#Eureka and my birthday is the same!!

[roysristi]

It's playtimeeee!¡

[beeandheroddobsessions]

Bloody Sacrifices

Summary: Reader reminisces about how she ended up with Elvis

TW: Cheating, angst, I think that’s it!

A/N: I know I know, where tf has bee been? Under a rock, sorry for leaving so suddenly but that’s just the way things go, I really did try to get back into my groove, with little success. But between school, and getting married and work, I had no time or really the patience to let myself be creative. And then, Eureka! An idea struck and my drafted papers that had been waiting on me finally started to get finished. Again, really sorry for the cliffhangers and such!

-Signed, Bee💕

Mrs. Presley,

What a title. Sometimes, it’s hard to think of life without him. He’s not perfect, no man is, but he’s pretty damn close.

Often time, you find yourself thinking about how you got this far. Married, comfortable, committed, with a beautiful child and very little worries.

The day had been heavy, you hadn’t had the greatest time. The boy you swore your heart to decided that for your third anniversary, he would treat another beauty to the dinner you reserved. Under his name, like some fool.

When the attendants opened the doors, you passed under the threshold, heart swelling. Something made you so certain it would be the day; the day he’d get down on one knee with glassy eyes and a nervous tongue and fumble over those four little words that would change your life forever.

When you asked the hostess about your table, she was quick to inform you that, the table had already been sat. You thought, for a moment, that he had beat you here. This made you excited, thinking he was really taking the initiative. So you thanked the woman and made your way around the restaurant, searching for your dream boat.

It didn’t take you long to spot him, knowing that haircut just about anywhere. Actually, every minute detail, down to how his collar hugged his neck was logged in your brain. Up until this point, you had spent an unhealthy amount of time…studying, perfecting.

So you approached the table, carefully as to not give away how excited you really were. As you got closer, hoping to see him fidgeting with his tie in front of an empty seat, you could feel the butterflies churn in your stomach. As fate would have it, things don’t always go as planned. Not at all actually.

Instead, you found a pretty blonde woman with tears in her eyes adoring an exceptional rock, and that boy with his head held high, with a beaming smile, and chest puffed out. Made you sick.

To this day, you aren’t sure what really drove you to do what you did that night.

Maybe, it was the way you cleaned after him like a mother would a toddler, or the way he expected dinner on the table before he returned at five thirty or all hell broke loose. It might’ve even been having to keep everything spectacularly clean. Down to his damn underwear.

Whatever it was, the camels back was broken and there was no reason for you to hold face now. You kept the tears at bay, gracefully walking over, stopping in front of the lovely couple.

Wouldn’t you know. As soon as the man saw you he did start to fidget with that tie. That same damned tie you bought for his birthday. You’d never seen him wear it but you’d guessed that day was as good a time as any.

And her. When you really looked at her, you picked her apart in less than 20 seconds. Bottle blonde, not natural, lipstick that wasn’t her color, makeup that didn’t compliment her, the dress she wore did nothing for her figure. All the things he swore not to like, sat right in front of you. You couldn’t believe it.

With a painfully fake smile you looked between the two. You had let out a quick breath in preparation for what you were about to say. It was quick, and sweet, no malice detected.

“Engaged?”

That was it. That was all you had asked.

Withought missing a beat she nodded her head

“After two years, I wasn’t even expecting this! At a place this nice, on our anniversary too. He really is so thoughtful. And the ring, ugh—”

She continued to ramble, but all you could hear was “Two years” and “our anniversary”

She had no clue about you. None.

And, for two of the three years, this man had the wool pulled over your eyes. Fresh out of high school, You had been walking blindly behind him and never noticed.

At least that’s what you told yourself in the moment.

But, you did know. You just wanted to deny your ignorance in that moment. You couldn’t deny the late nights, foreign perfume, and lack of affection though. Not even if you wanted to.

Till the very end though, you kept face.

“How lovely, I hope… I—, wish you both the very best.”

The woman gave a quick false smile and said “thank you, but we are trying to celebrate.”

You nodded your head and returned the same smile. You timber spinning on your feet and gearing up to make a beeline for the door. You really couldn’t help yourself though. You threw your head over your shoulder,

“Just remember, he doesn’t like it when you leave the stains in his underwear. You’ll never get them out though, just burn them and buy a new pair!”

And with that, you were through the door. Though it was a small power move, the tears still flooded your vision. It hurt bad. There was a slight downpour, mimicking the feelings you harbored. With no car you had no choice but to keep walking.

The back of your feet were rubbed raw, skin broken and bleeding. The hairstyle you had chosen for that night and no doubt frizzy beyond repair through slight adjustments.

In your emotional haze, the grate on the sidewalk went unnoticed, the back of your heel payed the price. You stopped and removed the shoe, assessing the damage. This small inconvenience on any other day would’ve made you roll your eyes and let out a curse or two. This wasn’t a normal day.

You had broken character. An almost primal shriek left your chest. Something akin to that of a hurt animal. It wasn’t pretty, or poised. It was raw and unfiltered. The scream felt good, exhilarating.

Even with that nice release of emotion, you wanted to go home. You removed both shoes and chucked them as far as you could, sacrificing their beauty, and continuing on your journey back to your very warm and dry house.

A few minutes passed, you were about five minutes away when those headlights creeped up behind you.

You looked back, part of you hoping it was the fool you’d banked on. What he did was unforgivable, yes, but you had nothing else. As the car started to progress a little was past you, you tossed that hope through the window.

“Scuse’ me honey. Why’d ya throw your heels at me?”

You stopped, glaring over at the unidentified stranger,

A simple, “I didn’t,” was all he got out of you.

The car stopped all together. The sound of the door opening put you on edge. A man stopping at this time of night, to return a broken pair of heels? Yea, right. When he rounded his car with your shoes in hand and a smug look on his pretty…face. He looked you up and down and you did the same, wondering who-

Holy shit. Was all you could think. You had thrown your heels, your very broken heels at Elvis Presley.

“Now honey, I’m no shoe salesman, but I’d bet my bottom dollar, that these here fit those pretty little puppies just right. Save for your ankles of course—”

Your shoulders dropped and you held your hand out.

“Please, just give em’ here. Night’s been bad enough, Mr. Presley. I don’t need to be humiliated any further.”

The brunet let out a light chuckle,

“Wanna tell me your name?”

You let out a sigh,

“Y/n.”

“Call me Elvis. And I can see that it’s been a little rough. What happened, honey, date stood ya up?”

You shook your head and decided to humor him,

“No, I found my beau with a different beauty,”

His smile faltered and he parted his lips, no doubt to issue an apology. You continued before he got the chance,

“Which he proposed to…”

His mouth closed, face showing pity. The last part of your confessional came out barley above a whisper,

“On our anniversary.”

Elvis was too stunned to speak, he looked around as if to see if anyone else had heard what you just said. He was in utter disbelief, that someone could wilt a beautiful flower such as yourself.

“I’m sorry honey, I didn’t meant to poke fun at you, just wanted a chance to ask you on a date.”

You could’ve sworn your ears were malfunctioning.

“I’m flattered, but no less than twenty minutes ago, I thought I was getting married. I don’t think it’s a good time—”

Elvis was quick to shake his head,

“No , no I meant to say it wasn’t appropriate. But at least let me drive you home.”

With nothing but tears to lose, you nodded your head and shuffled to the passenger side door, which he kindly opened for you.

The two-minute ride i was silent but not uncomfortable, the radio was at a low volume and the only time you spoke was to give directions.

When you arrived at your small home, you thanked Elvis for the ride. Before you could part, he handed you a slip with his number on it,

“Call when you’re ready for that date, honey.”

Hesitantly, you took the slip and made your way inside.

It was stuffed in a drawer somewhere as you fell into your stupor. For two weeks, you wallowed in self-pity. Fourteen days before you grew a pair. You rummaged though all your kitchen drawers looking for that slip.

It might have been foolish to assume Elvis would still be thinking about you after two weeks, but you still gave it a try.

Your hands trembled as you spun the rotary dial, carefully choosing every number that was on the paper. Receiver against your ear, chewing on your lip.

It rang three times before you’d slammed the phone back on its hook. It was a fruitless idea, there was just no way—

A ring stopped your negative thoughts, it rang twice before you picked it back up. Saying hello and waiting for a response.

“Y/n?” There was a pause. You didn’t know he’d given you his personal number.

“Uh, hello? Honey?…ya there?”

You shook of the surprise,

“Y—yes, uh, yes m’here”

Elvis wouldn’t be Elvis without pointing out the obvious

“So, you’re finally callin’ bout that date?”

You could practically hear the smile in his voice, and with a roll of your eyes, you said yes.

That date turned into ten years of love and a little bit of stress. He got you the prettiest ring, proposed at the prettiest dinner, and gave you the gift of your son.

For once, tears felt good on your face. When you look for reasons to stay with this perfectly imperfect man, you remember,

Those bloody sacrifices.

Taglist: @powerofelvis @rjmartin11 @re3kin

[deartouya]

CAUGHT 'YA — HAWKS

✩ ˛˚ . the last thing you were expecting on your morning coffee run was to come face to face with your,, acquaintance?? the number two hero. even further from that was nearly face planting in front of said hero.

˛˚ . ✩ pairing: hawks x gn!barista!reader

˛˚ . ✩ word count: 1.2k

˛˚ . ✩ content: fluff, coffee shop + meet cute, reader works at a coffee shop near hawks' agency, he's insufferable in a good way, it's a cat cafe too <3 bc i think hawks likes coffee + cats and can't be convinced otherwise.

this is so self-indulgent it should probably classify as self-ship but,, it's my birthday weekend :3 so i'm letting myself do it. it's not winter yet </3 but i really love the setting!! this is written as part of my love in the everyday collab!

“Don’t you look warm,” your voice is muffled, a whisper buried deep in the softness of your scarf. The malice is unearned, bright yellow eyes blinking up thoughtlessly as you glare down at the calico’s toasty fish-shaped bed. 

It’s too early for you more than anything, the sun barely warming the sky and trees creaking with the weight of last night’s ice and snow. But you’d run out of the overpriced coffee your friend gave you for your birthday and you’d been suitably spoiled away from anything canned. So, you woke up an hour earlier than normal to make the icy walk. 

There’s barely time to relish in said overpriced coffee, warming your frigid fingers against the paper cup, before you’re back in the cold. Misfortune chases you further, catching your heel on the shop’s icy step. You don’t have the chance to catch yourself, let alone the time to wallow in your poor luck, before you fall.  

Your face doesn’t immediately meet the icy cement though, someone from behind catches you with a soft ‘careful!’. You claw blindly at their arms with little care for the paper cup splattering on the sidewalk, thankful that it’s not your nose or knees instead. 

You smile, fighting down the grief for your coffee and the mounting embarrassment from falling, “thank you, I don’t know...” The words catch in your throat, squeezing next to your now hammering heart, when you finally meet his eyes. A very familiar pair of gold-ringed eyes. Your mortification only grows as he helps you upright with a disarmingly well-practiced smile, warm palms strong and sure around your elbows.  

Billboards have never done Hawks justice. He’s always prettier, brighter—the warmth of his hair and the flush of freckles across his nose—in person. You’re always taken aback by him, by the width of his wings and the breathtaking way he smiles. He’s larger than life and no amount of magazine covers and spreads can capture it, the way his eyes—narrowed by the dark of his markings—seem to pierce through you, pinning you where you stand. 

Hawks—face awash in gentle eureka—says your name, voice so soft and tender you nearly lose it to the wind. And then he smiles—a charming smile, a boyish grin so unlike the sultry smirks he wears on every ad and billboard. “If it isn’t my favorite barista,” something like affection gleams in the gold of his eyes. 

You flounder under the weight of his smile, the heady smell of his cologne, and the warmth of his hands on your shoulders. You’re not used to having him so close, always keeping behind the safety of your counter whenever he comes in for his criminally late-night coffees and scones. 

“Thank you,” you repeat, only a little dazed now as you determinedly keep your eyes locked on his own. It doesn’t help you, though, soft pools of honey bore into you from under his pretty, thick eyelashes and you’ve already forgotten your niceties. 

“You’re welcome,” he answers, voice bright and airy as he searches over your face. “You alright? That was quite the fall.” 

“I’m fine!” You untangle yourself from him, hoping that giving yourself some distance will help clear your head. All it does is remind you of your coffee, “can’t say the same for my cup, though.” 

Hawks frowns down at the puddle, hand still cradling your elbow softly, “what a waste.” Then, his expression clears, and he smiles at you, “c’mon we can get you a new one. Heard they started making blueberry muffins again and I’ve been dying to get my hands on one.” 

The cold chases you into the coffee shop, clinging to your coat and nipping at the round of your nose. Hawks is warm beside you, a slow gentle heat which seeps into you and melts against your skin from where he’s holding onto your arm. It’s dizzying and you fight the urge to lean into his side, to cocoon yourself in the plushness of his wing.  

“You cold?” 

You become painfully aware of your shivering; pinning your hands tight between your arm and side in a fruitless attempt to leech body heat, “oh no, I’m okay! I’ll be warmer once I'm back home.” 

Hawks hums, unconvinced, at your attempt to placate him. And much to your mounting horror, he begins fishing into the pocket of his hero costume, pulling out a pair of thick dark gloves. You recognize them as a part of his winter costume, trimmed with white and clearly made of something heavy and incredibly soft. He doesn’t give you the opportunity to politely decline, tugging your hands gently into his own and slipping the worn-warmed gloves onto your hands. He presses his thumb affectionately into the grooves of each knuckle as he goes, as if mimicking the press of lips. 

“There,” he muses, a contented looking smile tugging at the corners of his lips, “now, you’ll have an excuse to see me again. You’ll have to give me my gloves back somehow,” he teases, eyes warmth with mirth. He’s gone before you can respond, already half-way across the café to order and leaving you to tend to your stuttering pulse. 

One of the cats trots after him, batting after his boots. It takes to circling his leg while he orders, brushy orange tail curled tight against his ankle and head butting against the length of his calf. He stoops to pet it after handing over his hard, cooing softly as he scratched dutifully behind each velvety ear. 

He returns to your corner bearing two paper hot cups and two delicately wrapped blueberry muffins. Hawks hands you the furthest cup, muffin balanced on top with something pinned beneath it. He smiles, something nervous in the way his wings twitch behind him. 

“I can pay for my own coffee, Hawks—you didn’t have to.” 

“I know, I wanted to,” Hawks assures as he leads you out of the shop, palm warm against your back as he does. 

“Well, thank you. I appreciate it, Hawks.” 

His wings twitch again behind him, restless ruffling as he lifts a hand to rub at the name of his neck. It makes you smile—he looks nearly skittish, so unlike the normally poised and controlled persona you’re used to seeing on TV. Normal almost. 

“It wasn’t any trouble, I needed to get one for myself before heading in anyways,” he makes a show of lifting his own cup. “Just try not to fall victim to any villainous sidewalk again. You might not be so lucky to have such a brave and dashing hero there to catch you this time.” His smile grows when you laugh—easy and wide. 

“I’ll try my very best, birdie.” The reaction is immediate, a bright flush crawling up his neck as he turns into his collar. 

Something deep in your chest lurches when he turns to leave, a bitter curl of reluctance as you watch him. You look down at the cup in your hands, whose heat’s leeched from between your palms and the enticingly sweet pastry on top. 

