#Gonna have to sleep with santa or something this year to cover the costs of winter 😂🎅

[satans-knitwear]

A sweet and delicious Christmas Pudding (filled with Judgement) for your 1st of December.

[hot-wiings]

The One Where Prohero!Deku Says He Won't Be Home The Night Before Christmas, But Suddenly Santa Claus Shows Up At The Door, Flirting With His Wife And Frightening His Daughter.

Edited: 12-16-2020

You folded one leg over the other as you sat on your couch in front of the TV. With a glass of pinot wine in one hand and the remote in your other, you flipped through the channels, looking for a better news outlet that was able to get closer to the current ongoing fight. The fight of a villain versus Pro-Hero Deku. Tragically, this was a nightly ritual for you. Every night after dinner, after dessert, after you'd gotten your daughter settled in the bath or bed, you would pour a glass of wine and watch your husband on national television. With a pinched heart and high nerves, you would watch him duel it out with some new villains, all the while hoping like crazy he was okay. All the whole praying to God he made it out alive. 

This was the life of being the wife to the number one hero. You knew what you were getting into when you began dating. You knew it would be hard being quirkless and helplessly watching from the sidelines as he rose to fame, close to being more needed and out in more danger. You the costs, you knew the risk, and while you wouldn't change any of it, it didn't make it any less hard to see him go, it didn't make it any less hard seeing him on the television, fighting for citizens. Fighting to make the world a safer place, for you and your daughter.

"Mommy, is daddy gonna be okay?"

Your daughter clutched onto your arm, pulling on your shirt to try and get your attention desperately as she watched her father battle live. She had a scared expression on her face, the expression you hid every time your husband walked out the door each morning. You sat your wine down on the lounge table in front of you before turning to her with a smile.

"Oh, sweetheart... Your father is always gonna be okay, he's the number one hero! He's good at what he does, and you know why he does it?"

"Why?"

"He does it for you, and he does it for me. He does it so we have a safe world to live in. He goes out there because he loves us, he's gonna come home every night because he loves us. Don't worry your pretty little head, alright?"

Your daughter turns her attention back to the TV, a smile on her face making the scared look disappear. You hated letting her watch Izuku's fights with you. While you did it to see him, to make sure he's okay, you didn't want her seeing that violent aspect in his life. You didn't want her seeing her father beat the living shit out of a villain, but how could you tell her no? You could remember watching All Might on TV as a child along side your brother Katuki. Watching the symbol of peace keeping the world safe installed you with a sense of hope as a quirkless child. He inspired you to be a hero despite being quirkless, he inspired you to be a hero support device inventor. It was your support items that your husband wore, and that kind of inspiration and hope was not something you could prevent your daughter from. Especially not when her father was the current symbol of peace.

You watched fondly as your daughter smiled up at the TV, as she smiled at her father fighting the villain. She was so immersed in the fight, such a fan like her father. Punch after punch, and swing after swing, using his shoot style, Izuku took the villain down. The heavyweight in your chest was lifted as he got to work on helping any civilians that got injured. Your daughter turned to you with a huge smile present as she started yawning through her words.

"Mommy, I wanna be just like daddy when I grow up. He's so awesome, he could defeat anybody."

"If that's what you want, then you can be a great hero when you grow up, just like daddy is."

You turned the TV off before lifting your daughter into your arms with a hefty sigh. She was getting older every year, older and heavier. While she wasn't extremely heavy, she wasn't a baby anymore. Soon the years of youth would fly by and you wouldn't be able to lift her. Your husband would have no problem, but you weren't built like that. It wasn't good to put so much stress on yourself. Desperately fighting off sleep, she rested her head on your shoulder as she tried to keep her eyes open. 

"Mommy, will daddy be home to tuck me in bed?"

"Not tonight honey. He's still got some stuff to do, probably won't be back for another hour or so, and you're already falling asleep as it is."

"Awe. I wanted to tell him that I wanna be him when I grow up. I miss him."

You placed your daughter on her bed and wrapped the blankets around her, tucking the covers under her body and feet, cocooning her in and prepping her for a chilly night. You turned around and grabbed her favorite stuffed animals off the shelf as you bit your lip. You missed him just as much as she did. Sometimes it was hard when he was gone for days on end fighting a villain and tracking them down. Though he always made up for it to you both, it always hurt when he was gone. You felt so emotional tonight. You wiped away a few stray tears and turned around with a smile so you could tuck her stuffed bunny under the blanket next to her. 

"I know baby, I miss him too, and he misses us just as much. But you know what? Tomorrow it'll be Christmas, so you, and Mister Bun-Bun need to go to sleep so Santa can come."

You booped her nose then proceeded to boop the stuffed bunnies nose so she wouldn't think he was disincluded before tucking them both in under the blankets again to make sure she was extra warm. The heater in the house broke so you were currently living off of heat from the fireplace until Izuku or the repair people could come, but that wasn't until after Christmas, and you weren't sure Izuku knew how. You knew sometime in the night your daughter would climb out of bed and come to your room to try and snuggle with you and Izuku, not that either of you minded. 

"And when you wake up daddy will be here, and he'll give you all the attention you want."

"Okay... Can he still come in and give me a goodnight even if I'm asleep?"

"Absolutely, Mister Bun-Bun too."

You pecked a kiss against your daughter's forehead, then you turned her night light on and shut her closet door, knowing that she would get scared. You made way to her bedroom door and looked over your shoulder to check on her. She was still fighting off inevitable sleep, nodding off and jerking her head up, trying to be awake, undoubtedly trying to stay awake until her father came home. 

"Mommy, can Mister Bun-Bun have a kiss too? He also wants the bedroom door left open... He gets scared."  

"If it makes Mister Bun-Bun feel safer I'll leave it open, but Mister Bun-Bun needs to know that I and daddy will always keep him safe just like we keep you safe."

You walked back over to her bed and placed a chaste kiss on the stuffed bunnies head before moving over to her head and giving her another one. You pulled back and smiled at her. 

"I love you, [D/N], never forget that."

"I love you too momma, good night."

You chuckled at her slurred words, sleep overtaking her body as you walked to her door and left it open just enough for the right amount of light to flood in and make 'Mister Bun-Bun' feel safe, but not enough to prevent her from sleeping.

You made your way to the kitchen and placed your phone onto the wireless charger that you kept on the window sill. You opened the notification bar searching for a message or missed call from Izuku to see none, he must still be out at the fight scene. With a pinched heart, you turned your ringtone to high just in case your husband did call. 

The hour slowly started to slip by as you made yourself busy with cleaning up the house. What started as dinner dishes turned into cleaning the oven, which then progressed into dusting all the fans and wall decor. Your mother-in-law and family would be coming over tomorrow anyway, so if you didn't do it now, you would be stressed about it tomorrow. From your spot in the living room, bent over and stripping down the couch cushion seat covers so you could wash them before tomorrow, you hadn't even heard the knob on the front door turn. You hadn't heard a male presence enter the house, much less directly behind you. In your utmost defense, he was trying especially hard to be quiet, and you had soft Christmas music coming from the stereo. 

With one arm swooping down and wrapping around your waist, the other went over your stomach while his head rested in the crook of your neck. You knew the hands, having felt the callused working fingers every day of your life for nearly the past decade, these hands were very familiar. However, despite the familiarity, when you were home alone, had been home alone with no one but your daughter for company, the touch of a male was very startling and scared you. You let out a little shriek as you let your body weight drop, bringing you to the floor with protective hands over your tummy. Your husband came tumbling on top of you due to his arms being wrapped around you. His chuckles resounded in your ear, warming up a pool in your stomach. The sound of his voice would never cease to bring butterflies, no matter how many years of marriage you had under your belt. It almost momentarily made you forget and set aside the anger of him scaring you. Almost.

"You jerk."

"Merry Christmas to you too."

Izuku adjusted your bodies so that he was no longer crushing you, but rather so you were both on your sides holding each other. After a week apart he wanted nothing more than to hold you, he wanted nothing more than to make up for the lost time. 

"You know I hate when you do that."

"Well, you know I hate when you stay up for me so I guess we're even."

"We both know you love it. You love coming home to me, love getting to kiss me, hug me, and cuddle me."

You let your head roll against Izuku's chest as he pulled his arms around you tighter. The feel of being together again in your cold home, warming you both and riding those sad feelings that haunted you both every night apart. 

"I'd still love coming home to find you asleep and well-rested, kisses can wait."

"Mm, I lucked out in the husband department didn't I? [D/N] wants a good night kiss even if she's already asleep."

You detangled yourself from Izuku and used the edge of the sofa to pull yourself up and prop yourself onto the edge of it. It was then that you noticed Izuku was wearing a Santa costume, belt, wig, beard, and all. You nibbled on your lip as you watched him stand up and walk closer to you. Your sexual drive was crazy as of late, leaving you with an insatiable horny hunger and no husband to cure it. This was something you could have fun with. 

"Although, I think I'd rather keep Santa all to myself for a moment."

"Yeah? Do you like it? I was trying to escape the fans and ran into a mall Santa, traded him an autograph, and twenty bucks for his suit." 

"Hmm, lose the beard and wig and you just might be on Mrs. clauses nice list."

Izuku chuckled as he pulled his beard down and made his way over to you. He pulled you up from the couch and wrapped his arms around you, one hand lingering further, wandering to your butt and grabbing. Call it the distance he held from you for so long, but he was feeling frisky. 

"What if I like the naughty list better?"

His voice was warm and desperate as he whispered down your ear, maybe you would've played along with him and gotten him to the bedroom had you not seen [D/N] in the living room entrance, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Santa? Mommy, what are you doing?"

That anger from him scaring you, that anger you put aside for a later date came back. You weren't in a state to be scared like that. A devious smile made way to your face as you pulled away from Izuku and feigned shock. He still had his wig on, and you doubted that two a sleepy five-year wouldn't think he wasn't Santa.

"Ho-Ho-Hold on there one minute Santa. I've got a loving husband and a child. You better mosy on home to Mrs. Claus before she puts you on the naughty list."

Izuku turned around, a smile on his face to finally see his daughter after a week. He frowned as he saw the scowl on her face, no doubt a horrendous trait passed down from you. Though, he expected no less from a Bakugo.

"Sweetheart, it's me, daddy."

"What? No, you're not my daddy. My daddy's big and strong, and he'll hurt you for trying to touch my mommy."

"Yeah, don't fib. Are you are fibber, Santa?"

Your daughter tugged on you and took a hold of your arm. She quickly ran to your room, pulling you along with her. Once inside she slammed your door shut and tried to barricade it, leaving a flustered Izuku standing outside. He knew this was your form of payback, playback for consistently startling you whenever he came home. He couldn't help it, he liked seeing your shocked face, he liked getting a rise out of the Bakugo he knew wouldn't bash his face in.

In this instance, it was the only time he ever partially regretted marrying you. You never fought, and when you did he had to deal with your brother instead of you. As a Bakugo, you took more after your father, but the personality traits from your mother came out when you felt payback was necessary. You would go to great lengths for payback over the littlest things, although this one was mediocre for you. One time he went a week with pink dyed hair and another time you kept moving things from around the house out of their usual places and refused to tell him where. Leave him flustered with a hard on wasn't that terrible.

Behind the closed door, you felt slightly bad for playing along with the whole Izuku is Santa thing. Like most times, you thought it would be funny. Make your husband flustered, it'll be cute. That was before your daughter freaked out thinking it was a villain who could steal identities. Of course, your daughter wouldn't believe that Santa was a sleaze, there had to be some explanation. This was starting to backfire, very fast. It was in your lineage not to back down. Your momma didn't raise a quitter, and it would be bad parenting to raise your daughter to be a quitter. What were you supposed to say anyway? Santas not real, I was just trying to fuck your father? No.

"It's okay mommy, daddy will protect us." 

As if on queue your bedroom door busted open from Izuku using full cowling shoot style with his legs. He no longer wore his wig or Santa suit but a t-shirt and pajama pants. With messy mangled hair, he ran towards your daughter and tried to pull her into his arms, missing her after a week apart but she squirmed and tried to pull away. 

"How do I know your my real daddy and not a copying villain!"

"Would a copy villain save Mister Bun-Bun?"

Izuku placed the stuffed rabbit inside his daughter's arms as she broke into a smile. Throwing the rabbit on the floor in favor of her father, she wrapped her small child arms around her father's neck. 

"Daddy! I knew you'd protect us! You're so strong and cool." 

"I'll always protect you from imposter Santas, always."

"Will you protect mommy too?"

"Hmm..."

Izuku picked up his daughter and carried her back to her bedroom so he could tuck her in for the second time that night. He hummed in response, pretending to think to himself as if saving you was a hard decision. You followed behind him with a slight scowl on your face. He placed his daughter in her bed and wrapped the blanket around her and Mister Bun-Bun before pressing a kiss against her head. 

"I guess even if mommy can be mean sometimes, I'll always protect her too. You, mommy, and Mister Bun-Bun." 

"Daddy?"

"Hm?"

[D/N] was lightly nodding off, content that she got to see her father before she fell asleep, but she fought it off as she grabbed her dad's arm to stop him from going away. 

"I think Mister Bun-Bun wants you to leave the door closed. He's not so scared anymore."

"Okay, darling. If Mister Bun-Bun wants it closed that's okay, but if he gets scared at all, it's okay for him to open it back up. Okay?"

"M'kay. Good night. I love you both."

You and Izuku left her room and he closed the door behind you, both of you had heavy hearts, sad to see your daughter slowly growing up. It felt like just yesterday you gave birth, it felt like just yesterday Izuku was holding your hand, comforting you as you pushed. While it was years away, you felt like time was going by too fast. Plopping down on your bed together, Izuku kept his distance, still bitter you left him out there horny and alone like that.

"She's growing up so fast, I miss her being a baby."

"Yeah, but look at it this way, there are still so many things we get to do and teach her. Right now she wants to be you when she grows up, you can start worrying when she's a teenager and discovers boys." 

"Mmmm, no. She's never getting a boyfriend. Not when she's sixteen, not when she twenty."

"You can't prevent it, babe. She's gonna want a boyfriend, one day when she's fourteen and god, why did you marry me? I never should've procreated, I was a monster at fourteen." 

You scooted closer to Izuku as he pulled the blankets over you both. You smiled at Izuku as he slid one arm under your head letting you use it as a headrest, and let his other arm rest on your side, rubbing little circles in your hip.

"I'm not saying never, I'm just sayin' our daughter isn't going to have male friends, and when [D/N] turns fourteen and decides to bring home a boy, well... Who's to stop someone from giving said boys name to someone like, say, your brother?" 

"Mm, that's evil."

"You call it evil, I call it a genius solution."

"Did you mean it when you said you'd always protect me?"

Izuku presses a long kiss against your lips before pulling back and nodding as if it wasn't even a question. 

"Always. Always and forever."

"Even our baby?"

"Of course I'd protect [D/N]."

He says it like it was unquestionable. Like it was the natural order of how things should be. That wasn't what you meant. You chuckled as you smiled at Izuku and grabbed his hand that rested on your hip. You guided it towards your stomach and pressed his palm against your tummy. Your tummy that would soon be swollen. Your tummy that carried his seed and offspring.

"No, our baby Zu'. Baby number two." 

"[Y/N], you're pregnant again?"

His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree as he peppered your face with kisses. Joy and pure happiness spread in his orbs, delighted at the prospect of having another child with you. Realization dawned on him as he rubbed your stomach with his hand.

"Oh gosh, this is why you were so mad I scared you. I could've crushed him, or her. I've gotta be more careful."

"Mm, I'm eight weeks along and you know the best thing about it?"

"What's that?"

Your hands trailed up Izuku's shirt and ran up his skin as you bit your lip.

"Makes my sex drive go like crazy."

"Did you talk to the doctor?"

"Yup! We're good to go until the end of the second trimester."

Izuku pressed his lips to yours and you felt complete. You never thought you'd marry your brother's enemies, much less carry not one but two of his kids. You wouldn't change it for the world, you wouldn't change your little family for the world.

[rockthingsbymeg]

Rockin’ around the Christmas tree

Guns N’ Roses Christmas special - fic no. 6

Pairing: Slash | Saul Hudson x fem!reader

Summary: based of the prompt - “Person A is decorating the tree and refuses to let anyone else help because the tree needs to be perfect.”

Info: Fluff; 2120 words; typical Christmas stuff;

A/N: Last Christmas fic of the day angels. Have a good 2021!

It wasn't unusual for Slash to wake up and find Y/N already awake, either still laying by his side or going around the house doing whatever she needed to do. He was a heavy sleeper, so that had never bothered him, and that day it hadn't either.

Being awake before Slash, however, didn't exactly make Y/N an early bird. Anyone up before midday was up before Slash.

This time, however, it was different. Around half-past eight in the morning, Slash woke up, groggy and grumpy, with Y/N already out of bed. The bedroom door was fully closed, which meant Y/N wasn't coming back to bed and didn't want to wake him up. When they were asleep, the door was always left ajar or fully open, so none of them would accidentally go against it while trying to go to the bathroom or grab a glass of water in the middle of the night.

When he had rolled on the bed to look at the clock, he had groaned so deeply and loudly it had actually hurt his dry throat, but that was the least of his concerns at the moment. After he woke up, he couldn’t fall back asleep unless Y/N was by his side, which he guessed wouldn’t happen that day.

He didn’t understand why on earth she was up so early, but instead of thinking about it, he just rolled on his side, stretched like their little black kitten did while waking up, and then rolled out of bed, bare feet meeting the hard, cold wood floor and sending shivers up his body. Either way, he didn’t throw on a pair of socks or slippers and picked up a fluffy robe that Y/N had gotten him, wrapping it around himself and making his way out of his room.

Every blind in the house had been open, and the bright sunlight shinning against the snow resting on the windowsills burned his eyes, causing a groan to leave his lips and his hand to immediately shoot up to cover his eyes.

He kept walking, slowly becoming more aware of Frank Sinatra's voice mumbling lowly on the lower floor. It was so pleasant, deep, and rich in his early morning grogginess, that it was working as a lullaby, making his eyelids grow heavier and heavier. Slash fought them open with much cost as his bare feet began leading him down the stairs, a small, black cursed kitten greeting him happily as it walked in circles, its paws still too small to get him up the steps.

A smile stretched across Slash's face as he made it to the bottom and picked up the youngest member of his and Y/N's furry family. His calloused hands patted the tiny head and scratched behind his ears, smile widening at the soft, small purring sounds reverberating against his chest, where Slash had made the kitten lean against.

Soon enough, however, instead of having one kitten to pet and cuddle, Slash had that one and four more cats meowing at him, demanding their own share of attention.

Slash sat down on the last step of the staircase and let his cats climb closer to him to give him their good morning, curling themselves against the plush material of the robe or lightly craving their nails into the skin of his hands, trying to get him to pet them.

