#then again. make that boy super anxious in a public space? hell yeah

[jbbuckybarnes]

PR Stunt

Desc: Fake Dating AU. Celebrity AU. After pity posts for Sebastian skyrocketing, you two being seen together as friends a lot and with a big movie coming up, his management decides to pair you two for a PR stunt. You both agree, pranking the public seems fun and getting rid of pity tweets seems convenient. Pairing: Sebastian x Reader Warning: It’s not that good and one of my last real people fiction pieces I have left. Not beta read.

M A S T E R L I S T

+Pop Magazine - Articles: +Hot actors that are still on the market!+

*@lancebastian: Someone give this man a family!* *@stanfanfam: I feel so bad for him, he still isn’t with a woman or trying to build a family.* *@aliburger: Poor boy looks so alone. I’m volunteering!* _______ +Pop Magazine - Candids: +Sebastian Stan seen with his friend Y/N Y/LN in Manhattan, New York+

*@seabassbaby: I know they’re just friends but they’d make a cute couple.* *@lancebastian: Get her, Stan!* *@vanillaiceice: She’s cute af.* ________ “People are pitying you so much, it’s insane. What is so wrong with being single at your age?” you looked up from your phone at Sebastian sitting on the other side of the couch. “They’re just projecting their desires onto this.” he shrugged without looking up from his phone. “How does that not annoy you to some degree? I read it and get irritated by it.” you chuckled. “Sometimes I do, but at the end of the day it’s so unimportant.” now he looked up. “Yeah, but doesn’t that suck energy out of you to some level?” you two never talked about this specifically. “A bit.” another shrug with a small pout. “Well, let’s stop talking about that then. When’s press coming up?” you tried to change the topic. He looked at you for a second with a confused face before answering, “I think in two weeks.” “No, brunch meetings for weeks again.” you pouted like a child and got a smile back from him. “Poor baby.” he played into it and laughed. “You know they keep me sane.” you answered chuckling. “I know. I promise we’ll eat like three pizzas in one day when I’m back again, chaotic mess.” you looked at him offended. “I’m just telling the truth.” he held his arms up and grinned. “Ar-” you were interrupted by someone calling him and went back to checking your socials. You had a decent following and were friends with a few photographers, which gave you the opportunity to try yourself as a model and influencer. One of you photography friends is also how you two met and as soon as you two found your love for New York brunch meetings the friendship was sealed. “With Y/N?” you looked up at the mention of your name and saw him raise a brow. “Okay, yeah. Good, tomorrow at 11am. See ya.” he ended the call and finally saw your confused face. “Guess we have a meeting at 11am tomorrow and they also want you there.” his hand went through his hair and he exhaled a bit exhausted. “Why that?” you weren’t with his management or something. “She didn’t tell me. Maybe they want to sign you?” he was just as clueless as you and sat back down on the couch and you sat up. “That would be...sudden?” you said even more confused. “I feel like there’s something more to that.” his eyes narrowed. You shrugged taking your phone again, “We’ll find out I guess.”

___________ “We know you both don’t like paparazzi but this could benefit all of us and would be over after a few weeks.” the woman ended her little idea. “Wait, you want us to do a PR stunt, did I understand that right?” you said it out loud. A serious nod came back and a sigh from you. “Can’t believe I’m saying this but I think that would be hilarious outside of the paparazzi stuff.” he snorted beside you. “Excuse me, what?” you turned towards him and got a shrug back. “So...would you be on board?” the lady asked again. You let your head sink onto your arms on the table with an, “I guess.” You both left the office after you got handed a contract to go through to sign with the management and the comment, “I hate being friends with you.” “Did you mean being in a relationship?” he joked and got a stern look back. “Don’t take it too far, Stan!” you warned him. “Won’t. Promise.” he said with that boyish smile that guaranteed for nothing. “Idiot.” you muttered while walking out of the building onto the busy street. A hand was reaching for yours and you looked up confused. “What? Need to lay down the foundation for what’s about to go down.” he clearly loved the idea to mess around with you and the public for a while. “Dork.” a smile finally found its way onto your face and you shook your head. You didn’t mind holding hands with your other friends, so this wasn’t the problem. You weren’t so sure about the rest of what was about to happen in the upcoming weeks. “You love it.” he said nudging you lightly.

“Only if I get some good pictures for my Instagram and Twitter.” you chuckled. “I’m sure there’s gonna be some of your beloved photoshootings.” he grinned. “You’re gonna be an Instagram boyfriend, don’t you forget about that part of it.” you grinned back. “Oh god.” he had the realization hit him. “Yeah, didn’t think through that I might get back at you, huh?” you laughed.

“Lunch date?” he looked down at you after you both were finished with laughing and had walked for a block. “As long as I don’t need to play honeymoon phase love, yeah.” you bit your lip to stop the laugh that was making its way through your body. “Don’t worry, I think the eating each other alive part is one or two weeks in.” he wheezed and held the door to one of your favorite places open. “It’s gonna be hella obvious that it’s a stunt.” you pointed out. “That’s why I agreed. Why not have some fun and confuse people for a bit.” there was that boyish smile again. “Like that whole Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello thing.” you shuddered. That was obviously a stunt but there was that part where everyone kinda thought it might be true and they just wanted to get the extra publicity. “I have no idea what you’re talking about but I guess my answer would be yes.” he said before turning to the waitress that just arrived at your table. ___________ +Pop Magazine - Candids: Sebastian Stan seen having a lunch date and holding hands with Y/N Y/L/N*+ *@bellastann: I feel like our dreams start to manifest stanfam!* *@lancebastian: Not entirely sold, holding hands ain’t that special. They are friends for months now.* *@evanstackiee: Yeees! (Y/L/N)stan is real!!!* ____________ Your contract was signed, your game plan was well organized. There were appointments and activities planned out, what to do at which one and the paparazzi would be there for some of them. You kinda cringed when you looked at the little calendar in front of you but you also were about to have some fun with tricking the general public. “Just an insanely big acting exercise, right?” you looked beside you to see him read through the stuff too. “Uuh, yeah.” he said concentrated on reading. You were both extremely open with each other and rarely had any miscommunication. So kissing in public without starting friendship problems wouldn’t be so hard, but you still had a weird feeling about it. Not fear, just a feeling.

