#40 hours on stranded deep quite enjoyed that one

[gyeomsweetgyeom]

you suck at crushes

College!Yangyang x College!Reader x College!Renjun 

summary: Renjun wants to help you get with Yangyang who wants to help you couple up with Renjun but they’re both annoying, maybe one less than the other

word count: 4.2k

(warnings: swearing, mentions of food) ((lmk if I missed anything))

Taglist! @lanadreamie

A/N: I hope you guys enjoy!! I swear reader ends up with only one guy I just don’t want to give away the ending and I know the summary is ass

-

God it was like the beams of sunshine just followed him around. Providing him with a natural spotlight that only worked to draw your attention to him even more than usual. The voices around you faded into background noise, and everything else besides him became so fuzzy you could only focus on the one and only- Liu Yangyang.

“Hello?” “Y/N!” “Are you listening to us?” Someone gripped your shoulder and shook you until you were out of your Yangyang-induced-haze. “Huh? Oh yeah… totally.” You answered with absolutely no idea about the conversation happening at the very table you sat at. 

Your friends snorted, teasing and making fun of you. A kissing noise, a high pitched teasing exclamation of the man of the hour’s name, and some playful elbows being jabbed into your side. When they finally stopped with the teasing and they actually filled you in you were able to answer some questions about the times at the library. 

You slipped into your seat in your geology class, a poor choice on your behalf and quite frankly the school for describing it as something that would be ‘fun and exciting.’ What a total load of BS that was. The professor was an old man that went on and on about his days in the field 40 years ago and rambled on and on about subjects that were 70% of the time not on the tests. However, the one and only bright side was that you had your favorite distraction in this class, Yangyang.

How could one person asking a question about the tectonic plates or the striations on a stupid rock be so attractive? He made it possible. 

“Staring yet again?” An annoying voice asked quietly, just inches from your ear.

“Who are you?” You asked annoyed.

“Y/N, that isn’t funny anymore. Not the first time you did it and not the hundreds of times after that. We lived on the same street for years before you decided to follow me here.” He answered with a huff. 

“Renjun, will you just go away? You know I’m no good at this so go bother someone else.” You replied. You took your eyes off Yangyang, gave Renjun a quick glare, and focused back on the lab work in front of you. Something stupid about hills or some moutain. Wasn’t this class supposed to be about rocks? 

“I don’t need help, I came to help you. We’re friends- shhhh.” Renjun started, quickly shutting you up before you could interrupt. “I can help you with this lab and help you win over your beloved Yangyang.”

You sent him a quizzical look. In all the years you had known Renjun he had never been this... generous- always wanting something in return. “He and I are friends, he’s been super annoying lately and complaining about some final project we decided to do together, but we have months to do it. If I help you guys get together in order to distract him, then he can stop bothering me about that final project. It’s a win-win-win situation.” He explained.

Well, that made a lot of sense. “What do you even have in mind? Yangyang and I don’t talk like we used to, how could we go from strangers to dating in just a couple months.”

“Don’t underestimate yourself. You were the person to show him around school when he was the new kid all those years ago when we were kids, you’re in better standing than you think. We all went to the same school, we already know each other, we all have this class, and I’m not going to let this fail because I do not fail. If I have to hear about the final project one more time I will rip all the hair off his head, three strands at a time.” Renjun pouted. 

“You sound completely crazy-”

“If you two need some help all you have to do is ask, I don’t need you two to argue and disrupt the class. Mr. Liu, since you seem to have a good understanding of the assignment, would you mind helping them out?” The professor called out. 

You and Renjun sent each other incredulous looks, were you really talking that loudly? “It’s earlier than expected, but don’t worry I got this,” Renjun whispered.

“You know if you guys had just spoken quietly, I could have left early but here I am. You can’t do anything without me can you?” Yangyang teased Renjun. 

“Oh, it wasn’t me. Y/N here is just so stupid, I was trying to explain the lab and it’s like all my words go in one ear and out the other. Maybe you can explain better than I can.” Renjun gestured toward you wildly. 

You immediately went to defend yourself but stopped when instead, Yangyang came to your defense. “Y/N isn’t stupid like you Injun, if you wanted some attention you didn’t have to bother someone innocent.”

Your face felt so hot, god this attention was too much to handle so suddenly. It was as if Renjun had thrown you into the deep end of a pool when you had just learned about the entire concept of swimming itself. If this was his attempt at getting you and Yangyang together you were now questioning the entire idea. It was just too much to handle so suddenly.

Yangyang quickly went on to explain the idea of the lab, giving you some tips to make the work easier and how it connected to past lessons. “Do you understand it a little more now?” He asked you.

You hissed when someone stomped on your foot beneath the table. Your eyes met Renjun’s while he discreetly shook his head, seemingly trying to send you some kind of message. But it seemed whatever he was sending was received because you quickly caught on, answering, “Oh uh, this whole class has actually been a bit more difficult than I anticipated, and you seem to have a way better understanding than I do. Would you be willing to maybe meet up sometime and just help a little more?”

“I’m free on Wednesday afternoons, let’s exchange numbers so maybe we can find out what you struggle the most with and what time works for you. Renjun are you coming too, you seemed to get the lab when I explained it,” Yangyang replied.

Renjun answered with a simple nod, sending Yangyang on his way for the remainder of the class. He was quiet the rest of the time, still sitting beside you. When the class was over he looked over at you, “This is going to be so much easier than I thought.”

-

Some point in the week after class you had all decided on the meeting place and time. Some little cafe just off campus after Yangyang was done with his last class of the day. He said the coffee was good and it wasn’t even expensive, to which Renjun was quick to add that they had friends working there so they got discounts. 

Renjun insisted on meeting you a little earlier to go over the details of the plan he had finally come up with. The plan mainly consisted of you just catching up with Yangyang, which would then progress to just the two of you hanging out, then bam! Dating! Much easier said than done you were quick to point out. His plan was just an idea with no details. Like what do you talk about? How do you make him like you? What kinds of things does he like? Could he even like you romantically?

“He actually mentioned to me that he was happy to talk to you again, so I have very high hopes. That was one conversation with him that was not about the final. Just have some hope.” Renjun shrugged. 

“You make this sound so simple, but you are not the one risking being embarrassed by telling the guy you’ve had a crush on since you were 10 about your feelings and having even less of a relationship than you’ve had for the past like 6 years.” You huffed.

“Since you were 10? That’s a little embarrassing.” Renjun let out.

Ever since you were kids it was like Renjun knew the exact words and actions to push your every button. Always getting on your nerves and getting under your skin. It was foolish of you to believe that he had matured enough to not tease you, even in your 20s and even in college. Huang Renjun sucked.

You brought your hands up to his neck, fully ready to wrap your hands around his neck and just squeeze- just enough pressure for him to get the idea to just shut up. But of course, that would be unacceptable in public and even less appropriate seeing as Yangyang had come right up to the table before you could do so. You improvised, changing your intended action of a throat squeeze to a nice hug, arms wrapped tightly around Renjun’s shoulders. You smiled brightly, tilting your head away from Yangyang so your lips were right beside Renjun’s ear, “I can go another 10 years buddy, learn to shut your damn mouth. I for one know how to follow through with my threats and will actually pull your hairs from your head- Yangyang, so good to see you!”

Yangyang looked between the both of you curiously, side by side, one with a bright, beaming smile and the other flushed, scared look on their face. He shook it off and pulled out his study materials while making small talk. 

By the end of the study session you felt more confident in your geology skills and your chances with Yangyang. He had gotten exponentially cooler as he got older than the kid you met all those years ago. Sure, he was still chaotic and sarcastic, even still a little dramatic, but it nonetheless made your heart skip a beat, just like the first time you laid eyes on him. 

-

Over the next few weeks Renjun slowly stopped coming to the study sessions. He always had some excuse or another, that neither you or Yangyang ever really questioned. In those few weeks you and Yangyang had grown closer as friends, texting each other about more than just class, checking in on each other, sending stupid memes and tiktoks, even a few inside jokes.

But of course, Renjun had to have his time too. Instead of just texting you, he would make conversation anytime he saw you on campus, even going as far as asking you to hang out when he wanted to know what was going on. Every night without fail, he would FaceTime you for at least an hour and a half to ask for very detailed updates which at some point became you two just talking about your days in general. He liked to judge your every decision, giving his own input on even minor things like the seat you sat in for a class he didn’t even have. He said his life lacked drama so he needed to live vicariously through his friends.

“I know we usually meet at the cafe, but even with that discount I really shouldn’t be spending all that money there every week. Do you mind if we meet at mine this week? I promise my roommate buys enough snacks to feed the whole complex and he makes me clean the place every week.” Yangyang suggested about a month and a half into your studying arrangement. 

You of course agreed, you’d be crazy to not want to go to your crush’s home, just the two of you- alone, and talking about… rocks. 

So when the next week came and Wednesday afternoon rolled around, you found yourself standing right outside your crush’s door, fist raised to knock. You were so nervous, just being alone with him in his home! This wasn’t the cafe where you had other people around, where you knew where things were, close to your home. No, this was his house, and that made you beyond nervous. 

He pulled the door open, a wide smile on his face as he welcomed you in. He set your things at his kitchen table and gave you a short tour of the home. “My roommate will be back later tonight, but he made us some food if we get hungry later,” He told you while he brought out his own supplies, once again ready to conquer your weekly study session.

And even though you did at one point struggle very much with the subject, this particular topic seemed easier to understand. So after even correcting Yangyang a few times, the study session became more of a hang out session. So casual that you even answered Renjun’s texts, chuckling at him freaking out in all caps because you were in Yangyang’s home.

“No, but Renjun did that last time we hung out too! We were in public, like full on glass of water spilled across the table and he got so red,” you laughed recalling the memory from just a few weeks ago after watching Yangyang do the same.

Then just a few minutes later when you were both watching TV you mumbled, “I think Renjun would like this show. This is on Netflix right?”

Yangyang being the smart kid that he is, had pieces coming together in his mind, ideas that he wasn’t even sure if you knew yet. He was going to make this happen.

-

Renjun sat in front of Yangyang, a month before the end of the semester, finally working on the final project. Which, thanks to you, had not been mentioned even once since you and Yangyang started hanging out until a week ago.

After finishing his part for the day Yangyang leaned back in his chair, sighed and smiled. “I think I’m going to ask Sua from our history class out.”

Renjun choked on his drink, did Yangyang really have to pick the exact moment he took a sip of his drink to tell him this? He cleared his throat, “Since when do you like her?”

Yangyang shrugged nonchalantly, explaining that Sua worked at the cafe he was always at and at some point they just kind of hit it off.

Renjun nodded, a little excessively. In his head he was trying to figure out what the hell to do. He knew you liked Yangyang and how hurt you would be if Yangyang suddenly had a girlfriend. At this moment, you were the only thing on Renjun’s mind. “Really? I actually thought you and Y/N might be a really good match, and you guys obviously get along well.” He replied.

Yangyang hid his smirk by taking a sip of his drink, “I don’t know, Y/N is really just much more of a friend than anything. Like don’t get me wrong Y/N is cool, but I see Sua more romantically.”

Before Renjun even had time to process his words and think of the consequences, he suddenly blurted out, “Well, Y/N likes you- and has liked you since we were kids. You have to think about more feelings than just your own Yangyang. Think of Y/N.”

“Like you think about Y/N?” Yangyang replied. Renjun tilted his head in confusion, trying to understand what Yangyang was talking about. 

“I know you never grew out of that crush you had in middle school- it’s that cute childhood neighbors to lovers thing. I know that whole plan you made so I could finally pay attention to Y/N, and while I admit it worked, because Y/N is a cool friend, this plan didn’t work the way you wanted it to. I see the way you look at Y/N and every time we hang out that’s all you can talk about. I’m smarter than you Injun, I know.” 

Renjun flushed, these were emotions that he had buried deep down years ago. In just two months Yangyang had uncovered and brought his emotions to light. Emotions that had at one point been disguised as that annoying 13 year old kid that would bother you to your wit’s end and now evolved to Renjun putting your emotions before his own. Days that were once filled with him tugging on your hair or tapping on your shoulder and looking away as if it weren’t him, had now become days of texting or facetiming you regularly just to catch up like he had wanted. 

“I think you should tell Y/N how you feel, don’t underestimate your chances.” Yangyang told Renjun as they made their way out of the cafe. 

-

When Yangyang told you that he knew you liked him, that he wasn’t interested, that he was actually going to date Sua from his history class, you thought you would be more upset. Embarrassed that he knew you liked him all this time, angry that he didn’t tell you earlier, or heartbroken that your crush of almost 10 years didn’t like you like you liked him. But you weren’t. You weren’t embarrassed, or angry, or heartbroken. You felt fine, it felt like he was just telling you what he ate for lunch. “Okay, so how do you tell the difference between these crystals again?” You replied with a nod. 

“And I know you like Renjun.” He added quietly. 

You looked up suddenly, eyes wide with shock, “What?”

“Come on Y/N, I think this whole ‘Renjun annoys me to no end’ is just a ploy. Whenever we hang out he’s all you talk about, you guys FaceTime like every night, right? You smile every time he texts you, and even though you play it off as ironic shit-posting- those stories you always post with all the hearts and cheesy ass captions stopped being a joke at some point. You may not have realized it but even with Renjun as just a friend to you now, he means more to you than I do.” 

You huffed, crossing your arms across your chest, “You know you’re smarter than you look, but I really don’t like you psychoanalyzing me.” 

He laughed loudly, “So what are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t exactly have a good record with crushes, obviously. I don’t know what to do now,” you quietly answered, “Anyway this seems like a good ending point, we’ll meet one more time before the final right? Just text me if you need anything alright?” 

Before Yangyang could even stop you or try to reassure you, you were hastily packing up your things and out the door. How was he going to get the two of you together now?

-

It seemed that mother nature seemed to understand the tornado of emotions that were happening for you and Renjun, though you both had no idea about one another, what had started off as a gorgeous spring day had become a dark and rainy spring night. Even Yangyang laid in his bed, unable to sleep as he remembered that he had failed to mention or even plan out- that neither of you knew you liked each other. That would have been nice to know, but it was a little too late for that now seeing as it was like two in the morning. 

If you liked Renjun, which it sounded like you did, according to Yangyang and the more you thought about it, it really felt like you did. Not some surface level ‘I like to admire you from afar for 10 years’ crush but rather a ‘I like you and want to spend time with you and I’d hate to see you smile at anyone else like you smile at me and possibly fall in love.’ You sat straight up in bed, flashes of the lightning outside lit your room up, did you just think about falling in love with Renjun? Before you could process anymore thoughts you pulled on a coat and some shoes, grabbing the umbrella you kept by the door. You had to tell Renjun how you felt.

Stepping out of your apartment complex, you thanked the love gods for allowing Renjun to live just a few blocks away from each other and not across town. There was no doubt in your mind that by the time you reached him, you would be soaked to the bone, but you had to do this. There was no point in keeping this crush to yourself just for nothing, you had to take the risk and just hope for the best. Best case scenario, you get a boyfriend, and worst case, well then you don’t talk to him for another few years and every time you see him your heart feels like it's being stomped on. You know, something that could become a regular feeling. 

You hurried through the storm, dodging large puddles while trying your best to stay beneath the awnings of the buildings. You stopped at a light, looking out into the rain to see just how much further you had until you got to Renjun’s place. But instead you focused on the sight of someone rushing through the rain to get to the opposite end of the crosswalk. You squinted through the downpour, realizing that the person at the other end of the crosswalk was “Renjun?”

You rushed toward him, lucky that there were no cars at this hour of the night to dodge. He ran forward, meeting you in the middle, pulling your hand forward so that the umbrella covered you both. “What are you doing out here?” He asked you loudly so you could hear him over the rain. 

“I was coming to see you,” you started, meeting his eyes that told you he was waiting to hear more, “Renjun I like you. I really like you. I don’t smile, or laugh, or feel happy or even feel annoyed with anyone else like I feel when I’m with you. I want to be happy and date you, use your stupid plans to plan dates for us. I don’t want anyone else but you.”

“God, you don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to hear you say that. I’ve had a crush on you since middle school, you don’t know how happy this makes me.” He beamed, using his free hand to cup your cheek.

His hands were wet, and his fingers were cold as they cupped your warm cheek. “Are you gonna kiss me or what?” You asked.

He surged forward, lips meeting your own in a passionate kiss as your eyes fluttered shut. Your lips moved against his own, wrapping your free arm around his neck to pull him closer. He let his other arm fall to bring you closer by the waist, deepening the kiss. With one arm holding up the umbrella you decided to just fuck it, dropping the umbrella you placed your hand at the back of his neck.

A sudden honk made the two of you jump apart, rushing back to the end of the crosswalk to avoid getting hit by an angry driver. 

“You crazy kids! Living your movie moment! I did it!” You heard a voice yell over the pounding rain. 

“Yangyang?” Both you and Renjun called out upon catching sight of Yangyang leaning out his car window.

He smiled, gesturing for the two of you to get in the car. You both shuffled into the backseat, hands held close and sitting side by side to warm each other up after being out in the horrible weather for so long. You were both shivering, teeth chattering, and lips nearly blue from the cold. 

“Aren’t you guys glad I meddled? I mean look at you guys, all cute and cuddled up after your adorable kiss in the rain.” Yangyang giddily smiled as he shook some of the water out of hair. 

“Can you just take us back to mine, I’d like to get dry so we don’t get sick. If that’s ok with you,” Renjun asked, whispering the last bit to you. 

You nodded, squeezing his hand reassuringly. Yangyang nodded, putting the car in drive, chatting your ears off about how happy he was that the plan worked even when he didn’t plan well considering he forgot to mention that you liked each other. He told you both that he was on his way to Renjun’s to tell him that you liked him and force him to FaceTime you and confess.

He pulled up in front of the apartment complex, turning to give you a cocky smirk before you could even get out of the car or thank him for the ride, “So is Injun a good kisser?”

“This whole car ride made me realize how much you suck, seriously. I clearly made the right choice, so I hope and pray for your sake Sua has a mountain of patience, like you never shut up- ever. Thank you for the ride.” You ranted angrily before you made your way out of the car.

Yangyang’s jaw fell in fake offense, “You sure know how to pick ‘em Renjun.”

But he wasn’t met with the shocked face he thought he would see, he was instead met with a dazed, lovesick look. “Yeah I do, I might be in love.”

#kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #kpop au #kpop reactions #nct #nct dream #nct dream imagines #nct dream fic #nct dream x reader #nct imagines #nct scenarios #nct fluff #nct au #nct x reader #renjun fluff #renjun imagines #Renjun Scenarios #renjun x reader #renjun fic

[kayluh1915]

More Than Anything

Words: 3,813

Pairing(s): Pedro Pascal/Female Reader

Warnings: 18+ Only!

While enjoying a long awaited drink, you find yourself entertained by the young bartender with horrible jokes. Pedro, however, doesn't see the humor in the situation.

DISCLAIMER

This fic is a part of my "Pedro y su Abeja🐝" series. You don't have to read the previous stories to understand this one, but they're there if anyone would like to give them a glance with your peepers. I write them as a reader insert, but they can also be read as an original character. It's up to you.

Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok if you'd like. I'm pretty boring but I try. You can also checkout my Pedro Pascal Masterlist if you'd like to read some more Pedro works by me.

Enjoy!

Read on AO3

Additional Warnings: Daddy kink, dom/sub undertones, oral sex (female receiving), dirty talk, hair pulling, vaginal sex, and creampie.

London was beautiful.

Maybe a bit too cold for your tastes, but beautiful nonetheless.

It was your first time ever in the city… actually, it was your first time out of the States period. You always loved to travel, but never had the time or the money to invest in it. So, being in a new city and a new country was extremely exciting.

Big Ben was gorgeous, the London Eye was romantic, and Buckingham Palace was elegant. So many new and exciting sights all around you and yet your only focus was on Pedro, holding on tightly to his arm as he escorted you down the red carpet.

“Okay?” He asked, turning his attention towards you for a moment. You smiled up at him and nodded, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear as you did so. The red carpet still made you incredibly uncomfortable, but you had gotten better at it since Oscar night. It’s not something you enjoy, but you didn’t mind it as long as Pedro was there for you to follow and hold onto.

“After I finish presenting, we can head to the afterparty if you want. There’s really no need to stay if you’re not feeling it.” He offered once you were finally away from the blinding cameras.

“That sounds great, actually. I could use a drink."

"Yeah? What're you feeling?" You pondered for a moment.

"Honestly, I'm not really sure. Maybe something with vodka or bourbon."

"Bourbon, huh? Are you homesick?" You scoffed playfully and rolled your eyes with your tongue stuck out at him, earning a deep chuckle as he placed a kiss on your temple.

He teases you about that every time bourbon is brought up.

After the usual press interviews and greetings with Pedro’s peers, you were finally able to take your seats, getting as close to him as possible while he draped his arm across the back of your seat.

Before meeting Pedro, you loved award shows. It was an excuse to get off your ass with friends and shit on the biased bastards who clearly chose the winners on other criteria besides which film had been best crafted.

Now, you fucking hated them. Having to sit still in a seat and listen to these rich snobs drone on and on about nothing important for hours on end with no booze or idiotic friends to laugh with made it damn near unbearable for you. Pedro knew this and picked up on your fidgeting about 40 minutes into the show. He placed his hand on your bouncing knee, gently rubbing his thumb over it.

"You can go on to the party if you want, Abeja. I still have a bit before my presentation and I know how restless you get with these things.” You shook your head, going back to bouncing your knee, but a bit gentler this time.

“Nah. I want to stay here with you and show my support.” He chuckled.

“You don’t have to prove anything to me and you know that." A split second of silence fell between you as you weighed your options, but he wasn't having it.

"Go. Have a drink and loosen up a bit. I’ll come find you after I present and we can watch the clip together on YouTube later.”

Normally, you wouldn’t listen to him and would tough it out. Pedro lit up like a kid on Christmas anytime he was on camera and you loved to see it, but he was right. The video of him presenting would be on YouTube within minutes of it being aired so you’d still be able to see it.

"... Okay. I have my phone if you want me to come back." You offered.

"Alright. I’ll see you in a bit, honey." You exchanged a quick kiss, bunched your dress up in both hands, and nearly booked it out of the theatre, more than happy to finally be away from all the formal shit.

You were the first one at the party, rushing over the bartender and ordering some Jim Beam and Coke. Pretty basic, but it was just something to get you started.

"Your accent is lovely." The bartender complimented as he slid your drink to you.

"Oh, this ugly thing?" You gestured to your vocal chords. "I respectfully disagree, but thank you. I’d much rather have one like yours. Sounds much nicer than deep fried hick." The young man laughed, resting his elbow on the bar.

"Where you from?" You took a sip of the concoction before answering.

"Kentucky. Born and raised." The bartender looked at your drink and then back at you.

"You're not a little homesick are ya?" He asked, gesturing to your drink. You groaned, rolling your eyes and laying your head on the bar.

"Why does everyone ask me that? I just like bourbon, okay?" The bartender laughed again as you took another sip.

"Yes ma'am. I apologize. I'm Brice." He held his hand out for you to shake. You did, giving him your name in return. "So, this your first time in the UK?"

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

The afterparty had a lot more people now, the three drinks you've had relaxing you and tinting your cheeks blush red. It wasn't enough for you to ditch your filter, but it did make you quite giggly.

Brice especially found your giggle fits endearing. He had been talking to you the entire time you’d been there, only leaving to serve the other guests before coming back over to you. He'd lean on the marble bar as you spoke and he started telling you bad jokes just to get you to giggle. He seemed like a pretty cool dude.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked, watching you closely as you down your shot of whiskey. You put the glass back on the bar with a clank, letting out a sigh as you felt the liquor run warm down to your stomach.

"Sure. What's on your mind?" You answer. Brice takes the glass from you and washes it quickly, drying it off with a towel as he seems to ponder on how to say what he's about to say.

"You know, you're pretty awesome and I would love to get to know you better away from all of this." He started, gesturing around the party atmosphere. "So, I was wondering if you would like to exchange phone numbers? Maybe socials as well?"

Ah Lord. You were nowhere near drunk enough to deal with this shit. Brice seemed like a cool guy, but you didn't think you were coming off that way and immediately felt terrible for leading him on. You opened your mouth to say… something. You weren't really sure, but it was going to be better than dumbass silence. However, you didn't even get a word out before you felt a familiar hand on your back and Pedro’s voice right by your ear.

Perfect. Just in time to be used as a gentle decline.

"There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you." You spun around to come face to face with Pedro, your face instantly lighting up as soon as you saw him. He looked you over with a smile, noticing your flushed cheeks and drunken giggles.

"I see you've had your drink." You nodded, holding up four fingers. "Oh, four. Excuussse me."

Pedro looked over to Brice and ordered his own drink. He noticed that the young man had a melancholy look to him, his blue eyes shifting right back to you as soon as he acknowledged his drink order.

"Is he bothering you?" Pedro whispered, not taking his eyes off of the bartender as he made his drink. You gasped, pretending to be offended.

"Nooooo! Brice would never!"

Pedro wasn't usually a jealous man, but something about the current situation was making his blood boil. He concealed it well and thanked "Brice" when he handed him his drink.

"I'm going to go say hi to some friends. You wanna come with me?" You groaned, not really wanting to put your formal face back on, but your desire to be around Pedro as much as possible outweighed all of it.

“Fiiinnee. I’m not talking, though.” He held his hand out for you to take, helping you down from the bar stool before placing his hand on your lower back. He gave the bartender one last glance, trying his best not to feel the pride swell in his chest when he saw how devastated the poor guy looked.

About an hour had passed when you returned to the bar for another drink, Brice apologizing for being forward as he slid you your shot.

“I didn’t know you were with someone. I’m sorry.” You fanned your hand at him, downing your shot in one go.

“It’s no big deal. I didn’t say anything so you couldn’t have known. For what it’s worth, I think you're an awesome dude and would love to exchange socials with you. You have a discord?” Brice’s eyes lit up as he nodded, grabbing a pen and paper to write his username on.

After exchanging little scraps of paper, you continued chatting with him and ended up getting giggly again from the shot. Brice noticed and started telling his horrible jokes again, but your drunk ass still found them fucking hilarious. You were still sober enough to keep the filter, but you were talking and laughing pretty loudly.

Brice was in the middle of a joke when you felt Pedro’s large and warm hand wrap around your upper arm. You melted into him with a fit of giggles, Pedro laughing at how cute you were as he brushed a few strands of hair out of your eyes.

"C'mon, honey. I think it's time for us to turn in." Pedro said, a groan leaving your lips.

"Let Brice finish this last joke and then I'll come okay?"

This time, Pedro didn't hide his rage, looking up at Brice with the most intimidating look he could muster while he had you drunk in his arms. It definitely worked, the poor dude shrinking in on himself as his eyes widened with fear.

"A-actually I'll send it to you on Discord, okay? I think you should go with your boyfriend." Brice stuttered out, clearly intimidated by your sweet teddy bear which you found hilarious. So hilarious that you didn't even question why he was angry in the first place.

Pedro was satisfied with Brice's answer and deep down felt terrible for being such an asshole, turning his attention back to you leaning on him and still giggling.

