. You were an exception. He knew enough to know you weren’t a threat and enough to like you. Thor on the other hand- well Scott had seen him lift Nat, Wanda and you onto his shoulder pretty easily. He’d also met Loki and had a tendency to judge people off their family. One of his bad habits.

‘Starks got these drinks but they’re not just drinks... they’re full of colours. Rainbows Y/N,’ he slurred his words but the man was so excited about colours it was adorable, you happily humoured him.

‘No way! rainbows!’

‘Yes yes! I don’t know what’s in them.’

‘Yeah maybe it’s just vodka.’ Scott raised his eyebrows and then walked off grumpily. You didn’t blame him, Thor tended to take everyone’s lime light, but he could have been nicer. It wasn’t as if the two of you had been chatting for long, or about anything serious. He saved that for his ex wife and you could only imagine how those interactions went.

Then you realised what day it was. Shit. Scott had told you his anniversary was coming up so he might be more serious that usual. The poor man was probably ripping his hair out wondering where he’d gone wrong. All you could do was selfishly hope he didn’t want his ex wife back. You couldn’t even remember her name despite him reminding you. What you did know was that a loud party was either, in his mind, the best place for him to be or the worst and going off what you’d seen so far you suspected the latter.

‘Have any of you seen Scott?’ You paved your way through the dance floor where you cracked a smile at Sam’s dad dancing and Nat’s horrified expression. No one had.

‘Bruce?’ You looked at the scientist with worried but hopeful eyes. ‘Have you seen Scott anywhere?’ Not only did his seem worried too but he actually looked as if he felt sorry for you. Why? Maybe he suspected things. Out of everyone Tony invited, Bruce was the most diplomatic and the most observant and you were not exactly subtle (Tony liked to remind you of that).

After pleading with Bruce to let you know where he was you went to the roof and found Scott. He was sat on the edge, his legs dangling over like he was Parker. Did not bode well.

‘Scott?’ Your breath seemed to clog before it reached your lungs when he turned around to meet your eyes and say your name. It never seemed to feel old hearing it. Y/N. Y/N. Y/N. You straightened your short dress, the cold air reaching deep into your skin. Damn this man and his dramatic going-outside-when-sad routine.

At first you brain told you to leave before you overstayed your ‘uninvitedness’ (if that wasn’t a word your brain had invented it) but your instincts told you to stay. You were stood rigid on the opposite side of the roof to Scott. But he was close enough for you to see his face clearly. Pretty. Pretty but sad. The same could objectively be said about you.

‘I thought you might want company.. but I can g-‘ before you could finish Scott smiled his usual welcoming smile. It told you to stay. You approached him as if he was a frightened deer and it felt strange to do so. After all he had fought Thanos and many powerful beings whilst your arguments seemed to just be with technology.

‘Company’s good.’

You paused as you thought about whether or not to sit down beside him. Sit and you risk falling to your death. Sit and you risk saying the wrong thing to an emotional Scott and wanting to jump to your death. Stay stood up and feel too far away. He seemed to sense your predicament.

‘Sit. You’re not gonna fall.’

But what if you did?

‘Y/N I won’t let you fall. I haven’t bumped up your life insurance.’ You laughed, slightly too much as usual. It was finally dark. Normally darkness didn’t sit well with you. It made you nervous and anxious for everything you hadn’t done for the next day. It made you overthink. Why did the night do that to you and everyone you knew? But from Stark Tower’s roof you could see the entire city and it’s bright unnatural lights. They weren’t as pretty as fireflies or that one scene in Tangled that made Bruce cry but it was still nice.

‘I don’t even understand how life insurance works to be honest.’

Scott widened his eyes at your comment but he was facing the view of New York. Not you. You focused on it too and fought the urge to talk about it. ‘I forget how young you are sometimes.’ That was a stinging thought. His eyebrows were knitted together and his dark eyes were blank. His lips were slightly agape making his expression a mixture of realisation and sorrow. He was probably thinking about his ex wife as he looked at New York’s views. There was a long weighted pause where both of you remained still and watched the city.

‘She was-‘ just as it felt like Scott could fully open up to you he stopped himself. His eyes met yours (finally) and he suddenly cracked his sorrowful expression into a wide but brief smile. ‘Should we go back?’ You didn’t answer. ‘I don’t loveee the idea that the cake might be gone.’ He stood up and stretched his hand out for you to grab. You took it after a moment of hesitation. ‘There was cake?’ Both of you had returned to your childish selves. Enough maturity and worrying. It was meant to be a fun night! You looked down at your dress remembering why you’d dressed so ‘sexily’ in the first place. How could you still be so naive ?

Scott was sad about his ex wife. His 45 year old ex wife. You must have seemed high school aged to the man. Why just why couldn’t you fancy someone younger and more available? Sigh.

[obscuremarvelmuses]

Ahaha I got asked this in Discord about Wanda: “From what I gather Wanda and Pietro were originally the biological children of Magneto (who is Jewish) who were adopted by a Romani family? Then the dad thing got retconed. But they’ve always been at least half Romani? Most of the time they’ve been ethnically Jewish as well, with Magneto being their father? She started out with red telekinetic bolts but then switched to reality warping? God damn you Marvel for being unable to stop retconning.” OH MY POOR FRIEND They then had to suffer this LENGTHY EXPLANATION and NOW YOU SHALL TOO

“ The twins are introduced in the 60s. They're not related to Magneto or anyone else at that point, nor are they Romani or Jewish, just "from the heart of Central Europe" They're described as orphans iirc. We later learn in the 70s that actually, they are the long-lost biological children of The Whizzer aka Robert Frank and his wife Miss America aka Madeline Joyce (not to be confused with America Chavez, a much later character) They were actually called Wanda and Pietro Frank for a little while after discovering this. Then about twenty issues later we meet Django Maximoff, the man who raised them, and a few issues away from that, we meet Bova. Bova is a humanoid cow woman created by the High Evolutionary, who has a habit of "uplifting" animals like that. Bova was also the midwife who delivered Pietro and Wanda. She explains that their mother was a woman named Magda fleeing her husband who had strange powers and didn't want the twins to fall into his hands, but it's not revealed who the husband was. She explains how she tried to give the twins first to Robert Frank, because she had ALSO delivered his wife's baby, but both Madeline and the Frank child died in the process, and Robert ran away in grief before he could hear the whole story, hence why the twins and he thought he was their bio-dad. So the High Evolutionary had Bova give Wanda and Pietro to Django and Marya Maximoff, a Romani couple, instead. It's not until 1983 that Magneto reveals his discovery that they're his children. At some point around this same time Magda gets established as Romani too. Magneto and Magda being their bio-parents is pretty static for the next few decades. In 2014, an event called Axis happens that I don't know about but it results in Wanda casting a spell that effects everyone she's related to, and Magneto isn't effected, showing he's NOT her bio-father after all. In 2016 the Scarlet Witch miniseries reveals Magda's not her mom either, Natalya Maximoff, sister of Django, is. Bio-father still unknown. But most fans haven't recognized this retcon because it's stupid. As for her powers that's a trip too, strap in. She's introduced in the 60s with the ability to fire hex bolts. They're often described as "probability manipulation" but they're really more very specific, localized telekinesis. Makes people trip, guns jam, screws in a structure come loose, etc. Minor disasters that negatively impact her enemies, but she wields it really well and effectively. I honestly liked that better; it seems like it can only be an annoyance, but because she's creative and a quick thinker in crisis, it does a LOT of damage. 

In the 70s, she meets Agatha Harkness, the nanny of Franklin Richards who it turns out is a badass witch, and she says Wanda actually is a witch too, a real one, and she wants to tutor her. Unlike the WandaVision series, which I haven't seen and don't plan to, she's not evil. She starts tutoring Wanda sincerely. Wanda begins to learn magic, which augments the power of her hex bolts. Wanda later discovers that the reason she has magical aptitude is that she was touched by the dark god Cthon at birth so that he could use her as a vessel for his return, and he posses her. Getting posessed by Cthon or other magical beings happens a lot to Wanda after this point, as does various losses of her agency/free will. 

While she's famous for "chaos magic" now, the term isn't actually used for her til 1998, over 20 years after she started practicing witchcraft. The chaos magic does allow her to warp reality to a certain degree. The reality big huge warping she's famous for doesn't happen til the 2000s, with House of M, when she rewrites the entire world. A common misunderstanding is that this is how her power NORMALLY is. It's not. She was yet again posessed by something, in this case the Life Force of the ENTIRE PLANET, which was a big boost. It's not her normal state. 

What she can do now though is still nothing to sneeze at. Like she's very OP at this point just at her default. It'd be easier to list what she CAN'T do than what she can.  I go with her having the backstory that's most well-known and lasted longest and makes the most sense (Magda/Magneto bio-parents, raised by Maximoffs)  And just her hex bolts as her power, they're cool enough. Plus like. . . I don't think she needed chaos magic and reality warping and a ton of trauma and loss of agency to be cool. I'm kinda sick of the tendency in superhero media to give a woman a ton of raw power but at the expense of her sanity/agency/control/etc. Just gimme someone with a strong interesting personality who makes her own choices!”

[f00pyf00p]

Art Crossed Lovers

Fandom: Sanders Sides  Characters: Logan, Virgil, Janus, Roman, Patton  Rating: Teen and Up  Relationships: Romantic Analogical Warnings: Swearing, Robbery, Police, Guns, Gunshots, Injury, Major Character Death Word count: 4553 Summary: The sirens came at precisely 7:24 pm. They were a minute and 12 seconds late; exactly as Logan had predicted. Indeed, when Virgil glanced at him, he found his lover’s normally sharp expression tinted with smugness, especially as the flashing lights drove right past their hiding place. Other Notes: Analogical Week Day 2: Song/Stars @analogicalweek

Read on AO3

Song: Partners in Crime (Set It Off)

The sirens came at precisely 7:24 pm. They were a minute and 12 seconds late; exactly as Logan had predicted. Indeed, when Virgil glanced at him, he found his lover’s normally sharp expression tinted with smugness, especially as the flashing lights drove right past their hiding place.

Virgil still felt tight. So far they had been successful- the evidence of that lay behind him- but all it would take was one misstep. One dropped eyelash, one unexpected flash of a camera.

“We need to go,” he said urgently. He glanced down at the car’s ignition. At the moment, the key lay in it, unturned and silent. “They’ll double back.”

Logan’s face was impassive. “We move too early, we’ll be found.”

“It’s the same thing if we move too late,” Virgil countered.

He could tell Logan was weighing his words, but they didn’t have time to think: they had to move. Now.

“Trust me, L,” Virgil urged.

That seemed to do the trick. Logan’s hand fell to the ignition. His eyes narrowed and Virgil could practically see the gears in his head turning as he figured out how to get on the highway quickest, which roads he needed to take to blend in, and where they could ditch this car in turn for another one.

The key turned and the car roared to life.

It was loud. Loud enough that Virgil almost told Logan to turn the blasted thing off, but Logan’s foot had already hit the gas.

There was no turning back now.

Logan drove calmly. He stopped at the stop signs, slowed as the lights turned yellow, and stayed exactly five miles above the speed limit at all times. There was no sign that the car did anything but belong there. Nobody who looked at this average, law-obeying car would connect it with the million-dollar paintings stowed carefully in the back.

The highway ramp was in view. Something within him unfoiled as they made it onto that bridge and he relaxed further when it was confirmed that the highway had enough cars on it that they wouldn’t be inconspicuous.

Logan merged quite quickly. He pulled into the fast lane, behind a medium gray car that looked almost identical to the one they were in, and sat back.

“Good call,” Logan told Virgil gently.

“I always make good calls.”

Logan glanced off the road for a brief second, solely to raise his eyebrows before bringing his focus back to the cars around him.

“Ass.”

A quirk of Logan’s mouth was the only answer he gave.

Okay, so maybe over the years Virgil’s decisions hadn’t always been perfect. His anxiety was a double-edged sword; sometimes it made exactly the kind of cut Virgil needed to figure out all possible ways out of a dangerous situation. Other times it sliced his hands and Logan and Virgil were left to clean up the blood.

But right now, his fear had pushed them out of their hiding spot. If they had stayed a moment longer the red and blue lights they had so carefully avoided for years might’ve finally shone on them.

Logan drifted into the middle lane, leaving the twin of their car to pull ahead of them. Virgil watched it go silently and reminded himself that everything was going to plan.

They were ready for this.

“Logan!”

But Logan had already spotted it. Sitting in wait, just in view, was a police vehicle. Its lights were off but Virgil could easily imagine the white plump man behind the wheel, holding a speed gun and waiting for a car to make his life slightly more interesting.

Like the rest of the cars around him, Logan hit the breaks. His speed fell- 85, 76, 70- and Virgil gripped the sides of his seat until his hands turned white.

“If we get pulled over-”

“They won’t take us alive,” Logan said. The words, which should not have been comforting in any shape or form, helped Virgil to take a breath and remember the plan.

Because they had planned for this too. Being pulled over, being talked to, what to say and how to say it. And if things went so south the cops figured out just who they were….

Virgil’s hand fell to the gun straddled in his hip.

They wouldn’t separate them. When it came down to it, the only thing that would split up Virgil and Logan was death.

The police car was behind them now. His light remained off and the extremity of Virgil’s extra tension eased away as Logan and the car's speed around them re-picked up.

“Next exit,” Virgil reminded him.

Logan’s lips curved up in his not-a-smile but totally adorable way. “I’m plenty aware, Virgil, I assure you.”

His blinker flicked on and he slowly moved over to the merging lane. Their speed dropped slightly but the roar of the highway was just as deafening and centering as before.

Logan clicked his blinker on again and moved to get off. It was a fairly busy turning point; he wasn’t the only car getting off and they had to come to a stuttering halt before being allowed back on town roads again.

The stillness was awful, but it would’ve been worse to be alone. There was safety in numbers, Virgil reminded himself, even if numbers forced the damn car to stop when all he wanted to do was get to the stupid dropping point.

Logan turned them left, down roads wooded dark roads until they finally landed at a dark empty parking lot, picked solely for its lack of cameras. Plus, not five minutes away was a car dump- a very easy place to dump one car and pick up a brand new one.

7:58.

“We’re early,” Virgil whispered.

“We expected that.”

“I hate being early.”

“You hate being on time and late as well.”

Virgil glared at Logan. A heavy sigh made its way from his boyfriend and Logan let his hand fall on Virgil’s knee and stroke it in calming little circles with his thumb.

“My apologies, Love. I’m tense.” Logan looked over at the car’s digital clock, where the stubborn “58” remained. “I’d also prefer to not be early.”

Virgil’s heart melted a little at the admission. “Forgiven,” he promised, before leaning forward and planting a kiss on Logan’s left cheek.

Logan looked so adoringly at him, Virgil nearly shoved him away.

7:59. The moment the number turned, a tiny white car pulled into the parking lot. It parked right beside them, leaving just enough space for the man they had been contacted by to jump out and walk up to Virgil’s window.

Virgil rolled it down.

“How’d it go?” Janus asked curtly.

“Exactly as planned.” Virgil’s voice had fallen back into its harder “don’t-mess-with-me” tone he always got when dealing with clients. Behind him, Logan's eyes shone like a wildcat in the dark. “Can I assume you weren’t followed?”

Janus snorted. “Please.”

Logan and Virgil glanced at each other. After a brief moment, Virgil nodded and Logan hopped out of the car, leaving the engine roaring, and opened the back door.

There were five different paintings back there. All five had been stolen from the Samburu tribe of Northern Kenya. All five had traveled around the world for a bit, earned themselves a reputation and a large net worth, before finding their way to a famous art gallery.

A famous art gallery that now found itself five paintings short.

“We’ll check in with both you and the Samburu in about a week to ensure these ended up in the right spot.” Logan’s client voice wasn’t as rough or as nasty as Virgil’s; it was pure ice and it nipped whomever he turned it on.

The noise that came from Janus was practically a snarl. “You think I would steal from my own people?”

“I think we will be checking in with you and the Samburu in about a week.” The frost from earlier had turned into a blizzard. Logan turned his back on Janus and silently helped the man move everything from car to car. Once things were situated, he slipped back into the front seat and waited.

Janus dropped a bag through Virgil’s open window and into his lap. Virgil didn’t bother hiding how he opened it and slowly rifled through the bills.

It was all there. At an obscenely low rate considering the amount of effort they had gone through to get those paintings, but plenty for the two of them.

“Make sure you change license plates,” Virgil advised.

Janus had the wisdom to nod as Virgil rolled his window up. The two of them left first, as quietly and quickly as they could without being suspicious.

“Well, Logan,” Virgil said as he stowed their money into his black hoodie, “Shall we go?”

Logan pulled into the car dump, another one of his half-smiles dancing over his face. “Indeed.”

It took them no time at all to find the car they had stashed here, hidden beautifully amongst the rubble and broken vehicles. Virgil replaced the license plates with ones they had gotten earlier while Logan made it his business to completely destroy the ones they had driven the stolen paintings around in.

Then he set the car on fire.

By the time it was done burning out, Virgil had finished with the old one. They hopped into it, this time with Virgil at the wheel, and took off into the night.

It was time to lie low for a bit.

__

“In other news Art Museum The Centre of the Mind has recently been visited by the Art Crossed Lovers. They stole five paintings: “The Sunrise” worth 34 million, “Lifting Up” worth 65 million, “Gardens of Forever” worth 22 million, “Father of Life” worth 12 million, and finally, “Wretched Dream” worth 47 million. Unlike the previous heist, nobody was harmed in the taking of these paintings however-”

Virgil glanced over at Logan, who was gripping the frying pan a little harder than normal. Slowly, Virgil pushed from their kitchen table, leaving the radio to amuse itself, and slunk around Logan’s back. “Smells good, baby,” he breathed.

“Thank you.” Logan relaxed back into his hold. “The eggs should be done in a few minutes.”

“The Centre of the Mind was considered one of the hardest places to get into, with top-of-the-line cameras, motion detection, passive infrared sensors, as well as RFID tags put into the paintings to track them. However, while no technology seems to have been turned off or broken in any way, there is no evidence of anyone other than the guards being in the building at any point in time.”

Logan had taken on the more smug look of his.

“All RFID tags were found stuck to the wall where the painting had previously been. With no way to track the paintings, officials can’t be sure where they’re headed.”

“You can guess,” Virgil muttered.

Logan’s huff of a laugh was like music to Virgil’s ears, and he rewarded the noise with a gentle kiss to the neck.