He had sat there for a bit, doing his best to give them all an equal share of attention, until all the heads turn towards their living room, two of the cats leaving to follow the sound and start meowing again to the other source of cuddles and pets.

Y/N kneeled down to run her hands over the fur on their back and then underneath their little chins, smiling widely at them and giving them each a kiss on the nose before taking a seat by Slash’s side on the staircase and leaning her head on his shoulder. Her head tilted up, looking into his eyes, as his tilted down, smiling widely up at her before pressing their lips together gently, one, two, three small pecks before a long, slow kiss.

“I didn't wake you up, did I?” Y/N asked as they pulled apart, lacing their hands together and stroking his knuckles with her thumb.

“Nah, you're fine. Jus’ woke up all of a sudden and y’know I can't sleep without you there...” A soft blush darkened the color of his cheeks underneath his bed-head and the sight made Y/N's heart flutter in her chest, even if it was probably the thousandth time she had seen it.

“I know, baby.” She laid another kiss on his lips and then one on his nose, pulling back only far enough to be able to speak. “Why don't I fix you some food and you eat while I finish what I was doing, and then we'll crawl back under the covers?”

The idea sounded very much appealing to Slash, who eagerly nodded before moving his mouth to press a sweet, gentle kiss underneath her ear. “What, exactly, are you doin' this fucking early, on a Saturday?”

A small laugh rumbled from the back of her throat as she pressed a final kiss to his lips and got up, gently putting two of her cats down on the floor and making her way to the kitchen, passing by their living room to turn the music just slightly louder. “It's December 1st baby. You know what that means...”

Combining her answer, with Frank Sinatra's soothing voice and the sight of balled up Christmas lights on the corner, that he, somehow, hadn't noticed until now, gave him the answer he needed.

“I forgot what day it was...” He chuckled, putting all the cats on the floor before following her, sneaking a glance into the living room to see their dark green tree stand high and proud in the corner of the room, right by a shelf filled with little dinosaur replicas. Yeah, everything totally matched. “Do you want help with anything sweetheart?” He asked as he entered the kitchen, wrapping his arms around her waist as she faced the stove, the smell of eggs filling his nostrils and making his empty stomach groan loud and angry.

She chuckled at the noise and turned to him briefly to plant a kiss on his cheek, before shaking her head and turning to the stove once more. “You know I like to do it on my own. It needs to be perfect, the way I envisioned it...” She explained, just like every year when Slash asked if she needed help.

He smiled against her neck, nuzzling her skin before giving her a small kiss, pushing back to glance towards the slide-open doors that led to their backyard. “Just like you know I'll always ask this. It’s tradition.” He chuckled, both at his statement and at the sight of their two older dogs and their three pups playing around in the snow. “They're gonna be freezing when they come inside...”

“I told them that, they still barked that they wanted to go outside.” Slash could envision Y/N rolling her eyes while speaking in that fake disapproving tone, shaking her head slightly while still cooking his breakfast, waving a small spatula around as she spoke. “They're dumbasses, much like you.”

“Wha- I'm not a dumbass!” He argued in an equally fake offended tone, letting his arms fall from their previous place around her waist and slapping her ass with one hand, before hopping on the counter so he could see her face.

“Why, yes you are, my love.” Y/N’s eyes shone as she smiled at him, playful words spoken in a teasingly posh manner. “You're my favorite dumbass.”

Slash couldn’t help his own wide grin as he looked at her, leaning in to steal a long kiss, humming briefly against her lips at the taste of eggs on her tongue. “Don't tell Duff that you said that. Y’know he claimed the spot of favorite dumbass a long time ago.” Laughs rolled easily between their still slightly joined lips.

“I won't, don't worry.” She nodded as she pulled back, turning her attention once more to the stove and finishing his food, putting his eggs and bacon on a plate before handing it to him, along with a glass of orange juice. “Now, you eat that, so your stomach stops complaining, and I'll go finish the tree.” She laid a quick peck on his lips before turning away, robe swooshing behind her as she made her way into their living room.

Slash gathered everything on a tray and, rather than eating all alone in the kitchen, he placed all his food inside it and went to join Y/N, sitting on the couch and watching her move around.

Her hands moved gently as she wrapped the Christmas lights around the tree, leaving them turned on so the room shone with a soft golden light, along with the early morning light. It didn't take her long to finish that part, and soon enough she had picked up a box filled with dinosaur garlands. It had been something she had bought last year, doing her best to mix his love for anything remotely reptile with her love for traditional yet not “normal" decoration. Garlands were traditional, but dinosaur garlands... not so much, which was the perfect balance for her.

As soon as the garlands were laid down, came all the other ornaments. A box filled with red balls, each one decorated by an old drawing of Santa Claus, then a box filled with golden little starts, followed by one with white and green bells, and lastly, one of Slash's favorites, a box filled with small, plastic snakes, lizards, dragons, and whatnot, all with a string to their back so they could be hanging in the tree.

While Y/N busied herself around the tree, laying every single ornament with accurate precision to replicate the mental image she had conjured, a small smile on her face growing as the decoration came closer to being finished, humming along with Frank Sinatra under her breath, Slash had finished his breakfast, done the dishes, let their dogs in, started a fire so all of them would stay warm and gotten his guitar, softly strumming with the songs playing, until, like always, he began playing a melody of his own, overpowered by his own feelings and emotions.

He hadn't noticed how Y/N had turned off the background music and sat down on their coffee table. She was facing him, elbows on her knees and face in her hands, a smile so wide it had to hurt her. Her eyes glinted, both with the flames from the fireplace and with the unconditional, unyielding, undying, overwhelming love she felt for him.

It had been the same look since the first time they met.

Duff had brought her along to one of their shows, excited to introduce one of his closes friends to his bandmates. She was this slightly shy yet so lively, amazing girl, and Slash was, as much as he hated to admit it, swept off his feet after not much more than five minutes of conversation.

He was shy himself, never one to be able to hold eye contact for long, but whenever he did, it was the one occasion when he'd stare for longer than he could remember. The first time he looked into her eyes, they were so filled with a burning passion, a bit hazed from a few beers, admittedly, but so captivating. It was like a whole world, a whole galaxy was held inside them.

And what had taken him a while to realize, was how much deeper and lively that galaxy got when she was looking at him.

Once his eyes had lifted from the guitar and seen that exact same look in her eyes, he couldn’t stop his mouth from working faster than his brain. “You still look at me like the first day we met...”

A soft laugh left Y/N's lips. Not a mocking or condescending one at the softness of his words, an honest, love-filled one. She got up from the table and made the short distance to the couch, reaching over to gently take the guitar from his lap and taking its place. “Of course I do.” Her wide smile remained, both her hands coming up to cup his face, thumbs stroking his cheekbones. “I still love you the exact same way. I always will.”

A smile grew on his face too, as he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, pouring as much passion into the gesture as he did when playing guitar. “I’ll always love you too, baby.”

——

Thank you so much for reading. Likes, reblogs, comments and any kind of way you show me you liked this are endlessly appreciated💛

Requests are closed.

Taglist: @curly-hudson; @agroupiewhore; @littlemisscare-all; @metalheartofgold

[soymilka8]

Spray Paint - Hwang Hyunjin

pairing: hwang hyunjin X gn reader !

genre: fluff

warnings: none, just a bit of cheesy stuff tho. (this is my very first fanfiction here so i'm sorry if it's rough, i'm not really all that familiar with the layout of Tumblr yet lol.)

word count: 3.5 k words

synopsis: hyunjin helps you fulfill your dream of spray painting on one chilly christmas night.

master-list.

also, please let me know if the owner of this gif is okay with me using it! bcs i literally just searched up hwang hyunjin snow in gif.

the sound of something pulling you out of your sleep.

eyes lazily lift themself up for a better view, body suddenly going limp as you bother to make out the muffled noise. it was 1AM. usually, your figure would have been awoke at this time, with the pads of your fingertips gliding across the controller and your exhausted but dedicated eyes glued stuck to the screen.

but today wasn't one of those days. it was indeed christmas, as you observed how the snowflakes would cascade down the clean window of your dorm room. it was indeed, christmas.

you sighed delicately, snuggling closer to the warm blankets which were the only thing keeping you snug this head aching holiday. another one of those days where you couldn't sleep, another one of those sleepless nights where you were a mix of being too tired but not tired enough to get the desired slumber.

it always happened at christmas, too. it had become a tradition by now, not having the capabilities to sleep during the first fall of snowflakes.

another sigh.

somehow, this year has gotten worse. maybe by the end of the holidays, you'd be looking like a dead zombie because of the lack of sleep. you chuckled at the thought. though christmas is a holiday spent with family, friends, acquaintances and just having fun in general— you had none you'd consider as any.

ping.

— except, for maybe that one.

a grin had spread across your features as your hands nimbly reached for the phone underneath your pillow, opening the phone with your password and eagerly responding to the message. perhaps, a tad bit too excited you were but as you saw the words written on the notification, your grin couldn't help but enlarge. okay, maybe you were more than excited.

you immediately jolted up from the comfort of your own bed, grabbing a pair of warm boots and heading out the door in hurry. you couldn't bother to put on anything affable any more, your pajamas were most likely warm enough.

and so, you ran and you ran; with the delicate but heavy christmas snow disrupting you, and the cold weather wrapping around your finger like a ring, you continued on running with the same stupid grin spreading across your features.

because finally, you had something to look forward to this christmas.

“are you sure this much is enough?”

“we might need a bit more...” a battle inside of your head occured as you contemplated. it was rough, having to use your head when the weather was inhospitable and gloomy. not to mention, you were not wearing clothes suitable to which you inwardly groaned at. curse your sudden heap of excitement, curse your bad decision making.

having to decide in the cold winter weather was tiring when all you wished for were warm clothes and the abilities to turn back time, to go back to your dorm and switch attire but alas, no point in doing so as you were already out now.

all you could do was nod, shaking the can bottle abruptly and briskly walking away. the convenience store didn't provide as much warmth as you had hoped. not only were you stuck in cold weather but in your shameful panda pajamas.

“let's buy two more, at least.” a voice threw you out of your trance. you shifted slightly from discomfort, eyeing the person who accompanied you with hurry. “no, this is enough.”

“but that much paint is only gonna take us the face to draw, what about the rest of the body?”

a breathy sighed ran past you as you finally gave in, caging your body in an attempt to pass through body heat. not that you were successful in doing so. “fine, let's get five more bottles.”

a grin had spread across the other person's features, along with the redness of his nose and the moon shape of his eyes. your heart stopped so suddenly, as if the frost stuck beneath your whole stomach went away in a whiplash; it was now swarmed with butterflies, filling you up with warmness. though you couldn't see much of the face because of the beanie and his large coat enwrapping him, heat crept upon your skin at his god sent features.

he was all too perfect.

once he had returned with five more bottles, you payed at the cashier with your own money and the both of you excited the air conditioned convenience store, the both of you feeling the same exact thing: it was damn cold in there.

“here, hold the spray bottles first.” the man said to you upon exciting the convenience store as he handed you the bag filled with spray bottles. albeit hesitant, you took the paper bag and raised your brow at confusion upon seeing him remove his coat.

“hyunjin, what are you doing? it's cold, don't remove your coat.”

he only grinned at this though, now creeping closer to your and wrapping the cost around your shoulders. he pulled back, reaching for the paper bag in your hands, placing them on the ground, and inserting your arms carefully inside his large coat. you were still confused at this, appalled even as you stared at him through wide eyes.

sure, you had already felt warm because of the coat but what about him? is he not gonna feel cold? and most importantly, why would he go as far as giving you his coat?

“you can wear it for now, i'm not cold.” he answered the question inside your head, giving you the same closed eye smile he once did in the convenience store. hot, cozy, butterflies spread again in the out of your stomach. you were looking for warmth earlier but now it seemed as if it was too much it was almost overwhelming.

“... thank you.”

was all you were able to muster as he held out his hand, grabbing hold of yours, and dragging you with those large footsteps of his.

through the buried snow and the noisy headlights, you were there, to hear hwang hyunjin's heavy panting breathe against your ears and you wouldn't have it any other way.

it had always been your dream to make kids smile.

the thought of their laughter reaching your ears or simply just imagining it was enough for you— for the both of you as he promised whatever your dreams were, it was his as well.

maybe it was just the fact that you were a castaway, maybe trauma had etched itself into you far too deeply and you were afraid of being someone you hated most but whatever it is your heart was feeling inside, you were grateful he was always there beside you.

as you stare at the blank billboard in front of you, a soft smile ran down your face; your hands were holding two bottles of spray cans, shaking it slightly with a hint of excitement in your features. he was beside you, gawking at the way your eyes would sparkle at the thought of making your dreams come true.

hwang hyunjin possibly fell down a deep hole just by you. your dreams, your aspirations, your melancholic voice, your soothing comfort— you, you, you. his mind was simply filled with you.

“are ya ready, hyunjin?” you voiced out, breaking him out of his daydreaming. hyunjin shook his head abruptly, a blush covering his features and nodding at you as he followed your stare at the billboard in front.

it was big, big enough to catch people's attention. actually, no, scratch that. it was larger than the both of you had initially intended; it was more or less, enough to keep people staring and observing. still, you didn't mind as you prepped your bottles and neared the billboard.

a santa clause, reindeer, over-joyed kids, and fake reality you had planned of painting against the smooth surface the night before. having told hyunjin this, he was a bit surprised at your idea of spray painting on an enormous billboard with him. usually, it would only be him and his group of friends who'd cause mischief such as this, drawing random drabbles, art, and graffiti, waiting for the police to chase them.

he never brought you into any of his gimmick despite knowing your hands were creative. he was simply too overprotective. though he'd usually tell you of what he and his friends do every single time, at 1AM, he once again, never had the courage to tell you to come with them.

you never did, really. you never bothered to.

however, once you suddenly came in out of the blue, asking him to take you to one of the billboards with him only— hyunjin was confused and denying of this fact. he didn't want you getting in trouble for illegally doing graffiti and albeit the sound of prison romance sounding real pleasant against his ears, he knew that prison was not what it seemed like in books and novels.

though your persistence is what shook him off the most and eventually, he agreed to taking you with him to one of the graffiti spots not without manifesting that if ever the police do come, he'd be the only one to get caught.

he lazily shook the bottle around, eyeing the large and tall billboard. you had come with him once, on his graffiti trip with his friends. though it was long ago, you were still aware of what you had to do to reach the higher parts of the billboard. there were platforms, large and safe enough for you to climb onto.

and without any hesitation, you easily climbed onto one of them, surprising hyunjin as he hurriedly went beneath the platform if ever you were to fall.

“hyunjin—” you called out from above, sensing his presence underneath you as you started spray painting, “go do as we had planned, i'll be alright.” you tried on reassuring. hyunjin slowly but hesitantly backed away from you, biting his lip in the process as he continued to stare at you from above.

he felt on edge but nonetheless, he tried his best to focus as he neared the billboard and did his own part.

twenty minutes, thirty minutes, an hour, two hours, three hours— and finally.

“wah!” you heard a gasp from beside you.

finally!

you were done, the beautiful art work from beside you, displaying across as it had come to contact with the shine. it took hours of work, hours of neck pain but alas, you were done finished.

you attempted climbing off the platform, your foot walking backwards. you thought there was a ledge down there— you thought. a small yelp escaped from your lips as you had no time to process whatever it is just happened, you only felt the cold breeze of the rising sun hitting your face as you fell. it once again, felt chilling. your body froze like earlier, so cold and barren.

but before you even think of hitting the hard ground, you felt something catch you. they felt like strong, arms and you looked to the sides, only to see your only and only friend— hyunjin, eyes wide, mouth agape and delving in worry. he had caught you within his arms.

carefully setting you down onto your feet, hyunjin had sighed and lightly brushed of his pants. you were still wide-eyed, trying to process what just occured. you could've gotten a concussion down there, you could've gotten brain damage or worse— you could've forgotten about hyunjin.

the worse possible scenarios of whatever may happen to your body dissipated as you thought about ever forgetting hyunjin, you couldn't bear to lose him, not him. and without even realising it, tears started to cascade down your cheeks as your breath hitched from the sudden emotion you felt.

your heart had panged loudly within your ears, the thought of forgetting hyunjin getting louder and louder. soon, those droplets of tears turned into sobs and hyunjin looked at you with confusion and worry. his hands were fumbling with each other, confused, and maybe even heartbroken.

had he caused this?

but as if his minds were paralyzing his actions, he neared your figure, raising your chin up to look at his eyes and with his soft and gentle fingers— he brushed the tears off of your cheeks. hyunjin cooes softly, bringing you towards him further and entrapping you into his warm arms. his were around your shoulder as yours were around his waist, hugging him tightly.

“what are you crying for, you cry baby?” he teases.

“i— i don't know, it's just—” you choked on your own tears and hyunjin cooed again, hugging you tighter than ever and patting your head in the most comforting manner.

“your dream came true, right? look,” hyunjin pulled away from the hug, staring softly into your tear filled eyes as he caressed your cheeks. his head pointed into the direction of the bottom of the billboard, your head following soon after.

and there, you saw a few little kids.

you saw them, staring at the art you drew with hyunjin in awe. you saw how their eyes sparkled, how they pointed and how some would say, “look it's santa claus” or, “wow, rudolph the red nosed reindeer!”

and it warmed your heart.

you slightly pulled away from the hug, nearing the edge of the platform of the billboard and waved at the little kids who came to stare at your drawing. hyunjin followed soon after, sitting down beside you and placing his hand on your waist incase you were to fall again. he promised he'd catch you again this time.

“did you draw this with your boyfriend?” came a cheeky little kid's voice, followed by the soft teases of the other kids as they pointed towards hyunjin. you blushed, shaking your head profusely and attempting to scoot away from hyunjin's grasped.

“n-no, he's not my—” but before you can think of saying any more and moving away from him any further, hyunjin pulled you closer within his arms as he gave the little kids a small wave and his captivating smile. “i drew this with my angel, do you like it?!” he said gleefully.

the little kids followed, throwing giggles and teases of their own. some even whispered, and some just smiled upon seeing your interaction. you however, sat beside hyunjin, cowering away and covering your face with embarrassment as hyunjin waved to the little kids, playing with them from a distance.

you slapped his thigh with your free hand, still keeping the other on your face as you urged him to stop.

“hyunjin, stop, these are kids!”

hyunjin only grinned, halting his finger and heart pointing at the kids as he looked at you. his eyes had softened upon seeing how embarrassed you were and albeit the sun starting to shine so brightly, he removed your hand from your face and gave the side of your lips a quick peck.

your eyes widened, he just kissed you.

he kissed you, in broad daylight— well, not really broad daylight but the point was that he kissed you, in front of the kids!

