#I haven't heard back about the research project

[purringfayestudio]

Your plushies look so so amazing! Have you considered selling patterns for them?

Thank you! I have considered it. Short answer, no, sorry. I won't be selling patterns for the foreseeable future.

Ok story time.

Last year I prepped a pattern for someone for use in a PhD research project. I learned very quickly that pattern prepping for someone else is a very different skill than designing that pattern and making the plush.

My patterns are loose pieces of tape and paper with scribbled labels. In order to prep them I have to digitize them (difficult for pieces that are larger than printer paper), label them clearly, and then create comprehensive instructions.

The one pattern I prepped, one of my simplest, took me about six months to prep. That was mostly because, well, I hated the entire process. It's slow. It's boring. It's just not my cup of tea. (It probably would have taken me a month if I'd enjoyed it, even so. It's very time-consuming.)

What's more, pattern sellers need to be available for troubleshooting and answering questions, and I don't really have the bandwidth for that. Or time for the array of other issues that pattern sellers have to contend with on a near-constant basis.

Even if I did sell patterns, it wouldn't be for every pattern I design. My plush are more than plush to me--they're my art, my soul, and I'm not really keen on my exact design choices being recreated. So while I am utterly delighted to inspire and share my process, there are some things I'd like to keep within my own artistic voice.

My hat off to all the plush artists who sell patterns. They are true heroes.

~~~

P.S. If you're looking for realistic canine patterns, FreakHound Studios has a couple nice wolves, and is currently releasing a fox pattern with a Q&A session set to go live on Patreon on Nov. 24th. NazFX also has a realistic fox pattern but I don't think she has it up on Gumroad yet.

[shihalyfie]

I've alluded to tri. having some very troubled production behind the scenes, and among everything that apparently went on back there, there seem to have been at least two major bottlenecks: 1) the fact that the director (who, based on his own statements about deliberately not consulting source material, most likely didn't even watch Adventure to begin with) kept asking everyone to make things more "mature" without being clear on what that actually meant, and 2) the fact they ran out of budget and had to rewrite the entire plot halfway into it. Even the most brilliant of creators probably wouldn't be able to work at their best under such conditions.

But conversely, this also means that there were some excellent people involved in production whose efforts probably haven't been as appreciated as they should be! So I want to take a moment to spotlight some people I want to give props to:

Ayana Yuniko and Nakanishi Yasuhiro: These two scriptwriters were childhood Digimon fans who were thrilled to be on the project, and their enthusiasm clearly shows in every interview they were in. Ayana even made keen observations like noticing that the Adventure kids aren't as super-tight as people tend to make them out to be (something I've pointed out myself, and something that generally only tends to crop up among fans who have studied the series closely), and Nakanishi stated that she would slip him detailed notes about the characters and their relationships.

Both of them stated they were trying to portray the Adventure characters in a character-accurate way but kept getting their scripts rejected for not being "mature" enough, leaving them unsure about what they were supposed to do. Their roles on the series were also limited; Ayana was on parts 1, 2, and 4 while Nakanishi was on part 4 only, and they were sharing the scriptwriter role with multiple others (even within a single movie). But if I were asked to pick who on the staff list I would want to see come back for another Digimon work, it would absolutely be these two.

Kakikara Yuuko: The one in charge of overall writing for the series. tri. had a total of five scriptwriters and could have up to four(!) on a given movie, so because of that, her statements on the series and its story direction have been a bit difficult to tell whether it was her idea personally or whether she was delivering the writing room's discussion result. But one of her final statements on the series basically amounted to "I'm grateful if you even came to watch it to the end at all," and she was quite humble about saying she felt things could have been done differently; considering it sounds like she had a hard time keeping everyone and everything in order, I can only imagine she went through a lot trying to make sure everything ended safely. Incidentally, her writing portfolio is also quite respectable (and even includes kids' shows).

Suzuki Takaaki: The person with the job of "setting researcher", i.e. the one with the job of looking into the lore. Sadly, it seems like most of his ideas didn't make it into the final series (possibly because of the budget loss-induced rewrite), but his one solo interview indicates that he put quite a bit of conscientious thought into how Digital World lore works, including the idea of an EMP weapon that would affect Digimon easily but not humans (an idea that doesn't pop up among fans as often as you'd think, and took up until last year to make it into actual Adventure material via Takeru's 02TB in-universe fanfic).

Sakabe Gou: The person in charge of the series BGM. We haven't heard a lot from him, but the little we have indicates that although he also had difficulty understanding what the director was asking for when he wanted "mature" music of some kind, he himself put some very thorough thought put into the composition. In particular, he went into detail regarding the music used at the beginning of part 4, which seems to be a fan-favorite track from what I've seen (it's also my favorite too!). Sakabe also has an extensive and respectable portfolio outside Digimon; in particular, he's very highly regarded in Kamen Rider circles, so if you have a friend who's a fan, it might be a good idea to ask them about it!

[girlwithalotoffeelings]

A/B/O Bakugou trying to court you brain rot...

You both met each other at the hero gala where the sturdy hero red riot had introduced you to the moody alpha. You had met kirishima while on a joint mission.

Both of you and gotten talking and didn't separate the entire night, too engrossed in each other to be bothered.

Katsuki had never been one to get caught up in the scents of omegas but yours... was like heaven to him. You smelt of salted caramel, elder flower and a blazing camp fire. A wonderful match to your quirk "Solar". You were able to harness the energy of the sun and expell it from your hands.

You were also pleasantly surprised at the addictive aroma that flooded from him. Burnt marshmallows, amber and the sting of peppercorn.

Each of you was eager to see each other again, which was sooner than you both expected...

You weren't expecting anything out of the ordinary when you arrived back at your pro hero agency from patrol. You sat behind your desk, ready to get to the paperwork you had put off yesterday when you heard a resounding knock at the door.

"Come in." You called out, sighing as you dropped the files on the other side of your desk, losing your nerve. You were surprised to see the number 2 hero walk into your office with a gift bag in tow, closing the door behind him.

"Oh Dynamite! Did we have a meeting scheduled? I wasn't expecting you." You was vigorously flipping through your calender and planner trying to find this on the books.

"No, we didn't I uhh can leave if you're too busy right now." He made to walk backwards and out but you stopped him with and extended arm.

"No, it's ok," you smiled warmly. "What's up?" You gestured over to the couches in the corner. You both took a seat on the three seater one couch cushion apart.

"I um, just wanted to... say hi?" It sounded like a question that made you quirk your eyebrow up.

"You came all the way here just to say hi?" You laughed lightly under your breath which helped Bakugou relax a little.

Unbeknownst to you, he hasn't stopped thinking about you since the gala. He craved to smell your scent again. He did hours of research on you, found out what all your favourites where and even how to make your favourite meal just the way you like it. He passed it off as just being curious about you, but realised it was way more than that as he caught himself replaying the same 10 seconds of one of your press interviews just to hear you laugh.

He didn't know what the hell was wrong with him at first, but after explaining what he was feeling to Kirishima and Kaminari, he was met with huge laughter. After he threatened their lives, they explained to him that he might have a teeny tiny bit of a crush on you.

As he thought about it more it made sense. He wanted to court you, to make you his and to be yours. That's when he decided he would ask to court you, now he just had to figure out what to do to convince you he'd be a good match for you. He was greatly aware he didn't have the best track record in approachablity, and that if you had deep dived him like he did you... you'd most likely never want a relationship with him.

He'd settled on the idea of giving you a blanket for your nest that he had scented, but not just any old store bought blanket, no. He took up knitting to make it as personalized as possible. He even spent a month on it just to make sure it was perfect for you. Once he deemed his little project worthy, he folded it up all nice and put it into a gift bag he had bought.

His palms were sweaty walking into your agency he almost didn't knock and just turned around. When you told him to come in he decoded there was no turning back now. After he'd spent over 6 months pining for you.

"No, no i didn't." He sighed wiping his palms on his pants. He set the bag on the couch in-between you two and gestured for you to open it. You were surprised to pull out a beautifully and what looks like handmade knitted blanket. You stared at the soft fuzzy material in shock when he started speaking again.

"I haven't stopped thinking about you since the gala," his voice was just above a whisper. "Look I know that I can be... less than polite, and that I'm not all sweet and mushy when it comes down to feelings and stuff. Its not a secret that the media really doesnt like to paint me in a good light either." He wasn't looking at you but looking down to his palms instead. You could tell that every word he was saying was sincere. You stared at him, lips slightly parted listening to his declaration. "But i still want the chance to show you I can be a good alpha to you... that I can make you happy." This side of him was so different to the Bakugou that was in the public eye. His usually self-assured, confident and rude demeanor now replaced with uncertainty, vulnerability and a sincerity that mesmerized you to your core. "I made it for you to y'know... put in your nest." You held the softness of the woven wool tightly to your chest.

"Katsuki, I dont care about your public image." He looked up at you and you could see the tint on his cheeks. You put the blanket down and reached forward to pull him into a hug, being engulfed in his scent. He was stiff at first but soon melted into it, circling his arms around your waist, pulling you closer and tucking his head into the crook of your neck to take a long inhale of you. "Thank you for the blanket, I love it," You said as you pulled back a little from the hug, your bodies still pressed against each other as you brought the plush to your nose and took a deep inhale and sighing in contempt "Smells like you." You put it down and smile up at him as he blushes.

A loud beeping brings you both out of the moment. "Shit, I have a meeting in five minutes." You get up and go over to your desk to turn off the alarm.

"Stupid meeting." He mumbles under his breath.

God my heart is aching for him so bad ily bakubabe<333

Thanks for reading! Reblogs are appreciated.

Requests are open♡

[migueloharaslave]

You stood in front of a mirror, tugging on the dress you picked to wear for the night. It has been a couple of months since you've joined alchemex and tonight the company hosted a little reward show to give recognitions to some of the Geneticists for their new discovery in their project.

You hummed as you walked over to the dresser, grabbing one of your vanilla scented perfumes. You gently sprayed the mist on yourself before walking over to the bed, which your boyfriend was stretched across of.