"C'mon, Abeja. Let's go."

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

The door to your shared hotel room had barely shut before Pedro had you cornered, his eyes dark and the smell of his cologne dancing under your nostrils. You had sobered up a bit on the drive back to the hotel and was starting to feel tired.

You whine pitifully, mildly upset that he was keeping you from your plans of peaceful dreams.

"What is it, P? M'tired." You groaned. Pedro scoffed above you.

"Am I not enough for you?" He growled. You furrow your eyebrows in confusion and look up at him.

"Huh? What're you tal-"

"Is this old man not enough for your little pussy? Huh?" You froze and swallowed hard, now understanding where he was going with this and you very much liked it, your exhaustion instantly forgotten.

"N-no… You're perfect." He chuckled darkly, leaning down to trail his lips gently over your neck. You moaned quietly, feeling his stubble tickle your sensitive skin.

"Really? Then why would you waste your time with that... boy?”

Ooohhhh. Brice.

"He-he was just being friendly. He seemed like a pretty cool guy an-"

Pedro interrupted you by slamming you against the door, pinning your wrists to the cold steel as he got close to you, his lips only inches away from yours.

"You have no idea what you'd be missing." He snarled, your pussy clenching hard from just his words and voice alone.

"... Show me, then.”

Pedro growls low in his throat and pushes you harder into the door, now holding both of your wrists in his left hand as he caresses your face and lifts his knee up to your clothed cunt.

"Gonna fuck you so good. Your young little pussy won't be able to take it all." You whined quietly, grinding yourself down onto his knee.

"Please..." Pedro's breath hitched, his grip tightening on your wrists.

"See, look at you... You're already coming apart and I've only given you my knee. That boy wouldn't even get you this close with his inexperience. Only I know exactly what you need." You were squirming at this point, your juices already starting to soak through your panties.

"Please, Daddy… Please..." You begged as he pressed his knee even harder into your dripping heat.

"Patience, my sweet Abeja. Daddy will give you everything soon."

He jerked your wrists forward, pulling you close as he let go of his hold to grab your ass and hoist you up. You quietly squeaked in surprise, wrapping your arms and legs around him as he quickly carried you over to the bed. He threw you down on it, the springs protesting lightly from the sudden weight as Pedro began to strip.

He almost had his undershirt unbuttoned when you sat up and tried to unzip your dress, but he stopped you by pinning your wrists to the mattress.

“Only Daddy’s allowed to take that dress off, baby girl.” You whined, another gush soaking your already damp panties.

He let go of your wrists again and continued to undress, looking over your body hungrily as he did so.

“I bet you’re soaked already, aren’t you, pretty girl?” You nodded rubbing your thighs together as your pussy clenched again. He parted your legs and haphazardly lifted your dress. He groaned at the sight of your heather gray panties darkening in color as your arousal continued to seep.

The stylist had highly advised you to wear sexy underwear with the dress, but you didn't care. You'd take comfort over looks anyday and Pedro didn't seem to have a problem with your choice of underwear.

He took his right pointer finger and ran it gently over the darkening patch, the bulge in his boxers twitching and somehow getting harder.

"Fuck, look at you. So shameless." He wraps his arms around your legs and pulls you to the side of the bed while getting down on his knees. You impatiently began to fidget, knowing exactly what he was doing. He pulled your panties aside, the sight of your glistening pussy spurring him on as he yanked you closer and licked you from your opening to your throbbing clit.

“Daddy…” You sighed, your hands instantly tangling in his hair. Pedro groaned, the vibrations and his facial hair feeling heavenly. He wrapped his arms around your thighs and threw them over his shoulders, pulling you even closer and pressing the pads of his fingers into your smooth skin.

“MMmmmm.” You whined, the sudden movement causing your pussy to clench around nothing. You spared a glance down to Pedro. You could only see his eyes, but that was more than enough, his dark chocolate orbs staring up at you with a dizzying mixture of adoration and lust.

Pedro loved how wreaked you looked, your mouth hung open and your eyes hooded. He took pride that he was the one making you feel this way, knowing that he was the only one who got to see you like this.

He’d had plans on taking his time with you, slowly bringing you to one orgasm after another with his tongue, fingers, and cock; but the sight of you losing yourself just on his tounge alone drove him crazy and he grew impatient.

He pulled away from you too soon for your liking, his lips and chin glistening with your arousal as he yanked off your underwear in one swoop. He discarded his boxers as he stood up, pinning you to the bed as he drug the head of his cock through your slick folds a few times.

“You’re mine, understand?” You nodded quickly, wanting so desperately for him to get on with it. “Say it.”

“I-I’m yours, Daddy… Please….” You begged.

“Please what?” Your mind was so fuzzy with arousal, that you could barely process the words he was saying, let alone compose some of your own, but Pedro wasn’t having it. He grabbed a handful of your hair and yanked it, the delicious mixture of pain and pleasure only making your neediness worse.

“Answer me.”

“Fuck me!” You whined, your voice hoarse and weak, but still loud enough for him to get the message. Pedro let go of your hair and caressed your face, the gentle gesture a far cry from how he’d pulled your hair barley seconds ago.

“Good girl.” When he finally pushed himself in, you both made noises of pleasure, Pedro wasting no time. "God, you feel so good, baby." He groaned, starting to thrust into you faster. Though you both were inpatient and did very little foreplay, you were still absolutely soaked.

“You hear that?” He gruffed, his facial hair tickling your jaw as the sounds of your wet pussy squelched almost musically. “That boy could never get you this wet. You’d probably have to- fuck- have to use lube just to get started.”

You were already close. It’d been a hot minute since you’ve seen each other, your music classes revving up for concert season and his schedule getting booked by the day. It was hard to be away from one another for so long, but this… this made it worthwhile. No toy or vibrator could ever top the way Pedro made you feel.

"Pedro…" You groaned.

"That's it. Scream Daddy's name, baby girl. Show the boys who you belong to."

His cock repeatedly rubbing against your g-spot sent waves of tingling pleasure all throughout your lower half, the intensity of it building higher and higher as he continued.

"Don't stop, Daddy. Please don't stop." You whined, your voice getting higher as your orgasm grew closer.”

"Cum on Daddy's cock, Abeja. Let him feel you drip." Like a rubber band being pulled too tight, you snapped, your back arching off the bed and your toes curling. It hit you hard, your pussy drenching his cock and throbbing relentlessly with wave after wave of chilling pleasure.

“Mmm, Daddy’s gonna cum, baby girl. Whe-where do you want it?” He panted, his movements slowing for a few seconds while he waited on your answer.

“Inside…” You whined, your orgasm still wreaking havoc as he sped back up.

“Gonna fill you up, baby. Gonna… gonna…” He thrust his cock into you one last time, his own orgasm tearing through him with the same intensity as yours. The feeling of his cum warming your insides and his throbbing cock brought you to the peak for a second time. It wasn’t very intense, but getting filled up always made your orgasm even if they’re small.

Pedro collapsed onto you, his lips colliding with yours in a slow, passionate kiss. You laid your head back with a sigh on pleasure, Pedro chasing after you to gently kiss and nibble at your chin.

“I know you like me to stay in for a bit after we finish, but can we please make an exception this time? My back is killing me in this position.” You snorted.

“Oh my god, you’re so fucking old.” Pedro pulled out slowly, the feeling of his cum seeping out dazing you again for a moment. He smugly smirked at the sight, his hand gently caressing your upper thigh as he watched it trail down your folds.

“You weren't complaining about it earlier.”

A little later, you were laying on Pedro’s chest as he played with your hair, both of you just enjoying each other's company and the silence after a night of constant noise.

"Since when do you get jealous?" You finally asked, breaking the peace as his hand stilled in your hair.

"M'not… not usually anyway." You traced small circles on his chest for a moment.

"What was so different this time?" He sighed deeply, the silence returning as he thought of an answer.

“I dunno. I guess I just…” He sighed again, running a hand through his hair.

“There’s just... so many people out there… people who have their entire lives ahead of them, who doesn’t have back pain, who doesn’t have gray hair and wrinkles, and who doesn’t sound like rice crispies in the morning and…” He paused, his arms tightening around you.

“... Someone who has the time to give you all the attention you deserve. I feel so guilty knowing that I can’t wake you up with breakfast every morning, that I have to leave you alone for months and months at a time, and that you have to face so much scrutiny because of my age. When I saw you with Brice, you looked so happy and it made me think of all the things that I can’t give you…”

He was choking up at this point, his eyes glassy and brimming with tears. You sat up a bit to face him, your hand caressing his face and gently scratching his facial hair as you stared into his watery eyes.

“Pedro… don’t say things like that. You are more than enough for me. You’re so kind and smart and oh so sweet. You’ll come take care of me when I’m sick, you respect me and treat me as my own person, you spoil me even though I beg you not to, and you love me for who I am.” Pedro sniffled as you rested your forehead atop his.

“You are hands down the most amazing man I’ve ever met and no amount of scrutiny, grey hair, or rice crispy joints is going to change that. You may think that you can’t give me everything, but you give me more than enough and I love you more than anything on this Earth.”

Pedro smiled a small smile, bringing up his left hand up to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear and caress your jaw as a tear fell down his cheek.

“I don’t deserve you…” He whispered. You wiped the tear away with your thumb and leaned down to kiss him for a bit.

"That, and you're such a DILF. I mean, did you see yourself in Narcos?" He laughed, wiping his eyes with his wrist as he got up to take a shower.

"Alright, bye. Your fangirl's coming out." You got up as well, hoping to finally take off that stupid dress and join him.

“You know you love it.” His arms suddenly wrap around you from behind, his lips pressing gentle kisses on your shoulders.

“More than anything.”

#my fanfiction #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x female reader #pedro y su abeja #more than anything

[dramafanforever]

(No) sex with a stranger

The following text is a deleted scene from my German Drarry "Still love”. In this story Harry and Draco are in their 40s and have been married for almost two decades. Harry works in law enforcement and Draco is an Unspeakable. The last year has been rough on their marriage. Harry has withdrawn into himself after the death of his fatherly Auror partner John and Molly’s cancer diagnosis. He also hates his job and suffers from the feeling that he never had enough time for his family. Thus, he reacts badly when their youngest child leaves home for Hogwarts. In addition, Draco seems to be more interested in the new pharmacist in Diagon Alley and his career as an Unspeakable than in spending time with Harry. Their relationship gets even more strained when Draco finds love letters from Harry's new Auror partner Daniel. He immediately suspects Harry to have an affair and since their lack of communication their marriage goes down the drain. Before they can solve any of their problems Harry is hit by an Oblivate when chasing after a criminal (together with Daniel!). As a result everything that has happened in the previous months and all the memories of his relationship to Draco are erased from his mind. When Harry wakes up in hospital he is shocked to hear that Draco is supposed to be his husband and that they have been in love for more than 20 years. He lets Draco take him home and - of course - he quickly falls in love with his husband again. He doesn’t know that Draco presumes him to be in love with another person. Draco has his own agenda. He views Harry’s memory loss as an opportunity to win Harry's love back. He want Harry to fall in love with him again before he regains his memories and leaves him for Daniel. But will Draco be able to keep such a secret to himself and how can he overcome his jealousy and his bad conscience about lying to Harry?

(This story really is some kind of soap opera, I know.)

They were back in the living room. A summer storm raged in front of their windows and drove away the oppressive sultry that punished every movement with an oily sweat during the day. Draco played the piano and Harry was lying on the sofa, eyes closed, following the music. Draco's eyes kept wandering to his slim, relaxed figure in a t-shirt and short jeans. Two weeks had passed since he woke up in St Mungo’s without remembering their relationship.

Draco had been playing for maybe half an hour when Harry got up and came over to the grand piano. First he lingered by the side and watched Draco's fingers slide over the keys. Then he stepped closer, stood behind Draco, surprisingly close but out of Draco's sight. A few minutes passed in which Draco felt nothing but Harry's warmth on his back and the sounds of the music. Then Harry's hands lay on his shoulders. Thumbs ran briefly along both sides of his neck. Draco's eyes fell closed, he held his breath, but much too soon Harry removed his fingers from Draco's skin. Draco was about to open his eyes in disappointment when he felt another touch.

Harry played with his hair, running longer strands through his fingers. Then he buried his fingers deep in Draco's thick hair and drove carefully, but without hesitation, along Draco's scalp. It was a familiar tenderness, a touch that Draco had been able to enjoy thousands of times in the years of being together, and it had never missed its effect on Draco. He shivered and almost bowed his head forward when Harry pulled his hands away again and went to the sideboard.

"Would you like some whiskey, too, Draco?" He asked in a husky voice.

"Sure," Draco managed to say. Harry poured the golden-brown liquid from a carafe into two wide glasses and set Draco's glass with a coaster on the shiny black wood of the grand piano. He himself went back to his abandoned space on the sofa. Draco finished his piece of music and joined Harry on the couch. He took a seat on the sofa opposite of Harry and sipped his drink. The silence in the room was disturbed by the rustling of the wind, the shaking of the shutters and the pattering of the raindrops on the windows. They stared at each other.

Draco felt excitement rising in his stomach like a wave. The last few days with Harry had brought him to the edge of his self-control. His senses were extremely tense. He wanted to wrap his body around Harry, to feel Harry on his skin and inside his body. Draco had to look away.

"What’s on your mind?" Harry asked. His voice was still rough. Draco knew exactly what Harry wanted. He saw it in the way he moistened his lips and held his head. He saw it in Harry’s eyes as he turned to face him. He heard it from his breathing. He could almost smell it. He knew Harry. Draco had offered himself to Harry in the past weeks over and over again, in the most subtle way he could. Harry hadn't had a chance. Tonight he would make love to his husband. At last. Draco shook his head, continued the game of seduction. "You don't want to know that."

"I do."

 Oh Harry, you fell straight into my trap. Or did you deliberately step into it?

"I imagined what it would be like to seduce you. You don't remember me It should feel like I had sex with a stranger, someone I might have watched in a bar all evening, a stranger who doesn't know me. The thought turns me on. The sex would be new, fascinating. "

"You want to have sex with me?"

"Naturally. Have I left any doubts about it?"

"Because you imagine I'm a stranger?"

"No, Harry. Because it is you, my husband. But in my head I can imagine that we are strangers. Everything I do with you is new to you, exciting. The thought turns me on. Draco opened his legs a little further and directed Harry's gaze to the bulge in his pants. Draco saw Harry swallow, wrestling with doubt and desire.

"You want our sex to be different than we had before? Why?"

Maybe this wasn't going so well after all? "I don't want any other sex. I love our sex. That's why I'm so keen on you. I'm just fascinated by the idea that I'm a stranger to you, that I can surprise you. I'm sorry I started this conversation if it upsets you.”

Draco put his glass down, pretending to get up.

"No wait. If you want it. We are married, we can have sex."

"You don't have to sacrifice yourself, Harry. I can wait.“

Draco really got up now and turned to go.

"No, wait." Harry rose as well, walked around the table, and held out his hand to stop him. "I want it."

Draco hesitated, but then Harry said, "Where?"

Where?

It was like before. A sign, a code word. If they had turned each other on, with looks and hints, with touches, and one could not stand it anymore, there was only one question: "Where?" The other decided.

"Upstairs, in bed." Draco's voice almost broke. He took Harry's hand, but didn't dare to kiss him just yet. Harry might back down. He had to take Harry to bed first, show him how much he adored him. "Come on then."

But Harry stopped him. He pulled Draco towards him and pressed his lips to Draco's mouth. Draco was surprised, but he didn't hesitate for a second. There was something starting to vibrate inside his body, his magic reached out towards Harry and he felt Harry's answer. The intensity of his feelings almost made him sink back onto the couch. He hugged Harry tightly and surrendered into the kiss. Harry pressed his whole frame against Draco and showed him with lips and tongue how much he had longed for this. After a while, it might have been a minute but had felt like a life-time, Draco pulled away. "Take us to bed," he whispered. Harry understood immediately and Apparated them into his bedroom.

They staggered towards the bed. Harry's arms encircled Draco, his lips searched for his mouth again, greedy and hot. He was like a drowning man and Draco felt the same. Harry's fingers opened the buttons on Draco's shirt and slipped it over his shoulders. Draco hadn't forgotten that some movements were still painful for Harry. With more care than Harry showed, he pulled Harry's t-shirt over his head. Harry kissed Draco's neck and ran his hands over his white chest. "You smell so good, Draco. You are so incredibly beautiful and sexy. "

Draco was pleased with Harry's words. But he was too busy concentrating on Harry's lips sucking his nipple and sending electric shocks through his body. Draco enjoyed Harry's impetuous tenderness. He pulled Harry onto the bed with him and opened the zipper of his trousers. Harry quickly shoved them down over his hips and simultaneously removed his pants. Then he freed Draco from his clothes. He pressed kisses on Draco's belly and licked a damp trace from his navel to Draco's hip bones and then worked his way slowly deeper. His fingers kept caressing Draco’s upper body. Draco couldn't help groaning. His excitment was rather obvious. He buried his hands in Harry's thick hair, kept running his fingers over his shoulder and his back.

"You turn me on like no one ever has," Harry murmured as his lips made his way up again. “I wasn't able to resist you a single week even if I had wanted to. No wonder I got married to you."

But sex hadn’t been the reason for their marriage, it had been love, Draco thought. Harry's mouth reached the crook of Draco’s neck. His left hand caressed Draco’s belly and played with his light-coloured pubic hair.

"No one has ever turned me on like you." Harry repeated in a low voice.

No one else? Then what about Daniel? The question left a bitter trace in Draco’s mind, but then Harry's fingers gripped his penis. Draco gasped. Harry's lips found his mouth. Draco returned Harry's kiss with passion, but uncomfortable thoughts began to spread in his mind. Harry crouched between Draco's legs and looked at Draco's face asking for permission. His pupils were dilated with desire.

Draco stared back. He was searching for something specific in Harry’s eyes and in his touch, but didn’t quite know what it was. Something was missing, and then the knowledge what it was hit him like a blow. There was no love in Harry's eyes. Coldness filled Draco.

"I’ve longed to touch your body, Draco. I don't know why I'm so into you."

Because you loved me, Harry. Because once you were in love with me. But that's the past. Draco's penis started to sag. Harry didn't notice. He trailed down Draco's leg with one hand and gripped his own dick with the other.

" You're fantastic. That's exactly how I imagined it, Draco.“

Draco heard Harry praise, but his heart clenched. His whole body went limp and now it was impossible for Harry to miss that the atmophere had changed. He paused and looked at Draco. His expression, almost feverish of desire, became clear and questioning. Draco lay under him, his body tense.

I didn’t. Not like this, Draco thought. Aloud he said, "No, no, that’s not the way it was supposed to feel." He pulled his legs out from under Harry, who hesitantly made room for him. His face showed his confusion, devote of any subtlety as always.

"Did I do something wrong?” Harry's voice sounded uncertain and a bit perplexed. "Draco ..."

"I thought it would be nice to have sex with a stranger. Well, it is not. Not for me. I don’t want a stranger. I want you back, Harry. My Harry, the one from a year ago.”

Draco knew his words hurt Harry, even if he didn’t feel much for Draco anymore - apart from sexual attraction. Draco got off the bed and bent down to pick his clothes from the floor. When he stood upright again he felt a little dizzy and had to lean against the bed for a moment. His eyes burned. Before he left the room, he turned to Harry and said, "I can't do this, Harry. I'm so sorry. I fooled myself. I think it's better if I move out as long as you don't have your memory back. And then we will see what's left of our marriage.”

"Draco, I don't understand," Harry called after him.

No, how could he? Draco hadn't understood it before either. He wanted Harry's love. He had thought that once Harry was in his bed it was a good start for more. It turned out, having sex with Harry but knowing he didn't love him was impossible for Draco. Never has Harry been more of a stranger to Draco than in the moment he had touched Draco without love.

Draco had to explain all of that to Harry, he really should, shouldn't he? But somehow he couldn't bring himself to do that right then. Later. There would be a later, wouldn't there?

When the door fell shut behind Draco the hurt look in Harry's eyes revealed the love his husband had missed all along.

____________________________

I typed this scene into the computer even before I had worked out the whole plot of the fic. It is set in the middle of the story and was supposed to be a turning point.

However, when I started to write the whole story chronologically the scene had to undergo a few changes since the relationship between Harry and Draco developed in a different way. They had become much closer by the time they ended up in bed together.

So in the orignial fic Harry does confess his love to Draco in this scene but Draco is so distressed about Harry’s presumed infidelity and his guilt that he answers, “No, Harry, you don’t love me. I love you, but you love somebody else.” He fetches Daniel’s love letters and asks Harry to read them and to look at some of Draco’s memories in the Pensieve in order to understand what has happened. He assures Harry that he doesn’t want to break up but that Harry will need some distance to sort out his feelings. Then he floos away leaving a devastated and completly confused Harry behind.

I still like this scene a lot and I hope you can enjoy it even though the translation is not perfect and it has become a oneshot.

For those who would like to know how the 'orignial' fiction ends: Harry has never been unfaithful and there is a very cheesy happy ending that wraps up all of their problems and answers every question nicely. The crime is solved, we find out where the Oblivate came from and what Harry had been up to in the weeks before it hit him. We even get to know Daniel's story and Draco and Harry's kids and make a trip to Berlin. And of course there is more make up sex, more love confessions and a new beginning jobwise.

#Harry Potter #fanfiction #Drarry #oneshot #deleted scene #Still love

[lawfulpride]

Davos and the Doctor

Synopsis: After breaking out of prison with the assistance of Thor Odinson, Davos runs into a certain Time Lord. 

Davos played by @lawfulpride  The Thirteenth Doctor played by @mostincrediblechange

supremedumbass™Thursday at 7:00 PM

(I know legit nothing about Iron Fist except that Davos deserved it and the main character sux, so I will do my best.) "I don't think so!!" The Doctor skids 'round the corner with a mad laugh, chasing a creature that might have been a dog, if dogs had six eyes and were green. It was clear that she was enjoying the chase, and the creature was, too. "C'mere boy!" she called, waving a slimy tentacle-thing towards the- for lack of a better term- dog. "Got a nice yummy... uh... treat for you! Come one! We gotta get you back to the TARDIS before someone sees!" The creature let out a bark that sounded rather like a guinea pig squeak before bounding towards- and past- the Doctor, directly towards a man she had somehow overlooked before hidden in the shadows. "Hello! Don't mind us," she laughs nervously. "Had a bit of trouble with the leash. Acid spit and all. But he's harmless."

Hopeful Thursday at 7:10 PM

The man before whom the Doctor and her pet come  a clambering halt is the embodiment of humorless intensity.  He's dark, short, and slender, built like a rock, wearing too-large clothes that seem oddly counterfeit given his regal, rigid posture and immaculately groomed features.

"What is that abomination?" he demands, without preamble.

supremedumbass™Thursday at 7:17 PM

She scurries over to the creature as he begins to sniff at the stranger's shoes. The Doctor looks up at him with an awkward smile and wraps her arms around the thing before his slobber eats away at the fabric. "He's a Gorlok. Kind of cute once you get past the eyes. And the smell. Incredibly loyal, though. Fantastic trackers. This guy got stranded on Earth and I've been trying to get him back to his owner." She stands and sticks out her hand to shake. "I'm the Doctor. Know you didn't exactly mean to, but if you hadn't been here I'd probably have to chase him down another few blocks!"

HopefulThursday at 7:35 PM

Davos continues to glower at the strange female, expressionlessly; the only tell that he is still young, in his thirties at best, is the enormity of his brown, long-lashed eyes.

Those eyes dart to the smelly creature at his feet.  He considers kicking it, but is waylaid when the woman offers her hand in a peaceable gesture. "You hail from another dimension?"

Thankfully for the Doctor, Davos is no stranger to spatio-temporal anomalies. The only difference is, he sees them not as scientific, but  rather, mystical, and religious, phenomena.

"I am called Davos." But he doesn't shake her hand. He only stares at it with suspicion.

supremedumbass™Thursday at 7:40 PM

The Doctor grins at him and lowers her hand, looping a leash around the creature's neck. He sits obediently, wagging all three tails at once. "Another dimension? You could say that, I suppose. Definitely not from around here, but I get the sneaking suspicion neither are you. I'm from a different planet. A different time. I'm a traveler, really." She rocks on the balls of her feet with a smirk, watching him curiously. "And where do you hail from, Mr. Davos? You look a bit out of place."

HopefulThursday at 7:43 PM

"My home is gone. I don't know where.  I left it to clean up the mess of another.  And still ended up with nothing while he....."

This is all he says. He turns away and draws a deep breath to still himself.  He only ever raises his voice or his hand to a woman who is also trained in combat. " . . . . . I don't concede my secrets to strangers." He frankly wonders why he's already said so much to this one. "Especially nameless ones."

supremedumbass™Thursday at 7:47 PM

"Nameless? That's a bit rude," she pouted. "I'm the Doctor, that's my name." She frowns a little, sympathetic to someone who's lost their home. He seems to be struggling, and she can relate to that. Her voice softens a bit and she ducks her head to try to catch his eye. "I lost my home, too. Someone I cared about destroyed it. I know how it feels to be left alone, seemingly with nothing. Do you need help, Davos? That's kind of what I do. Help people, when I can."

HopefulThursday at 7:48 PM

"I AM the help. I am a weapon. I defend. I need nothing else."

" . . . . however.  Those who offer a hand in kindness are just.  Compassion is a liability to a weapon. But not to those it protects. It would be my honor to have you in the kingdom I seek to create, Doctor."

supremedumbass™Thursday at 7:52 PM

"Well..." She quirks a brow at him, almost amused. She's met stranger aliens, but he's human, as far as she can tell. And yet he's very odd. She kind of likes it. "You yourself said your home was gone. If you're trying to get it back... Even I need help sometimes, and I'm dead clever. Maybe it would help if you tell me about this kingdom? Hm? I'm mad curious, and well, once you get me curious I'm hard to get rid of."

HopefulThursday at 7:54 PM

" . . .walk with me." And he proceeds in the direction from which she came: just as curious, and just as eager to collect data on a potential adversary.  "I hail from K'unlun, an undying city whose outer gate is accessed in Tibet.  I was one of the warriors trained for life to guard that gate, at the mouth of a mountain pass.  It came down to me, and to my brother."

He pauses there, features visibly strained with a simmering anger. "And you? You are a healer?"

supremedumbass™Thursday at 8:13 PM

"Oh, Tibet! Loov Tibet! Best noodles I ever had. Never heard of K'unlun, though. But somehow I get the idea it's not exactly a tourist attraction, hm?" She grins up at him after her joke, but somehow doesn't expect it to land. The Doctor watches that anger bubble just below the surface. "Let me guess. Your brother was the one who's mess you came to clean up?" she asked sympathetically. "A healer? Yeah, I s'pose you could say that. Among other things. Healer, scientist, inventor, etcetera etcetera. How'd you end up here?"

HopefulYesterday at 12:45 PM

Best noodles.

Davos's whole face wrinkles. This woman reminds him of Claire Temple: the last healer whom he knew, a friend to his brother Danny, and to that whore from the Hand who turned Danny fully against him.   But despite her dubious allegiances, Claire had been just as kind and bright-souled.