“hyunjin, what—” and he kissed you again.

for the second time, the third time, the fourth being on your forehead, the fifth being on the tip of your nose, the sixth being under your chin, the seventh being on your cheek and the eighth on your lips.

your eyes were left agape, you couldn't hear nor feel anything anymore. the kids’ voice were a blur as you try to figure out what's real from what's fake; nothing was a dream. hyunjin really had kissed you, and so proudly at that.

you suddenly felt hyunjin lay his forehead on top of yours, the grin still very much visible on his face,

“merry christmas, angel.” hyunjin whispered, caressing your cheeks gently. the smile on his face never faded as he stared at you lovingly, those orbs hold such emotion that you felt it going through your whole body. hyunjin was there, he really was there to share your dream with him.

you smiled back, pulling out of the sweet moment and giving the kids another look. you all saw their lovestruck faces, some were covering their eyes and some held emotions with such disgust it made you chuckle. the first kiss was covered by the sun yet the following was visible, leaving them to bathe in the sweet moment you and hyunjin shared.

you gave them one apologetic smile, opening your mouth to say something until you heard something loud.

it was sirens.

the police had finally come and you flipped your head sidewards, seeing at least about five cars making their way towards the alley you, hyunjin, and the rest of the kids were at. your eyes once again widened and you froze, staring as they neared towards your figure.

you'd been with hyunjin and his friends a couple of times yet whenever the police do ever come, you always stay stuck like ice.

“angel? angel! we have to get out of here, quick!” hyunjin whisper shouted beside you, you felt his hand creep onto your cheek roughly as he squished them. his orbs seethed through yours, a sense of reassurance, safety and— warmth.

“let's bail, yeah?”

and you suddenly felt the fearful sensation within you earlier dissipate. you stood up quickly, brushing your lap and running a bit towards the side of the large platform where a small corner was held. it was enough for you and hyunjin to hide in, not to mention it was pretty well hidden and the view of the sun is beautiful. you didn't have any time to think about it's advantages though as you looked back one last time, seeing the kids’ confused faces.

you held your index finger up, winking slightly and giving them a slight nod. you hoped they would keep it a secret.

hyunjin hurriedly pulled you down, his hands intertwined with yours as his feet made contact with the rough cement. he caught you on time, grunting in the process. and hyunjin ran, keeping you on his shoulder. you didn't bother on convincing him to put you down knowing it would just end up as a huge argument and you'd much rather not initiate that now, not when the police are on the loose.

“how are you feeling, angel?” hyunjin started, settling you into his shoulder more comfortably. you stayed silent for a few seconds, contemplating your feelings and running your memory through everything that had happened today.

hyunjin and you bought spray paint, he gave you his jacket, you held his hand tightly, he helped you spray paint art, he caught you in his arms on time, he called you his, he kissed you too many times, he fulfilled your dreams.

a soft smile adorned your features, “i feel good— no, i feel amazing, actually.”

hyunjin beamed upon hearing your sentence, pulling you just a tad bit closer as he entered the abandoned shed with you still in his arms. “i'm glad.”

he settled you down, panting a bit as he observed the small shed. it was destroyed, no one inhabitated the place yet the spot was perfect for viewing the stars and the moon. there was no stars yet but what there was, was the sun preparing to shine and rise in full view.

hyunjin hurriedly held your palm, sitting down in the rough wood, pulling you on his lap. he was fixated on cuddling against you but you had no problem, even snuggling closer for his warmth. he wrapped his arms around your waist, bringing you just a tad bit into his chest and laying his head into your shoulder.

the sun maybe rising but it was still christmas.

“i'm glad you enjoyed today, angel.” he started, brushing a small kiss past the nape of your neck. “i really am.”

“hyunjin, thank you...”

you turned to face him, ruffling his hair slightly and giving his lips a quick peck. you were not sure if it was official yet but even so, the sudden confidence to kiss him had come.

you stared at his eyes for a moment before once again, kissing his lips, this time more slowly.

hyunjin caught on, kissing back and reciprocating the same action. his hand snaked behind your head as he kept you close to him, lips intertwining and eyes closed from the close contact. his lips felt so humid, it was intoxicating as it sent shivers down your spine.

hyunjin pulled back after the lack of air, laying his forehead against yours once more.

“anything for you, angel.” he whispered, giving your cheek another kiss. “we share our dreams, remember?”

you nodded, suddenly taken aback at the promise you made with him a few years back. his dream was yours to hold, and his was yours. it was a promised you swore to hold until the both of you fulfill it; it was one of the things keeping you binded with him.

“and wherever we maybe...” hyunjin started, now laying his head back into your shoulder and staring at the rising sun. “that dream will never change.”

and you once again nodded, the same overwhelming warmth from a few minutes, a few seconds, and a few hours coming back to you. your stomach felt the same butterflies, so did your eyes apparently as it had started watering out of the blue.

hyunjin kept you warm, hyunjin kept you safe.

he fulfilled your promise, now it was time to fulfill his.

[afterthelastreset]

Rules Of One’s Soul Ch 7 Realizing Feelings P3

(Mak belongs to @coffincrawler )

He felt strangely numb for the rest of the day. It didn't matter how much he tried to strain a smile or look happy for Lancer's sake, he just felt....numb. Well, maybe numb wasn't the right word. He felt more like he hadn't slept in a whole year....Maybe part of that statement was true, he couldn't really remember the last time he got a good night's sleep since....Yeah. Better not dig up any old memories right now. Better focus on Jevil giving who was him a worried glance every so often. Honestly, he didn't know what the Jester used to do before he was locked up or what he would do now that he was rehired and pardoned by Lancer, but he was pretty sure hovering behind them and following the duo around the castle was taking care of royal business was not it. Rouxls was starting to become really uncomfortable with all the stares they were getting from everyone else around them, most were terrorfied with shock or confusion at seeing the crazy joker floating behind the Duke and King Lancer. Even the other kings were wary, except King Heart. He had too much of an open heart it seemed. It made him even more tired from the amount of emotions that waved through his mind, which he really shouldn't be focusing right now.Right now was the time to focus on doing as much as possible to prepare Lancer for the ten days of his absence. He's barely be able to clean up his room, let alone run an entire kingdom by himself.

But he still couldn't help but have that small voice in the back of his mind say it wouldn't be so bad. He would use some space and a nice vacation was overdue.....But he made a promise to her and himself to take care of Lancer. No matter what. Did he really trust this jester just a few days after he was sent loose? Yes, answered a silent voice ringing from the back. Not much, echoed another. He groaned again and tried to shake those feelings off. Right now he needed to focus. Focus!

He had to shake his head and refocus his skattered mind into the conversation at hand-

"- s-so anyways, to help lift our subjects spirits in this new era of reconstruction I'd thought we should open the castle more to our loving subjects," the King of Hearts brought a tentacle arm to rub at the back of his neck sheepishly.

Oh...right. Did he miss that much of the conversation? He straightened his back up and tried once again to focus his attention into this conversation, or at least what attention he had left. Lancer was sitting at the table next to him looking a mixture of bored and confused to what the adult kings were going on about, while Jevil was being awfully quiet just hovering above near the ceiling, he would've chuckled if he wasn't already trying to pay attention to something else at the moment.

"Don't you think that'll cost a whole lot?"

"There he goes again with the 'I don't like spending attitude'."

Oh, please. He really didn't want to deal with another fight between the Clubs and Rudinn right now. The two could go on for hours on end if no one stopped them. But someone must've heard his silent prayers because that wasn't what had happened. Instead the Rudinn gave the multi-headed king a look and spat out-

"No! I mean it'll cost a lot to put together something for hundreds upon hundreds of subjects and we don't even have enough to cover even a third of that amount. And don't you forget we're still trying to piece together what's left of what Spade left behind?"

"Of course I didn't forget!," one of the heads barked back, "I'm just saying you usually worry about your money problem!''

"Oh, so now I have a money problem-!"

"Gentlemen, Please! Not in front of the child." The poor Heart looked exhausted already and the meeting's only been-....Actually he lost count of how much time had passed, but the other two kings at least respected the poor hathy's words enough to not fight right now at least. Thank goodness. "Thank you." He breathed out a sigh. "Now I know we can't invite all our subjects but we should at least encourage others to celebrate one of our oldest customs."

"I'm bored-"

Rouxls hushed Lancer before giving a nervous smile back at the other 3 kings. "Children. H-He's just a bit tired-"

"But it's boooooriiing." The small spade slapped his hands onto the table and stood onto his chair. "Let's make it more exciting!"

Rouxls groaned but King Heart chuckled at the child's action and asked, "Oh, Really? Well, why don't you tell us what you think would make this event less 'boring' to you?"

Lancer paused for a moment and gave that famous confused look with his tongue stuck between his front teeth before looking back up at him. "Um.....How about food!? Food's always good."

"What kind then?"

It was clear that by the smile on the giant hathy that he was enjoying asking the little child what he thought about this. It was kinda cute to watch in all honesty, but the little boy didn't see it that way as he beamed at the notion of being asked his own ideas.

"We need to...How did Susie say it was-..Make it POP! We need something fun like-...Like...Uh..."

Rouxls leaned next to him. "How doth fireworks sound?"

His face lit up immediately. "Yeah! Fireworks sound awesome! Oh, oh. And lots and lots of food and music! I can play splat noises from my ipod!"

"Young, Sire. I thinketh thine noises wouldn't be appropriate for a romantic evening for a mostly adult audience." Lancer gave a small pout which made the Duke roll his eyes. "We can invite thou's friends if you oh so wish."

''....But I don't know where Susie and Kris live....But Ralsei practically lives next door!"

"Well, since thou has made up his mind, we shouldst really focus on the topic of the dungeon conditions-"

"Now what a second," the Rudinn king leaned across the table and gave a look, "We still need to discuss the budget of this whole thing-" One of King Clubs's heads groaned while the others gave various looks from confusion to 'I'm so done', Making Diamond give a hiss back. "Not like that! I mean, our funds are limited towards rebuilding and our subjects as it is. How are we going to fund all this food and fireworks?"

"...We could make it a potluck charity ball?," the Heart meeakly suggested, "We could have everyone bring a dish and donate a miniture wage?"

"That's a brilliant idea!" "Hey! I would've thought of that too!" "You wish!" Honestly, can his heads ever agree on something?

"Now that is out of the way, doth I may request that we-"

"Can we have a chocolate fountain?!" Lancer's voice suddenly skyrocketed in new excitement. "And cake and...and ...and whatever that noodle dish is called?!"

The heart chuckled. "If someone brings it, sure."

Lancer gave a babble of delight before turning to Rouxls, "I gotta go tell the cooks! And have someone go tell Ralsei! This is gonna be the best mushy party ever! HO HO HO!! "

"What!? Lancer wait-" The small spade didn't give another thought as he jumped down from his chair and pushed past his legs. He once again tried to call out to the excited child to stop him but the small spade excitedly bounced his way out the door doing his tiny impression of a Santa Claus. The worm sighed and reached up a hand to rub his face. He really didn't have the energy to keep up with a child like this.

"Well, I guess this meeting is over." "Good! I want to see Clover! Right now!" "I'm pretty sure she's asleep by now?"

The other three kings mumble among themselves and stood up from the large table. Looks like he wasn't going to get to actually talk about security today.

"Tired, tired you look." He didn't look up from his hand as Jevil casually floated next to him, giving him a questioning look. "Why not, not just turn in?"

"I'm still angry at thou's antics," he slowly turned from his hand to give the imp a tired disgruntled look, raising a brow, "And I will do no such thing until mine king sleeps, and he's nay asleep or tired."

Jevil hummed and nodded in agreement with his statement. "Understandable, understandable-...But he's a king now, he can handle a little nap time." This made Rouxls raise his brow higher as if to say, 'Art thou serious?' and Jevil giggled at the reaction. "I'm more than capable of putting, putting the younge child to bed and spinning a tale good enough to impress, impress the sandman himself.~"

"Thou? Put Lancer to sleep? Bah!" The tired worm stood up on tired legs, giving the gremlin a frown. "I shan't heareth it! Mine boy is-"

"Growing up, up and needs to learn how to be king without the interference of a mother hen." He tutted and shook his head at the worm's constant worrying again, "I do hope you do not act, act like that when our children are brought into our world.~ It'd be a bad influence on the poor child.~"

The worm's face went from a comical expression of confused, to utter shock, to a deep purple. He seemed to go blank for a moment and just gave out a few angry sputters at the jester's innocent smile before he just turned around dramatically-...Which did nothing but set off another series of giggles, and in a moment worthy of his title, the Duke gave off a flustered growl and stomped his way out of the room..Too bad the laughing imp followed right behind him, telling him "R-Rouxls, Rouxls. D-Don't do that. Just think about all the cute little memories, memories we'd make."

"N-NAY! I don't need this! I-I shan't hear of it!" He sped up his long strides towards where he suspected Lancer had bounced off too, too bad Jevil was able to keep up easily. "L-Leave me you...you ghastly worm! I'm too tired to dealest with this."

"Rouxls. I'm sorry, sorry. But please let me see your blueberry face.~"

"Nay!"

A couple others had stopped and took a look at the strange duo walking past, giving them strange looks. Honestly looked more like an old married couple than a royal Duke being trailed by a Jester. And to be honest Rouxls didn't like what must have been going through their heads at this point, seeing the crazed jester float around him giggling and following like a lost love struck puppy and how blue his face must've been at the moment didn't help his cause either. A force sudden made itself known on his head and two arms snaked their way around his neck. A purr sounded out as something snuggled into the shiny hair on his head, he ended up freezing and turned his eyes upwards towards the imp nuzzling into him. Jevil sighed and purred out some mumbled about him being 'cool and soft to the touch.' His normally cool face heated up a purple hue and he let out a small squeak. Jevil giggled hearing that and laid his head flat against the top of Rouxls's head. What followed was another weird noise from Rouxls before the worm man waved his arms up and above his head in a sort of flailing like motion startling the jester and whoever was left watching. The worm whirled around and gave the startled jester a flustered look, Jevil gave a startled look back and blinked.

"...T-Thou needst t-to calmeth thineself down."

"Oh....Why? Do you not like, like physical affection?"

"I...I..." His eyes went around to the few surrounding watchers and gulped. "N-N-Nay in public."

Jevil continued to stare at the flustered worm before a realization came over him. "Oh, I see. Bwahaha. Keep things, things professional at work. I understamd, understand perfectly." He let off another purr before giving those same pink eyes from earlier this morning with the pink hearts. "More on the professional, professional when needed. Perfectly understandable. We have, have a whole ten days to make up for it.~"

The tone he used plus the wink he gave after sent a shiver up Rouxls spine plus a throb from his soul. He decided to cut losses and just turn and leave to go find Lancer. Not surprisingly Jevil wasn't too far behind. Like he suspected, he eventually found Lancer stuffing his face with leftover food in the kitchen, making a mess. The child looked tired though. Hopefully enough to go to bed. It took Rouxls a while to convince the spade stuffing his face that he should head to bed, but luckily Lancer was complient and agreed to his bedtime. Now all that was left to do was deal with the purple stalker he had on his tail. He just wanted to go back home and sleep already. He made it about halfway down the hall from Lancer's room before a clawed hand grabbed onto his shoulder and the smiling face of Jevil came into view.

"Let me take, take you back."

"N-No thank you....I'm more than capable of going home."

"In the rain?" He pointed his other hand towards the window near them where rain could still be seen pouring down. "You still look tired,tired. Allow me to help, help."

"N-No-"

"I know you're too exhausted, exhausted to work magic right now." Rouxls froze but eventually gave off a sigh to Jevil's happiness.

"Fine. B-But only once-"

No sooner had he said that than Jevil suddenly shot his hand out and grabbed his, making him flinch and look at the smiling purple face. Jevil gave off a series of giggles as his only warning before the room around them suddenly darkened and a compression feeling squeezed his chest. He clamped his eyes shut at sensation of the air being forced out of his lungs and his body being stretched out like some rubber toy, it was quite the uncomfortable feeling to be honest. Would not recommend traveling like this. His way of teleporting was a lot more peaceful, all it took was a few ideal moments of senseless non-motion and then some sparkling light. Not this compressed madness. None the less, it all ended almost as soon as it began when he suddenly was slapped back down onto his feet. His body stumbled and nearly fell over but Jevil still had a hold of his hand and quickly pulled Rouxls back up into a standing coughing fit of a man. His vision swirled and his lungs felt like they were underwater as he sputtered and forced himself to gulp down oxygen into his poor body. Jevil patted his back and continued to sorta encourage Rouxls, strange but appreciated. When he was finally able to blink past the blurred scenes, he was able to make out a table of some kind he was leaning against. Dust covered the top and when he slowly removed his hand it left a print...Oh. That'll explain the excess couching and fire burning in his lungs. Jevil's teleportation must've made some of the dust fly into the air when they popped in.

"I don't suppose you two are done for the day?", a soft voice called out a little ways from them. Their sudden pop in had startled the cat, but he quickly calmed down once he recognized the two. Rouxls's looked over at the cat sitting on the bed, a book in his paws. The worm rose a brow and gave Seam a look.

"W-Was...Was thou sitting here reading all day?"

Seam chuckled before closing the book and setting it on the bed before standing up. "Only since you all left me stranded here seven hours ago. I'm afraid I'm not too fond of going home in the rain. But I do enjoy the peace and quiet of reading while listening to the rain outside." He gestured to the store window and the water running down it.

Rouxls gave a groan and straightened himself up. "Well thou can now leaveth with thine gremlin over here-" he nodded towards Jevil '' -without the worries of getting rained upon."

"Oh, come now. Come now." Jevil's face popped back up to his side vision. "It's your time to relax-"

"Which would be when I'm sleeping without disturbance from thou."

".....Oh. Right. You do need, need to recover from no-sleepitis.~"

Seam rose an eyebrow and gave Jevil a curious look. "No-sleepitis?...Aha..Hahaha. I'm pretty sure that's called insomnia Jevil."

The imp shrugged and giggled a bit more. "All it took was just a little, little child encouragement and common sense to the rules.~"

Rouxls gave a grunt and pushed Jevil's face away from his own. "I think thou shouldst leave now, it's getting rather late as it is."

"Aw. No fun, no fun.~"

"Come on now, Jevil. We should respect the Duke's sleeping condition."

Surprisingly Jevil listened to the old cat and floated over towards him, but not before giving the worm another purr and wink. Rouxls scrunched his face up but his face flushed a blue again. He really wished it would stop that. Seam held out his paw to the floating Jevil who took it without question, Seam took one last look back at Rouxls and gave a small wave before his shape was suddenly whipped. Literally. His form whipped back along with Jevil and in an instant, the two weirdos vanished without sound. Rouxls stood there blinking for the next couple seconds at where the two used to stand, before shaking his head and turning his back towards the area where they were. He just needed to lay down and have a small moment to himself for a while....And try to sort out all these thoughts and emotions zig zagging over one another in his head.