Once the muffin’s removed you realize what it had been pinning—a small square sticky note you recognize from behind the counter with a number and note scrawled in practiced lettering: ‘maybe I'll let you get the next one –hawks ;>’. 

TAGS: @httpghostface ; @boo-kugo ; @boyfrwenz ; @iitoshi ; @saintouru ; @bbiemilk ; @xphntmhvx ; @itachislut ; @kailali ; @asaptakami ; @https-bachira ; @saturnsbluestar ; @izufeels ; @dinodumbass ; @uwuthatshit ; @hirugummies ; @dukina ; @trashy-bowtie ;

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

A stardew valley headcanon:

One year the farmer gave Vincent a Pink Cake for his birthday and Vincent will NOT shut up about it. Jodi has slowly been going crazy trying to recreate it and has been begging for the recipe, but the farmer keeps turning her away.

Meanwhile, the farmer is trying to decide if they should confess to feeding Vincent some goodness knows how old cake they carved out of a purple giant slime in Skull Cavern.

God, I did the same! With the burglar ring, I got two pink cakes at once: I gave one to Vincent, the second to Marnie. Like, go on, eat, I got it from an incomprehensible slime monster, but the cake itself seems to be fine, just remove the slime and you'll be ok.

I have a silly idea for this HC, I hope you like it))) Also, I mostly make a neutral farmer so you can imagine your own OC Farmer. Enjoy!

Who could have known the pink cake that the Farmer found in their misadventures in the Skull Cavern inside a huge fucking slime, and thoughtlessly presented to Vincent for his birthday, would burn so many nerve cells? And not only the nerve cells of poor Jodi, who has been asking for a recipe for this damned cake for several days now, but also the Farmer's nerve cells.

Well, the Farmer must have known, because what were they even thinking? Find random food inside a monster and give it to a child?! Are they brainless?!

The Farmer put himself in Jodi's shoes and trying to imagine what if they tell her how they got that pink cake. Heh, they would tell their child not to talk with this creep anymore, and avoid them at all costs, that's what any normal parent would do. So this option is out.

The Farmer didn't want to torture Jodi by hiding the recipe. Yoba witnesses, the Farmer even tried to repeat the recipe for this cake themselves in order to find exactly the one that Vincent liked so much. Of course, nothing came of this, and if the selection method did not work, they must think differently.

"Okay, think, think, cake, slime, Skull cavern, slime, iridium, level 100, challenge, casino, slime, Mr. Qi... Mr. Qi!!! Eureka!!"

The Farmer ran faster than a bullet into the Calico desert, and before they could even say hello to Sandy, they almost kicked the casino door. The bouncer was about to calm down a highly aroused visitor, but the owner of the casino, Mr. Qi himself, stopped him, and approached his... friend? Can their acquaintance and all these trials be called friendship? It's hard to say, but Qi himself was happy to see the Farmer... until he saw a tortured face with bruises under their eyes. Yoba, how long have they been awake?

The Farmer told Qi about the strange pink cake inside a slime in one breath and maniacally asked where it came from.

"Well kid, I put the cake in slime"

"You... put a cake in that giant slime?"

"Well, of course. How do you think the cake stays so fresh? Unfortunately, there are no refrigerators in caves, so this is a good solution. I left it for you, kiddo, because my challenges is difficult, the sweetness will let you not die of hunger and get a dose of sugar for overcome obstacles."

Qi did not have time to tell the Farmer proudly how he came up with this brilliant idea, as the poor Farmer grabbed Mr. Qi by the collar and tearfully begged please, please tell them the recipe for this cake, they will go further than level 100, 200 levels, even 300 in Skull cavern, just please give them the recipe they beg him, they have already gone cuckoo foR FuCK sAKe plEAsE!!!...

Given the merits of the Farmer (as well as worrying about their mental health) Mr. Qi took pity on them and gave the recipe. Although it's nothing out of the ordinary, just the same recipe as Queen sause, but add a little ginger.

Jodi, finally at peace, has prepared a fresh, special pink cake for her family that makes Vincent squeak with joy. The Farmer was finally able to sleep after all this 'sweet saga', rejoicing that they kept their friendship and found this damned recipe. And Mr. Qi has not forgotten Farmer's promise to pass his challenges more difficult than before. But for now, let the poor youth sleep.

[clunelover]

In the past couple weeks I've gone from "I guess I have some autistic traits but there's so much overlap with ADHD and PTSD etc, it doesn't really matter" to "I'm convinced I have autism, and that my mom and sister (the one who was also born of mom) do too, and it explains so much!!!"

A few pieces just clicked into place all of a sudden. Seeing more ways in which I am similar to my autistic son. And reading some comment on r/raisedbynarcissists saying "undiagnosed autism and ADHD can turn into personality disorders later" and being like "that can't be true and makes no sense" - but then I ran it by BFF and she said "it's a good theory - a major factor in developing a personality disorder is having your needs unmet as a child, and that's something that commonly happens to undiagnosed/misunderstood neurodiverse kids."

I started thinking about how my personality-disordered mom (and all her siblings) were FOR SURE neglected as kids (always good to be ambivalent towards children and then have seven of them! Go Catholicism). My mom's stories about herself as a kid always cast her as a weird outcast loner (some of which was exacerbated by her mom's rules - like, her mom couldn't be washing laundry for 9 people changing clothes every day, so my mom and her siblings had school clothes and play clothes, and it was expected that, barring some major stain, they'd wear one set of school clothes for a whole week - but other kids will notice and tease you if you seem to always wear the same clothes!!). She had one particular story, about these imaginary creatures that she invented, and felt like she could see them and commune with them. They were called Beesies, and she would have to crouch down to be able to talk to them, and her parents were unkind about seeing her crouching and talking nonsense to things that weren't there. So, I think that speaks powerfully to both the neglect/loneliness, and perhaps the vivid fantasy life of an autistic person.

When I was in my 20s, my mom got diagnosed with ADD, and at the time I was very dismissive. I thought she had just scammed her way into a diagnosis so she could get adderall and use/abuse it for its appetite suppressant effects. But now I'm like, "no, she was thrilled about that side effect, but I think she did actually have ADD...and quite possibly autism, and actually I think I have both of those too."

Then last piece of this (sister piece) came into focus on 4th of July. I told my sister BYOB cause I'm off booze hopefully for good. She sent an oddly formal reply - something like "I know it's generally considered poor form and overly personal to ask someone why they're not drinking, but can I ask you anyway?" I thought, "okay, what in the rigidly-defined-communication-rules hell?!" I just said "hey you're my sister, you can ask stuff like that!" and then explained why. (Oh and there's a whole other post I could write about all three of us probably using alcohol to cope/mask symptoms...BUT ANYWAY). So then, during 4th of July, my stepdad/her dad tells this story about her as a kid, at one of her birthday parties, where he had set up pin the tail on the donkey for the kids to play, and my sister apparently just DID NOT get it - "why would I wear a blindfold to try to find out where to put the tail? I already know where to put the tail." And then people were trying to explain it to her - "see, it's funny, cause when you can't see, you put the tail somewhere else"...etc. And apparently she said, "why would it be funny to be wrong?" I either hadn't been at this party or didn't remember it, so hearing that was a real eureka moment - OH MY GOD, we're all fucking autistic!!

Oh also, she was a very serious baby who appeared to be puzzled or frowning often, and didn't really laugh, and we all just thought this was funny at the time...omg, more signs!

So anyway, this is totally recasting my thought about my sister's lack of emotional expansiveness, and how I am always getting my feelings hurt by it! We are possibly both autistic people, each with marked, but different and sometimes even conflicting, communication difficulties. No wonder there are so many misunderstandings and unsatisfied expectations, etc.

IDK I have so many more thoughts and memories I'm recontextualizing, I could go on, but in any case I'm very eager for my therapist to return from vacation in a couple weeks so we can discuss!!

[misscrazyfangirl321]

Fanfic Writer 20 Questions

I was tagged by @lumiereandcogsworth. Thank you, dear! 

-

1. how many works do you have on ao3? 

171

2. what’s your total ao3 word count? 

336,383

3. how many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Probably more than 35 if I count ff.net days, but sticking to AO3, it looks like 19: Zoo, White Collar, Victorious, Timeless, The Walking Dead, The Flash, Star Trek: AOS, Sanctuary, Prodigal Son, Once Upon A Time, Manifest, Maleficent, Haven, Grimm, Ever After, Eureka, Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow, and Alice in Wonderland. 

4. what are your top five fics by kudos? 

1. What He Cannot Say 

2. In A Name

3. So What If I Care? 

4. Holding Each Other Together

5. Crashing Down (For All of Us) 

5. do you respond to comments? why or why not? 

I always try (on AO3)! Sometimes it can take my awhile, but I love the conversations on AO3. 

6. what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Probably “He Smiled,” just because it’s canon-compliant Magnitt Pain. 

7. do you write crossovers? 

I finish them less often than other fics, but yes, absolutely. 

8. have you ever received hate on a fic? 

Not in a long, long time. Back in my fanfic.net days I got one comment on a fic telling me that I ruined their birthday by posting it, which was kind of random, but that was years and years ago. 

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind? 

Definitely not. 

10. have you ever had a fic stolen?

None that I'm aware of!

11. have you ever had a fic translated? 

Not yet, but someone has asked permission to translate one of my Timeless fics into Russian. :o 

12. have you ever co-written a fic before?

I’ve done bits of cowriting, but I don’t think I’ve ever been part of a cowriting project that actually finished a project (largely my fault, tbh; my interest bounces a lot). I think the most successful was @heytheredeann and I cowriting a series by just. Posting fics as inspiration struck us. 

13. what’s your all-time favorite ship?

For now I’ll stick to Garcia Flynn/Lucy Preston, though Emotional Compass is creeping up on them. 

14. what’s a wip that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? 

The Megaverse. 

Alice from Alice Syfy as Henry/Erika’s daughter.

Lois from the latest Superman show and Eve from Grimm being the same person.

Kelly showing up from the future on Sean Renard’s doorstep. 

There are so many. 

15. what are your writing strengths? 

Emotions and dialogue, I think. And... Concepts? Coming up with ideas.

16. what are your writing weaknesses? 

Action, setting, pacing, and sticking with a story I can’t write in a day. 

17. what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in another language? 

I fully support people who can do it!! 

18. what was the first fandom you ever wrote for? 

TECHNICALLY I made a Peanuts’ comic when I was just a little kid, but the first Official Fandom (IE once I knew what fandom/fanfic was) was The Mentalist. 

19. what’s your favorite fic you’ve ever written? 

Possibly “Forgotten,” just because I’m so excited about actually finishing a longer fic. But as far as ones I actually go back and reread often....

Wait, I just remembered that “Tales of Chronospheres and Time” exists, and now I know for sure; THAT is my favorite fic I’ve ever written. 

20. who do you tag? (no pressure of course <3) 

Anyone who wants to play! 

[bowandcurtsey]

Happy birthday, Yami Sukehiro

Happy birthday to the husbando that started all of this. I'm not sure if you are my favourite husbando (I do have my seasons) but he's the one that pushed me to get up and write fanfiction about all the fluffy nasty and horny headcanons I have of him.

And look where we are, making lots of friends so I'm thankful for you. Okay, so today we have a little one shot or drabble of him hehe.

YAMI'S ROBE

Character: Yami Sukehiro x F! reader TW: slight nsfw, vulgarities Just a little headcanon story of why he changed his style of robe

"Babe!" Yami called out to you, "have you seen my button? The one for my robe?"

"There's one in the toilet drawer, baby."

There was silence and you could hear your boyfriend rummaging through the drawer, "Gotcha!"

He comes out from the toilet, finally in his proper mission outfit, his classic golden button holding his robe in place. Well technically it was just his same daily outfit plus his robe. Your man wasn't fanciful with his fashion.

You walked over and straightened his robe for him, "your left muscles won't get cold?"

There was a rumble in his chest as he chuckled and patted your head. He knew you were worried. You always were whenever he left for missions.

"This robe looks new," you commented as you ran your fingers over the edges of his robe.

"Yeah, I tore it myself yesterday, the old one was really ripped, baby! tch, that darn giant centipede."

It was your turn to chuckle now. Yami takes pride in tearing off the black fabric and making his own unique robe. He thinks it looks badass this was and honestly, with his build, wearing the robe the normal way hinders his movement and makes him look really awkward.

"Looks a little tight, this one." you took a step back to look at your herculean man.

"My robes have been tighter babe, I've grown bigger with all the training," he tugged at the robe to adjust it against his bulging biceps.

"Wonder what else has grown bigger~" you wiggled your eyebrows at him, earning THE smirk from your man. He caged you in his arms.

"I won't be long," he pecked you on your forehead, "it'll take 3 to 5 days tops, and then I'll show you what's bigger."

You gave him a little pout, because of the devil invasion, Yami has been training a lot lately and taking up a lot of missions so he could be exposed and try out new battle styles.

You've been seeing him a little lesser lately but seeing as how everyone is working hard, you had to be supportive and did your best in your own training as well.

You tipped your toe a little, and gave him a kiss on the lips, "come home safe, captain."

"I will." And he left.

---

"Baby," he leaned against the frame of the toilet door, looking defeated.

"What is it?"

"I can't find the damned button again."

"Love," you sighed, "you have like dozens of that thing! And you can't find ONE of it all the time."

"I know right? Little shit."

You helped him search for it awhile and you both found none. You decided to just use a safety pin for now since you were both really late to the joint mission with the Golden Dawn.

---

"Dark Cloaked Dimension Slash!" Yami blasted his magic at an oncoming attack that was charging towards the both of you. The two attacks collided and cause a major explosion.

Instinctively, Yami wrapped one arm around you, using his body to shield you from the impact. You felt a huge force hitting the both of you, and even with Yami holding on to you tightly, you both flew a few meters back.

Yami's arms slowly loosened as he checked on you after the blow, "are you okay, princess?"

"mhmm." you nodded and you realised the safety pin had given way, so Yami's robe was just dangling at the back of his neck, like a cape. You giggled at the sight, helping him to adjust his robe again.

"Fuck this shit." Yami grumbled, and he pulled the ends of the robe under his arm, keeping it in place.

It was like an eureka moment for him as the both of your faces lit up. You both knew what each other was thinking.

"Damn, I should have done this long ago baby."

"Mmm," you smiled at him, "and it really shows off your biceps~"

Your fingers traced the veins on his beefy arms.

"Ahem." William came from behind you two, "sorry to disturb your lovey dovey moment here, but are you two alright?"

"Of course we're fine, I always win when y/n is here. Gotta show off a little y'know, Goldie boy?" he flashed a smirk to you again.

You looked over at the opponent that was now sliced in half by him. His attack had cut through the monster's attack AND the monster itself.

"Very accurate swordsmanship, I would say," you always marvelled at how accurate Yami was with his sword.

"That's why you fell for me, didn't ya?" Yami hung a lazy arm around your shoulder as he teased you.

"I guess my worry was for nothing.." William shook his head, smiling at the both of you.

[jiminrings]

last chronological part for stem koo... WHEW I WATCHED THEM GROW WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN NOW

cold senior!y/n x stem major koo masterlist :D

they finally become lunchbox lovers

“you’re asking me what’s jungkook like?”

jimin couldn't be any more surprised

first of all, his day started with yOU texting him and asking if you can drop by for a second, and the moment he texted "sure???", you're literally already knocking on the door

and second, you're asking him???

