#I did 10 prints of this and in the end only like 4 of them came out just right cause I had to mess with the opacity of the inks like crazy

[soupacool]

psssst look under the cut

surprise I actually screen printed this poster

sorry I only have the one process pic but it was finals when I made this so I was in a rush

14x17, 5 color screen print- one for each type of skill + black. getting the layering and registration just right was a bitch and a half but I love how it came out <333

[blackopals-world]

The Missing Card

Introducing: Jester!Yuu

(You have no idea that I've had this image saved for over a year and a half and I'm so excited to finally use it. Call me a clown fucker if you want I'm in love.)

It's about time we finish the Heartslabyul card deck.

A "standard" deck of playing cards consists of 52 Cards in each of the 4 suits of Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs. Each suit contains 13 cards: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King.

But something is missing.

A card that despite what you think isn't in the traditional deck at least not originally. A blank card printed by mistake that became something more.

The Jocker had made its way to the deck and now the trump card that either makes or breaks the game lives on.

There is a special rule at Heartslabyul. One that Riddle loaths to acknowledge. The contradiction to everything he knows.

It is the Jester's privilege to be exempt from the rules of the courts.

It's a rule that many don't read and it's for the best that no one knows how to be a Jester.

What is a court without its fool?

They met at exactly 12 pm during afternoon tea.

They sat sideways in the queen's chair happily eating tarts.

"You! How dare you sit in my chair and show such flagrant disrespect for the rules of this dorm!" Riddle shouted pointing at the colorfully dressed student.

Said student looked over the table at the group of assembling crowd of students who were arriving for the tea party.

Smiling wildly they did a somersault across the table and landed in front of the drom leader.

"I have arrived my queen! Your new and approved jester of your court!" They said spinning before falling into a low bow. The bells and ribbons braided into the hair fluttering around them.

Riddle got a good look at this "jester" and they certainly looked the part. The star painted over their eye and the black and red costume fit Heartslabyul like a glove. Their upper lip was painted black and their lower a bright scarlet. It was garish but beautiful.

"Approved? Who approved a clown like you to be a jester!" Riddle ordered.

Ace and Deuce looked in opposite directions as he said this.

It wasn't intentional but Ace and Deuce had run into a street performer in the town near the school.

"Come one, come all and see the show!" They said balancing on a giant ball juggling pins.

They sang, did tricks, played music, did magic tricks, and all around entertained the crowd.

Ace and Deuce were mystified by the show so much they ended up watching the whole thing.

When it ended the performer tanked everyone as they began to pack up.

"Hey, where did you learn those tricks?"Ace didn't want to miss the chance to learn a few new card tricks.

"You must be an amazing wizard! I didn't even see you wave a wand!" Deuce innocently.

"Dude, they obviously just used tricks and not magic." Ace sighed.

The performer laughed. They told them they did shows to earn money while at school.

"It's easy to put on a show but real magic isn't something I can do. Sucks when you go to a magic college but I think it's fun." They smiled.

"Wait you go to NRC? I've never seen you before." Ace asked trying to remember their face.

"Ace? What are you talking about? We sit next to each other in Trein's class." They covered their mouth giggling.

Suddenly it clicked.

"Yuu?! You're Yuu?!" Ace yelled incredulously.

Yuu was just some quiet kid that didn't say much. The only thing that stood out about them was just how dull they were. Not that Ace said that to them. Yuu kind of just blended into the background.

"In the flesh!~♡ I was wondering when you'd notice." They said cheerfully.

"Well you are always with Grimm it's hard to put it together," Ace said rubbing his neck

"Yeah, you don't stand out at all otherwise-" Deuce began before Ace slapped his hand over his mouth.

"It's okay, I know how people see me. But I can hardly walk around in costume around campus no matter how fun it sounds." Yuu pouted absent-mindedly shuffling a deck of cards that appeared out of nowhere. "If I could go all out and do shows whenever school would be more fun."

"You're telling me. Having a personal clown would make Riddle's scolding bearable. Man that would be funny if you'd pie him in the face." Ace cackled at the thought. "You'd make a good...what's it called...oh, a fool."

"A fool? You mean like a royal jester?" Yuu asked pursing their lips in thought.

"Yeah, you could really take Riddle down a peg if you were. Honestly, morale gets so low when he's in a bad mood. He needs to have more fun." Ace ranted unknowingly giving Yuu an idea.

Deuce nodded in agreement as he examined Yuu props. The top hat looked pretty cool on him.

"Actually that sounds fun. I think I'll make a great jester!" Yuu laughed heartily.

They had no idea what chaos they had welcomed to Heartslabyul.

[antimony-medusa]

Is that— bells ringing? Keyboards clacking? The sound of two thousand stressed writers pancing furiously about the floor? Ah yes, Yuletide.

Hello. MCYTblr. I am back again.

You are looking fine today as we move towards the end of the year. Is that a new cologne you're trying? New shirt? New glasses? It's working for you. How have I been? Well.

Well.

*I smack the wall, curtains spring aside, revealing my flip chart presentation that I've had lying in wait*

It is time for me to talk to you about Yuletide again. I was here earlier during tag nominations, but it's sign-up time, and I want to make sure everybody has a change to participate in this if they want to.

What's Yuletide?

Yuletide is an annual mega-exchange for small and rare fandoms. It runs in the close of the year, with a 1000 word minimum for gifts, with gifts revealed anonymously on the 25th of December and de-anoned on the 1st of January. It is easily the biggest exchange in multi-fandom-exchange-world, and last year more than 1,350 people signed up.

Why does everyone sign up?

Well, it's tradition, for one. There are a lot of people that only do Yuletide as their big exchange every year. It's a big holiday spectacle, it's really fun to see it operate and see pinch hits come out and get nabbed in minutes, and people kind of put on their holiday outfits and turn out for it.

For another thing, if you are in a small fandom, it's the one exchange where you can actually have a shot of getting a gift for an obscure manga fandom, or an out-of-print book, or a tv show from the eighties. If your fandom has five people in it, the odds are higher than average that two of them are signing up for this exchange, and hey presto, suddenly you're matchable in your fandom for an obscure podcast.

For another, and this is the biggie, the fact that this is an exchange for small and rare fandoms has led to a certain tradition and vibe for the fandoms that people nominate. People bring their most obscure and fun ideas, going, "hehehehe wouldn't it be fun if someone wrote a story about this", and into the tag set it goes. There is SUCH a spectrum of fandoms in the tag set.

This year there are 4,263 fandoms and 16,735 characters in the tag set. Let me just skim through and look at some of them.

There are commercials, web sketches, art pieces, songs, music videos, board games, podcasts, a dizzying assortment of anthropomorphising different places, items, and ideas, and RPF from a marvelous variety of historical periods (so, y'know, historical fiction if it was published professionally). There are people who nominated tik tok sketches. Twitter threads. A bridge. Book binding techniques. You ever wanted to write a romance between Knitting and Crochet? That's in the tag set, and someone wants to prompt you to do that. Happy Yuletide.

So if you are at all the sort of person who likes a prompt challenge, BOY is this one just a MARVELOUS one. I know I personally am going to be signing up for Humans are Space Orcs (tumblr post) and Fandom Exchanges (Anthropomorphic) amid my more traditional fandoms.

And as for my more traditional fandoms, and the reason why this post has the tags it does (I would get to it eventually)— there is a lot of MCYT in the tag set! I put out a post saying GUYS, the smaller fandoms might apply for this, and BOY did people show up for it. I scanned through it, and the MCYT (and adjacent) that made it in is:

Karmaland SMP

Legacy SMP

Lifesteal SMP

Moonlight SMP

New Life SMP

Outsiders SMP

Rats SMP

SMPEarth

SMPLive

Witchcraft SMP

Pirates SMP

Mianite

Slimecicle Cinematic Universe

SBI Rust

Generation Loss

You could make an entire sign up, 3 minimum requests and 4 minimum requests, and only select MCYT fandoms. The wild thing is that you can only select a max of 10 fandoms to offer, so you actually couldn't offer all of the MCYT. ZombieCleo Witchraft SMP is in. Tommyinnit SMPEarth. Clownpierce Lifesteal. Tubbo SBI Rust. Oli Rats SMP. A wealth of options for the block folks.

So come, join me! What's that? You say this sounds excellent, you're in? You want to know how to sign up? Well this post is already long enough so I'm putting the rest below a cut.

You sign up on the collection here, using fandoms listed in the tagset here. Before you do so though, I'd recommend you check out the blog, especially their "how to sign up" post here, because even if you're used to exchanges, the way Yuletide works is a little bit different. Let me do a quick breakdown here.

Requests

# of Fandoms

You have to select a minimum of 3 fandoms that you are Requesting (a gift that you want made for you), up to a maximum of 6 fandoms. Each fandom has to be unique. For each fandom, you can request between 0 to 4 characters in that fandom, and 0 means "literally you can hit me with anybody", and the up-to-4 characters are the people you definately want to show up in the fic.

AND MATCHING

This is one of the things that Yuletide does differently, because most fandom exchanges do "or" matching, where they match you on either characer A OR character B, (maybe you only offered character B) and you can pick among any of the selected characters on the person's request to write for. Because Yuletide does AND matching, you will only be matched if you offered every single one of the characters the person has selected, and then you get to write for every single one they have listed in their fandom, unless they say differently in their letter. If they requested character A and Character B, you get to deliver a gift that includes them both, according to the rules.

Bu like, in practice, a lot of people are a bit more like "you can pick only one of these guys if you'd like", because that is how everyone is used to things running in most other exchanges, plus people don't want to be too picky, so you can specify in your letter if you definately 100% want characters A, B, and C, or if you're fine with just A, or just A and C, or whatever constellation of characters you're chill with.

This year they have added optional freeform tags you will click on, that will specify either A) use every single one of these guys I selected. B) I have specified in my letter which guys I need for sure and which ones you can swap, C) Dealer's Choice Of Guys Go Crazy.

DNW and Optional Details

Yuletide is an "Optional Details Are Optional" (ODAO) exchange, so technically you could request (or receive) an offer that just has the characters and then you get to go absolutely buckwild for the two month writing period. Most people, however, do not want to do that, so that is where you'll put in Do Not Wants (anything that would ruin the gift for you, from major archive warnings to kinks that you don't vibe with to headcanons you loathe), and some prompts and/or likes for your person to jump off of.

DNWs absolutely must be abided by, and breaking a person's DNW is grounds for getting turfed from the exchange. Following a person's prompts or lists of likes is technically optional, but definately best practice, and y'know, part of the whole spirit of the exchange. Most people are doing their best to adhere to both the DNW and the Optional Details when they do their gift.

You can just format your DNW and Optional Details on the Ao3 signup page (easy, fast), or you can link them offsite in a letter (fancy, you can do formatting, people do them in google docs or dreamwidth pages (the traditional and more accessible option)). There's a tradition of people posting their letter links here, so that people can get an idea for what sort of prompts and signups people are offering, and make sure they're matchable to people with especially fun ideas. Note: you do have to duplicate the data if you're doing a letter, cause if you put your DNW in your letter but NOT in your Ao3, the mods won't enforce it.

And while we're here, that last link is to a community blog that includes a place where you can promo your fandoms to lure people into signing up for your guys, or participate in mini-challenges within yuletide for people who specificially want poly relationships (Three Doves Challenge), or characters of colour (Chromatic Yuletide), or horror/darkfic (Crueltide), or smut (Yuleporn), or art (Wrapping Paper), or even more. There's even a poetry challenge!

Offers

# of Fandoms

You have to sign up with a minimum of 4 fandoms, to a maximum of 10, for fandoms you are Offering (a gift you are willing to make). You must offer at least 2 characters for each fandom, to a maximum of 20— but there's also an "any" tick box if you want to go full "hit me, I like a challenge" and you'll write anything (in the tag set) within a fandom. Each of your fandoms must be unique.

Writing Period:

Signups are open through the 21st, with assignments out by the 23rd, and then you have until the 18th of December to deliver your gift.

Important Notes

You must be 18 or over to participate in Yuletide (because you might be matched with someone who requests smut), and signups close on 9pm UTC on Saturday, 21 October.

There's a known issue where the safari browser isn't letting people sign up properly, (when you get an exchange this big sometimes things break), so they say to either sign up on mobile or use a different browser. So that will be fun for me.

--

And that's it! Yuletide! Just under a week left to sign up, and 351 people have signed up as I write this letter at 1:30am. I just refreshed it and now it's 352. You can sign up on the Ao3 page here!

JOIN ME EXCHANGES SUCH FUN LETS GO.

[sxcret-garden]

2nd Desire ღ Tie Me Down [M]

ღ Aspects of Desire series ღ Ateez Jongho x fem!reader ღ feat.: Yeosang ღ words: ~5.1k ღ genre: established relationship, college AU, fluff, some humor, slice of life, smut (dom!Jongho, sub!reader, reader masturbating and asking to be punished for it, reader’s hands tied together, he’s a bit mean but goes soft dom when reader shows signs of discomfort, strength kink, fingering, some body worship, teasing, begging, unprotected sex) ღ warnings: (him running his hand through reader’s hair)

Desc.: Lost in your excitement over the recent development in your relationship with your boyfriend Jongho, you try to tickle more of his dominant side out of him. When he shuts down that attempt with only the best of intentions, he makes sure you won’t stay flustered by your miscalculation for long.

Author's note: chapter 2 and I'm STILL nervous about posting kasjdfölksa I hope you guys enjoy though~ alsoalso I decided to do a taglist for this fic, so if you want to be added, just drop me an ask about it <3

← prev chapter ღ next chapter →

You drop your bag beside the entrance as you walk into Jongho’s apartment, the little melody resounding when the door falls into its lock that’s usually just another background noise to you manages to annoy you on this day. It’s only half past 4, yet you feel like you’ve been awake for more than 20 hours. 

You slip out of your shoes and step inside, the sofa in the living room being your destination. With a groan you let your body flop down onto it, the cushioned surface softening the impact. You’ve been at university since morning, your first class of the day being quite an interesting one and almost making you forget about the dreadful events that would follow suit. For lunch you met up with other students from your major to work on your group project, and these people really remind you time and time again why you absolutely hate group projects. You’re a group of seven, yet somehow the only ones taking the whole thing seriously are you and Yeosang, a guy you’ve done a course with before and who you luckily ended up being in the same group with. You know from back then that he does his work diligently enough - what you didn’t know was how badly the other five would do. One of them ran late, claiming he was convinced the meeting would start at 2 and not at half past 1, one of them didn’t show up at all, the others half-assed their parts and one girl only did half of what she was supposed to do. It’s a mess, and it’s stressing you out, because you’re getting a shared group grade for the paper. If you were being graded individually, you would’ve already decided to just do well on your own part, and make sure to precisely document who worked how much, but since you can’t exactly do that here it eventually came to the point where you decided it would be better if you took over the lead. As the person who has assigned herself the role of scolding the others into doing their work properly, you didn’t exactly gain their sympathy, but thankfully Yeosang was right there to have your back. Sharing their disdain was still better than having to shoulder it all alone, so you made a mental note to thank him with a cup of coffee or a meal later on.

But for now you want nothing more than to get this stupid project out of your mind, and lying motionlessly on the sofa and staring at a wall without any kind of distraction from your angry thoughts running wild isn’t exactly the best way to go about that. So you get up with a heavy sigh, peeking into your boyfriend’s room through the gap in the door standing ajar, before walking inside. He isn’t home yet - you assume he must be on his way, because his last class of the day should’ve ended about 10 minutes ago. Walking over to his closet, you open the side where he made space for some of your clothes, and you grab some comfortable pants and a t-shirt you haven’t worn in a while. There’s the logo of a game printed at the front - coincidentally a game you both used to play when you were still in school, and one of the topics you bonded over as you were slowly becoming closer.

You trod over to the bathroom, figuring you should take a shower in an attempt to clear your mind first of all - maybe you could magically find a way to wash off all the frustration the day has drenched you in. Either way, at least the warm water raining down on your skin has a calming effect on you, and so for a few minutes you merely stand there, doing nothing. You reach for the soap eventually, and as you’re cleaning yourself your thoughts slowly drift elsewhere.

Until you remember the conversation you had with Jongho about establishing a different kind of dynamic between you two. Your fingers dance up your body to your throat, and padding them onto your pulse reminds you of what it felt like to have his hand in this position instead. The thoughts of the project are quickly forgotten, yet your cells have not quite let go of the frustration yet - but that’s nothing a quick orgasm couldn’t take care of, right?

So you let your hands wander, allowing them to map out your own body wherever instinct leads them, and as your fingers find your core, you let out a long sigh. This feels like just what you need right now, so you don’t hold back, beginning to draw circles onto your sensitive bud. Feeling your limbs relax from the sensation, you lean your back against the wall, and eventually you reach out for the shower head, changing the setting to the highest pressure and letting it do the work for you.

You don’t think of much at all, simply enjoying the pleasure coursing through your body, until you can sense yourself coming closer to the edge, and you buck your hips up against the water jet.

“Fuck…” you whimper, as a scenario crosses your mind. “What if he finds out…” You gulp at the thought of Jongho figuring out you got off without him, in his apartment, and your mind begins to wander as you fantasize about all the ways in which he might punish you for it. Another curse escapes you through gritted teeth, and soon you feel your high crashing down on you, walls clenching around nothing as his name falls from your lips.

