#this is why you should join our skype calls

[tearfallpixie]

Trust and Love - Side Chapter: Accidents and Acceptance

Tags: @nerdraging4point0 @thesazzb @synthetic-wasp-570 @circle-with-me @beaker1636 @itsjustemily @witchyweeb34 @agravemisstake @cookiesupplier @cncohshit @faceless-mirror @nonamessblog @yournecessaryevil @black-damask1999

@lyschko666 @vinyardmauro @skulliecadaver-blog @some-daniela @latenightmusiclover @rye14-blog1 @somewhere-diamond @Shilohrosechicken @abiomens @awkwardalex @rumoured-whispers @miss570

“I’m sorry that we have to leave you mama.” Vinny murmured. “You’ll be joining us in a few days though when tour starts. It wont be long.” I hugged Vin tight as a few tears slipped my eyes.

“I just hate being parted from you two.” I sniffled.

“I know. Just a couple of days and you’ll see us again.” I nodded as his thumbs brushed my cheeks to wipe the tears away. “No tears mama. You know I hate it when you cry.” The announcement for Vinny’s flight to board sounded and I started to pull away. “Come on, one kiss.” He teased. “I can’t leave without a proper goodbye.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss me soundly.

“Fly safe. I love you.”

“I love you too mama.” He picked up his bag and kissed the back of my hand before heading to the terminal and disappearing down the hall. I waited until the plane took off before heading back to the car and going back to our empty house. I sighed and hung my keys up as my phone rang. I looked at it to see Ricky was calling me.

“Hi baby, how are you? Vinny’s on the plane.” I greeted him.

“I figured as much. Have you been on twitter?” He said in a stiff voice.

“No, what happened?” I asked slowly.

“I sent you a post. Go look at it.” I pulled the phone away from my head and clicked on the twitter icon. I went to my messages and clicked on the one Ricky sent me only to gasp. It was a tweet tagging Ricky and attached to the tweet was a very clear pic of Vinny and I kissing.

“Fuck. We were out of the way. I thought no one could see us!” I exclaimed. “Ricky, I’m so sorry.”

“Baby girl, its ok.” He chuckled. “I figured something like this was going to happen sooner or later. None of us have been very careful. Now the question is how do we proceed? We should probably tell the fans because judging by the 9 thousand likes and counting on the photo, we can’t just cover this up and ask the person to remove it.” Ricky suggested.

“Can you and Vinny skype me tonight? We can all discuss it together.” Ricky nodded and looked at the time. “Tell him when he lands. He should be with you in two hours. He’s going to feel horrible.”

“I’ll take care of him and we’ll talk tonight. I love you baby girl.” Ricky said.

“I love you too baby.”

~

Vinny did not handle the news well and apologized to Ricky a thousand times when the guitarist picked him up. Ricky grabbed his arm and had to haul him to the car to get him to leave the airport.

“Vin, it’s ok.” Ricky repeated again. “You deserve to say goodbye to her too when you leave. We’re going to skype her tonight and discuss what we are going to do. It’s not going to be that big of a deal.” They got to the hotel in record time and headed up to their room for the next few days. Ricky picked up his laptop from the bed and set it on the desk, opening skype immediately as Vinny put his stuff away. “Hey, baby girl. Vin’s in the bathroom.” He said when I answered. The drummer popped his head out and waved to the camera.

“Looks like we caused a little bit of drama while I was flying mama.” Vinny snickered.

“Looking at the 21 thousand likes I would say so.” I giggled. “So what do you want to do? I agree with Ricky that we need to be honest with the fans. I’m just worried how they will take it. I’ve already seen hundreds of tweets calling me a whore and a cheater.” I grumbled.

“Baby girl, stop reading them. They will only make things worse.” I sighed and nodded.

“Why don’t you grab my streaming gear and fly out here and we can do an impromptu stream tomorrow to explain everything.” Vinny suggested.

“Everything? Even you two?” I asked in shock.

“It might make things a little easier to swallow knowing that it isn’t just Vinny with you and you with me.” Ricky pondered.

“But the band doesn’t even know about you two.” The only person that had given any indication that they new about Ricky and Vinny’s relationship was Finnick, Vinny’s old roommate.

“Well they are about to find out.” Vinny snickered.

“Are you two prepared for the backlash we are going to get because its inevitable.” Ricky asked. “Between people going to be pissed that she gets both of us and calling her a whore or calling us greedy its going to be bad for a while.”

“As far as I’m concerned, our decisions are all I care about. I married both of you knowing this might be a possibility down the line so I am willing to put up with anything.” I told them.

“Same here. I’m not ever letting some stupid fans get between us.” Vinny confirmed.

“Good. Vinny and I will lay low for a while and we will have Logan pick you up from the airport. Don’t go making out with him too. We have enough chaos to deal with here.” Ricky teased.

“I make no promises. His blond hair is so pretty.” I giggled.

“Good night baby girl.” Ricky rumbled.

“Night you two. I love you.”

“We love you too Mama.” I closed my laptop and went to pack up the necessities for Vinny to stream in my bag. I crawled in my big empty bed and tossed and turned for an hour before I was able to get somewhat comfortable. I wasn’t use to sleeping alone anymore because usually I had at least one of my boys with me.

~

“Logan.” I walked over to him, and he pulled me into a hug.

“Hey little miss. I thought you weren’t supposed to come out for a few days and then Ricky said there was drama and you needed to come out now. Is everything ok?” He asked. I pulled out my phone and showed him the tweet as I pulled my bag off the baggage claim. “Got it.”

“I thought we were out of sight of people but apparently, I was wrong. We’re doing a big stream announcement this afternoon to explain it to the fans. They currently hate me for hurting their precious Ricky.” I giggled. We started walking out to the parking lot shoulder to shoulder.

“Like they know the ins and outs of his feelings.” He scoffed. “They are lucky you are willing to explain this to them.” I rolled my eyes and agreed with him.

“It will also paint Vin in a bad light if we don’t confront the rumors because he is stealing his best friends wife.” I offered.

“That’s fair. Lets get you back to your boys so you can deal with this.” We loaded up and headed to the hotel where Ricky and Vinny were waiting for me in the lobby. They immediately pulled me into their arms and held me tightly.

“I’ve missed you baby girl.” Ricky murmured. He had been gone for a week before Vinny left so he could visit his family before the tour so I hadn’t seen him for a bit. He pulled me into a kiss and I noticed a flash from the side. We pulled away to see a couple of fans outside the hotel taking pics. “Let them think what they want. It will be cleared up soon.”

“I missed you too Ricky. I don’t like being parted.” I mumbled.

“Next time you two are going to come with me to Washington and I will explain everything to my parents in detail.” They had come to the wedding and they had met me on several occasions but they didn’t know the nature of our relationship with Vinny. They just thought he was our roommate for the time being. We all entered the room and I handed my carry on to Vinny.

“I brought the streaming stuff on the plane with me because I didn’t want it to get damaged under the other luggage.” I explained. He pulled me into a deep kiss.

“You are a fucking angel. Let me set up.” He started setting up and leveling the equipment, so it was balanced and an hour later we were all set up. “Ok Ricky. Attach your computer and pull up twitch. I’ll log in and we can start.” Vinny went to put on some actual clothes seeing as he was still in his sleep shirt and sweats. When he came back he was in his signature cargo pants and baggy shirt. He logged into his account and waved us off to the side so we were out of camera. He kicked on the stream and sat there as he posted it to his social media accounts, allowing people to get on. Ricky clicked the link on his phone and shared it to his as well.

@Rickyolsonx: Hey guys, Vin has a huge announcement in this stream. You should check it out. [link attached]

“Hey guys, I know surprise stream and I’m obviously not in my house right now. It will all be explained here in a bit. I won’t be answering any questions until more people are here.” He said to the growing crowd. Ricky and I watched his phone with a frown as people were saying mean things to him about hurting Ricky and kissing me. I could tell it was bothering him.

“Ricky is advertising my stream? There is a reason for that.” It was a few minutes later when there were easily a thousand people in the stream. “Ok, I think I can start explaining. Look, the photo is not faked. It was real and I did kiss Olive. However, it isn’t what you think.” He looked around at us and jerked his head. We moved into the camera and waved awkwardly. Ricky knelt next to the desk as Vinny pulled me into his lap. I watched as the chat went crazy with hello’s and questions.

“Guys, to clarify, I am very aware of their relationship.” Ricky started out. I noticed Chris in the chat and pointed it out to Vinny and Rick who grinned. “Well it looks like he’ll find out then.”

“I bet the band is watching with him.” Vinny grinned.

ChrisCMotionless: Should I get them?

“Probably. We’re about to drop a bombshell that even you guys don’t know about.” Ricky answered him.

ChrisCMotionless: I’m worried now. Let me get the other boys.

“This just got a whole lot more interesting.” Vinny mumbled. Ricky pulled out his phone and pulled up the camera.

"Update, I'm here in Vinny's stream, we're gonna talk about what's been going on." He turned to show the stream before he ended the video and posted it to his social media.

ChrisCMotionless: Ok they are here.

“Ok, let us explain. Yes I kissed Olive yesterday in the airport. That is because she and I are in a relationship.” Vinny started.

ChrisCMotionless: Oh, big shock.

“Watch it Cerulli or we’ll mute you, asshole.” Ricky snapped playfully.

BeeforV: So you two are dating but shes married to Ricky?

“BeeforV, yes exactly. We are in a poly relationship. Ricky and her have been together for almost two years. I’ve been with her for about a year and few months. But the part that the band doesn’t know about is that-“ Vinny trailed off and part of me thought he was getting cold feet. I looked at him to see him frowning.

“Vin, you ok?” Ricky asked, touching his arm.

“Listen here Brady, you little shit.” Vinny snarled to chat. “I don’t care what your opinion is of our relationship. The only opinion that matters is Ricky’s, Olivia’s and mine. But I will not have you calling her a whore just because you don’t like how we handle our lives. Mods get rid of him and anyone that says anything disrespectful about her, Ricky or me.” He clung to me a little tighter and buried his nose into my neck to help him calm down.

NicholeMotionless: Vinny being protective and all cuddly of Olive is adorable.

Willinmotionless: So what was the other thing you were going to share.

Vin let out a little growl making Ricky chuckle. He stood up and pulled the extra chair up next to us.

“Are you ok to keep going Vin?” Ricky asked softly. Vin shrugged and didn’t make a move to pull away from me. “The other bomb shell we were going to drop was that-“ Ricky took a deep breath, “Vinny and I are also together.” The chat went insane and for a minute none of us could read a single message. I could tell Vinny was peaking at the chat from my neck but otherwise we all stayed quiet. I tried to see if there were any messages from Chris but I couldn’t catch his name.

“Guys, I love Olivia and Vinny with everything in me. If it weren’t for a fan catching their kiss yesterday, you would not know about this. However, I won’t have her or him attacked because of our relationship.” Ricky told the chat.

ChrisCMotionless: You and Vin? That shouldn’t surprise me at all. The entire crew is happy for you three.

I let out a sigh of relief and pointed out the message. I could tell that Vinny relaxed after seeing it too because he started to sit up.

“Thank you, Chris. It means a lot. We’ll come talk to you after the stream.” Vinny said.

“I don’t know what more there is to say. I love you both and that’s what this was about. To just explain the kiss yesterday. No one is cheating on anyone, and we are all happy together. If you can’t support us and our relationship then forget the band. Because I guarantee you, Chris, Justin and Ryan will support these boys to the end of their careers.” I finally spoke.

ChrisCMotionless: Got that fucking right. Their happiness is more important to us than anything.

“We love you guys. And we hope you support us.” Ricky said to the camera.

KitKatCathy: Can we see you kiss before you leave?

“I’m pretty sure you have definitely seen me and Olive kiss before.” Ricky teased before pulling me into a sweet kiss. Vinny shifted until he was sitting a little straighter and pulled me into a kiss too. The chat was spammed with ‘awes’ and people calling us cute.

“I think they’ll get mad if you two don’t amuse them too.” I giggled. Both Ricky and Vinny looked at each other with wide eyes.

“No, I’m sure they don’t-“ The chat spammed with confirmation, halting Vinnys words in his throat.

“The fans want what they want.” Ricky shrugged. I bounced off of the drummer’s lap and moved back to the bed. I could tell they were hesitant, and it made me giggle a little.

“Ricky just kiss your boyfriend already.” I laughed. He glanced back at me before rolling his eyes and grabbing Vinnys neck and pulling them together. The kiss was sweet at first until Vinny’s hands grabbed Rickys shirt and pulled him closer. I glanced down at Rickys phone that we had abandoned on the bed to see the chat losing their shit until it froze and the stream crashed. “Hey you two? You broke stream. Literally.” Vinny and Ricky pulled away from each other and looked at the computer. They both slumped into their seats in shock and stared at it for a few minutes.

“Wow.” Vinny finally uttered. I snuck up behind them.

“By the way, that kiss was hot.” Both of them jumped and looked back at me. I giggled and dashed away as they both tried to leap out of their chairs and grab me. We chased each other around the room for a few minutes until the door opened and Chris walked in. I dashed behind him and grabbed his jacket. “Chris protect me!” I begged.

“Chris.” Ricky said dangerously. “Give us the instigator.”

“Who?” Chris smirked. Justin had gotten up behind me and went to grab my waist, but Chris swung us around and faced him, looping an arm around me to keep me behind him. “Don’t.” He said sharply.

“Right. You don’t like to be touched. I’m so sorry Olive!” Justin freaked out.

“It’s ok. Thank you for stopping him, Chris. Justin, I don’t blame you. It’s easy to forget.” Familiar hands grabbed my waist and pulled me back into a firm chest.

“Think you are funny?” Vinny asked quietly in my ear. He pulled me into a kiss before we all moved to sit around the room. I found myself sitting in-between Ricky and Vinny on the bed as Chris sat on the end of the bed and Justin and Ryan took the chairs.

“So why didn’t you tell us that you two were together? I mean we are pretty accepting.” Chris questioned. Vinny and Ricky looked at each other before looking back at the band.

“We don’t know. We didn’t really think about it. Before we were both dating Liv it was more of just us fooling around and using each other as stress relief.” Vinny explained.

“Then all that shit happened with her ex, we made the decision to move in together and when she wasn’t with us, we still gravitated to each other at night.” Ricky continued. “Our relationship has always been more about Olive than each other. We only started dating each other about a month before we proposed actually.”

“I’m sorry you guys had to come out like this.” Ryan said honestly.

“We talked about it last night. We had a feeling something like this would happen so we aren’t too torn up about it. We just hope the fans are understanding.” Ricky brushed it off.

“The response seemed pretty positive on chat.” Justin offered.

“I guess time will tell. This is going to affect the band though. Our fans might turn, our monthly listeners might drop. We will get hounded from all sides.” Ricky pointed out.

“It doesn’t matter. Do we support them?” Chris asked Ryan and Justin who immediately said yes. “Then whatever happens we handle it together. You three are our family and that’s more important than any fans we will ever have.” Ricky moved to the end of the bed and wrapped Chris in a hug, quickly joined by Justin, Ryan and Vinny. Vinny looked at me and held out his hand.

“They are safe.” He murmured. I grinned and took his hand to be pulled into the hug. These were my family and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. In that moment I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to call mine.

[emilykaldwen]

Why can't we had a big bang that is off discord? The last fandom drama revolved around discord. it's a cesspit and a lot of us don't use it for all the above reasons. Too many private servers and problems. Now those who don't use it are isolated. The other mod keeps saying she hates the fandom today blaming it on pms but she is always saying it, always posting fandom call outs. She is part of the drama in discord. There is no trust anymore

TL;DR: You are not required to join the discord to be part of the big bang, but we will need to be able to contact you by email in order to check in with you throughout the event. So yeah, if you wanna hop in here and bitch about my friend and co-mod, I can't help you.

You don't HAVE to join the discord, we're just encouraging you to join for some extra discussion that's easier to have. Also, Tumblr DMs are notoriously unreliable, so if you won't let us contact you by Email, we have to have some way to get a hold of you that is reliable.

And I totally understand feeling hesitant about using discord but that's not how discord works. There's some pretty awful servers out there - gosh knows I've left some gaming servers that were a total mess. A server is what you make it, and the modding team matters. I can tell you our server is quiet, and so far we haven't had issues since I've been on it and we've got several time zones covered. I take modding seriously, and I know @ewanmitchellcrumbs does as well. I wouldn't have accepted the offer to help co-mod if I didn't think she did.

But also, I haven't seen her saying she hates the fandom, but I think we can all agree that things have been pretty chaotic the past few weeks and it's fucking exhausting. People are allowed to bitch about fandom. People have always bitched about fandom. I remember many an epic meltdown after various episodes of Supernatural. Doesn't mean I wasn't excited for the next episode or to write fic or read fic.

Fandom Drama will originate wherever there are people. That goes for Tumblr, Livejournal, MySpace, Skype, MSN messenger, AOL and IRC chats, forum boards, gaiaonline.... it's not a discord issue, it's a people issue. People will always engage in drama and bad behavior. We do not engage in it in either my inbox or the big bang server.

Also any further questions on the big bang should be sent to the @hotd-bigbang askbox. I will not be answering any more here.

[kudosmyhero]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) #12: Shadows of the Past - part 4

Read Date: September 19, 2022 Cover Date: July 2012 ● Writer: Kevin Eastman ◦ Tom Waltz ● Art: Dan Duncan ● Colorist: Ronda Pattison ● Letterer: Shawn Lee ● Editor: Bobby Curnow ●

Synopsis: Angel and a few Purple Dragons show Casey and the Turtles where one of the Foot Clan's hideouts is. Raphael asks if the Purple Dragons are sure they don't want to get involved, but they say they already have enough heat on them with the Foot Clan expanding their territory all over the city.

Inside, Master Splinter fights Oroku Saki, the Shredder. Splinter is exhausted after a long night and is nearly finished, but he manages to gather his strength, thinking back to his past life and how Oroku Saki took his wife and children away from him. He will not let this second chance be wasted. He rallies and continues the fight, but eventually the Shredder defeats him. Saki is about to finish him off when suddenly a Foot ninja comes flying through the window and knocks him down, followed shortly by the four Turtles and Casey Jones. A huge battle ensues, with Casey and the Turtles battling the Shredder, Karai, Alopex and a legion of Foot ninjas. During the fight, Shredder overhears Michelangelo call Splinter "father", and realizes that the turtles are Splinter's sons reincarnated. Donatello finds Splinter and tries to get him to safety, but Shredder zeroes in on him. As Shredder is about to attack Leonardo jumps in and parries the blow. Splinter tells Leonardo that their only hope is to work together and fight as one. The Shredder tells the Turtles that their master is beaten and if they have any hope of surviving they should join the Foot Clan. As Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael fight Shredder, Casey and Leonardo continue trying to get Splinter out safely. The large Foot ninja Splinter fought earlier is about to attack them when he's knocked out by Angel. She tells Casey that this may not be Purple Dragon business, but she owes Casey. Casey and Angel get Splinter outside. The Turtles take on Shredder together and are finally able to defeat him and return home.

General Krang express his continued disappointment to Baxter Stockman. Stockman assures him that the rat will be captured again and the psychotropic compound retrieved. Hob concurs, saying that the next time he finds Splinter he'll take care of the job himself. Stockman says that's not going to happen, as Hob is fired; he shoots Hob in the chest. Krang is not impressed. He asks Stockman again about the samples taken from Hob's blood and Stockman assures him they have plenty. Krang orders one of his men to tranquilize Stockman and bring him aboard his plane.

At the antique shop, Casey and the Turtles thank Angel again for helping them while Splinter rests on the couch. As Angel leaves, April arrives. She goes to see Splinter on the couch and begins to cry. Splinter wakes and asks her why she's crying; she smiles and says it's because she was afraid she wouldn't be able to thank him for saving her life.

(https://turtlepedia.fandom.com/wiki/Shadows_of_the_Past,_part_4)

Fan Art: Raphael and Casey Jones by gadgetwk by Kenkira

[melancholyshadow]

a monday in new york city || b. barnes

one & two 

summary: another date with bucky, but this time its in new york city with some familar faces. 

pairing: bucky barnes x female!librarian!reader

warnings: some ANNOYING as cliches that i just love, swearing 

an: okay so i know its been a week, but hey i’ve been busy! this series is going to have one more part! and it’s going to be spicy, but that is gonna take awhile because it takes a lot for me to write spicy stuff. also, this series doesn’t take place in a specific part of the mcu timeline, i just pick the characters i want and throw them together. the next part of my steve series should be out soon, like within the next couple days! enjoy!!! <3

“You should meet me in New York City tomorrow.” 

You and Bucky were talking on the phone, no Facetime or Skype, because this man still had a flip phone. After knowing about his history, this did not surprise you. Funnily enough, you didn’t actually know he had a phone until about two weeks ago. You proceeded to laugh at him for about thirty minutes when he pulled out the phone. It had been almost three months since he walked into your library for the first time. And the two of you had spent nearly everyday together, of course, except for those days he was gone on ‘obligations.’ 

“Like a date?” You asked, rolling onto your stomach, and moving the phone from between your ear and shoulder and onto your pillow. You heard him chuckle, and your cheeks warmed up. “We could call it that.” It was a Sunday night, and tomorrow was a holiday so the library would be closed, and for once, you had a day off. And you were over the moon about spending it with Bucky. 

“What do you have in mind?” You said, propping your head up on the palms of your hands. “Well, before I ask you, promise me you won’t freak out.” This peaked your interest. “Well what is it?” You pushed, “Promise me, first.” He was being stubborn. “Fine.” You sighed. “Well, the Starks are throwing a party tomorrow night…” He started, The Starks..? Like Tony and Pepper Stark? “...for our little group and some S.H.I.E.L.D agents, and he said I had a plus one, so of course, I want to take you.”

You were speechless, and you could feel the nerves creeping up from your stomach, all the way up to your throat. “Hello?” He asked, making sure you were still there. “Yeah, yeah, I’m still here. Just processing.” You muttered, now completely sat up in your bed. There were a few more moments of silence, then you spoke. “So you want me to go to a party thrown by Tony and Pepper Stark, and not only that, but a Stark party that will be mostly all your superhero friends?” You asked more rhetorically than anything else. “Yes.” He said confidently, which for a moment made your nerves waiver, but only for a couple seconds. 

“If it’s any consolation, I really want you to come, and everyone really wants to meet you.” Everyone? Who is ‘everyone’..? Like the Avengers? They knew about you? Holy shit. You couldn’t think about that right now though. You broke it down in your head, trying to simplify it. Bucky really wanted you to go, and you really didn’t have a reason to say no, other than being very anxious about the whole thing. “You know what, sure.” You were finally able to get out the words. “Wait, really?” He asked excitedly. That made you feel good, that he was so excited for you to meet his friends. 