“Previous experiences with The Art Crossed Lovers suggest that all five artworks will arrive with the Samburu people of Northern Kenya, where the artwork originated. Officials ask that museums be on their guard-

“Eggs are done.” Logan turned his head sideways to look at Virgil the best he could. “Would you like to let go of me now, Love, so we can eat?”

Virgil responded with a whine and buried his face into Logan’s neck.

“The eggs will get cold.”

“Fuck the stupid eggs.”

“Hmmm.” Logan’s voice was light, slightly teasing. “How about we make a deal?”

Virgil stayed silent.

“We’ll eat breakfast, as nutrients are important, and if I remember correctly-” he jerked his head towards the radio, still spreading what they had done last night. “We burned quite a number recently.”

“Don’t care.”

“In return, you may have cuddles.”

Virgil’s eyes narrowed. “I’m a thief.”

“Accurate.”

“I can just steal cuddles.”

“Virgil-”

“And eggs.”

“...What?”

“Put the food on a plate.”

Looking more amused than anything else, Logan reached up into one of their cupboards and removed a large white plate. He piled the scrambled eggs on it and then, with Virgil still locked around his waist, added to the buttered pieces of toast he had finished a moment before.

Virgil took over. He led Logan over to the couch, sat him down, and then instantly wrapped Logan’s arm around him.

“Cuddles and nutrients.”

Logan kissed the side of his head. “Indeed.”

__

They normally waited at least four months before even planning to resurface again. This time, however, Logan got a call from a group of indigenous people in Mexico only three months into their rest period claiming that seven paintings were stolen from them and currently residing in the art museum the Gallery of Dreams. They checked up on it and of course, the group was telling the truth.

“We should wait a little longer,” Virgil muttered. “This is too soon. The museums are still on high alert.”

“The museums have been on high alert since our first three,” Logan responded. “The paintings are culturally significant. They need them in a month.”

Virgil pursed his lips. “So much could go wrong.”

Logan’s hand covered his but when Virgil glanced over at him he found that his boyfriend wasn’t looking at him but at his laptop, filled to the brim with different notes about the museum, the people, the paintings, and who would be picking them up.

“The escape route is easy.” Logan clicked onto his tab with a map. “It's practically right next to a popular highway and from there we can head to Marieville-” his finger jabbed a town- “pick up a car, wash down the other one, and head through Bardsbury-” his finger pointed again- “where Remus can pick them up.”

“What about cameras?”

Logan paused. His fingers clicked across the keyboard rapidly. Virgil let his head fall on Logan’s shoulder as he worked, quietly taking in the websites before-

“Okay, not Marieville then. It looks like Hamtree has fewer cameras and if we switch and clean cars out in this dead spot, we’d be fine.”

“Logan?”

“Hmm?”

“How close is the police station to that dead spot?”

A string of curses came out of Logan’s mouth, and Virgil smiled rather faintly as Logan had to rework their exit again.

A smaller, louder part of him reminded him that planning the escape was usually easiest, and if they were having this much trouble with just that it didn’t bode well.

“Got it. We’re heading to Lumbire.”

Virgil glanced over his route. Cameras were accounted for. They’d drop off a clean car before the heist so they could switch out and head for Bardsbury. Police stations were all over 15 minutes away from all of their spots, except for the Museum. They’d blend in, get out, find a new vehicle, and get out again.

It was simple. Perfect. Something they had done 1000 times.

“Alright,” Virgil surrendered. “What do we go about that.” He jabbed the museum with a single finger before settling back into Logan’s side.

“We gather information,” Logan replied. An arm swung itself around Virgil. “I’m certain we can figure something out.”

__

They’d been hanging out next to the Museum for the past few weeks. It had been a quick move- neither Logan nor Virgil had much stuff- and since then, it had been nothing but work, work, play, and then some more work.

Especially since it was two days to the heist.

Virgil lounged across the couch, a cup of very bitter coffee in one hand, quietly going over the plan.

He had managed to grab them some police uniforms. Nothing that would fool an actual cop, but realistic-looking enough that when they buzz the security desk and tell him they were coming about a disturbance, nothing would be questioned.

There would be two security guards. It would be pretty easy to trick them out of the security room; people were pretty compliant once they saw the cop uniform, and then further compliant when they saw the gun. Both would be handcuffed and blindfolded.

Virgil took a sip of the coffee to try and calm his nerves.

Logan would enter the security room and hack into their technology. He had estimated it would take him under five minutes to make sure everything would come up blank for the time they were there. If the button to call the police had an easy-to-find wire, it would be cut.

Neither of them believed such a wire would exist.

From then on, it was just a race. Get to the paintings, load them into the car, and then get out of there. If things went really really well, the police wouldn’t even be alerted till morning.

Virgil pursed his lips and glanced over at the male sitting a couple of feet away from him. Logan was frowning- never a good sign- and looking rather blankly down at their notes.

“You good?”

Logan didn’t respond.

“L?”

His boyfriend blinked and turned to him. “Yes, Love?”

Virgil rolled his eyes and maneuvered around, placing his coffee on the table in front of the couch and dropping his head upon Logan’s lap. “You good?” he repeated.

Logan’s hand fell into his hair. “I was thinking about our escape route.”

“Yeah?”

“It might be smarter to avoid the highway since we’ll be moving in the early morning.”

Virgil paused. He went back over their plan silently, trying to piece what Logan said into it.

It wouldn’t be a big change. They’d still be going to the same towns, still have the same stopping points.

“We’d be on the road longer.”

“Indeed.” Logan gnawed on his bottom lip. “That’s why I haven’t brought it up with you yet. I’m not wholly convinced it's necessary, especially since the cops won’t be notified.”

They fell silent again. Virgil mulled it over.

“I’m for side roads.”

Logan’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? You hate last-minute changes.”

Yeah, and the butterflies in Virgil’s stomach were not thanking him for deciding this. He swallowed and curled closer into the warmth of Logan’s lap and gently stroking of his hair.

“I know. But I think this is a good one.”

Logan licked his lips. “Alright then,” he decided. “We’ll go side roads.”

__

They parked as close to the Museum as they could get without it being straight in the front. Logan turned the key, turning the car off, but left the key in the ignition in case they had to go at a moment's notice. Both of them pulled hats down to cover their hair and Logan pushed his glasses up his nose.

“Ready, Love?”

“Ready, Baby.”

The two of them opened their respective car doors at the same time. Logan straightened the fake police badge on his shoulder and strode right up to a door off to the side and hit the buzzer.

A voice came over the intercom. “Hello?” It came out a little nervous, slightly shaky. “Can I help you?”

Virgil watched with some amusement as Logan took a breath and practically sunk into the person he was supposed to be embodying until it wasn’t his boyfriend the art thief that stood across from him.

It was just a cop.

“Yes, we’re here about a disturbance call,” Logan's voice was curt. “Do you mind if we just come up and poke around? It won’t take long.”

“I’m not supposed to allow-”

“We’ll be quite quick,” Virgil jumped in. He made his tone warmer than Logan’s, softer. He’d learned enough about this person to know they would appreciate it. “I’m sure it's nothing, but protocol, you know.”

Logan’s mouth quirked up.

“Al-Alright then, Yeah, I’ll buzz you in.”

Almost as he said it, there was a loud buzzing noise, and Logan opened the door. The two of them strode into the building and just before the door could close, Virgil stuck an old keycard in between the lock.

There was no need to worry about getting stuck indoors.

They padded their way up to the security guard. Both Logan and Virgil’s hands had come to rest on the small handguns on their waist. They had each only fired from it during a heist once- but during practice earlier, neither had missed a mark.

“Hi.” There was a 20-something-year-old sitting behind glass. They wore large oval glasses and stared out at the two of them with big brown innocent eyes.

They probably shouldn’t have taken a job as a guard.

“Do they… ” Logan looked the guard up and down and then over at Virgil. “Do they look like…?”

Virgil had to keep from smiling. God, his boyfriend was good.

“Are you Patton Lennon?” he asked. He tried to keep the warmth from earlier while adding a bit more roughness and suspicion.

The guard reacted exactly as Virgil wanted them to. They pulled back, away from the glass, away from the system- and away from the button that called the police.

“I- Yes, but why-”

“Come out.” Logan left no room for negotiation. “We have some questions for you, Mx. Lennon.”

It was almost too easy. Patton instantly left the security guard area. As the door opened, Logan caught it on one hand and pulled it the rest of the way open, as if he were holding it for them. Patton didn’t seem to find this strange, though Virgil watched their eyebrows knit together as Logan stepped into the room.

It was too late for them anyway. Virgil pulled the gun off of the guard's waistband and handcuffed him before Logan had even made it to the control panel.

“What are you…” Patton’s eyes widened. “You’re not cops! Are you…”

“Don’t fight and you won’t get hurt.” Any warmth had died in the chasm of terror eating Virgil from the inside out.

Logan's eyes flickered over the system. “This is garbage. You don’t even have RFID tags.”

Patton shrugged helplessly.

“Well, better news for us.” Logan's fingers flew across random buttons. “Alright Love, we have an hour before anything starts showing us in here. Shall we get started?”

Virgil nodded quietly.

Logan strode out of the security room and let the door fall closed. His lips pursed as he looked at it; apparently, there hadn’t been any wire to cut off the police button.

They would just have to be extra careful.

“Where’s the second guard?” Logan’s question was directed towards Patton, who gave the same helpless shrug from earlier. However, something in his eyes flickered and it made Virgil nervous. He looked around them.

“Baby-”

Bang!

Bang!

The first thing Virgil felt wasn’t the pain but the pushback. The bullet had shot clean through his shoulder, whirling him against the wall behind him. It wasn’t until he had fully sunk to the floor did the pain hit and he remembered to pull out his own gun.

Logan was much more reactive than he was. Before Virgil had even registered the pushback, his boyfriend had whirled around and fired straight through the second security guard's forehead.

Patton screamed. “ROMAN!”

“You move, you die.” Logan’s voice was like nothing Virgil had ever heard before. It wasn’t ice; this was pure fire, pure fury, and the slightest amount of desperation. “Got it?”

Patton just sobbed out that guard's name. Roman, Roman, Roman.

Logan ripped off the police shirt and pressed it against the wound. Virgil whimpered as it hit him and despite his best efforts, tears pooled in his eyes. He closed them tightly, trying to breathe, even as each breath sent shockwaves through his body.

“I’ve got you, Love.” Both of Logan’s hands worked Virgil’s wound, using his blue tie to wrap around the police shirt and hold it there. “This is going to hurt.”

“Baby, I'm a little scared.” He was not at all happy with how pathetic his voice sounded, and how no matter what he tried he couldn’t pull the sobs back in.

“Now don't you quit on me.” Logan’s voice was soft, but not meek. “I’m going to tighten the tie. Okay?”

Virgil nodded. Sweat beaded down his forehead and he let his head drop back.

“3. 2. 1.”

Logan pulled and the tie forced the shirt tight around the bullet hole. Virgil let out a scream and he felt Logan shudder with it. When he opened his eyes, he found tears glistening on his boyfriend’s face- tears that Logan was quick to swipe away.

“I’m alright,” Virgil whispered. “Where’s…” His eyes widened. “Baby, Patton-”

It was far too late. The guard had already smacked that police button, having snuck into the security guard’s room while Logan tended to Virgil. Patton’s eyes went wide as they looked over at the pair of them, and they whimpered as Logan turned to them, face unreadable.

“Come here.”

Patton decided not to argue. The moment they were within distance, Logan’s arm came up, slamming the butt of his gun into Patton’s temple with more ferocity than Virgil had ever seen his boyfriend exhibit. The guard collapsed to the floor, unconscious, and Logan put handcuffs around his ankles before leaning over to Virgil.

“Come on Love. We’re going.”

Virgil wasn’t about to argue. He tried his best not to whimper as Logan lifted him up, but from the pained look on Logan’s face, he had failed miserably. Slowly, they made their way over to the door, the door that would lead to their car, and that would lead them out of here.

They could still make it.

Weee-ooowww Weee-ooowww…

Virgil’s heart fell. He glanced over at Logan, who pressed a firm kiss to his temple.

“They don’t take us alive,” Virgil told him.

A flicker of a smile appeared on Logan’s face. “Do you wish to go down in a blaze of glory, Love, or here?”

“Is that even a question baby?” Virgil faced the door, and the lights he knew lay beyond them. “Let’s make sure we’re remembered.”

It would be difficult for Virgil to fire a gun. His right arm wasn’t able to move, and the left was strung up and around Logan’s shoulder, to help his boyfriend to keep from dropping him. But Logan unclipped Virgil’s gun from around his waist and passed it to Virgil’s left hand, so the tip faced forward.

There wouldn’t be any aim, but Virgil was ready to cause a little chaos.

Logan swung the door open and stepped both of them through the frame. They looked out, over the sea of flashing police cars, and the policemen and women huddled behind them with their guns up in the air.

“This is the sheriff's police department! Come out with your hands up! We have the place surrounded!”

Virgil grinned. He could barely hear the calls of the police officer; it was blocked by the harsh pulse thumping in his ears, pounding in his wound.

“Put your weapons down!”

Logan cocked his gun.

“Put your weapons down!”

Logan and Virgil looked at each other. Eyes locked, Logan leaned forward and slammed their lips together. Just as they met, both Virgil and Logan pulled the triggers on their guns.

The Art Crossed Lovers were still kissing when the answering shots blew their brains out.

[harrys-reverie]

DOG YEARS // Harry Styles O.U.

Part 2: The Bar Cart

a/n: hey and welcome to part 2! this is kind of short but I felt that it  needed to be it’s own chapter (in my head it makes sense.) aw harry and colette are v sweet in this one (i love them already). also there is colette’s face claim in the collage/mood board above including real pics from the soho farmhouse. :) comments, likes and REBLOGS are v much appreciated happy reading! 

STORY PAGE // PART 1

What I had concluded throughout the night was that this small group of Harry and his friends were just so normal. It was so easy to watch him on a phone clip or on the screen of a TV for an award show and have a false preconception of who he was. After all, he was a huge celebrity -- it’s hard not to imagine him being a certain way. I never could have dreamed he would be the way he is though, I suppose that’s the beauty of first getting to know somebody. As the hours weened late and the clock neared 12 AM, I realized Harry Styles was as normal as any man in a baby chick sweater could be. 

I had never been a massive Harry Styles fan, sure if his song came on the radio I bopped along. If I saw him on my Snapchat Daily Mail snippets, I’d read them every so often — but other than that I had no true preconception of who he was and what he was about. I guess that came in my favor because I had no high expectations from him and therefore he could only go up from there. Throughout the night the five of us took an abundant amount of shots and played a few childish ‘Truth or Dare’ games. I found myself taking a shot of maple syrup and pickle juice MIXED — Harry’’s idea of a dare.

This was the most fun I had since moving over here to England, and in the presence of all these ‘misfit’ like personas, I felt at home. There was no awkward beats, shame or egos. The whole atmosphere was completely judgement free and as light as a feather. I talked to everyone, chatting away about California, good food spots, sports and more. I found it so refreshing to be able to relate to other people’s stories about my home state, a place I was starting to long for.

It was fair to say that we were all peak drunk around 12, dancing along to old 70’s hits as well as current ones. Jamie tried to teach us all  ‘TikTok’ dances she had learnt from her children back home. Of course the 5 of us tried our best to be choreographed and in sync, but failed miserably. Little did they all know I spent most of my free time perfecting these stupid dances. Of course any videos we took, were never posted publicly...but some did make the cut as a private post to a whopping 0 followers. Watching Harry Styles sing the words “I'm a savage. Classy, bougie, ratchet, sassy, moody, nasty” with a bunch of hip pops was an award winning scene.

So as it reached 1 am, I was near my max of what I could handle for the night. My head which was once spinning was now beginning to pound and that gross dry feeling in my mouth was taking over. I hated this part. I didn’t feel sick to my stomach yet but I knew if I didn’t get sleep soon I’d be regretting it.

“Hey, so do ya need a ride back home?” Harry’s raspy voice asked, reading the room very well. He had taken a sudden seat next to me on the couch, spreading his legs apart and laying his head back fully — complete relaxation.

“You drank tonight,” I reprimanded him jokingly. But I meant it, he was the most plastered of all of us. “You can’t drive, even if it’s just down the hill.”

“Can’t argue with that,” He hummed. “’M pretty trashed still.”

I turned my head towards him, he was still looking up as if he was admiring the wood paneled ceilings, taking every detail in. But when I looked closer, his eyes were shut. His face structure was flawless if I’d say so myself. His jaw looked like it could cut someone, his eyebrows full enough to make any girl jealous, and those floppy, thick waves — it was hard to admit that he wasn’t handsome. I blinked my eyes hard, trying to get out of the small trance I was under. I was drunk after all.

“Well…” I began, “I need to start heading down to my casa.”

“Well…” Harry chirped, directing his attention towards me. “If I can’t drive you back down, the least I could do is walk you there.”

“No, please,” I scoffed. 

“Yeah, yeah. Shaddup and grab your coat, it’s about to get chilly out there.”

I knew I’d manage doing the walk by myself well enough alone. The premises of Soho Farmhouse were protected with heavy security and gates. I knew I had no reasons to worry about a swift 5 minute trudge down a hill.

“No Harry, seriously. I’ll be fine!” I argued back, forming a tight lip smile to reassure him.

“Who knows?  A bloody chicken could be loose and start chasing you, ya? Plus, it’s my duty to make sure you get back safe. Now, up!” He instructed. “’M a gentleman.”

I knew there was no point in fighting back, he was adamant about it. Plus the look on his face when I obliged was well worth it. 

The two of us said our quick fair wells to everyone  who was still gathered round the kitchen island talking amongst each other. It might have been the alcohol, but I felt oddly emotional saying goodbye to all of them. For the first time in a month I made what felt like real connections with a group of people and all I wanted was to hang out with them forever. I was bummed knowing Jamie and Jeff would only be here for another week or so.

“Shall we take the wagon, bar cart contraption thing?” Harry offered, pointing to the blue wagon filled with alcohol. 

“I don’t even have the keys.”

“Fair enough, walking it is.”

“Thanks for having me tonight,” I spoke tiredly.

“Don’t even worry about it. Glad to be of assistance in the ‘lit’ department,” He laughed, using quotations around the word lit.

“You’re very Americanized,” I noted. He turned his head to me, raising his eyebrow as if he had just been accused of something terrible.

