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witch-hazels-musings · 3 years

Note

because I need that good loving can I request Diluc and Zhongli reaction to seeing there SO dressed up for a formal event even though its not something they really like doing but because they dont want to make Diluc/Zhongli look bad in front of all these other people they put all their effort into looking like the human embodiment of attractiveness.

the way you look tonight

(okay so truth time - I thought about you the whole time I was writing this and forgot you requested it -- I hope the love of these boys reminds you that you are lovely <3!)

Warning -> SFW, fluff / comfort (cussing(1))(self-conscience reader)

Character X GN Reader | Anthology

Includes: Zhongli ⚘, Diluc

Zhongli

He finds your normal style of dress unique and interesting, it’s unlike most of the people who make up Liyue’s landscape and it’s independently you

When someone lives their life in the way they want to, that's what Zhongli admires the most about people, about humans

He doesn’t mind what you wear, he would want anyone to meet you, to see you regardless because through his eyes he sees your attractiveness - it’s in the way you smile, the way you laugh, the way you react when something makes you excited or when he gives you a gift you don’t expect - how could he hide you away and not let others see the way you glow?

You look at yourself for the tenth time in the large circular mirror. An hour had gone by and you still felt unusual, out of place, like a fraud in this attire. For the, you’ve lost count, time you fuss with the fabric that sits against your stomach, tugging on it, wondering if you should leave it open or closed. The most frustrating thing about this is that you had no idea how to wear this damn thing.

Your head falls onto the vanity and you do your best to hold it all in. With a deep breath, you go back to messing with your hair and face. The ticking clock behind you reminds you that time is not your friend no matter how much you want it to stop.

This is so hard for you, of course, you want to be there for Zhongli - he was there for everything you ever did, it was beyond time to repay him - but you just couldn’t find the confidence to be proud of what you’d done. So, shaping the image in your brain into a distorted representation of what you wished you looked like, you stood from your small chair and walked toward the door of the bedroom.

Your shoes click on the hardwood floor which is something you hate, the thought of people hearing you coming only to see what appears from the source of the sound makes your skin crawl. Still, you pressed on, and that’s when your eyes fell onto the immaculate figure that stands near the entrance. His tall, elegant frame is so intense it knocks the wind from your lungs as if someone just punched you in the stomach. How can I stand next to that … you panic and turn to retreat back into the safety of the bedroom when your arms collide with a small table in the hallway.

Objects fall to the ground and, in a ridiculous display of your clumsy nature, you juggle one of the more breakable objects before catching it moments from shattering on the floor below.

“Whew …” You exclaim, bringing it close to your body. “Sorry, little guy didn’t mean to do that.” You wince, patting its side before place it back onto its home and picking up the other objects from the ground.

Long fingers enter your field of vision, startled you stand only to see Zhongli reaching down to assist you.

“Ah, sorry.” You express, crossing your arms after putting the items in your hands half-hazard onto the surface.

“No need to apologize, are you injured?” He asks, standing himself and reminding you how tall he is.

“My pride, maybe.” You share, laughing through your embarrassment.

“Too much of that and we might find ourselves in trouble anyway.” He looks down at you, his eyes scanning, interested and making you shift under their gaze. “You …”

“I know... I look so strange, and,” you begin, fussing with the top again, “I can’t seem to get this right.” Turning around you show him what you were talking about and how it seems far too loose.

He laughs softly and you feel his hands run underneath the edge of the fabric and coming to rest at the wrap at your waist. “Let me assist you.”

“Thank you …” He’s so close to you, his hands move expertly as they work to correct your inadequacies, eyes compassionate, patient as they always are.

“This outfit suits you.”

“Does it really? I look so … I mean this isn’t something I would normally wear. In fact,” You think for a minute before continuing, “I can’t remember the last time I dressed up for something other than adventuring. It’s not practical to go running through ruins in this type of getup.” You explain, lifting your arms and watching how the fabric slips down to your elbows before sliding back to your wrists as they collide with your legs.

“That could turn things into quite the challenge I’d imagine.”

“Exactly.”

“Nevertheless, you will turn quite a many heads upon our arrival.”

“That’s what I'm afraid of …” You mumble, forgetting that he is close enough to hear you.

“Y/N, need I remind you how spectacular you look.”

You bite your lip but your insecurities make you speak anyway, “I just don’t see how I have the right to stand next to you, I don’t want you to be … ashamed of me.” The end of your sentence trails off as you look to the ground. Zhongli doesn’t respond until his hands stop fixing your gown. With comforting fingers he presses against the soft underbelly of your chin, lifting your head at the angle it should be.

“While I am beyond sure you can hear me, I hope that you can trust me as well when I tell you that every day I am honored to stand at your side. There is nothing in this world which compares to your beauty, in fact, you are more radiant than the moon itself.” He leans in to place a kiss against your forehead.

“You don’t wish I was … more attractive?”

“I cannot wish for a thing that holds no bearing on reality.”

“Mmm.”

“If my words have not reached you, perhaps I can better express my truth through actions …” He pulled you flush against him, his hands now wrapped around your hips and eyes focused on your lips.

“Aa! Wait … no, I believe you.” Embarrassed, you push away from him and make your way toward the door. “Let’s just go because if I get out of this thing I won’t be putting it back on.” You huff, smoothing out the wrinkles.

“Shall we?” He reaches for your hand and easily you take it.

“Let’s do this.” With a lighthearted Zhongli, you exit your home and head toward the lively sounds drifting over the water.

Diluc

He already thinks you are so incredibly attractive no matter what you wear - he knows you’re one for practicality, from your actions to your clothes, you are ready to go and prepared for whatever will come your way - a trait he admires

There is something adorable about the way you fall out of bed in the morning and, in some cases, take less time than he does to get ready - it can come in handy where there much work to be done

He never asks for you to be more than what you are - he honestly wouldn’t care what other people thought about you, all that matters is you believe him when he tells you how good you look or how you make his heart clench

So when he sees you descend the stairs in an outfit, a formal, totally out-of-the-absolute-norm outfit, he’s stunned

“Crap.” You say, flinging the jewelry you couldn’t decide on anyway back toward the dresser. You’d taken far too long to get ready, even though you started hours ago, it still wasn’t enough to make you feel confident and finished. Glancing at your reflection one last time, you gave up with a heavy sigh and made your way down the hallway.

You could already see everyone else in their formal attire ready to go, even the attendants looked better than you did. When you caught sight of Diluc your steps slowed and for a solid minute to you debated about turning around and hiding under the comfortable covers of the bed you loathed getting out of this morning.

“Ah, there you are! Are you ready?” Adaline shouted from below you and like a scene from a nightmare everyone turned to look up at you. You stumbled backward and felt your chest tighten, eyes scanning each face as you debated on your next action. When they fell onto Diluc’s stoic eyes, you felt a little bit of relief and knew all you had to do was make it down to him.

Slowly, you started again and, with a deathlike grip on the railing, you made your way down the stairs. Diluc met you at the bottom, his hand extended to take yours.

“I’m so sorry. I couldn’t figure out what would pair well with … this thing.” You gestured at your outfit and looked behind him, thankful that people had already started to leave through the front door. “Do I … look okay?”

With an awkward smile, you waited for his answer, hopeful that he wouldn’t have to struggle so hard to lie to you. I mean, when you were able to see him in his suit, the way it perfectly fits around his toned body, the fabric tucked in all the right places, the sleeves just long enough to give one a peek of skin underneath - there was no way you compared to him.

He looked at you for so long your heart started to feel like a thousand knives were stabbing you in all directions. He hates this … he can’t believe that I’m such a disaster. The thoughts circulate in your brain and just as your about to rush back up the stairs and hide he lifts your fingers to his lips and kisses them with so much love.

“I apologize … I’m just a bit startled is all.” Your stomach drops to your feet at his words.

“Archons, is it that bad? Did I put something on wrong … or?”

“Nothing like that,” He kisses your palm and the action makes your spine turn hot, “You look unbelievable, is what I wanted to say.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes.” He looks at you but you shy away from his eyes. “Y/N, do you trust me?”

“What … of course I trust you.” You reply, flabbergasted.

“Then trust me now.” He pulls you in for a hug, his arms wrapping around your neck, his hand resting at the back of your head. “I’ve never seen someone as brilliant as you.”

Fueled by your emotions, you return his hug, squeezing your arms around his waist and doing your best not to let your face be ruined by the tears that want to fall from stinging eyes. “Thank you, I’ll trust you on this … today.”

“I don’t have any issues reminding you again and again.” Shouting outside tells you that it’s now or never and, as much as you don’t want to, your arms release each other. “Are you ready?” He asks, offering you his arm, and with a deep inhale and sharp nod, you take it and walk through the doors.

----

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nahimjustfeelingit-writes · 3 years

Text

Life size mannequin.

Erik’s girl uses him as a mannequin but Erik takes it too far and it back fires.

If you were to ask Y/N how she gets everything done she wouldn’t be able to give you a straight forward answer. Juggling school, a full time job, and a side hussle isn’t for the delicate and inadequate. Staying up until 2 AM with flash cards sprawled out on the living room table and a ratty mannequin head between her legs every night, Y/N fights much needed rest to recharge for the next days events. That’s not the only thing her teeming life has to offer. Y/N’s new boyfriend, Erik would be seen as a distraction to some but she can hold her own without slacking on her studies, missing a days work, or forgetting to do a clients hair. He’s handsome, fun, intriguing, smart, and that dick...it needs its own SSN and certificate. It’s own area code even. If she had to admit it, whenever her mind drifted to their bodies tangled in her sheets, moaning and groaning, she lost focus just a little bit.

Y/N is off on a Friday for once and instead of catching up on rest, Y/N decided to use her entire day making a closure wig for a friend and client. It’s a 24 inch body wave natural black lace frontal. No shedding, very soft, bouncy, with overall great quality. If only her lousy mannequin head would keep still!!! Y/N gave up after the mannequin head slipped from her grip. She usually has a wig stand with a mannequin head attached to the end but all of them are covered with other wigs that didn’t need to be ruined. The old fashioned way brought her back to how frustrating it was to practice. And to make things worse, Erik is strolling back and forth in front of her naked after his shower and completely ignoring her closet stocked with plenty of towels. When he stopped in front of her, his strapping thighs and that lethal weapon dangling she felt her face grow warm and her belly grow butterflies.

“You’re not helping, jerk,” Y/N said as she continued sewing. She was almost finished.

“I haven’t seen you in a few days and the one time I have a chance to spend time with you, this is what you do.”

“This wig is past due, Erik. I was supposed to get this to her two days ago. Thank God she had some shit going on herself otherwise I would be losing a client.”

Erik gave up trying to seduce Y/N and grabbed a pair of briefs from his travel bag.

“Whatever, you owe me some after this,” Erik sat down on the bed, leaning on one elbow, “You really into this.”

“And?” Y/N sassed.

“I’m just saying. Why not be a full time hair stylist?”

“Because I don’t want to do this for a living. Why else would I be in school for something that has nothing to do with hair? It’s just money to make on the side.”

The mannequin slipped again and Erik burst out laughing.

“I wanna see you try it since you find my struggle funny.”

“Oh, you don’t want me to do it I’ll fuck that whole wig up.”

Y/N ignored his smart remark.

“I’ll come over there and mess that shit right up and make you start over.”

“Erik, I’m not in the mood right now leave me alone,” Y/N cut her eyes at him, “Try me if you want I will take the end of this needle and dig it in one of them keloids. Make it pop like bubble wrap, think I’m playing.”

“You forget you’re talking to someone with a pain kink. Why you think my pain receptors fucked up?”

“So, you mean to tell me, if I boil some hot water right now and pour it on your leg...you wouldn’t feel pain?”

Erik frowned his face into a mug at Y/N as he cocked his head back. The widening of his eyes is what made her giggle.

“You don’t know how to love me all you wanna do is hurt a nigga. What is wrong with you?”

“I’m only messing with you—”

“No you’re not. If I say some shit you don’t like I get slapped upside my head. If I want to be in a playing mood you threaten me with that little fist of yours. Just admit it, you enjoy tormenting me.”

“You’re so Goddamn dramatic,” Y/N tilted her mannequin head forward, “Can you do me a huge favor?”

“If it involves getting up off this bed the answer is fuck no,” Erik said while lying on his back now with his legs hanging over the edge of the bed.

“I already know you’re about to say no but...I want you to let me use you as my mannequin.”

“Huh?”

The way his voice rose an octave has Y/N laughing.

“Can you let me put this wig on you so I can finish this?”

Erik’s brows shot up as his eyes landed on her, “Why? So you can sneak and take a picture? I’m not falling for that.”

“Erik c’mon now. I just need your head for a second and that’s it.”

“I can think of other ways you can use my head but instead you wanna put some weave on me.”

Erik sat up and swung his legs around to face Y/N. Erik leans forward on his knees, staring at the wig with a steady blink.

“What size is that shit anyway? You know I have locs so...how the hell is that supposed to fit on my head?”

“I’ll just...fit it over that pineapple on top of your head.”

“Jokes,” Erik reached up and took out the elastic band that held his tapered locs. Shaking his head, his locs fell over his eyes, “I’m not putting that on my head.”

“Not even for me?” Y/N pouts, “Not your favorite girl?”

“I know you, Y/N. You’re gonna put that shit on my head, take a picture, and post it. I’m not falling for the shit. I told you that.”

“Whatever. You got a big ass dome anyway and this wig is average size.”

“Now you’re tryna clown me?” Erik said with a half smirk on his full lips flashing a bit of his gold canines.

“It’s like...mad wide from front to back...no wonder you keep your hair long—”

“I know you ain’t talking shit with that ginormous ass forehead, girl.”

“I thought you said all the fine girls got big foreheads?” Y/N bat her lashes at Erik.

“That’s what’s helping you out. First time I saw you I was thinking damn, this bitch got a big ass forehead. And don’t think I forgot about how you played me when you sent that cropped picture.”

“Boy, fuck you!!” Y/N shouted over Erik’s laughter.

“I was—I was looking at the picture like where the rest of her face go?!”

Y/N glared at Erik as he dissolved into laughter.

“It’s really not that funny. Now are you gonna help me or not?!”

“Aight, I’ll do it this one time.” Erik sat up with one hand resting against his abdomen while the other wiped away tears, “Where do you want me?”

“On the floor between my legs, DUH where the fuck else would you be?”

He began dying laughing again from Y/N’s obvious annoyance. Erik took his place on the floor while Y/N climbed behind him onto the bed with each leg dangling on either side of him. Y/N takes the wig from the mannequin and before she placed it on Erik she tilted his head back more for easier access. Grabbing the half-done wig, Y/N fluffed out the ends before arranging it over Erik’s locs. Even at their short length it was a challenge to fit the wig the way she needed it.

“Can you PLEASE keep still?” Y/N prompted.

“I’m not even moving. This wig just don’t fit.”

Y/N applied force and wiggled it over his locs causing Erik’s head to rock back and forth aggressively. He growled before reaching behind him to grab her hands. The wig looked much shorter on him in the back from how prominent his back and shoulders are. Erik turned to face her with his lips tight and face frowned, the wig making him look ridiculous and silly. Y/N folded her lips into her mouth but the urge to laugh caused her cheeks to puff out.

“If only you knew how tight my fucking head feels right now. I can’t even smile without this shit feeling like my scalp is being pulled. This better come off when we’re done or that’s your ass.”

“Erik, turn around. I only have one section to do and then you’re free. Next time, don’t ask me to help you with shit if you’re gonna act like this.”

Erik sucked his teeth and faced forward so Y/N could continue. He lowered his head so she could work on the back area.

“Can I ask you something, babe?” Y/N said.

“What?” Erik replied.

“Do you mind modeling this for me—”

“See, I knew this shit—”

Erik stood up before Y/N could wrap her arms around him. He walked over to the full body mirror in her room to look at himself and that’s when he couldn’t hold back his own laughter.

“Yo, what the fuck do you have on my head!” Erik played with the strands while turning his head from side to side, “I look like James Brown, AYE!!!!”

Y/N was in stitches when he mimicked James Brown in the mirror. She fell back against her bed hollering from the way he looked.

“Nah, I’m not drunk right now I need to be drunk to enjoy this,” Erik leaned into the mirror, “I look better than half the bitches that come in here to get their hair done. Let me find out.”

“You are so STUPID!!!!” Y/N yelled between giggles.

“I’ll be back,” Erik left the room with the wig swaying from side to side since it wasn’t fully secure.

“Where are you going?!” Y/N shouted from the bed.

Erik didn’t respond to her loud voice. When he returned two minutes later he had a cup in one hand and his bottle of Hennessy in the other. Erik sat both the cup and the bottle on Y/N’s cluttered dresser to make himself a drink.

“This was supposed to be a quick thing now you’re drinking.”

Y/N watched Erik from her relaxed spot on the bed. Erik took two sips of his drink before standing in front of her mirror again.

“What are you doing?!”

Y/N couldn’t even finish her words when Erik started shimmying his shoulders and snapping his fingers to a soundless beat. Hooting with laughter Y/N could feel wetness on her cheeks.

“IM DONE!!!”

“This shit give bad bitches super powers.” Erik said

“Let me find out you wanna wear a weave now.” Y/N jokes.

Erik brought his cup to his lips and drank more Hennessy while moving his hips. This was too good not to get a video. With Erik being his usual silly self, Y/N snatched up her phone from the floor before pulling up her Instagram to record him. On her story, Y/N focused the camera on her boyfriend when he started singing the lyrics to Lady Marmalade.

“Gitchi gitchi, ya ya, da da. Gitchi gitchi, ya ya, here!!”

“Oh my God!!” Y/N cried out with a chuckle before ending the video. She uploaded it to her story before quickly tossing her phone towards the end of the bed.

“Creole Lady Marmalade!!!!!!!!”

“You hardly had anything to drink and you’re acting like this? Lord.”

“Aight, I’m done for now,” Erik made his way back over to Y/N with his cup, “put on a movie or something.”

“Ohhhhhh!!! So you’re asking me to pick this time?! I get to make a decision, Erik?! Wowwwwwwwww!!!”

“Girl, shut up.”

Y/N chose a random movie for background noise while she finished. She was surprised at how content he was and it made her consider asking him to help more in the future. It was fun and it made her laugh. That’s one thing about Erik that she adores. He matches her sense of humor. Y/N heard a vibration and when she glanced over to look at her phone the screen is still black. Between her legs she could see Erik staring at a text message from his Lock Screen

“What the fuck is this nigga talking ‘bout.”

“Erik keep still—”

“Nigga who is Miss Man?!”

Y/N paused to peer over Erik’s shoulder.

“This nigga just called me Miss Man from Scary Movie.”

Erik tapped on the microphone on his keyboard to speak.

“Who the fuck randomly texts somebody that at 11 PM? Fucking weirdo ass nigga. Let me find out you want Miss Man for yourself.”

“Who is Miss Man— OH! The PE teacher that was sniffing the underwear?!!! hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!”

“This nigga...he said all you need is the underwear, skirt, nails, and makeup—wait.”

“And some long ass balls!!” Y/N snickered.

Erik whipped his head around and when Y/N met his fiery eyes she swallowed her laugh and it left an uncomfortable lump in her throat.

“Did you post me online wearing this wig, Y/N?”

“No.”

“I’m gonna ask you again. Did you post me online in this wig?

“Mm—mm. I did no such thing.”

“Then let me see your phone.”

Erik reached out for Y/N’s phone but she snatched it away. Erik moved his head to the side to flip some of the wig hair form his face but it fell forward again disobeying him.

“Did I? Uhhhh—OKAY OKAY!!”

It happened so fast. Erik has Y/N by the waist and up in the air.

“Yes, I did!! I’ll delete it.”

“You don’t listen to shit I tell you to do—”

“It was cute! You looked cute with it on—”

“You know what’s about to happen right?! I told you not to do that shit!”

“Erik, it’s all in fun. I’ll get rid of it—”

“That shit is embarrassing! What if I posted you online at your worse?”

“I don’t have a bad moment I always look good.” Y/N sasses.

“Says the girl that always complains about me taking off guard pics.”

“Erik, you’re not even at your worse. You act like I posted you looking bummy!”

Y/N kept her word and went to Instagram to delete. When she got there, she was met with at least ten DMs replying to her story.

Corythemua_: gurllll who is that? 👀 ooooh he is fione!!! Is he into guys?

Jermaine_87: Wtf is he doing?! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 let me text this nigga

Katriceee: how did you convince him to do this?! LOL

Amethyst1993: when he find out about this you are in trouble girl!!!

“did you delete the video yet?! Don’t let me find out it’s still there!”

“It’s gone! Happy?! What happened to being in a playing mood?!!”

“Now all my friends texting me and clowning me! You play too many games. Hurry up and help me take this shit off!”

Erik brushed some strands from his lips with his fingertips and Y/N squealed. Nothing he could say or do would make her listen. He looked absolutely hilarious with the wavy tresses of the wig moving in tandem with his brawny physique.

“Erik, I can’t take you seriously with that wig on.”

“Then take this off!!”

Erik attempts to pull it off but suddenly stops when he realizes he needs help.

“I want this shit off now, Y/N.”

“FINE! Come here.”