He gave you all the details, adding to the nerves creeping up your throat. “I’m gonna get some sleep.” Bucky muttered at around 11, which was late for him. “I probably should too.” You said with a yawn. “Goodnight, Doll.” He said in a raspy tone, followed by him yawning as well. “Goodnight, Buck.” You said sleepily, about to hang up the phone, but then he spoke again. “And doll, I promise you won’t regret saying yes.” And with that, the phone line went dead. 

It was a restless night, you tossed and turned for a couple hours, thinking about all the ways you could fuck up on this date. The last time you checked the clock it was just after one in the morning. When you did finally wake up, the sun was beaming straight into your bedroom. Warming up the room around you, you felt a thin layer of sweat covering your body, but that honestly could have been from the nerves. The first thing you did was grab your phone, and check if you had any text from Bucky, and you did. 

It was a simple ‘good morning, doll,’ the same text he’s sent you every morning since you guys traded phone numbers. You sent him a similar text back, and rubbed the remaining sleep from your eyes. After contemplating staying in bed for awhile longer, you decided against it and figured you could start the day, as it was already almost ten in the morning. 

After a warm shower, which consisted mostly of shaving and washing your hair, you decided to make a quick breakfast. While you ate, you contemplated on what to wear. Bucky said it was more on the fancier side. You had a couple ‘fancier’ options, but not a closet full. Breakfast was done and dishes were clean, so now it was time to try on all your options. By the end of you trying on almost everything in your closet, you decided to keep it simple but elegant. It was a black satin slip dress that fell right above your knee, and the shoes were a pop of color and definitely brought the outfit together. 

As you pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, you felt those same nerves creeping up the back of your throat. The lot was full of cars, but you were able to get a spot closer to the front. This party looked like a lot more than a ‘little group and some S.H.I.E.L.D agents.’ After sending Bucky an ‘I’m here’ text, you gathered your phone and some little extras into your clutch. While you did some last minute touches and repositioning of your hair in your rear-view mirror, there was a small knock on your driver-side window, making your entire body jump, head snapping towards the noise. 

Your eyes landed on Bucky, who was practically doubled over on laughter. After getting in a good laugh, he pulled open your door, giving you a hand to step out more smoothly, which you swatted away and rolled your eyes at him. Once he got a good look at you, his face shifted. The dress you wore accentuate parts of your body that your everyday clothes certainly did

not. And you were not the only one who noticed. You could feel Bucky’s eyes on your as you walked in front of him to navigate through some of the cars. 

Once there was enough room for both of you to walk side-by-side, you felt his metal hand slide along your lower back, coming to rest on your furthest hip. His fingers rested on your hip bone, with each step you took, his hand followed the curve, giving it a small squeeze. “You look amazing, doll.” He whispered into your ear, making a layer of goosebumps cover your arms. “So do you, Buck.”

You were glad you wore black, because of course, so did Bucky. He wore a black undershirt, with a black blazer with leather lapels, and of course black dress pants. The two of you looked like a pair, which you liked. The two of you approached the front door of the hotel, pulling his arm away from your body, making you feel empty. He whisked the door open for you, letting you walk in before him.

The lobby was pretty empty, just a receptionist and a couple security guards standing around. You could hear talking and laughter from behind a couple pairs of closed doors. You followed Bucky towards one of the security guards, who was standing in front of one of the sets of doors.  “She’s with me.” He explained, as the two of you approached him. Those words made you giddy, and you smiled at the man. “Alright, Sergeant Barnes.” The guard said, pushing the door open for both of you. 

“Oh, Sergeant Barnes, huh?” You joked, wrapping one of your arms around his metal bicep. He tensed up a bit, but then laughed, “I like the way you say that.” Then added a wink. You looked away from Bucky, and towards the crowded, very crowded, room. Bucky definitely underestimated the amount of people would be here, but it was a Stark party after all, so you weren’t surprised. Bucky and you walked towards the bar, taking a seat, which you were thankful for, your feet already killing you. 

The two of you spoke for awhile, sipping on your drinks. You weren’t sure why Bucky drank, since he physically could not get drunk. But if the drinks were free, you would be drinking too. “Hey Buck, there you are.” A man approached you two, placing a hand on Bucky’s back. Both of you turned your head, eyes landing on a familiar face. “You must be (Y/M/N).” He smiled, sticking a hand out for you to shake, so you did so. “Hello, Steve.” You matched his smile. 

After the three of you bantered back and forth for a few moments, Steve spoke again, “Well if you two want to join us, most of us are sitting on the other side of the bar.” He explained pointing to the side of the room. Following the direction of his fingers, you saw a group of some more familiar faces. You knew most of their faces from news articles, but knew their names from Buck’s stories. It was Natasha, Bruce, and Wanda. “Wanna go?” You heard Bucky ask you, placing a hand on your knee. “Of course!” You said, perking up. Going over there was the last thing you wanted to do, because you already knew this was going to be awkward. 

Steve led as Bucky followed him through the crowd, pulling you by your hand. Maneuvering through the people, ‘sorry’ and ‘excuse me’ passing your lips every so often. “I’m back…” Steve said, “...and I brought friends.” His use of the endearing term ‘friend,’ made you lighten up a bit. After some, not so awkward, introductions, they all started talking, and you happily listened. Your stories could never match up to any of theirs, so you didn’t even try. “Do you want another drink?” Bucky asked, noticing your empty glass. “Yeah, sure.” You smiled, he grabbed the glass out of your hands. He left your side, walking to meet the bartender who stood closer to the middle of the bar. 

“So (Y/M/N), has Bucky read every book in your library yet?” Natasha asked, but by the way she emphasized the ‘your’ in her sentence, you couldn’t tell if she was implying an innuendo, but you decided to keep it literal. “Ya’know, he actually tends to stick around the romance section, his favorites are the damsel in distress ones.” You joked, placing the back of your hand on your forehead, closing your eyes like you were fainting. This got a laugh out of the group, making a small bit of confidence grow inside you. “What’re you guys laughing at?” Bucky asked, placing the fresh drink in your hand. “Nothing.” You said, pretending to lock your lips, making the group laugh again.

After a few more drinks, you had stopped feeling so tense and started loosening up. You started talking with Natasha and Wanda, while Buck, still nearby, spoke with Steve and Bruce. The three of you were sharing some of your dating horror stories. That was until the DJ started playing some more upbeat music, Natasha immediately stopped and looked between you and Wanda.

“Do you guys wanna dance?” He asked hopefully, wrapping one of her hands around yours, and Wanda’s, wrist. “Sure!” You exclaimed, which made Wanda agree. The three of you left the bar, making your way to the large dance floor in the middle of the room. There were a good amount of people on the floor, and everyone was in their own worlds. It took you a while to get into it, but when the DJ played a song you knew all the words to, it was over.

The three of you danced in a circle together. You danced similarly to the day Bucky caught you dancing at the library. Eyes shifting from open to closed, hands running up and down your body, hips moving side to side, fingers running through your hair. You felt eyes on you, and you looked towards Bucky. He had a green beer bottle pressed to his lips, not sipping just sitting there, like he was frozen. His eyes followed every curve of your body as it moved. Knowing that he was watching you made you want to move even more, Natasha and Wanda matching your energy level. 

After saying all your goodbyes to everyone, and Natasha drunkenly inviting you to one of her and Wanda’s girls night, Bucky walked you to your car. “You really shouldn’t drive.” He insisted, grabbing the keys you had hanging around your finger. You definitely weren’t drunk, but more like buzzed. “I’m fine.” You insisted, leaning against the side of your car, trying to get any weight off your feet. 

“Stay the night with me.” He inisited, both hands resting on your hips, and his forehead resting on yours. You debated back and forth in your head, well the best you could in your buzzed state. “Fine.” You said, trying to sound reluctant, but you were the opposite, but he couldn’t know that. “But, I need to leave by 7:30 tomorrow morning!” 

The drive was short, no longer than five minutes. “Now don’t make fun of me, as you know, I don’t spend very much time here.” Bucky explained, hand resting on the doorknob of his front door. “Oh shut up, I’m sure it’s fine.” You laughed, placing your hand on his and turning the doorknob. He stepped in first, flipping on the light switch. Your eyes scanned over the viewable part of the apartment,”I was right, you just need to do some major decorating.” 

Bucky walked off as you practically ripped your shoes off your feet, sighing in relief. Leaving the foyer and stepping into the living room, you searched for Bucky and he was standing in the kitchen. So you snuck up behind him, wrapping your arms around his waist. “Hi.” You mumbled, eyes fluttering closed and cheek pressed against his back. “Hey, doll.” He muttered back. 

You felt Bucky raise both his arms, and you heard some shifting, so you assumed he was searching for something in his cabinet. You heard what sounded like a pill bottle, and he shook some of them out into his hand. “Here take these.” He grabbed one of your hands, placing two small, circular pills in your hand. It was some form of Advil, you could tell by the familiar red color. 

Pulling away from him, you placed the pills into your mouth and he handed you a glass of water. “Thanks.” You said, taking a gulp of the water. “But I’m not gonna be hungover.” You insisted, placing the glass into his sink. You could tell he didn’t believe you, but he just smiled.  “Let’s go get you some comfier clothes.” 

“These are not gonna fit.” You called from the other side of the bathroom door. Bucky had given you a shirt and some red flannel pajama pants. The shirt was fine, you wore big shirts quite frequently, but no matter how tight you pulled the drawstring, the pants fell down to your thighs.  You peaked your head out from behind the door, and Bucky was sitting on the edge of the bed. “The shirt is pretty long on me, is it weird if I just don’t wear pants?” You asked him. He shrugged, “I don’t think so, as long as you’re comfortable.” He smiled. You opened the door all the way, and handed him the red pants, and he tossed them on the opposite side of the bed. 

“Well, It’s almost one in the morning, you should get some sleep.” He stood up from the bed and walked towards his closet,“You can have my bed, and I’ll sleep out here.” He pulled out a pillow and a sheet from his closet. “What, don’t wanna sleep with me, Buck? I see how it is.” You giggled, acting like you were upset, and rolling your eyes. 

“No-no, I-Buck, I’m kidding.” You cut him off, laughing at his sudden awkwardness. “I didn’t want to assume.” He finally muttered out. “I guess I don’t mind sharing a bed with you.” Continuing your joke, and slipping under the comforter. Engulfed by the smell of Bucky, which added another level of comfort. He pulled open the dresser once again, grabbing a shirt and some pajama pants, leaving you to go change in the bathroom. 

You scrolled on your phone, setting multiple alarms to make sure you woke up on time tomorrow morning, then placing it on the bedside table. Letting your eyes fall closed, you turned so that your back was towards the bathroom door. Without opening your eyes, you heard the bathroom door open, and then the lights flickered off. 

There was some quiet shuffling and you felt the bed dip beside you. Your eyes reluctantly opened, and you were greeted by the sight of Bucky’s back. Without thinking, you placed your hand on the arm that wasn’t tucked under his body, pulling at it softly. He rolled inward, now facing you. There was a sleepy smile on his face, and he blinked slowly, desperately trying to keep his eyes open. You placed a hand on his face, thumb softly running over the stubble on his cheek. His eyes finally shut, face full of content, the corners of his lips still upturned. Wiggling closer to him, “If we cuddled a little bit, I won’t tell if you don’t.” You said, letting some excess air out of your nose, as a laugh. “I know we aren’t dating, but…” Your voice trailing off.

“Yeah, about that…”

[capsteddybear]

Our Playlist: ** Red Light Special - TLC

** chapter contains smut

Song lyrics: " I know that you want me I can See it in your eyes. You might as well be honest 'cause the Body never lies."

Chris has been away at work for about a month and a half. You have also been busy with work and have only had time to exchange texts and short phone calls especially with the different time zones. There are occasional skype calls, but one of you is always about to go to sleep.

==== =====

You are in your office at work cleaning up after you have just finished your lunch when your phone rings and it's a video call from Chris.

"Hi!" You say with a mouthful of food and wipe your mouth.

Chris has a big smile on his face and tries to keep from laughing, "Hi gorgeous. I miss you. How was lunch?"

"Aww, I miss you too. Delicious, just finished."

Chris makes a pouty face, "Should I let you go since break is almost over?"

You sigh, "Yeah, sorry I gotta go back to work." You tilt your head and smile, "but we can talk later tonight if you're free."

Chris lets out a breathy laugh and smiles, "it's a date."

"I love you."

Chris blows a kiss to the camera, "I love you too, (y/n)."

You hang up the phone and finished cleaning up before going back to work.

Once you get home from work you change out of your work clothes and start to cook dinner. While you're cooking your phone chimes and it's a text message from Chris:

" Almost done with shooting then I'll be on break soon. :)"

"Okay. :)"

You finish cooking and take your plate to the living room to watch some TV. After you're done eating you start to dose off. The last couple of days at work have been hectic. You're woken up by your phone chiming with another text from Chris:

"Filming is running kind of late today, sorry. I'll call you when I can."

"No rush. I love you. :)"

"I love you too."

You stretch out on the couch and groan while staring at the ceiling. You don't wanna get up, but you also want to take a shower. You lay on the couch for another minute before getting up and lazily walk to the master bathroom.

You turn on the water, get undressed and step into the shower. As soon as the warm water cascades down your back you close your eyes and let out a deep sigh. You stand under the running water for a moment letting your body relax before actually taking a shower. Once you're done you turn off the water, wrap yourself in a towel and step out of the shower. You walk up to your dresser and grab a clean pair of clothes. You dry your body with the towel and put on your clothes. You dry your hair as you walk down the hallway back to the living room to grab your phone. You look at the screen and notice a missed Skype call from Chris from about 10 minutes ago. You dial him back as you walk back to the bedroom. You hang the towel back in the bathroom before falling onto the bed. Your phone rings a couple of more times before Chris answers.

You notice Chris laying down on his bed, "Hi handsome."

"Hi, (y/n)."

"Sorry I missed your call, I was in the shower."

Chris gasps, "A shower? And I wasn't invited?"

You let out a sleepy laugh, "when you're back home you can join me."

Chris sighs, "I miss you so much, (y/n)."

"I miss you too." You rub your shoulder from the soreness.

Chris makes a worried face, "you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just been a long week."

"I'll give you a massage when I'm back home."

You smile, "promise?"

"Promise." You both lay there in silence just looking at each other on the screen. You brush your damp hair back and Chris smiles.

"What?"

"You look beautiful. This is my favorite look on you."

"me looking tired?"

He lets out a small laugh, "No, you looking relaxed aside from your shoulder being sore, and you're wearing my favorite flannel."

You bring your hand up to your face and cover it with the sleeve, "I miss you and the shirt smells like you. It helps me fall asleep."

"I miss you too. I can't wait to see you."

"Me either. How many more days?"

"Soon." You smile and let out a little yawn. "I should let you sleep."

"Mmm, no I wanna talk more."

Chris smiles, "but you're falling asleep."

"no I'm not."

He laughs, "yes you are. Your eyes are closed."

You bring your hand up to your face to hide, "no they're not."

"You should sleep. Don't you have work tomorrow?"

You groan, "yeah, but this is the longest conversation we've had since you've left. I miss hearing your voice."

Chris raises his eyebrows and makes a worried face, "I miss your voice too, (y/n). I'll be home soon. You need to get some sleep." You moan and cover your face. "The quicker you go to sleep, the sooner the next day will come and it'll be a day closer to me coming home."

You move your hand from your face and smile, "Okay, I'll go to sleep then."

Chris shakes his head and laughs, "I love you so much, (y/n)."

"I love you, Chris."

"Sweet dreams. Good night, sweetheart." Chris blows a kiss to the screen.

You make a kissy face to the screen, "Good night."

==== ======

You wake up the next morning and get ready for work. Before heading out the door you check your phone and you have a text from Chris:

"Good morning. Happy Valentine's Day. I love you, (y/n)."

You have the biggest smile on your face. You reply back to Chris:

"Happy Valentine's Day, Chris. I love and miss you so much."

You go to work and go about your day as usual. Throughout the morning you're thinking about the gift you have for Chris. Well one of the gifts. You decided to play something on the guitar for him the next time you would talk to him via skype. During your lunch break you practice a bit after you eat your lunch. The rest of the day flew by. And you were glad because as soon as you get home you would be able to talk to Chris.

As soon as you open the door you're greeted by Dodger.

"Hi, handsome." You pet him then he takes off like a bullet to the kitchen.

Chris pops out from around the corner and leans against the doorway, "I thought you only called me handsome."

Your eyes instantly get watery and you drop your bag and run into his arms. "Chris!?" He holds you tight as you kiss him.

He pulls back and wipes your tears away, "hi." You kiss him again and more tears run down your face. "Hey hey, why are you crying?"

You let out a little laugh, "I'm really happy. sorry, I just really missed you."

Chris makes a pouty face and wipes your tears again, "I missed you too, but please no more tears or I'm gonna start crying."

You laugh as you hug Chris. "Okay, I'll stop. God, I can't believe you're back. I thought you were gonna be gone for another week."

"I did too, but we finished early. So here I am."

"I'm glad. Welcome home." You wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him.

"I have a gift for you in the kitchen."

You raise an eyebrow, "you do?" Chris takes you by the hand and leads you to the kitchen. As soon as you turn the corner you smell the delicious food that Chris has prepared for you. You wrap your arms around him, "Ahh! You cooked for me?"

Chris laughs, "No, Dodger did."

You try to keep a serious face, "wow, he's a better chef than you."

Chris has a shocked look on his face, "what?!?" As he pokes your sides.

You squirm at his touch, "I said Dodger is a better chef than you."

Chris starts tickling you more, "you sure?"

You try your best to escape Chris' hold, but fail. "Okay okay, I surrender. You're the better chef."

Chris stops tickling you and wraps his arms around you from behind and kisses you on the cheek. "Thank you, let's eat." Chris sets up the table as you kick off your shoes and take a seat at the table. During dinner you and Chris talk about work.

"Oh, I have a surprise for you too."

Chris has the biggest smile on his face, "really?"

You laugh, "Yeah, let me change out of my work clothes and I'll show you."

Chris raises his eyebrow and bites his lip, "Mmm, okay."

You laugh and kiss him on the cheek before making your way to the bedroom to change. As you change into something more comfortable Chris cleans up the kitchen.

You hear Chris walking down the hallway to the bedroom. "You passed me".

You hear Chris laugh, "where are you?" He walks backwards in the hallway and stops at the doorway of your home office. "Oh hi" he smiles and walks up to you for a kiss. "You're wearing my shirt again."

You laugh, "Yeah, you said this is your favorite look."

Chris smiles and kisses you again, "it is."

"Have a seat on the couch." Chris turns and throws himself on the couch to lay down and hugs a throw pillow.

"So what's my present?" Chris asks with a little smile on his face.

"Well since you said you missed hearing me play guitar I'll play a new piece I learned." Chris snuggles the throw pillow as he watches you play. As you're playing you see Chris' smile get bigger. By the end of the song, Chris has his eyes closed. You put down your guitar and sneak up to Chris kneeling down in front of him. "Hey, did you fall asleep on me?"

Chris hums, "Mmm, yeah, your playing helps me relax. And the plane ride home tired me out." He slowly opens his eyes and smiles. You lean in to kiss him.

"If you're tired we can go to bed."

He brushes your hair back behind your ear and cups your face to bring you closer. "Mmm, in a bit." You smile against his lips. He pulls you towards him to lay on him. "come here." he tosses the throw pillow on the floor and you straddle him and find a comfy spot. You rest your head on his chest as he wraps his arms around you and squeezes you tight as he kisses the top of your head. "Thanks for the gift. I love you."

You moan as he rubs your back, "I'm glad you liked it." You both lay on the couch in silence. You caress his facial hair and plant light kisses on his cheek as his hands wander down your back to your ass. You let out a soft giggle, "I thought you were sleepy, mister."

He moans and kisses your neck as he slowly squeezes your ass, "not anymore." His hands hold onto your hips and he grinds them against his. You bite your lip and moan.

You whisper, "Bedroom?"

Chris kisses your lips and wraps his arms around you and slowly sits up not to break the kiss. He turns on the couch to stand up while you wrap your legs around his waist. He slowly walks towards the door, but trips on the pillow he threw on the ground earlier and you slip down from him, but his arms are still around you to make sure you don't fall. You gasp and you both start laughing as he holds onto you. "Oh my God, are you okay?"

You have tears in your eyes from laughing, "Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

"Yeah. Shit that's one way to kill the mood."

You grind your hips towards and feel him hard in his pants, "you sure about that?"

Chris raises an eyebrow and kisses you. He smiles against your lips and he picks you up. You yelp as you wrap your legs around him as he exists your office. He carefully walks down the hallway to the bedroom as you rest your head on his shoulder.

He turns and sits at the end of the bed and slowly leans back to lay down as he pulls you down with him with his arms wrapped around you. He kisses you on your cheek and rests his head on the bed and closes his eyes. You rest your head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat. Chris' hands start to wander down your back and up under your shirt. You moan at the warm touch of his hands. He kisses you and slowly leans forward and sits up holding onto you. His hands travel between you and he slowly starts unbuttoning his flannel shirt that you have on. You rest your arms on his shoulders as you kiss him. When he gets to the last button of the shirt he slowly opens the shirt causing you to put your arms down. He stops kissing you and gasps as soon as he sees the sexy red lace bra that you've been hiding under his flannel.

"Wow."

You bite your lip, "you like it?"

Chris looks at you with dark eyes, "I love it." Then starts kissing you passionately as he quickly removes the remainder of his flannel. He moans against your lips as his hands are on your hips and you grind against him. You run your fingers through his hair as he lays back down on the bed. He rolls on the bed so now he's on top of you. You giggle and look up at him as he gives you a smirk and goes back to kissing you.

Your hands go to his lower back and tugs on his shirt. He smiles against your lips as you start to remove his shirt. He breaks the kiss long enough for his shirt to pass between you two before his lips are back to yours. You feel the warmth of his bare chest on yours and you let out a moan. He grinds his hips down on yours as he kisses your neck. You push his shoulders causing you guys to roll over on the bed against so now you're straddling his lap. He bites his lip before pulling you down to him for a kiss. You giggle against his lips as you slowly scoot down his body.

Chris moans as you scoot further away from him. "Hey."

