#like yes aesthetic cute sure but there’s so much more and reducing it down to that loses the essence of the relationship

[twstdreams]

HC for enemies--friends--lovers please! With Epel, Ace, Floyd💛

Everyone is a sucker for enemies to friends to lovers, including me, but that is quite a long process so I changed it to enemies to friends to crush! I hope you enjoy it.

Warning: Floyd’s section contains bullying and not respecting personal boundaries, long post

Includes spoilers for episode 1

Epel Felmier

Enemies

You two start off on the wrong foot when Epel thinks you’ve misgendered him. You were pointing towards him and giggled with your friend, saying, “She’s so cute!”

Epel immediately shuts you down and tells you that he’s a man

Being called out so publicly shocks you, especially since you were referring to the familiar beside him. But eyes are starting to linger your way, so you decide to stay silent. Besides, why was he even listening in to your conversation?

Epel is annoyed because he takes your silence for shame. You feel uncomfortable because of both the unwanted attention and the fact that Epel confronted you so publicly instead of approaching you personally, preferably without the class staring.  

Friends

Neither of you make an effort to approach the other, perfectly content staying in your own circles until you’re forced to be lab partners. It’s a little awkward but you both know Crewel doesn’t give easy assignments, so you put aside memories of your first impressions of each other.

Here and there little bits of conversation sneak in. Discussing the latest assignment while waiting for something to reduce, complaining about the mess the ghost wedding made while distilling this or that, talking about favourite foods in the cafeteria while sharing notebooks to write down qualitative and quantitative observations

The two of you find out your common interests and take turns letting each other gush. Your relationship with Epel improves and your feelings towards him morph into something more pleasant

At the end of the experiment, you get the courage to sincerely apologize and clear air. From there, the two of you become friends.

You encourage him to go for a manly aesthetic if that’s what makes him happiest while providing your opinions to help him widen his viewpoint. He appreciates the support and discovers more sides to you as your friendship continues

Crush

He loves the way your eyes sparkle when he carves all sorts of creations out of apples but crinkles his nose when you suggest he make one that looks like a Nashi pear

You two sneak out and have yakiniku to celebrate the end of exams! 

Epel feels like he can be himself without reservation around you. He’s never been one for romance or flowery gestures, but as much as he’s nervous to admit it, the feelings he has for you have bloomed into something beyond friendship. And the nervous butterflies that erupt in his stomach every so often aren’t from some botched potion either

You admire Epel’s persistence and hardworking spirit, but even more than that you crave his attention and affection in a unique way. You see Epel’s apparent distaste for romance when topics like true love’s kiss or love poems come up, so you hide your feelings. Unfortunately, even in the darkness, they continue to grow

Ace Trappola

Enemies

When you first meet Ace Trappola, you are not impressed. He radiates little sibling energy in the worst way. You can just feel that he was the youngest that tried to get away with everything with sweet words and a cheeky smile

His lack of filter is annoying but more importantly he seems to be on Riddle’s hit list. With hopes of avoiding getting collared by the dorm leader, you swiftly avoid the troublemaker. Someone who nearly got expelled and subsequently punished by Riddle on the same day was not someone you wanted to hang out with.

Unfortunately, luck is not on your side. You were minding your own business while tending to the flamingoes only to find yourself suddenly embroiled in his harebrained scheme to skip chores. 

Ace pretends to help you out but Riddle catches him in the act and now the two of you are in trouble! You, for hiding Ace, and him for trying to avoid his responsibilities. The hundreds of rules you have to copy by hand are enough to fuel your hatred for the redhead 

Friends

You actively avoid Ace until he stands up to the dorm leader. Quite frankly, since he needed to punch Riddle to get the message through, his communication skills definitely leave something to be desired. However, his action, as clumsy as they were, bring about good change for the dorm and Riddle

You’re still a little weary, Riddle isn’t that lenient even after relaxing and Ace is as blunt as ever, but you have a newfound understanding of Ace

The two of you get closer bit by bit. One day, you’re partners to paint roses, having fun practicing casting spells and perhaps keeping quiet about a hedgehog that turned lilac for a bit. 

The next day, you’re casually chatting while playing croquet at an Unbirthday party

Another day, you let Ace have the last slice of cherry pie in exchange for him teaching you a cool card trick he showed you the day before. Little things keep adding up, intertwining your lives closer together

Crush

Eventually, you watch Ace play basketball. He describes it as a casual practice but you can’t help but be drawn in by his playing style. Ace looks so cool during the scrimmage, interrupting his opponent’s offence with ease and changing the tide of the game in an instant!

His spatial awareness shines through when all it takes is a quick glance at the hoop for him to take a shot. Your heart may have skipped one too many beats when the basketball flew into the net.

As the days pass, you find yourself looking forward to his teasing. Sometimes he actually manages to fluster you! Otherwise, you two enjoy a casual banter. Or at least, that’s what you tell yourself as you ignore the butterflies in your stomach

Floyd Leech

Enemies

Are you scared of Floyd? Why yes you are, which is why you go out of your way to avoid him. The way Savanaclaw students quake in fear when they accidentally bump into Floyd is enough to confirm that you should steer clear of the belligerent eel

Unfortunately, this sentiment is one sided. Floyd has taken to calling you glass catfish because you’re both horribly skittish around him and your terror is clear! He thinks it’s cute how you assume crowds will keep you safe and you do your best to not be alone.

Quite frankly, it’s a one-sided animosity. Floyd thinks you’re funny while your torment is his pleasure. You try to keep your calm but his relaxed comments of breaking bones and the looming threat of being squeezed keeps you on your toes

Honestly, you’re a little miffed. First of all, why is he so fast? Secondly, there must be others to scare. You’re sure Azul gives him enough work in that aspect. And finally, how are you supposed to memorize all these mushroom species and history facts when Floyd has deemed you his current favourite squeaky toy?

Friends

You always assumed Floyd’s squeeze would be a horrible experience of organs being rearranged and the nasty sound of something snapping. So when the first time he embraces you and it’s the feeling of warm, strong arms curling around you protectively, your brain short circuits 

You had been fuming and more than a little annoyed so when you crossed paths with some rowdy students, instead of spitting out some standard apology and being on your merry way, you snapped back! And, like most students at NRC, they didn’t take kindly to it. 

It feels ironic that you had avoided Floyd so fervently but in the end, you only had yourself to blame for stirring up trouble. Magic battles were most definitely against the rules but you didn’t have any intentions on letting some fireballs scorch you either

Yet your opponents quickly withdraw when Floyd chimes, “Let me join in!~” And for once, you’re happy that Floyd is around. It must show on your face because in the midst of drawling about how boring it is now that the tension is gone, he breaks out into a smile

“You’re grinning glass catfish!” It’s the first time Floyd ever makes you smile and it’s far from the last 

Your friendship is very much a give and take affair. You learn to go with the flow, but you put your foot down as necessary. More than you expect, Floyd can be amendable to your demands. He’s still as chaotic as ever though, hedonistic almost to a fault

Crush

You two have a takoyaki adventure! Cooking with Floyd is nothing short of chaotic. For the first half, he’s bored and pacing around. You chop up ingredients and he not so secretly snacks on them. Then when it’s time to fry the takoyaki in the molds, he’s suddenly over-pouring batter and eating them almost as fast as you make them! By the end, you didn’t even get to take a picture of the takoyaki you two made but his goofy grin and lips covered in sauce engrain themselves into your memory

“I could eat you up too!” he comments with his signature laugh and it does dangerous things to your heart.

“Please don’t!” you squeak out hastily but you can’t help the flush of heat that comes with embarrassment nor the hasty hand gestures as you avoid his gaze. Your pulse starts to increase rapidly, but you know it’s not out of fear

You won’t complain of boring days anymore. For now, you let the current take you where it will. And if that destination happens to be romantic, well you’re not one to fight the waves

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst x reader #epel felmier #epel felmier x reader #ace trappola #ace trappola x reader #floyd leech #floyd leech x reader #twst headcanons #twstdreams #twisted dreams #here I am writing 1.6K about enemies to lovers instead of working on essays #whoops don't be like me

[knight-queen]

Lunatic Parade Reiji Sakamaki– (Chapter 01)

Lunatic Parade Masterlist (Complete)

Yui: (I must have to take my heart back no matter what…!)

Place: Inside Mountain / 山中

Reiji: Bernstein Caste...Let’s see. I will not take that much time from here on.

Yui: Oh I see.

Reiji: Yeah, we are about to pass through the main street, and you will hear the hassle of the parade right there.

Yui: (Oh...That place will be lively for sure.)

(There may be so many booths full of sweet smells out there just like the carnival was.)

Reiji: ...I shall expose all of the thoughts you are having now.

Yui: Yes?

Reiji: You are thinking 一what kind of special sweets could be piled up in the parade, right?

Yui: H- how did you catch it?

Reiji: Such a simple deal, it’s entirely obvious if I see this dummy loosen face of yours.

Yui: I am sorry…

Reiji: No need to feel sorry. Since the parade is entertaining, we should join this  just like the carnival.

However…

*Reiji gets closer + Screen vibrates*

Yui: Kyaa!

Reiji: Before going there, we need preparations.

We do not want to regret facing problematic things like we faced during carnival after all...alright then.

Yui: (Bottle…? It smells so lovely.)

Reiji: Front neck...and wrists. Nextly you can apply wherever you prefer.

Yui: Umm, what is this for…

Reiji: Nice smell, yes? It was a hard time for me to have the ingredients adjust the fragrance that way.

Yui: Ingredients you say?

Reiji: Right, I have purified the vampire phenomenon at an extremely high concentration.

If you apply this then it will basically create no difference between you and vampires.

Yui: So…?

Reiji: Oh my goodness, your consideration is dull as always….In short, you will not be noticed by others that you are a human.

With this, vampires who get seduced by your blood-scent will not drag onto you.

Yui: Th- thank you very much…!

Reiji: Sure...you are welcome.

Yui: (Huh? I see he is wrinkling his eyebrows…)

Err, does anything happen?

Reiji: Perhaps you did not notice yet but I am smelling same as my spiece from you….to be honest, it is an odd feeling.

I never had gotten along with a vampire like this so….it is truly a displeasure.

Yui: (Oh I get it...I can’t possibly smell it simply having a floral frangrame on me.)

(But I’ve broken down a little for getting him to make such a face…)

Reiji: Well then, now that we have tidied up preparations, let us move on.

Yui: Sure….

Reiji: What is wrong? If there is something you want to say, say it please.

Yui: (Guess all of my thoughts are visible to Reiji san...let’s try to be honest about it.)

That is...I am so happy that you have made that fragrance for me.

But I was a little shocked to think that you will get displeased as I will be walking by your side all the way….

Reiji: ...Get it. Well it is very simplistic of you to take it this way.

However, the point is that you are typically concerned about me, so I do not mind.

It will mean I am having objections if I say you are a hopeless person granting that.

But一 一

*Reiji gets closer*

Reiji: I’m thinking about such a cute thing that you’ve put on the fragrance that I have prepared while thinking about you.

There is no way I am displeased for you.

Yui: Kh...that’s…

Reiji: Pay attention to my words till the very end.

It is bothersome to bring a human like you to the Demon World but,

I am simply doing all of these because I love you who is a human….It is also very obvious to say it.

I want you to walk on being by my side all the way, you know?

Yui: Kh!

Reiji: What are you being embarrassed for? ...It was you to say it though? “ I Want to walk on by your side.”

Yui: I did not say “I want to”...I said “Since I will be walking.”

Reiji: Kukuh, these are the same thing...Yui, I will let you walk by my side all the way.

Like this...closely touching each other.

Yui: ...Yes.

(Uuh...it’s so embarrassing but I am rather happy that he said it.)

Reiji: Well, I shall be done with teasing you and let us get to the castle town.

*He backs off*

Reiji: Stay close to me in such a way that I can smell the fragrance alright….get it?

Place: Glimmer Main Street / グリンマーストリート表通り

Yui: Wah…! This place is so crowded!

Reiji: Yeah, as you would expect in the parade. Anyway, how shall we get started?

Yui: Are not we going to Bernstein Castle?

Reiji: Oh my...do you think we will have any chance of accomplishment if we simply rush in being unarmed and clueless?

Yui: Ah...it is true.

Reiji: First of all, we should come up with specific future measures.

We can go around the prominent places in order to gather important information.

Since the fragrance is doing a great job just as I had expected.

Yui: True. All thanks to you!

Reiji: This result was very obvious from me….Well, for starters一

Hm…?

Yui: (Oh? He is looking behind me but for what reason…)

Reiji: Stay as you are now...You must not turn over.

Yui: Eh?

Reiji: And also...try not to get away from my sight as much as possible.

Yui: But why is that?

*Reiji gets closer*

Reiji: ...I feel like someone is following us.

Yui: What?

Reiji: There will not be any problem if they do not abduct you away but...this situation is no good I think.

I do not know what is going on but...let me hold your hand.

Yui: Kh!

Reiji: We are going to be dismissed from here...as fast as we can.

Yui: (Either ways, I cannot let go of his hand by any means!)

Place: Glimmer Main Street, Front of Wagon

Yui: (There is a huge crowd around here so we will be alright if we get puzzled to them….but who knows the outcome.)

(More than that...I’m about to be out of breath as he was walking way too fast.)

Reiji: Oof...guess it will be okay if we reduce our walking speed little by little.

However, this place is one of the territories of the Earl Walter so we must avoid being inattentive.

Yui: Yes...by the way, what kind of person is the Earl?

Reiji: Despite gathering so much information, I can say that he does not really show up his appearance.

Yui: Oh no…

Reiji: There is also one fact I had gathered from all the people.

They said “There is no way he will give stolen things back”...So he is not a  un-straightforward person who possesses unique aesthetics and philosophy.

...It is absolutely hilarious to hear all the people are having complaints about such awful facts.

Yui: It is...unforgivable.

But it surely sounds extremely difficult work to accomplish our goal. If we….

(Don’t get my heart back then perhaps I will die….what can I do?)

Reiji: ...No need to get worried about that.

Yui: Eh…?

Reiji: You will be good since I am with you. Or...you cannot have faith in me?

Yui: It is not like that! But…

Reiji: I understand your depression. But….

I will surely save you from these.

Yui: Reiji san…!

Reiji: Good grief, do not show such a pathetic face. Or I will end up punishing you at this rate, right?

Yui: Fufuh...I am sorry.

Reiji: Haah, I get sick seeing you that you do not understand anything unless you are told….try always to put on a cheerful face.

Yui: ...Yes!

*They go away*

???: …………

Place: Tart • TatanーGlimmer Street Stores 

Yui: (Phew...It’s good that we find seats right away. I was so exhausted from walking here and there.)

(I ordered some pastry cakes since he told me I can get whatever I like but, it’s like a bang on our wallet.)

(There are also inedible fruits put onto these but these have great tastes.)

Reiji: The tea of this shop is unbelievably outstanding for having an aromatic blend in it. What about your cake?

Yui: It is super yummy. Umm...what about having a bite for tasting?

Reiji: Oh goodness...do you not think it is vulgar if two of us stick our mouth on this cake in front of the public?

Yui: Uhh...I thought this cake was preferred to your taste so I asked you.

(Haah...right, I should just eat it alone.)

Reiji: ...Nevertheless, if you want me to eat it so bad and I shall give it a thought.

Yui: But, I do not want to force you…

Reiji: Just give me that cake at once. However there is only one fork so it is troublesome.

Yui: If you are good with it then you can use my one.

Reiji: Haah, whose fork could you expect from me to use instead of yours in this situation? ...I will borrow this.

Mnm….I see. It is fastidious, very much suits my taste type.

Yui: Is that so? I am glad then…

Reiji: Yeah but...it is your cake so I am fine just by having a single bite.

Please enjoy eating this to your utmost.

Yui: Yeah.

Reiji: Now then I wanted to talk about how to get...back your heart.

Yui: Do you have any kind of precautions?

Reiji: I do….If we just ask him to give heart back like a stubborn then he will not listen to us.

We shall at least exchange something with him...something which is more valuable than your heart.

Yui: Eeh? But how…

(I wonder if it will work for our opponent who easily snatched my heart away in the first place?)

(If we do not do it smoothly then we are going to lose both of those…)

Reiji: Ofcourse there is a doubt that it will go everything as planned. We are not even in the mid-way of our progress.

What a grief...what you are thinking now is showing off in your face.

For showing up different facial expressions one after another...what an amusing person you are.

Yui: My sincere apologies….

(Uuh...what a shame on me.)

Reiji: Well then, as the continuation of our strategies follows. We will approach proposing negotiations and then we will enter in the caste from it’s frontage.

We will manage to pass through an opportunity and then we will creep in the treasure house and sharply steal the heart. 

Yui: (For some reasons, I don’t feel like this plan is made by Reiji san.)

….Will we really be able to pass it following this strategy…?

Reiji: For someone like you who is thoughtless may find it a little timidity.

But the only thing we can do now is to lead that strategy to go well.

Plus fortunately, we have so many treasures which are worthy to catch Earl’s interest.

Yui: Eh?

Reiji: The pocket watch of demise...The Earl will also love to hang out with us if we show this.

Yui: (His father...Karl-heinz gave him this watch which can tell one the end of time.)

(It is very enormous but this watch is very precious as it is full of important concepts…!)

Reiji: All now left is to...seek through an opportunity and find out the place where your heart is kept off.

Yui: But you cannot use this watch...as a bargaining tool...no way you can!

Reiji: Oh seriously, you are unbelievable...face at me.

Yui: Yes?

Reiji: Listen attentively...there is no other thing to me which is more important than your heart.

Yui: Kh!

Reiji: ...Will you still not believe my words even if I say it straightforwardly looking at your eyes?

Yui: No...you are actually misunderstanding...you words have made me so happy.

Reiji: Likewise, it is my privilege to have you consider it.

It was worthwhile continuing to train forcibly a silly person like you.

Yui: Oh come on...it is a rude way of saying.

Reiji: Heh...well then, let us move onto the next step.

Place: Saint Nore Park / サントノレパーク通り

Reiji: Umm...we are going to ride that one.

Yui: Eh? The ferris wheel?

Reiji: Why are you being so astonished?

Yui: Well…

(It makes me awfully surprised that he brings me to an amusement park to begin with….)

Reiji: What’s wrong? You are making an unconvinced face.

But...is it not very natural for me to want the two of us to spend time together?

Yui: (Kh...he said it while I was staring at him...so embarrassing...!)

Reiji: What are you thinking about...while flushing your cheeks? How awkward.

Fuh...I will deepen the red color of your face even more once two of us get inside that small-spaced closed room.

We shall get going….

Place: 観覧車 / Ferris Wheel

Yui: (We get in but...I was already tired of getting teased by him while lining up.)

(Certainly I am happy to spend time with the two of us but….all Reiji san doing for a while is just comparing the scenery with some kind of paper.)

Umm, what on the Earth you are watching?

Reiji: This is a sketch of the Bernstein Castle.

Yui: Eh? When did you get it?

Reiji: I had obtained it with an absolute secret route. First of all, in order to have a conversation with him, we have to gather information.

Yui: (Incredible...as you would expect from him.)

Reiji: So, that looks like this castle. For getting a better lookー

Yui: (He’s taking out something from his chest-pocket again. But what could it be this time?)

Reiji: Yeah, here it is. For looking far away, you will need a telescope of better quality.

Yui: (W- wow...I was freaked seeing anything coming out from his pocket.)

Reiji: Oh...there is not even a single sign of people surrounding the castle. I wonder if it is covered by any barriers.

...Aah, it has ascended to a perfect height. I wanted to view it from this angle.

By the way, this castle is built up with refined details….

Yui: (It looks a very splendid castle even if I see it with my bare eyes. I also want to have a good look.)

→Selection

I want you to show me later / あとで見せてほしい 

I want you to show me now / 今すぐ見せてほしい (+correct)

Yui: Umm...would you mind showing me too?

Reiji: Fine. But is it not okay if I show you later?

Yui: I thought...we can discover more if two of us observe instead of only one of us…

Reiji: ...Oh seriously. Your self-consciousness is very high. Alright then.

If you request that far, then I shall have you give me some valuable information for me instead of just staring at that.

Yui: Eeeh!?

Reiji: Kukuh...okay then, come here.

*Reiji gets closer*

Yui: (Wha...I was just wrapped around by arms...will I have to watch like this?)

Reiji: I shall fix you so that you will not mess up with finding the proper place. You can start to have a good view now.

Yui: Y- yes...excuse me.

(Uuh...I am feeling thumping inside but I must concentrate to find out something…!)

(Let’s see…)

ーAh! The one who is bringing the tea-set to his terrace...he is the butler san, isn’t he?

Reiji: Butler? Let me see it too….move your head to the sideway very carefully so that the telescope will not move from its current position.

Yui: S- sure!

(The more I try to not move this telescope... the less distance it becomes between Reiji san and I….how embarrassing.)

Reiji: Umm...so that person is the butler of that castle huh.

Reiji: Yui, you really figured out a great thing. It will give us a huge hint.

Yui: I am glad…!

*Sound as the ferris wheel vibrates*

Yui: Kyaaa!? Wh- what…?

*Reiji backs off*

Reiji: Hm? The ferris wheel stops moving. Is it an accident?

Yui: I- I guess so….

(What, we are stopped being hanged having pretty much a high distance from the ground...huh?)

R- Reiji san!! There is a ch-child stucked into the frame overthere!!

Reiji: Child? ...Oh, you are right. Well, there are times when some vampires start doing reckless things.

Yui: But if he falls...that boy will be able to fly up, right?

Reiji: It is impossible. Because vampires around that age and yet to be able to float in the air.

Yui: Eeeh!? Then we must help him!

Reiji: His parents will of course be out there. Someone like you who is rather a human does not have to over-worry for that.

Yui: But...ah!

(He did not fall...for getting unbalanced this time but, I can’t see that child like this!)

*Opens the door*

Reiji: Wha- wait, do not tell me you are up to help him….did you listen to what I just said?

Yui: I did...if that child cannot fly properly then I must have to save him…!

(If it’s from here, then by ignoring looking down, I may get caught up with where that child is by following this frame….)

Reiji: Good grief, I want to refrain that child...from behaving reckless this time!

*Reiji gets closer*

Yui: Eh?

Reiji: Listen, you stay here. Once I will fly out from here, you must close the door immediately. Got it?

Kh…! *Flies*

Yui: (Ah! He just flies to save that child…!)

Monologue

As soon as he reached the kid, Reiji san embraced the child and flew again.

And they safely alighted to the ground.

As Reiji san told me, I hurried up and closed the door of the ferris wheel.

Thereupon, the ferris wheel started to move. Perhaps it had stopped because that child was stuck into the framework.

Anyways, I must gotta thank Reiji san right after I get off here.

END of Monologue

Place: Saint Nore Park / サントノレパーク通り

Yui: (...Ah, Reiji san!)

Reiji: Therefore, it is very idiotic to think you will be able to fly since your parents can do it! Be ashamed of yourself!!

And must not bother other people as well….Get it?

Vampire Child A: Yes….I am so sorry….

Reiji: Good grief...If you have learned from this experience then make sure not to make the same mistake again. Understood?

Vampire Child A: Gotcha...thanks a lot, uncle. Bye bye!

Reiji: Wha-! U- uncle…!?

Yui: (...Looks like Reiji san has strictly disciplined the child but, as I thought children are really liberized.)

Reiji san.

Reiji: Oh it’s you.

Yui: Thank you so much. Back then...sorry for doing absurd things by any chance.

Reiji: Haa...not to mention it is not the first time that you are showing your nice-soul to me. I am already getting used to your these apologies.

I want to be aware that you are being kept endured long for having this kleinod inside you.

Yui: Ah…

Reiji: Since we are having an usual situation, therefore I want you to refrain stepping forward into dangerous things.

Yui: Yes...I am sorry.

Reiji: It is good if you have regrets for this…anyways, our investigation for the castle is complete.

Yui: Eh? We are done?

Reiji: We have collected enough information from the outside of the ferris wheel….what shall we do now?

Yui: Well…

Reiji: If you would want to then let us enjoy the parade...or return back to the hotel at once.

Yui: I- I want to go to the parade!!!

Reiji: Heh...I can hear you even if you do not say so desperately...let us move on then.

Yui: Yes!

(It made me so happy that Reiji san has offered me…!)

Place: Saint Nore Park / サントノレパーク通り

Reiji: Every single visitor is festiving out here….if you become so slow then then you are going to stray away from me.

Yui: Yes, I will be careful.

Reiji: Good grief. I cannot simply be relieved just by hearing these words...Let me hold your hand.

*Reiji gets closer*

Yui: Th- thank you very much….

Reiji: Nope...well if good to do this once in a while.

Yui: (Somehow it looks like a dream to walk so close to him in such a thrilling place.)

Reiji: ...We cannot get fussed over this crowded place. Let us move onto a preferable place.

Yui: Sure, then what about going to the game center right there?

Reiji: I would never go there unless they are really offering a great opportunity but...if you want to then I will go.

Place: Game Center / ゲームセンター

Yui: (I thought it won’t be that enthusiastic but…)

Reiji: Ha! ...Haah!

Yui: (Unbelievably he is enjoying here, that’s good. Plus I am also happy to see his unusual sides….)

Ah! Look, only one point then it’s my victory!

Reiji: What you just say…?

Oh well, it is a game of hitting the bats. I do not quite understand the reason for playing such a barbaric game.

Let us do a match of one kind of brain game...I just found something perfect out here.

Yui: Concentration game…?

Reiji: Yeah. Although this graded game is very insufficient for me, you can challenge it.

Yui: Y- yes! I will do my best!

(Alright, let’s show my best to Reiji san!)

→Game

Words he says一

Alright then, we can start the game.

Oh my goodness.

That was amazing.

The game ends here. I am now curious about your score.

*If you win*

Yui: Oh yeesss! Reiji san, you saw it?

Reiji: I didn. You really did well.

Yui: (Glad that I did it well! ...Hm? Something comes out…?)

Reiji: Guess you get...a prize. These are bathing tickets for the Spa in the Onyx Tower.

Yui: Waah! I am so happy. Would you mind going there together, Reiji san?

Reiji: Of course I will go.

...Fuh, you are being in high-spirit just for merely a game, are you not?

Yui: But, I am so happy that...I did itttt!

Reiji: Honestly, you are looking like a child as you are raising your hand up for being overjoyed. However….

*Fades to CG*

*High five*

Yui: Eh?

(No way right...Reiji san just did it)

Reiji: I ended up doing this seeing you so overjoyed...it was not appropriate to do this though.

Yui: N- no! You made me happy!

Reiji: ...Well, it is not bad if it is with you.

*CG fades*

Reiji: If we get this opportunity next time and then I will do this again. *blushing*

Yui: ...Yup!

Reiji: Ooh, I feel so hot. Guess the air-conditioner is damaged?

Yui: (Fufu, it feels good to see his rare sides.)

Reiji: So, shall we go to the spa?

Yui: Okay!

Reiji: I got sweaty for unnecessary reasons. I shall wash out everything and relax out there.

Place: スパ / Spa

Yui: (We were supposed to meet here once we’re done changing clothes.)

Reiji: Yui

Yui: Reiji san! Sorry, did I make you wait?

Reiji: No, you are good. More importantly hurry up and get into the hot water.

Yui: A- alright….

Reiji: No matter how slim your body is, I will not want to show it to other people.

Yui: What!?

Reiji: ...Nothing really. *Flushed*

*gets into the water*

Yui: (Phew. This warming feeling is so good. I feel luxurious as it is a large bath, unusual from everyday life.)

Reiji: Kukuh...Do not make such a lifeless face which seemed to be invited to heaven.

Yui: Uuh, but it felt so good that…

Reiji: It is okay though. Plus bathing while viewing the starry sky is not bad.

Yui: Yes. It is very charming.

(But, I wonder if it is really okay to be so carefree like this…?)

Reiji: 一It is okay.

Yui: Yes?

(Have I mistakenly spelled those words from my mouth?)

Reiji: Fuh...I can watch through everything you are imagining in your head.

Yui: Oh...you are right.

Reiji: It is okay to be carefreely relaxed down like this but...we also need to do some thrills in a while.

*He gets closer*

Reiji: Certainly this situation feels extraordinary but I cannot solve it even if it gets problematic.

Therefore, please think everything like nothing wrong is going on...muwah

Yui: Hhh!?

(I didn’t imagine he would ki- kiss me in...this place…!)