__________ The first thing you did was pretty mellow. Attending a small local event together. You did things like this before but this time you’d have to cuddle up a bit here and there and make a few Instagram Stories. “You comfortable?” he smiled down at you holding your body close to his arm. “You’re 6 foot and fit, I think there is no way in hell anyone would think this isn’t comfortable.” you gave a sweet grin up at him. “For a model you’re pretty good at this.” he joked and you poked him into his waist. “Hey!” he laughed. “You act like I wasn’t a drama kid in school. I might be good-looking but I’m also a nerd. You should know that best...space nerd.” you chuckled. “Stop calling me out like that or I’ll make you talk to that dude you find annoying over there.” he pointed at a man that had bombarded you with his boring business ideas months ago. “Don’t you dare, Stan!” you looked offended. “You wanna sit down with some wine then, madame?” he said in a posh accent. “Of course, it is incredibly instagramable.” you answered in the same way. A boomerang of your drinks with each other tagged in it and two glasses of wine later you officially had glued yourself to him. He had a very comforting vibe about him and you clearly helped with his anxious moments. A kiss was planted onto your temple and a black and white filter put on top of it. Followed by a funny selfie and a picture of your empty wine glasses. Shortly after you already left the party under the flickering lights of a handful of paparazzi. Holding hands and very close together. __________ +Pop Magazine - Gossip: Are Sebastian Stan and his ‘best friend’ dating?+ *@stanfanfam: Cause of death: That temple kiss.* *@vanillaiceice: Damn, is it the late 2000s? Seb leaving a party with a girl? Damn!* *@evanstackiee: For me it’s confirmed.* *@seabassbaby: It looks kinda staged but if it’s not I’m super happy for him!* __________ The second little thing on the list was a photoshooting together. Since you both had modelled for magazines before and with other models you were kinda in your element. It was for a mid-sized fashion magazine that published every month and you two were having fun all over the rented AirBnB. Some expensive yoga pants with a knitted oversized sweater and boots was the first thing you needed to wear for a scene depicting to come home. Falling into each other's arms multiple times definitely made you laugh because of the dumb faces he made. The next outfit was a sleeping outfit. Silk shorts and an airy white cropped shirt. Your socks were pink and had donuts on it. “Can I have them?” you gave them puppy eyes and the team laughed. Modelling while laying was hard. You needed to look realistic but also show of what you were wearing. Combined with a giant baby blowing air into your ear ended in him being pinched by you. He was clearly not prepared to see you in the third outfit. Lacey underwear and an open button-down mens shirt. You could literally see his brain work and giggled “C’mon, get it together.” He was wearing briefs and a white shirt, needing to embrace you from behind while you pretended to make scrambled eggs. “My eggs are definitely scrambled after this.” he whispered and you couldn’t hold back the genuine laugh, ending up in some good pictures. The last two outfits were a bit more editorial but still wearable and the pictures were taken outside. “Well, that wasn’t bad.” you said to him as you two walked out after changing back into your clothing. “For YOU.” he answered. “Poor baby, needed to see his friend in underwear.” you made fun of him. “Yo, it’s a different thing if I see an Instagram picture or the live version.” he defended himself. “Clearly...don’t you dare fall for me, dork.” you joked and he huffed. The walk back was silent but he looked down at you from time to time. You just couldn’t see his reaction every time he did. __________ +Pop Magazine - News: Sebastian Stan & Y/N Y/L/N modelling together. Check out these pictures!+ *@lancebastian: Damn, so this is really a thing, huh? Holy, that’s cute.* *@evanstackiee: Can they adopt me?* *@bellastann: That kitchen picture sent me into cardiac arrest!* _________ By now you were trained at sending each other stolen glances. No matter if you just needed to go to your management or when you had brunch together. But for the last three days he was in LA for the press junket of his new movie. There was this weird feeling again. It felt so close to fear but it wasn't fear. You couldn’t quite pinpoint it. *God, I’m way too used to being around you now.* *You miss not freezing to death in any given moment, admit it!* *No, real talk, I miss you.* *Realtalk: I miss you too...but admit it’s the freezing!* *D O R K !* You had taken a flight to LA the day after because an award show was next on your list. You were ten times more nervous for the dress sitting right than the man on your side. You also weren’t used to hair and makeup. You were an Instagram model, this was a luxury at experimental shoots. “You’d think I can smile on command and not look like shit...but I can’t.” you said to him before stepping onto the red carpet an hour later. “You’re looking good, stop worrying.” he said in his usual calming tone before gently pulling you forward. 10 minutes later the torture to your eyes was done and there were interviews. “What do you have to say about the rumors about your relationship status?” you were asked. “That people should care more about their life than mine...oh, and that he’s the best human being on the planet. Doesn’t matter in which way we are connected.” Sitting down at an award show with your hand being held was not were you thought you’d end up when you agreed to this but why not make memories? Your head naturally landed on his shoulder after a while. You really had missed him being in close proximity for those 4 days. His thumb softly wandered over the back of your hand. “What would you do if I’d win something?” he asked in a low voice. “Jump you?” your head went up again to see his eyes wandering over your face. “In a happy kinda way, I assume.” he had a lopsided smile on his face. “You’re thinking about that photoshoot again, huh? Literally a teenager.” you joked but saw his eyes wander to your lips for a bit too long before he concentrated on the host again. For the rest of the evening your mind went in circles about him playing that or being genuinely interested in you in that way.