Y/N tapped the floor with her foot for Erik to take a seat. When he does, Y/N does the opposite of what he asks and begins to place his hair into two buns. She silently laughed behind him, praying that he wouldn’t hear her falling apart. When she was finished, Erik assumed she was done because he didn’t feel the hair tickling his skin. When he stood up to look in the mirror, Erik groaned loudly at his appearance before flexing his jaw at her threateningly to make her listen. It didn’t work at all for him. She couldn’t stop laughing.

“You look so crazy!!!!!” Y/N hugged her sides and rolled on the bed with laughter, “And that evil look is making it even funnier!!”

“I’m about to beat your ass if you don’t take this shit off!!! It wouldn’t be funny if this shit stuck now would it?!!! I gotta go to work and all that nah take this off—

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

“Aight, are you finished?!” Erik said impatiently.

“Baby...you don’t understand...oh my God.”

“Y/N, for real, take this dumb ass wig off before I cut it off!”

“Okay okay!! Before I do...you gotta do one last thing for me...pretty please? With caramel sauce and a cherry on top? I’ll do whatever you want if you do this last thing for me.”

“.....”

“PLEASE BABY?!!”

“.....”

“Erik, look, it’ll be funny! I just want you to cat walk for me and then I’m done—”

“Ahhhhh HELL no—”

“Please—”

“For what?! So you can keep laughing?!”

“I’ll suck your dick, lick your balls—”

“Girl, that won’t work on me—”

“You sure about that?”

Y/N poked her tongue out and started doing tricks with it to show off her tongue ring. Erik’s eyes squinted at her but she could tell from his breathing that he wouldn’t be able to fight it much longer. He even said so himself that her head game makes him weak and no woman before her has ever made him weak.

“...from here to the bed and that’s it.”

Y/N smiled victoriously.

Erik placed his hands on his tapered waistline before lowering his head. Y/N could hear him silently laughing to himself before he lifted his head displaying an adorable dimpled smile. He started strutting towards Y/N with stiff hips and two left feet. All this from her flicking her tongue. Y/N stared at him with her mouth hanging open and eyes wide. He had a focused look on his face and the wig with its two buns flopped up and down messily like bunny ears. He struck a pose with his hip jutted out before he started to vogue. At that point, Y/N couldn’t take it any longer. She had to grab onto Erik so she could catch her breath. Soon, Erik’s deep laugh could be heard.

“You get on my nerves,” Erik sat beside Y/N, “now, can you take this off of me?!”

“Turn around,” Y/N took down the buns before carefully sliding the wig off from front to back, “You’re off the hook after that I’m gonna go back to using this mannequin head.”

“Yeah, finish up so I can spank that ass for posting me on social media.”

Y/N did a double take, “I’m still in trouble?!”

“Yeah, you’re not off the hook.”

The remaining time Y/N finished her clients wig, she thought up all possible ways he could punish her this time.

“Can I have a kiss?” Y/N asked with a sweet sounding voice.

“Yes,” Erik poked his thick, moist lips out and Y/N pressed her soft lips against them.

“Mmm...still in trouble, ma,” Erik whispered.

#funny #nahimjustfeelingit-writes #killmonger imagine #killmonger fanfiction #erik killmonger

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embrassemoi · 3 years

Text

𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬

Pairings: Sirius B, F!Reader, Remus L Content: swearing, angst, no proofreading, filler? A/N: i hope your week has been great so far xx

【 Masterlist | Previous Chapter | ao3 】

Chapter 35 ✷ Picture’s Up

━━━━━━━━━༻☽༺━━━━━━━━━

James couldn't recall a time where he felt so drained.

He didn’t even think there was a word to encapsulate just how drained he really felt. Every day, there was a wariness that sunk and immersed itself so deeply within his bones that made it feel like he could hardly breathe.

Day by day, it felt like a part of his sanity was cracking.

Enervated, drowsy, exhausted, knackered, dead on his own two feet… he could go on.

Prefect duties were as dreadful as Remus had said they were and James regretted every time he ever made fun of him for it. It was miserable and karma never hit him harder. Monitoring detentions and rounds were tedious, the tests he had to grade were mind-numbingly boring; all forcing him to lose the little sleep he had.

And then there were the loads of Quidditch practices that once were fun, a way for him to exert his remarkable supply of energy, only became a bit of a nuisance with the overwhelming activities he was forced to juggle.

Working around Moony’s moon cycle...

And then there was the fucking Black family.

The mere mention of their names sent James into a spiral. He’d rather submerge himself into the Black lake and let the giant squid ink all over him than deal with them. But there he was.

He debated for a while, whether or not to tell Black about Regulus but refrained. He was far too stubborn to listen and could make matters worse.

James sighed, leaning into the couch in the common room, running his fingers through his hair.

“Potter.” The ring of Lily’s voice sounded through his ears. James turned around to look at her, feeling his heart accelerate.

“Evans,” he greeted.

“We have rounds in a bit. Don’t be late.”

James simply nodded, not having enough energy to put on a front.

And of course Lily noticed. She noticed his frazzled appearance and lack of energy. There was hardly any banter between them and Lily would’ve thought it was a miracle that his annoying self had vanished, replaced with timorous energy. But if anything, it was disquieting.

She bit the inside of her cheek, forcing out, “Hey, you alright?”

He gave a little audible sound in response. “Yeah. I’ll be there. I just need to make a few arrangements quickly. Meet you by the... Prefects’ bathroom?”

Lily considered him.

“... See you.”

James made his way out of the common room, slipping out the Marauder’s Map. He’d been tracking Regulus’ movements for the past few days now and the only person he went to was Y/N for any substantial amount of time.

He truly had no one else and it ruled out any potential bullying.

Walburga and Orion… Their treatment towards him shocked James. Golden boy Regulus, who would’ve thought?

But even with the Marauder’s Map, it was impossible to keep track of him. He never stayed in one spot long enough to catch, aside from the dungeons and Slytherin common room.

Everything regarding Regulus’ situation forced James to think strenuously. If he were to accidentally say too much of what Whiskers had told him, not only would Regulus close himself off to him, but to her too, leaving them with no clue of his well-being.

And it forced him to worry about Whiskers. She didn’t know what she's getting herself into… What if Walburga and Orion caught word of their friendship?

James shuddered, pushing away the thought. He didn’t want to think about what would happen to either of them.

He continued to watch Regulus’ name travel across the map before ascertaining he was close. He tapped on the map, muttering out ‘Mischief managed’ whilst bolting down the hallways. Each twist and turn exhilarated a nervous adrenaline thumping through his veins as he rehearsed a little speech inside his head.

Before Regulus had time to process what was happening, James had already yanked him back, disappearing into one of the secret passageways.

“What the — Potter?!” He squawked. Pushing him away, James saw the pure panic washed over his features through the shadows.

“I know we don’t have much time,” James rushed, “But hear me out.”

He made no attempt to move but looked around for other students.

“You’ll always have a home with me,” James said easily as if it was the most obvious answer. “With Bla — Sirius — living with me, you’re more than welcome to as well. I understand your situation and —”

“No,” Regulus leered, “I can’t.”

“You can’t or you won’t?” James challenged before easing up. “My family and I are more than willing to protect you, like how we’ve been doing for Sirius.”

And then it stayed silent for a while and he finally let himself take in his appearance.

“Regulus, what happened to you?”

Regulus’ head hung. “All I wanted was to have long hair.”

And then it clicked for James, but he was running out of things to say that were convincing and felt a familiar panic return.

“You miss him, right?” He tried. “I know he misses you. If maybe —”

But when Regulus’ mood suddenly changed, James knew instantly that he had miscalculated.

“Miss me?” Regulus laughed bitterly. “He doesn’t miss me and he has never considered me his brother. You, Lupin, Pettigrew — you’re his brothers.”

He could see the misty tears welding up in Regulus’ eyes and didn’t make a move to stop him when he stormed out from the passageway.

Once Regulus was free from James, he sprinted, blinking multiple times to prevent tears from seeping out. An ache burned inside his chest as he found himself diving into his bed, pulling the curtains shut.

Those unforgettable questions that plagued his mind for a year now played heavily in his mind, like his own personal film.

What made someone good or bad? What did he believe in? Was he strong enough to break from his mould or did he want to? And most importantly, what was he willing to do?

Blood purity…

Regulus closed his eyes. He wished life was a dress rehearsal and there were times to make mistakes and have do-overs without permanent repercussions. To get time to practice and refine life until he explored every avenue. Unfortunately, life had no room for anything but the final performance. Every stumble, every mishap or memory slip was presented to a live audience day by day.

Reopening his eyes, he had his answer.

━━━━━━━━━༻☽༺━━━━━━━━━

A few weeks went by and September was coming to a close. October came with beautiful colours and a chilly breeze.

It felt like every day, Y/N added another reason to be disgruntled and hateful onto her list. It had been a month since she’d last seen her mother and she refrained from sending any letters; waiting patiently to see if she would make the first move.

Nothing.

It was safe to say that it put her into a bad mood that morning.

The walk to Defence Against the Dark Arts with Lily was a quiet one and slightly uncomfortable. However, the uncomfortable bit was more on Lily’s end rather than Y/N who was too wrapped in her anger-induced thoughts.

These days, their lessons were almost exclusively in the Duelling room, filled with practical lessons. Especially today, she was beyond thankful for; eager to have an outlet.

But Professor Elway was unusually keen on inviting her to the Duelling sessions. She was almost as difficult as dodging Slughorn’s Slugclub invites. Luckily, Y/N liked Elway and duelling was electrifying. Even potion making, no matter how much she enjoyed it, was lengthy and mundane.

Mentioning their professor, she wasn’t there that morning when they arrived outside the Duelling room. The students lounged outside the door, taking out their books and wand while they waited.

Remus found himself drifting to her as they quietly chatted away.

“Like your sweater,” she said. In the background, she could hear Marlene and James yelling, “It’s a jumper!”

Remus smiled. “This old thing?” Pointing to the sweater that she knitted. They both giggled a bit; Remus leaned slightly against her, eyes lingering a beat.

“Sorry, I’m late!” Elway called out to them in a dreamy voice. “Everyone, follow me!”

Puzzled, the class looked at each other as they followed their professor away from the dungeons. While they walked, rude and unbearable, Peeves the Poltergeist floated upside down. Once he spotted Remus, he immediately drifted up to him, opening his mouth, no doubt about to hurl all sorts of names or songs at him.

Remus hardly looked at him, already taking out his wand and said lazily, “Waddiwasi!” at Peeves.

A wad of gum shot out from nowhere and landed directly on Peeves before he whirled back from Remus, spewing curses at him.

“Nice one! Ought to teach me that later!” “Almost feel bad for the bloke!” Both James and Peter said at the same time.

Elway had led them outside to a desolate area, free from a canopy of branches and leaves.

“Now, my pupils!” She sang. “You might be wondering, ‘what are we doing out here?’ Lucky for you, we’re going to be practicing a few spells and learning how to fight using other means during duels.”

Like most of the class, Emmeline was skeptical as she raised her hand. “I thought we weren’t supposed to use physical means during duels?”

“Precisely,” said Elway, walking back and forth in front of the class. “Couldn't have said it better myself. But you know who won’t give a damn?”

There was a long pause for effect.

“Your enemies.” She clapped her hands together. “Now, can anyone give us some ideas? How about… Miss L/N?”

Blinking a few times, she hesitated, not expecting to be called on. “Er — you can… take them from the legs?”

“Wonderful idea! I’m thrilled you said that! Does anyone else want to add on?”

Remus raised his hand, answering politely. “Using your arms — stretching them.”

Professor Elway nodded away happily. “Wonderful answer! Take five points! Like Remus said, stretching your arms out or boarding your shoulders, spacing out your legs can widen your defence range! Why don’t we try?”

She called Remus up first and Y/N could tell he was slightly nervous. He doubled down, making himself seem smaller by hunching over and made sure not to accidentally hurt their professor.

A couple of Hufflepuffs, Slytherins and then James, Marlene and Lily all tried; mimicking Elway as she let them knock her over.

“Most importantly,” Elway said, dusting off her robes free from leaves and dirt. She panted a bit, tired from being knocked down multiple times. “Never let the enemy strike first. You all did fantastically!

“Obviously, in any professional setting, you’ll be disqualified if you ever tried to physically attack your opponent. But you can still play dirty in a duel!

“The charm Obscuro has been helpful on several occasions. It blindfolds your opponent. Please repeat after me: Ob-SKOO-roh!”

“Obscuro!”

“Excellent!” Elway gave a little applause, filled with glee. “Another spell that I love is the Confundus charm. Y/N! May you please explain to us the purpose of the Confundus charm?”

“She’s calling on you an awful lot,” Lily muttered.

She nodded a bit. “It confuses your oppent. The varying degree depends on how much magic is put into the initial casting.”

“Perfect! Five points to Gryffindor. If you will tell me about Incendio.”

As she spoke, there was almost a switch that went off in Elway that made her incessantly happy that almost unnerved her.

“Beautiful! Now if you may, help demonstrate the spell?”

“I don’t want to hurt —”

“Trust me, you won’t.”

Then, Y/N felt a deep lurch of fear as everyone retreated against the trees, giving her a clear view of Professor Elway opposed to her, waiting to block her spell.

She took a deep breath in, pushing up the sleeves of her robes, she held her wand.

Professor Elway had a protective spell around her. “One, two, three — now!”

“Incendio!” Only meek sparks shot out of her wand. A few students snickered while her friends were seen trying to drown them out by clapping.

“That was amazing!” Peter called out.

“I wouldn’t be able to do that on the first go!” Marlene shouted.

“That was good! Try again! One, two, three — go!”

“Incendio!” Nothing noteworthy happened. It was embarrassing.

“It’s alright, try again!” Elway said, not letting her go yet. “Think about something that’s motivating!”

Y/N closed her eyes, inhaling deeply and pondered. What was motivating to her? Surely, the want to continue with magic after school was motivating. Or perhaps proving someone wrong?

Proving someone wrong…

She had a lot to prove to her mother.

Instead of her being motivated, a flicker of annoyance and anger flooded her instead. Sensing the change, Elway beamed, her wand held high.

“One —”

Her mother always prioritized everyone and everything above her —

“Two —”

Was never there when it mattered —

“Three —”

There was never much affection. The constant want to please, the low self-esteem made her feel worthless, unloveable, always wanting to run when she got too close — she caused it —

“Now!”

“Incendio!” She bellowed.

A loud crack rippled through the air and caused her to stumble back. A large blast of orange and red flames shot out from her wand. Scorching heat flooded out, causing all the students to jump back as Elway shot waves of water, extinguishing the flames at once. As angry as she had been, glee and pure enjoyment replaced that quickly.

Once the bell rang, the students gathered up their belongings, leaving for their next class. But Elway took a moment, calling out her name, asking that she stay back for a few moments.

James and Lily staggered behind, offering to wait as they talked quietly under one of the willow trees.

They were so civil these days…

“I would’ve offered you a cup of tea,” Elway spoke as she approached her. Her foot tapped against the ground, her eyes far-away, thinking thoughtfully with a sly smirk. “Has anyone told you that you would make for an excellent, excellent duellist?”

Her eyebrows raised and shook her head.

That only prompted her teacher to smirk, in a satisfied sort of way. “You’re exceptionally strong for someone with no experience.”

There was a smug tone to Elway’s voice and she couldn’t quite place what she was getting at.

“Did you know that any professional duellist would kill for your wand? Or even the slight edge you have against them with your talent?”

“Erm… no?” Y/N said. She wondered if Elway needed glasses because surely, she wasn’t referring to herself. “Professor… are you sure you’re talking to the right student?”

She laughed so hard that she had to clutch her stomach tightly. She ignored her question. “My dear, do you have any ideas of what you want to be when you’re older?”

“Not really.”

“I have a proposition for you,” she beamed, flicking her long blonde, almost silver hair out of the way. “Let me take you under my wing, make you into a proper duellist.”

Y/N blinked. She didn’t know what to say and stood there with her mouth gaped.

“Yes, you heard that correctly.” Professor Elway teased. “I’d love to mentor you.”

She sputtered, positively confused and flustered. “I’m not at the top of the class, I struggle with Charms, I’ve never had a huge interest in it — I don’t know the first thing about duelling!”

“That’s what I’m here for, no? And your skill is exceptional and I know a duellist when I see one. You’ve shown the last few lessons that you’re capable of casting very strong spells.

“And do you know what separates a duellist from the masses? Energy, emotions and power. What changed when I told you to think about something motivating? A powerful Duellist may only be out of sheer power and brunt force, but a well-rounded Duellist listens to every part of their body. Their wand, their heart, the emotions that cause them to fight.”

“But —”

Elway flicked her wrist, mildly interested in her excuses. “Anyway, off to your next lesson. Take some time to think about it,” she smiled, clearly not going to take no for an answer. “I’ll be waiting for when you finally agree.”

Both Lily and James took her arms, hooking it with theirs and walked to Potions. They were staring at her, lost for words at Professor Elway’s proposition.

━━━━━━━━━༻☽༺━━━━━━━━━

“Yes, Pettigrew.” McGonagall scolded rather harshly. “The essay is due on Monday.”

Peter averted his gaze, grumbling out a thank you before exiting her office. “Dunno why she’s so strict with me.”

“She wants the best for you,” James tried to encourage as they all headed back to their common room.

Y/N couldn’t care less as she thought about later that night. No matter how hard she tried, Slughorn wouldn’t take no for an answer and she was almost forced to make an appearance at the Slugclub.

Lily was so excited, running through their dorm as she got ready.

Marlene sulked a bit, folding her arms across her chest. She was quiet enough for Lily not to hear, but Y/N heard her clear as day. “That’s not fair. I want to be invited. I want to feel special too.”

“You’re more than special,” Dorcas cut in, rubbing a hand up and down her shoulder. “You’re a star, baby.”

Y/N ignored them, fiddling with a small tube of eyeliner, watching Lily excitedly going through her closest.

Luckily, not only would Lily be there, but Remus, most likely Regulus — however, she doubted they would be able to interact — and funnily enough, James was invited too.

Inside the actual party was decent, a lot better than she expected. There were still the uptight students who thought they were above others, or the Purebloods that judged her when she walked into the room, but it was bearable.

Y/N chuckled as she watched Remus throwback drink after drink, sneakily stealing a few alcoholic beverages meant for the adults. His movements were so discreet that nobody ever suspected him.

She covered her smile behind her glass.

“Hi. It’s been awhile.”

Y/N turned around, and there, Aldrich McLaggen stood wearing a little smile. He trimmed his blond hair to sweep nicely and his cheekbones hallowed out.

“It has. And congratulations, I heard you’re on the Quidditch team.”

“Yes! Chaser - taking over Bell’s position.”

“So… How are you?”

If it was even possible, Aldrich’s smile grew wide. “I’ll be a lot better if I saw your smile tonight?”

She didn’t smile; unimpressed and decided to sip on her drink.

“Yeah,” Aldrich began again, “Didn’t think that would work.”

“A pretty big miss.” She grumbled.

“But I’m getting to know how to impress you in the future.”

Y/N turned to side-eye him. “Hmm? How?”

“How about -” And out of nowhere, he reached behind her ear and pulled out a red rose, handing it to her. Much like a Muggle magician.

She felt a coy smile tug at her lips and forced it down, but failed. “Nice one.”

“Everyone! Please come down and sit!” Slughorn announced, calling to all the students.

He beamed, flashing his teeth. “Don’t hide away again. I’d love to see you again.”

She tilted her head at him, tilting her glass before making her way to find her spot at the table.

The girl beside her had frizzy light brown hair and large glasses that looked like they were from an animated children’s television program. She was draped in a colourful shawl.

“Hi, I’m Y/N.”

But the other young witch smiled brightly, although never quite meeting her eyes as she outstretched her hand. “Sybill Trelawney.”

She shook Sybill’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

But then Y/N took a good look at her and realized, “We’re in the same charms class, right?”

Sybill nodded her head, fingers tapping rapidly on the table. “For two years now. I sit a row behind you. And by the way, you're very pretty.”

She was taken back, a genuine smile spreading over her lips. “Thank you, you look lovely too! I adore your glasses.”

A light blush spread across Sybill’s face, her hand brushing against her glasses. Her eyes peered up for a second before averting her gaze. Y/N couldn’t help but smile, already enjoying Sybill’s presence.

━━━━━━━━━༻☽༺━━━━━━━━━

【 Next Chapter 】

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justanotherlifeff · 3 years

Text

Warning: Slight angst

Yes, you officially hated Bakugou Katsuki, the man who gave you a promotion, only to make you deal with his nonsense even more. Yep, you did get paid more than before but honestly, no amount of money can amount to the level of pain this man puts you through. Yes, for once, you are not complaining about the piles of paperwork (which surprisingly is less than before). In fact, paperwork was the easiest part of the job. What drove you crazy was dealing with his PR team.

As his assistant, it was your job to make sure that he stayed out of trouble from the media and oh boy, this man was always a pinch close to having a scandal every single day. You wondered how the hell did he even manage to do that? You, in time, realized that this time bomb of a man lived in his own little world where he was the king of everything and everyone (much like his old hero name, king explosion murder, as you found out from an interview with Pro hero Shouto) and he aimed to do whatever he pleased. By whatever, you meant, yelling at random civilians, blasting off reporters if they asked him too much questions, and not to mention, the number of women who claims to have slept with him on social media. Well, he did sleep with them but that was not something good for a Pro Hero’s reputation.