You step out of the shower feeling refreshed, purposely not changing back the setting of the shower head. You want him to catch you, want to know about all the things he would do to you that you haven’t seen him do before. Slipping into fresh clothes and wrapping a towel around your head to let your hair dry a bit before finishing the process with a blow dryer, you grin to yourself and you walk out into the living room. 

Your boyfriend comes home about half an hour later, just as you’re putting the blow dryer back to its original place in one of the cabinets in his bathroom. You suppress the excited grin that just won’t leave your lips, and instead greet him as per usual.

“You’re late,” you remark as you catch sight of the time displayed on your phone screen.

“Yeah, the subway was crowded. Should’ve taken the bus,” he mutters as he walks up to you, his hand patting your head in a gesture that’s supposed to say “I’m home.”

“Right, it’s starting to get bad at this time,” you continue your small talk.

“How did your meet-up go?”

“Don’t ask…” you brush it off quickly, hoping to ward off the stress creeping up to you again upon him mentioning it.

“That bad?” Jongho asks as he lets out a short laugh while he furrows his eyebrows, telling you he feels at least a little sorry for you.

“Yeah.” You roll your eyes. “And you? How was your day?”

“Don’t ask,” he answers, and now you’re the one chuckling. “I’ll go wash up real quick, and I think I’ll need some time to decompress afterwards.”

“Sure,” you mutter, before reaching up from where you’ve made yourself comfortable on the edge of the sofa, hand snaking behind his neck so you could pull him in for a quick peck on the lips. 

And so he disappears in the bathroom, you hear him turning on the water and you hear him turning it off again after a while, and with every passing second, the excitement for what’s to come is only growing. Except when he’s done, he simply informs you he’s going to game for a bit, and then he walks into his room. You’re confused to say the least, and a bit disappointed as well. This is not going according to the plan you had in mind, and you wonder if it’s just because he’s had a bad day or if maybe he just isn’t in the mood today. Trying to brush it off, you grab a book you started a while ago, staying out in the living room as you attempt to read a chapter or two, but somehow your mind just won’t let you focus on the story unfolding on the pages in front of you. So eventually you get up, deciding to sneakily follow him instead - you’re not sure why you’re being so secretive all of a sudden.

Your boyfriend is certainly good at reading the room, and it’s helped you leave behind your own awkwardness more than once. So today as well you decide to simply sit at the edge of his bed and watch him play his game, hoping for him to notice something’s off as you’re trying to find the right words to say. And without doubt, he doesn’t disappoint.

“What’s with you?” he asks in between rounds, his voice soft in contrast to the serious stance he tends to take on while playing his games. 

“Just…” you’re not sure how to start, how much to hint at what you want - you sure as hell aren’t thinking of just saying it straightforwardly, now that you’re beginning to feel a bit embarrassed about it.

“Hmm?” He drags out the sound a bit, then the image on his screen changes, and he adds, “Let me finish this and then we can talk?”

“Alright.” You’re suddenly more anxious than you would’ve expected yourself to be as you watch, fidgeting with the hem of your shirt the entire time. The time spent waiting for him to turn his attention to you feels like half an eternity, even though once he’s done you’re sure it can’t have been more than five minutes. He exits the game to the main menu, and as he takes off his headset, he turns to you in his chair.

“What is it?” You see worry on his face, and you immediately feel the need to let him know it’s nothing serious, really.

“Nothing bad!” you say. 

“That’s good,” Jongho answers, relief behind his words.

“Just… didn’t you… notice anything?” You rub your legs together as you avert your gaze from him, but even in the corner of your eye you can tell he’s thinking hard about your question now.

“Notice anything?” he repeats, and then suddenly his eyes narrow, and there’s an amused smile about to creep onto his lips. “Like what?” At this point you’d have sworn you could see the exact moment the dots connected in his head, so his question throws you off a little.

“Like… uhm… I showered earlier.”

“Good,” he chuckles, and you press yourself on to continue.

“And uh…. maybe got off…”

“Oh. That’s nice,” he replies, and once again you’re thrown off, this time by the way the tension in the room drops right away, and he’s now showing you a genuine smile. “Why are you telling me about that though? Want me to come watch next time?” He tries to throw in a joke, but the confusion radiating off you makes him think again, and well, now you’re sure he understands what you’re trying to get at, because he raises up his chin just a little, giving you that look that’s supposed to say “I found you out.”

“Were you maybe thinking I would punish you for that?” he assumes correctly, and you nod, heat rushing to your face now. 

“Yes…” Jongho laughs. It’s more of a giggle, actually, and the amusement in his expression only adds to your confusion. And then he becomes serious, though his features keep their softness.

“Look… I’m sorry to disappoint you but… I’m not going to do anything we haven’t discussed beforehand,” he explains, making sure to be clear about his thoughts. “My first impulse isn’t to punish you for masturbating. But if you want me to, we can talk about it.”

“O-okay,” you stammer, and once again there’s this endearing smile on his face, spreading from ear to ear. You know it’s meant to reassure you, but right now all you can focus on is the embarrassment burning in your chest from making such a severe miscalculation. This isn’t how things go in real life, of course it isn’t. You should know that, and yet-

“Hey,” he calls out to you, hand reaching for yours, giving you a squeeze to tear you out of your thoughts. “Let’s talk about it.” 

He’s also good at that - saying the right thing at the right moment. Or at least he tends to say the things you need to hear in moments like this, and once again you feel unmistakably that you’re safe with him, and that you’re in this together.

“Okay.”

“So…” letting go of your hand, he leans back in his chair, one leg crossed over the other, and you feel the dynamic shift ever so slightly as he won’t divert his eyes from you. “What kind of punishment were you thinking of?” You raise your eyebrows, and you begin to ponder on his question, but somehow your head is suddenly empty.

“I… don’t know…” you admit, and he grins at your words again.

“You didn’t think about what you want me to do to you now?”

“I mean… I did… but more… in a general sense,” you stammer.

“Like what?”

“Like… you fucking me…” And there it is again, that laugh that’s really more of a giggle than an actual laugh.

“You didn’t think about what comes before that?”

“Not… really?” you admit, and he clears his throat.

“Then how about I tell you what came to mind for me, and you tell me if that sounds okay to you?” You nod okay, and he continues, “So what I was thinking is that I could restrict you in some way… putting you in handcuffs maybe, or blindfolding you.”

“I don’t think I’m okay with the blindfolding,” you respond. “Handcuffs sounds… nice though.” 

“See? This is just why I didn’t want us to rush into this,” your partner says. “Because if we move too fast, misconceptions about what the other wants, or just about how this whole thing works are bound to go unnoticed.”

“You’re right,” you agree, being able to see where you went wrong with your assumptions clear as day now. “Then… let’s take it slow. Talk before we do stuff.” An awkward laugh escapes you as you’re speaking those words, because after all you were the one trying to rush into this, and now you can’t help but feel thankful that he stopped you just in time.

“So…” Jongho gets up from his chair, walking over to his closet and rummaging through one of the shelves, pulling out a dark red tie. “I think this is gonna look pretty on you. That okay?” You nod, merely watching as he walks over to you, and when he tells you to take off your clothes first of all, you don’t hesitate. Placing yourself on top of the bed, kneeling in the middle of it, he sits in front of you, and you hold out your hands for him to tie them together. “Not too tight?”

“No, it’s fine,” you answer, the soft texture of the fabric feeling quite good around your wrists, actually.

“I don’t have actual handcuffs, unfortunately…” he explains as he checks the knot one more time, and then he lifts one of his hands to run his fingers through your hair, eyeing you thoroughly. There’s a serious expression on his face now, he’s concentrated as he lets his fingertips brush against the side of your throat, but the way he allows for a smirk to creep onto his lips when you instinctively lean your head back to give him access tells you he’s very much having fun with this.

“You really like that, huh?” he mutters, wrapping his hand loosely around your throat, the warmth of his touch alone causing your heart to beat faster.

“Yeah…” you mouth, and to your disdain he moves on. His fingers draw imaginary trails down your body, moving slowly and deliberately, and his eyes follow their every move.

“So beautiful… too bad I’m gonna have to wreck you.” He speaks silently, and whether it’s because of the tone in his voice or his words you don’t know, but it’s giving you shivers all over and you gulp. His hand eventually finds its way to your side, snuggly fitting into the space between your waist and your arm, and he leans in to brush his lips against yours. It’s a short kiss, yet he lingers there for a few seconds before pulling back merely a few inches - the kind of kiss that’s meant to make you want more. “Want me to punish you, hm? Then, what if I push you a bit? Be a little less nice than usual and not give you everything you want right away.” You suck in a sharp breath at his words. “You’d like that?”

“Y-yeah,” you say, tension building up. You’re not sure what exactly he has planned, but you know he wouldn’t push you too far… right? He wraps the fingers of his free hand around your wrists, and as he brings them up above your head he pushes you back into the mattress, carefully, gently. And yet you don’t miss the dangerous glint in his eyes as he’s now gazing down on you, hovering above you as he pins you against the bed. Lowering his head, he makes you mewl as he buries his face in the crook of your neck, teeth grazing your skin as he scatters a few nips here and there.

“What’s your color, dear?”

“Green… very green,” you sigh, feeling his weight on top of your chest. 

“That’s good,” he speaks quietly as he comes back up, his face now being right in front of you and the tips of your noses touching for one short moment. You think he’s going to kiss you, but then he sits up instead, letting go of you to rid himself of his shirt. With every movement of his you can see the outlines of his muscles working underneath the skin, and the urge to touch him, to run your nails down his chest and his stomach, makes you bring your hands up. For a moment you forget that they’re tied together, and you frown at the restraint, and before you can do anything more, your boyfriend is quick to click his tongue at you as he reaches for your hands and pins them back down above your head.

“Wanna touch me so bad, hm?” he assumes correctly, and then he adds, moving closer to your ear, whispering sharply, “No touching unless I allow it.”

“O-okay,” you mutter. You can unmistakably feel the power he has over you now, both in the way you don’t have the strength to free yourself from his physical restraint, and in the way you feel yourself immediately submitting to his verbal restraint. 

“Stay like this,” he then says and you nod as he sits back up. This time he lets his palms run down your upper body once as he kneels on top of you, going over to dragging his nails down your skin once he reaches your hips and doing the exact thing you would’ve craved to do to him. But you obey, waiting patiently for his next move. “So pretty…” he mutters, his intense gaze burning on your skin, and after having his hands wandering all the way back up, he leans in to leave a trail of kisses down the valley of your breasts. And again there’s this urge to move your hands, to throw your arms around his shoulders as his lips are mapping out your features, but you can’t. You shouldn’t, and so you resist.

He kisses his way down your stomach, biting your flesh here and there without applying too much pressure, and the way he’s taking his time with it doesn’t help your case as you’re having an internal battle against your own impatience. Rubbing your thighs together as he’s hovering just above your core and he’s touching you everywhere but where you need him the most, you reach your breaking point.

“Jongho…” you call out his name. “Please.” He merely chuckles at your plea, not even looking up at you now.

“What?” His voice is low, quiet. Calmness radiates off of him, like he knows that he has all the time in the world for this.

“T-touch me please…” you mewl.

“Hmm,” he makes a noise as he appears to be thinking about your request. “But do you deserve that?” You let out a whine at his question, and you frown when he crawls all the way back up, only to press a teasing kiss to your lips. “Do you deserve my touch when clearly you decided that you can also just do the job yourself?” He moves up further, his lips brushing against your wrists just below where he tied them together, and then against the knuckles on your fingers. “Can’t get yourself off now, can you?” He places his hand over yours, pushing your wrists into the fluffy blanket as if to put an emphasis on his words. 

“Please…” you start another attempt at getting him to do what you want, but he merely sends you a smirk. 

“You’re choosing the shower head over me and now you think I’ll give you what you want so easily? That’s naive.” You frown, and you pout up at him, and for a second his features soften, before he moves his hand from your wrists to your chin, tilting it up slightly. Then he places a kiss onto your jaw, and he asks, “Color?”

“Green…” You idiot - you add in your mind, and when he comes back up to get a good look at your face, you can undeniably see the amusement on his face.

“Didn’t think you’d like being treated like this so much,” Jongho comments, and then he lets his hand wander from your chin down to your lower stomach. “Really makes me want to do this all day.” Fuck. You gulp at his words, thighs pressing together just as he slips a finger in between, dragging it up your folds once, and you don’t expect a singular touch to affect you this much, but you find yourself arching your back as you moan in response anyway.

“Relax,” he says, tapping your thigh once, and you do, spreading your legs apart just a little to give him better access. He doesn’t hesitate to make use of that, watching for even the tiniest of reactions as he gathers your juices on his fingertip, moving it back up and making you whimper as he begins drawing circles onto your clit. You buck your hips into his hand once, causing him to sit up so he could use his other hand to press them back down, immobilizing you. “So needy…” he breathes as he continues on, watching you, and granting you a few teasing touches to your wet pussy. He slips a finger inside, drawing another moan from your lips, and when he adds a second one, pumping them in and out of you at an unhurried pace, you think you could cum on the spot. And he notices the way he’s affecting you, because now he asks you with a cocky smirk on his face that bodes no good whatsoever,

“You like that?” You nod, whimpering, and when he pulls out, the feeling of deprivation that overcomes you makes you whine with anger - though you don’t sound nearly as angry as you would’ve liked. “Too bad.”

“Keep going, please…!” you try to beg, and it seems to strike something deep within him, because now he raises his eyebrows at you, listening intently.

“What was that?”

“K-keep going… please… please…” you add, the desperation in your voice being obvious. “Don’t stop now… w-wanna cum on your fingers…”

“I’m sure you do, dear,” he whispers, leaning in to place a soothing kiss onto your tummy, but it just makes you more furious.

“Please!” you cry out, balancing on the edge between pleasure and frustration, and you know that you wouldn’t want him to push you any further. For a second you wonder whether you should tell him, ask him to go easier on you even though you were the one who wanted him to punish you so badly. But he seems to notice your inner conflict, and his smirk softens into a benevolent smile as he brushes his lips against the inside of your thigh now.

“Is that where the line is?” he asks, and you hesitantly nod. He comes up to comb his fingers through your hair, brushing away a strand that’s sticking to your forehead. “Then let’s not take it any further than this, okay?”

“Yeah.” He cups your face with his hand, thumb brushing against your lips, and he questions,

“What do you want me to do, love?”

“Fuck me… please…” you say with furrowed brows, and he chuckles at the sight in front of him. Caressing your cheek as he slowly takes his hand away in order to rid himself of the remainder of his clothes, he retorts,

“I can’t believe someone could say something so dirty with such an innocent expression on their face.” And now that you’re becoming aware of what you must look like right now, you find it funny too, and you let out a short laugh.

Your boyfriend places himself on top of you, one hand wrapping around his length in order to give himself a few strokes until he’s fully hard, while he has the other placed next to your head to support his weight on top of it. “Wanna hold onto me? Or…” You shake your head. “Want me to pin you down?” Adrenaline rushes through your veins, making you tingle all over from the thought of it, and you nod. Again, he seems amused by your reaction. “After all that you still want me to manhandle you, huh?” Him saying it out loud fills you with bashfulness all of a sudden, and still you feel the need to confirm that he’s right.

“Yes… please,” you mutter. He positions himself in between your legs, aligning himself with your core.

“You good?” he asks, and when you give him the okay he pushes into you. 

“Fuck…” The feeling of having him finally filling you up makes you hiss a curse as you’re throwing your head back from the overwhelming satisfaction. Jongho reaches for your wrists, pinning you down just like you had asked, and he leans in, his nose brushing against the skin right in front of your ear.

“Can you do me a favour, then?”

“Wh-what?” you stutter, impatience building up inside you again.

“I want to hear you beg for me again… can you do that?” You whine as he rolls his hips into yours once, and without hesitation you grant his wish.

“Please… please fuck me…”

“Mhm… that’s right…” he mutters, and from the way his voice changes as he begins slowly thrusting into you, you can tell he too has been exerting himself holding back from touching you properly more than you thought. 

“Please… feels so good… b-baby please…” you keep going, your moans turning into mere whimpers when he reaches down between your bodies in order to tend to your clit. “F-fuck… w-wanna cum on your cock… wanna cum so bad…!” you whine, racing towards your high at lightning speed. 

“Shit, you’re perfect,” he utters, his hips beginning to stutter, and the groans falling from his lips becoming more frequent. “So fucking perfect.”

You cry out when your high comes crashing down on you, hands formed into fists and your nails digging into your palms. Once again you try to instinctively throw your arms around your boyfriend’s shoulders, and when you meet resistance as he’s still pinning you against the bed, your mind is flooded with that much more pleasure. He cums with a broken moan as you’re beginning to come down from your high, whining from the overstimulation as you let him thrust into you a few more times, and then he collapses on top of you.

Both panting, he lets go of your wrists and you immediately bring your arms up to put them around his frame, and this time he lets you. Eventually, after catching his breath, he rolls over onto his back, sitting up and undoing your restraints.

“You feeling okay?” You nod at his question, your eyelids too heavy to open, but you smile at him.