“That’s why I’m back here in the English countryside. Trying to ween away from all that LA bullshit…” He admitted, running a hand through his hair nervously.

“LA bullshit?” I asked, appalled...maybe even a little offended. Although I had lived in Northern California, an insult to one city of my state was an insult to all.

“Yeah, erm, spent too much time there ‘s all...” Harry mumbled. I was almost sure by his tone he was not giving off the complete truth but I didn’t want to push. Harry started to fiddle with his bottom lips, hit teeth constantly biting it over and over. Most likely a nervous habit. 

We continued walking along the cobblestone in silence, the click-clack of our shoes echoing through the emptiness of the night. Despite the quietness of it all, it felt pretty comfortable.

“I love LA,” I offered sheepishly. “I mean, as long as you surround yourself with the right people, I think LA’s one of the best places you could be.”

“Well you’re just saying that,” He countered. “You’re from California, you’re supposed to say that.”

“False!”

“I loved LA too,” Harry admitted, focusing his attention back to the cobblestone ground ahead of him.

“Loved?” I asked inquisitively.

He turned his gaze to me and laughed, “It’s complicated.”

“LA can have that effect,” I said back, trying not to delve any deeper. I had just met him today after all, there was no reason for him to trust me with any of his problems. 

“I think you staying here will definitely be a big change. It’s about as simple as it gets.” I didn’t want to delve any deeper and invade his privacy so I took his explanation as it was. I couldn’t help but think there may have been a direct correlation with his quick mood change yesterday and his reasoning for disliking California. 

“Looking forward to it,” He smiled. “‘S kinda just like, the perfect situation for me. No press, no distractions, just focusing on myself...the music.”

“Mmm, exciting.”

Harry caught my gaze, “You’ve got no idea.”

We began to approach my cottage, the smallest one on the property. The lights on in the kitchen we’re still on from when I left. They were now shining through the windows giving a angelic glow to the darkness of the night.

“No rush to get up early tomorrow.” Harry insisted as we approached the large wooden door. I looked at him excitedly, all I wanted to do was sleep in after tonight and he had just granted me his permission to do so.

“Really?” I questioned.

He nodded his head, “I’ll be sleeping in late too. Bloody tired.”

“Alright I’ll just wait for a text from Jeff..”

Harry cut me off swiftly, “Or myself.” He pointed a finger to his chest playfully.

“Or yourself,” I agreed.

“But don’t worry, like I said, sleep in and uh I’ll see you tomorrow maybe.”

For some unknown reason the air between us felt extremely awkward. I was still a little tipsy, but coming down quickly. I thought to myself that if this was any other guy, I’d probably be on my tippy toes and ready to kiss him, because why not? But it was Harry Styles. He was like my boss, I guess, and he’d have no interest in me. If anything he’d file a restraining order if I tried to pull something like that. I pulled my jacket closer to my body as the air swirled around us.

“Alright well goodnight!” I exclaimed bringing him in for a quick side hug. Harry quickly turned it into a full on hug, giving me a tight squeeze. He smelled divine. How badly I wanted to arch my head up and meet his lips, which were probably freezing. The alcohol just does something to me and makes me want to kiss almost anybody to be fair. Making out with friends whilst drunk was one of my famous traits. It was like he had handed his warmth over to me because being embraced in him I instantly felt warmer, any shivers I once had were gone.

He let go of me and awkwardly stood there, his hands flying into his pockets. “Just want to make sure you get in safe,” He noted, bringing his lips into an awkward smile, shooting his gaze towards the door.

“Oh yeah, of course,” I laughed nervously. I emphasized the key in my hand, giving him a big smile as I twisted it and unlocked the heavy door.

“Right,” He muttered.

“Get back safe!” I chirped, allowing myself to fully walk in the warmth of my cottage and turning to face him.

“I’ll text you.”

“Oh?” I arched my eyebrow at him jokingly.

“Goodnight, Colette.” And with that he turned on his feet, slowly waking back up the treacherous hill and to his abode.

I slammed the door fast, the thunderous noise vibrating through my whole cottage. I rested my back against it in a state of relief and confusion of the encounter I had just endured. Pulling myself back together and avoiding any intrusive thoughts I may begin to think, i decided to start up a hot shower and brew myself tea.

HARRYS POV

I felt weird. I hadn’t felt this way since the night I had met Camille, years ago at a friends party. It was a feeling I longed for, but also was scared of. The creative side of me wanted to embrace the feeling, the broken side of me wanted to steer clear. I knew the girl I had just waved goodbye to depended on this job, I couldn’t just ask for a replacement — plus, I was intrigued. I felt like I was at tug of war with myself over a girl I had just met earlier today. It was a tad ridiculous.

I figured the best thing for me to do was to only call her around when trulynecessary. It wasn’t like me to be this unwelcoming, but the feeling in my stomach that was creeping up to my mind was telling me to be this way. I wasn’t going to text her tomorrow for anything. Colette, right? Yep, that was her name — how could I forget it. A face as pretty as the name. I didn’t say much when I came back into my temporary home, instead I insisted I needed sleep and get a propers nice rest of what was left of it anyways. It was the most polite way to let my dear pals know to fuck off for the night. I loved them all, but I needed to get situated and I wanted space. Time to myself is what I cherished most.

I rushed up to my bedroom, shutting the door and entering the attached bathroom. I neatly undressed myself, taking a deep stare in the mirror. I looked at myself hard, the alcohol was still in my system so I appeared a little fuzzy. I felt older, my hairline was not what it used to be in the 1D days, it didn’t bother me but I had seen some tweets about it. My facial hair was growing in kind of unevenly, this is what I get for wanting to be independent and not have a stylish take care of how I look. I preferred it that way though, that’s how it should be.

Sighing, I went for the toothbrush and started on my nightly routine. I wanted to create a new set of routine now that I was becoming accustomed into this place I’d be calling ‘home’ for the next four months.

After freshening up, I let my body get underneath the cool covers, pulling them up high up to my neck to keep me warm. I stared at my phone that was sitting on the wooden table side. I always kept my phone on Do Not Disturb when I was taking time off for myself. Seeing a bunch of missed calls and emails stressed me out, and I wanted to detach from all that. I let out a puff of air, knowing what I’d be seeing if I decided to take a look at my phone. But the alcohol that was left in me couldn’t hold back so I reached for it anyways.

I quickly opened up the safari tab and typed my own name, something I was never keen on doing. I hadn’t done it for weeks actually, but I knew there was a part of me that needed to see what was being said. Just like that, a bunch of highlights of new articles and my name as well as hers were everywhere.

“Fuck..” I sighed, closing my eyes shut for a second. “Why..”

Camille Rowe, model and famed ex girlfriend of musician and heartthrob Harry Styles releases tell all book — including steamy details of  her former romance with the star!

Click. I waited for the page to load, nervously biting my lower lip.

There’s a lot of things we should thank Camille Rowe for — her Vogue tips on how to achieve the perfect Parisian makeup look, inspiring the fabulous Harry Styles Fine Line album and now releasing a book telling us ALL about her old relationship with the man himself!

Details in the book delve deep into her once what seemed great, but now known doomed relationship with the singer. She mentions details of cheating, jealously and what Harry’s really like in the bed. Thanks Camille — you’ve answered all of our questions. Turns out, Harry is just as packed as we thought he would be!

I couldn’t read it anymore, I felt humiliated and invaded of my privacy. Privacy. The one thing I valued most in my life, the one thing I hold onto like it is the most precious jewel in the world. Privacy — the one thing Camille knew was the most important aspect of my life. I grew up in the spotlight, placed under a huge amount of pressure and scrutiny. I felt as if I was made from a testing tube so specially to fit into a mold of a person I wasn’t.

For so long in my life I had felt as if people knew everything about me, even more than I did — and that’s a harsh feeling. I regained that privacy back after leaving the band and learned how to maintain a healthy balance of showcasing who I was to the world but holding back at the same time. It was what made my albums, my art, so special. Making my songs and putting them out there was  my own personal invitation to those who listened, to get a glimpse into my life.

I felt sick and the alcohol in my stomach stirred the more I thought about that damn book.I was getting older, and alcohol didn’t clique with my body the way it used to. I opened my messages up, seeing Camille’s name at almost the top of my list of new messages, probably trying to apologize.  What she should have done was ask if I was comfortable with her releasing a book that almost solely focused on our past relationship. A relationship that was well done with for almost 3 years now. For fucks sake, I’d always have love for the lady, but she never knew when she took things too far. I finally felt at peace and fully over her, and here she was ambushing my life and swiping away my beloved privacy.

I swiped left on the unopened messages, deleting them before even reading. I had to focus on the positive, that’s why I was here in the countryside after all. I hadn’t answered my publicist since the damn book came out last week, I didn’t even know where to start or what to stay. I wanted to keep silent, MIA.

Tonight with Colette though, I forgot about it all. She was stunning, there was no denying that. Funny too, and a little shy. She didn’t come off star struck by my presence, she treated me like any bloke off the street. Normal. Dropping her off at her cottage tonight, after spending the past few hours with her bloody gorgeous face, I wanted to snog her face off. Was I getting too old to be acting that way? I didn’t want to scare her off though, and that wasn’t really my style anymore.

Hookups and shit. The amount of one night stands from my days in the band were shameful. Thinking back to having security bring girls we thought were hot to our hotel rooms for a quick fuck, was so common back then, it was insane.  It was a part of my life that I felt deep regret for, and sickened me to think about. I was young, horny, and willing to give my body up to any girl. Most of the time, I felt awkward. I’d see a girl at the bar in a fancy hotel we were at, I wouldn’t even say a word to her, 20 minutes later I was back in my room, waiting for my security to drop her off for an hour or so. No phones, sign an NDA, show ID of proof of legal age, be my type and bam, she got to be fucked by Harry Styles.

Things were so much different now, I focused more on making those connections, I found it built more of an attraction. The lead up to the sex or the relationship, was now my favorite thing. After years of getting instant sex, waiting for it had now become the best part.

I shook my head, brushing away these invasive thoughts I wanted to avoid and memories I wanted to forget. Switching off the lamp beside me and placing my phone on charge, I dozed off.

[ubernoxa]

All, here is a collective Masterlist of all my FanFics!

I mainly write Guns N’ Roses Fanfics, but my requests are currently open!

The Dare Masterlist

Pairing: Duff/OC

Story Summary: A stupid harmless dare, that’s all it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be something they would do, and never revisit. For Delilah, little did she know that visiting the strip wasn’t going to be a one time thing when she made the choice to accept the dare. Life is full of choices. Some choices can mean absolutely nothing, while others can change your entire world. Delilah had heard many rumors about the Sunset Strip or Devil’s Strip. Teenagers would whisper stories about how the Devil walks the streets of the strips without a care in the world. It was known as a place untouched by God. After years of hearing rumors about the Devil’s Strip, Delilah wants to see it for herself. Thus a Dare was born.

The Token Masterlist

Pairing: Not Yet Disclosed to Reader

Story Summary: Story inspired by the movie She’s the Man. A female Duff is tired of dealing with the bullshit of trying to make it on the strip as a female bassist. Did Michelle think it through as she chopped her hair? Nope. All she knew was that she wanted to make it on the strip. If she had to mascarade as a guy, so it shall be.

The Sip Masterlist

Pairing: Duff/ OC

Story Summary: In a packed room she couldn’t have felt more alone. Everyone was adorned and jewels and would humbly brag about their accomplishments when asked. She couldn’t blame them though, that’s what she was told to do as well. So, she stood there next to her boyfriend she knew was cheating on her as she continued to quietly listen as a good guest does. In the basement of the dreadful never ending party, Alanah quickly realizes the night just might not be over. In this modern day AU Alanah learns just how much one sip can ripple into a waterfall.

The Groupie Masterlist

Pairing: Izzy/OC

Story Summary: Even when I was younger, I knew I wanted to be in music. I had a hunger for it that could never be satisfied. I wanted to be where the music played. I was drawn to it, like a moth to a flame. At first it was a rush of pure adrenalin that would fill me as I tuned their guitars and partied with them after the gigs (sometimes even more), but just like all adrenalin rushes you eventually have to come down.

The Slippery Slope Masterlist

Pairing: Izzy Stradlin/OC

Story Summary: After leaving Guns N’ Roses, Izzy find himself in a rut, and decideds to visit the local zoo. While visiting the penguin exhibit, he meets a red head named Poppy. Will they manage to keep standing while on their slippery slope?

Broken Voodoo Masterlist

Pairing: Everyone?

Story Summary: The 70s and 80s had Iron Madden, Guns N’ Roses, Skid Row and Morley Crue. It’s 2025 and Rock N’ Roll is more alive than ever thanks to Broken Voodoo kickstarting the rock n roll heart.

[bellshells]

Splitting Hairs ch.4

Hello! Here is chapter four of Splitting Hairs, it’s a long one so grab a snack, grab a cup of tea and settle in. As always, thank you for taking the time to read this <3

Word Count: 3469 Severus x OC

Warnings: Moderate Smut, Alcohol  Summary: Sev has a new hobby and he has a jaunt out with galpals Minerva and Valentine. Shit goes down. Whoops.

Previous Chapter  Next Chapter Start from the beginning

One thing that Severus did not anticipate, was having a nice time with Minerva and Valentine. But he did. That night and the five following Fridays after. Minerva had insisted on inviting Valentine and Severus didn’t refuse. Valentine had always kept an appropriate amount of space between them, and they were able to speak somewhat freely. Minerva really was the crutch that they both desperately clung to, she was a mediator and comfort to them both and Severus was eternally grateful. He didn’t bother to disguise his enjoyment over spending time with the two witches, they were like two peas in a pod and Valentine quickly fell into step in their unlikely friendship.

He was struggling though still; he couldn’t dismiss his reoccurring consternation for his conflicted emotions. Whilst he was relishing in his new friendship with Valentine, the ghost of Lily Evans still haunted the corners of his mind. Severus felt like a complete hypocrite, he had assured nay- promised himself that he would do anything possible to avoid Valentine; yet he couldn’t bring himself to refuse her “Same again next week, Severus?” He wondered whether he would ever be free of Lily and the way he felt, or if she would remain a phantom of his subconscious. Lily would have found this all hilarious, he was sure. She often encouraged him to seek out a girlfriend, but he was never brave enough to explain why he always refused. Now, he cursed himself. If only he had taken her advice all those years ago, maybe not to find ‘the one’ but to gain a few experiences. He was thirty years old and had up until very recently never been kissed. He wasn’t ashamed per se, but now it was all that he could think about. Valentine had presented him with an opportunity that he never thought possible, and who was to say that it might not happen again? His lack of experience weighed heavily on him, he felt fit to burst with it all. His all-consuming guilt, his growing attraction for Valentine and his insecurity about being a virgin.

It was all Severus could do to fall asleep at night. It was like he was going through a second puberty. He had brewed a week’s worth of Sleeping Draught and he knew if he took it just before he got into bed, he had enough time to pleasure himself before falling asleep. It had become a nightly occurrence, almost an obsession. Severus didn’t think of himself as a very sexually minded person, especially throughout his adolescence, he had viewed masturbation as something inherently wrong and refrained from doing it. Now, he couldn’t get enough. He looked forward to it, making himself come and then having a dreamless sleep. It was fantastic, why he’d never thought of doing it before was baffling.  He would hot-foot it to his rooms on the nights he wasn’t hosting a detention, or on the ‘curfew night-watch’ as Mr. Filch so affectionately named it. He found he felt better for it in the morning too, like for a moment when he opened his eyes; everything was right with the world. Like everything else in his life though, that moment would pass, and he would be reminded that his life was a disaster.

That particular Friday night after Minerva and Valentine had returned to their respective quarters, and he was in bed, living his usual nightly ritual; he was different. His hand around his throbbing cock was tighter than normal, and he lifted his hand to his throat and pressed down, constricting his air flow. He came almost immediately. He laughed to himself, both impressed and surprised. He fell asleep soon after, a satisfied grin etched onto his face. When he awoke in the morning, he felt lighter, almost happy. He roused himself and got ready for the day, Saturday’s were his absolute favourite and he was excited. He smiled like a child as he pulled a fairly thick cloak over his shoulders. The weather was definitely turning and being that far up into Scotland; when the wind blew, it rattled through to your very bones. Quite satisfied with his appearance, he left his rooms and made his way out of the dungeons and towards Valentine’s quarters, he gave one swift knock on the door and waited patiently. It was quite simple really, collect Valentine on the way to meet Minerva and they would journey into Hogsmeade together. Just a few minutes of conversation to fill before he could get a firewhisky in his system and feel a little bit more comfortable around her. Minerva’s words had really stuck with him, it was nice to have a friend in Valentine. Whilst it was unfortunate that she carried with her some uncomfortable feelings for him; it wasn’t her fault. He found with each encounter; it became easier. He was able to find differences between them. Valentine’s nose for example, was longer than Lily’s. She was taller too, and obviously, she was alive.

He spied out of the corner of his eye, where the corridor bent into the belly of the castle a pair of twins. Orange haired and lanky even for their young age, Fred and George Weasley. They skulked close to the wall, whispering to themselves and checking their surroundings. Severus, cloaked in darkness watched them intently as one of them pulled out a battered piece of parchment from a pocket, and opened it. The boys poured their attention into it, scouring each corner of it with their gaze. From where Severus was stood, the parchment appeared completely blank and he toyed with idea of interfering, but the click of a lock being turned on the other side of Valentine’s door made his mind up quickly.