Yep, this man did whatever the hell he wanted to and guess who had to face the consequences of his actions? You. Hell, this man just did not listen! You honestly felt bad about yelling at him about his actions since he decided to just hand the job over to you, when you were clearly not qualified enough. Which is why, you decided to take a different approach towards the entire situation.

You had noticed that there was a small group of people that Bakugou trusted (surprisingly) and while they were near Bakugou since high school, you decided that you needed to earn his respect to exactly that level. Which is why, you planned to ask the grumpy pro hero to have lunch with you every day. Of course, your home cooked meals were far better than the ones sold at the cafeteria. There was no way that he could refuse good food.

“You didn’t season the meat properly and the curry isn’t spicy enough”, he said. ‘Would I lose my job if I punch him right now?’ you wondered. “Well, why don’t you cook me something better then?” you asked instead, not being able to control the glare that came with it. “As if I’m gonna waste my time on something as stupid as that.” He scoffed, drinking his water. “I thought so.” You answered with a victorious smile. That means he surely can’t cook as good as you right? His opinion on your cooking totally didn’t matter in that case. “Hah? Are you fucking challenging me? I’ll show you how cooking is done!” he growled at you, making you chuckle at his outburst.

Yep, you were now gobbling down the food of the extra bento he brought from home. Seems like his cooking was as good as his critiquing. He was at the Gordon Ramsey level. “Now that’s what you call good food.” He commented cockily as he looked at you eating like you were starved for a month. “THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONLY THING I AM GOOD AT!” you exclaimed. “Well, I’m the best at everything!” he announced cockily. “Well, not dealing with people and the media apparently” you grinned at him. “As if those extras even matter.” Bakugou scoffed as he ate his own food.

“Well, why don’t you bring your own food? The cafeteria food sucks ass compared to, well, this gourmet level shit….” You mumbled, stuffing your face with rice. “Tch... Don’t talk with your mouth full, dumbass. And, it’s not like I have the time to cook my fucking lunch. My patrols start at 5 am remember?” Bakugou grumbled, before sticking his chopstick in his mouth. “You really do overwork yourself, Bakugou-san…” you sighed before an idea, or as you liked calling this last minute obviously stupid idea as ‘plan B’, struck your head. “Why don’t you teach me how to cook?” you asked him, looking clearly excited.

You were surprised that you were able to pull that obviously ridiculous plan off. “No!” he answered immediately back then, looking at you as if you just asked him to jump off a roof (though you do agree that asking him to teach you how to cook probably was very close to that). After making your infamous puppy eyes (which never worked but surprisingly did this time) and reminding him about that one time you got completely overworked due to him not noticing that his assistant was not working, he actually agreed to teach you, despite his complains about you being a ‘sneaky bastard’. Which is why, you were now waiting patiently for him to give you a video call, right after work, to teach you how to ‘at least know how to season food like a normal person’.

“YOU ARE PUTTING TOO MUCH PEPPER! YOUR FUCKING ASS IS GONNA BURN FROM HOW SPICY THIS IS GONNA BE!” He was yelling at you, making you want to punch through the phone. “OH, FUCK OFF! DON’T FUCKING ACT AS IF YOUR FOOD DOESN’T LOOK RED AS FUCK! OFCOURSE, YOU PUT A SHIT TONNE OF SPICE ON IT!” You yelled back. “THAT’S CHILLY POWDER YOU FUCKING DONKEY!” He yelled, to which you replied, “WELL, WHY DON’T YOU SHOW ME FIRST HAND HOW TO COOK INSTEAD OF YELLING THROUGH A FUCKING PHONE?”

When he cut the call, you expected to lose your job and never see him again. “Well, maybe it’s not gonna be that bad right?” you wondered. What you did not expect was for him to show up at your apartment within 10 minutes. “How the fuck did you know my address?” was the first thing out of your mouth. “Your resume, dimwit. The bigger question is, how the fuck do you live here?” he asks, looking around at your studio apartment, that was way too small for someone as big as him. “Well, I’m not as big as a fucking tower, am I?” you grumbled, letting him enter the place. “Heh, you’re right about me being as big as a tower, geddit?” Bakugou gave you a smug grin, making you blush furiously. “Oh, shut the fuck up! What the hell are you doing here in the first place?” you asked, trying to hide your blush.

You wondered how the hell this asshole made you blush every single minute as he taunted your shitty chopping board skills, while moving around in the tiny kitchen (which seemed even tinier now), barely having any personal space between the two of you. “I’m gonna show up after work tomorrow too. I can’t teach your clumsy ass in one day…” Bakugou sighed as he wiped his sweaty forehead. “Sure” you answered, glad that the rather handsome man was finally going to leave and you could think about your unexpected feelings more properly.

On the other hand, the angry blond, while he was terribly good at hiding his emotions, couldn’t help but feel a certain way towards his new assistant. It started with seeing you frantically trying to deal with his PR team, juggling his paperwork at the same time, and being so obviously done with his shit, and yet, being nice to him for God knows what reason. It all made him want to make you lose your shit, get angry and demand him to get in line. Hell, you’d probably look hot when you’re angry. The fact that he was completely right was proved when you yelled at him through your phone, since it was just a video call between two acquaintances, instead of him being your boss. He couldn’t help but show up at your house after that, only to have that weird feeling intensify as he saw you being clumsy as hell in that tiny ass apartment. Hell, he might end up buying you a bigger apartment at this rate.

The next day turned into a week and then, a month. Every day, Bakugou would say that he’s not done with teaching you and that he would come back the next day, only to teach you some random very difficult French cooking technique, hoping it was a French ‘something else’. You started spending more time with the grumpy hero at lunch break as you cooked him a decent lunch every day, only to have him grumble about how ‘it could be better’ and yet find no excuse on how it isn’t already perfect. You never argued about it either as it would result in one more day of cooking lessons.

You hated Bakugou Katsuki as he still lived as if he owned this world. You hated that his crazy fangirls would throw themselves at him and he would relish in that. You hated that you had to deal with his PR team thanks to his fuckboy ways, when you clearly hated seeing him with those snobby fangirls. You hated Bakugou Katsuki because you love him, because everybody loves him.

Taglist: @bonbonthedragon @the2ndl

#bakugou katsuki #bnha bakugou #bakugo x reader #bakugou x reader #bakugo fluff #bnha #bnha fanfiction #bnha x reader #bakugo katsuki #bakugou × reader

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nightowlwriting · 3 years

Text

summary: nott is not very kind to herself. you love her, but you know that she has someone that she sends package after package to. you won't get in the way of that but you will be kind to her in a way that she understands. (part 7/13 of the kindness series, a thematically connected series of c2/exu imagines)

word count: 1.7k

warnings: mentions of discrimination because nott is a goblin, insecurity

masterlist - request - support my work? - ao3

Loving Nott takes a special kind of person. You are that kind of person.

When Mighty Nein first formed, you had kept yourself back and just observed everyone. The ways they acted, how they spoke, different intergroup interactions. You like to know who you’re traveling with and, somewhere along the way of getting to know everyone, Nott wormed her way into your heart. You don’t care that she’s a goblin, don’t care that she’s threatened to kill everyone except Caleb several times over seriously at least half of those times. You don’t care what she could have done to be thrown in jail. (Half because you know she’s a good person, and half because you know that it’s most likely just because she’s a goblin.)

Mostly, you don’t care for the way that Fjord looks down on her for stealing. You’d watched her seal everything she stole up once, and mail it away, so you know it’s not for you. She’s stealing for someone else until she has enough to justify spending the mailing cost to ship it to them. The night you realized this, you cried yourself to sleep. The force of her love for this unknown person had hit you fully in the chest, and you cried for hours. Over the months of getting to know the Mighty Nein, you’d also come to know how they loved.

It was at that moment, crying yourself to sleep, that you realized that Nott loved with her entire body and soul but didn’t know how to show it any other way than stealing things, baring her teeth, and sinking into her flask. Most of that probably came from being a goblin in a place that looked down upon them, like they were vermin rather than people. How long had she gone without kindness? How many times had she flinched away from casual touch since you’d known her? Your heart aches for her because you know that she hates herself, hates the body that she’s stuck in, and hates the way the world sees her.

By the Gods, you realize one day, she’s not even kind to herself. The Mighty Nein might be the first group of people that were wholly nice to her, and even then there was still tension because of her habits. You wonder if Caleb was the first person to be kind to her ever and have to turn your head away from your friends at breakfast to hide the way that you’re beginning to cry at the thought. But you’re lucky because it’s a shopping day. Shopping days were becoming more and more common the more money you guys got for your mercenary work - more coin to spend, more upgrades to your weapons.

For you, today, it meant more time alone. That’s exactly what you needed to put your plan into place. After breakfast you take off on your own, fumbling with your bag so that Caleb and Nott don’t notice that you’re following them to the shops they go to. The plan is last minute, a way to show Nott kindness and appreciation in a way that she’ll not only understand but hopefully appreciate.

You hum a jaunty tune as you follow them, staying about a shop back, and watch Nott as she flitters around Caleb while he shops. Every now and then, she’ll pick something up and observe it. A jar of mismatched buttons, a children’s book, a doll that is missing one arm but has a funny little top hat. You know she thinks about taking each of them and, every time Caleb stops her from doing so, she counts out her coin to see if she can afford it. Nott cannot afford any of them - last night she’d been determined to buy everyone a round in the bar and had burnt through most of the last payment you all had received. You had watched her do that, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to buy anything.

That’s why the plan had fallen into place as well as it could for a plan made over breakfast in your head while you were juggling conversations.

Nott deserves nice things. She deserves kindness - she deserves kindness in a way that she will understand and not be able to misinterpret. Her life has been so hard and she has been so unhappy in the past. You just want to make her happy. Want to be the one to give her that kindness, the ability to send her packages filled with love without burning through all of her cash. You want to love her without telling her how you love her because you’re definitely not ready to tell her that.

Besides, who’s to say the packages aren’t going to a lover?

So instead of pulling her into your arms, instead of telling her all of these things and being upfront with her, you use your shopping day to inadvertently show her and tell her all of these things.

Once Caleb and Nott leave the shop they’re in, you duck into it. You snatch up the buttons, the children’s book, the doll with the funny little hat and you buy them. They’re pricey for a consignment shop, but you hand over most of your coin and put your treasures into your bag before heading back to the street. You’re not too worried about being essentially out of money because, well, it takes a certain kind of person to love Nott. You are that kind of person. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have money, because you’re not above stealing to make her happy. You would do anything to make her happy.

The day continues and you amass a lot of things to give to Nott. When you get back to the tavern and retire to your room, you’re still on the fence about whether or not you want to give them to her in person or in secret. When you think about the pressure receiving so many gifts will put on her, you decide to give them to her in secret. Of course, it’ll be too obvious if you stretch out the gifts over weeks or months. She’ll eventually be able to figure out that it’s someone in the group and, eventually, she’ll figure out that it’s you. Nott is very smart., no matter how much she would like to pretend she is not. You empty your bag and pack everything into it, another plan falling into place as the sun goes down.

Jester comes to announce that they are going to go downtown for dinner and you brush her off. “I have a headache,” You say, scrunching up your face to make it believable as you stand by the door, “I think I’m going to take a nap and eat something here before bed.”

She worries for you, offers a spell to make you feel better, but you brush her off. “Not when you’re going downtown,” Is your excuse, “I want you guys to be prepared always. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you wasted a spell on me and then something happened.”

“Makes sense,” Jester nods. Her eyes are wide and trusting and, honestly, you almost feel bad for lying to her. “I will come and check in on you when we arrive home!” She kisses your cheek and is off. You stand at the door for a minute more, turning to shut yourself back into your room when Caleb and Nott pass you. The bag heavy on your hip burns like she’s going to be able to look at you and see what you have for her.

“Are you not joining us?” Caleb asks, brows furrowing. Nott looks up at you with almost the same expression and you almost give in. Almost join them for dinner, just so the worry on Nott’s face goes away. You hold your ground.

“No, I have a headache,” You repeat your lie, “I’m just going to bunk down for the night after I get a snack downstairs.”

Nott reaches for your hand. “Well, Jester can heal you.” She says, “So that you’re not in any pain.” You smile at Nott and hope you’re not blushing at her care for you.

“Ja, or perhaps I could try.” Caleb shrugs. “Healing magic is complicated, sicher, but I can figure it out.”

“I’m okay,” You squeeze Nott’s hand, and she squeezes back. “It’s nothing big and, besides, we wouldn’t want to make our little cleric jealous when you learn how to heal, ja?”

“But you are hurting,” Nott shakes her head, “You shouldn’t just let yourself hurt when there’s a way to fix it.” Her words carry more weight than maybe she intends them to and you find yourself almost crying again.

“Nott, I promise you it’s not that bad,” You smile and squeeze her hand again, hoping that your hand isn’t becoming clammy, “I’ll get something small and then sleep it off.”

“I will come check on you when we get home.” She says, finally taking her hand back only to wring it nervously in front of her. “And Caleb didn’t put the string spell on our room, so if you want to go lay down in there, you can. We’re sharing with each other and I’m sure that Beau is going to challenge Fjord to another drinking contest. She’ll be loud when she comes back to your room.” Caleb sniffs and you know that she hasn’t run that past him.

“Thank you, Nott,” Your throat is clogged with emotion but you decline. “I hope that by the time you come back I’ll be better.” You feel sort of bad lying to your friends, but it’s for a good cause. (Also you reason with yourself that if you don’t feel bad about stealing those things for Nott, you shouldn’t feel bad about lying so that you can sneak into her room and hide the treasures amongst her things for her to find.) So you lie. You let them leave. You sneak to Caleb and Nott’s room and hide the trinkets and treasures among their things for them to find in a few minutes, a few hours. a few days, a few weeks.

Hopefully, it won’t make her suspicious. Hopefully, you’ve hidden them well enough. Hopefully, they are kind enough and they make her feel loved.

#critical role imagine #c2 imagine #cr imagine #nott the brave x reader #nott x reader #nott the brave / reader #nott / reader #nott the brave #nott #campaign 2 imagine #critfic

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stilloutofmyvulcanmind · 3 years

Text

Snowed In

Pairing: Harry Wells x Gender Neutral!Reader

Word count: 2.5k

Warnings: Arguments

Summary: Getting trapped by a snowstorm in a different city wasn’t the way you’d planned to spend New Years. Spending it with your boss, Harrison Wells hadn’t been on the cards either. But when the power goes out, the two of you find yourself coming together

A/N: Just a small something to wish people a Happy New Year

“Are you sure there’s no way…? Yes, I understand but it’s vital we get back as soon as possible....okay...yes...please...thank you. Bye.” Hanging up the phone, you sighed and looked out the window at the sheets of snow coming down to blanket the city around you in white. You should’ve been heading back to Central City tomorrow, ending a week of meetings a day early to avoid a snowstorm, but it had come in faster than expected and now you were grounded until further notice. It could’ve been worse. You’d rented a house for the week, and the owner had already been in touch to confirm you could stay at no extra cost. So you had a roof over your head, a full cupboard and warmth. Not the most awful way to get trapped in a strange city. However, you knew one person who wouldn’t be happy at this new turn of events.

Turning away from the large plane of glass, you looked over at Harrison sitting at the dining table, scowling at his laptop. Your boss hadn’t wanted to come, but since he was the main focus of the meetings, hadn’t been able to get out of it either. And after days of complaining about how these unnecessary distractions were hindering his development of the Particle Accelerator, he was surely not going to take the news well.

“Dr. Wells?” You called, approaching him and waiting for him to look up from his work. “I’ve spoken to every airline and transport hub in the City. I’m afraid we’re stuck here until the storm has cleared.”

The scowl stayed firmly in place as he tossed his glasses onto the table. “How long will that be?”

“Three days. At best.”

“Great. I promised Jesse I’d be home for lunch on New Years Day.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I’ve set it up so I’ll be contacted the moment we can leave.”

Harrison nodded, his focus already back on his laptop. “Good. Now excuse me, I have to go let down my daughter.”

You felt bad about it, yet as awkward as you’d expected to be cooped up in a house with your boss to be, the first day wasn’t all that bad at all. In fact, after speaking to Jesse, and apparently being reassured that his delay was okay, Harrison seemed to be in a rather pleasant mood. The two of you shared dinner together, and it was...nice. Harrison was good company when he wanted to be, it seemed.

Then, on the second night, disaster struck. The power went out. Not just in your house, but in half the city. And with it went your heating.

Shivering in the kitchen, you hung up the phone. “There’s nothing to be done. We just have to wait for everything to come back on.”

“So we’re just meant to sit here and freeze?!”

“We do have the fire…”

“Great.” Harrison ran his hands through his hair as he paced, “This is your fault.”

“My fault? How exactly?”

“If you’d rescheduled, we wouldn’t be here!”

You scoffed in disbelief. “You knew these things had to be dealt with by January for months. If you hadn’t made me reschedule three times already, we could’ve come over the summer and avoided this whole mess!”

“So it’s my fault?”

“Your stubbornness didn’t exactly help!”

It was Harrison’s turn to scoff now. “My stubbornness? I’m sorry if working on a ground breaking, world changing project comes before a few idiotic meetings that ultimately affect nothing!”

“You still have a business to lead!”

“The Particle Accelerator is more important!”

“I know! I know how important it is. I know you need to be left alone.”

“Then why don’t you do your job and make sure I am?”

That stung. “I do.”

“Not well enough! If you did I wouldn’t be stuck here, with no heat, no light, no internet, unable to work on anything for God knows how long!”

“Not well enough?” You laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Do you have any idea how much bullshit I’ve kept off your plate these past couple years? How much banal drivel you have no idea about because I intercepted it before it even got a chance to enter your peripheral? All the while dealing with whatever else you put on me on top! I can’t even begin to count the amount of hours I’ve worked longer than I should have to make sure everything is running smoothly and you don’t get interrupted from your ‘important’ work!”

“Well if it’s so much work you’re free to hand in your notice whenever you like!”

“Yeah? Maybe I will! I’ll have a job with someone who appreciates me in days!”

“FINE!”

“FINE!” Turning on your heel you stormed off back into your room, slamming the door behind you loudly.

Slumping on the bed, your tears felt hot against your skin in the cold, dark room. You cried quietly, muffling your sobs in the pillow lest he hear you. You didn’t need him calling you out on that too.

As stubborn headed and difficult to work for as Harrison was, you’d always loved your job. You loved the challenge of juggling everything, and knowing you were helping to keep his schedule as clear as possible to leave him free to work on his projects made you feel like you helped with them in some small way, though he’d probably laugh at you for it. But on top of it all, you’d always liked Harrison. Yeah, he was more like a grumpy, feral alleycat than the CEO of a billion dollar company, but he’d always been decent to you. Aside from his daughter, you were probably the person who spent most time with him, and you’d always gotten along well. Until now. He’d never been that angry before. Unhappy? Yeah. Annoyed? That was practically his permanent state. But never angry. Not at you. And that hurt.

You cried harder into the pillow, mad at him for acting the way he did and mad at yourself for fucking up as badly as you had. Maybe if you’d just tried harder to reschedule again…

A sharp rap at the door pulled you from your thoughts. “Y/L/N. I’ve got the fire lit. It’s warm out here now.”

You didn’t want to face him, but staying in your room while it was this cold wouldn’t do any good either. You didn’t need hypothermia on top of everything else.

Sniffing and wiping away the tears as best you could, you wrapped a blanket around your shoulders, and emerged from the bedroom.

He'd done well. He'd set up enough candles that you could see decently. There was a fire blazing in the living room, and he'd put out blankets on the sofa and floor. In different circumstances it'd be cozy. Romantic, even.

Harrison was standing near the sofa watching you. If he could make out the tear stains in the dim light, he had enough courtesy left not to say anything. Standing awkwardly a few feet away from him, you kept the blanket pulled close tightly. "Sit down. Get warm," Harrison said, looking just as awkward as he stepped aside.

"Thank you, sir." You kept your voice even while you moved to settle on the sofa. Harrison didn't join like you'd expected, instead disappearing off someplace else.

You stayed where you were, feet tucked up under you and let the warmth of the fire slowly soak into you. Even the blanket and the flames you still found yourself a little chilly, but compared to how cold it’d been in your room, you felt a world better. You could hear Harrison move about the rest of the house and occasionally caught him muttering under his breath, but what he was actually doing, you had no idea. Until he reappeared again, arms full. He set everything down on the floor with a slight puff, and started organizing them. When he straightened, he was holding a lump of dark material.

“Here. Put this on,” he said, waving it in your direction.

Wiggling out from your blanket cocoon, you reached for the item. The moment you grasped it, you recognised the material. “This is your coat.”

“Excellent observation. Now put it on, you need the extra layer.”

“What about you?” You asked, pulling on the coat. It was heavy on your shoulders but the extra warmth was felt immediately.

“I’m fine. I’m more used to the cold than you are.”

“Well, thank you. I appreciate it.”

All you got in return was a nod then Harrison was back sorting through the rest of the items he’d brought. “I’m heating up soup. Tomato or chicken?”

“Tomato.”

Harrison knelt on the blankets covering the floor as he opened the can and poured the contents into a pot. It felt weird, sitting on the sofa while he was working, so you wrapped your blanket back around yourself, and sat on the floor too, back leaning against the sofa. You watched as he pulled a few other things together, using them to create a hook and support so he could hang the pot safely over the fire.

