#HBS Week 7

[buckybarnesevents]

It's that time of the week again! Please show some love to our lovely contributors for Week 7!

⊹ it was the summer of ‘69 by @controlofwhatido ⊹ the pineapple contract - Chapter 2 by @buckyismybicycle ⊹ Belong | A Dangerous Game, Tauntung a Wolf | An Angel's Confession by @rookthorne ⊹ Let Me Know by @drabbles-mc ⊹ Pet Names by @im-95-not-dead ⊹ Power Play - Chapter 3 by @late-to-the-party-81 ⊹ Sub Bucky and his Domme by @otpcutie ⊹ Make it Stick: The Dragon (part 1) by @sarah-writes-stucky ⊹ Clocking Out by @navybrat817 ⊹ He Bought a Studio by @buckets-and-trees ⊹ The Cat's Meow by @buckybarnesdeservestobehappy

Some important links: Event Post |  #hotbuckysummer2023 |  Submission Sheet | Discord | Masterlist Template

Don’t forget we have our AO3 Collection open too! Join us this coming week for Week 8!

[irisintheafterglow]

More Than It Seams (Chapter 1)

summary: you're a hero costume tech working for one of the biggest fashion companies in quirk society, and the days until the most important fashion event of the year are dwindling fast. if you weren't stressed enough, a certain half-and-half hero keeps appearing with rips in his suit. (pro!todoroki x reader)

word count: 3k

cw/tags: swearing, mentions of needles, probably inaccurate fashion design vocabulary, strangers to lovers, no specified pronouns for reader

note: aaaaa ok first chapter of my first series. hope you enjoy!! i'm planning on this to be five chapters, and the second chapter I'm planning to release this friday. i <3 shoto todoroki

likes/reblogs/feedback are always appreciated!!!

She couldn’t be serious. You shake your head as if to reset your eyeballs and read over the two scribbled cursive sentences over and over until the reality of your situation set in. 

Hey, not gonna be in starting today for maternity leave. Don’t disappoint me. Xo, M 

You counted the days on your fingers and groaned, dragging a palm down the front of your face. 7:00 A.M was too early to find out you had to run a multi-million dollar business that wouldn’t hesitate to fire you if you disappointed at the most important fashion event of the year. The coffee maker beeped its readiness right on cue, and you debated making two cups instead of just one. You settled for one but left out a cup with your name on it for a possible second, and plopped down at your station. The sun was just starting to shine through the glass walls of the building you called your office, an odd combination of exposed brick walls and floor-to-ceiling windows. Crooked rows of work tables lined up on one side of the expansive area, with several dozen mannequins and rolls of fabric occupying the other side. A long counter separated the work area from the sitting area, where clients waited for their fittings on plush couches and sipped on complimentary sparkling drinks that M paid for instead of giving her workers a raise. 

“G’morning!” The other designer for the company swung open the gate allowing access between the work area and the sitting area, deflating when he saw you throw your head down on your desk in frustration and slam it a few times for good measure. “Or not…” A loud gasp of shock indicated to you that he had read the note, and a long string of expletives left his mouth as you lifted your head and nodded. “She has to be joking.”

You clicked your tongue in agreement. “She is not.” 

“HB’s in two weeks, and she decides now is a good time to have her baby?”

“If it were up to me, she wouldn’t even be the head of this place, or having another baby. God knows we don’t need any more of her.” Your coworker scoffs in disbelief, throwing his bag down on his desk and wheeling over a mannequin. “Hey, did you finish working up that fabric design for Cellophane’s suit? He’s supposed to come in on Friday and I think it’d be smart to have a sample of the fabric ready so he can tell us if he doesn’t like it.” 

“Yep, I’ll have that over to you ASAP. You don’t need to remind me what happened last year with Dynamight two days before the Ball.” 

You cringed at the memory of the Number Two Hero burning your work to ashes right in front of you and telling you to get a color that matched his eyes better. To be fair, the color that his stylist had chosen clashed with his skin tone and you respected Bakugo for recognizing that, but he could have given you back the suit to use as scrap fabric. “It’s the price of working with the best.” 

“You mean for the best,” he corrects, giving you a grouchy look before switching on his machine and beginning to hem the miles of fabric for Creati’s dress. You’d asked him if he wanted you to hem the fabric since your quirk would have it done by lunch, but he declined and said that you should focus on designing the remaining heroes’ pieces. The rest of your seamstresses trickled in as the morning progressed, filing into their stations with a polite “good morning” and picking up their scissors. Soon, the office milled with the familiar sounds of cutting fabric, sewing machines, and rolling mannequins, and you spaced out as you sketched your idea for Pinky’s updated costume. 

At 11:30, your receptionist sitting at the counter slammed down the phone in alarm, startling the entire room into silence. Her face was nothing short of panic, and you rose quickly from your station to pull her into a corner and figure out why she looked like she had received a bomb threat. 

“What’s going on?”

“Shoto is here.”

“Who?”

“Shoto. The pro hero. Is here,” she hisses at you through her teeth, her hands shaking with uncontrollable anxiety. 

You blinked at her. “Okay… and?” Pros showing up to the office themselves rather than sending assistants was uncommon but had been done numerous times before. Deku and Creati tended to visit a few times a month, and Pinky liked to stop by on Fridays to treat her favorite staff to ice cream. It was Shoto’s first time appearing in person, as he usually sent an assistant to drop off what was essentially his laundry; you’d always assumed that being a top-ranked hero controlling large sums of inheritance was just too busy to worry about his costume. Still, a customer visiting the office in person, no matter how attractive they were, was the least of your laundry list of problems.  

Your receptionist stares at you like you’ve sprouted three heads, and addresses you with an attitude that would have had her fired if M was in office. “What the hell do you mean ‘and’? It’s Shoto… the Number Three Hero. ProMagazine’s #1 ranked hottie.” 

“I’m aware,” you state a little impatiently, annoyed by her insistence that this was much more significant than it actually was. “I’m struggling to understand the fuss over just another client–” 

A chorus of shocked excitement washed over your staff as the elevator doors dinged and a lean, well-dressed silhouette entered the office. Several of your seamstresses had stood from their chairs and huddled together for moral support, whispering to each other about the stranger who had exited the elevator. Your receptionist’s eyes widen to the size of dollar coins, her hands coming up to your shoulders to push you toward the counter as she disappeared behind rolls of fabric. You rolled your eyes and took a breath, adjusting the measuring tape around your neck and meeting Shoto as he approached the vacant receptionist’s computer. His voice was polite and soft when he spoke, and you swear you hear your workers swooning behind you. 

“Hello, I’m here to drop these items off for repair,” he states, gently placing a small stack of folded fabric on the counter in front of you. You couldn’t help but notice how pretty his hands were, and how one ran through his two-toned hair, combing it with elegant fingers. His eyes were each an enchanting shade of blue and grey, and you found it hard to break eye contact with him. ProMagazine was definitely correct.

“Great, I’ll, uh, have this ready in just a bit,” you reply, gesturing towards the waiting area and encouraging Shoto to have a seat. Taking a deep breath in and out and shooting your staff a stern look to get back to work, you unfold the tattered costume on a nearby station behind the counter. His suit wasn’t in the worst condition, but the tears on the arms and chest area posed a significant safety hazard, especially if they continued to open. As hot as it would be to have muscle windows in Shoto’s suit, it’d reflect badly on you if you’d refused to repair the costume for the sake of professionally shot ab photos. 

After another steadying breath, you visualize a sewing machine dial in your mind, picking up a spool of strong nylon thread and running your thumb over the torn pieces of fabric; like clockwork, it repaired itself with a neat straight stitch wherever you touched. Your quirk is why M hired you in the first place since you could assemble three pieces in the time it took a machine to do one. You couldn’t send sheets of fabric flying like Best Jeanist, but your ability to telekinetically manipulate thread into stitches proved useful for a career in fashion design. With a few more reinforcement stitches to some worn edges and a quick polish of the suit’s buckles, Shoto’s costume was good as new. 