She had even gotten him to consume a slice of pizza. It was chewy. But it wasn't quite so poisonous as he'd suspected. "Excessive chatter is a vexation to the spirit," he comments reluctantly. But he doesn't move away from her.

"You are skilled at deflecting questions," he further comments, making no note of her accurate assessment of his situation.

supremedumbass™Yesterday at 1:39 PM

"So are you," she grins at him. He's not much taller than her, but he is broad, and she feels rather small at his side. "Strong, silent type, I get it. Used to be the same myself, a few lifetimes back." The Doctor eyes him. Despite her cheerful demeanor, she can tell that Davos is deeply unhappy. More than that, he's angry, and angry, unhappy people can be dangerous if they're pushed the wrong direction. "You say you came here to clean up your brother's mess? Have you managed it? Or is it something I might be able to assist with? Believe it or not, I'm really very clever. I might be more help than you think."

HopefulYesterday at 3:35 PM

As he walks, with haste and drive, forgetting the purpose of walking with her--to collect intel--his lips loosen. "It's a nonissue. I took from him a power he was far too irresponsible to wield, but he stole it a second time, and gave it to his lover.  A woman who long  belonged to a terrorist organization called the Hand, an abominable body of deceivers who turned children into weapons in the name of 'cleansing' society. Those whom I serve are the true healers of this world and its cancers.  I have been deprived of my birthright at every turn, and I very much doubt one eccentric woman from another dimension could fix that."

She calls him strong and silent; it's not the first time he's been teased for his serious nature. It always slides off him like water droplets off oily feathers.   This time it spreads an odd warmth in the pit of him.

He stops and turns to face her; pleasure. Pleasure is dangerous. Pleasure is self-indulgence. Indulgence does not come into the equation of a warrior, or a weapon. "For all I know, you could be an operative of theirs, come to monitor me in my hour of liberation. Come to stop me, since I escaped prison."

He advances on her quickly then, with an expression of dangerous but carefully lidded rage.

supremedumbass™Yesterday at 4:23 PM

Funnily enough, she doesn't say it to tease him about his stoic nature. She finds it rather grounding. But The Doctor's brows furrow, a little line forming between them as he talks about this group called The Hand. People who turn children in to weapons. 'Cleansing' society. The idea makes her gut churn with disgust. "You'd be surprised what I'm capable of," she says rather darkly, her smile slipping from her face. Instantly, the Doctor knows whose side she's on as she contemplates some way to learn more about the Hand. She's too caught up in her own thoughts to notice the shift in his mood, and by the time she does, he's upon her. The Doctor is struck again with how much bigger he is, despite being barely an inch taller than she is. "Don't you think if I was an operative of this Hand group I'd have made some move to stop you?" she replied stiffly, her eyes narrowing at him. "Why would I offer to help you? I protect this planet from people and groups exactly like the one you're describing. Hurting kids? Turning them into weapons? No, I don't think so." She is all too familiar with children being used as pawns for the ambitions of people who are meant to be their protectors.

HopefulYesterday at 6:10 PM

He balks.  A storm is kicking up but he scarcely notices.

"I think that if you're saying THAT, it's more proof you're not Hand than anything else, because you've clearly got no idea how low they can stoop.  And how good they are at lying." He raises from his fighting crouch, a rather eloquent pose that twists his arms and wrists and renders one combative unit of his whole beautifully poised body. It begins to rain. They're both soaked in minutes. He doesn't even notice.  He doesn't even blink as the droplets roll off his close-shaven head and long eyelashes.

"What will you offer me, if I agree to go where you lodge?"

supremedumbass™Yesterday at 6:15 PM

Davos steps back and the Doctor straightens, her expression still a little sour. "I've known people like that my whole life, and believe me when I say that's a very long time. I'm not much for violence, but... I can make exceptions." She isn't overly concerned about the rain, but pulls up her hood, though it doesn't do much good in the torrential rain. "A bed to rest, for one. But I can help you find whoever it is you're looking for. I have a ship. I can travel anywhere, might be able to track down the Hand and help you stop them."

HopefulYesterday at 6:23 PM

" . . . . . " He's clearly weighing his options.  His attire is, literally, a paper-thin, too-big hoodie, and blue, sopping hospital scrub pants.  And no shoes. Normally, while abroad outside the sanctum of K'unlun, Davos wears sharp-tailored, austere black business suits.  And smells like very rare, very expensive incense.

To call him unusually unkempt, unusually desperate, in this moment, is an understatement. "They've been disbanded. Their leaders scattered.  Some dead.  I am a warrior without an honor code, or a people, to protect." He's trying to remain calm, but there are very protrusive veins in the center of his forehead and his neck. "I am directionless." He grinds his jaw. "I have nothing. Nothing but my principles. Principles everyone living but me has abandoned."

supremedumbass™Yesterday at 6:33 PM

The Doctor steps forward, almost timidly, as if he's a skiddish creature that might flee if she gets too close. "Then perhaps it's time to regroup. Time to take a little time to find yourself again." She knows only too well what it feels like to lose oneself. To feel alone in the universe. "I said my ship can travel anywhere, but it can also travel in time. You can recover without having to worry about taking too long." She offers him a small smile. "It's an open offer, one you don't have to accept. But I know what it's like to feel directionless."

HopefulYesterday at 6:42 PM

"I've had one purpose in life since birth."

Now the water's cascading off his shoulders and chin.

But he notices she's eve more soaked. "I'll stay for a night. One night.  If you would lend me clothes, I would be obliged."

supremedumbass™Yesterday at 6:46 PM

"I might even let you keep them, if you're nice," the Doctor teases, those hazel eyes glittering playfully. But she nods and begins walking again, this time around the corner and down a different alleyway. "One purpose since birth? To be a warrior? You said to be a weapon? Dunno about that, but a guardian and protector, I can understand."

HopefulYesterday at 6:46 PM

"...are they not the same thing?"

He's not being  sarcastic. It's a genuine question.  He follows her a little reluctantly.

supremedumbass™Yesterday at 6:49 PM

"The way I see it... A weapon is meant to hurt. There's no away around that. Even if it's hurting the bad guy it's still hurt. I think the universe has quite enough of that. But a guardian? A protector? That's someone made to love. To care for the thing he's protecting. I like to think I'm like that. Don't always do the best job, but this planet... Well, I help where I can."

HopefulYesterday at 6:53 PM

"This planet...I see." Davos doesn't comment upon the distinctions made, not at first.  But then, wetting his lips with his tongue, he turns to her.  Even his manner of movement is somehow uncompromisingly forthright.  "I was always taught compassion was a form of weakness. Because it is good to turn upon one's friends, but when you turn it upon your enemies, it allows them the upper hand.

"You would have me show weakness, and then, does that not compromise the integrity of my protection?"

He pauses mid-philosophy, however, to glance around. "I don't understand, where is your home?"

supremedumbass™Yesterday at 6:59 PM

The Doctor glances at him, a slightly amused smile on her lips. "There's the flaw in your logic, Davos. Compassion isn't weakness. It's strength. It takes incredible strength to show compassion to an enemy  someone you hate. Compassion has the power to change hearts and minds." She points to a blue police box at the end of the alleyway. "Right there. Can't believe you'd miss it, all lit up like a Christmas tree?" the Doctor teases as they approach. She opens the door and bows. "After you."

HopefulYesterday at 7:01 PM

"I CANNOT agree with that!" he snaps, raising his voice for the very first time since they've met.  It's sudden and fiery and it's gone just as fast. I cannot  contradict my dead mother, who could not tell me that she loved me. Who WOULD not. I still cannot turn against her, I STILL cannot. " . . . . I shouldn't have shouted, that. Was beneath my station. Forgive me." He glances at the police box. He  steps up to it. He walks around it.  He stares at her, mirthlessly, but the faintest wanness enters his tone when he speaks again. " . . . . It would be a rather snug fit." 

supremedumbass™Yesterday at 7:05 PM

The Doctor is surprised by his outburst, only because he's been so stiff and soft-spoken until now. She raises her hands in a gesture of peace. "There's nothing wrong with disagreeing with someone," she muses. "No need for apologies." But she knows there's so much more to it than she can possibly glean from their short conversation. "Why don't you step inside. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how spacious things can be with good decorating."

HopefulYesterday at 7:07 PM

"....a throw pillow will not change the dimensions of...." He steps into the TARDIS.

He stares around. "......your blue box is very deceitful." 

"It is a warped dimension..a wormhole?" He turns to her, genuinely intrigued."It reminds me of home."[7:09 PM]K'unlun, accessed through a gateway, a kind of window into another dimension in the middle of a snowy mountain range. A similar trick of space and time.

".......except uglier. ...and what is that...smell."

supremedumbass™Yesterday at 7:11 PM

"No throw pillows," she replies, stepping in behind him. "But a little spacio-temporal displacement can work wonders." The Doctor grins and runs up to the console. "She's called the TARDIS. Bigger on the inside-- OI!" She folds her arms and looks quite offended. "Fine way to talk about the most powerful ship in the universe. One of a kind, she is. Show a little respect!"

HopefulYesterday at 7:22 PM

"The most what."  He steps toward the console, still dripping. "I am skeptical." But that very small modest smile hasn't left his face.

supremedumbass™Yesterday at 7:25 PM

"Oh-KAY, Mr. Doubting Davos." She grins at the perfect alliteration. "I'll prove it! Time and place. Or planet! Where would you like to go? Anywhen and anywhere."

HopefulYesterday at 7:29 PM

"That's not my name."  God, he's the most unintentionally comedic Straight Man ever to walk off paper.  "And I want to change clothes before you continue to show off your odorous homestead."

supremedumbass™Yesterday at 7:33 PM

The Doctor puts her hands on her hips and sighs. "Up the stairs, fifth door on the left. Should be plenty of stuff that will fit you." She turns to the console, trying to hide the fact that she's sniffing around. Does it really smell? All she smells are custard creams.

HopefulYesterday at 7:33 PM

Davos simply nods, sharp and precise. He ascends the stairs as if it's a holy mission from the gods.  He pivots at an exact 90 degree angle and finds the fifth door on the left. Inside is a massive wardrobe full of attire that would bleach the hair of the most stalwart warrior.  Why is there celery on that suitcoat? Why is that scarf covered in rainbows?  Why are there Converse in multiple colors? "This is absurd."

He wrinkles his nose in distaste. Nevertheless within ten minutes he settles on a combination of the most neutral colors he can find, which come from the Eleventh Doctor's wardrobe, minus, of course, that hideous bowtie. He returns to the Doctor's side with the same bemused expression. "Are you a shape-shifter?  You have clothes for at least twelve other beings up there."

What is she, the bloody Monkey King????

supremedumbass™Yesterday at 7:42 PM

"Time Lord," she replies conversationally. While he was gone, she did a quick sweep of the console room and chucked some stale snack wrappers in the bin. A quick filter of the oxygen in the room has the TARDIS smelling... well. Maybe not fresh, but certainly not like a Frito-Lays factory. "I can regenerate. Change my form when I'm seriously injured. Good job on the count though. Thirteen others. Not twelve." The Doctor finally looks up and smiles. He actually looks rather handsome in her old clothes. "You clean up well. Decided where you want to go? Still determined to impress you."

HopefulYesterday at 7:57 PM

"....So do you," he comments, wryly, of the clean-up statement. He angles his head back, sharp-cut chin at an angle, and lofts one eyebrow. "Stronghold of Souhei Monks, Kamakura-Era Japan."

supremedumbass™Yesterday at 7:59 PM

The Doctor lofts a brow at him. "That's strangely specific. Most people I ask usually ask to go see the moon landing or something." That said, she doesn't deny his request, but begins typing in coordinates, her tongue stuck between her teeth as she works. "What's in Japan?" she asks curiously as she hops around the controls.

HopefulYesterday at 8:03 PM

"The founders of one of the most influential Buddhist schools of warrior monks in all the world." He rests his hands behind his back, remaining on his feet despite his exhaustion.  He's still barefoot: it's a sign of respect within the household of one's host.

"If you wish to show me the moon landing, by all means, do so."

supremedumbass™Yesterday at 8:06 PM

"No, it's refreshing. I enjoy seeing new places! That's rather why I do this, after all." The Doctor flashes him a smile and sets the controls. "You might want to hang on to something. Ride gets a bit bumpy sometimes." The Doctor pulls the lever and the ship groans to life and they're off, hurtling through time and space!

#ic #mostincrediblechange #discord rp #your blue box is deceitful (The Doctor)

[pass-the-bechdel]

Continuum full series review

How many episodes pass the Bechdel test?

73.81% (thirty-one out of forty-two).

What is the average percentage of female characters with names and lines for the full series?

32.75%

How many episodes have a cast that is at least 40% female?

Ten.

How many episodes have a cast that is at least 50% female?

One, episode 2.07, “Second Degree” (50%).

How many episodes have a cast that is less than 20% female?

One, episode 3.09, “Minute of Silence” (18.2%).

Positive Content Status:

The definition of unremarkable—it may not be making any egregious mistakes, but aside from its chief concern, it’s not saying anything of interest (average episode rating of 3.00).

Which season had the best representation statistics overall?

Season three not only had the best Bechdel scores, but the highest amount of female characters.

Which season had the worst representation statistics overall?

Season four. While it didn’t feature the episode with the least female characters—that would be season three—it features the least Bechdel passes and the least amount of female characters.

Overall Series Quality:

Worth watching.  It won’t blow your mind, but it won’t waste your time, either.  

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) under the cut:

If a word describes Continuum, it’s “solid”. It’s a well-made show, one that understands the basic building blocks of well-made genre television and doesn’t attempt to upend them for the sake of upending them (except when it does). However, my enjoyment of the series is more intellectual than visceral, and creating a list of my top ten favorite episodes is nigh-impossible, since I don’t really feel that strongly about them as individual units.

So if the series is rarely great—if even its best rarely makes your heart race the way the best episodes of Nikita or Person of Interest do—then why do I still consider it exceptional and worth one’s time?  

Reason number one: Kiera Cameron. 

Television, over the past decade, has done a steady job of perfecting its female genre-show anti-heroes, which, unsurprisingly, has resulted in a fair amount of sameness. It is often enjoyable sameness, to be clear—Root and Shaw are fantastic characters, and I love them—but sameness all the same. These female characters do not care for the rules (except when they do—for example, they never look unattractive or unmade-up). They are loud. They are often hedonistic. There is a sense that characters have to be fun, even if they are A Lot. They are, in many ways, rebels. And to be clear, these stories are absolutely necessary; that we now have these characters is important. Yet, there are other ways to be, which are also equally compelling and equally feminist.

Kiera Cameron is not a rebel. All she ever wanted to be a comfortable drone (even as her instincts told her something was terribly wrong) and a mother.  In another place, in another time, she’d be one of the Nazis who were allegedly “just doing [their] job,” which is not something one usually says of heroes. She is also decisive, quick-thinking, adaptable and manipulative, with a keen understanding of people. She likes operating under a clear leadership structure, but she can operate perfectly well—thrive, even—without it. Within forty-eight hours of being stranded in an entirely new world, she has integrated herself into its law enforcement apparatus and made a life for herself.  

Kiera is, in the end, the best part of Continuum, because of the way the series allows her to be shaped by her contradictions. Credit must also be given to Rachel Nichols, who is one of the more underrated white actresses currently working on television. Continuum asks a lot of Kiera, and she allows her to be a lot of different things while still being recognizably Kiera.

A good protagonist deserves a good antagonist, and boy, does Liber8 deliver. The group may have an extremely silly name, but it is, like Kiera, something one doesn’t see every day: an enemy group with a point, and which arguably holds the moral high ground, even as it performs mass murder.  

In a worse show, the various members of Liber8 would have been hypocrites. They would have either not believed in what they preached, or been more concerned with themselves than with the cause, or proved willing to abandon it for their survival. Alternatively, they would have been presented as all bark and no bite, more Robin Hood than Osama Bin Laden.  And while all those things are true for one specific member of the group—Kellog—the fact that he exists at a remove both allows the series to explore that hypocrisy, while leaving Liber8 free to actually be something else.  

Furthermore, I enjoy that Liber8 is smart. Mass murder is not the only thing they do. While I’m not sure I’d call Continuum a competence porn series the way something like Leverage is, there is something very satisfying about seeing Liber8 continuously switch up their tactics and be clever about how they approach their battle against corporate interests.  Yes, they do mass murder, but they also do blackmail, corporate espionage, political assassination and political patronage, sabotage, whistleblowing, community-building, and public relations.  They know that their cause will need funds, but don’t sell out in order to obtain them. It is very satisfying. 

I’ve heard commentary on Continuum arguing that the series’ unwillingness to cast explicit judgment on Kiera is a weakness. In her own small way, she is complicit in the oppression of millions, and is willing to replicate oppressive power structures; shouldn’t the series have something to say about that? And yet, this...objectivity, I guess you could call it, is, I feel, one of the series’ chief strengths.  It’s not that the series isn’t aware of what Kiera believes and has done; it’s just that the series trusts the audience to draw its own conclusions. Kiera can be heroic and have a fascist mindset. The members of Liber8 can be mass murderers who are also in the right.  Dillon can be a cheerleader for the privatization of his police department, and still be sympathetic.  A TV series can be a traditional police procedural at heart and admit that cops are scum 80% of the time. One doesn’t negate the other, and that the series goes as far as it does with its characters and concepts feels uncommonly audacious for the sort of show this is.  

Another element that makes the series memorable is its commitment to its central conflict.  Person of Interest may have been about the surveillance state and the increasing role of artificial intelligence, but most of its episodes were actually about Finch and company being super-heroes. The same could have been the case for Continuum—“police procedural” is a key part of its DNA—and the fact that it isn’t—that its anti-capitalist sensibilities are almost always there, and critical—helps make the series feel singular, and relevant. It’s not the first TV show to have something to say about a specific thing, but it’s easily the show most dedicated to saying it.  

This, however, is a double-edged sword. 

Simon Barry, Continuum’s creator, is a white dude. It shows. For all of the thought the show puts into the dangers of unchecked capitalism (or just capitalism, if you’d prefer), it puts very little, if any, into how oppression is shaped by prejudices or group identities. The future of Continuum may be terrible, we’re shown, and yet it never quite seems terrible enough, or weirdly uniformly terrible.  That Jaworski, of all the Liber8 members, is the one who is most forcibly dehumanized by the corporate state rings very false.  Having the majority of Liber8 consist of people of color isn’t enough—not when the series is claiming that 2077 is a direct reflection of 2012.  

Similarly, while the show boasts more female characters than is the norm for shows like this, I can’t actually say it does much beside that. Going through the series, it’s hard not to notice that very few of the female characters have what I would consider a satisfying overall story.  Betty is killed off after months of misery. Katherine is killed off before she can really have any sort of impact besides filling in a necessary storytelling role. Garza and Emily are in a sort of limbo by the time the series ends. Ann Saddler just disappears. Aside from Kiera, only Sonya is said to have a story with a beginning, middle, end, and like Betty’s, it ends with her death.  While these are all fantastic characters, their stories are generally disappointing.  

Part of the problem is, of course, that the show barely has time for deep dives into its characters’ psyches, given all the things on its plate. The show only has so much time to spend on character development, and its priority is breadth rather than depth. On the other hand, it’s hard not to notice that of the characters who do get consistent focus and character development (Kiera, Alec, Carlos, Dillon, Julian), only Kiera is a woman.

It’s also worth noting that while the show kills off fairly similar numbers of male and female characters—at least when speaking in absolute numbers—things look quite different when speaking in relative terms. It’s perhaps best seen with Liber8’s dwindling numbers: sure, you can kill off Jaworski, Chen, and Kagame, but you’ll still have Travis, Marcus, and Kellog.  Kill off Sonya, on the other hand, and the hole she leaves becomes very hard to fill.  The same rings true for the series as a whole, which is why its final season feels so bereft, when it comes to female representation. 

Additionally, while it’s pleasing to see male and female characters used more or less in the same way (although it’s worth noting that this doesn’t actually result in a 50/50 gender ratio) it is less so when the series in turn makes an implicit argument that there is not a sexist element to institutionalized oppression. Scattered instances of potential subtext aside, the series has very little to say about sexism in the future, which again, rings quite false when so many of the characters are freedom fighters.

And yet…

Had the series been more traditional, it’s likely these issues would have felt fatal. Instead, they merely feel bothersome; they annoy instead of cripple. It either speaks to how satisfying Continuum generally is, or how dispassionate my enjoyment of the series is. In any case, Continuum does what it does so interestingly, it’s hard not to set all of these aside and just get swept away by it. It tried something different and did some very interesting things with it, and, as it turns out, that’s more than enough.  

#Continuum #Female Representation #Bechdel Test #MimeParadox #full series review

[afewmarvelousthoughts]

No Surrender: Part 2

Part 1

Request: hey i love your writing!! i was wondering if you could write something where the ready and bucky are in the same hydra facility and try to escape together. idk maybe that’s bad but i love your writing!!

Pairing: Bucky X Reader

Summary: In the winter of 1945 Hydra captures Sargent James Barnes. After months spent unconscious, he wakes up in a cell with you and a new addition on his left side. Quickly it becomes clear that being locked up together may be the best bout of luck either of you has had in a while… Maybe together the two of you have a chance of making it out of this hell alive. Now, 69 years later the two of you are brought back together, scars and all. War changes everyone it touches but maybe, together, you can both find some kind of peace. 

Warnings: Light angst, heavy emotions, that’s really it

A/N: Lol, one shot. I know better. This is prob going to be a 3 part with an epilogue. Why? Because this is A Few Marvelous Thoughts and that’s how things are done here. The stories are long and the writer is overly invested in ALL OF THEM.  And, honestly, I kind of liked doing something that brought the Howlers into the mix and some Peggy and... yeah. I’m just enjoying myself. I hope y’all enjoy it too!

Tags are open!

@mywinterwolf @disagreetoagree @breezy1415 @peachthatdrinkslemonade @wonderlandmind4@piensa-bonito @buckysstar @for-the-love-of-the-fandom @handplucked  @krugeforeveryone @jewelofwinter @get-loki @just-a-littlebit-of-everything

June 2014

You stare at your muted reflection in the airplane window tracing the scar on your cheek. It’s not quite as visible as it once was but you can feel it all the same.

Pulling your eyes away you check the screen on the back of the seat in front of you. One more hour until DC. It had been 69 years, what was one more hour… Still, you can’t keep your heeled foot from jiggling nervously.

Opening your iPad you look over the files Sharon sent you, thinking as you often do just how much easier this kind of tech would have made yours and Peg’s lives back in the day. 

You wish Stark was here to give him shit for not coming up with this sooner. Thinking of your old friends always brings a sad smile to your face. Absentmindedly you fiddle with the dog tags and wedding rings always hanging around your neck from a long chain.

Steve and someone named Wilson had brought him in. Physically he was fine, some minor injuries but nothing to cause concern. Mentally… severe memory loss, disorientation, disassociation, PTSD, on and on. Quickly you scroll past it all, you didn’t need to read about it to know that a lifetime with Hydra could leave a person fractured. At the end was what you wanted. A photo.

He looked much the same. Dark hair and those spectacular blue eyes but… he was changed, even in a photo, you could see that. Really though you were all changed. Not one of you left that war or any of the ones that followed without wounds that wouldn’t heal.

Tenderly your fingers touch the image on the screen. You’re lost in memories of a day so long ago that the flight attendant startles you when she approaches.

“Sorry, ma'am,” she smiles brightly, “would you like another gin and tonic before we land?”

“Yes, please. Thank you.” It wouldn’t do anything to calm your nerves of course, but you liked the taste.

The first sip reminds you you’ll also need to see Peg… it got harder every time. Silently you pray to anything that will listen for her to be lucid so you can tell her you found him, finally after all these years. Sharon said that seeing Steve helped her, he brought back the old Peg. Maybe you’d get lucky. Though… guilt roils in your gut.

You’d spent the last couple of years actively avoiding Steve Rogers. All you could think was that you could only give him a story of regret, one more may have been. He didn’t need that. Something in your heart reminds you though, you have more than that to give him. Stories of his old friends no one else could tell. How the Howlers never forgot him, how every toast until the very end held his name… and Bucky’s. What kind of legacy he really left with the people that mattered.

A tear winds its way down your cheek and you dash it away. You’d make up for it now. Tell them both the rest of their story. Maybe it would be a comfort.

When the wheels meet the tarmac your heart lodges in your throat. You rush off the plane to the nearest restroom to inspect yourself. In the floor length mirror, you smooth a hand over your breezy white blouse tucked into a pair of camel high waist trousers. The slim straight fit showed off your figure just enough. To anyone, you would look like a woman in her early 40’s maybe. A few grey hairs, soft lines on your face, but still young enough and certainly not 94.

You take a shaky breath, reapply your red lipstick, and stride confidently out of the airport, ready as you’ll ever be.

From the outside, it looks like a nondescript, if not a touch run down, office building. You know it’s an old S.H.I.E.L.D. office. They’re holding him here, assessing him, trying to figure out exactly what to do in a situation that bucks just about every bit of protocol there is in one way or another.

“Thank you,” you say to the agent in the front seat. 

Your accent had softened over the decades. This thought makes worry curl in your gut. The chances of him recognizing you are so slim. You were older, your voice was different… Hell, the report said he had trouble remembering Steve and they’d known one another their whole lives until the war. He’d only known you for a day…

“Are you ok?” The young man asks gently.

“Yes, sorry…” Your hand curls around the handle.

“Don’t know why they’re sending someone like you in with a monster like that. If you don’t wanna to go I’ll take you to your hotel or some-”

Your well-manicured hand wrapped around his throat cuts him off, “If that’s what you think that man is,” your voice a malicious purr, “I highly suggest you find a new line of work, boy.” You release him and go to open the door.

Turning back to him you catch his slack-jawed expression, “That man deserves your respect. Am I clear?”

“Y-Yes ma’am,” he stammers.

“Good,” you open the door and step out, strutting up to the building, adding just a touch of extra sway to your hips for good measure.

At the door, you push a button to activate the com, “Y/N Bernard, here for Sharon Carter.” There’s no response just a click.

As you enter the sparse lobby you hear the elevator ding, the doors swoosh, your body tenses on reflex. When a blonde with a bright smile exits though, you relax.

“Aunt Y/N!” Sharon calls, her tone full of excitement. She rushes you and you embrace your best friend’s favorite niece. “It’s so good to see you.”

“You too my darling,” you pull the girl back and look at her. So much like her mother but she inherited Peggy’s fire.

“Come on, let’s get started.” You follow her into the elevator.

As the doors close and the elevator moves down, you reach into your tote to pull out a small box, “I never forget, mon chaton.”

Sharon laughs, taking the box from you, “You didn’t have to.” She lifts one of the macarons out, taking a bite, savoring it.

“Bah,” you wave away her protest, “of course I did.” Every time you saw Sharon you brought her some. Her whole life.

She takes a deep shaky breath, closing the lid, “Thank you Aunt Y/N.” Tenderly you cup the side of her face with your left hand, she shakes her head, “I’m ok.”