Seam on the other hand was quite adiment on giving the poor duke some alone time away from Jevil's constant affection. The poor guy looked tired enough, though Seam wasn't quite sure what Jevil meant by 'common sense of rules' or 'child encouragement'. The teleportation to his own Sheap was a matter of seconds away, and while Rouxls obviously wasn't used to the sudden teleporting Seam after years of Jevil using the spell, he was quite used to the effects so all he ended up with was a small stumble upon landing. He turned to the small jester after a few moments of regaining himself and opened his mouth to ask about what happened, when the fool suddenly doubled over giggling and hugging his sides.

"Well...You seem happy. Care to include an old friend on what you mean?"

"Seam, Seam! My opportunity, opportunity has sprung! My soul, soul beats hard for my heart's desire, desire!" He giggled more which in turn caused the cat to tilt in held in question. "You see,you see! My desire has told me he shares the same emotions my soul, soul has for him, him! It's absolute chaos, chaos!" The imp fell back in a flourish of squeals and giggles that Seam couldn't help but smile at.

"Really now? Well, it sounds like you too have made a real connection. But you should keep it down before you wake Mak. It takes forever to get a child to sleep."

"Hahaha. Agreed, Agreed."

Seam smiled before walking his way over to the couch. "Now...I don't suppose you mind filling me in on what happened while you were away do you?"

Jevil smiled in glee. "Seam, Seam. I have a tale, tale to spin to you."

[winchester-purgatory]

Giving back

Summary: Claire sign up to the Secret Santa program at the foster center she comes from

Written For: @spnchristmasbingo

Square Field: Secret Santa

Pairing: Claire Novak x Kaia Nieves

Word Count: 1771

Warnings: None needed

Every year, for Christmas, Jody encouraged the girls to give back to the less fortunate. It could be volunteering, helping out at a food bank, wrapping presents for gifts for low-income households, spending time with elderlies who no longer have families at the local retirement home, etc.

This year, Alex chose to entertain the sick kids at the children hospital on the weekends while Claire gave her name to the local foster center and signed up to their Secret Santa program. Although the foster center hadn't helped her while she was there, she always found it difficult to watch the younger kids receive presents on Christmas day and see the older ones be forgotten and skipped on. Teenagers deserve presents too.

Kaia Nieves, the paper read.

According to the brief information sheet the office lady had given her, Kaia was orphaned since a young age and had traveled from foster families to foster families but never found the right one - or so they said. She arrived at Sioux Falls' foster center two months ago.

Claire frowned, having already reached the end of the notes. ''There's barely anything written. How do I know what to get her?''

The lady shrugged, not really caring. ''Would you like to pick a younger child? They're easier to shop for-''

''No,'' Claire cut. ‘’I’ll figure it out.’’ She grabbed the paper and left the foster center.

.

What to get someone you know almost nothing about or never seen for Christmas?

Claire had been racking her brain for ideas, but it wasn't so easy. She could go with an easy pick and get a blanket, knowing the ones procured by the foster center were shitty at keeping you warm, but that was too basic. Kaia deserved better. Claire wanted to give her something with more thoughts into it, something the foster care teenager would genuinely appreciate.

If only the foster center had been more helpful and asked the kids what they wanted for Christmas. She could pick one item from the list and she'd be done.

Grabbing her laptop, Claire decided to look her recipient up online. There were slim chances to find anything, having no access to wifi at the foster center, but it cost nothing to try.

As expected, there wasn't much. The first Kaia Nieves she managed to find was too old to be in foster care and the second one lived in another state, miles away far from Sioux Falls.

Claire let out a frustrated sigh, pushing her fringe out of her face.

The front door opened and Jody came home from work, bringing along a pizza box. ‘’I brought dinner!’’

‘’Pizza is your favorite. I thought you’d be more ecstatic…’’

‘’Yes, thanks for the pizza, Jody.’’

Jody put down the pizza box and glanced at Claire, sensing something was on her mind. ‘’What are you doing?’’

‘’Searching up my Secret Santa recipient online. So far, nothing came up.’’

The raven haired woman chuckled, removing her sheriff jacket and hanging it on the coat hanger. ‘’I doubt kids are on social media, honey.’’

‘’My recipient isn’t a kid. I picked someone my age. In foster care, Christmas is mainly for younger kids. We, older ones, are always skipped on and forgotten during Christmas and I wanted to make someone feel less alone and not invisible. I know how it feels to watch others receive dolls and hot wheels and not receive anything yourself.''

Jody smiled, proud of her daughter. ‘’That's very sweet of you. I knew there was a kind heart under that tough exterior.’’

''I'm still rebellious, I'm not gonna become soft. Don't worry. I'm still gonna get in trouble at school for talking back at teachers or skipping on Fridays.'' She pulled a mischievous grin and Jody rolled her eyes, expecting no less. ''If I can make one less kid feel alone this Christmas, I'll feel great.''

‘’I’ll see what I can do.’’

.

In January, a new girl arrived at school. She had dark, curly hair, brown skin and always wore the same grey hoodie. According to Alex, her name was Kaia.

‘’Do you think it’s her?’’ Claire asked her sister, blue eyes set on the new girl sitting alone a few tables from her.

The Secret Santas weren’t allowed to see pictures of their recipient so Claire had no idea what Kaia looked like. All she knew was that she was around her age and liked to draw.

Alex shrugged, taking a bite of her sandwich. ‘’It could be. Kaia isn’t a very popular name around here.’’

‘’Should I go talk to her? She doesn’t seem to have friends.’’

‘’She just got here two days ago. You didn't have friends either when you arrived here,’’ Alex pointed out.

‘’I didn't want friends, that’s the difference.’’

‘’You think she wants friends? She seems to keep to herself and enjoy her own company, but do whatever you want.''

''Should I tell her who I am? That I was her Secret Santa?''

''No. You'll make her uncomfortable.''

''I could offer to mentor her at school. Show her around and stuff. New students need mentors, right? You did it for me.''

''Because Jody asked me to,’’ Alex reminded her. ‘’And, you told me to fuck off before the first bell. How nice of you...’’

Claire grinned and stole a cookie from Alex’s lunch. She had some in her lunch box too, but it always tasted better when stolen from someone else’s.

The sisters spent the rest of the hours talking about chores exchanges and bargainings for the week. Alex wanted Claire to tell Jody she was sleeping over at Angela's so she could go to Chris' party this weekend and Claire didn't want to clean the bathroom. It could've been a simple bargain, but Alex refused to clean the bathroom, having done it the last two times.

''Ah, I guess you're gonna stay home this weekend,'' Claire teased her sister.

Alex glared. ''It's unfair. You know I would lie for you if the situation was reversed.''

''I don't need you to cover for me when I want to go to a party. I've mastered the art of lying and covering my tracks.''

The blonde's attention drifted as Kaia pulled out a set of coloring pencils from her backpack, resembling a lot to the ones Claire got for her Secret Santa recipient. It's her.

Those coloring pencils were the last push Claire needed to get up and walk up to the new girl’s table.

''Hey! We aren't finished. Where are you going-''

Claire ignored Alex and took a seat at Kaia’s table.

Kaia saw a shadow casted before her and raised an eyebrow, pausing her drawing. ''Can I help you?''

''Did you like your pencils?'' Claire asked boldly. Kaia gave her a confused look, waiting for the blonde to continue. ''I'm Claire.''

It didn't take the brunette long to put two and two together. She froze for a minute, a bit panicked. How did she know it was her? Was she going to bully her? Some kids weren’t nice to the ones who were in group homes.

Claire smiled and a weight was lifted off Kaia’s shoulder. ''How did you know I liked to draw?''

''A wild guess.'' The brunette gave her a look and Claire sighed, telling the truth. ''I may or may not have asked Jody to go to the foster center and ask about you...''

''So, you stalked me?''

''It was for a good cause!'' Claire explained, justifying herself. ‘’If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have received those cool pencil.’’

Kaia accepted the justification. ''You're forgiven. And, thank you, for the pencils.''

Claire smiled. ‘’Your welcome.’’ She looked down at the paper Kaia was drawing on, seeing a creature with horns and a creepy face. ''What are you drawing?''

''Last night's monster. I like to draw my dreams...more like nightmares. It's weird, I know-''

''I think it's cool. I can't draw for shit.''

‘’I can show you, if you want.’’

.

‘’What’s that?’’ Claire asked as Kaia’s backpack spilled and a red envelope had fallen out.

The girls had become very close friends during the following month and Kaia was now spending most of her time with Claire at her house. They’d have horror movie marathons and sleep over on the weekends, or do homeworks on weekdays.

Jody had rapidly grown fond of the brunette. She was happy to see Claire was making friends and had started loosing her moody attitude.

Kaia bent down and picked it up from the floor, bringing it on Claire’s bed. ‘’The letter I got from you,’’ she replied, biting back a smile and feeling her cheeks heat up.

‘’You kept it?’’ She seemed surprised, but also flattered.

Kaia hummed. ‘’Being at the foster center isn’t always a joy, as you know. Every time I felt down, I would read your letter. It gave me hope that one day, things will get better.’’

Hey, Kaia

My name is Claire and I’m 17. You’re wondering why a teenager signed up to this Secret Santa program. Well, I used to be in foster care at this very foster center. I’m not gonna brag about how happy I was while there, because it’s not the truth.

The truth is, my mom took off when I was eight and dropped me off at my grandma’s. I lived with her for a couple years, but she died from cancer. Wow. I’m off to a depressing start... I'm sorry. As for my father...he's away. I still see him sometimes, but his work schedule doesn't allow him to have me in his care.

When my grandma died, I was brought to the foster center by the child protection services and caused a lot of trouble. I met the wrong people and got arrested a couple times for shoplifting, trespassing and running away. I was very close to being transferred to a juvenile detention center when Jody, the local sheriff, was put in my path. She took me in, saying a home and a family was what I needed, not a stay in juvie.

What I want to say is, I don’t know anything about you or what you’ve been through, but I know some days are tough - and lonely. Watching the younger kids getting picked by families over you. You feel like no one will ever pick you, but, truth is, you never know. I used to think like that too, but Jody came and proved me wrong.

It’ll get better, one day. I promise.

xx Claire

‘’Did it? Get better?’’

A smile formed on Kaia’s lips and she looked up at Claire. ‘’Maybe…’’

[kanene-yaaay]

Double-Cosplay Challenge

 Author’s note: Hello-ho-ho-ho!! My gosh, is it already 25th? I can’t believe in this, neither that the world is so small,  @scribbly-gigs, after all I’m your Squealing Santa too!! I really hope you enjoy this gift, because your prompt was absolutely adorable! I fell in love for its and aaaaa!  Best. Idea. Ever.

Okay, I got a little carried away! Enjoy the gift!

But, before the fanfic, I would like to give a specially thank to @ticklygiggles for hosting this wonderful event! It was an absolutely lovely experience, thanky you veryy much!! >w<)s2</i>

Warnings, fun facts, random things and stuff:

* This characters don’t belongs to me! Jeremy and Michael belongs to the musical Be More Chill.

* The song in the benning is Hide and Seek, a cover by Lizz Robinett

* This is a SFW Tickle-Fanfic, so, if you don’t appreciate this kind of content, please, look for another blog. There are a plenty of fabulous arts in this site!!  ^w^)b

* Oneshot. Something around 4.500 words.(I REALLY got carried away xDD) -w-)b.

* Sorry for any spelling, pontuation and grammar mistakes! Any and every advice is very very welcome! \(-w-)/

* Portugese’s Version (Brazilian’s one) coming soon!  Thankys for reading, my lollipops! Have a wonderful and incredible, festive or not, day! Take care with you gonna prank anyone (And only do if they’re okay with it) , they can get revenge. ~

                             [~*~]

Ding Dong I know you can hear me

Open up the door

I only wanna play a little.

 - What the fu… – Opened his eyes, the song suddenly swallowing him from his dream. He blinked a few times, his hands going toward his cellphone, vision finally focusing in the middle of the dimly lit darkness by sunlight, which managed to passes through the small slits in the curtains successfully. The device was not turned on.

 Ding Dong you can’t keep me waiting

It’s already too late

For you go and try to run away. ~

 He turned to the closet, where, on the floor, a small device vibrated, its screen glooming and being entirely responsible for proliferation of the calm background melody, which for some unknown reason made a feeling of cold, gelid fear spread through every inch of his body, growing more and more stronger as the light brown-haired reeling approached. His mind still foggy by tiredness.

 Whose phone was that?

  I see you through the window

Our eyes are locked together

I can sense your horror

Though I’d like to see it closer.~~

  He bent down to turn it off.

 Wait…

 He recognized this phone cover! It was from-

 - DING DONG! – The door slammed open, almost as fast as the fall from the one who just had woken up, the light suddenly invading every particle from his room along with the excitedly extremely loud scream – HURRY UP AND RUUUUUN! LET’S PLAY A LITTLE GAME AND HAVE FUN!!

 - MICHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!

 It was crystal clear that Michael wanted to utter some words, something so easy to say by the way that small portions of sentences sought to slip through his lips. However, he was being completely hindered by his own (blood from his blood!!) uncontrollable laughter, needing a firm grip on the doorjamb to not collapse with the other’s fright. Jeremy placed his hand in his chest, feeling the heart skip some beats at a great speed and trying to control at least a small piece of his ragged breathing.

 - I should have recorded this! My holy Pacman, why didn’t I record this??? – Wiped few tears that accumulated at the corner of his eyes. The onslaught of laughter threatening to come back again as he faced the poor, poor teenager with his pajamas, hair and appearance full of mess. The one who has the sad fate of being the target of his prank and now demonstrated his gratitude by showing a very specific finger to him.

 - I will end with your existence, just give me a second. I-I need to recover my soul, I think it ran out the window. – Got up, finally succeeding in breath normally, his gaze was sharp, or the most close as possible with the sleep that still covered his features, but he couldn’t deny the smile, part vengeful and part because he have to give it to him: it was a good prank; that he struggled to doesn’t let its took over his face. – Why? Just… Why??

 - Because today is the International Double-Cosplay Chaaaaaaaallenge day!! – Michael was literally bouncing excitedly, gesturing as if he presented the answer to a huge and attentive audience and not a young man slowly coming down the stairs, still yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes while leading the trail to the kitchen.  

 Oh, the Double-Cosplay Challenge.

 It could even be seen as a tradition, a very ancient one, held of years without end. Not one of the seculars, though, that ones initiated in some trunk of time, which, if asked, No one would really know to explain from where it emerged. In fact, Jeremy almost remembered perfectly (‘perfectly, sure, it’s a hyperbole. Jeremy imagined his memory as a miniature of fish Dory. So, remembering more than six or five actions of a day that had gone years ago was a progress!) the way it all started.

 Like most things in his friendship with Michael, of course it had began with teasing that led to a semi-fight where both sides argued, yet without really having any warm in their words. For this time, the focus of the discussion was the ease and speed that Jeremy could paint every square of himself with blush as the slightest instigation…

 (...)

 - Could you stop??? – Heere jerked away by impulse, his cheeks already beginning to flush in pink for the squeal he uttered due the light blow that Michael dumped on his ear. – We’re in the middle of the game!!!

 - Do you mean that if we weren’t playing it wouldn’t be a problem, then? – Malefic smile. Jeremy felt the blush spread even more.

 - Wha- Sure it would be!!!!

 - Hmmm… I bet that would be okay if it was Christiiiiine doing that. – He mimicked a singing tone as he spoke her name, losing control over his car for a minute and being hit by a tortoise shell. – Damn, Bowser!! You were my favorite character, dude!!

 - Yeah, yeah. Keep talking while I take the lead!- The light brown-haired smirked, his tongue sticking out as he dodged a few drivers and climbed some positions in the ranking.

 - Ha! You couldn’t win this match even if you wanted to. – Jumped and hit one of the floating boxes with the question mark. Got the cannonball. – Just as you can’t stop to being a mess flushed even by the wind!

 - Is that so? And what about the Pinkberry employee? - Michael’s car was out of control for a piece of moment and Jeremy allowed himself to take his eyes off the screen for a few seconds just to catch the other’s face now painted with a light blush and a wobbly smile. – See? We’re rotten apples from the same basket, compadre.

 - Lucky shot.

 - Ability. – He corrected, contradicting his words, his automobile went straight towards the water. The Player Two wrinkled his nose.

 - The thing is, unlike you, I can control my blush. I would win from 10 to 1 if this were a competition.

 - I bet. – It was the magic word. Michael paused the game immediately, both turning to stare each other, the glare full of dangerous burning in their eyes, a grin finding space in their faces.

 - How much?

 A brief silence spreaded across the room, barely finding space with all the adrenaline and electricity following Jeremy’s thoughtful glaze as he searched in his mind for an award up to the challenge.

 - The one who be the most blushy, for most period of time or a greater amount of times, that is, who made the best tomato cosplay earn the right to try to survive for…

 (...)

 - …a week wearing a cosplay that the winner, and by this I mean I, - Michael gesticulated pompously, not even paying attention to the friend and opponent, who calmly hummed as setted the breakfast. – choose. At school, on the street, in home… With a break of five daily hours to wash and dry, as well as permission to get it off to sleep, BUT, that’s all. – Evil laugh. – I hope you are prepared, Heere. Because this year I choose the best cos-

 His eyes finally went to find the breakfast table, setted with a blue and red tablecloth where the phrase ‘Best Player nº1’ was practically completely hidden by the delicacies deposited on it: Pacman-shaped Pancakes, some being stuffed with hazelnut cream; Some cups with iced coffee, a small bowl of fruit salad, the common eggs and bacons; waffles with cream and blueberry spreading their sweet scent along the Special Christmas Donuts, available only for one hour after the local bakery opens. That cost great hours of Jeremy’s sleep, which immediately worth it just in watching the utterly surprised and clumsy expression from the one who wears glasses.

 - …tume… – His mouth hang wide open and he blinked several times, as if it was all a mirage about to disappear at any second. Michael simply couldn’t believe all his favorites dishes were really gathered in a only table in a only one meal.

 - To my faworite pewson. – The one in pajamas guides him to the chair; happily enjoying the blush consumes his friend’s cheeks.

 Fun Fact: Michael is hardly embarrassed by usual teasing and/or flirting. The thing that can truly make him mirror the color of his hoodie was actions and true, sincere compliments. It was as if the boy really didn’t expected anyone to thought about him long enough to prepare a gift or perceive and admire his actions… That always reminded Jeremy why he liked this day so much.

 - You play dirty, Heere. - The Mell finally managed to find words between his surprise, unable to look away and face the other with the dangerous smirk that was his mark.

 - I need to get to your level. – His voice bathed itself in a (fake) sweet tune, the teasing being enough to successfully capture the attention from the one in hoodie, leading their eyes to meet. Jeremy blinked innocently.

 - I just forgive you because of the donuts! They are like, an impossible legend, which I just heard being told and retold in all my years of life, waiting for the right moment when I finally could have it in my arms. – The light brown-haired rolled his eyes, smiling with the exaggerated description. – But don’t even think about getting used to my forgiveness! You won’t be so lucky ne-

 His sentence and merciful act have been interrupted by a high pitch squeak from Jeremy, who jerked away instinctively from Michael’s finger that poked him, protecting his tummy defensively, a wobbly, unstable smile in his face.