"Okay I'm about to go, do you need anything?" You asked Shawn, with a small smile on yourself. You and Shawn have been together since highschool, you two started dating when you were 16 and now your 24.

"No. I'm good. Go have fun." He muttered as he sat up in the bed, resting his back against the headboard as he continued to text on his phone.

"Okay.." You were expecting some sort of kiss goodbye just like he used to do.. but now he doesn't anymore. Sometimes it feels like Shawn doesn't even love you as much as you love him.

"Well, bye. Love you." You grabbed your purse and walked out the room, closing the door behind you.

You sighed, walking out of your apartment you felt nothing but guilt. Did you do something wrong? Did you say something? What if he isn't interested anymore? All those thoughts bottled up in your chest was ready to spill out.

You felt a lump in your throat and you decided to swallow to get rid of it, you didn't need to be upset about anything right now.

..You stepped into the venue, greeting some of your fellow coworkers as you shared laughs and giggles.

You smiled as you listened to them gossip about this guy.. one of the Geneticist who is apparently a real hot hunk of a man.

"He's supposed to be the lead on this project. I've heard he's single, but he doesn't really seem to be interested in dating." One of your coworkers spoke as she took a sip of her wine.

"No, I've heard rumors of him dating someone.. Whoever she is, she's lucky." Another coworker spoke, and as they continued their conversation you sorta zoned out.. thinking about your boyfriend.

You decided to excuse yourself from the group and went over to the bar. You told the bartender what drink you wanted, and he made it and handed it to you with a warm smile. "Enjoy your drink, Ma'am." He spoke in a tone of class.

And just as you got the drink, ready to walk back to the table with your gal pals, you bump into someone.

"Oh my god.. I am so sorry. I should had been paying attention." You quickly put the glass down and grabbed a napkin to hand it to the man who stood before you.

When you finally looked up at him, your eyes met his.. you stared at those eyes of his.. those dark crimson eyes seemed like something out of a film, something only a man from the dream could have and god his height, he had to be above six feet atleast. That nice bronze skin, slicked back brunette hair, the strong facial structures he had.. those broad shoulders, you could honestly tell he went to the gym.

"No, worries. It's fine, dear." He chuckled softly, taking the napkin and gently dabbing the liquid off of his black blazer. He then crumbled it up and tossing it in a nearby trashcan.

He cleared his throat, holding out his hand to you. "I'm Miguel O'Hara, it's nice to meet you, Ms..?"

You smiled softly as you took his hand into yours, feeling the rough calloused hand of his, you tucked a strand behind your ear as you spoke. "Y/N."

"Pleased to meet you. I haven't seen you around before, are you new?" Miguel spoked as he pulled his hand away, slipping them into the pockets of his dress pants and your eyes couldn't help but follow them.

You looked up at him, "Yes.. I started working here a couple months ago. I'm one of the new research scientists."Miguel looked at you up at down, seeming to be examining you.

"Well.. That's nice. I hope to see you around more now that I know your name, Y/N." The way your named rolled off of his tongue sent a shiver down your spine, you licked your lips as you felt them go dry.

"Yeah.. I'll definitely be looking around for you, yknow since your all.. tall and stuff." You giggled nervously then you furrowed your brows at your words, cringing at how awkward that was. You couldn't even talk to a guy, well a attractive guy at that. Was it weird to find him attractive when you had a whole boyfriend at home? Yes, but it isn't a crime.

Miguel gave you a look that seemed as if he was slightly confused but he just shook it off. "Well, I'll be going now. I'll see you around." He smiled at you one last time before waving and walking off.

You stood there, watching him. You dumbfounded, clenching onto your purse as your heart raced in your chest. You felt as if you wanted to faint not only did you see a most amazing hunk of a man, but you were.. attracted to him.

Just feeling like that for another guy made you feel guilty deep down inside.. you didn't wanna hurt your boyfriend's feelings.. but god that Miguel looked like he could do wonders to your body. Shaking off your wild thoughts you just asked the bartender for a shot of vodka, you grabbed the glass and gulped it down within in a second and sat it down. You whispered a small thank you and walked away, looking around you found your little clique again.

"Y/N! We were just talking about you." The girl laughed as you joined them at the table. You sat down at the table with them at a empty spot looking around, as your attention was soon drawn to the stage when you saw someone walking on up to a podium. "I was just looking around.. that's all." You said softly as you looked at her with a small smile.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed and the attention was focused on the stage to a man with a mic, "Welcome everyone. Tonight is a big night! We're recognizing our amazing geneticist team and their new project. Their job working on this project for months really paid off and it opened up a new path for more studies to occur. Now, will Miguel O'Hara and his team come to the stage." Your throat went dry at the mention of his name, was he the guy your coworkers were not too long gossiping about? You watched as he stepped onto the stage along with four other people and they smiled as they stood on stage behind him and he adjusted his tie.

Miguel placed those calloused hands against the side of the podium, leaning down to speak in the mic. "Thank you to everyone for the support on this project. It has been stressful these past few months while we worked on it, but we managed to get through it as a team. Teamwork is a major factor in this company, it's what keeps the creativity flowing and more ideas being produced. Thank you to my team for working on this project with me, although it took a lot of convincing.. and thank you to corporate for funding this project, it is highly appreciated. Hopefully this will open new doors for not only us, but also the new generation of scientist on their way. Thank you."

You sat there and clapped after that speech of his, you weren't really focused on what he was saying.. only on his voice, the way his deep voice sounds, the little rasp within it. Something about it drove you crazy.

...After more scientist got their recognition, along with hours of talking to random people you finally got home. You groaned as you walked into your apartment, kicking your heels off. "I'm home!" You called out to your boyfriend. You heard rumbling coming from the room so you went to go check and see what he was doing.

"Are you okay?" You asked as you walked into the room, looking around. Your bed was a little messy, but it looked like Shawn was sleeping by the way he was just casually laying under the sheets.

"Yeah! I'm fine. Didn't think you were coming home early." He chuckled, he stood up and walked over to you. He was in his boxers, which were something he usually didn't sleep in. You were taking off your jewelry and then you started to take off your makeup.

"I was too tired to stay for the after party stuff." You muttered as you looked up at him, you stood up walking up to the mirror next to your closet and he quickly followed you. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing.. I just wanna follow you around." He smiled as he leaned against the closet door. He licked his lips as he watched you take your hair out of the bun you pinned it up in.

"Well, I'm gonna shower now." You smiled at him and pecked a kiss on his cheek. You walked out the room, and when he heard the shower start running he immediately open the closet door and as expected, there was a half naked girl.

"Jenni, Go before she finds out. Hurry up." He hissed softly as he shooed her out of the apartment.

(ERM THIS IS MY FIRST FANFIC OBVIOUSLY ITS NOT GONNA BE GOOD BUT MY FRIENDS LIKED IT AND YEAH SO THIS IS IT PLEASE GIVE FEEDBACK, ADVICE, AND MAYBE IDEAS FOR PART TWO 😜)

[winterspiderpurrs]

Pepper sighed as she exited the elevator to head toward the lab. About two hours ago, she received the notification she and Rhodey set up several years ago. Rhodey was already en route to the tower. Should be here in the next twenty minutes.

When the doors slid open to the lab, she found Tony sitting in a chair, hand deep into a robot, but his focus was on a projected screen in front of him. Looks like he was reading paged of book. When he tilts his head a certain way, the pages turn.

" Tony. What are you doing?"

" Nothing. Just reading"

" Uh huh. Then why did Friday notify me that you unblocked Peter's on the server"

" Hey! Big tattle tell Friday! Don't worry about it, Pep. It's been a while, and I heard from Brucie that Peter published another paper. And I just wanted to read it. "

" Don't start this up again Tony. You go down this rabbit hole its going to be like before"

" Have faith Pepper! I'm just reading a paper, I'm not asking him out."

" Again?"

Tony swirls around in his chair and faces Pepper.

" I can control myself!"

" Said that the last 3 times. This time isn't going to work. Just leave him be Tony"

" It's not going to be anything! His idea to use some nano tech in closing wounds is intriguing, but we would have to test that out. Lots more research. I could get a grant for him to explore it. "

" Tony!"

Pepper stomps her foot to get his attention before he goes off on a tangent. This is how it always goes with Peter and Tony.

See Tony met Peter when Peter was 18 and was doing a summer internship at the tower. They hit it off and started a whirlwind romance. And that's how it went.

Things would be great, then Peter would ask for more, and Tony would break up with him. They separate for a while. Peter does something that draws Tony back in, and they try to be friends and end up where they started.

It's not like Tony doesn't know that Peter knows himself in the ways of science. But it came to the relationship? The long haul? Tony wanted that, but Peter was just so young, so he kept pushing him away.

They have been doing this song and dance for years. The last break up was a year and a half ago.

And Peter left without a fuss this time. Simply packed up his bags, told Tony to stop contacting him til he grows up and figures out what he wants. But not wait for him cause he was absolutely done.

The doors open to the lab again and Rhodey walks out.

" i don't smell alcohol so Tony is still sober. Whats the emergency Pepper"

" PGMATDK Protocol "

" Shit okay. "

Tony blinks.

" Hey! Only I'm allowed to have acronyms!"

"Sure Tones. But brace yourself."

"What?"

Pepper sighs and looks to Rhodey before back to Tony.

" You've read just Peter's papers. Haven't researched into him again correct?"

Tony frowned and looked between the two.

" No just his published work..."

" Well I'm sorry that this is coming out but...Peter got married"

Tony stares at them before standing up and pacing.

" We have only been broken up a year and a half? When? To who? "

Tony spins around to look at them.

" Tell me it wasn't to that Strange guy"

" No he didn't marry Dr. Strange, someone else about a month ago.

Tony stares at them again before sitting down. Rhodey comes to stand next to him and puts his hand on his shoulder.

" I'm sorry Tony..."