“No, you’re not. Nor should you be,” you tuck a strand of hair behind her ear as the elevator settles. “I’m here for you, always, you know that?”

“I do.” The doors slide open and you follow your adopted niece out. Heart kicking up a notch.

Sharon leads you down a corridor to a conference room. A young man with a kind smile rounds the corner just before she opens the door.

“Hey, Sam,” Sharon nods at him.

“Hey,” he returns the nod. “You must be Mrs. Bernard. Sam Wilson, it’s good to meet you,” he extends a hand and you take it giving it a shake.

“It’s, miss,” you say smiling. “But you can call me, Y/N. Thank you for what you did.”

Sam shakes his head, “Just helping out a fellow soldier, no need for thanks.”

“You have it anyway,” you smile, liking this young man already.

Sharon opens the door and your eyes see, not initially Steve Rogers as you expect, but Tony Stark. Once he registers who you are his jaw hits the floor, eyes wide with shock.

“You look well Anthony,” a mischievous smile curls your lips, “certainly better than the last time I saw you.”

“How do you…?” Sharon, standing to your right, looks like she may not want to know the answer.

You laugh, “Oh no darling, nothing like that. I simply got Anthony here out of a pinch in where was it Morocco?”

“Monaco,” Tony says, smiling a smile that makes you think of his father.

“Ah, yes Monaco,” Sam rounds the table and takes a seat to Tony’s left. “You couldn’t have been 17. Pissed off the wrong person and landed in a cell.”

“And somehow you got me out. Though I was more scared of you than the cops after that verbal lashing.”

“That sounds like my Aunt Y/N,” Sharon says smiling.

Tony’s brows raise trying to work that one out, “But you never told my dad.”

“What point was there to tell, Howard? He would have just thrown some overblown fit. He loved to hear himself talk, especially when he was angry.”

Tony laughs, “You’re not wrong.”

“Sounds like you knew Howard well,” a voice from the back left corner of the room says causing you to jump a little. Steve Rogers is leaning there, arms crossed, face dark, watching you.

You swallow hard, “I did. I knew them all… very well.”

He saunters to the table, “So I saw,” slamming down a thick file before he takes a seat. You hold his gaze for a second. The emotion passing between the two of you beyond words.

“Ooook,” Tony breaks the silence and you turn to him a tense smile on your lips. “I’m assuming you’re some kind of super soldier too.”

You take a seat next to Sharon, across from Tony. “I wouldn’t say soldier but I am… enhanced. Much like Captain Rogers and Sargent Barnes. Only difference is I was never put on ice.”

“So you were born in…?” Sam is studying you with fascination.

“1920, I’m 94 years old,” he makes a whistling noise and you laugh.

The door opens and a slender brunette rushes in, “Sorry, had another fire to put out.” Agent Hill looks at you as you stand, “I’m-”

“Agent Hill,” you smile at her, “Nick spoke highly of you.” Your knowing gaze seems to convey that you’re all too aware that he’s fully alive. It would take a cataclysm to kill Nick Fury. Thank god for it.

“And you’re, Y/N Bernard,” her head shakes and an awkward smile curls her lips. “I never thought I’d have the honor.”

“The pleasure is mine, I assure you.”

She rounds the table and sits at the head opposite Steve, taking a deep breath. “Did you all start without me?”

“Nope,” Sharon slides a tablet to her.

“Good. We wanted to take a moment to brief you on the predicament we’re in, Ms. Bernard.”

“Y/N, please.”

“Y/N,” Hill smiles, “we think things are going to move quickly. The government wants to clean this mess up and do things under the radar as much as possible. That means we have to work fast to get our bearings and determine the best course of action.”

“Bearings regarding S.H.I.E.L.D. or Sargent Barnes?” You ask, tone even but suspect.

“Both,” Hill runs a hand over her face. “We’ve had Barnes for almost two weeks. So far they’re letting us hold him, mainly because no one else is equipped, but who knows how long that will last. Technically he’s considered a P.O.W. and Wilson is pulling any strings he can to sort that situation out. Get Barnes the care he deserves.”

You look to Sam, his eyes are on the wood of the table hands clasped in front of him. The Howlers would have liked this one. Out of habit you pull the necklace from your shirt and begin to fiddle with the contents.

“However, in the month since S.H.I.E.L.D. was exposed…” She clears her throat. You understand her pain, the thought that Hydra was so close… “Well, it’s become pretty apparent that there’s no rebuilding it.”

Sharon glances over to you. Slipping your hand into hers you give it a squeeze. Losing S.H.I.E.L.D. was like losing a part of yourselves.

“Stark has offered an alternative, kind of an official/unofficial organization,” Tony nods, “but that’s for another time. Right now we have to deal with the very real possibility of Barnes being put on trial.” Your blood runs cold, you release Sharon’s hand, worried you may accidentally break it.

“On trial for what exactly?” You spit.

Hill’s look is soft, sympathetic, “Anything they can pin on him.”

“That’s preposterous,” you try to take a deep breath to calm yourself.

“We agree,” Hill nods. “That’s why we’re trying to make sure we have anything we can to prove that whatever actions he partook in when he was with them was against his will.” 

Her jaw tenses, “Agent Carter has implied you may be able to help with that. There’s not a lot on file about you. You’re officially listed as retired, have been for over 40 years. I’ve heard stories of course but…”

“I’ll tell you anything you need to know. Put me on the stand if you must.”

“Aunt Y/N, that would-” Sharon’s eyes are filled with fear.

“Expose me? I know, mon chaton, I know,” your smile is tender. “It doesn’t matter. For him, I would do anything.”

Hill goes to speak but Steve cuts her off, his voice low, heavy with emotion, “Why?”

You drag your eyes to the brooding Captain, “Because, Captain Rogers, 69 years ago Bucky Barnes saved my life.” Your voice cracks despite your efforts, “And he’s here today because of that.” Sharon’s hand rests on your knee, trying to provide comfort. She doesn’t know that some hurts are too deep for comfort.

“Thank you, Y/N,” Hill’s voice is soft. “If it comes to that we will talk strategy. How about we break for now. I need,” she rubs the bridge of her nose, “something.”

Everyone stands to leave. You direct Sharon to look after Agent Hill and go to follow them all out when Steve grabs your arm.

“I think we need to talk,” his blue eyes are stormy.

“I agree,” you look into the conference room.

“No, follow me,” he walks to the elevators without once looking back.

It’s possible that it’s the most awkward elevator ride of your long life. When the doors open he walks to the end of the hall, a door opening to a steep flight of stairs.

“Will those be a problem,” he glances down to your breakneck stilettos.

You raise an eyebrow at him, “You’d be surprised what I can do in heels, Captain Rogers.��� He holds the door and you sprint up them, never teetering and not the least bit winded, smirking a bit at him as he comes up behind you.

Inwardly you thank god that he wanted to talk outside, you want a cigarette, desperately. Reaching into your bag you pull the pack and flick one up skillfully, pulling it out with red lips. He’s watching and you smile with the unlit cigarette between your lips.

“Want one?” You hold the pack out. He shrugs and takes one. You’re about to pull out your matches when he flicks up a zippo.  

“Light?” You nod and he lights yours before his own. A smile plays on your lips as you try to think of the last time a man lit your cigarette.

He walks to the edge of the roof and sits on the low wall facing you. Taking a drag he finally speaks, “I never smoked before… this,” he gestures to his body. “So I never really knew what the appeal was but the motion is-”

“Soothing,” you finish sitting next to him. “I miss what nicotine used to do to me. Can’t tell you how often I have wished I could get drunk still. Never thought I’d miss a good hangover.”

He laughs a little, “Yeah.” The two of you sit in silence for a few minutes, lost in your own thoughts.

“What did you mean?” Rogers is staring off into the distance.

“Sorry?” You’re unsure what he wants you to clarify.

“When you said he’s here because he saved you… what did you mean?”

Your heart squeezes. Memories of that place, the sound of the soldiers coming, the bunker shaking, the look on his face as he shoved you into that crawl space… So long ago but it may as well have been yesterday.

Taking a deep breath you dive in, “Hydra captured me in January 1945…”

The two of you burn through two more cigarettes each as tell him your story. You keep the part about promises of dances and that kiss to yourself. Though your hand lingers near your lips as you remember.

“I crawled through that tunnel for what must have been a mile,” you take a drag. “When I finally got out I ran for two days until I came across a British camp. They thought I was Hydra with the uniform and all. I kept telling them, ‘My name is Y/N Bernard, I am French Resistance Lyon. I have a message for Captain America.’ But they wouldn’t-”

“Wait,” he holds up a hand, “what was the message.”

Oh. You had told him Bucky said find Steve and the Howlers but the message… You hold Steve’s gaze, “I was to tell you that it wasn’t the end of the line.” Somehow you had maintained composure through the whole thing but now tears spill from your eyes.

Rogers looks away, sniffing hard, wiping at his own eyes. His elbows rest on his knees and he laughs a bit, shaking his head, “It really was him then.”

“Oui,” you sit straighter trying to get a hold of yourself. “Of course they didn’t believe me. Threw me in shackles and transported me to London.” Steve’s eyes burn into you but you can’t look at him.

“Once there they locked me in an interrogation room for hours until they found, Peg,” your voice almost breaks but you push through it. “Since… since I was a woman and it had to do with you they thought she was best. I told her everything. Begged, cried, pleaded her to bring me to you, I had a message we didn’t have time…” Your hands are trembling with emotion, “Finally I just told her the message, just to pass it along. Lock me in a cell, whatever she had to do just to tell you.”

Finally, you can look at him, “That’s when she told me you had died. But she believed me, apparently, you had shared that pledge you and Bucky had with her.” 

He nods and you press on, “She took me to the Howlers immediately. Said we had a mission. At first, they didn’t believe some broad but Dugan,” you have to take a breath, “he said that if there was even a chance we had to take it.”

“Sounds like him,” Steve smiles sadly.

“It does, yes,” your hand toys with the tags, “We left the next day.” You shake your head, the lump in your throat growing, “We weren’t fast enough… I knew we wouldn’t be,” tears stream down your face now. 

“I failed him. He saved me and I didn’t make it back in time,” a sob tears out before you can stop it. You hadn’t ever told this story not the full thing… it felt like a special kind of hell.

Steve lays a hand on your back. You look to him, “We didn’t stop looking though. Every base, every agent, we tried to find something, anything, that would lead us to him. But… we never found him…”

“You were a Howler,” his tone is filled with respect.

You nod, “I was. Proud to be too.” You squeeze his knee, “They never forgot you, either of you.”

Tears sparkle in Steve’s eyes, “Did you know… when I… when I woke up?”

Shame rolls over you but you don’t look away, “I knew the day they found you, Fury called me…”

“Then why… I mean I know we didn’t know each other but… I,” he wipes his eyes and stands to take a few paces. “It would have been good to have someone who knew… what… what it’s like to…”

“Be so out of place?” He nods. “I know,” you look at the ground, tears streaming, “I’m so sorry.” You hold in a sob and try to compose yourself before looking up at him.

“All I could think was that I failed you both, that all I could give you were empty apologies.” He opens his mouth but you hold up a hand, “I know that’s not right… and I’m sorry. It’s a shit excuse, but it is the truth. I’d like to make it up to you if I can.”

Steve shakes his head, “You don’t have to make anything up. I understand.” A smile fills his face, “I’m just happy we have another Howler back where she belongs.”

Something between a laugh and a sob breaks from you and he holds out a hand. When you take it Steve pulls you into a bone-crushing hug. The two of you hold one another and have a good cry for a bit.

“Come on,” he pulls back, “let’s head in.”

You follow him back inside and he leads you to a different section than where the conference room from earlier was. Two guards, heavily armed, eye you as you pass through sliding bulletproof doors.

He pauses in front of a nondescript door and turns to you thumb nervously tapping on the handle. “This is just the monitor room but… do you want to see him?”

Your fingers freeze on the dog tags you’d been fiddling with and stare at him suddenly unable to speak. The obvious answer was yes but… what if it was bad… what if he’s feral or catatonic or- It doesn’t matter.

“Yes,” the word finally crawls from your mouth. Steve smiles opening the door, holding it to allow you entry.

Sam’s already there and gives you a warm smile, “I’ll leave you two.” He gives Steve’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze as he walks out.

There’s a man wearing simple scrubs sitting on a cot with his back pressed to the wall, head leaned back, a knee pulled up with his metal left arm resting on it. Music is playing from speakers you can’t see, he softly sings along smiling gently.

Your jaw hangs open. This isn’t the ghost you were anticipating. This is Bucky.

“He’s had a good day,” Steve’s voice reaches you but you can’t look away.

Composure leaves you. Doubling over as if you’ve been hit you weep, a huge smile on your face. Pressing the dog tags and rings to your lips you eke out, “He’s ok, Dummy. He’s safe. It’s over, Dummy.”

Steve doesn’t say anything for a minute then you feel his hand on your back, “It’s a lot I know. Here,” he gently lifts you and guides you to a desk chair passing you a box of tissues.

“Thank you,” you wipe at the mascara streaming down your face.

“I’m sorry but… did you say dummy a second ago?” He takes the seat next to you.

You smile, “I did.”

“As in, Dum Dum Dugan.”

Nodding you hold up the necklace, “My husband.”

“That has to be one of the first stories you regale me with,” Steve laughs.

“Deal,” your eyes wander back to one of the screens, fingers hovering over the image of Bucky. You can’t help but think of another cot in another cell. Snapping your eyes shut you remind yourself that this isn’t Hydra… well not anymore.

There’s a knock at the door, “Come in,” Steve replies. Sam and a woman you haven’t met enter. You stand wiping at your eyes a bit more, certain it’s all beyond saving anyway.

Steve introduces you, “Y/N, this is Dr. Laura Carr. She’s the psychologist taking point with Bucky, former S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Dr. Carr takes your hand, “It’s a pleasure.”

“Thank you for being willing to help him, Doctor,” you give her a warm smile.

“No thanks needed. It’s the right thing to do.” She laughs a little, “And I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was more than a little fascinated by the case.”

You like her honesty, “I think that’s a good thing. Curiosity drives us to think outside set parameters,” Sharon comes in as you speak, “and I believe you’re going to need that in this case.” Dr. Carr nods.

Steve looks back at the screen then to you, “Dr. Carr,” he throws her a smile, “do you think Y/N, here could see Bucky today?” Your breath catches and you swear you can hardly feel your heartbeat.

The doctor eyes you, “Sharon told me you two have a history, though she was pretty vague with the details.”

“My apologies, doctor,” you smile softly at Sharon, “the life I’ve led has made vague the default. Being with S.H.I.E.L.D. I’m sure you understand.”

She nods, “I do. It always made things more complicated when your patients couldn’t, or wouldn’t, tell you everything.” She takes a moment and looks to Steve, “You’re his medical power of attorney, if you trust her I would say that today would be fine. Though I will want to monitor the exchange.”

“I trust her,” some tension slides from you at Steve’s words, “I’m ok with you watching. Y/N?”

“Of course,” you nod. “But… there’s something I need to get first.” Confusion settles on the faces around you, “Just a promise I made a long time ago that I’d like to keep. Could I use your car, Sharon?”

“I can drive you,” she walks to your side.

“Fantastic!” You smile up at Steve, “I’ll be back in an hour.”

-

“Bread?” Sharon eyes the large french loaf you’re cradling as you get back in the car.

“Oui.”

“Not what I was expecting but… ok.”

“What were you expecting, mon chaton?”

She laughs, “I don’t know. Whiskey, brandy, lingerie.”

You laugh fully, it feels good after the weight of the day thus far, “I don’t usually prefer an audience when lingerie is involved, kitten.”

“Please, stop there,” Sharon’s face scrunches in mock disgust.

As she parks the tone shifts, “Will you be ok, Aunt Y/N… seeing him?” She takes your hand giving it a squeeze, “It’s ok if you want to-”

“My sweet girl,” you squeeze back, “I have not been this ok in a long, long time.” Sharon smiles and nods.

Back in the monitor room everyone looks just as confused when you enter with the bread. Steve is already in the room the two talking casually about something.

“You can go in whenever you’re ready, Y/N,” Dr. Carr tells you. “I thought it best to have Steve go in as a sort of warm up. Keep in mind he’s suffering from severe memory loss, he may not know you so don’t be put off by that.”

“I’ve grown strangely used to my friends not knowing me,” sadness flits across Sharon’s features, “doesn’t make me any less happy to see them.” The doctor nods and Sharon leads you down the hall.

The door is heavy, reinforced steel. She enters a code and does a retina scan before the locks give way. You had expected this to lead to the room but there’s just a hall. You go through two more less enforced doors before stopping at one that looks normal.

“You ready?” She asks you. Your grip on the bread tightens a little. The perfect crackle of the crust hits your ears and you know.

“Absolutely.”

“Well, it’s all yours,” she steps behind you, “just let me get past the last door then knock.”

As the door behind you closes you raise your fist, take a deep breath, and rap on the door. The metal tings and you realize that the normalcy is a bit of a front. A moment later Steve opens the door a nervous smile on his lips. He eyes the bread but doesn’t say anything.

“Buck, there’s someone who wants to see you if that’s ok?”

“Sure?” His voice hits you like a freight train. Steve leads you into the room, “Don’t know who would want-” His words halt when he sees you.

You press down the hope that rises in your chest. He doesn’t know you, the chances are too slim. He’s surprised is all, a new person, one he can’t remember wants to see him and he doesn’t know why. You tell yourself you’ve seen this before in Peg, Dernier, and Juniper. This is the same. Don’t get excited.

“Hello, Sargent Barnes,” your voice is soft, heart thundering in your chest. He stands slowly, those eyes you remember so well, studying you. You try to swallow the lump in your throat.

“I know this may be confusing. And that you likely don’t know who I am… That’s ok. I just… wanted to see that you were well and… bring you this.” Tentatively you hold the bread out to him. He takes the wrapped loaf and opens it.

You swear a smile is playing on his lips, “Bread?”

“Oui. I-I know it seems silly-”

“Did you fly all the way from Lyon to bring it to me?” The breath leaves you. Hot tears stream down your face instantly. 

He smiles, that bright true smile and sets the bread down on the edge of his cot, “I’m glad you’re ok, Y/N.”

“Bucky,” your voice is thick with emotion. Without thought you fling yourself at him, wrapping your arms around his neck. His arms encircle you holding you tight. When you feel a tremor pass through him you realize he’s crying too.

“I’m so sorry,” you say over and over again.

“Hush,” he whispers, pulling back he looks at you. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I do though. I wasn’t fast enough I-”

“Stop,” his right-hand cups your face. The silence hangs for a moment while you try to find your bearings.

“I don’t know how or why, but you were always one of the first things I’d remember when my memories would come back. Before they…” His whole body shakes and you know exactly what he means. “You gave me hope. Reminded me that there was no surrender,” his lips twitch up into a crooked smile and your heart clenches.

“It’s not from Lyon,” you give him a grin. “But it is French, thought you had waited long enough for some decent bread.”

He laughs, “Well, it’ll do. For now.”

Oh yeah, there’s more to come.

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes #bucky #steve x reader #steve rogers

[bananashemmo]

On The Road

Pairing: Y/N/Ashton

Rating: All

Request: No

Words: 2.000+

Summary: Confused as to where Ashton has left, Y/N slips out of their bunk to find him sitting with Calum smoking and enjoying one of the many random views on the road. 

It was the empty cold spot right next to you that made your eyes flutter open.

You couldn’t see anything at first, it was completely black in the bunk. Not even the small lamp on the right side of the panel was turned on. It was only the small lampposts coming from outside that shined in through the curtain.

At first, it was just your mind playing a game. But when you carefully tried to turn around you were met by almost falling out of your bunk.

Ashton definitely wasn’t here.

Usually, he would be the one to sleep towards the carpet that was covering the bunk. He didn’t want to risk you falling out and he was so used to the feeling of sleeping in such a tight place and didn’t bother.

You ran through your hair and yawned quietly from being tired. You had no idea what time it was and you just wanted to creep back into the sheets that were just the perfect temperature of warmth.

1 A.M it was. You had no idea for how long you had been sleeping but the last thing you remembered was leaving the venue quickly and get on the road before you fell asleep.

Days like these were rushed and you appreciated finally getting to bed. Even if it was going to be in a tightly packed bunk on a bus that was driving on the bumpy roads.

You sat up on the bed and moved the curtains away. You weren’t sure for how long you had been standing still but you could tell that it wasn’t because you were out of gas.

The view was almost pitch black. If you looked closely you could see the stars gaze from above the many lamp posts that were outside. You were parked at some kind of lot, you weren’t sure, but all the lights were out. You could see the small windows of houses from far apart, some still being awake.

You wondered if you were the only one in the bunk area. You couldn’t hear Michael’s typical snoring and usually, you would move when Luke would be moving upstairs.

You wouldn’t call it upstairs but you kind of did considering he was sleeping in the bunk above yours. 

Sometimes he would be the annoying one to lean his head down and peak. His curls would be bouncing literally everywhere because of the upside-down position and even if he intended to be annoying you couldn’t help but laugh.

You shook your head confused by your thoughts and decided to move the curtain away from your bunk.

Your sheets were still warm and nice, begging for you to stay but you knew this was one of the times you craved to investigate what was going on.

When getting outside of the bumps you saw how the lights were still off. The only thing that was giving the whole bus light was from the small lamp you had turned on from before.

You looked behind you to see that Luke’s curtain was still closed. You listened closely, and your thoughts came to confirm when you heard his breathing. He was still sleeping inside peacefully.

Deciding not to wake him up and let him sleep you looked towards Michael’s bump. It was also closed so you didn’t want to disturb him either. Maybe it was just one of those magical nights where he wasn’t sleeping heavily and snoring loudly.

What caught your attention was that Calum’s spot was empty. You could see he had been resting there since his phone was still resting mixed between the sheets. You could faintly see a notification on Twitter showing something from The Maine.

It made you gaze towards the front part of the bus and finally, you understood what was going on.

One of those cozy nights.

Leaning down to grab your clothes from the small mini basket that was right next to your bunks you grabbed a pair of leggings from the day before. You also slipped into one of Ashton’s old hoodies because you didn’t know how cold it was outside.

Walking towards the front part of the bus you carefully opened the door so you wouldn’t wake up the others. Michael could be a groggy one if he was suddenly awoken. You didn’t want to wake up a monster.

The soft tunes of The 1975 played from the radio Calum had brought outside, smoke being blown towards your direction without intention. They were both sitting on the pavement where the bus had parked. The place seemed like nobody had ever visited it but the view was worth stopping the bus for just a minute or two.

At first, they hadn’t noticed you were standing outside. They were chatting quietly to respect that you were sleeping. They always respected that not everyone wanted to be up this late.

“You know one day I’m going to quit,” Calum commented, looking down at the ashes dropping to the ground.

“But today is not the day.”

You smiled carefully, trying not to laugh by Calum’s statement. This wasn’t the first time he had said something along the lines. He always tried to be inspired, always wanted to quit. But he somehow went back into the old habits.

Ashton shook his head in disbelief and coincidentally glanced towards your direction.

“Hey baby.” He smiled wide and spoke softly, “Weren’t you sleeping?”

You shook your head sleepily and scratched your eyes carefully. He nodded his head towards his side and slide to the left to make room for you.

They were sitting on garden furniture pillows. You didn’t know where they had found or stolen these but it was a great idea so you wouldn’t get a cold bum.

He was warm just like you had predicted when you sat next to him, feeling his warmth from his black hoodie.

“You know this is way past your bedtime.” He hummed and moved a strand of hair away from your face.

You knew he was only goofing. It had become a joke that you would always sleep as early as possible. Not because you were the person that needed the exact 8 hours of sleep. It just kind of happened because you weren’t the night owl you always tried to be.

“I’m trying to be badass tonight.” You looked back at him with a challenging look. But your face told otherwise.

He shook his head by your words but laughed again. He could see that you were struggling to keep your eyes open.

“Why did you leave the bunk?” He asked, leaning his head to the side in wonder.

“Because my heating pillow had suddenly gone missing.” You snuggled yourself into his warm arms, looking over at Calum who seemed amused by the two of you.

“And I missed you. Which is weird considering you’re only three meters away. I just can’t help it. I can’t sleep when you’re not around.”

He smiled softly again by your words and nodded your head, understanding you.

“That’s totally okay. You don’t have to talk, you can just rest.”

You nodded your head agreement and felt how your eyes were switching between being open and closed.

You didn’t feel that you were that tired, it wasn’t often you would wake up in the middle of the night. Sleeping on a bus seemed tiring just by listening to it, but to you, it was just as easy as sleeping in a bed.

Maybe not as comfortable as a bed but you could sleep as deep as you could at home. It meant you rarely stood up to pee or just shift in your seat. You were just completely gone until the morning alarm would wake you all at 7am.

But you could feel that the more you leaned into Ashton’s touch, the more tired you felt.

Maybe that was the deal. You weren’t a heavy sleeper. You were just able to sleep as long as Ashton was right next to you.

“You know what I’m looking forward to?” Calum questioned out loud, both asking you and Ashton now that you had joined the conversation.

Ashton shook his head in agreement and watched his best friend dust a bit of the cigarette to the ground.

“The Nashville show. I don’t know what’s with that place but we always seem to have fun.”

Ashton nodded his head in agreement to Calum’s words and looked up towards the sky. At places it was pitch black but dark clouds were also covering the stars. It was nicely substituted by the city lights in front of you.

“You remember the show in Copenhagen?” Ashton mentioned and Calum nodded his head in agreement.

“The best coffee I’ve ever had.” He blew the smoke from his mouth and thought back to the moment.

“You know.” Calum mentioned and looked over at Ash, “I know you love sightseeing and all that but you seriously need a map. Or at least someone to join you. The fans were waiting at Soundcheck for 40 minutes more outside because you were late as per usual.”

Ashton couldn’t help but laugh by the mention. Sometimes he did feel guilty for not showing up at the time. But he just wanted to explore every time he visited something knew. And if it was a city he had visited before he wanted to see something different.

“At least they were laughing when we told them at soundcheck,” Ashton commented, and Cal nodded his head in agreement.

“I know they were all smiling because it was you saying it but I’d bet some of them were thinking ‘Goddammit Ashton I’m not standing here for nothing’.”

Ashton laughed quietly by Calum’s sentence, laughing even more because he had put pressure on his quote and faked his voice.

You smiled carefully by their chats. It wasn’t often you interrupted them, but days like these you enjoyed.

They loved speaking about the tour, they loved just sharing those great moments and relive the memories in their mind.

“Maybe one day we should go to Iceland. They’ve got this awesome music place called Harpa.”

“I think we should tour around the world,” Ashton mentioned and Calum hummed in agreement.

They both looked towards the view with gazing eyes, enjoying the moment. It was quiet but they could hear the faint sound of the wind gushing. At least it wasn’t as cold as you had expected it to be.

“Go to places we’ve never been to. Visit small cities.”

Calum smiled bright and dusted the cigarette to the ground, inhaling a bit of fresh air and pulled his hoodie over his head.

Silence fell upon again but Ashton knew well enough that they were sharing the same thoughts.

The imagination was wild and they loved being a new place every single day. It was an opportunity not everyone was offered. They were enjoying it to the fullest.