 Immediately thousands of memories and empirical data invaded the Mell’s mind, and, the more and more his brain reminded him, the more and more a predatory expression got strength and color in his face.

 - Oh, never mind. – Jeremy gulped, all his instincts beating like a bright red ‘r u n’ signal shining in the middle of a desert road on a stormy dawn. He felt himself starting to increase the distance between both. – It seems like you are out of lucky right now.

 And the race begin, this time out of the videogames’ screen.

 (…)

 - Oh Heeeere!~ - His tune could be described as ‘singing’ if it was not the panting voice due the attempts to still in maximum speed in pursuit of the Player Two. – Why do you keep running away from my love? This hurts. Sadface.

 - I bet it didn’t hurt more than my fall for you! – Jeremy’s only relief was that Michael would rather to lock himself on the basement to play than exercise in his free time. His only sadness was that he also would rather lock himself on the basement with Michael to play videogames in their free time, which mean that neither of them had the slightest, and necessary, disposition to any sports.

 However Michael at least was lucky, which uneven unfairly his chances. In the first opportunity he got, the one on the pajamas placed the coffe table between them.

 - Naaah. – The prankster started to encircle the table, analyzing the friend and opponent do the same action, but in the opposite direction. – Easy peachy compared to the time you stole my heart.

 - It was just to return the favor, since you stole mine first… - His gaze drifted to the stairs right behind the one who wears glasses. If he could dodge him and make to his room, he could lock himself there and spend the next hours on the safety and comfort of his computer and bed. His glare returned to Michael… All there was needed was a distraction. – No, wait, in truth, it was always yours.

 - Not in the same way that I am yours. – Wink.

 - But do you know what is just yours and you could give to me? – The dirty joke came and went away before it could be mentioned by the dark brown-haired, who failed in not burst out laughing. – Your hand!!

 Jeremy took vantage of the small moment of carelessness to rush out.

 Good Point?

 He managed to dodge Michael!! Yeaah!! Phase one completed with praise!

 Bad Point? (Suuuure that always it has to exists a bad one! It was too boring for your standards, wasn’t it, Universe?)

 He couldn’t even research the stairs before being knocked down on the carpet. He turned himself over, fighting for a few minutes stuffed with laugh and pieces of phrases (‘Michael, don-‘; ‘Could you stop, Heere!?’; ‘Just if you let me go!’; ‘Ouch! Damn, my glasses!’; ‘Gyah! Sorr- Hey! No! Nonono!’), at least until Michael finally find a gap in his barrier, wasting no time in attacking his bare foot, pulling a squeal from the one on pajamas, which worked like a race start, being immediately followed by dozens of giggles as his fingers danced in a lively rhythm: poking, scratching and wriggling in each centimeter of available skin.

 - MihihihihihihihihihihihichaACK- Michael never played any instruments for much in his life, but he assumed that this is how the musicians should feel. Wriggling: Squeal; Poking that exactly spot in the middle of his sole: Shriek; Each scratch could give him a different melodious sound depending on the spot he was attacking. - NOHOHOHOHOHOHOhohohohohOHOHO!!

 - What did you said, Heere? Mind repeat? I can’t understand any word in the middle of your adorable giggles. – Jeremy rocked his arms from side to side without really managing to coordinate them to do something useful. The sensation took over his mind and all his nerves. However, he was still able to hear and understand another words beyond his own giggles, which automatically made a heat spread quickly through all his face. - Awwwn!! You already are blushiiiing. ~

 - Shuhuhuhuhuhut UHUHUhuhp!! NononO! Nohohohoht thehehehere! – And then more uncontrollable laughter began to float from his lips as Michael’s nails found their way to the ticklish skin right under his toes.

 - ‘There’, where? Did you mean… here? – One of his hands held his toes in order to unfold them while the other tickled without a single drop of mercy. Jeremy felt himself jump in a sit position, trying to focus his tearing eyes enough to stop the assault. It took just a few pokes in his tummy to make he lay down again.

 - NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHahahahahahaHAHA! – His eyes were closed and his nose wrinkled. His whole body shook with the loud, shrill laughs that spilled from his mouth without any barrier; only being interrupted by some squeak or yelp as the Player One decided to get bored with his toes and quickly changed the tickle attack to his knees. Started to switch from one to another in random patterns, squeezing his kneecaps or giving an especial attention to the extremely, unfairly ticklish skin under them.

 That leading the laugh to grow even louder and the sensations more and more unbearable. Michael happily watched when Jeremy swung his legs up, seeking to curl in a protection ball, “obliging” him to retaliate with a series of kneads on his thighs, causing  the light brown-haired to frantically kick, trying to free himself from the tickles, leading Michael to go back to his knees and restart the loop all over again.

 - S-Sthohohohohohohop!! – He let out a frustration groan in the fifth time it happened. The Mell couldn’t help but evil crackle at that, also being helped by the fact that Jeremy’s laugh was extremely contagious.

 - I don’t know what are you talking about, Heere! All I can ever hear is the victory sound of me winning the Double-Cosplay challenge this year!!

 - YOHOHOHOHOHOHOU WIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHISH-nono! No, pleaSE! nHOHOHT THeherHEHEHEs!

 - Is this your final answer, then? – Michael stared at him, the mischievous grin still very present, even though Jeremy didn’t saw it. The sunshine flooded the victim’s face, only further highlighting the freckles already favored by the blush, which literally cover his entire face, now. Jeremy shook his head side to side, as if denying the fate that was about to catch him, or as if answered the question from the other, Michael just shrugged and decided to ignore the act. – So, that’s it! Be prepared to the Ultimate Tickle Attack!!

 He stopped.

 And the Player Two used the opportunity of a break to take some sips of air, finally being able to shrunk in a defensive ball. The crackling laughter still bouncing gladly from his mouth that couldn’t at all undo the big bright smile going ear to ear in his features. It really seemed to illuminate the place.

 His hand trembled a little as he wiped tears that managed to slide across his burning cheeks. The laughing now became giggling and finally starting to fade.

 And then he realized.

 Not even a whisper from Michael.

 He opened his eyes, a little confused, and suddenly shivers ran thundering down his spine, spreading through each of his ticklish spots, making them tingle more, perhaps in the same amount of times that the Mell approached his fingers teasingly until they were a few inches above his calves.

 Damn! Cursed be these years of friendship and all the tickle fights in their childhood that give him the knowledge about this particular spot.

 - Mihihihichael! – His giggles came back strident, his smile threatened to widen further. Jeremy bitted softly the tip of his tongue, trying to do at least a threatening expression, yet too much excitedly for it. The one in hoodie quickly lowered his hand, stopping before he could research the place, leading the other to jump and release a pinched scream would never admitted being his in the future. Butterflies danced in his stomach. – NohohoHOT eVEn thIHIHIhihnk abohohohut th-

 - Not touchin you, dude! – The prankster laughed starting to wiggle his fingers, and, even though they didn’t have touched him yet, Jeremy could already feel it. Feel the uncontrolled laughter in his chest, the nerves tingling eagerly, the eyes closing reflexively and… - If I knew it was so easy to make you blush just with that I already would won this tournament years ago!! – His face was going to melt, he was absolutely sure of that. It was going to melt and he would be obligated to wear the stupid mask of whatever cosplay Michael chose for him for the rest of his life!! – And I’m not even doing anything, literally!

 - Shuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuht uhuhuhuhuhuhuhp, youhohohor sadihihihistic!! – The heat just spread stronger, arriving to the tip of his ears. He attempted to shrink more in defense; however, the Player One held his leg, his other hand resting on his chest, as if he were truly offended.

 - Jeremy! – He faked another attack, almost losing control of his dramatic pose and laughing when the Heere snorted. – Now, that was not the manners I gave you! I’m not even doing anything and a puddle of adorable giggles offends me! Humpf… – He wander lightly his index finger through all the extension of his calf, each inch releasing a new squeal tone.

 - Sohohorry!! Sohohohohohohohohohohrrehehehey! – He pushed his leg, trying to free himself from the deadly grip. Michael didn’t even bother into pretending to ponder about his apologies, and then the light brown-haired knew he was screwed up in the exact moment he find that glint the other’s eye.

 - Nah. I would rather return the favor. – And, as he said, started to ruthlessly knead his calves.

 Jeremy never had fought that much in his life. All of his muscles squirmed; reacting to the warning signals they received from his nerves, which probably were all very confused when they heard his laughter. Powerful, loud and fully stuffed with screams, laughter. His mind went in a total collapse and he could only focus on the tickling, finding his synapses unable to form a single coherent word, neither a sentence.

 Michael stopped. Half because he had pity to see the tears began to wash the friend’s cheeks and the other half because he was afraid that some neighbor would call the police with the screams from the shorter; and also because he couldn’t control his own laughter anymore. Grateful to be seated, he leaned against the outsider arm of the couch, his voice mingling with the remained giggles from the other. Both flying in the air.

 For a moment, the duo stayed just like this: Laughing.

 - Yohohohohou ahahahahare the worhohohohost! – Wiped his tears, finally managing to remove the sensations rubbing the spot that, probably, was the most ticklish and unlikely to have. Thanked to the pure, fresh air entering his lungs, which seemed to give him strength to sit and stare the shape who still laughing.

 An awesome idea crossed by his brain and camped there. A little cliché, that is true, but he felt deserving this privilege.

 His hands met the armpits of the Player One, without moving, who instinctively downed his arms, an uncharacteristic squeak now running from his lips. Jeremy enjoyed the sense of power he had when the opponent, in the videogames and for this day, faced him with wide eyes, struggling with a smile in his face.

 - Je-jeremy… Come on, pal, dude, friend... – The one on pajamas just smiled in response, turning softly his head, like a puppy staring you doubtfully about your despair as hold your only short in their mouth, paws flexed and about to run through the beach, to anywhere as long is far from you (Long and funny story, ask Mr Heere to show you the video later.) and wasted no time before start the attack.

 Michael held his breath. His lips suppressed in a arc as they were pressed strongly, refusing to let out a single giggle from the thousands that already stirred in his throat.

 - What the matter? – Jeremy chuckled, noticing the not-so-subtly effort from the newer victim to control himself, just getting even clear when his legs began to squirm. The light brown-haired positioned himself on his right, already knowing what was coming, his face approached further. – Wouldn’t you happen to be… too ticklish for that, right?

 He started to slowly scribble in the other’s armpits, the glint in his eyes glowing as watched him jumping with the touch and hugging his sides, fighting more with the waterfall of giggles trying to pour from his lips and this struggle seeming about to make him explode, due how much his cheeks puffed and blushed. The Mell shook his head.

 - Phew, what a relief. – The Player Two faked a relieved sigh, as if heavy chains were removed from his back. His face got closer, Michael stared at him, fear and expectation shining mingled up in his expression, red beginning to grew stronger in his face. S c o r e. – So you won’t mind if I get a itty bitty revenge, right?

 And started to blow right on that spot behind his ear, something that the friend did almost daily and now tasted what he so gladly distributed. Michael squealed, the barriers finally giving in and being quickly subdued by the snorts and giggles as fingers skillfully poked and wriggled in his armpits, taking more speed and strength, just as Michael’s fight to escape from his fate.

 - JEHEHEHEHEHEheheheheHEHEHEHEHEREMYY!!! NOHOHOHOHOHO!!

 - Michael! We are in a serious competition here! I would like to see a little more compromising from your side!! – His head moved away as he stopped in order to teasing the other’s neck. Changing his tactics to verbal teasing and, even though he didn’t threatened back to his neck anymore, the ‘victim’ still kept his shoulders up, as if by precaution.

 - FUHUHUHUHUHUACK!!  – The light brown-haired was able to release his hands from the friend’s gasp, giving him some free seconds before immediately tickle his sides. – PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHhahahahahahahAHAHAHA! – His tune got a fewer octaves higher, flinching a little as Jeremy alternated between kneading his left, squeeze his right and then attack both at the same time.

 Fun fact: Michael did not squirmed, he trashed his body side to side in a mad dance ruled by the melody of his own deep, frenetic and uncontrollable belly laughter that fled without any permission from his mouth. Therefore, tickle his legs or even sit on them to try pinning him down was practically impossible. His upper body, on the other hands, due his fear of tossing away his glasses, were easier to deal.

 - Wait… Oh no, Michael! I discovered! – His eyes even attempted to meet with the other’s, but these were tightly closed, tears starting to welling up in the corner. The Heere forced himself to slow the attack, noticing the crackling laugh and shrieks that started to took over Michael’s loud, and completely contagious, laughter. He drank a little of air, still letting squeals and giggles escape from his lips for the soft tracing in his tummy, one of the Mell’s hand holding his wrist, but didn’t doing nothing to really stop the tickle. – You are not able to command your laughter!

 - Nohohohoho shi- A lightly squeezing in his hips was enough to make a yelp interrupt the rest of his sarcastic sentence.

 - This is extremely serious! But do not fear, as your best friend, I will help you! I am almost sure that I find a Resert Buttom!!

 The one who wears glasses felt his smile grow wider, more for the nonsense from the other than anything else. He tried to ignore the rising heat spreading now across his neck.

 A finger poked his navel and the jump Mell did nearly broke the ceiling, together with a squeal that Jeremy definitely would remind him later. The Player Two used all his willpower to not fall on the floor laughing with the other’s reaction, especially when this one actually began to really try to remove his hands from anywhere closer of his most ticklish spot, miserably failing when Jeremy suddenly started to give quick tickles in any and every where to distract him.

 -Heere, dohohohohon’t you dahahahahahare! – His hands were in a total uncontrolled frenzy, just as his euphoric giggles.

 - I-I’m just- Their laugh were now mixed as danced through the room, especially when in an act of pure despair Michael attacked his ribs, making him really start laughing for real. Oh no!! He wouldn’t win this one!! – I’m juhuhuhuhuhst trying tohohoho hehehehehehelp, yohohohour ungreatuful!!! Boop!

 And then his finger finally was able to tickle his belly button, wriggling, poking an causing a real scream to leave the other’s lips, as a small signal before the loud, mad and extremely frenetic laughter exploded from his mouth. He jostled and babbled non-ended words that even he had no idea with what they were supposed to mean.

 He was getting crazy. Michael was absolutely sure. His head was thrown back with the strength of the laughter and for a moment everything, even the tickles that spread through every little inch in his body as unbearable and hilarious shivers, disappeared.

 A piece of rationality, the last one, made him attack and scribble his fingers in some unprotected skin from his opponent. It didn’t mattered where it was, and yes that seconds later Jeremy’s laughter started to go along his owns, showing that retaliation was working.

 Both rolled out on the floor, laughing, snorting, yelping, squealing, squeaking, giggling and equally trying to make the friend released the same sounds as himself. Their members shuffled, seeking to tickle any and all minimally reachable tickle spots, both unwilling to give up and both waiting to the other give in first.

 Maybe it was the so-called ‘friendly telepathy’, the same one which allowed them to chat just with glares and always know what and when the other needed something. However, the duo slowly begun decreasing their attack almost simultaneously. The squeezes and kneads becoming pokes before turning into scratching and scribbles until they finally broke apart, staring the opponent for a few hesitant seconds (not that they really could properly see each other through all their tears happily spilling down their cheeks ) before laying on the floor. The remaint laughter being the only thing filling the silence, along with the panting breaths.

 For a while they just stayed like that: laughing.

 The sun’s rays started to heat the room, showing it wasn’t that early anymore and probably the donuts were already cold by this moment. Cars were passing outside and some dog somewhere barked desperately, the sound not echoing louder than their hearts, which stilled seeking to calm down themselves after the strange and high dose of adrenaline.

 Jeremy was the first to speak, raising his arm and waving as it like a white flag.

 - Draw?

 - Keep dreaming. – Michael’s voice was slightly hoarse. He cleared his throat while the one on pajamas rolled his eyes, none of them really succeeding in removes the bright smile in their faces. – Truce for breakfast?

 They sat, not taking too long to get up as hear the angry protests from their stomachs, they shook their hands, sealing the quick agreement. Their eyes met and, for a piece of moment both ignored how much redder they were, their minds now just focusing on the eagerly awaited meal.

 - Truce for breakfast.

[artificialqueens]

living on the edge of the law - Chapter 2 (Biadore) - lily2

santa monica is crowded and full of traffic but bianca is beginning to feel a bit more place with shea who is doing a wonderful job at showing her around and pretending to not act smitten for her own best friend & katya who is a case in it of itself, bianca’s job has yet to see the first chapter in it’s story.