They stayed like for a while before Tony whispered.

" Does he seem happy?"

" Don't open that box Tony. But... he does... yes."

Later that night Tony was looking up the photos.

[afniel]

Today (on three hours of sleep which is my own fault) my partner and I got up early and got breakfast and then went to a community education seminar at a local university's educational garden about native bees, and made a wooden bee house. Our landscape designer team (two women who I'm pretty sure are queer) was there attending and it was run by a really cool woman who runs another landscaping co-op (with a nonprofit educational side) who is also working with them to teach them all the ins and outs of permaculture, and they kinda group-projected our yard, so I got to know all three of them over the course of the contract, which was cool.

It was great, you guys. We talked about the importance of supporting native pollinators, because honeybees are fine and all but outcompete native bees, some of whom are so specialized that their exact wing frequency is what it takes to pollinate a single, specific species. The world's smallest bee is 2mm at the largest and lives right here. We've got sweat bees that look like tiny flying gems. We've got bumblebees that are so docile you can gently pet them while they're gathering pollen. We have huge, harmless carpenter bees with metallic black shiny females and golden fuzzy males and they'll bonk into you just to see what you're doing.

I got to get excited about iNaturalist to a bunch of people who haven't heard about it before! I got to see thousands of honey bees just doing their business and I realized I wasn't having my usual phobic reaction anymore! I got to use a power drill! I got on the mailing list and I'm gonna see if I can't get even more involved in this kind of shit over time, because it's honestly great.

You're only one person but even little things can have an outsized impact, and it's not in turning off the water when you brush your teeth, it's in things like planting native keystone species so that the other living things that rely on it can move back in. Even in a tiny area. Animals and plants spread and have ripple effects. The same way removing a species causes a spreading collapse, bringing back a species, even just one, causes a spreading regrowth of diversity. Literally a handful of plants can support countless insects that support countless animals and this changes the environment just a little bit at a time back to a better state. It does make a difference and it doesn't have to be hard or expensive.

I get really excited about native species because as I see it, getting educated about them and making decisions to support them is what's going to locally make the biggest impact for the least money. The success stories can be literally microscopic, when it comes to things like soil microbes, but they really, really matter. One person can't fix the whole climate but one person can fix a one-person-sized patch of ground, and that's enormous when you remember that thousands of important little things spend their entire lives within even the smallest yard.

Anyway I'm tired to hell now but hey maybe next spring we'll have a bunch of big goofy carpenter bees living in the yard! Or even other native bees. I'm hype as heck to find out.

Also, and I forgot to say this so ETA, I guarantee THIS IS HAPPENING wherever you are. Look up your closest university and find out what kind of research/community gardens they have and what kind of seminars they offer. Look into your state and county conservation programs. There's outreach education all over, and a whole lot of it is donate-as-you-can, because they just want to get knowledge into the community. If you want to hear it, they want to teach it to you, and they're almost universally some of the kindest folks you're going to meet. If this sounds even a tiny bit interesting, do some searching and I would bet you anything there's opportunities right there waiting.

[ultrainfinitepit]

Hello! I'm curious, do you happen to have a visual comparison between copper and rose-gold plating on your pins? Or opinions on the color or tone differences between the two? I'm researching for a hopeful pin project I want to do someday and I'm having a difficult time finding direct comparisons of the two metals in the same picture and/or with similar pins.

The links in your FAQ are super useful btw and will be saving them for the future!! Love your work and I hope you have a nice day!

I'm glad those FAQ links are helpful :))

With regards to copper vs. rose gold plating, you're unlikely to find the same design and colors with those two platings. This is because they are so similar they are often indistinguishable.

To demonstrate, here are the backs of two pins (Joan of Arc and Dominion) from the same manufacturer. The right pin (Dominion) is rose gold plated, the left (Joan of Arc) is copper plated.

You might notice the copper pin is slightly darker and redder. But if you are not looking for it, it is difficult to see.

Copper vs. rose gold depends a lot on your manufacturer. With this manufacturer, the two platings are very similar and might even be substituted for each other. Other manufacturers will have bigger differences in these two platings. And others still will admit they use one plating for both copper and rose gold. If you are picky about your plating, I highly recommend asking your manufacturer for sample photos to see the difference.

For example, here are three rose gold plated pins from three different manufacturers.

If you look closely, the rightmost pin is a bit more pink and darker than the others. The bottommost pin is the lightest, almost silvery.

Other considerations:

Copper tends to range from pink to orange or even red-orange. It is often slightly darker and more saturated in color than rose gold. Rose gold tends to range from pink to a more neutral light pink, or even closer to gold. It is often lighter than copper.

Depending on your manufacturer, copper plating may be slightly cheaper than rose gold.

Anecdotally I have heard from other makers that copper tarnishes less than rose gold, but in my experience both platings have issues with tarnish. They might even be tarnished when you receive them. Tarnish can be removed by gentle polishing with a jewelry cloth.

In the end, the colors of each plating are best brought out by the enamel colors next to them. Depending on your enamel palette, you can accentuate certain hues in the plating you choose.

Some pins in copper plating (only the left pin of the two pins in the first image)

Pins in rose gold plating

I hope that helps!

If you want more guidance, I'll plug Pin Maker Resource if you haven't joined already. The group is open for applications the first week of every month (sadly the deadline just passed for this month). There are quite a few posts and examples on the topic of copper vs. rose gold in the group that covers way more than I discuss here, and might be helpful to you.

Good luck on your pin journey!

[fkinavocado]

Just did 2,5 hours of garden work and I need DI to come and give me a massage 😭😭 my back is going to be KILLING me later I know it

Daddy issues- Masterlist, Author’s Note & Warnings

extra / alternatively, read on wattpad

Spanking for good measure (word count: 700)

Harry peeked his head through the window giving you a stern look when you felt his eyes on you and looked up at him "Haven't you been there the whole afternoon?"

You sat back on your heels and brushed the hair out of your face with the back of your gloved hand "Yeah. I suppose I must have"

He pulled back the window curtain and you resumed your work tending to your new garden. You were determined to have this be a success although you knew little to nothing about gardening, but you were a quick learner. It was a passion project of yours that you'd gotten into very randomly, but you spent hours doing diligent research so you were fairly confident it would turn out fine. Hopefully.

You heard Harry head your way so you turned slightly to watch him approach you with a tall glass of what appeared to be lemonade. You realised you hadn't had a sip of water in literal hours and suddenly were feeling quite parched so when he handed it to you, you grabbed it with both hands and started gulping it down "Whoa. Slow down, darling; it's really cold, and you're really hot. Wouldn't want you coming down with laryngitis"

You looked up at him, he was standing tall over you with his hands at his hips, obstructing the sun and providing shade, although the sun had started going down and wasn't burning as harshly anymore "That's not how you get laryngitis"

He exhaled audibly through his nose "Ok, smarty pants. Come on, up you get" his words were lighthearted but his tone wasn't. He seemed quite annoyed with you, actually.

"I'm not done yet" you said after finishing off the glass and handing it back to him. He took your glass and held his other hand outstretched for you

"You've been sitting here all day in the sun, no water, no shade, not even a cap on your head. Have you even thought of putting on spf?"

"I... well, I didn't realise I'd--"

He wiggled his fingers impatiently "Yeah. I thought so. Let's go. The garden isn't going anywhere, It'll still be here tomorrow"

You furrowed your brows and reluctantly took his hand and he pulled you up like you weighed nothing, making you squeal. You lost your footing though, feeling quite lightheaded and he pressed you to his side protectively "I guess I... I might have overdone it a bit"

He slowly walked you to the house, his voice going softer "Should've checked on you. Got caught up with work in my office and didn't realise you'd stayed out there the whole day. What were you thinking, sweetheart? Hm? Come on let's get you on the sofa, I'll make us dinner"

"Not really hungry" you whined "Feeling kinda nauseous actually"

"You better not get sun poisoning or so help me god, Y/N…" his voice was back to being irritated "Honestly... you should know better" he had you sit on the sofa, placed the glass on the coffee table and helped you stretch out, sitting on the edge next to you and checking your forehead for signs of a fever

"Sorry, daddy" you pouted "Was excited and lost track of time... "

"You're like a child sometimes, I swear" he huffed "Bratty little thing" he added, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips

You smiled at him and tried stretching a bit, trying to get more comfortable, groaning at how your muscles ached "Ugh, I certainly don't feel like a child. Feel like a bed ridden grandma, I'm sore all over"

"Serves you right" he smushed your cheeks together between his thumb and the rest of his fingers and pecked your pout "I'm cooking dinner and you're gonna eat, like a good girl. And then, if you finish your plate I'll run a bath for us and massage your back. How's that sound?"

You smiled, making him loosen his grip on your cheeks "Sounds like I might be in love with you"

"Hmph. Maybe a little spanking too for good measure then"

Daddy issues- Masterlist

A/N: got carried away 👀 also, sorry(not sorry) for the false advertising in the title mehehehe

💕 like & reblog if you enjoyed this, lovelies, and most importantly, please come share your thoughts on it here 💌

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[buckets-and-trees]

haunting thoughts on Silent Screams

read it here: SILENT SCREAMS IN WILDEST DREAMS

Fandom: MCU Characters/Pairings: Bucky x Reader, side of Steve Word Count: 8k Content Warnings: dark dark DARK tale, smut, main character death, rough sex, fingering, oral (f receiving), unprotected p in v sex, creampie, talk of wounds, slight dub/con, elements of somnophilia

RECAP: A dark tale with an unhappy ending. Just when you’ve married the man of your dreams, only just closed the chapter of your honeymoon, happily ever after is wrenched away, and you’re met with a nightmare you never could have imagined.

I published this in late November 2022, but I worked on it on and off between other projects for about six weeks from concept to research to writing. I wrote it for @darkficsyouneveraskedfor's Hallo-Cream Extravaganza, which was a cool challenge because there was a collection of numbered images you could choose from, and then when my image was confirmed, there was a prompt to go along with it.