Reiji: Could it be you are already starting to feel dizzy? In that case, we must get out right away…

Yui: I- I wasn’t feeling dizzy, it’s because you have just….

Reiji: Kukuh...is that so? Then let us stay like this for a while then.

Yui: (Uhh...I am just being teased. But Is it really okay to stay here like this.)

...We must get back my heart right? But if we fail…

Reiji: Rest assured. No matter what happens, I am by your side after all.

I will definitely take your heart back safely.

Yui: ...Yes.

(That’s right. Reiji san will be with me so I will of course be alright.)

(That’s why...I will believe these words.)

Reiji: ...It is great to believe in me but I do not mind if you speak that out to me, you know?

Yui: Ah, y- you are right…

(But it is very embarrassing to say it facing toward him being in this state.)

Reiji: But it will be okay now. That will be a great problem if I really get you half-conscious.

After we get back to the hotel, I shall make you speak up your imagining words one by one.

You are not allowed to disappoint me there, okay?

Yui: Kh, I- I will do my best…!

(We had a lot of fun today...feel like I’m about sleepy.)

(And also he will be by my side all the time.)

ーThe END of Chapter O1

#last lp translation qvq #lunatic parade reiji sakamaki chapter 1 #reiji sakamaki lunatic parade chapter 1 #reiji sakamaki #reiji sakamaki lunatic parade #lunatic parade reiji sakamaki #diabolik lovers translations #diabolik lovers #diabolik lovers lunatic parade reiji sakamaki #chapter 1 #final #lunatic parade translations #otome game #rejet otome games #ideal factory otome games

[talesofealdancynedom]

Electra, grown, with her selkie furs.

Tale 31: If We Lost The Sea Wives (chapter 3 - Electra’s coat  3/5 ) part 7. Stories of Magic Forests

no warings

              Fey are made by The Beast Kings, and thus magic itself. They know no time, feel no hate, take no side, and cannot form judgement. They are unable to age, and are stuck in an immature state. But that’s their charm. Fey are both very human, but distinctly not. Neither animal, nor person. Their humanness is why people love them, and requite fey affection on occasion. This is the only way a fey can have parents; Instead of being formed by magic itself, fey can breed if they know true love. The child will always be the same fey as it’s fey parent, but will also always be raised like a human.

              Saturn Firepot and his selkie wife, Iearda were expecting a baby. She did not comprehend the array of emotional human responses, or even notice she was with child. But Saturn of coarse, was excitemed. The cabin freshly finished, and in the fire of love, his life felt like it couldn’t get any better. He had graduated with his specialist degree, and had begun his own research. Saturn felt like he was in his prime. In fact, his glasses were a little too rosy. Due seeing fey as human, Saturn forgot his one and only was a fish fey; And thus if the baby was a girl, she too would be a selkie. A daughter would need to be fully submerged to turn into a seal, in order to survive. A son would just be a regular human boy. Nowhere in the other ten lands, was not knowing the gender of your baby, been so stressful. Worse yet, the home birthing culture was intense, due to the commonality of men marrying and reproducing with sea wives. Selkies were known to bite in such stressful times, and partially still had their seal teeth. A blood wound was nothing, compared to the fact Saturn was too ashamed of his predicament to do it all properly. He bought a tub to fill with sea water at their beach, and relied on the fact that fey don’t get birth complications; Because their made of magic, not biology.

              Once the drama was over, and Firepot’s sea wife sat by the tide; Recovering without a clue what just happened. Meanwhile, Saturn bathed his daughter in the tub. Only Northland Sea water was good enough for his child. The adorable ross seal pup, starred up at him, barely able to swim. The baby just turned into a seal upon touching the water. While Saturn was distracted,  someone entered the beach house. As grey mist suddenly settled, it felt like it was going to rain. Saturn took the pup out of the water to cradle her, as unease set in. When he looked at his new daughter, she was now a baby swaddled in a little white fur coat.

“She needs a name. Don’t worry, I’m used to it.” An ethereal woman’s voice chimed. Saturn looked up to see a large woman of his people, with long wavy ginger hair, eyes of the sea, and a large spiked crown; the Fish King, in all her beauty. Men however, become entranced upon seeing her land form, and Saturn was reduced into a catatonic state while the Fish King named the girl.

“Her name is Electrid. As her father, you get to know that. It’s ok if I tell you. I trust as a seer, you know the importance of a fey’s name.” The Fish King said, leaving through the glass sliding doors. The thin curtains blew, as a light salty breeze waved in. When Saturn came out of his trance, his daughter was crying, and the beach was empty. His selkie love had gone back to the sea. Saturn was left clutching his fey daughter, completely alone. He began rocking and sobbing with her, on his knees on the cabin floor. He had no local family, or friends. It was just him in a cabin, by a magic ocean, on an abandoned beach, looking into the infinite misty ocean. Heartbroken.

              Saturn was destroyed that his one true love would put on her skin, and leave. She seemed so content the year and a half. It made Saturn feel secure. He wasn’t forcing her to stay however. Ierna’s coat always hung on the hat stand, by the porch. Fey often have no logical reason for their actions. As a seer of fey, he knew this. It is possible, that she may forget about him with time. Ierna had been away from the sea for so long, perhaps she missed it and wanted an extended vacation. Either way, Saturn decided he would never have it happen again. He took off his daughter’s snowy Selkie coat, and stuffed it in a trunk at the foot of his bed. Then he the girl in human baby clothes.

Without her skin, she was a normal baby girl; Normal enough to convince the local hospital to give her a birth certificate, and his last name. Human bottles, human food, human clothes, human language, and human books. He went the extra mile, to make sure no one knew Electra was anything but a regular daughter. He told lie after lie, to affirm he was a single parent. Any time Electra gazed into the sea, or couldn’t relate to the other children, Saturn would say everyone is different, and distract her with affection. Anything to prevent the most precious thing to him, form returning to the ocean forever. It had been years, and Ierna was still gone. Saturn had now become the cooky village wizard, living alone on a beach.

               It is fair to say, that Saturn was so good at hiding Electra’s feyness, that everyone was fooled, including her. His apt knowledge of fey behaviour, from his job, meant he knew how to raise and teach her to be more like a person. The teeth were a little hard to explain sometimes; As mentioned, selkies have slightly seal like teeth, even in human form. All things considered, fey or not, both father and daughter got joy and fulfillment with only each other to love. Exclusive cuddle rights, fish pie, and Welsh cakes. Listening to radio shows, while playing on the beach with the other fey. Saturn had told all of them long ago, not to tell Electra or any other human, that she was a selkie. They loved him so much by then, they obliged without question. Each dragon, fairy, and fish, did not understand why a human would desire such a simple favour, but it was no problem as they have little to say to most common men.

Saturn became so lost in raising Electra, and keeping up the lie, that he forgot she would grow up. Without understanding human emotions. Electra often made assumptions about life stages, and appropriate social etiquette. Electra, shortly after graduating secondary school, came home with a young lad one afternoon. She had just gone out for cabbage, but also decided to pick up a boy she thought was cute as well.

“Daddy! Can he join us for dinner? I offered to show him our beach house and quiet bay. He said yes! He is so charming, and he dyed his hair orchid to match his kilt. It looks gleaming in traditional knots; and brings out his grey eyes! Oh, and he makes me smile, as everything he says is so sweet!” Electra ranted, starring at the man, like she was consumed by his essence. The boy seemed a bit rattled, and Saturn, as an overprotective father, was livid.

“Excuse me; Who are you? What are you doing with my daughter?” he said firmly.

“I’m Jasper of house Nix. She... She’s the local girl who wears the flowy dresses, and stares at me often; Oh, and she brings me daisies.” He responded. “I approached her, to ask why she was acting all odd; Then she asked if I wanted to go to the beach, and I said yes! She is by far, the most adorable maiden in town, and she looks just like you, I do say! Down to the grey eyes and ginger hair, she does!  You must be her father?”

“Aye…” Saturn said. It was worse than he thought. Electra had become infatuated with an idiot. As the village of Isfisceard was used to magic, and mundane ladies of beauty swooning, it could blur together. The lad had no clue, Electra was a selkie. He assumed she was just charismatic and flirty.

“You built this beach house? It’s homey. I love the yellow and white cabin aesthetic, on the amber wood. This place smells of the ocean and my favourite black tea. Oh, and just look at the enchanting view!” Jasper said, looking into the sea. For once, Electra wasn’t looking into the ocean; She was looking at Jasper. Saturn shrugged, and offered him a beach-side picnic. He was indeed a very sweet boy. Jasper helped clean up, danced with Electra, spouted nothing but positivity, and may have been too stupid to know malice. He reminded Saturn of himself. It made him continue the lie, and preserve their innocent love. He could tell by the look on Electra’s face, she was more then just fond of him. Electra wouldn’t love again in his lifetime; Fey can’t become infatuated again, until their previous obsession dies, or they succumb to grief with the passing of the one who loved them back. This made Saturn invested in the pair. He wanted his little girl to be happy, and see their happily ever after, as his was so brief.

              After almost a year of regular dating, Jasper requited her love, and moved into the beach house. They all shared black coffee, that mixed with the salty temperate breeze. They listened to the hum of the storms, gulls, and the sea shell wind chimes. Jasper and Saturn would sing together, for the sea fey, making Electra’s day. For all sea daughters love song. Everything seemed perfect again. Then Saturn got a job offer, in The Grand West. As a fey expert, and professor at an academy; He was being promoted. Assured his cabin, beach, and darling daughter was safe with Jasper, he accepted the offer. Like the call of a second chance, he was eager to take. Saturn took Electra’s coat with him, and continued to tell everyone his beautiful little girl, with a sort of inhuman beauty, was one hundred percent human. Anything to keep her happy, safe, and on land. Anything to make sure that when he returned, his baby girl would be there.

NEXT--->

<---PREVIOUS

#art #tales of ealdan cynedom #fantasy #selkie #story 31 #firepot #electra #short stories

[tinumiel]

Thoughts on Shadow and Bone

obviously, spoilers, ALL THE SPOILERS BELOW....

What they nailed:

Alina Starkov. I really loved Jessie Mei Li as Alina. She’s fresh, genuine, and she has the cutest smile ever. I’m usually not a fan of adding elements that aren’t in the original material, but I loved how they incorporated Jessie’s ancestry into the story and made Alina half Shu-Han. Not only does it make 100% sense, with Alina being from an area with a lot of Ravkan/Shu-Han interchange, but it also respects both the actress and the story rather than saying “Oh yes, Alina’s looks slightly asian now”. I loved how she was portrayed, I felt like she was a blank canvas that slowly filled with color as her story progressed, and Jessie really brought her to life.

The Darkling. First things first. I love the Darkling, in case that wasn’t already obvious. And I love Ben Barnes, in case that wasn’t obvious either. For some reason, it seemed like the show creators really wanted to rub the “he’s the BAD GUY” powder in my face, but joke’s on them, because Ben Barnes portrayal really added to the tragedy of his character, to everything that he’s been through and to the corruption of his ideals. How he went from an outcast wanting to stand up for himself and his people, to a tyrant fueled mainly by vengeance (if they wanted to make him less sympathetic so badly, why on earth would they include that flashback scene? How lonely he was, how manipulating, how driven. Also, how plainly hot he is.

Darklina. On the same note, the chemistry between Jessie Mei Li and Ben Barnes is insane. There were only a couple of Darklina scenes, but they were so powerful, that I find it hard to believe even non darklina shippers didn’t feel it. To be fair, I’m a Darklina fan (I’m actually a Nikolina fan, but Darklina is my second favorite), so I guess there might be a slight bias on the subject. Just as they were trying too hard to state the Darkling was evil, they tried too hard to make Darklina less appealing (like, they took away the whole Darkling’s real name element, what was that about?). But the actors had such good chemistry that despite whatever attempt the creators might have had to make it clear Darklina is “wrong”, it flopped. They had the best romantic chemistry. Even when they were fighting. Shivers.

The Crows. Flawless. Perfection. Chef kisses. Every single one of my traumatized teenager found family members was perfectly introduces, portrayed and everything was perfectly set up for Six of Crows storyline. Kaz Brekker? Flawless. Freddy Carted had all the aesthetic. Maybe they could have shown more signals of his phobia to being touched, but I guess we’ll see more of that next season. The scene of Kaz vs. Darkling? Didn’t even know I needed it. Of course the one person that could have outsmarted the Darkling would be the Bastard of the Barrel. Kick his shadow summoner ass, baby. Inej? An absolute queen. Her devotion, her faith, her skill. She was simply perfect. Amita Suman is gorgeous and she’s exactly how I pictured Inej to be. Kit Young? He brought the personification of chaotic energy that is Jesper and elevated it to a new plane of existence. Jesper was perfect. His loyalty, his cockiness, his skill, but also his weaknesses, his addiction, his playful side. God, he was amazing. 

Nina and Mathias? Nothing to say other than I love them your honor. I loved that they stuck to Nina’s body type and casted a curvier actress. And Mathias? All tall and blonde and stubborn? My sweet, dumb himbo. Their chemistry was amazing too. The scene in the whaler’s cabin? Even better than I imagined it in the books.

The visuals. The Fold. Ketterdam. The keftas, Os Alta, Tsybeya. It was all so beautiful. Ketterdam was almost just as i imagined it. The fold was even better. I think the one mark they missed was the Little Palace (where’s the golden dome?) and Bahgra’s hut (which wasn’t a hut, it was a cave). The Grisha power. The shadows controlled by the Darkling, the light controlled by Alina, Genya’s tailoring, the Summoners in general. It all looked so cool

Special shoutout to Milo the goat. You brought all the cuteness to the Crows.

What they missed:

Mal. Yes, yes, I know a lot of people are very defensive of Mal because he’s the “good guy”. But my thoughts regarding the character and how lowkey toxic he is belong to another post, because this isn’t about Mal in general, but about Show Mal. I think Archie Renaux did great with what was handed to him, but he was handed a pretty dull deck. I had the feeling I was going to like show!Mal much more than Book!Mal. In fact, I didn’t even think it was possible for it to be differently, but it was. I was rolling my eyes at Mal more times in one season of the show than I did in all three books. I saw none of his charming scenes, his womanizer moments, his sarcastic comments that landed so well with the situation. Mal’s sense of humor was one of the key factors that make me like the character to some extent in the books, and I felt none of that in the show. They wanted so badly to show him as this Mr. Right Person for Alina, that it was like that was his only personality trait. They really did Archie Renaux dirty because I’m sure he could have done wonders if the writers had included just a little more of Mal’s humorous side.

Malina. Kind of goes hand in hand. Just like with Mal, I won’t go into why I dislike the ship as a whole, but why I felt like the show missed the mark on it. It felt so incredibly forced, like they were trying to shove it down the audience’s throat. The actors had great chemistry portraying best friends, but I felt 0 romantic chemistry. Look at Kaz and Inej, they never once adressed their relationship directly, and yet the chemistry was still there. So then it seemed like they tried to compensate that by throwing in all those flashback scenes, but you can’t construct a ship solely on that, because we are not following that story, we’re following the present story. The thing about Malina in the books, is that the readers could actually decide for themselves whether they liked it or not, while in the show they were pretty much forcing you to. Also, I felt like they missed Alina’s initial crush on Mal while he didn’t really see her that way at first. If they had included that, maybe it would have seemed a little bit less forced rather than having Mal make heart eyes at her from the first moment.

Zoya. I was low-key disappointed of her because I missed a lot of ehr coldness, her superiority and her elegance. Zoya was this powerful, ambitious grisha, proud, cold, charming, sassy. While they gave her most of her lines from the book, I felt like the show reduced her to simply a local mean girl pinning for the Darkling, with little self control over her emotions, when we know in truth no one had a better control over her emotions than Zoya, and that it takes a lot more than two punches to trigger her. I wanted to see more of the #Queen and less of the #Meangirl

That was pretty much all. The rest of the secondary characters were all good, I just didn’t mention them because I focused on what really popped out to me. I’m excited for season 2, especially to see the Ice Court Heist, and, of course, to see the arrival of our lord and savior Nikolai Lantsov (all though I am terrified of his casting because he’s just one of those character you NEED to be perfect).

#shadow and bone #grishaverse #six of crows #shadow and bone netflix #the darkling #alina starkov #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #jesper #nina zenik #mathias helvar #mal oretsev #zoya nazyalensky #shadow and bone spoilers #beware the: shadow and bone spoilers #out the door (ooc)

[asotin]

what're your thoughts on castlevania (the netflix show, not the game, ive never played the game) what do you like, what don't you like? make it as long as you want. i don't care if i have to scroll for 5 minutes. go feral (personally trevor is extremely hot and i would like to date sypha. i'm not really into alucard's whole sickly victorian child aesthetic, yknow?)

oh god this is way too long, but you did say to make it as long as i want, and i have a lot of thoughts that i need to inflict on the world

i played two castlevania games, both from the nintendo gameboy era, so please don’t get mad at me, gamers

details below the cut, but since i’ll be talking about season three, i need to preface this with content warnings for mentions of: graphic violence, rape and sexual violence, racism, and the holocaust

before i get into it, i usually don’t go for alucard-type characters either, but knowing that he was redesigned to be bishounen sexy specifically because the boring, middle aged man look he originally had in the games wasn’t appealing makes me enjoy him. and he’s fun with trevor and sypha

do like:

the voice acting

it’s all good. i can’t think of any characters whose voices were awkward or fit poorly. they don't make sypha’s va use the standard flat affect or false high voice women tend to be assigned, trevor sounds suitably worn out but not monotone, and alucard sounds exhausted but in a sexy way

and the spanish dub is killer, arguably superior

the animation & design

it isn’t full-on artsy, but it’s definitely got a distinctive style that’s easy to look at. the color use and effects are gorgeous. it’s a story set in the medieval era, and the mixture of desaturated and oversaturated elements works so well with that

dracula’s castle and the belmont bunker aren't revolutionary in design, but they didn't need to be. they're suitably creepy and empty, and i enjoyed them

the monsters were unique enough to have obvious different types, and the scene where a monster commits blasphemy in a church by accusing a priest of committing blasphemy was good writing

lisa

she shows up to a stranger’s spooky home and scolds him for being rude. she really looked an ancient vampire in the face, told him he had no manners, then had a kid with him. what a phenomenal woman. 11/10, no notes

“start with me, and i’ll start with you.” you know what? i’d fall in love, too

dracula

this ancient, unfriendly vampire let a human woman walk into his home and tell him he’s got no manners. and that made him fall in love with her. just like that. lisa walked in and handed him his ass, and dracula thought “oh i love her”. and when she was killed (more on this in the bad section), he raised literal hell to destroy the world for doing it

speaking of lisa being killed, it fucks me up that it happened because she convinced him to leave the castle and experience the world. he left her alone to see what she loved so much, only to come back and find that the people he’d come to like- the people lisa had loved so much it drove her to help in a way that got her killed- had burned her at the stake. i love a good tragedy, and that’s good tragedy

the way he weeps when he has to fight alucard?? during a showdown in their home?? the “i must already be dead” moment in alucard’s childhood bedroom??? when he speaks to lisa about killing their boy, her greatest gift to him??? poetic cinema.

the trio’s dynamic

three bisexuals with two total brain cells and only alucard bothers using them. incredible

i went so hard for this ot3. it's right there and so good

sypha

she initially seems to be assigned the role of the adult™️ ie she's the only woman and gets stuck being responsible, but surprise! she’s just as annoying and dumb as alucard and trevor. she dropped a castle she didn’t understand on the ground and didn’t think too hard about it. then she argued about breaking it. i love her

if we don’t get an ot3, then she needs to have a dumb gf

alucard

he's got a stupidly low neckline and lower pants. they really leaned into ayami kojima’s redesign, as they should have. his little curl annoys me, though. why the fuck does he have a random section of hair that’s like three inches long when the rest is shoulder length or longer? love that he really looks like lisa

if you say he's canonically bisexual and polyamorous, no he isn't. yes he is. no he isn't :)

trevor

disgusting. a nasty man whose appearance mirrors his state of mind. he's 50 mental illnesses in a dirty jacket and his coping mechanism is… alcohol? maybe? he’s a mess, and i dig it

him trying his trick of kneeing alucard in the balls during their fight? and finding out it doesn't work? (which…… why doesn't it……?) juvenile but suitable

hector

his love of animals makes him my favorite. normally, i won’t touch anything with this much animal death, but i’m willing to set that aside because hector loves them so much. he’s so sweet and kind, and he loves his monster pets

yes he sided with dracula and has some really fucked up ideas about what constitutes humane treatment of people, and yet i love him. 11/10, but i have a lot of notes

isaac

i support him, including his murdering and his decision to support dracula. dracula throwing him out of the castle to save him was so cruel in that it was an attempt at kindness from a man who hated the whole world, but it was against isaac’s wishes

his time with the captain was great

idk enough about islam to know if he's portrayed correctly and haven’t seen any complaints, but given the show’s track record……… i wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not great

the forging

very cool. fresh and interesting! hector creating pet friends is cute and heartbreaking. love isaac for his dedication to reducing, reusing, and recycling

season 2’s big battle with all those vampires

the new version of “bloody tears” is phenomenal

this goes back to the animation, but listen……. it's so good. i loved the smoke vampire, and alucard’s fluid wolf transformations. his flying sword looked really good, and incorporating them together? super good to watch. and trevor’s whip?

the type and level of violence are suitable for what it is. it would be weird for a gritty show like this to be bloodless, but i don't think it would work if it were bloody to the extent of a slasher. it's also more clean violence, if that makes sense. you don’t linger just to look at gore; you see it because stabbing someone spills blood. the games weren't about extended, gritty scenes of realistic murder, so the show sticking with quick, slice and dice type fights fit with what i remembered of them

please watch this fight if you don’t remember it or haven’t seen it (part 1, part 2)

trevor’s whips

trevor’s weapons don’t follow the physics of normal whips, and they shouldn't. they’re heavily stylized and clearly a fantasy weapon, but they still have rules that they (mostly) have to obey. his morning star-whip hybrid in particular is so good 

it’s easy to follow, too. a lot of times, speedy weapons disappear, which is an understandable effect but one i find boring because there’s nothing for me to do. i’m just sitting on my ass with nothing to do

trevor’s whips don’t disappear. they’re fast, but you can always see them. and they have weight! you can see them slow down and gain speed. i don’t need physics to be real; i want movement to be pleasing, and that’s exactly what i get with the whips

don’t like:

fridging lisa

she could have been kidnapped (possibly make dracula think she was dead bc people want to lure out her scary demon husband, idk), then s2 could have ended with her and dracula reuniting as he died. she and alucard go on a trip together to attempt to make amends for the pain dracula wrought in lisa’s name. orrrr she dies a tragic death with him and we’re left to hope that they find each other in the afterlife. do vampires get to go to the afterlife? can alucard reintegrate? can he be happy with his new friends? or will he go back to his crypt and sleep again? will he ever be rediscovered? if so, what will he do? deep questions. i would prefer to cogitate on these instead of experiencing the shitshow that is s3

season 3

they should have ended it with dracula’s death. the quality of storytelling goes down immediately. just plummets. i’m sure there were problems in the first two seasons, but this one is so bad, i genuinely can’t remember

but i may as well get specific, so here we go:

abandoning alucard

trevor and sypha leave their friend alone in his childhood home where he just killed his father. where they helped him kill his father who, as i’ve said too many times, raised literal hell to get revenge for people burning alucard’s mother to death

yt they don’t talk about alucard. they don’t make any plans to touch base ever again. trevor’s entire family got killed. sypha’s culture, from which she’s now estranged, is family-centric. if ever two people should give a shit about alucard and know why alucard shouldn’t be left on his own, it's them

so what the hell is going on?

trevor and sypha’s relationship

look. it could be good. it would be better with alucard but they could be together and it could work fine

but this……….

trevor hates what they're doing. he hates traveling around and fighting. he's clearly tired and deeply depressed

sypha not only doesn't care enough to address it (did they forget the first two seasons?? sypha is annoying partly because she doesn't stop poking people) she might not even notice? yes, she's having fun, but trevor is basically dead on his feet in front of her

racism

hector, sumi, and taka all got done dirty 

sumi and taka

i hate the way they died. i hate that i’m certain that the plot won’t bring japan back into the narrative (or if it does, i don’t trust it not to be shitty). i hate the fact that by killing them off, i’m not going to get any more of them. they were interesting!!

speaking of the japanese vampire: the biphobia, arguably, given what happens with alucard

the addition of sexual violence

i don’t need or want lenore. if all she’d done was manipulate hector, i could have lived with that. she’s a villain, so she does bad things. that’s the point. but what she did was a massive escalation. we hadn’t had any sexual violence, and then the last few episodes gave us 

tumblr feminists who love her for how she treated hector need to be quarantined until their brain worms have been cured

everything that happens to hector

what was this shit? why did i open my netflix app and tap castlevania and find them making this man walk around naked in the cold to torture him? and starving him? he got manipulated, degraded, chained up, collared like an animal, and raped. and why? to show us how bad lenore is? that the other vampires are bad because they let her do it? i didn’t sign up for this

the holocaust reference

the imagery at the end of s3 when it’s revealed that the judge has been killing people he’s decided are undeserving to live and collecting their shoes in that barn was chillingly close to images of shoes taken from victims of the holocaust. there's no reason to invoke the holocaust here. it’s unnecessary and in bad taste

#asks #anonymous #long post #anti-castlevania netflix #i guess #cw rape #cw holocaust mention #cw racism #cw holocaust #all of these are tags i didn't anticipate using on my stupid sideblog #i'll probably find a bunch of typos in like 12 hours rip me #but i feel bad for taking so long

[healthfitnessbodyshape]

A Good Workout Can Make You Better In Bed

If you knew that working out would make your sexual performance and enjoyment skyrocket off the charts, would that be enough of a motivating factor to just get out there and do it?  Well, the answer to the question Can a Good Workout Boost Your Performance in Bed is –>Yes, a good workout can indeed make you better in bed.  A good workout will also increase your sex drive and probably your confidence.

The truth is Sex drive is impacted by many forces such as your self-confidence, what you eat, how much your sleeping, and what your drinking.  Sex drive has biological, psychological, and social components too. Testosterone, which is a biological hormone, is believed to affect sex drive; social factors, such as work, confidence, and family, also have an impact, and so do internal psychological factors, like personality and stress.  According to Chris Jones, head of physiology at Nuffield Health, “There is evidence that enhanced testosterone and adrenaline in men and women does enhance libido…What’s particularly interesting is that exercise also seems to affect stopping the problems that lead to a decrease in libido (AKA Sex Drive)

According to Dr. Laura Berman “Regular exercise boosts circulation, tones the body, and primes the brain for sexual satisfaction. It gets your blood flow pumping, which not only creates rosy cheeks but also improves arousal. Lubrication, sensation, and the tingle of sexual excitement are all fueled by good blood flow.”

Working out and sex drive go hand in hand.  After working out your testosterone levels should increase slightly which will, in turn, increase your Libido.  This applies to both men and women since women also make this hormone. 

If you have gone to the gym and experienced an optimal workout for your body, a healthy response should be to want to have Sex (as crazy as that sounds.)  If that is not the reaction you experience, you may need to alter your workout. 

It could be that you need more restorative work that builds up the body (think Yoga, Pilates, Walking Meditation, Tai Chi, and Stretching) or if you only practice using lighter working in workouts, it may be time to lift some weights and add some interval training to your routine.

Working out will help your body to function more efficiently and should lead to better sleep at night.  At least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep in a dark room is a necessary component for a healthy libido, balanced hormones, and good performance. 

Sleep can affect your Melatonin levels which may impact your sex hormones and cortisol levels (stress hormone). 

Both high levels of stress and low amounts of sleep can wreak havoc on a person’s ability to get in the mood. Other studies have shown that regular exercise produces higher levels of blood flow to the genitals which can cause greater sensitivity and enjoyment during love-making, thus making it more desirable.

Additional benefits of a good workout are the aesthetic improvements and the mental change people feel about themselves. Exercise is more than a physical result since it also connects your mind and body.  More people are using exercise for flatter abs and deeper self-discovery.  Exercise promotes a surge of feel-good endorphins but did you know that a highly strenuous workout is one of the few activities that can simultaneously activate both the sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (calming) nervous system reactions.  This intense dual-firing can paradoxically lead to an interruption in sensory information traveling to the areas of the brain that control our sense of ourselves at any moment.  Andrew Newberg, a Neuroscientist, and physician say “Not only do you have this great feeling of energy and calmness, but you tend to lose your sense of space and time.  This allows for creativity, a blending of different more intuitive ideas in ways you don’t normally mix things.”