“Where’d you learn to do that?”

Harrison glanced over his shoulder before securing the pot above the flames. “It’s just some basic engineering. An idiot could do it.” He was silent for several seconds so you thought that was the end of it. “It’s easier in a home with supplies.”

“You’ve done it before?”

“In the military. Part of basic training.”

“You didn’t just do it in basic training.”

“No.”

You’d known he’d been in the army during the War, but he’d never brought it up before so you’d never asked. Even now, you didn’t want to pry, but you were curious. “Is that why you’re more used to the cold, too?”

“Hmm.”

“Did you spend a lot of time outside?”

“Not as much as some. They kept me in the labs. Mostly.” Harrison stared into the flames for a few seconds, then cleared his throat. “The soup will take a few minutes more.”

“Okay.” Neither of you spoke further, instead just listening to the flames crackle and the soup start to bubble in the pot. Despite the earlier argument, the silence was surprisingly comfortable. As quickly as the moment had passed, you’d never known Harrison to be so open, and that he’d been willing to do so with you, felt nice.

Eventually, Harrison scooped out two bowlfuls of soup and scooted back until he was next to you. “Careful, it’s hot,” he said, passing you one.

“Thank you.” Blowing on a spoonful, you hummed at the warmth of it. Between the food, the layers, the fire, and now Harrison next you, the last of the cold seeped away, and for the first time in hours, you actually felt toasty.

When you were both done and the bowls had been pushed to the side, the two of you stayed close together, enjoying the new found warmth. Harrison occasionally moved to stoke the fire, but other than that, neither of you did anything. You were cozy enough, that it didn’t take long before you started to feel yourself drift off.

“Stay,” Harrison said, just before you fell asleep.

“Hmm?”

“Don’t quit. Stay.”

“I thought you wanted someone who’s good at their job?”

“I do, and that person is you. What you asked earlier, about if I knew how much you do for me? The answer is I do. I just never realised it. My life has been quieter since I hired you, a lot quieter, and I took that for granted. You’ve always performed admirably, and I couldn’t ask for anyone better.”

“I appreciate you saying that,” you whispered, looking over at him.

“Does that mean you’ll stay?”

“Yeah, I’ll stay. I like working for you.”

Harrison chuckled, “I’m not sure many would say that.”

“Maybe I’m just odd.”

“Or special.”

Cheeks heating, you looked away. “I wouldn’t go that far, I’m not the genius who’s going to change the world.”

“I wouldn’t be able to do it without you. You’ve helped more than you know.”

You smiled, “Thank you, Doctor Wells.”

“I think being trapped in front of a fire with no power calls for first names.”

“Alright. Harrison.”

Harrison returned your smile then checked his watch. “It’s nearly midnight. Join me for a glass of wine?”

“I’d like that.”

Harrison got up and disappeared into the kitchen. When he returned he was carrying two glasses and a bottle of white wine. He popped it, and poured out two glasses.

“Not the way you’d planned to spend New Year’s Eve, I bet,” you said, taking one of the glasses.

“No, it’s not. This is better.”

“I agree.”

The wine was delicious, and the two of you sipped it together until Harrison’s watch beeped once again.

“Happy New Year.”

Clinking your glasses, you realized Harrison’s eyes stayed on you while you finished the drink. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” The answer came too quickly.

“No secrets in front of the fire.”

Harrison chuckled, looking down into his own glass as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I was just...thinking.”

“About?”

“I can’t. It’d be....inappropriate of me.”

“Tell me, Harrison,” you said quietly, butterflies forming in your stomach.

He hesitated a moment, then met your gaze, “I was thinking that...I’d like to kiss you.”

Gasping softly, you lost every word you knew. Harrison seemed to think that was bad. “Like I said, it’s inappropriate. Forget I said anything.”

“No.”

“What?”

“I won’t forget,” you whispered, setting your glass down to scooch closer. “I’d like it if you did.”

“You don’t have to say that because I’m your boss.”

“I’m not.” Hesitantly, you reached up to touch his face, smiling when he didn’t pull away. “I want to kiss you too.”

Harrison studied your face for a few seconds, then his lips were on yours, pressing softly but insistently. You kissed back, moaning softly as you wound your arms around his shoulders, lips parting for him.

You kissed for what seemed like an age, yet even when Harrison pulled back slightly breathless, it felt like it was over too soon. “Y/N, that was…”

“Amazing.”

“I agree.” He brought a hand to your face, calloused fingers brushing over your skin oh so gently, as if he were afraid he’d hurt you. “I haven’t done this since...since my wife…”

“I understand.” You copied his action, brushing fingers over his cheek just as slowly. “We can go slow.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.”

Harrison kissed you again, arms wrapping around your body as he slowly lowered you to the ground. With him hovering over you, it was the warmest you’d ever felt.

When you awoke the next morning, the fire in front of you had died out, but there was still a solid heat pressed to your back, and an arm wrapped securely around your waist. Smiling to yourself, you turned into the embrace to meet a pair of clear blue eyes.

“Good morning,” you said softly.

“Good morning.” Harrison’s eyes flicked down to your lips then back to your eyes. “Do you have any regrets?”

“Not a one. You?”

“No.” Harrison pressed his lips to yours. You moaned into it.

A perfect start to the year.

#harry wells x reader #Harrison wells x reader #harry wells imagine #earth 2 harrison wells x reader #earth 2 harrison wells

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animebabe301 · 4 years

Text

Rekindling the Fire

Warning(s): NSFW, smut

Pairing(s): Kakashi x fem!reader

Word Count: 5,923 words

A/N: This is for @allthingskakashi cause I put it in her reqs and now I’m the one who ended up writing it haha! :)) ENJOY!

Summary: With Kakashi as hokage and you as an academy teacher, each passing day gets harder and harder until one day, a surprise approaches and you and Kakashi get a vacation together.

You didn’t know how hard it was to have Kakashi as hokage and you as a teacher at the academy. That was where you both had met a few years ago. He was teaching team 7 while you were in charge of your own team. You had heard how cold of an instructor he was-never passing any team he was assigned, so you avoided him at all costs to stay on his good side--or just simply stay away from his bad side. It wasn’t until your team and Kakashi’s team had to complete a mission and work together that you both grew somewhat closer as friends.

Naruto had been the one to point out the fact that everytime you and Kakashi were together, Kakashi was the one who shied away. It was one night that you and Kakashi had stood watch while your students were sleeping, and you finally spoke to him about personal likes and dislikes and befriended him. As it turned out, you both had more in common than you’d thought, and although you could only see one of his eyes, you knew his emotions in that moment from just that one eye. That was how you both fell in love.

As time moved on, you both dated and your bond grew stronger and stronger. You both trained together, lived together, taught together. Everyone knew you both were the unstoppable power couple, in battle and romance. You both decided that marriage was good before the war and tied the knot through a simple but modest wedding-the way both of you wanted. All was well after the war, and Kakashi had been appointed as sixth hokage. Kakashi didn’t think he was fit to be hokage, but you and Iruka insisted that it would suit him well. That was... until recently. You’d been busy as an academy teacher and as a mother to your five-year old twins while Kakashi was spending many nights out of the week doing hokage duties. The twins were the sweetest children anyone could ever ask for. They had Kakashi’s silver hair, meanwhile they had your big (Y/E/C) eyes. They were born premature as you had problems during your pregnancy, but they were the healthiest two eight-month-old babies could ever be. If they didn’t pop out any time sooner, you could’ve sworn your stomach was going to pop.

But... there were nights where you felt like you couldn’t do it anymore. It was hard for you, but you knew it was hard for Kakashi as well. There were even nights where he wouldn’t make it home and would sleep on the couch in his office. It made you sad, but you knew you could never talk him out of taking a day off from his hokage duties. He worked too hard for his own good and he truly didn’t know what else he could do to make everyone happy. The days just seemed to drag on longer and longer, but you knew that you had to keep going or else you were going to be a wreck.

Unfortunately, you broke down. You didn’t feel right, and you weren’t happy at all. You’d just put the kids to sleep and you sat on your couch, staring at the empty wall behind the TV. It had been only four years since Kakashi had been appointed as hokage, but it felt like it’d been decades. You missed him by your side every night, his smell, his touch, everything. It made you yearn for him even more. You couldn’t do anything about it-you just had to deal with it. Sure, there were nights where you could please yourself if you had time alone after the kids slept. But it was nothing like the nights you and Kakashi would share in bed.

After sitting on the couch for what felt like hours, you decided to shower and get some sleep before the next day came. As you stood up, you heard your front door open. There he was, no longer the young man you fell in love with, but a hardworking man who needed to shave and groom himself just a bit more to look presentable, but you didn’t mind-he’s too busy taking care of everyone else but himself. Surprised that he was home, you rushed up to hug him, asking him if he had eaten already, if he wanted a massage, or if he wanted to sleep. Chuckling behind his mask, he looked at you, smiled, and explained that he had eaten already and just wanted to take a warm bath before going to sleep. Without hesitation, you started walking away to start a warm hot bath for him until your thoughts were interrupted.

“(Y/N)?” “Yes?” you said while turning around. Before you knew it, Kakashi was already standing in front of you, staring into your eyes. Trying to avoid his gaze, you looked down. He made you look up, taking your chin into his hand. You didn’t want him to see you like this, you wanted to be the perfect wife for him-no complaints, no tears, no worries. “Were you crying?” he asked while stroking your cheek. With the silent air between the both of you, he already knew the answer. “Why were you crying? Is it because of me? Did I do something wrong?” Concerned, he kept pestering you while you turned on your determined path to start the warm bath for your husband. Grabbing you roughly, he stopped you at the door of the bathroom. “(Y/N), what’s wrong?” “It’s nothing,” you said while trying to get away from his grip. “Don’t lie, (Y/N), you and I both know that you are the worst liar in the universe, yet--” “Okay, yes! I was crying!” you yelled a bit too loudly, “I was crying because I can’t do this anymore, Kakashi, I can’t stand being home alone all the time, I can’t stand being in bed by myself and not having you here to hold me to sleep. I can’t stand not feeling your warmth by my side in the morning, and I can’t stand that you put so much effort into being hokage that I can’t even see you as often as a wife should see her husband!” “Well then, what do you want me to do, (Y/N)?! Grow eight tentacles and juggle everything at home AND at the office?! I’m trying my best to be your husband and as the protector of this village! I didn’t choose to become hokage, you and Iruka put this on me! You both were the ones who said that becoming hokage would definitely make the village a better place, well here I am-trying to make it a better place for others, yet no one would understand simply because they don’t!”

Tears were starting to well up in your eyes again. Kakashi and you never argued like this. He was always so calm and collected. You instantly regretted yelling at him. You didn’t know where that outburst came from, and you certainly didn’t mean to raise your voice at your husband. Without another word, Kakashi grabbed the towel from your hand and closed the bathroom door. You felt so bad. It wasn’t your husband’s fault. You were the reason he took the calling of being the sixth hokage, yet here you were complaining that you were alone. You knew the risks, you knew the challenges you would face, yet you were blaming your husband for the selfish desires in your heart. You sat on your bed, ashamed of the words and actions that made Kakashi go angry.

The water finished draining, and within a few seconds, Kakashi appeared in your shared bedroom. He’d wrapped himself in a white towel and had another towel in his hands drying his silver hair. The silence between the two of you was unbearable, but you didn’t know what to say, so you fixed the bed and told him to turn off the lights when he was done getting ready for bed. That night, Kakashi didn’t hold you, he didn’t even turn your way. He probably wasn’t mad, but was probably saddened by your sudden outburst. Or, he could’ve been angry that you were being selfish. Either way, you were thinking too much which made your head hurt, and before you knew it, you were drifting off to sleep.

The next few days were the same-wake up, get the twins and yourself ready, cook breakfast, and out the door the three of you went. It was a continuous and basic routine. After the argument, you made sure to be asleep before Kakashi came home, and you were sure Kakashi wanted to avoid coming home in general other than to sleep and rest.

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Waking up from your slumber, you looked at the time on the alarm clock on your nightstand. It’s 7:30 a.m.! The kids were supposed to be out of bed and eating breakfast by now! You thought as you rushed yourself out of bed, putting on your robe. Looking into the twins’ room, they were nowhere to be found. “Boys! Where are you?! We need to be at the academy in a few minutes!” You looked everywhere, but to no avail. Eventually, you made your way downstairs to the kitchen, the glorious smell still beckoning you.

Turning the corner, you realized that the boys were already dressed and ready for school. They were eating their breakfast, and you turned to see Kakashi in an apron, making more food on the stove. You didn’t know what to do-you were still running off the adrenaline of waking up late, that you stood there, dumbfounded. “What’s the matter, babe? Cat got your tongue?” Kakashi teased as you silently tried to approach the three boys you loved so dearly in your life. Shocked that Kakashi was home, making breakfast for the family for the first time in awhile, you silently sat at the far end of the table. The twins were unexpectedly quiet this morning, but you knew that since the argument the other night, the boys hadn’t said much lately. The other night. When you yelled a bit too loudly at Kakashi for taking upon himself the name of hokage. Guilt started to creep in again until the younger of the twins, Yuma, broke the silence.

“Mommy? Daddy?” Which caught yours and Kakashi’s attention. With yours and Kakashi’s attention on Yuma, he continued, “Are you going to get divorced?” You and Kakashi stared at each other and looked away, ashamed that your children had heard the arguing the night before. Before you could both reply, your other son, Riku asked, “So it’s true? Mommy and daddy don’t love each other anymore? But why--” “Who told you that?” Kakashi said, cutting the two curious boys off, who were pouting with tears welling up in their eyes. “Well... the kids from school said that when parents argue, they’re going to end up divorcing,” Riku explained. Kakashi smiled while walking towards you-the two boys deeply distraught in their own small worlds. Kissing you on the head, Kakashi explained to them, “Well, when adults argue it doesn’t mean that they’re going to divorce, it just means that there’s a problem. And if that problem doesn’t get solved the right way, then the adults argue about that problem.” Wiping their tears away, Yuma and Riku looked at you with their big eyes, waiting for another justifiable and hopeful answer from you. “That’s right, boys. We were arguing because we weren’t happy, and we needed to solve a problem. But now, that problem is fixed, so you both don’t have to worry.” “Really?! So... mommy and daddy AREN’T going to divorce?!” the two boys exclaimed together. While looking at you, Kakashi assured them, “Nope! Mommy and I are going to be together forever! Just like the day I promised I would love her forever on our wedding day.” Cheering, the boys got up to hug each other-which in turn, turned out to be Kakashi pulling you in as well while squishing the two adorable boys in between you two.

After celebrating for a few minutes, there was a knock at the door. Opening the door, Iruka walked into your living room. “Uncle Iruka! Uncle Iruka!” the boys cheered together. “Are you ready boys? School’s about to start soon! Get your bags, we need to head out ASAP!” Confused, you looked at Iruka and said, “Oh, sorry Iruka, you must be confused with the days, I’m actually taking them today. You’re just a week early on picking them up, I’m afraid.” With a smile, Iruka simply looked over at Kakashi and winked at you, “don’t worry about it, I’m sure there’ll be another one on the way real soon-or maybe another two.”

Before you could say anything else, Iruka and the boys were already on their way to school. You were left behind, stunned by the words that had come out of Iruka’s mouth. Looking up at the clock, you realized that you only had ten minutes before classes were starting, and you panicked, rushing up the stairs to get ready for work. Stopping you dead in your tracks, Kakashi stared at you and simply said, “you’re off of work today,” before walking down the steps. For sure, he was the hokage, but you had your duties and he had his. He wasn’t going to use his power against you. Before taking another step, Kakashi warned you, “I told you that you’re off today. Just get dressed to travel.” “Why? Where are we going?” you asked curiously. “Just get dressed.”

While you were busy getting dressed, you realized that there were two packed bags in your closet. The ones you and Kakashi had last used for your honeymoon, where you’d conceived the twins. Just thinking about your honeymoon made you think of the things you and Kakashi had done. Things that made you feel a certain way-the only certain way Kakashi could ever make you feel. Things that couldn’t be explained, and things that should never be explained about. You couldn’t think about that right now. You were even surprised that Kakashi had been home this morning-or even that he’d spoken to you.

Waiting on the couch in your living room, Kakashi brought the luggage downstairs and checked all the doors in the house to make sure no intruders could enter. You were confused and had so many questions, but that’s what Kakashi hated-questions. Sometimes, you had too many, and he’d get slightly impatient with you. Seeing as though he seemed to still be a bit distant since the argument, you decided to go along with whatever it was he was planning.

Walking out of Konoha, you were wondering where the boys would be staying-who they would be staying with. As if reading your mind, Kakashi interrupted your thoughts saying, “the boys will be with Iruka while we’re gone.” With a content state of mind, you decided to let that thought go. Iruka was a trustworthy person who knew how to take care of children, and he’d taken care of the boys before. If he ever needed help, he knew that Asuma and Kurenai would be of help since they had a little one of their own as well. Hearing the rustling of the leaves around the both of you, you weren’t afraid. They were simply members of the Anbu black-ops who had to stay by Kakashi’s side no matter where he went. You weren’t bothered by them, but you weren’t comfortable enough to make conversation with them either.

You walked silently behind Kakashi, afraid that asking any questions would anger him even more than you already had the few nights ago. Kakashi didn’t seem mad, but he did seem occupied in his mind. After walking for a whole day, Kakashi stopped at a private sauna bath. As you both walked in, you didn’t see anyone other than workers there. Wondering where other customers were, you asked the ladies at the front desk while trying to make small talk. The women then explained that the hokage had made arrangements that it be reserved for the two of you only. Surprised, you were speechless. Kakashi wasn’t one to make these types of arrangements. While settling down into your suite, you and Kakashi changed your clothes from what you wore to travel into bathrobes to enter the hot bath.

While sitting in silence and enjoying the hot relaxing water on your body, you heard a simple “I’m sorry.” It was so quiet and subtle that you weren’t sure you’d heard Kakashi correctly. It wasn’t until he looked up at you that you realized he was speaking to you. His eyes were tired. His body exhausted from the constant slouch he had when sitting in his chair in his office. You never had time to look at your husband, you just knew that he was never endlessly working and never home. You were simply selfish from your desires and struggles that you were only finally realizing how much your husband had been through these past six years. Sure, you’d been through hell and back throughout the years as well, but Kakashi had double the pain in the rear end you had.

You had tears forming in your eyes as you thought back to the night of the argument. “I’m sorry too,” you finally expressed with a smile toward your husband. Relieved of the tension between the two of you, Kakashi motioned for you to cuddle with him in the water. Sliding your body toward him, you put your head on his chest while he laid on the outer wall of the sauna. “You didn’t have to do this, Kakashi. We could’ve just had a day to ourselves at home.” “No, we both needed this, (Y/N). Plus, we’re going to be here for a bit, so we might as well appreciate that Iruka was willing to take care of the twins while we’re gone,” Kakashi replied. Kakashi went on, “we’ve both been stressed over little things, it’s about time we’ve been spending more time together. We’re not getting any younger, and I don’t think our minds can last any longer without each other.”

For the rest of the night, you both caught up on things you were unable to say to each other for the past few months. There were tears and laughter mixed into that night. For the first time in awhile, you felt happy. Not that you weren’t happy with your life at home, but you needed a break from being the perfect wife, mother, and teacher. Anyone would understand, but you knew Kakashi would understand the most. Although you’d never been hokage either, you understood the stress he went through as leader of one of the most powerful villages in the land of fire.

“(Y/N),” Kakashi said while stroking your hair, “I hope you never feel like I’m neglecting you. I know I’m not the best husband, but I love you. And I may not always be home, but just know that--” “--that there’s always an anbu black-op watching over us at home?” Shocked at your words, Kakashi just simply sighed to himself. “So you knew...” “Silly! Of course I knew! You and I were the most formidable couple in Konoha back in the day-and you think I wouldn’t notice that an anbu black-op is simply pit-patting on our roof daily?” With a small O formed on his mouth, you simply calmed his racing heart, “I appreciate that you did that, Kakashi. It makes the boys and me feel safer at home. That’s how I always knew you cared-from hearing the anbu on the roof. That was your way of showing you cared about us even though you couldn’t be there yourself at home.”

With that, you pulled Kakashi’s mask down, revealing his rose pink lips. Kissing him felt like it was the first time again. It’d been so long since you felt his strong arms around you, holding your waist as though you were going to disappear if he didn’t hold tight enough. Your kiss turned out to be more than you both thought it’d be-a make out session. Kakashi grabbed you and lifted you up onto his lap. You looked away and blushed, being reminded of the weight you’d gained since you both had been married and had the twins. “What’s wrong?” Kakashi asked, clearly concerned. “Nothing, I just got fat--” Cutting you off with a kiss, Kakashi’s lips left yours as he made it clear while looking into your eyes, “you are beautiful. Probably even more beautiful than the night we first made love. Look at me.” Blushing, you finally looked at your husband, making such intense eye contact that caused for you to look down. Kakashi was impatient and unsatisfied with the way you were acting, and flipped you over onto your back. With a yelp, you were under your husband’s muscular body, under his mercy.