Blog

— *.✧ “See you! We will go and catch up end of the week, have a great break and please sleep.” Jinkx screamed from the window, honking at her friend, trying to cause as much ruckus as possible for the poor girl, laughing loudly as Bianca snickered, used to anything with Jinkx, her antics definitely wouldn’t scare I’d Bianca, her hands waving her off and knocking on her car’s window glass and sending her off with a small air kiss, catching herself and her three suitcases, dragging them before quietly realizing she was the third floor.  “If there isn’t a damn elevator I will absolutely piss myself.” Muttering under her breath before praising to god himself that there was indeed an elevator right in front of her face, she worringly clicked all the buttons until a vacant door opened, she stepped in the middle as she threw her luggage into the elevator with her, squatting right on top of her carry-on, texting Jinkx as she waited impatient to reach the floor: Gotta say, it was pretty damn fucking good, missed you asshat. See you Friday, pick a good bar! Sending the message, her eyes blinked heavily, she felt battered and bruised and was close to her first bed and would collapse on top of it, Jinkx was extremely quick to mention that Bianca had no food and made sure they stopped by a local store and got her some food for atleast the night up until lunch time, usually she would be appreciative that a friend cared so dearly for her sanity and health however, it was an extra two hours of stopping, traffic, stop lights: Bianca was about to murder every driver who lived in the county of Los Angeles. Brisbane was almost decent compared to this shit and she already got into her old habits, honking Jinkx’s horn so long and loud that other cars around them would sync in time for them, more as a complaint but Bianca decided to take it as a good thing, like a welcome present wrapped with a cute little bow,

Welcome to Santa Monica! Fumbling with her key’s she opened up the door and tossed the grocery bag full flight into the first counter she saw. Turning on the light she finally begun to take in the actual scope of the place. The fact of the matter is was that it was smaller than her last living space but in Los Angeles county? This size probably meant a hefty price tag though Courtney mentioned it was only about 2,000 USD montly, very decent something definitely bigger than what Bianca expected for sure, which in turn made her only twice as angry at her Australian best friend who must’ve pulled some money or special strings to get the price lowered, there was no way the original cost was 2,000 USD, that’s what most people spend on groceries in three weeks here.  “Courtney I’m gonna murder you—” a hushed tone from her lips as she threw her suitcases next to the lavish and fully furnished living room area, complete with a large window which Bianca was quick to close, only wanting to find the damn bed.  Taking only her phone, charger and water she dizzily threw herself into the first bed she saw, as long as it had covers and pillows, she didn’t care where she slept or when, she truthfully wasn’t paying much attention to the time, not wanting to drag herself on about timezones though Jinkx helped her change it to their local one so Bianca’s own phone would stop showing the Brisbane local area time. “Good night.” She said aloud to herself and herself only, yanking her trainers and jacket off before letting herself hit and black out onto the bed, hoping she wouldn’t wake up for a long while— hell just make her wake up Monday and she can start looking like a piece of lagged shit! *.✧ Awaking in the middle of the daytime she felt as if her eyes were blood red and she had just risen from the dead, she noticed a few notifications on her phone though most would probably be from Courtney and possibly Shea who promised to introduce her to the area whenever she woke up and was feeling ready enough to go on out in public. “I might feel like shit but atleast I don’t look like shit!” She yelled to her phone’s camera before checking the time and realizing it was almost 3PM, she stretched her arms before standing up and beginning to sort through her clothing that was all nice, folded and ready to go thanks to Courtney who was far less wasted when they decided ever so smartly to down wine and vodka while packing for the departure. Eyes wondering towards her phone before finally taking enough of the bright screen and opening it with her fingerprint so she could finally text back Courtney, glancing at the text and smiling as she read it aloud to herself. Of course you will, I’ll kill you if you don’t! ;) How is the studio my love? It’s fully furnished I’m hoping and all the little knotches should be all good! Morning from Brisbane! Her fingers begun to swipe before she pressed send to a small message back reading: Good morning asshole, hope it’s burning hot as usual, there’s actually wind here and it shakens me. This apartment is so fucking gorgeous I’m about to stab you, it’s about 2PM but the lag got to me as always!  Shea’s message was much more formal which signaled either Bianca was too old that Shea would think she didn’t understand regular lingo or she was new and didn’t want to be attacked for poor grammar, both of which didn’t sound too great in Bianca’s head.  Bianca! I hope you are not too jet lagged, just call me if you want me to show you around, you can meet Katya to, we were thinking of going to the pier since it’s just about the most basic thing you can possibly do! Please join us :) !!! xx Sauntering over the message she slowly pressed send to a quick: Yes, I’ll come, I don’t have a car but I can send you my address if that’s all right with you. Dropping her phone on the bed so it could stay in the charging cable she begun to organize all the things she possibly could given that Shea would probably come and get her in about thirty minutes judging by how fast she responded to things, it wasn’t an awful quality, she probably needed to explore a bit more considering she would probably just sleep if she didn’t.  Just as expected, once Bianca came from her closet and felt a little more freshed once putting on a new layer of makeup and changing clothes, a text from Shea appeared.  Great, I will take you in about half an hour, is that okay with you? Just send your address. Reading it aloud Bianca whined, even though gaining a better understanding of her new work and city would definitely be beneficial she really, really wasn’t a fun of sweating and laughing as if the heat wasn’t about as hot and dry as the fucking third layer of Dante’s Inferno. Sure. That was all she wrote before throwing her phone away from her and grabbing sneakers not exactly knowing the emviorment and area around, they were close to a beach and going to board walk so heels most likely weren’t the most intelligent option. She debated taking her phone but decided to so she could prove to Courtney she wasn’t just gonna be in a fucking cocoon and she was indeed going to try and make friends! 

*.✧ A honk and then two came from the driveway right outside and Bianca had to wince, dropping her bag before sighing, “I’m coming!” She shrieked before the window of the red Mini Cooper rolled down laughing, a blonde driving and another in shotgun who she recognized as Shea, “I’m so sorry Bianca!” She yelled before getting out of the car and making sure Bianca could fit into the back before Shea collapsed into the front and turned so her face was facing Bianca, reaching over and hugging her best she could, she was definitely the affectionate type.  The blonde driving licked her lips and extended her hand, “I am Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova but you can just call me Katya.” She smiled ear to ear before flipping her thick hair back which only slightly smacked her face, “Great, I’m sure I’ll remember all that.” Katya laughed wholeheartedly, “I’m just joking, no wonder you’re working for us, everyone at this company is also a hardass.” Bianca had to snicker a bit, rolling her eyes and relaxing into the back seat as Katya pulled out, “So you’re from Australia right, no accent?“  “I was born in Louisiana, I moved to Australia basically seven years ago and became personal assistant and a head of department for a record label in Brisbane.” They both nodded and smiled, seemingly genuinely intrigued by her story which made the American a bit surprised especially since they also worked in the field. “You were Courtney Act’s assistant right?” Shea gasped, Katya almost slamming the breaks and yelling, “No way!“  She raised her hands and calmed them, "Whoa now bitch, keep driving, I don’t need to die my second day back— but yes, she is my best friend, she’s very pretty, not sure about her singing.” She joked to Shea’s laughter and Katya’s warm grin, “I would abuse the fuck out of you right now and play her music but I won’t."  "So what about you and your long ass name, you don’t seem American, bold of you to assume I wasn’t.” Bianca turned on Katya as the blonde girl tilted her head and smacked Bianca behind her, already warming up as they stopped at the stop light, she turned for a quick second checking behind her before turning her attention to the wheel, “Well I wasn’t, I’m originally from Russia, Krasnoyarsk. Forests and all that fuckery, moved before high school, just couldn’t take it anymore, Eastern Europe isn’t too wonderful for being anything but straight.” She admitted quietly before Shea rubbed her shoulder and nodded, “My best friend, she picked me up yesterday, she’s half Ukranian, she said the same but said it’s lovely to visit.” Katya seemed genuinely intruiged, “Oh really? It’s lovely really, I still speak Russian but I revoked my citizenship, you aren’t allowed to be a dual citizen so I just picked what I thought would be more useful and worth it and here I am, an American citizen after god knows how many years.” She said tracing the fine line between her age and leaving out any details of why exactly she came which Bianca could respect as someone with immigrant parents, it’s just something not really told to someone they just started working with. “To the pier we go!” Shea clapped happily, wanting to pry away at another subject that was a bit more happy and freeing though questions about Bianca’s job kept coming up around her. “Do you know yet who you’re gonna work with? Like who you’re assisting I mean!” Shea corrected quickly, a bit intrusive even. “Curiousity killed the cat, it also might kill the bitch in this car.” Bianca yelled before slapping Shea’s shoulder who also laughed along best she could, Katya giving an amused smile. “Truthfully I just found out, she’s apperantly an up and coming singer, Adore Delano."  The minute the name came from her lips, Katya almost hauled the car on the break again, though it was also a red light to be completely fair to the Russian girl. "Do that again and see what fucking happens!” Bianca yelled as she was almost flipped to the other side of the car on such a screech, “Like Adore Delano?” Katya repeated, beyond unable to comprehend herself at the stop light, “I don’t even wanna say how many of her songs I have on my Spotify playlist.” Embarrassingly jealous that the women who just came to work had possibly one of her personal favorite artists assigned.  “I didn’t have much time to look or read about her, apparently she must be young.” The inference earning a nod from Shea who turned to her again, turning the air conditioning up in the meanwhile, “Not extremely young, I know she’s about five or six months younger than me, I know because of Katya over here who might have an absolute fit."  "So what she’s a singer?"  "A very good singer—” Katya begun before putting a finger up and beaming, “She has her own specific style but most would say she does her own thing, she does some pop but mainly it sticks within grundge, alternative, rock, you know that sort of thing.” Bianca was intrigued but definitely worried, that screamed in her mind attitude problems and family issues. Not trying to sterotype however Bianca nodded pleasantly, tapping the seat of the car. “Well then Monday should be very fun.” *.✧ Monday did indeed come and it only just dawned Bianca the night before that she didn’t have a car, a bit of an inconvenience considering she lived in a city that pretty much just roads though Shea of course backed her up with a ride until she could go to the dealership after work, “We’re friends now, I’m just being a good friend.” She claimed, Bianca wanted to throw up knowing there were truly that compassionate and kind in this damn world.  Sleeping had been the worst part so far, she would begin to drift in the middle of the day, fall dead asleep and then wake up in the middle of the night and then just watch whatever sitcom was on television until sunrise came and she was considered a normal time to be awake and functioning. Luckily she managed to knock herself out at the right time which made her wake up at exactly 8AM, when she needed to.  Showering, make up, clothes and paperwork done, about thirty minutes later came the notification from Shea that she was outside, she quickly slipped on whatever heels she found and huffed, locking her door and going down the stairs before quickly texting Courtney back a reply, saying it was her first day and that she would call her with all the news later.  “Well hello! Good morning to you.” Shea laughed seeing her dressed so proper and fancy though Bianca always dressed like this, you had to have the entire fantasy and be prim and proper all the time, not just for yourself or your job: “Well it’s a lifestyle choice.” She replied as she put on the seatbelt and let her things drop gently near her feet, Shea seemed very into leather. Which wasn’t necessary a bad thing, not like Bianca was going to call PETA but she could tell she had more of an edgy style which was completely ironic considering her personality thus far.  “Starbucks?” She asked before Bianca groaned in happiness, “Please. I’ll pay you back when we actually get out the car.” She swore before Shea waved her off, turning at the light, “Oh please, save it.” She seemed very strict and prideful on not taking the money which normally Bianca would admire but now she was starting to loathe, she was too damn nice. “Oh you bitch, take the 5$, you’re driving me and getting me coffee."  Persistence was broken and Shea grumbled, accepting the cash and stuffing it somewhere in that wallet of her’s before finding herself in the drive-thru of Starbucks which Bianca noted heavily was just right by her own apartments block. The employees voice came over on the window and Shea smiled happily, her makeup absolutely glowing. "Hi! I’m great, how are you?"  "What do you want?” Shea whispered as the employee replied casually, “Great! So I can get a venti shaken White Iced Tea, sweetened please as well as a tall Skinny Latte, extra foam and I’ll just have a grande, no ice, Caramel Macchiato? Thank you!” She called out before driving next to the window, Bianca curious: “So you like tea and coffee?"  "Oh no, the iced tea is for someone else.” Shea insisted, a small red flush forming across her cheeks as she waved her arm, keeping the other on the steering wheel. Happy that the drinks were ready after only about two minutes, paying and driving off, Bianca letting the drink rest in one of the drinkholders before she grinned, definitely catching onto Shea’s plot. “So who’s the lucky lady?"  "Oh god.” She chuckled, closing her eyes before pulling out of park and beginning to drive across the highway sighing and returning Bianca’s ever so patient glance. “I’m not a fool you know, this dog knows some tricks."  "She just got out of her relationship with her boyfriend, we’ve been best friends for years, I could never.” Shea remarked bitterly before Bianca wanted to gag, “Oh so what you’re telling me is she loves your delusional ass and is single and you’re just scared?” Both of them defensively jumped and laughed, Shea trying to focus on the road and screaming from the pressure teasingly, “Her name is Sasha! Sasha, she’s from Russia—"  "I’m starting to realize why you like Katya.” That earned her a beating from Shea which she probably deserved but Bianca’s point was made visibly seeing Shea visibly melt, groaning. “She’s perfect what can I really say."  "Well If you don’t take her I will.” Another joke that left Shea with her jaw dropped before Bianca cackled, hitting her shoulder, “I’m joking you bitch, I would never but if you don’t talk to her I’ll explode, is this common knowledge?” “Everyone in the department knows expect Sasha.” Jesus Christ. “Well we will definitely fix all of that soon enough, I have to be there to witness it.” She promised before taking a small slip of the latte, growing more and more custom to the roads and how damn slow everything was, might as well just skip work all together.  *.✧ “Welcome to the studio!” Shea yelled from the parking lot before spotting someone and waving, “Aja come here!” She screamed, the other girl rolling her eyes and prancing on over forcefully so. Bianca grabbing her things before making direct eye contact, “Aja! This is Bianca, she’s working with us now, she just transfered from Brisbane."  "Work.” She whispered before holding out her hand politely, her and Bianca seemed to be sisters when it came to their color choices, the brighter the better. “I’m Aja, you’ll probably see me around but it’s nice to meet you, I know you were Courtney’s assistant."  Jesus if that’s all I’m gonna be known for this entire job.  "Yes I was, I see you are one for color.” She noted before Aja shrugged, “I guess you could say that, the adjustment will seem awful at first maybe but I promise after a week you start pulling through with no issues, especially since you have so much experience."  Acting as if she gave a shit Bianca nodded, walking towards the building and making sure to have her ID ready and handy as Shea warned, both of them having clips to attach to their dresses/jackets, Bianca noted this as well while taking in the scenery, it was a typical studio: lavish on the inside, marble floors, large lights, ceilings so high you had to practically bend over to take it all in. It wasn’t to Bianca after about six years of it in Brisbane but this one definitely looked more polished and by that she meant: clean but no personality, nothing interesting to it.  "We are the second floor.” Shea noted before pulling for an elevator and smiling seeing one open, two men coming out before the three entered, Aja playing on her phone’s screen before the door closed, Shea still holding her and Sasha’s drink. “Oh of course you got your girlfriend a drink.” A scoff from Aja who was kicked in the knee with Shea’s leg. Bianca grinning, “See, exactly what I said in the car, I’ve known this bitch for all of one day and she already is getting on my nerves with this situation."  She clapped laughing, putting her phone away before she exited first, turning left and waving before Shea and Bianca walked to their floor, the older woman a bit done already, just let her hop on the flight already back home: she hadn’t even met Adore Delano yet but didn’t need to judging by her research last night.  "I’ll show you to your desk, I just need to give this to Sasha real quick."  "Of course you do."  In no rush they eventually swirled into a office, Bianca noticing the girl at the desk immediately perk up in happiness, standing and hugging Shea, she assumed this was Sasha. She was just a bit taller than Shea, very thick and very blonde hair, glistening eyes. Shea revealed her drink and the Russian girl scoffed, immediately hugging her best friend and happily putting it down, "You didn’t have to, really."  "I did.” Shea coughed before introducing Bianca, Sasha quickly setting her drink down and shaking hands politely and welcoming her to the office. “I saw you were coming over from Australia, I hope you like your office here, it gets better after the first week I swear."  "Well I sure hope so.” She joked before Sasha smiled, “Have a good first day!” She yelled before sitting down again in her chair, spinning around and taking a sip of the tea, waving at Shea who only blew her a kiss and waved back.  “She seems nice enough, I’m beginning to piece you and your love life together. She seems a bit—"  "Quiet? Introverted? I know, she’s not shy or anything, she just prefers her space and I respect that.” Bianca had to admire that, she was loud as she was obnxious and extroverted, she hadn’t much experience with dealing with those kinds of people though she was sure everyone wanted space at some point in the week but she could see the disparity between Shea and Sasha’s personality. It could work. “Well, They always said opposites attract." 

[cautrida]

So.. I wrote something?

Here’s a little Christmas One-Shot for those that love Catradora as much as I do! I know it’s May, please don’t sue me.

Warnings: Mentions of Affair and Stripper in a comical sense. And Fluff?

Words: 2713

Pairings: Catra x Adora Modern!AU

A Christmas Dilemma

When Catra opened her eyes that morning, the first thing she saw was her girlfriend Adroa lying next to her, or rather she was lying on her.

Her legs were in a position Catra couldn't imagine being even a little comfortable. Adora's head resting on her torso, drooling a little on Catra’s stomach. With a little sigh, she looked out of the bedroom window and saw snowflakes slowly making their way towards the ground.

Catra always loved the winter. Not so much the cold, no she hated that part with a burning passion that always got a laugh out of Adroa every time she complained about it, and if it hadn’t been for school or her job she wouldn't want to leave the house at all.

What she did enjoy however was the feeling of crawling into bed cuddling her girlfriend under the blankets while “A Christmas Carol” is on TV. Also, she loved how Adora got all wiggly with excitement for Holidays. She loved the moment when she´d gone to bed, waking up a few hours later from a nightmare or to get a glass of water, seeing that it had snowed and the streets were coated in a white layer as if someone just spilled powdered sugar everywhere. Seeing this always hold a special place in her heart, as if she was the only one allowed to witness it. What Catra didn´t like about the winter, besides the cold, was Christmas.

Well, not Christmas itself but rather the fact that everybody had to have the perfect, expensive Christmas gift. It had always made herself feel inadequate. Damn, she was a broke College student! How on Earth could she afford a pair of fancy earrings, or new fancy game console for Adora when her job could barely cover her rent and living expenses? ( Both rather shitty suggestions from Scorpia and Entrapta respectively, when she asked them what she should get Adora as a gift this year).

Catra sometimes thought that Adora could do better.

A girl who wouldn't wake her up in the middle of the night to console her after a particularly bad dream.

A girl who did have the money to buy her the ultimate Christmas gift.

Or at least a girl who's at least got an idea on what to get her? Well, she still had a few weeks to think about what she could gift her, so Catra closed her eyes again and hoped that she could doze off again until it was time to get up.

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

"So, got any idea what to get Adora for next week?"

Catra sat on a table in the middle of a big cafe. With the black coffee in her hand, she looked away from the door in which Adora and Perfuma vanished and glanced back to the girl sitting across from her. Scorpia had her elbows propped on the table and looked at her expectantly.

At least once in a fortnight, the whole group would meet up in Perfuma's cafe. Not everyone could come every time, so this particular morning it was just them and Glimmer.

Adora had just gone to the kitchen with Perfuma because something got....stuck? Catra didn´t really listen to what Perfuma was saying but Adora, nice as she was, jumped at the prospect of helping out. So while she was gone, Scorpia probably thought it was a good chance to interrogate Catra about her little Christmas problem.

She sighed and took a gulp out of her Coffee. "I got absolutely nothing". Glimmer looked at her horrified and obviously had problems keeping her face straight. "Christmas is in like a week, and you still got no gift?", she said and took a sip of her own hot chocolate. "You should hurry because lemme tell ya', all the good gifts will be sold out in the next few days!"

Catra scoffed at her and rolled her eyes. Like she didn´t know that already.

"Well, time isn´t actually my problem, rather the money it costs to buy the good stuff."

She knew of course that Glimmer probably never had to worry about money, her family being as rich as they were. To be honest, Catra couldn´t even imagine that Glimmer knew the definition of broke.

Now Glimmer was the one sighing, "Why didn´t you save some money or something like that. Christmas is every year and not exactly a surprise..."

"Glimmer, It´s not easy to save money when you don´t have anything to save," Catra said, leaning backwards in her chair.

"Why don´t you make her a gift yourself? That's always a sweet idea! Like… draw her a picture or make a coupon! Yes, a coupon is a great idea! Everybody loves my hug-coupons!" exclaimed Scorpia loudly and giddy. Catra just watched her and her antics. That was a bad idea. There weren´t 5 anymore, where you could pull off a drawn picture of them both together as a sufficient gift for a Christmas.