You continue kissing his chest and scoot down lower on his stomach, "Shh" as you look up to him through your hooded eyes. His hands softly caress your shoulders as you continue to travel lower towards his pants planting soft kisses on his waistline. You look at the bulge in his pants before slowly massaging his dick through his pants. You hear Chris hiss as soon as you touch him. You look up at him and he locks eyes with you and bites his lip. You give him a playful wink that makes him let out a breathy laugh and you start unbuckling his belt. You plant another light kiss and tease him by slowly pulling down his pant zipper causing him to buck his hips towards you.

You let out a softly laugh, "Shh, relax."

Chris brings his hands up to his face, "sorry baby, but you're making it really hard."

You rest your head on his thigh and start laughing, "pun intended?"

"What?!" Chris looks down at you as you're still laughing, "Oh God" as he starts to laugh. He groans as he tries to stop laughing and relax.

You try your best to stop laughing too but Chris can feel you smiling as you continue to plant kisses on him. You feel his body relax more as you hook your fingers in his belt hoops and waist band to pull down his pants and briefs. He thrusts his hips up as you pull his clothing down and his dick springs free. You toss his pants and briefs on the floor as you slowly climb back up his body and plant light kisses around his waist before taking his dick in your hand. Chris moans as soon as you start massaging his dick. He lays his head back on the pillow as you continue to slowly pump him. He moans out your name as you kiss the tip of his dick before taking him into your mouth. Chris groans at the warmth of your mouth around him and brings one of his hands down to you and runs his fingers through your hair. You start to slowly bob your head and you use your saliva and his precum to lubricate him.

Chris groans and lightly tugs on your hair, "Shiiiiiit."

You moan around his dick and look up at him before you start to increase your speed. Chris' moans start to get louder.

"Oh fuck." You tease him and slow down which causes him to pull your hair a bit tighter. You take him in deeper. He loosens his grip on your hair and moans out your name. "Baby, oh shit." You suck the tip of his dick and release him with a loud pop and he opens his eyes and looks down at you. "Please baby, don't be a te-" before he can finish his sentence your lips are around his dick again and you increase your speed causing him to groan and moan out your name.

"Agh! Fuck!" You can feel his chest raising and falling quickly and you hear his breathing getting heavy. You moan around his dick and the vibrations drive him over the edge. "Baby, I'm so close. Please."

You speed up and take Chris as deep as you can. You feel his body tense up under you.

"Fuck!" His cum shoots into your mouth and you continue pumping him. Milking him until he has nothing left. He moans out your name the whole time. You lick your lips and wipe your mouth as he tries to catch his breath. He looks down and sees a smirk on your face. He lets out a tired laugh and pulls you up to him and kisses you moaning against your lips. "I love you, (y/n).

"I love you too, Chris." You rest your head on his chest as he wraps his arms around you and calms down his breathing. You both lay there in silence before Chris starts kissing your neck and tickling your shoulder with his beard. He rolls over so now he's on top of you. He continues kissing your neck and tickling you.

You giggle, "Chris."

He stops tickling you and looks you in the eyes, "yeah?" as he goes back to kissing you and slowly starts tickling you again.

You moan, "Stop tickling me."

He moans against your neck, "why? I like the sounds you make."

You groan out his name, "Chriiiiiss." You start tickling his lower back.

He stops tickling you and his body squirms above yours, "Hey hey, what are you doing?"

"Evening out the playing field."

Chris laughs and starts tickling you again. Your tickle fight goes on for a bit before Chris gives up.

"W- w- wait, wait. I have a gift for you."

You stop tickling his back, but have your hands ready to attack again, "Proceed." Chris lets out a tired laugh and kisses your cheek before sitting up and leaning over the side of the bed to present a gift bag. He places the small bag on your stomach. You blindly reach into the bag and pull out a handful of candy hearts with the little sayings on them. "Ooo, candy." As you take a few in your mouth. You toss one to Chris and he successfully catches it. You reach back into the bag and pull out a pair of fuzzy red handcuffs. You start to giggle and you look at Chris biting his lip trying not to laugh. "And these are for you, right?"

"I can wear them, but they're meant for you... only if you want to. I'm not pressuring you."

You look at the cuffs and bite your lip, "I'll try them."

Chris smiles, "uh, there's something else in the bag too."

You reach back into the bag and pull out a pair of dice. One dice has body parts listed "ear, lips, navel, thigh, and ass." The other dice has verbs listed "bite, blow, nip, lick, suck, and pat." You finish reading the dice before Chris takes them away from you and tosses them back into the bag along with the handcuffs. He carefully places it back on the floor.

"We'll try those out next time. I only wanna use the candies right now." He takes the handful he grabbed from the bag and places it next to you on the bed.

You tilt your head, "Use the candies?"

Chris gives you a smirk and lays back down on top of you and starts kissing you, "You'll see what I mean."

You smile against his lips, "Okay."

He reaches next to you and grabs a couple of the heart candies he tries to place one on your cheek, but you giggle and it rolls off. "You gotta stay still."

You smile, "Okay sorry." You close your eyes and relax. You feel Chris lightly place the candy on your cheek and using his mouth to grab it. "Oh okay, I get it"

You hear Chris laugh, "Shhh." You stay quiet as Chris places a candy on your neck. You moan as soon as his lips touch there. The next candy he places is on your chest. You try not to giggle on the next placement of the candies because he places a few on your stomach and the light brushes of Chris' facial hair drives you crazy. He careful scoots down your body and tugs at the string of your booty short pajamas. "May I?" You don't answer him, but you thrust your hips up signaling him to pull them down. He slowly pulls them down to reveal matching red lace panties. He tosses them to the floor and grabs a couple of candies to place on your thighs and legs. He takes his time eating them. When he's done he crawls back up to you and you wrap your arms around him and kiss him.

He smiles against your lips, "I'm not done yet." He sits back up and bites his lip, "roll over onto your stomach."

You have a big smile on your face and roll over on the bed. You grab the pillow and rest your head on it. You feel the bed dip around you as Chris kisses the back of your neck. You moan and close your eyes. He continues his torturous game and places candy hearts on the back of your body. When Chris gets to your lower back you have a hard time staying still.

"Hey, stay still."

"I can't, it tickles."

"Promise, I'm almost done."

You turn your head into the pillow and moan. You hear Chris giggle as he takes his time on that area. Once he's done you start laughing because you can feel Chris places a candy heart on your ass.

"Oh God."

"Stay still, it's gonna roll off."

You stay quiet and try to keep calm as Chris lightly bites your ass and eats the heart candies. He places the last two heart candies on the back of your thighs and devours them. Chris slowly pulls on your hips so you're laying on your back again. He leans down and kisses you passionately. His hands start to wander down the sides of your body. You thrust your hips up and he moans. You run your fingers through his hair as he kisses you neck. His right hand travels down your side to the front of the panties. He locks eyes with you and you nod your head giving him permission to touch you. His hand slowly travels down to you mound. You moan as soon as he touches your lips. He keeps his touch slow and soft taking his time. You rub his back and bite his bottom lip. You moan out his name as you become more wet.

You thrust your hips up and whisper into Chris' ear, "Please baby." Chris bites your neck and slowly pushes a finger into you. You moan in pleasure as he continues to slowly pump his finger in and out of you. You start grinding your hips against his hand.

Chris kisses down your neck to your chest, "you like that?"

"Yes, baby. Please. More." Chris inserts another finger into you and you whimper out his name. He slowly withdrawals them and rubs your clit making you more wet. He uses your juices to wet his fingers before pushing them back inside you. He muffler your cries as he kisses you. You scratch at his back as he slowly fingers you. Taking his time stretching you out. "Fuck, baby. Right there." Chris pushes his fingers deeper looking for your g-spot. As soon as he finds it you bite his shoulder. "Chris!"

He kisses your neck, "Mmm, found it." He increases his speed and you start to squirm below him.

"Yeah, baby. Don't stop. Right there, baby. Right there."

He uses his thumb to rub your clit as he continues to pump his fingers faster into you.

You wrap your arms around him and hold him tight, "Chris, I'm gonna cum. Fuck baby, harder. Please, baby."

Chris groans and lightly bites your neck, "Cum for me, (y/n). Let go, baby. Let go."

You scream out his name and clench around Chris' fingers. "Ahh! I'm cumming. I'm cumming, baby."

Chris doesn't stop, he pumps his fingers deeper into you making your orgasm more intense. Your whole body is shaking as you hold onto him tightly riding it out. You become too sensitive that you pull on Chris' arm to stop. "Okay, okay, please. Stop, baby. I'm done." Chris stops and slowly removes his hand from your panties. He brings his hand up and licks your juices off of his fingers as you let go of him to catch your breath. He smiles at you before kissing you. You taste yourself on his lips.

"Hi." He holds himself above you as you're still catching your breath. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah, just need a minute. It's been a long wait since we've done this."

Chris lets out a breathy laugh, "only like a month and a half."

"Uh yeah, that's a long time for me."

He bites his lip, "Me too." He leans back down and kisses your neck. "You ready now?"

You moan out a yes as your hands rub his back. He slowly sits up and pulls you up with him. His hands travel to your back and he unclips your bra. He pulls down the straps and plants light kisses on your shoulders as he tosses the bra across the room and kisses down your neck to your chest. You whimper as his kisses get closer to your nipple. He slowly licks your nipple and you lightly tug on his hair. "Ahh, baby." He moves to your other nipple and repeats his action. He moans around your nipple as he lightly bites you. You whimper out his name as he slowly pushes you to lay back down. He kisses your chest and back up your neck to your lips. He leans over to the night stand and grabs a condom out of the drawer. He opens the package and rolls on the condom. You bite your lip as Chris motions you to move your hips so he can take off your panties. He tosses them to the floor before crawling back to you and kiss you.

"I love you, baby."

"I love you, Chris."

He takes his dick in his hand and pumps himself a few times before lining himself up with your entrance. He slowly touches your lips with his dick torturing you. You bite your lip and lock eyes with him. His other hand holds onto your hips and he slowly thrusts into you. He lets go of his dick and uses that hand to keep balance on the bed.

"Shit. Baby you feel so good." He keeps his thrusts slowly, but you have other plans.

"Chris, baby faster. Please." You wrap your legs around his waist causing him to go deeper into you.

"Fuuuuuck." He places both of his hands beside you for balance. "You sure?"

You whimper, "Yes baby, please. I need you."

"Hold on." Chris starts thrusting into you hard causing you to bite down on his shoulder.

"Ah fuck. Yes. Just like that. Ahh."

"You like that?"

You cry out his name and scratch his back as he leans down and leaves love marks on your neck. "Harder, baby. Harder."

All you can hear is you calling out each others names, skin slapping and the bed creaking.

Chris moans "Fuck baby. Are you close?" You whimper and clench around his dick. "Shit, baby. You're gonna make me cum. Please tell me you're close."

"Yes, baby. Don't stop. Please. Don't stop." Chris quickly moves his hand between you and starts rubbing your clit sending you over. "Oh shit. Yes, baby. Yeeeees. Right there."

"Cum for me baby. Cum for me, (y/n)."

Chris moaning out your name causes you to release your orgasm. You clench around him and scream out, "Ahh, I'm cumming, Chris. I'm cumming."

A few uneven thrusts and Chris cums right behind you. He continues rubbing your clit as your orgasm still travels through you. "I love you, baby. I love you so much." He kisses your neck and holds you tight as you milk him. He slows down his touch and pulls out of you and rolls over on the bed to lay next to you and catch his breath.

He kisses you again before getting up and tossing the condom in the trash. He then pulls you close and hugs you from behind. He kisses your shoulder and you reach back to run your fingers through his hair.

You whisper, "I love you, Chris." And kiss him.

"I love you too, (y/n)."

You lay there in silence before Chris' hand starts to wander up to your breast. You giggle, "what are you doing?"

"I'm not sleepy. Are you?" As he kisses your neck.

You bite your lip, "no, why?"

He whispers in your ear, "wanna go another round?"

You look over your shoulder at him, "always."

Chris smiles and grabs another condom from the nightstand. You roll over on your back and watch Chris slowly put on the condom. He looks down and bites his lip, "I wanna try something."

You give him a smirk "Uh, okay. What?"

"Turn around, please."

You do as he says and roll on your stomach. You feel the bed dip as he leans down and plants light kisses down your back. "Oh God, whatever you do, please don't tickle me this time."

You feel Chris smile on your lower back, "promise, I won't." He sits up and pulls your hips up so you're on your hands and knees. You brush your hair to one side and look back at Chris as he pumps himself a few times before lining himself up to you. "You ready?"

You bite your lip, "uh huh." He holds onto your hip as he slowly enters you. You both moan out each others name. "Fuck."

"You okay?"

"Uh huh."

He continues to thrust into you squeezing your ass, "Fuck baby, you're so tight."

You whimper out his name as you squeeze the bed sheets. You thrust your hips back towards him causing him to go deeper.

"Oh shit, baby."

His thrusts get harder causing your arms to slip and your hips go higher. The new angle drives you crazy.

"Ahh, yes. Baby don't stop. Yes. Yes."

Chris grabs onto your hips tight and pumps harder into you. "Fuck baby."

"Chris. I'm gonna, I'm gon-" He leans forward and wraps his arms around you and pulls you back so you're sitting straight up and pumps into you deep and fast as his hand travels down to your clit and rubs it in quick tight circles. You whimper out his name, "ahh! Right there baby. Right there."

"Cum for me, (y/n). Let me hear you, baby. Let go. I got you, baby. I got you." He bites the back of your neck.

You grab onto his forearm as an intense orgasm hits you. "Ahh! Baby, I'm cumming. I'm cumming. Yes, baby. Yes." He continues rubbing your clit and thrusting you from behind. He leans back forward causing both of you to fall back onto the bed, but his arms catch himself from smashing you. He continues thrusting into you looking for his own release. You grab onto the bed sheets holding on as yet another orgasm hits you. "Cum for me, baby. Please, Chris."

Chris pumps into you a few times before he cums. He groans out your name and stays deep inside you as you clench around him. "Holy shit, baby." He stays there for a moment and catches his breath and kisses your back before pulling out of you. You stay on your stomach still clenching the bedsheets and catch your breath as Chris gets up and tosses the condom in the trash.

He slowly crawls back into bed and plants light kisses on your back. You giggle at his light touch and slowly rolling over. "I said no tickling."

"Sorry." He kisses your neck.

You run your fingers through his hair, "I love you, Chris."

"I love you too, (y/n). Happy Valentine's day."

Chris kisses you on the lips before pulling the covers up and wrapping his arms around you.

[sunflowerspecter]

haley (a.h.)

summary: hotch doesn’t know if it’s time to move on. then he meets you, and your daughter haley. 

warnings: canon-typical violence, canon-typical mentions of murder, canon-typical mentions of drugs 

pairing: aaron hotchner x fem!reader

words: 3.6k

note: hey? i’m back! with another fic! after like four months! woo. i’m also almost at 400 followers which is pretty wild so cool cool. this is absolutely unedited and i’ve been working on it for literally ever, but i doubt you expected more from me anyways (the plot is also kind of sketch) anywayss, here it is my loves! 

~~~oOo~~~

“JJ!” you yell, crossing the bullpen quickly. She turns to face you and smiles widely, throwing her arms open. 

“Y/n!” she calls as you fall into her arms. “Oh my god, it’s so good to see you! What are you doing here?” 

“My team’s going to be working with your team for the next couple of cases!” As the communications liaison for Operations Support Branch (OSB), you and JJ used to collaborate often, until she was transferred and changed positions. You and her don’t get to see each other half as often as you want, but sometimes you bring your daughter, Haley, to spend time with Henry. 

“Wait, really? Why weren’t we alerted?” she asks. Behind her, a tall man with dark hair steps towards you, and you already know who he is. SSA Aaron Hotchner. 

“Because the decision was just made this morning,” he says. He offers his hand and you shake it. “I’m SSA Aaron Hotchner.” 

“We all call him Hotch,” JJ adds quickly. 

“Y/n Y/l/n,” you say to him. “I’m the communications liaison for the OSB. I’m the only one here right now, my team is heading up as we speak.” You turn to the elevator, where your boss, Sam Holmestead, is standing, talking to Derek Morgan, someone JJ had introduced you to. “Holmes is over there.” 

“Great,” Hotch says, “excuse me.” He nods at you and begins his way over to your boss, and you watch the entire way. 

“Ooh,” JJ sings, giving you a friendly laugh. 

“Oh, shut up,” you say, but you’re laughing too. “Now, I heard there’s a case.” 

She nods. “Come up to the conference room, we’ll introduce your team to my team and give you all of the details.” 

In the room, you, Holmes, and the two others from your team that were joining you— Gary Long and John Wilson— stand at the back, while the BAU all gathered in their seats. 

“These four are from the OSB,” Hotch says. “Strauss wants our team to collaborate with some members of the OSB on the next few cases, so they’ll be travelling with us,” Hotch says. “JJ, want to make introductions?” 

She nods, then says, “Sam Holmestead leads the team, and this is Y/n Y/l/n, Gary Long, and John Wilson.” She turns to her team, then, and says, “This is Derek Morgan, Emily Prentiss, Spencer Reid, Penelope Garcia, and David Rossi.” 

Greetings are exchanged, and then it’s back to business. “Two young women were kidnapped and then killed in Tallahassee, Florida,” Garcia says. “Each one was taken from a parking lot, then held captive for a week, and then killed. A week after the first girl was killed, the second one went missing. She was found dead yesterday. Other than their throats being slashed, they were otherwise unharmed.” 

You blink down at the pictures. You’ve seen things before, awful things, but this was just… so much worse. You feel better about your squeamishness when you look over and see that Wilson is as white as a ghost. 

“So, what does this guy get from the kill?” Morgan says, one elbow on the table. 

“It’s rather clean, as far as murder goes,” Prentiss quips. “No stabbing, no bruising. Even the cut is clean.” 

“How long did it take her to die? This could be seen as merciful,” you say, glancing at Holmes, who nods at you. 

“I’m guessing just a few seconds,” Reid said, looking through his file and finding the coroner’s report, then nodding and glancing up at you. 

“Garcia, do these girls have anything in common?” Hotch asks, and your attention goes straight to him (because he’s talking, and you’re polite, obviously). 

“They both attended Florida state and now work in insurance. Different companies,” Garcia says. 

Hotch nods at her, then says, “Wheels up in 30.” 

~~~oOo~~~

The jet is larger than you expected. And nicer, too. You take a seat between JJ and Morgan, and see Garcia on Skype on the table. The rest of the group files in, and you begin discussing the case. 

“So, what’s this guy's deal? What’s he doing with these girls for a week?” Morgan says. 

“There aren’t signs that they’re tied up, or that he blitz-attacked them,” Prentiss adds. 

“Maybe he kept them locked in a sort of cellar. He wouldn’t need to tie them up.” 

“Did he drug them?” Holmes asks. Reid looks over the report, then nods. 

“Actually, yes, both girls had methylenedioxy​methamphetamine and methamphetamine in their system,” Reid says. 

“MDMA and meth?” JJ says, crossing her arms. 

“Wilson, you still have contacts in Florida, right? See who’s dealing both of those these days,” Holmes says, and Wilson nods, pulling out his phone. 

“MDMA is really hard to get a hold of,” Wilson says, “I’m sure it’s easier in Florida, but still, this guy has to have some way of getting money in. Lots of it.” 

“Okay, so how does he insure he doesn’t hurt them with the drugs?” Prentiss says. 

“And what purpose does it serve? What fantasy is he living out?” Rossi adds. 

The plane hits a bit of turbulence, and your stomach flips. “Is that normal?” you whisper, and JJ laughs, nodding.

“You’ll get used to it,” Morgan says. You nod and give a short laugh. 

“The likelihood of being in a plane crash is about one to 5.4 million,” Reid says, “and even so, it’s improbable that turbulence will cause a crash. Even commercial airlines are built to withstand forces 1.5 times stronger than anything experienced in the past—” 

“Reid,” Hotch says sternly, but softly, “focus, please.” 

“I didn’t know the BAU made cyborgs,” you say, squinting your eyes at Reid. 

Prentiss nods at you, throwing her arms up. “That’s what I’ve been saying! Someone finally understands.” 

“Sorry,” he says, eyes widening. “I’m curious as to whether these girls were using these drugs before or after he took them.” 

“You think they were using before?” Hotch asks, and Reid nods. 

“I just don’t know why he would give the girls these drugs.” 

“I’ll ask the families,” JJ says. 

“When we land, Reid, start setting up a geographical profile. Prentiss and Morgan, check out the dump sights. JJ, talk to the families, and make sure the press doesn’t get the information about the drugs. Rossi, take Long and go check out the abduction sights. Wilson, reach out to your contact. I want Y/l/n and Holmestead to help me with victimology,” Hotch says, looking around. 

“Yes, sir’s” went around the group, and you flip to look at the victim pages. 

Holmes leans across the table and looks at you. “What do you think?” 

You shake your head. “It’s strange,” you say. “They hardly have anything in common. Yeah, they went to the same school, and yeah, they both work in insurance, but two very different jobs.” 

Holmes shrugs, then nods. “I agree. Were they friends?” He looks at Hotch for guidance, who shrugs. 

“We’ll have to find out. Garcia, have you made any connections?” 

Garcia looks up on the screen, then says, “Actually, another girl has just been reported missing.” 

“It’s only been a day,” JJ says, and looks at Hotch. 

“We hit the ground running,” he says, and you all nod. 

~~~oOo~~~

Working with the team goes a lot smoother than expected. Your teams bond together instantly, and you all work quickly and effectively. 

Unfortunately, even a day and a half after the third victim's abduction, you’re no closer. 

“In his comfort zone, there are 14 warehouses, 13 abandoned buildings, 25 apartment complexes, and too many residential areas to count,” you say, looking over Reid’s shoulder as he writes on the board. 

“He could be anywhere,” Hotch mutters, standing beside you. 

“What are we missing?” Rossi says, and you turn and slump into a chair, sitting at the table with the team. Hotch sits next to you, a pensive look on his face. 

“How did he choose each girl? Are these premeditated or spur of the moment? And why did he escalate his time frame?” Morgan says, looking around the table. 

JJ rushes into the room. “The third girl's body was found. And he left a note.” 

The table stands. “Reid and Y/l/n, stay here and analyze the note. JJ, keep the press occupied. No one releases the note. We don’t address it yet. Everyone else, at the crime scene.” 

You nod, finding it a little odd that he left you with Reid (sure, you aren’t a field agent, but the rest of your team is going somewhere), but you stay nonetheless. The team files out and you turn to Reid, looking down at the scan of the note. 

“The paper looks old,” Reid says, and you squint. 

“It’s not old, it was made to look that way. See how it’s not torn or wrinkled, but it’s yellowed?” 

Reid nods and looks at you, for a moment, surprised. It passes quickly, and he’s looking back at the text. “Typewriter, and it’s in third person. It just describes the crime.”

“What does that mean?” you ask, and Reid shrugs. 

“It could mean any number of things. Could be living out his fantasy, could be any number of mental illnesses.” 

You nod, crossing your arms. It’s going to be a long night. 