Kakashi started kissing your neck, making sure to leave marks. No one would be able to see them as you were both the only people at the sauna (other than Kakashi’s anbu guards), but you knew they were going to leave a mark for at least a week. You made small whimpers as Kakashi kept nibbling behind your ears and collarbone. “Don’t hold back, baby. I’ll make you feel even better than I did on our honeymoon. I want to hear you,” Kakashi softly said against your skin. Slowly peeling your silk robe from your body, Kakashi made sure each part of the surface of your skin was well taken care of. He traveled down to your breasts, caressing one of your mounds in his hand while bringing his mouth down on the other. You couldn’t hold back anymore. You were finally making love with Kakashi again but without anything holding you back; no kids sleeping in the next room, no next door neighbors.

When Kakashi flicked his tongue against your nipple, you felt a noise leave your lips. It wasn’t a small whimper, it was a moan that had been hidden inside for the past few years. You took Kakashi’s silver hair in between your fingers and pulled, signaling to him that you wanted more-no, you needed more. Kakashi kept nibbling and flicking his tongue against your breast and moved onto the other, giving it the same love. You were already a moaning and wet mess as he moved further down to your lower abdomen. He kissed your stomach, making sure to leave a wet trail of his saliva, marking your body as his. “Please, Kakashi. Stop teasing,” you begged breathlessly. “Not yet, baby. I’m going to make sure you feel loved. I’m going to take it slow-it’s been too long.” Groaning at the painstakingly slow pace Kakashi was taking with you, you could only sit there and wait for whatever he was going to do to your body next.

Kakashi continued to slowly kiss all of the sweet spots on your abdomen, making you even wetter. You forgot how this all felt, the way Kakashi’s mouth felt on your skin, his rough calloused hands holding your waist down, and the way you could moan freely out in the open. Lifting himself up hovering over your body, he kissed your lips slowly and sweetly, then pulled away and got out of bed. He reached over into the nightstand and pulled something out. A piece of cloth-made of silk, and put it over your eyes. He then got up again, grabbing something else out of the nightstand. Wondering what it was, you turned your body-attempting to somehow see out of the silk cloth over your eyes, but failing instead as you felt Kakashi’s hands on your waist. “Stay still, baby,” he hushed as you whimpered from the random contact, “tonight’s all about you. I just need you to be a good girl and stay still for me.” Grabbing both of your wrists, he tied another silk cloth around your wrists and brought them against the headboard. As he tied your wrists to the headboard, you could feel his hard cock rubbing against his pants- as if it was teasing you without needing to be inside you.

After successfully tying up your wrists, he continued to worship your body. He kissed over your body another round, causing for you to whimper louder and louder the lower he went, closer to your sopping core. You wanted to touch Kakashi-it was unfair that only he could touch you. Attempting to free your wrists from the silk ties, Kakashi stopped all contact. Whining from the loss of contact, Kakashi’s voice came beside your ear and all you heard was, “I told you to be a good girl and to stay still. We’ll get to where you want to be in a bit, baby.” After a long pause, he continued, “--will you be a good girl and stay still?” Nodding your head adamantly, he simply whispered, “good,” and continued his painstaking process.

You tried to stay still as his lips ended up on your thighs, making sure to get each and every corner of your body. The moment he spread your legs to get a better view, you closed your legs. It’d been too long since someone else other than yourself had seen your naked and bare body. “Sorry, I--” “It’s okay, baby. It’s just me. I know it’s been awhile, but I’ll make it up to you tonight,” Kakashi assured you while peeling your legs apart. You let him spread your legs apart, feeling the cool air hit your wet, sopping core. Kakashi kissed your left ankle, making sure you felt his wet tongue gliding down your calf; trailing his mouth up your thigh, getting closer to your core. Just when you thought he was going to surely reach your dripping core, he pulled away which caused a whine to leave your mouth. He then did the same thing to your right leg, kissing your right ankle, trailing his mouth and tongue down your leg to your thigh. The air hitting differently than before from his saliva on your legs.

You whimpered at his painstakingly and patient actions. Kakashi then put your legs down, and started kissing your inner thighs, teasing you where he knew you were most sensitive. Because it was your sensitive spot, your legs reacted by closing around Kakashi’s head. Using his strong hands to pull your legs apart, he asked in a deep voice, “Are you going to quit? Or do I need to leave you dripping here for the rest of the night, baby?” “No, please. I’m sorry, Kakashi,” you pleaded as you laid there, making sure your body was his to toy with for the time being. He waited until you were done fixing your posture before he brought his hand to your sopping core. With a moan leaving your mouth, you slightly squirmed under his touch before stopping, remembering to stay still. “You’re already dripping so much for me, baby. It’s making me go crazy,” Kakashi said as he starting rubbing your throbbing clit, making you moan louder and louder with every small movement.

The pace of his hand picked up against your clit, making you moan louder and louder, meanwhile attempting not to squirm. While rubbing your throbbing clit, Kakashi took your left breast into his mouth and the other in his left hand. He eventually slowly inserted one of his fingers into your dripping core. With his right hand working on your core, his mouth on your breast, and his left hand on your other breast, you felt your orgasm coming. He proceeded to insert another finger into your heat. Closer and closer. It was coming closer and building up. You felt it coming, your whimpers and moans a sign to Kakashi. Within a moment, Kakashi removed himself from your body, denying you of your orgasm. “Kakashi, please let me cum,” you begged, “why’d you do that?” “Not too fast, baby. I told you I’m taking my time tonight,” he said before kissing your lips softly. Clearly frustrated, you pouted, making sure that even though you couldn’t see Kakashi, he could see your anger and frustration.

The next thing you knew, Kakashi’s soft lips were on your pussy, making you moan and writhe while he held your hips down-both of his arms around your thighs, making sure you weren’t going anywhere. “Ka-kakashi,” you moaned at the random sensation. While eating you out, Kakashi made sure he was hitting each and every sweet spot he could reach. He made sure to lick you up and down, swirl his tongue, and even write the alphabet while holding you down. “Kakashi--please, just fuck me,” you begged while practically on the verge of tears. They weren’t tears of pain, they were tears of pleasure-from the pleasure that was almost releasing again. Your moans were getting louder and louder. It would’ve been embarrassing that the workers and anbu could hear you, but you could care less. At least they knew that Kakashi was good in bed, and that you were Kakashi’s woman.

Nearing your orgasm, Kakashi pulled away again. Disappointed, you were about to whine and complain, but your tied wrists were pulled off the headboard of the bed. Kakashi had you on his lap, both of your wrists still tied together, wrapped around his neck. Both of your legs wrapped around his waist. Before you knew it, Kakashi had both your legs over his arms and was slowly guiding you down onto his throbbing cock. Filling you up, you moaned at how much you’d missed being stretched out by Kakashi’s cock. Guiding you slowly up and down on his cock, Kakashi kept whispering into your ear how you were such a good girl for listening to him, and that you were doing such a good job. He eventually picked up the pace, making you a loud mess. Each of your moans were met with his lips on yours-attempting to at least silence some moans.

After a few more thrusts, Kakashi lifted you off his cock, taking your arms and pinning them back up onto the headboard. Forcefully flipping you onto your knees, your ass in the air, giving Kakashi a perfect view of your core. Slapping one of your ass cheeks, Kakashi kissed the other while teasing your core with his cock. Whining and attempting to push yourself onto his throbbing huge cock, Kakashi disappeared off the bed and grabbed something from the nightstand again. “Open your mouth,” he demanded. Without hesitation, you opened your mouth and felt him put a finger in your mouth followed by a gag ball. Tying the back of the gag ball onto the back of your head, Kakashi returned behind you on the bed. Grabbing a fist full of your hair, Kakashi forced you to lift your head- making the perfect arch with your back. Within a second, Kakashi was pounding into you, making you moan against the gag ball-tears forming on the rim of your eyes. Kakashi kept pounding into you, harder and harder, bringing your orgasm closer and closer, again and again. A few more thrusts and you were sure your orgasm was going to come crashing down on you. Sensing that you were close, Kakashi took your wrists off the headboard, flipping you around while you were still on his cock. Still thrusting into you, slowly this time, he took the gag ball off your head, and put your tied wrists around his neck, taking you in missionary position. Kakashi wanted to see every part of you. Picking up the once slow pace, each and every thrust getting rougher and rougher, Kakashi was about to reach his limit as well.

You couldn’t say much, just whimpering Kakashi’s name here and there but moaning louder and louder with each thrust, being overstimulated by how fast and rough Kakashi was taking you. Kakashi wasn’t kissing you to silence your loud moans anymore. In fact, he was moaning against your skin as well, groaning and growling deeply while leaving bite marks into your skin. Each and every one of his thrusts getting sloppier and sloppier, but you could care less as Kakashi brought his hand to rub your clit to get you off faster and faster. You felt the fire inside you burning up higher and higher, your moans louder and louder. With the mixture of your sweat dripping bodies, Kakashi’s cock throbbing and thrusting inside you, and your mixed moans, your orgasm was reaching. It came as a small release but grew more and more. You clenched around Kakashi’s cock as you came, breathless and speechless. He was hitting your g-spot over and over, you couldn’t contain your orgasm anymore. Your release came as you pulled Kakashi’s body closer to yours. You squirmed under Kakashi as your high came and you couldn’t contain it anymore. You could feel Kakashi cum inside you as well, filling you up and his thrusts slowing as he rammed the last few thrusts into you. Meanwhile, Kakashi was busy worshipping the other body parts of yours, making your orgasm even more intense. As your body came down from the high, you couldn’t remember much, just that everything went black.

This fire inside of you, one that had been rekindled tonight by Kakashi Hatake, your husband. It felt so good to find a release as well. A real release-not one from a pillow, your fingers, or a vibrator. It felt miraculous, but you were unsure of what had happened after being overstimulated. You woke up to the feeling of warm towels rubbing against your inner thighs as Kakashi stood above you, taking care of your worn out body. “Hi, baby,” Kakashi whispered as he kissed you with a smile on his face. With a weak smile on your face you asked Kakashi what happened after you both came. He explained that you blacked out from being overstimulated, but that you were going to be okay since he was going to take care of you for the rest of the night. Carrying you to the bathroom, you realized that Kakashi had a hot bath ready for the both of you to clean yourselves off in. Laying your head on Kakashi’s chest behind you in the bathtub, you both spoke softly about how you thought Iruka and the boys were doing and imagining what they could possibly be doing at the time as well.

After drying off, you were reaching for your suitcase to find your pajamas to wear to sleep, but Kakashi insisted that you both forget clothes altogether and sleep naked. You didn’t mind, but were afraid that an anbu or employee would walk in and see you both sleeping naked. “It’s okay, baby,” Kakashi explained, “they won’t be bothering us unless we call for them.” Pulling you into his strong arms, hot bodies pressed together, you couldn’t remember the last time Kakashi and you had spent the night simply enjoying each other’s presence and truly making love instead of having a quickie. “Baby?” you asked Kakashi, looking up at him. “What is it, babe?” “What did Iruka mean when he said that maybe there’d be another one or two on the way?” you asked curiously. “Well...we’re going to be here for an entire week, beautiful. So that means that this is only round one,” he explained and chuckled as he saw your wide eyes realizing what Iruka meant by one or two more on the way. Trying to avoid any other surprises, you laid your head back onto Kakashi’s chest. After laughing to himself, Kakashi whispered a gentle “goodnight” before kissing your forehead as you dozed off to sleep, dreaming about the next few rounds that were bound to come.

#kakashi smut #kakashinsfw #kakashihusband #kakashihatake #kakashi x reader #kakashihokage #kakashinaruto

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sxveme-2 · 3 years

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blueberry pancakes // bucky barnes

MASTERLIST

Description: A single mother. Juggling being a mom, a full time pediatrician, and a difficult ex who believed now would be the best time to finally be a father. A soldier ripped out of time. Ex-assassin turned superhero. Learning how to balance a new domestic life with handling demons of his past, while facing the trials of the future. a love story began over something as simple as chocolate chip pancakes with hidden blueberries.

Disclaimer: I do not own any original Marvel characters! All canon plots and canon characters belong to Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios. This is an original work. You may not publish it anywhere else

Status: Edited

Note: Takes place after endgame. I have elected to ignore Tony's death and Steve's leaving. Did not happen. Quick Reminder! My works are only published here, AO3 and on Wattpad, thank you.

Chapter Twelve: The One With the Coffee

Warnings: N/A

Word Count: 3073

Lily Briar Osborne. The girl that would lay her life down on the line for anyone who even showed her the slightest of affection. Or even just said hi to her on the subway or something. She would never hurt a fly. Never raise her voice or become angry. Even when parents grew upset with a diagnosis Lily had given to their child. But when it came to her son, her boy, the earth she, the sun, revolved around. That's when she would cut someone. She would go to war for Hunter, and everybody who knew Lily understood this. And they all knew never to cross her when it surrounded her only child.

She would even dare to take on the challenge of a six-foot-four, 220 pounds, man, made out of strictly muscle. Lily Osborne. The five-foot-five, 128 pounds, meek, and frail doctor would throw down in an apartment building parking lot almost an entire foot taller than her if it meant protecting her son from his reckless tendencies for the rest of his (hopefully) long-lived life. The surge of strength that ran through her veins rivalled the primal levels that a woman can feel while experiencing childbirth. For it has been scientifically proven that the mama bear instinct is indeed a real thing women experience, their child or not. It is wired in a woman's DNA to place their own life at risk or face an unspeakable force if it meant protecting a child. Especially when that said person is a mother, it heightens that instinct.

So the sheer thought of Scott putting their child, and Mary's, in danger, was enough to make Lily a new woman. One with no reservations or any sort of anxiety holding her back. She wished to inflict the pain he made her feel on to him. Make him experience the heartache that he had caused her for over ten years. Together or not. The heartbreak he inflicted on her. The feeling of abandonment that Hunter experienced at such a young age. And it all came to a head because he had decided to make the brilliant choice of leaving his children home with a deadbeat babysitter. And all she wanted was to strangle the life out of him.

But that would create more problems than it would solve, wouldn't it?

"What do you mean I'm done being a father? He is my son Lily," Scott grumbled, his voice dropping a few octaves in an attempt to create a more domineering presence.

"He is more Gen's child than he will ever be yours. The divorce gave you a second chance to be better. And you blew it. Again," the blonde snapped, stepping back and draping her arm across her son's frail shoulders, "Tell Mary to call me if she needs any divorce tips."

With the final dig served, Lily lead her son and the others back towards her car, where everybody piled in. But before the doors shut. One voice, one powerful and overprotective voice spoke out, "See you in court, jackass." Rose's voice called from the driver’s seat before Gen slammed the door and everybody was locked inside of the car.

-----

After dropping Gen and Rose off at Gen's apartment building, Bucky took over the wheel after Lily inputted the GPS. Seeing as he was the only sober one since Rose left...being a supersoldier and all. Lily sat in the backseat of her car, gripping her son close to her chest as the car revved along the empty streets of now suburban New York. Gentle music played in the background as Lily listened to the soft breathing emitting from Hunter's lips. The boy had dozed off not too long ago, and let’s face it, the boy deserved to have some shut-eye. He had just gone through something that would stick with him through all of his years. But one thing kept sticking inside of Lily's mind as if stuck on repeat.

Why was the guy calling out Scott's name while banging on the door?

"Want me to carry him in?" Bucky's soothing voice cooed, snapping Lily out of her thoughts. Without realizing it, they had arrived back at the quaint-style house that she and Hunter called home. Her hand halted from stroking the blonde hair atop of her son’s head and gave the man upfront a gentle smile.

"Oh, that's okay. I've carried him from the car a few times," Lily smiled while popping open the car door and scooping her son into her arms. She let out a quiet grunt as she stepped from the car, forgetting that he was still a growing boy. Seeing as he was turning 12 soon...Lily almost became tearful at the thought of him growing up. Clearing her throat, she nodded to the keys in Buckys hand, "Unlock the door for me would you?"

Complying, the three passed the threshold, coming face to face with a sleeping Joey at the front door. Lily smiled gently and stepped over the large dog that continued snoring on as she walked Hunter up to his room, tucking him in under the blue Captain America comforter she had gotten him for Christmas last year. Flicking on the Thor nightlight that sat on Hunter's bedside table, Lily placed a kiss on his forehead before shutting the white door behind her. She slid into her own bedroom to step out of her dress and pulled on pyjamas, scrubbing the makeup off of her face and letting her hair down. When she exited her room, her eyes spotted the kitchen light on, the blonde walked down the wooden stairs, feet tapping gently. Her green eyes laid on Bucky, looking at the framed pictures of the little mismatched group that Lily called her family.

Pictures of Lily, her brother, and her sister as kids. Lily a ripe 14 years old, Rose standing at a solid seven, and Cedar still being a young three-year-old. His eyes flickering across to one of Lily and Hunter in front of Stark tower When the young boy was only eight. Or Lily, Rose, and Gen sharing glasses of champagne at her bachelorette party all of those years ago. One of Lily's personal favourites though was her graduation photo. A bright smile plastered on her face as she held her diploma in her hands. But the one that Bucky couldn't seem to take his eyes off of is one of Lily's least favourites.

The first time that Lily held Hunter in her arms. Her hair stuck to her forehead from the sweat of childbirth. It had been 27-hour labour, and Lily's face stayed puffy and red as she held the freshly swaddled and cleaned baby in her gentle arms. Tears rolled down her cheeks as the baby halted his screaming the moment his mother’s heartbeat began to radiate in his ears. The god-awful hospital light beat down on Lily's face, creating a fluorescent glow around her already beaming facial expression. Everything inside of her wanted to toss the photo off of the picture table and keep it for her eyes only. But her mother loved the photo and managed to convince her ever-so-insecure daughter to leave it. Alicia Osborne had said it showed genuine happiness from her daughter and created a new light. It was raw and real. And that's what everyone loved about it.

Especially Mr. Barnes.

"Twenty-seven hours later..." Lily sighed gently as she leaned on the banister, "I wanted to get a c-section but looking back at it I'm glad I didn't...but the pain is still a haunting memory." The blonde commented, eyes scanning over the pictures herself.

In each picture that was taken without Lily's knowledge, her smile was bright. A warm glow lit up any room that she managed to find herself in. It was an infectious thing, the doctor’s smile. It radiated kindness and sincerity. A certain type of authenticity that seemed to be a gift that was few and far between. Everybody had become too hostile and aggressive with one another, but that one diamond always seemed to be found in a group of coal. And that's how the majority of people in her life viewed Lily. She was the one tomato that would grow on the plant when you first started gardening. The rose that stuck out brighter than the rest. And even though she tried so hard to blend in and run with the crowd, Lily's energy, or aura as Gen would say, was too charming for anybody to ignore. Much to the eldest Osborne's dismay.

"You look beautiful," Bucky began, hand resting on the side of the silver frame and lifting up the photograph, getting a closer look at all of the small details. The way the tears made her eyes light up like green Christmas lights. or how they seemed to be made of stained glass. How he could see all of the similarities between Hunter and Lily, even when he was just born. The curve of their noses, the twinkle of love in their eyes. A bit of Bucky's heart broke at the domesticity of it all. Sure he was a playboy back in the ‘40s, but he had dreamed of a family one day. A small home and a dog. A beautiful wife beside him and a son and a daughter, similar to the life that Lily leads now. but he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to find that, "Just...naturally."

Placing the sentimental picture back down, Bucky raised his ice-blue eyes to look at the woman that stood on the stairs. Her golden hair tousled, laying perfectly messy across her shoulders. The pale skin of her cheekbones that were naturally coloured a bit red. How Lily's face was so naturally beautiful, even with the faint acne scars on her cheek, the blemishes across her forehead and chin (no doubt from her work). The deepness of her under-eye that was permanently stained a purple hue from countless late shifts and sleepless nights. The way her eyes fluttered open and closed as she attempted to keep herself awake and coherent after the hectic night that she had just suffered through.

"Thank you. I didn't feel very beautiful at that moment though. Just a lot of emotions going through my mind." she chuckled sleepily, barefoot landing on the cool hardwood of the main floor of her two-story home. Lily stepped forward, past the supersoldier as she herself lifted the picture from his hand to look at herself and her son. But who was missing from the picture? You guessed it. Scott, "You're probably wondering where the father of my son is in this picture," Lily commented, tears welling up on her waterline, "Supposedly stuck at work. But I learned later that wasn't the case."

Dropping the framed photo back onto her small table collection, Lily kept her eyes down on the floor. She had grown ashamed (?) of her past relationship. How he had so obviously been walking all over her like she was a rug. And instead of standing up for herself and confronting the son of a bitch, she took it. For seven years, Lily took the pain and emotional trauma that Scott had inflicted upon her heart and mind. All because she hadn't had the strength or the courage to stand up for herself. To know her own worth and realize that she was Lily Osborne. One of the top pediatricians in new york. Single mother of an eleven-year-old boy. The woman who graduated top of her class, all while raising a child alone in New York. The girl who came out on the other side of an emotionally abusive and draining relationship alive and intact. She was Lily fucking Osborne. And she had allowed a deadbeat, no good, son of a bitch, to use and manipulate her like a pawn in his game.

And she was ashamed of it.

"And who's this big guy." Bucky's smooth voice cooed, once again, reeling Lily in from the dark corners of her mind. Lily glanced over her shoulder to see Bucky delicately stroking Joey's ears. The dog had a stupid grin on his face, just enjoying the attention from the new person his mom had decided to bring into her home.