“oh come on. he clings to you with every chance he gets. i thought you gave him a chance already.”

your eyes only deadpan that jimin actually gets the hint, his mouth curling in a eureka moment that he managed to figure out himself without you talking

“oH! so that’s why you’re asking me because you’re thinking of giving him an actual chance.”

alright finally

you slump in relief over not saying it out loud, expressing the slightest bit of worry you have to someone (that's not as close to you like yoongi and jin are) who'd get where you're coming from without bias

“i just wanna know how he usually is when he’s not on my heels.”

“honestly? the same. probably even a bit more clingier.”

jimin wastes no time in ratting jungkook out, even leaning back to the couch with how relaxed he is

“talks about you too. i’m sorry y/n but even i know what shampoo you use!!!”

jimins knows your wHAT

"my shampoo???"

“mhmm. made me drive him to a grocery store at 10 in the evening so he can individually smell all the shampoos without anyone calling him a creep or something like that,” he nods earnestly and doesn't look like he's playing with you or the sort

you're quite frozen and jungkook's roommate isn't at all fazed and is even pulling up pICTURES of their impromptu grocery trip

“he even made it in a scientific paper format. with the hypothesis and conclusion and everything.”

he points it out just in time when you swipe to jimin's hand holding a printed piece of paper with the document in the monitor right behind it, the next pictures being blurry because that's when jungkook freaked out

jimin gets his phone back but not without sending you the pictures you just saw even if you didn't ask for them, trying to hide the amusement in your eyes when you decide to scroll through them again later

“cut him some slack though. he’s never really had a girlfriend, y’know? or like even a crush. he’s just navigating it with his instincts and all the advice he gets.”

hold on a second

“... advice?”

he thought you'd never ask (he'll still say it even if you don't) which is why he brightly grins, hunching over as if to let you in on a guarded secret

“i’m one of his consultants!!! didn’t suggest the shampoo part though.”

who could have possibly thought of that idea then ://

you hum in faux complacency, trying to get this as fast as possible so you could make up your mind quicker

“what else?”

jimin's relaxed now that he's had a proper laugh with you and realized you aren't as Intimidating As He Thought You Were, recounting the things in his mind like a to-do list

“he’s sickeningly kind.”

the gravity of his words strike him before they do with you, straightening his posture to clear up the air right away, “but i knoW that what he did to you is the furthest thing from kind, and trust me, i really got that point across!!!”

by point, jimin means cooking him burnt meals and jungkook having to endure it because he doesn't like wasting food

additionally, that also meant jimin served kook a cRISP smack on the back of his boba ball head into next week

look at him <3 seokjin, yoongi AND jimin gave him shit!!! now isn;t that teamwork

you're unable to paint the mental image in your head because he continues, grabbing your attention once again

“but apart from that, jungkook could just be too kind for his own sake,” he says sincerely. “he’s like the kid the principal refers to in elementary when they talk about peer pressure!!!”

your first instinct is to snort at that, the mental image definitely forming in your head now

is it just sO bad that you and jimin agree on this

“jokes aside, jungkook’s really genuine.”

it's the last thing jimin wraps it off with when you stand from the couch, cheeks still a little warm when he trails you behind the door

you're just about to thank him when the door in front of you opens and almost hits you in the process, the person behind it just as alarmed

jungkook’s just now coming home because he had to pick up some last-minute groceries from the convenience store downstairs that jimin forgot from his last run, clearly startled to why would wou be here

"oH???? y/n??? what are you doing here???"

his pupils are shaking between the two of you and he's not even trying to hide is incoming panic

“.... a-are you and jimin-“

“yup! sorry bud! we were just-...” jimin's attempt at a lighthearted joke is halted as fast as it was introduced, getting a smack on the middle of his back that makes him wince

“you’re annoying, jimin."

oOOOOH you just put your palm on him!! yea at this rate he's gonna be your best friend too won't he

jungkook's processing things as fast as he could, getting a reassuring glance from you that puts him at ease

“we were just talking, kook.”

he nods even if he's still a tiny bit unsure, calling for you when you're on your way out the door

“a-about what though?”

:-)

“you’d know soon enough.”

( ♡ )

“you wanna tell me now why we went on this drive?”

seokjin yawns at a stoplight even when his car is the only one waiting on the intersection right now, not in the mood for a ticket with a printed traffic light picture of him mid-yawn in his matching pajamas anytime soon

“no reason," you sing-song and it makes him snort, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “couldn’t sleep."

“well that makes one of us.”

you've unabashedly knocked on jin's door and even if it took you two tries, he still answered nonetheless, not even asking for an explanation why before he sleepily took his keys and grabbed his house slippers for shoes

you had no destination in mind at 3 in the morning which is why jin’s just driving for no rhyme nor direction and is just going with his brain’s one-second impulses of where to turn

he’s game for anything, actually — that much you know

although you do know that jin literally wouldn't do this for anyone else besides the people he find worth all this (aka everyone except you and yoongi and ok maybe namjoon sometimes)

the drive is beyond serene and even with repetitive radio music playing in the background, you don't actually mind it

when you're with jin, it just feels like you're in a constant bubble of comfort and ease that you always try to look for in everything

he doesn't necessarily need explanations,, he just deduces from things at face-value and later ask about it when you're comfortable enough to share

jin points at a drive-thru he suddenly had a craving for as you were about to suggest it anyway

you're not even quite sure why there's a line but neither of you complain, the situation more than bearable that a little waiting wouldn't dampen your mood

the words you've been thinking of the whole day finally slip across the silence, as casual yet as sincere as they could be

“i’m really thankful that you’re in my life, jin. you know that right?”

he seems pleasantly surprised when you look at his side profile, shaking his head

“mhmm. you only tell me a couple times but you put your knee on top of mine everyday,” he chuckles at the habit of yours and he kNOWS for a fact you would put your knee on top of his if only he wasn't behind the wheel. “tell me all about it, kid.”

it's genuine laughter that encompasses the whole car, his chuckles suddenly ceasing when he realizes another possibility

“you’re not asking me for allowance, are you? because yoongi’s already bugging me for his next month’s.”

wait what

“you give yoongi an allowance???”

“you didn’t know???”

:///

“... i’m not asking for an allowance.”

“..... but do you want it,.,..”

jin sees you pursing your lips and intentionally looking at everywhere but him, already getting his answer

“fine. that’s the furthest you two could get from me!! don’t expect me to pack your lunchboxes to school now. you must be crazy.”

jin, in fact, packs you and yoongi lunchboxes more often than not

jin, aLSO, does all the paper rolling for you so when the three of u get occasionally high, it’s all nice and tight

jin is also the one who does all the talking on the phone to customer service when neither of you are willing

he asks the moment he relays your usual midnight snack slash early breakfast order he's already memorized to the attendant, patiently looking at you

“you want anything else with that?”

“i’m all good.”

it's in between cars and stoplights that the car is filled with more emotion again, acting on it when you realize it when seokjin's mid-bite on his hashbrowns

“jin?”

“yes?” he speaks muffled, looking at you once before bringing his attention back on the changing stoplight

“love you.”

he feels himself still for a second even if his foot's on the gas and one hand is on the wheel, a somber look on his face that he later smiles sincerely

“love you too, kid.”

( ♡ )

“it’s not my birthday if that’s what you’re thinking.”

yoongi sleepily mumbles the moment he feels his bed dipping, his side that was once holding a pillow now being occupied by you

“i know.”

you wedge yourself between his heavy comforter, tossing and turning until it feels comfortable

“but i actually don’t know your birthday lol it’s-...”

“fuck right off.”

yoongi doesn't question why you're in his bed, because the last time you did, it was because you were left traumatized after seeing a genuinely good horror movie that it was pending to give you nightmares

he didn't see you watch any movie today though, but he'll take you in nonetheless

“kidding.”

you offer in consolation because yoongi's birthday is in your calendar even if you know it by heart, a mindless hum in reply

it's when you drop your arm on his waist like it's dead weight and relax completely, your face near to his mop of hair that it's making him think you're actually cuddling him rn

quick how can he get a picture of this to get this framed

“are you telling me now?”

he questions with his eyes half-open, shimmying backwards so that you're able to hug him more comfortably

“my airconditioner’s busted.”

“mhmm. give me ten minutes. i’ll fix it for you.”

it's 4 am and if your airconditioner really was busted, you wouldn't have let it stay busted for that long

“don’t. it’s okay. i wanna be here anyways.”

both you and yoongi know that your airconditioner’s in tip-top shape and is actually the one that blows the coldest air in the dorm

sometimes you think he’s an angel in disguise because there’s no way you deserve a human best friend like him

“yoongs?”

“hmm?” he hums before he falls asleep again, trying to keep up while having his eyes closed so he could listen to you

“you know that i’m really glad you’re in my life, right?”

oh

:)

“mhmm. you don’t say, sweets," he teasingly chuckles, feeling his ribcage rise in amusement under your arm

“fuck-“

“yeah, i know. i do, because you put me as your family member in your emergency contacts, but you don’t know that i know that.”

... oh

you don't even know how yoongi came to know but you don't question it, the warmth in your heart doubling

“love you.”

“love you too, y/n.”

( ♡ )

jungkook’s the most nervous he’s been in awhile

and that’s coming from him who sees yoongi in almost a daily basis

after all, jin did tell him you can be quite forgetful becasue you tend to take care of things all at once

he’ll sTILL try to be as smooth and casual as much as possible though

“big game tomorrow huh?”

and by big game that means as in your last qualifying game to whether or not your team would compete in the yearly (not to mention prestigious) soccer tournament

you chuckle at the thought because by now, you should already be sleeping and getting some rest even if it’s just seven in the evening

but you’re here <3 out at a park near jungkook’s dorm, sharing hand warmers <3

“yeah. it’s a make or break match.”

“i actually haven’t seen you play before, y’know," jungkook silently admits, looking down on his shoes as he thinks if he's just offended you

“really?” you ask in genuine curiosity, “then how come you interviewed me for your little survey when you haven’t watched me play before?”

oh

tHAT

“i uh, i actually just really wanted to talk to you that day. i-i don’t normally approach people first, but you just looked warm enough for me to reach out first.”

he's babbling before he even knows it, oblivious the growing smile on your face

“then i asked jimin because he kNOWS everything, and it was all in good fate that it turned out you were the soccer captain!! i was excited because i had a legitimate reason to talk to you that day.”

so that’s why

he wanted to talk to you even before his lunchboxes were taken out of the situation!!!

“how about me? why was it me?”

ahem

you're not trying to be funny but you can't help but chuckle, scratching the back of your ear in thought

“i honestly couldn’t tell either, jungkook.”

he almost coughs in shock, masking it off with playing it off for the bite of the chill of the night

“all i know is that something told me it was you,” you timidly add, looking down on your hands. “and i went for it.”

right can he chalk up mad blushing to the night air

he fiddles with the drawstrings of his sweatpants this time, his eye contact with you becoming fidgety

“big game tomorrow,” he repeats and you're just about to tell him that your conversation sounds like it's gonna be repeated

“don’t forget your eyedrops, alright?”

....

was that smooth enough

“eyedrops?”

yeah

uhm

that was... random

“oh right! you gave them back to me.”

“yeah. you should open it tonight, probably. to see if it’s already all-evaporated, y’know? if it is, then let me know tomorrow so i can buy you new ones.”

“highly doubt that they would, but alright, kook.”

you take the little banter to be your cue to walk back to your dorm, about to say goodbye to him when he makes an audible sound of confusion

it confuses you even more when he's trailing behind you

“your dorm’s twenty feet away from where we are, jungkook.”

“y-yeah i know that!! i’m walking you home, silly.”

right!!

hee-hee

he’s keeping his hands to himself even if he BADLY wants to hold your hand or even your forearm but he has to resist that urge rn

but he does intentionally brush shoulders with you and mumble “pothole.” so he could nUDGE you to the side even if there aren’t any to begin with

silence with jungkook now is comfortable as it has been for more than awhile, the walk passing by faster that you almost wish you walked slower

goddamn it he should've said there was a pothole atleast ten more times to make the walk longer

“goodnight, koo.”

“goodnight, y/n.”

there’s obviously no goodnight kiss but he dOES get a squeeze on his bicep

you take your time when you come home — to unwind as much as you could before you stress yourself out tomorrow

your shower routine may have took a little longer this time but it makes you get dressed as quick as you could when your eyes see the origami box you've been putting off from opening, one that jungkook just told you to open, because as far as you knew they were just EYEDROPS!!!

... the supposed bottle of eyedrops that’s too well-packaged and clearly thought-out

an origami box, a carebear heart initial drawstring pouch AND a plain ziplock baggie as if the other two weren’t enough

it’s when you open the box within the ziplock bag that you feel it’s definitely not as light as a bottle of eyedrops would be

there’s a very visible dent weighing down on the pouch (that’s within the origami box) that’s cLEARLY not your eyedrops

you’re actually nervous to the point that you just open unfurl it with your eyes closed, feeling two items in there

the plastic bottle of eyedrops, and definitely the cool surface of what feels like

a bracelet?

it’s a pretty straightforward yet timelessly elegant silver link bracelet, equipped with a couple options for how tight or loose you want to wear it

it hits you all at once and god does it just render you speechless

jungkook has this bracelet too.

you’re quite speechless and in between looking at it up-close to avoiding looking at it at all, trying to calm your breathing by focusing on the eyedrops instead

the said eyedrops you've been so used to seeing that you immediately sense that there's something oFF with the label???

its stuck-on, that's for sure, but something about it is not as seamless and stationary and official as it should be

it's almost as if there's something snuck inside it and-

...

..... there is

it's scotch tape that's just as thin as the actual label of the bottle itself, having to peel the whole label in order to see it in entirety

it's the same double-sided label jungkook worked so hard to peel flawlessly so he could try and replicate it in the same exact design and measurements, having to even take it up to a classmate from stem he once knew that transferred to graphic design

(yeonjun did ask for a science paper in exchange for his replication of the eyedrops slash adhesive label because who fucking kNEW he still had science even when in graphic design, but jungkook thinks it's fair trade so it's worth it)

it's the same exact label jungkook's had for a month and only recently gave it to you a week ago, a truth he's long since known

it's the same exact label that reads —

i love you

— in his handwriting you've come to known by heart, the label in your hand feeling much more heavy than the bracelet in the other

you already know what to do.

.

.

.

it's game day and u are about to launch yourself into orbit if you hear oNE more drum cheer because it just makes you nervous even more

yeah SURE it makes you pumped when it's the actual game itself but not now!!! not now when you're pumping yourself with electrolytes and at the risk of peeing from nervousness and too much hydration

you haven't seen seokjin nor yoongi yet and as much as that lessens the pressure on you, that alsO makes you nervous because they're your emotional support people!!!! where r they

usually you would see them in the front row of the bleachers and neither of them have any snacks because all of their focus would be on you

jin is nOT mr. kim from student affairs when it comes to your games,,, nuh-uh sir,,, he's that guy from the other team that glares so hard it dISTRACTS me from scoring in the perspective of the opposing team

coach's about to whistle like five minutes from now for a final huddle and everyone's getting their final stretches in

you're too busy looking for people that you actually want to be here that you're taken off-guard when one of them grasps at your forearm, a breathless smile one his face

"give them hell out there, alright. you're a champ."

it's jungkook!!!