~~~oOo~~~

The fourth girl was taken in the wide open. There was a witness. With a description of the vehicle. 

“There are more purple Volkswagens in Tallahassee than there should be,” Garcia says, “but only one registered to someone within the comfort zone of our guy.” 

He doesn’t know you’re coming, and the arrest is smooth, and the girl is safe. 

The plane ride back is quiet—everyone is mostly asleep. You sit by Holmes, talking idly about how the court is probably going to rule on the case. Hotch is awake and across from you, but you can tell he’s listening. 

“How’s the little one?” Holmes says, and you laugh. 

“As rebellious as ever,” you sigh. “She wants to be a superhero when she’s older.” 

Holmes laughs, leaning back in his seat and pushing his hand through his hair. “And that’s exactly why I didn’t have kids.” 

You elbow him. “Like you could get someone to reproduce with you, anyway.” 

He gasps, grasping his chest, feigning pain. “Low blow, Y/n, low blow.” 

“Whatever, old man,” you say, leaning back. “How long are we working with the BAU?” you ask, glancing over your sleeping teammates. 

“I’m not sure yet,” he says. Then he lowers his voice and whispers in your ear, “You’ve caught the BAU’s dear boss’s eye, I think.” 

You giggle (you giggle) and say, “No way.” 

“Yes way.” 

“I guess he’s cute,” you say in a whisper. “But that’s a conversation for the morning. I’m exhausted.” 

You look over at Hotch, writing his report and talking quietly with Rossi. You wonder what’s going through his mind. 

“You know she wouldn’t want you to spend the rest of your life mourning her,” Rossi says quietly. Hotch nods. 

“I know that, I do. I just, I wish there was a sign.” 

Rossi puts his hand on his friend's shoulder. “There will be.” He looks over at you, eyes shut, head on Holmes’ shoulder. “Meanwhile, you’ve been looking at her quite a lot.” 

“What?” Hotch says, taking in a shaky breath. 

Rossi chuckles, shrugging. “I think you know.” 

~~~oOo~~~

“Hey, sleep today, but tonight you should come out with us,” Garcia says as you gather your things from your makeshift desk. You landed at 4:30 in the morning, and after finishing your paperwork, you were ready to sleep for the entire day. 

You hesitate, then shrug. “Sure, why not?” 

Garcia squeals, “Yay!” You laugh and nod. 

“What time, and where?” 

“How about I pick you up?” she suggests, and you nod. 

“Actually, that would be great,” you say. She smiles, and leaves you in your office. Your daughter calls you as you're leaving the building, and you meet Hotch in the elevator. 

“Mommy!” the little girl cries happily into the phone. 

“Hi, hon! I’m on my way home right now, what are you doing up this early, baby?” 

She giggles. “Auntie and I have a surprise for you!” 

You freeze. “Haley, what did you do?” You feel Hotch stiffen beside you, but you don’t ask him about it. 

“Nothing! Bye, mommy!” she says before you can tell her no, and she’s hung up. 

“Children,” you mutter. Hotch nods. 

“What’s your kids name?” he asks, barely looking at you. 

“Haley,” you say. “She’s four next month.” He hums, and you ask, “Do you have any children?” 

“Yes,” he says. “Jack. He’s seven.” 

The elevator door opens, and you almost think you’re disappointed. 

“Can I walk you to your car?” he asks, and you nod. 

“Yes, thank you.” 

The walk is silent. 

“See you tonight?” you say. 

He shakes his head. “Probably not.” 

“Why not? Could be fun.” 

He hesitates, meeting your eyes. Then, he says, “I’ll think about it.” 

You smile, getting into your car. “Have a good one, Hotchner.” 

“You too, Y/l/n.” 

~~~oOo~~~

Haley is asleep by 8:00, your sitter is at your door by 8:15, and Garcia is at your door at 8:30. 

Black dress, red lipstick. It isn’t too fancy, but if Hotch shows up, you’ll look nice. (Not that you care, of course. As far as you know, he’s married). 

“You look so pretty!” Garcia says once you’re in her car. 

“Thank you! You too!” you say, and then she starts telling you stories from the team. How Reid will go off about Halloween, how Prentiss faked her death, how Morgan and her flirt endlessly (which you picked up on), how Hotch’s son, Jack, is doing soccer. 

You, in turn, tell Garcia about Wilson’s wife, Mary, and how Holmes once fell down a well while working on a case and was stuck for an hour and a half, and how Greg has this terrible habit of accidentally befriending the worst people. 

You reach the bar laughing, and you find the table everyone (except Hotch) is sitting at. You and Garcia join them, and conversation becomes easy. Until, a few minutes after your arrival, Hotch takes a seat beside you. 

“Hi,” he says, and everyone greets him. 

“We were just talking about how we could run off and buy a house in the woods and live a secluded life together for the rest of time,” Prentiss says, and you let out a laugh. 

“I’m sure that will work out wonderfully, especially with three children,” Hotch says. 

“And the house has to be big, there’s a lot of us,” you add. 

“And we work for the government, they’ll be suspicious if we all quit at once,” Greg says. 

Spencer shrugs. “Not to mention the cost of living would be expensive, and we’d be out of a job. Plus, there’s no one to replace us.”

You lean over and boop Spencer’s nose. “We’re irreplaceable.” 

“Don’t count on that, Strauss has been after my ass since the moment I stepped in that office,” Hotch says. 

Rossi mutters something into Hotch’s ear, and your stomach does backflips. JJ turns to you. “Is Haley still into dance?” 

You shake your head. “That was a short lived hobby. I think this week it’s art.” 

“Henry is the same way! He doesn’t stick with one thing for more than a few days,” she laughs. “Hotch, what about Jack?” 

“He’s stuck with soccer pretty consistently, but he also can’t decide if he likes drums or drawing on the wall more.” 

You and JJ laugh. “Where’s Will?” you ask JJ, raising an eyebrow.

“He stayed home with Henry, but he sends his love.” JJ looks over at Hotch. “I presume Jack is with Jessica?” 

“Yes,” he says, huffing a laugh, his eyes darting to yours. “I really should be paying that woman.” 

“Is Jessica not your wife?” you ask, glancing from JJ to Hotch. They share a look, and JJ turns to Spencer, picking up on his and Emily’s conversation. Your attention is now fully on Hotch, who sighs. 

“No, Jessica is my sister-in-law,” he says, and he opens his mouth to say more, but then hesitates. “My wife died a few years ago. Her name was Haley.” 

“Oh,” you say dumbly. “Oh, oh I’m so sorry.” You meet his eyes, but he shakes his head. “My husband died a few years ago too. Right before Haley was born, actually,” you say, laughing humorlessly.

He nudges your shoulder lightly, then says, “Look at us, two widowed single-parents.” 

“A pair we make, Mr. Hotchner,” you say, and he nods. 

~~~oOo~~~

As you’re leaving the conference room after a briefing, Holmes pulls you aside. He watches as everyone leaves the room, and says, “This will be our last case with the BAU.” You blink at him, disappointment filling you. 

“Why are you telling just me?” you ask, crossing your arms. 

Holmes shrugs, looking out the conference room window. You follow his gaze to where Hotch and Morgan are talking in front of Hotch’s office. “Because you might want to shoot your shot before you never see him again,” Holmes says. You try to ask him what he means, but he’s already left the room.

You sigh, picking up your things and getting your bag, going to stand beside JJ and Emily as you make your way out to the jet. You trail a step behind them, your mind racing. What did Holmes mean by that? Your heart dropped a little bit at the thought of never seeing the team you had been working with for the past six months ever again. Surely, you will. JJ and you are close friends, and you had grown close with the rest of the team too, right? 

“What’s on your mind?” You startle at the sound of his voice, looking up to see Hotch looking down at you, his brows drawn together. 

“Oh,” you say. “Nothing.” 

“You can’t lie to a profiler.” 

You laugh. “Holmes told me this is our last case together,” you tell him, looking ahead, where JJ and Emily are boarding the plane. 

“It is,” he says. His voice is even, steady, normal. There is nothing to suggest he is happy for your departure or upset about it. He is neutral. 

“Shame,” you say, “I was sort of getting used to working with you guys.” 

He’s quiet for a moment, and you board the plane. You sit in your usual seat and he sits beside you; that’s how it always is. It feels wrong, today. 

“It’s not like we’re just going to disappear, though,” Hotch says to you, just so you can hear. “You know where I work after all.” You huff a laugh, your heart rate increasing more than you’d care to admit. “On top of that, we have no idea how long this case will last. Maybe it goes horribly wrong and you’re stuck with me forever.” 

“We better solve it quickly, then,” you say, raising an eyebrow at him. He scoffs, and you shake your head. “But, really. I’ll miss working with you.” After a second, your eyes widen and you add, “All.” 

He nods, shifting in his seat. “I’ll regret no longer having your team’s expertise.” 

“Our teams are good together, for sure.” 

~~~oOo~~~ 

After the case, you try not to look too blue as you step onto the jet for the last time. You and Holmes are the first ones on the jet, and when you sit across from him instead of your usual spot, he raises an eyebrow at you. 

“Do you know where we’re going next? What our next assignment is?” you ask. He shakes his head, and you look down at your hands. 

“We won’t be travelling with the BAU,” he says, “but we will be working at headquarters for the meantime.” 

“That’s going to be an adjustment,” you say, looking over at him. “Watching the team leave, not going with them.”

He nods. “But at least you’ll get to see him.” 

“You mean them,” you say, furrowing your brow. “The team.” 

As the words leave your mouth, Hotch walks on board. He nods at the two of you, his facial expression blank. He sits in his usual spot. He looks small. 

“No, I said what I meant,” Holmes said, shrugging. “Maybe you just didn’t want to hear it.” 

You don’t reply, looking over to where Hotch is sitting. You look to Holmes for permission, and he nods at you. You make your way over to Hotch, sitting next to him. 

“Hi,” you say quietly. 

“Hi,” he says back. 

A beat. 

“So—” you both say at the exact same time. 

“I’m sorry,” you say. 

“You go first,” he says. 

“I’m going to miss you. The whole team,” you add, “but especially you.” 

He flushes, giving a sort of smile as he shifts in his seat, nodding to you. “I’m going to miss you too.” You hold your breath, and he says, “But I figured, you know, there’s not really any reason we can’t still see each other. After this. We could get coffee sometime.” 

You grin, bumping your shoulder against his. “Are you asking me out, Hotchner?” you whisper quietly, jokingly. 

“Maybe,” he says, looking uncharacteristically unsure. “If you say yes.” 

“Well,” you say, looking up and tapping your chin. You meet his eyes, and he’s staring at you like your next words are the most important thing in the world, “I would be an idiot if I said no.” 

He smiles, big and wide like you’ve never seen and it goes straight to his eyes. “Then it’s a date.” 

“Then it is,” you say, smiling right back at him. 

taglist; let me know if you wanna be added or removed!

@quillvine @winterscaptain @genevievedarcygranger @ssaic-jareau @andreasworlsboring101 @roses-and-grasses

hehe thanks for reading xx

[fandom-sheep]

Manatreed 29 JAN 22

First Stream Part 1/1

The entirety of the internet has been waiting for this.

My friend and I jumped on that notif like panthers.

Starting soon. Prepare the bingo card.

My friend is watching chat and we all agree it’s too quiet.

Good thing we’re on call to negate the silence.

It’s on? Mine says starting soon

She can hear him breathing and tell it’s not dream.

Dream?

I don’t like that voice.

Is it dream? Is it two idiots?

It’s two idiots. According to my friend.

It is two idiots.

You’re giving a tour? You’re a wanted criminal.

Not many people streaming recently. Lore just finished.

Iron Gollum death. Wow.

Eret “L”

Michael McChill doing our work. Proving things aren’t prerecorded.

Dream already lost.

Dream needs a tour guide to give him a tour to give him a tour.

Who is this Steve skinned idiot.

Hi Eryn.

Manatreed being rude on Dreams command.

Go Eryn.

Karl’s here

Hannah saying don’t touch my cakes.

Poor man doesn’t know how to turn off hosts.

I swear even I could start streaming better than this guy.

“It’s just a random ass white dude.” -My BFF

I’m literally turning Eret on in the background. This is painful.

Dream should know what to do. 😭

Please someone figure out how to fix this. One of the many of you should know how to stream.

They’re looking it up. Please.

Have those annoying alerts finally stopped???

Everyone joining.

Eret just minding his business and mining a tree.

I swear this is so scuffed.

Oh no. They’re struggling.

This is going so bad.

He is in 4 whole servers.

Sapnap go roast him. Please. Please.

Yes everyone’s first stream is scuffed. But most don’t have a guy with millions of subs helping them.

Mans earning more than most starting streamers in a year.

My friend and I are respectively making a friendship bracelet and knitting. You can see the ADHD.

70k people leaving after learning it’s not dream.

There’s Sapnap.

Bless this man. Having to lay on his mike to speak.

Ah. A he/they. Another for the server.

Why is there a Michael shrine?? He’s fine??

Don’t burn the lemon tree.

Pink threatening over tree.

Dream blows up a lot of things.

Does nobody know Phil prettied up lmanhole.

Getting to know everyone again?? Again?

His voice is nice. Reminds me of some of the ASMRtists I listen to.

McPuffys.

Sapnap. I know your southern but you could not fuck up a kangaroo.

Oh they’re entering Eret’s traps.

Callahan. Poof and Unpoof.

Why are you familiar with Skeppy and BBH’s house.

Honey it’s fine you can’t read everyone of them.

Yes Dream it is your fault. He needed two.

Reverse Simba Manatreed. Whatever the light touches they destroy.

Please don’t blow up anything. Honey.

You do need texture packs for nukes.

Kinoko! Also please don’t blow up Kinoko.

Are we doing lore? What’s happening?

Lore camera?

Yes join whenever. Be kinda polite. Sounds good.

Met just randomly. But they met up when they were little kids. Awww.

Bless him. All that on accident.

I swear if it’s manatee and tree.

Manatees and trees. Oh come one.

I love this poor man. I’m becoming emotionally attached.

Disaster Floridian.

Man saw a manatee and decided it was his animal.

Oh he’s 24. June 23rd. That’s the day after my BFFs bday.

The fact they all had each other’s Skypes and such from playing as kids.

“This sounds like dream” because dream told him to tweet it. 😂

5’11” huh. Not bad.

I want to just sit and listen to this man stream while I do homework.

He seems relaxing.

You know his eyes are blue. Blue eyes gotta be overly specific.

CAT!!! The most important part.

Usually take care of sometimes? Oh friends cats. Cat sitter.

I swear my BFF and I started going “eh I don’t like him too much.” Now we go “aww he’s so cute.”

He’s Hannah Montana.

Alright boundaries!!!

Shipping is fine.

No hate and stupid stuff.

Don’t pretend to be Manatreed.

Shares a lot of boundaries with Dream. Just look at dreams boundaries.

Cancer sign. Rooster for Chinese Zodiac.

Doesn’t want to share sexuality. Not relevant to gaming.

Poor dude wants a tattoo and is entirely too anxious to do it.

Dude with both ears pierced from Emo phase.

Anxious little critter.

Dream could still beat this poor man even with a hacked client.

Ooo Karl.

Karl teaching Manatreed yugio.

Oh has Eret fixed the rail to Kinoko? If not this might not go well.

I think I have a crush on everyone in this server. I mean. Us too.

Off they go on the rails. Hopefully these aren’t the ones Eret broke.

Sam and Foolish and Karl. Not Just Karl.

Watch Manatreed be the only ones who makes it.

Ah George.

Oh was all that stuff stuff George did? Lol.

George and Dream just gotta act like an old married couple wherever they go.

Dream quit causing problems.

What is happening?

The divide between character and content creator.

Manatreed running from George.

Sapnap getting George.

Poor Manatreed picking stuff up. Snowchester Tubbo and Dream map?

No. Do join Kinoko. You’d fit in well.

10 llamas.

Everyone fighting George.

Sapnap killed by George.

“There’s our dragon. It’s not real.” -Karl

10 Llamas!!! Hooray!

You deserve the llamas honey.

Sapnap don’t threaten the new guy.

Dream’s still a homeless telletubbi.

George with a grown zombie pigman.

Do they not know lore happened today and Michael was moved?

Old man playing the new minecraft.

Sapnap killed by Eryn. Wow.

George escaped.

There’s not a single brain cell here.

Manatreed with eggs.

Manatreed the keeper of sapnaps stuff.

I want to see him stream solo. I feel like I’m less watching him and more watching the usual idiots doing their things.

All of this is just the usual. Manatreed is just kinda there.

Accusing the missing stuff on Manatreed who has almost exactly nothing.

Seriously I feel like Manatreed is just here. George and Sapnap fighting is funny but still.

Aww he’s ending. I hope to see a solo Manatreed stream sometime so we can actually see what kind of person he is.

Alright a little bit of solo.

It’s quiet again but at least someone who knows what’s happening isn’t trying to coach him.

Man surprised that so many people showed up. Honey your popular. The internet has been waiting for months.

Sweetheart just going through all the donos and seeing all the polite people.

Why are George and bad in a boat?

Please get a new skin.

Fanartists don’t switch to the Steve skin. Please.

Can’t wait to see more of you dude.

2 more donos.

He’ll try to stream tomorrow.

Favorite color is anything blue. Very dark blue. Midnight Purple is his specific favorite.

Name is straight up Oli not short for anything.

Baby no. Please not the Steve skin.

Good first stream. Very nice.

Both me and my BFF think he sounds like someone. But we can’t figure it out. A YouTuber we’ve watched.

And there’s the end.

[hotchxprentiss]

Hi! I saw your taking request. (My dms do not work I’m still trying to figure it out.) but I was wondering if you could do a emily prentiss x fem or gender neutral reader. Warning: spoilers It would be just pure fluff like when em comes back from London after hotch leaves. The reader is all happy and cant leave Emily’s sight and is around her because she hasn’t seen her in forever. Like when the case comes along and there debriefing in the jet the reader and em are all professional but as soon as the get to there hotel room it’s just pure fluff. The team thinks it’s funny how em can go from this female hotch (i hope that makes sense) to this happy upbeat perosn when she’s a the reader.I don’t really know but that’s just kinda of a idea/request I have:)

My Happiness 

Pairing: Emily Prentiss x gender-neutral!reader

Word Count: 878

Warnings: Season 6, 7, & 12 SPOILERS!!, mention of killings (regular case stuff) minor angst, fluff

A/N: Thank you so much for the request anon! I love Emily so much so I definitely had fun writing this. I changed the request just a bit so there’s some angst but I hope you still enjoy it! There might be typos.

~

Ever since Emily became the BAU’s new unit chief, the rest of the group noticed how much her demeanor changed compared to the last time she was with the team. In fact, some of them referred to her as “female Hotch” when she wasn’t around. But whenever she was with you, she let down the whole stoic and strict attitude and became her old bubbly and sarcastic self. Emily was back to making jokes and showing off her pearly whites with you. 

When you joined the BAU before the entire Doyle fiasco, Emily instantly became your best friend. No case days meant you two were either having a spa day or hanging out at each other’s apartments. After her “death”, it took time for you to be able to trust her again. She even gave you little gifts everyday to show how sorry she was and how she never meant to hurt you or any of the team. You eventually realized that Emily did all of that to protect herself and her family. She started to cry when you went to her apartment and forgave her, and the night ended with the two of you falling asleep while watching Clueless.

Even after Emily left the team, she still kept in contact, mainly with you. You two tried to Skype twice a week, which proved to be difficult due to your busy schedules. During those video calls, she began to open up to you about her past, deciding that you would be the best person to talk to since you were her best friend, well actually the person she fell in love with. That was the one thing Emily refused to confess. She knew damn well that you didn’t feel the same way, or so she thought.

~

The debrief of the case was tense but everyone kept their composure. Ten year old girls were being killed, which especially affected Rossi, Matt, and JJ. Emily did her best to lead the team and it all paid off in the end. They saved another victim and caught the unsub, a father who lost his little girl and believed everyone should suffer like him.

Once the team arrived at the hotel, they were given their room arrangements. JJ knew about your secret crush on Emily for the longest time. She thought this was the perfect opportunity for you two to confess your feelings for each other, so she gave you the room card and said, “Go get your girl,” with a wink. 

You blushed at her statement and walked over to Emily with your stuff and card.

“Guess we’re sharing a room,” you smiled.

She returned it and you two headed to the third floor. After the both of you showered, you sat on the couch and she followed. 

“Do you wanna watch a movie?” you asked, holding the remote.

“How about no.”

You gave her a puzzled look, not expecting that to be her answer.

“Wait, what do you mean? You’re always down for movie night after a case.”

Emily took a deep breath before giving you an answer.

“Listen, I know we’ve been best friends for as long as I can remember. And I appreciate you being there for me. But I don't think we can be friends anymore.”

By now the lone tear in your eye streamed down your face. You can’t believe she just said that. 

“Why do you want to end our friendship, huh? Is it because you’re the unit chief now? You think you’re too good to be my friend since you’re the boss, right? Did our friendship mean nothing to you? After everything we’ve been through together you decide to just end it on some random fucking night and-”

Emily cut you off with a searing kiss to shut you up. At first you didn’t register her lips on yours but soon enough, you kissed her back with the same ferocity. She broke off the kiss, which was too soon in your opinion, and placed both of her hands on your cheeks.

“That’s not what I meant at all. We need to end our friendship because I don’t think I can just see you as a friend anymore. God, I was terrified to say anything because I had no fucking clue if you felt the same but I realized that life is too short. And I cannot spend the rest of it without being with you romantically. What I’m trying to say is, I love you.”

It took a while for you to respond. Emily was in love with you? You’ve been holding in what you felt for years and it turns out she felt the same way. Instead of words, you gave her a long, passionate kiss. You wrapped your arms around her neck and she placed her hands on the curve of your back.

“Emily,” you said as you broke off the kiss, “I love you, too.”

She let out a sigh of relief and laughed, all while hugging you as tight as she can. Emily let go, pecked your forehead, and asked, “Wanna watch a movie now?”

You grinned and nodded, walking over to the bed and resting your head on her chest. 

“I love you, Emily.”

“I love you, too, sweetheart.”

[bestofblackwidow]

The "Let me go - it's okay," she told him the last time we saw the Black Widow, it was - to say the least - emotional. "Let me go - it's okay," she said to Hawkeye, plunging to her death on the arid planet Sleeping in Avengers: Endgame for the ultimate sacrifice to save the world. While the deaths in the Marvel Cinematic Universe go on - sorry, Iron Man - there was probably no more heart-stopping moment, since the former SHIELD spy who became Avenger gave her life to recover the Soul Stone.