“Here you go; you’re all set.” He turns to look at you, surprised and preoccupied with examining the large posters of costumes M’s company had designed. Frames of initial sketches for his first professional costume were flanked by life-size prints of Pinky, Deku, and Red Riot’s attire. A plaque engraved with Creati’s endorsement message for the company hung in the center, surrounded by fabric swatches and Post-It notes scribbled with measurements. It looked like he had just finished reading through Creati’s statement when you informed him that his suit was ready. “I went ahead and cleaned off some of the grime from the suit’s hardware and sprayed it with anti-rust so it shouldn’t be tarnishing any time soon.” 

Shoto looks at you with an expression that you can’t read, gazes down at the repaired suit in front of him, and then back up at you. “Oh. That’s it?”

You release a slightly nervous chuckle to try to ease some of the awkwardness that had settled between you two. “Uh, yep. That’s it.” After another painfully quiet beat, your customer service persona finally kicks back into gear. “Is there anything else I can assist you with today?” 

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, it was a pleasure working with you today–”

“How does your quirk work?” His question arrives completely out of left field, and your brain short-circuits at his genuine expression of interest in your abilities. 

“Well, um, I can manipulate thread to follow certain stitch patterns, like the stitch selection on a sewing machine. See, like, here.” You point at one of the newly repaired tears in his costume, running a finger over the fresh seam. You’re keenly aware of how his eyes follow your finger and you attempt to keep your voice even. “I mended this panel of fabric torn down the middle with a straight stitch, which is the sturdiest stitch I can create.” 

“So you wave your hands and the threads start moving?” The boyish cluelessness on his face makes your heart flutter. A smile breaks its way into your expression. 

“I wish, but I actually have to be touching the fabric.” 

“I suppose it’s very useful for a fashion designer, then.” His face is carefully put together, but the tiniest hint of sarcasm bleeds its way into his voice. Was he… joking with you? 

“Definitely. I’m essentially a human sewing machine but without needles sprouting from my thumbs.” Your thumb pops up on its own accord for added effect, but then you realize what you just said and shove your hand back in an apron pocket. It was meant as a joke, but the macabre nature of your last quip slips your mind and a part of you dies inside when Shoto physically cringes at the grotesque image. Before you have the chance to apologize for such a distressing remark, he politely nods his head in farewell and gives you a soft “thank you” before returning to the elevator. 

Releasing a frustrated noise from your throat at the fact that you just scared off Todoroki Shoto, you lay your forehead on the counter between your elbows. The elevator button dings, and to your horror, you realize that he hadn’t left the office yet. Instead, he was looking at you amusedly over his toned shoulder. The corner of his mouth quirks up the tiniest bit as he watches your burning face attempt to regain its composure, and then he’s gone. 

“That was a shit show,” your other designer mutters under his breath, handing you another cup of coffee. 

Tuesday morning at 11:30 on the dot, Shoto visits again and catches your receptionist off guard, reducing her to a puddle of “How can I help you?” and “Can I get you a sparkling drink?” With your back turned to the doors, you don’t notice him immediately as you concentrate on draping expensive maroon fabric around Creati’s mannequin. Eyebrows drawn in concentration and holding a pin between your teeth, your hands work meticulously to create perfect pleats under the waistline of the bodice. It isn’t until your receptionist nervously calls out your name that you abruptly drop the fabric, Shoto’s mouth twitching as he watches you hurriedly place your box of pins on a nearby station and approach the counter. You lightly tap your receptionist’s shoulder, snapping her out of her daze to find Shoto a drink that you knew was out of stock and leaving you two alone again. 

“Shoto, it’s a pleasure to see you.” You try to mask the unease in your voice with a forced smile. “What can I help you with today?”

His face is blank, but his eyes shine like he’s analyzing you. “I ripped the suit again.”

Your face falls in comical disbelief. “Again?”

He shrugs. “I guess I need stronger stitches.” His heterochromatic eyes stare into yours, and you meet his challenge with a slight squint. 

“Guess you do.” You take the folded suit from his hands and drop the volume of your voice. “Or maybe you need to stop tearing my work.”

He huffs out a breath that sounds like a choked laugh and you smile innocently at him, hoping this interaction replaced the awkwardness of yesterday. Your hand gestures to the seating area again, but he shakes his head, instead crossing his muscular arms and watching you intently as you work. The damage to his suit could barely be considered a tear, and you don’t even bother using your quirk to repair it. You feel him staring at you as you easily patch up the suit with a backstitch, and you swear you could hear him hum thoughtfully behind you. Minutes after he entered the office, you slide the garment back to him with a satisfied smile. 

He does that thing again, looking at you, down at his suit, then back at you. “You didn’t use your quirk.” 

It was your turn to shrug. “Didn’t need to.” As entertaining as his presence was, it would have taken longer to repair it with your quirk, and you had three mannequins of patterns demanding your immediate attention. “Is there anything else I can assist you with today?”

Shoto dodges your question, instead scanning the seamstresses at their work areas trying not to stare at him. “You’re awfully good at getting people in and out.” One eyebrow quirks in question. He’s testing you, silently asking whether you were trying to get rid of him quickly. 

“With all due respect, a rip on a Pro’s suit is the least of my worries right now.” 

“What are the most of your worries?” You direct his attention to the three mannequins behind you, covered in multi-colored pins and beige pattern panels. “Red Riot, Pinky, and Cellophane’s Ball outfits. Need to have them done by next Friday, and I was just in the middle of pleating the skirt of Momo’s dress. It’s taking a lot longer than expected because I tragically only have two hands.” 

Shoto’s mouth opens in an ah of realization, taking in the elaborate construction plan of the layered asymmetrical gown. You couldn’t have predicted his reply to save your life. 

“May I help you?”

Your mind halts the production of coherent thoughts. “Oh, no, really. It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” 

“Why not?”

“It’s not your job.”

“But there is something I can help with.”

“I mean, yes, but–”

“Then please, show me what to do.” You decide that it would be pointless to fight his stubborn determination, so you try not to notice the gasps from your staff as Shoto pushes open the gate into the work area and stands beside Creati’s mannequin. You knelt into the same position as before, sitting back on your heels as you searched for the last pleat you made. 

“So I just need you to hold the fabric in place so that it doesn’t unfold, like this,” you direct, scrunching the edge into a carefully measured fold. He watches you diligently, allowing you to reposition his hands so that you could effectively create a seam. His hands were soft beneath your fingers as you brushed veins and lean muscle. You push away the thought of what else he could do with his hands, refocusing on your work and delicately rotating the mannequin as you made your way around its waist. To your surprise, Shoto made soft conversation with you, asking about other Pros’ looks and the design inspiration behind them. Small talk flowed easily as you worked, and he proved to be much more witty than interviews captured. 

When you finished, Shoto ran his finger over the pleats you had just made in admiration. A glance at the rest of the mannequins leads to his expression becoming puzzled. “Where is mine?” He offers an open hand to you as you rise from the floor, and you revel in the cool touch of his palm against your tired thumb. 

You open your mouth to reply, but no words come out. The truth was, his stylist had ordered a simple black suit for him, barely different than the suit he wore the previous year and all of the years prior. Shoto’s media reputation had him notorious for attending as few public events as possible, and donning safe solid-colored suits when he did appear. His eyebrows rise in anticipation of your answer, still holding your hand, and you finally conjure up an explanation. “Well, technically, your look is already finished. It was one of the first looks we finished because of its simplicity.” 

“Simplicity?” He releases your hand, flexing his fingers like he was squeezing a stress ball. Shit, were your hands sweaty?

“Yeah, your stylist tends to request subdued designs for public appearances.”

A low hum is all you receive in acknowledgment, and a look of deep thought washes over his handsome expression. 

“Maybe I will aim for a different design this year, then.” 

And just the same as Monday, he nods farewell before heading back to the elevator, leaving you frozen by the mannequin. A split second before the doors slide open, he gives you a mischievous look and a single thumbs-up, a reminder of the embarrassing interaction from the day before. You roll your eyes at him and are delighted to see the corner of his mouth turn up again.   

The elevator doors shut, and you can’t help hoping he creates another tear in his suit for tomorrow.

[bigfemboyenergy]

fun little update

im drawing 7 hb/hh chars this week, about halfway through now? so yeah some of that might end up here..but anyway the best part is this piece i made with a friend, in which they did fizz and i did ozzie (they helped with shading in some parts though)

[nancy-drewdles]

Nancy Drew recent timeline

December 19, 2019 — Temperance tries to open the Veil; the date is seen on Ryan's death certificate.