When it’s time for your workout dress in clothes that make you feel good, even if you're working out at home alone.  Frumpy leads to hiding and shame and bright, cute clothes make you feel good.  If you don’t want to see yourself, just stay away from mirrors and picture the version of yourself that you will soon be.  Try exercises that make you feel sexy and that are fun to do, then it doesn’t feel like a workout.

Zumba

Pole Dancing

Soul Cycle

Outdoor Cycling

Interval Training

Hire a Trainer and learn to lift free weights

Bar Classes such as The Bar Method and Exhale (you can even order the DVDs)

90 Second Fitness (NYC)

Glute Bridges

Women recently interviewed reported feeling sexier and more assertive after a good workout. 

An exercise that engages your hips, core, pelvis, and glutes can fire you up and lead to “hotter and more frequent sex”  

As stated before, by shaping and strengthening these muscles you re-shape your thoughts too.  The bottom line is that fitness can connect you to your body, and how to use it in life and bed.  Your renewed confidence in yourself, your strength, your appearance, and your body will fuel your desire and pleasure.  What are you waiting for?  I have listed a few exercises to get you on your way…

Pelvic Cross Crunch

Lying on your back begin with your hips flexed to the same position at which your low back touches the ground in the cross crunch.

Allow the legs and pelvis to rotate until your knee touches the floor without changing the angle at your hip.

Begin rotating your pelvis and legs towards neutral (vertical) while simultaneously bringing the opposite elbow towards the knee.

It is best to complete all repetitions on one side before moving to the other side. Warning: Anyone with an injury to a disc should get medical clearance before advanced oblique exercises such as this.

Prone Bridge with 3 Way Leg Extension

Lying at the top of a push-up position.

Draw your belly button inwards raise your leg to parallel to the ground. 

Keeping good posture move your leg in 3 directions up and down out to the side and the final movement is across your body in a rotation.

Hip Bridge (the version you choose depends on your skill and level)

The hip bridge exercise isolates and strengthens the gluteus (butt) muscles and hamstrings (back of the upper leg). This, along with the single-leg bridge exercise, are good core strengtheners that target both the abs and the low back muscles. The bridge exercise is considered a basic rehab exercise to improve core and spinal stabilization.

Hold the position pictured above for 15-60 seconds while maintaining control. If you do the single-leg bridge as well, be sure to do both sides!

To increase the difficulty and intensity of this movement, alternate lifting on your toes so the heel comes off the ground and then reverse it with the toes off the ground and your weight on your heels.

Body Weight Squat (Change Your Body)

To perform a bodyweight squat, extend your arms straight out in front of you with your palms down and keep your feet flat on the floor a little wider than your shoulders. Slowly bend your legs to start the exercise and make sure to keep your back as straight as possible. You should also keep your head up and try to look straight ahead during the exercise. Keep your feet flat on the floor as you squat down. When your thighs are parallel to the floor, stand back up to finish the first repetition. Try to do at least 10 repetitions and then take a short break.

Those who regularly exercise and maintain a healthy lifestyle generally have higher self-esteem due to a more positive self-image (when you look good, you feel good), cardiac endurance, and strength level.  The studies also show exercisers (Strength Exercise in particular) usually have higher metabolisms and tend to have higher levels of satisfaction.  And if all that isn’t enough…The conclusion is that sex itself also reduces stress and can lower blood pressure. Engaging in sex one to two times per week has shown a link to higher levels of Immunoglobulin A, which is an antibody that protects against colds and other infections.

#workout #exercise #couple #relationship

[phantomphangphucker]

Phango - Not So Strangers In The Night

(Swagger Bishie + Identity Reveal + Ghost King)

Dash wants many things but there’s two he’s sure he just can’t have, Danny meanwhile, doesn’t think ‘can’t’ is an actual word.

Dash sighs mentally, eyeballing Danny out of the corner of his eye. There had always just been something about how lithe the guy’s body was, the way his clothing would occasionally cling or hang off him giving away the skinnier body underneath. Personally, he would never wear oversized clothing himself, but it was more than a little attractive on people with petite frames.

Watching Danny stretch his arms over his head and yawn in a way that was almost cat-like. He doesn’t know when Danny’d gotten his teeth done like that, the fangs, but they added an even more slender and sharp edge to his face. Moving his gaze up the other teens' jawline to mentally trace out a sharp line all the way past the tapered ears. Everything about Danny’s face was sharp, defined...and incredibly attractive.

Glancing back to Danny’s arms just before he lowers them, the oversized sweater just thin enough and just heavy enough to give away the ever so slight hint of defined muscles underneath. Dash has no clue how that happened and he was honestly a bit hurt and dismayed when he noticed Danny bulking up. How could he not notice? It was so very obvious every time he grabbed around the now practically rock hard biceps to drag the kid off for his daily beating. Or when he snuck a peek down Danny’s shirt, as he always did, when pinning him up against some locker. He knows attacking Danny is pretty stupid, but Dash knows he’s not a smart guy. And really? A jock with a loser? A freak? Never. He’d be a social pariah. So he gets his hands on his secret little crush the only way he knows how. With rough hands and a strong dose of aggression. He does relish the closeness too though with that strange muscle Danny’s built, he does wonder why Danny never truly fights back. He honestly wouldn’t mind getting rough up by the lithe teen. That was half the reason he loved football after all, and working out. The bruises, the cuts, the sore muscles. Pain was a pleasure and carried a feeling of power. Knowing just what your body could do and take. And he’ll admit to testing Danny’s limits sometimes. Seeing just how much pain he could take, which honestly just left him feeling very impressed...and attracted.

But back to why Danny’s muscle growth had bugged him. In the beginning, it did anyway. See Danny had always been skinny, there was a daintiness to him, yet lithe. It’s not like Danny never had muscle, no, it had just been muscle potential hidden away. And wondering just what he could do if that potential developed was a bit exhilarating. Just like getting a new teammate on the field. But his fellow jocks were all rather brutish in their muscle and psyche, which Dash firmly did not have an interest in. And sure, maybe he had gone a little blind, thinking that the only real options were skinny, beefy, or fat.

So imagine his hidden horror with that mindset, when Danny -with the perfect femboy bod, with all the sharpness needed to have a somewhat pixie look- seemed to be transitioning into the beefy category? Over time that worry was quelled, Danny’s muscle was so different. He never seen such a lean tight kind of musculature, Danny even seemed to become more sharp; sharper jaw, the ears, even his eyes had a sharpness. It was, dare he say, exotic. Which if anything, only added to the femboy pixie look. Which okay, sue him, he liked cutesy shit; definitely explained his taste in men. Not that anyone actually knew that. Dash Baxter, number one football star and the example of masculinity, being interested in anything ‘cute’? Never. He had an image he had to keep.

That was one thing he was insanely jealous of Danny over. Danny’s freaky family made it so that it didn’t damn matter what he did or how he acted. Nothing was unexpected behaviour from a Fenton. And he was already a social pariah. Danny could literally transform into a dog or some shit and no one would really be all that surprised. He might get a few new insults hurled at him but that’s it. But Dash? The slight wrong move and goodbye scholarships or dealing with a furious father. ‘Cause don’t let it fool you, regardless of what the colleague heads said publicly, they absolutely did discriminate. Especially in sports. And bi in football? Bi and hocked up with a cute little thing who was a social outcast of the lowest most mocked kind? Surely his life and future would explode right in front of his face.

And of course there was the issue of if Danny would even be interested. Because finally owning up only to get rejected? By said lowest of the low twink? That would beyond worse. So yeah, the risk wasn’t worth it. And he wasn’t quite dull enough to not realise that Danny probably did not like him, the ‘bullying’ and all that. So even if Danny did swing that way, well, Dash’s chances were pretty well nothing.

Making a damn point to jeer mockingly and with a level of intimidation at the weirdo trio as he passes them on his way to class, firmly making a point to not react to picking up on Danny clearly not being fearful and even smirking slightly. It honestly pleased him immensely that Danny didn’t seem to actually fear him. Again, it was something like hidden strength. That was one thing that had always separated Danny from the other skinny kids, he wasn’t fearful. He was bold and loud. Even if that only really showed if you looked for it or caught him on more of his more mirth filled days. Simply put, Danny had never been pathetic. Never been weak. Even back when he was physically very much weak -Dash had to give him fitness training for peats sake- he had never been mentally weak.

Sitting at the back of the class next to Kwan, sneaking glances at Danny here and there. This was something he liked to do in the less important and boring classes, recently anyway. Sure he had always admired Danny with glances here and there but another one of Danny’s changes was just too intriguing not to watch.

Danny often slept in classes, that was boring and honestly made him worry some which is why he went easier on the guy on the days he seemed to be napping more often than not, but when he didn’t and it was one of these more useless classes? He’d go between looked over the other students and scanning the town through the window next to him. The sharpness to his eyes was most noticeable then and there was something about the way he looked over the rest of their classmates. It reminded Dash of how people talked about how gods and angels would gaze upon humans. Like they were impossibly and unimaginably above them yet fond and even protective. It really added to that pixie aesthetic Danny had, made him seem just that more ethereal. ‘Ethereal’ that’s a new one, maybe he got more out of Lancer’s crappy poetry babble than he thought. That thought makes him wonder if Danny would like fancy words and that poetry stuff. All the fae in his moms' romance novels -which yes he did secretly read- seemed to love that kind of stuff.  And sure, he’s pretty sure Danny’s human, ethereal aspects aside, but a guy can imagine can’t he? Dash quickly brings his attention back to the teacher as Danny’s watchful yet distant gaze travels to him. At least he isn’t a blusher, Dash is more than a little thankful for that.

Dash is laying on his bed, quickly turning his head to the side as an explosion sounds. Promptly springing up and sticking his head out the window at spotting Phantom zip by, “WOOOO! Go get him Phantom!”, he can’t help but beam as Phantom glances back and sends him a little wave with a cocky smile.

Dash sighs and flops back against his bed, his crush on Phantom was another dirty little secret. Sure he may pass himself off as ‘his biggest fan’ and he certainly wasn’t nearly as bad -or delusional if he’s blunt- as Paulina, but he definitely was a part of the Phantom Crush Club in spirit. Since of course no one knew about this crush either. Queer thing aside, Phantom was a ghost. Which yes, was part of the attraction so sue him, again the whole ethereal thing. Man that word’s becoming a personal favourite.

Phantom’s glow combined with the white of his hair and skin, that definitely qualified as ethereal. The powers were whatever really, cool and probably really fun but not where Dash’s attraction is based. And really, if anything made Dash’s type clear it was his two crushes. Both of them had the lithe pixie feel to them. Sharp in all the right places and brimming with hidden strength. Though Phantom’s might be much more literal. But honestly, Dash preferred Danny’s less showy nature. Phantom demanded attention, the skin-tight jumpsuit definitely did not help reduce that, and he was loud in a way that could border on obnoxious. Danny was a sleek black cat with piercing knowing eyes, Phantom was a mighty dragon always coiled for a fight.

Blinking at the ceiling, “I’m getting all fancy, man I really need to sleep”. Turning over in his bed only for his hand to brush against the corner of a book, “hurgh?”, pulling it out towards his face and squinting. Staring at the little scrap paper used as a bookmark, “probably a bad idea”, but flicking the book open anyway; a bit curious where he left off.

“I wondered if my head and heart would ever reconcile, or whether I'd just cursed myself to relive this moment for the rest of my years, half assured I'd made the only choice available to me, half always whispering if only, the whole of me filled with bitter regret“ ~ An Enchantment Of Ravens

Dash blinks and grumbles, “you didn’t have to call me out like that”. Deciding to flip around to a random page.

“Are you in love with me?" I blurted out.

A terrible silence followed. Rook didn't turn around.

"Please say something."

He rounded on me. "Is that so terrible? You say it as though it's the most awful thing you can imagine. It isn't as though I've done it on purpose. Somehow I've even grown fond of your - your irritating questions, and your short legs, and your accidental attempts to kill me."

I recoiled. "That's the worst declaration of love I've ever heard!” ~ An Enchantment Of Ravens

Dash chuckles but sighs, “fate hates me”. Deciding to try once more, flipping closer to the beginning.

“My cheeks warmed, and a wistful pang plucked a sweet, sad chord in my stomach. It was simple, really. He didn’t want me to forget him once he’d gone” ~ An Enchantment Of Ravens

Dash blinks, he did always rather like seeing the slight busies he left on Danny. Which now that he thinks about it, they didn’t seem to form anymore or stay for long. Which, okay yes, bugged him, not like he knew why really. Guess it was kind of obvious now. Maybe Danny would See those bruises and remember him. Was that stupid? Likely. Snapping the book shut and sticking it more securely under the mattress, before making a point to force himself to settle down to sleep.

He finds himself waking up way too early for a school day, turning his head to look at the little football-shaped clock, it’s red light glare at him reading ‘3:42’. If non-ghostly objects could be malicious, he’s sure every alarm clock would be. The early morning leading to him thinking back on his current book, the story of a fae royal and human falling in love. Forbidden love that would cost the fae his reputation. Sounded a little familiar huh?

Twenty minutes later and his mind’s still on that damn book, so he throws the blankets off and decides to get dressed. Thankfully sneaking out was relatively easy in his house, normally everyone was so loud that quiet noises went completely unnoticed. So just walking out the front door was a perfectly fine thing to do.

Five minutes later finds him wandering the sidewalks of Amity. If he’s being totally honest, even if Danny wasn’t some social peasant or whatever, he still wouldn’t go for it; even if he was a girl. Why? Hitting on girls like Paulina was easy, expected even. There was no risk. Even if girls like we rejected him, that’s what they were expected to do most of the time. But someone he was actually interested in? That was risky. The thought of trying to take it was thrilling, attractive, fun. Actually trying? Nope.

Kicking a rock down the gravel as he enters the park, eventually bumping into to something or someone. Snapping his head up and cursing his luck -or maybe he should be thanking it?- at seeing it was Danny he ran into...literally. Watching as Danny steadies himself quickly, his hood fällig down in the process. Dash has to make a damn point to not stare and change his face to a scowl when the moonlight practically glows of Danny’s pale skin. Why did he have to be so, um, right, ethereal? “Watch it loser”.

Danny squints at him, then throws Dash through a loop by responding with, “no one wanders around at four am for good reasons”.

Dash blinks a bit at those watchful blue-eyes, losing a bit of the fake bite that Danny hopefully passes off as tiredness, “then why are you here?”.

“Why would I tell you why?”, with that Danny turns back to look over the rest of the park from the little bridge thingy they’re on.

Dash scoffs, “whatever Fentwerp”, joining in looking over the park. The two settle into silence, though it doesn’t take long for Dash to glance at Danny’s back; the dark grey hoodie was arguably in horrible condition but it just looked like a style choice on Danny. Everything probably looked good on him. Flicking his eyes away to avoid Danny possibly noticing, because really, there was no one else here so any staring from him would be rather obvious. That gets him thinking though, when had he ever been just one on one with Danny? With neither of their friends around or teachers? Never. It had never happened. Dash didn’t do lonely, he also didn’t do silence for that matter, and Danny’s friends were practically attached to him. Honestly, he’s pretty sure both of them are crushing on Danny; Valerie definitely still had a thing for him, everyone knew the goth did and the techno-geek had a thing for everyone. And yet none of them were going for him...why? They didn’t really have anything to lose and Valerie already had once. Right, even Paulina had dated him; even if she claimed it was to piss off the goth. Maybe there was just something about Danny that made him easy to crush on but impossible to love? Maybe it had something to do with how he was, what was that word? How could he have forgotten it already?....oh right, ethereal. Or maybe it was because he was ethereal. It was pretty obvious people are, um, put-off? -That sounds right- by things that seem inhuman. What with all the horror movies about such people, and that was a pretty common theme with human/non-human romances. Personally, he didn’t get it. Sharp, predatory, the thrum of potential power or danger, the otherworldliness -he’s pretty sure he’s read it described with that word once- he liked that.

Flicking his eyes back to Danny watching as he opens his mouth to sigh almost soundlessly, fangs dragging across his lips. Yeah, shit like that is going to be the death of Dash. With the silence officially be too much for the jock, Dash mutters, “four am is a stupid time”.

Danny snorts, “perfect for you then”, before pushing off the railing and eyeballing Dash. Smirking slightly, “you still keep a collection of teddy bears?”.

“Oh screw y-”, Dash cuts himself off, there’s not really anyone here to play pretend for. “Yeah, so what I like cute shit, what’s it to ya Fenton”. Including cute shit like you, being left unsaid.

Dash doesn’t miss how Danny’s eyes seem to glint while Danny tilts his head at him before those eyes glance around a little. Dash isn’t sure what he sees or is looking for, while Danny hums before speaking, “so often you aren’t quite what you seem, huh Dash?”. Then walking a bit to stand side to side with Dash, hands in his pockets, “you allow those around you to dictate who you are. Stop that, it’s stupid. You’ll never find what you want or who you fit with that way”.

Dash turns and watches Danny walk off. In some way it almost feels like Danny was never actually here.  Looking back tot the bridge and touch where Danny’s hand had been to find it cold. Was he tired enough to actually be imagining Danny being, well, Danny? He’s not sure he’d even be able to imagine the sharpness of Danny’s eyes. Sighing a bit and not sure if he wished the maybe Danny had stuck around or not. Before deciding to walk some more, the air smelled nice at least and no one was around to give a damn how he acted.

Turning and walking off the bridge only to nearly shriek from some blonde-haired guy just suddenly being there. He doesn’t look friendly and the scar over his face doesn’t help that, yet Dash finds himself frozen in spot. He knew he could move, kinda wants to, but something just feels like he shouldn’t. Maybe it was the piercing blue eyes, how even with the strong moonlight he had no shadow, or the cruel-looking smile that somehow felt kind.

Swallowing a bit thickly as the man approaches, the clicking of his purple walking stick being the only sound. The stranger looks up at him slightly, “restless soul, looking for something in another land. The kind heroes and villains dance upon. You think you know your path best, and yet, are just a vagabond too fearful of quicksand to walk from the desert dunes to find an oasis of blues and greens. You are parched dry from your ways, yet refuse to chase waters deeper than you know”.

Dash blinks, catching the moonlight glint off the strange gear cog collar pins, “what?”.

The man chuckles, “you hold tears of the potential of judgment. A soul of man, whose fading light will one day be at its end. Seeking to paint your existences canvas with the lord of graves. One who you’ll grant find in time, one way or another. Painted soot or painted snow. Regardless. Would you not rather run your hands through the textures while you can enjoy it and endeavour it while having a pulse to half match under your skin?”.

Dash’s brain is pretty well mud right now, “who are you?”.

He shrugs, “I’m a tale of time, that history has lost. I see, I guide, I exist. And you, you are a bird that thinks it’s a boar”.

One thing Dash can always do is pick up on insults, and that was an insult, even if he has no clue what that was supposed to mean, “I’m not a meathead”.

The stranger holds up a finger and smiles, his eyes have an oldness to them that is honestly unpleasant, “precisely. You fear not the dark nor the monster with in, you fear the light and things far weaker than you. The boar charges and fights the bull, the bird lives alongside it. You feign your charges, act the boar, even as your flyer eyes see that the target is something to walk with, not against. You do this so others think you are a boar, why would you want to? boars die foolish. Be glad your bull is more of a lording cat, one that won’t strike you down”.

Dash blinks and steps back a little bit, “er, whatever you weird old man”. To make a point, Dash walls forward and around the stranger, but not too close because seriously, what the fuck?

The stranger doesn’t move but follows Dash with his eyes, speaking again just as Dash walks past, “you may find your lithe cat will enjoy your feathers quite fine. And one more thing”, Dash glances back and the stranger winks with a grin, “it’s not time that’s stupid, it’s what you do with that time”.

To say Dash is confused, as he walks the gravel path feeling slightly paranoid, would be an understatement. Lancer’s weird poetry crap made more sense than that. But the weirdos' last words sounding so much like Danny’s is giving him a weird gut feeling that the guy was somehow talking about Danny. Officially deciding he needs to back to sleep, he must be having awake fever dreams or something.

Dash walks through the school doors, firmly glad he got more sleep. Part of him wants to confirm seeing Danny wasn’t some weird fever dream, the other part is a bit distracted when, in his taking in of Danny’s lithe form, he notices the small gear cog charm hanging off his chain belt. It looked exactly the same as the weird guys' pins, has Dash just walked into some strange fantasy story or something?

Looking away and storming through the halls like he owns them, which he does, when Danny looks to him. Catching Danny’s eyes seemingly becoming sharper for a second and his hand brushing the charm on his belt. Why did he feel like Danny noticing where he was staring was somehow...what was that word? Some that started with a ‘c’?whatever, it was somehow a strong play.

Danny just suddenly appearing and stepping out of a bathroom stall, that Dash is sure was empty, during lunch rather confirms his thoughts. Looking Danny over through the mirror, his head was titled and he quickly locks gazed with Dash through the mirror. This was that sharp edge really showing through, and god damn if that wasn’t stupidly attractive. Snapping at him, “what you being creepy for, you freaky weirdo”.

Danny scoffs and rolls his eyes, “it seemed rather timely”.

Dash blinks a bit at Danny almost jarringly quickly snapping his gaze back to Dash’s face in the mirror. The first thought to worm into his head is that this seemed like a cat stalking after a bird. Then basically getting dropped kicked in the brain by Deja Vu. Muttering at the mirror, “what is it with that bird shit”.

“What, someone give you a weird birds and the bees talk?”, Danny snickers, “thought you were too old for that”.

Dash squints at the mirror, was that what that guy was going off about? Honestly anything seems possible. Looking Danny over, if there was one thing everyone knew it was how used to strange he was. How part of it he was, because of his family. But Dash knows there’s more to it than that, that he was something different and strange all on his own. He’s also sure that’s not just his interest in the ethereal boy talking. Deciding to go out on a limb, not like anyone would judge him for using a Fenton to figure out some weird shit, “maybe? Who knows what’s up with weirdos”, turning around and looking more directly at Danny, who’s looking at him with critical sharp eyes, “some guy going off about drinking ‘oasis’ of blue and green. That my cat will like my feathers”.

Danny smirks knowingly and moves to wash his hands in the sink, “sounds like a riddle if I’ve ever heard one. Maybe think of who you associate with blue and who with green”, chuckling and shaking his head a little, locking eyes with Dash in the mirror again, “and who you think of as a ‘cat’. Otherwise, sounds like someone’s telling you to stop holding yourself back and chase after what you want”. Danny walks out leaving Dash just kind of staring at the sink.

Dash spends the rest of the day casting glances at Danny a fair bit more often than he usually does. Pretty well sure the boy knew what the strange guy meant but was just letting Dash figure it out himself. He finds he can respect that a bit, even if he’s definitely annoyed. The fact that Danny is seemingly brushing up against him in the hallways doesn’t help, or maybe it does. Because fine, yes he likes it. The fantasy of Danny being forward towards him in an attracted way won’t stop circling in his head. But it isn’t until the second to last class that something clicks. Watching Danny suddenly stiffening, like he often did before running off to the bathroom mysteriously, Dash could have sworn Danny’s face twisted in anger and eyes flashed green for a second as he stands and speed walks out of the classroom. Leaving Dash blinking and getting slapped by Deja Vu again. ‘Blue and green’, blinking more at that making other things click in place. Everything about Danny was lithe, he’d even described him as cat-like. Was weird dude telling him to get with Danny? The hell? How did weird guy even know that?

He guesses that’s one way for the universe or whatever to say something’s fate or some bullshit. But real life doesn’t work like that...right? Well okay, ghosts are real so there is some make-believe that’s real. But then Dash, Hell no one, would ever describe Danny as a bull. A bull that’s a cat, that doesn’t even make sense. Shaking his head as class ends.

Walking out thinking of soot and snow, and didn’t that guy also say something about heroes? Soot was black right? Googling away to find that yes it was, as he makes it to his next class. Of course snow was white. So black and white. Well shit, that was Danny and Phantom’s hair colours; and Phantom was a hero. Danny had organised that rescue mission, so could he be labelled ‘hero’ too. Not really, it was a one-time thing after all.

Groaning and hitting his head into the desk only for the teacher to snap at him about paying attention. Mentally shoving all this crap away, basically mentally screaming at it to sort itself out.

Seeing Danny after last class across the hall and walking towards Danny with a glare, because he absolutely needs to take out his romantically frustrated aggression and, if he’s honest, mentally frustrated aggression -because thoughts of that weirdo just will not leave him alone- on someone.

Dash grabs him and slams him into the lockers, speaking without a whole lot of power behind his worlds, because he’s more than a little preoccupied and Danny’s eyes glittering with mirth and knowing does not help, “you know, I kinda feel like making you eat locker, weirdo”.  

Danny speaks with a smirk, “weirdly cute you mean”. Dash sputters and promptly drops Danny, turning on his heel and speed walking off. Though he does throw a glance over his shoulder back at Danny, who looks more smug than anything he’s ever seen before; making Dash blush furiously and then feeling annoyed at blushing.

Dash decides that night that if his head’s just gonna be stuck in a pit of ‘just ask him, you know you want to’ and weird mutterings about painting with the lord of graves -whatever the heck that means- then he might as well finish his book. Well, his mom’s book but still. It seems suiting enough.

He flat-out drops the book when he gets to the point where Gadfly -an ageless fae who can see the future and all the twists and turns it might or might not take- functionally admits to setting up Isobel with Rook. The mortal with the inhuman prince, who -as Dash finishes the book with a fair amount of shock- comes to stand as the King of all fae. The lord of fae. The lord of graves? Was Danny some kind of ethereal prince? King? Or something? And heck! Gadfly was even blonde too! The Hell? And didn’t weird guy go off about Dash painting or something? Isobel’s a painter. Officially finding this a little too weird, Dash closes the book and tucks it away. Looking out the window and deciding that another -not really early enough to be morning but too early to be night- walk might get him more answers.

Somehow, Dash thinks as he watches Danny fiddling with a dandelion puff from afar on the same bridge as before, this isn’t surprising. Shaking himself off and making a point to shove down all the weird stupid feelings, before walking over with his hands in his pockets. “So you’re out here again”

Danny speaks without looking to him, “so are you”.

Dash scoffs and looks at his shoes a little, something tells him Danny wouldn’t be out wandering the night because of a book and some weird guy. The boy would probably handle it without being fazed much at all, “what? do you just wander around in the dead of night for fun?”.

Danny chuckles and side-eyes him, “maybe I do, maybe I don’t. Under the moonlight seems like a great place to be, don’t it?”.

Dash leans against the bridge railing, “it is ethereal I guess”.

Danny laughs and it’s a bit loud, “ethereal, that’s a big word for you. Now I wonder what could make you learn a word like that. Something so applicable to the strange and otherworldly”.

Dash bites his lip slightly at that, feeling incredibly called out, though ha! ‘Otherworldly’ was a word used for it. For people like Danny. Dash scoffs, “whatever, it’s got it’s uses”.

They stand in silence, both looking in opposite directions for a while. Until Dash blushes slightly at Danny humming, recognising the tune as Strangers In The Night.

Now Dash isn’t that much of an idiot, he’s not smart but he’s not dumb. He can recognise a blatant call out when he sees one. Danny knew. And...wasn’t being a dick about it, much. Wasn’t brushing him off. Dash isn’t sure if he’s confused by that or not.

Turning his head slightly to look at where the strange man had been last night before blurting out, “you’re mean”.

Danny laughs loudly at that and looks at Dash, who firmly avoids turning his head further to meet the gaze, “oh yes, says the bully. But you know what they say, ‘he only hits you ‘cause he likes you’”.

Dash jerks a bit and gapes, maybe he underestimated the boldness of Danny. While Danny sighs after a while of furthered silence, “it’s a darker night out hmmm? The darkness always holds something, a secretiveness to it. Where you can watch without being seen or act without being watched. In every story it crawls with monsters, things of depravity. Things people think are wrong, shouldn’t see the light of day. But those things are free in a sense that those who secluded themselves to daylight can never be. Monsters and those who hide, yet even they need to be brought into the sun sometimes. Wouldn’t you say?”.

Dash’s brain had stalled on the monster comment. That weird guy had gone off about monsters too. The whole him not fearing monsters or something? Danny was clearly weird, different. Didn’t people get called monsters in all those mutant movies over being different? And Phantom, well, the Fenton’s literally shouted that he was a monster. This was turning into some beauty and the beast shit. That makes him practically pitch forwards and face-plant into the ground.