IT'S JUNGKOOK!!!!@&$&":@:"$

he looks especially handsome today that you just short-circuit immediately

he's wearing a shirt with your team colors on it aND!!!

he ditched his glasses today to wear contacts, not only because he wanted to look a bit more different and special today, but because he's also scared that a ball would be thrown in his direction and injure him with the additional impact of his glasses

his hair's pushed back with his forehead showing instead of his usual hairstyle and god is it making you a little dizzy

he's beaming at you and his eyes immediately wander to your wrist, not expecting the feeling in his gut next

you're not wearing the bracelet.

jungkook feels the sudden urge to cry even when in public but it's when you grip at his forearm tightly that he stays still, squeaking when you realize his line of thought

"can't wear any jewelry on the field. i-i'm wearing your bracelet as an anklet for the meantime, it's underneath my sock."

...

....

...... oh my god

jungkook's never felt this frozen and euphoric at the same time, sputtering over nothing when your face looks like the furthest thing from joking

you're about to excuse yourself suddenly when your eyes finally take notice what's thrown on his shoulder, something about it being so familiar that it throws you off for awhile

"is that my jersey?"

he nods eagerly to your query, proudly unfolding it for you to see your spare soccer jersey with your surname and number right on it, the exact marks being the same from when you tried to use a laundry pen on it

he didn't get it replicated???

"h-how did you get that? where did you get that?"

jungkook thought you'd never ask, the words he never thought he'd say already leaving his lips

"yoongi gave it to me."

you only have a handful of jerseys on-hand and even if you could always request for more, the ones you have at home are a little more sentimental

you gave jin and yoongs one each from the only several ones you had, and you know yoongi would not give up his for jungkook

but now, you do know that he snuck to your closet and took one to give it to jungkook willingly, trusting him enough to give it to you behind your back

kook's sTILL not fully-forgiven but they're getting there sooner or later

wait why is this making you cry

before you know it, you're pushing yourself to jungkook to hug him tightly, the boy being surprised for a second but ultimately reciprocating once it registers

"i love you too."

.

.

.

.

.

this is the last chronological update for stem koo aka lunchbox lovers!! however, this is not the end of them!! with the end of this chronological series, this means that all the future updates don't necessarily have to be linked — they're miscellaneous and don't have to follow a specific layout like this part of their arc.

with that said, feel free to send in asks on what you want to see from the lunchbox lovers (misc. requests, questions, and everything in between) and i'd love to fulfill them because after all, this series was born purely out of your ideas <3 also pls send in ur thoughts and feedback and love because i have da greatest time reading through all of them!! thank you for all the love for da stem koo universe <3

[judyhopps934-mt-zd]

Thoughts on Lies

Warning: Spoilers! And possibly having your heart torn into pieces. Other than that, have fun!

We open up with Marinette figuring out the recipes for the power ups as the new guardian.

I am disappointed that she still has not stopped oogooling over Adrien when he appeared on the news. Especially since she was allegedly with Luka by then. (I'll explain what I mean in just a minute)

Adrien was tired after the day he had as Adrien, which is a contrast of what Marinette believes his life is like. But being Chat Noir is the highlight of his day...

...only to not see Ladybug show up for patrols. And we see that it was all due to her figuring out the powerups.

Also, the patrols are a thing in cannon and I am still not over it after "Truth".

Chat Noir hoping for an akumatization so he can escape his civilian life radiated the same energy as Alya asking for akumatizations to interview the temporary heroes on her IG post. I get it, but still! We do not have people in danger for our needs.

Plagg being the one who announces any voice messages for Chat and asking for cheese through the feature on the Chat Phone brings me a whole other level of life.

Also, the whole milk thing at Le Grand Paris bar counter. It was hilarious, but also very sad. He really missed his m'lady

He ends the patrol after he saw Kagami training with her mom. And the smiles on his face! *Cries in Marichat and Ladynoir*

Plagg is the one that encourages Adrien to move on from Adrien, just like he applauded him from doing so in Loveater.

Kagami apparently said that fencing lessons are scheduled an hour in advance and Adrien (with that goofy grin on his face) knew what was up!

Both Ms. Tsurugi and Gabriel are very pissed at one another for the schedule change. That's hilarious, although everything comes at a price.

The parallels! Kagami is apparently learning Russian at her mother's request. Truly is a reflection of Adrien, civilian life wise.

Kagami? Lying???? The hell???? Who are you and what have you done to Kagami????? (Why am I surprised, y'all did this in Desperada)

She lies to their parents and the teacher to be in the art room with Adrien. I get it, teenage rebellion after being under an uninvolved parent, but still!

I like how the writers gave Kagami another dimension by saying she loves art, but her mom does not like her passion for drawing.

To Kagami's mom: WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR DAUGHTER IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH???!!! HER DRAWINGS BELONG IN A MUSEUM!

Also, art reflecting the truth? Hmmm.....

Since people like mentioning that Marinette has a thing for people with absent parents after "Truth", I will now say that Adrien has a thing for people who are great at drawing. I do not take criticism.

Kagami is hinting that Adrien's civilian life is not his true self (thank you for understanding him!)...

...but also says that being a "clown" (it was the Chat pose) is also not who he really is. The fandom would disagree with you. Although that brings up the question of whether both personalities merge to form who he really is and cannot be seen completely by anyone in any part of his life. But he is more like Chat Noir regardless.

Also, I want to see Adrien and Kagami spend more time together prior to this episode to see why she was not pleased with him being a clown if that's who he truly is, because her repositioning him against the wall made me feel like she is trying to place Adrien into a mold that reflects the image she might have created in her mind. (I don't know, this was just the first thought that came in my mind.)

They almost kiss, with Adrien being taken into shock (not terrified as we thought) until the alarm saying they have fencing lessons starting interrupts them and Adrien runs out, not before BLUSHING LIKE HELLO?!?!?

This is what I referred to in my second point and confirms what everyone was saying about this episode: this is "Truth", but through Adrien's perspective. Finally, an Adrien-centered episode!!!

To continue, every time Adrien and Kagami are together or were about to kiss, a sentimonster appears, with Ladybug trying to do something about it. Just like Lukanette, just like Adrigami: being a superhero affects your love life as a civilian.

Chat being thrown off the roof by accident and being rescued will never get old or less funny lol.

Montages continues up until the boat scene, where Adrien missed the intro to the performance, but I will never get over the fact as to how Adrien made it there before Marinette. It is beyond me.

Kagami not letting Adrien stay for 5 more minutes. Hmm...

Their cute moment together was what will lead to the demise of Adrigami as Kagami noticed he dropped the infamous lucky charm bracelet. *le gasp!

Why *le gasp*? Because 1) I fear it symbolizes that something will happen to Adrienette or that Adrien has forgotten about her, and 2) Wait until later.

Kagami revealed she lied so she can spend more time with Adrien alone, lying about leaving rehearsal earlier, lying about the fencing lessons rescheduling, and who else knows what else so she can be with him.

She tells him she loves him. But Adrien notices Ladybug and an Akuma. Oh boy, he wasn't able to give her any attention.

Because he left towards the direction of the boat (and said he left something there), Kagami used that to conclude it had something to do with Marinette. Oh boy.

Either I missed an entire scene about Ladybug knowing ShadowMoth's name, or we were not supposed to know how they know until this episode. It feels out of place to me, but oh well.

"I..am...AN INCREDIBLE SWIMMER!" still cracks me up even when I know how important it was in protecting her secret identity.

Happy Birthday Prince Ali!

Apparently, Kagami lied that her mom was in charge of watching over Adrien (or maybe not? I can't tell at this point.)

Yep, Kagami believes that Adrien is going after Marinette and probably resents them both if her facial expression says anything

We get to see that Ladynoir moment from "Truth"!! I love these two and their banter.

Adrienette stans, not much has changed. Adrien was concerned that he lost the Lucky Charm bracelet, for real. But said again because he though he would be clear of the lie since he thought he had it on him.

Kagami confronts him with it. AND THIS IS HIS SHOCKED FACE SCENE FROM THE TRAILER!!!

Thinking that she lies to get out of being with her, she leaves. With the bracelet. The leaving part is understandable, especially because she does not know about him being Chat Noir or what entails him to do. But why take the bracelet???

Adrien is also saddened by what happened. He also liked her.

We've never seen that part of city hall. Well designed in my opinion.

She was the akuma in City Hall with the glowing sphere! We were right!!!

Adrien feels guilty, though it is not really his fault. He has a duty to Paris!

Why is the music sounding different in French.

Jagged Stone. How do I feel about you after learning you purposefully abandoned Luka and apparently Juleka? Also, what's with the song??? (Rhetorical question. Do not answer)

We were wrong about Kagami's power: it paralyzes people who lie, not kill everything in its path.

Jagged, you abandoned your children. And you apparently lied about your age?!?!?! Both episodes show something about Jagged Stone that make him seem like an awful person on the inside.

Ladybug, how do you know about Lies's powers?!?!? There is a hole in the plot here! Unless there were other paralyzed civilians that gave her power a dead giveaway.

Chat Noir, if you lie as a civilian for whatever reason, of course Ladybug will too, since as a civilian, you need to lie to keep your secret identity a secret. Same rules apply to Ladybug, especially as the guardian.

The Lucky Charm is a drone, not a camera like I thought. How the hell did I get into an ivy if I can't tell the difference?!?!

Chat Noir pretending to lie is funny. It might also be his peppy attitude to lying. Also, his funnier version of ShadowMoth's name.

Ladybug finds the akumatized object and gasps. I wonder if its only a eureka moment or also the fact that she recognizes the bracelet, especially if its custom made.

Brutally honest people does not exist (we have all lied at some point, even Kagami who is usually brutally honest with people), but animals can't lie.

Fang being involved in destroying the akuma is cool.

This is the moment that we dreaded so much, yet knew was coming: CHAT NOIR DIES!

JK! He actually is paralyzed by truth because he jumped into the glowing orb. We were right that this is an anguishing scene to watch, but we're wrong about the part that he's killed. Yet, he still unnecessarily sacrificed himself and caused Ladybug to be angst about it.

WHAT IS UP WITH CHAT NOIR BEING HAPPY ABOUT SACRIFICING HIMSELF?!?!? AND DO NOT SAY ITS BECAUSE HE TRUSTS LADYBUG!

Yes Ladybug. Chat is crazy. And also crazy for you. And you are right about the crazy unconscious part. My Ladynoir heart!

ShadowMoth almost won until Fang bit off the charm bracelet. Thanks Fang!

Chat backing away from Fang licking him is a mood.

My favorite Ladynoir moment of the evening: Ladybug telling Chat to stop sacrificing himself and Chat saying she likes her adorable angry face. Her smirk afterwards.. And then their pound it.

But no seriously Chat. You need to stop doing that to Ladybug. She cannot take it anymore

Plagg said that even if Adrien loves someone else, he is likely to go back to Ladybug. Just like he goes back to Camembert. Seriously, despite his cheese analogies, he gives great wisdom.

Not Kagami almost beating up Adrien during his fencing lessons. And Mr. D'Angercourt notices this too as he stopped Kagami's final blow.

Also, isn't it illegal in fencing to push people? Oh boy.

And there's the Adrigami breakup scene: Adrien telling Kagami that he enjoys their time together and Kagami knowing their is sincerity in him. It is sort of unclear who actually ended things when Adrien asks if they could still be friends, but Kagami ends it all by saying that she will let him know once she can face him again. Ouch.

Adrien is hurt and stares at the lucky charm bracelet with what looks like sadness. Once again ouch.

Like Lukanette, I want to see Adrien and Kagami be happy together at least until halfway through this season. The issue is that it will hurt them more in the end.

Also, I noticed the difference between Luka and Kagami when ending their respective relationships. It hurt them both, but Kagami was more forward about it and Luka was somewhat passive. It could be based on what they know about their now exes (Luka knew that Marinette had feelings for Adrien and was not secretive about it even when they were together if the truths her friends said and the opening scene to this episode reflect this, whereas Kagami only has a suspicion and Adrien does not say anything regarding to it.

Also, I really did not like how the breakup on this end resulted in. While more realistic for a lot of people, it did not help that it involved Kagami as there are people who will go after Kagami after watching this episode, and I believe that the writers know this. Kagami is a good person who has a different response to the trust issues and lack of communication, as well as lies in their relationship. Not saying its a perfect one, but an understandable one. In conclusion, don't trash Kagami, especially if you saw this coming.

I take back what I said before; this is my favorite Ladynoir scene. I want to hug them both because they have to lie and keep secrets from everyone, even have some secrets between themselves! But at least they can trust each other! Excuse me while I cry over how much we are being fed. Also, the fact that they broke up with their respective partners makes this both heartwarming and heart breaking.

Overall, this episode is just as good as Lies! It is the first fully Adrien-centered episode, which makes this a first and already exciting. While I did not like how their breakup was handled, it was realistic and showed that honesty and communication are important. Also, can my children be happy together for longer than an episode??? I swear, their pain hurts me.

But at least Ladybug and Chat Noir have each other's company to get them through. May us Ladynoir stans continue to be fed!

[writerwrites]

Could I Need You This Much

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: After Bucky is left at the alter he asks you, his childhood best friend, to go with him to Rome so the non-refundable honeymoon doesn’t go to waste. Wanting to support him through his breakup you decide to telework and tag along. There’s a little problem: You’ve always been oblivious about your own feelings until you’re head over heels.

Word Count: 5.8k

Warnings: Modern!au, wedding day break-up, language, past injury mention, fluffy... chronically fluffy

A/N: *THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A ONE SHOT* This is my submission to the [belated] birthday challenge for @burninmatches​​​​ and I chose to combine two prompts from the challenge for this fic. First, the soulmates trope. Second, the song “Head Over Heels” by Tears For Fears ; The beautiful dividers were made by @whimsicalrogers​​​

Bucky was always a quiet person, but you’d never seen him this quiet. You had just stepped out of the bathroom in your cute little tux and mini-bowtie, arms splayed out wide making jazz hands. The proclaimed ‘tada’ fell silent on your ruby-painted lips the moment you saw his downcast gaze at his phone. “Buck? Hey, talk to me, what’s going on?”

Steve was checking to make sure things were good to go; the irony of that, he thought. You would be the one to find him like this. “She broke it off. No wedding.” Those were the only words the Army veteran could muster as his lungs felt like ice and his mind filled with water.

You fell to your knees in front of him, kicking off your shiny black heels and pulling his phone from his hand to throw it to the side. “So let’s go. Let’s get out of here. Steve will take care of the crowd. We’ll get Nat to handle the vendors, she’s intimidating enough to stop them from asking questions. You don’t need to be here. You don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want to. You tell me what to do and consider it done.”

This was what you did with the boys. Steve and Bucky were practically brothers and the three of you were the Musketeers of Brooklyn. You had weaseled into their lives because you had been the talker, the sidekick, the advice giver. Advice...you tried your best with this relationship and though you wouldn’t dare say you told him so, there had been so many bumps along the way. Even sweet Steve had drunkenly said Bucky could do better, about as harsh a judgement as Steve could ever muster. She had drunkenly complained that she hated how close the three of you were, you’d brushed it off. Bucky had been played, taken her back more times than you and Steve could count, and he’d put up with so much to make her happy. ‘At what cost’ was all you could manage to think.