“More than,” you mutter, and when he lies back down beside you, you snuggle up close to him. Reaching for your hands, he holds onto one of them, thumb rubbing circles against your wrist, and when you look up you find worry in his eyes. “I really am okay, baby,” you whisper one more time, and he instinctively brings your hand that he’s holding onto in closer to his chest.

“Okay…” he just says, trusting your words, and you send him a sweet smile. Freeing your hand from his grasp, you bring it up to his head, fingers combing through his hair.

“Thank you…” you say, slurring your words a bit as the blissful afterglow of your high lingers in your mind. Your boyfriend lets out a sigh, eyelids fluttering shut at the sensation of you massaging his scalp. “For being careful. And for taking care of me so well.” And now there’s this smile creeping onto his lips. It’s barely noticeable, and yet you can tell how your words are affecting him. And in the next second he throws his arm around you, catching you by surprise as he pulls you on top of himself and engulfs you in a tight hug. He says nothing, you know that sometimes it’s hard for him to speak his mind in moments like these, but by now you know him well enough to know what he’s trying to convey with his actions. You giggle at the way he presses a kiss to the side of your face before having you rest your head atop his chest, loosening his embrace a bit to allow you to lie down comfortably. You too snake one arm around his waist, and with your heart swelling with your love for him that seems to know no end, you bury your smile in the crook of his neck.

[heyimdove]

Things of Note at @neil-gaiman ‘s NJPAC talk:

1. Do you people understand that he switches into accents when he reads? Do you people know he does a perfect Michael Sheen impression? did you know it’s also hot

2. He used to cold call publishers/mags to see if they’d publish his work. He’d lie when asked what other magazines he wrote for; they’d think he was more legitimate and would, therefore, be more likely to take him on themselves. “You couldn’t get away with that now” thanks to Google. Also, back then, “we had telephones and we used them,” but today’s publishers would not easily recover if you unexpectedly called them on the phone.

3. It was a personal point of pride for Neil to write for each of the magazines he’d claimed to have written for. He said “I didn’t lie. I was chronologically challenged.”

4. Neil made a deliberate effort to not be boxed in by publishers. He’d interviewed many authors who were unhappily boxed and did everything he could to avoid it, including declining big contracts from prestigious publishers (notably after American Gods). This is why he can write what he likes now. Comics writing spoiled him in this regard, as publishers mistook the medium for a genre, and therefore didn’t care what he wrote (so he wrote all the genres he wanted to in Sandman).

5. He hates Thomas Hardy thanks to being introduced to him in school. Regarding being forced to read Tess of the D’urbervilles, he said “I wouldn’t do that to a dog”. He hopes students, who might have liked him if they found him on their own, don’t encounter his work in school and hate him for it.

6. “The evil characters (you write) don’t possess you, you try to find the little bit of you in them….the little bit of you that is gloriously evil.”

7. “I touched the magic and passed it along” this was a line from Watching from the Shadows that especially moved me.

8. Terry was increasingly upset as the bidding on Good Omens increased (eventually reaching 150,000 - can’t remember if he said $ or £). For his part, when the book finally sold, Neil put on Iggy Pop’s Success and danced.

9. Anansi Boys should be out on Prime by the end of 2024!

10. Described Sandalphon as someone you want to “hit with a large oar”. (The woman next to me, who was extremely stingy with her applause, hooted like an owl at this and clapped til the last).

11. Pronounces Amazon as “Ama-zin” and Los Angeles as “Los Angelese”. This isn’t noteworthy, but I liked it enough to write it down.

12. “Being on a beach in bare feet” was the line that led Neil to realize David Tennant would be perfect for Crowley.

13. He is pictured on the ALA’s poster holding Wind in the Willows because, as a child, “it messed up my head.” He said he is “in love” with a chapter in the middle called The Piper at the Gates of Dawn where the characters meet Pan. It’s often left out of printings, which makes him sad because it is “strange, beautiful, luminous”.

14. TOATEOTL was originally planned to go to Broadway. Then, Covid. They did a “world tour” instead. Now that it’s wrapped, talks about Broadway are happening. He says all of adaptations of his work, this is his favorite.

15. “Disney’s Aladdin plays four times a day in Hell”

16. His favorite question of the night was “WHY did you think of the Other Mother?” He was tickled by the word choice of “why”

17. Asked the library in Sussex “What have you got in the way of really good horror for four year olds?” Obviously none existed so he wrote Coraline.

18. Talked about going viral for being in a falafel, seemed to marvel at the progression of the meme’s meaning.

19. “Tumblr is its own madness”

20. “Stephen King has fabulous stories about meeting fans in toilets, including being passed a book under the stall”

21. Read “The Day the Saucers Came” which I misheard initially as Sauces. Saucers is definitely better.

22. “You want to see me doing Dickens?” I laughed inappropriately at this. I was the only one.

23. I don’t want to say what pieces he read because I want you to buy tickets to his events. But it was very nice to be read to by Neil Gaiman.

It’s very worth it to go. I flew out from San Diego for this and would do it again in a heartbeat!

[sebstanaddict]

A Winter Miracle Part 1 : Flight of Frenzy

Sebastian Stan x Reader One Shot

Summary :

When Sebastian Stan finally finished shooting Thunderbolts in Atlanta, all he wanted was to go back to New York to his home and family where his daughter and pregnant wife was waiting. But one event led to another and he found himself being in a flight of frenzy. Will he successfully get home?

A/N : This story is a little continuation of my Sebastian Stan story titled Love Song. It can be read on its own but if you want to understand more about Sebastian and reader's relationship, you can read their story first starting with the one titled Always You and then continue with Love Song.

Hope you enjoy this and please vote and comment. I will really appreciate it. Thank you!

Warning : references and mentions of death, plane accidents, plane emergencies, some violence and injury descriptions

Word count : 11.2k

Additional notes:

- The events in this story are based on true stories, believe it or not. Can you guess which one(s) are true? 🤭

- I have never been to Atlanta so apologies if the depiction of the airport is not accurate.

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Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, USA - Friday, Jan 19th 2024 - 5.30 am

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The sound of tires screeching to a halt broke through the quiet morning at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. A taxi pulled up at the curb right in front of the Departure Terminal. Sounds of a car door opening and closing could be heard and a pair of feet wearing white sneakers took off towards the Terminal's entrance.

Late! Sebastian couldn't believe that he was late! His flight was leaving in an hour and he was supposed to have already checked in at least half an hour ago. He was never late for a flight ever in his life. But yesterday's shoot was so grueling that once he got into his rented apartment at 1 am last night he immediately fell asleep. He woke up at 4 in the morning and tried his best to be like The Flash as he packed his suitcase, took a quick shower and immediately went straight to the airport.

Yesterday was the last day of his shoot for Thunderbolts. It wasn't supposed to be. Today was supposed to be the last day. But he had bargained with Jake Schreier, the director, to make yesterday as the last day because he needed to come to his best friend's wedding this weekend. Which was why the shoot ended up taking so long.

Chad Crawley, one of his best friends since he was in college, was finally getting married. He was getting married to, surprisingly, his wedding planner, Madeline Rowles. Apparently they hit it off during Sebastian's wedding and after only six months of dating, Chad popped the question. Their wedding was going to be held the next day, on Saturday, January 20th, at a mountain resort in The Catskills, about three hours away from New York City. The wedding festivities were going to start that Friday afternoon, and being one of Chad's best men, Sebastian was of course supposed to attend it from the beginning. Which was why he needed to get back to New York City as soon as possible.

He had booked the earliest flight out of Atlanta to New York in the hopes that he still had time to pick up his family from his Soho apartment and then go with them to Chad's wedding. If everything went smoothly, by 10 am that morning he would have arrived at his apartment, and they could go to Plattekill Wedding Venue in the Catskills Mountain and make it in time to attend Chad's welcome party and rehearsal dinner that night.

He quickly went into the Departure area and stopped in front of one of the self check-in kiosks. He entered his booking number into the screen and waited as the system checked him in. He was expecting the kiosk to print out his boarding pass but instead the screen showed words he did not expect.

"We are sorry but you have been denied boarding. Please contact our staff at the check-in counter for further information."

"What the h**l?!" He cursed as he digested the text on the screen.

Great! Just as he was in a hurry, the last thing he expected to happen, happened. He was bumped from his flight!

It was common practice for airlines to overbook or oversell seats on a flight because up to 15% of seats could end up empty due to passengers not showing up. So to maximize profit, they sell more seats on a flight than they have. More often than not, all passengers who have bought tickets showed up, which meant there were more passengers than seats available. To overcome this situation, airlines usually ask passengers to volunteer to give up their seat in exchange for compensation whether it be in the form of cash, travel vouchers, etc. And the airline will also book another flight for the passenger to take, whether from the same airline or not, to make sure the passenger still gets to their destination. If no one volunteers, the airline will usually force someone to give up their seat. And that was exactly what happened to him that morning.

He left the self check-in kiosk and immediately went to the nearest available check-in counter. 

"Good morning, how can I help you, sir?" The male airline staff greeted him from behind the counter.

"Yeah, I tried to check-in for my flight but I was denied boarding." He explained.

"Oh, I apologize for that, sir. May I see your ticket or your booking number, please?" He asked.

Sebastian showed his booking number and the staff entered it into the system. After several moments he looked up from the screen and gave him an apologetic smile.

"I'm really sorry, sir, it seems that you have been denied boarding because we have overbooked our flight. We can book you on the next available flight." 

"Oh great. Can't you bump someone else? I really need to get to New York as soon as possible. My best friend is getting married. And I can't be late for that." He pleaded.

"Oh I'm sorry, sir. When is your best friend's wedding going to be held? If you don't mind me asking?" The staff asked.

"Well.. the wedding will be held tomorrow. But the rehearsal dinner is tonight and it takes place three hours out of NYC, by car. So I need time to get there." He explained.

"Well, let me see what I can do. Please hold on for a moment." The staff said and Sebastian nodded as the staff left him to talk to another, older staff, several feet away.

He sighed as he glanced at his watch. His plane leaves in less than an hour! He needed to do something. 

He pulled out his cellphone as an idea suddenly struck him. He put his cellphone on his ear and pretended to be on a phone call.

"Honey? What?! You're having contractions?!" He said out loud, causing some people to glance his way, including, as he had hoped, the staff that was talking to him.

"Please hold on, honey. I'm trying my best to get on the plane but they wouldn't let me! I got bumped!" He deliberately yelled out loud.

The staff along with the other staff he was talking to stopped talking and walked towards him.

"I know honey, I know it hurts, I'm sorry I can't be there yet. I'm trying my best, okay? Hang in there, sweetheart." He continued his charade as the two airline staff stopped in front of him.

"Excuse me, sir." The other staff said and he put his hand up to make him wait.

"I have to go, honey. Why don't you call Edward. He can take you to the hospital. I'll be there as soon as I can. Okay? I love you." He said and he pretended to hang up.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" The staff asked, concern clearly shown on his face.

"Yeah.. my.. my wife. She's in labor! I mean.. the baby isn't due until a couple of weeks from now but she said she's having contractions already! I really need to be there!" He pleaded, panic in his voice.

"I'm really sorry, sir. But since you were the last one to check-in, we had to give your seat to someone else. But, don't worry, we can book the next flight to New York for you. Free of charge." The older staff said.

He sighed. He thought his little act would work. He wasn't as good an actor as he thought, apparently. 

"Well, when will the next available flight leave?" He asked.

"Let me see." The older staff said as he turned to look at the computer screen and started typing into the system.

"There's usually one flight to New York every two hours but unfortunately today half of the fleet serving Atlanta to New York are all under maintenance so there are only three flights today. The next one will leave at 2.30 pm." The staff said, shooting him an apologetic look.

"Oh that's way too late! Isn't there anything earlier than that?" He asked as he felt his heart sink into his stomach.

If he took the 2.30 pm flight, he would arrive in NYC at around 5 pm and the fastest he could leave to The Catskills would be 6 pm. He would be late for the rehearsal dinner. He couldn't take that flight.

"Please hold on, sir and let me check other airlines." The staff said.

"Okay." He nodded as hope started to appear in his heart.

"There's a 10 am flight with Southwest and 12 pm flight with Jet Blue." The staff finally said after a while.

"Nothing earlier than that?" He asked.

"Unfortunately, the 10 am flight with Southwest is the earliest available flight, sir. All the others are fully booked." The staff responded.

He sighed as he made some mental calculations. If he left at 10 am, he would arrive in NYC at around 1 pm and he could leave for The Catskills as early as 2 pm. He would be at the wedding venue around 5 in the afternoon. The welcome party starts at 5 then followed with the rehearsal dinner. He would make it on time but he just wouldn't have time to rest after arriving at his apartment. He felt exhausted and was wishing he could rest a little before driving to The Catskills. He needed to get on his original flight.

"My wife is in labor. I need to be on this flight! What if I miss the birth of my baby because I took a later flight. Please, let me get on this flight. I'm sure you can find another volunteer to give up their seat." He begged and lied again.

"Well.." the older staff hesitated.

"Please.. I'll even pitch in for compensation. How much were you going to give me? I mean. We are entitled for compensation if we're bumped. Right?" He asked.

"Well. You don't need to do that, sir. It's our responsibility to give compensation. Especially monetary compensation." The older staff said.

"Well I can give non monetary compensation. I mean. You do know who I am? Right?" He asked, winking at the staff who just stared at him in confusion. 

He usually didn't like to play the celebrity card, but at times it could be useful. And he really hoped it would be useful too at this time.

The younger staff whispered something in the older staff's ear and he nodded.

"Ah, of course. We know who you are, Mr.Stan. What exactly do you have in mind as non monetary compensation?" The staff asked curiously.

"Well, I can give an autograph and a selfie, I'll also add in a ticket to Thunderbolts premiere. I'm sure someone would want that." He said, winking again.

The staff looked at each other then the older staff nodded.

"Very well, sir. We'll contact the staff at the gate and let them know. Hopefully someone would want to give up their seat. Please wait." The older staff said and he nodded.

The older staff went away from him and started talking to his communicator. He glanced at his watch and it was already 5.45 am! The plane would start boarding soon and he really needed to get to the gate if he wanted to be on the flight. He tapped his foot impatiently and glanced at his watch every so often. 

Finally, after about five minutes, the older man walked back towards him and smiled.

"We have good news and bad news, sir. One of the passengers is willing to give up his seat to you." The older staff said.

"Oh! That's great! And what is the bad news?" He asked.

"Unfortunately, because of bad weather, your flight will be delayed for about two hours. So it will leave at 8.30 am." The staff continued.

He sighed. Well, he could still make it on time to Chad's wedding if he left Atlanta at 8.30 even if the rest time he would get would be shorter.

"Okay, that's fine. So, what next?" He asked.

"We'll check you in and you can make your way to the gate. The passenger that has given his seat up to you will meet you there and you can give him your autograph and take a selfie with him there. About the tickets to the premiere, I believe you can arrange it with him directly." The staff said and he nodded.

"Alright, let me check you in, sir. Do you have checked baggage?" The staff asked.

"No, just a backpack and a small suitcase that I'll take to the cabin." He said, pointing to the small suitcase near his foot.

"Alright, sir. Please kindly wait while I check you in." The staff said.

"Okay." He nodded then pulled out his cellphone again and started to text his wife, Y/n. He really wasn't lying about Y/n being pregnant. She was pregnant with their second child and her pregnancy was at 36 weeks. The baby wasn't due for another four weeks but there were possibilities that it could arrive earlier than that. So he really wasn't lying about that. However, he wouldn't want her to start going into labor while he was still away either. He hoped his little act earlier didn't come true.

"Hi sweetheart, I'm sorry. I'm at the airport and I got bumped from the flight because I was the last to check-in. I negotiated with them and managed to get on the flight but it got delayed for two hours because of bad weather. So I'll be arriving late. I'm sorry."

He texted his wife.

He didn't expect a reply so soon but his wife replied moments later.

"Hi Iubirea mea. Oh, okay. That's fine. We can still make it to Chad's rehearsal dinner. Maybe we can hire a car and a chauffeur instead of you driving? Because you wouldn't have time to rest before we go."

"It's okay honey, I can rest on the plane and I have a couple of hours to kill here at the airport. I'll drive us there. Don't worry. By the way, how are you, Starlene and little bean?"

"Okay. If you're certain about it. Make sure you really get some rest. I'm sure you're still exhausted after last night.

Anyway, we're all fine. We miss you."

"Thanks honey. I am exhausted, but it's gonna be fine. And I miss all of you too!

By the way, have you felt any Braxton-hicks contractions so far?"

"No, not a single contraction. Little bean is still very comfortable in my tummy 😆"

"Okay, that's good. Well, give Starlene and little bean my love and kisses. I'll be there soon. Love you, sweetheart."

"Okay. We love you too, Iubirea mea. Let me know once you're about to board the plane."

"Okay. Will do. Bye sweetheart."

"Bye, Iubirea mea."

He switched his phone screen off and put it back in his pants' pocket. He looked up just as the older staff had finished printing his boarding pass.

"Alright, sir. We have checked you in. Here is your boarding pass. Boarding will be at gate A10. You can take the Plane Train to get there right after the security checkpoint. Please make sure you go straight to the gate after this because the person that gave his seat up for you is waiting." The staff explained.

"Alright. Got it. Thank you so much." He said as he extended his hand and shook the staff's hand.