He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and offered Valentine a small smile as she opened the door. She stood before him, dressed in muggle clothes, her hair tied in a ponytail and her eyes red with tears. “Professor Valentine?” Severus said, confused and concerned. Valentine ushered him inside silently and blew her nose on a hanky hidden in her hand. She closed the door softly behind him and gestured for Severus to sit on the sofa, which he did uncomfortably. Whilst he had spent quite a few hours with Valentine, he had always been with Minerva; he had never been alone with her. He was suddenly very aware of every inch of his skin, every fibre of the fabric of his robes. He hadn’t washed his hair this morning, would he smell of the potions classroom? No, no. He was trying something new, being friends. Friends don’t care if you don’t look your best all the time. Severus tried to slow his quickening breath by returning his attention to Valentine, she was stood at the fireplace watching a piece of parchment turn to ashes. “Are you alright?” He asked, he knew it was a stupid question, but that’s the sort of things friends say, isn’t it? “Yes. Sorry,” Valentine said as she turned towards him, she picked up a coat which hung on the back of a chair and pushed her arms through it. “Are you ready to go?” She enquired, she tried to make her voice lighter as she spoke, but her face gave her away. Severus rose from his perch and stood awkwardly. “Forgive me if its not my place, but if there’s anything troubling you and you would like to talk about it, I’m happy to listen.” He said softly, he tried to make his face as amenable as he could; but in reality, he just felt daft. She shook her head with a sad smile, and took a deep breath, wiping her hands across her face decidedly. “No, honestly its nothing. I just had a letter from my dad is all.” Valentine said not-so-nonchalantly. Severus kept quiet, unsure of what he should say next. “Shall I tell Minerva that you won’t be coming?” He asked and moved swiftly towards the door. “No! Really, I’m fine. I was just expecting to hear something…different from what he had to say. If you give me two seconds, I’ll be absolutely fine, and we can go. Promise.” She gave him a real smile then, albeit a small one. She disappeared into her loo and emerged a minute or two later looking more like herself and looking more like Lily in her jumper and jeans. He used to laugh at Lily for keeping track of muggle trends, the 70’s were a dubious decade for fashion at best and Lily had wholeheartedly embraced it. “Is your father…well?” Severus asked hesitantly, he wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to say but it had fallen from his lips anyway. He watched as Valentine opened the door for him and offered him a wicked smile; “Unfortunately.” Was all she said.

The sun had shone as the three of them had left the castle, but as they entered The Three Broomsticks, a rain cloud had settled over Hogsmeade and they scurried in to avoid it. Severus flagged down a young woman behind the bar and ordered drinks for the three of them before settling in a quiet corner and removing his cloak. Minerva told them of how she had been in a foul mood all the week through, she had had a disagreement with Albus over the previous weekend and had only made up with him the day before. Severus laughed as Minerva did impeccable impressions of the Headmaster, letting Valentine ask questions about what he was like behind the half-moon spectacles and telling her stories of what he was like from when Severus was a student. “Of course, the world looked very different back then,” Minerva said, wiping a tear from her eye. She had laughed so much at Severus’ tale of accidentally locking himself in Albus’s office and thinking he had killed Fawkes, Albus’ phoenix, she had cried. “It certainly did.” He agreed. A moments silence passed between the three as Minerva and Severus left unsaid what they did not speak of. Almost as if it knew, he felt his Dark Mark tingle on his arm. It didn’t burn anymore, like it had when the Dark Lord was alive; but any time he thought about it, it let itself be known. “Enough talk of us,” Minerva started, swiftly changing the subject. “I’d love to know more about your years in France Elizabeth, it must have been terribly exciting?” Valentine took a contemplative sip of her whisky, then shook her head. “It wasn’t actually, it was really quite difficult. I didn’t speak a word of French when I got there so I sort of had to just muddle through. Plus, I was dealing with the heartbreak of not getting to attend Hogwarts.” Valentine mimed her heartbreak and Severus laughed again. “It was definitely an experience, but I’m not sure I would do anything differently if I was to go back.” “That must be a luxury,” Minerva said, “To have no regrets?” “Of course I have regrets. But overall, I have to say it may have done me some good. I had to learn resilience and develop a very thick skin…I can’t complain about that really.” Valentine levelled; Severus could feel that she was in pain as she spoke to them. She wasn’t being truthful again, and Severus tried to not let it bother him. He just couldn’t fathom why she felt she couldn’t be honest about her experiences, and that bizarre comment she made about her father had troubled him. Of course, he was no stranger to harbouring ill towards his father, it made him uneasy to think she was holding onto something to cause her such anguish. The feeling was so thick, almost tangible and his heart ached for her.

Severus could faintly hear the sound of the pub doors swing open, but it wasn’t until he saw Minerva’s back stiffen that he thought to look behind him. A tall blonde man dressed head to tow in black finery stood purveying the scene, a small boy who bore his intense likeness stood at the man’s side. Severus caught the man’s eye and before he could look away, the man swished towards him, yanking the boy in tow. “Severus, how delightful it is to see you,” Lucius Malfoy crooned, a sly smirk settling on his face. Severus felt his stomach fall, it had been a few years since Severus had been this close to Malfoy or anybody else from his former life. He fought to hide his rising panic as Malfoy tipped his head to Minerva; “Minerva, always a pleasure. You remember my son, Draco?” Minerva managed a stiff smile to the young boy who did not return it. Instead, Draco yawned and tapped his father on the arm. Malfoy swatted the boy away, his attention firmly fixed on to Valentine who, when Severus looked over at her, had gone deathly pale. “Hello Miss…” Valentine was silent. Her jaw clenched tight and Severus could feel her fury from across the table. Minerva placed her hand on Valentine’s shoulder. “Professor Valentine is our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Lucius.” Minerva piped, her gaze shifting between Malfoy and Valentine. Malfoy’s gaze didn’t waver as his smirk evolved into a sneer. “I bet she is.” He said. “Come Draco, our friend will be waiting for us upstairs. Ta ta.” With a flourish of his hand they were gone. Valentine looked positively livid as she watched Malfoy and his son meander up the stairs. “What a dick.” Valentine whispered; Minerva’s strained smile immediately transformed into a true grin.   “That my dear, is correct.”

Although Severus couldn’t disagree with Valentine’s sentiment, his face betrayed his confusion. That did not appear to him to be two people who had never met before. “Do you…do you know each other?” Severus asked Valentine, she turned her head slowly in his direction. “No, I just didn’t like his attitude.” Valentine smiled as she rose from the table. “One for the road?” Severus and Minerva watched as Valentine made her way to the bar and ordered more drinks, they both shared the same apprehensive expression. “Is it just me or was that a trifle…awkward.” Minerva asked Severus quietly, her face was awash with concern. He just shook his head, he wanted to tell Minerva that Valentine was lying. He could tell the minute she said she didn’t know Lucius that she wasn’t being truthful, and it made him slightly fearful as to what Valentine knew. Severus wondered whether Valentine’s past, the little that he knew about it had been as straight forward as she made it seem. He knew she was lying about her father’s busines in France, she had been truly upset after having received word from him this morning and now, pretending not to know Lucius when it was abundantly clear that they had some sort of connection. Albeit, a hostile one. There was obviously so much that neither Severus or Minerva knew about Valentine, and that made him uneasy. He knew that the Dark Lord was immensely popular overseas, and that many of his foreign followers had evaded capture after the war. Could Valentine have been one of them? No, she was still a teenager when the Dark Lord was killed- she couldn’t have been. But somebody close to her could have been.

Valentine returned to the table with a renewed energy. Six whiskies sat on a tray that she carried unsteadily in her hands. Minerva stifled a laugh as she haphazardly set them down on the table. “I thought you said one for the road, Elizabeth!” Minerva said in mock protest, readily accepting her two drinks from Valentine. The young witch just smiled and passed two more to Severus. “I just thought that as you’d had a hellish week Minerva, and I’ve not had a good drink since before term started that we deserved these. And Severus always looks in need of a stiff one.” She said with a wink. Minerva spluttered on her drink and let out a laugh that seemed to come from her belly. Severus rolled his eyes at the two cackling witches and tried not to let his embarrassment show. “From the looks of the two of you, it doesn’t seem like I’m the one in need of a stiff one.” He said with a smirk, Minerva howled with laughter and Valentine hid behind her hands, her shoulders bobbing up and down as she laughed. Severus was pleased with his retort, but he felt slightly panicked too. He shouldn’t have said that. He blamed it on the alcohol, he was being far too suggestive, and it wasn’t like him. Neither he nor Valentine had addressed what had happened the night they met and when Minerva had pressed Severus for information; he had merely put it down to intoxication. After a further two rounds the three stood, Minerva slightly unsteady on her feet clung to Valentine’s coat as the exited the bar. Severus couldn’t help but smile, he had drunk with Minerva many times and only on a few occasions had he seen her drunk. But as he watched the deputy headmistress try and act sober as they encountered students on their way back to the castle; he knew he would not let her forget it in a hurry.

Severus and Valentine left Minerva outside the Great Hall when they arrived, dinner was just about to begin, and Minerva had told them six or seven times on the way back that she was ravenous. Minerva waved goodbye to the pair as she expertly walked the way down the long pews towards the high table. Severus turned his attention towards Valentine, she stood with a smile as she watched Minerva safe to her spot next to Albus. “You not going in?” He asked her. Valentine shook her head and began walking down the corridor, Severus followed her wordlessly, having to increase his pace in order to catch up with her. “Something the matter?” “I’m just not feeling terribly sociable, Severus. You can go in though; Minerva might need someone to help her with her knife and fork.” She laughed; Severus didn’t reply instead choosing to continue walking with her. “Are you not hungry?” “Not really, I’ll send for something later if I need to.” He said, Valentine just nodded without looking at him. Why wouldn’t she look at him? He struggled to keep pace with her, maybe he should eat something. His legs felt heavy as he willed them onwards, the effect of the firewhisky suddenly in full force. They continued silently towards the dungeons and Severus was unnerved by Valentine’s quietness.

He wasn’t sure whether he was feeling brave because of the copious amount of alcohol he had consumed, or because he hadn’t thought of Lily in hours- but he reached for her hand and placed in the crook of his arm. Valentine raised her eyebrows at the contact but didn’t stop or speak, just continued walking in silence. When they reached her quarters, Valentine stopped and opened the door and stood expectantly. “Well?” she said, “Are you coming in?” Severus’ expression was pained. He wanted nothing more than to stay with her, but he had promised himself. He was sober enough to remember that, at least. “I probably shouldn’t,” he muttered. “I don’t think I could trust myself not to…” he didn’t finish his sentence but gestured vaguely in front of him. If he wasn’t mistaken, he could see a flash of hurt dance over Valentine’s face. She turned to enter the room but stopped herself before she reached the door and turned fast on her heel. She approached Severus slowly until their bodies almost touched. Severus found himself barely breathing as he stared down into to Valentine’s brilliant green eyes, he acted on sheer impulse. He captured her face in his hands and brought his lips down to hers. They were like magnets finally come together, she kissed him desperately in the archway of her chambers and Severus tried to walk her backwards into the awaiting room, but Valentine pulled away with a coy smile. His arms were empty and yearned for her. Valentine backed into her room and put her hand on the door handle. “Goodnight, Professor.” She said with a sly smile and slowly shut the door. 

Severus was left in the chill of the dark corridor feeling a mixture of sadness and delight. He made his way the short distance to his chambers and locked himself in for the evening. He tried his very hardest to keep the elation he felt last as long as possible, downing a bottle of Sleeping Draught and climbing into bed commencing his nightly ritual with a newfound vigour.

[bobasheebaby]

107 The Good Place Prompts

Eleanor Shellstrop

1 “I just don't think the group thing is for me. I'm better when it's one-one-one and we're both looking at our phones and I don't know the other person and we don't talk.”

2 “The closest thing I could find to herbal tea was a root beer I had them throw in the microwave.”

3 “Whenever anyone tells me a story about their life I always imagine all the people as being super hot. Otherwise, I quickly lose interest. Do you not do that? You can do it for free.”

4 “I'm SO ready to learn, it's like my brain is HORNY!”

5 “What can you possibly say to us that will make up for your actions?” “Pobody's nerfect?”

6 “You don't seem like a ... super genius.”

7 “Ugh, of course your hugs are amazing.”

8 “Oh, so now I'm supposed to be nice and make friends and treat him:her with mutual respect?” “Yeah!” “That's exactly what he/she wants me to do, NAME, wake up!” “That's what everyone wants everyone to do.”

9 “Your friend sounds like he’s/she's one pickle short of a pickle party.”

10 “I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed.” “Oh, come on. Everyone knows that's worse.”

11 “I know it sounds crazy, but if it weren’t crazy they wouldn’t call it a ‘leap of faith.’ They would call it a ‘sit … of ... doubting.’”

12 “Buzz off, Bambadjan.”

13 “Where is everyone?” “Who knows? Maybe they finally figured out clam chowder is disgusting, 'cause it's basically a savory latte with bugs in it.”

14 “First of all, throwing sand is an excellent way to put out a vodka fire.” “Why would you even know that?!”

15 “No, NAME, I used to do that. Now I do selfless things without even thinking about it.”

16 “Why don't I ever listen to people when they talk about themselves? No, it's annoying, and I'm right not to.”

17 “Are you going to talk? Or just walk around like a nerd trying to get a personal best on his Fitbit?”

18 “I guess ‘try and enjoy this’ is a better plan than ‘have the anxiety sweats.’’

19 “I’ve only ever said ‘I love you’ to two men my entire life, Stone Cold Steve Austin and a guy in a dark club who I mistook for Stone Cold Steve Austin.”

20 “Is that some kind of nerd pick-up line? Because it’s only kind of working.”

21 “You know I’m trying to say ash-hole instead of ash-hole, right?”

22 “It’s suddenly very important that I get drunk.”

23 “Well fork you, too.”

24 “Holy mother-forking shirtballs.”

25 “‘You’re not better than me’ was my yearbook quote.”

Tahani Al-Jamal

26 “You guys came to say goodbye because you're my friends.” “Well, I suppose some part of me possibly has a sense of casual kinship with you, much as one might be fond of a street cat.”

27 “I would say I outdid myself, but I’m always this good. So I simply did myself.”

28 “NAME, you seem thoughtful. And that concerns me.”

29 “I, NAME, shall do my level best to make every event too much.”

30 “I just want to sit and stare at nothing, and silently scream for the rest of time.”

31 “I made a complete fool of myself tonight. I interrupted your big speech and badly stained my cargo pants, which, I have to admit, are quite comfortable. Oh, God, what’s happened to me? I’m praising off-the-rack separates!”

32 “Who else feels that NAME has ruined every moment of your existence since you arrived?”

33 “Right now I'm just a boy/girl, towering over a boy/girl, asking him/her to admit he/she loves me.”

34 “My whole life, whenever I encountered any obstacles, I would simply say, ‘I would like to speak to a manager.’ But in our relationship, there was no manager. There was no one who could fix this for me except me.”

Chidi Anagonye

35 “I’m just not a ‘new experience’ kind of guy. My comfort zone is basically like, that chair, and honestly? The arms are a little sharp.”

36 “Here’s an idea. What if we don’t worry about whatever comes next?”

37 “Principles aren’t principles when you pick and choose when you’re gonna follow them.”

38 “If this isn’t a test, then it’s something way worse: A choice! That we have to make!”

39 “I am absolutely paralyzed by decision-making.”

40 “I’m going to ... start crying.”

41 “I am pretty good at turning every place I go into my personal hell.”

42 “You know the sound that a fork makes in the garbage disposal? That’s the sound that my brain makes all the time.”

43 “Well, I’ve narrowed it down to two possibilities: yes and no.”

44 “There's an old Chinese proverb... ‘Lies are like tigers. They are bad.’””That's it?” “I guess it's more poetic in Mandarin.”

45 “I argue that we choose to be good because of our bonds with other people and our innate desire to treat them with dignity. Simply put, we are not in this alone."

46 “I am breaking up with you.” “Why?” “I can't ... It's complicated, but it's happening. Ya dumped!”

47 “I do have a stomachache. Why do I always have a stomachache?”

48 “You put the Peeps in the chili pot and eat them both up! You put the Peeps in the chili pot and add the M&Ms. You put the Peeps in the chili pot and it makes it taste bad.”

49 “Are you alright? You didn't sleep at all last night.” “I got a solid eight minutes. Not consecutively, but still. It's fine. You're not even that blurry.”

50 “We can be colleagues. Associates is pushing it. And by even having this conversation, you're becoming my confidante. I can't have that.”

51 “I am absolutely paralyzed by decision making and it is destroying my life.” “Yeah, I sort of got that when you couldn't choose a chair to sit on.” “Well, I didn't want to offend you in case you had a favorite.”

52 “This whole romantic situation is such a mess. I am vexed, NAME. Vexed.”

53 “I need to step outside ... for some air ... and I will not be back for many days.”

54 “I'm sorry, everyone, I just have some worries as well as some concerns that could potentially turn into outright fears. Ah, there they go, they're fears now.”

55 “When I'm really upset, concentrating on a table of contents helps me calm down. It's like a menu, but the food is words.”

56 “I have never been that certain about anything. I once even tried to rent socks. How did I say that that easily?”

57 “You broke the world. It's not a compliment!”

58 “This is fun. It's a fun party. There's no question about it, this is a fun ... situation. Hey! You guys are here! The fun continues, nay, increases!”

Michael

59 “If soulmates do exist, they’re not found. They’re made.”

60 “I’ll say this to you, my friend, with all the love in my heart and all the wisdom of the universe. Take it sleazy.”

61 “We have no plan. No one’s coming to save us. So ... I’m going to do it.”

62 “It’s a rare occurrence, like a double rainbow. Or like someone on the internet saying, You know what? You’ve convinced me I was wrong.”

63 “Lies are always more convincing when they’re closer to the truth.”

64 “Kissing is gross. You just mash your food holes together. It’s not for that.”

65 “Birth is a curse and existence is a prison.”

66 “Serious question: should we kill them?”

67 “Lonely Gal Margarita Mix for One.”

68 (Holding a plush Minion) “I won this ugly yellow toddler, which is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.”

69 “Hello, everyone. Good to see you all here, mingling around with your various secrets. Who really knows which of you are who you say you are? No way to know unless I pull your skeletons out, right?"

70 “In the words of one of my actual friends: 'Ya basic'. It's a human insult. It's devastating. You're devastated right now."

71 “Where's the H? This keyboard doesn't have an H.”

72 “Dick Tracy called back on his watch phone and said you better "watch" out!”

73 “I got to ride a bike. I put a coin in a thing and got a gumball. And then someone came up to me and said, ‘hot enough for ya?’, and you know what I said? I said, ‘tell me about it!’” “Well I am glad that you got to chew a gumball.” “Oh, damn. I didn't even think to chew it. Missed opportunity, shoot.”

74 “I saw this place that was at once a Pizza Hut and a Taco Bell! I mean, oh! The mind reels! A Pizza Hut and a Taco Bell!”

75 “And what's the significance of the keychain?” “Nothing, I just like frogs. I'm a frog guy.”

76 “I won't let you down.” “I think you will. I think this entire project of yours is stupid and doomed to fail.”

77 “You know the way you feel when you see a chimpanzee and a baby tiger who have become friends? That's how you're going to feel every day.”

78 “You humans have so many emotions. You only need two: anger and confusion!”

79 “It makes sense, right? They're good so they're stupid and trusting.”