It was also my first time participating in a challenge since getting back into writing fanfic. When I thought I was getting the sun alone, I was thinking vampires, but when I got the phrase along with the image, it halted the vampire idea I thought I would go with, and since I was already going to re-evaluate, it got my mind going even more. At the time I was also redefining a lot of pieces in my life and I had signed up to go solo on this 5-day retreat to a cabin in the woods... I ended up talking about some of the research and concept ideas for this fic on the six-hour drive to and from that cabin with a girl I carpooled with (we talked about so many things as you do with a stranger you just met when you're both going to the same retreat and want to save on gas). But I'll put the rest under a cut so as not to spoil for those who haven't read it.

When I realized it wasn't going to be vampires, I really wanted to then get totally outside of the box of things we see all the time. I decided I wanted to look up Scandinavian folklore as I was also trying to throw off some of the USAmerican culture I'd just been sitting in my whole life and explore some of my ancestral heritage. I figured there had to be a ton of stuff I'd just never learned about or heard of before and of course there was. One of the ideas I have buried for another day is to do kind of a Grimm or Phillip Pullman thing and do an anthology retelling of some of Scandinavian folktales because they were fascinating, and there were elements I was familiar with alongside very new pieces. It was so cool to begin to uncover the stories there...

But I was looking for a story that would also fit my prompt and lend itself to Bucky x Reader application.

I found the Gengångare. The lore is that they're a revenant/walker, and particularly in the Swedish tradition they're a corporeal form of a spirit that comes back after death. The spirit would have been murdered or killed and came back for mixes of revenge or unfinished business. That I could give Bucky - going on a mission, being killed, and having both revenge he could seek (against still living HYDRA folks who tormented and used him) and unfinished business in a promise that he makes to you, his reader newlywed bride, to come back to you.

And so the story begins with what I was hoping to be this blissful newlywed haze - the first morning after your honeymoon. Bucky is leaving for a mission - he'd said they were leaving later than he's actually going to leave because he didn't want you to get up hours before you needed to in order to send him off, but he does wake you up to share some kisses and say goodbye, it gets a little more heated, but there's no time for smut since he has to go, but he promises to pick up where you to left off when he returns, and there we have the tie he makes to come back to you.

I listen to music heavily throughout the day, but I wrote this fic with some very specific music through different sections. And for the opening, I was listening to This Love by Taylor Swift because its very romantically evocative for me, but some of the lyrics I knew could also be ripped into the horrific elements of this story, and so I truly loved it for that even more! - this love is good/this love is bad/this love is alive back from the dead

Then there are some other deep musical cues that when I was writing the rest of the fic, I was literally listening to these songs on repeat - a track from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, two tracks from Netflix's The Empress series, etc - and so I actually embedded the Spotify players for them at particular parts for the particular songs. That's the only fic where I've so heavily "scored" it.

I put into the narrative that they didn't recover a body from Bucky for what I never specifically defined but figure was an explosion or an accident of some sort where not finding a body would be believable - but it's the Gengångare Bucky escaping. His undead soul seeks some revenge first, then he's pulled back to your door, but I wanted/tried to imply that he moves by these motivations and doesn't really remember much until he encounters something. So he shows up back on your doorstep, and it's as he interacts with you that he remembers more and more pieces of himself that are added back into the primal gengångare motivations.

The sex after he returns is frequently more rough and desperate, but since you're just as desperate for him, you don't question that it's the fact that his nature has changed - no longer human, but a creature that needs to leech the energy of another living thing to survive. He doesn't realize it at first either. But the first night he returns, his body is very cold, and he gets warmer the longer he's with you.

His bruises haven't healed, and you notice that, but he brushes it off. There's an inadvertent pinching on your back that's the beginning of the marks he can't help consuming you. He's truly insatiable, but since you were so consumed with grief and so deeply and desperately in love, you don't question it. When you finally do bring up having Bruce examine him or bringing Steve into things, he doesn't want that and presents good reasons - not wanting to be a body poked and prodded, and not wanting to worry Steve until he has more of his memory cleared up.

There's only a little bit of Alpine in this fic, but Alpine can tell that something is wrong with Bucky and so she is not around when he is at all after he comes back. The sex is exhausting, but it's because it's with this creature form of Bucky taking more and more of your life.

And then the spill of the story/the reveal. And it's all discovered when you're basically doomed by your love. And he literally makes love and fucks you to death, and is still so in love with you while doing it. Very sad. And his goodbye is the same goodbye he said to you in the first scenes of the story.

This was the darkest thing I'd written up to this point, and I really just wanted it to feel gothic and doomed, but twisted up in this all-consuming love. As I knew where the story was headed, I sort of just took deep breaths and steadied myself to dive into letting it have its dark ending. And I loved taking it there even though it was kind of scary for my first time. It was very haunting to write and I really tried to convey that feeling and have it bleed through.

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

read more from the Dark Forest Fest

[turnipstewdios]

Half-Lives, chapter 13

For all its flaws, and there were many, many flaws, Gotham actually had decent road maintenance. 

Oh there were plenty of areas of the city where the roads were shit. The areas where the rich people lived were always given first priority, and nobody in city planning really gave a fuck about Crime alley or the Bowery, but large sections of the city road network were reasonably well maintained. Bludhaven’s were not. So Jason always had to be careful when he brought his bike over this way, lest he ram into one of the bottomless potholes that littered the cracked pavement. It was even worse with a passenger, and he didn’t want to rattle Danny around too much. The actual road to the Zoo itself was halfway decent, mainly because it was on the outskirts of Gotham rather than in Bludhaven proper. But the side trip he had planned for later would be rough. 

Still, he managed to get to the Zoo’s parking lot without rattling himself or his passenger halfway back to death, and found a decent parking spot that wasn’t too far from the entrance. It was also close enough to the toll-booth that no one should be tempted to try stealing it. Not that they could, his baby’s security was way too good for that. “So, where should we head first?” Jason asked as they walked towards the entrance. 

“Eh, I don’t have a preference. I would like to tour the walk-in aviary at some point though.” Danny replied. “That’s about halfway through the main loop. Let’s just pick a direction and walk.” 

“Sounds good.”

Jason paid for admittance as they went through the check-in. Almost immediately, something seemed to catch Danny’s eye. There was a big, open enclosure full of flamingos near the entry, and Jason saw Danny perk up when he noticed them. Looked like they’d be going that way to start. “You like birds, huh?” “Eh, sort of? I haven't gotten the chance to see many of the ones the pamphlet says they have here.” He leaned on the railing, and watched as a pair of the enormous birds wandered by. “Amity actually did have a zoo, but they had a lot of temporary exhibits. For some reason they never had many birds.” “I thought Amity was a smallish town? How’d they get a zoo?” Danny chuckled. “I, uh, think that might have been Sam’s fault.” “Your friend? How does that work?”  “Sam’s parent’s were kinda rich, and Sam was big into conservation and endangered species. I think her parents funded the place.” He scoffed. “Not that she really liked it. She wasn’t a fan of keeping animals in captivity, and kept complaining about their living conditions.” “Huh.” Jason watched as a flamingo wandered close to Danny, eyeing him over the top of the fence. Jason had stayed a healthy distance back from the enclosure. 

Animals didn’t tend to like him much. He’d wondered briefly on the way here if that was because of the ghost thing, but Danny seemed to be doing fine. It was probably because of the pits. “Wait a minute.” Jason thought back to something he’d heard from Babs the other day. “Wasn’t there something about Amity Park and endangered Gorillas?” To his surprise, Danny… groaned. Loudly. “God, don’t remind me.” He rubbed a hand down his face, seeming to forget about the bird for a moment as it wandered off. “Why? What’s the matter?” “Uhg. Bad memories. Amity hosted one of the two Purple-backed gorillas that was alive at the time for a bit. There was… a thing. That happened.” Oh, Oh yeah, Jason was remembering more of the conversation now. “Don’t you have your name on a research paper about them? It was like the only bit of scientific literature the family could find.” Danny’s head thumped into the wooden rail on the fence. “Yeah, yeah. Figures that would make it out.” “Hmm.” Jason wondered if he should have picked another destination for the day. “I think there’s currently a Purple-back gorilla exhibit here, at this zoo. Should we avoid that?” He asked. “You're kidding.” Danny looked flatly at Jason out of the corner of his eye. “Oh, you’re not kidding. Damn.” He sighed. “It’s fine. We may as well go see them, and we just got here, I’m not about to leave now.” He began to walk down the path towards the next exhibit. “Just so long as I don’t end up spending the whole night watching them, or getting attacked by a ghost who wants to skin me.” Jason stood staring after him for a second, trying to process that. “Skin you? Danny? Danny?! What?” He chased after him, determined to get an explanation for that. Read the rest on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48120073/chapters/123852799

[balshumetsbaragouin]

Chapter Six is out! If you haven't had a chance to read this fanfic yet, you should join us. We're two chapters from the end, but there's still about two weeks for you to catch up. In this chapter, Danny is returned to The Oven, and comes to an understanding with Plasmius about how to escape the GIW's custody...

The Climax is the next chapter, so I hope you join us before next Wednesday! Make it a Binge Weekend! Summary:

A momentary lapse of attention, a weapon's blast grounding him, an agent's boot heading towards his jaw... Danny has been the 'primary research subject' of the Area 23 facility for the past three weeks. Since he was captured, he's had no contact with the outside world, and no chance of escape. After complaining about a lack of conversational partners, his heated cage finds a second occupant: Vlad Plasmius. With his last chance at escape captured with him, Danny's hope dwindled until he heard the other halfa promise he had a plan. The only problem: He doesn't trust Vlad.

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Implied/Referenced Torture, Past Torture, Psychological Torture, Medical Experimentation, Medical Torture, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Angst, Hurt/Comfort

Rating: M

Still not sure if you want to join your fellow readers? Have a sneak peek of chapter six below the cut!:

He ached liked someone had scrubbed fine grain sandpaper over every inch of his bones. The skin across his ribs pulled with every shift, so he’d quickly tested if he needed to breathe in ghost form. He didn’t. He preferred it, though, and fighting down the instinct to do so every few seconds was distracting. As soon as I get out of here, I’m going to burn all of Dr. Bursen’s notes. They were digital, held somewhere in the GIW’s computer servers, but the loathsome little jerk hadn’t stopped dictating the entire time. He’d found his way to the top of Danny’s shit list, above even Vlad.