January 19, 2020 — Nancy visits Ace at his new apartment; the date appeared in HB Ledger. Sometime after that, she gets a mysterious call about eight missing bodies.

In 4x01 Nancy mentions that she's been looking for the corpses for 5 weeks, so the date is most likely February 24 or 25. The episode takes place over two days.

The events in 4x02 all happen in one day. 4x03 is two days.

In 4x04 Nick mentions that it's been over a week since Judge Abbot's accident. The episode spans two days. The possible date is March 12, I think.

Episode 4x05 and Nancy and Ace's final break up happen on March 19. (Thank you, Edwin George Chen, for doing god's work and writing the date on your check to George, we love a helpful father.)

There were no clues or mentions of dates in 4x06. Chunky bites Ace at the end of it, and he's still wearing a band-aid in the next episode, so one can assume that 4x07 happens a few days later at most.

4x08 is the episode with Kate's death anniversary. She died on the night of Nancy's last winter formal. I wonder if they are retconning it or if it is expected in HB for winter events to happen in March.

Episodes 6, 7, and 8 all definitely occur between March 19 and April 7 since the events of the Passover Seder episode will happen on April 8, 2020; it's a set date. I'm convinced it's episode 4x11, but who knows.

[helluvabossrewrite45]

What program do you use to make your HB scene rewrites and what is your creative process behind making them? Any advice and tips you got on doing these scene rewrites?

I ask because I not only do I love your rewrites and the dialogue in them (specially since I can hear the characters voices in the scenes themselves), but also because the style of the words look very nice. In my eyes, they look like there's neon lights inside the words themselves lighting up around them. Not to mention I'd like to try a hand at doing scene rewrites myself, after seeing some Tumblr users (including you, which btw thank you so much for the inspiration) do scene rewrites themselves, especially of Helluva Boss.

Sorry it took long to answer anon, red eyes got to me a few weeks ago but now its much better (just gotta use the computer in smaller portions now).

I use canva for my rewrites since their free and you can easily create them there. It's a very simple process;

Screenshot an image

Upload them on Canva

Go back on 'Uploads' for Canva and press the 'Use in Design'

Select the Text section with 'GLOW'

Choose the size (mine would typically be somewhere between 20-30+) depending on what the size looks like

Select the colour of your choice

Write the scene

Once finished, download

My tips/advice would be if you want to keep a consistent colour for a character, you either can download your current one and go back to the one with that particular colour for the character. If that colour appears on a particular image (since canva suggest certain colours for the scene), you can go back to that image, select the colour and then insert the image your rewriting for it. Another way of keeping colour consistent is to duplicate canva and with that new tab, repeat step 3 and continue using a different character. It's how I did fizz and Blitzo for my last rewrite since it makes it much easier and I don't have to remember the specific colour 24/7.

Another tip/advice would be to give your rewrites headings in your canva so that it makes it less confusing for you. I typically title my canvas 'helluva rewrites' which makes them 'hb rewrites (1)' - 'hb rewrites (6)'. It creates a neat order for you to line up your rewrites well (also if your computer has 'hb rewrites' and 'hb rewrites (1)', hb rewrites is the first one while hb rewrites (1) is the second).

That's all the tips/advice i can provide. It's a really simple process, plus its free to use as long as you have an account. I'm really appreciative of your support and how my text is pleasing for your eyes since i use 'glow' to make it easily read while choosing colours that wouldn't cause people eye strain. I would really look foward into your rewrites and glad that I inspired you in some way like hb and the critical community has inspired me.

[chaifootsteps]

Following on from the "not attracted to any of her characters" ask. I find myself, as a furry, completely bored by Loona, Tex, Bee and all the other furry-esc characters, let me explain why:

They all feel boring or flat in the character department (if they even have besides, oh look, a bitch).

Their designs don't spark attractive or hot, and feel, once again bland.

The Fandom has had to do much of the heavy lifting, unsurprisingly.

Compared to the furry characters in zoophobia, these feel like a downgrade, and that's saying something because there wasn't much to begin with, but those guys felt like they had something to them, a potential to them, all furries in HB, nothing just nothing.

Lastly, to follow up on the whole monster fucker thing, when I first saw the 7 sins demon forms, monster to be fucked does not come to mind, unlike the recent Ghostbusters teaser trailer a few weeks ago showed the main villain, and my first thought was, "Oh boy the internet is going to have a field day with this one."

Sincerely, Screaming into the Void Anon.

Agreed with all of this, and also what's this about a monster that the internet's going to have a field day w--

HELLO SAILOR!

[accio-victuuri]

EXPLAINED : WANG YIBO IS DESPERATELY ILLITERATE???

On a normal day and considering what’s been going on for years & years, I wouldn’t want to address any negative press about Yibo. I would rather spread positive news and showcase his talents but i’m making an exception on this one. I am writing this as a Yibo fan who has watched a lot of his interviews and shows and feel like I have a good sense of what type of person he is. A fan who is sick and tired of people using the fact that he doesn’t have a college degree against him. There is really nothing that disgusts me more than those who feel superior just because they have a piece of paper. I accept people’s criticism of him but this is obviously beyond that so I wanna talk about it.

Sadly, he is at a disadvantage as casual people will only see a cut video or a certain post and will tend to run with it. add the fact that the general public don’t have much good point of view towards celebrities. I’m not going to discuss the alleged attack from yyxq’s side or the fan war going on cause that’s just too messy. and well, organized black propaganda is expected cause everyone can’t fuckin comprehend how Yibo is embarrassing everyone else with how good he is at acting and making money for companies that invest on him.

»»————-　　————-««

I thought this was gonna pass naturally but today “Beijing Youth Daily” shared the article called : can the desperate illiterate perform well?

The reason is that the lead actor of a Chinese New Year film was interviewed during a road show. When asked about his impressions of the work and the characters, he didn’t know what to do. Netizens dubbed him “desperately illiterate”.

This first paragraph clearly talks about WYB and the incident at one of HB’s roadshows. This is the whole article and it goes on to talk about literacy in terms of being an actor and all that, trying to make their article into a legitimate thinking piece. Take note that WYB is not the only one “mentioned” here but the title and the intro is about Yibo so he is at the center of it.

In fact, "illiteracy" in this context does not mean to engage in academic discrimination. We all know that there are specializations in the art industry, and the level of education and professional ability are not necessarily directly linked. The "illiterate actors" that everyone refers to often refer to those actors with low cultural reserves, empty heads, incomprehensible scripts, and incomprehensible characters.

This has been going around weeks ago but today, there were lots of verified accounts sharing it. I’m seeing talks of this is a fake account, organized verified entertainment accounts reposting or whatever, it doesn’t matter. the point is — this is out there. People have read it. Some have talked about it. I would have loved to see them actually name Yibo if they are really so brave, but I guess not really. They can only hide in their accounts like the cowards they truly are. This should come as no surprise, trending today of all days because it was officially announced that HB’s cinema run will be extended. Also that HB is at the #2 spot with only a meager 7% of the slots. It’s only a matter of time before HB overtakes everyone and that’s bad news for a lot of people. Also HB will be released in North America this week.

Coincidence? I think not. We all know what’s going on here. 💀💀💀

Now let’s see the Q&A portion that sparked this talk of illiteracy:

Q: In another time and space, if you met Mr. Ye, what would you say to him?

Wang Yibo: "Are you asking what will I say when I meet the character? First of all, I think this question is meaningless. I don't want to say anything, and we won't meet."

Q: Yibo, who is Mr. Ye in your mind? Do you think you shaped him and wanted to show him to the audience, what do you think is the most difficult thing about him?

Wang Yibo : In fact, I really don’t know how to answer this question ..