Jason Mendoza

80 “I have no idea what’s going on right now but everyone else is talking and I think I should too!”

81 “I can’t believe NAME betrayed us again, why is it always the ones you most expect?”

82 “I wasn’t a failed DJ. I was pre-successful.”

83 “Claustrophobic? Who would ever be afraid of Santa Clause?”

84 “If you’re a devil, how come you’re not wearing Prada?”

85 “I’m too young to die and too old to eat off the kids’ menu. What a stupid age I am.”

86 “Well, my year started about a year ago …”

87 “Dude! We can get mythical animals? Maybe I’ll get a penguin.” “Penguins are real.” “That’s the spirit, NAME. They’re real to me too.”

88 “When I say I'm meditating, I'm just trying to figure out what the fork is happening."

89 “You know, it doesn't matter if you know things. All that matters is what's in your heart."

90 “I'm ranking my favourite Fast and the Furious movies. You said you wanted to know who I am, and this is the best way to get to know me."

91 “He’s/She's my everything. He/She makes the bass drop in my heart.”

92 “Long story short, it was all a dream.”

Janet

93 “I think I might hate things now, too. So far, it’s genocide and leggings as pants.”

94 “NAME told me that instead of being sad, I should ‘go get it, girl.’ So I’m going to go get it, girl.” “Get what?” “Unclear. I’ll get everything, just to be safe.”

95 “In case you were wondering, I am, by definition, the best version of myself."

96 “Ooh, I've never had to walk before, this is fun! [Walks a few steps] Now I'm bored. Walking is dumb.”

97 “Oh, really? Is it an error to act unpredictably and behave in ways that run counter to how you were programmed to behave?”

Minor Miscellaneous Characters

98 “There is some good news. There’s some cake left!” – Neil from Accounting

99 “Well, I'm sure you're busy, you probably wouldn't want to talk to me. I get it, I wouldn't either. I'm as dull as a rock. Ugh, even that analogy was boring. I'm sorry, I'm so dull, and I'm ugly. I'm like a rock. Ugh, stupid Larry! Stop talking about rocks!” — Larry Hemsworth

100 “Oh, and you should smile more. You'll get bigger tips.” — Trevor

101 “Later days, dingus.” — Trevor

102 “Hold that thought. Is it OK if I go work out? I love working out. I gotta stay jacked. It's who I am.” — Chris Baker

103 “This is exhausting. I just want to go back to my container of goo and go to sleep.” — Shawn

104 “So, what's up, what's your deal? Are you single? What's going on?” — Trevor

105 “What up, ding dongs?” — Bad Janet

106 “Hello, imbeciles.” — Shawn

107 “So, we'll just roll on out, and you can get back to putting rainbows up your butt or whatever you do here.” — Trevor

[f4liveblogarchives]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #236

Mon May 04 2020 [08:31 PM] Wack'd: IT'S A MILESTONE!

[08:32 PM] maxwellelvis: A triple-sized issue, eh? [08:33 PM] Wack'd: All your favorite Fantastic Four characters are here! Wyatt! Norrin! Agatha! Franklin! Namor! Willie! Impy! T'Challa! And, uh. I guess some other folks? [08:33 PM] maxwellelvis: I'm going to guess that's a double-sized Byrne story and then a regular-sized one by Stan and Jack. [08:33 PM] Bocaj: Ah yes captain america and reed richards in one place at one time in a time and place that isn't the ill received special avengers 300 roster [08:33 PM] maxwellelvis: That's the rest of the Marvel Universe heroes here to party. [08:33 PM] Wack'd: Yes. [08:33 PM] Wack'd: Why isn't Alicia on this cover. [08:34 PM] Wack'd: Or, like, any number of Fantastic Four repository players. [08:34 PM] maxwellelvis: Had to make room for Stan Lee. [08:34 PM] Wack'd: Also who's that guy in the suit? Is that...Collins, maybe? [08:35 PM] maxwellelvis: I just told you. [08:35 PM] Wack'd: Oh [08:35 PM] Wack'd: ...where's Jack? [08:35 PM] maxwellelvis: Either he's on the back or John Byrne knows which side his bread is buttered on. [08:36 PM] Bocaj: maybe he's behind the special triple sized sticker [08:36 PM] Bocaj: Like he got Mike Wachowski'd [08:36 PM] Wack'd:

Clint: I can't believe it... Wanda: Oh, Clint, I'm so sorry... Clint: I'M ON THE COVER OF *FANTASTIC FOUR*!

[08:36 PM] maxwellelvis: 🤣 [08:37 PM] Wack'd: Can't believe Bocaj beat me to essentially this same joke [08:37 PM] Bocaj: My secret is that I didn't bother putting in extra effort [08:39 PM] Wack'd: Anyway, let's start our first story, shall we? [08:39 PM] maxwellelvis: Indeed. [08:40 PM] Wack'd: Oh good, we're doin this

[08:40 PM] Wack'd: I think this is our first real, proper origin retelling. We got one in the late 70s but it was less a retcon and more "this is a recap issue, please don't kill us if we fudged some details" [08:40 PM] Umbramatic: welp [08:42 PM] Wack'd: I guess instead of "first to the moon" it was "make it further into space than anyone else"

[08:42 PM] Bocaj: Time keeps on slipping, slipping into the future [08:42 PM] Umbramatic: what is time [08:42 PM] Bocaj: I know that the Slott FF has the idea instead that the rocket was FTL and they were trying to get to a specific planet, which turns out to be full of assholes [08:44 PM] Wack'd: So here's egg on my face [08:44 PM] Wack'd: The dialogue from this scene is taken note-for-not from #1 [08:44 PM] Wack'd: This isn't actually retconning anything at all, except for that one narrative caption [08:45 PM] Wack'd: Oh, and the addition of some jargon

[08:47 PM] Umbramatic: CAPTAIN SPACE ICEBERG AHEAD [08:47 PM] Wack'd:

[08:49 PM] Umbramatic: this is intense [08:49 PM] maxwellelvis: Both version are pretty intense. [08:49 PM] maxwellelvis: I'm noticing the dialogue's been slightly rewritten on the new version. [08:50 PM] Wack'd: Very slightly, mostly just to add technical terms you'd expect a rocket crew to be using [08:50 PM] Umbramatic: aha [08:50 PM] Wack'd: All of the original lines are still there, though [08:50 PM] maxwellelvis: And to keep Ben's manner of speech more consistent [08:51 PM] Wack'd: Punctuation is a bit different [08:52 PM] Wack'd: OH SHIT, WE'RE DOIN' THIS

[08:53 PM] Umbramatic: oh. OH [08:55 PM] Wack'd: In this reality, Reed's a college professor, Sue's a housewife, and Ben and Alicia are married and running a tavern. All in a little town creatively named Liddleville. [08:55 PM] Bocaj: Our Town Founders made a decision there [08:55 PM] Wack'd: Our Town Founder is Josiah Liddle [08:56 PM] Bocaj: Lets cut the head off his statue [08:56 PM] Bocaj: Like in the Jetsons [08:56 PM] Wack'd: Oh, also, Alicia can see in this reality. Alicia offhandedly mentioning she saw something makes Ben real happy and he has no idea why [08:57 PM] Bocaj: Hmm. [08:57 PM] Wack'd: But I do! It's this creepy fucker

[08:57 PM] Umbramatic: oh boy! oh BOY! [08:58 PM] maxwellelvis: We're actually doing the "Perchance to Dream" thing, aren't we? [08:58 PM] maxwellelvis: Is THIS where B:TAS got that idea from? [08:59 PM] Wack'd: Pretty sure they stole it from For the Man Who Has Everything [08:59 PM] Wack'd: Which incidentally won't exist for another three or four years [08:59 PM] maxwellelvis: Wild how time works [09:00 PM] Wack'd: Another dream sequence, this time for Sue! And with much more dramatic changes [09:01 PM] Wack'd: This time, Ben's complaints about safety concerns are much more substantial, and Sue's accusation that Ben is a coward is more to do with time and money running out to do this experiment and less to do with, uh [09:01 PM] Wack'd: Commies [09:03 PM] Umbramatic: "I'm going to the one place free from capitalism... SPACE" [09:03 PM] Wack'd: Also this happens

[09:03 PM] Umbramatic: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH [09:04 PM] maxwellelvis: It's a nice touch that in those first two panels, the Thing is more leathery, like he was in the early comics, and it's only when Reed starts stretching that he looks more rock-like [09:04 PM] Wack'd: Yeah, I liked that too [09:05 PM] Umbramatic: oooh [09:05 PM] Wack'd: So Reed, Johnny, and Ben meet up at Ben's tavern to discuss these dreams, and whaddayknow, they've all been having them [09:06 PM] Wack'd: Tragically, Ben's dreams give him super-strength, but no rock skin. Dream!Ben is scared to ask Alicia to marry him--but he doesn't know why. [09:08 PM] Wack'd: Reed then goes to work, where he's having problems with his dickhead boss.

[09:09 PM] Wack'd: Reed decides to try and work out what's up with these dreams, dozes off, bonks his head, and realizes when he wakes up that he is actually a superhero, and the Puppet Master is responsible for all this. [09:10 PM] Umbramatic: wha [09:11 PM] Wack'd: Reed, trying to figure out why he doesn't have stretching powers, makes the very smart and scientifically motivated decision to stab himself in a vein and bleed out in his office. [09:12 PM] Umbramatic: oh [09:12 PM] Umbramatic: i diagnose you with dead [09:13 PM] Wack'd: It's okay though! Turns out he's a robot and the blood is all fake. So are the bodies of Ben, Sue, Johnny, Alicia and Franklin. [09:13 PM] Umbramatic: ...IS DOOM IN ON THIS TOO?! [09:13 PM] Wack'd: It takes Reed no time at all to convince his friends and family of this and go confront Phillip. [09:14 PM] Wack'd: Wow, uh, you're ahead of me here, Umbra [09:14 PM] maxwellelvis: Lucky guess [09:14 PM] Umbramatic: damn this is the second thing i've predicted tonight [09:14 PM] Wack'd: Phillip apparently just wanted to give Alicia the life he thought she wanted, but Reed points out he doesn't have the tech to do this all on his own. [09:15 PM] Wack'd: Phillip, it turns out, has made the very smart and not-at-all-suicidal decision to mind control Doctor Doom [09:15 PM] Umbramatic: oh this is gonna be goooooooooooooooooooooood [09:15 PM] Bocaj: Oh geeeeeeeeeeeez [09:16 PM] maxwellelvis: This should be good. [09:17 PM] Wack'd: Of course this is Doom we're talking about. He doesn't make mistakes, he just lets people figure things out for stupid ego reasons.

[09:18 PM] Wack'd: God, the fact that this isn't an illusion, the Four, Franklin and Alicia are trapped in tiny robots, is a lovely extra layer of bonkers. [09:18 PM] Bocaj: Amazing [09:19 PM] Wack'd: ALSO "LIDDLEVILLE" ISN'T A SMALL TOWN JOKE, IT'S LITERALLY LITTLE [09:19 PM] Wack'd: INCREDIBLE [09:20 PM] Wack'd: Anyway, Reed asks Doom what his next move is, and Doom...doesn't have one [09:20 PM] Wack'd: He's just gonna leave them like this [09:20 PM] Wack'd: Forever [09:21 PM] Umbramatic: DOOM: "I don't know, I never thought I'd get this far.” [09:21 PM] maxwellelvis: The fact that he's resisted the urge to play Godzilla now that they know he's the one who orchestrated this shows he has way more willpower than I [09:22 PM] maxwellelvis: Assuming the shock of dying in robot bodies wouldn't wake them up. [09:23 PM] Wack'd: They do have one ace in the hole--Phillip! After all, Phillip's in this mess because he mind-controlled Doom, but he's not an idiot, surely he has an escape hatch. [09:23 PM] Wack'd: Well turns out he did. Doom turned it off. [09:23 PM] Umbramatic: oh [09:23 PM] maxwellelvis: Womp womp [09:23 PM] Wack'd: Reed examines it through and tries to see if he can get it to work anyway. [09:24 PM] Wack'd: Ben, meanwhile, is taking all this really hard. [09:25 PM] Umbramatic: aw... [09:26 PM] Wack'd: He's also decided to stay in Liddleville. The world has other superheroes now, and he's earned a normal, idyllic life. [09:26 PM] Wack'd: (The fact that Doom turned off all the fake villagers does not seem to be something he's noticed.) [09:27 PM] Umbramatic: Ben: The Last Man On Fake Earth [09:28 PM] Wack'd: So! Here's the plan. Turns out Doom built a real miniature particle accelerator at Reed's fake miniature college because Reed would spot a fake. [09:28 PM] Wack'd: So all they have to do is get it to spit out some cosmic rays. Easy. [09:28 PM] Umbramatic: excuse me what [09:29 PM] Wack'd: To which part? [09:29 PM] Umbramatic: the first bit mainly [09:29 PM] Wack'd: Yeah uh [09:30 PM] Wack'd: Doom wanted to taunt Reed with some cool science he couldn't play with to make Reed miserable [09:30 PM] Umbramatic: omg [09:30 PM] Wack'd: But he also knew Reed would know if it was a fake cool science [09:30 PM] Umbramatic: that's deliciously petty [09:30 PM] Wack'd: It issssssss [09:30 PM] Wack'd: So, as they're debating who gets a power up first, Ben has a change of heart and demands to go first. [09:31 PM] Umbramatic: Ben: This is insane. ...I’m in. [09:33 PM] Bocaj: Hahah [09:33 PM] Wack'd:

Alicia: ben you dingus i literally sculpt real people with pinpoint accuracy, you've seen my work, and also we've touched each other...a lot... Ben: Yeah I know but I got that danged body dysmorphia

[09:33 PM] Bocaj: Aww [09:34 PM] Umbramatic: awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww [09:34 PM] Wack'd: I joke because I love [09:35 PM] Wack'd: Ben/Alicia 4ever [09:35 PM] Umbramatic: ye [09:35 PM] Umbramatic: (though i felt the body dysmorphia part) [09:37 PM] Wack'd: With their powers restored, all they have to do is fight a bunch of miniature robots, scale the walls of their fake city, climb up to Doom's workstation... [09:37 PM] Wack'd: Aaaaaaand he took the battery out. [09:37 PM] Wack'd: Now the workstation can only turn left 😛 [09:38 PM] Umbramatic: -gasp- [09:39 PM] Wack'd: So! New plan. Use the Liddleville river to flood Doom's office, stick some live electrical wires in there, and hope the alarm goes off. [09:39 PM] Wack'd: No dice. [09:39 PM] Wack'd: They're gonna have to find Doom and bring him to them. [09:40 PM] Wack'd: And since Reed and Ben have fairly limited top speeds, and Johnny's flame can run out without rest, this task falls to Sue. [09:41 PM] Wack'd:

Reed: No! I can't permit you to go against Doom alone! Sue: Please, Reed! Must we go through this every time a dangerous task falls to me? I've proven time and time again that I can handle myself in an emergency situation. I'm the only one who can go. And you know it.

[09:42 PM] Wack'd: Sue puts up a good fight against Doom, pelting him with force fields, but she's still as big as a fingernail, and all he really has to do is put a cup on her like she's a bug he's found. [09:43 PM] Wack'd: But the goal is accomplished. Doom is going to check and make sure the other three aren't making any trouble. [09:43 PM] Wack'd: Just like they wanted. [09:43 PM] Bocaj: Good job Sue [09:43 PM] maxwellelvis: Was this inspired by the 1967 Fantastic Four cartoon intro?  [09:45 PM] Wack'd: ...hahahaha it coulda been! [09:45 PM] Wack'd: Oh hey, that's where this meme comes from

[09:46 PM] Umbramatic: this was a meme? [09:49 PM] Wack'd: 106k notes on Tumblr [09:51 PM] Wack'd: AND SO! Doom does not blindly stride into this childish trap, and then electrocute himself. [09:51 PM] Wack'd: He angerly fires some energy beams at the childish trap because he feels insulted. [09:51 PM] Wack'd: And then Reed, Johnny, and Ben use their powers to trip him into the childish trap. Which electrocutes him. [09:52 PM] Bocaj: Wow [09:52 PM] Bocaj: bad show doom, good show reed, ben, johnny [09:52 PM] Wack'd: This somehow instantaneously shunts everyone back into their real bodies. [09:53 PM] Umbramatic: welp [09:54 PM] Wack'd: Also, Doom is now in a stasis coma in his suit. [09:54 PM] Wack'd: To ensure he stays that way, the Four decide, well... [09:55 PM] Wack'd:

[09:57 PM] maxwellelvis: I must admit I am curious to see how he gets out of this one eventually [09:59 PM] Bocaj: If you die in Liddletown you die in real life [09:59 PM] Wack'd: Anyway, the quote-unquote "brand new story by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby" is a rejected script for the 1978 animated series, adapting Doctor Doom's first appearance. [09:59 PM] Wack'd: It is also not available here. So I am going to write it off as no big loss and move on. [10:02 PM] Wack'd: I did like this story, though! I think it coulda stood to spend a little less time on the mechanics and a little more time on how everyone felt about this situation, but overall it's really good.

[secret-kkh-fics]

Spark Before the Flame | Chapter 2

Due to this not being posted anywhere else yet, please like but DON’T REBLOG my fics.

Chapter Summary:

Old Zuko is sent back into his younger body, and Young Zuko is surprised not just by it happening, but by how much he seems to have changed in 70 years. He’s not the only one who notices the difference, and Old Zuko sits the Gaang down to explain.

Like Falling Dominoes 

"So, what if they had a lot of accurate knowledge," Toph scoffed, rice flying from her mouth as she spoke. "Half of that play was bogus anyway, it was all word of mouth. And it's not like they can suddenly tell the future, so stop complaining. We're going to kick that asshole's butt."

Around the table, the gang looked a little more relieved at her words. The future was still uncertain, but Toph's brash attitude helped pick them all up a little after watching that stupid play. There were even a few small smiles as they returned to eating.

"Yeah, it was bogus," Katara agreed. "Like the part where we flew right over the Great Divide without stopping. We had a whole adventure helping two feuding tribes through there on foot!"

"And how I use sound and vibrations in the air to see. Do I look like an airbender to you?!"

Aang chuckled. "Y-yeah. And the scene with Katara and Zuko in the catacombs?! What was with that?"

"Oh yeah. That was totally fake," Toph scoffed sarcastically, earning some confused looks.