"You're welcome, sir. Have a safe and enjoyable flight. And we hope you can still make it to your baby's birth." The staff said, smiling at him.

"Thank you." He smiled back and turned around.

Well, what an interesting way to start the day. He thought as he made quick strides towards the security checkpoint. He wondered who was the person that was willing to give up his seat for him. His fan or more of a Marvel fan. In any case he hoped the rest of his journey back to New York would go smoothly. He was tired and he just wanted to get home and meet his family. 

However, luck was not on his side that day. He made it through the security checkpoint with no problem. But when he arrived underground and wanted to board the Plane Train, he found out the Plane Train was not working. There were supposed to be eleven trains working everyday connecting all of the Terminals and Concourses at the airport, but all of them were not working for whatever reason. 

He looked up at the digital signage showing flight statuses and saw multiple flights were being delayed right before his eyes. 

"Tell me you have some good news about the system malfunction. We can't possibly delay every flight today because the Plane Train isn't working!" A man wearing Atlanta Airport vest who was talking to his communicator walked past him.

Well, well, well.. his flight wasn't the only one being delayed. What were the odds of that happening the same day he got bumped from his flight and the same day his flight got delayed because of bad weather? He pondered internally. He hoped those were the only bad luck he had to endure that day. He remembered his honeymoon and all the crazy stuff that happened during the time and wishing hard something like that wouldn't happen to him again. Even though he had started to feel a strange feeling about it.

He sighed as he started to trudge towards the gate through the pedestrian walkway which was running right alongside the Plane Train track.

It took him fifteen minutes to reach his gate whereas with the Plane Train it could've taken him only two minutes. Oh well. Consider it a morning walk. He shrugged as he walked towards the counter near the gate.

The female airline staff who was standing behind the counter immediately recognized him and blushed upon seeing him. 

"Good morning Mr.Stan." the female staff said and smiled shyly at him.

"Good morning. I'm here to meet the person who was willing to give up his seat for me." He said and smiled back at the staff, making the staff blushed even harder.

"Oh yes. Please wait a moment." The staff said and he nodded.

"Mr.Winklevoss, Mr.Winklevoss, passenger of Delta 228 to New York, please report to the counter near gate A10. Thank you." The staff announced through the speaker.

Moments later a big man with grey hair and beard approached him, looking like he could murder him with just a look. He definitely wasn't the type of fans he usually met.

"Hello there." Sebastian smiled and extended his hand to Mr.Winklevoss.

"Hi there." Mr.Winklevoss shook his hand firmly and gave him a small smile.

"Thank you for giving up your seat for me. I really appreciate it." He said.

"Oh it's no problem. The money they offered was quite a lot. I couldn't say no." He shrugged.

It wasn't exactly the answer Sebastian expected.

"Oh.. yeah. I'm sure they offered you a lot of money. Did they also tell you about my offer?" He asked as he started to feel rather suspicious that the man wasn't a fan of his.

"Yeah they did. No offense, I had no idea who you were at first until this lady here told me." He said, beckoning towards the female airline staff who was staring at him with love in her eyes. She blushed as Sebastian glanced at her and immediately looked down, pretending to type something into the computer in front of her.

"But the ticket to Thunderbolts premiere sounded like something I could sell. And of course, your autograph too." Mr.Winklevoss said and he felt rather disappointed at that. He wasn't as famous as he thought he was. 

"Oh, right. Well, what would you like me to sign?" He asked with a heavy heart. He really would rather give his autograph to his real fans but he owed this man, he needed to keep his word.

"Umm.. well.. I don't have any memorabilia or anything. So, maybe my boarding pass would do. My old boarding pass I mean." Mr.Winklevoss said.

"Okay, sure." Sebastian nodded.

Mr.Winklevoss handed him his boarding pass.

"Umm.. do you have a pen?" Sebastian turned to the airline staff again and she nodded while still blushing hard, making him smile. She seemed like a fan. Maybe he could also give her something to make her happy, he thought.

"There you go Mr.Stan." the staff said and gave him a pen.

"Thanks." He winked at her and the staff looked like she was about to faint. 

He laughed internally as he signed the man's boarding pass.

"There you go." He said, giving the boarding pass back to the man.

"Thanks." The man said brightly.

"Okay. So. Do you still want to take a selfie, or..?" He hesitated as he gave the pen back to the staff.

"Yeah, sure! It will be proof that I actually met you." Mr.Winklevoss said as he put his boarding pass into his bag and pulled out his cellphone.

"Okay." He nodded.

"I can help you take the picture if you want." The airline staff, who, thankfully, did not really faint, said.

"Oh yeah.. that's a great idea!" Mr.Winklevoss said in delight. He handed his cellphone to the staff and stepped back then stood close to him.

"Ready? One.. two.. three.." the staff said.

He smiled as the staff took several pictures of them.

"Do you want a picture too?" Sebastian offered to the staff after they were done and she returned Mr.Winklevoss' cellphone. The staff's eyes widened and she blushed yet again.

"I.. umm.. if you don't mind." She stammered.

"Of course I don't mind." He winked again at the staff and her face got even redder.

"Here, let me take the picture for you." Mr.Winklevoss offered after putting his cellphone back in his pocket.

The staff gave her cellphone to Mr.Winklevoss with trembling hands that he started to feel sorry for her.

"Hey, don't be nervous. It's just me." He smiled at the staff and the staff smiled shyly back at him.

"Come, get out of the counter and stand next to me." Sebastian said, extending his hand to her.

He guided her to get out of the counter and she stood next to him. He placed his hand on her shoulder as Mr.Winklevoss took several pictures of them.

"Thank you so much." She gushed after they were finished.

"No problem." He smiled at her and she looked like she was about to faint again as she walked back behind the counter.

"So, about the premiere tickets?" Mr.Winklevoss asked.

"Oh yeah. Could I have your phone number? Someone will be in touch with you for that. And considering the movie hasn't even finished filming yet, I'm sorry to say that it will be a while before you hear anything from us." He explained.

"Yeah sure. That's not a problem." Mr.Winklevoss responded then gave him his phone number.

"Thank you again for willing to give up your seat for me Mr.Winklevoss." He said after saving Mr.Winklevoss' number in his cellphone.

"Oh, no problem! Thank you for the autograph, picture and premiere ticket." Mr.Winklevoss replied.

"You're welcome Mr.Winklevoss." He smiled and Mr.Winklevoss finally left, leaving him with the staff that was a fan of his.

"So, my colleague said your wife is in labor?" The staff asked.

"Oh.. well, she's pregnant but she's not in labor yet although she's at 36 weeks and the baby really could come at.. any.. time.." He said slowly as he realized what he just said. He completely forgot about his lie! 

The staff's eyes widened as she listened to him and he realized he was in trouble. 

"So, your wife is not in labor?" The staff asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Oh shoot.. I forgot about that." He said sheepishly.

He leaned over to her and whispered "Please keep this as a secret. But.. no, my wife is not in labor. I had to lie about it because I really need to get on this flight." 

"Oh.. yeah, of course. I won't tell a soul." The staff said as she made some movement in front of her mouth, gesturing as if she zipped her mouth close.

"Thank you. I knew you'd understand.. Daisy." He leaned back and glanced at the name tag on her chest then reached out and patted her hand, making her blush yet again.

"Anyway, as a thank you for keeping my secret, I could give you my autograph if you want. And umm.. tickets to Thunderbolts premiere too. What do you think?" He asked, smiling at her again.

"Are you serious?" She asked, her eyes widened.

"Yeah, of course!" He smiled. He realized that he had to give up two Thunderbolts premiere tickets that were allotted to him, which meant he had to make the decision to not invite two of his family members or friends to the premiere. But maybe he could persuade Marvel to give him more tickets. Surely he could negotiate with them. He tried to convince himself.

"That would be fantastic! Thank you so much, Mr.Stan!" The staff said enthusiastically.

"No problem. And please.. just call me Sebastian. So.. where would you like me to sign?" He asked.

"Okay! Umm.. do you mind signing my.. umm.. the back of my neck?" She asked, her face flustered yet again.

"Oh! That's an unusual place for a signature. Are you sure you want it there?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"Y..yeah.. I'm going to have it tattooed. Kind of like the fake tattoo you have for Monday. Do you remember?" She explained.

"Oh yeah.. of course I remember. Well then, I better make it small but artistic." He said, remembering the fake tattoo that said '(Re)Made in Greece' that he had for the movie Monday.

"You can make it big or small, it's up to you." She smiled.

"Okay. Once again, are you sure about this?" He asked.

"Yes!" She said with no hesitation.

"Alright. It's a rather hard place for me to sign though without causing some raised eyebrows. Maybe we should go somewhere more private." He suggested.

"Yeah, you're right.. but there really is nowhere private around here." She said as she looked around.

He looked around as well and noticed no one was looking at them. Most people were either looking at their cellphones or sleeping. 

"Maybe we can just duck under the counter quickly. No one is really looking." He suggested.

"That's a good idea." She said.

So he quickly went behind the counter and once they were both sure no one was looking at them, they both ducked and squatted in front of each other.

"This is kind of weird." He laughed and she laughed too.

"So, do you have a pen?" He asked and she gave one to him.

"Okay. Let's do this." He said and she laughed as she turned around and exposed her neck to him. 

Thankfully her hair was already styled up into a bun so he didn't have any trouble accessing the back of her neck.

He slowly signed her neck with a small version of his signature and paused, his hand hovered above her neck.

"Do you want me to add like.. more designs on it or something? Or would my signature be enough?" He asked.

"It's up to you Sebastian." She responded.

"Okay, I'll just add my name in small letters. You can add additional designs later on if you want." He said.

"Sure." She replied.

"Alright, that should do it." He said moments later after he finished writing his name on the staff's neck.

"Thank you so much Sebastian." She said as she started to stand up and he followed suit.

"Jesus! You scared me!" A startled male voice was suddenly heard. His heart seemed to jump out of his chest when he finally stood up. A man in Delta uniform stood in front of them, his mouth agape.

"Mr.Michaels! We're.. we're really sorry. We.. we didn't mean to scare you." Daisy said, her face turned into the reddest shade so far.

"Daisy.. what were you doing?!" Mr.Michaels asked, his eyebrows raised as he looked at them both with a judging stare.

"I.. we.. we were.. " Daisy stammered.

"I'm sorry, I was helping to check out an error on the computer. The keyboard wasn't working. She asked me to help her check it out." Sebastian quickly improvised.

Mr.Michaels didn't say anything but his eyes slowly showed recognition.

"Have I seen you somewhere before?" He asked.

"Well.. maybe.. if you've seen a Marvel movie, you might have seen me." Sebastian chuckled.

"Oh! Wait! You're that guy! The brainwashed assassin guy. Right? The one who killed Tony Starks' parents!" Mr.Michaels said enthusiastically.

"Yeah." Sebastian nodded but his face fell. The third Captain America movie was not his last Marvel movie and yet this man only knew him from that movie as Tony Starks' parents' killer. He didn't know if he should laugh or cry about it.

"Awesome! Do you mind if we take a picture?" Mr.Michaels asked.

"Oh no, of course not." He smiled and he ended up taking pictures and chatting with Mr.Michaels and two other Delta airline staff. 

After half an hour he was finally left alone but not after he got Daisy's number so he could contact her regarding the Thunderbolts premiere ticket. Additionally it was through them that he knew the flight wasn't delayed because of bad weather but because there was some problem with the plane's engine. But they didn't want to alarm the passengers so they told everyone the delay was because of bad weather. He had voiced his concern about it to them but they reassured him that the problem was minor and would not cause anything dangerous to happen. He really hoped that was the case. He couldn't imagine if he ended up dying in an airplane crash. What would happen to Y/n and his kids? He wouldn't want to miss seeing his kids grow up. 

After he finished chatting with the Delta staff, he looked around to find somewhere to sit. It was 7 am and he still had about an hour to kill before he could board the plane, and that's if the engine problem was already resolved. Otherwise his flight might get delayed again. 

All the seats near the gate were occupied so he ended up finding an empty seat further away from the gate but near the restroom. He found an empty seat next to a little girl of about 9 years old who sat next to a man. The girl had long brunette hair pulled up into a ponytail and the man was bald and had a mustache. They both looked up at him as he approached. 

"Hi. Sorry, is this seat taken?" He asked, smiling at them.

"No, go ahead." The man said.

"Thank you." He sat down, turned to them and smiled again. The little girl smiled shyly back at him while the man just gave him a small smile.

"So, where are you guys going? If you don't mind me asking?" He asked.

"New York." The man answered.

"Oh, same here." He smiled.

"Oh, good." The man responded and nodded.

For a moment they didn't say anything as an uncomfortable silence hung between them.

"So, this morning has been crazy hasn't it?" He said, breaking the silence.

"Umm.. What do you mean?" The man asked.

"I mean.. our flight got delayed and then minutes later the Plane Train didn't work causing more delays." He explained.

"Oh.. yeah.. we were lucky. We managed to still take the Plane Train." The man said and Sebastian nodded.

"Lucky you. I had to walk here." He chuckled. "Not that I'm complaining. I'm used to walking a lot. But, I'm just exhausted this morning." He said, unsure why he had become talkative all of a sudden.

"I see." The man said as he started to get up. "I'm going to go and find something to eat. Do you want something?" The man looked at the little girl and the girl just nodded.

"Okay, come." The man said and pulled the girl's arm up, forcing her to stand up.

"See you guys later, nice talking to you." Sebastian said as the man started to walk away while dragging the girl with him.

"Yeah. You too." The man said and nodded at him then turned his back to him.

He sighed as he watched the pair of them walk away from him. He had a weird feeling as he stared at them. The way the man held the girl's arm was weird. And, strangely enough, they didn't have bags with them at all. As if they weren't traveling far. He decided to shrug it off as they went into a cafe not far from there and disappeared from his sight. 

Moments later his stomach rumbled and he realized he hadn't had breakfast yet. He stood up and decided to follow them to the cafe. Maybe he could have some coffee and pastry.

When he entered the cafe he found them standing in front of the counter. The man was looking down at the girl in anger while the girl looked up at him in fear.

"I don't understand. What are you saying?!" The man asked, his voice rather high.

The girl made some movements with her hands and Sebastian realized she was doing sign language. He approached them and watched the girl closely. He knew sign language as he learned it back when he was in middle school so he could talk to his best friend who had trouble hearing.

"She said she is allergic to nuts." Sebastian said and the man jumped in surprise.

"Oh.. right. Yeah.. I.. I knew that." The man stammered and the girl rolled her eyes at the man.

"So, you can't talk?" Sebastian asked the girl while making sign language. The girl shook her head.

"But you can hear?" He asked again and the girl nodded.

"And you don't know sign language?" Sebastian turned to the man.

"No.. I.. I'm her uncle. I rarely talk to her. Her mom lives in New York while her dad lives in Atlanta. They asked me to accompany her to go back to her mom's." The man explained quickly, his eyes darted around and he shifted his feet from side to side. Clearly the man was nervous and he wondered why that was.

"Okay. Well, what do you guys want? My treat." He smiled at them while also making sign language to the girl. The girl's eyes widened and she smiled. She then made signs with her hands again.

"Okay, hot chocolate and rainbow sprinkle donuts for you, my lady." He said while again making sign language and the girl laughed and blushed.

"And for you?" He turned to the man.

"Uh…I'll just have black coffee thanks." The man replied.

"Alright. Save me a seat. I'll be right with you guys." He said and they left him in front of the counter alone.

Minutes later he got all of their orders. He ordered a cappuccino for himself and a spinach quiche. He looked around and found them sitting near the exit of the cafe. He found their sight kind of strange. He realized that they were the only ones in the cafe not having their faces in front of a cell phone screen while everyone at the cafe did. He shook his head at the realization. The world had become rather strange indeed when sitting without a cellphone in hand could be perceived as not normal.

He was usually one of those people busy with his cellphone. Well today maybe he could change that and actually socialize with strangers like people of old used to do.

"Here you go. One hot chocolate and rainbow sprinkled donut for the beautiful lady." He said as he placed the cup of chocolate and plate of donut in front of the girl. The girl blushed and smiled at that.

"And black coffee for you." He said as he put the cup of coffee in front of the man.

"Thank you." The man said, giving him a small smile.

"No problem." He smiled as he arranged his own orders on the table.

"I'm Sebastian by the way." He said as he started to put some sugar into his cappuccino.

"Oh, and I'm Mike and this is Adriana." The man said.

"Nice meeting you both, Mike and Adriana." He smiled and Adriana smiled back at him.

For several minutes they stayed quiet as they enjoyed their drinks and food. 

"So, where does your mom live, Adriana?" Sebastian asked, breaking the silence. The girl froze and glanced at Mike.

"Brooklyn." Mike answered.

"Ah, okay. I have an apartment in Brooklyn. Well.. actually.. My wife used to live there. She had moved in with me ever since my daughter was born but the place holds so much memory for us that we decided to keep renting it." He said.

"Oh. Must be nice to have the money to do that while other people struggle just to rent one apartment." Mike said cynically.

He felt like his heart had been stabbed as he heard what Mike had to say. He kicked himself internally and realized he should be more considerate and not tell stories like that. He didn't mean to brag, but other people could perceive it otherwise.

"Uh.. yeah.. sorry. I didn't mean to brag or anything. Just.. just making small talk." He said nervously.