( He tries to answer this but the host and CE end up speaking in behalf of him )

As a Yibo fan, this kind of answer is not new to me. This is not the first person on a Q&A that Yibo has shut down if he doesn’t like to answer. He’s always been honest, sometimes, painfully so and may be misinterpreted by those who don’t know him. I can explain that he’s already tired of all the roadshows or the question itself was too much etc etc but as i said in the beginning, I CAN ACCEPT CRITICISM. I understand why certain people was put off by this answer. Especially if this your first exposure to him after hearing about Hidden Blade or watching it. There is nothing more that I wish for Yibo, than to be appreciated by the General Public and his popularity to extend to more than just his fans. I wanna say that this may be a learning experience for Yibo. This is his first roadshow experience. Promoting a movie is totally different from what he did with Dramas. He has two more movies, and I hope he will be more prepared. The Yibo i know and support will not be screaming and playing the victim because of this, he would learn from it and bounce back. He will be better.

What I can’t accept are the people who obviously are insulting his whole being because of this 1 thing. Don’t mind all the good things he said in other cities or other times — let’s just rally behind this and attack him. The thing is, they don’t have much negative things to say about his performance in the film or how it’s doing in the box office so they will find something to make him look bad. and this is it. It’s also too much to say that he is ILLITERATE. I don’t think someone who is illiterate can host, memorize/choreograph dances, memorize scripts, be considered a language genius, act scenes, understand directions from directors etc.

It’s so unfair cause there are people like Yibo who need time to articulate their thoughts. Or those who prefer to reply in shorter sentences. It doesn’t mean they are illiterate. they are not stupid. All the comments saying “of course he is, he didn’t graduate college..” not only on weibo but on international platforms. It’s always what they say. I wonder if they actually believe it and like how do you sleep at night with that poison in your head? It’s not like Yibo chose to not go to college cause he’s lazy. He had work to do. He had a career that will leave no time to focus on studying. He is clearly not stupid cause he got high marks while studying in Korea. It’s so ironic, especially those people in China who are saying this cause they know a college degree does not even guarantee them employment. Even a Tsinghua University graduate will end up as a tutor just to make ends meet. It’s the same thing all across the board — A College Diploma alone does not guarantee success. but of course people will just happily insult him and it’s fine, at the end of the day, Yibo is thriving and will continue to do so.

The next coming months, as BTF & One/Only gets released, expect more attacks. I hope we don’t get distracted and just let the positive be louder than the negative. 🙏🏼

To the people behind the scenes working to bring Yibo down, well, I hope they turn purple in anger cause this is only the start of his success.

[ncfcatalyst]

Florida Legislature introduces 6-week abortion ban

Florida is the next state in line to restrict access to abortion further than it already has. Florida lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 300 on Mar. 7 which, as of Mar. 16, has been voted to advance by a Florida House committee and is now HB 7, titled “Pregnancy and Parent Support.” If approved as a law, it will ban abortion six weeks into pregnancy, drastically shortening the window from the…

[buckets-and-trees]

Hot Bucky Summer 2023 Masterlist

hosted by @buckybarnesevents

I can't believe those thirteen weeks are gone! This was my first longer event, and although a new job/life things interfered with finishing all thirteen weeks before the deadline, I completed TEN (and am close to finishing the other three, so I will get those out soon).

I want to thank the BBE mods for their support throughout the summer and for HOSTING SUCH A FUN EVENT! It was low stress, no pressure, and having so many different prompts got my muse to be very creative. I ended up writing some things totally new and out of my norm, and that produced some of my (and YOUR) favorite new stories!

1 June 1st - June 7th | “What should I wear?” / Lingerie Sacrificial Minotaur!Bucky x Reader, smut/monster fucking

2 June 8th - June 14th | “What should I call you?” / Sir] Talk Pleasure Dom!Bucky x Reader, BDSM AU, smut

3 June 15th - 21st | “Where do you want me?” / Kneeling, In My Lap Perfectionists Bucky x Reader, Gamer AU, smut

4 June 22nd - June 28th | FREE WEEK | Optional prompts: “C” Cock Warming Test Play Bucky x Reader, Gamer AU, smut

5 June 29th - July 5th | “When I first met you…” / Fireworks, Electricity Buck's Eleven Bucky, Steve, referenced Bucky x Reader, referenced smutty activities

6 July 6th - July 12th | “How do you want me?” / Spread Open Devour, pt. 2: FAT Mob Boss!Bucky x Reader, smut

7 July 13th - July 19th | “Who’s this?” / My Pet He Bought a Studio Bucky x Nat, AU where Steve stays and Nat's alive post-Endgame, smut and fluff

8 July 20th - July 26th | “How did you meet?” / Undercover Mission, High Stakes Op The Pool Party Op Bucky x Reader, post-TFATWS, smut

9 July 27th - August 2nd | FREE WEEK | Optional Prompts: “S” - Sex Pollen Desperate Bucky x Reader, smut, angst

10 August 3rd - August 9th | “Long day at work?” Devour, pt. 3: ACID

11 August 10th - August 16th | “Give me a colour.” | [Red | Yellow | Green] soon to be finished Devour, pt. 4: HEAT

12 August 17th - August 23rd | “Who’s my ____?” | [Good Boy/Girl | Perfect Fuckhole | Little Slut] soon to be finished Bucky x Reader

13 August 24th - August 30th | FREE WEEK | [Optional Prompts: “B” - Belly Bulge, Bossy Saturday Night Movie Marathon Bucky x Reader, smut and fluff

Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

HBS Official EVENT PAGE

BBE's Discord

[beardedmrbean]

Vice President Kamala Harris was accused of stoking a "sick" lie about Florida's Black history curriculum, claiming the Sunshine State is replacing "history with lies" in its approval of new state-wide curriculum. 

"They want to replace history with lies," Harris said at the Ritz Theatre and Museum in Jacksonville on Friday. "Middle school students in Florida to be told that enslaved people benefited from slavery."

But critics have been quick to argue the vice president's claims are a misrepresentation of the new curriculum standards, which were approved by Florida's Education Department last week. 

DESANTIS LETS LOOSE ON FLORIDA ‘OBSESSED’ KAMALA HARRIS SPEECH RIPPING STATE'S BLACK HISTORY STANDARD

"This is a sick political strategy that Vice President Harris is trying to do because she knows that her voters are not going to take the time to actually read the curricula of the Florida standards, which are some of the most extensive standards I've ever seen on teaching Black history," Exodus Institute founder Kali Fontanilla, who is also a former California teacher, told Carley Shimkus Monday. 

"I read them last night, and they're actually really beautiful standards," she continued. "She's taking this one line and misrepresenting it in order to gaslight her voters. It's very obvious to those that are actually taking the time to read it, but to those that aren't going to take the time to research, they're going to eat this up like candy because it's very hard to defend."

The new social studies curriculum states, "Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit."

"You hear that word benefit, and they're like, 'Oh, no... Florida standards are saying that slavery was a benefit,' and that is absolutely false," Fontanilla said. "That's not what the standards are implying. They're just simply saying historical facts, which is, again, what the left is trying to do. They're trying to do a revisionist history, not the right."

KAMALA HARRIS RIDICULED FOR ‘NONSENSE’ COMMENTS AT TRANSPORTATION ROUNDTABLE: ‘SHE CAN’T BE SERIOUS'

CNN conservative political commentator Scott Jennings called her claims "fabricated" during a Sunday panel. 

"What is amazing to me [is] that how little Kamala Harris apparently has to do that she can read something on Twitter one day and be on the airplane the next to make something literally out of nothing. This is a completely made-up deal. I looked at the standards, I even looked at an analysis of the standards, in every instance where the word slavery or slave was used, I even read the statement of the African-American scholars that wrote the standards – not [Florida Gov.] Ron DeSantis, but the scholars," he said.

"Everybody involved in this says this is completely a fabricated issue and yet look at how quickly Kamala Harris jumped on it. So, the fact that this is her best moment, a fabricated matter, is pretty ridiculous," Jennings continued.

Rebecca Nathanson, who is a chapter chair for Moms for Liberty, accused Harris of "peddling in cynical lies" during her speech addressing the state's social studies standards. 

"I'm more than satisfied. I think Vice President Harris is showing Americans once again that she's uninformed, and she's peddling in cynical lies in order to stoke anger," she said. 

"Across the state in the nation, we need to recognize why we're having this conversation now, and that's because with the recent passage of legislation called HB 7, which moms will be lobbied and of the state of Florida, actually expanded the breadth and the depth with which we teach African-American history and the horrors of slavery."