He was too weak to stand or float, and since they didn’t have the patience to wait for him to recover, his escorts had each snagged an arm and started pulling. His head flopped back as they dragged him back to The Oven, his boots squeaking across the linoleum tile in this part of the facility. They hadn’t even injected him with enough Radio-whatever to numb all the pain this time. Somewhere, dimly, he looked forward to getting back to his cell; the suppressant would leave him completely numb.

“Agent T, please prepare the door for transfer.” Danny turned his head to focus on the officer in front of him as the agent to his right dropped away. The other one’s grip didn’t budge a centimeter. The angle was starting to wrench his shoulder joint, and had already reopened a cut. The burly agent tapped into the keypad near the terminal, and the whole rigmarole to open The Oven started. The ache near his collarbone crescendoed into a burst of lightning. He bit back a groan when the returning agent jostled him when grabbing his other arm. “You’ve been quiet, HBC-1. Did Dr. Bursen really cut out your tongue this time?” The surrounding men chuckled as The Oven’s doors opened with a hiss and a buzz.

“Hurts.”

“That’s what shut you up?” The two men ahead of him parted, and the officer clicked his tongue. “Shame it won’t be for long. The scientists claim you heal quickly.”

“Maybe they can make a shock collar?”

“You’re right, Agent T, that could keep it behaved.” They tossed him through the opened passage. The ground rushed up and made friends with his nose before he could react. Their amusement echoed off of the walls of The Oven and through his pounding skull, a symphony of suffering carved into his bones. Thirty seconds passed. The vertigo and body aches abated enough for him to raise his head and look around. Vlad wasn’t where he saw him last. He turned his head to take the room, and found him slumped against the coolest wall, eyes very much still shut.

“Hey?” No response. He took in the trail of dark green painting the path from the spot he’d ended up during the fight and the wall. It was wide, bumpy, and uneven instead of a single, thin layer like the blobs left. It was a lot of ecto. “Can you hear me?” Still nothing. Something hot and needy crawled up his spine to wrap around his core.

[curio-queries]

FRI(END)S : THE SONG

This post is part of a series of my thoughts on this release. It's time to finally get these out of drafts and posted before Hobi's release. Here are links to the other posts:

QUICKCOMBO: Continuation

QUICKCOMBO: Termination

The Song (this post)

The Music Video

The Promo

First, if you haven't heard the song yet, please give it a listen and make your own impressions.

Initial Thoughts

The night this was released, I was having some sudden internet issues and was slightly panicking about being able to work the next day so I was admittedly a little stressed by the time I got to listen even though I stayed up specifically for it.

Usually I would listen to it first on Spotify before watching the music video but I was able to get the mv to load first for some reason. My first impression on the song itself was actually a little bit of confusion as to how long the track actually would be given all the 'non-song' space in the mv.

When I did finally get Spotify to work, I definitely thought it was too short but I was so excited that I was vibing with it as much as I did. V's solo work is very hit or miss for me, with most of LayoVer being a miss. I don't think the album was bad, I just had a hard time with it since none of the tracks really appeal to me. But Fri(end)s? I liked on the first few listens. Which is kinda funny because I was actually wondering pretty early on if Fri(end)s would work as part of LayoVer...more on that later in this post.

I still think the song is too short. I realize that's the trend these days as it's more of a marketing tactic but that doesn't mean I have to like the trend. Especially with the extremely clear folding of the song into two parts, it's pretty obvious to even some casual listeners that there's something missing. Not enough to make it a bad song but it just feels slightly unfinished.

Performance

If you haven't already watched the Live Film, I highly recommend it.

I know it's kinda a flex in music communities to value live versions over studio releases but I rarely fall into that camp. (I honestly think it has something to do with a sensory issue I have and extra noise that is often present in such recordings...anyway back to V). This performance is so great! It perfectly embodies both Tae's personality and the energy needed for a song like this. I honestly just felt so good listening to him sing this because he did it in the exact same way I do when I sing along to music; adding extra little rifs and bits just for the fun of it and avoiding the typical notes that all of the members leave out of most performances.

I'm not qualified to comment on the musical technique needed for this song but there are definitely some fun challenges that make for a satisfying singalong once you've nailed them!

LayoVer

If you haven't listened to the complete album in a while, here's a link. Always a good idea to give an album a complete top-to-bottom listen every once in a while, especially this one with how Tae agonized over track sequence of his solo work as mentioned during Festa 2022.

So, if you just list the key words of the lyrical themes and musical elements of both Fri(end)s and LayoVer, you'd think they'd be an easy match but the more I investigated, the less I think so.

First, I'm not really a music researcher when it comes to credits or following specific contributors but from what I can tell, there weren't any of the same individuals listed between the two projects except Tae himself. Which honestly surprised me.

Just going off of memory, I thought it'd fit in smoothly either before or after Slow Dancing but after trying it out, it just doesn't land for me. It absolutely deserves to be its own single and I'd initially wondered if it had been ripped out of the album as the track to tide us over during this chunk of ms but I really don't feel that way at all.

It honestly reminds me a little of how JK released 3D as a separate track. That song (as much as I don't love it) does stand on its own without the support of an album. Maybe Fri(end)s was one of the other songs Tae found during his search for LayoVer but that team didn't have enough material for a cohesive album? He didn't want to lose it so kept it as a single to release later.

I want you all to know that I wrote the above before seeing this video...thanks for proving me right V!! 😆

More thoughts on some of the meaning(s) of the song in my mv post!

(Sidenote, if you haven't seen the full set of the gif at the top of this post, I highly recommend checking it out. It's gorgeous! Absolutely astonishing work @kimtaegis 😍)

[snailsgoingdowntown]

Finished watching hazbin hotel and uh

Spoilers under cut plz don't come for me, I did enjoy the show.

Written at 3am not proofread or edited

While I did enjoy it, it was hard to actually feel any sort of attachment to the characters. I'll do research in a bit since I heard that Amazon Prime only gave them a limited amount of episodes to work with, but regardless, the pace was way too fast. I didn't even realize five months passed because it felt like it was only a week after Charlie's meeting with Adam.

Almost little to no showing of Angel Dust's and Sir Pentious' character development. Angel dust was more focused on, which makes since since he's the original resident of the hotel, the original sinner who agreed to the Hazbin Hotel project.

Yet it was Sir Pentious who got sent to heaven? Don't get me wrong, I think it's great he got sent there, however, in a narrative sense, it doesn't make sense. Throughout the episodes it was indeed that he wasn't a 'bad' guy, more so socially awkward who wanted a place in Hell but couldn't get one. But tell me, was a single episode, not including the last one, that Sir Pentious was the center of attention? Aside from being caught as a spy for Vox?

Aside from the episode where Charlie and Vaggie went to heaven for a meeting and they were watching ANGEL DUST? It was shown he had a crush on Cherri sure, that he was trying his best to get her attention/hook up with her but like... That didn't show me much about his character.

Just that he's a socially awkward shy mess around his crush is understandable, I was like that too. But that's it. Aside from the scene he got dragged into the 'sex room' after announcing he was going to have sex with everyone in the club/bar.

Keep in mind that this ep was supposed to be centering around Angel Dust back in Hell while heaven watched.

And yes, I know it was shown he would die for his friends but to me that barely says anything about a character at all. Just that they care about their friends which is usually the case for many people.

Imo, there was absolutely no hinting at Sir Pentious going to heaven. The series barely focused on him at all, even his eggs/minions were given more attention with Alastor.

Which, btw, are adorable and I wish they were shown more and interacted with the other characters more as well.

Enough about Sir Pentious - now let's talk about the Husk x Angel Dust ship

I like the idea, I can see it happening, and I'm so glad Vizipop didn't immediately get them together, if they are end game. I heard the Twitter said they were but I haven't looked at it yet so I'm not sure if it's true or not. But God, I wish we got more interactions between them. The chemistry is there, both platonic if they aren't meant to be a couple, and romantic if they are.

Niffty - I love you my little bug obsessed queen. But, while it was slightly amusing she was the one who killed Adam, it was also slightly... Disappointing? Like, all of this man power used against him and what killed him was Niffty? Obviously it was to take the audience by surprise, but it doesn't sit right with me. It held no substance - literally just Vizipop going "they'll never expect this!!" And that's it. Just to catch us off guard and was slightly taken as a joke before Lute went to him where the scene became serious again. Which would have been heart touching if their relationship was more drawn out. Show don't tell type of stuff. Which it was but not much.

Also, I did see a post that I'll most likely add here that said Adam most likely felt betrayed by the humans who sinned because he did so much for them as the original human, as shown by the line "ungrateful losers." Which makes sense and I kinda hope that is the case because he does seem very bitter towards the sinners who are, in some regard, still his people - they were still human, at some point. I really hope that they'll be able to show us in detail about how Adam was as a person rather than the Angel and original human known as 'Adam.' His character wasn't deep and it felt more like Vizipop needed a villain to shit on more than anything else.

The reveal about Vaggie being a former Exorcist was foreseen by many, meanwhile i thought she was the daughter of carmilla carmine because they look similar + implied military like background before the reveal + the duet they had when Carmilla was talking to Zetial and Vaggie singing about how she wants to protect Charlie or something. Ig they had the 'duet' because they were both about protecting someone. But I do like how Carmilla was like "bro it's so obvious you're a former Exorcist - the eye, the fucking angelic weapon you have there."