"Yeah.. Sorry.. I didn't mean to insult you." Mike said as he seemed to realize what he just said.

"It's okay." Sebastian said and turned to Adriana. "What grade are you?" 

Adriana showed three fingers and Sebastian nodded. "Third grade, huh?"

Adriana nodded and continued to eat her donut.

Eventually they were able to have a better conversation. He found out that Adriana loved Barbie, like his niece Sofia, and also Taylor Swift. He also found out Mike lived in Atlanta and was Adriana's father's brother. He worked at an insurance company and decided to take some days off to visit New York while accompanying Adriana.

Time seemed to fly and before they knew it, it was time to board their flight. He was relieved that their flight was on time. The engine problem must have been fixed. He thought as they walked together towards the gate.

It turned out that his seat was next to Adriana and Mike.

"It's nice to sit next to familiar faces isn't it?" He said to Adriana who was sitting on his right. His seat was by the window while Mike's was by the aisle and Adriana sat between them.

Adriana nodded and smiled wide at him while Mike looked at him in dislike. He wondered if Mike still thought bad of him for bragging earlier as he pulled out his cellphone from his pocket and texted his wife, letting her know that he had just boarded the plane.

He made a mental note to be more careful in what he said next time as he turned on the airplane mode on his cellphone and put it back in his pocket. He fastened his seat belt and leaned back on his seat. He felt exhaustion again so he closed his eyes, hoping to be able to get some sleep and rest.

When he opened his eyes again he felt strange. He fully expected to look out the window and find the view of the white fluffy clouds, instead he found the view of the airport terminal. Apparently they hadn’t moved at all. He glanced at his watch and raised his eyebrows as he realized that it had been an hour since they boarded the plane and they hadn’t moved yet.

“Is something going on? Why are we still here?” He turned to Adriana and Mike. 

“I don’t know. They haven’t said anything.” Mike replied. 

He looked at Mike and realized he had pulled the hood of his jacket up and put on sunglasses. Adriana had also put the hood of her jacket up and looked down. He noticed Mike’s leg was moving slightly up and down, it seemed he was nervous about something.

“Hey man, you okay?” He asked.

“Y.. yeah.. it’s just, I’m always nervous on planes. You know.” Mike replied and understanding dawned in him and he nodded.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. I still feel nervous too sometimes.” He said as his mind went back to the fact there was a problem with the plane’s engine previously. He wondered if there was a problem with it again. He decided to ask the stewardess so he pressed the call button next to his seat to call a stewardess.

"Hello sir, how can I help you?" A beautiful stewardess came and greeted him.

"Uh.. yeah.. why aren't we moving? Is there something wrong?" He asked.

"Oh no, sir. Nothing is wrong. After the delays earlier impacting several flights due to the Plane Train not working the Air Traffic Controller needs some time to adjust things. We're just waiting for our turn." The stewardess smiled at him and glanced at Mike and Adriana.

"Oh okay. Well, I hope we'll get our turn soon. I really need to get to New York as soon as possible." He said.

"Yes, sir. I hope so too. I'm sure you can't wait to be by your wife's side. Right? I mean.. we heard she's in labor." She said with a knowing smile.

"Oh yeah.. she is." He said, kicking himself internally for forgetting about that lie again.

"Well, I'm sure we'll get our turn soon. In the meantime, please sit back and relax. There's nothing to worry about." She smiled.

"Yeah, thanks." He nodded.

"Is there anything else I can help you with, sir?" She asked.

"No, thanks. That would be all." He replied.

"Very well, sir. If you'll excuse me." She said and he nodded.

Once the stewardess left he pulled out his cellphone and turned off airplane mode. He needed to tell his wife that he was going to arrive even later than scheduled.

When he opened his messages, there was a message from his wife and a video from her.

"Hi Iubirea mea, I know you won't get this until you arrive in New York but I just have to show you this."

He opened the video and laughed out loud. There on the screen he could see the living room in his apartment looking in such a mess with rolls and rolls of toilet paper covering the sofa, carpet and coffee table. Their dog, Lucky was sitting on the carpet biting toilet paper while their daughter Starlene was sitting on the sofa and was continuously pulling toilet paper from its roll.

"Oh my God." He closed his mouth with his hand to stifle some more laughter and continued to watch the video from his wife.

"I just left them for a second. I swear. But when I came back, this is what happened!" The screen turned and showed his wife looking annoyed as h**l. 

"I can't imagine what kind of mess we'll be in once this little bean arrives." She said, patting her stomach.

"Anyway, we love you, we miss you. And I hope you have a safe and pleasant flight. Let me know once you've landed. Love you, Iubirea mea." She smiled and he couldn't help but smile back and whispered I love you as well.

She then put her hand on the camera, signifying a hug and he sighed as the video ended. There was nowhere else he wished to be but by his family's side at that moment. But alas, fate willed it a different way. He just had to be more patient.

He immediately called his wife but she didn't answer, so he decided to send a message. 

"Honey, I'm really sorry but the plane got stuck at the terminal. We're still waiting for the plane to get permission from the ATC to leave. And I'm really sorry to see what happened to our living room. Just leave it and I'll help clean up when I get there. I'm sure you're tired. I love you and please send my love and also angry stares to Lucky and Starlene. Love you so much, sweetheart."

He waited and waited but Y/n didn't reply. He tried calling her again but she didn't answer.

"Excuse me, sir. I'm sorry, could you please turn your cellphone off. We're leaving soon." Another stewardess came and scolded him.

"But.. My wife is in labor. I need to know her condition." He said, remembering the lie again.

"We know, sir. But we're really sorry. Rules are rules. And we're leaving soon. You will see her soon." The stewardess replied and he sighed.

"Fine. Let me just send a last message." He said.

"Thank you, sir." The stewardess smiled and left.

"Rules are rules." He muttered under his breath while he typed a message for his wife again, his face full of dislike, making Adriana beside him laugh.

"Why are they sometimes so rigid? We're not even moving." He complained again and Adriana made a sign that said she knew.

"Don't worry. Everything is going to be alright." Adriana signed again and he smiled.

"Thank you, Adriana." He smiled and she smiled back.

He returned his attention back to his cellphone and sent the message. He then turned the airplane mode on his cellphone on and put it back into his pocket.

He sighed and looked out the window. He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked out and saw some uniformed men inside the terminal wearing vests with FBI written on the back, walking swiftly along the side of the terminal. He leaned closer towards the window curiously, wondering why the FBI was there.

"Hey, the FBI is here. I wonder what's going on." He said.

"What?!" Mike exclaimed out loud.

"Yeah.. look.." he pointed towards the uniformed men and Mike leaned over Adriana to take a closer look at the window. He leaned back to allow him a better view.

Just then the plane started moving away from the terminal and Mike leaned back on his seat. He looked at Mike and felt like Mike had just let go of a breath he was holding.

"Finally, we're moving." Mike chuckled nervously.

"Yeah. Finally." He said as he felt Mike was being strange about the whole situation but he shrugged it off. 

He glanced at his watch and sighed as he saw that it was almost 10 am already. So much for getting some rest before he drove to Chad's wedding. He complained internally.

The plane finally took off several minutes later, much to his relief. However, when they took off they experienced a somewhat hard turbulence which made him really nervous. He kept remembering that there was some problem with the plane's engine earlier. What if the problem came back and caused the plane to fall down from the sky? He couldn't help but think of all the negative and horrifying possibilities that could happen to the plane. Thankfully the turbulence didn't last long and eventually the plane stabilized and flew smoothly.

Several minutes later however the plane started to descend quite quickly, startling everyone.

The lights inside the cabin were all turned on and a blaring sound came out from the speakers as oxygen masks dropped down from the ceiling.

"This is an emergency. Please put on your masks. This is an emergency. Please put on your masks." The warning sound was repeated through the speakers.

His heart dropped to his stomach and his heart pounded hard as he pulled down the oxygen mask in front of him and put it over his mouth and nose. He looked to the right and saw both Adriana and Mike had already worn them as well.

Stewardesses were walking around the cabin checking that everyone had worn their masks. For a few minutes the situation was quiet but intense as the plane continued to descend but at a slower pace.

He couldn't help but think of Y/n, Starlene and his unborn child. He wasn't ready to die yet. He just got his happiness with them and with Y/n after twenty something years being in love with her. No, he couldn't and wouldn't accept to die that day. He closed his eyes and kept praying to God in his heart to save the plane and everyone on the flight. 

Suddenly the pilot's voice could be heard on the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We apologize for the situation. That was a false emergency. We were descending down 7.000 feet from 34.000 feet to 27.000 feet to avoid turbulence and somehow the system automatically turned on the signal to drop the oxygen masks. The pressure in the cabin is at a normal level so there is no need to wear oxygen masks. You can take off the oxygen masks and our crew will help put them back in place manually. We are really sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you."

He felt immense relief as he took off his oxygen mask and he felt the atmosphere in the plane immediately changed as a collective breath of relief was exhaled.

"That was so scary." He commented and turned to Adriana and Mike.

"Yeah. I know. I never experienced anything like it." Mike responded.

"I was ready to die." Adriana signed to him and he raised his eyebrows.

"We're all going to die anyway." She signed again.

"Well.. you're right. You're so wise for a girl your age." He chuckled but deep down he wondered how a girl her age could have thoughts like that. He himself wasn't ready to die even though he was 41 already. He felt like he probably would never be ready for it.

He leaned back and sighed. Trying to relax after the tense situation. He also wanted to go back to sleep but found it hard to do so. Somehow the one hour sleep he got when the plane was still parked by the terminal was enough to recharge and refresh him. Well, the false emergency also contributed as well. He couldn't relax yet after that. So he ended up chatting with Adriana again. Mike closed his eyes and seemed to be sleeping so he didn't want to bother him.

Several times when they were chatting Adriana glanced at Mike, as if expecting him to do something. He asked her if there was anything wrong but she shook her head, making him curious about it. 

About half an hour into the flight, breakfast was served and Mike woke up. There was something strange that he noticed with the stewardess serving them though. Every time she served Mike, she took her time to really look at him as well as Adriana. At one point after pouring a glass of apple juice for Adriana and water for Mike, the stewardess left, leaving him hanging. He was just about to request orange juice but the stewardess already left.

Being quite tall he was able to see where the stewardess had gone. Apparently she went to the front of the business class area and was not back for a while. When she was finally back she brought milk and pineapple juice in her hands, making him think she was probably just grabbing the milk and juice.

"I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting, Mr.Stan. We ran out of milk and pineapple juice so I had to go and get it." The stewardess smiled at him.

"Oh, that's okay." He responded.

"What would you like to drink?" She asked.

"Orange juice, please. Thank you." He said.

"Certainly, sir." She said. Her hands trembled as she poured the orange juice, making him feel strange yet again. 

"Here you go, sir." She gave the orange juice to him and he accepted.

"Thank you." He nodded and the stewardess smiled and continued to serve the other passengers.

He was about to finish his breakfast which consisted of egg frittata and mushroom as well as croissant with butter when Adriana knocked her glass of apple juice and spilled it onto Mike's lap.

"I'm sorry." She signed to Mike.

"It's.. it's okay." Mike said and he sighed.

"Let me just go and clean this up." Mike said as he picked up his tray of food, closed the table in front of him and stood up. He got out of his seat and put his tray of food onto his seat then he went to the restroom located in front of the plane. As soon as Mike left Adriana immediately signed to him.

"Please help. I'm being kidnapped. Mike kidnapped me." She signed frantically. His heart seemed to stop as he registered what Adriana just conveyed to him.

Of all the things that had happened to him throughout his life, this was by far the weirdest and most unexpected thing that ever happened to him. He stared at Adriana with his jaw dropped as his mind tried to grapple with the situation.

"He kidnapped me from my school as I was walking home from school. He said he's going to sell me overseas. He knows where my parents live and threatened me that he will get someone to kill them if I try to get away. I've been playing along but when I saw the FBI, I knew they were looking for me. Please help me." She signed, her eyes full of hope and fear.

He looked towards the restroom and saw that Mike was still in there. He knew in order to help Adriana they needed to go back to Atlanta, but he also didn't want to miss Chad's rehearsal dinner and honestly he missed his family so much that he just wanted to go back to them as soon as possible. Torn between wanting to help Adriana and go to New York as soon as possible he finally decided. He knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't help Adriana. And he knew Y/n and Chad would understand why he needed to do this. So he made the decision.

"Okay. Come. We need to get you away from him. Let's go to the plane crew and tell them about this. Maybe we can have the plane turn around and bring you back to Atlanta." He said and she nodded.

They quickly left their seats and went towards the back of the plane, away from Mike. While walking he continued to check his back to make sure Mike was not out of the restroom yet. He guided Adriana towards the back of the plane where a stewardess was busy tidying up the food carts. He pushed Adriana gently into the aisle between the rows of food carts, making sure they were both unseen from the front of the plane.

“Oh! Is there anything I can help you with, sir?” The stewardess who previously served them was startled.

“Uh.. yeah. This girl here, her name is Adriana, she told me she’s kidnapped by that man who sat beside her.” Sebastian explained.

The stewardess' eyes widened but then she quickly nodded.

“I know.. we.. I mean, the pilot and the crew know, sir. The FBI back in Atlanta Airport were looking for them.” The stewardess replied.

“Well then why didn’t you guys do anything when we were still in Atlanta?” He asked, dumbfounded.

“I’m sorry, sir. We were given photos of them when we were still on the ground but we didn’t recognize them. It wasn’t until less than an hour ago I noticed who they were. I already informed the pilot and in several minutes, after all passengers have finished eating, we’re planning on turning the plane around back to Atlanta.” She explained.

“Well okay, good.” He nodded.

“In the meantime, I think it’s best that you return to your seats so as not to make the man suspicious. We were told to make sure he doesn’t know about this. We don’t want to alarm him and make him do dangerous things.” The stewardess said.

“That makes..” Sebastian was about to answer when he found himself suddenly choking.

“Something dangerous like this?” Mike asked as he tightened one of his arms around Sebastian’s neck, while the other held his head, choking him.

The stewardess screamed in surprise and immediately pulled Adriana closer to her and shielded her behind her back.

“Sir, please! Don’t do anything stupid!” The stewardess reminded him, her voice shook as she saw Sebastian continued to choke and tried to get free from Mike’s hold. But Mike was stronger than he seemed. 

He held both his hands on Mike’s arms, trying to loosen it. His neck hurt, his head hurt as his hands continued to pull Mike's arm away from his neck.

“I won’t kill him if you return my niece back to me.” Mike warned.

“We know she’s not your niece, sir. Surrender now because you have nowhere else to go.” The stewardess bravely said.

“Wrong answer.” Mike said as he strengthened his hold even more on Sebastian’s neck but Sebastian suddenly got an idea.

He released his hands on Mike's arm and elbowed Mike hard on his stomach, making Mike lose his hold on his neck a little. Then he did a backward kick and successfully kicked Mike away from him, making Mike lose his hold completely on him and fell on the ground.

He staggered forward as Mike released him and croaked. “Go.. Get her to safety.”

The stewardess nodded and quickly dragged Adriana towards the front of the plane through the other aisle. 

Sebastian rubbed his aching neck and tried to catch his breath. Then he slowly turned around, ready to fight Mike again but he was gone!

He quickly walked out of the aisle and saw Mike running parallel to the stewardess and Adriana, chasing them into the front of the plane. He tried to catch up with them but Mike crossed to the other aisle through another aisle filled with food carts and his heart dropped to his stomach.

“Sir.. please.. let her go! You don’t want to do this!” He heard the panicked voice of the stewardess as he came closer to them. By then some people had stood up from their seats and started asking him questions, but he just put his index finger on his lips, asking them to stay quiet as he tiptoed to where Mike, Adriana and the stewardess were.

When he reached them he saw that Mike’s back was to him. He was holding Adriana’s body against his chest, a fork in his hand pointed onto Adriana’s neck. Several stewardesses had come to them and they stood in front of Mike and Adriana, their faces full of shock and fear. Adriana struggled to get free but couldn’t. 

“Tell your pilot to keep directing this plane to New York. Otherwise I won’t hesitate to stab her.” He threatened. 

“Y.. yes sir. Just please don’t hurt her!” The stewardess pleaded.

He looked around trying to see if he could find something to wound Mike when someone suddenly offered him a fork.

He turned around and saw an old lady handing him a fork.

“Thank you.” he mouthed. The old lady just nodded and smiled. She then walked back to her seat and he turned back around.

The stewardesses were still trying to persuade Mike to let go of Adriana when he stabbed Mike on the side of his neck.

Mike screamed in pain and let Adriana go. She immediately ran towards the stewardesses and they immediately took her and shielded her behind their backs.

Mike turned around and pulled out the fork from his neck. Blood seeped through it as he continued to make wild screams and started to attack Sebastian. He raised his hand, which was still holding a fork, intending to stab Sebastian with it. But Sebastian kicked his hand and the fork fell down to the ground in a clatter.

They ended up fighting with bare hands. He threw some punches and kicks onto Mike’s face and body. Mike grunted as he got the hits but then he kicked his chest hard, sending him towards the emergency door of the plane.

He grunted as his back hit the door and he fell down onto the ground. He tried to get up and one of the passengers sitting next to the emergency door extended their hand and helped him get up. 