There was a guilt in the pit of your stomach, a little voice in the back of your head, this was your fault. Maybe if you’d spoken up, but there wasn’t time to stay stuck in your own head as Bucky started to pull at his slicked back hair. Grabbing his hands in yours, detangling the mess he made, you pulled him up. “We’re getting out of here, simple as that. If you can’t tell me what to do, I’ll take care of this.”

When his rough hands pulled from yours it felt like he was about to protest, but his hands just went back to his face, blocking you from the sight of fresh tears. It was the first time you’d seen him cry from anything other than infectious laughter. Steve was the emotional one, Bucky was the glue, and you were... trading your heels in for the Chelsea boots you’d worn on your bike ride to the chapel. Grabbing your bag, you shoved in his wallet, phone, anything else that was small and his and put the bag on him. Pulling him to the exit you Gave him your helmet and grabbed Steve’s with little hesitation, a fleeting glance at Bucky’s car covered in hideous ‘just married’ decor. “Just hold on to me. It’s been a while since I’ve had anyone bigger than me on the back.”

He didn’t acknowledge you with words, just little tilts of his head, eyes downcast. Even when you started the motorcycle and patted the seat to get on, Bucky marched like a tin soldier to orders. You were grateful for the noise of your bike and the city, and the built in Bluetooth speakers and mic in your helmet so you could call Steve. With a promise to somehow get his helmet back to him and to make up for the shitstorm that he and Nat would have to handle, you hung up and crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and escaped to the one place you knew no one would look for you except possibly Steve, Plumb Beach.

Hand in hand you two walked onto the small beach and you only let go to dig in the bag he still wore for the clothes you’d worn to the chapel to throw them on the sand for the pair of you to have a seat. His eyes searched far and wide, still staying off of you, so to give him some space, you emailed your boss that the three days off next week, your personal time to recover from the partying and subsequent clean up, should just be changed to a full week of telework. With no complaints outside of a joke that you really needed a real vacation, you tucked your phone into your pocket and really looked at Bucky. The sun on his tanned skin, face clean shaven - a rare occurrence, and the lines on his face from years of stress and pain or chronic infectious laughter. As your lips parted to try and weasel the latter out of him, his gentle voice came out in a raspy whisper, “I was looking forward to the trip to Italy. I thought it was going to be a fresh start for us, a new chapter.”

You draped your arm over his shoulder, pulling him close and his chin rested on your shoulder. “Bucky, I know that you know those two things aren’t the same.” Running your fingers through his hair to comfort him like he’d comforted you through your own fair share of breakups, you let out a sigh, “But today it’s okay to let her burn in your lungs and your heart and your head... It’s okay to scream it out or cry. Whatever it takes to not let this moment consume you because you’re going to come out on top. You’re not alone, not for a second.”

When he pulled away you thought he was pulling away for space or going to give some grandiose speech about how you didn’t understand and how he was alone. Instead he was reaching for your hand, pulling you up and, with three squeezes and the corner of his lips you knew what was coming. The quiet countdown, the setting sun, a throwback to junior prom and your ex making out with your nemesis under the bleachers. “One.” You started, eyes on him.

“Two.” His bright blue bloodshot eyes on you.

“Three.” Two pairs of lungs in unison soon empty of air as they let out billowing calls to nowhere.

Two tuxedoed buffoons getting odd looks, Bucky pulling you into his side, and no sound but the waves whispering as you let him process. “Let’s get out of here.”

While you were relieved he was finally stringing along more than a word or two you weren’t sure what he meant. It was the way his eyes seemed to light up like he was having a ‘eureka’ moment. “The last time you looked at me like that you decided we had to take a cross-country road trip before you and Steve left for bootcamp.”

Bucky tugged you back to the bike, “And wasn’t that exactly what we needed?”

Despite your laughter, the knowing that the trip was what you all needed to cope with the gang breaking up, you still recalled how the boys barely made it to the bus on time. Passing him Steve’s helmet with a nod, Bucky pulled it on without shaking hands or hesitation. “Where are we going?”

“My suitcase is in my car. Can you get off work?” You didn’t need to see his expression to know there was a puppy dog look of optimism on his face.

“I actually already did.” As you mounted your bike and Bucky flipped up the visor and you were surprised to see him looking so surprised. “What?” Clearing your throat and flipping your own visor down he got on and you hollered over the engine. “Steve has your keys, too. I’ll tell him to drive it over to you, you can have your suitcase, he can have his helmet. Now where are we going while we wait on him?”

“Yours, knucklehead. You’ve got a bag to pack.”

It wasn’t all that surprising that Steve couldn’t leave on a whim. His job as an art therapist for veterans wasn’t exactly something he put before a social life. As Bucky pulled luggage from the trunk Steve pulled you to the side, “I’m only letting him go on this trip because you’re going. If anything happens I’ll find a way to get there. I’m sorry I...”

Pressing your fingers to his lips you hushed him. “I may not be a therapist, but you two are my best friends. I’m not going to let him lock himself in a bathroom, throw himself off a gondola, or...”

Steve interrupted you with side-holding laughter, “Oh dear, you might need this more than him you uncultured swine. There are no gondolas in Rome.”

“No gondolas in Rome? Well fuck, we better pick a new place to run off to.” Bucky half-smiled as he leaned his head into the door. “We are still putting my non-refundable honeymoon to good use, aren’t we?”

Punching Steve in the arm, you called back at the blonde, “See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya!”

Bucky stayed, talking to Steve for more than a couple of minutes while you flipped through work emails and kept your boss in the loop on the telework situation. All the while, only catching the tone of concern in Steve’s voice, not the words. Before you knew it you were on your way, body scans and bag checks, and with Bucky’s eyes averted you flipped through social media to see if it was safe to let him near his own phone. It wasn’t, at least not yet. It wasn’t just that she had changed her Facebook relationship status or that she deleted the countless pictures chronicling their relationship, it was that she had unfriended every person around Bucky that had put up with her for his own happiness. It made you wonder what happened, but more than that, it made you glad to put an ocean between her and your fists.

The non-stop flight was just shy of nine hours, the ride to the hotel in the heart of the city was another thirty, and as you walked up to the counter to check in Bucky, who managed to restlessly nod off on your shoulder, looked like he was about to collapse. “We’re here to check in, the reservation is under James Barnes.” 

It was obvious that they were processing the English, disrupted from their lunch, “Ah, che bravissimo, the American newlyweds! Evviva gli sposi!”

What felt like nine in the morning on no sleep for you was clearly better than Bucky’s experience. So you nodded, thanked them, and passed over the passport and other items clutched in his hand. Once it was all back in your hands with room keys you pulled him along to the elevator and, once again, he surprised you. “Are you okay?”

Your eyebrows furrowed and you took his hand. “Despite what some people think, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being a Mrs. Barnes.” Sticking out your tongue to lighten the mood, you left him in the elevator as you pulled your luggage along, “C’mon Athos!” The childhood nickname seemed to draw him from his thoughts and his long legs quickly caught up to you. “Want me to go in first and chuck any romantic decor?”

“Fuck, I didn’t even think about that.” He swallowed at the cotton in his mouth. “No, it’s fine. Hell, maybe there’s chocolate on the pillows.”

Wiggling your eyebrows you slipped the keycard in and pushed the door open, but just as you were about to say ‘dibs’ you saw the room. Rose petals trailed along the floor and the room had the soft scent of clean cotton and gardenias. Faux candles of an array of heights and sizes flickered on every surface. The bathroom door sat open and the motion sensor light kicked on to brighten up a jacuzzi tub and oversized shower with a bench. The small area to sit in had a door out to the balcony with a postcard worthy view and just as you were about to rush out there you saw the bed- the one massive bed and the welcome basket and flowers in the center of a massive heart of petals. “Cliché, but I think we have the chocolate covered.”

“I’ll take the couch.” He was so quick, so matter of fact about it that it almost threw you for a loop and you nearly agreed.

“We could sleep on this bed with all of this on it and still never brush elbows. Besides, we’ve shared a bed before.”

While all of that was true and you didn’t think much of it as you kicked off your shoes and left your bags by the door, something was twisting in the pit of Bucky’s stomach. The fact was that it had always been you, him, and Steve; even on the impromptu road trip Steve was always there. The boundaries had always been crystal clear and now you both were single, had careers, grown up, and now, after everything, there were secrets. “Are you sure?”

“Yup. Go and shower first, Army boy. If I do there won’t be any hot water left for you.” As soon as he was in the bathroom you pulled out your laptop, checking in with Natasha about the vendors and letting Steve know you had made it safe. With it being so early in the morning you weren’t surprised by the lack of a response and set out to clean up the room, all the while keeping an ear open for Bucky needing you. Just as you were about to check on him, your toiletry bag and a change of clothes tucked under your arm, you shrieked at the door opening in front of you. Your fist instinctively punched straight ahead into his stomach and set him coughing. “Shit! Sorry.” As soon as you put your hand on his damp shoulder you saw the familiar intense scarring that he usually kept hidden under a henley or leather jacket. Your thumb brushed over the remnants of the wound that had discharged him from the military before you took a step back, “Okay Barnes, I didn’t hit you that hard.”

“It’s my ego. You hit me in my ego.” He mocked as he straightened up. “Steve can never know this happened.”

Sticking your tongue out you walked into the bathroom and shut the door, a long slow exhale passing your lips. You hadn’t even realized you were holding your breath and that might have surprised you if it wasn’t for the flushed look on your face in the mirror. It wasn’t blush- or so you swore.

On the other side of the door, Bucky quickly changed and moved around the room setting a few dozen of the candles back on to turn off the harsher light of the bedroom lamps. His eyes stayed on the bathroom door the entire time while his mouth moved from chewing the inside of his cheek to chewing on his bottom lip. Once he’d finally stopped pacing around the room and decided to take a seat the bathroom door opened and you stepped out in leggings and a long t-shirt. Your eyes were on the floor, hair wrapped in a towel so that it didn’t drip onto your clothes. Bucky’s blue eyes stayed glued on the shirt clinging to the damp skin beneath. “I remember when you stole that shirt.”

“Huh?” Looking down you couldn’t help but snort, “Don’t call me out!”

“You always do that,” The corner of his mouth turned up, in a near smile and it was a relief for both of them to feel the tiniest lightening of the mood, a baby-step to normalcy.

“Do what?” Feigning innocence and flopping onto the bed, you reached for a pillow, causing the old shirt to slink up your curves.

“Buy a present that is actually meant for you and, under dubious circumstances at best, you somehow reclaim that gift.” Once the pillow was under your head, Bucky delicately pulled the shirt down and laid down next to you, rolling onto his side.

“I’m pretty sure I had this shirt first and it’s mine, but I knew you liked it so much that I got you the same one for your birthday.” You looked down at his hand, lingering on your stomach, certain it was just that he needed physical comfort, so you placed yours on top.

“Then at Steve’s twenty-first birthday co-Independence Day party you got so trashed you ruined yours. This is my shirt.”

“James Buchanan Barnes! Are you calling me a liar? Are you trying to steal the shirt off of my back?” You laughed so hard the bed shook and just as you settled down, sides aching, his rough fingertips tickled at the bottom of your soft tummy, right at the hem of your leggings and the shirt. “Even if it was yours, and I’m most certainly not saying it is, it’s molded to my thicc-ness now and  it’ll never fit you again, Army Boy!”

“My whole government name, is it?” He smiled, really smiled, that glowing dopey ear to ear smile that was contagious. It had nearly been twenty-four hours since you’d seen him smile and somehow you were all to aware of an ache in your bones of missing his naturally contagious light. But that wasn’t what caught you off guard, it was the fact that this smile hadn’t been seen in years and the realization was something akin to going through withdrawals.

The choked laugh and the smile that found your own lips was hesitant, reserved, and held between your teeth. Against your better judgement you reached over and brushed your thumb through the lines on his face. “Does it hurt smiling like that after you haven’t in years.”

The words were whispered, Bucky’s sad blue eyes looked up from the threads of the comforter he was picking at and locked dead on you. When your lips parted to apologize, he leaned in close and pressed his lips to your forehead. “New chapter, remember?” Though your breath hitched in your throat, he pulled away from you, “I guess we’ll have to get used to it.”

“I could get used to it.” You half-yawned. “If we take a nap we might be able to reset ourself and waste less time jet lagged.”

“Background noise of tv, music, or--”

“City!” You finished with an excited smile, already sliding off the bed to open the balcony’s door and let in the sounds of Rome. You could feel Bucky’s eyes on you and thought little more of it than his own curiosity about what the pair of you were going to miss during your quick snooze. By the time you turned around his eyes were closed and he’d jumbled up all of the blankets and pillows to get comfortable. “Too fluffy?”

“Spend years in the desert and try and sleep with all of that.”

Walking up the massive bed on your hands and knees, your tired body couldn’t be bothered to shove it all over the edge. He watched you attempt at climbing under the blankets, curious about why you weren’t looking up to see where you were going. It left you brushing against Bucky and he pulled you to his chest in one of his classic bear hugs. “Careful or you’ll wish you were back in the desert or did you forget that I’m a human space heater?”

“Nah, you missed my big hugs.” The steady cadence of his pulse was already lulling you to sleep. If that wasn’t enough, he pulled the towel off of your head and ran his fingers through your hair. It was an intoxicating sort of magic, a little trick he’d learned comforting his sisters and maybe when you woke up you’d feel played because you should have been comforting him, but the stars behind your lids drew you to a comfortable sleep.

As the two of you zipped around the city on your matching pistachio colored Vespas, Bucky knew he’d really started a new chapter. He could still perfectly picture the confusion on your face when you shocked him by agreeing to set work aside for a sunset zip to hunt down the best gelato. He couldn’t remember the last time you’d looked at him and not known what he was thinking. It was impossible for him to recall the last time anyone had set work aside to live a little, even with Steve. Though Bucky had chalked it up to ‘growing up’ a larger part of him wondered if you wold have always said yes or if there was a bigger reason you would’ve said no- like his ex. The fact was that the ex never even let you ask. That chapter felt a lot like the words ‘missing you’. This one felt a lot like three.

Somehow in the last two days in Italy, tossing coins in fountains, eating copious amounts of bread at every meal, sipping on proper espresso to counteract jet lag; he hadn’t cried or settled into some desperate need to get over his ex by getting under someone else. Bucky found himself delighting in the little things and he realized it was just because you were. 

Wine tasted better after watching you bring it to you lips with a hum. Its color was the perfect balance of red and purple as it stained your lips. Then, when you slid it across for him to try it was the melodic sound of your laughter and pleading that convinced him to try something new from his staunchly beer and bourbon alcohol repertoire. 

The mere mention of ice cream was no longer summoning the memory of that time Steve started a scrap that he had to end and resulted in you buying the three of them ice creams to cool off in the humid New York summer heat. You’d scolded the both of them so lovingly hard that yours melted entirely over fingers before your first lick. No, it was those fingers now covered in strawberry, sticky-sweet, and the almost inaudible gasp on you lips when Bucky leaned in and licked it off. He swore it was just for a stolen taste, but in the back of his mind he knew it wasn’t.

The laugh that came with the silly gesture, the familiar warmth of it like a hug to him, was more to you. While you swore it because he was being uncharacteristically childish. “I want to say I could get used to this ‘new chapter’ version of you because I love seeing you back to the Bucky that would protect Steve from his own stubbornness and me from my bad... taste, but if you’re going to make me laugh this much all the time... Can a person die of laughter? Is it going to be an oxygen deprivation type of death?” Laughing nervously, glad Steve wasn’t around to read you like a book. The embarrassment truly stemmed from how you loved the feeling of his stubble scratching your skin. Steve would’ve called you on it, that some how, something had just flipped like a switch and you were seeing the history of your friendship in a completely different way. The anxiety was starting to bubble as you question if he did too.