Still, it left the MCU in a bind. For years, a Black Widow film had been mooted, right back to 2004 at Lions Gate Entertainment before the rights reverted to Marvel. When Scarlett Johansson first appeared as Natasha Romanoff - the former KGB assassin with a very particular set of skills - in 2010's Iron Man 2, it didn't take long before questions were asked about a solo outing. Marvel Studios conductor Kevin Feige even held discussions with Johansson, who was then only 25. But there was a caveat, he said. "The Avengers comes first."

While others - Thor, Captain America, Black Panther and even Ant-Man - had their moments in the spotlight, the Black Widow was forced to wait. And wait. And wait. Not that Johansson thought that her character demanded the same treatment; if she was going to be in front of a Marvel movie, there had to be a reason. "Is there anything exciting to do creatively, as an actor?" she says. “Will we be able to do something extraordinary and strong? And something that stands on its own? "It's what makes the independent Black Widow an intriguing prospect: an inauguration of Phase 4 of the MCU promises to step back in time before her dramatic death to answer the provocative questions that still hover over her Crucially, the script transports audiences back to the events right after Captain America: Civil War, after that huge internal confrontation of the Avengers.

Without relatives or an organization that employs her, the Black Widow is alone, says Johansson. "It gave us the opportunity to really show her when she's kind of out of her game, you know? Because of that, anything was possible." The actress was there "from the start" at the script meetings, as they began to figure out how to delve into Romanoff's origins. "You are trying to map all of this ... which is extremely stressful," she laughs, "because there are no guidelines."

Fortunately, Johansson was not alone. In another inspired choice for the MCU canon, Feige recruited Australian director Cate Shortland, best known for discreet dramas like Somersault and Lore. While she was surprised, Shortland was encouraged by the creative freedom that Marvel was offering. “They allowed me to be myself and encouraged me to make a movie that I was passionate about,” she says. "We were allowed to have a lot of nuances and make a character-oriented film."

After several Skype sessions with Johansson, who also receives producer credit, Shortland worked with a Russian researcher to embody Romanoff's dark story: "the red in my ledger", as she told Loki in 2012 in Os Avengers. As she sings in the trailer, "We have to go back to where it all started" - the promising teaser clips of Romanoff as a young man (played by Ever Anderson, daughter of Paul WS Anderson and Milla Jovovich) in a childhood that seems far from idyllic. That's what makes Black Widow a family reunion of the kind that only Marvel would have the courage to conjure. Joining Romanoff is Yelena Belova, a sister-sister and fellow murderer who trained alongside her in the so-called Red Room, the punitive Soviet facility that produced 'Black Widow' spies.

"Their stories intersect," promises Shortland. "They clash." Played by Lady Macbeth's British star Florence Pugh, Belova is more than a physical match for Romanoff. Still, emotionally is where it really matters. "What Yelena does is kind of point to Natasha's pain," says Pugh. “She is part of Natasha's story. And I think that's why we have an opportunity to look at Natasha's story, because Yelena has been knocking on the door and says, 'Hey, let's deal with this pain. ”As Johansson comments, Belova is not just a carbon copy of his own character.

"She is completely alone. She is strong and different. She is so different (from) Natasha." Beside them are Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz) and Alexei Shostakov (David Harbor), two father figures whose own stories intertwine with Natasha and Yelena. "This is the coolest thing with this whole group of people. They all had parts of their past that they regretted," says Pugh. “They’re older. They’ve had more life experience. They know more about the system, about this world they’re all living in.” Harbor, the Emmy Stranger Things nominated star, managed to put an indelible mark on the muscular Shostakov, better known as the Red Guardian super soldier, the Russian equivalent of Captain America. "There is a gangster quality to him," the actor smiles. "And he's covered in tattoos. He's got a beard and those gold teeth. He's crazy." But after years of making bad decisions, he's also full of remorse.

"He's in a bad situation," adds Harbor. "And he needs redemption." Weisz's character, Melina, is another who experienced the rigors of the Red Room, a place that put her in contact with Natasha and Yelena. Marking his first dive at the MCU, Weisz acknowledges that the film addresses the idea of ​​discovering his favorite family. "It's definitely about finding out where you belong and where you came from, and what your background story was, and who you really are, and what matters to you - your ideology, I think." Along the way, Feige made reference to The Kids Are All Right - the 2010 Lisa Cholodenko film about a same-sex couple raising two teenagers. "Which is so weird," laughs Johansson. "You would never expect that from a Marvel movie." no it was the only strange nod to the film. Harbor speaks of Shostakov in terms of Philip Seymour Hoffman's drama teacher in the dramatic black comedy The Savages.

Or even expressing "the pathos of a small town, independent, family-run, weird movie... like Little Miss Sunshine". More understandable cinema references include "things like Logan and Aliens and The Fugitive," says Shortland. "We saw movies like that." Certainly, it's easy to see comparisons between Sigourney Weaver's determined Ripley, from James Cameron's masterpiece Aliens, and Johansson's Romanoff, an Avenger who has no superpowers. "We saw it as a force," says Shortland, "because she always has to dig really deep to get out of shit situations." According to the director, everyone in the production invested in deepening Romanoff - even Scottish composer Lorne Balfe (Pennyworth, His Dark Materials), who replaced Alexandre Desplat's original choice. Balfe looked at the character's origins, says Shortland. “He said, 'I want to put it on the ground, because it has been dug up in the movies in the past. I want to give her that flesh and blood. 'And he created this soundtrack that is really Russian."

However, perhaps the real blow here is to recruit Shortland, the first female director to face the Black Widow (and only the second, following Captain Marvel co-director Anna Boden, to enter the MCU). "This film would not be what it is without Cate Shortland," says Pugh. "I think having her eye, and having her mind with this script, has taken her to a whole different realm." Johansson agrees. "" You can feel it was made from a female perspective ... cooked there. "Although Ray Winstone's casting as Supervisor of the Red Room Dreykov (whose daughter contributed to the abundance of red in Romanoff's book, according to Loki) add more to the psychological battleground that the Black Widow will explore, it also deals with victimization, a very pertinent topic in the current climate. The Red Room itself is where trainees are brutally sterilized. "You will see that these women are hard working and strong, and they are murderers - and yet they still need to discuss how they were abused," says Pugh. "It is an incredibly powerful piece."

Judging by the 2020 Oscars, where Pugh and Johansson had their own private relationship session on the red carpet, the two actors got along very well. "She has a really beautiful career ahead of her ... she's a very special person," says Johansson, excited when Pugh's name is mentioned. More specifically, Pugh may well have more Marvel to chew on, if it is rumored that her character will take on the 'Black Widow' mantle for new adventures. By learning Parkour, kickboxing and knife fighting for role, Pugh can safely cut things physically, though she's reluctant to claim that the Black Widow is just a setup for future outings. "Even though it is obviously where everyone wants to go and want to think - think about what comes next - this film never really seemed to be what he was trying to underline." According to Johansson, however, test the audience who saw the film thinks otherwise. "Her character and her performance are so dear." Now, after more than a year of pandemic-related delays to July 2021), it will not be just a few lucky spectators who will be able to see. Black Widow will even be the first Marvel movie to debut simultaneously on the Disney+ streaming site (with a 'main hit' fee), an understandable move considering the uncertainty that still exists around the world. And in fact, after the success of the Marvel TV shows WandaVision and The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, it doesn't seem like such a strange home. Johansson believes that fans will respond to Black Widow, with this flashback of an earlier part of her life, bringing more poignancy to the Endgame's outcome. "Our goal was for them to be satisfied with this story; that maybe they could have some solution, I think, with the death of this character, in a way. It seemed like people wanted this." Shortland agrees. "We felt that we should honor his death," she says. And the Black Widow will surely honor him.

[holycow99]

石田お寿司 12/9/21 stream translation Part 9

This is not the full translation of the stream. I only translated the parts I could understand & interpret or parts I found interesting/important. I’m still a beginner in Japanese, so the translations may not be accurate. If you want to repost, please repost at your own risk.

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

(t/n: ** means translation may not be accurate.)

I: How are the contents on Sushi’s channel? What should I do on my channel? I thought I wanted to just do as I please with this channel, but are there any contents I can do? I don’t mean I wanna do things to expand my subscribers or do projects (eg. 30,000 commemoration project) for my channel. Rather, is there anything interesting thing for me to do? Don’t youtubers always narrow down the type of contents they make in their channel? Some create sub channels. It’ll be suffocating for me if I do that, so I’ll create any kind of contents that I want. If you guys have any requests, I don’t mind doing it If I feel like it. If don’t wanna do it, I won’t. I think Q&A is a good idea. We’re going back to this topic. Everyone does Q&A, it can fill in the time as well. Ishida Sushi’s special life consultation feat. people die eventually. Something like ‘Special Life Consultation: People Die Eventually.” Hehehe. Something like that. A despair episode. But then, I’d look despair. But trouble consultation is quite heavy. If I received very serious questions then, I’ve no choice but to reject them. I want to answer as many questions as I can, but that kind of question is a bit…I don’t want people to take my words seriously regarding life and death. I don’t wanna be responsible for their lives.

*Someone commented that it’s better to put question box on insta story.

I: Really? They do that there? I see.

*Someone commented the title for the Q&A that Ishida had said and he pinned it.

Ishida Sushi’s life consultation: People die eventually.

I: The title is gonna be something like this. But then, there’ll only be questions related to this kind of stuffs. For example, suicide-related questions. “Don’t do it!” would be the only I answer I could give.

C: Everyone would look despair.

I: You’re right.

*Someone commented that Takahashi Kunimitsu did Q&A on instalive.

I: Seriously?! I wanted to see that! He received 100+ questions? Seems very tiring. I should not do it then. Seriously? Kunimitsu did something like that? I seriously wanted to see it. What kind of answers did he give? I seriously wanna see it! But it won’t be there anymore. Eh, really?! I wanted to see. What did he answer?

C: There’s a part of the live in insta highlight.

I: Really? How to see it? Tell me. I wanna see 2x.

C: He answered my question.

I: I see…

I: That’s nice. I want to consult him. I’d ask something like “People die eventually. What should I do about it?” He’d probably answer something like “Well, just live!” with a small laugh.

*Someone commented you can view the highlight on insta profile.

I: Insta profile! I see 2x. Can I take a look at it for a bit?

*Searching for Takahashi Kunimitsu’s insta.

C: Your keyboard sounds very nice. I also bought mechanical keyboard! (t/n: The comment was in eng.)

I: Yeah! It’s Elecom keyboard! It sounds nice! (t/n: He said this in eng.) I only use fixed keyboard buttons. The keyboard’s fn button is the one I definitely use. I made it fit my thumb. That’s the easiest way for me to use it.

*Someone commented about the adult website comment.

I: It’s here again? Yeah, it is! Thank you. Just let it pass by.

*Going back to searching for Mr. Takahashi’s insta.

C: Sensei, what to do when you’re so depressed?

I: That kind of thing happens. You can’t do anything about it. You can only struggle with it.

C: What made you start Choujin x? (t/n: this comment was in eng.)

*Ishida had trouble understanding the question.

I: Why did I start Choujin X? Is that what they meant?

*Ppl in the comment found Mr. Takahashi so easily.

I: Everyone is very good at searching. You guys searched it on insta? Really? It’s not a different person? I’ve been looking since forever.

*Looking through Osterreich’s insta.

I: How can I go to his insta?! I don’t know how to use insta! Damn!

*Finally found his account through google.

I: Is this it? Seems like it. It’s the real one! “I’m dead.” So dark! What is highlight? Is it this round thingy?

*Looking through Mr. Takahashi’s insta highlight.

I: Is it in writing? I thought he would talk in it. Is this the question box thingy in insta?

*Ishida reading Mr.Takahashi’s Q&A.

I: Let me read this for you guys. Haha. What a bad personality I have. “Have you ever felt loneliness? If you had, how do you deal with it?” “I have loneliness and I do feel lonely, but I don’t necessarily hate it. Being alone is very easy. If I’m in a very hard time, then I’ll call my friends.” So, he doesn’t hate that feeling. Since being alone is easy, he doesn’t hate it. I see. That’s a good answer.

*Someone commented that Mr.Takahashi talked about him.

I: He talked about me? What if he said awful things about me?

I: Ah, he skyped me today. I didn’t realise it. I just realise it now.  Wait, I’m gonna look through his insta.

*Keep reading the Q&A.

I: How about I show this to everyone? Hahaha. He must doesn’t like this! Can I? Hahaha. Wait a min. I’m gonna do the worst thing ever. This is not the worst thing ever. It’s fine. This is made public, after all. If I can’t, then…Wait a min.

I: Alright, I’m gonna expose it. He did this in insta so that people could see it, didn’t he? What do you guys think? Do you think this is awful?

*Everyone commented that it’s okay.

C: It’s not awful, I don’t know if it’s okay to show in on screen.

I: That’s right.

I: Just reading is enough, I guess.

*Keep reading stuff about his friend.

I: Is there anything interesting?

I: “I always watch Ishida sensei’s stream with you in it. I would like to hear you converse with him again.” Is this the one you’re talking about? “It was a good timing at that time. I don’t know whether there’ll be another one. We do hang out in our private time, so maybe there’ll be one.” He’s expecting another. I see.

*Still reading.

I: Alright, let’s do this! Ishida Sushi’s simultaneous worldwide stream. I’m only energetic the day after I finish my manuscript. Only currently. A melancholic day will begin tomorrow.

C: Did you have any recommendations from the movies you’ve watch recently?

I: The one I didn’t watch before, but thought it was fun after I’ve seen it is Truman Show. I think it’s quite an old movie. I think everyone who watches this will find it entertaining. It’s starring Jim Carrey. I remember he went into depression. Has he gotten out of it yet? Jima Carrey is a good actor, right?

*He’s talking about the ending with a fan that’s watched the movie.

I: Everyone, please watch it. The ending is good, isn’t it?

C: Do you watch western movies subbed or dubbed?

I: I watch them dubbed when I’m working so that I won’t have to look at the sub.  When I want to watch it leisurely, then subbed.

*Someone commented about eternal sunshine.

I: I’ve never seen that. I’ll memo it.

*Someone asked about shutter island.

I: I’ve watched that movie. (t/n: He’s giving spoiler, so I didn’t translate further.)

*Someone commented about Charlie’s angels.

I: I don’t watch it. I may have different view on shutter island if I watch in the present days. I was young at that time. I knew the ending so I watched the movie without enjoying it.** There are other highlights beside that, such as Leo’s acting. If we’re talking about Leo, I probably like Catch me if you can the most. I’ve only watched his movies when he’s already an old man. I’ve never even watched Titanic. I’ve only watched the older version of him, like Great Gatsby. I’ve never watched Inception, by the way. I’m thinking of watching it. I only know older Leo. Catch me if you can is a good movie, isn’t it? I’ve read the autobiography. When I read it, I found it to be questionable. I thought it was a fraudulent document. I kinda thought it was a forged document disguised as an autobiography.

*Someone asked about Harry Potter.

I: I’ve watched all of them. They are great, aren’t they? Harry Potter is a famous fantasy-genre masterpiece.

*Someone asked about Ocean Series.

I: I haven’t watched them, but I’m thinking of it. I’m gonna watch anything anyway.

I: People overseas have started joining the stream. As expected from a simultaneous worldwide stream.

C: Do you know SPEC? (t/n: SPEC is a Japanese drama.)

I: Yeah, I do know it.

C: Sirius Black is cool.

I: I don’t remember much about Sirius Black. Even though he played a central role in the story, I basically only remember Professor Snape. I hated Harry’s father to the max. He’s an unpleasant guy. That applies to Harry as well. He’s the kind of person who laughs at people’s failure. But the actor who played Sirius Black, Gary Oldman is cool. And then, I like Malfoy too. Malfoy’s a good character. Though he became a minor character towards the end. I can truly sympathise with him. I like his father too.

*Someone commented about Harry Potter’s Book ver. of Harry.

I: I see. So the Harry in the book is different. That happens.

*Someone commented about Narnia.

I: Oh yeah, there’s Narnia’s movie.

*Someone commented Professor McGonogall.

I: Professor McGonogall. What a name.

C: What manga did you read recently?

I: What was the title again? What manga did I read? But then, I watch movies and read books more than reading manga nowadays. I read the magazine issues as well. I used to be obsessed with Oshimi sensei’s Chi no Wadachi back then. Superior magazine has interesting stories.

*Someone commented Rod was in the chat.

I: Have a nice day. Oh, Rod is here? Hi Rod. Rod is here? Oh, he’s here. Hi Rod. Have a nice day.

*Someone commented that Rod has Saiko’s icon.

I: Oh, Rod has Saiko as his icon. I see. He’s said that before? Sorry. It’s hard for me to catch what he wrote because it’s in eng.

Rod: I will, you too.

I: I will. Oh, it’s true. The icon is Saiko. Did he draw that himself? Did you draw it? It’s a nice icon. I want to include Rod in my manga. Hahaha. I’ll make him an old passer-by in Choujin X.

Rod: Hi everyone.

I: Hahaha. What is this guy? Hahaha. Ultimately, what is he? I can explain him to everyone, but what is he actually? Basically, he’s someone who has been tweeting ‘Have a nice day’ to me for around 5 years. That’s Rod. He’s perhaps a Brazilian. If something happens to him, I wish he’d contact me. If he’s gone, it’ll be too sad. I’ll only offer my prayer to him if that happens. Take care of your health. Be careful of your health.

S******: If the tweets stopped, then something like that must’ve happened.

I: If the tweet didn’t come, I’d be wondering where he is. Then, I’d wait for his tweets for a bit. I tried tweeting him ‘Have a nice day’, but he didn’t reply back. Rod disappeared for like a year and a half. He probably had some mental health problem. He stopped tweeting to me, and then he came back a year after. I thought maybe he’s a bit down. It’s too heart breaking. Don’t you think so? He’s like an overseas friend to me. A pen pal. We’re connected in that way. I totally prefer Rod than Goubaru. (t/n: Their interaction is so wholesome.)

I: There’s a time when I couldn’t contact Goubaru. Everyone (probably the staffs) and I had promised to meet and hang out. We couldn’t reach Goubaru at all. I thought he’s already dead. Since he’s fat, he has a lot of health risks. I thought he might be dead. I thought that it’s unavoidable at that time. I was like “he’s gonna die? I see.” Well, you’ll die when it’s time.

*Someone commented that it’s good Goubaru’s still alive.

I: He’s alive but his some sort of a friend went to see him. There was a response when he rang the bell. That’s how we knew Goubaru’s alive. I seriously thought he’s dead. I thought that it couldn’t be helped because he looked like he’s dying. The rest of us was already gathered at the hang out place. We wondered what should we do. If we went to see him and found his dead body, we had to call the police. We already sent one person, but we wondered if we should send another one. The person who went to see him was a reliable one though. I thought we need to think about the people who already gathered. It’s not nice to just dismiss them, so we played games and had a good time. It was something like that. It has nothing to whether I like Goubaru or not. I was like “what should we do?” I was really scared. I thought he really might be dead.

Part 10

[angelic-kisses13]

Mine Tonight

Authors Note: Just a little blip I wrote yesterday. Enjoy!!

Warnings: None, pure fluff

It had been three months since Henry had been home. Three months since he had held you in his arms. Every night away, it was like a piece of him was being torn apart. He talked to you everyday, whether it was through messaging or Skype, he was making sure that you heard him say “Good morning” and “Sweet dreams”. 

But now, he was on his way home and he was more than ready to see you again. He hadn’t told anyone about him finishing up early, he wanted to surprise you. He had just landed and was on his way to the taxi, pulling his phone out he saw that he had missed a call from you. He winced, hopefully you wouldn’t be too upset at that. 

He carefully placed his bags into the trunk of the car, mindful of the gifts that he got his family while he was out of the country. Your present, however, was tucked safely in his backpack he didn’t want your snow globe to break during the flight. He and Kal both climbed into the car and gave the driver your address, he was soon closer to seeing you again. 

Fifteen minutes later and he was standing in front of your front door, Kal was sitting behind him, watching him, trying to figure out why Henry was taking so long to open the door. He reached his hand out and placed the key into the lock, the door swung open and he walked into your shared apartment. He took a deep breath, breathing in the scent of your perfume as it lingered in the air. 

His eyes closed and his shoulders relaxes, the feeling of being home was slowly coming back, but there was one part missing. The part that never ceased to make his heart hammer and his cheeks flush lightly, a smile to overtake his features. He took the leash off Kal and watched as he bounded up the steps to the second floor. He whined when he encountered the bedroom door closed, turning his body around he went and poked his head through the bar of the railing, eyes begging Henry to come and open the door so he could see you. 

“Alright, I’m coming.” Henry managed to take three steps before he was tripping over a pair of shoes. He sighed but a fond smile touched his lips, he took the steps two at a time, wanting to see you as fast as possible. Seconds later and he was opening the bedroom door, before he could even tell Kal, “No” the dog was on the bed and snuffing your face, his tongue coming out to lick over your hand. 

Your body moved away from the bear and a groan was heard. Henry smiled at the sound, he was home. He knew he should go and take a shower, knew it would help him unwind, but the sight of you curled up in a ball in the middle of the bed, covers pulled up almost covering your head, was a sight he couldn’t deny. He kicked his shoes off, his shirt and joggers coming off minutes later, leaving him in his boxer briefs. You always preferred him sleeping this way, something about the skin to skin contact making you relax at night. He snapped his fingers at his side, and Kal bounced down, his paws hitting the floor with soft thuds. 

“Sorry Bear, but she’s mine tonight.” Kal snorted at his words, but pranced over to the far corner by the floor to ceiling windows, and laid down on his dog bed, his head tucking into his tail as he let out a deep breath. 

Henry pulled the covers back so he could crawl in next to you, but he was momentarily distracted when he saw one of his flannels pushed up to your stomach, your legs and panty covered ass out on full display to him. He had to physically bite his tongue to ensure a groan wouldn’t fall past his lips. 

His girl was going to be the death of him. He climbed in beside you and settled down, one of his arms maneuvering your body so that your head rested on his chest, his arm under your neck and shoulder, the other resting on your ass, his fingers squeezing the flesh slightly. 

“Goodnight babygirl.” His lips brushed over your temple and down your cheek, peppering your skin in kisses before he lay back and let his eyes shut. 