Suddenly Glimmer's eyes widened and she made a sound like she just had an epiphany. Her head turned towards Catra, "You could knit her a sweater!! I mean you know Adora, when it´s cold she just wears like three different Shirts on top of each other and calls it a day! I don´t think she even owns a sweater," she said it as if it was the brightest idea of mankind since the discovery of fire. That idea didn't even sound bad but there was one problem.

How was she supposed to learn knitting in a week?

Glimmer tried to ease her mind, saying it was relatively easy to learn and that she would teach her.  Even Scorpia thought it was a good idea. "And if that doesn´t work you could still make her coupons!" Catra smirked at that and leaned back into her Chair.

"Yeah, but I would probably make them a whole lot dirtier."

"EWW, I didn't need to know that!!"

Oh, how Catra loved to rile Glimmer up.

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

Well, that didn´t work as planned.

It was the 24th of December and Catra sat on the couch in the living room of her apartment. Adora was at work and Catra had finally enough time to work at the last kinks for her Christmas gift.

She looked at that.... thing in her hands. It was a sweater, certainly, but she didn´t know what she did wrong. The sleeves were different lengths and it somehow was a few sizes bigger than she wanted it to be and could probably fit them both if they squeezed together.

Catra sighed. She even used that weird sizing technique that Glimmer showed her, but somehow she still screwed up.

She stared at the sweater as if her intense gaze could magically make it better. With a grunt, she tossed the Sweater next to her on the couch and laid back. What was she even doing? Like Adora would actually like something so stupid. Stupid Glimmer and her stupid idea and her stupid knitting course. She wanted to rip the dreaded sweater into pieces but then she would have nothing  to show for tomorrow morning and she would rather be dead than to not be able to give her girlfriend a present.

She stood up making her way into the kitchen. Maybe a coffee would help her and at least she knew how to make those. Before she actually got to the kitchen she heard a key rattle and the door openening. Adora was back from Work. Early. And that blasted Sweater was still lying on the couch.

Catra pounced back at the sofa, tossing the throw blanket over it. From Adora's perspective, it must have looked suspicious because she just stood there, still the in the door, watching Catra with big eyes.

"I just hope you're not hiding an affair under that blanket." She said chuckling. Catra rolled her eyes and smirked at Adora, " Yeah, there's a stripper under there who just gave me a lap-dance" Now Adora was laughing out loud while coming through the door. "Should I leave you two to it then for a few hours?" She hung her Jacket and her purse on the hook at the door "Or should I just go to the bedroom for a minute so you can hide my gift?" she said with a wink. Catras face fell, "How did you-" Adora interrupted her and leaned forward to the couch to give Catra a kiss. "Well, it IS the 24th. And since that lump there is too small for an actual stripper, I used the power of deduction to conclude that it is a Christmas gift that you don't want me to see." Adora was excited about her gift, that much she could see in the way Adora's eyes twinkled at her. "Love you" Adora said over her shoulder while leaving for the bedroom. "Yeah, Yeah, love you too" grumbled Catra quietly. She sighed and put her head in her hands.

What should she do?

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

When Catra woke up from a tumultuous sound in the kitchen, she was alone in bed. She looked at the clock on her nightstand. 7 am. What the hell? Why was Adora awake? Catra could hear muffled singing from the living room, which sounded like Christmas music but…

Oh right, Christmas.

She stood up and opened the bedroom door just enough to look at what was going on. She saw Adora standing in front of their tree (if you could call it that) with headphones in her ear.

"-snow is high so come inside

I wanna hear you say to me!

It's a very, very, merry, merry Christmas.

Gonna party on 'til Santa grants my wishes.

Got my halo on I know what I want

It's who I'm with.

It's an extraordinary merry Christmas!"

Adora was evidently a very good singer. She probably wouldn´t win The Voice with it but Catra loved it all the same. She would have been content with just standing there, watching Adora sing for the rest of the day, but with a swirl, Adora was facing Catra and froze. She hastily got the headphones out of her ears and smiled at her. "Hey, Adora" Catra looked at her with amusement. "Why are you up already?"

Adora arranged a few more Christmas lights on the tree and then walked towards Catra. "Well, duh, its Christmas. I've been up since 5AM, and couldn't go back to sleep so I thought I could make us breakfast, but that didn't go as planned" She chuckled embarrassedly "But whatever, go freshen yourself up, I'm gonna make us some hot chocolate and then we can exchange gifts!" Adora shoved Catra towards the bathroom, but just for the fun of it Catra made herself heavier so Adora had to use all of her strength to move her.

"Chop, Chop Catra, we still have that Dinner party with the others, we ain't got all morning!"

An hour later both of them sat on the couch, snuggled upin blankets with each a mug in their hand. Adora seemed radiant with excitement at the prospect of exchanging gifts. Catra... not so much. Both of their presents were sitting on the couch table. Catra had to hold down a giggle because Adora was positively the worst giftwrapper in all humanity. Her gift looked like a 3 Year old wrapped it, or she just threw wrapping paper at it and tried to close it all with a huge amount of duct tape.

Yeah, that's probably what happened.

Catra looked at her own gift. She still felt bad about it, but there was no turning back now. Adora would certainly not break up with her over a silly gift, right?

Catra sighed. She wanted this to be over and done with.

She looked back at Adora who was bouncing on the couch with excitement. "I want to give you my gift first!" she said and with a speed, Catra didn't know she even possessed, Adora pushed her gift in Catras hand. Before she could even think about it, Adora said "Do not shake it Catra! I mean it. I don't want you to break it!" Catra just stuck out her tongue and laughed "Geez, Adora, I´m not gonna break it" she said while starting to unravel the present. When she was done she was holding a Polaroid camera in her hand. She just stared at it in shock. "So, do you like it?" Adora asked, suddenly sounding unsure " I saw it at this  shop and you always take a lot of pictures with your phone so I thought why not a camera where you can have the picture instantly so you don't have to use your laptop all the-" Catra cut her off with a kiss. "Stop rambling Adora, it's perfect!" And it really was perfect, just like the Sweater Catra made for her.

Not.

Catra wanted to scream or run away. Or maybe both.

Why couldn't she come up with a better idea than some random sweater when she couldn't even knit properly. She looked at Adora again who just smiled lovingly. "So you like it? I'm glad!" She pointed at the other gift on the table. "May I?"

Catra wanted to say no, wanted to burn that wretched gift or throw it out the window but she just gave a defeated nod.

Well, here goes nothing.

While Adora unpacked that unholy thing, Catra took a sip from her hot chocolate.

I hope that's not the last time I drink Adoras hot chocolate...

"Did I .... gain a few pounds or why did you buy me a sweater 3 sizes too big?" Catra nearly choked on her drink. Adora looked at her with a questioning expression.

"WHAT?! No! No, you didn't! I'm just.." Disdain formed at Catra's face,

"..really bad at knitting."

Adora just gaped at her, mouth and eyes wide open and a look of wonder on her face.  " So you did that yourself?! Like... yourself? Did you knit that? Oh my god, I didn't know you could knit!" Now Adora was full of laughter and held the sweater in front of her. Catra wished a gate to hell would open at her feet so she could jump into it. This was probably the most embarrassing moment of her life.

Adora must have realized Catras change in demeanour, so she quickly said "Oh no, Catra, it's perfect. This is undoubtedly the best gift I have ever gotten!" Catra raised an eyebrow at these words, not for a minute believing that they were true, especially because Adora was still having a laughing fit. But Adora's laugh was not demeaning or degrading, but sweet and benign and a few moments later they both sat on the couch, laughing so hard that there were tears on their face.

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

In the evening Catra, again, sat on the couch, while Adora was in the bedroom. They've just come home from the Christmas party at Glimmers and she was tired. All this mingling and conversing was so exhausting for her, but Catra still had a smile on her face.

Dancing with Adora had surely made up for it.

"Hey Catra"

Catra turned her head towards Adoras voice and stared at her. There she stood, wearing nothing but that large, ugly sweater. It was so big that Adora seemed to drown in it and there were holes where she seemed to have missed a few crochets. The right sleeve was actually nearly perfect length, while the left sleeve was at least 6 inches too long. The whole thing stopped just barely over her knees. Catra nearly had a hysteric laughing fit again. "Oh my god, it's even worse than I imagined it to be!" Adora rolled her eyes and walked towards the couch. "Stop it!" She shoved Catra to the left, nearly throwing her off the sofa, so she could sit beside her. "I actually like it. It's super comfy and you tried really hard and it was such a cute idea" Adora laid her head in the nook of Catras shoulder. Catra looked down at her and smirked. "Oh Adora, I'm always cute." Adora punched her softly and both started to laugh faintly.

"Catra?"

"Yeah?"

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas Adora"

A/N: So, I know, Christmas fic in the middle of May? But I needed Fluff? And I apologize if its a bit rough, but this is my first fanfiction ever? I wrote one when I was like 13 but then I never tried it again. So this is officially my best and worst work now. 

Tell me if you like it and I appreciate if you guys got any suggestions on how to write better!

[nedcanquen]

A Bond Forged With Steel (Hetalia Rare Pair Exchange 2017) - Part 1

Hi @realmzenith! Here is Part 1 of your Secret Santa Gift! (I am currently typing Part 2 like crazy but I will post it by Jan 17th!) I’m sorry it has taken me so long, I started and restarted this fic three times! I hope you like your gift (multi-chapter fic!).

For the rest of my readers - have a GerMerica break from the usual programming :P for the Hetalia Rare Pair Secret Santa Exchange. Thanks for organizing @aphsecretsanta! (And I will post Part 2 very soon!)

Pairing: Germany/America

Rating: Teen

Tags: Fantasy AU

Image from Pexels

For as long as he can remember, Ludwig has known exactly what he was going to do with his life – he was going to follow his family's craft and be a Beilschmidt Blacksmith. Beilschmidt blades and works were famous across the lands of the Kingdom of Hetalia, ruled over by the now mostly retired warrior-king Roma. Roma however, had set an example for most of his citizens by going on many quests as a much younger man. Now everyone wanted to be some kind of a hero.

For the most part, the Kingdom's inhabitants got along – humans, elves, dwarves, dragons, and many many others. They knew how to keep to themselves or trade when needed. But once in a while, someone always decided to make trouble, and when that happened – the dragon with serious anger management issues, the overly condescending elf magician who started enchanting and enslaving the humans next door, the serial killer beserkers – well, Roma used to take care of them. Now that Roma was older and dedicated his time to art and music, the many others he had inspired kept the peace for him. Hefty bounties were awarded to successful peacekeepers and in such a place, well, the blacksmith family that was known to produce the best weapons were kept very comfortable indeed.

Ludwig first met the Albion family when he was a boy – just old enough to be allowed to help out at the main forge, but too young to officially start work as an apprentice. Of course, blacksmithing was not only the art of the forge, his brothers and grandfather made sure that he learned about the other aspects of their business – how to do sums and manage the accounting, how to gauge customers and manage them when they came in. There were some customers that the Beilschmidts would not take on, no matter how good their coin was.

Arthur Albion took his name from the forests he had grown up in – the Albion woods lay far in the north, usually covered in fog and rain. It was home to many fae and was strong in magic. There were times when Arthur Albion clearly betrayed his mixed fae-human heritage, with his bright-green eyes, and barely suppressed magical energy. He was a regular customer to their forge, and they especially liked him because he did not always want swords. Most of Arthur's requests were customized and very specialized, with very specific metallic component requirements – his requests were a challenge and worth good coin. Ludwig also wasn't very clear on this, but he had heard one of his brothers say that the human side of Arthur was distant kin to the Beilschmidts.

So on this day, when Ludwig had met Alfred and Matthew Albion for the first time, he remembers the energy and positive humming from Gilbert, singing to himself as he checks their stocks and supplies. “The tankard I last made for Arthur! He used it to bind a spell that helped capture Morgossa the Malevolent –  who comes up with these stupid names?! Anyway, fancy that? A sleeping tankard to get rid of a necomancer. Wonder what it'll be next?!”

Ludwig was especially close to Gilbert so he smiled and followed his brother around in the supply room. “Maybe a bracelet that binds?”

Gilbert shrugged. “Eh...that's been done.”

“Brother, that doesn't mean that it cannot be made again or used again.”

They hear the door opening and their grandfather's familiar gravelly voice greeting Arthur, sounding slightly surprised. When Ludwig and Gilbert arrive in the main hall, they see why – Arthur is holding two children, brothers from the look of them, and around Ludwig's own age. One is clutching to Arthur's hand, the one with curlier hair, while the other is straining to be released from Arthur's hand.

“WOW This IS SO GREAT!”

“Alfred, be still!” Arthur snaps but Alfred ignores him.

“Look Arthur come on! We're standing where the Blue Sword was made! The Azzuri! That was the sword that basically made this kingdom! Oh WOW – is this actually the Snakehaired Princess herself? You know the story right Mattie? King Roma reflected her curse back at her with the sword and she turned to stone! And then he gave Germania Beilschmidt the statue as a 'thank you!'”

There is a lot of coughing in the room suddenly – Gilbert trying his best not to obviously laugh, and his grandfather, well. He is calm and stony, maybe his jaw clenched but that was all. Ludwig admired that, in many ways, he wanted to be like his grandfather – controlled, never letting his emotions best him. His grandfather had once adventured and fought at the King’s side, now he was content to stay at the forge.

“That is enough Alfred!” Arthur sighs. “Now settle down, I need to discuss business with the Beilschmidts.”

It became clear that Alfred was not going to settle down, so finally in a fit of desperation, Arthur stared almost pleadingly at his grandfather.

Gilbert laughed some more before placing a hand on Ludwig's shoulder. “Lud, why don't you show Alfred and Matthew around?”

Ludwig wasn't sure about that, he was shy around strangers and preferred having one of his brothers or something clear as a subject to talk about. Then Gilbert whispered to him “Don't worry, that kid will do all the talking, just ask him which sword or story is his favorite.”

Well, he did have a point.

“Besides, if you can't play with a kid your own age now, how will you talk product specs and price when him later?”

Now that Ludwig understood this was also part of his training, he leaped into the new task with vigor. “I will give you both a tour!” He declared as professionally as he could. He knows the official visit areas – the showroom where they show off gifts and samples of their work, the little museum they have set up to explain their family history and where they source their metals. He's seen his brothers do it countless of times. He can do it! “Come with me!”

Surprisingly, they follow quickly, without a word of protest.

-

“...and this is Wangguo Steel – very rare, we ship it from the far East and have a special agreement with the Dragon Emperor. This is what the Sword of Infinity was forged from – we keep this ore in our museum to-”

“I'm gonna need a sword of...I dunno yet but it's going to have a cool name!” Alfred declares, face pressed against the harmless magical forcefield to stare at the shimmering ore. “Matthew's going to need one too! Isn't that right brother? We'll be going on adventures too!” He looks at Ludwig. “What do you think your first adventure will be? Taming a Skaya Eagle? Saving a town from the appetites of the Pontianak vampires? Defeating a Dragon at chess?!”

“No!” Ludwig looks at Alfred in shock. “My first adventure will be making my first real sword for  questors! Not children who want to get themselves killed. Aren't you supposed to start small and work your way up? Take care of a naughty gremlin or two first?”

Alfred's face falls. “But they’re not really harmful harmful! I mean there’s actual harmful that people need help from, and pests that they could take care of if they weren’t actually lazy.”

Ludwig considers this logic for a moment. “But people are busy. Wouldn’t you be a hero too if you freed up a senior hero to actually go fight a necromancer, rather than waste their time on gremlins?”

Something lights up in Alfred’s face but Matthew looks upwards with a long-suffering sigh. Before the boys leave, they promise that they will write, and make Ludwig promise that he will write back.

Three months later, Ludwig reads that Alfred has been clearing the Albion home (and basically every area his seven-year-old legs could run himself to) of Gremlins.

NINE YEARS LATER

Ludwig bears up with the travelling like any other hardship he endures, but he still misses home.

“You won’t always have all the tools and comforts of home available when we’re contracted to do our jobs!” Gilbert lectures as he and Ludwig walk beside the horses pulling their travelling forge. Gilbert has always been a hard taskmaster, but it has only intensified over the years. This journey is a test of sorts - if Ludwig can produce all manner of tools, weapons, armor, and whatever objects or tasks he’s challenged to with this traveling forge he’s built himself...well...he’s ready to join the rest of the family. He’ll be a full blacksmith.

“Why is Francis suddenly so adamant to have a blacksmith on-site?” Ludwig should have asked this sooner but he was so focused on building the forge, and making sure his materials were all accounted for and packed. Purchasing the services of an on-site blacksmith would already be astronomical in cost, yet Francis, Duke of Bonnefoy and one of the King’s many grandsons, had purchased a contract with the Beilschmidts in particular. Gilbert was the main blacksmith, as Francis’ friend as well, but Ludwig had to go along to complete his apprenticeship. Gilbert was to be his final reviewer of everything he made though, and Gilbert had an exacting eye for quality.

“A new project, a new charge to irritate Arthur Albion. But I kinda agree, and it wasn’t just Francis who purchased our services.”

“Who else?”

Gilbert laughs. “You haven’t heard from your penpals in a while have you? Arthur’s charges.”

Ludwig shakes his head. “I think we all had more important things to do. Trades to master.” The past few years would be the most intense for any apprentice. “I last heard that the boys did not manifest magical abilities, so they are training to become warriors.”

“As expected.” Gilbert shrugs.

When they finally arrive at Duke Francis’ estate, Ludwig feels a little bad that he has to mar the perfect green grass with the forge’s wheels, but this is where he is told to put it, so that he does. Eventually, he will explore the grounds for himself to better understand where the forge can be kept so that it is both conveniently placed and not marring the prettiness of the place. He’s making sure nothing has been damaged by the long journey (even though he had checked the forge consistently, three times a day, since they had begun) when Francis’ arrival is announced.

“You finally made it Gilbert!” Francis laughs. There was a part of Ludwig that had often admired his brother’s friend’s sense of art, aesthetics, and daring.

“Finally? You travel on foot carrying a forge with you, you spoiled brat! Now where’s the student?!”

Student? Another student? Ludwig’s curiosity burns enough to turn him from the forge.

“Right here. Alfred! You remember Gilbert of course, he is the best swordsman I know, he will teach you.”

Alfred? Ludwig jogs up to where the group is speaking and stares. It IS Alfred Albion. Alfred notices him too, and for a moment, their eyes lock. Has so much time passed? How is Alfred as tall as him now? What has...

“OKAY LISTEN UP!” Gilbert yells and that’s enough to make Alfred pay attention to him instead. “I’m gonna have two students at the same time so Ludwig, Alfred, listen carefully. Alfred, you’ve paid for me to be your swordsmaster for six months - that’s enough for me to get you grounded on BASICS! But once you have that strong foundation in basics…”

Ludwig didn’t hear the rest of the lecture but HOW? How did Alfred afford this?!