Calum looked over at Ashton’s direction and both their eyes adverted down to you. You hadn’t noticed that your eyes had been closed, you were in a way different place in your mind but you were still smiling.

“I feel like we’re on the top of the world sometimes,” Ashton whispered and Calum nodded his head in agreement.

He wrapped his arm closer around your shoulders and held you tight. It was moments like these that he would be remembering the next time they would have a pit stop. Sitting with each other under four to six eyes and just talking out of the blue.

“Let’s take on the world.”

#i was inspired of this #because of the bunk pictures #5sos #5sos imagine #5sos imagines #5sos preferences #5sos writing #5sos preference #5sos fanfiction #5sos fanfictions #5sos smut #5sos smuts #5sos blurb #5sos blurbs #5 seconds of summer #5 seconds of summer preferences #5 seconds of summer preference #5 seconds of summer imagine #5 seconds of summer imagines #5 seconds of summer fanfiction #5 seconds of summer smut #luke hemmings #calum hood #michael clifford #ashton irwin #2018 #5sos masterlist

[deadlybeautydbz]

Let It Snow

I asked for prompt ideas, you guys delivered with so many great suggestions, and now I’ve (hopefully) delivered a nice lil story for you.

So since it's still 500,000 degrees here and hot as hell, I decided to kick of the prompt revival with @profoundlytenaciousgalaxy‘s suggestion of Marron seeing her first snow, in the hopes that it would cool me down (it didn’t). Hope you like it!

I will say that I do feel like this was some what rusty and not some of my best writing but I’ll get back in the swing of it. I hope you enjoy it none the less.

Anyway, story below the cut, please keep sending me your prompt ideas and suggestions! I love hearing from you all!

Let It Snow

-

“Mummy, Daddy!” Marron called as she hurtled down the hall towards her parents’ bedroom. “Mummy, Daddy!” The door burst open and a second later a small blonde girl scrambled up onto the big bed, and sat herself down between her parents.

“Mummy, Daddy, there’s sand outside!”

 “Marron…” 18 groaned and lifted her head just high enough to crack one eye open, for the sole purpose of checking that her child wasn’t bleeding. She was fine. And with that, 18 let her head flop back down onto the pillow. The room was still dark, what time was it anyway? “Shhh. Keep your voice down please.” She pleaded. “We don’t want to wake Daddy. He just got home from work.”

“Oops” Marron winced and lifted her index finger to her lips. She knew that it was important to be quite when Daddy was sleeping “Shhh.”

Turning her attention to her father, Marron leaned right in until her face was almost pressed against Krillin’s cheek. “Are you asleep, Daddy?” she whispered into his ear, and sat back up, waiting hopefully for a response. Life was always more fun for Marron when her daddy was home to play with her.

Krillin’s eyes were closed, and he appeared to be snoring. Her shoulders slumped and her bottom lip puckered into a cute little pout. Accepting that she’d been defeated, Marron turned back towards 18, and that was when Krillin pounced.

“Boo!” Krillin cried, and reached out for Marron, grabbing her in a bear hug amidst shrieks of surprised delight, and pulled her back in against him. “Tricked you!”

“Daddy!” Marron cried. She wriggled and squirmed and laughed as Krillin tickled her and tousled her hair. “You tricked me!”

“I sure did.” A long yawn escaped Krillin’s lips. He’d only slunk into bed twenty minutes earlier after a gruelling nightshift. Lazily, he lifted up the duvet and Marron quickly scurried underneath, snuggling up to her daddy and wrapping her arms around his neck. “You know what, firefly,” he mused lazily and kissed the top of his daughter head. “I think you’ve gotten bigger since I tucked you in last night.”

“I have not!”

“No it’s true. What are you now, ten, eleven? You’ll be all grown up before I know it!”

“Daddy, stop being silly,” Marron wriggled around in his arms and placed a tiny hand on either side of his face, glaring up at him with a stern look that she had most certainly inherited from her mother. “I’m four, Daddy.”

“Four?” Krillin’s brow furrowed and he looked down at the little blonde firecracker in his arms “That can’t be right.”

“It is, Daddy, I’m four, I promise!”

“Alright then, if you say so,” Krillin admitted defeat.

“Daddy, there is sand outside!” Marron exclaimed, suddenly remembering why she had come racing into her parent’s room in the first place.

“Sand?”

“Yeah, sand, like at Grandpa Roshi’s house.”

“It’s not sand, firefly, its snow.”

“Snow?” Marron looked thoroughly perplexed. “What’s snow?”

“Well, it’s kinda like sand, but it’s very very cold, and it falls from the sky. It’s kind of like frozen rain. Why don’t you go and get dressed and we’ll go outside and check it out.”

Marron didn’t need to be told twice. As quick as a fiddle, she had raced down the bed and was gone.

 Seizing the opportunity, Krillin shimmied across the bed towards his wife, who had been watching the tender interaction between father and daughter with a loving smile. “Good morning, my love,” he said, and placed a slow kiss on 18’s lips.

“Good morning,” she replied as they parted. “How was work?”

Krillin rested his head against 18’s shoulder and draped an arm lazily over her waist. Her body was so warm under the blankets, and the way she automatically rolled into him, so that their bodies were pressed together made Krillin feel so cocooned and protected. “Long and exhausting” he replied.  “We were called out to eight traffic incidents once the snowstorm hit. I don’t think I sat down for more than five minutes in my entire shift.” Already Krillin could already feel his eyes growing heavy again, it would be nothing just to slip back into his peaceful slumber.

18 sighed and relaxed against her husband, enjoying the feeling of his warm breath against her neck. She really hated when he worked his nightshift blocks; and even though Krillin was more than capable of handling himself, she had to admit that that thought of him wandering the streets after dark caused her worry. All it took was one moment of carelessness, or one bad judgement and it could all be over. And 18 was more than aware of the fact that Krillin had reached the end of the line when it came to magical dragon revivals. He was just as mortal as any other man now.

“I should get up before I fall asleep.” Krillin’s eyes were closed and his voice nothing more than a heavy murmur. “I promised Marron.”

Gently, 18 reached up and ran her fingers across Krillin’s hair, she felt him smile against her shoulder as she repeated the soothing motion again and again. “It’s okay,” she said, softly. “Go to sleep. You need to rest. You’re not as young as you used to be know you,” she teased.

That was enough to rouse Krillin from his semi-conscious state. He didn’t need his wife reminding him that he was rapidly approaching 40, he was already lamenting that fact enough without her added commentary. Dipping into his final reserves of energy for the day, Krillin forced himself to put on a show for 18, and he leapt out of bed with the enthusiasm of someone half his age.

-

It was cold outside the warm cocoon of their bedroom, and a shiver ran up Krillin’s spine as he padded softly down the hallway, dressed only in his pyjama pants. The snow had come down hard overnight; outside the first rays of morning light had only just peaked over the horizon, and the whole world seemed to have a pre-dawn stillness to it.

“Marron,” Krillin peaked his head around a doorframe and into his daughter’s bedroom, expecting to see her tossing her clothes around the room as she decided on the days outfit – again, a trait she got from 18 and definitely not him. But the room was empty. “Marron,” he called again, softly so as not to disturb 18 who had probably already drifted back to sleep. “Where are you?”

“Out here, daddy!” came a cheery reply from somewhere down at the front of the house, and Krillin smiled and let out a breath that he hadn’t realised had caught in his throat when Marron hadn’t been where he’d expected her to be.

To say that Krillin was protective of his wife and daughter would be somewhat of an understatement. A combination of knowing that the universe was full of bad guys who seemed to have a vendetta against the Earth and who could show up at any time and wipe them all out; and that his city was just full of run of the mill scumbags, whom Krillin often arrested while he was wearing an identifying name badge, was enough to cause him to lose sleep. If anything ever happened to either of them... Krillin stopped and redirected his chain of thought before he went too far down that miserable rabbit hole.

Marron was sitting on the couch, legs swinging back and forth with excitement when Krillin entered the room. “C’mon daddy, let’s go!” she jumped up as soon as she saw him, “Let’s go outside and play!”

“Woah, hold up there, firefly,” Krillin had to laugh at Marrons enthusiasm. He squatted down in front of her, so that he could rest on his heels, and brushed a few strands of unruly bed hair from Marron’s face. “What did we talk about in bed? It’s snow outside, not sand, and it’s very cold, so why are you dressed for the beach?”

Marron shrugged. She clearly didn’t see anything wrong with her swimsuit and sunhat combo, either that, or the concept of snow was completely lost on a four year old.

“C’mon,” Krillin smiled and lifted Marron up onto his hip. “Let’s go change.”

- Half an hour later, everyone, 18 included, was up, had had their breakfast – and in Krillin’s case, an extra strong black coffee, and was dressed appropriately in their warm winter gear. Scarves, beanies, mitten, jackets, the works! All things that Krillin nor 18 would ever have imagined owning in their previous life on Kame Island and which had cost a small fortune to buy for their new life in Satan City.

“Are you ready?” Krillin asked as he tied the laces on Marron’s boots, “It’s going to be extra cold outside, remember.”

“Ready!” Marron shouted, barely able to contain herself, “I wanna play in the snow!”

“Alright,” Krillin opened the door and Marron shot out into the yard.

“Marron, be careful!” Ever watchful, 18’s eyes didn’t leave her daughter as she bounced around the backyard, “Please don’t slip!”

“She’ll be fine,” Krillin reassured his wife as he finished pulling on his work boots. He liked these boots, and wore them at every opportunity, the solid bottoms on them made him at least an inch taller. “It’s just the backyard.”

18 wasn’t convinced. Marron wasn’t the only one who had never seen snow before, and 18 had to admit as she stepped out onto the back porch of their little home, that she hardly recognised her own yard. Everything has been coated in a deep dusting of white fluff, and more was falling from the sky by the minute. It was freezing – well below zero, and for someone who was much more acclimatised to tropical living, 18 was shocked at just how cold the air was as it rushed past her face.

The family had moved to Satan City around seven months ago, when Krillin had graduated from the police academy. They had just caught the tail end of their first city summer, and 18 had thoroughly enjoyed the balmy nights outside in this very backyard, grilling late into the evening as the sun set, pottering around in her vegetable garden and watching Marron climb all over her jungle gym. Even though they had only been in their new home for a relatively short amount of time, it had already provided 18 with some of her favourite memories.

This though, this was…. something else. The temperature had been steadily dropping for the last few weeks, and the weather reports had been promising that the first snow of the season wouldn’t be far away, but 18 hadn’t expected this – it was like stepping out of her house and into another world where colour didn’t exist.

“Mummy, Daddy, come and play with me!” Marron picked up a wad of fresh, fluffy snow in her gloved hands, and tossed it up above her, laughing with glee as she danced around the yard.

Eager to join her daughter, if for no other reason than to supervise, 18 stepped off the porch, and instantly sunk into the ground. She was, all of a sudden, buried in the snow up to her knees. Her surprised yelp caught the attention of Krillin, who upon seeing his wife’s predicament, was unable to control his raucous laughter.

“What happened babe?” He teased, as he approached the edge of the porch to survey the situation.

“Shut up.”

“Now, now, that’s no way to talk to the handsome police officer who has come to rescue you.” There was a mischievous glint in Krillin’s eye as he spoke. He was enjoying this. “Ah, it seems what’s happened here, young lady, is that you stepped off the porch right where a big pile of snow has fallen from the roof.”

“I know what’s happened, Krillin, just help me out of here.”

“You’ve really got to be more careful, ma’am. This could have ended much worse.”

“Krillin…” 18’s voice was becoming tense.

“Look!” Krillin laughed and threw his arms around 18’s shoulders. Being knee deep in snow, and Krillin still standing on the safety of the porch, he was now taller than her by almost an entire head. He ducked his head down for a kiss, and it was all 18 could do to wrap her arms around his waist and kiss her goofy husband back. He was a complete dork, there was no doubt about that, but he was her dork and she loved him. Even when he was being a smartarse.

“This is weird,” she said, and waved her hands between them. Her nose crinkled and Krillin placed another quick peck on the end of it.

“You’re right,” he agreed and held out his hand to help pull 18 up out of the snow. Once they were back on even footing, he went back in for another kiss at their usual height discrepancy. “That’s better.”

“Much,” 18 agreed.

“C’mon” Krillin again offered his hand, which 18 was quick to accept, and with their gloved fingers intertwined, they ventured out from under the cover of the porch and into the yard.

“Mummy, Daddy!” Marron came bounding towards her parents, “Look!” she scooped up two big handfuls of snow and tossed it high into the air. Watching Marron frolic and play, seeing her so happy, brought smiles to the faces of both her parents.

“Check this out, Marron,” Krillin followed his daughters lead, and scooped up a handful of snow. Marron watched in awe, and he shaped and moulded the snow in his hand until he had formed a somewhat lumpy, not completely round wad of snow. “This is called a snowball. And do you know what you do with snowballs?”

“What daddy?”

“You throw them!” Krillin exclaimed and pitched the snowball directly at a totally unsuspecting 18. It exploded on contact, covering poor 18, who was as clueless as her daughter as to the utility of snowballs, in a plume of snow. Her entire face and torso now camouflaged into the bleakness of the backyard.

“Krillin!” She shrieked, but her words were completely drowned out by the hysteric laughter of both Krillin and Marron, and any anger she felt over her husband’s sneak attack quickly dissipated once she saw the pure and unfiltered joy on their faces.

“My turn, Daddy!”

“Okie dokey,” Marron scooped another handful of snow, and Krillin gently guided her hands with his own, helping her form in to the required ball shape. “But don’t throw this one at Mummy okay, I don’t think she liked it.”

“Okay!” Marron complied and tossed her snowball directly into Krillins face, from point blank range. He let himself fall back into the snow, laughing all the way down, and a second later, Marron was on top of him, grabbing handful after handful of freshly fallen snow and sprinkling it down over his face and chest. This was exactly like when they used to play together on the beach.

“Alright. Let me up before you completely bury me!” Krillin said, after letting Marron bucket snow over him for another couple of minutes. As he sat up, he felt something cold thump into his back. He whipped his head around, to find 18 standing behind him, arms crossed over her chest and looking smug as all hell.

“Did you see that Marron?” Krillin asked, eyes wide with shock. “Mummy hit me with a snowball. You know what that means, right? Get her!”

What broke out next could only be described as an all-out war. Snowballs and laughter were flying across the yard in all directions. Everyone was covered from head to toe in snow, which was quickly melting as they ran frantically around the yard and warmed their bodies.

It was crazy, Krillin found himself thinking, as the family spent the next half an hour running and jumping, ducking, weaving and assaulting each other with wave after wave of snowballs, that 18 had a reputation for being uncaring and aloof. If only their friends were here now, to see the way she laughed and smiled with Marron as they raced around their frozen playground. She was completely carefree, living in the moment and Krillin, for the millionth time, thanked Kami, or Dende or whoever else would listen for bringing 18 into his life. There was no one in the universe who he loved more or who could be a better mother to his child.

“Hey, honey!” 18 yelled, and stupidly, Krillin turned towards her. He realised half way through the movement what was going to happen, but it was too late and he only just managed to get a glimpse of 18’s cheeky smile before a snowball splatted him square in the face.

Krillin started to run. “I’ll get you for that!” he shouted as he wiped the snow from his eyes. A short chase broke out, but quickly he closed in on 18, and with a lunge he managed to grab her around the waist and tackle her to the ground.

18 landed on her back with a thud, and Krillin came tumbling down on top of her. “Gotcha,” Krillin panted. He was hot and sweaty under his snow gear and he was beginning to come down from his caffeine high. It would certainly be bedtime soon.

“Mmm, it appears you did,” 18 smiled and wrapped her arms around Krillins waist, giving him a squeeze. She lifted her head up from the soft, pillowy snow and found Krillin’s lips with her own. Their faces were both cold and the sensation of their icy lips connecting sent a shiver down 18’s spine. She didn’t object when Krillin deepened the kiss, pushing her back down into the snow and prying her lips apart with his tongue.

“Eww, Mummy, Daddy, yuck!” Marron came trotting over to her parents, who seemed to be completely oblivious to her arrival, and wondering why their game had suddenly stopped. “Stop kissing!” She tossed a couple of snowballs at the pair. The cold snow splashing directly against their flushed faces did the trick, and they reluctantly pulled away.

“Later,” Krillin smiled against 18’s lips, before he stood up and scooped Marron up onto his shoulders. It was a promise that she had every intention of making him keep.

“C’mon, firefly,” With Marron carefully balanced on his shoulders, he reached out his hand to help 18 up from the snow. She found herself eye to eye with her little girl and placed a great big kiss on her rosy cheek. “Time to go inside.” Krillin said, and yawned. He was in desperate need of sleep. “What do you think? Do you like the snow?”

“Yes!” Marron cried, and pumped an enthusiastic fist towards the sky.

“Well that’s good news, because it’s going to be here for a while.” Krillin popped Marron down on the porch and knelt down to help her take her boots off. “So tomorrow I’ll show you how to make a snowman, but for now, Daddy need some sleep. Deal?”

“Deal!” 

-

Let me know what you think, and as always, likes and reblogs are appreciated!

Big Love, D.B

#krillin #android 18 #kururin #juuhachigou #k18 #c18 #cyborg 18 #marron #dbz #dbs #dragonball z #dragon ball z #dragonball super #fanfiction #fanfic #writing #writing prompts #otp #otp prompts #deadlybeautyfanfiction

[wintersxsoul]

We are stardust (3)

Summary: Your favorite place on New York is a small coffee shop, what happens when one day you bump into a mysterious goth god and he keeps coming just to see you?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X Reader

Word Count: 1485

Warnings: Language? idk 

A/N: I don’t really know if you find annoying to read the Spanish parts, but since it’s my first language, I wanted to add something more personal to the fic. I hope you enjoy aaaaand I made a playlist for the series!! I’ll be adding songs and if you have suggestions, feel free to tell me!! 

  “Girls, I’m not sure about this anymore...What if it’s too much?” You were pacing your room nervously, while Nat, Wanda and Marie looked at you from your bed. You were sure about the “date”, but maybe putting so much effort in it was too much. The girls convinced you to wear a dress, makeup and even high heeled boots, even though you knew you looked cute, it didn’t feel like the real you. You loved your sweaters and jeans, and felt more confident wearing combat boots or converse, since you were a little bit clumsy.

“If you don’t like the outfit, just change it.” Marie said, knowing what you were thinking and feeling. Wanda and Nat agreed with her, so you nodded and changed. Your drawers were a mess, but you found your favorite sweater and honestly, it fit perfectly for the occasion.

After changing the outfit and removing some makeup, you were ready to go.

“Y/n, you look perfect!” Wanda hugged you before you reached Nat and Marie to hug them both to say goodbye.

“Be careful, and stay safe! You have some condoms in your bag. Enjoy!” Nat shouted as you were closing the apartment’s door. You blushed and looked in your bag, the three condoms seemed to be staring at you, judging your thoughts. Fucking Nat, one day you’ll kill her.

You knew you were two hours early, but you had to finish a commission and brought your laptop to finish a chapter of the new book you were working in. And yeah, you also needed to relax a little bit, you didn’t want him to think you were boo boo the fool. Which you are.

You entered the coffee shop and the smell of cinnamon and carrot cake filled all your senses. It was a rainy day, but the place was as empty as always. You approached the counter and ordered your tea and a piece of carrot cake, and once you had it all paid, you sat on your usual spot. After 40 minutes or so, you were done with your drawing so you opened your laptop and started typing.

Bucky spent the two following days after texting you thinking and planning what to say when he finally had you in front of him, all the possible case scenarios playing in his mind over and over, but he wasn’t prepared to what was going to happen.

He was wearing a grey sweater, with his favorite black jeans and his black combat boots. He had a long day at work, so he had close to no time to plan his outfit, so he just wore the first thing that popped into mind.

He was about to enter the coffee shop, when he stopped dead in his tracks and looked through the windows. You were sitting at your spot, with your headphones plugged in your laptop and very focused on your task. He took his phone out and texted Steve.

Bucky: I can’t do this, punk.

He looked again at you and sighed, you looked beautiful. You had a messy bun, strands of hair tucked behind your ear, round vintage glasses and a dark red lipstick. You were wearing a black sweater with grey mom jeans and combat boots, and Bucky smiled looking down at his own outfit. What a coincidence. You were sipping from your cup and reading something very carefully, frowning. He was startled by his phone ringing loudly in his hand, and sighed when he saw who was calling. He took the call and before he could open his mouth, Steve started talking.

“You jerk, I swear if you don’t go into that coffee shop, I’ll leave Vienna right now and kick your ass.” Bucky wanted to say something back, but Steve hung up before he could even think about what to say.

He noticed that you were now speaking on your phone and you seemed quite angry, so he thought maybe it wasn’t the perfect time to interrupt you. He entered the shop and went to the counter, ordering his black coffee. Bucky overheard you, but couldn’t understand a single word, since you were speaking in Spanish.

“Estoy cansada de que menospreciéis mi trabajo constantemente. ¿No es suficiente el saber que soy feliz, mamá?” (I'm tired of you constantly belittling my work. Isn’t it enough to know that I am happy, mom?). Bucky approached you slowly, and smiled timidly at you when you made eye contact, he sat down in front of you and waited patiently for you to finish your conversation.

“Mira mamá, no quiero que me llames en una temporada, porfavor. Te dejo que estoy trabajando. Adiós.” (Look mom, I don’t want you to call me for a while, please. I have to hung up, I’m working. Good bye.) You placed your phone on the table and closed the laptop, without looking at Bucky. You took a deep breath to calm your nerves and looked at his eyes.

“I’m so sorry. It was my mother.” You sighed and he seemed to be waiting for you to speak again. “Anyway, I’ve got something for you.”

Bucky’s eyes widened and he stared at you, confused. Before he could ask the question he was trying to form on his mind, you handed him an envelope.

“My brother is a huge space nerd and he had this at home, so I asked him where he got it because I thought of you.” You explained while he opened the present and his jaw dropped.

“It’s the stellar map of my hometown.” You didn’t know what else to say, and he seemed to be tongueless. Bucky blinked and tore his eyes away from the map to look at you.

“I really don’t know what to say.” Million thoughts crossed Bucky’s mind, it was the cutest thing someone has ever done to him, and you didn’t even know him at all. He suddenly felt a pang of anxiety, worried that he might disappoint you.

“Well, thank you first of all. I can’t believe you really thought of me.” He smiled at you, his big blue eyes bored into yours. You blushed and broke eye contact, suddenly feeling the need to pack your laptop and drawing stuff into your bag. You remembered you had your hair tied up and your glasses on, you were so caught up in your work and then your mother’s call, you totally forgot to look decent. Fuck it now, to be honest. 

Bucky cleared his throat nervously, he was so confused by his own actions. He never acted so shy when he was with a woman, not even in his teenage years. He wanted to ask you so many things, to know everything about you. Your eyes glanced up to the ceiling, a bright smile forming on your lips. Bucky’s heart skipped a beat at the sight. It was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. “I hope you don’t break my heart”, he thought, still looking at you.

“What is it, doll?” You looked back at Bucky, still smiling. What are the odds?

“The song, can you hear it?” He nodded, his lips curving up into a smile. The song that was playing in the shop was never on the radio and it wasn’t a very popular song, so maybe it was a sign, it couldn’t be a coincidence. It’s not a coincidence.

“It’s my favorite song. When I was younger, I used to play it all the time.” You were still smiling, a lot of memories crossing your mind. You started humming and Bucky giggled.

“Hey, don’t laugh at me.” You chuckled, and he shook his head.

“You’re too cute. What’s the name of the song?” You blushed and started twisting a strand of hair that fell from your bun. You realized you felt very comfortable with him, it really felt like you knew each other, even though you didn’t even know his full name.

“Between the bars by Elliott Smith.”

You spent hours talking about everything. He ran with his sister, Becca, an antique shop in Brooklyn, their parents left it for them after they died. You told him you had a book published and you were currently writing a new one, that you also worked as a freelance artist and your family didn’t approve. You discovered you had a lot of things in common, like mythology and history. You also discovered you loved the sound of his smile and the way his eyes lit up every time he spoke about space. What you didn’t know is that he felt the same way.

The incredible @madamefresa did this drawing of Y/N at the coffee shop. 

#bucky #Bucky Barnes #james barnes #james bucky barnes #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes coffee shop au #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes angst

[moved-velcr0wn]

Random Drabble prompt thing: Emerald get sent on a business trip by air and turns out Takano has never been on an aeroplane before and figures out he is deathly afraid of flying. Ritsu, who was forced to sit beside him, tries to calm him down. Here ensues the flllluuufff!!! Lmao (you don’t have to use this I’m just running out of nostalgia fics tbh)

Here we go! (Sorry it took me awhile; life happened)

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

“Ricchan! Ricchan!”

“Kisa, what?” Ritsu maneuvered his way deeper into the plane’s tiny aisles. Kisa bounded in front of him, joyfully tiptoeing around other passengers’ ill-placed baggage and sprawling limbs. The two editors were near last to board the plane to Sendai for a manga production conference thanks to someone’s need to buy one more latte before take off. Kisa now sipped from his coffee cup with enthusiasm, a speck of foam caught on his upper lip, not concerned at all that they had almost been separated from their other Emerald coworkers. Ritsu was just relieved that they had even made it to their terminal in time.

“I was wondering which seat you got, because I know we’re all spread out, but I also know Hitori- ah, excuse me, thank you- got assigned his seat next to Mino, so maybe we’ll get to sit together!”

Ritsu has been so preoccupied with not being stranded in the airport that he didn’t even think to check for his seating assignment. He felt around in his laptop shoulder bag for his boarding pass and scanned the paper for those little figures.

“Ricchan, I’m in row 35, the aisle seat! How lucky; I’ve had so much to drink this morning, and you can’t even understand how badly I’ve got to go.”

Ritsu didn’t have any desire to want to understand that, but anyways…

“It says I’m in row 40; sorry, Kisa.” Ritsu had gotten the aisle seat as well, so that was a plus. Kisa looked back at Ritsu with disappointment, still making his way down the aisle to their seats. “That’s just too bad. But who knows, we may share a row on the way back home.” Kisa sent a hopeful grin to his coworker and friend, then turned back to focus on the path his feet were taking.

“Yes, maybe.” Ritsu jostled his laptop bag up farther onto his shoulder. His hands held his boarding pass as he searched the adjacent seats for which row number they were at now. A woman sat in her chair, already buckled in for takeoff with a chubby toddler crawling into her lap, tiny hands grabbing for her hair. Ritsu looked above her at the overhead compartments. It read 33. Just a bit father then.

Kisa finally hit his row and sat down happily next to his temporary neighbor for the next hour or so. The other occupant of row 35, an older man with a large, puffy winter jacket (it was summer for heaven’s sake) bristled at his sudden jovial presence and turned away to scowl out of the plane’s tiny window. Kisa’s eyes widened, and he gingerly waved goodbye to Ritsu, who smiled in encouragement. Just an hour Kisa! Hold on for an hour! An hour wasn’t so bad.

As Ritsu meandered deeper into the plane he searched the rows for his number.

38, 39, 40!