__________ +Pop Magazine - Gossip: Mysterious answer to relationship question about (Y/L/N)stan+ *@vanillaiceice: They are boning, come ON!* *@evanstackiee: Look at how happy she is while she says it.* *@seabassbaby: Gosh, just say it!* __________ Today was the day you weren’t really prepared for. He had an off day from press and you were still in LA. Your plan was going to the beach and getting photographed. Well, it wasn’t your plan. It was the plan made for you. “I hate swimming in the ocean!” you mumbled. “Hey, it’s gonna be fine. You have two excuses to grab onto me, right?” he chuckled while watching you undress and revealing your red bikini. You both laid in the sun for a while, talking about his press junket and the social media reactions to this. “Wanna get wet?” you opened your eyes to a child in a man’s body wiggling his eyebrows. You punched his chest with a laugh and let him pull you up with him. Hand in hand you made your way into the ocean rather slowly, “And you didn’t want to admit that you freeze to death without me.” he chuckled. He got impatient and just grabbed your waist and jumped backwards into deeper water. After a squeak from your side and your nails clawing into his back a little bit too harshly, you got used to it. “Look. It’s fine.” he put some hair strands out of your face with his free hand. “I still hate the ocean.” you pouted, trying to overplay how fast your heart was suddenly beating. Oh hell no, you were not just slowly falling for your best friend...please? “I get that.” he put his hand onto your lower back and you put your legs around his hips. “You’re my floatie.” you giggled putting your head into the crook of his neck. “And you are...I can only assume a freezing rock.” you both chuckled.

Your head went up again to see a big grin on his face, “Fuck you.” “You love it.” he said like usual but this time you slowly nodded with a serious face and his eyes widened enough for you to notice. “Wait, I didn’t…” you exhaled deeply with attentive eyes on you. “I feel like we should just stop this. I don’t want to see this friendship break apart just because my body thinks close proximity is a good reason to send hormones out.” you got out of your system. “That’s an odd way of saying that you’re having a crush on me.” he smiled and put his other arm around you. “Yeah, well, I don’t wanna ruin this.” your eyes went down, you rarely made yourself this vulnerable. “You already did by, to say it in your nerdy words, making my body think it’s a good idea to send out hormones because we are in close proximity.” he answered with a nervous chuckle, hand going through his hair.

Your eyes met his again, “I stopped acting the moment it started, Y/N.” “Well, um, it took me till about approximately 5 minutes ago to realize that this odd feeling I have isn’t some suppressed fear.” you made fun of yourself to make the situation less awkward. “Wanna give them what they want?” his head nudged towards the beach with a smirk. “Do you mean give you what you want?” you joked and he remembered where he heard that before. “I hate being friends with you,” he bit his lip, “I’d much rather call you my girlfriend.” The reference made you melt, he remembered that dumb little conversation from two weeks ago. Your hands went from his shoulders to his head and his free hand pulled your head closer before your lips met. You didn’t care about the camera clicks in the background, you only cared about finally making out with the man that made you love brunch dates so much. It felt like an hour before you broke apart a little. Steel blue eyes were staring right into your soul and the most calming voice in the world said “I love you.” “I hope you don’t say that while thinking of me in underwear.” you joked. “Nah, don’t need to. You’re grabbing onto me in a bikini.” he said with his hands wandering down your body and a giant smirk on his face. “I love you too, dork.” ___________ +Pop Magazine - News: (Y/L/N)stan confirmed! Couple seen kissing at the beach.+ *@vanillaiceice: I’ll fistfight anyone that hates on her!* *@evanstackiee: Look at those SMILES.* *@seabassbaby: Maybe I’m crying.* *@lancebastian: She makes him happyyy.* *@bellastann: I think this gave me diabetes.* *@stanfanfam: Make babies! lol* *@Y/N: Gosh, @imsebastianstan we have heart eyes galore in these. Might need to go and get that checked out.* *@imsebastianstan: @Y/N, yeah, heard of that new disease called love. It’s attacking every part of your body and mind!* *@seabassbaby: For real...ADOPT ME!* _____________

M A S T E R L I S T

[softsebnbuckystan]

Sugar & Spice - 10/Finale

Y/n’s pov

So…it’s finally happening, huh? I check my phone for the hundredth time : 7 p.m. We’re supposed to arrive at the premiere in one hour and we are already in the car. Is it really going to take that long to get there? I mean…I’m already getting so hot in this stupid dress. Well, I love it, of course, and I can tell Seb likes it too. It’s not bad at all, but all of this is making me so…

“Hey, you alright?”

I turn my head to my right to look at Sebastian. He takes my hand in his and kisses it gently.

“It’s gonna be okay, and if you don’t want to do this anymore…”

“No, I want to.” I interrupt him pretty quickly because I don’t want him to believe I don’t want this. I’m finally in a healthy relationship with the man I love, isn’t that worth sharing? I shake my head and smile to him. “I’m just nervous to get back out there.”

“It’s okay. I’m always nervous about those things too, actually.”

“How do you handle it?”

“Well, for two of my previous movies, all I had to do was look at you.”

I chuckle and gently kick his shoulder.

“That’s cheesy, man.”