Danny catches him and mutters, “geez, are you so repressed that the idea of not being so makes you want to eat the ground you walk upon?”.

Dash just blinks at him as he stands in front of him, because the whole thing with beauty and the beast was the beast transformed. Could look two different ways. And Danny’s eyes were green. Phantoms eyes were green. Danny raises his eyebrows at Dash sputtering at him, “that’s, it’s not, that ain’t”, Dash blinks, this explained a lot and Phantom was so bold, he took what he wanted, yet here he? -They? However it works- was seemingly waiting for Dash to make some kind of decisions thingy. Muttering, “have my cake and eat it too”.

Danny scrunches his face up and laughs, “I never imagined Dash would genuinely confuse me-”, getting cut off by Dash just saying screw it and kissing him, hard.

Dash pulling back but promptly hugging the weird ethereal creature, “I am so many levels of confused”. Danny just chuckles and pats his back, “yet maybe less in some way. Though you know, you really should ask first”.

Dash jerks and basically holds Danny by the shoulders away from him, Dash wasn’t that dumb of a guy but he was definitely a little stupid.

Danny rolls his eyes but smirks, batting off Dash hands before grabbing his shirt collar and kissing back, “you’re an idiot”.

Dash mutters, “you’re a weirdo”, as Danny backs off. After a bit of silence Dash looks at his feet and sticks his hands in his pockets, “so, uh, now what?”.

Danny shrugs and goes back to leaning on the railing, “I dunno, you work through your confusion I guess”, glancing at Dash, “just know that I am never a confused person anymore”.

Dash looks out across the park, well that was as blunt as anything. Why though? “I’ve literally beat the crap out of you for years. And,”, Dash worries his lip a little, blushing slightly from the unusual coldness on them, a coldness from Danny, “and you could have fought back anytime”.

Danny gives him a knowing look before smirking a little, “so you figured that out too huh?”.

Dash doesn’t give him a chance to say anything more, “as of two seconds or whatever ago. My head is mud”, Dash barely cuts himself off from saying ‘congrats’ or ‘thanks’. Who the Hell says that to some who just kissed them?

Danny screws up his face and it honestly looks like something out of a bad movie where the characters make some great discovery. When he chuckles and shakes his head, “so that’s what you meant by the cake thing”, squinting at Dash a little, “now you know I have to ask this, but knowing isn’t why you did that, is it?”.

Dash doesn’t know whether to nod or shake his head because both would be a lie, “I just figured out my two, um, interests, were smashed into one. Excuse me for not being myself, or whatever, enough and pleased, to have some self-control”.

Danny smiles at that, shoving Dash’s shoulder lightly, “lucky you I guess. Who’d you like more?”.

Dash sputters, Danny was a little much, always was, but that’s part of what he liked about him. The fearlessness, the hard sharpness, and he was cutting Dash the Hell up, “you”, Dash keeps talking as Danny raises his eyebrows, “Danny”, continuing when Danny raises his brows further, “Fenton. The weird lithe kid with sharp edges and the whole pixie thing going on”. Dash looks around some, ignoring the slight smirk on Danny’s face.  

Danny bumping shoulders with him, “oh fancy words Dash. You know I love words with meanings, that I love to give out nicknames. Maybe you should be Teddy Bear”. Dash blushes more than a bit furiously at that which just makes Danny laugh, “oh yes, that will do wonderfully”. Danny sighing after a while of Dash blushing and staring defiantly into the distance, “not that we have to be public about... whatever this is”.

Dash looks back to him at that, nodding slightly, “that is...why I never would have tried normally. Weird dude threw me through a loop”, smiling a little and shoving Danny lightly, “I think I’m glad he did though”.

Danny nods, “if there’s anyone who can understand secrets Dash, especially for safety’s sake, it’s me”, gesturing around, “night seems to suit us. It’s always been something of mine. There’s not really anything wrong with hiding in the night, if you care to join me in that anyway”.

Dash gapes a little, that felt like a stupid question. Why would he question if Dash wanted this to be a ‘thing’. Dash should be the one worried about that, “yes. That is- why would you even ask that?”.

Danny chuckles and gives him a smile that’s got a sadness to it, which Dash is officially having none of and feeling more like his rather brazen self, just kisses him again before he can respond. Dash then saying, “it doesn’t matter”.

Danny chuckles and shakes his head a little, “you sure watch me a lot huh. Like what you see?”, Dash forced down his blush this time while Danny smirks and glances around with that searching look before looking back to him, “care to see how I own my night?”.

Dash just nods a little before going slightly slack-jawed at the near blinding ring of light and Danny suddenly being Phantom and just floating around to be away from the bridge slightly, holding a hand out to Dash, “well? I could rip off superman and say I promise not to drop you or you can stop holding yourself back”.

Dash barely wastes a second before grabbing Danny’s hand and letting him pull him up off the ground. Dash asking the only other question he really has or that’s still bugging him as Danny wraps his arms around him and just...goes up, “so weird guy also said something about king of graves?”.

Danny laughs and shakes his head a little, “that cheeky bastard”, before looking down at Dash’s face, “Ghost King, Dash. Something beyond what any ghost or mortal could be”.

Dash again feels slapped by Deja Vu, he’s never going to be able to look at that damn book the same again, “you know, I was reading a book where...”.

Dash winds up explaining his ‘girly’ book interests as they fly around, oddly unfazed and comfortable with the whole fly thing. While Danny simply exists as the strange ethereal being he is, face glowing brightly against the night sky; leaving Dash feeling like he just caught a star in a wishing bottle and think that maybe poetry might be a good idea.

End.

#danny phantom #phandom #phangoweek19 #phango19 #danny fenton #dash baxter #romance #swagger bishie #ghost king Danny #clockwork #identity reveal #homophobia #acceptence #phantomphangphucker #have a fic suck my dick #my writing #clockwork is just out here setting people up

[theorynexus]

68 will be my second post, this morning. I wonder if it will start section 8 of the Meat Epilogue.

Oh darn it. I forgot to make a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy/Meaning of Life reference on Meat 42. At least we’re back to a 43, and things might therefore be luckier. Maybe.    (I am very silly when it comes to superstitions regarding numbers, sometimes, even though I don’t really believe them.)

MY TIMING SENSES WERE TINGLING!!!

Hmm. Well, strategy meetings and investigations are important.  (Also:  I am again reminded of the dreadful likelihood that Terezi went with Dirk, which continues to be a disturbing thought.)

Hmm.  For some reason, I have the impression that he does indeed have a vague idea where he’s going, but he may not actually know where/how to find it, yet. That seems pretty likely.  Thus, Roxy would be partially correct. (On that note: Interesting that Jake didn’t actually come with. I thought for sure he’d have snuck aboard at the last moment, or something, as a stow-away.)

Eh, I’d say it goes a little beyond “prove a point,” but it’s also probably incomprehensible to you, right now.  I guess we’ll all have to be patient before we can more thoroughly sort through his insanity in that regard. As for Jane...   I don’t know. It might be more trouble than it’s worth to contact her.  The fact that Dirk has her as a seemingly important part of his plans suggest that it could essentially be springing a trap on yourself. I wonder how she’ll react to finding out that Dirk’s been mind controlling people and that that probably invalidates the actual results of her election, in the sense that it dramatically undermined the democratic process. (That is a really complicated issue that is somewhat entangled with real life politics, though, so I don’t want to get into a deep and proper discussion of what determines electoral legitimacy on a philosophical or political level here.)

It is a very interesting choice on Alt!Calliope’s call to focus on incestuous questions and Dave being awkward, rather than to follow tat important call.

Dirk is so twisted at this point that I’d almost not put it past him, but at the same time, why, Dave, do you have to assume that the motivations are sexual in nature?   (I mean, honestly, it could be the fact that Dirk was trying to force him to have sex with Karkat that gave him the impression that Dirk was [and he is, but maybe not to that extent] way too carnally-minded and motivated.)   Honestly, Dirk’s head is way too concerned with philosophical matters, and if anything he’s probably going to make a clone of himself to have sex with or something stupid like that, if he REALLY has to engage in some sort of tension-releasing copulation that isn’t masturbatory in the way that having sex with someone you’ve brainwashed and twisted into being your personal object of amusement is.   Therefore, I juuust can’t quite see Dirk having sex with Rose/her new robot body.  (Gosh, I hate that I feel compelled to address this.)

I honestly quite agree with Karkat, and now understand a little bit more about why our focus strayed where it did--- though it would have been nice to receive some sort of narration to indicate that.  And yes, it’s sad that Kanaya’s being put on hold, I guess. A little bit.  (Not really. I understand politicians in places of power can get quite busy, and it may not even be Jane’s decision to have her on hold... though if it is, I can most certainly affirm that that is quite rude.)

I mean... to be fair, Karkat, it’s rooted in biology.  Humans not having a Mother Grub means that the don’t have a natural means to reduce the genetic load that would be caused by related populations interbreeding and therefore dangerously duplicating genes.  Thus, it is not actually arbitrary, which I am sure you would know if you had spent a bit more time acting like the “geneticist” your troll handle suggests you happen to be (yes, I know it means to refer to his ectobiological frog wrangling/recombination; even so, the point stands).

I take it that Karkat’s dejection about the election has kept him a bit preoccupied and out of the loop, lately.

This is horrible (Karkat’s part, I mean).    Roxy’s new new outfit sounds like something I would be very interested in seeing fan art of.   A pink-looking slightly more effeminate Dave look sounds aesthetically striking (and I’m not even a fan of pink). But yeah, good on her for not giving up in frustration for people confusing them, I guess.   ***shrug***

And we return to this awkward and slightly funny subject. Considering it was not resolved last time, I guess that’s reasonable.   (Some day, maybe I’ll write a post analyzing Roxy’s trans-iness and/or how they/he seems to have been affected by those around he/them in his/their path to figuring it all out.  This sort of issue is always a bit difficult to properly tackle without raising some people’s hackles, so to speak, though, so I am not sure if I’ll end up doing it.  Regardless, it’ll have to be quite some time in the future, should I do so, after I’m at least done reading both sides of the epilogues. I’m sure Roxy’s interactions with John will have some important light to shed on the matter.)   It’s sortof nice that Dave and Roxy can joke about this without it becoming too uncomfortable (apparently) for either of them.

...   Is revealing this something they’ve discussed before now?  I mean, doing this in front of friends and family could be sortof... bad for things between them, if Karkat’s still trying to figure out how he feels about it and whether he wants to press on vs throttle back?  I mean, just calling each other boyfriends is not something either of them were comfortable with, and just because Dave is now doesn’t mean Karkat necessarily will be.   I dunno.  I feel conflicted on the matter, despite the fact that it is on the border of being cute.

Yeah, see, this is what I meant:  Awwwwkwaaard.

Yeah, it definitely did serve as a good distraction, at the very least. ~~~ Jane either not knowing or not being willing to tell (we’ll have to wait for a perspective shift to her to be certain) is no surprise.

Gah. FINALLY.  If Roxy weren’t such a Void-y ball of fun, everyone would have known this for some time, by now.  (Also: This is another reason why I am quite certain that Dirk was responsible for at least the way that John died. He didn’t want him to be a threat to him.  [I wonder, though: will Candy John potentially pose that problem, in the future, given the fact that he will likely be able to traverse the two different timelines, should he become aware of them?   Heck, this could be the reason why one had to die in the first place. Or one reason.])

This is what you get when you    A S S   U   M E. Also, Terezi would really be useful due to her Seer powers in particular.

Well. That is a useful compromise. Good on you for finally figuring something out to bridge the gap between your morals and Dirk’s amorality.  (Also, that presents interesting potential conflict in the future, insofar as there might be a point where Calliope has to decide whether to allow them to take Jade with or not.)

Has little Timmy fallen down a well?   O: <

This is funny because it’s like that one time where Jade was sleeping and Dave couldn’t get in touch with her. That time his weird fursona came up. Tightest butt in the jungle, or some stupid nonsense like that.

Dave is smarter than Dirk would give him credit for, calling him the dumbest of the Stralondes, by the way.

Not only do they need one of his ships, but it is quite reasonable to assume that they might be able to entice him to follow with them to where Dirk is going.  This is a potentially dangerous gambit, like bringing Gamzee along anywhere, but I think it could pay off in the end.  I think that, as I suggested earlier, Jake’s probably going to be the one to end up killing Dirk, in spite of all the underestimation that and horrific invective that had been directed his way.   In all honesty, this would really seem to be the direction that Jake’s been being pushed in all along, considering all the failed opportunities to interject him into a place of importance in the story.  

Considering his level of devotion and love for Dirk, now, he very strongly reminds me of that one old clown story that AH wrote... the one where the clown was never able to pull himself away from the service of his abusive, evil master. I bring that up specifically to suggest that Jake WILL succeed, however.  I believe that, counter to the example that I just cited, and contrary to all of the deterministic forces that Homestuck has seen in play, the power of Hope will be what is necessary to do the impossible.  A Page has a long, pain-filled story arc, but when it finally blossoms into the great behemoth that its seed of potential suggested it was from the very beginning, amazing things can happen. A Page of Hope is perhaps one of the most potent Classpect-endowed figures that Paradox Space could conjure up.  I have come now to see that this turn on Dirk’s part was probably planned from the beginning, as was the fact that Dirk’s abandonment of him was likely meant to be the catalyst for the eventual realization of Jake’s full potential. Obviously, this will not likely happen in the near future, much to our short-term misfortune. Dirk, if you ever see this, know your folly:  Jake English is just the force you would need to break free of the shackles of the reality you live in---   if only you believed in the him that believes in you.   Instead, your Rage will consume you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love this dramatic comedy.

Honestly... this is great. From a writing stand-point, this is excellent. The decision to have Dirk drag Terezi along brings more significant stakes to things and drama for the future, especially with the fact that we DO know that he can be brought back to life, now, despite Dirk’s statement to the contrary. Despite all of my pathos earlier, the way this story (the story of Homestuck) is ending is actually getting me excited and washing away the scars that came from the darkest hour of the path previous.     I really like the mechanic of Dirk having reality warping powers and Alt!Calliope being able to counter them, but only in close proximity. With the speed of his ship being a factor, especially, this sets up for some really interesting potential action in the further development of the story, as well.                    That Hussie was able to so masterfully navigate these emotional waters and string me along to this point was brilliant too.    In sum:  WOW, GUYS, I’M PUMPED!!! ... But... while this would actually serve as an excellent, fully complete and enticing epilogue in and of itself, the fact remains... there is yet more. Not only in the Postscript, but in Candy.      This throws many spanners into the works, and I honestly don’t know how to feel about all that!     If this weren’t Andrew Hussie we were talking about, I would be incredibly afraid that what is to come would throw everything off and make the eventual follow-up in Homestuck^2 (which I know he’s at least directing, though he’s not quite as involved in the story as he was in Homestuck, apparently?!) potentially quite messy and of a much lesser quality than I might expect. Given this IS Andrew Hussie we are talking about, however, I actually am quite confident that eventually, it will work out splendidly, and raise his literary accomplishments to even greater heights. Though... I am filled with a bit of trepidation. That “eventually” will be so far in the future. ***laughs awkwardly*** ... Buuuuutttt there’s still more left, even on this page, so I had better get to that. ...

It is very interesting that she’s been enveloped in that blanket of space so thickly and constantly that she’s come to find it comforting. That said:  How is it possible for her to withdraw and still let narration continue, supposedly without source or accountability, as she states?   Is this meant to suggest that the passive forces of Paradox Space will naturally fill in the gap if there is no one manning the ship, so to speak?   This feels a bit unlikely, considering the lack of content for years of the characters’ lives, and Dirk’s suggestion that “God had abandoned them,” or however the heck he put it. This is all veerrry curious, indeed.  (I do like her commentary on narration. A lot.) ~~~ Woooooo!!!~    It’s really nice to finish this at--   Dangit, time, why do you have to keep ticking into the future?!       Well, even though it’s not 3:14, anymore, it’s still very nice to finish the Meat Epilogue on 02/02/2020.   :’)

#Meat Epilogue #Homestuck Epilogue #Homestuck Spoilers #Homestuck Liveblog #To Be Continued #Homestuck^2 #Author Intent #Planning #Andrew Hussie #Excellent Writing #Skill #Wonder #Hope Aspect #Jake English #Dirk Strider #Alt!Calliope #Alternate Calliope #Page of Hope #Destiny #Choice #References #Themes #02/02/2020

[spiffysixxsense]

Hello annoying best friend here to fulfill my duty by asking you to answer all of the cute asks

angel; do you have a nickname?

not really. my name is already short and I don't have a prominent quality to nickname me after. The only person who refers to me as anything other than my name is my boyfriend, but I don't think “babe/baby” really counts as a nickname lol

awe; how old are you?

24

baby; favorite color?

dark teal (blue-green? I've never found a good name for my favorite color)

bloop; spirit animal?

so because I didn't have a good answer for this, I decided to google a quiz to find out, lol. My answer was a deer. here's why;

When you have the deer as spirit animal, you are highly sensitive and have a strong intuition. By affinity with this animal, you have the power to deal with challenges with grace. You master the art of being both determined and gentle in your approach.

The deer totem wisdom imparts those with a special connection with this animal with the ability to be vigilant, move quickly, and trust their instincts to get out the trickiest situations

blossom; favorite book/movie/song?

i don't really have a favorite book, i don't read much outside of school (I wish i did)

movie: A Beautiful Mind

song: oh dear lord i cannot pick just one, but all-time favorite band of mine is Shinedown

blush; what was your stuffed animal as a child?

a little stuffed dog that looked like Kipper from the TV show, I still have him :)

breeze; most precious childhood memory?

lmao what came to mind was when i pledged to never drink, smoke, or say bad words. two out of fucking three ain't bad i guess. 

bright; mermaids or fairies?

(honestly neither but) fairies

bubbles; do you have a best friend?

given the asker, i would say yes :) also i am lame and my boyfriend is also my best friend 

buttercup; showers or baths?

S H O W E R S. hate baths!

butterfly; dream destination?

I've never had a huge desire to travel honestly. like sure i could say Italy or Greece look beautiful, but the actual act of traveling overseas really stresses me out lol. so i would have to say more like upper midwest, like Maine, in the fall time for all the pretty trees.

buttons; are you religious or spiritual?

i am neither

calm; favorite scent?

anything fruity - pineapple, mango, berries, apples. at least in terms of what candles i like lol.

candlelight; what did you dream about last night?

i do not remember anything from last night - the last dream i remember involved my boyfriend, dad and i being lost up north lol

charming; have you ever been in love?

currently 

cozy; eye/hair color?

hazel / brunette 

cuddly; what’s your favorite time period?

the 1970′s for the fashion

cupcake; favorite flower/plant?

love me a good succulent

cute; what did you get on your last birthday?

well this last birthday was amidst quarantine, so I got some candles and granola (my boyfriend knows me well lol)

cutie pie; most precious item you own?

i have no idea? what an odd question? probably some stuffed animal?

cutsie; what makes you happy?

picnics, alone time, my boyfriend, my cat choosing to cuddle with me.

daisies; describe a moment when you felt free.

I really cant think of a time I've ever felt truly free. maybe when i drove myself to school earlier this year & didn't have to wait for someone to pick me up? 

daydream; how do you want to be remembered?

as a light in others lives. happy, bubbly. things i currently am not

daylight; favorite album of all time?

gosh these dang music questions. well, Nickelback - All the Right Reasons was the first album i ever bought myself. then maybe Shinedown - The Sound of Madness (i cant pick one OKAY)

dear; zodiac sign?

Taurus 

delightful; concerts or museums?

concerts

dimples; have you ever written a letter?

yes? this question makes me feel old, lol. 

dobby; dream job?

criminologist. some way to be reducing the mass incarceration rate in the US. 

doll; how do you like to dress?

comfy, v necks and leggings. As i have gotten older i have slowly wanted to be more feminine i think, because i really want some sundresses for summer lol

dovey; any paranormal/magical experiences?

one! when i was 12ish, i swear i saw a reflection of a uniformed man (like old school soldier uniform - blue blazer with gold cufflinks) behind me in the glass of my snakes tank at the time. it was weird because the only reason i even looked that way was because my snake started shaking his tail against the glass, something that corn snakes do when they are scared, but also something that in his entire life had never done unprompted ever. 

dreams; do you want or have any tattoos?

want yes, have no

drizzle; do you believe in aliens?

100%. no way we are alone in this universe

euphoric; talk about someone you love.

he makes my days so much better :)

fairy; do you have a pet?

I have one little old kitty :)

fluffy; ocean or mountain?

to vacation, ocean. to live, mountain

forever; where do you feel time stop?

the secretary of state? lol

froglet; are you a good plant owner?

I've never owned a plant lol

garden; how many languages do you know?

one :(

gem; who are your favorite tumblrs?

@cy-ne-fin 

giggles; what is your aesthetic of choice?

sepia photography/old books that have yellowed into sepia. or fresh greenery on white marble. 

glittery; do you like anons? why/why not?

i don't really get any anymore, but as long as they are nice or just questions/venting, im down. don't be offended if i never answer though, for some reason i never get Tumblr notifications lol

glow; list the top 5 things you like about yourself

im compassionate

im empathetic (which is similar but im struggling to get to 5 lol)

im goal-oriented

im determined (once i have said goal. again, related lol) 

i guess i like my lips/lip shape

heart; silk or lace?

lace

honey; coffee or tea? how do you take it?

tea. iced, black or green really, with sugar. 

hugsy; do you enjoy people watching or bird watching more? why?

bird watching because it means i am probably alone and in nature as opposed to somewhere in a crowd of people. and i wont feel creepy for watching the birds lol

hunnybunch; what sounds help you sleep?

white noise, a fan running. if that's not enough, i enjoy asmr. if i am really struggling/having anxiety, i will look up sleep stories from the headspace app on youtube (life hack to not have to pay for the app lol)

jewel; what’s your favorite kind of weather?

to be outside, i enjoy just warm enough to be comfy in pants and a t-shirt (so like 65F-ish) and sunny.To be inside, i love when it is cooler (like 50F?) and raining. I love the look, sound, and smell of rain but it is usually just inconvenient to be in. 

jiggly; what do you usually like to do on weekends?

well now all days are the same for me, #quarantine, so the same thing i do every day, just about nothing, lol

joy; do you laugh loudly or giggle more?

i guess laugh loudly because i am a loud person in general. i have a deep voice

kinky; do you blush easily?

i don't think so, my embarrassment turns into sweat, not blush, lmao

kisses; what romantic cliché do you wish for most?

i guess being proposed to someday? but i don't have a certain dream way of it happening, just the fact that its happening is enough for me lol. id enjoy if someone (cough Elle or also maybe Michael lol) were secretly filming and/or taking photos of it? I am not sure how you'd manage that though

kitty; what’s your favorite time of the day?

late at night when everything is quiet

ladybug; what’s your favorite artist to listen to when you’re sad?

old school three days grace (one-x album in particular)

love; what is your favorite season and why?

i always gravitate to fall for the leaves and pumpkin patches. but honestly, i think my favorite season is spring. i love the newly budding trees and flowers, the feeling of renewal, the release from the horrible Michigan winter lol, but most importantly, spring time for my whole life as of yet has always meant that school is over for the semester! as opposed to the fall when the semester starts. this is very long winded but spring final answer lol

lovey; what is your favorite flavor of macaron and ice cream?

I've never had a macaron and blue moon ice cream 

magic; what are five flaws you have?

ooooo boy

im short tempered/angry too much 

im unmotivated (which is confusing maybe because i said i am determined earlier. you see, once i HAVE a goal i feel determined to finish it. but i am unmotivated to create said goals, lol) 

im nonconfrontational to a fault where i always put others’ feelings before my own

i let fear of change stop me from ever taking risks/ am anxious

i am stubborn and sometimes have a hard time admitting i am wrong

moonlight; do you prefer soft pastels, warm neutrals, or cool darks?

this depends - screw pastels. warm neutrals for makeup purposes, but cool darks for aesthetic or decor purposes

munchkin; what do you look for in your significant other?

someone who feels like home. I am not entirely sure how else to explain that. you just feel peace and content with them. 

paddywack; how would you describe a perfect date?

something that allows you to only be with your date - so like a picnic or hike or just a walk even. my boyfriend and i liked to walk around in the fall for me to take pictures of leaves while he played pokemon go (man i miss the pokemon go summer and i have never even PLAYED it, it was just so fun to be with him while he played)

pebbles; how do you spend free time by yourself?

on youtube usually

precious; what is something valuable that you learned in your life?

The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. if your family is toxic for whatever reason, you do not owe them your time strictly because they are family. 

pretty; do you like to cook or bake more?

cook, im not super into sweets & i want to enjoy the final product

prince; how would you describe your handwriting?

normal? like its legible but its not pretty or cute

princess; do you play any instruments? if not, are there any you wish you could play?

no:( wish i could play bass or drums

prinky; how do you relieve stress?

i don't :)

i really don't have an answer other than solving whatever is stressing me out, lol. i wish i had more mechanisms to calm me down but nothing i have tried has ever really worked

pumpkin; what is your favourite kind of fruit/vegetable?

you know these favorites questions are hard for me lol. right now, i am loving watermelon, but i also love most fruits. kiwis! vegetable, i feel like i have to say potato lol

rainbow; what was the last line of the last book you read?

lol the last thing i read had to be some academic text, so that's boring

roses; what is the most significant event in your life so far?

meeting Alex i guess, it changes my whole life path to have someone you want to do life with 

smile; what is one thing that has greatly affected you?

quarantine? lol

shine; art or music?

music is art.

shimmer; do animals tend to like you?

i think so. Elle’s dog griffin loves me for some reason lol

smitten; do you collect anything?

not really

smoochies; how many pillows do you sleep with?

4

snuggle; what is your favourite candy?

jolly ranchers 

snuggly; do you have a camera? if so, what kind?

nope

sparkle; do you wear jewelry?

nope

spooky; sunrise or sunset?

sunset

sprinkles; do you like to listen to music with headphones or no headphones?

headphones

starlight; what was your favourite show as a child?

Spongebob probably. unless we are talking like really tiny, toddler age, then Winnie the pooh

soft; describe your favourite spot in your house.

i live in a 2 bedroom apartment, there arent any spots. lol. my bed i guess

soothe; digital or vinyl?

i mean digital for convenience but vinyl for aesthetic 

squeezed; who do you miss right now?

i mean the only person i really actively miss ever is Alex. @cy-ne-fin sometimes, but i have also grown used to living away from each other

sugary; what traits do you value most in friends?

loyalty, honesty, & humor

sunshine; do you prefer for things to be practical or aesthetically pleasing?

if i must pick, practical. 

sweet; do you find it easy to open up?

absolutely not. i feel like a burden with my feelings even though i shouldn't 

sweetie; do you like kids? if so, do you ever want to have any?

honestly not really. am on the fence still about ever having any 

thimble; is there somebody you look up to? who are they?

not really

toot; what is something you find unique about yourself?

i am as average as they come man, nothing is unique about me lol

tootsie; what kind of friend are you?

like a background friend? like i am not very social, so we do not have to talk every day to be friends. so like im here if you need me, but i enjoy alone time. 

treasure; what was something that made you smile today?

the way my boyfriend looks at me, & as i was working on this my cat came to cuddle, which i gave as an answer earlier before he jumped up here :)

velvet; are you an early bird or a night owl?

night owlllllll

whiffle; if you could have a magical power, what would it be?

the power to heal those who are hurting (including myself)

whimsical; do you prefer doing stuff at home or going out?

home home home home

whiskers; do you usually wear makeup?

not anymore, i did in high school/early college years. not I've stopped caring

wiggly; are you a messy or tidy person?

messy? kinda in the middle really. 

wispy; do you like the place where you grew up? do you think you will live there when you get older?

my state, sure. my city in particular is definitely pretty boring

wobbly; have you ever wished upon a star?

I've never seen one :(

[shreddedparchment]

You’re My Mission Pt.11

It’s My Fault, I Wasn’t Sure What I Wanted. 

09/30/2018

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Word Count: 11,964

Masterpost

Warnings: Violence, blood, angst, you’re gonna hate me again

A/N: Man, I have been so excited to get this one out because it’s such a huge turning point for Bucky and the reader and now that I’ve written I don’t know if it’s any good. I feel like it might suck...I’m also really sleepy. I’ve been working on it since I got out of work and the day before too. So from 7 p.m. until now 3:40a.m. I’m sorry if it doesn’t make any sense. xoxo Sleepy...Also, I might take a few days to rest now. So if you’re hard up, check out my other series, The End of the World. It’s a Thor x Reader series but it’s close to my heart and also will eventually tie into this one.