"That's joey. The other boy in my life." Lily smiled, eyes creasing as she admired the way Bucky interacted with her dog. Though not much of a guard, clearly, Joey was an excellent judge of character. Lily had learned this when she once brought home a nurse friend and Joey lost his ever-loving mind. It was later revealed that that nurse was stealing money out of Lily's wallet. And really, ever since that moment, Lily trusted Joey's reaction to people she brought home.

And by the looks of it, the German Shepherd had a new favourite friend. Lily's heart swelled at the sight that had taken place in front of her. The soft touches Bucky made with his left hand. The metal one. It seemed as though Bucky was nervous he would scare Joey, or worse, cause harm. But to Lily, it was one of the most endearing things she had seen him do in the entirety of their friendship? If that's even what it was. The two weren't romantically involved, they weren't close friends. They were more so acquaintances. Of course, Lily was attracted to Bucky, he looked like he had been sculpted by the Greek gods. Not to mention, he was a kind soul. He was sweet and caring. And the way he acted for Hunter and the way that he treated Joey was evident of that.

"Uh, do you want some coffee?" Lily asked, scratching her cheeks with her nails, shifting her weight before walking off towards the white and grey-styled kitchen with navy blue accents. Her thin hand dripped the dark kettle and filled it with water before placing it back onto the boiling device. Her deep-set eyes glanced over her shoulder to see Bucky once again admiring the pictures placed aesthetically on a brown stained wood table, "Bucky?"

"Hm? Oh, sure. thank you." his voice echoed. It was a deep vibrato tone that sent a shiver down Lily's spine. It was a voice that Lily would love to hear in the mornings. One that she could only imagine would continue to drop a few octaves. Small grunts as he stretched after waking from a deep slumber. cradling Lily tight in his arms as Joey snored soundly at the end of their bed with the light shining through the sheer white curtains.

The feeling of his calloused flesh hand and the contrast of his cold metal hand sliding along her pale and supple side in the morning. Slightly chapped and swollen lips kissing her forehead as her soft breathing radiated against his chest. Whatever it was about Bucky, it had an everlasting effect on Lily. It kept her heart beating rapidly and her face growing a deep shade of red that matched the natural rosacea of her cheeks. She longed for the feeling of his strong arms wrapped around her thin waist as he pressed gentle and generous kisses to her cheek and down her neck, creating goosebumps on her skin.

Lily pulled out her coffee grounds from the cupboard and perked up when she heard the soft footsteps of Bucky's shoes tapping against her floors. After the kettle screamed at her, Lily poured two cups and took out the cream and sugar from her fridge and baking cupboard. Turning around, she came face to face with that same broad chest that she did all those weeks ago. A small gasp escaped her lips as the coffee sloshed inside of the navy blue mugs she held in each hand as she bit her lip.

"I take two sugar," he stated, cool eyes looking down at the girl as she attempted to avoid any contact between them. When she moved left, he thought to do the same. When she went to duck around his right side, he accidentally blocked her path. It was an uncoordinated, unplanned tango that neither one of them knew how to end. Well, that's what Lily thought at least.

His large hands reached forward and grabbed the mugs from Lily's. The supersoldier placed them on the counter island behind him before returning his attention to the much smaller blonde girl in front of him. Without thinking, he placed both hands with no hesitation on either side of her face. Her breathing came to a halt as he leaned forward and planted a deep and passionate kiss on her flower soft lips. His human hand threading into the hair that hung on the left side of her face, the golden tresses tangling into his fingers. Her own eyes fluttered closed as she returned the pressure that he had initiated onto her lips. Lily's arms slid around the man’s neck as she took a hesitant step forward, closing the small gap that kept them apart.

And after what Lily believed to be hours, the two broke away, lungs gasping for air. Lily's face exploded into a fit of red as she stared into the same eyes that always seemed to make her feel like she had a place in the world. Even if she had only seen or even been around him a handful of times, Bucky Barnes made Lily feel like she was the most special girl in the world, just by maintaining (or attempting) eye contact with her through those steel-blue eyes of his. The same eyes that used to be hidden by a mask and glasses because it was too dangerous for anyone to see his face. The same eyes that had seen the horrors of the world. The ones that watched men and women die at his hands.

"Your room is on the left when you go upstairs."

And with that, Lily darted out of his grip and up the wooden stairs with her heart pounding in her chest so loud she wouldn't be surprised if he could hear it. It played a dangerous rhythm in her ears as she shut her own bedroom door and fell back onto the plush pillows and blankets that laid decoratively on her bed. Lily's calloused hands slapped her forehead before sliding down to cover her entire face. The moment replayed in her head 1000 times over.

He kissed her. And she liked it.

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captain-azoren · 3 years

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Legend of Korra books 3 & 4

Finished rewatching books 3 and 4 of Korra. Here on my thoughts on them and the series as a whole after seeing it again after so many years.

I think books 3 and 4 are pretty solid. Aside from a few flaws, I think 3 is the overall best with the best pacing. I think a big issue with book 2 was that it was trying and failing to juggle a very big cast and multiple subplots that made it feel like a mess. That’s not an issue with 3 or 4, where every character has a relevant purpose and plot threads come together more naturally.

4 does this a little bit worse as I think the plot kind of starts and stops a couple of times, but it’s not terrible. Kuvira’s build up as a villain is very shaky when compared to Amon and Zaheer, but still better than Unalaq’s arc going down the drain. It really does seem like the worst parts of her villainy are told and not shown (those being the reeducation camps and slave labor). I think they could have shown at least one of these camps instead of just seeing the escapees that Varrick and Bolin meet.

I still think the Red Lotus are the best antagonists in LoK just for having the best arc overall. They had Amon’s intrigue, stayed consistent in their motivations like Kuvira, and they have the most dimensions overall just from the little bits of interaction we see of them. What’s more, they didn’t disappoint me in the end.

The Colossus I didn’t mind or find out of place. It just doesn’t bother me when the show has had Koizilla and giant drills in AtLA. I can understand how the mechanics of it work as well. I didn’t feel like my suspension of disbelief was broken considering everything else. I think fans who dislike it are more bothered by it breaking the setting further away from fantasy and into sci-fi.One question though, why does a spirit energy canon need a rifled barrel?

Mako is a much better character in 3 and 4 because he’s finally allowed to be someone other than a love interest. His interactions with Bolin can be really fun and it’s kind of a shame how often they’re separated. I also noticed on a rewatch that he does make a good detective, having good perception and coming up with ideas. It’s better than the pro-bender he started out as and probably his best strength.

I think I actually like Mako now whereas before he was the most forgettable, and I think he deserves some looking into. A lot of the hate comes from him being put into really tough spots where he just can’t win. Mako goes from being extremely aloof to being a loyal but beleaguered straight man to the group.

Raiko I feel similarly to Mako. I think he’s another guy who keeps getting put into tough spots with no easy solution. He doesn’t really deserve hate either, and honestly probably made the best decisions he could as a president (I know from experience how bad they can be...) Him being hated and voted out in the comics seem like Bryke was over correcting, something they seem to do a lot.

Suyin I have mixed feelings on. She really does seem like someone Bryke really wanted fans to like and agree with, but they shilled her a bit too much and at the expense of Lin. Su’s apology to Lin at the end of their dispute felt kind of half-hearted, and despite being justified, the whole thing is framed as Lin being the one in the wrong, stuck in the past, unable to move on after Su had changed. We don’t see Su change though, and Su keeps acting like what she did wasn’t that big a deal, so it falls flat.

What’s more, Su continues being a big presence into book 4, and I think I have to agree with Kuvira that Su should have at least done something to help the EK out. It really does make Su come off as kind of a cowardly hypocrite who’s so afraid of looking like a dictator that she doesn’t even try to help. She doesn’t want to be treated like royalty or an authoritarian, but if you look at Zaofu the place is already set up like a small kingdom, with the Beifongs being the divine bloodline descended from Toph, the strongest bender to ever live. Su is a queen in all but name, and if she was so afraid of looking like a dictator she could have just given up the power like Kuvira was supposed to have done. Su just rubs me the wrong way from start to finish, and it’s partly because the show doesn’t challenge her or make her change. It just expects us to see her as being right, and she just isn’t.

Bolin being a lava bender I remember being really excited for, because it was something I predicted when I first saw it years ago. I don’t have a problem with how he discovered it. It’s not the best way I’d like see someone discover a new power, but I think it’s better than when Korra finally got airbending (though that didn’t bother me too much either). It just kind of made sense to me and finally gave something else to stand out besides comic relief.

The air kids got better in 3 and 4 too. Meelo got less annoying, Jinora was more fleshed out, and I actually really like Ikki in book 4.

Now Korra and Asami. I think Korra is maybe at her most static in book 3, but her arc in book 4 is the most interesting as she had to build herself back up. I don’t agree with some of the things that are just told to the viewer, like how she needed to learn from her enemies. At the finale Korra says she had to suffer to learn compassion, but it’s not like Korra wasn’t a compassionate person already. Korra’s arc seemed more centered on dealing with trauma and finding her purpose in a world that seemed hellbent on telling her she wasn’t needed. I don’t know if that was some kind of meta commentary, but it does work.

I do like Korra’s overall development from where she was in book 1. If I had to put it into words, I think her story is about trying to fulfill a role that she’s been groomed for her whole life, trying to live up to expectations, pushed into doing what others want her to do, failing those things, then finding the strength and resolve to achieve success on her own terms, even if it’s not what everyone wants. Korra gradually learns to stop being a tool for world leaders to use to keep order or power. It’s not always done well, but it’s there.

It’s nice to see her and Asami be friends after the love triangle stuff. It’s kind of surprising, but they didn’t really interact all that much in the first two books all things considered. Asami doesn’t change a whole lot throughout the series, but her reconnecting with her dad at the end felt satisfying.

I’ll be honest, I never really saw Korrasami happening and didn’t view much of their interactions as being romantic in nature. I think only the letter writing and their reunion seems a little shippy, but not very obvious. That said, I can buy the two of them finally realizing they might be attracted to each other at the finale, as a beginning to their relationship. The real problem is that shippers and even Bryke overhyped this moment up as it being ENDGAME rather than treating it as what is was, a spark of attraction. Korra and Asami aren’t in love yet, they’re just going on their first official date.

I do like them being together though. It seems a lot healthier than other potential relationships, and let’s be real here; Asami NEEDED something to make her happy because holy shit has she be through a lot by the end of the series. Dumped by Mako twice, almost lost her company and lost her dad after she forgave him. Give the poor rich girl a break.

So, final thoughts on the series as a whole; it’s not as good as AtLA, but that’s mostly on the execution. LoK was messy and had issues, but it did eventually smooth things out after a lot of course correcting. There are things I don’t like, but not enough for me to write it off, and it has plenty of strengths that make it deserving of a watch if you keep an open mind.

I remember ThunderCats 2011 getting a lot of flak too, and that’s one of my favorite shows ever despite its glaring flaws, so I really can’t work up the energy to trash LoK. I know plenty of people can connect to it even if I don’t, at least not fully, and I honestly do believe that overall LoK’s strengths outweigh its flaws, even if it can be inconsistent and unpolished.

LoK may take place in the same world as AtLA, but it is a very fundamentally different series, and beyond a few very core basics of storytelling I think it’s a little unfair to compare the two. It’s not the masterpiece it could have been, but at the end I still enjoyed it. I might have more thoughts later, but these are what I have for now.

#Legend of Korra #The Legend of Korra #lok #tlok #korra #mako #bolin #asami #asami sato #korrasami

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studentville-struggles · 4 years

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A Double Life

Chapter 5!!

A self-indulgent Daniel Ricciardo fic.

Summary: Returning to old passions results in the start of chaos and living a double life. We say we hate chaos, but the thrill is unlike anything else.

Words: 1,941

Masterlist // Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

F1 was no joke.

PhD’s were no joke.

You were exhausted. Exhausted didn’t even begin to cover how you felt. Were you dying? Who even knew at this point.

One monday your legs finally gave out as you were walking into university, collapsing from the exhaustion you were fighting. Thankfully you had just made it into your building, the porters quick to call a medic. You actually ended up having to take a couple of days off of lab work and go home and just spend some time sleeping and spending time with your parents. Your supervisors were so worried for your health and the stress you had been putting yourself under they pretty much banned you from the lab for a week.

You still did the workouts you needed to and prepped for races from home. You just did everything on more than five hours sleep. The luxury. It was so damn needed.

Speaking on the phone to Lando one night, the two of you becoming closer friends since being team mates and him checking in more frequently since finding out about you collapsing, you had been joking about how nice sleep was.

“I used to think that being ordinary was boring. Now I’d do anything for a 10 hour nap and a chippy.”

Your little exhaustion moment had scared you a little bit. You’d always managed to do everything. You could have two intense lives and work it. You had felt that for the last three years you mastered juggling a double life. Was it finally coming to crumble around you? Was this it, was the dream over?

You wouldn’t allow it. You couldn’t. Youd fought so hard for this, to have your cake and eat it. It was never meant to be easy and you knew that, this was just one more thing to overcome. Once you had your PhD you would be able to live any life you wanted. You might even be able to sleep seven hours a night on the regular.

You would make this double life work for a little longer, you had to.

Having re-evaluated routines and switching things up so that you could make the most of both lives whilst still being healthy, you were feeling confident, comfortable and it was growing with each race that passed. Sure, not all of the results were what you dreamed off; after all you were yet to tip Lewis off his pedestal, but you were getting there. Getting the car to do your bidding was the first half of the challenge. Now you just needed to do that, but better than every one else on the track.

The other thing to come out of your health scare; especially after some of the drivers have commented on your less deathly appearance was an interesting change in your friendship with a certain Australian.

Sure, you had the big change from thinking he was rude to being caught smiling at his texts, to hanging out in Australia at the start of the season. That you had kind of seen coming; but this? This was unexpected, and you weren’t quite sure what to make of it currently.

After finding out about your little incident, Daniels’ entire energy changed. He was visibly concerned about you, whether you were better now, how you were doing getting everything under control for good. His reaction to discovering the in-depth extremeness of your routine having binged watched your show – he claimed it was a curious interest to occupy his flight but you knew it was to be nosey and you didn’t mind that – was even stranger He had effectively cornered you at the paddock in China with a written out list and spluttering of expletives with the general message of “what the fuck, no wonder you're exhausted.’.

The frequency at which you two texted and chatted was steadily rising as your friendship bloomed but after his discovery of ‘the incident’, it had sky rocketed. Both in general conversation, but also in his concern for you overdoing things. He’s started to make a point, like Lewis often does, to ensure you take a bit of time for you and to relax; so movie and game nights are now a little thing you get when you meet up for a face to face catch up.

The vibes between the two of you were shifting ever so slightly and you weren’t entirely sure where there were setting themselves.

---

You were very lucky in that your family would often come to support you, especially your mum and dad. Albeit your mum couldn’t watch half of the races due to her fear that her little girl was going to be hurt, but she was there every chance she had.

As the season progressed and you were getting some races closer to home, you felt it was about time to invite the main group of people who were yet to see this side of you. Given the intense patience and grace they had given to you, supporting you though everything and allowing your camera crew all access; it was time to invite your boss. Well your other boss. Your supervisor.

Getting back into the swing of things at work in the lab after the Spanish Grand Prix, you felt it was finally time to give back to your lab family.

“I’d like to take you to work next week, and maybe a few others once I check numbers.” Your supervisor knew what ‘work’ meant for you but with more and more people questioning your regular three day weeks, you were starting to feel like letting your two worlds collide a little more.

“Where is work next week? Monaco?”

“Yup. I’ll give my media team a ring and see how many we can take including hotels and go from there”

“Including?!”

“Full VIP, would be rude of me not to.”

A short phone call later, with some rough numbers figured out, you had five full VIP passes at your disposal. Given you rarely have guests at Grand Prix’ they allowed a few extra tickets this time. As one would imagine with a free weekend in Monaco, the academic staff in your research group snapped up those tickets in no time. Of course, with the amount of time spent in your offices and labs, you were safely assuming three of the five had no idea what your job was, though were very curious as to how and why it was taking you to Monaco.

Academic life was no joke. Everyone was busy, everyone had very little free time. Watching sports was only done by super fans really. There weren’t any motorsport super fans in your office and somehow both your show and driving career had still remained unquestioned. How that was true with the camera crew still following you around, you had no idea.

You had sent out a rough, and very vague itinerary, reminding them to be ready to leave work at 6 pm on Wednesday, heading straight to the airport. You had also sent strict dress code instructions- the smarter end of smart casual, knowing that they would likely, if not definitely, be appearing on camera.

With some of your team meeting you at the airport, ready to get your race weekend media started, the confusion of your university colleagues was growing. It peaked as they had you film a short clip to start the weekends media off, it was only a short Instagram story, post hair touch up, to say hi to fans.

“Hey guys, just me taking over the Instagram stories! We’ve just arrived at the airport to head over to Monaco! Can’t wait to see you guys this weekend and I’ve even brought a few colleagues from the university so you’ll be seeing my two worlds collide as well! See you soon!” Waving at the camera, you cut the video. With all thumbs up from your team, you uploaded it to your team Instagram, views piling in almost immediately.

“Rachel what the hell do you do?!”

“Oh you’ll see soon enough, I don’t want to ruin the surprise now.” You teased, surprisingly enjoying the suspense.

Walking up to the private jet having gone through security with ease, the shock was only increasing, though you everyone was feeling very excited for the flight now they saw the plane. Things were fairly calm after this, the journey quick, smooth and you avoided giving too much away.

Arriving at the hotel you sent everyone off to their rooms, giving timings for meeting the next morning. You would be leaving before them to start greeting the media and doing some press conferences before your track walks, and so had arranged for a few cars to be sent for transferring the rest over to the main hub. Once they were all happy with the plans, not that you’d given many details, merely timings, you could head to your room where Daniel had snuck over waiting to reunite.

He had many complaints about spending the evening having your catch up in a hotel when he had a perfectly good home a few minutes away. At some point during the evening, after the food had been demolished, the words said and a crappy Netflix original on the tv, the two of you had fallen asleep. When you woke a couple of hours later, you were awkwardly hunched on the sofa still, somehow having entangled yourself with Daniels body.

Realising that it was far too late to send Daniel home, you both needed sleep if you were to survive the media day, and you couldn’t send him on his way in the small hours of the morning. Trying not to wake him too harshly, you start untangling yourself from the mess of legs. With Daniel starting to stir, you grab his hand, wordlessly pulling him from the sofa, over to the hotel bed.

Still in the silence the middle of the night brings, Daniel shed the majority of his clothing, slipping under the covers in only his underwear, with you following soon after as you quickly change into your sleepwear.

For something so foreign in your friendship, the ease and comfort at which you snuggled together, falling asleep again under the covers, was almost unnerving. Almost. In your sleepy state, you couldn’t recognise that, only time would reveal that.

Having snuck off to begin your media day trackside, you were eager to see your lab colleague's reaction to where they were. It was as you were heading back into McLarens hospitality that you, as well as the whole group, could see the full magnitude of this job and how it differed to the Rachel they were used to seeing in the office.

“You’re a driver?” Shock? Disbelief? You couldn’t quite tell but the reaction was

“Yes”

“What the fuck? But you’re in the lab like 10 hours a day”

“Now you know why I don’t have time to get things done otherwise in my three-day weeks.”

Once the shock wore off, the excitement and initial questions had settled, you set the group up with timings for the day and let them wander round the paddock freely as you headed back to your meetings, promising to see them during the lunch break.

Having your worlds united felt good. It felt as though some of the pressure you hadn’t realised was there from keeping them separate, was melting away. Although the feeling that was beginning to bubble away every time you bumped into Daniel was very close to being a distraction.

You needed to drive; just get in the car and block everything else out.

#studentville-struggles #rachel tries to write #a double life #dr3 #daniel ricciardo #daniel ricciardo imagine #daniel ricciardo fic #daniel ricciardo x reader

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 4 years

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Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt.35

Living with Curtis wasn’t that bad once the man settled in. Keith found he wasn’t as lonely as he had as they worked on getting Lance back into his daily routine around his changing body. Sure, the man had ridiculous taste in soap operas and wrestling, but having someone who knew the workings of the Blade meant he had a new training partner, which was great for him... The only downside was, he was starting to wonder if Lance felt left out. Catching Curtis up on Blade news had brought up more than one embarrassing story, Shiro had no filter when it came to telling the man about his younger brother, including Keith’s scrapes with the law. Lance could probably hear every word said between them as he worked away in his office, but he’d caught Lance staring at him more than once in a way that made his chest tight. He didn’t want Lance feeling on the outside because that sucked balls, and he was going through enough as it was. He also didn’t want Curtis embarrassing him any more than he’d already managed to do for himself thinking he’d been changed. Shiro had no filter, and Curtis literally had no filter. Keith didn’t have the best social graces, but now he was trying to juggle having two new friends, Lance’s feelings, and Curtis, with Shiro’s return imminent. Once his brother came home, things would change again. He wasn’t good with change. If people were leaving him behind, he’d rather be the first to leave before things got complicated. Things with Lance had gone beyond complicated. Leaving him... it’d be weird. He’d hated him. He’d hated him and wanted his head. Now they were friends and Shiro would be moving them into a new home. A new city. A new space to feel uncomfortable in as he approached his new job.