It felt so obvious to you, that the universe was laying the cards out on the table. You both shared silence and sound, space and somehow time- not just time in the sense of being in a new time zone or having shared a lifetime of memories, it was more and as you parked the rental Vespas at the shop and picked up your little bicycles, Bucky pulled you into the biggest hug. You didn’t ask him what it was for or hesitate to hug him back.

The sun was low, the street lamps turned on, and the only barrier between you two were the bikes. Hiding your smile in the curve of Bucky’s neck you could have sworn you heard him groan when you lips brushed the base of his neck at the collar of his t-shirt. “You know where we are?” He asked as he led you around the bike just a little, still holding you until he pulled on your hip to make you look out at the view. A hefty amount of stairs led down deeper into the plaza, flanked by older peach and dusty rose buildings. The architecture was beautiful, but you honestly had been enjoying the company on this trip more than the food and your love of history was always always something you didn’t flaunt. “It’s late and we’ve been dragging each other all over this city since we got here, so I’ll forgive you for not realizing just yet.”

Buzzing with excitement and curiosity he took your hand, lacing his hand in yours and taking you down the stairs a few at a time. “I’ve got little legs!” You laughed, true or not it was always hard to keep up with the soldier’s longer legs. The joke of protest was met with Bucky’s arms scooping you up. You were so tempted to protest, so tempted to tell him that the last thing he needed was to hurt his arm lugging you down some stairs in Rome. Then you saw his smile, the one that reached his eyes and the only thing you could say was, “The stairs! Stop looking at me and look at the stairs, Bucky!”

“I’d never drop you.” He said it so matter of factly and you believed it. “I really want to enjoy this so close your eyes.”

“Demanding.” You chuckled, no longer hiding that you loved it. “Fine... but only since you completely unnecessarily but oh so gallantly walked me down oh so many Roman stairs.”

With a crinkle of your nose you shut your eyes and he set you down  shortly thereafter. You swallowed at the dryness in you mouth when his hands found yours again almost immediately. Bucky’s breath shook in your ear, surely from the effort of lugging you around, you swore, biting into your bottom lip waiting for the cue to open your eyes. But he waited, his hands still holding yours and then enveloping you in a tight hug, his chest pressed to your back, his chin over your shoulder. “Okay, now you can open them.”

You didn’t have to read the placard to know Keat’s home. When Bucky and Steve were away for boot camp you’d written them every day, jokingly telling the boys to not become blockheads and to keep each other safe. While the letters were fairly similar, you knew Steve was already hiding doodles on the envelopes, he had ‘his thing’. So you sent Bucky poetry, Keats being one of your favorites. How you’d forgotten the stairs was beyond you, but you weren’t breathing, your eyes stung with happy tears. This was a bucket list visit and your chin quivered as you recalled the emotions of reading you first poem and the worry about losing the boys forever. You’d made yourself sick worrying Bucky would do something stupid to save Steve.

“Hey, pretty girl, this was supposed to make you smile!” Bucky squeezed you in that hug a little tighter and finally you took a breathe and the few tears dripped down your cheeks. “I thought you loved John Keats.” You could only managed a mildly frantic nod as you tried to collect yourself, a soft smile- one too similar to an apology found your lips. “This is you in celebrity shock?” A nudge to Bucky’s side made him laugh and you let go of his hands so you could spin around and hug him tightly back. “Ahhh there’s the reaction I was hoping for.”

“You never talked about the poems I sent you. I just assumed you didn’t want to tell me I was being lame.” Chewing the inside of your cheek you looked back at the building and then up at his bright blue eyes, which were only on you.

“I loved them. They got me through...” The arm, he didn’t have to say it and you squeezed his side to let him know that. What you hadn’t expected was the quiet man that kept his longer chatting to odd things he’d dug up on science threads on Reddit or political rants to make a confession in the middle of the Piazza di Spagna in words that you both shared years ago:

Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art—         Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night And watching, with eternal lids apart,         Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite, The moving waters at their priestlike task         Of pure ablution round earth's human shores, Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask         Of snow upon the mountains and the moors— No—yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,         Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast, To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,         Awake for ever in a sweet unrest, Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath, And so live ever—or else swoon to death.

Was that what did it? Was that the moment you fell head over heals for Bucky Barnes? It felt irrelevant to label the ‘something happened’ moment when, under the stars and in the summer heat you pulled his mouth to yours and kissed him fearlessly. His hands pulled the two of you somehow ever closer and the only compromise to the separation of your soft lips to his was the gasp for air. The dopey smile on his face as he cupped your face gave you the opportunity to use your words. “I’m in love with you, too.”

Bucky’s fingers pressed gently into your soft skin and he pulled your mouth back to his. He didn’t ask when you knew, you didn’t ask him either, and it didn’t matter. His tongue caressed yours and you moaned into his mouth, your fingers tugging on his cloths, his hair, every inch of you pressing into him until you both were breathless messes again. “I’ll bring you back.”

“Promise?” You didn’t know if he meant to Italy or the Keats-Shelley Museum, but you were too distracted by his blown out pupils and how beautiful his lips looked wet and swollen from kissing you. The thought of that action alone was still dizzying.

“Yeah, I promise, but I have one more surprise.” As your eyebrows drew together in confusion his hands pulled away from your face, where they had been resting gently on your neck, brushing your jaw, leaving a sting of heat in their wake. He took your hands in his and he got down on one knee. Your mouth fell open and you picked it up quickly, but your head lulled to the side like a confused puppy as your heart raced so loudly in your chest that you were certain Bucky would feel the vibrations in your fingertips. “Will you marry me? Steve always knew I wanted this. He swore up and down that if I just took five minutes to think about what you meant to me romantically that I would realize every single person I’d been with never compared to the girl who climbed in my sandbox. I wouldn’t have been left at the alter if I would have realized the only person I wanted at my side was the person I wanted at my side in sickness and in health, good times and bad, was always already there. Yes, you and Steve are my best friends, but I should have realized sooner why there were differences between my friendships with the two of you.”

“Everyone saw it but the two of us.” You looked down at Bucky, his hands may not have held a ring, but it was perfect and it was very much the two of you in your own world. “I guess I need to call Steve to come to Rome after all.”

As if he was reading your mind, he knew what you meant, you weren’t leaving this city without marrying him. Pulling out your phone, you tapped the little phone icon and in one swoop Bucky was picking you up and spinning you around, his lips kissing every inch of skin they could find and you laughed breathlessly. Steve answered on the second ring but the pair of you laughing muffled his greeting. You pulled the phone from your face and saw the minutes counting and you hushed Bucky with a smile and gentle little thwack to his peck. “So he told you?” Steve asked, tone anxious.

“Told me what?” Your eyebrows drew together and Bucky set you down, leaning in to listen to the call.

“He told you she called it off because he wanted to marry you.” Bucky swallowed, knowing that Steve was leaving out the key detail that after somehow getting his confiscated phone back he had drunk texted the Bride-not-to-be and told her as much the night before the wedding. “Is it finally happening?”

“Yeah,” You both said in unison, smiling despite the circumstances.

“Well, only if you can get out here. Someone has to give me away and seeing as how he won’t stand there without you and I won’t marry him without your blessing, it’s a bit of a co-dependent situation.” Bucky muffled his laugh, squeezing your hand before kissing your temple. “What do you say, Aramis?”

Steve let out a long sigh, but you could hear his keys jingling like he was already headed for his car. “Far be it from me to delay the inevitable. I’m surprised you two didn’t take care of this before we enlisted. Y’now, speaking of the three musketeers, does the impulsivity of this make him a D’Artagnan?”

Bucky let out a whistle and jokingly pumped his arm in victorious celebration. “You’ve done it now, Steve. Straight to his head.”

“I have to torture you a little for making me live through a couple of decades of angst and oblivion.”

You could practically hear the approving smile, “See you soon, stupid.”

Unceremoniously ending the call, you leapt into Bucky’s arms and picked up kissing him, drizzling in a lifetime’s worth of unsaid I love yous. Through laughing and smiling, fingers tangled in hair and soft curves pressed to the cold stone wall of the museum, you drank in Rome and Bucky. Each kiss was a vow to no longer letting a moment pass you two by.

All Tags: @tom-hlover​​

Bucky Tags: @caplanbuckybarnes​​

[comm-o-dorable]

sometimes I become teary remembering that all my memories...are mine. I'm the same little girl who would watch clouds out her window in anticipation driving to build a bear, who would order the strawberry fizz every birthday. Who would try everything to help my family because I could see they were sad. the same middle schooler that wrote five nights at freddy's fanfic for hours on my bedroom floor and wore way too much cotton candy scented body spray. the same bed ridden high school drop out who had the eureka moment when she decided to become an engineer while listening to Adam Young scores and crying. the same sixth grader who climbed out on my roof in secret and covered my window seat in hello kitty plushies. I did all of these things...they were real...I'm real and I'm a person.

it's amazing to think about.

[marielenaloves]

25

How is it to be 25? 

- - - -  few months later - - - - 

F*ck! I am finishing this at the end of the f*cking year. So much for procrastination. How is it to be 25? Well, so and so.. For me, this is the age that marks the line between ‘young adult’ and ‘adult’ ... Being 25 was overall “okay” but the circumstances hindered me to make this year a little better. That was the saddest part, I think, to see the world falling apart. 

I hate that I did not have much chances to go out and explore during this golden year but this is also what makes me look forward for the next. 

I started this blog days before my 21st birthday - what a journey! Same old lady with a little more wisdom. I am happy that 2020 happened - not the way that we wanted - but I glad it did. This year has taught me lessons the hard way. 

I still don’t know what I wanted to do with my life, I don’t have a single clue. I have a very stable job, with a good salary BUT I still don’t feel that EUREKA moment. I still don’t feel like I belong to where I am right now. Some people are waiting for chances in their life, I’m pretty sure I’m on the same state. I’ll just keep going. 

It’s a shame to be 25 at this f*cking year when you can’t go anywhere. 

It’s a blessing to be 25 and survive this f*cking year. 

[meghernandez]

How do you love a person less and love yourself a little more? (Part 1)

        Hey! I know I been haven’t posting much lately, but I badly need to let out my feelings once and for all. Let this be a milestone to my 360 degrees character development for 2021.

        Something has been bothering me lately; so bothered that I am uneasy with every notifications I get. Have you ever felt the need to always talk to your special someone? Because I do. I have been doing so for years, I just came to a realization while taking a thoughtful shower. I have a real toxic trait-- I can be TOO CLINGY. Yes. I’ve always thought that clingy-ness can be cute and it equates to how much you love a person. However, it took me how many years of failed relationships to realize that it might be toxic trait. You might be wondering, why now, after all these years of being in a relationship, long-term ones at that? It is because I don’t want to lose the one who has my heart right now (and possibly marry) just because I’m being way too overdependent. 

        Took me a bit of a closer look at the mirror to realize that I have to stop looking at my phone and just be focused on something. I think I have developed this mad skill of mine from my multi-tasking talents. However, not all people are the same as me. Take my boyfriend for example, he can’t  multi-task, and yet, I demand him to do so. But I cannot do that to him, that is not him, I cannot change a person just because I cannot bend my rules. I have to look at things differently, I have to stop feeling so insecure and unsure of a relationship just because we don’t talk every second of everyday. Writing this and FINALLY accepting the fact that it is indeed a toxic trait hits me straight to the face-- accurately phrased as “a hard pill to swallow”. 

        This afternoon, I was in argument with my boyfriend about this topic. At first it wasn’t this exact topic but one thing led to another in which this came up. I thought I matured cause I learned not to reply ASAP. However, it was because I was only restraining myself to reply, it was not because I was busy with other things, it was because I was forcing myself not to reply immediately. I think this took a huge toll at my boyfriend because he knew that I let him be, but he somewhat felt the pressure to reply even though I never told him to do so. I guess it was my presence of always being so available that he felt the need to be there as well. I have to stop this...

        So starting today [and mark these words], I would go about my day without giving any fucks to other people and not give myself as available. I just wouldn’t. I need to learn how to be happy spending time with myself. I’m gonna do this by tracing my steps back to when I found myself free-- activities include:

Blog again, yes! I’ll try my best to blog more. - I know that not a lot of people reads my blog anymore, let alone use Tumblr in that matter but I should really get back to my roots. I think I’m losing touch with words lately that I can’t even form proper sentences and even forget correct grammar, for crying out loud. Tumblr helped me become fluent in English writing and this counts as self-development! 

Read more books. - I promised myself to read at least 1 chapter a day, just to kick off my bookcraze phase again, since I’ve been in a reading slump for months now. I started this new “book recommendation” IG wherein I draw books and write reviews. I think I might repost some of my artworks here and also my book reviews!

Focus on one thing at a time. - This would help. I’ve always thought that multi-tasking was a blessing, because I was so good at it that I can focus at many things at once. Alas, it took my today to realize that 1) It is very inefficient, 2) It makes me more unproductive and takes much of my time, 3) I can’t have a peace of mind when doing work. That’s why this year, I should focus on one thing at a time. When I’m in class, I’ll put my gadgets away from my perimeter. Or when watching a movie, I’ll just do that and not talk to other people so that I can fully enjoy it. When was the last time I did this? I can’t even remember.

Be more productive and love myself more. - A must. A eureka moment was when I was in the shower and realized that I am not only becoming a toxic person to others but to myself as well. Thus, self-love starts now! I say do things that make me happy and have hobbies that I can fully immerse myself into. That’s a good start.

These are some of the things at the top of my head. It’s good to have lists. I will update you guys soon for my progress. Let this be the part one of my journey to self-love! An early birthday gift to myself-- cheers!

[natsthinkitythinkthinkthonk]

Some Tweets Remember Keiji Fujiwara

Keiji Fujiwara died of cancer at the age of 55. The news was devastating for the seiyuu community. Many seiyuu are remembering and looking back on their times with Fujiwara and the impact he made on them. A lot of anime I’ve watched wouldn’t have been the same without Fujiwara. From Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood to Dr. Stone, he shaped a lot of characters that I look back and smile thinking about. 

The following were all translated by @granblue_en on Twitter.

Takuya Eguchi

[original tweet | translation source]

Kaori Nazuka

[original tweet | translation source]

Tetsuya Fukuhara (creative director, Granblue Fantasy)

[original tweet | translation source]

Emiri Katou

[original tweet | translation source]

Yuuki Ono

[original tweet | translation source]

Madoka Yonezawa

[original tweet | translation source]

Tomoyo Kurosawa

[original tweet | translation source]

Koichi Haruta (former producer)

[original tweet | translation source]

Minoru Shiraishi

[original tweet | translation source]

Yuuichi Nakamura

[original tweet | translation source]

The following were translated by lig0schndr on Reddit

Ayana Taketatsu

Tomokazu Seki

Megumi Ogata

Mariya Ise

Nobunaga Shimazaki

Showtaro Morikubo

Marina Inoue

Romi Park

Natsuki Hanae

Toshiyuki Toyonaga

Kazuhiko Inoue

Yuki Kaji

Hiroki Yasumoto

Jouji Nakata

Katsuyuki Konishi

Shouta Aoi

Kensho Ono

Noriko Hidaka

Rie Tanaka

Kikuko Inoue

Ami Koshimizu

Megumi Han

Arisa Komiya

Ryotaro Okiayu

Kenjiro Tsuda

Nozomi Yamamoto

Kanako Kondo

Haruka Kudo

Hitomi Harada

Miyu Tomita

Wataru Hatano

Atsushi Abe

Suzuko Mimori

Atsuko Tanaka

Aya Suzaki

Sayaka Ohara

Asami Imai

Daisuke Hirakawa

Hikaru Akao

Yui Ishikawa

Toa Yukinari*

Kotono Mitsuishi*

Nobuhiko Okamoto (blog)

Nana Mizuki (blog)

Toshiyuki Morikawa (blog)

Satoshi Hino (blog)

Tatsuhisa Suzuki (blog)

Chie Nakamura (blog)*

* not translated

Taketatsu Ayana (Taketatsu and Fujiwara both voiced characters in Dagashi Kashi and co hosted a series of bonus videos released with the Blu-rays of the series)

Fujiwara Keiji-san.