*The reader is never described save for strength and muscle growth. The pictures I use do not indicate skin color of the reader, ethnicity, or body shape and the images are used simply for reference to certain styles or aesthetics.

Another dance. Another club. Another night of possibilities. Or that’s how you want to see it. Last night when you’d returned from the lake soaking wet after your swim with Nat, you're pleasantly surprised to see Bucky leaning against the outer wall of your hut.

For once he isn't fidgeting. He stands there staring down at the coarse yellow grass that surrounds your hut compound and doesn’t seem to notice you at first when you approach.

You’re very aware of the way your white shirt clings to your body, see through because you’re still wet. You reach down and pull the shirt from your skin, but it clings to you again so trying to pull it away is pointless.

Luckily, it’s getting darker. In the darkening sky, Bucky is bathed in the orange light of dusk and you take the moment to appreciate the way his arms stretch the fabric of the white t-shirt he's pulled on over his black muscle tee.

You lick your lips finally ready to be seen and clear your throat.

Bucky looks up, his eyes though are not the same bright happiness they were earlier in the afternoon when the possibility of the two of you seemed so clear. Still, you can see that he is happy to see you.

His lips curve up into a small smile and he pushes from the wall to approach you.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” You feel unsure as he closes the distance between you and stops about three feet away. You don’t know how to address him or what to say exactly. This is all so unfamiliar and you’re not even sure where the two of you stand.

“I came to see you.” He admits.

The energy between the two of you is different and though it makes you nervous, it pleases you.

“Oh.” You look down, smiling and then biting your lip because his voice is soft as he speaks to you, and never did you think you’d hear him sound so gentle with you. If you’re honest however, the night when you’d been in Shuri’s lab recovering from your wounded had, he’d sounded very similar before Steve had arrived. You’ve never heard this tone before however, not even when you’ve overheard him talking with Kara.

What does this mean?

You kick at a small grey stone by your feet and watch as Bucky's feet come into view, reducing the distance between you to a foot.

You look up finding his blue eyes warm and inviting.

“I uh…I know things have been a little,” He narrows his eyes, straining to find the right word to describe what he’s trying to say. “Strained? Between us. It's my fault I wasn’t sure what I wanted. What I was prepared for…”

You watch him struggle with his thoughts and realize that he’s still struggling with what he seems to want. That was the reason for the lack of pure happiness in his eyes. That’s what was different about this afternoon and this moment right now.

He looks down at your feet and frowns for a moment before he looks back into your eyes, his blue eyes reflecting a strange torture you’ve never seen before. You were discovering so much about Bucky now that things were shifting. Where was that pain in his eyes coming from?

“I'm not safe, Y/N for anyone and I-"

“Y/N?” Aman's voice floats out from the compound and a second later his beautiful face peeks out from the outer wall doorway. “I heard voices, is everything alright?”

You turn to look at Aman with wide eyes, annoyed by the interruption but understanding of his worry. He knows Bucky as Sergeant Barnes, the man who has given you hell for months.

He must find it suspicious, seeing you and Bucky standing only a foot apart, looking into each other's eyes. Though Bucky stands with his hands held behind his back, the way he’s leaning in towards you is startling.

“Yes, I’m fine, Aman. Thank you.” You turn back to Bucky and keep your eyes on his chest as you wait for Aman to take the hint.

“Okay…” Aman says slowly, warily. “I’m right inside if you need me.”

You shut your eyes. He’s so sweet but he needs to go away. “Okay, thanks.”

When you open your eyes and look up at Bucky his mouth is curved into an amused grin.

“What?” You demand.

“You have very protective friends. I’m glad.”

“Well, he just worries. He’s seen how-"

“How cruel I’ve been?” His smile is gone again, and he sighs heavily as he considers you. After a moment he brings his right hand forward and takes your left one gently between his fingers.

“You’re going to Nat's surprise party tomorrow night, right?” His thumb is stroking the back of your hand and it's so distracting that you struggle to find your voice.

“Er…yes. Of course. Nat knows by the way. It was stupid of Steve to think he could surprise a former assassin.” You shake your head and relish in the warmth of Bucky's fingers around yours.

“But Steve’ll keep trying.” Bucky says, amused as he huffs a laugh.

“Y/N, dinner is ready.” Aman's voice floats out towards you again.

“Jesus…” You say under your breath. “Okay, Aman, I’ll be right there.”

“You should go. Eat. Tomorrow's training is cancelled. That’s why I came, to let you know. Steve is demanding I help with the planning and preparation.”

“Oh.” You nod, disappointment coating your tone.

“But I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Bucky assures you.

This softness of his has you so thrown that you struggle to nod. His voice is so gentle no sign of annoyance or irritation. He’s surrendered his tough front completely and for the first time you can fully see the sweet man underneath. The unsure man.

“Okay.”

He releases your hand and moves around you.

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Night.” You watch his retreating back and smile when he turns to look at you one last time.

When he’s gone you turn and march straight into your compound. You’re gonna kill Aman.

Spending the early morning shopping is not how you like to start your day. You’re not exactly averse to retail therapy. You like shopping when necessary and occasionally for recreation, but you have to be in the mood! So, having to shop for an outfit for the night drives you a little crazy. Especially since Nat is with you and she’s also unhelpful at choosing outfits.

“Why does it have to be the eighties?” Nat asks, her husky voice full of annoyance as she sifts through several tops on a rack in one of the more affordable vintage shops in the Golden City.

“I guess Steve liked it. He got T’Challa to rent out the entire club.” You rifle through a stack of shorts and frown because you don’t see anything you’re willing to wear.

You don’t want to do a skirt again. It was too short last time and you were cold while you were in the club though you gave it little thought as distracted as you were at the time.

“You know, it’s going to give it away completely when you show up already dressed in an eighties inspired outfit.” You smile, finding it so cute that Steve wants to try and surprise his friend. He’s like a big kid sometimes and it amuses you. He’s so serious most of the time, it’s nice to see him cut loose. You wish Bucky would cut loose too.

Your smile is wiped away by a sad pout at the idea of Bucky and his tortured eyes from the night before.

“Serves him right trying to surprise a former assassin. He’ll be so disappointed.” She turns towards you and laughs lightly as you shake your head at the amusement she gets from disappointing Steve.

You move over to a new stack of clothes and begin to rifle again.

“Find anything?” Nat wonders and moves over to see the stack of shirts you’re going through.

“No. Let’s try another shop.” You move for the door and lead the way out of the small shop and head towards another vintage shop you know of where the prices are a little higher.

You and Nat meander down the bustling walkway avoiding people as they hustle about their Friday morning. “Steve told us that you all might have to really go on the run soon.”

Well, if you’re being honest, he told Bucky and you eavesdropped.

“We’ve had a few close calls. That’s why we’re all here now. Regrouping for a bit before we really start to move. It’s going to be hell but nothing new.” She shrugs, moving aside as a toddler runs between the two of you with his mother chasing him shouting in a language you don’t understand. She’s not angry however, she’s laughing as he runs, and you smile at the sight.

“Maybe you should change your hair?” You offer, and Nat looks at you, her eyes narrowed in contemplation. “I mean, your red is beautiful but it’s not exactly incognito. Dying your hair a different color might help you avoid being spotted on some cameras at the very least. Out of the three of you, I hate to say it but you’re the most noticeable with that red hair.”

“You’re right.” She agrees, reaching up to touch her red locks. “I could get a cut too.”

“Ooh, right here.” You push her into a small salon and shove her into the nearest seat while a startled hair dresser greets the two of you. Maybe it’s too early because you two are the only ones in the salon. “It’s on me. Happy birthday.”

Nat falls onto the soft and plush purple seat and watches you with a small smile. “Thanks, Y/N.”

“I’ll go check the other shop while you get your hair reworked.” You don’t wait for her to reply but you can hear her try and protest.

“No, wait!” She calls out as you disappear through the door.

You move into the shop a few doors down with a thatch roof awning and colorful red clay walls with several white designs around the large windows. Once inside, you marvel at the beautiful refurbished wood walls and floors. They didn’t even paint over the labels, stamps, and stencils of the wooden items they used to build their shop. It was the most unique interior you’ve ever seen.

You’re greeted by a nice young black woman with a crown of tightly coiled curls colored in a stunning teal. “Welcome, can I help you find something?”

“Actually, my friend and I are going to a party tonight and they have it themed around the eighties. Do you have anything vintage from around that time?” You wait as she nods then motions you towards a rack towards the back of the shop.

“We just got a few items in a few days ago. You’re in luck. Lots of good stuff. Do you need any help making a selection?” She asks, kindly smiling as she stands off to the side after showing you the two new racks of clothes.

“No. I think I’ve got it. Thank you so much.”

She nods and smiles then moves back to the counter near the doorway where she sits and continues to read a book you hadn’t noticed she’d set aside when you walked in.

You find your outfit almost as soon as you begin to sift through the small selection of dresses. You know you don’t want to do shorts, no short skirts, so dresses seems to be the only other choice and you strike gold!

You reach for it with quick hands and gasp quietly at the sight. It’s nothing special really. The dress is a long, almost ankle length with a long slit that stars just above the midpoint of where your thigh will be. It has three-quarter sleeves with a V-cut neckline, but the top of the dress is reminiscent of a standard button up shirt. It’s white, feminine, and worthy of a party with easy flowing material that will keep you warm. You hurry over to the accessories table and find a simple red belt with a black belt buckle. You know exactly what shoes to wear with it too.

You don’t have to buy them because you already own them. You smile, pleased to have found something you actually like, and you can’t help it, you think about what Bucky might think when he sees you in it. Will he like it? It’s pretty. He has to like it.

You spend the next forty minutes looking for a suitable outfit for the birthday girl and find it in both the eighties collection and the sixties table. You choose a black and white checkered skirt from the sixties table and a studded red halter top which you quickly pair with a thick black leather belt from the eighties assortment. Nat is going to kill it in her outfit! She’s going to look so hot that none of the guys are going to know what hit them.

You’re so happy with your finds that you rush back to the hair salon to brag about your purchase but stop when you see Nat and your jaw drops. Her hair is short, cut just below her chin and a stunning light blonde. It’s almost ice blonde save for the slightly darker color around the roots.

“Oh my god, Nat!” You squeal and hurry forward with your bags of clothes.

“Is it too much?” She asks, finding humor in your reaction.

“Are you kidding? It looks amazing! It’s going to take them forever to figure out you’re you. And I got you the best outfit!” You hold up the bag and shake it, your belts rattling at the bottom.

“You what? I was going to buy my own outfit. You shouldn’t be spending your money on me, I know that-”

“It was cheap, I promise.” You know that Nat knows your situation and you’d rather not think about the money. “And it’s your birthday! Whether you like it or not, you won’t be paying for anything today.”

Nat gets up and shakes her head but she’s smiling and happy. You pay for her hair makeover and the two of you make one final stop in a shoe shop before you retreat happily and confidently back to your hut.

You stroll into the small indicated nightclub at half past nine, just as Steve instructed. Nat looks amazing! The red studded halter really draws the eyes to her breasts and you giggle as you stop in front of the club, eager to see some jaws drop. The checkered skirt is high waisted, and the thick black leather belt perfectly balances the outfit so that it’s not too much. The shoes you bought, a pair of bright dark blue knee-high boots finish her outfit. And with her new hairdo teased and styled Nat looks like she’s ready to film the hottest new eighties hair band music video.

“This is too much.” She complains as she pulls the halter top up a bit.

“You look amazing. Trust me, everyone went all out last time too. Remember to act surprised.”

At this she smirks. She reaches over and fixes your hair. She’d spent half an hour carefully curling and brushing your hair through so that it fell around your shoulders in big and soft flowing waves. Very eighties but not over the top.

“Are you excited?” She asks you.

You have avoided talking about what tonight really means for you because it’s Nat’s night. You bite your bottom lip and nod. “I’m so nervous.”

Nat smiles, “You look beautiful. I think the time is right.”

You hope it is. You can’t wait to see Bucky. You’ve been drifting through the day forcing yourself to focus on task after task to keep him out of your mind. It didn’t work. He’s all you thought about. The way he’d held your hand last night. The softness of his voice and the promise of tonight. You feel your heart begin to pound and before you can lose your nerve you pull Nat to the club door where a tall white man with white-blonde hair and tanned skin lets you through.

Tonight’s club is subterranean. You and Nat have to walk down several steps before the floor evens out. You can hear the strange ear worm rhythm and the distinct drums of David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’ as the two of you make your way through the dark gray adobe walls of the club entryway. Overhead is a shining installation of mirrors angled this way and that reflecting the teal and orange lights of the wall sconces.

Even with the music booming, you can hear the chatter of the crowd. Just as the bongos start, you and Nat break through the entryway into the underground club where the dance floor is already booming with couples and groups dancing to the easy, swaying music. Immediately to your right is a small alcove big enough for two or three people where two bar stools sit at the end of the long and yellow illuminated bar. People are clamoring for drinks.

The room extends back along the entryway you just walked through where tables are lined against the wall with comfortable red leather seats around low black tables, each one with a set of artificial candles to give the tables a soft glow. The room in general is bathed in hot pink and purple light with yellow, teal, blue, and green lights flashing in time with the music. Past the dance floor and at the center of the medium sized room is a clearly designated area with a sign that says, Happy Birthday, Nat!

Behind that designated area is more dance floor and cozy tables where people are lounging and dancing. You see Steve’s familiar blonde head, his growing hair slicked back. He’s wearing sunglasses! You shake your head and push Nat in his direction.

You recognize most of the people you pass. You know only a few personally but you’ve seen all these people around. A few fellow cadets but mostly technicians and other locals who work more immediately under T’Challa. You don’t see Ayo, but Okoye stands by the reserved area with a look of slight discomfort. She’s wearing a dress! T'Challa must be somewhere there but you can’t see anyone who might be seated yet.

You spot Aman at the center of the dance floor, swaying to the music with Joshua and two girls who look so happy to be dancing with such good-looking men you’re sure they might faint. When Aman spots you his eyes light up and he raises his hand up in the air to wave at you. He gestures towards your dress and gives you two thumbs up.

You smile, happy that he approves, and wave back. As you push past the crowd, you scan the rest of the seating area and find T’Challa and Sam deep in conversation, leaning over the low table to talk. Nakia, T’Challa’s girlfriend and possibly intended if the rumors are to be believed, sits beside her King, her hand in his casually as Shuri points down at her wrist where some kind of schematic is projected from a bead. Why can’t she just have fun?! She likes fun. You know she does.

She must be telling a joke however because she throws her head back and laughs as the projection disappears. Nakia shakes her head, smiling widely.

Sam suddenly looks up and spots the two of you approaching and his eyes go wide as he eyes Nat’s outfit.

“Wooo, Black Widow!” He exclaims, impressed by her curves maybe? “Now how exactly did you know that to come dressed like that? Hm?”

Beside the seats, Steve looks down at Sam with the smallest of pouts. Well, at least he tried to surprise her.

This brings everyone’s attention to Nat and as she moves towards the reserved area, blushing, the rest of your friends break into applause and cheers. The dancing and lounging crowd follows suit and soon the whole club is cheering for Nat, temporarily drowning out the music. As you both reach your friends, Nat sits herself down on Sam’s other side to the left of the three-sided square. T’Challa looks across the short table at Nat and nods, smiling kindly.

“Happy birthday, Natasha, and I wish you many more.” His accented voice rings pleasantly in your ear.

“Ugh, if I can get through tonight without dying of embarrassment I’ll consider myself lucky.” Nat reaches up to touch her cheeks as Sam smiles at her with a wide wicked smile.

“Are you blushing? You know you look good, you’re not embarrassed.” He teases.

“Yes,” Nakia agrees. “Happy birthday. We have a gift for you but since it is not appropriate for the general public make sure to stop by the armory tomorrow morning.”

“My gift is better.” Shuri interjects. “They bought you a gun. I crafted you new weapons.”

“This is not a competition, sister.” T’Challa says with a laugh.

“The argument of a loser.” Shuri smiles at her brother and he laughs, completely at ease.

Okoye bows her head to Nat. “Happy birthday.”

“Thanks.” Nat smiles, blushing more.

Sam seems to find this endlessly funny and nudges Nat with his left elbow with that same wicked smile. She slaps his arm and they launch into hushed conversation as the music shifts into Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’.

“Wow, Y/N!” Steve exclaims pulling your attention away from the empty seats and the bustling crowd. You turn to face him, turning your back on the bar. He gestures down to your feet then back up to your hair. “You look beautiful.”

You spread your dress to the sides, letting him get a nice look at it. You’re so proud of your find. He looks down at your feet however and points.

“Are those white cowboy boots?” He smirks, staring down at your feet.

You’re proud of those too. You won’t be shamed for wearing them. “Are those sunglasses? Indoors?”

“You like ‘em?” Steve reaches up and adjusts them. He’s wearing stark white pants with black wingtip shoes. His shirt is a soft and tight ocean blue turtleneck with long vertical lines from his neck all the way down to his waist where the shirt is tucked into his pants and held in place with a black leather belt. “How do I look?”

“Steve, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way because I love you but…you look like a douchebag.” You laugh as his shoulders slump, his mouth curving into that disbelieving half smile.

“That’s what Bucky said.” He shakes his head.

The sound of his name drives your heart back into a frenzy. He isn’t here. Where the hell is he?

“He is coming, right?” You lean in close so that Steve can hear you over the music.

Steve shakes his head and your heart clenches. “I think so, I thought he would be here by now. I’m not sure what could be keeping him.”

You relax, for a moment you thought he was saying Bucky wasn’t coming. A slender hand with a wrist laden with silver and gold bangles of varying sizes suddenly creeps up behind Steve’s shoulder and taps it to grab his attention.

Steve turns around. “Kara! You made it.”

Lead fills your heart at the sound of her name, but you quickly remind yourself that you have nothing to worry about. You and Bucky had kinda made plans to be here together, right?

“Bucky?” Steve says. Your ears tingle at the sound of his name and you realize that Kara must be looking for him to. Had Bucky made plans with her as well? That doesn’t sound right. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him. He may be around here somewhere.”

Steve is so wide you only get to see the back of what Kara is wearing as she weaves into the crowd. She’s wearing a simple black halter peplum dress with a floral skirt and a black bowler hat on her head. Her hair is crimped once again. She accessorized the dress with a pair of black combat boots—hey you did that first!—a single black glove on her left hand, a black cuff over that, and a long golden chain around her long neck.

She looks great. Like she belongs in the hip part of the eighties. You chew on your lip as you watch her disappear into the crowd, trying hard to ignore the way your heart clenches nervously. Steve is too busy leaning over to talk over the music with Nat and Sam that he doesn’t notice your nerves. You shut your eyes trying hard to ignore the way you suddenly want to bolt. You can’t run forever. You have to stand your ground.

Tonight, is your night. You won’t back down. You look great, you love your dress. You love your shoes. You love your hair. Your makeup is flawless. You won’t let Kara’s long legs deter you from what you want. Tonight, you make Bucky yours.

You sigh as Billie Jean comes to an end and the club is plunged into temporary silence.

“We hear that it is a very special woman’s birthday today. Natasha, happy birthday from all of your friends!” The crowd cheers.

Nat leans over and smacks Steve on the arm as he laughs at the way she blushes again, Sam is also tickled and chuckles with Steve. They look like pack of siblings and the sight makes you smile. Nat looks up at you, smiling wide.

“Happy birthday, Nat.” And you truly mean it. These people that saved your life, all three of them, deserve so much happiness. They do so much for the world that you wish you could force the world to give them everything they want.

Nat’s face suddenly goes serious.

“What is it?” You ask, suddenly concerned for her.

“Guess I’m late to the party?” Bucky’s smooth timber sends your stomach into a sudden flutter as the unmistakable synth and drums of The Human League’s ‘Don’t You Want Me’ fills the club, drowning out the laughing and chatting voices of the crowd.

You swallow hard, so nervous. Is it possible to die from nervousness? You’re sure it is because you can’t feel your heart beating. You turn around quickly however, eager to set eyes on him.

Bucky stands before you wearing a pair of distressed black jeans. You can see a tight white t-shirt underneath his acid washed denim jacket. His dark hair is slicked back into an effortless bun and he’s finished the look with black boots and a pair of slightly tinted black sunglasses.

You eye him up and he seems to do the same. Before you can say anything, he smiles softly at you, the right corner of his mouth parting to flash that breathtaking smile.

“Wow, you look…”

“So, eighties?” You provide, your nerves making you talk nonsense.

He smiles fully now, laughing slightly at your suggestion.

“Yeah.” He agrees. “So, eighties.”

And then you stand there…and say nothing. What can you say? This song seems to be asking the important questions though. Does he want you? Doesn’t he? Why isn’t he asking you to dance already? Sure, it’s only been a minute since he arrived, but you want his arms around you. Instead he moves past you, his eyes shifting nervously as he moves to the only part of the three-sided seating area where no one is sitting. He plops himself down on the left side of that sectional, wishing Nat a happy birthday as he passes her.

A hand suddenly grabs you, pulling you into the three-sided square. Nat sits herself beside Bucky and pulls you down on her right-hand side. Right beside her.

“Isn’t this fun? She says forcefully and looks from Bucky to you and back to Bucky.”

“Yeah.” He says, “fun.”

You smile at her awkwardly disappointment flooding your limbs.

Wait, why are you disappointed? You still have the rest of the night. But Kara is here. If she sees him here, she’s going to come over and start talking to him. Should you make a move? But you’re not sure that’s what he wants. What if he’s still unsure about what he wants? The way he’d made it sound the other night—it sounds like he’s struggling to take that next step. And you don’t want to force him if he’s not ready. You know that his past was tough though you don’t know exactly how or why. With his PTSD…forcing him into something he’s not ready for could cause more damage than good. You look over at him and see him smiling softly as he stares across the way at Steve who suddenly shoots forward to Nat.

“Hey, Nat?” He leans in close so that he doesn’t have to completely shout. “How about you help me get some drinks?”

“Oh, that’s such a good idea.” Nat says in a way that sounds way too rehearsed. These idiots are plotting something and you’re not sure exactly what. “What would you like?” She asks Bucky.

Bucky shakes his head. “I’m alright.”

“How about you, Y/N?”

You look her in the eye and after a moment shake your head too. “I’m not in the mood.”

She rolls her eyes at you and gets up. “I’ll be back. Scoot over, Y/N so no one steals my seat.”

You frown at her, knowing exactly what she and Steve are doing but you obey because then it’ll look like you don’t want to sit next to Bucky if you don’t do what she says. It reduces the space between you and Bucky considerably.

Your legs feel suddenly numb as your heart sends out a wave of nervous energy throughout your body. You watch Nat and Steve scurry off to the bar and shortly after T’Challa and Nakia join the mass of dancing people. Sam offers his hand to Okoye but when she simply stares at it he shifts it to Shuri who takes it and shimmies with him to the dance floor. After a minute, Okoye drifts closer to where her King and Nakia are dancing to better stand guard.

And now you and Bucky are alone in a huge U of red reserved leather seats. You look over at him and then quickly look away, picking at your dress for a bit.

The song ends and shifts into the next. You reach down, placing your right hand between the two of you, resting your arm casually as you watch the dancing crowd. Another song passes the two of you buy and you sigh. Something has to happen! You can’t stand this waiting.

“Why were you late?” You ask. He squints at you as if he can’t hear you, places his hand beside yours, and leans closer to you so that you can ask your question again.

“What?”

You turn your head so that you can lean closer to his ear. “Why were you late?”

“That’s classified.” He replies, smirking as he sits back up straight. He leaves his hand beside yours however and you relax despite his teasing.

Eddie Money’s ‘Take Me Home Tonight’ draws a cheer from the crowd and yet another song has passed the two of you by. You’re thinking about this fact, lingering on the fact that Bucky might very well never ask you to dance. You shouldn’t push him though, right? What if he’s changed his mind and he doesn’t want to be with you after all? What if he would never be ready?

You lean forward slightly, your elbow locked, and stare at the tips of your boots. Just as you are about to succumb to the darkness of your thoughts you feel the tiniest tingle spread from the tip of your pinky as Bucky’s own pinky subtly touches yours. You blink and smile like an idiot. Maybe it was just an accident? You wipe the smile from your face. Clenching your lips shut tight.

You feel the gentle graze again but this time it lasts a second longer and you’re sure that it’s not an accident. You smile again, your eyes glued on your boots as you let the feeling of his finger touching yours flow through you. The Police’s ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’ comes next and Bucky’s pinky continues to graze your own.

This has to be on purpose! There is no way that his fingers keeps grazing yours this consistently without it being on purpose. Either way you can’t wipe the smile from your face.

Your heart stops as his pinky suddenly slides up over yours. He hooks it around your own and your body begins to hum. It’s such a small gesture, this very subtle grabbing of your hand, and yet somehow you feel your body tingle as desire chokes you and slowly spreads down over your chest, into your stomach, and down to your toes. You’re absolutely glowing. Is this his answer? Is this his way of telling you he’s in?

You look at him and find him watching you smile. His eyes are brimming with the same happiness you saw before Nat had interrupted you yesterday. His smile is so sincere that it drives your heart into overdrive.

You lean in to ask him whether this is his way of telling you that he’s ready.

“Y/N!” Aman’s voice suddenly draws your attention and you turn to watch him walk towards you.

You’re gonna kill him. That’s it. Tonight—no, right now. You’ll take him outside, find a quiet alley, and kill him.

“Why are you not dancing?” He demands. He doesn’t stop walking and instead moves to sit between you and Bucky giving the two of you no choice but to pull apart and make enough room for him to sit.

Aman places both of his arms on the backs of your seats. He smiles at you and then turns to look at Bucky. How Bucky’s face can go from pure bliss to utter contempt in less than a second is a mystery but if looks could kill, Aman would be dead.

“Aman!” Nat’s voice suddenly reaches your ears and you turn to look at her as she approaches. “It’s my birthday, come dance with me.”

The timing is too perfect. She’s removing him on purpose and you could kiss her!

Aman, never one to refuse a dance, jumps to his feet and take Nat’s hand. You see her give Bucky a pointed look but you’re not sure what it means. She disappears onto the dance floor with Aman leaving you and Bucky alone again, only instead of inches you’re two feet apart now.

You listen to the song finish and the DJ’s voice comes over the audio system again. “King T’Challa would like to wish Natasha a very happy birthday!” The crowd cheers. You look over at Bucky and decide that this can’t go on much longer. Since he’s not going to ask you to dance, you’ll just have to ask him!

“Bucky-?”

“Y/N!” Steve’s even monotone interrupts you and you want to strangle him.

You look up at him and convey with a single look just how much you want to kill him. He seems unphased however and holds his hand out for yours. Just as he promised, the smooth piano and synth for Somebody’s Baby begins to play. It’s followed by the sweet guitar riff and Steve can’t help but smirk down at you.

“My dance?” He asks.

You look at his hand and feel a tight squeeze in your chest as you wish desperately for Bucky to reach out and take your hand instead. To tell Steve that this is his dance and that he can’t have it. Maybe that’s what Steve was trying to get to happen too but as you turn to look at Bucky to see if he’s going to do it, he simply sits there staring at Steve’s hand with wide and perplexed blue eyes. He looks at you and with disappointment you realize that he’s not going to take your hand.

You give him one last glance as you take Steve’s hand and get to your feet. He pulls you out onto the floor and spins you twice before pulling you against his chest.

Steve leans down towards your ear and says, “Sorry. I really thought he was going to stop me.”

You want to cry, this is so upsetting! “So did I.” You admit, pushing yourself up to dance on your tiptoes so that you can talk by his ear as well.

Steve gives your back a soft rub to try and comfort you but holds you tighter all the same. His hug helps but your heart is no longer soaring.

“He’s not ready.” You realize, saying it to Steve and watching him nod breaks your heart a little more.

You turn your head as the two of you sway to the rhythm of the song and you watch Bucky watch you and Steve dance, his brow furrowed as he leans forward, his elbows on his knees as he struggles internally with something. As Steve spins you, a part of you notices a strange black mass among the crowd but then it’s gone.

Maybe Bucky might still come and take you away from Steve? He looks like he wants to. He looks away from you, down to the floor, and you pull your gaze away from him too. Steve spins you and as the song begins to come to a close you take another quick glance towards Bucky and freeze as Kara sits beside him.