“I know. I don’t care.” He laughs so adorably that I have to remind myself this car has a driver who probably doesn’t want to deal with our PDA. I sigh to cool myself off and look back at the time, even though it almost hasn’t changed.

“Seriously, how do you handle all this pressure?”

“I don’t, most of the time. Honestly, it’s perfectly fine to be nervous. Just breathe, okay?” He inhales deeply while staring at me and encouraging me to follow his lead. I breathe in. “Now exhale,” he says, “and count to ten slowly. One…two…three…” His hand finds mine again and he breathes on my fingers. “Four…five…” I close my eyes, actually focusing on counting. “Six…seven…eight…” His breath and his voice calm me down a little. “Nine…and ten.” I open my eyes and look back at him.

“Thank you,” I say.

“Meh, don’t worry about it. I’ll hold your hand, alright?”

I nod and kiss him quickly on the cheek. He grins and boops me on the nose. We spend the next hour talking and joking our stress away, which actually feels really good. What’s great about Seb, is that we still talk like when we were friends. I have always disliked cheesy relationship that revolve entirely around kissing, complimenting each other and calling each other stupid names every second of every day. We’ve only been together for a little more than one week, officially speaking, but I already know that this is exactly what I want. Suddenly, it’s like we are our before-July-4th selves, without all the tension and the awkwardness between us. It feels absolutely amazing. Plus, he’s so freaking funny that I haven’t even noticed how fast we arrived to the premiere. Camera flashes gave it away, though.

“Let’s do this?” He asks, looking at me with these blue eyes of his.

“Let’s do this.”

He gets out of the car first, and like the gentleman he is, he holds the door open for me and helps me get out. Turns out stepping out of a car with this dress is a total adventure. When I’m out and paparazzi flashes surround us, Sebastian immediately wraps his arm around my waist to make me feel safe. I give his fingers a quick squeeze to thank him before I smile to the cameras around us. We finally get to walk the red carpet into the room where all the journalists will start asking embarrassing questions. On the other hand, we’ll get the chance to meet up with the rest of the cast, so…

“Miss y/l/n, Mr. Stan, we couldn’t help but notice your remarkable entrance here today… Are you two together?”

Before I can think of an answer, I see a smirk floating on Sebastian’s face. I get it : he wants to play with them a little. It’s always been one of our favourite things, after all, playing with the paparazzis’ mind.

“Well, we did come here together, yes. You have great detective skills!”

“No, that’s not what I…”

“Shall we go, Seb?” I ask in my most unimpressed voice ever (even though it’s impossible to hide my smile). “I think I saw Chris and Anthony over there.”

“Thank Heavens, let’s go!”

We can’t help but burst out laughing one this journalist is out of our way. We haven’t made it to the room yet, we’re still on the street, and now that I stopped paying attention to journalists, I can finally see them : fans. They’re everywhere, holding signs. One of them catches my attention : it’s a young boy who dressed as Bucky and his friend dressed as…me? People dressed as me?

“That’s a great costume you guys have here!” I tell to the two starstruck young people.

“Oh my god, hum, thank you, hum…could you…maybe…If that’s not too much trouble…”

“Dear god, you guys are so sweet. Do you want a picture?”

“Yes!” The boy basically screams. “I mean, yes, please,” he says again, lower. He gives me his phone and I wave to Seb so he can get in the frame. Once the pic is taken, I return the phone and smile to them. It makes me so sad not to be able to do this for everyone who came here. I sign as many autographs as I can and once we’re finally out of this happy mess, I believe I have tears in my eyes.

“This made your day, didn’t it?”

I nod excitedly and look around us. “Thank you for showing me how important this still is to me.”

“Oh, that’s not…”

“Would it be okay if I kissed you now?”

Sebastian seems startled. Out of the two of us, even I am impressed by me making the first public move.

“Of course it is.”

Thanks to my heels, I don’t have to get on my toes to give him a quick peck on the lips. I know they took pictures, I know they will all talk about it and yes, I know it will be all over social media…but I don’t care. I’m super scared, obviously, but I know we’ll get through anything. I don’t let go of his hand as we join Chris and Anthony and pose for the journalists together.

“So you guys finally did it, huh?” Anthony asks.

“I believe we did,” I say with a grin.

“Thank God, because putting up with Seb talking about it all day was excruciating, dude.”

“Shut up, Mackie.”

“You shut up.”

The two friends exchange some laughs and I let them catch up and talk with Chris instead. He has his characteristic huge smile on point and pats me on the shoulder.

“I’m happy for you guys,” he says. “It was about time.”

“Hell yeah, it was,” I laugh. “Thanks.”

“Have you seen Scarlett, by the way?”

“Not yet, actually. I guess you haven’t either?”

“No, but she’ll come around.”

“Talking about me?” Asks her familiar voice behind us.

“Always!” I exclaim.

“Did I see what I saw over there?”

“Well, depends on what you’re talking about…”

“You know what!” She points a finger at me before she hugs me. “You look so happy today. I like seeing you like this.”

“Thanks, buddy.”

The rest of the night goes surprisingly well : I have to say, everything seems easier with Sebastian’s hand resting on my waist. He eases me like no one else does, and it comes in handy when journalists ask us tricky questions about our personal lives. As the night went on and the questions flew, we eventually had to tell the truth and stop playing around. Truth is, Sebastian wasn’t good at talking about it either, so the situation quickly became awkward. Thankfully, the woman who asked us about it was really nice, compared to some other reporters.

“So, I have to ask…are you two together? You seem pretty close tonight.”

“Well, hum…” Sebastian laughed nervously as he tried to answer the question.