When we had a photograph session together for a TV show, even though you said, "I'm shy, so I can't really talk much," after the session started and I was nervous you kindly threw me a lifeline and chatted with me a lot, and even at live events and such you've saved me so much.

I wanted to spend more time with you.

I wanted to thank you directly.

_______

Seki Tomokazu (Seki and Fujiwara both voiced characters for the same series several times including PSYCHO-PASS, Sengoku BASARA, and Hajime no Ippo)

The way you looked when you came to the studio with your script sticking out of your back pocket was so cool, and I often copied you. When we went to karaoke together, I would put on a song that had a video of your acting as a prank and put you in a bind so many times. I wanted to play around with you again. This feels too soon... Fujiwara-san. Truly, thank you for everything.

_______

Ogata Megumi

I've had the honor of working with you on various, many sets but... my strongest impression, is actually not from an anime, but from the drama CD "Radical Hospital".

Dr. Sakaki... Please say it's a joke like you always do...?

Fujiwara Keiji-san. Truly, thank you for everything. Please rest peacefully.

_______

Ise Mariya (Ise and Fujiwara both voiced main characters in HUNTER X HUNTER, and Ise references Fujiwara's role as Leorio in this tweet)

What I remember is His white shirt and the sunglasses he wore His gallant figure standing before the microphone His bashful smile when having friendly conversations His stylish behavior when everyone goes drinking Both his voice and his acting were so cool Everything about him was wonderful

Keiji-san really felt like Leorio to me I have so many pleasant and fun memories Thank you so much

_______

Shimazaki Nobunaga

Fujiwara Keiji-san, I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Morikubo Showtaro

The tears won't stop.

_______

Inoue Marina

His voice, his acting, his smile, I loved them all.

_______

Park Romi (Park and Fujiwara both voiced important characters in Fullmetal Alchemist)

He just recovered...

Be it with Hagane, or Muji, or FA he was everyone's older brother...

He truly was Lieutenant Colonel Hughes.

Early Far too early...

Kei-chan You fought hard against what ailed you... Please rest well...

Your casual comments Even now I treasure.

Tonight I honor you...

I pray you rest in peace...

Notes: I'm not positive, but I believe in regards to the second line

"Hagane" likely refers to the first airing of Fullmetal Alchemist in 2003 that used the title 「鋼の錬金術師」 (Hagane no Renkinjutsushi).

"Muji" seems like it refers to Zoids, the first Zoids anime series that is often referred to colloquially as "Muji Zoids", "No Label Zoids", to differentiate it from other Zoid series. In this series, Fujiwara voiced Irvine, a main supporting character and older brother figure to the main characters.

"FA" likely refers to the second airing of Fullmetal Alchemist in 2009 that used the titled 「鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST」 and thus is sometimes referred to as "FA".

_______

Hanae Natsuki

This is too sad...

_______

Toshiyuki Toyonaga

My heart aches... The words won't come out...

_______

Inoue Kazuhiko

Eh, Fujiwara Keiji... No way. It's too early. I remembered well the times we worked together in the studio. It's too early. I'm so saddened.

_______

Kaji Yuuki (Kaji and Fujiwara both voiced characters for the same series several times including Magi and Shingeki no Kyojin)

Keiji-san. I wanted to talk with you more. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I had a father like you, if I could become a man like you, that kind of stuff, always, I thought to myself... I should have told you so. I wanted to talk with you more. I'm full of regret. I want to see you.

_______

Yasumoto Hiroki

Words don't suffice. He was cool. Truly. We had talked about him visiting my place and drinking some unopened wine.

_______

Nakata Jouji First tweet, and reply

He was shy and gave off the impression that he didn't like superficial relationships, but when I tried talking to him he replied with a bashful smile, that's what I recall. When I heard he returned to work and was doing independent work, I thought on my own that he was doing well, but... You must have had it hard, huh. However, you weren't the kind of person to say that out loud... You stayed true to yourself until the very end. I pray for you.

I wanted to meet with you and talk with you again.

_______

Konishi Katsuyuki

No way. When I was a fledgling, because his place was in the neighborhood he invited me for a meal, and I was really happy about that. I wanted to meet with you again.

_______

Shouta Aoi

I can no longer meet you again. By all means, I wanted to meet you again.

Just how much encouragement I received from the acting of that wonderful voice I grew accustomed to hearing from a young age.

From now on and always that wonderful voice of yours will remain in our hearts and ears.

Thank you for all the wonderful times you gave us.

_______

Ono Kensho

Fujiwara Keiji-san. He really is cool, and he is someone I look up to. We have the same birthday, and on my own I felt like we had an affinity... I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Hidaka Noriko

Fujiwara-san...

I thought I could meet you again someday at the studio, truly unfortunate.

Thank you for everything. Please rest in peace...

_______

Tanaka Rie

Fujiwara Keiji-san...

The last time we met was during the recording for the Granblue Fantasy game...

I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Inoue Kikuko

Kei-chan, I'm so sad.

You fought against illness for a long time... You truly gave it your all. Please rest well in heaven.

I won't forget your shy, bashful, and kind smile.

_______

Koshimizu Ami (Koshimizu and Fujiwara both voiced important characters in Eureka 7, and Koshimizu references her role as Anemone and Fujiwara's role as Holland in this tweet, as well as Tsujitani Kouji who voiced Dewey Novak in Eureka 7 and passed away in 2018)

Dewey and Holland, please stay a little longer.

I want you to stay. I wanted you to stay.

If you're not there, we can't fly freely...

Because you were there, we were able to live freely.

Thank you but I still don't want to say goodbye.

Sorry that Anemone is like this. If I could say one selfish thing please come back...

_______

Han Megumi (Han and Fujiwara both voiced main characters in HUNTER X HUNTER, and Han references Fujiwara's role as Leorio in this tweet)

Just last night, during HUNTER's rebroadcast, we just saw off Leorio as he departed for his trip, Fujiwara-san.

Family and comrade, always thinking of his friends and a warm man, a perfect fit, my beloved senpai.

Always with the message title "Miss lovely forehead"

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_CUIyQAKMX/?igshid=14scn4kzgey86

Forever, and ever...

_______

Arisa Komiya

Fujiwara Keiji-san. I had the honor of working with you for 1 year on Go-Busters, you were always so cool on set, it was my first dubbing experience and I learned so much from you. I wanted to work with you again. I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Ryotaro Okiayu

I participated in "Hoshi Koe" at the Saitama venue last year, and you attended, Fujiwara-san.

I read your letters.

The last time I met you was back stage there.

It had been several years before then.

That's how it goes.

Thanks so much for everything.

Note: Hoshi Koe is the name of a series of events held in Japan by AIR AGENCY, a talent management and production company founded by Fujiwara Keiji in 2006.

_______

Kenjiro Tsuda

His white shirt His light colored sunglasses His cynical smile His casual way of walking into the studio His unshaven face His still shadow at Planetarium His husky voice His retreating figure as he left His appearance in a coat when he slowly spoke in his last moments

was cool

Thank you so much

Note: Planetarium is likely also referencing Hoshi Koe, which was held at planetariums in various cities in Japan.

_______

Yamamoto Nozomi

We acted together for the first time in UN-GO, and a while later when I greeted you at another set, you remembered me, saying, "I've met you before, right?" After that, when on the set for Utawarerumono you noticed my Ironman iPhone case and chatted with me, I was truly happy about each and every thing. I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Kondo Kanako

I can't believe it. I really liked your cool roughness. Fujiwara-san. I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Kudou Haruka

Is it because of the air pressure that my head hurts, or because I cried too much that my head hurts, I can't sort out my feelings. However, more than these sad feelings, I want to say so many times, "thank you."

Fujiwara-san.

We were together for my seiyuu debut work "Honey and Clover", and from there with "Noein" and "DEATH NOTE", our work together continued. I didn't know my right hand from my left, and you gave me so much advice.

On set you always spoiled me, listening to my trivial chatter with a smile.

I entered college, and even when I cut off all ties to the industry up to that point and distanced myself from work, every half a year you would send me a message asking "Are you doing all right?"

I entered my fourth year of college, and when I said to you, "I want to return to work!" you got a little angry, but you earnestly heard me out. Even though I caused trouble to a lot of people, you saying "Welcome Back!" with a smile has always supported me.

4 years after returning to work, when I was worried that I wasn't doing as well as I had hoped, you said "It'll be all right!" and gave me a push on the back, and I was able to move forward.

I really have been spoiled by you for so so long.

You taught me so many things, I couldn't hope to write them all out. About acting, about movies, about novels, about life.

Even now I still have the novel I received from you right on my bookshelf. From now on, every time I watch a Kubrick or Victor Erice movie, I feel I will remember you.

The fact that there will no longer be replies to my messages, and the fact that I can no longer see you, really really make me sad, but you will always be in my heart. It's all right. I'm an adult now, too. I want to become an adult like you, someone who is loved by many, and someone who can guide others.

Thank you so much.

_______

Harada Hitomi (Harada and Fujiwara both voiced characters for Senran Kagura, and Harada references Fujiwara's role as Kiriya in this tweet)

Keiji-san. Kiriya-sensei.

I've been helped, so much by you. Thank you so much.

_______

Tomita Miyu

Fujiwara Keiji-san, I had the honor of acting together with you for the first time in Kotobuki Hikoutai. Warm, and yet mischievous, I truly loved acting with that voice of yours.

I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Hatano Wataru

Fujiwara Keiji-san. Across various works, I've been in your debt. When you called me for "Hoshi Koe", I was really happy. The warm advice from a senpai I look up to, and the smile after a recording session. I couldn't possibly forget. I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Abe Atsushi

I've been in your debt since when I debuted. I see... We can't act together anymore...

_______

Mimori Suzuko

I'm thankful that I had the honor of working on the same set as you. Thank you so much.

_______

Tanaka Atsuko

It's a sad sunset...

_______

Suzaki Aya

I'm truly saddened.

_______

Ohara Sayaka

It's a lie

_______

Imai Asami

............

_______

Hirakawa Daisuke

Keiji-san... Keiji-san... I'm so sad... I want to see you... Keiji-san...

Hirakawa Daisuke

_______

Akao Hikaru (Akao and Fujiwara both voiced characters for Back Street Girls, and Akao references this in this tweet)

I'm still in disbelief even after a new day has dawned and I can't quite get the right words. I feel like a hole opened up in my heart. Since I was young through anime you showed me this fun world and as a member of Gokudols, I looked forward to the day I could meet you again.

I pray that you rest well.

_______

Ishikawa Yui (Ishikawa and Fujiwara both voiced characters for Shingeki no Kyojin, and Ishikawa references Fujiwara's role as Hannes in this tweet)

[Yui] That voice that I heard so many times when I was a child. Shingeki's Hannes-san was also, rough, cool, and warm... I loved him. Fujiwara Keiji-san, I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Yukana

I wanted to act together with you more.

Thank you so much...

I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Okamoto Nobuhiko

Title: I'm sorry

I was planning to talk about trust and play today, but I hope you'll allow me to do that tomorrow.

I had the honor of doing my first radio show with him. When I was unable to speak well, he laughed at me. When we were recording for the Ao no Exorcist movie and from the start all I was capable of was shouting, he laughed at me. When I kept wearing the same clothes on the set of To Aru, he laughed at me. When I look back on things, it might have been sarcastic laughing, but I only remember the figure of him laughing. And, I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble.

His appearance as an actor, the way he thought about and interpreted the script, what he brought forth, I received so much encouragement and experience from him.

Keiji-san, Truly, truly, thank you so much. I really I love you.

Thank you for everything.

I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

Notes:

The radio show Okamoto references I believe is "Sorairo Radio", a radio show promoting the anime "Sola" that aired from 2007/3/30 to 2007/7/27 for 19 episodes. During the month of July Okamoto and Fujiwara co-hosted the show.

Okamoto and Fujimura voiced Okamura Rin, the protagonist, and Fujimoto Shiro, Rin's adoptive father, respectively in Ao no Exorcist.

Okamoto and Fujimura voiced Accelerator, a main supporting character, and Kihara Amata, something of a mentor figure to Accelerator, respectively in To Aru Majutsu no Index.

_______

Mizuki Nana

Title: The carnation that arrived at my house 2 weeks ago ☆

At my last place, even plants said to be robust I ended up letting die (>_<) However, ever since I started living at my new place my plants have been really lively! My care for flowers especially has gotten better! Proper ventilation and sunlight really are important after all (laugh)

https://www.mizukinana.jp/blog/photos/2020/blog/nana_phot_20200416.jpg

I found out about Fujiwara Keiji passing away. I had the honor of working together with him for various works, during my first public performance at Tokyo Dome he provided wonderful narration, and at the planetarium in my home prefecture I had the honor of performing together with him... Truly I was blessed with so many irreplaceable experiences. I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

Notes:

The performance at Tokyo Dome is referencing NANA MIZUKI LIVE CASTLE 2011, a series of live concerts performed at Tokyo Dome by Mizuki Nana on 2011/12/3 and 2011/12/4. Fujiwara provided narration for a short film called PLANETARIUM "Princess Nana of the Heavens" (PLANETARIUM「天界の奈々姫」) which was shown during the concert on both days.

The performance at the planetarium is referencing when Fujiwara and Mizuki co-starred in a Hoshi Koe performance held on 2016/4/24 at the Matsuyama City General Community Center Cosmo Theater. Matsuyama is the capital of the Ehime Prefecture, and Mizuki Nana was born in Niihama, Ehime. Mizuki had also made two blog posts about enjoying rehearsing for the event with Fujiwara and celebrating the successful completion of the event.

_______

Morikawa Toshiyuki

Title: Fujiwara Keiji-san...

Fujiwara Keiji-san... I pray you rest in peace.

It's too sudden. My mind is a mess. Even though I'm someone who works at my own pace... ... Right now, I'm overcome with feelings of loss.

From the time when I was a newcomer, we've been walking together through the ages for over 30 years. As an actor, and as a president, you were truly a friend... Since you were young you were shy and cool, overflowing with chivalry, an existence that even men were charmed by that is "Fujiwara Keiji"

..., It's so painful... the words won't come out. I'm sorry.

I feel that you really must have had it tough fighting against your illness. Now, please rest well.

And, the letters you sent me I will always cherish.

Morikawa Toshiyuki

_______

Hino Satoshi

Title: Keiji-san...