It felt like only minutes before he was awoken, his eyes blinked as he tried to rid the sleep. Turning his head he was met with the sight of your eyes locking onto his, your mouth open in surprise. He had five seconds to recognize the look on your face before your body was moving to straddle his. He grunted as your fingers squeezed his biceps in excitement. 

“You’re home!” Henry chuckled as he raised a hand to brush across your cheek, relishing in the feeling of your skin. 

“I’m home.” He rasped as he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you down onto his chest, your lips brushing together in a long-awaited kiss. It was just a quick brush, not enough pressure to constitute a kiss, but enough feeling was conveyed for his body to melt back into the sheet, his hands running up your spine and wrapping around under your breasts, pulling you as tightly to him as he could, wanting the two of you to become one. 

“I missed you.” Your words were uttered so softly, that Henry feared he had conjured them in his head. 

“I missed you more, baby. I missed you so much.” He felt your hands run over his collarbone and down his arms, tracing over his veins in whimsical patterns that only you knew. 

“I missed holding you in my arms, the smell of your perfume, the sound of your laugh. Hell, I even missed the way you strewn your shoes all over the apartment, trying to trip me in the mornings.” You giggled into his chest, your lips and tongue leaving faint marks on his skin. 

“What else did you miss?” Your question was coy, he knew you were fishing for more of his compliments, and he was more than willing to oblige. 

“I missed your singing and your baking; no-one can make cookies like you. I missed your makeup getting on my shirts when I would pick you up. Your constant sarcastic running commentary. I just… I missed you… all of you.” He heard a small sniffle and he craned his head back so he could see you better. He bit his lip as he brushed your tears away. 

“You aren’t supposed to cry, babygirl.” You waved him off, your hands coming up to wipe at your face, smearing your tears into your skin. 

“Wanna know what I missed?” Henry grinned lightly, his body settling against the mattress, hands tangling with yours, his thumb rubbing circles on the inside of your wrist. 

“Do share. Tell me how amazing I am.” You scoffed at him, your body moving off of his and down to his side. He rolled over, your legs joining together, his hands sliding up your shirt, resting on your chest, between your breasts, encasing his hand in your warmth. 

“I missed your body curled up with mine. Your arms nearly suffocating me in our sleep. I missed your bread scratching my neck as you kiss me good morning. I missed your laugh echoing through the halls when you won a game. I missed the sound of your footsteps as you come to find me when your bored. I missed your fangy smile and your biting humor. But most of all I missed having you by my side day in and day out.” 

There was a long period of silence as the two of you basked in the others presence. Relishing in having their person back after three months. It had been ninety-one days, two-thousand one hundred and ninety hours, one hundred and thirty-one thousand four hundred minutes, and seven million eight hundred and eighty-four thousand and eight seconds. Yet, it felt like a lifetime for him. 

No words were needed as the two of them fell back to sleep, Henry smiled as his body finally let every last ounce of stress seep away. He was home, finally.

Taglist: @agniavateira​ @cavillanche​ @cavillunraveled​ @dancingwendigo​ @dreamwritesimagines​ @ficsandcatsandficsandcats​ @hlkwrites​ @hnryycvll​ @honeychicanawrites​ @iloveyouyen​ @johnmotherfuckingshelby​ @ladyreapermc​ @laketaj24​ @littlefreya​ @ly--canthrope​ @mary-ann84​ @mrsaugustwalker​ @ohvalleyofplentyyy​ @omgkatinka​ @sciapod​ @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan​ @supersweetstache​ @thethirstyarchive​ @the-winter-witcher​ @thegreattodd​ @titty-teetee​ @tumblnewby @viking-raider​ @wednesdaybraids @white-wolf-of-rivia​ @witcherwrites​

[thebibliomancer]

Flames of the Dark Crystal liveblog pt 17

Flames of the Dark Crystal by J.M. Lee because WOO ONE MORE FLAME (of resistance) DOWN!

Last times on book: Team Naia continued on their Aughra and Thra given quest to light fires of resistance with all seven Gelfling clans. In the previous book, the Sifa, Dousan, and Vapra fires were lit. Tavra and Onica split from the group to go light the Grottan and Stonewood fires. Naia, Kylan, Amri and Gurjin went to Sami Thicket to light the Spriton fire AND prevent a war between the Spriton and Drenchen. Which they accomplished with a little arson and a lot of singing.

Chapter 17

The Spriton fire is lit! Hugs are copiously given (but not to spiders)!

Welp, enough time admiring how nice it is to make plot progression, onto the next plot progression.

Hey, the Spriton fire is lit!

Spriton and Drenchen alike stared at the tower of flames ascending from the Sami Thicket hearth.

As its ever-changing light fell upon the stones of the pavilion and the clay and rock of the Spriton homes, the air smelled of cosmic smoke and stardust. Etchings -- dream-etchings, like the ones that had been burned into the deck of the Omerya, across the walls of the Dousan cloister, and even on the Vapra citadel -- spilled across the pavilion.

The pictographs told the tale that Kylan had already sung: the previous three fires lit and how. Added to the end of the unraveling story were Spriton warriors, spears in hand in the saddles of the gallant Landstriders. Gathered in a circle around their hearth fire, listening to a song teller with a forked firca hanging at his breast.

Kylan stared at his image when he saw it, touching the real firca with his hand. Naia grinned until her cheeks hurt, shaking him gently by the shoulder.

“You did that,” she said.

BEST BOY!

Also, how do they know what cosmic smoke and stardust smell like??

Anyway, a new burst of fire erupts from the hearth, dream-etching new pictographs showing “an enormous stone tree, with petaled branches withering above and stone roots growing deep below. A small group of Gelfling huddled deep in a crypt below the mountains, surrounded by crawling, multi-legged shapes.”

The Sanctuary Tree! The Grottan! Tavra and Onica must have lit the fire in Domrak!

Somehow!

I’d better get details!

I’ll be very displeased if an important characterization beat for this entire clan of Gelfling is off-paged!

Anyway, through the fires that burn, Naia sees Rian!

Speaking of someone that’s been happening off-page!

The Gelfling all exchange quick greetings and pleasant surprise that they’re all still alive. Naia asks Rian what he’s up to, telling him to talk fast because these fire skypes never last long.

Rian explains that he’s in the Tomb of Relics and that he’s found the Thing that Aughra sent him to find. It’s some kind of sword!

(I bet I know what some kind of sword it is)

Also, Rian explains that he’s the one that lit the Grottan fire and then like a rude person does not elaborate.

I mean, also, the fires faded out before they could talk much longer. Rian doesn’t even manage to answer Naia’s question of if Tavra and Onica are with him.

“He did it!” Gurjin cried. “Rian lit the Grottan fire!”

“Huh,” [Naia] said, cracking a grin. It felt good. “I guess he’s good for something, after all.”

Zing, Naia. Zing.

Annoyance aside at the off-paging, that means only two fires left to light: Drenchen (which should be easy!) and Stonewood (which will be hard what with the clan being wiped out?)

Maudra Mera ambles up to add her two cents to the situation.

“These fires... they are more than symbols of our resistance. I believe they may be the fires of prophecy.”

“Fires of prophecy?” Naia asked her mother as she joined them.

“There is an old song that the Gelfling were shaped of earth and wind, lightning and water, shadow and light. But it was the spark of fire that brought us to life. That is why our essence is called vliya -- blue fire. Fire burns at the heart of our world; the Heart of Thra was forged in it. We, too, burn with it. That is why the center of every Gelfling clan is the hearth... or so it used to be.”

...

“There are scrolls in the Tomb that mention this. They say fires of fate spoke to the Gelfling on the day we were born,” Amri said softly.

“Some songs say it was Thra’s word,” Kylan agreed. “Before Thra had words to speak. Some say it may have been Mother Aughra that whispered the song to us, when the Gelfling were nothing but seedlings.”

Aughra. The voice of Thra.

Master urSu’s words came to Naia in that moment, echoing Kylan’s. That’s what he had called Aughra: Thra’s voice. She hadn’t thought anything of it then, but now she wondered what the old Mystic had meant by it. The first of prophecy were a sign, but Naiah had always thought of them as Thra’s sign to the Gelfling. Now she wondered if maybe they were the Gelfling’s sign to Thra. To its heart and to its voice -- to the Crystal and to Aughra -- that the Gelfling were uniting and coming to save it.

Maudra Mera folded her hands. “Whoever spoke to us, that fire burns within us still. And now it blazes beyond us, as a sign of our strength. These fires will light the way indeed. I am sorry for doubting you.”

Geez, Thra has so many prophecies.

Its a very portentous place.

Hmm. The Gelfling get a lot of Significance Indicators. They’re called the closest to Thra (get dunked on arathim and Podlings I guess??), they’re the tastiest essence, they have prophecies that say only they can save the world, and they even apparently have the same fire in them that made the Crystal.

The Gelfling are Super Special in the setting. Sometimes I don’t know how to feel about it, especially given that the Skeksis used them to wipe out less cooperative races in the setting.

Anyway.

I don’t know what the fires of prophecy are foretelling. Maybe they’re expected to foretell something when all lit.

That’d be neat.

Anyway, when Mera says sorry for doubting the group, Kylan steps forward for a hug and Maudra Mera gives him a big one.

Aww.

She tells him that she knows that he must leave again, despite her wish to keep him somewhere she can keep him safe.

Maudra Mera has very ambivalent feelings on letting Kylan wander into danger.

Naia asks if Mera will be okay if skekSa comes back.

“We’ll be better than all right if that pirate shows her snout here again,” Maudra Mera retorted. “When a Spriton leaps, she leaps with both feet. There will be no standing on the line between Skeksis and Gelfling here. So go on, then. Get out of my sight, before I change my mind.”

She pushed him away, wiping her face with her flouncing sleeve. Kylan laughed and kissed her forehead.

“I’ll be back, Maudra,” he said. “And I won’t hesitate to make you proud.”

“I am already quite proud,” she huffed.

Awwwwwwwwww!

Also, damn, when Maudra Mera decides to take a stand... yeah, like she says. Jumps in with both feet.

The Spriton leap to have a big feast so that they can get to fortifying Sami Thicket against possible Skeksis reprisal while Naia and co go to talk to Momdra Laesid.

And she has seen everything that’s happened and has been convinced! She’s not going to march on the castle! She’s going to return to the swamp and light the Drenchen fire! Partially because of rivalry and spite!

“I’m saying you do not need to convince me. I will not let these pesky Grasslings best the Drenchen in our rebellion against the Skeksis.”

HEY! WHATEVER WORKS!

Also, I like this bit that comes a bit earlier.

“I did not know,” Maudra Laesid said. She gravely looked upon her children and their friends. “I did not know that you had been given a task such as this. I did not know the clans were being awakened in this way, lighting these fires. And I certainly did not know that your friend Rian had been sent to retrieve a weapon to wield against the Skeksis.”

Mom of protagonist goes ‘wait, THAT’S the plot? THAT’S what you’ve been up to? Holy crap.’ I love it as a moment.

I also love it as just... Momdra acknowledging Naia’s wild journey.

Like Mera, Laesid gives her kids big ol’ hugs. And tells Naia to introduce her handsome friends. Those exact words “handsome friends.”

Canon: Kylan and Amri are handsome. Take note, fanartists.

Naia also mentions that Tavra was part of the group but she headed off in a different direction. Momdra Laesid exclaims in surprise “that Silverling’s still around?” and Amri just mutters “sort of” because imagine if Tavra were still with the group and they had to introduce her again to Laesid because she doesn’t look like she anymore, wearing Tae’s body and all.

Maybe its good that Tavra and Onica headed off to handle the other half of the plot. Imagine having to explain all that.

Anyway, its time to return to the Sog, again specifically out of rivalry spite for the Spriton getting their fire lit first.

The Drenchen warriors all cheer the rivalry spite so I guess that they weren’t, like, super keen on siegeing a castle. At least not compared to oneupmanship.

Hey, whatever works.

Naia actually recognizes some of the warriors because yeah, her world was a small world before she got embroiled in plot. But she’s struck by how much they’ve changed since she left the swamp and wonders how long she’s been gone.

... I’m curious too but I don’t want to read through all the books again and try to track how many days have passed. Lets just ballpark it at a few months maybe. Life hits you fast, in a Plot.

Speaking of time passing, ITS DAY NOW. Because the protagonists were up all night with the arson and the mediating and the lighting of resistance fires.

Naia also asks her momdra if skekSa has been in the swamp, since she’s been to Sami Thicket looking for her. But Momdra Laesid dismisses the idea that a Skeksis would bother trudging through the swamp. None have so far.

And with the relative calm of marching, Naia finally has time to digest that thing about Rian finding a sword.

She doesn’t like it. It doesn’t seem to fit with the resistance theme and the whole moral journey they’re on where killing the Skeksis would be wrong. And considering they drank Rian’s girlfriend and framed him for it, Naia is worried that Rian is going to push the narrative back towards violence.

“Maybe it’s not what we think,” Amri suggested. “There’s so much in the Tomb of Relics, it’s hard to say what anything really is, no matter what it looks like. There are swords and tapestries, paintings and carvings and amulets... and rubbish. Lots and lots of rubbish. The only thing we can know for sure about it is that it was covered in dust and cave creature droppings.”

Naia couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Can you imagine serious Rian, sent by Aughra to the Tomb of Relics looking for a sacred weapon and having to go through all that?”

“Yeah, poor guy. I don’t wish that much hollerbat poop on anyone. Except maybe a Skeksis.”

Naia’s laugh grew. It felt good, as if she had almost forgotten how. Even Kylan was grinning. Amri scooped a clod of soft soil from the ground at his feet, throwing it out into the field. “Take that, Chamberlain!”

Ahhhh, Amri! I’ve missed how you bring joy to scenes you lovable little guy.

I also love how - out of all the Skeksis they’ve personally met and been hunted and tormented by - Amri is like ‘screw you specifically, skekSil!’

Hmm. I feel a little weird knowing that a side character (in the novels at least) has to backtrack to where the heroes have already been to tick two quest objectives off the list. I guess that’s what endgame is like. Backtracking. Go places where you’ve already been and find plot doodads.

IN THAT SENSE maybe it is best it happens off-page. I’m still mad that we don’t learn the Grottan’s overall deal but we don’t need to retread ground.

Uh, except swamp ground. They are heading back into the swamp.

Anyway, the fun moment is killed by Gurjin snapping at them to be quiet, it’s the middle of the night dangit! Naia points out, no its morning now and Gurjin just grumbles.

Geez, Gurjin. What is your deeeeeeeal?? I thought we got into your deal when you and Naia had that fight but is this a new deal? The same deal? Delayed reaction to them making fun of his good, traumatized bud Rian? Whats your deeeeeeeeeeeeal?

Naia even asks Gurjin what his deal is because it does seem like things are looking up. All but two fires lit, going home, and Rian got a magic sword.

Gurjin tries to claim he doesn’t have a deeeeeal but when Naia presses he reluctantly tells her “When we get to Sog, Naia... just don’t be surprised if it’s not how you remember it.”

And then he picks up the pace to avoid having to answer any follow up questions about that.

RUDE.

[capsteddybear]

Our Playlist: Outstanding - The Gap Band

Song lyrics: "You light my fire, I feel alive with you, baby, You blow my mind, I'm satisfied."

You feel your phone vibrate in your pocket as you lock the door to your office. You reach into your pocket and smile as soon as you see Chris' face pop up on the lock screen.

"Hi."

'hi beautiful, you home?'

"Uh, no. I'm just about to leave work. I had some extra stuff to do. What's up?"

You hear Chris sigh on the other end of the line. 'Nothing, I just really miss you.'

"Aww, I miss you too. Don't worry, you'll be home in a couple of days."

'I know, I miss you and Dodger so much.' Your eyes tear up because you can hear the sadness in Chris' voice.

You take a deep breath before replying back, "Hey, I'll skype call you as soon as I get home, okay?"

'Okay, drive safe. I love you, (y/n)'

"I always do. I love you, Chris."

You drive home and as soon as you walk into the house Dodger is there to greet you with pup kisses. "Hi, handsome." You walk to your home office and unpack your stuff on your desk. You grab your laptop from your bag and flop on the couch in your office and Dodger climbs onto the couch and lays his head on your lap. You smile and give him a hug as you call Chris.

You smile as soon as you see Chris' face appear on the screen, "Hi!"

'Welcome home, beautiful.' Dodger's ears pop up and his tail starts to wag as soon as he recognizes Chris' voice and he scoots up closer to the computer screen and starts sniffing. 'Hey bubba!'

You pet Dodger and hold him back so he doesn't accidentally step on the keys or lick the screen. "I think Dodger misses you too." Dodger gets excited and starts licking your face. "Hey, hey, hey okay, Dodger, calm down, boy." You hear Chris laughing and shaking his head.

'I can't wait to be back home with you guys.'

"Neither can we."

You move from your office to the kitchen as you start preparing dinner. You prop the laptop on the counter near the stove so you're still in frame as you cook.

'What are you gonna make?'

"You're favorite dish." You open the fridge and you hear Chris gasp.

'Wow, rude.'

You look at the screen and see him making a pouty face, "Aww sorry, I promise as soon as you come home I'll cook for you."

'You promise?'

"Yes! When have I ever broken a promise?"

'Uh, when you said you wouldn't eat my ice cream, but finished my tub of ice cream when you ran out of yours.' Chris tilts his head and raises his eyebrows.

You busts out laughing, "I was on my period that week and you knew I was stressing out from work too."

'I offered to buy you more ice cream and went to the store for you. And when I got home my ice cream was gone.'

You feel your face turn red from embarrassment, "I wanted a different flavor... and your ice cream just so happened to be that flavor." Chris shakes his head and laughs. " I'll buy you another tub of ice cream for when you come back home."

'Oh my god, (y/n). You're torturing me more.'

"How? I'm just offering to buy you ice cream."

'Yeah, exactly! And I have to wait to get home to eat it.'

You make a sad face towards the computer screen, "Sorry, I'll make it up to you when you get home."

Chris sighs, 'okay.'

You smile, "What are you gonna order for dinner?"

Chris leans over on the bed and reaches the menu for room service from the night stand, 'Hmm, well all I'm thinking about right now is ice cream.... Ooo look pancakes!'

You glare at the screen and you see Chris trying to hide the smirk on his face, "If you're trying to make me jealous by ordering pancakes for dinner then it's working."

Chris laughs, 'sucks doesn't it?'

"Yes it does."

Chris smiles and slaps the menu on the bed, 'hmm, then pancakes for dinner it is!'

"You are such a pain in the ass."

Chris falls back on the bed, 'but I'm your pain in the ass.'

"And I wouldn't have it any other way."

You and Chris spend the rest of the evening talking about work as you enjoy each others dinner.

You move to the living room and sit on the couch as Chris continues telling you how his day went. You notice him yawn more and more as he continues. You tilt your head, "Should I let you go so you can sleep?"

Chris tries to fight off another yawn, 'Nooo! I still wanna talk.'

"Sweetie, your eyes are red, you said you had a long day of filming too. We can talk more tomorrow, okay? You need to get some sleep."

Chris groans and rubs his eyes, 'Okay, I'll sleep... but only because it'll be one day closer to coming home to you.' Chris gives you a tired wink that makes your heart skip a beat.

"I love you so much, Chris."

Chris blows a kiss to you, 'I love you too, (y/n). Good night.'

You smile and blow a kiss back, "Good night, Chris." You close your laptop and lay on the couch for a bit before taking a late night shower and heading to bed.

==== ====== ====

The next couple of days you try to stay busy so the time goes by faster. Chris sends you photos from set that make you miss him. You send him videos of Dodger running around in the backyard as you play fetch with him. You skype during his breaks and right before you go to sleep.

On one of the days you go for a day hike with your friends from work. You don't have a signal on your phone while on the hike, but once you guys get back into town you get a message from Chris:

'Good morning, beautiful. I know you're out with your friends today. Hope you have fun. Can't wait to see you. I love you.'

You have an early dinner with your friends at a restaurant on the way back home. While waiting for your food you look through your photos and videos and decide to send a few to Chris. One of the photos you send is of a deer you saw on the trail.

Chris replies, 'Oh hey look, it's our buddy we saw from spring break.'

The next photo you send is of the forest.

Chris simply replies with a pine tree and a green heart.

The next couple of photos and videos you send are of you and your friends hiking near the river.

'Woah! You need to take me to this spot. I wanna see it in person.'

'Yes! Our next day trip we'll go. :)'

'I miss you, (y/n).'

'I miss you too, Chris.' You send a photo of you standing at the top of the mountain with a beautiful sunset behind you.

'You're so beautiful, but you're blocking the sunset! :('

You shake your head, 'wow thanks, dork.'

'You're welcome. I gotta go now. Thanks for the photos. Can't wait to see you. I love you.'

'I love you too.'

Soon after your guys food arrives and you enjoy your meals before heading home.

You walk straight to the couch and fall face first into one of the throw pillows. You feel your body relax from the fun yet tiring hike you did today. You turn and roll on your back and stare at the ceiling, you start to fall asleep, but then you feel Dodger lick your arm. You jump awake and pet him before getting up to go take a shower.

You head to the bedroom and grab a clean pair of clothes and walk to the bathroom to start up the shower. You take out your phone and start your favorite music playlist. As soon as you put it down you get a text message from Chris:

'Good night, beautiful.'

'I'm just about to jump in the shower and go to bed. Good night, Chris. I love you.'

You hit the play button on your phone and place it on the counter before jumping into the shower. You stand under the hot water as you relax your body. You sway to the slow song that's playing on your phone. You massage your shoulders and hum to the music. The song changes to a faster one and you sing along to the music as you shower.

"You light my fire, I feel alive with you, baby, You blow my mind, I'm satisfied."

You finish your shower and jump out to dry yourself off before putting on your under clothes and favorite flannel of Chris'. You keep singing the last song that played on your phone while drying your hair as you walk out of the bathroom. Your eyes are closed as you continue walking while drying your hair.

"Gee, I feel so lucky, boy To have you all alone, I really love the way you lo-" you gasp as you bump into something. You open your eyes and Chris is sitting on the edge of the bed with a smirk on his face.

"Hi sweetheart. Nice pajamas." You cover your face with the towel to cover the happy tears you have in your eyes. You hear the bed creak as he gets up and hugs you. "Hey hey hey, don't cry." Your voice is muffled from hiding under the towel. "Huh?"

You remove the towel from your head, "you suck! Why didn't you tell me you were coming home early?"

Chris laughs and hugs you tighter, "I'm sorry, I just really like surprising you." He kisses your forehead.

"When did you get back?"

"As soon as you jumped in the shower."

"And you didn't want to join me?" You raise an eyebrow at him.

"I did, but I got distracted by Dodger."

You laugh, "hmm, fair enough."