Sitting on the kitchen bench, Keith was patting Blue as he sipped his third coffee. Curtis was watching TV, Lance had introduced him to streaming on his TV and now Curtis was doing a pretty good imitation of Lance mid-wallowing. Coran really had sheltered the man

“You’re not supposed to be on the kitchen bench”

Walking into the kitchen, Lance was nursing a glass of wine, despite it only being lunch time

“Me or Blue?”

“Both of you”

Keith went to shimmy forward, only Lance decided he was going to heft himself up on the bench to sit next to him

“Isn’t it a bit early for day drinking?”

“Isn’t it a bit early for your fourth cup?”

It was never too early for a third or fourth cup

“Third cup”

“You’re slipping”

Climbing over him, Blue plopped herself down in Lance’s lap to groom her more intimate areas. Grabbing Blue by her upright leg, Blue pulled her leg down with a glare at her father

“Thanks, Blue. I didn’t need to see this. Anyway, you didn’t explain the wine”

“Felt like it. I know you don’t need a reason to be drinking your third coffee, but I thought you’d be with Curtis”

There it was... Lance feeling left out

“He’s watching TV. You introducing him to streaming really opened his world”

“He already knew how to stream, just not how to work my smart TV. Do you two have anything planned later?”

“Not really. Do you have anything planned?”

“Nope. I thought I’d check in with you...”

Lance had noticed that he’d noticed that the vampire didn’t seem to be doing okay. Keith wasn’t sure if this was Lance probing him to figure out where they stood, or if Lance actually wanted to spend time with him

“I was thinking about training, if you want to join me?”

Lance pulled a face with a shake of his head

“No. Curtis is much better suited as match for you. I’d only get in the way”

“You’re the one who promised to fight me when you felt better... You are feeling better, aren’t you?”

Lance sighed, his hand moving to wipe Blue’s drool back on her

“Yeah. I guess. I suppose so... Physically, at any rate”

“You haven’t turned into a bat again”

“No. And I don’t want to, so please don’t jinx me”

“I’ll try not to. How’s... everything else...?”

Keith didn’t want to seem to keen to know how Lance was fairing with the physical changes. He wanted his friend to feel better, but he was also curious as to how quickly Lance began feeling symptoms from the initial onset and if there was something in particular that set it off, like with him being a bat. It was all good information to have for future hunts, as well as good information to have to help Lance. If he ever encountered a breeder again, he’d be able to look for signs of pregnancy or weakness during those moments of arousal. A breeder was likely to be protected from what Coran said, so a secondary plan would need to be developed. The data Lance’s condition provided could be invaluable later on.

“Still all over the place. Curtis decided to leave his briefcase in front of my door. Tripped over the stupid thing. Blue had a great time smacking stuff around”

“Do you think that counts as using them?”

“Don’t ask me. I’m trying not to know”

“If you don’t want to use them, then don’t”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious. It’s just... I know people masturbate, but I don’t want to be putting anything up there that Curtis knows about... that’s icky”

“I guess so?”

“No. It is. Think about it, it’s like Curtis giving you a bag of dildos and telling you to forget he’s the one who bought them. He picked out what he expects you to put up your poop shoot... Nope. Don’t think I can do it”

Keith agreed with Lance when he put it that way

“Dude, that’s nasty”

“Yep... I’d rather not go there”

“You know...”

Lance shook his head

“Don’t make this weird”

Keith scrunched his brow

“I was only going to say you could always order yourself what you like”

Lance mouthed a silent “Oh”, Keith curious where his mind had been going

“What?”

“Nothing. I just didn’t think of that... it doesn’t matter anyway. Once Matt and his girlfriend get here, privacy won’t exist anymore”

“What do you mean?”

“That werewolves can hear everything. Shit, they’ll probably hear every time I have nightmare”

“I didn’t think about that...”

Matt wouldn’t just hear Lance’s nightmares, but both his and Shiro’s... and probably Curtis’s... Lance wouldn’t judge them, but Keith barely knew Matt

“Yep”

The pair sat in silence for a few moments, Keith didn’t like silence between them

“Wanna go train?”

“Sure”

They’d been training for the better part of an hour when Curtis came out to join them on the back lawn. Sure, Curtis’s curse made him faster, but that was nothing on Lance’s speed when he actually tried. Curtis posed a challenge, but Lance... Keith actually preferred training with Lance for the sheer fact he had his own person vampire trainer. Most if it was Lance fooling around, but the vampire had pointed out a few helpful tricks and corrected his stances as he slowed his speed to match with Keith’s. Tackling Lance down, the vampire laughed openly at the clumsy tackle, Keith’s heart starting to race as he realised he was straddling Lance’s lap as Lance’s cheeks reddened. His attention had been on Curtis, so Keith had plays dirty, though it was worth it to hear Lance laugh. Shoving him playfully, Keith sighed, knowing that Lance had barely worked up a sweat while Keith was literally internally grimacing at the beads rolling down his back

“That all you got?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know”

Keith couldn’t be sure entirely, but he was kind of sure Lance was flirting with him. His own cheeks were already red, so he was able to deny that he was secretly blushing over the intimacy of the position.

“You two seem to be having fun. Lance, you’re supposed to still be resting”

Lance propped himself up on his elbows, that sweet scent starting to roll off of him

“I’m fine. Keith on the other hand...”

Pushing Lance down, Keith forced himself off the vampire. Staying in Lance’s lap all but guaranteed he’d break and kiss Lance right there

“I’m fine, old man. You’re the one who got your arse handed to you by a human”

“Who cheated”

“It was your fault for being distracted”

“Not even... Help me up?”

Lance reached a hand up, Keith taking it in a show of sportsmanship, only to be pulled back down over Lance. Lance giggling as he flipped them over

“Now who’s distracted”

“That wasn’t fair”

“You started it”

“I see Lance is quite aroused. Lance, are you currently feeling arousal?”

Fucking Curtis. Lance immediately jumped back off of where he’d pegged Keith down, arms crossed self consciously

“I’m fine. Why don’t you two train while I take a shower? You’re a much better match than Keith and I”

“I don’t want to interrupt”

Lance shook his head, Keith cursing Curtis again

“No, it’s alright. I’ll get something organised for dinner... or something...”

With that, Lance left the pair of them, striding off towards the house as Keith dug the heels of his palms into his eyes

“I don’t think he likes me very much”

“Because you brought up his body again. You know he gets self conscious over it”

“I didn’t mean to make him embarrassed. I was merely trying to ascertain if physical activity brought on arousal”

“Well thanks for that. You’ve scared him off again”

“I still don’t think he likes me”

Keith snorted. Curtis had no clue

“Trust me. He hasn’t tried to kick you out, nor has he yelled at you leave. He’s trying, but you keep bringing up his body”

“He can’t help the waves of arousal”

“Which is why we don’t make a big thing out of it. How would you like it if every time you popped an accidental boner someone announced it?”

Curtis rocked on his heels as he shrugged

“Depends who I’m with”

Keith sighed at Curtis. Curtis really should know better, and thanks to thinking about a horny Lance, he was now semi hard within the confines of his jeans... His damn libido was out of control

“Lance doesn’t hate you. He probably understands being cursed better than you think. I’m going to take a shower. Training against him is a challenge”

Curtis looked disappointed. Keith couldn’t win. He’d wanted to include Lance, but that somehow meant shunning Curtis

“We should train together tomorrow. Lance has been helping me correct my stances to something more suitable when fighting vampires. It’d be good for you to practice against him”

“I don’t want to get in the way of you two. Coran was also very insistent that Lance was not push himself in the slightest. I am supposed to be assisting in his daily life”

Lance really would hate Curtis if he started babying him. The best way to get Lance to relax was to let him do his own thing

“You’re not getting in the way, and Lance was hardly using his strength. He’s just got a lot on his mind. Let’s head back in? Maybe you can find a horror movie for us all to watch tonight?”

Curtis didn’t look convinced, Keith sympathising with Lance all over again. Keeping the peace was frustrating. He didn’t like it. Fuck it. They needed to spend more time together, then Curtis would stop embarrassing Lance and Lance wouldn’t be so ashamed of the things happening to him

“Whatever. I’m heading back up to the house. Lance and I are going to watch a movie tonight, which you’re totally allowed to join in on”

Lance stood under the cold water, waiting for the fire in his belly to cool. He’d gone and jerked off. He couldn’t help himself. He’d been so hot and flustered after training with Keith, that he’d needed the release to bring himself back under control. Not that it felt good. He felt dirty for having to jerk off thanks to his friend. All they’d been doing was training, then Keith was in his lap and his lap was trying to be in Keith. Or rather, his lap wanted Keith in him... These stupid desires were out of control. His lip was bleeding from how hard he’d bitten down, trying to stifle his moans and not think of Keith. He was completely fucked. Curtis had called him out on being horny, now Keith was going to think he was some kind of nasty pervert. It wasn’t like he wanted to be acting like a damn wolf in heat, ready to stick his damn arse out at the first man being nice to him... He wanted... he wanted something natural, something sweet. Someone to love him without all this happening to him. He’d been so excited that Keith wanted to spend time with him. Lance wasn’t jealous of Curtis, he just... wished he had his own stories to add when Curtis was teasing Keith. Curtis was good for Keith. Curtis was mostly human. He wanted to be good for Keith. God. He had to tell him. He had to tell him that he liked him... before the others came and privacy went out the window. This going back and forth... this worrying... it was only hurting them both.

Dressing a little nicer than necessary, Lance waited on the stairs until he heard Keith come out of the shower. The vampire was nervous as fuck, but he had to do this. He had to know what came next for the pair of them. He wanted to be special to Keith, to be special to someone who saw him for what he was, and he was deep in swampy pit of feelings that some people called a crush. He was 44... and Keith made him feel more alive than ever. He liked him. He didn’t know a single thing about him, but if Keith liked him back, he hoped he’d be up for a rather impromptu date. Yes. He knew he was completely changing his tune. His body was changing and that was probably why Keith felt whatever attraction to him that he did, and he wanted to talk about that somewhere no one was going to hear. Pinned down by Keith. Laughing like an idiot. He wanted more of that. More of being the centre of Keith’s attention. He didn’t want to be the creepy friend jerking off because he was scared of rejection... which he was right now. He’d gone around in circles, and this was his dead arse’s first and only crush that he hoped maybe would be more... or maybe he was horny? Maybe this was an awful idea. Keith could say no. Keith should say no. He’d be taking his future away from him, but when it came to Keith he was as much an idiot as Hunk was for Shay. He had to man the fuck up, and face the possibly fucked up consequences like a man.

Hearing Keith swearing as he dressed brought a smile to his face. Keith had so many anger issues, that him snapping at his jeans was perfectly in line with his character. And then Keith’s phone went and rung. Lance knew he had his own phone, he’d never pressed about it. Keith would give him his number if he wanted him to have it. There was only one person who’d call him, and that was Shiro. His courage abandoned him, Lance pushing himself up and striding back to his bedroom, where he slammed his door behind him, before throwing his dramatic arse face down on his bed. What was he doing?! He couldn’t tell Keith he liked him! He’d just jerked off because of him! That wasn’t normal! He wasn’t normal. What was wrong with him?!

Lance tried not to listen to the call, he then tried to ignore the sound of Keith’s boots coming up the stairs... then he tried to ignore the way Keith knocked on his door

“Lance? It’s Keith, did you just slam your door?”

“I’m fine!”

“I’m coming in”

Nooooo. His turbulent feelings would cave all over again. Not that Keith knew that, the hunter letting himself into Lance’s room

“Lance?”

“Yes?”

“Are you okay?”

“Fine. What’s up?”

“Um... okay, well, Shiro is coming tomorrow morning. He just called, but you probably heard”

“Wasn’t listening. Good for you. You get your brother back”

Fuck. He was being such a wanker. He didn’t want to be like this

“Are you sure your okay?”

He wanted his Mami. He wanted Coran. Someone to spill these feelings too...

“I have to go to Platt”

“What do you mean?”

“I have to go to Platt. It’s Mami...”

“Is she okay? Did she have another fall? I can call Shiro and...”

He felt sick at the lie

“You know what it’s like as you get old”

“Should I tell Curtis we’re going out?”

God. Could Keith have phrased that any worse?

“I’m going. You’re staying here with Curtis”

“You can’t go alone...”

Yep. He sure could

“And your brother is coming home. I need someone I trust here”

“What if...”

What if he died in a fiery crash? He’d take one fiery crash for thirty-two thousand dollars. Climbing up, he intentionally stared at Keith’s boots, not wanting his concern

“Keith, I’m going. I’ll be in touch. Please make sure Curtis doesn’t burn the house down”

#once bitten twice shy #oncebittentwiceshy #ashratherose

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popculturebuffet · 3 years

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Loud House Reviews: The Loudest Thanksgiving

It’s almost Thanksgiving! And a vastly diffrent one than in recent memory: Most of us are slimming down family gatherings to just whose in our house, you know because theirs a pandemic going on and it’s not worth risking your life for it. To those either guilting their families into it or doing so because MAGa or some such I only have this to say.

Speaking of Black Friday i’ts spread over a week and it’s cyber deals mean I got a ton of graphic novels for a dollar a piece and my christmas shopping almost done. So in other words, boo Maga, yay safe and responsible captalisim. But while the holiday may be diffrent, as well as the pseudo holiday attached that spawned a wonderful musical and many many injuries, one thing stays the same; Holiday Episodes. And despite being the less popular of the three holidays, Thanksgiving still produced tons of great holiday episodes and specials. And with everything being so busy I simply didn’t put too much thought into what to do for Turkey Day.. well okay the day proper i’m going to eat, spend time with family and watch a bunch of mystery science theater 3000, stay the course even in these troubling times, just with only the 4 other people who live in my house. But in terms of episodes I thought i had nothing.. then I started actually thinking on it and what do you know I have three things I want to do for the holiday, though one might wait till next year, and possibly a fourth. But given my workload currently, i’m not one to back away from a challenge, so welcome to a three or four course meal of reviews. First course: The Loud House thanksgiving special, the loudest thanksgiving. I originally wasn’t going to do this one, mostly because due to my large workload and constant battle with procastination, I keep having to push back the latest episode review, and I have to do that one soon, as there’s a new episode in december and a christmas episode i’ve put off watching for far too long , as I INTENDED to watch eleven louds a leapin for every chirstmas up till now and never got to it before the season was over. But just like elven louds.. Nick forced my hand.. and by that I mean the SPINOFF got a thanksgiving episode that’s also a sequel in some fashion to this episode. If I wanted to cover that episode this thanksgiving or the next I had to at least watch the original. And frankly, this close to the holiday there was no reason not to review it. So with that out of the way.

Let’s Get At Er. This is The Loudest Thanksgiving... after the break

The Loudest Thanksgiving takes place during season 3, and still pre-casagrandes spinoff launch despite the christmas special taking place earlier. This is actually easy to explain: The Loud House runs on Comic Strip time... i.e. the characters don’t age unless the writers decide they do. But while the spinoff was in motion at this point, it was still a season off airing wise, and ill advised raitings stunt mini series wise, so in order to keep the Casagrandes fresh in people’s minds presumably, they did a crossover that at this point wasn’t a crossover but now technically is because the show exists but this existed before the show.

It’s just a show, and I should really just relax. Point is this is a pre-crossover crossover, the two families meet for the first time, the man already said pitter patter, let’s get back at er. So we open with Flip serving as our magical snowman narrator and regaling us with the tale of steven. Every compastionate can you imagine it... and i’m fucking with you, it’s of course abotu that time the louds and the casagrandes tried having thanksgiving together.

We then cut to Lori and Bobby being all cute, as usual, and both talking over the phone as each show off their thanksgivings to each other and the enusing family shenanigans. On Lori’s side Lynn is wearing baggy pants so she dosen’t miss the game or the meal by going to the bathroom.. because that’s how pissing yourself works. Look if your going to do something that gross, stupid and broish just woman up and wear an adult diaper. The twins are guarding Lynn sr and the food, poorly, and Lisa has invented a Gravy Squriting robot. I can only see this ending one way.

Yeah those single function robots really get useless once the exestnetial crisis kicks in.

On the casagrandes side, Rosa is likewise guarding her kitchen, Frida is painting and Hector plans to sernade eveyrone because Hector is the best and you all should know that. Even with the recent Bobby Abuse he’s still awesome. As for the Mercado, CJ and Ronnie Anne are running the annual canned food drive because CJ is better than the best and should really be used more often. Both wish they could be there.. and both honestly talk about possibly spending thanksgiving with each other and just one of their family. It’s not a wild proposition: Both are going to college soon, both are in a longterm relationship.. they plan to get married down the line for now. If things hold they will eventually have to figure this out. Of course rather than fate let them figure this out themselves, Hector overhears on Bobby’s end and Lincoln, whose busy A Clock Work Oranging himself so he can stay awake during dinner, overhears on Loris, leading to an emergency family meeting for both sides. Both families are worried their prospective teenager going to another house of their longterm significant other for one year will mean they get all the holidays. Having never had a relationship last long enough to worry about this, I don’t quite get it as in my experince watching couples juggle this.. they usually just alternate years, spoilers the solution the episode goes with, or trade off christmas and thanksgiving, both fair solutions. Buuut as much as this bothered me at first the more I thought about it the more it actually made sense: People.. aren’t always rational and won’t always do the smart or correct thing, especially when it comes to their children. And with Lori leaving college and the casagrandes being togehter for thanksgiving for the first time in about 5 years, with both ronnie anne and her mom not having had a proper one in some time due to her mom needing to work thanksgiving, presumibly because of the eternal curse of gravy chugging contests, they have valid emotional reasons to go a bit nuts and do some irrational and assholish things. They just don’t want to loose their big sister and big brother, and that’s fair. It may not be at all accurate but it’s fair.

So thus began the great Guilt Off of 2018. ON the Loud side they START with a fairly soft pitch, the twins simply offer her food early, and she takes it because honestly I would too. Then again, i’d also take free food in just about any situation, so i’m not really a good gage for this. As long as it’s not poision i’ll probably eat it if it’s free. The next two are a little.. less subtle, with the kids talking about Lori’s roll in the annual thanksgiving skit.. which I’m assuming is soley for Lynn Sr. as no one else seems to be going to their thanksgiving. Which granted theirs valid explinations for why their neighbors didn’t go, the mcbrides and mr grouse have their own families and while Mr Grouse rarely gets to see his, he now has neighborly friends after the last holiday special happy to help. But Pop Pop.. makes no sense as his girlfriend, the only plausable reason he wouldn’t be there, was said to not have much family in her debut. So he’s just.. absent from thanksgiving for no reason. Thena gain we later find out this play is movie length, so maybe he was just trying to escape that which in that case, who can blame him. Rita almost reigns things back in with the mother’s trump card: parental guilt. Almost. She then almost crushes lori’s hand but it’s funny enough. At the Casagrandes, their opening move is largely the same only Rosa wins in terms of execution, cooking up some of bobby’s faviorites to specificially target him. Frida paints him into a painting, again the Casagrandes win his one in terms of effort. They do tie in the last bit, as Maria and Ronnie Anne try the same sort of guilt slining with the same bone crushing. Eventually both teens get fed up with the next bit; For Lori, Lucy gives her a long overdramatic poem about an empty chair which is easily tied with one bit later for best bit of hte episode.. which granted when I can only think of two or three gags that really made me laugh...

Bobby likewise gets Hector telling the story about a realitvie not going to thanksgiving. Both get angry.. which for Lori, isn’t all that suprising, if entirely warranted. For Bobby though? It’s like pissing off a dolphin. IT’s hard to do and very much not something you want to actually pull of. Both families are forced to admit they eavesdropped, and are incredibly worried about this whole situation, with Lynn Sr selling lincoln up the river for telling them... this man’s capacity for selling out his children is as awe insprising as it is truly pathetic.

So the two teens go back to their rooms to figure something out and come upon a reasonable solution: just have one of the families host and both come to it. That’s more than fair. But given we still have a full special to pad out, both families are still treating this like a competion: while the louds win the coin toss, both sides are determined to win thanksgiving. IT’s far from the most insane contest i’ve seen this month, x of swords was happening and i’ve seen a russian yank a goblin out of the demonic alligator skin he was using as a puppet. And we don’t know for sure Arrakoa and Krakoa didn’t have a trial over a baby turkey being adorable as one of the challenges. Other challenges included getting drunk, an eating contest, telling someone to murder a kitten and a wedding, all of this is actual stuff that happened in this recent crossover, I have made up nothing.

So after the break and Flip realizing oh shit the audience is back, the war begins. The Louds are preparing for war, with Lola putting out a picture of herself instead of bobby and laurie because of course.. still not a half bad gag. The Casagrandes arrive and in in a passive agressive move that was already done a year before this special by Brooklyn Nine Nine and better, brought their own food.. though the roast pig is a nice and unique touch. Points for that. And this.. is where the special gets tedious. Yeah while the IDEA of this episode was really good and I was excited to cover it in practice it’s just similar gags on both sides done for both halves: The first being “let’s guilt them into staying” and the second being “Let’s one up each other” with only two bits really working: Frieda having a painting and the louds annual skit. And the skit is because it raises a LOT of questions: Why is it 90 minutes, who played the adorable turkey in the years between babies? Was it just whoever was youngest? Who wrote this? Who is this for besides Lynn Sr and Pop Pop? Who all has sat through this thing at some point? Is that why the mcbrides don’t come over for thanksgiving? It’s just.. fantastic is what i’m saying.