"For anyone to say that our state does not want to properly teach slavery, does not want to teach African-American history correctly or truthfully, is an absolute lie," Nathanson continued. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis responded on Twitter, saying "Democrats like Kamala Harris have to lie about Florida's educational standards to cover for their agenda of indoctrinating students and pushing sexual topics onto children. Florida stands in their way and we will continue to expose their agenda and their lies."

[heebiebeebies]

Some eye compilations I had shared on Instagram stories a couple weeks ago

Links to the drawings:

1. Xue Yang

2. Wen Kexing

3. Xuexiao

4. Gerard Way

5. Mermaid

6. Fenglian

7. Fengqing

8. HB

9. Xiao Xingchen

[whentherewerebicycles]

heard the baby’s heartbeat on my at-home HB monitor for the first time :)) I have been trying for about a week now but was only able to pick up my own before (I now know what my own blood sounds like whooshing through my arteries which is interesting). but tonight I found him! closer to my bellybutton than expected—I thought he was still hanging out further down but I guess my uterus is already on the move. you could probably hear the whooshing sound of all of my pent-up anxiety leaving my body when I finally found it lol. anyway that is a weight off and I made a little recording so I can listen to it whenever I need to. in general I am feeling a lot less unhinged and doing a lot less hysterical out-of-control sobbing than the preceding uhh 4-7 weeks. maybe that was just my version of morning sickness. I hope it really does pass!!!

[pluckysidekick]

The week started out with more of a whimper but ended with a bang from the ND set this week. As often happens, we got a few choice items on Friday as they wound down their week of 16 hour days. The headliner was Kennedy’s Twitter post, captioned “Happy Friday y’all,” that appeared and then disappeared, but not before it was captured and reposted a gazillion times:

Can’t stop staring at this one. Some eagle eyed fans noted that it looks like they’re sitting in a booth at the Claw, and that Alex and Kennedy are wearing the same wardrobe as in Kennedy’s equally frenzy-making post from last week from the Icarus Hall set. It was quickly proposed and rejected that Alex was wearing the sunglasses from Ace’s apt. set. I suspect neither of their sunglasses are actual wardrobe and they’re having fun with us, but who knows?

Kennedy was very helpful (jk) with her enigmatic posts responding to fans:

It’s impressive how much chaos can be created with one mostly blacked out Nace photo that appeared for 20 minutes, so job well done. Kennedy did assure us that she knows how important Ace’s earring is to us.

Speaking of the Claw, filming this week on Episode 7, directed by former AD Adrian Deipold, continued from last week and seemed to center on the Claw set as many of the crew members posted from there, including a few that indicated at least some filming was at the location vs. the studio built set.

Back to the cast, Leah gave us an adorable hair look with shades of Wheezie from “Dragon Tales,” while Larry was back in the saddle on Friday and gave us an equally adorable video of Scott who didn’t quite know what episode he was filming 😂. It seems Larry is shooting both more scenes from Episode 6 (which he directed a few weeks ago) and Episode 8.

Two other tidbits: a glimpse of the HB Police Department set from Friday, and a lime green VW Bug from Tuesday, both courtesy of applebananapear. Dying to know whose car that is - Bess, maybe?

I did want to address the fact that a few spoilery things were shared in Discord this week. I’ve thought about it and decided that I want to keep this blog to sm posts from the cast and crew vs. things that weren’t intended to be public yet. I personally enjoy following the fabulous cast and crew and all the glimpses of production they share with us, but I really don’t want to be spoiled for plot points, especially if they weren’t shared by production folks who know how to walk the NDA line. Hopefully you understand as that’s my plan going forward. I hope you enjoy these little glimpses of the show that still keep us guessing.

One last thing - a shameless plug for The Space Between, my Season 4 spec fic. My intention is to give us all the feels and wish fulfillment we’re looking for in S4 while we wait. Chapter 9, posted this week, has some choice moments for Ace, Ryan (!), and Nancy as well as the rest of the crew as they attend a fancy fundraiser for the Youth Center at Icarus Hall. Ace in a suit, check!! Also, sassy ghosts…

[polizwrites]

WIP Update -  19 Jul 2023

Another pretty darned productive writing week!   I touched 6 fics (4 WIPs & 2 new works)  for a total of   3795 words.

On Ao3, I posted:

Chapter 2 of  Finding Something Fresh  - Beta!sub!Bucky and  Omega!Dom!Steve are figuring out the parameters of their relationship

  There Would Be No Courage Were It Not for Hope  - Tony being Bucky’s guide to queerness in the 21st century - bonus Pride Parade Float!

Where Will He Be Tomorrow?  - No Powers AU - Natasha & Tony BroTP with exploration of gender.

Music to His Ears  - Rock Band AU - Bucky discovering Tony’s band 

Once Bitten, Not Shy  - Tony and werewolf!Steve post-hookup     

On Tumblr I posted:

 On the Edge of Disaster  - CA:CW retelling/fix-it

I have  17 semi-active WIPs  😬 with my  current  deadlines being the July Break Bingo, which ends 31 Jul and the  Tony Stark This or That  and Hot Bucky Summer events, which both wrap at the end of August. 

See  below cut for what I’m working on/planning to work on - arranged more or less by bingos/challenges/etc.  As always, feel free to send me   prompts or plot bunnies as well as asks regarding  any of these projects  or any other WIPs I’ve got out there.   Interaction really helps feed the Muse and keep me motivated!

Seek & Destroy Collab

After reading @psychiccatpanda‘s amazing   Morguna and the Green Queen, I  got the itch to explore the Soldier’s POV and talked  Faustie into   collab’ing with me!  We’re working on a new part of the series, and I’ve  contributed about 900 words towards the  2500-ish we have so far.   Going to see if I can squeeze any of my BBB squares into this fic.  

WinterIron Pride Prompt Party  [WI_PPP]  (Ends 15 Jul)

I didn’t get any more fills in for this daily prompt event hosted by the WinterIron Discord server, but I did a few self-recs to qualify for the Halfway badge  (15 fills).  I’m working on getting the fics posted to Ao3 -  here’s my Masterpost

July Break Bingo  [JBB_23] (Ends 31 Jul)

Signed up for a 3x3 card for this all fandoms, no minimums bingo event  (@julybreakbingo ) because of course I need more prompts!   😁😬  I’m aiming for a blackout with three fills and four WIPs with another idea or two to work on.  I’m playing a bit fast and loose with a few prompts, but I hope y’all enjoy anyways!

* A1 - “I can keep going” -filling this with Chapter 3 of Technicalities  (Stucky professort/student  AU)  which is a crossover with my ACB Mutual Pining and SVB Experiment squares --  A bit of manual labor brings Professor!Steve and  Student(but not Steve’s student)! Bucky closer together.   It’s coming in at 1305 words and will post on  7/26.  

* A2 - “I think I’m losing my mind.”  Filled this with What Happens in San Francisco…  in combination with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF208 Reporting the Scoop]  and a SVB adoptable: Celebration Sex.  It will eventually get posted to Ao3.

* A3  -  Word: Advantage or Antonyms -- Flling this with Chapter 3 of A Sugar-Coated Pill  (WinterIron Omegaverse Sugar Daddy AU) which is coming in at 1341 words and will post on 7/21.  It’s crossing over with my HBE "How Did You Meet?” + High Stakes Op  and  TSTOT  Omegaverse  prompts, along with  my WIB AU: A/B/O square.  Bucky and Tony continue to make a good team, then sugar baby!Tony asks Bucky for a favor.

* B1 - Location: Train Tracks -  combining this with my BBB  Never the Fall that Kills You  square for  an angsty  Winter Soldier fic  - it’s sitting at 104 words and fighting me a bit at the moment. 😬

* B2 - FREE --  Will probably combine with this or next week’s Flash Fiction Friday. 

* B3 - Pining/Longing/Being Needy -  filling this with Chapter 4 of A Sugar-Coated Pill  where Bucky has a bit of a problem, and Tony offers to help.  It’s crossing over with HBS Week Nine (”Where do you want me?” + In My Lap), and ACB Mate-Induced Heat  - the chapter is coming in at 1395 words and will post on 7/28. 

* C1 - Location: Art Studio - Filled this with   Teacher, Teacher, Can You Reach Me?    which posted this morning.  I combined this with my SAUB AU: Teacher and TSB Dares/Bets squares and TSTOT Best Friend prompt for a  Tony & Rhodey bro-fic that is also a SteveTony meet cute.  It came in at 1604 words.