Unlike the other times, Bucky doesn’t smile, his eyes are still glued on you as he listens to her talk. He responds to whatever she’s saying to him and finally he looks at her. She points up at the ceiling as the song finishes and the rocking guitar of the Outfield’s ‘Your Love’ fills the club. She smiles at him and then reaches for his hand.

You want him to pull away, to get up and come get you. You’re not an idiot, you know that’s the song they danced to last time. You’d never forget it.

But he doesn’t pull away. She grabs his hand and she pulls him up onto his feet. As they head towards you to dance among the crowd, Steve’s arms begin to drop seeing as your designated dance is over.

“No.” You tell him and pull his arms back around you. “Please, Steve, don’t let me go.”

Steve is slightly startled by your tone because there’s panic in it. Consuming panic and heartache. This isn’t how this night was supposed to go. Steve holds you, swaying slightly but really, he’s searching the crowd for what has you so upset.

“What was that?” He suddenly asks. “I thought I saw…”

You feel him sigh heavily as he finally sees Bucky and Kara dancing. “Steve, what am I even doing here?”

He doesn’t have an answer for you. You’re so close to being done. You and Steve continue to dance, and he spins you around, trying to keep them from your sight but it doesn’t work completely. You catch glimpses of them and again, though you should notice it, a black mass shaped like a body appears to be winding through the crowd. It appears for a second then disappears.

Instead of noticing the black masses you notice Kara and Bucky until about a third of the way through the song, you see Kara take Bucky’s hand and lead him towards the bar. Are they going to get drinks? Something doesn’t feel right.

Bucky follows, looking unsure and confused. He shoots you a glance but then disappears into the crowd by the bar.

This isn’t happening.

You suddenly let go of Steve and walk towards the bar, weaving your way through the dancing couples. You follow the long bar, looking for the back of Bucky’s head. When your eyes reach the alcove you noticed before as you came in with Natasha, what you do see is the back of Kara’s head, her arms wrapped around his neck, her lips pressed firmly against his. Bucky’s hands rest on her shoulders.

How do you even begin to describe the sorrow you feel in this moment? How did this night, so full of promise and happiness transition into such a nightmare?

“Y/N? What’s the-What?” Steve asks, not believing his eyes.

How many seconds have passed? Steve moves to pull you away, it can’t have been more than five seconds, but it also feels like three hours. You yank your arm out of his grip as anger and heartbreak warp your mind. You’re not sure why he leaves but you don’t care. Maybe because he senses that you need to deal with this on your own?

You don’t know why Bucky is taking is taking so long to reach out to you. You don’t know why it’s so hard for him to just be with you. You don’t know why he didn’t ask you to dance or why he agreed to dance with Kara instead of coming to take you away from Steve. You don’t know why he can’t just be the sweet man from last night or the man who cried at your side in Shuri’s lab, or the man who wrapped you in a towel and laughed at you as you shivered. You don’t know why he followed Kara into that stupid alcove and you don’t know why he’s letting her kiss him for so long. You don’t know why the idiot closed his dumb eyes.

You are sure of one thing however, you’re done.

You don’t cry despite the pain coursing through you. Your heart is in pieces, so much has happened in such a short amount of time that you can’t take anymore. As you make this choice, this decision to forget Bucky and forget the way you feel about him, he opens his eyes. He sees you watching, and he quickly pushes Kara away.

No. You see him mouth but you’re done. There’s nothing to protest. As he pushes Kara aside you turn and move back towards your reserved seats to tell Nat bye because you can’t stay anymore.

You get only a few feet before you feel his grip on your left wrist.

“Y/N, no! That’s not-”

“Bucky let me go.” You say calmly, well half calmly, your eyes are blazing with anger and hurt. You two aren’t even together but this feels like such a betrayal!

“No, please listen to me.” He pleads but your heart is unmoved. There’s no patience left in you, no hope. You’re tired of hurting like this.

“Let go of my hand, Bucky.” You say flatly.

He pulls you close, raising his metal hand to rest it against your cheek. “No, I know what that looked like, I-I want you. Please?”

It hurts too much! You’re about to yank your wrist out of his grip but you see that same black mass from the dance floor over his shoulder and your eyes widen as you notice the shimmer of steel as it flies towards his neck. You don’t think, you react. You flip the hand he’s holding to take hold of his wrist and forcefully pull him behind you. He’s so focused on rectifying this nightmare of a situation that he doesn’t resist your tug. You raise your hand because if you don’t you’re going to take that knife straight in the forehead.

The metal pierces your hand and you scream in pain. You mean to react, but you don’t move in time as the man in black’s fists flies down towards your face. He lands a good punch against your jaw and feel your lip split at the corner. You taste blood. Bucky seems to realize what’s happening because he spins you around behind him and with his metal arm punches the black mass. The black mass, a man in black tactical gear, staggers back from Bucky’s punch but you can see the rage in his eyes as he charges towards the man and knocks him to the ground. Screams begin to fill the club as others are apparently attacked as well.

It’s a bizarre scene as non-soldiers rush the exit to get out, their screams mixing with KC & The Sunshine Band’s upbeat ‘Give It Up’.

You hear Steve shouting orders into the crowd at the cadets that are present, and the room seems to burst into a full out brawl as many masses of black storm the club.

“Fuck!” You grunt, staring down at your bleeding hand, a massive knife sticking out. You have almost no time to react to it because another man in black is rushing you.

Instinct takes over and you reach for the knife in your hand and yank it out blocking the punch the man throws at you then drive the knife into the weak spot of his tactical gear, underneath his left ribs, twice. He groans and falls to the ground.

Beside you, Bucky is still fighting off the man that stabbed you and another two. He’s moving fast, ducking underneath punches, sidestepping kicks, grabbing limbs and twisting them to knock the attackers off balance.

Suddenly, Steve is beside you. “You need to get out of here, we’ll handle these guys. Make sure the others got out okay.”

“You’re stupid, I’m not leaving.” You insist, your anger forgotten in favor of your love for your friends.

Steve grabs your hand and looks it over. “You’re useless anyway. Go.”

“No! Not without you guys!” You protest.

Steve frowns, “You’re both idiots!” He pulls lunges over you and you duck as he dives at another man in black.

You turn as another man in black rushes you, his large lumbering body slightly frightening in its size. You ready yourself for the fight but find it unnecessary as Bucky seems to have finished with the other three he was fighting and dives in the way of this one. The man pulls out a gun and aims it over Bucky’s shoulder at you. You hear a bang and duck, a bullet flies over your head and shatters one of the bottles of liquor on the bar. Bucky races to the man before he can fire again and places his hand over the barrel as the man lets the bullets fly. You hear the sharp sound of bullet hitting metal. Bucky delivers two uppercuts and a right hook effectively knocking him out. He keeps the man’s gun as he falls and hurries back to you.

“Are you shot?” He asks in a slight panic.

You shake your head. “No, you?”

Bucky doesn’t answer you. Instead he reaches for your right hand and looks the stab wound over.

“Who are they?” You wonder.

“Hydra. I think they’re here for me. You need to get as far away from me as possible. Y/N? Do you hear me? You need to run.” He orders. He’s not Bucky in the moment, he’s Sergeant Barnes.

“You’re as stupid as Steve, I’m not leaving here without you.” You argue.

He reaches up with his right hand and grabs the side of your face pulling you close so that he can stare into your eyes.

“Headstrong woman. For once in your life, listen to me and do what I’m ordering you to do. Run. I’ll find you. Get safe and wait for me.”

“Bucky…”

“Go!” He shouts as he releases you and pushes you out of the way as another Hydra agent attacks.

You take one final glance at Bucky, Steve, Nat, Sam, T’Challa, Nakia, Shuri, and Okoye all fighting what must be thirty Hydra agents. Scattered among them you see Aman, Joshua, a few of your other hut mates, Kara, and the rest of the GP also fighting.

“Go!” Steve screams, “Help the civilians! Aman! Go with her.”

Aman punches the agent he’s fighting, knocking him out, then rushes to your side and with strong arms pushes you out of the club. As soon as the two of you are on the street again you begin to tend to the wounded. Most of the people have small scratches and scrapes from falling in their rush to get out as fast as possible. No one is seriously injured, except for you with the large knife wound in your hand.

Aman sees it and he pulls you over to look at it. Everyone is looking at your stupid knife wound tonight. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. Get to the infirmary. I’ve got the civilians here.”

“Now you’re telling me to run?” You demand, upset that you can’t stay and fight alongside your fellow cadets.

“We have been training for this for three years. You are not ready. Survive the night. You are not a coward for running if that is what you are thinking. You are surviving. I need my friend. Listen to Sergeant Barnes and Captain Rogers. Find a safe place. Go.”

“Aman,” You protest, your voice weaker because you know he’s right. You might be able to hold your own against one single Hydra agent but a whole room full?

“Survive.” He insists and pushes you away.

You turn and trudge along with a purpose driven gait. The people around you part for you, moving out of your way and ducking into doorways and underneath awnings and behind food carts. The Golden City streets are no stranger to conflict, but this kind of violence is new. For many years Wakanda has been safely hidden behind its cloaked borders, but now, open to the world, Hydra has gotten in.

They’ve got a foothold on Wakanda now and you know what will happen. T’Challa will make sure that they are driven out. He’ll use Nat and Sam and Steve…and Bucky. He’ll recruit all the cadets into finding the source of this corrupted poison and he’ll burn it to a crisp.

If there’s one thing all of you know now is that you can’t cut off Hydra’s head, you must char them to the bone and then pulverize what’s left.

You reach down and rip a long piece of your white skirt and begin to wrap up your right hand. You’re breathing heavily from the adrenaline of the fight still coursing through you. Your eyes are sharp, alert, and you’re so glad that you’ve been training with Steve, Bucky, and Nat. Each one of them have taught you something different and you know it’s the only reason you’re still alive.

You’re still a cadet however, you’re not trained for real combat, just like Aman said. Still, you’ve been studying, and you know where the nearest weapons cache is, so you wipe the blood off the corner of your lip and break into a steady run. You avoid looking anyone in the eye. They’re curious and scared and you’re wearing a torn white dress covered in blood. You’re a sight.

As you run your mind rushes over the events of the past fifteen minutes. Kara kissing Bucky replays itself in your mind and you painfully remind yourself of the resolution you made to yourself in the club. Nothing’s changed. This was a life or death situation. When this is over, life goes back to normal. This changes nothing. You’re still done, and you know what you need to do.

You know that it’ll have to be done now. There will be no waiting for morning. You’ll need to go now before he can stop you. Does he want to stop you? You shake your head, driving that thought away. Who cares if he wants to stop you?

That lip lock in the club was clear enough of a message. And if that wasn’t enough all the moments that slipped by were. You deserve to be happy and you deserve to be given the opportunity to put James Buchanan Barnes behind you. It has been nothing but heartache and missed chances from the beginning and you want to be free of this pain.

As you reach the intersection that you know leads to Steve’s apartment you duck as the blazing red umbrella rod of the nearby akara cart comes swinging at you. You slide forward with the moment of your run and quickly reach for, of all things, a broom leaning against a large orange brick building. You shove the bristle end of the broom between your thighs and use them to break it off. The akara cart owner, a woman in her forties screams and as the Hydra agent swings his rod, the woman rushes between the two of you. You dive forward and thrust your makeshift staff behind the woman’s back, blocking the rod. At the same time, and as gently as you can, you kick the woman in the behind so that she goes flying across the narrow street and out of the way.

There’s the sound of outrage as some younger kids are knocked to the ground by her heavy body but when they turn their eyes on you and see the scuffle they help her up and push through the crowd to get away.

The streets are thick with nightlife and you take several quick glances at your surroundings as you use your considerably less developed arm strength to hold off your attacker. There’s a lower level over the edge of the orange building and fighting by the river would be better than fighting in the street. It will also take you closer to the weapons cache.

You’re bent backwards over your legs now, almost lying on the floor, groaning to keep from being flattened. How do you get him over the edge?

You suddenly curl in on yourself, using your staff to lead the attacker’s rod over your head where it hits the cement walkway with a loud clang. You bring your staff up, hitting the attacker underneath the chin and use the moment of surprise to land a right hook that Bucky would be proud of. But he’s still too far away from the edge.

You run at him, shoving your knee into his chest, just like Nat showed you, and because you know you won’t feel it now thanks to the adrenaline you’re feeling, you headbutt the guy in a move that Steve would claim he taught you.

The man goes tumbling over the edge and you don’t hesitate as you jump down the ten feet to join him. Your attacker lands on a plastic table, crushing it to the ground flat. You roll as you land, gasping as your leg hits the ground hard. It hurts but it’ll probably just bruise. The fabric of your dress rustles audibly as you pull yourself up to stand and it wafts out around you in the warm night air that flows in from the water.

People, diners eating at riverside restaurants, scream in surprise and scatter as the Hydra agent slowly gets to his feet. You can see him clearly now. He’s about as tall as Bucky is, not as wide, and he’s dressed in head-to-toe black tactical gear like the rest of them. Even his face is covered. Not fair that he can see you bleed but you can’t see him.

He sees you clearly for the first time too maybe because he tilts his head to the right as if he’s confused by what he sees. You hold your rod out back behind you, very much like Bucky had done when he’d first attempted to teach you to fight with the staff.

“What’s the matter, asswipe? Never had a pretty girl in a dress kick your ass before?”

He looks at the rod in his hand and tosses it over into the river. That’s littering!

He picks up his hands, ready to fight you without weapons. You can see a gun on his hip. He could just shoot you and be done with it. But maybe he has something to prove?

You smile, glad to fight hand to hand. The staff is useful, but the memories attached to it are rather painful. You lower your stance and drop the makeshift weapon. It clatters against the stone ground at your feet and you hook your hand into the slit of your dress, whip it back out of your way as you take your boxing stance.

“Come on, asshole, I haven’t got all night.”

He closes the distance between you his fists rising and falling with each step of his approach. As he comes within range he begins his assault punching first with his left. Then his right, left, right, right, and left. You block, keeping your arms tight and high, absorbing as much of the impact as you can to keep your head safe.

His approach has brought you into the confines of a classy and expensive restaurant. You can hear the classical music playing over the audio system. The highbrow clientele mutter in surprise. One single woman seems to realize what’s happening because she suddenly screams and gets up and runs for the exit, knocking several people’s glasses over. They look up and see you suddenly step towards the agent as he punches with his right. You block it and sneak a quick uppercut that sends him staggering back into a now empty table. Several water glasses fall and shatter on the floor.

The rest of the diners finally seem to understand what is happening because there are more screams and even the bartender jumps over the bar and races for the exit.

The agent recovers quickly and lifts his foot into a kick as you rush forward. It falls hard on your stomach and sends you up off of the ground onto a table where you feel plates and glass break beneath you. You gasp, the wind knocked out of you, but you know you have only a second to recover. He’s over you, bringing his right fist down hard. You roll to your left and fall to the floor. You sweep your legs beneath him using your strength to knock his feet out from under him. He falls on his back and this gives you an opportunity to stand over him, straddling his torso. You bring your own right hand down for a punch, but he blocks it, catches your hand and flips you up over his head onto another table. You groan but hurry onto your feet and turn just in time to block his left hook.

He’s bigger than you. Stronger than you. You block his punches over and over, retreating with the force of his blows. You think as fast as you can, trying to find a way to overpower him or outthink him. You need to find a way to get the upper hand.

His mask. You sidestep a punch, rolling around his side like you did with Steve when you were sparring. Your elbow hits him hard on the ribs and it gives you the chance to reach for the water pitcher on the table now in front of you. You spin around to throw the water at him to saturate the fabric around his face to make it difficult to breathe, but his fist makes contact with the left side of your face and you stagger back, momentarily stunned.

You have no time to be stunned! You push past the daze, forcing yourself to concentrate on the small things. The water pitcher is not in your hand anymore. You can hear it clatter as it falls to the floor. You shake your head violently, shaking off the dizziness and this time step towards him as he punches avoiding it. He doesn’t expect it and he tries to step back. You punch him, hard, a well delivered uppercut that knocks him off his feet.

He falls hard onto a chair, his heavy body causing the wooden legs to break beneath him. With him flat on the ground you sit on his chest, squeezing his ribs with your strong thighs and punch his face. Right side. Left side. Right side. Right side. Over and over again, you punch him until he finally stops moving.

His face is a bloody mess and your fists are no joke either, red and swollen. Very carefully, gasping for air, you place your hands on his chest and push yourself up off of him. You stagger to your right, falling against a table which you use to steady yourself. Two deep breaths is all you give yourself. You remember his gun and reach down to unholster the weapon. The smooth black metal in your hands is phallic and glorious as you relish in the ease with which you will be able to get to Steve’s apartment now.

You quickly check the safety, pop out the clip to make sure the gun is loaded, snap it back into place, then stagger out of the fancy restaurant’s front entrance.

Finely dressed people in silks and embroidered cottons gasp and clutch at their wives and the wives clutch their pearls as you glance over at them. You point into the restaurant and sigh, so tired you could fall asleep right there on the ground.

“Call the guard.” You breathe. One man dressed in a fine black silk suit reaches for a phone. He doesn’t have beads?

You leave him to call the guard and stumble your way up the steps that lead back up to the narrow street this fight had started in. The more you walk the better you’re able to. You’re jogging by the time you reach the intersection again and this time there’s no one to stop you. You run along the familiar narrow street and then turn towards Steve’s building. The usual doorman is gone, probably out in the street dealing with all the kerfuffle. You push the button for the elevator and lean against the wall, listening to the soothing drum beats of the elevator music. When the door opens an older black woman gasps at the sight of you and you give her what must be a frightening smile because she backs up against the wall as you pass her and then slinks into the elevator and proceeds to ram the button for the first floor.

What must you look like?

“Four…five…six…seven…” Eight! You stop in front of his door. Would he be home already? Probably not. Luckily, you have access. You press your beads to the lock and the door gives two beeps before it clicks. You push the handle down and quickly slide into his apartment. It’s dark and you like it that way. Still, as you delve deeper into the entrance hallway you pick up your stolen gun and aim it at all the dark corners, making sure to keep your back to a wall at all times in case someone should be hiding behind a counter or bookshelf. The kitchen is clear, the living room is clear. A quick check of the bedrooms and you know it’s all clear. Feeling slightly more relaxed you move to the small beige sofa you’d fallen asleep in so many nights ago, watching the Princess Bride.

That feels like a lifetime ago. You sit slumped forward, your right hand cut open…again. Your lip is probably busted. Your left eye you can feel swelling. If only he hadn’t landed that stupid punch. As you breathe in you feel your ribs, just underneath your chest, ache. That kick he’d knocked the wind out of you with must have done that damage.

You try to sit up straight, the gun held tightly in your hand but your arm loose so that the gun rests between your unladylike open legs. The dress is long enough to cover you anyway, the slit giving a nice view at the small cuts up and down your right leg.

As you stretch your back you feel a pull on your back left side, just underneath your ribs. A cut, no doubt, made by the plates and glasses on the table you’d landed on.

You twist your left arm back towards the cut and feel hot sticky wet where your fingers touch. The tear in your dress, the cut, is at least six inches long. You gasp as the pain begins to finally catch up to you.

You’re so distracted by it and the demands it’s making on your body that you don’t hear the two beeps of the door. You do however see the shift of movement from the corner of your eye and quickly raise your gun, pointing the barrel at the intruder while your left hand is still reaching back to touch your cut.

“Woah, easy.” Steve raises his hands in a clear sign of surrender. With your adrenaline pumping again it takes you a few seconds to register that he’s not a threat and slowly you lower your gun back to its resting spot, hanging loosely in your right hand between your legs. “Jesus, Y/N…”

“I know, I know. I look pretty tonight.” You smile at him; the gesture makes the corner of your lip hurt and you relax your mouth again and lick where it hurts. You taste blood still.

You look him over and see that he’s also not entirely spotless. There’s dirt and blood on his pants. His blue turtleneck is torn on his left bicep where he was cut with something. There’s a small patch of darkness around it where it bled.

He reaches down to his beads and you raise your gun again, pointing it at his head this time. “Stop.”

He eyes you, not believing what he’s seeing.

“What are you doing?” You ask.

“I’m calling Bucky, he’s looking for you.”

“Well, don’t.” You spit. You lower your gun and lean back, groaning as your body protests.

Steve lowers his hands and moves to you, dropping to his knees to help you lean back. He takes hold of your foot and carefully removes your white boot. He examines your ankle first as he begins the assessment of your injuries.

“Sprained ankle.” He frowns and moves his hands up along your leg to check for broken bones.

“Hey there,” You say huskily as his hands make it high up on your thigh. “I think you outta buy me dinner first, Cap.”

“Very funny. No broken bones.” He says then moves on to your hands. He pulls the gun out of your hand and you let him, relieved to feel even a little safe. “How’d you cut your hand again?”

“That first guy that attacked in the club. Had a knife. I could either take it in the head or hand. Tell me, did I make the right call?” You tease.

Steve frowns at you as he feels up your right arm and then moves to your left. “You’re awfully chipper for someone who just had the snuff kicked out of them.”

“You should see the other dude.”

“No broken bones. Where else were you hit? Other than your face?”

You reach up to touch your left eye and realize that you can’t see out of it anymore. It must be swollen shut now.

You sigh and remember the kick to your lower chest. “Ribs.”

Steve, still wearing his frown, places his hands on your sides and slowly moves them up along your ribs. You squirm.

“That tickles.”

“Sit still.” He chastises but there’s a bit of amusement in his voice.

“Well, those are the wrong ribs.”

“What other ribs do you have?” He demands, not understanding.

You reach for his hand and place it just under your chest. “That’s not your ribs. But it is probably a deep tissue bruise.”

“Well, how am I supposed to know that? I quit college before I could go to medical school.”

“Anything else?” He looks worried now as he watches your wounded body slump on his couch. After a moment you push yourself up again, groaning with the pain of it.

You reach with your left hand towards your back and Steve follows your hand, leaning behind you to get a look at your wound. “Another knife wound?”

“Plates. Maybe a glass?”

“Y/N,” He leans back again so that he can look up into your face.

“No, Steve.”

“He’s worried out of his mind. Let me call him.”

“I said no.” You make your voice hard, intent on doing this your way. You’re done playing to other people’s wishes. This is what you want, and this is how it’s going to be.

“Why?”

You look at him and frown. He knows why. He was there. “Seriously, Steve?”

“If it’s about that kiss, Y/N, that kiss was-”

“It’s not just the kiss, Steve but I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t the last straw.” You feel your lip quiver as the pain of what you’d seen tonight is renewed. “He doesn’t want me, Steve. Not really.”

“Y/N,” Steve begins. He’ll always be on Bucky’s side. That’s his best friend, his brother.

“He’s been nothing but mean to me since I got here. He’s hurt me. A lot. Intentionally sometimes. And he’s had his chances to make a move. Don’t think I didn’t notice what you and Nat were doing. Tonight, was a golden opportunity to do something and he did nothing. Well, no…that’s a lie.”

Steve watches you, his narrowed brow absorbing the range of emotions you struggle through.

“He let his fingers graze mine a few times. But he never grabbed my hand. Silly, right? Something that small? Oh, and then he let his best friend take me out onto the dance floor. Then he danced with another girl. And he kissed her too.”

“Alright, so what are you going to do? Avoid him from now on? That’s not exactly going to work.”

“I need to go, Steve. I need to leave. I can’t stay here. Wakanda is over for me. There has to be somewhere else I can go to finish out my training.” There’s an empty hollow silence that follows your words as Steve processes what you’re saying.

“You’re gonna leave?” It hurts to hear him say it like you’re betraying them.

“I have to. I can’t be here, every day, and I deserve the chance to find a life outside of this agony!” You angrily spout the last bit, frustrated with the guilt you feel at abandoning your friends.

“When will you-”

“Immediately.” You answer his unfinished question with determination. You’re not staying here another day.

“What am I supposed to tell Bucky?” His voice is so aghast at the prospect of having to break this news to his friend and for a moment you hate Steve too. You know that he’s going to put Bucky first but who’s putting you first? With your parents gone…there’s only you. You must put you first.

“I don’t care what you tell Bucky, Steve. Tell him I died, for all I care. I need to get out of here tonight.” You stare into his deep storm blue eyes and communicate your own sense of betrayal at his hesitation to help you. “Now.”

He seems to see it because he looks down at your wounded hand and thinks for a few seconds. When he looks back up at you he nods and gets to his feet, reaches into his pocket, and moves across the hall into the kitchen.

With his flip phone pressed to his ear he looks back at you with melancholy blue eyes. “Hey Vision, it’s Steve. I need a favor.”

@bionic-buckyb @mdgrdians @ulired @biawol @markusstraya @queenof-wakanda @slice-of-thunder @clockworkherondale @shonaldo @lilulo-12 @dsakita @just-trying-to-survive-marvel @coldfacedwarf @zoey-odinson-stark @animegirlgeeky @paetonsfandom @caramelsunrise @until-theend-oftheline @a-n-gela @dirtylittlelamb @moonlessnight14 @el-dibidibidorado1 @marymooonlastrage @calliope-musings @buckybarnes4lyfe @lexie10123 @wantingtobekorra @unadulteredscreams  @sunflower-sunlight-sunset @unhealthyobsessionwithmarvel @auraliqhts @bucky-in-wonderland @marydragneell @beezyg @peterfromtheavengers @kaylaphantomhive @caramelizedmen @bexboo616 @hayleymoondance  @i-got-red-on-my-ledger

#bucky #bucky barnes #bucky fic #bucky fanfiction #bucky x reader #bucky x reader insert #bucky x reader fanfiction #buck x reader fanfic #bucky x reader fic #james buchanan barnes #james bucky barnes #james barnes #winter soldier fic #winter soldier fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #marvel au #wakanda au #shuri #natasha romanoff #sam wilson #steve rogers #t'challa #okoye #nakia #you're my mission pt11 #you're my mission #shreddedparchment

[starsailorstories]

fatalcookies

replied to your

post

:

Does anyone actually wanna know about the...

Uuuuh please

*deep breath*

*steeples fingers*

@fatalcookies

ok so LIKE

In a deviation from canon, Shade’s only on earth because armageddon is coming someday, and she’s the Almighty’s most trusted strategist. I know this is also veering way off all conventional understanding of the hierarchy of angels, but I think our girl’s a seraph. I mean come on--little miss “think nothing but devotion”? The character who was so over the top in her praise of her boss that a complete third party called the relationship “an altar” to be “sacrificed on”? Seraphim is translated as “the burning ones” and Shade is burning inside and out in any version of her you want to construct. She’s way beyond goodness, she’s about PURITY. She is a slave to the theoretical ultimate perfection of the divine plan. Holy holy holy, bitch!

But...she has a secret.

It’s the same secret she has in canon.

She loves life.

She doesn’t know why and it kind of scares her. She has eternal bliss at her fingertips if she just keeps following all the rules, and she’s great at following all the rules. But at the same time, perfection is simultaneously incredibly hectic and kind of boring. After an eternity of serving at the height of passion, unchanging, unerring, a body gets a bit worn out, and starts to think it might be nice to just, curl up with some brief ephemeral story. Something a bit less than perfect, a bit less than eternal--just to see what it was like. And fortunately the divine, in her unerring wisdom, was just on time to tell one, which started, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

And so she goes to earth, and she’s just barely constrained in a quite handsome--entirely bespoke!--human body, whose eyes she only occasionally lights up with white flame, and promptly occupies herself with performing understated miracles of toy repair for random children, dressing like the pits of fashion, sipping espresso in cafes, skulking around the edges of literary society Orlando-style but in a theoretically specifically benevolent fashion, and justifying everything to herself one way or another.

And yes like...Shade is pretty sensible, she’s not going to get into the exact same nonsense on earth that Aziraphale did, but if you really think she’s not going to get into any nonsense at all then I feel really bad for you because clearly you’ve never met...wlw in general

She’s kind--never indulgent, but kind--and polite, and nobody really minds her above or below, because she’s very careful to maintain her Purity by never questioning anything or really putting anything in place besides that which she’s been told to. One of her main justifications for everything she’s been getting up to is to assume that if the Almighty didn’t want her to do it, she wouldn’t be able to, because she certainly doesn’t have free will...does she?

Shade is a pseudonym she took on to represent the humility of her human side, by the way, signifying its total inferiority to the radiance of God. I don’t know what God calls her when she’s a blinding, burning figure at the side of the great throne. Perhaps it’s Lux.

Now. Bolt. You may have been asking yourself, “How are you gonna cast the sweet, soft, motherly team healer as the demon in this? Even Crowley has it in him to be a bit of a curmudgeon sometimes and Bolt just doesn’t” and that is true.