What I didn't like about the reveal was how Charlie just... Hated the fact she lied? I think anyone would be upset about that, I would be, but that's just it. She's just upset she lied which again, makes sense. But Vaggie killed her people, Adam even said she was one of his best girls. Meaning she probably killed hundreds if not more - and charlie wasn't upset about that part? She did question if their relationship was a lie, which makes sense, but the genocide of her people, the one that her gf took part in, wasn't mentioned after it was first revealed to her. That part was literally just... Thrown out the window. And on multiple occasions it was both shown and told that Charile, the princess of hell, loved her people. But it looked like the team/Vizipop decided to forget that part when it comes to the big reveal that Vaggie was an angel or whatever you want to call her.

I do like how In the end, the audience is reminded that Alastor is not a good guy. He's a horrible person, treating Husk like a pet and most likely only lets Niffy do as she pleases because he finds it amusing. Either that or they have a lot in common, and I do mean a lot. I wish this relationship between the three was shown more, developed more. But if I must add... Some scenes with Alastor... Truly felt like a Tumblr moment. Fan fiction. BUT I adore how at the end he's weak compared to some and that his deal is most likely the only reason he has any power at all. The mini break down he has? Beautiful. Prior to this he was shown and told to be this all powerful being until Zetal stepped into the ring, until Adam fucking bodied him which I love. He's a coward, he's awful, he's horrible but is shown to be able to feel attachment - I don't think he truly cares for the hotel staff. There might be a fondness but no real connection which is shown, thankfully instead of it just being told.

Then there's the discourse of his usage of Voodoo... I'm not properly educated in the practice so I have no right to comment on it.

Lucifer... My dorky little man... Beyond depressed just like me /j

I like him, love him even. But I was hoping he would be a bit more... Sinister. Instead he's a broken man who gave up on nearly everything but his daughter. Which I kinda like but also don't - it's a love hate relationship. But he's adorable so he gets a pass

Okay. I'm going to be the one who says it - I don't like Charlie's and Lucifer's demonic forms. They look nice, sure, but not king and princess of hell -like. It gives off Tumblr girl vibes which is fine. But I still don't like it. Literally uwu human cats. Which is adorable but adorable does not fit well with... Whatever this is. I wish it was more... Animalistic, barred fangs, skin stretching out, more like a demon you would typically imagine.

Also, while I do understand why Charlie didn't want to kill Adam it was... Bleh. Like girl, you already killer many of his Soilders why would you let their leader live? Idk maybe I'm thinking about it in the wrong way.

The three Vees/V's.. All horrible as ppl, especially Vlatoino, the other two as just as bad since they know what's going on and are either ignoring it or encouraging it. Vox is a slaty ex and Velveet(?) Is just trying to vibe but the other two won't let her.

Again, ironic considering what I write. As I always say - I don't condone any sort of abuse, sexual or otherwise, in real life.

Also did Lucifer sleep with Eve?

Why did Vizipop say him and Lilith were HAPPILY married when she's on a beach sun tanning in heaven and he's always 5 seconds away from jumping off the nearest building?

So many questions that will hopefully get answered in the 2nd season. And hopefully they'll be able to flesh out the characters and their backgrounds more, their personalities and how they either improve or decline as a person/character.

I have more to say but it's 3am and I'm pretty sure this is gonna get me death threats because hey, it's the internet. Just look at Twitter lol.

Please remember that I am not a film critic, I am just stating how I feel about it.

I watched it, enjoyed it, but still have icks about certain things with it, as anyone else would. Would I watch season 2? Yes, because I like the overall concept but I just wish they were able to do more with it.

I had someone ask if I would write for it, and honestly, I don't know. Maybe, maybe not, only time will tell.

[frostandflamesfanfic]

Make It Back for Christmas (Steve Harrington x Reader)

Make It Back for Christmas (Rated T)

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader (gender neutral)

Word Count: 1.9k+

Warnings: Mild brief language, holiday fluff, pining Steve and Reader

Summary: It's the last week of the semester and you're dying to head back home to Hawkins for the holiday festivities. Not only that, but you haven't heard from your boyfriend in a week and you're already going through withdrawals. Will you be able to make it back in time for Christmas?

God, you hated finals week. 

This wasn’t like anything you experienced in your high school years. Or was it? Thanks to the last semester of all-nighters and unbelievable amounts of cram studying, the last four years all blended together. 

Three exams. You had three exams this week. Plus a term paper, a research project… one of your professors thought it would be fun to have an exam and a nine-page paper due the same week. Was it nine pages single-spaced or double? Hell if you knew. Your brain had already begun to hurt just thinking about everything you did to army-crawl your way through to break. Even though most of the hard work was done, you weren’t out of the clear yet— you still had a five hour drive home on Saturday and you hadn't packed yet. 

You just had to select a college five hours away. You hated being away from your home of small town Hawkins, Indiana. You missed your family, your friends. Some nights there was nothing you wanted more than to spend a few hours at the local arcade or the neighboring video store. 

The only thing that made everything seem a bit more bearable was your boyfriend. Usually, Steve would be the first one you would call and talk to after your latest exam or assignment, but you haven’t been able to reach him in days. The two of you had gotten together the summer before you left for college. It was a sweet summer romance story. You had known each other for years, practically growing up together. It was the typical cliche: two friends who had been skirting around their feelings throughout high school, mainly due to one garnering a reputation. 

Although, when you were with Steve, that’s all he was: Steve. Not overly cocky King Steve, not party keg master Steve; he was Steve Harrington, your best friend since preschool who always stole your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because you hated them. The same Steve who would sit with you for hours in the backyard watching the clouds or the stars, listening to you talk about your superficial problems like they were an international threat of war. The Steve who was so terrified going out on his first date with Samantha Hollis in the sixth grade, he spent most of the morning excessively brushing his hair and gargling mouthwash in your bathroom while talking about his big first kiss plan — a conversation that later had your stomach turning and your dinner in the upstairs toilet. You hadn’t realized it at first, but you had fallen head over heels for your best friend. 

When you finally recognized and came to terms with your feelings for Steve in junior year, it had been too late. He had already started his “perfect” relationship with his dream girl: Nancy Wheeler. You had no malice toward the girl. In fact, you were both good friends. It was just hard to maintain that friendship when all the conversations ever gravitated toward was, well, your shared connection. 

“Steve and I were going to see that movie!”

“Oh, you’ll never believe what Steve said the other night.”

“Oh my god, isn’t he so clumsy? It’s adorable.”

Forced smiles and friendly nods became second nature for you. All you wanted was for Steve to be happy. If he was happy with Nancy, then you were happy for him. You had to admit they made an attractive couple. She was helping him in ways you never could, helping him succeed instead of just encouraging him to try and make a change. They were an unstoppable team. Steve didn’t need you anymore and you had to come to terms with it. You slowly began to distance yourself, just so you could sort through your feelings and not be awkward around them. It made things easier at first. 

Then Nancy broke his heart at Tina’s halloween bash. Suddenly you found yourself thrust back and immersed into Steve’s life once more. Only this time, you leaned into his touches a little more than usual. You two sat a bit too close at movie night. You split too many meals at the local diner. It was only when Dustin Henderson made a passing comment about how the two of you acted like an old married couple did you snap back to reality and attempt to distance yourself from Steve again. He didn’t need to lose the love of his life and another friend at the same time because you couldn’t keep your feelings in check. So you resorted to only hang around him with the kids when he needed to play carpool, taking them to the arcade, or the farmer’s market, or even the grocery store to pick up 

This only seemed to confuse your best friend. “Why aren’t you spending time with me?” he asked you when you brought El and Max to the mall over the summer. 

“What are you talking about?” you tried to appear nonchalant, like you weren’t doing this on purpose even if it killed you. Unfortunately, your poker face needed some much needed work. 

“No, no,” the look he gave you that day would haunt you forever. Steve looked like you had just kicked his puppy right in front of him. “Don’t bullshit me. You’ve been avoiding me all summer since we graduated. The only time I ever see you is with the kids and even then you spend more time with Dustin than me!”

It was true. After Dustin had oh-so-kindly exposed your emotions, you had somehow convinced the child to be your partner in distracting you from Steve. Well, it was less of a convincing and more of a “if you breathe a word of this to anyone, I’ll lovingly end you” type of agreement. He stuck to you like Velcro when the three of you went out, making sure there were very few interactions that could lead into moments of longing. 

“It’s nothing, Steve,” you had tried explaining with no success. “Dustin just really wants my attention is all, I guess.” 

A frown on his face, Steve turned away mumbling something under his breath. You weren’t quite sure at the time, but it did sound oddly similar to, “he’s not the only one.”

It wasn’t until you found yourselves trapped in a Russian underground that you had to face more than one fear. Trapped in your own room, the soldiers tried to get you to admit how you found their base. They had even stabbed you with some type of drug, which you would only later discover its use. You couldn’t tell how long it was before you were released with the help of your best friend. Steve had looked so worse for wear, but even in the chaos, he was only concerned about your safety and well-being. 

“Are you okay?!” his slurred speech inquired as he ran hands up and down your arms before cradling your face. 

You weren’t sure if it was the stress or the inclusion of a truth serum in your system, but you did the only thing you could think of to answer his incessant questions: you leaned forward and kissed him. 

And he kissed you back. 

From that moment on, everything was different. You had gone from being best friends, to two people who went out to dinner, to being in an honest to goodness relationship. Just over a year later, you’re sat in your dorm room with a receiver broadcasting a busy signal in your ear. 

This was the sixth time this week Steve hadn’t answered the phone. He hadn’t called for his daily good morning or good nights. He didn’t call to check in on you during what he knew was going to be a stressful week. Concerned about his safety, you reached out to Dustin several times, who assured you that Steve was fine. He was just busy with all of the families renting out movies for the holidays. You knew you weren’t entitled to his time, but all the same…it had been a long week and all you wanted was to hear your boyfriend’s voice. 

Allowing a sigh to escape your lips, you dialed Steve’s number again, this time with the intent to leave a message. When the recording of his mother’s bored yet powerful voice played, you bit your lip to refrain from showing too much emotion over the phone. “Hey Steve,” you started. “It’s uh, it’s me calling…again. I just wanted to let you know that I, uh, that I miss you. Miss hearing your voice, seeing you. And I hope that you’re doing okay. Just a few more days until I can start my drive home and see you!” 