No. No, he could not sit here for an hour. The next sixty minutes would kill him.

“Takano, you’re in my seat.”

Takano’s eyes fluttered open in surprise at the sound of Ritsu’s annoyed voice. The man was leisurely reclined back in Ritsu’s seat, disregarding the fact that all of the chairs would have to be in the upright position before take off. His long legs were spread wide, suit jacket laid across his lap with precise care.

“I don’t think I am.”

Ritsu barely suppressed a shout of anger. He was holding him up! Holding the whole plane up! The brunette showed his boarding pass, still clutched securely in his grasp, to his boss. “I have the aisle seat.”

Takano read over the pass and stood up, scooting over to the other sear. “Your throne awaits, your majesty.”

Ritsu rolled his eyes, sitting down with a huff. He shoved his bag under the chair in front of him and buckled his seatbelt in, glancing over at Takano. There was something off about the way he was sitting. He was tensed up, eyes darting from one thing to another in the cabin. He made eye contact with Ritsu and raised a brow.

“I’m glad you could finally make it. We almost left without you.”

Ritsu straightened his back and shook his head. “Kisa demanded that I go with him to get another coffee from one of the shops. The line was long, and I should have just left, but I didn’t, then we almost missed our boarding time-“

“Hey, it’s fine. You’re here now.”

Ritsu leaned back in his chair. That was true. “Ah, yes. I am.”

“You are.”

Silence fell over the pair.

After many beats of awkwardness, Takano spoke up again. “I didn’t expect this to be so big.”

Ritsu turned to him. “The plane? I think it’s average size for a non-international flight.”

Takano shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. This is my first one.”

“This is your first time on an airplane?”

“I guess so.”

Ritsu couldn’t even comprehend that. His whole life was filled with family trips and school visits and vacations, all of them involving planes.

Ritsu nodded and pulled out an in-air magazine to occupy himself with. He was scanning over the snack selections when Takano spoke up again. “How many of these things crash on average?”

Ritsu closed his magazine and focused on Takano. His fingers were tapping onto the armrest at a rapid pace. His leg bounced up and down and up and down. His eyebrows were pinched together.

Takano was scared of flying.

Ritsu searched his face. His boss, his ex-lover (arguably, current lover) was scared of flying on an airplane.

Ritsu’s voice was soft when he spoke. “It’s extremely rare for one to even have a problem, much less malfunction completely in the air.” Takano searched his eyes for verification. “I promise we won’t crash.”

Takano nodded gently.

The pilot spoke over the intercom about safety and information about the flight and arrival time. A flight attendant stood in the aisle and demonstrated how to attach and detach safety belts, activate life jackets, and exit the aircraft in the occurrence of an emergency. Takano watched with rapt attention. Ritsu couldn’t help the growing feeling of concern for him. He just seemed so vulnerable.

When the plane finally was positioned for takeoff, Takano started up a staccato breathing pattern, his breath jumping at every movement the plane made.

Ritsu’s hands seemed to move on their own as they reached over to pet along Takano’s tense arms. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s just setting up on the runway.” Takano shuddered out another breath and turned to the window. Unshed tears swam in the bottoms of his eyelids. Ritsu’s heart dropped.

Takano’s voice shook when he spoke next. “This is so stupid.” He looked over at Ritsu. “I’m sorry.”

The brunette shook his head to the side and continued consoling Takano with measured strokes. “Don’t be sorry. This is totally normal. Plenty people get nervous on airplanes.”Takano didn’t respond. The plane filled with sounds of whooshing air and whirring machinery. Takano’s hands fisted the armrests, his knuckles white and shivering. Ritsu’s attention went to his hands, tracing lines onto the backs of his fingers. “It’s alright, Takano. Just the engines.”

The plane jerked into motion and propelled itself down the runway. Takano’s unsteady gaze shot to the window to watch the scenery rush by them. “Fuck, we’re going fast.”

“Think of it as a car, just a really fast car in the air, yeah? Um.” Takano’s eyes finally let a tear slip down his cheek, leaving a damp trail behind. Ritsu hates to see him like this. Maybe if he got his mind on something else? “Do you remember the field trip our school took to that chemical plant?” Takano’s distress seemed to slightly drop as he focused on Ritsu’s words. “I hated that trip. I read throughout the whole bus tour, not a care in the world. But you kept pestering me to look out the windows at the nitrogen facility. Of course, I would look ever now and then just to sate you, but. That novel was so good.” Takano’s full attention was on him now. “I’d like to find that book again and reread it.”

“It’s called Wind With No Luck. You, uh. Fell asleep on the ride back, and I read some of it.” One of Takano’s hands unattached itself from its strong grip to wipe at his face. “I thought its language was too frivolous for the subject matter.”

Ritsu smiled at the man. It was working. “Understandable, but I quite enjoyed it. Lovely character setups and an effective use of foreshadowing.”

Takano agreed with a hum. The plane suddenly rose up, taking flight. Takano’s hands reached for Ritsu’s, and of course, Ritsu allowed Takano to take his fingers and intertwine them with his own. How could he not? His grip was bruising, but Ritsu didn’t care. What was more important was Takano right now.

“Try breathing with me,” Ritsu prompted. He took a deep breath in, and let it out slowly, then once again. Takano nodded and followed. Deep breath in, slow exhale. Ritsu smiled at the man. “Good. Really good.”

The pair sat there breathing together as the plane ascended into the sky. Ritsu’s fingers resumed their tracing onto the backs of Takano’s hands. Streams of light flowed in from the window as their plane pierced the clouds and reached the airspace above the horizon.

When the plane seemed to neutralize into a more linear path of travel, the intercom crackled to life above them, the pilot updating the passengers on the flight’s info and informing them that the seatbelt signs would be turned off. Takano seemed to let every ounce of air out of his lungs in a long exhale. Ritsu shifted in his seat. He noticed the person in the seat in front of him stand to roam the plane. The man glared at their intertwined hands and clucked his tongue in disgust. Ritsu stared right back. Who was he to reprimand them? Especially while Takano needed him right now.

Takano’s loosening grip pulled Ritsu‘s attention away from the scowling man and back to Takano. His eyes were dry, eyes affectionate, his lips curled into a loving smile. “Thank you, Onodera.”

Ritsu continued to draw never-ending lines into Takano’s hands. “It’s no problem at all.” Ritsu unconsciously leaned into Takano. Ritsu was so glad he was feeling better.

Takano’s breath was back to normal, and his whole posture was much less tense. The two sat there in peace, neither one detaching their hands from the others’.

Ritsu looked past Takano to peek at the window. The clouds swirled like paint, colored gold with the sun’s beams of light. His attention was drawn to Takano, eyes shut gracefully, and smile adorned.

Maybe this flight wouldn’t be so bad after all.

#Thank you for the prompt! #This one was really fun the write #I’ll put it on my AO3 in a bit #sekaiichi hatsukoi #ask #prompt #takano masamune #onodera ritsu #sih #writing

[nocteverbascio]

Love takes time (we have it) (40/100)

Pairing: Sansa Stark/Margaery Tyrell Summary: Margaery has always been in love with Sansa and somewhere along the line Sansa fell in love with Margaery. Neither of them know how to say it. But actions speak louder than words. A/N: please enjoy this chapter! check out my ao3 for a longer note--definitely come yell at me if you can!

ao3 link

Chapter 40: Good luck

Sansa tugs on the jacket around her shoulder self consciously before she pushes her hair behind her ears. She’s early and this is probably one of the few times she hates being early. Because now she’s sitting on the bleachers on her own, not sure if she was in the right area. She had seen signs for Margaery’s team, but save for the coach, there’s no one Sansa recognizes.

It doesn’t help that Arya’s already going between teams introducing herself and getting signatures. It’s a minor competition but apparently a very niche community.

She has to say though, it’s nice to see Arya so enthusiastic about something. Her parents have expressed worry for Arya before, scared she’d be too flaky with her interests to stick with something. Sansa doesn’t see that at all. This exposure is good for her and she’ll be able to keep up with it.

As Margaery says, “She needs a little encouragement. Encouragement goes a long way. Trust me, I’ve got three brothers.”

Sansa wonders if Arya became interested in this stuff because Jon. Maybe everything at home was getting overwhelming because Robb and Jon were both away.

“Sansa!”

She looks to find Loras coming into the gym with Margaery behind him, already dressed in her uniform, carrying her bag. She hops down from where she’s sitting to meet them.

“Hey, you took awhile,” Sansa says before Loras intercepts her from Margaery.

Margaery doesn’t say anything as she drops her bag next to one of the chairs and pulls out her mask. Clearly, she’s in a foul mood. She doesn’t even regard Sansa as she goes to check in with her coach.

“What happened?” Sansa asks with worry.

Loras sucks in a breath. “It’s nothing major, just a little tiff with grandmother.”

Sansa frowns. “Is anyone else coming?”  

“Garlan and Leonette are parking the car right now and Renly should be here soon,” Loras cheerfully says.

Sansa blushes because not only is there one glamorous couple, there are two. How the Tyrells manage to find such beautiful people is beyond Sansa. “Now I feel like a bit of fifth wheel,” she jokes.

Loras laughs as he pulls her in closer to ruffle her hair. “That’s not true, you’ve got Margaery.”

Sansa blushes even harder as she pushes away from Loras and pokes him in the side like she does when Robb does the same thing. “You know what I mean,” she grumbles. “You’re all couples.”

Loras hums with a glint in his eyes. “Well girlfriend or not, you can be extra supportive of Margaery today. She’s going to need it. Either she’s going to be too aggressive or too distracted. She needs a win today.”

Sansa nods in agreement. “You know I’ll always be extra supportive of Margaery,” she chirps as she pulls the letterman around her more snugly and turns around. “I’ve got her name on my back.”

Loras laughs. “Is that her old letterman?”

“Yup!”

“And you stitched her name in yourself?” Loras asks impressed as he runs his hand across the script.

“Yup!” Sansa bounces a bit. “Do you think she’ll like it?”

Loras smirks. “You’re good with your hands clearly.” Sansa tilts her head in confusion. He rolls his eyes with amusement. “Yes, she’ll love it,” he clarifies. “Go talk to her. Maybe it’ll get her out of her funk before the match starts. I’m going to find your darling sister and get us some seats.” He slaps her ass as she walks by him.

Sansa yelps and glares at him but he doesn’t notice as he yells for Arya.

Time to find Margaery.

The thing is Sansa has found Margaery frustrated before, but not quite like this. Her behavior is oddly reminiscent of Rickon’s when he’s throwing a tantrum. She can tell by the way Margaery rips her zipper open back and forth, letting it get caught, only fueling her frustration. She grumbles and huffs as she opens what she can to see if she can pull her sword out, but it isn’t enough.

“Fuck,” Margaery hisses.

Sansa winces because Margaery tries very hard not to swear. She’s like a proper princess for the most part.

“Margaery?” Sansa timidly calls, trying not to startle the older girl.

“What?” Margaery hisses suddenly as she turns, chestnut locks whipping over her shoulder.

Sansa stands up straighter and raises her eyebrows. “Are you okay?”

Margaery’s eyes instantly softens, even turns a bit guilty the minute she realizes it’s Sansa. “Sorry, yes. Just a bit of a trying morning,” she brushes off. She pushes her hair back and tries to get it orderly as she takes a breath in.

“Is there something I can help with?” Sansa asks, stepping just a bit closer.

Margaery turns back towards her bag and tries to open the zipper again. This time it’s actually caught and instead of fighting it, Margaery’s shoulders sag just a bit in resignation.

Sansa decides she hates it. She doesn’t want Margaery to be upset. “Here, let me,” Sansa says as she places her hands on Margaery’s shoulders and gently moves her aside. She looks at the state of the zipper quickly and with a gentle tug close, she aligns the teeth and opens it efficiently. She sees the two swords sitting in the bag and takes the one that’s slightly worn underneath the hilt. “Is it this one that you need?”

Margaery chews the inside of her cheek as she takes the sword from Sansa. “This one will do,” she sheepishly says as she holds onto it. She looks at it thoughtfully.

“Is there something else you need?” Sansa asks as she dips her head to meet Margaery’s eyes. Margaery hangs her head and shakes it. Sansa bites her lip. She cups Margaery’s face in her hands and brings her face up so that she can stare into the girl’s eyes. She squeezes just a bit until Margaery has a confused look on her face.

“What’re you doing?” Margaery tries through her squished face.

“I want to make sure you’re okay,” Sansa answers with a giggle. “You look adorable like this.” She squishes Margaery’s cheeks between her palms even more for emphasis.

This garners a laugh from Margaery. “Stop it,” Margaery laughs as she bats at Sansa’s hands. “You’re being silly.”

“And you’re upset,” Sansa deadpans as she grabs onto Margaery’s wrists to still her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Margaery stares at Sansa. Sansa willingly lets Margaery stare into her eyes, as if she’d be able to tell Sansa’s intent. She’s her friend, she just wants to help. Margaery shakes her head, breaking eye contact.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she admits. “It’ll probably just make me more upset.”

“Is there anything else I can do?” Sansa offers quickly.

Margaery takes a deep breath. She’s always been more independent, even though her older brothers all spoil her. She tries to make her own way and stand on her own. But looking at Sansa, she doesn’t have to sometimes. And it feels a bit terrifying to know Sansa wants to be there for her just as much as she wants to be there for Sansa.

“Can I have a hug?” Margaery asks quietly.

Sansa looks at Margaery incredulously. “You never have to ask me that,” she declares as she wraps her arms around Margaery’s shoulders. She pulls Margaery into her chest and lets her wrap her arms around her waist. Sansa can feel the way Margaery breathes her in as she tucks her face into her shoulder comfortably. Her arms tighten around Margaery’s shoulders.

Margaery relaxes into Sansa. She lets go of her sword to hold onto Sansa, hands sliding up Sansa’s shoulder blades like vines. She clings just a bit, letting herself do so because her frustration runs deep into her veins. After a moment, she feels the thumping of Sansa’s heart against her chest and she breathes, hoping her heart will follow in tandem.

Sansa strokes Margaery’s hair gently, trying to bring more comfort to her. At times like this, Sansa feels less awkward about her height. She actually feels like she can do something for Margaery this way. For once, she feels like she’s protecting Margaery.

“You’re such a good hugger,” Margaery mumbles warmly against Sansa.

Sansa blushes. “You act as if I never hug you,” she says back with a gentle sway.

Margaery lets out a small whine. “I don’t want to go home. I don’t want to compete.”

Sansa knows Margaery doesn’t mean that. Margaery would never throw away an opportunity. She might not like something, but she’d do it because she already said she would. “You have to. This is the first time I’m supposed to see you compete. You’re supposed to impress me, remember?”

Margaery slowly pulls away from Sansa and looks up at her with misty eyes. Sansa feels her heart tug as she brushes her thumbs against Margaery’s cheekbones, letting her know it’s okay to cry. Margaery doesn’t though. She looks up at Sansa with a diligent nod. “I know, I know. I’m supposed to show you how skilled I am,” she tries to jest. It’s not quite up to her usual flirty mood, but it’s getting there.

“Let me do your hair,” Sansa says as she steps behind Margaery. Her hands stroke Margaery’s soft locks and she can feel a gentle shiver from Margaery as she does it. She takes her time with it, giving herself a few extra seconds to meticulously pull any stray strands before expertly spinning it into a neat bun.

Margaery turns to Sansa to say thank you when she notices it. “Are you wearing my letterman?”

Sansa smiles brightly. “I am. I wanted to show you my support in a special way.” She turns to show Margaery her back.

Margaery melts at this. She runs her hand across her name. “It looks so beautiful,” she compliments wholeheartedly. “You’re amazing for doing that. I----I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’re going to win,” Sansa jokes lightly. “I didn’t spend hours stitching this so you could lose.”

“I thought you were supposed to be my cheerleader,” Margaery pushes gently.  

Sansa leans in. “You know I gave up that short skirt years ago.”

Margaery purses her lips thoughtfully. “Such a shame. They showed off your legs very nicely,” Margaery jokes lecherously. She breaks out into a laugh.

Sansa is not amused as she blushes. “Margaery!” She slaps Margaery’s shoulder as she laughs.

“I’m kidding! I’m kidding,” Margaery argues as she grabs Sansa’s hands. She notices a look that her coach is giving her. Sansa does too by the way she trails back to the tall blonde woman.

“Looks like you have to go,” Sansa says.

Margaery nods, this time more confidently with a small smile on her face as she stares up at Sansa. “I’m really happy you’re here,” she expresses.

Sansa smiles proudly. “I am too. I can’t wait to see you compete,” she squeezes Margaery’s hands for emphasis. She takes a moment to look at Margaery, just to make sure her friend is actually feeling better. She sounds it, but being able to stare into Margaery’s eyes means so much more.

Sansa feels so much more connected to Margaery when she actually looks at her. It’s like they have an unbreakable connection. It feels honest and raw compared to anyone else.

Without realizing it, her eyes drop down to Margaery’s lips. Maybe it’s because of how long they’ve held eye contact but suddenly the distance between them seems to shrink. Sansa can feel Margaery’s warm aura close to her.

Margaery tilts her head up curiously at the way Sansa stares at her. She licks her lips unconsciously.

Sansa swallows before leaning down, eyes on Margaery’s lips Her heart starts to pound inside of her and her whole body starts to flare. Sansa panics though. She changes her mind at the last second and presses her lips against Margaery’s cheek, dangerously close to her lips. When she pulls back, Margaery stares at her in shock.

Yet a small smile curls at the corner of Margaery’s lips. “What was that for?” Margaery smoothly asks.

Sansa blushes. “Good luck,” she says quickly before letting go of Margaery’s hands. “Kick their arses!” She yells as she rushes back to the stands. She can hear Margaery yell thank you but all Sansa can hear is the way her heart pounds in her ears.

I almost kissed Margaery! I almost did it! Why did I do that?

#sansaery #sansa x margaery #high school au #slow burn #cheek kiss!! #sansa being gay af #margaery being moody #the reappearance of the letterman #love takes time (we have it)

[maxthommusic]

The Musou Genre Is Exactly Why We Should Want To Pay More For Our Games

I have to say: I’m absolutely loving Hyrule Warriors. It’s a musou-style game, a la Dynasty Warriors, for the Nintendo Switch (and originally, 3DS). While the main criticism of said games can be that they’re ultra repetitive (and they are), something also should be said of game intent, purpose and console aesthetic. While Dynasty Warriors has always felt too arcade-y for sitting on the couch, hyper-focused on playing a game, this iteration set in the Hyrule universe is really amazing on the oft-portable Nintendo Switch. My girlfriend and I play a round or two before bed, making it the perfect sort of mindless fun we can do together. Controls are easy to remember, objectives are simple, and the presentation is really well-done. Including characters that have a storied lineage really magnifies the intrigue of a musou and I’m actually delighted by the story too. Although the narrative isn’t quite on par with Zelda standards, the overarching plotline certainly holds up; it’s definitely more than I expected find in Hyrule Warriors, which is a great surprise.

And what brings me to this post today is to celebrate the concept of these “mindless” arcade games and to also examine how we can keep them apart of the gaming ecosystem. After playing through behemoths like FFVII: Remake and The Last of Us: Part 2, sometimes its easy to always want AAA titles that push the limits of hardware, design and expectation. However, sometimes it’s nice not being such an active participant within an interactive media.

Exhibit A: Hyrule Warriors. Sometimes the ingredients just mix well together. I’ve played several Dynasty Warriors, I’ve tried Samurai Warriors. And while I had a passing interest in some of the Gundam musou entries, I skipped ‘em due to poor reviews. However, after stumbling upon Hyrule Warriors, I’ve started doing some actual research on the genre and the fandom, and it really seems like musou is generally misunderstood.

On the podcast I enjoy, Sacred Symbols (paid patron), musou games came up recently and there was some discussion about how bloated the release schedule is. How can Omega Force keep releasing all this stuff? And on some of the reviews I read that knocked the games, one critic, in particular, mentioned that Fire Emblem Warriors is “as boring as all the other musou games.” Its a 40/100, the lowest grade by nearly 30 points. Without it (again, the shoddiness of Metacritic is exposed), Fire Emblem Warriors would be “in the green” and plainly above 70. When you do any good dive into some research on the genre, you’ll see a lot of people on the forums own several next-gen musou games. When one drops, people eat ‘em up. To claim that an entry is “boring like the others” is a bit too subjective my tastes. 

One of the best comments I read was from a user who exclaimed he needed “something mindless” like “EDF” (Earth Defense Force) or  Dynasty Warriors after he’d just finished Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, a notoriously bloated experience. The idea that there are different games and different genres to be played at different times is something I love exploring. It’s like the varying flavors of a fine meal, or even a diet spread out over weeks, months or even your entire year. In gaming we talk about absolutes too much: which is the best console? Which genres do you play? What’s the game of the year? What’s your Top 5? There should be multiple answers to all of these, all the time. As we witness more and more toxicity in the games industry, I can’t help but think embracing a genre like musou could be the key to expanding our perspectives.

Now I don’t mean musou explicitly. I mean find your musou. Honestly, I’ll play any genre given the right circumstances. For someone who doesn’t play sports games, I would happily buy Fifa if you told me I had a crew who wanted to play it online. I never thought I could be into Rocket League, but Playstation made it free and then I went on to get the Platinum Trophy because my mates and I had such a good time. Things are highly elastic when it comes to games and their genres. But sometimes we see them as more rigid, and the only absolute here is that they absolutely aren’t. 

Exhibit B: Maneater. Here’s a $40 game from Deep Silver that’s somewhere in that AA space. A lot of people knocked it for being repetitive, but again: let’s embrace it for what it is. Intention is often ignored when reviewing games and not only do critics need to work on this, but users too. People rely heavily on other people’s impressions of a game to know if it’s fundamentally fine. Ripping on something for being too repetitive, too short, or too confusing will turn people off. I’ll be the first to admit I stayed away from Fallen Order and Control because I read they had performance issues. While I eventually ended up doing FO as a gameclub with a buddy, my experience was 100% hindered by chugging framerates and long load times. I’m still disappointed I’ll be waiting for Control until I can play it on Playstation 5, but I know my enjoyment will increase ten-fold if I can be patient. But when a game like Maneater is designed as more of a quick pick-up-and-play title, is calling it “repetitive” very fair? Should it have been reviewed through a lens of “play through its entirety as quick as possible?”

Exhibit C: Ghost of Tsushima. The new Playstation exclusive drops this Friday (7/17) and critics are mostly enjoying it. Some of the “less than stellar” reviews I’ve seen, though, fault it for some shoddy presentation in the wake of The Last of Us Pt 2. Which, again, I think is unfair. Comparing Tsushima to TLOU2 doesn’t seem very applicable. TLOU2 is in a league of its own in terms of budget, scope and talent. While Suckerpunch is well-regarded, they are by no means Naughty Dog. Even Insomniac seems to have eclipsed them a bit, growing with nearly every game they release. Suckerpunch, in my mind, sort of knows where their playground is and sticks to it. Which, again, isn’t a bad thing. It’s been some time since I’ve played an open-world game that really drew me in. Ghost of Tsushima’s aesthetic seems ripe for picking, and when a critic mentioned that it doesn’t seem to break any new ground for the genre, I kinda have to throw my hands up and go, “So?” When’s the last time you got to roam Japan as a ghostly samurai? Doesn’t that maybe count as “inventive” enough? For example, if we got Grand Theft Auto, exactly as it is, but set in London, Tokyo, or maybe even Russia, I’d finally have an interest in the series. Somewhere international sounds tantalizing. What’s more is that Japanese critics seem to be loving Ghost and a lot of that stems from it’s overall design aesthetic. Most critics, anywhere, have said it’s a really beautiful game. Sometimes isn’t a game worth playing just because it’s stunning to look at? Rez Infinite is a prime example of something that is fleeting yet remarkable. The original PS2 game may be in the package, but it’s the Area X that’s the real prize and it’s absolutely less than a 30 minute experience. But that’s the thing: it’s an experience. In no way would I ever look at what’s being offered and go, “It’s too short.” Too short by what comparison? Did I love what was offered, yes or no?

As time marches forward, I can’t help but continually feel like games journalism is slowly deteriorating and fan expectations are completely out of whack. One look at the “price increase” debate clearly shows fans don’t understand capitalism, value, and scope. Colin Moriarity, from Sacred Symbols, very openly supports the debate that you aren’t going to see any CEOs trying to let go of their profits. The argument that games’ prices shouldn’t go up because people at the top are rich enough is completely against the entire framework of our society. The concept that businesses are meant to grow is completely fine, in my book, and as game prices haven’t gone up to reflect inflation, we could probably at least do that much for our industry, right?

I think the most tantalizing part of this argument is that not all games are profitable. As dev cycles become longer and more expensive, we need to give studios the ability to invest in smaller projects and maybe even risky ones. Without a bunch of overhead capital, we will see an industry that becomes totally stagnant, devoid of unique offerings. The big players will continue to hit hard and the money-makers will continue to roll out. So expect Assassin’s Creed, Fortnite, Call of Duty and Halo for the rest of eternity (plus whatever Naughty Dog does). For some gamers that’s probably totally cool and fine. But I’m not one of those players. I would mostly stop gaming if all I had to look forward to were games as services or check-box open-world games. These styles are popular because fans love the insane amount of hours they can pour into one investment. Publishers love them because recreating assets and scenarios gets pretty easy for the titles after a certain point. But this can’t represent the entire climate. While I didn’t love Death Stranding, I’m so happy it exists. I’m ecstatic that this game emerged and took as many chances as it did. I’m thrilled Naughty Dog was allowed to take the gambles it did with TLOU2. Even look at Dreams: every person who loves dreams should be embracing a $70 price point because that kind of experience will not exist if companies aren’t extracting profit. Because you know what else? Those money-grubbers will never let go of their profit. Our experience will diminish greatly before they see lower dividends. So consider paying in a way to ensure the industry thrives in the way you want to see fit. Which I think is the heart of the matter.

We control this industry. Don’t like MTX or DLC? Don’t buy it. Don’t want it in your face? Don’t purchase or support those games. If you’re like me and you want a wide genre of games available to you at all times, consider being pro-price increase. Also consider buying games right as they come out. Too many people pirate or wait for sales. Yet those are the same people not in favor of a price increase. Those types of consumers are already hurting the industry. Think of all the people getting fat on free content who never pay a dime for their games. Those people are also trying to weigh in on something they don’t really support to begin with. Publishers have been, ostensibly, trying to charge you nearly $100 per game for several years now with their Deluxe Editions and DLC. If you’ve ever thought this “price-gouging” was ridiculous, consider why it exists in the first place that isn’t related to the tired argument of, “they’re greedy.”

Games are a total luxury. And the people who will determine the future of this medium are the people who actually pay for this luxury. The argument that “you can’t afford it” isn’t appropriate, in my mind. While I sympathize with the notion that it sucks having to pay $60 or even $70 for a new game (especially one that might not be very good), you have to consider what these games cost to create. And if people want today’s offerings to be $20, $30 or $40, it’s simply not realistic. Additionally, we want all different kinds of games, too, right?