“Truth is,” I said, “we- eh…” I scratched my forehead, looked desperately as Seb…until our suffering came to an end.

“Y-yeah, we are,” Seb said quickly.

“That’s amazing! I’m sorry my question made you uncomfortable. Anyway, I think I can speak for everyone when I say you guys look absolutely great together.” She then smiled and walked away from us, leaving us to the hands of photographers.

Honestly, I’m still astonished by our short conversation with that woman. Maybe all journalists aren’t bad, after all. I have to say, what she said made me feel a bit less anxious about going public. People seem like they like us together, and those who don’t still haven’t said it, so… I guess all is well. When we finally get to watching the movie, I hold Sebastian’s hand the entire time. Seeing myself on the big screen always feels weird, especially with this many people around : do they like it? What are they they thinking? Do they wish I had played some scenes differently? I can’t help but look around at people’s reaction, but in this dark room, we can’t really see anything. The movie ends before I even realise it’s over, and we all get up to go to the after-party.

“Do we really have to go?” I whisper in Sebastian’s ear.

“Well, not really, but it won’t look good if we don’t.” He smiles as he wraps his arms around me, still waiting for our car. “And, you know, everyone will be there. I think we’ll have fun.”

“Fine, let’s go then, you convinced me.” I kiss him quickly on the lips as our car stops right by us.

Once we’re in, Sebastian immediately closes the space between us and the driver to give us some privacy.

“So…it went well.” He seems surprised.

“Yeah, I thought it would be… I don’t know. Harder.”

“Me too, but… I don’t know. Seems like people were expecting it.”

“You’re not wrong,” I chuckle. “You have to admit we haven’t done a great job at staying of the paparazzi radar.”

“Yeah, and then that Instagram photo… We prepared them well.”

We burst out laughing as we both realise how much we overthought all of this. Because in the end, it really was easy. We just went for it and everything went down perfectly. At least now I don’t have to worry people will find out and judge us at any second. They will judge us, obviously, but that doesn’t seem so scary anymore. Because I know, now, that Sebastian is by my side. Whatever hits us, we’ll get through it, because that’s what we do. I open my phone to check the time and see I was tagged in a picture. I don’t know why this one in particular drew my attention, but I’m glad it did.

“Look,” I say as I hand him the phone. “We look good, there.”

“We do. You look…waouh.”

“Shut up,” I say, laughing as my cheeks heat up.

I screenshot the picture and turn off my phone. I lean in and kiss Sebastian’s cheek in a totally innocent way, before telling him something that should make him less interested in the after-party.

“You know what, Sebby? I can’t wait to go home tonight.” I wink at him, and he shakes his head, smiling.

“You can’t tease me like this, now I want to ditch everyone.”

He come closer and wraps his arm around my waist. It’s not comfortable, because of our seatbelts and all, but he doesn’t seem to care.

“I just did, though. And you said it yourself : it wouldn’t look good if we didn’t go.” I boop him on the nose – which, I can feel it, will become a habit of mine. “So we’re going, and you’re waiting to get this dress off me.”

He kisses my neck and I hear him groan softly.

“You’re killing me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but it feels too good to tell you to stop.”

I laugh again, softened by his puppy eyes as he pulls away and looks at me. He kisses me passionately and I feel like I don’t need to breathe anymore.

“I love you,” he whispers against my lips.

“I love you too, Seb.”

He rests his forehead against mine for a few seconds, then sits back in his seat and checks our location outside the window.

“Alright, we’re almost here,” he says. “Let’s do this.”

I look at him and smile. I really do love him more than anything in the world. “Let’s do this.”

I couldn’t help but give this a happy ending. I hope you enjoyed this little something that I wrote! Please leave me your opinion: I love reading it! :)

[goindanswingin]

Les Amis Webshows - Reviews!

So! There’s been a whole two new Amis webshows premiering this January! However, I’ve noticed not that many people are actually talking about them! New content, and we’re not yelling??

So, I’ve decided to give short reviews on their debut pilot episodes, as well as the first episodes of some other Les Amis webshows (I probably missed so many, feel free to add more if you know of them!) in order to maybe spread the word about some cool creators online as well as give y’all a lil more content to consume that isn’t just grim BBC Les Mis discourse atm

(I’ve reviewed them in the order they premiered)

1. Stories From Les Amies

This is a vlog story of the les amis with all the genders purposefully changed! Now this one has an awful lot of content to make up its plot, having premiered in 2013 and wrapped up with an HOUR LENGTH FILM at the end of 2014, so there’s a hell of a lot to digest here! The Enjolras behind this is actually also the author of TextingEnjolras/EnjolrasRising so the plot does bear some resemblance to that also! (Another piece of content I’d highly recommend if you’ve not read yet).

But, to keep it fair, I’m going to stick with just the pilot episode! It’s set up like a big group skype call with our amis introducing themselves, where we are first introduced to their personalities, mostly led by Enjolras although Combeferre acts a beautifully sarcastic arbiter. The video quality isn’t excellent, but surprisingly, the audio quality is pretty great (for every character except Marius), with almost no background noise or fuzz.

Enjolras: All of us make up a society that we call the Friends of the ABC

Enjolras: *awkwardly nods and grins*

Enjolras: Which is actually a pun, because... ABC pronounced together sounds like the word abaissés, which means “lowly” or “abased...

Enjolras: So... it’s... it’s a pun.

I know I’m only reviewing pilot episodes to keep it fair, but I will say yes, the quality of the series absolutely does improve over time, and I would highly recommend giving it a go if you’ve never seen it before! You can find the whole series here.