“And Ludwig! While I’m training Alfred, you have to watch - watch how he moves, watch what he needs, this is part of your training and your test - I’ll be quizzing you on how you customize body armour, tools, and weapons for Alfred, specific to his needs, how you’d make him the best warrior he can be. You’ll outfit Alfred and if I’m satisfied, your apprenticeship is over, if not, you’ll melt them down and if I’m pleased with Alfred, I’ll build his suit. And YOU…”

Alfred snaps back at attention.

“You’re going to have to earn it. My brother can make you the best armor and weapons in the known world, but only if you’re worthy of it. I have no qualms melting down our products rather than letting them be soiled by unworthiness. Both of you, is that clear?”

“Clear!” Ludwig yells out of habit. Francis however, has to nudge Alfred before he nervously stands at attention and yells the same.

[faeriexqueen]

Tagged in by @mysteriouslypinkconnoisseur (Thanks!)

Rules: Answer these 85 statements about yourself, then tag 20 people.

Omg, so a lot of people to tag and a lot to answer. XD  I’m tagging: @leashykitty-chan, @dinosaur-bones6, @kitty-bandit, @simply-m-a-d, @kurobear-kun, @suckmyinnuendo, @shadowdarkleonidascrusade, @kurapicha, @yeragei, @guiltyinnocencedgm, @capslockdoesntexpressmyjoy, @a-q-d, @nagorin, @bakandasama, @silentium-nightshade.  (I honestly can’t think of anyone else, so I’ll stop there?  If people want to tackle this, say I tagged you. XD)

Last

1. Drink - Lemon ginger tea.

2. Phone call - My mom.

3. Text message - One I sent to my brother.

4. Song you listened to - I think it was “The Plagues” from the Prince of Egypt soundtrack. XD

5. Time you cried - Last weekend when I saw Swan Lake.

Ever

6. Dated someone twice? - No, usually one time is enough after a breakup. 

7. Kissed someone and regretted it - ONCE.  When my friends tried to hook me up with this guy in high school.  So not my type. XD

8. Been cheated on - Yes.

9. Lost someone special - Yes.

10. Been depressed - Yes.

11. Gotten drunk and thrown up -  Once.  The liquor in Spain was strong, but I have no regrets.  That night was still great. XD

Fave Colors

12. Pastel pink.

13. Cream/Ivory.

14. Champagne/any slightly shimmery pink/gold.  (YES I USE FANCY NAMES SUE ME OKAY?)

In the last year have you…

15. Made new friends - Yes.

16. Fallen out of love - Yes, in a way.

17. Laughed until you cried - Yes.

18. Found out someone was talking about you - Yes, but it was no surprise and haters gonna hate. XD

19. Met someone who changed you - No.  For me, change is something that comes from something more internal.

20. Found out who your friends are - Oh yeah.

21. Kissed someone on your Facebook friends list - No.  I haven’t kissed anyone in like over two years now. XD

General

22. How many of your facebook friends do you know irl - All of them.

23. Do you have any pets - Yes! My fur baby, Luna. <3

24. Do you want to change your name - Not my first name.  For a while I’ve wanted to get rid of my father’s last name, but to be honest I don’t want to now - it’s sort of one of the last ties  have to my heritage.

25. What did you do for your last birthday - I spent the day pampering myself and got a massage.

26. What time did you wake up today - 6:30AM.

27. What were you doing at midnight last night - Sleeping.

28. What is something you can’t wait for - My next paycheck.

30. What are you listening to right now - Nothing.

31. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom - Not that I recall.

32. Something that’s getting on your nerves - Right now, that taxes and the cost of living are ever-increasing without there being ANY pay raise.  Seriously, how are people supposed to live?  Also, can we stop over-charging people in the US for medical expenses that don’t actually cost so much?  (I’m over things financially basically, and it’s not even where I am now - it’s everywhere and I’m just tired of seeing my friends suffer?  My coworker just had to pay 2,000 in taxes, and that’s RIDICULOUS.)

33. Most visited website - Tumblr, Youtube, Hulu, Netflix.

34. Hair color - Brown.

35. Long or short hair - Mine is medium length, but I love short and long hair.  I am growing mine out long though.

36. Do you have a crush on someone - Right now, surprisingly yes. XD

37. What do you like about yourself - My eyelashes.

38. Want any piercings? - Well, I already have some, but I’m up for more. XD

39. Blood type - O.

40. Nicknames - Faerie, Fae, Lala, Snow.

41. Relationship status - Single and loving it.

42. Zodiac - Taurus (sun), Cancer (rising), and Scorpio (moon).

43. Pronouns - She/Her.

44. Fave tv shows - Say Yes to the Dress, Project Runway, Millionaire Matchmaker, Once Upon a Time.

45. Tattoos - YES ABSOLUTELY MY BACK IS ALMOST COVERED.

46. Right or left handed - Right.

47. Ever had surgery - Yes.

48. Piercings -  I have 9 currently.

49. Sport - I don’t play any, but I love watching hockey.

50. Vacation - Can I have one?  I want to go to Europe.

51. Trainers - ...??? Are we talking waist trainers? I mean, I have corsets and do tight-lacing occasionally if that counts. XD

More general

52. Eating - I just had a banana with some peanut butter.

53. Drinking - Nothing now.

54. I’m about to watch - Married at First Sight.

55. Waiting for - MY PAYCHECK PLEASE I NEED MONEY.

56. Want - Right now, for someone else to write all the Yulma AUs I keep telling myself I’ll write. XD

57. Get married - As of now, I’m not wanting this nor am I prepared. XD

58. Career - Working in higher education, but if I can ever worm my way into the art museum world then that’s the plan.

Which is better

59. Hugs or kisses - I’m not as physically affectionate, so I’m hesitant with both.  Once I get comfortable with someone it depends too.

60. Lips or eyes - Eyes.

61. Shorter or taller - I mean, everyone is taller than me sooooo. XD

62. Older or younger - ??? In a partner?  I don’t really care as long as they’re not an immature idiot. 

63. Nice arms or stomach - Arms? I like nice arms I guess.

64. Hookup or relationship - Depends on where I’m at mentally.  Honestly, right now I’d prefer casually seeing someone without the pressure of being too serious.

65. Troublemaker or hesitant - Neither of those sound appealing.

Have you ever

66. Kissed a stranger - I mean, I kissed someone I met the same night if that counts.

67. Drank hard liquor - Yes.

68. Lost glasses - YES AND THEN I FOUND THEM AFTER LIKE 2 MONTHS.

69. Turned someone down - Yes.  

70. Sex on first date - No.  

71. Broken someone’s heart - Honestly, yes.  It’s not a good feeling, and apparently I’ve done it a lot. >.>

72. Had your heart broken - Yes.

73. Been arrested - No.

74. Cried when someone died - Yes.

75. Fallen for a friend - Yes.

Do you believe in

76. Yourself - Yes.

77. Miracles - Yes.

78. Love at first sight - No.

79. Santa Clause - No, but I still like to bake cookies for the spirit of Santa. XD

80. Kiss on a first date - For me, it depends on the people.

81. Angels - Given that angels are “messengers”, yes.

Other

82. Best friend’s name - I’ve got a few, but none I’m listing here. XD

83. Eye color - Light brown.

84. Fave movie - Finding Neverland.

85. Fave actor - Heck, this is so random and I’m not sure?  I like Andrew Garfield though.  

[fiendishthingee]

“Having said that…”

Glynn Beard, who at various times throughout my college experience was a teacher, sounding board, (admittedly eccentric) voice of reason and friend who gave as much encouragement as he did grief for all of the ways in which our very specific tastes diverged, always said that I was full of shit. At the time he was right, of course, but at least he took mercy on my fledgling adult soul by saying so from behind one of those (for him, characteristic) thin brown cigarettes with the kind of caustic wit that puts a person in their place at the same time as it pushes them to go further than they think is possible. Glynn was quick to knock the illusions out of those who came to film school with stars in their eyes, serene and clueless in the assumption that wealth and fame waited for them at the other end of those few years where creativity grew in inverse proportion to the attention given to either sleep or physical health.

My own introduction to Glynn came with the first class I attended at the motion picture campus (really just a tiny former bank across the street from an IHOP) of Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, after months trapped amongst the effete cognoscenti of the still photography department. Everyone was settling in to our seats when a tall, wiry figure in an X-Files “The Truth is Out There” t-shirt sauntered in looking like a refugee from some B horror film you might see on Job Bob Briggs’ “Drive-In Theater.” His gift as a teacher was to seize, almost immediately, on what was unique about the individual personalities of his students and coax that out of the work we’d submit for each assignment. In the time that I knew him, Glynn’s affections vacillated between things that were highbrow and others that were more disreputable. He swore by Sam Peckinpah and Gustave Flaubert but just as easily spoke in a key that fans of Sam Raimi or Jack Ketchum would recognize.

Since living in Santa Barbara at the time (or ever, really) wasn’t cheap, I took on a couple of jobs to make ends meet. One of those was as a TA at our State Street campus, checking out gear and troubleshooting for other students but more often making use of the flatbeds to edit my own projects. I saw Glynn often during those shifts, both in the classroom and in the editing room during the wee hours (where I’d alternately be cutting or catching a nap under the flatbed). Initially, he wasn’t the easiest person to warm to, unless you took the time to endure the near constant cigarette smoke out on the back stoop in the middle of the night and get to know him. There were talks about Peckinpah, of course, in particular of my affection for “Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia” and “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,” as well as what to make of Jim Jarmusch (Glynn was a fan of “Stranger Than Paradise,” while I was more of a “Mystery Train” guy) and John Cassavetes (Glynn was for “Faces,” I for “Minnie and Moskowitz”). At a certain point I got hooked on Terrence Malick (“The Thin Red Line” had just been released), and there were lots of opinions thrown back and forth about whether his languid style was something that could remotely be emulated (as I was stupidly keen to try in a short I was set to make). Sometime later, Stanley Kubrick passed away, which of course led to endless talks about irony, morality, symmetrical composition and the virtues of Kabuki acting.

In addition to an unabashed love of film and the possibilities each new work held in store, it was obvious that Glynn also had deep emotional struggles going on inside from time to time. He did his best to cover them with a certain sense of academic aloofness, but he could no more hide them away than disengage from an argument over films he thought were garbage. These were issues, with family, with filmmaking, with the effect of what he called “the costs that we pay to live in the modern world” might have on his child, that fueled his creativity, and were the motivation for putting the care into articulating his thoughts through his art that he did. All of this is to explain why the fact that he left us, with so much still to say, makes me so profoundly angry. Among the long-term projects he worked on was a series of autobiographical short films. Because of a long-term estrangement from his father, Glynn had conceived these films as a way of exploring the effects of that relationship on his life, as well as carrying on a conversation with his own son and imparting the wisdom and experience he had collected up to that point. In the film “Son,” there is a scene where Glynn offers suggestions about the works of film and literature he would insist his son explore when he was old enough. Among the books he mentions is the aforementioned Flaubert’s “Sentimental Education.” He cops to the story being a pretty brutal read, noting that “you’ll wanna give up a hundred pages in,” but then he adds, “if you can just get to the ending, it will all make sense.”

As I write this, I am deeply saddened and frustrated that Glynn was not able to make it to the ending, that he may not have been able to trust how life itself (and those you share it with) is as much a work of art as anything he (or anyone else) puts in front of a camera. In all fairness, having not seen him in years, I can’t speak to his state of mind in the days before he passed. Trying to process the sense of helplessness felt in the face of all this, or come to terms with the fact that someone whose intelligence I trusted, who advised me on so many levels and who told me as I graduated that I was “gonna be just fine” as a creative artist, feels completely futile at this moment, and probably will for some time. In the midst of that, though, I have a lot of work to do. Thoughts and feelings to express, stories to tell, and many films to make. Ultimately, Glynn’s impact on my life was that he recognized my worth creatively and empowered me to do something about it, and it is with respect for his memory that I get back to that. I’ve faced many demons of my own, some of which pushed me right to the place that Glynn ultimately couldn’t get beyond. I am deeply saddened for his son, and for those of my friends who had experiences similar to mine under his mentorship. In the midst of our grief, a number of us have reconnected, to share our shock and sadness, to laugh about certain memories, to pay our respects to someone who affected all of us. 

Glynn’s passing has been more destabilizing than I would have imagined, which is why I’m trying to focus on the good memories, of which there are many. Whenever we got into some heavy talk, whether it was about Bush-era politics, screen violence or a particularly heady episode of “Star Trek” (original cast) that one of us was passionate about, Glynn would laugh, diffusing the situation and bringing the chat to a close with his usual “on that light and cheery note…” I wish him peace and owe him a great debt of gratitude, which I hope to repay through the work that I do. Though I had always imagined we’d talk again, I’m thankful for the times that we did, and for what he gave me both personally and creatively. 

NOTE: Photos of Glynn by Nate Eckman on the set of Jacob Strunk's 2004 film “A Shadow Before Sunrise.” Provided by the director.

[moviesomnambulist]

THE MOVIE SOMNAMBULIST #7 – The Firing Line

"The government used me. And now I'm gonna pay the fuckers back." -- Mark Hardin, explaining the plot in detail.

The 80s were a magical time for people who wanted to make movies about a vigorous foreign policy stance. Even if you made a terrible movie, you could get cash and opportunities for pretty okay gun battles if you switched from your original idea about three friends discovering their sexual identity through lives and loves at a coffee house to, say, three friends discovering their inner Chuck Norris by shooting a lot of brown people with an M-16 in each hand. There is, I submit, an obvious budget standard for these movies. It is extremely easy to spot and you can learn this trick in a heartbeat. The 80s movie you are watching costs at least half a million dollars if there is a helicopter in it. Plenty of movies tried to have action on the cheap without a helicopter and they are obviously much cheaper and worse off for this omission. But if you see a chopper, not just stock footage, then rest assured shit will blow up and lots of people will get shot. Hell, THE FIRING LINE even has tanks!

In an unnamed South/Central American country, you have some rebels. There always are. What you also have is Reb Brown (that's TV's Captain America to you, soldier!) and Shannon Tweed (that's oh God how I love her Shannon Tweed to you, mister!). Reb shouts his way through the movie with classics like "Up your ass" and "Hey, I just saved your butt!" Shannon's reply to the latter: "Great, just friggin' great!" Reb is Mark Hardin (tee hee), an American "military adviser" (tee hee) here in Santa Wherever to suppress the rebel forces, led by Rodriguez and Laura. In the opening six minute battle sequence (you know, like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN), Mark captures Rodriguez and a woman who might be Laura. His bosses tell him good job, now go away. So Mark goes back to town and meets Sandra (Tweed) in the hotel bar. He buys her a drink and this works great. She kids him by suggesting "Don't tell me you're a Communist Sympathizer" (tee hee).

In defiance of almost every other Shannon Tweed movie, they do not immediately go have sex. There's no slow undressing, no careful sweep of hair covering what she's not actually doing with his...so anyway, not that movie. Mark bumps into a reporter who tells him Rodriguez is dead. We the audience know the woman is dead because nasty Col. Nunez raped and killed her. Col. Nunez is otherwise hilarious because although he's obviously a native Spanish speaker, when he shouts insults in Spanish he sounds like the Rosetta Stone version: "POO-TAH!"

Angry, Mark confronts Col. Nunez and his own boss. Sure, Rodriquez and Laura are dead. But who cares? Mark Hardin cares, asshole. He brought them in to face justice, not a firing squad and Col. Nunez's cock, respectively. He beats them up, but he is arrested and interrogated and electrocuted. He escapes by beating up seven armed men with his bare hands and goes after Sandra. Mark Hardin knows how everything goes down in a movie like this. Of course, the next step is to arrest and interrogate Sandra's boobs, er, rather, to find out what she knows. This movie only takes two opportunities to expose its female lead, so the mind can occasionally wander whenever she's on screen.

Off Mark and Sandra go to the rebels. The rebels are not happy to see them, but Mark helps them fight off a Government attack, so maybe the gringo isn't so bad. The real Laura leads the rebels now. During another sneak attack, Mark and Sandra are trying to be quiet when a snake comes upon her. And, well, she wants to scream, right? Because she's a girl in a movie and that's the only response available to her. Mark shoots the snake, and this set me to thinking. Either this was an extremely good latex effect (and there aren't any others), or they shot the hell out of a real snake. This movie spent its cash on helicopters and tanks. I think it's a real snake. This got me thinking about budget in general. They could have traded the helicopters and gotten Henry Silva to be Nunez and Richard Herd to be the US military boss Milton and gotten a better movie, no doubt. Wait, maybe not. Henry was in ABOVE THE LAW that year. That's definitely a better career move. And Richard Herd was still on SIMON AND SIMON. Okay, keep the damn copters.

The soundtrack is classic synth noodling. It actually works at odds with the movie's vague point about government being evil, or something. The music accompanying the mobilization of government troops (and there's a lot of that) has a rousing theme that makes you think they're the good guys. The rebel theme is one of struggle and is frankly depressing. Let's not discuss the love theme.

Mark Hardin never fails. There is no central struggle in the movie at all. Mark plans. Mark is awesome. Mark always succeeds. He rocks that mustache, so there is no problem too big for Mark Hardin. He even volunteers to be the arrested Wookiee in a ruse to shoot a lot of government troops. Government man Milton is built up as the man to beat. People shoot at Milton, big effing deal. He shoots back and you die. So when he and Mark Hardin meet at the end, they trade a little gunfire and Mark blows up a bridge and that's it for Milton.

Mark seems to grudgingly sleep with Sandra. Sandra swims naked under a waterfall, and this is great. One of the rebels, the obviously-a-turncoat Montiero, ogles her until Mark shows up and tells him to piss off. Mark says he'll watch over her, and that's all he does. It's only later, after she's killed her first man, that when she asks Mark to have sex with her, he does. They show this coupling from behind some rocks, as if we the audience are intruding. He puts Sandra on top of himself and then lies back as her head descends...and that's it. 80s military action heroes, even the cheap ones, are so weirdly chaste. If they don't look cool doing something, you don't see it. So what you do see are people dying by the dozen. In role-playing games you have non-player characters. In this movie you have non-character players. They stand around in a scene, only to get mowed down in the next.

There's absolutely no endgame here. Even Mark isn't planning beyond the next raid. Twelve seconds after Milton goes up with the bridge, it's THE END. There are some great bits along the way. It turns out the woman raped and killed at the beginning was Laura's sister. Laura confronts the rapist. When she raises her gun, the panicked soldier yells "But we gave her great pleasure" and Laura shoots him in the nuts. Oh, and when the Governor and Milton play golf and discuss the country falling apart, the Governor says "Are you implying he's Christ-like, the People's Messiah?"

Stayed awake for the whole thing because a rebel army half-composed of women in black wife-beaters running around in a Shannon Tweed movie will keep you living in hope. Six wide awake eyes for this one. (One eye equals 15 minutes of runtime.)