But I have this to say:

Hell hath no fury like a tenderhearted gay disaster scorned.

Okay, it’s not all, like, completely personal. The majority of the soul reaping that Bolt accomplishes doesn’t require her to do anything besides exist. Because she’s a sweet, pretty, competent woman who listens, and she’s also the biggest lesbian in the world, and her numbers look fine back at home office because men are just like that. She doesn’t have to tempt anybody she’s literally just There

But sometimes, with the ladies, it’s more, and sometimes she is there for an extended period, and sometimes she feels something beyond pragmatic compassion and that something quickly turns to heartbreak. Because she will never not be a demon, and humans will never lack the ability to redeem themselves. With them she’s never more than a temptation, a distraction, a stumble on the straight and narrow--never chased, never cherished, never allowed to grow old beside. They abandon her, they hurt her, just like God did, and they never regret it, because it was the right thing to do. So, you know, every once in a while, when it’s really too much to take, when she really has to do something for once, to hell with them.

The thing is that in vol. 1 Bolt certainly feels enormous degrees of love, but she doesn’t really have a moral code beyond “make the people around me happy so that they’ll like me and pay attention to me.” If she felt underappreciated in heaven, would she run to Lucifer’s side knowing she would be praised and made to feel special there? Abso-HECKING-lutely.

Of course, it takes more than just her feelings to make her fall. As with canon Bolt, she falls FOR someone.

Who does she fall for, in this universe?

Ready for this?

Eve.

Oh, it wasn’t entirely selfish. She certainly THOUGHT about the unfairness, the way God set them up for the Fall. And yes hell sent her to make it happen, so she can certainly claim to have just been doing her job. BUT…

She honestly might not have done it the way she did it, if she hadn’t thought, just a tiny bit, just way down deep where she could almost ignore it, “Maybe, if they could choose, one of them might choose me.”

Down the road, one of her few real resume builders downstairs is inventing the spinal block epidural--which REDUCES human suffering, but how are they scoring this thing anyhow?--as a middle finger to heaven and an apology to her first crush

+Bolt grumbling+ “‘In pain you will bring forth children’ ASSHOLE it wasn’t her fault!”

Also putting her in the actual plot rather than just the universe of Good Omens simplifies things nicely, the nuns aren’t needed anymore at all. Boltie will be the first to tell you that without her Systems and her assistants, she’s perfectly capable of misplacing a baby on her own.

I just want to mention here that she dresses like the exact midpoint between Jackie O and Marilyn Monroe with a slightly more infernal color scheme and her sunglasses are those red plastic heart kind

Also, because I do the same shit in every AU, she has the exact relationship Crowley has with Queen with, GUESS!!, Dolly Parton

I definitely think one of the most interesting things about this (it’s one of the things I think is most interesting about canon Good Omens too although they never go a l l the way down this road) is that Shade quietly suspects that Bolt is better at being Good than her. Oh sure she loves all God’s creatures but Boltie can get them to love her back. It seems that, unless someone has hurt her personally, one of her main motivations for pushing back against heaven IS compassion

Bolt for her part feels immense guilt about the fact that the only reason she EVEN lets this crap happen anymore is out of bitterness. She hears heaven offers humans unconditional love, even now that they have free will. Where was that deal when she wanted free will, huh?

From that setup on out, you don’t REALLY have to change anything--about EITHER source text! But it’s kind of fun to customize certain stuff for them

I feel like in that scene where they’re drinking in the bookshop they’d get into an exchange that’s like

Bolt, sitting with her legs slung over the arm of a chair, her pantyhose all bunched around her ankles, her high heels in one hand and a glass of red in the other: And that’s the other thing, if we go back they’re not gonna let us be cute anymore

Shade, sitting at her desk with her tie loose and her collar open beside a half-empty bottle of very nice whiskey (I told you the aesthetics were reversed): My goodness Boltie that’s really what you’re on about at a time like this

Bolt: Well take a second to appreciate what you’ve got down here angel, we look fine as all get out! If they send us back I’m gonna probably be back to bein’ a snake for all eternity and you’re gonna have to be a, a flaming wheel or some shit. You know you’re not gonna be able to get made-to-measure for THAT

Shade: …Damn, you’re right

Is this a good time to mention that in my head, Shade sounds decidedly English and Bolt sounds like she’s from Cleveland

Except also I really want Shade to carry Boltie across consecrated ground like in that one post

#fatalcookies #silly GOOD OMENS AU STUFF

[pokepairs]

hello there!! i was hoping to request a partner, if you don’t mind! 💕

zodiac: capricorn, but i’ve been told i act more like a pisces.

hogwarts house: hufflepuff!

MBTI: INFP

enneagram: 2w3

fave types: fairy, ghost, ice, water

fave colors: black, baby pink, and all shades of blue!

about me: i’ve been told before that my biggest trait is kindness - i tend to put the needs of others above my own, which can cause problems ^^;; i’m very enthusiastic and full of positivity to lift others up! i make a lot of jokes and give a lot of compliments, usually trying to make the people around me feel good :3 but i get jealous very easily, i always want to be like someone else ^^;; i have a LOT of ambition in life - someday i’d really love to be an actress on broadway! if that doesn’t work out though, i’d love to study marine biology. i’m a big fan of theatre, baking/cooking, music, and drawing. i do a lot of drawing! one thing that i’ve always loved is everything spooky, i’m an avid fan of myths, cryptids, creatures, ghosts, and haunted areas! but my love of scary stuff can sharply contrast with my love of the whole cute/lolita aesthetic. cute and spooky are both so awesome!!!

i hope that’s enough info for you to work with! thank you so so so much!!! 💕💕💕💕

Let’s see who your partner is!

Spritzee (#682) / 0′08″ & 1.1lbs / Fairy

(1) Remarkably, “cute” can often blend well with the macabre. That which we expect to be harmless seems far more terrifying when the opposite turns out to be true than if we were expecting to be afraid from the get-go. The fairy typing captures that aesthetic well; their often-“cutesy” appearances mask dangerous powers, and in many cases, a ruthlessness that is often more than a little surprising. After all, these usually-pink Pokémon are more than capable of bringing down dragons; underestimating them is simply poor judgement on our parts. Spritzee in particular encompasses that duality well; between its pink body and tiny stature, one would perhaps expect it to be no threat at all - but it isn’t reminiscent of a plague doctor for no reason. Drawing too close can leave enemies almost hypnotised by the scents it exudes, leaving them completely vulnerable in their haze. Its red eyes command attention.

(2) Your ambition pushes you to become better and better; what you see, you strive to get. It’s a healthy thing in the correct doses, ambition - but is it pushing you into overdrive? Sometimes, you might lose sight of what’s truly important - yourself - in a bid for greatness. Keeping an eye on your limits will help you remain on track - and remarkably, Spritzee is an excellent helper in that regard. Relaxation is just as important as any other part of self-improvement, and Spritzee’s calming scents - all of which can be controlled by its diet - will remind you of that simple fact. It’s very difficult not to unwind - or, if you don’t require that, to focus - whenever Spritzee is around.

(3) With a face rather reminiscent of a mask and a fairly in-your-face appearance, complete with eyelashes that resemble particularly-thick eyeliner, Spritzee presents the front of a theatrical creature. Royal ladies in the past would carry Spritzee of their own around as replacements for perfume, but over time, this habit extended to multiple others - the fashion business, the music industry, and yes, theatre. Their easily-manipulable scents and endearing, dramatic looks make them particularly attractive for those wishing to put on a performance; for you, Spritzee can add a little olfactory enhancement to the world of acting.

(4) Jealousy makes monsters out of men; it’s a poison that rots the veins. Battling it with positivity is an admirable method of trying to shake it - surrounding yourself with goodness is a sure way to help try and lessen the grip any envy may have on you. In your partner, you will find a sense of kinship; Spritzee are Pokémon that have a habit of bonding closely with one person and struggling to let many others, if any others at all, into their tight little circle. Regardless of the motivations for your own jealousy, Spritzee’s comes from your socialisation with other people. Despite your closeness, it may fear being replaced, and become cantankerous both towards you and to those around you. Having Spritzee by your side, therefore, may do it as much good as it tries to do you; your positivity should uplift it, helping it come to terms with others and reducing the likelihood of it growing stressed. In this sense, as well as in many others, the two of you should be able to grow together.

I hope you like your partner! It definitely seems to like you.

#pokemon partner #pokemon match up #pokemon companion #pokepal #spritzee #submission #* pokepairs #i based a lot of the personality stuff on the major mitchell's cockatoo! #apparently spritzee is inspired by it

[rosekwartzcarrot]

Wisdom Teeth

Characters: Minghao, reader

Genre: Fluff ☀

Word count: 4.0k 

Warnings: None

↬ Minghao gets his wisdom teeth removed and you’re left to deal with aftermath. 

Minghao felt the floor tilt beneath his feet, like the ground was being swiped from underneath his black converse sneakers. All of a sudden, the world around him did a somersault and he landed onto the ground, the carpeted floor cushioning his fall and preventing him from getting a concussion. Though hopping out of the seat and wobbling to the common waiting room once his dentist excused herself – Minghao wondered if perhaps she had suddenly gotten the urge to visit the restroom – once seemed like a great idea to his giddy brain, he was beginning to doubt his previous intuition.

“Ow,” A sharp sting shot up his forearm as he winced, attempting to hoist himself into a sitting position but failing terribly due to the fact that his head felt like it was filled with lead. His surroundings were still spinning rather quickly for some reason, so he laid back down onto the carpet and wondered if it was going to stop anytime soon, deciding to wait until the feeling of his head being too overwhelmingly heavy for his body ceased, and he could walk properly without crashing to the ground once more.

The carpet doesn’t seem so bad anyways, he thought contently, it even smells fresh and new. And it’s fluffy too. Oh, that rhymed!

He then reached up to poke his numb, swollen cheeks, wondering why on earth he couldn’t feel anything other than a tingly, odd sensation there. There were two wet gauze pads lodged in the back of his mouth, making Minghao feel like an overfed chipmunk of some sort. His hands itched to yank them out of his mouth, but a distinct memory of his dentist strictly warning him not to remove it yet resurfaced from the depths of his hazy mind, causing the poor boy to sigh rather sadly. His fingers travelled down to his lips and he pinched them, but was unable to feel the signature slight prick of pain that came with the action.

Are my lips still there? he thought anxiously, pressing his hands to his mouth, patting his face in an attempt to locate his apparently missing lips.

“Hao, why are you lying on the ground?” A familiar face appeared in his field of vision, interrupting his intense task of finding his lips, distracting him momentarily as he squinted, willing the fog in his vision to clear.

“Y/N!” He cheered once his sluggish mind decided to catch up, the China-native lighting up like a child on Christmas day with recognition as he grinned brightly up at the sight of his friend.

“Hi,” she chuckled, crouching down beside his sprawled-out figure, delivering a playful bonk to his nose. It scrunched up in response as bubbly giggles spilled from Minghao’s lips.

“Hi! What a coincidence! Are you here to get your teeth out too? My mouth feels weird. I can’t feel my lips, I think they’re missing,” he blurted animatedly, his word filter seeming to have taken a self-declared holiday. His voice was a string of messily pronounced words and uneven syllables, wobbly tone morphing into a more solemn one when he uttered the last part seriously to her, and she had to swallow a burst of amused laughter.

“Um, no, I’m here to pick you up, silly. And your lips are right here, don’t worry,” she replied, amused as she lightly tapped his slightly swollen, pale pink lips with a finger. Though she was completely aware of the side effects of medicinal drugs administered during wisdom teeth removal procedures, she couldn’t help chuckling endearingly at the sight of the usual sensible Minghao being reduced to a loopy, disorientated mess by a dentist surgery.

“Really? But I can’t feel them!” he exclaimed, wide eyes staring up at her with genuine puzzle, eyebrows furrowing, and she resisted the urge to pinch his cheeks (it would probably be a very bad idea to do so, and she wisely kept her hands to herself) and coo at how adorably he wore the look of confusion.

“They’re there, trust me,” she assured, “Now why don’t we get you home? You can sleep in your bed instead of on the floor.”

 “But it’s nice here. It’s really fluffy, see? Touch!” he insisted, reaching for her hand and dragging it back and forth on the carpet to prove his point.

“Yes, Hao, I can see that. But do you really want to nap on the public floor, where possibly hundreds of people have stepped on with their dirty shoes?”

His eyebrows furrowed as he considered this slowly, the gears in his drugged mind taking triple its usual time to turn and process information.

“I like shoes,” he concluded with a happy nod, clearly having zoned in on the word ‘shoes’ and conveniently disregarding the rest.

“Look, aren’t my shoes nice?” he pointed at his own denim sneakers with a giddy smile. He reached down, attempting to grab a hold of his footwear while in his lying position, but finding it extremely challenging due to the fact that his legs were ridiculously long and he couldn’t seem to find the appropriate position to optimize his flexibility. Clumsily clutching his leg as he stretched out his fingers, he managed to snag his left sneaker, proceeding to shimmy it off his foot – exposing a pair of pastel blue socks, sprinkled all over with little splotches of rather aesthetically-pleasing pineapples.

He handed her his shoe, doe-eyes widened expectantly, as if encouraging her to take his black sneaker. When she made no move to retrieve it, merely staring at him with a confused gaze, he asked, “Don’t you like my shoe?”

“What?”

“Aren’t my shoes pretty?”

“Sure?” she wasn’t sure where did was going.  

“Do you want it?” he asked once more, holding out his sneaker to her, as if it were the most normal thing in the world to randomly offer one’s shoes to someone for no reason. Incredulity and amusement fought for dominance in the look she directed at him, and she bit back a snort of laughter.

“No, thanks. I don’t think it’ll fit me. You keep it.”

He considered this, his gaze flickering to her feet, encased in a pair of sleek black boots – yes, they did appear much smaller than his, he observed with a queer mixture of dismay and awe.  

“Your feet are tiny,” he commented in amazement, staring at them as if they were the most fascinating thing he had ever seen.

“So I’ve been told. Put your shoes back on, Hao, we’re going home,” she ordered, though the grin on her lips betrayed her commanding tone, proceeding to give him a small bop on the nose. He giggled, nodding sloppily, his body curling up once again like some sort of inflexible millipede as he tried shoving his foot back into the footwear.

“Here, let me help you,” she sighed somewhat fondly when his lips twisted up into a little pout at his failure to put his shoe back on – Minghao reassembled a starry-eyed child in his drug-induced state, his odd antics rather amusing and adorably child-like, making it impossible for her usual impatient streak to rear its head at him. Helping the boy into a sitting position and making sure he did not fall over, she pulled his sneaker back over his foot and secured its laces, feeling awfully like a mother tending to a clumsy child who miraculously managed to lose a shoe whilst playing.  

“Y/N,” he whispered as he beckoned her closer with a flick of his hand, as if he were about to indulge her in some enormous secret. Despite the arising inkling that it was nothing of such sort, she decided to humour him anyways, leaning in so he could mumble right into her ear.

“My foot felt so cold without my shoe. But now its warm again!” he murmured with an excited nod, wriggling his toes in awe, as he wore an expression that suggested she had just handed him the sun. She couldn’t help the grin that tugged on her lips at his statement despite the absurdity of his statement, rolling her eyes half-heartedly.

“You’re welcome. Now let’s go.”

A few minutes of persuasion and persistent convincing saw his relent, and he allowed her to haul him up without putting up a struggle. Her small victory was cut short when a pair of lanky arms wrapped affectionately around her shoulders, and the tall boy pulled her into a sloppy hug, resting his chin onto the top of her head.

“Hao, what are you doing?”

“You saved my foot from frostbite, so I need to thank you with a hug,” he stated simply – like it was the most obvious thing in the world, even babies would have gotten it – tightening his hold slightly as he nuzzled his cheek into her hair.

“That’s cute, but it’s a little difficult to walk,” she chuckled despite her previous efforts seeming as if they had been bounced back to square one.

“Oh, sorry,” he apologised sheepishly, but still refused to release her from his arms, only loosening his grasp as if it were a wonderful solution to her current problem of being unable to walk. Not having the heart to break free from his warm hug and possibly send him to fitful tears, she allowed him to cling to her like an extremely devoted baby koala as she made her way out of the dental clinic, choosing to ignore the amused glint in the dentist’s eyes when she turned to thank her politely.

“Thank you!” Minghao echoed cheerfully, waving frantically at the dentist. He was confused when the lady laughed, his mind churning with puzzlement as he wondered why the dentist appeared so amused. He didn’t think there was anything particularly entertaining about rows and rows of teeth or the shiny silver tools she fixed them with. Minghao’s brain seemed to have awakened slightly from its previous daze, and it began whirring busily as it conjured up a series of possibilities that could have caused her amusement. Maybe the dentist had extracted a gold tooth – he imagined it would be a pleasant change from the usual rows of pearly, boring white. Perhaps she was so utterly impressed by his sense of humour and his impeccable acquiescence while she worked at his teeth. Or perhaps, just perhaps, could she have been laughing at his teeth?

A cocktail of horror and embarrassment bubbled in the cauldron of his stomach at the thought of his precious teeth becoming the laughing stock of the entire dental clinic – how mortifying! A hot blush suffused up his cheeks, saturating it with a rosy red as he buried his face in his hands, whining incoherently. So engrossed in the world of his jumble thoughts was he, that he failed to notice they had arrived at Y/N’s car – to which she was pleasantly surprised with his lack of resistance when she wriggled out of his grasp and eased him into the passenger seat, strapping the seatbelt over him easily.

By the time Minghao decided to resurface from his own little universe, the sterile, white building of the dental clinic was long out of sight, and they currently appeared to be stuck in traffic, bright red lights from the rear bulbs of the vehicle in front invading his vision.

“Y/N!” he called to grab her attention, and when she responded with a quick questioning glance to let him know he had successfully hailed it, he asked glumly, “Are my teeth funny?”  

“What? Why would you ask that?”

“The dentist lady laughed at me earlier,” he muttered, a petulant edge creeping into his tone as a pout laced itself onto his lips. Shooting him another glance of disbelief, she had to choke back a rising laugh that threatened to rise from the depths of her stomach when she noticed his uncanny resemblance to a moody, sullen chipmunk – she did not want to risk evoking further sulkiness if he suspected she was supposedly ‘laughing at his teeth’.

“She wasn’t laughing at your teeth, dummy. Stop touching them, your teeth are fine,” she managed to say with a straight face.

“How did you know I was touching them?” Minghao’s tone suggested he was baffled by her apparent superpowers.

“I can see you doing it.”

“Oh.”

“She wasn’t laughing at your teeth, you know?” she repeated once more when she caught his disgruntled expression from the corner of her eye.

“Really?” his large eyes were dark, chocolate pools of innocence, pure child-like hopefulness swimming in their rich brown swirls as he blinked curiously.

“Yes, really.”

He seemed satisfied with her reply, beaming brightly.

“You have nice teeth too,” he felt obliged to return, his voice coloured with a sincere, misplaced graveness that sounded as if he were reciting a grim oath rather than throwing her a sweet compliment.

“Thank you.”

The remainder of the trip back to Minghao’s apartment was filled with the said boy fumbling with the radio for about half the duration of the car ride (he claimed he could not find a station worth listening to, as they refused to play ‘his jam’ and his reasonable explanation for this was that the universe was out to get him), off-key belting of lyrics that soon turned into flat-out yelling and the occasional random, peculiar questions courtesy of the drugs present in the his system. By the time they arrived at the 20-storey building, Y/N was almost certain the dull throb that had developed in her temples was going to worsen as the day progressed; her ears seemed as if they were about to shrivel up and drop off her head like a leaf in autumn.

If the car ride was a struggle, the process of hauling Minghao up to the 7th floor was torture – and it didn’t help that he couldn’t seem to stop swaying unsteadily on his feet, nearly tripping over thin air and ending up plummeting face down onto the ground had she not caught him first. He then resumed his previous position of attaching himself tightly to her like some kind of overenthusiastic starfish, leaning the entirety of his weight onto her smaller frame as they made their way to his apartment.

She was sweating profusely by the time she dumped Minghao ungracefully onto the sofa of his living room, her back beginning to ache at the effort.

“Are you ok?” he asked, blinking innocently at her as she caught her breath, as if he was not the culprit who had caused her exhaustion. His expression morphed into one of utmost befuddlement when she gave him a half-hearted glare, sinking down onto the sofa beside him.

She then reached to yank his shoes off, but was stopped when he yelped abruptly, “Why are you taking my shoes?”, causing her to jump about 5 feet into the air in fright.

“So you don’t get dirt all over the place,” she deadpanned once she recovered from her shock, sensing that she was about to face another round of Minghao’s whiny stubbornness. He seemed appalled by the concept of removing his sneakers – and she suspected it had something to do with the conversation that went down at the dentist’s.

“But I want to wear them,” he said stubbornly, his pink lips curving into a pout once more, tucking his legs into his chest as if to hide his shoes from her, his poor attempt to prevent her from removing them. She rolled her eyes, trying to discretely inch closer to him while doing so. Seeming to have suddenly understood her intentions, Minghao hopped off the couch in one swift motion, clearly aiming to escape from her evil plans to remove his shoes. Except he didn’t quite get to carry out his plan, as he then proceeded to trip over thin air and tumble to the ground, landing with a muffled ‘oof’.    

She took this opportunity to tear his sneakers from him feet, bringing them to the shoe rack by the door as she promptly ignored the whines that followed.

“You’re mean!” he huffed childishly, remaining lying on the ground, awfully reassembling an overgrown kid throwing a temper tantrum.

“I try.”

“You’re a… a…” he had trouble coming up with an appropriate insult to nail her with, struggling to catch one in the muddled mess that was his mind, finally settling with, “You’re a butt!”. He looked pretty self-satisfied with his word choice, giving her a smug look.

“You wound me,” she replied flatly.  

“My feet are cold now.”

“Good to know,” her nonchalant responses were splashed with a hint of her usual sarcasm that Minghao didn’t seem capable of processing in his current state of mind. He was intrigued by the indifference in her tone, misinterpreting it for bitter coldness or anger. She failed to notice this as she plopped herself down onto the sofa with a sigh of relief – she could finally sit.

“Are you mad?” he said worriedly, getting onto all fours and crawling up to her, climbing onto the couch clumsily. He leaned closer to her when she shook her head, curious as to how he came up with this – though she wasn’t quite sure why his doe-eyes appeared to be meticulously studying her features as if they were some kind of abstract painting displayed in the museum that he couldn’t quite figure out. Despite this, she couldn’t help the smile that twitched on her lips, a burst of endearment brewing in her chest at the childlike question.

Just when she felt tempted to break his intense stare by snapping her fingers in front of his face, he promptly plopped his head onto her lap, smiling up sweetly at her. Her eyes widened considerably at the unexpected action – Minghao wasn’t exactly what she would call an openly affectionate person. In fact, he was usually rather shy and reserved when it came to physical affection, and would rarely initiate it. But here he was, head propped in her lap, those round, brown eyes staring at her expectantly.

At the questioning arch of her brow, he pointed to his own light brown hair, a hopeful expression tugging on his features. Not understanding his actions, she wondered if he was perhaps aware that she was ticklish – whenever he moved his head (which was a lot), the fine strands of his silky hair would lightly brush against her skin and trigger her innate urge to squirm at the ticklish sensation.

“What?” she asked, confused.

He didn’t answer, only wriggled around attempting to locate her hand. By some magical means, he managed to find it, then proceeded to guide it towards the crown of his head, as if wordlessly demanding to be given a scalp massage. She complied, gently running her fingers through his raven hair, soft and smooth under her touch. He visibly relaxed, tension in his muscles leeching away as he sighed contently, a smile present on his lips.

“Mm… feels nice,” he murmured happily, repositioning himself to find a more comfortable position on the sofa (due having overly long limbs, his socked feet stuck out from the end of the couch, and Y/N found it mildly amusing). They remained like that for a while, until a mewling yawn escaped his lips, breaking the cosy blanket of silence that had settled gently over their shoulders. He stared up at her through half-lidded, unfocused eyes as sleep begun to tighten its hold on him.

Something nagged at the back of her mind, a piece of information that she couldn’t quite conjure up at the moment, yet knew it was something that held utmost importance, and she racked her brain for it.

“Wait, before you fall asleep, remove the gauze in your mouth,” she blurted upon recollecting this vital fragment of memory, the dentist’s advice drifting back into her mind – Minghao was to replace the gauze pads in his mouth with fresh ones every hour or so until the bleeding stopped, and she was pretty sure an hour had passed since then. At his irresponsiveness, she gently poked his forehead to prevent him from succumbing to slumber, earning herself a whine from him.

“What?” he moaned grumpily, a sulky edge creeping into his tone as he reluctantly opened his eyes to peer at her, clearly disgruntled to be denied sleep.

 “Replace the gauze in your mouth,” she repeated, reaching for her shoulder bag that had been conveniently strewn across the coffee table within arm’s reach because Minghao did not seem too keen on moving his head from its makeshift pillow – this resulted in lots of pain in multiple parts of her body due to her lack of flexibility. She had shoved a packet of sterile gauze pads from the dentist into her little bag earlier, and now retrieved two pieces, handing them to him.

“Here.”

It took a crapload of willpower for her to allow Minghao to spit two blood-soaked balls of wet gauze into her gingerly cupped hands (because he nearly decided that it was fine to spit it onto the carpeted ground, and she wasn’t going to be responsible for cleaning that up), but eventually she managed to compose herself with the assurance that there were wet wipes in her bag.

Minghao was oblivious to her internal crisis, sloppily sticking the gauze pieces into his mouth, struggling as the numbness in his cheeks prevented him from identifying the exact area to position the pads. Looking up to her for help, his features involuntarily scrunched up into a small frown when she failed to pay him attention, too busy cleaning up her hands with wipes and chucking the used gauze into a plastic bag she had magically produced from that little bag of hers – it mystified him as to how such a tiny bag could contain so much. He decided to wait patiently until she was done (I am such an angel, he thought, feeling rather pleased with himself) so she could focus her entire attention on his latest problem.

“You good?” she asked once she was finally done, having felt his persistent gaze on her.  

“No – I don’t know where to put it,” he told her blatantly, reassembling a child who has misplaced the instruction manual for his latest Lego set and was now stranded in an abyss of befuddlement.  

“Just shove it to the far end of your mouth,” she instructed, gently taking his hand that had clutched a piece of gauze and guiding it to right where his gum was still persistently oozing with blood. He beamed at her gratefully once both gauze pads were snugly tucked into his mouth, allowing her to take his hands and clean them off with a wipe, enjoying the light floral fragrance they emitted.

“Can I sleep now?” he questioned, another yawn forcing its way up his throat.

“Yes, you can,” she chuckled at his naive question, fondness tickling her heart when he gave a quiet cheer, burrowing his face into her lap as his eyelids fluttered shut. Absentmindedly brushing the fine strands that had fallen over his forehead away, her fingers wove themselves into his hair, gently playing with the short locks until his breathing evened out. Her fingers travelled down to gently outline the smooth slopes of his face – sleep had a way of softening his features, a peaceful tranquillity cast over him. Minghao was both enchantingly winsome and irresistibly adorable; a beautiful, endearing being.

When Minghao awakens up from his nap, an agonizing throb would begin to materialize in his cheeks as the drug the dentist dosed him with wore off, and this would most likely result in a series of cursing, followed by days of whining. She reckoned there would also be an extremely entertaining session of him squealing in embarrassment and trying to hide his face in some pillow when she relayed the entire process of taking him home and having to fight him to take his shoes off.

A mischievously little smile snuck its way onto her lips at the thought.

Until then.

#seventeen #seventeen scenarios #the8 #minghao #the8 scenarios #minghao scenarios #the8 fics #minghao fics #seventeen imagine #seventeen fics #seventeen fic #seventeen fluff #hello there #first post #i tried

[muthur9000]

I recently reached out to Luke Bubb to find out more about his role in creating the concepts for the Orrery in Prometheus and the other Engineer special effects as part of our Creatives series on Yutani.   Clara Fei-Fei: Hi Luke, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. How did you start doing what you do? Who are your inspirations?   Luke Bubb: For me, I’d say it all started as a child playing with toy cars and doing lots of drawings; but I didn’t really start developing until my family moved to New Zealand and our neighbours introduced me to Photoshop, that’s when it started to develop into what I’d do now. Though in terms of inspirational people I didn’t grow up knowing anything about the industry or any artist so all I had to go on was films like Alien, Total Recall and Star wars etc…

CF: Are you a fan of the Alien films or sci-fi? What did you think of the movie Prometheus? Is there anything you would change if you could?