2. Official Les Amis Vlog

Premiering at almost exactly the same time as number 2 on this list, the Les Amis Vlog is similar in terms of quality but different in style. This is as it says - a vlog channel, with divided playlists for each character in the Amis. Every character uploaded vlogs between 2013 and 2015 introducing themselves, answering questions, and making content on certain themes. 

This one took me by surprise - I was very much underwhelmed by the camera quality and lack of plot, but once I started watching, I realised why the Les Amis vlog doesn’t have plot - it’s because instead of making up political issues and action, they actually discuss real politics - in the pilot episode, Enjolras actually talks about a real news article from Reuters and then goes on into an impassioned rant on public surveillance  - it’s kind of amazing.

Enjolras: I mean, you wanna hide your face for whatever reason? Well, congratulations! You’re now a potential t*rror*st for having stood in the way of the observational machine!

Obviously this one is much more about the characters than it is any sort of plot like we’ll see in some of our later series, but... these characters are by far some of the most convincing Les Amis I’ve seen! Particularly Enjolars - wow. So if that sounds like your kinda thing, check it out here!

3. Vines de l'ABC

A multimedia webseries that ran from 2016-2018, but mostly confined to Vines, this one in essence is similar to the Les Amis Vlog in that it is more character driven than plot driven - the different characters were all cast and then separately uploaded Vines (and occasionally YouTube videos) as well as answering questions to the main blog.

The first “episode” is, as common for these webseries, a video of our Enjolras introducing Les Amis and his character, then being interrupted by a phone call. The quality is webcam quality, the sound pretty fuzzy, but I do think Dorian here makes a great Enjolras... more on that shortly! Overall, the quality of this first episode isn’t super relevant to the rest of the series though, because as is obvious by the name, it’s mostly comprised of amusing little vines.

*Tik Tok by Ke$ha plays*

Enjolras: Hello? Did you change my ring tone again? ...Again? Well, I mean, I'm trying to do the video... No, I mean, I'm actually in the middle of doing the video right now, you're on camera... No, no I don't know how to edit it out... I mean, does he have a concussion, or..? *sighs* ...How did I know he had a concussion.

Obviously vine is dead, but everything is available here - if this sounds like your kind of thing, definitely go check it out! There is TONS of content for your consumption here.

4. Barricade Boys

Next up is a comedy/parody show from NyxRising, an already established group of YouTube cosplayers who’ve made lots of similar shows previously. This means, for a start, that the production quality here is some of the best you’ll see - great audio and video quality, basic but good set design, great costumes.

Now, let’s make it clear: if you’re looking for a brick accurate show, this is not the one for you. It’s a pretty ludicrous parody, with an unbelievably arsehole Enjolras with no notion of personal space, a Grantaire with weird sideburns and a crush so obvious it’s hilarious, a Marius so dumb he thinks he’s joining a “lonely hearts club” and a Courfeyrac so OOC that I don’t even know where to begin. 

But god damn, did this make me laugh out loud a good few times.

Enjolras: You do you, Grantaire. Nobody else will.

This one has a couple episodes out already, and I’d highly recommend if you want some laughs! You can find it here.

5. The Downtrodden

Aaaand... onto our January debuts! I’m super excited to give a review of the pilot episode of Shadow of the Tor’s “The Downtrodden”! 

One thing that stuck out to me immediately is that this might be the most diverse cast yet - we have multiple POC, and also a trans Enjolras - in both cases, there’s no self-congratulatory back-patting, but it’s made very clear and very casual, and it’s wonderful. Another point worth mentioning is that our Enjolras is the same Enjolras seen in Vines de l’ABC - and as I mentioned, I think Dorian is great at the role.

The Downtrodden seems to be going for an enjoyable line between plotty and humorous, and so far I’m super excited to see where they take it. The audio and video quality is outstanding, though the cafe background noises could do with being toned down just a tiny bit (as there are occasionally character lines in the background that are a little drowned out), but overall it’s by far the most professional looking alongside Barricade Boys (which had to contend with far less characters!). One comment I will make, though nitpicky, is that unlike Barricade Boys, which moves extremely swiftly through its jokes, The Downtrodden is edited just a pace too slow in one or two scenes, meaning the comic timing falls a little off and the jokes don’t quite get the reaction they really deserve.

Grantaire: You get free coffee refills here if you’re part of a student group. I gotta make that loan last.

Cosette: Do you consider yourself a politically motivated person?

R: I barely even consider myself a person.

C: Oh. Are you alright?

R: Is anyone?

Surprisingly, one of my favourite characters in the pilot episode was Marius! I often find he’s overplayed to death, but in this he appears a little dim but genuinely charming, and he got some of the best laughs out of me. I’d be interested to know how well all the jokes landed with someone who isn’t a Brit, however, since I’m super sold on all these characters being British uni students (student poverty aesthetic and Oxfam shopping bags, goddamn!), and also love Courfeyrac for the same reason - he seems like your typical friendly but laddish uni type, which works perfectly for his character. Also, I own that mug he has.

One of the strongest points, and a very common issue I have with Les Amis webshows (and the 2012 movie NOT GONNA LIE), is losing track of who is supposed to be who - I had no such problem with The Downtrodden - everyone is introduced naturally, gets at LEAST a line or two, and is beautifully acted - go check out the pilot here!

6. The Les Amis Webshow

The last one on our list - the Les Amis Webshow premiered on the last day of January!

First impressions of this webshow are: the most enticing hook yet straight from the beginning, and some of the worst sound quality.

After the introduction - structured as Marius speaking to us from the future - the pilot episode actually centers around a random film student coming up to Marius and asking if they can film him. Is this Cosette? Will we ever find out? Who knows, but for some reason Marius just takes it in his stride and lets this person follow him around, in what I can’t decide is a very weird move, or a very Marius move.