* C2 - Moving In/New Home - filled with Starting Something New,

* C3 - Mutual Pining –  maybe use this as an excuse to get my Centerfold  Stucky fic finally started…?    Plan B - combine with Technicalities - Chapter 3

Hot Bucky Summer [BBE_HBS]  (Ends Aug 33)

Another @buckybarnesevents  event, this time with weekly smexy prompts.  My goal is to complete at least two fics/chapters per month for this challenge and have actually filled/will fill three of the 4 weeks for June and July so far.  

Week Eight - “How did you meet?” + High Stakes Op -  see JBB   Word: Advantage or Antonyms   above

Week Nine:  FREE   – cheating a bit and going back to the Week Three prompts.: (“Where do you want me?” + in my lap) - see JBB Pining/Longing/Being Needy  above

Week Eleven -  “Give me a color”+ Green/Red/Yellow -- This works well with the upcoming Chapter Three  of  Finding Something Fresh  -  Beta!Sub!Bucky   and omega!Dom!Steve work on pre-scene negotiations.  It will cross over with SVB Comforting Insecurity - it’s  sitting at 254 words at the moment and will post either 8/11 or 8/16. 

Week Twelve - “Who’s My ___”+ Good Boy -  probably will fit with the future Chapter Four of Finding Something Fresh  - crossing over with SVB  Tied to A Bed.    This chapter would post either 8/18 or 8/23

Week Thirteen -  FREE WEEK -  “Bossy” and “Bondage” are two suggested prompts - I can probably do something with either/both of these. 😁

Tony Stark This or That [TSTOT_23] (Ends 31 Aug)

Excited to see this event (hosted by @tstot ) come back!  When you sign up, you get a card with 10  prompts  in pairs  - so to complete the card, you create five fanworks.   I’ve got some good stuff on my card - and a few prompts where it’s hard to choose between them!   Banter vs ‘bots,   Best Friend vs Mutual Pining – I may just have to flip a coin!  😁

* 1a - Love Letters  brainstormed with  @somesortofitalianroast and  Meg during the  @buckybarnesbingo  Discord party and will be combining this with my BBB  Fireplace prompt for a  1980′s No Powers WinterIron fic where they discover that someone’s writing them both the same love letters.  

* 2b - Best Friend - see JBB Location: Art Studio above (posted  this morning)

* 3b - Omegaverse  -  see JBB Word: Advantage or Antonyms  above  (to post 7/21)

All Caps Bingo [ACB_R1]  (Ends 30 Sep)

I’ve got thirteen completed fics, three WIPs and  will be pursuing the One Fill, One Bingo  Challenge for Row 5.  

* I1 - Mutual Pining - see JBB Mutual Pining above

* G1 - Isaiah Bradley -  Planning to add more to The Fist, Defeated.   (possibly present day)

* G3 - Established Relationship - planning to fill this with Chapter 2 of   Half of the Flesh and Blood That Makes Me Whole   - a Bucky POV remix of at least the first part of Take What Was Wrong (And Make it Right),  which is current sitting at  52 words.  I’m expecting at least one more chapter, possibly two, depending on how far I want to take the remix.  

* O3 - Pararescue Sam Wilson - may try to squish this into an expansion of   A Rising Star -  a previous Flash Fiction Friday fill.  

* July Adoptable - Mate Induced Heat/Rut –  see JBB   Pining/Longing/Being Needy.

Sam Wilson Bingo [SWB_R3]  (Ends 15 Oct 2023)

I have four fills and one WIP -  I need to work on cross fills between this and the All Caps and Bucky Barnes bingo!

* B4 - Natasha Romanoff -  Maybe add on to my Card Sharks drabble, where  SamNat & Steve conspire to create a polycule with Bucky?  this idea crosses over nicely with my BBB KINK: Seduction mission square

* G3 - Joaquin Torres - see ACB Pararescue Sam Wilson above.

WinterIron Bingo  - [WIB_R1]   (Ends 16 Dec 2023)

I have eleven fills completed and two WIPs for this brand-new bingo event that I’m helping mod!  Along with crossfilling against my other bingos,  I’m going to try to combine my B column squares for the Iron Soldier badge (complete a bingo with a single work). – Alpha Tony Stark, “That was not my intention.”, James Rhodes, Alpine loves Tony and Blind date.   (Tony POV remix of A Sugar Coated Pill?)

* I2 - AU:A/B/O - will pull this into Chapter 3 of   A Sugar-Coated Pill  - see JBB  Word: Advantage or Antonyms  

* N1 - Bucharest –  I think I can fold this into a future chapter of My Love is Vengeance -  where a young!Tony and a recovering!Bucky have been kidnapped by Hydra, who still thinks Bucky is the Soldier.  

* G2 - Eye contact during sex -  will be working this into Chapter 5 of   A Sugar-Coated Pill, where our boys finally get down to business.   It’s up to 671 words and will post sometime in August. 

* G4 - AU: College Students – looking to expand Beaten to the Punch with some backstory on Bucky and Tony as science camp counselors to fit with this square - will also cross over with my WFB  Volunteering Together square.  

* O5 - Gentle – use this poem  as inspiration?

* July Adoptable: “What happened to you?”  I may browse through some whump prompts for this & see what vibes with my BBB & TSB bingos.

Stucky’Verse Bingo Round 1 - [SVB_R1]   (Ends 22 Dec)

Five fills, two WIPs and a couple of ideas  -  I need to review my card for potential crossfills and other idea sparks.

* A4 - Fairy Tale Curse  - this seems custom-made for a continuation of Beyond the Beast  😁  Nothing written yet, other than some Vague Ideas. 

* B3 - Tied to a Bed –  see HBS Week twelve 😁

* D4 - Edging - will probably use this for Chapter Four of   Technicalities

* D5 - Trust Issues  - Posted Chapter 2 of  Finding Something Fresh  last Friday.  Bucky & Steve are working out the next steps in their relationship.  It came in at 943 words.

* E4 - Experiment - see JBB “I can keep going” above.

* Adoptable  - Things Have Changed –  this might fit nicely with my Centerfold idea…  :: ponders::

Bucky Barnes Bingo  - [BBB_R5]   (Ends 10 Jan 2024)

I’ve got  nine fills,  four WIPs,   and a couple more Vague ideas.

* B4 - Shapeshifters -  wrote . A Shift in Their Relationship as a crossover with the WI_PPP prompt Dragons are Gay.  This came in at 404 words and will be posted to Ao3 before this event is over.  

* U1 - Never the fall that kills you -  see  JBB  Location: Train Tracks

* U3 - Fireplace -  see TSTOT Love Letters above

* C2 - Yelena Belova–   The plan is to use this prompt in the next chapter of Peresmešnik,  (aka Three Avengers and a Baby), which is currently sitting at 1100 words (400-ish of which are mine).  

* C5 - Marriage of Convenience/Pretend Couple -  next chapter of   Lady Natasha’s Consort and Lord Steve’s Companion.    Not quite sure where to take this next at the moment.  😕

* K3 - Magic -  Aro!Bucky sickfic idea?

* Y1 - Gentle Sex -see WIB  Eye contact during sex above

* Y2 - [image: IW Bucky with the good hair] A Flash Fiction Friday prompt [#FFF198 What Comes Next]   was a perfect match for an idea I’d already been playing around with to fill this square.  Getting Prepared -(updated title = Preparations)   an A:IW missing scene set between the time that T’Challa and Okoye come for Bucky and the moment he sees Steve again.  I will post it to Ao3 sometime in the next month or so.

* Y3 - Alpine  - see WIB Iron Soldier combo.

* Y4 - Forgotten Things -   using this for Chapter 4 of   You Can’t Stop It With a Gun  - it’s sitting at  116 words at the moment.      

Tony Stark Bingo Round 7  - [TSB_R7]   (ends 15 Feb)

One fill and two WIPs already, with a couple of ideas in play.  

* S1 - Galaxy - possibly use in final chapter of   Never More to Go Astray ?   

* S4 - “Are you there yet?”  -see WIB   Eye contact during sex above

* T4 - Dares/Bets - see JBB  Location: Art Studio above.