Chris kisses you, "However I really enjoyed listening to you sing while in the shower."

You cover your face again with the towel, "how much did you hear?"

"Not enough." A smirk appears on Chris' face. "I'm really glad to be back home to listen to you sing now."

You bury your face into his chest as he hugs you. "I'm not singing."

Chris laughs, "come on, please?" Chris takes your hands and pulls you towards him as he lays down on the bed. You both giggle as he brushes your damp hair behind your ear. "Sooo?"

"So what?"

"Sing me a song."

"No." Chris' runs his hands down your back and starts tickling you. "Chris, stop!"

"Start singing then I'll stop."

You start to squirm on top of him, "Chris! Stop. How am I suppo- stop! Suppose to sing if if you're tickling me? Oh god, Chris. Please stop. Okay okay, I'll sing."

Chris stops tickling you and gives you a hug and rubs your back as you catch your breath. Chris hums in your ear, "Whenever you're ready."

You giggle as you bury your face into his chest, "Okay, what song?"

"Hmm, the last song you were singing."

You think back to the song and start singing it to Chris as he caresses your back. "Gee, I feel so lucky, boy. To have you all alone. I really love the way you love me. Forever I'll be yours."

You notice a smile appears on Chris' face as you continue singing to him. He plants kisses on your cheeks and his hands wander down to your thighs. He first starts humming along to your singing and soon enough joins in with you. "Outstanding. Girl, you knock me out. Excited, it makes me want to shout."

You giggle and kiss Chris as he just holds you tight against him. You start to shiver because your hair is still wet from the shower.

"You okay?" Chris whispers in your ear.

"Yeah, just a little cold."

Chris blindly reaches for the bed covers to cover you both as he kisses you. He rubs your back to warm you up. "Better?"

"Mmhmm. Sleeeeep."

"Okay okay." Chris whispers in your ear.

"I love you, Chris. Welcome home, baby."

"I love you too, (y/n). I'm glad to be home….. (y/n)?"

You moan, "hmm?"

"What about the ice cream you promised me?"

You giggle with your eyes closed, "it's too late for ice cream."

"It's only 9 o'clock."

"I'm so sleepy, Chris."

You hear Chris groan, "you didn't buy any ice cream yet did you?" You feel his hands wander down your back and his fingers start to give you a light tickle.

You gasp, "Chris?! Please don't."

Chris starts to laugh, "you promised me ice cream when I got home."

"Oh my god, Chris! You really are a pain in the ass." You give him a kiss on the cheek as you sit up.

Chris pulls you back down, "woah, wait wait, (y/n). I was kidding about the ice cream." He hugs you tight as you try to get back up.

"Noooo, the baby wants ice cream right now, so let's get you some ice cream."

Chris laughs, "I am not a baby. You're the baby." He tugs you back down to lay on his chest. "It's okay really. I'm sleepy too. Please come back to me." You moan as you bury your face into his chest. "I love you, (y/n)."

"I love you too, dork." You give Chris a good night kiss as he covers you both with the bed covers.

He hugs you tight and whispers in your ear, "we can just have the ice cream for breakfast… Oooo with pancakes. They make a yummy combination."

You groan, "Chris?"

"Hmm."

"Go to sleep, sweetie."

"Okay okay." He kisses the top of your head, "I love you."

"I love you too."

[spine-buster]

The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 12

A/N: Thank you all so much for the positive feedback on the last chapter despite very minimal Willy/Aberdeen interaction.  This chapter and the ones coming will definitely make up for it.

December 15th, 2019

Aberdeen Bloom was trying to get into the biggest gated house she’d ever seen in her life.  

She’d taken an Uber up to the Bridle Path, the exclusive street in Toronto filled with massive mansions the size of her high school with their own private gates and tennis courts and and pools and indoor pools and indoor basketball courts and bowling alleys and wine cellars and all the other frivolous things rich people could build in their houses.  She bet each one even had a heated driveway so that nobody in the house had to wake up at the crack of dawn to shovel.  The Uber driver had already driven away, not even bothering to wait to see if she got in safely, so she hoped to be let in soon.  

“Name, please?” a loud voice asked through the intercom-or-whatever-it-was system these rich people had for their house.  She bet they probably had cameras too and saw her impatiently waiting outside.  

“Aberdeen Bloom.”

“Abba-what?”

She rolled her eyes.  “Aberdeen Bloom,” she enunciated more clearly.  “Brendan Shanahan’s personal assistant.”  She was starting to get annoyed that she had to attach that caveat for anybody in the hockey world or the rich people world to take her seriously.  

The gate buzzed open, and Aberdeen walked quickly towards the front entrance, about the ring the doorbell before it opened magically for her.  A butler.  A butler opened the door for her and greeted her, offering to take her coat and letting her know she could keep her shoes on.  There were waiters and waitresses carrying around plates of expensive looking hors d’oeuvres and others carrying around flutes of champagne.  There was a giant, giant Christmas tree in the – the foyer?  The reception hall?  What did rich people call these things? – decorated with expensive looking ornaments, ribbons, and what Aberdeen thought had to be Swarovski crystals.  It had to be at least 15 or 20 feet high.  It was a far cry from her family’s Christmas tree, which was decorated with all the homemade ornaments she, Siena, and Camden had made throughout their years in school.  She almost felt like she was in the Eaton Centre.  There were even boxes upon boxes of presents underneath it, all wrapped with the same wrapping paper and with giant nametags.  Jolly Christmas carols were being played through some sort of speaker.  

She couldn’t believe rich people lived like this.  She couldn’t believe she was in a house on the Bridle Path with these rich people.  What had her life become?

“Aberdeen!” she heard her name being called.  She looked to her side to see Brendan approaching her, leaving his wife speaking to whoever they were speaking to for a quick second.  “So nice to see you!  You look lovely as always.”

“Oh, thanks Brendan.”

“Come with me,” he said, guiding her towards the people he was speaking to.  “Aberdeen, I want you to meet Dani Reiss, whose house we’re in.  Dani’s the CEO of Canada Goose.  Dani, this is my executive assistant, Aberdeen Bloom.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Aberdeen,” he said as they shook hands.  Aberdeen was hyperaware of his handshake and the fact that she was shaking hands with yet another billionaire.  She truly, truly couldn’t understand what her life had become.  She wished Siena or Kasha were here to do all the talking.  They were much better at it than she was, she thought.  “How are you enjoying working for the Toronto Maple Leafs?”

Aberdeen chuckled nervously.  She wondered if he really cared, but then remembered that they were having their Christmas party at his house, and he’d gone through all this trouble to keep them entertained, so he probably did.  “Oh, it’s amazing!  A bit hectic at times, but overall it’s been a great experience so far.  Everyone’s just been so great and welcoming – you wouldn’t even know that I didn’t watch hockey before I got the job.”

That led to a chuckle amongst Brendan, Catherine, and Dani.  “I bet a million people would kill for your job,” Dani commented through his laugh.

There it was again.  That thing everybody said to her when they learned what her job was.  She’d heard it for months now, since her first day on the job, and it was becoming abundantly clear with each passing day that it was something many people coveted.  “I know, sir.  I’m very lucky to have it and to work with such an incredible team.”

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Brendan smile.  Dani was already smiling at her.  “Well Aberdeen, mi casa es su casa!  Feel free to take a wander, grab some drinks, and enjoy the food!”

She thanked them as they left her there, walking towards another group with Leanne Hederson.  Aberdeen walked further into the foyer where the giant Christmas tree was, admiring it for a moment before looking around to see if she could see anybody she recognized.  She knew that, at this point, she could walk up to any member of the team or the administration and join in on their conversation, but the setting was slightly different than what she was used to (at the offices, of course) and it made her a bit nervous.  

“Brendan girl?”

Aberdeen visibly cringed.  She looked to her side to see her absolute favourite person in the whole entire world, Ethan Baker, walking over to her with a drink in his hands.  “Why are you here?”

She rolled her eyes at him.  He did this at every event they attended, as if she wasn’t allowed to be there.  “You constantly forget we work for the same team,” she said.

“Yeah, except one of our jobs is more important than the other,” he quipped.  She felt like punching him right then and there until she remembered this was a Christmas party at a billionaire’s mansion and it was socially frowned upon to start fights at parties.  “I didn’t know assistants were allowed to these things.”

“Peter’s here.”

“Doesn’t that mean you two should be helping the waiters?”

Aberdeen’s jaw dropped.  “What is your problem?” she demanded.  

“Aw, come on, I’m just ribbing you.”

“You know, just because I got the job over you—”

“—Cause you look really hot in those pants, Brendan girl.”

She stopped.  She was shocked at what he’d just said.  It had to be because he was already drunk.  She couldn’t think of another plausible expectation.  She couldn’t believe how hot and cold he was at these sorts of events, remembering what he was like at the Major Donor Gala.  “Besides,” she said through gritted teeth, “being a waiter isn’t something to be frowned upon.  A lot of my friends waited their way through university.”

“And you didn’t be a waitress or hostess?  With the way you look, you would have gotten really good tips.”

She felt like spiders were crawling underneath her skin.  She thought back to that day where she let him get in her head – when he’d called her a piggy for warming up a burrito.  “Are you trying to flirt with me?  Because you’re failing miserably.”

“I’m trying to—”

“Aberdeen!”

She looked to her side to see an excited looking Bee McTavish making a beeline towards her.  Bee somewhat-stared, somewhat-glared at Ethan as she hooked her arm with Aberdeen’s.  “You don’t mind if I steal her, do you?  A bunch of her friends are just over there,” she nodded her head towards a group that included Jason and Jennifer Spezza, Morgan, and John and Aryne Tavares. 

“I’m her friend,” Ethan quipped, smiling.

“I’m sure,” Bee nodded her head, grimacing every so slightly.  “Have a good night,” she dismissed him before tugging on Aberdeen’s arm and leading her in the opposite direction.  “God, that guy is such a skeeze,” she whispered to Aberdeen.

“Yeah.”

“Does he work here?”

“Tech and video playback,” Aberdeen informed her.

“Well, you’re with us now,” Bee smiled as she brought Aberdeen into the fold of the group.  

Aberdeen greeted and hugged everyone before noticing Will at the tail end.  She gave him a quick hug and a – God he smelled impeccable – and a cordial ‘Nice to see you!’ before he settled into his usual William behaviour.  “What do you think?” he asked.

She knew he was waiting for one of her famous retorts.  She took another look at his look: blonde hair, navy blue up top and an actual pair of burnt orange pants.  She wondered if his fashionable status edged on the side of completely insane.  Everything was tailored to perfection, and nothing was wrinkled or anything like that, but she couldn’t get over the orange pants.  “You look like Sailor Venus.”

Everybody burst out into laughter.  Even William smiled from ear to ear.  “Alright alright, very funny Aberdeen.”

“You know I’m right.”

The group talked about their Christmas plans.  This was Aryne and John’s first Christmas with baby Jace, so it was going to be extremely special for them.  Morgan’s parents and brother were flying in from Vancouver to spend time with him and Bee.  It was also Jason and Jennifer’s first Christmas in Toronto with their four girls – even though Jason was from here – so that was another special event that they’d be hosting at their house.  William would probably be Skyping with his family in Sweden, having his own version of a family Christmas.  It was unfortunate that whatever plans the boys had with their families would have to be cut short slightly because they had a game in New Jersey on the 27th, and it was even more unfortunate that because of a game in Minnesota, they’d all be away from their families on New Year’s – Aberdeen included.  It was the first time she would be out of Toronto for New Year’s, and not spending the night with her family or out with her friends.  

Jason and Jennifer ended up giving Aberdeen a tour of the parts of the house they’d already explored, with William following behind them somewhat lazily.  She saw Ethan at one point and could feel him staring at her.  There were a couple of different food stations, and she picked up some sushi and other appetizers on the way around.  The house was expansive, and again, she couldn’t believe rich people lived like this.  She could only imagine what the bedrooms looked like, or the basement, where she was sure there were ridiculous things like a bowling alley, or a 10,000 bottle wine cellar, or a home theatre.  

Dani Reiss ended up calling Jason and Jennifer over, so Aberdeen found herself alone with William.  William seemed to enjoy the situation, as he always did – the smirk on his face revealing all – but when Aberdeen looked past him, she saw Ethan staring at her again, pretending to talk to his colleague who worked in tech and video playback.  She bit her lip nervously.  She knew she couldn’t let him get to her, but he already had once before and it almost cost her the job she had – the one he so desperately wanted.  She couldn’t let him keep doing this to her.  She needed to be strong.  She needed to be—  

“Aberdeen.”

William’s stern voice broke her out of her trance.  “What?”

“Did you hear anything I just said about how nice you look?”

“N—N—Yeah…yeah yeah, thanks,” she said absent-mindedly.  

That wasn’t a normal reaction from her at all whenever he complimented her looks.  Usually it was an eye-roll and a ‘stop it!’.  William discreetly looked over his shoulder to where she was looking.  He saw Ethan look away once he caught him.  He whipped his head back towards her.  “Is he messing with you?” William asked, his voice low.

“What?  No no,” Aberdeen shook her head quickly.  “Don’t worry about it—”

“Aberdeen, if he’s messing with you, I’ll fucking kill him—”

“Will, no,” she stressed.  “Just leave it alone.”

“Is he bothering you?”

“No.”

“What was he saying to you earlier?”

“Nothing,” she said.  There was no way she was going to tell him.  “Just…just stupid stuff.  Work stuff.  It was honestly nothing.”

“You’d tell me, right?” William said.  He’d asked that question before.  She couldn’t discern his tone of voice but by the way he was looking at her she knew he was dead serious and knew there was at least a hint of worry.  “You’d tell me if he said something, right?  If he made you feel uncomfortable?  Because I’ve already tried to talk to Babs about it, and I know he’s gone now but I have no problem speaking to someone on your behalf if you’re too scared to.”

She felt like telling him.  She really did.  But she couldn’t – not now, at the Christmas party, and not ever, because it was something she needed to deal with on her own.  Somehow, at least.  She didn’t know how she was going to deal with it, only that she had to.  So instead, Aberdeen shook her head.  “It’s fine, Will.  Don’t worry.  And yes.  I’d tell you.”

So it was a little white lie.  Who hadn’t told a little white lie in their life?

William visibly relaxed at her words.  He finished his drink and placed it on the tray of a passing server.  “You ready to go outside?”

“Outside?” Aberdeen looked at Will strangely.  “It’s the middle of December.  We’re staying inside, thank you very much.”

“Nooooo no no no no,” he chuckled and shook his head.  He went to grab her hand but then remembered where he was, pulling it back towards his body.  “Come on.  Come with me.  You’re in for the surprise of your life.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Hey Aberdeen!  Willy!  You coming or what?” Jennifer Spezza called out as she waved them down from the sliding doors leading to the backyard.  “Come on!  It’s time to skate!”

Aberdeen threw William a confused look.  “Skate?”

They made their way towards the door, and when Aberdeen stepped through the threshold, she couldn’t believe what she saw: an entire skating rink – boards and everything – where she presumed Dani’s tennis court was, where some people were already skating.  There were lights, people were laughing, and there was even a whole skate rental helping out.  There were even fucking portable heaters.  Again, she couldn’t believe rich people lived like this.  She couldn’t believe that Dani would offer up his house, hire all the waiting staff, hire the catering staff, buy all those gifts, flood an entire portion of his backyard, and put up a skating rink so he could give the Maple Leafs a Christmas party.  Those closer she walked to the rink with William, Jason, and Jennifer, the more she couldn’t believe it.  

“What size are you, miss?”

“Uh, I’m a seven in regular shoes…” she said, not knowing if that made a difference.  The person turned around to look for skates, and Aberdeen turned towards William.  “I’m…I’m not good at skating at all.”

“You don’t have to be,” he smiled.  “You’ve got a team full of hockey players to help you along, minskatt.”

“No no.  I’m not just, like, saying that to be cute or whatever,” she said.  She needed to make that abundantly clear because she was sure she was going to make a complete ass of herself.  “I’m not good at skating.  I don’t even know how to tie them up properly.”

“Again, you have a whole hockey team at your disposal,” William said with a giggle in his voice.  When the skates were handed over, Jason took them before Aberdeen could.  “You gonna lace her up?” William asked him.

“I’ve got it,” Jason nodded his head.  “Aberdeen, go sit on the bench.  And give me your right foot.”

Aberdeen felt powerless as she did as she was told.  Jason shoved the skate onto her foot and kept it between his legs to tighten them and lace them up.  Jennifer put on her own skates right beside her, and William was on her other side doing the same.  “I feel like one of your children,” Aberdeen joked to them.

Jason smiled.  “You’re practically the same age as Sophia.”

“Am not!” Aberdeen protested.  “Sophia was born in 2010!”

“Yeah, and you’re born in 98.  I’m born in 83.  There’s fifteen years between you and I, but only twelve between you and Sophia,” Jason said.

“It’s practically the same thing!”

“No.  You’re a baby,” Jason chuckled.  “The both of you,” he nodded his head towards William, “are babies.”

Once her skates and helmet were fully on, and tight enough so her ankles weren’t moving so they wouldn’t snap in half, Aberdeen wobbled her way over towards the ice rink.  She looked out onto the ice and saw Bee skating, screaming as she slipped and fell right into Frederik Andersen’s arms.  The both of them laughed heartily as he held on to her like a knight in shining armour would catch his princess.  Morgan called out to them in a joking manner, feigning disgust and annoyance.

“Aberdeen?” she heard William’s soft voice.  Jason and Jennifer were already on the ice.  She hadn’t even seen them get on.  She had taken a while to psych herself up, apparently.  “You okay?”

“I’m just being an idiot,” she shook her head, embarrassed.

“You’re not being an idiot, minskatt.”

“Says the guy who was in skates before he was in shoes with soles,” she tried to joke.  “I work for a hockey team and I don’t even know how to skate well.”

Aberdeen watched as William extended his head.  “Come on,” he said.  “I’ll teach you.”

“Will—”

“Think of it this way,” he began.  “If you fall and crack your head open, you’ll probably suffer memory loss and forget who I am.”

Aberdeen snorted and laughed out loud.  She needed to hand it to William – he knew how to calm her down and diffuse any stress.  “You’re the worst, Will,” she chuckled out.

“I know I am.  Now come on.”

Aberdeen took his hand and stepped onto the ice gingerly.  William pulled her away from the edge of the rink slowly.  “Okay, bend your knees,” he began.  “You can’t skate with tight legs.”

For an almost embarrassingly long time, William taught Aberdeen the basic ins and outs of skating.  He was patient with her as he skated back and forth with her, pushing and pulling her along.  He’d grab her if she tripped, wrapped his arms around her if she almost slipped and fell, and tried to make her laugh as much as possible.  Jason would join in sometimes, holding her other hand as he and William pulled her along.  Jennifer and Bee acted like her own personal cheerleaders.  Eventually, she got the hang of it, able to skate around without having her hands out to balance her and with the ability to turn along the edges.  Morgan skated by and joked she was going to replace William on the line with John.  The smile on her face and giggle in her voice could light up the night sky.

For William, it was the best part of the night by far.

***

Brendan was so happy that everybody was having fun; so happy to see the smiles on people’s faces as they skated around the rink, running into each other like bumper cars and taking group pictures.  He loved seeing the comradery of his team outside the rink – the comradery of his entire organization outside of the offices.  The Christmas party was a huge success, and he couldn’t be happier.  

As he leaned his forearms down against the boards outside the rink, he watched everybody having a good time.  A few of the players skated by to have a quick chat.  Auston came first, then Jason and Freddie Gauthier together.  

“What a great party!” William smiled as he skated up to him, looking out at everyone having fun on the ice.  

Brendan nodded his head.  “We’re lucky Dani invited us and did all this for us.  Much better than some stuffy dinner, I think.”

“Definitely,” William agreed, nodding his head.  

Brendan nodded his head too, following William’s line of sight.  Aberdeen was posing with Bee McTavish, Aryne Tavares, and Courtney Muzzin.  Brendan smiled.  “Be careful, William.”

William’s brows furrowed at his words as he turned to look at him.  “Sir?”

“She can’t do anything with you until she leaves,” Brendan said, standing upright.  “And you can’t do anything with her.”

[thiswasinevitableid]

Have you seen the post going around about the zoom class with one guy and his full streamer setup vs the guy whose just in the middle of the woods? I know you have a prompt list rn but I’m just saying there’s a sternclay fic in there somewhere...

It is! Here you go!

Life is better with order. Or, at the very least, with some attempt at patterns, organization, or consistency. 

Which is why Stern has carefully arranged his desk, his chair, and his equipment in the background. Streaming as a hobby and a side hustle means he has some (okay, a lot) of practice making his digital self look just right. He needs to make a good impression on the first day of the semester.

Unlike some people. 

“Holy shit man, are you in the woods?” Duck, the guy in a “Monongahela National Forest” shirt, grins as he asks this of another student whose screen consists of a forest clearing, a log, and the name “Barclay.”

“Yeah. Hang on, lemme finish getting the phone balanced.”

“Dude, that’s like, way better than my background” this comes from Jake, in front of a poorly rendered half-pipe. 

“Can’t really take credit for it, just where I ended up.” Barclay sits down, and Stern gets his first look at a man so tall he barely fits in the frame, with a short, coppery beard and an honest-to-god man-bun.

Damn west coast schools. 

“How is your battery going to last long enough for class?” Stern leans back in his chair, certain Barclay will have “battery trouble” halfway through as an excuse to cut out early.

Barclay smiles, lifting up a small green and black rectangle, “solar battery. Not everyone needs fancy gadgets for school.” He aims a pointed stare at Sterns set-up. 

“It’s important to have the right equipment.”

“Whatever you say, man.” He lifts a cup of iced coffee into the frame, sipping it through a straw. It’s the picture of relaxation, as if nothing is wrong in the world. As if this is all totally normal. 

Stern wants to reach through the  screen and slap some sense into him. Preferably while he’s shirtless.

He chalks that thought up to not having gotten laid since last December and pulls up his note taking software as Professor Chicane enters the room.

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

Private Chat 9/20/20

Duck (he/him): I timed it, we’re already at ten minutes of arguing.

Indrid (he/him): I know Ned enjoys their demonstrating the different modes of rhetoric, but this is a bit extreme.

Duck: To be fair, Joe does seem kinda uptight.

Indrid: Yes, but Barclay should know by now that zeroing in on him during our practice debates only results in this.

Duck: Yeah. Oh shit, are they for real wrapping up you think?

Indrid: We can only hope. Skype me tonight?

Duck: Of course, sugar.