He winced as he walked slowly back towards Mike who was still standing, holding the wound on his neck.

“Give up now, Mike. You have nowhere to go.” He said.

“Never!” Mike yelled as he charged towards him and they continued to fight.

He didn’t know where he got the strength. It seemed his training for Bucky had made him stronger. But he continued to throw punches and kicks to Mike while also receiving some of Mike’s blows on his face. The other passengers watched them with bated breath.

He glanced towards one of the food carts and quickly picked up a stainless steel pot. He raised it and hit Mike’s head with it, making him fall down to the ground.

He waited to see if Mike would get up again but he stayed down. His eyes were closed. He was unconscious.

The passengers and stewardesses who were watching them erupted in cheers and he felt someone hugged him tight. It was Adriana.

“Thank you.” She mouthed and he just nodded while panting as he tried to catch his breath.

Mike was immediately apprehended by the plane crew and tied to one of the seats at the front of the plane. Sebastian went back to his seat with Adriana after one of the stewardesses tended to his wounds. Thankfully his wounds were nothing major, just a cut on his lip and eyebrows as well as some bruises. Nothing he had never dealt with before.

The pilot eventually turned the plane back to Atlanta after explaining to all the passengers what just happened. He even mentioned Sebastian by name, thanking him for his heroic act in fighting Mike. 

He wished the pilot didn’t mention him by name because he got interrupted constantly by passengers who wanted to talk with him and take pictures with him. Adriana seemed to understand because she told him to pretend to sleep so people wouldn’t bother him, and it thankfully worked. People finally left him in peace.

However, even though he wasn’t bothered anymore, he couldn’t really sleep. The journey back towards Atlanta felt so long in his mind even though it took only an hour. His mind constantly replayed what happened and he couldn't wait to tell Y/n about it.

He opened his eyes when the pilot announced that they were about to land soon. He glanced at his watch and sighed as he saw that it was already 12.30 pm. He assumed that the fastest they could head back to New York would be at 1.30 pm. Which meant he would arrive in New York at around 4 pm. 

It was clear he would be late to arrive at Chad’s welcome party and rehearsal dinner. He regretted not taking the 10 am flight with Southwest. But then again if he had taken that one, who knew what would have happened to Adriana. Despite everything, he was glad he could help her.

After they finally landed in Atlanta, two FBI agents entered the plane and took Mike with them. Then another agent came into the plane to take Adriana to her parents. He offered to walk Adriana to the gate. Apparently her parents were there. He wanted to make sure she was reunited with them again. He walked following the agent with Adriana walking between them.

When they got off the plane he was welcomed with flashes of lights from cameras and cheers from people around them. It seemed he had made the news. 

He walked alongside Adriana when a woman and a man ran towards them. 

“Adriana! Oh my baby! I’m so glad you’re okay.” The woman who apparently was Adriana’s mom said.

He couldn’t help but teared up as he watched Adriana being hugged by both her parents. He couldn’t imagine the anguish they must have felt when Adriana was gone from them.

“Thank you for saving her.” Adriana’s dad said.

“Oh, you’re welcome, sir. Your daughter was very brave. You should be proud of her.” He smiled.

Adriana’s parents nodded. 

“We are. We’re really proud of her. And we’re so happy she’s back. We thought we had lost her for good.” Adriana’s mom said.

“Well she’s a strong and smart girl.” He smiled as he patted Adriana’s shoulder gently and the family looked back at him beaming wide with happiness.

“Well, I have to go. I’ll see you around again someday. Take care of yourself.” He said as he hugged Adriana tight.

“Thank you so much, Sebastian.” Adriana signed after he let her go.

“You’re welcome.” He signed and she smiled.

“Sebastian! Sebastian! Could you tell us what happened? Did you really fight the kidnapper?!" A reporter suddenly shouted at him.

“No comment. Sorry. I have to go. My wife is in labor. I have to go.” He said, raising his hands up.

“Just a short answer would do, Sebastian. Please!" The reporter called out but he walked back towards the plane while someone from airport security held back the reporter and prevented the reporter from following him.

When he got back into the plane all the passengers stood up, clapped and cheered for him. His face reddened as he continued to walk to his seat and they continued to chant his name.

“Thank you.. thank you. You guys are too nice.” He said as he raised his hand up and nodded, his face as red as a tomato.

The passengers finally stopped cheering when he took his seat. He leaned back on his seat and pulled out his cellphone as his mind still tried to process all the events that just happened. 

He turned off the airplane mode on his cellphone, wanting to send a message to his wife when messages from her came through.

—

“Iubirea mea, it sucks to hear you're still stuck at the airport. But I hope your plane will soon get its turn to move. I've given your love and angry stares to Lucky and Starlene and they just stared back at me 😆

Anyway, I already cleaned up all the toilet paper. No need to worry about that. I'm rather tired but it's okay. 

Love you and I hope to see you soon. Keep me posted.”

—

“Iubirea mea.. where are you? I hope you’re near New York already.” 

—

“Iubirea mea.. I'm having contractions..” 

—

His heart seemed to stop as he read the last message.

The story continues on Part 2

A Winter's Miracle : Snowbound Delivery

Get ready for another crazy adventure with Sebastian and Reader 😁

[thisisapaige]

Tagged by @mercurialkitty. Thanks! This was fun :-)

20 Questions for Writers

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 59

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 645,479

3. What fandoms do you write for? Just Supernatural. I have the brainworms and they are in the shape of Thee One and Only Castiel.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

stay, In Just Saying It, Non Solum, Still Waters Run Deep, Sleeping Together

5. Do you respond to comments? Most of them. I do get kind of overwhelmed (with love and joy) if someone comments on all the chapters as they read, so I'll often reply to their final comment. And if the comments are rude, I ignore them (doesn't happen often, but it has).

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Thee fic that started it all: Empty Spaces. A bold choice for my first posting, lol. At least I wrote a sequel? :-P

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Probably Something Blue. I wrapped that up with a bow. As a commenter wrote, "Holy happy ending, Batman!!!!!"

8. Do you get hate on fics? Mmmmm, not sure I'd call it hate but I did have a commenter who wasn't happy with the direction The Angel went in. Thankfully, they figured out the fic wasn't to their tastes and decided to leave halfway through.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yeah. It's fun to write but, whew, very difficult to edit, lol. As for what kind... somewhat-idealized- romantic-everyone-has-a-good-time-and-feels-their-feelings kind of smut, I think. Most of the time... Murder the World was a lot more angsty.

10. Do you write crossovers? Nah. I don't really have the fic bug for other fandoms.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yup! A couple in Russian and one in Chinese.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No. I don't know if I'd be able to. I don't think I'd be a very good partner :-P. I don't even like a beta to look at my stuff 'till the draft is done and I read it though a couple times.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? It's the DeanCas of it all.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? The Path of the Righteous Man (my reverse verse fic) is like, my white whale. I keep going back to it and never adding a single word. The block is strong on that one.

16. What are your writing strengths? Introspection and action. Both are sooooo fun.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Dialogue. UGH. Dialogue. How do people talk? Hell if I know.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Sure. My monolingual ass won't, though.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Posted? SPN. Written on loose leaf paper as a tiny child, which has been lost to the ages (thank goodness)? Final Fantasy VII.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? This is a mean, mean question. I cannot chose one! I cannot! So have a selection (answer subject to change in 30 seconds):

stay for being my fix it that allowed me to continue enjoying the show after that fiasco of an ending.

The Angel for being the fantasy epic I always wanted to write.

insi(de an)d outside for being some of my strongest writing.

Still Waters Run Deep for being my first bang and also because I have prints of the art reafre made and that still blows my mind.

Something Blue because it took me on a very personal journey (and also I just posted it so it's fresh in my mind).

I *could* probably post most of my fic, honesty. I like my stuff. I wrote them for me, after all.

Tagging: @angelcasendgame @hornystiel @wormstacheangel @bloodydeanwinchester if you so chose to participate!

[jpitha]

Just a Little Further 30

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

We sent the Venusians home today.

We left them enough thruster to travel to the Gate and traverse, enough environmental systems to keep them alive - so long as they stuck to their quarters and the Command Deck - and... that was mostly it. Oh, we did take the entirety of their weapons. I even had their weapon lockers stripped. We now have a good supply of high quality rifles and small arms. I gave a few to Sep and asked them duplicate them and begin training. I also promised to stop by later and give some tips in the finer points of their operation.

When I saw their faces when they saw what I was sending them home in, I admit I cackled just a teeny bit. We made sure it was survivable and they won't be injured, but their ship looks like a joke. Large pieces are missing from the hull, whole rooms exposed to vacuum, the thrusters we left them are undersized for what would normally be used, and so on. I imagine they are going to have an... interesting time going through joint human/K'laxi space.

The wormhole generator was destroyed in the explosion, so they can't link home, so what they'll do after they reach human space an the end of the Gates is a bit of a mystery. They won't be trapped though, there are plenty of human Starbases or colonies they could reach via the Gates and ask someone to link a beacon to Venus so they could get a ride the rest of the way.

They don't use AIs at all either. Their ships run with only human crews, so it's not like we left some poor AI behind to drag their own corpse home. It's just a ship.

Well, it's 65% or so of a ship.

As for Raaden and Emery, I did wind up going with the option Ava and I discussed. We found an empty apartment building that was close - but not directly next to - the Royal Dawn. It had two empty apartments and we put Raaden, and Emery in separate apartments quite a long distance from each other. The apartments are guarded all hours of the day, and meals are sent up.

It feels like I just stuffed them into a corner and are trying to forget about them, and I guess I did, but I that's what having hostages is sometimes. I'm trying to make sure they're comfortable and well taken care of. Emery has seemed to accept his lot. He mostly reads and sketches. When he asked for art supplies he seemed excited when we brought him paper and pencils that were native to the Reach. He spends his time looking out the window and sketching what he sees. I've seen a few of them; the drawings are actually quite lovely. I have a feeling he's pretty used to being stuck in a corner somewhere and told to entertain himself.

Raaden... hasn't accepted her lot so easily. She's tried to escape twice already and the only thing that has prevented it was her unfamiliarity with the locks. After the second attempt I had to use my Voice to make her stop trying to break out. Now she just sits in her apartment and alternates between seething and sulking. I almost wish we had a hibernation cabinet to put her into. She'd be less of a problem if she was just on ice the whole time.

Wait a moment. I wonder if Omar can print one? I'm sure there are plans for one in the printer database we got from FarReach. I should ask.

Ginny we put up in the Royal Dawn. Not right near our rooms, but in a room in the hotel. I did use my Voice to order her not to talk to Raaden and Emery and to not have any contact with Venus without our permission, but she knew why and accepted the order.

Yes, we did decide to let Ginny stay. Of all of the people we interviewed she was the only one who actually wanted to be here. Everyone else was indifferent to it or was being actively ordered to be here. That was what finally convinced Ava, Omar, Um'reli and Starlight. We won't give her the Builder package for a long time, if ever, but that still doesn't mean we don't need the help. We don't have her doing much right now, but she is shadowing Sound of the City and they love that they have a helper and someone they get to show the Reach. Maybe I'll take her with us when we go to the Wilds of Besmara. She might enjoy that.

I'm just finishing up breakfast in the Royal Dawn when Omar comes in. "Melody, what are we going to do with all the parts we took from the Lavinia?"

I can't help myself. "Put them on a Starship, Omar."

"Melody. Which Starship? High Line and Sun Dancer are done. We'd have to put them back into the dock to add things to them, Immar IV isn't done, but do we want to put all the parts on that one?"

Ah I see. If we put the Venusian parts on High Line or Sun Dancer, then that delays how long before we can go to the Wilds of Besmara.

"Let's keep them off High Line and Sun Dancer for now. I do want to go to the Wilds now that we've dealt with Venus. Once we're back and Immar IV is done, why don't we start construction on a whole new ship?"

"A whole new ship?" Omar sits down at my breakfast table and looks off into the middle distance, thinking. "Yes, we could do it. I think we have a handle on how things work now. We would add the Venusian parts, of course. That would save a lot of time. I'd make a dreadnought of our own - smaller than the Venus or other human ones - but it would still pack a punch."

"See? What a great idea I had." I'm laughing, but I mean it. I think it's high time we make our own Starships. I wish we had more printers, we could really get production going, but it's not like we need a whole fleet right away. Slow and steady progress is fine.

"Omar, do you want to pilot High Line when we take it over to the Wilds? I want to go next week, and we need to figure some things out. You piloted it during the shakedown, but this will be our first Gate traversal since we came here."

"Yes, I'd like to drive if you're okay with that. We should have the others take a turn so we all get experience with it - it's different than being the Reach - but for now, I'll take us over. Who is going to come? We should probably leave at least one Builder here."

"I agree. I wanted you and Ava and Starlight to come, and we can let Um'reli run things while we're away. I want Ginny to come too."

Omar breaks his reverie. "Ginny? Why?"

"I want to show her she's not a prisoner like Raaden and Emery. She was the only one who wanted to be here. Might as well start treating her like that. Plus, we could use a reactor tech on High Line."

"You make a good point. Fine. Ginny can come too. We don't really need much of anyone else. With Builder systems I can run most of High Line from the chair. I wonder if it feels the same when an AI runs a ship? I'm doing a similar role."

"I don't know. If we ever get back to our side of the Galaxy we should ask." I really find lately I'm missing stuff from home. I hope once were done visiting some Starbases on this side we can go home, just for a visit. "I'd like to open up some lines of trade too. I bet people over there would like some of our foodstuffs and I sure could use some coffee." I looked wistfully at my cup of tea on the table. I hadn't had coffee since talking with the Venusians. I was trying to save what little she had for special occasions, but it's so hard!

"One thing at a time, Melody. Let's do see if we can figure out what happened at the Wilds. Then, see if we can find any other Starbases or colonies. We could finish the exploration that FarReach abandoned."

I looked up at Omar in surprise. "That's it. We can continue the mission! Just because FarReach declared Captain Q'ari unfit and left doesn't mean that there isn't good things to learn out here." I jumped up and gave Omar a hug. "Thanks Omar. It really helps to talk things out sometimes."

"No problem Melody, glad to help."

I leave the Royal Dawn and start walking towards the Throne, thinking while I walk.

We're going to go to the Wilds of Besmara with the refurbished High Line and see what's up. Last time we went there was some kind of field that grabbed FarReach and started to pull it in. Maybe it was an overzealous landing field? I don't know. Either way, if it happens again, I think we want to let it take us in.

Also, that warning. I know now it was in the Voice, but it was over radio which - for me at least - commands in the Voice don't work. I wonder how it was in the Voice, I thought that was just an Empress thing. Maybe it was a recording? All these mysteries. We just have to go and find out for ourselves.

I take a long way to the Throne and say hello to people as I walk. When I first got here, people were so frightened of us, but now people tell me hello, they give me little bits of news from their world, I even get to meet families! More than once I've been told how nice it is that I was able to increase the food deliveries. As plain old Melody I was often intimidated making small talk with people and would try and avoid it, but when I'm Empress, I find it's much easier. It almost feels like I'm pretending to be the Empress; like it's a persona to put on and take off. When I'm with Ava in our room I'm just Melody, but when the gown comes on and I walk around I'm The Empress.

It's hard to explain. I wish I knew more people that had gone though this to see if it's normal. I guess, when you're the only Empress around, anything you do is normal, by virtue of the fact that you're the one doing it.

I make my way to the Throne and settle in. Ava, Um'reli and Starlight are there already. I can feel Um'reli and Ava showing Starlight how to work things.

"See Starlight, if you just look... over here... you can see the transit network."

"Yes, yes, I see. It looks like we have the trains on schedule and... wait, what's that one on that siding?"

"That's Melody's Royal Transport. She likes to use it when she feels like showing off, or if she needs to get somewhere after hours or when things are too busy to wait for a scheduled train."

Mentally, I look up at them "I don't use it to show off. I use it when I want to make an entrance."

"Okay, so when Emp-Melody's not showing off, she stores it over here?" I smile to myself when I hear the smirk in Starlight's tone. When I made them a builder, I let them call me Melody. I decided it would be weird for Ava, Um'reli and Omar to call me Melody, but Starlight has to call me Empress, and I didn't want to make everyone call me Empress as well, so Builder Starlight can call me Melody. They're still getting used to it.

"Um'reli, you're okay with staying here and running things while the rest of us go to the Wilds of Besmara to see what happened to them?"

"Sure Melody, it's fine. I have reports to go over on reactor efficiency. We have enough of a power surplus now we should look at taking down the reactors one at a time for refurbishment. I don't think it's ever been done!"

"What do you mean, take the reactor down for refurbishment?" Starlight looks curious as Um'reli and I talk.

"So, at least with our reactors, they need regular maintenance. We usually build our systems with enough overhead that they can run with one whole reactor down so we can work on it, or if one fails we can swap it out without inconveniencing anyone. Before we got here, the Reach had enough power, but I wouldn't have dreamed of shutting a reactor off. Now, I think we can turn one off, make sure it's in good condition and then turn it back on, move on to the next and so on."

"That's impressive, Builder Um'reli. You have found so many ways to improve efficiency."

"Just Um'reli is fine, you're a Builder now too, remember. But, thank you. I enjoy working with the reactors. I hope we can get Ginny up and helping us too, it will be useful to have someone else - someone who actually took some training on this and isn't just an enthusiastic amateur - take a look at things."