I do believe that’s the crux of the argument: I want to be able to play Hyrule Warriors, Sonic Forces, The Last of Us Pt 2, and Ghost of Tsushima. These games are not created equally. While TLOU2 might be a sales giant, Ghost is unproven. It’s got Suckerpunch behind it, but that’s a brand new IP coming out at the end of the Playstation’s lifecycle. If you want more games and more risks like this, you’ve gotta purchase the titles representing these decisions. I love that Hyrule Warriors and Fire Emblem Warriors both exist for me to play. If the ecosystem isn’t supported properly, we don’t get these options. We might get one huge hitter from the “Warriors” franchise instead of a handful. We might get one exclusive from Playstation in any given year. And the reason I emphasize this shrinking of the industry is because not only are publishers reaching for a price increase, but industry leaders have also come out saying things aren’t sustainable on a $60 per game price point. If you truly examine the argument, it just doesn’t make sense. I paid $60 for Killzone 3 on PS3 and TLOU2? No, that doesn’t add up. God of War (PS4) and Horizon Zero Dawn are valued the same as something like Homefront (PS3)? 

The other side of this argument suggests that we could try and explore more price points... but I stand by the notion that Homefront probably did cost $60 at the time. It wasn’t trying to be a budget title. But as we’ve gone forward in time, gaming experiences have expanded exponentially. I truly believe that something like TLOU or Ghost probably do need to extract more than $60 from their users. Yet below that price point, there’s a lot more room for investigation. We need to see more Maneaters and Hellblades. Think of all the quality content Supergiant Games has made (Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, Hades) that have come out at “budget” price points... There is a great exploration of content type and price that can (and probably should) emerge as we head into the great unknown.

At the end of the day, I just love gaming. I love it. It’s my favorite thing in the world. And I want to see it thrive. The reality is that money talks. In my life I’ve seen only the benefits of paying for goods and services versus taking things for free or if they are offered at a steep discount. Great things should and do carry real value. We need to respect that value in all things. My hope is that the gaming community can see this in their hobby and start to respect it more. Because so far, anyone I’ve engaged with in this conversation, has not once said they pay full price for their games. I listed Doom Eternal on the Facebook Marketplace and people are upset I’m charging $30, free shipping, when the cheapest it exists on Amazon is $41 + shipping used. eBay is roughly the same price and Gamefly has a copy for $39.99 right now, used. I told one guy I just listed it and that I’d like to try and get $30 since it’s the cheapest I can find. He retorted, “Yeah, brand new maybe.” Doom Eternal is still $60 on Amazon, Best Buy and Gamestop. I know that my experience is in a vacuum-- all of our experiences are. But we need to discuss them so that the anecdotal evidence can tip in one way or the other. And this experience with Doom is not the first time I’ve witnessed gamers being completely out of touch with prices and value.

I used to work for a used goods store called Half Price Books. I learned full-on what the value of something is to a re-seller and the life cycle of an item getting marked down and potentially sent to clearance. For every product that sells at full price, several others go to the bargain bin. This means HPB was either breaking even or losing money on most items. Re-couping costs on those top-shelf commodities is essential to the business and it’s vital to most capitalist ecosystems. HPB can only survive thanks to the people who see an item they want, understand its value, and pay the price we initially set. Every company trying to sell you something is basically operating the same way. And what I also learned from HPB is that people don’t understand what their own possessions are worth. People would get upset a lot that we wanted to pay so little. Gamers have been facing this for decades with second-hand shops like Gamestop, EB Games and more. But what people fail to see is that most stuff is crap. And not only is most stuff crap, but if the good stuff does come around, the business officially has to make up for missed or lost sales somehow and your awesome item needs to be purchased and sold for a price point that helps the business. 

Just take a look at TLOU2 versus Days Gone. Similar games, both exclusive first-party titles. One sold extraordinarily well, one did not. Playstation literally needs TLOU2 to dominate so a game like Days Gone can get a chance. While the profit numbers will show TLOU2 to be a massive hit, that money helps out in other sectors, bolstering the entire platform. The people who worked very hard on the game deserve those bonuses coming their way. They deserve the champagne glasses that say “The Last of Us Pt 2″ on them with commemorative decor. Imagine if you slaved away on something for your job and at the end your boss said, “Great job,” and that’s all you got. Don’t you want a pizza party? Or an extra check in the mail? Or even a new mug? 

We gotta pay for the things we love so the things we love can continue being labors of love. Real people are needed to create the experiences we cherish so much and respecting them comes down to understanding the value of what we choose to play every day. If you comprehend the value of what’s on your big screen TV, paying more for games shouldn’t sting too much. Because if you’re anything like me, you don’t even have the time to buy every new game that comes out. I rarely pay full-price for a game because I’m so busy digging through backlog titles that have often been on sale for several months already. But when games like FFVII: Remake or Ghost of Tsushima do come along, I’m really happy to be first in line, paying the full-price of admission. I just wish more of my fellow gamers felt that way. Because I’ve heard all the other arguments; I’ve heard ‘em. I don’t buy into them at all. We vote with our wallets and whatever issues you have with the industry when it comes to “greed,” consider what you’re playing. I have had zero issues with microtransactions in my gameplay choices. If you, for some reason, are just appalled that MTX exists at all within a game, then I recommend you just check your baggage at the door. I paid full price for Persona 5: Royal which has all kinds of things I can buy on the side to bolster my experience. I haven’t touched those add-ons, I don’t plan to touch them and they, in no way, have affected me playing P5R. You can feel the exact same way and don’t need to be upset that MTX exists simply because MTX exists. The next time you see it, consider what you paid for the game you’re playing. If it was anything less than full price, MTX is a great way to try and recoup the money they lost on your discounted cost. And if you did pay full price, think of all the people who didn’t or won’t. MTX exists so Atlus can publish / localize the next Persona everywhere they intend to. It ensures we get killer voice actors, great translations, and cool spin-offs. It helps create a vibrant community, something that exists well outside the bounds of the original game even.

Really, I just want the best game possible. All the time. When I play a really awesome, beautiful game, it usually takes my breath away. I’m consumed by it; totally entranced and in-love. To me that can cost more than $60. I spent 80 hours with FFVII: Remake. 80 hours, man. I was blown away for every second too. For about $100 a night + food, drink and excursions, I can go stay on a beach for the weekend. That’s easily around $500+, if not more. While they’re completely different experiences, FFVII:R had years of nostalgia baked into the mix. I would choose to play FFVII:R over many, many other kinds of experiences. Microdermabrasion? $80+. Date-night with a new fling? Easily $100+. 30 minute massage? $40 + tip. FFVII:R gave me 80 hours of pure joy and all I paid was $60. That’s a steal. 

Just consider what you’re really getting when you buy your games. And if you feel like you’re already in my camp, then please share the love. I wanna know where my crew is at; where the homies are. Because video games are incredible. And the way the conversation is breaking down about price increases, it’s hard to tell if some people actually love games the way I do too. When you really love something, you want the best for it; you aren’t cynical towards it. It’s my belief that the games industry, by and large, is not out to screw us, it’s just trying to find ways to be viable for years to come. If you don’t like the way it’s trying to thrive, don’t support those ways. But you gotta support something; saying that games need to be “cheaper” isn’t really an option. Because games have never been much cheaper than this when you factor in inflation. We got to have our cake and eat it for a long, long time. Now we gotta pony up. 

#price increase #gaming #industry #money #capitalism

[drtanstravels]

I have a very dark and cynical sense of humour and I love the sitcom Black Books so naturally I was interested when it was announced that the series’ star, Dylan Moran, was touring Singapore, however, it initially became a bit of an afterthought when I figured I’d probably end up attending alone. Not many people here know who he is, a few British friends of mine were interested in going, but the tickets were quite expensive and we figured he’d need to tone down his absurd, drearily pessimistic, profanity-laden act in order to be able to perform in Singapore. A few weeks after the tour’s announcement, Anna and I were having a couple of drinks at my local with some friends and the topic of Dylan Moran’s show’s came up. Several of us were talking about how funny he was so Anna suggested we get tickets, figuring it would still be good even if he couldn’t be his true self; she really enjoyed it when we saw Moran’s Black Books co-star Bill Bailey‘s performance earlier in the year so she booked seats for us, as well as for our friend, TJ Godiaco, on the spot that night. The only problem was that Anna and TJ had no idea what to expect from the show until his performance began, but for those who are also unfamiliar with Moran’s comedic stylings, this should give you the general idea:

Moran’s live stand-up comedy is unique in that it merges two strands of stand-up that seemed incompatible for a long time: sharp observational humor, and surreal and fantastical language-based absurdity. On the one hand, he has a clear influence from what could be called an American school of stand-up comedy that is heavily observational. On the other hand, Moran’s comedy is characterized by a use of language similar to the stand-up comedy of Eddie Izzard and Ross Noble: surreal associative leaps between on the one side observations and on the other fantasies, verbally painting bizarre and absurd worlds, often through a use of stream-of-consciousness narration. His language is often highly poetic, resembling a James Joyce that has had one too many.

Thursday, December 12, 2019 It was the day of the show and I awoke to a message from Anna asking me to get a reservation for dinner at around 6:30pm. Moran would be performing at the University Cultural Centre at the National University of Singapore at 8:00pm, the same location as when Bill Bailey toured, and the university is kind of in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by parks and freeways, but not a lot of eating options so Anna was worried the ones that did exist would be packed before the show. I googled restaurants near the Cultural Centre and it turned out that on campus there was an Italian restaurant, a couple of small hawker stalls, Subway, and the rest was mainly just regular canteen food, but there was one other option that stood out; Waa Cow!, a Japanese rice bowl restaurant so I made a reservation for three people at 6:30pm.

Anna arrived home from work and we were soon on our way to the university. The restaurant was harder to find than we first expected, because there was no direct route through the school to get to it despite it being located on campus so we had to take winding roads and freeway overpasses to get there. TJ’s driver got lost trying to get there, but he still arrived before us, texting me to not worry, because there was only three other people inside. It turns out the booking wasn’t necessary, but we were still committed to the place and it was an option we definitely wouldn’t regret. Waa Cow!’s Facebook page describes them as being “Singapore’s First Flame-torched 🔥 Donburi! Period,” but even that seems to be selling themselves a bit short. When I was a college student, the food available on campus was terrible, it was just anything that could be deep-fried or hamburgers. Japanese rice bowls with flame-torched wagyu beef and foie gras simply weren’t an option at my school, yet here it was on the NUS campus and it was fantastic, although some student reviews complained about the price. There were options besides beef, but that was their specialty so we each got one with a different sauce, sides, as well as a plate of scallop sashimi and immediately Anna was checking out if they deliver to our area. I have no idea how these are essentially school dinners!:

Hanging out in Waa Cow!

TJ’s bowl

Why didn’t my university have food like this?!?

It didn’t take long to finish our food so we had almost an hour before the show was to start, but it took about 10 minutes to walk to the Cultural Centre, which really wasn’t that far away, but there was also no direct walking route through the campus, either. Once we arrived, however, the first thing I noticed was that most of the people in attendance were like me; middle-aged, white men who immediately headed to the bar in the lobby. I did exactly that as well while the other two went to the bathroom and I looked like a peasant as I blew my last $15.00 (US$11.10) in a combination of notes and coins on a single small beer. The man ahead of me in the bar queue was standing in front of the menu so I stood slightly off to the side to read another menu up the back and when I went to order, a very pretentious British-Chinese woman behind me gave me an irritated look, sighed, and said sarcastically “Oh, so you ARE in the line.” I just ignored her and got my drink, laughing to myself as she condescendingly made her order, pronouncing every word clearly in short, sharp sentences for fear they wouldn’t understand her. “I’ll have a double shot of whiskey in a tall glass. On ice. With water, filled to the brim. To. The. Brim.” The bar staff tried to take her order seriously, but at a live event you can’t have a tall glass, she just got a slightly different shaped plastic cup to the one in which my beer was served, a drink which I took to an area where I could sit on the floor and wait for Anna and TJ. When they came out of their respective toilets the pair of them realised that they had no cash so they went to find an ATM and about 20 minutes later I got a call from Anna. “Meet me outside, go out the door and turn right.” I asked why and the reply was a simple, “Just do it” so I decided not to inquire anymore and just follow orders. Once there I learnt that the ATM they had found wouldn’t accept either of their cards so they decided go a different route and try something I haven’t done in at least 20 years — They went to an on-campus supermarket and bought a heap of booze with the intention of smuggling it into the venue inside their bags. They bought three big beers for me and six miniature bottles of airline-quality red wine for themselves, saving us a ton of money by avoiding the ridiculous bar prices in the process. I seriously hadn’t tried to do anything like this since I was a penniless teenager trying to get beer into music festivals more than two decades ago and now I’m 40 years old and attempting it again at a stand-up comedy show in Singapore. I felt like a kid again, completely rejuvenated at the prospect of the plan! Anna asked if they served wine at the bar, which they did, so she went over and grabbed a couple plastic cups, then snuck into the toilets and returned with cups of wine for her and TJ while we stood behind a pole trying as discretely as possible to open a Kilkenny can with a widget and pour it into the remaining cup for myself. We then stood around smirking, talking about how we had secretly stuck it to the man with our boozy Ocean’s Eleven-style escapade, Anna mentioning that she had left the wine bottles next to the sanitary disposal bin in the women’s bathroom. The only problem was we now didn’t have a whole lot of time, however, we had a fair bit of alcohol that we couldn’t take to our seats and it would be confiscated if they did bag checks so we had to drink quickly. The three of us stood in a uncrowded area, constantly chugging and refilling our drinks, leading to Anna and TJ finishing two 250ml (8.5 fl. oz.) bottles of cheap and nasty red wine each, while I finished off a 500ml (17 fl. oz) Kilkenny and a 750ml (25.5 fl. oz.) Asahi can in about 10 minutes. There was still more wine and another large Asahi, but there was no way we could finish it all in a couple of minutes like I could’ve at the end of last century so we had to try and sneak them into the theatre, soon seeing other people attempting the same thing. We saw others wrapping paper bags around small bottles and stuffing them in their purses, but we also noticed that the cafe staff near us really didn’t care that we were throwing our bottles and cans in a bin labeled “Cafe waste only.” We decided just to put the extra bottles and cans in our bags and lined up, figuring the security might give them back afterward if they were confiscated, but they didn’t even check our bags, we just made our way to our seats. Once seated, TJ told me he was feeling a bit tipsy, I was bloated and doing foie gras-scented burps, and Anna took a nap until Dylan Moran stepped on stage, but once he started he was hilarious:

One of Anna’s contraband wine bottles

Now inside

A blurry shot of the stage (this is probably how TJ saw the entire show)

It wasn’t a full house, but it was a great show. Moran spoke for about 35 minutes before an intermission where we were given passes so we could go back into the lobby. There were plenty of people who had tried the same plan as us that night, many standing around during the intermission and drinking the alcohol they had snuck in, a vast array of different brands of beer that weren’t being sold at the venue and barely a plastic cup in sight so we finished ours as well, the security guards watching us nonchalantly the entire time. Once back inside, Moran spoke for another 30 minutes, but he didn’t tame his show just because he was in Singapore. He was his usual crass self, moaning about age, technology, and travel among other topics, but his sometimes vulgar delivery wasn’t for everyone. It seems that some local attendees mustn’t have even known who he was because quite a few brought young children with them! Others left early with several re-entry passes just left deserted on the floor and seats of the lobby during the intermission.

I recorded the audio for the show, however, I missed the first minute or so when he was bitching about shopping malls and the price of goods in Singapore. You can listen to it here, but it is a little difficult to hear, plus his thick Irish accent may cause it to be even harder to make out, this guy would struggle to use Siri or Alexa:

https://drtanstravels.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Dylan-Moran-12-December-2019.m4a

The show was all finished before 10:00pm so once we were done the three of us caught a cab back to the pub for a nightcap, then I took the dog for a walk where she rolled in another decomposing rat carcass, requiring us to shower her multiple times in order to reduce the pungency of the smell, an awful way to complete an otherwise great night. If you’re a fan of pessimistic humour with a linguistic delivery and Dylan Moran is in town, just go. But leave the kids at home.

Trying to pay a reasonable price for alcohol at a brilliant live comedy show I have a very dark and cynical sense of humour and I love the sitcom Black Books…

#drinking #Dylan Moran #food #live #NUS #stand up comedy

[wareexami]

– Icepop

Epic Pranks That Are So Brilliant We Can't Believe We Didn't Think Of Them Ourselves

Tuesday 27 August 2019 08:40 AM UTC-05 | Tags: april-fools diy entertainment funny funny-jokes hilarious jokes practical-jokes pranks

1. Some pranks achieve their goal quite simply, while others require a pretty incredible amount of dedication. Just imagine how hard it was to design this masterful car seat replica — and all the poor drive-thru window workers that it managed to terrify.

Imgur/EirgB

2. Regardless of whether or not you’ve seen the Alien movie franchise and know that this is a much-dreaded facehugger, opening the door to your fridge half-asleep for a midnight snack and finding this sight greeting you is one giant NOPE.

Reddit/surferchik

3. Excruciatingly irritating vehicle pranks deserve to be in a class of their own. This one is so simple yet so effective, it’s practically genius: with the mere use of cotton balls dipped in water on a freezing cold night, you’ve given your friend (or enemy?) hours of annoyance.

Tumblr/crystaljasmin

4. Surprise! Just when you thought that public spaces such as your friendly local grocery store were safe from pranks, you encounter this vile trick snake patiently awaiting your shrieks in the produce section. Wonder if they’ll ever ‘lettuce’ back in again?

Imgur/eH0bMTb

5. Few acts of injustice in the world are deserving of a life-term prison sentence. Yet this is an act so heinous, so egregious, so sickeningly twisted, that we’re bummed we didn’t come up with it on our own first.

Twitter/@djksting

6. C’mon, first world! There are hungry people out there! Must you waste your cereal in the name of this faceplant-worthy little prank? The only thing worse than the waste of food here would be if some eco-conscious samaritan cleaned up the scene as any ravenous breakfast-easter would. Ewbnb!

Instagram/roxyawesomeface

7. Looks like after years of getting harassed and barked at by the family dog, the mailman got just plain fed up and decided to deliver a little something besides mail. Signed, sealed, delivered!

Tumblr/blaaargh

8. There are several things that are safe to assume here. Firstly, that this bird foot is (hopefully) not real, and secondly, whoever accidentally ends up finding it is highly likely to jump out of their skins.

Instagram/huntgathercook

9. Come on, dude, it’s time to rally. Doesn’t it just drive you crazy when that one friend can’t keep up with the beer pong and passes out in the middle of a game? Punishment pranks are fun alright, but this balancing act is sheer art.

Reddit/ighostship

10. It’s the small things in life that can often be irritating beyond description. For this most sinister of epic pranks, paint a bar of soap with clear nail polish. Then watch as the victim struggles wondering how the should-be-suds could end up being defective.

Reddit/thebobstu

11. You’ve heard of air horns before, sure, but what about chairhorns? Neither has your unfortunate unsuspecting office mate probably, but chances are, it’s an experience they’ll never forget, and nor will all those poor souls in the vicinity who will lose temporary use of their eardrums.

Reddit/pivottofakie

12. Whoever thinks up elaborate and time-consumingly epic pranks like this deserves a word of praise. It’s a mischievous trick that’s both incredibly detailed and color-coordinated. It may take a long and frustrating amount of time to undo, but, frankly, looks so darn pretty!

Imgur/ICanDrawFish

13. What makes spiders so appealing as the key ingredient in so many pranks? Perhaps it’s because they’re so small yet so many humans share a deep-seated fear of them. Whatever’s the case, there’s bound to be someone out there who would take this warning seriously.

Twitter/@SCHS_architect

14. Who could be so diabolical as to desecrate the most holy act of enjoying an Oreo cookie? This epic prank takes no prisoners. How weird would it be if the person eating it thought it was simply a tasty, mint-flavored version of everyone’s favorite cookie sandwich?

Instagram/joelynnbonnotdds

15. Hot diggity dog! Just looking at this bizarre set-up is like one of those moments in The Matrix where all time and space freezes — except with frankfurters. Let’s just hope whoever lives in this room isn’t vegan.

Reddit/twilliams9

16. Fancy a swing, anyone? This time-encompassing prank required some careful preparation, but the final product is absolutely flawless. What’s more, making this bedroom into an impromptu croquet field made barely any mess at all. That grass is perfectly trimmed.

Reddit/udomolm

17. Is your coworker going on a long vacation, leaving their desk woefully unattended? Then here’s the chance for an epic prank that’s not only brilliant, but eco-friendly! By sewing seeds between their keyboard keys, you’ve created a problem that they’ll feel bad about having to destroy.

Flickr/wetwebwork

18. They found love in a hungry place. Sure, food can be our friend when we’re in need of a bit of self-pampering. But opening the fridge to discover a whole new posse of seemingly sentient beings is euqal parts adorable and terrifying.

Reddit/biggletits

19. Having trouble getting your kids to eat their veggies, while simultaneously seeking to give them a lifetime of trust issues? Then this epic prank is absolutely perfect for you! Mmm, Brussels pops… yum?

Reddit/Uberalles123456789

20. For this high school’s senior class prank, they managed to pull off one of those pranks that’s so simple to achieve and so precise that it looks like a work of art. Just observe this obstacle course of styrofoam water cups, and bask in its glory.

Reddit/evanallmighty7

21. We all know the existential battle of mankind vs. cling wrap, and how difficult it can be just to get a single piece to cover that half-eaten vegetable in the fridge. So imagine the sheer anguish at discovering your ride had fallen prey to this most ugh-worthy of pranks.

Instagram/chefbellatoland

22. This is the Jackson Pollock of bedroom pranks. It’s raw, it’s unhinged, it’s random, and it’s ferocious, lacking any rhyme or reason. With just a few strips of strong tape, you can properly and thoroughly ruin your roommate’s day. Game on!

Reddit/thelittlepie

23. Who knew painting tiles was so easy? These coworkers really thought outside of the box, or rather, cubicle. Even after going through all the trouble to redesign this work space as a bathroom, they get extra points for that curtain: it’s all about the reveal!

Flickr/mikegallo

24. Ah, the old rubber band around the phone prank. So cost-effective, so primitive, and yet so aggravating. Let’s just hope whoever’s office phone this is doesn’t have any important conference calls to make that day — or a sharp pair of scissors on hand.

Flickr/furryscaly

25. This epic prank is so clever because of its absolute absurdity. Just imagine being the victim of this practical joke and having your voicemail inundated with a bunch of random people leaving you a message yelling “NGRARRRRWWRRRRR” and then hanging up.

Reddit/wwryan

26. As far as epically gross pranks go, this one is downright foul. Who even knew there was such a thing as shrimp-scented spray in the first place? Regardless, this is one of the nastiest games of dress-up we’ve ever witnessed.

Imgur/PuntCuncher

27. The use of Jigsaw from the gruesome Saw horror film series here was very calculated and precise, because whoever gets stranded without any toilet paper and is forced to use this duct tape could find themselves in a world of horror.

Imgur/NobuNagaa

28. When the owner of this bedroom asked his friends for some help redesigning the place, it’s safe to say this probably wasn’t exactly what he had in mind. At bare minimum, if there’s ever a power outage, he’ll have plenty of reading material.

Twitter/@JessNagy

29. Hell hath no fury like an aggressive shopper. Thankfully, whoever was the victim of this shopping cart trap, could easily extricate themselves — albeit risking the potential to ruin their pain job. Otherwise, it’s time to call in a forklift.

Imgur/potatoetatie

30. As the story behind this unusual prank goes, this makeshift shrine was set up by the recipient’s roommate, after hearing his friend would be bringing his date home that night. Needless to say, whoever the lucky gal was, upon seeing this, would likely run for the hills.

Twitter/@deno_tron

31. Think you know office pranks? You know nothing. With a bit of imagination, a pile of spare keyboards can be used to properly replicate the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones. The prankster even added that delicate final touch of suspended dragons flying above the coveted chair.

Reddit/navri

32. Remember all those excellent cutting and gluing skills you learned in elementary school? It was all to prepare you for this moment. When your prank target turns on the lampshade, there’s a fair chance the results will be heard in the next county over.

Instagram/jameson129

33. Whoever ensnared this office desk in spiderwebs obviously decided their Halloween ought to be filled with far more trick than treat. At least those are fake cobwebs, otherwise we’d have some serious concerns to be brought to HR’s attention.

Flickr/Joe Goldberg

34. Question: how do you show your office companion just how much you care about them on the anniversary of their arrival in the world? Answer: by coating everything, literally everything they own in their work space, in aluminum foil — and no, those aren’t presents.

Instagram/123internet

35. When you want to fool your friends into thinking you’re generous when in reality it’s just a convenient cover-up for your cruel, cruel heart, few pranks could be quite so satisfying as making caramel onions — and even mixing them with apples to make a game of Russian roulette.

Reddit/Aresome_Username

36. Okay, so to properly execute this most random of pranks will require some bonus materials that you may not necessarily have just lying around the house. This is probably not what one would think when they hear “there’s a chick in the bathroom.”

Reddit/jbreezy13

37. So you and your roommates had a house party, complete with the prerequisite sketchy red plastic cups, but you overshot the amount of guests and are left with all these spare ones. What to do, what to do…

Reddit/the_tapatio_man

38. It’s probably safe to say you weren’t expecting your trip to the lavatory to be quite this festive. But then again, the finest of pranks strike when you least expect them. Let’s hope this person didn’t get winded: that’s a lot of balloons to blow up!

Twitter/@love_bughh

39. This prank is the ultimate rebellion against fast food. Finding vegetables when you were expecting those crispy hot little McNuggets would be enough of a bummer, but just be glad whoever tricked you didn’t think of putting something else in there…like, for example, a spider…

Imgur/LamStock

40. Having dreams of shadowy figures is a primal fear for many people. So naturally, rounding the corner when you’ve just woken up from a deep sleep and need a glass of water, this is the last thing you’d want to see.

Reddit/sg804

41. This flag cake prank works for an epic trolling of international proportions. Whether it’s a Canadian friend dishing it out to Americans on the Fourth of July, or an American friend giving a subtle dig on Canada Day, it’s bound to get some well-deserved groans.

Imgur/DrewMalesky

42. Look closely and you’ll realize why this is subtly one of the most mischievous pranks out there. Hidden inside those ice cubes are Mentos. And if you have had any Internet access for the past decade, you very well know what happens when these minty candies make contact with soda.

Reddit/GLman16

43. This one is sure to leave the subject of this crusty prank scratching their head wondering what the prankster’s thought process was. It’s as though they had limited resources, but were determined to pull a joke on their friend.

Instagram/jenniwrenn5

44. Can’t you taste the disappointment? It’s bad enough discovering someone’s eaten your ice cream but left the carton in the freezer. But cleaning the empty container out, filling it with water, and letting that water freeze to give the illusion of weight is just so mean.

Reddit/crazyphoenix

45. Old vegetables starting to go bad? No problem, there’s a pop-culture specific prank just waiting to be pulled off. Of course, this friendly little surprise requires the subject to have at least a passing knowledge of Rick and Morty, but hey! It’s funny no matter what.