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

What is Joseph’s problem? He’s got a set-up that would make a pro-vlogger jealous, what looks to be a well-lit apartment with some houseplants and the kind of coffee-cups that are weirdly lacking in personality. His clothes are immaculate, his hair slicked back as if he;s in a business meeting rather than an online class in the midst of a chaotic world. So why is he acting like everything is terrible? And why is he always arguing with Barclay, when there are plenty of other people in the class to disagree with?

“Now” Mr. Chicane’s voice booms through the tiny speaker on his phone, “if you all had a chance to read over the instructions, we will begin the first mock debate. Do we have any volunteers?”

He and Joe raise their hands at the same time. Mr. Chicane raises an eyebrow.

“While I appreciate your eagerness, gentlemen, I would like two other volunteers this time.”

That’s fine by him. It’s not like he likes listening to Joseph get all wound up and passionate, making everyone on the call sit up and take notice of him. It’s not as if he enjoys being the center of his focus. 

Nope, not at all.

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

Private chat 10/11/20

Jake (he/him): Dudes, did you see who got paired up on the final project?

Aubrey (she/her): Chicane must be getting them back for all the times they’ve hijacked discussions. 

Duck (he/him): Man, for their sake I hope it works out.

Indrid (he/him): This is going to be a disaster.

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

“Are you out of your mind!” Stern is talking before Barclay’s video is fully on. 

“Nope. And you don’t have to yell, my speaker works just fine.”

“You’re outside, for all I know there’s a ton of ambient noise.”

Barclay, phone obviously in his hand as he walks through the trees, groans.

“And don’t try to derail this; how can you possibly suggest I come out there so we can do the project in person? We’re supposed to be limiting travel and gatherings.”

“Look, Joseph, we both agree that trying to generate our own cryptid hoax is the best way to demonstrate all the techniques Ned wants us too, right?”

“Yes” he hides his answer behind the rim of his coffee mug. 

“We’ll do a way better job if we work in the same space. And if it makes you feel any better, I haven’t had any human contact in three weeks; all quarantined up, unlike whatever you’ve been doing in the city.”

He sets the mug down with a thunk, “I haven’t been out in a month. And before that was only for one grocery run and a hospital visit.”

“Uhhh-”

“I cut my hand cooking. So. Yeah.”

Literal crickets chirp, courtesy of Barclay’s end of the line, as the silence stretches on.

“If it helps, it’s real easy to stay isolated here, and I’ve still got utilities and everything.”

“And you’re not subsisting only on MREs or granola or something?”

A deep chuckle, the kind that makes his skin prickle, “Nope. That much I can promise.”

Stern glances around the studio apartment, clean and empty. 

“What’s your address?”

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

Look, all Stern is going to say is that he’s seen and read plenty of stories that start with a cabin in the woods and none of them end well. Which is why he’s still sitting in his car, parked beside a beat-up Subaru, rather than knocking on the door. 

Breathe in, five counts. Out for four. Repeat four times. 

Waiting for him on the door is a note.

Joseph,

Key under mat, make yourself at home. 

Barclay. 

He brings in his bags (a matching set of three, a gift from his aunt last year), placing them in the tiny guest room. It’s not much more than a bed, a dresser, and a tiny table. But there’s a heating unit below the window looking out into the woods, which is pretty pleasant. He’ll be keeping the blinds closed at night, though; he hates the thought of something being able to look in. 

Stern’s busy evaluating the laundry closet when the front door opens. 

“Hey, glad you found the place okay.”

Barclay stands in the doorway, a basket full of fruit in one hand. He’s remarkably kempt for a man living in the woods and that, combined with the deep voice being even richer in person and the fact Stern has to actually look up to meet his eyes, has him stumbling for words. 

“Your directions were very thorough. Thank you. Um. I put my things in there, should I, um-”

“I can give you the grand tour.” The taller man sets the basket on the dining table, notices Sterns puzzled expression “there’s a piece of property about a mile thataway that has orchards they don’t really use. They let me come and pick whenever i want, less for them to clean up.”

Barclay keeps up a steady monologue as he shows him the cabin. The lower level is the living room and dining area, a kitchen which leads onto the back deck, Sterns room, and a bathroom. As the cabin is A-frame, the upstairs is Barclay’s room, all dark wood and pine colored plaid. It’s as Barclay is telling him about the woodpecker that sometimes nests in the eaves that he realizes why he’s talking so much.

He’s nervous. 

Neither of their nerves improve when he gets to his last point of order. 

“Uh, so, the bathroom downstairs is only a half-bath.”

“So...if I want to shower, which I do, I have to come up here.”

“Yeah.” Barclay scratches the back of his neck, “sorry. I don’t, like, sleep naked or anything so we should be fine.”

“Disappointing.” Stern sighs, only to sail past sarcastic and land face first in sincere. 

Barclay blushes, then shrugs, “Trust me, after the first night, you’ll see why.”

Stern does. He’s warm as long as he’s in bed, but the moment he ventures into the bathroom in the middle of the night he’s cocooned in cold. 

The morning brings cinnamon and coffee on the draft coming under the door. He plods into the kitchen in search of caffeine, finds Barclay in an pron, the counter covered in trays of dough. 

“Morning!”

“Morning. Coffee-”

“Right there, sugar and stuff’s in the cabinet above it, cream and such is in the fridge.”

Blessedly, there’s heavy cream to be found, and soon he’s sipping from an enamel mug emblazoned with a UFO made of veggies. 

“Is this all for your job?” Barclay mentioned he was a cook during an icebreaker. 

“Yep. Way it works is I bust my ass baking once or twice a day, and Thacker, who works with Mama at the Lodge in town, comes and takes them over there. Normally I’d just be there but, well, y’know.”

“Everything is on fire? Figuratively, I mean.”

“Sometimes literally too, but yeah.”

As he’s turning to grab his clothes and head showerward, Barclay adds, “You a scone man, coffecake man, or a cinnamon roll man?”

“Coffeecake?” It comes out hesitant. 

“There’s no right answer, man.” Barclay sounds amused, “what do you want?”

“Cake, definitely.”

“Cool. I’ll save you a slice.”

Once he’s showered and on the wi-fi, his day runs like normal; one lecture, reading, a research paper, his initial half of their project, and working either his copy-editing or transcription job in between, and planning his next stream. Barclay comes and goes, stops now and then to see if he needs anything, leaves a sandwich in front of him around dinner time. Then it’s time to crawl under the covers and dream of a less-stressful world. 

The next day, just before one, Barclay taps him on the shoulder. 

“Ready for class?”

“Yes…” He gestures to his laptop and notebook. 

“C’mon, join me out here, it’s way nicer, and we can share the phone.”

“Barclay, it’s  a nonsensical way to attend class, just stay in here with me! Even this set-up has to be better than the woods.”

“This set up. You mean my house?” All the friendliness leaves hi voice. 

“Yes. Look, I agreed to come out because you’re right, if we want to ace this thing that’s worth sixty percent of our grade, this is the place to do it; I don’t have to go along with the whole self-sufficient woodsman aesthetic while I’m here. “

“Yeah, I’d say you’re pretty far from self-sufficient. See you in class.” 

Stern stews through the entire session, but where he’d usually find something Barclay says to latch onto, he instead gnaws on himself. Why didn’t he just go with him? Why snap at someone who’s been nothing but nice since he got here?

Whatever the answer, how can he fix it?

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

Barclay tromps back through the twilight, done with his second class of the day. If Joseph is in the main house, he plans to ignore him until tomorrow morning. That all goes out the window with the clank of dishes from the kitchen. 

Peering in reveals the other man bent over, pulling a casserole from the oven. He waits to announce his presence until Joseph is out of the danger zone, enjoying the view as he does. 

“Smells good.”

Blue eyes flick over to him as Joseph opens drawers, “it’s mostly cheese and chips, so I’m not surprised.”

“Servers are in that one.”

“Thank you. Nacho pie?” He scoops some into a bowl, holding it out. 

“Sure. Uh, look, Joseph I-”

Joseph holds up the server, “Wait. Before you apologize I, um, I wanted to say I’m sorry for my comments. And for being so...me-ish.” He sighs, staring at the utensil in his grip, “I’ve always been a little bit tense, tried to be polite and effective and friendly in spite of it. The last six months made that harder to do. I don’t love it when I can’t be organized, when normal systems go out of place. But that’s no excuse for being rude to you, even before you invited me here. You’re just so...you’re always so calm and relaxed, like nothing was wrong and I just honed in on that way more than made sense. I’m sorry.”

“If it makes you feel better, I kinda did the same thing. You’re always so put together, it looked like you had this organized life in the midst of this whole shitstorm. I feel lik everything is slipping away, like my world is just this cabin. I mean, I assumed you were seeing friends in the city, while I haven’t seen Mama in person since April. So” he sets the bowl down, rests his hand on Joseph’s shoulder, “I’m sorry too.”

Joseph laughs, softly, “turns out we both had failures of imagination, huh?”

“Yeah” he runs a hand over Joseph's back, “now come on, this dinner’s not gonna eat itself.”

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

“You sure you don’t wanna wear the bigfoot costume?”

“Positive. Besides, it suits you.” Joseph finishes styling the fur on the head of the costume to look more realistic, “I just hope we get this done before that storm comes in; as mush as the rain would add to the mood of the scene, that’ll be hell to dry and you’ll be miserable. So, go lurk over there while I finish up getting the camera settings where they need to be.”

“Yes sir” Barclay pops the head on, leaves crunching as moves to his appointed tree. He smiles as he watches Joseph fiddle with the camera; things have been so much better between them these last two weeks. They trade off cooking dinner, study side by side, and watch movies or play games in the warmth of the heater. They have a similar sense of humor and taste in books, and are tidy to boot.   Joseph’s even come with him to listen to lectures in the woods, the pair sharing a thermos of coffee under the astonished gaze of their classmates. There’s just one problem. 

Barclay’s buried crush is now blooming in every direction. Animated, argumentative Joseph was attractive. Joseph, in all his moods and mannerisms, is devastatingly enchanting. He’s come close to telling him this, but the other man is his guest and also only here for another two and a half weeks, so a confession is setting himself up for heartbreak at worst and awkwardness at best. 

He almost blew it last night when they were washing dishes (Joseph scrubs, Barclay dries and puts away). 

“Last one.”

“Thanks, blue eyes.”

“What was that?”

“Uh, blue eyes? Like a, uh, a nickname?”

Joseph laughs, “Sounds like something from a Raymond Chandler book. I like it.”

On the plus side, if Joseph thinks it’s just a nickname and not a pet name, maybe Barclay can keep using it.

“Are you ready?’

He sticks up a hairy thumb and calls, “you know it, blue eyes.”

That same laugh as Joseph takes up his position. Maybe it’s the weird film over the costume’s eyes, but Barclay swears he sees a blush.

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

Stern trawls through the search results. Their video is getting some traction, with two cryptid hunter sites claiming it’s credible footage. He’s making note of how the information spread, which threads lead to belief and which to doubt, when Barclay calls from upstairs. 

“Joseph? Little help?”

The other man is in the bathroom, and when Stern knocks he says, “Think the pilot light on the water heater went out again, all I’m getting is cold water. Can you go relight it?”

“Sure.” He gets to the stairs then, stops, “where’s the key to that closet?”

“Huh? Oh, shit, right, hang on” Barclay says at the same time as Stern’s “don’t worry, I can find it.” 

Which is why the instant he turns back into the bedroom is the same instant Barclay steps out of the bathroom, blue towel around his waist. 

Any blood that doesn’t head south goes instantly to Stern’s cheeks. 

“You okay there, blue-eyes?”

“It’s completely unfair how good you look without a shirt.”

He clamps a hand over his mouth.

“Idn’t ean to ay at out oud” The mumbled explanation makes Barclay smirk. 

“You like this, should see what’s under the towel.”

The unusually bold statement from Barclay kindles his own confidence.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, big guy.”

“Who says I won’t.” Barclay sits down on the edge of the bed, nonchalant and leaning back on his hands, “got plenty of time to make good on them.”

“We literally don’t. I go back in a week and two days.”

Barclay toys with the lint on the towel, “you could stay. Through break, through next semester, for however long you wanted.”

“Do you mean that?”

A shy nod, “I like having you around, Joseph. Even beyond the huge fucking crush I have on you I...everything is a little better when you’re around.”

“I, um, I guess it could work. We know next semester is online too, and so is work, so…” there must be variables missing, something he’s not seeing, some reason this is too good to be true.

“You want some space away from shirtless me to think about it?”

“That’d be great.”

Barclay stands, hesitates, then plants a quick kiss on his forehead, “take all the time you need, blue eyes.”

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

Private Chat log 1/11/2021

Barclay (he/him): Did you see the look on Duck’s face when we turned up in frame together. 

Joseph (he/him): Yes. Pretty sure Aubrey yelled something about him needing to pay up. I wonder what the bet was. 

Barclay (he/him): Whatever it was, pretty sure I came out the biggest winner. 

Stern snorts, trying not to blush on camera, and leans over to kiss his boyfriend on the cheek. 

[technobladetimestamps]

Nov 16 Stream Timestamps

Timestamps from Technoblade’s “THE REVOLUTION (dream SMP)”

Link to my youtube comment with all of the timestamps x

Timestamps with hyperlinks below

02:13  “This is a surprise tool which will help us later” / thumbnail isn’t foreshadowing / video thumbnails have to be big / stream thumbnails can be detailed 05:17  “The traitor is actually Jschlatt” / firework crafting 09:50  “The ratio is impeccable” 13:23  “Dream’s in the game! My audience retention rate” / vc with Tubbo & Quackity / traitor Jschlatt theory / “Are you high?” “A little” 14:47  “You’re a bit of a wildcard” “I am the most consistent character on the entire server” / “What’s this about getting into power” / “We’ll burn this bridge when we get to it” 15:54  “You really are such an English major” / “You’re an idiom” / malaphor / “I’m actually speaking twice as much English as you guys” 18:07  “I think Thunder is overcompensating in the chat” / “Where can you see me” “In my heart” (Karl & Quackity) / Karl not leaving vc 20:33  vc with Niki / “Did Tubbo just leave me? I spaced out for 2 seconds” / “You can’t call everyone the traitor” “I can & will” 22:45  “You know it’s an event when Skeppy’s here” / “You know it’s a big deal when Georgenotfound wakes up” / “Everyone leaves me” 23:31  explaining the traitor thing to Niki / “Maybe I’m a sleeper agent” / had to kill Tubbo 25:03  nothing happened with that creeper / Fundy interrogating Niki / “Why did I train her for MCC” 25:54  “Even YOU’RE leaving me” / sad music / “I’m sitting here with 203k viewers & it’s not enough for any of these streamers to bear talking to me for more than 60 seconds” / Skeppy joins vc to immediately leave 28:50  Karl has a gift for Techno / Karl is just here for the animatic 32:21  “At least the chat won’t leave me” / pays for his music 35:01  “I’m going to destroy the government so bad” / “I hate all of the farming updates on skyblock” 37:45  joining a vc / “I just got stood up in like 4...conversations in rapid succession” / “My new years resolution was to make friends & it’s november & I’ve made zero headway” / Eret switches sides 41:53  Ender chest setup / worried about hotbar management / potions > shields   43:13  vc with allies / “Karl you are literally the biggest third wheel I have ever seen” 45:03  angering the dogs / trident combo 47:13  “D!ck with one ball” (Tubbo) 50:25  “Let’s hope Wil overslept like [George]” 53:09  recruiting Eret / “If you fight on our side we’ll make you the King of Burger King” / “He’ll be an executive citizen” / “I’m surrounded by idiots” 54:58  putting Schlatt on the allies list / “Schlatt is an alcoholic high on protein power” (Fundy) 56:47  can’t trust Eret / “I hate it when you’re right” (Tubbo) / Wilbur joins vc 59:50  having a moment with Hubert / “Not even the mobs like me” / sad music / “I just gained 8k subscribers the sadness is gone” / cow pit exp farm 1:02:57  vc with Niki / “I’m going to join the other vc AHHHHH” 1:05:02  “Once everyone meets up...I have something prepared” / “Technoblade when are you not ready?” “When I joined the server” 1:09:38  “Who do you take me for? Of course I’ve read the Art of War. It’s written by Mozart” / battle planning 1:12:18  “This is the betrayal...happening very slowly” 1:13:35  Pan1 / “This revolution is so doomed” 1:15:29  Dream attack / Quackity dies 1:18:07  “Agree Retweet” / “Violence is the only universal language” / “i have a supply” / “Why do you talk in upwards inflections constantly?” 1:19:57  Techno not getting to talk / “He took it all by force didn’t he” / “Fear into Ear” 1:23:50  Techno telling everyone he has a stash twice / distributing blue / mushroom the fox 1:26:49  Tommy talking over Techno again / “Stop going off on your tangents” “We have food at home” 1:29:30  vault reveal / Tubbo stealing emeralds / secret chest 1:32:40  “Shut up bro you are green as shit” (Tommy) / “Everyone give me back my stuff you don’t deserve it” 1:34:41  no netherite swords / “Who’s the traitor” “Promise we won’t be mad” 1:36:31  battle / Technoblade trident maneuvering / giving rocket launchers to Tubbo & Tommy 1:40:27  killing Karl / Dream bringing out the end crystals / fighting invis Dream / purpled switches sides 1:43:57  Dream wants to talk / 309k / group photos 1:46:08  vc with Dream / “But only if my enemy insists” / in the van with Schlatt / “What are you doing in my drug van? It better not be drugs” / Tommy preparing to shoot Schlatt 1:54:42  “We won” / “We killed an old man with heart problems! It only took 20 of us!” / President Innit / subscribe to Technoblade sign 1:55:57  Dream & Techno talk in chat / Tommy speech / “It was meant to be” / “I don’t think anyone is bowing to Tommyinnit” / “Karl don’t be weird” / Skeppy has a disc 1:59:06  Techno being apprehensive on mute / Tommy makes Wilbur President / “I’ll be the president” “I’m gonna veto that” / “Techno...you’ve taught me that government is not the way to go” / Wilbur makes Tubbo president 2:03:20  “I’m not sure I like where this is going x2” / “I’m not sure this is a good ending” / “Team chaos” “Perhaps” 2:06:20  Techno shoots Tubbo / Philza joins / “You think Schlatt was the cause of your problems? No. It was government” / speech gets interrupted / “The government ends here, I’ll kill it myself!” 2:09:23  Phil kills Wilbur / techno yelling for silence / “Tommy you just did a coup...& instilled yourself as president” 2:12:11  “If you want to be a hero THAN DIE LIKE ONE” / wither spawning / killing his former allies 2:15:09  post fight talks / “There will be no new government today. It will be over my dead body” / “Techno was not the traitor” 2:18:50  “I need to increase the crater that is L’Manberg so that no country can rise in its place” / “Mom says it’s my turn on the flame bow” 2:23:51  “What I’m doing right now is small scale. This is the work of an individual. This is nothing compared to the cruelty governments all around the world [inflict]...systematically” / “Llamas are the primary victims of war” / “I just wanna be apart of the explosion” (George) 2:27:06  Techno joins vc / connor joins the server / “I hope you’re proud of yourself Techno” “I kinda am” / Jack Manifold (Thunder) being broke / netherite armor 2:32:30  “Beach episode” / Techno accidentally joins the L’Manberg vc 2:35:16  the base is compromised / “There’s no way Technoblade would put a clock there if it didn’t mean anything” / got robbed 2:37:37  “If you’re going to ask me how I got all these emerald & arrows that’s a story for another day” / explaining the bedrock / “I can give everyone stuff & it’ll be such a flex” 2:40:24  Greek mythology 2:41:45  The Golden Apple / “They didn’t use discord back then they used skype, so can’t invite Eris” / “Zeus the god of feminism” 2:46:02  Eret recruiting Techno to kill George / joining vc / “Let’s stop him before he gets land” / Awesamdude proposing a fight 2:49:08  “No one can kill me I’m invincible” (logs out) / Dream literally names the turtle potions Sam thinks he hasn’t heard of / “I’m at soup” / “It’s not smack talk he just has that many items” 2:53:06  “Stab him Dream, I’ll shout encouraging words” / Techno fighting Bad & Ant 2:56:23  Dream wins / “I think there was this Dream guy attacking you with some sort of weapon” 3:00:11  turtle potions / Dream hyping up Techno about fighting BBH / Badlands negotiating with George 3:04:34  vc with Philza 3:07:00  spider farm afk’ing / lagging Quackity’s computer 3:09:06  smp earth / Phil only logged on to back Techno up 3:10:32  killing George / “I’m gonna drop his armor off don’t jump me” / not fighting Dream 3:13:00  vc with Karl & Phil / Karl definitely not starting a government / “Chat that was the boring part, don’t leave” / 320k / “Why do we keep scheduling these on Monday?” 3:16:18  “I don’t even want to think about how famous Tommy will be in the future” / “I get a tad bitter” / covid is good for youtubers but obviously bad / “I’m so good at socially distancing” 3:19:51  “Aren’t you tired of being nice Philza? Don’t you just wanna go crazy” / “You should be wary of the old in a profession where people die young” / vc with Eret 3:21:47  “What if you built a slightly larger throne next to it?” /  “How are they paranoid of a mole but the guy with a track record of being a traitor gets no questions asked” 3:25:47  “I’m gonna place a block at the bottom & kill you instantly” / reverse mlg /  emerald rich even with Tubbo’s theft 3:27:57  “I’ll allow it” / upstairs chests robbed / Eret disconnects with the book 3:32:04  armor sabotage bc he thought it’d be 1v5 / crystals are mutually assured destruction / Wilbur afraid of tnt getting blown up early 3:34:11  the diary was actually Eret’s / “He’s gonna tell everyone who I have a crush on. Nooo” / reading the 100 page book / “Can I not win here?” “No” 3:40:14  “This stream has released more serotonin in my brain than the last 6 months combined” / revolution was overcrowded / could improve the crater 2:43:09  “Awkward ten minute period where I’m just sitting there watching them set up a new government but I can’t kill them yet” / Carl is missing 3:44:34  “The one time Technoblade is gonna roleplay & they talk over him” / “CARL” / “As long as Sapnap isn’t the one that took him there’ll still be hope” 3:46:10  “Once you start using end crystals it’s the only pvp that matters & end crystal pvp is so lame” / Webtoons 3:49:10  “What’s going to happen to you & WIlbur now?” “I don’t know, I think I’m chill with Wilbur” / “The only thing that changed is my voice. Zero personal growth” / lines from the first speech that got interrupted / “King George is trending booo” 3:52:00  1 million twitter followers / “O god it’s been four hours...I am not built for this” / did a 13 hour stream once / sub growth goals 3:56:30  “What the heck is Phil watching”