Jehan: Are you wearing your lanyard?

Marius: Yeah. Why? That’s what it’s for.

Jehan: (laughing) You simple little freshman!

Marius: *long pause*

Also Marius: We’re gonna get along great!

The editing is actually fun and a few shots seem to be going for something quite adventurous - I just wish the audio quality were better.

I like Enjolras so far - he seems very confident in himself and a little bit of a rich boy, and I’m really interested to see what they do with Marius, since this is the only webshow so far where Marius has been front and center instead of Enjolras - in that snippet at the start, he seems very anxious and weary - it’s very Empty Chairs at Empty Tables! Overall, this has the most “plot-y” vibe to its initial episode so far, and reminds me a lot of Stories from Les Amies, honestly. I’m very excited to see what they do with it, and am also euphoric at a REGULAR UPLOAD SCHEDULE unlike the other two which are currently running - Barricade Boys and The Downtrodden. Keep up with it every Thursday here!

Thank you so much to @starberry-cupcake for helping me compile this list!

highlight reel: @/SFLA who the fuck makes a feature length movie oh my god, the sheer levels of gay in BB, Marius’ super poshboy accent in TD (sorry if thats just how u speak Ethan), and best of all the German flag taking centre stage in tLAW - the european cynic in me is desperate to know why its there and hopes that you didn’t just mix up French and German flags lmao

[thekrazykeke]

Title: Mad, Mad World

Fandom(s): Black Panther, MCU

Relationship(s): Sam Wilson & reader. T’Challa x reader.

Summary: Sometimes when you’re in a dark place, you think you’ve been buried, but truthfully, you’ve only been planted.

Warning(s): Captain America Civil War spoilers, angst

Now that I’ve gotten a taste of soulmate au’s, I’m hooked tbh. This story was inspired by what my Dimples, @lovelylittlekittn, told me about her day and also, this post. The Ryan Destiny gifs come from @kbunburyhelps like usual, seriously, check out her blog.

Naturally, if you like what you’ve read, give it a like or reblog. 

Without further ado, let’s goooo!

~

Bzz-bzz-bzz!

You desperately wanted to ignore your cellphone, which had not stopped it’s incessant buzzing but as a light sleeper and someone who’d been suffering from insomnia for the past few days, that’s impossible. Grumbling heatedly underneath your breath, blindly reaching out for the device with your left hand, eyes still partially closed as you’re so tired... 

The cellphone is knocked off the bedside dresser and lands on the plush carpet. 

Letting out a frustrated huff, you lean over the side of the comfortable bed to snag the device, which much to your irritation, still hadn’t stopped buzzing. Ripping off the eye mask, you quickly entered the numerical code to the phone and answered the call. 

“Hello!?” 

You listened to the person on the other end, tone shifting from aggressive and angry to something more...polite. “Sir, it’s...No, I haven’t watched the news recently.” Rolling your eyes, you paused, listening to what’s said next, lips pursed. “...I see. No. It’s not an inconvenience at all, sir. I’ll be there. See you soon, sir.” Pressing the ‘End Call’ button, you lean back against the pillows, touching the silk black bonnet on your head, thankfully it hadn’t come off while you were dozing. “I better see a nice, fat bonus on that next check or a raise or somethin’. Tryna work a bitch like a modern day slave and shit...” Throwing the covers and sheets off of your body, you swung your legs over the side. “Got me fucked up. Just fucked up! He knows good and damned well it’s my day off.” Still complaining bitterly, you toss the eye mask onto the bedside dresser before sluggishly half walking, half stumbling, towards the bathroom. 

Once inside, you shiver as the chill that permeates the room washes over you. Goosebumps pepper your beautiful, brown skin as you quickly strip out of your night clothes and turn the knobs for the hot and cold water for a shower, then step inside. For a few seconds, you let the warm, borderline scalding, water, sluice over you, then began to quickly go about completing your daily hygienic routine. 

After showering, brushing your teeth, and toweling dry, you re-enter the bedroom, towel wrapped around your waist as you opened the closet door. You’re on a timed schedule, so you shove aside the pre-planned weekend outfits for the more conventional and convenient work uniform; a pretty white blouse, black dress pants and comfortable dress shoes. Sighing near silently, you mentally wave farewell to those grand plans of yours. Placing the uniform over the back of a chair, you sit down on the bed again after grabbing some necessary items to complete the morning routine. Then when you’ve moisturized, put on some deodorant and slipped into the uniform, you run a hand down the front of your outfit, smoothing away any imaginary wrinkles.

‘Yaaas, I look amazing, as always.’ From the tips of your hair to the soles of your feet, you were that boss bitch and endeavored to show it off everyday of your life. Cellphone buzzing again, you rolled your eyes as you snagged your purse and car keys, closing the bedroom door on the way out. 

Tapping the code to unlock the device, you absently admitted that while you loved your job, you weren’t going to hop, skip, and jump. The link that’d been sent to your phone gave details about the Winter Soldier having blown up a building in Vienna, several people had been injured, even more dead, among them being the late King of Wakanda, T’Chaka. 

You picked up the pace.

~

“This is Y/N Wilson’s desk. Excellent at her job, she demands that same thoroughness of her subordinates. We probably wouldn’t have even caught actual footage of the Soldier without one of her people being on the late shift.” Ross stated, leaning against the mahogany desk.

“You’ve been singing her praises since we got here.” Sam pointed out, ignoring how Steve told him to relax wordlessly. “I’m just saying, the curiosity is killing me.” 