"Okay, good. Omar is going to drive, I'll sit in the Command chair, Ava can monitor systems, Starlight can let us know if there's anything we're missing with local information and Ginny is coming along to prove to her that she's not just another hostage like Raaden and Emery."

Ava looks up from the report she's reading. "I like it Melody, it seems like a good plan. Ugh, I wish there was something we could do about Raaden. I don't trust her as far as I could throw her."

"I know! I was thinking about it on the walk over. What if we printed a hibernation cabinet for her? I know that Starjumpers carry them, and that FarReach used to be one so I assume their printer database has the plans."

"Actually, I think that could work. Let's ask Omar how tough it would be to print one up. On the one hand, I don't like the idea of just sticking her in a closet until we decide what to do with her, but on the other... I don't know what to do with her. She'll never trust us, and we can never trust her."

"Exactly."

Starlight looks like they are warring with themselves over something. After a moment, a decision is made. "Melody, why did you keep her anyway? If it was me in charge, I would have declared her culpable for Rapid River Roaring's death and had them executed."

Now everyone is looking at me. "Starlight, for right now, she's worth more to us alive than dead. If we killed her and sent the Venusians home with their ship stripped and them humiliated they would have come right back with all their dreadnoughts and just fired upon us as soon as they traversed the Gate. No radio, no opportunity to use the Voice on them, just kaboom. This way, with Raaden, their Archduke and Crown Prince Emery, they have to think twice about whether to come in guns hot or not."

"Ah, I see. Yes Melody. You are making it so that we are too valuable to outright destroy. But, what do we do when they want their crown prince and their archduke back? Or worse, what if they don't want them back?"

My shoulder slump. "I don't know yet. As soon as we figure out a deal and we give them Raaden and Emery they don't have a reason to not come in and destroy us."

Starlight's eyes are bright. "Well then. We just need to be better armed then they are by then. We can then repel them the regular way."

"Hah. That's the best idea I've heard so far Starlight. For now, we'll go with that plan. Once we come back from the Wilds, Omar was going to look into building a dreadnought from the parts we... liberated from Venus. Do you know of any Aviens plans for large warships?"

"Actually, yes. I believe we have some plans for a ship like that. We should try and reach out to more of my people. Ever since our ancestors were trapped here, we have not heard from any other of our kind."

"Starlight, I was wondering, what did trap you and the Mariens and others here all those years ago?" Um'reli and Ava look up at Omar's question. I guess we were all wondering it.

"I wish I knew Omar. My parent's parents were the original ones left here, but they wouldn't talk about it. From what I can gather, there was... a war, or something like it. The last Builders left the Reach to... do... something and never returned. My parent's parents did mention that the first few years after the Builders left were very difficult."

"Another mystery to solve then. I want to get going. Hey Omar, do you think you can print a hibernation cabinet?"

"Probably Melody, what for?"

"For Raaden. I just don't trust her to be awake and around while we leave to do explore the Wilds of Besmara. I was thinking of putting her in a cabinet and sticking her on board in hibernation. Crown Prince Emery seems fine, we could probably leave him here under guard."

"Melody that's brilliant! We don't have to deal with her trying to escape and we can carry her around as a kind of... talisman against Venus attacks. You just have to get her into it."

"Leave that part to me."

It actually only takes Omar a few hours to print the hibernation cabinet. When you have printers that can make a whole starship in a few weeks, one small hibernation cabinet is hardly a feat. It comes out gleaming and white, looking like a long lozenge or pill from the medical department. On the top is a clear window to see the face of the resident and on the side is a small readout of vitals. I ask Omar to let me borrow some people, and an Aviens and Azurian wheel the cabinet behind me as we walk.

In front of the apartment complex it's clear that the cabinet is much too large to bring up to Raaden's room. "Wait here please. I will be down with them in a moment."

Upstairs, I nod to the guards and knock on the door before opening it. "Raaden, come here please."

"Go to hell mmmmmm-Empress."

I don't have time for this. "F̷̗͝o̸͔͌l̷̺̊l̴̨̃o̶̦̾w̵̡͠ ̶͔͘m̷̢̒ē̵̬.̸̹̊ Raaden." She gets up out of the other room and robotically walks to me. Her eyes radiate hatred, but she follows none the less.

We get to the bottom floor and I open the door to leave and she catches a glimpse of the cabinet. Raaden's eyes go wide and the snarl of hatred on her face is replaced with a new emotion.

Terror.

"No! No no no no! You're not going to put me in one of those! Please! Please Empress! Don't put me in a hibernation cabinet! I won't escape! Please! Don't put me in there!"

I stop and turn, surprised. "What? Why not Raaden? It's just a hibernation cabinet. It's brand new. Omar printed it up from our copy of FarReach's printer database. It's not even a local design, it's one of ours."

She's standing in the doorway, shaking. She is legitimately terrified of the hibernation cabinet. "I-I-Its a form of punishment in Imperial Venus. For people who have... displeased the Emperor. A person is placed into the hibernation cabinet and then they... manipulate the settings. They change the person's sense of the passage of time. A day can feel like centuries."

You know, I actually feel bad for Raaden right now. That sounds like a horrible punishment.

"Raaden, I'm not going to manipulate your perception of time. We're going to run you deep enough that you won't have any perception of time passing. It'll be just like when people were put in cabinets for Starjumper trips before the wormhole generators. You'll go in, and then you'll awaken on Venus when we've worked out the details with the Emperor."

"Possibly, or else I'll never wake up for my failure. Or worse, I will but it will be after ten thousand years subjective and I'm a gibbering mess. Empress, I am actually begging you." She gets down on her knees in the door way and bows down "Please. Please. Don't put me in hibernation. I will literally do anything else." She puts her head up and her cheeks are wet with tears and she's shaking. She whispers. "Please, don't."

I... I can't. It's too cruel. I look at her and try and concentrate. Is she just acting? No. I think she is completely terrified of going into hibernation.

Ugh.

I sit on the cabinet and reach out to my Builders. "Hey. Raaden is like, wet her pants terrified of going into hibernation. She's literally begging me not to do it."

Is it a put on, is she just really good at acting?

I don't think so. My heightened body language processing says she's being honest.

Just order her to do it anyway, use your Voice.

Doesn't that seem unnecessarily cruel to you? We'd be leveraging a legitimate phobia just to make things easier on us. She'd never forgive us.

You still think she'll forgive us?

Hey, we have a responsibility to treat our prisoners humanely, and that includes not torturing them. This would be torture for her.

They wouldn't have the same consideration of us.

All the more reason for us to treat her better.

Okay then, what do we do with her?

Take her with us.

WHAT?

Take her with us. She'll still be on board, I can order her around with the Voice and we'll still bring the cabinet. If she causes trouble I'll order her into it and we'll be done with it. This is her chance to show us how much she doesn't want to be in the cabinet.

Or for her to show us how good of an actor she is.

Ava, I'm pretty sure she's not acting.

Ugh fine. She can come. Let me get a room ready and strengthen the locks on it.

Thanks Omar.

I look up. Raaden has gotten up from the floor but her eyes are still wide with fear. She is working very hard to control it, but fear of the cabinet is still very strong. She truly is terrified of being put into it.

"Raaden. I won't put you into the hibernation cabinet."

As I complete the sentence, her body relaxes and she starts breathing heavily.

"Yet."

She tightens up and holds her breath again.

"You're coming with us on the High Line to explore the Wilds of Besmara. I need insurance against Venus, and if you won't get into the cabinet then you'll come along. I will also bring the cabinet so if you cause us even a small amount of trouble I will just order you into the cabinet and be done with it."

I narrow my eyes and meet her gaze, "Do you understand?"

She stands straight and tall and matches my gaze, looking me in the eyes. "I will not betray you, nor will I attempt to escape, nor will I sabotage any aspect of your mission. So long as it keeps me out of that thing, I will be good."

"See that you do." I jump off the cabinet and gesture to my helpers. "Bring this to High Line. Omar will show you were to put it. "C̵͖͋o̷̤̒m̶͉̍e̶̩͛ ̶̰̎R̷͈̅ä̵̮å̷̡d̴͍̒e̶̙͝n̷̬̓.̶̀ͅ, I will bring you back to your apartment."

She follows me without struggling this time. I stop at the entry to her apartment. "We'll be back tomorrow morning. Do you have any requests for food or drink onboard?"

She blinks. "You're asking my opinion?"

"Well yes. You're going to be onboard with us for at least a week, if not more. You deserve to have some input."

She runs her hand through her close cropped hair, surprised. "Uh, I don't like coffee, so don't bother giving me any. I know you love the stuff, so don't waste any on me."

Oh nice. More coffee for me then. "Thank you. We'll be by tomorrow after breakfast."

She nods and moves to close the door. "Until then."

After the door closes and I lock it, I look at the guards and they acknowledge me. "Empress" they both say, and then face forward, silently.

Part 31

[shanastoryteller]

I posted 1,271 times in 2022

657 posts created (52%)

614 posts reblogged (48%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@zarahuntersstuff

@booksfoodmusic-minion

@bees-n-things

@shanastoryteller

@roanawayspoons

I tagged 1,235 of my posts in 2022

Only 3% of my posts had no tags

#asks - 466 posts

#anon - 357 posts

#prompt answers - 253 posts

#prompts are closed - 253 posts

#progress report - 103 posts

#harry potter - 98 posts

#untamed - 81 posts

#lol - 58 posts

#siat - 43 posts

#art - 38 posts

Longest Tag: 132 characters

#and unfortunately the answer is her fiance fell in love with a nosy and petty girl and then did not tell her his own plans and goals

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

i’m sentencing everyone who believes that media consumption is activism to fifty volunteer hours helping the real actual people they’re so busy wringing their hands over

1,868 notes - Posted May 29, 2022

#4

the reason restaurants that are actually fronts are so good is because whoever is stuck in charge of it can make food exactly how they want to without having to worry about cost since their job isn’t to turn a profit. it’s tax evasion 

1,891 notes - Posted March 20, 2022

#3

i want to print out your writing and. eat it

subsumption is the finest form of flattery

2,212 notes - Posted February 10, 2022

#2

when I was very young my mother told me "they're going to try and teach you that we came from monkeys but that's not true and you shouldn't listen to them because we were made from god" and she was my mom and I was like 7, so I pretty much just went "okay, noted, anyway"

anyway like 2 years later evolution comes up in class and one of my classmates goes "is this the we evolved from monkeys thing?"

and I'm on Red Alert. this is what my mom told me about!

the teacher replies, "well, we share a common ancestor, but we didn't evolve directly from apes. if you go back way before apes or people existed, you'll find a different third thing we both came from. we know this because of things like fossils"

and I was like whoo! dodged a bullet there, good thing my 4th grade science class isn't trying to teach us we came from monkeys and instead figured stuff out using fossils and taught us that instead :)

Instructions Unclear, Ended Up Believing In Evolution Anyway

54,205 notes - Posted November 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

i know kindness exists because i am kind

107,797 notes - Posted January 2, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[maniculum]

This one is from Bodleian MS 764, aka the "Bodley Bestiary". This is actually a pretty nice bestiary; it's one of the ones with a wide selection of animals and some fairly elaborate illustrations. Yes, this illustration looks silly, but it's relatively large, detailed, and technically well-executed. Also I think that background is gold leaf. According to the listing at the Bodleian Library, it was made sometime between 1226 and 1250.

I go on a bit in this post, so I'll go ahead and put a cut here.

I do actually have access to a print translation of this one, so I can tell you that the description reads:

The scorpion is a land worm: it belongs with worms rather than serpents; it is armed with a sting; and it gets its name from Greek, because it stings with its tail and spreads its poison in a gaping wound. The scorpion has this property, that it stings the palm of the hand.

And then there's like three times as much text describing the scorpion's religious symbolism.

So let's look at this critter. At base, this is a pretty regular quadruped, apparently about the size of a cat if the hand is meant to be proportional. The perspective is odd; I'm not sure if this is just a highly-stylized top-down view or if it's actually meant to be hanging off that plant like some sort of demented flag.

There are a couple unusual things to point out. First, that's a weird quasi-human face, which I'd like to credit to the whole "scorpions have faces like virgins" thing, but I'm pretty sure it's actually just the artistic style. To support that claim, gaze upon the face of the Bodley Bestiary lion:

Second, I think this is the only scorpion so far I've seen drawn actually in the process of stinging someone, which is great, but the artist has decided to show this as a rigid spine going clear through a person's hand. Wild.

Third, and probably most important, what is that body shape? Where did that come from? I kind of wonder if the artist somehow had a concept of the scorpion as being low to the ground with a body wider than it is tall but knew virtually nothing else about them. It's kind of hard to interpret what's going on -- like, the silhouette is reminiscent of a horseshoe crab, but it can't possibly be a shell, because the legs are on the wrong side. If we interpret it as a shell, or as just like a weirdly bulky ventral portion, we have to ask how the hell this animal is meant to walk, because it clearly is wide enough to impede its legs. Look at that picture... here, I'll put it in again so you don't have to scroll up.

The legs are posed sticking out perpendicular to the spine here. Imagine this critter putting them down to walk. If that's a solid mass of any kind, it means that in order to move, it would have to keep its... knees? ankles? leg joints bent at a ninety-degree angle the entire time so its own body wouldn't get in the way. Like a turtle whose legs stuck out the top of its shell for some reason. I just don't think it works. The only way I can make sense of it is the one I jokingly suggested in the original post, where those are skin flaps like a flying squirrel. (This is complicated by the fact that the artist is unlikely to have ever seen a flying squirrel any more than they would have seen a scorpion, since the only species in Europe doesn't seem to reach even close to England... but look, I don't know what they were thinking. Bats, maybe.)

anyway. Points!

Small Scuttling Beaſtie? not that small, and whatever method of locomotion is happening here, i hesitate to call it a "scuttle", ✘

Pincers? ✘

Exoskeleton or Shell? friggin... maybe? my official position is no, but benefit of the doubt, ½

Visible Stinger? visible and actively stinging, ✔

Limbs? 4

And I have to say something here. This is a quadruped. And the way it's colored makes it look like it might be furry. I was considering this. And then... let's zoom in.

Those little details on the head there... okay, the two on either end are clearly the ears, but the stuff between the ears? You tell me there's a more plausible explanation than tufts of hair. Which... you know what that means?

🎉🎉🎉

That's a mammal!

🎉🎉🎉

Sorry, buddy, it's probably in bad taste to celebrate you getting a penalty, but I genuinely thought I was never going to use that one.

I'm not penalizing the resemblance to a flying squirrel, though, because like. I think it's unlikely that's what the author was basing this on. Case of convergent evolution.

Anyhow, -1. I think this is our first penalty for a reason other than wings. (By which I mean it definitely is, but I'm leaving the possibility open that something else shows up in the period between when I'm writing this and when I'm scheduling it to post.)

As for the vibes of this week's critter, I think it's charming in a way, but unsettling in enough ways that I want to keep my distance even for non-stabbing-related reasons. I'll give it a 4/5, on the assumption that those are skin flaps and not something else. Because if this is doing the reverse-turtle thing, that's bad vibes and the score would go down.

Total:

4.4 / 10

Whoever is being stabbed on the left there seems real nonchalant about it.

[thebrandywine]

20 Questions for Fic Authors

@catgirladjacent tagged me! and i like to infodump! let's go!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

97 including some that are under pseuds, though I did orphan a few once I started fixating on Resident Evil more fully. I was embarrassed lmao

2. What is your AO3 wordcount?

865,796 o__o

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Resident Evil exclusively now!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

don't worry about this one cuz it's under a pseud lol

[every picture tells a story], 387 kudos

[lantern], 376 kudos

broken machine, 356 kudos

[the quality of mercy], 332 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments?

I do!!! more often than not it's just with some emojis now lol but i relish and treasure every single comment i get

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

oh, this one has yet to be published :) don't worry! <3

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

hmm... probably Two Cakes (which is coming out this month)? made me feel all sappy at least :]

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not now, but I definitely got some hateful comments on things when i was a lot younger-- mostly people complaining that i was a bad writer or that i should delete (which i did, so they got their wish lol). now if anything i mostly get people who comment on my stuff to kind of pressure me to update XYZ (the nivannedy catboy fic is notorious for this, which is why i haven't been working on it very much lately). the block button is my friend tho <3

9. Do you write smut? If so, which kind?

yeah :)

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?

Nope!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

no

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i think someone wanted to at one point and then never did lol

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i've talked with some people about this before but we've never gotten around to it :P

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

i love chreon but there's just SOMETHING about nivannedy---

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

the lethan re7/re8 rewrite. i really want to keep working on them but i just have so much more on my plate that i keep pushing it off, especially when it'll require the research of rewatching playthroughs a few times to reimaging the plot points. maybe one day tho!!