"Well, we were trapped in the catacombs, but that wasn't what we talked about."

"So, no talking at all. Gotcha!"

"Toph!" Katara exclaimed in annoyance.

"W-we actually talked about our mothers," Zuko said awkwardly.

Toph just huffed and muttered under her breath. "Damn. Just make out already, the tension is killing me!" Katara was the only one to hear her and she looked at the girl stunned, her mouth hanging open.

However, no one got the chance to ask her why she was looking at Toph like that, because the next moment, they noticed a bright light racing through the sky towards them. Right towards them. It was so fast that they didn't even have time to move out of the way or even attempt to defend themselves. The light crashed down, landing right on Zuko. As everyone other than Toph shied away, they panicked, worried for their friend, making Toph cock her head in confusion. But when the light cleared, he was sitting there exactly as he had been, unharmed.

They watched as he blinked and then looked around at them all in surprise. He looked down at himself, and then, oddly, at his hands, flexing them. Maybe something had happened to his vision? There didn't... seem to be anything wrong with him. Still, he began stretching, lifting his arms up over his head and groaning as the muscles stretched pleasantly. He had an oddly happy surprised expression on his face and let out a quiet chuckle. The entire group froze. They had never heard him laugh like that before.

Okay, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him, but he was acting... strange.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?!" Toph finally asked.

"Ah, Zuko, are you okay?" Katara was the first to ask.

He looked up at her, as if he was surprised to hear her speak, then looked around at everyone else's concerned faces. As he did, a warm smile lit up his face and his eyes watered.

"Better than you could ever imagine," he told her breathlessly.

"What was that weird ball of light?" Sokka said, a hint of panic still in his voice. "Are you sure you're okay? It didn't hurt you? Did make you extra strong or give you super powers?!"

"Superpowers?" he questioned, raising an amused brow. "You mean firebending doesn't already count?"

"No, that's bending. Of course, it doesn't count."

"Wait, so some ball of light hit Sparky, here?" Toph questioned.

"Yeah, it was really weird," Katara said. "I don't think I've seen something like that since..." Her eyes widened.

"Since what?" Aang asked when she didn't continue.

She blinked, startled by the question, then narrowed her eyes at Zuko slightly before shaking her head. "No, never mind. That was something else."

"Then what was it?" Suki asked. Zuko just shrugged indifferently before seeing his food and happily digging in again.

"You know, palace food in amazing," he told them, "but nothing beats Katara's cooking." He was met by looks of surprise, and Katara's mouth fell open slightly and she blushed.

"Um, thank you. But it's just simple rice..."

"I know... Hey, we should go to the market place tomorrow. We can get some more food, some spices. I could show you some tradition Fire Nation dishes. You'll love the komodo-chiken."

"That... sounds nice, actually," she said. "But, um, won't... we be too noticeable."

The way she hesitated and tried to nicely phrase what she meant made him snort in amusement. "Don't worry, Katara. I've had this scar since I was thirteen. I know how to hide it."

"Th-that's not what I-"

"Yes, it was. But it's fine. I understand. I'm the Fire Prince and we're in the fire Nation. If it makes you feel better, not everyone knows what we look like... Wanted posters and play aside. The other month I came to Ember Island with Azula, Mai and Ty Lee. There were some boys who had no idea who we were and invited us all to a party. It was interesting seeing how they treated us not knowing who we were. Of course, I was in a really bad place at the time and they didn't really like me much. We wrecked their house."

"Because you got angry?" Aang asked, somewhat shocked.

"No, because they were jerks and it was fun," he chuckled, earning more surprised looks. "I got angry and left the party. Broke in here and burnt some of our stuff in a bonfire. Then we all yelled at each other and got some issues off our chests. Then we got bored and went back and wrecked their stuff. Probably not the best move, but very therapeutic at the time."

Toph chucked. "Don't piss off the Fire Nation royals."

"Always a good decision. Get on my father's bad side and he's likely to burn half your face off!" He said it jokingly, but at his words, the entire group fell silent and looked at him in shock. "What? You can't really be shocked he'd do something like that."

"No, I'm not," Katara said darkly. "But did he... Did he..." Her eyes glanced to his scar before settling uncomfortably on the table. He seemed surprised by her unspoken question and a look of resignation came over his face.

"I'm suddenly not feeling so well," he told them, not looking at anyone. "I think I'm going to go lie down for a while." He quickly stood and left the room, his head down.

"Wait, Zuko! I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Katara faded out behind him.

The last thing he heard was Toph's blunt but sad, "I guess that means yes."

And Sokka's, "...His dad is a dick."

 It wasn't until Zuko was in the room he'd used as a child and closed the door that he let out a deep breath and spoke again.

"Alright, alright! Would you stop yelling?" He said aloud.

'No!' said the voice in his head. 'Who are you? What the hell is going on? What have you done to my body? And how do you know about my life?!'

"I will answer all your questions, Zuko," he told the voice. "But please take it down a notch, you're giving me a headache. I forgot how short-tempered and petulant you were." The last part was muttered, but the voice reacted none the less.

'Excuse me?!' he cried.

Zuko chucked and sat on the bed. "Let's sit down, shall we? It's a long story..."

  Zuko rose with the sun, as he always did. He stretched and groaned, for a moment surprised about how good he felt. Then he remembered why. He was in the body of his younger self. It seemed that his younger self had forgotten too, because he sensed alarm from the boy.

'What the...? Oh, right...'

Zuko chuckled. "Good morning, young Zuko," he said.

The younger man sighed mentally. 'Yeah, you too, old man.'

The talk the night before had been interesting. He had originally planned to just tell everyone who he was that night, but the boy had been shouting in his head so much it was making it hard to concentrate. When he had hinted to the others about the origin of his scar, the boy went into hysterics. He had come to terms with what had happened long ago, and it was no longer a struggle for him to speak freely of it. The young Zuko, however, had not. And he had desperately begged and threatened him not to tell the others. Instead, he had excused himself, deciding it was wiser to let him know first, since apparently, they couldn't actually hear each other's thoughts.

He had told the boy everything, or at least... all the important bits. It had taken recalling not only certain events in his life, but also his thoughts and feelings at the time to convince him that he really was an older version of himself. And the boy had grudgingly resigned himself to his situation, allowing him to fulfil his task. Older Zuko had expected nothing less. Most of his life he had been nothing if not dutiful.

Of course, that didn't stop the young Zuko from sarcastically commenting on everything. It wasn't until he gave him a very brief and understated view of what the world was like in his time, and some of the sad things that were yet to come that he had sobered up and stayed quiet.

Sighing, he pulled on some clothing, only bothering to properly tie up the pants, since he planned to discard his shirts the moment he reached the courtyard anyway. He grabbed a towel on the way and headed out to the courtyard where there was a perfect view of the sun starting to rise over the sea towards the east. He sat down, crossed his legs, and began to meditate. As he cleared his mind, relaxed and focused on his breathing, he could feel Young Zuko doing the same thing, bringing a small smile to his lips.

It wasn't until the sun had risen over the horizon and into the sky that he stood once more. Going by the silence in the house, he knew that the others weren't up yet, but for a moment he was sure he saw a flash of blue at one of the widows. Remembering Katara's confession from long ago that she had secretly watched him train early in the morning, he grinned, shucking off his shirts and folding them off to the side before beginning on some basic forms. Slowly, he added more and more complicated moves to his routine. He didn't stop until Young Zuko's voice practically shouted in his head.

'Holy crap, how did you do that?!'

Old Zuko smirked. "Years of study and practice. I suppose if you want to start learning early you should pay attention." His smirk turned into a full-on grin. "I haven't had this much energy or ease of movement in years. This is going to be fun!”

And with that, he continued, showing his younger self just how powerful he had become over the span of 70 years, leaving the boy speechless. It made him both proud to realise just how far he had come, but sad to remember that back then, he never thought that such a thing was possible. Growing up with a physically and emotionally abusive father as well as having an inferiority complex because of his little sister had rather fucked him over. It was only his friends and his uncle who had allowed him to realise just how wronged he had been, and just how much better he could be. For too long, he had blamed himself for everything. But he guessed that perspective came with age, as well as wisdom.

He didn't know how long he trained for, but when he finally stopped, pushing his hands downward to release the energy and calm himself he was met by the sounds of whooping and cheering. He looked over in shock to see the entire gang sitting on the steps watching him in awe.

"Damn, Zuko!" Sokka said with a grin. "You've been holding out on us."

"That was incredible!" Aang cried. "Can you teach me those moves?!"

"Some of those were waterbending moves," Katara said in wonder, sounding a little confused by this. "And were there some earthbeding moves in there?"

"Oh yeah, looked real impressive to me," Toph said casually. When he looked at her with a flat expression, she chuckled. "Okay, okay. So, I can't see the fire. But it felt hot, and your forms have improved so much it's insane."

It was Katara that he chose to answer as he grabbed the towel and wiped sweat from his face and neck. "Yeah. Uncle taught me that the divide between elements and nations were just an illusion, and he was right. He created a way to direct lighting by studying waterbending, and since then I wondered how else other bending styles can influence each other. I watched what you lot were doing and tried to see what would happen if I do those moves while channelling my fire. I can't believe you didn't notice before. I was using waterbending moves back in Ba Sing Se. You should try it; multiple style bending has yielded some pretty amazing results."

"I'll say!" Katara said. "Now I want to try some firebending moves."

"Damn, Sparky, that's pretty cool."

"Very resourceful," Sokka agreed. "It's like having a boomerang as well as a sword and a club." He grinned as he compared his own weapons to Zuko's bending styles.

"Zuko can use swords too," Aang piped up. “He’s crazy talented with the dao swords.”

“Yeah, I know. He even studied with Master Piendao!" He looked a little disheartened at this, but it quickly fell away to be replaced by one of excitement and determination. "Hey, Zuko. How about a little swordbending rematch?!"

The made-up word brought a huge smile to Zuko's face as he remembered back to the time Sokka had made it while challenging him to a 'swordbending kai'. It was so stupid, and so silly, and it brought tears to his eyes. He knew he missed Sokka. It had broken his heart when news came that his best friend had died. He and Katara had been devastated, and they did not hear from Toph again after that until they received news of her own death. He had missed him so much... but he didn't realise just how much until now.

Without even thinking, he strode up to the boy and threw his arms around him, pulling him in tight.

"Aah!" Sokka cried, his arms splaying out at odd angles. "He's attacking me! He's attacking me!"

"He's hugging you, Sokka," Katara deadpanned.

"Ughhh! Dude, get off me! You're all sweaty!" He protested instead.

"I missed you, buddy," was all Zuko said, his voice rough.

"Ahh... Yeah. I missed you too?" Sokka gave him an awkward pat on the back, but drew back with an 'ugh!' and wiped the sweat onto his tunic with a disgusted look, then pushed him off.

He noticed that the others were looking at him oddly, and he remembered how back at this point, he hardly ever initiated contact, and the only one he ever willingly hugged without hesitation was Katara. Instead of making him feel awkward, it just made him realise how much he had missed them all, and before he knew it, he was drawing each of them into a hug and telling them so. Suki seemed perplexed, and Aang excided, Toph, of course, protested very loudly, and ended the hug by punching him hard on the arm... He'd forgotten how much that hurt. Of course, Young Zuko was protesting the entire time. Asking what he was doing, utterly baffled.

"Don't I get a hug?" Katara teased when he didn't immediately scoop her up in a hug like he had the others.

With a gentle smile, he pulled her into him, holding her tightly. "I always miss you when you're not around," he whispered in her ear.

Pressed this close to her, he could feel her breath get caught in her throat, and she squeezed him tighter. He couldn't help a wide grin when he felt her fingers spread out, feeling the muscles on his bare back. Katara drew back quickly when she realised what she was doing, a blush on her face. Her eyes flicked to the ground, then back at him, widening as they roved over his torso. Then her cheeks flamed brighter and she looked firmly at the ground again. He glanced down and remembered that he wasn't wearing a shirt.

'Agni, is she blushing?!' Young Zuko exclaimed in his head. 'You made her blush! Why is she blushing?!'

The young man was far from clueless, but he was rather oblivious to his own charm and how he affected women. This came double when it came to Katara, and he seemed baffled that he could make Katara blush. But to Old Zuko, who had become comfortable in his own skin knew exactly why. He had bulked up as he got older, gaining more muscle and broadening out. But even now, as a seventeen-year-old, he was still decently muscled, despite his leanness.

Trying to hide a grin, he picked up his robe and wrapped it around himself, tying the sash. When he looked back up, everyone was looking at him a little oddly.

"What?" he asked, confused about their expressions.

"Um... are you okay?" Sokka asked him.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you're acting really weird!"

'No shit!' Young Zuko grumbled.

"What he means," Suki interjected, "is that we haven't really seen you act like this before. We were wondering what was with the change in attitude..."

"Ah." He sighed. It was probably time he told them. "Why don't we all sit down?"

He took the lead and sat down where he was. Cautiously, the others joined him, sitting down in a circle. Katara sat to his right and Sokka to his left, with Suki beside him, and Aang sitting opposite him. Toph was sitting between Katara and Aang, her hands resting on the ground and supporting her weight. It made her look like she was lazing back and didn't overly care about what was going on, but he knew that it was so she could secretly listen to everyone's heartbeats easier.

"Well, this is looking to be a light-hearted conversation," Sokka said, his tone light, but clearly sarcastic.

Zuko just sighed. "Far from, Sokka. I was thinking best how to tell you all, but I suppose this is as good as any... I'm not Zuko." He was met by wide eyes, full of shock and confusion. He felt them all tense and saw Aang start to rise, so he held his hand up to still them all. "Sorry, that's probably a bad way to put it. I am Zuko. Just... not your Zuko. I am him from seventy-five years in the future."

"Riiiight... Looking pretty good for a 90-year-old there, Buddy," Sokka laughed nervously.

'Great. Now they think I'm crazy.'

He just rolled his eyes. "No, I'm not going crazy. And yes, I am 90, well, 91. I don't look it because the spirits only sent my soul back into my past body."

They all looked at Toph for confirmation of his story and she gave them a slight nod with wide, shocked eyes.

"Then where's our Zuko?!" Katara demanded. She looked angry and afraid, so he smiled reassuringly at her.

"He's still up here," he told her, tapping his head. "For a lack of better explanation, I am the one in control of the body, and he is stuck in his own mind making sarcastic comments. Not the most ideal situation, and I can't imagine it would be very pleasant.-"

'It's not.'

"-But he has accepted it, so I am able to do what I came back to do."

"And what's that?" Aang asked warily.

"Change the future," he said simply, earning many raised eyebrows. He chuckled. "I'm afraid it's a little more complicated than such an easy answer, but that's the gist of it. I come from a future that is... well, falling apart. Many things have gone wrong and it has led to the worlds almost destroying themselves. And it is all a cause and effect from this time. Like falling dominoes."

"Dominoes?" Katara questioned.

"I love dominoes!" Aang exclaimed. "It's this game with these tiles and you have to match up the symbols on them, but it's more fun to stack them on their ends side by side, then knock them over! You tip over the first one and it hits the next and the next and the entire line falls over! It's really fun, but you have to be careful not to knock any down when you're setting it up or you have to start again. Some of the monks used to make art with it!"

"Exactly," Zuko said. "It was just like that. One thing in this time went wrong, and because of it something else went wrong, and another, and another... Things are not good. The devastation from the war never healed. And even worse, it's impacting the spirit world. The spirit world is dying, so the spirits came to me, asking for my help. And, here I am."

"What makes you so special?" Toph asked him. "Is it something to do with your family? With us? Why couldn't one of us do it? Not that I'm complaining, but this sounds nuts!"

"In a way it's about both. I suppose others in Team Avatar could have done it..."

"Ha! Told you Team Avatar works!" Sokka crowed.

"But I was the only one left."

"Hang on, what?!" Everyone's expressions had turned to looks of horror.

"You forget that I am an old man. Almost everyone had died years before. The only one other than me was Katara, and she died when I accepted the task." Katara grew pale. "So, I suppose we died at the same time."

"Wait, died... you died too?" Katara was clearly confused and a little upset.

"To send me back, they had to send back my soul. The only way to do that was to rip my soul from my body, which is not something you survive. I was aware of this from the start. The spirits made sure I was fully aware of the repercussions for me, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make."

“But why?!” Aang asked. “What is so bad that you got sent back?!”

Zuko huffed. “Didn’t you hear me? The Spirit World is dying. Our world is dying. Everything is dying. Things were supposed to get better after the war, but instead the world fell into chaos. The nations still stood divided, reconstruction programmes fell through, the wealthy fell into poverty while the already impoverished died. What was happening in our world was so bad, it started to affect the Spirit World. And as the spirits died, so did the nature and forces that they protect. The dragons are gone, almost all the spirits are gone from our world, there are fewer benders born every year, … Everything is gone or dying. There is no way to bring it back. The only solution was to go back to a time there was still a way to fix it all.”

“And… and only one thing happened, that caused all of that?” Katara said aghast.

“It’s more complicated than that, but in a sense, yes.”

“What was it?” Suki asked quietly.

“Katara, the Spirits and I discussed everything over many times, trying to pin point the exact moment that things started going wrong. We tried to figure out what was the original domino that toppled the rest, so to speak. It took us months of thinking back through everything that had happened in the last 70 years, but finally we figured out the one single mistake. Everything bad started happening when Aang killed the Fire Lord.”

Author Note:

The idea for this was ‘what if Old Zuko was from the darkest timeline?’ Basically, everyone in the Gaang and the world in general had some of the worst luck. This is, of course, purely for plot. I don’t think any of these things would have happened for sure because of certain decisions, but Aang killing Ozai seemed like a decent catalyst.

Chapter Index  |  First Chapter  |  << Previous Chapter  |  Next Chapter >>

[reoflite]

Why Forrest Gump is the movie we need

I wanted to step away from the more serious posts I’ve made recently to talk about a movie that I love. Sadly, it took several years for me to appreciate this film for what it is. As a child, I remember hearing my grandmother say it was a “stupid” movie. I carried this with me until early adulthood, when I began developing my own opinion about things. While I’m disappointed that it took me so long to see the film, it doesn’t take away from the impact it left on me. 

I found that I had a lot to say about a movie that’s flirting with 26. Tom Hanks is...well, he’s just downright incredible. I am going to do my best to segment this post in a way that isn't overwhelming. 