LB: Yes very much so and for film culture, in general, its part of a very special timeline in science fictions development. For Prometheus, I loved the ideas, really enjoyed it visually and loved the return of Ridley Scott’s visuals to the series but I was really disappointed by it being a bit of mess. If there is anything I would change? Hmm.. well I haven’t seen it in a while but I guess besides the feeling of disconnect that happened when they killed off some of the characters, I thought that when I was exploring the brief there was a massive potential to link our real-world cultural history to the alien’s seeding of planets narrative but I guess there was an intent to leave it open to keep you imagining things. I think the conversation outside the box office about our own origins could have had more of an impact on the mainstream media if it had gone down that path.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/71661238 CF: I became familiar with your work when looking for concept art for The Orrery, it is my favourite scene in the entire franchise. Could you tell me what sort of inspirations did you use when creating it?

LB: I feel the same as you that the Orrery is something special though have to thank all of the team at FuelVFX for all there great work and guidance as I didn’t design the orrery it was a team effort.  So the team had a brief from Ridley Scott with an image named “A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery”, with some scribbled ideas of “frog spawn” and some rough layout as a start so we went exploring concepts from there.

Working with that plus cross-referencing aspects from other shots from the film we designed these zoomed in bubbles of space that are sort of like bookmarks from the giant cosmic web with the main focus bubble in the middle of the room, and so the idea is that these engineers are going to need information on these systems or planets for either exploring, seeding or I guess destroying so there are these information rings around the bubbles showing all the genetic information for whatever is in focus. That made up the basic interface but the last element was a Sumerian inspired language which was in little circles as a sort of icon for a specific zones/bookmarks.

Also, a lot of the visual ideas are related to real-world concepts so the hologram itself is this idea of excited particles to produce light, I think it was hydrogen particles but can’t quite remember. For the visuals of the control desk, I became obsessed with electromagnetism/quantum trapping and also the suns magnetic’s / flares / coronal ejections. For the Engineers, it was all about being a very old recording so we worked with the ideas corrosion of digital footage.

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CF: What sort of creative input did you have in the design and how closely did you stick to the brief? and what technical aspects did you have to consider when creating it?

LB: The director has an idea in his head so we needed to stick as close as possible to his vision but the brief was so wide open visually that we had an immense freedom for exploration and the team produced a lot of stunning other designs. Technically we had to make sure it was functional so you wouldn’t question its use, all those ideas of how it could be used had to also be imagined and explored to help refine to the final design.

CF: Is there any sense to the DNA and Data clusters surrounding the planets in the Orrery, or is it just aesthetically placed?

LB: Yes as I mentioned before its the data for that zone, would be the species or biology for the planets or solar systems.

CF: What was the inspiration for the Engineer Juggernaught control panel and chair? Why the squishy egg buttons and green plasma?

LB: I’m not completely sure on the squishy eggs, that’s probably more of a question for the production designer or the pre-production concept artists. But for the plasma, it just seemed to fit as the engineer ends up holding his hands hovering over the control desk so we needed something that can visually interact through the air and Ridley went for the plasma concept, there were initially lasers being shot up through the table on set I think.

CF: Can you tell us the source of power for the juggernaut or what your own theories are? Do you have theories on what the plasma is?

LB: Hmm that’s a really good question, I ‘d never thought really of what powers the larger machines but for me it seems logical that since the alien technology is based on more of an organic matter idea then you’d only need to look at how nature powers some of its machines, so electromagnetic’s and sound resonance are my bet.

CF: In the Prometheus Art Book, there is an earlier concept of the scanner probe that kind of looks like the Japanese zero gravity space drone. In the art book, there aren’t any credits on the concept artists work. I quite like your version of the spectagraph, what were your inspirations when creating this piece?

LB: That is a very cute Japanese space drone, but yeah for films scanning probes it was really diving deep into lidar/scanners and how lasers work/look, looking at pulses of light, patterns, interactions with smoke and high-speed spinning.

CF: The engineer holograms look really cool. Could you tell me what was in the design brief to come up with the design?

LB: The engineers were all about having old-looking footage yet its a form of digital so the challenge was to imagine what this corroded data might do or how it might glitch in a ghostly way.

CF: What are you currently working on and what sort of projects do you want to work on in future?

LB: Currently, I’m working on a few things but one is a documentary called 2040 which is about our imagined future if we used all the solutions to reduce climate change, it has some insane ideas about our economy, autonomous vehicles, livable cities, biomaterials and marine permaculture with kelp so that’s keeping me busy.

Otherwise I have been deeply investing in Virtual Reality and I’m looking forward to creating new content for it this year that addresses ideas that actually stemmed from my time working on Prometheus, a lot of it deals with the seeding of our planet, the great floods, comets, aboriginal culture, symbology and ancient mythology etc. Can’t wait to see what comes out of it.

CF: It’s really great to find out more details about these parts in Prometheus and it’s definitely made me appreciate the amount of work that goes into such an amazing film, Thanks again, Luke.

If you’d like to follow Luke’s work you can see it on Art Station

To find out more about the work Fuel VFX did for Prometheus you can read an interview with Paul Butterworth at Art of VFX.

Creatives: Luke Bubb I recently reached out to Luke Bubb to find out more about his role in creating the concepts for the Orrery in Prometheus and the other Engineer special effects as part of our Creatives series on Yutani.

#control interface #dna #engineer #laser #luke bubb #orrery #plasma #PROMETHEUS #spectograph #vfx

[goron-king-darunia]

Annon-Guy: What do you think the 14 Symphonia would think of Amane Nishiki and Relius Clover? I know the guys would be embarrassed by Amane attempting to scout them sense Amane likes to recruit cute boys or handsome men (Emil, Lloyd, Genis, Zelos, Regal, Kratos, Richter and Decus all fit the bill). Of course, he would find the girls cute too. I do know that they would all despise Relius for only seeing people as objects (only souls mater to him). I think even Alice and Decus would hate Relius.

Lloyd likes to look for the best in people so while he might be embarrassed by Amane, I think he’d mostly just think he’s a “strange guy” without really judging too hard. Relius he might have a problem with because Relius values souls more than people and their lives and that’s similar to how Mithos valued an imagined ideal for equality over the actual quality of people’s lives. Genis would probably dislike both Relius and Amane because neither of them would really be seeing him the way he wants to be seen. Genis has a big complex about being short, to the point where growing 1/4 inch was enough for him to brag to Raine. Amane treating him like a cute new recruit would probably irk him because as much as he might enjoy being cute by dressing up as a Katz with Presea, he doesn’t want to be considered cute just for being young and short. So I’m sure he’d interpret Amane’s interest as him not taking Genis seriously. Relius of course would just see him as a new soul for experiments and Genis is already pretty resentful of getting that sort of stigma for being a half-elf, to the point where he really empathized with Mithos over their shared discrimination, which is why fighting Mithos was so difficult for him. Mithos is what Genis himself would have become without friends like Lloyd to show him that he could be valued as a person without having to LITERALLY change the fabric of reality the way Mithos wanted to. Colette, I think, would probably just consider Amane silly. Colette is the kind of person who, like Lloyd, sees the best in people, and befriends others easily. Even Richter, who attacked her, was considered “a nice person” even though she was willing to help Emil fight him in the end. So Amane would probably just be a quirky potential friend to her unless he did something actively and relentlessly malicious to prove himself an enemy. Relius fits the bill for actively malicious or at least actively misanthropic because everyone is reduced to a potential soul for him to experiment with, so I’m sure Colette would be willing to fight him. That said, Colette’s never actively hateful toward anyone, so while she might be angry at the way Relius thinks and acts, she probably would work with Lloyd and the others toward finding the least harmful way to stop him from hurting others. Raine would 100% be against Relius as a scientist and as someone who doesn’t value the lives of others, he deems test subjects. Like Genis, Raine is aware of what it’s like to be seen as just a guinea pig. So while she might respect his work ethic and dedication, she would 100% be against the inhumane things he does in the name of “science.” I’m not sure what Raine would think of Amane, but it’s possible she’d see him as an interesting case study and would be interested in learning more about him. Sheena might be put off by Amane at first since his flamboyant nature might remind her of Zelos, but since Amane seems more interested in beauty and especially male beauty she might be a little less put off? Sheena would absolutely be down to kick Relius’s ass. Unlike Lloyd and Colette, she would probably actively hate him and unlike Raine and Genis, it wouldn’t be for any personal reason. She and Zelos have a shared hatred for self-righteous people that think they can just do what they want and toy with the lives of others. Zelos would probably get along with Amane if Amane didn’t gush over him. XD Then again, Amane gushing over him might feed his ego. Depends on if Zelos is homophobic or not. I’m going to say no because I can’t recall Zelos ever being uncomfortable with anyone commenting on his looks, male or female, and I think if he’d be more likely to just be like “Glad you think I’m hot shit, but I’m just here for the hunnies~” Then again, since Amane is pretty effeminate, Zelos might accidentally hit on him. Again, not to beat a dead horse, but it would definitely be an exception if anyone DIDN’T hate Relius. So suffice to say that Zelos is not going to vibe with Relius treating people like cattle.  Presea is more of the same with Relius. Unlike people like Mithos or Richter, whose pain she could probably understand (despite being the least expressive, she seems to be one of the most empathetic characters in the Symphonia crew) Relius seems mostly to be doing what he does because he CAN. Mithos did what he did for his sister and for equality for half-elves. Richter did what he did for Aster and to try to save the world from what he thought was a real threat (Ratatosk DID threaten genocide.) Relius is willing to throw his own family away in pursuit of his ultimate goal: his research. So while Presea might feel pity or sympathy for another adversary, she would probably fight Relius with no hesitation. I think Presea, as a craftsman, would vibe on some level with Amane, though Presea seems single-minded in what she considers aesthetic: animal cuteness. So I’m sure they could have debates about art but Presea probably doesn’t have much interest or experience with dance and doesn’t have a particular interest in human beauty because people don’t have pawpads that she can squish. Regal, as a noble, and a bit of a renaissance man, could probably understand the pursuit of beauty, aesthetics, and performance that Amane is interested in. Regal might even be flattered at being scouted. But Regal is pretty modest, all things considered, so I feel like he would decline an invitation to be in Amane’s troupe because it doesn’t really work well with his ultimate desires to help his friends and make up for having to kill Alicia. Again, probably a no-brainer that Regal wouldn’t like Relius, though he would definitely have an extra layer there of Relius turning his wife and children into tools to fight with. Regal had to kill Alicia to spare her the fate of being a monster and spare others from being hurt by her and it’s painful for him. So for Regal, it would be unthinkable to actually HAVE THE CHANCE to be with someone who cares about you, to have children that love you, and then just throw that away for power. Regal literally GAVE UP one of his greatest strengths, his powerful punches, to avoid hurting anyone ever again and to repent for hurting Alicia. So Regal would probably be disgusted with valuing power over people. Kratos would probably pity Relius. Having followed Mithos for as long as he did and after being shown the light by Lloyd, he’d probably know better than anyone that a single-minded pursuit of any goal, even a noble goal, can lead to terrible outcomes. And for that goal to just be the furtherance of science rather than any good that science could do for humanity would be enough for Kratos to be against him. Kratos would probably think Amane is strange, but kind of in a grandpa kind of “kids these days” way like “Lloyd? Lloyd is it trendy for guys to dress and act like this now? First Zelos and now this guy? Times are changing faster and faster. Wow.” I don’t think he’d necessarily mind being “scouted” but he’d be confused. He probably doesn’t see himself as an exceptional example of beauty, and it doesn’t really mesh with any of his goals. Emil is very shy and reserved and self-deprecating so he would be flattered by being scouted but would 100% think he doesn’t deserve it and would fall over himself trying to explain that he’s not a performer and he doesn’t know how to dance. Same story, different character, Emil would probably hate Relius, mostly for his shamelessness in hurting so many people and feeling no remorse. Emil found out the other version of him, Ratatosk, killed ONE person and was willing to throw himself on the swords of his friends to try to make up for that, Emil can’t IMAGINE what would have to happen to make a person just willingly use and hurt so many people and just NOT be bothered by it. He HATED Lloyd for the longest time because he thought Lloyd was like that and caused the massacre at Palma Costa and then just DIDN’T CARE about it. Post-game Emil would probably be softer on Relius because his friends saw a path to redemption for Emil that didn’t involve a death gambit, and even Richter who he’d hurt most saw fit to give him a second chance. So while Emil would absolutely want to take Relius down, I think he’d be with Lloyd and Colette in the “reform Relius if possible” team and not the “Beat sense into him by any means necessary” team that, say, Sheena and Zelos might fall into. Marta would definitely gush with Amane over how cute Emil is but every time Amane wanted to talk about anyone else Marta would get mad and just be like “No, this is gush about Emil time, I don’t care about Zelos.” I think Marta would also love to incorporate the whole “beauty of dance and fighting as a type of dance” into her own fighting style. Dead horse whipping hours again: Marta would be with everyone else trying to stop Relius but would also probably be “team soft punishment” like Emil and Lloyd and Colette because killing Alice in self-defense (or in defense of Emil) hurt her enough and I think she’d want to avoid having to kill anyone again. Richter would fall probably more on the side of pity and disgust with Relius for disgracing science, but I’m unsure if he’d also hate Relius for representing the sorts of people at Sybak that saw him and his kind as disposable labor (like how Relius turned his wife into a machine to fight) or as test subjects. I’m leaning toward yes, he’d hate Relius and would kill him if necessary, but Emil and Aster both impressed a sense of forgiveness on him, so I’m not sure if he would follow through with it or regret it if he did kill Relius. I think Richter would be a bit of a tsundere if Amane tried to scout him because when Aster echoed Aqua’s assertion that he was handsome in the manga, he got flustered and yelled at Aster to shut up. It’s unclear whether he’d be more uncomfortable with the fact that the praise is coming from Amane or whether it’s because he’s receiving praise at all, since the few times Emil praised him he seemed to be flustered by it. Richter’s also not big on dance so I don’t think he’d be very interested in being in a troupe with Amane. Alice would vibe with Relius’s pursuit of power by any means but would probably be disgusted just from the fact that she’s kind of jealous. Part of the reason Alice is so power-hungry is that she sees the world as a dog-eat-dog world, where the strong subjugate the weak. She doesn’t ever want to feel powerless again, so while she would admire Relius seeing what he wants and taking it, it’d be sort of the way a jealous prince would admire a king. If Alice had the power to crush him, though, she absolutely would. Because under all the layers of “I have to be strong so no one can ever hurt me” I’m pretty sure a small part of her recognizes that Relius is abusing his power and is pretty vile. Alice I think would vibe with Amane with the whole “Fight well and look cute doing it” aesthetic but would be pretty neutral with him otherwise. Decus would be flattered by Amane scouting him and might even join up with him if Alice would come along (and she probably wouldn’t unless it was Amane joining THEM instead. She only worked with Richter because Richter promised her more power because he had a contract with demons.) If he can’t be with Alice he’d probably just say “Love the offer but my one true purpose is to devote myself to Alice. Don’t blame you though! I do my best to be as attractive as I can be for Alice!” Decus would be willing to kick Relius’s ass for Alice but ONLY for Alice. Though if we remove Alice from the picture, I can see Decus having an issue with him because as much as Alice claims to only want power for power’s sake, she protected him. So he knows there’s goodness and love in her. With Relius, he probably would have no reason to believe there’s any goodness in him.

#BBTAG #Letters from Annon Guy #Relius Clover #Amane Nishiki #Anonymous

[hypnoticharlequin]

The Line Up

Samantha rubbed her arm as she took a few deep breaths. She looked at the doors and pushed them gently, trembling as she did. As she moved through them she gasped, the room was so much bigger than it seemed from the outside.

The light was low and gentle, the walls covered in a light sky-blue paint, the white carpet making the room look more like a computer store than what she had expected.

"A customer!" Smiled a voice from beside her. Samantha jumped and turned around to see a girl leaning on a counter, her messy black hair contrasting with her suit.

"I'm here for the, umm, the..." stuttered Samantha unsure how to start. The girl just smiled and walked around the counter.

"The domination service," she nodded. "Don't worry, everyone is shy on their first visit." She continued as she picked up a small stick. "I'll get the girls out," she smiled.

Samantha nodded, unsure what was about to happen, but her heart was beating so fast. She watched as the girl hit a small gong next to her. As she sound rang out, a group of women walked out of a side room and stood in a line, each striking a pose.

Samantha stood wide-eyed, unable to work out just what to do or where to start. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"If you are unsure," started the woman. "I can introduce you to each girl so you can get a feel for who works best to you," she said with a warm smile.

"I would like that," nodded Samantha, her heartbeat slowing a little as she calmed down.

"Well, I'm Abby, I run the place," smiled the lady, taking Samantha gently by the hand and leading her to the far left of the line, stopping her in front of a woman in striped thigh high tights and a big red sweater.  

"Oh, you look so cute," smiled the woman. "I think we can have lots of fun together and maybe I can help you relax a little," she continued as Samantha blushed.

"She is our gentle femdom," nodded Abby, moving Samantha across the line, to the next girl, the gentle domme giving a small wave as Samantha pulled her gaze away.

As she saw the next woman Samantha blinked a few times. This woman was dressed like a stage magician. The woman had a cocky grin on her face as she held up a playing card with a picture of two naked women on it.

"Is this your card?" Smiled the woman before throwing it into the air with a theatrical flourish, a pocketwatch falling from her gloved hand. Samantha looked on with a mixture of fear and confusion. "I can get right to the core of your desires," continued the woman, "I can already tell you were born in March!" She exclaimed. Samantha went wide-eyed, shocked at that this woman could predict something like that so easily.

"Our mental femdom," smiled Abby, patting Samantha on the shoulder and guiding her to the next girl in line. This girl wore a very simple white outfit, her smile wide and flawless.

"Oh, wonderful!" Smiled the woman. Samantha smiled back, feeling slightly self-conscious but less terrified by this woman than she was by the previous one. "I see you floss," added the woman, her smile not fading for a moment. "I'll get some gas and then we can do a deep cleaning!"

Samantha blinked, her mind taking a few moments to try and make sure she had heard what the woman said correctly. She was shaken from her thoughts by Abby's hand and voice once more. "Our dental femdom," said Abby nonchalantly, a slight push propelling Samantha down the line more.

The next woman wore a simple pantsuit. She reached out and shook Samantha's hand. Samantha looked the woman up and down, still confused from the previous girl. After a few moments, the suited woman broke the silence. "I'll do anything to get your vote, I can lower your panties and your overall tax burden in exchange for your support," said the woman with practiced ease, pointing towards Samantha as she did. "I'm here for the common working girl in need of a strong orgasm and a strong tomorrow!"

"I.." started Samantha, letting her hand fall limply to her side.

"Governmental femdom," nodded Abby, taking the limp hand and gently pulling Samantha by it.

Samantha took a deep breath as she moved across, only to be hit with a strong smell of oil. The girl in front of her was caked in the stuff, she carried a large wrench and wore a flat cap, her large and undoubtedly strong arms glistening in the low light.

"What are you looking at?" Growled the woman, chewing on her gum as she did. "You gonna say something or are you just gonna stare all day?"

"I, I don't know!" Stuttered Samantha, trying to think of just how to respond.

"Got your head in the damn clouds you city folk, no idea of a proper working day!" Ranted the woman, swinging her wrench as she did. She took a breath in, obviously about to continue ranting until Abby lifted a hand, causing the woman to go instantly silent.

"Ungentle femdom," nodded Abby, almost as if that phrase alone explained anything that was going on. Samantha rubbed her head, only to be pulled down the line once more.

The next woman caught Samantha's eye immediately. For one because she looked kinder than the previous woman. Secondly, because she was clad in a dress that seemed to be made of woven grass and several flowers were sitting in her long brown hair. She smiled and did a small curtsey before standing and starting to speak.

"What a delightful flower you are," she said, her voice a gentle sing-song. Samantha blushed, feeling suddenly shy. The woman leaned closer with a kind smile. "I think if we plug and gag you we can reduce your methane output dramatically," she said, shaking Samantha from her lovelorn revelry.

"And we can compost your panties, and I have just the perfect biodegradable rope to hold you in!" The woman rambled, her speech growing faster and faster, her one hand pulling a flower from her hair and presenting it to Samantha.

Samantha looked at the flower and the woman, her mouth agape as she processed what she had just heard. She was about to decline the flower when Abby grabbed her again.

"Environmental femdom," she said firmly as she moved Samantha down the line.

The next girl seemed out of place among the others, she wore just jeans and a t-shirt and seemed a lot mousier. "Hey!" She said with a shy smile.

"Hi," replied Samantha, leaning back a bit, worried what this girl was going to try and do with her.

"Hey," responded the girl again. "Do you want a candy?" Asked the girl, causing Samantha to look around, unsure of what to say.

"Sure," she replied. The other girl reached into her pocket and started to fiddle around, she pulled a packet of mints out of her pocket. However, as she pulled the mints out, she got her hand caught on her belt, causing it to come off with a loud crack.

Samantha jumped and quickly realized the girl's belt was a whip. The other girl quickly realized this as well, dropping the mints as her eyes went wide.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't realize, I got dressed quickly!" she rambled, trying to wrap the whip back around her waist, only for her pants to fall down revealing latex stockings and panties. "Oh gosh, oh gosh!" Shouted the girl, trying to cover herself as she fumbled for her pants.

"Accidental Femdom," sighed Abby, waving the girl off. The girl ran back through the door the girls had entered from, tripping several times along the way. Samantha giggled gently, covering her mouth as she did.

Another girl quickly filled the gap left by the accidental femdom. This girl was dressed very casually and looked more like she was going to get coffee than try dominating someone. Samantha smiled a shy smile at her.

"I'm just here to help her out while she is gone," grunted the woman as she calmly pointed to the door.

"Supplemental Femdom," nodded Abby before gesturing for Samantha to move down the line once more.

The next girl made Samantha's giggles come to a quick stop, her outfit alone was enough to make Samantha stop and think for a moment. She wore a beret and a tight striped shirt, on her face was a bored expression, her gaze drilling into Samantha.

"I am sure you are here for za domination, this is correct, yes?" Said the woman with a very strong and very fake accent. "I am like all of za grand romantic monuments of Pariée. I am strong and firm like za Leaning tower of Piz-za, as sexy as za Colosseum and I have za aesthetics of le Euro-Disney."

Samantha stared, unsure if she should be confused or offended. She looked the woman up and down for a few minutes, trying to formulate any kind of response.

"You wish me to ride you like za bicycles that circle around za Ark de Triomphe, yes?" She said as Samantha continued to try and formulate some kind of response to either the woman or her terrible accent.

"Have you ever been to Fra," started Samantha only to be interrupted by Abby.

"Continental Femdom," she said with a sigh before pulling Samantha by the sleeve. The next girl was dressed in what seemed to be a mascot costume in the shape of a large rocket, complete with paper "fire" between her legs and a stripped nosecone on her head. Samantha wanted to hear what she had to say, but Abby kept dragging her.

"Intercontinental Ballistic Femdom," mumbled Abby as she pulled, quickly moving behind Samantha as they reached the girl after the one dressed as a rocket.

This woman was dressed in a long blue dress with black stockings, her hands clasped firmly behind her. She smiled and nodded towards Samantha and then nodded at Abby. Samantha stared, waiting for the woman to talk, but she remained silent. Samantha continued to keep her mouth closed, partially wondering if this girl was as confused as she was about the whole situation, or if she was merely trying to find the words to say.

After a few minutes of deep silence that felt like it went on much much longer Samantha swallowed and decided to try and make this situation less awkward.

"Hi, um," stuttered Samantha pulling on her collar. "What do you do?" She asked, mentally kicking herself for such a stupid question. The woman didn't answer and instead brought her hands around to her front, revealing she was holding a small ukulele. The woman lifted the ukulele to her chest and started to strum out a lilting tropical melody. After a few moments, she stopped and held the Ukulele at her side before taking a bow.

Abby applauded gently and Samantha quickly joined in. "That was great!" Smiled Samantha, pleased to meet a girl who wasn't totally odd. "But what domination stuff do you do?"

The girl just lifted the Ukulele again and started to play, this time a fast ragtime number. Samantha tapped her foot in time, sure this wasn't an answer to her question, but it could be worse. As the girl finished and bowed again, Samantha started to clap.

"She is great," grinned Abby as she patted Samantha on the shoulder.

"Yes, but what is she?" Asked Samantha, genuinely curious.

"Instrumental femdom," smirked Abby before yanking Samantha by the arm. Samantha let out a squeak as she was moved along. Once she regained her footing she found herself in front of a small plinth, on top of this plinth was a plate of cheese.

"What is," started Samantha, only to get cut off once more by Abby.

"Oh, this?" She laughed, already starting to grip Samantha's arm, ready to yank her again. "Emmental femdom," she said with a smile, pulling Samantha's arm the second she finished talking.

Samantha sighed as she got pulled again, only to fall backward as she saw the figure in front of her. "Mom?!" She screamed looking up and down, surely this couldn't be real.

"Hello dear," waved the woman, seeming slightly off but yet still looking exactly like Samantha's own Mother.

"What are you? Why are you? How?" Mumbled Samantha picking herself up off the floor, covering her face to hide her shame and confusion.  

"Parental Femdom!" Cheered Abby before pushing Samantha down the line. Samantha pulled her hands from across her eyes and looked to where her mother was only to find that the spot was empty. Samantha continued to look around, only to freeze when she saw what was in front of her.

Towering above her was a female figure that seemed to be made of a star field, the form twisting and altering, beams of fragmented light pouring from it. Samantha's eyes went wide as she gazed, her brain felt like a skipping record, unsure where to start or where to end thoughts.

She gazed up at it, unsure what was going on, she saw moments in the form, things that are frozen in time, the past and the future melted together, forming a strange haze that she couldn't quite understand. In the center of the gleaming light was a monolith, stationed in a place she didn't know, yet felt a yearning to touch, to reach out for, to become one with.

Samantha put her hand out, her arm trembling slightly as she did, suddenly the world went black and a jolt went through her as Abby covered her eyes and pushed her sideways. 

"Transcendental femdom," muttered Abby as she dragged Samantha before propping her up and uncovering her face. Samantha shook her head gently, she felt strange, oddly euphoric.

She tried to shake the fog out of her head, her body slowly rising up off the floor, using Abby for leverage. Samantha looked at Abby and sighed. She shook her head again as she thoughts slowly returned to her, letting Abby direct her down the line.

The next girl made Samantha scream, this girl was clutching a banana in one hand while her other hand had a chainsaw attached to it. The girl was giggling softly to herself, swishing the banana around like it was a highly nutritious sword, her soaked cheerleader outfit causing a puddle of water to form around her.  

Samantha looked at Abby, the straw finally breaking. "What is this?" She said with obvious condemnation in her voice.

"Blental femdom," smiled Abby. Samantha rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I don't think you have any idea what you are doing," she said, her voice dripping with annoyance. "How do you even make any money with this group of weirdos!" Shouted Samantha, waving her hand to point at the line.

"Well, there is a perfectly acceptable answer," smiled Abby, fiddling in her pocket.

"No, there isn't!" Shouted Samantha, turning and going for the door, only to realize the door was nowhere to be found. Before she could question this she suddenly felt woozy and the world seemed to zoom off into the distance as she fell to the floor.

"Are you sure this was a good idea?" Asked Cassandra, looking at the girl twitching on the floor.

"What do you mean?" Asked Abby from her chair, not bothering to look up from her game.

"I mean, spraying her with the drug, it seems to be hitting her pretty hard," continued Cassandra, trying her best to avoid the drool saturated carpet.

"It will be fine," sighed Abby nonchalantly. "We just hypnotize her when it is done and she won't remember anything but a great session," she explained before muttering something about level design. "Anyhow, it saves money on hiring actual dominatrixes."

Cassandra looked, blinking a few times as her mouth fell open. "Saves money?" She exclaimed. "We run a cafe full of them! We have like 80 on staff! The drug spray is more expensive!" She exclaimed, marching over to Abby.

Abby just sighed and raised her hand, revealing a small spray bottle. Cassandra went to move but was too slow and the spray hit her in the face, her pupils quickly dilating as she fell the floor.

"Just can't get the staff these days," mumbled Abby as she continued to play.

#harleys horrible fiction #hypnosis #home maid tea #hypnotism #drugging #this got way longer than I planned for a silly joke #the destruction of reality is my feitsh #smut #lines