16. What are your writing strengths?

i've been told that my dialog is good which makes me happy because there are a few fics where i'm actually really proud of it :3

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

describing things, especially people! for some reason i always feel like it breaks the flow so i just... am like "there is a man. anyway--" sorry readers but it's your job to imagine him skjfnskdnf

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i only speak english and i'm also VERY american. i don't personally want to mess around with that because it would be google translate type shit and that's just sad imo :/ so since i don't know enough i will abstain

19. First fandom you wrote for?

pokemon!!!!!!!!! i literally found THE first fic i ever wrote which would have been somewhere between third and fifth grade because i PRINTED IT and DREW PICTURES. it is called The Mysterious Manaphy and makes no sense. i read it aloud to my partner and they howled. yeah, it was just that good

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

listen, i love broken machine, but dualities has seriously taken the cake!!!!!!!!!

thank you for tagging me claire :3 i tag @flurrin @fonulyn and @silvercap!!!

[winterlovesong1]

2023 A03 Year End Fic Review

tagged by @onlyalittlebookworm - thank you!

1. What is your AO3 account?

winterlovesong

2. How many words did you write total in 2023?

148, 705 – hard to tell exactly because some of those are drabble collections in that estimate and so the collective number gets thrown off...

3. How many fics did you publish in 2023? How many multichapters vs oneshots?

34 Total – I’m just including the drabble collections at this point because it's easier lol

12 multichapters (this includes drabble collections)

22 oneshots

4. What was your longest fic? Your shortest fic?

 Longest Fic: 

Are you leaving or just getting home?

Fandom: Boy Meets World I Ship: Shawn/Angela I Word Count: 17,792

Shortest Fic:

And now I see daylight, I only see daylight

Fandom: Nancy Drew I Ship: Nancy Drew/Ace I Word Count: 415

5. What was your most popular fic? Your least popular fic?

I’m going to score “popularity” by kudos -

Most Popular:

it was always you

Fandom: Nancy Drew I Ship: Nancy Drew/Ace

Least Popular:

I think about a hundred thoughts and you are ninety-nine

Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer I Ship: Spike/Buffy

6. What fic didn’t perform as well as you thought it would?

I have two that I feel really proud of that I thought deserved more attention – again this is going by the kudo popularity scale…

I'll face my fear of the evening once I get used to this feeling

Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer I Ship: Spike/Buffy

watch from a distance just to see you glow

Fandom: Boy Meets World I Ship: Shawn/Topanga

7. What fic performed way better than you thought it would?

I have two – one was my first Nace fic back from the season four premiere and I just was so warmed by the reception:

I'll sing it one last time for you (then we really have to go)

The second is a Shawn/Topanga fic that out of all my Shawpanga fics I was surprised this was the most popular:

Asking the right questions

8. What was your favorite fic you wrote from 2023?

Again I’m gonna list several and why because why not?

I'll face my fear of the evening once I get used to this feeling

Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer I Ship: Spike/Buffy

I really like the split POV of this fic and the concept of them both wanting subconsciously something more soft with the other, but not wanting to ever admit that…

I'll sing it one last time for you (then we really have to go)

Fandom: Nancy Drew I Ship: Nancy Drew/Ace

I’ll have a special place for this one in my heart since it was my first one after the season four premiere – a somewhat drought for me creatively with Nace since the show had been off the air for so long.

of what we had because it's over (well there must be something in the tide)

Fandom: Nancy Drew I Ship: Nancy Drew/Ace

Even though this was started in 2022, it’s a multichapter that has continued into 2023 and will now continue into 2024. I’m proud of this fic in the sense I am committed to finishing it but also that it’s one even though I’m not consistently updating it, when I return to it, it always feels like I’m working on something that moves me creatively.

9. What was your favorite fic that somebody else wrote in 2023?

ooh get ready I have quite a few:

Spuffy Fic Recs:

The following are by @dustyfics

Dream I Called I Meet Me at Midnight

The following is by @disco-tea

Something Borrowed

Nace Fic Recs:

The following are by @scarletslippers

and everything feels just like it’s supposed to I None of It was Catcidental I and I wake with your memory over me

The following are by @flythesail

The Stars Lead You Home I Printed in Ink I Upside-Down Volcano

The following is by @honey-tea-and-lemon-trees

I know how your kiss would taste (even without touch)

The following is by @thatiranianphantom

i'm glad whenever I can share her laughter

The following is by @barbarahoward

love and its decisive pain

10. Tag your friends to have them do this year-end fic review as well!

Tagging @scarletslippers @flythesail and anyone who feels like doing this feel free! ❤️ no pressure at all

[chaos-and-ink]

15 questions for 15 friends

Ahhh thxs for the tag @lavenderpanic :D

1. are you named after anyone? Nah, I have the most boring and generic name ever. I absolutely hate it. My chosen name I'm not really named after anyone but I do share it with one of my favourite characters so I got that going for me.

2. when was the last time you cried? Like 4 hours ago while driving and listening to music and thinking about the person I love. It was weird to have a happy cry but it felt really nice.

3. do you have kids? Oh god, no. I have a dog. I want some cats. I honestly don't have patience for kids and I don't really see myself having any, they scare me lmaoooo.

4. what sports do you play/have you played? I did karate for 3 years. I also absolutely love badminton, I was amazing at it and won several tournaments in my PE classes lmao. Also volleyball. Never played soccer but I always wanted too. Unfortunately, sports just aren't great for me anymore but I really wish I could play again, I miss them.

5. do you use sarcasm? Not really, I don't think? My humor has been described as reallllly dry though. So like sarcasm but with less heat lmao.

6. what’s the first thing you notice about people? How they move/their presence lol. I don't even know how to describe it. But like, just how a person moves in an environment.

7. what’s your eye color? Boring brown lolll. My eyes are definitely the thing I hate the most about my appearance.

8. scary movies or happy endings comedies? I'm absolutely awful at scary movies. I literally get such paranoia and hallucinations and I think I once triggered myself into a psychotic episode because of a PG13 'scary' movie. And it lasted for a week so likeeeee.. comedies 100%

9. any talents? My joints are my only talents lmao. Bending my thumbs to my forearms. Bending my elbows and knees backwards. Folding my arms backwards in front of me. popping my joints continuously. Subluxing my hips and shoulders on command.... thats it lmao.

10. where were you born? Chongqing, China.

11. what are your hobbies? So ill lately I kinda forget I have hobbies sometimes. I like to draw when I can. I love making stickers and prints and stuff. I like doing crafts and activities and stuff. I also like to write but I've been in a huge slump as of lately. I love reading too but also haven't been able to concentrate long enough to do that :/ I used to write and make music too.

12. do you have any pets? I have two dogs! A Welsh Terrier and a Poodle x Old English Sheep Dog. Love them both.

13. how tall are you? 5'1. (155cm) Though I might be taller if my bones knew how to stack correctly.

14. favorite subject in school? Biomedical science is my biggest passion. Especially diagnostic and treatment aspects. I loooooovveeee human body science and my favourite thing is learning about all the things that go wrong in it, why they go wrong in it, and how it can be managed. I read textbooks for fun lmao. If I weren't chronically ill and disabled I would absolutely go into the medical field. I remember doing gel electrophoresis tests and cadaver labs and dissections and stuff and it was just ugh. I loved all of it so much I wish I could've gone farther in it.

15. dream job? I'd loved to have been a primary care physician/family doctor or to work in the ER. Realistically, I really want to illustrate medical textbooks or infographics and stuff for hospitals or medical facilities.

Gently tagging @bucky-boychik-barnes and @ace-bucket

[thekhoei]

The Beatles and Vietnam (part 1/?)

My Roman empire is whenever my favourite bands have songs in my mother tongue. Today's case is the most influential band of all time, The Beatles (now why im sounding like a freaking interviewer). I wanna share yall a 1987 record by an overseas singer named Kiều Nga (overseas artists are conservative due to the complications behind USA's most infamous war crime - Indochina/Vietnam war). It will take me long to explain the whole thing, so i will break it short while writing about that record. You can find it here on Spotify (im so grateful to still get chances to listen to it, bc the real tape costs quite a lot in my currency, but i can link you where to buy. it's around 32$ in foreign currency. and the fact that it still exists tho i thought it would become a lost media 😭)

This is not the only songs that were covered in Vietnamese, as there was this version of Something by Don Hồ (1992), or You won't see me by Thúy-Hà-Tú (a pre-1975 girl band (?)). You can find some other different and later covers besides the 1987 record on a local channel here. The Beatles and Beatlemania became a worldwide phenomenon during the 60s, and in Vietnam it was no exception. There were so many young bands inspired by them, and even one of our big song-writers Phạm Duy was a fan of them. The Beatles left a foot print in our flow of music during the war. And iirc, there was a commotion (?) relating to the rock n roll wave and The Beatles in the late 60s - early 70s. In old magazines, image of The Fab Four were on almost every pages! It shouldn't be a surprise to me but i'm still so shocked to learn about how the 4 guys brought love to my beautiful homeland, and so many early fans who were, and still are in love with them, like me, a youngster in 21st century. I mean, who am i even kidding, not my country being an inspiration behind those well-known songs.

The 1987 tape was produced by Dạ Lan Productions (originally Mây Productions), and it was numbered the 46th.

Some fyi/disclaimer ig: I did mentioned of why this is a conservative topic. I am a nothern Vietnamese. And Dạ Lan Productions was a product by the overseas singers who followed the lead of RVN/South Vietnam. But i have been growing up with many kind of music without bothering to care whether it is against the government's ideal. And i'm not the only one who has that thought. Most Vietnamese are working class/peasants, and not much gain access to higher education. Music is the beauty of life, and the heart of the composer. Whether it's bad or good deed, it's only love that matters. Not like all of us understand the true nature of communism or capitalism, we only want peace and love, and that war is over. Our current government is no longer against most RVN artists and it's legal for this kind of music to be spreading now.

Dạ Lan tape 46 is a cassette tape featured 10 translated Beatles songs by various artists, with Yesterday/Mới hôm qua, And i love her/Và tôi yêu nàng, Here comes the sun/Vầng dương sáng ngời, Michelle/Michelle yêu dấu, Strawberry fields forever/Tình yêu cuối trời on side A; and I want to hold your hand/Đôi tay thiên thần, Let it be/Chớ âu lo, Ob-la-di Ob-la-da/Cuộc tình Desmond Molly, The long and winding road/Dấu đường tình, If i fell/Một mai nếu yêu anh on side B. Most of them stay accurate to the og, except the Vietnamese version of SFF has a whole new name and meaning (roughly translated as Love in the end of the world??). Mind you that when western music arrived to this land as a result of the first colonization by French, there started a trend named "nhạc ngoại lời Việt", which means creating a whole new lyrics on the original foreign song. I mean it's obvious that not many understand about copyright back then, and the music was only circulated in the country. That era was called "Tân nhạc Việt Nam" (Vietnamese modern age music), along with the modern changes of literature and many forms of art. The overseas singers who moved to a new land during the war mostly were against VietCong, so this kind of music was banned in the northern. Except it broke the wall and bridge that held the grudge.

I will make this a long series to break down the history of The Beatles and Vietnam's connection (will have tag as well if anyone's interested and want to follow) and compare the difference between both versions, as well as finding more information on this topic bc im so invested. There are still concerts and shows running by this generation fan of The Beatles, and im so grateful to be a part of it. I mean, isn't it wonderful that The Fab are still listened by 21st children, like what Brian once predicted?

Thanks for coming to my Ted yap (i'm a professional yapper)

[luv4dino]

MINE!

chapter 1: moving in day.

master list.

warnings: multiple typos in ss. fighting mention (?)

writing portion!

you sat your phone down on the desk and walked out the room to grab the remainder of your items. you plopped them down in the middle of the room then walked towards yachi while they stared at their boxes laying on the floor.

“call your area.” you said, turning your head to face yachi.

yachi hummed, eyeing the room in front of them. she moved her hand on her chin, making an pouty face trying to figure out where she’d want to sleep.

“ooh, what about the left side?” she looked back to you for permission.

“yeah! i’ll have the desk area then, we can share the desk.” you softly smiled. yachi nodded and they quickly got to work to decorating their dorm.

they spent the next 5 hours unboxing and decorating their dorm. during hours 2-4 tobio, hinata and kenma stopped by to help out, which led to them sword fighting with your brushes.

12:45 AM

the group moved over the the guys dorm and kozume decided to stream their progress on moving in. hinata and tobio had an bunkbed, the top bunk had black sheets with an grey comforter with volleyball medals hanging on the wall. the bottom bunk had spongebob sheets with a cat printed comforter. he had drawings his sister drew for him hung on the wall. on the other side was kenma’s bed, he had grey sheets with an white comforter. his youtube plaque was hanging on the wall, alongside photos the group took together.

“what’s up guys, it’s kodzuken here! i’m with the kageyama twins, shoyo and yachi.” kenma said, eyeing the chat filled with usual greetings.

hinata walked behind kenma and stared at the screen in front of them. chat was flooded with how they were happy to see him again.

“hi guys!!! long time no see.” he brightly said, with an huge smile on his face.

while the two of them were talking to chat, they heard an knock on the door. you got up to go open the door to see yamaguchi and tsukishima outside.

“what’s good yams!” you said, doing your signature handshake, that didn’t really require that much effort.

“hi n/n!!!” yamaguchi exclaimed, entering the room with an bag full of snacks. yachi and tobio went through the bag, yachi decided to eat strawberry pocky while tobio ate guava candy.

“hey kageyama.” tsukishima sternly said, looking down at you.

“hey.” you replied, looking up at him. the next few seconds were silent, trying to intimidate each other with an staring contest. tsukishima looked away when he heard his name called out.

“i won.” you teased, watching him walk towards their friends.

“shut up pipsqueak.” he teased back, turning his head to face you.

“hey, what the hell!” you scoffed, speed walking up to him. he pat your head, ruffled your hair, then decided to push her towards tobio.

“you better watch your back lanky.” you sternly, kicking his leg.

“oooh, i’m so scared tiny.” he looked down at you and flicked your forehead.

they both ended up fighting for the next 10 minutes, while kenma had an poll up on who would win the fight. the majority vote was on y/n, and well. you did win, only because he let you.

rewind — little ducklings introduction!

fast forward — chapter 2

a/n — i hope u guys liked this… never wrote before…. or atleast this Long. Hai 😁😁

[sixohsixoheightfourtwo]

15 people 15 questions

tagged in this meme a few weeks ago by @isaksbestpillow!! here we go

1. are you named after anyone?

My first name is the name of a specific figure from UK history! someone a lot of uk people have heard of, but it's unusual to actually have this as a name. I get some incredulity and some people who politely ask where i'm from. I have to say i'm not 100% sure what answer they're expecting.

My tumblr url is a B-52s song which seemed somehow relevant back in uhhh 2013 or whenever it was.

2. when was the last time you cried?

I thinkkkk possibly when i was doing my taxes back in january. These days I tend to cry from stress and anger and frustration but it's really bad for me because once I start I find it VERY hard to stop, it makes my emotions spiral, I get more and more upset, so I really have to squash it down. For me crying is not cathartic, it just ruins the day.

3. do you have kids?

No - BUT - I have a lot of much younger cousins - and I babysit them & help with childcare fairly often so I am quite used to kids. Fortunately my cousins think i'm super fun

4. what sports do you play/have you played?

I am extremely noncompetitive! I was terrible at team sports at school and also had terrible hand-eye coordination. I have been at times an OK swimmer and I played a lot of table tennis in my last couple of years of school with the other four or five people who'd been deemed too useless for netball etc. As an adult I do youtube yoga, I periodically do app-based running stuff like Zombies Run or Nike Run Club. Ideally I'd like to go every day on like a 5 mile walk in an interesting location with a reasonable amount of ascent and descent but in a city it's hard to orchestrate that. Also I put my little cousins on my shoulders and get them to direct me where to go so they can learn the difference between left and right

5. do you use sarcasm?

I think I actually don't! Maybe a little bit sometimes. I tend to me more uhhh. pedantic and literal. tend to deconstruct .

6. what’s the first thing you notice about people?

uhhhhh probably skin texture . or haircut . or I look at their clothes. i don't know . sounds creepy. sorry.

7. what’s your eye color??

I think if you average it out it's brownish / greenish . think filippo berio bottle . maybe a bit browner / greyer than that. I tried to take a picture but it only confused me. Also when you look close enough at someone's eyes you might get flecks of like eight different colours.

8. scary movies or happy endings?

I do watch and enjoy scary movies and I have learned that I have a higher tolerance for them than some people BUT if I must pick between the two - I am team happy ending.

9. any talents ?

Little bit doublejointed! Can play a little bit of ukulele. Good memory. Good cook. Can make cocktails .

10. where were you born?

London, UK

11. what are your hobbies?

cooking, language learning, walking. Tumblr . opening new browser tabs . I'm getting some wine qualifications which is partly work related partly hobby.

12. do you have any pets?

no but my sister & her partner just got a dog and I do feel I am now an auntie

13. how tall are you?

167 cm I think? i think that's 5 ft 6? normal amount.

14. favourite subject in school?

probably languages ........... honestly I don't remember. unfortunately I had a thirst for knowledge and enjoyed most subjects.

15. dream job?

What I do now (print media production work, magazine production work) is pretty good for me

I'm going to do what @isaksbestpillow did and tag the last 15 people in my notes, that seems fun. no obligation obviously! @rociopath @fizzbuzzbananagram @magicmarker @autisticmisabel @starburger @the-omnishambles @itsmapes @youvegotaluckyface @misterhaderach @jestershark @lanninglurksnomore @sirquacklesdefoof @tracybaconnnn @321claratin @alien-ally