Tom Hanks: Let’s start with the obvious. His performance in this movie is something to be remembered. His 1995 Oscar win for his work in Forrest Gump confirms this. He nails everything, from the body language, down to the overall language of Forrest. At times, I forgot I was watching Tom Hanks. He made Forrest real for me. I recognize this section might look short to some, but he offers such a performance that you would need to see it play out on screen. 

Jenny: A lot of people don’t like her character. She’s hard to digest, I get it. But then, consider all that we see her go through. She suffers horrific sexual abuse at the hands of her father, thus destroying any sense of trust she can ever hope to build with another human being. This person, in theory, should have been the one person that was made to protect her. Instead, he scars her for life. She copes by falling in and out of toxic relationships. She abuses drugs (they try to use this alongside the idea that it was the 60′s/70′s, and it’s what everyone was doing, but I disagree). When we experience her drug use, although maybe a bit more subtle, it’s used as a tool to numb, to free. Eventually, she gets her shit together. Carrying a part of Forrest propels her to a healthier and more fulfilling life, though it’s short. Jenny, in my mind, is the saddest part about this story. 

Jenny and Forrest, together: A lot of people hate the idea. Again, I get it. You can make the argument that Jenny treats Forrest poorly. She is what I call a semi-colon in his life for a while. There isn’t any finality in her presence for most of the movie. She’s there one minute, then gone the next to continue another part of her journey. Forrest loves her unconditionally, despite her leaving him when she feels too pulled in. We see the push-and-pull of their relationship at various points; Forrest declaring his love for her in an authentic but simple way. It requires no show or elaborate moment, because it’s simple: He loves her. It’s very likely she loves him throughout the film, but she’s doing what she thinks is best by staying away from him. She sees herself as a black hole, waiting to suck in whoever comes near her. She doesn’t want that to happen to him. 

Understanding the complexities of childhood sexual abuse and the impact it has on forming meaningful relationships isn’t for the faint of heart, but it’s worth exploring when looking at this film. Jenny is a damaged soul. Forrest is a pure soul, one that has a lasting impact on those he comes across. I don’t believe in the idea of anyone needing to “fix” anyone in a relationship; that’s unhealthy. Instead, I think Forrest offers her the balance love - true love - she has missed for most of her life. Up until their final few scenes together, Jenny’s motto has been to run when things get scary. In Forrest, she finally finds someone she doesn’t have to run from. 

Forrest himself: We are introduced to Forrest when he’s a child. He has trouble walking. He’s a little slow. As much as I hate using that term, I think it’s OK here. Still, he’s inquisitive. He possesses an eagerness to understand those around him. His childlike naivety in the earlier parts of the film is charming. 

He has given an undesirable set of circumstances in the beginning. Everyone around him acknowledges this as fact except Forrest. He doesn’t view his seeming lack of intelligence as a burden. Instead, he maintains a sense of positivity through it all. He uses his talent of speed to enroll in college. He seems to be up for the adventure of the Army following college; and yet, there isn’t a sense that he is without direction. The opportunity presented itself and he took it because...why not? 

It’s here that he meets Bubba, someone that he finds brotherhood in. They are not the same. They come from completely different walks of life. Still, they relate on a level that’s difficult to achieve for characters that are literally written to end up together (as friends or something more). 

Following his completion of basic training, we see he and Jenny cross paths. We are led to believe this is their first time meeting after graduating high school and college. This particular scene is great for both characters. Forrest “rescues” Jenny from the stage - men harassing her - and she establishes clear boundaries. It is, perhaps, the first and only time we see Jenny establish these boundaries in the entire film. There is a comfort with them that she is able to do this, even if it’s not in favor of Forrest during this particular time. 

Perhaps one of the best lines in the film: “Forrest, you don’t know what love is.” This line sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Whether Forrest does so intentionally is unclear, but it’s done with such a subtlety that I did not initially catch it as a younger watcher.

Forrest and...everyone else: Going back to, “You don’t know what love is.” Let’s look at the events following this line, shall we?

Forrest saves his brothers during the raid in Vietnam, even after suffering injury himself. Ultimately, he’s looking to save Bubba, but we can’t talk about this scene without acknowledging that he saves everyone in his platoon that he can. He risks life and limb without a second thought

Lt. Dan treated Forrest poorly, for a lot of reasons. Like Jenny, he was damaged, but in a different way. His ego and “stolen destiny” prevent him from forming a heartwarming bond with Forrest, but Forrest doesn’t seem to let this stop him from helping him when he can. The bond of brotherhood from combat motivates him. Let us not forget that Forrest is just a decent human being, and Lt. Dan is in a position where he needs friendship. Forrest recognizes this at some level and offers his friendship throughout the film. One of my favorite scenes is when one of Lt. Dan’s friends (the two women from the bar) calls Forrest stupid. Lt. Dan immediately steps in and defends him. Later in the film, Forrest offers him a job on the boat he bought. Why? Because he promised him he would

Forrest’s relationship with his mother isn’t shown enough, in my opinion. At the beginning of the movie, we see her defend him. She does things for him that many might judge, but ultimately, she wants him to have the best life possible. It’s what mothers do! Eventually, she succumbs to old age. It’s unclear how old she is when she dies, but he cares for her. He pauses his life to give her a comfortable end to her life. We literally see him jump out of a boat to go be with his mother for her final days. This boils down to a mother-child bond that is difficult to break, but one that I find to be very touching

Back to Bubba. Sweet, dear Bubba. He doesn’t make it to the other side of the war, despite Forrest’s best efforts. His family is left reeling. Bubba’s mother has worked as a servant, much like her mother, and her mother’s mother. After Forrest invests in Apple, he hits it big. In keeping his promise to Bubba, Forrest gives Bubba’s mother and siblings half of his earnings from his fishing business, and money from his investment in Apple. He helps build a new church for Bubba’s family to worship. His attachment to Bubba doesn’t die with him; rather, it’s strengthened after his untimely death

Back to Jenny. As mentioned before, she’s in and out of the film. Her impact on Forrest is noted throughout the film, however. He writes to her almost every day (even though his letters are returned). They go for a long time without seeing each other. Following his return from service, Jenny is in an abusive relationship. Forrest sees her boyfriend hit her. This is perhaps the only “negative” side of Forrest we see throughout the film. Of course, I’m referring to Forrest beating the living daylights out of her boyfriend (whose name I don't care enough to remember). I think most of us would act similarly.  (Side note: “Sorry I had a fight in the middle of your Black Panther party,” might be my favorite quote from anything ever.) They separate once more, and Forrest continues on with his life. He offers her a safe space when she visits him. More importantly, toward the end of her life, he offers her the comfort of a loving and fulfilling relationship

Truthfully, I could expand on a number of other reasons why I love this movie so much, but I think I highlighted some of the more profound moments here. Honorable mentions include Gary Sinise’s performance. I am less attached to his character, but I admire the positive steps he took in his life to become a better person. Forrest’s mother has a profound impact on Forrest, but in my opinion, this isn’t expanded on enough. 

I’d be curious to hear your opinions on the movie. 

[dreams-madeof-strawberrylemonade]

Heartbreaker - Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Greta Van Fleet, nor their songs. This series (as well as everything else I write and is a fanfiction) is pure fiction. I have not been alive in the 1960s, and most of the details have been researched beforehand. Also, the GIFs and photos I use throughout this series are NOT mine, they are just images I have downloaded from Tumblr. If you are the owner, please DM me, I would be more than happy to give credit. Warnings: language, smoking Word count: 1.4K + A/N: Finally part 1 yay!!! I honestly can’t wait to just upload the rest of the story, I get urges like this from time to time lol. Feedback is welcomed, as well as critiques and opinions!! Enjoy! To be added to the taglist, DM me or send an ask.

Jake Kiszka x (female) Reader

Heartbreaker Masterpost // Fanfiction Masterpost

“Take notes on every single thing they say or do, insist on your unanswered questions. No losing control, and no unprofessional behavior. After all, you go there under our magazine’s name. Do you understand?” your boss spoke to you, just moments before stepping backstage.

“Yes, I do. Thank you again for the opportunity, sir!” you spoke back as you took one last drag out of your cigarette and put it out. You could feel the slight tingle down your throat caused by the smoke. You actually quitted smoking one year ago, but you couldn’t stop from smoking a cigarette every once and again when you were nervous.

“Friendly advice, don’t fucking ruin our name by doing something stupid,” he spoke one last time before he disappeared in the dark.

You looked as his shadow became invisible and took in a deep breath. You could hear the sound of a drum solo onstage, that announced that the show was nearly over, so you had to get backstage as soon as possible.

You opened the door only to be greeted by a guard, so you showed him your permit and continued your way. You were so nervous, you didn’t know what to expect, how to introduce yourself, you didn’t even know if someone has told them beforehand that you were going to come. What if they didn’t want to tell you anything?

You could feel your heart pumping and blood flowing in the veins on your neck as your ears started hearing louder and louder screams from the fans in the public, as the band said their goodbyes. You finally arrived to the room the band was expected to come right after the show was over. You had absolutely no idea how these people were going to be and this- being on unknown territory- made you nervous.

You were snapped out of your thoughts and worries by the loud sound of a door hitting the wall, and men’s voices talking and laughing. Your eyes moved almost instantly to the group of four men that just walked in. Their eyes stopped on you as well. You felt like you were caught in a staring contest, and decided to break the awkward silence you were in.

“Hello, I am Y/F/N, a reporter for-“

“You’re from the new music magazine, aren’t you?” one of the guys in the front spoke. He had long brown hair, a few strands stuck on his face from all the sweat. He was wearing a black jacket with gold detailing, leaving his chest bare underneath.

“Yes, that’s me,” you forced an awkward smile.

“Cool, but as for me, I am tired and I want to take the party elsewhere,” another one spoke. He was about the same height of the first one, but this one gave off a Bob Dylan vibe with his haircut.

You had to admit, they were a pretty interesting-looking group and you were sure they had quite some stories to tell you.

“Definitely. I don’t want to stay around here for too long,” the first one, in the jacket, answered. “I’m Jake Kiszka, guitarist,” he introduced himself.

“I am Josh Kiszka, I play the vocals,” the Dylan-ish one spoke. You nodded, and tried to match the face to the name.

You turned to the other two, who were silently waiting for their moment.

A tall man stepped forward, he had kind of frizzy hair, and his arms’ muscles gave away the fact that he was a drummer. Probably he has been drumming since a really young age, but you didn’t know yet if that was true or not. “I am Daniel, Wagner.”

“Are you the drummer?” you asked the tall, dark-haired man that introduced himself as Daniel Wagner.

“Oh! The girl has done her homework!” spoke the fourth man, the one still left to introduce himself. “In fact, he really is. But more importantly, I am Sam Kiszka, and I am the bassist.”

You all shook hands. “So, if not here, where do you want to go and talk?” you asked as you saw them on the couch. You were feeling slightly intimidated, but you were sent with a job.

“Today we’re kicking off the tour, so I say we find a nice local or something nearby. I am starving. You’re free to join us if you’d like,” Josh, the shortest Kiszka, with the fluffy hair, spoke. You agreed almost instantly.

You took one last look at the group of four men. Their outfits were fitting them like a glove and you had to admit to yourself that they were really good looking. The details in their stage outfits was otherworldly. There hasn’t been anyone quite like that before. You could tell they had a bright road ahead of themselves.

The singer, Josh, was wearing a black vest as well, with the similar gold details as the guitarist. Josh also wore a lot of necklaces, that tangled together on his bare chest, while he had a couple of feathers hanging from his hair and down his shoulders.

While the vocalist and the guitarist matched their outfits, the bassist was wearing red bell bottoms and a halfway-unbuttoned shirt with oriental design. Now, the interesting thing about the bassist, was that he was barefoot. He noticed that you were intrigued by this unusual lack of shoes, but didn’t say anything.

The drummer also had an unique outfit- he was wearing a vest with floral motifs and black leather pants.

Even though their stage looks were quite unusual, you had a feeling that they were going to start a music revolution that would lead the way into the 70s.

You noted down all the details you remembered about their outfits, as they left one by one and got changed into a fresh set of clothes. They weren’t as extra as before, but they were still giving off the same vibe as before.

“Let me guess, why am I not wearing shoes, right?” Sam asked as he sat down next to you and extended his arm on the upper part of the couch, behind you. You just nodded, a little bit taken aback by his forwardness. “Because I like to feel connected to the Earth,” he said as you watched him closely, almost caught in a trance, studying the fine detailing of his face. “Come on, note it down.”

You did as you were told and followed Josh, since he was already leaving the room. The four men lead the way down the dark streets of the city, looking for a welcoming local on that chilly night. You were walking behind them, thinking of the way you should behave around them.

They finally stopped in front of a local that gave away light out of its windows. It seemed cozy inside, so the boys walked in and asked for a table for five.

“So, how will you travel on this tour?” asked Sam once you all sat down.

“My boss said that with you, with your bus, right?” you answered his question with another question, unsure. You thought all of it has been planned in advance and that the band has been informed.

“That’s going to be fun,” Sam spoke again as he fixed you with his eyes. Your cheeks heated up, not being exactly sure of what was going on.

“If the lady’s going with us, you behave,” Josh spoke as if he was their dad. Maybe he was the oldest, who knows.

“Do you smoke?” Jake asked as he put a cigar between his lips and light it up. He puffed the smoke and handed you his packet as you nodded. His arm extended and flicked open the metal lighter in his hand and lit up the cigar in your mouth.

You took a deep drag out of it and felt the tingle down your throat and let the smoke out.

“The lady’s smoking!” Daniel looked at you, as if he’s never seen a woman smoking.

“So, shall we get started?” you asked as you put your clipboard on the table, after the waiter took your orders. An affirmative murmur was heard so you continued. “How was the band formed?”

“We’re blood brothers,” Jake pointed at himself, Josh and Sam, “and he is our brother from other mother,” he continued, pointing at the dark haired drummer, who smiled at his words. You smiled as well, noticing the love that was at the roots of this band.

“Can’t we do this tomorrow? I am tired,” Jake asked as he looked at you and slid a hand underneath the table that rested on your knee. You and Jake had a short exchange of looks that went by unnoticed by the other boys.

The three of them agreed. “How about we get to know each other better?”  suggested Josh as you put the clipboard away.

Tags: @myownparadise96, @jeordinevankiszka, @littlegeekwonder, @gretavanyeeeeet, @umbriellethenightfall, @songbirdkisses, @freeeshavacadoo, @sweet-dreams-on-butterfly-wings, @stevie-baby, @satans-helper, @bigthighsandstupidguys, @leterscam, @valleyd0ll, @mountainofthesunn, @retrodrummers

[yeet-me-into-oblivion-please]

Well, Supernatural is actually ending and I don't know what I'll do

[ Brevity is not a strong suit of mine since I've included personal details but there's stuff I feel everyone in the SPN family needs to read]

You might be expecting another post about how Supernatural saved someone's life and how devastated they will be when it ends because they've watched it for so long as well as how the actors have impacted their lives. This is probably one of those but please hear me out.

Supernatural premiered in 2005 and I was in preparatory class (aged 5 years and was before I began 1st grade). I heard of it because my aunt would watch it time to time so I'd also tried to get some peeks myself but I wasn't allowed to because it was "too scary".

Then our local cable began to show seasons 1-5 and that was when everyone in class started watching and quoting it. This was in 6th grade and I was frustrated because I knew about it before most of them yet they acted like it was a new show. I had a fair idea about the story but once I began watching it, I fell in love with it and loved it like a part of my soul.

Yes, Jensen Ackles was my first crush but I still thought (and do think) that both he and Jared are super hot. So I was sucked into this vortex, this Neverland which I never thought I would end.

I joined Tumblr for this show in 2013 because I saw the jokes about there being a Supernatural gif everywhere and wanted to be a part of the fandom/community. This was also the year I actually became interested what other fans felt though I never used this site properly until 2016 I would read the IMDb discussion boards because I hated scurrying through Destiel-infested posts.

(Fun fact:I wasn't using any social media of my own but on my mother's Facebook I liked a Supernatural fan page asking people's opinions on Destiel. This is was around the time season 8 was just finishing or had already finished so I read the comments--- people talked about Dean and Castiel being gay and didn't approve of it as there was this one girl who was conservative and didn't believe in homosexuality while others went on how Dean was always a ladies man which I agreed with. Not that I commented but I thought there was something I missed and I thought Castiel used Dean as a vessel, thus Destiel.)

But I digress. I was in deep by the time season 9 premiered and majority of the people I knew stopped watching the show except for this girl who bullied me throughout preschool who put up this update that Dean had become a demon. I doubt she watches the show now but it was hard seeing her put pictures of "I heart Dean Winchester" and pictures of Jensen when my mom asked me why I don't do the same.

Supernatural, I feel, has become that embarrassing thing you are into in middle school but suddenly drop when you're older, looking back and thinking, "Yeesh, I can't believe I used to watch this show."

I'll be a grown woman at 30 or 40 and probably eventually in my 70s and 80s but I will still look back fondly, the good, the bad and the ugly because I have like many teenagers have undergone many changes (friends, family, emotions, hobbies etc) but Supernatural has always been this constant in my life.

Because let me tell you, I'm seeing these posts saying stuff like how people are glad that it's finally over with its "bullshit" and that's it's dying. That is extremely disrespectful and insensitive to those people who literally live for it, who have invested time and money into it: gif makers, artists, meta writers (I may not agree with you guys but even you count). They don't know what to do once the show ends because it has helped them in ways others will never ever be able to fathom.

I saw the video put up by the guys. I saw and I could tell that Jared, Jensen and Misha had probably cried their guts out before the announcement because their eyes were red and puffy. Jared was controlling himself by talking less as Jensen was clearly on the verge as well but yes they said that they should save the angst for next year.

I love the guys; I love Jared being a goofball and Jensen being equally goofy as well and I'll say this too, I used to enjoy some of Misha's crass jokes (not the highlight ) as well which was why I looked forward to the gag reel every summer (because of J2) because it was cathartic after a traumatic season finale. I love the witty banter and the pranks the cast would do and I will miss it tremendously.

I have some issues with my aunt but everything would be okay when we would fawn over the guys and bingewatch the entire season the summer after it finished airing. We'd quote quotes back and forth and even spiritually killed ourselves watching short clips of "Sammy, close your eyes", "I'm proud of us" etc. Hell, she even promised me that when we go visit my uncle in the States we'd attend a con together.

If, and whenever we do go, it'll be different because the show won't be on air anymore and I know for a fact that I won't feel the anticipation of an episode.