“It’s the same for me, actually.” he paused. “Is Wilson here or not, Agent Ross?” Steve asked, trying to keep the accusing note out of his voice. The agent opened his mouth, about to bluster some more, when the door opened. 

“Present and accounted for.” 

Sam maintained his professional countenance but only just barely. 

Steve wasn’t faring any better. 

You ignored them both, merely swept your gaze to your boss, “Some files needed my signature, a few boxes with paper files needed updating to digital form as well. Apologies for my tardiness.” That had always been your go-to excuse and Ross rolled with it, nodding along, though you were sure you’d be reamed out later. Snapping your fingers together, you pointed at Steve, “Gotta admit, I love the way you work, big fella.”

A little crease formed as his brows furrowed. “Excuse me?”

“The way you and Barnes were just throwing the German Special Forces around like ragdolls. Whew! Jee-sus. Talk about strong. My favorite part is when Barnes picked up a cement block and threw it into the agent’s chest. I hear that poor shmuck’s still in surgery.”

Realization dawned on Sam’s face and he sighed, “Body cams.”

“Bucky was anxious. He didn’t mean...I didn’t mean...”

“To hurt anyone?” Brows raising, you smiled blandly. “Yes, I can understand that. You probably didn’t even think twice except for eliminating the threat to your other half.” 

In every textbook, in all the tragic romances of all time, the love between Captain America and Sgt. Barnes continued to sell the most, besides Romeo and Juliet. Teachers loved to use their SoulBond as an example of what true love should look like. Personally you thought it was bullshit, but hey, what did you know?

“However, it’s a flimsy defense that will get torn to shreds in court, so I’d suggest getting a damn good lawyer and not doing anything else to escalate this shitty situation. Your reputation as the revered all American national hero grants you some leeway, Barnes doesn’t have that luxury. So just sit back and let us do our job. Do you understand?” Steve didn’t reply and you frown. “I said, do you understand?”

Sam spoke up. “Hey. Ease up, alright?”

You gave him the evil eye. “Don’t worry. You and I, we’ve got a lot to discuss too.” He grimaced and you glanced back at the silent super soldier. “I just want to ensure that we’re all on the same page.”

Steve nodded, fist propped underneath his chin. “We’re on the same page.”

Nodding sharply to Ross and Rogers, you crook your fingers, beckoning Sam to follow as you turn, opening the door to leave, “Let’s talk in private.”

Private turned out to be a small, empty conference room that doubled as storage space. You’d barely closed and locked the door before Sam was blowing up at you. “What the hell was up with that interrogation in there? The way you talked to Cap, like you didn’t even know him? Like I haven’t invited him to Ma’s for dinner with the rest of the family?”

“Let me see if I have this straight. You’re chastising me for doing my job?” You raised your eyebrows, mouth pulled into an unamused smile. “Boy, check yaself. Don’t make me get out of character up in here, Sammy.”

His shoulders raised defensively. “Don’t call me that stupid nickname!”

“I’m not going to cut corners for Steve because you’re friends with him. Hell, I refuse to cut corners with you and you’re,” Voice lowering, even though the door is closed and locked, “My brother.” Tone raising back to a normal level, you continue on to say, “As it is, the Avengers have fallen out of public favor ever since the Ultron debacle and what happened in Sokovia. Then what happened in Lagos?” You snorted derisively. “Let’s just say that y’all skatin’ on some very thin ice. Keep following after Steve and someone is gonna end up clipping your wings.”

Sam crossed his arms over his chest, his disapproving frown would have stung any other time, but you couldn’t, wouldn’t, be swayed. “So, from your tone, I can assume that you’re pro-Accords.”

“The Accords, yeah. The politics, not exactly. I also think that things should be made harder for villains, and...” Sam had turned away from you and was about to walk out the door. “Is you forreal right now? You ‘bout to walk out and we ain’t done talking?”

He glanced back at you briefly. “It’s better I walk away now before I say something hurtful.”

“Sammy...” he shook his head, half out the door. “Sam.” You made an aborted move to follow but the way he gently closed the door was telling. Sam wasn’t one for dramatic or explosive fits of anger. 

He was a pro at silently expressed disappointment. 

Sucking in a fortifying breath, you fanned your face, blinking back sudden tears. ‘This is your workplace, damn it. Get it together.’ Counting to thirty, you manage to mentally get yourself in check, or at least enough to fake it to your colleagues if necessary. Straightening your spine, you exit the conference room, taking a turn to the left, only to bump into someone. When you glance up, it’s...

“I am so sorry! Oh, your coffee. Sorry again.” You’d accidentally knocked his coffee out of his hand. “Let me get you another.”

He held his hands up in a ‘calm down’ gesture. “That is unnecessary. It is fine.” The son of the late Wakandan king, T’Challa, shrugged. “In truth, it was horrible and I was looking for the excuse to throw it away.” 

You did a double take. “Wait, what?” He adopted a neutral expression. “What?” Feeling onto a hunch, you cautiously stated, “The coffee’s great here.”

“I imagine that sewer water would be far more appetizing.”

That startled a laugh out of you, even as realization slowly dawned. Pulse spiking with sudden anxiety, it’s hard to maintain eye contact now. Fingers brushed underneath your chin, encouraging you to look up and reluctantly, you obeyed. 

“Please. Don’t look away from me.”

Everything is suddenly too much, too quickly, too intense. “I...I can’t do this.” You feel on the verge of a panic attack as you stumble away from the royal. Shaking your head, mumbling under your breath, you do the hardest thing you’ve ever done in your life.

You walk away from your soulmate. (He’s royalty! He’s minemineminemine. Oh God, this is so fucked up. Soulmates can’t lie to each other, which means--)

And he lets you.