* R4 - Playing Games - filled this with last weekend’s  TSB Discord Party Round Robin – my part came in at 327 words and it should get posted by the end of the week. 

* R5 - Doppelganger/Evil Twins -  this will probably cross over with my Stony AUniverse AU: Crack square as I have a semi-silly idea for it, inspired by seeing a T shirt of mine in a mirror.

Stony AUniverse Bingo  [SAUB_R1] (ends 15 Feb)

Another brand-new bingo I’m helping co-mod!  Got my card and square swaps sorted, and have several  crossover WIPs  and ideas already!

* S2 - AU: Crack - see TSB   Doppelganger/Evil Twins

* S3 - AU: Wings - see ACB Established Relationship

* S5 - Accidental Baby Acquisition - see BBB Yelena Belova

* T1 - AU: Fantasy -  CoffeeOwl shared a really cool dragon!Steve/indebted!Tony prompt in the ACB Discord server that I may be playing with for this.

* N1 - AU: Spy -  I want to expand on/add backstory to  Keeping All My Secrets Safe Tonight from the Stony Drabbles challenge earlier.

* Y3 - Teacher AU:  see JBB Location: Art Studio

Warm and Fluffy   Bingo  - [WFB]   (no end date)

I got my card from  @warmandfluffybingocards back in February but really hadn’t done much with it  - however, I’m picking it back up for some crossover possibilities!

* N4 - Affectionate Teasing –  see JBB Moving In/New Home above  

* O5 - Volunteering Together – see WIB AU: College Students

————

On  other creative fronts:  I have a Din Grogu Stuffed With Character figure in progress for an upcoming con.  I will be making an announcement about commissions sometime in July so if  you’re looking for one of a kind gifts for birthdays or other celebrations, check  out Stuffed With Character    over on Facebook for a full list of my designs (now over 100!).   These soft stuffed figures are  mostly Marvel and monsters, but I have some Star Wars, Star Trek, DC   and Disney figures as well. Plus I love to take custom design   requests  for any fandom!

[starlitangels]

To Steer By

I was gonna do other things last night... but Avior’s HBS took me out at the knees. Happy Hot Boi Summer y’all 2.4k words

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7

—

Chapter 8 - Arrival in Aria

—

Moments after Estelle collapsed, her eyes were opening again. Avior was just grateful he caught her before she hit the ground. “Estelle?” He cupped her face. “Are you alright?”

She scrunched her eyebrows. “How long was I out?”

“Not long. Few moments.”

“Oh good. That didn’t feel like enough magic to warrant another all-day blackout,” she mumbled, regaining control of her muscles. “But… I do need to sit down.”

“Let’s get you back in the carriage and we’ll be on our way. We’re only going to travel a bit longer to find someplace to rest for the night anyway,” Avior said. He scooped her knees up and took her back to the carriage, where Vindemiator had convinced Caelum to go back to the driver’s bench of the darker carriage.

The inside of the white carriage had two benches, one facing the direction of travel, and one facing the other way. Avior laid Estelle on the former and took the latter for himself. He felt Vega get back in his position and heard the snap of reins encouraging the horses to go.

The carriage lurched and off they went.

Estelle didn’t bother to try to sit up. Just lounged across the bench, pinching the bridge of her nose. Avior watched over her intently.

“That was incredible,” he said.

She peeked one eye open and looked at him. “You lit a candle from a distance with the snap of your fingers. You’ve got power yourself.”

“Mm. Nothing like yours. I’m half-demon. My powers tend to be… fiery. Destructive and dangerous. I can do other things but it’s difficult. Yours… it was… that was… pure. Radiant, even.”

She snickered. “You should see my brother’s,” she said. “I’m nothing compared to him.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

She shuffled so she was on her side, facing him. “You met Morgan. My brother. He’s the Crown Prince. He’s the one who got the lion’s share of the magic. He’s the one who can see the future, not me. I can use the positioning of the stars, sun, and moon to make a few guesses and predictions, but Morgan is far more accurate.”

“But can he make that swarm of falling stars?”

She smiled. “He could make a bigger one. He actually is the one who taught me how.”

Avior hummed in thought. The carriage hit a dip in the road and bounced. Estelle winced but otherwise didn’t react.

He stuck his head out the window. “Vega? Are we stopping soon?”

“As soon as we find a defensible position to make camp,” Vega replied.

“Hm… well… hurry up.”

“Yes, sire.”

—

Vindemiator kicked his ankles up onto Scorpius’ lap. Who, for his part, didn’t bother to push them off. “See, the problem,” Vin said, “is Avi’s wife has white hair and I don’t know how to work with that.” He glanced over at where Avior had Estelle curled up on his lap. She was asleep and Avior was quietly speaking with Vega. “Like. All of us except Caelum have dark hair. I can make anything to work with dark hair. But I don’t know how to make anything for hair that pale. Like. With dark hair a red outfit pops and is sexy. But white hair? Which is the pop? What do I do with it?”

“Vin, you know you’re not actually the royal tailor right?” Scorpius asked. “Like. You know you outrank the royal tailor by a lot. Right?” He snickered. “Besides. The king will probably hire a female seamstress from Castle Town specifically for Estelle’s wardrobe when she needs anything.”

Vin scoffed. “Rude.”

“All I’m saying is she’s brought her entire wardrobe with her. She’s not going to need anything new for a while.”

Vindemiator stared at Scorpius, disbelief painted all over his face. “Are you implying she’s not going to have an entirely new gown made for her coronation? Which, by the way, is in two weeks?”

“No one in Aria will know that the gown she wears isn’t brand-new.”

“They’ll have a decent guess if it’s got Star Kingdom written all over it. She needs something that shows she’s our queen. Something that feels Arian.”

Scorpius rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he muttered.

Vindemiator pulled out his little book where he liked to sketch out design ideas. Caelum shuffled where he was asleep on his bedroll beside Vindemiator. Caelum’s hair had once been blond. But the transformation had turned his hair a soft, pale pink. Vindemiator could work with pink. It was the white he wasn’t solid on.

White just stood out so much. If he wanted to do a pop of color, the white would still outshine it. But a white gown—in Vin’s opinion—was too much of the same color. He needed something to complement the white. Her wedding gown had been even paler than sky blue. Which had been… nice. He supposed. He didn’t work with pastel shades for anyone other than his brother. Maybe he’d have to learn.

Across the small campsite, Estelle was asleep on Avior’s lap in the dimmest light of the campfire. Vindemiator narrowed his eyes at her and glanced down at his book.

He sketched the basic profile of a grand gown, and in the corner wrote, Dark Red? Black? Maybe one of those would work. She’d probably prefer a pastel, considering everything he’d seen of her wardrobe. But a deep, dark shade would be more Arian.

He brought his legs off Scorpius’ lap and bent his knees up as a firmer surface to draw on, adding details to the gown and material considerations. Satin and silk were nice but she needed something richer for a coronation. Velvet and taffeta were added to his list of notes. He didn’t care that he wasn’t the actual royal tailor. He liked the work and he liked the artistic expression.

Vindemiator kept designing long after everyone else had drifted off—barring Vega, who’d elected to keep first watch.

—

“Caelum?” Vindemiator asked his brother as the party finally crossed into the Arian castle keep’s walls. “Why don’t you show Avior’s new wife around the castle? Give her a grand tour?”

Caelum perked up. “Okay!”

Avior gave Vindemiator a confused look. Vin just shrugged.

Caelum scampered over to Estelle. “Can I show you around?” He bounced a little on his feet.

“Of course,” Estelle replied.

Caelum tried so hard to be proper. He offered her his elbow and tried to be dignified. But the second they reached one of the doors, he grabbed her wrist to point out something and went back to bouncing.

“Why Caelum?” Avior asked.

“He’ll show her all the best parts of the castle and make it easier for her to remember how to get around. And I wanted to talk to you,” Vindemiator replied.

What few members of the guard had been rebuilt were helping to unpack the supplies from the journey. Avior nodded away from the group and led Vin after him to somewhere more private. “What’s on your mind?”