You let out a sad chuckle as there was a knock on your bedroom door. Your roommate, Allie, probably wanted to use the phone since you’d been hogging it for a few hours. “Oh, I gotta go. Call me back soon, okay? Love you.” As you hung up the phone, you moved to open the door. “Sorry, Allie. Just wanted to make sure-“

“Make sure I was doing okay?” A familiar voice cut you off and your breath caught in your throat.  You couldn’t believe it. Standing in front of you with rosy frost bitten cheeks, tired eyes, and the brightest smile you’ve ever seen was Steve. “I’d say I’m doing much better now that I’ve seen you, sweetheart.”

Without much thought, you ran into his arms and kissed him. And kissed him. And kissed him one more time, just for good measure. It was messy, all smiles and awkward breathing, but it was perfect. “What-“ you stuttered in surprise once you caught your breath. “What are you doing here? Why haven't you called?!”

Steve grinned sheepishly, head bent down to stare right in your gaze. A few strands of his perfectly unruly dark hair fell directly in his line of sight and you automatically moved your hand to brush it away. “I knew if I picked up the phone it would be really hard for me to keep my mouth shut. Did you really think I’d let my baby drive home alone for Christmas?” he said with mock disdain. “I don’t think that would make me a very good boyfriend, do you?”

“I have a car.”

“Yeah,” your boyfriend nodded in agreement, “but why waste gas if you’re not going to use it in Hawkins.” 

You frowned. What was he talking about? 

“Baby, you’re with the Harrington car service,” Steve’s smooth voice rolled over you like honey. “It’s door-to-door service, even during your trip.”

“….so you’re kidnapping me and not letting me drive my own car.” 

Steve gave a small huff, shoulders slouched. “Gee, when you put it like that…you really sucked the romance out of it, babe. You know I did just drive five hours-“

You silenced him with a gentle kiss to the lips. While not as rough or as passionate as the first reunion, it was just as loving. Your fingers curled around the soft fabric of his white Henley top and pulled him closer. He stumbled a bit from the action, but soon rested his hands on either of your hips, a low hum vibrating his throat. 

“I love you,” you whispered. 

The smile on Steve’s face stretched out to be a mile wide. “I love you, too, baby,” he replied, pressing a quick kiss to your temple. “Now come on. Let’s get you all packed up.”

You laughed at his dramatic hand gestures before he crossed his way into your room. “Your chariot awaits, my dear,” he mused, turning his head to glance back at you over his shoulder. “It’s time to get you back home for Christmas.”

====================

Author's Note: So this is happening. Is everyone excited?! To say I've been looking forward to this event for the last month plus now. I just want to give a small shout-out and thank you to two very amazing people, @bakerstreethound (for encouraging me to keep writing) and @upsidedownwithsteve (for inspiring me to try my hand at this -- so sorry for the tag!).

Writing this and some of the other fics for this event have me convinced Steve would be the perfect boyfriend around the holidays, even if he may be a bit of Scrooge sometimes. The number of times I've smiled writing these pieces...I've lost count. But stay tuned because we have a lot more headed your way (including some dad!Steve...)!

If you liked this post and want to see more like it on my blog, please make sure to leave a comment and reblog it! While likes are appreciated, it's these two things that really help spread the word about my writing and motivate me to keep making new content! Until next time, my little sparks! <3

[chaotic-bisexual-dumbass]

Chapter 2 | Reunited through Death

Bucky Barnes x daughter!reader (platonic)

The wind blew the girl's hair once she reached the helicopter. She graciously climbed inside, detaching the harness from her utility belt. Guerra had reached it shortly before her. She was now standing in an impossibly straight posture, her arms clasped to her sides.

“Rosita Guerra, Hydra operator for the last decade. Became Lieutenant a year and a half ago. Fought in the Kosovo War in ‘99 and served in Afghanistan for two years.” A man stood in the middle of the cabin, two files in hand. He was reading the first one with a weird neutral expression.

The woman he was talking about remained in position, her face serious, internally wondering if she should talk or not. The man closed the file and looked up from it, his eyes landing on Lieutenant Guerra. “How come we’ve never met?”, he asked, his bizarre expression shifting into a different one which was unidentifiable as well.

“I was previously stationed at the Ideal Federal Savings Bank and only recently got transferred to the Sokovian research base.”, the woman answered matter-of-factly. Her gaze flickered slightly tho, a sign of nervousness that the smaller girl next to her picked up from the corner of her eye.

“Well, I hope you haven't found your transfer too difficult, because you’re being transferred, again.”, he announced, faking compassion in a caricatural way. Guerra’s brows furrowed, silently indicating that she was looking for more answers.

“Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself.”, he chuckled without any humor. “I’m Director Schatten, we haven't officially met since your arrival in Sokovia.”, he twisted his thin lips in a poor excuse of a smile. His light blue eyes pierced Rosita’s black ones, as if he was reading her very soul. He pointed to the two women in alternance, his smile dropping. “Have you two been introduced yet?”

Rosita shook her head. “Not really no. I know she goes by ‘DeathStalker’ and aside from that, I’ve only heard some rumors back in the U.S.”, she explained.

“And what have you heard?”, he asked, his unsettling eyes questioning her on their own.

The Lieutenant glanced at the girl next to her quickly, gulping in nervousness. The wrinkles on her forehead deepened. “Huh”, she gulped, “one of them was that she's killed five men in a bar once.”, she paused. “With a pencil.”

The Director nodded, averting his gaze. “Well, that is partially true. They were six actually, and they weren't just men, no. They were trained Chinese mercenaries.”, his face slowly turned into a smirk. “And also, she doesn't just ‘go by’ the name DeathStalker. It is her name, her identity. The name of a weapon stronger than any machine gun or bomb you’ve ever seen.”, he bragged as if he was showing off his creation.

Said ‘weapon’ remained immobile, staring straight ahead and not moving an inch. The rise and fall of her chest was only slightly visible if you focused on it. Her black attire dissimulated her body in the dark of the cabin. The Director stepped towards them, circling the DeathStalker to go stand behind the two women. He handed the Lieutenant the second file that had remained unopened the whole time.

Rosita took it and shot him a quick glance before turning her attention to the yellowish folder stamped with the signature red logo. She opened it, her face showing slight confusion upon seeing the first picture on top of the papers.

“You will accompany the asset on a mission overseas. Earlier today, Project Insight failed, Hydra Uprising was compromised and we are no longer in the dark. Captain America and his hero team will most likely try and dissemble Hydra as soon as possible and this entire organization’s survival is threatened. To top it all off”, he slammed a finger on the picture in the file. The photograph showed a red star seemingly painted on metal. “The Winter Soldier disappeared. Ran away like a teenage girl after a fight with her daddy.”, he mocked.

He continued his monologue. “A team will be waiting for you in Ohio’s secondary base. Your mission, Miss Guerra, will simply consist of supervising the operation from afar. You will escort the asset to Ohio, and you and your team will serve as reinforcements if deemed necessary.” He turned to the other girl. “DeathStalker’s mission on the other hand, will be to hunt down and retrieve the Winter Soldier. Too much money was spent on him for him to go to waste and we wanna try and salvage what we can. Bring him in alive. Kill him only if absolutely necessary.”, he ordered.

The atmosphere significantly tensed up, as if it wasn't tense enough as it was. His gaze pierced through DeathStalker’s skull, but the assassin remained focused on looking forward. He finally stepped back and walked back in front of them, going to sit on one of the benches. He made himself comfortable and closed his eyes, leaning his head back. After an awkward minute, he spoke up again.

“You both should take a seat, it’s gonna be a long flight.”

Bucky will be in the next part don't worry!!

[twoidiotwriters1]

Until The Very End -(WITS Sequel)

A/N: There is something so perfect about Merry in my head, I haven't been able to write another couple as utopian as them -Danny

Words: 2,310

Masterlist

Previous chapter // Next chapter

2010—2011

"That's not how dragons throw fires!" Emmeline squealed.

Harry looked up at the tree branch where his daughter was hanging and scowled. "Lin, I can't spit out fire, unless you want me to not talk ever again."

The toddler scrunched up her nose in the same way her mother used to when she was little. "Not that, daddy! I mean your head!"

Harry's confusion increased. "What do you mean?"

"Dragons don't raise their heads when they throw fire," Regulus walked out into the garden carrying James on one arm, the toddler was stuffing his face with biscuits. "They press to the ground, 'cause their targets are smaller than them."

It was the summer prior to Reg's fourth year at Hogwarts, and he was spending most of his free time at the Potter's house. He helped Mel and Harry with the kids when they were at work. Today, however, is Harry's thirtieth birthday.

Everyone had promised to pay a visit and celebrate together, but Mel was on the verge of getting her obscurial treatment project greenlit, so she was working even more than when she was researching for the werewolf cure, which leaves Reg and Harry to interact in a way they hadn't been able to in a long time.

"So I take your lessons with Hagrid are going well?" Harry grinned.

"They're my favourite! Apart from Charms, of course," Reg admitted, sneakily handing a biscuit to Emmeline as he approached her tree.

"Heard you're on your way to become the Captain of the duelling club," Harry raised a brow. "That's amazing, Mel is really proud of you."

"Yeah, mum is too. Says my dad was a good dueller."

"He was the best, he and my dad," Harry confirmed, then added quietly so Emmeline couldn't hear him. "Took advantage of it when they were younger, you know, in case that McLaggen kid tries to get the best of you."

Reg laughed. Whenever he did this, it kind of sounded like a bark. He had no way of knowing he inherited it from Sirius, but those who knew his father picked up on it as soon as they heard it.

"Dad!" Jamie swung his wooden sword around. "Matty and Lily woke up!"

They stayed silent for a second, the cries of Harry's younger children coming to them right away.

"Thank you, Jamie—Don't know how he does it, he's got super hearing," Harry chuckled, getting up from under the tree. "I'll go."