So don't say disrespectful and callous things like "fucking finally". You can dislike the cast/plotline/show but don't ridicule and mock those who invested in the show,some of you are most probably speculating and have barely seen it.

I'm not some dumb, blind fan. I can see some stupid mistakes and don't always eat up what the writers show. For example, everyone must have figured that I dislike Destiel because it's based on groundless assumptions. I thought the Bloodlines was a crap idea that had nothing to do with the main plot and knew it was destined to fail.

As for Wayward Daughters/Sisters or whatever the fuck it was supposed to be called, I was not looking forward to it at all because it was one of those "forced diversity" shows, y'know gender bent stuff.

I felt that they were bastardising everything that Supernatural has and will (always) stand for because some people had a hair up their backsides. Yeah, I loathed Claire and that Kaia mourning thing was bullshit. Thank goodness I was sick that day and couldn't keep my eyes open for that episode.

If we were told that there would be a Men of Letters(with Henry Winchester) or even a Bobby-Rufus spinoff I would be okay with that but for now since the show will finish next year let's the wounds heal first, shall we?

I hope that Jared and Jensen get some offers once the show is done and I will pay good money to see movies, TV shows of them etc but for now I will keep quiet since I hope we get an ending we (and the boys) deserve.

Yes, the writer situation scares me and I think they should call Eric Kripke for a last hurrah. I mean, it is his baby and he should get to have a say in the series finale as well as J2.

Will one of the brothers die and the other will live (I'm worried we'll get a reverse Swan Song)? Will they both die leaving Cas behind and Jack as some sort legacy who trains future hunters? That would be a possibility since the sheriff in 14.16 asked the Winchesters why they don't tell people about monsters. What happens to Baby?

I seriously doubt the ending will be happy(maybe not 100%) but the best thing would be if they go driving with Baby into the sunset...

Dean at the steering wheel with Sam riding shotgun, where they should be ---- where they will always be, home. Dean plays his "mullet rock" as Sam would playfully mock his brother's musical choices. No chick flick moments. Just the Winchesters.

The boys need to lay their weary heads to rest, so they can cry no more. Because they are the legendary Winchesters, the hunters who saved the world countless times unbeknownst to many. I don't think their work will ever be done but there will be peace when they are done and how they will reach that point we'll never know till 2020.

Everyone will hear "Carry on wayward son" for the last time ever in Supernatural over a painful montage of "Dad's gone on a hunting trip and he hasn't been home in a few days" and "Saving people, hunting things, the family business". Now who in this fandom wouldn't be wracked with pain?

This is the show we all joked about that made a deal with the devil to never go off air but I did expect this a long time ago. Only thing was that I didn't know how I'd treat the news. I was that person who would go, "pfft, of course Supernatural would get renewed". Then again, this was the show that an ending was imminent and the whole season 4 debacle about Misha and the angel storyline saving the show blah blah blah.

So next year, everyone will flock to see the finale and epic conclusion to the Winchester saga whether they stopped at season 5,6,7 or 10,12. Diss it all you want for the shit show it may have become but wherever you left off, you may still want to know what happens to Sam and Dean Winchester in the end.

Once Supernatural ends, I'll turn 20 next summer and I would like to think of it being poetic that I end my adolescence with a show I have loved when I brave the cold, ruthless world of adulthood. I'm a picky person and can't say what's my favorite xyz is but you know what I'll say about my favorite TV show.

We will have completed 327 episodes which is the highest for a scifi TV show so I do hope the boys get some sort of recognition. It was us crazy bitches and jerks that gave the show the mileage and it was us that gave Jared and Jensen faith that they could carry on so for the remainder of season 14 and for 15,support these guys. Support these annoyingly sexy and ridiculously hilarious dudes for this show. I'm sure Jared and Jensen love the show like it's their kid practically but I wish everyone would just shut up, tinhatters, bronlies, stans, destihellers because we are all fans of the one show so let's ease the time we have left.

But seriously imagine Sam and Dean on a desert highway, the orange and yellow rays of the setting sun make Baby shine in all her splendor which makes Dean swell with pride. He starts the engine with a low rumble and they're off. They might to California to feel the sand beneath their feet or to Disneyland. They're living the "apple pie life" and this is their personal heaven : with each other.

I wouldn't mind this playing in the background if the ending is the inevitable and unspeakable you know what :

It's wishful thinking, since I wish they'd actually play some Zeppelin instead of song titles being used as episode titles but I wish they could use some Queen or Guns n Roses and stuff before 1979 because everything sucked ass afterwards according to Dean.

I want the classic rock resurgence in the show as well but I know they'll end up using the cash elsewhere. I wouldn't mind a body swap episode but if wishes were horses, right?

[prettymuchdolansbitch]

Questions Not to Ask a Couple (Grayson Dolan)

A/N: I got this idea from Dommy D's video with Heath & his girl. Enjoy!

You were blessed to be dating the one and only Grayson Dolan. But don't even try to say that to him because he'll get worked up and say that you're a blessing in his life and blah blah blah.

Today, the boys asked if you wouldn't mind filming a video with them. Of course you didn't mind, you would do anything for Ethan and Grayson. A week before, they told you their idea was to do some sort of q&a but they didn't know the specifics yet.

A few days later, Ethan came bursting into Grayson's room with an idea. "YO BRO! I GOT IT!" Ethan slammed Grayson's door open as you guys laid on the bed.

"Questions you don't ask couples or something like that" He nearly jumped on the bed in excitement. "Sounds fun!" you wanted to match his excitement so that he didn't feel left out. "Yeah, that sounds cool. We'll film tomorrow okay?" Ethan nodded like a little boy and left the room.

"Are you ready for this?" Grayson said looking at you. "As ready as I'll ever be"

You guys spent the whole day chilling and relaxing. You were mentally preparing yourself for tomorrow and the questions that you might get.

You woke up and got ready to film. You did you makeup in a natural way, even though Grayson told you not to. You just had a simple t-shirt and sweats on knowing that no one's gonna see your legs anyways.

"BABE! You ready?" You heard Grayson scream. "YEAH I'LL BE OUT IN A MINUTE" you breathed in and out to relax yourself. This was going to be your first time in their video and you really didn't want to mess up.

You walked to the little studio they had set up and sat on the purple couch. "Alright both of you sit there while I focus the camera" Ethan said getting up. You started messing around and doing poses as Ethan fixed the camera. Grayson saw you in the monitor and just shook his head. "This is gonna be a long day."

The boys did their intro and introduced you. Obviously the fans already knew who you were from Instagram and whatnot.

"So Y/N and I put on our Instagram story the question thing. And now we're gonna answer your guys' questions!" Grayson picked up his phone. "And we have questions that Ethan may or may not have made up" you finished his sentence.

"Should we start?" Ethan asked. He handed you both white-boards and a marker. "There were no erasers so use the pillow"

You laughed and shook your head. "First question we'll start easy. How many hookups did you guys have before dating each other, but after your ex?"

Your eyes almost fell out of your skull. "This is easy?" "It is questions not to ask a couple, keep up Y/N" Ethan scolded you.

You had 10 seconds to think of an answer. "Ready? 3, 2, 1!"

You and Grayson flipped your boards. "Grayson - 2 and Y/N - 7?!" "Who!? What the hell?" It was Grayson's turn to bug out.

"We'll discuss later" You didn't even want to look at Grayson right now. You pat his leg and he settled down a little.

"On the next, shall we? What are the other's parents names?"

"Ethan what the hell? This one is way easier than the last." You yelled at him. "Don't hate the player, hate the game." You chucked the pillow at his head.

"You're not a player" "times up!" The boards flipped and you both got this one right. You side-hugged Grayson for remembering.

"Next, when was the last time you masturbated?" "Are these questions shuffled or something? How do we go from parents name to this?" Grayson sunk into the couch. You had to think about this. Grayson on the other hand already had his answer written down.

"3, 2, 1!" Ethan squinted as he tried to read both your answers. "Grayson said 2 weeks ago and Y/N said the last time you guys left town. That was like months ago!"

"Well when you get this fine piece of -" "OKAY NEXT"

After some intense ass questions, it started to get to some serious shit. "Do you guys ever talk about having kids or getting married? If so, how many?" This was easy for you to answer. You've had the same answer for years, even before Grayson came into the picture.

"Don't get her started man" Grayson shut his eyes in frustration. "Why you don't want to have a family with me?" You asked looking at him.

"No baby, I would love to. But we always talk about it. And your plan is never going to change. But whatever, we can answer this."

"Alright 3,2,1! Y/N said 'yes all the time' and Grayson said 'she does'" Ethan and Grayson both laughed. "You're so stupid. You know damn well you always talk about a 'little Grayson Junior's running around" you turn around towards Ethan.

"Next and last question. This one's it folks! How often do you think about doing the deed" You immediately burst into laughter along with Grayson.

"Bro who the hell says deed?" You and Grayson are cracking up and Ethan is unamused. "Forgot we're 70 years old." you say wiping your tears from laughing.

"BACK TO THE VIDEO" Ethan said cutting you guys from laughing. "Oh right" you both started writing your answers.

"3, 2, 1! Y/N said 'all the dam time' and Grayson said '20/7'. What does that mean bro?" Ethan was confused as were you.

"Yeah? what do you think about the other 4 hours of the day?" You squint at him waiting for his answer. "because I'm thinking of how lucky I am to be with you." Grayson gets red and hides his face a little.

"Awwwwww you corn dog!" you pull him into a hug and his arm is thrown around your back. Ethan starts making puking sounds. "this was fun, bye guys!" you give a fly kiss to the camera and get off the couch so that they can film an outro.

You're laying on Grayson's bed when he comes in. "I am tired, can we call it a night?" he falls onto the bed onto your butt. "I'm down, I'm tired too"

He smacks your butt and you go to smack his arm or chest but he's quick and got up. You both changed into more comfortable clothes. All you did was take off your makeup and wash your face. Grayson changed into sweats and hopped into bed again.

As you crawled into bed with Grayson, his eyes were basically already closed. "Goodnight baby" you kiss his chest. "Goodnight, thank you for filming with us today" He pulled you into his chest, cuddling you. "Of course lover" you smiled and drifted off into a peaceful bliss.

A/N: Thank you for reading & sharing! also, sorry I got lazy towards the end 🙃

[fanaticfandomfan]

Tags- Chapter One (A Bucky Barnes x OC Fanfic)

Masterlist

Disclaimer. I do not own anything Marvel affiliated, only any original characters.

A muffled giggle was the first thing Tony heard as he pushed open the door to his study. His lips curled up into a smile, spying a pair of light up shoes just peeking out from beneath the large mahogany desk. He whistled, moving leisurely through the room, looking every now and again at the desk to his left. Hopping up and taking a seat on the desk, he heard another hushed laugh beneath where he sat.

"J.A.R.V.I.S. your certain you cannot find Abby anywhere?" He called out to the empty room, trying to keep the mirth out of his voice.

"I'm afraid I cannot find Miss Stark on the grounds sir." The A.I. replied, amusement filtering through his program. "Shall I make a call to the police?"

"The Police! J.A.R.V.I.S this is my baby girl, my pride and joy! We need to call the SWAT Team, the Coast Guard, the Ma-" before Tony could finish, loud laughter filled the room as a head of auburn curls popped up from behind the desk.

"It's OK daddy, I'm here." The little girl exclaimed. Tony pressed his hand to his chest exaggeratedly as he moved from the desk, scooping her up in his arms before pressing kisses to her face.

"Oh my little sprout I found you!" He exclaimed dramatically. When he looked down into an almost identical face, he saw the suspicion swirling in her brown eyes, a thin eyebrow raising up slightly.

"You knew I was here huh?" Yep, she was his daughter he thought, taking a seat in the chair with her in his lap.

"First rule of hiding, loose the light up sneakers kiddo." He said, gently tapping the tip of her nose. "Now miss snoop, what were you doing in my office?" Tony watched as his daughter's eyes looked around, not meeting his.

"I wasn't snooping, I was exploring." she replied confidently, only to be met with a snort from her father.

"Bullsh- soup." Tony quickly caught himself before the curse slipped from his lips. He didn't need a repeat of when his two year old went two months constantly yelling the word 'fuck' every time she could.

Glinting light caught his eyes, his hand moving to pull at a chain hanging around her neck, the majority of the item hiding behind her dark red coveralls. When he pulled the item fully into view, he found a pair of dog tags pressed to his palm. A pair of very old dog tags by the look of slightly at the chain, Abby played with the tags, her eyes scouring over the faded letters and numbers etched onto the metal.

"I found them in that box daddy. There really cool. Can I keep them?" Pointing a finger to the direction, Tony's eyes followed, falling on an old cardboard box tucked away in the corner. It had come from one of the many secure storage facilities under his father's name. The last few weeks Tony had decided to go through them, throwing things that were not needed and keeping those that could be useful. The box in his office had been filled with nothing but old photos and a few odds and ends that Tony had not even gotten through. Taking the tags of the chain, he brought them up to have a closer look.

JAMES B. BARNES 

32557038 T42 43 A

"Whose James Barnes daddy?"Abby questioned, her brown eyes looking up quizzically at her father.

"Well he was someone your grandfather knew when he was helping the military. He fought with Captain America." At the name, Abby's eyes widened, her smile growing.

"Really! That's so cool! Oh daddy can I keep them please, please, please?" Tony knew she had him cornered, especially when he noticed the puppy dog look creeping into her eyes. He shrugged, quickly ruffling her hair. It wasn't a huge loss to him, just some old dog tags.

"Sure sprout. Now if we are done ransacking daddy's office I believe a Popsicle is in order." Abby squealed as she suddenly found herself hanging upside down, Tony's grip on her waist secure as he carried her from the room, the tags, clinking around her neck.

Washington D.C. February 2014

Glancing down at her watch for what felt like the millionth time, Abby huffed as her heeled feet tapped a rhythm into the floor. It was nearing 10 am, only an hour before the exhibit would be opening to the public. She could faintly make out the sounds of the press and crowds gathered outside the Smithsonian, waiting to finally see one of the most anticipated exhibits to be featured to date. Workers milled about, finishing up last minute touches before the grand opening, making sure everything was ready to go.

Abby's eyes wandered from her watch and towards the large mural decorating the entrance, a smile tugging at her lips as she took in the face of Captain America. The exhibit had been her pet project, starting out a year ago while she had been taking the reins of the outreach program of STARK Industries.

Growing up, she had loved the history of her grandfather and the rise of S.H.I.E.L.D., particularly in regards to the creation of Captain America. She had remembered going through files that had been kept by her grandfather, files deemed classified to anyone else without the Stark last name. She had loved when her history class spoke on the subject, enthralled with every detail of Captain Rogers and the Howling Commandos as they worked to eliminate Hydra.

Her fingers moved, absentmindedly toying with the chain around her neck, the tags clinking together as they bumped against each other. The dog tags belonging to one James Buchanan Barnes had hung around her neck since the day she had stumbled across them in her dads study. At the time, the name had not really meant anything to her until she started learning about the super soldier and his team. While Captain America was always the sole focus during lessons, for some unknown reason Abby was always drawn to his best friend. He had no super soldier serum nor super strength, just the fierce determination to do good for his country, to stand with his best friend and team, to lay down his life for what he believed was right.

The fact that he had also been an extremely handsome man, a crooked smile gracing her history textbooks, didn't hurt either.

"I'm here, I'm here!" Quickly turning around, she let out a relieved sigh as she made her way over to the employee entrance.

"Cutting it pretty close there Rogers. You know you could just hang around for the grand opening, you know razzle dazzle the press. Technically this is your exhibit." Abby pointed out getting an amused snort from Steve.

"Think my dancing monkey days are over Abby." He quipped, his eyes moving over to the entrance. She knew how weird this still was to him, having a whole wing of the Smithsonian dedicated to him and his accolades.

Trying to lighten the mood, she nudged his shoulder playfully before making her way towards the doors. "Well come on frosty, you got a good hour before this place is flooded with fans and press." Steve fell in step with the youngest Stark, heading for the doors.

Time seemed to slow as the two friends wandered around the area, moving from one artifact to another. Abby hung back slightly, watching as Steve took in every display, watching the emotions play across his face. She laughed a bit along with him as she had stood next to the changing display of him pre-serum ( "Wow capsicle you were smaller than me!"), she listened as he recounted stories of him and Howling Commandos, his eyes locked on the mannequins displaying the uniforms each of them had worn. She had watched as he fought back tears when they watched the film reels of Peggy Carter, recounting her own stories of the war and Steve. Abby had moved her hand, taking his and giving it a squeeze.

She had noticed the shift as soon as his eyes found it. Steve walked slowly, almost afraid to approach the display. She watched as a myriad of emotions played across his face: confusion, realization, sorrow, pain. They both stood silent, staring at the face of one James Buchanan Barnes. They could hear one of the many voice recordings, giving the same information etched onto the glass before them but neither really paid any attention.

"Do you miss him?" She knew it was a stupid question, one she already knew the answer to.

"It's been nearly 70 years but for me...it feels like it just happened you know." Steve said quietly, never taking his eyes off the memorial for the man who had been his brother.

Abby moved her hand, pulling the dangling chain from underneath her blouse, pulling it over her head as she turned to Steve. "When I was a kid I was looking, or as my dad called it snooping through his office and found these tucked into an old box of my grandfathers."

Tentatively Steve reached for the chain, recognizing the tags instantly for what they were. She saw the ghost of a smile touch his lips as he looked over the worn letters. "These were Bucks old tags. Had them when he first shipped out. When the SSR gave him news ones with the rest of the Howling Commandos, he kept these, said they helped him hold onto himself when Hydra captured him."

"At the time I just thought they were cool to wear and all. By the time we got to learn about you all in school," shrugging her shoulders she continued, "I admired all of you of course but something about Bucky just resonated with me. He didn't have any real superpowers like you. He was just someone who wanted to do right by his country and stood with his best friend." Chewing her lower lip the next words were a little harder to force out. "Um you should keep them I mean Bucky was your best friend and all."

Steve looked from the tags to Abby, his lips twitching up in a small smile before placing the chain back around her neck. "Keep them safe for me. I think he would have rather have a pretty dame wearing them than me keeping a hold of them." Abby smiled, her hand slightly clutching the tags, relief washing through her.

"Thanks Stevie." Wanting to lighten up the somber mood she grabbed his hand, nearly dragging him across the exhibit. "All right time to see those old war bond promos you made."

The only answer she received back was a groan.