But otherwise this part is just the family trying to one up each other with food, or toasts, or song, before devolving into a big fight. What makes it not work is.. there isn’t a lot of personality there. You have these two big, plentiful, intresting casts, even at this stage with the Casagrandes far less established and fleshed out. And instead of finding interesting ways for them to play off one another meeting for the first time, and to use that to also flesh the characters out more for the inevitable spinoff, it’s just

For most of the second half. Thankfully it DOES manage to bring things around as after things degenerate into a food fight, the families decide to just ASK the two of them where they want to go.. and find them entirely missing. It then turns out, in a nice twist, this is where Flip came in. Since his place is the only place open 24/7 and 365, barring fishing season, Bobby and Lori fled here to flee their insane families.. who then follow them there because Carlos and Lisa have them chipped. I was suprised at first Carlos had a tracker on bobby but honestly, i’ts just common sense. The man is like a golden retriver in a man’s body. Here’s an artists interpretation

Both families breifly bicker before Lori and Bobby announce their starting their own family thankgiving with blackjack, and hookers. They really shouldn’t of let Flip in on the brainstorming session. Both families don’t want that, and apologize, admitting they just didn’t want to loose them and both genuinely offering to let the other have them next year. Flip, who despite having a “pay for my colonoscopy jar” with a picture of his ass on it, is somehow the voice of reason and just suggests trading thanksgivings every year, everyone accepts, and we do get a genuinely heartwarming ending of both sides gathering everything for a gas station thanksgiving. Honestly reminds me of king of the hill’s airport episode, but in a very good way and still unique enough circumstances to work.Also Flip, of all people, donates the cans needed to finish the can drive.. granted i’m not sure if they WANT any of that meat, but hey, he meant well and it made me really like the character. We get a heartwearming duet between hector and luna and sono the whole family and we’re out.

Final Thoughts: This was disapointing. I’ve listed most of my complaints already, but overall it wasted a good premise of two families coming together, and even the feud parts could’ve been funnier. As it is it’s just.. ehhhhhhhhhh. It has some good parts, and bobby is an angel here on earth as always. But the whole just feels padded. Like this was SUPPOSED to just be 11 minutes, got bumped up, and thus here we are. It’s not the worst Loud House has done, i’ve seen and heard of muccch worse, but for a holiday special it just feels stale and i’ve seen way better thanksgiving specials. And i’ll be getting to that. If there’s an episode of a cartoon you’d like me to cover, just pop in my ask box or dms and you can comission a review for 5 bucks a piece. Discounts on bulk, 15 for movies. Until then , happy thanksgiving.

#the loud house #the casagrandes #the loudest thanksgiving #bobby santiago #lori loud #flip #thanksgiving #i'm .. i'm not tagging everyone #there were two fullf amilies involved andi 'm tired #reviews

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rocksandrobots · 4 years

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Of Rocks and Robots Ch. 18 - Readjustments

Hiro flopped face first upon his bed with a groan. His stomach was rolling.

Aunt Cass had decided, as a means of making Varian feel more at home, to fix traditional meals from Corona. Turns out Varian loved to cook and he had helped prepare dinner every night for the past week.

It started out simple enough, pork dumplings, baked apples, buttered shrimp, ham sandwiches with pickles, but then things started to get weird. While using pumpernickel for the ham sandwich had been different it was still manageable, but what came next was inexplicable; meatballs covered in anchovy sauce, cookies that tasted like black licorice, boiled eel, and today had been the worst of all, fish pie.

It wasn't even like a real pie, it was just a whole fish, head, fins, and all, covered in a type of thick crust and baked. You had to pick through the crust and the skin to actually get to the fish and then you had to pull it off the bone and hope you didn't get one of the sharp tiny blades stuck in your throat or teeth.

It had been all Hiro could do to sit through these dinners with a polite smile plastered on his face as he forced himself to eat. Today he had feigned an excuse about homework in order to get away as soon as possible. Though it looked like there was no end in sight. Varian already mentioned making some sort of stew tomorrow. Hiro forgot if it was going to be beef or vegetable but either way he didn't trust it.

Hiro hoisted himself up and rolled on his back with a heavy sigh.

Of course it wasn't really the food that was bothering him. He looked over to the other side of the room where Tadashi's things still lay untouched since his death. He didn't tell Aunt Cass this, but when it was first announced that Varian would be moving in with them Hiro had feared that Varian would share his room. That they would have to move all of Tadashi's things out and he was afraid he couldn't handle it.

Fortunately, it didn't come to that. Varian had taken over the guest bedroom downstairs instead. As Aunt Cass had put it, Varian was their guest and it wasn't like they used that room for much of anything else. Though Hiro suspected that Aunt Cass was just as unwilling to go through Tadashi's things as he was. They would have to do so someday though and Varian had just been a painful reminder of that.

There were also other ways in which the time-displaced teen unintentionally encroached upon Tadashi's memory. Seemingly simple things, like when joining in on movie night Varian had picked out Frankenstein. That had been Tadashi's favorite film. Or yesterday, when Aunt Cass had taught Varian to play Gomoku. A family staple, the board game once belonged to their father and Tashdai had loved to play it on rainy days.

Varian was a far different person than his brother and of course it wasn't as if he was trying to replace Tadashi or anything, but still simply having the boy around and integrating into their family naturally brought these situations up. It felt, well, off putting.

If Aunt Cass felt the same or noticed she made no mention of it and for the most part Varian was oblivious. So Hiro was trapped with his own discomfort, unable to share his feelings without upsetting someone.

He blinked back tears. The world was moving on without Tadashi and Hiro wasn't ready yet to accept that.

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

Varian made his way back to his new room, annoyed that Hiro had managed to avoid cleaning up after dinner, again. Varian knew the other boy had a lot on his plate; school, his internship, and superheroing, but would it kill Hiro to wash a dish now and then? Varian was also juggling school work and a new part time job, and he had not only cleaned up but also cooked the meal in the first place. But it's not like Varian could really say anything about it. He was still new here, and despite Aunt Cass's best efforts, he felt like an intruder.

People had always talked about ghosts in his world. He had never believed in them. His own castle was reportedly supposed to be full of phantoms but despite searching for years he'd never come upon any such spectral, until now.

The Hamada home was haunted by the presence of Tadashi. The teen's pictures framed the walls, his things laid about the house untouched in months, and everything Varian said or did seemed to stir his memory in the minds of the family who still lived there.

Varian understood, they were still grieving and he couldn't blame them for it. Yet, that didn't stop the ghost of Tadashi hovering in the back of everyone's mind and making even the air feel repressive. Varian gave an uneasy sidelong glance at one of the fading pictures on the wall, this one of Tadashi and his also deceased parents, before opening the door to the guest bedroom.

The room was a small office space at the end of the hall on the second floor of the house. In fact it was the smallest room in the building save for the bathrooms.

There was a single window on one end overlooking the alley and fire escape. Not the most resplendent of views perhaps, but better than having no fresh air or light at all. A living condition Varian knew all too well from his time in the dungeon.

There was also a small metal bed with a thin spring mattress, made to fold up and roll out of the way if need be. Aunt Cass had said it was only temporary and offered to buy him a new bed later, but Varian had told her not to worry about it. It wasn't quite as comfortable as Wasabi's couch had been but it was still serviceable and he didn't want the woman to go out of her way any more than she already had.

There was no closet but a tall chest of drawers on the far end and a small wooden desk next to the bed. Above the desk was a single shelf. Aunt Cass had originally stored decorative knick-knacks on it, but Varian had replaced those with what few books he owned instead.

Aunt Cass had said that Varian was free to redecorate the room however he wanted as he'd be living there indefinitely. Varian wasn't sure what he might do as he didn't have any real preferences, though he might somehow cover the flowery wallpaper as it was starting to fade and peel. Hiro had posters up in his room, Varian might put some up as well, but of what he hadn't decided yet.

For now though Varian simply reclined upon the bed, hands behind his head as he leaned against the wall, one foot dangling off the side, as he just wanted to relax. Soon the family cat, Mochi, wandered in and hopped on the bed with him.

Varian liked Mochi. The cat had actually been the most welcoming member of the household. That was perhaps unfair to Hiro and Aunt Cass, who really were trying to make him feel at home, with 'trying' being the key word. All of their efforts had felt forced, Aunt Cass with her over eagerness and Hiro with his awkward politeness. But to Mochi, Varian was just another lap to sit on. Nothing special, nothing different, as if he'd always been there, Varian might as well have been part of the furniture as far as the cat was concerned.

Varian sat there petting the calico cat curled up on his lap, when Ruddiger walked in carrying a banana in his mouth that he'd stolen from the kitchen. The raccoon dropped his treat and sprung upon the bed when he caught sight of the other pet. He indignantly tried to push the other animal off Varian's lap, chittering angrily, but Mochi paid no heed and stayed where he was.

Varian couldn't help but laugh. "Aww, what's the matter, Ruddiger? Jealous?"

His raccoon put its paws on its hips and gave Varian a pout. Well as best a pout that a raccoon could give. This only caused Varian to laugh more.

"I'm sorry, Ruddiger, I don't mean to make fun, but you're being silly. There's more than enough room for both of you." He reached out his hand to pet Ruddiger and added, "Why don't you hand me that banana you dropped and I'll peel it for you?"

Ruddiger acquiesced to his offer and soon curled up next to Mochi on the bed, munching on the tropical fruit; his hunger overtaking his jealousy. Varian continued to cuddle them both until falling asleep.

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

"Varian, honey?" Aunt Cass gently opened the ajar door to peek inside Varian's room. She found him asleep on the bed, still in his clothes with both Mochi and Ruddiger curled up beside him. The sight of which melted her heart.

She moved his still dangling foot back onto the bed and took a throw-blanket from the living room's couch to cover his legs. She then placed a pillow behind his head so that it wouldn't be leaning against the wall anymore.

She tried her best not to wake either him or the animals as she attempted to make him more comfortable. It'd been a long time since she tucked a child into bed, both Hiro and Tadashi had outgrown the ritual, and in truth so had Varian no doubt, but her motherly instincts took over anyways. She also couldn't resist wiping his bangs to the side as she so often did for her other two boys as she whispered good night before closing the door and leaving him to rest.

Cass stood a moment or two outside the door to make sure she'd not woken him up but was greeted by a light snore in response. She gave a sigh, half in relief and half in worry. The move hadn't gone as smoothly as she had hoped and they were all still readjusting to their new lives.

Hiro was upset, she knew, though he made a big show of being polite in an effort to keep everyone else happy. And as for Varian, well he came with a whole host of challenges that Aunt Cass hadn't been prepared for.

All the usual problems she expected of kids never happened. He was more than happy to do homework and chores and often volunteered his services to help out whenever he could. In fact he was a little too eager.

What Aunt Cass had intended to be an easy part time job, Varian had decided was a grave responsibility. He seemed to think that he needed to take on the 'family business' so to speak. She'd caught him reorganizing the food stores, volunteering to bake the donuts early in the morning without telling her so, balancing the books and offering up better deals on coffee beans that he'd found online. He'd even tried to learn how to do taxes.

That had been the last straw.

"Varian, you don't need to do the taxes."

"It's okay, I don't mind. I'd always do the bookkeeping back home anyways. Dad preferred that to me running the plow, and I was always better at math than him." Varian explained blithely.

Aunt Cass just stood there and blinked at him in confusion. Who'd let their kid do their accounting? True that was probably better than plowing a field all day, but still.

"Varian, I appreciate that you want to help out, but taxes are my job. At sixteen, your only job should be going to school, making friends, maybe doing a chore now and then. You can occasionally serve customers at the cafe for extra spending cash, but only serving. I don't want you taking responsibility for the whole business."

Now it was Varian's turn to blink in confusion.

"But...but I live here now. Isn't the Luck Cat all of our responsibility? I can do it, or do you not trust me?"

"Oh, Varian, it's not about trust. What kind of parent would I be if I didn't allow you to just be a kid?"

"But, I'm not a kid. You said it yourself. I'm sixteen. If I don't start now then when will I learn? It's not as if they teach taxes in my advanced physics class."

Cass had to admit he had her there. When she was teen they had taught home economics in high school, so she had known how to balance a book before ever buying the cafe. Hiro had skipped high school, Varian had never even gone to school before, and according to Tadashi home economics wasn't even a class anymore. She had had a similar discussion with him when he had been seventeen and close to graduating.

"Okay, if you want to learn how to manage money you can, but we'll start small."

So she had helped Varian open his own bank account the next day. That way he could deposit his pay from working at the Luck Cat, learn the basics of how to manage funds, and still come to her if he needed help.

However, that had only resolved one issue. There were still many hiccups that resurged over the week. Some minor, some not so minor.

For instance Varian didn't know how electric stoves worked and so Aunt Cass had caught him one morning putting his hand directly inside the oven and reciting some nursery rhyme in his native language in order to test how hot it had gotten. Apparently wood-fire stoves were all he had ever cooked on and there of course was no handy light on them to tell you that the oven had preheated. Funnily enough, he was trying to bake cereal, as he'd never eaten the kind you poured milk over and didn't know what else to do with the box of cornflakes Hiro had handed him. He was going to turn them into a pie crust for a breakfast pastry, which Aunt Cass had to admit wasn't a bad idea.

Then there were less charming faux pas, such as when he dismantled her digital alarm clock to see how it worked. Fortunately, he had been able to put it together again. He was always into something, brimming with curiosity and energy. It was all Aunt Cass could do to keep up.

Still, Cass wouldn’t have traded him for anything in the world. The moment she had picked him up from the police station that day was the moment he had become her child and she’d do anything, put up with any inconvenience, just to give him the love he’d gone so long without. Neither Varian nor Hiro realized it, but Varian had added life back into their little broken home and filled a hole in her heart that had been missing for over nine months now.

She turned to look at the fading photograph hanging on the wall. It was a picture of her sister and brother-in-law with Tadashi, before Hiro had been born. She missed them all so much. The way her sister would gently tease her about settling down while they shared a cup of tea. Tom’s love of lame jokes that he would try to interject into their conversation. The way Tadashi had inherited his father’s sense of humor and would try to cheer her up when she was feeling down. Nothing would replace them. But she also knew that deep down, that she and Hiro needed Varian just as much as he needed them.

#rnr #big hero 6 #BH6 the series #varian #tangled #Hiro Hamada #aunt cass #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure

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lunaleetarot · 3 years

Text

Scorpio Year Ahead Birthday Spread

Starting from the top clockwise

1. October 2020- Daughter/Page of Pentacles (Reversed)- You may need to admit you need help, or accept working in a team like structure. This may not be easy for you, but it could be a great opportunity for you. It would be wise not to let your dissatisfaction with the situation make you lose sight of your goals. Perhaps you were trying to juggle too much and a new team work setting is just what you need. Get organized this month, Scorpio. Focus on one thing at a time, no matter how many responsibilities you are juggling. Make lists of things you want to achieve or things you need to get done urgently. Reward yourself when you complete these tasks.

2. November 2020- The Magician- The magician is telling you to keep moving- you’re almost there. You have been putting in the hard work that it takes to succeed. You have everything at your disposal to manifest your dreams. You may have an opportunity to be a leader in your field. Do your best, and stay committed to your own goals and no one else's. Make sure you have a clear idea about your goals.

3. December 2020- The Hermit- You will spend this month soul searching. You are taking space that you need after leaving a toxic situation. A loved one may have left you discarded or you may find that your current way of life just isn’t satisfying. Self-reflection is going to help you while you retreat and try to plan a new way forward. One chapter of your life may be ending and a new one is beginning. It’s solitude not loneliness. After you do so you will have a new sense of freedom and purpose. You may be thinking about what isn’t fulfilling about your career. You may feel a distance from your partner, no matter how much either of you do to change it. It may be causing you loneliness and sadness. Focus on yourself and your own needs and what you want.

4. January 2021- Seven of Swords- The path that you're currently on will be irksome to some people. That doesn’t mean it’s the wrong decision. If you understand why your plans bother others perhaps tweaking them to make it easier could work. This may seem like you're compromising but it could actually help you feel better too. Don’t rush into something if you know the other person could get hurt. Make sure someone isn’t going behind your back trying to sabotage you at work. Underhanded tricks and deception are trademarks of this card. A rumor may start about you or another co-worker that you should steer clear of. If you hear harmful gossip stay out of it. Protect yourself, Scorpio.

5. February 2021- The Tower- There's no easy way to put this, you are in for a life-altering change that will create upheaval in your life. It’s likely to shake you to your core, but it will force you to grow. Destruction brings freedom and opportunity. You may feel as though your world has been turned upside down. Try to remain calm and take it as a lesson. It will most likely be an end to an inauthentic way of life. You will emerge better for it when it’s all over. This could have been something that started brewing last month, but you still won’t see it coming. You could have lots of extra responsibility at work, or get laid off or a big change in another area of your life. More often than not the outcome of the Tower turns out to be a blessing in disguise.

6. March 2021- The Fool (Reversed)- Beware of reckless behavior this month, Scorpio. The fool in verse can be a wild card, so you are being put on notice not to avoid all responsibility. You may be blocking your inner child and need to find balance in your life. Don’t pass up a great career opportunity because you are too afraid to take a risk. If you have the chance to land your dream job, don’t let your fear hold you back. If you are looking for love, put yourself out there. You won’t find your soulmate sitting at home. Approach your love life with optimism. When out with friends avoid reckless activities. Watch your money and avoid excess spending.

7. April 2021- Daughter/Page of Cups- You may need to watch what you say to younger people in your life. This could be children. You're not 100% grasping what you’re doing in life, but you are doing well anyway. Soon you will understand. It may signify an upcoming period of leisure or a vacation. A mentor may come out of the blue to give you advice, don’t take this lightly. You may need a change. At work are you doing what you want to do or what you feel you need to do? If you are single, consider a younger person if you are seeking love. You may meet someone soon who you will be completely enamored with. Single or taken expect surprises and change this month.

8. May 2021- Three of Wands- A strong potential outcome is in store for you in May Scorpio. I see this as hard won success that you accomplished over the course of the year. Forward thinking and creativity are all good endeavors for this month. This is a good time to reach out to people you love. You have three 3’s in your reading (May, July, September) which can mean a pregnancy. If that’s an impossibility for you it could be someone close to you. You could be spending a lot of time with this person preparing for this outcome. Be mindful of overbearing tendencies for you or your romantic partner. Even in the most loving relationships we need our own space and time to ourselves.

9. June 2021- The High Priestess- You may have a big decision coming this month, but all won’t be as it seems. Beware of taking the situation at face value, use your wisdom to assess the situation. You may need to read between the lines and listen to your intuition. You may experience a sudden flash of awareness or have dreams regarding this situation. This is sacred knowledge. Trust your heart and move forward with calm and patience. There may be drama folding behind the scenes with those close to you (friends and family) Expect the unexpected. If conflicts are brewing don’t poke the bear (For real Scorpio!) Try not to control the outcome in whatever this is. Follow your heart rather than your mind if conflict does arise this month.

10. July 2021- Three of Cups- You have an upcoming event that you are really looking forward to. Something new is coming in your life that you are looking forward to. It could be the pregnancy mentioned in May. This is about success and community. You may run into some old friends and have sweet reunions. Connect with people from your past. If nobody from your past comes to mind, be aware of it for this month. It could be someone you used to dislike. Try to treat them as a new person (as long as there isn’t a really good reason not to.) Sometimes we have to forgive others for their mistakes, Scorpio, which isn’t always your strong suit. This card means a birth, so the baby mentioned above may be born around this time. Or it could be that an old romantic flame could reemerge in your life. The circumstances could be right this time, where they weren’t your first time around.

11. August 2021- Nine of Swords- You will lead a life of paranoia and grief if you continue the path you're on this month. Try to identify aspects of your life that are holding you back or making you have a negative attitude. Nobody wants to be unhappy or live in fear. If you have been spending your free time doing things you don’t like, this month is the time to give those things up. Don’t hesitate to rethink your life choice. There may be an event coming up socially that you want to stay away from, a rift in your friend circle. Friends or family may accuse you of something you may or may not have committed. If you did do it, just own up to it. Keep it simple instead of trying to fight it. If you didn’t do it then simply argue your side. If need be, walk away from the situation.

12. September 2021- Three of Pentacles- Three of Pentacles can have several meanings. You may create a piece of work that will help many people in your field this month. This could be as simple as having a more effective way to carry out tasks that others want to emulate. You will be applauded for this, and it will bring you career recognition. This is good for your professional life, but you may want to look at your personal life as well. How can you be a better person? Have a clear picture in your mind of your goals.

13. Theme of the Year- Ace of Cups - This year may center around the birth of a baby, ace of cups is associated with pregnancy and childbirth. This will be an exciting year for you filled with abundance, creativity and strong positive emotions. However it won’t be without challenges. You will overcome these struggles though. All in all it should be an interesting year filled with new beginnings, exciting careers moments and time spent with people you love.

#scorpio #yearahead #birthday #tarot spread #tarot #tarotreader #watersigns #Zodiac #lunaleetarot #the wild unknown tarot

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