"No, no," Reg stopped him, putting James down and going back to the kitchen's entrance. "It's your birthday, let me do it."

"Looking after my kids isn't something I enjoy avoiding, you know?" Harry mused. 

"I know," the boy smirked. "But I rather deal with those two than the twins."

"Daddy, I'm stuck," Emmeline groaned in perfect timing, hanging upside down above her father's head. 

Mel fell on her bed groaning, absently rubbing her backside. "I'm starting to understand Fred a little, you know? Every family reunion we attend nowadays is packed with children..."

She rolled over and groaned again, so tired she couldn't bring herself to start changing into her night clothes.

"Am I allowed to ask how was work, or will you kill me if I bring it up tonight?" Harry teased her.

Mel glanced at him with the shadow of a smile. "You're a lost cause, Harry James Potter."

"Full name treatment?" He raised his brow. "What did I do?"

Mel pushed herself up to a sitting position. "Three whole decades and not a single one has been enjoyed at a proper pace, you just don't know how to relax, do you?"

"That's rich coming from you," he retorted, kicking off his shoes and crawling to her side.

"I'm a hard worker, that's different," Mel responded, kicking off her own shoes while he got closer. "I'd argue that I at least respect my birthdays."

"Mel, it's time you accept that my way of enjoying life is different from yours, that's all."

The woman eyed him sceptically. "Please, do elaborate."

"I don't enjoy my job, not exactly. I find it gratifying, that I catch dark wizards before they can do real damage, before they can ruin the world we built for our kids. Which brings me..." he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in. "To you."

"Me?"

"I know I ask you about work a lot," he continued happily. "But if I'm honest, I don't care about your job. You could be a stay-at-home parent and I would still ask about your day, 'cause it's my favourite part of our life together."

Mel frowned. "Really?"

"When we were twelve," he explained, casually helping Mel out of her robes. "I realized that life didn't feel right without your squeaky ramblings buzzing over my ear every day."

"Hey," Mel hit his chest, laughing. "Rude!"

"I'm going somewhere with this, let me finish!" He pressed, catching her wrist before she could push him away.

"Get on with it, then!"

"Well, then we started to spend more time apart, and when the bad times came... part of my comfort was knowing that I'd be the one who would die and not you, a life without your ramblings was a life not worth living."

Mel stared at him, her throat tightening against her will. "Harry..." she whispered. "Don't say that."

He kissed her palm. "I've always admired you for the way you handled everything. I saw it in your eyes that night, Mel, you had come to terms with it," he sighed. "I could never. I would've kept my promise 'til the last moments of the war, but not a moment after."

She spoke quietly, lovingly brushing his hair back. "You say that now 'cause you know you'll never have to do that, but just like you told me, you would've found someone else too."

Harry shook his head, pushing himself up and reaching for one of his shirts so Mel could change into it. "Like I'd be capable of forgetting that easily..."

"I wouldn't be forgetting..."

"My point is..." the man tossed the discarded clothes out of the bed and dressed his wife with gentle hands. "Hearing about your work it's a daily reminder that I'm living my dreams."

"Having a dull life was your dream?" Mel teased him.

"A life with you is never dull," Harry shrugged, then smirked. "Though I wouldn't hate it if you buy me a Quidditch team for Christmas."

"I'm sorry, sir, can you repeat that?"

"Mel, I never repeat myself, let alone when I know I've been heard," Mr Greengrass stated.

"If you wish to retire, I understand," she continued, still not able to breathe right. "But risking to sound rude, Mr Greengrass... Have you lost your mind?"

The man showed a big smile—the first one since she'd met him—and spoke in a bemused tone. "Miss Dumbledore, you are quite rude," he looked at her pointedly. "But only with yourself."

Mel sputtered out a reply and stopped, looking at him wide-eyed. "You just offered me your position in the Department of Mysteries, what am I supposed to do?"

The man looked away as if pondering her question. "Well, I'd start by moving the stuff from your desk to mine."

Mel laughed—with incredulity—and shook her head. "With all due respect, sir, there are Unspeakables here with more years of experience—"

"Other Unspeakables," he interrupted her, "lack your integrity, your intelligence, and your commitment to our cause. I've known, for twelve years now, that your heart is stronger than your magic, which is a good thing in our line of work. What we do here isn't just tinkering with ancient powers, and you..."

Mr Greengrass stood up and placed both hands on his desk, eyes shining.

"You care about making existence a beautiful experience for all kinds. You're the change the department so desperately needs."

Before Mel could argue, the old man raised a hand to stop her and brushed it off.

"Save it. I'm an old man, holding to my position any longer would rot the whole place. Better step out before I lose my good streak," he chuckled. "Do you know, out of all the good work I've done during my entire career, the one thing people bring out the most is your hiring?"

Mel laughed, feeling lots of gratitude. "I don't know what to say..."

"Say yes," he sighed, going back to his seat. "Some people might not like this, but no one with a good head on their shoulders would question your promotion, not after all you've done in the last decade."

"What about Erick Flint?" Mel questioned. "He's my equal in all the ways that matter. He ought to be considered for the spot too."

"Oh, he was," the man raised a brow. "Unfortunately for you, Mrs Dumbledore, he threatened to quit if I didn't choose you as my successor. But between you and I," he lowered his voice. "I know he's quitting anyway."

Mel smiled. Erick was planning to open a shop with Anne in Diagon Alley, but she thought that maybe he would reconsider if Mr Greengrass offered him his position. However, not even the chance to boss Mel around was enough to distract him from his own projects. 

Worse yet, now he'd be able to say he heroically rejected a job so Mel could get it, and he would definitely be insufferable about it for the rest of their lives.

Mel sat on her desk quietly, she could feel Erick's eyes on her, but she ignored him the whole time until their lunch hour.

"You're coming?" She asked, getting up from her chair.

Erick jumped out of his seat and hastily grabbed his stuff. "Yeah."

Mel conversed with him about everything except Mr Greengrass, and she was having a great time torturing him, seeing his expression get tenser the more she stalled. 

They found Ron, Hermione and Harry eating in the corner of their favourite cafeteria. Mel approached them and Erick followed, almost vibrating with expectation.

"Did you know Reggie won the duelling match last Tuesday?" She asked the whole group.

A stream of compliments and cheers came after that, from all except Erick, who loudly dragged his chair back and pushed his plate away. "Come on, Mel, spit it out!"

The group of friends stared at him in shock, but Mel started cackling.

"What's up with you two?" Ron frowned.

"Nothing, just Erick being his usual nosy self," Mel mused.

"I'm your best friend!" He argued.

"Oh, so that's what you want me to say?" Mel raised a brow, still laughing. "You want me to tell the others how generous you are, Prince? Like I don't know you weren't going to take the job in the first place!"

"Did you take it?" Erick asked eagerly.

"Two things," Ron intervened, lifting his fork and pointing it at Erick. "I'm Mel's best friend, you git. Second," he pointed his fork at Mel. "If you don't explain what's going on before the hour ends, I'll force-feed you veritaserum."

"Ron don't go around saying that!" Hermione scolded him. "What would people think if they heard an Auror threatening to misuse their resources?"

"They would think he's an idiot, trying to force-feed Mel Dumbledore anything," Harry responded with a grin. Then he turned his attention back to Mel and Erick. "So what's going on, then?"

"Mel got offered the position of Head of our department."

"What!"

"Are you joking?"

"What?" Harry looked at his wife in surprise. "And what did you say?"

Mel kicked Erick's leg under the table. "He's getting ahead of things! Mr Greengrass is retiring, yes, and he said he would like me to take his spot, but—"

Ron lifted his fork again, now with a carrot in it, to shut her up. "No buts! You're taking it!"

Mel was aghast. "I can't be the Head of the department!"

"So you could be Head Auror at nineteen but you can't be Head Unspeakable at thirty?" Erick taunted her. "I thought you'd grown out of being exasperating..."

"She takes breaks more often than before, but she hasn't quit it," Hermione joined his teasing. "Mel, this is silly, you deserve the position."

Mel fidgeted with her wand, sinking into her chair. "Being Head Auror was easy 'cause it wasn't so different from what I'd been doing back then... this is not the same."

"You'll get to review all projects, of each room in the Department of Mysteries," Erick counted. "Mel, this has been your dream since you were fifteen."

"But you're quitting this year," she frowns. "What if I discover that I hate the position? What if it turns out to be restraining, or I lose my mind a little like my uncle and—"

"You can change the rules, if they don't work there's no reason to keep them," Harry argued. "You told me that when I took your place. But after all you've been through, I doubt you'll be like Dumbledore, mostly 'cause you've learned from past mistakes, his and yours."

Mel heaved a sigh, running a hand through her hair. "A higher rank means less free time, less chances to go out and enjoy the kids..."

"I'll keep an eye on you, we all will," Harry assured her. "If you overdo it, we'll let you know. As Head Auror I'll be in the same meetings as you, I'll see you more often this way, like old times, don't you miss that?"

"I see you every day at home, so not really."

Erick and Ron snorted and laughed. Harry pouted a little. "Sometimes I wonder if you married me out of pity."

"Give it a try, Mel," Hermione patted her hand encouragingly. "We'll be right here if it doesn't work."

"I can always employ you as my secretary if you get fired," Erick joked.

Mel glared at him in annoyance and flicked his nose. "You should quit already."

"Ouch!" He turned back to Harry while rubbing his nose. "You know, sometimes I wonder if she's my friend out of obligation, too."

"Well, anyway, I hope you take the job," Hermione concluded. "You deserve it, and we're all supportive—it's great news."

Harry looked at her trying to convey all the sincerity and love he was feeling. "Whatever comes out of it, we'll manage."

Mel only smiled in response, stealing a piece of chicken from Ron's plate.

"Oh, and just to clarify," Hermione added, looking at Erick and Ron. "I'm Mel's best friend."

Next Chapter ->

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