Vin opened and closed his mouth a few times. “Your wife is going to need an attendant,” he said. “I… I was thinking that… my partner might be interested. I haven’t asked, but I know they were wanting to try something new. Their current job hasn’t been fulfilling for them. They need more interaction with people, not just being alone.”

Avior nodded. “Go ahead and ask them. If they’re interested we’ll get them started. See if it works for them.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.”

Before Avior could move to leave, Vin stepped into his path. “There’s one more thing,” he said. Avior paused and gestured for him to go on. “We’ve, uh… we’ve been like this… for a month, Avi.”

“Was the attack a month ago already?” Avior muttered, sounding tired.

“Yeah. Uh… it’s been long enough that… that I… I don’t really feel like Vindemiator, anymore.”

Avior’s head tilted slightly to one side. “Alright…”

“I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Would… would it be okay if you all call me Gavin, instead?”

“Of course. If that’s what would make you the most comfortable.”

“I think it would. Caelum can still call me Vin, but, uh, I think I’d prefer it if the rest of you call me Gav if you’re going to shorten it.”

“That’s something we can do. Would you like to tell the others or do you want me to?”

“Normally I would. But you’re the king now. I think they’ll listen to you better.”

Avior couldn’t help but chuckle. “I think you put too much stock in their respect for me, but I’ll talk to them anyway and make sure they respect your decision. I’m sure they will, but I’ll talk to them.”

“Thank you, my king.” Gavin bowed slightly.

“My honor,” Avior replied.

They shook hands while Gavin rolled his eyes at the formality of it all and Avior smiled.

—

Estelle listened to Caelum raptly. He was excitable and young and sweet—but he also knew the castle and explained it and its layout simply. His rambles tended to wander aimlessly, but always snapped back to the subject of the castle when something of note was in their path. He also kept his directions simple.

“Oh, oh!” Caelum whispered, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “This door is one of the offshoots of the kitchen.” He gave her the youthful version of a sly smile—the smile of kids sharing secrets. “This one is the one where they make the cookies.”

Estelle twisted her head to face him properly and dropped her mouth open. “Is that right?” she asked conspiratorially.

Caelum nodded. “Don’t tell the baker I told you.”

“No, of course not.”

Down the corridor, she noticed when Caelum clammed up. It was the first time it had happened—it’d be hard not to notice. He slowed his pace and looked at where several planks of wood had been propped up over a hole in the stone wall out to the courtyard, trying to block the draft. He stared at the hole, brows tilting, lower lip sliding out, eyes watering. Estelle squeezed his hand where he’d been holding onto hers.

“Hey,” she asked softly. “What’s wrong?”

He whimpered slightly, shaking his head.

Estelle gathered him to her, resting his head on her chest and putting her chin on the back of his head. “It’s okay, little guy,” she said, rocking back and forth. “Whatever it is, it’s okay.”

He shook his head, horns nearly getting caught in her dress’ bodice. “That—that’s where the demon broke through the wall,” he managed to say. “The… the one that hurt Vin. The one that did this to us.” He grabbed his horns and pulled on them. Almost like he was trying to pull them off his head entirely. Estelle grabbed his hands and eased them away.

“Hey,” she entreated softly. “None of that. I know you must miss who you were. How you looked. But you’re okay. You’re alive, your brother’s alive. Neither of you were seriously hurt. And you’re different now but you’re still you. Having a little bit of demon blood in your veins doesn’t stop you from being the sweetest kid I’ve ever met.” She raked her fingers through his soft pink curls. “Don’t let something you had no control over get you down when you and your brother are stronger because of what happened to you.”

He sniffled and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. “I-I-I’ll try.”

“Trying is all you need, buddy.”

“Cae? What’s wrong?” a familiar voice demanded. Estelle turned to see Avior and Caelum’s brother picking up their pace at the end of the hallway. Jogging over.

Vin took Caelum from Estelle’s embrace and into his own. He glanced at the hole in the wall. Understanding dawned in his eyes. He glanced at Avior. “I’m gonna take him back to his room,” he said. Avior nodded.

Once the brothers were around the corner, Avior offered his elbow to his wife. “May I finish his tour?”

“Of course,” Estelle replied, taking his arm.

“Caelum is young. He’s had the hardest time… adjusting to all of the recent changes.”

“I guessed as much. At least he has his brother.” She sighed. “What’s his full first name again?”

“Growing up, the name he was given was Vindemiator. But he’s asked that we call him Gavin now.”

“Oh thank the stars. I have a good memory but I couldn’t get that name. Gavin I can remember easy.”

Avior smiled.

The tour of the castle continued for a bit, and Avior paused on the third floor. “Wh…” He licked his lips and sighed. “Where would you rather sleep?”

“Pardon?”

“Do you wish to join me in my chambers, or would you rather maintain your own?”

“Oh. I… I admit, I hadn’t really thought about it.” She reached up with her free hand and fidgeted with the ends of her hair. “Is whatever I decide now… permanent?”

“It doesn’t have to be if you don’t want it to be.” He pushed open a door and led her in. “These are my chambers. They were my father’s.” With his free hand, he gestured around. “As you can see, plenty big enough for the both of us to maintain our own space when we want.” He cleared his throat. “Unless you’d rather have several more tons of stone between you and I when you want space.”

“Um… how about…” On the one hand, she was well aware that she barely knew him. They’d been around each other constantly for a week, but was that enough? It would probably be kinder to both of them if they maintained their own space until they were comfortable enough with one another to share living quarters.

On the other hand… the thought of sharing space and seeing him at his most vulnerable, comfortable, and casual bore a deep appeal.

“Let’s try together at first,” she said. “If we feel like we need more space until we know each other better, I’ll be fine with that.”

Avior nodded. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

[lilylamps]

mayumi not being able to have good things: a ramble

summary: mamas can’t have a debut or a goodnights sleep cuz her parents and guardians are DEAD (not proofread btw sorry if my words sound a lil jumbled)

Soo i just realized something REALLY fucking devastating about Mayumis lore and that is she never got to have her debut when she turned 18

A DEBUT IS BASICALLY A FILIPINO VERSION OF QUINCES BTW JUST FOR WHEN A FILIPINA TURNS 18 AND STUFF FOR CONTEXT

But yeah after basically all her guardians got yk (💀) she and her siblings were in a REALLY tough fucking financial spot (not like dirt poor cuz parents and tita may left behind a lot of money and stuff so they could survive (HER PARENTS WENT ON BUSINESS TRIPS OR JUST WORKED A LOT)) but they couldn’t really afford to many luxuries because Mayumi was trying really hard to be responsible at a really young age, and she never really spent money on herself until she joined the Society (WHICH IM ASSUMING HAS GREAT PAY AND IF NOT ILL RIOT)

ALSO TO CONTINUE ON THAT, when she first joined the Society she learned that doing missions and stuf paid the bills!! So dead ass she would burn herself out over this just to make ends meet TO LIKE THE POINT WHEN SHE WOULD COME HOME/TO THE SOCIETY LOOKING HALF FUCKING DEAD like actually disheveled and hasn’t had a good nights rest in 4 weeks cuz she works 24/7 365

SOO FAST FORWARD TO HER BUSTING OUT OF A PORTAL AND INTO MIGUELS OFFICE, LITERALLY ASKING HIM FOR ANOTHER MISSION LOOKING LIKE A ZOMBIE like she has those mappa animator eyebags actually 😭

AND HES JUST LIKE “????” and he’s literally asking her what’s wrong she’s literally asleep standing like mimimimi while mumble something about not being able to pay rent, needing more missions, etc etc

So he’s finally like “😐 holy shit go home and rest that’s an order, literally go to hobies universe and rest there” “but i need to pay my b-“ “ILL GIVE YOU A RAISE” “but i need to watch my sib-“ “ILL HIRE YOU A BABY SITTER”

and like after going back and forth she gives up and goes to hb’s universe and collapses on his bed and hb having to take care of her (he’s not complaining, tbh literally everyone was worried about her cuz she physically cannot stop working until she passes out) and then scolding her about having to take care of herself when she wakes up (basically hb helps her learn how to rest and take breaks and not work herself to death)

ANYWAYS IM THINKING ABT DRAWING HER IN A BIG ASS DRESS CUZ I FEEL RLLY BAD I COULDNT GIVE HER A DEBUT AND IM CRYJNG ABT THIS