Keiji-san... It's a lie, right...? It's a joke, right...?

This... is too sad...

Keiji-san as a person, as a man, as an actor, you were someone who I respected from the bottom of my heart.

Everything about you was cool, you were someone I admired.

I wanted to learn more and more about various things from you.

Even now I clearly remember the time when on the set of the anime "Shakugan no Shana," as the role of the father, Kantarou, you kindly covered up for and accepted my terrible acting.

Keiji-san, "Dad, thank you so much for everything up to now"

While reflecting on each and every thing I learned from you, I will devote myself towards the sake of the future of the seiyuu industry.

I pray you rest in peace.

Note: Hino and Fujimura voiced Sakai Yuuji, the protagonist, and Sakai Kantarou, Yuuji's father, respectively in Shakugan no Shana.

_______

Suzuki Tatsuhisa

Title: Letter

I hate the idea of something getting overshadowed without anyone knowing about it, so I will write about it here.

Since we first met when I was 19, I've been in your debt for a long time. Since before we started having work together, you'd hear out my concerns and give me advice, and go along with my selfish requests to take me along for drinks. Even though you'd always say, "Waddaya want now, Tattsun," you'd always keep your promises. Whenever we met at the studio you'd always be giving off a pleasant, lazy mood. When you were the sound director you'd say things like "Tattsun, you're the only person I can ask for this," things that I couldn't tell if you were being serious or not. It's only now that I can say this, but I took you seriously every time, and every time I was seriously happy you asked me. The fact that you said those things to me.

Sometimes I'd tell you about how people say that our voices or our acting are similar, and even though you'd reply by saying stuff like, "What? That's gross," behind your sunglasses I could see that the look in your eyes always softened happily. I like chatting in the smoking area, so anytime I'd spot you I'd head straight there. When you'd say, "Yo!" to me, it was a little embarrassing, but I was always happy you did.

I won't talk about acting. That's something I'll keep locked away in my heart.

I know you had it tough. However, I stopped talking about it. Since you hate that.

All I can remember, is you always saying, "Yo! Tattsun," every time you saw me. Gimme a break, let me remember something else, too.

Thank you for always listening to my selfish requests. Thank you for always listening to both my trivial ramblings and my serious talks.

I always thought you were an annoyingly cool old man. You were always the best. You were always the strongest.

Everything about you is cool. So I envy you.

When I go over there, I'm gonna have a ton of stories for you. Before I do, please make sure to find some good sake and tobacco over there. It might take a while, but I'm definitely going to have, a ton I want to talk to you about.

It's about time I wrapped things up. This is a letter that will never be read by its recipient, after all, so there's no point in going on for too long.

Let's meet again with a smile. Anytime, anywhere.

With love.

[ssa25]

Naruhina2020 (Jan) - Firsts

@naruhina2020

Rating - T

They were huddled next to each other in the loveseat of Hinata's shared apartment with Sakura. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, with her pink haired roommate locked up in her bedroom, nose deep into her textbooks for the ongoing exams. Hinata was already done with hers the previous week, so now she could focus on her boyfriend of two months. 

Uzumaki Naruto, was grinning like a cheshire cat, after Hinata had answered his question. They were talking and sharing about their firsts. Every little or insignificant firsts. 

From their first preschool, first part time job, first vacation, to their first best friend, first memorable gift and first movie. Although they went to the same middle and high school, they went around in different circles. Sometimes the circles merged and coincided, but they were still only more than acquaintances. 

They got significantly closer when they went to the same university, and when she started living with Sakura. In their sophomore year, Naruto asked Hyuuga Hinata out on a date, after Sakura drunkenly spilled at a party about how her meek flatmate had a major crush on him. She agreed ecstatically and he thanked his destiny for the turn of events. Because now, he was positively crazy about his midnight haired gorgeous (and hella sexy) girlfriend. Seriously, this was beyond imagination. The loud wayward soccer playing blonde and the prim proper posh heiress?

Anyway, Naruto being Naruto, asked her about her first crush. He didn't have to answer  the question himself, because she already knew the answer to it. It was her flatmate and good friend, Haruno Sakura. He was a pre-teen and she was one of his neighbours. It just happened, but eventually he moved on from those feelings as they became close friends. 

For Hinata, it was not the best feeling in the world to be aware of it, but she was above feeling petty or jealous. Especially now that he was her boyfriend. 

The petite curvy woman blushed profusely when it was her turn to answer the question. Her legs bent over Naruto's lap, as she fidgeted and replied in a small voice. 

"It was you."

Naruto was still for a second. "I'm sorry?" 

She huffed cutely and repeated her answer at the same time that he blurted out his confusion.

"It was you." 

"Did you say it was me??!!" 

If Naruto wasn't already feeling comfortable and smug, now he was superbly comfortable and obnoxiously smug. 

"Woah woah woah Missy, you never told me about that. You've been holding out, haven't you?" 

Okay, so now she was flustered and folded her arms to defend herself. "N-no…. You never asked me… I-It never came up before…"

He put his arm over her calves to squash any chance of escape. 

"When was this?", he interrogated.

"Umm…. When we were 13-14….Maybe…", she replied shyly. 

"Interesting.", he hummed and scratched his prickly chin. "Hold on… Is that why you sometimes used to faint when I spoke to you??", he asked wondrously, as if it all came together in his mind in a eureka moment. 

Hinata covered her face with her hands and nodded her head. "Can we please talk about something else?" 

"Hmm….", he leered at her. "Well, sure, it must've been impossible to resist my charm…", he commented refusing to change the topic. 

She smacked his arm playfully and pouted. "You're impossible… I don't think I'm good for your ego…." 

He pulled her closer by her waist and bumped her nose with his. 

"No baby, you're perfect for my everything.", he said in that deep husky baritone that made her spine tingle. 

Their lips found each other in a passionate kiss that had them both drowning out their surroundings. So when they heard a loud bang of a door, Hinata pulled away from his puckered lips to gasp for air and looked at the perpetrator. 

"Sorry, I was worried that he would gobble you up alive.", Sakura commented from the bedroom door with a poker face. Her short pink hair was unruly and tangly, and she was still in her pajamas from yesterday. She went to the kitchen while muttering something about ungrateful people showing off their relationship to lonesome singles. 

Naruto and Hinata snickered and cuddled closer. 

"Hey Sakura, ya know?... Hinata had the hots for me even in middle school…", he boasted while Hinata tried to cover his mouth with her palms. 

"Good for you.", Sakura commented nonchalantly as she went back to her room with a can of lemon soda.

As soon as her door closed, Naruto turned Hinata's chin towards him and continued their make out. They had been dating for a little less than two months, and had only gotten to second base. Not that he was complaining. He was serious about this relationship and he didn't want to rush Hinata into doing something she wasn't sure of. But it was just oh-so-hard to keep his hands off her.

She had mentioned about her being a virgin a week or two back. So he knew, if he did things right, he would be her first lover. For him, unfortunately, that train had departed two years back, when he and Sasuke were invited to their first soccer match after party that was off the hook crazy. They both had lost their virginity that night. 

Not to each other! Thank God for that! 

Some horny seniors found them cute and wanted to congratulate them. Personally. 

Hinata was a little shocked and flustered when he told her that. But she didn't hold it against him. 

When they parted for air again, he moved his hand from the swell of her voluptuous chest under her shirt to the smooth skin at her waist. Dejectedly of course, he had to calm his hard-on. 

He cleared his throat to distract her attention from his condition. 

"So, safe to say, that since I am your first crush and your first boyfriend, I must be your first kiss too.", he concluded smugly. 

"W-w-what?!!", she suddenly looked nervous. Not blushing nervous but pale, drained out of blood nervous. 

"Your first kiss…", he repeated. "Must be me… Right?"

"Uh… Y-yeah…", she replied in an oddly high pitched tone that was not her at all. She abruptly got up from the seat and walked to the kitchen. 

"I'm thirsty… Y-you want a drink Naruto~kun?"

Naruto  narrowed his eyes at the retreating back of his girlfriend. Something was not right. From what he knew about her, she was bad at lying. He knew this first hand, from the few times her conservative and strict father would inopportunely call her during their date or private make out time. And she would horribly lie with some lame excuse in the similar high pitched tone like she had used just now. Either her dad did not know her at all or was just bad at reading people and emotions, because he bought it everytime. 

Naruto got up from his seat and followed her, cornering her against the refrigerator. 

"Come on, spill it.", he said caging her between his arms. 

"Spill what?", she tried to act clueless.

"Who was your first kiss?", he was unrelenting in his pursuit. That's how he has always been.

"Umm… Who was yours?", she tried to flip it towards him. 

He knew what she was doing. But he was not going to let her off so easily. He would get her question out of the way first. 

"You know it. You were there. I'm not going to talk about it anymore than that." 

Hinata giggled into his chest, when she remembered the hilarious moment from few years back. Kiba had pushed Naruto jokingly onto Sasuke at the canteen which had led to a lip smack of sorts that left a distaste in the mouths of the two. It was a spectacle for the whole school. Suffice to say, Kiba earned a black eye and a sore jaw, while Naruto and Sasuke were in detention for the whole week.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want. But I'm not letting you off easily. Who was it?"

It didn't bother him that she had already had her first kiss. What got to him, was her reaction at the reminder of it. Was it that memorable? Was the guy a better kisser than him? Does she have some remnant feelings for him? 

"I…. I can't tell you… It's embarrassing…", she muttered unsurely. 

But the more she held out, the more curious he became. He would have to coax it out of her. 

"Come on babe….It can't be more embarrassing than mine…. Who is it?... Tell me… Is it someone I know?"

Hinata grew silent for a few seconds before nodding her head slowly. 

"Someone from our group of friends?" 

Again, she gave a small nod. 

Okay, may be he was not going to be okay after all. Now, his mind went into overdrive thinking about who it could be. She was not saying anything, so he had to start guessing. 

"Was it Kiba?" 

She shook her head. 

"Shino?" 

Again, a negative. 

"Don't tell it's the bastard… It's Sasuke, isn't it?"

"What? No!!"

"Then tell me who it was, unless you want me to go crazy thinking about it.", he grasped her shoulders and brought her closer. 

Hinata pushed him away gently and moved away to face her back towards him. She just could not say it to his face. 

She started explaining softly, but it was loud enough for him to hear. "I… I-it was at the sleepover party for Sakura's 16th birthday… We were playing truth or dare… It was my turn, and I had to choose dare because I had been playing safe with truth until then… Tenten already knew that I liked you…. But the other didn't… So she just asked me to french kiss someone who was blonde for one whole minute… She knew that you were Sakura's neighbour… The girls said they would help me get into your home… So they did.. And they had to also make sure I completed my dare… I was really really nervous…. When we got into the back garden, we saw you from the window that you were busy playing video games with Sasuke, Shikamaru and Chouji."

Naruto felt like his heart was about to burst from all the mystery. But she did say that it was not Sasuke, which means it must have been Shikamaru or Chouji then. 

He didn't interrupt her, so she continued. 

"We waited for you to go to the toilet  or something… I had made up my mind to do the dare, come what may… The girls even tried to discreetly throw pebbles at the window, but you never got up to check. Only Sasuke did. We hid from his view and waited for him to go back. After trying everything for almost half hour, we decided it might not happen. Tenten said it was not fair that I didn't do my dare. So she insisted that I kiss any other blonde. And… W-well…. Umm… There was someone blonde with us… Ino… She said I could kiss her…. And just to get it over with, I did… It was…. Uncomfortable… A little unpleasant…. But not a lot, of course not… It was Ino after all… She had a clean minty mou-"

Hinata stopped her rant when she heard a loud thud behind her. Naruto fainted and fell on the floor. 

"Naruto~kun!!!!", she screamed and ran to his side and shook his body. "Naruto~kun!!" 

"Are you guys f*cking in the middle of the day?!! ", Sakura shouted angrily as she came out of her room. 

"Sakura~san!!", Hinata called her for help. "Naruto~kun has fainted… Please help him…." 

Sakura instantly was by his side, checking for his vitals. She asked Hinata to get some water. But when she noticed the tiny trail of blood from his nose, she grew worried. She looked down his body, and was aghast to see the reason. 

The tent under his cotton joggers was unmistakable. She snarled and got up just to kick him on his sides.

"F*cking Pervert!!", she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Naruto~kun!!", Hinata who was horrified, kneeled down to protect him, and unintentionally spilled the mug, in the process. 

If the kick didn't awaken Naruto, the splash of cold water on his groins definitely did.

A/n: Wrote and posted it fro my phone. So apologies for the length and absence of 'Read more' option.

[we-are-knight]

Honestly, one of the most curious things about doing historical fencing is learning new skills and fencing methods that you utilise heavily until you come up against someone that counters whatever you do, only for you to go down a route of focusing upon methods of countering what they themselves did while neglecting the skills that let you get to where you were before.

Case in point: Knight was absolutely horrifically good at spearing people with the point of my longsword while denying them the return attack (”Exchange of thrusts”, as per Fiore), and carried my fencing doing this.

However, later the same year (2019), I got smacked around a fair bit at a competition a few months afterward and started focusing on my parry-riposte game using cuts, as I realised I couldn’t handle drawn out exchanges (after like, 3 attacks, I ran out of ideas). So I started to train that up, and my thrusting game kinda of...fell by the wayside.

Which led to late last year my thrusting game being decidedly average, but my cutting technique and ripostes being pretty solid. No good examples like the above image, but have me facing down Rob Williams like Dio against Jotaro.

And then...I don’t know, my riposte game has become less solid while I worked on core foundations. Weird how that works.

Only for me, last week, to suddenly remember how to thrust the way I used to: trick is to bring the sword point up toward the opponent, or launch with the point forward, extending the arms, leaning a little in the process until the momentum of the action almost pulls your body through behind the sword. In other words: a Fleche from Epee fencing. Sounds simple, I know, but for months,I’ve been unconsciously keeping my body straighter and more upright to deal with incoming attacks and follow up quickly with a cut, and hadn’t realised I was not committing to the action fully enough, which with a thrust...you can’t half-ass. Thrusts are scary and partly suicidal; but if you don’t commit to that, its structure falls apart.

What really helped, strangely enough, was the Peter von Danzig book given to me as a birthday present by a friend at my fencing club (Michael, you are a saint, even if you are grabbier for the sword than a deranged fencing possum), which covers unarmoured, armoured, and mounted fencing:

I’m primarily a Fiorist fencer at my base, but I cannot speak highly enough as to how this book has helped me reanalyse my fencing. Apart from helping me breakdown how many other fencers fight, structure, and common solutions to regular fencing, it’s given me some theories and concepts I intend to work on over the course of this year, and try to get back into more grass-root fencing. (Which is a way of me saying “Focus less on sword-tag, more on good systemic fencing”).

Like many things, fencing with the longsword is a project that requires constantly going back to the sources, analysing what works, what has worked, under what conditions it does or does not work, and then relearning what has been left on the sidelines. And while that can be tedious at times, there’s a certain satisfaction in those eureka moments, such as remembering how thrusting works effectively, a real sort of self-gratification that you are doing something correctly that was hard before.

If you’ve ever considered taking up historical fencing, I strongly recommend you do so, and feel free to ask myself about it, or others such as @historicalfightingguide​, @franonimous​, @petermorwood​ who are no doubt more informed than I. And definitely, if you are curious, get that book by Harry R, it’s a real blessing for anyone looking at fencing with the longsword.