Instagram/lunaslipstream

46. Office supplies wars can get absolutely brutal. This perpetrator was apparently not planning on backing down any time soon, and found a simple and perfectly effective way to get his or her point across. Forensics experts may soon be needed at the scene.

Instagram/screamjar

47. This prank could go several different ways. For the desk owner, more likely than not, they realize they’d been pranked. But for another office worker, especially one who hadn’t yet had their morning coffee, seeing this scene might just send them into a tizzy.

Instagram/vary.mu

48. We all know someone like this: those excruciatingly annoying practical jokesters who just have to take our word literally. Yes, just as you can imagine, the hapless victim of this hilarious prank was told there was a ‘leak’ in the bathroom. Aren’t homonyms the best?

Instagram/gessicapizzuto

49. It’s always nice to have a joyful celebration await you when you walk into a room. That being said, being greeted by the bang of these poppers could well be enough to make you paranoid about opening doors for a long time.

Instagram/cathann24

50. Sure, we all have that one grandparent who reminds us what it was like growing up during the Great Depression. But something tells us that this delightful recipe was not included in their diet.

Imgur/freebasecatnip

Sources: Ranker, Buzzfeed

Tags:

april-fools

diy

entertainment

funny

funny-jokes

hilarious

jokes

practical-jokes

pranks

from [Latest News] – Icepop: Epic Pranks That Are So Brilliant We Can’t Believe We Didn’t Think Of Them Ourselves via [Latest News] – Icepop: Epic Pranks That Are So Brilliant We Can’t Believe We Didn’t Think Of Them Ourselves August 27, 2019 at 06:35PM Copyright © August 27, 2019 at 06:35PM

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[Latest News] – Icepop: Epic Pranks That Are So Brilliant We Can’t Believe We Didn’t Think Of Them Ourselves

[Latest News] – Icepop: Epic Pranks That Are So Brilliant We Can’t Believe We Didn’t Think Of Them Ourselves – Icepop Epic Pranks That Are So Brilliant We Can't Believe We Didn't Think Of Them Ourselves Tuesday 27 August 2019 08:40 AM UTC-05 | Tags: april-fools diy entertainment funny funny-jokes hilarious jokes practical-jokes pranks 1. Some pranks achieve their goal quite simply, while others require a pretty incredible amount of dedication. Just imagine how hard it was to design this masterful car seat replica — and all the poor drive-thru window workers that it managed to terrify. Imgur/EirgB 2. Regardless of whether or not you’ve seen the Alien movie franchise and know that this is a much-dreaded facehugger, opening the door to your fridge half-asleep for a midnight snack and finding this sight greeting you is one giant NOPE. Reddit/surferchik 3. Excruciatingly irritating vehicle pranks deserve to be in a class of their own. This one is so simple yet so effective, it’s practically genius: with the mere use of cotton balls dipped in water on a freezing cold night, you’ve given your friend (or enemy?) hours of annoyance. Tumblr/crystaljasmin 4. Surprise! Just when you thought that public spaces such as your friendly local grocery store were safe from pranks, you encounter this vile trick snake patiently awaiting your shrieks in the produce section. Wonder if they’ll ever ‘lettuce’ back in again? Imgur/eH0bMTb 5. Few acts of injustice in the world are deserving of a life-term prison sentence. Yet this is an act so heinous, so egregious, so sickeningly twisted, that we’re bummed we didn’t come up with it on our own first. Twitter/@djksting 6. C’mon, first world! There are hungry people out there! Must you waste your cereal in the name of this faceplant-worthy little prank? The only thing worse than the waste of food here would be if some eco-conscious samaritan cleaned up the scene as any ravenous breakfast-easter would. Ewbnb! Instagram/roxyawesomeface 7. Looks like after years of getting harassed and barked at by the family dog, the mailman got just plain fed up and decided to deliver a little something besides mail. Signed, sealed, delivered! Tumblr/blaaargh 8. There are several things that are safe to assume here. Firstly, that this bird foot is (hopefully) not real, and secondly, whoever accidentally ends up finding it is highly likely to jump out of their skins. Instagram/huntgathercook 9. Come on, dude, it’s time to rally. Doesn’t it just drive you crazy when that one friend can’t keep up with the beer pong and passes out in the middle of a game? Punishment pranks are fun alright, but this balancing act is sheer art. Reddit/ighostship 10. It’s the small things in life that can often be irritating beyond description. For this most sinister of epic pranks, paint a bar of soap with clear nail polish. Then watch as the victim struggles wondering how the should-be-suds could end up being defective. Reddit/thebobstu 11. You’ve heard of air horns before, sure, but what about chairhorns? Neither has your unfortunate unsuspecting office mate probably, but chances are, it’s an experience they’ll never forget, and nor will all those poor souls in the vicinity who will lose temporary use of their eardrums. Reddit/pivottofakie 12. Whoever thinks up elaborate and time-consumingly epic pranks like this deserves a word of praise. It’s a mischievous trick that’s both incredibly detailed and color-coordinated. It may take a long and frustrating amount of time to undo, but, frankly, looks so darn pretty! Imgur/ICanDrawFish 13. What makes spiders so appealing as the key ingredient in so many pranks? Perhaps it’s because they’re so small yet so many humans share a deep-seated fear of them. Whatever’s the case, there’s bound to be someone out there who would take this warning seriously. Twitter/@SCHS_architect 14. Who could be so diabolical as to desecrate the most holy act of enjoying an Oreo cookie? This epic prank takes no prisoners. How weird would it be if the person eating it thought it was simply a tasty, mint-flavored version of everyone’s favorite cookie sandwich? Instagram/joelynnbonnotdds 15. Hot diggity dog! Just looking at this bizarre set-up is like one of those moments in The Matrix where all time and space freezes — except with frankfurters. Let’s just hope whoever lives in this room isn’t vegan. Reddit/twilliams9 16. Fancy a swing, anyone? This time-encompassing prank required some careful preparation, but the final product is absolutely flawless. What’s more, making this bedroom into an impromptu croquet field made barely any mess at all. That grass is perfectly trimmed. Reddit/udomolm 17. Is your coworker going on a long vacation, leaving their desk woefully unattended? Then here’s the chance for an epic prank that’s not only brilliant, but eco-friendly! By sewing seeds between their keyboard keys, you’ve created a problem that they’ll feel bad about having to destroy. Flickr/wetwebwork 18. They found love in a hungry place. Sure, food can be our friend when we’re in need of a bit of self-pampering. But opening the fridge to discover a whole new posse of seemingly sentient beings is euqal parts adorable and terrifying. Reddit/biggletits 19. Having trouble getting your kids to eat their veggies, while simultaneously seeking to give them a lifetime of trust issues? Then this epic prank is absolutely perfect for you! Mmm, Brussels pops… yum? Reddit/Uberalles123456789 20. For this high school’s senior class prank, they managed to pull off one of those pranks that’s so simple to achieve and so precise that it looks like a work of art. Just observe this obstacle course of styrofoam water cups, and bask in its glory. Reddit/evanallmighty7 21. We all know the existential battle of mankind vs. cling wrap, and how difficult it can be just to get a single piece to cover that half-eaten vegetable in the fridge. So imagine the sheer anguish at discovering your ride had fallen prey to this most ugh-worthy of pranks. Instagram/chefbellatoland 22. This is the Jackson Pollock of bedroom pranks. It’s raw, it’s unhinged, it’s random, and it’s ferocious, lacking any rhyme or reason. With just a few strips of strong tape, you can properly and thoroughly ruin your roommate’s day. Game on! Reddit/thelittlepie 23. Who knew painting tiles was so easy? These coworkers really thought outside of the box, or rather, cubicle. Even after going through all the trouble to redesign this work space as a bathroom, they get extra points for that curtain: it’s all about the reveal! Flickr/mikegallo 24. Ah, the old rubber band around the phone prank. So cost-effective, so primitive, and yet so aggravating. Let’s just hope whoever’s office phone this is doesn’t have any important conference calls to make that day — or a sharp pair of scissors on hand. Flickr/furryscaly 25. This epic prank is so clever because of its absolute absurdity. Just imagine being the victim of this practical joke and having your voicemail inundated with a bunch of random people leaving you a message yelling “NGRARRRRWWRRRRR” and then hanging up. Reddit/wwryan 26. As far as epically gross pranks go, this one is downright foul. Who even knew there was such a thing as shrimp-scented spray in the first place? Regardless, this is one of the nastiest games of dress-up we’ve ever witnessed. Imgur/PuntCuncher 27. The use of Jigsaw from the gruesome Saw horror film series here was very calculated and precise, because whoever gets stranded without any toilet paper and is forced to use this duct tape could find themselves in a world of horror. Imgur/NobuNagaa 28. When the owner of this bedroom asked his friends for some help redesigning the place, it’s safe to say this probably wasn’t exactly what he had in mind. At bare minimum, if there’s ever a power outage, he’ll have plenty of reading material. Twitter/@JessNagy 29. Hell hath no fury like an aggressive shopper. Thankfully, whoever was the victim of this shopping cart trap, could easily extricate themselves — albeit risking the potential to ruin their pain job. Otherwise, it’s time to call in a forklift. Imgur/potatoetatie 30. As the story behind this unusual prank goes, this makeshift shrine was set up by the recipient’s roommate, after hearing his friend would be bringing his date home that night. Needless to say, whoever the lucky gal was, upon seeing this, would likely run for the hills. Twitter/@deno_tron 31. Think you know office pranks? You know nothing. With a bit of imagination, a pile of spare keyboards can be used to properly replicate the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones. The prankster even added that delicate final touch of suspended dragons flying above the coveted chair. Reddit/navri 32. Remember all those excellent cutting and gluing skills you learned in elementary school? It was all to prepare you for this moment. When your prank target turns on the lampshade, there’s a fair chance the results will be heard in the next county over. Instagram/jameson129 33. Whoever ensnared this office desk in spiderwebs obviously decided their Halloween ought to be filled with far more trick than treat. At least those are fake cobwebs, otherwise we’d have some serious concerns to be brought to HR’s attention. Flickr/Joe Goldberg 34. Question: how do you show your office companion just how much you care about them on the anniversary of their arrival in the world? Answer: by coating everything, literally everything they own in their work space, in aluminum foil — and no, those aren’t presents. Instagram/123internet 35. When you want to fool your friends into thinking you’re generous when in reality it’s just a convenient cover-up for your cruel, cruel heart, few pranks could be quite so satisfying as making caramel onions — and even mixing them with apples to make a game of Russian roulette. Reddit/Aresome_Username 36. Okay, so to properly execute this most random of pranks will require some bonus materials that you may not necessarily have just lying around the house. This is probably not what one would think when they hear “there’s a chick in the bathroom.” Reddit/jbreezy13 37. So you and your roommates had a house party, complete with the prerequisite sketchy red plastic cups, but you overshot the amount of guests and are left with all these spare ones. What to do, what to do… Reddit/the_tapatio_man 38. It’s probably safe to say you weren’t expecting your trip to the lavatory to be quite this festive. But then again, the finest of pranks strike when you least expect them. Let’s hope this person didn’t get winded: that’s a lot of balloons to blow up! Twitter/@love_bughh 39. This prank is the ultimate rebellion against fast food. Finding vegetables when you were expecting those crispy hot little McNuggets would be enough of a bummer, but just be glad whoever tricked you didn’t think of putting something else in there…like, for example, a spider… Imgur/LamStock 40. Having dreams of shadowy figures is a primal fear for many people. So naturally, rounding the corner when you’ve just woken up from a deep sleep and need a glass of water, this is the last thing you’d want to see. Reddit/sg804 41. This flag cake prank works for an epic trolling of international proportions. Whether it’s a Canadian friend dishing it out to Americans on the Fourth of July, or an American friend giving a subtle dig on Canada Day, it’s bound to get some well-deserved groans. Imgur/DrewMalesky 42. Look closely and you’ll realize why this is subtly one of the most mischievous pranks out there. Hidden inside those ice cubes are Mentos. And if you have had any Internet access for the past decade, you very well know what happens when these minty candies make contact with soda. Reddit/GLman16 43. This one is sure to leave the subject of this crusty prank scratching their head wondering what the prankster’s thought process was. It’s as though they had limited resources, but were determined to pull a joke on their friend. Instagram/jenniwrenn5 44. Can’t you taste the disappointment? It’s bad enough discovering someone’s eaten your ice cream but left the carton in the freezer. But cleaning the empty container out, filling it with water, and letting that water freeze to give the illusion of weight is just so mean. Reddit/crazyphoenix 45. Old vegetables starting to go bad? No problem, there’s a pop-culture specific prank just waiting to be pulled off. Of course, this friendly little surprise requires the subject to have at least a passing knowledge of Rick and Morty, but hey! It’s funny no matter what. Instagram/lunaslipstream 46. Office supplies wars can get absolutely brutal. This perpetrator was apparently not planning on backing down any time soon, and found a simple and perfectly effective way to get his or her point across. Forensics experts may soon be needed at the scene. Instagram/screamjar 47. This prank could go several different ways. For the desk owner, more likely than not, they realize they’d been pranked. But for another office worker, especially one who hadn’t yet had their morning coffee, seeing this scene might just send them into a tizzy. Instagram/vary.mu 48. We all know someone like this: those excruciatingly annoying practical jokesters who just have to take our word literally. Yes, just as you can imagine, the hapless victim of this hilarious prank was told there was a ‘leak’ in the bathroom. Aren’t homonyms the best? Instagram/gessicapizzuto 49. It’s always nice to have a joyful celebration await you when you walk into a room. That being said, being greeted by the bang of these poppers could well be enough to make you paranoid about opening doors for a long time. Instagram/cathann24 50. Sure, we all have that one grandparent who reminds us what it was like growing up during the Great Depression. But something tells us that this delightful recipe was not included in their diet. Imgur/freebasecatnip Sources: Ranker, Buzzfeed Tags: april-fools diy entertainment funny funny-jokes hilarious jokes practical-jokes pranks from [Latest News] – Icepop: Epic Pranks That Are So Brilliant We Can’t Believe We Didn’t Think Of Them Ourselves via [Latest News] – Icepop: Epic Pranks That Are So Brilliant We Can’t Believe We Didn’t Think Of Them Ourselves August 27, 2019 at 05:35PM Copyright © August 27, 2019 at 05:35PM from Abogados Medellin llama 320 542 9469 Colombia https://boston-massachusetts-02108.blogspot.com/2019/08/latest-news-icepop-epic-pranks-that-are.html via [Latest News] – Icepop: Epic Pranks That Are So Brilliant We Can’t Believe We Didn’t Think Of Them Ourselves

#[Latest News] – Icepop: Epic Pranks That Are So Brilliant We Can’t Believe We Didn’t Think Of Them O

[wflinches]

[Latest News] – Icepop: Epic Pranks That Are So Brilliant We Can’t Believe We Didn’t Think Of Them Ourselves

– Icepop

Epic Pranks That Are So Brilliant We Can't Believe We Didn't Think Of Them Ourselves

Tuesday 27 August 2019 08:40 AM UTC-05 | Tags: april-fools diy entertainment funny funny-jokes hilarious jokes practical-jokes pranks

1. Some pranks achieve their goal quite simply, while others require a pretty incredible amount of dedication. Just imagine how hard it was to design this masterful car seat replica — and all the poor drive-thru window workers that it managed to terrify.

Imgur/EirgB

2. Regardless of whether or not you’ve seen the Alien movie franchise and know that this is a much-dreaded facehugger, opening the door to your fridge half-asleep for a midnight snack and finding this sight greeting you is one giant NOPE.

Reddit/surferchik

3. Excruciatingly irritating vehicle pranks deserve to be in a class of their own. This one is so simple yet so effective, it’s practically genius: with the mere use of cotton balls dipped in water on a freezing cold night, you’ve given your friend (or enemy?) hours of annoyance.

Tumblr/crystaljasmin

4. Surprise! Just when you thought that public spaces such as your friendly local grocery store were safe from pranks, you encounter this vile trick snake patiently awaiting your shrieks in the produce section. Wonder if they’ll ever ‘lettuce’ back in again?

Imgur/eH0bMTb

5. Few acts of injustice in the world are deserving of a life-term prison sentence. Yet this is an act so heinous, so egregious, so sickeningly twisted, that we’re bummed we didn’t come up with it on our own first.

Twitter/@djksting

6. C’mon, first world! There are hungry people out there! Must you waste your cereal in the name of this faceplant-worthy little prank? The only thing worse than the waste of food here would be if some eco-conscious samaritan cleaned up the scene as any ravenous breakfast-easter would. Ewbnb!

Instagram/roxyawesomeface

7. Looks like after years of getting harassed and barked at by the family dog, the mailman got just plain fed up and decided to deliver a little something besides mail. Signed, sealed, delivered!

Tumblr/blaaargh

8. There are several things that are safe to assume here. Firstly, that this bird foot is (hopefully) not real, and secondly, whoever accidentally ends up finding it is highly likely to jump out of their skins.

Instagram/huntgathercook

9. Come on, dude, it’s time to rally. Doesn’t it just drive you crazy when that one friend can’t keep up with the beer pong and passes out in the middle of a game? Punishment pranks are fun alright, but this balancing act is sheer art.

Reddit/ighostship

10. It’s the small things in life that can often be irritating beyond description. For this most sinister of epic pranks, paint a bar of soap with clear nail polish. Then watch as the victim struggles wondering how the should-be-suds could end up being defective.

Reddit/thebobstu

11. You’ve heard of air horns before, sure, but what about chairhorns? Neither has your unfortunate unsuspecting office mate probably, but chances are, it’s an experience they’ll never forget, and nor will all those poor souls in the vicinity who will lose temporary use of their eardrums.

Reddit/pivottofakie

12. Whoever thinks up elaborate and time-consumingly epic pranks like this deserves a word of praise. It’s a mischievous trick that’s both incredibly detailed and color-coordinated. It may take a long and frustrating amount of time to undo, but, frankly, looks so darn pretty!

Imgur/ICanDrawFish

13. What makes spiders so appealing as the key ingredient in so many pranks? Perhaps it’s because they’re so small yet so many humans share a deep-seated fear of them. Whatever’s the case, there’s bound to be someone out there who would take this warning seriously.

Twitter/@SCHS_architect

14. Who could be so diabolical as to desecrate the most holy act of enjoying an Oreo cookie? This epic prank takes no prisoners. How weird would it be if the person eating it thought it was simply a tasty, mint-flavored version of everyone’s favorite cookie sandwich?

Instagram/joelynnbonnotdds

15. Hot diggity dog! Just looking at this bizarre set-up is like one of those moments in The Matrix where all time and space freezes — except with frankfurters. Let’s just hope whoever lives in this room isn’t vegan.

Reddit/twilliams9

16. Fancy a swing, anyone? This time-encompassing prank required some careful preparation, but the final product is absolutely flawless. What’s more, making this bedroom into an impromptu croquet field made barely any mess at all. That grass is perfectly trimmed.

Reddit/udomolm

17. Is your coworker going on a long vacation, leaving their desk woefully unattended? Then here’s the chance for an epic prank that’s not only brilliant, but eco-friendly! By sewing seeds between their keyboard keys, you’ve created a problem that they’ll feel bad about having to destroy.

Flickr/wetwebwork

18. They found love in a hungry place. Sure, food can be our friend when we’re in need of a bit of self-pampering. But opening the fridge to discover a whole new posse of seemingly sentient beings is euqal parts adorable and terrifying.

Reddit/biggletits

19. Having trouble getting your kids to eat their veggies, while simultaneously seeking to give them a lifetime of trust issues? Then this epic prank is absolutely perfect for you! Mmm, Brussels pops… yum?

Reddit/Uberalles123456789

20. For this high school’s senior class prank, they managed to pull off one of those pranks that’s so simple to achieve and so precise that it looks like a work of art. Just observe this obstacle course of styrofoam water cups, and bask in its glory.

Reddit/evanallmighty7

21. We all know the existential battle of mankind vs. cling wrap, and how difficult it can be just to get a single piece to cover that half-eaten vegetable in the fridge. So imagine the sheer anguish at discovering your ride had fallen prey to this most ugh-worthy of pranks.

Instagram/chefbellatoland

22. This is the Jackson Pollock of bedroom pranks. It’s raw, it’s unhinged, it’s random, and it’s ferocious, lacking any rhyme or reason. With just a few strips of strong tape, you can properly and thoroughly ruin your roommate’s day. Game on!

Reddit/thelittlepie

23. Who knew painting tiles was so easy? These coworkers really thought outside of the box, or rather, cubicle. Even after going through all the trouble to redesign this work space as a bathroom, they get extra points for that curtain: it’s all about the reveal!

Flickr/mikegallo

24. Ah, the old rubber band around the phone prank. So cost-effective, so primitive, and yet so aggravating. Let’s just hope whoever’s office phone this is doesn’t have any important conference calls to make that day — or a sharp pair of scissors on hand.

Flickr/furryscaly

25. This epic prank is so clever because of its absolute absurdity. Just imagine being the victim of this practical joke and having your voicemail inundated with a bunch of random people leaving you a message yelling “NGRARRRRWWRRRRR” and then hanging up.

Reddit/wwryan

26. As far as epically gross pranks go, this one is downright foul. Who even knew there was such a thing as shrimp-scented spray in the first place? Regardless, this is one of the nastiest games of dress-up we’ve ever witnessed.

Imgur/PuntCuncher

27. The use of Jigsaw from the gruesome Saw horror film series here was very calculated and precise, because whoever gets stranded without any toilet paper and is forced to use this duct tape could find themselves in a world of horror.

Imgur/NobuNagaa

28. When the owner of this bedroom asked his friends for some help redesigning the place, it’s safe to say this probably wasn’t exactly what he had in mind. At bare minimum, if there’s ever a power outage, he’ll have plenty of reading material.

Twitter/@JessNagy

29. Hell hath no fury like an aggressive shopper. Thankfully, whoever was the victim of this shopping cart trap, could easily extricate themselves — albeit risking the potential to ruin their pain job. Otherwise, it’s time to call in a forklift.

Imgur/potatoetatie

30. As the story behind this unusual prank goes, this makeshift shrine was set up by the recipient’s roommate, after hearing his friend would be bringing his date home that night. Needless to say, whoever the lucky gal was, upon seeing this, would likely run for the hills.

Twitter/@deno_tron

31. Think you know office pranks? You know nothing. With a bit of imagination, a pile of spare keyboards can be used to properly replicate the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones. The prankster even added that delicate final touch of suspended dragons flying above the coveted chair.

Reddit/navri

32. Remember all those excellent cutting and gluing skills you learned in elementary school? It was all to prepare you for this moment. When your prank target turns on the lampshade, there’s a fair chance the results will be heard in the next county over.

Instagram/jameson129

33. Whoever ensnared this office desk in spiderwebs obviously decided their Halloween ought to be filled with far more trick than treat. At least those are fake cobwebs, otherwise we’d have some serious concerns to be brought to HR’s attention.

Flickr/Joe Goldberg

34. Question: how do you show your office companion just how much you care about them on the anniversary of their arrival in the world? Answer: by coating everything, literally everything they own in their work space, in aluminum foil — and no, those aren’t presents.

Instagram/123internet

35. When you want to fool your friends into thinking you’re generous when in reality it’s just a convenient cover-up for your cruel, cruel heart, few pranks could be quite so satisfying as making caramel onions — and even mixing them with apples to make a game of Russian roulette.

Reddit/Aresome_Username

36. Okay, so to properly execute this most random of pranks will require some bonus materials that you may not necessarily have just lying around the house. This is probably not what one would think when they hear “there’s a chick in the bathroom.”

Reddit/jbreezy13

37. So you and your roommates had a house party, complete with the prerequisite sketchy red plastic cups, but you overshot the amount of guests and are left with all these spare ones. What to do, what to do…

Reddit/the_tapatio_man

38. It’s probably safe to say you weren’t expecting your trip to the lavatory to be quite this festive. But then again, the finest of pranks strike when you least expect them. Let’s hope this person didn’t get winded: that’s a lot of balloons to blow up!

Twitter/@love_bughh

39. This prank is the ultimate rebellion against fast food. Finding vegetables when you were expecting those crispy hot little McNuggets would be enough of a bummer, but just be glad whoever tricked you didn’t think of putting something else in there…like, for example, a spider…

Imgur/LamStock

40. Having dreams of shadowy figures is a primal fear for many people. So naturally, rounding the corner when you’ve just woken up from a deep sleep and need a glass of water, this is the last thing you’d want to see.

Reddit/sg804

41. This flag cake prank works for an epic trolling of international proportions. Whether it’s a Canadian friend dishing it out to Americans on the Fourth of July, or an American friend giving a subtle dig on Canada Day, it’s bound to get some well-deserved groans.

Imgur/DrewMalesky

42. Look closely and you’ll realize why this is subtly one of the most mischievous pranks out there. Hidden inside those ice cubes are Mentos. And if you have had any Internet access for the past decade, you very well know what happens when these minty candies make contact with soda.

Reddit/GLman16

43. This one is sure to leave the subject of this crusty prank scratching their head wondering what the prankster’s thought process was. It’s as though they had limited resources, but were determined to pull a joke on their friend.

Instagram/jenniwrenn5

44. Can’t you taste the disappointment? It’s bad enough discovering someone’s eaten your ice cream but left the carton in the freezer. But cleaning the empty container out, filling it with water, and letting that water freeze to give the illusion of weight is just so mean.

Reddit/crazyphoenix

45. Old vegetables starting to go bad? No problem, there’s a pop-culture specific prank just waiting to be pulled off. Of course, this friendly little surprise requires the subject to have at least a passing knowledge of Rick and Morty, but hey! It’s funny no matter what.

Instagram/lunaslipstream

46. Office supplies wars can get absolutely brutal. This perpetrator was apparently not planning on backing down any time soon, and found a simple and perfectly effective way to get his or her point across. Forensics experts may soon be needed at the scene.

Instagram/screamjar

47. This prank could go several different ways. For the desk owner, more likely than not, they realize they’d been pranked. But for another office worker, especially one who hadn’t yet had their morning coffee, seeing this scene might just send them into a tizzy.

Instagram/vary.mu

48. We all know someone like this: those excruciatingly annoying practical jokesters who just have to take our word literally. Yes, just as you can imagine, the hapless victim of this hilarious prank was told there was a ‘leak’ in the bathroom. Aren’t homonyms the best?

Instagram/gessicapizzuto

49. It’s always nice to have a joyful celebration await you when you walk into a room. That being said, being greeted by the bang of these poppers could well be enough to make you paranoid about opening doors for a long time.

Instagram/cathann24

50. Sure, we all have that one grandparent who reminds us what it was like growing up during the Great Depression. But something tells us that this delightful recipe was not included in their diet.

Imgur/freebasecatnip

Sources: Ranker, Buzzfeed

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april-fools

diy

entertainment

funny

funny-jokes

hilarious

jokes

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pranks

from [Latest News] – Icepop: Epic Pranks That Are So Brilliant We Can’t Believe We Didn’t Think Of Them Ourselves via [Latest News] – Icepop: Epic Pranks That Are So Brilliant We Can’t Believe We Didn’t Think Of Them Ourselves August 27, 2019 at 06:35PM Copyright © August 27, 2019 at 06:35PM

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